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- California Live Election Results November 2022Live election results for key races in the November 2022 California midterm election and S.F. Bay Area election.
- By Roland Li and Chase DiFeliciantonio | https://www.sfchronicle.com/news/article/HKO-WHL-Scoring-Ldrs-17573492.php | 2022-11-10 08:24:21 | 1 | https://www.sfchronicle.com/news/article/HKO-WHL-Scoring-Ldrs-17573492.php |
PETACH TIKVA, Israel, Aug. 17, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Eltek Ltd. (NASDAQ: ELTK), a global manufacturer and supplier of technologically advanced solutions in the field of printed circuit boards (PCBs), today announced its financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2022.
Second Quarter 2022 Highlights
- Revenues were $9.1 million
- Operating profit was $0.3 million
- Profit before tax was $1.0 million.
- Net profit was $0.8 million or $0.13 per fully diluted share
- Net cash provided by operating activities amounted to $0.5 million
- Repair of the damaged production line was completed and production has returned to normal capacity
"While we were able to record revenues of $9.1 million in the second quarter of 2022, our revenues and operating profit was affected by the fire that broke out at our plant in Petach-Tikvah. The fire was extinguished, but completely shut down the production phase carried out in one of our production departments. Within a period of approximately two weeks we managed to employ an alternative process using other machines and renewed partial deliveries to customers while prioritizing critical orders. As of today, our production levels are at normal volume," said Eli Yaffe, CEO of Eltek.
"As a result of the fire, our ability to supply finished products to our customers was impaired, resulting in lower than planned sales and increased costs. We are currently discussing with the insurance company the amount of compensation for the damages we incurred," further explained Mr. Yaffe.
"During July, we renewed our shelf registration statement which will permit us to raise up to $20 million. The registration statement is intended to enable us to raise capital at a time when market conditions and our share price will be appropriate," concluded Mr. Yaffe.
Second Quarter 2022 GAAP Financial Results
Revenues for the second quarter of 2022 were $9.1 million, compared to $9.1 million in the second quarter of 2021;
Gross profit for the second quarter of 2022 was $1.7 million (18% of revenues) compared to $2.4 (26% of revenues) in the second quarter of 2021;
Operating profit for the second quarter of 2022 was $0.3 million compared to operating profit of $1.0 million in the second quarter of 2021;
Financial income for the second quarter of 2022 was $0.6 million compared to financial expenses of $0.1 million in the second quarter of 2021. Financial income resulted from the erosion of the NIS against the US dollar.
Profit before income tax for the second quarter of 2022 was $1.0 million compared to $1.0 million in the second quarter of 2021;
Net profit for the second quarter of 2022 was $0.8 million or $0.13 per fully diluted share compared to net profit of $0.9 million or $0.16 per fully diluted share in the second quarter of 2021;
Second Quarter 2022 Non-GAAP Financial Results
EBITDA for the second quarter of 2022 was a $0.8 million (9% of revenues) compared to EBITDA of $1.4 million (16% of revenues) in the second quarter of 2021;
First six months of 2022 GAAP Financial Results
Revenues for the first six months of 2022 were $18.8 million, compared to $16.3 million in the first six months of 2021;
Gross profit for the first six months of 2022 was $3.6 million (19% of revenues) compared to $3.5 (22% of revenues) in the first six months of 2021;
Operating profit for the first six months of 2022 was $1.0 million compared to operating profit of $1.2 million in the first six months of 2021;
Financial income for the first six months of 2022 was $732,000 compared to financial income of $20,000 in the first six months of 2021. Financial income resulted from the erosion of the NIS against the US dollar.
Profit before income tax for the first six months of 2022 was $1.7 million compared to $1.2 million in the first six months of 2021;
Net profit for the first six months of 2022 was $1.4 million or $0.24 per fully diluted share compared to net profit of $1.2 million or $0.20 per fully diluted share in the first six months of 2021;
First six months of 2022 Non-GAAP Financial Results
EBITDA for the first six months of 2022 was a $1.9 million (10% of revenues) compared to EBITDA of $2.1 million (13% of revenues) in the first six months of 2021;
Conference Call
Today, Wednesday, August 17, 2022, at 8:30am Eastern Time (15:30pm Israel Time, 5:30am Pacific Time), Eltek will conduct a conference call to discuss the results. The call will feature remarks by Eli Yaffe, Chief Executive Officer and Ron Freund, Chief Financial Officer.
To participate, please call the following teleconference numbers. Please allow for additional time to connect prior to the call:
United States: 1-866-860-9642
Israel: 03-918-0691
International: +972-3-918-0691
To Access a Replay of the Call
A replay of the call will be available for 30 days on the Investor Info section on Eltek's corporate website at http://www.nisteceltek.com approximately 24 hours after the conference call is completed.
About Eltek
Eltek – "Innovation Across the Board", is a global manufacturer and supplier of technologically advanced solutions in the field of printed circuit boards (PCBs), and is an Israeli leading company in this industry. PCBs are the core circuitry of most electronic devices. Eltek specializes in the manufacture and supply of complex and high quality PCBs, HDI, multilayered and flex-rigid boards for the high-end market. Eltek is ITAR compliant and has AS-9100 and NADCAP Electronics certifications. Its customers include leading companies in the defense, aerospace and medical industries in Israel, the United States, Europe and Asia.
Eltek was founded in 1970. The Company's headquarters, R&D, production and marketing center are located in Israel. Eltek also operates through its subsidiary in North America and by agents and distributors in Europe, India, South Africa and South America.
For more information, visit Eltek's web site at www.nisteceltek.com
Forward Looking Statement
Some of the statements included in this press release may be forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to expected results in future quarters, the impact of the Coronavirus on the economy and our operations, risks in product and technology development and rapid technological change, product demand, the impact of competitive products and pricing, market acceptance, the sales cycle, changing economic conditions and other risk factors detailed in the Company's Annual Report on Form 20-F and other filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Any forward-looking statements set forth in this press release speak only as of the date of this press release. The information found on our website is not incorporated by reference into this press release and is included for reference purposes only.
About our Non-GAAP Financial Information
The Company reports financial results in accordance with U.S. GAAP and herein provides some non-GAAP measures, including EBITDA. These non-GAAP measures are not in accordance with, nor are they a substitute for, GAAP measures. These non-GAAP measures are intended to supplement the Company's presentation of its financial results that are prepared in accordance with GAAP. The Company uses the non-GAAP measures presented to evaluate and manage the Company's operations internally. The Company is also providing this information to assist investors in performing additional financial analysis. Reconciliation between the Company's results on a GAAP and non-GAAP basis is provided in a table below.
Investor Contact
Ron Freund
Chief Financial Officer
Investor-Contact@nisteceltek.com
+972-3-939-5023
(Tables follow)
View original content:
SOURCE Eltek Ltd. | https://www.kswo.com/prnewswire/2022/08/17/eltek-ltd-reports-2022-second-quarter-financial-results/ | 2022-08-17 12:53:12 | 0 | https://www.kswo.com/prnewswire/2022/08/17/eltek-ltd-reports-2022-second-quarter-financial-results/ |
HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) (ValleyCentral) — The day after a major election comes with pundits and politicians alike trying to make sense of the American voter.
An election with all of its surprises can raise the question: Who really turned out to vote? If you love digging deeper into the demographics, the Associated Press provided an Election Day breakdown of the American electorate voting in congressional races.
The AP digital chart above shows results of AP's VoteCast surveys of the U.S. electorate voting in congressional elections, breaking down candidate preference by a variety of demographic factors. | https://cw33.com/news/who-voted-a-graphic-look-at-tuesdays-election-turnout-in-the-united-states/ | 2022-11-09 16:08:09 | 1 | https://cw33.com/news/who-voted-a-graphic-look-at-tuesdays-election-turnout-in-the-united-states/ |
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Treasury Department said Wednesday that it has sanctioned a group of front companies and individuals tied to the sale and shipment of Iranian petroleum and petrochemical products to East Asia.
Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control imposed the sanctions on several companies, including Iran-based Jam Petrochemical Co., which has exported hundreds of millions of dollars worth of products to countries throughout Asia, including China.
The administration uses an August 2018 executive order signed by then-President Donald Trump as its authority to impose the sanctions.
The order addresses “threats posed by Iran, including Iran’s proliferation and development of missiles and other asymmetric and conventional weapons capabilities, its network and campaign of regional aggression,” and other issues.
Brian E. Nelson, Treasury’s undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in a statement that while the U.S. “is committed to achieving an agreement with Iran that seeks a mutual return” to the Iran nuclear deal, “we will continue to use all our authorities to enforce sanctions on the sale of Iranian petroleum and petrochemicals.”
Iran is nursing a battered economy, with its currency hitting its lowest value ever, after the U.S. withdrew from the nuclear deal in May 2018.
President Joe Biden’s administration has been working to renew the agreement, which placed curbs on Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for billions of dollars in sanctions relief, which Iran insists it has never received.
In June, Iran said it is ready for new indirect talks to overcome the last hurdles to revive its tattered 2015 nuclear deal amid a growing crisis over the country’s atomic program.
Treasury also designated United Arab Emirates-based Iranian nationals Morteza Rajabieslami and Mahdieh Sanchuli for sanctions.
Also on Wednesday, the State Department imposed penalties on five entities and 15 people located in Iran, Vietnam, Singapore, Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates.
“Absent a change in course from Iran, we will continue to use our sanctions authorities to target exports of petroleum, petroleum products, and petrochemical products from Iran,” a State Department statement reads. | https://www.kxnet.com/news/politics/ap-politics/treasury-sanctions-iranian-petrochemical-firms-tied-to-asia/ | 2022-07-07 15:02:14 | 1 | https://www.kxnet.com/news/politics/ap-politics/treasury-sanctions-iranian-petrochemical-firms-tied-to-asia/ |
The Boston Bruins haven’t experienced many losses over the first few weeks of the NHL season, but they will look to bounce back from one when they return home to face the St. Louis Blues on Monday night.
Sunday’s 2-1 loss to Auston Matthews and the Maple Leafs in Toronto snapped Boston’s seven-game win streak, which had been the longest in the league. The Bruins hadn’t lost since Oct. 18 in Ottawa.
“We weren’t very sharp,” coach Jim Montgomery said. “(Toronto) checked extremely well, they protected the middle of the ice well, but you’re on the third game of a five-day road trip and we went in the third period 2-1 and gave ourselves a chance.”
Brad Marchand scored a game-tying penalty shot in the second period, marking his 800th NHL point.
The Bruins were in the game until Matthews netted the winner with 5:53 to play. Boston’s continued high compete level has been impressive to the first-year coach.
“I just like our ability to manage games and give ourselves opportunities to have outcomes,” Montgomery said.
The Bruins will now play five of their next six games at home after beating Columbus, Pittsburgh and the New York Rangers over a four-game road trip.
Only former Boston coach Bruce Cassidy’s Vegas Golden Knights (11-2-0) have more wins than the Bruins (10-2-0) in the entire NHL.
Thanks to such a strong start, the Bruins expect to get the best from every team they come up against.
“We have to realize that every time we play a game now, that team’s gonna be ready for us,” center David Krejci said. “That was a good test for us. We’ve got to learn from it and make sure we’re as prepared as the other team.”
Saturday marked Krejci’s return to the lineup following a three-game injury absence (upper body), while Montgomery believes forward Craig Smith “will be close” to returning against the Blues. Smith has also missed three games due to an upper-body ailment.
The Blues visit Boston having been outscored 30-10 during a six-game losing streak, but they have had more time to sit on those defeats than any NHL team as Monday will be their league-low 10th game this season.
St. Louis has been idle since a 5-2 Thursday loss to the New York Islanders, in which Vladimir Tarasenko had a goal and an assist. Prior to the game, Blues general manager Doug Armstrong held a closed-door team meeting.
“I thought we competed hard and there were a lot of good things, but the goals aren’t there,” Blues coach Craig Berube said. “Chances, but I get it, we’re not producing very much.”
All six losses during the current streak have come in regulation, a first for St. Louis since the end of the 2013-14 season.
The return of veteran winger Brandon Saad could be near, as he returned to practice on Thursday and Friday after missing all six games with an upper-body injury. Saad has been out since the Blues last won on Oct. 22 in Edmonton.
“I just think he builds our game with his direct play and skating,” Berube said. “He’s on top of things, he does a lot of good things and he’s a situational guy for us. And he really drives that north kind of hockey, forechecking and skating.”
The St. Louis roster includes former Bruins defenseman Torey Krug and forward Noel Acciari, who both have points in two of their last three games.
The Blues will close a back-to-back set Tuesday at Philadelphia.
–Field Level Media | https://www.krqe.com/sports/nhl-hockey/after-rare-loss-bruins-look-to-rebound-vs-skidding-blues/ | 2022-11-07 05:34:32 | 0 | https://www.krqe.com/sports/nhl-hockey/after-rare-loss-bruins-look-to-rebound-vs-skidding-blues/ |
(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.)
Daniel Merino, The Conversation and Gemma Ware, The Conversation
(THE CONVERSATION) This episode of The Conversation Weekly podcast is about the Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica. Thwaites is among the largest glaciers on Earth and one of the single most important factors for future global sea level rise. We talk to three experts about what makes Thwaites so uniquely significant, why it’s melting and the creative techniques sceintists are using to study it.
Thanks to climate change, ice all over the world is melting. Greenland, the Arctic the Himalayas and Antarctica are all experiencing the fastest melting in recorded history.
As ice that is currently sitting on land melts, it flows downhill and eventually reaches the ocean. If the ice melts faster than snow replenishes the glaciers, sea level rises.
The Thwaites Glacier is one of many bodies of ice that are melting, but this massive, Antarctic glacier is uniquely important when it comes to sea level rise. “We’re talking about an area that’s the size of the island of Great Britain,” says Ted Scambos, a glacier scientist at the University of Colorado in the US and the principle investigator of the Science Coordination Office of the International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration.
If – or when – the entire Thwaites Glacier melts, Scambos says it will result in around 0.6 meters of sea level rise. But the interior section of Thwaites is surrounded by other massive ice sheets that cover west Antarctica. And since Thwaites sits in a giant, low elevation basin, if it melts, the rest of the ice will flow into the basin and melt, too. Add all that ice up and you get more than three meters of sea level rise.
What makes Thwaites such a significant contributor to sea level rise is where it sits on the continent of Antarctica. It’s shaped sort of like a lollipop with the candy part sitting in a giant basin and the stick extending out from the continent to the ocean. And that stick is melting quickly.
Yixi Zheng is an oceanographer at the University of East Anglia in England and has recently been down to Antarctica to study how Thwaites is melting. She describes the scene in visceral terms. “You can really see the icebergs and the glaciers and they are melting. You can see the water dripping from the glaciers,” she tells us. “We get really emotional. They were pretty much crying.”
Paul Holland, an ocean and ice scientist with the British Antarctic Survey, has been looking at why the ice is melting, focusing on changes to the winds that bring warmer water down to the Amundsen Sea next to Thwaites. “The question is, if we reverse these greenhouse gas induced wind changes, what effect does that have? What’s going to happen to the ice sheet? Will it regrow or will it take many centuries to stabilise and then it might regrow?” says Holland. Thanks to his work and the work of researchers like Zheng and Scambos, scientists are starting to find the answers.
Listen to the full episode to hear how Thwaites’ unique shape makes it so scary, what researchers know about why it’s melting now and how seals are helping collect data on the glacier in places no human could ever go.
This episode was produced by Mend Mariwany, with sound design by Eloise Stevens. The executive producer was Gemma Ware. Our theme music is by Neeta Sarl. Sound of seals snoring in this episode from Nick Roden, and ice cubes from Idalize via Freesound.
You can find us on Twitter @TC_Audio, on Instagram at theconversationdotcom or via email. You can also sign up to The Conversation’s free daily email here. A transcript of this episode will be available shortly.
You can listen to The Conversation Weekly via any of the apps listed above, download it directly via our RSS feed, or find out how else to listen here.
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article here: https://theconversation.com/thwaites-glacier-the-melting-antarctic-monster-of-sea-level-rise-podcast-191057. | https://www.ourmidland.com/news/article/Thwaites-Glacier-the-melting-Antarctic-monster-17459007.php | 2022-09-22 12:30:57 | 1 | https://www.ourmidland.com/news/article/Thwaites-Glacier-the-melting-Antarctic-monster-17459007.php |
The Wisconsin-based robotic mower manufacturer places emphasis on PR to build brand awareness
KNOXVILLE, Tenn., June 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- RC Mowers, a leading manufacturer of remote-operated robotic mowers, has partnered with Ripley PR, a global public relations agency specializing in B2B technology and manufacturing, to enhance awareness of their innovative solutions in the public works and commercial landscaping markets.
Founded in 2018 and based near Green Bay, Wisconsin, RC Mowers develops and manufactures robotic mowers for commercial use. The company's American-made mowers are used to traverse steep slopes, difficult terrain and other hazardous landscapes. RC Mowers' vast dealer network serves commercial mowing companies, public works departments and park maintenance crews across the United States, as well as Ontario, Canada, and Australia.
"We needed a public relations agency with deep roots in B2B technology and manufacturing to share our vision and accurately tell our story, and Ripley PR fit that bill and also had extensive experience in the landscaping industry," said Tim Kubista, vice president of sales and marketing for RC Mowers. "We interviewed other agencies, but Ripley PR's experience really stood out to us and impressed us. This partnership will be vital in helping us establish a broader industry audience."
Ripley PR was founded in 2013 with a focus on B2B technology, manufacturing construction, franchising and home service public relations. The agency offers strategic communications services that help clients build brand awareness, establish positive reputations and drive increased leads and sales. Ripley PR recently earned the fifth position on Forbes' inaugural America's Best PR Firms of 2021 list.
"We are honored to be working with RC Mowers, a company that is working to solve critical issues for commercial landscapers," said Heather Ripley, CEO and founder of Ripley PR. "Their mowers' ability to expertly navigate difficult terrain while providing a safer work environment and conserving limited resources redefines what we have seen in commercial landscaping to date. With their expertise in robotics, they are a gamechanger in the industry and we're confident we can help cement RC Mowers as the leaders in this technology while spreading awareness about their brand."
For more information visit www.ripleypr.com or call (865) 977-1973.
Founded in 2018 and based near Green Bay, Wisconsin, RC Mowers manufactures remote-operated robotic mowers for mowing steep slopes, difficult terrain and other hazardous landscapes. Our mowers help companies safely, quickly and efficiently mow these areas, often leading to reduced injuries, decreased labor costs and greater profitability. All our mowers are 100% manufactured and serviced in the United States, have a 30-day buy-back guarantee and come with a 72-hour parts shipping guarantee. For more information, visit https://www.rcmowersusa.com.
Ripley PR is an elite, global B2B public relations agency specializing in home service and building trades, B2B, manufacturing and franchising. Ripley PR was recently recognized by Forbes as one of America's Best PR Agencies for 2021 and has made Entrepreneur Magazine's annual list of Best PR Agencies for Franchise for the past four years. Offering a full range of strategic communication services, including crisis management, media relations and social media strategies, Ripley PR uses a blend of strategic business accounting and creative public relations branding to tell compelling stories and deliver measurable results. Ripley PR is a partner in IPREX, the $508 million network of more than 1,100 communication professionals in more than 100 markets globally. For more information, visit www.ripleypr.com or call 865-977-1973.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Heather Ripley
Ripley PR
865-977-1973
hripley@ripleypr.com
View original content:
SOURCE Ripley PR | https://www.wsaz.com/prnewswire/2022/06/16/rc-mowers-names-ripley-pr-agency-record/ | 2022-06-16 12:42:29 | 0 | https://www.wsaz.com/prnewswire/2022/06/16/rc-mowers-names-ripley-pr-agency-record/ |
Grace Adkins deserves an A+ for her teaching career. The Georgia educator has been teaching children for more than seven decades. She also happens to read up to 40 books a year, and she rises at 3 a.m. every morning to ride her bike for a total of 100 miles a week!
And, oh yeah, she’s 95 years old. Inspired yet?
Adkins began teaching when she was just a junior in high school. Now, 75 years later, she is ready to enjoy retirement. And she picked the perfect day to retire: Her 95th birthday!
Her students at Westwood Schools sang her happy birthday in honor of her special day. The students’ kindness touched her so much that she struggled to hold back tears. Watch the special moment below on Facebook:
Adkins was first hired by Westwood Schools in 1976. She also taught at another Georgia school, Deerfield Academy, in Albany. She has a Master’s in Education from Georgia Southwestern State University.
The motto behind her education principles is simple: You have to meet the child where they are and discover the best way to teach them.
“I never say a child can’t learn. I find out how they learn. I don’t give up,” the nonagenarian said to local Albany news station, WALB News 10.
Proof of her dedication is in the pudding. One of her former students struggled with ADHD and dyslexia, but Adkins worked resolutely with his parents and came up with a plan to help him succeed. He is now a vascular surgeon.
“He wrote everything backwards, had ADHD, and we had an educational prescription that we filled – and his parents filled at home – and he didn’t give up. His family didn’t give up. And WE didn’t give up. And so there he is,” Ms. Adkins said in an interview with one of her students Vicki Davis. “And of course, I have many others, too, that you wonder if they’re going to make it. But you keep on working with them every day. And… they make it. Big time!
Although Adkins is retiring, her legacy lives on. The Learning Lab that she founded at Westwood Schools will continue on, under the guidance of teachers like Ms. Honey Faircloth and Ms. Judy Burnett.
Her students praised the long-time teacher for her dedication and compassion.
“She really truly wants to change students’ lives and she did,” former student Meghan Singleton told WALB News 10 in Georiga. “She changed my life.”
This story originally appeared on Simplemost. Check out Simplemost for additional stories. | https://www.abcactionnews.com/teacher-retires-95-th-birthday-teaching-75-years | 2023-05-24 05:14:00 | 0 | https://www.abcactionnews.com/teacher-retires-95-th-birthday-teaching-75-years |
NEW YORK (AP) — Terence Blanchard, the first Black composer whose work has been heard at the Metropolitan Opera, will be given a yearlong celebration at Lincoln Center starting in March.
The Met, New York Philharmonic, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Film at Lincoln Center, The Juilliard School and The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts will focus on compositions by Blanchard, a trumpeter who turns 61 on March 13.
“I thought I was going to be a jazz musician writing for jazz ensembles all my life,” Blanchard said during a telephone interview. “When I look back now, there were amazing opportunities that came my way, and those have just opened the doors to others.”
Blanchard is a two-time Academy Award nominee and five-time Grammy Award winner. His 2019 opera “Fire Shut Up in My Bones” sold out eight performances at the Met in September and October 2021 and is being revived for the 2023-24 season.
His first opera, “Champion” based on boxer Emile Griffith, starts rehearsal at the Met on March 6 ahead of nine performances from April 10 through May 13.
“What’s unique is that Terence has found so many homes at Lincoln Center,” said Shanta Thake, the organization’s chief artistic officer. “He’s almost omnipresent. Almost every music listener or American really has heard his music at some level.”
Film at Lincoln Center will screen the documentary “Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues” featuring Blanchard’s score on March 20, and he will attend a question-and-answer session. The library will present a panel on “Champion” on April 13.
Blanchard’s “Island Prayers” with the Turtle Island Quartet and featuring works with Rhiannon Giddens will premiere at Lincoln Center in 2023-24, Juilliard will hold workshops and Jazz at Lincoln Center will hold a two-night career retrospective in March 2024.
“I just have a fascination with music, period,” Blanchard said. “Jazz is how I entered into the business, but I grew up listening to classical music. My father loved opera. I heard operatic music. Obviously popular music of my time was something that I was intrigued by. Doing all these things, what I hope to do is just open the hearts and minds of some young kids that struggle with that. A lot of times society tells us that we have to be a certain thing, and what music has taught me is no, that’s not true. You don’t have to be defined by past labels.” | https://www.localsyr.com/entertainment-news/ap-terence-blanchard-gets-yearlong-lincoln-center-celebration/ | 2023-01-19 23:21:17 | 0 | https://www.localsyr.com/entertainment-news/ap-terence-blanchard-gets-yearlong-lincoln-center-celebration/ |
ATLANTA (AP) — A man was killed and two others were injured, including rap star Ludacris’ manager, in a parking lot shooting in an upscale neighborhood north of downtown Atlanta on Sunday night.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that the men were all taken to hospitals, where one was pronounced dead. The Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office later identified the man as Artez Benton, 23, of Scottdale.
Monday afternoon, Atlanta police confirmed one of the two injured men was Chaka Zulu, the longtime manager of rapper and actor Ludacris. The conditions of Zulu and the other man were not released.
Atlanta police investigated the shooting in the 2200 block of Peachtree Road in Buckhead into the early Monday morning hours. Several restaurants and shops share the parking lot.
Police Lt. Germain Dearlove told local news media that the shooting was the “result of a dispute in the parking lot.” He did not say if the three victims had visited any of the businesses before the shooting at around 11:35 p.m.
Earlier Sunday, another shooting at an Atlanta sandwich shop left one employee dead and another injured after an argument over mayonnaise, police said.
The shooting happened around 6:30 p.m. Sunday at a Subway restaurant attached to a gas station in downtown Atlanta. Police said the man argued with the two female workers before shooting them.
“This was a very tragic situation that did not have to occur,” Atlanta police Deputy Chief Charles Hampton Jr. told reporters Monday.
The woman who died was 26 years old. The other woman, 24, remained in critical condition Monday, Hampton said.
He said a 36-year-old man believed to be the shooter was arrested Sunday evening after someone whom police are not identifying provided them with information. Hampton said police are not immediately releasing the suspected shooter’s name because of the ongoing investigation. | https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/ludacris-manager-and-2-others-shot-1-fatally-in-georgia/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_all | 2022-06-28 05:17:47 | 0 | https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/ludacris-manager-and-2-others-shot-1-fatally-in-georgia/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_all |
Lynx vs. Sun Prediction & Picks: Line, Spread, Over/Under - June 1
The Minnesota Lynx (0-4) play the Connecticut Sun (4-1) at 8:00 PM ET on Thursday, June 1, 2023. The matchup airs on Prime Video, NBCS-BOS, and BSNX.
The matchup has no set line.
Rep your team with officially licensed Lynx gear! Head to Fanatics to find jerseys, shirts, and much more.
Lynx vs. Sun Game Info & Odds
- When: Thursday, June 1, 2023 at 8:00 PM ET
- Where: Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota
- TV: Prime Video, NBCS-BOS, and BSNX
Check out the latest odds and place your bets on the Lynx or Sun with BetMGM Sportsbook. Use our link for the best new user offer, no promo code required!
Lynx vs. Sun Score Prediction
Prediction: Sun 85 Lynx 78
Spread & Total Prediction for Lynx vs. Sun
- Computer Predicted Spread: Connecticut (-6.7)
- Computer Predicted Total: 163.6
Lynx vs. Sun Spread & Total Insights
- Minnesota was 14-8-0 against the spread last season.
- Out of 22 Minnesota games last year, 10 hit the over.
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Lynx Performance Insights
- The Lynx scored 82.4 points per game and gave up 83.9 last season, ranking them sixth in the league offensively and eighth on defense.
- Minnesota was the second-best squad in the league in rebounds per game (36.9) and second-best in rebounds conceded (32.5) last season.
- Last season, the Lynx were ninth in the WNBA in turnovers committed (14.6 per game) and worst in turnovers forced (11.5).
- With 6.8 made 3-pointers per game and shooting 34.8% from downtown last year, the Lynx were ninth and sixth in the league, respectively, in those categories.
- The Lynx were the second-worst squad in the WNBA in 3-pointers conceded (8.9 per game) and ninth in 3-point percentage defensively (35.0%) last year.
