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3/31/22: Jay Berschback’s Evening Forecast
A cool end to the work/school week
Published: Mar. 31, 2022 at 6:02 PM EDT|Updated: 2 hours ago
TONIGHT: Chance of snow showers, breezy and cold, lows in the lower 30s. FRIDAY: Chance of snow showers, breezy and cool, highs in the lower to mid 40s. SATURDAY: AM sun, PM clouds, evening rain showers, highs near 50. SUNDAY: Clearing skies, highs again near 50.
Copyright 2022 WTVG. All rights reserved.
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https://www.13abc.com/2022/03/31/33122-jay-berschbacks-evening-forecast/
| 2022-04-01T00:14:50Z
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The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission said Thursday it supports Phillipsburg’s proposal to make the free bridge one-way toward Easton, in hopes of alleviating traffic backups on the New Jersey side during an ongoing rehabilitation project.
In the meantime, the commission directed its contractor on the $15.5 million project to immediately lift the lane closure in place since the project began March 16 on the bridge. That will allow for normal three-lane traffic flow (two lanes westbound to Easton and one eastbound to Phillipsburg). However this is only a temporary solution, the commission noted.
“This interim measure can only be utilized until the painting containment system is put in place, at which point the bridge will return to two available travel lanes 24/7 until the work within the containment area is completed,” bridge commission Executive Director Joseph Resta wrote Thursday to Phillipsburg Mayor Todd Tersigni in response to town officials’ concerns about the traffic backups.
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has to sign off on the traffic-flow change and has asked that all other feasible options for easing congestion be investigated before approving the eastbound detour onto the Route 22 Toll Bridge.
“We’re only being involved because traffic signal permit changes may be needed, and also they would need our approval to use any portion of State road as a detour,” local PennDOT spokesman Sean Brown told lehighvalleylive.com Thursday. “After being contacted by the design engineers, we indicated all other options than detouring should be explored first, but we did indicate we would be amenable to a detour if that is the determined outcome of the analysis.”
Phillipsburg officials spoke March 21 with bridge commission representatives about their concerns that traffic backing up for nearly a mile through town could hinder emergency response times along South Main and North Main and Broad streets. Town Attorney Rich Wenner followed up with a letter laying out the concerns March 23.
Numerous options were discussed between the town and the commission, although at the commission’s request March 21, Wenner omitted in his letter the town’s proposal to make the free bridge one-way to Easton. The one-way change would permit toll-free travel over both the free bridge and Route 22 bridge spanning the Delaware River since tolls are charged on the highway only to enter Pennsylvania.
Tersigni in a March 29 letter to the bridge commission put the one-way westbound free bridge proposal in writing, following a meeting between the Phillipsburg mayor; town Councilman Keith Kennedy, a retired engineer who spent 36 years with the New Jersey Department of Corrections; and Easton Mayor Sal Panto Jr.
“In his letter, Mayor Tersigni recounted a meeting with Easton Mayor Panto and represented that Mayor Panto was supportive of Phillipsburg’s request to have the bridge carry only two westbound travel lanes with eastbound traffic detoured within Easton to Route 22 for travel into NJ,” Resta wrote to Phillipsburg officials Thursday. “The Commission is supportive of designating two lanes on the bridge for westbound traffic only and detouring eastbound traffic within Easton to Route 22 for travel into NJ. This might provide the most comprehensive relief for project-related traffic congestion in Phillipsburg.”
Tersigni on Thursday said the commission’s response “demonstrates what can be achieved when agencies work with local entities and actively listen to our concerns.”
“I am pleased with the willingness of the Bridge Commission to address the concerns raised on behalf of all Phillipsburg residents,” Tersigni said, adding thanks to town police Chief Robert Stettner and fire Chief Rich Hay for raising concerns about the traffic congestion, as well as to Panto and Resta for their willingness to engage in a dialogue over a solution to the backups in town. “As the Town continues to grow and prosper, these conversations will be all the more critical for the success of the region.”
The commission is working to review its options before submitting documentation to PennDOT for the one-way free bridge plan by April 8, according to Resta.
“Rest assured that the Commission’s effort in this regard is ongoing, and we’ll inform the Town of Phillipsburg with information as it develops,” the bridge commission director wrote Thursday.
The free bridge rehabilitation project is the first since 2002. Even though the project is scheduled to last into spring 2023, the around-the-clock lane closures are expected to end this November, bridge commission spokesman Joe Donnelly said.
The 550-foot-long, 36-foot-wide span was built in 1895-96 and carried on average 16,500 vehicles per day in 2021. It’s the commission’s most heavily used free bridge, and is supported by tolls on other Delaware River crossings maintained by the commission.
Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com.
Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com.
|
https://www.nj.com/warren/2022/03/bridge-commission-backs-one-way-free-bridge-from-phillipsburg-to-easton.html
| 2022-04-01T00:14:51Z
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HAMILTON, Bermuda, March 31, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- White Mountains Insurance Group, Ltd. (NYSE: WTM) announced today that HG Global Ltd. ("HG") closed a new $150 million, 10-year term loan credit facility with Hudson Structured Capital Management Ltd, (conducting its re/insurance business as HSCM Bermuda) and Security Benefit Life Insurance Company. HG expects to receive the proceeds of the loan on or prior to May 31, 2022. A portion of the proceeds of the loan will be used to pay a $120 million dividend to White Mountains Insurance Group, Ltd. and the other equity holders of HG. The facility received an investment grade rating of BBB from Kroll Bond Rating Agency, LLC. The facility does not impact the reinsurance obligations of HG Re Ltd.
White Mountains is a Bermuda-domiciled financial services holding company traded on the New York Stock Exchange and the Bermuda Stock Exchange under the symbol WTM.
Hudson Structured Capital Management Ltd., conducting its re/insurance investment management business as HSCM Bermuda ("HSCM"), is an asset manager focused on alternative investments seeking mezzanine level returns. HSCM focuses on the Re/Insurance and Transportation sectors. HSCM launched in 2016, and as of January 1, 2022 had more than $3 billion in assets under management and committed capital. HSCM focuses on core economic sectors that are likely to outgrow global GDP, offer low correlations with broader markets, and are experiencing a shift from balance sheet to market financing. For more information, please visit www.hscm.com.
Security Benefit Corporation ("Security Benefit"), through its subsidiary Security Benefit Life Insurance Company (SBL), a Kansas-based insurance company that has been in business for 130 years, is a leader in the U.S. retirement market. Security Benefit together with its affiliates offers products in a full range of retirement markets and wealth segments for employers and individuals and reached $50.5 billion in assets under management as of September 30, 2021. Security Benefit, an Eldridge business, is one of the fastest growing U.S. retirement companies and continues its mission of helping Americans To and Through Retirement®. Learn more at www.securitybenefit.com or www.eldridge.com.
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included or referenced in this release which address activities, events or developments which White Mountains expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include statements with respect to the funding of, or receipt of proceeds from, a loan and HG's payment of a dividend from the proceeds of such loan.
These statements are based on certain assumptions and analyses made by White Mountains in light of current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors believed to be appropriate in the circumstances. However, whether actual developments will conform to its expectations is subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations, including actions taken by ratings agencies, such as financial strength or credit ratings downgrades or placing ratings on negative watch; the continued availability of capital and financing; deterioration of general economic; changes in domestic or foreign laws or regulations, or their interpretation, applicable to White Mountains or HG, its competitors or its customers; and other factors, most of which are beyond White Mountains's control.
Consequently, all of the forward-looking statements made in this press release are qualified by these cautionary statements, and there can be no assurance that the developments anticipated by White Mountains will be realized or, even if substantially realized, that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on, White Mountains or its business or operations. White Mountains assumes no obligation to publicly update any such forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
CONTACT: Rob Seelig
(603) 640-2212
View original content:
SOURCE White Mountains Insurance Group, Ltd.
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https://www.wmbfnews.com/prnewswire/2022/03/31/hg-global-closes-new-150-million-credit-facility/
| 2022-04-01T00:14:51Z
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XIO (XIO) traded flat against the U.S. dollar during the 24 hour period ending at 19:00 PM Eastern on March 31st. One XIO coin can currently be purchased for about $0.24 or 0.00000656 BTC on exchanges. In the last seven days, XIO has traded flat against the U.S. dollar. XIO has a market cap of $7.86 million and $103,650.00 worth of XIO was traded on exchanges in the last day.
Here is how similar cryptocurrencies have performed in the last day:
- Sylo (SYLO) traded 1.2% lower against the dollar and now trades at $0.0049 or 0.00000011 BTC.
- SENSO (SENSO) traded 2.7% lower against the dollar and now trades at $0.74 or 0.00001608 BTC.
- TOKPIE (TKP) traded 3.9% higher against the dollar and now trades at $0.0613 or 0.00000134 BTC.
- 3DCoin (3DC) traded flat against the dollar and now trades at $0.0026 or 0.00000028 BTC.
- Auxilium (AUX) traded 0.7% higher against the dollar and now trades at $0.0010 or 0.00000002 BTC.
- Project Coin (PRJ) traded flat against the dollar and now trades at $0.0000 or 0.00000001 BTC.
- SHENG (SHENG) traded flat against the dollar and now trades at $4,292.83 or 0.00000001 BTC.
- Anchor Neural World Token (ANW) traded flat against the dollar and now trades at $0.11 or 0.00000884 BTC.
- NairaX (NIRX) traded flat against the dollar and now trades at $0.0008 or 0.00000000 BTC.
- MDUKEY (MDU) traded up 9.5% against the dollar and now trades at $0.0030 or 0.00000007 BTC.
About XIO
According to CryptoCompare, “XIO is an alternative crowdfunding and growth system for early-stage blockchain startups. Citizens of the Network can stake cryptocurrency projects to earn exclusive token rewards. XIO (XIO) is an Ethereum-based cryptocurrency. “
XIO Coin Trading
It is usually not currently possible to purchase alternative cryptocurrencies such as XIO directly using U.S. dollars. Investors seeking to acquire XIO should first purchase Ethereum or Bitcoin using an exchange that deals in U.S. dollars such as Changelly, Gemini or Coinbase. Investors can then use their newly-acquired Ethereum or Bitcoin to purchase XIO using one of the exchanges listed above.
Receive News & Updates for XIO Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and updates for XIO and related cryptocurrencies with MarketBeat.com's FREE CryptoBeat newsletter.
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https://theenterpriseleader.com/2022/03/31/xio-xio-price-hits-0-24-on-major-exchanges.html
| 2022-04-01T00:14:51Z
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LSU basketball, Matt McMahon grab first high school commit in Corneilous Williams
Three-star recruit Corneilous Williams has committed to LSU basketball, he announced Thursday on Twitter.
Williams, the No. 50 center in the nation according to 247Sports, was committed to Murray State when LSU coach Matt McMahon still led the Racers' program. He decommitted from Murray State on Tuesday.
He also had offers from Houston, VCU and Tulsa.
"Blessed to say I’m committed to Louisana State University to continue my academic and basketball career! I’d like to thank God, my family, and my coaches for all the support!" Williams wrote.
At 6 feet, 10 inches tall and 195 pounds, Williams attends Moravian Prep in Hickory, North Carolina. He is the third player to join LSU's program since McMahon was hired, along with Northwestern State center Kendal Coleman and Murray State guard Justice Hill.
EFTON REID TO THE TRANSFER PORTAL:LSU basketball loses starting center Efton Reid to the transfer portal | Report
LSU BASKETBALL PORTAL TRACKER:LSU basketball transfer portal tracker: who's out, who's in for Matt McMahon, Tigers
LSU's program has undergone plenty of changes this offseason, with eight players entering the transfer portal and two entering the NBA Draft.
Forward Shareef O'Neal, forward Bradley Ezewiro, guard Adam Miller, center Efton Reid, center Jerrell Colbert, guard Xavier Pinson, guard Justice Williams and guard Brandon Murray have entered the portal. Senior forward Darius Days and sophomore forward Tari Eason have entered the NBA Draft.
JERRELL COLBERT TO THE PORTAL:LSU basketball loses center Jerrell Colbert to transfer portal
McMahon was hired 12 days after LSU coach Will Wade was fired following a Notice of Allegations that was sent to the university earlier in the week.
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https://www.theadvertiser.com/story/sports/college/lsu/2022/03/31/lsu-basketball-recruiting-matt-mcmahon-first-commitment-corneilous-williams/7237034001/
| 2022-04-01T00:14:52Z
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Happy April’s Fools Day!
On a day of pranks and tricks, you can still trust the stars to give you an idea of what’s to come.
Today there’s a New Moon to contend with, which could be the motivation you need to make a fresh start.
Cancer, you might be in for a great opportunity at work.
Been struggling to get stuff done, Sagittarius? The New Moon could help you turn over a new leaf.
Ahead, you’ll find your full horoscope for today, April 1, 2022.
Read on for a full set of forecasts.
Aries
March 21 to April 20
As there’s a New Moon in your sign, embrace helpful habits and take on challenges.
As it makes a minor link to Uranus, you might be spurred on by a desire to increase your income and this can find you dreaming up all kinds of ideas.
What do you most want to do? Get to it!
Head here for everything you need to know about being an Aries
Taurus
April 21 to May 21
A potent influence in a subtle sector of your chart can coincide with a breakthrough, enabling you to find closure – and dealing with it will leave you at peace.
In addition, you have quite a bit of leverage, making this an excellent time to garner support.
Head here for everything you need to know about being a Taurus
Gemini
May 22 to June 21
An upbeat encounter could coincide with an offer or provide you with an opportunity.
And with a New Moon on the cards, the days ahead can see you taking advantage to instigate new activities.
There will also be a chance to smooth over an issue.
Had a falling out? Now is the time to make amends.
Head here for everything you need to know about being a Gemini
Cancer
June 22 to July 23
Doors could open regarding ambitions or career plans.
Today’s New Moon can be a welcoming influence that turbo-charges your efforts to get ahead.
And with brilliant Mercury in the mix, you will find it easier to organise your thoughts and connect with the right people.
Head here for everything you need to know about being a Cancer
Leo
July 24 to August 23
A blend of upbeat influences can gift you with promising options.
With a lively New Moon linking to restless Uranus in a prominent zone, you could get excited about an offer.
You may spot an opportunity. Following through might see you very excited by the possibilities.
Head here for everything you need to know about being a Leo
Virgo
August 24 to September 23
Today’s potent lunar phase in an intense zone could inspire you to turn over a new leaf in a relationship.
With Chiron involved, you may feel an urge to reach out and get the conversation flowing.
But you will also want to look to areas where you might be sabotaging your best interests.
Head here for everything you need to know about being a Virgo
Libra
September 24 to October 23
Expect the unexpected but welcome it too as events could kick off a romance or perhaps encourage you to take an association to another level.
With a New Moon in your sector of relating forging a minor angle to Uranus, an encounter might show promise.
Head here for everything you need to know about being a Libra
Scorpio
October 24 to November 22
If productivity has been an issue, the lunation in your lifestyle sector could be a call to do something.
You may be more motivated to get to the root of the problem and find a way to resolve it. This is also an excellent time to set up positive habits.
Head here for everything you need to know about being a Scorpio
Sagittarius
November 23 to December 21
This could be an action-packed time when an idea invites you to look at new interests.
You may be motivated to learn a skill, try out an outdoor activity or opt for competitive sport.
You’ll want to be on the move and this might make you look at anything that unleashes your spirit of adventure.
Head here for everything you need to know about being a Sagittarius
Capricorn
December 22 to January 21
Today’s New Moon could coincide with a decision that finds you striking out in a new direction regarding domestic matters.
Plans to redecorate a room might expand to encompass the whole house.
Thoughts of a move may become your next exciting adventure.
Head here for everything you need to know about being a Capricorn
Aquarius
January 22 to February 19
News could act as a catalyst that inspires a new beginning or encourages you to make a start with an idea or plan.
A potent lunar phase in your sector of communication may find you ready to share your message with the world.
This would be a very good time to start a blog or website.
Head here for everything you need to know about being an Aquarius
Pisces
February 20 to March 20
You may be tempted by a new gadget.
If it gives you more scope to do other things then acquiring it might be a breakthrough.
In addition, with a New Moon on the scene, starting a scheme to earn extra money can work out well, especially if doing so contributes to better cash flow.
Head here for everything you need to know about being a Pisces
Your daily Metro.co.uk horoscope is here every morning, seven days a week (yes, including weekends!). To check your forecast, head to our dedicated horoscopes page.
To order your unique personal horoscope based on your time, date and place of birth, visit patrickarundell.com
Do you have a story to share?
Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk.
MORE : Your star sign’s tarotscope for the month of April
MORE : Which star signs clash the most - these are the ones to avoid
MORE : Your star sign's biggest strength... and weakness
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https://metro.co.uk/2022/04/01/daily-horoscope-for-april-1-2022-forecast-for-all-star-signs-16380940/
| 2022-04-01T00:14:52Z
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A TEAM from the Office of the First Lady, led by Mrs Arya Ali, and regional representatives of Region One (Barima-Waini) conducted a joint mission to that region where they donated supplies to Venezuelan migrants and conducted a needs assessment, according to a statement from the First Lady’s team on Thursday.
“Venezuelans began fleeing the neighbouring country a few years ago, making their way into parts of the region which are easily accessible,” the release said, adding that those persons have erected structures for housing and are growing their own food. ”
“Mrs Ali learnt of the state of the migrants earlier this month through a news report and decided to support government’s efforts in offering assistance,” the First Lady’s office said.
Regional Chairman, Brethnol Ashley, and Regional Executive Officer (REO), Teka Bissessar were also part of the mission which saw 200 migrants at Khan’s Hill, Mabaruma supported with supplies including sanitary items and water.
“Most of the migrants are of the Warao Nation and cannot speak English,” the release said, adding: “As such, the Ministry of Local Government through the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) has set up a management team which includes a translator.”
“We discovered that the most important things for the migrants now are food, clothing and proper shelter. It is important for us to understand their needs before we offer assistance because we have to be conscious of the cultural differences,” Mrs Ali is quoted as saying.
Her office will mobilise resources, which include food supplies and clothing. Those will be delivered to the migrants through the support of the Local Government Ministry.
Guyana’s government is in the process of building a housing facility for some of the migrants, and exploring ways to have them contribute to the regional economy through employment, the First Lady’s team said. A separate building as a village kitchen for the migrants is also being explored.
“They are here and they are in need, and we are trying our best to provide support to them. At the end of the day, they are people just like us, with children just like us, and they want a better life for themselves and their children just like anyone would. So because they are here, we have a moral obligation to assist if we can,” the First Lady said.
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https://guyanachronicle.com/2022/03/31/515967/
| 2022-04-01T00:14:52Z
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Tuart Hill crash: Man injured after taxi ploughs into home
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https://thewest.com.au/news/wa/tuart-hill-crash-man-injured-after-taxi-ploughs-into-home--c-6282984
| 2022-04-01T00:14:53Z
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As the Cleveland Browns have slowly pulled themselves out of the dregs of the NFL landscape, more and more former players are finding the ability to stick around the league. At one point, only a few former Browns scattered the league. A lot of Johnny Manziel, Justin Gilbert and Brandon Weeden making it six or fewer years in the league.
There, of course, were the Mitchell Schwartz, Alex Mack and Joe Hadens who went on to be successful after playing for the struggling squad in Cleveland.
Constant turnover in the front office and coaching staff of the Browns often led to roster turnover before players got a chance to solidify themselves in the league.
Two more former Cleveland players found their way to a division rival on Thursday:
Avery was drafted by the Browns in 2018 before being dealt to Philadelphia in 2019. That trade gave the team an extra fourth-round pick in the 2021 NFL draft where they selected James Hudson III. Avery played 18 games for Cleveland collecting 4.5 sacks, five tackles for loss and 14 quarterback hits.
With the Eagles for 35 games, Avery only added three sacks, six tackles for loss and 10 more quarterback hits.
Joseph was signed by Cleveland in Andrew Berry’s first year as the team’s general manager after being a first-round pick in 2016. in 14 games for the Browns, Joseph had one interception, two fumble recoveries and one forced fumble.
He signed to return to Las Vegas but was waived by the team. He spent time on Pittsburgh’s practice squad in 2021 and played in two games.
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https://www.thehamdenjournal.com/world/two-former-browns-sign-with-the-steelers-thursday/130408/
| 2022-04-01T00:14:53Z
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Combining the power of CBD hemp oil infused with real cannabis terpenes to bring you the best in natural wellness.
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https://www.leafly.com/brands/canna-hemp/products/canna-hemp-endurance-elixir-1500mg-tinctures-sublingual
| 2022-04-01T00:14:53Z
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When you buy a domain name at Dan.com, you’re automatically covered by our unique Buyer Protection Program. Read more about how we keep you safe on our Trust and Security page.
Next to our secure domain ownership transfer process, we strictly monitor all transactions. If anything looks weird, we take immediate action. And if the seller doesn't deliver on their part of the deal, we refund you within 24 hours.
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https://dan.com/buy-domain/xxlmjg.com
| 2022-04-01T00:14:54Z
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Hello folks, if you want to learn SQL and Database fundamentals or want to improve your SQL skills, and are looking for free resources like books and online courses then you have come to the right place. In this article, I am going to share my favorite free online courses to learn SQL from Udemy, Coursera, Pluralsight, and other popular online learning websites. If you want to become a better programmer or better developer then learning SQL is really important as it’s one of the key skills for any programmer or software developer. This list includes a free SQL course from Udemy, a popular online portal to learn popular databases like Oracle, PostgreSQL, and Microsoft SQL Server. Yes, I have tried hard to include free courses on different databases so that you can choose the right course for you. As you already know, SQL is one of the essential and timeless skills and much more important than any fancy library or framework you are thinking to learn. If you ask me which two skills every programmer should have, I would say SQL and UNIX; these two have survived for a long time and will survive for many coming decades. SQL is also exciting; once you get the hang of it, you would love to write queries and analyze your queries' performance.
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https://www.newsbreak.com/news/2556416375046/sql-agnostic-queries-using-sql-agnostic-parsing
| 2022-04-01T00:14:54Z
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ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Maryland lawmakers passed a measure on Thursday to create a paid family leave program, sending the legislation to Gov. Larry Hogan.
The bill, approved by supermajority votes by Democrats who control the legislature, would enable workers to take up to 12 weeks of partially paid leave for specified personal family circumstances such as caring for a sick relative or having a baby. It would provide up to 24 weeks for a parent, if he or she has a serious health issue in the year of a child's birth.
“This has been a long time coming,” said Sen. Antonio Hayes, a Baltimore Democrat. He thanked supporters who have “come together and really advocated on behalf of Maryland families."
Republicans criticized the measure for failing to spell out how much employees and employers would have to contribute, leaving that for the state's labor department to define later. They said Democrats were rushing to get the bill to the Republican governor just to meet a deadline so lawmakers will still be in session if the bill is vetoed.
“We're pushing this bill as quick as we can to get it upstairs,” said Sen. J.B. Jennings, a Republican, who added: “We don't know the numbers ... this bill is a hot mess.”
Because lawmakers are in the last session of the four-year term, they would not have a chance to override the veto next year if they adjourn before the governor acts on legislation.
The measure would create an insurance pool. Employees and employers would contribute to fund the program. Under the bill, the state’s labor department would set contribution rates to pay for the program. Employers with fewer than 15 employees would not be required to contribute.
The measure also includes job protections to protect employees from retaliation or termination for using the leave.
Seven states and the District of Columbia have paid family and medical leave insurance programs, including California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Washington. Colorado and Oregon have approved programs that have not started yet.
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https://www.ctinsider.com/news/article/Maryland-paid-family-leave-program-bill-passed-to-17049782.php
| 2022-04-01T00:14:55Z
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MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Gov. Tony Evers filed a motion Thursday with the state Supreme Court urging the justices to affirm his legislative district boundary map that the U.S. Supreme Court rejected.
The state Supreme Court adopted Evers’ map in March, choosing his plan over Republican lawmakers’ proposal. But the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Evers’ map on March 23 after the GOP complained it increased the number of Assembly districts with a majority of Black and Hispanic voters from six to seven in Milwaukee in violation of the federal Voting Rights Act. The federal justices kicked the case back to the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
Evers argued in his motion Thursday that the state justices should affirm their earlier decision. He maintained that seven minority districts are justified because six would improperly dilute their votes under the Voting Rights Act. He included with the motion a report from Lisa Handley, an elections consultant who has served in a number of redistricting and voting rights cases, backing up his claim.
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https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Evers-urges-Wisconsin-justices-to-affirm-17049648.php
| 2022-04-01T00:14:56Z
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Shares of Toronto-Dominion Bank
TD,
-2.20%
slipped 2.20% to C$99.19 Thursday, in what proved to be an all-around poor trading session for the Canadian market, with the S&P/TSX Composite Index
GSPTSE,
-0.84%
falling 0.84% to 21,890.16. This was the stock's third consecutive day of losses. Toronto-Dominion Bank closed C$9.89 below its 52-week high (C$109.08), which the company achieved on February 11th. Trading volume of 6.1 M shares eclipsed its 50-day average volume of 5.1 M.
Editor's Note: This story was auto-generated by Automated Insights, an automation technology provider, using data from Dow Jones and FactSet. See our market data terms of use.
|
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/toronto-dominion-bank-stock-falls-thursday-underperforms-market-01648758980-452c6187eb03
| 2022-04-01T00:14:56Z
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WASHINGTON (AP) — The House on Thursday passed a bill capping the monthly cost of insulin at $35 for insured patients, part of an election-year push by Democrats for price curbs on prescription drugs at a time of rising inflation.
Experts say the legislation, which passed 232-193, would provide significant relief for privately insured patients with skimpier plans and for Medicare enrollees facing rising out-of-pocket costs for their insulin. Some could save hundreds of dollars annually, and all insured patients would get the benefit of predictable monthly costs for insulin. The bill would not help the uninsured.
But the Affordable Insulin Now Act will serve as a political vehicle to rally Democrats and force Republicans who oppose it into uncomfortable votes ahead of the midterms. For the legislation to pass Congress, 10 Republican senators would have to vote in favor. Democrats acknowledge they don’t have an answer for how that’s going to happen.
“If 10 Republicans stand between the American people being able to get access to affordable insulin, that’s a good question for 10 Republicans to answer,” said Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Mich., a cosponsor of the House bill. “Republicans get diabetes, too. Republicans die from diabetes.”
Public opinion polls have consistently shown support across party lines for congressional action to limit drug costs.
But Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., complained the legislation is only “a small piece of a larger package around government price controls for prescription drugs.” Critics say the bill would raise premiums and fails to target pharmaceutical middlemen seen as contributing to high list prices for insulin.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said Democrats could have a deal on prescription drugs if they drop their bid to authorize Medicare to negotiate prices. “Do Democrats really want to help seniors, or would they rather have the campaign issue?” Grassley said.
The insulin bill, which would take effect in 2023, represents just one provision of a much broader prescription drug package in President Joe Biden’s social and climate legislation.
In addition to a similar $35 cap on insulin, the Biden bill would authorize Medicare to negotiate prices for a range of drugs, including insulin. It would penalize drugmakers who raise prices faster than inflation and overhaul the Medicare prescription drug benefit to limit out-of-pocket costs for enrollees.
Biden’s agenda passed the House only to stall in the Senate because Democrats could not reach consensus. Party leaders haven’t abandoned hope of getting the legislation moving again, and preserving its drug pricing curbs largely intact.
The idea of a $35 monthly cost cap for insulin actually has a bipartisan pedigree. The Trump administration had created a voluntary option for Medicare enrollees to get insulin for $35, and the Biden administration continued it.
In the Senate, Republican Susan Collins of Maine and Democrat Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire are working on a bipartisan insulin bill. Georgia Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock has introduced legislation similar to the House bill, with the support of Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York.
Stung by criticism that Biden’s economic policies spur inflation, Democrats are redoubling efforts to show how they’d help people cope with costs. On Thursday,the Commerce Department reported a key inflation gauge jumped 6.4% in February compared with a year ago, the largest year-over-year rise since January 1982.
But experts say the House bill would not help uninsured people, who face the highest out-of-pocket costs for insulin. Also, people with diabetes often take other medications as well as insulin. That’s done to treat the diabetes itself, along with other serious health conditions often associated with the disease. The House legislation would not help with those costs, either. Collins says she’s looking for a way to help uninsured people through her bill.
About 37 million Americans have diabetes, and an estimated 6 million to 7 million use insulin to keep their blood sugars under control.It’s an old drug, refined and improved over the years, that has seen relentless price increases.
Steep list prices don’t reflect the rates insurance plans negotiate with manufacturers. But those list prices are used to calculate cost-sharing amounts that patients owe. Patients who can’t afford their insulin reduce or skip doses, a strategy born of desperation, which can lead to serious complications and even death.
Economist Sherry Glied of New York University said the market for insulin is a “total disaster” for many patients, particularly those with skimpy insurance plans or no insurance.
“This will make private insurance for people with diabetes a much more attractive proposition,” said Glied.
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https://www.kget.com/health/house-passes-35-a-month-insulin-cap-as-dems-seek-wider-bill/
| 2022-04-01T00:14:56Z
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Revealed: The first look at the 200m Harbour Bridge cycleway
“From histories and stories around whales, migration of sea animals … all of these things have certainly informed our design response.”
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Mr Coles stated the typical gradient of the cycleway was 2 per cent, making the bridge extra accessible.
“We’ve been able to really bring down the level, so the grades are an average of 2 per cent across the length, which means it’s very easy for older people, very easy for kids,” he stated.
The authorities has thought of quite a lot of choices for the cycleway over latest years, together with a spiral choice which was later rejected.
More than 1000 individuals offered suggestions on the ultimate three design choices, in accordance with the federal government.
Member for North Shore Felicity Wilson stated she would proceed to work with the local people to make sure their issues have been addressed.
“My local community has been vocal about the importance of the heritage and amenity of this place, and the need to protect and enhance public space,” she stated.
Transport for NSW stated it could proceed to work on plans for a separated bike path on Alfred Street South.
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https://thewall.fyi/revealed-the-first-look-at-the-200m-harbour-bridge-cycleway-2/
| 2022-04-01T00:14:55Z
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BGSU sorority expelled for “severe” hazing
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (WTVG) - Bowling Green State University has expelled a sorority for what a spokesperson called severe hazing.
BGSU officials announced Thursday that the Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, a historically Black sorority, has been expelled for severe hazing that includes six Code of Student Conduct violations.
The university said the sorority’s actions jeopardized the health and safety of students and the community. It also said the actions caused a “substantial risk” of serious physical harm. The statement from BGSU said the sorority had a history of deception to hide its hazing activity.
The university said Sigma Gamma Rho members hazed potential members throughout fall 2020 and spring 2021. The sorority was later suspended.
An investigation by the school’s Office of the Dean of Students found that sorority members hit potential members repeatedly in the face, made potential members harm themselves until they were seriously bruised, required them to consume alcohol, among other offenses.
The sorority members also allegedly made potential members buy alcohol and marijuana and told them to steal if they couldn’t afford it. The university accused the sorority members of taking potential members’ cell phones and deleted evidence of the harmful acts. Members allegedly told potential members they would be jumped for reporting the behavior.
