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(The Hill) — A popular narrative suggests young people are liberal and getting more liberal. Thus, social media buzzed when a chart surfaced in spring that seemed to suggest that 12th-grade boys had become overwhelmingly conservative.
As with many Reddit posts and viral tweets, the truth was more complicated. But the numbers do say this: Twelfth-grade boys are nearly twice as likely to identify as conservative versus liberal, according to a respected federal survey of American youth.
In annual surveys over the last three years, roughly one-quarter of high school seniors self-identified as conservative or “very conservative” on the Monitoring the Future survey, a scholarly endeavor that dates to the 1970s. Only 13 percent of boys identified as liberal or very liberal in those years.
The figures represent a striking shift in the political views of boys. As recently as the late 2000s, liberal boys occasionally outnumbered conservatives. Back in the Carter era, both boys and girls leaned liberal.
Nowadays, it is girls who are drifting to the left. The share of 12th-grade girls who identified as liberal rose from 19 percent in 2012 to 30 percent in 2022. Only 12 percent of girls identified as conservative in last year’s survey, administered by the University of Michigan.
Young women, too, are trending liberal. Women ages 18 to 29 are more likely to identify as liberal now than at any time in the past two decades, according to Gallup surveys. Young women are almost twice as likely as young men to claim the liberal tag, a widening gender gap in political beliefs.
The political leanings of young men have changed little over the past two decades, according to an analysis by the Survey Center on American Life. Last year, 43 percent of young men identified as moderate, 31 percent as conservative and 24 percent as liberal. Twenty years earlier, the numbers were more or less the same.
But the leftward drift of young women alone has sufficed to move the needle on young adults as a whole. Generation Z favors liberalism over conservatism by a 48-to-33 margin, according to NBC News polling from 2022. Ten years earlier, young adults split evenly between the two political camps.
The rightward drift of high school boys is comparatively subtle. Indeed, when it comes to politics, most boys seem reluctant to pick a side. In the 2022 Monitoring the Future survey, the largest group of senior boys, more than two-fifths, claimed no politics at all, answering the liberal-conservative question with “none of the above” or “I don’t know.” Nearly one-fifth identified as moderate. Only 36 percent selected liberal or conservative as an ideology, and only there did the trend emerge.
Jean Twenge, an author and professor of psychology at San Diego State University, presented the data in her new book, “Generations.” To spotlight the growing gender gap, she couched the numbers in a chart that split boys and girls along ideological lines, omitting moderates and the undecided.
“Among liberals, the future is female,” she wrote. “And among conservatives, the future is male.”
In April, someone posted Twenge’s chart to Reddit. The image also circulated widely on Twitter, the platform formerly known as X. Other researchers took note.
The chart gave the impression, at least on first glance, that two-thirds of 12th-grade boys were now conservative. In the small print beneath, Twenge noted that she had omitted moderates.
The full story is messier and murkier. High school seniors, boys and girls alike, are more likely to claim no political identity than to throw in with either liberals or conservatives.
Much has been written about the liberal drift of young women. The Donald Trump presidency mobilized millions of women, outraged over words and alleged deeds that, to Trump’s critics, suggested unrepentant misogyny. More women embraced liberal politics in response to the conservative drift of the U.S. Supreme Court, a movement emblemized by a 2022 ruling that struck down the constitutional right to abortion.
Less has been said about the politics of 12th-grade boys.
Trump himself may be a key to the conservative trend in that group. The 45th president energized male voters with his rhetoric: his “overt hypermasculinity,” as one NPR analysis put it, and his frequent use of language one might overhear in a high school cafeteria.
“Donald Trump talks like a high school student. Maybe there’s a connection there,” said Robert Palacios, 21, a student at the Catholic University of America and president of District of Columbia College Democrats.
“If you grew up playing video games that were not age-appropriate, and you were sitting in the [virtual] lobby, screaming at the mic, Trump was your president,” said Ethan Benn, also 21, a student at the George Washington University (GWU). “He really channeled that energy.”
More broadly, the conservative wing of the Republican party has made pointed appeals to disaffected men of all ages.
Trump, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and other conservative beacons have derided “woke” ideology, accusing the left of overreach in seeking redress for injustices involving race, gender and sexual orientation.
Liberal politicians, of course, are just as eager to win the vote of young men. Yet, the progressive agenda seeks equality in gender and race, a platform that costs them some male support, especially among white people. In the 2020 election, Black and Hispanic men voted for Joe Biden at much higher rates than non-Hispanic white people, according to Pew Research data.
As one recent Politico article put it, Democrats have a masculinity problem.
“I believe that traditional notions of masculinity are much more accepted within conservativism,” while feminist values “are clearly one of the driving forces of liberalism,” said Delano Squires, a research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.
“I could see male and female students saying, ‘I’m choosing sides.’ Do you want matriarchy, or do you want patriarchy?”
Defenders of the patriarchy reach young men where they live, on social media and in gaming circles. Benn, the GWU student, notes a “sort of intersection of Internet culture and gaming culture with conservative politics” that draws some apolitical young men into conservatism.
Conservative icons Dennis Prager, Ben Shapiro and Steven Crowder boast millions of followers on YouTube, a platform whose ads and viewing suggestions make it easy for a young, male YouTuber “to get sucked into a very conservative sphere of politics and media,” Benn said.
“You could be watching a video about the latest Star Wars movie, and then the next video would be, ‘Here’s how women are ruining Star Wars,’” he said, referencing his own experience. “Even if you aren’t seeking it out, it will come and find you.”
That said, Benn doesn’t remember many of his high school friends talking much about politics.
Neither does Tyler Brown-Dewese, 20, a student at American University (AU).
Brown-Dewese identifies as a “Bill Clinton Democrat.” Back in high school, however, he was a conservative.
“I went to an all-boys Catholic school in New York, and so, a majority of us were Republicans,” he said. Classmates took their cues from parents, friends and social media sites such as Millennial Republicans. “That’s an Instagram page I still follow,” Brown-Dewese said.
But that is not to say he and his friends spent the lunch hour discussing politics. “A lot of them weren’t politically active,” he said. “They didn’t want to talk politics. But if you brought it up, they were going to defend Trump.”
Brown-Dewese’s own politics drifted left when he arrived at AU. “What changed me was, I go to the most liberal university,” he laughed. “Had I known that, I probably wouldn’t have gone.”
Though he is now a Democrat, Brown-Dewese doesn’t really like the word “liberal,” and he suspects other young men feel the same way. Generations of conservatives have equated liberalism with weakness.
Asked to estimate the quotient of liberal women at AU, he laughed again.
“Oh, my goodness. All of them?” | https://www.myarklamiss.com/news/national-news/high-school-boys-are-trending-conservative/ | 2023-07-31T13:46:28 | 1 | https://www.myarklamiss.com/news/national-news/high-school-boys-are-trending-conservative/ |
NORTH BRUNSWICK, N.J., July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Smirta, a New Jersey-based digital health company committed to improving cancer patient care, is pleased to announce that OneOncology has selected Smirta as a preferred vendor to provide Smirta's OncoSmart® oncology infusion schedule optimization platform to the OneOncology network of physician practices. OneOncology is a national partnership created by independent community oncologists to strengthen oncology practices by helping them grow and deliver high-value cancer care services. The network includes more than 300 sites of care, empowering oncologists to learn from their peers and leverage their collective experience to address the pressures facing community oncology today and innovate for the future of cancer care delivery.
OncoSmart® is a data-driven digital transformation platform developed by Smirta, in close collaboration with Tennessee Oncology, that optimizes resources, increases capacity, and simplifies the complexities of cancer treatment clinic operations. OncoSmart®'s clinic management, optimization, nurse assignment, business intelligence, and resource management modules empower infusion centers to better manage critical clinical resources and deliver the best in cancer care.
"Understandably, every patient wants to be the first to get their infusion and every doctor wants to start their day early," said Jeff Patton, MD, CEO, OneOncology. "Consequently, we found our clinics contending with a tremendous, daily bottleneck through the afternoon. Smirta's OncoSmart® platform has been invaluable in establishing a superior scheduling process to smooth out the day and boost patient care by flattening the utilization curve so that the ratio of clinical staff to patients remains consistent and ramps more evenly throughout the day. We are thrilled to partner with Smirta and sponsor their technology, which will exponentially improve the standard of care and the scheduling metrics of cancer treatment clinics nationwide."
Stephen Schleicher M.D., Chief Medical Officer, Tennessee Oncology, a OneOncology partner practice, added: "The Smirta team are amazing to work with. They tailor their software to precisely what we need for our clinics and staff and have been incredibly responsive during the onboarding process. The software itself is very intuitive. Outside of the clinic level where it helps with treatment room capacity and nurse assignments, it also offers a system-wide look across the company, allowing us to see how all of our clinics are doing in terms of overtime, staffing, volume, and so on. Through Smirta and OncoSmart®, we really get to understand which clinics need help through a birds-eye view of how the company's doing from a patient experience and staff experience standpoint."
The A.I.-generated solutions provided by the OncoSmart® platform were created to support a diverse group of clinics with varying sizes and volume, as well as to optimize all service types including lab, MA, MD, treatment, and injections. OncoSmart® products have:
- reduced patient appointment delays and wait times
- unlocked infusion chair capacity
- reduced infusion treatments that extend beyond operating hours
- reduced overtime costs
- created a radically more balanced nurse load through schedule optimization
"Cancer care is inherently complex, with a confluence of problems manifesting most pronouncedly during peak times," said Ram Iyengar, Smirta, CEO. "Through our OncoSmart® platform, we can address and neutralize preventable bottlenecks, nursing attrition, and increased operational expenses while significantly improving patient satisfaction and quality of care. We are proud to partner with OneOncology in our combined mission to ensure the best possible treatment for cancer patients through enabling the most supportive, productive setting for all clinic staff."
Smitra has also already worked with another OneOncology partner practice, Piedmont Cancer Institute. The Atlanta-based cancer center's Chief Clinical Officer, Stephanie Braatz said: "The Smirta team has been so responsive and are very easy to work with. Their OncoSmart platform offers tools that streamline our infusion center operations, and their optimization tool has helped us effectively utilize our resources by balancing the patient load across different types of service.
"The business intelligence tool has identified bottlenecks, such as provider schedules, and has helped us find solutions to fix them. The nurse assignments tool has tremendously, and positively, affected the reduction of manual effort while showing us a view of the treatment room that we simply weren't able to see before. The entire team and suite of tools have added value," said Braatz.
About OneOncology
OneOncology was founded by community oncologists, for community oncologists, with the mission of improving the lives of everyone living with cancer. Its goal is to enable community oncology practices to remain independent and to improve patient access to care in their communities, all at a lower cost than in the hospital setting. OneOncology supports its platform of community oncology practices through group purchasing, operational optimization, practice growth, and clinical innovation. The network's 960 cancer care providers care for approximately 528,000 patients at more than 300 sites of care nationwide. To learn more, visit oneoncology.com or LinkedIn.
About Tennessee Oncology
Tennessee Oncology, PLLC is one of the nation's leading teams of cancer care specialists, nationally recognized for improving patient outcomes and driving quality of life innovation. In 2018 it created a partnership with OneOncology, a technology-powered, data-driven, alliance of America's foremost community oncologists. Its comprehensive range of cancer care services includes specialized oncology nursing care, laboratory services, pharmacy, outpatient chemotherapy, PET/CT services, palliative care, patient and family education, and financial support services. Founded in 1976, the practice's unique vision, introducing patient-driven care with a clinical trial focus, propelled Tennessee Oncology to lead one of the largest, physician-owned, community oncology practices in the country. Currently over 95 physicians in more than 30 locations share the privilege of serving adult cancer patients from South Central Kentucky through Middle Tennessee to Northwest Georgia. For a complete list of Physicians, locations, and services please visit: www.tnoncology.com
About Smirta
Smirta is a digital health company providing next-generation technology solutions to the healthcare industry. Its OncoSmart® suite of products are at the core of cancer treatment clinical operations optimizing millions of services annually.
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SOURCE Smirta; OneOncology | https://www.wymt.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/oneoncology-selects-smirta-its-innovative-oncosmart-platform-enhance-operational-efficiencies/ | 2023-07-31T13:46:29 | 1 | https://www.wymt.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/oneoncology-selects-smirta-its-innovative-oncosmart-platform-enhance-operational-efficiencies/ |
Want better judicial campaigns? Make candidates disavow false or misleading claims
Third parties would think twice before spending millions on ads their own candidate would be obligated to repudiate
Editor's Note: Janet Protasiewicz will be sworn in as a member of the Wisconsin Supreme Court on Tuesday. She was elected to a ten year term in April in what was the most expensive judicial race in U.S. history. The author wrote this op-ed in response to an Ideas Lab call for letters to the editor following the race.
Although there is no single solution to the acrimony, big money, and partisanship that have infected judicial elections in Wisconsin, we should begin by amending the Wisconsin Code of Judicial Conduct to require every candidate for judicial office to disavow third party advertisements that criticize an opponent in a false or misleading manner.
The current code already prohibits a candidate from directly misrepresenting any fact concerning an opponent. However, the recent proliferation of supposedly independent third party “attack” ads effectively nullifies the rule, allowing supporters of one candidate to spend millions on ads slandering the opponent while the candidate benefiting from the lies stands mute.
It might have been otherwise. A provision requiring judicial candidates to “publicly disclaim” a third party’s false or misleading misrepresentations likely to confuse or mislead the public was originally included in a 1999 proposal to amend the Wisconsin Code, but it was dropped.
More:'Dysfunctional.' 'Embarrassment.' 'Travesty.' Readers vent on Wisconsin Supreme Court race
Adopting a requirement to disavow false or misleading third-party ads would serve at least two beneficial purposes. First, third parties would think twice before spending millions on ads that their own candidate would be obligated to repudiate. Second, the rule would provide a visible yardstick of integrity against which the press and public could measure both the incumbent’s and the challenger’s commitment to truth, justice, and fair play.
A number of jurisdictions, by rule or opinion, already either require, recommend, or permit judicial candidates to take measures to ensure that other persons don’t make statements on the candidate’s behalf that the candidate could not make on his or her own.
In broad terms: West Virginia, Indiana, and Alaska have at times required it; Oregon, Kentucky, and Louisiana have language that can reasonably be read to require it, Illinois and Montana recommend it; and Georgia, Minnesota, Nevada, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Idaho, and Washington permit it.
The American Bar Association Code of Judicial Conduct, too, contains a similar requirement. Undoubtedly, such a proposal would be met with challenges based on its supposedly chilling effect on a candidate’s right of free speech. Certainly, First Amendment protections are not to be disregarded lightly, particularly in an election. But despite statements in some court decisions to the contrary, a judicial election is not just like any other political contest, nor would an obligation to disavow unduly limit a candidate’s speech. Unlike any other elected office, the essential quality of a judge is fairness.
Wisconsin’s code requires a judge to “perform all duties of judicial office fairly,” and specifically admonishes “[e]very judge, candidate for judicial office, or judge-elect” to “always bear in mind the need for scrupulous adherence to the rules of fair play while engaged in a campaign for judicial office.”
Because fairness is an essential function of the office, fair conduct in the election process for that office may justifiably be required of the candidates. Standing mute in the face of a grossly misleading attack on one’s opponent — particularly in an area in which the general public is so ill-informed — simply cannot be considered fair.
And it certainly does not engender public confidence in the integrity of the judiciary, which is also a judge’s duty to “promote” “at all times.” Nor would a candidate’s right to free speech seriously be unduly “chilled” by questions regarding how bad a misrepresentation must be before the obligation to disavow is triggered or how thorough the disavowal must be. There is no area in the law where the boundary between what is permitted or prohibited is perfectly clear, including other areas where First Amendment rights are implicated.
The important thing is to create a rule that obligates a candidate to demonstrate a commitment to fairness by repudiating false or misleading ads that seek to unfairly benefit him or her. Rarely is a judge or lawyer sanctioned for a good faith attempt to comply with an ethical rule. And knowing that there was now a standard against which press and public would be able to measure the candidates’ integrity would do wonders to help those candidates determine how much is necessary.
In short, judges are different than other members of government, and their special role requires not only that they “accept restrictions on [their] conduct that might be viewed as burdensome by the ordinary citizen” but that they “should do so freely and willingly,” again quoting from Chapter 60, the code of judicial conduct.
Whether our Supreme Court, whose members are charged with “establishing, maintaining, and enforcing high standards of conduct,” would “freely and willingly” adopt this suggestion is far from certain. But perhaps, having now endured a tsunami of attack ads unprecedented in any other judicial election in U.S. history, they might see some benefit in a rule that will, on a non-partisan basis, dial down the temperature, return the focus to legitimate issues, discourage out-of-state influence, and restore public faith in a badly tarnished institution.
Michael Apfeld is a retired attorney who practiced law in Wisconsin for almost 40 years, during most of which he served on his firm’s ethics committee, ultimately becoming the firm’s general counsel. While in practice, he appeared numerous times before the Wisconsin Supreme Court and Court of Appeals. He also served on several State Bar standing and ad hoc committees on ethics and related issues. He writes in his capacity as a private citizen. | https://www.jsonline.com/story/opinion/2023/07/31/attorney-says-rule-change-could-make-judicial-elections-less-partisan/70456844007/ | 2023-07-31T13:46:30 | 0 | https://www.jsonline.com/story/opinion/2023/07/31/attorney-says-rule-change-could-make-judicial-elections-less-partisan/70456844007/ |
The fashion show on September 13, 2023, hosted by Shaquem Griffin, will feature Adaptive and Universally Designed apparel, footwear, and products from: Zappos, Kohl's, Target, JCPenney, Tommy Hilfiger, Stride Rite, Steve Madden, French Toast Adaptive, adidas, and a runway debut of Victoria's Secret and PINK's first-ever Adaptive Intimates.
NEW YORK, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Runway of Dreams™ Foundation, a nonprofit organization leading the charge on inclusion, acceptance, and opportunity in the fashion and beauty industries for people with disabilities, announced today their return to the runway during New York Fashion Week. This one-of-a-kind Adaptive fashion show, aptly titled A Fashion Revolution, is presented by online retailer Zappos, and will take place on Wednesday, September 13, 2023, at Powerhouse Arts in Brooklyn, New York. Shaquem Griffin, former NFL linebacker, will be hosting. Griffin was featured this summer in the Runway of Dreams' Campaign for Inclusion, the first multi-brand fashion and beauty campaign featuring people with disabilities wearing Adaptive & Universally Designed products. "I'm honored to continue my journey with Runway of Dreams. This organization is a trailblazer for change, and advocates for millions of people across the globe like myself, who need accessible clothing, which so many people take for granted every day of their lives," - he said. Mr. Griffin will be dressed in looks provided by Neiman Marcus and Tommy Hilfiger.
A Fashion Revolution will highlight the groundbreaking work that leading and emerging companies, from lingerie to luxury, are doing in the Adaptive and Universally Designed space, showcased on 70 models with varying disabilities and backgrounds. The show brings together 500+ leaders and champions of DEI under one roof during New York Fashion Week with the same mission: celebrate inclusion in the fashion and beauty industries.
"The Runway of Dreams stage is where brands have chosen to celebrate the debut of their Adaptive designs over the years, and I am thrilled and so honored to welcome Victoria's Secret and Pink Adaptive to the Adaptive family. Knowing the Victoria's Secret and PINK Adaptive products were developed with and for people with disabilities proves their commitment to true inclusion, and understanding the work that needs to go into making these products authentically," said Mindy Scheier, Founder of Runway of Dreams.
"We are excited to debut our first-ever Adaptive collection during New York Fashion Week on the Runway of Dreams' runway. Runway of Dreams advocates for industry change by empowering people with disabilities to have confidence and self-expression through inclusion in fashion and beauty. We are honored to join the many brands who have decided to debut their Adaptive apparel on this runway adding to the historic timeline that is the future of fashion," said Lydia Smith, Chief Diversity Officer, Victoria's Secret & Co.
In addition to brands on the runway, innovative small brands will showcase their products onsite during the evening. Brands included: MAI We Care, Spoonie Threads, One Leg Up, Reboundwear, and Silverts Adaptive.
Zappos will be awarded the esteemed Pioneer of Change Award, presented to Zappos CEO Scott Schaefer and Zappos Adaptive Business Development Manager Dana Zumbo. Billy Price of BILLY Footwear will also be awarded with the Inspirational Achievement Award for their innovative zippered Adaptive shoes. Two scholarships will be awarded as part of the Foundation's commitment to educate and inspire the next generation of Adaptive designers.
"We've been proud partners of Runway of Dreams since the launch of our Zappos Adaptive shopping experience in 2017," said Dana Zumbo, Business Development Manager for Zappos Adaptive. "Together, we have grown in our shared commitment to make fashion more functional and fashionable for all. This is the stage to be on, and we are humbled to be returning this year as the 2023 Presenting Sponsor."
Following the show, September 14th to 16th is a free and open-to-the-public and first-of- its-kind Adaptive exhibit at Hudson Yards in New York City. This curated display will feature Adaptive and Universally Designed collections from mainstream brands committed to inclusion in the fashion and beauty industries and the history of Runway of Dreams as a trailblazer in the Adaptive space. The event is an opportunity for the public to learn about available Adaptive and Universally Designed products, and to emphasize the need for true inclusion in our mainstream world.
Sponsorship and Corporate Seating Packages Available. Please contact corporaterelations@runwayofdreams.org for more details. Public ticket sales and information about the public exhibit will be announced at runwayofdreams.org and on the Runway of Dreams' social channels.
ABOUT RUNWAY OF DREAMS:
Runway of Dreams is a non-profit (501c3) organization leading the movement of disability inclusion in the fashion and beauty industries. ROD raises awareness and inspires change through programming that celebrates people's differences, challenges stereotypes, and highlights the need for Adaptive & Universally designed apparel.
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SOURCE Runway of Dreams Foundation | https://www.ktre.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/runway-dreams-foundation-returns-new-york-fashion-week-with-runway-show-public-exhibit-recognizing-adaptive-amp-universally-designed-apparel-footwear-products/ | 2023-07-31T13:46:31 | 0 | https://www.ktre.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/runway-dreams-foundation-returns-new-york-fashion-week-with-runway-show-public-exhibit-recognizing-adaptive-amp-universally-designed-apparel-footwear-products/ |
(NEXSTAR) – When it comes to retirement, where you live can greatly affect just how golden your post-career years actually are.
A new study from Bankrate ranks all 50 U.S. states when it comes to affordability, overall well-being, healthcare quality/cost, weather and crime. With soaring inflation and a volatile stock market, affordability was given the most statistical weight, with the others decreasing respectively.
Iowa is the best state in which to retire, the study found, thanks to its affordability (3), quality/cost of health care (11) and crime (12).
“Choosing where to retire is deeply personal, but Iowa’s affordable cost of living, inexpensive but high-quality health care and low crime make it a compelling option for retirees looking to stretch their retirement income in this economy,” said Bankrate analyst Alex Gailey. “In our overall ranking, the best and worst states for retirees are split geographically. The Midwest and the South claim the top five states, while the Northeast and West claim the bottom five states, primarily because of the differences in cost of living.”
For some residents nearing retirement in Alaska – ranked 50 out of 50 – New York (49), California (48), Washington (47) and Massachusetts (46), a move toward the middle of the country could pay off, Bankrate’s findings suggest.
While all five of the least favorable states scored poorly when it came to affordability, Alaska also ranked last for weather and 49th for crime.
“For many Americans, a comfortable retirement may feel out of reach,” Gailey said. “After battling elevated inflation over the last two years, relocating to find cheaper housing or a lower cost of living may be a good alternative for retirees who have tighter budgets but want to retire comfortably. If you’re considering a late life move to lower your cost of living in retirement, our rankings provide some food for thought.”
The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) reports that an increasing number of retirees left their home state to find cheaper housing in 2022.
The annual study from Hire A Helper, an online moving-services marketplace, found that 12% of American retirees moved for that reason in 2022, the highest percentage since 2014.
“That kind of cost consciousness is something we haven’t seen at this level since 2014,” Miranda Marquit, chief data analyst at Hire A Helper, told AARP, citing Census data. | https://www.myarklamiss.com/news/national-news/these-are-the-5-worst-states-to-retire-in-study-finds/ | 2023-07-31T13:46:34 | 0 | https://www.myarklamiss.com/news/national-news/these-are-the-5-worst-states-to-retire-in-study-finds/ |
Wisconsin opens preseason football camp Wednesday. Here are five things to watch.
MADISON – After the Wisconsin football team holds its annual media day Tuesday, the Badgers will open their first preseason camp under head coach Luke Fickell on Wednesday. The team is set to hold the first week of workouts at UW-Platteville and then return to the UW campus for the remainder of camp.
Here are five areas to monitor during camp.
Who will man the No. 1 offensive line?
Cincinnati transfer Jake Renfro, projected to start at center, missed almost all of spring ball because of a stress fracture in his left foot. That forced assistant coach Jack Bicknell Jr. to look at several combinations. Renfro should start at center, and Jack Nelson and Riley Mahlman appear set at left tackle and right tackle, respectively. Tanor Bortolini, who worked at center in the spring with Renfro out, should be at one of the guard spots. Will the other guard be Michael Furtney or Cincinnati transfer Joe Huber?
Filling not one, but two, voids on defense
Outside linebacker Nick Herbig and nose tackle Keeanu Benton combined for 15½ sacks and 25½ tackles for loss last season. Both are in NFL camps this summer. Do the Badgers have dominant players at each of those positions who can combine to put up similar numbers? That doesn’t appear to be the case. More than likely, the work will have to be done by committee. Camp should provide the opportunity for the staff to identify the potential candidates.
Several freshmen could fill key reserve roles
Freshmen cornerbacks Jonas Duclona and Jace Howard were among the players who enrolled early and participated in spring ball. Both players worked into the two-deep and could be counted on this season.
Could cornerback Amare Snowden or defensive tackle Jamel Howard join them? Snowden, 6-foot-3 and 195 pounds, is a terrific all-around athlete who also excels at baseball. How much work he gets in camp will be interesting to see. UW doesn’t have a plethora of big bodies who can play tackle on the defensive line and Jamel Howard is 6-2 and 320. Can he pick up the defense quickly enough to help out?
Questions abound in the tight end room
Clay Cundiff arguably is UW’s best all-around tight end when healthy. Unfortunately for Cundiff, he was limited to a combined nine games in the last two seasons because of injuries. If Cundiff can recover from the leg injury he suffered at Ohio State last season, he should give UW a quality receiver who can also block. The remaining members of the unit are a bit more one-dimensional and the staff will have to find roles in which those players can flourish.
Will punter Atticus Bertrams ease the coaches' concerns?
Fickell noted at the end of spring ball he was concerned about the work of Jack Van Dyke and Gavin Meyers. Both players hit the ball well at times but also battled mis-hits. That inconsistency led to UW signing Atticus Bertrams, a native of Australia, in late May. Bertrams committed to USC in 2022 but did not play for the Trojans because of back issues. Bertrams is expected to be the No. 1 punter. | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/college/uw/2023/07/31/five-things-to-watch-when-wisconsin-opens-preseason-camp-wednesday/70422219007/ | 2023-07-31T13:46:36 | 0 | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/college/uw/2023/07/31/five-things-to-watch-when-wisconsin-opens-preseason-camp-wednesday/70422219007/ |
IRVINE, Calif., July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Pacific Companies, a leading healthcare staffing and recruiting firm specializing in locum tenens and permanent hire opportunities for physicians and advanced practice providers, is pleased to announce its inclusion in the 2023 Largest Locum Tenens Staffing Firms in the US list compiled by Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA). This ranking coincides with Pacific Companies' recent expansion into new office facilities in Irvine, CA, and Dallas, TX, to accommodate its expanding team and growth.
As the global research and advisory firm focused on staffing and workforce solutions, SIA releases an annual list ranking healthcare staffing firms by estimated revenue in the latest full calendar year. Pacific Companies' inclusion on the locum tenens segment of the list demonstrates its leadership in the locum tenens industry and its dedication to delivering superior healthcare staffing solutions to hospitals, clinics, and healthcare facilities nationwide.
"We are delighted to rank as one of the largest locum tenens staffing firms in the US," said Gary Cook, CEO of Pacific Companies. "This achievement is a testament to our team's hard work, dedication, and commitment to providing exceptional locum tenens services to our clients. We remain focused on our mission to connect healthcare systems with the highly skilled and qualified physicians they need to deliver quality patient care."
"Locum tenens continues to be an area of tremendous growth for our organization as more healthcare systems find locums as an efficient way to fill in any staffing gaps quickly," said John Paulk, COO of Pacific Companies. "Our commitment to providing top-notch locum tenens services has allowed us to forge strong partnerships with healthcare facilities nationwide. As we move forward, Pacific Companies remains dedicated to expanding our network of highly skilled locum tenens professionals and delivering comprehensive staffing solutions that address the evolving needs of the healthcare industry."
Pacific Companies has been at the forefront of the locum tenens staffing industry, leveraging its extensive network of expert recruiters to match highly qualified physicians with healthcare facilities in need. With a deep understanding of the healthcare landscape, Pacific Companies has consistently demonstrated its ability to meet the evolving staffing demands of the industry and maintain strong relationships with clients and providers.
As Pacific Companies celebrates this prestigious accolade, the company remains dedicated to delivering innovative staffing solutions, fostering long-term partnerships, and upholding the highest standards of quality and integrity in the locum tenens industry.
For more information about Pacific Companies and its services, please visit www.pacificcompanies.com.
About Pacific Companies:
Pacific Companies is a leading healthcare staffing and recruiting firm specializing in locum tenens and permanent placement. With over 20 years of experience, Pacific Companies offers comprehensive staffing solutions to healthcare facilities across the United States. The company's team of industry experts is committed to providing exceptional service and matching highly skilled healthcare professionals with healthcare facilities in need.
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SOURCE Pacific Companies | https://www.wymt.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/pacific-companies-ranked-sias-2023-largest-locum-tenens-staffing-firms-list/ | 2023-07-31T13:46:35 | 0 | https://www.wymt.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/pacific-companies-ranked-sias-2023-largest-locum-tenens-staffing-firms-list/ |
Kensho Technologies and S&P Global Market Intelligence Recognized for Industry-Leading platforms S&P Global Marketplace and Capital IQ Pro
NEW YORK, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI) announced today Kensho Technologies and the S&P Global Market Intelligence division were named 2023's Best Artificial Intelligence (AI) Technology Provider by Waters Rankings. Voted on by thousands of end users, the Waters Rankings are the only awards program where WatersTechnology's readers determine category winners.
"The rapid acceleration of technology innovation at S&P Global has been powered in large part by the acquisition of Kensho Technologies in 2018," said Ewout Steenbergen, Chief Financial Officer of S&P Global and President of Kensho Technologies. "This early decision and further investments in Artificial Intelligence have improved process efficiencies and enabled us to deliver valuable customer offerings such as S&P Global Marketplace and enhanced AI capabilities to S&P Capital IQ Pro, among many examples. It is an honor to be recognized by WatersTechnology as we strive to uphold S&P Global as an innovative and trusted brand that powers global markets."
The annual Waters Rankings celebrate and recognize the initiatives, innovation and achievements of the industry's leading technology and data providers over the past 12 months. The Waters Rankings are a true reflection of the industry's best-in-class vendors and service providers across 34 categories.
Kensho's suite of AI solutions transform messy, unstructured data, including audio and text, into high-value structured data that powers downstream business and financial decision making. These offerings are made available through S&P Capital IQ Pro and S&P Global Marketplace, both operated by S&P Global Market Intelligence. Unlike traditional AI capabilities, Kensho's AI solutions are trained on top of S&P Global's vast amounts of domain-specific proprietary data and designed with client-to-S&P Global data linkage in mind. Proprietary data training enables Kensho's AI model to outperform generic AI models in business-specific use cases, while data linkage enables deeper, richer and more integrated decision-making insights.
About Kensho Technologies Inc.
Kensho is an artificial intelligence company that builds solutions to unlock insights hidden in messy and unstructured data. Kensho's products are powered by state-of-the-art machine learning techniques that allow customers to unlock insights faster using AI, including voice-to-text transcription, data extraction, data enrichment, and natural language processing, which gives computers the ability to comprehend and analyze human language. The company was acquired by S&P Global in 2018 and continues to operate independently, retaining its distinct brand and culture. For more information, visit www.kensho.com.
About S&P Global
S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI) provides essential intelligence. We enable governments, businesses and individuals with the right data, expertise and connected technology so that they can make decisions with conviction. From helping our customers assess new investments to guiding them through ESG and energy transition across supply chains, we unlock new opportunities, solve challenges and accelerate progress for the world. We are widely sought after by many of the world's leading organizations to provide credit ratings, benchmarks, analytics and workflow solutions in the global capital, commodity and automotive markets. With every one of our offerings, we help the world's leading organizations plan for tomorrow, today.
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Josh Goldstein
S&P Global
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Amanda Oey
S&P Global Market Intelligence
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Suzanne Block on Behalf of Kensho
block@shapeandscale.co
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SOURCE S&P Global | https://www.ktre.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/sampp-global-named-best-artificial-intelligence-technology-provider-by-waterstechnology/ | 2023-07-31T13:46:39 | 1 | https://www.ktre.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/sampp-global-named-best-artificial-intelligence-technology-provider-by-waterstechnology/ |
DENVER (AP) — As Denver neared triple-digit temperatures, Ben Gallegos sat shirtless on his porch swatting flies off his legs and spritzing himself with a misting fan to try to get through the heat. Gallegos, like many in the nation’s poorest neighborhoods, doesn’t have air conditioning.
The 68-year-old covers his windows with mattress foam to insulate against the heat and sleeps in the concrete basement. He knows high temperatures can cause heat stroke and death, and his lung condition makes him more susceptible. But the retired brick layer, who survives on about $1,000 a month largely from Social Security, says air conditioning is out of reach.
“Take me about 12 years to save up for something like that,” he said. “If it’s hard to breathe, I’ll get down to emergency.”
As climate change fans hotter and longer heat waves, breaking record temperatures across the U.S. and leaving dozens dead, the poorest Americans suffer the hottest days with the fewest defenses. Air conditioning, once a luxury, is now a matter of survival.
As Phoenix weathered its 27th consecutive day above 110 degrees (43 Celsius) Wednesday, the nine who died indoors didn’t have functioning air conditioning, or it was turned off. Last year, all 86 heat-related deaths indoors were in uncooled environments.
“To explain it fairly simply: Heat kills,” said Kristie Ebi, a University of Washington professor who researches heat and health. “Once the heat wave starts, mortality starts in about 24 hours.”
It’s the poorest and people of color, from Kansas City to Detroit to New York City and beyond, who are far more likely to face grueling heat without air conditioning, according to a Boston University analysis of 115 U.S. metros.
“The temperature differences … between lower-income neighborhoods, neighborhoods of color and their wealthier, whiter counterparts have pretty severe consequences,” said Cate Mingoya-LaFortune of Groundwork USA, an environmental justice organization. “There are these really big consequences like death. … But there’s also ambient misery.”
Some have window units that can offer respite, but “in the dead of heat, it don’t do nothing,” said Melody Clark, who stopped Friday to get food at a nonprofit in Kansas City, Kansas, as temperatures soared to 101, and high humidity made it feel like 109. When the central air conditioning at her rental house went on the fritz, her landlord installed a window unit. But it doesn’t do much during the day.
So the 45-year-old wets her hair, cooks outside on a propane grill and keeps the lights off indoors. She’s taken the bus to the library to cool off. At night she flips the box unit on, hauling her bed into the room where it’s located to sleep.
As far as her two teenagers, she said: “They aren’t little bitty. We aren’t dying in the heat. … They don’t complain.”
While billions in federal funding have been allocated to subsidize utility costs and the installation of cooling systems, experts say they often only support a fraction of the most vulnerable families and some still require prohibitive upfront costs. Installing a centralized heat pump system for heating and cooling can easily reach $25,000.
President Joe Biden announced steps on Thursday to defend against extreme heat, highlighting the expansion of the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which funnels money through states to help poorer households pay utility bills.
While the program is critical, said Michelle Graff, who studies the subsidy at Cleveland State University, only about 16% of the nation’s eligible population is actually reached. Nearly half of states don’t offer the federal dollars for summer cooling.
“So people are engaging in coping mechanisms, like they’re turning on their air conditioners later and leaving their homes hotter,” Graff said.
While frigid temperatures and high heating bills birthed the term “heat or eat,” she said, “we can now transition to AC or eat, where people are going to have to make difficult decisions.”
As temperatures rise, so does the cost of cooling. And temperatures are already hotter in America’s low-income neighborhoods like Gallegos’ Denver suburb of Globeville, where people live along stretches of asphalt and concrete that hold heat like a cast-iron skillet. Surface temperatures there can be roughly 8 degrees hotter than in Denver’s wealthier neighborhoods, where a sea of vegetation cools the area, according to the environmental advocacy group American Forests.
This disparity plays out nationwide. Researchers at the University of San Diego analyzed 1,056 counties and in over 70%, the poorest areas and those with higher Black, Hispanic and Asian populations were significantly hotter.
About one in 10 U.S. households have no air conditioning, a disparity compounded for marginalized groups, according to a study by the Brookings Institution. Less than 4% of Detroit’s white households don’t have air conditioning; it’s 15% for Black households.
At noon on Friday, Katrice Sullivan sat on the porch of her rented house on Detroit’s westside. It was hot and muggy, but even steamier inside the house. Even if she had air conditioning, Sullivan said she’d choose her moments to run it to keep her electricity bill down.
The 37-year-old factory worker pours water on her head, freezes towels to put around her neck, and sits in her car with the air conditioner on. “Some people here spend every dollar for food, so air conditioning is something they can’t afford,” she said.
Shannon Lewis, 38, lived in her Detroit home for nearly 20 years without air conditioning. Lewis’s bedroom was the only place with a window unit, so she’d squeeze her teenager, 8-year-old and 3-year-old-twins into her queen-size bed to sleep, eat meals and watch television.
“So it was like cool in one room and a heat stroke in another,” Lewis said. For the first time, Lewis now has air conditioning through a local non-profit, she said. “We don’t have to sleep or eat in the same room, we are able to come out, sit at the dining room table, eat like a family.”
After at least 54 died during a 2021 heat wave, mostly elderly people without air conditioning, in the Portland area, Oregon passed a law prohibiting landlords from placing blanket bans on air conditioning units. By and large, however, states don’t have laws requiring landlords to provide cooling.
In the federal Inflation Reduction Act, billions were set aside for tax credits and rebates to help families install energy-efficient cooling systems, but some of those are yet to be available. For people like Gallegos, who doesn’t pay taxes, the available credits are worthless.
The law also offers rebates, the kind of state and federal point-of-sale discounts that Amanda Morian has looked into for her 640-square-foot home.
Morian, who has a 13-week-old baby susceptible to hot weather, is desperate to keep her house in Denver’s Globeville suburb cool. She bought thermal curtains, ceiling fans and runs a window unit. At night she tries to do skin-to-skin touch to regulate the baby’s body temperature. When the back door opens in the afternoon, she said, the indoor temperature jumps a degree.
“All of those are just to take the edge off, it’s not enough to actually make it cool. It’s enough to keep us from dying,” she said.
She got estimates from four different companies for installing a cooling system, but every project was between $20,000 and $25,000, she said. Even with subsidies she can’t afford it.
“I’m finding that you have to afford the project in the first place and then it’s like having a bonus coupon to take $5,000 off of the sticker price,” she said.
Lucy Molina, a single mom in Commerce City, one of Denver’s poorest areas, said her home has reached 107 degrees without air conditioning. Nearby, Molina’s two teenage children slurped popsicles to cool off, lingering in front of the open freezer.
For Molina, who bustled around her kitchen on a recent day when temperatures reached 99 degrees outdoors, it’s hard to see any path to a cooling respite.
“We’re just too poor,” she said. | https://www.myarklamiss.com/news/national-news/were-just-too-poor-record-heat-waves-reveal-plight-of-americans-without-air-conditioning/ | 2023-07-31T13:46:40 | 1 | https://www.myarklamiss.com/news/national-news/were-just-too-poor-record-heat-waves-reveal-plight-of-americans-without-air-conditioning/ |
HONG KONG (AP) — Fans of singer and songwriter Coco Lee, who was known for her powerful voice and live performances, were gathering with flowers to pay their respects to their idol at her funeral in Hong Kong on Monday.
The memorial services was attended by her family and friends, including singers Elva Hsiao and Jenny Tseng, as well as other supporters. Lee died July 5 at age 48.
She was born in Hong Kong and attended school in San Francisco before releasing her first album in 1994 at age 19. She began her career as a Mandopop singer but branched out to release albums in Cantonese and English.
She was the first Chinese singer to break into the American market, and her English song “Do You Want My Love” climbed to #4 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Breakouts chart in December 1999. In 2001, she sang “A Love Before Time” from Ang Lee’s movie “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” at the Academy Awards, becoming the first Chinese American to perform at the Oscars.
Lee was also the voice of heroine Fa Mulan in the Mandarin version of Disney’s “Mulan,” and sang the Mandarin version of the movie’s theme song “Reflection.”
Lee was married to Bruce Rockowitz, former CEO of Hong Kong supply chain company Li & Fung. She had two stepdaughters.
Her death had shocked fans. Her siblings posted on Facebook that she had depression for years and had attempted suicide at home on July 2. She died a few days later.
On Monday afternoon, more than 100 fans dressed in black were waiting outside the funeral home.
Lin Jing, a fan from Fujian province in the southeast, said she admired Lee’s smile and appearance, adding: “She was really talented. She always tried to improve and she inspired women to feel independent.”
Inside the funeral hall, three pink hearts made of flowers and other floral decorations were displayed below Lee’s photo.
Her close friend, Hsiao, said during the ceremony that Lee was perfect idol to her even when she watched her performances as a student. After they became friends in the entertainment industry, Lee encouraged her when she was lost and treated her as “a little sister.”
“She brightened my life with her happiness and bravery. I will keep preserving her spirit,” she said in a quavering voice.
In a video for her memorial service, actors and singers from Hong Kong, mainland China and Taiwan recalled their memories with Lee and mourned her death.
Action star Jackie Chan said in the video that everyone was proud of her when she sang at the Oscars.
“To friends like us, Coco was a passionate and kind friend who showed care to us. She was really a good person. That’s why we are so reluctant to accept she has left us,” he said.
Award-winning director Ang Lee recalled his exchanges with the late singer before the Oscars and said it was a pity she died so young. “We miss her very much. Coco, rest in peace,” he said in the video.
In Coco Lee’s recent social media posts, she kept spreading positivity. In March, she posted about having to relearn how to walk after undergoing surgery for an old leg injury.
“Successful surgery. Even though I’m in a lot of pain and I have to re-learn how to walk again, I know I can do it,” she wrote in a Facebook post. “Yes I can and I will!”
___
Associated Press video journalist Alice Fung and news assistant Annie Cheung contributed to this report. | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/entertainment-news/ap-fans-pay-tribute-to-coco-lee-hong-kong-singer-who-had-international-success/ | 2023-07-31T13:46:40 | 1 | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/entertainment-news/ap-fans-pay-tribute-to-coco-lee-hong-kong-singer-who-had-international-success/ |
NICOSIA, Cyprus — Greece’s prime minister said Monday that his government wants to take full advantage of a developing positive political climate with neighboring Turkey in order to improve bilateral relations despite a string of decades-old disputes.
Turkey and Greece remain at odds over maritime boundaries in the eastern Mediterranean, a dispute that affects irregular migration into the European Union, mineral rights and the projection of military power.
Mitsotakis said that he agreed with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, on July 11-12 to initiate new “lines of communication” and to maintain “a period of calm.”
High-level talks between the the two countries are expected to take place in the Greek city of Thessaloniki later this year.
However, the Greek prime minister said that Erdogan’s outreach to the EU can’t come at the expense of efforts to heal Cyprus’ nearly half-century ethnic division.
Speaking after talks with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, Mitsotakis said that he told Erdogan that improved European-Turkish ties can’t exclude a Cyprus peace accord and that the issue can’t be “left by the wayside.”
Turkey and the breakaway Turkish Cypriots have insisted on a two-state solution since July 2017 when the most recent round of U.N.-facilitated peace talks collapsed.
That position overturned a long-standing agreement sanctioned by the U.N. Security Council in numerous resolutions that any peace deal would aim for a reunified Cyprus as a federation made up of Greek and Turkish speaking zones.
Cyprus was split in 1974 when Turkey invaded following a coup by supporters of union with Greece. Only Turkey recognizes a Turkish Cypriot declaration of independence in the island’s northern third, where more than 35,000 Turkish troops are stationed.
On Friday, Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar repeated that peace talks could resume only if Greek Cypriots recognize the Turkish Cypriots’ “sovereign equality.”
Christodoulides said Monday that any improvement in European-Turkish relations should be based on reciprocal action by Turkey, adding that the EU prioritizes a Cyprus peace deal in line with U.N. resolutions. | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/07/31/cyprus-greece-turkey-dispute-peace-talks/ec21361a-2f9b-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html | 2023-07-31T13:46:40 | 0 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/07/31/cyprus-greece-turkey-dispute-peace-talks/ec21361a-2f9b-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html |
LOS ANGELES (AP) — This year Whitney Houston would have turned 60, and a special celebration to raise money for a good cause is being planned for her birthday.
Houston’s estate, Sony and Primary Wave Music will host the 2nd annual Whitney Houston Legacy of Love on Aug. 9, which will benefit the late singer’s foundation aimed at helping young people.
Houston’s close friends BeBe Winans and Kim Burrell will perform at the gala at Atlanta’s St. Regis Hotel, as will Whitney’s brother, Gary, who toured with her for three decades.
“When I turned 50, Whitney gave me two celebrations — one in Ireland and one in London. I always tell everyone now that one of them was for her,” says Pat Houston, Whitney Houston’s sister-in-law and the executor of her estate. Houston died in February 2012 at age 48. “This year is Whitney at 60 — we’re all looking forward to being a part of the power of love in that room.”
Founded by the singer in 1989, the Whitney Houston Foundation for Children aims to empower youth, by providing resources to unhoused children, giving out college scholarships, and raising funds for charities like the Children’s Defense Fund and St. Jude Children’s Research.
A charity auction will raise money for the foundation.
“We’re going to auction off a beautiful lavender dress Dolly Parton wore when she sang ‘I Will Always Love You’ at Country Music Television’s ‘100 Greatest Love Songs of Country Music’ special in 2004,” says Pat Houston. “This dress is particularly special because it’s lavender, and lavender is Whitney’s favorite color.”
The song, originally written by Parton, was recorded by Houston and became one of her great, everlasting hits. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified it diamond early last year, which means the track has sold and streamed 10 million equivalent units in the United States. It became her first diamond single, and made Houston the third woman to ever achieve diamond-status with both a single and an album, following Mariah Carey and Taylor Swift.
Clive Davis will serve as honorary chairman. Recording Academy President Harvey Mason jr. is scheduled to attend. Also expected are Gamma’s Larry Jackson and Whitney Houston’s musical director Rickey Minor.
“I always tell people, Whitney is the star,” Pat Houston said. “Everybody in that room is royalty, but she’s loyalty — and she’s still showing that.” | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/entertainment-news/ap-whitney-houstons-estate-announces-second-annual-legacy-of-love-gala-with-bebe-winans-kim-burrell/ | 2023-07-31T13:46:41 | 0 | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/entertainment-news/ap-whitney-houstons-estate-announces-second-annual-legacy-of-love-gala-with-bebe-winans-kim-burrell/ |
Two of the biggest stories in medicine this year — the arrival of the first disease-modifying treatments in Alzheimer’s and the stunning transformations made possible by new weight-loss drugs — have something in common: Eli Lilly & Co.
To understand Lilly’s R&D transformation and how it can build on those successes, I spoke with Daniel Skovronsky, the company’s chief scientific and medical officer and president of Lilly Research Laboratories. Skavronsky came to the Indianpolis-based company through its 2010 acquisition of Avid Radiopharmaceuticals, which he’d founded to develop a PET scan that could detect amyloid plaques in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease. Now, he needs to steer the company through something almost as difficult as failure: success.
LJ: Lilly is in the midst of an amazingly successful run. But those of us who follow the industry remember when the company’s research organization was really struggling to make up for big patent losses — in fact, that wasn’t even a decade ago. Things were so bad that the CEO at the time didn’t take any pay, and tied people’s bonuses to R&D output. You joined the company during that rocky period. What turned things around?
DS: We were in almost a vicious cycle of poor productivity. We kind of had to reinvent ourselves. I remember this moment, where the [former] CEO John C. Lechleiter said, “Here are some of the problems: The choices of what to work on haven’t been great; And then when we do work on them, we’re slower than others; And then when we do finish, they don’t work. Those are things we need to fix.” Which is like almost everything there is in R&D.