- Last year, Minnesota attempted 29.3% of its shots from beyond the arc, and 70.7% from inside it. In terms of made shots, 22.6% of Minnesota's buckets were 3-pointers, and 77.4% were 2-pointers.
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© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | https://www.valleynewslive.com/sports/betting/2023/06/01/lynx-sun-wnba-picks-predictions/ | 2023-05-31 05:45:04 | 1 | https://www.valleynewslive.com/sports/betting/2023/06/01/lynx-sun-wnba-picks-predictions/ |
NEW YORK, May 8, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- S&P Global Commodity Insights announces the call for nominations for the Platts Global Energy Awards program, now in its 25th year. Nominations will be accepted through August 18, 2023, and the finalists will be announced on September 26, 2023.
"We are proud to say that this year's Platts Global Energy Awards mark a historic milestone for the event, representing a quarter century of the energy sector's purposeful progress and growth, particularly in technological and business innovation, as well as its commitment to a sustainable energy future," said Murray Fisher, Global Director of Conferences at S&P Global Commodity Insights.
Often described as "the Oscars of the energy industry," the Platts Global Energy Awards program honors corporate and individual innovation, leadership, and exemplary performance in 20 categories, and this year, features additional enhancements:
- The inclusion of the Chemical Week Sustainable Chemicals Award, aimed at spotlighting companies or individuals pushing the boundaries of innovation to create solutions to an existing consumer demand within a more sustainable framework.
- The Excellence in Energy Conference, an accompanying Platts Global Energy Awards day-time event, at which top executives will share perspectives relating back to the Awards nomination categories; technology innovators will have the opportunity to showcase projects; and investors will discuss the latest in project finance.
"We're excited about this event expansion, providing a platform for critical debate on industry challenges, additional networking opportunities, and augmenting the learnings for Platts Global Energy Awards alumni and newcomers, alike," Fisher added.
Winners of the S&P Global Commodity Insights Platts Global Energy Awards will be chosen from the list of finalists and celebrated at a black-tie gala on Thursday, December 7, 2023, in downtown Manhattan.
Winners of the Platts Global Energy Awards are determined by an independent judging panel of international energy experts whose backgrounds and experiences include regulation, policymaking, corporate leadership, trading and strategic consulting. Neither S&P Global Commodity Insights nor its event sponsors submit votes or select winners.
Access the full list of nomination categories and event details at the Platts Global Energy Awards website.
Event sponsorships are available by contacting Enrico Tracogna at Enrico.Tracogna@spglobal.com or Robert Botelho at robert.botelho@spglobal.com or by calling +1 303-725-0650.
Media Contacts:
Americas:
Kathleen Tanzy + 1 917-331-4607, kathleen.tanzy@spglobal.com
Jeff Marn +1-202-463-8213, jeff.marn@spglobal.com
EMEA: Paul Sandell + 44 (0)7816 180039, paul.sandell@spglobal.com
Asia and India: Melissa Tan + 65-6597-6241, melissa.tan@spglobal.com
About S&P Global Commodity Insights
At S&P Global Commodity Insights, our complete view of global energy and commodities markets enables our customers to make decisions with conviction and create long-term, sustainable value.
We're a trusted connector that brings together thought leaders, market participants, governments, and regulators and we create solutions that lead to progress. Vital to navigating Energy Transition, S&P Global Commodity Insights' coverage includes oil and gas, power, chemicals, metals, agriculture and shipping.
S&P Global Commodity Insights is a division of S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI). S&P Global is the world's foremost provider of credit ratings, benchmarks, analytics and workflow solutions in the global capital, commodity and automotive markets. With every one of our offerings, we help many of the world's leading organizations navigate the economic landscape so they can plan for tomorrow, today. For more information visit https://www.spglobal.com/commodityinsights.
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SOURCE S&P Global Commodity Insights | https://www.wkyt.com/prnewswire/2023/05/08/nominations-open-sampp-global-commodity-insights-2023-platts-global-energy-awards/ | 2023-05-08 12:49:39 | 0 | https://www.wkyt.com/prnewswire/2023/05/08/nominations-open-sampp-global-commodity-insights-2023-platts-global-energy-awards/ |
FAIRPORT, N.Y., July 13, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Manning & Napier, Inc. (NYSE: MN), ("Manning & Napier" or "the Company") today announced that it expects to release its second quarter 2022 financial results the week of August 8th, 2022, in conjunction with its related 10-Q filing. In light of the previously announced definitive agreement to be acquired by Callodine Group, the Company will not host a conference call to discuss second quarter 2022 financial results.
Assets Under Management
The Company also announced that preliminary June 30, 2022 assets under management ("AUM") were $18.5 billion, which included approximately $13.3 billion in separately managed accounts and approximately $5.2 billion in mutual funds and collective investment trusts.
About Manning & Napier, Inc.
Manning & Napier (NYSE: MN) provides a broad range of investment solutions through separately managed accounts, mutual funds, and collective investment trust funds, as well as a variety of consultative services that complement our investment process. Founded in 1970, we offer equity, fixed income and alternative strategies, as well as a range of blended asset portfolios, including life cycle funds. We serve a diversified client base of high-net-worth individuals and institutions, including 401(k) plans, pension plans, Taft-Hartley plans, endowments and foundations. For many of these clients, our relationship goes beyond investment management and includes customized solutions that address key issues and solve client-specific problems. We are headquartered in Fairport, NY and had 275 employees as of March 31, 2022.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release and other statements that the Company may make may contain 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, which reflect the Company's current views with respect to, among other things, its operations and financial performance. Words like "believes," "expects," "may," "estimates," "will," "should," "intends," "plans," or "anticipates" or the negative thereof or other variations thereon or comparable terminology, are used to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. Although the Company believes that it is basing its expectations and beliefs on reasonable assumptions within the bounds of what it currently knows about its business and operations, there can be no assurance that its actual results will not differ materially from what the Company expects or believes. Some of the factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ from its expectations or beliefs include, without limitation: the delay in or failure to consummate the proposed transaction with Callodine Group; changes in our business related to the proposed transaction with Collodine Group; changes in securities or financial markets or general economic conditions, including as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic or political instability and uncertainty, such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine; inflation; changes in interest rates; a decline in the performance of the Company's products; client sales and redemption activity; any loss of an executive officer or key personnel; the Company's ability to successfully deploy new technology platforms and upgrades; changes of government policy or regulations; and other risks discussed from time to time in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Investor Relations Contact
Emily Blum
Prosek Partners
973-464-5240
eblum@prosek.com
Public Relations Contact
Nicole Kingsley Brunner
Manning & Napier, Inc.
585-325-6880
nbrunner@manning-napier.com
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SOURCE Manning & Napier, Inc. | https://www.wbtv.com/prnewswire/2022/07/13/manning-amp-napier-inc-report-second-quarter-results-announces-june-30-2022-assets-under-management/ | 2022-07-13 21:03:05 | 1 | https://www.wbtv.com/prnewswire/2022/07/13/manning-amp-napier-inc-report-second-quarter-results-announces-june-30-2022-assets-under-management/ |
GREENSBORO, N.C. — Most of the stadium has emptied by the time Duane Ross collapses in a black chair in the team lounge, tilts his head back and briefly shuts his eyes.
And a short-lived one. Before long, Ross’s eyes open, and he’s up, moving into his office, a windowless space that offers a great view of his athletes’ dominance, if only because the school can’t fit his team’s bounty in its main trophy display.
A forest of wooden tablets spans tabletops and spills onto the floor. Fifty-two all-American certificates blanket the wall. Coach of the year trophies occupy two bookshelves, standing tall amid conference championship caps and commemorative batons.
But the collection is missing something. Over the past decade, Ross has transformed A&T into one of the premier track and field programs in the country, defying skeptics who said his dreams of turning a historically Black university into a modern athletic powerhouse were too lofty. Now, Ross’s team is one of the best in the country, on the verge of fulfilling his ultimate goal: a national championship.
After coming tantalizingly close over the past year, his men’s team is expected to compete for the national title at this week’s NCAA outdoor championships in Eugene, Ore. A win would make A&T the first HBCU to win a national title in any sport other than bowling since 1974, when the Howard men’s soccer team prevailed. And it would affirm Ross’s belief that small schools — that Black schools — can compete with big, predominantly White ones.
Their pursuit comes as HBCU athletic programs, in the wake of a national reckoning over racism and racial inequality, have attracted top recruits and risen to challenge the status quo. But it also comes against an undeniable backdrop: Ross is in demand, with wealthy power conference schools hoping to lure him away, and the structures that reinforce that status quo remain an ever-present threat, no matter how much his Aggies outpace expectations.
“Every year the program has gotten better and better, and that’s why I’m confident when I say we’re going to win a national championship,” Ross says. “I’ve been saying it for years. It’s going to come. We’re going to do it.”
Building a powerhouse
That April morning, Ross’s track machine is humming before he enters the stadium around 10 a.m. His sprinters have been on the track since 9, and Ross arrives ready to prescribe their finisher: 500-meter sprints for the 400-meter runners.
Ross’s son, Randolph Ross Jr., and teammate Delecia McDuffie begin charging through lane No. 1 as athletes from other schools stretch and laugh near the track. Ross Jr.’s and McDuffie’s calves tighten as they round the curve, their pace so blistering that it evokes the occasional “Oh s---!” from onlookers.
This generation of Aggies is not the first from an HBCU to excel on the track while lacking budgets, facilities and state funding comparable with their rival “Predominantly White Institutions.” Tuskegee high jumper Alice Coachman became the first Black woman to win an Olympic gold medal in 1948. Tennessee State ruled women’s track and field under Coach Ed Temple, who produced dozens of Olympians, including Wilma Rudolph and the entire 1960 U.S. 4x100-meter relay team. Morehouse alum Edwin Moses held dominion over the 400-meter hurdles, winning 122 consecutive races between 1977 and 1987. Even as integration redirected talent away from HBCUs, some schools continued to thrive, although that prosperity gave way to sporadic success in the 2000s.
At North Carolina A&T, Roy “Spaceman” Thompson led the Aggies’ track team to five conference titles from the 1980s through the early 2000s. But his teams never finished better than 46th at nationals.
A 2004 Olympic hurdler, Ross arrived in 2012, selling the university’s new athletic director on his goal to transform the school into a national champion. But success came slowly. In his first season, the men’s and women’s teams finished worse than they had the previous year. They grew more competitive over the next three seasons, but their inability to close the gap against other HBCUs grated Ross. He admits he might have left Greensboro had one of his more recent power conference suitors approached during those choppy first seasons.
The breakthrough came in 2017, fueled by a new wave of talent that included one of Ross’s first standout recruits, transfer Christopher Belcher, who chose A&T over LSU. A&T swept the men’s and women’s indoor and outdoor Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference titles for the first time, Belcher was an all-American, and the men tied for 14th at the NCAA outdoor championships.
The Aggies men won every MEAC indoor and outdoor title from 2017 to 2021. The women boast a similar record, save for a half-point finish behind Florida A&M at the 2018 outdoor meet.
“The dynamic changed,” Ross says. In his earlier years, “We weren’t expected to compete. Whenever we did something, it was kind of like a pat on the back. Seeing my team out here, these Black men and women, it became more about empowering them and teaching them to believe that they’re just as good as anyone else. ... I wouldn’t call it a revolution, but it became a quest to be the absolute best.”
The quest begins as soon as athletes step on campus. Shortly after A&T sprinters arrive, they must learn how to run: the phases of a race, how various body parts should move during each phase, how long the body can maintain top speed and how you should employ that acceleration given their physical traits and the specific race.
“Every sprint and hurdle athlete here has a PhD in track,” assistant coach Ron Garner says. “They’re expected to learn their craft. You don’t take a day here to hang out — everything is purposeful.”
Ask Ross’s runners about their growth, and they flail their elbows and stomp their feet, demonstrating tendencies Ross helped erase. One former sprinter, Taliyah Townsend, would slog out of the blocks, so Ross retooled her start, helping her develop a more fluid launch and teaching her to time her acceleration better.
“My feet took a while to turn over compared to a true sprinter, who goes zero to 100 as soon as they get out of the blocks,” Townsend says. “My whole thing was reacting to the gun and really driving that first 20 meters before I got tall and started to run. When I got that down pat, I feel like I was 10 times better and I had more energy to give toward the end of my race.”
If 2017 was the Aggies’ evolution on the track, the following years represented a turning point on the recruiting trail.
The 2018 class featured all-American sprinter Kamaya Debose-Epps, who picked A&T over Alabama and Florida State, and Cambrea Sturgis, an unheralded recruit more interested in school than sprints. Ross Jr., who would become a gold medalist at the Tokyo Olympics, signed the following year. The 2020 class was headlined by a handful of sprinters who ranked among the nation’s best in several events, including Javonte Harding, this year’s 200-meter indoor national champion.
Their development was on full display during the April meet, where A&T sprinters looked more explosive and more polished than their peers. While many hurdlers stumble, Aggies women move like aircraft in formation, snapping over each obstacle before flying to the next.
“You can’t [overstate] what Duane Ross has been able to do with the team,” says Cory Mull, national editor at MileSplit, which covers high school track and field. “He largely takes athletes who have proven themselves within their states, and he makes them that much better at the college level — and in some cases exceptional.”
An early start
Ross grew up in Dallas, N.C., a small town outside of Charlotte. His father died when he was 7, leading to a temporary stint in the foster-care system. His mother regained custody of him and his younger sister, Latasha, but remarried into an abusive relationship.
At 8, Ross grudgingly left the house before 6 a.m. to start his day, trailing his stepfather to banks around Dallas. He assisted his stepfather’s janitorial service by vacuuming floors and emptying trash cans before and after school until his mother divorced during his junior year at North Gaston High, enabling Ross to pursue his athletic dreams.
“I hated it,” Ross says of his childhood hours spent cleaning. “I was a child, but the one good thing it did teach me is the value of hard work and earning my place in the world.”
Ross wanted to be a football star, but he joined the track team at the suggestion of its coach, who said it would help him stay in shape during the offseason. A powerful running back, Ross was routed to the shot put. But after seeing sprinters attract the most attention from girls at meets, he asked for a change.
At that point a hurdler, Ross chose Clemson to stay within a few hours of his sister. There, he evolved into a seven-time all-American, the 1995 NCAA 110-meter hurdles champion and a team leader.
"We all just love this place so much" — Duane Ross on #Clemson HOF induction. READ: http://t.co/GCzMxyzmJm pic.twitter.com/nabamAiyqa
— Clemson Track & Field 🐾 (@ClemsonTrackXC) September 29, 2014
Ross was the U.S. indoor 60-meter hurdles champion in 1998 and a 110-meter hurdles bronze medalist at the 1999 outdoor world championships. He took a hiatus in 2001 to build a financial planning business. When he returned to the track, he found even greater success, becoming the No. 5 hurdler in the world in 2003 and narrowly missing the finals of the 110-meter hurdles at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
Ross retired after the 2005 outdoor season, but the itch for track and field remained. He coached a Raleigh, N.C.-area youth club, and when the head coaching position at Division III Methodist University opened up in 2008, he got the job.
His coaching career started just as his legacy was swept up in doping drama. Ross’s former coach, Trevor Graham, was accused of lying to federal agents about distributing steroids in connection with the Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative (BALCO), infamous for providing performance-enhancers to baseball star Barry Bonds. An investigation unearthed receipts that showed Ross and other athletes transferred hundreds of dollars to Graham’s drug supplier. Ross testified to a federal grand jury in 2008 that he purchased legal substances including creatine and vitamin B12. But two years later, his results after Nov. 2, 2001, were disqualified by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.
Ross broached the subject during job interviews at Methodist and later at A&T, where the athletic director, Earl Hilton, told the Greensboro News & Record that after researching the allegations, “I didn’t have any questions about [Ross’s] integrity.”
Ross transformed the Methodist women’s program into a three-time conference champion and one of the best in Division III. At A&T, he created a team atmosphere that helped him attract top athletes. Recruits came for the man they would come to call a second father, who regularly calls their parents just to talk about life and who shies away from games of spades, lest losses diminish his authority on the track.
That work finally paid dividends last year. The men finished fifth at the NCAA indoors. Then Ross Jr. helped secure A&T’s third-place finish at the outdoor meet, matching Morgan State in 1951 for the highest finish for an HBCU men’s squad.
At the same meet, Sturgis bested Sha’Carri Richardson’s 100-meter collegiate record with a blazing, wind-aided 10.74 seconds. Her 200-meter victory helped the Aggies finish in a tie for fourth, making A&T just the second HBCU women’s program to finish in the top five at the NCAA outdoor meet, following Texas Southern in 1986 and 1989.
🏆 Women's 100m 🏆
— NCAA Track & Field (@NCAATrackField) June 12, 2021
Cambrea Sturgis... WOWOWOW!! 🔥🔥🔥🔥#NCAATF x @NCATAGGIES
📺 ESPNU pic.twitter.com/3VxJy2Xqmq
“From 2016 to now, without those steppingstones and building blocks, none of this would have happened,” says Kayla White, the 2019 NCAA women’s indoor athlete of the year, considering how it would feel to see her alma mater win the outdoor title this week. “It’d be an emotional moment for me because I’m so tied to the program. Whenever the girls run fast, the guys run fast, I’m the loudest one screaming. I was dang near in tears watching [Sturgis] at nationals last year.”
The next step
Ross remembers the people who said A&T could never become what it has. He still hears the qualifiers that accompany compliments about his team’s success. And his athletes overhear unfounded accusations of cheating.
For those stresses, A&T’s strides have helped programs beyond Greensboro, where mid-major track coaches speak of shattered ceilings and newfound objectives. At HBCUs, former foes take pride in A&T’s achievements. And some HBCU coaches describe a more tangible side effect, suggesting the Aggies’ success has led to more generous administrations, more receptive recruits and more access to top track meets.
“It’s helping us out because we’re able to tell these student-athletes that you can come to an HBCU and you can reap this success just as you would in the SEC or ACC,” Norfolk State Coach Kenneth Giles says. “Speaking to other coaches at the HBCU level, they’re getting more funding, so it’s really helped all over.”
After the Aggies men finished second in this year’s NCAA indoor meet, the outdoor title is expected to come down to Florida, Texas and North Carolina A&T. That seemed impossible 10 years ago — before Ross arrived in Greensboro to preach the gospel of HBCU excellence.
But Ross’s best chance to fulfill his word also will be his last. Weeks after the April meet, he was named the next coach at Tennessee. After declining high-profile opportunities over the previous five seasons, Ross says, his decision was less about money and resources and more about the right fit and the right time for his next challenge.
But the money’s good, too: His $450,000 salary at Tennessee will exceed the $325,000 he earned as the highest-paid employee in A&T’s athletic department and is nearly twice that of his predecessor in Knoxville.
“It was time for me to move on to new challenges and new things,” Ross says. “A lot of people think it was about money. It was really just a situation where I felt it was time to move on after 10 years of rolling up my sleeves.
“My immediate feeling when I made that decision was that I’m letting a lot of our alumni down because I promised them a national championship during my time here. I do my best to not let the team get caught up in the emotion of all this. We know it’s our last one together, but the mission remains the same.”
Others will continue the pursuit.
As Ross pulled up to A&T’s stadium that April morning, he stopped to greet alumni laying out silver trays and hot dog buns under white canopies at the far end of the parking lot. The group, composed of former track and field stars, was preparing for the future as much as they were a cookout.
They gathered for the first time since the pandemic began to formally announce a fund in honor of Thompson, the former coach, meant to provide supplemental financial support to the program. A&T has come close to matching LSU and Georgia on the track, and the budding booster club hopes to close the financial gap off the track so A&T’s success will last.
“It’s cool to see how the program has elevated,” says Damon Vaughan, an A&T long jumper in the 1990s. “It’s beautiful, but we want to build a community that spans different eras.”
Neither Ross nor the alumni knew his era would end so soon after he stopped to greet them that morning. Ross’s focus was on the meet and preparing for nationals. After addressing each person under the canopy, he smiled, waved and headed for the track.
Jennifer Jenkins contributed to this report. | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/06/09/north-carolina-track-duane-ross/ | 2022-06-09 13:52:47 | 1 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/06/09/north-carolina-track-duane-ross/ |
- EQT Ventures III holds final close at EUR 1 billion of fee-generating commitments, and EUR 1.1 billion of total commitments, to invest in European and North American early-stage tech startups
- The Fund, which includes participation from a wide range of European, North American and Asian institutional investors, foundations, and endowments, will make investments of EUR 1-50 million in founder-led startups using technology to try and solve some of the biggest challenges facing society
- EQT Ventures III brings total commitments raised across the EQT Ventures Funds to EUR 2.3 billion since launching in 2016. The EQT Ventures Funds have completed over 100 investments, of which nine have reached a valuation above EUR 1 billion and 18 have been exited. EQT Ventures III has already led investments in 13 companies, including Juni, Nothing, Knoetic and Candela
- EQT Ventures III and EQT Growth together bring EUR 3.5 billion of new commitments to invest in early- and growth-stage technology companies, cementing EQT's position as a leading tech investor
STOCKHOLM, Nov. 9, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- EQT has closed Europe's largest venture capital fund committed to early-stage tech startups. EQT Ventures III (the "Fund" or "Ventures III") closed with total commitments of EUR 1.1 billion, of which EUR 1 billion is fee-generating, bringing the total commitments raised across the EQT Ventures' Funds to EUR 2.3 billion since launching in 2016.
Taking place during a time of market uncertainty, the successful fundraise is evidence that investors still have an appetite for early-stage technology focused funds despite the challenging macroeconomic environment, turning to proven and high-conviction teams with a hands-on approach.
The EQT Ventures Funds have made over 100 investments in six years, including nine companies that have reached a EUR 1bn+ valuation, including Wolt, Small Giant Games, Einride, Handshake, Netlify and Instabox (today Instabee). The Fund has already backed and supported 13 companies as the lead investor. EQT Ventures III will continue to support companies using technology to solve some of the biggest challenges facing society by investing in sectors such as climate tech, food tech, the creator economy, energy, fintech, software, data & IT infrastructure, deep tech and more.
The Fund's global investor base - with institutional investors, foundations and endowments across Europe, the Americas and APAC - reflects its international presence and outlook. From its offices in six countries, the EQT Ventures Advisory Team is focusing on helping founders expand their businesses globally - European startups into the US and vice versa. The EQT Ventures Funds currently have portfolio companies in 16 geographies.
Lars Jörnow, Partner at EQT Ventures, said: "EQT Ventures was founded to give entrepreneurs the investor that we would have wanted on our company board. Now, with a freshly raised EUR 1.1 billion, an advisory team of founders and operators, and being backed by EQT, one of the world's biggest tech investors, EQT Ventures is here to continue the journey as half startup, half VC, investing holistically in early-stage tech startups, giving founders a fast track to scale."
The EUR 1.1 billion close of EQT Ventures III follows the recent close of the EQT Growth fund, at EUR 2.4 billion in total commitments, cementing EQT's position as a leading tech investor. EQT Ventures and EQT Growth are both committed to investing in high growth private tech companies; they are two separate business divisions, with separate funds and advisory teams. EQT Ventures makes initial investments between EUR 1-50 million, while EQT Growth makes initial investments between EUR 50-200 million at later stages of the company growth journey.
Per Franzén, Head of Private Capital and Deputy Managing Partner at EQT, said: "Coming shortly after the close of EQT Growth, EQT Ventures' successful fundraise is a real vote of confidence in EQT's active ownership approach to investing. The capital raised across both funds means EQT has now raised new commitments of EUR 3.5 billion to private market tech, consolidating our position as one of the world's largest tech investors. By driving collaboration across EQT Private Capital we will continue to be at the forefront of technology investing across strategies."
Alastair Mitchell, Partner at EQT Ventures, concluded: "Now is the time to back category leaders, those driving innovation to change the world for the better. EQT Ventures was set up to give founders the best chance of reaching scale, irrespective of the macroeconomic climate. We're an advisory team of founders and operators that have weathered cycles and have experience creating global businesses. The Fund will double down on EQT Ventures' proven European track record, while continuing to grow the impressive portfolio of US startups scaling internationally."
The EQT Ventures funds are advised by over 40 founders and operators across offices in Stockholm, London, San Francisco, Berlin and Paris with a 50/50 gender split. With the new fund, the advisory team will be able to grow further by hiring in Europe and the US, with the ultimate goal of making EQT Ventures the most supportive early-stage investor across both markets.
The team's guidance to the portfolio is assisted by its proprietary AI market intelligence tool, EQT Motherbrain. Motherbrain is used to source investment opportunities - having assisted EQT Ventures source 15 investments to date, representing EUR 200m of invested capital in total. It also provides market intelligence to founders within the EQT Ventures portfolio.
Contact
James Hartwell, Kekst CNC, james.hartwell@kekstcnc.com, +44 7870 487 532
Sofie Grant, sofie@eqtventures.com
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SOURCE EQT | https://www.wbay.com/prnewswire/2022/11/09/eqt-ventures-iii-closes-europes-largest-venture-capital-fund-committed-early-stage-tech-startups/ | 2022-11-09 09:22:36 | 0 | https://www.wbay.com/prnewswire/2022/11/09/eqt-ventures-iii-closes-europes-largest-venture-capital-fund-committed-early-stage-tech-startups/ |
BEIJING, May 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The 4th Shanghai Y50 Forum for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (Shanghai Y50 Forum) was held on Saturday in east China's Shanghai, aiming to help build the metropolis into a hotspot for youth innovation and entrepreneurship.
A large number of young innovative entrepreneurs, economists, scientists, and business leaders were invited to participate in the forum to discuss launching more precise measures and achieving more practical results to attract more innovative youth to pursue their dreams in Shanghai.
At the forum themed "Future Industries Lead the Future", the top ten young pioneers of technology entrepreneurship in Shanghai for 2023 were unveiled, who came from sectors such as biomedical, artificial intelligence (AI), information technology, robot manufacturing, integrated circuit research and development.
The city's top ten outstanding cases on innovation and entrepreneurship covering areas like hydrogen energy, intelligent robots, and AI were also announced during the event.
Meanwhile, the "1.0" version digital map of Shanghai's innovation and entrepreneurship was showcased. Serving as a public digital think tank platform, the digital map shows the achievements and trends of innovation and entrepreneurship in Shanghai, shares analysis and research results, and provides digital services.
The top ten training camps for innovation and entrepreneurship in Shanghai were launched at the forum for the first time. The training camps, which are open to young people from China and the rest of the world for registration, integrate entrepreneurship mentorship, closed door meetings, big shot experience sharing, special training, and project roadshows to help young talents get a firm foothold in Shanghai.
A group of government officials made in-depth interpretations of current policies on talent support, industrial development, and scientific and technological innovation during the event.
Initiated from April 2020, the Shanghai Y50 Forum has become a significant platform for young entrepreneurs to exchange cross-sector ideas and display excellent cases. It has also been a key platform for Shanghai to gather wisdom, pool efforts, and promote cooperation to help young people devote themselves to innovation and successful entrepreneurship.
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SOURCE Xinhua Silk Road | https://www.wbay.com/prnewswire/2023/05/22/xinhua-silk-road-4th-shanghai-y50-forum-held-build-shanghai-into-hotspot-youth-innovation-entrepreneurship/ | 2023-05-22 07:57:45 | 1 | https://www.wbay.com/prnewswire/2023/05/22/xinhua-silk-road-4th-shanghai-y50-forum-held-build-shanghai-into-hotspot-youth-innovation-entrepreneurship/ |
BONGA – Thousands of people who fled their homes in the central Philippines to escape a restive volcano have to contend with another threat that's complicating the ongoing evacuations: monsoon rains that could be unleashed by an approaching typhoon.
More than 6,000 villagers have been forced to leave rural communities within a 6-kilometer (3.7-mile) radius of Mayon volcano’s crater in northeastern Albay province. Thousands more need to be moved to safety from the permanent danger zone, officials said.
