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WAYNE, Pa., July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Balanced Bridge Funding was named one of 2023's Best Places to Work by The Philadelphia Business Journal. It is a prestigious award given to those companies that treat their employees well and create a hospitable work environment. Joseph Genovesi, CEO of Balanced Bridge Funding and its subsidiary Accel Real Estate Commission Advance, says, "it is an honor for Balanced Bridge Funding to be recognized by The Philadelphia Business Journal as one of 2023's Best Places to Work."
According to the Philadelphia Business Journal, the companies that are named to the list are based exclusively on the responses from the employees. The companies on the list can use the award as a recruiting tool for future employees and for promotional marketing uses. As workplaces evolve, job satisfaction continues to rank higher on the list of importance for current and prospective employees. The popularity of websites like Glassdoor, where current and ex-employees can leave their opinion, means an award like Best Places to Work can be a tipping point for people evaluating their employment choices. Genovesi says, "One of my goals when I started my company was for the environment at the workplace to be open, inclusive, and flexible to the needs of my employees. I think we have achieved that and this award speaks to that accomplishment."
Balanced Bridge Funding is a specialty finance company that provides funding to different kinds of sectors; contract advances to professional athletes, legal funding to plaintiffs and plaintiffs' attorneys, advances to first year big law attorneys, account receivable funding to Big Law firms, factoring to truck drivers and trucking companies, fee advances to class action recovery companies, contract advances to local, state, and federal government contractors, loans to fix and flip operators, loans on luxury assets, account receivable funding to small businesses, and commission advances to insurance brokers and insurance agents on their expected fees.
Accel Real Estate Commission Advance is a subsidiary of Balanced Bridge Funding. It is a finance company specifically designed to provide advances to real estate professionals on their expected commissions. Real estate brokers and agents can sometimes face delayed commissions due to a number of factors. Accel was created to provide funding on those commissions so brokers and agents can access a portion of their fee and avoid the waiting period for their money.
CONTACT:
info@balancedbridge.com
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SOURCE Balanced Bridge Funding | https://www.cleveland19.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/balanced-bridge-funding-named-one-2023-best-places-work-by-philadelphia-business-journal/ | 2023-07-31T16:50:27 | 1 | https://www.cleveland19.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/balanced-bridge-funding-named-one-2023-best-places-work-by-philadelphia-business-journal/ |
“Broadway Butterfly” by Sara DiVello (Thomas & Mercer)
All third person limited, the chapters go around between reporter Julia Harpman, inspector John D. Coughlin, and Dot’s maid and confidant Ella Bradford. Each takes on their own lexicon for a personal feel of character — Julia is obsessed with reporting and the hustle of being a pioneer newspaperwoman, and sees herself as a righteous champion of women. Coughlin is a hardened policeman whose preconceived ideas of others are solidified, and he’s constantly surprised at “girls these days” living and traveling alone, and at Broadway women’s apparent lack of moral values. Ella came from the South and, while she sees more opportunity and less overt racist violence and segregation in New York, is well aware of the dangers she and her family face simply by her connection with a murdered white woman.
Then there’s Frances Stotesbury Mitchell, a high society woman with equally high connections getting ready to host the scandal-ridden President Warren G. Harding in Palm Beach ahead of his renomination. For those not already familiar with the history, it’s not until about a third of the way through “Broadway Butterfly” that it becomes clear why her narrative is woven into the broader story at all. Then, it becomes integral.
Julia herself notes early on that people have a way of seeing themselves as a hero — a forecast of her own hubris. The Julia chapters always paint her as chasing justice, and she excuses occasional sensationalizing as necessary to keep the Dot King case on the front page, therefore making it more likely to get solved. “The singular life of a reporter” becomes her refrain. But time and again other characters read her words and reveal that, in practice, she isn’t the champion of women that her internal narrative makes her out to be.
So many things muddy the investigation: newbies on the force who make rookie mistakes, oldies who make assumptions, bad interrogation techniques, raw deals, classism, racism, sexism, and flat-out corruption. DiVello captures it all, revelations unfolding one by one as tips roll in from sources and shady deals are made, replete with all the ′20s slang and swanky synonyms a person could hope for, and smoking everywhere all the time. The tone is precise and transportive.
DiVello also has some fun with it, like when the inspector pointedly tells Julia that this is a murder investigation, not a detective novel. At once a jab at the character’s lust for front-page space, it’s also a self-aware criticism of true crime and, therefore, the author herself. DiVello’s passion for the genre is evident both in the writing and by her role as creator and host of a mystery and thriller podcast.
The end result is a fascinating murder mystery packed with history. However, its repetitiveness presents a sticking point. While it underscores characters, it undermines the pacing. The book feels unnecessarily long. Still, “Broadway Butterfly” is an enjoyable read loaded with factoids I might never have been aware of otherwise. | https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/2023/07/31/broadway-butterfly-sara-divello-book-review/abea614c-2fb5-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html | 2023-07-31T16:50:28 | 1 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/2023/07/31/broadway-butterfly-sara-divello-book-review/abea614c-2fb5-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html |
Alliance supports Black Tech Street's ambition to digitally transform Black Wall Street to
Black Tech Street through cyber-centered talent and innovation initiatives
TULSA, Okla., July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Black Tech Street announced an unprecedented alliance with Microsoft for Historic Greenwood, the neighborhood in Tulsa, Oklahoma, given the moniker, "Black Wall Street," by Booker T. Washington for its abundance of affluent Black entrepreneurs.
Dubbed by Black Tech Street, "The Digital Transformation of Black Wall Street", the alliance aims to restore Greenwood's position as a national hub for Black talent and innovation. Founded in 2021, Black Tech Street's mission is to rebirth Black Wall Street as a Black innovation economy by securing Black tech-focused economic and industry development opportunities for the Greenwood community.
"Since its inception, Black Tech Street's focus has been on securing transformative partnerships capable of addressing deeply-rooted economic inequities stemming from the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre at scale. Our partnership with Microsoft is a perfect example of such an opportunity and reflects the very essence of both our organizations," said Tyrance Billingsley II, Black Tech Street Founder and Executive Director.
"We are grateful for Microsoft's support and engagement that is game changing for Greenwood, and sends a clear message that Black Wall Street will continue to be a national leader of Black innovation in the 21st century."
One cornerstone of the alliance is that Black Tech Street has been named as the Microsoft TechSpark Fellow for the State of Oklahoma. The TechSpark Community Engagement Fellowship program empowers community organizations with a combination of funding, programming, hands-on mentorship, and training, and focuses on digital access, computer science education, digital skills, and digital transformation.
"Microsoft believes digital inclusion is core to ensuring everyone on the planet benefits from advances in technology, and that programming and opportunities must be created for those with the potential to be left behind," said Ann Johnson, corporate vice president for security business development at Microsoft. "We are pleased to work with Black Tech Street, local government leaders, and community organizations to help build and further reinforce Greenwood and Tulsa as centers for technology vision, leadership, and entrepreneurship."
Black Tech Streets Ambition: Creating 1000+ Black Cyber Professionals in Tulsa
The first phase of this collaboration will include a series of community and Microsoft-supported investments aimed at raising the capacity of the Tulsa ecosystem to produce, attract, and support Black cyber talent. Black Tech Street's goal is to leverage Microsoft's programmatic support/resources alongside other national partners to create and employ 1000 Black Tulsans in Cyber and adjacent fields. Black Tech Street's aim is to accomplish this by 2030. Investing in the cybersecurity workforce has been a priority for Microsoft, as they aim to support the estimated gap of 1.6 million cyber professionals in North America alone. Black Tech Street will leverage its alliance with Microsoft in the following areas to contribute towards reaching its goal:
Workforce and Skilling
- Microsoft Cybersecurity Scholarship Program: Tulsa Community College (TCC) was accepted into Microsoft's Cybersecurity Scholarship Program, providing cash scholarships to the highly diverse students receiving training at TCC's Cyber Skills Center.
- Employment Partner and Sponsor Consortium: Black Tech Street, with Microsoft support, will lead a nationwide consortium for connecting employers looking to hire Black Cyber talent in Tulsa for local and remote roles. The program will also fund scholarships for Black students interested in cyber. A critical strategy for BTS is to ensure skilled tech talent stays in Tulsa, contributing to the local economy. Microsoft embraces flexible work, including schedule and work location flexibility, that supports individual work styles while balancing business needs.
Education and Digital Access
- Microsoft TechSpark-Digital Education Access: Black Tech Street's participation in the Microsoft TechSpark program will include, among many other components, a comprehensive suite of services and technology platforms for educators, students, and school systems on multiple levels.
- High School Tech Education: Black Tech Street, the University of Tulsa, and Microsoft, will collaborate on a plan to accelerate Computer Science and related tech education to north Tulsa secondary school students.
Innovation Research and Thought Leadership
- The University of Tulsa and Microsoft: Black Tech Street plans to pilot studies in cyber research and experiential learning that leverage cutting-edge technology from Microsoft's investments in generative AI cybersecurity alongside the University of Tulsa as part of the alliance to better position the ecosystem in cyber-AI innovation. The University of Tulsa's nationally recognized cyber university, with its NSA affiliated Cyber Corps program, as well as a suite of successful cyber partnerships with high schools and community colleges, made cyber an obvious choice for partnership.
- Black Tech Street Cyber Summit: In 2024, Black Tech Street and Tulsa Innovation Labs will host the first Black Tech Street Cyber Summit. This summit will be a gathering of the foremost cyber experts from corporations, academia, and government. This summit is meant to serve as a meeting of the minds as it relates to charting a more effective national narrative and plan as it relates to mobilizing Black Americans into cyber en masse. Microsoft will host its "Into the Breach" gamified learning experience to test cybersecurity skills for Black Tulsans.
Microsoft's initial support via this alliance will anchor the first portion of a larger strategy by Black Tech Street to establish Greenwood as a national leader in the three critical technology areas of Cyber Security, Business Intelligence/Data Analytics, and Equitable Artificial Intelligence (See ED Tyrance Billingsley's op-ed What's Next? Black Wall Street's Innovation Ambitions).
Black Tech Street will also be supported in the execution of these Microsoft supported initiatives by local anchor partner Tulsa Innovation Labs, a philanthropic organization dedicated to building industrial clusters around sectors where Tulsa has distinct advantages.
The alliance has also garnered the support of City officials.
"I am excited about this new alliance between Black Tech Street and Microsoft in Tulsa," Mayor G.T. Bynum said. "This partnership will help increase cyber talent in our city, as well as promote tech education and workforce readiness for the incredible talent we have in our community."
This is the start of a long-term relationship between Black Tech Street, Greenwood, and Microsoft, and will redefine what is possible for communities and cities willing to simultaneously invest in people and in technology.
The announcement of this alliance was also included in the Biden-Harris Administration's announcement of its National Cyber Workforce and Education Strategy to Unleash America's Cyber Talent:
(https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/07/31/fact-sheet-biden-%E2%81%A0harris-administration-announces-national-cyber-workforce-and-education-strategy-unleashing-americas-cyber-talent/)
Black Tech Street is an organization founded to rebirth Black Wall Street as a Black Innovation Economy and catalyze a movement that sees Black people embrace technology as a means to build wealth and impact the world. Black Tech Street architects and secures Black tech focused economic and industry development opportunities for the Greenwood community and serves as a chief storyteller for Black Wall Street's 21st century rebirth.
Contact:
Tyrance Billingsley II
tyrance@blacktechstreet.com
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SOURCE Black Tech Street | https://www.cleveland19.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/black-tech-street-announces-alliance-with-microsoft-digitally-transform-historic-greenwood/ | 2023-07-31T16:50:28 | 0 | https://www.cleveland19.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/black-tech-street-announces-alliance-with-microsoft-digitally-transform-historic-greenwood/ |
Colts head coach Shane Steichen isn’t shedding a lot of light on what’s going on between the team and running back Jonathan Taylor.
Steichen did little more than confirm the obvious about the disgruntled Taylor, which is that he’s with the team but not practicing.
“Right now, he’s on this football team,” Steichen said.
Asked what is keeping him from practicing, Steichen only said that Taylor is dealing with something and will be ready “when the medical staff clears him.”
Taylor, who is heading into the final year of his rookie contract, is unhappy with his pay and wants a raise. The Colts, recognizing how cheap running backs are in today’s NFL, see no reason to give a running back a raise, and certainly not one who’s coming off a season in which he missed six games with injuries and had career lows across the board statistically: Taylor’s carries, rushing yards, yards per carry, touchdowns, catches, receiving yards and yards per catch were all the lowest of his three-year career.
So Taylor is on the team “right now,” but whether he’ll be on the team when the season starts remains to be seen, and whether he and the Colts will find a mutually satisfactory solution to their current situation currently seems hard to picture. | https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/shane-steichen-on-jonathan-taylor-right-now-hes-on-this-football-team | 2023-07-31T16:50:31 | 1 | https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/shane-steichen-on-jonathan-taylor-right-now-hes-on-this-football-team |
LOS ANGELES — If you believe Janelle Monae ’s hyper-sexual expression is a front, think again.
In recent months, Monae hasn’t been afraid of risque looks and nudity. She revealed herself during an event celebrating the release of her single “Lipstick Lover” and again onstage at an Essence Music Festival set — which drew some social media criticism including from singer India Arie and rapper Uncle Luke. She also attended the 2023 Met Gala in a barely-there outfit.
For Monae, this is her time to be free.
Monae spoke recently with The Associated Press about her supportive mother, side-stepping criticism and teasing her upcoming North American tour, which kicks off Aug. 30 in Seattle. Other tour stops include New York and Nashville and she’ll wrap in Los Angeles in mid-October.
___
AP: Since you haven’t toured since 2019, was your recent Essence Festival performance a tune up for your upcoming tour?
MONAE: Yeah, we’re testing out the songs. You‘re getting them in your body. Right now, we don’t have a lot of muscle memory with the new songs. We haven’t toured them. I know if you come into the show, you’ll love the songs. But hearing them live is a different experience, especially when you’re putting them with songs from previous work. We’re basically just putting a show together based on what we feel is good. Sometimes you just don’t know until you get on stage.
AP: What do you want people to take away from your show?
MONAE: Tap into your free (expletive) energy. That’s rooted in self-love — not arrogance. Tap into that space and then take care of each other. That’s what I hope. With the shows that I do, and when I look out, it’s an experience. It’s like our own church. You want to take care of each other.
Even if your freedom doesn’t look like that person’s freedom, you understand that we’re fighting against something much bigger than us. We’re systemically fighting against something much bigger than us, so we got to band together, we got to stick together. We have to make sure that we’re showing up for each other. If we have privilege in certain areas, making sure that we’re lending a hand, lending a voice, amplifying a message.
AP: How has it been to walk in your truth while facing criticism about your racy performances from people like Arie and Uncle Luke?
MONAE: That has absolutely nothing to do with me. I love everybody. I’m in the age of pleasure.
AP: When did you feel comfortable with living life the way you want without caring about others’ opinions?
MONAE: It’s not like I don’t care what people think. I care what some people think. I don’t care what everybody thinks. That’s the same when it comes to music. When you make a new song, I can’t go soliciting everybody’s opinions about the song. By the time I get back to the second pass of it, it’s all over the place. Everybody’s going to have an opinion. For me, it’s like, whose voice do I trust? Who do I know that loves me, cares about me, whose taste do I like, who actually is evolved enough to even understand what it is that I’m doing? Who understands nuance?
You shouldn’t care what anybody has to say. You just care what the right people have to say and everything else is muted.
AP: Who are those right people for you?
MONAE: Family. Close friends.
AP: In your journey, your mother has been a huge supporter. Whenever you have fallen under certain criticisms, how has she helped you navigate the critics?
MONAE: My mom is like ride or die. I have to tell her like “Mom, you don’t need to defend me. You don’t need to defend my life or my decisions.” For her, I’m her baby. Like any mama bear, you might get punched in the eye if you say something. You might. But I’ve calmed her down over the years. For the most part, we mostly respond to love. It’s a lot of people that love where I am and who I am and what I’m doing, and they feel really empowered and inspired by it, and that makes my mom proud, and it makes me happy.
AP: How do you avoid the naysayers?
MONAE: I’m too busy living life to be distracted. The positive things are always amazing too, but I also don’t go fishing for that. One of the things about being in the age of pleasure is being present and making sure that I’m dipping in on social media, saying what I need to say, showing love, saying “thank you,” putting up my art and leaving, going to go create more things and make more memories and more experiences.
I’m in the middle of putting together a tour for North America. We haven’t been on tour since 2019. For me, I have a lot of things that keep me busy. I’m practicing guitar. I’m having the best sex of my life. I’m happy. Even in the middle of all that’s going on in this world, I’m finding time to steal joy and to center joy and to stay surrounded by the people that bring me joy and that I can bring joy too.
AP: How did “Age of Pleasure” define where you are in life?
MONAE: I wanted to create a soundtrack to our lifestyle. I think this album like all my albums reflect exactly where I am at that time. Each album will let you know where I was in my evolution process, what things I had to unlearn, what things I learned. I love that. I love that you can always look at an artist working, sort of see what they were on at that time. | https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/2023/07/31/janelle-monae-age-of-pleasure-interview/10f87536-2fb8-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html | 2023-07-31T16:50:32 | 0 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/2023/07/31/janelle-monae-age-of-pleasure-interview/10f87536-2fb8-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html |
Left tackle Terron Armstead is making progress on his way to full participation at Dolphins training camp.
Armstead was placed on the physically unable to perform list at the start of camp, but multiple reports on Monday say that he has been activated from the list. Armstead was in uniform for Monday’s practice, but was not in pads so he hasn’t been cleared for all activities.
Armstead dealt with toe, pectoral, knee, and hip injuries last season, but was able to start 13 regular season games and the team’s lone postseason contest.
The Dolphins activated offensive lineman Isaiah Wynn over the weekend, which leaves cornerback Nik Needham and tight end Tanner Conner on the PUP list. | https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/terron-armstead-activated-from-pup-list | 2023-07-31T16:50:33 | 1 | https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/terron-armstead-activated-from-pup-list |
Presentation about how AI makes malvertising more powerful - video on-demand
NEW YORK, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Confiant, the anti-malvertising leader for the ad tech industry, announces the on-demand availability of its AdMonsters Ops presentation AI + Malvertising = ? The presentation examines how AI makes malvertising increasingly more troublesome for advertisers and the ad tech ecosystem.
Watch the video now (https://hubs.la/Q01XXq2l0)
Because of its reach and impact, AI has become virtually impossible to ignore in every industry, and is becoming increasingly troublesome in the ad tech sector because threat actors use it to enhance their malware, phishing, and scams.
In this session Jerome Dangu, Chief Technology Officer and Co-Founder, Confiant, and Louis-David Mangin, CEO and Co-Founder, Confiant discuss the AI revolution, how AI is affecting ad tech, what to look out for, and how to keep users safe.
Confiant, the cybersecurity leader in detecting and stopping Malvertising attacks, has built hundreds of integrations directly into the web's ad tech infrastructure. Confiant has unparalleled visibility to the malware, scams, and fraud serving through ads today. This presentation from their founders exposes how AI is already being used to exploit the ad tech marketplace.
About Confiant
Confiant is the cybersecurity leader in detecting and stopping Malvertising attacks. Having built hundreds of integrations directly into the web's ad tech infrastructure, Confiant has unparalleled visibility to the malware, scams, and fraud serving through ads today. Leveraging our security expertise, we deliver complete control over ads to publishers and ad platforms, also remediating quality issues, privacy violations, and mis-categorized ads. In publishing the industry's leading ad quality benchmark report and mapping the threat actors that use ads-as-an-attack-vector at Matrix.Confiant.com, Confiant is leading the charge in protecting users from criminals hijacking the ad tech supply chain. Trusted by customers like Microsoft, Paramount, and Magnite, we celebrate our 10th anniversary this year.
Follow us on Social
@Weareconfiant or visit www.confiant.com
for more information.
SOURCE: CONFIANT
Contact Information:
Media Relations
(646) 397-4198
marketing@confiant.com
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SOURCE Confiant | https://www.cleveland19.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/confiant-admonsters-ops-ai-malvertising/ | 2023-07-31T16:50:33 | 1 | https://www.cleveland19.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/confiant-admonsters-ops-ai-malvertising/ |
BAYREUTH, Germany — Two years after the debut of the Bayreuth Festival’s first female conductor, Nathalie Stutzmann became the second to lead a Richard Wagner opera in the Festpielhaus’ famous covered pit.
“It’s good news to be second,” Stutzmann said. “It proves that things are moving.”
Launched by Richard Wagner in 1876 and currently run by great-granddaughter Katharina Wagner, the festival broke its conductor gender barrier when Oksana Lyniv led a new staging of “Der Fliegende Holländer (The Flying Dutchman)” in 2021. The 45-year-old returned this summer to preside over the Dmitri Tcherniakov production for the third straight year.
“They are very highly accepted,” Katharina Wagner said. “I hope that this question would disappear with time, that we are just talking about good conductors and not female and male conductors anymore.”
Stutzmann’s year so far has also included debuts with the New York Philharmonic and the Metropolitan Opera, where she provoked the orchestra when she alleged in a New York Times interview that musicians were bored playing while not being able to see onstage activity. The orchestra criticized her in a statement, prompting Stutzmann to apologize.
At Bayreuth, conductors must adjust to a pit Richard Wagner designed to keep the orchestra hidden from the audience, arranged in nine rows that descend toward the stage: violins in the first two, followed by violas, cellos, double basses, woodwinds, brass and percussion. The instrumental sound mixes with voices before traveling out to 30 rows of seats and three tiers of boxes.
“I had done a lot of research, so I knew the experience would be new and unexpected and tricky,” Stutzmann said in a response to an emailed question. “We hear the sound completely different from what the audience hears, that’s why we have to rely on our assistants. ... You hardly hear the singers on stage and they sound always late even when we are perfectly together!”
Stutzmann’s performance, using the original Dresden score, featured unusual clarity when the overture slowed and the volume lowered during a pilgrims’ chorus repeat in the overture. She was greeted with boisterous applause and foot-stomping during 14 minutes of curtain calls.
Stutzmann has been invited back to conduct the 2024 revival of the sold-out “Tannhäuser” staging, notorious for the director adding the drag queen Le Gateau Chocolat and dwarf actor Manni Laudenbach, who combine with the title character and the goddess Venus to form a counterculture clique Richard Wagner never could have envisioned for a work that premiered in 1845.
During an interview in New York before heading to Germany, Stutzmann said “Tannhäuser” was the perfect vehicle for her Bayreuth debut, given her quarter-century as a contralto and the opera’s full title, which translates to “Tannhäuser and the Minstrels’ Contest at Wartburg.”
She winked.
“It’s a singer competition, after all,” she said with a laugh. | https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/2023/07/31/nathalie-stutzmann-bayreuth-debut-wagner/b7084322-2fc0-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html | 2023-07-31T16:50:34 | 1 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/2023/07/31/nathalie-stutzmann-bayreuth-debut-wagner/b7084322-2fc0-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html |
Restaurant Roundup: Icarus hosts midnight watch party for women's world cup Team USA match
In Restaurant Roundup, Em Chan shares some local restaurants' latest updates. Have a question for a restaurant you'd like Chan to look into? You can send her your inquiries atechan@gannett.com.
Icarus Wings & Things
Icarus Wings & Things is supporting the FIFA Women's World Cup by offering watch parties and match replays.
The women's sports bar posted on Instagram a full schedule of the teams and watch times for replay games. A TV for patrons dining outside has also been set up.
The fried chicken restaurant is hosting a midnight watch party for Team USA's match against Portugal on Tuesday. Doors open at 11 p.m. Monday for the viewing party.
Due to limited space, those interested in watching the match can purchase a $10 ticket on the restaurant's website which will be discounted from your meal.
For more on future watch parties, check out the website, icaruschicken.com, and Instagram page, @icarussalem.
Hours: 12 p.m. - 9 p.m. Thursday to Saturday; 12 p.m. - 7 p.m. Sunday
Address: 130 High St. SE
Kin Dee Thai Eatery
Kin Dee Thai Eatery is one of the newest restaurants now open in Monmouth.
The restaurant is the latest to come from Vichuda Stine, who also owns Independence's Silk Thai Cuisine, Salem's Bangkok Thai Bistro and Tup Tim Thai, Keizer's Bai Bua Thai Kitchen and more.
The menu is extensive and offers similar offerings from her other restaurants plus unique dishes.
The restaurant offers indoor and outdoor seating, plus online and ordering by phone.
Stine did not respond to the Statesman Journal's request for comment.
For more from Kin Dee Thai Eatery, check out the website, kindeethaimonmouth.com.
Em Chan covers food and dining at the Statesman Journal. You can reach her atechan@gannett.com, follow her on Twitter @catchuptoemilyor see what she's eating on Instagram @sikfanmai.ah. | https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/life/food/2023/07/31/icarus-wings-hosts-watch-party-for-womens-world-cup-team-usa-match-fifa-salem-oregon/70481498007/ | 2023-07-31T16:50:50 | 1 | https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/life/food/2023/07/31/icarus-wings-hosts-watch-party-for-womens-world-cup-team-usa-match-fifa-salem-oregon/70481498007/ |
WASHINGTON — The National Institutes of Health is beginning a handful of studies to test possible treatments for long COVID, an anxiously awaited step in U.S. efforts against the mysterious condition that afflicts millions.
“This is a year or two late and smaller in scope than one would hope but nevertheless it’s a step in the right direction,” said Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly of Washington University in St. Louis, who isn’t involved with NIH’s project but whose own research highlighted long COVID’s toll. Getting answers is critical, he added, because “there’s a lot of people out there exploiting patients’ vulnerability” with unproven therapies.
Scientists don’t yet know what causes long COVID, the catchall term for about 200 widely varying symptoms. Between 10% and 30% of people are estimated to have experienced some form of long COVID after recovering from a coronavirus infection, a risk that has dropped somewhat since early in the pandemic.
“If I get 10 people, I get 10 answers of what long COVID really is,” U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said.
That’s why so far the RECOVER initiative has tracked 24,000 patients in observational studies to help define the most common and burdensome symptoms –- findings that now are shaping multipronged treatment trials. The first two will look at:
— Whether taking up to 25 days of Pfizer’s antiviral drug Paxlovid could ease long COVID, because of a theory that some live coronavirus, or its remnants, may hide in the body and trigger the disorder. Normally Paxlovid is used when people first get infected and for just five days.
— Treatments for “brain fog” and other cognitive problems. They include Posit Science Corp.’s BrainHQ cognitive training program, another called PASC-Cognitive Recovery by New York City’s Mount Sinai Health System, and a Soterix Medical device that electrically stimulates brain circuits.
Two additional studies will open in the coming months. One will test treatments for sleep problems. The other will target problems with the autonomic nervous system — which controls unconscious functions like breathing and heartbeat — including the disorder called POTS.
A more controversial study of exercise intolerance and fatigue also is planned, with NIH seeking input from some patient groups worried that exercise may do more harm than good for certain long COVID sufferers.
The trials are enrolling 300 to 900 adult participants for now but have the potential to grow. Unlike typical experiments that test one treatment at a time, these more flexible “platform studies” will let NIH add additional potential therapies on a rolling basis.
“We can rapidly pivot,” Dr. Amy Patterson with the NIH explained. A failing treatment can be dropped without ending the entire trial and “if something promising comes on the horizon, we can plug it in.”
The flexibility could be key, according to Dr. Anthony Komaroff, a Harvard researcher who isn’t involved with the NIH program but has long studied a similarly mysterious disorder known as chronic fatigue syndrome or ME/CFS. For example, he said, the Paxlovid study “makes all sorts of sense,” but if a 25-day dose shows only hints of working, researchers could extend the test to a longer course instead of starting from scratch.
Komaroff also said that he understands people’s frustration over the wait for these treatment trials, but believes NIH appropriately waited “until some clues came in about the underlying biology,” adding: “You’ve got to have targets.”
___
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content. | https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2023/07/31/long-covid-brain-fog-virus-treatments/95de84e0-2fbb-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html | 2023-07-31T16:50:54 | 0 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2023/07/31/long-covid-brain-fog-virus-treatments/95de84e0-2fbb-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html |
Provides DUI/DWI Solutions and Free Virtual Continuing Education
DES MOINES, Iowa, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Consumer Safety Technology, a leader in safety and detection products and services, announced today it has been named the Official DUI/DWI Services Sponsor for The Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (FACDL). The expanded partnership will provide continuing education seminars and exclusive benefits to support FACDL attorneys and their clients.
FACDL is the only statewide organization in Florida dedicated solely to criminal defense attorneys. A not-for-profit corporation, FACDL was formed for scientific and educational purposes and is affiliated with the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
"Expanding our partnership with FACDL reinforces our commitment to supporting criminal defense attorneys across the state," said Kathy Boden Holland, CEO, CST. "By offering members valuable continuing legal education content and access to products and services for every step in the DUI process, we aim to enhance their expertise and effectiveness in representing clients."
CST's suite of comprehensive alcohol and impairment solutions includes Intoxalock, the leading ignition interlock brand in the US, and trusted partner to attorneys and monitoring authorities. Through the partnership, FACDL members can easily address multiple client needs with products and services covering the entire DUI process, not just one area.
- Intoxalock – Intoxalock devices are approved in Florida and meet all state criteria for court-ordered devices. With VIP support from Intoxalock, FACDL member's clients will receive expedited assistance. www.intoxalock.com
- Breathe Easy - High-risk insurance coverage is often a requirement following a DUI or DWI conviction. Breathe Easy insurance brokerage works with several providers, and FACDL members can rely on Breathe Easy representatives to find the best coverage for the lowest price on behalf of their clients. https://www.breatheeasyins.com/
- New Directions - Assessments that DUI and DWI defendants can use to strengthen their case in court. As part of the partnership, FACDL members will receive priority scheduling for assessments. All clients will receive a customized assessment tailored to their unique situation and needs. New Directions also offers a money-back guarantee if the assessment is not accepted in court. https://www.ndsbs.com/
Key FACDL event dates:
- October 4, 2023 - Ignition Interlock 101: The 5 Most Common Mistakes Clients – FACDL members will learn more about ignition interlock devices and the benefits, requirements, and technical aspects of the device.
- November 16-17, 2023 - CST will serve as the top-tier sponsor for the DUI Defense Seminar, Blood, Breath & Tears, at the University of Florida Levin College of Law in Gainesville, Florida.
For more information on how FACDL attorney members can join the Intoxalock Select Attorney Network and get instant access to client savings materials visit the FACDL and Intoxalock Partner page.
About Consumer Safety Technology
Consumer Safety Technology (CST) is a leader in safety and detection products and services that help people live responsibly and make communities safer. A force for good for more than 30 years, CST and its family of leading brands serve as a trusted partner to both individuals and authorities. CST's portfolio features comprehensive alcohol and impairment solutions that uniquely cover the entire DUI process and include: Intoxalock, the number one ignition interlock brand in the US; Breathe Easy, specialized and low-cost insurance; and New Directions, virtual court and employer accepted assessments. Driven by a commitment to delivering reliable and exceptional service, combined with innovative technology that makes positive change, CST has achieved sustained growth and success. CST is a portfolio company of L. Catterton and was named Best Place to Work for Working Parents in 2022 and 2023. For more information visit www.consumersafetytechnology.com or via LinkedIn.com.
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SOURCE Intoxalock | https://www.cleveland19.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/consumer-safety-technology-announces-expanded-partnership-with-florida-association-criminal-defense-lawyers/ | 2023-07-31T16:50:54 | 0 | https://www.cleveland19.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/consumer-safety-technology-announces-expanded-partnership-with-florida-association-criminal-defense-lawyers/ |
North Texas police held an Arkansas family at gunpoint and handcuffed their young son during a traffic stop this month after an officer’s typo led police to think the family’s car was stolen, newly released body-camera footage shows.
Thinking that the car was possibly stolen, police engaged in a “high-risk traffic stop” on the Dallas North Tollway, with officers drawing their guns and ordering a mother and her sixth-grade son to exit the vehicle. Police said the family “may get shot” if they reached into the car, according to body-camera footage released Friday.
Even though the woman, who is Black, repeatedly told police that they owned the car and corrected an officer who had wrongly said they were from Arizona, police handcuffed the son as his mother cried out.
“Please don’t let them do that to my baby,” she said, according to video. “Why is my baby in cuffs? What are you all doing? Do not treat my baby this way.”
More than 15 minutes later, officers realized the license plate data was inputted incorrectly. Police acknowledged the mistake, released the boy from handcuffs and apologized to the family.
“We made a mistake,” Frisco Police Chief David Shilson said in a statement, confirming that police entered “an incorrect registration return, leading the officer to believe that the vehicle was possibly stolen.”
“Our department will not hide from its mistakes. Instead, we will learn from them,” he said.
Frisco Police Sgt. Eliu Andrade told The Washington Post that the incident is under investigation.
“Any discipline related to the stop is still being determined,” Andrade said in an email.
The stop has left the woman, identified on TikTok under the user name DemiJanale, and her Little Rock family traumatized, she said.
“We were completely humiliated and threatened to be shot without given a reason,” she wrote in a caption to one of the TikTok videos she shared last week. “The experience in itself was beyond frightening but seeing this video of my innocent baby has hurt me to my core.”
She said in a separate video, “I just can’t make sense of this.”
It’s unclear whether the family has retained a lawyer or plans to press charges. The mother did not immediately respond to a request for comment. David Henderson, a civil rights attorney who reviewed the body-cam video but is not involved with the case, told the Dallas Morning News that the woman being Black and telling police that she had a licensed firearm in the vehicle played a role in the family potentially being racially profiled.
“In cases I’ve seen involving people of color who have a license to carry, as soon as they alert the police to the fact that they have a weapon, the police change drastically in terms of how they deal with them,” he said.
At around 8:30 a.m. on July 23, the family had left a Residence Inn in Frisco, about 30 miles north of Dallas, and were on their way to an AAU basketball game that morning, the woman recalled on TikTok. The group included the woman, her son, her husband, who coaches their AAU team, and her nephew, she said.
But as they were pulling out of the parking lot, an officer spotted their Dodge Charger — a vehicle that is frequently stolen, according to police — and ran a computer check on the vehicle’s license plate. After the officer mistakenly punched in the plate as being from Arizona, police believed the car to be potentially stolen, authorities said. The police vehicle trailed the family’s vehicle for several minutes on the highway before turning on its lights, DemiJanale said on TikTok.
“I didn’t really think nothing of it because I literally just pulled from the hotel,” said the mother, who was driving the Charger.
The video shows that when the car pulls over on the Dallas North Tollway, an officer draws his pistol and points it in the direction of the car, and shouts at the woman to slowly exit the vehicle and for everyone in the car to hold their hands out the window. After the woman tells a male officer that she has a licensed gun in the glove compartment, the officer replies, “If you reach in that car, you may get shot, so be careful. Do not reach in the car.”
“I make a complete circle, they tell me to just keep my hands up or they’ll shoot,” the mother said on TikTok. “They made that very clear.”
The woman is heard crying in horror as police handcuff her, according to video: “What did I do?”
“Is that your tag on the vehicle?” a female officer asks.
“Yeah, I’m from Arkansas … I’m a nurse, I’ve never done anything in my life,” the mother replies. She later adds: “This is scaring the hell out of me. I have bad anxiety.”
After the officer says the woman should “go have a conversation with Arizona” about her registration, the driver corrects her to say the plates are from Arkansas. At that point, police put her son in handcuffs.
“This is very traumatizing,” she said of the situation, according to the body-cam footage. “My son is who y’all just put in that car!”
The woman’s husband is heard on the video describing the scene as “a terrible experience.”
“We’re just in a basketball tournament,” he says to police. As he explains that he was a basketball coach, the man’s son could be heard crying on the video.
“I got conceal carry … Y’all put a gun on my son for no reason,” he tells the officers, according to video. He adds, “You all got to do your job, but we’re all legit.”
Nearly 20 minutes pass before other officers on scene let the officer know that the check of the license plate was done in the wrong state.
“For real?” the female officer asks.
Another officer tells his female colleague, “They were run out of Arizona.”
That’s when the female officer returns and admits the traffic stop happened due to a police error.
“It looks like I made a mistake,” the officer tells the family after the stop was called off, according to video. “So I ran it AZ for Arizona, instead of AR — and that’s what happened. … That’s on me.”
The woman’s husband appears to be furious when told by officers of the mix-up that had guns drawn on them and her son in handcuffs.
“It could have went all wrong for us,” he says. “They yell out, ‘Don’t move or we’ll shoot.’ We could have all gotten killed.”
Shilson, the police chief, commended the officer involved for quickly accepting responsibility, “which speaks to integrity.”
“I’ve spoken with the family. I empathize with them and completely understand why they’re upset,” Shilson said in a statement. “I apologized on behalf of our department and assured them that we will hold ourselves accountable and provide transparency through the process.”
Days after the incident, DemiJanale said the family is still reeling from the incident. She said her husband later told her how her nephew was “literally screaming for his life, and telling him ‘Uncle, we are about to die. We are about to die.’ ” The woman said on TikTok that no apology could erase the image of being held at gunpoint by police and her son in handcuffs over a mistake that could have been prevented.
“Every time I see the video of my baby, I just can’t believe it,” she said. “I feel like this is a very bad dream.” | https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/07/31/texas-police-family-license-plate-mistake/ | 2023-07-31T16:51:00 | 0 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/07/31/texas-police-family-license-plate-mistake/ |
CALGARY, AB, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Canadian Pacific Kansas City (TSX: CP) (NYSE: CP) (CPKC) today published its 2023-2024 Grain Service Outlook Report, which outlines the company's plan to safely and reliably transport Canada's grain crop for export to international markets.
"As we look toward the upcoming 2023-2024 crop year, CPKC is once again well prepared to move Canada's grain crop to market, just as we have throughout our 142-year history," said Keith Creel, CPKC President and CEO. "We have the capacity and the team to deliver for our grain customers and the Canadian economy during the upcoming crop year."
The report outlines CPKC's strong commitment to our grain customers and unique position to supply rail transportation to Canada's agricultural sector as the first transnational railway that provides a single-line connection between Canada, the U.S. and Mexico. This powerful new rail network provides Canada's grain shippers with access to markets across North America, including many new markets in Mexico, and enhanced routing options for shipping Canadian grain and grain products overseas. Additionally, CPKC has completed its more than $500 million investment to purchase 5,900 new higher-capacity grain hopper cars.
Notwithstanding CPKC's robust preparation and investments, there are several factors constraining Canada's export-driven grain supply chain, including:
- The recent strikes at port terminals across B.C., including at the Port of Vancouver, Canada's largest port, once again demonstrated the damaging and compounding impact of labour disruptions on supply chains. The prolonged duration of the strike means that supply chain recovery will stretch into 2024, potentially impacting grain transportation this fall.
- The federal government's commitment to introduce legislation prohibiting replacement workers by the end of 2023 would lead to even more frequent and longer labour disruptions at Canada's railways and ports.
- The persistent challenge of loading grain onto vessels during periods of rain or snow in Vancouver must be resolved to maximize supply chain capacity and reliability.