Part of our thinking was how do we go fast but still generate adequate data to support reasonable success rates. Phase 3 failure rates were at one point well in excess of 50%, I think we were like 60 or 70% — it should be 60 or 70% are successful.
Changing our mentality to say that the unifying principle here is speed has made a big difference. We tried to move from a commercial pull model — what should we work on based on where the commercial presence is strongest — to a science push model, or what should we work on because the science is breaking and it looks great. So that’s a really important shift. And then a higher level of rigor in decision making processes. It’s always tempting to say, if this works, it’ll be really, really big commercial opportunity. Let’s do it, even if it’s only a 5% chance of success. Of course, when we say that it’s a 5% chance of success, we probably shouldn’t fool ourselves — really, it’s probably close to zero. We just can’t be in a lottery business. We’ve got to pursue sound science.
What did that look like in practice for your core businesses?
We were committed to Alzheimer’s disease. But we literally came up with a strategy, which I named Alzheimer’s 2.0, because I felt like we needed a reboot or refresh on how we proceed Alzheimer’s. Part of that strategy was that it was imperative to find a way to do Phase two clinical trials in Alzheimer’s disease that could give us results that could then be reproduced in Phase 3.
It was a biomarker intensive approach. And it is still the only example of replication in Alzheimer’s — where someone had something positive in phase two, and then they had it in Phase 3, which is a crazy thing to say, after decades of companies working on disease modifying drugs in Alzheimer’s disease.
In diabetes, it was about moving beyond glucose control. It sounds obvious now, but at the time, glucose control was the key metric that that medicines got approved by and competed with each other [on]. We said, what are we really good at? We’re really good at insulin and we’re really good at incretins, let’s work on the science there and see can we make radically better incretins [drugs like Mounjaro that mimic naturally-occuring hormones] or radically better insulin, so it could have very different benefits for patients. And so I just remember difficult meetings where we decided to-its hard to believe — but when we looked at the four therapeutic areas then, we were most concerned about our future in diabetes.
And so we rebooted our diabetes strategy and said those were our two main pillars. We’ve made great progress on incretins. Progress with insulins has been slower. Maybe we’ll get there with insulins. We now have a weekly insulin in phase 3 and a glucose-sensing insulin that I hope will be in patients soon and I hope will be a big improvement.
I’ve been trying to think of another time in my career covering the pharma industry, other than during Covid, where there’s been as much interest in a type of medicine as surround the GLP drugs. Was there a moment in the development of Mounjaro when you had an inkling you’d be swept into this kind of cultural zeitgeist?
I wish I could say yes, that I knew from the beginning. That’s not how it worked.
We knew that obesity was this huge problem on the scale of a pandemic in the developed world, largely driven by genetic factors, which are then combined with an environment of sort of rich, readily available calories and obesogenic foods. And people with obesity have a much higher risk of heart disease of developing type Two Diabetes of cancer or dying from Covid, of rheumatoid arthritis and obstructive sleep apnea — like you name it and obesity is quite likely an important risk factor. So we wanted to work on that disease and you might think the commercial people should be super excited because it’s a huge market. It’s the opposite. They’re like, diabetes is the market. Drugs for obesity have never been successful — let’s not spend time there. It was really a science and medicine driven approach, not “this is going to become a viral internet sensation.” Probably the first time we saw it was when everyone else did, which was when Novo launched their drug and we launched ours [for diabetes].
Lilly recently offered data suggesting a newer obesity drug called retatrutide (also known as “Triple G”) could help some people lose as much as 30% of their body weight. As the bar for weight loss gets higher with each new drug, it’s hard not to wonder about the end game. As Lilly and many others continue to develop newer types of weight loss drugs — is there a point after which there’s no more need for improvement?
I showed a slide at a company meeting that showed the number of people in our tirzepatide obesity study who no longer had obesity, their BMI was below 30, at the end of the study. But then I showed the other half — they took this great drug and it’s transformational efficacy, and they still have the condition we’re trying to treat. And so we do need something stronger. Triple G could be that. But you can’t keep doing this forever, right? We’ll probably get the vast majority to their goal weights with a drug like Triple G. So how much effort should we make to make something that’s stronger again?
If tirzepatide can offer 50%, and maybe Triple G will get us to three-quarters, does that mean that 10 years from now, if I look around the country or the world, there’ll be a half as many people with obesity or a quarter as many people with obesity? I don’t think so. It’s not just about stronger medicines, there are other things that are needed.
One of the things that’s needed is to generate more conversation and more evidence about the benefits of weight loss on different conditions. We’re doing studies — a heart failure study, a sleep apnea study, and things like that — to show how obesity affects those diseases. Because when a doctor sees this as a disease and not just a societal problem, or cosmetic problem or willpower problem, then that’ll level stimulate more conversations with patients and more appropriate usage of these drugs once they’re approved.
Medicines need to fit into people’s lives, that generally means they have to be easily and widely available, and easily used. And so is the next horizon making something even stronger? Or could we make something that’s an oral pill…that could be more easily manufactured and more widely available and more easily used by patients? We start to think about medicines that could maybe reset your body weight and could have very long lasting effects-maybe once a year or something like that. That’s dreamland stuff right now. But when we think about the pandemic of obesity, it’s probably more ideas like that than just pursuing more weight loss.
It’s taken decades to get to these first disease-modifying drugs in Alzheimer’s. What’s been learned along the way that could make this all go faster the next time?
Some of the things we learned we can apply to other diseases. I have my own biases, but to me the pivotal breakthrough in Alzheimer’s disease over the last few decades has been the ability to have biomarkers, initially imaging and now blood based biomarkers, that can tell us the progression and pathology of the disease. That gives us something to aim at — we can know if our drug is working, we can know which patients to treat. Without them, Alzheimer’s was so heterogeneous — and many of the patients clinically diagnosed with Alzheimer’s don’t even have the disease. And then some are going to progress quickly. And some are going to go slowly.
We don’t have that for a lot of other prevalent diseases. We don’t really have that for psychiatric diseases [or] diseases like lupus or rheumatoid arthritis. And so we struggle with issues around patient heterogeneity.
In Alzheimer’s, it took a decade or two to make those biomarkers, and it took people who were like, I want to work on this. And some of that was academia, some of it was companies, some of it was public private partnerships. Those are the kinds of things we probably need to stimulate in another chronic diseases. I think even obesity must be a heterogeneous disease. But we don’t really understand how to diagnose what are the different causes of obesity, genetic factors and other things in different patients, which could be another frontier of diabetes and obesity.
While donanemab and Eisai/Biogen’s Leqembi are a good start, they aren’t a cure. How is Lilly approaching building on these drugs to bring more meaningful change to the lives of people with Alzheimer’s and their families?
So why do we only have 30% slowing of the disease — why can’t we stop the disease 100%? And it’s an unreasonable thing that very few diseases we stop 100%. But we want to be unreasonable here and offer even bigger effects. How do we do that? There’s only two good ideas that I see. One is go earlier [in the disease]. And we’re doing that, for sure. So we’ll know that answer pretty soon.
The other is we probably need combination therapy in the symptomatic patients. That’s a big open question: How do we do combination therapy? In our view, just being simple and boring here, tau is the other big pathology of Alzheimer’s and so we want to block the spread of tau in patients. The easy paradigm to think about is to remove all their plaques and then give them an anti tau drug and see if that can slow the disease progression even further. Those are the kinds of things we’ll be doing.
Thinking about where Lilly was a decade or so ago versus today, I’m wondering how you manage expectations around keeping up this pace of successes.
It’s an overnight success ten years in the making. We have to stay really humble in this business because the science is hard.
When I took this job, I noticed that I’m the 10th head of R&D at Lilly in 100 years. So that means it’s an average of 10 years per person. And then I started ticking off really big new chapters Lilly has written in medicine, starting with insulin. We can hope that every 10 years or so maybe we get one, but our history isn’t that we’ve had one every 10 years. Maybe this decade we make it two. We’re definitely writing a new chapter in the treatment of obesity and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.
I think we set expectations that these things are rare. You have worked for a long time to get something like this. And so along the way, we need lots of other things that also work and are great medicines. We’re not that good at predicting which ones are going to be the ones that are in the front page of The New York Times or Bloomberg or wherever. So it’s better to work on great drugs based on great science, and some of them will write new chapters in medical history and others will be important drugs that help a lot of people, and that’s good, too.
More From Lisa Jarvis at Bloomberg Opinion:
• The Fight Against Alzheimer’s Is Entering a Critical Phase
• Tornado at Pfizer Plant Exposes Fragility of Drug Supply Chain
• If You Never Got Sick From Covid, Thank Your Genes
This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.
Lisa Jarvis is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering biotech, health care and the pharmaceutical industry. Previously, she was executive editor of Chemical & Engineering News.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion
©2023 Bloomberg L.P. | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/07/31/drugs-for-obesity-and-alzheimer-s-propelled-eli-lilly-to-the-top/6334ceb4-2f9d-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html | 2023-07-31T13:46:41 | 0 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/07/31/drugs-for-obesity-and-alzheimer-s-propelled-eli-lilly-to-the-top/6334ceb4-2f9d-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html |
Where last year's Badgers football coaching staff (and some players) will be working in 2023
Near-wholesale changes came for the football coaching staff at the University of Wisconsin this season. The arrival of Luke Fickell has led into new hires across the board, but many of last year's assistants have landed in new places for the upcoming season.
That includes, of course, Jim Leonhard getting hired by Illinois and former UW head coach Bret Bielema.
Here's where the coaches are working in 2023, and also a reminder of where some familiar players will be suiting up:
Paul Chryst, head coach (Texas special assistant)
Chryst, who was stunningly relieved of his coaching duties Oct. 2 after a lopsided loss to Illinois the day before, will be special assistant to Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian.
Sarkisian has been head coach of the Longhorns program the past two seasons, leading Texas to a 13-12 record overall. The Longhorns will play in the Big 12 Conference for the final time this season before flipping to the SEC next year.
Jim Leonhard, defensive coordinator/interim head coach (Illinois senior football analyst)
The beloved ex-Badgers standout led the defense starting in 2017, twice lifting UW to one of the nation's top-three defenses. He took over as interim head coach for Chryst last year, seemingly on track to get the permanent gig before Fickell's hire. Leonhard will join a staff that already includes several players with ties to the UW program, including first-year defensive coordinator Aaron Henry.
Bobby Engram, offensive coordinator, wide receivers (Washington Commanders receivers)
Engram was in Wisconsin for one year only, coming off eight seasons as an assistant with the Baltimore Ravens.
Upon departure, he headed right back to the NFL, joining the Washington Commanders as wide receivers coach. He'll work on a staff under head coach Ron Rivera and offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, the latter of whom was hired this season.
Bobby April, outside linebackers, run game (Stanford defensive coordinator)
April, who'd been with Wisconsin since 2018 but had previous experience at multiple stops in the NFL and college, was hired just before Christmas 2022 by first-year coach Troy Taylor, who takes the reins after Stanford parted with David Shaw following 11 seasons. April will also handle linebackers in his new spot.
Mark D'Onofrio, inside linebackers (Stanford inside linebackers)
The former second-round draft pick of the Green Bay Packers (1992) joined the Badgers staff in 2022 after stops in places like Temple, Miami and Houston, where he'd been defensive coordinator, but he'd been out of college football since 2018 when Chryst came calling last June.
D'Onofrio was a late addition to the UW staff after Bill Sheridan resigned following a report that he had violated NCAA rules during a previous stop at Air Force. There won't be any time off this year, with D'Onofrio following April to Stanford.
Chris Haering, tight ends (unknown)
After eight seasons at Wisconsin, Haering doesn't have a new landing spot just yet. He coached special teams for seven seasons at UW before switching to the tight-ends job for the 2022 season.
Al Johnson, running backs (Montana State offensive line)
The former standout offensive lineman with the Badgers returned to the program as running backs coach in March of 2022; he replaced Gary Brown, who left the team with health problems and tragically died at age 52 after one season at UW. Former UW running back Julius Davis announced he was also transferring to Montana State.
Johnson was a three-year starter at UW and a second-round draft pick by the Cowboys in 2003. It sounds like a pretty great hire for Montana State third-year head coach Brent Vigen, though the Bobcats are no slouch; they've played in the FCS Semifinals each of the past three seasons and advanced to the national championship game in 2021.
Ross Kolodziej, defensive line (Stanford defensive line)
He's another guy that Bobby April is bringing west, hired the same day as D'Onofrio. The seven-year NFL veteran spent eight seasons with his alma mater at Wisconsin, largely as a strength and conditioning coach before moving to the defensive line in 2021.
Hank Poteat, cornerbacks (Iowa State cornerbacks)
The Cyclones hired Poteat in January after his two seasons at Wisconsin. The 10-year NFL veteran has a Super Bowl ring (2004 New England Patriots) and played for five NFL teams. His coaching career included a stop as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, where he worked under then-head coach Chryst.
Iowa State went 4-8 last year, snapping a five-year run of bowl games, including the 2020 Fiesta Bowl victory.
Alvis Whitted, wide receivers (Utah wide receivers)
Whitted was hired at UW in early March 2020 as Wisconsin receivers coach, right before the pandemic tossed everything into shambles. He'd been in the same position for the Green Bay Packers in 2019, just as Davante Adams was emerging into a superstar. He'll now join the Utes, who have gone 10-4 each of the past two years and appeared in the Rose Bowl both times.
Bob Bostad, offensive line (Indiana offensive line)
Bostad coached inside linebackers for UW from 2017 to 2021, then jumped to the offensive line in 2022. He'd previously been an OL coach at Wisconsin from 2008 to 2011 and held similar positions in the NFL with Tampa Bay and Tennessee. He'll have his hands full trying to reform Indiana's offensive line struggles; the school had two coaches in the spot last year.
More:A list of 2024 recruits for the Wisconsin Badgers football team; latest: Dilin Jones
More:Badgers football player tracker: Who's new, who's gone and who's still here?
Players (like Graham Mertz) in new places, too
Several players transferred from UW and have a spot in new programs. Included among them:
- Graham Mertz, quarterback (Florida). There's an active battle for the starting quarterback job in Gainesville between Mertz and Jack Miller, who played under center for Florida in the Las Vegas Bowl after future top-five NFL draft pick Anthony Richardson opted out.
- Logan Brown, offensive tackle (Kansas). The former five-star UW recruit was primarily focusing on right tackle in the spring for the program coached by former UW-Whitewater coach and Wisconsin native Lance Leipold.
- Semar Melvin, cornerback (Michigan State). Melvin has one year of eligibility left and figures into the picture for the Spartans secondary, though he won't get a chance to renew acquaintances with UW during the regular season in 2023.
- Isaac Guerendo, running back (Louisville). The senior transfer with blazing speed should see the field for a team that went 8-5 last year. Injuries short-circuited his tenure with the Badgers.
- Deacon Hill, quarterback (Iowa). He won't immediately be the starter, with Michigan transfer Cade McNamara in the fold as well, but it'll be interesting to watch Hill's progression with the Big Ten rival. | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/college/uw/2023/07/31/where-did-the-2022-wisconsin-badgers-football-coaches-end-up/70487378007/ | 2023-07-31T13:46:42 | 0 | https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/college/uw/2023/07/31/where-did-the-2022-wisconsin-badgers-football-coaches-end-up/70487378007/ |
PARAMUS, N.J. — PARAMUS, N.J. — Alexander’s Inc. (ALX) on Monday reported a key measure of profitability in its second quarter.
The company said it had net income of $64.1 million, or $12.51 per share.
The real estate investment trust posted revenue of $53.7 million in the period.
The company’s shares have dropped 14% since the beginning of the year. The stock has dropped 22% in the last 12 months.
_____
This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on ALX at https://www.zacks.com/ap/ALX | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/07/31/earns-alexander's/a6455730-2fa4-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html | 2023-07-31T13:46:43 | 0 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/07/31/earns-alexander's/a6455730-2fa4-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html |
Damola Adamolekun to Step Down as CEO; Rohit Manocha Appointed Interim CEO
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- P.F. Chang's China Bistro, Inc. (the "Company") today announced that Damola Adamolekun has decided to step down as Chief Executive Officer ("CEO") effective August 1st, 2023. The Board has appointed Rohit Manocha, a shareholder representative and P.F. Chang's board member since 2019, to serve as interim CEO and is working with an independent recruitment firm to conduct a comprehensive search for a successor. Mr. Adamolekun will return to Paulson & Co. Inc. ("Paulson") as a Partner focusing on investments.
"On behalf of the Board and the entire P.F. Chang's team, I want to thank Damola for his invaluable contributions since he joined the Company," said John Paulson, Board Chairman and President of Paulson. "Damola stepped in as CEO in the midst of the Covid-induced economic shut down and successfully pivoted the business to off-premise dining to continue to serve customers and stabilize cash flow. Subsequently, he returned the Company to growth through a total brand refresh and new restaurant openings that position P.F. Chang's for long-term success. We are grateful for his leadership of the Company during this period."
"I'm immensely proud of all that we've accomplished to elevate the customer experience, to build-out the Company's technology infrastructure to enable a robust takeout and delivery business, and to expand our international footprint," said Mr. Adamolekun. "It's been an honor to lead P.F. Chang's, and I wholeheartedly believe the strong team we have in place will continue to drive success in the future."
Mr. Manocha said, "The P.F. Chang's brand and restaurant network are in a great position, and I look forward to working closely with our talented team to build on our momentum, drive increased traffic and transition the Company to its next world class leader. Most importantly, we will continue to make our customers' lives better through iconic, authentic food and joyful hospitality."
Mr. Manocha is a seasoned leader with deep experience in the restaurant, retail and investment industries. He is the Co-founder of TriArtisan Capital Advisors, a private investment firm, and his responsibilities include serving as chairman of TGI Fridays and a board member of Dover Saddlery and of Mears Transportation.
In the four and half years since acquisition, the Company has invested more than $200mm to open more than ten bistros and two flagships, revitalized the existing store fleet, and upgraded the menu and experience in restaurants to provide customers with the highest quality Asian food in an entertaining and celebratory setting. The Company has significantly expanded its takeout and delivery business, launching a small-footprint P.F. Chang's To Go format so more customers can enjoy P.F. Chang's anywhere. The Company is now in an ideal position to continue to grow and take advantage of the substantial opportunity to bring the P.F. Chang's experience worldwide.
About P.F. Chang's
Founded in 1993 by Philip Chiang and Paul Fleming, P.F. Chang's is the first internationally recognized multi-unit Asian culinary brand to honor and celebrate the 2,000-year-old tradition of wok cooking as the center of the guest experience. With roots in Chinese cuisine, today's menu at P.F. Chang's spans across all of Asia, honoring cultures and recipes from Japan, Korea, Thailand, and beyond. Each item offers a unique exploration of flavor, whether it's a handcrafted cocktail, wok-fired lunch bowl, or celebratory multi-course dinner. Worldwide, P.F. Chang's has more than 300 restaurants in 22 countries and U.S. airport locations, including a growing number of convenient P.F. Chang's To Go locations offering takeout and delivery. For more P.F. Chang's news, visit pfchangs.com.
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SOURCE P.F. Chang’s | https://www.wymt.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/pf-changs-announces-ceo-transition/ | 2023-07-31T13:46:42 | 0 | https://www.wymt.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/pf-changs-announces-ceo-transition/ |
ST. ANTHONY, Idaho (AP) — Idaho mother Lori Vallow Daybell faces up to life in prison without parole Monday as she is sentenced in the murders of her two youngest children and a romantic rival in a case that included bizarre claims that her son and daughter were zombies and that she was a goddess sent to usher in the Biblical apocalypse.
Vallow Daybell was found guilty in May of killing her two youngest children, 7-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan, as well as conspiring to kill Tammy Daybell, her fifth husband’s previous wife.
The husband, Chad Daybell, is awaiting trial on the same murder charges. Vallow Daybell also faces two other cases in Arizona — one on a charge of conspiring with her brother to kill her fourth husband, Charles Vallow, and one of conspiring to kill her niece’s ex-husband. Charles Vallow was shot and killed in 2019, but her niece’s ex survived an attempt later that year.
Monday’s sentencing will take place at the Fremont County Courthouse in St. Anthony, Idaho. Judge Steven W. Boyce is expected to hear testimony from several representatives of the victims, including Vallow Daybell’s only surviving son, Colby Ryan.
The case began in July 2019, when Vallow Daybell’s brother, Alex Cox, shot and killed her estranged husband, Charles Vallow, in a suburban Phoenix home. Cox told police he acted in self-defense. He was never charged in the case and died later that year of what authorities determined were natural causes.
Vallow Daybell was already in a relationship with Chad Daybell, a self-published author who wrote doomsday-focused fiction loosely based on Mormon teachings. She moved to Idaho with her kids and brother to be closer to him.
The children were last seen alive in September 2019. Police discovered they were missing a month later after an extended family member became worried. Their bodies were found buried in Chad Daybell’s yard the following summer.
Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow married in November 2019, about two weeks after Daybell’s previous wife, Tammy, was killed. Tammy Daybell initially was described as having died of natural causes, but an autopsy later showed she had been asphyxiated, authorities said.
Defense attorney Jim Archibald argued during the trial that there was no evidence tying Vallow Daybell to the killings, but plenty showing she was a loving, protective mother whose life took a sharp turn when she met Chad Daybell and fell for his “weird” apocalyptic religious claims. He suggested that Daybell and Vallow Daybell’s brother, Alex Cox, were responsible for the deaths.
Daybell told her they had been married in several previous lives and she was a “sexual goddess” who was supposed to help him save the world by gathering 144,000 followers so Jesus could return, Archibald said.
Vallow Daybell’s former friend Melanie Gibb testified during the trial that Vallow Daybell believed people in her life had been taken over by evil spirits and turned into “zombies,” including JJ and Tylee. | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/ap-idaho-mom-lori-vallow-daybell-faces-sentencing-in-deaths-of-2-children-and-her-romantic-rival/ | 2023-07-31T13:46:43 | 1 | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/ap-idaho-mom-lori-vallow-daybell-faces-sentencing-in-deaths-of-2-children-and-her-romantic-rival/ |
NORTH LIBERTY, Iowa — NORTH LIBERTY, Iowa — Heartland Express Inc. (HTLD) on Monday reported profit of $7.8 million in its second quarter.
This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on HTLD at https://www.zacks.com/ap/HTLD | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/07/31/earns-heartland-express/25ea5168-2fa3-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html | 2023-07-31T13:46:44 | 1 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/07/31/earns-heartland-express/25ea5168-2fa3-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html |
BURLINGTON, Mass., July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- SEKISUI Diagnostics announces the launch of the OSOM COVID-19 Antigen Home Test to diagnose COVID-19 at home.
The OSOM COVID-19 Antigen Home Test is a lateral flow immunoassay device intended for the qualitative detection of nucleocapsid protein antigen from SARS-CoV-2 virus. As with other OSOM Rapid Tests, it is made in the USA and supported by a highly skilled technical support team of medical technologists/professionals.
"We are excited to be able to provide consumers with more tools to help diagnose COVID-19 in a fast, easy-to-use format that can be purchased over the counter. This supports our goal of bringing diagnostics to where they are needed most, which in this case is at home, so people do not have to travel to medical facilities and can treat or quarantine quickly", said Erica Blight, VP of Client Services, Clinical Research & Marketing.
SEKISUI Diagnostics is a well-known provider of many rapid testing solutions to the professional market through a portfolio of point-of-care tests under the OSOM and Acucy® brands. These simple, high performing tests have provided flexibility to healthcare professionals for decades and are now being brought to the home testing market.
"Our entrance into the home testing market is another way we are providing solutions to enhance life with science to improve the health of all people. We understand home testing is a valuable tool and becoming more accepted and necessary, especially when we are experiencing significant waves of respiratory infections as we have seen in previous seasons", said Bob Schruender, President & CEO.
About the OSOM® COVID-19 Antigen Home Test
This product has not been FDA cleared or approved but has been authorized by FDA under a conditional EUA. This product has been authorized only for the detection of proteins from SARS-CoV-2, not for any other viruses or pathogens; and the conditional emergency use of this product is only authorized for the duration of the declaration that circumstances exist justifying the authorization of emergency use of in vitro diagnostics for detection and/or diagnosis of COVID-19 under Section 564(b)(1) of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, 21 U.S.C. § 360bbb-3(b)(1), unless the declaration is terminated, or authorization is revoked sooner.
About SEKISUI Diagnostics:
With over 40 years of experience, SEKISUI Diagnostics' mission is to provide intelligent solutions to enhance life with science and improve the health of all people. We supply innovative medical diagnostics globally to physicians, hospitals, laboratories and alternate testing locations.
Our product lines include clinical chemistry reagents, point-of-care tests, pre-analytic systems as well as enzymes and specialty biochemicals.
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SOURCE SEKISUI DIAGNOSTICS, LLC | https://www.ktre.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/sekisui-diagnostics-announces-launch-osom-covid-19-antigen-home-test/ | 2023-07-31T13:46:45 | 1 | https://www.ktre.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/sekisui-diagnostics-announces-launch-osom-covid-19-antigen-home-test/ |
KHAR, Pakistan (AP) — Hundreds of mourners attended funerals in Pakistan on Monday after a suicide bombing killed at least 54 people at an election rally for a pro-Taliban cleric, carrying caskets draped in colorful cloths to burial sites in the hills.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for Sunday’s bombing in Bajur that killed at least five children and wounded nearly 200 people.
The attack appeared to reflect divisions between Islamist groups, which have a strong presence in the district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that borders Afghanistan. It targeted the Jamiat Ulema Islam party, which has ties to the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban.
At least 1,000 people, according to police, were crowded into a tent near a market for the rally ahead of fall elections.
“People were chanting God is Great as the leaders arrived,” said Khan Mohammad, a local resident who said he was standing outside the tent, “and that was when I heard the deafening sound of the bomb.”
Mohammad said he heard people crying for help, and minutes later ambulances arrived and began taking the wounded away.
Police said their initial investigation suggested that the Islamic State group’s regional affiliate, a rival of the Taliban, could be responsible, while a Pakistan security analyst pointed to breakaway factions of the Pakistani Taliban as possible suspects.
The Pakistani military spent years fighting the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, in Bajur before declaring the district clear of militants in 2016. But the Jamiat Ulema Islam party, headed by hard-line cleric and politician Fazlur Rehman, has remained a potent political force.
On Monday, police recorded statements from some of the wounded at a hospital in Khar, the district’s principal town.
The Islamic State in Khorasan Province, which police identified as a suspect in the attack, is based in neighboring Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province and is a rival of the Afghan Taliban and al-Qaida.
Pakistani security analyst Mahmood Shah said some TTP members have been known to disobey their top leadership to carry out attacks, as have breakaway factions of the group.
Shah said such factions could have perpetrated the attack to cause “confusion, instability and unrest ahead of the elections.”
On Monday, female relatives and children wailed and beat their chests at family homes as the dead were taken for funerals, following local customs. Hundreds of men followed the caskets to mosques and open areas for special funeral prayers and then into the hills for burial.
As condolences continued to pour in from across the country, dozens of people who had lesser injuries were discharged from hospital, while the critically wounded were taken to the provincial capital of Peshawar by army helicopters. The death toll continued to rise as some critically wounded people died in hospital, physician Gul Naseeb said.
Gul Akbar, the father of an 11-year-old boy who was wounded in the attack, told The Associated Press that his entire family was in a state of shock after hearing about the bombing Sunday. He said he first went to the scene of the attack, and later found his son Taslim Khan being treated in a hospital in Khar.
“What would I have done if he had also been martyred? Five children died in this barbaric attack, and we want to know what our children did wrong,” he said.
Rehman’s party is preparing to contest elections, which are expected in October or November. Abdul Rasheed, one of the party’s senior leaders, said the bombing was aimed at weakening the party but that “such attacks cannot deter our resolve.”
Rehman’s party is part of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s coalition government, which came to power in April 2022 by ousting former Prime Minister Imran Khan through a no-confidence vote in the legislature.
Sharif called Rehman to express his condolences and assure the cleric that those who orchestrated the attack would be punished. Khan condemned the bombing Sunday, as did the U.S. and Russian embassies in Islamabad.
The Pakistani Taliban also distanced themselves from the bombing, saying that it was intended to set Islamists against each other. Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesman for the Afghan Taliban, wrote in a tweet that “such crimes cannot be justified in any way.”
The bombing came hours before Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng arrived in Islamabad, where he signed new agreements to boost trade and economic ties to mark a decade of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a sprawling package under which China has invested $10 billion in Pakistan over 10 years, according to Sharif.
“We will not tolerate any obstacles in the way of friendship with China,” Sharif said, as he stood next to He.
But the government canceled a cultural event that had been arranged in honor of He, according to Sharif, while the nation mourns.
Some Chinese nationals have also been targeted by militants in northwestern Pakistan and elsewhere.
Rehman, who has long supported Afghanistan’s Taliban government, survived at least two known bomb attacks in 2011 and 2014, when bombings damaged his car at rallies.
Sunday’s bombing was one of the worst in northwestern Pakistan in the last decade. In 2014, 147 people, mostly schoolchildren, were killed in a Taliban attack on an army-run school in Peshawar.
In January, 74 people were killed in a bombing at a mosque in Peshawar. And in February, more than 100 people, mostly policemen, died in a bombing at a mosque inside a high-security compound housing Peshawar police headquarters.
___
Associated Press writer Munir Ahmed contributed to this story from Islamabad. | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/ap-pakistan-holds-funerals-as-government-vows-to-hunt-down-those-behind-the-weekends-suicide-bombing/ | 2023-07-31T13:46:45 | 1 | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/ap-pakistan-holds-funerals-as-government-vows-to-hunt-down-those-behind-the-weekends-suicide-bombing/ |
NEW ORLEANS — Rashid Shaheed is another of the New Orleans Saints’ undrafted free-agent gems. Against Cincinnati, Shaheed’s first NFL touch was a 44-yard rush for a score. Shaheed said that was a big moment.
“When it happened, my teammates were there to uplift and congratulate me. It was a moment I will never forget. So, as far as that, I wouldn’t say I can into the league saying it was going to be easy because it’s definitely not easy at all. I knew as long as I kept my head down and worked, good things would continue to happen,” says New Orleans Saints wide receiver Rashid Shaheed.
Shaheed followed that up with a 53-yard touchdown reception from Andy Dalton against Arizona Cardinals, and later in the season a 68-yard touchdown reception from Taysom Hill against the Atlanta Falcons.
Shaheed has a chance to lock down the Saints’ third wide receiver spot. He was happy to accept an invite from quarterback Derek Carr to work out in Las Vegas.
“I feel like he wanted to have it out in Vegas just so we can get used to the heat for a second. Meeting his family and doing all of that stuff, it was great, and being out there and seeing how he worked off the field was definitely an experience,” said Shaheed.
Rashid Shaheed said that he is a lot more comfortable in year two and he can already see the difference in his play.
“The speed of the game, I feel like, has definitely slowed down a lot, and after the first day, I was kind of like, ‘okay, I am thinking a lot less and kinda just playing.’ That’s definitely going to help a lot with more reps,” said Shaheed.
Rashid Shaheed will earn $870,000 this season. A bargain for a player who averaged more than 17 yards a reception in 2022. | https://www.myarklamiss.com/sports/geaux-black-and-gold/rashid-shaheed-working-to-carve-out-a-key-role-with-the-new-orleans-saints-in-2023/ | 2023-07-31T13:46:46 | 1 | https://www.myarklamiss.com/sports/geaux-black-and-gold/rashid-shaheed-working-to-carve-out-a-key-role-with-the-new-orleans-saints-in-2023/ |
NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — West African nations have given Niger’s coup leaders one week to reinstate the country’s democratically elected president and have threatened to use force if the demands aren’t met.
The announcement came at the end of an emergency meeting of West African countries Sunday in Nigeria, where the regional bloc, known as ECOWAS, convened to respond to last week’s military takeover. President Mohamed Bazoum remains under house arrest and has yet to resign.
“In the event the authority’s demands are not met within one week, (the bloc will) take all measures necessary to restore constitutional order in the Republic of Niger. Such measures may include the use of force,” said the statement.
The bloc also imposted strict sanctions, including suspending all commercial and financial transactions between ECOWAS member states and Niger and freezing of assets in regional central banks.
Economic sanctions could have a deep impact on Nigeriens, who live in the third-poorest country in the world, according to the latest U.N. data. The country relies on imports from Nigeria for up to 90% of its power, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency.
The sanctions could be disastrous and Niger needs to find a solution to avoid them, the country’s Prime Minister Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou told French media outlet Radio France Internationale on Sunday.
“When people say there’s an embargo, land borders are closed, air borders are closed, it’s extremely difficult for people … Niger is a country that relies heavily on the international community,” he said.
The 15-nation ECOWAS bloc has unsuccessfully tried to restore democracies in nations where the military took power in recent years. Four nations are run by military governments in West and Central Africa, where there have been nine successful or attempted coups since 2020.
In the 1990s, ECOWAS intervened in Liberia during its civil war. In 2017, it intervened in Gambia to prevent the new president’s predecessor, Yahya Jammeh, from disrupting the handover of power. Around 7,000 troops from Ghana, Nigeria, and Senegal entered, according to the Global Observatory, which provides analysis on peace and security issues.
If the regional bloc uses force, it could trigger violence not only between Niger and ECOWAS forces but also civilians supporting the coup and those against it, Niger analysts say.
“While this remains to be a threat and unlikely action, the consequences on civilians of such an approach if putschists chose confrontation would be catastrophic,” said Rida Lyammouri, senior fellow at the Policy Center for the New South, a Morocco-based think tank.
Lyammouri also said he does not see a “military intervention happening because of the violence that could trigger.”
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken commended ECOWAS’ leadership Sunday to “defend constitutional order in Niger” after the sanctions announcement, and joined the bloc in calling for the immediate release of Bazoum and his family.
The military junta, which seized power on Wednesday when members of the presidential guard surrounded Bazoum’s house and detained him, is already cracking down on the government and civil liberties.
On Sunday evening it arrested four government officials, including Mahamane Sani Mahamadou, the minister of petroleum and son of former President Mahamadou Issoufou; Kassoum Moctar, minister of education; Ousseini Hadizatou Yacouba, the minister of mines, and Foumakoye Gado, the president of the ruling party. That’s according to someone close to the president, who was not authorized to speak about the situation, and a Nigerien analyst who did not want to be named for fear of reprisal.
The same night, junta spokesman Col. Maj. Amadou Abdramane said on state television that all government cars need to be returned by midday Monday and banned the use of social media to diffuse messages against state security. He also claimed that Bazoum’s government had authorized the French to carry out strikes to free Bazoum. The Associated Press can’t verify his allegations.
In anticipation of the ECOWAS decision Sunday, thousands of pro-junta supporters took to the streets in the capital, Niamey, denouncing its former colonial ruler, France, waving Russian flags and telling the international community to stay away.
Demonstrators in Niger are openly resentful of France, and Russia is seen by some as a powerful alternative. The nature of Moscow’s involvement in the rallies, if any, isn’t clear, but some protesters have carried Russian flags, along with signs reading “Down with France” and supporting Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“The situation of this country is not good … It’s time for change, and change has arrived,” said Moussa Seydou, a protester. “What we want from the putschists — all they have to do is improve social conditions so that Nigeriens can live better in this country and bring peace,” he said. | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/ap-west-african-nations-threaten-to-use-force-if-nigers-president-isnt-reinstated-within-a-week/ | 2023-07-31T13:46:48 | 1 | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/ap-west-african-nations-threaten-to-use-force-if-nigers-president-isnt-reinstated-within-a-week/ |
SAN FRANCISCO — SAN FRANCISCO — New Relic Inc. (NEWR) on Monday reported a loss of $37.4 million in its fiscal first quarter.
The results beat Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of five analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 31 cents per share.
The cloud-based software analytics company posted revenue of $242.6 million in the period, also topping Street forecasts. Six analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $239.1 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 NEWR at https://www.zacks.com/ap/NEWR | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/07/31/earns-new-relic/d7db6bdc-2fa3-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html | 2023-07-31T13:46:48 | 0 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/07/31/earns-new-relic/d7db6bdc-2fa3-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html |
VALLEJO, Calif., July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A Plus Tree, LLC ("A Plus Tree" or the "Company"), a portfolio company of Hyperion Capital Partners LLC ("Hyperion"), announced it has completed the acquisitions of Tree Preservation and Landscaping, The Tree Men, and Treecology. These three acquisitions reflect the Company's commitment to building a best-in-class tree care business for commercial and residential clients.
Tree Preservation and Landscaping and The Tree Men bolster A Plus Tree's presence in Southern California, and Treecology strengthens the Company in Portland, Oregon. Both geographies are key to the Company's growth plan and these three acquisitions will serve as beachheads through which A Plus Tree can better serve clients in these markets. Cyrus DeVere, the CEO of A Plus Tree, said, "Growth fueled by great partnerships allows for true synergies. Tree Preservation, Tree Men, and Treecology are all wonderful additions to the A Plus Tree culture of love and respect. Onward!"
Tree Preservation and Landscaping is based in Los Angeles, California, where founder David Sims has been serving clients since 2001. David said, "A Plus Tree is a great company to be affiliated with. The culture and work environment at A Plus Tree are great, I am all in. It has been my pleasure to work through the transition period with team members who are knowledgeable, personable, and proficient at their jobs."
The Tree Men is based in Los Angeles, California. Founders Mark and Kandi Dunning have provided tree care services to their clients since 1969. Mark and Kandi said, "We started The Tree Men over 45 years ago—our clients are amazing and are like family. We found a perfect fit with A Plus Tree, they are professional and caring."
Treecology operates in Portland, Oregon, where Damon Schrosk will continue to serve his clients as part of the A Plus Tree team. Damon said, "Through my conversations with the folks at A Plus Tree, I developed an understanding of their culture of trust and integrity. That, coupled with their innovative projects like urban wood utilization through milling and bio-char generation, and their non-profit A Plus Cares, helped me understand that this was a company that matched our culture and ethics. I felt comfortable that the reputation I developed through my efforts with Treecology would be honored and preserved. In the time since I have become a team member, I have seen the dedication and growth-oriented mindset that each of the upper-level leaders bring to their work."
Cyrus DeVere further stated, "With the addition of incredible team members and leaders from great companies, it is truly energizing to be able to expand our service offering of professional tree care to more clients."
The Partners of Hyperion said, "We are thrilled to support Cyrus and his team in their acquisition of these three excellent companies. These businesses complement A Plus Tree's strategy and will strengthen its ability to provide best-in-class tree care services by growing its client base, augmenting its yard footprint, increasing its focus on residential clients, and inviting enthusiastic team members into the A Plus Tree family. It speaks to the sellers' trust in Cyrus and his team that they joined the Company. We are excited to continue helping A Plus Tree grow organically and through acquisitions."
About A Plus Tree
Headquartered in Vallejo, California, A Plus Tree is a leading provider of tree care services for commercial and residential clients. A Plus provides specialized services to property owners and managers, including tree trimming, pruning, and removal; plant and tree healthcare; and arborist consulting. The Company employs a team of highly skilled tree care professionals, and operates across Northern and Southern California, Washington, Oregon, and Utah.
About Hyperion
Hyperion Capital Partners is a private investment firm based in Los Angeles that establishes and utilizes partnerships with management to produce substantial long-term value. Hyperion makes control investments in companies that generate between $20 and $200 million of revenue and are headquartered in North America.
For more information, please contact info@hyperion-cp.com or visit hyperion-cp.com.
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SOURCE Hyperion Capital Partners | https://www.wymt.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/plus-tree-completes-acquisition-three-tree-care-companies-west-coast/ | 2023-07-31T13:46:49 | 1 | https://www.wymt.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/plus-tree-completes-acquisition-three-tree-care-companies-west-coast/ |
SALT LAKE CITY, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Sera Prognostics Inc., The Pregnancy Company® (NASDAQ: SERA), focused on improving maternal and neonatal health by providing innovative pregnancy biomarker information to doctors and patients, today announced that it will report second quarter fiscal year 2023 financial results on Wednesday, August 9, 2023, after the close of the market. The Company will host a corresponding conference call and live webcast to discuss operational highlights, financial results and key topics at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. A press release outlining the financial results and highlights will be publicly distributed before the call.
Conference Call Details:
US domestic callers: (866) 218-2405
International callers: (412) 902-6607
Webcast Registration Link: https://app.webinar.net/5ZK3j2xMqY7
Live audio of the webcast will be available online from the Investors page of the Company's website at www.seraprognostics.com. The webcast will be archived on the Investors page and will be available for one year.
About Sera Prognostics, Inc.
Sera Prognostics is a leading health diagnostics company dedicated to improving the lives of women and babies through precision pregnancy care. Sera's mission is to provide early, pivotal pregnancy information to improve the health of mothers and newborns, resulting in reductions in the costs of healthcare delivery. Sera has a robust pipeline of innovative diagnostic tests focused on the early prediction of preterm birth risk and other complications of pregnancy. Sera's precision medicine PreTRM® Test reports to a physician the individualized risk of spontaneous premature delivery in a pregnancy, enabling earlier proactive interventions in women with higher risk. Sera Prognostics is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah.
About Preterm Birth
Preterm birth is defined as any birth before 37 weeks' gestation and is the leading cause of illness and death in newborns. The 2022 March of Dimes Report Card shows that, for the last four consecutive years, more than one in ten infants is born prematurely. Prematurity is associated with a significantly increased risk of major long-term medical complications, including learning disabilities, cerebral palsy, chronic respiratory illness, intellectual disability, seizures, and vision and hearing loss, and can generate significant costs throughout the lives of affected children. The annual health care costs to manage short- and long-term complications of prematurity in the United States were estimated to be approximately $25 billion for 2016.
About the PreTRM® Test
The PreTRM® Test is the only broadly validated, commercially available blood-based biomarker test that provides an early, accurate and individualized risk prediction for spontaneous preterm birth in asymptomatic singleton pregnancies. The PreTRM® Test measures and analyzes proteins in the blood that are highly predictive of preterm birth. The PreTRM® Test permits physicians to identify, during the weeks 18 through 20 of pregnancy, which women are at increased risk for preterm birth and its complications, enabling more informed, personalized clinical decisions based on each woman's individual risk. The PreTRM® Test is ordered by a medical professional.
Sera Prognostics, the Sera Prognostics logo, The Pregnancy Company, and PreTRM are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sera Prognostics, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements relating to the date, time and content of the Company's quarterly earnings release and conference call; and the company's strategic directives under the caption "About Sera Prognostics, Inc." These "forward-looking statements" are based on management's current expectations of future events and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from those set forth in or implied by forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: net losses, cash generation, and the potential need to raise more capital; revenues from the PreTRM Test representing substantially all Company revenues to date; the need for broad scientific and market acceptance of the PreTRM Test; a concentrated number of material customers; our ability to introduce new products; potential competition; our proprietary biobank; critical suppliers; the COVID-19 pandemic and its potential lingering impact on our operations, as well as the business or operations of third parties with whom we conduct business; estimates of total addressable market opportunity and forecasts of market growth; potential third-party payer coverage and reimbursement; new reimbursement methodologies applicable to the PreTRM Test, including new CPT codes and payment rates for those codes; changes in FDA regulation of laboratory-developed tests; the intellectual property rights protecting our tests and market position; and other factors discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" contained in our Final Prospectus on Form S-1, which was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on July 14, 2021, as well as any updates to those risk factors filed from time to time in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Annual Reports on Form 10-K, or Current Reports on Form 8-K. All information in this press release is as of the date of the release, and the Company undertakes no duty to update this information unless required by law.
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HONG KONG (AP) — Fans of singer and songwriter Coco Lee, who was known for her powerful voice and live performances, were gathering with flowers to pay their respects to their idol at her funeral in Hong Kong on Monday.
The memorial services was attended by her family and friends, including singers Elva Hsiao and Jenny Tseng, as well as other supporters. Lee died July 5 at age 48.
She was born in Hong Kong and attended school in San Francisco before releasing her first album in 1994 at age 19. She began her career as a Mandopop singer but branched out to release albums in Cantonese and English.
She was the first Chinese singer to break into the American market, and her English song “Do You Want My Love” climbed to #4 on Billboard’s Hot Dance Breakouts chart in December 1999. In 2001, she sang “A Love Before Time” from Ang Lee’s movie “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” at the Academy Awards, becoming the first Chinese American to perform at the Oscars.
Lee was also the voice of heroine Fa Mulan in the Mandarin version of Disney’s “Mulan,” and sang the Mandarin version of the movie’s theme song “Reflection.”
Lee was married to Bruce Rockowitz, former CEO of Hong Kong supply chain company Li & Fung. She had two stepdaughters.
Her death had shocked fans. Her siblings posted on Facebook that she had depression for years and had attempted suicide at home on July 2. She died a few days later.
On Monday afternoon, more than 100 fans dressed in black were waiting outside the funeral home.
Lin Jing, a fan from Fujian province in the southeast, said she admired Lee’s smile and appearance, adding: “She was really talented. She always tried to improve and she inspired women to feel independent.”
Inside the funeral hall, three pink hearts made of flowers and other floral decorations were displayed below Lee’s photo.
Her close friend, Hsiao, said during the ceremony that Lee was perfect idol to her even when she watched her performances as a student. After they became friends in the entertainment industry, Lee encouraged her when she was lost and treated her as “a little sister.”
“She brightened my life with her happiness and bravery. I will keep preserving her spirit,” she said in a quavering voice.
In a video for her memorial service, actors and singers from Hong Kong, mainland China and Taiwan recalled their memories with Lee and mourned her death.
Action star Jackie Chan said in the video that everyone was proud of her when she sang at the Oscars.
“To friends like us, Coco was a passionate and kind friend who showed care to us. She was really a good person. That’s why we are so reluctant to accept she has left us,” he said.
Award-winning director Ang Lee recalled his exchanges with the late singer before the Oscars and said it was a pity she died so young. “We miss her very much. Coco, rest in peace,” he said in the video.
In Coco Lee’s recent social media posts, she kept spreading positivity. In March, she posted about having to relearn how to walk after undergoing surgery for an old leg injury.
“Successful surgery. Even though I’m in a lot of pain and I have to re-learn how to walk again, I know I can do it,” she wrote in a Facebook post. “Yes I can and I will!”
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Associated Press video journalist Alice Fung and news assistant Annie Cheung contributed to this report. | https://www.myarklamiss.com/entertainment-news/ap-fans-pay-tribute-to-coco-lee-hong-kong-singer-who-had-international-success/ | 2023-07-31T13:46:52 | 1 | https://www.myarklamiss.com/entertainment-news/ap-fans-pay-tribute-to-coco-lee-hong-kong-singer-who-had-international-success/ |
Leverages Company's technological expertise in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Natural Language Processing (NLP) as core foundational technologies to link and make a broad array of information sources and data discoverable.
Adds $1.3 Million to Annual Recurring Revenue
HENDERSON, Nev., July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Research Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: RSSS), a trusted partner providing cloud-based workflow solutions to accelerate research for R&D-driven organizations, today announced its acquisition of ResoluteAI, an advanced search platform aimed at equipping organizations with search, discovery, analysis, and knowledge management tools powered by AI and NLP technologies. ResoluteAI's state-of-the-art integrations of taxonomies, ontologies, and knowledge graph technology, together with the latest Large Language Models ("LLM"), make information discovery and retrieval highly efficient.
"At Research Solutions, we empower research-intensive organizations to accelerate innovation," said Roy W. Olivier, CEO of Research Solutions. "This strategic acquisition allows us to broaden our technological expertise, transforming our solutions by leveraging the latest technology to help researchers power their innovation workflows, saving time and enabling users to make decisions confidently as they seek to achieve the next innovative breakthrough. This technological foundation will enable Research Solutions to provide specific solutions for use cases throughout the Innovation process from Strategy to Research & Development to Post-Market and Commercial solutions."
The transaction will enable Research Solutions to deliver true enterprise search capabilities across a comprehensive suite of data sources and extend their reach into effective knowledge management, including search across customer internal datasets. ResoluteAI's current suite of integrated datasets, while providing a comprehensive resource for Life Science companies, including Pharma, Biotech, and MedTech, also includes datasets relevant to all other industries, such as engineering and chemical-focused innovation. Integration between the two companies' solutions will allow the combined company to offer a comprehensive product ecosystem that delivers insights to users throughout the innovation process. The acquisition also represents a strong cross-selling opportunity, stemming from highly complementary products and technology that cater to key sectors and market segments.
Integrating the advanced search capabilities of ResoluteAI into Research Solutions' Article Galaxy platform and rapid access to every scientific journal article into ResoluteAI's Foundation platform will be the immediate first steps that will translate into an upgraded customer experience for existing and new customer bases.