Others living outside the perimeter have packed their bags and voluntarily left with their children for evacuation centers in Albay, which was placed under a state of calamity on Friday to allow more rapid disbursement of emergency funds in case a major eruption unfolds.
Authorities raised the alert level for the volcano on Thursday after superheated streams of gas, debris and rocks cascaded down its upper slope, indicating activity below the surface that could precede a hazardous eruption within days or weeks.
A key tourist draw for its picturesque conical shape, the 2,462-meter (8,077-feet) Mayon is one of the country’s most active volcanoes. It last erupted violently in 2018, displacing tens of thousands of villagers.
Authorities warned that Typhoon Guchol, which is approaching the Philippines from the Pacific but is projected to skirt the archipelago, may still dump heavy rains — an unwelcome news for those living near Mayon's slopes.
"There's a typhoon and floodwaters may rush down Mayon and swamp this village. That’s one of our fears,” Villamor Lopez, a house painter, told The Associated Press.
He sat worriedly with his relatives clinging to their bags of clothes, rice in pouches and bottles of drinking water on a pickup truck hauling villagers from Daraga town in Albay to an emergency shelter several kilometers (miles) away.
Other residents chatted on a roadside near a chapel, still undecided whether to leave.
A loudspeaker in their laid-back community of low-slung rural houses and narrow dirt alleys warned people to prepare to evacuate anytime if the situation worsens. In the overcast sky above them, the volcano laid hidden by thick rainclouds.
Village leader Dennis Bon, who was preparing to drive Lopez and others to the shelter, said he would not risk waiting until the last minute.
"We have children, persons with disabilities and elderly residents here,” Bon said, before he drove off.
Albay Gov. Edcel Greco Lagman and Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian said they were prepared if monsoon rains were to trigger mudflows and rockfalls.
"We will still make sure that we will have no casualties from any compounded calamities,” Lagman said.
Despite growing worries among many villagers, those who have survived Mayon's eruptions over decades were taking the latest threats in stride.
In Bonga village near the volcano, a few men gingerly took a bath in a stream of spring water flowing down Mayon’s lush foothills and washed two motorcycles near boulders as big as cars that had rolled down years ago during past eruptions.
They shrugged and smiled when asked if the volcano’s new rumblings had struck fear.
The Philippines lies along the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” the area around the ocean rim where tectonic plates meet that is prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. A long-dormant volcano, Mount Pinatubo, blew its top north of Manila in 1991 in one of the biggest volcanic eruptions of the 20th century, killing hundreds of people.
___
Associated Press journalist Aaron Favila contributed to this report. | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/world/2023/06/10/rains-unleashed-by-typhoon-worry-thousands-of-people-fleeing-restive-philippine-volcano/ | 2023-06-10 09:54:22 | 0 | https://www.clickorlando.com/news/world/2023/06/10/rains-unleashed-by-typhoon-worry-thousands-of-people-fleeing-restive-philippine-volcano/ |
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Wednesday afternoon's drawing of the New York Lottery's "Win 4 Midday" game were:
4-9-2-7
(four, nine, two, seven)
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Wednesday afternoon's drawing of the New York Lottery's "Win 4 Midday" game were:
4-9-2-7
(four, nine, two, seven) | https://www.ourmidland.com/lottery/article/Winning-numbers-drawn-in-Win-4-Midday-game-17520231.php | 2022-10-19 20:02:59 | 0 | https://www.ourmidland.com/lottery/article/Winning-numbers-drawn-in-Win-4-Midday-game-17520231.php |
SEATTLE — Classes on Monday were canceled as teachers in Seattle continued to strike.
This marks the fourth day Seattle Public Schools students have missed school as teachers strike for better staffing, better wages, and better working environments, the Associated Press reported.
Last Tuesday, the Seattle Education Association, the union representing the teachers, said 95% of its members approved to strike.
The Seattle Times reported that the following day, which also marked the first day of school, educators at the state’s largest school district, hit the picket line,
The Seattle Education Association said their main concerns include receiving adequate support for students in special education and multilingual education and sustainable solutions to growing class sizes.
According to the district's website, the school board offered a $2,000 bonus for third-year Seattle teachers earning an English language or dual-language endorsement.
The Associated Press reported that the district also offered a pay raise of 1%, which was below what the union asked for. | https://www.kxlf.com/news/national/seattle-teachers-still-on-strike-as-classes-canceled-monday | 2022-09-12 20:46:32 | 1 | https://www.kxlf.com/news/national/seattle-teachers-still-on-strike-as-classes-canceled-monday |
DES MOINES, Iowa — WHO 13’s Calyn Thompson won first place in her bracket at the Iowa State Fair’s Best Bagger contest Friday.
The Iowa Grocery Industry Association’s 35th Annual Best Bagger Contest consists of pros and amateurs competing to bag as many grocery items into bags as possible within a set timeframe.
Calyn said she’s not a pro and has never worked at a grocery store before, she’s just a natural. Calyn’s prize for winning first place was a 250 dollar donation check to the ALS Association Iowa Chapter. | https://who13.com/news/who-13s-calyn-thompson-wins-grocery-bagging-contest/ | 2022-08-13 22:16:32 | 0 | https://who13.com/news/who-13s-calyn-thompson-wins-grocery-bagging-contest/ |
It looks like Circle K will start supplying double of your gas needs.
According to sources, the gas station is collaborating with “multi-state cannabis operator Green Thumb Industries to sell licensed cannabis at Circle K gas outlets in the state of Florida.” This partnership looks to be the first of its kind where marijuana will be available to buy inside the convenience store despite weed only being legally sold in dispensaries.
This is expected to be normalized “by fusing it with standard consumer products,” said Green Thumb CEO Ben Kovler while describing the partnership as “a futuristic deal.”
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The company Green Thumb is looking to sell weed in at least 10 Circle K locations that will be branded “RISE Express” stores with a separate entrance from the gas station. People will still need a medical marijuana card due to cannabis only being allowed to be purchased for medical reasons in the state.
Though this intuitive is starting out small, they’re looking to expand to other states in the future. Is this a good futuristic idea?
READ MORE:
- WATCH: Sheryl Lee Ralph Schools ScHoolboy Q On The Real Way To Enjoy Weed
- Whoopi Goldberg Launches New Medical Marijuana Company For Women
- New York City’s First Medical Marijuana Dispensary Is Finally Open
- Chicago Police To Investigate Video Of Child Appearing To Smoke Marijuana
- Rx of Weed for Kevin Durant
- Marijuana Enthusiast Charlo Green Talks Exclusively to Jacque Reid
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Gas With The Gas?! Circle K Gas Stations In Florida Will Start Selling Weed In 2023 was originally published on rickeysmileymorningshow.com | https://wtlcfm.com/3348123/gas-with-the-gas-circle-k-gas-stations-in-florida-will-start-selling-weed-in-2023/ | 2022-10-20 03:23:57 | 1 | https://wtlcfm.com/3348123/gas-with-the-gas-circle-k-gas-stations-in-florida-will-start-selling-weed-in-2023/ |
Our high school sports photos like the ones below put you right up close with the action and the whole experience. Check them out by clicking anywhere in the collage below to open the photo gallery. Don’t forget to share the gallery with friends and relatives.
These photos are also available for purchase in a variety of sizes and finishes – just click the “BUY IMAGE” link below any photo to see available options and make a purchase. NJ.com subscribers can also get free print-quality digital downloads of any images in this gallery.
NOTE: Because we are trying to make these galleries available for viewing as quickly as possible, the gallery may not be in its final form. If you only see a few photos, you are probably seeing an early version and more photos will be added later. Please return and refresh the page to see additions. | https://www.nj.com/highschoolsports/2023/04/softball-photos-donovan-catholic-vs-mount-st-dominic-april-16-2023.html | 2023-04-16 23:08:15 | 1 | https://www.nj.com/highschoolsports/2023/04/softball-photos-donovan-catholic-vs-mount-st-dominic-april-16-2023.html |
COLUMBUS, Ga., Aug. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Aflac Incorporated (NYSE: AFL) today reported its second quarter results.
Total revenues were $5.4 billion in the second quarter of 2022, compared with $5.6 billion in the second quarter of 2021. Net earnings were $1.4 billion, or $2.16 per diluted share, compared with $1.1 billion, or $1.62 per diluted share a year ago.
Net earnings in the second quarter of 2022 included net investment gains of $564 million, or $0.88 per diluted share, compared with net investment gains of $89 million, or $0.13 per diluted share a year ago. The net investment gains were driven by net gains from certain derivatives and foreign currency activities of $618 million and net gains from sales and redemptions of $115 million, both driven by foreign exchange. These gains were partially offset by an increase in the allowance associated with the company's estimate of current expected credit losses (CECL) and impairments of $34 million. These net investment gains included a decrease of $135 million in the fair value of equity securities.
Adjusted earnings* in the second quarter were $939 million, compared with $1.1 billion in the second quarter of 2021, reflecting a decrease of 13.1%. Adjusted earnings per diluted share* decreased 8.2% to $1.46 in the quarter. It included variable investment income from alternative investments, which was $0.06 per share above return expectations. Adjusted earnings per diluted share excluded adjusted net investment gains* of $0.88 per share. The weaker yen/dollar exchange rate impacted adjusted earnings per share by $0.09.
The average yen/dollar exchange rate in the second quarter of 2022 was 129.39, or 15.4% weaker than the average rate of 109.48 in the second quarter of 2021. For the first six months, the average exchange rate was 122.79, or 12.2% weaker than the rate of 107.79 a year ago.
Total investments and cash at the end of June 2022 were $121.4 billion, compared with $146.7 billion at June 30, 2021. In the second quarter, Aflac Incorporated deployed $650 million in capital to repurchase 11.2 million of its common shares. At the end of June 2022, the company had 36.6 million remaining shares authorized for repurchase.
Shareholders' equity was $26.4 billion, or $41.59 per share, at June 30, 2022, compared with $33.7 billion, or $50.20 per share, at June 30, 2021. Shareholders' equity at the end of the second quarter included a net unrealized gain on investment securities and derivatives of $2.9 billion, compared with a net unrealized gain of $10.0 billion at June 30, 2021. Shareholders' equity at the end of the second quarter also included an unrealized foreign currency translation loss of $3.3 billion, compared with an unrealized foreign currency translation loss of $1.7 billion at June 30, 2021. The annualized return on average shareholders' equity in the second quarter was 19.9%.
For the first six months of 2022, total revenues were down 6.7% to $10.7 billion, compared with $11.4 billion in the first half of 2021. Net earnings were $2.4 billion, or $3.73 per diluted share, compared with $2.4 billion, or $3.49 per diluted share, for the first six months of 2021. Adjusted earnings for the first half of 2022 were $1.9 billion, or $2.88 per diluted share, compared with $2.1 billion, or $3.11 per diluted share, in 2021. Excluding the negative impact of $0.15 per share from the weaker yen/dollar exchange rate, adjusted earnings per diluted share decreased 2.9% to $3.02 for the first six months of 2022.
Shareholders' equity excluding AOCI (or adjusted book value*) was $26.9 billion, or $42.45 per share at June 30, 2022, compared with $25.7 billion, or $38.27 per share, at June 30, 2021. The annualized adjusted return on equity excluding foreign currency impact* in the second quarter was 14.9%.
In yen terms, Aflac Japan's net earned premiums were ¥313.2 billion for the quarter, or 4.2% lower than a year ago, mainly due to limited pay products reaching paid-up status and constrained sales from the impact of pandemic conditions. Adjusted net investment income increased 8.4% to ¥94.0 billion, mainly due to higher floating rate income as well as the impact of a weaker yen on the dollar-denominated investment income. Total adjusted revenues in yen declined 1.6% to ¥408.3 billion. Pretax adjusted earnings in yen for the quarter increased 1.6% on a reported basis to ¥111.7 billion, due to higher reserve releases and adjusted net investment income. Pretax adjusted earnings decreased 7.0% on a currency-neutral basis. The pretax adjusted profit margin for the Japan segment increased to 27.4%, compared with 26.5% a year ago.
For the first six months, net earned premiums in yen were ¥629.6 billion, or 4.3% lower than a year ago. Adjusted net investment income increased 7.3% to ¥173.0 billion. Total adjusted revenues in yen were down 2.0% to ¥804.9 billion. Pretax adjusted earnings were ¥211.9 billion, or 4.0% higher than a year ago.
In dollar terms, net earned premiums decreased 19.0% to $2.4 billion in the second quarter. Adjusted net investment income decreased 8.7% to $723 million. Total adjusted revenues declined by 16.8% to $3.2 billion. Pretax adjusted earnings declined 14.3% to $860 million.
For the first six months, net earned premiums in dollars were $5.1 billion, or 15.8% lower than a year ago. Adjusted net investment income decreased 6.3% to $1.4 billion. Total adjusted revenues were down 14.0% to $6.6 billion. Pretax adjusted earnings were $1.7 billion, or 8.9% lower than a year ago.
For the quarter, total new annualized premium sales (sales) decreased 6.4% to ¥12.7 billion, or $98 million, reflecting the January 2021 launch of a new medical product and continued weakness in sales recovery, in part constrained by pandemic conditions. For the first six months, total new sales decreased 10.7% to ¥24.7 billion, or $201 million.
Aflac U.S. net earned premiums declined 1.0% to $1.4 billion in the second quarter, impacted by lower year-to-date persistency. Adjusted net investment income increased 2.1% to $193 million. Total adjusted revenues were up 0.1% to $1.6 billion. Pretax adjusted earnings were $349 million, 15.5% lower than a year ago, which was driven by higher incurred benefits and elevated expenses reflecting, in part, platform and growth investments. The pretax adjusted profit margin for the U.S. segment was 21.4%, compared with 25.4% a year ago.
For the first six months, net earned premiums declined 0.8% to $2.8 billion. Adjusted net investment income increased 3.0% to $377 million. Total adjusted revenues were up 0.4% to $3.3 billion. Pretax adjusted earnings were $674 million, or 21.5% lower than a year ago.
Aflac U.S. sales increased 15.6% in the quarter to $305 million, reflecting continued investment in growth initiatives as well as productivity gains. For the first half of the year, total new sales increased 17.2% to $604 million.
For the quarter, total adjusted revenues decreased 16.0% to $42 million. Pretax adjusted earnings were a loss of $75 million, compared with a loss of $76 million a year ago. These results reflect higher adjusted net investment income from higher interest rates offset by lower amortized hedge income and the impact of federal tax credit investments as tax benefits are recognized in a corresponding lower income tax expense. These results also reflect the impact of foreign currency on total net earned premiums and the corresponding benefits.
For the first six months, total adjusted revenues decreased 12.8% to $116 million. Pretax adjusted earnings were a loss of $120 million, compared with a loss of $102 million a year ago.
The board of directors declared the third quarter dividend of $0.40 per share, payable on September 1, 2022 to shareholders of record at the close of business on August 24, 2022.
Commenting on the company's results, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Daniel P. Amos stated: "The company generated solid earnings for the first six months, supported in part by the continuation of low benefit ratios associated with pandemic conditions and better-than-expected returns from alternative investments, despite the weakening yen. We continue to remain cautiously optimistic as our efforts focus on growth and efficiency initiatives amid this evolving pandemic backdrop.
"Looking at our operations in Japan, persistency remained strong in the second quarter, but sales were constrained as we continued to operate in evolving pandemic conditions. This impacted our ability to meet face-to-face with customers, which continues to be key to a recovery in sales. Within this context, we continue to expect stronger sales in the second half of the year assuming that those conditions subside, productivity continues to improve at Japan Post, and we execute on our product introduction and refreshment plans.
"In the U.S., I am pleased with the continued momentum in our core voluntary business and contribution from newly acquired growth platforms of dental, vision, and group benefits. We continue to work toward reinforcing our position and generating stronger sales for the year, while we keep an eye on potential headwinds.
"As always, we are committed to prudent liquidity and capital management. We continue to generate strong investment results while remaining in a defensive position as we monitor evolving economic conditions. In addition, we have taken proactive steps in recent years to defend cash flow and deployable capital against a weakening yen. We treasure our 39-year track record of dividend growth and remain committed to extending it, supported by the strength of our capital and cash flows. At the same time, we remain in the market repurchasing shares with a tactical approach, focused on integrating the growth investments we have made in our platform. By doing so, we look to emerge from this period in a continued position of strength and leadership."
*See Non-U.S. GAAP Financial Measures section for an explanation of foreign exchange and its impact on the financial statements and definitions of the non-U.S. GAAP financial measures used in this earnings release, as well as a reconciliation of such non-U.S. GAAP financial measures to the most comparable U.S. GAAP financial measures.
Aflac Incorporated (NYSE: AFL) is a Fortune 500 company helping provide protection to more than 50 million people through its subsidiaries in Japan and the U.S., paying cash fast when policyholders get sick or injured. For more than six decades, insurance policies of Aflac Incorporated's subsidiaries have given policyholders the opportunity to focus on recovery, not financial stress. In the U.S., Aflac is the number one provider of supplemental health insurance products1. Aflac Life Insurance Japan is the leading provider of medical and cancer insurance in Japan, where it insures 1 in 4 households. In 2021, Aflac Incorporated was proud to be included as one of the World's Most Ethical Companies by Ethisphere for the 16th consecutive year. Also in 2021, the company was included in the Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index and became a signatory of the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI). In 2022, Aflac Incorporated was included on Fortune's list of World's Most Admired Companies for the 21st time and Bloomberg's Gender-Equality Index for the third consecutive year. To find out how to get help with expenses health insurance doesn't cover, get to know us at aflac.com or aflac.com/español. Investors may learn more about Aflac Incorporated and its commitment to ESG and social responsibility at investors.aflac.com under "Sustainability."
A copy of Aflac's Financial Analysts Briefing (FAB) supplement for the quarter can be found on the "Investors" page at aflac.com.
Aflac Incorporated will webcast its quarterly conference call via the "Investors" page of aflac.com at 8:00 a.m. (ET) on Tuesday, August 2, 2022.
Note: Tables within this document may not foot due to rounding.
This document includes references to the Company's financial performance measures which are not calculated in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles (U.S. GAAP) (non-U.S. GAAP). The financial measures exclude items that the Company believes may obscure the underlying fundamentals and trends in insurance operations because they tend to be driven by general economic conditions and events or related to infrequent activities not directly associated with insurance operations.
Due to the size of Aflac Japan, where the functional currency is the Japanese yen, fluctuations in the yen/dollar exchange rate can have a significant effect on reported results. In periods when the yen weakens, translating yen into dollars results in fewer dollars being reported. When the yen strengthens, translating yen into dollars results in more dollars being reported. Consequently, yen weakening has the effect of suppressing current period results in relation to the comparable prior period, while yen strengthening has the effect of magnifying current period results in relation to the comparable prior period. A significant portion of the Company's business is conducted in yen and never converted into dollars but translated into dollars for U.S. GAAP reporting purposes, which results in foreign currency impact to earnings, cash flows and book value on a U.S. GAAP basis. Management evaluates the Company's financial performance both including and excluding the impact of foreign currency translation to monitor, respectively, cumulative currency impacts and the currency-neutral operating performance over time. The average yen/dollar exchange rate is based on the published MUFG Bank, Ltd. telegraphic transfer middle rate (TTM).
The company defines the non-U.S. GAAP financial measures included in this earnings release as follows:
- Adjusted earnings are adjusted revenues less benefits and adjusted expenses. Adjusted earnings per share (basic or diluted) are the adjusted earnings for the period divided by the weighted average outstanding shares (basic or diluted) for the period presented. The adjustments to both revenues and expenses account for certain items that cannot be predicted or that are outside management's control. Adjusted revenues are U.S. GAAP total revenues excluding adjusted net investment gains and losses. Adjusted expenses are U.S. GAAP total acquisition and operating expenses including the impact of interest cash flows from derivatives associated with notes payable but excluding any nonrecurring or other items not associated with the normal course of the Company's insurance operations and that do not reflect the Company's underlying business performance. Management uses adjusted earnings and adjusted earnings per diluted share to evaluate the financial performance of the Company's insurance operations on a consolidated basis and believes that a presentation of these financial measures is vitally important to an understanding of the underlying profitability drivers and trends of the Company's insurance business. The most comparable U.S. GAAP financial measures for adjusted earnings and adjusted earnings per share (basic or diluted) are net earnings and net earnings per share, respectively.
- Adjusted earnings excluding current period foreign currency impact are computed using the average foreign currency exchange rate for the comparable prior-year period, which eliminates fluctuations driven solely by foreign currency exchange rate changes. Adjusted earnings per diluted share excluding current period foreign currency impact is adjusted earnings excluding current period foreign currency impact divided by the weighted average outstanding diluted shares for the period presented. The Company considers adjusted earnings excluding current period foreign currency impact and adjusted earnings per diluted share excluding current period foreign currency impact important because a significant portion of the Company's business is conducted in Japan and foreign exchange rates are outside management's control; therefore, the Company believes it is important to understand the impact of translating foreign currency (primarily Japanese yen) into U.S. dollars. The most comparable U.S. GAAP financial measures for adjusted earnings excluding current period foreign currency impact and adjusted earnings per diluted share excluding current period foreign currency impact are net earnings and net earnings per share, respectively.
- Adjusted return on equity is adjusted earnings divided by average shareholders' equity, excluding accumulated other comprehensive income (AOCI). Management uses adjusted return on equity to evaluate the financial performance of the Company's insurance operations on a consolidated basis and believes that a presentation of this financial measure is vitally important to an understanding of the underlying profitability drivers and trends of the Company's insurance business. The Company considers adjusted return on equity important as it excludes components of AOCI, which fluctuate due to market movements that are outside management's control. The most comparable U.S. GAAP financial measure for adjusted return on equity is return on average equity (ROE) as determined using net earnings and average total shareholders' equity.
- Adjusted return on equity excluding foreign currency impact is adjusted earnings excluding the current period foreign currency impact divided by average shareholders' equity, excluding AOCI. The Company considers adjusted return on equity excluding foreign currency impact important as it excludes changes in foreign currency and components of AOCI, which fluctuate due to market movements that are outside management's control. The most comparable U.S. GAAP financial measure for adjusted return on equity excluding foreign currency impact is ROE as determined using net earnings and average total shareholders' equity.
- Amortized hedge costs/income represent costs/income incurred or recognized as a result of using foreign currency derivatives to hedge certain foreign exchange risks in the Company's Japan segment or in Corporate and other. These amortized hedge costs/ income are estimated at the inception of the derivatives based on the specific terms of each contract and are recognized on a straight-line basis over the term of the hedge. The Company believes that amortized hedge costs/income measure the periodic currency risk management costs/income related to hedging certain foreign currency exchange risks and are an important component of net investment income. There is no comparable U.S. GAAP financial measure for amortized hedge costs/ income.
- Adjusted book value is the U.S. GAAP book value (representing total shareholders' equity), less AOCI as recorded on the U.S. GAAP balance sheet. Adjusted book value per common share is adjusted book value at the period end divided by the ending outstanding common shares for the period presented. The Company considers adjusted book value and adjusted book value per common share important as they exclude AOCI, which fluctuates due to market movements that are outside management's control. The most comparable U.S. GAAP financial measures for adjusted book value and adjusted book value per common share are total book value and total book value per common share, respectively.
- Adjusted book value including unrealized foreign currency translation gains and losses is adjusted book value plus unrealized foreign currency translation gains and losses. Adjusted book value including unrealized foreign currency translation gains and losses per common share is adjusted book value plus unrealized foreign currency translation gains and losses at the period end divided by the ending outstanding common shares for the period presented. The Company considers adjusted book value including unrealized foreign currency translation gains and losses, and its related per share financial measure, important as they exclude certain components of AOCI, which fluctuate due to market movements that are outside management's control; however, it includes the impact of foreign currency as a result of the significance of Aflac's Japan operation. The most comparable U.S. GAAP financial measures for adjusted book value including unrealized foreign currency translation gains and losses and adjusted book value including unrealized foreign currency translation gains and losses per common share are total book value and total book value per common share, respectively.
- Adjusted net investment income is net investment income adjusted for i) amortized hedge cost/income related to foreign currency exposure management strategies and certain derivative activity, and ii) net interest cash flows from foreign currency and interest rate derivatives associated with certain investment strategies, which are reclassified from net investment gains and losses to net investment income. The Company considers adjusted net investment income important because it provides a more comprehensive understanding of the costs and income associated with the Company's investments and related hedging strategies. The most comparable U.S. GAAP financial measure for adjusted net investment income is net investment income.
- Adjusted net investment gains and losses are net investment gains and losses adjusted for i) amortized hedge cost/income related to foreign currency exposure management strategies and certain derivative activity, ii) net interest cash flows from foreign currency and interest rate derivatives associated with certain investment strategies, which are both reclassified to net investment income, and iii) the impact of interest cash flows from derivatives associated with notes payable, which is reclassified to interest expense as a component of total adjusted expenses. The Company considers adjusted net investment gains and losses important as it represents the remainder amount that is considered outside management's control, while excluding the components that are within management's control and are accordingly reclassified to net investment income and interest expense. The most comparable U.S. GAAP financial measure for adjusted net investment gains and losses is net investment gains and losses.
The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a "safe harbor" to encourage companies to provide prospective information, so long as those informational statements are identified as forward-looking and are accompanied by meaningful cautionary statements identifying important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those included in the forward-looking statements. The company desires to take advantage of these provisions. This document contains cautionary statements identifying important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected herein, and in any other statements made by company officials in communications with the financial community and contained in documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Forward-looking statements are not based on historical information and relate to future operations, strategies, financial results or other developments. Furthermore, forward-looking information is subject to numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties. In particular, statements containing words such as "expect," "anticipate," "believe," "goal," "objective," "may," "should," "estimate," "intends," "projects," "will," "assumes," "potential," "target," "outlook" or similar words as well as specific projections of future results, generally qualify as forward-looking. Aflac undertakes no obligation to update such forward-looking statements.
The company cautions readers that the following factors, in addition to other factors mentioned from time to time, could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements:
- difficult conditions in global capital markets and the economy, including those caused by COVID-19
- defaults and credit downgrades of investments
- global fluctuations in interest rates and exposure to significant interest rate risk
- concentration of business in Japan
- limited availability of acceptable yen-denominated investments
- foreign currency fluctuations in the yen/dollar exchange rate
- differing judgments applied to investment valuations
- significant valuation judgments in determination of expected credit losses recorded on the Company's investments
- decreases in the Company's financial strength or debt ratings
- decline in creditworthiness of other financial institutions
- concentration of the Company's investments in any particular single-issuer or sector
- the effects of COVID-19 and its variants (both known and emerging), and any resulting economic effects and government interventions, on the Company's business and financial results
- the Company's ability to attract and retain qualified sales associates, brokers, employees, and distribution partners
- deviations in actual experience from pricing and reserving assumptions
- ability to continue to develop and implement improvements in information technology systems
- interruption in telecommunication, information technology and other operational systems, or a failure to maintain the security, confidentiality or privacy of sensitive data residing on such systems
- subsidiaries' ability to pay dividends to the Parent Company
- inherent limitations to risk management policies and procedures
- operational risks of third party vendors
- tax rates applicable to the Company may change
- failure to comply with restrictions on policyholder privacy and information security
- extensive regulation and changes in law or regulation by governmental authorities
- competitive environment and ability to anticipate and respond to market trends
- catastrophic events, including, but not limited to, as a result of climate change, epidemics, pandemics (such as COVID-19), tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, war or other military action, terrorism or other acts of violence, and damage incidental to such events
- ability to protect the Aflac brand and the Company's reputation
- ability to effectively manage key executive succession
- changes in accounting standards
- level and outcome of litigation
- allegations or determinations of worker misclassification in the United States
Analyst and investor contact - David A. Young, 706.596.3264 or 800.235.2667 or dyoung@aflac.com
Media contact - Ines Gutzmer, 762.207.7601 or igutzmer@aflac.com
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SOURCE Aflac Incorporated | https://www.cleveland19.com/prnewswire/2022/08/01/aflac-incorporated-announces-second-quarter-results-reports-second-quarter-net-earnings-14-billion-declares-third-quarter-cash-dividend/ | 2022-08-01 20:44:38 | 1 | https://www.cleveland19.com/prnewswire/2022/08/01/aflac-incorporated-announces-second-quarter-results-reports-second-quarter-net-earnings-14-billion-declares-third-quarter-cash-dividend/ |
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Hurricane Orlene roared toward Mexico’s Pacific coast between the tourist towns of Mazatlan and San Blas on Monday, with authorities there suspending classes and setting up shelters.