“BGSU has continued to work to serve and better support our students of color, and we recognize the seriousness and impact of expelling a historically Black sorority,” the university said in a statement. “However, after community reports in late 2021, a thorough and fair investigation, and careful consideration of the evidence presented during the conduct hearing, BGSU cannot and will not support any group that has caused a substantial risk of serious physical harm to members of the campus community from hazing. Even with clearly communicated anti-hazing policies and education in place, the chapter knowingly and intentionally engaged in activities that were unsafe, high-risk and strictly prohibited by the University and the law.”
The expulsion comes less than a year after anti-hazing legislation became law in Ohio. The push to pass Collin’s Law was driven in part by the family of Stone Foltz, a BGSU student who died in 2021 after a hazing ritual in which members of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity forced him to drink a handle of liquor. That fraternity was expelled
You can read the university’s full outcome summary regarding Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority below.
Sigma Gamma Rho Outcome Letter by Sarah McRitchie on Scribd
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Copyright 2022 WTVG. All rights reserved.
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https://www.13abc.com/2022/03/31/bgsu-sorority-expelled-severe-hazing/
| 2022-04-01T00:14:57Z
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NBC’s Guthrie grills Barr: Didn’t Americans ‘deserve to know what you knew’ about Trump?
NBC News anchor and host of the “Today” show Savannah Guthrie on Monday pressed former Attorney General William Barr why he decided, in his 2020 resignation letter, to include positive remarks about former President Trump, who he has called “dangerous” to the country in a new book.
“You say in your book you were worried about the peaceful transition of power. You even had national security concerns,” Guthrie said to Barr during his first live television interview since leaving Trump’s administration. “None of this is present in this resignation letter. Didn’t the American people deserve to know what you knew?”
Barr responded by saying he tendered his resignation on Dec. 14, a date by which the 2020 election was already “over for all intents and purposes.”
In the weeks following the election, Trump and his allies repeatedly floated unproven theories of widespread voter fraud, assertions Barr writes in his forthcoming book he told the president were “bullshit.”
“The idea that something could be done later on Jan. 6 was nonsense,” Barr told Guthrie. “Once the election was locked in on Dec. 14, I tendered my resignation and I knew Trump was going to be leaving office.”
You say in your book you were worried about the peaceful transition of power. You even had national security concerns … none of this is present in this resignation letter. Didn’t the American people deserve to know what you knew? –@SavannahGuthrie to William Barr pic.twitter.com/aQfdbcE10a
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) March 7, 2022
As part of his efforts to promote the book, Barr last week granted an extensive sit-down interview with NBC’s Lester Holt, during which he suggested Trump was responsible for the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and shot down the former president’s continued claims of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election.
In a letter responding to a request for comment on Barr’s remarks from NBC News over the weekend, Trump said his former attorney general is “groveling for the media, hoping to gain acceptance that he doesn’t deserve.”
Guthrie asked Barr about Trump’s response, saying critics might suggest the former attorney general is on “an image rehab tour with a lawyerly flair.”
“People who know me know I don’t care much about what people think of me,” Barr responded. “I think that’s one of the reasons I was persuaded to take the attorney general job because I wasn’t looking for anything. I don’t have a future career. I’m retired and I felt I could just call them as I see them.”
Trump has himself clashed with Guthrie in the past. She pressed him just weeks before the 2020 election about his statements on social media spreading conspiracy theories.
“I don’t get that. You’re the president,” Guthrie said to Trump. “You’re not like someone’s crazy uncle who can just retweet whatever.”
The Hill has removed its comment section, as there are many other forums for readers to participate in the conversation. We invite you to join the discussion on Facebook and Twitter.
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https://thehill.com/homenews/media/597115-nbcs-guthrie-grills-barr-didnt-americans-deserve-to-know-what-you-knew-about/
| 2022-04-01T00:14:54Z
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Raven Alexis has died at the age of 35 after battling Crohn’s disease and a life-threatening infection, her husband confirmed.
Her husband shared the news of Alexis’ death on Instagram and Facebook, revealing she died in Las Vegas last Wednesday after having complications due to Crohn’s, according to reports from Adult Video News (AVN)..
He said: ‘She went in Sunday night with some complications and some stomach Crohn’s/colitis issues she had dealt with, ended up getting some infection and passed away yesterday at 12:44.’
Her husband, who has not been named, added: ‘I want all those people out there to know that she loved you all, she cared about you and I’m just so blessed to have her in my life and be a part of my life.
‘She was the absolute world to me, the love of my life.’
Crohn’s is a chronic autoimmune disease that causes inflammation and irritation in the digestive track, most commonly affecting the small intestines and the beginning part of the large intestines, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.
Alexis had started out her adult film career as an ‘internet model’ who ran her own membership sites before eventually receiving a contract with the production company Digital Playhouse from 2009 to 2010, after reaching out to many of the major companies in the adult film industry.
She told Shabooty in 2011: ‘At the time, they were the company that I felt was more in line with my goals.
‘It was a great ride, and they have a terrific business model for themselves, and I was fortunate to make some amazing and wonderfully selling movies in my time with them.’
She was a double AVN Award winner in 2011, including winning a fan-voted award for the wildest sex scene.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
MORE : Nick Grimshaw engaged to boyfriend Mesh Henry after four years and reveals gold ring
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https://metro.co.uk/2022/04/01/raven-alexis-dead-award-winning-adult-film-star-dies-aged-35-16384608/
| 2022-04-01T00:14:58Z
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Synopsys FQ4 2020 Earnings Preview
- Synopsys (NASDAQ:SNPS) is scheduled to announce FQ4 earnings results on Wednesday, December 2nd, after market close.
- The consensus EPS Estimate is $1.57 (+36.5% Y/Y) and the consensus Revenue Estimate is $1.02B (+19.8% Y/Y).
- Over the last 2 years, SNPS has beaten EPS estimates 88% of the time and has beaten revenue estimates 100% of the time.
- Over the last 3 months, EPS estimates have seen 1 upward revision and 1 downward. Revenue estimates have seen 1 upward revision and 1 downward.
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https://seekingalpha.com/news/3640458-synopsys-fq4-2020-earnings-preview
| 2022-04-01T00:14:56Z
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Ooma (NYSE:OOMA – Get Rating) issued an update on its FY 2023 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $0.330-$0.410 for the period, compared to the Thomson Reuters consensus estimate of $0.490. The company issued revenue guidance of $209.50 million-$212.50 million, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $209.16 million.Ooma also updated its Q1 2023 guidance to $0.090-$0.110 EPS.
Shares of Ooma stock traded up $0.05 during trading on Thursday, hitting $14.99. 95,737 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 82,418. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $16.21 and its 200 day moving average is $18.77. The stock has a market cap of $356.76 million, a PE ratio of -214.11 and a beta of 0.62. Ooma has a 12 month low of $14.10 and a 12 month high of $24.89.
Ooma (NYSE:OOMA – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 3rd. The technology company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of ($0.02) by $0.15. Ooma had a negative net margin of 0.91% and a negative return on equity of 0.98%. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.02) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Ooma will post -0.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in OOMA. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of Ooma by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 9,317 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $176,000 after purchasing an additional 737 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of Ooma by 587.9% during the 2nd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 273,701 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $5,161,000 after purchasing an additional 233,915 shares in the last quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ooma in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $298,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Ooma by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 67,594 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,258,000 after acquiring an additional 2,715 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG lifted its stake in Ooma by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 9,111 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $169,000 after acquiring an additional 921 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.56% of the company’s stock.
Ooma Company Profile (Get Rating)
Ooma, Inc engages in the provision of platforms for cloud-based communications solutions, smart security and other connected services. It helps create smart workplaces and homes by providing communications, monitoring, security, automation, productivity, and networking infrastructure applications. Its products and services include Ooma business and Ooma residential.
Read More
- Get a free copy of the StockNews.com research report on Ooma (OOMA)
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https://www.com-unik.info/2022/03/31/ooma-nyseooma-issues-fy-2023-earnings-guidance-2.html
| 2022-04-01T00:14:59Z
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Strong storms are beginning to hit the Washington, D.C., area with heavy rain and powerful winds, and evening commuters could get caught in severe weather.
Storms are most likely from now to 10 p.m. The National Weather Service has upgraded the D.C. area’s risk for severe weather to “enhanced,” which is threat level three out of five.
A severe thunderstorm watch is in effect for the D.C. area until 10 p.m., the National Weather Service says. Here's a full list of weather alerts.
A wind advisory is also set until 8 p.m. Thursday for areas including D.C., Arlington, Prince George’s County, Prince William County and Loudoun County.
“It will be a high-impact weather day no matter how you slice it,” Meteorologist Chuck Bell said.
Highs will reach about 68° to 74°. Winds will be blowing 25-35 mph on average with gusts of 40 to 50 mph likely, especially during any storms.
There’s an 80% chance for rain and storms.
Storm Timing for D.C., Maryland and Virginia
Storms with damaging winds could reach Interstate 81 between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. and the D.C. area between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m.
The biggest threats are damaging wind gusts and quarter-sized hail. Wind gusts over 60 mph are possible in the strongest storms. Tornadoes are not out of the question.
A cold front is set to pass through by 10 p.m., bringing an end to our risk for severe weather.
It’s the same storm system that may have spun off tornadoes in Arkansas but isn't expected to be as severe in the D.C. area.
Weekend Weather Forecast
Once the storm system passes, the weather will improve.
Friday is the first day of April. It will be blustery and cooler with highs getting close to 60°. A midday shower is possible, then skies will clear, and the wind will diminish Friday evening.
Saturday looks to be a nice day. After starting in the upper 30s, temperatures will climb to near 60° amid plenty of sunshine. A small wave of low pressure will cross the area Saturday night bringing clouds and perhaps a few sprinkles.
On Sunday, a cloudy morning will give way to a sunnier afternoon with most areas getting back above 60° for a time.
Next week will bring highs in the 60s Monday through Thursday, with rain chances on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
Here’s a look at Storm Team4's exclusive 10-day extended forecast.
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https://www.nbcwashington.com/weather/storms-to-strike-dc-area-thursday-amid-warmer-windy-weather/3013060/
| 2022-04-01T00:14:59Z
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EXCLUSIVE: Mark Swinton has been promoted to Senior Vice President of Scripted Programming at Tyler Perry Studios. In his expanded role, Swinton will oversee the creative department which includes current programming, casting and development. Serving as head of scripted, Swinton reports to TPS’ Chief Operating Officer Robert A. Boyd II. He will also continue to write, produce and direct.
Swinton is a film, television, and theater writer, producer, and director who has been working in the entertainment industry for 25 years, the past 14 years with TPS. During that time, he has produced several of Perry’s shows that are currently on-air, including The Oval, Sistas and Ruthless on BET, Bruh on BET+ and Young Dylan on Nickelodeon. He serves as an Executive Producer, writer, and director on BET’s House of Payne and Assisted Living.
On the film side, he has produced features including Nobody’s Fool with Whoopi Goldberg and Tiffany Haddish, Acrimony with Taraji P Henson, and Boo 2! A Madea Halloween which starred Perry and went on to be the number one film in America during its release. He also produced Netflix’s A Fall From Grace and TPS’ newest release A Madea Homecoming”which recently premiered on Netflix. Swinton is also a seasoned director who has been behind the camera of such television shows as House of Payne, Assisted Living, The Paynes, Love Thy Neighbor, For Better or Worse and Bruh.
Prior to joining TPS, Swinton was a writer on ABC’s animated sitcom The Proud Family and UPN’s Second Time Around. Also an accomplished playwright and stage director, Swinton was the winner of the 2002 NAACP Theater Award For Best Director, and the 2002 NAACP Theater Award for Best Playwright. Swinton’s original works include Ephraim’s Song, Black Olive, Sugarbread Sweet, Keep Movin’ On, and the provocative stage play Autumn. His urban musical U Dont Know Me was nominated for seven NAACP theater awards, winning four. Swinton was the Assistant Director for Stan Lathan on the Tony Award-winning show, Def Poetry Jam, on Broadway.
Before entering the industry, Swinton spent ten years as a teacher of Theater & Film. He founded the Stephen and Carrie Odell Theatre Arts Academy in Los Angeles, and The Youth Arts Initiative, an after-school program for at-risk youth.
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https://www.thehamdenjournal.com/world/tyler-perry-studios-ups-mark-swinton-to-svp-scripted-programming-the-hamden-journal/130446/
| 2022-04-01T00:15:00Z
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Australia taps diplomat for NZ tob job
Foreign Minister Marise Payne has appointed Harinder Sidhu as Australia's next High Commissioner to New Zealand.
Ms Sidhu is a career diplomat who has served in Russia, India, and Syria and replaces Patricia Forsythe in the role, who left this week.
She inherits a strong trans-Tasman relationship underpinned by people-to-people links, but increasingly strained in recent years.
New Zealand governments have decried the thousands of deportations from Australia, and most vociferously those made on character grounds rather than serious criminality.
The Australian and New Zealand governments have also traded barbs over contrasting policies to China, COVID-19 border restrictions and Australia's citizenship-stripping practices of dual nationals.
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https://thewest.com.au/politics/diplomacy/australia-taps-diplomat-for-nz-tob-job-c-6283448
| 2022-04-01T00:14:59Z
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Duck Creek (DCT) Q2 Earnings and Revenues Beat Estimates
Duck Creek (DCT) came out with quarterly earnings of $0.04 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.01 per share. This compares to earnings of $0.01 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items.
This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of 300%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this company would post earnings of $0.01 per share when it actually produced earnings of $0.04, delivering a surprise of 300%.
Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates four times.
Duck Creek
The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call.
Duck Creek shares have lost about 25.4% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's decline of -3.4%.
What's Next for Duck Creek?
While Duck Creek has underperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock?
There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately.
Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions.
Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for Duck Creek: mixed. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to perform in line with the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is $0.02 on $75.72 million in revenues for the coming quarter and $0.09 on $300.37 million in revenues for the current fiscal year.
Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Internet - Software is currently in the bottom 17% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1.
Another stock from the same industry, Meta Platforms (FB), has yet to report results for the quarter ended March 2022.
This social media company is expected to post quarterly earnings of $2.66 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of -19.4%. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 3.9% higher over the last 30 days to the current level.
Meta Platforms' revenues are expected to be $28.51 billion, up 8.9% from the year-ago quarter.
Zacks Names "Single Best Pick to Double"
From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.
It’s a little-known chemical company that’s up 65% over last year, yet still dirt cheap. With unrelenting demand, soaring 2022 earnings estimates, and $1.5 billion for repurchasing shares, retail investors could jump in at any time.
This company could rival or surpass other recent Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Boston Beer Company which shot up +143.0% in little more than 9 months and NVIDIA which boomed +175.9% in one year.
Free: See Our Top Stock and 4 Runners Up >>Click to get this free report
Duck Creek Technologies, Inc. (DCT): Free Stock Analysis Report
Meta Platforms, Inc. (FB): Free Stock Analysis Report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
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https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/duck-creek-dct-q2-earnings-and-revenues-beat-estimates
| 2022-04-01T00:15:00Z
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| 2022-04-01T00:15:00Z
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https://www.leafly.com/brands/canna-hemp/products/canna-hemp-euphoria-cookies-cartridge-0-5g-cartridges
| 2022-04-01T00:15:00Z
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Not everything has to come to a logical conclusion; not everything needs to be about something. In her lecture “The Sentence Is a Lonely Place,” the writer Garielle Lutz explains her fondness for language where “the sentence is a complete, portable solitude, a minute immediacy of consummated language.” By that, she means that language, for some, is at its best when it can be isolated, when it takes on a sort of synesthetic, acoustic resonance. You can apply this terminology to the songwriting of New Zealand’s Aldous Harding, who, for four albums, has made folk music with a conceptual weight that’s difficult to categorize or assign to any established narrative. Her latest album, Warm Chris, is a record of the portable solitude that Lutz writes about: It is opaque, surreal, and above all, lonely.
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https://www.newsbreak.com/news/2556417448106/trinity-forish
| 2022-04-01T00:15:01Z
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BERLIN, March 31 (Reuters) – Volkswagen Group (VOWG_p.DE) will have to recall more than 100,000 plug-in hybrid vehicles globally due to the risk of fire, said a spokesperson for the German carmaker.
Some 42,300 owners of Volkswagen Passats, Golfs, Tiguans and Arteons worldwide will be notified. Volkswagen brand Audi has to recall 24,400 vehicles, while Seat and Skoda are also affected.
There is a risk of fire in vehicles that connect a conventional combustion engine to an electric drive and are charged through a socket due to an insufficiently insulated high-voltage battery, added the spokesperson on Thursday.
The recall affects Volkswagen brands VW, Audi, Seat and Skoda, Bild said.
Writing by Maria Sheahan and Miranda Murray Editing by Madeline Chambers
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https://guyanachronicle.com/2022/03/31/volkswagen-to-recall-more-than-100000-cars-on-fire-risk/
| 2022-04-01T00:14:59Z
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Equities research analysts expect onsemi (NASDAQ:ON – Get Rating) to report $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the current quarter, Zacks reports. Nine analysts have made estimates for onsemi’s earnings. The lowest EPS estimate is $1.04 and the highest is $1.08. onsemi posted earnings per share of $0.35 during the same quarter last year, which would suggest a positive year over year growth rate of 197.1%. The company is expected to issue its next earnings results on Monday, January 1st.
According to Zacks, analysts expect that onsemi will report full-year earnings of $4.16 per share for the current year, with EPS estimates ranging from $4.04 to $4.40. For the next year, analysts forecast that the company will report earnings of $4.44 per share, with EPS estimates ranging from $4.15 to $4.75. Zacks’ EPS calculations are a mean average based on a survey of sell-side research analysts that cover onsemi.
onsemi (NASDAQ:ON – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 7th. The semiconductor company reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.79 billion. onsemi had a return on equity of 31.73% and a net margin of 14.98%. onsemi’s revenue was up 27.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.35 earnings per share.
In other news, Director Paul Anthony Mascarenas sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $1,300,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Vince Craig Hopkin sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.60, for a total value of $242,400.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 51,055 shares of company stock worth $3,162,479. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.
Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. grew its stake in shares of onsemi by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 41,259,697 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,802,357,000 after buying an additional 314,351 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of onsemi by 0.8% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 18,416,987 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $842,945,000 after buying an additional 142,874 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its stake in shares of onsemi by 18.0% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 14,591,648 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $991,036,000 after buying an additional 2,226,677 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of onsemi by 170.4% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 12,065,188 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $558,376,000 after buying an additional 7,602,971 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of onsemi by 3.2% in the third quarter. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC now owns 6,925,522 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $316,981,000 after buying an additional 215,743 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.12% of the company’s stock.
onsemi stock traded down $1.82 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $62.61. The stock had a trading volume of 6,174,838 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,353,984. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 2.45 and a quick ratio of 1.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.84 and a beta of 1.72. onsemi has a 1-year low of $34.01 and a 1-year high of $71.25. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $59.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.88.
About onsemi (Get Rating)
onsemi is engaged in disruptive innovations and also a supplier of power and analog semiconductors. The firm offers vehicle electrification and safety, sustainable energy grids, industrial automation, and 5G and cloud infrastructure, with a focus on automotive and industrial end-markets. It operates through the following segments: Power Solutions Group, Advanced Solutions Group, and Intelligent Sensing Group.
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https://theenterpriseleader.com/2022/03/31/zacks-analysts-anticipate-onsemi-nasdaqon-to-post-1-04-earnings-per-share.html
| 2022-04-01T00:15:02Z
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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Oscars producer Will Packer said Los Angeles police were ready to arrest Will Smith after Smith slapped Chris Rock on the Academy Awards stage.
“They were saying, you know, this is battery, was a word they used in that moment," Packer said in a clip released by ABC News Thursday night of an interview he gave to “Good Morning America.” “They said we will go get him. We are prepared. We’re prepared to get him right now. You can press charges, we can arrest him. They were laying out the options.”
But Packer said Rock was “very dismissive” of the idea.
“He was like, ‘No, no, no, I’m fine,” Packer said. "And even to the point where I said, ‘Rock, let them finish.’ The LAPD officers finished laying out what his options were and they said, ‘Would you like us to take any action?’ And he said no.”
The LAPD said in a statement after Sunday night's ceremony that they were aware of the incident, and that Rock had declined to file a police report. The department declined comment Thursday on Packer's interview, a longer version of which will air on Friday morning.
The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences met Wednesday to initiate disciplinary proceedings against Smith for violations against the group’s standards of conduct. Smith could be suspended, expelled or otherwise sanctioned.
The academy said in a statement that “Mr. Smith’s actions at the 94th Oscars were a deeply shocking, traumatic event to witness in-person and on television."
Without giving specifics, the academy said Smith was asked to leave the ceremony at the Dolby Theatre, but refused to do so.
Smith strode from his front row seat on to the stage and slapped Rock after a joke Rock made about Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, when he was on stage to present the Oscar for best documentary.
On Monday, Smith issued an apology to Rock, the academy and to viewers, saying “I was out of line and I was wrong.”
The academy said Smith has the opportunity to defend himself in a written response before the board meets again on April 18.
Rock publicly addressed the incident for the first time, but only briefly, at the beginning of a standup show Wednesday night in Boston, where he was greeted by a thunderous standing ovation. He said “I’m still kind of processing what happened.”
___
Follow AP Entertainment Writer Andrew Dalton on Twitter: https://twitter.com/andyjamesdalton
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https://www.ctinsider.com/news/article/Oscars-producer-says-police-offered-to-arrest-17049804.php
| 2022-04-01T00:15:01Z
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SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri nonprofit that was at the center of a corruption probe that involved several legislators is paying more than $8 million to the federal government and the state of Arkansas under an agreement with prosecutors announced Thursday.
Federal prosecutors announced the non-prosecution agreement with Preferred Family Healthcare, which agreed to forfeit more than $6.9 million to the federal government and pay more than $1.1 million in restitution to Arkansas.
The Missouri-based mental health care provider operated 50 clinics throughout Arkansas until October 2018 and no longer operates in the state. Prosecutors on Thursday said under the agreement, PFH admitted that its former officers and employees conspired to embezzle funds from the charity and bribe Arkansas legislators.
Several former executives from the charity, former Arkansas legislators and other have pleaded guilty in federal court as part of the corruption probe.
A lobbyist pleaded guilty in 2019 to bribing three Arkansas lawmakers, including the governor’s nephew, to benefit PFH. The lobbyist, Rusty Cranford, was sentenced to seven years in prison and in August was released to serve the remainder of his sentence from home.
Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge in 2020 announced the firm had reached $6.5 million in federal and state settlements following an investigation by Rutledge's office into false Medicaid claims made by former PFH employees.
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https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Firm-paying-8M-to-Arkansas-feds-over-corruption-17049727.php
| 2022-04-01T00:15:02Z
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By Adriano Marchese
Canadian stocks were slightly higher at midday on Thursday as the retail trade, commercial services and utilities sectors led the gainers, pushing the S&P/TSX Composite Index up by 46.55 points. The consumer durables sector saw the largest losses in the session, followed by producer manufacturing and process industries. WELL Health Technologies Corp. shares rose reporting an adjusted profit and soaring revenue in its fourth quarter.
Canada's S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 0.21% to 22122.51 and the blue-chip S&P/TSX 60 was up 0.20 to 1337.47.
WELL Health Technologies Corp. shares rose by 12% to C$5.53 after it said revenue rose to 115.7 million Canadian dollars, the equivalent of US$92.7 million, compared with C$17.2 million a year ago, while adjusted earnings were C$0.03 a share, beating analyst expectations of a loss of C$0.01 a share.
Other market movers:
Topaz Energy Corp. shares rose 3.9% to C$21.14 after it agreed to acquire the outstanding common shares of Keystone Royalty Corp. for 85 million Canadian dollars, the equivalent of US$68.1 million, in company shares.
Shares in Nova Cannabis Inc. fell 4% to C$2.56 after it said it appointed Zach George as chair and Marcie Kiziak as CEO as part of a board reshuffle following the acquisition of Alcanna Inc. by Sundial Growers Inc. and that it would sell its Ontario retail stores.
Write to Adriano Marchese at adriano.marchese@wsj.com
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https://www.marketwatch.com/story/toronto-stocks-up-modestly-well-health-rises-on-4q-performance-271648742691
| 2022-04-01T00:15:03Z
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Revealed: The first look at the 200m Harbour Bridge cycleway
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“From histories and stories around whales, migration of sea animals…all of these things have certainly informed our design response.”
Mr Coles stated the common gradient of the cycleway was 2 per cent, making the bridge extra accessible.
“We’ve been able to really bring down the level, so the grades are an average of 2 per cent across the length, which means it’s very easy for older people, very easy for kids,” he stated.
The authorities has thought of quite a lot of choices for the cycleway over current years, together with a spiral possibility which was later rejected.
More than 1000 folks offered suggestions on the ultimate three design choices, in keeping with the federal government.
Member for North Shore Felicity Wilson stated she would proceed to work with the area people to make sure their considerations have been addressed.
“My local community has been vocal about the importance of the heritage and amenity of this place, and the need to protect and enhance public space,” she stated.
Transport for NSW stated it might proceed to work on plans for a separated bike path on Alfred Street South.
The Morning Edition publication is our information to the day’s most vital and attention-grabbing tales, evaluation and insights. Sign up here.
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https://thewall.fyi/revealed-the-first-look-at-the-200m-harbour-bridge-cycleway/
| 2022-04-01T00:15:03Z
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Driver escapes after car riddled with bullets in California drive-by shooting
SACRAMENTO COUNTY, Calif. (KOVR) – Authorities in a small California community are investigating after they say a driver was forced to pull over, then shot several times while still in the vehicle.
Neighbor Connie Ternes in the small town of Hood said the incident was shocking.
“I can’t even fathom that that would happen out here,” she said. “This is pretty quiet of an area, somewhat isolated from things like that.”
Locals Darcy and Lance Seppi live on a property nearby and heard the gunfire.
“I started hearing shots, ‘Boom, boom, boom,’” Darcy Seppi said.
Investigators with the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office said the driver of a Land Rover was forced off the main road by another driver who then started shooting.
The Land Rover ended up riddled with more than 20 bullet holes.
“It is stunning that the victim walked away to see another day,” Sgt. Rodney Grassmann said.
The victim crawled to the passenger side and escaped into an open field to call police, taking shots to the stomach and back.
Investigators are working to determine if the individuals knew each other.
“There could be many things,” Grassmann said. “Perhaps there was an unknown road rage incident where that driver had done something that offended the other driver. I don’t think the public has to worry about some crazed person randomly shooting at people.”
The neighbors say the shooting is unusual in the small town of around 300 people, and they are left questioning the motive.
“I can’t wrap my head around it,” Ternes said. “Who would do that? What is the reason in the middle of the night, shooting at someone so many times?”
Investigators say they do not believe the incident was gang-related.
Copyright 2022 KOVR via CNN Newsource. All rights reserved.
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https://www.13abc.com/2022/03/31/driver-escapes-after-car-riddled-with-bullets-california-drive-by-shooting/
| 2022-04-01T00:15:03Z
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The Hill’s Morning Report – Presented by Emergent BioSolutions – Ukraine aid, Russian oil top Congress’s to-do list
Presented by Emergent BioSolutions
Welcome to The Hill’s Morning Report. It is Monday! We get you up to speed on the most important developments in politics and policy, plus trends to watch. Alexis Simendinger and Al Weaver are the co-creators. Readers can find us on Twitter @asimendinger and @alweaver22. Please recommend the Morning Report to friends and let us know what you think. CLICK HERE to subscribe!
Russia’s war with Ukraine worsened over the weekend, posing ominous new challenges for Ukraine’s government and NATO allies as members of Congress said Sunday they expect to approve $10 billion in aid to Ukraine this week.
Lawmakers in Washington, who listened on Saturday to pleas from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a conference call, said they are split on the merits of a possible U.S. import ban on Russian oil and gas, which is not backed by the Biden administration, but are in bipartisan agreement with the administration that a no-fly zone, fervently advocated for by a frustrated Zelensky, would lead the U.S. and Europe into World War III with Russia.
Facing a separate legislative deadline Friday to fund the U.S. government, lawmakers want to concurrently approve a $10 billion emergency bill to assist Ukraine as soon as possible. Sens. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) told “Fox News Sunday” they expect a measure that includes $4.8 billion for U.S. forces deployed to NATO nations, intelligence and cybersecurity spending and additional funds for weaponry to be used by Ukraine’s military to reach President Biden’s desk this week. The bill also includes $4.25 billion in humanitarian assistance (The New York Times).
“We need to make sure that we’re reinforcing Ukraine and providing as much lethal aid as possible,” Ernst said. She also emphasized the need for humanitarian funding for refugees crossing into countries neighboring Ukraine.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) also sent a letter to colleagues Sunday saying the House is eyeing a bill to “ban the import of Russian oil and energy products into the United States,” among other measures to isolate Russia economically.
Jordain Carney, The Hill: Lawmakers in both parties see limits on U.S. help for Ukraine.
The Wall Street Journal: Ukraine, COVID-19 aid at stake as talks on omnibus spending bill continue.
The Hill: Ukraine crisis adds pressure to spending talks.
The other pressing issue for the U.S. is what to do on the gasoline front as prices skyrocket across the country. As of Sunday, the national average for a gallon of gasoline climbed above $4, marking the highest price at the pump since the economic collapse of 2008 (CNBC). Starting late in the week, calls among lawmakers for the U.S. to halt importing Russian oil have grown, with the White House reportedly looking at plan B in case it makes that move as it attempts to balance the Ukraine situation and rising inflation on the homefront.
According to Axios, the White House is discussing a potential Biden visit to Saudi Arabia this spring in a bid to push the U.S. ally into supplying more oil. That possible maneuver comes after administration officials met with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s team over the weekend, with lawmakers suggesting that oil from the country could help replace the oil Russia supplies. In 2021, the U.S. imported an average of 20.4 million barrels of crude and refined products per month, making up roughly 8 percent of liquid fuel imports (Reuters).
Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday said the administration and allies are talking about whether to ban Russian oil imports.
“We are now in very active discussions with our European partners about banning the import of Russian oil to our countries while of course, at the same time, maintaining a steady global supply of oil,” Blinken told “Meet the Press” (The Hill).
The Wall Street Journal: Biden is caught between inflation and calls to ban Russian oil.
Bloomberg News: Oil shoots near $130 per barrel as chance of a ban on Russian supply spurs crisis fears.
Sylvan Lane, The Hill: Efforts to decimate the Russian economy threaten to boomerang.
The war’s Day 11 showed no signs of peaceful resolution (NBC News analysis) as Russian forces took aim at civilians and ignored temporary cease-fires, continued the invasion in southern parts of Ukraine, and attempted to slowly encircle Kyiv. Ukrainian forces managed to slow Russia’s advances in some cities, including Mykolaiv. Trapped residents of Mariupol are still trying to evacuate a city without water or access to sufficient food and cut off from electricity and internet communications. Zelensky warned Ukrainians today to expect Russia’s renewed assault on Ukraine’s major cities.
Russian and Ukrainian officials are expected to meet again today with little optimism of a breakthrough heading into a third round. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Ukraine will see relief only when it bows to all of Russia’s demands.