"The advanced search technology of ResoluteAI, in combination with Research Solutions' expertise in reference management and document delivery, creates tremendous opportunities to leverage strategic technology synergies," said Steven Goldstein, CEO of ResoluteAI. "We are excited to join Research Solutions and apply our expertise to deliver best-in-class research workflow solutions."
Together, the companies will continue to deepen their understanding of the innovation value chain and the specific needs of users and customers to create a product ecosystem that allows for the flexibility to adapt products and business models to the needs of industry leaders and researchers.
"ResoluteAI shares our mission to support the innovation process from end to end with the most comprehensive information and knowledge tool on the market," shared Michiel van der Heijden, Chief Product Officer of Research Solutions. "We are transforming how people discover and acquire information and how they analyze and manage the data they need for their work as part of an overall workflow."
Founded in 2015 and headquartered in New York, New York, ResoluteAI develops advanced search and discovery tools covering several workflows, including but not limited to, Research & Development, Competitive & Market Intelligence, IP Management, Clinical Operations & Analysis, Post Market Surveillance, and Business Development. As of June 30, 2023, ResoluteAI had approximately $1.3 million in Annual Recurring Revenue under contract.
For further information, please contact Steven Hooser or John Beisler at (214) 872-2710 or shooser@threepa.com; jbeisler@threepa.com.
Media inquiries can be directed to Joseph Tracy, Vice President of Marketing, at jtracy@reprintsdesk.com.
About Research Solutions
Research Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: RSSS) provides cloud-based technologies to streamline the process of obtaining, managing, and creating intellectual property. Founded in 2006 as Reprints Desk, the company was a pioneer in developing solutions to serve researchers. Today, more than 70 percent of the top pharmaceutical companies, prestigious universities, and emerging businesses rely on Article Galaxy, the company's SaaS research platform, to streamline access to the latest scientific research and data with 24/7 customer support. For more information and details, please visit www.researchsolutions.com.
About ResoluteAI
ResoluteAI is an award-winning intelligent search platform. Used by scientific organizations around the world, Foundation lets commercial science enterprises search aggregated scientific, regulatory, and business databases simultaneously. Nebula is our enterprise search tool for science. Combined with our interactive analytics and downloadable visualizations, ResoluteAI helps make connections that lead to breakthrough discoveries.
Important Cautions Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release may contain "forward-looking statements" regarding future events and our future results. All statements other than statements of historical facts are statements that could be deemed to be forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts, and projections about the markets in which we operate and the beliefs and assumptions of our management. Words such as "expects," "anticipates," "targets," "goals," "projects", "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," "estimates," "endeavors," "strives," "may," or variations of such words, and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned that these forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict, estimate or verify. Therefore, actual results may differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include those factors described in the Company's most recent annual report on Form 10-K, as such may be amended or supplemented by subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, or other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Examples of forward-looking statements in this release include statements regarding additional customers, potential acquisitions and the Company's prospects for growth, profitability, and cash flow. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements are made only as of the date hereof, and the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly release the result of any revisions to these forward-looking statements. For more information, please refer to the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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SOURCE Research Solutions, Inc. | https://www.wymt.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/research-solutions-acquires-resoluteai-transform-ai-powered-innovation-workflows/ | 2023-07-31T13:46:56 | 1 | https://www.wymt.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/research-solutions-acquires-resoluteai-transform-ai-powered-innovation-workflows/ |
SAN FRANCISCO, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Schubert Jonckheer & Kolbe LLP is investigating potential shareholder derivative claims on behalf of shareholders of Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC).
On February 3, 2023, a Norfolk Southern train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, releasing toxins and other combustible liquids, which ultimately led to a controlled burn of toxic chemicals. The derailment prompted the evacuation of residents from the surrounding area. Upon returning to their homes, residents reported hazardous air quality and other health and environmental concerns.
On February 8, 2023, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine stated that Norfolk Southern "created the problem" and that it was "their liability" and "ought to pay for it." On February 21, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ordered Norfolk Southern to clean up the site, stating that it "will pay for cleaning up the mess they created and for the trauma they've inflicted on this community." The National Transportation Safety Board's preliminary report stated that the derailment was 100% preventable, and it later opened a special investigation into Norfolk Southern's safety practices because it had experienced five significant accidents since December 2021. On March 14, 2023, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost filed a complaint against Norfolk Southern alleging a wide range of violations in connection with a series of Norfolk Southern train derailments. On March 16, 2023, purchasers of Norfolk Southern stock filed securities fraud class action claims against the company. On March 31, 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice sued Norfolk Southern seeking penalties and injunctive relief for the unlawful discharge of pollutants, oil, and hazardous substances under the Clean Water Act, and declaratory judgment for past and future costs under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act.
The Schubert Firm is investigating potential wrongdoing by Norfolk Southern's officers and directors in connection with these allegations. Norfolk Southern previously recognized $387 million in expenses related to these matters, and on July 27, 2023 announced another $416 million charge, for a total of $803 million.
If you own Norfolk Southern stock and wish to obtain additional information about your legal rights, please contact us today or visit our website at
https://www.classactionlawyers.com/norfolk.
About Schubert Jonckheer & Kolbe LLP
Schubert Jonckheer & Kolbe represents shareholders, employees, and consumers in class actions against corporate defendants, as well as shareholders in derivative actions against their officers and directors. The firm is based in San Francisco, and with the help of co-counsel, litigates cases nationwide.
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SOURCE Schubert Jonckheer & Kolbe LLP | https://www.ktre.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/shareholder-alert-norfolk-southern-corporation-nsc-officers-directors-face-shareholder-investigation-potential-wrongdoing-related-february-2023-east-palestine-train-derailment-which-has-resulted-803-million-charges/ | 2023-07-31T13:46:58 | 1 | https://www.ktre.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/shareholder-alert-norfolk-southern-corporation-nsc-officers-directors-face-shareholder-investigation-potential-wrongdoing-related-february-2023-east-palestine-train-derailment-which-has-resulted-803-million-charges/ |
LOS ANGELES (AP) — This year Whitney Houston would have turned 60, and a special celebration to raise money for a good cause is being planned for her birthday.
Houston’s estate, Sony and Primary Wave Music will host the 2nd annual Whitney Houston Legacy of Love on Aug. 9, which will benefit the late singer’s foundation aimed at helping young people.
Houston’s close friends BeBe Winans and Kim Burrell will perform at the gala at Atlanta’s St. Regis Hotel, as will Whitney’s brother, Gary, who toured with her for three decades.
“When I turned 50, Whitney gave me two celebrations — one in Ireland and one in London. I always tell everyone now that one of them was for her,” says Pat Houston, Whitney Houston’s sister-in-law and the executor of her estate. Houston died in February 2012 at age 48. “This year is Whitney at 60 — we’re all looking forward to being a part of the power of love in that room.”
Founded by the singer in 1989, the Whitney Houston Foundation for Children aims to empower youth, by providing resources to unhoused children, giving out college scholarships, and raising funds for charities like the Children’s Defense Fund and St. Jude Children’s Research.
A charity auction will raise money for the foundation.
“We’re going to auction off a beautiful lavender dress Dolly Parton wore when she sang ‘I Will Always Love You’ at Country Music Television’s ‘100 Greatest Love Songs of Country Music’ special in 2004,” says Pat Houston. “This dress is particularly special because it’s lavender, and lavender is Whitney’s favorite color.”
The song, originally written by Parton, was recorded by Houston and became one of her great, everlasting hits. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified it diamond early last year, which means the track has sold and streamed 10 million equivalent units in the United States. It became her first diamond single, and made Houston the third woman to ever achieve diamond-status with both a single and an album, following Mariah Carey and Taylor Swift.
Clive Davis will serve as honorary chairman. Recording Academy President Harvey Mason jr. is scheduled to attend. Also expected are Gamma’s Larry Jackson and Whitney Houston’s musical director Rickey Minor.
“I always tell people, Whitney is the star,” Pat Houston said. “Everybody in that room is royalty, but she’s loyalty — and she’s still showing that.” | https://www.myarklamiss.com/entertainment-news/ap-whitney-houstons-estate-announces-second-annual-legacy-of-love-gala-with-bebe-winans-kim-burrell/ | 2023-07-31T13:46:59 | 0 | https://www.myarklamiss.com/entertainment-news/ap-whitney-houstons-estate-announces-second-annual-legacy-of-love-gala-with-bebe-winans-kim-burrell/ |
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — ON Semiconductor Corp. (ON) on Monday reported second-quarter earnings of $576.6 million.
The semiconductor components maker posted revenue of $2.09 billion in the period, also surpassing Street forecasts. Twelve analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $2.02 billion.
For the current quarter ending in September, ON Semiconductor Corp. expects its per-share earnings to range from $1.27 to $1.41.
The company said it expects revenue in the range of $2.1 billion to $2.19 billion for the fiscal third quarter.
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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 ON at https://www.zacks.com/ap/ON | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/07/31/earns-on-semiconductor-corp./66970086-2f9d-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html | 2023-07-31T13:47:01 | 1 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/07/31/earns-on-semiconductor-corp./66970086-2f9d-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html |
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An escalating dispute over a gas field in the Persian Gulf poses an early challenge to a Chinese-brokered agreement to reconcile regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Saudi Arabia and neighboring Kuwait jointly claim the offshore Al-Durra gas field. Iran says it has rights to the field, which it refers to as Arash. The two sides held talks in Iran in March but were unable to agree on a border demarcation.
A spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, Nasser Kanaani, said the country would not tolerate any infringement on its rights, echoing remarks by the country’s oil minister the previous day.
“We have expressed our readiness to engage in dialogue with the Kuwaiti side,” Kanaani told reporters Monday. “But if there is no interest in mutual utilization of this joint field, the Islamic Republic of Iran has naturally put the exploration and utilization of the resources on its agenda.”
Kuwait’s oil minister told Sky News Arabia last week that his country would commence drilling and production without waiting for a deal.
Saudi Arabia has sided with Kuwait, saying the two countries have exclusive ownership of the field, and has called on Iran to return to negotiations.
Saudi Arabia and Iran, which have backed opposite sides in conflicts across the Middle East and accused each other of destabilizing the region, formally restored diplomatic relations in April following a seven-year freeze. They have since reopened embassies and welcomed senior officials on visits.
But they continue to back opposite sides in Yemen’s civil war, which is ongoing despite a 15-month cease-fire. Saudi Arabia is also in negotiations with the United States over potentially normalizing relations with Israel, which Iran’s leaders have said should be wiped off the map.
“Any step in the direction toward normalization of ties with this aggressive regime will only serve to give it more leeway to commit more atrocities against the Palestinian nation,” Kanaani, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, said.
It’s unclear whether the dispute over the gas field, which goes back to the 1960s, will escalate beyond rhetoric. But tensions are already high in the Persian Gulf, where the U.S. is building up military forces in response to what it says is Iran’s unlawful seizure of oil tankers and harassment of commercial vessels.
Saudi Arabia and Kuwait agreed last year to jointly develop the gas field. Kuwait said at the time that they aimed to produce 1 billion cubic feet of natural gas and 84,000 barrels of liquefied gas per day. Iran denounced the agreement as illegal and said it should be included in any such plans. | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/business/ap-dispute-over-persian-gulf-gas-field-poses-early-challenge-to-saudi-iranian-rapprochement/ | 2023-07-31T13:47:01 | 0 | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/business/ap-dispute-over-persian-gulf-gas-field-poses-early-challenge-to-saudi-iranian-rapprochement/ |
BEIJING, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A news report by China.org.cn on a researcher's perception on the achievements and strategies of urban ecology in three mega urban agglomerations in eastern China.
Nowadays, urban agglomerations in China have ushered in a new era as the pace setter of global urban agglomerations, and the multi-dimensional, long-term systematic and objective evaluation on the temporal change in eco-environment of three mega urban agglomerations in eastern China is crucial for promoting sustainable development of urban agglomerations, said Tang Lina, researcher of Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), in an article released by the Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (BCAS, in Chinese), a think tank journal supervised and sponsored by the CAS, which focuses on strategic and decision-making research.
According to the article, from 2000 to 2020, under the multiple effects of ecological protection policies, pollution prevention and control policies at the national and regional levels, the mega urban agglomerations in eastern China demonstrated a fluctuating upward trend of overall eco-environmental quality.
Since 2012, there have been historic, transitional, and comprehensive changes in the eco-environment of three mega urban agglomerations, including significant improvement in the ecological quality, environmental quality, efficiency of resource and energy utilization, and eco-environment management capabilities of the mega urban agglomerations. These changes have laid a solid foundation for the regional ecological progresses and high-quality sustainable development, and provided the best practice for the development of eco-environment in other urban agglomerations in China.
Why does China attach great importance to the protection of urban ecology?
Tang points out in the article, "as the main destinations for the shift of the world economic center, urban agglomerations represent the strategic core areas for national new urbanization and economic growth." The mega urban agglomerations, including the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region, the Yangtze River Delta, and Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, with 5.05% of national land area, 25.05% of the total population, and nearly 40% of the gross domestic product (GDP), serve as the core engines of China's economic growth and an important carrier for China's participation in global competition.
However, the article mentions, "intensive human activities have placed enormous pressure on the eco-environment of the three mega urban agglomerations, thus crippling the sustainable development of urban agglomerations." For many years, research institutions such as Chinese Academy of Sciences and relevant scientific research institutes in universities have carried out a lot of research, providing strong technological support for the ecological progress of urban agglomerations.
A report released at 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in 2012 noted, "We should make scientific plans for the scale and layout of urban agglomerations; and we should make small and medium-sized cities and small towns better able to develop industries, provide public services, create jobs, and attract population." Meanwhile, in order to improve the eco-environment of urban agglomerations, enhance their people's well-being, and achieve their sustainable development, China has introduced a series of policies on ecological protection and pollution prevention and control at the national and local levels, and put in place numerous measures and actions for environmental protection.
Specifically, since the 18th CPC National Congress, ecological conservation has become part of the "Five in One" overall layout of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics. The overall layout refers to the coordination of economic development, political building, cultural development, social progress and ecological conservation. President Xi Jinping's thought on ecological conservation has provided fundamental strategic guidance for the practice of the efforts to keep our skies blue, our waters clear, and our land pollution-free in the three major urban agglomerations in eastern China. In 2018, China incorporated ecological conservation into the Constitution, providing fundamental legal support for the ecological conservation in urban agglomerations.
Thanks to the efforts made by the central government and the Chinese people, China has achieved significant improvement in the quality of atmospheric environment and sustained improvement of the quality of water environment. The average annual concentration of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) of the three mega urban agglomerations increased first and then decreased. It shows sustained improvement in the proportion of good quality of surface water and in the efficiency of resource and energy utilization, accompanied by a remarkable decrease in the pollutant emissions per unit GDP. Moreover, its eco-environmental infrastructure became much better.
To promote the further high-quality development of the mega urban agglomerations, five solutions and prospects are proposed as follows.
First, China should seize the opportunity to stimulate economic transformation and structural reform through low-carbon development, so as to put the mega urban agglomerations into a virtuous cycle of green and low-carbon development.
Second, it is necessary to strengthen regional alignment and inter-department collaboration, to ensure the coordination of multiple elements of the eco-environment and cross-regional coordination.
Third, the country should strengthen the full-life cycle environmental risk management of chemical substances, and build a policy and standard system for environmental risk management of toxic chemical substances.
Fourth, it is needed to promote the implementation of targeted policies tailored to different categories and zones of the mega urban agglomerations and implement targeted policies based on their development orientation.
Finally, China should keep leveraging the role of technological progress in supporting ecological management.
Researcher shares insights into achievements and strategies of urban ecology in E China
http://belt.china.org.cn/2023-07/31/content_96918334.htm
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SOURCE China.org.cn | https://www.wymt.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/researcher-shares-insights-into-achievements-strategies-urban-ecology-e-china/ | 2023-07-31T13:47:02 | 0 | https://www.wymt.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/researcher-shares-insights-into-achievements-strategies-urban-ecology-e-china/ |
SHENZHEN, China, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- AMIRO ("the Company"), a leading beauty and skincare technology brand, is thrilled to announce that its research facility, AMIRO LAB, has successfully obtained the Qualified Testing Location (QTL) certification after a comprehensive audit conducted by SGS.
SGS, a globally recognized testing, inspection and certification organization with thousands of branches and laboratories worldwide, introduced the QTL certification for laboratory witness testing. As an SGS-accredited testing location, AMIRO LAB will undergo witness testing by SGS during the certification process, ensuring the accuracy and reliability of the test data. This reduces the time required for companies to transport samples to SGS-designated laboratories for testing, thus effectively shortening the product testing cycle.
"As we receive the QTL certification for AMIRO LAB, it signifies a resounding acknowledgment of our research center's testing capabilities and management efficiency," Jason Chen, Quality Management Director, said. "This milestone propels us into a new phase of strategic cooperation with SGS. Looking ahead, we will forge closer ties in product testing, inspection, certification, and industry standard-setting to drive the high-quality and sustainable development of the skincare technology industry."
Widely recognized as a technology-driven and innovation-focused skincare enterprise, AMIRO has always prioritized research and development. From its inception, AMIRO has established its AMIRO LAB to focus on innovative applications of photonic and medical technologies in the beauty and skincare field. The center boasts a wide array of state-of-the-art equipment, facilitating effective quantitative evaluations.
In a bid to enhance its research and development capabilities, AMIRO has also actively engaged in collaborations between industry, academia, and research institutions, partnering with renowned universities to set up joint R&D centers. These collaborations have enabled AMIRO to advance fundamental research and create products that precisely cater to users' skincare needs.
One exemplary collaboration involves the establishment of the Smart Photonic Medical Technology Joint Research Center with Shanghai Jiao Tong University's School of Biomedical Engineering. This center explores the application and commercialization of photonic therapy in relevant fields. Additionally, the Company has also collaborated with Zhejiang University's School of Pharmacy that led the research on transdermal permeation technology combined with photonic energy. AMIRO has also worked with Sichuan University on a precise skin measurement and evaluation development platform, and with Chongqing University on skin photonic science to study anti-aging skincare solutions for consumers.
AMIRO's prominent position in the industry is further cemented by its active participation in establishing industry standards. The Company has taken an active role in standard-setting initiatives by leveraging its profound R&D capabilities. AMIRO has led the formulation of several industry group standards, including "Guidelines for Face Masks Used in Conjunction with RF Beauty Devices" and "Guidelines for Skincare Products Used in Conjunction with RF and Microcurrent Home Beauty Devices." Moreover, AMIRO has participated in the development of the national standard "Special Requirements for the Safety of Electrical Skin Beauty Devices" to help with the standardization of the industry.
The latest SGS' awarding of the QTL certification to AMIRO is a testament to the brand's advanced laboratory equipment and robust quality management system. This certification represents not only the assurance of product quality but signifies The Company's commitment to enhancing product certification efficiency and accelerating its product launch process to benefit more consumers.
Looking ahead, AMIRO remains committed to optimizing its quality management system as well as its product inspection and testing processes. The Company will continue to translate scientific research achievements into practical applications, delivering simple, safe, and effective products. AMIRO's ultimate goal is to offer precise and tailored skincare solutions for every individual, allowing consumers to experience the beauty of life to the fullest.
For more information about AMIRO and its range of facial devices, please visit their official website.
Or connect with them on social media:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amiroglobal/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AMIRO-Global-103502195623795/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@amiroglobal/featured
About AMIRO
AMIRO, a beauty and skincare technology brand founded in 2015, has been delivering joy and harmony through its technologically advanced home beauty and personal care electronic products. With over 38 international design awards, AMIRO is your trusted skincare partner that offers portable, short-acting, and long-lasting solutions to improve skincare efficiency.
Upholding the idea of "Revitalize beauty through science", AMIRO's products are designed to be affordable, high-quality, and supported by clinical data. With a commitment to sustainability and innovation, AMIRO is dedicated to providing skincare solutions that make women of all ages feel confident and beautiful.
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SOURCE AMIRO | https://www.ktre.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/skincare-tech-brand-amiro-receives-qtl-certification-sgs-strengthen-rampd-efforts/ | 2023-07-31T13:47:04 | 0 | https://www.ktre.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/skincare-tech-brand-amiro-receives-qtl-certification-sgs-strengthen-rampd-efforts/ |
NEW ORLEANS — Rashid Shaheed is another of the New Orleans Saints’ undrafted free-agent gems. Against Cincinnati, Shaheed’s first NFL touch was a 44-yard rush for a score. Shaheed said that was a big moment.
“When it happened, my teammates were there to uplift and congratulate me. It was a moment I will never forget. So, as far as that, I wouldn’t say I can into the league saying it was going to be easy because it’s definitely not easy at all. I knew as long as I kept my head down and worked, good things would continue to happen,” says New Orleans Saints wide receiver Rashid Shaheed.
Shaheed followed that up with a 53-yard touchdown reception from Andy Dalton against Arizona Cardinals, and later in the season a 68-yard touchdown reception from Taysom Hill against the Atlanta Falcons.
Shaheed has a chance to lock down the Saints’ third wide receiver spot. He was happy to accept an invite from quarterback Derek Carr to work out in Las Vegas.
“I feel like he wanted to have it out in Vegas just so we can get used to the heat for a second. Meeting his family and doing all of that stuff, it was great, and being out there and seeing how he worked off the field was definitely an experience,” said Shaheed.
Rashid Shaheed said that he is a lot more comfortable in year two and he can already see the difference in his play.
“The speed of the game, I feel like, has definitely slowed down a lot, and after the first day, I was kind of like, ‘okay, I am thinking a lot less and kinda just playing.’ That’s definitely going to help a lot with more reps,” said Shaheed.
Rashid Shaheed will earn $870,000 this season. A bargain for a player who averaged more than 17 yards a reception in 2022. | https://www.myarklamiss.com/louisiana-news/rashid-shaheed-working-to-carve-out-a-key-role-with-the-new-orleans-saints-in-2023/ | 2023-07-31T13:47:06 | 0 | https://www.myarklamiss.com/louisiana-news/rashid-shaheed-working-to-carve-out-a-key-role-with-the-new-orleans-saints-in-2023/ |
Glass to step down as Kentucky Education Commissioner
FRANKFORT, Ky. (WKYT) - Kentucky Commissioner of Education Jason E. Glass has announced that he will step down from his position.
Glass says he will step down on September 29 in order to become associate vice president of teaching and learning at Western Michigan University.
Glass was appointed commissioner in 2020 by the Kentucky Board of Education. His four-year contract was set to expire in September 2024.
“These past three years have been a remarkable journey and I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to return to my home state and serve as commissioner,” Glass said. “I wish to thank the members of the Kentucky Board of Education for their wisdom and leadership, the staff at the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) for their exemplary service and those working in education roles across the state for their continuing efforts to serve and support all of Kentucky’s children. I have a heart full of gratitude.”
As the leader of KDE, the commissioner oversees the Commonwealth’s K-12 school system and its 635,000 students, as well as acts as superintendent of the Kentucky School for the Blind, the Kentucky School for the Deaf and 53 area technology centers.
KBE Chair Lu S. Young said the KBE will hold a special meeting in mid-August to determine the next steps and a timeline for moving forward with an interim commissioner once Glass leaves. She noted that no action on a commissioner search will be taken at the KBE meeting Aug. 2-3 at the Dale Hollow Lake State Resort Park in Burkesville.
Copyright 2023 WKYT. All rights reserved. | https://www.wkyt.com/2023/07/31/glass-step-down-kentucky-education-commissioner/ | 2023-07-31T13:47:06 | 0 | https://www.wkyt.com/2023/07/31/glass-step-down-kentucky-education-commissioner/ |
Yellow is shutting down and headed for bankruptcy, the Teamsters Union says. Here’s what to know
NEW YORK (AP) — Trucking company Yellow Corp. has shut down operations and is headed for a bankruptcy filing, according to the Teamsters Union and multiple media reports.
After years of financial struggles, reports of Yellow preparing for bankruptcy emerged last week — as the Nashville, Tennessee-based trucker saw customers leave in large numbers. Yellow shut down operations on Sunday, according to the Wall Street Journal, following the layoffs of hundreds of nonunion employees on Friday.
In an announcement early Monday, the Teamsters said that the union received legal notice confirming Yellow was ceasing operations and filing for bankruptcy.
“Today’s news is unfortunate but not surprising. Yellow has historically proven that it could not manage itself despite billions of dollars in worker concessions and hundreds of millions in bailout funding from the federal government,” Teamsters general president Sean O’Brien said in a statement. “This is a sad day for workers and the American freight industry.”
The Associated Press reached out to Yellow for comment on Monday. No bankruptcy filings had gone live as of the early morning.
The bankruptcy reports have renewed attention around Yellow’s ongoing negotiations with unionized workers, a $700 million pandemic-era loan from the government and other bills the trucker has racked up over time. Yellow, formerly known as YRC Worldwide Inc., is one of the nation’s largest less-than-truckload carriers. The company’s reported closure puts 30,000 jobs at risk.
Here’s what you need to know.
WHAT WOULD BANKRUPTCY MEAN FOR YELLOW?
According to Satish Jindel, president of transportation and logistics firm SJ Consulting, Yellow handled an average of 49,000 shipments per day in 2022. Last week, he estimated that number was down to between 10,000 and 15,000 daily shipments.
With customers leaving — as well reports of Yellow stopping freight pickups last week — bankruptcy would “be the end of Yellow,” Jindel told The Associated Press, noting increased risk for liquidation.
“The likelihood of them surviving and remaining solvent diminishes really by the day,” added Bruce Chan, a research director at investment banking firm Stifel.
Yellow declined to comment when contacted by The Associated Press on Friday. In a Wednesday statement to The Journal, the company said it was continuing “to prepare for a range of contingencies.” On Thursday, Yellow said it was in talks with multiple parties about selling its third-party logistics organization.
Even if Yellow was able to sell its logistics firm, it would “not generate a sufficient amount of cash to keep them operational on any sort of permanent basis,” Chan said. “Without a major equity injection, it would be very difficult for them to survive.”
HOW MUCH DEBT DOES YELLOW HAVE?
As of late March, Yellow had an outstanding debt of about $1.5 billion. Of that, $729.2 million was owed to the federal government.
In 2020, under the Trump administration, the Treasury Department granted the company a $700 million pandemic-era loan on national security grounds. Last month, a congressional probe concluded that the Treasury and Defense Departments “made missteps” in this decision — and noted that Yellow’s “precarious financial position at the time of the loan, and continued struggles, expose taxpayers to a significant risk of loss.”
The government loan is due in September 2024. As of March, Yellow had made $54.8 million in interest payments and repaid just $230 million of the principal owed, according to government documents.
Yellow’s current finances and prospect of bankruptcy “is probably two decades in the making,” Chan said, pointing to poor management and strategic decisions dating back to the early 2000s. “At this point, after each party has bailed them out so many times, there is a limited appetite to do that anymore.”
In May, Yellow reported a loss of $54.6 million, a decline of $1.06 per share, for its first quarter of 2023. Operating revenue was about $1.16 billion in the period.
A Wednesday investors note from financial service firm Stephens estimated that Yellow could be burning between $9 million and $10 million each day. Using a liquidity disclosure from earlier this month, Yellow had roughly $100 million in cash at the end of June, the note added — estimating that the company has been burning through increasing amounts of money through July.
“It is reasonable to believe that the Company could breach its $35 mil. liquidity requirement at any moment,” Stephens analyst Jack Atkins and associate Grant Smith wrote.
DID THE COMPANY JUST AVERT A STRIKE?
Last week’s reports of bankruptcy preparations arrived just days after a strike from the Teamsters, which represents Yellow’s 22,000 unionized workers, was averted.
A series of heated exchanges have built up between the Teamsters and Yellow, who sued the union in June after alleging it was “unjustifiably blocking” restructuring plans needed for the company’s survival. The Teamsters called the litigation “baseless” — with O’Brien pointing to Yellow’s “decades of gross mismanagement,” which included exhausting the $700 million federal loan.
On July 23, a pension fund agreed to extend health benefits for workers at two Yellow Corp. operating companies, averting a strike — and giving Yellow “30 days to pay its bills,” notably $50 million that Yellow failed to pay the Central States Health and Welfare Fund on July 15, the union said. While the strike didn’t occur, talks of a walkout may have caused some Yellow customers to pull back, Chan said.
“The financial struggles of Yellow are not related to the union and the contracts,” Jindel said, pointing to management’s responsibility around its services and prices. He added the union wages from Yellow are “lower than any competitor.”
WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF YELLOW WENT UNDER?
As Yellow customers take their shipments to other carriers, like FedEx or ABF Freight, prices will go up.
Yellow’s prices have historically been the cheapest compared to other carriers, Jindel said. “That’s why they obviously were not making money,” he added. “And while there is capacity with the other LTL carriers to handle the diversions from Yellow, it will come at a high price for (current shippers and customers) of Yellow.”
Chan adds that we’re in an interesting time for the LTL marketplace — noting that, if Yellow liquidates, “the freight would find a home” with other carriers, which may not have been true in recent years.
“It may take time, but there’s room for it to be absorbed,” he said.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.mysuncoast.com/2023/07/31/yellow-is-shutting-down-headed-bankruptcy-teamsters-union-says-heres-what-know/ | 2023-07-31T13:47:06 | 0 | https://www.mysuncoast.com/2023/07/31/yellow-is-shutting-down-headed-bankruptcy-teamsters-union-says-heres-what-know/ |
KFAR-SAVA, Israel — KFAR-SAVA, Israel — Silicom Ltd. (SILC) on Monday reported net income of $3.8 million in its second quarter.
For the current quarter ending in September, Silicom said it expects revenue in the range of $30 million to $31 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 SILC at https://www.zacks.com/ap/SILC | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/07/31/earns-silicom/25c6602e-2f9d-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html | 2023-07-31T13:47:07 | 0 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/07/31/earns-silicom/25c6602e-2f9d-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html |
- Highly Accomplished Fintech Executive with Proven Track Record of Delivering Superior Performance and Innovation
- Bob Walters, Rocket Companies Executive and Rocket Mortgage CEO to Retire Effective September 5
- Krishna to Succeed Walters as Rocket Mortgage CEO in dual role; Bill Emerson to Become President and Chief Operating Officer of Rocket Companies
DETROIT, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Rocket Companies (NYSE: RKT), a Detroit-based fintech platform company consisting of tech-driven mortgage, real estate and financial services businesses, including Rocket Mortgage, Rocket Homes, Rocket Loans and Rocket Money, today announced that its Board of Directors has appointed accomplished fintech executive Varun Krishna as the company's Chief Executive Officer, effective September 5, 2023.
Krishna will succeed Bill Emerson, who has served as interim Chief Executive Officer since June. Emerson will continue in his interim role until Krishna joins the Company, and will remain on the Rocket Companies Board while also working with Krishna to ensure a smooth transition of leadership.
Krishna has more than 20 years of experience building consumer platform strategies for leading global fintech companies. Most recently, Krishna served as Executive Vice President and General Manager, Consumer Group of Intuit, Inc., where he oversaw the organization's end-to-end suite of consumer and tax products and services, including TurboTax and TurboTax Live. During his tenure, TurboTax Live became the fastest growing product in Intuit's history. Prior to Intuit, Krishna served as Senior Director of Product at PayPal, where he managed the company's global consumer product team.
"Varun is a visionary leader with a proven track record of helping consumers achieve financial freedom. Throughout his career, he has delivered innovative, technology-driven client experiences for complex personal transactions in large, fragmented markets," said Dan Gilbert, Founder and Chairman of Rocket Companies. "Varun's experience aligns perfectly with Rocket's vision, making him the ideal person to drive growth, strong performance and operational excellence at Rocket. On behalf of the entire Board and our team members, I welcome Varun as Rocket's new CEO."
"We also thank Bill for his support in stepping up to serve as our interim Chief Executive," added Gilbert. "Having served as CEO of Rocket Mortgage, our flagship business, for 15 years, he is the right person to work alongside Varun going forward to ensure a seamless transition."
"I am honored to join the Rocket Companies team," said Krishna. "Rocket has a rock-solid foundation and tremendous potential, with its comprehensive ecosystem and industry-renowned technology, strong brand and award-winning client service. I look forward to working with Bill, the Board and Rocket's exceptionally talented team members to drive the company's future success and create long-term value for our stakeholders."
The company also announced that Bob Walters has informed the Board of Directors of his intention to retire on September 5, when he will step down from his roles as CEO of Rocket Mortgage and as President and Chief Operating Officer of Rocket Companies. Krishna will succeed Walters at that time as Rocket Mortgage CEO and Emerson will assume the roles of President and Chief Operating Officer for Rocket Companies.
"Since joining Rocket Mortgage more than 26 years ago, Bob has built an exceptional team and strengthened our foundation to enable the company to grow in any market," said Gilbert. "His legacy as a leader and an expert in Capital Markets will leave a lasting impact on Rocket Mortgage and I thank him for the years of dedication to our business."
"For the last 27 years, I have been honored to work alongside many special and talented people who are also some of the very best anyone could ever hope to spend a career with," Walters said. "I'm excited about the next chapter, but I will deeply miss the camaraderie, passion and excellence of everyone who has built Rocket into the great company that it is. I am proud to be able to leave with the business in great hands, knowing, as Dan Gilbert often reminds us, 'Our best days are most certainly ahead.'"
"Dan's impact on numerous industries, the cities of Detroit and Cleveland and so much more has been, and continues to be, profound. I couldn't have known so many years ago when I started that I'd have a front row seat to history. Working closely with Dan and learning from him has been the privilege of a lifetime," Walters added.
About Varun Krishna
Krishna has served as Executive Vice President & General Manager of Intuit's Consumer Group since his appointment in May of 2022. Prior to this role, he served in a variety of leadership roles within the TurboTax and Mint businesses, most notably as its Senior Vice President and GM from 2020-2022. Before Intuit, he served as Senior Director of Product at PayPal, where he managed the global consumer product organization. Prior to these roles, Krishna held a myriad of product leadership roles at Groupon and Betterworks and spent nine years at Microsoft, where he was named to several positions of increasing responsibility.
Krishna holds a Bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering from the University of Waterloo in Canada.
About Rocket Companies
Founded in 1985, Rocket Companies is a Detroit-based fintech platform company consisting of personal finance and consumer technology brands including Rocket Mortgage, Rocket Homes, Amrock, Rocket Money, Rocket Loans, Rocket Mortgage Canada, Lendesk, Core Digital Media, Rocket Central and Rocket Connections.
Rocket Companies' mission is to be the best at creating certainty in life's most complex moments so its clients can pursue their financial dreams. The Company helps clients achieve the goal of home ownership and financial freedom through industry-leading client experiences powered by its simple, fast and trusted digital solutions. J.D. Power has ranked Rocket Mortgage, part of Rocket Companies, #1 in client satisfaction for both primary mortgage origination and servicing 21 times – the most of any mortgage lender.
For more information, please visit the Company's Corporate Website or Investor Relations Website.
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SOURCE Rocket Companies, Inc. | https://www.wymt.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/rocket-companies-appoints-varun-krishna-chief-executive-officer/ | 2023-07-31T13:47:09 | 0 | https://www.wymt.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/rocket-companies-appoints-varun-krishna-chief-executive-officer/ |
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Europe’s economy has grown modestly after months of stagnation, but higher interest rates designed to fight inflation are casting a shadow as they make it more expensive for households and businesses to borrow, invest and spend.
The 20 countries that use the euro currency and their 346 million people saw 0.3% growth in the April-to-June period, compared with the first three months of the year, the EU statistics agency Eurostat reported Monday.
That’s an improvement over zero growth in the first quarter and a slight decline in fourth quarter of last year — but not by much. Plus, one-time factors and an outsized bump from Ireland made things look better than they really were.
The eurozone got a boost by 0.5% growth in France and 0.4% in Spain, where lower inflation has helped lift consumer spending power.
Yet the French figure was increased by the delivery of one very large manufactured item — a cruise ship. That statistical quirk flattered French growth but does little to disguise weak demand for goods in the eurozone’s second-largest economy.
Ireland’s growth of 3.3%, largest in the eurozone, also distorted the overall picture. Its growth figures often show large swings due to major international companies housing their headquarters there, including tech giants like Meta, Google and Apple.
Without Ireland, euro-area growth would have been only 0.1%, said Franziska Palmas, senior Europe economist at Capital Economics.
The overall figure “was driven by a few country idiosyncrasies and masks an underlying momentum that is likely much closer to stagnation,” said Marc de Muizon, senior European analyst at Deutsche Bank Research.
Europe’s largest economy, Germany, struggled in the second quarter, recording zero growth after two straight quarters of falling output as it grappled with high energy costs tied to Russia’s war in Ukraine. Italy, the No. 3 economy, shrank by 0.3%.
The eurozone growth figures for the first quarter were revised from a decline of 0.1%, statistically erasing what had been two straight quarters of contraction — one definition of recession.
Inflation in the eurozone, meanwhile, continued its gradual decline, falling to 5.3% in July from 5.5% in June.
Europe is still struggling with the aftershocks of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, including Moscow cutting off most of its natural gas to the continent that sharply raised prices for the fuel and the electricity it generates.
In Germany, Europe’s manufacturing powerhouse, Vice Chancellor and Economy Minister Robert Habeck has proposed capping energy prices for industry with government help.
The worst of the price spike is over, but costs are still higher than before the war began. Energy has faded as a main driver of inflation, but price rises are hitting Europeans when they shop for groceries, clothes and more, and the rebound for services companies — such as hotels and restaurants that suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic — has mostly run its course.
Food prices rose 10.8% in July from a year earlier, an improvement from June and previous months but still a pain point for households. Energy, meanwhile, kept dropping, falling 6.1%. Stripping out volatile food and energy prices, core inflation held steady at 5.5% — a key indicator that has not fallen as much as central bankers want.
In a bright spot for Europe, rebounding travel, especially in the Mediterranean countries that heavily rely on tourism, is expected to support growth in the upcoming third quarter as people flock to the beach for their summer holidays in Greece, Spain and Italy, despite recent heat waves and wildfires.
Other than that, prospects for the rest of the year are muted. Another drag on the economy is the rapid series of interest rate increases that the European Central Bank has unleashed to knock down inflation.
The ECB made its ninth straight hike Thursday, bringing its key deposit rate from minus 0.5% to 3.75% in just one year, a record pace since the creation of the euro in 1999. The result has been higher mortgage rates and canceled construction plans due to expensive or unavailable credit.
The central bank’s lending survey shows the lowest level of business loans and credit lines since the statistics started in 2003.
Bank President Christine Lagarde left open whether the bank will keep hiking rates at its next meeting on Sept. 14, saying the decision will depend on incoming inflation data.
Since the rate hikes began, inflation has steadily fallen from a peak of 10.6% in October, but July’s figure of 5.3% is still well above the ECB’s 2% target.
Bank officials say tough action now will spare even more painful restriction of credit later if inflation gets completely out of control. | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/business/ap-europes-economy-shows-modest-growth-after-months-of-stagnation-as-rate-hikes-weigh-on-businesses/ | 2023-07-31T13:47:08 | 1 | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/business/ap-europes-economy-shows-modest-growth-after-months-of-stagnation-as-rate-hikes-weigh-on-businesses/ |
SAN DIEGO, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Sony Electronics Inc. today revealed pricing and availability for the new Sony BRAVIA XR A95L QD-OLED 4K HDR Google TV. This model comes in 55" (54.6" diag.), 65" (64.5" diag.) and 77" (76.7" diag.) class sizes with suggested retail price starting at $2,799.99. The A95L offers Sony's best color ever and will be available for pre-order starting August 21 at Sony authorized dealers nationwide.
U.S. pricing and availability details:
- 77" Class (76.7" diag): $4,999.99 MSRP (Available to pre-order on 8/21/2023)
- 65" Class (64.5" diag): $3,499.99 MSRP (Available to pre-order on 8/21/2023)
- 55" Class (54.6" diag): $2,799.99 MSRP (Available to pre-order on 8/21/2023)
Canada pricing and availability details:
- 77" Class (76.7" diag): $6,999.99 MSRP (Available to pre-order on 8/21/2023)
- 65" Class (64.5" diag): $4,999.99 MSRP (Available to pre-order on 8/21/2023)
- 55" Class (54.6" diag): $3,999.99 MSRP (Available to pre-order on 8/21/2023)
For full A95L specifications, please visit: https://electronics.sony.com/tv-video/televisions/all-tvs/p/xr65a95l
BRAVIA XR A95L QD-OLED 4K HDR Google TV Key Features:
Enjoy the brightest and widest range of colors and hues, powered by the intelligent Cognitive Processor XR™. With a QD-OLED screen enhanced by XR Triluminos Max™, experience color performance with up to 200% as much color brightness of a conventional OLED TV. Individually lit pixels produce pure black, so your favorite movies, shows, and games burst to life on screen with extraordinary detail and depth.
- Google TV: Get access to all your favorite streaming apps in one place with Google TV™, and simply use your voice to search and ask questions with Google Assistant. 1
- Intelligent and powerful TV processing: Powered by Sony's intelligent Cognitive Processor XR™, hundreds of thousands of individual on-screen elements are processed and remastered in the blink of an eye, boosting color, contrast, and clarity.
- Sony's widest palette of colors: With QD-OLED panel technology and enhanced by XR Triluminos Max™, millions of self-illuminating individual pixels deliver more saturation and brightness to every color.
- Definitive contrast: By pairing the QD-OLED panel and XR OLED Contrast Pro™, see up to 200% color brightness compared to conventional OLED TVs, bringing scenes to life with pure black and our brightest colors.
- Multi View: Exclusively on the A95L, use Multi View to split your screen and enjoy watching content from two different sources at the same time. Such as playing a game on one side and watching a walkthrough on the other.2,3
- Perfect for PlayStation® 5: Take your gaming to the next level with exclusive features Auto HDR Tone Mapping and Auto Genre Picture Mode for optimized picture quality while gaming and streaming on your PS5® console.4
- All game settings in one place: With Game Menu, quickly manage your gaming picture settings and exclusive assist features in a single convenient interface.
- With Acoustic Surface Audio+™, actuators behind the TV vibrate to produce audio from the entire screen elevating the sound and improving dialogue. An integrated subwoofer delivers powerful bass to round out the sound.
- Pairs perfectly with Sony soundbars: Paired with select Sony soundbars, Acoustic Center Sync synchronizes the TVs speakers with the soundbar, boosting the center channel for clearer, fuller vocals. When connected, soundbar settings automatically appear on the TV's Quick Settings menu for easy to control of volume, sound field, and other soundbar features.5
- Enhanced TV experience with included BRAVIA CAM: Connect the supplied BRAVIA CAM to unlock Ambient Optimization Pro which automatically optimizes the picture and sound to where you're sitting in the room. You can also enjoy video chat with friends and family on the big screen.6
- All Eco settings in one place: With the Eco Dashboard, energy saving settings can now be centrally managed. You can easily customize energy saving settings for your TV usage, viewing environment, and the content you are watching.
Sony is keeping its commitment to decreasing plastic usage through its Road to Zero initiative. To reduce environmental impact, Sony is working on multiple aspects of the product life cycle, such as reduction of virgin plastic use, improvement of transportation efficiency and reviewing energy consumption during use. Additionally, the new Eco Dashboard included on all 2023 BRAVIA XR models allows users to easily customize energy saving preferences and settings.
About Sony Electronics, Inc.
Sony Electronics is a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America and an affiliate of Sony Group Corporation, one of the most comprehensive entertainment companies in the world, with a portfolio that encompasses electronics, music, motion pictures, mobile, gaming, robotics, and financial services. Headquartered in San Diego, California, Sony Electronics is a leader in electronics for the consumer and professional markets. Operations include research and development, engineering, sales, marketing, distribution and customer service. Sony Electronics creates products that innovate and inspire generations, such as the award-winning Alpha Interchangeable Lens Cameras and revolutionary high-resolution audio products. Sony is also a leading manufacturer of end-to-end solutions from 4K professional broadcast and A/V equipment to industry leading 4K and 8K Ultra HD TVs. Visit http://www.sony.com/news for more information.
1 User must accept Google Terms of Service (http://www.google.com/policies/terms/), Play Terms of Service (https://play.google.com/intl/en-US_us/about/play-terms/index.html) and Privacy Policy (http://www.google.com/policies/privacy/) to use TV. User must connect to a Google Account to use certain advertised features, including voice to activate linked apps, and install certain apps and operating software during setup. Use of TV without connecting to a Google Account allows only basic TV features and certain apps. Wireless connectivity requires 802.11 home network (802.11n recommended). Network services, content, operating system, and software of this product may be subject to separate or third-party terms and conditions and changed, interrupted or discontinued at any time and may require fees, registration and credit card information. Apps must be compatible with TV. App availability varies by region and device. Google TV is the name of this device's software experience. Google, Google TV and other marks are trademarks of Google LLC.
2 Screen Size feature will be available via future firmware update.
3 Multi View feature will be available via future firmware update.
4 To activate Auto HDR Tone Mapping, must enable feature when pairing TV and PS5 for the first time; or will need to disconnect TV and PS5, perform factory reset on PS5 and enable the feature during initial setup. Auto Genre Picture Mode works when Auto Picture Mode on the TV is set to ON. Both features are supported only when PS5 and TV are directly connected. Applicable models: All BRAVIA XR models, X85K, X80K.
5 Acoustic Centre Sync works with compatible Sony soundbars and AV receivers. For full compatibility list visit https://www.sony.net/hav_faq.
6 Other than video chat, some BRAVIA CAM features may require future firmware update.
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SOURCE Sony Electronics, Inc. | https://www.ktre.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/sony-electronics-announces-pricing-availability-sony-bravia-xr-a95l-qd-oled-4k-hdr-google-tv/ | 2023-07-31T13:47:11 | 1 | https://www.ktre.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/sony-electronics-announces-pricing-availability-sony-bravia-xr-a95l-qd-oled-4k-hdr-google-tv/ |
ST. ANTHONY, Idaho (AP) — Idaho mother Lori Vallow Daybell faces up to life in prison without parole Monday as she is sentenced in the murders of her two youngest children and a romantic rival in a case that included bizarre claims that her son and daughter were zombies and that she was a goddess sent to usher in the Biblical apocalypse.
Vallow Daybell was found guilty in May of killing her two youngest children, 7-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan, as well as conspiring to kill Tammy Daybell, her fifth husband’s previous wife.
The husband, Chad Daybell, is awaiting trial on the same murder charges. Vallow Daybell also faces two other cases in Arizona — one on a charge of conspiring with her brother to kill her fourth husband, Charles Vallow, and one of conspiring to kill her niece’s ex-husband. Charles Vallow was shot and killed in 2019, but her niece’s ex survived an attempt later that year.
Monday’s sentencing will take place at the Fremont County Courthouse in St. Anthony, Idaho. Judge Steven W. Boyce is expected to hear testimony from several representatives of the victims, including Vallow Daybell’s only surviving son, Colby Ryan.
The case began in July 2019, when Vallow Daybell’s brother, Alex Cox, shot and killed her estranged husband, Charles Vallow, in a suburban Phoenix home. Cox told police he acted in self-defense. He was never charged in the case and died later that year of what authorities determined were natural causes.
Vallow Daybell was already in a relationship with Chad Daybell, a self-published author who wrote doomsday-focused fiction loosely based on Mormon teachings. She moved to Idaho with her kids and brother to be closer to him.
The children were last seen alive in September 2019. Police discovered they were missing a month later after an extended family member became worried. Their bodies were found buried in Chad Daybell’s yard the following summer.
Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow married in November 2019, about two weeks after Daybell’s previous wife, Tammy, was killed. Tammy Daybell initially was described as having died of natural causes, but an autopsy later showed she had been asphyxiated, authorities said.
Defense attorney Jim Archibald argued during the trial that there was no evidence tying Vallow Daybell to the killings, but plenty showing she was a loving, protective mother whose life took a sharp turn when she met Chad Daybell and fell for his “weird” apocalyptic religious claims. He suggested that Daybell and Vallow Daybell’s brother, Alex Cox, were responsible for the deaths.
Daybell told her they had been married in several previous lives and she was a “sexual goddess” who was supposed to help him save the world by gathering 144,000 followers so Jesus could return, Archibald said.
Vallow Daybell’s former friend Melanie Gibb testified during the trial that Vallow Daybell believed people in her life had been taken over by evil spirits and turned into “zombies,” including JJ and Tylee. | https://www.myarklamiss.com/news/ap-top-headlines/ap-idaho-mom-lori-vallow-daybell-faces-sentencing-in-deaths-of-2-children-and-her-romantic-rival/ | 2023-07-31T13:47:12 | 0 | https://www.myarklamiss.com/news/ap-top-headlines/ap-idaho-mom-lori-vallow-daybell-faces-sentencing-in-deaths-of-2-children-and-her-romantic-rival/ |
TEL AVIV, Israel — TEL AVIV, Israel — SuperCom Ltd. (SPCB) on Monday reported a loss of $1.1 million in its second quarter.