- The government's decision to resurrect extended interswitching on the prairies risks undermining rail efficiency and capacity. This policy incentivizes inefficiencies, causing higher transportation costs for all users of the rail network, and drives Canadian investment dollars and jobs to the U.S.
- Low demand for Canadian grain transportation at certain times during the 2022-2023 crop year, and in particular throughout the spring period, resulted in significant unused capacity on CPKC's rail network, undermining Canada's ability to maximize grain exports to global markets. Maximizing Canada's grain exports requires customers to use the available supply chain capacity throughout the entirety of the crop year.
Despite these avoidable headwinds, CPKC has the capacity and the team to deliver for grain customers during the 2023-2024 crop year. To read the full report, please visit cpkcr.com.
Forward-looking information
This news release contains certain forward-looking information and forward-looking statements (collectively, "forward-looking information") within the meaning of applicable securities laws in both the U.S. and Canada. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, statements concerning expectations, beliefs, plans, goals, objectives, assumptions and statements about possible future events, conditions, and results of operations or performance. Forward-looking information may contain statements with words or headings such as "financial expectations", "key assumptions", "anticipate", "believe", "expect", "plan", "will", "outlook", "guidance", "should" or similar words suggesting future outcomes. This news release contains forward-looking information relating, but not limited, to statements concerning CPKC's ability to transport grain during the 2023-2024 crop year, the success of our business, the realization of anticipated benefits and synergies of the CP-KCS combination, and the opportunities arising therefrom, our operations, priorities and plans, business prospects and demand for our services and growth opportunities.
The forward-looking information in this news release is based on current expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions, having regard to CPKC's experience and its perception of historical trends, and may include, among others, expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions relating to: changes in business strategies, North American and global economic growth and conditions; commodity demand growth; sustainable industrial and agricultural production; commodity prices and interest rates; performance of our assets and equipment; sufficiency of our budgeted capital expenditures in carrying out our business plan; geopolitical conditions, applicable laws, regulations and government policies; the availability and cost of labour, services and infrastructure; the satisfaction by third parties of their obligations to CPKC; and carbon markets, evolving sustainability strategies, and scientific or technological developments. Although CPKC believes the expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions reflected in the forward-looking information presented herein are reasonable as of the date hereof, there can be no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Current conditions, economic and otherwise, render assumptions, although reasonable when made, subject to greater uncertainty.
Undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking information as actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward-looking information. By its nature, CPKC's forward-looking information involves inherent risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking information, including, but not limited to, the following factors: changes in business strategies and strategic opportunities; general Canadian, U.S., Mexican and global social, economic, political, credit and business conditions; risks associated with agricultural production such as weather conditions and insect populations; the availability and price of energy commodities; the effects of competition and pricing pressures, including competition from other rail carriers, trucking companies and maritime shippers in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico; North American and global economic growth and conditions; industry capacity; shifts in market demand; changes in commodity prices and commodity demand; uncertainty surrounding timing and volumes of commodities being shipped via CPKC; inflation; geopolitical instability; changes in laws, regulations and government policies, including regulation of rates; changes in taxes and tax rates; potential increases in maintenance and operating costs; changes in fuel prices; disruption in fuel supplies; uncertainties of investigations, proceedings or other types of claims and litigation; compliance with environmental regulations; labour disputes including the impact of the port workers' strike and resolution of the strike in British Columbia; changes in labour costs and labour difficulties; risks and liabilities arising from derailments; transportation of dangerous goods; timing of completion of capital and maintenance projects; sufficiency of budgeted capital expenditures in carrying out business plans; services and infrastructure; the satisfaction by third parties of their obligations; currency and interest rate fluctuations; exchange rates; effects of changes in market conditions and discount rates on the financial position of pension plans and investments; trade restrictions or other changes to international trade arrangements; the effects of current and future multinational trade agreements on the level of trade among Canada, the U.S. and Mexico; climate change and the market and regulatory responses to climate change; anticipated in-service dates; success of hedging activities; operational performance and reliability; customer, regulatory and other stakeholder approvals and support; regulatory and legislative decisions and actions; the adverse impact of any termination or revocation by the Mexican government of Kansas City Southern de México, S.A. de C.V.'s Concession; public opinion; various events that could disrupt operations, including severe weather, such as droughts, floods, avalanches and earthquakes, and cybersecurity attacks, as well as security threats and governmental response to them, and technological changes; acts of terrorism, war or other acts of violence or crime or risk of such activities; insurance coverage limitations; material adverse changes in economic and industry conditions, including the availability of short and long-term financing; the pandemic created by the outbreak of COVID-19 and its variants and resulting effects on economic conditions, the demand environment for logistics requirements and energy prices, restrictions imposed by public health authorities or governments, fiscal and monetary policy responses by governments and financial institutions, and disruptions to global supply chains; the realization of anticipated benefits and synergies of the CP-KCS transaction and the timing thereof; the satisfaction of the conditions imposed by the U.S. Surface Transportation Board in its March 15, 2023 final decision; the success of integration plans for KCS; other disruptions arising from the CP-KCS integration; estimated future dividends; financial strength and flexibility; debt and equity market conditions, including the ability to access capital markets on favourable terms or at all; cost of debt and equity capital; improvement in data collection and measuring systems; industry-driven changes to methodologies; and the ability of the management of CPKC to execute key priorities, including those in connection with the CP-KCS transaction.
The foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. These and other factors are detailed from time to time in reports filed by CPKC with securities regulators in Canada and the United States. Reference should be made to "Item 1A – Risk Factors" and "Item 7 – Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Forward Looking Statements" in CPKC's annual and interim reports on Form 10-K and 10-Q.
Any forward-looking information contained in this news release is made as of the date hereof. Except as required by law, CPKC undertakes no obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking information, or the foregoing assumptions and risks affecting such forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
With its global headquarters in Calgary, Alta., Canada, CPKC is the first and only single-line transnational railway linking Canada, the United States and México, with unrivaled access to major ports from Vancouver to Atlantic Canada to the Gulf of México to Lázaro Cárdenas, México. Stretching approximately 20,000 route miles and employing 20,000 railroaders, CPKC provides North American customers unparalleled rail service and network reach to key markets across the continent. CPKC is growing with its customers, offering a suite of freight transportation services, logistics solutions and supply chain expertise. Visit cpkcr.com to learn more about the rail advantages of CPKC. CP-IR
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SOURCE CPKC | https://www.cleveland19.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/cpkc-publishes-annual-grain-service-outlook-report/ | 2023-07-31T16:51:00 | 0 | https://www.cleveland19.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/cpkc-publishes-annual-grain-service-outlook-report/ |
PORT ANGELES, Wash. — An 8-year-old child survived a cougar attack with minor injuries while camping in Olympic National Park in Washington state over the weekend.
Rangers shut down the campsite and surrounding areas following the Saturday attack. Park law enforcement and cougar specialists began looking for the animal on Sunday at Lake Angeles. If located, the cougar will be euthanized and officials hope a necropsy will provide clues as to why it attacked.
Cougars are rarely seen and attacks on humans are extremely rare, park officials said. The lethal removal of the cougar is in line with the park’s protocol for wildlife observations, interactions and attacks.
The entirety of the 1,562-square-mile (4,045-square-kilometer) park located about 60 miles (97 kilometers) east of Seattle is consider cougar territory. | https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/2023/07/31/cougar-attack-child-olympic-park-washington/be56878e-2fbf-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html | 2023-07-31T16:51:06 | 1 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/2023/07/31/cougar-attack-child-olympic-park-washington/be56878e-2fbf-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html |
NEW YORK , July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Forbes Global Properties, a curated consumer marketplace of luxury homes and an invitation-only membership network of independently owned real estate firms, has named respected industry veteran Matt Beall chair of the organization's Board of Directors.
Chief Executive Officer and Principal Broker of Hawaii Life, Mr. Beall draws from 25 years of residential real estate experience. Recognizing the increasing need for innovative and engaging property marketing, Mr. Beall co-founded Hawaii Life in 2008 and the company quickly became the market leader in luxury real estate sales across the island chain.
Under Mr. Beall's leadership, Hawaii Life has enjoyed consistent growth and success and today is regarded as the top-producing real estate brokerage in the State of Hawaii. Operating from 17 offices across the Hawaiian Islands, the firm's team of 350 skilled agents represent buyers, sellers, and property owners with a well-earned reputation for the delivery of highly personalized service and expert guidance with unwavering professionalism, integrity, and discretion.
Over the course of his career, Mr. Beall has served Hawaii's real estate industry, holding a variety of board and leadership positions, including President of the Kauai Board of Realtors and as a member of Hawaii Association of Realtors' executive committee. Currently, he is on the board of the Hawaii Land Trust, a land conservation organization with over 22,000 acres in perpetual conservation. He is also a member of the Kauai Leadership Council for the Hawaii Community Foundation, where Hawaii Life has a donor-advised fund managed entirely by its brokers, agents, and employees.
"It's an honor to serve Forbes Global Properties as the Board Chair, and especially to continue the legacy of Jeff Hyland, who was always a mentor of mine and many others in our organization. We have extraordinary talent on both the board and in our membership across the globe, and we're all looking forward to expanding the possibilities with Forbes as our partner," said Matt Beall Chief Executive Officer and Principal Broker of Hawaii Life and Board Chair of Forbes Global Properties.
"Matt is a valued member of Forbes Global Properties who prioritizes collaboration, professionalism, and the highest level of service for both our members and the clients we represent. He has a clear vision for continued growth and the proven ability to implement those plans; I look forward to supporting him in this new role," said Michael Jalbert, Chief Executive Officer.
Forbes Global Properties was co-founded by Jeff Hyland and Bonnie Stone Sellers as a way to connect the increasingly global buyers of luxury homes with the world's foremost real estate experts. The consortium launched in December 2020 with offices in 75 locations and has since grown to a powerful global network of more than 13,000 real estate agents across 440 locations.
Mr. Beall is joined on the Board by Vice Chair Andy Nelson of Willis Allen Real Estate, Olivier de Chabot-Tramecourt of Groupe Mercure, Quentin Epiney of Comptoir Immobilier / FGP Swiss + Alps, Ken Jacobs of Private Property Global, Nikki Koval of Forbes Media LLC, Jose Ribes Bas of Inmobiliaria Rimontgó, co-founder Bonnie Stone Sellers, and Mark Smith of Slifer Smith & Frampton Real Estate.
The exclusive worldwide residential real estate partner of Forbes, Forbes Global Properties provides branding and marketing services to the world's premier real estate firms. Members are thoroughly vetted, and the network is comprised of top brokerages with proven records of success in luxury property sales and recognized delivery of exceptional client service.
About Forbes Global Properties
Established in 2020 and led by the world's foremost independent luxury residential brokers and industry veterans, Forbes Global Properties is a curated consumer marketplace that connects discerning buyers directly to the world's finest homes and the elite agents that represent them. The invitation-only network spans 440 locations and comprises more than 13,000 property experts across the U.S., Asia, Australia, Canada, the Caribbean, Mexico, the Middle East, New Zealand, and Europe. For more information, visit forbesglobalproperties.com.
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SOURCE Forbes Global Properties | https://www.cleveland19.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/matt-beall-named-board-chair-forbes-global-properties/ | 2023-07-31T16:51:06 | 1 | https://www.cleveland19.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/matt-beall-named-board-chair-forbes-global-properties/ |
Salem to get $6 million to complete Pringle Creek Path
Salem is getting $6 million in state grant funding to help complete the Pringle Creek Path — a trail that could serve as the missing link connecting miles of biking and walking paths to Wallace Marine, Riverfront and Minto-Brown Island parks.
Paths along Pringle Creek and Mill Race already connect to Bush's Pasture Park, Salem Health, Willamette University and downtown Salem.
The new path would wind along Pringle Creek as it flows toward the Willamette River near the south end of Riverfront Park.
Public works officials said the segment west of Commercial Street is the "one missing link to connect these existing paths and parks" to Riverfront Park and from there to both the Peter Courtney Minto Island Bridge and the Union Street Pedestrian Bridge.
City officials said the project, which would start along Pringle Creek under Commercial Street SE and end at Riverfront Park near the Eco Earth, would cost about $9.5 million. The grant will cover the majority of the cost.
Plans for the path include terraced plantings, wall treatments, an overlook and a seatwall. The path could also pave the way for another future access point to the south side of Pringle Creek.
The move to create the path follows the city's efforts in 2019 to complete the Pringle Creek Daylighting and Restoration Project between Commercial Street and the rail line. The project's removal of the concrete slab from the former Boise Cascade building and restoration of the creek set the stage for connecting the existing trail along Pringle Creek to Riverfront Park.
Salem also getting planning funds for pedestrian path over Highway 22
The city also is receiving $269,190 to develop a refinement plan to create a pedestrian path over Highway 22 in east Salem. The path would connect Bill Riegel Park to the neighborhood near Miller Elementary School.
Those living near the proposed bridge, which would arch over the highway between Cordon Road and Lancaster Drive, say it is vital for having a safe, equitable and connected neighborhood.
Thousands live in the neighborhood surrounding the proposed bridge, many in lower-income households.
Students living in this area south of the highway attend Miller Elementary School and Houck Middle School north of the highway. The entire area is classified by the school district as a "Hazard Walk Zone," meaning students require busing to school, city staff said in a report.
The grant will help fund project refinement costs necessary to determine the alignment and prospective location of the overpass, city officials said.
Oregon's Community Paths Program
In January, Salem City Council voted to submit requests for $300,000 for project refinement costs for the pedestrian bridge over Highway 22 and $6 million for the construction of the Pringle Creek Path through the Oregon Department of Transportation's Community Paths Program.
The grant program by ODOT funds investments in "off-system" biking and walking projects, meaning the paths are not primarily on or along a roadway.
ODOT's Paths Program is giving $36.9 million in grants this year to support investments like the bridge and Pringle Creek Path.
The program requires cities to match 10.27% of the project total. The required match of $30,810 for the Highway 22 bridge project will come from the city's share of the state gas tax. The remainder of the project costs for the Pringle path, an estimated $3.5 million, will come from funding from the infrastructure bond passed by Salem voters in November and include possible funding from the Urban Renewal Agency.
For questions, comments and news tips, email reporter Whitney Woodworth at wmwoodworth@statesmanjournal.com, call 503-910-6616 or follow on Twitter @wmwoodworth | https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/local/2023/07/31/salem-oregon-pringle-creek-path-wallace-marine-riverfront-minto-brown-island/70487149007/ | 2023-07-31T16:51:08 | 0 | https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/local/2023/07/31/salem-oregon-pringle-creek-path-wallace-marine-riverfront-minto-brown-island/70487149007/ |
Welcome to The Daily 202! Tell your friends to sign up here. We’re lucky to have Colby Itkowitz, Sabrina Rodriguez and Michael Scherer leading the newsletter today. Olivier will be back tomorrow.
Their concern stems from a 10 percentage-point decline in Black voter turnout in last year’s midterms compared with 2018, a bigger drop than among any other racial or ethnic group, according to a Washington Post analysis of the Census Bureau’s turnout survey. Such warning signals were initially papered over by other Democratic successes in 2022: The party picked up a U.S. Senate seat in Pennsylvania, Sen. Raphael G. Warnock won reelection in Georgia and anticipated losses in the House were minimal.
But in key states like Georgia, the center of Democrats’ plans to mobilize Black voters in large margins for Biden in 2024, turnout in last year’s midterms was much lower among younger and male Black voters, according to internal party analysis.
The drop in Black turnout has become a focus for Democratic leaders as the party reorients to next year’s presidential contest. Biden’s election in 2020 hinged on narrow victories in states like Georgia, Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania that former president Donald Trump had won in 2016. Democratic activists are cautioning that the party can’t afford to let support from Black voters slip.
W. Mondale Robinson, founder of the Black Male Voter Project, shared a dire assessment of Democrats’ potential turnout problems with Black men.
- In many of the battleground states, he said many Black men are “sporadic or non-voters,” meaning they are registered, but have voted in one or none of the past three presidential elections.
- Robinson said Democrats spend too much time focused on converting “conservative-leaning White women” in the suburbs who they see as swing voters. Instead, he said, they should focus more on turning out Black men, viewing them as swing voters who are debating whether to vote or stay home.
“The Democratic Party has been failing epically at reaching this demographic of Black men — and that’s sad to say,” Robinson said. “Black men are your second-most stable base overwhelmingly, and yet you can’t reach them in a way that makes your work easier.”
Biden’s political team says it has received the message and is taking action, especially among younger Black men.
- “We have to meet them where they are and we have to show them why the political process matters and what we have accomplished that benefits them,” said Cedric L. Richmond, a former Biden adviser who is now a senior adviser at the Democratic National Committee.
- He said there will be a clear focus on making Black voters aware of how they have benefited from Biden administration policies, learning from the errors of past Democratic efforts that fell short.
- “We will not make the mistake that others made of not drawing all the connections,” he said.
Black voter advocates say the challenge is particularly acute among Black men, many of whom say they feel alienated from the political process and were hurt by policies pushed by both parties that led to increased incarceration and a decline in manufacturing jobs decades ago. Many say their lives haven’t improved regardless of which party was in power, and are dispirited after the country elected Trump, life was upended by a global pandemic and violence worsened in urban areas.
Many Democrats interviewed said they were less worried about Black women, whose voting enthusiasm has historically been more robust than that of Black men. Black women were a huge factor in Biden’s victory in 2020. Advocates expect that trend to continue, particularly with Vice President Harris on the ticket and the appointment of Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who both made history as the first Black women in their roles.
Terrance Woodbury, chief executive of HIT Strategies, a polling firm focused on young, non-White voters, has been shopping around a PowerPoint presentation to liberal groups warning of the need to act soon to convince Black voters that they have benefited from Biden’s time in office.
- Part of the problem, he argues, is that the party’s focus on Trump and Republican extremism is less likely to motivate younger Black men than arguments focused on policy benefits.
- The messaging, he has argued, must focus on how Black communities have benefited from specific policies.
- His own polling has shown that voters’ belief that their vote doesn’t matter is the greatest barrier to voting among Black Americans.
A Washington Post/Ipsos poll of Black Americans in May found a tepid reaction to Biden’s reelection.
- Just 17 percent said they would be enthusiastic if he wins another term, 48 percent said they’d be satisfied but not enthusiastic, 25 percent said they’d be dissatisfied but not angry and 8 percent said they’d be angry about another Biden term.
- The poll also found that nearly 8 in 10 Black Americans say they would not consider voting for Trump over Biden and that 54 percent would be “angry” if Trump were to become president again.
Brittany Smith, the executive director of the Philadelphia-based Black Leadership PAC (BLP), which is working to turn out Black voters, said she has noticed a change in how Black people respond to her get-out-the vote efforts in recent years. In the past, she simply needed to remind people of where and when to vote. Now, she said, many express a cynicism about politics that requires a deeper level of persuasion.
“There’s not a night I don’t go to sleep thinking about what turnout will look like in 2024,” Smith said.
“When you think about election cycle to election cycle, [Black voters] have been telling us for a long time what matters,” Smith added. “They want to put food on the table, a roof over their head, send kids to good schools, live in neighborhoods that are safe. I don’t think the issues are new, it’s the way we talk about them and the way we’re centering the voice of the people who live in these communities.”
Politics-but-not
What’s happening now
Atlanta braces for possible indictments in 2020 election investigation
“While the pace of [special counsel Jack Smith’s] investigation has been unpredictable, Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis took the unusual step of publicly telegraphing that she plans to announce a charging decision in the Georgia case during the first three weeks of August, a period that opens Monday,” Holly Bailey reports.
Carlos De Oliveira makes first court appearance in Trump documents case
“Carlos De Oliveira — the second person charged alongside Donald Trump in a case involving the alleged hoarding of sensitive government materials at Mar-a-Lago — made his first court appearance … on Monday morning and was released on a personal surety bond, with an arraignment scheduled for Aug. 10,” Perry Stein reports.
Lunchtime reads from The Post
DeSantis super PAC relies heavily on million-dollar megadonors
“Never Back Down, the outside group spending heavily to make Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis president, has raked in donations of $1 million or more from at least seven wealthy Republican benefactors or their companies, according to internal documents from the group, and had nearly $97 million in cash-on-hand at the end of June,” Michael Scherer and Maeve Reston report.
- “The super PAC’s fundraising haul includes millions from former supporters of Donald Trump who publicly cut ties after the 2021 U.S. Capitol riots, including Nevada hotel magnate Robert Bigelow, who gave more than $20 million, and Silicon Valley investor Douglas M. Leone, who gave $2 million. The two biggest donors in Republican politics during the 2022 midterm cycle, packaging magnates Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein, also gave $1 million each.”
Marijuana addiction is real. Those struggling often face skepticism.
“At a time when marijuana has been legalized for recreational and medicinal use in more than 20 states — and the potency of the drug has been increased — many experts believe that most people can use it without significant negative consequences, not unlike enjoying occasional alcoholic drinks. But for [some users] the struggles to quit are real and complicated by the powerful cultural perception that marijuana is natural and therapeutic, not a substance that can be addicting,” David Ovalle and Fenit Nirappil report.
… and beyond
America’s military trails Russia and China in race for the melting Arctic
“Once a lonely and largely impassable maritime expanse where countries worked together to extract natural resources, the Arctic is increasingly contested territory. As sea ice melts and traffic increases on the southern edges of the Arctic Ocean, governments are maneuvering in ways that mirror the great-power rivalries seen in lower latitudes,” the Wall Street Journal’s William Mauldin and Alan Cullison report.
The future of abortion in Florida could hinge on Hispanic voters
“The campaign to secure abortion rights in Florida and create a haven for access in the South is facing a tough road to success. To build a winning coalition, rallying support from the state’s Hispanic voters will be crucial,” the 19th’s Mel Leonor Barclay reports.
Who paid for a mysterious spy tool? The FBI, an FBI inquiry found.
“When The New York Times reported in April that a contractor had purchased and deployed a spying tool made by NSO, the contentious Israeli hacking firm, for use by the U.S. government, White House officials said they were unaware of the contract and put the F.B.I. in charge of figuring out who might have been using the technology. After an investigation, the F.B.I. uncovered at least part of the answer: It was the F.B.I.,” the New York Times’s Mark Mazzetti, Ronen Bergman and Adam Goldman report.
The Biden agenda
Why Biden’s team soured on Dems’ election lawyer
“President Biden’s team recently split with the Democratic Party’s longtime lawyer, Marc Elias, because of disagreements with Elias’ legal strategies and strained personal relationships, according to several people familiar with the dispute,” Axios’s Alex Thompson and Hans Nichols report.
Biden publicly acknowledges 4-year-old granddaughter
“President Biden acknowledged his 4-year-old granddaughter on Friday, offering his first public comment about Navy Joan Roberts several weeks after her mother, Lunden Roberts, and the president’s son Hunter Biden reached a child support agreement in an Arkansas court,” Meryl Kornfield reports.
How much rent prices have cooled in your area, visualized
“There’s good news for renters: Your too-high rent is finally not skyrocketing anymore. Monthly asking prices shot up by 15 percent between 2020 and 2022, marking the fastest run-up in rents in nearly a century. But now costs are calming down,” Hanna Zakharenko, Abha Bhattarai and Janice Kai Chen report.
Hot on the left
House Dems sideline one of their own leaders in the fight over food stamps
“House Democrats are intensifying their efforts to fend off cuts to the country’s largest nutrition program. But one Democrat who would typically be leading on the issue is notably absent from their new strategy: the top Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee,” Politico’s Garrett Downs and Meredith Lee Hill report.
Hot on the right
The deadly costs of Biden’s Israel policy
“Earlier this month, President Biden addressed the recent increase in violence in the West Bank refugee camp of Jenin. After opining that the terrorist attacks against Israel were carried out by ‘extremist’ elements among the Palestinians, the president added an interesting caveat — that the terrorism was to some extent provoked by Israel’s ‘extreme’ right-wing government. In other words, the president of the United States created a moral equivalence between Palestinian terrorists murdering Israeli civilians and the duly elected government of Israel trying to defend them, simply because Israeli politics are not to his liking,” Chip Roy and Victoria Coates write for the National Review.
Today in Washington
There is nothing on Biden’s public schedule this afternoon.
In closing
No ‘Oppenheimer’ fanfare for those caught in first atomic bomb’s fallout
“Surviving ‘downwinders’ and their relatives” say what happened in Tularosa, New Mexico, in the aftermath of the first test of the atomic bomb “is a legacy of serious health consequences that have gone unacknowledged for 78 years. Their struggles continue to be pushed aside; the new blockbuster film ‘Oppenheimer,’ which spotlights the scientist most credited for the bomb, ignores completely the people who lived in the shadow of his test site,” Karin Brulliard and Samuel Gilbert report.
Thanks for reading. See you tomorrow. | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/07/31/democrats-worry-that-black-voters-wont-turn-out-biden-2024/ | 2023-07-31T16:51:12 | 0 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/07/31/democrats-worry-that-black-voters-wont-turn-out-biden-2024/ |
Multi-year contract is the largest in NRAEF history. Watch this video to learn about NRAEF apprenticeship programs.
WASHINGTON, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF) has been awarded a five-year $12.2 million contract by the U.S. Department of Labor to grow its Hospitality Sector Registered Apprenticeship (HSRA) program by 5,000 participants. The award is the largest in NRAEF history and affirms its commitment to building a diverse hospitality workforce.
With a special focus on addressing barriers to historically underrepresented populations, the HSRA program will enroll 1,000 new apprentices annually across the hospitality industry over the next five years. Apprentices will receive on-the-job training, as well as nationally-recognized credentials to help them advance through the ranks, earn more, and ultimately build a long-term industry career. Awarded by the DOL's Employment and Training Administration, the project aims to strengthen the Foundation's ongoing industry-wide work to connect current and future industry workers with advancement pathways through apprenticeship.
"Apprenticeship is an answer to many of the workforce obstacles faced by the hospitality industry. More importantly, it is life changing to individual apprentices, offering them a path to better pay, industry skills, and a career," said NRAEF president Rob Gifford. "This new DOL contract represents the next chapter of our work to change 5,000 lives, strengthen the hospitality industry, and ensure it reflects the diversity of the people we serve."
The HSRA program is housed in the NRAEF's Restaurant & Hospitality Leadership Center (RHLC). Since establishing itself as the first recognized apprenticeship program for hospitality management, the HSRA program has grown to include line cook, hotel cook, kitchen manager, restaurant manager, lodging manager, and maintenance employee programs. All programs are no cost to both employers and their employees and help hospitality employers build and manage tailored curriculums that merge on-the-job experience with related training instruction. Learn more about restaurant and hospitality apprenticeship at ChooseRestaurants.org/RHLC.
About the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF):
As the supporting philanthropic foundation of the National Restaurant Association, the NRAEF's charitable mission includes enhancing the industry's training and education, career development, and community engagement efforts. The NRAEF and its programs work to Attract, Empower, and Advance today's and tomorrow's restaurant and foodservice workforce. NRAEF programs include: ProStart® – a high-school career and technical education program; Restaurant Ready/HOPES – Partnering with community based organizations to provide people with skills training and job opportunities; Military – helping military servicemen and women transition their skills to restaurant and foodservice careers; Scholarships – financial assistance for students pursuing restaurant, foodservice and hospitality degrees; and the Restaurant & Hospitality Leadership Center (RHLC) – accredited apprenticeship programs designed to build the careers of service professionals. For more information on the NRAEF, visit ChooseRestaurants.org. Click here for the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation's 2022 Annual Impact Report.
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SOURCE National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation | https://www.cleveland19.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/national-restaurant-association-educational-foundation-receives-122-million-contract-strengthen-grow-diversify-hospitality-industry-apprenticeship/ | 2023-07-31T16:51:12 | 0 | https://www.cleveland19.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/national-restaurant-association-educational-foundation-receives-122-million-contract-strengthen-grow-diversify-hospitality-industry-apprenticeship/ |
Oregon fines BP $205,800 for double-counting renewable fuel volumes
Oregon environmental regulators said BP Products North America has paid a $205,800 fine for inaccurately reporting renewable fuel volumes to the Oregon Clean Fuels Program, generating 11,821 illegitimate credits.
BP impermissibly double-counted the same volumes of imported renewable fuel to both Oregon and California, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality said in its penalty order. It also failed to report fuel that was exported out of Oregon by barge.
DEQ also cited BP, without a financial penalty, for additional reporting violations under the Clean Fuels Program and Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program.
“DEQ issued this penalty because inaccurate reporting undermines the integrity of the Oregon Clean Fuels Program, a signature component of Oregon’s efforts to combat climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector,” the state wrote in the order.
The Clean Fuels Program, which has been in place since 2016, provides incentives to companies that develop transportation fuels with lower carbon intensity, such as electricity or biofuels. The incentives come in the form of credits that can be sold to other companies as a way to comply with state rules requiring reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
It’s not the first time DEQ has fined a company for violating the program’s rules.
In September 2022, DEQ issued a $2.7 million fine, the largest in its history, to a Lincoln City electric vehicle charging company it said sold fraudulent credits through the Clean Fuels Program.
Thompson Technical Services, which went by TTS Charging, illegitimately claimed 16,089 Clean Fuel Program credits for operating three electric vehicle charging stations in Sheridan, the department said.
At the time the company claimed and sold the credits, the three charging stations had not been installed and had not dispensed any electricity to vehicles.
TTS Charging then sold most of those credits to Elbow River Marketing for nearly $1.8 million.
DEQ issues 18 fines in June
The BP Products fine was among 18 fines DEQ issued in June, totaling $632,056.
Other violations included a Portland food processor that discharged hummus and bleach to the Columbia Slough; a McMinnville steel mill that failed to install air pollution control equipment; and a city that discharged raw sewage to the Willamette River.
Recipients can appeal their fines by requesting a hearing within 20 calendar days of receiving their penalty letter. DEQ sometimes reduces or eliminates fines after appeals.
Recipients also may be able to resolve part of their fines by sponsoring an environmental improvement project instead of paying a penalty.
These are the other citations:
Cascade Steel Rolling Mills, McMinnville, $181,604: For failing to implement its pollution prevention plan; for repeatedly omitting from its permit applications fluoride and hydrogen fluoride emissions associated with the use of fluoride-containing flux in the mill’s steel-making process; and for failing to submit motor vehicle scrap provider information requested by DEQ. The company is appealing the penalty.
Anodex Finishing, Medford, $122,961: For illegally treating and storing large quantities of toxic and corrosive hazardous waste at its facility without a permit. DEQ also ordered the company to complete hazardous waste determinations, label tanks and containers of hazardous waste, properly dispose of hazardous waste at the facility, provide hazardous waste training to staff and submit annual hazardous waste generator reports to DEQ. The company did not appeal the penalty but has not paid it. DEQ has sent it a notice of default.
Oregon Harvest, dba Lilly’s Hummus, Portland, $28,752: For discharging bleach and waste, containing food particles, from its food processing facility into the Columbia Slough, and placing waste where it was likely to be carried into the slough.
Justin Willett, Hillsboro, $13,558: For failing to implement erosion and sediment control plan at adjacent home construction sites at 221 and 235 NE Evergreen Road in Hillsboro.
Warren Scott Hunter and Judith DeBrey, Cloverdale, $10,509: For storing waste tires and solid waste without a permit, despite DEQ’s warning letter in 2019 and pre-enforcement notice in 2022.
Burnside Auto Wrecking, Portland, $9,792: For storing waste tires without a permit. DEQ also ordered the company to either apply for a permit or dispose of the tires.
St. Charles Medical Center Bend, $8,993: For underground fuel storage tank violations, including failing to initially test spill prevention and overfill prevention equipment, failing to have adequate release detection on tanks for emergency generators, failing to conduct annual line tightness testing and failing to keep fuel release detection records.
City of Hood River, $8,800: For discharging raw sewage to Indian Creek.
City of Coquille, $8,044: For discharging more pollution than allowed by its wastewater permit and failing to conduct required monitoring.
Fujimi Corporation, Wilsonville, $7,600: For exceeding permitted levels of aluminum in its wastewater, which is discharged to channelized portions of an unnamed tributary of Coffee Lake Creek, which flows to the Willamette River.
Duckwall-Pooley Fruit Co., Hood River, $6,800: For failing to conduct all required monitoring of wastewater discharges from the Van Horn Cold Storage Facility.
Home Depot U.S.A., Bend and Portland, $6,218: For failing to submit required annual reports for its stormwater underground injection control system.
City of Estacada, $4,825: For discharging more pollution than allowed by its wastewater permit.
City of Albany, $3,900: For repeatedly exceeding permitted limits of E. coli bacteria and total suspended solids in effluent discharged from its sewage treatment system to the Willamette River, for discharging raw sewage into the river, and for failing to conduct required monitoring.
Coastal Housing Solutions, Garibaldi, $3,000: For failing to implement an erosion and sediment control plan at construction site.
U.S. Forest Service, Estacada, $600: For failing to submit timely monitoring reports for the wastewater treatment facility it operates at the Timber Lake Civilian Conservation Center.
City of Dufur, $300: For violating wastewater limits set out in a mutual agreement and order.
Tracy Loew covers the environment at the Statesman Journal. Send comments, questions and tips:tloew@statesmanjournal.com or 503-399-6779. Follow her on Twitter at@Tracy_Loew | https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/local/oregon/2023/07/31/bp-fined-double-counting-renewable-fuel-volumes-oregon-deq/70481015007/ | 2023-07-31T16:51:13 | 1 | https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/local/oregon/2023/07/31/bp-fined-double-counting-renewable-fuel-volumes-oregon-deq/70481015007/ |
ROCHESTER, N.H. — In a new policy plan unveiled Monday, Republican presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis is taking aim at China with a “Declaration of Economic Independence” that also targets taxes, regulations, spending and education.
“We will take back control of our destiny — and ensure that our future is as proud, independent and free as our past,” he said at Prep Partners Group, which coordinates warehousing, distribution and other logistics for other companies.
DeSantis said he would wrest economic control from China by ending the nation’s preferential trade status, banning imports of goods made from stolen intellectual property and preventing companies from sharing critical technologies with China.
The 10-point economic plan is the third major policy proposal put forth by DeSantis, whose campaign has struggled in recent weeks. Although long seen as the top rival to former President Donald Trump, DeSantis shed more than one-third of his staff as federal filings showed his campaign was burning through cash at an unsustainable rate.
On Monday, he focused on the federal government’s reckless spending, however. His plan describes him as a “new sheriff in town” who will veto wasteful spending and mandate work requirements for welfare programs. He also claimed he could achieve 3% annual economic growth by keeping taxes low, eliminating bureaucracy and incentivizing investment.
On the education front, DeSantis said he will stop incentivizing “useless degrees” by making universities responsible for the loans their students accrue. His plan also would promote vocational and apprenticeship programs that educate “artisans and engineers” instead of “politicized administrators and bureaucrats.” | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/07/31/desantis-new-hampshire-economic-policy-plan-2024/dceb11ae-2fb7-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html | 2023-07-31T16:51:18 | 0 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/07/31/desantis-new-hampshire-economic-policy-plan-2024/dceb11ae-2fb7-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html |
Take a look back at Shreveport's Grand Opera House: Twin Blends History Corner
According to the late Eric Brock, the Grand Opera House was built in 1888 and closed it's doors in 1926. It sat at the corner of Texas and Edwards Streets in downtown Shreveport right where the Chase Bank sits now.
During this time, it was grand in so many ways! It not only featured opera but also vaudeville acts, musicals and even motion pictures there toward the end. Actually, the Grand Opera was the first place in Shreveport to show motion pictures!
The famous Marx Brothers performed here as well! It seated around 1,500 people and was lit by gas until 1905 when it was electrified.
Rather than spending $250,000 to remodel the Grand Opera House, Shreveport chose to spend $750,000 on a new theater (the Strand Theater). The Chase Bank building now sits at this site. Old photos courtesy Northwest Louisiana Archives at LSUS Colorized by Twin Blends Photography LLC
History Corner is produced in partnership with Mark and Mike Mangham of Twin Blends. | https://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/life/2023/07/31/twin-blends-the-northwest-louisiana-history-hunters/70484571007/ | 2023-07-31T16:51:18 | 1 | https://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/life/2023/07/31/twin-blends-the-northwest-louisiana-history-hunters/70484571007/ |
WASHINGTON —
Archer, who served with Hunter Biden on the board of the Ukrainian gas company Burisma, has been seen by Republicans as a key witness in their so-far fruitless search to directly connect the president to his son’s various international business transactions.
Rep. James Comer, the GOP chairman of Oversight Committee, issued a subpoena to Archer in June, saying he “played a significant role in the Biden family’s business deals abroad, including but not limited to China, Russia, and Ukraine.” He said Archer’s testimony would be critical to the committee’s investigation.
Republicans have focused much attention on an unverified tip to the FBI that alleged a bribery scheme involving Joe Biden when he was vice president. The claim, which first emerged in 2019, was that Biden pressured Ukraine to fire its top prosecutor in order to stop an investigation into Burisma, an oil-and-gas company where Hunter Biden was on the board. GOP lawmakers and staff present at Monday’s interview were also expected to question Archer about several business meetings and conversations Hunter Biden had during which he is said to have invoked his father’s name.
Democrats on the committee, including Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, the ranking minority member, have reiterated that the Justice Department investigated the Burisma claim when Donald Trump was president and closed the matter after eight months, finding “insufficient evidence” that it was true. Democrats have also highlighted the transcript of an interview with Mykola Zlochevsky, Burisma’s co-founder, in which he denied having any contact with Joe Biden while Hunter Biden worked for the company.
“Mr. Zlochevsky’s statements are just one of the many that have debunked the corruption allegations,” Raskin said.
On top of his relationship with Hunter Biden, who is currently facing federal tax charges, Archer has his own legal troubles stemming from a 2018 felony conviction for his role in a conspiracy to defraud a Native American tribe. That conviction was overturned later that year, but then the court of appeals in New York reinstated it in 2020. His sentencing in the case has been repeatedly delayed by appeals.
Archer’s appearance before lawmakers had been scheduled and canceled several times since June. Republicans suggested it was about to be delayed again after the Justice Department over the weekend asked a judge to schedule a date for Archer to surrender to prison and begin serving out his one-year sentence in the unrelated fraud case.
Republicans — led by Comer — criticized that delay, calling it an effort by the Justice Department to intimidate a witness. But the Justice Department in a follow-up memo to the court noted Archer’s surrender was not imminent and asked a judge to ensure that he testified to Congress before reporting to prison.
“Mr. Archer will do what he has planned to do all along, which is to show up this morning and to honestly answer the questions that are put to him by the congressional investigators,” said Archer’s attorney, Matthew Schwartz, who is a managing partner at New York-based firm Boies Schiller Flexner. | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/07/31/hunter-biden-congress-oversight-republicans-devon-archer/0baea57e-2fb7-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html | 2023-07-31T16:51:24 | 1 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/07/31/hunter-biden-congress-oversight-republicans-devon-archer/0baea57e-2fb7-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html |
Senator Bill Cassidy endorses Republican Jeff Landry in Louisiana governor's race
Republican U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy is endorsing Jeff Landry in the Louisiana governor's race, giving the GOP frontrunner another boost before qualifying next week.