After growing into a hurricane Saturday, Orlene quickly added power, peaking as a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 130 mph (215 kph) early Sunday, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center. But winds slipped back to 105 mph (165 kph) by late Sunday night.
The storm moved over or near the Islas Marias, a former prison colony being developed as a tourist draw. The island is sparsely populated by government employees and buildings there are made of brick or concrete.
Orlene was forecast to hit Mexico’s Pacific coast along a sparsely populated, lagoon-dotted stretch of mainland south of Mazatlan by late Monday.
By late Sunday ight, Orlene was centered about 85 miles (140 kilometers) northwest of Cabo Corrientes — a point of land that juts into the Pacific just south of Puerto Vallarta — and was headed north at 8 mph (13 kph) early Sunday.
A hurricane warning was in effect from San Blas to Mazatlan.
The government of Jalisco state, where Puerto Vallarta is located, suspended classes Monday in towns and cities along the coast.
The state civil defense office posted video of large waves crashing on a dock at Cabo Corrientes.
In Sinaloa, where Mazatlan is located, some emergency shelters were opened.
The center said the storm would likely begin weakening as its moved closer to land. But it was still projected to hit as a hurricane.
It could bring flood-inducing rainfall of up to 10 inches (25 centimeters) in some places, as well as coastal flooding and dangerous surf.
The ports of Manzanillo and Puerto Vallarta were closed to ships and Mexico’s navy announced that ports including Mazatlan, San Blas and Nuevo Vallarta were closed to small craft.
Mexico’s National Water Commission said Orlene could cause “mudslides, rising river and stream levels, and flooding in low-lying areas.”
The hurricane center said hurricane-force winds extended out about 15 miles (30 kilometers) from the center and tropical storm-force winds out to 70 miles (110 kilometers). | https://www.krqe.com/news/world/ap-hurricane-orlene-roars-toward-mexicos-pacific-coast/ | 2022-10-03 09:03:58 | 0 | https://www.krqe.com/news/world/ap-hurricane-orlene-roars-toward-mexicos-pacific-coast/ |
EXTON, Pa., Sept. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- AXA XL Insurance has promoted Brett Stewart to Manager of Loss Prevention and Education for AXA XL's Design Professional insurance business in North America.
According to Doug Strong, Chief Underwriting Officer for Design Professional, "Sharing loss prevention expertise is a big part of our Errors & Omission (E&O) insurance offering for architects, engineers, and other design professionals. Brett brings a wealth of legal, underwriting and claims expertise that he's able to apply to build effective loss prevention programs and materials to help our clients avoid claims or minimize their professional liability risk potential."
In his new role, Mr. Stewart will lead development of loss prevention and education programs and materials for AXA XL's architect and engineer clients to help them minimize risk exposures and achieve more successful project outcomes. AXA XL Design Professional's Loss Prevention and Education team provides workshops, online learning, claim case studies, and articles and also oversees the continued development and updating of the Contract Guide for Design Professionals - a comprehensive online contract resource.
A licensed attorney, Mr. Stewart joined AXA XL in 2009 as a claims specialist after several years in private legal practice. Most recently, he served as Risk Manager for Design Professional. In this capacity, Mr. Stewart has made innumerable contributions from content creation and delivery, to driving broker and customer engagement and relationship building efforts. He remains based in AXA XL's Walnut Creek, CA office.
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ABOUT AXA XL
AXA XL, the property & casualty and specialty risk division of AXA, provides insurance and risk management products and services for mid-sized companies through to large multinationals, and reinsurance solutions to insurance companies globally. We partner with those who move the world forward. To learn more, visit www.axaxl.com
ABOUT AXA XL INSURANCE
AXA XL Insurance offers property, casualty, professional, financial lines and specialty insurance solutions to mid-sized companies through to large multinationals globally. We partner with those who move the world forward. To learn more, visit www.axaxl.com
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SOURCE AXA XL | https://www.wagmtv.com/prnewswire/2022/09/27/axa-xl-promotes-brett-stewart-lead-design-professional-loss-prevention-education-programs/ | 2022-09-27 13:41:56 | 1 | https://www.wagmtv.com/prnewswire/2022/09/27/axa-xl-promotes-brett-stewart-lead-design-professional-loss-prevention-education-programs/ |
MYKOLAIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s president vowed to keep pushing Russian forces out of his country after they withdrew from Kherson, leaving behind devastation, hunger and booby traps in the southern Ukrainian city.
The Russian retreat from Kherson marked a triumphant milestone in Ukraine’s pushback against Moscow’s invasion almost nine months ago. Kherson residents hugged and kissed the arriving Ukrainian troops in rapturous scenes.
“We will see many more such greetings” of Ukrainian soldiers liberating Russian-held territory,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address Saturday.
He pledged to the people in Ukrainian cities and villages that are still under occupation: “We don’t forget anyone; we won’t leave anyone.”
Ukraine’s retaking of Kherson was a significant setback for the Kremlin and the latest in a series of battlefield embarrassments. It came some six weeks after Russian President Vladimir Putin annexed the Kherson region and three other provinces in southern and eastern Ukraine in breach of international law and declared them Russian territory.
As Ukrainian forces on Sunday consolidated their hold on Kherson, authorities contemplated the daunting task of clearing out explosive devices and restoring basic public services in the city.
One Ukrainian official described the situation in Kherson as “a humanitarian catastrophe.” The remaining residents in the city are said to lack water, medicine and food. There are shortages of key basics such as bread because of a lack of electricity.
Ukrainian police called on residents to help identify collaborators with Russian forces during the eight-month occupation. Ukrainian police officers returned to the city Saturday, along with public broadcasting services, following the departure of Russian troops.
The national police chief of Ukraine, Ihor Klymenko, said Saturday on Facebook that about 200 officers were at work in the city, setting up checkpoints and documenting evidence of possible war crimes.
In what could perhaps be the next district to fall in Ukraine’s march on territory illegally annexed by Moscow, the Russian-appointed administration of the Kakhovka district, east of Kherson city, announced Saturday it was evacuating its employees.
“Today, the administration is the number one target for Ukrainian attacks,” said the Moscow-installed leader of Kakhovka, Pavel Filipchuk.
“Therefore, by order of the government of the Kherson region, we, as an authority, are moving to a safer territory, from where we will lead the district,” he wrote on Telegram.
Kakhovka is located on the left bank of the River Dnieper, upstream of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station.
Meanwhile, the city of Nikopol, further upstream, was heavily shelled overnight, Dnipropetrovsk Regional Council chair Mykola Lukashuk reported Sunday.
Writing on Telegram, he said that two women were wounded but are in a stable condition in hospital. One private house and two farm buildings were destroyed, while over 40 residential buildings, more than 24 commercial buildings, a college, a register office and electricity networks were damaged.
According to Lukashuk, the city of Marhanets also came under fire. Two private houses were damaged, but no injuries were reported. Nikopol and Marhanets lie across the Dnieper River from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe’s largest.
In Kherson, photos on social media Saturday showed Ukrainian activists removing memorial plaques put up by the occupation authorities. A Telegram post by Yellow Ribbon, the Ukrainian resistance movement in the occupied territories, showed two people in a park taking down plaques picturing Soviet-era military figures.
Moscow’s announcement that Russian forces were withdrawing across the Dnieper River, which divides both the Kherson region and Ukraine as a whole, followed a stepped-up Ukrainian counteroffensive in the country’s south. In the past two months, Ukraine’s military claimed to have retaken dozens of towns and villages north of the city of Kherson, and the military said that’s where stabilization activities were taking place.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba sought to temper the excitement over the Russian retreat from Kherson.
“We are winning battles on the ground, but the war continues,” he said from Cambodia, where he was attending a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told journalists Sunday that a joint statement on the results of the summit was not adopted, since “the American side and its partners insisted on an unacceptable assessment of the situation in Ukraine and around it.”
The Kremlin is angered by the support Ukraine receives from its Western allies, including the United States.
___
Leicester reported from Kyiv, Ukraine.
___
Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine: https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. | https://www.mynews13.com/fl/orlando/ap-top-news/2022/11/13/after-kherson-success-kyiv-vows-to-keep-pushing-out-russia | 2022-11-13 10:16:54 | 0 | https://www.mynews13.com/fl/orlando/ap-top-news/2022/11/13/after-kherson-success-kyiv-vows-to-keep-pushing-out-russia |
By MARC LEVY and STEVE PEOPLES (Associated Press)
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — More than five months after experiencing a stroke, Pennsylvania Democrat John Fetterman struggled at times to explain his positions and often spoke haltingly throughout a highly anticipated debate Tuesday against Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz as they vie for a critical Senate seat.
In the opening minutes of the debate, Fetterman addressed what he called the “elephant in the room.”
“I had a stroke. He’s never let me forget that,” Fetterman said of Oz, who has persistently questioned his ability to serve in the Senate. “And I might miss some words during this debate, mush two words together, but it knocked me down and I’m going to keep coming back up.”
When pressed to release his medical records later in the debate, he refused to commit.
Oz, a celebrity heart surgeon, ignored his opponent’s health challenges throughout the debate, instead seizing on Fetterman’s policies on immigration and crime and his support for President Joe Biden. At one point, Oz said Fetterman, the state’s lieutenant governor, was “trying to get as many murderers out of jail as possible.”
“His extreme positions have made him untenable,” he charged.
The forum had many of the trappings of a traditional debate, complete with heated exchanges and interruptions. But the impact of the stroke was apparent as Fetterman used closed-captioning posted above the moderator to help him process the words he heard, leading to occasional awkward pauses.
The biggest question coming out of the debate was whether it would have a lasting impact coming two weeks before the election and more than 600,000 ballots already cast. The stakes of the race to succeed retiring GOP Sen. Pat Toomey are huge: It represents Democrats’ best chance to flip a Senate seat this year — and could determine party control of the chamber and the future of Biden’s agenda.
But rather than watch the full hour as the candidates debated abortion, inflation and crime, many Pennsylvanians may only see clips of the event on social media. And both parties are preparing to flood the airwaves with television advertising in the final stretch.
Independent experts consulted by The Associated Press said Fetterman appears to be recovering remarkably well. Stroke rehabilitation specialist Dr. Sonia Sheth, who watched the debate, called Fetterman an inspiration to stroke survivors.
“In my opinion, he did very well,” said Sheth, of Northwestern Medicine Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital in suburban Chicago. “He had his stroke less than one year ago and will continue to recover over the next year. He had some errors in his responses, but overall he was able to formulate fluent, thoughtful answers.”
Problems with auditory processing do not mean someone also has cognitive problems, the experts agreed. The brain’s language network is different from regions involved in decision making and critical thinking.
Oz, a longtime television personality, was more at home on the debate stage. He cast himself as a moderate Republican looking to unite a divided state, even as he committed to supporting former President Donald Trump should he run for president again in 2024.
“I’m a surgeon, I’m not a politician,” Oz said. “We take big problems, we focus on them, and we fix them. We do it by uniting, by coming together, not dividing.”
Fetterman similarly committed to supporting Biden should he run again in 2024.
The Democratic president campaigned with Fetterman in Pittsburgh during the Labor Day parade and just last week headlined a fundraiser for Fetterman in Philadelphia. There, Biden said the “rest of the world is looking” and suggested a Fetterman loss would imperil his agenda.
While backing Biden, Fetterman also said, “he needs to do more about supporting and fighting about inflation.”
Abortion was a major dividing line during the debate.
Oz insists he supports three exceptions — for rape, incest and to protect the life of the mother. When pressed Tuesday night, he suggested he opposes South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham’s bill to impose a nationwide ban on abortion after 15 weeks because it would allow the federal government to dictate the law to states.
“I don’t want the federal government involved with that at all,” Oz said. “I want women, doctors, local political leaders letting the democracy that always allowed our nation to thrive, to put the best ideas forward so states can decide for themselves.”
Fetterman delivered a blunt message to women: “If you believe that the choice for abortion belongs with you and your doctor, that’s what I fight for.”
Fetterman is a star in progressive politics nationwide, having developed a loyal following thanks in part to his blunt working-class appeal, extraordinary height, tattoos and unapologetic progressive policies. On Tuesday, the 6-foot-9-inch Democrat swapped his trademark hoodie and shorts for a dark suit and tie.
But even before the debate, Democrats in Washington were concerned about Fetterman’s campaign given the stakes.
For much of the year, it looked as if Fetterman was the clear favorite, especially as Republicans waged a nasty nomination battle that left the GOP divided and bitter. But as Election Day nears, the race has tightened. And now, just two weeks before the final votes are cast, even the White House is privately concerned that Fetterman’s candidacy is at risk.
Fetterman’s speech challenges were apparent throughout the night. He often struggled to complete sentences.
When pressed to explain his shifting position on fracking, a critical issue in a state where thousands of jobs are tied to natural gas production, his answer was particularly awkward.
“I do support fracking. And I don’t, I don’t. I support fracking, and I stand and I do support fracking,” Fetterman said.
At another point, the moderator seemed to cut off Fetterman as he struggled to finish an answer defending Biden’s student loan debt forgiveness program. He also stumbled before finishing a key attack line: “We need to make sure that Dr. Oz and Republicans believe in cutting Medicare and Social Security …”
The Pennsylvania Senate hopefuls faced each other inside a Harrisburg television studio. No audience was allowed, and the the debate host, Nexstar Media, declined to allow an AP photographer access to the event.
Oz had pushed for more than a half-dozen debates, suggesting Fetterman’s unwillingness to agree to more than one was because the stroke had debilitated him. Fetterman insisted that one debate is typical — although two is more customary — and that Oz’s focus on debates was a cynical ploy to lie about his health.
Fetterman refused to commit to releasing his full health records when asked repeatedly Tuesday by the moderator.
“My doctor believes that I’m fit to be serving. And that’s what I believe is where I’m standing,” Fetterman said.
While it is customary for presidential candidates to release health records, there is no such custom in races for the U.S. Senate. Some senators have, in the past, released medical records when running for president.
Democrats noted that the televised debate setting likely would have favored Oz even without questions about the stroke. Oz hosted “The Dr. Oz Show” weekdays for 13 seasons after getting his start as a regular guest on Oprah Winfrey’s show in 2004. Fetterman, by contrast, is a less practiced public speaker who is introverted by nature.
Many Republicans were thrilled by the debate’s outcome, although most — including Oz — tried to avoid piling on to concerns about Fetterman’s health.
Donald Trump Jr. was less cautious.
“If Fetterman is some sort of leftist decoy to make Biden actually sound somewhat intelligent and articulate he’s doing a great job,” the former president’s son tweeted.
___
Peoples reported from New York. AP Medical Writer Carla K. Johnson contributed from Washington state.
___
Follow AP’s coverage of the elections at: https://apnews.com/hub/2022-midterm-elections
Check out https://apnews.com/hub/explaining-the-elections to learn more about the issues and factors at play in the 2022 midterm elections.
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DSO to pay tribute to ABBA this weekend
If costumes and scary movies don’t float your boat this weekend, perhaps some Swedish Europop will.
The Detroit Symphony Orchestra will present three ABBA pops concerts Friday through Sunday as part of its PNC Pops Series. The Music of ABBA is led by conductor Michael Krajewski and will feature Finnish vocal ensemble Rajaton, making its DSO debut.
“I think you really can’t go wrong with ABBA,” said Jessica Ruiz, the DSO’s senior director of artistic planning. “It’s a lot of fun, [Rajaton] is a great vocal ensemble, and we’re really excited to present them.”
The ABBA tribute concert will feature popular ABBA hits including “Mamma Mia,” “Take a Chance on Me,” “Dancing Queen” and “SOS,” among others.
Krajewski said the music is mostly presented straightforward how people know it, but there are a few times when the songs are arranged in a different fashion, offering a new perspective. And even if the songs are familiar, Krajewski said listening to them live with an orchestra is a fantastic new experience.
“In a concert hall – and one of the greatest concert halls in in the country, Orchestra Hall – you take these songs, and you add the power and the vitality and the energy of a symphony orchestra,” he said. “It really just packs an extra punch.”
Ruiz said the orchestra enriches the music.
“You get this incredibly rich texture of sounds,” she said. “A lot of pop music was created with orchestral background music; it always enhances it.”
Rajaton – translated from Finnish as “boundless” – is a six-voice a cappella ensemble, hailing from Helsinki. The group has 16 albums under its belt and has performed for more than 20 years, traveling worldwide with a style that bridges classical and mainstream music.
“Each of them is very talented and as a vocal ensemble, they are really excellent,” Krajewski said.
He said the concert will be a wonderful way to enjoy ABBA songs.
“It’s a really high quality, polished, high-energy delivery of this music,” he said. “I think it’s going to be a special experience for people, especially for people who love ABBA music.”
'Music of ABBA'
performed by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra
8 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 3 p.m. Sunday
Orchestra Hall in the Max M. & Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center, 3711 Woodward, Detroit
Tickets: start at $19. visit www.dso.org | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/entertainment/music/2022/10/28/dso-to-pay-tribute-to-abba-this-weekend/69591047007/ | 2022-10-28 15:53:09 | 0 | https://www.detroitnews.com/story/entertainment/music/2022/10/28/dso-to-pay-tribute-to-abba-this-weekend/69591047007/ |
Miron to bring 25 Years of Leadership and Industry Expertise to IDB to Oversee the Bank's west coast operations.
LOS ANGELES, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- IDB Bank, a New York-based private and commercial bank, today announced the appointment of Michal Miron as its new Executive Vice President and California Region Manager. In this role, she will lead the Bank's West Coast operations and strategic growth agenda across the region. As a member of the Senior Management Team, Michal will report directly to Ziv Biron, IDB Bank President & CEO.
"We are very excited to welcome Michal to our team," said Biron. "A seasoned executive, Michal joins our team with the invaluable and unique experience that will help us to further our unique position as the largest Israeli bank in the United States and execute against our long-term growth strategy."
Prior to joining IDB, Michal served as the West Coast Market President of Bank Leumi USA [currently Valley National Bank]. In this role she successfully led the Commercial Banking group for the Bank's Western US targeted companies, effectively driving double-digit loan portfolio growth in recent years. Over the course of her 25-year-long career, she additionally held several leadership roles across Bank Leumi USA and Bank Leumi Le-Israel, including the Beverly Hills Branch Manager.
Michal received both a bachelor's degree in economics and a Master of Business Administration from Bar Ilan University in Israel, and has completed the Harvard Business School Women Leadership Forum. An active community leader, she serves as a volunteer for 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization Kid Save.
Michal joins IDB as part of the Bank's recent leadership transformation. Kiyoun Kim, IDB's former California Region Manager has assumed the role Chief Operating Officer, where she will oversee bank-wide operations and lead IDB's operational excellence efforts.
About Israel Discount Bank of New York ("IDBNY" or "IDB Bank")
IDB Bank is a New-York State-chartered commercial bank, a member of the FDIC, and a wholly owned subsidiary of Israel Discount Bank LTD., one of Israel's leading Banks. In addition to its Manhattan headquarters, IDB Bank operates full-service offices in California, Florida and the tristate area, including branch locations in Brooklyn, N.Y, Staten Island, N.Y and Short Hills, N.J. The Bank provides a complete range of private banking and commercial banking services to U.S and international clients.
For 70 years IDB Bank has built its business by fostering deep relationships with its clients, rapid decision-making, and the ability to develop custom-tailored solutions for both its domestic and international clientele.
IDB Bank is a registered service mark of Israel Discount Bank of New York. MEMBER FDIC.
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SOURCE IDB Bank | https://www.kfyrtv.com/prnewswire/2023/04/19/idb-bank-announces-michal-miron-california-region-manager/ | 2023-04-19 15:15:36 | 0 | https://www.kfyrtv.com/prnewswire/2023/04/19/idb-bank-announces-michal-miron-california-region-manager/ |
Which solar system model is best?
For as long as humans could look up at the night sky, we’ve been fascinated with the stars. How far away are they? Where did they come from? What secrets do they hide? These might be questions that will go unanswered for decades or even centuries, but we do know a few things about our immediate celestial neighborhood.
Including Earth, the planets that orbit our sun are referred to as the solar system. The term solar refers to our sun, and scientists know of thousands of systems like ours, though they might not all have a habitable planet. While the solar system is but a blip on that universal map, scientists have had a long time to figure out its planets’ masses, how far those planets are from Earth and how often the planets orbit the sun. And because of that, we can accurately plot the relation of all the objects on a much smaller scale.
A solar system model is the most effective way to do this, and it is also a neat learning method. The 4M DIY Solar System Planetarium is an excellent choice, as it glows in the dark.
What to know before you buy a solar system model
Decide on the model’s appearance
Several solar system models are available, all with different ways of representing the planets. The classic model has them on different rods that can rotate around the sun in the center. It’s the model most will recognize from science class. However, as technology gets better, solar models are also updated to be more enticing. Some are embedded in crystal balls that float in liquid. Taking a more technological approach, several computer programs accurately model the system, and you can even “travel” in them between the planets.
Education vs. novelty
Do you want to use the model as an educational tool or as decoration in your home or child’s room? Glow-in-the-dark planetary models are an excellent way to educate while providing an exciting nightlight. Decoration models are more complex and can cost more than educational pieces.
Electronic vs. static
Since the solar system is constantly on the move, it will only be accurate if all the pieces move. Basic models require you to move each planet manually to simulate an orbit, but some electronic models can do that for you. Don’t expect the planets to move at their real pace, though, as that will be incredibly boring. Instead, electronic models orbit the sun several thousand times faster, as it gives you a better representation of how the planets move in relation to other bodies.
What to look for in a quality solar system model
Accuracy in the planets
You can forgive a solar system model if the distances between the planets aren’t entirely accurate or if the planets aren’t to scale. However, other accuracy factors set a good-quality model apart from a mediocre one. First, the planets must be labeled correctly and placed inside the model in the right order. Then, all the objects in the model must have approximately the right color.
Learning through discovery
While you can buy a solar system model already built, that won’t be fun. Instead, look for a solar system model that can be put together with parents, grandparents or other caregivers. A good-quality solar model always attempts to promote learning through self-discovery.
Added information on the planets
Putting it together for the first time is a great experience. Still, a good-quality solar system model includes additional information on the solar system, the planets and outer space. In addition, many of the STEM kits include educational booklets or posters so children can get a scale for how massive the solar system is.
How much you can expect to spend on a solar system model
The average price of a solar system model largely depends on its complexity and function. A basic model with few details can retail for $15-$20, while a mechanical model with moving pieces can sell for $50-$60.
Solar system model FAQ
Do you get models of the moon?
A. Yes, but you won’t often find the moon included in solar system models, even though it is technically part of it. So instead of solar models, these are called lunar models.
Is Pluto included in solar system models?
A. That is a tricky question, as it depends on when the model was made. For example, Pluto was originally included as a proper planet in the solar system. Still, scientists decided in 2006 that it was only a dwarf planet and didn’t meet the criteria required to be named the ninth planet.
What’s the best solar system model to buy?
Top solar system model
4M DIY Solar System Planetarium
What you need to know: This model consists of several pieces that come together on a plastic stand.
What you’ll love: It’s an excellent learning tool for kids because they get to color each planet with the included glow paint and stencils. In addition, it comes with a wall chart and a set of Kidz Quiz questions.
What you should consider: It is 8 inches long and doesn’t include Pluto.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Top solar system model for the money
Thames & Kosmos Orbiting Solar System
What you need to know: In this model, all the planets are connected to the sun, which houses a complex gear system to simulate their orbits.
What you’ll love: Kids can learn while they assemble this model system. There is no need for paint or glue because the pieces snap together and use paper inserts for identification.
What you should consider: The planetary gear that makes the planets rotate can be tricky to set up.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Worth checking out
GP Toys 3-In-1 Build and Paint Solar System
What you need to know: This 3D model sits on a 12-inch base with grooves for each planet to manually orbit the sun.
What you’ll love: It comes with glow-in-the-dark paint, paintbrushes and snap-out pieces to put the planets together. Additionally, it includes stickers of all the planets, and the base is pre-painted.
What you should consider: It is suitable for ages 4 and older.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
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Copyright 2022 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved. | https://www.wivb.com/reviews/best-solar-system-model/ | 2022-04-26 19:41:17 | 1 | https://www.wivb.com/reviews/best-solar-system-model/ |
Boaters keep a watchful eye on Folsom Lake water level
Folsom Lake Marina slips could close next week
Folsom Lake Marina slips could close next week
Folsom Lake Marina slips could close next week
Boat owners with a slip at Folsom Lake Marina have been warned to keep a close eye on the falling water level at the popular reservoir.
The marina is forced to close its slips when the surface elevation of Folsom lake drops to 412 feet above sea level.
At that point, marina managers say the water is too shallow for boats to safely park in the marina that will eventually see the docks resting on a muddy bottom.
The lake remains open to boating even after the marina runs dry.
The California State Parks doesn't mandate a 5 mph speed limit across the entire lake until the surface elevation hits 400 feet.
As of Monday morning, the lake was sitting at 418.5 feet and was dropping an average of .6 feet each day over the last month, according the California Data Exchange statistics.
If the lake continues at this pace, the marina slips would be closed by next Thursday.
At the present rate of water releases, Folsom was projected to hit the 400-foot mark by the middle of September.
When the boating season started, marina managers were concerned the slips would close in May or early June, but water managers have not had to lean on Folsom Lake's water supply as heavily as once predicted.
Reserves in Oroville and Shasta have been able to maintain the necessary flows down the Sacramento River.
As the lake continues to drop, boaters are being warned to watch for new obstacles above and just below the surface. | https://www.kcra.com/article/boaters-keep-watchful-eye-folsom-lake-water-level/40897933 | 2022-08-15 19:08:57 | 1 | https://www.kcra.com/article/boaters-keep-watchful-eye-folsom-lake-water-level/40897933 |
Mega Millions jackpot now $660M, nation’s 9th largest prize
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Lottery officials on Thursday raised the Mega Millions grand prize to $660 million, giving players a shot at the nation’s ninth largest jackpot.
The jackpot for Friday night’s drawing has grown so large because there hasn’t been a winner in three months. Those 27 consecutive drawings without anyone matching all six numbers has allowed the jackpot to gradually grow from its $20 million starting point in April.
Even as the big prize has increased, the odds of winning all that money have remained the same — a staggering one in 302.5 million.
The highlighted pre-tax $660 million prize is for a winner who takes an annuity option, paid out in 30 annual payments. Most players choose the cash option, which for Friday’s drawing would be $376.9 million.
Mega Millions is played in 45 states as well as Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The game is overseen by state lottery officials.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.kbtx.com/2022/07/21/mega-millions-jackpot-now-660m-nations-9th-largest-prize/ | 2022-07-21 18:06:31 | 0 | https://www.kbtx.com/2022/07/21/mega-millions-jackpot-now-660m-nations-9th-largest-prize/ |
MUMBAI, India – It's smog season in India, when industrial and vehicular emissions mix with crop-burning smoke, and winter temperatures pull a huge sooty cloud down over much of the country.