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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 SPCB at https://www.zacks.com/ap/SPCB | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/07/31/earns-supercom/a8406712-2f9c-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html | 2023-07-31T13:47:14 | 0 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/07/31/earns-supercom/a8406712-2f9c-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html |
NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Greece’s prime minister said Monday that his government wants to take full advantage of a developing positive political climate with neighboring Turkey in order to improve bilateral relations despite a string of decades-old disputes.
But Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that doesn’t mean Turkey has “substantially changed” its stance on key differences between the two countries and needs to “decisively abandon its aggressive and unlawful conduct” against Greece’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Turkey and Greece remain at odds over maritime boundaries in the eastern Mediterranean, a dispute that affects irregular migration into the European Union, mineral rights and the projection of military power.
Mitsotakis said that he agreed with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, on July 11-12 to initiate new “lines of communication” and to maintain “a period of calm.”
High-level talks between the the two countries are expected to take place in the Greek city of Thessaloniki later this year.
However, the Greek prime minister said that Erdogan’s outreach to the EU can’t come at the expense of efforts to heal Cyprus’ nearly half-century ethnic division.
Speaking after talks with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, Mitsotakis said that he told Erdogan that improved European-Turkish ties can’t exclude a Cyprus peace accord and that the issue can’t be “left by the wayside.”
Turkey and the breakaway Turkish Cypriots have insisted on a two-state solution since July 2017 when the most recent round of U.N.-facilitated peace talks collapsed.
That position overturned a long-standing agreement sanctioned by the U.N. Security Council in numerous resolutions that any peace deal would aim for a reunified Cyprus as a federation made up of Greek and Turkish speaking zones.
Cyprus was split in 1974 when Turkey invaded following a coup by supporters of union with Greece. Only Turkey recognizes a Turkish Cypriot declaration of independence in the island’s northern third, where more than 35,000 Turkish troops are stationed.
On Friday, Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar repeated that peace talks could resume only if Greek Cypriots recognize the Turkish Cypriots’ “sovereign equality.”
Christodoulides said Monday that any improvement in European-Turkish relations should be based on reciprocal action by Turkey, adding that the EU prioritizes a Cyprus peace deal in line with U.N. resolutions. | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/business/ap-greek-prime-minister-seeks-improved-relations-with-turkey-but-says-ankara-needs-to-drop-aggression/ | 2023-07-31T13:47:15 | 1 | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/business/ap-greek-prime-minister-seeks-improved-relations-with-turkey-but-says-ankara-needs-to-drop-aggression/ |
LAS VEGAS, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- UFC®, the world's premier mixed martial arts organization, and Roobet.fun, a completely free-to-play social casino where the Roobet.fun community competes every day for cash and real-world prizes, today announced a multi-year partnership that provides Roobet.fun with significant exposure through some of UFC's biggest events and digital platforms.
BRANDED INTEGRATIONS AND ENTITLEMENTS
Under the terms of the agreement, Roobet.fun will receive prominent branding in the world-famous Octagon® at select UFC Pay-Per-Views and Fight Nights and will be featured as a Presenting Partner of select episodes of Embedded, UFC's all-access video content series featuring top UFC athletes preparing for upcoming events. UFC and Roobet.fun will also collaborate on a variety of custom and original content that will be distributed across UFC-owned social media channels and digital platforms, which reach more than 243 million users worldwide.
In addition, UFC and Roobet.fun will also give fans the chance to experience the excitement of UFC in-person by competing for sweepstakes packages that will feature exclusive in-person prizes, such as tickets to UFC events, post-fight tours of the Octagon, meet and greets with UFC athletes and legends, and VIP tours of the UFC Performance Institute -- the state-of-the-art sports research, innovation, and mixed martial arts training facility in Las Vegas.
The agreement also provides for an annual Brand Ambassador fund that will bring the partnership to life through appearances, content, and creative campaigns with UFC athletes.
"We're thrilled to welcome Roobet.fun as an official UFC partner," said Grant Norris-Jones, Senior Vice President of Global Partnerships. "Roobet.fun is an innovative online gaming platform that offers an incredibly compelling user engagement experience via a free-to-play social casino. It's a forward-thinking approach to gaming we believe UFC fans will enjoy."
"Roobet.fun originally entered the fight space to support some of the best UFC fighters on the planet, and now as the official social casino of the UFC, we will provide exciting, free games and prizes to the greatest fans in the world," said Anthony Brennan, Roobet.fun Co-Founder and Head of Partnerships. "With this partnership, Roobet.fun will create groundbreaking experiences that UFC fans have never seen before."
The Roobet.fun brand already has deep roots within the MMA community, as they individually support several of UFC's best fighters through multi-faceted sponsorships of former champions Alex Pereira, Charles Oliveira, Brandon Moreno and Marlon "Chito" Vera. The company also produces several MMA podcasts, including Champions Corner with former UFC flyweight champion Brandon Moreno; Chute Boxe hosted by Diego Lima, head coach and manager of the famed Chute Boxe Academy in Brazil; and On the House with MMA agent Jason House.
About UFC®
UFC® is the world's premier mixed martial arts organization (MMA), with more than 700 million fans and 243 million social media followers. The organization produces more than 40 live events annually in some of the most prestigious arenas around the world, while broadcasting to over 900 million TV households across more than 170 countries. UFC's active fighter roster features the world's best MMA athletes representing more than 75 countries. The organization's digital offerings include UFC FIGHT PASS®, one of the world's leading streaming services for combat sports. UFC is owned by global sports and entertainment company Endeavor and is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram and TikTok: @UFC.
About Roobet.fun
Roobet.fun is the official social casino of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and is designed with the next generation of gamer in mind. A crypto faucet with a twist, Roobet.fun provides a player-centric, free-to-play experience on an immersive and secure platform accessible to eligible gamers worldwide. Roobet.fun is a pillar brand which exemplifies the brand's values of empowering the crypto and web3 community, while leveraging cutting-edge technologies to make it happen.
Roobet.fun is creating a space for every type of gamer. With Roobet.fun catering to those trying out crypto or simply enjoying free-to-play games, and Roobet.com continuing its industry-leading innovation in the crypto casino space, the Roobet.fun brand is redefining the entertainment landscape and leading the way in inclusive and creator-led gaming. What started as a haven for crypto enthusiasts has hit the mainstream: with over 300M views on TikTok, the drumbeat from Gen Z and Millennials is building – Roobet.fun is a brand "for the internet, by the internet."
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SOURCE UFC; Roobet.fun | https://www.wymt.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/roobetfun-named-official-social-casino-ufc/ | 2023-07-31T13:47:15 | 1 | https://www.wymt.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/roobetfun-named-official-social-casino-ufc/ |
KHAR, Pakistan (AP) — Hundreds of mourners attended funerals in Pakistan on Monday after a suicide bombing killed at least 54 people at an election rally for a pro-Taliban cleric, carrying caskets draped in colorful cloths to burial sites in the hills.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for Sunday’s bombing in Bajur that killed at least five children and wounded nearly 200 people.
The attack appeared to reflect divisions between Islamist groups, which have a strong presence in the district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that borders Afghanistan. It targeted the Jamiat Ulema Islam party, which has ties to the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban.
At least 1,000 people, according to police, were crowded into a tent near a market for the rally ahead of fall elections.
“People were chanting God is Great as the leaders arrived,” said Khan Mohammad, a local resident who said he was standing outside the tent, “and that was when I heard the deafening sound of the bomb.”
Mohammad said he heard people crying for help, and minutes later ambulances arrived and began taking the wounded away.
Police said their initial investigation suggested that the Islamic State group’s regional affiliate, a rival of the Taliban, could be responsible, while a Pakistan security analyst pointed to breakaway factions of the Pakistani Taliban as possible suspects.
The Pakistani military spent years fighting the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, in Bajur before declaring the district clear of militants in 2016. But the Jamiat Ulema Islam party, headed by hard-line cleric and politician Fazlur Rehman, has remained a potent political force.
On Monday, police recorded statements from some of the wounded at a hospital in Khar, the district’s principal town.
The Islamic State in Khorasan Province, which police identified as a suspect in the attack, is based in neighboring Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province and is a rival of the Afghan Taliban and al-Qaida.
Pakistani security analyst Mahmood Shah said some TTP members have been known to disobey their top leadership to carry out attacks, as have breakaway factions of the group.
Shah said such factions could have perpetrated the attack to cause “confusion, instability and unrest ahead of the elections.”
On Monday, female relatives and children wailed and beat their chests at family homes as the dead were taken for funerals, following local customs. Hundreds of men followed the caskets to mosques and open areas for special funeral prayers and then into the hills for burial.
As condolences continued to pour in from across the country, dozens of people who had lesser injuries were discharged from hospital, while the critically wounded were taken to the provincial capital of Peshawar by army helicopters. The death toll continued to rise as some critically wounded people died in hospital, physician Gul Naseeb said.
Gul Akbar, the father of an 11-year-old boy who was wounded in the attack, told The Associated Press that his entire family was in a state of shock after hearing about the bombing Sunday. He said he first went to the scene of the attack, and later found his son Taslim Khan being treated in a hospital in Khar.
“What would I have done if he had also been martyred? Five children died in this barbaric attack, and we want to know what our children did wrong,” he said.
Rehman’s party is preparing to contest elections, which are expected in October or November. Abdul Rasheed, one of the party’s senior leaders, said the bombing was aimed at weakening the party but that “such attacks cannot deter our resolve.”
Rehman’s party is part of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s coalition government, which came to power in April 2022 by ousting former Prime Minister Imran Khan through a no-confidence vote in the legislature.
Sharif called Rehman to express his condolences and assure the cleric that those who orchestrated the attack would be punished. Khan condemned the bombing Sunday, as did the U.S. and Russian embassies in Islamabad.
The Pakistani Taliban also distanced themselves from the bombing, saying that it was intended to set Islamists against each other. Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesman for the Afghan Taliban, wrote in a tweet that “such crimes cannot be justified in any way.”
The bombing came hours before Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng arrived in Islamabad, where he signed new agreements to boost trade and economic ties to mark a decade of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a sprawling package under which China has invested $10 billion in Pakistan over 10 years, according to Sharif.
“We will not tolerate any obstacles in the way of friendship with China,” Sharif said, as he stood next to He.
But the government canceled a cultural event that had been arranged in honor of He, according to Sharif, while the nation mourns.
Some Chinese nationals have also been targeted by militants in northwestern Pakistan and elsewhere.
Rehman, who has long supported Afghanistan’s Taliban government, survived at least two known bomb attacks in 2011 and 2014, when bombings damaged his car at rallies.
Sunday’s bombing was one of the worst in northwestern Pakistan in the last decade. In 2014, 147 people, mostly schoolchildren, were killed in a Taliban attack on an army-run school in Peshawar.
In January, 74 people were killed in a bombing at a mosque in Peshawar. And in February, more than 100 people, mostly policemen, died in a bombing at a mosque inside a high-security compound housing Peshawar police headquarters.
___
Associated Press writer Munir Ahmed contributed to this story from Islamabad. | https://www.myarklamiss.com/news/ap-top-headlines/ap-pakistan-holds-funerals-as-government-vows-to-hunt-down-those-behind-the-weekends-suicide-bombing/ | 2023-07-31T13:47:18 | 0 | https://www.myarklamiss.com/news/ap-top-headlines/ap-pakistan-holds-funerals-as-government-vows-to-hunt-down-those-behind-the-weekends-suicide-bombing/ |
Bonifacino and Grothe Previously Served as Senior Members of the Proxy Contest and M&A Research Groups at Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis, Respectively
David Whissel Promoted to Managing Director
NEW YORK, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Spotlight Advisors, LLC, a leading financial and strategy advisory firm focused on guiding public companies and their investors in high-stakes situations, today announced the expansion of its senior leadership ranks with the addition of two accomplished professionals, Juan Bonifacino and Mark Grothe. Spotlight is also promoting David Whissel to Managing Director.
During the last eight years, Spotlight has become the leading advisory practice assisting public companies in responding to shareholder activists and other contentious shareholder matters, including challenged M&A transactions, controversial compensation plans and contested director elections. In the first half of 2023, according to data compiled by FactSet Research Systems, Spotlight had the most assignments as financial and strategy advisor in high-stakes shareholder activism matters in the United States.
"The addition of Juan and Mark to the Spotlight team will ensure our clients continue to receive best-in-class advice and achieve the remarkable outcomes they expect from us," said Gregory P. Taxin, Managing Member of Spotlight Advisors.
Juan Bonifacino, CFA, joins Spotlight as a Managing Director after having served as head of the shareholder activism practice at Stifel, where he advised more than three dozen public companies on activism response and preparedness, corporate governance, ESG and institutional investor outreach.
Previously, Juan was a Vice President of M&A and Proxy Contest Research at Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), where he evaluated and made voting recommendations to institutional shareholders on the financial and strategic implications of over one hundred proxy contests, contentious mergers and economic proposals.
Mark Grothe, CFA, joins Spotlight as a Senior Director after 14 years as a senior member of the M&A and Contested Situations research team at Glass, Lewis & Co., where he provided institutional shareholders with in-depth research and evaluated the strategic and financial merit in thousands of special situations across all industries and markets. As a part of that work, Mark served as Glass Lewis' primary analyst and issued voting recommendations for more than 200 contested director elections and M&A transactions, including many of the most closely watched situations of the last decade.
"The Spotlight team has known Juan and Mark for many years, and we are very excited to be working with them directly as we grow our client base further," said Mr. Taxin. "I am also thrilled to announce David Whissel has been promoted to Managing Director. Over the last three years, Dave has demonstrated sound judgment, encyclopedic knowledge of activism and shareholders and an incredible work ethic. His contributions have meaningfully driven the success of our firm and great results for our clients."
Spotlight is consistently ranked as the top advisor to companies and investors, having served as a financial and strategy advisor in 118 shareholder activist campaigns in the United States since the beginning of 2020, according to data compiled by Bloomberg Finance LP. By deal volume, Spotlight advised in 25% more campaigns than its closest rival, Goldman, Sachs & Co., and in 50% more activism situations than each of the next three advisors: Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and JP Morgan.
Mr. Taxin concluded, "With a team of seven senior professionals with experience at the world's foremost investment banks, law firms, institutional investors and proxy advisory firms, Spotlight is well placed to continue to drive great results for our clients in shareholder activism and other high-stakes corporate matters."
About Juan I. Bonifacino
Prior to joining Spotlight, Juan Bonifacino founded and led the Shareholder Advisory & Activism practice at the investment bank Stifel. In 2022, Juan was named a Rising Star Dealmaker by the Global M&A Network as well as an Emerging Leader by M&A Advisor. Previously, Juan was a Principal at CamberView Partners (now PJT CamberView), a governance advisory firm. Juan previously served as a Vice President of M&A and Proxy Contest Research at ISS, where he evaluated and made voting recommendations on the financial and strategic implications of over one hundred proxy contests, contested and contentious mergers, and other proposals with an immediate economic impact for institutional investor clients. Juan is a CFA charterholder and received an M.B.A. from Georgetown University where he was the valedictorian of his class, as well as a B.A. from Princeton University.
About Mark Grothe
Prior to joining Spotlight, Mark was a Senior Analyst on the M&A and Contested Situations research team at Glass Lewis for 14 years, where he provided institutional shareholders with in-depth research and voting recommendations on proxy contests, M&A transactions, shareholder activism campaigns and capital-related shareholder proposals. In his role at Glass Lewis, Mark frequently engaged with corporate directors and senior executives, activist investors, director candidates, institutional asset managers, and activism advisors. During his tenure, Mark served as the primary analyst on dozens of notable Glass Lewis research reports. Mark began his career as an analyst on Glass Lewis' accounting and forensic research teams, where he performed deep-dive analysis to uncover hidden or underappreciated risks at public companies related to business strategy, accounting methods, earnings quality and governance. Mark is a CFA charterholder and has a double master's degree in finance and accounting from the University of Colorado Denver, where he also completed his undergraduate studies in business and economics.
About David Whissel
David has been named a Managing Director after serving as a Senior Director of Spotlight Advisors since September 2020, where he has advised clients in dozens of proxy contests and contested M&A transaction votes. He was previously Executive Vice President and Director of Corporate Governance at MacKenzie Partners, where he represented clients in proxy contests and shareholder activism situations, friendly and contested mergers and acquisitions, and annual meetings. David also advised clients on general corporate governance, investor relations, shareholder proposals, and executive compensation matters. Prior to joining MacKenzie in 2016, David was CEO and Director of Research at Proxy Mosaic, a corporate governance research and proxy advisory firm that focused on shareholder activism, M&A, and executive compensation. David received his BA from Denison University, and his JD from the University of Tennessee College of Law.
About Spotlight Advisors, LLC
Spotlight Advisors, LLC, is a leading financial and strategy advisory firm focused on guiding public companies and their investors in high-stakes situations, such as contested director elections and contentious M&A transactions. Spotlight has provided advice in more than 150 situations involving shareholder activists seeking changes in the composition of public company boards (and has served as an advisor in approximately one-fourth of all proxy fights that went to a final vote in the United States since 2016) and in dozens of complex M&A and Special Committee situations, including unsolicited bids, bear hug letters and management buyouts. These complex situations often draw intense scrutiny from shareholders, the media and regulators, raising the stakes for executives and directors as their actions and decisions are placed in the spotlight. More about the firm is available at www.SpotlightAdvisors.com.
CONTACT: Greg Taxin, gtaxin@spotlightadvisors.com
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SOURCE SPOTLIGHT ADVISORS, LLC | https://www.ktre.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/spotlight-advisors-adds-new-expertise-with-appointment-juan-i-bonifacino-mark-grothe/ | 2023-07-31T13:47:17 | 1 | https://www.ktre.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/spotlight-advisors-adds-new-expertise-with-appointment-juan-i-bonifacino-mark-grothe/ |
WASHINGTON — For more than a year, the U.S. economy has defied predictions of a forthcoming recession. It has withstood 10 interest rate hikes in 16 months from an inflation-fighting Federal Reserve. In June, America’s employers added a healthy 209,000 jobs.
The Associated Press spoke recently with Gus Faucher, chief economist at PNC Financial Services Group. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
Q: The job market is cooling but remains strong. Does that suggest a soft landing?
A: What we have seen in the job market so far in 2023 is consistent with a soft landing. Over the past three months, we’ve added 244,000 jobs per month. That’s still too high from the Fed’s perspective but much better than what we had at the end of last year. Although it’s consistent with a soft landing, it’s also consistent with a story where job growth continues to slow, the economy continues to weaken and we get a recession at the end of 2023. We don’t know what the outcome will be. It’s more likely than not that we get a recession.
Q: When would a downturn begin?
A: A few months ago, we were seeing it starting in the second half of 2023. Now we’re seeing late 2023 or early 2024. The labor market is still holding up. Consumers are still in decent shape. But I do think we will continue to feel the impact of the Fed’s monetary tightening. By the end of this year or sometime early next year, those higher rates will be a significant drag on economic activity and lead to recession. But the economy has held up somewhat better than we were expecting.
The economy just can’t continue to add this many jobs per month. We just don’t have the labor force out there.
Q: Where is inflation headed?
A: We will see slowing inflation. If you go back to 2021, 2022, a lot of that inflation was coming on the goods side. Now, the inflation is coming on the services side. Services inflation tends to be stickier, and it tends to be more driven by what’s going on in the labor market. So the tight labor market is contributing to high services inflation. That will contribute to inflation remaining higher than the Fed would like in the near term. By the end of this year, early next year, we will see a significant softening in the labor market that will help bring inflation down to the Fed’s 2% target.
Q: Will the job market continue to favor workers over the longer term?
A: We have seen structural changes. The pandemic pushed forward a lot of retirements. You had people who were close to retirement in 2020 and planning on working a few more years. But when the pandemic came along, they decided to retire. The remaining workers have more bargaining power. Businesses are going to need to rethink a lot of things about pay, about benefits, about workplace flexibility. | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/07/31/economy-inflation-federal-reserve-jobs/43b07098-2fa2-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html | 2023-07-31T13:47:20 | 0 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/07/31/economy-inflation-federal-reserve-jobs/43b07098-2fa2-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html |
WASHINGTON (AP) — For more than a year, the U.S. economy has defied predictions of a forthcoming recession. It has withstood 10 interest rate hikes in 16 months from an inflation-fighting Federal Reserve. In June, America’s employers added a healthy 209,000 jobs.
Will the economy remain resilient? Can the Fed achieve a notoriously difficult “soft landing” — slowing growth just enough to tame inflation without causing a recession?
The Associated Press spoke recently with Gus Faucher, chief economist at PNC Financial Services Group. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
Q: The job market is cooling but remains strong. Does that suggest a soft landing?
A: What we have seen in the job market so far in 2023 is consistent with a soft landing. Over the past three months, we’ve added 244,000 jobs per month. That’s still too high from the Fed’s perspective but much better than what we had at the end of last year. Although it’s consistent with a soft landing, it’s also consistent with a story where job growth continues to slow, the economy continues to weaken and we get a recession at the end of 2023. We don’t know what the outcome will be. It’s more likely than not that we get a recession.
Q: When would a downturn begin?
A: A few months ago, we were seeing it starting in the second half of 2023. Now we’re seeing late 2023 or early 2024. The labor market is still holding up. Consumers are still in decent shape. But I do think we will continue to feel the impact of the Fed’s monetary tightening. By the end of this year or sometime early next year, those higher rates will be a significant drag on economic activity and lead to recession. But the economy has held up somewhat better than we were expecting.
The economy just can’t continue to add this many jobs per month. We just don’t have the labor force out there.
Q: Where is inflation headed?
A: We will see slowing inflation. If you go back to 2021, 2022, a lot of that inflation was coming on the goods side. Now, the inflation is coming on the services side. Services inflation tends to be stickier, and it tends to be more driven by what’s going on in the labor market. So the tight labor market is contributing to high services inflation. That will contribute to inflation remaining higher than the Fed would like in the near term. By the end of this year, early next year, we will see a significant softening in the labor market that will help bring inflation down to the Fed’s 2% target.
Q: Will the job market continue to favor workers over the longer term?
A: We have seen structural changes. The pandemic pushed forward a lot of retirements. You had people who were close to retirement in 2020 and planning on working a few more years. But when the pandemic came along, they decided to retire. The remaining workers have more bargaining power. Businesses are going to need to rethink a lot of things about pay, about benefits, about workplace flexibility. | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/business/ap-insider-qa-an-economist-who-sees-a-recession-coming-despite-economys-resilience-so-far/ | 2023-07-31T13:47:21 | 1 | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/business/ap-insider-qa-an-economist-who-sees-a-recession-coming-despite-economys-resilience-so-far/ |
The fashion show on September 13, 2023, hosted by Shaquem Griffin, will feature Adaptive and Universally Designed apparel, footwear, and products from: Zappos, Kohl's, Target, JCPenney, Tommy Hilfiger, Stride Rite, Steve Madden, French Toast Adaptive, adidas, and a runway debut of Victoria's Secret and PINK's first-ever Adaptive Intimates.
NEW YORK, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Runway of Dreams™ Foundation, a nonprofit organization leading the charge on inclusion, acceptance, and opportunity in the fashion and beauty industries for people with disabilities, announced today their return to the runway during New York Fashion Week. This one-of-a-kind Adaptive fashion show, aptly titled A Fashion Revolution, is presented by online retailer Zappos, and will take place on Wednesday, September 13, 2023, at Powerhouse Arts in Brooklyn, New York. Shaquem Griffin, former NFL linebacker, will be hosting. Griffin was featured this summer in the Runway of Dreams' Campaign for Inclusion, the first multi-brand fashion and beauty campaign featuring people with disabilities wearing Adaptive & Universally Designed products. "I'm honored to continue my journey with Runway of Dreams. This organization is a trailblazer for change, and advocates for millions of people across the globe like myself, who need accessible clothing, which so many people take for granted every day of their lives," - he said. Mr. Griffin will be dressed in looks provided by Neiman Marcus and Tommy Hilfiger.
A Fashion Revolution will highlight the groundbreaking work that leading and emerging companies, from lingerie to luxury, are doing in the Adaptive and Universally Designed space, showcased on 70 models with varying disabilities and backgrounds. The show brings together 500+ leaders and champions of DEI under one roof during New York Fashion Week with the same mission: celebrate inclusion in the fashion and beauty industries.
"The Runway of Dreams stage is where brands have chosen to celebrate the debut of their Adaptive designs over the years, and I am thrilled and so honored to welcome Victoria's Secret and Pink Adaptive to the Adaptive family. Knowing the Victoria's Secret and PINK Adaptive products were developed with and for people with disabilities proves their commitment to true inclusion, and understanding the work that needs to go into making these products authentically," said Mindy Scheier, Founder of Runway of Dreams.
"We are excited to debut our first-ever Adaptive collection during New York Fashion Week on the Runway of Dreams' runway. Runway of Dreams advocates for industry change by empowering people with disabilities to have confidence and self-expression through inclusion in fashion and beauty. We are honored to join the many brands who have decided to debut their Adaptive apparel on this runway adding to the historic timeline that is the future of fashion," said Lydia Smith, Chief Diversity Officer, Victoria's Secret & Co.
In addition to brands on the runway, innovative small brands will showcase their products onsite during the evening. Brands included: MAI We Care, Spoonie Threads, One Leg Up, Reboundwear, and Silverts Adaptive.
Zappos will be awarded the esteemed Pioneer of Change Award, presented to Zappos CEO Scott Schaefer and Zappos Adaptive Business Development Manager Dana Zumbo. Billy Price of BILLY Footwear will also be awarded with the Inspirational Achievement Award for their innovative zippered Adaptive shoes. Two scholarships will be awarded as part of the Foundation's commitment to educate and inspire the next generation of Adaptive designers.
"We've been proud partners of Runway of Dreams since the launch of our Zappos Adaptive shopping experience in 2017," said Dana Zumbo, Business Development Manager for Zappos Adaptive. "Together, we have grown in our shared commitment to make fashion more functional and fashionable for all. This is the stage to be on, and we are humbled to be returning this year as the 2023 Presenting Sponsor."
Following the show, September 14th to 16th is a free and open-to-the-public and first-of- its-kind Adaptive exhibit at Hudson Yards in New York City. This curated display will feature Adaptive and Universally Designed collections from mainstream brands committed to inclusion in the fashion and beauty industries and the history of Runway of Dreams as a trailblazer in the Adaptive space. The event is an opportunity for the public to learn about available Adaptive and Universally Designed products, and to emphasize the need for true inclusion in our mainstream world.
Sponsorship and Corporate Seating Packages Available. Please contact corporaterelations@runwayofdreams.org for more details. Public ticket sales and information about the public exhibit will be announced at runwayofdreams.org and on the Runway of Dreams' social channels.
ABOUT RUNWAY OF DREAMS:
Runway of Dreams is a non-profit (501c3) organization leading the movement of disability inclusion in the fashion and beauty industries. ROD raises awareness and inspires change through programming that celebrates people's differences, challenges stereotypes, and highlights the need for Adaptive & Universally designed apparel.
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SOURCE Runway of Dreams Foundation | https://www.wymt.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/runway-dreams-foundation-returns-new-york-fashion-week-with-runway-show-public-exhibit-recognizing-adaptive-amp-universally-designed-apparel-footwear-products/ | 2023-07-31T13:47:22 | 0 | https://www.wymt.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/runway-dreams-foundation-returns-new-york-fashion-week-with-runway-show-public-exhibit-recognizing-adaptive-amp-universally-designed-apparel-footwear-products/ |
NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — West African nations have given Niger’s coup leaders one week to reinstate the country’s democratically elected president and have threatened to use force if the demands aren’t met.
The announcement came at the end of an emergency meeting of West African countries Sunday in Nigeria, where the regional bloc, known as ECOWAS, convened to respond to last week’s military takeover. President Mohamed Bazoum remains under house arrest and has yet to resign.
“In the event the authority’s demands are not met within one week, (the bloc will) take all measures necessary to restore constitutional order in the Republic of Niger. Such measures may include the use of force,” said the statement.
The bloc also imposted strict sanctions, including suspending all commercial and financial transactions between ECOWAS member states and Niger and freezing of assets in regional central banks.
Economic sanctions could have a deep impact on Nigeriens, who live in the third-poorest country in the world, according to the latest U.N. data. The country relies on imports from Nigeria for up to 90% of its power, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency.
The sanctions could be disastrous and Niger needs to find a solution to avoid them, the country’s Prime Minister Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou told French media outlet Radio France Internationale on Sunday.
“When people say there’s an embargo, land borders are closed, air borders are closed, it’s extremely difficult for people … Niger is a country that relies heavily on the international community,” he said.
The 15-nation ECOWAS bloc has unsuccessfully tried to restore democracies in nations where the military took power in recent years. Four nations are run by military governments in West and Central Africa, where there have been nine successful or attempted coups since 2020.
In the 1990s, ECOWAS intervened in Liberia during its civil war. In 2017, it intervened in Gambia to prevent the new president’s predecessor, Yahya Jammeh, from disrupting the handover of power. Around 7,000 troops from Ghana, Nigeria, and Senegal entered, according to the Global Observatory, which provides analysis on peace and security issues.
If the regional bloc uses force, it could trigger violence not only between Niger and ECOWAS forces but also civilians supporting the coup and those against it, Niger analysts say.
“While this remains to be a threat and unlikely action, the consequences on civilians of such an approach if putschists chose confrontation would be catastrophic,” said Rida Lyammouri, senior fellow at the Policy Center for the New South, a Morocco-based think tank.
Lyammouri also said he does not see a “military intervention happening because of the violence that could trigger.”
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken commended ECOWAS’ leadership Sunday to “defend constitutional order in Niger” after the sanctions announcement, and joined the bloc in calling for the immediate release of Bazoum and his family.
The military junta, which seized power on Wednesday when members of the presidential guard surrounded Bazoum’s house and detained him, is already cracking down on the government and civil liberties.
On Sunday evening it arrested four government officials, including Mahamane Sani Mahamadou, the minister of petroleum and son of former President Mahamadou Issoufou; Kassoum Moctar, minister of education; Ousseini Hadizatou Yacouba, the minister of mines, and Foumakoye Gado, the president of the ruling party. That’s according to someone close to the president, who was not authorized to speak about the situation, and a Nigerien analyst who did not want to be named for fear of reprisal.
The same night, junta spokesman Col. Maj. Amadou Abdramane said on state television that all government cars need to be returned by midday Monday and banned the use of social media to diffuse messages against state security. He also claimed that Bazoum’s government had authorized the French to carry out strikes to free Bazoum. The Associated Press can’t verify his allegations.
In anticipation of the ECOWAS decision Sunday, thousands of pro-junta supporters took to the streets in the capital, Niamey, denouncing its former colonial ruler, France, waving Russian flags and telling the international community to stay away.
Demonstrators in Niger are openly resentful of France, and Russia is seen by some as a powerful alternative. The nature of Moscow’s involvement in the rallies, if any, isn’t clear, but some protesters have carried Russian flags, along with signs reading “Down with France” and supporting Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“The situation of this country is not good … It’s time for change, and change has arrived,” said Moussa Seydou, a protester. “What we want from the putschists — all they have to do is improve social conditions so that Nigeriens can live better in this country and bring peace,” he said. | https://www.myarklamiss.com/news/ap-top-headlines/ap-west-african-nations-threaten-to-use-force-if-nigers-president-isnt-reinstated-within-a-week/ | 2023-07-31T13:47:24 | 1 | https://www.myarklamiss.com/news/ap-top-headlines/ap-west-african-nations-threaten-to-use-force-if-nigers-president-isnt-reinstated-within-a-week/ |
CHICAGO, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Stafford Capital Partners ("Stafford") is pleased to announce the appointment of Joe Carrabes as Head of Client Solutions in North America. Joe's appointment signals an important moment for Stafford's business development as it expands its operations in the US and North America.
Joe brings over 25 years' experience to the role, where he has previously held senior institutional leadership, sales and relationship management positions across a variety of products and strategies, including alternatives, ESG strategies and long only equity and fixed income.
Prior to Stafford, Joe was responsible for managing some of the largest institutional relationships at Amundi US. Joe also spent 12 years at Jennison Associates where he was Head of Institutional Sales and Client Service and was responsible for managing the institutional distribution efforts.
Commenting on the appointment, Stafford's Global Head of Client Solutions Valentina Abbott said: "We are delighted to welcome Joe to the team. He is an impressive executive with an incredible track record in capital raising and is highly regarded for his ability to build strategic partnerships with institutional investors.
Stafford recognizes its responsibility as an investor to contribute to a more sustainable financial system by taking a long-term, responsible approach to investing across alternatives. Joe's experience will be invaluable for Stafford in supporting our clients across the region with their net zero efforts.
This is a landmark moment for Stafford in the US and North America and signals a significant step forward in our commitment to the region."
Speaking about his appointment, Joe Carrabes said: "I am delighted to join Stafford, and I am looking forward to delivering on the firm's growth ambitions in the North American region. I see great potential for Stafford to support high-quality investors on their net zero journeys and believe the firm is well positioned to tackle the opportunities in the North American market."
Media enquiries
Georgina Whittle
Partner
Camarco
07835 770967
Georgina.whittle@camarco.co.uk
Amrith Uppuluri
Senior Consultant
Camarco
07763 083058
amrith.uppuluri@camarco.co.uk
Sean Palmer
Associate Partner
Camarco
07591 760844
sean.palmer@camarco.co.uk
Alexandra Lawrence
Associate Consultant
APCO Worldwide
404-254-7641
alawrence@apcoworldwide.com
About Stafford Capital Partners
Stafford is an independent private markets investment and advisory firm with USD 7.9 billion in assets under management and advice for more than 150 institutional clients worldwide. Founded in 2000, Stafford has a global team of 80+ professionals investing in infrastructure, timberland & agriculture, and sustainable private equity through secondaries, primaries, and co-investments. Stafford has been a UN PRI signatory since 2010 and has committed to the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative. It puts sustainability at the centre of its investment process and implements a well-defined ESG program across all strategies. In the UK, Stafford is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Firm Reference Number: 225586).
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SOURCE Stafford Capital Partners | https://www.ktre.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/stafford-capital-partners-expands-us-operations-appoints-joe-carrabes-head-client-solutions-north-america/ | 2023-07-31T13:47:24 | 1 | https://www.ktre.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/stafford-capital-partners-expands-us-operations-appoints-joe-carrabes-head-client-solutions-north-america/ |
NEW YORK — Trucking company Yellow Corp. has shut down operations and is headed for a bankruptcy filing, according to the Teamsters Union and multiple media reports.
In an announcement early Monday, the Teamsters said that the union received legal notice confirming Yellow was ceasing operations and filing for bankruptcy.
“Today’s news is unfortunate but not surprising. Yellow has historically proven that it could not manage itself despite billions of dollars in worker concessions and hundreds of millions in bailout funding from the federal government,” Teamsters general president Sean O’Brien said in a statement. “This is a sad day for workers and the American freight industry.”
The Associated Press reached out to Yellow for comment on Monday. No bankruptcy filings had gone live as of the early morning.
The bankruptcy reports have renewed attention around Yellow’s ongoing negotiations with unionized workers, a $700 million pandemic-era loan from the government and other bills the trucker has racked up over time. Yellow, formerly known as YRC Worldwide Inc., is one of the nation’s largest less-than-truckload carriers. The company’s reported closure puts 30,000 jobs at risk.
Here’s what you need to know.
According to Satish Jindel, president of transportation and logistics firm SJ Consulting, Yellow handled an average of 49,000 shipments per day in 2022. Last week, he estimated that number was down to between 10,000 and 15,000 daily shipments.
With customers leaving — as well reports of Yellow stopping freight pickups last week — bankruptcy would “be the end of Yellow,” Jindel told The Associated Press, noting increased risk for liquidation.
“The likelihood of them surviving and remaining solvent diminishes really by the day,” added Bruce Chan, a research director at investment banking firm Stifel.
Yellow declined to comment when contacted by The Associated Press on Friday. In a Wednesday statement to The Journal, the company said it was continuing “to prepare for a range of contingencies.” On Thursday, Yellow said it was in talks with multiple parties about selling its third-party logistics organization.
Even if Yellow was able to sell its logistics firm, it would “not generate a sufficient amount of cash to keep them operational on any sort of permanent basis,” Chan said. “Without a major equity injection, it would be very difficult for them to survive.”
As of late March, Yellow had an outstanding debt of about $1.5 billion. Of that, $729.2 million was owed to the federal government.
In 2020, under the Trump administration, the Treasury Department granted the company a $700 million pandemic-era loan on national security grounds. Last month, a congressional probe concluded that the Treasury and Defense Departments “made missteps” in this decision — and noted that Yellow’s “precarious financial position at the time of the loan, and continued struggles, expose taxpayers to a significant risk of loss.”
The government loan is due in September 2024. As of March, Yellow had made $54.8 million in interest payments and repaid just $230 million of the principal owed, according to government documents.
Yellow’s current finances and prospect of bankruptcy “is probably two decades in the making,” Chan said, pointing to poor management and strategic decisions dating back to the early 2000s. “At this point, after each party has bailed them out so many times, there is a limited appetite to do that anymore.”
In May, Yellow reported a loss of $54.6 million, a decline of $1.06 per share, for its first quarter of 2023. Operating revenue was about $1.16 billion in the period.
A Wednesday investors note from financial service firm Stephens estimated that Yellow could be burning between $9 million and $10 million each day. Using a liquidity disclosure from earlier this month, Yellow had roughly $100 million in cash at the end of June, the note added — estimating that the company has been burning through increasing amounts of money through July.
“It is reasonable to believe that the Company could breach its $35 mil. liquidity requirement at any moment,” Stephens analyst Jack Atkins and associate Grant Smith wrote.
Last week’s reports of bankruptcy preparations arrived just days after a strike from the Teamsters, which represents Yellow’s 22,000 unionized workers, was averted.
A series of heated exchanges have built up between the Teamsters and Yellow, who sued the union in June after alleging it was “unjustifiably blocking” restructuring plans needed for the company’s survival. The Teamsters called the litigation “baseless” — with O’Brien pointing to Yellow’s “decades of gross mismanagement,” which included exhausting the $700 million federal loan.
On July 23, a pension fund agreed to extend health benefits for workers at two Yellow Corp. operating companies, averting a strike — and giving Yellow “30 days to pay its bills,” notably $50 million that Yellow failed to pay the Central States Health and Welfare Fund on July 15, the union said. While the strike didn’t occur, talks of a walkout may have caused some Yellow customers to pull back, Chan said.
“The financial struggles of Yellow are not related to the union and the contracts,” Jindel said, pointing to management’s responsibility around its services and prices. He added the union wages from Yellow are “lower than any competitor.”
As Yellow customers take their shipments to other carriers, like FedEx or ABF Freight, prices will go up.
Yellow’s prices have historically been the cheapest compared to other carriers, Jindel said. “That’s why they obviously were not making money,” he added. “And while there is capacity with the other LTL carriers to handle the diversions from Yellow, it will come at a high price for (current shippers and customers) of Yellow.”
Chan adds that we’re in an interesting time for the LTL marketplace — noting that, if Yellow liquidates, “the freight would find a home” with other carriers, which may not have been true in recent years.
“It may take time, but there’s room for it to be absorbed,” he said. | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/07/31/yellow-corp-trucking-company-shuts-down/b2de5ca0-2fa2-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html | 2023-07-31T13:47:26 | 0 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/07/31/yellow-corp-trucking-company-shuts-down/b2de5ca0-2fa2-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html |
PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Kosovo’s journalists on Monday protested against the government’s decision to suspend a private television station’s operations.
Authorities made the move last week because they said there were irregularities concerning the registration of Klan Kosova’s business license that violated the country’s constitution.
Scores of journalists and members of civil society organizations gathered in downtown Pristina in front of the main government building to protest the suspension of the broadcaster’s operations.
The demonstrators said it was a “politically motivated” action taken by the government of Prime Minister Albin Kurti. It was the first closure of a media outlet since the end of Kosovo’s 1998-1999 war, they said, holding a banner that read “Democracy dies in darkness.”
Last week, Kosovo’s Ministry of Industry and Trade suspended Klan Kosova’s license, after the documentation of its business registration in neighboring North Macedonia showed that its owners had named Kosovo’s municipalities as if belonging to Serbia, “which is a violation of our constitution,” according to a statement released Monday.
The journalist accused the government’s decision as “an open and unprecedented war … against the media,” urging owners of Klan Kosova to continue its legal fight at the court.
Klan Kosova’s editor-in-chief, Gazmend, Syla called the suspension “unfair.”
“We consider this a kind of pressure to stop us doing of what we are doing,” he told The Associated Press, adding they would challenge the government’s decision in court.
Last month, Kosovo’s Agency of Business Registration found the alleged fault and decided to suspend the operations of the television station, a move supported last week by the ministry.
The station has said it had already fixed the problems as requested.
Klan Kosova was launched in 2009 to become the country’s biggest private television station.
The embassies of France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States, and the European Union in Kosovo, expressed “their deep concern” about the suspension of Klan Kosova’s business license considering it “a disproportionate decision that will have repercussions on media plurality in Kosovo.”
Kosovo is a former province in Serbia, which doesn’t recognize Pristina’s 2008 declaration of independence. Kosovo’s sovereignty is backed by the U.S. and most EU nations, but not by Russia and China.
Serbia pulled out of Kosovo in 1999 after NATO bombed the country to stop the onslaught against ethnic Albanian separatists. At least 10,000 civilians, most of them ethnic Albanians, were killed in the conflict.
——-
Llazar Semini reported from Tirana, Albania. | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/business/ap-kosovo-journalists-protest-governments-suspension-of-private-television-station/ | 2023-07-31T13:47:27 | 1 | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/business/ap-kosovo-journalists-protest-governments-suspension-of-private-television-station/ |
Kensho Technologies and S&P Global Market Intelligence Recognized for Industry-Leading platforms S&P Global Marketplace and Capital IQ Pro
NEW YORK, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI) announced today Kensho Technologies and the S&P Global Market Intelligence division were named 2023's Best Artificial Intelligence (AI) Technology Provider by Waters Rankings. Voted on by thousands of end users, the Waters Rankings are the only awards program where WatersTechnology's readers determine category winners.
"The rapid acceleration of technology innovation at S&P Global has been powered in large part by the acquisition of Kensho Technologies in 2018," said Ewout Steenbergen, Chief Financial Officer of S&P Global and President of Kensho Technologies. "This early decision and further investments in Artificial Intelligence have improved process efficiencies and enabled us to deliver valuable customer offerings such as S&P Global Marketplace and enhanced AI capabilities to S&P Capital IQ Pro, among many examples. It is an honor to be recognized by WatersTechnology as we strive to uphold S&P Global as an innovative and trusted brand that powers global markets."
The annual Waters Rankings celebrate and recognize the initiatives, innovation and achievements of the industry's leading technology and data providers over the past 12 months. The Waters Rankings are a true reflection of the industry's best-in-class vendors and service providers across 34 categories.
Kensho's suite of AI solutions transform messy, unstructured data, including audio and text, into high-value structured data that powers downstream business and financial decision making. These offerings are made available through S&P Capital IQ Pro and S&P Global Marketplace, both operated by S&P Global Market Intelligence. Unlike traditional AI capabilities, Kensho's AI solutions are trained on top of S&P Global's vast amounts of domain-specific proprietary data and designed with client-to-S&P Global data linkage in mind. Proprietary data training enables Kensho's AI model to outperform generic AI models in business-specific use cases, while data linkage enables deeper, richer and more integrated decision-making insights.
About Kensho Technologies Inc.
Kensho is an artificial intelligence company that builds solutions to unlock insights hidden in messy and unstructured data. Kensho's products are powered by state-of-the-art machine learning techniques that allow customers to unlock insights faster using AI, including voice-to-text transcription, data extraction, data enrichment, and natural language processing, which gives computers the ability to comprehend and analyze human language. The company was acquired by S&P Global in 2018 and continues to operate independently, retaining its distinct brand and culture. For more information, visit www.kensho.com.
About S&P Global
S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI) provides essential intelligence. We enable governments, businesses and individuals with the right data, expertise and connected technology so that they can make decisions with conviction. From helping our customers assess new investments to guiding them through ESG and energy transition across supply chains, we unlock new opportunities, solve challenges and accelerate progress for the world. We are widely sought after by many of the world's leading organizations to provide credit ratings, benchmarks, analytics and workflow solutions in the global capital, commodity and automotive markets. With every one of our offerings, we help the world's leading organizations plan for tomorrow, today.
Media Contacts
Josh Goldstein
S&P Global
Josh.goldstein@spglobal.com
Amanda Oey
S&P Global Market Intelligence
Amanda.oey@spglobal.com
Suzanne Block on Behalf of Kensho
block@shapeandscale.co
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SOURCE S&P Global | https://www.wymt.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/sampp-global-named-best-artificial-intelligence-technology-provider-by-waterstechnology/ | 2023-07-31T13:47:28 | 0 | https://www.wymt.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/sampp-global-named-best-artificial-intelligence-technology-provider-by-waterstechnology/ |
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An escalating dispute over a gas field in the Persian Gulf poses an early challenge to a Chinese-brokered agreement to reconcile regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Saudi Arabia and neighboring Kuwait jointly claim the offshore Al-Durra gas field. Iran says it has rights to the field, which it refers to as Arash. The two sides held talks in Iran in March but were unable to agree on a border demarcation.
A spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, Nasser Kanaani, said the country would not tolerate any infringement on its rights, echoing remarks by the country’s oil minister the previous day.
“We have expressed our readiness to engage in dialogue with the Kuwaiti side,” Kanaani told reporters Monday. “But if there is no interest in mutual utilization of this joint field, the Islamic Republic of Iran has naturally put the exploration and utilization of the resources on its agenda.”
Kuwait’s oil minister told Sky News Arabia last week that his country would commence drilling and production without waiting for a deal.
Saudi Arabia has sided with Kuwait, saying the two countries have exclusive ownership of the field, and has called on Iran to return to negotiations.
Saudi Arabia and Iran, which have backed opposite sides in conflicts across the Middle East and accused each other of destabilizing the region, formally restored diplomatic relations in April following a seven-year freeze. They have since reopened embassies and welcomed senior officials on visits.
But they continue to back opposite sides in Yemen’s civil war, which is ongoing despite a 15-month cease-fire. Saudi Arabia is also in negotiations with the United States over potentially normalizing relations with Israel, which Iran’s leaders have said should be wiped off the map.
“Any step in the direction toward normalization of ties with this aggressive regime will only serve to give it more leeway to commit more atrocities against the Palestinian nation,” Kanaani, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, said.
It’s unclear whether the dispute over the gas field, which goes back to the 1960s, will escalate beyond rhetoric. But tensions are already high in the Persian Gulf, where the U.S. is building up military forces in response to what it says is Iran’s unlawful seizure of oil tankers and harassment of commercial vessels.
Saudi Arabia and Kuwait agreed last year to jointly develop the gas field. Kuwait said at the time that they aimed to produce 1 billion cubic feet of natural gas and 84,000 barrels of liquefied gas per day. Iran denounced the agreement as illegal and said it should be included in any such plans. | https://www.myarklamiss.com/news/business/ap-business/ap-dispute-over-persian-gulf-gas-field-poses-early-challenge-to-saudi-iranian-rapprochement/ | 2023-07-31T13:47:30 | 1 | https://www.myarklamiss.com/news/business/ap-business/ap-dispute-over-persian-gulf-gas-field-poses-early-challenge-to-saudi-iranian-rapprochement/ |
AI demonstrated high accuracy, reduced non-diagnostic outputs, and identified HFpEF patients with worse outcomes.
OXFORD, England, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Applying AI to a single apical four chamber (A4C) view echocardiogram provides accurate information to detect heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), according to research published today in JACC Advances.1
The study, presented at the American Society of Echocardiography Annual Scientific Session, demonstrates the platform could improve the diagnosis, management, and outcomes of a condition that currently often goes undetected, or requires additional invasive procedures to confirm.
Ultromics' EchoGo® Heart Failure accurately detected HFpEF and provided fewer non-diagnostic outputs than current clinical scores, using just the routinely acquired A4C view from a transthoracic echocardiographic (TTE). The novel technology, which was recently granted clearance and Breakthrough Device designation by the FDA, identifies radiomic signatures of disease that are not evident to the human eye.