The Washington Post: Russia is a no-show today at a United Nations International Court of Justice proceeding.
The Biden administration, NATO countries and many members of Congress have turned aside the idea of imposing and defending a no-fly zone against Russian air power. The United States is trying to “end this war in Ukraine, not start a larger one,” Blinken told “Meet the Press” (The Hill).
The Hill’s take from Sunday talk shows: Ukraine no-fly zone debate dominated.
CNN: More than 30 countries have shut down their own airspace to Russian commercial flights.
Over the weekend, the secretary said the U.S. gave a “green light” to the idea that Poland, as a neighboring intermediary, could send fighter jets to Ukraine so its pilots and the Zelensky government could defend themselves (The Hill). It’s not clear Poland has warmed to that idea. There are numerous practical questions, including how to provide replacement planes to Poland and how to get the Polish planes to Ukraine, reports The New York Times. The next tranche of F-16s for export is set to go to Taiwan, American officials said, and they are reluctant to delay them.
“We’re talking with our Polish friends right now about what we might be able to backfill their needs if in fact they choose to provide these fighter jets to the Ukrainians. What can we do? How can we help to make sure that they get something to backfill the planes that they’re handing over to the Ukrainians?” Blinken said from Moldova during an interview with CBS News.
Blinken (pictured below) will meet Tuesday with French President Emmanuel Macron, who recently spoke at length with Putin.
Other weekend attempts by world leaders to appeal to the Russian president to change course appear to have gone nowhere, including a Saturday visit to the Kremlin by Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett (The New York Times), and a Sunday phone call to Putin by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Turkey. Erdoğan emphasized the urgent importance of a cease-fire and humanitarian corridors and for a peace agreement to be signed, according to his official Twitter account (Reuters).
The Hill: The war in Ukraine jeopardizes U.S. interests in the Western Hemisphere.
The Hill: U.S.-India relations are strained by the Ukraine crisis. New Delhi has refused to join a Western alliance to isolate Russia.
Russia’s determination to block accurate reports and broadcasts about Putin’s war and orders to report propaganda pose significant challenges for everyday Russians who want independent information as well as the independent journalists trying to cover the news inside Russia for the outside world (The Hill). Many Ukrainians find that their relatives in Russia do not believe there’s a war (The New York Times).
Independent TV Rain in Russia took itself off the air rather than broadcast disinformation (Deadline). The BBC pulled out of Russia. The Kremlin blocked Facebook and unveiled a “fake news” law (The Wall Street Journal). Independent outlet Meduza, headquartered in Latvia, was still trying to operate independently inside Russia through its app.
TikTok on Sunday said it temporarily blocked uploading of new video from Russia. “In light of Russia’s new ‘fake news’ law, we have no choice but to suspend livestreaming and new content to our video service while we review the safety implications of this law,” the company announced (The Verge).
Photojournalists and news crews working in dangerous situations in Ukraine continue to reveal the arc of war thus far. Take a look: The Associated Press, Los Angeles Times, The Art Newspaper, National Geographic, The Guardian and The New York Times.
White House: Vice President Harris will travel later this week to Poland and Romania to show solidarity with NATO allies and Ukraine (The Hill). … Emily Horne, spokeswoman for the National Security Council for 13 months and a veteran State Department official, is departing the West Wing on March 25 and will be succeeded by Adrienne Watson, whose experience is in Democratic politics (The Washington Post).
GET ON THE LIST
Introducing NotedDC: The Hill’s curated commentary on the beat of the Beltway by journalist Elizabeth Crisp. Click here to subscribe to our latest newsletter.
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LEADING THE DAY
POLITICS: The president, whose job approval poll numbers had been sinking for months, has seen a slight rebound as Americans turn their attention to Ukraine’s plight.
The White House has been searching for a way to turn over a new leaf and believes it finally has after a strong week, headlined by the State of the Union, bipartisan support for Ukraine, a robust jobs report and the kickoff of a campaign to put Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson on the Supreme Court. According to an NPR-PBS NewsHour-Marist National Poll released on Friday, Biden’s approval rating jumped to 47 percent after his numbers had been mired in the basement as he continues to battle high inflation and COVID-19 fatigue.
“The American people saw this week that President Biden is delivering on his promises,” said Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), a top Biden ally, name-checking the White House’s effort to fill the Supreme Court vacancy, work on Ukraine and the economy specifically. “On Tuesday night, we heard a clear and forceful argument from President Biden about where we are as a country and his vision to address the challenges we face at home and abroad, and I believe it’s a vision that working Americans support” (The Hill).
This week, Biden’s effort to boost his political standing will include a trip to Philadelphia to headline the three-day retreat House Democrats are holding. The retreat is set to start on Thursday.
CBS News: Conservative think tank’s exclusive gathering will include Biden official — but not Trump.
The Hill: Senate Republicans set sights on blue state “sleeper” races.
The Associated Press: Republican “unforced errors” threaten path to Senate control.
Politico: The Democratic Party’s emerging priority: Save the governors.
Josh Kraushaar, National Journal: Democrats at an ideological crossroads in Texas.
> Jan. 6 latest: GOP lawmakers are warning that any Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecution of former President Trump will be tainted by politics, setting a high bar for Attorney General Merrick Garland to act on an expected criminal referral from the House’s Jan. 6 committee.
As The Hill’s Alexander Bolton writes, the select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack offered up a sneak peek at its likely referral to the DOJ in a court filing made public last week and experts say it would be a complex case to pursue. On top of the political stakes and sure-fire, early accusations that Garland would be launching a politically motivated prosecution, it would constitute a gamble on his end to move ahead with charges.
The Hill: Jan. 6 panel has tough case to make on Trump criminal conspiracy.
The New York Times: How the Manhattan D.A.’s investigation into Trump unraveled.
The Associated Press: Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) rips “cancel culture,” hints at political comeback.
Politico: “Pretty far down on the list”: Why Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) are an unsolvable problem for House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).
A MESSAGE FROM EMERGENT BIOSOLUTIONS
We Go to protect those who protect us. For more than two decades, Emergent has developed, manufactured, and delivered protections against critical health threats.
The vaccines and treatments we manufacture have protected millions, including US service members. Learn more about how our life-enhancing products help create a better, more secure world: www.emergentbiosolutions.com
IN FOCUS/SHARP TAKES
CORONAVIRUS: Total U.S. coronavirus deaths reported this morning: 958,621.
As of today, 75.8 percent of the U.S. population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 64.5 percent is “fully vaccinated,” according to the Bloomberg News global vaccine tracker and the government’s definition. The percentage of Americans who have received third or booster doses is 28.3.
> This week, the world will mark the second anniversary since the World Health Organization declared a coronavirus pandemic, a crisis poised to enter its third year. The international death toll nears 6 million, which is likely an undercount (The Associated Press). The U.S. is close to 1 million COVID-19 fatalities.
As most of the developed world champions a new phase of “living with COVID-19,” and resumes indoor work and travel while lifts most restrictions and required precautions, vaccination rates remain low in poor countries, U.S. protesters continue demonstrating their opposition to masks and vaccines, while surges in infections and rising death rates have not been eradicated in places such as Hong Kong.
A semi-autonomous city in China with a population of 7.5 million people now experiencing a dramatic surge in coronavirus infections, Hong Kong urged public calm over the weekend about required mass COVID-19 testing. On Sunday, 153 people died from COVID-19 as 31,008 new infections were reported (Reuters and The Hill). COVID-19 is seen as a “preventable disaster” there (CNN).
The Wall Street Journal: Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine, which uses a more traditional version of vaccine science, is moving closer to a decision by the Food and Drug Administration about whether it will get federal approval.
The Wall Street Journal: As COVID-19 rules dissolve into voluntary guidance for businesses, local governments and individuals, restaurants continue debating masking. For example, Shake Shack is keeping them. Texas Roadhouse dropped them.
The Morning Report is created by journalists Alexis Simendinger and Al Weaver. We want to hear from you! Email: asimendinger@thehill.com and aweaver@thehill.com. We invite you to share The Hill’s reporting and newsletters, and encourage others to SUBSCRIBE!
OPINION
How to stop a nuclear war, by Ross Douthat, columnist, The New York Times. https://nyti.ms/3Kn1cIg
Seizing superyachts Is not the best way to help Ukraine, by Matthew Yglesias, columnist, Bloomberg Opinion. https://bloom.bg/35Z78sk
WHERE AND WHEN
The House meets at noon.
The Senate convenes at 3 p.m. and will resume consideration of the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022.
The president will receive the President’s Daily Brief at 9:30 a.m. He has no public events on his schedule.
The vice president will deliver remarks on the COVID-19 stimulus package and the bipartisan infrastructure law at 11:35 a.m. from the White House’s South Court Auditorium.
Blinken today is in Riga, Latvia, to meet with President Egils Levits, Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins and Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics. He also will meet with Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen at 3:30 p.m. will participate in a roundtable event focused on labor market competition and findings of a Treasury report on the topic. The discussion will include Attorney General Merrick Garland, Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh, Chair of the Federal Trade Commission Lina Khan and other senior Biden advisers. The roundtable gathering will take place in the White House Diplomatic Reception Room and be live streamed.
First lady Jill Biden will travel to Phoenix to promote the president’s agenda and headline a fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee.
The White House daily press briefing is scheduled at 2 p.m.
Hill.TV’s “Rising” program features news and interviews at http://thehill.com/hilltv or on YouTube at 10:30 a.m. ET at Rising on YouTube.
ELSEWHERE
➜ INTERNATIONAL: North Korean state media said on Sunday that the dictatorial country conducted “another important test” required to create a spy satellite, signaling that it could soon launch a long-range rocket despite a ban by the United Nations. The Korean Central News Agency said that North Korea conducted it in order to test a reconnaissance satellite’s data transmission and reception as well as control systems. It remains unclear if North Korea has a camera that would be able to produce images in a high enough resolution for spying capabilities (The Hill).
➜ STATE WATCH: Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in commercial and backyard bird flocks has been confirmed in at least 10 states since early February, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and state governments. That’s bad news nationwide for poultry producers and backyard poultry enthusiasts. Impacted to date and on alert for the HPAI virus, which can be deadly in bird flocks but not in humans: Missouri, Indiana, Connecticut, Iowa, New York, Michigan, Maine, Delaware, Kentucky and Virginia. Because infections in wild ducks and geese can spread the virus to commercial flocks, a list of states in which HPAI has been reported in wild fowl helps the industry track the current spread across the U.S.
A MESSAGE FROM EMERGENT BIOSOLUTIONS
We Go to protect those who protect us. For more than two decades, Emergent has developed, manufactured, and delivered protections against critical health threats.
The vaccines and treatments we manufacture have protected millions, including US service members. Learn more about how our life-enhancing products help create a better, more secure world: www.emergentbiosolutions.com
THE CLOSER
And finally … The vice president, whose advocacy for federal passage of voting rights legislation is part of her domestic portfolio, on Sunday walked across Selma, Ala.’s Edmund Pettus bridge to mark Bloody Sunday, a seminal event for civil rights 57 years ago when 600 people began a march to Montgomery, Ala., to seek an end to discrimination in voter registration and were viciously attacked with clubs and tear gas by state troopers.
In remarks beneath a sunny sky, Harris reflected on the events of 1965 and the strides for civil rights since then. “We again, however, find ourselves caught in between. Between injustice and justice. Between disappointment and determination,” she said, accompanied by members of the Biden Cabinet. “Still in a fight to form a more perfect union. And nowhere is that more clear than when it comes to the ongoing fight to secure the freedom to vote” (ABC News).
Voting rights measures backed by Biden and Harris have stalled in Congress and have encountered pushback in the Supreme Court — setbacks Democrats fear will not be overcome if the party loses majorities in the House and Senate after November. Harris told a crowd of thousands in Selma that it is important to “continue to push Congress.”
Biden in a written statement on Sunday renewed his call for reforms in federal law to counter legislation adopted by some Republican legislatures and signed by conservative governors. “The battle for the soul of America has many fronts. The right to vote is the most fundamental,” he repeated.
Harris returned to Washington late Sunday night to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland as its security responded to an active shooter emergency involving two people who drove onto the base through a security checkpoint and then fled on foot. One suspect was arrested with a weapon while another was being sought. The vice president, her husband and returning Cabinet members were not in danger as they arrived and then departed the base, military authorities said (The New York Times).
Morning Report reader Dan Mattoon should have appeared in our Friday list of weekly quiz winners. We regret that we missed him!
The Hill has removed its comment section, as there are many other forums for readers to participate in the conversation. We invite you to join the discussion on Facebook and Twitter.
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https://thehill.com/homenews/morning-report/597111-the-hills-morning-report/
| 2022-04-01T00:15:03Z
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LONDON (AP) —
The pharmaceutical developer Novavax says it has asked the European Medicines Agency to extend the authorization of its coronavirus vaccine to children aged 12 to 17 amid a surge of disease across the continent.
In a statement on Thursday, Novavax said its request is based on data from research in more than 2,200 adolescents aged 12 to 17 in the U.S., which found its vaccine to be about 80% effective against COVID-19. The study was done when the delta variant was the predominant virus in the U.S. The main side effects reported were pain at the injection site, headache and tiredness.
The EU drug regulator gave Novavax’s two-dose COVID-19 vaccine for adults the green light in December; the shot has also been cleared by Indonesia, Australia and the World Health Organization, among others. The EMA has previously OK’ed vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna for use in children from age 6.
The Novavax vaccine relies on an older technology that’s been used for years to make shots for diseases like influenza and pertussis. The Maryland-based Novavax drugmaker uses genetic engineering to grow harmless copies of the coronavirus spike protein in insect cells. Scientists then extract and purify the protein and then mix in an immune-boosting chemical.
Novavax has run into repeated production problems and mainly relies on other factories to make its vaccine. It has delayed delivery of its shots to numerous countries in Europe and despite pledges to make 250 million doses available to COVAX, not a single vaccine has been shared with the U.N.-backed effort to distribute shots to poorer countries.
According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, more than half of adolescents in the EU have not yet been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Numerous countries across the continent have recently seen a jump in coronavirus cases, due largely to the spread of the hugely infectious omicron subvariant BA.2 and the relaxation of nearly all COVID-19 protocols.
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Follow AP’s coverage of the pandemic at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic
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https://www.kget.com/health/novavax-asks-eu-regulator-to-clear-covid-vaccine-for-teens/
| 2022-04-01T00:15:03Z
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Las Cruces police: Suspect in custody following SWAT situation
LAS CRUCES – A large police presence that descended on a south central neighborhood is leaving the area Thursday after a suspect who hid in a shed was reportedly taken into custody.
A Las Cruces Police Department news release stated officers were apprehending a suspect early Thursday afternoon near Thomas Drive and Rentfrow Avenue when the suspect fled and hid in a shed. By 4:45 p.m., officers had placed the suspect in custody.
Authorities gave few details on what started the incident and have not stated what alleged crime the person taken into custody is suspected of committing.
While SWAT and area law enforcement responded to the incident on Thomas Drive, several nearby businesses and schools were placed on lockdown and several streets were blocked.
According to Las Cruces Public Schools, University Hills, Conlee and Hillrise elementary schools and Lynn Middle School were placed on lockdown Thursday afternoon.
University Hills — closest to Thomas Drive — remained on lockdown until the incident was resolved. Kelly Jameson, spokesperson for the school district, confirmed University Hills students were on a "controlled release" amid the incident wherein parents were asked to remain in their vehicles while school staff escorted students out.
This is a developing story and will be updated as information becomes available.
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Leah Romero is the trending reporter at the Las Cruces Sun-News and can be reached at 575-418-3442, LRomero@lcsun-news.com or @rromero_leah on Twitter.
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https://www.lcsun-news.com/story/news/crime/2022/03/31/las-cruces-police-divert-traffic-they-respond-shooting-omni/7237049001/
| 2022-04-01T00:15:04Z
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(WHTM) – Kevin Baumlin, a doctor of 30 years and chair of emergency medicine at Pennsylvania Hospital, has dropped out of the Democratic primary for Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate seat.
In a statement released on Twitter, Baumlin called his campaign “an amazing and unforgettable journey.”
“I am forever grateful to you and I will always appreciate you,” said Baumlin to his supporters.
Baumlin announced his candidacy for U.S. Senate in April 2021 and was approved to appear on the primary ballot after receiving enough petition signatures.
In a WHTM/Emerson College/The Hill poll released on March 31, Baumlin finished third with 9% behind Lt. Governor John Fetterman and Congressman Conor Lamb.
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https://www.mytwintiers.com/2022-united-states-senate-election-in-pennsylvania/dr-kevin-baumlin-candidate-pennsylvanias-u-s-senate-seat-drops-out/
| 2022-04-01T00:15:04Z
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SIOUX CITY — From the moment the Navy announced that one of its newest ships would be named after Sioux City, local civic leaders swelled with pride, vowing to support the ship and its crew.
Barely three years after joining the Navy's fleet, the USS Sioux City will need every bit of that support to remain in service.
A U.S. Navy budget proposal unveiled Monday recommends the decommissioning of the USS Sioux City and 23 other ships. Just like that, the ship could be mothballed when memories of the joyous 2018 commissioning ceremony still remain strong in the minds of many.
Though the ship's future is now uncertain, the community will continue to stand behind the ship's crew members and their mission, said Chris McGowan, Siouxland Chamber of Commerce president.
"We will continue to do our very best to support the courageous men and women who serve on the USS Sioux City and remain focused on expanding and enhancing the incredibly strong relationship we have built with these sailors," said McGowan, who co-chaired the ship's commissioning committee with retired Rear Adm. Frank Thorp.
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The Navy's decommissioning recommendation must be approved by Congress, and lawmakers could block the plan. Thorp, a 28-year Navy veteran, said Thursday that process ensures the USS Sioux City will not disappear overnight.
"The budget still needs to be approved by Congress, so this has a long time to play out. And then if USS Sioux City and the other Freedom class LCS are approved for decommissioning, it will take some time to make that happen. That is important because the crew needs that connection with her namesake city now more than ever," Thorp said.
The proposal is part of a five-year budget plan that calls for decommissioning 24 ships, including eight other Freedom Class Littoral Combat Ships, or LCS, similar to the USS Sioux City, for a total savings of $3.6 billion, Navy officials said at a press briefing Monday.
Navy officials said other ships can perform the USS Sioux City's anti-submarine warfare mission, and mechanical problems with the water jet propulsion systems have plagued the LCS Freedom class vessels.
"... it's a hard thing to make a decision to decommission ships, but what we are looking at is what offers the best capability against the threats that we are facing," Meredith A. Berger, acting Under Secretary Of The Navy, told reporters. "And so as we think about how to build a force that we can sustain within the budget that we have, that's how we've made some of these, again, tough decisions. And as we look across LCS, this is a place where we have identified that there are real costs, especially at the -- for the Freedom class to be able to make some of the repairs that are needed on those as we measure that against what is the best contribution to the capabilities that we need."
When commissioned, Navy leaders said the USS Sioux City's expected lifetime would be 30 years, probably more. Mayor Bob Scott said the Navy's decision would be a waste of taxpayer money if the $362 million ship were decommissioned after serving just a fraction of that time.
"It's amazing they can spend that amount of money and then decommission it. It's unbelievable," Scott said. "We have a relationship with a lot of people who have served on that ship, and it's hard to believe that ship is unsalvageable.
"I would hope we at least try to voice our objection to this."
It was just 10 years ago that the Navy announced to an enthusiastic crowd at City Hall that the 11th ship of the LCS class would be named after Sioux City.
That enthusiasm never waned. Large numbers of Siouxlanders traveled in January 2016 to the ship's christening at a Wisconsin shipyard. Hundreds more traveled to the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, to witness the ship's commissioning on Nov. 18, 2018.
Before and since the ship's commissioning, ship commanders and crew members have received warm welcomes when visiting Sioux City, and more than $250,000 was raised to create a legacy education fund to help USS Sioux City crew members and their families pay for educational expenses.
Thorp repeatedly said during his many visits to Sioux City before the commissioning that he'd never seen a city embrace a namesake ship as Sioux City had done.
"The support for the ship and crew is unparalleled," Thorp said. "The other thing I would say is that the sailors who have served on USS Sioux City will forever stand proud, arguably prouder than most if not all of the other ships on the waterfront, because of the great support of the people of Siouxland."
Since its commissioning, the USS Sioux City and its 75-member crew have been based in Mayport, Florida, and deployed to the U.S. 4th Fleet area of operations to support Joint Interagency Task Force South's mission, which includes counter-illicit drug trafficking missions in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific.
In recent months, the USS Sioux City and its crew, working with the U.S. Coast Guard, stopped two vessels in the Caribbean Sea, seizing approximately 1,080 kilograms of cocaine worth an estimated $44 million.
News of those missions has been a point of pride, McGowan said.
"We are very proud to serve as the namesake city for LCS 11 and we will remain so for as long as the USS Sioux City continues to serve our nation in the defense of freedom," he said. "Obviously, these decisions will be made at the highest levels of our federal government, and their sole criteria ought to be what is in the best interest of our national defense and protecting the security of the American people."
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https://globegazette.com/news/uss-sioux-city-supporters-stand-strong-in-face-of-naval-ships-proposed-decommissioning/article_161669f6-57d8-5e35-9833-ed2ecb015db4.html
| 2022-04-01T00:15:04Z
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The Hummer EV is an insane electric beast. We've already had the opportunity to take a short test drive of one last year and came away really impressed. However, GMC is currently hosting comprehensive first drive events, and our full driving review will be up in early April.
The Fast Lane Truck was another outlet that was invited to the driving event and like us, they cannot post their first-drive impressions just yet, but they were allowed to do a comprehensive feature review and explain the reasons why the Hummer EV, in their eyes, a SuperTruck.
The Fast Lane Truck's Andre Smirnov provides the feature summary in the video and explains that the bar is set very high for a vehicle to be called a SuperTruck, but that the Hummer EV reaches it, and he tells us why he believes so.
Smirnov talks about the Hummer EV's extreme off-road capability and shows off the standard with 18" wheels and 35" tires. He then explains the articulating suspension and how much clearance it offers.
He then hops inside the Hummer EV First Edition and walks us through some of the infotainment features and settings. One of the things he explained is that the Hummer EV allows the operator to manually turn on battery conditioning. Not many EVs allow that, but more should in our opinion. That allows the user to begin to precondition, or warm up the battery if they plan to DC fast charge it soon.
I had some time in a Hummer EV in the fall of last year and even tested out the Watts To Freedom (WTF) mode a couple of times.
Making sure the battery is at the proper temperature is important if you want to charge at the highest speeds (up to 350 kW) that the Hummer EV is capable of accepting. The vehicle will automatically begin to precondition the battery if the destination set in the navigating system is a DC fast charge station, but the manual feature is also a nice addition if you want to warm up the battery without using the navigation system to route you to the charging station. Some EVs will only precondition the battery if you program a DC fast charge station destination into the navigation system.
Smirnov then checks out the various towing settings as well as the different drive modes offered. He explains how the low driving mode increases the regenerative braking force applied when lifting off the accelerator pedal which creates a one-pedal driving effect.
He takes a look at the camera settings and explains how to use Watts To Freedom (WTF) mode. I had the opportunity to do a few WTF mode runs back in October and all I can say is it's really insane. The Tesla Model S Plaid is the only EV I've driven that felt as fast as the Hummer EV off the line. I know the Porsche Taycan Turbo S is actually quicker to 60 mph than the Hummer EV, but that 9,000lb 3-motor beast felt faster to me.
Source: The Fast Lane Truck
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https://insideevs.com/features/577149/gmc-hummer-ev-ridiculous-supertruck/
| 2022-04-01T00:15:05Z
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Infowars host and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones has agreed to appear at a deposition in Connecticut to answer questions in a lawsuit by relatives of some of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims.
That's according to new court filings by his lawyers on Thursday, which comes a day after a judge ordered fines against Jones for defying orders to attend a deposition last week despite his claim of illness.
Jones now says he can answer questions on April 11 and is asking the judge to put a hold on the fines. There was no immediate ruling on Jones' requests. The families are suing him for calling the school massacre a hoax.
Superior Court Judge Barbara Bellis said, “The court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant Alex Jones willfully and in bad faith violated without justification several clear court orders requiring his attendance at his depositions on March 23 and March 24.”
Judge Bellis said in the decision on Wednesday, “It is clear…that the plaintiffs here simply want and are entitled to the deposition of Mr. Jones and that Mr. Jones has continued to attempt to deliberately disregard the court’s orders and attempts to manipulate the court process.”
“While paying the fees and court’s costs will reimburse the plaintiffs for costs incurred in attempting to procure Mr. Jones’ deposition, it is not a substitution for his testimony,” she said.
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https://www.wxyz.com/news/national/alex-jones-agrees-to-appear-at-deposition-in-sandy-hook-case-after-defying-orders-to-attend
| 2022-04-01T00:15:05Z
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WINNEMUCCA, Nev., March 31, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Hycroft Mining Holding Corporation (Nasdaq: HYMC) ("Hycroft" or the "Company"), a development company operating the Hycroft Mine in the prolific mining region of Northern Nevada, filed its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021.
2021 Financial Highlights
- Production: As previously announced, gold production for the year ended December 31, 2021, of 57,668 ounces exceeded the high end of the guidance range as the process team continued to improve equipment, process control and costs. Silver production of 355,967 ounces was approximately 20% below guidance due to slower than planned leach kinetics. Processing of ore on leach pads is currently planned to proceed through the second quarter of 2022.
- Sales: Sales for the year ended December 31, 2021 were 56,045 ounces of gold (average realized price of $1,794 per ounce) and 397,546 ounces of silver (average realized price of $25.66 per ounce).
- Unrestricted Cash Position: The Company ended 2021 with $12.3 million of cash on hand and was in compliance with debt covenants
- Net Loss and Cash Used: Due to high operating costs relative to the associated gold equivalent production and sales volumes and ceasing of mining operations in November, 2021, the Company recorded a net loss of $88.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. Due to the losses from operations, the Company ceased mining activities and is now focused on completing its technical studies and exploration to develop the Hycroft mine through a milling and pressure oxidation process. The $44.0 million reduction in unrestricted cash since the beginning of the year was primarily due to cash used for operating activities of $37.0 million, cash used for investing activities of $6.9 million, cash used for financing activities of $5.5 million, and a $5.4 million reduction in restricted cash.
Subsequent Events:
- The Company completed several financing transactions to significantly strengthen its balance sheet, including:
- Nasdaq trading: With the recent improvement in the stock price, the Company has regained compliance with the Nasdaq minimum bid price for continued listing.
About Hycroft Mining Holding Corporation
Hycroft Mining Holding Corporation is a U.S.-based gold and silver development company that owns the Hycroft Mine, a well-established, world-class asset with a significant mineral endowment in Northern Nevada, a tier one mining jurisdiction. The company is focused on transforming Hycroft into a large-scale mining operation by developing a process for its large sulfide gold and silver mineral resources on site. Additional information is available at hycroftmining.com.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, Section 21E of the Unites States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Unites States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included herein and public statements by our officers or representatives, that address activities, events or developments that our management expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future, are forward-looking statements, including but not limited to such things as future business strategy, plans and goals, competitive strengths and expansion and growth of our business. The words "estimate", "plan", "anticipate", "expect", "intend", "believe" "target", "budget", "may", "can", "will", "would", "could", "should", "seeks", or "scheduled to" and similar words or expressions, or negatives of these terms or other variations of these terms or comparable language or any discussion of strategy or intention identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements address activities, events or developments that the Company expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future and are based on current expectations and assumptions. These risks may include the following and the occurrence of one or more of the events or circumstances alone or in combination with other events or circumstances, may have a material adverse effect on the Company's business, cash flows, financial condition and results of operations. Please see our "Risk Factors" set forth in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, and other reports filed with the SEC for more information about these and other risks. You are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements. Although we have attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Although these forward-looking statements were based on assumptions that the Company believes are reasonable when made, you are cautioned that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and that actual results, performance or achievements may differ materially from those made in or suggested by the forward-looking statements contained in this news release. In addition, even if our results, performance, or achievements are consistent with the forward-looking statements contained in this news release, those results, performance or achievements may not be indicative of results, performance or achievements in subsequent periods. Given these risks and uncertainties, you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statements made in this news release speak only as of the date of those statements, and we undertake no obligation to update those statements or to publicly announce the results of any revisions to any of those statements to reflect future events or developments.
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SOURCE Hycroft Mining Holding Corporation
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https://www.wmbfnews.com/prnewswire/2022/03/31/hycroft-mining-files-annual-report-form-10-k-year-ended-december-31-2021/
| 2022-04-01T00:15:04Z
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REDMOND — The goal is lofty for the Summit boys golf team: win a state championship in its final season in the state’s highest classification.
There was a belief that the team had the players to win it all last spring, but the Storm did not get the chance because the state tournament was canceled for the second consecutive year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We have an even better team than we did last year,” said Summit senior Sam Renner. “We have all developed because we realized how big this season is. The grind started when we could start playing golf again.”
Summit has one final chance to be crowned Class 6A's top golf team at Corvallis' Trysting Tree Golf Club in mid-May before moving down to Class 5A next year.
“We have been waiting for our opportunity to go for a state title,” said senior Lucas Hughes. “COVID took us out the last couple of years. We are really hoping to take everything we have learned the past couple of years and get that win at state.”
The stakes are high for Summit, but the stakes are perhaps highest in the Storm's practice rounds before regular season tournaments.
For Summit, grouping placements are determined and settled on the golf course. The team played nine holes on Monday and another nine on Tuesday before Wednesday’s Redmond Invite at the Eagle Crest Resort course. The winner after 18 holes is placed in the top grouping, second gets the second grouping, and so on.
“That is the biggest competition they have is against themselves,” said Summit coach Andy Heinly. “They really sharpen each other.”
It is during those rounds, which are often determined by a stroke or two, that the trash-talking happens and whoever is winning that day can let the others know with just a sly grin that they better start playing better to catch up.
“It always comes down to the wire,” Renner said. “We are all really close friends so it is as competitive as can be.”
Reaching the top grouping with three golfers set to play golf in college and several more who routinely break par is no small feat and makes the practice all the more serious.
“You want to be in that top spot,” Hughes said. “You want to be the one leading the team through, that just gives us the competitive edge that we need out here. We are all pushing ourselves to play well.”
Entering this particular tournament on a cold, breezy afternoon at Eagle Crest, Hughes was the one in the top spot among the Storm. But it was Renner, who was in the third group, that had the lowest score with a 1-over-par 73, while Hughes finished second with a 2-over 74.
In a tournament that featured eight Central Oregon golf teams — Summit, Bend, Mountain View, Redmond, Ridgeview, Crook County, Madras and Caldera — Summit finished with the low score of 305 with all five golfers placing in the top five and shooting below 80. Nick Huffman and Ethan Jaehn each shot a 79 and Brody Grieb shot an 80.
“To have five or six guys of this caliber all together on the same team is pretty fun,” Heinly said.
Bend High finished second, led by Sam Armstrong’s 86, Seve Castillo’s 88 and Brody MacLeod’s 89. Crook County’s Palmer Smith carded an 86 to lead the Cowboys to a third-place finish. Mountain View's Weston Shaffer also shot an 86 to lead the Cougars.