But through the haze, there are twinkling signs of hope popping up on rooftops across India's sprawling megacities: solar panels.
Despite having lots of tropical sunshine, India gets about 70% of its electricity from burning coal – which exacerbates air pollution that's already some of the worst in the world. But this year, the country has also installed a record volume of solar energy.
It's a sign of what climate scientists say is a much-needed push for renewable energy in what's soon to become the world's most populous country. (The United Nations predicts India will overtake China next year.)
As India develops, and its 1.4 billion people get richer, its energy needs are expanding. Unlike many Western countries, which have pledged to cap overall emissions, India measures its emissions in proportion to its gross domestic product. This year, the government pledged to reduce by 45% the so-called "emissions intensity of its GDP" by 2030.
And at the U.N.'s recently-concluded COP27 climate talks, India repeated a pledge to get half of its energy needs from non-fossil fuels by that same year.
Scientists say that's ambitious, and that India will need to boost its solar capacity even more if it has any hope of keeping that promise.
It's not just solar farms in the desert
Most of India's renewable energy comes from massive solar farms in the deserts of Rajasthan or Gujarat. Many are public-private partnerships run by utility companies, sending electricity into the grid. The Indian government is also opening up more coastal areas to offshore wind energy.
On a much smaller scale, Indian farmers often use a solar panel or two to run irrigation pumps in rural areas, where the electricity grid is shaky.
But rooftop solar never really caught on – at scale – in urban India.
For one, cities are where India's power grid is most reliable. The need for any backup source – usually, diesel generators – has diminished in recent years. Second, the Indian government subsidizes electricity, so it's cheaper than in most parts of the United States, for example. And third, most solar panels in India are imported, expensive – and not really worth it for any individual household.
That's changing now.
"I think it's one of the fastest-growing industries in the country," says climate change expert Suruchi Bhadwal. She spoke to NPR by phone from the COP27 talks in Egypt. "Even the U.S. has not boosted its installed capacity so much, so fast."
China and the U.S. still invest more in renewables on an annual basis. But India's investments – particularly in solar – are growing faster, due to what Bhadwal calls an "aggressive" campaign by the government.
What the Indian government is doing
Every five years, India puts together a National Electricity Plan. The most recent one, issued in September, outlines a 24% increase in solar power production targets for 2027. That amounts to a "quantum jump" for India's renewable energy sector, according to one international climate think tank.
To meet its targets, the government is onshoring the manufacture of photovoltaic panels, subsidizing Indian companies' investments in them, and waiving transmission charges for renewable energy, says energy economist Vibhuti Garg, at India's Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.
"India is making huge progress in terms of deploying renewable energy, investment as well as capacity. In the financial year 2021-22, we saw a record of $14.5 billion investment in renewable energy alone," Garg tells NPR. "In addition, there were investments to developing the transmission and distribution infrastructure, modernization of the grid. Some amount of money even flowed to battery storage."
Residential rooftop solar is still lagging behind, Garg says. To try to boost it, the government has set up a new rooftop solar web portal, where anyone who wants to set up solar panels can register for government subsidies. (Similar such subsidies are one way China has boosted the competitiveness of its own solar industry, though it recently began scaling them back.)
All this prompted the accounting firm Ernst & Young this year to rank India – along with the U.S. and China – as one of the world's most attractive solar markets.
A new generation of solar evangelists in India
A decade ago, Jay Vyas was an accountant in his 50s, working on a variety of projects, when a proposal for a rooftop solar installation came across his desk.
"I just opened that file, and saw the client wanted to invest in solar," Vyas recalls. "Now, I'm passionate about looking into new things that might become commercially viable. So I thought, 'Why not?' and I started looking into it."
In 2017, Vyas co-founded Koku Solar, a company that's since installed hundreds of small-scale solar projects on residential rooftops in the western Indian state of Maharashtra, where Mumbai is the capital.
Vyas is one of thousands of new solar entrepreneurs who've cropped up across India. He fancies himself a sort of solar evangelist. (Before meeting NPR, he sent this reporter a pamphlet he'd authored entitled "Sunny Makes Money.")
"When I wake up in the morning, I commit myself to speaking about solar to at least three people every day," Vyas exclaims. "You are one of them today!"
He and his business partner, Chinmay Divekar, gave NPR a tour of one of their latest solar projects, on the roof of a high-rise residential society – the Indian equivalent of a condo association – northeast of Mumbai.
"Most of the buildings you see from here have solar panels on them – and that wasn't the case just a few years back," Divekar explains.
The economics have changed.
Onshoring supply chains for photovoltaic panels in India
Vyas and Divekar used to import solar panels from Germany or Singapore. They're expensive, but they last 25 years, and Vyas says he wasn't sure that would be the case with cheaper Chinese models, he explains.
Recently, their company began using domesticallymanufactured panels. They're more affordable than imported models. That's made the difference for some residential customers, Vyas says.
At one of the high-rise buildings where he's installed Indian-made panels, the condo association manager, Swati Nevgi, says her communal bill for electricity in common areas – operating a bank of elevators, lights in the hallways, air conditioning in the lobby – has dropped by about a third. That means the building re-cooped its investment in roughly three years.
Vyas says it's typically around three to five years for most of his customers. But that's decreasing, he says. Rising global electricity prices make solar panels even more attractive now.
But there's a catch when it comes to Indian-made panels: They're still not entirely made in India.
"The silicon inside, that's still imported from China – and is subject to price fluctuation," Divekar explains.
So even though India is manufacturing more panels domestically, some components still need to be imported. That's set to change soon, with record investments from two of India's biggest conglomerates, the Adani Group and Reliance Industries, to onshore the entire solar panel supply chain.
If that happens, prices may come down even more. And in the next 10 years, economists say solar may become India's cheapest energy source.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.kunm.org/npr-news/npr-news/2022-11-21/sunny-makes-money-india-installs-a-record-volume-of-solar-power-in-2022 | 2022-11-23 02:32:45 | 1 | https://www.kunm.org/npr-news/npr-news/2022-11-21/sunny-makes-money-india-installs-a-record-volume-of-solar-power-in-2022 |
HARKER HEIGHTS, Texas — Crews will begin overlay work Aug.14 on I-14 from Harker Heights to Nolanville.
Eastbound mainlanes of I-14 from Indian Trail to FM 2410/Simmons Road will be closed during construction from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.
Construction will be complete on Aug. 19. Delays should be expected and drivers are asked to obey all rules of the road, as stated by the City.
The video above and below are previous segments from other TxDOT projects.
More on KCENtv.com: | https://www.kcentv.com/article/news/local/road-closures-mainlanes-going-towards-harker-heights-to-nolanville/500-3fdb8b09-ceff-401b-8312-bf88c50205ba | 2022-08-12 21:30:08 | 0 | https://www.kcentv.com/article/news/local/road-closures-mainlanes-going-towards-harker-heights-to-nolanville/500-3fdb8b09-ceff-401b-8312-bf88c50205ba |
A final report produced by an Atlanta-area special grand jury investigating efforts by President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn Trump’s 2020 election loss in Georgia will remain mostly sealed as a local prosecutor considers charges in the case, a judge ruled.
McBurney scheduled the release for Thursday.
The decision comes after a Jan. 24 court hearing where Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis pressed McBurney to keep the report sealed in order to protect the ongoing criminal investigation and the rights of potential “defendants" in the case — language that suggested that charges may be filed based on the grand jury’s findings.
In that hearing, Willis told McBurney that charging decisions in the case are “imminent.”
On Monday, McBurney disclosed in his ruling that the grand jury had “provided the district attorney with exactly what she requested: a roster of who should (or should not) be indicted, and for what, in relation to the conduct (and aftermath) of the 2020 general election in Georgia."
The judge agreed with Willis that releasing the full report at this time would violate due process of “potential future defendants” because what was presented to the grand jury was a “one-sided exploration” of what happened.
“The consequence of these due process deficiencies is not that the special purpose grand jury’s final report is forever suppressed or that its recommendations for or against indictment are in any way flawed or suspect," McBurney wrote. “Rather, the consequence is that those recommendations are for the district attorney’s eyes only—for now. Fundamental fairness requires this.”
But McBurney ruled that parts of the report should be made public, including the panel’s concerns that witnesses may have lied under oath — witnesses that he said the grand jury did not identify. “While publication may not be convenient for the pacing of the district attorney’s investigation, the compelling public interest in these proceedings and the unquestionable value and importance of transparency require their release,” McBurney wrote.
A spokesman for Willis did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
McBurney’s decision marks a potentially consequential new chapter in a criminal inquiry that could present fresh legal peril for Trump and his allies.
The report’s release comes against the backdrop of other investigations into alleged efforts by Trump and his supporters to subvert the 2020 election results in key battleground states.
In December, the U.S. House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the U.S. Capitol issued its final 800-plus-page report, which cited evidence from thousands of documents and more than 1,000 witness interviews. The committee was not conducting a criminal investigation, and its conclusions have no legal bearing. Still, it argued that Trump, with the help of allies, orchestrated a plan to stay in office despite his election loss.
In recent weeks, a special counsel appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland issued subpoenas to election officials in states including Georgia, as well as Trump campaign associates, as part of a Justice Department inquiry into the efforts Trump and his allies undertook to reverse his 2020 defeat.
In Fulton County, Willis will decide whether to criminally charge Trump or his allies. But her decision will be heavily influenced — and perhaps given political cover — by the findings of the Atlanta-area residents randomly selected in May to serve on the special grand jury.
The investigative body of 23 jurors and three alternates picked from a pool of residents from Atlanta and its suburbs was given full subpoena power for documents and the ability to call witnesses. The jurors’ identities have not been made public, and may never be.
From June to December, a litany of prominent Republicans appeared before the committee, including Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (S.C.) and former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, along with dozens of other witnesses — including some who have not previously given public testimony on what they knew about Trump’s efforts to overturn the election.
Willis, a longtime Fulton County prosecutor who was elected as district attorney in 2020, launched her investigation into alleged election interference days after a recording was made public of a January 2021 phone call Trump made to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger urging him to “find” enough votes to overturn his defeat in Georgia. It was one of several calls Trump and his associates made to Georgia officials prodding them to undertake efforts that would change the results of the state’s presidential election, which Trump lost by fewer than 12,000 votes.
In the two years since, Willis has indicated publicly and in court filings that her office’s investigation has expanded to include several other lines of inquiry, including false claims of election fraud that Giuliani and other Trump associates made to Georgia state lawmakers; threats and harassment against Georgia election workers; and alleged efforts by unauthorized individuals to breach election data from voting machines in Coffee County, Ga.
Another intense focus of Willis’s inquiry has been the creation of an alternate slate of Republican electors who met at the Georgia Capitol in December 2020 and signed certificates falsely claiming Trump had won the election in Georgia. In court filings, attorneys for the “fake electors” have said their clients were merely acting to preserve Trump’s rights amid a lawsuit seeking to overturn the Georgia election results, which had already been certified by the state.
But those actions have drawn scrutiny from state and federal investigators — including Willis — who are examining the larger coordinated plan behind it, including the involvement of Trump, the former president’s attorneys and top advisers as well as state and local Republican operatives. They are also investigating whether the “fake elector” scheme was intended to disrupt the transfer of power during Congress’s certification of the presidential election votes.
In court filings, Willis has described her investigation as an examination of “multi-state, coordinated efforts to influence the results of the November 2020 elections in Georgia and elsewhere.” She has publicly said that she is looking not only at potential violations of state law but also criminal conspiracy — hinting that she may employ Georgia’s expansive statute on racketeering to prosecute the case, as she has in other high-profile trials in Fulton County, including an ongoing case against the rap artist Young Thug.
In September, Willis told The Washington Post that her team had found credible allegations that crimes had been committed. “If indicted and convicted, people are facing prison sentences,” Willis said.
At least 18 people have been notified they are targets of the election interference investigation, according to court documents and statements from their attorneys. That list includes Giuliani, who was serving as Trump’s lawyer at the time, and all the alternate Republican electors — a group that includes David Shafer, chairman of the Georgia Republican Party.
Willis’s office has not said whether Trump is a “target” of the Fulton County investigation, which the former president has called a “witch hunt.”
Last month, Trump’s Georgia-based legal team, in a statement, implied there had been no formal contact between the former president and his legal team and Fulton County prosecutors. “We have never been a part of this process,” the attorneys said. But they did not respond when asked if Trump had been given notice that he’s a target of the investigation.
In the Jan. 24 hearing, Willis disclosed for the first time that the special grand jury had heard from 75 witnesses and reviewed “countless exhibits” as part of its investigation but offered no other details about what the panel found or what her timetable might be for potential indictments.
Another prosecutor on the case, Donald Wakeford, said the district attorney’s office was “not opposed” to the eventual release of the grand jury report. “It’s a question of timing, and now is just not the time,” Wakeford told McBurney.
But attorneys representing a coalition of media organizations had urged McBurney to unseal the report, calling it a “matter of profound public interest that goes to the heart of the nation’s democratic forms of government.”
The biggest unknown beyond the grand jury’s findings is how Willis will use the report and how quickly charges, if they are filed, could come. To charge someone, Willis would have to present her case to a regular grand jury that has the power to issue criminal indictments.
In Fulton County, grand juries’ terms begin every two months, with the latest panels seated early last month. Some have questioned whether Willis is already presenting her case — or whether she’ll wait until a new grand jury is seated in March because of legal rules that allow a defendant to request a speedy trial within two months of the end of the term in which they are indicted. | https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/02/13/georgia-grand-jury-trump/ | 2023-02-13 16:26:54 | 0 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/02/13/georgia-grand-jury-trump/ |
Webb telescope makes surprising galactic discovery in the distant universe
Astronomers have used the James Webb Space Telescope to peer back in time to the early days of the universe — and they spotted something unexpected.
The space observatory revealed six massive galaxies that existed between 500 million and 700 million years after the big bang that created the universe. The discovery is completely upending existing theories about the origins of galaxies, according to a new study published Wednesday in the journal Nature.
"These objects are way more massive than anyone expected," said study coauthor Joel Leja, assistant professor of astronomy and astrophysics at Penn State University, in a statement. "We expected only to find tiny, young, baby galaxies at this point in time, but we've discovered galaxies as mature as our own in what was previously understood to be the dawn of the universe."
Related video below: James Webb Space Telescope spots rare spiral galaxies
The telescope observes the universe in infrared light, which is invisible to the human eye, and is capable of detecting the faint light from ancient stars and galaxies. By peering into the distant universe, the observatory can essentially see back in time up to about 13.5 billion years ago. (Scientists have determined the universe is about 13.7 billion years old.)
"The revelation that massive galaxy formation began extremely early in the history of the universe upends what many of us had thought was settled science," Leja said. "We've been informally calling these objects 'universe breakers' — and they have been living up to their name so far."
The galaxies are so massive that they conflict with 99% of models representing early galaxies in the universe, which means scientists need to rethink how galaxies formed and evolved. The current theory suggests that galaxies began as small clouds of stars and dust that grew over time.
"We looked into the very early universe for the first time and had no idea what we were going to find," Leja said. "It turns out we found something so unexpected it actually creates problems for science. It calls the whole picture of early galaxy formation into question."
Investigating early galaxies
Leja and his colleagues began analyzing Webb data, along with the telescope's first high-resolution images, once they were released in July. The galaxies appeared as large points of light, and the team was surprised to see them — so surprised, they thought they made a mistake in interpreting the data.
"When we got the data, everyone just started diving in and these massive things popped out really fast," Leja said. "We started doing the modeling and tried to figure out what they were, because they were so big and bright. My first thought was we had made a mistake and we would just find it and move on with our lives. But we have yet to find that mistake, despite a lot of trying."
One way to determine why the galaxies grew so quickly is by taking a spectrum image of the galaxies, which involves splitting light into different wavelengths to define various elements, as well as determine the true distance of the galaxies, Leja said. The spectroscopy data would provide a more detailed look at the galaxies and their impressive size.
Video below: Cosmic hourglass captured by Webb telescope reveals birth of a star
"A spectrum will immediately tell us whether or not these things are real," Leja said. "It will show us how big they are, how far away they are. What's funny is we have all these things we hope to learn from James Webb and this was nowhere near the top of the list. We've found something we never thought to ask the universe — and it happened way faster than I thought, but here we are."
It's also possible that the galaxies identified with Webb data are actually something else entirely.
"This is our first glimpse back this far, so it's important that we keep an open mind about what we are seeing," Leja said. "While the data indicates they are likely galaxies, I think there is a real possibility that a few of these objects turn out to be obscured supermassive black holes. Regardless, the amount of mass we discovered means that the known mass in stars at this period of our universe is up to 100 times greater than we had previously thought. Even if we cut the sample in half, this is still an astounding change." | https://www.koat.com/article/webb-telescope-makes-galactic-discovery-in-the-distant-universe/43033620 | 2023-02-23 03:37:31 | 0 | https://www.koat.com/article/webb-telescope-makes-galactic-discovery-in-the-distant-universe/43033620 |
(The Hill) — Attorney General Merrick Garland is set to deliver a statement to the press on Thursday afternoon from the Department of Justice.
Garland has been under pressure to speak about the FBI’s search of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home on Monday.
It is not clear if Garland will discuss the matter on Thursday. The Department of Justice did not indicate the subject to be addressed by the attorney general.
It is standard practice for the agency to not publicly reveal details about ongoing investigations.
The search at Trump’s home is believed to be related to classified material that the National Archives and Records Administration believed had been improperly taken by Trump.
Republicans have widely condemned the FBI’s search, accusing it of being politically motivated.
The White House has said President Joe Biden had no knowledge the search was going to take place.
The New York Times earlier Thursday reported that Trump had been subpoenaed this spring for the documents. | https://www.wivb.com/news/national/attorney-general-garland-to-give-statement-from-doj/ | 2022-08-11 18:57:16 | 1 | https://www.wivb.com/news/national/attorney-general-garland-to-give-statement-from-doj/ |
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — If the Bills and Chiefs meet in the AFC Championship Game, Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta would host the matchup, the NFL announced Thursday.
The game being played at a neutral site stems from the cancellation of the Bills-Bengals game in which Damar Hamlin suffered an on-field cardiac arrest. As a result, the Bills only played 16 games to the Chiefs’ 17 and lost out on the chance to control their own destiny in claiming home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
“We are heartened by the continued improvement and progress of Damar Hamlin in his recovery, and Damar and his family remain top of mind for the entire NFL community,” said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in a release. “We are also grateful to Arthur Blank and the Atlanta Falcons for agreeing to host the AFC Championship Game in Atlanta should the Bills and Chiefs advance. We thank both of those clubs for their assistance in the planning process. We know, if necessary, Mercedes-Benz Stadium will provide a world class atmosphere for the competing teams, our fans and partners.”
Additional details and ticket information for the game will be announced at a later date. Bills and Chiefs season ticket holders who previously committed to buying championship tickets will have first priority.
The AFC Championship Game is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. on Jan. 29.
Adam Gorski is a Buffalo native who joined the News 4 team in 2022. You can find more of his work here. | https://www.wivb.com/sports/buffalo-bills/atlanta-to-host-potential-bills-chiefs-afc-championship/ | 2023-01-12 19:33:54 | 0 | https://www.wivb.com/sports/buffalo-bills/atlanta-to-host-potential-bills-chiefs-afc-championship/ |
As hundreds of United Methodists churches in Alabama and the Florida Panhandle have voted to disaffiliate since last year, members who remained loyal to the denomination were left behind, looking for new church homes.
Among them are Charles Mason, who was a member of First United Methodist Church of Opelika, which has voted to disaffiliate from the denomination.
On May 7, First United Methodist Church of Opelika will be among 193 churches that have voted to disaffiliate that are expected to be approved to leave the denomination when the Alabama-West Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church meets by a conference call.
But Mason wants to stay in the United Methodist Church. “The United Methodist Church has always been a part of my life,” he said.
Dr. Lee Thigpen, a lifelong United Methodist who was a member of Crestview United Methodist Church in Crestview, Fla., when it voted to disaffiliate, feels the same way. Crestview is also expected to officially leave the denomination on May 7.
Leading up to the vote, the Alabama-West Florida Conference has 511 member churches, most of them in South Alabama, the rest in the Florida Panhandle. After the vote, that’s expected to go down to 318. Churches can still vote to leave through the end of 2023.
“I never thought it would come to this,” Thigpen said. “I’ve never been so crushed in my life.”
Mason and Thigpen have both since submitted their names for the General Church Roll, a method the conference recommends that allows them to stay in the United Methodist Church as they look for a new congregation to join.
“I believe in United Methodism and what it’s about,” Thigpen said.
Defining Methodism
Defining United Methodism has been a thorny issue over the past four decades, as progressives in the denomination have pushed for full inclusion of LGBTQ members, including recognition of same-sex marriage and ordination of openly gay clergy.
Yet the United Methodist Church Book of Discipline still contains language saying “the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching.”
While progressives who support full LGBTQ inclusion have been influential in the U.S. leadership structure, conservative United Methodists in the United States have joined conservative United Methodists from Africa and Asia at the international governing conferences to block the blessing of same-sex unions and ordination of openly gay clergy. Some progressives have flouted the rules, saying they are unjust. Conservatives say the rules have not been widely enforced.
At the United Methodist Church General Conferences, which set church law, conservatives have repeatedly won showdowns with progressives who wanted to update the Book of Discipline to be more LGBTQ-inclusive.
Tired of fighting on the issue, many conservatives are now leaving, using an opening agreed upon by the General Conference to allow churches to pay the supervising conference for their property, take it with them and leave the denomination.
As conservative-leaning churches leave, the denomination is expected to eventually change the language and rules restricting LGBTQ members of the United Methodist Church.
The Methodist churches that are leaving the denomination have either remained independent or joined more conservative denominations such as the Global Methodist Church, formed last year to welcome new conservative Methodist congregations, or the Free Methodist Church, or the Foundry movement, a network of affiliated churches in the Methodist tradition.
With the departure door wide open, conservative-leaning churches have been heading for the exits.
More churches leaving
In the North Alabama Conference, 198 of 638 churches disaffiliated in December. Since then, 135 more have voted to disaffiliate. Their departure is expected to be finalized on May 11.
Among those lining up to leave, Trussville United Methodist voted on April 23 by a margin of 296 to 83 to disaffiliate. That’s 78 percent, above the two-thirds majority required to disaffiliate. Others that have voted to leave include Russellville First, Clay, Helena, Mentone, Taylorville in Tuscaloosa and The Gathering Place in Moody.
From 2021-2022, in earlier departures, the Alabama-West Florida Conference lost 47 churches to disaffiliation, including Frazer Methodist Church in Montgomery, which had long been the largest membership United Methodist Church in Alabama with more than 7,000 members. Frazer joined the Free Methodist Church, a more theologically conservative denomination that has about 300,000 U.S. members and about a million worldwide.
The United Methodist Church, founded from a merger of Methodist churches in 1968, has dropped from 10.6 million U.S. members in 1970 to about 6.2 million before the pandemic in 2020, reflecting a broader decline in attendance and membership across mainline Protestant denominations.
The North Alabama Conference has announced two new United Methodist congregations have started in Oneonta and Albertville, where previous congregations disaffiliated.
The Alabama-West Florida Conference has announced 11 new church starts so far to replace disaffiliating churches.
Both conferences are encouraging loyal United Methodists who feel left behind to join one of the new church starts.
Gulf Shores Methodist Church voted to disaffiliate on Nov. 17, with 259 yes votes (81 percent) and 56 no votes. On March 5, Gulf Shores Methodist voted to join the Global Methodist Church, as soon as the disaffiliation from the United Methodists becomes final on May 7.
The Alabama-West Florida Conference has started a new congregation aimed at those from Gulf Shores and Orange Beach who felt left behind. Orange Beach United Methodist Church also voted to disaffiliate.
The planned Island New Church Start will cover the combined Gulf Shores and Orange Beach area.
United Methodists start new congregations where churches disaffiliated in North Alabama
United Methodist split: 198 churches leave North Alabama Conference | https://www.al.com/life/2023/04/united-methodists-crushed-after-being-left-behind-by-disaffiliating-churches.html | 2023-04-28 12:09:17 | 0 | https://www.al.com/life/2023/04/united-methodists-crushed-after-being-left-behind-by-disaffiliating-churches.html |
ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia election officials hosted a dice roll at the state Capitol on Wednesday to launch an audit of votes in the recent election for secretary of state.
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One by one, people chosen randomly from a basket of names came up to a table and rolled a 10-sided die. In all, 20 dice were rolled, generating a number that was fed into a computer to determine the batches of votes counties must count as part of the audit.
The audit stems from a law passed in 2019, not from any concerns about problems or the integrity of the state’s election results. An audit is required for general elections in even-numbered years on a race selected by the secretary of state. It must be completed before the election results are certified.
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announced last week that he was choosing his race for the audit. Raffensperger, a Republican, beat Democratic state House Rep. Bee Nguyen.
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Officials say the goal of the audit is to verify that the outcome of the secretary of state’s race was correct and more broadly, to boost confidence in elections.
Former President Donald Trump targeted Raffensperger after the 2020 general election for failing to overturn his narrow loss in Georgia. In a now-notorious January 2021 phone call, Trump suggested Raffensperger could “find” enough votes to reverse Democrat Joe Biden’s presidential victory. Trump falsely blamed voter fraud for his loss in other states as well. State officials and federal investigators, including Trump’s own attorney general, have said there was no evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 contest.
Raffensperger defeated a Trump-endorsed primary challenger in this year's election contest.
As part of the audit, every county in the state must check the results recorded by vote-tallying scanners against a hand-count of ballots on the batches of votes selected.
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Gabe Sterling, a top official in the secretary of state's office, said the dice roll was part of an effort to make the process of choosing vote batches as random as possible.
“We won't know in advance, so the counties can't go, ‘I’ll make sure this batch is perfect and all the other ones are crap,'” he said.
The counties must begin the audit on Thursday. The secretary of state’s office is asking them to complete it by the next day.
The audit ends either when election officials reach a certain level of confidence that the outcome is correct or a full count has been performed.
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State law requires 90% certainty that the outcome is correct, but Raffensperger said last week he is increasing that to 95%, that is to say a “risk limit” of 5%. | https://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Georgia-launches-election-audit-with-roll-of-dice-17590444.php | 2022-11-16 23:34:33 | 1 | https://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Georgia-launches-election-audit-with-roll-of-dice-17590444.php |
HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill., July 7, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Geneva Financial (Geneva), a direct mortgage lender operating in 46 states, has announced the opening of a new branch in Hoffman Estates, Illinois led by Branch Manager Jonathan Gonzalez. The opening of this new branch provides opportunities for local borrowers and buyers looking to navigate the current housing market.
"The focus on the human element at Geneva is what drew me in." Illinois Branch Manager Jonathan Gonzalez stated. "I want to be able to provide the best service for my clients that I can and a big part of that is treating them like people. This move to Geneva has been a fantastic experience and we are excited to see our branch continue to grow."
Based out of Hoffman Estates, IL, Gonzalez and his new branch proudly serve homebuyers throughout the state. The new branch will continue Geneva's exceptional service and extensive product offering through countless homebuyer and homeowner-focused products including Conventional, FHA, VA, USDA, Refinance, Reverse, Jumbo Loans, Condo Financing, and so much more.
In the mortgage industry since 2004, Gonzalez has dedicated himself to his Illinois market and is honored to be able to serve his home state with this move to Geneva Financial. In his free time, Jonathan loves spending time with his two boys at their soccer games, and at the movie theater and music concerts with his wife. But more than anything else, Jonathan is passionate about people and helping them achieve their goals.