Senior study author, Patricia A. Pellikka, M.D, Vice Chair in the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine at Mayo Clinic, said: "HFpEF can be difficult to detect, but left undetected and untreated, can result in hospitalization and mortality. As the first AI platform cleared to detect the condition, EchoGo® Heart Failure can fill a significant unmet need."
"With more than 32 million people living with HFpEF, and the incidence increasing, clinicians will benefit from having another means to recognize this disease."
Based on the AI findings, patients could potentially be started on medications to treat their condition earlier than if they had to wait for an invasive diagnostic assessment of the disease.
The AI model was trained and developed on 6,756 patients who underwent a comprehensive TTE at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, between January 2009 to December 2020. It was then independently tested in geographically distinct areas within Mayo Clinic enterprise System sites across the United States, on a dataset that included 1,284 patients.
EchoGo® Heart Failure demonstrated high sensitivity and specificity, detecting 87.8% of patients who had HFpEF, and 81.9% of patients that did not.1 These results exceed what is usually observed in routine clinical practice.
It was also able to assign a correct diagnosis to 74% of patients who had returned non-diagnostic results on the commonly used HFA-PEFF and H2FPEF clinical scores.1 This improvement could translate to more patients receiving accurate and timely diagnoses and management.
During the follow-up period of up to 5 years, 444 patients died, highlighting the poor outcomes associated with HFpEF.1 The AI model was able to identify patients with worse survival, demonstrating its capacity to meaningfully improve patient outcomes.
Ross Upton, PhD, CEO and Founder of Ultromics, said: "Our research demonstrates the tremendous potential of AI in revolutionizing the detection of HFpEF. EchoGo® Heart Failure's exceptional discrimination capabilities combined with its ability to identify patients with higher mortality risks holds great promise for improving patient outcomes and enabling faster access to treatment."
"In a large number of cases, diagnostic data are often missing or discordant, making HFpEF detection challenging. AI can enhance echocardiography capabilities to help practices overcome the cumbersome intricacy of diastolic assessment. It is particularly useful for clinical centers that lack the time, resources, or expertise to perform comprehensive, diagnostic-quality, assessments."
By streamlining the screening process for this complex clinical syndrome, EchoGo® Heart Failure paves the way for more patients to receive the care they need sooner, potentially preventing more severe outcomes, and reducing HFpEF's significant burden on patients and healthcare.
Ultromics remains committed to advancing AI technology to transform cardiovascular healthcare. The groundbreaking findings from this study underscore the company's dedication to empowering healthcare professionals with tools that overcome existing bottlenecks and enhance patient care.
For more information on EchoGo® Heart Failure, visit Ultromics.com
Mayo Clinic has a financial interest in the technology referenced in this press release. Mayo Clinic will use any revenue it receives to support its not-for-profit mission in patient care, education and research.
Notes to editors
The study was approved by the Institutional Review Boards of Mayo Clinic, USA and St. George's University Hospitals, NHS Foundation Trust, UK, and supported by a grant from the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE).
References:
1 - Akerman AP, Porumb M, Scott CG, et al. Automated Echocardiographic Detection of Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction using Artificial Intelligence. JACC Advances, 2023:100452.
About Ultromics:
Ultromics is a pioneer in advanced heart failure detection. The ground-breaking platform, EchoGo ®, is transforming the way heart failure is diagnosed using artificial intelligence and cardiac ultrasound as a modality. The technology empowers clinicians to make precise, efficient, and accurate assessments of heart failure, leveraging the largest known heart disease outcomes dataset in echocardiography, accurately interpreting echocardiograms and predicting cardiac outcomes. The technology has been built in collaboration with Mayo Clinic and NHS England, and has over $50 million raised capital to support continued innovation with the likes of Blue Venture Fund, Optum Ventures, Oxford Science Enterprises, and GV. They are backed by the largest US health insurance firms with 4 FDA clearances. Ultromics' mission is to stop heart failure in its tracks with its precision detection platform. https://www.ultromics.com
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SOURCE Ultromics | https://www.ktre.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/study-confirms-ultromics-ai-can-improve-hfpef-detection-using-single-echocardiogram-view/ | 2023-07-31T13:47:30 | 1 | https://www.ktre.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/study-confirms-ultromics-ai-can-improve-hfpef-detection-using-single-echocardiogram-view/ |
Google’s dominance in online search has triggered a regulatory crackdown by South Africa’s antitrust body.
“Google has an influence on platform competition because it is where most online journeys start,” said Competition Commission Chairman James Hodge in a media briefing on Monday. “Google does give prominence to paid results, which means that the largest platforms with the biggest marketing budgets can dominate the Google search page.”
Google didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
The findings are the result of a broad investigation into Google and other tech platforms operating in South Africa over competition concerns that launched in 2021. The probe also looked at Naspers Ltd.’s Takealot, Uber Eats and Apple Inc.’s App Store.
Africa’s most developed economy joins a number of other large jurisdictions such as the US, Europe and India, in looking at the dominance of Google in search and ad-tech functions.
The watchdog determined that Google must introduce a unit that appears in search results to give more prominence to smaller South African platforms relevant to the search query. It must also make it easier for consumers to identity and support local platforms by adding a flag identifier and search filter for South African companies.
The company must also provide 180 million rand ($10.2 million) in advertising credits and free training for small platforms to use Google’s paid search functions to help with customer acquisition. It must spend 150 million rand to support the performance of small and medium-sized enterprises and black-owned firms in organic results to offset what the watchdog described as the “competitive disadvantages faced on Google search.”
It follows a similar probe of South Africa’s mobile operators, which resulted in the competition commissioner telling dominant wireless carriers such as MTN Group Ltd. and Vodacom Group Ltd. to lower their prices in late 2019.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P. | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/on-small-business/2023/07/31/google-s-dominance-sparks-crackdown-by-south-african-watchdog/6b047220-2f9d-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html | 2023-07-31T13:47:32 | 1 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/on-small-business/2023/07/31/google-s-dominance-sparks-crackdown-by-south-african-watchdog/6b047220-2f9d-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html |
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Europe’s economy has grown modestly after months of stagnation, but higher interest rates designed to fight inflation are casting a shadow as they make it more expensive for households and businesses to borrow, invest and spend.
The 20 countries that use the euro currency and their 346 million people saw 0.3% growth in the April-to-June period, compared with the first three months of the year, the EU statistics agency Eurostat reported Monday.
That’s an improvement over zero growth in the first quarter and a slight decline in fourth quarter of last year — but not by much. Plus, one-time factors and an outsized bump from Ireland made things look better than they really were.
The eurozone got a boost by 0.5% growth in France and 0.4% in Spain, where lower inflation has helped lift consumer spending power.
Yet the French figure was increased by the delivery of one very large manufactured item — a cruise ship. That statistical quirk flattered French growth but does little to disguise weak demand for goods in the eurozone’s second-largest economy.
Ireland’s growth of 3.3%, largest in the eurozone, also distorted the overall picture. Its growth figures often show large swings due to major international companies housing their headquarters there, including tech giants like Meta, Google and Apple.
Without Ireland, euro-area growth would have been only 0.1%, said Franziska Palmas, senior Europe economist at Capital Economics.
The overall figure “was driven by a few country idiosyncrasies and masks an underlying momentum that is likely much closer to stagnation,” said Marc de Muizon, senior European analyst at Deutsche Bank Research.
Europe’s largest economy, Germany, struggled in the second quarter, recording zero growth after two straight quarters of falling output as it grappled with high energy costs tied to Russia’s war in Ukraine. Italy, the No. 3 economy, shrank by 0.3%.
The eurozone growth figures for the first quarter were revised from a decline of 0.1%, statistically erasing what had been two straight quarters of contraction — one definition of recession.
Inflation in the eurozone, meanwhile, continued its gradual decline, falling to 5.3% in July from 5.5% in June.
Europe is still struggling with the aftershocks of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, including Moscow cutting off most of its natural gas to the continent that sharply raised prices for the fuel and the electricity it generates.
In Germany, Europe’s manufacturing powerhouse, Vice Chancellor and Economy Minister Robert Habeck has proposed capping energy prices for industry with government help.
The worst of the price spike is over, but costs are still higher than before the war began. Energy has faded as a main driver of inflation, but price rises are hitting Europeans when they shop for groceries, clothes and more, and the rebound for services companies — such as hotels and restaurants that suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic — has mostly run its course.
Food prices rose 10.8% in July from a year earlier, an improvement from June and previous months but still a pain point for households. Energy, meanwhile, kept dropping, falling 6.1%. Stripping out volatile food and energy prices, core inflation held steady at 5.5% — a key indicator that has not fallen as much as central bankers want.
In a bright spot for Europe, rebounding travel, especially in the Mediterranean countries that heavily rely on tourism, is expected to support growth in the upcoming third quarter as people flock to the beach for their summer holidays in Greece, Spain and Italy, despite recent heat waves and wildfires.
Other than that, prospects for the rest of the year are muted. Another drag on the economy is the rapid series of interest rate increases that the European Central Bank has unleashed to knock down inflation.
The ECB made its ninth straight hike Thursday, bringing its key deposit rate from minus 0.5% to 3.75% in just one year, a record pace since the creation of the euro in 1999. The result has been higher mortgage rates and canceled construction plans due to expensive or unavailable credit.
The central bank’s lending survey shows the lowest level of business loans and credit lines since the statistics started in 2003.
Bank President Christine Lagarde left open whether the bank will keep hiking rates at its next meeting on Sept. 14, saying the decision will depend on incoming inflation data.
Since the rate hikes began, inflation has steadily fallen from a peak of 10.6% in October, but July’s figure of 5.3% is still well above the ECB’s 2% target.
Bank officials say tough action now will spare even more painful restriction of credit later if inflation gets completely out of control. | https://www.myarklamiss.com/news/business/ap-business/ap-europes-economy-shows-modest-growth-after-months-of-stagnation-as-rate-hikes-weigh-on-businesses/ | 2023-07-31T13:47:36 | 1 | https://www.myarklamiss.com/news/business/ap-business/ap-europes-economy-shows-modest-growth-after-months-of-stagnation-as-rate-hikes-weigh-on-businesses/ |
SALT LAKE CITY, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Sera Prognostics Inc., The Pregnancy Company® (NASDAQ: SERA), focused on improving maternal and neonatal health by providing innovative pregnancy biomarker information to doctors and patients, today announced that it will report second quarter fiscal year 2023 financial results on Wednesday, August 9, 2023, after the close of the market. The Company will host a corresponding conference call and live webcast to discuss operational highlights, financial results and key topics at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. A press release outlining the financial results and highlights will be publicly distributed before the call.
Conference Call Details:
US domestic callers: (866) 218-2405
International callers: (412) 902-6607
Webcast Registration Link: https://app.webinar.net/5ZK3j2xMqY7
Live audio of the webcast will be available online from the Investors page of the Company's website at www.seraprognostics.com. The webcast will be archived on the Investors page and will be available for one year.
About Sera Prognostics, Inc.
Sera Prognostics is a leading health diagnostics company dedicated to improving the lives of women and babies through precision pregnancy care. Sera's mission is to provide early, pivotal pregnancy information to improve the health of mothers and newborns, resulting in reductions in the costs of healthcare delivery. Sera has a robust pipeline of innovative diagnostic tests focused on the early prediction of preterm birth risk and other complications of pregnancy. Sera's precision medicine PreTRM® Test reports to a physician the individualized risk of spontaneous premature delivery in a pregnancy, enabling earlier proactive interventions in women with higher risk. Sera Prognostics is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah.
About Preterm Birth
Preterm birth is defined as any birth before 37 weeks' gestation and is the leading cause of illness and death in newborns. The 2022 March of Dimes Report Card shows that, for the last four consecutive years, more than one in ten infants is born prematurely. Prematurity is associated with a significantly increased risk of major long-term medical complications, including learning disabilities, cerebral palsy, chronic respiratory illness, intellectual disability, seizures, and vision and hearing loss, and can generate significant costs throughout the lives of affected children. The annual health care costs to manage short- and long-term complications of prematurity in the United States were estimated to be approximately $25 billion for 2016.
About the PreTRM® Test
The PreTRM® Test is the only broadly validated, commercially available blood-based biomarker test that provides an early, accurate and individualized risk prediction for spontaneous preterm birth in asymptomatic singleton pregnancies. The PreTRM® Test measures and analyzes proteins in the blood that are highly predictive of preterm birth. The PreTRM® Test permits physicians to identify, during the weeks 18 through 20 of pregnancy, which women are at increased risk for preterm birth and its complications, enabling more informed, personalized clinical decisions based on each woman's individual risk. The PreTRM® Test is ordered by a medical professional.
Sera Prognostics, the Sera Prognostics logo, The Pregnancy Company, and PreTRM are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sera Prognostics, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements relating to the date, time and content of the Company's quarterly earnings release and conference call; and the company's strategic directives under the caption "About Sera Prognostics, Inc." These "forward-looking statements" are based on management's current expectations of future events and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from those set forth in or implied by forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: net losses, cash generation, and the potential need to raise more capital; revenues from the PreTRM Test representing substantially all Company revenues to date; the need for broad scientific and market acceptance of the PreTRM Test; a concentrated number of material customers; our ability to introduce new products; potential competition; our proprietary biobank; critical suppliers; the COVID-19 pandemic and its potential lingering impact on our operations, as well as the business or operations of third parties with whom we conduct business; estimates of total addressable market opportunity and forecasts of market growth; potential third-party payer coverage and reimbursement; new reimbursement methodologies applicable to the PreTRM Test, including new CPT codes and payment rates for those codes; changes in FDA regulation of laboratory-developed tests; the intellectual property rights protecting our tests and market position; and other factors discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" contained in our Final Prospectus on Form S-1, which was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on July 14, 2021, as well as any updates to those risk factors filed from time to time in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Annual Reports on Form 10-K, or Current Reports on Form 8-K. All information in this press release is as of the date of the release, and the Company undertakes no duty to update this information unless required by law.
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Stocks are drifting as Wall Street rolls toward the close of another winning month. The S&P 500 was 0.1% higher Monday and on track for a fifth straight month of gains. It’s also close to its highest level in nearly 16 months after rallying on hopes cooling inflation will mean the economy can avoid a recession. The Dow was up 10 points, or less than 0.1%, and the Nasdaq was 0.3% higher. Critics have said the rally has come too quickly. Several reports this week could back them up, including updates on the job market and profits at the market’s most influential companies.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
Wall Street pointed modestly higher early Monday as investors look ahead to another busy week of corporate earnings while digesting a mixed bag of economic data from abroad.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 each rose about 0.1% before the bell.
Shares were mixed in Europe after data released Monday showed Europe’s economy has grown modestly after months of stagnation.
The 20 countries that use the euro currency and their 346 million people saw 0.3% growth in the April-to-June period, compared with the first three months of the year, the EU statistics agency Eurostat said.
That’s a slight improvement over zero growth in the first quarter and a slight decline in fourth quarter of last year.
Germany’s DAX was up 0.1% while the CAC 40 in Paris gained 0.5% and Britain’s FTSE 100 was essentially unchanged.
Another heavy slate of corporate earnings will consume markets this week, with Pfizer, Starbucks, CVS Health, Amazon, Apple and Airbnb all releasing financial results in the coming days.
In Asia, most markets logged gains Monday on hopes for more stimulus from Beijing for the sluggish Chinese economy.
Worries over China’s slowdown have tempered optimism recently over the possibility that inflation is cooling enough to get the Federal Reserve to stop hiking interest rates.
Adding to pressure on the ruling Communist Party to reverse an economic slowdown, Chinese factory activity contracted in July as export orders shrank, a survey showed,
A purchasing managers’ index issued by the national statistics agency and an industry group improved to 49.3 from June’s 49 on a 100-point scale but was below the 50-point level that shows activity contracting.
“The PMI surveys suggest that China’s economic recovery continued to lose momentum in July,” Julian Evans-Pritchard of Capital Economics said in a commentary. “Looking forward, policy support is needed to prevent China’s economy from slipping into a recession, not least because external headwinds look set to persist for a while longer.”
The Hang Seng in Hong Kong rose 0.8% to 20,078.94, while the Shanghai Composite index advanced 0.5% to 3,291.04.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index closed 1.3% higher at 33,172.22. In Seoul, the Kospi climbed 0.9% to 2,632.58.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged 0.1% higher, to 7,410.40 and the SET in Bangkok was up 0.8%. The Sensex in India rose 0.4% to 66,419.66.
Wall Street closed out another winning week on Friday, as the S&P 500 rose 1%. The Dow added 0.5% and the Nasdaq climbed 1.9% as Big Tech stocks led the market.
If inflation is cooling enough to get the Federal Reserve to stop hiking interest rates, that might allow the economy to continue growing and avoid a long-predicted recession.
Though critics say the stock market’s rally may have gone too far, too fast, hopes for a halt to rate hikes helped technology stocks and others seen as big beneficiaries from easier rates to rally.
A report on Friday showed the inflation measure the Fed prefers to use slowed last month by a touch more than expected. Data also showed total compensation for workers rose less than expected during the spring. While that’s discouraging for workers, investors see it adding less upward pressure on inflation.
The hope among traders is that the slowdown in inflation means Wednesday’s hike to interest rates by the Federal Reserve will be the final one of this cycle. The federal funds rate has leaped to a level between 5.25% and 5.50%, up from virtually zero early last year. High interest rates work to lower inflation by slowing the entire economy and hurting prices for stocks and other investments.
In other trading Monday, U.S. benchmark crude oil gained 81 cents to $81.39 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It gained 49 cents to $80.58 on Friday.
Brent crude, the international standard, added 67 cents to $85.08 a barrel.
The U.S. dollar rose to 142.23 Japanese yen from Friday’s 141.01 yen. The euro was at $1.1026, up from $1.1019.
___
Kurtenbach reported from Bangkok; Ott reported from Silver Spring, Maryland.
AP Business Writer Joe McDonald in Beijing contributed. | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/business/ap-stock-market-today-asia-shares-gain-after-wall-st-rally-as-investors-pin-hopes-on-china-stimulus/ | 2023-07-31T13:47:35 | 0 | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/business/ap-stock-market-today-asia-shares-gain-after-wall-st-rally-as-investors-pin-hopes-on-china-stimulus/ |
Retrospective Research Demonstrates Potential of FeelBetter in Optimizing Medication Regimens of Senior Patients and Reducing Avoidable Healthcare Utilization and Spending
BOSTON and TEL AVIV, Israel, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- FeelBetter, the leading provider of medication management technology and pioneer of Pharmaco-Clinical Intelligence, today announced the findings of retrospective research conducted by investigators in Boston. Presented at the Society of General Internal Medicine (SGIM) 2023 Annual Meeting and the 2023 Annual Research Meeting (ARM) of AcademyHealth, the results of the retrospective study demonstrate that FeelBetter's Pharmaco-Clinical Intelligence accurately and appropriately predicts senior patients at high risk of medication-related adverse events.
The study, conducted at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, concluded that FeelBetter can be used to effectively risk stratify emergency department use and hospitalizations among patients over the age of 65 with multiple chronic conditions and complex medication regimens. Study results also indicate that when paired with a medication management intervention, FeelBetter's technology could potentially reduce healthcare utilization and expenses, and aid in improving patient outcomes.
"Medication-related issues contribute to 10-30% of hospitalizations in the elderly. Preventing these issues is critical to improving patient outcomes and reducing avoidable healthcare utilization and expenses. However, current intervention methods and alert systems have numerous limitations," said Lisa Rotenstein, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine and Medical Director of Population Health at Brigham and Women's Hospital and principal investigator of the study. "What's exciting about this solution is that it enables a targeted view of those individuals who may most benefit from medication management interventions and the alteration of their medication regimens. These warnings and recommendations have the potential to aid clinicians and other healthcare providers in optimizing medication regimens, which could lead to downstream improvement in patient outcomes and cost reductions.
The population for the retrospective study included 108,817 of Brigham and Women's Hospital's senior patients (mean age of 77.1) who were taking an average of nine medications to treat multiple chronic conditions. Among the key study findings, the FeelBetter algorithm successfully incorporated a wide variety of data from the electronic health records and accurately stratified patients into risk groupings with distinct demographic and utilization characteristics. Patients in successive risk strata, as identified by FeelBetter, incurred incrementally more emergency department visits and hospitalizations one-, three-, and six-months post prediction. Patients in the highest risk percentile (99%) incurred a mean of 0.531 hospitalizations three-months post prediction.
The study also estimated a total of $4.8 million in potential savings in three months following the use of FeelBetter to risk stratify patients, when considering only the top 5% of high-risk patients and specific hospitalizations that may have been avoided pending medication changes. Based on the results of the retrospective analysis, the study team has begun conducting prospective research to further assess the capabilities of FeelBetter's technology to impact patient trajectories and costs of care.
"Our AI-powered solution leverages data on medications, demographics, social history, diagnoses, lab results, procedures, allergies, emergency department and hospitalization patterns, and costs, among other sources of information. It's comprehensively designed to help clinicians risk stratify patients and proactively personalize medication regimens," said Dr. Adva Tzuk Onn, FeelBetter's Chief Medical Officer, and a physician with more than 15 years of experience in geriatric and family medicine. "We're pleased to see the growing body of evidence for our Pharmaco-Clinical Intelligence and look forward to beginning prospective research with the team at Brigham and Women's Hospital to further assess FeelBetter's impact on improving patient outcomes and driving value-based care."
About FeelBetter
FeelBetter is the pioneer of Pharmaco-Clinical Intelligence, changing the polypharmacy paradigm on both an individual and population health level with a comprehensive solution designed to tackle the challenges associated with suboptimal medication management.Powered by AI and machine learning capabilities, FeelBetter's Pharmaco-Clinical Intelligence drives personalized medication management, helping healthcare professionals ensure that their patients' medication regimens are safe, effective, and appropriate. The technology pinpoints patients at high risk of deterioration and preventable hospitalization due to suboptimal medication management, and proactively suggests immediate and actionable interventions to reduce these risks. Provider organizations use FeelBetter to monitor their patients' progress and more proactively deliver the right follow-up care, as well as to efficiently allocate resources and minimize preventable, costly use of healthcare services.
Led by an interdisciplinary team of clinicians, clinical pharmacists, and technologists, FeelBetter is headquartered in Boston and Tel Aviv, Israel. Investors include Firstime Ventures, Shoni Health Ventures, Triventures, Random Forest VC, The Group Ventures, and GoodCompany Ventures. To learn more, visit feelbetter.healthcare.
Media Contact
Nicole Pariser
nicole@i-feelbetter.com
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Relax on a front porch
Everything seems more pleasant on a porch. Drinks are more refreshing. Reading material is more engaging. And time seems to have its own rhythm as the breeze and the chirp of songbirds counterbalance the list of commitments that march through our brains.
A porch is more than a place. It is a state of mind.
A porch is more than a place. It is a state of mind. This is where they really gained architectural popularity as opposed to overseas alternatives such as loggias, verandas or porticos. Some historians argue that porches in America might owe their origins to enslaved people who built their own simple dwellings with overhanging roofs like those that sheltered entryways in their African homelands. Porches were ubiquitous until air conditioning, suburbanization, television and the automobile ushered in the decline of front porch culture. Front porches became a quaint relic enjoyed when you visited grandparents or the grand Victorian homes in a town’s historic district.
With climate change pushing temperatures to the stratosphere, the front porch should return as a central feature of American home architecture.
Beyond curbing the urge to crank up the air conditioning, porches can pull us away from TV screens and gaming consoles. And those covered spaces that open to our neighbors can foster stronger community bonds.
Years ago, I heard about an experiment in the Norfolk area in which builders installed front porches in public housing. The porches gave people a chance to display pride of place with flowerpots and wind chimes. They created a communal link for people who could greet kids on their way to school and neighbors heading off to work.
And the porches meant suddenly lots of people had their eyes on the corner where some young folks were making mischief and selling drugs. A battle of wills ensued between the young toughs who didn’t want neighbors in their business and the porch-sitters who wanted to perch on their rockers or folding chairs in peace. The porch-sitters won. It was a small victory in a rough neighborhood that didn’t often post gains against encroaching blight.
This story resonated with me. My grandparents in Birmingham, Ala., had a bustling front porch. Every house along Avenue G did, and those semipublic elevated “living rooms” created a loving and sturdy tether among the families on the block. People could greet each other or visit for a spell without invading personal space.
In a world that is getting hotter, where communities are ever more divided, where kids need more of our attention, and where we sleep with machines that produce the sounds of crickets instead of listening to that night music in real time, front porches deserve a roaring comeback. —Michele L. Norris
Mix an Aviation cocktail
Above all, the color. Is there a more beautiful drink than the Aviation, with its mood indigo? We can talk about the history of this drink, and the history of flight, and the many elements that come together to create the refreshing, tangy, summery flavor. But nothing is as important as the purple: the color of grape jelly, or amethyst, or a wee octopus.
Better yet: the color of clouds a little after sunset, as seen from the cockpit of a Prohibition-era flying machine — Amelia Earhart’s Avro-Avian biplane, for instance. July 24, in fact, is Earhart’s birthday — if she were still alive, she’d be 126 years old this week. And so a lovely, thoughtful Aviation cocktail is a way of celebrating not only summer but also all the pioneering aviatrixes who showed that women could have adventures, too.
The recipe first showed up in a 1916 book called “Recipes for Mixed Drinks,” written by bartender Hugo Ensslin of New York’s Hotel Wallick. There’s no mystery about the name: It was called the Aviation because at the turn of the last century, flying machines were all the rage, the early-20th- century version of the Hula-Hoop or the Segway scooter. The drink called for two ounces of gin, a half-ounce of maraschino liqueur, three-quarters of an ounce of fresh-squeezed lemon juice, and — drumroll, please — the precious quarter-ounce of crème de violette that provides the color.
But when that key ingredient became almost impossible to find after its primary producer shut down in the 1960s, the drink disappeared. In time, the Aviation become as obscure as — well, say, early aviation pioneers such as Bessie Coleman or Harriet Quimby.
Then, in the 2000s, as craft cocktails came back in fashion, a new importer brought crème de violette back to the United States. Nowadays, you can find Aviations on lots of menus. Most of them are the proper color, although you still have to be careful. I’ve been served more than a couple of gray ones. Those Aviations need to be sent back to the gate for “maintenance.”
For those who dislike the sweetness of the crème de violette, there’s good news: Empress 1908 gin, made with butterfly pea blossoms and other botanicals, has a gorgeous indigo color. You can use that instead, reduce the crème de violette to a splash and still get a nicely balanced drink. Which is also purple.
There is no shortage of things to worry about this summer. Drinking an Aviation won’t make them go away. But for a short moment, you can hold this cocktail in one hand — I recommend a brandied cherry as garnish — and remember a time when soaring above the clouds was new.
“Flying might not be all plain sailing,” Earhart once said, in a phrase that holds true of both aviation and an Aviation, “but the fun of it is worth the price.” — Jennifer Finney Boylan
Visit a Korean spa’s cold room
It’s so hot in Texas, I pay to voluntarily put myself in a fridge: specifically, the cold room at King Spa and Waterpark in Dallas’s version of Koreatown.
For a $40 fee, you can spend the whole day into the night at this Korean-style bathhouse and sauna, or jjimjilbang. Attendees can float from various dry sauna rooms, among them an infrared light room, a salt room and a super-heated sudatorium, to hot tubs and plunge pools. You can pay extra to get massages, facials and other beauty treatments. You can also order Korean beef and rice, and drinks from the bar and restaurant.
I’ve been spending an inordinate amount of time in the spa’s cold room, which is basically a freezer. I alternate between the cold rooms and the warm baths. When I’m done, I feel refreshed and sleep much better.
But temperature relief isn’t the only renewal the spa offers. Though guests are given pajamas to wear for the pool rooms, you have to strip naked. I’ve actually made some new friends in the baths. There’s something about stripping down that makes it easier to connect. And it’s even better than bonding with sweaty strangers as we leave an air-conditioned safe space for triple-digit heat.
A South Korean bathhouse experience is a chance to escape to another country. Not everyone has this opportunity: The heat is killing Texans and sending them to the hospital. I’m aware that my access to and ability to pay for cooler spaces are privileges. But these spas are a testament to Texas’s rising diversity and the new strategies it gives us to beat the heat. — Karen Attiah
Teach a kid to swim
Are there sweeter summer sounds than the bleat of a lifeguard’s whistle announcing the end of adult swim and then the splashes of children wading back into the public pool? There is no happier way to cool down than to teach a kid how to swim.
Helping kids master the water takes attention but not much physical effort. Gliding a baby through the pool at a stately pace takes less effort than rocking one on land. Lack Michael Phelps’s speed? No problem: It’s easy to keep pace as an eager early swimmer churns through the water. Catching a child as she launches herself off the pool deck at least a dozen times is an excellent way to enjoy a reinvigorating spray.
Once kids gain confidence, they’ll make tremendous use of their new bodily freedom: lolling and flipping like seals; bobbing through “Ring Around the Rosie”; ducking underwater and bursting to the surface triumphantly brandishing cheap diving rings like treasure from a wrecked galleon. Everyone, except for the focused lap swimmers, gets to be childlike in the pool. Parents, too, can do underwater somersaults or make goofy breath-holding faces.
As an added social benefit, teaching a child to swim can prevent pleasure from transforming into tragedy. Drowning is the leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 4 and a major killer of kids 5 to 14. For every child under 18 who dies by drowning, seven more need emergency treatment, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Lifeguards are in such short supply, and those who are working might not be properly trained.
A kid who is strong and competent in the water is a kid who is safe and free to have fun. Let the whistle blare and the cannonballs commence. — Alyssa Rosenberg
Stop complaining about the heat
The art of keeping cool in sweltering heat and humidity isn’t an art at all. It is a skill best developed when one is too young to register the discomfort of living in a jungle, which best describes Florida in the 1950s.
I was born in Florida, where my first gulp of air was hot and moist. I don’t remember wishing it weren’t so hot because I knew no different. But lately, with heat waves more reminiscent of deserts than lake shorelines, my early adaptations have required some upgrading.
It used to be that few, if any, people had air-conditioned homes. We stayed outdoors during the days and slept with the windows open, the better to appreciate the primal sounds coming from the lake and to imagine the swarms of fish that perfumed the air. (I once described the aroma as a bucket of minnows, which, granted, isn’t something you’d find at a Saks cosmetics counter.) Sheets never touched our bodies. A huge fan at the top of the stairs sucked the hot air out — to make room for more hot air to enter.
Yet no one complained because in those good ol’ days, parents didn’t tolerate whining or much else. And not whining is the best way handle summer heat.
Also air conditioning. This miracle entered our lives when I was about 10. Because I kept my room tidy, I was awarded a window unit, while my brother received what little air made it across the hall. I wouldn’t declare any causative effect, but he became a Marine in 1968 and found Vietnam’s climate reasonably hospitable, while I figured out a way to work indoors.
In lieu of air onditioning, the trick is to stay wet inside and out as much as possible. We spent summer days bobbing in the lake. At night, we took showers and returned to bed with wet heads. I also discovered that I could cool off by running my hands and feet under cold water. A damp kerchief around the neck is helpful. Sucking on ice cubes (I prefer crushed) also helps.
These are old-fashioned, common-sense solutions to an ancient problem. Barring relocation to better climes, keep your head, neck, hands and feet wet — and stop your whining. It’s summer. — Kathleen Parker
Put your brain on ice
Ideally, I would escape the summer’s sweltering heat by plunging into a kettle pond, luxuriating in the glacial melt of a northern river or paddling out on a surfboard to meet a swell. But when a busy, hot day in the city doesn’t present those options, I settle instead for an intimate moment with my ice tray.
A former colleague at the Boston Globe used to joke that I should stick my head in the freezer whenever an irate politician or ornery writer was giving me hell. I can’t remember the exact date or provocation, but on some sultry afternoon during the summer of 2020 — while covering the protests following George Floyd’s murder as covid deaths were soaring and a high-stakes presidential election was barreling toward us — I took her advice literally. I opened the freezer drawer and dove headfirst into the frozen peas.
The result was miraculous. The icebox not only cooled my temper and my body but was an instant pick-me-up. I expected an ice cream headache, but instead felt as if I was atop a summit in the Italian Alps, sipping crisp mountain air and an espresso. I had discovered my heat-wave ritual, one that I could, if desired, time to the length of the on-theme Motown soundtrack blasted at full volume.
Another bonus is that you can’t take yourself too seriously when you are folded downward-dog-style into the freezer, even if (or especially if) you are also contemplating cryonics.
There’s no need to abandon all rationality, however. Sleep expert and psychologist Aric Prather has published a book in which he prescribes putting your head in the freezer instead of drinking midafternoon coffee — because the cold jolts you awake, and caffeine disrupts your nighttime sleep. Learning this made me feel more virtuous about my practice, though I can’t say it has cooled my craving for cold brew.
With this year’s historic heat waves, the bigger the ice box, the better. So, if you know a butcher with a walk-in freezer, butter him up. — Bina Venkataraman
Whip up a batch of ice cream
Ice cream is the creamy, incarnate essence of almost all that is best in childhood memory: the birthday wishes that almost came true; the thrill of an ice cream truck jingling in the distance; the icy-cool perfection dissolving on your tongue as you ran down the boardwalk with a cone in one hand and your best friend’s fingers in the other, occasionally stopping to trade licks.
Nothing is better than ice cream for restoring soul and body when the mercury is pushing 90.
Except, that is, for homemade ice cream.
Yes, there are drawbacks to making your own ice cream. You cannot eat it 15 minutes after you think “I would like some ice cream.” It is messier than reaching into a freezer case or watching a soft-serve machine dispense its delightful ooze. Homemade ice cream requires a certain amount of equipment and a modicum of cooking skill.
So why bother? Ice cream fresh off the churn is far more delicious than even the most super-premium of commercial brands — made even more so by the fact that you can have it just as you like it. Do you like extra vanilla? Toss in another half-bean or teaspoon of extract. Are you craving chocolate-peanut-butter-swirl-with-butterscotch chips? You won’t find that in your grocer’s freezer case. Would you like to try candied bacon ice cream? Crank up the machine.
Modern appliance manufacturers are making it ever-easier to concoct great ice cream. Cuisinart’s acclaimed 1.5-quart ice cream maker will set you back less than $70 — about the cost of one trip to a fancy ice cream parlor with a large family. All you need to make a delicious ice cream base to put in the ice cream maker is a reliable thermometer that costs but a few dollars. And if you’re feeling lazy, there are also recipes for making ice cream in a blender.
Why are you still sitting there reading? Head to the kitchen and make delicious new summer memories for everyone. — Megan McArdle
Air-condition the Texas way
The record-breaking “heat dome” might be new, but Texas summers have always been toastier than anyone should have to endure. Union Gen. Philip Henry Sheridan, who served on the Rio Grande frontier in the 1850s, is said to have remarked: “If I owned Texas and hell, I would rent out Texas and live in hell.”
Instead, we native Texans stayed, and started a deep and enduring love affair with air conditioning that made the Sun Belt’s explosive population growth possible.
As far back as 1928, my hometown, San Antonio, boasted the first high-rise office structure in the country with the marvel of “manufactured weather”: the 21-story Milam Building. The following year, San Antonio became the first city in the state to have a fully air-conditioned movie theater, the Majestic.
Nothing, however, matched the temperature-controlled achievement that became known as the “Eighth Wonder of the World.” Houston’s Astrodome opened in 1965 as the largest air-conditioned space ever. Forty-one million cubic feet of summer comfort. Baseball would never be the same.
Now that AC is ubiquitous, Texans do their best never to venture outside its embrace in the summer. It is possible to go days or even weeks moving from air-conditioned home, to air-conditioned car, to air-conditioned office, and back again in reverse, with perhaps a stop at an air-conditioned shopping mall in between. I’ve known people who on milder days drive their convertibles with the top down and the AC cranked up.
Of course, there have always been some among us who do not have this kind of luxury. They are all around, many of them recent immigrants, working jobs that must be done outdoors. All of them deserve even the tiny pleasures that basic heat protection measures have to offer.
Which made it an act of appalling cruelty and hypocrisy when the Republican-controlled Texas Legislature (whose workplace, the Capitol, got central air-conditioning in 1955) recently passed a law, effective Sept. 1, nullifying, among other local ordinances, those that mandate water and sun-protection breaks for people who work outside.
Former Texas agriculture commissioner Jim Hightower, every Texan’s favorite populist Democrat, proposed in response: “No lawmaker or lobbyist is allowed to oppose heat protections for workers unless they spend July and August with no air conditioning for themselves.” Do I hear a second? — Karen Tumulty | https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/07/31/beat-heat-tricks-summer-ice-cream-spa/ | 2023-07-31T13:47:38 | 0 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/07/31/beat-heat-tricks-summer-ice-cream-spa/ |
NEW YORK (AP) — Trucking company Yellow Corp. has shut down operations and is headed for a bankruptcy filing, according to the Teamsters Union and multiple media reports.
After years of financial struggles, reports of Yellow preparing for bankruptcy emerged last week — as the Nashville, Tennessee-based trucker saw customers leave in large numbers. Yellow shut down operations on Sunday, according to the Wall Street Journal, following the layoffs of hundreds of nonunion employees on Friday.
In an announcement early Monday, the Teamsters said that the union received legal notice confirming Yellow was ceasing operations and filing for bankruptcy.
“Today’s news is unfortunate but not surprising. Yellow has historically proven that it could not manage itself despite billions of dollars in worker concessions and hundreds of millions in bailout funding from the federal government,” Teamsters general president Sean O’Brien said in a statement. “This is a sad day for workers and the American freight industry.”
The Associated Press reached out to Yellow for comment on Monday. No bankruptcy filings had gone live as of the early morning.
The bankruptcy reports have renewed attention around Yellow’s ongoing negotiations with unionized workers, a $700 million pandemic-era loan from the government and other bills the trucker has racked up over time. Yellow, formerly known as YRC Worldwide Inc., is one of the nation’s largest less-than-truckload carriers. The company’s reported closure puts 30,000 jobs at risk.
Here’s what you need to know.
According to Satish Jindel, president of transportation and logistics firm SJ Consulting, Yellow handled an average of 49,000 shipments per day in 2022. Last week, he estimated that number was down to between 10,000 and 15,000 daily shipments.
With customers leaving — as well reports of Yellow stopping freight pickups last week — bankruptcy would “be the end of Yellow,” Jindel told The Associated Press, noting increased risk for liquidation.
“The likelihood of them surviving and remaining solvent diminishes really by the day,” added Bruce Chan, a research director at investment banking firm Stifel.
Yellow declined to comment when contacted by The Associated Press on Friday. In a Wednesday statement to The Journal, the company said it was continuing “to prepare for a range of contingencies.” On Thursday, Yellow said it was in talks with multiple parties about selling its third-party logistics organization.
Even if Yellow was able to sell its logistics firm, it would “not generate a sufficient amount of cash to keep them operational on any sort of permanent basis,” Chan said. “Without a major equity injection, it would be very difficult for them to survive.”
As of late March, Yellow had an outstanding debt of about $1.5 billion. Of that, $729.2 million was owed to the federal government.
In 2020, under the Trump administration, the Treasury Department granted the company a $700 million pandemic-era loan on national security grounds. Last month, a congressional probe concluded that the Treasury and Defense Departments “made missteps” in this decision — and noted that Yellow’s “precarious financial position at the time of the loan, and continued struggles, expose taxpayers to a significant risk of loss.”
The government loan is due in September 2024. As of March, Yellow had made $54.8 million in interest payments and repaid just $230 million of the principal owed, according to government documents.
Yellow’s current finances and prospect of bankruptcy “is probably two decades in the making,” Chan said, pointing to poor management and strategic decisions dating back to the early 2000s. “At this point, after each party has bailed them out so many times, there is a limited appetite to do that anymore.”
In May, Yellow reported a loss of $54.6 million, a decline of $1.06 per share, for its first quarter of 2023. Operating revenue was about $1.16 billion in the period.
A Wednesday investors note from financial service firm Stephens estimated that Yellow could be burning between $9 million and $10 million each day. Using a liquidity disclosure from earlier this month, Yellow had roughly $100 million in cash at the end of June, the note added — estimating that the company has been burning through increasing amounts of money through July.
“It is reasonable to believe that the Company could breach its $35 mil. liquidity requirement at any moment,” Stephens analyst Jack Atkins and associate Grant Smith wrote.
Last week’s reports of bankruptcy preparations arrived just days after a strike from the Teamsters, which represents Yellow’s 22,000 unionized workers, was averted.
A series of heated exchanges have built up between the Teamsters and Yellow, who sued the union in June after alleging it was “unjustifiably blocking” restructuring plans needed for the company’s survival. The Teamsters called the litigation “baseless” — with O’Brien pointing to Yellow’s “decades of gross mismanagement,” which included exhausting the $700 million federal loan.
On July 23, a pension fund agreed to extend health benefits for workers at two Yellow Corp. operating companies, averting a strike — and giving Yellow “30 days to pay its bills,” notably $50 million that Yellow failed to pay the Central States Health and Welfare Fund on July 15, the union said. While the strike didn’t occur, talks of a walkout may have caused some Yellow customers to pull back, Chan said.
“The financial struggles of Yellow are not related to the union and the contracts,” Jindel said, pointing to management’s responsibility around its services and prices. He added the union wages from Yellow are “lower than any competitor.”
As Yellow customers take their shipments to other carriers, like FedEx or ABF Freight, prices will go up.
Yellow’s prices have historically been the cheapest compared to other carriers, Jindel said. “That’s why they obviously were not making money,” he added. “And while there is capacity with the other LTL carriers to handle the diversions from Yellow, it will come at a high price for (current shippers and customers) of Yellow.”
Chan adds that we’re in an interesting time for the LTL marketplace — noting that, if Yellow liquidates, “the freight would find a home” with other carriers, which may not have been true in recent years.
“It may take time, but there’s room for it to be absorbed,” he said. | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/business/ap-yellow-is-shutting-down-and-headed-for-bankruptcy-the-teamsters-union-says-heres-what-to-know/ | 2023-07-31T13:47:41 | 0 | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/business/ap-yellow-is-shutting-down-and-headed-for-bankruptcy-the-teamsters-union-says-heres-what-to-know/ |
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden will travel to Arizona, New Mexico and Utah next week and is expected to talk about his administration’s efforts to combat climate change as the region endures a brutally hot summer with soaring temperatures, the White House said Monday.
July has been the hottest month ever recorded. Biden last week announced new steps to protect workers in extreme heat, including measures to improve weather forecasts and make drinking water more accessible.
Members of Biden’s administration also are fanning out over the next few weeks around the anniversary of the landmark climate change and health care legislation to extol the administration’s successes as the Democratic president seeks reelection in 2024.
Vice President Kamala Harris heads to Wisconsin this week with Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo to talk about broadband infrastructure investments. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack goes to Oregon to highlight wildfire defense grants, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg will go to Illinois and Texas, and Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona heads to Maryland to talk about career and technical education programs.
The Inflation Reduction Act included roughly $375 billion over a decade to combat climate change and capped the cost of a month’s supply of insulin at $35 for older Americans and other Medicare beneficiaries. It also helps an estimated 13 million Americans pay for health care insurance by extending subsidies provided during the coronavirus pandemic.
The measure is paid for by new taxes on large companies and stepped-up IRS enforcement of wealthy individuals and entities, with additional funds going to reduce the federal deficit. | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/07/31/biden-climate-change-arizona-new-mexico-utah/e392ceea-2fa1-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html | 2023-07-31T13:47:41 | 1 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/07/31/biden-climate-change-arizona-new-mexico-utah/e392ceea-2fa1-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html |
NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Greece’s prime minister said Monday that his government wants to take full advantage of a developing positive political climate with neighboring Turkey in order to improve bilateral relations despite a string of decades-old disputes.
But Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that doesn’t mean Turkey has “substantially changed” its stance on key differences between the two countries and needs to “decisively abandon its aggressive and unlawful conduct” against Greece’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Turkey and Greece remain at odds over maritime boundaries in the eastern Mediterranean, a dispute that affects irregular migration into the European Union, mineral rights and the projection of military power.
Mitsotakis said that he agreed with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, on July 11-12 to initiate new “lines of communication” and to maintain “a period of calm.”
High-level talks between the the two countries are expected to take place in the Greek city of Thessaloniki later this year.
However, the Greek prime minister said that Erdogan’s outreach to the EU can’t come at the expense of efforts to heal Cyprus’ nearly half-century ethnic division.
Speaking after talks with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, Mitsotakis said that he told Erdogan that improved European-Turkish ties can’t exclude a Cyprus peace accord and that the issue can’t be “left by the wayside.”
Turkey and the breakaway Turkish Cypriots have insisted on a two-state solution since July 2017 when the most recent round of U.N.-facilitated peace talks collapsed.
That position overturned a long-standing agreement sanctioned by the U.N. Security Council in numerous resolutions that any peace deal would aim for a reunified Cyprus as a federation made up of Greek and Turkish speaking zones.
Cyprus was split in 1974 when Turkey invaded following a coup by supporters of union with Greece. Only Turkey recognizes a Turkish Cypriot declaration of independence in the island’s northern third, where more than 35,000 Turkish troops are stationed.
On Friday, Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar repeated that peace talks could resume only if Greek Cypriots recognize the Turkish Cypriots’ “sovereign equality.”
Christodoulides said Monday that any improvement in European-Turkish relations should be based on reciprocal action by Turkey, adding that the EU prioritizes a Cyprus peace deal in line with U.N. resolutions. | https://www.myarklamiss.com/news/business/ap-business/ap-greek-prime-minister-seeks-improved-relations-with-turkey-but-says-ankara-needs-to-drop-aggression/ | 2023-07-31T13:47:43 | 1 | https://www.myarklamiss.com/news/business/ap-business/ap-greek-prime-minister-seeks-improved-relations-with-turkey-but-says-ankara-needs-to-drop-aggression/ |
SHENZHEN, China, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- AMIRO ("the Company"), a leading beauty and skincare technology brand, is thrilled to announce that its research facility, AMIRO LAB, has successfully obtained the Qualified Testing Location (QTL) certification after a comprehensive audit conducted by SGS.
SGS, a globally recognized testing, inspection and certification organization with thousands of branches and laboratories worldwide, introduced the QTL certification for laboratory witness testing. As an SGS-accredited testing location, AMIRO LAB will undergo witness testing by SGS during the certification process, ensuring the accuracy and reliability of the test data. This reduces the time required for companies to transport samples to SGS-designated laboratories for testing, thus effectively shortening the product testing cycle.
"As we receive the QTL certification for AMIRO LAB, it signifies a resounding acknowledgment of our research center's testing capabilities and management efficiency," Jason Chen, Quality Management Director, said. "This milestone propels us into a new phase of strategic cooperation with SGS. Looking ahead, we will forge closer ties in product testing, inspection, certification, and industry standard-setting to drive the high-quality and sustainable development of the skincare technology industry."
Widely recognized as a technology-driven and innovation-focused skincare enterprise, AMIRO has always prioritized research and development. From its inception, AMIRO has established its AMIRO LAB to focus on innovative applications of photonic and medical technologies in the beauty and skincare field. The center boasts a wide array of state-of-the-art equipment, facilitating effective quantitative evaluations.
In a bid to enhance its research and development capabilities, AMIRO has also actively engaged in collaborations between industry, academia, and research institutions, partnering with renowned universities to set up joint R&D centers. These collaborations have enabled AMIRO to advance fundamental research and create products that precisely cater to users' skincare needs.
One exemplary collaboration involves the establishment of the Smart Photonic Medical Technology Joint Research Center with Shanghai Jiao Tong University's School of Biomedical Engineering. This center explores the application and commercialization of photonic therapy in relevant fields. Additionally, the Company has also collaborated with Zhejiang University's School of Pharmacy that led the research on transdermal permeation technology combined with photonic energy. AMIRO has also worked with Sichuan University on a precise skin measurement and evaluation development platform, and with Chongqing University on skin photonic science to study anti-aging skincare solutions for consumers.
AMIRO's prominent position in the industry is further cemented by its active participation in establishing industry standards. The Company has taken an active role in standard-setting initiatives by leveraging its profound R&D capabilities. AMIRO has led the formulation of several industry group standards, including "Guidelines for Face Masks Used in Conjunction with RF Beauty Devices" and "Guidelines for Skincare Products Used in Conjunction with RF and Microcurrent Home Beauty Devices." Moreover, AMIRO has participated in the development of the national standard "Special Requirements for the Safety of Electrical Skin Beauty Devices" to help with the standardization of the industry.
The latest SGS' awarding of the QTL certification to AMIRO is a testament to the brand's advanced laboratory equipment and robust quality management system. This certification represents not only the assurance of product quality but signifies The Company's commitment to enhancing product certification efficiency and accelerating its product launch process to benefit more consumers.