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https://www.bendbulletin.com/sports/summit-boys-golf-team-has-sights-set-on-class-6a-state-title/article_f439e6c4-b140-11ec-977e-fb3091745416.html
| 2022-04-01T00:15:05Z
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Akerna Corp (KERN, Financial)(30-Year Financial) files //www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1755953/000121390022016675/0001213900-22-016675-index.htm'' rel='nofollow' target='_blank'>its latest 10-K with SEC for the fiscal year ended on December 31, 2021.
For the last quarter Akerna Corp reported a revenue of $6.63 million, compared with the revenue of $4.11 million during the same period a year ago. For the latest fiscal year the company reported a revenue of $20.7 million, an increase of 64.5% from last year. For the complete 30-year financial data, please go here..
The reported loss per diluted share was $1.31 for the year, compared with the loss per share of $0 in the previous year. The Akerna Corp had an operating margin of -91.72%, compared with the operating margin of -137.37% a year before. The 10-year historical median operating margin of Akerna Corp is -115.61%. The profitability rank of the company is 1 (out of 10).
At the end of the fiscal year, Akerna Corp has the cash and cash equivalents of $13.9 million, compared with $24.2 million in the previous year. The long term debt was $4.11 million, compared with $10.2 million in the previous year. Akerna Corp has a financial strength rank of 4 (out of 10).
For the complete 20-year historical financial data of KERN, click here.
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https://www.gurufocus.com/news/1676036/akerna-corp-kern-files-10k-for-the-fiscal-year-ended-on-december-31-2021
| 2022-04-01T00:15:05Z
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Wednesday’s live edition of AEW Dynamite drew 979,000 viewers on TBS, according to Nielsen via Showbuzz Daily. This is down 6.40% from last week’s episode, which drew 1.046 million viewers.
This week’s Dynamite drew a 0.38 rating in the key 18-49 demographic. This is down 7.31% from last week’s 0.41 rating. This week’s 0.38 key demographic rating represents 492,000 viewers who watched the show from that 18-49 demo. This is down 8.03% from last week’s 535,000 18-49 viewers that the 0.41 key demo rating represented, according to Wrestlenomics.
Dynamite ranked #3 on the Cable Top 150 this week with the 0.38 rating in the 18-49 key demographic. This is even with last week’s #3 ranking. Dynamite ranked #35 in viewership for the night on cable this week. This is even with last week’s #35 ranking.
Wednesday’s Dynamite drew the sixth-lowest audience of the year so far. The episode was tied with the March 16 St. Patrick’s Day Slam show for the third-lowest key demo rating of the year so far. Wednesday’s Dynamite viewership was down 6.40% from last week, while the 18-49 key demo rating was down 7.31% from last week.
This week’s Dynamite viewership was up 39.86% from the same week in 2021. The key demo rating was up 46.15% from the previous year. The 2021 episode went head-to-head with WWE NXT.
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https://www.pwmania.com/aew-dynamite-ratings-report-for-3-30
| 2022-04-01T00:15:05Z
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A small American Indian tribe is supporting Derby’s attempt to retain funding put in jeopardy by its continued use of a Native American mascot and imagery for its schools’ athletic teams.
The Schaghticoke Tribal Nation, which has just over 100 members in Western Connecticut, passed a resolution this month supporting the city of Derby’s use of the nickname “Red Raiders” and logos that include an arrowhead and the profile of the head of an American Indian.
The tribe says it supports the use of those images “as a public means of sustaining Native American culture and history of Connecticut’s first citizens,” according to the March 15 resolution from the tribal council.
Derby Board of Education Chair Jim Gildea said city officials sat down with tribal leaders, including Schaghticoke Chief Richard Velky, to discuss the issue. He said the city explained the images are meant to honor the area’s Native American heritage. He also said the term “Red Raiders” has nothing to do with skin color.
“It’s similar to the Duke Blue Devils, the Tulane Green Wave,” he said. “Through the years, people may have lost sight of that, but Derby High School’s colors are red and white.”
The state last year enacted a law that requires municipalities whose athletic teams use Native American names or mascots to receive written support from a state or federally recognized tribe in Connecticut or risk losing state grants derived from revenue at the state’s two tribal casinos, The Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods Resort Casino.
Most of Connecticut’s 169 cities and towns receive a grant from the Mashantucket Pequot/Mohegan Fund, with extra money earmarked for communities located near the gaming centers. The amounts are based on a formula that involves a number of factors, including the value of untaxable property within the community. Payments are made three times a year and can total as much as $5 million or more for the larger cities.
Derby is slated to receive $207,304 for the 2023 fiscal year, according to the state.
The Schaghticokes do not contribute to the fund, but Gildea said that should not matter.
“We should not cherry pick which Native American, state-recognized tribe we decide to give the ability to grant waivers to,” he said. “They are all honorable, decent tribes who are state recognized and that should be the only litmus test.”
Several Connecticut municipalities, including West Hartford and Montville have voted to end the use of Native American mascots. Glastonbury recently rejected an attempt to restore the nickname “Tomahawks” to its schools.
Latest Connecticut
The National Congress of American Indians declined to comment specifically on the Schaghticoke’s decision, but said it supports the retirement of Native “themed” mascots at all levels absent a formal agreement with a sovereign tribal nation.
“NCAI shares the unified voice of hundreds of Tribal Nations, and that voice has been consistent and clear for decades: stereotypical and dehumanizing sports mascots, monikers and symbols cause well-documented harms to Native people, particularly Native youth, and they have no place in American society,” the organization said in a statement.
Gildea said there was no quid pro quo involved in the tribe’s support of Derby’s application to the state. But he said the school district has agreed to work with the tribe, which is based in Kent but has offices in Derby, on educational programs centered around Native American history in the area.
Cheif Velky and officials with the governor’s office and the state Office of Policy and Management tribe did not return phone calls and emails seeking comment.
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https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-news-tribe-connecticut-funding-mascot-20220331-wrwoqqau3beznc3hzpp4jpg4mi-story.html
| 2022-04-01T00:15:05Z
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AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday evening's drawing of the Texas Lottery's "All or Nothing Evening" game were:
03-06-12-13-16-17-18-19-20-21-23-24
(three, six, twelve, thirteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty, twenty-one, twenty-three, twenty-four)
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https://www.theheraldreview.com/lottery/article/Winning-numbers-drawn-in-All-or-Nothing-Evening-17049717.php
| 2022-04-01T00:15:05Z
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NEW YORK (AP) — More than 4 in 10 U.S. high school students said they felt persistently sad or hopeless during the pandemic, according to government findings released Thursday.
Several medical groups have warned that pandemic isolation from school closures and lack of social gatherings has taken a toll on young people’s mental health.
“This really gives us the evidence to say with certainty that the pandemic was incredibly disruptive for young people and their families,” said Kathleen Ethier of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The reports are based on anonymous online surveys of about 7,700 public and private high school students from 128 schools during the first six months of 2021. It is based on a similar survey the CDC conducts every other year in schools,
Among the findings:
—44% reported feeling persistently sad of hopeless during the past year. A similar survey before COVID-19 hit put the figure at 37%.
—66% said they found it more difficult to complete their schoolwork.
—29% said a parent or other adult in their home lost a job and 11% said they experienced physical abuse by a parent or other adult at home.
—24% said they went hungry during the pandemic because there was not enough food at home.
There likely was some underreporting, especially for certain questions about emotional or physical abuse in the home. Teens might be afraid that an abusive parent or other adult might see their responses, said Ilan Cerna-Turoff, a Columbia University researcher who studies children’s mental health.
CDC officials said that the pandemic did not affect teens equally. LGBT youth reported poorer mental health and more suicide attempts than others. About 75% said they suffered emotional abuse in the home and 20% reported physical abuse. By comparison, half of heterosexual students reported emotional abuse and 10% reported physical abuse, the CDC said.
___
The Associated Press Health & Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
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https://www.kget.com/health/pandemic-took-a-toll-on-teen-mental-health-us-study-says/
| 2022-04-01T00:15:04Z
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ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Maryland lawmakers passed a measure on Thursday to create a paid family leave program, sending the legislation to Gov. Larry Hogan.
The bill, approved by supermajority votes by Democrats who control the legislature, would enable workers to take up to 12 weeks of partially paid leave for specified personal family circumstances such as caring for a sick relative or having a baby. It would provide up to 24 weeks for a parent, if he or she has a serious health issue in the year of a child's birth.
“This has been a long time coming,” said Sen. Antonio Hayes, a Baltimore Democrat. He thanked supporters who have “come together and really advocated on behalf of Maryland families."
Republicans criticized the measure for failing to spell out how much employees and employers would have to contribute, leaving that for the state's labor department to define later. They said Democrats were rushing to get the bill to the Republican governor just to meet a deadline so lawmakers will still be in session if the bill is vetoed.
“We're pushing this bill as quick as we can to get it upstairs,” said Sen. J.B. Jennings, a Republican, who added: “We don't know the numbers ... this bill is a hot mess.”
Because lawmakers are in the last session of the four-year term, they would not have a chance to override the veto next year if they adjourn before the governor acts on legislation.
The measure would create an insurance pool. Employees and employers would contribute to fund the program. Under the bill, the state’s labor department would set contribution rates to pay for the program. Employers with fewer than 15 employees would not be required to contribute.
The measure also includes job protections to protect employees from retaliation or termination for using the leave.
Seven states and the District of Columbia have paid family and medical leave insurance programs, including California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Washington. Colorado and Oregon have approved programs that have not started yet.
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https://www.expressnews.com/news/article/Maryland-paid-family-leave-program-bill-passed-to-17049782.php
| 2022-04-01T00:15:06Z
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Will Packer, producer of this year’s Oscars, said in an interview with ABC News’ Good Morning America that Los Angeles Police Department came to his office on Sunday evening and spoke to Chris Rock about filing charges against Will Smith.
“They were saying, ‘This is battery.’ That was the word they used in that moment,” Packer told T.J. Holmes. “They said, ‘We will go get him. We are prepared. We will go get him right now. You can press charges. We can arrest him. They were laying out the options. And as they were talking, Chris was, he was being very dismissive of those options. He was like, ‘No, I’m fine. He was like no, no, no. And even to the point where I said, ‘Rock, let them finish. The LAPD officers finish laying out what his options were. And they said, ‘Would you like us to take any action? And he said no.”
World News Tonight aired a clip from Packer’s interview, set to air on GMA on Friday morning.
More to come.
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https://www.thehamdenjournal.com/world/will-packer-says-that-the-lapd-was-prepared-to-arrest-will-smith-the-hamden-journal/130386/
| 2022-04-01T00:15:06Z
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Editor’s note: This story was originally published by Arizona Luminaria on palabra, the digital news site by the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.
By Beatriz Limón with photo and video by Arizona Luminaria and Daniel Méndez
Where are you from?
It’s a question that Franchela Ulises hears often in Arizona when she speaks in Spanish. In her native language.
She is used to the question. But she’ll never get used to the strange looks from others when she’s in public. She’s seen that look at the grocery store or at the park when she’s with her kids and they’re all talking in Spanish.
Sometimes she laughs it off. Other times, she lets her frustration flow.
Franchela was born in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Her parents are from the Dominican Republic.
In the country of her parents, Franchela doesn’t attract attention. Here in Arizona, in a desert state on the border with Mexico, a Black woman who speaks Spanish is watched with curiosity and sometimes reveals the prejudice toward people who share her heritage.
Facing discrimination. Not feeling recognized, included or accepted as an Afro-Latina. It’s exhausting, she says.
Franchela channeled her frustration into creating “Mujeres of all Shades.” The organization helps women of all races and cultural and ethnic backgrounds champion their own style, their own identities, their own expressions of beauty and brilliance.
Franchela works as a model, fashion stylist, and social media influencer to empower Afro-Latinas and unite women of all skin colors.
She’s cultivating a collective of women who are changing the fashion industry to be more inclusive of what women want and how they want to be seen and heard.
Together, they fight for confidence and self-esteem and against stereotypes about beauty, race and gender. For Franchela, it is a movement.
She has three daughters. She wants them to see more Afro-Latinas represented on television and other media.
On a cool day in downtown Phoenix, Franchela is posing for photos and speaking in Spanish and English. She explains what life is like for Afro-Latinas in Arizona.
She fixes her hair and adjusts her jacket with splashes of vibrant colors from lime green to indigo blue. She crosses her legs and sets aside her Gucci bag.
Looking at the camera with the confidence of a Hollywood star on stage, a model on the runway or mama with three babies, she smiles and says: “I’m Afro-Latina.”
She releases a mischievous laugh adding, “I’m a little bit of everything.”
Franchela is 30 years old. She tries to explain how she defines herself, shows her identities in simple, straightforward ways that still seem so complicated in the eyes of people who do not know her cultural mix and her roots.
“Look, my parents are Dominican, but I was born in the Virgin Islands, where there are many Dominicans,” she says. “But this is the United States. So, I am African American.”
“But sometimes I’m not Black enough for people here. I’m also not Latino enough in this country. In the end, I think we can all be a little bit of everything.”
Franchela is proud to wear her Afro-Latina identity in Arizona, where laws have been passed to stigmatize race, culture and language. And where some people mistakenly think that all Latinos in Arizona are from México.
Franchela is an American citizen who champions Latino/a/x immigrants like her parents. Francisco Ulises and Elcilia Mercado taught her to love her culture and her language.
“My parents are amazing. They are both Dominican and traveled to St. Thomas, which is the gateway island to the Virgin Islands, before I was born,” she says. “They are a blessing. They always instilled in me our Dominican culture and appreciation for speaking Spanish very well.”
Dominicans represent the fourth largest group of Latino immigrants in the United States, after Mexicans, Salvadorans and Cubans, according to the Migration Policy Institute, or MPI.
MPI data shows that the number of Dominican immigrants in the U.S. increased 33% from 2010 to 2019. Those 1.2 million Dominicans represent approximately 3% of the immigrant population in the U.S., which is about 44.9 million people.
Latinos in the U.S. with Caribbean roots are more likely to identify as Afro-Latinos or Afro-Caribbeans than Latinos with roots in other regions (34% vs. 22%, respectively), according to a Pew Research Center survey. Those who identify as Afro-Latino are more concentrated on the East Coast and in the South compared to other Latinos. An estimated 65% of Afro-Latino immigrants live in these regions versus 48% of other Latino immigrants.
Franchela moved to Arizona 10 years ago to study criminal justice. She arrived with a heart full of dreams, but she found herself rejected. Some people, upon hearing her speak Spanish, looked at her strangely and whispered behind her back.
She felt like she couldn’t escape all the sideways glances.
“People are always shocked when they see me. They’re literally frozen when they hear me,” she says. “They ask me, in surprise, where I learned to speak Spanish.”
It hurts, she says, to know that her Afro-Latino culture is not appreciated enough in her country.
“We’re Latinos, we just look a little bit different,” she says firmly.
She remembers her life and traditions in moments. Living with her grandparents in the Dominican Republic, eating rice and beans and playing with her cousins, speaking in the language they grew up with.
Women of all shades
Franchela faced culture shock when she moved to Arizona. She took that pain and channeled it into creating “Mujeres of all Shades.”
For her, it means everything for every woman to feel confident about her ancestral roots, the texture of her hair, the color of her skin color, her voice and her shape. Franchela feels confident wearing red lipstick and fierce colors. It’s a medicine for a fashion guru to feel beautiful, brave and bold.
Not everyone looks the same just because they’re from the same country or culture, she says.
“We have to change the stereotypes (in the U.S.),” she says. “It’s the same in Mexico, where there are blonde people with green eyes. We must accept that we come in all colors.”
Through her organization, the model offers a series of tutorials for women to feel comfortable in their own skin. She covers personal styling, fashion events, wardrobe checks, outfit planning, shopping plans, fashion consultations, and even a fashionista photo shoot.
She doesn’t only focus on fashion, style and the beauty of women. Franchela seeks to educate Latino and non-Latino communities about cultural, racial, ethnic representation, equality and diversity. She wants Latino communities to recognize and celebrate Afro-Latino cultures.
She hopes people don’t think that observing Black History Month in February is enough. Rather, she wants an inclusive conversation about respecting people of color and people from these communities who speak different languages.
“We are not well represented in the United States. We’re lacking space on television, where our stories are told, so people get to know us,” Franchela says. “We have to focus on the Black and Afro-Latino community every day, not just one month, because the problems we face happen all year long.”
And to begin to make a change, the style consultant and mom has educated her daughters Yoelianny, 9, Alianny, 7, and Leilianny, 2, to feel proud of their Latina roots, the color of their skin and of being bilingual.
“I instill the Latino culture in them,” Franchela says. “We speak Spanish. I explain to them where I come from, where their father Juan Franco, who is Dominican, comes from. I tell them that they are beautiful and that they are also Latinas.”
Franchela Ulises says “not everyone looks the same just because they’re from the same country or culture.” Photo by Arizona Fashion Photographer
‘When people speak to me in English …’
Franchela is active on her personal and business social media networks. The entrepreneur shares her bold fashion sense and stories about her experiences as an Afro-Latina woman.
She often hears back from other Afro-Latinas who feel seen and heard. She hears from people who love her style and culture. But there’s hate, too. Like a recent racist comment on Tik Tok.
“They told me that I was too dark to be Dominican,” she says.
She faced the same old stereotypes. But she saw it as an opportunity to change the way people perceive Afro-Latinas like her.
“I get those comments a lot,” she says. “I use them to educate, because if that person was thinking it, I’m sure there are a hundred others who are thinking it too.”
Franchela uploaded a video with audio from the popular “Caso Cerrado” television show to her social media, using humor and language to talk about being Afro-Latina and proudly speaking Spanish.
She posted it with a banner in black and white: “When people speak to me in English, because they think I don’t speak Spanish.”
“Buenas tardes! No ‘afternoon’ or ‘hello’ here. Spanish is spoken here because this is a program in Spanish”, Franchela says with authority, a head tilt and a hard stare.
The Afro-Latina says there’s been progress over the years in education and action against racism. But there is still rampant “racism that gets swept under the rug.”
“The aggression that people of color [face] is not always so direct anymore, but it is indirect and it is racism all the same,” Franchela says. “It hurts, frustrates and makes you feel bad. It (racism) hasn’t gone away. But it could go away. It’s a matter of people with privilege not thinking they can just recognize our culture for just one month – these issues should be regularly exposed.”
Franchela has also dedicated herself to educating those who think that Afro-Latinos are not Latinos, so people learn to embrace the diversity of our (Latino) community.
Fighting for people’s rights and what she believes in is not new for Franchela. She studied criminology to help young people trapped in the U.S. justice system. She knows that the key to supporting people is to motivate and empower them so they don’t feel defeated.
That’s what Franchela is: A motivator who wants people to feel joyful about their identity and their culture.
A powerful leader who empowers others.
A woman who loves bold colors. All colors. A woman who loves her American and her Latina roots.
She’s Afro-Latina.
She’s ... a little bit of everything.
_________
Beatriz Limón is an independent journalist who served as a correspondent in Arizona and New Mexico for the international news agency EFE. She has a bachelor’s degree in communication science, is a professional photographer and a columnist for the newspaper El Imparcial.
Daniel Méndez is an award-winning editor/producer with more than 15 years of experience covering news in English and Spanish. He has worked with Telemundo and 12 News. His professional experience contributed to a better understanding of fair and comprehensive coverage of Latino communities, including collaborating on the production of bilingual stories that spawned 12 News en Español.
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https://www.gulflive.com/palabra/2022/03/arizona-afro-latina-is-raising-awareness-of-her-culture-as-leader-for-female-empowerment.html
| 2022-04-01T00:15:05Z
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Maeve’s Law: Mitochondrial disease Bill passes after WA Senators oppose it on ethical grounds
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https://thewest.com.au/politics/federal-politics/maeves-law-mitochondrial-disease-bill-passes-after-wa-senators-oppose-it-on-ethical-grounds-c-6258379
| 2022-04-01T00:15:06Z
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| 2022-04-01T00:15:07Z
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https://www.leafly.com/brands/canna-hemp/products/canna-hemp-focus-cbd-disposable-cartridge-0-5g-cartridges
| 2022-04-01T00:15:07Z
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MIAMI (AP) — A Florida police officer fatally shot a man who was able to arm himself after being arrested Thursday, officials said.
The shooting occurred shortly before noon at a western Miami-Dade home, according to a police news release.
Miami-Dade police officers had been assisting Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Marshals Service when they took a 53-year-old man into custody, police said. The man complained of feeling ill, and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue responded to evaluate him. During the evaluation, the man somehow armed himself, and shots were fired, officials said.
The man died at the scene. No other injuries were reported.
The shooting is being investigated by state police officials.
Police didn't immediately release the names or races of the dead man or the officer who shot him.
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https://www.ctinsider.com/news/article/Police-Officer-kills-man-who-armed-himself-while-17049647.php
| 2022-04-01T00:15:08Z
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Gavin Weller
He’s been playing only about two years, but when COVID-19 handed Gavin Weller lemons, he used the quarantine downtime to make lemonade. Weller poured himself into playing and learning everything he could about the guitar and musicians, diving into books, videos, and music styles. The result? He’s built himself into budding...
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https://www.newsbreak.com/news/2556417532288/gavin-weller
| 2022-04-01T00:15:07Z
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HONOLULU (AP) — A man accused with his wife of trafficking a mother and teenaged girl to Hawaii from Guam pleaded not guilty Thursday.
Kevin Robert pleaded not guilty to labor trafficking charges, according to his attorney, Tim Rakieten. His wife, Pomerrine Robert, pleaded not guilty last week. Kevin Robert's arraignment was postponed then because he requested a Chuukese interpreter.
“I need sufficient time to review the case, and review with him, before I can comment any further,” Rakieten said.
State Public Defender James Tabe, whose office represents Pomerrine Robert, has previously declined to comment.
Police alleged in court documents that when the 15-year-old girl and her mother arrived in Honolulu, the Roberts took away their passports, forced them to work and beat them.
Court documents don't specify the country of the passports.
The girl and her mother lived in the couple's apartment, while the teen enrolled at a high school and the woman got a job at a deli where Pomerrine Robert also worked, the documents said.
The documents said Robert took away the mother’s money, the girl was expected to clean the apartment and Robert beat the girl and mother.
The couple locked the girl in a bedroom for several days and she reported it to a school counselor after she was let out, according to the documents.
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https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Husband-pleads-not-guilty-in-Hawaii-Guam-17049732.php
| 2022-04-01T00:15:08Z
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Shares of OPKO Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:OPK – Get Rating) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the six brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $6.33.
A number of research firms recently weighed in on OPK. TheStreet downgraded OPKO Health from a “c” rating to a “d+” rating in a research note on Friday, February 25th. StockNews.com started coverage on OPKO Health in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “sell” rating for the company. Barrington Research downgraded OPKO Health from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 24th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on OPKO Health from $5.00 to $6.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 18th. Finally, Zacks Investment Research downgraded OPKO Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $6.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 24th.
OPK stock traded down $0.10 during trading on Friday, reaching $3.44. 3,709,857 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,027,533. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $3.27 and its 200 day moving average is $3.80. OPKO Health has a twelve month low of $2.79 and a twelve month high of $5.25. The company has a current ratio of 2.49, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market cap of $2.34 billion, a P/E ratio of -68.59 and a beta of 1.85.
In other OPKO Health news, CEO Phillip Md Et Al Frost bought 100,000 shares of OPKO Health stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $3.13 per share, with a total value of $313,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 1,585,000 shares of company stock valued at $4,849,400. 41.47% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of OPKO Health during the fourth quarter worth $20,569,000. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of OPKO Health by 130.7% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 505,013 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,429,000 after acquiring an additional 286,073 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of OPKO Health during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Forum Financial Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of OPKO Health during the fourth quarter worth $55,000. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of OPKO Health by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 592,393 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,849,000 after acquiring an additional 19,485 shares in the last quarter. 26.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
OPKO Health Company Profile (Get Rating)
OPKO Health, Inc, a healthcare company, engages in the diagnostics and pharmaceuticals businesses in the United States, Ireland, Chile, Spain, Israel, Mexico, and internationally. The company's Diagnostics segment operates BioReference Laboratories that offers laboratory testing services for the detection, diagnosis, evaluation, monitoring, and treatment of diseases, including esoteric testing, molecular diagnostics, anatomical pathology, genetics, women's health, and correctional healthcare to physician offices, clinics, hospitals, employers and governmental units; and a novel diagnostic instrument system to provide blood test results in the point-of-care setting, as well as 4Kscore prostate cancer testing services.
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https://www.com-unik.info/2022/03/31/opko-health-inc-nasdaqopk-receives-average-recommendation-of-hold-from-brokerages.html
| 2022-04-01T00:15:09Z
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Regulatory News:
TotalEnergies (Paris:TTE) (LSE:TTE) (NYSE:TTE) and Sempra are expanding their North American strategic alliance with the signing of two Memorandums of Understanding (MoU): one for the Vista Pacífico LNG export project in Mexico and the other for the co-development of several onshore and offshore renewables projects.
The Vista Pacífico LNG project is planned to be a mid-scale facility on Mexico's west coast, well-situated for exporting to high-demand markets such as Asia and South America. Sempra signed a non-binding agreement with Comisión Federal de Electricidad, Mexico's state-owned electric company, for the potential joint development of this project. The MoU signed with Sempra provides for TotalEnergies to offtake one-third of its future LNG production, and to become a shareholder in the project with a minimum stake of 16.6%.
The second MoU provides for the co-development of several renewable energy projects in North America, including:
-- Sempra's potential acquisition of 30% of TotalEnergies' equity interest in an offshore wind project off the coast of California that is preparing for an upcoming auction. -- TotalEnergies' potential acquisition of 30% of Sempra's equity interest in certain onshore renewable projects under development along the Mexico-U.S. border.
"We are pleased to further strengthen our partnership with Sempra in North America in LNG and to extend it to renewables. Over the past years, TotalEnergies has become the leading exporter of U.S. LNG and has built up a pipeline of 4 GW of solar projects and 3 GW of offshore wind projects currently under development in the U.S." said Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman & CEO of TotalEnergies. "This new step in our collaboration allow us to go further in our ambition to offer our customers sustainable, affordable and reliable energy, in line with our transformation into a global multi-energy company."
TotalEnergies and Sempra are already partners in Cameron LNG, a 12 Mt/y LNG export facility operating in Hackberry, Louisiana, ECA LNG, an approximately 3 Mt/y liquefaction facility under construction in Baja California, Mexico.
***
TotalEnergies, Second Largest Global LNG Player and Leading U.S LNG Exporter
TotalEnergies is the world's second largest publicly traded LNG player, with a global portfolio of nearly 50 Mt/y by 2025 and a global market share of around 10%. Thanks to its interests in liquefaction plants in Angola, Australia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, the United States, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Russia and Qatar, the company markets LNG on all world markets. TotalEnergies also benefits from strong and diversified positions throughout the LNG value chain, including gas production, LNG transportation, LNG trading, and recent developments in the LNG industry for maritime transport. In 2021, TotalEnergies became the leading exporter of U.S. LNG.
About TotalEnergies
TotalEnergies is a global multi-energy company that produces and markets energies: oil and biofuels, natural gas and green gases, renewables and electricity. Our 105,000 employees are committed to energy that is ever more affordable, cleaner, more reliable and accessible to as many people as possible. Active in more than 130 countries, TotalEnergies puts sustainable development in all its dimensions at the heart of its projects and operations to contribute to the well-being of people.
Twitter: @TotalEnergies LinkedIn: TotalEnergies facebook: TotalEnergies Instagram: TotalEnergies
About Sempra
Sempra's mission is to be North America's premier energy infrastructure company. The Sempra family of companies have 20,000 talented employees who deliver energy with purpose to nearly 40 million consumers. With more than $72 billion in total assets at the end of 2021, the San Diego-based company is the owner of one of the largest energy networks in North America helping some of the world's leading economies move to cleaner sources of energy. The company is helping to advance the global energy transition through electrification and decarbonization in the markets it serves, including California, Texas, Mexico and the LNG export market. Sempra is consistently recognized as a leader in sustainable business practices and for its long-standing commitment to building a high-performing culture focused on safety, workforce development and training, and diversity and inclusion. Sempra is the only North American utility sector company included on the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index and was also named one of the "World's Most Admired Companies" for 2022 by Fortune Magazine. For additional information about Sempra, please visit Sempra's website at http://www.sempra.com and on Twitter @Sempra.
Cautionary Note
The terms "TotalEnergies", "TotalEnergies company" or "Company" in this document are used to designate TotalEnergies SE and the consolidated entities that are directly or indirectly controlled by TotalEnergies SE. Likewise, the words "we", "us" and "our" may also be used to refer to these entities or to their employees. The entities in which TotalEnergies SE directly or indirectly owns a shareholding are separate legal entities. TotalEnergies SE has no liability for the acts or omissions of these entities. This document may contain forward-looking information and statements that are based on a number of economic data and assumptions made in a given economic, competitive and regulatory environment. They may prove to be inaccurate in the future and are subject to a number of risk factors. Neither TotalEnergies SE nor any of its subsidiaries assumes any obligation to update publicly any forward-looking information or statement, objectives or trends contained in this document whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Information concerning risk factors, that may affect TotalEnergies' financial results or activities is provided in the most recent Registration Document, the French-language version of which is filed by TotalEnergies SE with the French securities regulator Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), and in the Form 20-F filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220331005600/en/
CONTACT: TotalEnergies Contacts
Media Relations: +33 1 47 44 46 99 l presse@totalenergies.com l
@TotalEnergiesPR
Investor Relations: +44 (0)207 719 7962 l ir@totalenergies.com
Sempra Contacts
Media Relations: Linda Pazin l + 1 (877) 340-8875 | media@sempra.com
Investor Relations: Lindsay Gartner | +1 (877) 736-7727 |
investor@sempra.com
SOURCE: TotalEnergies Copyright Business Wire 2022
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https://www.marketwatch.com/story/totalenergies-and-sempra-expand-north-american-strategic-alliance-for-the-development-of-lng-exports-and-renewables-271648730467
| 2022-04-01T00:15:09Z
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Family, Bluffton community mourn loss of officer killed in line of duty
BLUFFTON, Ohio (WTVG) - The Bluffton community is mourning the loss of one if its police officers. Bluffton Police Officer Dominic Francis, 42, was killed in the line of duty on Thursday. Francis was deploying stop sticks to intervene in a high-speed chase when he was struck by the vehicle being pursued, according to law enforcement officials.
Residents tell 13abc he was deeply involved in the community outside of his role as a police officer. The Superintendent of Cory-Rawson Local Schools, Jay Clark, said Francis recently worked as a substitute teacher, an assistant softball coach, a part-time bus driver, a weightlifting room supervisor, and a volunteer firefighter. Francis attended Cory-Rawson schools in his youth.
“Our students, our community is a small place. They all know who Dominic is,” said Clark. “And so with the tragedy that this is, it is definitely going to impact our community. He was a guy that was always friendly. I actually saw him at a track meet Tuesday evening. We exchanged some jokes. He was always a really friendly person. He was bigger than life, never met a stranger kind of guy.”