“There are good people in the race, and I am friends with most, but as I’ve traveled the state, Jeff has been the candidate connecting with the most people from all parts of the state,” Cassidy said in a statement.
“We’re both fighting to make flood insurance more affordable and to get resources to restore our coastline," Cassidy said. "He and I both strongly support Louisiana becoming the leader in the new energy economy, which will create thousands of new, high-paying jobs. And we both agree we must improve access to mental health services. These are the issues the next governor must address. Jeff plans to."
Landry, the current attorney general who has led the five-person GOP field in every published poll and is the leading fundraiser in the race, already has secured the endorsement of the Louisiana Republican Party and former President Donald Trump, among others.
Ironically, in the past Landry has been blisteringly critical of Cassidy after Cassidy voted to convict Trump during the former president's impeachment trial and the state GOP censured the senator.
But Monday all past slights seemed forgotten.
"I appreciate Bill Cassidy's support, and I look forward to working with him to pursue commonsense solutions to grow our economy, lower the price of flood insurance, and improve access to mental health services for every Louisianan," Landry tweeted.
Other Republicans who have announced for the governor's race include state Sen. Sharon Hewitt, state Rep. Richard Nelson, Treasurer John Schroder and former Louisiana Association of Business and Industry President Stephen Waguespack.
Former Louisiana Transportation Secretary Shawn Wilson appears to have consolidated Democratic support, including an endorsement from his former boss Edwards.
Conservative independent attorney Hunter Lundy is also in the mix.
Qualifying for the Oct. 14 primary election is Aug. 8-10. The top two in that election will face off in the Nov. 18 runoff election.
More:First look: Jeff Landry escalates media blitz in Louisiana governor's race TV ad wars
Greg Hilburn covers state politics for the USA TODAY Network of Louisiana. Follow him on Twitter @GregHilburn1 | https://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/news/2023/07/31/senator-bill-cassidy-endorses-jeff-landry-in-louisiana-governor-race-along-with-donald-trump-support/70497761007/ | 2023-07-31T16:51:25 | 0 | https://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/news/2023/07/31/senator-bill-cassidy-endorses-jeff-landry-in-louisiana-governor-race-along-with-donald-trump-support/70497761007/ |
Cox Mobile is expanding their device portfolio with Samsung's newest Galaxy foldables.
ATLANTA, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Samsung's new Galaxy Z Flip5 and Galaxy Z Fold5 are now available to Cox Mobile customers for pre-order online and in retail stores nationwide. Last week, Samsung unveiled the fifth generation of Galaxy foldables and showcased how the company is transforming what's possible with foldable smartphones.
With the new Samsung Galaxy Z series, Cox Mobile customers will experience enhanced device features like:
- New 'Flex Hinge,' technology that enables the foldable experience while offering an aesthetically balanced and solid design.
- Versatile camera experience with extraordinary camera capabilities such as FlexCam, allowing users to take beautiful hands-free photos and videos from new, creative angles.
- Optimized battery life powered by the latest processor.
- A wider variety of recycled materials1 than their previous generations, including pre-consumer recycled glass and aluminum and post-consumer recycled plastics, sourced from discarded fishing nets, water barrels and PET bottles.
From content creation on Galaxy Z Flip5's new Flex Window, now 3.78 times larger than the previous generation2 to seamless multitasking on Galaxy Z Fold5, this series of Galaxy foldables meets and exceeds the distinctive needs of today's users.
"Samsung's Galaxy Z series – the industry's newest foldables - are now available to Cox Mobile customers and enhance our already competitive device portfolio," said Tony Krueck, senior vice president of Cox Mobile. "We're committed to providing a wide variety of mobile device options that meet our customers' needs, budgets and lifestyles."
Cox Mobile is exclusively available to Cox Internet customers in all Cox markets nationwide. With unlimited talk and text and no term agreements, customers have access to two simple data plans designed with their needs and budget in mind – Pay As You Gig and Gig Unlimited. Customers also have access to a network with unbeatable 5G reliability, as well as the ability to stay connected with Cox Internet at home and with more than 4 million of Cox's on-the-go wifi hotspots.
The Galaxy Z Flip5 and Galaxy Z Fold5 are now available for Cox Mobile customers to pre-order, with general availability starting August 11. Customers interested in learning more about Cox Mobile or the newest Samsung devices can visit their nearest Cox retail store, go directly to www.cox.com/mobile, or give us a call at 1-800-234-3993.
About Cox Communications
Cox Communications is committed to creating meaningful moments of human connection through technology. As the largest private broadband company in America, we operate fiber broadband networks in more than 30 states, providing connections and advanced cloud and managed IT services for nearly seven million homes and businesses nationwide. We're dedicated to empowering others to build a better future and celebrate diverse products, people, suppliers, communities and the characteristics that make each one unique. Cox Communications is the largest division of Cox Enterprises, a family-owned business founded in 1898 by Governor James M. Cox.
1 Types of recycled materials include post-consumer recycled PA sourced from discarded fishing nets, post-consumer recycled PBT sourced from discarded PET bottles, post-consumer recycled PC sourced from water barrels and pre-consumer recycled aluminum sourced from discarded scrap material generated as a by-product during manufacturing. The scrap metal is re-melted, filtered for impurities and then recycled to make parts within Samsung's manufacturing process. There is also pre-consumer recycled glass sourced from discarded glass waste generated as a byproduct of glass manufacturing. This glass waste is crushed into cullet and then used as a component in the Corning® Gorilla® Glass Victus® 2 manufacturing process.
2 Measured diagonally, Galaxy Z Flip5's Cover Screen is 3.4-inch in the full rectangular form; actual viewable area is approximately 95% of the full rectangular area due to the rounded corners and lower cutout.
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SOURCE Cox Communications | https://www.cleveland19.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/new-samsung-galaxy-z-flip5-galaxy-z-fold5-now-available-cox-mobile-customers/ | 2023-07-31T16:51:25 | 1 | https://www.cleveland19.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/new-samsung-galaxy-z-flip5-galaxy-z-fold5-now-available-cox-mobile-customers/ |
Troubled trucking company Yellow Corp. is shutting down and filing for bankruptcy, the Teamsters said Monday.
An official bankruptcy filing is expected any day for Yellow, after years of financial struggles and growing debt. Its expected liquidation would mark a significant shift for the U.S. transportation industry and shippers nationwide.
“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. This is a sad day for workers and the American freight industry,” said Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien.
The Associated Press reached out to Yellow for comment on Monday. No bankruptcy filings were found as of the early morning.
The company’s collapse arrives just three years after Yellow, formerly known as YRC Worldwide, Inc., received $700 million in pandemic-era loans from the federal government. But the company was in financial trouble long before that — with industry analysts pointing to poor management and strategic decisions dating back decades.
Former Yellow customers and shippers will face higher prices as they take their business to competitors, including FedEx or ABF Freight, experts say — noting that Yellow historically offered the cheapest price points in the industry.
Yellow is one of the nation’s largest less-than-truckload carriers. The 99-year-old Nashville, Tennessee-based company had 30,000 employees across the country as of earlier this year.
On Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal and FreightWaves reported that Yellow was preparing for bankruptcy — with some noting that customers had already started to leave the carrier in large numbers. And the company reportedly stopped freight pickups earlier in the week.
Yellow shut down operations on Sunday, according to The Wall Street Journal, following the layoffs of hundreds of nonunion employees on Friday.
The bankruptcy preparation reports arrived just days after Yellow averted a strike from the Teamsters, which represents Yellow’s 22,000 unionized workers, amid heated contract negotiations. On July 23, a pension fund agreed to extend health benefits for workers at two Yellow Corp. operating companies, avoiding a planned walkout — 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.
Yellow has racked up hefty bills over the years. 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.
The Evening Sun
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.
The current financial chaos at Yellow “is probably two decades in the making,” said Stifel research director Bruce Chan, 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.”
A Wednesday investors note from financial service firm Stephens estimated that Yellow was burning daily amount of $9 million to $10 million in recent days.
According to Satish Jindel, president of transportation and logistics firm SJ Consulting, Yellow handled an average of 49,000 shipments per day in 2022. On Friday, he estimated that number was down to between 10,000 and 15,000 daily shipments.
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.”
AP Business Writer Matt Ott contributed. | https://www.baltimoresun.com/business/ct-biz-yellow-trucking-bankruptcy-ap-20230731-ocsnfbxrojeoxd2xb6b6vpswoy-story.html | 2023-07-31T16:51:31 | 1 | https://www.baltimoresun.com/business/ct-biz-yellow-trucking-bankruptcy-ap-20230731-ocsnfbxrojeoxd2xb6b6vpswoy-story.html |
Fox News, Newsmax and One America News have all backed off various bogus 2020 voter fraud claims they promoted. We learned as Fox was being sued that several of its big names privately derided such claims in real time. Top Trump aides have testified that they knew Trump had, in fact, lost and that he occasionally acknowledged it, too. Trump lawyers Sidney Powell, Jenna Ellis and now Rudy Giuliani have each conceded in legal filings that some of the central claims in their “stolen election” crusade were false.
Despite all that, the broader conservative movement has been slow to reckon with the idea that Trump took it for a ride.
But some are starting to inch toward making that argument, including most notably Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s (R) campaign and supporters — even as the candidate himself kept it at arm’s length Monday.
In recent days, a key DeSantis spokeswoman has set about promoting the idea that “stop the steal” was all a scam, a grift or even a “Ponzi” scheme.
A DeSantis-aligned influencer last week pointed to Jan. 6 committee testimony from top Trump campaign aides Bill Stepien and Jason Miller casting doubt on Trump’s ability to overturn the election. He accused them of “public lying about or profiting from it anyway.”
And DeSantis spokeswoman Christina Pushaw approved of the message.
“A huge scam … Ponzi Scheme?” she said.
In the days that followed, Pushaw went on to amplify social media users who suggested that the Trump campaign had scammed people by raising money to ostensibly overturn the election. She also repeatedly promoted the idea that Trump had landed unsuspecting people in jail through his efforts.
One post she promoted cited “a multi-year grift based on a lie that bilked millions of Trump supporters out of more than $250 million of their hard-earned money and got hundreds jailed.”
Another said the Trump campaign “knew the fake electors scheme wouldn’t work, yet they encouraged it anyways.” It blamed the campaign for the recent indictments of alternate electors in Michigan. “Instead, they pushed them into criminal charges for personal gain,” the user said.
Other posts promoted by Pushaw cited the Jan. 6 committee testimony. One user said they had ignored the committee’s work but had come to realize, “We were LIED to.” Another cited the testimony as being indicative of “the facade Team Trump has built.”
Last week, DeSantis-aligned radio host Steve Deace unleashed a viral rant after Giuliani conceded the argument in a legal case that his claims about Georgia election workers were false. “How many people in this audience sent money to ‘Stop the Steal’ three years ago?” Deace asked. “How many shows did I waste your time talking about this three years ago?”
Deace added: “I went to the mattresses on covid and the election fraud issue, only to have Rudy Giuliani say, ‘Yeah, I was lying,’ and Jason Miller say, ‘Oh, we knew it was all BS.’ ”
Like Deace’s, Pushaw’s commentary here has been careful. Rather than suggest that the voter fraud claims themselves were lies, she’s positing that the Trump campaign’s claiming it could overturn the results was the lie. She has also pointed to a Trump PAC’s extensive spending on his legal bills — $40 million this year alone — to suggest it’s all part of a big scam.
“In other words, MAGA grandmas were scammed — based on false promises from Trump campaign officials who admitted under oath, on video, that they knew the election couldn’t be overturned — out of their social security checks, in order to pay a billionaire’s legal bills?” Pushaw said Saturday.
But really, these matters are part and parcel. The fact that Trump’s campaign couldn’t overturn the election is inextricably tied to the fact that its voter-fraud claims were bogus. If those claims had merit, you couldn’t really fault the Trump campaign for raising money to at least try to overturn something as consequential as a presidential election result.
It’s also worth emphasizing that this message is belated — the falsity of the claims was clear in real time, and we’ve had evidence like Stepien’s and Miller’s testimony for a year — and also that it isn’t a message that’s been amplified by the candidate himself.
DeSantis himself has been exceptionally careful when it comes to casting judgment on Trump’s false stolen-election claims. He hasn’t said anything amounting to the idea that this crusade was built on false pretenses. About the closest he’s come to faulting Trump for his actions was saying recently that Trump “should have come out more forcefully” to quell the Jan. 6 riot when it touched off.
DeSantis on Monday also declined to go where his spokeswoman had gone. When asked directly about Pushaw’s “scammed” social-media post Monday, DeSantis said, “I’m not familiar with that.” He added that people were more interested in hearing about the economy than “process stories.”
The fact that his campaign is suggesting this was a big scam is also notable when you consider the timeline of DeSantis’s commentary. The Jan. 6 committee held a hearing in mid-June 2022 that got at precisely these issues, but DeSantis shrugged off the proceedings.
The committee pointed to Trump’s having been repeatedly informed that his voter fraud claims were bogus. And it even, for the first time, floated the idea that Trump’s fundraising to overturn the election was fraudulent. The committee deemed it “the Big Rip Off.”
Two days later, DeSantis showed little interest in these matters.
“Why are they constantly beating this dead horse?” he said of the Jan. 6 committee. “Yes, we understand that; that was a year and a half ago.”
It’s evident why DeSantis’s campaign and supporters are now trying to resurrect this particular “dead horse”; their candidate is struggling, and they need to try something to reverse its fortunes.
It’s also evident why this message is being broadcast by an aide rather than the candidate himself; campaigns often do this to give their principal plausible deniability that this is also their own message. DeSantis doesn’t want to alienate the majority of Republicans who believe Trump actually won in 2020.
But with another potential Trump indictment — and, indeed, possibly two — looming over his efforts to overturn the election, it’s an argument that’s right there for the making and could finally get an airing — albeit a long-overdue one. | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/07/31/team-desantis-starts-pointing-trumps-2020-scam/ | 2023-07-31T16:51:34 | 0 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/07/31/team-desantis-starts-pointing-trumps-2020-scam/ |
Formation of new Board and updates to key management roles set to drive and accelerate progression in the region
CARLSBAD, Calif., July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Nice, a global leader in Home and Building Management solutions, today announced pivotal changes within its North American entity to further boost growth and innovation.
, former Chief Commercial Officer of GE Grid Solutions, appointed as Nice North America CEO.
Nice North America begins its next phase of evolution by establishing a new Board to provide strategic oversight of regional operations, a move indicating a sustained commitment to increasing shareholder value, improving corporate governance, and driving strategic growth. The Board will lead four specialized committees, each focused on accelerating growth in the areas of ESG, People Strategy, Audit & Compliance, and Strategy.
Leading the coordination of the Board will be Luca Longhin, who is appointed President of Nice North America and is a long-standing contributor to the mission of Nice. Since 2019, Luca has worked extensively on the North American vision and strategy for growth, including driving post-acquisition integration of businesses in the region. His deep understanding of Nice business dynamics will ensure that North America continues on its successful trajectory while contributing significantly to global objectives.
Emanuel Bertolini is appointed as the new CEO of Nice North America, bringing over two decades of project management, sales, and P&L leadership experience. Emanuel has amassed an impressive track record of driving growth and success in his previous roles at GE, including Chief Commercial Officer of GE Grid Solutions, CEO Americas of GE Grid Solutions, and various board positions. Emanuel's proven leadership and dedication to fostering a culture of teamwork, safety, and compliance align perfectly with the values and mission of Nice.
Emanuel is recognized as a growth-oriented leader with a proven track record of delivering results. His extensive background and global expertise equip him with a deep understanding of business dynamics and the ability to drive success. Throughout his leadership journey, he has fostered a culture of teamwork, valuing diverse teams and perspectives, prioritizing safety, and ensuring compliance.
"We are excited about the organizational developments and future of Nice North America," said Roberto Griffa, CEO of Nice group. "Luca's history of success, not only in the region but also throughout his career with Nice, will continue building on the solid foundation established. We are also thrilled about the appointment of Emanuel, a highly regarded leader, and are delighted to welcome him to Nice. His global expertise working across a range of industries make him an excellent fit for the role in driving continued success to achieve the company's strategic objectives."
Addressing his appointment as CEO of Nice North America, Emanuel Bertolini had this to say: "I am pleased to embark on this exciting journey with Nice, a dynamic and globally recognized company. The clear mission, exceptional team, and diverse portfolio of innovative products and solutions position us strongly to achieve success in the marketplace. Together with Luca, the Board, and our dedicated team, I look forward to collaborating with the talented individuals at Nice to deliver outstanding value to our shareholders and our customers."
In his new role as CEO, Emanuel will officially join on August 7, 2023 and report directly to the newly formed Board. Luca will report to Roberto Griffa and the Nice Executive Committee in Italy. This governance structure is designed to accelerate the progression of Nice in North America, building on its innovative smart home and building management solutions.
The moves take place as the company continues its rapid expansion and convergence of brands, beginning first with ELAN®, SpeakerCraft®, and Panamax® brands to create a more powerful whole home solution by the end of 2023.
About Nice North America
Nice North America, a subsidiary of Nice, one of the largest manufacturers of smart residential, commercial, and industrial solutions in the world, with seamless and easy-to-install technology for smart home control, security and automation, perimeter access, protection and control, sunshade solutions, power management, and whole home entertainment. The company is headquartered in Carlsbad, CA, with several R&D and manufacturing centers across the region. Professional integrators, dealers, and distribution partners grow their business with CEU training and education, technical and field support, and award-winning sales and marketing programs. The company is a proud national sponsor of the Gary Sinise Foundation R.I.S.E. program, supporting wounded veterans and their families with specially adapted smart homes. For further information visit www.niceforyou.com.
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WASHINGTON — The National Institutes of Health is beginning a handful of studies to test possible treatments for long COVID, an anxiously awaited step in U.S. efforts against the mysterious condition that afflicts millions.
Monday’s announcement from the NIH’s $1.15 billion RECOVER project comes amid frustration from patients who’ve struggled for months or even years with sometimes-disabling health problems — with no proven treatments and only a smattering of rigorous studies to test potential ones.
“This is a year or two late and smaller in scope than one would hope but nevertheless it’s a step in the right direction,” said Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly of Washington University in St. Louis, who isn’t involved with NIH’s project but whose own research highlighted long COVID’s toll. Getting answers is critical, he added, because “there’s a lot of people out there exploiting patients’ vulnerability” with unproven therapies.
Scientists don’t yet know what causes long COVID, the catchall term for about 200 widely varying symptoms.
“If I get 10 people, I get 10 answers of what long COVID really is,” U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said.
That’s why so far the RECOVER initiative has tracked 24,000 patients in observational studies to help define the most common and burdensome symptoms –- findings that now are shaping multipronged treatment trials. The first two will look at:
— Whether taking up to 25 days of Pfizer’s antiviral drug Paxlovid could ease long COVID, because of a theory that some live coronavirus, or its remnants, may hide in the body and trigger the disorder. Normally Paxlovid is used when people first get infected and for just five days.
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— Treatments for “brain fog” and other cognitive problems. They include Posit Science Corp.’s BrainHQ cognitive training program, another called PASC-Cognitive Recovery by New York City’s Mount Sinai Health System, and a Soterix Medical device that electrically stimulates brain circuits.
Two additional studies will open in the coming months. One will test treatments for sleep problems. The other will target problems with the autonomic nervous system — which controls unconscious functions like breathing and heartbeat — including the disorder called POTS.
A more controversial study of exercise intolerance and fatigue also is planned, with NIH seeking input from some patient groups worried that exercise may do more harm than good for certain long COVID sufferers.
The trials are enrolling 300 to 900 adult participants for now but have the potential to grow. Unlike typical experiments that test one treatment at a time, these more flexible “platform studies” will let NIH add additional potential therapies on a rolling basis.
“We can rapidly pivot,” Dr. Amy Patterson with the NIH explained. A failing treatment can be dropped without ending the entire trial and “if something promising comes on the horizon, we can plug it in.”
The flexibility could be key, according to Dr. Anthony Komaroff, a Harvard researcher who isn’t involved with the NIH program but has long studied a similarly mysterious disorder known as chronic fatigue syndrome or ME/CFS. For example, he said, the Paxlovid study “makes all sorts of sense,” but if a 25-day dose shows only hints of working, researchers could extend the test to a longer course instead of starting from scratch.
Komaroff also said that he understands people’s frustration over the wait for these treatment trials, but believes NIH appropriately waited “until some clues came in about the underlying biology,” adding: “You’ve got to have targets.” | https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation-world/brain-fog-long-covid-symptoms-studies-20230731-vrdsc733y5c5zbhogrtqyvcvjy-story.html | 2023-07-31T16:51:38 | 0 | https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation-world/brain-fog-long-covid-symptoms-studies-20230731-vrdsc733y5c5zbhogrtqyvcvjy-story.html |
MADISON, Wis. — Vice President Kamala Harris plans to visit southeast Wisconsin on Thursday, making a stop in Pleasant Prairie to tout broadband and affordable connectivity before going to Milwaukee for a pair of campaign receptions.
The White House announced the planned stops on Sunday. There were no immediate details about the campaign events.
Harris will be joined by Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo for the stop in Pleasant Prairie, which is 35 miles (56 kilometers) south of Milwaukee near the Illinois border.
The visit comes a little over a month after President Joe Biden’s administration announced that Wisconsin will receive more than $1 billion in federal money to expand high-speed internet access.
It’s part of a plan to distribute $42.5 billion nationwide to provide reliable and affordable internet service for every home and business in the U.S. by 2030. States must complete a multi-step process before they can use the money.
Harris last came to Wisconsin in September 2022 as part of a campaign stop just ahead of the November midterm election. Thursday’s visit is the first of this election cycle and would be Harris’s fourth trip to Wisconsin since taking office.
Biden won perennial battleground Wisconsin by just under 21,000 votes in 2020, flipping the state for Democrats after former President Donald Trump carried it by just short of 23,000 votes in 2016. Four of the past six presidential elections in Wisconsin have been decided by less than a percentage point. | https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation-world/kamala-harris-wisconsin-20230731-vepo52khijan7ga46ubqvgn3rq-story.html | 2023-07-31T16:51:40 | 0 | https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation-world/kamala-harris-wisconsin-20230731-vepo52khijan7ga46ubqvgn3rq-story.html |
If you are on a search committee in a mainline Protestant church looking for a new pastor, or a denominational administrator trying to find Sunday pulpit-supply clergy, you probably already know this:
Add that the religious landscape is changing and facing serious challenges — where young Americans are increasingly losing interest in organized religion and the majority of believers of all ages, if they go to church at all, are drawn to large congregations; the fallout from polarized politics and a worldwide pandemic — and these are complicated times for aspiring clergy and the people who train them.
“I don’t think any of us understands what’s going on,” said Sarah Drummond, a United Church of Christ minister and founding dean of Andover Newton Seminary at Yale Divinity School.
“So, it’s a stressful time. But I honestly think one of the reasons it feels so stressful is that we’re really starting to wake up. We’ve been asleep.”
To meet the needs of churches, often ones that cannot afford to pay full-time clergy, mainline denominations are adjusting their strategies for recruiting and training leaders. They include providing lay leaders with more training and authority, encouraging more clergy to have day jobs that support themselves — a trend known as bivocational ministry — or revisiting the way they view ministry itself.
Among those helping train new leaders is Nandra Perry, director of the Iona Collaborative, a mostly online training program based out of the Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest. The Iona Collaborative relies chiefly on virtual instruction and videos to give clergy and lay leaders the skills they need to lead and staff local congregations. That can take place in a diocesan school or through courses geared specifically to support bivocational clergy and the parishes themselves.
Perry herself represents a new breed of leader. A former English professor at Texas A&M University, she left academia to direct the Collaborative and become the vicar of St. Philip’s Episcopal Church in Hearne, Tex., a parish with an average Sunday attendance of 18.
She said Iona’s program can help leaders at small churches in small communities get the training they need to have an effective ministry.
“There are people in small towns all over this country that need to know that they are welcome in God’s Church,” she said. “I wanted to be a part of helping one small church in one small town keep its doors open.”
Leaving academia for the pastorate was a decision she made out of gratitude for the way the church had helped shape her life. She wants to ensure that others have access to that same experience.
“When I lost my faith as a young woman, the Episcopal Church welcomed me in, just as I was, and then loved me back to wholeness over a period of several years,” she said. “I don’t believe that kind of healing power should be limited to the East Coast or to major cities.”
Programs like the Iona Collaborative have sprung up in part because traditional residential programs built around a three-year credential aren’t drawing the candidates they once did.
Data collected by the Association of Theological Schools shows that the number of students enrolled in Master of Divinity degrees — required for ordination in many mainline denominations — is down 9 percent since 2018.
Over the past few decades, mainline schools have experienced an almost 50 percent enrollment decline, according to Chris Meinzer, ATS senior director and chief operating officer.
Meinzer said there may be an incongruity between what some seminaries are preparing students for and the reality of pastoring a small rural church, or two or three churches, rather than one large one.
Still, the need for trained pastors and leaders remains, said Lee Hinson-Hasty, senior director for theological funds development at the Presbyterian Foundation, which supports students and seminaries.
Finding those leaders, he said, requires keeping an eye out for them in places like local congregations, campus ministries or denominational camps and conference centers.
“It doesn’t take long to find these people, but most of them are never asked. That’s what’s so sad.”
Former Evangelical Lutheran Church in America bishop R. Guy Erwin, now a seminary head, sees part of his current job as helping future clergy adjust to an environment in which there aren’t as many self-sustaining parishes as there once were.
“The problem is not that we have a shortage of pastors,” said Erwin, who serves as president of United Lutheran Seminary, a dual-campus school in Philadelphia and Gettysburg, Pa. “We have a shortage of congregations that can pay a full-time pastor the way they used to.”
Part of the problem facing many denominations, said Darryl Stephens, director of the Pennsylvania Academy of Ministry at Lancaster Theological Seminary and author of “Bivocational and Beyond: Educating for Thriving Multivocational Ministry,” is that there is effectively a “two-tiered system” of ministry.
Most American congregants attend large churches (approximately 7 in 10), in which the minister has extensive educational experience, while the many much smaller churches (also 7 in 10) that have an equal need for clergy probably can’t afford to pay them full-time, said Stephens.
In the Methodist Church, alternative methods of training parish leaders that don’t rely on the Master of Divinity credential are already a reality on the ground. Elaine Heath, former dean of Duke Divinity School, is co-founder of Neighborhood Seminary — a program that offers educational opportunities for lay people.
Heath, a veteran of the older educational model, says she is a fan of Path 1, the United Methodist Church’s church planting program, where bivocational pastors and other nontraditional leaders often have opportunities to minister.
“There is a lot of effort and emphasis on equipping people to do alternative forms of new faith communities that are localized, often led by laypeople,” she said.
While mainline denominations assess how to cope with declining enrollments and experiment with different models of parish leadership, some researchers are urging more attention to the students and clergy out there already.
Steven Sandage, a university scholar and research director at the Danielsen Institute at Boston University, has done extensive studies on clergy mental health. He’s concerned about how to support pastoral leaders once they graduate.
“They face even more distress and trauma than they did in seminary,” he said. “I see some seminaries and some religious bodies that seem to be in denial about those realities.”
Still, leaders like Perry are hopeful about the future.
“We’ve got some scrappy little churches that are out there being salt and light in some very inspiring ways,” she said. “I think bishops are in touch with that, and increasingly, with the importance of elevating the ministry of all the baptized, and strong, well-trained, locally formed leaders. It’s an enormous opportunity.”
— Religion News Service | https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2023/07/31/churches-shrink-pastors-retire-creative-workarounds-are-redefining-ministry/ | 2023-07-31T16:51:41 | 0 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2023/07/31/churches-shrink-pastors-retire-creative-workarounds-are-redefining-ministry/ |
The company's 2022 annual audit shows impressive growth with a focus on regional expansion, becoming first fintech startup from Singapore to have over 20 offices globally
SAN FRANCISCO and SINGAPORE, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Nium, the leader in real-time global payments, has published its 2022 audit, showing US$82M in net revenue which grew 2.7x YoY and ended at more than $100M net revenue run rate. Nium is Singapore's first global fintech focused on payments to reach this revenue milestone. In 2022, the company focused its development on serving high-growth client use cases, in industries such as travel, payroll, spend management, and financial services. This strategy has allowed for the business to accelerate its growth agenda, including global expansion, organic product innovation, continued hiring of top talent, and M&A activity.
"Moving money across borders is broken," said Prajit Nanu, Founder and CEO at Nium. "Legacy banks and payment processors have failed to give businesses the solutions they need to expand globally. Nium fills this gap and has emerged as the new global business standard for real-time, cross-border money movement. We are thrilled to see such success last year and are extremely bullish on not only the scale we've already seen this year, but what we'll see by the end of 2023."
Nium has hundreds of clients across multiple industries including financial institutions, payroll, spend management, and travel. Financial institutions were a priority last year as Nium focused on helping them target new markets with instant bank payouts and expand to emerging markets. Nium powers among the largest brands and platforms in the globe, including Rippling, Payoneer, Amadeus, Aspire, MasterCard and eDreams.
Nium's issuing product also saw substantial success, with over 30M cards issued just last year. Nium helps navigate this rapidly changing landscape, by allowing travel intermediaries and operators to efficiently pay travel suppliers around the world, optimizing every transaction for maximum profitability. On the product side, the company launched Nium Airline Payments, a closed-loop payments solution powered by Universal Air Travel Plan, which provides airlines, travel agents, and online travel agencies with a sustainable and equitable 'closed loop' payment model.
Last year saw exponential growth on Nium's leadership team, including the hires of CPO, Robin Gandhi; GC, Dylan Lowrey; and CTO, Ramana Satyavarapu. With hiring at the forefront, the Nium team was awarded the Great Places to Work certification in India, Malta, Singapore, and the US. Nium also expanded into new markets, including Malaysia and Japan. Due to this expansion of the company and team, Nium saw a slightly higher burn rate than in 2021.
Over the past year Nium raised additional capital at a $2.0bn valuation, adding new investors such as BOND, NewView Capital, Moore Capital and Tribe Capital. The business is very well capitalized and continues to invest in product innovation, new markets and M&A opportunities. "Our investors believe in our mission of building the payments infrastructure for on-demand money and our funding has helped us accelerate our growth aspirations. We're thrilled to have the support of these notable investors and continue to look forward to working closely together to advance our business." said Nanu.
Nium plays in the foundational payment infrastructure market that has proven to be one of the few thriving markets during these challenging times. The company's extensive global reach, broad license portfolio, real-time payments network, enhanced payroll solution, and a team of industry leaders have been the pillars of its success. In 2023, Nium has been focused on regional expansion. The company's recent hires of Volker Steinle to lead Americas business development, Anupam Pahuja to lead Asia Pacific and Middle East business development, and Manuel Sandhofer to lead Europe business development are examples of that investment. This expertise, coupled with new licenses pending regulatory approval, has set Nium up for success in emerging markets including LATAM and Africa. The company has also recently opened new offices in San Francisco, Amsterdam, India, and Singapore.
About Nium
Nium, the leader in real-time global payments, was founded on the mission to deliver the global payments infrastructure of tomorrow, today. With the onset of the on-demand economy, its payments infrastructure is shaping how banks, fintechs, and businesses everywhere collect, convert, and disburse funds instantly across borders. Its payout network supports 100 currencies and spans 190+ countries, 100 of which in real-time. Funds can be disbursed to accounts, wallets, and cards and collected locally in 35 markets. Nium's growing card issuance business is already available in 34 countries. Nium holds regulatory licenses and authorizations in more than 40 countries, enabling seamless onboarding, rapid integration, and compliance – independent of geography. The company is co-headquartered in San Francisco and Singapore, with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Chennai.
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The 21st century has been hard on God, with faith in the divine and organized religion facing unrelenting decline.
The poll of 1,011 adult Americans, conducted in May, asked about beliefs in five spiritual entities: God, the Devil, angels, hell and heaven. Belief in all five is at its lowest point since Gallup began polling about these five topics in 2001.
Belief in God dropped from 90% in 2001 to 74% in 2023. Belief in heaven went down from 83% to 67%, while belief in angels dropped from 79% to 69%.
The loss of faith in God and spiritual entities parallels a decline in religious identification and membership in faith communities. About 1 in 3 Americans claim no religion, a number that other recent studies say could grow to more than half by 2070. Less than half of Americans say they are members of a house of worship.
Just as people are divided about whom to vote for and what public policies to promote, politics also divided Americans when it comes to God, the Devil and the afterlife. Republicans are more likely to believe in hell (79%) and the Devil (78%) than Democrats — 48% of whom said they believe in hell, and 44% percent believe in the Devil.
Those with household incomes under $40,000 are more likely to believe in the Devil (63%) and God (81%) than those with $100,000 in income. Among that higher income bracket, 54% said they believe in the Devil while 68% said they believe in God.
White Americans are less likely to believe in God (70%) and the Devil (66%) than Americans from other ethnic backgrounds.
Protestants were slightly more likely to believe in both heaven (89%) and hell (81%) than Catholics — among whom three-quarters (76%) believe in heaven and 61% in hell. Twice as many of the so-called Nones — Americans who claim no religion — said they believe in God (25%) as say they believe in the Devil (12%).
Meghan Henning, the author of “Hell Hath No Fury: Gender, Disability, and the Invention of Damned Bodies in Early Christian Literature,” which looks at early Christian ideas about the afterlife, said she’s not surprised that Protestants, who include the nation’s evangelical Christians, retain higher levels of belief in the Devil and hell than other Americans. Both are helpful when trying to evangelize people. Preachers, she said, often used the fear of hell to motivate people to accept Jesus as their savior.
It may scare them into church: Those who attend weekly services are most likely to believe in God (98%), angels (94%), heaven (92%), hell (84%) and the Devil (86%). Those who attend services less than monthly are less likely to believe in God (57%), angels (52%), heaven (48%), hell (41%) and the Devil (40%).
That’s not exactly how early Christians used the idea of hell, said Henning, an associate professor of Christian origins at the University of Dayton. Those early Christians — inspired by the horror of Roman jails — created images of hell and punishment to motivate people to do the right thing in this life.
Fear of hell, she said, was used to motivate people to care for the poor or to live out the virtues of the Sermon on the Mount. That’s distinctly different from how the fear of hell is used today, she said — where failing to care for the poor is not one of the prime sins Americans care about.
That’s very different from the Bible’s teachings, she said.
Henning said Gallup’s findings about income and belief in hell and the Devil have some parallels to early Christianity. Those early Christians who wrote the New Testament were marginalized and had little power. The idea of hell and punishing people for their evildoing — or rewarding them for good deeds — was empowering, she said.
When people have been treated unjustly, Henning said, they want to believe that there are forces at play to set things right in the end. “Otherwise, it all feels hopeless,” she said.
Stephanie Buckhanon Crowder, professor of New Testament and culture at Chicago Theological Seminary, wonders if some Americans are thinking of the real world — rather than the afterlife — when asked if hell exists. “Before we even get to the spiritual realm,” she said, “I think when people are asked ‘Is there a Hades?’ that people are experiencing here on Earth.”
Joseph Baker, a sociologist of religion at East Tennessee State University and co-author of “Fear Itself: The Causes and Consequences of Fear in America,” said those who believe in hell tend to support more authoritarian and punitive ideas and experience more depression. But he added some of the positive aspects of spirituality can balance out those negative associations.
The Enlightenment — the post-Renaissance movement in which reason replaced belief in Western culture — began the Devil’s decline, said Joseph Laycock, an associate religion professor at Texas State University. Enlightenment ideas helped turn the Devil into more of a fictional character in the arts and literature than a spiritual being with real power in the popular imagination. The Enlightenment caused some theologians to “kick the Devil out of Christianity,” he said.
The dynamic played out more recently in the success of the 1973 film “The Exorcist,” Laycock said. The graphic depiction of demonic possession led some clergy to downplay the Devil as a spiritual power and to view hell and the Devil more as metaphors.
“I actually think the success of ‘The Exorcist’ in 1973 was connected to the attitude that Satan is just a myth,” he said. (More bad news for Satan: A trailer for the sequel to “The Exorcist” just debuted this week.)
The decline in belief in the Devil could have a downside, Laycock said. He said his wife, Natasha Mikles, an assistant professor at Texas State, teaches a class about hell, and her students frequently come in thinking that hell is just a “scary story meant to control people.”
“That’s not wrong,” he said. “But it also gives people an idea of justice.”
Mark Leuchter, a religion professor at Temple University who studies ancient Judaism, said the Devil and hell still have relevance in modern culture. Leuchter, who is teaching a class on the history of the Devil, said that whether you believe in an actual satanic figure or not, the Devil serves as a symbol of all that is wrong in the world.
The existence of the Devil is an argument that we live in an unjust universe rather than a chaotic one without meaning, Leuchter said.
“If there is a Devil who is the enemy of God, who will eventually be punished at the end of time — then you can look forward to the universe bending towards justice.”
Leuchter also said that believing in the Devil means being aware of the potential for evil in every human heart — even among the most spiritual people.
“If you’re playing by the rules of religious scripture, then to ignore the potential for evil within human communities and in the human soul is to ignore the rules of the game you profess to play,” he said. — Religion News Service | https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2023/07/31/organized-religion-falters-devil-falls-hard-times/ | 2023-07-31T16:51:47 | 0 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2023/07/31/organized-religion-falters-devil-falls-hard-times/ |
WASHINGTON, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI) President, Carole Fisher has attracted publicity for her role hosting the popular podcast series – "The Girlfriends". Produced by NOVEL for iHeartRadio, the thrilling nine-part series, led by Fisher, uncovers the horrific backstory of Gail Katz's death, the systems that failed her and all the girlfriends that brought her justice.
THE GIRLFRIENDS explores the bonds of friendship, female solidarity, empowerment, and bringing justice to all people who suffer at the hands of abuse and domestic violence. Since its release on July 10, The Girlfriends has achieved success – currently ranking at #1 in Canada, the United Kingdom and United States on Apple Podcasts.
"This is more than just being another binge-worthy true crime podcast series. It's about raising awareness around the horrors of abuse, especially domestic and sexual violence," said Carole Fisher, NPHI President. "It has been a privilege and an honor to speak up on behalf of Gail Katz, and so many other women who are victims of domestic violence. Together, we must do more to elevate the voices of those in danger."
NOVEL collaborated with the leading global charity NOMORE.org dedicated to ending domestic violence and sexual assault by increasing awareness, inspiring action, and fueling culture change. NPHI maintains close links to these related issues through its engagement with Healthsperien LLC and applauds Carole Fisher for her continued commitment to social impact and raising awareness on the issues of domestic violence against women.
"I am extremely pleased to hear of the success of this podcast, and I support its greater goal in raising awareness around the pervasiveness of domestic violence," said Tom Koutsoumpas, NPHI CEO. "Carole's entire lifework has been centered around helping and speaking out for others and her participation in this podcast highlights her never-ending commitment to creating social impact and change where it is rightly needed."