Looking ahead, AMIRO remains committed to optimizing its quality management system as well as its product inspection and testing processes. The Company will continue to translate scientific research achievements into practical applications, delivering simple, safe, and effective products. AMIRO's ultimate goal is to offer precise and tailored skincare solutions for every individual, allowing consumers to experience the beauty of life to the fullest.
For more information about AMIRO and its range of facial devices, please visit their official website.
Or connect with them on social media:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amiroglobal/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AMIRO-Global-103502195623795/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@amiroglobal/featured
About AMIRO
AMIRO, a beauty and skincare technology brand founded in 2015, has been delivering joy and harmony through its technologically advanced home beauty and personal care electronic products. With over 38 international design awards, AMIRO is your trusted skincare partner that offers portable, short-acting, and long-lasting solutions to improve skincare efficiency.
Upholding the idea of "Revitalize beauty through science", AMIRO's products are designed to be affordable, high-quality, and supported by clinical data. With a commitment to sustainability and innovation, AMIRO is dedicated to providing skincare solutions that make women of all ages feel confident and beautiful.
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SOURCE AMIRO | https://www.wymt.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/skincare-tech-brand-amiro-receives-qtl-certification-sgs-strengthen-rampd-efforts/ | 2023-07-31T13:47:43 | 1 | https://www.wymt.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/skincare-tech-brand-amiro-receives-qtl-certification-sgs-strengthen-rampd-efforts/ |
BELLEVUE, Wash., July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Coinstar® for Financial is proud to announce its partnership with Suncoast™ Credit Union as they implement Coinstar self-service kiosks for in-lobby coin counting in 72 of its branches. Suncoast Credit Union is the largest credit union in Florida and the 10th largest in the US based on membership, serving more than one million members across the state.
The partnership began with a 90-day pilot, allowing Suncoast to trial Coinstar's Anthony kiosks designed for financial institutions in a few of its busier branches. Surpassing Suncoast's goals of increasing transactions and efficiency, the pilot was a success. Coinstar for Financial will complete the rollout to all branches by the end of July.
"Coinstar's impact on productivity and member experience was felt within the first week of the pilot. There were just a few short days between signing the contract and seeing the improvement in our coin operations," said Jennifer Bolivar, Senior Vice President of Business Transformation and Retail Branching. "We are excited to roll out Coinstar's best-in-class kiosks across our branch network and continue seeing the positive impact."
The Anthony kiosks are replacing Suncoast Credit Union's previous coin machines that were managed by branch staff, which often interrupted valuable time spent with members. Coinstar for Financial relieves branch staff of that burden by handling every aspect of their coin counting program. Suncoast staff can now better support their members with more time to work face-to-face and ensure members' needs are met.
Coinstar's turnkey program takes care of coin pickup, kiosk maintenance, and administration, meaning Suncoast's branch staff no longer need to worry about emptying the machines, hauling heavy bags of coin, or coordinating repairs. Members can turn their coins into cash through the convenient and highly accurate self-service Coinstar kiosks. In the future, Suncoast also plans to add coin-to-deposit functionality, where members can insert their debit card and deposit coins directly to their account.
"Coinstar is thrilled to partner with Suncoast Credit Union and proud to be a part of their culture of superior focus on the member experience," said Kevin McColly, CEO of Coinstar. "We look forward to a long, prosperous relationship with Suncoast Credit Union and supporting their success into the future."
Implementing the Anthony kiosks is one of Suncoast's steps in its journey toward continuous branch transformation. Having recently installed Interactive Teller Machines (ITMs) at most of its branches, Suncoast had seen how automating some of its more mundane transactions improved the day-to-day for members and employees. With Coinstar as the latest addition to its branch technology, Suncoast has reached a new level of efficiency and member satisfaction.
About Coinstar for Financial
Coinstar for Financial provides a turnkey coin management service that strengthens existing customer loyalty, increases deposits, and attracts and retains new branch traffic. With no capital investment and no maintenance fees, your staff can focus on customers instead of coin counting. Our entire fleet of kiosks is owned, maintained, and serviced by Coinstar, which means there is virtually no financial or reputational risk for your business. If you are a financial institution leader and are curious about how a fully managed coin program can assist in your branch transformation, contact the experts at Coinstar for Financial. To learn more, visit financial.coinstar.com or follow us on LinkedIn.
About Suncoast Credit Union
Suncoast Credit Union is the largest credit union in the state of Florida, the 10th largest in the United States based on membership, and the 10th largest in the United States based on its $17 billion in assets. Chartered in 1934 as Hillsborough County Teachers Credit Union, Suncoast Credit Union currently operates 76 full-service branches and serves more than one million members across Florida. As a community credit union, anyone who lives, works, attends school, or worships in Suncoast Credit Union's service area is eligible for membership. In 2021, Suncoast Credit Union's field of membership was expanded to include public K-12 teachers, college educators, and educational support staff from all of Florida's 67 counties. Suncoast is passionate about community support. Since its founding in 1990, the Suncoast Credit Union Foundation has raised and donated more than $40 million to organizations and initiatives that support the health, education, and emotional well-being of children in the communities that the credit union serves. For more information, visit www.suncoastcreditunion.com or follow us on social media: Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.
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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden will travel to Arizona, New Mexico and Utah next week and is expected to talk about his administration’s efforts to combat climate change as the region endures a brutally hot summer with soaring temperatures, the White House said Monday.
Biden is expected to discuss the Inflation Reduction Act, America’s most significant response to climate change, and the push toward more clean energy manufacturing. The act aims to spur clean energy on a scale that will bend the arc of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.
July has been the hottest month ever recorded. Biden last week announced new steps to protect workers in extreme heat, including measures to improve weather forecasts and make drinking water more accessible.
Members of Biden’s administration also are fanning out over the next few weeks around the anniversary of the landmark climate change and health care legislation to extol the administration’s successes as the Democratic president seeks reelection in 2024.
Vice President Kamala Harris heads to Wisconsin this week with Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo to talk about broadband infrastructure investments. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack goes to Oregon to highlight wildfire defense grants, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg will go to Illinois and Texas, and Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona heads to Maryland to talk about career and technical education programs.
The Inflation Reduction Act included roughly $375 billion over a decade to combat climate change and capped the cost of a month’s supply of insulin at $35 for older Americans and other Medicare beneficiaries. It also helps an estimated 13 million Americans pay for health care insurance by extending subsidies provided during the coronavirus pandemic.
The measure is paid for by new taxes on large companies and stepped-up IRS enforcement of wealthy individuals and entities, with additional funds going to reduce the federal deficit. | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/politics/ap-biden-goes-west-to-talk-about-his-administrations-efforts-to-combat-climate-change/ | 2023-07-31T13:47:47 | 0 | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/politics/ap-biden-goes-west-to-talk-about-his-administrations-efforts-to-combat-climate-change/ |
Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. rose to prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic because of his strident opposition to vaccines. Yet, he insists he’s not anti-vaccine. He has associated with influential people on the far right – including Tucker Carlson, Steve Bannon and Michael Flynn – to raise his profile. Yet, he portrays himself as a true Democrat inheriting the mantle of the Kennedy family.
As he challenges President Joe Biden, the stories he tells on the campaign trail about himself, his life’s work and what he stands for are often the opposite of what his record actually shows.
Though Kennedy’s primary challenge to a sitting president is widely considered a long-shot, he’s been sucking up media attention due to his famous name and the possibility that his run could weaken Biden ahead of what is expected to be a close general election in 2024. He’s drawn praise from Republican presidential candidates like Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Meanwhile, Trump supporters, including his longtime ally Roger Stone, have ginned up interest by floating a Trump-Kennedy unity ticket.
Debra Duvall, 62, who lives in Fort Myers, Florida, and said she serves on the Lee County GOP executive committee, described herself as a longtime Trump supporter, but said she’s torn for 2024.
“I’ll take Trump or RFK. Either one,” she said, explaining that she was drawn to both because she believes they can’t be bought.
That kind of support has demonstrated some of the contradictions in Kennedy’s candidacy. He has said he wants to “reclaim” the Democratic Party, while aligning himself with far right figures who have worked to subvert American democracy. He touts his credentials as an environmentalist, yet pushes bitcoin — a cryptocurrency that requires massive amounts of electricity from supercomputers to generate new coins, prompting most environmental advocates to loudly oppose it.
And though he peppers his speeches, podcast appearances and campaign materials with invocations of the Democratic Party legacies of his uncle President John F. Kennedy and his father Robert F. Kennedy, his relatives have distanced themselves from him and even denounced him.
“He’s trading in on Camelot, celebrity, conspiracy theories and conflict for personal gain and fame,” Jack Schlossberg, President Kennedy’s grandson, said of his cousin in an Instagram video earlier this month. “I’ve listened to him. I know him. I have no idea why anyone thinks he should be president. What I do know is, his candidacy is an embarrassment.”
Kennedy’s recent comments that COVID-19 could have been “ethnically targeted” to spare Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people — which he denies were antisemitic but concedes he should have worded more carefully — also drew a condemnation from his sister, Kerry Kennedy.
The contradictions between what Kennedy says and his track record were nowhere more apparent than when he testified before a congressional committee this month at the invitation of Republican members.
Anti-vaccine activists, some who work for Kennedy’s nonprofit group Children’s Health Defense, sat in the rows behind him, watching as he insisted “I have never been anti-vaxx. I have never told the public to avoid vaccination.”
But that’s not true. Again and again, Kennedy has made his opposition to vaccines clear. Just this month, Kennedy said in a podcast interview that “There’s no vaccine that is safe and effective” and told FOX News that he still believes in the long-ago debunked idea that vaccines can cause autism. In a 2021 podcast he urged people to “resist” CDC guidelines on when kids should get vaccines.
“I see somebody on a hiking trail carrying a little baby and I say to him, better not get them vaccinated,” Kennedy said.
That same year, in a video promoting and anti-vaccine sticker campaign by his nonprofit, Kennedy appeared onscreen next to one sticker that declared “IF YOU’RE NOT AN ANTI-VAXXER YOU AREN’T PAYING ATTENTION.”
A close examination of Kennedy’s campaign finance filings shows that the anti-vaccine movement lies at the heart of his campaign.
Several of his campaign staff and consultants have worked for his anti-vaccine group Children’s Health Defense, including Mary Holland, the group’s president on leave, campaign spokeswoman Stefanie Spear, and Zen Honeycutt, who hosted a show for the group’s TV channel, CHD TV.
Children’s Health Defense currently has a lawsuit pending against a number of news organizations, among them The Associated Press, accusing them of violating antitrust laws by taking action to identify misinformation, including about COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines.
The campaign paid KFP Consulting, a Texas-based company run by Del Bigtree, head of the anti-vaccine group ICAN, and a leading voice in the movement, more than $13,000 for communications consulting, the AP found. Bigtree appeared to still be working for the campaign last week, when an AP reporter saw him helping facilitate a Kennedy event in New York.
Kennedy also has received substantial support from activists who have spread misinformation about the coronavirus and vaccines, including Steve Kirsch, an entrepreneur who has falsely claimed COVID-19 vaccines kill more people than they save, chiropractors Patrick Flynn and Kevin Stillwagon, and others.
Ty and Charlene Bollinger, who run an anti-vaccine business and who the AP has previously reported have had a financial relationship with Kennedy, gave more than $6,000. The couple, along with Kennedy’s communication consultant Bigtree, were involved in hosting a rally near the Capitol on Jan. 6, and Ty Bollinger has said he was among the people who crowded at the Capitol doors in an attempt to get inside, though he said he did not enter.
The couple is a part of the Children’s Health Defense lawsuit against AP and other media outlets.
American Values 2024, a super PAC supporting Kennedy, is run by close associates to Kennedy who have propped up anti-vaccine ideas — the former head of the New York chapter of Children’s Health Defense John Gilmore is its CEO and Kennedy’s publisher Tony Lyons is its co-chair.
The Kennedy campaign did not return emails seeking comment about a number of questions, including how he can say he is not anti-vaccine given his record and his support from anti-vaccine activists.
Kennedy’s run is also getting plenty of financial support from the right. A super PAC supporting Kennedy’s presidential run, called Heal the Divide PAC, has deep ties to Republicans, F ederal Election Commission records show.
The committee’s address is listed in the care of RTA Strategy, a campaign consulting firm that has been paid for its work to help elect Republicans including Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and the former Georgia Senate candidate Herschel Walker.
The PAC’s treasurer, who works for RTA Strategy, is Jason Boles, a past donor to Trump and many other Republicans who includes “MAGA” and “AmericaFirst” in his bio on the platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
Kennedy denied knowing Boles or the Heal the Divide PAC when it came up at the congressional hearing, saying, “I’ve never heard of Mr. Boles, and I’ve never heard of that super PAC.”
But video available online shows he was a guest speaker at a Heal the Divide event just two days earlier. The video features a “Heal the Divide 2024” logo with clips of him speaking at length about plans to back the U.S. dollar with bitcoin and precious metals.
Kennedy says that as president, he would fight for government honesty and transparency, heal the political divide, reverse economic decline, end war and preserve civil liberties. He has made freedom of speech a major part of his platform, arguing that the government’s communication with social media companies unfairly censors protected speech.
Kennedy’s press office did not respond to several messages asking about his support from the far right.
It also did not respond to questions about whether his stance on bitcoin was at odds with being an environmentalist.
Kennedy lists the environment as one of six top priorities on his campaign website and has spent many years speaking against pollution and climate change as an environmental lawyer. Yet he has made supporting the energy-intensive cryptocurrency bitcoin a key part of his platform.
Bitcoin mining, the process of generating new coins, uses massive amounts of electricity — more than some entire countries use, said Scott Faber of the Environmental Working Group.
That’s because it works by tasking a network of supercomputers with solving complex mathematical puzzles — even as some other cryptocurrencies have adopted far more energy efficient mining methods.
“No one who claims to be an environmentalist could support a digital asset that needlessly consumes more electricity than all Americans use to power the lights in our homes,” Faber said. “In fact, bitcoin produces more climate pollution than any other digital asset.”
Despite the environmental downsides of bitcoin, some Democrats, including elected officials, have advocated for the currency.
Kennedy, for his part, told a crowd at Bitcoin 2023 that environmentalists like himself “will continue to pressure you to improve.” Online, he has promoted the argument that demand for bitcoin will boost investment in new renewable energy projects.
Regardless, his financial disclosure documents show he has already personally invested between $100,001 and $250,000 in bitcoin, and he promised at Bitcoin 2023 that he wouldn’t let the environmental argument hinder the currency’s use.
“As president, I will make sure that your right to hold and use bitcoin is inviolable,” he said.
During the past several years, Kennedy has cultivated his ties to the far right. He has appeared on Infowars, the channel run by Sandy Hook conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. He has granted interviews to Trump ally Steve Bannon and Tucker Carlson. After he headlined a stop on the ReAwaken America Tour, the Christian nationalist road show put together by former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn, he was photographed backstage with Flynn, Charlene Bollinger and Trump ally Roger Stone.
Those appearances have led to goodwill on the right, and he has found enthusiastic support among a segment of Trump’s base, with some suggesting him as a potential vice presidential pick.
At a July 1 rally in the tiny town of Pickens, South Carolina, Adrian Palashevsky – a small businessman who described himself as more of a “libertarian” than a Republican – posited a unity ticket, with Kennedy as his top pick for Trump’s VP.
“I think they would get along just fine,” he said. “They’re both anti-establishment, and that’s why they’re under so much attack.”
DeSantis, one of Trump’s Republican challengers, has also indulged in praise for the fringe candidate, saying in a recent interview that while he wouldn’t make Kennedy vice president, he would consider appointing him to one of the federal agencies that regulates vaccine safety and protects public health.
“If you’re president, you know, sic him on the FDA if he’d be willing to serve, or sic him on CDC,” DeSantis said.
Not everyone is buying the Kennedy mystique.
At the annual meeting of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials in New York earlier this month, Kennedy leaned heavily on his family legacy, mentioning his father’s alliance with labor leader Cesar Chavez and his uncle’s work in Latin American countries.
But in his nearly 20-minute speech, he didn’t lay out any plan or policy proposals of his own, or talk about specific issues facing the Latino community. He spent most of his time telling a story about getting arrested with the Mexican American actor Edward Olmos in 2001, an attempt at relating with the community that disappointed both Republicans and Democrats in the audience.
Mario Ceballos, president of a PAC representing LGBTQ+ Latinos, said Kennedy’s speech — and the candidate’s conspiracy theory beliefs — saddened him.
“When I was living in Mexico, Kennedy was an American president that my whole family respected,” Ceballos said. “And what he is presenting are esoteric, dangerous options that are actually going to hurt the same people that his father and uncle wanted to help.”
___
Associated Press writers Jill Colvin in West Palm Beach, Florida, and Meg Kinnard in Pickens, South Carolina, contributed to this report.
___ The Associated Press receives support from several private foundations to enhance its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy. See more about AP’s democracy initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content. | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/07/31/rfk-kennedy-election-2024-president-campaign/a6504716-2f9b-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html | 2023-07-31T13:47:47 | 0 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/07/31/rfk-kennedy-election-2024-president-campaign/a6504716-2f9b-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html |
PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Kosovo’s journalists on Monday protested against the government’s decision to suspend a private television station’s operations.
Authorities made the move last week because they said there were irregularities concerning the registration of Klan Kosova’s business license that violated the country’s constitution.
Scores of journalists and members of civil society organizations gathered in downtown Pristina in front of the main government building to protest the suspension of the broadcaster’s operations.
The demonstrators said it was a “politically motivated” action taken by the government of Prime Minister Albin Kurti. It was the first closure of a media outlet since the end of Kosovo’s 1998-1999 war, they said, holding a banner that read “Democracy dies in darkness.”
Last week, Kosovo’s Ministry of Industry and Trade suspended Klan Kosova’s license, after the documentation of its business registration in neighboring North Macedonia showed that its owners had named Kosovo’s municipalities as if belonging to Serbia, “which is a violation of our constitution,” according to a statement released Monday.
The journalist accused the government’s decision as “an open and unprecedented war … against the media,” urging owners of Klan Kosova to continue its legal fight at the court.
Klan Kosova’s editor-in-chief, Gazmend, Syla called the suspension “unfair.”
“We consider this a kind of pressure to stop us doing of what we are doing,” he told The Associated Press, adding they would challenge the government’s decision in court.
Last month, Kosovo’s Agency of Business Registration found the alleged fault and decided to suspend the operations of the television station, a move supported last week by the ministry.
The station has said it had already fixed the problems as requested.
Klan Kosova was launched in 2009 to become the country’s biggest private television station.
The embassies of France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States, and the European Union in Kosovo, expressed “their deep concern” about the suspension of Klan Kosova’s business license considering it “a disproportionate decision that will have repercussions on media plurality in Kosovo.”
Kosovo is a former province in Serbia, which doesn’t recognize Pristina’s 2008 declaration of independence. Kosovo’s sovereignty is backed by the U.S. and most EU nations, but not by Russia and China.
Serbia pulled out of Kosovo in 1999 after NATO bombed the country to stop the onslaught against ethnic Albanian separatists. At least 10,000 civilians, most of them ethnic Albanians, were killed in the conflict.
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Llazar Semini reported from Tirana, Albania. | https://www.myarklamiss.com/news/business/ap-business/ap-kosovo-journalists-protest-governments-suspension-of-private-television-station/ | 2023-07-31T13:47:49 | 0 | https://www.myarklamiss.com/news/business/ap-business/ap-kosovo-journalists-protest-governments-suspension-of-private-television-station/ |
SAN DIEGO, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Sony Electronics Inc. today revealed pricing and availability for the new Sony BRAVIA XR A95L QD-OLED 4K HDR Google TV. This model comes in 55" (54.6" diag.), 65" (64.5" diag.) and 77" (76.7" diag.) class sizes with suggested retail price starting at $2,799.99. The A95L offers Sony's best color ever and will be available for pre-order starting August 21 at Sony authorized dealers nationwide.
U.S. pricing and availability details:
- 77" Class (76.7" diag): $4,999.99 MSRP (Available to pre-order on 8/21/2023)
- 65" Class (64.5" diag): $3,499.99 MSRP (Available to pre-order on 8/21/2023)
- 55" Class (54.6" diag): $2,799.99 MSRP (Available to pre-order on 8/21/2023)
Canada pricing and availability details:
- 77" Class (76.7" diag): $6,999.99 MSRP (Available to pre-order on 8/21/2023)
- 65" Class (64.5" diag): $4,999.99 MSRP (Available to pre-order on 8/21/2023)
- 55" Class (54.6" diag): $3,999.99 MSRP (Available to pre-order on 8/21/2023)
For full A95L specifications, please visit: https://electronics.sony.com/tv-video/televisions/all-tvs/p/xr65a95l
BRAVIA XR A95L QD-OLED 4K HDR Google TV Key Features:
Enjoy the brightest and widest range of colors and hues, powered by the intelligent Cognitive Processor XR™. With a QD-OLED screen enhanced by XR Triluminos Max™, experience color performance with up to 200% as much color brightness of a conventional OLED TV. Individually lit pixels produce pure black, so your favorite movies, shows, and games burst to life on screen with extraordinary detail and depth.
- Google TV: Get access to all your favorite streaming apps in one place with Google TV™, and simply use your voice to search and ask questions with Google Assistant. 1
- Intelligent and powerful TV processing: Powered by Sony's intelligent Cognitive Processor XR™, hundreds of thousands of individual on-screen elements are processed and remastered in the blink of an eye, boosting color, contrast, and clarity.
- Sony's widest palette of colors: With QD-OLED panel technology and enhanced by XR Triluminos Max™, millions of self-illuminating individual pixels deliver more saturation and brightness to every color.
- Definitive contrast: By pairing the QD-OLED panel and XR OLED Contrast Pro™, see up to 200% color brightness compared to conventional OLED TVs, bringing scenes to life with pure black and our brightest colors.
- Multi View: Exclusively on the A95L, use Multi View to split your screen and enjoy watching content from two different sources at the same time. Such as playing a game on one side and watching a walkthrough on the other.2,3
- Perfect for PlayStation® 5: Take your gaming to the next level with exclusive features Auto HDR Tone Mapping and Auto Genre Picture Mode for optimized picture quality while gaming and streaming on your PS5® console.4
- All game settings in one place: With Game Menu, quickly manage your gaming picture settings and exclusive assist features in a single convenient interface.
- With Acoustic Surface Audio+™, actuators behind the TV vibrate to produce audio from the entire screen elevating the sound and improving dialogue. An integrated subwoofer delivers powerful bass to round out the sound.
- Pairs perfectly with Sony soundbars: Paired with select Sony soundbars, Acoustic Center Sync synchronizes the TVs speakers with the soundbar, boosting the center channel for clearer, fuller vocals. When connected, soundbar settings automatically appear on the TV's Quick Settings menu for easy to control of volume, sound field, and other soundbar features.5
- Enhanced TV experience with included BRAVIA CAM: Connect the supplied BRAVIA CAM to unlock Ambient Optimization Pro which automatically optimizes the picture and sound to where you're sitting in the room. You can also enjoy video chat with friends and family on the big screen.6
- All Eco settings in one place: With the Eco Dashboard, energy saving settings can now be centrally managed. You can easily customize energy saving settings for your TV usage, viewing environment, and the content you are watching.
Sony is keeping its commitment to decreasing plastic usage through its Road to Zero initiative. To reduce environmental impact, Sony is working on multiple aspects of the product life cycle, such as reduction of virgin plastic use, improvement of transportation efficiency and reviewing energy consumption during use. Additionally, the new Eco Dashboard included on all 2023 BRAVIA XR models allows users to easily customize energy saving preferences and settings.
About Sony Electronics, Inc.
Sony Electronics is a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America and an affiliate of Sony Group Corporation, one of the most comprehensive entertainment companies in the world, with a portfolio that encompasses electronics, music, motion pictures, mobile, gaming, robotics, and financial services. Headquartered in San Diego, California, Sony Electronics is a leader in electronics for the consumer and professional markets. Operations include research and development, engineering, sales, marketing, distribution and customer service. Sony Electronics creates products that innovate and inspire generations, such as the award-winning Alpha Interchangeable Lens Cameras and revolutionary high-resolution audio products. Sony is also a leading manufacturer of end-to-end solutions from 4K professional broadcast and A/V equipment to industry leading 4K and 8K Ultra HD TVs. Visit http://www.sony.com/news for more information.
1 User must accept Google Terms of Service (http://www.google.com/policies/terms/), Play Terms of Service (https://play.google.com/intl/en-US_us/about/play-terms/index.html) and Privacy Policy (http://www.google.com/policies/privacy/) to use TV. User must connect to a Google Account to use certain advertised features, including voice to activate linked apps, and install certain apps and operating software during setup. Use of TV without connecting to a Google Account allows only basic TV features and certain apps. Wireless connectivity requires 802.11 home network (802.11n recommended). Network services, content, operating system, and software of this product may be subject to separate or third-party terms and conditions and changed, interrupted or discontinued at any time and may require fees, registration and credit card information. Apps must be compatible with TV. App availability varies by region and device. Google TV is the name of this device's software experience. Google, Google TV and other marks are trademarks of Google LLC.
2 Screen Size feature will be available via future firmware update.
3 Multi View feature will be available via future firmware update.
4 To activate Auto HDR Tone Mapping, must enable feature when pairing TV and PS5 for the first time; or will need to disconnect TV and PS5, perform factory reset on PS5 and enable the feature during initial setup. Auto Genre Picture Mode works when Auto Picture Mode on the TV is set to ON. Both features are supported only when PS5 and TV are directly connected. Applicable models: All BRAVIA XR models, X85K, X80K.
5 Acoustic Centre Sync works with compatible Sony soundbars and AV receivers. For full compatibility list visit https://www.sony.net/hav_faq.
6 Other than video chat, some BRAVIA CAM features may require future firmware update.
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SOURCE Sony Electronics, Inc. | https://www.wymt.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/sony-electronics-announces-pricing-availability-sony-bravia-xr-a95l-qd-oled-4k-hdr-google-tv/ | 2023-07-31T13:47:49 | 1 | https://www.wymt.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/sony-electronics-announces-pricing-availability-sony-bravia-xr-a95l-qd-oled-4k-hdr-google-tv/ |
CLEVELAND, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- TransDigm Group Incorporated (NYSE: TDG) today said it will report fiscal 2023 third quarter earnings before the market opens on Tuesday, August 8, 2023.
A conference call will follow at 11:00 a.m., Eastern Time. To join the call telephonically, please register for the call here. Once registered, participants will receive the dial-in information and a unique pin to access the call. A live audio webcast of the call can also be accessed online at http://www.transdigm.com.
The webcast will be archived on the website and available for replay later that day.
About TransDigm Group
TransDigm Group, through its wholly-owned subsidiaries, is a leading global designer, producer and supplier of highly engineered aircraft components for use on nearly all commercial and military aircraft in service today. Major product offerings, substantially all of which are ultimately provided to end-users in the aerospace industry, include mechanical/electro-mechanical actuators and controls, ignition systems and engine technology, specialized pumps and valves, power conditioning devices, specialized AC/DC electric motors and generators, batteries and chargers, engineered latching and locking devices, engineered rods, engineered connectors and elastomer sealing solutions, databus and power controls, cockpit security components and systems, specialized and advanced cockpit displays, engineered audio, radio and antenna systems, specialized lavatory components, seat belts and safety restraints, engineered and customized interior surfaces and related components, advanced sensor products, switches and relay panels, thermal protection and insulation, lighting and control technology, parachutes, high performance hoists, winches and lifting devices, cargo loading, handling and delivery systems and specialized flight, wind tunnel and jet engine testing services and equipment.
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SOURCE TransDigm Group Inc. | https://www.ktre.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/transdigm-third-quarter-earnings-report-conference-call-set-tuesday-august-8-2023/ | 2023-07-31T13:47:51 | 0 | https://www.ktre.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/transdigm-third-quarter-earnings-report-conference-call-set-tuesday-august-8-2023/ |
MELBOURNE, Australia — This metropolis down south and the big country around it fretted early Monday night over the specter of a party long planned but about to go jarringly discontinued, in a world where discontinued parties count as bummers, particularly here.
The Matildas will play on because they ransacked Canada 4-0 with energy immense enough that the running mystery of the last dozen days here, whether and when brilliant star Sam Kerr and her injured calf might play, went moot.
Kerr roared from the sideline anyway, and her face that appears on every other billboard kept beaming, and with no need to insert her as some inspiring substitution, the most famous calf in sports could avail itself of further mending.
An unthinkable ouster of Australia before the knockout stage even hatched, a prospect that began shouting last week in a 3-2 loss to Nigeria, would have robbed the event of one of its essential fabrics, not to mention startled the national senses. The World Cup would have continued with full or near-full crowds, and the world would have continued rotating on its axis, but both matters would have suffered a jolliness deficit.
“Desperate Matildas depending on Kerr — and crowd — to avoid World Cup disaster,” went the headline in the Age, the 169-year-old Melbourne newspaper. The Australian Broadcasting Company began the sports portion with an anchor saying, “We are building up to a monumental evening.” Australians from all around reached Melbourne Rectangular Stadium on a ski-cap kind of winter night with many a nerve ending in unrest in the pregame concourse.
“I’ve been excited that I’m coming to a World Cup game,” said Emma McVeigh, who jetted in from Tasmania with her local club soccer teammate Sophie Booth and Booth’s sister Lucy, “but incredibly stressed at the same time because the team needs to win the game.”
“Nervous, just nervous, mostly,” said Molly Appleton of Melbourne. “I think you’ve got to try and not think about it at times.”
“There are nerves,” said Ronnie Blyth of Adelaide, “but the atmosphere has been electric, the anticipation. A once-in-a-lifetime experience. You’ve got to do these things in life, don’t you?”
A pioneer in the Australian and global women’s game, the former executive director of Australian women’s soccer and board member of Australian soccer, Heather Reid, had just gotten a fish and chips. She felt a tad annoyed at a flight delay from the Sunshine Coast up east because it cost her party the party before the match.
Attending her seventh World Cup, she said: “We’re here. And I’m nervous. It is a critical game. I don’t want to think about the repercussions if we don’t progress.”
All might have clung to the words on Sunday from the defender Ellie Carpenter, who said, “Honestly, I feel like we’re the best when we have our backs to the wall.” They proceeded to come out like people who had backs to the wall as they swarmed Canada, the reigning Olympic champion, which ended up with group-stage elimination for the first time since 2011, as Australia would win Group B and Nigeria would join it in carrying on.
By the ninth minute, Caitlin Foord fed a ball on the left to Steph Catley, who barreled along the edged of the pitch before sending a cross that bounded through teammate Emily van Egmond over to veteran Hayley Raso on the right side of the box. Raso stopped, adjusted and shoved the thing leftward through the legs of Canada’s Ashley Lawrence and into the back left corner of the goal.
Most everyone around felt better.
Then, most everyone didn’t.
The offside flag went up, causing sighing and booing. A VAR check ensued. It showed that Catley was, in fact, not behind a Canadian defender out yonder as Catley made her charge, and Raso got a second celebration. She fell to her knees and smiled one of the bigger smiles of this event.
Most everyone around felt better.
That lasted through another Catley-to-Raso in the 13th minute, which forced a diving save from Canada goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan, and through Mary Fowler’s disallowed goal for Australia in the 34th minute, when a VAR review found Carpenter interfering.
Then it came time to start clinching, and for the ball too take up shop in the Canada end. That led to a corner which Kyra Cooney-Cross struck into a tough place, so that Sheridan swatted it over to where it bounced off Quinn’s leg and back in to Raso, who cleaned it up with Canadians strewn around and miffed.
By halftime soon thereafter, the evening already seemed a daydream.
It would continue as such, all the way through, Canada never menacing, but Foord doing just that in the 58th minute, making it all the way to the end line beyond all defense in order to cross to a lonely Fowler. Fowler, the 20-year-old wunderkind who missed the loss to Nigeria with concussion concerns, kind of caught the ball with her boot as she ran, so that it trickled to the right goal post, caromed and came to rest over the line.
Catley scored a penalty in stoppage time. The crowd erupted. The Matildas exulted. The worry had evaporated. | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/07/31/australia-advances-canada-womens-world-cup/ | 2023-07-31T13:47:54 | 1 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/07/31/australia-advances-canada-womens-world-cup/ |
MIAMI (AP) — An employee of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, Carlos De Oliveira, is expected to make his first court appearance Monday on charges accusing him of scheming with the former president to hide security footage from investigators probing Trump’s hoarding of classified documents.
De Oliveira, Mar-a-Lago’s property manager, was added last week to the indictment with Trump and the former president’s valet, Walt Nauta, in the federal case alleging a plot to illegally keep top-secret records at Trump’s Palm Beach, Florida, estate and thwart government efforts to retrieve them.
De Oliveira faces charges including conspiracy to obstruct justice and lying to investigators. He’s scheduled to appear before a magistrate judge in Miami nearly two months after Trump pleaded not guilty in the case brought by special counsel Jack Smith.
De Oliveira’s attorney, John Irving, said Monday that his client hadn’t yet found a Florida-based attorney — a requirement that had delayed Nauta’s arraignment previously — and cautioned that De Oliveira’s arraignment could also be delayed.
The developments in the classified documents case come as Trump braces for possible charges in another federal investigation into his efforts to cling to power after he lost the 2020 election. Trump, the early front-runner in the 2024 Republican presidential primary, has received a letter from Smith indicating that he is a target of that investigation, and Trump’s lawyers met with Smith’s team last week.
An attorney for De Oliveira declined last week to comment on the allegations. Trump has denied any wrongdoing and said the Mar-a-Lago security tapes were voluntarily handed over to investigators. Trump posted on his Truth Social platform last week that he was told the tapes were not “deleted in any way, shape or form.”
Prosecutors have not alleged that security footage was actually deleted or kept from investigators.
Nauta has also pleaded not guilty. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon had previously scheduled the trial of Trump and Nauta to begin in May, and it’s unclear whether the addition of De Oliveira to the case may impact the case’s timeline.
The latest indictment, unsealed on Thursday, alleges that Trump tried to have security footage deleted after investigators visited in June 2022 to collect classified documents Trump took with him after he left the White House.
Trump was already facing dozens of felony counts — including willful retention of notional defense information — stemming from allegations that he mishandled government secrets that as commander-in-chief he was entrusted to protect. Experts have said the new allegations bolster the special counsel’s case and deepen the former president’s legal jeopardy.
Video from Mar-a-Lago would ultimately become vital to the government’s case because, prosecutors said, it shows Nauta moving boxes in and out of a storage room — an act alleged to have been done at Trump’s direction and in effort to hide records not only only from investigators but Trump’s own lawyers.
Days after the Justice Department sent a subpoena for video footage at Mar-a-Lago to the Trump Organization in June 2022, prosecutors say De Oliveira asked a information technology staffer how long the server retained footage and told the employee “the boss” wanted it deleted. When the employee said he didn’t believe he was able to do that, De Oliveira insisted the “boss” wanted it done, asking, “What are we going to do?”
Shortly after the FBI searched Mar-a-Lago and found classified records in the storage room and Trump’s office, prosecutors say Nauta called a Trump employee and said words to the effect of, “someone just wants to make sure Carlos is good.” The indictment says the employee responded that De Oliveira was loyal and wouldn’t do anything to affect his relationship with Trump. That same day, the indictment alleges, Trump called De Oliveira directly to say that he would get De Oliveira an attorney.
Prosecutors allege that De Oliveira later lied in interviews with investigators, falsely claiming that he hadn’t even seen boxes moved into Mar-a-Lago after Trump left the White House.
____
Richer reported from Boston. | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/politics/ap-mar-a-lago-worker-charged-in-trumps-classified-documents-case-to-make-first-court-appearance/ | 2023-07-31T13:47:53 | 1 | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/politics/ap-mar-a-lago-worker-charged-in-trumps-classified-documents-case-to-make-first-court-appearance/ |
Stocks are drifting as Wall Street rolls toward the close of another winning month. The S&P 500 was 0.1% higher Monday and on track for a fifth straight month of gains. It’s also close to its highest level in nearly 16 months after rallying on hopes cooling inflation will mean the economy can avoid a recession. The Dow was up 10 points, or less than 0.1%, and the Nasdaq was 0.3% higher. Critics have said the rally has come too quickly. Several reports this week could back them up, including updates on the job market and profits at the market’s most influential companies.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
Wall Street pointed modestly higher early Monday as investors look ahead to another busy week of corporate earnings while digesting a mixed bag of economic data from abroad.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 each rose about 0.1% before the bell.
Shares were mixed in Europe after data released Monday showed Europe’s economy has grown modestly after months of stagnation.
The 20 countries that use the euro currency and their 346 million people saw 0.3% growth in the April-to-June period, compared with the first three months of the year, the EU statistics agency Eurostat said.
That’s a slight improvement over zero growth in the first quarter and a slight decline in fourth quarter of last year.
Germany’s DAX was up 0.1% while the CAC 40 in Paris gained 0.5% and Britain’s FTSE 100 was essentially unchanged.
Another heavy slate of corporate earnings will consume markets this week, with Pfizer, Starbucks, CVS Health, Amazon, Apple and Airbnb all releasing financial results in the coming days.
In Asia, most markets logged gains Monday on hopes for more stimulus from Beijing for the sluggish Chinese economy.
Worries over China’s slowdown have tempered optimism recently over the possibility that inflation is cooling enough to get the Federal Reserve to stop hiking interest rates.
Adding to pressure on the ruling Communist Party to reverse an economic slowdown, Chinese factory activity contracted in July as export orders shrank, a survey showed,
A purchasing managers’ index issued by the national statistics agency and an industry group improved to 49.3 from June’s 49 on a 100-point scale but was below the 50-point level that shows activity contracting.
“The PMI surveys suggest that China’s economic recovery continued to lose momentum in July,” Julian Evans-Pritchard of Capital Economics said in a commentary. “Looking forward, policy support is needed to prevent China’s economy from slipping into a recession, not least because external headwinds look set to persist for a while longer.”
The Hang Seng in Hong Kong rose 0.8% to 20,078.94, while the Shanghai Composite index advanced 0.5% to 3,291.04.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index closed 1.3% higher at 33,172.22. In Seoul, the Kospi climbed 0.9% to 2,632.58.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged 0.1% higher, to 7,410.40 and the SET in Bangkok was up 0.8%. The Sensex in India rose 0.4% to 66,419.66.
Wall Street closed out another winning week on Friday, as the S&P 500 rose 1%. The Dow added 0.5% and the Nasdaq climbed 1.9% as Big Tech stocks led the market.
If inflation is cooling enough to get the Federal Reserve to stop hiking interest rates, that might allow the economy to continue growing and avoid a long-predicted recession.
Though critics say the stock market’s rally may have gone too far, too fast, hopes for a halt to rate hikes helped technology stocks and others seen as big beneficiaries from easier rates to rally.
A report on Friday showed the inflation measure the Fed prefers to use slowed last month by a touch more than expected. Data also showed total compensation for workers rose less than expected during the spring. While that’s discouraging for workers, investors see it adding less upward pressure on inflation.
The hope among traders is that the slowdown in inflation means Wednesday’s hike to interest rates by the Federal Reserve will be the final one of this cycle. The federal funds rate has leaped to a level between 5.25% and 5.50%, up from virtually zero early last year. High interest rates work to lower inflation by slowing the entire economy and hurting prices for stocks and other investments.
In other trading Monday, U.S. benchmark crude oil gained 81 cents to $81.39 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It gained 49 cents to $80.58 on Friday.
Brent crude, the international standard, added 67 cents to $85.08 a barrel.
The U.S. dollar rose to 142.23 Japanese yen from Friday’s 141.01 yen. The euro was at $1.1026, up from $1.1019.
___
Kurtenbach reported from Bangkok; Ott reported from Silver Spring, Maryland.
AP Business Writer Joe McDonald in Beijing contributed. | https://www.myarklamiss.com/news/business/ap-business/ap-stock-market-today-asia-shares-gain-after-wall-st-rally-as-investors-pin-hopes-on-china-stimulus/ | 2023-07-31T13:47:55 | 1 | https://www.myarklamiss.com/news/business/ap-business/ap-stock-market-today-asia-shares-gain-after-wall-st-rally-as-investors-pin-hopes-on-china-stimulus/ |
Bonifacino and Grothe Previously Served as Senior Members of the Proxy Contest and M&A Research Groups at Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis, Respectively
David Whissel Promoted to Managing Director
NEW YORK, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Spotlight Advisors, LLC, a leading financial and strategy advisory firm focused on guiding public companies and their investors in high-stakes situations, today announced the expansion of its senior leadership ranks with the addition of two accomplished professionals, Juan Bonifacino and Mark Grothe. Spotlight is also promoting David Whissel to Managing Director.
During the last eight years, Spotlight has become the leading advisory practice assisting public companies in responding to shareholder activists and other contentious shareholder matters, including challenged M&A transactions, controversial compensation plans and contested director elections. In the first half of 2023, according to data compiled by FactSet Research Systems, Spotlight had the most assignments as financial and strategy advisor in high-stakes shareholder activism matters in the United States.
"The addition of Juan and Mark to the Spotlight team will ensure our clients continue to receive best-in-class advice and achieve the remarkable outcomes they expect from us," said Gregory P. Taxin, Managing Member of Spotlight Advisors.
Juan Bonifacino, CFA, joins Spotlight as a Managing Director after having served as head of the shareholder activism practice at Stifel, where he advised more than three dozen public companies on activism response and preparedness, corporate governance, ESG and institutional investor outreach.
Previously, Juan was a Vice President of M&A and Proxy Contest Research at Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), where he evaluated and made voting recommendations to institutional shareholders on the financial and strategic implications of over one hundred proxy contests, contentious mergers and economic proposals.
Mark Grothe, CFA, joins Spotlight as a Senior Director after 14 years as a senior member of the M&A and Contested Situations research team at Glass, Lewis & Co., where he provided institutional shareholders with in-depth research and evaluated the strategic and financial merit in thousands of special situations across all industries and markets. As a part of that work, Mark served as Glass Lewis' primary analyst and issued voting recommendations for more than 200 contested director elections and M&A transactions, including many of the most closely watched situations of the last decade.
"The Spotlight team has known Juan and Mark for many years, and we are very excited to be working with them directly as we grow our client base further," said Mr. Taxin. "I am also thrilled to announce David Whissel has been promoted to Managing Director. Over the last three years, Dave has demonstrated sound judgment, encyclopedic knowledge of activism and shareholders and an incredible work ethic. His contributions have meaningfully driven the success of our firm and great results for our clients."
Spotlight is consistently ranked as the top advisor to companies and investors, having served as a financial and strategy advisor in 118 shareholder activist campaigns in the United States since the beginning of 2020, according to data compiled by Bloomberg Finance LP. By deal volume, Spotlight advised in 25% more campaigns than its closest rival, Goldman, Sachs & Co., and in 50% more activism situations than each of the next three advisors: Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and JP Morgan.
Mr. Taxin concluded, "With a team of seven senior professionals with experience at the world's foremost investment banks, law firms, institutional investors and proxy advisory firms, Spotlight is well placed to continue to drive great results for our clients in shareholder activism and other high-stakes corporate matters."
About Juan I. Bonifacino
Prior to joining Spotlight, Juan Bonifacino founded and led the Shareholder Advisory & Activism practice at the investment bank Stifel. In 2022, Juan was named a Rising Star Dealmaker by the Global M&A Network as well as an Emerging Leader by M&A Advisor. Previously, Juan was a Principal at CamberView Partners (now PJT CamberView), a governance advisory firm. Juan previously served as a Vice President of M&A and Proxy Contest Research at ISS, where he evaluated and made voting recommendations on the financial and strategic implications of over one hundred proxy contests, contested and contentious mergers, and other proposals with an immediate economic impact for institutional investor clients. Juan is a CFA charterholder and received an M.B.A. from Georgetown University where he was the valedictorian of his class, as well as a B.A. from Princeton University.
About Mark Grothe
Prior to joining Spotlight, Mark was a Senior Analyst on the M&A and Contested Situations research team at Glass Lewis for 14 years, where he provided institutional shareholders with in-depth research and voting recommendations on proxy contests, M&A transactions, shareholder activism campaigns and capital-related shareholder proposals. In his role at Glass Lewis, Mark frequently engaged with corporate directors and senior executives, activist investors, director candidates, institutional asset managers, and activism advisors. During his tenure, Mark served as the primary analyst on dozens of notable Glass Lewis research reports. Mark began his career as an analyst on Glass Lewis' accounting and forensic research teams, where he performed deep-dive analysis to uncover hidden or underappreciated risks at public companies related to business strategy, accounting methods, earnings quality and governance. Mark is a CFA charterholder and has a double master's degree in finance and accounting from the University of Colorado Denver, where he also completed his undergraduate studies in business and economics.
About David Whissel
David has been named a Managing Director after serving as a Senior Director of Spotlight Advisors since September 2020, where he has advised clients in dozens of proxy contests and contested M&A transaction votes. He was previously Executive Vice President and Director of Corporate Governance at MacKenzie Partners, where he represented clients in proxy contests and shareholder activism situations, friendly and contested mergers and acquisitions, and annual meetings. David also advised clients on general corporate governance, investor relations, shareholder proposals, and executive compensation matters. Prior to joining MacKenzie in 2016, David was CEO and Director of Research at Proxy Mosaic, a corporate governance research and proxy advisory firm that focused on shareholder activism, M&A, and executive compensation. David received his BA from Denison University, and his JD from the University of Tennessee College of Law.
About Spotlight Advisors, LLC
Spotlight Advisors, LLC, is a leading financial and strategy advisory firm focused on guiding public companies and their investors in high-stakes situations, such as contested director elections and contentious M&A transactions. Spotlight has provided advice in more than 150 situations involving shareholder activists seeking changes in the composition of public company boards (and has served as an advisor in approximately one-fourth of all proxy fights that went to a final vote in the United States since 2016) and in dozens of complex M&A and Special Committee situations, including unsolicited bids, bear hug letters and management buyouts. These complex situations often draw intense scrutiny from shareholders, the media and regulators, raising the stakes for executives and directors as their actions and decisions are placed in the spotlight. More about the firm is available at www.SpotlightAdvisors.com.
CONTACT: Greg Taxin, gtaxin@spotlightadvisors.com
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SOURCE SPOTLIGHT ADVISORS, LLC | https://www.wymt.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/spotlight-advisors-adds-new-expertise-with-appointment-juan-i-bonifacino-mark-grothe/ | 2023-07-31T13:47:56 | 1 | https://www.wymt.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/spotlight-advisors-adds-new-expertise-with-appointment-juan-i-bonifacino-mark-grothe/ |
Innovative community bank with $2.4 billion in assets to provide award-winning BaaS offering
SAN FRANCISCO, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Treasury Prime, a leading embedded banking software company, today announced it is partnering with Academy Bank to bring embedded finance services to its customers in the financial services industry. This partnership addresses the increasing demand for flexible and scalable solutions that effectively meet the evolving needs of businesses and customers.
The objective of this partnership is to provide businesses with seamless access to Academy Bank's deposit services, enabling them to offer FDIC-insured accounts to their customers while staying fully compliant with regulatory requirements. Treasury Prime's award-winning BaaS platform, coupled with Academy Bank's established banking infrastructure, will empower businesses to rapidly launch and scale their payment and deposit products, driving strong customer engagement and retention.
"Academy Bank's ability to service deposit customers in a highly personalized manner, combined with their unwavering commitment to innovation, forms a strong foundation for our partnership," said Jeff Nowicki, VP of Banking at Treasury Prime. "We are proud to welcome Academy Bank to our bank network and work together to deliver transformative banking experiences."
"This collaboration aligns perfectly with our commitment to innovation and focus on the fintech industry," said David Robinson, Director of Fintech Partnerships at Academy Bank. "By leveraging Treasury Prime's technology, we can enhance our offerings and provide our fintech partners with the tools they need to accelerate their growth and deliver innovative financial services."
This partnership follows Treasury Prime's success in rapidly expanding its bank network, which now exceeds 15 financial institutions nationwide.
For more information about Treasury Prime, visit treasuryprime.com.
About Treasury Prime
Treasury Prime is building the future of finance. Leveraging its award-winning APIs and versatile embedded banking products, Treasury Prime enables banks and enterprise partners to innovate, adapt, grow and scale to stay competitive in a rapidly changing marketplace. The company helps enterprises with a range of complex services including money transfer, risk mitigation and access to a chartered bank's infrastructure. Treasury Prime works with forward-thinking banks to innovate responsibly and increase access to banking products and services to all segments of the population Treasury Prime was named Best Banking-as-a-Service Platform in the Tearsheet Embedded Awards 2021 and 2022, and was named to CB Insights' annual 2021 Fintech 250 list.