Geneva Financial Home Loans is currently expanding in all markets and seeking branch managers and loan originators across the United States looking to advance their mortgage careers. For information on opportunities, visit www.GenevaFi.com/opportunity
Founded in 2007 by Aaron VanTrojen, Geneva Financial (NMLS 42056) is a direct mortgage lender headquartered in Chandler, Arizona with more than 130 branch locations in 46 states. Our mission at Geneva Financial is to approach every aspect of our business from the "inside-out". With a culture-forward mindset, we focus on our loan originators and support staff first to ensure an unbeatable experience for our customers.
Our Core Values were created as a daily reminder to operate with the inside-out approach in mind. Core Value #1 is the backbone of all our Core Values, our mission, and our brand vision: Home Loans Powered by Humans®. Learn more about Geneva Financial Home Loans at www.GenevaFi.com
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SOURCE Geneva Financial | https://www.wkyt.com/prnewswire/2022/07/07/geneva-financial-announces-new-illinois-mortgage-branch-headed-by-branch-manager-jonathan-gonzalez/ | 2022-07-07 15:13:34 | 0 | https://www.wkyt.com/prnewswire/2022/07/07/geneva-financial-announces-new-illinois-mortgage-branch-headed-by-branch-manager-jonathan-gonzalez/ |
LIVERPOOL, England — There are always what-ifs when a team gets so close to glory. Liverpool may yet end the 2021-22 season as Treble winners if they add the Champions League to the FA Cup and Carabao Cup already won by Jurgen Klopp’s players this year, but when they analyse how they missed out on clinching the Premier League title, it will come down to seven crucial minutes.
Manchester City trailed 2-0 at home to Aston Villa while Liverpool laid siege to the Wolves’ goal at Anfield, desperately attempting to score the goal that would give them the lead and take them top of the table with less than 20 minutes to play.
Some City fans had already given up on Pep Guardiola’s team at the Etihad, with ESPN’s Rob Dawson reporting that a number had started to drift out of the stadium with it seemingly inevitable that Liverpool would score and claim the initiative at Anfield.
Had Liverpool been able to find their second goal while City trailed 2-0, who knows how big a demoralising blow it would have inflicted on Guardiola’s players? Had Liverpool scored, the Etihad may have emptied even further and drained all hope of a late fightback.
But it was City who scored the next goal, with Ilkay Gundogan sparking the onslaught that delivered three goals in five minutes and transformed the mood at the Etihad. Liverpool missed their moment, and the atmosphere inside Anfield went from euphoric to silent in the space of a few seconds.
What if Liverpool had scored before City? What if?
But having eventually beaten Wolves by 3-1 and ending the season with 92 points — one fewer than City — Liverpool’s failure to win a second title in three years comes down to the fine margins that make all the difference.
They only lost two league games all season — at West Ham and Leicester — and ended the campaign as the only unbeaten side in 2022, so it is the near misses that will haunt Klopp and his players.
Liverpool were 2-0 up at Chelsea after 26 minutes on Jan. 2, but ended up drawing 2-2. It was the same story at home to Brighton in October, when 2-0 became 2-2, that time after being two goals clear after 24 minutes.
Klopp’s team also conceded winning positions to draw against Brentford, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur. Despite finishing 18 points clear of third-placed Chelsea, Liverpool ended the season having failed to beat any of the top four, drawing twice against City, Chelsea and Spurs.
So these are the games where the title was lost, even if it seems harsh to find fault in a team that amassed so many points and lost just twice.
But on the final day of the season, in the final moments, Liverpool had the chance to really turn the screw on City by going ahead against Wolves, and they were unable to do it. By the time Mohamed Salah managed to put Liverpool ahead on 84 minutes, City had already turned defeat into victory by scoring three times in five minutes through Gundogan (twice) and Rodri.
It is Liverpool’s misfortune to be enjoying their peak years under Klopp at the same time City are collecting trophies under Guardiola. Over the last four years, Liverpool have won one title and finished runners-up behind City twice — with 92 points this season and 97 in 2018-19. Those tallies would have been enough to win the title in all but four of the 30 seasons during the Premier League era, but Liverpool just happen to be competing with a team that has set the bar so much higher than the previous champions.
“Ninety-two points is crazy with all the games we play,” Klopp said. “There are worse scenarios — we could have been a point ahead [on the final day] and not made it — but we don’t feel good. We were close, but not close enough.”
Where Liverpool have outperformed Guardiola’s City is in the Champions League, and Klopp’s side can put further daylight between themselves and their Mancunian rivals if they beat Real Madrid in Paris next Saturday.
It will be Liverpool’s third Champions League final in five seasons and they can win a second European Cup in that time — and seventh overall — by winning in the Stade de France. City, of course, have yet to win the Champions League.
Having gone so close and endured such dramatic tension on the final day of the league season, Liverpool will need time to overcome the disappointment of missing out on the title and the improbable glory of the quadruple.
But by the time Saturday comes around, winning a seventh European Cup will be all that matters and, if they do that, missing out on the title will quickly fade from the memory.
“We have had an exceptional season,” Klopp said. “I would have preferred they [City] were 5-0 up after 10 minutes so we could just play out game, but the season was close, so close.
“We have five days to prepare for the final against an incredible team, but that’s what we will do. Losing this will only increase our desire to succeed.” | https://blackchronicle.com/liverpool-left-to-look-back-on-what-ifs-as-fine-margins-define-premier-league-title-race/ | 2022-05-23 20:35:23 | 1 | https://blackchronicle.com/liverpool-left-to-look-back-on-what-ifs-as-fine-margins-define-premier-league-title-race/ |
As cold as a shamrock shake
LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - If you’re heading out for any Saint Patrick’s Day festivities, you’ll need to bundle up, it’ll be a chilly and breezy day! In addition, a few isolated snow showers and flurries are possible in the east through this afternoon.🌈☘️
Today will be chilly and breezy, plus we will have the small chance for isolated snow flurries and snow showers. High temperatures will only top out in the 30s to lower 40s. Winds will be significantly slower than those on Thursday, but it will still be breezy with winds between 15 to 25 mph. With that being said, temperatures will feel more like the 20s for portions of the day. We will see cloud cover increase to partly to mostly cloudy throughout the day. The chance for snow flurries and snow showers will move into the eastern half of the state mid-morning through the afternoon. While most of the snow showers will be light, there is a low possibility for snow squalls in eastern Nebraska today. If a snow squall occurs, locally heavy snowfall is possible (less than an inch accumulation) with rapidly falling visibility.
Tonight will be bitterly cold and partly cloudy. Low temperatures will fall to the single digits to teens but accompanied by breezy northwest winds between 15 to 25 mph, gusting to 30 mph.... will result in feels like temperatures in the single digits to 10 below zero.
Saturday will be even colder! High temperatures will only reach the 20s to mid 30s but with breezy conditions will feel more the lower 20s to teens. Winds will be from the northwest between 15 to 25 mph with gusts to 35 mph possible. The day will start off cloudy, but clouds will slowly decrease throughout the day.
Luckily after this weekend’s cold snap, we have a warming trend on deck! Temperatures will warm into the mid 50s and low 60s for the new week and first week of astronomical spring. Breezy conditions will stick around for most of the next 7 days. The chance for rain will return Tuesday through Thursday.
Copyright 2023 KOLN. All rights reserved. | https://www.1011now.com/2023/03/17/cold-shamrock-shake/ | 2023-03-17 12:42:10 | 1 | https://www.1011now.com/2023/03/17/cold-shamrock-shake/ |
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- The Daily News invited each of the Republican primary candidates for the 35th District State... | https://www.ourmidland.com/sports/article/L-A-Dodgers-Team-Stax-17339740.php | 2022-07-30 05:37:15 | 0 | https://www.ourmidland.com/sports/article/L-A-Dodgers-Team-Stax-17339740.php |
A team of firefighters rescued and resuscitated a dog after it was found at the scene of a fire.
In Charleston, West Virginia, at 7:02 a.m. on Feb. 20, the Charleston Fire Department was called in for a residential fire structure, Captain David Hodges told Fox News Digital.
The firefighters on the scene were notified that the family had a dog, Tyson, a 5-year-old German shepherd.
COLORADO FIREFIGHTERS RESCUE 155-POUND ST. BERNARD WHO FELL THROUGH ICE
He was last seen in the garage during the team's search, Capt. Hodges reported.
"The dog was hiding behind furniture, and when he was found he was unresponsive," he shared.
It is a common practice to revive animals when rescued if there is any chance of survival, Capt. Hodges said about his department.
The Charleston Fire Department successfully resuscitated Tony on the scene.
INDIANA FIREMEN RESCUE GOOSE TRAPPED IN FROZEN SAND ALONG LAKE MICHIGAN SHORE
The dog was then transported in an ambulance to a nearby veterinarian hospital.
"He did appear to be stable and becoming alert," Capt. Hodges added.
GERMAN SHEPHERD UP FOR ADOPTION AFTER HE WAS FOUND ‘EMACIATED AND AFRAID’
While still on the scene of the fire, Tony was reunited with his family.
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Everyone was safely recovered after the fire, said Capt. Hodges.
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The firefighters do not have any official update on the dog's health and well-being since the rescue. | https://www.foxbangor.com/news/national/west-virginia-firefighters-resuscitate-dog-found-not-breathing-at-scene-of-fire/article_f11c2fee-9824-5fb8-8784-0a3c33780988.html | 2023-02-21 21:55:52 | 0 | https://www.foxbangor.com/news/national/west-virginia-firefighters-resuscitate-dog-found-not-breathing-at-scene-of-fire/article_f11c2fee-9824-5fb8-8784-0a3c33780988.html |
There were tears in Haley Van Dyke’s eyes as she stood in the halls of Alaska Airlines Arena. The Washington women’s senior basketball player had just played her final home game in a Huskies uniform, and her emotions had clearly ensnared her.
Presumably, the memories of everything she and her teammates had experienced at Hec Ed — including an upset of then-No. 2 Stanford two weeks earlier — were flooding her mind. But you have to wonder if part of the reason for the eye-welling was that she and the other seniors won’t be along for what’s coming next.
The UW women’s hoops program appears to be rising like cream in a Starbucks cup of joe. After finishing 2-12 last season — and failing to win more than five conference games in its previous four seasons — the Huskies earned Pac-12 win No. 7 Sunday via a 68-60 victory over Oregon. This came 14 days after stunning the aforementioned Cardinal.
Doesn’t mean this program has returned to the Kelsey Plum/Chantel Osahor days of the mid-2010s (Washington is 15-11 overall and 7-9 in conference) — nor does it mean it will get back to that level anytime soon. But there are signs that prominent days are in the Huskies’ not-so-distant future.
Second-year head coach Tina Langley has already posted two dominant offseasons in the recruiting wars. Within months of her arrival at UW, she landed what ESPN ranked as the 14th best freshman class in the country for 2022. One year later, she signed the No. 16 class — which included three top-100 prospects.
Top-tier talent doesn’t always translate into championship contention. The Washington men’s program has brought in future first-round draft picks recently only to fall flat between the lines. Still, it’s an encouraging sign.
Plus, most of the Huskies’ best players will return next season. Leading scorer and rebounder Dalayah Daniels from Garfield is a sophomore. No. 3 scorer Lauren Schwartz is a junior, No. 4 scorer Hannah Stines is a freshman, and assists leader Jayda Noble is a sophomore. The gains younger players make on the college stage are often seismic; and though improvement isn’t guaranteed, it’s more likely than not.
So what do the players think of the strides the program has made in just one season, and what do they envision for this team going forward?
“I attribute it to our culture. I think our culture is the biggest thing that’s shifted this year. We’ve really dedicated ourselves to the process and our values,” Van Dyke said. “It’s gotten us very far because we’re a very unselfish team and play for each other and get better every game.”
Added fellow senior Darcy Rees: “I agree with that. Just because we’re not results-based, it’s easy to get better each day no matter what the day comes and what the day brings. I just think it’s our dedication to the culture that’s grown over the past two years, and you can see that in our program and in us as individuals. It’s really exciting to be a part of and it’s going to take us really far.”
Just under seven years ago, the Huskies reached the Final Four for the first time in program history — doing so as a No. 7 seed. They were probably even better the next season despite losing in the Sweet 16, as Plum broke the all-time and single-season NCAA scoring records.
Getting back to that level might seem far-fetched. But remember, the Washington women were regulars in the NCAA tournament under former coach June Daugherty, reaching the Big Dance six times between 1997-2007. Reattaining that level of consistency doesn’t seem out of the question.
Coach Tina Langley isn’t about to go there with the media yet, though. In fact, she isn’t about to go past tomorrow. Asked what’s on the horizon for the Huskies, she opted to stay in the here and now.
“I can only see the present right now, just to be honest — it’s very hard for me. I love these young women and today’s celebration of our seniors and our current team,” Langley said. “I’m just joyful for the way that they fought for one another tonight. And I’m very appreciative to the young women that have already signed with us. They’re having tremendous high-school careers … I think the biggest thing that our staff would say is that we’re super grateful for the type of young women we get to coach every day.”
These Huskies — who still have two conference games (at USC and UCLA) and the Pac-12 Tournament — have plenty to be proud of this year. They got much better. Don’t be surprised if that becomes a theme. | https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/uw-husky-basketball/recent-big-wins-show-washington-womens-program-is-on-the-rise/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_all | 2023-02-20 02:08:51 | 1 | https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/uw-husky-basketball/recent-big-wins-show-washington-womens-program-is-on-the-rise/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_all |
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — If you’ve been on social media this week, you may have seen a video that claims to show the moon crossing the sky and blocking the sun over the North Pole. The video, which has been viewed millions of times already, is not real.
The video was posted to Twitter early Tuesday morning and looks like it could be a scene from a Marvel or “Star Wars” movie. It shows what looks like the moon – extremely close to Earth – “rise,” then quickly move across the sky to block out the sun. The person who posted the video claimed it was a “breathtaking view” from the North Pole.
That “breathtaking view,” however stunning it may look, is fake. Here’s how you can tell it’s not real:
Size
“While the heavily-altered video makes the moon look amazing and huge, it’s not possible for the moon to appear that large here on Earth,” Max Defender 8 Meteorologist Rebecca Barry said. “The moon’s orbit isn’t a perfect circle, and there are wobbles within the orbit, but we can calculate the moment the moon is closest, and appears the largest, to Earth each year – it is called perigee. At perigee, the moon is still over 200,000 miles from Earth. A Super Moon only appears about 7% larger than a normal full moon, so the much larger appearance of the moon in this fake video just isn’t physically possible.”
Speed
Another clue that proves the video is fake is the speed in which the moon appears to be rotating in the video.
“You can see the moon rotating – quickly – while it makes its fast journey across the sky. The moon rotates much more slowly, imperceptibly to our observation over the course of an entire evening,” Barry explained. “In fact, it takes the moon 23.7 days to make a rotation on its axis.”
The “eclipse”
The video claims to show the moon completely blocking the sun in the sky for five seconds before disappearing. That visual – showing the moon almost glowing in the sky – is another clue that the video is manipulated.
“I watched the last solar eclipse – when the moon moved in front of the sun. You couldn’t see the moon at all in the sky while it approached the sun, “Barry said. “The only way we see the moon is when the sun’s light reflects off of the surface and back to us. At that angle, it is impossible for the moon to be illuminated.”
Location
The tweet posted Tuesday claims the video was taken from the North Pole, which is another red flag.
“The fake terrain shows a dry grass field, not the snow and ice we know covers the North Pole,” Barry said.
So where did the video come from?
It’s not the first time this video has made the rounds online. It was posted in May 2021 and again in October 2021. Previous tweets claim the video was taken in the North Pole, like Tuesday’s tweet, or between Russia and Canada.
It’s not clear exactly where the video came from, but some Twitter users traced it back to a TikTok account that posts videos featuring CGI. | https://www.wfla.com/glance-at-the-galaxy/no-viral-video-does-not-show-moon-blocking-sun-over-north-pole/ | 2022-04-27 01:56:26 | 1 | https://www.wfla.com/glance-at-the-galaxy/no-viral-video-does-not-show-moon-blocking-sun-over-north-pole/ |
Blood pressure tablets recalled due to potential cancer risks, FDA says
(Gray News) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said a voluntary recall has been issued for blood pressure medications that have shown the presence of impurities that could increase the risk of cancer.
Lupin Pharmaceuticals Inc. issued the recall for four lots of Quinapril 20 mg and 40 mg tablets due to the presence of a nitrosamine that is above the recommended daily intake.
“These impurities may increase the risk of cancer if people are exposed to them above acceptable levels over long periods of time,” the company said in the recall announcement.
Nitrosamine impurities are regularly found in foods like cured or grilled meats, vegetables and dairy products, according to the FDA.
The FDA said the recalled lots include:
Patients using Quinapril should continue taking the medication and contact a medical professional for advice on alternate treatments, according to the recall.
Retailers and distributors are advised to discontinue distribution of the recalled product lots immediately.
The pharmaceutical company had not received any reports of illnesses as of Dec. 21, according to the FDA.
Copyright 2022 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.kfyrtv.com/2022/12/27/blood-pressure-tablets-recalled-due-potential-cancer-risks-fda-says/ | 2022-12-27 21:24:23 | 0 | https://www.kfyrtv.com/2022/12/27/blood-pressure-tablets-recalled-due-potential-cancer-risks-fda-says/ |
Elliston, 16, is a talkative, outgoing, funny and brilliant teen who loves to chat and make new connections. He likes playing basketball, football, wrestling, and is even taking a boxing class at school, which he loves.
Elliston is excellent at solving Rubik's Cubes and can finish them in minutes. He is a great singer and enjoys singing along to the car radio. Elliston likes reading “anything that catches his eye,” he would say, and would like to have a good library in his area.
A family that can keep Elliston connected to his physical outlets and can continue to help him achieve his potential is a must. Elliston is open to any family composition or religious views. He would prefer to live in the Twin Cities metro area. Elliston loves horses and dogs and would love to live in a home with pets.
Following adoption, Elliston needs maintain contact with his brother and other family members. | https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/lifestyle/waiting-child-elliston | 2023-07-17 18:25:38 | 1 | https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/lifestyle/waiting-child-elliston |
NEW YORK — Goldman Sachs will pay $215 million to settle a years-long class action lawsuit that claimed the bank discriminated against women when it came to pay, performance evaluations and promotions.
The settlement covers about 2,800 female associates and vice presidents in Goldman’s investment banking, investment management and securities divisions.
“My goal in this case has always been to support strong women on Wall Street. I am proud that the result we achieved here will advance gender equity,” plaintiff Allison Gamba said in a prepared statement.
Aside from the payment, the settlement includes a three-year period during which Goldman will work with an independent expert to perform more analysis on its performance evaluation processes, as well as its process for promoting individuals from vice president to managing director. It also requires an independent expert to conduct additional pay equity studies and for the New York City company to investigate and address any gender pay gaps where appropriate.
“Goldman Sachs is proud of its long record of promoting and advancing women and remains committed to ensuring a diverse and inclusive workplace for all our people. After more than a decade of vigorous litigation, both parties have agreed to resolve this matter,” said Jacqueline Arthur, Goldman Sachs global head of human capital management. “We will continue to focus on our people, our clients, and our business,” | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/05/09/goldman-sachs-settlement-gender-equity/e7dd642c-ee71-11ed-b67d-a219ec5dfd30_story.html | 2023-05-09 14:48:17 | 0 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/05/09/goldman-sachs-settlement-gender-equity/e7dd642c-ee71-11ed-b67d-a219ec5dfd30_story.html |
An Amazon Air flight arrived at Mobile International Airport just after 2:30 a.m. Thursday, the start of regular service, making Mobile the first Alabama station on Amazon’s high-speed airborne cargo network.
According to information released Thursday by the Mobile Airport Authority, Amazon Air will operate daily between Mobile and Alliance Airport in Fort Worth, Texas, a regional hub for the service. Amazon air flies to more than 50 airports across the United States and operates in Europe as well.
“We are excited to expand Amazon Air to Mobile, providing customers throughout Alabama and the surrounding region faster shipping speeds,” said Chris Preston, Director of Amazon Air Gateway Operations. “Amazon continues to invest and grow in Alabama, and this new gateway ensures we can deliver on our customer promise of fast, reliable deliveries.”
Amazon has described the air cargo portion of its shipping network as “a critical conduit for delivering packages across longer distances.” Amazon Air has grown rapidly in the last five years and has begun to purchase its own planes after relying on leases. Its flights reportedly increased by almost 35% in 2021 alone, one of several statistics showing much faster growth than FedEx and UPS. It remains smaller than those services but is seen by some as a rising competitor.
“Amazon Air is an exciting addition to the Mobile International Airport,” said Chris Curry, Mobile Airport Authority President. “The daily cargo service will strengthen BFM’s impact as a regional transportation hub. We are grateful to the Amazon team’s commitment to Mobile and look forward to a strong partnership.”
At Brookley, Amazon Air will lease a 16,000-square-foot area to sort and load Amazon packages. The company already operates a sortation center a few miles to the west, with Interstate 10 providing a direct connection from the airport.
“Air logistics are now a major part of America’s economic system. Speed and efficiency in product distribution and delivery are the future. This new Amazon program underscores the transition of Mobile into one of America’s most unique and aggressive multi-modal transportation hubs, encompassing land, sea, rail and air modalities,” said Michael Boyd of Boyd Group International.
Plans are well under way to build a new international terminal at Mobile’s Brookley Field so that commercial passenger service can be shifted there from Mobile Regional Airport. Construction is expected to start early next year. In April, the Mobile Airport Authority board voted to change the name of Brookley Downtown Airport to Mobile International Airport.
“In order to have the stature, you’ve got to take the posture,” board chair Elliot Maisel said of the name change.
Curry said at the time that the new facility would have the capability to handle both international cargo and international passengers, which he said will distinguish it from other facilities in the region. | https://www.al.com/news/mobile/2022/11/amazon-air-lands-in-mobile-adding-a-high-speed-link-for-shipments.html | 2022-11-03 11:25:43 | 0 | https://www.al.com/news/mobile/2022/11/amazon-air-lands-in-mobile-adding-a-high-speed-link-for-shipments.html |
After six days of violent protests across dozens of cities in France, things are beginning to calm down. Last week, a teenager was shot and killed by a police officer.
Copyright 2023 NPR
After six days of violent protests across dozens of cities in France, things are beginning to calm down. Last week, a teenager was shot and killed by a police officer.
Copyright 2023 NPR | https://www.knkx.org/2023-07-03/after-days-of-violent-protests-against-systemic-racism-unrest-calms-in-france | 2023-07-03 22:46:56 | 1 | https://www.knkx.org/2023-07-03/after-days-of-violent-protests-against-systemic-racism-unrest-calms-in-france |
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are swinging sharply higher on Wall Street Thursday after erasing steep earlier losses caused by a worse-than-expected report on inflation, the latest set of corkscrew moves to rock financial markets.
The S&P 500 was 1.6% higher in midday trading, a neck-snapping turn after being down as much as 2.4% in the morning and touching its lowest level in nearly two years. Other markets around the world also veered sharply from losses to gains,.
Besides stocks, prices also initially tumbled for bonds and cryptocurrencies immediately after the U.S. government released its report showing inflation is spreading more widely across the economy. One component that’s closely followed by policy makers and investors accelerated to its hottest level in 40 years.
That forced investors to brace for continued, big hikes to interest rates by the Federal Reserve to get inflation under control, and the potential recession those moves could create. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell as many as 549 points shortly after the report’s release, and the Nasdaq was down as much as 3.2%.
But the midday reversal for markets had the Dow up 522 points, or 1.8%, at 29,733, as of 11;55 a.m. Eastern time. The Nasdaq was 1.3% higher.
Stocks in Europe also flipped from losses caused by the U.S. inflation data, while Treasury yields pulled back a little from their initial surge. The value of the U.S. dollar against other currencies sank after initially jumping.
They’re the latest jagged, back-and-forth moves for markets, which have been swinging sharply due to all the uncertainties about economies around the world and how badly higher interest rates will hurt them.
In the first few minutes of the revival, analysts could only speculate on what turned markets around.
“Hopefully it’s because people have dug into the details of the inflation report and noticed a few signs that we could get inflation relief by the end of the year,” said Brian Jacobsen, senior investment strategist at Allspring Global Investments.
“Markets have talked themselves off a ledge, so to speak, and they’re a bit more hopeful,” said Kristina Hooper, chief global markets strategist at Invesco.
Most investors came into the morning already expecting the Fed to hike its key overnight interest rate by three-quarters of a percentage point next month, which would be its fourth straight hike that was triple the usual size.
But Thursday’s disappointing data caused many investors to expect a fifth such increase in December, dashing hopes that the Fed may begin downshifting soon. Bets increased for the Fed to pull its overnight rate above 5% by early next year. It started this year at virtually zero.
Higher rates make buying a house, car or anything else purchased on credit more expensive, and the hope is that will slow the economy and job market enough to undercut inflation. But higher rates take a notoriously long time to take full effect, and the Fed risks causing a recession if it ends up going too far.
As the day progressed, and investors had more time to dig into the inflation report’s details, though, analysts said they perhaps saw some glimmers of hope. Even though what’s called “core” inflation accelerated last month, overall inflation including food and energy prices slowed by a touch.
“If you’re at least starting to see headline CPI cool, there’s hope that core CPI will follow,” Hooper said. “There’s definitely that thought process coming in.”
Treasury yields pulled back a bit from their initial, early-morning leaps, lessening a bit of the pressure on stocks.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which helps set rates for mortgages and many other loans, rose to 3.94% from 3.90% late Wednesday. Earlier in the day, it topped 4%.
The two-year yield, which moves more on expectations for Fed action, rose to 4.43% from 4.29%. It crossed above 4.50% earlier in the morning.
Higher yields amp up the pressure on the economy not only by making loans more expensive and slowing growth. They also drag down prices for stocks, cryptocurrencies and nearly every other investment because they mean bonds are paying more in interest, which pulls some dollars away from other investments.
Investments seen as the riskiest, the most expensive or forcing investors to wait the longest for big growth have been the ones hit hardest by this year’s rise in rates.
The inflation report hit Wall Street just as companies gear up to report how much profit they earned during the summer.
If they could report big growth, that would give some major support to stock prices even as the worries about higher-for-longer rates roil markets. But analysts have been highlighting the pressures created by high inflation, high interest rates and the soaring value of the U.S. dollar against other currencies, which dilutes the dollar value of sales made abroad.
“Earnings season might not be bad,” said Yung-Yu Ma, chief investment strategist at BMO Wealth Management, “but being strong enough to reverse this tide will be a tough go.”
Domino’s Pizza jumped 10.5% for the biggest gain in the S&P 500 following its earnings report. Its profit for the latest quarter fell short of analysts’ expectations, but it made more in revenue than forecast.
——
AP Business Writers Joe McDonald and Matt Ott contributed. | https://www.ksn.com/news/business/ap-business/ap-asian-stocks-fall-ahead-of-us-inflation-update/ | 2022-10-13 16:59:35 | 0 | https://www.ksn.com/news/business/ap-business/ap-asian-stocks-fall-ahead-of-us-inflation-update/ |
Karen Vaughn is bringing Real, Fun and Fab to your work day! Like many of her listeners, Karen Vaughn enjoys great music and compelling conversation. She gives a dose of both from 10am – 3pm on 106.7 WTLC. Karen is deeply committed to using her platform to inform, entertain and inspire. Her charisma, vibrancy and engaging sensibility allow her to not only develop entertaining programming, but to connect with her listeners instantly.