Carole, who is employed directly by the renowned DC Policy Firm, Healthsperien LLC, has presided over the day-to-day operations of NPHI since January 2021. In this capacity, she brings a wealth of expertise that has helped NPHI grow exponentially and evolve with the ever-changing hospice landscape. Prior to her time at Healthsperien and NPHI, she served as a highly regarded C-suite leader, including a long-time engagement as the CEO of Nathan Adelson Hospice in her hometown of Las Vegas, Nevada.
You can find The Girlfriends on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and anywhere else you get your podcasts.
About Carole Fisher: Ms. Fisher serves as President for the National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI). Utilizing her previous experiences and deep familiarity with not-for-profit community-based hospice and palliative healthcare, she is charged with leading a wide range of activities for NPHI. With an emphasis on developing strategic partnerships, meaningful collaborations and transformational innovations, Ms. Fisher provides support for NPHI members leading complex organizations.
Ms. Fisher spends her time working between her homes in Las Vegas, Nevada and Covington, Louisiana. She frequently travels to Washington D.C. for policy-related initiatives.
You can find Carole on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram under @CaroleAFisher.
The National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI) is a membership organization comprising 100+ not-for-profit, community-integrated hospice and palliative care providers dedicated to ensuring patients and their families have access to care that reflects their individual goals, values, and preferences. Representing providers from 37 states and the District of Columbia, NPHI and its members help design more innovative and effective models of care, advocate for comprehensive and community-integrated care customized to meet each person's unique needs, and build collaboration between national thought leaders, decision-makers, and other healthcare stakeholders to improve hospice care. Learn more at hospiceinnovations.org.
Press Contact:
Matt Wilkinson
Communications Manager, NPHI
+1 (801) 615-4207
mwilkinson@hospiceinnovations.org
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SOURCE National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation | https://www.cleveland19.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/nphi-president-carole-fisher-hosts-trending-true-crime-podcast-girlfriends/ | 2023-07-31T16:51:47 | 1 | https://www.cleveland19.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/nphi-president-carole-fisher-hosts-trending-true-crime-podcast-girlfriends/ |
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Churchill Downs will implement safety measures for its September meet including new track surface maintenance equipment and additional monitoring and equine care following 12 horse deaths before and after the Kentucky Derby that spurred suspension of its spring meet.
The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority recommended suspending the remainder of the meet, which moved to Ellis Park in western Kentucky. Training continued at Churchill Downs during the investigation, and a release on Monday stated that while industry experts found no issues with the racing surfaces, the track invested in new maintenance equipment. It will also double the frequency of surface testing among infrastructure upgrades.
Churchill Downs Inc. CEO Bill Carstanjen said the track’s commitment to safety “remains paramount” in the release and added, “our participants, fans and the public can be assured that we will continue to investigate, evaluate and improve upon every policy and protocol.”
The announcement comes days after Carstanjen said racing would resume this fall with no changes and called the deaths “a series of unfortunate circumstances” in an earnings call with CDI investors.
Churchill Downs veterinarians will receive additional resources for specialized horse care and to assist in pre-race inspections and entry screening, the release added. The track will work with HISA and industry experts to predict at-risk horses through advanced analytic techniques.
A safety management committee including horsemen, track employees and veterinarians will also be created.
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AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/07/31/churchill-downs-horse-deaths-kentucky-derby/fba9c514-2fc0-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html | 2023-07-31T16:51:53 | 1 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/07/31/churchill-downs-horse-deaths-kentucky-derby/fba9c514-2fc0-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html |
WASHINGTON, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- EarthEcho International, the leading nonprofit dedicated to building a global youth movement to protect and restore our ocean planet, is pleased to announce the 2023 class of its ResilienSEA Externship program. This inaugural program unites 19 youth, ages 17-20, from BIPOC communities across North America, for a hands-on career development experience. The initiative introduces participants to the field of regenerative ocean aquaculture – ocean "farming" that restores coastal habitats while creating both economic and ecological benefits. The ResilienSEA Externship program is made possible through the generous support of La Mer Blue Heart Oceans Fund and The Estée Lauder Companies Travel Retail division.
EarthEcho International recognizes the power of the ocean as a source of solutions to the climate crisis. All of humanity is connected to the ocean, but access to our ocean and the opportunity to pursue careers that contribute to ocean-based climate solutions is a privilege that all do not enjoy equally.
"Often the communities most vulnerable to sea level rise and increasingly intense storms are those whose members have been cut off to daily access to waters that are vital to their communities for both cultural and economic reasons," said Stacey Rafalowski, Chief Program Officer, EarthEcho International. "We look forward to working with this talented group of young people in their journey to make a lasting impact in their communities and beyond."
Through an ongoing, eight-week virtual program, and an in-person convening in San Diego, CA, this August, the paid ResilienSEA Externship provides participants with an opportunity to learn from and network with professionals in the field of regenerative ocean aquaculture and seaweed innovation, participate in a hands-on job shadowing experience, and engage in peer learning to build confidence and competence to take action in externs' home communities, with a focus on using entrepreneurship to tackle ocean health challenges.
The 2023 ResilienSEA externs represent communities in Canada and the United States:
- Akhila Mahidhara, Edison, NJ, USA
- Emilia Fiebel, Hollywood, FL, USA
- Iredia Otoadese, Fanny Bay, BC, Canada
- Ishaani Srivastava, Piscataway, NJ, USA
- Jin Hu, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Kassandra Chavarria Sosa, Burnaby, BC, Canada
- Kendall Ford, Jacksonville, FL, USA
- Lauren Ejiaga, New Orleans, LA, USA
- Mugdha Chiplunkar, Duvall, WA, USA
- Natalie Martinez, Corpus Christi, TX, USA
- Nina Shetty, Sammamish, WA, USA
- Nitya Masina, Sammamish, WA, USA
- Rajaa Berry, LaSalle, ON, Canada
- Sarika Sawant, Glendale, AZ, USA
- Serenity Washington, Cape Coral, FL, USA
- Skye Garrett, Capitol Heights, MD, USA
- Sofía Lammot Pérez, Dorado, PR, USA
- Srinivas Gollapudi, Upland, CA, USA
- Violet Smith, Columbia, MD, USA
For more information about the ResilienSEA externs please visit www.earthecho.org/youth/resiliensea-externship.
For more information about EarthEcho International, visit www.earthecho.org or follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/earthecho Instagram: www.instagram.com/earthecho and Twitter: www.twitter.com/earthecho.
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SOURCE EarthEcho International | https://www.cleveland19.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/philippe-cousteau-jrs-earthecho-international-collaborates-with-youth-color-build-careers-blue-economy/ | 2023-07-31T16:51:55 | 0 | https://www.cleveland19.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/philippe-cousteau-jrs-earthecho-international-collaborates-with-youth-color-build-careers-blue-economy/ |
Horse racing will return to Churchill Downs for its regularly scheduled September and fall meets, the track announced Monday. The historic Louisville racetrack suspended racing for its spring-summer meet on June 2 following 12 horse deaths, including seven in the run-up to the Kentucky Derby in May (most of its races were moved to Ellis Park in Henderson, Ky., though training continued).
In a statement, Churchill Downs said it has implemented a number of changes after undertaking “a comprehensive evaluation of existing safety protocols and a thorough assessment of industry best practices.” These include new surface maintenance equipment and increased testing of the track’s surfaces, increased veterinary oversight, continued work with the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority watchdog group to predict at-risk horses and the establishment of new safety committee comprising horsemen, track employees and veterinarians.
“Our commitment to safety remains paramount as we enter this September meet and our participants, fans and the public can be assured that we will continue to investigate, evaluate and improve upon every policy and protocol,” Bill Carstanjen, chief executive of Churchill Downs Inc., said in the statement.
No other changes will be made at the track, which opened in 1875.
“What we needed to do was spend some of this time in the interim, while we ran the rest of the [spring] meet at Ellis to just go soup to nuts through every single thing we do at the racetrack,” Carstanjen told CDI investors during an earnings call on Thursday. “There was nothing that jumped out as an apparent cause of the injuries, of the breakdowns; and, as we went through and rebuilt our processes from the ground up to check everything that we do to make extra sure, we didn’t find anything material.”
HISA was created by a federal act in 2020 and fully implemented in May after overcoming lawsuits from industry opponents. The watchdog group said in June that “no cohesive explanation has been identified for this unusually high number of fatalities” at Churchill Downs. Track surface expert Dennis Moore said in June he could find “no primary areas for concern” after examining the track earlier this year.
The September meet begins Sept. 14 and runs through Oct. 1. The fall meet is Oct. 29-Nov. 26. | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/07/31/churchill-downs-resumes-operations/ | 2023-07-31T16:51:59 | 1 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/07/31/churchill-downs-resumes-operations/ |
MIDLAND, Texas, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Seawolf Water Resources, LP ("Seawolf"), a leading Permian water midstream provider, announces the completion of its produced water takeaway, disposal and recycling system in the stateline region of the Delaware Basin. Seawolf's recently completed Independence Pipeline and Waterfowl produced water recycling and disposal facilities will initially manage 150,000 barrels per day and are now serving some of the largest E&P operators in the Permian Basin under long-term contracts.
"Seawolf has been working towards this goal for some time, and the completion of this phase of our infrastructure expansion represents a major accomplishment for our team and for our E&P partners." said Tim McWilliams, Seawolf's Chief Executive Officer. "We're thrilled to offer sustainable and effective solutions that will help our clients achieve their strategic goals, and we're excited to continue to expand these offerings in the coming months."
Seawolf is capitalized by a sustainability-linked term loan from a syndicate led by Riverstone Credit Partners LLC, meant to provide Seawolf with additional liquidity to expand its produced water handling and recycling infrastructure for recently signed long-term contracts.
About Seawolf Water Resources, LP
Seawolf, founded in 2018, is a Midland-based water midstream provider operating primarily in the stateline region of the Delaware Basin. Seawolf partners with some of the largest E&Ps and private landowners in the region to deliver full cycle water management solutions underpinned in midstream principles. For more information on Seawolf and its services, please visit www.seawolfwater.com.
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SOURCE Seawolf Water Resources, LP | https://www.cleveland19.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/seawolf-water-resources-announces-expanded-produced-water-management-recycling-capabilities/ | 2023-07-31T16:52:01 | 1 | https://www.cleveland19.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/seawolf-water-resources-announces-expanded-produced-water-management-recycling-capabilities/ |
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida coach Billy Napier opened fall practice talking to his team about expectations — internal ones, anyway.
That’s one spot above last.
It was the lowest preseason prognostication for the Gators since also coming in fifth in 2015, former coach Jim McElwain’s first season. Florida responding by winning the East that year. Could it happen again? It would be an unbelievable long shot considering Napier pretty much has an overhauled roster after losing quarterback Anthony Richardson and 14 other starters.
“I really feel like we’re going to shock a lot of people this year as far as the standard is so low right now,” cornerback Jaydon Hill said. “It blows my mind a little bit. But then again, we’ve just got to win games. It just comes down to winning.”
Florida hasn’t won nearly enough for a fanbase that grew accustomed to it under legends Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer. Although the Gators have enjoyed pockets of success since, they have yet to put it all together in terms of recruiting talent, developing players and building a consistent contender.
Napier had a detailed plan when he took over in November 2021, but it didn’t account for having to navigate a burgeoning transfer portal or a constantly changing name, image and likeness landscape.
So Napier sounds more like a coach entering their first year rather than one expecting the kind of second-year jumps that helped vault Spurrier and Meyer to stardom. He’s implemented several team-building exercises, including moving players into on-campus dorms for the opening week of training camp and rooming them with guys from other position groups.
They’ll eat every meal in an old-school dining hall — no phones allowed — and work on developing leadership as much as perfecting concepts, formations and plays.
“I think it’s important that we connect and try to create crossover relationships in all parts of what we do,” Napier said. “It’s absolutely important to what we do.”
Adding another layer to his unification efforts, Napier has a get-to-know-your-teammate initiative that requires players to be able to provide names and hometowns on the spot for 10 colleagues pictured.
“It’s one thing to know the guy’s first name, but it’s another thing to know his first and last name, where he’s from, part of his story, and I think with time we’ll get to that place,” Napier said. “But it’s about agreeing that there’s an expectation, and then, ‘Hey, if you can do better, you can do better.’ I think that’s the key to the drill. That’s where we’re at as a team.”
It’s a far cry from having to tamp down expectations of making the College Football Playoff or winning championships. No one’s ruled those out in Gainesville, but most would agree they seem more plausible down the road.
Florida returns seven starters from last year’s team and has a number of transfers to work into the mix. Quite possibly the main reason for Florida’s humble preseason forecast is because the team appears locked into starting former Wisconsin quarterback Graham Mertz, who completed 60% of his passes for 5,405 yards, with 38 touchdowns and 26 interceptions, in four years with the Badgers.
Florida lost four-star QB recruit Jaden Rashada in a failed NIL deal in January, leaving Mertz and former Ohio State backup Jack Miller to compete for the starting job. All signs point to Mertz taking the first snap when the Gators open the season at Utah on Aug. 31.
Although Napier appears to have Florida on the path back to national relevancy; the team’s 2024 recruiting class is ranked third behind Georgia and Ohio State, according to 247sports.com. In the meantime, the only expectations he’s focused on are the internal ones.
“The expectation we’re going to establish for each other ... should be much higher than any outside narrative or outside opinion,” Napier said. “If I’m walking around the building each day, if I’m living life and I’m most concerned with not letting the people down that are going to be in this team meeting in a couple hours, that’s the most important piece.”
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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://twitter.com/ap_top25. Sign up for the AP Top 25 newsletter here: https://link.apnews.com/join/6nr/morning-wire-newsletter-footer-internal-ads | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/2023/07/31/florida-gators-sec-napier-mertz/60484678-2fbf-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html | 2023-07-31T16:52:05 | 0 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/2023/07/31/florida-gators-sec-napier-mertz/60484678-2fbf-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html |
- Introduced syndromic quantitative PCR assays and a fully automated molecular diagnostic testing system, STARlet AIOS™
- Conducted symposium sessions on the usefulness of PCR testing in diagnosing gastrointestinal diseases
- Participated in a presentation event for major Korean in-vitro diagnostic companies organized by KHIDI
SEOUL, South Korea, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Seegene Inc. (KQ096530), a leading South Korean company providing a total solution for PCR molecular diagnostics, took part in the 2023 American Association of Clinical Chemistry (AACC) Annual Scientific Meeting & Clinical Lab Expo in California between July 25-27. Seegene showcased its "unique syndromic quantitative PCR assays and automated PCR solution 'STARlet AIOS™ (All-in-One System).'"
The company stated, "Under the concept of 'All Tests with One System,' we introduced our leading assays, the Allplex™ and Novaplex™, and proposed Automated seamless PCR testing systems that can be applied to all of Seegene's assays. This has been well-received by in-vitro diagnostic experts and partner companies from around the world."
Meanwhile, an in-depth discussion was conducted in the symposium sessions on the usefulness of PCR testing in diagnosing gastrointestinal diseases. This symposium reaffirmed Seegene's position as an important contributor to improving gastrointestinal testing, where the availability of skilled technicians for microscopy is declining. A panel of experts presented research results demonstrating that PCR testing provides more efficient and accurate results than traditional microscopic stool sample tests for diagnosing gastrointestinal diseases. Conventional testing methods for these pathogens are characterized by long processing times and require significant expertise to interpret the microscopy results.
In addition, Kim Seong-youl, the head of Seegene's Global Marketing Center, participated in a presentation event for major Korean in-vitro diagnostic companies organized by the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI) and announced Seegene's unique competitive edge and future vision.
Kim said, "We received a lot of interest from participants from various countries by proposing a solution to build the basis for the next phase of diagnostic business in line with Seegene's vision of creating a world free from diseases. Following AACC, we hope to expand sales of non-COVID diagnostic assays based on syndromic testing globally and increase awareness of our next-generation OneSystem™ business."
Using syndromic quantitative PCR assays for comprehensive and accurate testing
Seegene captivated visitors at the exhibition booth by showcasing comprehensive and accurate testing using syndromic quantitative PCR assays. Seegene's syndromic quantitative PCR technology is the world's only simultaneous multiplex molecular diagnostic technology based on real-time PCR. The core feature of Seegene's syndromic PCR technologies is the ability to simultaneously test 14 pathogens that cause similar symptoms in a single tube and provide quantitative information on the infectivity profile to correlate with the severity of illness. The syndromic quantitative PCR technology can accurately reveal the pathogen responsible for a patient's symptoms, the complexity of infections, the severity of the disease, and can determine the priority of treatment depending on the degree of infection. It also allows for efficient high-volume testing, which is more cost-effective and saves time in identifying the cause of the disease.
PCR testing that does not require an expert using STARlet AIOS™
First unveiled at the 2021 AACC, Seegene's STARlet AIOS™ is a molecular diagnostic testing system that fully automates (sample in – result out) the entire process of PCR, from nucleic acid extraction to gene amplification and result analysis. As it provides a 'hands-free' PCR workflow where the results are produced just by inserting a sample, it can be operated by those with minimal PCR experience. Furthermore, by not involving human hands, the likelihood of testing errors due to contamination or mistakes (human error) can be minimized. The STARlet AIOS™ is compatible with a wide range of Seegene's syndromic assays that can simultaneously test for multiple targets within a single tube. It organically links existing devices, such as nucleic acid extraction instruments, PCR setups, and PCR thermal cyclers, to make the system easy to use, manage, and integrate into existing lab infrastructures.
Participation in the world's largest AACC Since 2007
Celebrating its 75th year, AACC is the world's largest gathering for the clinical laboratory and diagnostics industry. Seegene has taken part since 2007 to broadcast its proprietary molecular diagnostic technology worldwide while establishing cooperation with partners from multiple countries.
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SOURCE Seegene Inc. | https://www.cleveland19.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/seegene-unveils-solutions-popularize-molecular-diagnostics-2023-aacc/ | 2023-07-31T16:52:07 | 1 | https://www.cleveland19.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/seegene-unveils-solutions-popularize-molecular-diagnostics-2023-aacc/ |
The New York Mets are paying Texas $35.51 million over the next 14 months as part of the Max Scherzer trade, leaving the Rangers in effect responsible for $22.5 million owed to the three-time Cy Young Award winner, according to details of the deal obtained by The Associated Press.
Texas acquired Scherzer on Sunday for minor league infielder Luisangel Acuña, a brother of Atlanta All-Star outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. Scherzer’s cost to the Rangers is $10 million this year and $12.5 million in 2024.
The Rangers assumed responsibility for the 39-year-old right-hander’s salary on Monday, when he was owed $58.01 million for the remainder of a $130 million, three-year contract he agreed to before the 2022 season.
Of the $14.67 million left of Scherzer’s $43.33 million salary for this season’s final 64 days, the Mets will pay Texas $4.67 million in four installments of $1.16 million on Aug. 15 and 31 and Sept. 15 and 30.
Scherzer gets a $43.33 million salary next season in the final year of the deal. The Mets will pay the Rangers $30.83 million in 12 installments of $2.56 million on the 15th and final day of each month from April 2024 through September 2024.
New York’s payroll rose to a projected $365 million after it acquired reliever Trevor Gott from Seattle on July 3, and the Mets’ luxury tax payroll increased to about $385 million. That was on track for a tax of about $95 million.
When the Mets traded Robertson to Miami last week, the Marlins assumed $3.54 million remaining of Robertson’s $10 million salary.
___ | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/mlb/2023/07/31/scherzer-trade-mets-rangers-cash/eff9a070-2fbd-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html | 2023-07-31T16:52:11 | 0 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/mlb/2023/07/31/scherzer-trade-mets-rangers-cash/eff9a070-2fbd-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html |
TORONTO, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Global IT research and advisory firm Info-Tech Research Group has been selected for participation in the US Department of Defence (DoD) Enterprise Software Initiative (ESI) program. This new partnership enables the DoD and its IT leaders to access world-class resources, gain industry-leading guidance, and receive transformative insights and invaluable consultation from experts with extensive experience. The agreement also includes McLean & Company, a division of Info-Tech known for its exceptional HR research and advisory services, and MyPolicies, the firm's provider of robust online policy management and administration software.
The DoD ESI is an official DoD initiative sponsored by the DoD Chief Information Officer (CIO). The initiative is designed to streamline procurement and optimize cost efficiency in the acquisition of commercial software, IT hardware, and services. Through its joint team of experts, ESI consolidates requirements and establishes agreements with IT providers, resulting in a unified contracting and vendor management strategy across the entire department.
"We are honored to have been selected to provide services as a member of the US Department of Defense's Enterprise Software Initiative. This partnership affirms our commitment to providing world-class IT research and advisory services to the public sector," says Ron Gumbert, senior managing partner at Info-Tech. "There is a shared vision to foster a technology-enabled, efficient future for the DoD, driving strategic change and transforming challenges into opportunities."
Info-Tech's public sector executive services and research team comprises highly experienced industry experts focused on supporting government clients to address mission-critical, technology-enabled initiatives.
"Our recent expansion into Arlington, Virginia, signifies our dedication to being an integral part of the IT ecosystem in the US, and this collaboration with the US Department of Defense's Enterprise Software Initiative further solidifies that commitment," adds Gumbert. "Our Arlington office stands ready to serve as a strategic hub for our work with the DoD and other Federal agencies, providing unparalleled research and advisory services. This pivotal development marks a new chapter in our mission to drive impactful digital transformation within the defense sector and beyond."
To learn more about Info-Tech's public sector research and its benefits, visit the firm's dedicated Public Sector Research Center.
About Info-Tech Research Group
Info-Tech Research Group is one of the world's leading information technology research and advisory firms, proudly serving over 30,000 IT professionals. The company produces unbiased and highly relevant research to help CIOs and IT leaders make strategic, timely, and well-informed decisions. For 25 years, Info-Tech has partnered closely with IT teams to provide them with everything they need, from actionable tools to analyst guidance, ensuring they deliver measurable results for their organizations.
Media professionals can register for unrestricted access to research across IT, HR, and software and over 200 IT and industry analysts through the firm's Media Insiders program. To gain access, contact pr@infotech.com.
For more about Info-Tech Research Group and to download the latest research across a variety of industries, visit infotech.com and connect via LinkedIn and Twitter.
About the DoD Enterprise Software Initiative
The DoD Enterprise Software Initiative (DoD ESI) is a joint initiative to maximize DoD buying power and take advantage of the significant cost savings and management efficiencies that result from acquiring and managing commercially available software on a DoD-wide basis. Additional information about the DoD ESI can be located at www.esi.mil.
DoD ESI procedures are explained in DFARS 208.74 and DoD CIO Guidance and Policy memorandum No. 12-8430 dated July 26, 2000.
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SOURCE Info-Tech Research Group | https://www.cleveland19.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/us-department-defense-selects-info-tech-research-group-enterprise-software-initiative-esi-program/ | 2023-07-31T16:52:13 | 0 | https://www.cleveland19.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/us-department-defense-selects-info-tech-research-group-enterprise-software-initiative-esi-program/ |
MELBOURNE, Australia — With Sam Kerr sidelined, Australia needed to find a new goal scorer Monday. Enter Hayley Raso, who scored twice in the first half of a 4-0 win over Canada to keep Australia in contention in the Women’s World Cup it is co-hosting.
“When I saw the girls put all their hands up, I actually didn’t hear that it was a goal,” Raso said. “I just fell to my knees.”
The Real Madrid-bound winger gave Australia at 2-0 lead at halftime after she completed a brace with a second goal in the 39th. Mary Fowler and Steph Catley added goals in the second half of the win-or-go-home, group-stage finale for the Matildas.
“We were on the front foot and we were so ruthless tonight,” Emily van Egmond said.
The win put Australia in the round of 16 and knocked the Olympic champions out of the tournament in the group stage for the first time.
“It was difficult, but we’ll bounce back,” Canada coach Bev Priestman said. “These are the moments that make you.”
If Australia had lost, it would have been the first time a Women’s World Cup host did not advance past the group stage. Co-host New Zealand’s campaign ended Sunday.
“I think everybody was really up for this game tonight,” Raso said. “It showed out there.”
Australia showcased its never-say-die mentality in front of 27,706 fans, a sea of green and gold in Melbourne.
“Just look at the fans,” Australia coach Tony Gustavsson said. “Look at the way they carried the team tonight.”
Ticket sales for the tournament have broken records, with the Matildas filling stadiums when they play. Their opener against Ireland in Sydney was moved to the bigger Stadium Australia from Sydney Football Stadium to meet demand for 76,000 fans.
“They get fueled, they get more energy,” Gustavsson said of his players’ response to the home crowds.
Kerr sustained a calf injury at training the day before the tournament began, and the game-time announcement that she would be out against Ireland seemed to silence Stadium Australia. She was available if required against Canada, but didn’t need to play.
Kerr told the team to “make sure to win without me so that I can get another week to train and recover and get healthy,” Gustavsson said. “And the team responded, said: ‘Yes we will. You sit on the bench tonight, and we’ll win for you.’”
Australia topped Group B and will play the second-place team from Group D next Monday in Sydney. Group D teams China, Denmark, England and Haiti all play Tuesday to determine final group standings and Australia’s round of 16 opponent.
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Emily Dozier is a student at the University of Georgia’s Carmical Sports Media Institute.
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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-australia-canada-raso/54df9bd6-2fb7-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html | 2023-07-31T16:52:17 | 0 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/soccer/2023/07/31/womens-world-cup-australia-canada-raso/54df9bd6-2fb7-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html |
MELBOURNE, Australia — In what could have been Canada star Christine Sinclair’s last Women’s World Cup match, she and her Olympic champion teammates were k nocked out of contention by Australia 4-0 in a group-stage finale Monday.
Sinclair, 40, the all-time leading goal scorer in international soccer, women or men, has played in six Women’s World Cups. Canada finished fourth in her tournament debut in 2003, its best finish to date.
“Things have to change,” Sinclair said. “We don’t have a professional league. We don’t have that pathway for players to make the national team. If this isn’t a wakeup call, I don’t know what is.”
Sinclair and her teammates have been fighting for equal pay and support from Canada Soccer.
Canada hasn’t advanced out of the group stage in five of its eight Women’s World Cup appearances. It is the first reigning Olympic champion to fail to reach the knockout round in the Women’s World Cup.
“From the ecstasy of two summers ago, winning gold, to losing tonight, as painful as it is, it’s part of sport,” Sinclair said. “You have to be able to accept the losses the same way you accept the wins.”
If Sinclair had scored a goal at this tournament, she would have become the first player, female or male, to score in six World Cups. That she didn’t underscores Canada’s struggles to generate offense against Australia and in its opening 0-0 draw with Nigeria.
Adriana Leon scored Canada’s only goal of the tournament in its 2-1 win over Ireland, with the other coming off an Irish own goal.
“We created some good chances in this tournament, we just weren’t clinical,” Canada’s Sophie Schmidt said.
Canada took 11 shots against Australia, but only three were on target.
Meanwhile, Hayley Raso scored two goals in the first half, followed by two more for Australia from Mary Fowler and Steph Catley in the second half.
Canada also had to contend with a pro-Australia crowd at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium.
“With the home fans, we know they’d get momentum and energy from that,” Sinclair said.
Canada slid to third in Group B. Nigeria finished second after playing Ireland to a 0-0 draw on Monday and advanced to the round of 16 with group winner Australia.
“Hopefully looking back on it, in time, we created memories, we got young players their first World Cup experience that will go on and will lead Canada in the future,” Sinclair said.
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Savannah Hernandez is a student at the University of Georgia’s Carmical Sports Media Institute.
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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-sinclair/c5a4a65e-2fbc-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html | 2023-07-31T16:52:23 | 1 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/soccer/2023/07/31/womens-world-cup-canada-australia-sinclair/c5a4a65e-2fbc-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html |
JERUSALEM — Israel’s Supreme Court said Monday that a full panel of 15 justices would hear petitions in September against a contentious law that was passed last week by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and which has spurred mass protests.
Critics of the overhaul say that the package of laws would concentrate power in the hands of the ruling coalition and erode the system of checks and balances between branches of government. Proponents say the measures are necessary to limit the power of unelected judges who they say are overly activist.
Netanyahu and his allies passed a law last week that removes the high court’s ability to annul government decisions considered “unreasonable.” The “reasonableness standard” was implemented by the Supreme Court earlier this year to thwart the appointment of a Netanyahu ally as interior minister after he had recently pleaded guilty to tax offenses.
The court said the hearing concerning the law striking down the “reasonableness standard” would take place on Sept. 12 with a full bench of 15 justices. The Supreme Court typically hears cases with smaller panels of justices, but appears to have opted for a full complement of judges because of the highly delicate nature of the matter.
The Netanyahu administration’s push to overhaul the judiciary has deeply divided an already highly polarized country and sparked the longest sustained protests in the country’s history.
Netanyahu and his allies took office in December after the country’s fifth election in under four years, most of them referendums on the longtime leader’s fitness to serve while on trial for corruption. | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/07/31/israel-supreme-court-benjamin-netanyahu-protests/ddca8c48-2fb8-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html | 2023-07-31T16:52:29 | 0 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/07/31/israel-supreme-court-benjamin-netanyahu-protests/ddca8c48-2fb8-11ee-85dd-5c3c97d6acda_story.html |
(Our Auto Expert) – The 2024 Ford Mustang Dark Horse is here to redefine the legacy of the world’s best-selling sports car. As the latest addition to the Mustang family, this remarkable vehicle marks a new chapter in its 59-year history. With its powerful engine, cutting-edge technology, and captivating design, the Mustang Dark Horse is set to wow both existing fans and a new generation of sports car enthusiasts.
The Mustang Dark Horse boasts the first new Mustang performance series title in 21 years. It is also the most powerful non-Shelby edition ever created, thanks to its unique 5.0-liter Coyote V8 engine that churns out an impressive 500 horsepower. However, the Dark Horse is not just about raw horsepower; it is a vehicle designed for both street and track use.
Equipped with available carbon fiber wheels from Carbon Revolution and the Handling Package, the Mustang Dark Horse is the most track-capable 5.0-liter V8 street-legal Mustang ever produced. Its performance is further enhanced by the specially designed blue ember metallic paint, adding exclusivity to this exceptional vehicle.
The Mustang Dark Horse exudes a menacing presence with its bold shadow graphic surrounding the darkened LED headlamps, lower side skirts, rear fixed rear wing, new race-inspired diffuser, and darkened quad exhaust tips. Its design is a testament to the Mustang’s storied motorsports history, combining aggression and elegance in one stunning package.
This powerhouse of a car comes equipped with a full suite of next-gen technology specifically designed to enhance performance. The standard MagneRide shocks, capable of monitoring wheel and tire movement 1,000 times per second, ensure an unparalleled driving experience. The Mustang Dark Horse is not just a pretty face; it’s a technologically advanced beast.
For those who prefer manual control, the Mustang Dark Horse comes standard with a unique six-speed TREMEC manual transmission and a special Mustang Dark Horse transmission oil cooler to keep the stallion cool under pressure. Alternatively, there is the option to choose Ford’s advanced 10-speed automatic transmission for seamless gear changes.
The Mustang Dark Horse is not just a car; it’s a symbol of Mustang’s storied motorsports history. With its unique design, powerful engine, and advanced technology, it is set to make history itself. This street and track performance Mustang is sure to be a fan favorite for years to come.
Conclusion:
If you’re in search of a car that combines style, performance, and innovation, the 2024 Ford Mustang Dark Horse is the ultimate choice. Its powerful engine, track-ready capabilities, and advanced technology are a testament to the Mustang’s legacy. Whether you’re an existing fan or a new sports car lover, the Mustang Dark Horse is sure to ignite your excitement. Get ready to experience the thrill of the road like never before. | https://www.wfla.com/automotive/ford-introduces-the-most-powerful-non-shelby-mustang-ever/ | 2023-07-31T16:54:25 | 1 | https://www.wfla.com/automotive/ford-introduces-the-most-powerful-non-shelby-mustang-ever/ |
With his criminal and civil cases arising from a February 2022 incident in Las Vegas now behind him, Saints running back Alvin Kamara has one more item of business: NFL discipline.
Via Jeff Duncan of the New Orleans Times-Picayune, Kamara recently suggested that he’ll be meeting with Commissioner Roger Goodell very soon, regarding the situation.
“I’ll talk to you all on Aug. 2 after I talk to [Goodell],” Kamara said. That implies a meeting with Goodell today or tomorrow.
It’s the next step in a process that will continue with the league proposing a punishment, Judge Sue L. Robinson conducting a hearing and reaching a decision as to the facts and punishment, and the NFL resolving any appeals as to the extent of the discipline.
Along the way, a settlement between Kamara and the league is possible.
However it plays out, the clock is ticking toward Week One. The Saints play their first game of the 2023 season in only 41 days. | https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/alvin-kamara-suggests-imminent-meeting-with-roger-goodell | 2023-07-31T16:54:25 | 0 | https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/alvin-kamara-suggests-imminent-meeting-with-roger-goodell |
Brandon Lowe, Josh Lowe lead Rays past Astros 8-2
Brandon Lowe hit a two-run homer and drove in three, Josh Lowe capped a four-run first with a three-run double and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Houston Astros 8-2
HOUSTON (AP) — Brandon Lowe hit a two-run homer and drove in three, Josh Lowe capped a four-run first with a three-run double and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Houston Astros 8-2 on Sunday.
Brandon Lowe, who finished with three hits, hit his homer to right in the sixth to increase Tampa Bay’s lead to 8-2. He also had an RBI single in the fourth.
Since the All-Star break, he has four home runs and nine RBIs.
Brandon Lowe, who came off the injured list July 4, credited his work while on the injured list for his resurgence at the plate.
“There were a few things we figured out on the IL,” he said. “Just some subtle swing tips, just thought processes and things that I have to do off the field to make sure I stay in there. … All sorts of different things that really made my body feel good, and when you feel good, you play at your best.”
The Rays got to Houston starter Brandon Bielak (5-6) for four runs in the first, with Yandy Díaz scoring on a fielding error by José Abreu before Josh Lowe hit his three-run double.
“It was something we needed early in the game there to get us started,” Josh Lowe said. “More than that, I’m just glad we were able to keep it going throughout the game. It wasn’t like we had one big inning. We put up multiple runs in multiple innings, so that was really encouraging to see.”
Díaz had an RBI single in the fourth as the Rays built a 6-0 lead.
“We had some big at-bats with some guys on base,” Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash said. “Probably none bigger than Josh’s. Coming up there, it could have been somewhat frustrating had we not capitalized in that moment, but Josh got a pitch he could drive and cleared the bases.”
Zack Littell (1-2), making his fourth start of the season, yielded two runs on eight hits with four strikeouts in a career-high five innings.
Littell said mixing pitches played a role in his success.
“I tend to get a bit fastball happy,” Littell said. “The goal today was to go out there and eat as many innings as I could. Mixing pitches and trying to keep them off-balance was the goal.”
Houston got their runs in the fifth on an RBI double by Kyle Tucker and an RBI groundout by Alex Bregman. Jose Altuve had three hits.
Bielak allowed six runs — three earned — on eight hits with four strikeouts in five innings. Bielak, who also walked three, has allowed six runs in consecutive starts.
“It was a combination of walks, and that club over there, you can’t give them a whole bunch of walks and errors because they can score,” Houston manager Dusty Baker said. “It was a pretty uneventful day for us. Things didn’t start off well, and they didn’t end well.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Rays: Zach Efflin (right knee discomfort) is scheduled to make his next start Tuesday after being injured Wednesday. “We need him to pitch,” Cash said. “We don’t want to put him in harm’s way, but I think he’s checked a lot of boxes here. We are very encouraged with how he’s responded day-to-day, and he still has another day or two of rest.”
Astros: RHP José Urquidy (right shoulder) allowed five runs on nine hits in five innings of a rehabilitation start with Double-A Corpus Christi on Sunday. Urquidy threw 76 pitches in his fourth rehab start. … OF Michael Brantley (right shoulder surgery) took batting practice on the field prior to Sunday’s game.
ROSTER MOVE
Tampa Bay selected RHP Erasmo Ramírez from Triple-A Durham and optioned RHP Calvin Faucher to Durham.
UP NEXT
Rays: RHP Tyler Glasnow (4-3, 3.36 ERA) starts Monday in the first of a three-game series at the Yankees.
Astros: Houston starts a three-game series against the Guardians on Monday, but the Astros have yet to announce their starter.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://www.wcjb.com/2023/07/30/brandon-lowe-josh-lowe-lead-rays-past-astros-8-2/ | 2023-07-31T16:54:25 | 0 | https://www.wcjb.com/2023/07/30/brandon-lowe-josh-lowe-lead-rays-past-astros-8-2/ |
ENT/Otolaryngologist, Dr. Mariah Pate, with Tampa Bay Breathe Free Sinus & Allergy Centers joined Gayle Guyardo, the host of the global health and wellness show, Bloom, to discuss common sinus symptoms and infections, the impacts these have on a person’s quality of life, long term issues and the minimally invasive solutions performed in their office (Balloon Sinuplasty) to help patients find relief with minimal downtime.
Change the conversation about your sinus symptoms! Find Sinus Relief with Tampa Bay Breathe Free. Visit their website: TAMPABAYBREATHEFREE.com and Breathe Free Again! | https://www.wfla.com/bloom-tampa-bay/find-sinus-relief-breathe-free-and-breathe-easy-with-tampa-bay-breathe-free-sinus-allergy-centers/ | 2023-07-31T16:54:26 | 0 | https://www.wfla.com/bloom-tampa-bay/find-sinus-relief-breathe-free-and-breathe-easy-with-tampa-bay-breathe-free-sinus-allergy-centers/ |
Alachua County Public Schools are encouraging early registration.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) - Alachua County Public Schools are encouraging parents to register their students for the new school year sooner rather than later.
Registration for the 2023-2024 school year is open, and schools are open both this week and next week to help parents register their children. Parents are encouraged to register now, as there can be disadvantages to waiting.
“Families can get through the registration process much more quickly if they do it sooner rather than later,” said the district’s director of communications Jackie Johnson. “The lines at school offices tend to get longer the closer we get to the first day of school.”
Johnson warns that parents who wait until the first day of school could end up waiting two to three hours in the office, possibly longer if they need physicals or shot forms. Students who register late may be delayed in starting classes and may have fewer course options, particularly in middle and high schools.
Families with children entering an Alachua County public school for the first time can start the registration process online at https://fl02219191.schoolwires.net/Page/31229. They will then need to bring all required documentation to their zoned school.
Parents who aren’t sure which school their child is zoned for can visit the above enrollment page, or they can contact the district’s zoning office at 352-955-7700 or zoning@gm.sbac.edu.
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Copyright 2023 WCJB. All rights reserved. | https://www.wcjb.com/2023/07/31/alachua-county-public-schools-are-encouraging-early-registration/ | 2023-07-31T16:54:26 | 0 | https://www.wcjb.com/2023/07/31/alachua-county-public-schools-are-encouraging-early-registration/ |
UN forced to cut funding as global humanitarian needs skyrocket
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| United Nations
The United Nations has been forced to cut food, cash payments, and assistance to millions of people in many countries because of “a crippling funding crisis” that has seen its donations plummet by about half as acute hunger is hitting record levels, a top official said Friday.