13abc spoke to Officer Francis’ grandmother, Ann Francis, and sister. His grandmother said she saw him just two weeks ago and described him as a “wonderful boy.”
She asked him to stay off of I-75 and to stop working nights for his safety, but he responded “Granny, it’s my job.”
Ann Francis said Dominic Francis told her that he would try to get off of the night shift after his son graduated high school.
Francis’ sister said the family is full of law enforcement officers, and they are working to process the loss.
Dominic Francis is survived by his wife, two daughters, and his son.
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https://www.13abc.com/2022/03/31/family-bluffton-community-mourn-loss-officer-killed-line-duty/
| 2022-04-01T00:15:09Z
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Risking the dangers of war, some Ukrainian refugees head home
PRZEMYSL, Poland — This Polish metropolis on the Ukrainian border has been witnessing a stunning phenomenon — 1000’s of Ukrainian refugees heading again to their homeland, at the same time as Russia continues to wage battle there.
According to the most recent figures from the Polish border police, round 13,000 folks returned on Tuesday and 12,000 crossed again on Monday. Over 370,000 are estimated to have returned since Russia’s invasion started on February 24.
The causes for the returns are diversified. Some refugees have run out of cash, or couldn’t discover or afford lodging outdoors refugee camps. In Poland particularly, which has hosted round 2.3 million Ukrainians, delays in receiving subsistence funds from the federal government led some to determine to move dwelling.
At the Przemyśl practice station, lengthy strains type in entrance of trains headed for the cities of Lviv, Kyiv and Odesa, which returned to Ukraine empty originally of the invasion.
“It’s always better at home,” mentioned Lilia Shuba, 42, a instructor from Vynohradiv in western Ukraine, ready in line for the practice to Lviv. “We left a week ago, and now we are going back. My husband volunteered for the army and there’s nobody in our house.”
She and her 3-year-old son Oleksandr spent 13 hours on the Hungarian border on their approach out of Ukraine.
“I left to gather my strength and now we will go back to wait out the end of the war in Ukraine,” she mentioned.
For weeks, Przemyśl has been Europe’s largest hub for Ukrainians fleeing their homeland and 1000’s of latest refugees nonetheless arrive day-after-day.
Almost each store window bears a Ukrainian flag, and banners and billboards welcoming Ukrainians are seen everywhere in the medieval Polish metropolis, which was a well-liked vacationer vacation spot earlier than the pandemic.
At the Przemyśl station, these fleeing and people returning now cross paths for a number of hours day-after-day and alternate experiences.
“We are aware of reported returns to Ukraine and we respect people’s choice,” mentioned Victoria Andrievska, a spokesperson for UNHCR, the U.N. refugee company.
“They are in a better position to assess their personal situation. However, UNHCR is not assisting people to return at the moment,” she mentioned.
International volunteers from Western European nations such because the U.Okay. and Spain could be seen everywhere in the practice station, serving to individuals who arrive get a scorching meal, journey tickets, clothes, toys for his or her youngsters and even vaccines for his or her pets. The volunteers additionally report refugees heading again in important numbers.
“We have seen several thousand going back through Przemyśl every day. As the biggest crossing point in Europe, we likely see most of the people going back,” mentioned Ada Wordsworth, 23, who interrupted her grasp’s diploma in Slavonic research on the University of Oxford to assist with the disaster and has been aiding with Russian translation for 3 weeks.
“I was completely surprised when I saw it, it was shocking. The first family I met that was going back wanted to go to Kharkiv,” she recalled, referring to the Ukrainian metropolis that has been closely bombarded by Russian forces.
In the start, just one or two folks would return, normally to retrieve pets or relations after first leaving the nation on their very own.
“Western media want to see Ukraine as this gray, dark, depressing post-Soviet space that nobody would want to go back to, but actually everyone I have spoken to has said they want to return as soon as they possibly can,” Wordsworth mentioned.
“Generally it is people who have not been able to find work, haven’t been able to find a place to live. Others have been scammed and lost a lot of money in Poland,” she mentioned.
She and different volunteers say the EU wants to acknowledge that almost all Ukrainian refugees need to keep in Poland or Moldova, the place the language and environment are extra much like their very own, and that funds ought to be redirected there from the remainder of the bloc.
“The current trend of returns messes with the perception in the West that their countries are the be-all-end-all and that everyone just wants to end up there,” she mentioned.
For Dariusz Stola, a historian on the Polish Academy of Sciences who has printed a number of books on migration, the returns match with historic patterns.
“Even during peacetime migrations, a number of people decide to return even when they intended to stay, because the migration experience is not what they expected it to be,” he mentioned.
“The emotional needs of some people may be stronger than the fear of war. They might interpret news from Ukraine in a way that strengthens their resolve to come back,” mentioned Stola. “The emotional cost of separation under dramatic conditions may appear greater than the fear of possibly being affected by Russian shelling.”
Those who left initially “could decide that it’s better for them to stay with family and friends and people you love rather than being away and waking up every day worried about what happened to their husbands, parents and others they left behind in Ukraine,” he mentioned.
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https://thewall.fyi/risking-the-dangers-of-war-some-ukrainian-refugees-head-home/
| 2022-04-01T00:15:09Z
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New Mexico confronts a deluge of pandemic-related utilities shutoffs
Thousands of New Mexico households are struggling to keep the lights on and the water running. The ones who stand to lose the most: children.
This story was originally published by Searchlight New Mexico.
A PNM lineman stood outside Rebeca Kueber’s mobile home in Tesuque, about to cut off her service. The single mother of five had received several past-due notices in the mail in the months prior, a burden that got heavier and heavier with each new balance.
Kueber had left a steady job as hostess at La Choza in early 2020, when the restaurant downsized due to the pandemic. A second restaurant job came and went months later, leaving her with a meager unemployment check. When her kids’ schools went remote, she was forced to stay home, which further whittled away the family budget. That meant trips to food pantries in Santa Fe and no new school clothes or shoes for the two youngest children, 11 and 12.
“The simple truth was that at times, we didn’t have the means for anything,” Kueber said in Spanish.
She applied for aid from the state’s emergency rental assistance program (ERAP), which helps underwrite utilities for families in need. She didn’t qualify. There were few options but to take out a loan, which she did, leaving a ding on her credit.
Bills piled up with each passing month — car payment, insurance, electricity, gas and rent on the space where her mobile home was parked.
Now, as the lineman waited outside, Kueber made a frantic call to PNM. Yes, her federal assistance had gone through, she was assured. The shutoff would be dodged for now.
Kueber’s struggle is shared by tens of thousands of New Mexicans — families on the verge of a utility disconnection. Many of them make trade-offs, sacrificing food, medicine or medical care to keep the lights on, homes heated or cooled, water running. They fear that the alternative could be far worse.
Children bear the heaviest burden. “Cutting off utilities doesn’t just mean that a house goes dark,” said Jennifer Ramo, executive director of New Mexico Appleseed, an anti-poverty group devoted to helping children in Santa Fe. “It affects mental health and child welfare, it affects (kids’) ability to do homework. … They’re bearing the impact, and yet they have no power to fix the problem or pay the debt.”
Help has been fragmentary. Chainbreaker Collective and Adelante, two advocacy organizations based in Santa Fe, have been lifelines for Kueber during the months when she couldn’t pay a utility bill or the rent on her mobile home space. Churches and faith-based organizations have similarly triaged resources for people in need, piecing together a couple hundred bucks here and there — usually just enough to tide households over another month, enough to keep a shutoff at bay.
“Starting to fall behind on utilities — that’s the canary in the coal mine that shit is about to hit the fan,” said Cathy Garcia, a community organizer with Chainbreaker. By the time a shutoff looms, she continued, “clearly someone is in crisis and everyone in that household is going to be affected.”
Unseen struggles
An eviction is a highly visible affair, with people desperately packing up and moving out. A disconnection, in contrast, is private and unseen. Families keep food and medicine in coolers on ice rather than in the refrigerator. They go to the local community center to take showers and suffer freezing cold or sweltering weather with little recourse. And it all happens behind closed doors.
In March 2020, New Mexico tried to anticipate the coming deluge of pandemic-related shutoffs by placing a moratorium on utility disconnections. The moratorium ended last August, leaving some customers with balances in the thousands of dollars. Utility companies urged them to get on payment plans, apply for assistance through ERAP or the federally-funded Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which helps low-income families pay utility bills and weatherize their homes.
Tens of thousands of New Mexicans applied and received some form of aid. According to the Department of Finance and Administration (DFA), the agency that oversees the state budget, New Mexico has made 24,372 utility awards since April 2021, totaling approximately $18.7 million. In certain rural areas, utility requests outnumbered requests for rental assistance “at a rate of two to one,” according to ERAP spokesman Henry Valdez.
Explore utility burdens across New Mexico
But the programs didn’t help everyone. Though the application process didn’t require a social security number, most undocumented families never applied. Many feared deportation. Others may not have realized that the programs even existed; some preferred seeking assistance through churches, schools and nonprofits, organizations that typically don’t publicize how many people they help.
As a result, it’s difficult to quantify the full extent of the problem. While the Public Regulation Commission has mandated reporting on disconnections for the 66 utilities it oversees, there is no single clearinghouse that tracks all shutoffs and past-due utility bills around the state: In New Mexico, electricity, gas and water are provided by a patchwork of rural cooperatives, investor-owned companies and municipalities.
In a recent filing, PNM reported that some 23,000 residential customers — roughly the population of Gallup — were at risk of a disconnection as of January 2022. Altogether, their unpaid bills amounted to almost $10 million. Eight months earlier, in May 2021, the number of households at risk owed a staggering $20 million. If not for the moratorium, almost 35,000 households could have had their power cut.
Schoolchildren bear the brunt
New Mexico Appleseed regards utility cutoffs as a particular catastrophe for children, one that thrusts them to the very edge of homelessness.
“That’s the thing that struck me when I saw all of the shutoffs happening in the first place,” said Ramo, the organization’s founder and director. “‘Oh wow, they just made all these kids homeless.’”
She was referring to the definition as provided by the McKinney Vento Act, a federal law that says schools must identify and make available certain services to students who are considered homeless. Under that law, children and youths need not be living on the streets or in cars to qualify; the measure of homelessness covers a spectrum of circumstances, including “substandard housing” that lacks “fundamental utilities such as water, electricity, or heat.”
A plethora of national studies bears that out, with research that children in such circumstances are more “prone to food insecurity, hospitalizations, poorer health ratings, and developmental concerns than children in ‘energy secure’ homes.”
A utility shutoff often produces a domino effect. When the gas is disconnected, families cope by eating canned foods, prepackaged ramen noodle soup or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. When there is a water shutoff, children have to shuffle around to relatives’ and friends’ houses to take showers. Students who don’t have heat may show up to class too tired to focus because they were cold and couldn’t sleep. Without electricity, they are unable to finish homework and complete projects that require an internet connection.
Noemi Sanchez, a caseworker at Adelante, a nonprofit that helps housing-insecure students in Santa Fe Public Schools, has seen that domino effect in motion. She remembers one teenage girl who stopped attending school altogether because she couldn’t shower and felt embarrassed.
Sanchez has also seen families suffer in silence, hesitant to ask for resources from their children’s school. Many of those families are undocumented. “All of it has to do with fear — of CYFD getting involved, of Adelante denying them help, of being deported,” Sanchez said. “There’s so much that other people do not see, but we see it.”
The high cost of poverty
The utilities crisis didn’t just appear when COVID-19 swept the country and globe, spurring waves of unemployment and illness. For decades, families living paycheck to paycheck have spent a disproportionate amount of their total income on utility bills. That’s the Catch-22 of poverty: When families can’t afford a house that’s insulated or equipped with energy-efficient appliances, utility bills are higher.
Research by Greenlink Analytics, a national nonprofit specializing in clean energy and equity research, has found that the amount a household spends on utilities in relation to income should not exceed 3 or 4 percent.
In fact, energy burdens can be more than four times that rate in parts of New Mexico. Greenlink’s most recent data, from 2019, shows that families who live in certain areas of McKinley County, where much of the energy for the state has been extracted or produced, spend close to 18 percent of their income on gas and electric bills. Families in parts of Doña Ana County spend up to 15 percent.
The New Mexico Legislature recently approved a $10 million block grant to reduce utility bills through the replacement of old appliances and updating of inefficient air conditioning and heating systems. But that amount is only a tiny fraction of what’s needed and will, in the end, help no more than 5,000 families.
“It would take about $500 million to update and weatherize all low-income homes in New Mexico,” said House Rep. Kristina Ortez (D-Taos), who sponsored HB37. What’s needed, she and other advocates argue, is a discounted rate for low-income customers. That’s already being done in California and a few other states.
Many advocates believe that utility debt accrued during the pandemic should be forgiven altogether.
In New Mexico, where nearly one in five people lives below the poverty line, a “low-income rate would protect the poorest people and it would have a nominal impact on shareholders — pennies,” said Mariel Nanasi, the head of New Energy Economy, a renewable-energy advocacy group based in Santa Fe.
What is home?
Homelessness is pervasive on the streets, roads and underpasses of New Mexico. It’s instantly recognizable in the cardboard signs of people asking for money and the shopping carts filled with worldly possessions. In its rawest form, it’s self-evident.
But what is a home if not a place of reprieve and security? A place to rest, eat, thrive and spend time with family? Not having water to drink or bathe, electricity for warmth and gas for cooking can make those four walls feel virtually unlivable.
Yet the impacts of the utilities crisis on children have largely gone unnoticed. Until now. If anything useful has come out of the pandemic, it’s a recognition of this problem. In response, New Mexico Appleseed has proposed a statewide disconnection moratorium to extend throughout the entire school year for low-income families.
Because in Ramo’s estimation, the only true way to gauge the problem is through the impact on kids.
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Searchlight New Mexico is a non-partisan, nonprofit news organization dedicated to investigative reporting in New Mexico. This story was produced with generous funding from the Education Writers Association.
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https://www.lcsun-news.com/story/news/local/new-mexico/2022/03/31/covid-related-utility-shutoffs-focus-of-new-mexico-government-concern/7234230001/
| 2022-04-01T00:15:10Z
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EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) — U.S. Border Patrol agents rescued 18 migrants crammed inside a U-Haul trailer with little ventilation early Tuesday morning.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection said a U-Haul pickup pulling the trailer stopped at the Border Patrol checkpoint on NM Highway 185, which runs parallel to Interstate 25. Agents found 17 migrant adults and one unaccompanied child inside the trailer.
Agents linked the smuggling scheme to a driver who had crossed the checkpoint minutes before the U-Haul and was found to have a 9 mm handgun, an AK-47 rifle, a 12-gauge shotgun, ammunition, and a flare gun.
Agents arrested both drivers on suspicion of conspiracy to transport migrants.
On Sunday, a resident alerted border agents to a possible human smuggling scheme after spotting a tractor-trailer parked along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard near the Texas-New Mexico state line in Northeast El Paso.
Agents responded and freed 15 adult migrants and one unaccompanied child inside a poorly ventilated cargo container.
The rescued migrants, agents said, were from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua. Some of them ended up at the Central Processing Center, and agents expelled the others to Mexico under Title 42.
According to a news release, agents referred the driver to the El Paso Sector Integrated Targeting Team and the Texas Department of Public Safety as part of an ongoing interagency investigation.
CBP said that since Fiscal Year 2022 began in October, Border Patrol agents from the El Paso Sector have disrupted approximately 525 smuggling schemes.
“Ruthless human smugglers continuously endanger human lives as one of their tactics is to smuggle migrants in confined spaces with restricted oxygen,” El Paso Sector Chief Patrol Agent Gloria I. Chavez said in a statement. “I am extremely proud of the actions of our El Paso Sector Border Patrol Agents as they often encounter situations, where if not for their involvement, events as these would turn into tragedies. Our Border Patrol Agents are true heroes as they display compassion and professionalism (every day) in our very complex mission of border security.”
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https://www.mytwintiers.com/border-report-tour/34-migrants-rescued-from-cargo-trailers-in-separate-smuggling-attempts/
| 2022-04-01T00:15:10Z
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Magna announced a new EV-related investment in Ontario, Canada, where the company will produce lightweight aluminum battery enclosures for the Ford F-150 Lightning.
According to the press release, the new 170,000 square foot facility in Chatham is expected to create up to 150 new jobs.
Automotive News reports, after Chatham Daily News, that the company initially might invest $40 million within 18 months (potentially more in the future) and produce some 60,000 battery enclosures annually, with an option to expand to upwards of 120,000 units annually. That gives us glimpses of the expected production volume of the electric pickup truck itself.
Magna underlines that its battery enclosures are innovative and currently the largest lightweight aluminum battery enclosures on the market. Inside the enclosure are batteries (98 or 131 kWh of usable capacity), electrical components, sensors, and connectors.
It's worth noting that the latest Ford F-150 model is known for its wide use of aluminum to reduce weight. In the case of the all-electric version, which must carry relatively heavy batteries, weight matters even more. This is why enclosures are usually made of lightweight materials.
Production of the Ford F-150 Lightning will take place in Michigan, while the market launch is set for Spring of this year.
Mark Johnson, Magna’s Formet Industries General Manager said:
“With the hard work of our team members in our Formet, St. Thomas facility, we have been able to secure additional business that allows us to grow in two great communities. We are coming to Chatham with new job opportunities working on an exciting new technology that offers a lot of growth potential.”
For suppliers like Magna, electrification is a major opportunity as carmakers around the world need a lot of all-new components for their all-new vehicles.
For example, earlier this year, Magna's company in China started the production of eDrive systems (for the front axle) for Volkswagen's Modular Electric Drive Toolkit (MEB) platform.
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https://insideevs.com/news/577079/magna-ford-f150-lightning-battery-enclosures-ontario/
| 2022-04-01T00:15:11Z
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Republicans warn Justice Department probe of Trump would trigger political war
Republican lawmakers are warning that any Department of Justice prosecution of former President Trump will turn into a political battle, setting a high bar for Attorney General Merrick Garland to act on an expected criminal referral from the House’s Jan. 6 committee.
The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol previewed its likely referral to the Justice Department in a court filing made public last week and experts say the evidence assembled by House investigators would provide a strong impetus for prosecutors to act.
But Republican lawmakers and strategists warn that any federal prosecution of Trump will be accused of being politically motivated, boost Trump within the GOP and turn into a partisan food fight at a time when President Biden is pivoting to the center and trying to keep his 2020 campaign promise to unify the country.
Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.) said any criminal referral from the House “would probably have as much political taint on it as you can get.”
“To me it’s clearly politically driven,” he said.
Braun said Democrats are scrambling to change up the political narrative in response to Biden’s moribund job approval ratings and predicted launching a federal prosecution of Trump would be viewed along partisan lines.
“At least half the country would say it’s all politically motivated,” he said.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said “the Department of Justice has a high bar” to clear before launching an investigation of Trump and raised concerns over the partisan fighting that surrounded the formation of the Jan. 6 committee.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) blocked House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) picks to serve on the panel, Reps. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Jim Banks (R-Ind.).
She instead tapped Reps. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) and Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), two outspoken critics of Trump’s election fraud claims, to participate in the Democratic-led investigation.
“I don’t mind looking into the events but I think that Speaker Pelosi did not do the process justice by the way the members were ultimately seated,” Tillis said. “It’s going to be perceived as political.”
“Everybody is going to perceive the referral as a conviction on one side and they’re going to view it as the continuation of a witch hunt on the other side,” he added. “The bar that the House committee has is far lower than anything that would ultimately result in moving forward with a federal investigation and a conviction.”
Republican strategists close to Trump are predicting a battle royale if the Department of Justice moves to indict the former president.”
“I think it could backfire in a way that they have no clue,” said Republican pollster Jim McLaughlin. “I think it’s going to backfire because it just so political and it’s tainted.
“The country wants to move on. Nobody is proud of what happened on Jan. 6 but people are like, ‘With all the problems we have going on in the country right now, this is going to be the focus of the Democrats?’ ”
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a close Trump ally and senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told The Hill Thursday any recommendation to prosecute from the House select committee would lack credibility.
“I don’t see anything coming out of this committee not tainted by politics,” he said.
The likelihood of a stirring up a major political storm with a federal investigation of Trump could serve as a powerful disincentive for the Justice Department moving forward if it receives a recommendation to prosecute from the Jan. 6 committee.
Biden privately told advisers after his victory in the 2020 election that he didn’t want his presidency consumed by investigations of Trump, NBC News reported at the time, citing five people familiar with the discussions.
A filing by lawyers for the Jan. 6 panel in a California federal court as part of its effort to obtain conservative lawyer and Trump adviser John Eastman’s emails is widely seen as a precursor to a criminal referral to the Justice Department later this year.
The lawyers wrote the committee has “a good-faith basis for concluding that the president and members of his campaign engaged in a criminal conspiracy to defraud the United States” by obstructing the counting of electoral votes during last year’s joint session of Congress.
Senate Democrats, even though they all voted last year to convict Trump on the impeachment charge of inciting the Jan. 6 insurrection, have been careful to avoid the appearance Garland is under political pressure to bring charges. They say the decision is up to Garland alone.
But some Democratic senators privately caution that Garland needs to win any case he brings against Trump. They worry that the former president would seize on an acquittal as complete vindication, much like he did after former special counsel Robert Mueller declined to bring charges after investigating allegations of collusion between Russian officials and the Trump campaign in 2016.
Albert Alschuler, a professor emeritus of law and criminology at the University of Chicago Law School, said the Department of Justice would appear to have a strong case against Trump based on the public evidence of his attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
“It looks like a quite strong case for criminal prosecution, particularly conspiracy to defraud the United States and maybe obstruction of official proceedings charge,” he said. “I see a lot of comment and some people seem to be saying, ‘Well, it’s so hard because they have to prove that the defendant really was lying by projecting all these false claims, you have to prove that he actually did not believe them himself.’ “
“But it seems to me the evidence is pretty strong,” he added. “Juries infer intent from the circumstances all the time, and they infer a criminal intent beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Alschuler noted that multiple advisers including former Attorney General William Barr told Trump directly that his claims of widespread election fraud were untrue.
Barr discussed his conversations with Trump shortly after the 2020 election in a recent interview with NBC’s Lester Holt.
“I told him that all this stuff was bullshit about election fraud and, you know, it was wrong to be shoveling it out the way his team was,” Barr recounted. “He started asking me about different theories and I had the answers. I was able to tell him this is wrong because of this … He obviously was getting very angry.”
Alschuler noted that Barr “was one of several people who did that.”
He pointed out that “with conspiracy to defraud what you have to show is knowledge is that what you’re saying is false.”
He said, however, that while the evidence against Trump appears to support a criminal prosecution, Garland may hesitate to pull the trigger because of the likely political backlash.
“Garland has said he will follow the evidence wherever it leads. If an overwhelming case is presented he may prosecute but I think he would probably prefer not to. That’s just a guess. Even if it’s a very strong case, I think they’re worried about the fact that we’re talking about prosecuting somebody who has millions and millions of devoted, passionate followers who would see this as a political prosecution and be very angry, possibly violent,” he said.
Republicans also warn that any federal prosecution of Trump would likely be answered by congressional investigations of Biden and his son Hunter if Republicans take over the House and possibly the Senate in the 2022 midterm elections.
“I wonder if they’re ever going to file charges against Hillary Clinton for what she did after 2016,” said Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), who would become the chairman of the Permanent Investigations subcommittee of the Senate Homeland Security Committee if the control of the chamber flips.
Ford O’Connell, a Republican strategist, said a prosecution “will only make Trump stronger with the GOP primary voters.”
“If your goal is to make sure Donald Trump is the nominee in 2024 for the Republicans, then by all means proceed with this. You’re just going to make him stronger,” he said.
The Hill has removed its comment section, as there are many other forums for readers to participate in the conversation. We invite you to join the discussion on Facebook and Twitter.
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https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/596955-republicans-warn-justice-department-probe-of-trump-would-trigger-political/
| 2022-04-01T00:15:09Z
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A new study released Thursday found that those who are pregnant and vaccinated against COVID-19 are twice as likely to get a breakthrough case of the virus than those who aren't pregnant.
Researchers from the Wisconsin-based company Epic said they analyzed the medical records of about 14 million patients that were stored in Cosmos, a HIPAA-defined data set of more than 140 million people from 960 hospitals and 20,814 clinics that serve patients in all 50 states.
According to the study, researchers honed in on what comorbidities could increase a patient's chances of getting a breakthrough COVID-19 case while vaccinated.
They found that pregnant individuals were 1.91 times more likely to get COVID while vaccinated. They also found that those with organ transplants were 1.83 times more likely to get COVID-19, and those with immune deficiency were 1.63 times more likely to get breakthrough COVID.
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https://www.wxyz.com/news/national/coronavirus/study-finds-pregnancy-increases-chances-of-breakthrough-covid
| 2022-04-01T00:15:11Z
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WWE Executive Vice President of Global Talent Strategy & Development Paul “Triple H” Levesque is in Dallas for the WrestleMania 38 Week festivities.
These are the most appearances Triple H has made since suffering his cardiac event last fall. You can click here for his recent comments on his health and in-ring retirement announcement.
As seen in the photos below, Triple H was present for the talent tryouts in Frisco, TX at the Ford Center at The Star, home of the Dallas Cowboys World Headquarters and state-of-the-art practice facility. WWE announced these tryouts several weeks back, and noted that they were exclusively for current and recently graduated college athletes.
The tryouts began on Wednesday and will run through Friday. WWE is hosting more than 50 male and female participants with collegiate athletic backgrounds across football, basketball, track and field, wrestling, volleyball, gymnastics, cheer and dance. Several NFL Draft-eligible college football players were also scheduled to participate in the invite-only event.
WWE NXT and WWE Performance Center staff brought to Texas to help out include WWE Vice President of Talent Development Shawn Michaels, PC Head Coach Matt Bloom, along with PC Coaches Fit Finlay, Terry Taylor and Norman Smiley. Several NXT Superstars who are not booked for Stand & Deliver are also in town, including Harland, Joe Gacy, The Rock’s daughter Simone Johnson, Robert Stone, Indi Hartwell and Dexter Lumis, among others.
Triple H was joined by Dallas Cowboys players Anthony Brown, Jourdan Lewis, Ezekiel Elliott, and Dak Prescott at the tryouts. He cut a promo for fans on the Cowboys social media pages, inviting them to The Grandest Stage of Them All this weekend.
“Hey Cowboys Nation, this is The Game, Triple H. We are here in Texas talking to all of you guys and this is an epic weekend. Everything is bigger in Texas and this weekend is no exception. This weekend, WrestleMania – the most stupendous event in history. Trust me, you don’t want to miss it. Go to seatgeek.com and get there. Don’t miss it,” he said in the video below.
The Game also tweeted on the tryouts and wrote, “The first days of the #WWETryout in Dallas at @thestarinfrisco. Excited to see the progress of the attendees through the rest of the week! Thanks to @EzekielElliott @dak @nino9brown @JourdanJD of the @dallascowboys for stopping by!”
Stay tuned for more from WrestleMania 38 Week in Texas. You can see a few related photos and video below:
The first days of the #WWETryout in Dallas at @thestarinfrisco. Excited to see the progress of the attendees through the rest of the week!
Thanks to @EzekielElliott @dak @nino9brown @JourdanJD of the @dallascowboys for stopping by! pic.twitter.com/aaWF9sdU2z
— Triple H (@TripleH) March 31, 2022
🗣"Everything is BIGGER in Texas & this weekend is NO EXCEPTION!" – @TripleH 🙌
Don't miss the most stupendous two-night @WrestleMania in history at @ATTStadium this weekend! Get your 🎟s now: https://t.co/eMxJrpsa8k!!!#DallasCowboys | @WWE pic.twitter.com/56u3MdGHit
— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) March 31, 2022
.@TripleH met up with @nino9brown, @JourdanJD, @EzekielElliott & @dak of @dallascowboys ahead of #WrestleMania weekend! pic.twitter.com/lvGBUj60th
— WWE (@WWE) March 31, 2022
Dak and Zeke among several Dallas Cowboys who stopped by the WWE tryout today. pic.twitter.com/iPF1xgIZOi
— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) March 31, 2022
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https://www.pwmania.com/photos-video-triple-h-in-texas-for-wrestlemania-week-news-from-wwe-tryout
| 2022-04-01T00:15:11Z
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- Fourth quarter 2021 SaaS recurring revenue up by 47% over previous year
- Fourth quarter 2021 total digital revenue up by 45% over previous year
- Full-year SaaS recurring revenue up by 34% over previous year
- Full-year total digital revenue up by 26% over previous year
- Total gross profit margin up 17% over previous year
- SaaS recurring revenue accounts for 84% of total digital revenue – up from 79% in 2020
- Operational cost reductions and efficiencies begun in Q4 2021 and continuing aggressively through 2022 will accelerate drive to profitability
- R&D expense down 22% and G&A expense down 7% quarter over quarter
- Industry-leading MARKET and verbTV platform product development completed; soft launch underway with large number of vendors onboarding and large growing backlog of vendors in queue for ongoing qualification and verification processes; weekly private vendor livestream events ongoing; and 3 product-specific festivals planned featuring numerous popular vendors scheduled in preparation for full public-facing launch
- Sports Entertainment vertical begun in Q4 2021 with clients including the Pittsburgh Penguins, and continuing in Q1 2022 with the Florida Panthers and the Phoenix Suns, with more announcements expected throughout the year
- Introduced new, powerful features to accelerate growth of SaaS business including Attribution for verbLIVE, verbLIVE 2.0, and new sales-driving PULSE feature for intelligent guided management of customer relationships and interactions
- Launched verbMAIL Pro, an interactive video email solution seamlessly integrated into Outlook
- Recognized by Nasdaq as a leader in ESG implementation among small and micro-cap companies and featured in Nasdaq ESG case study
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. and SALT LAKE CITY, March 31, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Verb Technology Company, Inc. ( VERB) ("VERB" or the "Company"), the leader in interactive video-based sales enablement applications, including shoppable livestream, today reported financial and operating results for the full year and the quarter ending December 31, 2021, and held an earnings conference call at 5 p.m. ET to discuss these results. Prepared remarks of the management team during the conference call are provided below.
Management Prepared Remarks
VERB 2021 Fourth Quarter and Full-Year Financial Results Conference Call
Thursday, March 31, 2022, 5 p.m. ET
Company Participants
Rory J. Cutaia, CEO
Salman Khan, CFO
Operator:
Good afternoon and welcome to the full-year and fourth quarter 2021 Financial Results Conference Call for Verb Technology Company, Inc. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. Please be advised, the call is being recorded at the Company’s request.
On our call today are Rory J. Cutaia, CEO, and Salman Khan, CFO.
Before we begin, I’d like to remind everyone that statements made during this conference call will include forward-looking statements under the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which involve risks and uncertainties that can cause actual results to differ materially. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, except as required by law, as the underlying facts and circumstances may change. Verb Technology Company disclaims any obligations to update these forward-looking statements, as well as those contained in the Company’s current and subsequent filings with the SEC.
I would now like to turn the call over to Rory J. Cutaia, CEO. Rory?