Karen also serves as Operations Manager for Radio-One Indianapolis. She comes from Radio-One Philadelphia where she continues to handle 10am – 3pm on 100.3 WRNB and was also Operations Manager for WRNB, WPHI and WPPZ. Her radio broadcasting expertise has earned her numerous honors and awards throughout her career. She has been honored as Assistant Program Director and Music Director of the Year from Billboard Magazine. Her Radio show has also been nominated for Urban Radio Personality/Show of the year and Karen has been inducted in the Broadcaster’s Hall of Fame in Ohio.
A graduate of Philadelphia’s Temple University, Karen has represented the March of Dimes, The Sister to Sister Foundation, and American Heart Association as a spokesperson. Karen’s community outreach programs through her ‘Karen Cares’ brand have given hundreds of South Florida women spa makeovers, career and resume workshops, and work/life balance services. In addition to books for children and providing families with their holiday needs in Indianapolis.
From her strong community connect, in 2008 she launched an interactive life-balance website for working women www.workingdivas.com™. As a mother balancing family, work and motherhood, Karen crafted Working Divas™ to empower women to put themselves first and enjoy the “bliss” that life has to offer. “Women have to find ways to manage daily demands and still achieve happiness in their lives,” says Karen.
As a premiere endorser and voiceover actress, top Brands have solicited Karen to represent them. She has endorsed, Ulta Beauty, OWN-TV, Remy Martin, Red Robin, Comcast, Dove, Marshalls, Lipton, Khol’s, Noxzema, Disney, Danielle’s Weave Salon, Royal Caribbean International, Empress Hair Care and Ideal Baby Store.
Celebrated for her engaging personality and her in-depth interviews…Lionel Richie boasted, “Karen has the magic.” Tyler Perry says, “I love being on Karen’s Show, she does the best interviews.” She has welcomed into the studio Ella Mai, Maxwell, El DeBarge, Suze Orman, Tracee Ellis Ross, Jay Z, John Legend, Jamie Foxx, Eddie LeVert and Boris Kodjoe to name a few.
Karen has worked in major markets across the country including Miami, Washington, DC, Cleveland and Baltimore.
Tune into Karen to experience a fresh approach to television, radio and the web. Karen Vaughn -Working Mom…Working Media!
Karen is represented by the Law Offices of Joseph H. Davis and The Russ PR Agency. | https://wtlcfm.com/3370380/the-fix-with-karen-vaughn-method-man-gets-better-with-age/ | 2022-11-14 15:52:36 | 0 | https://wtlcfm.com/3370380/the-fix-with-karen-vaughn-method-man-gets-better-with-age/ |
In a rare sighting, New England Aquarium scientists were pleasantly surprised to spot four killer whales swimming together 40 miles south of Nantucket, Massachusetts.
The research team had been flying overhead conducting aerial surveys when they made the discovery.
It is "always unusual to see killer whales in New England waters," associate research scientist Orla O'Brien said in a press release. She leads the aerial survey team for the aquarium's Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life.
Assistant research scientist Katherine McKenna was first to spot the whales.
"Initially I could just see two splashes ahead of the plane," McKenna said in a press release. "As we circled the area, two whales surfaced too quickly to tell what they were. On the third surfacing, we got a nice look and could see the tell-tale coloration before the large dorsal fins broke the surface."
The killer whales were seen swimming in formation, an experience O'Brien called "unreal." It is believed that the pod was made up of two males and two females, though that has not been confirmed.
"I think seeing killer whales is particularly special for us because it unlocks that childhood part of you that wanted to be a marine biologist," O'Brien said.
The population of killer whales, also known as orcas, is very small in North Atlantic waters.
The orcas were among nearly 150 whales and dolphins witnessed during the team's seven-hour flight. This included 23 fin whales, counting a mother and calf, five minke whales, 62 bottlenose dolphins and 20 humpback whales bubble feeding, the New England Aquarium said.
There is only one known killer whale seen regularly in North Atlantic waters. Known as "Old Thom," the large male orca typically swims alone — or sometimes alongside dolphins — in the Gulf of Maine and the Bay of Fundy. He was last seen in waters off Cape Cod in May 2022.
Trending stories at Scrippsnews.com | https://www.kivitv.com/rare-sighting-scientists-spot-4-killer-whales-in-new-england-waters | 2023-06-14 18:07:37 | 1 | https://www.kivitv.com/rare-sighting-scientists-spot-4-killer-whales-in-new-england-waters |
100 years ago
Feb. 9, 1923
• Faced with a deficit in the finances of the city schools, members of the Little Rock School Board met Wednesday afternoon with a committee from the Little Rock Board of Commerce and one from the Clearing House Association to consider the advisability of closing the schools a month earlier than usual. It was decided, however, to accept the deficit and to continue to operate the schools for the full term... Moreover, the schools are in better condition financially this year than they were last year at the same time, it is said, and the members of the board are looking forward confidently to the present legislature to provide permanent relief for school finances.
50 years ago
Feb. 9, 1973
• Governor Bumpers signed the public school kindergarten bill Thursday and disclosed that he might seek more money to fund the program than he originally had proposed. Later in the day, Mr. Bumpers also talked tentatively about making several other major changes in his public school budgets, including larger teacher retirement benefits than he previously had recommended and a $2 million program to funnel additional aid to 81 of the state's most impoverished school districts. The measure signed by the governor (HB 155, now Act 83) authorizes starting a kindergarten program but provides no funding.
25 years ago
Feb. 9, 1998
• Most college students rely on loans but know little about the thousands of dollars they borrow, and many add to their debt with unrestrained use of credit cards, a study by two Arkansas researchers revealed. University of Arkansas at Little Rock professor Pat Somers and University of Arkansas System finance and administration vice president Jim Cofer conducted the study. ... "In the history of student loan programs, one-third of all loans were made in the last four years," Somers said. "Much of that is because of the shift in federal policy from awarding grants to [insuring] loans."
10 years ago
Feb. 9, 2013
• The silence when entering the Arkansas House of Prayer on the grounds of St. Margaret's Episcopal Church in Little Rock is all encompassing. Only the muffled chirp of birds outside or an occasional plane soaring high overhead can be heard. The quiet is absolute because the House of Prayer has a rule of silence. That means no talking, no cell phones, no music -- just silence. Visitors enter in silence and either remove their shoes or put on shoe covers before opening the door to the circular prayer room. Natural light filters in from windows in the conical ceiling, as well as through a skylight in the center. The center of the room features a circle of stone filled with earth. Cushions surround the circle and chairs line the walls. For some, the transition from the noise of the outside world to the utter silence of the meditation room is jarring. "We don't live in a quiet world," said the Rev. Mary Vano, rector of St. Margaret's. "It's against the grain of what we've been taught." | https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2023/feb/09/other-days/ | 2023-02-09 09:51:43 | 0 | https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2023/feb/09/other-days/ |
MOSCOW, Russia — Russia on Monday granted citizenship to former American intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, who fled prosecution after he revealed highly classified U.S. surveillance programs to capture communications and data from around the world.
A decree signed Monday by Russian President Vladimir Putin listed Snowden as one of 75 foreign citizens listed as being granted Russian citizenship. After fleeing the U.S. in 2013, Snowden was granted permanent Russian residency in 2020 and said at the time that he planned to apply for Russian citizenship without renouncing his U.S. citizenship.
Ties between Washington and Moscow are already at their lowest point in decades following Putin's decision to launch what the Kremlin has dubbed a “special military operation” in Ukraine.
While Snowden, 39, is considered by supporters to be a righteous whistleblower who wanted to protect American civil liberties, U.S. intelligence officials have accused him of putting U.S. personnel at risk and damaging national security. He currently faces charges in the United States that could result in decades in prison.
“Our position has not changed,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said Monday. “Mr. Snowden should return to the United States where he should face justice as any other American citizen would.”
Snowden becomes a Russian citizen as Moscow is mobilizing reservists to go to Ukraine. In Russia, almost every man is considered a reservist until age 65, and officials on Monday stressed that men with dual citizenship are also eligible for the military call-up.
Snowden, however, has never served in the Russian armed forces, so he is not eligible to be mobilized, his lawyer Anatoly Kucherena told the Interfax news agency. Having previous combat or military service experience has been considered the main criterion in the call-up.
Kucherena told Russia's state news agency RIA Novosti that Snowden's wife, Lindsay Mills, an American who has been living with him in Russia, will also be applying for a Russian passport. The couple has two children.
“After two years of waiting and nearly ten years of exile, a little stability will make a difference for my family,” Snowden tweeted Monday. “I pray for privacy for them — and for us all.”
Snowden, who has kept a low profile in Russia and occasionally criticized Russian government policies on social media, said in 2019 that he was willing to return to the U.S. if he’s guaranteed a fair trial.
His acceptance of Russian citizenship is likely to drive more criticism against him from people who say he has remained silent on issues such as the conflict in Ukraine.
Snowden leaked documents on the National Security Agency's collection of data passing through the infrastructure of U.S. phone and internet companies. He also released details about the classified U.S. intelligence budget and the extent of American surveillance on foreign officials, including the leaders of U.S.-allied countries.
Snowden says he made the disclosures because he believed the U.S. intelligence community had gone too far and wrongly infringed on civil liberties. He also has said he didn’t believe the administration of former President Barack Obama, which was in office when Snowden leaked the records to journalists, would act had he made an internal whistleblower complaint instead.
Snowden’s decision to turn against the NSA came when he used his programming skills to to create a repository of classified in-house notes on the agency’s global snooping and as he built a backup system for agency data, he wrote in his 2019 book “Permanent Record.”
Reading through the repository, Snowden said he began to understand the extent of his government’s stomping on civil liberties and became “cursed with the knowledge that all of us had been reduced to something like children, who’d been forced to live the rest of their lives under omniscient parental supervision.”
Snowden has since become a well-known speaker on privacy and intelligence, appearing remotely at many events from Russia. But he also remains controversial among members of the intelligence community, and current and former officials from both U.S. political parties say he endangered global security by exposing important programs. A U.S. damage assessment of his disclosures is still classified.
Snowden was charged in 2013 with unauthorized disclosure of U.S. national security and intelligence information as well as theft of government property. The three charges each carry a maximum 10-year penalty.
The Justice Department also sued to stop Snowden from collecting profits on his memoir, saying he had violated his nondisclosure agreements with intelligence agencies.
The White House on Monday referred comment on Snowden's citizenship to the Justice Department, citing the pending criminal charges. | https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/nation-world/russia-snowden-citizenship/507-da382894-6d09-40dd-bb3d-5c7670eb5e83 | 2022-09-27 01:59:03 | 1 | https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/nation-world/russia-snowden-citizenship/507-da382894-6d09-40dd-bb3d-5c7670eb5e83 |
On June 13, a man in New York began to feel ill.
"He starts to experience swollen lymph nodes and rectal discomfort," says epidemiologist Keletso Makofane, who's at Harvard University.
The man suspects he might have monkeypox. He's a scientist, and knowledgeable about the signs and symptoms, Makofane says. So the man goes to his doctor and asks for a monkeypox test. The doctor decides, instead, to test the man for common sexually transmitted diseases. All those come back negative.
"A few days later, the pain worsens," Makofane says. So he goes to the urgent care and again asks for a monkeypox test. This time, the provider prescribes him antibiotics for a bacterial infection.
"The pain becomes so bad, and starts to interfere with his sleep," Makofane says. "So this past Sunday, he goes to the emergency room of a big academic hospital in New York."
At this point the man has a growth inside his rectum, which is a symptom of monkeypox. At the hospital, he sees both an ER doctor and an infectious disease specialist. Again, the man asks for a monkeypox test. But the specialist rebuffs the request and says "a monkeypox test isn't indicated," Makofane says. Instead, the doctor speculates that the man might have colon cancer.
A few days later, he develops skin lesions — another key sign of monkeypox.
A misleading case count
On the surface, the monkeypox outbreak in the U.S. doesn't look that bad, especially compared with other countries. Since the international epidemic began in May, the U.S. has recorded 201 cases of monkeypox. In contrast, the U.K. has nearly 800 cases. Spain and Germany both have more than 500.
But in the U.S., the official case count is misleading, Makofane and other scientists tell NPR. The outbreak is bigger — perhaps much bigger — than the case count suggests.
For many of the confirmed cases, health officials don't know how the person caught the virus. Those infected haven't traveled or come into contact with another infected person. That means the virus is spreading in some communities and cities, cryptically.
"The fact that we can't reconstruct the transmission chain means that we are likely missing a lot of links in that chain," Jennifer Nuzzo, an epidemiologist at Brown University, says. "And that means that those infected people haven't had the opportunity to receive medicines to help them recover faster and not develop severe symptoms.
"But it also means that they're possibly spreading the virus without knowledge of the fact that they're infected," she adds.
In other words: "We have no concept of the scale of the monkeypox outbreak in the U.S.," says biologist Joseph Osmundson at New York University. "
Why are so few cases getting detected? Testing. In many ways, the U.S. has dropped the ball on monkeypox testing.
Across the nation, public health agencies are running too few tests — way too few, Osmundson says. "State officials are denying people testing because they're using a narrow definition of monkeypox to decide who receives a test. They're testing in only a very restrictive number of cases."
Take for instance the man Makofane knows. Eventually, after seeing more than four doctors, the man finally finds an activist who's trying to expand testing. The activist connects the man with a doctor who orders a test through a private company (that's working to produce a commercial test.) The result: He's positive. He has monkeypox.
Makofane says the testing situation right now is so "abysmal" in the U.S. that he launched his own study, called RESPND-MI, to figure out the prevalence of monkeypox in New York City and to help friends share information about monkepox.
The CDC would not divulge to NPR how many tests have been performed across the country, nor will the agency say where community transmission is likely occurring in the U.S. (NPR emailed the agency multiple times about these questions but the press person declined to comment or provide an interview.)
On Thursday, the CDC told the New York Times, it has performed 1,058 monkeypox tests. However, it's not clear how many of these tests are duplications for the same person. And several sources involved with monkeypox testing doubt the agency has tested that many cases. One source told NPR that, as of last Friday, the CDC had tested about 300 cases. At that time, about 100 of those tests were positive, giving a positivity rate of more than 30%.
When the outbreak first began last month, the CDC quickly helped to set up testing in about 70 state and local labs across the country. Unlike with COVID, the agency already had a test developed and ready to send to labs.
"We should celebrate that prior investment," Nuzzo says. "That's what preparedness means.
An ineffective testing system
But as the need for testing grew — and the disease became more common than officials initially predicted — the testing system set up by the CDC stopped functioning well, because it actually deters doctors from ordering a monkeypox test.
Providers have to go out of their way to order a test. They have to receive permission and instructions from local or state labs, Nuzzo says. The process is cumbersome and often time-consuming. Sometimes a doctor has to sit on the phone for hours.
"That's really the bottleneck that we're worried about," she says. "We need to cast a wider net with testing to find infections that we're missing. And that's really hard to do if we make it cumbersome and difficult for health care providers to request a test in the course of their busy days."
Nuzzo says the CDC and local health departments need to remove the barriers to testing. "I also want to make testing easier and more widespread so that all clinicians feel that they can test a patient. Any patient with a suspicious rash."
And doctors and nurses need to have a better understanding of what monkeypox actually looks like in patients. It's different from what's in medical textbooks. It can present like many other diseases, including herpes, syphilis and colon cancer.
"Infections have been largely found in men who have sex with men, who may typically seek care at a sexual health clinic," Nuzzo explains. "Those providers may be particularly well-educated now about monkeypox and may be more willing to send a specimen out for testing. But we may not be seeing that level of education and willingness to test with other health care providers, who see different kinds of patients. And that means we may be missing infections in different patient groups."
On Thursday afternoon, the CDC announced they were working to ramp up testing at the main labs that health providers normally use. And the agency is aiming to make testing easier sometime in July.
But Nuzzo says changes to testing need to happen right away. It needs to be easier, right now, for doctors to submit samples to the labs already doing this testing.
"Time is not on our side here," she says. "Every day we delay, we are missing links in the transmission chain and are allowing this outbreak to grow possibly beyond control."
And monkeypox, just like COVID, may become a long-term — perhaps even permanent — problem here in the U.S.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.apr.org/science-health/2022-06-25/monkeypox-outbreak-in-u-s-is-bigger-than-the-cdc-reports-testing-is-abysmal | 2022-06-25 10:28:48 | 0 | https://www.apr.org/science-health/2022-06-25/monkeypox-outbreak-in-u-s-is-bigger-than-the-cdc-reports-testing-is-abysmal |
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Some changes are coming to Albuquerque transportation. ABQ RIDE will be shifting to an updated schedule beginning this Saturday, Mar. 25.
According to the City of Albuquerque, “This change in route schedules is designed to streamline service, improve reliability for passengers, and alleviate some of the burden on current drivers.” The city cites staffing shortages following the COVID-19 pandemic as one of the reasons for the route changes.
ABQ RIDE is trying to distribute its services throughout Albuquerque to increase its accessibility, with a special focus on where low-income and minority populations may reside in the city. The city says it used ridership data to make decisions for the schedule changes.
The new schedule will remain until the city is able to hire more drivers and bus mechanics. After that, the schedule will be reevaluated. Anyone interested in joining the ABQ RIDE team can visit governmentjobs.com to apply.
A detailed list of the changes can be found at cabq.gov. | https://www.krqe.com/traffic-roads/abq-ride-announces-changes-to-bus-schedule/ | 2023-03-22 02:32:49 | 0 | https://www.krqe.com/traffic-roads/abq-ride-announces-changes-to-bus-schedule/ |
Madison Keys 2023 French Open Odds
Madison Keys enters the French Open following her Internazionali BNL d'Italia ended with a loss to Anhelina Kalinina in the round of 16. Keys' opening match is against Kaia Kanepi (in the round of 128). Keys' odds are +12500 to take home the trophy from Stade Roland Garros.
Find all the latest odds for the 2023 French Open and place your bets with a new user bonus from BetMGM.
Keys at the 2023 French Open
- Next Round: Round of 128
- Tournament Dates: May 21 - June 10
- Venue: Stade Roland Garros
- Location: Paris, France
- Court Surface: Clay
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Keys' Next Match
In the round of 128 of the French Open, on Sunday, May 28 (at 5:00 AM ET), Keys will play Kanepi.
Keys is currently listed at -500 to win her next contest versus Kanepi. Check out the latest odds for the entire field at BetMGM.
Madison Keys Grand Slam Odds
- Wimbeldon odds to win: +5000
- US Open odds to win: +3300
- French Open odds to win: +12500
Want to bet on Keys? Head to BetMGM using our link for a bonus bet special offer for new players!
Keys Stats
- Keys is coming off a defeat in the Round of 16 at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia, at the hands of No. 47-ranked Kalinina, 6-2, 2-6, 4-6.
- In 17 tournaments over the past 12 months, Keys is yet to win a title, and her overall record is 24-17.
- Keys is 6-3 on clay over the past year, with zero tournament wins.
- Through 41 matches over the past 12 months (across all court surfaces), Keys has played 20.6 games per match. She won 52.5% of them.
- Over the past year, Keys has played nine matches on clay, and 20.4 games per match.
- When it comes to serve/return winning percentages over the past year, Keys has won 69.3% of her games on serve, and 35.8% on return.
- As far as serve/return winning percentages on clay over the past 12 months, Keys has won 71.7% of her games on serve, and 39.1% on return.
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© 2023 Data Skrive. All rights reserved. | https://www.wymt.com/sports/betting/2023/05/21/madison-keys-french-open-betting-odds/ | 2023-05-27 04:12:14 | 0 | https://www.wymt.com/sports/betting/2023/05/21/madison-keys-french-open-betting-odds/ |
COCONUT CREEK, Fla. — COCONUT CREEK, Fla. — Willis Lease Finance Corp. (WLFC) on Thursday reported net income of $14.3 million in its fourth quarter.
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This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on WLFC at https://www.zacks.com/ap/WLFC | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/03/09/earns-willis-lease-finance/b61bf06e-be6c-11ed-9350-7c5fccd598ad_story.html | 2023-03-09 12:41:14 | 0 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/03/09/earns-willis-lease-finance/b61bf06e-be6c-11ed-9350-7c5fccd598ad_story.html |
44, Kansas City at Arizona 9/11<
42, Miami at Baltimore 9/18<
41, Buffalo vs. Tennessee 9/19<
38, Philadelphia at Detroit 9/11<
38, Baltimore vs. Miami 9/18<
0, Indianapolis at Jacksonville 9/18<
3, Dallas vs. Tampa Bay 9/12<
7, Minnesota at Philadelphia 9/20<
7, Tennessee at Buffalo 9/19<
7, Seattle at San Francisco 9/18<
7, Green Bay at Minnesota 9/11<
7, New England at Miami 9/11<
547, Miami at Baltimore 9/18<
517, Indianapolis at Houston 9/11<
488, Kansas City at Arizona 9/11<
486, Philadelphia vs. Minnesota 9/20<
473, Baltimore vs. Miami 9/18<
187, Tennessee at Buffalo 9/19<
204, Chicago vs. San Francisco 9/11<
216, Seattle at San Francisco 9/18<
218, Indianapolis at Jacksonville 9/18<
228, Chicago at Green Bay 9/19<
238, N.Y. Giants at Tennessee 9/11<
217, Cleveland at Carolina 9/11<
216, Philadelphia at Detroit 9/11<
203, Green Bay vs. Chicago 9/19<
201, Atlanta vs. New Orleans 9/11<
36, Seattle at San Francisco 9/18<
52, L.A. Rams vs. Buffalo 9/9<
54, Indianapolis at Jacksonville 9/18<
54, Carolina vs. Cleveland 9/11<
62, Minnesota at Philadelphia 9/20<
469, Miami at Baltimore 9/18<
360, Kansas City at Arizona 9/11<
352, Indianapolis at Houston 9/11<
340, Denver at Seattle 9/13<
338, Cincinnati vs. Pittsburgh 9/11<
70, Chicago at Green Bay 9/19<
121, Chicago vs. San Francisco 9/11<
123, Tennessee at Buffalo 9/19<
145, Carolina at New York 9/18<
147, Cleveland at Carolina 9/11<
7, L.A. Rams vs. Buffalo 9/9<
7, Cincinnati vs. Pittsburgh 9/11<
4, Cincinnati vs. Pittsburgh 9/11<
2, Buffalo at Los Angeles 9/9<
2, Atlanta vs. New Orleans 9/11<
2, New England at Miami 9/11<
2, Denver at Seattle 9/13<
2, Carolina at New York 9/18<
2, New Orleans vs. Tampa Bay 9/18<
5, Cincinnati vs. Pittsburgh 9/11<
5, New Orleans vs. Tampa Bay 9/18<
5, Cincinnati vs. Pittsburgh 9/11<
5, New Orleans vs. Tampa Bay 9/18<
33, Indianapolis at Houston 9/11<
33, Kansas City at Arizona 9/11<
, Indianapolis at Jacksonville 9/18<
13, Atlanta vs. New Orleans 9/11<
13, Philadelphia at Detroit 9/11<
13, Green Bay vs. Chicago 9/19<
, Tampa Bay at New Orleans 9/18<
, Las Vegas at Los Angeles 9/11<
22, Cincinnati vs. Pittsburgh 9/11<
22, Kansas City at Arizona 9/11<
22, Miami at Baltimore 9/18<
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7, Seattle vs. Denver 9/13<
21:34, Carolina vs. Cleveland 9/11< | https://www.seattlepi.com/sports/article/NFL-Team-Game-Highs-and-Lows-17453905.php | 2022-09-20 15:00:07 | 1 | https://www.seattlepi.com/sports/article/NFL-Team-Game-Highs-and-Lows-17453905.php |
The prospect of a Chinese spy balloon flying over the continental U.S. was probably not on the radar of many Americans until Thursday, when the Pentagon said it was monitoring one such device.
The Pentagon said Thursday that it has "very high confidence" that the high-altitude surveillance balloon came from China and is being used to collect information from sensitive sites.
China's foreign affairs ministry confirmed on Friday that the balloon is theirs, calling it a "civilian airship used for research, mainly meteorological purposes," that had gone off course by accident.
"Affected by the Westerlies and with limited self-steering capability, the airship deviated far from its planned course," it said in a statement. "The Chinese side regrets the unintended entry of the airship into US airspace due to force majeure. The Chinese side will continue communicating with the US side and properly handle this unexpected situation caused by force majeure."
U.S. defense officials believe it does not pose a "military or physical threat to people on the ground," as NORAD and U.S. Northern Command said in a statement, and recommended against shooting it down.
Canada also says it's monitoring a high-altitude surveillance balloon, though it's not clear if it's the same one. (U.S. officials said the balloon they are tracking flew over the Aleutian Islands and through Canada before it was spotted Wednesday over Billings, Montana.)
"Canadians are safe and Canada is taking steps to ensure the security of its airspace, including the monitoring of a potential second incident," the Canadian Department of National Defence said in a brief statement on Thursday.
Mao Ning, China's foreign ministry spokesperson, previously told reporters that China has "no intention of violating the territory or airspace of any sovereign country" and urged people to remain calm and avoid speculation until all the facts are clear.
Still, some Republican lawmakers — including House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Montana Rep. Ryan Zinke — are accusing China of provoking the U.S. and calling for the U.S. to address it.
The incident comes at a tense time for U.S.-China relations, with American national security concerns ranging from TikTok to Taiwan.
And it's making headlines less than a week before U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, as part of an effort to diffuse those tensions. He would be the first Biden administration Cabinet secretary to visit China.
That trip still appears to be on, albeit more complex now. Here's what else we know so far.
What is a surveillance balloon?
These large balloons carry cameras or other equipment and float above a given area, usually at an altitude of about 80,000 to 120,000 feet, The Guardian reports. In contrast, commercial planes generally fly at about 35,000 feet.
Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder has said the balloon is "currently traveling at an altitude well above commercial air traffic."
The National Parks Service says the use of spy balloons within the U.S. dates back to the Civil War, when both sides used hot air balloons (usually tethered to the ground and reaching about 1,000 feet) to collect reconnaissance and direct artillery towards the other.
The practice became more widespread during World War I and then during the Cold War, when the U.S. launched hundreds of balloons to gather intelligence on China and the Soviet Union, Bloomberg reports.
Surveillance balloons have been overshadowed by satellites and unmanned drones in recent decades, though they still offer certain advantages (for instance, they're cheaper to launch and can conduct long-duration surveillance missions). Politico reported last year that the Pentagon was expanding investment in high-altitude balloon projects.
What is it looking for?
U.S. officials said Thursday that the U.S. had been tracking the balloon since it entered U.S. airspace a few days ago. They didn't specify its exact timeline or path other than to confirm it floated over Montana at one point (the white circle is so large that people could spot it from the ground).
Officials have broadly said it was flying over sensitive sites to collect information.
Montana is home to one of America's three nuclear missile silo fields at Malmstrom Air Force Base, which could be of interest, NPR national security correspondent Greg Myre told All Things Considered.
"The U.S. and China are always trying to gather intelligence on each other, but usually not in a way like this that is so obvious and almost certain to be detected," he added.
Why didn't the U.S. shoot it down?
A senior defense official told reporters Thursday that the U.S. had prepared fighter jets to shoot down the balloon if ordered, but that the Pentagon recommended against it, in part because of the risk that debris from such a large balloon could pose to people on the ground.
"It doesn't seem that this balloon is capable of gathering intelligence that would be significantly beyond what could also already be gathered by, say, satellites," Myre added.
But, he said, the U.S. is using some of those fighter jets to "take a peek" at the balloon in its efforts to keep monitoring it.
For its part, Canada's defense department says it is in frequent contact with the U.S. as the situation develops.
"Canada's intelligence agencies are working with American partners and continue to take all necessary measures to safeguard Canada's sensitive information from foreign intelligence threats," it said.
When has this happened before?
The Pentagon said similar balloon activity has been seen on occasion in recent years.
A defense official "wouldn't characterize this as revolutionary," Myre reports, adding that what seems to be different this time around is the altitude of the balloon and the length of time that it's staying over the U.S.