Carl Skau, deputy executive director of the World Food Program, told a news conference that at least 38 of the 86 countries where WFP operates have already seen cuts or plan to cut assistance soon – including Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, and West Africa.
He said WFP’s operating requirement is $20 billion to deliver aid to everyone in need, but it was aiming for between $10 billion and $14 billion, which was what the agency had received in the past few years.
“We’re still aiming at that, but we have only so far this year gotten to about half of that, around $5 billion,” Mr. Skau said.
He said humanitarian needs were “going through the roof” in 2021 and 2022 because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine and its global implications. “Those needs continue to grow, those drivers are still there,” he said, “but the funding is drying up. So we’re looking at 2024 [being] even more dire.”
“The largest food and nutrition crisis in history today persists,” Mr. Skau said. “This year, 345 million people continue to be acutely food insecure while hundreds of millions of people are at risk of worsening hunger.”
Mr. Skau said conflict and insecurity remain the primary drivers of acute hunger around the world, along with climate change, unrelenting disasters, persistent food price inflation, and mounting debt stress – all during a slowdown in the global economy.
WFP is looking to diversify its funding base, but he also urged the agency’s traditional donors to “step up and support us through this very difficult time.”
Asked why funding was drying up, Mr. Skau said to ask the donors.
“But it’s clear that aid budgets, humanitarian budgets, both in Europe and the United States, [are] not where they were in 2021-2022,” he said.
Mr. Skau said that in March, WFP was forced to cut rations from 75% to 50% for communities in Afghanistan facing emergency levels of hunger, and in May it was forced to cut food for 8 million people – 66% of the people it was assisting. Now, it is helping just 5 million people, he said. In Syria, 5.5 million people who relied on WFP for food were already on 50% rations, Mr. Skau said, and in July the agency cut all rations to 2.5 million of them. In the Palestinian territories, WFP cut its cash assistance by 20% in May and June. It cut its caseload by 60%, or 200,000 people. And in Yemen, he said, a huge funding gap will force WFP to cut aid to 7 million people as early as August.
In West Africa, where acute hunger is on the rise, Mr. Skau said, most countries are facing extensive ration cuts, particularly WFP’s seven largest crisis operations: Burkina Faso, Mali, Chad, Central African Republic, Nigeria, Niger, and Cameroon.
He said cutting aid to people who are only at the hunger level of crisis to help save those literally starving or in the category of catastrophic hunger means that those dropped will rapidly fall into the emergency and catastrophe categories, “and so we will have an additional humanitarian emergency on our hands down the road.”
“Ration cuts are clearly not the way to go forward,” Mr. Skau said.
He urged world leaders to prioritize humanitarian funding and invest in long-term solutions to conflicts, poverty, development, and other root causes of the current crisis.
This story was reported by The Associated Press. | https://www.csmonitor.com/World/2023/0731/UN-forced-to-cut-funding-as-global-humanitarian-needs-skyrocket?icid=rss | 2023-07-31T16:54:29 | 1 | https://www.csmonitor.com/World/2023/0731/UN-forced-to-cut-funding-as-global-humanitarian-needs-skyrocket?icid=rss |
Conquering your morning is crucial for setting the tone and maximizing productivity throughout the day, and technology can help.
Dr. Cathleen Gerenger who focuses on functional medicine joined Gayle Guyardo the host of the global health and wellness show Bloom with how you can use technology to help you start your mornings and significantly impact your mindset, energy levels, and overall well-being.
BLOOM is Tampa Bay’s only daily 1-hour TV show focusing on health & lifestyle.
You can watch weekdays at 2:00pm only on WFLA News Channel 8 — with an encore broadcast late night 3:00am. Tune into BLOOM and watch your life grow!
Bloom is also part of DBTV Network Seen In Over 300 Million Households worldwide, including Roku TV, and Amazon Fire.
The health and lifestyle show also airs in 40 markets across the country, with a reach of approximately 36 million households, and in Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands and Madison, WI.
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Subscribe Now | https://www.wfla.com/bloom-tampa-bay/how-technology-can-help-you-master-your-mornings/ | 2023-07-31T16:54:30 | 1 | https://www.wfla.com/bloom-tampa-bay/how-technology-can-help-you-master-your-mornings/ |
Diamondbacks vs. Giants: Betting Trends, Odds, Records Against the Run Line, Home/Road Splits
Alex Cobb is set to start for the San Francisco Giants on Monday against Corbin Carroll and the Arizona Diamondbacks. First pitch is at 9:45 PM ET at Oracle Park.
Bookmakers list the Giants as -155 favorites on the moneyline, while giving the underdog Diamondbacks +130 moneyline odds to win. An 8-run over/under has been set in this contest.
Rep your team with officially licensed Diamondbacks gear! Head to Fanatics to find jerseys, shirts, and much more.
Diamondbacks vs. Giants Odds & Info
- Date: Monday, July 31, 2023
- Time: 9:45 PM ET
- TV: NBCS-BA
- Location: San Francisco, California
- Venue: Oracle Park
- Live Stream: Watch on Fubo!
Bet with King of Sportsbooks and use bonus code "GNPLAY" for special offers! Check out the latest odds and place your bets with BetMGM Sportsbook. Use bonus code "GNPLAY" for special offers!
Diamondbacks Recent Betting Performance
- In four games as the underdog over the last 10 matchups, the Diamondbacks have a record of 1-3.
- In their previous 10 games with a total, the Diamondbacks and their opponents have combined to exceed the over/under on four occasions.
- Oddsmakers have yet to post a spread in any of the Diamondbacks' past 10 games. The average over/under set by oddsmakers in Arizona's past three games has been 8.7, a stretch in which the Diamondbacks and their opponents have gone under every time.
Read More About This Game
Diamondbacks Betting Records & Stats
- The Diamondbacks have been underdogs in 54 games this season and have come away with the win 26 times (48.1%) in those contests.
- Arizona is 7-9 this season when entering a game as the underdog by +130 or more on the moneyline.
- The Diamondbacks have an implied victory probability of 43.5% according to the moneyline set for this matchup.
- So far this season, Arizona and its opponents have hit the over in 47 of its 106 games with a total.
- The Diamondbacks have posted a record of 6-4-0 against the spread this season.
Check out the latest odds and place your bets on and the with BetMGM Sportsbook. Use bonus code "GNPLAY" for special offers!
Diamondbacks Splits
Not all offers available in all states, please visit BetMGM for the latest promotions for your area. Must be 21+ to gamble, please wager responsibly. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, contact 1-800-GAMBLER.
© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | https://www.kold.com/sports/betting/2023/07/31/diamondbacks-vs-giants-mlb-betting-trends-stats/ | 2023-07-31T16:54:29 | 0 | https://www.kold.com/sports/betting/2023/07/31/diamondbacks-vs-giants-mlb-betting-trends-stats/ |
Elon Musk’s X threatens to sue researchers who documented the rise in hateful tweets
WASHINGTON (AP) — X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, has threatened to sue a group of independent researchers whose research documented an increase in hate speech on the site since it was purchased last year by Elon Musk.
An attorney representing the social media site wrote to the Center for Countering Digital Hate on July 20 threatening legal action over the nonprofit’s research into hate speech and content moderation. The letter alleged that CCDH’s research publications seem intended “to harm Twitter’s business by driving advertisers away from the platform with incendiary claims.”
Musk is a self-professed free speech absolutist who has welcomed back white supremacists and election deniers to the platform, which he renamed X earlier this month. But the billionaire has at times proven sensitive about critical speech directed at him or his companies.
The center is a nonprofit with offices in the U.S. and United Kingdom. It regularly publishes reports on hate speech, extremism or harmful behavior on social media platforms like X, TikTok or Facebook.
The organization has published several reports critical of Musk’s leadership, detailing an increase in anti-LGBTQ hate speech as well as climate misinformation since his purchase. The letter from X’s attorney cited one specific report from June that found the platform failed to remove neo-Nazi and anti-LGBTQ content from verified users that violated the platform’s rules.
In the letter, attorney Alex Spiro questioned the expertise of the researchers and accused the center of trying to harm X’s reputation. The letter also suggested, without evidence, that the center received funds from some of X’s competitors, even though the center has also published critical reports about TikTok, Facebook and other large platforms.
“CCDH intends to harm Twitter’s business by driving advertisers away from the platform with incendiary claims,” Spiro wrote, using the platform’s former name.
Imran Ahmed, the center’s founder and CEO, told the AP on Monday that his group has never received a similar response from any tech company, despite a history of studying the relationship between social media, hate speech and extremism. He said that typically, the targets of the center’s criticism have responded by defending their work or promising to address any problems that have been identified.
Ahmed said he worried X’s response to the center’s work could have a chilling effect if it frightens other researchers away from studying the platform. He said he also worried that other industries could take note of the strategy.
“This is an unprecedented escalation by a social media company against independent researchers. Musk has just declared open war,” Ahmed told the Associated Press. “If Musk succeeds in silencing us other researchers will be next in line.”
Messages left with Spiro and X were not immediately returned Monday.
It’s not the first time that Musk has fired back at critics. Last year, he suspended the accounts of several journalists who covered his takeover of Twitter. Another user was permanently banned for using publicly available flight data to track Musk’s private plane; Musk had initially pledged to keep the user on the platform but later changed his mind, citing his personal safety. He also threatened to sue the user.
He initially had promised that he would allow any speech on his platform that wasn’t illegal. “I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free speech means,” Musk wrote in a tweet last year.
X’s recent threat of a lawsuit prompted concern from U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who said the billionaire was trying to use the threat of legal action to punish a nonprofit group trying to hold a powerful social media platform accountable.
“Instead of attacking them, he should be attacking the increasingly disturbing content on Twitter,” Schiff said in a statement.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wcjb.com/2023/07/31/elon-musks-x-threatens-sue-researchers-who-documented-rise-hateful-tweets/ | 2023-07-31T16:54:30 | 1 | https://www.wcjb.com/2023/07/31/elon-musks-x-threatens-sue-researchers-who-documented-rise-hateful-tweets/ |
The U.S. State Department has selected an Indigenous artist to represent the country at the 2024 Venice Biennale.
Jeffrey Gibson, a member of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and of Cherokee descent, will be the first such artist to have a solo exhibition in the U.S. Pavilion at the prestigious international arts event.
That's according to a statement this week from the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the government body responsible for co-curating the U.S. Pavilion, alongside Oregon's Portland Art Museum and SITE Santa Fe in New Mexico.
The State Department's records of the U.S. Pavilion exhibitions date back to when it was built, in 1930.
Although Indigenous artists have shown work more broadly in Venice over the years, the last time Indigenous artists appeared in the U.S. Pavilion at the Biennale was in 1932 — and that was in a group setting, as part of a mostly Eurocentric exhibition devoted to depictions of the American West.
"In 1932, one of the rooms was devoted to Native American art, but it was done in what I would say was a very ethnographic type of presentation," said Kathleen Ash-Milby, curator of Native American Art at the Portland Art Museum, and one of the co-commissioners of Jeffrey Gibson's work in the U.S. Pavilion at the Venice Biennale. "It grouped native people together and didn't really focus on their individuality as much. There were Navajo rugs on the floor. There were displays of jewelry. Many of the artists were not named."
Ash-Milby, who is also the first Native American curator to co-commission and co-curate an exhibition for the U.S. Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, told NPR her team selected Gibson because of the artist's wide-ranging, inclusive and critical approach to art-making.
"His work is multifaceted. It incorporates all sorts of different types of media," the curator, a member of the Navajo Nation, said. "But to me, what's most important is his ability to connect with both his culture and different communities, and bring people together. At the same time, he has a very critical lens through which he looks at our history as Americans and as world citizens. Pulling all those things together in the practice of an American artist is really important for someone who's going to represent us on a world stage."
Born in Colorado and based in New York, Gibson, 51, focuses on making work that fuses together American, Native American and queer perspectives. In a 2019 interview with Here and Now, Gibson said the art world hasn't traditionally valued Indigenous histories and artistic representations.
"There's this gap historically about these histories existing on the same level and being valued culturally," Gibson said. "My goal is to force them into the contemporary cannon of what's considered important."
A MacArthur "Genius" Grant winner, Gibson has had his work widely exhibited around the country. Major solo exhibitions include one at the Portland Art Museum last year and, in 2013, at Boston's Institute of Contemporary Art. His work is in the collections of high-profile institutions like the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the National Gallery of Art. Gibson participated in the 2019 Whitney Biennial.
"Having an Indigenous artist represent the United States at the Venice Biennale is a long overdue and very powerful moment," San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Director Christopher Bedford said in an email to NPR. "Centering the perspectives of contemporary indigenous artists is a critical component of fostering inclusivity and equity in museums, and in our world."
The details of Gibson's contribution for the 2024 Biennale are mostly under wraps. Curator Ash-Milby said the artist is working on a multimedia installation with the title "the space in which to place me" — a reference to a poem by the Lakota poet Layli Long Soldier.
According to the organizers of the U.S. Pavilion, the upcoming Biennale will enable international audiences to have the first major opportunity to experience Gibson's work outside of the U.S. It will be on view April 20 through Nov. 24, 2024.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.kvpr.org/npr-news/2023-07-29/in-a-first-the-u-s-picks-an-indigenous-artist-for-a-solo-show-at-the-venice-biennale | 2023-07-31T16:54:36 | 0 | https://www.kvpr.org/npr-news/2023-07-29/in-a-first-the-u-s-picks-an-indigenous-artist-for-a-solo-show-at-the-venice-biennale |
Conquering your morning is crucial for setting the tone and maximizing productivity throughout the day. How you start your morning can significantly impact your mindset, energy levels, and overall well-being.
Keynote Speaker, Author, and Lifestyle Expert, Anastasia Turchetta, joined Gayle Guyardo the host of the global health and wellness show Bloom with strategies for mastering your morning.
BLOOM is Tampa Bay’s only daily 1-hour TV show focusing on health & lifestyle.
You can watch weekdays at 2:00pm only on WFLA News Channel 8 — with an encore broadcast late night 3:00am. Tune into BLOOM and watch your life grow!
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Subscribe Now | https://www.wfla.com/bloom-tampa-bay/rise-thrive-elevate-your-mornings-with-healthy-boundaries/ | 2023-07-31T16:54:37 | 1 | https://www.wfla.com/bloom-tampa-bay/rise-thrive-elevate-your-mornings-with-healthy-boundaries/ |
The first time Nicola Veitch went to a soccer game, she danced on the field in a white lab coat alongside a colleague inside a giant tsetse fly costume. Most of the fans applauded. Some were baffled.
Neither was auditioning to be the new team mascot.
Rather, Veitch, who's a lecturer in parasitology at the University of Glasgow, put on this somewhat weird performance as a pilot for sleeping sickness street theater — using a theatrical event to teach people about a disease that affects about 1,000 people each year in Africa.
In Malawi's two endemic districts where the disease is spread by local tsetse flies, the number of people falling ill from sleeping sickness has declined in recent years, but cases still persist. Last year, there were only 40 cases across the country. But Veitch points out the disease is "often unpredictable," which means that the possibility of resurgence remains a persistent threat.
More than a year after that Scottish match, the group brought the theatrical event to soccer games in Malawi where people cheered while learning about how to protect themselves from this tiny killer. Veitch calls it an innovative intervention in remote, hard-to-reach communities with few smartphones.
At the time of the performance, she says a clinical trial was underway for a new drug that "seems to be very promising in terms of treating sleeping sickness." If successful, people with the disease could take the medicine at home instead of relying on the current method of treatment for late-stage sleeping sickness — the intravenous administration of a toxic drug that often leads to complications and is occasionally fatal itself. The new drug would represent "a massive change," she says. But in the meantime, knowledge is one of the best ways to fight the disease, and the performance seemed to offer the spectators important information.
Sleeping sickness is found in communities in Malawi that border nature or game reserves. Those areas were where the performances were held. "So we are targeting the people that are really affected," says Janelisa Musaya, a parasitologist involved in the project and the associate director of the Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Clinical Research Programme, instead of "just throwing the message all over the country." In other words, she says, it's a way of allocating resources wisely.
Targeting a 'hypnotic' parasite
Sleeping sickness, also called African trypanosomiasis, is caused by a parasite. "It almost looks like a worm," says Veitch. But it's not a worm. It's a single-celled protozoan of the genus Trypanosoma.
The parasite relies on the tsetse fly to shuttle it around. When an infected fly bites someone, the parasite can slip into their bloodstream. It causes a little trouble there, says Musaya, "but when it crosses the blood-brain barrier and goes to the central nervous system, it can affect your sleeping cycle. That's why it's called the sleeping sickness." (The disease is often confused with malaria since the symptoms of fever and lethargy are similar.)
When Veitch looks down the microscope at the parasite that causes sleeping sickness, she says, "it's very hypnotic the way it moves and quite beautiful. I think that only a parasitologist can say that."
That beauty was what got her thinking several years back about alternative ways to inform people about the disease — which many people in Malawi are still not aware of, Veitch says. She has a family member who works for SURGE, a Scottish art, theater and circus organization that runs an annual performance festival that brings cutting edge work to the streets and spaces of Glasgow. The sketches tend to be short, sharp, and interactive, she says.
One year, Veitch was drawn to an outside act that had repurposed an ambulance to teach people how to respond to someone having a cardiac arrest through engaging movement and comical water balloon antics. "And I thought to myself, we could be using street theater to engage people with parasitology," she says. So she approached SURGE and said, "We could maybe work together on something to do with parasites. I think we could create something really cool."
Veitch isn't alone in her thinking. A few years back, the World Health Organization published a report on the role that the arts — including theater — can play in improving our physical, social, and psychological health and well-being, a particular concern in under-resourced countries.
Arts activities facilitate social interaction, says Nisha Sajnani, the co-director of the Jameel Arts and Health Lab at New York University, who wasn't involved in the sleeping sickness project. She adds that performance is just the right platform and artform to "increase a sense of self-efficacy — a feeling of being able to do something about a problem."
Veitch's conversation with SURGE kickstarted a multiyear effort for her and her colleagues in Scotland and Malawi, including an arts and theater group called Voices Malawi that educates people about various illnesses, including COVID-19 and malaria and that uses street theater as a teaching mode.
First, the team had to dream up a way to depict sleeping sickness through street theater. Musaya was excited to get involved. After studying sleeping sickness for 15 years, there was still a missing link for her — "how do we educate the community not to get infected?" She hoped this theatrical foray might provide an answer.
Bwanalori Mwamlima, senior health promotion officer in the Rumphi district of Malawi, says that developing the performance was an act of co-creation among scientists, health workers, performing artists and individuals who'd survived the disease. He explains that the messages they wanted to communicate were, "How is it transmitted? What are the [symptoms]? How can it be prevented? And what are the current interventions?"
Tsetse fly theater has its Malawi premiere
When the show rolled out in Malawi in the fall of 2022, here's what it looked like.
Communities were told that local football and netball teams would descend upon a particular field to play. Then, the day of the event, the performers (a team of nurses, clinicians, students and researchers) drove through town in a truck with music blaring. That got people to leave their homes and follow the truck to the edge of a soccer field. "We wanted to gather a crowd," says Veitch.
Before the soccer game, they offered their theatrical vision of sleeping sickness — mainly visual with some narration. They gave red t-shirts to the audience and asked them to put them on to simulate the human bloodstream. The performers who were dressed as scientists in white lab coats waded into the crowd, each one carrying a giant net. "They were supposed to be scientists looking for infection," says Veitch.
Once the crowd was sufficiently warmed up, the person dressed as the tsetse fly emerged. (The fly costume was made in Scotland by the costume designer regularly employed by SURGE. She'd made outfits for "all sorts of weird and wonderful performances," says Veitch, but this was her first tsetse fly — which had massive wings and limited vision for the person inside the fly's head, so you "need someone to be at your side when moving around.")
The fly threw beach balls into the crowd, representing the infectious parasite, which audience members batted around.
The beach balls were different colors, a metaphor for the way in which the parasite changes its outer protein coat to evade the human immune system. "It's very difficult to create a vaccine to something that undergoes this variation," says Veitch.
The people dressed as scientists ran around to catch the balls of infection in their nets. And finally, they brought out a large net, enveloping the giant fly, escorting it offstage and bringing the performance to a close. In reality, this net is highly effective at attracting tsetse flies because of its blue color and the bottle of urine-smelling liquid placed beside it. "It's just a simple bit of material that has insecticide" in it, Veitch says.
But sometimes people in nearby villages take down the nets stationed in game reserves because they don't know what they are or why they're there. Therefore, "one of the ideas behind the performance," says Veitch, "was to get people to really consider they're very effective at catching tsetse. And if you leave them up, it's beneficial to everybody and that will prevent disease." In addition, by showing researchers helping to capture the parasites, the performers hoped to demonstrate to the public that scientists and their work can be trusted.
Afterward, spectators received additional guidance during a question and answer session. They asked what differentiates a tsetse fly from a housefly (its size, color, and resting wing position), how long it takes for symptoms to appear (typically 2 to 4 weeks) and perhaps most important, how to prevent getting bitten in the first place (avoid nature reserves; don't wear blue or black, which attracts the flies; wear long sleeves; apply insect repellent).
Musaya hopes the audiences walked away with an improved understanding of the disease and how they would contract it. "Many people who attended the performance said they didn't know about the disease," Veitch says. "They had heard of tsetse, but didn't know of the disease it carried, and didn't know of the symptoms to look out for."
"There's something about the dramatizing of the concept that increases the understanding," she explains.
Mwamlima, who dressed up as the tsetse fly for one of the performances in Malawi, was surprised by the success of the theatrical approach, "considering that this is the first time to bring theater performances to teach science," he says. "So I wasn't sure whether it would work," but he's glad that it seemed to. Evaluations showed the audiences were engaged and felt confident asking questions. But long-term, Veitch says they'll know if the performance was successful "if more tsetse nets are left in place and if more people come forward for diagnosis and treatment."
In addition, the medical professionals and researchers, many of whom had never done anything like this before, found this to be a meaningful way to connect with communities. "It really improved people's confidence in terms of thinking about public engagement," Veitch says, "and they would do it again."
"It's a great example of how participatory theater offers a compelling, energizing, pleasurable way of bringing people together to clarify community concerns, feel empowered to make a difference, problem solve," says NYU's Sajnani.
"I think it's a remarkable approach," agrees Kartik Sharma, the founder of the organization Public Arts Health & Us, which translates health and environment research into film and art, including theater pieces. He wasn't associated with the sleeping sickness project. Sharma argues that a performance "converts research into something which people can see and feel in a more personalized way." The result, he says, is that "you can actually use it the next day in your life. So I think it's a very powerful strategy."
For those who missed the show, Veitch says that video recordings will be used as part of Malawi's mobile cinema program, which ranges from big televisions on the back of land rovers to large screens set up next to marketplaces and other public gatherings. It's a common way to publicize health messages in Malawi. The goal, says Veitch, is to "extend the legacy of what we've been doing."
However, despite all the fanfare and promise of the program, Veitch, who says she wasn't into soccer when this program began, admits that she's still not a football fan.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.kvpr.org/npr-news/npr-news/2023-07-30/a-man-dressed-as-a-tsetse-fly-came-to-a-soccer-game-and-he-definitely-had-a-goal | 2023-07-31T16:54:37 | 0 | https://www.kvpr.org/npr-news/npr-news/2023-07-30/a-man-dressed-as-a-tsetse-fly-came-to-a-soccer-game-and-he-definitely-had-a-goal |
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – For the eighth year, News Channel 8 & NBCUniversal partners for Clear the Shelters, an annual nationwide pet adoption and donation campaign that takes place Aug. 1 through 31. As part of the initiative, affiliated stations across the U.S. and Puerto Rico are also partnering with their local animal shelters & rescues to promote pet adoptions and raise funds for animal welfare. Locally, we are partnering with Cool Today, California Closets, SPCA, and Bay Paws Resort in efforts to help pets find their fur-ever homes in Tampa Bay.
Since its 2015 inception, Clear the Shelters has helped more than 860,000 pets find new homes. The 2022 campaign established a new single-year record with more than 161,000 adoptions, while also raising more than $540,000. In total, nearly 1,400 animal shelters & rescues covering all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Guam participated in last year’s campaign.
“Clear the Shelters supports at least 30 shelters and rescue organizations in our 10-county viewing area that really need the support of both adoptions and funding. We’re proud we can bring awareness for all the animals in need of a forever home,” says Mark Higgins, General Manager of WFLA News Channel 8 and WTTA Great 38.
The 2023 Clear The Shelters will again feature online donations through Greater Good Charities, a global nonprofit and longtime campaign partner, which will host the fundraising campaign, built courtesy of Fundraise Up, an online donation platform that helps nonprofits grow revenue. Donors have the option to cover transaction fees with their donation so that 100% goes directly to the shelter or rescue of their choice. Online donations can be made during the campaign at ClearTheSheltersFund.org.
Virtual pet adoptions are also returning for the fifth consecutive campaign through WeRescue. The WeRescue app enables users to browse adoptable pets in their area by breed, gender, size and allows users to submit their adoption applications and ask questions directly to shelters through the app.
Hill’s Pet Nutrition, a global leader in science-based pet nutrition, is returning as the lead national sponsor for a sixth year in a row. The Dodo, the leading animal and pet brand, will serve as a media partner for the seventh campaign.
- BRADENTON Humane Society of Manatee County 2515 14th Street West
- BRADENTON Manatee County Cat Town 216 6th Avenue East
- BROOKSVILLE Hernando County SPCA 9075 GRANT ST
- INVERNESS Precious Paws Rescue, Inc. 3768 W. Gulf to Lake Highway, Lecanto, Florida
- INVERNESS Citrus County Animal Services 4030 S. Airport Rd
- LAKELAND SPCA Florida 5850 Brannen Rd S
- LAND O’ LAKES Pasco County Animal Services 19640 Dogpatch Lane
- LARGO Pinellas County Animal Services 12450 Ulmerton Road
- LARGO Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals of Tampa Bay 9099 130th Ave N Largo Florida
- LUTZ AnimalLuvr’s Dream Rescue, Inc PO Box 1384
- OCALA K9 Rescue and Sanctuary Inc 2385 SW 143rd Ct
- PALMETTO Manatee County Animal Welfare 305 25th St W
- PORT RICHEY Runaways Animal Rescue 8020 Washington St
- SARASOTA Cat Depot 2542 17th St
- SEBRING Highlands County Sheriffs Animal Services 7300 Haywood Taylor Blvd
- SEMINOLE FLUFF Animal Rescue, Inc 9400 Seminole Blvd
- ST PETERSBURG Compassion Kind N/A
- ST PETERSBURG Friends of Strays Animal Shelter 2911 47th Avenue North
- TAMPA St. Francis Society, Inc. PO Box 261614
- TAMPA St Francis Society PO Box 261614
- TAMPA St Francis Society – South Tampa PO Box 261614
- TAMPA St Francis Society – South Tampa PO Box 261614
- TAMPA Humane Society of Tampa Bay 3607 N Armenia Ave
- TAMPA Cat Crusaders (Tampa) PO Box 46292
- TAMPA A Promised Land Animal Rescue, INC. 12260 race track rd
- VENICE St. Francis Animal Rescue of Venice 1925 S Tamiami Trl
- WESLEY CHAPEL Cat Haven Rescue, Inc, Land O’ Lakes 1231 Bruce B. Downs Blvd
- WINTER HAVEN Polk County Sheriff’s Office Animal Control 7115 Decastro Road
- WINTER HAVEN The Humane Society of Polk County, Inc 3195 Dundee Rd | https://www.wfla.com/clear-the-shelters/30-tampa-bay-shelters-join-nationwide-pet-adoption-campaign/ | 2023-07-31T16:54:38 | 1 | https://www.wfla.com/clear-the-shelters/30-tampa-bay-shelters-join-nationwide-pet-adoption-campaign/ |
Man mauled to death by pack of dogs, sheriff says
SKIPPERVILLE, Ala. (WTVY/Gray News) – A man was mauled to death by a pack of dogs, according to Dale County Sheriff Mason Bynum, who explained investigators originally believed the man had been murdered.
Authorities said acquaintances found the body of 27-year-old Demarcus “Sam” McKenzie in the driveway of a home.
Bynum said it looked like McKenzie was leaving the house when the dogs became aggressive toward him.
“The victim began to run down the driveway as two to three more dogs joined in on the attack,” he explained.
The sheriff said surveillance video shows McKenzie falling and the dogs pouncing on him.
“At one point, five to six dogs are seen violently attacking and mauling the victim as he struggles to stand. After a few minutes, the dogs overpower the victim, and he appears to become incapacitated,” Bynum said.
The sheriff plans to discuss the tragedy with Dale County District Attorney Kirke Adams but did not say who owns the dogs or if they could face charges.
The body’s condition led officers to first believe that McKenzie had been shot, Bynum said.
Copyright 2023 WTVY via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.wcjb.com/2023/07/31/man-mauled-death-by-pack-dogs-sheriff-says/ | 2023-07-31T16:54:37 | 1 | https://www.wcjb.com/2023/07/31/man-mauled-death-by-pack-dogs-sheriff-says/ |
Niger is the world’s third poorest country. Will sanctions end coup?
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| Niamey, Niger
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 imposed 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 United Nations 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.
Mr. 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 Mr. Bazoum and his family.
The military junta, which seized power on Wednesday when members of the presidential guard surrounded Mr. 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 Mr. Bazoum’s government had authorized the French to carry out strikes to free Mr. 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.
This story was reported by The Associated Press. | https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Africa/2023/0731/Niger-is-the-world-s-third-poorest-country.-Will-sanctions-end-coup?icid=rss | 2023-07-31T16:54:39 | 1 | https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Africa/2023/0731/Niger-is-the-world-s-third-poorest-country.-Will-sanctions-end-coup?icid=rss |
We get a preview of 18-year-old fashion designer Connor Totten’s summer collection ahead of his upcoming fashion show to benefit Jump for Kids. The show will be hosted by Jackie Z Style Co. in St. Pete and showcase fashions from the high-end boutique, as well.
For tickets and information, visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/connor-totten-jackie-z-fashion-show-benefiting-jump-for-kids-tickets-668399469807 | https://www.wfla.com/daytime/18-year-old-tampa-bay-fashion-prodigy-unveils-his-summer-collection-for-a-good-cause/ | 2023-07-31T16:54:45 | 1 | https://www.wfla.com/daytime/18-year-old-tampa-bay-fashion-prodigy-unveils-his-summer-collection-for-a-good-cause/ |
US customers can now experience Angel Aligner with over two decades of superior aligner technology, transforming a million healthy smiles
SANTA ANA, Calif., July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- With over 20 years of experience and a commitment to research and digital innovation, Angelalign Technology Inc., is excited to announce the launch of its custom-made clear aligners into the U.S. market. Angelalign Technology is a leading global provider of clear aligner dental technology and evidence-based clinical expertise. With 1 million smiles treated,1 the company is now expanding its expertise and global footprint.
Since 2003, Angelalign Technology has maintained productive scientific collaborations with orthodontists and universities around the world, enabling the company to build a large database of complex orthodontic cases. State-of-the-art research and development (R&D) and customized production facilities are now globally positioned to bring a fresh perspective and technological advancements to clear aligner manufacturing and customer service.
The company is dedicated to research and development, with an average of 11% of annual revenue invested into R&D every year. Innovative highlights include:
- angelButton™ – Manufactured directly into the aligner to provide an additional anchorage point to support the use of elastics and TADs, these buttons can be added and/or adjusted anywhere on the arch and are designed with high structural integrity to facilitate efficient tooth movement via elastics.
"Angel Aligner solved the problems of having buttons. The buttons are built into the aligners, which will reduce emergencies, and additional appointments can be avoided."
Dr. Amanda Cheng, Orthodontist, California
- iOrtho™ – A secure cloud-based service platform housing patient management data for Angel Aligner™ treatments. The treatment planning software has user-friendly 3D controls, allowing doctors to customize and review Angel Aligner case designs.
"Working with the iOrtho software has been amazing and the turnaround time has been great in our practice."
Dr. Stephen Bradford, Orthodontics by Bradford, Florida
- Intelligent Root System (IRS) – Get an accurate 3D digital representation of the patient's tooth, root and jawbone relationship that uses CBCT data and IO scans and adjusts throughout the course of treatment via an Intelligent Root System (IRS).
- masterControl S (MCS) – A soft multi-layered polymer material with gentle but long-lasting orthodontic force design for more efficient tooth movement. MCS exhibits enhanced tear and stain resistance, mechanical stability and unique reflective properties.
- angelAttach – Optimized and conventional attachments are designed for better orthodontic force and more effective and accurate tooth movement.
Angel Aligner™ has a large specialized team of technicians with over 3.5 years of tenure, orthodontically attuned to precision case designs with specialized knowledge in complex malocclusions. They're ready to support treatment planning needs with high-quality case designs and 10-day turnaround times.
"The treatment plans coming back are excellent. I don't have to do a lot of modifying."
Dr. James Crouse, The Brace Place, Maryland
Angel Aligner™ delivers a simple approach, innovative products and tools and experienced customer support to continuously push the edge of technology, product development and service to better serve orthodontic professionals and ultimately, their patients.
"We're excited to combine two decades of research, development and clinical expertise in clear aligner technology with the seasoned experience of our leadership, sales and integration specialists in the North American market," said Jason Tabb, General Manager, North America.
About Angel Aligner™
Angelalign Technology Inc., a leading global provider of clear aligner technology and clinical expertise, has announced the launch of its custom-made clear aligners into new markets worldwide. With over 20 years of experience and a commitment to research and digital innovation, Angelalign Technology has treated 1 million smiles and offers unparalleled customer service and state-of-the-art production facilities.
1As of June 30, 2023, the total number of cases of any and all the products and services provided by all entities owned or controlled by Angelalign Technology Inc. has exceeded one million.
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SOURCE Angel Aligner | https://www.wcjb.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/angel-aligner-launches-game-changing-clear-aligner-technology-us-markets/ | 2023-07-31T16:54:44 | 1 | https://www.wcjb.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/angel-aligner-launches-game-changing-clear-aligner-technology-us-markets/ |
Deadly attack in Pakistan reflects divisions between Islamist groups
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| 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 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.”
Mr. 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 Qaeda.
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.
Mr. Shah said such factions could have perpetrated the attack to cause “confusion, instability, and unrest ahead of the elections.”
As condolences continued to pour in from across the country, the death toll continued to rise.
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.
Mr. 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.”
Mr. 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.
Mr. Sharif called Mr. Rehman to express his condolences and assure the cleric that those who orchestrated the attack would be punished. Mr. 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 Mr. Sharif.
“We will not tolerate any obstacles in the way of friendship with China,” Mr. Sharif said, as he stood next to Mr. He.
But the government canceled a cultural event that had been arranged in honor of Mr. He, according to Mr. Sharif, while the nation mourns.
Some Chinese nationals have also been targeted by militants in northwestern Pakistan and elsewhere.
Mr. 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 past decade. In 2014, a Taliban attack on an army-run school in Peshawar killed 147 people, mostly schoolchildren.
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.
This story was reported by The Associated Press. AP writer Munir Ahmed contributed to this story from Islamabad. | https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-South-Central/2023/0731/Deadly-attack-in-Pakistan-reflects-divisions-between-Islamist-groups?icid=rss | 2023-07-31T16:54:46 | 1 | https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-South-Central/2023/0731/Deadly-attack-in-Pakistan-reflects-divisions-between-Islamist-groups?icid=rss |
Updated July 31, 2023 at 11:18 AM ET
The sentencing hearing for Lori Vallow Daybell began in Idaho at 9 a.m. MT (11 a.m. ET) Monday, as she faces punishment for murdering two of her children and conspiring to murder a romantic rival — crimes of which she was found guilty in May.
Vallow Daybell, 50, faces a punishment ranging up to life in prison without parole. The sentencing hearing is being livestreamed from the Fremont County Courthouse — you can watch video of the hearing below.
The lengthy trial was full of strange and shocking moments. Prosecutors say Vallow Daybell was motivated by arcane religious beliefs about "dark energy" and the "end times," and by her desire to pursue a life with her new husband, Chad Daybell — including conspiring to kill his late wife.
The sentencing hearing includes four main phases: five victim impact statements; the prosecution's sentencing recommendation; the defense's sentencing recommendation; and the chance for Vallow to address the court.
"Ms. Vallow may speak," her defense team said in court on Monday.
Judge Steven Boyce will hand down his sentence after the court hears victim impact statements from relatives of Tylee Ryan and Joshua Jaxon "JJ" Vallow, Vallow Daybell's children whose bodies were found in 2020; and from relatives of Tammy Daybell, the previous wife of Chad Daybell, who also faces charges in all three deaths.
The children's bodies were found in 2020
A jury found Vallow Daybell guilty of killing her two youngest children, Tylee Ryan and Joshua Jaxon "JJ" Vallow. Tylee was nearly 17 when she and JJ, 7, were last seen alive in September 2019. The children's bodies were found in June 2020, buried on property in Rexburg, Idaho, owned by Chad Daybell.
Even before the remains were found, Vallow Daybell was charged with felony desertion of a child and obstruction. Prosecutors said she didn't report her children missing so she could keep collecting benefit payments.
Vallow Daybell was also found guilty of conspiring to murder Tammy Daybell, Chad's then-wife, who was found dead in her home in October 2019 — less than one month before he and Vallow got married in Hawaii. He is Vallow Daybell's fifth husband.
'Zombie' beliefs arose during trial
In court documents, Vallow Daybell's close friend Melanie Gibb described hearing her say that Tylee had become a zombie — a concept Vallow Daybell had picked up from Daybell.
Gibb said she heard Vallow Daybell call Tylee a zombie after Tylee had refused to babysit JJ — to which Tylee replied, "Not me, mom," according to a police affidavit. Gibb said Vallow Daybell later concluded that JJ had also become a zombie.
Prosecutors also said Daybell and Lori Vallow Daybell portrayed themselves as religious figures called "James and Elaina." And they purported to be able to "rate" people, detecting whether they might be under the thrall of an evil spirit's dark energy.
The case depicted a love affair that turned deadly
Prosecutors say Vallow Daybell and Chad Daybell's relationship was entwined in a deadly criminal conspiracy they sought to justify with fantastical beliefs. Rather than simply starting a new life together after they met in October 2018, the prosecution said, the couple plotted to kill their closest relatives and benefit from their deaths through insurance payouts and Social Security benefits.
Vallow Daybell's defense attorney, James Archibald, has said his client was in the thrall of a man she sees as a messiah and her eternal soulmate. He has also argued that the prosecution has produced little direct evidence to tie Vallow Daybell to her children's deaths.
Other criminal cases are still pending
Chad Daybell is expected to undergo his own murder trial for the same three deaths in the spring of 2024.
Other criminal cases are also pending for Vallow Daybell in Arizona, where she previously lived.