Rory Cutaia:
Thank you, moderator, and thanks to everyone for joining us today for our fourth quarter and full-year 2021 financial results and business update conference call. There have been so many notable developments over the past year – it’s not possible within the time allotted for this call to discuss every one of them so I’m going to cover those things that I think our shareholders are most interested in hearing about. Let’s get started.
So, – here we are in 2022 – more than 2 years into the decade that began with a global pandemic which now seems was meant to test our mettle and prepare us for what we now know were even more challenges that still lay ahead, including the surprising market meltdown over the past 4 months - and continued share price volatility across the board - purportedly caused by the uncertainty of soaring inflation – the highest in more than 40 years, rising interest rates, an insane war in eastern Europe, global warming, and now a new covid strain.
Seems like a good time to hunker down, pull back, wait it out, put your dreams and big plans on hold, and cross your fingers and hope that it all works itself out. But not here at Verb – hunkering down has never been something we’ve been very good at – frankly, I’m not even sure I know what the heck that means. In fact, over the past two and a half years, we’ve been pushing forward – not pulling back – dreaming big and executing bigger, and the only things we’re crossing are the items off all our to-do lists as we hit one milestone after another.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, I’m old enough to have lived through the market ups and downs over the past 20 plus years – and while I’m no expert, I can say with complete confidence that the market always comes back – always. The companies that win are those that make sure they’re well positioned to ride the crest of the comeback wave, or it will wash over you. The investors that win are those that identify the companies and the management teams that develop solid plans and execute solid strategies and keep moving forward through the storms.
And even if you agree that the market will come back, waiting idly on the sidelines for it to happen is not a winning tack. I don’t subscribe to the philosophy that a rising tide lifts all boats – if you didn’t repair the cracks in it - and if you didn’t put up that new sail - you’ll be left at the dock.
So today I’m going to talk about how we’ve fixed the cracks – in particular – how, as promised, we’ve reduced rather dramatically our total operating costs as we drive in earnest to reach cash flow positive and profitability and reduce our reliance on outside growth capital.
And I will also talk about the new sail we’ve raised – specifically – MARKET – what many believe is the world’s best end-to-end livestream shopping platform, and what we believe will be the biggest value creator for our shareholders and ourselves this year and beyond.
But first, I want to share the 2021 results of our SaaS business, that’s our suite of sales tools software designed principally for the direct sales industry, that has been our bread and butter since it was launched in April 2019 – almost exactly 3 years ago.
At that time, as many of you that have been part of our journey since then – and yes, I’m referring to our longs, to whom we remain extremely grateful – well you may recall that our mission was to be the dominant player in the space, to be the recognized leading provider of sales software for the direct sales industry.
Well, today, just three years later – and much to the chagrin of a few remaining wanna-be competitors – we ARE the undisputed dominant player in the space – now far ahead of the pack.
And as we continue to add cutting-edge products to our suite of sales tools and phase-out of our low-margin non-digital business, our SaaS business has grown by double digits every year since then – year over year. And that growth has continued notwithstanding the hit many businesses have taken during 24 months of a crushing Covid-19 pandemic.
Looking at our 2021 performance – our SaaS recurring revenue was $6.8 million – up 34% over 2020.
Total Digital revenue – of which SaaS recurring revenue is a component – was $8.2 million – up 26% over 2020.
Notably, we ended 2021 with SaaS recurring revenue once again representing a larger and larger percentage of our Total Digital revenue – 84%, up from 79% in 2020.
Our focus has always been growing our SaaS recurring revenue products and services and these are the metrics we track to measure our success.
I would also note that we’ve successfully reduced our low-margin non-digital business another 32% over last year – and associated costs, while we continue to wind that down. And yet, even with that reduction, total revenue – which we don’t consider an indicator of our performance since we’re winding down the non-digital business – was still up over 2020 at $10.5 million.
Fourth quarter, which, historically, is the slowest time in the direct sales space, has our Total Digital revenue up 45% over 2020, and our SaaS recurring revenue up 47% over 2020. In fact, we set a new record in the fourth quarter for SaaS recurring revenue of more than $1.9 million – the highest in the Company’s history.
As I said earlier, I believe strongly that MARKET will be the biggest value creator for our shareholders this year and beyond. However, in 2022, we’re also anticipating meaningful revenue growth outside of MARKET – I’m referring to meaningful growth from three principal areas of our SaaS business; our direct sales vertical, life sciences, and our new sports vertical.
First and foremost, our direct sales business. As you know, last year we released verbLIVE with Attribution and we released PULSE, each as add-on features to our bread-and-butter verbCRM sales enablement platform. Our large enterprise customers with a lot of non-US-based sales reps have been killing it with verbLIVE.
However, during the free-trial period we offered many of our clients, we noticed slower adoption among US-based sales reps. We spent considerable time analyzing the different use-cases, identifying needs unique to the direct sales space and brought in a new product team to respond to those needs. Several months ago, we began developing what we call verbLIVE 2.0 – specifically for the direct sales industry.
The result is that we now have a backlog of tens of thousands of sales reps – many of whom served as beta testers for us – waiting anxiously for the release of verbLIVE 2.0, which is on-track for commercial release this summer. Upon release, we expect a large percentage of these will convert to additional subscription-paying, recurring-revenue-generating users, which we believe will dramatically increase our Average Revenue Per User, and our SaaS recurring revenue overall. Coupled with PULSE, our AI/BI add-on for verbCRM, we believe this will be the biggest year in our history for our direct sales business, putting even greater distance between VERB and our would-be competitors. Separately, as a result of recent changes we’ve made in our marketing outreach, we’re seeing a marked increase in opportunities in life sciences vertical. By the way, verbMAIL Pro has been released and we’re implementing an entirely new marketing strategy around that. I’ll be sharing more about that in upcoming news releases.
In Q4, we launched a new business unit for VERB – our professional sports unit, built on our verbTEAMS sales enablement platform. We started with the announcement of the Pittsburgh Penguins in October, and since then, we’ve built an impressive sales pipeline of professional sports teams both in the US and in other countries. We announced the Florida Panthers last month, we announced the Phoenix Suns this week, and many more announcements are expected. And yes – it is my expectation that there will be MARKET and verbTV implications for the sports teams signing up to use our verbTEAMS sales enablement platform. Stay tuned.
Before I get to MARKET, let me share our progress on operational efficiencies I talked about in our last earnings call and quantify the impact of those initiatives. As you know, I’ve talked openly about how we ramped up – rather considerably over the past two years – the expenses associated with the development of verbLIVE, Attribution, PULSE, verbMAIL, LEARN, and certainly MARKET in order to shorten what would have otherwise been a much longer time to market for these products – and their associated revenue streams.
This is obviously not a unique strategy, though it is a bold one – especially for a company our size. We’ve taken a fair amount of heat for the pressure the execution of this strategy put on our share price as many investors couldn’t see past the operating cost line in our P&L and weren’t able to wrap their heads around the additional revenue these initiatives could produce.
I believe that the results of these initiatives, which will take a bit of time to be fully reflected in our P&L, will more than offset the short-term pain we’ve all endured as it is our hope and expectation that the increased revenues from these products, coupled with higher margins and vastly reduced operating costs will translate into meaningfully higher share prices and significantly greater long-term value moving forward.
As those products have now begun commercial release, with several more finding commercial release this summer, and as their associated development costs continue to fall away as predicted, we have identified very specific cost reductions that we expect will cause our total annualized operating costs to be reduced by up to $8.5 million. Any new expenses associated with MARKET, we expect will be more than offset by new MARKET revenue.
And that’s just the beginning as we have since identified many other operational efficiencies we will begin implementing. For example, we’ve recruited high-quality marketing professionals that have implemented sweeping changes to our marketing strategies that have begun to produce substantially more qualified leads with much higher close ratios at a significantly lower marketing spend – up to a million dollars a year lower. We’ve also embraced a permanent work from home policy for many of our employees as we’ve actually seen improvements in productivity rates in many areas of the business using new management strategies we developed during the forced social distancing imposed by COVID. As a result, we were recently able to downsize our Utah offices resulting in significant monthly expense reductions.
While we are indeed fortunate that there continues to be very strong interest in Verb from the investment community, assuring us access to capital as and when we want it, these changes, among others, changes that are producing quantifiable results, are the things I committed to deliver in our drive to profitability and reduced reliance on the capital markets. This is especially important as we face the uncertainties this crazy world throws at all of us every day and the impact these uncertainties place on the capital markets.
Ok – let’s talk about MARKET, our multi-vendor, livestream social shopping ecommerce platform – unlike anything else in the market today – that we believe will disrupt online shopping as we know it – a platform that represents the true convergence of entertainment and social shopping. I’m thrilled with how this platform has lived up to my vision for it and I want to recognize the brilliant developers who have made this a reality, and I look forward to introducing them to all of you soon enough. As I predicted, and as I now see playing out during the current soft launch, I believe that not only will MARKET be an additional distribution channel for countless brands and retailers, among others, but it will likely become the sole distribution outlet for many, where vendors’ storefronts on MARKET will replace their own websites.
I foresee creators looking for greater control of their content and influencers looking for better monetization opportunities and more direct engagement with their fans and followers coming to MARKET and opting to build their base of followers on MARKET over YouTube and other social media platforms. And I foresee more and more manufacturers coming to MARKET looking to adopt a new D2C – direct-to-consumer strategy to increase margins and profitability. MARKET offers all of that and more.
As you’ve heard me say countless times, MARKET is a big deal – it’s the real deal – and a tremendous amount of work, time, and money has gone into developing our go-to-market strategy utilizing some of the brightest, talented, and knowledgeable people in the world in the livestream shopping space.
The soft launch period we are currently in, and the festivals – or the mega events as you’ve heard me refer to them, three of them that we’ve been planning – are all part of a highly orchestrated, highly coordinated effort to ensure the maximum success of MARKET for us and for all of you. Please bear with us, please be patient – believe me – I know – you know I know – I am the most impatient person known to man. I want it all yesterday and I want to say to heck with the rules and damn the waiting – I want to share everything with all of you right now. But fortunately, I surround myself with people way smarter than me – who believe in MARKET – whose passion for what the journey to MARKET has been and for what they believe MARKET will become, that keep me and my unbridled exuberance in check.
But I do need to say, stop trolling my team, stop the crazy social posts, stop criticizing the people who are working to deliver something truly special – something truly valuable for our shareholders – simply because we haven’t invited you in to see it yet – while we continue to execute the most effective go-to-market strategy we believe MARKET deserves – that our shareholders deserve. Some people actually believe that the moment the platform was built and tested, we should have opened it up to the public - and are upset that we haven’t.
If you’re a real shareholder who cares about the value of your investment – do you think it’s going to make your shares more valuable to criticize the Company on social media with unjustified, uninformed rants? Come on guys. Let us do our work. Let us deliver on the promise. Step back – relax, take it easy – we’ve got this.
So, before I share a few stats that I hope will shed light on some of what’s going on behind the scenes at MARKET, let me first reiterate what the MARKET soft launch actually means for those of you that haven’t seen any of the recent interviews of me, or those of several other members of my team, who have been asked about MARKET during those interviews.
The soft launch is the period of time that we are actively soliciting vendors, retailers, brands, creators, and influencers – among others – to sell products and services on MARKET – not just those that participated in the beta tests. We are verifying, qualifying, selecting and categorizing sellers. For those we’ve already selected to be on MARKET, we are onboarding them and assisting them in setting up their stores, their ecommerce facilities, their inventories, product and digital assets. We are training them how to use the platform and we’re providing coaching on how to sell – (not just be an influencer or make fun-to-watch videos) and connecting them with professional hosts and onscreen sales coaches.
We’re actually building a stable of professional hosts as we expect many sellers will opt to pay for professional hosts to work with during the livestream or handle the livestream selling entirely to ensure the highest levels of viewer engagement and sales revenue. We’re creating video assets that will be available on MARKET that will provide the resources for vendors to onboard themselves with little to no assistance from our staff so we can ensure that the platform scales up more rapidly. We’re encouraging vendors to learn how to get the most out of the platform by hosting private livestream events every week. We’re encouraging them to learn how to use the multi-presenter features, including remote presenters, how to produce professional-looking livestreams using the multiple camera features, among many other amazing features we’ve built into this platform.
We’re doing all this because we want to make sure that when the public is invited to see all of MARKET, they’ll find an engaging, consuming, fun, enjoyable, expansive, and truly unique social shopping experience – that they want to come back to – that they want to invite their friends to, where they will form trusting relationships with hosts and sellers as well as with other shoppers – where they want to spend money.
So, we’re targeting mid-summer for the festivals – some will take place over the course of two or more days. The categories for the three festivals are food and beverage, wellness, and a combined fashion and cosmetics festival. They will all be public facing and will signify the public launch of MARKET. Exact dates will be set and announced as we continue to confirm the vendors participating in each category and corresponding product inventories. It is possible, maybe even likely, that there will be at least one or more smaller public facing events before the festivals. We’ve engaged pros that are managing and coordinating all of this.
Onboarding is ongoing, virtually every day. At last count, I’m told we could be up to more than a hundred vendors on the platform by the end of the week and a list of thousands that we are furiously working through. Please don’t submit a request to be a vendor on MARKET unless you are a real seller – with a real business – not just a curious investor. That’s not a productive use of our time.
Separately, we’re building a list of prospective shoppers who want to shop on MARKET as soon as it’s released to the public. At last count I’m told we had over 10,000 names and growing daily.
And yes – there’s big name brands that want to be part of MARKET and no, we cannot disclose any names at this time. Please understand that we must respect the policies of these brands, or we jeopardize their involvement with the platform.
Lastly, before I turn it over to our new CFO Salman Khan for more detail around our reported financial performance, as well as the recent financings we secured to assure the uninterrupted execution of our plans for MARKET, among other things, let me share two more things. The planned acquisition I’ve discussed previously is still on track and we’ll release information in a timely manner through the appropriate channels and filings. There are other incredibly exciting business opportunities in the works, and amazing new talent coming aboard, that we’ll disclose as and when appropriate. Stay tuned.
And finally, among the amazing members of my team who are unrelenting in their efforts to deliver value everyday – I want to recognize my COO Denise Butler for her work on our ESG initiatives, and our work through Verb for Humanity, including our most recent efforts on behalf of so many people impacted by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. I also want to reiterate our long-standing commitment to ESG initiatives as we have been one of the earliest adopters of a formal ESG program among small and micro-cap companies. Notably, we are very proud to have had our ESG initiatives recently recognized by Nasdaq who hailed Verb as a leader among small and micro-cap companies in ESG implementation. In fact, Verb was the subject of a recent Nasdaq case study, available on Nasdaq’s site, applauding our ESG efforts and showcasing Verb’s efforts as an example of how all companies, large and small, can, and should embrace and implement ESG policies.
Ok – with that – I’ll turn it over to Salman.
Salman Khan:
Thank you, Rory, and good afternoon, everyone. I’d like to review our financial performance as reported in our Form 10-K filed today, March 31, for the year ended December 31, 2021. I may reiterate and/or provide more color around some of the data points Rory shared with you.
The following compares the Company’s results of operations for fiscal year 2021 with the previous year.
- Total SaaS recurring revenue, a component of total digital revenue, was $6.8 million for FY 2021, up 34% over the previous year.
- Total digital revenue of approximately $8.2 million was up 26% over the previous year
- SaaS recurring revenue as a percentage of total digital revenue was 84%, compared with 79% for the previous year.
- Total SaaS recurring revenue for the fourth quarter 2021 was over $1.92 million, which as Rory said, is a new record for recurring SaaS revenue recognized in a single quarter – and congrats to our team for making that happen in what is historically the slowest quarter in direct sales.
- As at the year ended December 31, 2021, we added 55 new client contracts, with a guaranteed base value of $3.3 million. We expect to generate annual recurring revenue of approximately $1.5 million from these engagements, which does not include revenue that we anticipate to recognize from new and existing clients launching verbLIVE 2.0 with Attribution, PULSE, and verbLEARN, as well as revenue we expect from MARKET, verbTV, verbMAIL, and other as yet unannounced initiatives.
- Until we completely phase out of our legacy non-digital business, our Total Revenue will not be a reliable indicator of our performance since it includes the revenue generated from both our digital business, which is growing at a record pace, and our non-digital business, which is declining as we exit that business. For example, the non-digital business now represents only 22% of total revenue, compared with 35% in 2020. But for transparency purposes we will include Total Revenue in our discussion, which in 2021 was approximately $10.5 million. I do note, however, that our growth rate in total revenue over the prior year is still up 6% notwithstanding the offset of the non-digital business that we continue to exit.
- As Rory mentioned today and in previous earnings calls, we made a conscious decision to ramp up our research and development investment, among other related expenses, in order to accelerate the time to market for several major revenue generating features and products. These included verbLIVE, Attribution, verbCRM, verbTEAMS, PULSE, verbMAIL and MARKET. These increased investments are partially reflected in 2021 research and development expenses of $12.3 million, compared with $7.9 million in 2020.
- However, as Rory discussed, we have begun the move from R&D mode to maintenance mode for many of our products allowing us to reduce operational costs to more normalized levels. In establishing our strategy to accelerate profitability and reduce reliance on outside capital, we have implemented a series of specific cost reductions, which we expect can result in a reduction of annualized operational expenses by as much as $8.5 million. The planned reductions began in the fourth quarter of 2021 and they will continue throughout this year, with some of the biggest reductions occurring in the latter half of this year.
- Since we began this process, and as I have begun my tenure here as CFO, we have identified several areas of the business where we can produce cost-saving efficiencies which we are in the process of quantifying. We anticipate that these additional savings will help offset any marketing increases we expect to incur as we promote the public commercial release of our new MARKET platform and verbTV, among other things.
- At December 31, 2021, we have capitalized software development costs of $4.3 million attributed to the development of MARKET, which we expect to depreciate in cost of revenue over a three-year period.
- General and administrative expenses were $25.7 million, an increase from the $20.5 million in the previous year, comprised of the planned increases in labor costs as discussed previously of $2.8 million, as well as certain expenses related to the acquisition of SoloFire, offset by a decrease in share-based compensation of $0.5 million. The increase also includes approximately $1.1 million in marketing expenses. However, we have begun implementing a top grading strict ROI approach to our marketing spend and based on the efficiencies we’re now seeing, we could see the increase eliminated almost entirely by as much as $1 million annualized over time.
- As at December 31, 2021, total assets were $34.4 million, total liabilities were $21.1 million, and total stockholders’ equity was $13.3 million.
- As Rory mentioned earlier, we are fortunate to be able to access the capital markets and attract high-quality institutional investors on better terms than many companies our size, which speaks to the quality of our business plan execution and our management team. On March 15, 2021, we completed a registered direct offering with a small group of institutional investors which resulted in gross proceeds of $15 million. It was a straight common deal and an overnight transaction that did not include any warrants.
- In August 2021, the Company entered into an at-the-market issuance sales agreement with Truist Securities, Inc. that was terminated in October 2021. In November 2021, the Company entered into a new at-the-market issuance sales agreement with Truist that would have permitted sales of the Company’s common stock of up to $30 million in the aggregate.
- However, in January 2022, due to the rapidly changing market conditions that began in December, we voluntarily reduced that number from $30 million to $7.3 million and entered into a $6.3 million above-the-market convertible debt financing with three institutional investors at favorable terms, as well as a supplemental equity line of credit facility for the sale and issuance of up to $50 million, inclusive of fees, in shares over three years. The ELOC agreement is with Tumim Stone Capital, whose Manager and General Partner 3i, L.P., has been a long-term investor in VERB.
- As of March 25, there are 80,167,176 shares of our common stock issued and outstanding. Of the total number of common shares issued and outstanding, approximately 6.6 million shares or approximately 8.3% are owned or controlled by management and the Board members.
I’d now like to turn the call back over to the Operator for Q&A.
About VERB
Verb Technology Company, Inc. ( VERB), the market leader in interactive video-based sales applications, transforms how businesses attract and engage customers. The Company’s Software-as-a-Service, or SaaS, platform is based on its proprietary interactive video technology, and is comprised of a suite of sales enablement business software products offered on a subscription basis. Its software applications are used by hundreds of thousands of people in over 100 countries and in more than 48 languages. VERB’s clients include large sales-based enterprises as well as small business sales teams, including the sales and marketing departments of professional sports teams. Of note is its forthcoming MARKET, a multi-vendor, multi-presenter, livestream social shopping platform at the forefront of the convergence of ecommerce and entertainment. With approximately 170 employees and contractors, the Company is headquartered in American Fork, Utah, and it also maintains offices in Newport Beach, California.
For more information, please visit: www.verb.tech.
Follow VERB here:
VERB on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VerbTechCo/
VERB on Twitter: https://twitter.com/VerbTech_Co
VERB on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/verb-tech/
VERB on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0eCb_fwQlwEG3ywHDJ4_KQ
Download verbMAIL here: verbMAIL on Microsoft AppSource Store
Sign up for E-mail Alerts here: https://ir.verb.tech/news-events/email-alerts
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This communication contains “forward-looking statements” as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and include, without limitation, any statement that may predict, forecast, indicate or imply future results, performance or achievements, and may contain words such as “anticipate,” “expect,” “project,” “plan,” or words or phrases with similar meaning. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release relate to, among other things, the Company's projected financial performance and operating results, including SaaS Recurring Revenue, as well as statements regarding the Company's progress towards achieving its strategic objectives, including the successful integration and future performance of acquisitions and performance of SoloFire. Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, forecasts and assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to the COVID-19 pandemic and related public health measures on our business, customers, markets and the worldwide economy; our plans to attract new customers, retain existing customers and increase our annual revenue; the development and delivery of new products, including verbLIVE; our plans and expectations regarding software-as-a-service offerings; our ability to execute on, integrate, and realize the benefits of any acquisitions; fluctuations in our quarterly results of operations and other operating measures; increasing competition; general economic, market and business conditions. If any of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or if any of our assumptions prove incorrect, our actual results could differ materially from the results expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Investors are referred to our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Reports on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, for additional information regarding the risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statement. All forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information available to us as of the date hereof, and we do not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking statements provided to reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist after the date on which they were made, except as required by law.
Investor Relations Contact:
888.504.9929
[email protected]
Media Contact:
855.250.2300, ext.107
[email protected]
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https://www.gurufocus.com/news/1676038/verb-publishes-managements-prepared-remarks-during-fourth-quarter-and-full-year-2021-earnings-call
| 2022-04-01T00:15:11Z
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MINNEAPOLIS - — Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer loves to spend time dissecting video. Even when she’s watching something else on TV, she’ll always have video of an upcoming opponent or a past Stanford game on her laptop.
But she conceded Thursday that sometimes video isn’t enough to capture a team’s complete essence, especially a team like UConn, which has had 11 different starting lineups this season due to injuries and COVID-19 protocols.
Much to her chagrin she hasn’t seen UConn live since 2017.
“I like it better when we play them,” she said of watching an opponent live vs. tape. “Sometimes on tape, you can’t really judge people as much, but when you play against someone, you can see who guards someone better, what you look like against them in person, so I like it better when we have played a team.”
Her defending national champion Cardinal will be going up against the Huskies in a national semifinal on Friday night at 9:30. VanDerveer is well aware of UConn’s strengths and weaknesses, despite not playing the Huskies this season.
“Paige Bueckers is a really talented player,” she said. “She is not a one-dimensional or what I’d say is a one-trick pony. She has a great skill set. She’s a tremendous passer, scorer. I think she can do it all.
“At this level on every team, you have those kind of players, so you just have to work as hard as you can not to let her do what she really likes to do. You’re not going to get here without having a balanced team. So they have everything that you need: Paige; Azzi Fudd is a great shooter; Christyn Williams, No. 1 player in the country coming out of high school; three of their perimeter players are the No. 1 players in the country.
“They’re skilled. They’re talented. They play well together. Inside they’ve got [Olivia Nelson-] Ododa, they’ve got [Aaliyah] Edwards, they’re physical, they rebound. It’s always a total package at this point. It’s not one player.”
Auriemma weighs in on spending disparities
Geno Auriemma was asked about the disparity in spending on men’s sports vs. women’s, including at UConn.
“Well, the issue at UConn, that’s my decision,” Auriemma said. “It costs more for the men to travel. They take more people on their trips. Plain and simple. They take more trips to go recruiting than I do. ... The numbers are misleading because at UConn I can do whatever I want to do with my program, the same as the men. And as a matter of fact, our ticket prices are going to reflect that starting next season.”
Bueckers’ latest NLI deal
Paige Bueckers, in her latest name-image-likeness endeavor, has signed up to help solve the growing problem of food insecurity among students.
“I am really lucky to have grown up with food on the table,” Bueckers told ESPN. “Today I want to make sure I am sharing the opportunities I get and the resources I have with others who might need a hand. I have a lot of privilege and my responsibility to share.”
Bueckers and Chegg, an education platform, are joining with Goodr, a hunger relief company, to host a pop-up grocery market in Minneapolis on Saturday, where 6,000 free meals will be distributed in the community in which she was born and raised.
Bueckers and Chegg hope to open permanent free Goodr grocery stores at schools and college campuses across the country. Chegg estimates 32 percent of college students in the U.S. have been suffering from food insecurity since the pandemic began.
Lobo familiar with the locale
ESPN analyst Rebecca Lobo has a lot of history with the state of Minnesota. Not only did UConn win its first national championship in Minneapolis with her, her husband Steve Rushin is from Bloomington, Minnesota and they vacation there every summer with their families in the summer. She has also been to the Target Center to cover the Minnesota Lynx for ESPN.
Latest UConn Women
“Oh yeah, I love it here. I have some incredible memories from here, starting with the [1995 Final Four]. That was a life-changing weekend for me. If we don’t win that game, my life is completely different. I probably wouldn’t be doing this. And now I have the family ties to Minnesota.”
Other Lobo memories from the 1995 Final Four: “Every time I see Dee Kantner, the ref who gave me my third foul, I bring it up to her. I remember Jamelle {Elliott] and Carla [Berube] holding the fort down [in the first half]. Jen [Rizzotti]’s steal. Then looking up and seeing the ticks going off the clock and knowing at this point, there’s no mathematical way Tennessee can win this game. It was ecstasy.” … Kim Mulkey, who left Baylor to return to her home state and engineered a stunning turnaround at LSU, was named AP coach of the year Thursday. The Tigers, who won only nine games last season, went 26-6 and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament. … South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston received the AP’s player of the year award and the Wade Trophy and was named a member of the WBCA’s All-America team. … South Carolina coach Dawn Staley won the Pat Summit trophy as the WBCA’s Coach of the Year.
Lori Riley can be reached at lriley@courant.com. Dom Amore can be reached at damore@courant.com.
|
https://www.courant.com/sports/uconn-womens-basketball/hc-sp-uconn-women-final-four-notebook-20220331-2clal5o6tfa65blxacgydpfahy-story.html
| 2022-04-01T00:15:11Z
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DETROIT (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday evening's drawing of the Michigan Lottery's "Daily 3" game were:
8-2-1
(eight, two, one)
DETROIT (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday evening's drawing of the Michigan Lottery's "Daily 3" game were:
8-2-1
(eight, two, one)
|
https://www.theheraldreview.com/lottery/article/Winning-numbers-drawn-in-Daily-3-game-17049786.php
| 2022-04-01T00:15:11Z
|
Wall Street analysts predict that Vista Outdoor Inc. (NYSE:VSTO – Get Rating) will announce $764.63 million in sales for the current quarter, according to Zacks Investment Research. Four analysts have issued estimates for Vista Outdoor’s earnings. The highest sales estimate is $780.30 million and the lowest is $752.52 million. Vista Outdoor reported sales of $596.52 million in the same quarter last year, which would suggest a positive year over year growth rate of 28.2%. The firm is expected to announce its next earnings report on Monday, January 1st.
On average, analysts expect that Vista Outdoor will report full-year sales of $3.00 billion for the current fiscal year, with estimates ranging from $2.99 billion to $3.02 billion. For the next year, analysts forecast that the business will post sales of $3.12 billion, with estimates ranging from $3.05 billion to $3.19 billion. Zacks Investment Research’s sales calculations are an average based on a survey of sell-side analysts that that provide coverage for Vista Outdoor.
Vista Outdoor (NYSE:VSTO – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 3rd. The company reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $794.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $746.79 million. Vista Outdoor had a return on equity of 49.40% and a net margin of 15.09%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 38.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.03 EPS.
Shares of Vista Outdoor stock traded down $1.37 on Monday, hitting $35.69. The stock had a trading volume of 650,590 shares, compared to its average volume of 920,510. Vista Outdoor has a 52-week low of $29.24 and a 52-week high of $52.69. The company has a current ratio of 2.64, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $2.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.16 and a beta of 0.57. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $36.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.81.
In other Vista Outdoor news, insider Jason R. Vanderbrink sold 3,104 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.79, for a total transaction of $111,092.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.78% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in Vista Outdoor by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 8,861,965 shares of the company’s stock worth $408,272,000 after purchasing an additional 59,502 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its position in Vista Outdoor by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 1,553,669 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,577,000 after purchasing an additional 12,943 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in Vista Outdoor by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,109,670 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,731,000 after purchasing an additional 51,800 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Vista Outdoor by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,065,897 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,105,000 after purchasing an additional 70,756 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Vista Outdoor by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 616,668 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,857,000 after purchasing an additional 34,154 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.04% of the company’s stock.
Vista Outdoor Company Profile (Get Rating)
Vista Outdoor Inc designs, manufactures, and markets consumer products in the outdoor sports and recreation markets in the United States and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Shooting Sports and Outdoor Products. The Shooting Sports segment offers ammunition products, including centerfire ammunition, rimfire ammunition, shotshell ammunition, and reloading components; and hunting and shooting accessories comprising high-performance hunting arrows, game calls, hunting blinds, game cameras, decoys, reloading equipment, clay targets, premium gun care products, holsters, duty gear, bags, packs, binoculars, riflescopes, and telescopes.
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https://theenterpriseleader.com/2022/03/31/zacks-analysts-expect-vista-outdoor-inc-nysevsto-will-post-quarterly-sales-of-764-63-million.html
| 2022-04-01T00:15:12Z
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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Oscars producer Will Packer said Los Angeles police were ready to arrest Will Smith after Smith slapped Chris Rock on the Academy Awards stage.
“They were saying, you know, this is battery, was a word they used in that moment," Packer said in a clip released by ABC News Thursday night of an interview he gave to “Good Morning America.” “They said we will go get him. We are prepared. We’re prepared to get him right now. You can press charges, we can arrest him. They were laying out the options.”
But Packer said Rock was “very dismissive” of the idea.
“He was like, ‘No, no, no, I’m fine,” Packer said. "And even to the point where I said, ‘Rock, let them finish.’ The LAPD officers finished laying out what his options were and they said, ‘Would you like us to take any action?’ And he said no.”
The LAPD said in a statement after Sunday night's ceremony that they were aware of the incident, and that Rock had declined to file a police report. The department declined comment Thursday on Packer's interview, a longer version of which will air on Friday morning.
The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences met Wednesday to initiate disciplinary proceedings against Smith for violations against the group’s standards of conduct. Smith could be suspended, expelled or otherwise sanctioned.