About Academy Bank
Academy Bank is a full-service bank with $2.4 billion in assets and over 70 branch locations in Arizona, Colorado, Kansas and Missouri. Honored as one of Fortune Magazine's "2023 Most Innovative Companies," Academy Bank provides a wide range of financial solutions for business and individuals, including commercial and business banking, treasury management and mortgage services. Academy Bank is a wholly owned subsidiary of Dickinson Financial Corporation, a $3.6 billion holding company headquartered in downtown Kansas City, Missouri. Academy Bank's sister bank, Armed Forces Bank, headquartered in Leavenworth, Kansas, proudly serves active and retired military and civilian clients across the country and around the world. Armed Forces Bank is recognized as one of the top-three strongest banks in Kansas City by the Kansas City Business Journal.
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SOURCE Treasury Prime | https://www.ktre.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/treasury-prime-academy-bank-join-forces-address-growing-market-demand-through-banking-as-a-service-partnership/ | 2023-07-31T13:47:57 | 0 | https://www.ktre.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/treasury-prime-academy-bank-join-forces-address-growing-market-demand-through-banking-as-a-service-partnership/ |
Brian Robinson Jr.’s rookie season was bookended by injuries, and there wasn’t a moment in between when he felt normal.
“From the time I stepped back on the field [after the shooting], I was dealing with all kinds of things going on in my body … all types of things going on in my knee, everything going on in my hip,” he said. “There wasn’t one time I felt like Brian Robinson.”
Just a few days into his second NFL training camp, a slightly slimmer Robinson says the difference is “night and day” with his health, and he heads into the season with high expectations.
At 6-foot-1 and about 220 pounds, Robinson has the frame of a linebacker with the speed and lateral quickness of a receiver. He’s capable not just of running through tackles, but of dragging three, four, five defenders with him as he collects extra yards. His power has long been the hallmark of his game; he didn’t catch a single pass in his first two years at Alabama, and in 12 games last season, he had only nine receptions.
But he hopes to show more.
“The biggest thing for me, I just don’t want to be one-dimensional, and I don’t want to be just a power back,” Robinson said. “I want to be able to run routes, run down the field, catch the ball with soft hands and continue to grow my game.”
Washington’s offense under coordinator Eric Bieniemy is likely to mirror many aspects of Andy Reid’s system in Kansas City. The Chiefs have an explosive, pass-first offense with quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce — two talents without comparisons in the NFL — but their diverse rushing attack could easily translate to the Commanders’ personnel.
Kansas City runs a variety of concepts from a variety of looks, using pre-snap motion, jet sweeps, misdirection runs, zone and gap scheme runs and more. It uses its backs in the pass game often.
So far in training camp, the Commanders have used Robinson all over, as a runner and pass-catcher. And running backs coach Randy Jordan has emphasized another aspect: pass protection.
“They got to block,” he said. “I didn’t say run first. They’ve got to block, pass protect, protect the quarterback, and then they got to pass-catch, and then they got to run the ball. … The little nuance that I see in this system is the spacing, and the timing is such that if you’re where you’re supposed to be, the quarterback will find you.”
The team has preached the same edicts to Antonio Gibson, Washington’s fourth-year back who’s on the cusp of free agency. Gibson converted from receiver to running back when he was drafted in 2020, but last year the Commanders used him more in space as a pass-catcher. The arrival of Robinson altered his role and gave Washington a complementary tandem in the run game.
Gibson was also injured late last season; he suffered a sprained knee and foot fracture, which sidelined him for the last two games. And like Robinson, Gibson also trimmed down for the start of training camp with the hope it’ll make him even more effective.
“You watch what Antonio Gibson does when he’s in space, and he’s elusive,” Commanders coach Ron Rivera said. “He’s a little bit of a slasher in space because he’s got speed that people don’t realize. I mean, this is a guy that ran a 4.3 [40-yard dash] coming out, so you know, these guys with the ball in their hands, they’re good athletes. Give them a little bit of space, give them a little bit of room to build up some momentum, and they become a load to tackle.”
Gibson said he’s preparing to be the Commanders’ third-down back, a role J.D. McKissic held in Washington’s old system under former offensive coordinator Scott Turner. Over the past three seasons, McKissic had 150 catches and 1,159 receiving yards, both tied for the sixth-most among NFL backs in that span.
Yet his role belied his title. From 2020 through 2021 especially, McKissic developed into an any-down playmaker, be it in end-of-game situations, two-minute drills, on third-downs or in pass protection.
“The biggest thing is when you look at the third-down back in any type of system, number one, you got to protect the passer,” Jordan said. “Number two, if a route is called for you, you got to find a way to win. Number three, if you don’t have protection, you’ve got to get out and make yourself available.”
Jordan believes that for both Robinson and Gibson to take the next step, they need to widen their lenses. Do more and see more. Know the playbook — the runs, the routes, the responsibilities — but be able to adapt on the fly.
Jordan calls it “big vision.”
Robinson calls it “no limits.”
“Whatever I’m called on to do, I’ll be ready for,” he said. “I can do anything in the offensive playbook. … No limits on what I can do. I let the coaches establish the role based off of how they use us, and I just prepare for it everyday.”
Davis’s reckless driving trial
Linebacker Jamin Davis will miss Monday’s practice to tend to a legal matter.
On March 28, 2022, Davis was charged with reckless driving (speeding more than 20 miles above the speed limit, in excess of 85 mph), a Class 1 misdemeanor in Virginia. He appealed his guilty conviction in Loudoun County District Court and requested a jury trial, set for 9 a.m. Monday in Loudoun County Circuit Court.
The incident was Davis’s second reckless driving charge in about three months. He was previously charged Dec. 19, 2021, but it was amended to an infraction (19 mph over the speed limit), and he paid a $150 fine.
A Class 1 misdemeanor in Virginia is punishable with up to 12 months in jail and/or a maximum fine of $2,500. | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/07/31/brian-robinson-antonio-gibson-commanders/ | 2023-07-31T13:48:01 | 1 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/07/31/brian-robinson-antonio-gibson-commanders/ |
ATLANTA (AP) — A Georgia prosecutor is expected to seek a grand jury indictment in the coming weeks in her investigation into efforts by Donald Trump and his Republican allies to overturn the then-president’s 2020 election loss.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis began investigating more than two years ago, shortly after a recording was released of a January 2021 phone call Trump made to Georgia’s secretary of state.
Willis has strongly hinted that any indictment would come between July 31 and Aug. 18. One of two grand juries seated July 11 is expected to hear the case.
If Trump is indicted by a Georgia grand jury, it would add to a growing list of legal troubles as he campaigns for president. Trump is set to go to trial in New York in March to face state charges related to hush money payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign. And he has another trial scheduled for May on federal charges related to his handling of classified documents. He has pleaded not guilty in those cases.
The Justice Department is also investigating Trump’s role in trying to halt the certification of 2020 election results in the run-up to the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol. Trump said he’s been told he’s a target of that investigation, which likely has some overlap with the one in Georgia.
Details of the Georgia investigation that have become public have fed speculation that Willis, a Democrat, is building a case under the Georgia Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, which would allow her to charge numerous people in a potentially wide-ranging scheme.
Here are six investigative threads Willis and her team have explored:
The Georgia investigation was prompted by the Jan. 2, 2021, phone call Trump made to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a fellow Republican. Trump suggested the state’s top elections official could help “find” the votes needed to put him ahead of Democrat Joe Biden in the state.
“All I want to do is this: I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have,” Trump is heard saying on a recording of the call, which was leaked to news outlets. “Because we won the state.”
Trump has insisted he did nothing wrong and has repeatedly said the call was “perfect.”
Trump also called other top state officials in his quest to overturn his 2020 election loss, including Gov. Brian Kemp, then-House Speaker David Ralston, Attorney General Chris Carr and the top investigator in the secretary of state’s office.
U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, also called Raffensperger shortly after the November election. Raffensperger said at the time that Graham asked whether he had the power to reject certain absentee ballots, which Raffensperger has said he interpreted as a suggestion to toss out legally cast votes.
Graham has denied wrongdoing, saying he just wanted to learn about the signature verification process.
Biden won Georgia by a margin of fewer than 12,000 votes. Just over a month after the election, on Dec. 14, 2020, a group 16 Georgia Democratic electors met in the Senate chamber at the state Capitol to cast the state’s Electoral College votes for him. They each marked paper ballots that were counted and confirmed by a voice roll call.
That day, in a committee meeting room at the Capitol, 16 prominent Georgia Republicans — a lawmaker, activists and party officials — met to sign a certificate falsely stating that Trump had won and declaring themselves the state’s “duly elected and qualified” electors. They sent that certificate to the National Archives and the U.S. Senate.
Georgia was one of seven battleground states that Trump lost where Republican fake electors signed and submitted similar certificates. Trump allies in the U.S. House and Senate used those certificates to argue for delaying or blocking the certification of the election during a joint session of Congress.
Prosecutors in Fulton County have said in court filings that they believe Trump associates worked with state Republicans to coordinate and execute the plan.
The multi-state effort was ultimately unsuccessful. Despite public pressure from Trump and his supporters, then-Vice President Mike Pence refused on Jan. 6, 2021, to introduce the unofficial pro-Trump electors. After the attack on the U.S. Capitol put a violent halt to the certification process, lawmakers certified Biden’s win in the early hours of Jan. 7, 2021.
At least eight of the fake electors have since reached immunity deals with Willis’ team. And a judge last summer barred Willis from prosecuting another one, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, because of a conflict of interest.
Republican state lawmakers held several hearings at the Georgia Capitol in December 2020 to examine alleged problems with the November election. During those meetings, former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani and other Trump allies made unproven claims of widespread election fraud.
They alleged that election workers tallying absentee ballots at State Farm Arena in Atlanta had told outside observers to leave and then pulled out “suitcases” of unlawful ballots and began scanning them. The Trump allies played clips of surveillance video from the arena to support their allegations. State and federal officials investigated and said there was no evidence of election fraud at the site.
Some Trump allies also said thousands of people who were ineligible — including people convicted of felonies, people under the age of 18, people who had voted in another state — had cast votes in Georgia. The secretary of state’s office has debunked those claims.
Two of the election workers seen in the State Farm Arena surveillance video, Ruby Freeman and her daughter Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, said they faced relentless harassment online and in person as a result of the allegations made by Trump and his allies.
Giuliani last week conceded that statements he made about the two election workers were false.
In a bizarre episode detailed by prosecutors in court filings, a woman traveled from Chicago to Georgia and met with Freeman on Jan. 4, 2021. The woman initially said she wanted to help Freeman but then warned that Freeman could go to prison and tried to pressure her into falsely confessing to committing election fraud, prosecutors wrote in court filings last year.
Trump-allied lawyer Sidney Powell and others hired a computer forensics team to copy data and software on election equipment in Coffee County, some 200 miles (322 kilometers) southeast of Atlanta, according to invoices, emails, security video and deposition testimony produced in response to subpoenas in a long-running lawsuit.
The county Republican Party chair at the time — who also served as a fake elector — greeted them when they arrived at the local elections office on Jan. 7, 2021, and some county elections officials were also on hand during the daylong visit. The secretary of state’s office has said this amounted to “alleged unauthorized access” of election equipment and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation is looking into it at the secretary of state’s request.
Two other men who have been active in efforts to question the 2020 election results also visited Coffee County later that month and spent hours inside.
U.S. Attorney BJay Pak, the top federal prosecutor in Atlanta, abruptly resigned two days after Trump called Raffensperger and a day after a recording of that call was made public. During that conversation, Trump called Pak a “never-Trumper,” implying that he didn’t support the president.
In December 2020, then-U.S. Attorney General William Barr asked Pak to investigate allegations by Giuliani and other Trump allies of widespread election fraud. Pak, who had been appointed by Trump in 2017, reported back that he had found no evidence of such fraud.
In August 2021, Pak told the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, which was investigating Trump’s post-election actions, that he resigned on Jan. 4, 2021, after learning from Department of Justice officials that Trump did not believe enough was being done to investigate allegations of election fraud and wanted him gone as U.S. attorney. | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/politics/ap-trump-could-be-indicted-soon-in-georgia-heres-a-look-at-that-investigation/ | 2023-07-31T13:48:00 | 1 | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/politics/ap-trump-could-be-indicted-soon-in-georgia-heres-a-look-at-that-investigation/ |
NEW YORK (AP) — Trucking company Yellow Corp. has shut down operations and is headed for a bankruptcy filing, according to the Teamsters Union and multiple media reports.
After years of financial struggles, reports of Yellow preparing for bankruptcy emerged last week — as the Nashville, Tennessee-based trucker saw customers leave in large numbers. Yellow shut down operations on Sunday, according to the Wall Street Journal, following the layoffs of hundreds of nonunion employees on Friday.
In an announcement early Monday, the Teamsters said that the union received legal notice confirming Yellow was ceasing operations and filing for bankruptcy.
“Today’s news is unfortunate but not surprising. Yellow has historically proven that it could not manage itself despite billions of dollars in worker concessions and hundreds of millions in bailout funding from the federal government,” Teamsters general president Sean O’Brien said in a statement. “This is a sad day for workers and the American freight industry.”
The Associated Press reached out to Yellow for comment on Monday. No bankruptcy filings had gone live as of the early morning.
The bankruptcy reports have renewed attention around Yellow’s ongoing negotiations with unionized workers, a $700 million pandemic-era loan from the government and other bills the trucker has racked up over time. Yellow, formerly known as YRC Worldwide Inc., is one of the nation’s largest less-than-truckload carriers. The company’s reported closure puts 30,000 jobs at risk.
Here’s what you need to know.
According to Satish Jindel, president of transportation and logistics firm SJ Consulting, Yellow handled an average of 49,000 shipments per day in 2022. Last week, he estimated that number was down to between 10,000 and 15,000 daily shipments.
With customers leaving — as well reports of Yellow stopping freight pickups last week — bankruptcy would “be the end of Yellow,” Jindel told The Associated Press, noting increased risk for liquidation.
“The likelihood of them surviving and remaining solvent diminishes really by the day,” added Bruce Chan, a research director at investment banking firm Stifel.
Yellow declined to comment when contacted by The Associated Press on Friday. In a Wednesday statement to The Journal, the company said it was continuing “to prepare for a range of contingencies.” On Thursday, Yellow said it was in talks with multiple parties about selling its third-party logistics organization.
Even if Yellow was able to sell its logistics firm, it would “not generate a sufficient amount of cash to keep them operational on any sort of permanent basis,” Chan said. “Without a major equity injection, it would be very difficult for them to survive.”
As of late March, Yellow had an outstanding debt of about $1.5 billion. Of that, $729.2 million was owed to the federal government.
In 2020, under the Trump administration, the Treasury Department granted the company a $700 million pandemic-era loan on national security grounds. Last month, a congressional probe concluded that the Treasury and Defense Departments “made missteps” in this decision — and noted that Yellow’s “precarious financial position at the time of the loan, and continued struggles, expose taxpayers to a significant risk of loss.”
The government loan is due in September 2024. As of March, Yellow had made $54.8 million in interest payments and repaid just $230 million of the principal owed, according to government documents.
Yellow’s current finances and prospect of bankruptcy “is probably two decades in the making,” Chan said, pointing to poor management and strategic decisions dating back to the early 2000s. “At this point, after each party has bailed them out so many times, there is a limited appetite to do that anymore.”
In May, Yellow reported a loss of $54.6 million, a decline of $1.06 per share, for its first quarter of 2023. Operating revenue was about $1.16 billion in the period.
A Wednesday investors note from financial service firm Stephens estimated that Yellow could be burning between $9 million and $10 million each day. Using a liquidity disclosure from earlier this month, Yellow had roughly $100 million in cash at the end of June, the note added — estimating that the company has been burning through increasing amounts of money through July.
“It is reasonable to believe that the Company could breach its $35 mil. liquidity requirement at any moment,” Stephens analyst Jack Atkins and associate Grant Smith wrote.
Last week’s reports of bankruptcy preparations arrived just days after a strike from the Teamsters, which represents Yellow’s 22,000 unionized workers, was averted.
A series of heated exchanges have built up between the Teamsters and Yellow, who sued the union in June after alleging it was “unjustifiably blocking” restructuring plans needed for the company’s survival. The Teamsters called the litigation “baseless” — with O’Brien pointing to Yellow’s “decades of gross mismanagement,” which included exhausting the $700 million federal loan.
On July 23, a pension fund agreed to extend health benefits for workers at two Yellow Corp. operating companies, averting a strike — and giving Yellow “30 days to pay its bills,” notably $50 million that Yellow failed to pay the Central States Health and Welfare Fund on July 15, the union said. While the strike didn’t occur, talks of a walkout may have caused some Yellow customers to pull back, Chan said.
“The financial struggles of Yellow are not related to the union and the contracts,” Jindel said, pointing to management’s responsibility around its services and prices. He added the union wages from Yellow are “lower than any competitor.”
As Yellow customers take their shipments to other carriers, like FedEx or ABF Freight, prices will go up.
Yellow’s prices have historically been the cheapest compared to other carriers, Jindel said. “That’s why they obviously were not making money,” he added. “And while there is capacity with the other LTL carriers to handle the diversions from Yellow, it will come at a high price for (current shippers and customers) of Yellow.”
Chan adds that we’re in an interesting time for the LTL marketplace — noting that, if Yellow liquidates, “the freight would find a home” with other carriers, which may not have been true in recent years.
“It may take time, but there’s room for it to be absorbed,” he said. | https://www.myarklamiss.com/news/business/ap-business/ap-yellow-is-shutting-down-and-headed-for-bankruptcy-the-teamsters-union-says-heres-what-to-know/ | 2023-07-31T13:48:02 | 1 | https://www.myarklamiss.com/news/business/ap-business/ap-yellow-is-shutting-down-and-headed-for-bankruptcy-the-teamsters-union-says-heres-what-to-know/ |
CHICAGO, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Stafford Capital Partners ("Stafford") is pleased to announce the appointment of Joe Carrabes as Head of Client Solutions in North America. Joe's appointment signals an important moment for Stafford's business development as it expands its operations in the US and North America.
Joe brings over 25 years' experience to the role, where he has previously held senior institutional leadership, sales and relationship management positions across a variety of products and strategies, including alternatives, ESG strategies and long only equity and fixed income.
Prior to Stafford, Joe was responsible for managing some of the largest institutional relationships at Amundi US. Joe also spent 12 years at Jennison Associates where he was Head of Institutional Sales and Client Service and was responsible for managing the institutional distribution efforts.
Commenting on the appointment, Stafford's Global Head of Client Solutions Valentina Abbott said: "We are delighted to welcome Joe to the team. He is an impressive executive with an incredible track record in capital raising and is highly regarded for his ability to build strategic partnerships with institutional investors.
Stafford recognizes its responsibility as an investor to contribute to a more sustainable financial system by taking a long-term, responsible approach to investing across alternatives. Joe's experience will be invaluable for Stafford in supporting our clients across the region with their net zero efforts.
This is a landmark moment for Stafford in the US and North America and signals a significant step forward in our commitment to the region."
Speaking about his appointment, Joe Carrabes said: "I am delighted to join Stafford, and I am looking forward to delivering on the firm's growth ambitions in the North American region. I see great potential for Stafford to support high-quality investors on their net zero journeys and believe the firm is well positioned to tackle the opportunities in the North American market."
Media enquiries
Georgina Whittle
Partner
Camarco
07835 770967
Georgina.whittle@camarco.co.uk
Amrith Uppuluri
Senior Consultant
Camarco
07763 083058
amrith.uppuluri@camarco.co.uk
Sean Palmer
Associate Partner
Camarco
07591 760844
sean.palmer@camarco.co.uk
Alexandra Lawrence
Associate Consultant
APCO Worldwide
404-254-7641
alawrence@apcoworldwide.com
About Stafford Capital Partners
Stafford is an independent private markets investment and advisory firm with USD 7.9 billion in assets under management and advice for more than 150 institutional clients worldwide. Founded in 2000, Stafford has a global team of 80+ professionals investing in infrastructure, timberland & agriculture, and sustainable private equity through secondaries, primaries, and co-investments. Stafford has been a UN PRI signatory since 2010 and has committed to the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative. It puts sustainability at the centre of its investment process and implements a well-defined ESG program across all strategies. In the UK, Stafford is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Firm Reference Number: 225586).
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SOURCE Stafford Capital Partners | https://www.wymt.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/stafford-capital-partners-expands-us-operations-appoints-joe-carrabes-head-client-solutions-north-america/ | 2023-07-31T13:48:03 | 1 | https://www.wymt.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/stafford-capital-partners-expands-us-operations-appoints-joe-carrabes-head-client-solutions-north-america/ |
Report Outlines Company's Progress Toward Its Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Goals
ST. LOUIS, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Global packaging leader TricorBraun today published its inaugural Sustainability report, outlining its progress toward its Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) goals.
"We are pleased to present our first-ever Sustainability Report, which brings to life our commitments to sustainable and ethical practices," said Court Carruthers, president and CEO, TricorBraun. "Our team is guided by the principle that we do things the right way always, and this naturally extends to our environmental, social, and governance (ESG) impacts—including helping our customers with their own ESG goals by offering sustainable packaging options while improving our own environmental footprint."
Key highlights from the report include these 2022 milestones:
- Reduced our carbon footprint and incorporated international operations into our Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Inventory
- Sourced renewable energy to further reduce negative climate impacts
- Piloted our first Zero-Waste program in multiple locations across North America
- Further protected our team members by creating a Warehousing Roundtable which emphasizes dock, forklift, and 5S safety programs
- Supported open communications channels that are accessible for all team members by relaunching the TricorBraun Ethics Hub to include additional languages, international access, and mobile reporting
- Established exclusive agreements to offer sustainable packaging options to customers in the US, Canada, and Europe
"The release of our first Sustainability report is a significant milestone as our team continues to work tirelessly in pursuit of achieving our ESG goals," said Susan Bergethon, SVP & general counsel, and leader of the Company's ESG strategy. "We are pleased with our progress to date, and we look forward to making continued progress toward our intentional ESG goals for the benefit of our team members, our customers, our business—and our planet."
To read the full report and learn more about TricorBraun's ESG goals, visit https://www.tricorbraun.com/about-us/esg-at-tricorbraun/2022-sustainability-report.html.
About TricorBraun
Founded in 1902, TricorBraun is a global packaging leader. We provide innovative solutions across a wide array of customer end markets in plastic, glass, and aluminum containers, closures, dispensers, tubes, and flexibles. Our award-winning Design & Engineering Center provides forward-thinking design, driven by consumer insight and creative solutions. TricorBraun is comprised of more than 2,000 packaging professionals operating from more than 100 locations across the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Australia.
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SOURCE TricorBraun | https://www.ktre.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/tricorbraun-issues-inaugural-sustainability-report/ | 2023-07-31T13:48:04 | 1 | https://www.ktre.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/tricorbraun-issues-inaugural-sustainability-report/ |
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — The Australian army helicopter that crashed Friday during a multinational exercise hit the water with a “catastrophic impact” and there is no chance its four crew members survived, officials said Monday.
Australia’s fleet of more than 40 of the MRH-90 Taipan helicopters, made by French Airbus, has been grounded since the crash and there are doubts any will fly again.
They will be grounded until crash investigators determine what caused the tragedy. The government announced in January it plans to replace them with 40 U.S. Black Hawks. The Taipans’ retirement date of December 2024 would be 13 years earlier than Australia had initially planned.
Defense Minister Richard Marles said the search and rescue effort changed Monday to a victim recovery operation with no chance that Capt. Danniel Lyon, Lt. Maxwell Nugent, Warrant Officer Joseph Laycock or Cpl. Alexander Naggs had survived.
“There was a catastrophic incident and with every passing hour, it is now clear that any hope of finding (the four crew) alive has been lost,” Marles told reporters.
The helicopter crashed during a nighttime exercise with the United States and other nations near the Whitsunday Islands on the Great Barrier Reef.
Marles had said on Saturday the helicopter “ditched,” which refers to an emergency landing. But on Monday he would not rule our pilot error or disorientation in the dark causing the crash into the water. He urged against speculation about potential causes.
“There was a catastrophic impact on the helicopter when it hit the water,” Marles said.
“We will move through the process of putting the Black Hawks into service as quickly as we can … and we will not be flying MRH90s until we understand what has happened,” Marles added.
The lost Taipan had been taking part in Talisman Sabre, a biennial U.S.-Australian military exercise that is largely based in Queensland state. This year’s exercise involves 13 nations and more than 30,000 military personnel.
The exercise was continuing on Monday with some changes near the recovery operation, Australian Defense Force Chief Gen. Angus Campbell said.
Campbell thanked the United States and Canada for their help in the search and recovery efforts, which he said was “not an easy operation.”
The wreckage lay in the path of strong currents and tidal movements. It was too deep for standard diving operations.
Part of the airframe had been retrieved by Monday but most of the helicopter remained on the seabed, Campbell said.
It was the second emergency involving an Australian Taipan since March. The fleet was grounded after one ditched into the sea off the New South Wales state coast near the naval base at Jervis Bay during a nighttime counterterrorism training exercise. All 10 passengers and crew members were rescued.
Retired Maj. Gen. Fergus McLachlan was involved in integrating the Taipan into the Australian army when they arrived in 2007 and had been responsible for keeping them airworthy. He said the Taipan did not have the proven record of the Lockheed Martin-designed Black Hawks.
“We bought into an unproven system. In real terms, it was a developmental aircraft and it has never really matured,” McLachlan told Australian Broadcasting Corp.
“It was always a battle to maintain it and keep it flying,” McLachlan added. | https://www.myarklamiss.com/news/international/ap-4-crew-members-on-australian-army-helicopter-that-crashed-off-coast-didnt-survive-officials-say/ | 2023-07-31T13:48:03 | 1 | https://www.myarklamiss.com/news/international/ap-4-crew-members-on-australian-army-helicopter-that-crashed-off-coast-didnt-survive-officials-say/ |
MELBOURNE, Australia — Haley Raso scored her first career Women’s World Cup goals at just the right time, with a first-half brace in Australia’s 4-0 win over Canada in Monday’s pivotal group-stage finale.
Australia needed a win to guarantee progression to the next round. The co-hosts secured a resounding win. Canada, needing to avoid defeat to avoid elimination, is out of the tournament after slipping from the lead to third place in the group behind Australia and Nigeria.
After missing two group-stage matches with a calf injury sustained on the eve of the tournament, Australia’s star striker Sam Kerr was available and on the bench but did not play in the match. The closest she got to the pitch was carrying drinks for her teammates.
In front of a vocal, pro-Australia crowd of 27,706 in Melbourne, Canada became the first reigning Olympic champion to be eliminated in group play in the subsequent Women’s World Cup.
Australia’s progression ensured this year’s Women’s World Cup would not be the first without a host nation in the knockout stage.
KEY MOMENTS
Australia jumped out to an early lead in the ninth minute with Raso’s first goal: a shot from the back post off a cross from Catley. Initially ruled offside, the goal held up under VAR review, and Raso fell to her knees to celebrate.
The Matildas responded to a disallowed goal from Australia forward Mary Fowler – ruled offside by VAR in the 34th minute – when Raso poked in a failed clearance after Kyra Cooney-Cross’ corner, doubling Australia’s lead in the 39th.
Off another left-wing cross from Catley, Fowler added Australia’s third goal in the 58th. She returned to the Matildas’ starting lineup after missing their upset 3-2 loss to Nigeria last week with a mild concussion.
After two assists, Catley scored in stoppage time, burying her second penalty kick of the tournament after Canada midfielder Jessie Fleming fouled Katrina Gorry at the edge of the area.
Canada forward Adriana Leon, who scored Canada’s clincher in a 2-1 win over Ireland, came off in the 64th minute with a head injury.
WHY IT MATTERS
With its win over Canada and Nigeria’s 0-0 draw with Ireland, Australia finished first in Group B with six points. Nigeria finished second with five points.
The Matildas, as hosts, stay alive in a tournament that has seen record-breaking ticket sales, especially in Australia’s host cities and for the Matildas’ matches. Home fans will look to see if Kerr will make her tournament debut in the round of 16.
Co-host New Zealand’s 0-0 draw on Sunday with Switzerland eliminated the Football Ferns from knockout-round contention.
IN THEIR OWN WORDS:
“Proud, and privileged. These players, the way they performed tonight … and all the talk about Sam (Kerr). The way they went out and played the game, stayed true to who they are, the pressing game, the attacking game. To beat Canada, the Olympic champions, 4-nil, in a do-or-die game.” — Tony Gustavsson, Australia coach.
“The reality is setting in that this is the end of our World Cup road, but all credit to Australia. They were the better team tonight, a magnificent crowd. I’ve got no criticism of my players.” Bev Priestman, Canada coach.
WHAT’S NEXT Australia will face the second-place finisher in Group D in the round of 16 next in Sydney. Tuesday’s simultaneous matches between first-place England and China and Denmark against Haiti will determine Australia and Nigeria’s round of 16 opponents. The Australians have seven days to prepare for their next match, giving captain Kerr more time to fully recover.
Canada returns home unable to win medals in back-to-back tournaments. Canada forward Christine Sinclair, 40, the leading international goal-scorer with 190, finishes her World Cup campaign without a goal in Australia. ___
Cassidy Hettesheimer is a student at the University of Georgia’s Carmical Sports Media Institute.
___
AP Women’s World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-womens-world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/soccer/2023/07/31/womens-world-cup-canada-australia-match-summary/b4f007ba-2f9c-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html | 2023-07-31T13:48:07 | 1 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/soccer/2023/07/31/womens-world-cup-canada-australia-match-summary/b4f007ba-2f9c-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html |
Former President Donald Trump is dominating his rivals for the Republican presidential nomination, leading his nearest challenger, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, by a landslide 37 percentage points nationally among the likely Republican primary electorate, according to the first New York Times/Siena College poll of the 2024 campaign.
Trump held decisive advantages across almost every demographic group and region and in every ideological wing of the party, the survey found, as Republican voters waved away concerns about his escalating legal jeopardy. He led by wide margins among men and women, younger and older voters, moderates and conservatives, those who went to college and those who didn’t, and in cities, suburbs and rural areas.
The poll shows that some of DeSantis’ central campaign arguments — that he is more electable than Trump and that he would govern more effectively — have so far failed to break through. Even Republicans motivated by the type of issues that have fueled DeSantis’ rise, such as fighting “radical woke ideology,” favored Trump.
Overall, Trump led DeSantis 54% to 17%. No other candidate topped 3% support in the poll.
Below those lopsided top-line figures were other ominous signs for DeSantis. He performed his weakest among some of the Republican Party’s biggest and most influential constituencies. He earned only 9% support among voters at least 65 years old and 13% of those without a college degree. Republicans who described themselves as “very conservative” favored Trump by a 50-point margin, 65% to 15%.
Still, no other serious Trump challenger has emerged besides DeSantis. Former Vice President Mike Pence, former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley and Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina each scored 3% support. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Vivek Ramaswamy, an entrepreneur, each received support from just 2%.
Yet, even if all those candidates disappeared and DeSantis got a hypothetical one-on-one race against Trump, he would still lose by a 2-to-1 margin, 62% to 31%, the poll found. That is a stark reminder that, for all the fretting among anti-Trump forces that the party would divide itself in a repeat of 2016, Trump is poised to trounce even a unified opposition.
The survey comes less than six months before the first 2024 primary contest and before a single debate. In an era of American politics defined by its volatility, Trump’s legal troubles — his trials threaten to overlap with primary season — pose an especially unpredictable wild card.
For now, though, Trump appears to match both the surly mood of the Republican electorate, 89% of whom see the nation as headed in the wrong direction, and Republicans’ desire to take the fight to the Democrats.
“He might say mean things and make all the men cry, because all the men are wearing your wife’s underpants and you can’t be a man anymore,” said David Green, 69, a retail manager in Somersworth, New Hampshire, said of Trump. “You got to be a little sissy and cry about everything. But at the end of the day, you want results. Donald Trump’s my guy. He’s proved it on a national level.”
Trump and DeSantis maintain strong overall favorable ratings from Republicans, 76% and 66%.
That DeSantis is still so well liked after a drumbeat of news coverage questioning his ability to connect with voters, and more than $20 million in attack ads from a Trump super PAC, demonstrates a certain resiliency. His political team has argued that his overall positive image with GOP voters provides a solid foundation on which to build.
But the intensity of the former president’s support is a key difference as 43% of Republicans have a “very favorable” opinion of Trump — a cohort that he carries by an overwhelming 92% to 7% margin in a one-on-one race with DeSantis.
By contrast, DeSantis is stuck in an effective tie with Trump, edging him 49% to 48%, among the smaller share of primary voters (25%) who view the Florida governor very favorably.
In interviews with poll respondents, a recurring theme emerged: They like DeSantis; they love Trump.
“DeSantis, I have high hopes. But as long as Trump’s there, Trump’s the man,” said Daniel Brown, 58, a retired technician at a nuclear plant from Bumpass, Virginia.
“If he wasn’t running against Trump, DeSantis would be my very next choice,” said Stanton Strohmenger, 48, a maintenance technician in Washington Township, Ohio.
A number of respondents interviewed drew a distinction between DeSantis’ accomplishments in Florida’s capital, Tallahassee, and Trump’s in the White House.
“Trump has proven his clout,” said Mallory Butler, 39, of Polk County, Florida. “And DeSantis has, but in a much smaller arena.”
The truly anti-Trump faction of the Republican electorate appears to hover near 1 in 4 GOP voters, hardly enough to dethrone him. Only 19% of the electorate said Trump’s behavior after his 2020 defeat threatened American democracy. And only 17% see the former president as having committed any serious federal crimes, despite his indictment by a federal grand jury on charges of mishandling classified documents and his receipt of a so-called target letter in the separate election interference case being brought by the office of the special counsel, Jack Smith.
“I think Donald Trump is going to carry a lot of baggage to the election with him,” said Hilda Bulla, 68, of Davidson County, North Carolina, who supports DeSantis.
Yet, Trump’s grip on the Republican Party is so strong that the Times/Siena poll found that in a head-to-head contest with DeSantis, Trump still received 22% among voters who believe he has committed serious federal crimes — a greater share than the 17% that DeSantis earned from the entire GOP electorate.
DeSantis has made taking on “woke” institutions a centerpiece of his political identity. But when given a choice between a hypothetical candidate who prioritized “defeating radical woke ideology” or one who was focused on “law and order in our streets and at the border,” only 24% said they would be more likely to support the candidate focused on fighting “woke” issues.
Equally problematic for DeSantis is that those “woke”-focused voters still preferred Trump, 61% to 36%.
The ability to defeat President Joe Biden and to enact a conservative agenda is at the core of DeSantis’ appeal to Republicans. He has warned that Trump has saddled the party with a “culture of losing” in the Trump years and has held up his resounding 2022 reelection in the once-purple state of Florida as a model for the GOP. As governor, he has pushed through a sweeping set of conservative priorities that have sharply reoriented the state and promised he would bring the same policymaking zeal to the White House.
Yet, these arguments do not appear to be working. A strong majority of Republicans surveyed, 58%, said it was Trump, not DeSantis, who was best described by the phrase “able to beat Joe Biden.” And again, it was Trump, by a lopsided margin of 67% to 22%, who was seen more as the one to “get things done.”
DeSantis narrowly edged Trump on being seen as “likable” and “moral.” Interestingly, the share of Republicans who said Trump was more “fun” than DeSantis (54% to 16%) almost perfectly mirrored the overall horse race.
“He does not come across with humor,” Sandra Reher, 75, a retired teacher in Farmingdale, New Jersey, said of DeSantis. “He comes across as a — a good Christian man, wonderful family man. But he doesn’t have that fire, if you will, that Trump has.”
Increasingly on the trail, DeSantis is calling attention to his “blue-collar” roots and his decision to serve in the military as reasons voters should support him as he runs against a self-professed billionaire. But the poll showed Trump lapping DeSantis among likely Republican primary voters earning less than $50,000, 65% to 9%.
As of now, DeSantis’ few demographic refuges — places where he is losing by smaller margins — are more-upscale pockets of the electorate. He trailed Trump by a less-daunting 12 points among white voters with college degrees, 37% to 25%. Among those earning more than $100,000, DeSantis was behind by 23 points, half the deficit he faced among the lowest earners.
The fractured field appears to be preventing DeSantis from consolidating the support of such voters: In the hypothetical one-on-one race, DeSantis was statistically tied with Trump among white college-educated voters.
On a range of issues, the poll suggests it will be difficult for DeSantis to break through against Trump on policy arguments alone.
In the head-to-head matchup, Trump was far ahead of DeSantis among Republicans who accept transgender people as the gender they identify with, and among those who do not; among those who want to fight corporations that “promote woke left ideology,” and among those who prefer to stay out of what businesses do; among those who want to send more military and economic aid to Ukraine, and among those who do not; among those who want to keep Social Security and Medicare benefits as they are; and among those who want to take steps to reduce the budget deficit.
Trump leads DeSantis among Republicans who believe abortion should always be legal, and among those who believe it should always be illegal.
DeSantis signed a strict six-week abortion ban that Trump has criticized as “too harsh.” Yet, Trump enjoyed the support of 70% of Republicans who said they strongly supported such a measure.
Marcel Paba, a 22-year-old server in Miami, said he liked what DeSantis had done for his state but didn’t think the governor could overcome the enthusiasm for Trump.
“There are just more die-hard fans of Trump than there are of Ron DeSantis. Even in Florida,” Paba said. “I don’t see people wearing a Ron DeSantis hat anywhere, you know?”
The New York Times/Siena College poll of 932 voters in the likely Republican primary electorate was conducted by telephone using live operators from July 23 to 27. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3.96 percentage points.
c.2023 The New York Times Company | https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation-world/ct-aud-nw-nyt-trump-gop-rivals-poll-20230731-zm53xjbdbbhzpmd6qx4ndpf3yq-story.html | 2023-07-31T13:48:07 | 1 | https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation-world/ct-aud-nw-nyt-trump-gop-rivals-poll-20230731-zm53xjbdbbhzpmd6qx4ndpf3yq-story.html |
VATICAN CITY (AP) — When Pope Francis made the first foreign trip of his papacy, to Rio de Janeiro for World Youth Day in 2013, he urged young people to make a “mess” in their local churches, to shake things up even if it ruffled the feathers of their bishops.
As he embarks this week on another edition of World Youth Day, in Lisbon, Portugal, Francis in many ways has taken his own advice to heart. After 10 years as pope, Francis is accelerating his reform agenda and making revolutionary changes in personnel and policy that are definitely shaking things up.
Unencumbered by the shadow of Pope Benedict XVI, who died seven months ago, and despite recovering from a second intestinal surgery in as many years, the 86-year-old Francis is opening a frenetic second half of the year with his Portugal visit. He seems aware that he has a limited sweet spot of time to solidify the changes he believes are necessary for the 21st century church, and is looking to the next generation of faithful and leaders to execute them.
“The sense I get is that this is the consolidation phase of the pontificate,” said papal biographer Austen Ivereigh. “He’s laying the basis now, laying the ground, for the future.”
And no better place to put it on display than at a World Youth Day. The international rally, which St. John Paul II launched in 1986 to galvanize young Catholics in their faith, is expected to draw up to 1 million people for the first post-pandemic event of its kind. Francis’ perennial social justice concerns about climate change, social inequality and fraternity, as well as Russia’s war in Ukraine, are expected to be major themes.
Beyond Portugal, though, Francis’ multifold strategy for laying the groundwork for the future is coming together and will hit significant marks in the coming months.
His global canvassing of rank-and-file Catholics about their vision for the future comes to fruition this October with a big synod at the Vatican. The meeting is intended to give direction on such hot-button issues as the place of LGBTQ+ Catholics and women in the church, and for the first time will feature women and young people voting on proposals alongside bishops.
“I really think that for Pope Francis, he felt that ‘OK, now it’s mature’ and it would be good really to involve all the members, all the people in the synod as members” with the right to vote, said Sister Nathalie Becquart, who is one of the key synod organizers.
To then implement the vision that emerges from the synod, Francis has been naming a slew of unusually young bishops for key archdioceses — in his native Buenos Aires, Madrid and Brussels, among others. At the same time, he’s elevated several cardinals in their 50s — and in some cases their 40s — including the auxiliary bishop of Lisbon who is organizing World Youth Day.
Putting such young clerics in such important positions ensures a generation’s worth of likeminded leadership in the Vatican and archdioceses around the world. While not all are cookie-cutter proteges of Francis, many are seen as similarly pastorally minded and thus more game to implement his reforms, especially as the older generation of bishops and cardinals dies out.
After Francis is gone, the youngest of these new cardinals will have some three decades’ worth of local leadership and conclave votes to select future popes, suggesting a generational and ideological shift in the church leadership is very much underway.
Francis’ most important young “legacy” appointment was that of the Vatican’s new doctrinal czar, Argentine Cardinal-elect Victor Manuel Fernandez, 61. Francis’ theological ghostwriter ran into Vatican problems in the past over questions about his doctrinal orthodoxy, and his appointment sent shockwaves through the conservative and traditionalist wings of the church.
Fernandez sees his appointment as part of Francis’ longer-term agenda. “He is proposing a more inclusive church, more respectful of different ways of living, even of thinking,” Fernandez said in an interview.
Portuguese Cardinal-elect Americo Aguiar, who is in charge of World Youth Day, is another young churchman who also understands his appointment as part of a generational turning point for the Catholic hierarchy.
At age 49 he will become the second-youngest member of the College of Cardinals when he is installed Sept. 30. He is just six months older than the current youngest cardinal, whom Francis elevated this time last year: Cardinal Giorgio Marengo, head of the church in Mongolia where Francis will travel at the end of August.
“My reading of it is that this has to do with young people, it has to do with youth, it has to do with Portugal, it has to do with World Youth Day, it has to do with all of that,” Aguiar said in an interview. “I think that his objective and his underlining was exactly to send a signal to the young people, to every young person who is preparing the day, whether in Portugal or in the world, to feel identified with this decision.”
Francis said as much in his monthly prayer intentions for August, this time dedicated to the Lisbon event.
“In Lisbon, I would like to see a seed for the world’s future,” Francis said. “A world where love is at the center, where we can sense that we are sisters and brothers.”
His wish in many ways echoed his words at the 2013 World Youth Day in Rio, which now seem prescient in outlining many of the key pastoral messages Francis has emphasized over the past decade. Delivering a spontaneous, off-the-cuff exhortation to a gathering of Argentine pilgrims that was organized at the last minute, Francis urged the young to get out into the streets, spread their faith and “make a mess.”
“I want to see the church get closer to the people,” Francis said then, speaking in his native Spanish. “I want to get rid of clericalism, the mundane, this closing ourselves off within ourselves, in our parishes, schools or structures.”
Realizing the radical nature of his message, Francis apologized to the bishops for what was about to come, even though in the 10 years since, he has only gone further than anyone could have imagined at the time.
“The true reform of the church, you know, is not a revolution bringing something completely from outside,” said Becquart, the French nun, as she reflected on Francis’ agenda. “It’s a path of change that is a way to unfold tradition, but in a very dynamic way.”
___
AP reporters Helena Alvez in Lisbon, Portugal, and Almudena Calatrava in Buenos Aires contributed.
___
Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/u-s-world/ap-as-the-pope-heads-to-portugal-he-is-laying-the-groundwork-for-the-churchs-future-and-his-legacy/ | 2023-07-31T13:48:08 | 0 | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/u-s-world/ap-as-the-pope-heads-to-portugal-he-is-laying-the-groundwork-for-the-churchs-future-and-his-legacy/ |
AI demonstrated high accuracy, reduced non-diagnostic outputs, and identified HFpEF patients with worse outcomes.
OXFORD, England, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Applying AI to a single apical four chamber (A4C) view echocardiogram provides accurate information to detect heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), according to research published today in JACC Advances.1
The study, presented at the American Society of Echocardiography Annual Scientific Session, demonstrates the platform could improve the diagnosis, management, and outcomes of a condition that currently often goes undetected, or requires additional invasive procedures to confirm.
Ultromics' EchoGo® Heart Failure accurately detected HFpEF and provided fewer non-diagnostic outputs than current clinical scores, using just the routinely acquired A4C view from a transthoracic echocardiographic (TTE). The novel technology, which was recently granted clearance and Breakthrough Device designation by the FDA, identifies radiomic signatures of disease that are not evident to the human eye.
Senior study author, Patricia A. Pellikka, M.D, Vice Chair in the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine at Mayo Clinic, said: "HFpEF can be difficult to detect, but left undetected and untreated, can result in hospitalization and mortality. As the first AI platform cleared to detect the condition, EchoGo® Heart Failure can fill a significant unmet need."
"With more than 32 million people living with HFpEF, and the incidence increasing, clinicians will benefit from having another means to recognize this disease."
Based on the AI findings, patients could potentially be started on medications to treat their condition earlier than if they had to wait for an invasive diagnostic assessment of the disease.
The AI model was trained and developed on 6,756 patients who underwent a comprehensive TTE at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, between January 2009 to December 2020. It was then independently tested in geographically distinct areas within Mayo Clinic enterprise System sites across the United States, on a dataset that included 1,284 patients.
EchoGo® Heart Failure demonstrated high sensitivity and specificity, detecting 87.8% of patients who had HFpEF, and 81.9% of patients that did not.1 These results exceed what is usually observed in routine clinical practice.
It was also able to assign a correct diagnosis to 74% of patients who had returned non-diagnostic results on the commonly used HFA-PEFF and H2FPEF clinical scores.1 This improvement could translate to more patients receiving accurate and timely diagnoses and management.
During the follow-up period of up to 5 years, 444 patients died, highlighting the poor outcomes associated with HFpEF.1 The AI model was able to identify patients with worse survival, demonstrating its capacity to meaningfully improve patient outcomes.
Ross Upton, PhD, CEO and Founder of Ultromics, said: "Our research demonstrates the tremendous potential of AI in revolutionizing the detection of HFpEF. EchoGo® Heart Failure's exceptional discrimination capabilities combined with its ability to identify patients with higher mortality risks holds great promise for improving patient outcomes and enabling faster access to treatment."
"In a large number of cases, diagnostic data are often missing or discordant, making HFpEF detection challenging. AI can enhance echocardiography capabilities to help practices overcome the cumbersome intricacy of diastolic assessment. It is particularly useful for clinical centers that lack the time, resources, or expertise to perform comprehensive, diagnostic-quality, assessments."
By streamlining the screening process for this complex clinical syndrome, EchoGo® Heart Failure paves the way for more patients to receive the care they need sooner, potentially preventing more severe outcomes, and reducing HFpEF's significant burden on patients and healthcare.
Ultromics remains committed to advancing AI technology to transform cardiovascular healthcare. The groundbreaking findings from this study underscore the company's dedication to empowering healthcare professionals with tools that overcome existing bottlenecks and enhance patient care.
For more information on EchoGo® Heart Failure, visit Ultromics.com
Mayo Clinic has a financial interest in the technology referenced in this press release. Mayo Clinic will use any revenue it receives to support its not-for-profit mission in patient care, education and research.
Notes to editors
The study was approved by the Institutional Review Boards of Mayo Clinic, USA and St. George's University Hospitals, NHS Foundation Trust, UK, and supported by a grant from the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE).
References:
1 - Akerman AP, Porumb M, Scott CG, et al. Automated Echocardiographic Detection of Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction using Artificial Intelligence. JACC Advances, 2023:100452.
About Ultromics:
Ultromics is a pioneer in advanced heart failure detection. The ground-breaking platform, EchoGo ®, is transforming the way heart failure is diagnosed using artificial intelligence and cardiac ultrasound as a modality. The technology empowers clinicians to make precise, efficient, and accurate assessments of heart failure, leveraging the largest known heart disease outcomes dataset in echocardiography, accurately interpreting echocardiograms and predicting cardiac outcomes. The technology has been built in collaboration with Mayo Clinic and NHS England, and has over $50 million raised capital to support continued innovation with the likes of Blue Venture Fund, Optum Ventures, Oxford Science Enterprises, and GV. They are backed by the largest US health insurance firms with 4 FDA clearances. Ultromics' mission is to stop heart failure in its tracks with its precision detection platform. https://www.ultromics.com
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SOURCE Ultromics | https://www.wymt.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/study-confirms-ultromics-ai-can-improve-hfpef-detection-using-single-echocardiogram-view/ | 2023-07-31T13:48:09 | 1 | https://www.wymt.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/study-confirms-ultromics-ai-can-improve-hfpef-detection-using-single-echocardiogram-view/ |
DUBLIN, Calif., July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- TriNet Group, Inc. (NYSE: TNET), a leading provider of comprehensive and flexible human capital management (HCM) solutions for small and medium-size businesses (SMBs), today announced its plan to launch a fixed price tender offer (the "Tender Offer") to repurchase approximately $640 million in value of shares of TriNet common stock (the "shares") at a price of $107.00 per share, which is expected to commence on August 1, 2023. In addition, the Company signed a separate agreement on July 30, 2023 (the "Repurchase Agreement") to repurchase a minimum of approximately $360 million in value of shares from affiliates of its largest stockholder, Atairos Group, Inc. (collectively, "Atairos"). Assuming the Tender Offer is fully subscribed, both transactions together will result in the repurchase of approximately $1 billion in shares.