She's under indictment there on conspiracy murder charges for allegedly arranging for one of her brothers to shoot and kill her fourth husband, Charles Vallow, in July 2019. That brother, Alex Cox, died in December 2019, of what was determined to be natural causes. She's also accused of conspiring with Alex to murder her niece's ex-husband, Brandon Boudreaux, who was shot at in 2019 but who survived.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.kvpr.org/npr-news/npr-news/2023-07-31/watch-lori-vallow-daybell-is-sentenced-for-killing-her-children-in-zombie-murders | 2023-07-31T16:54:48 | 0 | https://www.kvpr.org/npr-news/npr-news/2023-07-31/watch-lori-vallow-daybell-is-sentenced-for-killing-her-children-in-zombie-murders |
Good Housekeeping Registered Dietician Stefani Sassos shared healthy eating hacks to make maintaining a balanced diet easy and sustainable.
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Multifamily Lender Strives to Leverage Strong Performance to Attract Top Boston Talent
BOSTON, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Arbor Realty Trust (NYSE:ABR) announces a new and larger office location at 501 Boylston St., a historically significant Class A property close to Copley Square in Boston's lively Back Bay neighborhood.
Arbor, which has 15 offices in cities across the United States, moved its 88-member Boston team from 1 Lincoln St. in expectation of the team's expansion and growth, and with the recognition that Boston's thriving economy and talent pool is also creating opportunities in our core business of multifamily lending. Boston has had 8.5% annual rent growth through April 2023 and is presently the third-tightest multifamily rental market in the United States, our proprietary research reveals.
This past Friday, Arbor Realty Trust reported an outstanding second quarter and a dividend increase to $0.43, reflecting a 12th increase in the last 14 quarters.
Join Us - Arbor is Hiring in Boston and Nationally
Are you interested in a career in multifamily lending? Arbor is hiring in Boston and at many other locations. Advance your career at a firm that encourages entrepreneurial drive, collaborative spirit, and the quest for excellence.
Browse our current job openings.
About Arbor
Arbor Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: ABR) is a nationwide real estate investment trust and direct lender, providing loan origination and servicing for multifamily, single-family rental (SFR) portfolios, and other diverse commercial real estate assets. Headquartered in Uniondale, New York, Arbor manages a multibillion-dollar servicing portfolio, specializing in government-sponsored enterprise products. Arbor is a leading Fannie Mae DUS® lender, Freddie Mac Optigo® Seller/Servicer, and an approved FHA Multifamily Accelerated Processing (MAP) lender. Arbor's product platform also includes bridge, CMBS, mezzanine, and preferred equity loans. Arbor is rated by Standard and Poor's and Fitch. In June 2023, Arbor was added to the S&P SmallCap 600® index. Arbor is committed to building on its reputation for service, quality, and customized solutions with an unparalleled dedication to providing our clients excellence over the entire life of a loan.
CONTACT: press@arbor.com
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SOURCE Arbor Realty Trust | https://www.wcjb.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/arbor-realty-trust-expands-presence-boston-opening-office-historically-significant-building/ | 2023-07-31T16:54:51 | 1 | https://www.wcjb.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/arbor-realty-trust-expands-presence-boston-opening-office-historically-significant-building/ |
WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI should stop using a U.S. spy database of foreigners' emails and other communications for investigating crimes that aren't related to national security, a group of White House intelligence advisers recommended in a report released Monday.
The President's Intelligence Advisory Board's findings come as the White House pushes Congress to renew Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act before its expiration at the end of this year. U.S. intelligence officials say Section 702 enables investigations of Chinese and Russian espionage, potential terrorist plots, and other threats.
But spy agencies also end up capturing the communications of U.S. citizens and businesses, and a series of intelligence mistakes at the FBI has fanned bipartisan criticism of the bureau that has shaped the debate over renewing the law. Some lawmakers in both parties and civil liberties groups have called for stronger curbs on how the FBI uses foreign surveillance to search for Americans' data.
While the White House did not commit to accepting the recommended changes, administration officials on Monday praised the board's work and again called on Congress to reauthorize the surveillance program. The board argues in its report that Section 702 is critical to U.S. national security and suggests that allowing the program to lapse would be an “intelligence failure” and a step backward from changes made after the Sept. 11 attacks.
The board says the FBI made “inappropriate use” at times of Section 702 information. Those include queries for a U.S. senator and state senator's names without properly limiting the search, looking for someone believed to have been at the Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and doing large queries of names of protesters following the 2020 death of George Floyd.
“Unfortunately, complacency, a lack of proper procedures, and the sheer volume of Section 702 activity led to FBI’s inappropriate use of Section 702 authorities, specifically U.S. person queries,” the board said in its report. “U.S. person queries” generally mean searches for U.S. citizens and businesses.
The board recommends the FBI no longer search the data when it is seeking evidence of a crime not related to national security. Currently, the FBI conducts fewer than two dozen such searches a year, a senior administration official told reporters Monday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House.
The White House has not decided whether it will accept the recommendation but is studying the board's work and report, the official said.
The board's report largely lines up with the White House's positions on other changes being debated in Congress. The board opposed requiring the FBI to obtain a warrant before it searches Section 702 data, saying that change would be impractical. It also says the FBI needs to maintain access to foreign spy collection because unlike other intelligence agencies, it has law enforcement authorities inside the U.S. and can warn Americans that they are being targeted by foreign spies or criminals.
Already, both Republicans and Democrats have called for broader changes affecting the FBI, including a handful of lawmakers in both parties who want to require warrants for any search.
Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., sharply questioned Assistant Attorney General Matt Olsen in June about how it searches Section 702 data and signaled he would push for new protections.
“I don't think you've effectively made the case that there shouldn't be a warrant requirement, whether or not it is constitutionally required, for a U.S. person search that is crime only,” he said.
Many in the GOP, meanwhile, are furious about the FBI's investigations of former President Donald Trump and mistakes found by the Justice Department inspector general and other reviewers.
In a statement, the FBI said the report highlighted “how crucial” foreign intelligence was to the bureau's mission.
“We agree that Section 702 should be reauthorized in a manner that does not diminish its effectiveness, as well as reassures the public of its importance and our ability to adhere rigorously to all relevant rules,” the bureau's statement said.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. | https://www.mynews13.com/fl/orlando/ap-online/2023/07/31/the-fbi-should-face-new-limits-on-its-use-of-us-foreign-spy-data-a-key-intelligence-board-says | 2023-07-31T16:54:55 | 1 | https://www.mynews13.com/fl/orlando/ap-online/2023/07/31/the-fbi-should-face-new-limits-on-its-use-of-us-foreign-spy-data-a-key-intelligence-board-says |
Who has the better Cuban Sandwich– Tampa or Miami? The debate is settled in an epic battle in the Daytime kitchen. We make both versions, explain the differences and assemble an unbiased panel of judges to conduct a blind taste test that ends in a unanimous decision. Watch and see if you agree with the decision!
Look for the recipe for the pork in the winning sandwich at DomesticGourmet.com | https://www.wfla.com/daytime/tampa-vs-miami-in-an-epic-cuban-sandwich-battle/ | 2023-07-31T16:54:57 | 0 | https://www.wfla.com/daytime/tampa-vs-miami-in-an-epic-cuban-sandwich-battle/ |
SAN FRANCISCO, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Asian American Foundation (TAAF), with support from Walmart and the Walmart Foundation through the Walmart.org Center for Racial Equity, today announced the launch of The AAPI Nonprofit Database. This interactive database addresses the historical inequity of funding directed towards the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community by providing a platform where anyone looking to donate, volunteer, or get involved can more easily locate and support AAPI nonprofit organizations across the country.
With less than 0.2% of philanthropic giving going to AAPI nonprofits and causes, the community remains underfunded and under-resourced. TAAF is working to help fill this critical gap, and the database is a necessary first step to meeting the need. The database will feature nonprofits of all sizes, giving visibility and driving donations to grassroots organizations who have been working tirelessly to support underrepresented AAPI communities throughout the country.
"In the face of continued Anti-Asian hate and rhetoric, it is now more important than ever to invest in resources to support the diverse needs of AAPI communities," said Norman Chen, CEO of TAAF. "We know people want to support AAPI causes, especially following the horrific events impacting our community, but they may not always know where to begin or which organizations are aligned with their interests. Impactaapi.org will make AAPI nonprofits and causes accessible through one interactive tool to remove the barriers to entry and help combat the chronic underfunding and under-resourcing that AAPI organizations have faced."
At launch, the database will feature over 600 nonprofit organizations focused on serving AAPI communities. The AAPI Nonprofit Database will allow users to filter by location, focus area, population served, budget size or years in service, among others. Users will have the opportunity to make donations directly to the nonprofit of their choice or learn how to get more involved. If users need help to get started, a feature will allow visitors to take a short quiz, matching them to a curated list of organizations based on their interests.
Nonprofits have the opportunity to opt-in, get listed, and update their profile pages, including linking directly to their donation pages or website. Organizations whose data has been updated in the past year will have "verified" status indicating current data.
"Walmart and the Walmart Foundation have been long-time supporters of the AAPI community and are thrilled to support The Asian American Foundation in launching The AAPI Nonprofit Database," said Kimberly McGee, Senior Manager for the Walmart.org Center for Racial Equity. "As a founding AAPI Giving Challenge supporter, we are focused on driving access and resources to advance equity in the AAPI nonprofit community. The AAPI Nonprofit Database brings us closer to that goal by putting power into the hands of the broader public, whether by driving donations or getting more involved."
The AAPI Giving Challenge was launched in May 2021 with over 130 corporations, foundations, and individual donors committed $1.1 billion in funding and in-kind resources directly to AAPI communities, organizations, and relevant causes over five years. The AAPI Nonprofit Database highlights the commitment of corporate partners to work with the AAPI community to drive towards solutions together.
TAAF acknowledges Asian Pacific Fund and AAPI Data for their collaboration in providing guidance on the creation of this database.
The AAPI Nonprofit Database can be found at https://impactaapi.org. Nonprofit organizations interested in being listed can submit a request here.
ABOUT THE ASIAN AMERICAN FOUNDATION (TAAF)
The Asian American Foundation serves the Asian American and Pacific Islander community in its pursuit of belonging and prosperity that is free from discrimination, slander, and violence. Founded in 2021 in response to the rise in anti-Asian hate and address the long standing underinvestment in AAPI communities, TAAF funds best in class organizations working to mobilize against hate and violence, educate communities, and reclaim our narratives through our core pillars of Anti-hate, Education, Narrative Change, and Resources & Representation. Through our grants, high-impact initiatives and events, we're creating a permanent and irrevocable sense of belonging for millions of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States. For additional information about TAAF, please visit www.taaf.org.
Media Contact:
Joy Moh
joy.moh@taaf.org
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SOURCE The Asian American Foundation | https://www.wcjb.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/asian-american-foundation-launches-interactive-aapi-nonprofit-database-unlock-resources-support-aapi-focused-organizations/ | 2023-07-31T16:54:57 | 0 | https://www.wcjb.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/asian-american-foundation-launches-interactive-aapi-nonprofit-database-unlock-resources-support-aapi-focused-organizations/ |
At about summer's halfway point, the record-breaking heat and weather extremes are both unprecedented and unsurprising, hellish yet boring in some ways, scientists say.
Killer heat. Deadly floods. Smoke from wildfires that chokes.
And there’s no relief in sight.
Expect a hotter than normal August and September, American and European forecast centers predict.
“We are seeing unprecedented changes all over the world,” said NASA climate scientist Gavin Schmidt. “The heat waves that we’re seeing in the U.S. and in Europe, in China are demolishing records left, right and center. This is not a surprise.”
Imperial College of London climate scientist Friederike Otto said examining what's causing heat waves is “boring” in a way since it keeps happening. Yet she added that it matters “because it shows again just how much climate change plays a role in what we are currently experiencing.”
“This story, these impacts, are going to continue,” Schmidt said. “We’re going to be seeing this pretty much this year and into next year" with a natural El Nino warming of the Pacific adding to the overwhelming influence of human-caused climate change largely from the burning of coal, oil and gas.
Here’s a rundown of the summer of Earth's discontent.
RECORD-SHATTERING HEAT
Globally, June this year was the hottest June on record — and scientists say July has been so hot that even before the month was over they could say it was the hottest month on record. But it’s individual places where people live that the heat has stuck around and killed.
Phoenix, where the last day of June and each day of July has been at least 110 degrees (43 degrees Celsius), set records for the longest mega-heat streak and longest stretch when the temperatures didn’t go below 90 degrees (32 degrees Celsius) at night.
El Paso, Texas, had 44 days of 100 degree (37 degree) heat. Schools closed in Nuevo Leon state in northern Mexico a month earlier than usual as temperatures reached 113 degrees (45 Celsius).
Farther east, Miami added humidity to high heat for 46 straight days of feels-like temperatures of 100 or more.
Beijing had its own record streak with at least 27 days of 95 degrees (35 Celsius) in July, after a three-day streak of at least 104 (40 Celsius) in June. And the country set it’s all-time highest temperature on July 16 in remote Sanbao township with 126 degrees (52.2 Celsius).
Heat records fell all over southern Europe. Sardinia, Italy, hit 117 (47 Celsius). Palermo in Sicily broke a record that goes back to 1791 by a whopping 3.6 degrees (2 degrees Celsius). Temperatures hit 115 (46 Celsius) in Gytheio, Greece.
Spain reported nearly 1,000 excess deaths from the heat, mostly among the elderly, by mid July.
In Argentina, where it's mid-winter, temperatures were above 89.6 (32 Celsius) four straight days in June in the northern part of the county. One July night in Buenos Aires didn’t get below the 70s (low 20s Celsius).
TOO MUCH RAIN
More than 10,000 people had to be evacuated in central Hunan province in China where heavy rainfall caused at least 70 houses to collapse. In Yichang, rain triggered a landslide that buried a construction site and killed at least one person.
Australia’s Queensland outback got 13 times its normal monthly July rain in just one day.
Thousands of people were evacuated from Delhi in India as rains caused flash floods and landslides. Elsewhere in the country at least 100 people were killed by the downpours.
In the United States, sudden heavy rain killed people in Vermont, Connecticut and Pennsylvania with tragic stories of children washed away in flooding.
WILDFIRES AND SMOKE
Too little rain in Greece and Spain fed wildfires that proved difficult to fight. In the Canary Islands, a fire caused 4,000 people to evacuate, others to wear face masks and had 400 firefighters battling it.
Hot and dry conditions caused about 160 wildfires to break out in Israel in early June.
But what really brought fires home happened in parts of Canada where few people live. Rare far northern Quebec wildfires triggered nasty smoke that inflicted the world’s dirtiest air on cities like New York and Washington, then switched to the Midwest.
As of late July more than 600 wildfires were out of control in Canada. A record 47,490 square miles (123,000 square kilometers) burned, and fire season isn’t near done. That’s an area larger than the state of Pennsylvania or North Korea.
WATER TEMPERATURES
Water temperatures in the Florida Keys and off the Everglades hit the high 90s (high 30s Celsius) with Manatee Bay breaking 100 degrees twice in what could be an unofficial world record for surface water temperature, although that’s in dispute.
The North Atlantic had hot spots that alarmed scientists. The world’s oceans as a whole were their hottest ever in June and got even hotter in July. In Antarctica, sea ice smashed record-low levels.
Ocean temperatures take a long time to warm up and cool down, said University of Northern Illinois meteorology professor Victor Gensini. So it doesn’t look good for the rest of the summer, he said.
A HOT FORECAST
“We are favoring above normal temperatures for the next three months,” said NOAA Climate Prediction Center meteorologist Matt Rosencrans.
The only potential relief he sees, especially in the hot Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, is if a hurricane or tropical storm moves through.
The peak of hurricane season in September hasn’t even started.
When going through the litany of this summer's weather extremes so far, University of Pennsylvania climate scientist Michael Mann had one question: “How on God’s Earth are we still burning fossil fuels after witnessing all this?”
___
Researcher Rhonda Shafner contributed to this report from New York. ___
Follow AP’s climate and environment coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment
___
Follow Seth Borenstein on Twitter at @borenbears
___
Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations. See more about AP’s climate initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. | https://www.mynews13.com/fl/orlando/ap-top-news/2023/07/31/heres-how-hot-and-extreme-the-summer-has-been-and-its-only-halfway-over | 2023-07-31T16:55:01 | 0 | https://www.mynews13.com/fl/orlando/ap-top-news/2023/07/31/heres-how-hot-and-extreme-the-summer-has-been-and-its-only-halfway-over |
Baton Rouge shelter turns into cooling center during day amid heatwave
BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - As the heat wave continues, the Center of Hope is temporarily opening its doors during the hottest part of the day as a cooling station for its residents and other men who do not have anywhere else to go, according to the Salvation Army Baton Rouge Corps.
Officials say residents will be allowed to stay at the center during the day from 11 am. until 4 p.m. starting on Monday, July 31, and these hours will continue for the week if the heat index continues to be 100 degrees or more.
RELATED: Triple digit heat could lead to several records falling this week
“We are doing everything we can to help the most vulnerable men in our community during this dangerous time. It does not take much in this heat to suffer heat stroke, especially if you are unhoused or in an apartment or house with inadequate air conditioning,” said Baton Rouge Corps commander Captain Brian Hicks.
The Salvation Army is ready to serve as a cooling station all week if needed, added Hicks.
In anticipation of increased use of goods from residents and others in the center during the day, the non-profit is asking for donations, including soap, shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrushes, water, snack items, and basic cleaning supplies.
The Salvation Army Baton Rouge Corps Center of Hope is located at 7361 Airline Highway in Baton Rouge.
Click here to report a typo.
Copyright 2023 WAFB. All rights reserved. | https://www.wafb.com/2023/07/31/baton-rouge-shelter-turns-into-cooling-center-during-day-amid-heatwave/ | 2023-07-31T16:55:04 | 0 | https://www.wafb.com/2023/07/31/baton-rouge-shelter-turns-into-cooling-center-during-day-amid-heatwave/ |
WASHINGTON (AP) — X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, has threatened to sue a group of independent researchers whose research documented an increase in hate speech on the site since it was purchased last year by Elon Musk.
An attorney representing the social media site wrote to the Center for Countering Digital Hate on July 20 threatening legal action over the nonprofit’s research into hate speech and content moderation. The letter alleged that CCDH’s research publications seem intended “to harm Twitter’s business by driving advertisers away from the platform with incendiary claims.”
Musk is a self-professed free speech absolutist who has welcomed back white supremacists and election deniers to the platform, which he renamed X earlier this month. But the billionaire has at times proven sensitive about critical speech directed at him or his companies.
The center is a nonprofit with offices in the U.S. and United Kingdom. It regularly publishes reports on hate speech, extremism or harmful behavior on social media platforms like X, TikTok or Facebook.
The organization has published several reports critical of Musk’s leadership, detailing an increase in anti-LGBTQ hate speech as well as climate misinformation since his purchase. The letter from X’s attorney cited one specific report from June that found the platform failed to remove neo-Nazi and anti-LGBTQ content from verified users that violated the platform’s rules.
In the letter, attorney Alex Spiro questioned the expertise of the researchers and accused the center of trying to harm X’s reputation. The letter also suggested, without evidence, that the center received funds from some of X’s competitors, even though the center has also published critical reports about TikTok, Facebook and other large platforms.
“CCDH intends to harm Twitter’s business by driving advertisers away from the platform with incendiary claims,” Spiro wrote, using the platform’s former name.
Imran Ahmed, the center’s founder and CEO, told the AP on Monday that his group has never received a similar response from any tech company, despite a history of studying the relationship between social media, hate speech and extremism. He said that typically, the targets of the center’s criticism have responded by defending their work or promising to address any problems that have been identified.
Ahmed said he worried X’s response to the center’s work could have a chilling effect if it frightens other researchers away from studying the platform. He said he also worried that other industries could take note of the strategy.
“This is an unprecedented escalation by a social media company against independent researchers. Musk has just declared open war,” Ahmed told the Associated Press. “If Musk succeeds in silencing us other researchers will be next in line.”
Messages left with Spiro and X were not immediately returned Monday.
It’s not the first time that Musk has fired back at critics. Last year, he suspended the accounts of several journalists who covered his takeover of Twitter. Another user was permanently banned for using publicly available flight data to track Musk’s private plane; Musk had initially pledged to keep the user on the platform but later changed his mind, citing his personal safety. He also threatened to sue the user.
He initially had promised that he would allow any speech on his platform that wasn’t illegal. “I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free speech means,” Musk wrote in a tweet last year.
X’s recent threat of a lawsuit prompted concern from U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who said the billionaire was trying to use the threat of legal action to punish a nonprofit group trying to hold a powerful social media platform accountable.
“Instead of attacking them, he should be attacking the increasingly disturbing content on Twitter,” Schiff said in a statement. | https://www.seattletimes.com/business/musk-threatens-to-sue-researchers-who-documented-the-rise-in-hateful-tweets/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_nation-world | 2023-07-31T16:55:04 | 1 | https://www.seattletimes.com/business/musk-threatens-to-sue-researchers-who-documented-the-rise-in-hateful-tweets/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_nation-world |
President Biden will tout his administration’s work to combat climate change in a trip out West, which has faced scorching — and in some cases, record-breaking — temperatures this month.
In a trip next week to Arizona, New Mexico and Utah, Biden is expected to discuss Democrats’ climate, tax and health care bill and the ways in which it bolstered climate-friendly energy and U.S. manufacturing.
Later, on Aug. 16, Biden will host a White House event to celebrate the Inflation Reduction Act.
The southwestern U.S. has faced a sweltering heat wave over the past several weeks, with Phoenix seeing 31 days in a row of temperatures above 110 degrees.
Last week, Biden gave a speech about climate change, which exacerbates heat waves and other extreme weather events, and said he would take actions aimed at protecting workers from the hazardous heat.
The upcoming White House moves are part of broader efforts to promote that bill and other legislation the administration has passed.
This week, Vice President Harris and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo will visit Wisconsin to talk about broadband investments that were part of the bipartisan infrastructure law.
Meanwhile, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will visit Oregon to discuss grants aimed at addressing wildfires and to Washington state to talk about climate-related investments in Agriculture. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and White House climate adviser Ali Zaidi will visit Puerto Rico to engage on issues related to grid resilience. And Interior Secretary Deb Haaland will go to California to talk about Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds for water recycling.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg will visit Illinois to talk about clean energy investments and Houston for a ribbon cutting for a port. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra will visit Las Vegas, Nevada and Oregon to talk about efforts to lower health care costs. | https://www.wfla.com/hill-politics/biden-to-tout-climate-investments-in-trip-to-sweltering-west/ | 2023-07-31T16:55:05 | 1 | https://www.wfla.com/hill-politics/biden-to-tout-climate-investments-in-trip-to-sweltering-west/ |
WAYNE, Pa., July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Balanced Bridge Funding was named one of 2023's Best Places to Work by The Philadelphia Business Journal. It is a prestigious award given to those companies that treat their employees well and create a hospitable work environment. Joseph Genovesi, CEO of Balanced Bridge Funding and its subsidiary Accel Real Estate Commission Advance, says, "it is an honor for Balanced Bridge Funding to be recognized by The Philadelphia Business Journal as one of 2023's Best Places to Work."
According to the Philadelphia Business Journal, the companies that are named to the list are based exclusively on the responses from the employees. The companies on the list can use the award as a recruiting tool for future employees and for promotional marketing uses. As workplaces evolve, job satisfaction continues to rank higher on the list of importance for current and prospective employees. The popularity of websites like Glassdoor, where current and ex-employees can leave their opinion, means an award like Best Places to Work can be a tipping point for people evaluating their employment choices. Genovesi says, "One of my goals when I started my company was for the environment at the workplace to be open, inclusive, and flexible to the needs of my employees. I think we have achieved that and this award speaks to that accomplishment."
Balanced Bridge Funding is a specialty finance company that provides funding to different kinds of sectors; contract advances to professional athletes, legal funding to plaintiffs and plaintiffs' attorneys, advances to first year big law attorneys, account receivable funding to Big Law firms, factoring to truck drivers and trucking companies, fee advances to class action recovery companies, contract advances to local, state, and federal government contractors, loans to fix and flip operators, loans on luxury assets, account receivable funding to small businesses, and commission advances to insurance brokers and insurance agents on their expected fees.
Accel Real Estate Commission Advance is a subsidiary of Balanced Bridge Funding. It is a finance company specifically designed to provide advances to real estate professionals on their expected commissions. Real estate brokers and agents can sometimes face delayed commissions due to a number of factors. Accel was created to provide funding on those commissions so brokers and agents can access a portion of their fee and avoid the waiting period for their money.
CONTACT:
info@balancedbridge.com
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SOURCE Balanced Bridge Funding | https://www.wcjb.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/balanced-bridge-funding-named-one-2023-best-places-work-by-philadelphia-business-journal/ | 2023-07-31T16:55:05 | 1 | https://www.wcjb.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/balanced-bridge-funding-named-one-2023-best-places-work-by-philadelphia-business-journal/ |
Elon Musk’s X threatens to sue researchers who documented the rise in hateful tweets
WASHINGTON (AP) — X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, has threatened to sue a group of independent researchers whose research documented an increase in hate speech on the site since it was purchased last year by Elon Musk.
An attorney representing the social media site wrote to the Center for Countering Digital Hate on July 20 threatening legal action over the nonprofit’s research into hate speech and content moderation. The letter alleged that CCDH’s research publications seem intended “to harm Twitter’s business by driving advertisers away from the platform with incendiary claims.”
Musk is a self-professed free speech absolutist who has welcomed back white supremacists and election deniers to the platform, which he renamed X earlier this month. But the billionaire has at times proven sensitive about critical speech directed at him or his companies.
The center is a nonprofit with offices in the U.S. and United Kingdom. It regularly publishes reports on hate speech, extremism or harmful behavior on social media platforms like X, TikTok or Facebook.
The organization has published several reports critical of Musk’s leadership, detailing an increase in anti-LGBTQ hate speech as well as climate misinformation since his purchase. The letter from X’s attorney cited one specific report from June that found the platform failed to remove neo-Nazi and anti-LGBTQ content from verified users that violated the platform’s rules.
In the letter, attorney Alex Spiro questioned the expertise of the researchers and accused the center of trying to harm X’s reputation. The letter also suggested, without evidence, that the center received funds from some of X’s competitors, even though the center has also published critical reports about TikTok, Facebook and other large platforms.
“CCDH intends to harm Twitter’s business by driving advertisers away from the platform with incendiary claims,” Spiro wrote, using the platform’s former name.
Imran Ahmed, the center’s founder and CEO, told the AP on Monday that his group has never received a similar response from any tech company, despite a history of studying the relationship between social media, hate speech and extremism. He said that typically, the targets of the center’s criticism have responded by defending their work or promising to address any problems that have been identified.
Ahmed said he worried X’s response to the center’s work could have a chilling effect if it frightens other researchers away from studying the platform. He said he also worried that other industries could take note of the strategy.
“This is an unprecedented escalation by a social media company against independent researchers. Musk has just declared open war,” Ahmed told the Associated Press. “If Musk succeeds in silencing us other researchers will be next in line.”
Messages left with Spiro and X were not immediately returned Monday.
It’s not the first time that Musk has fired back at critics. Last year, he suspended the accounts of several journalists who covered his takeover of Twitter. Another user was permanently banned for using publicly available flight data to track Musk’s private plane; Musk had initially pledged to keep the user on the platform but later changed his mind, citing his personal safety. He also threatened to sue the user.
He initially had promised that he would allow any speech on his platform that wasn’t illegal. “I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free speech means,” Musk wrote in a tweet last year.
X’s recent threat of a lawsuit prompted concern from U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who said the billionaire was trying to use the threat of legal action to punish a nonprofit group trying to hold a powerful social media platform accountable.
“Instead of attacking them, he should be attacking the increasingly disturbing content on Twitter,” Schiff said in a statement.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wafb.com/2023/07/31/elon-musks-x-threatens-sue-researchers-who-documented-rise-hateful-tweets/ | 2023-07-31T16:55:06 | 0 | https://www.wafb.com/2023/07/31/elon-musks-x-threatens-sue-researchers-who-documented-rise-hateful-tweets/ |
The Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand is showcasing some of the best soccer on the planet — and some of the best photographs. Associated Press photographers are covering every match at the month-long tournament, including Zambia’s Lushomo Mweemba celebrating a goal against Costa Rica and Morocco’s Nouhaila Benzina becoming the first senior-level Women’s World Cup player to compete wearing a hijab.
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AP Women’s World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-womens-world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/ap-photos-womens-world-cup-highlights-4/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_nation-world | 2023-07-31T16:55:06 | 0 | https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/ap-photos-womens-world-cup-highlights-4/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_nation-world |
A judge in Georgia on Monday rejected former President Donald Trump’s efforts to derail Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ probe into efforts to overturn the state’s 2020 election results.
Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney wrote in his ruling that Trump and Coffee County, Georgia, Republican Party chair Cathy Latham – a “fake elector” who signed a document that Trump had won the state in 2020 – lacked standing to challenge the probe because an indictment has not yet been announced.
“The Court now finds that neither Trump nor Latham enjoys standing to mount a challenge – at this pre-indictment phase of the proceedings -- to the continued investigation into and potential prosecution of possible criminal interference in the 2020 general election in Georgia,” wrote McBurney, who has been overseeing Willis’ probe. “The movants' asserted ‘injuries’ that would open the doors of the courthouse to their claims are either insufficient or else speculative and unrealized.
“They are insufficient because, while being the subject (or even target) of a highly publicized criminal investigation is likely an unwelcome and unpleasant experience, no court ever has held that that status alone provides a basis for the courts to interfere with or halt the investigation,” he wrote.
Trump’s attorneys filed the motion to quash the grand jury’s final report in March, and Latham joined the former president’s effort in April. Georgia’s Supreme Court rejected a similar effort from the president two weeks ago.
The effort comes as Willis has signaled that charges could be coming in the next few weeks.
Willis’ probe began more than two years ago in the aftermath of the release of a recording of Trump calling Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, the state’s top election official and a fellow Republican, asking him to “find 11,780 votes.”
Trump has denied any wrongdoing and insisted that his call was “perfect.”
Willis over the weekend told local Atlanta television station WXIA that “we’re ready to go.”
“The work is accomplished,” she said. “We’ve been working for two-and-a-half years. We’re ready to go.” | https://www.mynews13.com/fl/orlando/news/2023/07/31/trump-georgia-judge-fani-willis-election-probe | 2023-07-31T16:55:07 | 1 | https://www.mynews13.com/fl/orlando/news/2023/07/31/trump-georgia-judge-fani-willis-election-probe |
Hunter Biden’s former business partner appears for closed-door interview with GOP-led committee
WASHINGTON (AP) — Hunter Biden’s former business partner appeared Monday for closed-door testimony on Capitol Hill, with Republicans planning to question him about claims that President Joe Biden was directly involved in his younger son’s financial dealings.
The Republican-led House Oversight Committee was conducting a transcribed interview with Devon Archer as part of its expanding congressional inquiry into the Biden family businesses as the GOP explores a potential impeachment inquiry into the president.
Archer, who served with Hunter Biden on the board of the Ukrainian gas company Burisma, has been seen by Republicans as a key witness in their so-far fruitless search to directly connect the president to his son’s various international business transactions.
Rep. James Comer, the GOP chairman of Oversight Committee, issued a subpoena to Archer in June, saying he “played a significant role in the Biden family’s business deals abroad, including but not limited to China, Russia, and Ukraine.” He said Archer’s testimony would be critical to the committee’s investigation.
Republicans have focused much attention on an unverified tip to the FBI that alleged a bribery scheme involving Joe Biden when he was vice president. The claim, which first emerged in 2019, was that Biden pressured Ukraine to fire its top prosecutor in order to stop an investigation into Burisma, an oil-and-gas company where Hunter Biden was on the board. GOP lawmakers and staff present at Monday’s interview were also expected to question Archer about several business meetings and conversations Hunter Biden had during which he is said to have invoked his father’s name.
Democrats on the committee, including Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, the ranking minority member, have reiterated that the Justice Department investigated the Burisma claim when Donald Trump was president and closed the matter after eight months, finding “insufficient evidence” that it was true. Democrats have also highlighted the transcript of an interview with Mykola Zlochevsky, Burisma’s co-founder, in which he denied having any contact with Joe Biden while Hunter Biden worked for the company.
“Mr. Zlochevsky’s statements are just one of the many that have debunked the corruption allegations,” Raskin said.
On top of his relationship with Hunter Biden, who is currently facing federal tax charges, Archer has his own legal troubles stemming from a 2018 felony conviction for his role in a conspiracy to defraud a Native American tribe. That conviction was overturned later that year, but then the court of appeals in New York reinstated it in 2020. His sentencing in the case has been repeatedly delayed by appeals.
Archer’s appearance before lawmakers had been scheduled and canceled several times since June. Republicans suggested it was about to be delayed again after the Justice Department over the weekend asked a judge to schedule a date for Archer to surrender to prison and begin serving out his one-year sentence in the unrelated fraud case.
Republicans — led by Comer — criticized that delay, calling it an effort by the Justice Department to intimidate a witness. But the Justice Department in a follow-up memo to the court noted Archer’s surrender was not imminent and asked a judge to ensure that he testified to Congress before reporting to prison.
“Mr. Archer will do what he has planned to do all along, which is to show up this morning and to honestly answer the questions that are put to him by the congressional investigators,” said Archer’s attorney, Matthew Schwartz, who is a managing partner at New York-based firm Boies Schiller Flexner.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wafb.com/2023/07/31/hunter-bidens-former-business-partner-appears-closed-door-interview-with-gop-led-committee/ | 2023-07-31T16:55:07 | 0 | https://www.wafb.com/2023/07/31/hunter-bidens-former-business-partner-appears-closed-door-interview-with-gop-led-committee/ |
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Churchill Downs will implement safety measures for its September meet including new track surface maintenance equipment and additional monitoring and equine care following 12 horse deaths before and after the Kentucky Derby that spurred suspension of its spring meet.
Racing is scheduled to resume Sept. 14 and run through Oct. 1 at the historic track, which paused racing operations on June 7 to conduct an internal safety review following the spate of horse deaths from racing or training injuries. Seven died in the days leading up to the 149th Derby on May 6, including two in races preceding the premier event.
The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority recommended suspending the remainder of the meet, which moved to Ellis Park in western Kentucky. Training continued at Churchill Downs during the investigation, and a release on Monday stated that while industry experts found no issues with the racing surfaces, the track invested in new maintenance equipment. It will also double the frequency of surface testing among infrastructure upgrades.
Churchill Downs Inc. CEO Bill Carstanjen said the track’s commitment to safety “remains paramount” in the release and added, “our participants, fans and the public can be assured that we will continue to investigate, evaluate and improve upon every policy and protocol.”
The announcement comes days after Carstanjen said racing would resume this fall with no changes and called the deaths “a series of unfortunate circumstances” in an earnings call with CDI investors.
Churchill Downs veterinarians will receive additional resources for specialized horse care and to assist in pre-race inspections and entry screening, the release added. The track will work with HISA and industry experts to predict at-risk horses through advanced analytic techniques.
A safety management committee including horsemen, track employees and veterinarians will also be created.
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AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/churchill-downs-to-improve-track-maintenance-veterinary-resources-for-fall-meet-after-horse-deaths/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_nation-world | 2023-07-31T16:55:08 | 0 | https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/churchill-downs-to-improve-track-maintenance-veterinary-resources-for-fall-meet-after-horse-deaths/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_nation-world |
A Georgia judge has rejected former President Trump’s efforts to quash an investigation into his efforts to overturn the state’s 2020 election results.
“The movants’ asserted ‘injuries’ that would open the doors of the courthouse to their claims are either insufficient or else speculative and unrealized,” Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney wrote in the nine-page ruling.
“They are insufficient because, while being the subject (or even target) of a highly publicized criminal investigation is likely an unwelcome and unpleasant experience, no court ever has held that that status alone provides a basis for the courts to interfere with or halt the investigation.”
The ruling is the second roadblock for Trump in his efforts to dismiss the probe, after the state’s Supreme Court earlier this month rejected another suit seeking to block it.
That court had in part rejected Trump’s arguments while noting the matter before McBurney.
McBurney presided over the grand jury who were presented evidence by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D) who has advised court officials she could bring charges in the high-profile case the second or third week of August.
Trump has also sued Willis and McBurney in another third suit filed alongside his petition to the state supreme court — an additional attempt to nix the investigation beyond the matter McBurney addressed Monday.
“Petitioner’s every attempt to seek redress in the normal course have been ignored, and the District Attorney has given every indication that the injury is imminent,” Trump wrote in the petition earlier this month.
McBurney also determined that Trump didn’t have standing to sue to quash the investigation, noting that the former president can only “theorize” that he will be named in an indictment.
“The professed injuries are also speculative and unrealized because there is, as of yet, no indictment that creates the genuine controversy required to confer standing,” McBurney wrote.
—Updated at 12:04 p.m. | https://www.wfla.com/hill-politics/georgia-judge-rejects-trump-effort-to-quash-fulton-county-investigation/ | 2023-07-31T16:55:11 | 1 | https://www.wfla.com/hill-politics/georgia-judge-rejects-trump-effort-to-quash-fulton-county-investigation/ |
Alliance supports Black Tech Street's ambition to digitally transform Black Wall Street to
Black Tech Street through cyber-centered talent and innovation initiatives
TULSA, Okla., July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Black Tech Street announced an unprecedented alliance with Microsoft for Historic Greenwood, the neighborhood in Tulsa, Oklahoma, given the moniker, "Black Wall Street," by Booker T. Washington for its abundance of affluent Black entrepreneurs.
Dubbed by Black Tech Street, "The Digital Transformation of Black Wall Street", the alliance aims to restore Greenwood's position as a national hub for Black talent and innovation. Founded in 2021, Black Tech Street's mission is to rebirth Black Wall Street as a Black innovation economy by securing Black tech-focused economic and industry development opportunities for the Greenwood community.
"Since its inception, Black Tech Street's focus has been on securing transformative partnerships capable of addressing deeply-rooted economic inequities stemming from the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre at scale. Our partnership with Microsoft is a perfect example of such an opportunity and reflects the very essence of both our organizations," said Tyrance Billingsley II, Black Tech Street Founder and Executive Director.
"We are grateful for Microsoft's support and engagement that is game changing for Greenwood, and sends a clear message that Black Wall Street will continue to be a national leader of Black innovation in the 21st century."
One cornerstone of the alliance is that Black Tech Street has been named as the Microsoft TechSpark Fellow for the State of Oklahoma. The TechSpark Community Engagement Fellowship program empowers community organizations with a combination of funding, programming, hands-on mentorship, and training, and focuses on digital access, computer science education, digital skills, and digital transformation.
"Microsoft believes digital inclusion is core to ensuring everyone on the planet benefits from advances in technology, and that programming and opportunities must be created for those with the potential to be left behind," said Ann Johnson, corporate vice president for security business development at Microsoft. "We are pleased to work with Black Tech Street, local government leaders, and community organizations to help build and further reinforce Greenwood and Tulsa as centers for technology vision, leadership, and entrepreneurship."