The academy said in a statement that “Mr. Smith’s actions at the 94th Oscars were a deeply shocking, traumatic event to witness in-person and on television."
Without giving specifics, the academy said Smith was asked to leave the ceremony at the Dolby Theatre, but refused to do so.
Smith strode from his front row seat on to the stage and slapped Rock after a joke Rock made about Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, when he was on stage to present the Oscar for best documentary.
On Monday, Smith issued an apology to Rock, the academy and to viewers, saying “I was out of line and I was wrong.”
The academy said Smith has the opportunity to defend himself in a written response before the board meets again on April 18.
Rock publicly addressed the incident for the first time, but only briefly, at the beginning of a standup show Wednesday night in Boston, where he was greeted by a thunderous standing ovation. He said “I’m still kind of processing what happened.”
___
Follow AP Entertainment Writer Andrew Dalton on Twitter: https://twitter.com/andyjamesdalton
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https://www.expressnews.com/news/article/Oscars-producer-says-police-offered-to-arrest-17049804.php
| 2022-04-01T00:15:12Z
|
Director Pedro Almodóvar was sitting near Will and Jada Pinkett Smith at the Oscars on Sunday and gave an unfiltered take on what he calls “the violent episode.” In his Oscars diary published on IndieWire, the Spanish filmmaker was clearly disturbed by Smith’s acceptance speech for Best Actor, which was delivered in person after the King Richard star attacked Chris Rock.
“I have deliberately avoided the violent episode that is the only thing talked about the next day. I was barely four meters from where it happened. In the general overhead shots, I am the little white head you see in the photo,” Almodóvar writes. His 2021 film Parallel Mothers was nominated for two awards: Best Actress (Penélope Cruz) and Best Original Score (Alberto Iglesias).
“I refuse to let that episode mark the gala and be the protagonist of a ceremony where many more things happened and of much greater interest. For example, Drive My Car, without a doubt my favorite film of the year, won Best International Feature Film. And also Summer of Soul, my favorite documentary, won its category,” he continues.
“Still, as I said, I was very close to the protagonists. What I saw and heard produced a feeling of absolute rejection in me. Not only during the episode, but afterward, too, in the acceptance speech — a speech that seemed more like that of a cult leader,” he adds. “You don’t defend or protect the family with your fists, and no, the devil doesn’t take advantage of key moments to do his work.”
Almodóvar is referencing part of Smith’s acceptance speech. The actor recited something Denzel Washington told him during a commercial break after the Rock incident: “At your highest moment, be careful. That’s when the devil comes for you.”
“The devil, in fact, doesn’t exist,” Almodóvar says. “This was a fundamentalist speech that we should neither hear nor see. Some claim that it was the only real moment in the ceremony, but they are talking about the faceless monster that is the social media. For them, avid for carrion, it undoubtedly was the great event of the night.”
Smith received a standing ovation when his name was announced as Best Actor, something that didn’t sit right with many viewers at home. Whoopi Goldberg defended her peers on Thursday’s The View.
Related video:
“Those people who were there were stunned,” Goldberg, an Oscar winner and Academy member who’s on the Board of Governors, said. She said they stood up and clapped for Smith like they did for other winners throughout the night and “before you even know you’ve done something stupid. I’m telling you what folks have said who were there.”
She added, “Do you think they really were applauding him hitting Chris Rock? … I think it was just people did dumb stuff… I give the benefit of the doubt because I’ve been in these situations.”
MORE: Academy launches formal investigation after Will Smith altercation with Chris Rock
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https://www.thehamdenjournal.com/world/will-smiths-oscars-speech-was-like-a-cult-leader-says-director-pedro-almodovar/130412/
| 2022-04-01T00:15:12Z
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WARSAW, Poland (AP) — As the number of people fleeing Ukraine slows, authorities in Poland and other neighboring nations are encouraging refugees from the war to find jobs, especially in health care and education.
The U.N. refugee agency UNHCR reported Thursday that the daily number of arrivals recorded by the countries that border Ukraine dropped below 40,000 on Wednesday, the fewest s ince Russian troops invaded five weeks ago.
Poland’s Border Guard registered more than half of the new arrivals, maintaining a pattern seen since the start of the war. Of the conflict’s more than 4 million refugees, almost 2.4 million went to Poland, according to the country’s border agency. It’s Europe’s worst refugee crisis since World War II.
Humanitarian organizations and other observers have attributed the slowing of the Ukrainian exodus in recent days to several possible factors, including residents of surrounded and besieged cities having no way to safely evacuate. Others may be reluctant to leave their homes and hoping to wait out the hostilities, observers say.
A spokesperson for Poland’s Border Guard, Anna Michalska, said the numbers could pick up again if Russian attacks continue.
Recent legislation passed in Poland allows refugees from Ukraine to obtain ID numbers that entitle them to free medical care, education, social benefits and the right to work for 18 months.
Many Poles are putting up refugees in their homes or volunteering in civic groups that bring all sorts of assistance.
Refugees in Warsaw have submitted about 700 applications and some 100 have been hired for jobs in the Polish capital’s medical centers and schools, according to city officials.
To boost the employment drive, Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski and Deputy Mayor Renata Kaznowska met Thursday with the director of the Bielanski Hospital and some Ukrainian and Polish staff members.
“Our guests are full of fortitude, they want to start to help us right away, they want to find jobs,” Trzaskowski told a news conference.
Kaznowska said employment and professional activity were the best way to integrate the adults who have fled Ukraine into Polish society.
Educators are also needed to help thousands of refugee children adjust to their new school environment, where lessons are taught in Polish and where the curriculum is largely different from the one in Ukraine. Adjusting the school system will cost over 440,000 zlotys ($105,000) in Warsaw alone, city authorities said.
Two nurses who are in the hiring process, speaking in Ukrainian mixed with Polish, said they appreciated the chance to continue their careers.
Olena Halych had to fight back tears as she spoke of fleeing home near shelled Bucha “to save my children.”
“I want to truly thank people in Poland for offering us shelter,” Halych said in Ukrainian. “I have found a job at the Bielanski Hospital, I want to really thank you for that.”
Hospital director Dorota Galczynska-Zych said the new recruits have provided valuable skills, and added that language has not been a barrier.
Some 570,000 refugees have reached Warsaw, a city of some 1.8 million, and some 300,000 remain in the capital for now, Trzaskowski said.
In Romania, which has received over 608,000 refugees, 35-year-old Uliana Polyakova from Odessa was busy Thursday registering at the Brasov city refugee center’s integration office that helps find accommodation, jobs and access to social assistance.
“Some people told me to arrive here at the center … in case we need medicine or something else,” she said, as her 7-year-old son enjoyed some screen-time nearby. “(A) Romanian family invited us to live with them. I did not expect that Romania is so kind to Ukrainians.”
“We’re not here because we want to leave Ukraine, me and my husband want to live with our relatives in Odessa,” she said. “I hope that the war is over in two weeks, one month, and we will go home.”
___
Stephen McGrath in Brasov, Romania, contributed to this report.
___
Follow all of AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
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https://www.kget.com/health/ukraine-refugees-encouraged-to-find-jobs-as-war-exodus-slows/
| 2022-04-01T00:15:11Z
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KNOXVILLE, Tenn., March 31, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation® (IACMI) today announced Dale Brosius has been appointed interim chief executive officer effective April 1, 2022. Brosius will lead IACMI as it identifies a permanent CEO to succeed Dr. John Hopkins, who is stepping down after leading the organization for more than four years. IACMI is one of 16 Manufacturing USA innovation institutes created to secure U.S. global leadership in advanced manufacturing through large scale public-private collaboration on technology, supply chain and workforce development.
"Dale has been a foundational part of IACMI since its origins and brings proven experience, expertise, and stability to the IACMI leadership role," said Dr. Stacey S. Patterson, president of the University of Tennessee Research Foundation (UTRF). UTRF is the sole corporate member of Collaborative Composite Solutions Corporation, the non-profit organization which operates IACMI. "From our inception, and even prior to his being named chief commercialization officer in February 2015, Dale has played a key role establishing IACMI, growing and serving our consortium membership, and ensuring success in meeting our Department of Energy objectives."
As interim CEO, Dale will become responsible for the full scale of day-to-day operations of the institute. He will also continue in his roles as Chief Commercialization Officer, Executive Director of the IACMI Consortium, and chair of the IACMI Consortium Council.
With more than 30 years of industrial experience in the composites industry, Brosius' career has included positions at U.S.-based firms Dow Chemical Co., Fiberite and successor Cytec Industries Inc. At Fiberite and Cytec, he led key activities related to high performance carbon fiber prepreg-based components for aerospace and industrial markets, and managed thermoset molding compound businesses in the U.S. and France. Prior to joining IACMI, he led the establishment of European and U.S. operations for Australian-based composites manufacturer Quickstep Technologies. Brosius has a BS in chemical engineering from Texas A&M University and an MBA from the University of Phoenix.
Since 2015, IACMI has managed over 50 collaborative and industry led technical projects with greater than $150 million in research and development value. More than 15 new products are now commercially available and $400 million-plus has been invested in a broad system of open access facilities for demonstration at scale in eight states. IACMI has engaged more than 9,000 people in composites training and STEM outreach and placed more than 100 university interns with industry collaboration.
Through collaboration with industry, academia, and national laboratories, IACMI projects have demonstrated faster cycle times and lower costs for composite materials and structures, decreased carbon intensity, and increased recyclability of composites.
About IACMI – The Composites Institute
IACMI – The Composites Institute is a 130-plus member community of industry, universities, national laboratories, and federal, state, and local government agencies working together to accelerate advanced composites design, manufacturing, technical innovation, and workforce solutions to enable a cleaner and more sustainable, more secure, and more competitive U.S. economy. IACMI is managed by the Collaborative Composite Solutions Corporation (CCS), a not-for-profit organization established by The University of Tennessee Research Foundation. A Manufacturing USA institute, IACMI is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Manufacturing Office, as well as key state and industry partners. Visit www.iacmi.org and follow IACMI on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.
View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE IACMI - The Composites Institute
|
https://www.wmbfnews.com/prnewswire/2022/03/31/iacmi-names-dale-brosius-interim-ceo/
| 2022-04-01T00:15:11Z
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| 2022-04-01T00:15:14Z
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Qld govt won't order new land valuations
The Queensland government will not order new land valuations in areas devastated by recent floods after the regulator hiked values by 20 per cent in some areas.
Valuer-General Neil Bray on Thursday raised land values in 30 local government areas, including flood-hit Brisbane, Ipswich, Logan, the Gold Coast, Moreton Bay, the Sunshine Coast, Noosa, the Lockyer Valley, Scenic Rim, Somerset, Gympie and the North and South Burnett.
Valuations, which were determined last October, rose up to 20 per cent in parts of Brisbane, where thousands of homes were impacted by the February-March floods.
Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner says the state government should freeze valuation changes like the Bligh Labor government did during the 2011 floods and reassess them.
But State Resources Minister Scott Stewart said the values are determined independently and take in data from previous floods.
He sidestepped questions about intervening, saying local governments had the power to decide whether or not to subsequently hike council rates.
"It's really up to them to make those determinations and if they have any compassion, this is their opportunity to be able to freeze or give those discounts to those flood affected victims," Mr Stewart told ABC Radio on Friday.
The minister said most people wanted to see the value of land they've invested in appreciate over time, however, people did have the opportunity to object to their valuations.
Individual landowners had 60 days to object, and some may think their land value was actually lower than it should be, Mr Stewart added.
"There is the ability for objections particularly for those properties where there have been adverse effects of their property," he said.
"For example, if parts of the property have been washed away by creeks or the floods, they can actually apply for an adjustment there."
Mayor Schrinner said the government should make the Valuer-General go back the drawing board.
Queensland's most intense rain event on record impacted 23,000 homes in Brisbane and residents deserved a new valuations.
"The right thing to do is to simply withdraw all the valuations taken last year and start again."
Meanwhile, the state's peak farming body AgForce urged landholders to object or risk being lumped with higher rates or rent.
New valuations have also been released for Boulia, Burke, Cairns, Carpentaria, Cassowary Coast, Croydon, Douglas, Etheridge, Fraser Coast, Goondiwindi, Livingstone, Mareeba, Redland, Rockhampton, Toowoomba, and Townsville.
Valuations soared 350 per cent in Boulia, 328 per cent in Burke, 335 per cent in Carpentaria, 222 per cent in Croydon and 192 per cent in Etheridge.
AgForce valuer John Moore said it was up to landholders to ensure correct values and his group was ready to help members object.
"Unimproved values are done by mass appraisal, meaning your property isn't individually valued so errors can occur," Mr Moore said.
"It's important you object to your new valuation if you believe the unimproved value is too high, because it could result in large savings in rates or rent."
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https://thewest.com.au/politics/qld-govt-wont-order-new-land-valuations-c-6283543
| 2022-04-01T00:15:13Z
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WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military needs to adjust its planning, training, targeting and use of weapons in order to better avoid widespread civilian deaths and damage such as the devastating 2017 battle to liberate the Syrian city of Raqqa from Islamic State militants, a new RAND report said Thursday.
The report requested by the Pentagon reflects criticism of the military's airstrike campaign that, according to some estimates, killed more than 1,600 civilians in Raqqa, as the U.S.-led coalition worked to destroy the Islamic State caliphate that wrested control of large swaths of Iraq and Syria.
Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said the report, which lays out a series of recommendations to improve military procedures and strategy, will be used as the department develops its own broader plan to reduce civlian harm.
“No other military works as hard as we do to mitigate civilian harm, and yet we still cause it,” said Kirby. ”We're going to continue to try to learn from past issues.”
RAND concluded that the battle for Raqqa provided important lessons.
Michael McNerney, lead author of the RAND report, called Raqqa “a cautionary tale about civilian harm in urban combat.” He said it "should serve as an extra incentive to the DoD to strengthen its policies and procedures to mitigate, document and respond to civilian harm.”
The RAND report noted that there has been a wide range of estimated civilian casualties during the seige, but also said it believes that 60%-80% of Raqqa was left uninhabitable by the time the city was liberated in October 2017.
Initially the U.S.-led coalition estimted that it was responsible for 38 incidents involving 240 civilian casualties — including 178 who were killed. A consortium of local Syrian and international groups, including Amnesty International and Airwars, put the number of casualties at a “high estimate” of 1,600, but said that about 774 of them could specifically be “verified” by data as the result of coalition action.
The report makes it clear that several thousand more civilians likely died, based on the number of bodies uncovered by U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, but many were probably killed by IS or other fighters on the ground.
“Our report focuses on U.S. actions in Raqqa, but the actions of the Syrian government and its Russian and Iranian partners undoubtedly contributed far more to civilian harm and suffering in Syria overall,” McNerney said.
The report noted that the challenges in Raqqa were compounded by limits on the number U.S. troops that could be there, as well as where they could be positioned. U.S. troops on the ground could have provided better targeting and civilian information, including on Islamic State militants' efforts to use civilians as human shields, the report said.
RAND recommended that the U.S. military provide more extensive training and guidance on the need to avoid civilian harm, and plan and execute operations in ways to achieve those goals. Changes could include improved planning, better assessments of potential collateral damage, increased mission rehearsals, improved intelligence gathering, and more selective use of air strikes and munitions that minimize bomb fragmentation.
|
https://www.ctinsider.com/news/article/Report-US-military-must-do-more-to-avoid-17049694.php
| 2022-04-01T00:15:14Z
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| 2022-04-01T00:15:14Z
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Blues rocker Shepherd coming to Pavilion
Good news, folks! Blues-rock guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd is returning to town for a show at the Sweetwater Performance Pavilion on Saturday, June 11 at 7 p.m. This self-taught blues trailblazer has rocked his way to five Grammy nominations, millions of worldwide record sales, and the No. 1 spot on the...
whatzup.com
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https://www.newsbreak.com/news/2556417616441/blues-rocker-shepherd-coming-to-pavilion
| 2022-04-01T00:15:14Z
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Shares of Tractor Supply Co.
TSCO,
+0.22%
inched 0.22% higher to $233.37 Thursday, on what proved to be an all-around dismal trading session for the stock market, with the S&P 500 Index
SPX,
-1.57%
falling 1.57% to 4,530.41 and Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
-1.56%
falling 1.56% to 34,678.35. Tractor Supply Co. closed $6.49 below its 52-week high ($239.86), which the company achieved on January 3rd.
The stock outperformed some of its competitors Thursday, as Amazon.com Inc.
AMZN,
-1.99%
fell 1.99% to $3,259.95, Home Depot Inc.
HD,
-2.96%
fell 2.96% to $299.33, and Lowe's Cos.
LOW,
-3.48%
fell 3.48% to $202.19. Trading volume (2.2 M) eclipsed its 50-day average volume of 1.0 M.
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https://www.marketwatch.com/story/tractor-supply-co-stock-outperforms-competitors-on-strong-trading-day-01648761872-6895f6dd82eb
| 2022-04-01T00:15:15Z
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Trapping ban to take effect on public lands in New Mexico
ALBUQUERQUE – It will be illegal to use wildlife traps, snares and poison on public lands across New Mexico under a ban that takes effect Friday.
New Mexico is joining less than a handful of Western states in either prohibiting or limiting trapping on public lands, with supporters saying the move will help protect endangered species such as the Mexican gray wolf and prevent household pets from walking into traps amid efforts to promote outdoor recreation and tourism.
The New Mexico measure, dubbed “Roxy’s Law,” was approved in 2021 following several failed attempts by animal advocates over the years to rein in a practice they have described as archaic and indiscriminate.
Chris Smith with the group WildEarth Guardians was among those who lobbied for the change. He called the law a momentous win for public lands and wildlife, saying it marks a shift away from seeing native animals as a nuisance.
“Native species are critical to ecosystems and cultures alike; and we are finally protecting and respecting them accordingly,” Smith said in a statement.
Trapping and snaring triggered emotionally charged debates during legislative sessions and state Game Commission meetings, with proponents and critics often being separated by a rural-urban divide.
More:New Mexico's cannabis marketplace opens April 1. Here's what to know ahead of Friday's start date.
Rural residents and wildlife conservation officers had argued that trapping was an important tool for managing wildlife and protecting livestock. They unsuccessfully pleaded with lawmakers to allow more time for rules that were adopted by state wildlife managers in 2020 to work before imposing the sweeping trapping ban.
The law allows continued use of traps on public lands for purposes of scientific research, ecosystem management and rodent control. It also exempts Native American religious observances that may involve harvesting wildlife.
The law does not affect activity on private property or apply to Native American lands.
Violating the statute can result in a misdemeanor, with each trap, snare or poison application constituting a single violation of the law.
Following the 2020-2021 trapping season, environmentalists and animal advocates had counted at least nine dogs that had been caught in privately set traps and snares on public land in northern New Mexico. In February, a dog walking with its owner was caught in a snare and leg hold trap near the community of El Rito.
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https://www.lcsun-news.com/story/news/local/new-mexico/2022/03/31/trapping-ban-take-effect-public-lands-new-mexico/7235562001/
| 2022-04-01T00:15:16Z
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AVERAGE HIGH FOR MARCH 31ST: 50°
AVERAGE LOW FOR MARCH 31ST: 28°
THURSDAY’S SUNRISE: 6:52 AM
THURSDAY’S SUNSET: 7:32 PM
Cold front moving through the region Thursday bringing a round of showers and thunderstorms to the area from afternoon through the early evening hours. Severe weather threat coming to an end before 6 pm, but spotty showers linger late. Mostly cloudy with patchy fog as winds subside. Lows near 40 degrees.
Thursday’s cold front leads to a drop in temperatures for the end of the workweek. Highs Friday near 40 degrees in the morning, then dropping through the 30s for the afternoon. Northwest wind 10-20 mph with gusts over 30 mph at times setting us up for colder temperatures, but also lake-enhanced showers. Precipitation type will stay mainly rain, but higher elevations may see light snow pellets mixing in. Drying out overnight. Lows in the low to mid 20s.
High pressure providing a quiet start to the weekend. Sunshine returns along with seasonable temperatures. Highs Saturday near 50 degrees. Increasing clouds for the overnight. Lows near 30 degrees. Chance for light showers returns Sunday along with windy conditions. Highs into the low to mid 40s. Most of Monday and Tuesday staying dry with the exception of a few showers possible overnight. Active weather returns for midweek.
FRIDAY: CLOUDY. CHANCE SHOWERS & WINDY
HIGH: 42 LOW: 23
SATURDAY: MOSTLY SUNNY
HIGH: 52 LOW: 29
SUNDAY: MAINLY CLOUDY. CHANCE SHOWERS & WINDY
HIGH: 44 LOW: 29
MONDAY: BROKEN CLOUDS. SLIGHT CHANCE OVERNIGHT SHOWERS
HIGH: 51 LOW: 32
TUESDAY: BROKEN CLOUDS. CHANCE OVERNIGHT SHOWERS
HIGH: 55 LOW: 42
WEDNESDAY: MAINLY CLOUDY. CHANCE SHOWERS
HIGH: 58 LOW: 40
THURSDAY: MAINLY CLOUDY. CHANCE SHOWERS
HIGH: 58 LOW: 32
Chief Meteorologist Shelby Clark: Facebook I Twitter I Instagram
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Meteorologist Nick Guzzo: Facebook I Twitter I Instagram
Meteorologist Jacob Matthews: Facebook I Twitter
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https://www.mytwintiers.com/forecast/chance-for-showers-again-friday-dry-start-to-weekend/
| 2022-04-01T00:15:16Z
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History teacher removed after hanging Black doll in classroom
CHICAGO (WLS) - A heated exchange between two teachers at a Chicago high school is being investigated after one of the teachers hung a Black doll from a cord in a classroom.
It took place in front of students, and a picture of the incident circulated on social media.
On Wednesday, the school day ended at Whitney Young Magnet High School with a special listening session after the apparent racial incident.
“He [the teacher] definitely should have thought about it because that could be really sensitive, especially with it being an African American doll and something that could cause suicidal thoughts,” said high school sophomore William Schetz.
According to a letter from the school’s principal Joyce Kenner to parents, a teacher hung a small stuffed African American football doll by a pull-down string from a projector screen in their classroom. The teacher indicated he found the doll in his room and wanted the students to see if someone would claim it.
When another teacher confronted that teacher about the hanging doll, the two reportedly got into a fight.
Kenner said Chicago Public School officials have taken over the investigation of the incident and removed the history teacher.
“I believe he should be removed from the school, and his teaching degree should be taken away,” said Michelle Donegan, a student’s parent.
A spokeswoman for the Chicago Teachers Union said practices that mitigate the harm of racial biases must be ongoing and consistent in our schools.
“He knows what lynching is. He knows what hanging the doll would represent,” Donegan said.
Copyright 2022 WLS via CNN Newsource. All rights reserved.
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https://www.13abc.com/2022/03/31/history-teacher-removed-after-hanging-black-doll-classroom/
| 2022-04-01T00:15:15Z
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This week: Congress races shutdown clock amid Ukraine crisis
Lawmakers are racing to finalize and pass a massive government funding bill that would also greenlight billions in new aid tied to Ukraine.
Congress has to pass a sweeping bill, which would fund the government through the end of September, and President Biden has to sign it before the end of Friday in order to prevent a government shutdown.
Lawmakers and aides have also questioned if they could need a short-term continuing resolution (CR), which would fund the government at current levels, to buy themselves more time as they wrap up the sweeping bill.
“We’d have to make great strides between now and say Monday, Tuesday at the latest, to do this,” Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) said late last week about how to avoid CR.
The government funding bill is tied to the status of roughly $10 billion in aid in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine because lawmakers are expected to attach the money to the larger legislation to help speed up its path through Congress and to Biden’s desk.
“The Biden Administration has requested $10 billion in humanitarian, military and economic support for Ukraine. The Congress intends to enact this emergency funding this week as part of our omnibus government funding legislation,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) wrote in a “Dear Colleague” letter on Sunday night.
The Biden administration’s request includes $4.8 billion for the Pentagon to support U.S. troop deployments to NATO countries and to provide additional military equipment to Ukraine. It is also asking for $5 billion for the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development for security, economic and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and allies on NATO’s eastern flank.
Lawmakers haven’t yet unveiled the government funding bill. The House is scheduled to leave town for the week after Wednesday, giving them just a matter of days to pass the yet-to-be-introduced legislation.
Key appropriators said late last week that they were making progress on some of the unresolved issues in the funding legislation, including how to deal with the U.S.-Mexico border wall and funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention beds.
“We’ve made progress in the last 24 hours. We were stuck for a little while, but we’ve been trading some constructive paper in the last 24 hours … I’m hopeful that we will not be the sticking point,” said Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), the chairman of the Senate Appropriations’ Homeland Security Subcommittee.
Even if lawmakers are able to unveil a quick deal on the funding bill, they are close enough to the Friday night deadline that they’ll need cooperation from all 100 senators in order to speed up the legislation.
A group of conservatives are demanding a vote on defunding Biden’s vaccine mandates in exchange for speeding up any government funding legislation. The group made similar demands on the previous stopgap bills passed by Congress and were able to get amendment votes, which failed.
“We are writing to let you know that we will once again not consent to a time agreement that eases passage of a CR or Omnibus that funds these mandates,” the group, led by Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), wrote.
“At the very least, we will require a roll call vote on an amendment that defunds the enforcement of these vaccine mandates for the spending period covered by the government funding measure,” they added.
Russian oil ban
Momentum is growing on Capitol Hill for legislation to ban the import of Russian oil in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
The administration has been cool to the idea, though White House press secretary Jen Psaki said late last week that they were exploring ways to reduce Russian oil imports.
Part of the concern is that a ban would drive up prices for American consumers, who have already seen a bump in gas prices since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But banning the import of Russian oil has bipartisan, bicameral backing on Capitol Hill.
Sen. Dick Durbin (Ill.), the No. 2 Senate Democrat, signed on to legislation over the weekend from Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska).
“The Ban Russian Energy Imports Act would declare a national emergency with respect to Russian aggression and immediately prohibit the import of Russian energy products. This bipartisan bill shows the U.S. Senate’s commitment to stand behind the brave Ukrainian people.”
Pelosi, in her “Dear Colleague” letter, said that the House is “exploring strong legislation that will further isolate Russia from the global economy.”
“Our bill would ban the import of Russian oil and energy products into the United States, repeal normal trade relations with Russia and Belarus, and take the first step to deny Russia access to the World Trade Organization. We would also empower the Executive branch to raise tariffs on Russian imports,” she added.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged lawmakers during a Zoom meeting over the weekend to stop buying Russian oil. He also asked for more military equipment and for the United States and NATO allies to implement a no-fly zone. Though the United States has been sending military equipment to Ukraine, the Biden administration and members of Congress in both parties have rejected calls to establish a no-fly zone.
A no-fly zone would prevent Russia from entering Ukrainian airspace. But to enforce it, U.S. or European forces would have to shoot down Russian planes, which members of Congress have warned would bring two nuclear countries into direct conflict and risk a wider war in Europe.
Supreme Court nomination
Biden’s Supreme Court nominee, Ketanji Brown Jackson, will keep meeting with key senators this week ahead of her appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee later this month.
Jackson met with several senators last week, including Schumer, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and key members of the Judiciary Committee.
She’s expected to meet Tuesday with Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), a key swing vote. Collins was one of three GOP senators who voted for Jackson last year for her spot on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, viewed as the second most powerful court in the country behind the Supreme Court.
But Collins has warned that her previous “yes” vote doesn’t guarantee that she’ll vote for Jackson.
In addition to Collins, Jackson is scheduled to meet with members of the Judiciary Committee including Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii).
Postal reform
The Senate is expected to continue working on legislation to overhaul the United States Postal Service this week, after advancing the legislation after an initial hurdle last week.
The bill, which has already passed the House, eliminates a requirement that the Postal Service prepay future retirement health benefits and allows the Postal Service to provide non-postal services as part of an agreement with state and local governments. It also requires that the Postal Service make deliveries six days of the week.
The Hill has removed its comment section, as there are many other forums for readers to participate in the conversation. We invite you to join the discussion on Facebook and Twitter.
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https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/597103-this-week-congress-races-shutdown-clock-amid-ukraine-crisis/
| 2022-04-01T00:15:17Z
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Roberts-Smith punched SAS soldier in jaw and ordered mock execution, court told
Mr Roberts-Smith alleges a sequence of articles printed in 2018 painting him as a battle felony who bullied Australian troopers and was concerned in illegal killings of Afghan detainees.
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The media shops are searching for to depend on a defence of reality and allege Mr Roberts-Smith dedicated or was concerned in six murders of Afghans beneath the management of Australian troops, once they can’t be killed beneath the foundations of engagement.
Mr Roberts-Smith denies all wrongdoing and maintains any killings in Afghanistan had been carried out lawfully within the warmth of battle.
Person 10 additionally gave proof a few mission in Afghanistan in mid-2012, throughout which pictures had been “fired in our general direction” and he fired again. It grew to become clear later that the pictures weren’t from Taliban insurgents however one other SAS patrol, led by a soldier generally known as Person 55.
He stated he stopped taking pictures when Mr Roberts-Smith yelled: “Ceasefire, ceasefire, ceasefire.” Shortly after he stopped firing, “a woman and child emerged … and the woman was holding a bird cage”, Person 10 stated.
He stated he “did not fire willingly at a woman and child; I perceived it as a threat.”
Person 10 instructed the courtroom that Mr Roberts-Smith instructed him to face up throughout a debriefing within the troop’s patrol room after the incident and punched him within the jaw.
“It rattled me, I did not expect to be punched. After that I can’t recall what he said but he was shouting at me,” Person 10 stated. He stated Mr Roberts-Smith went on to say that “nothing leaves this room”.
The courtroom heard Person 10 was subsequently faraway from the SAS. He agreed with Mr Roberts-Smith’s barrister, Arthur Moses, SC, that “at the time I was embarrassed”.
“Since that’s occurred, I’ve put it in the past to move on,” Person 10 stated.
He agreed that troopers had been educated to positively establish a goal earlier than taking pictures, to be able to cut back casualties. But he stated troopers additionally fired from time to time at “likely enemy positions”, which was generally known as “drake firing”.
Drake firing was permissible when a soldier perceived that their life or the lifetime of a comrade was beneath menace, he stated.
Person 10 instructed the courtroom that Mr Roberts-Smith urged him to not inform the reality in his assertion concerning the incident in Afghanistan as a result of “he said I could go to The Hague [the International Criminal Court] if I said that I was firing at a woman and child”.
The trial continues.
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https://thewall.fyi/roberts-smith-punched-sas-soldier-in-jaw-and-ordered-mock-execution-court-told/
| 2022-04-01T00:15:16Z
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If you're considering buying a Rivian R1T, you might want to start looking at the used market. This is especially true if you didn't yet reserve a new model – prices have gone up – or you're looking at a very long wait to take delivery. However, people are taking advantage of the demand for the electric pickup truck, so you're not likely to get a used model for a reasonable price.
This is the second pre-owned Rivian we've seen just this week, and we'll be honest to say we haven't been searching for one. Instead, others have tipped us off, or we've seen some mentions on social media.