"Today is an exciting day for TriNet as we announce our intention to launch transactions to buy back $1 billion of TriNet stock," said Burton M. Goldfield, TriNet's President and CEO. "For some time, we have believed that TriNet's stock represents significant value, especially in light of our recent financial and operating performance. With our optimism around our long-term outlook, we believe now is a great time to take bold action around our capital structure."
"We have long valued Atairos' share ownership and Board of Directors participation," Goldfield continued. "As a part of these buybacks, Atairos intends to maintain its current approximate pro rata percentage ownership, but has also agreed to sell additional shares if our tender offer is undersubscribed, potentially reducing their ownership to no less than 30%. We welcome their continued ownership and Board participation."
"TriNet is a dynamic growth company with a proven business model and strong corporate cash flows," said Kelly Tuminelli, TriNet's Chief Financial Officer. "Through this action, we are using our financial resources to reduce TriNet's overall weighted average cost of capital. This is in line with our recently announced financial policy, while accreting long term value for all of our shareholders."
The Tender Offer will provide that the Company repurchase for cash up to 5,981,308 shares (representing approximately $640 million in value of shares) at a price of $107.00 per share (the "Purchase Price"), less any applicable withholding taxes and without interest. The Tender Offer is expected to commence on August 1, 2023 and expire at 12:00 midnight, New York City time, at the end of the day on August 28, 2023 (the "Expiration Date"), unless extended or terminated.
The Repurchase Agreement, which was executed on July 30, 2023, provides that TriNet will repurchase for cash a minimum of 3,364,486 shares (representing approximately $360 million in value of shares) from Atairos at the purchase price set forth in the Tender Offer, but not less than $107.00 per share (the "Atairos Commitment Amount"). Atairos beneficially owns 21,450,259 shares as of the date hereof (representing approximately 36% of the Company's outstanding shares as of July 27, 2023) and, assuming the full subscription of the Tender Offer, Atairos will continue to own approximately 36% of the Company's outstanding shares following the repurchase.
If the Tender Offer is not fully subscribed, but at least 3,644,859 shares are properly tendered and not properly withdrawn pursuant to the Tender Offer, Atairos has agreed to increase the number of shares to be sold to the Company under the Repurchase Agreement and will sell an additional number of shares equal to the difference between the number of shares offered to be repurchased pursuant to the Tender Offer and the number of shares actually repurchased in the Tender Offer such that the total share value of both transactions remains $1 billion; provided that such increase does not cause Atairos to beneficially own less than 33% of the Company's outstanding shares immediately following the closing of the Share Repurchase (taking into account the shares purchased in the Tender Offer), which percent may be further reduced to 30% at Atairos' sole discretion. If the Tender Offer is not fully subscribed and fewer than 3,644,859 shares are properly tendered and not properly withdrawn pursuant to the Tender Offer, the Company will repurchase that number of shares properly tendered and not properly withdrawn pursuant to the Tender Offer and, unless Atairos agrees to further reduce its ownership level, the Company will repurchase only the Atairos Commitment Amount from Atairos under the Repurchase Agreement.
The Share Repurchase is expected to close on the 11th business day following the Expiration Date, or September 13, 2023. The Share Repurchase is conditioned upon, among other matters, the completion of the Tender Offer, which, in turn, is subject to certain conditions, including the receipt of financing. These transactions will be made under TriNet's $1 billion stock repurchase program increase announced on July 26, 2023.
Assuming that the conditions to the Tender Offer are satisfied or waived and the Tender Offer is fully subscribed, the Company would purchase 5,981,308 shares pursuant to the Tender Offer and 3,364,486 shares pursuant to the Share Repurchase for an aggregate of 9,345,794 shares, representing approximately 16% of the Company's outstanding shares as of July 27, 2023.
The Tender Offer and the Share Repurchase have been authorized and approved by the Company's Board of Directors, the Finance and Audit Committee of the Board of Directors and the members of the Board of Directors who are independent of Atairos. However, neither the Company nor any member of the Board of Directors has made, or is making, any recommendation to stockholders as to whether they should tender or refrain from tendering their shares. Stockholders must make their own decision as to whether to tender their shares and, if so, how many shares to tender. Stockholders are urged to discuss their decisions with their tax advisor, financial advisor and/or broker.
Certain Information Regarding the Tender Offer
The information in this press release describing the Tender Offer is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to buy or the solicitation of an offer to sell shares in the Tender Offer. TriNet has not yet commenced the Tender Offer described herein, and there can be no assurance that TriNet will commence the Tender Offer on the terms described in this press release. The Tender Offer will be made only pursuant to the Offer to Purchase and the related materials that the Company will file with the SEC, and will distribute to its stockholders, as they may be amended or supplemented, on the commencement date of the Tender Offer. Stockholders should read the Offer to Purchase and related materials carefully and in their entirety because they will contain important information, including the terms and conditions of the Tender Offer. When they are available, stockholders of the Company may obtain a free copy of the Tender Offer statement on Schedule TO, the Offer to Purchase and other documents that the Company will file with the SEC from the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. When they are available, stockholders also will be able to obtain a copy of these documents, without charge, from D.F. King & Co., Inc., toll free at (800) 431-9643. Stockholders are urged to carefully read all of those materials when they become available prior to making any decision with respect to the Tender Offer.
About TriNet
TriNet (NYSE: TNET) provides small and medium-size businesses with full-service industry-specific HR solutions, providing both professional employer organization and human resources information system services. TriNet offers access to human capital expertise, benefits, risk mitigation, compliance, payroll, and R&D tax credit services, all enabled by industry-leading technology. TriNet's suite of products also includes services and software-based solutions to help streamline workflows by connecting HR, benefits, employee engagement, payroll and time & attendance. Rooted in more than 30 years of supporting entrepreneurs and adapting to the ever-changing modern workplace, TriNet empowers SMBs to focus on what matters most-growing their business and enabling their people.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that are based on TriNet's current expectations. Such statements include TriNet's plan to initiate the Tender Offer and ability to complete the Share Repurchase on the terms and timing described herein, or at all. Such forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including investor demand, market conditions, customary closing conditions and other factors. There can be no assurance that TriNet will complete the Share Repurchase or initiate the Tender Offer. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those expected. More information about potential risk factors that could affect TriNet and its results is included in TriNet's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 and its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2023 and June 30, 2023. TriNet does not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking information contained in this press release.
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VATICAN CITY (AP) — When Pope Francis made the first foreign trip of his papacy, to Rio de Janeiro for World Youth Day in 2013, he urged young people to make a “mess” in their local churches, to shake things up even if it ruffled the feathers of their bishops.
As he embarks this week on another edition of World Youth Day, in Lisbon, Portugal, Francis in many ways has taken his own advice to heart. After 10 years as pope, Francis is accelerating his reform agenda and making revolutionary changes in personnel and policy that are definitely shaking things up.
Unencumbered by the shadow of Pope Benedict XVI, who died seven months ago, and despite recovering from a second intestinal surgery in as many years, the 86-year-old Francis is opening a frenetic second half of the year with his Portugal visit. He seems aware that he has a limited sweet spot of time to solidify the changes he believes are necessary for the 21st century church, and is looking to the next generation of faithful and leaders to execute them.
“The sense I get is that this is the consolidation phase of the pontificate,” said papal biographer Austen Ivereigh. “He’s laying the basis now, laying the ground, for the future.”
And no better place to put it on display than at a World Youth Day. The international rally, which St. John Paul II launched in 1986 to galvanize young Catholics in their faith, is expected to draw up to 1 million people for the first post-pandemic event of its kind. Francis’ perennial social justice concerns about climate change, social inequality and fraternity, as well as Russia’s war in Ukraine, are expected to be major themes.
Beyond Portugal, though, Francis’ multifold strategy for laying the groundwork for the future is coming together and will hit significant marks in the coming months.
His global canvassing of rank-and-file Catholics about their vision for the future comes to fruition this October with a big synod at the Vatican. The meeting is intended to give direction on such hot-button issues as the place of LGBTQ+ Catholics and women in the church, and for the first time will feature women and young people voting on proposals alongside bishops.
“I really think that for Pope Francis, he felt that ‘OK, now it’s mature’ and it would be good really to involve all the members, all the people in the synod as members” with the right to vote, said Sister Nathalie Becquart, who is one of the key synod organizers.
To then implement the vision that emerges from the synod, Francis has been naming a slew of unusually young bishops for key archdioceses — in his native Buenos Aires, Madrid and Brussels, among others. At the same time, he’s elevated several cardinals in their 50s — and in some cases their 40s — including the auxiliary bishop of Lisbon who is organizing World Youth Day.
Putting such young clerics in such important positions ensures a generation’s worth of likeminded leadership in the Vatican and archdioceses around the world. While not all are cookie-cutter proteges of Francis, many are seen as similarly pastorally minded and thus more game to implement his reforms, especially as the older generation of bishops and cardinals dies out.
After Francis is gone, the youngest of these new cardinals will have some three decades’ worth of local leadership and conclave votes to select future popes, suggesting a generational and ideological shift in the church leadership is very much underway.
Francis’ most important young “legacy” appointment was that of the Vatican’s new doctrinal czar, Argentine Cardinal-elect Victor Manuel Fernandez, 61. Francis’ theological ghostwriter ran into Vatican problems in the past over questions about his doctrinal orthodoxy, and his appointment sent shockwaves through the conservative and traditionalist wings of the church.
Fernandez sees his appointment as part of Francis’ longer-term agenda. “He is proposing a more inclusive church, more respectful of different ways of living, even of thinking,” Fernandez said in an interview.
Portuguese Cardinal-elect Americo Aguiar, who is in charge of World Youth Day, is another young churchman who also understands his appointment as part of a generational turning point for the Catholic hierarchy.
At age 49 he will become the second-youngest member of the College of Cardinals when he is installed Sept. 30. He is just six months older than the current youngest cardinal, whom Francis elevated this time last year: Cardinal Giorgio Marengo, head of the church in Mongolia where Francis will travel at the end of August.
“My reading of it is that this has to do with young people, it has to do with youth, it has to do with Portugal, it has to do with World Youth Day, it has to do with all of that,” Aguiar said in an interview. “I think that his objective and his underlining was exactly to send a signal to the young people, to every young person who is preparing the day, whether in Portugal or in the world, to feel identified with this decision.”
Francis said as much in his monthly prayer intentions for August, this time dedicated to the Lisbon event.
“In Lisbon, I would like to see a seed for the world’s future,” Francis said. “A world where love is at the center, where we can sense that we are sisters and brothers.”
His wish in many ways echoed his words at the 2013 World Youth Day in Rio, which now seem prescient in outlining many of the key pastoral messages Francis has emphasized over the past decade. Delivering a spontaneous, off-the-cuff exhortation to a gathering of Argentine pilgrims that was organized at the last minute, Francis urged the young to get out into the streets, spread their faith and “make a mess.”
“I want to see the church get closer to the people,” Francis said then, speaking in his native Spanish. “I want to get rid of clericalism, the mundane, this closing ourselves off within ourselves, in our parishes, schools or structures.”
Realizing the radical nature of his message, Francis apologized to the bishops for what was about to come, even though in the 10 years since, he has only gone further than anyone could have imagined at the time.
“The true reform of the church, you know, is not a revolution bringing something completely from outside,” said Becquart, the French nun, as she reflected on Francis’ agenda. “It’s a path of change that is a way to unfold tradition, but in a very dynamic way.”
___
AP reporters Helena Alvez in Lisbon, Portugal, and Almudena Calatrava in Buenos Aires contributed.
___
Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. | https://www.myarklamiss.com/news/international/ap-as-the-pope-heads-to-portugal-he-is-laying-the-groundwork-for-the-churchs-future-and-his-legacy/ | 2023-07-31T13:48:10 | 1 | https://www.myarklamiss.com/news/international/ap-as-the-pope-heads-to-portugal-he-is-laying-the-groundwork-for-the-churchs-future-and-his-legacy/ |
KHAR, Pakistan — Hundreds of mourners attended funerals in Pakistan on Monday after a suicide bombing killed at least 54 people at an election rally for a pro-Taliban cleric, carrying caskets draped in colorful cloths to burial sites in the hills.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for Sunday’s bombing in Bajur that killed at least five children and wounded nearly 200 people.
The attack appeared to reflect divisions between Islamist groups, which have a strong presence in the district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that borders Afghanistan. It targeted the Jamiat Ulema Islam party, which has ties to the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban.
At 1,000 people, according to police, were crowded into a tent near a market for the rally ahead of fall elections.
“People were chanting God is Great as the leaders arrived,” said Khan Mohammad, a local resident who said he was standing outside the tent, “and that was when I heard the deafening sound of the bomb.”
Mohammad said he heard people crying for help, and minutes later ambulances arrived and began taking the wounded away.
Police said their initial investigation suggested that the Islamic State group’s regional affiliate, a rival of the Taliban, could be responsible, while a Pakistan security analyst pointed to breakaway factions of the Pakistani Taliban as possible suspects.
The Pakistani military spent years fighting the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, in Bajur before declaring the district clear of militants in 2016. But the Jamiat Ulema Islam party, headed by hard-line cleric and politician Fazlur Rehman, has remained a potent political force.
On Monday, police recorded statements from some of the wounded at a hospital in Khar, the district’s principal town.
The Islamic State in Khorasan Province, which police identified as a suspect in the attack, is based in neighboring Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province and is a rival of the Afghan Taliban and al-Qaida.
Pakistani security analyst Mahmood Shah said some TTP members have been known to disobey their top leadership to carry out attacks, as have breakaway factions of the group.
Shah said such factions could have perpetrated the attack to cause “confusion, instability and unrest ahead of the elections.”
On Monday, female relatives and children wailed and beat their chests at family homes as the dead were taken for funerals, following local customs. Hundreds of men followed the caskets to mosques and open areas for special funeral prayers and then into the hills for burial.
As condolences continued to pour in from across the country, dozens of people who had lesser injuries were discharged from hospital, while the critically wounded were taken to the provincial capital of Peshawar by army helicopters. The death toll continued to rise as some critically wounded people died in hospital, physician Gul Naseeb said.
Gul Akbar, the father of an 11-year-old boy who was wounded in the attack, told The Associated Press that his entire family was in a state of shock after hearing about the bombing Sunday. He said he first went to the scene of the attack, and later found his son Taslim Khan being treated in a hospital in Khar.
“What would I have done if he had also been martyred? Five children died in this barbaric attack, and we want to know what our children did wrong,” he said.
Rehman’s party is preparing to contest elections, which are expected in October or November. Abdul Rasheed, one of the party’s senior leaders, said the bombing was aimed at weakening the party but that “such attacks cannot deter our resolve.”
Rehman’s party is part of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s coalition government, which came to power in April 2022 by ousting former Prime Minister Imran Khan through a no-confidence vote in the legislature.
Sharif called Rehman to express his condolences and assure the cleric that those who orchestrated the attack would be punished. Khan condemned the bombing Sunday, as did the U.S. and Russian embassies in Islamabad.
The Pakistani Taliban also distanced themselves from the bombing, saying that it was intended to set Islamists against each other. Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesman for the Afghan Taliban, wrote in a tweet that “such crimes cannot be justified in any way.”
The bombing came hours before Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng arrived in Islamabad, where he signed new agreements to boost trade and economic ties to mark a decade of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a sprawling package under which China has invested $10 billion in Pakistan over 10 years, according to Sharif.
“We will not tolerate any obstacles in the way of friendship with China,” Sharif said, as he stood next to He.
But the government canceled a cultural event that had been arranged in honor of He, according to Sharif, while the nation mourns.
Some Chinese nationals have also been targeted by militants in northwestern Pakistan and elsewhere.
Rehman, who has long supported Afghanistan’s Taliban government, survived at least two known bomb attacks in 2011 and 2014, when bombings damaged his car at rallies.
Sunday’s bombing was one of the worst in northwestern Pakistan in the last decade. In 2014, 147 people, mostly schoolchildren, were killed in a Taliban attack on an army-run school in Peshawar.
In January, 74 people were killed in a bombing at a mosque in Peshawar. And in February, more than 100 people, mostly policemen, died in a bombing at a mosque inside a high-security compound housing Peshawar police headquarters. | https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation-world/pakistan-suicide-attack-20230731-lo6pdqsxhnhhnd4y5fhaatkedm-story.html | 2023-07-31T13:48:13 | 1 | https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation-world/pakistan-suicide-attack-20230731-lo6pdqsxhnhhnd4y5fhaatkedm-story.html |
BANGKOK — Myanmar’s military-controlled government has extended the state of emergency it imposed when the army seized power from an elected government 2 1/2 years ago, state-run media said Monday, forcing a further delay in elections it promised when it took over.
The announcement amounted to an admission that the army does not exercise enough control to stage the polls and has failed to subdue widespread opposition to military rule, which includes increasingly challenging armed resistance as well as nonviolent protests and civil disobedience, despite the army having a huge advantage in manpower and weapons.
The state of emergency was declared when troops arrested Aung San Suu Kyi and top officials from her government and members of her National League for Democracy party on Feb. 1, 2021. The takeover reversed years of progress toward democracy after five decades of military rule.
The military said it seized power because of fraud in the last general election held in November 2020, in which Suu Kyi’s party won a landslide victory while the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development party did poorly. Independent election observers said they did not find any major irregularities.
The army takeover was met with widespread peaceful protests that security forces suppressed with lethal force, triggering armed resistance that U.N. experts have described as a civil war.
As of Monday, 3,857 people have been killed by the security forces since the takeover, according to a tally kept by the independent Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.
The army-enacted 2008 constitution allows the military to rule the country under a state of emergency for one year, with two possible six-month extensions if preparations are not yet completed for new polls, meaning that the time limit expired on Jan. 31 this year.
However, the NDSC allowed the military government to extend emergency rule for another six months in February, saying the country remained in an abnormal situation. The announcement on Monday is the fourth extension.
The state of emergency allows the military to assume all government functions, giving the head of the ruling military council, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, legislative, judicial and executive powers.
Monday’s report did not specify when the polls might be held, saying only that they would occur after the goals of the state of emergency are accomplished.
According to the constitution, the military must transfer government functions to the president, who heads the NDSC, six months before the polls. That would mean Acting President Myint Swe, a retired general.
The military originally announced that new polls would be held a year after its takeover and later said they would take place in August 2023. But the extension of the emergency in February made that timing impossible.
The MRTV report said Myint Swe told members of the NDSC that the government still needs to do more to achieve stability and the rule of law to prepare for the election.
Critics say the polls will be neither free nor fair under the military-controlled government, which has shut independent media and arrested most of the leaders of Suu Kyi’s party.
Her party was dissolved along with 39 other parties by the election commission in March for failing to re-apply under a political party registration law enacted by the military government early this year. The law makes it difficult for opposition groups to mount a serious challenge to army-backed candidates.
Suu Kyi, 78, is serving prison sentences totaling 33 years after being convicted in a series of politically tainted cases brought mostly by the military government. | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/07/31/myanmar-military-state-of-emergency-extend/f75be380-2f9c-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html | 2023-07-31T13:48:13 | 0 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/07/31/myanmar-military-state-of-emergency-extend/f75be380-2f9c-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html |
BEIJING (AP) — China imposed restrictions Monday on exports of long-range civilian drones, citing Russia’s war in Ukraine and concern that drones might be converted to military use.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s government is friendly with Moscow but says it is neutral in the 18-month-old war. It has been stung by reports that both sides might be using Chinese-made drones for reconnaissance and possibly attacks.
Export controls will take effect Tuesday to prevent use of drones for “non-peaceful purposes,” the Ministry of Commerce said in a statement. It said exports still will be allowed but didn’t say what restrictions would apply.
China is a leading developer and exporter of drones. DJI Technology Co., one of the global industry’s top competitors, announced in April 2022 it was pulling out of Russia and Ukraine to prevent its drones from being used in combat.
“The risk of some high specification and high-performance civilian unmanned aerial vehicles being converted to military use is constantly increasing,” the Ministry of Commerce said.
Restrictions will apply to drones that can fly beyond the natural sight distance of operators or stay aloft more than 30 minutes, have attachments that can throw objects and weigh more than seven kilograms (15½ pounds), according to the ministry.
“Since the crisis in Ukraine, some Chinese civilian drone companies have voluntarily suspended their operations in conflict areas,” the Ministry of Commerce said. It accused the United States and Western media of spreading “false information” about Chinese drone exports.
The government on Friday defended its dealings with Russia as “normal economic and trade cooperation” after a U.S. intelligence report said Beijing possibly provided equipment used in Ukraine that might have military applications.
The report cited Russian customs data that showed Chinese state-owned military contractors supplied drones, navigation equipment, fighter jet parts and other goods.
The Biden administration has warned Beijing of unspecified consequences if it supports the Kremlin’s war effort. Last week’s report didn’t say whether any of the trade cited might trigger U.S. retaliation.
Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin declared before the February 2022 invasion that their governments had a “no-limits” friendship. Beijing has blocked efforts to censure Moscow in the United Nations and has repeated Russian justifications for the attack.
China has “always opposed the use of civilian drones for military purposes,” the Ministry of Commerce said. “The moderate expansion of drone control by China this time is an important measure to demonstrate the responsibility of a responsible major country.”
The Ukrainian government appealed to DJI in March 2022 to stop selling drones it said the Russian ministry was using to target missile attacks. DJI rejected claims it leaked data on Ukraine’s military positions to Russia. | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/u-s-world/ap-china-imposes-curbs-on-drone-exports-citing-ukraine-and-concern-about-military-use/ | 2023-07-31T13:48:15 | 1 | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/u-s-world/ap-china-imposes-curbs-on-drone-exports-citing-ukraine-and-concern-about-military-use/ |
Retrospective Research Demonstrates Potential of FeelBetter in Optimizing Medication Regimens of Senior Patients and Reducing Avoidable Healthcare Utilization and Spending
BOSTON and TEL AVIV, Israel, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- FeelBetter, the leading provider of medication management technology and pioneer of Pharmaco-Clinical Intelligence, today announced the findings of retrospective research conducted by investigators in Boston. Presented at the Society of General Internal Medicine (SGIM) 2023 Annual Meeting and the 2023 Annual Research Meeting (ARM) of AcademyHealth, the results of the retrospective study demonstrate that FeelBetter's Pharmaco-Clinical Intelligence accurately and appropriately predicts senior patients at high risk of medication-related adverse events.
The study, conducted at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, concluded that FeelBetter can be used to effectively risk stratify emergency department use and hospitalizations among patients over the age of 65 with multiple chronic conditions and complex medication regimens. Study results also indicate that when paired with a medication management intervention, FeelBetter's technology could potentially reduce healthcare utilization and expenses, and aid in improving patient outcomes.
"Medication-related issues contribute to 10-30% of hospitalizations in the elderly. Preventing these issues is critical to improving patient outcomes and reducing avoidable healthcare utilization and expenses. However, current intervention methods and alert systems have numerous limitations," said Lisa Rotenstein, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine and Medical Director of Population Health at Brigham and Women's Hospital and principal investigator of the study. "What's exciting about this solution is that it enables a targeted view of those individuals who may most benefit from medication management interventions and the alteration of their medication regimens. These warnings and recommendations have the potential to aid clinicians and other healthcare providers in optimizing medication regimens, which could lead to downstream improvement in patient outcomes and cost reductions.
The population for the retrospective study included 108,817 of Brigham and Women's Hospital's senior patients (mean age of 77.1) who were taking an average of nine medications to treat multiple chronic conditions. Among the key study findings, the FeelBetter algorithm successfully incorporated a wide variety of data from the electronic health records and accurately stratified patients into risk groupings with distinct demographic and utilization characteristics. Patients in successive risk strata, as identified by FeelBetter, incurred incrementally more emergency department visits and hospitalizations one-, three-, and six-months post prediction. Patients in the highest risk percentile (99%) incurred a mean of 0.531 hospitalizations three-months post prediction.
The study also estimated a total of $4.8 million in potential savings in three months following the use of FeelBetter to risk stratify patients, when considering only the top 5% of high-risk patients and specific hospitalizations that may have been avoided pending medication changes. Based on the results of the retrospective analysis, the study team has begun conducting prospective research to further assess the capabilities of FeelBetter's technology to impact patient trajectories and costs of care.
"Our AI-powered solution leverages data on medications, demographics, social history, diagnoses, lab results, procedures, allergies, emergency department and hospitalization patterns, and costs, among other sources of information. It's comprehensively designed to help clinicians risk stratify patients and proactively personalize medication regimens," said Dr. Adva Tzuk Onn, FeelBetter's Chief Medical Officer, and a physician with more than 15 years of experience in geriatric and family medicine. "We're pleased to see the growing body of evidence for our Pharmaco-Clinical Intelligence and look forward to beginning prospective research with the team at Brigham and Women's Hospital to further assess FeelBetter's impact on improving patient outcomes and driving value-based care."
About FeelBetter
FeelBetter is the pioneer of Pharmaco-Clinical Intelligence, changing the polypharmacy paradigm on both an individual and population health level with a comprehensive solution designed to tackle the challenges associated with suboptimal medication management.Powered by AI and machine learning capabilities, FeelBetter's Pharmaco-Clinical Intelligence drives personalized medication management, helping healthcare professionals ensure that their patients' medication regimens are safe, effective, and appropriate. The technology pinpoints patients at high risk of deterioration and preventable hospitalization due to suboptimal medication management, and proactively suggests immediate and actionable interventions to reduce these risks. Provider organizations use FeelBetter to monitor their patients' progress and more proactively deliver the right follow-up care, as well as to efficiently allocate resources and minimize preventable, costly use of healthcare services.
Led by an interdisciplinary team of clinicians, clinical pharmacists, and technologists, FeelBetter is headquartered in Boston and Tel Aviv, Israel. Investors include Firstime Ventures, Shoni Health Ventures, Triventures, Random Forest VC, The Group Ventures, and GoodCompany Ventures. To learn more, visit feelbetter.healthcare.
Media Contact
Nicole Pariser
nicole@i-feelbetter.com
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SOURCE FeelBetter | https://www.wymt.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/study-shows-accuracy-appropriateness-benefit-using-feelbetter-risk-stratify-elderly-polypharmacy-patients/ | 2023-07-31T13:48:16 | 0 | https://www.wymt.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/study-shows-accuracy-appropriateness-benefit-using-feelbetter-risk-stratify-elderly-polypharmacy-patients/ |
New dispensary delivers on brand promise of product quality and variety with convenient locations
TALLAHASSEE, Fla., July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Trulieve Cannabis Corp. (CSE: TRUL) (OTCQX: TCNNF) ("Trulieve" or "the Company"), a leading and top-performing cannabis company in the United States, announced the relocation of a medical dispensary in Kissimmee, Fla. located at 2647 E. Irlo Bronson Memorial Hwy. The dispensary will be open 9AM – 8:30PM Monday through Saturday and 11AM – 8PM on Sunday.
"Trulieve is committed to offering our Florida patients a broad selection of convenient locations and top-quality products to choose from, while also providing for best-in-class customer service," said Trulieve's Chief Executive Officer Kim Rivers. "This new location delivers on that commitment and we will continue to seek new opportunities to better serve this community."
Trulieve invites the Kissimmee community to join in celebrating this new dispensary on Friday, August 4 with partner giveaways, music, food trucks, specials discounts and more, starting at 9 AM. Trulieve also offers statewide home delivery, convenient online ordering and in-store pickup. As always, all first-time guests are eligible for a 60% new customer discount at any Florida-based location.
Designed to meet every patient's needs, our portfolio of in-house brands includes Alchemy, Co2lors, Cultivar Collection, Modern Flower, Momenta, Muse, Roll One, Sweet Talk and Trekkers. Customers also have access to beloved brands such as Alien Labs, Bhang, Binske, Black Tuna, Blue River, Connected Cannabis, DeLisioso, Khalifa Kush, Love's Oven, Miami Mango, Old Hippie Stash, O.Pen, Seed Junky and Sunshine Cannabis, all available exclusively at Trulieve in Florida.
For more information, or to learn how to become a registered patient, please visit Trulieve.com and connect on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.
About Trulieve
Trulieve is an industry leading, vertically integrated cannabis company and multi-state operator in the U.S., with established hubs in the Northeast, Southeast, and Southwest, anchored by leading market positions in Arizona, Florida, and Pennsylvania. Trulieve is poised for accelerated growth and expansion, building scale in retail and distribution in new and existing markets through its hub strategy. By providing innovative, high-quality products across its brand portfolio, Trulieve delivers optimal customer experiences and increases access to cannabis, helping patients and customers to live without limits. Trulieve is listed on the CSE under the symbol TRUL and trades on the OTCQX market under the symbol TCNNF. For more information, please visit Trulieve.com.
Facebook: @Trulieve
Instagram: @Trulieve_
Twitter: @Trulieve
Investor Contact
Christine Hersey, Vice President of Investor Relations
+1 (424) 202-0210
Christine.Hersey@Trulieve.com
Media Contact
Teresa Coulter, VancoreJones Communications
+1 (407) 808-6139
TCoulter@vancorejones.com
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SOURCE Trulieve Cannabis Corp. | https://www.ktre.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/trulieve-opening-relocated-medical-marijuana-dispensary-kissimmee-florida/ | 2023-07-31T13:48:16 | 0 | https://www.ktre.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/trulieve-opening-relocated-medical-marijuana-dispensary-kissimmee-florida/ |
BEIJING (AP) — China imposed restrictions Monday on exports of long-range civilian drones, citing Russia’s war in Ukraine and concern that drones might be converted to military use.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s government is friendly with Moscow but says it is neutral in the 18-month-old war. It has been stung by reports that both sides might be using Chinese-made drones for reconnaissance and possibly attacks.
Export controls will take effect Tuesday to prevent use of drones for “non-peaceful purposes,” the Ministry of Commerce said in a statement. It said exports still will be allowed but didn’t say what restrictions would apply.
China is a leading developer and exporter of drones. DJI Technology Co., one of the global industry’s top competitors, announced in April 2022 it was pulling out of Russia and Ukraine to prevent its drones from being used in combat.
“The risk of some high specification and high-performance civilian unmanned aerial vehicles being converted to military use is constantly increasing,” the Ministry of Commerce said.
Restrictions will apply to drones that can fly beyond the natural sight distance of operators or stay aloft more than 30 minutes, have attachments that can throw objects and weigh more than seven kilograms (15½ pounds), according to the ministry.
“Since the crisis in Ukraine, some Chinese civilian drone companies have voluntarily suspended their operations in conflict areas,” the Ministry of Commerce said. It accused the United States and Western media of spreading “false information” about Chinese drone exports.
The government on Friday defended its dealings with Russia as “normal economic and trade cooperation” after a U.S. intelligence report said Beijing possibly provided equipment used in Ukraine that might have military applications.
The report cited Russian customs data that showed Chinese state-owned military contractors supplied drones, navigation equipment, fighter jet parts and other goods.
The Biden administration has warned Beijing of unspecified consequences if it supports the Kremlin’s war effort. Last week’s report didn’t say whether any of the trade cited might trigger U.S. retaliation.
Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin declared before the February 2022 invasion that their governments had a “no-limits” friendship. Beijing has blocked efforts to censure Moscow in the United Nations and has repeated Russian justifications for the attack.
China has “always opposed the use of civilian drones for military purposes,” the Ministry of Commerce said. “The moderate expansion of drone control by China this time is an important measure to demonstrate the responsibility of a responsible major country.”
The Ukrainian government appealed to DJI in March 2022 to stop selling drones it said the Russian ministry was using to target missile attacks. DJI rejected claims it leaked data on Ukraine’s military positions to Russia. | https://www.myarklamiss.com/news/international/ap-china-imposes-curbs-on-drone-exports-citing-ukraine-and-concern-about-military-use/ | 2023-07-31T13:48:18 | 0 | https://www.myarklamiss.com/news/international/ap-china-imposes-curbs-on-drone-exports-citing-ukraine-and-concern-about-military-use/ |
MIAMI — An employee of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, Carlos De Oliveira, is expected to make his first court appearance Monday on charges accusing him of scheming with the former president to hide security footage from investigators probing Trump’s hoarding of classified documents.
De Oliveira, Mar-a-Lago’s property manager, was added last week to the indictment with Trump and the former president’s valet, Walt Nauta, in the federal case alleging a plot to illegally keep top-secret records at Trump’s Palm Beach, Florida, estate and thwart government efforts to retrieve them.
De Oliveira faces charges including conspiracy to obstruct justice and lying to investigators. He’s scheduled to appear before a magistrate judge in Miami nearly two months after Trump pleaded not guilty in the case brought by special counsel Jack Smith.
The developments in the classified documents case come as Trump braces for possible charges in another federal investigation into his efforts to cling to power after he lost the 2020 election. Trump, the early front-runner in the 2024 Republican presidential primary, has received a letter from Smith indicating that he is a target of that investigation, and Trump’s lawyers met with Smith’s team last week.
An attorney for De Oliveira declined last week to comment on the allegations. Trump has denied any wrongdoing and said the Mar-a-Lago security tapes were voluntarily handed over to investigators. Trump posted on his Truth Social platform last week that he was told the tapes were not “deleted in any way, shape or form.”
Prosecutors have not alleged that security footage was actually deleted or kept from investigators.
Nauta has also pleaded not guilty. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon had previously scheduled the trial of Trump and Nauta to begin in May, and it’s unclear whether the addition of De Oliveira to the case may impact the case’s timeline.
The latest indictment, unsealed on Thursday, alleges that Trump tried to have security footage deleted after investigators visited in June 2022 to collect classified documents Trump took with him after he left the White House.
Trump was already facing dozens of felony counts — including willful retention of notional defense information — stemming from allegations that he mishandled government secrets that as commander-in-chief he was entrusted to protect. Experts have said the new allegations bolster the special counsel’s case and deepen the former president’s legal jeopardy.
Video from Mar-a-Lago would ultimately become vital to the government’s case because, prosecutors said, it shows Nauta moving boxes in and out of a storage room — an act alleged to have been done at Trump’s direction and in effort to hide records not only only from investigators but Trump’s own lawyers.
Days after the Justice Department sent a subpoena for video footage at Mar-a-Lago to the Trump Organization in June 2022, prosecutors say De Oliveira asked a information technology staffer how long the server retained footage and told the employee “the boss” wanted it deleted. When the employee said he didn’t believe he was able to do that, De Oliveira insisted the “boss” wanted it done, asking, “What are we going to do?”
Shortly after the FBI searched Mar-a-Lago and found classified records in the storage room and Trump’s office, prosecutors say Nauta called a Trump employee and said words to the effect of, “someone just wants to make sure Carlos is good.” The indictment says the employee responded that De Oliveira was loyal and wouldn’t do anything to affect his relationship with Trump. That same day, the indictment alleges, Trump called De Oliveira directly to say that he would get De Oliveira an attorney.
Prosecutors allege that De Oliveira later lied in interviews with investigators, falsely claiming that he hadn’t even seen boxes moved into Mar-a-Lago after Trump left the White House. | https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation-world/trump-documents-worker-charged-20230731-whgttm7f5bcqvmcaqirhativly-story.html | 2023-07-31T13:48:20 | 1 | https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation-world/trump-documents-worker-charged-20230731-whgttm7f5bcqvmcaqirhativly-story.html |
Niger’s neighbors threatened military intervention in the West African country if ousted President Mohamed Bazoum is not returned to power by Aug. 6, raising the pressure on the mutineers who plunged the nation into turmoil by overthrowing its democratically elected leader last week.
The deadline comes as the European Union and United Kingdom announced they were pulling aid from the country. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken previously suggested that Washington could do the same if Bazoum is not returned to office. Bazoum and his predecessor have worked closely with the United States and other Western allies in confronting the threat posed by Islamist militants in the region.
Soldiers barricaded Bazoum in the presidential palace on Wednesday, with the head of the presidential guard, Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani, later announcing they seized power because of the “harsh reality of security in Niger” and declaring himself the country’s leader. If the army holds on to power, Niger will be the sixth sub-Saharan African nation to be taken over by a military junta since 2021, forming an unbroken string of military regimes from Africa’s Atlantic coast to the Red Sea.
Thousands of protesters backing the junta were photographed marching through the streets of Niamey, Niger’s capital, over the weekend. On Sunday, pro-junta crowds threw stones at the embassy of Niger’s former colonial ruler, France, and attempted to set the building alight before being dispersed by security forces, Reuters reported.
Some demonstrators also carried signs calling for French forces to exit their country, where Paris has deployed roughly 1,500 troops to battle militants in neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso. The United States also deployed about 800 troops at a time to Niger, and operates drones out of a military base on the city of Agadez.
French officials condemned Sunday’s violence in the capital and urged Nigerien forces to safeguard the embassy building. By Sunday afternoon, Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna told French radio that the situation had calmed and said there were no plans to evacuate French citizens from Niger. “The era of coups d’etat in Africa must stop. They are not acceptable,” she said.
Over the weekend, the governments of 11 West African nations issued a statement labeling Bazoum’s detention a “hostage situation” and demanded his immediate release. On top of its threat of military intervention, ECOWAS announced a slew of sanctions against Niger, to be imposed with immediate effect.
ECOWAS members also shut their land and air borders with Niger and ordered all commercial transactions between the nations suspended with immediate effect, according to the communiqué.
In a statement Sunday, Blinken welcomed ECOWAS’s response, while at the same time urging all parties to find a peaceful resolution and for Niger’s military junta to release Bazoum. “The legitimate, democratically-elected government must be reinstated immediately,” he tweeted.
At a news briefing on Saturday, Blinken told reporters that Washington’s “significant” economic and security arrangements with Niger, worth “hundreds of millions of dollars,” could be cut off if Bazoum is not restored to office.
The E.U. suspended financial aid and security cooperation with Niger over the weekend, condemning the “putsch” in a statement. The 27-member bloc had established a military mission to the country late last year intended to contain the threat of terrorism and a spillover in violence from neighboring Mali.
Josep Borrell, the E.U. foreign policy chief, reiterated on Monday that the bloc still recognizes Bazoum as Niger’s head of state. “Any authority other than his own cannot be recognized,” he said in a statement. “He must regain, without delay and without condition, the freedom and fullness of his high office.”
“We hold the putschists responsible for any attacks on civilians, diplomatic personnel or facilities,” Borrell said. He added that the E.U. takes issue with any accusations of foreign interference: “It is important that the will of the people of Niger, as expressed by the votes, be respected,” he said.
Western allies have sent significant aid to Niger since Bazoum came to office in 2021, marking the West African nation’s first peaceful transfer of power since its independence from France in 1960. | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/07/31/niger-coup-ecowas-aid-france/ | 2023-07-31T13:48:20 | 1 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/07/31/niger-coup-ecowas-aid-france/ |
NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — A Cyprus court on Monday sentenced a British man who killed his ailing wife in their retirement home to two years in prison, rejecting a defense request to hand down a suspended sentence after convicting him earlier of manslaughter.
State prosecutor Andreas Hadjikyrou said the three-judge bench imposed the prison term as a “deterrent,” although the judges had earlier ruled that David Hunter’s decision to suffocate his wife Janice in December 2021 was made on the spur of the moment because he could no longer stand seeing her weeping in pain.
Hadjikyrou told The Associated Press the court took into account that Hunter, 76, acted “out of love” to save his wife, who was suffering from a blood ailment when he closed her mouth and nose with his hands as she sat in a recliner in their Paphos home.
It also took into consideration Hunter’s advanced age and that he had no previous criminal record.
Justice Abroad, a group that defends Britons facing legal troubles in foreign countries, said in a statement that Hunter could be released by Aug. 18 after already having spent more than 18 months in custody.
“This has been a tragic case and difficult for all of those involved with it, but today’s decision was the right one and allows David and his family to grieve together,” said Michael Polak from Justice Abroad.
Hunter had faced a charge of premeditated murder, but the court found in its July 21 ruling that the prosecution didn’t prove beyond a reasonable doubt that there was premeditation in his actions.
The court had accepted witness testimony that Janice feared her blood ailment would develop into full-blown leukemia and had repeatedly pleaded with her husband to take her life because she didn’t want to share the fate of her sister, who died of the disease.
Hunter attempted to take his own life by consuming a large amount of pills after suffocating his wife, but medical staff saved his life.
The court cited expert testimony that Janice Hunter suffered from myelodysplastic syndrome, a type of blood cancer which “to a large degree” — as much as 45% — could turn into leukemia, although there was no proof that she had indeed developed the disease because no definitive tests were conducted.
But the court said both husband and wife believed that Janice would develop it because of her sister’s fate.
David Hunter’s earlier assurances to Janice that he would help her fulfill her wish to end her life and not suffer anymore didn’t indicate any premeditation, the court said.
Hadjikyrou said defense lawyers had rejected a plea deal in December 2022 for the defendant to plead guilty to manslaughter because they insisted the facts of the case include an agreement Hunter and his wife allegedly made for him to take her life.
The state prosecutor said the court didn’t accept that such an agreement had indeed been made. He said the Cyprus attorney-general has 10 days to decide whether to appeal the sentence. | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/u-s-world/ap-cyprus-court-hands-british-man-a-2-year-prison-term-for-killing-his-ailing-wife-to-spare-her-pain/ | 2023-07-31T13:48:21 | 0 | https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/u-s-world/ap-cyprus-court-hands-british-man-a-2-year-prison-term-for-killing-his-ailing-wife-to-spare-her-pain/ |
BELLEVUE, Wash., July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Coinstar® for Financial is proud to announce its partnership with Suncoast™ Credit Union as they implement Coinstar self-service kiosks for in-lobby coin counting in 72 of its branches. Suncoast Credit Union is the largest credit union in Florida and the 10th largest in the US based on membership, serving more than one million members across the state.
The partnership began with a 90-day pilot, allowing Suncoast to trial Coinstar's Anthony kiosks designed for financial institutions in a few of its busier branches. Surpassing Suncoast's goals of increasing transactions and efficiency, the pilot was a success. Coinstar for Financial will complete the rollout to all branches by the end of July.
"Coinstar's impact on productivity and member experience was felt within the first week of the pilot. There were just a few short days between signing the contract and seeing the improvement in our coin operations," said Jennifer Bolivar, Senior Vice President of Business Transformation and Retail Branching. "We are excited to roll out Coinstar's best-in-class kiosks across our branch network and continue seeing the positive impact."
The Anthony kiosks are replacing Suncoast Credit Union's previous coin machines that were managed by branch staff, which often interrupted valuable time spent with members. Coinstar for Financial relieves branch staff of that burden by handling every aspect of their coin counting program. Suncoast staff can now better support their members with more time to work face-to-face and ensure members' needs are met.
Coinstar's turnkey program takes care of coin pickup, kiosk maintenance, and administration, meaning Suncoast's branch staff no longer need to worry about emptying the machines, hauling heavy bags of coin, or coordinating repairs. Members can turn their coins into cash through the convenient and highly accurate self-service Coinstar kiosks. In the future, Suncoast also plans to add coin-to-deposit functionality, where members can insert their debit card and deposit coins directly to their account.
"Coinstar is thrilled to partner with Suncoast Credit Union and proud to be a part of their culture of superior focus on the member experience," said Kevin McColly, CEO of Coinstar. "We look forward to a long, prosperous relationship with Suncoast Credit Union and supporting their success into the future."
Implementing the Anthony kiosks is one of Suncoast's steps in its journey toward continuous branch transformation. Having recently installed Interactive Teller Machines (ITMs) at most of its branches, Suncoast had seen how automating some of its more mundane transactions improved the day-to-day for members and employees. With Coinstar as the latest addition to its branch technology, Suncoast has reached a new level of efficiency and member satisfaction.
About Coinstar for Financial
Coinstar for Financial provides a turnkey coin management service that strengthens existing customer loyalty, increases deposits, and attracts and retains new branch traffic. With no capital investment and no maintenance fees, your staff can focus on customers instead of coin counting. Our entire fleet of kiosks is owned, maintained, and serviced by Coinstar, which means there is virtually no financial or reputational risk for your business. If you are a financial institution leader and are curious about how a fully managed coin program can assist in your branch transformation, contact the experts at Coinstar for Financial. To learn more, visit financial.coinstar.com or follow us on LinkedIn.
About Suncoast Credit Union
Suncoast Credit Union is the largest credit union in the state of Florida, the 10th largest in the United States based on membership, and the 10th largest in the United States based on its $17 billion in assets. Chartered in 1934 as Hillsborough County Teachers Credit Union, Suncoast Credit Union currently operates 76 full-service branches and serves more than one million members across Florida. As a community credit union, anyone who lives, works, attends school, or worships in Suncoast Credit Union's service area is eligible for membership. In 2021, Suncoast Credit Union's field of membership was expanded to include public K-12 teachers, college educators, and educational support staff from all of Florida's 67 counties. Suncoast is passionate about community support. Since its founding in 1990, the Suncoast Credit Union Foundation has raised and donated more than $40 million to organizations and initiatives that support the health, education, and emotional well-being of children in the communities that the credit union serves. For more information, visit www.suncoastcreditunion.com or follow us on social media: Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.
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SOURCE Coinstar for Financial | https://www.wymt.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/suncoast-credit-union-partners-with-coinstar-financial-achieving-branch-transformation-with-fully-managed-coin-counting/ | 2023-07-31T13:48:22 | 0 | https://www.wymt.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/suncoast-credit-union-partners-with-coinstar-financial-achieving-branch-transformation-with-fully-managed-coin-counting/ |
BROOKLYN, N.Y., July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- VICE Media Group today announced the completion of its sale to a consortium of its former lenders (the "Investor Group"), which consists of funds managed by affiliates of Fortress Investment Group LLC ("Fortress"), Soros Fund Management and Monroe Capital.
"This marks the start of an exciting new chapter for VICE," said Bruce Dixon and Hozefa Lokhandwala, VICE's Co-Chief Executive Officers. "With the support of our Investor Group, we now have the resources to strengthen our business, our partnerships and our content creation across all platforms. Under new ownership and with this leadership team, VICE is positioned to drive our uniquely differentiated brand of news, entertainment and lifestyle content that makes VICE a trusted brand for global audiences and a valued partner to brands, agencies and platforms."
"We are very pleased to complete the acquisition of VICE and we are excited to build upon the achievements of one of the most iconic brands in news and entertainment," the Investor Group said in a joint statement. "We look forward to growing a strong business that is committed to serving audiences, brands and partners with award-winning content. With a strong management team in place, VICE is well-positioned to grow its uniquely compelling world class businesses and drive value during its next chapter."
VICE Media Group is a multi-platform media company with a global reach of over 400 million people. Its Emmy and Peabody award-winning News division is one of the most trusted news sources among Gen Z and is watched on TikTok and other social platforms by hundreds of millions of people. Its studio group, including VICE Studios and Pulse Films, produced Bamarush for HBO Max, Lewis Capaldi: How I'm Feeling Now for Netflix, The American Gladiators Documentary for ESPN, Gangs of London for Sky, and Tell Me Lies for Hulu. Its award-winning publishing division includes VICE.com, Refinery29 and the fashion bible i-D. Its advertising, commercial and music video teams, including the creative agency Virtue, work with brands including Coke and Target and artists such as Harry Styles, and has created award-winning campaigns such as "Backup Ukraine" and "Unfiltered History." VICE TV is home to shows including Tales from the Territories, produced by Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson and the Dark Side franchise, including the breakout hit Dark Side of the Ring.
About VICE Media Group
VICE Media Group is a global multi-platform media company. Launched in 1994, VICE has offices across multiple countries and a focus on five key businesses: An award-winning network of digital content; an Oscar-nominated feature film and television production studio; an Emmy-winning international television network, VICE TV; a Peabody and Emmy award-winning News division; and a global, full-service creative agency, Virtue. VICE Media Group's portfolio includes Refinery29, a leading global media and entertainment company focused on women; Pulse Films, a London-based next-generation production studio with an office in Los Angeles; and i-D, a global digital and quarterly magazine defining fashion and contemporary culture and design.
Media Contact:
Jonathan Bing
jonathan.bing@vice.com
(818) 643-0146
or
Sophie Throsby / Lyle Weston
Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher
(212) 355-4449
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SOURCE VICE Media Group | https://www.ktre.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/vice-media-group-completes-sale-lenders/ | 2023-07-31T13:48:23 | 0 | https://www.ktre.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/vice-media-group-completes-sale-lenders/ |