Black Tech Streets Ambition: Creating 1000+ Black Cyber Professionals in Tulsa
The first phase of this collaboration will include a series of community and Microsoft-supported investments aimed at raising the capacity of the Tulsa ecosystem to produce, attract, and support Black cyber talent. Black Tech Street's goal is to leverage Microsoft's programmatic support/resources alongside other national partners to create and employ 1000 Black Tulsans in Cyber and adjacent fields. Black Tech Street's aim is to accomplish this by 2030. Investing in the cybersecurity workforce has been a priority for Microsoft, as they aim to support the estimated gap of 1.6 million cyber professionals in North America alone. Black Tech Street will leverage its alliance with Microsoft in the following areas to contribute towards reaching its goal:
Workforce and Skilling
- Microsoft Cybersecurity Scholarship Program: Tulsa Community College (TCC) was accepted into Microsoft's Cybersecurity Scholarship Program, providing cash scholarships to the highly diverse students receiving training at TCC's Cyber Skills Center.
- Employment Partner and Sponsor Consortium: Black Tech Street, with Microsoft support, will lead a nationwide consortium for connecting employers looking to hire Black Cyber talent in Tulsa for local and remote roles. The program will also fund scholarships for Black students interested in cyber. A critical strategy for BTS is to ensure skilled tech talent stays in Tulsa, contributing to the local economy. Microsoft embraces flexible work, including schedule and work location flexibility, that supports individual work styles while balancing business needs.
Education and Digital Access
- Microsoft TechSpark-Digital Education Access: Black Tech Street's participation in the Microsoft TechSpark program will include, among many other components, a comprehensive suite of services and technology platforms for educators, students, and school systems on multiple levels.
- High School Tech Education: Black Tech Street, the University of Tulsa, and Microsoft, will collaborate on a plan to accelerate Computer Science and related tech education to north Tulsa secondary school students.
Innovation Research and Thought Leadership
- The University of Tulsa and Microsoft: Black Tech Street plans to pilot studies in cyber research and experiential learning that leverage cutting-edge technology from Microsoft's investments in generative AI cybersecurity alongside the University of Tulsa as part of the alliance to better position the ecosystem in cyber-AI innovation. The University of Tulsa's nationally recognized cyber university, with its NSA affiliated Cyber Corps program, as well as a suite of successful cyber partnerships with high schools and community colleges, made cyber an obvious choice for partnership.
- Black Tech Street Cyber Summit: In 2024, Black Tech Street and Tulsa Innovation Labs will host the first Black Tech Street Cyber Summit. This summit will be a gathering of the foremost cyber experts from corporations, academia, and government. This summit is meant to serve as a meeting of the minds as it relates to charting a more effective national narrative and plan as it relates to mobilizing Black Americans into cyber en masse. Microsoft will host its "Into the Breach" gamified learning experience to test cybersecurity skills for Black Tulsans.
Microsoft's initial support via this alliance will anchor the first portion of a larger strategy by Black Tech Street to establish Greenwood as a national leader in the three critical technology areas of Cyber Security, Business Intelligence/Data Analytics, and Equitable Artificial Intelligence (See ED Tyrance Billingsley's op-ed What's Next? Black Wall Street's Innovation Ambitions).
Black Tech Street will also be supported in the execution of these Microsoft supported initiatives by local anchor partner Tulsa Innovation Labs, a philanthropic organization dedicated to building industrial clusters around sectors where Tulsa has distinct advantages.
The alliance has also garnered the support of City officials.
"I am excited about this new alliance between Black Tech Street and Microsoft in Tulsa," Mayor G.T. Bynum said. "This partnership will help increase cyber talent in our city, as well as promote tech education and workforce readiness for the incredible talent we have in our community."
This is the start of a long-term relationship between Black Tech Street, Greenwood, and Microsoft, and will redefine what is possible for communities and cities willing to simultaneously invest in people and in technology.
The announcement of this alliance was also included in the Biden-Harris Administration's announcement of its National Cyber Workforce and Education Strategy to Unleash America's Cyber Talent:
(https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/07/31/fact-sheet-biden-%E2%81%A0harris-administration-announces-national-cyber-workforce-and-education-strategy-unleashing-americas-cyber-talent/)
Black Tech Street is an organization founded to rebirth Black Wall Street as a Black Innovation Economy and catalyze a movement that sees Black people embrace technology as a means to build wealth and impact the world. Black Tech Street architects and secures Black tech focused economic and industry development opportunities for the Greenwood community and serves as a chief storyteller for Black Wall Street's 21st century rebirth.
Contact:
Tyrance Billingsley II
tyrance@blacktechstreet.com
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SOURCE Black Tech Street | https://www.wcjb.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/black-tech-street-announces-alliance-with-microsoft-digitally-transform-historic-greenwood/ | 2023-07-31T16:55:12 | 0 | https://www.wcjb.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/black-tech-street-announces-alliance-with-microsoft-digitally-transform-historic-greenwood/ |
Man mauled to death by pack of dogs, sheriff says
SKIPPERVILLE, Ala. (WTVY/Gray News) – A man was mauled to death by a pack of dogs, according to Dale County Sheriff Mason Bynum, who explained investigators originally believed the man had been murdered.
Authorities said acquaintances found the body of 27-year-old Demarcus “Sam” McKenzie in the driveway of a home.
Bynum said it looked like McKenzie was leaving the house when the dogs became aggressive toward him.
“The victim began to run down the driveway as two to three more dogs joined in on the attack,” he explained.
The sheriff said surveillance video shows McKenzie falling and the dogs pouncing on him.
“At one point, five to six dogs are seen violently attacking and mauling the victim as he struggles to stand. After a few minutes, the dogs overpower the victim, and he appears to become incapacitated,” Bynum said.
The sheriff plans to discuss the tragedy with Dale County District Attorney Kirke Adams but did not say who owns the dogs or if they could face charges.
The body’s condition led officers to first believe that McKenzie had been shot, Bynum said.
Copyright 2023 WTVY via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.wafb.com/2023/07/31/man-mauled-death-by-pack-dogs-sheriff-says/ | 2023-07-31T16:55:13 | 1 | https://www.wafb.com/2023/07/31/man-mauled-death-by-pack-dogs-sheriff-says/ |
Elon Musk’s X threatens to sue researchers who documented the rise in hateful tweets
WASHINGTON (AP) — X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, has threatened to sue a group of independent researchers whose research documented an increase in hate speech on the site since it was purchased last year by Elon Musk.
An attorney representing the social media site wrote to the Center for Countering Digital Hate on July 20 threatening legal action over the nonprofit’s research into hate speech and content moderation. The letter alleged that CCDH’s research publications seem intended “to harm Twitter’s business by driving advertisers away from the platform with incendiary claims.”
Musk is a self-professed free speech absolutist who has welcomed back white supremacists and election deniers to the platform, which he renamed X earlier this month. But the billionaire has at times proven sensitive about critical speech directed at him or his companies.
The center is a nonprofit with offices in the U.S. and United Kingdom. It regularly publishes reports on hate speech, extremism or harmful behavior on social media platforms like X, TikTok or Facebook.
The organization has published several reports critical of Musk’s leadership, detailing an increase in anti-LGBTQ hate speech as well as climate misinformation since his purchase. The letter from X’s attorney cited one specific report from June that found the platform failed to remove neo-Nazi and anti-LGBTQ content from verified users that violated the platform’s rules.
In the letter, attorney Alex Spiro questioned the expertise of the researchers and accused the center of trying to harm X’s reputation. The letter also suggested, without evidence, that the center received funds from some of X’s competitors, even though the center has also published critical reports about TikTok, Facebook and other large platforms.
“CCDH intends to harm Twitter’s business by driving advertisers away from the platform with incendiary claims,” Spiro wrote, using the platform’s former name.
Imran Ahmed, the center’s founder and CEO, told the AP on Monday that his group has never received a similar response from any tech company, despite a history of studying the relationship between social media, hate speech and extremism. He said that typically, the targets of the center’s criticism have responded by defending their work or promising to address any problems that have been identified.
Ahmed said he worried X’s response to the center’s work could have a chilling effect if it frightens other researchers away from studying the platform. He said he also worried that other industries could take note of the strategy.
“This is an unprecedented escalation by a social media company against independent researchers. Musk has just declared open war,” Ahmed told the Associated Press. “If Musk succeeds in silencing us other researchers will be next in line.”
Messages left with Spiro and X were not immediately returned Monday.
It’s not the first time that Musk has fired back at critics. Last year, he suspended the accounts of several journalists who covered his takeover of Twitter. Another user was permanently banned for using publicly available flight data to track Musk’s private plane; Musk had initially pledged to keep the user on the platform but later changed his mind, citing his personal safety. He also threatened to sue the user.
He initially had promised that he would allow any speech on his platform that wasn’t illegal. “I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free speech means,” Musk wrote in a tweet last year.
X’s recent threat of a lawsuit prompted concern from U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who said the billionaire was trying to use the threat of legal action to punish a nonprofit group trying to hold a powerful social media platform accountable.
“Instead of attacking them, he should be attacking the increasingly disturbing content on Twitter,” Schiff said in a statement.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.valleynewslive.com/2023/07/31/elon-musks-x-threatens-sue-researchers-who-documented-rise-hateful-tweets/ | 2023-07-31T16:55:13 | 0 | https://www.valleynewslive.com/2023/07/31/elon-musks-x-threatens-sue-researchers-who-documented-rise-hateful-tweets/ |
ROCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — In a new policy plan unveiled Monday, Republican presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis is taking aim at China with a “Declaration of Economic Independence” that also targets taxes, regulations, spending and education.
Speaking in a New Hampshire warehouse, the Florida governor promised to boost the economy and fight for the middle class.
“We will take back control of our destiny — and ensure that our future is as proud, independent and free as our past,” he said at Prep Partners Group, which coordinates warehousing, distribution and other logistics for other companies.
DeSantis said he would wrest economic control from China by ending the nation’s preferential trade status, banning imports of goods made from stolen intellectual property and preventing companies from sharing critical technologies with China.
The 10-point economic plan is the third major policy proposal put forth by DeSantis, whose campaign has struggled in recent weeks. Although long seen as the top rival to former President Donald Trump, DeSantis shed more than one-third of his staff as federal filings showed his campaign was burning through cash at an unsustainable rate.
On Monday, he focused on the federal government’s reckless spending, however. His plan describes him as a “new sheriff in town” who will veto wasteful spending and mandate work requirements for welfare programs. He also claimed he could achieve 3% annual economic growth by keeping taxes low, eliminating bureaucracy and incentivizing investment.
On the education front, DeSantis said he will stop incentivizing “useless degrees” by making universities responsible for the loans their students accrue. His plan also would promote vocational and apprenticeship programs that educate “artisans and engineers” instead of “politicized administrators and bureaucrats.” | https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/desantis-unveils-new-economic-policy-that-targets-china-taxes-and-regulations/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_nation-world | 2023-07-31T16:55:13 | 1 | https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/desantis-unveils-new-economic-policy-that-targets-china-taxes-and-regulations/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_nation-world |
Former President Trump predicted Monday that he would be indicted “any day now” as part of special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into his conduct after the 2020 election.
“I assume that an Indictment from Deranged Jack Smith and his highly partisan gang of Thugs, pertaining to my ‘PEACEFULLY & PATRIOTICALLY Speech, will be coming out any day now, as yet another attempt to cover up all of the bad news about bribes, payoffs, and extortion, coming from the Biden ‘camp,’” Trump posted on Truth Social. “This seems to be the way they do it. ELECTION INTERFERENCE! PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT!”
Smith is investigating Trump’s attempts to remain in power after losing the 2020 election, which culminated with Trump delivering a speech Jan. 6, 2021, in which he repeated false claims about the election being rigged. Trump supporters then violently stormed and ransacked the Capitol in a bid to halt the certification of the election results.
Anticipation over a potential indictment of Trump has been building for weeks after the former president shared that he had received a letter from the Justice Department notifying him he was a target of their investigation.
Target letters typically indicate prosecutors believe they have enough evidence to bring charges against an individual.
In addition, a handful of former Trump officials have reportedly testified in recent weeks as part of Smith’s investigation into the former president’s actions after the 2020 election. Prosecutors are said to have been interested in whether Trump acknowledged that he lost the election despite his public claims that it was fraudulent and could be overturned.
Trump pursued a multi-pronged plan to remain in office following the 2020 election, turning to the DOJ, state officials and even his own supporters, who violently ransacked the Capitol after then-Vice President Mike Pence refused Trump’s request to overturn the results.
The former president’s attorneys met last week with officials from Smith’s office. Trump called it a “productive” meeting, and he indicated his representatives sought to make the case against bringing charges.
A federal grand jury hearing evidence in the case meets Tuesdays and Thursdays. | https://www.wfla.com/hill-politics/trump-expects-to-be-indicted-on-jan-6-charges-any-day-now/ | 2023-07-31T16:55:17 | 0 | https://www.wfla.com/hill-politics/trump-expects-to-be-indicted-on-jan-6-charges-any-day-now/ |
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Blue Ridge Bankshares, Inc. (the "Company") (NYSE American: BRBS), the holding company of Blue Ridge Bank, National Association ("Blue Ridge Bank" or the "Bank") and BRB Financial Group, Inc. ("BRB Financial Group"), announced today financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2023.
For the second quarter of 2023, the Company reported net loss from continuing operations of $19.5 million, or $1.03 per diluted common share, compared to net income from continuing operations of $1.6 million, or $0.09 per diluted common share, for the first quarter of 2023, and net income from continuing operations of $1.1 million, or $0.06 per diluted common share, for the second quarter of 2022.
A Message From Blue Ridge Bankshares, Inc. President and CEO, G. William "Billy" Beale:
"The net loss for the quarter was driven primarily by higher provision expense and the associated reversal of interest income related to loans that were placed on nonaccrual during the quarter. This group of loans, totaling $58.1 million at quarter-end, were sourced by a former lender, and is best described as specialty finance that we deemed to be not in keeping with our desired risk profile. I don't believe this asset quality matter is pervasive within our loan portfolio, and excluding these loans, measures of asset quality were generally stable as compared to the prior quarter.
Having recently joined the organization in May 2023, I am pleased to have found Blue Ridge to be a quality bank providing exceptional service to its customers. My foremost priority, and that of our team, is to remain focused on our regulatory remediation efforts, as we continue to work diligently to bring the Bank's fintech policies, procedures, and operations into conformity with regulatory directives. At the same time, we want to re-energize the core banking franchise by attracting new customers from within our footprint, while supporting our fintech partners that continue to gain momentum."
Q2 2023 Highlights
(Comparisons for Second Quarter 2023 are relative to First Quarter 2023 unless otherwise noted)
Formal Written Agreement:
- As previously disclosed, Blue Ridge Bank entered into a formal written agreement (the "Agreement") with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency ("OCC") on August 29, 2022. The Agreement principally concerns the Bank's fintech line of business and requires the Bank to continue enhancing its controls for assessing and managing the third-party, BSA/AML, and IT risks stemming from its fintech partnerships. A complete copy of the Agreement was filed as an exhibit to the Company's Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on September 1, 2022 and can be accessed on the SEC's website (www.sec.gov) and the Company's website (www.mybrb.com). The Company continues to actively work to bring the Bank's fintech policies, procedures, and operations into conformity with OCC directives. The Company reports that, although work is progressing, many aspects of the Agreement require considerable time for completion, implementation, validation, and sustainability. Remediation costs related to regulatory matters were $2.4 million in the second quarter of 2023 compared to $1.1 million in the prior quarter.
Asset Quality:
- Nonperforming loans totaled $86.1 million, or 2.68% of total assets, compared to $30.7 million, or 0.92% of total assets, at the prior quarter-end. The increase reflects the migration of a group of specialty finance loans to nonaccrual status during the quarter. These loans had a 1.79% impact on the nonperforming loans to total assets ratio for the second quarter.
- The Company recorded a provision for credit losses of $20.5 million, compared to $3.7 million last quarter. Net loan charge-offs were $8.0 million in the quarter, representing an annualized net charge-off rate of 1.29% of average loans, compared to $1.1 million, representing an annualized net charge-off rate of 0.17% of average loans, for the prior quarter. Net loan charge-offs in the quarter were primarily attributable to one loan.
- The allowance for credit losses ("ACL") as a percentage of total loans held for investment was 1.76% at quarter-end, compared to 1.22% at the prior quarter-end. Specific reserves associated with the aforementioned specialty finance loans totaled $14.1 million at June 30, 2023.
Capital:
- As previously announced, on July 12, 2023, the Board of Directors determined to forego the declaration and payment of a cash dividend on the Company's common stock in the third quarter of 2023. The decision was based on the desire to preserve capital and available cash.
- The ratio of tangible stockholders' equity to tangible total assets was 6.3%1, compared to 6.8%1 at the prior quarter-end. Tangible book value per common share was $10.551, compared to $11.931 at the prior quarter-end.
- For the quarter ended June 30, 2023, the Bank's tier 1 leverage ratio, tier 1 risk-based capital ratio, common equity tier 1 capital ratio, and total risk-based capital ratio were 7.86%, 9.27%, 9.27%, and 10.77%, respectively, compared to 8.50%, 10.06%, 10.06%, and 11.12%, respectively, at the prior quarter-end. Capital ratios at quarter-end were within regulatory guidelines to categorize the Bank as well capitalized.
Net Interest Income / Net Interest Margin:
- Net interest income was $20.4 million, a decline of $7.0 million from the prior quarter, primarily reflecting the reversal of $4.7 million in interest income, related to the aforementioned group of specialty finance loans, and higher funding costs. These impacts were partially offset by increasing loan yields in the quarter, which increased 5 basis points excluding the effect of the interest income reversal.
- Net interest margin was 2.67% compared to 3.58% for the prior quarter. The reversal of interest income noted above had an approximate negative 60 basis points impact on second quarter net interest margin.
- Cost of deposits and total cost of funds were 2.21% and 2.49%, respectively, compared to 1.74% and 2.11%, respectively, for the prior quarter. Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta ("FHLB") and Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond ("FRB") advances were $284.1 million at June 30, 2023, compared to $239.1 million at the prior quarter-end. Deposit costs and overall funding costs increased during the second quarter of 2023 due primarily to the impact of higher average balances of wholesale funding secured in late first quarter in response to then market events, as well as interest rates on deposits that adjust with changes in federal funds rates.
Balance Sheet:
- Total deposit balances declined $148.0 million, or 5.4%, from the prior quarter-end, due primarily to a decrease of $93.8 million in wholesale funding, primarily time deposits and interest-bearing demand balances. Excluding wholesale funding, total deposits during the second quarter of 2023 declined by 2.1% from the prior quarter-end.
- Deposits related to fintech relationships were $708 million at June 30, 2023, compared to $716 million at the prior quarter-end. These deposits represented 27.1% of total deposits at June 30, 2023, compared to 25.9% of total deposits at the prior quarter-end. Excluding wholesale funding, deposits related to fintech relationships represented 30.1% and 29.8% of total deposits at June 30, 2023 and March 31, 2023, respectively.
- Loans held for investment, excluding Paycheck Protection Program ("PPP") loans, were $2.45 billion, essentially level with the prior quarter-end.
- The held for investment loan to deposit ratio measured 94.1% at quarter-end, compared to 89.0% at the prior quarter-end. The increase was primarily due to the reduction in wholesale deposits.
Noninterest Income / Noninterest Expense:
- Noninterest income was $9.7 million, compared to $7.3 million for the prior quarter, due primarily to fair value adjustments to mortgage servicing rights ("MSRs"), reported in residential mortgage banking income, which were a positive $0.8 million, compared to a negative $2.1 million in the prior quarter.
- Noninterest expense was $34.1 million, compared to $28.8 million for the prior quarter. Increased expenses primarily reflected higher other contractual services, legal, regulatory remediation, and FDIC insurance costs, partially offset by lower salaries and employee benefits costs. Higher other contractual services expense was primarily due to outsourced BSA/AML compliance services as the Bank continues to augment its compliance staff, while higher legal expense was primarily attributable to corporate, employee benefit plans, and other employment matters. Higher FDIC insurance cost relative to the prior quarter was primarily due to balance sheet growth, while lower salaries and employee benefits cost was primarily due to continued headcount reduction in the mortgage division. During the quarter, the Company sold its wholesale mortgage business operating as LenderSelect Mortgage Group.
Income Statement:
Net Interest Income
Net interest income was $20.4 million for the second quarter of 2023, compared to $27.4 million for the first quarter of 2023, and $24.1 million for the second quarter of 2022. Relative to both the prior quarter and year-ago periods, net interest income declined due to a lower net interest margin resulting primarily from the aforementioned reversal of interest income related to the specialty finance loans moved to nonaccrual status during the second quarter of 2023, the impact of higher interest rates on the Company's deposits and overall funding costs, and actions taken to add balance sheet liquidity following the market events of March 2023. Relative to the prior year period, these developments were partially offset by an increase in average interest-earning asset balances, and relative to both prior periods, higher loan yields.
Total interest income was $39.0 million for the second quarter of 2023, compared to $43.1 million for the first quarter of 2023, and $26.2 million for the second quarter of 2022. The decline relative to the prior quarter reflects the aforementioned reversal of interest income related to loans placed on nonaccrual status during the second quarter of 2023. The increase relative to the prior year reflects higher average balances of and yields on interest-earning asset balances, partially offset by the reversal of interest income on loans moved to nonaccrual status during the second quarter of 2023, and lower income from purchase accounting adjustments. The yield on average loans held for investment, excluding PPP loans, was 5.54% for the second quarter of 2023, compared to 6.24% for the first quarter of 2023, and 4.97% for the second quarter of 2022. The reversal of interest income noted above had an approximate negative 75 basis points impact on the yield on average loans held for investment, excluding PPP loans, for the second quarter of 2023.
Total interest expense was $18.6 million for the second quarter of 2023, compared to $15.7 million for the first quarter of 2023, and $2.2 million for the second quarter of 2022. The increase relative to the prior quarter and the year-ago period reflects higher deposit costs and overall funding costs due to higher market interest rates and a shift in the mix of average interest-bearing liabilities, primarily to higher cost wholesale funding sources.
Average balances of interest-earning assets increased $3.6 million, or 0.1%, to $3.06 billion, in the second quarter of 2023, relative to the prior quarter, and increased by $582.0 million, or 23.5%, from the year-ago period. Relative to the prior quarter, average interest-earning asset balances were relatively flat, reflecting a slight decline in average total securities and loans held for investment balances, offset by higher average balances of loans held for sale and interest-earning deposits in other banks. Relative to the prior year-ago period, average interest-earning asset balances increased due primarily to higher balances of loans held for investment and interest-earning deposits at other banks, partially offset by lower average securities balances.
Average balances of interest-bearing liabilities increased $177.1 million, or 8.2%, to $2.35 billion, in the second quarter of 2023, relative to the prior quarter, and increased $719.3 million, or 44.2%, relative to the year-ago period. Relative to the prior quarter, the increase reflected higher average interest-bearing deposits, primarily higher average wholesale time deposits, partially offset by lower average FHLB borrowings. Relative to the prior year, the increase reflected higher average interest-bearing deposits and higher average FHLB borrowings.
Cost of funds was 2.49% for the second quarter of 2023, compared to 2.11% for the first quarter of 2023, and 0.36% for the second quarter of 2022, while cost of deposits was 2.21%, 1.74%, and 0.26%, for the same respective periods. Higher deposit costs and overall funding costs reflect the impact of higher market interest rates, higher average balances and related interest costs of FHLB borrowings, and a shift in the mix of funding, including an increase in higher cost time deposits, which includes an increase in wholesale funding average balances and a decline in average noninterest-bearing deposits.
Net interest margin was 2.67% for the second quarter of 2023, compared to 3.58% for the first quarter of 2023, and 3.89% for the second quarter of 2022. The decline in net interest margin relative to both prior periods primarily reflects the aforementioned reversal of interest income related to loans placed on nonaccrual status during the second quarter of 2023, the impact of higher interest rates on funding costs, and less benefit from purchase accounting adjustments. These declines were partially offset by higher yields on loans, excluding the reversal of interest income.
Provision for Credit Losses
The Company recorded a provision for credit losses of $20.5 million for the second quarter of 2023, compared to $3.7 million for the first quarter of 2023, and $7.5 million for the second quarter of 2022. Relative to both prior periods, the increase in provision is primarily attributable to specific reserves and charge-offs on the aforementioned group of specialty finance loans.
Noninterest Income
Noninterest income was $9.7 million for the second quarter of 2023, compared to $7.3 million for the first quarter of 2023, and $10.2 million for the second quarter of 2022. Relative to the prior quarter, the increase reflected higher residential mortgage banking income, primarily due to the aforementioned fair value adjustments to MSRs, and, to a lesser extent, higher bank and purchase card income, partially offset by lower other noninterest income and negative fair value adjustments of other equity investments. Relative to the year-ago period, the decline reflected lower residential mortgage banking income, partially offset by higher other noninterest income and higher gain on sale of government guaranteed loans.
Noninterest Expense
Noninterest expense was $34.1 million for the second quarter of 2023, compared to $28.8 million for the first quarter of 2023, and $25.3 million for the second quarter of 2022. Relative to the prior quarter and year-ago period, the increase primarily reflects higher other contractual services, legal, regulatory remediation, and FDIC insurance costs, partially offset by lower salaries and employee benefits costs.
Balance Sheet:
Loans
Loans held for investment, excluding PPP loans, were $2.45 billion at June 30, 2023, compared to $2.45 billion at March 31, 2023, and $2.05 billion at June 30, 2022. Loan balances were flat with the prior quarter level, while the Company selectively replaced the amortization of balances with higher yielding loans. The increase in loan balances relative to the year ago period reflected the high level of growth, particularly in the second half of 2022.
Deposits
Total deposits were $2.61 billion at June 30, 2023, a decline of $148.0 million, or 5.4%, from the prior quarter-end, and an increase of $277.4 million, or 11.9%, from the year-ago period. Relative to the prior quarter, the decrease reflected a decline in wholesale funding, primarily time deposits, and, to a lesser extent, declines in other deposit types. Relative to the year-ago period, the increase reflected higher wholesale funding balances, interest-bearing demand and money market deposits, partially offset by lower noninterest-bearing demand deposits. Noninterest-bearing deposits declined 3.1% and 26.7% relative to the prior quarter and year-ago periods, respectively, and represented 22.0%, 21.5%, and 33.6% of total deposits at June 30, 2023, March 31, 2023, and June 30, 2022, respectively. The change from the year-ago period was primarily due to certain fintech-related balances shifting to interest-bearing accounts.
The held for investment loan to deposit ratio was 94.1% at June 30, 2023, compared to 89.0% at the prior quarter-end, and 88.4% at the year-ago period-end. The increase on a linked quarter basis was due primarily to lower wholesale funding at second quarter-end 2023, while the increase from the year-ago period end was due to second half 2022 loan growth.
Fintech Business:
Interest and fee income related to fintech partnerships represented approximately $3.4 million, $2.9 million, and $1.8 million of total revenue for the Company for the second quarter of 2023, the first quarter of 2023, and the second quarter of 2022, respectively.
Deposits related to fintech relationships were $708 million at June 30, 2023, compared to $716 million at the prior quarter-end. These deposits represented 27.1% of total deposits at June 30, 2023, compared to 25.9% of total deposits at the prior quarter-end. Included in deposits related to fintech relationships were assets managed by BRB Financial Group's trust division of $37.2 million as of June 30, 2023.
Other Matters:
On May 15, 2023, the Company sold its wholesale mortgage business operating as LenderSelect Mortgage Group ("LSMG") to a third-party for $250 thousand in cash. The Company recorded a loss on the sale of LSMG of $553 thousand, which is reported in other noninterest income in the consolidated statements of operations for the three and six months ended June 30, 2023.
In the first quarter of 2022, the Company sold its majority interest in MoneyWise Payroll Solutions, Inc. ("MoneyWise") to the holder of the minority interest in MoneyWise. Income statement amounts related to MoneyWise are reported as discontinued operations for all periods presented.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures:
The accounting and reporting policies of the Company conform to U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP") and prevailing practices in the banking industry. However, management uses certain non-GAAP measures to supplement the evaluation of the Company's performance. Management believes presentations of these non-GAAP financial measures provide useful supplemental information that is essential to a proper understanding of the operating results of the Company's core businesses. These non-GAAP disclosures should not be viewed as a substitute for operating results determined in accordance with GAAP, nor are they necessarily comparable to non-GAAP performance measures that may be presented by other companies. Reconciliations of GAAP to non-GAAP measures are included at the end of this release.
Forward-Looking Statements:
This release of the Company contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements represent plans, estimates, objectives, goals, guidelines, expectations, intentions, projections, and statements of the Company's beliefs concerning future events, business plans, objectives, expected operating results and the assumptions upon which those statements are based. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, any statement that may predict, forecast, indicate, or imply future results, performance or achievements, and are typically identified with words such as "may," "could," "should," "will," "would," "believe," "anticipate," "estimate," "expect," "aim," "intend," "plan," or words or phases of similar meaning. The Company cautions that the forward-looking statements are based largely on its expectations and are subject to a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties that are subject to change based on factors which are, in many instances, beyond the Company's control. Actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those contemplated, expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements.
The following factors, among others, could cause the Company's financial performance to differ materially from that expressed in such forward-looking statements: (i) the strength of the United States economy in general and the strength of the local economies in which it conducts operations; (ii) changes in the level of the Company's nonperforming assets and charge-offs; (iii) management of risks inherent in the Company's real estate loan portfolio, and the risk of a prolonged downturn in the real estate market, which could impair the value of collateral and the ability to sell collateral upon any foreclosure; (iv) the effects of, and changes in, trade, monetary, and fiscal policies and laws, including interest rate policies of the Federal Reserve, inflation, interest rate, market, and monetary fluctuations; (v) changes in consumer spending and savings habits; (vi) the Company's ability to identify, attract, and retain experienced management, relationship managers, and support personnel, particularly in a competitive labor environment; (vii) technological and social media changes impacting the Company, the Bank, and the financial services industry in general; (viii) changing bank regulatory conditions, laws, regulations, policies, or programs, whether arising as new legislation or regulatory initiatives, that could lead to restrictions on activities of banks generally, or the Bank in particular, more restrictive regulatory capital requirements, increased costs, including deposit insurance premiums, increased regulations, prohibition of certain income producing activities, or changes in the secondary market for loans and other products; (ix) the impact of changes in financial services policies, laws and regulations, including laws, regulations and policies concerning taxes, banking, securities and insurance, and the application thereof by regulatory bodies; (x) the Company's involvement, from time to time, in legal proceedings and examination and remedial actions by regulators; (xi) the impact of, and the ability to comply with, the terms of the formal written agreement between the Bank and the OCC; (xii) the impact of changes in laws, regulations, and policies affecting the real estate industry; (xiii) the effect of changes in accounting policies and practices, as may be adopted from time to time by bank regulatory agencies, the SEC, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, the Financial Accounting Standards Board, or other accounting standards setting bodies; (xiv) the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the adverse impact on our business and operations and on the Company's customers which may result, among other things, in increased delinquencies, defaults, foreclosures and losses on loans; (xv) the occurrence of significant natural disasters, including severe weather conditions, floods, health related issues, and other catastrophic events; (xvi) geopolitical conditions, including acts or threats of terrorism and/or military conflicts, or actions taken by the U.S. or other governments in response to acts or threats of terrorism and/or military conflicts, which could impact business and economic conditions in the U.S. and abroad; (xvii) the timely development of competitive new products and services and the acceptance of these products and services by new and existing customers; (xviii) the willingness of users to substitute competitors' products and services for the Company's products and services; (xix) the Company's inability to successfully manage growth or implement its growth strategy; (xx) reputational risk and potential adverse reactions of the Company's customers, suppliers, employees or other business partners; (xxi) the effect of acquisitions the Company may make, including, without limitation, disruption of employee or customer relationships, and the failure to achieve the expected revenue growth and/or expense savings from such acquisitions; (xxii) the Company's participation in the PPP established by the U.S. government and its administration of the loans and processing fees earned under the program; (xxiii) the Company's involvement, from time to time, in legal proceedings, and examination and remedial actions by regulators; (xxiv) the Company's potential exposure to fraud, negligence, computer theft, and cyber-crime; (xxv) the Bank's ability to effectively manage its fintech partnerships, and the abilities of those fintech companies to perform as expected; (xxvi) the Bank's ability to pay dividends to the Company; and (xxvii) other risks and factors identified in the "Risk Factors" sections and elsewhere in documents the Company files from time to time with the SEC.
1 Non-GAAP financial measure. Further information can be found at the end of this press release.
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SOURCE Blue Ridge Bankshares, Inc. | https://www.wcjb.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/blue-ridge-bankshares-inc-announces-second-quarter-2023-results/ | 2023-07-31T16:55:18 | 1 | https://www.wcjb.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/blue-ridge-bankshares-inc-announces-second-quarter-2023-results/ |
Bangladesh: What has happened to ex-PM Khaleda Zia?
Police in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka fired rubber bullets and tear gas at anti-government protesters blocking major roads over the weekend. There were also clashes with groups of pro-government marchers. Stones were thrown, vehicles were torched and many people were reportedly injured.
In the wake of a major cost-of-living crisis, the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its allies have called for Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to step down before the next election, due to be held by January 2024. They want it to be held under a neutral caretaker government.
So far, the prime minister and her ruling Awami League have rejected the demand.
Where is Khaleda Zia?
The BNP has been able to organize major rallies despite itself being tossed into chaos in 2018 when its leader, Khaleda Zia, was charged with graft and sentenced to five years in jail. A higher court extended the term to 10 years.
In March 2020, the government allowed her to be released from prison as her health worsened. Conditions for her release stated that "she remains in her Dhaka residence to receive treatment and does not go abroad," said Bangladeshi Law and Justice Minister Anisul Haq.
Zia, who is at her home in Dhaka, has not been seen at any political events since then. In recent months, she has been admitted to hospital several times due to deteriorating health.
Now 77, Zia became Bangladesh's first female prime minister in 1991. She was elected for another term in 1996, but her government lasted only a few months. She resigned after introducing a caretaker system on the demand of opposition parties led by the Awami League. In 2001, she was once again elected prime minister and served another five years.
Zia and the current prime minister are considered to be archrivals. When she was jailed in 2018, Zia's supporters said the corruption charges against her were a politically motivated attempt to keep her out of office.
"Her trial was very controversial," explained Asif Nazrul, a law professor at the University of Dhaka. "Even at the appeal stage, her punishment was doubled by the high court, which is very rare in Bangladesh or many other common law states," he told DW.
"She is the most popular leader in Bangladesh in terms of the constituency she won personally in the past parliamentary elections. This incumbent government could not have confronted her popularity except by detaining her," Nazrul added.
Power vacuum in BNP
Zia's current absence from the political scene can be explained by two factors — legal troubles and bad health, said Michael Kugelman, the director of the South Asia Institute at the Washington-based Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
"It's hard to know if BNP leaders are exaggerating when they say her health is so bad that she's near death. But it's clear that her legal and health travails have prevented her from being the public figure that she had been for so long," he told DW.
After Zia was jailed, her son Tarique Rahman, who has lived in exile in UK since 2008, became the BNP's acting chief. He too has had legal troubles of his own — with several charges and in absentia trials over graft, money laundering, criminal conspiracy and multiple counts of murder. The BNP claims that the cases against him are also politically motivated and that nearly 4 million of its activists faced legal cases between 2009 and 2022.
Kugelman says that in light of the situation with Zia, the BNP is trying to boost Rahman's image. "The recent BNP rally when a speech of Rahman's was broadcast to the crowd — the first time he's been heard that way in Bangladesh since he fled 15 years ago — suggests that the party is trying to bring him closer to the support base and perhaps prepare it for a transition of power,” he told DW.
"But it's difficult, even in a dynastic party, to transfer leadership duties to someone based abroad and far away. Not to mention, when you have someone who has been abroad for 15 years, there will be concerns that they are out of touch with ground realities, and that's not the perception you want people to have about the next party leader," Kugelman stressed.
New face of the opposition
In the physical absence of the BNP's two top leaders, it is the party's secretary general, Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, who is its face on the ground. He has become increasingly visible and vocal in recent years, and is currently fronting the ongoing protests.
"At least publicly, Alamgir is taking on a major leadership role," said Kugelman. "But in private, behind the scenes, where the big decisions are made, leadership likely remains a family affair, with Zia and Rahman."
Nazrul from the University of Dhaka thinks that the party still needs its top leaders. "Alamgir is an accomplished leader now and has an excellent rapport with Tarique Rahman. But Rahman's physical presence in Bangladesh could have strengthened them even more," he told DW. "But it could be very risky as well, as it is almost certain that he will be arrested the moment he comes back."
The BNP has threatened to boycott the election if it is held under Hasina, saying that a credible vote is impossible under her government. It is one of many parties that want the caretaker administration, which was scrapped by the Hasina government in 2011, to be reinstated.
The prime minister insists that voting will be free and fair. The last two national elections, held under her watch in 2014 and 2018, were marred by violence and allegations of massive vote rigging.
Edited by: Darko Janjevic | https://www.dw.com/en/bangladesh-what-has-happened-to-ex-pm-khaleda-zia/a-66398142 | 2023-07-31T16:55:18 | 1 | https://www.dw.com/en/bangladesh-what-has-happened-to-ex-pm-khaleda-zia/a-66398142 |
Man mauled to death by pack of dogs, sheriff says
SKIPPERVILLE, Ala. (WTVY/Gray News) – A man was mauled to death by a pack of dogs, according to Dale County Sheriff Mason Bynum, who explained investigators originally believed the man had been murdered.
Authorities said acquaintances found the body of 27-year-old Demarcus “Sam” McKenzie in the driveway of a home.
Bynum said it looked like McKenzie was leaving the house when the dogs became aggressive toward him.
“The victim began to run down the driveway as two to three more dogs joined in on the attack,” he explained.
The sheriff said surveillance video shows McKenzie falling and the dogs pouncing on him.
“At one point, five to six dogs are seen violently attacking and mauling the victim as he struggles to stand. After a few minutes, the dogs overpower the victim, and he appears to become incapacitated,” Bynum said.
The sheriff plans to discuss the tragedy with Dale County District Attorney Kirke Adams but did not say who owns the dogs or if they could face charges.
The body’s condition led officers to first believe that McKenzie had been shot, Bynum said.
Copyright 2023 WTVY via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.valleynewslive.com/2023/07/31/man-mauled-death-by-pack-dogs-sheriff-says/ | 2023-07-31T16:55:20 | 1 | https://www.valleynewslive.com/2023/07/31/man-mauled-death-by-pack-dogs-sheriff-says/ |
Don't overstate 1.5 degrees C threat, new IPCC head says
The newly appointed head of the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Jim Skea, spoke to two major German news outlets over the weekend, soon after his appointment to the role.
Speaking to weekly magazine Der Spiegel, in an interview first published on Saturday, Skea warned against laying too much value on the international community's current nominal target of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius compared the pre-industrial era.