The used electric truck for sale on Craiglist is a "brand-new" Rivian R1T Launch Edition with only 35 miles on the odometer. It has the Adventure package and the large battery pack. The owner is honest to admit that they hoped to keep the electric pickup truck, though it's hard not to take advantage of the potential for making some money by selling it. The listing reads:
"Selling my Brand New Rivian R1T Launch Edition with the Adventure package and large battery pack. 35 miles on the Odometer. Was just delivered and though I want to keep it very much, I have seen a couple others sell for 150k and thats just too hard to pass up right now. If you have the money and dont want to wait 2 years, here is your chance to own one today."
The owner goes on to say that they'll be checking their email often, so you can simply reply to the listing and make an offer. The R1T will go to the person who makes the highest offer, though it's listed at $150,000. The owner also makes it clear that they won't sell it for an offer of less than $150,000, and if you offer less, you won't get a response.
It appears the truck is currently in Spokane, Washington. However, the owner has offered to deliver it for free within 250 miles, noting that perhaps a longer-distance delivery could be negotiated.
Do you think this owner will get $150,000 for the R1T? Will someone make a higher offer to try to make sure they get to take it home? We will tell you that there was a ton of interest in the pre-owned R1T we recently featured. In fact, it seems it already sold.
Source: craigslist
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https://insideevs.com/news/577106/another-used-rivian-r1t-150k/
| 2022-04-01T00:15:17Z
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The House on Thursday passed a bill capping the monthly cost of insulin at $35 for insured patients, part of an election-year push by Democrats for price curbs on prescription drugs at a time of rising inflation.
Experts say the legislation, which passed 232-193, would provide significant relief for privately insured patients with skimpier plans and for Medicare enrollees facing rising out-of-pocket costs for their insulin. Some could save hundreds of dollars annually, and all insured patients would get the benefit of predictable monthly costs for insulin. The bill would not help the uninsured.
But the Affordable Insulin Now Act will serve as a political vehicle to rally Democrats and force Republicans who oppose it into uncomfortable votes ahead of the midterms. For the legislation to pass Congress, 10 Republican senators would have to vote in favor. Democrats acknowledge they don't have an answer for how that's going to happen.
"If 10 Republicans stand between the American people being able to get access to affordable insulin, that's a good question for 10 Republicans to answer," said Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Mich., a cosponsor of the House bill. "Republicans get diabetes, too. Republicans die from diabetes."
Public opinion polls have consistently shown support across party lines for congressional action to limit drug costs.
But Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., complained the legislation is only "a small piece of a larger package around government price controls for prescription drugs." Critics say the bill would raise premiums and fails to target pharmaceutical middlemen seen as contributing to high list prices for insulin.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said Democrats could have a deal on prescription drugs if they drop their bid to authorize Medicare to negotiate prices. "Do Democrats really want to help seniors, or would they rather have the campaign issue?" Grassley said.
The insulin bill, which would take effect in 2023, represents just one provision of a much broader prescription drug package in President Joe Biden's social and climate legislation.
In addition to a similar $35 cap on insulin, the Biden bill would authorize Medicare to negotiate prices for a range of drugs, including insulin. It would penalize drugmakers who raise prices faster than inflation and overhaul the Medicare prescription drug benefit to limit out-of-pocket costs for enrollees.
Biden's agenda passed the House only to stall in the Senate because Democrats could not reach consensus. Party leaders haven't abandoned hope of getting the legislation moving again, and preserving its drug pricing curbs largely intact.
The idea of a $35 monthly cost cap for insulin actually has a bipartisan pedigree. The Trump administration had created a voluntary option for Medicare enrollees to get insulin for $35, and the Biden administration continued it.
In the Senate, Republican Susan Collins of Maine and Democrat Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire are working on a bipartisan insulin bill. Georgia Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock has introduced legislation similar to the House bill, with the support of Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York.
Stung by criticism that Biden's economic policies spur inflation, Democrats are redoubling efforts to show how they'd help people cope with costs. On Thursday, the Commerce Department reported a key inflation gauge jumped 6.4% in February compared with a year ago, the largest year-over-year rise since January 1982.
But experts say the House bill would not help uninsured people, who face the highest out-of-pocket costs for insulin. Also, people with diabetes often take other medications as well as insulin. That's done to treat the diabetes itself, along with other serious health conditions often associated with the disease. The House legislation would not help with those costs, either. Collins says she's looking for a way to help uninsured people through her bill.
About 37 million Americans have diabetes, and an estimated 6 million to 7 million use insulin to keep their blood sugars under control. It's an old drug, refined and improved over the years, that has seen relentless price increases.
Steep list prices don't reflect the rates insurance plans negotiate with manufacturers. But those list prices are used to calculate cost-sharing amounts that patients owe. Patients who can't afford their insulin reduce or skip doses, a strategy born of desperation, which can lead to serious complications and even death.
Economist Sherry Glied of New York University said the market for insulin is a "total disaster" for many patients, particularly those with skimpy insurance plans or no insurance.
"This will make private insurance for people with diabetes a much more attractive proposition," said Glied.
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https://www.wxyz.com/news/national/house-passes-35-a-month-insulin-cap-as-dems-seek-wider-bill
| 2022-04-01T00:15:17Z
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WWE will be revealing a statue for 2022 WWE Hall of Famer The Undertaker at the Superstore Axxess later this evening at 8pm ET.
As seen below, WWE tweeted a behind-the-scenes clip of Taker at the making of the statue.
WWE Hall of Famers Triple H, Shawn Michaels and Kane are among the guests scheduled to be at the reveal for Taker’s statue this evening.
Taker’s WrestleMania Panel is scheduled to take place on Monday night at 11:30pm. Tickets for his Q&A panel with fans are priced at $150.
On a related note, WWE Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon visited the Taker Graveyard exhibit at Superstore Axxess today and posted a photo from Taker’s throne, making a reference to the infamous Attitude Era segment where she was strapped to Taker’s cross. She also gave props to WWE Archivist Ben Brown and the Superstore Axxess crews for their work this year.
“I’d rather be on @undertaker’s throne than strapped down to that symbol! What a trip down memory lane, the teams that worked on #SuperstoreAxxess truly outdid themselves. The Undertaker experience is incredible (looking at you Ben Brown!) #ThankYouTaker #WWEHOF #SuperstoreAxxess,” she wrote.
WrestleMania 38 Superstore Axxess is being held through Monday at Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, TX.
Stay tuned for more. You can see the related photo and video below:
🎥 A little behind-the-scenes look at the making of @undertaker's statue…
Don't miss the official statue reveal TONIGHT, 7pm CT at #SuperstoreAxxess! pic.twitter.com/htcuybKlAX— WWE (@WWE) March 31, 2022
I’d rather be on @undertaker’s throne than strapped down to that symbol! What a trip down memory lane, the teams that worked on #SuperstoreAxxess truly outdid themselves. The Undertaker experience is incredible (looking at you Ben Brown!) #ThankYouTaker #WWEHOF #SuperstoreAxxess pic.twitter.com/WP2V6JIQZY
— Stephanie McMahon (@StephMcMahon) March 31, 2022
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https://www.pwmania.com/the-undertaker-notes-from-wwe-superstore-axxess
| 2022-04-01T00:15:17Z
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MINNEAPOLIS — When in comes to playing Stanford, something Geno Auriemma has done 18 times in his career, the UConn coach has a what-you-see-is-what-you-get attitude.
“There’s no surprises,” Auriemma said. “It’s not like they’re going to come up with a new and different way to play every year. They play hard, they play together, they play positionless most of the time, they shoot the ball great every year. It’s the same Stanford team that I remember 25, 27 years ago playing around here. It’s just different people, but it’s the same.”
Meeting No. 19 comes on the sport’s biggest stage as the college women’s basketball’s two winningest coaches will face other in a national semifinal game.
Stanford’s Tara VanDerveer has 1,157 wins and Auriemma 1,148. The two will square off in the second game (9:30 p.m.) at the Target Cente Louisville meets South Carolina in the opener at 7 p.m.
The Huskies and Cardinal bring similar styles of play to the court. One significant difference, though, is that Stanford (32-3) is the defending national champion and returns much of its lineup from last year. UConn (29-5) is a younger team that has weathered multiple injuries to key players to return to its 14th straight Final Four but hasn’t won a national title since 2016.
“Anytime you play a team that’s used to winning - and they are, and they won a national championship last year, and they have everybody back - you have a built-in advantage there because your kids are attempting to do something that they’ve already done,” Auriemma said.
“They’re disciplined, and not every team is. They play exceptionally hard, and not every team does. They shoot the ball better than most teams in the country. When you put all those things together, you know you have a real difficult task ahead. I like to think they have a difficult task ahead, as well.”
The two teams haven’t played since November 2017 when UConn won 78-60 in Columbus, Ohio. UConn also won the last time the teams played each other in the national semifinal game in Nashville in 2014.
Stanford, which has won 24 straight, has four starters 6-feet or taller, including 6-4 sophomore center Cameron Brink, who leads the team in scoring (13.4) and rebounding (8.1). The Cardinal’s height could pose a problem for UConn.
“They’re big at every position,” said UConn sophomore Paige Bueckers, who is playing in the NCAA Tournament in her home state for the first time. “They’re all versatile, they can play inside and outside, so we’re going to have to guard all five positions extremely well. They’re an extremely tough team to guard and they’re extremely long on defense as well. It poses a different challenge than anything we’ve faced this season.”
Meanwhile, UConn’s depth in the post took a hit Monday night in the Huskies’ 91-87 double overtime win over NC State in the Bridgeport Regional final when reserve forward Dorka Juhasz broke her wrist. That leaves starters Aaliyah Edwards and Olivia Nelson-Ododa to handle the bulk of the post duties Friday. Evina Westbrook played 15 minutes off the bench Monday and could be a key contributor Friday.
Both the 6-3 Edwards and 6-5 Nelson-Ododa need to be mindful of foul trouble. Edwards fouled out in the second round against UCF, which was a very physical game, and in the overtime win over NC State Monday. Nelson-Ododa also fouled out against UCF and had four fouls in the regional final.
“We’re going to have to focus on being aggressive, but playing smart, so we don’t get into foul trouble,” Edwards said. “We want to beat them off the dribble. I know they have length in the post, but I feel like we’re pretty athletic and versatile as well, so we have to just use that to our advantage.
“Our mindset is to just bring that same intensity we always do, even with Dorka out of that rotation and her spark off the bench. She’s telling us to lock in, we’ve got this, she’ll be there supporting us. She believes in us. We’re really playing for her. And as bigs, we’ve just got to stay aggressive but also be smart at the same time.”
Juhasz, who had surgery Wednesday, is expected to fly to Minneapolis Friday to be with the team.
Against Indiana in the regional semifinal, Edwards and Nelson-Ododa dominated on the boards, collecting 24 of UConn’s 39 rebounds. Then Nelson-Ododa had seven and Edwards six against NC State in a game which was dominated by UConn’s guards. Williams had 21 points, Bueckers, the regional MVP, 27 and Fudd 19.
“The other night we had great performances from Christyn, Azzi, and Paige,” Auriemma said. “The game before that, Aaliyah and Olivia were amazing against Indiana. So if we could put those two things together [Friday] night, we’ll be in good shape.”
UConn has lost the national semifinal the last four times they’ve played in the game - in 2017 (to Mississippi State), 2018 (to Notre Dame in overtime), 2019 (to Notre Dame again), and 2021 (to Arizona).
“We came here on a mission and we’re not going to stop until we get what we want,” Bueckers said. “We’re laser focused on what we’re here for.”
The basics
NCAA Semifinal
Site: Target Center, Minneapolis.
Time: 9:30 p.m.
Series: UConn, 11-7
Last meeting: UConn 78-53, Nov. 12, 2017, at Columbus, Ohio.
TV: ESPN (Ryan Ruocco, Rebecca Lobo, Andraya Carter, Holly Rowe)
Radio: UConn IMG Sports Network on 97.9 ESPN (Bob Joyce, Debbie Fiske)
Stanford (32-3) probable starters, sixth player
Lexie Hull G, 6-1, Sr.; Haley Jones G, 6-1, Jr.; Cameron Brink F, 6-4, So.; Anna Wilson G, 5-9, GS; Lacie Hull G, 6-1, Sr.; Francesca Belibi F, 6-1, Jr.
UConn (29-5) probable starters, sixth player
Olivia Nelson-Ododa, F, 6-5, Sr.; Christyn Williams, G, 5-11, Sr.; Nika Mühl, G, 5-10, So.; Azzi Fudd, G, 5-11, Fr.; Paige Bueckers, G, 5-11, So.; Aaliyah Edwards, F, 6-3, So.
The matchup
UConn’s offense: Paige Bueckers’ true return, with her 27-point performance vs. NC State, gave the Huskies the offensive team they thought they would have. Buckers, Fudd and Williams are a three-pronged threat, from the perimeter and in attacking the rim. If they are all on their game, UConn is hard to stop.
UConn’s defense: After smothering Big East and early NCAA competition, the Huskies’ defense has been a little more vulnerable against Indiana and NC State, but still solid. Losing Dorka Juhasz to her wrist injury will hurt UConn’s rebounding and force the other front court players to be more careful in avoiding fouls.
Stanford’s offense: Brink (13.4), Jones (12.9) and Lexie Hull (12.7) are the leading scorers. The Cardinal average 15.3 assists, and 13.3 offensive rebounds per game, shooting 45.2 percent from the field, 35.3 on threes.
Stanford’s defense: Brink is an elite shot blocker, with 89 for the season. Stanford’s height will make things difficult for UConn’s penetrating guards. The Cardinal allows 56.6 points per game, holds opponents to 34.1 percent from the floor. But Brink is also prone to foul trouble.
UConn keys: UConn will need to hit threes, stretching the defense and negating Stanford’s height advantage,
Players to watch: All eyes on Bueckers, now that she has rediscovered the ability for taking over a game.
About Stanford’s coach: Tara VanDerveer, 68, from Melrose, Mass., has been a Division I head coach since 1978, leading Idaho, Ohio State, and, since 1985, Stanford, winning championships in 1990, 1992 and 2021. She has an overall record of 1,153-258, including 60-23 in NCAA Tournament games.
Latest UConn Women
About Stanford’s mascot: Its teams are known as the Cardinal (no ‘s’),’ because it refers to the shade of red, not the bird. The mascot is a larger than life tree; the campus is lined with beautiful tall trees.
Famous alumni: President Herbert and First Lady Lou Henry Hoover, Super Bowl quarterbacks John Elway, Jim Plunkett; Hall of Famer pitcher Mike Mussina, Phil Knight, Frank Cady, better known on TV as Green Acres storekeeper Sam Drucker.
Dom Amore contributed to this story.
Lori Riley can be reached at lriley@courant.com. Dom Amore can be reached at damore@courant.com.
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https://www.courant.com/sports/uconn-womens-basketball/hc-sp-uconn-women-national-semifinal-preview-20220331-26p5th5pgrbankcenxp7dbokem-story.html
| 2022-04-01T00:15:17Z
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The+Schall+Law+Firm, a national shareholder rights litigation firm, reminds investors of a class action lawsuit against Volta Inc. f/k/a Tortoise Acquisition Corp. II (“Volta” or “the Company”) (NYSE: VLTA) for violations of §§10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Investors who purchased the Company's securities between August 2, 2021 and March 28, 2022, inclusive (the ''Class Period''), are encouraged to contact the firm before May 31, 2022.
If you are a shareholder who suffered a loss, click+here+to+participate.
We also encourage you to contact Brian Schall of the Schall Law Firm, 2049 Century Park East, Suite 2460, Los Angeles, CA 90067, at 310-301-3335, to discuss your rights free of charge. You can also reach us through the firm's website at www.schallfirm.com, or by email at [email protected].
The class, in this case, has not yet been certified, and until certification occurs, you are not represented by an attorney. If you choose to take no action, you can remain an absent class member.
According to the Complaint, the Company made false and misleading statements to the market. Volta failed to properly account for restricted stock units issued in relation to its business combination. Based on this failure, the Company understated its net loss for the third quarter of 2021. The Company failed to maintain appropriate controls over financial reporting. As a result, the Company would be forced to restate its financial statements. Based on these problems, the Company’s founders would leave the organization. Based on these facts, the Company’s public statements were false and materially misleading throughout the class period. When the market learned the truth about Volta, investors suffered damages.
Join+the+case to recover your losses.
The Schall Law Firm represents investors around the world and specializes in securities class action lawsuits and shareholder rights litigation.
This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and rules of ethics.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220331006051/en/
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https://www.gurufocus.com/news/1676039/shareholder-action-alert-the-schall-law-firm-encourages-investors-in-volta-inc-with-losses-of-100000-to-contact-the-firm
| 2022-04-01T00:15:17Z
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AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday evening's drawing of the Texas Lottery's "Daily 4 Evening" game were:
4-1-9-1, FIREBALL: 1
(four, one, nine, one; FIREBALL: one)
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday evening's drawing of the Texas Lottery's "Daily 4 Evening" game were:
4-1-9-1, FIREBALL: 1
(four, one, nine, one; FIREBALL: one)
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https://www.theheraldreview.com/lottery/article/Winning-numbers-drawn-in-Daily-4-Evening-game-17049718.php
| 2022-04-01T00:15:17Z
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PMV Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:PMVP – Get Rating) major shareholder Orbimed Advisors Llc sold 365,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.52, for a total value of $7,854,800.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Large shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.
Orbimed Advisors Llc also recently made the following trade(s):
- On Thursday, March 31st, Orbimed Advisors Llc sold 34,500 shares of PMV Pharmaceuticals stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.17, for a total value of $730,365.00.
Shares of NASDAQ:PMVP traded down $0.69 during trading on Thursday, hitting $20.82. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,314,697 shares, compared to its average volume of 777,424. PMV Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $14.42 and a fifty-two week high of $37.32. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $17.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.83. The company has a market capitalization of $946.29 million, a PE ratio of -16.13 and a beta of 1.42.
Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in shares of PMV Pharmaceuticals by 14.1% in the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 2,187,923 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,199,000 after acquiring an additional 269,789 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in PMV Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 40,019 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,367,000 after buying an additional 1,273 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in PMV Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at approximately $379,000. Parametric Portfolio Associates LLC raised its stake in PMV Pharmaceuticals by 8.1% during the second quarter. Parametric Portfolio Associates LLC now owns 22,663 shares of the company’s stock valued at $774,000 after buying an additional 1,694 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in PMV Pharmaceuticals by 14.4% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,051,393 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,331,000 after buying an additional 132,152 shares in the last quarter.
A number of research firms have issued reports on PMVP. Zacks Investment Research downgraded PMV Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 4th. Oppenheimer raised PMV Pharmaceuticals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $30.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PMV Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.60.
About PMV Pharmaceuticals (Get Rating)
PMV Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a precision oncology company, engages in the discovery and development of small molecule and tumor-agnostic therapies for p53 mutations in cancer. The company's lead product candidate is PC14586, a small molecule that corrects a p53 protein containing the Y220C mutation and restores wild-type p53 function.
See Also
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https://www.com-unik.info/2022/03/31/pmv-pharmaceuticals-inc-nasdaqpmvp-major-shareholder-sells-7854800-00-in-stock.html
| 2022-04-01T00:15:19Z
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Around F.C. Critter Corner: Archie March 31, 2022 2:00 PM by FCNP.com Meet Archie, the Great Pyrenees, patchy-eyed prince of Lost Dog! At almost 3 years old and 70 lbs, he is the true definition of a gentle giant. His calm and happy demeanor makes him a true joy to be around, and we think he’d make an excellent family pup. He walks so nicely on his leash and is, essentially, just happy to be with you. He is gentle, yet playful. Archie loves balls and playing fetch. He has done well with kids and other dogs. When he plays with his doggie friends, he is just like a big goofy kid himself. Archie is highly social and eager to bond with his people and learn new tricks. He is a catch and anyone would be lucky to welcome this guy into their home. Archie will be attending an adoption event coming up this weekend! To learn more about upcoming events and to see which event he will be attending, please visit our event page at https://www.lostdogrescue.org/events/. If you have any questions prior to the event, please email [email protected]g! Facebook Twitter LinkedIn
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https://www.fcnp.com/2022/03/31/critter-corner-archie-2/
| 2022-04-01T00:15:20Z
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Police found five fetuses in the home of a self-proclaimed “anti-abortion activist” who was indicted this week on federal charges alleging that she was part of a group of people who blocked access to a Washington, D.C. reproductive health center.
The Metropolitan Police Department says officers were responding to a tip about “potential bio-hazard material” at a home in Southeast Washington on Wednesday when they located the five fetuses inside.
A local television station, WUSA9, captured video of police searching the home and reported that the home belonged to Lauren Handy. The 28-year-old was one of nine people charged in an indictment that was made public on Wednesday that accused the group of traveling to Washington, blocking access to the reproductive health center and streaming it on Facebook.
The station, which first reported the discovery, said Handy told a reporter that “people will freak out when they hear” what detectives found inside her house. Handy did not respond to a message sent to her Facebook profile seeking comment.
Police said the five fetuses were collected by Washington’s medical examiner and the investigation is ongoing.
In the indictment, prosecutors said Handy had called the clinic pretending to be a prospective patient and scheduling an appointment. Once there, on Oct. 22, 2020, eight of the suspects pushed their way inside and began blocking the doors, according to the indictment. Five of them chained themselves together on chairs to block the treatment area as others blocked the employee entrance to stop other patients from coming inside, the indictment alleges. Another suspect blocked people from coming into the waiting room, prosecutors charge.
Handy and the eight others were charged with conspiracy against rights and violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act. The federal law, more commonly known as the FACE Act, prohibits physically obstructing or using the threat of force to intimidate or interfere with a person seeking reproductive health services.
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https://www.kget.com/national-news/5-fetuses-found-inside-dc-home-of-anti-abortion-activist/
| 2022-04-01T00:15:19Z
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BRENTWOOD, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee woman convicted in the death of a police officer has been sentenced to 8 to 12 years in prison.
Ashley Kroese of Thompson's Station was 24 years old on June 18, 2020, when she drove on the wrong side of the road in Brentwood, killing Brentwood police officer Destin Legieza, 30, authorities said.
She was previously found guilty of four charges, including vehicular homicide by intoxication. She was sentenced Wednesday for charges in the crash that killed Legieza, The Tennessean reported.
A blood test after the crash found her blood alcohol content was 0.166%, which is twice the legal limit.
Members of Legieza's family spoke at the hearing.
“Ashley. I don’t think you intended to kill anyone that day,” said Heather Legieza, the officer’s widow. “But you moving forward with the trial when you know what you did was with intention, you should have just taken accountability for your actions."
Kroese, who did not testify at the February trial, read from a statement.
“I can’t pretend to understand what you have been going through. I’ve never lost a husband, a son or a brother, and nothing I can say is able to ease your pain, but I am truly and deeply sorry,” Kroese said.
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https://www.ctinsider.com/news/article/Tennessee-woman-sentenced-to-8-years-in-officer-s-17049754.php
| 2022-04-01T00:15:20Z
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| 2022-04-01T00:15:20Z
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BOSTON and ATLANTA, March 31, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Inhibikase Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: IKT) (Inhibikase or Company), a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company developing therapeutics to modify the course of Parkinson's disease and related disorders, today reported financial results for the full year ended December 31, 2021 and highlighted recent developments.
"2021 was an important year for Inhibikase as we advanced our lead program IkT-148009 for Parkinson's disease into the clinic, continued to develop our early-stage pipeline programs and strengthened our balance sheet to support our development efforts well into 2023," commented Dr. Milton H. Werner, President and Chief Executive Officer of Inhibikase. "Just recently, we presented results from our Phase 1 and 1b study of IkT-148009 in patients with mild to moderately advanced Parkinson's disease at the annual AD/PD™ meeting. We believe these data continue to validate the safety and therapeutic potential of IkT-148009. As we look ahead, we hope to share more about our development strategy for this program including the upcoming Phase 2a study at our upcoming virtual KOL investor event on April 20th. Looking to our earlier programs, we are also continuing to advance IkT-148009 in animal models of Multiple Systems Atrophy (MSA), as well as plan to submit our IND application for IkT-001Pro, both in the second quarter. We view 2022 as a year of execution across our pipeline and look forward to providing updates throughout the year as we seek to improve the lives of patients suffering from a devastating neurodegenerative disease."
Recent Developments and Upcoming Milestones:
- Phase 1b clinical trial of IkT-148009: The Phase 1b study is a 3:1 randomized, placebo-controlled dose escalation trial evaluating the safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics of seven-day dosing of IkT-148009 at three escalating dose levels. The study is also assessing motor and non-motor function, gut motility, and measures of alpha-synuclein aggregate clearance as exploratory endpoints. In March, the Company presented data from the first cohort at the Alzheimer's & Parkinson's Diseases Conference (AD/PD™). Data demonstrated that the safety and tolerability profile in patients closely matched that of older healthy volunteers. Pharmacokinetics of IkT-148009 in volunteers and subjects was also similar, indicating that IkT-148009 pharmacology is consistent across the patient groups and penetrates the Central Nervous System. The Company expects to complete dosing of the Phase 1b study in the second quarter of 2022 and present full data at a medical meeting later this year.
- Phase 1 dose escalation of IkT-148009 in older and elderly healthy volunteers: Inhibikase continues to evaluate IkT-148009 in older and elderly healthy volunteers as part of the Phase 1 study. The Company has completed dose escalation studies through 325 mg. To date, no clinically significant adverse events have been observed at any dose.
- Phase 2a clinical study for IkT-148009 in patients with Parkinson's Disease: Inhibikase expects to dose the first patient in a Phase 2a study of IkT-148009 in untreated Parkinson's Disease in the second quarter of 2022, subject to agreements with the FDA. The 3:1 randomized, double-blind, twelve-week dosing trial will evaluate the safety and tolerability of three doses of IkT-148009 in up to 120 patients diagnosed with Parkinson's disease who have not yet progressed to the need for symptomatic therapy. The trial will also measure motor and non-motor function inside and outside of the brain as secondary endpoints and evaluate whether treatment with IkT-148009 leads to a reduction or clearance of pathogenic alpha-synuclein aggregates as exploratory endpoints.
- Investigational New Drug application (IND) for IkT-001Pro for stable-phase Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML): IkT-001Pro is the Company's prodrug formulation of Imatinib mesylate, designed as a potentially safer, better tolerated treatment for Imatinib-sensitive cancers such as stable-phase Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML). The Company is completing clinical batch manufacturing of pill formulated IkT-001Pro and conducting required stability studies and expects to submit the IND for IkT-001Pro in the second quarter of 2022. The Company expects to commence bioequivalence studies in accordance with the 505(b)(2) regulatory pathway agreements with the FDA.
- Preclinical studies evaluating IkT-148009 in animal models of Multiple System Atrophy (MSA) in preparation for Phase 2 clinical studies: Inhibikase expects to report preclinical data studying IkT-148009 in at least one of two animal models of MSA prior to dosing of MSA patients. The studies are evaluating whether inhibition of the Abelson Tyrosine Kinase, or c-Abl, could have a therapeutic benefit in MSA. The potential role of c-Abl in the disease process was highlighted in the Company's recent publication published in the peer reviewed journal Neurobiology of Disease[1]. Depending on the preclinical results in animal models of MSA and subject to agreement with the FDA and equivalent regulatory bodies in the European Union, Inhibikase may advance IkT-148009 into a Phase 2a clinical study in the third quarter of 2022.
Upcoming Events:
Virtual KOL Investor Event
Date: April 20, 2022
Time: 10:00am ET
Registration Link: https://www.inhibikase.com/investors
Inhibikase's executive leadership team and featured Key Opinion Leaders will host a virtual presentation highlighting the Company's recent clinical progress including a review of the recently reported Phase 1 data for its lead asset, IkT-148009 as well as an overview of the upcoming Phase 2 program. Additional presentations will highlight the current unmet need and competitive landscape in Parkinson's disease.
Full Year 2021 Financial Results
Grant Revenue: Grant revenue was $3.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to $0.7 million in the prior year. The increase was driven by increased grant research activity during 2021 compared to 2020. During 2020, the Company's focus was shifted toward advancing its Phase I clinical trials which did not result in grant revenue. The Company utilized its working capital and personnel resources in 2021 to carry on its Phase I clinical trial in addition to its grant research activity.
R&D Expenses: Research and development expenses were $11.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 compared to $0.9 million in the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase was primarily due to a full year of increased activity in our Parkinson's disease Phase I clinical trial.
SG&A Expenses: Selling, general and administrative expenses for the year ended December 31, 2021 were $6.5 million compared to $2.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. The increase was primarily due to increased liability insurance, legal and accounting fees, board costs, investor relations and consulting fees associated with operating for the first full year as a public company.
Net Loss: Net loss for the year ended December 31, 2021 was $14.8 million, or $0.81 per share, compared to a net loss of $2.8 million, or $0.35 per share in the year ended December 31, 2020.
Cash Position: Cash and cash equivalents were $40.8 million as of December 31, 2021. The Company expects that existing cash and cash equivalents will be sufficient to fund its operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements into the third quarter of 2023.
About Inhibikase (www.inhibikase.com)
Inhibikase Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: IKT) is a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company developing therapeutics for Parkinson's disease and related disorders. Inhibikase's multi-therapeutic pipeline focuses on neurodegeneration and its lead program IkT-148009, an Abelson Tyrosine Kinase (c-Abl) inhibitor, targets the treatment of Parkinson's disease inside and outside the brain. Its multi-therapeutic pipeline is pursuing Parkinson's-related disorders of the brain and GI tract, orphan indications related to Parkinson's disease such as Multiple System Atrophy, and drug delivery technologies for kinase inhibitors such as IkT-001Pro, a prodrug of the anticancer agent Imatinib that the Company believes will provide a better patient experience with fewer on-dosing side-effects. The Company's RAMP™ medicinal chemistry program has identified a number of follow-on compounds to IkT-148009 to be potentially applied to other cognitive and motor function diseases of the brain. Inhibikase is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia with offices in Boston, Massachusetts.
Social Media Disclaimer
Investors and others should note that we announce material financial information to our investors using our investor relations website, press releases, SEC filings and public conference calls and webcasts. The Company intends to also use Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube as a means of disclosing information about the Company, its services and other matters and for complying with its disclosure obligations under Regulation FD.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking terminology such as "believes," "expects," "may," "will," "should," "anticipates," "plans," or similar expressions or the negative of these terms and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on Inhibikase's current expectations and assumptions. Such statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, which could cause Inhibikase's actual results to differ materially from those anticipated by the forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements are set forth in Inhibikase's filings with the SEC, including its annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, including under the caption "Risk Factors." Any forward-looking statement in this release speaks only as of the date of this release. Inhibikase undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as may be required by any applicable securities laws.
1 doi: 10.1016/j.nbd.2020.105184
Contacts:
Company Contact:
Milton H. Werner, PhD
President & CEO
678-392-3419
info@inhibikase.com
Investor Relations:
Alex Lobo
SternIR, Inc.
alex.lobo@sternir.com
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SOURCE Inhibikase Therapeutics, Inc.
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https://www.wmbfnews.com/prnewswire/2022/03/31/inhibikase-therapeutics-reports-full-year-2021-financial-results-highlights-recent-period-activity/
| 2022-04-01T00:15:20Z
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