"We should not despair and fall into a state of shock" if global temperatures were to increase by this amount, he said.
In a separate discussion with German news agency DPA, Skea expanded on why.
"If you constantly communicate the message that we are all doomed to extinction, then that paralyzes people and prevents them from taking the necessary steps to get a grip on climate change," he said.
"The world won't end if it warms by more than 1.5 degrees," Skea told Der Spiegel. "It will however be a more dangerous world."
Surpassing that mark would lead to many problems and social tensions, he said, but still that would not constitute an existential threat to humanity.
The international community's stated target is currently to limit global warming to the 1.5 degrees Celsius target, even though UN estimates suggest that the current commitments made by countries are actually likely to fall far short of their nominal goal.
The UN estimates that within roughly a decade, the target is liable to be breached.
What else did Skea say?
James "Jim" Skea is a physics graduate born in Dundee in Scotland who did his doctoral thesis in energy research and has worked at Imperial College London since 2009.
The 69-year-old, who has been involved with the IPCC since its foundation in the 1990s, was named its new chairman on Wednesday.
He told Der Spiegel that there remained good reasons to be optimistic in the battle against climate change.
"Every measure we take to weaken climate change helps," he said, adding that measures were also becoming "ever more cost-effective."
Skea said that one short-term focus should remain expanding renewable electricity to reduce emissions from fossil fuel electricity generation and from internal combustion engine vehicles.
"Longer term, we probably will not be able to do without technological solutions like the underground capture of CO2," he said, referring to the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide.
Individual abstinence is good, but new infrastructure required
Skea predicted that one difficult area might prove to be changing people's lifestyles. He said that no scientist could tell people how to live or what to eat.
"Individual abstinence is good, but it alone will not bring about the change to the extent it will be necessary," Skea said. "If we are to live more climate consciously, we need entirely new infrastructure. People will not get on bikes if there are no cycle paths."
Skea said he also wanted to adapt the IPCC so that it could provide better and more targeted advice to specific groups of people on how they could act to combat climate change.
He named groups like town planners, landowners and businesses: "With all these things it's about real people and their real lives, not scientific abstractions. We need to come down a level," he told DPA.
He said he also hoped to make progress during his tenure on how and where money was sent and spent to tackle the problem globally.
"There's enough money in the world, the challenge is getting it to flow to the right places," he said.
msh/sri (AFP, dpa) | https://www.dw.com/en/climate-change-do-not-overstate-15-degrees-threat/a-66386523 | 2023-07-31T16:55:21 | 0 | https://www.dw.com/en/climate-change-do-not-overstate-15-degrees-threat/a-66386523 |
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s Supreme Court said Monday that a full panel of 15 justices would hear petitions in September against a contentious law that was passed last week by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and which has spurred mass protests.
The law was one of a series of proposed changes to Israel’s judiciary put forward by Netanyahu’s government earlier this year that seek to curb the power of the Supreme Court. The judicial overhaul plan has been met with months of sustained mass protest against the legislation and drawn criticism from the White House.
Critics of the overhaul say that the package of laws would concentrate power in the hands of the ruling coalition and erode the system of checks and balances between branches of government. Proponents say the measures are necessary to limit the power of unelected judges who they say are overly activist.
Netanyahu and his allies passed a law last week that removes the high court’s ability to annul government decisions considered “unreasonable.” The “reasonableness standard” was implemented by the Supreme Court earlier this year to thwart the appointment of a Netanyahu ally as interior minister after he had recently pleaded guilty to tax offenses.
The court said the hearing concerning the law striking down the “reasonableness standard” would take place on Sept. 12 with a full bench of 15 justices. The Supreme Court typically hears cases with smaller panels of justices, but appears to have opted for a full complement of judges because of the highly delicate nature of the matter.
The Netanyahu administration’s push to overhaul the judiciary has deeply divided an already highly polarized country and sparked the longest sustained protests in the country’s history.
Netanyahu and his allies took office in December after the country’s fifth election in under four years, most of them referendums on the longtime leader’s fitness to serve while on trial for corruption. | https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/israels-full-high-court-to-hear-petitions-against-judiciary-law-in-september-that-spurred-protests/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_nation-world | 2023-07-31T16:55:21 | 0 | https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/israels-full-high-court-to-hear-petitions-against-judiciary-law-in-september-that-spurred-protests/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_nation-world |
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Florida gas prices have surged to their highest point in months, according to the AAA Auto Club Group.
On Friday, gas prices in Florida averaged $3.67 per gallon. It’s the highest price since mid-April, when a gallon of gas cost $3.27 on average.
The state average rose almost 30 cents per gallon over the past two weeks, according to AAA. The Florida metro areas paying the most for gas include West Palm-Boca Raton ($3.80), Naples ($3.72), and Port St. Lucie ($3.71). The metro areas with the cheapest gas are in the Florida Panhandle: Pensacola ($3.46), Crestview-Fort Walton Beach ($3.52), and Panama City ($3.54).
AAA cited rising oil costs as the main reason for higher prices at the pump.
“Oil prices are the primary culprit behind the recent jump at the pump,” said Mark Jenkins, spokesman for AAA – The Auto Club Group. “The U.S. price of oil rose 15% through the past five weeks, which raised the cost of producing gasoline.”
According to data from the Oil Price Information Service, oil companies are raising their prices due to strong economic projections and an expected increase in demand. Record-breaking heat across the Gulf coast has caused some refinery outages, which means less oil is making it back to the mainland U.S.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration indicates about 93% of Gulf Coast refineries are currently operational, which is down 1.5% from the previous week. At this point last year, 97% of refineries were operating as normal.
Florida’s gas prices are slightly lower than the national average of $3.75 per gallon, according to AAA. | https://www.wfla.com/news/florida/aaa-florida-gas-prices-hit-3-month-high/ | 2023-07-31T16:55:23 | 0 | https://www.wfla.com/news/florida/aaa-florida-gas-prices-hit-3-month-high/ |
The Mega Millions jackpot prize has grown to $1.05 billion ahead of Tuesday’s drawing.
The prize is the fifth-largest in game history, according to Mega Millions, and the cash value is estimated to about $527.9 million.
Tuesday’s drawing with be the 30th in the current sequence. The last jackpot, in which a player had all six matching numbers, was won on April 18.
Five tickets, had the five matching numbers worth the $1 million prize, according to the Mega Millions. Those tickets were purchased in Arizona, California, New York and Pennsylvania. One of the two Pennsylvania winners won an additional multi-million dollar Megaplier prize.
Drawings are at 10 p.m. Eastern (7 p.m. PDT) Tuesdays and Fridays. | https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/mega-millions-jackpot-surpasses-1-billion-ahead-of-tuesday-drawing/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_nation-world | 2023-07-31T16:55:24 | 1 | https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/mega-millions-jackpot-surpasses-1-billion-ahead-of-tuesday-drawing/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_nation-world |
Provides DUI/DWI Solutions and Free Virtual Continuing Education
DES MOINES, Iowa, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Consumer Safety Technology, a leader in safety and detection products and services, announced today it has been named the Official DUI/DWI Services Sponsor for The Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (FACDL). The expanded partnership will provide continuing education seminars and exclusive benefits to support FACDL attorneys and their clients.
FACDL is the only statewide organization in Florida dedicated solely to criminal defense attorneys. A not-for-profit corporation, FACDL was formed for scientific and educational purposes and is affiliated with the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
"Expanding our partnership with FACDL reinforces our commitment to supporting criminal defense attorneys across the state," said Kathy Boden Holland, CEO, CST. "By offering members valuable continuing legal education content and access to products and services for every step in the DUI process, we aim to enhance their expertise and effectiveness in representing clients."
CST's suite of comprehensive alcohol and impairment solutions includes Intoxalock, the leading ignition interlock brand in the US, and trusted partner to attorneys and monitoring authorities. Through the partnership, FACDL members can easily address multiple client needs with products and services covering the entire DUI process, not just one area.
- Intoxalock – Intoxalock devices are approved in Florida and meet all state criteria for court-ordered devices. With VIP support from Intoxalock, FACDL member's clients will receive expedited assistance. www.intoxalock.com
- Breathe Easy - High-risk insurance coverage is often a requirement following a DUI or DWI conviction. Breathe Easy insurance brokerage works with several providers, and FACDL members can rely on Breathe Easy representatives to find the best coverage for the lowest price on behalf of their clients. https://www.breatheeasyins.com/
- New Directions - Assessments that DUI and DWI defendants can use to strengthen their case in court. As part of the partnership, FACDL members will receive priority scheduling for assessments. All clients will receive a customized assessment tailored to their unique situation and needs. New Directions also offers a money-back guarantee if the assessment is not accepted in court. https://www.ndsbs.com/
Key FACDL event dates:
- October 4, 2023 - Ignition Interlock 101: The 5 Most Common Mistakes Clients – FACDL members will learn more about ignition interlock devices and the benefits, requirements, and technical aspects of the device.
- November 16-17, 2023 - CST will serve as the top-tier sponsor for the DUI Defense Seminar, Blood, Breath & Tears, at the University of Florida Levin College of Law in Gainesville, Florida.
For more information on how FACDL attorney members can join the Intoxalock Select Attorney Network and get instant access to client savings materials visit the FACDL and Intoxalock Partner page.
About Consumer Safety Technology
Consumer Safety Technology (CST) is a leader in safety and detection products and services that help people live responsibly and make communities safer. A force for good for more than 30 years, CST and its family of leading brands serve as a trusted partner to both individuals and authorities. CST's portfolio features comprehensive alcohol and impairment solutions that uniquely cover the entire DUI process and include: Intoxalock, the number one ignition interlock brand in the US; Breathe Easy, specialized and low-cost insurance; and New Directions, virtual court and employer accepted assessments. Driven by a commitment to delivering reliable and exceptional service, combined with innovative technology that makes positive change, CST has achieved sustained growth and success. CST is a portfolio company of L. Catterton and was named Best Place to Work for Working Parents in 2022 and 2023. For more information visit www.consumersafetytechnology.com or via LinkedIn.com.
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SOURCE Intoxalock | https://www.wcjb.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/consumer-safety-technology-announces-expanded-partnership-with-florida-association-criminal-defense-lawyers/ | 2023-07-31T16:55:24 | 0 | https://www.wcjb.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/consumer-safety-technology-announces-expanded-partnership-with-florida-association-criminal-defense-lawyers/ |
US customers can now experience Angel Aligner with over two decades of superior aligner technology, transforming a million healthy smiles
SANTA ANA, Calif., July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- With over 20 years of experience and a commitment to research and digital innovation, Angelalign Technology Inc., is excited to announce the launch of its custom-made clear aligners into the U.S. market. Angelalign Technology is a leading global provider of clear aligner dental technology and evidence-based clinical expertise. With 1 million smiles treated,1 the company is now expanding its expertise and global footprint.
Since 2003, Angelalign Technology has maintained productive scientific collaborations with orthodontists and universities around the world, enabling the company to build a large database of complex orthodontic cases. State-of-the-art research and development (R&D) and customized production facilities are now globally positioned to bring a fresh perspective and technological advancements to clear aligner manufacturing and customer service.
The company is dedicated to research and development, with an average of 11% of annual revenue invested into R&D every year. Innovative highlights include:
- angelButton™ – Manufactured directly into the aligner to provide an additional anchorage point to support the use of elastics and TADs, these buttons can be added and/or adjusted anywhere on the arch and are designed with high structural integrity to facilitate efficient tooth movement via elastics.
"Angel Aligner solved the problems of having buttons. The buttons are built into the aligners, which will reduce emergencies, and additional appointments can be avoided."
Dr. Amanda Cheng, Orthodontist, California
- iOrtho™ – A secure cloud-based service platform housing patient management data for Angel Aligner™ treatments. The treatment planning software has user-friendly 3D controls, allowing doctors to customize and review Angel Aligner case designs.
"Working with the iOrtho software has been amazing and the turnaround time has been great in our practice."
Dr. Stephen Bradford, Orthodontics by Bradford, Florida
- Intelligent Root System (IRS) – Get an accurate 3D digital representation of the patient's tooth, root and jawbone relationship that uses CBCT data and IO scans and adjusts throughout the course of treatment via an Intelligent Root System (IRS).
- masterControl S (MCS) – A soft multi-layered polymer material with gentle but long-lasting orthodontic force design for more efficient tooth movement. MCS exhibits enhanced tear and stain resistance, mechanical stability and unique reflective properties.
- angelAttach – Optimized and conventional attachments are designed for better orthodontic force and more effective and accurate tooth movement.
Angel Aligner™ has a large specialized team of technicians with over 3.5 years of tenure, orthodontically attuned to precision case designs with specialized knowledge in complex malocclusions. They're ready to support treatment planning needs with high-quality case designs and 10-day turnaround times.
"The treatment plans coming back are excellent. I don't have to do a lot of modifying."
Dr. James Crouse, The Brace Place, Maryland
Angel Aligner™ delivers a simple approach, innovative products and tools and experienced customer support to continuously push the edge of technology, product development and service to better serve orthodontic professionals and ultimately, their patients.
"We're excited to combine two decades of research, development and clinical expertise in clear aligner technology with the seasoned experience of our leadership, sales and integration specialists in the North American market," said Jason Tabb, General Manager, North America.
About Angel Aligner™
Angelalign Technology Inc., a leading global provider of clear aligner technology and clinical expertise, has announced the launch of its custom-made clear aligners into new markets worldwide. With over 20 years of experience and a commitment to research and digital innovation, Angelalign Technology has treated 1 million smiles and offers unparalleled customer service and state-of-the-art production facilities.
1As of June 30, 2023, the total number of cases of any and all the products and services provided by all entities owned or controlled by Angelalign Technology Inc. has exceeded one million.
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SOURCE Angel Aligner | https://www.valleynewslive.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/angel-aligner-launches-game-changing-clear-aligner-technology-us-markets/ | 2023-07-31T16:55:26 | 1 | https://www.valleynewslive.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/angel-aligner-launches-game-changing-clear-aligner-technology-us-markets/ |
Denmark studying 'legal' options to stop Quran burnings
The Danish government is looking into "a legal tool" that would enable authorities to prevent protesters outside embassies from burning the Muslim holy book, the Quran, in the Nordic country.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen told the national broadcaster DR on Sunday that the government was studying the scope for intervention to prevent such acts.
The news comes as many Muslim countries have protested the desecration of the Quran at demonstrations held in Denmark and Sweden in recent weeks.
Saudi Arabia and Iraq have called upon the Jeddah-based Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to convene on Monday to address Quran desecration in both Nordic countries. Several Muslim nations have also launched campaigns to boycott Swedish products.
What did the Danish foreign minister say?
Denmark and Sweden have both deplored the burning of the holy book of Islam. Yet, they stressed their hands were tied against the Nordic countries' rules protecting free speech.
In a statement on Sunday, Rasmussen said the government was studying the scope for intervention "in special situations where, for instance, other countries, cultures, and religions are being insulted, and where this could have significant negative consequences for Denmark, not least with regard to security."
"The burnings are deeply offensive and reckless acts committed by few individuals. These few individuals do not represent the values the Danish society is built on," he said.
Rasmussen stressed that any measure taken would fall "within the framework of the constitutionally protected freedom of expression and in a manner that does not change the fact that freedom of expression in Denmark has [a] very broad scope."
What did Sweden say?
Meanwhile, Swedish Prime Ulf Kristersson said on Sunday that he held talks with Danish counterpart Mette Frederiksen, where both leaders agreed the situation was dangerous.
"We need to take measures to strengthen our resilience," Kristenrsson said in a post on Instagram. "Ultimately it is about defending our free and open societies, our democracy and our citizens' right to freedom and security."
The outrage from the Quran desecration has been particularly problematic for Sweden, whose bid to join NATO had been blocked by Turkey for nearly a year, over accusations of hosting terrorists. Turkey has often been among the loudest protesters against burning Qurans.
On Sunday, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan urged Stockholm to take concrete steps to prevent Quran burnings, as per a report by the Reuters news agency citing a foreign ministry source. Fidan spoke during a phone call with Swedish counterpart Tobias Billstrom, during which Sweden's NATO accession was also discussed.
Earlier this month, the Swedish government said it would look into the possibility of amending the Public Order Act in a manner which makes it possible for the police to stop demonstrations which threaten the country's security.
rmt/jcg (AFP, Reuters) | https://www.dw.com/en/denmark-quran-burning-legal-measures/a-66391117 | 2023-07-31T16:55:27 | 0 | https://www.dw.com/en/denmark-quran-burning-legal-measures/a-66391117 |
MIAMI (AP) — The property manager of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate made his first court appearance on Monday on charges in the classified documents case against the former president but did not enter a plea because he has not found a Florida-based attorney to represent him.
Carlos De Oliveira was added last week to the indictment with Trump and the former president’s valet, Walt Nauta. De Oliveira faces charges including conspiracy to obstruct justice and lying to investigators.
The judge read De Oliveira the charges against him and ordered him to turn over his passport and sign an agreement to pay $100,000 if he doesn’t appear in court. The judge scheduled his arraignment for Aug. 10 in Fort Pierce.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing. An attorney for De Oliveira declined to comment last week on the allegations.
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.wfla.com/news/florida/mar-a-lago-worker-makes-his-first-court-appearance-in-trumps-classified-documents-case/ | 2023-07-31T16:55:29 | 1 | https://www.wfla.com/news/florida/mar-a-lago-worker-makes-his-first-court-appearance-in-trumps-classified-documents-case/ |
At about summer’s halfway point, the record-breaking heat and weather extremes are both unprecedented and unsurprising, hellish yet boring in some ways, scientists say.
Killer heat. Deadly floods. Smoke from wildfires that chokes.
And there’s no relief in sight.
Expect a hotter than normal August and September, American and European forecast centers predict.
“We are seeing unprecedented changes all over the world,” said NASA climate scientist Gavin Schmidt. “The heat waves that we’re seeing in the U.S. and in Europe, in China are demolishing records left, right and center. This is not a surprise.”
Imperial College of London climate scientist Friederike Otto said examining what’s causing heat waves is “boring” in a way since it keeps happening. Yet she added that it matters “because it shows again just how much climate change plays a role in what we are currently experiencing.”
“This story, these impacts, are going to continue,” Schmidt said. “We’re going to be seeing this pretty much this year and into next year” with a natural El Nino warming of the Pacific adding to the overwhelming influence of human-caused climate change largely from the burning of coal, oil and gas.
Here’s a rundown of the summer of Earth’s discontent.
RECORD-SHATTERING HEAT
Globally, June this year was the hottest June on record — and scientists say July has been so hot that even before the month was over they could say it was the hottest month on record. But it’s individual places where people live that the heat has stuck around and killed.
Phoenix, where the last day of June and each day of July has been at least 110 degrees (43 degrees Celsius), set records for the longest mega-heat streak and longest stretch when the temperatures didn’t go below 90 degrees (32 degrees Celsius) at night.
El Paso, Texas, had 44 days of 100 degree (37 degree) heat. Schools closed in Nuevo Leon state in northern Mexico a month earlier than usual as temperatures reached 113 degrees (45 Celsius).
Farther east, Miami added humidity to high heat for 46 straight days of feels-like temperatures of 100 or more.
Beijing had its own record streak with at least 27 days of 95 degrees (35 Celsius) in July, after a three-day streak of at least 104 (40 Celsius) in June. And the country set it’s all-time highest temperature on July 16 in remote Sanbao township with 126 degrees (52.2 Celsius).
Heat records fell all over southern Europe. Sardinia, Italy, hit 117 (47 Celsius). Palermo in Sicily broke a record that goes back to 1791 by a whopping 3.6 degrees (2 degrees Celsius). Temperatures hit 115 (46 Celsius) in Gytheio, Greece.
Spain reported nearly 1,000 excess deaths from the heat, mostly among the elderly, by mid July.
In Argentina, where it’s mid-winter, temperatures were above 89.6 (32 Celsius) four straight days in June in the northern part of the county. One July night in Buenos Aires didn’t get below the 70s (low 20s Celsius).
TOO MUCH RAIN
More than 10,000 people had to be evacuated in central Hunan province in China where heavy rainfall caused at least 70 houses to collapse. In Yichang, rain triggered a landslide that buried a construction site and killed at least one person.
Australia’s Queensland outback got 13 times its normal monthly July rain in just one day.
Thousands of people were evacuated from Delhi in India as rains caused flash floods and landslides. Elsewhere in the country at least 100 people were killed by the downpours.
In the United States, sudden heavy rain killed people in Vermont, Connecticut and Pennsylvania with tragic stories of children washed away in flooding.
WILDFIRES AND SMOKE
Too little rain in Greece and Spain fed wildfires that proved difficult to fight. In the Canary Islands, a fire caused 4,000 people to evacuate, others to wear face masks and had 400 firefighters battling it.
Hot and dry conditions caused about 160 wildfires to break out in Israel in early June.
But what really brought fires home happened in parts of Canada where few people live. Rare far northern Quebec wildfires triggered nasty smoke that inflicted the world’s dirtiest air on cities like New York and Washington, then switched to the Midwest.
As of late July more than 600 wildfires were out of control in Canada. A record 47,490 square miles (123,000 square kilometers) burned, and fire season isn’t near done. That’s an area larger than the state of Pennsylvania or North Korea.
WATER TEMPERATURES
Water temperatures in the Florida Keys and off the Everglades hit the high 90s (high 30s Celsius) with Manatee Bay breaking 100 degrees twice in what could be an unofficial world record for surface water temperature, although that’s in dispute.
The North Atlantic had hot spots that alarmed scientists. The world’s oceans as a whole were their hottest ever in June and got even hotter in July. In Antarctica, sea ice smashed record-low levels.
Ocean temperatures take a long time to warm up and cool down, said University of Northern Illinois meteorology professor Victor Gensini. So it doesn’t look good for the rest of the summer, he said.
A HOT FORECAST
“We are favoring above normal temperatures for the next three months,” said NOAA Climate Prediction Center meteorologist Matt Rosencrans.
The only potential relief he sees, especially in the hot Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, is if a hurricane or tropical storm moves through.
The peak of hurricane season in September hasn’t even started.
When going through the litany of this summer’s weather extremes so far, University of Pennsylvania climate scientist Michael Mann had one question: “How on God’s Earth are we still burning fossil fuels after witnessing all this?”
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Researcher Rhonda Shafner contributed to this report from New York. ___
Follow AP’s climate and environment coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment
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Follow Seth Borenstein on Twitter at @borenbears
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Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations. See more about AP’s climate initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content. | https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation/heres-how-hot-and-extreme-the-summer-has-been-and-its-only-halfway-over/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_nation-world | 2023-07-31T16:55:31 | 1 | https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation/heres-how-hot-and-extreme-the-summer-has-been-and-its-only-halfway-over/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_nation-world |
CALGARY, AB, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Canadian Pacific Kansas City (TSX: CP) (NYSE: CP) (CPKC) today published its 2023-2024 Grain Service Outlook Report, which outlines the company's plan to safely and reliably transport Canada's grain crop for export to international markets.
"As we look toward the upcoming 2023-2024 crop year, CPKC is once again well prepared to move Canada's grain crop to market, just as we have throughout our 142-year history," said Keith Creel, CPKC President and CEO. "We have the capacity and the team to deliver for our grain customers and the Canadian economy during the upcoming crop year."
The report outlines CPKC's strong commitment to our grain customers and unique position to supply rail transportation to Canada's agricultural sector as the first transnational railway that provides a single-line connection between Canada, the U.S. and Mexico. This powerful new rail network provides Canada's grain shippers with access to markets across North America, including many new markets in Mexico, and enhanced routing options for shipping Canadian grain and grain products overseas. Additionally, CPKC has completed its more than $500 million investment to purchase 5,900 new higher-capacity grain hopper cars.
Notwithstanding CPKC's robust preparation and investments, there are several factors constraining Canada's export-driven grain supply chain, including:
- The recent strikes at port terminals across B.C., including at the Port of Vancouver, Canada's largest port, once again demonstrated the damaging and compounding impact of labour disruptions on supply chains. The prolonged duration of the strike means that supply chain recovery will stretch into 2024, potentially impacting grain transportation this fall.
- The federal government's commitment to introduce legislation prohibiting replacement workers by the end of 2023 would lead to even more frequent and longer labour disruptions at Canada's railways and ports.
- The persistent challenge of loading grain onto vessels during periods of rain or snow in Vancouver must be resolved to maximize supply chain capacity and reliability.
- The government's decision to resurrect extended interswitching on the prairies risks undermining rail efficiency and capacity. This policy incentivizes inefficiencies, causing higher transportation costs for all users of the rail network, and drives Canadian investment dollars and jobs to the U.S.
- Low demand for Canadian grain transportation at certain times during the 2022-2023 crop year, and in particular throughout the spring period, resulted in significant unused capacity on CPKC's rail network, undermining Canada's ability to maximize grain exports to global markets. Maximizing Canada's grain exports requires customers to use the available supply chain capacity throughout the entirety of the crop year.
Despite these avoidable headwinds, CPKC has the capacity and the team to deliver for grain customers during the 2023-2024 crop year. To read the full report, please visit cpkcr.com.
Forward-looking information
This news release contains certain forward-looking information and forward-looking statements (collectively, "forward-looking information") within the meaning of applicable securities laws in both the U.S. and Canada. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, statements concerning expectations, beliefs, plans, goals, objectives, assumptions and statements about possible future events, conditions, and results of operations or performance. Forward-looking information may contain statements with words or headings such as "financial expectations", "key assumptions", "anticipate", "believe", "expect", "plan", "will", "outlook", "guidance", "should" or similar words suggesting future outcomes. This news release contains forward-looking information relating, but not limited, to statements concerning CPKC's ability to transport grain during the 2023-2024 crop year, the success of our business, the realization of anticipated benefits and synergies of the CP-KCS combination, and the opportunities arising therefrom, our operations, priorities and plans, business prospects and demand for our services and growth opportunities.
The forward-looking information in this news release is based on current expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions, having regard to CPKC's experience and its perception of historical trends, and may include, among others, expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions relating to: changes in business strategies, North American and global economic growth and conditions; commodity demand growth; sustainable industrial and agricultural production; commodity prices and interest rates; performance of our assets and equipment; sufficiency of our budgeted capital expenditures in carrying out our business plan; geopolitical conditions, applicable laws, regulations and government policies; the availability and cost of labour, services and infrastructure; the satisfaction by third parties of their obligations to CPKC; and carbon markets, evolving sustainability strategies, and scientific or technological developments. Although CPKC believes the expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions reflected in the forward-looking information presented herein are reasonable as of the date hereof, there can be no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Current conditions, economic and otherwise, render assumptions, although reasonable when made, subject to greater uncertainty.
Undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking information as actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward-looking information. By its nature, CPKC's forward-looking information involves inherent risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking information, including, but not limited to, the following factors: changes in business strategies and strategic opportunities; general Canadian, U.S., Mexican and global social, economic, political, credit and business conditions; risks associated with agricultural production such as weather conditions and insect populations; the availability and price of energy commodities; the effects of competition and pricing pressures, including competition from other rail carriers, trucking companies and maritime shippers in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico; North American and global economic growth and conditions; industry capacity; shifts in market demand; changes in commodity prices and commodity demand; uncertainty surrounding timing and volumes of commodities being shipped via CPKC; inflation; geopolitical instability; changes in laws, regulations and government policies, including regulation of rates; changes in taxes and tax rates; potential increases in maintenance and operating costs; changes in fuel prices; disruption in fuel supplies; uncertainties of investigations, proceedings or other types of claims and litigation; compliance with environmental regulations; labour disputes including the impact of the port workers' strike and resolution of the strike in British Columbia; changes in labour costs and labour difficulties; risks and liabilities arising from derailments; transportation of dangerous goods; timing of completion of capital and maintenance projects; sufficiency of budgeted capital expenditures in carrying out business plans; services and infrastructure; the satisfaction by third parties of their obligations; currency and interest rate fluctuations; exchange rates; effects of changes in market conditions and discount rates on the financial position of pension plans and investments; trade restrictions or other changes to international trade arrangements; the effects of current and future multinational trade agreements on the level of trade among Canada, the U.S. and Mexico; climate change and the market and regulatory responses to climate change; anticipated in-service dates; success of hedging activities; operational performance and reliability; customer, regulatory and other stakeholder approvals and support; regulatory and legislative decisions and actions; the adverse impact of any termination or revocation by the Mexican government of Kansas City Southern de México, S.A. de C.V.'s Concession; public opinion; various events that could disrupt operations, including severe weather, such as droughts, floods, avalanches and earthquakes, and cybersecurity attacks, as well as security threats and governmental response to them, and technological changes; acts of terrorism, war or other acts of violence or crime or risk of such activities; insurance coverage limitations; material adverse changes in economic and industry conditions, including the availability of short and long-term financing; the pandemic created by the outbreak of COVID-19 and its variants and resulting effects on economic conditions, the demand environment for logistics requirements and energy prices, restrictions imposed by public health authorities or governments, fiscal and monetary policy responses by governments and financial institutions, and disruptions to global supply chains; the realization of anticipated benefits and synergies of the CP-KCS transaction and the timing thereof; the satisfaction of the conditions imposed by the U.S. Surface Transportation Board in its March 15, 2023 final decision; the success of integration plans for KCS; other disruptions arising from the CP-KCS integration; estimated future dividends; financial strength and flexibility; debt and equity market conditions, including the ability to access capital markets on favourable terms or at all; cost of debt and equity capital; improvement in data collection and measuring systems; industry-driven changes to methodologies; and the ability of the management of CPKC to execute key priorities, including those in connection with the CP-KCS transaction.
The foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. These and other factors are detailed from time to time in reports filed by CPKC with securities regulators in Canada and the United States. Reference should be made to "Item 1A – Risk Factors" and "Item 7 – Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Forward Looking Statements" in CPKC's annual and interim reports on Form 10-K and 10-Q.
Any forward-looking information contained in this news release is made as of the date hereof. Except as required by law, CPKC undertakes no obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking information, or the foregoing assumptions and risks affecting such forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
With its global headquarters in Calgary, Alta., Canada, CPKC is the first and only single-line transnational railway linking Canada, the United States and México, with unrivaled access to major ports from Vancouver to Atlantic Canada to the Gulf of México to Lázaro Cárdenas, México. Stretching approximately 20,000 route miles and employing 20,000 railroaders, CPKC provides North American customers unparalleled rail service and network reach to key markets across the continent. CPKC is growing with its customers, offering a suite of freight transportation services, logistics solutions and supply chain expertise. Visit cpkcr.com to learn more about the rail advantages of CPKC. CP-IR
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SOURCE CPKC | https://www.wcjb.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/cpkc-publishes-annual-grain-service-outlook-report/ | 2023-07-31T16:55:31 | 1 | https://www.wcjb.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/cpkc-publishes-annual-grain-service-outlook-report/ |
Multifamily Lender Strives to Leverage Strong Performance to Attract Top Boston Talent
BOSTON, July 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Arbor Realty Trust (NYSE:ABR) announces a new and larger office location at 501 Boylston St., a historically significant Class A property close to Copley Square in Boston's lively Back Bay neighborhood.
Arbor, which has 15 offices in cities across the United States, moved its 88-member Boston team from 1 Lincoln St. in expectation of the team's expansion and growth, and with the recognition that Boston's thriving economy and talent pool is also creating opportunities in our core business of multifamily lending. Boston has had 8.5% annual rent growth through April 2023 and is presently the third-tightest multifamily rental market in the United States, our proprietary research reveals.
This past Friday, Arbor Realty Trust reported an outstanding second quarter and a dividend increase to $0.43, reflecting a 12th increase in the last 14 quarters.
Join Us - Arbor is Hiring in Boston and Nationally
Are you interested in a career in multifamily lending? Arbor is hiring in Boston and at many other locations. Advance your career at a firm that encourages entrepreneurial drive, collaborative spirit, and the quest for excellence.
Browse our current job openings.
About Arbor
Arbor Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: ABR) is a nationwide real estate investment trust and direct lender, providing loan origination and servicing for multifamily, single-family rental (SFR) portfolios, and other diverse commercial real estate assets. Headquartered in Uniondale, New York, Arbor manages a multibillion-dollar servicing portfolio, specializing in government-sponsored enterprise products. Arbor is a leading Fannie Mae DUS® lender, Freddie Mac Optigo® Seller/Servicer, and an approved FHA Multifamily Accelerated Processing (MAP) lender. Arbor's product platform also includes bridge, CMBS, mezzanine, and preferred equity loans. Arbor is rated by Standard and Poor's and Fitch. In June 2023, Arbor was added to the S&P SmallCap 600® index. Arbor is committed to building on its reputation for service, quality, and customized solutions with an unparalleled dedication to providing our clients excellence over the entire life of a loan.
CONTACT: press@arbor.com
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SOURCE Arbor Realty Trust | https://www.valleynewslive.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/arbor-realty-trust-expands-presence-boston-opening-office-historically-significant-building/ | 2023-07-31T16:55:33 | 1 | https://www.valleynewslive.com/prnewswire/2023/07/31/arbor-realty-trust-expands-presence-boston-opening-office-historically-significant-building/ |
ECOWAS threatens 'use of force' against Niger junta
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) called on Sunday for the immediate release and reinstatement of Niger's president, Mohamed Bazoum, who was arrested during a coup on Wednesday.
"In the event the authorities' demands are not met within one week, [we will] take all measures necessary to restore constitutional order in the Republic of Niger," Omar Alieu Touray, the ECOWAS Commission president, said following an emergency meeting in Nigeria's capital, Abuja.
The 15-nation bloc specifically threatened the military junta, led by General Abdourahmane Tchiani, with the use of force.
'A realistic option'?
"I don't think it's a realistic option," Ulf Laessing, director of the German Konrad Adenauer Foundation's office in Mali's capital, Bamako, told DW. ECOWAS doesn't have the military means to launch an operation in Niger, he said. There is one precedent, in The Gambia in 2017, but that happened only because ECOWAS was invited in by the Banjul government.
"The issue is that nobody in the army has come to the rescue of President Bazoum," Laessing said DW. "They have no support on the ground. If you flew in a couple of special forces now by plane to Niamey airport, they would have the whole army against them."
The threat could even backfire if the junta, secure in the knowledge that it has its army's support, ignored it and ECOWAS failed to follow up with a show of force.
The bloc has been losing credibility in the region after reacting inconsistently to several coups in the Sahel, Laessing said. "In Mali they imposed economic sanctions. In the case of other countries, like Burkina Faso, they haven't done anything," he said.
Pro-coup demonstrations
On Sunday, thousands of demonstrators waving Russian flags gathered in Niamey, Niger's capital, to show support for the new military rulers.
But Russia sounded wary of the putschists, especially after the head of the mercenary Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, welcomed the coup and offered help.
The Wagner Group has extensive interests in Africa, where, before staging an attempted putsch in Russia, the mercenaries had been considered an extension of the Kremlin's security apparatus.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that Russia's government was very concerned with developments in Niger.
"We are in favor of the speedy restoration of the rule of law in the country; we are in favor of restraint on all sides so that this does not lead to human casualties," Peskov said.
Rising concerns
Though some Nigeriens have vocally supported the coup, many are increasingly worried about the consequences, following suspension of aid by several international partners.
"The cost of living will go up. Prices of essential goods will go up. Traders will take advantage of this situation," Niamey resident Ibrahim Laouali told DW.
Germany announced Monday that it had halted financial aid and development cooperation. Berlin warned that further measures could follow. The move came the day after the European Union suspended financial support to Niamey.
"On top of that, ECOWAS is considering military intervention. So there is unrest in the country," Nigerien citizen Alhassane Mamane told DW.
Laessing said ECOWAS's unusually harsh reaction in the case of Niger could also be seen as an attempt to forestall the alliance's own irrelevance.
"If they don't stop this coup, people will start asking: Why do we need an ECOWAS if they can't impose their will?" Laessing said.
ECOWAS also threatened to suspend trade and financial transactions with Niger. The economic community called on the central banks of its members to freeze the assets of Nigerien state-owned companies as well as those of the military involved in the coup.
Researcher Bounty Diallo, from Niamey's Abdou Mounouni University, told DW that he doubts the sanctions will work.
"ECOWAS sanctioned Mali, but quickly lifted its sanctions," Diallo said. "The same happened in Burkina Faso. I don't think Niger is going to be any different."
Dire prospects for the region
"Right now, they are trying to maximize pressure," Laessing said. But ECOWAS itself is under pressure.
If the bloc uses force, analysts suggest that it could trigger violence between Niger and ECOWAS forces, as well as civilians who support the coup and those who oppose it.
"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," Rida Lyammouri, senior fellow at the Policy Center for the New South think tank, told the AP news agency.
But Laessing said that, if the junta in Niger were to get away with the coup, it might encourage others to stage coups, or incumbent presidents to stay longer in power than their constitutions allow.
That would add to instability in a region beset by violent conflict. The toppled government in Niamey had started to reach out to jihadist groups active in Africa's Sahel region to engage them in dialogue.
"They were actually making a bit of progress. Not enough for people to see it, but it was moving in the right direction," Laessing said.
The reconciliation efforts are unlikely to be continued by officers who are too busy staking their own claims to power.
"That means that the jihadists are probably going to gain territory again. And human traffickers will also benefit from rising instability in Niger," Laessing said.
These prospects are especially concerning to the European Union, which has been investing heavily in the Sahel region to stop the flow of migrants from the African continent.
Abdoulkarim Mahamadou and Bob Barry contributed to this article
Edited by: Keith Walker
While you're here: Every weekday, we host AfricaLink, a podcast packed with news, politics, culture and more. You can listen and follow AfricaLink wherever you get your podcasts. | https://www.dw.com/en/ecowas-threatens-use-of-force-against-niger-junta/a-66398008 | 2023-07-31T16:55:34 | 0 | https://www.dw.com/en/ecowas-threatens-use-of-force-against-niger-junta/a-66398008 |
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Universal Orlando Resort officially revealed the grand opening date for its “highly anticipated” Minion Land.
The minions-themed attraction, located on Illumination Avenue at Universal Studios Florida, will officially open to guests on Aug. 11, 2023.
Universal said Minion Land “brings to life a whole new level of Minion mischief and diabolical fun.”
“This one-of-a-kind land expands upon the wildly popular Despicable Me Minion Mayhem attraction to engage the entire family in a new collection of humorous adventures inspired by Illumination’s beloved Minions franchise.”
The park says Minion Land blends interactive game-based technology and an original storyline to put guest’s villainous skills to the test “to see if they have what it takes to become a member of the Vicious 6 – a notorious group of supervillains from the hit film, “Minions: The Rise of Gru.”
Guests can also stop by the outdoor Illumination Theater façade to meet characters like the Minions, Gru, Margo, Edith, and Agnes from the “Despicable Me” franchise.
More information on ticket pricing can be found by visiting Universal Orlando’s website. | https://www.wfla.com/news/florida/universal-studios-announces-minion-land-grand-opening-date/ | 2023-07-31T16:55:35 | 1 | https://www.wfla.com/news/florida/universal-studios-announces-minion-land-grand-opening-date/ |