The U.S. Naval Institute pointed to one not-so-recent memory in a Thursday evening tweet: During World War II, the crew of the USS New York spotted a sphere in the sky that they suspected was a Japanese balloon. After multiple successful attempts at shooting it down, they realized they were actually shooting at Venus.
What does this mean for Blinken's trip to China?
Tensions were already high this week, when the U.S. announced it would expand its presence in Southeast Asia with access to more bases in the Philippines — a move China said would threaten security in the region.
The balloon situation puts the two countries at odds even before Blinken goes to China and has given China hawks in the U.S. more material to seize on, as NPR's Beijing correspondent Emily Feng tells Morning Edition.
"The U.S. and China have been trying to stabilize their relationship, but this incident and ongoing bipartisan efforts to increase sanctions on China get in the way of that," she explains.
Blinken's trip to China hasn't been officially confirmed by either side, Feng adds, though he is expected to leave on Sunday.
Not much is expected to come out of their meeting, especially now. U.S. officials and former diplomats tell Feng it might result in a joint statement, perhaps about combating climate change or against the use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine, but no major breakthroughs are likely.
Still, they say talking is better than nothing — and the fact that Blinken is going to China at all is seen as progress.
"There are some meaty issues at the heart of their relationship over human rights, combating climate change, technological competition," Feng says. "So that involves getting China on board, even if the two countries don't see eye to eye."
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wvasfm.org/politics/2023-02-03/china-says-the-balloon-is-theirs-but-not-used-for-spying-heres-what-we-know | 2023-02-03 14:55:36 | 0 | https://www.wvasfm.org/politics/2023-02-03/china-says-the-balloon-is-theirs-but-not-used-for-spying-heres-what-we-know |
A Florida judge on Saturday gave initial approval to a settlement of more than $1 billion to families who lost loved ones in the collapse last year of a Florida beachfront condominium building in which 98 people died.
The quick settlement of the unprecedented collapse of the 12-story Champlain Towers South building in the early morning hours of June 24, 2021, means that potentially years of court battles will be avoided.
Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Michael Hanzman, who is overseeing the lawsuits filed after the collapse, said during a hearing held remotely it was the best possible outcome given the loss of life and property in the disaster.
“It is a great result," Hanzman said before giving preliminary approval to the agreement, which was announced Friday. “This was a very contested deal.”
Rachel Furst, co-chair of the attorney group representing victim families, said the agreement also means defendants — insurance companies, developers, the city of Surfside and others — will have “complete peace” that they won't be sued again. Still, some people may decide to opt out of the deal and pursue their own independent claims.
“This was heavily negotiated,” Furst said. “We believe this is an outstanding settlement.”
Under the agreement, people involved in the settlement directly will have until June 16 to file a notice they intend to opt out. A week later on June 23, Judge Hanzman will have a fairness hearing to allow anyone objecting to the settlement to be heard.
Attorney Michael Goldberg, the court-appointed receiver handling in the case for the judge, said notice will go out to all the family members of those who died, will be posted on the Champlain Towers South website and also will be put into the Miami Herald.
“We will begin immediately,” Goldberg said.
The total for the families who lost loved ones in the collapse is about $1.02 billion. Separately, people whose condos were destroyed and lost property such as furnishings and mementos will share about $96 million.
Families of victims will have to file claims, as the money will not be split evenly. The goal is to begin distributing money by September.
The money comes from several sources, including insurance companies, engineering companies and a luxury condominium that had recently been built next door. None of the parties are admitting wrongdoing. A billionaire developer from Dubai is set to purchase the 1.8-acre (1-hectare) beachside site for $120 million, contributing to the settlement.
Only three survivors were found despite around-the-clock efforts by rescuers who dug through a 40-foot (12-meter) high pile of rubble for two weeks. Another three dozen people were able to escape from the portion of the building that remained standing. All 135 units were ultimately demolished, leaving a gaping hole along Surfside's beachfront.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology is investigating the cause of the collapse, a process expected to take years. Champlain South had a long history of maintenance problems and questions have been raised about the quality of its original construction and inspections in the early 1980s.
Credit: Lynne Sladky
Credit: Lynne Sladky
Credit: Marta Lavandier
Credit: Marta Lavandier
Credit: Marta Lavandier
Credit: Marta Lavandier
Credit: Marta Lavandier
Credit: Marta Lavandier | https://www.springfieldnewssun.com/nation-world/judge-gives-initial-ok-to-1b-deal-in-florida-condo-collapse/YKKQ6XOP7JBRVDN3C5TNJVCDJY/ | 2022-05-28 18:46:13 | 0 | https://www.springfieldnewssun.com/nation-world/judge-gives-initial-ok-to-1b-deal-in-florida-condo-collapse/YKKQ6XOP7JBRVDN3C5TNJVCDJY/ |
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NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — The U.S. Navy’s most advanced aircraft carrier embarked on its first-ever deployment Tuesday and will train with other NATO countries amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The USS Gerald R. Ford left the world’s largest Navy base in Norfolk, Virginia, along with destroyers and other ships that make up its carrier strike group. The Ford will join vessels from countries that include France, Germany and Sweden for various exercises, including anti-submarine warfare, in the Atlantic Ocean.
The exercises come seven months after Russia invaded Ukraine and during a time of increasing tension between Moscow and the West. Bradley Martin, a senior policy researcher with the RAND Corporation, told The Associated Press last week the exercises will showcase American military capabilities and support for NATO.
The USS Ford is the first of the Navy’s new Ford class of aircraft carriers. They are designed to carry a wider variety of planes and operate with several hundred fewer sailors.
The ship is deploying five years after it was commissioned. It’s been beset by various issues, including problems with its aircraft launch system and the elevators that bring missiles and bombs to jets on the flight deck.
Martin said it’s not unexpected for the first ship in a new class to have to work out various kinks. He said the Ford is still part of a larger display of the nation’s military might. | https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation/us-navys-newest-carrier-deploys-to-train-with-nato-nations/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_all | 2022-10-04 20:05:23 | 0 | https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation/us-navys-newest-carrier-deploys-to-train-with-nato-nations/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_all |
Mice may look cute, but these furry rodents carry disease and cause destruction when they appear in your home or RV. Now is the time to mouse-proof where you live.
There are many options for repelling mice. Older lethal methods of traps and poison remain available, but a push toward more humane, organic deterrents has led to a surge in alternative strategies. Consider which ones are best for your home or RV, and act now.
In this article: Natural Armor Mice and Rat Repellent, Dr. Catch Humane Mouse Traps and Xcluder Rodent Barrier Kit.
First, inspect your home or RV
Mice can only get in your home or RV if there are gaps in the structure or near where pipes and ductwork enter. Look for small cracks and holes, and use sealant caulk to fill the space permanently. Steel wool also can be pushed into the gap since mice don’t like trying to gnaw through it.
Another easy solution is to remove all available food sources. Walk through your kitchen and note any food sitting out, especially if it is not in a sealed container. Unsealed food is a mouse’s smorgasbord. Makes sure all food on counters or in cupboards is stored in airtight food storage containers. Stainless steel containers are best since mice cannot chew through them.
Organic and humane repellent strategies
Consider these four methods:
- Peppermint oil and cinnamon are natural scents that repel mice. They come in sprays and pouches that can keep mice away while making your home or RV smell good.
- Hot pepper sprays also work, but they have a more pungent scent you may not want wafting through your living space.
- Humane live traps capture mice in small boxes when the bait is taken and a spring-loaded back door snaps shut. The trap can then be taken far away where mice can be released.
- Ultrasonic monitors send variable frequencies through the air that greatly bother mice to the point that they will leave rather than conduct their business in such chaos.
The tried and true methods still work
For some people, the methods used by past generations are sufficient. Snap traps, glue traps and poison bait stations are lethal for the mouse. The entire trap and mouse carcass are then disposed. Keep in mind that killing mice has not been proven to lower the mouse population, as new ones typically move in for available food sources.
Options you can’t buy online
Saturday-morning cartoons were more factual than you may realize. Cats and mice are mortal enemies. Owning a cat can keep mice away. Mice know cats can smell them, and cats emit chemicals that terrify mice. Obviously, your feline friend can’t be purchased on Amazon or other online retailers. Check your local humane shelter or reputable breeders in your area.
If your mouse problem won’t respond to any of these options, you may need to contact a professional exterminator. This is more expensive, but the results are usually guaranteed.
Best rodent repellent solutions
Natural Armor Mice and Rat Repellent
An eco-friendly formula safe for people and pets, this peppermint oil-based spray can be used anywhere in your home or RV. It has a built-in sprayer and a satisfaction guarantee.
Sold by Amazon
Designed with air holes to keep the mouse alive, this live trap has no poison or glue. The spring door is easy to set, and once it’s closed, you won’t have to touch the mouse. It’s made from high-quality plastic that is easy to clean.
Sold by Amazon
This stainless steel wool blend is used to fill cracks and holes, keeping mice from coming inside. It’s rustproof and designed to squeeze into tiny crevices where mice often enter homes or RVs.
Sold by Amazon and Home Depot
Bell and Howell Ultrasonic Pest Repeller
Using variable ultrasonic frequencies that disturb mice, these electronic plug-in repellants are odorless, safe for humans and free of any chemicals. They compel mice and other rodents to leave in search of more peaceful settings.
Sold by Home Depot
This compact bait station is child-resistant and only accessible by mice. The poison contains no neurotoxins and can be used inside or outside. It comes with a money-back guarantee.
Sold by Amazon and Home Depot
Grandpa Gus’s Mouse Repellent Pouches
These cinnamon and peppermint pouches smell good to humans and can be placed anywhere in your home or RV. They are effective up to 50 square feet from the pouch and last one to three months.
Sold by Amazon and Home Depot
This versatile sealant works inside and outside to cover gaps and holes where mice may enter. It stretches over 600% to ensure adhesion. It has a low odor, cleans up easily and is paintable in two hours.
Sold by Home Depot
These snap traps are pre-baited and feature a pedal that looks like a piece of Swiss cheese. They are affordable and require no assembly. They’re poison-free and easily disposable.
Sold by Amazon
WeeSprout Stainless Steel Food Storage Containers
These lightweight metal containers are ideal for leftovers and storing food. They are not only impenetrable for mice, but they can also be safely used in the dishwasher and freezer. They are designed to stack on top of each other.
Sold by Amazon
This household cleaner mimics the scent of mouse predator urine. Placing small capfuls or containers of ammonia near mouse entry points can deter mice. It comes in an easy-pour container.
Sold by Amazon
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Copyright 2023 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved. | https://www.yourbasin.com/reviews/br/lawn-garden-br/insect-pest-control-br/10-effective-rodent-repellent-solutions-to-keep-mice-out-of-your-home-and-rv/ | 2023-04-18 14:39:13 | 0 | https://www.yourbasin.com/reviews/br/lawn-garden-br/insect-pest-control-br/10-effective-rodent-repellent-solutions-to-keep-mice-out-of-your-home-and-rv/ |
WASHINGTON — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is defending his decision to give Fox News’ Tucker Carlson “exclusive” access to Jan. 6 security footage of the Capitol attack, despite the conservative commentator’s own work raising false claims and conspiracy theories about the 2021 riot over Joe Biden’s election.
McCarthy vowed Tuesday to eventually make roughly 42,000 hours of sensitive Capitol Police security videos available to the broader public “as soon as possible,” but made it clear the Fox News commentator had first dibs. The Republican McCarthy is also supportive of giving access to some of the nearly 1,000 defendants being prosecuted for their roles in the siege.
Five people died in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack and its aftermath after then-President Donald Trump encouraged a mob of supporters to “fight like hell” as Congress was tallying the election results from the states.
“I don’t care what side of the issue you are on. That’s why I think putting it out all to the American public, you can see the truth. See exactly what transpired that day,” McCarthy told reporters at the Capitol.
“Have you ever had an exclusive? Because I see it on your networks all the time. So we have exclusive, then I’ll give it out to the entire country,” McCarthy said.
The speaker’s decision to release the mountains of police security footage has set off a firestorm at the Capitol over the way the images will be potentially used as a political tool to rewrite the history of what happened that deadly day. Fox News is facing new scrutiny in a separate court case over its airing of false claims about the 2020 election that Trump lost to Biden.
It’s also raising new concerns about sensitive security operations at the Capitol. While video from the Jan. 6 riot has already widely aired as part of the public hearings last summer by the House committee investigating the attack — including from the police cameras, documentarians like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s daughter who filmed secret locations and even the rioters themselves — McCarthy is making available almost 42,000 hours of footage, three times what was first seen, from cameras stationed in all corners of the Capitol complex.
“We are deeply concerned that the release of footage related to the January 6 violent insurrection will reveal some security details that could create some challenges in terms of the safety and well being of everyone on the Capitol Complex,” said Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.
Rep. Bennie Thompson, the former chairman of the House Jan. 6 committee, said the panel went through a painstaking process to work closely with the U.S. Capitol Police to review and ultimately release approved segments of the surveillance footage as part of its public hearings.
“I’m supportive of a process, if this is true transparency, that would not compromise the integrity or the security of the Capitol,” the Mississippi Democrat said.
When McCarthy told fellow Republicans behind closed doors about his decision Tuesday, he was greeted with applause, according to a person who was familiar with the private conference meeting but unauthorized to speak about it publicly.
The speaker has had a rocky relationship with Carlson, who has been critical of McCarthy’s leadership, but the influential Fox News commentator ultimately stood down when the California Republican was battling to become House speaker in a dragged-out party vote earlier this year. It was seen as helping to boost McCarthy to the job.
McCarthy insisted he was taking measures to ensure security at the Capitol would not be jeopardized by the release, but declined to provide details — only to say that Carlson made it clear to the speaker’s team he did not want to show “exit routes” used by lawmakers or others.
But the Republican leader has made it clear he is working to set the record as he sees it, and repeatedly complained that other media outlets, including CNN, already had received exclusives to show video last year, when Democrats held the majority in House.
Breaking News Alerts
McCarthy also suggested it was unfair that the Jan. 6 panel, which disbanded once Republicans took control of the House, released security video during the riot of former Vice President Mike Pence fleeing for safety as well as the GOP leader’s own staff scrambling to secure their office.
“It was disturbing to me that the January 6 committee would show the exit strategy of the vice president,” McCarthy told reporters Tuesday. “What I thought would be best is if the entire world and the country could see what transpired.”
Carlson has said that his producers have been on Capitol Hill since early February, poring over the footage after getting the “unfettered access” from McCarthy.
The archive is a potential trove of the inner workings of the Capitol and includes the hideaways of lawmakers as well as the evacuation routes that Capitol Police used to usher leadership and rank-and-file members to safety. It also includes long moments of empty hallways where nothing is happening.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the release of tapes to Carlson was “despicable” and said he would not agree to release them to other media. “Security has to be the number one concern,” Schumer said.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell would not comment directly on McCarthy’s move, saying his only concern is the security of the Capitol.
Associated Press writer Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report. | https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation-world/ct-aud-nw-capital-riot-investigation-20230228-6vybsvjtnzc5lfmamdgmbhv6b4-story.html | 2023-03-01 00:12:59 | 1 | https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation-world/ct-aud-nw-capital-riot-investigation-20230228-6vybsvjtnzc5lfmamdgmbhv6b4-story.html |
(KTLA) – A baby has been reunited with his family after being kidnapped during a carjacking in Los Angeles Tuesday afternoon, authorities said.
The carjacking was reported around 2 p.m., according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Police said a shirtless man took the vehicle from the driver and then drove off with the child inside.
Officers eventually located the vehicle near the intersection of Woodman Avenue and Saticoy Street in Panorama City, a neighborhood that lies roughly 13 miles northwest of Hollywood.
The suspect was taken into custody and the baby was reunited with the boy’s father, who could be seen on KTLA helicopter video confronting the suspect.
At one point during the arrest, the man approached the suspected carjacker and began yelling and swinging at him until he was pulled away by law enforcement.
Officers then passed the child, who was clutching a stuffed animal but appeared to be uninjured, over to his father.
Speaking with another local news site, the boy’s father says he was at work when he found out what had happened. The boy’s mother reportedly stopped to pick up a mobile order from Starbucks when the alleged carjacking happened.
No further details were immediately made available by police. | https://pix11.com/news/us-world-news/video-child-rescued-after-carjacking-in-los-angeles/ | 2023-02-08 04:00:18 | 0 | https://pix11.com/news/us-world-news/video-child-rescued-after-carjacking-in-los-angeles/ |
The number of states that have legalized recreational use of cannabis more than doubled in the last five years. A new study finds that between 2017 and 2021, the number of very young children eating edible forms of marijuana spiked dramatically, with many kids ending up in hospitals.
The study, released Tuesday in the journal Pediatrics, found that in 2017, there were just over 200 reported cases of accidental consumption of cannabis edibles by children under six. In 2021, the number shot up to 3,054 – an increase of 1,375%.
The vast majority of the kids found the drug in their own home. While most children suffered mild impacts, 22.7% of exposed children needed hospitalization, and 8% of them – 573 children – needed critical care.
Marit Tweet, an emergency medicine doctor at SIU Medicine in Springfield, Illinois, is the lead author on the study. Tweet's curiosity on the topic piqued in 2019, when she started a fellowship at the Illinois Poison Control Center.
"The big buzz at that time was that cannabis was going to be legalized for recreational, adult use January 1st, 2020" in Illinois, she said. State marijuana laws have been changing rapidly in the past decade, and the drug is legal for medical use in 37 states and for recreational use in 21 states and Washington, D.C.
Tweet was curious how recreational use had gone in other places, so she looked at studies from other states that had already legalized the drug. One study in Colorado documented that the number of children 10 years and under accidentally exposed to marijuana products rose between 2009 and 2015.
So Tweet wanted to know if this would also happen nationally, as more states legalized the drug. She was most concerned about kids 5-years-old and younger, a particularly vulnerable age for accidental poisoning.
"This age group accounts for about 40% of all calls to poison centers nationally," says Tweet. "They can get into things, and you can't really rationalize with them" about dangers.
Marijuana edibles are made to look like sweets, she adds: "They think it looks like candy, and maybe, they just want to eat it."
Tweet and her colleagues analyzed information from the National Poison Data System, which draws on calls to the 55 regional poison control centers that serve the United States and its territories.
Andrew Monte, an emergency medicine doctor at University of Colorado hospital, urges parents who suspect their child ate an edible to take the child to a doctor right away.
"There are some patients that actually have airway obstruction and need to be in the ICU or put on a ventilator," says Monte, who was not involved in the study.
Monte says he and his colleagues see these cases in their emergency department several times a month. Colorado was the first state to legalize marijuana for recreational use in 2012.
Dr. Nora Volkow, who directs the National Institute on Drug Abuse, says the study's findings are concerning.
"It's not just the issue that there are more poisonings of children consuming cannabis, but those consumptions appear to be more serious," says Volkow.
The study should also draw attention to how marijuana edibles are packaged and marketed, Volkow says.
"If you've ever been curious, go to a dispensary or a store where they sell cannabis products, which of course, me being a curious person, I've done," Volkow says. "And the edibles are extremely appealing, in terms of packaging."
She says parents and caregivers who consume edible cannabis products should store them in child-proof containers and keep them out of the reach of children.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.kvpr.org/npr-news/2023-01-03/3-000-young-children-accidentally-ate-weed-edibles-in-2021-study-finds | 2023-01-03 17:50:54 | 0 | https://www.kvpr.org/npr-news/2023-01-03/3-000-young-children-accidentally-ate-weed-edibles-in-2021-study-finds |
- World's first demonstration of over 1Gbps 5G connection with Citizen's Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) spectrum in an indoor environment
- Seamless mobility between indoor and outdoor environment and high data rate in 5G Standalone architecture
PLANO, Texas, Nov. 7, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) has successfully achieved a peak data rate of more than 1Gbps for a single user device in a recent 5G Standalone (SA) field trial. The trial was done over a live Citizen's Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) multi-operator, neutral-host capable network at the company's North American headquarters in Plano, Texas.
"We are excited to continue pushing the envelope of what is possible with 5G. Ericsson is committed to continue bringing the best technology to realize the full potential of 5G and CBRS early to the market to further catalyze the use of these advanced technologies," said Paul Challoner, Vice President of Network Product Solutions for Ericsson North America
The OnGo Alliance coordinated the interoperability of the CBRS ecosystem. The network where this trial took place is supported by a 5G core network as part of the 5G Distributed Innovation Network at Ericsson's facility in North Texas. The network used the Radio 4408 for outdoor CBRS connectivity and the Radio Dot 4459 for indoor CBRS connectivity. Indoor coverage has been challenging for cellular networks, and this is the first time that indoor, over-the-air coverage through a shared spectrum has reached such a high data rate.
"Consumers and enterprises will benefit from the high-performing 5G CBRS technology that Ericsson is introducing," said Alan Ewing, Executive Director, OnGo Alliance. "Ongoing improvements to 5G technology for the CBRS ecosystem provide users with the highest performance and seamless connectivity, whether deployed standalone or with operator spectrum."
Key results of the field trial included:
- Single CBRS user connection over 1Gbps
- 5G SA connection with CBRS spectrum
- Seamless outdoor to indoor transitions
Ericsson Radio Dot 4459 is the latest addition to the Ericsson Radio Dot portfolio. It is designed to support CBRS and C-band deployments. The new CBRS indoor Radio Dot uses advanced radio technologies such as 4x4 MIMO, 4G/5G mixed-mode operation, leverages the entire CBRS band (150MHz) and supports up to five component carrier aggregation (5CC) on 4G and 5G carriers of up to 100MHz.
Since its inception, CBRS as a shared spectrum has enabled innovative use cases over cellular networks. Now, with demonstrable 5G gigabit speeds indoors and advanced capabilities, enterprises can feel confident in deploying Private 5G networks with high speeds plus the additional benefits that come with 5G, including reliability, coverage, and mobility.
Communication service providers can also leverage CBRS for supplemental capacity where needed, especially inside buildings and venues with no added complexity. This also means neutral host network operators can deploy the highest performing wireless network, bringing superior coverage and capacity to their enterprise and service provider clients.
This combination of 5G over CBRS will enable diverse new applications for enterprises and sectors such as healthcare, energy, and transportation. It will spur the proliferation of private networks and further propel the Industry 4.0 evolution. This capability complements Ericsson's 5G portfolio and underscores the importance of CBRS spectrum to the development and maturation of 5G.
NOTES TO EDITORS:
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SOURCE Ericsson | https://www.wcjb.com/prnewswire/2022/11/07/ericsson-sets-data-speed-record-5g-cbrs-spectrum/ | 2022-11-07 14:31:38 | 0 | https://www.wcjb.com/prnewswire/2022/11/07/ericsson-sets-data-speed-record-5g-cbrs-spectrum/ |
Funding supports research on biomanipulation, law enforcement training, social media safety and more
WASHINGTON, June 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Tech & Public Policy program at Georgetown University's McCourt School of Public Policy is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2023-2024 Tech & Public Policy grants, totaling nearly $2 million in research funding. Grantees will focus on tech policy issues ranging from biomanipulation and law enforcement training to social media safety.
In partnership with Project Liberty's Institute (formerly The McCourt Institute), the digital governance arm of the independent 501(c)3, the Tech & Public Policy grant program supports technologists, ethicists, legal scholars and social scientists working in collaboration to explore and articulate novel uses and misuses of technology. Research projects investigate the effects of technology on individuals and society, as well as how to address the challenge of new technologies born in the information age, which have outstripped regulatory frameworks designed for the machine age.
The 2023-2024 Tech & Public Policy grantees include:
- Building a Realistic Research Platform for Open Science: Leticia Bode, Provost Distinguished Associate Professor, Georgetown University; Emily Vraga, Associate Professor, University of Minnesota
- The Effects of Social Media on Overall Media Use, Misinformation Acceptance, Happiness and Social Connectedness During a Presidential Campaign: Jonathan Ladd, Associate Professor, Georgetown University; Kevin Arceneaux, Centre for Political Research, Sciences Po; Martial Foucault, Centre for Political Research, Sciences Po
- The Effects of WhatsApp on Politics: A Multi-Country Deactivation Experiment: Tiago Ventura, Assistant Professor, Georgetown University; Joshua Tucker, Professor, New York University
- Can governments learn digital governance innovation from the civic tech community?: Pamela Herd, Professor, Georgetown University; Sebastian Jilke, Provost's Distinguished Associate Professor, Georgetown University; Donald Moynihan, Professor, Georgetown University
- Redesigning the Governance Stack: New Institutional Approaches to Information Economy Harms: Paul Ohm, Professor of Law, Georgetown University; Julie Cohen, Mark Claster Mamolen Professor of Law and Technology, Georgetown University; Meg Leta Jones, Provost's Distinguished Associate Professor, Georgetown University
- Biomanipulation: The Looming Threat of the Social Media Frontier: Laura Donohue, Scott K. Ginsburg Professor of Law and National Security, Georgetown University; Anna Cave, Executive Director, Georgetown Law's Center on National Security; Jenny Reich, Georgetown Center on National Security
- Developing a Scalable Virtual Reality Training and Evaluation Platform for Active Bystandership in Law Enforcement: Evan Barba, Associate Professor, Georgetown University; Cassandra Ramdath, Director of Research and Evaluation, Center for Innovations in Community Safety
- Using Large-Scale Video, Text, and Legacy/Social Media Data to Understand and Reduce Polarization in Local Governance: Rebecca Johnson, Assistant Professor, Georgetown University
Creating Change through Technology Policy
In the fall of 2022, the McCourt School and Project Liberty's Institute awarded the first round of Tech & Public Policy grants. This year's recipients demonstrate the increasing importance of cooperation across tech policy experts and policymakers to create impactful change in our communities.
"The scope of work by the 2023-2024 Tech & Public Policy grantees is immense, as is the impact of technology on our global community," said McCourt School Dean Maria Cancian. "These grants support research that leverages social media data to gain important insights about urgent topics like political polarization and open research, as well as tackling issues such as digital governance innovations, biomanipulation, and the potential of AR/VR for police training. The McCourt School and our Tech & Public Policy program is pleased to continue to support this work as part of our broader efforts to shape and advance tech to better serve the common good."
"Right now, social networking is concentrated in a tiny number of platforms that gather vast amounts of people's data, designed using algorithms that keep us scrolling," noted Constance Bommelaer de Leusse, Executive Director of Project Liberty's Institute. "Our work with Georgetown and in support of these grantees will accelerate Project Liberty's mission to build a better web for a better world: one in which governance and responsible technology can result in a digital society that benefits the many and not just the few."
To learn more about the work of this year's grantees, click here.
About the McCourt School
The McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University is a diverse community of problem-solvers, committed to moving bold ideas to action. We are global citizens, conducting policy-relevant research, and building bridges between our work and the communities we serve.
About Project Liberty
Project Liberty is an international nonprofit accelerating the world's transition to an open, inclusive data economy that empowers people over platforms by working to mobilize the foundation of a new internet for the common good. Project Liberty and its Institute are building a global alliance for responsible technology and bringing together technologists, academics, policymakers, civil society and citizens to build a safer, healthier tech ecosystem.
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SOURCE Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy | https://www.wlbt.com/prnewswire/2023/06/06/georgetown-project-libertys-institute-award-19-million-tech-amp-public-policy-grants/ | 2023-06-06 18:59:26 | 1 | https://www.wlbt.com/prnewswire/2023/06/06/georgetown-project-libertys-institute-award-19-million-tech-amp-public-policy-grants/ |
Pro-life and pro-choice demonstrators rally at North Dakota State Capitol
BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) - The leaked draft opinion of the Supreme Court’s decision on Roe v. Wade has caused nationwide protests, with some in support or against the court’s leaked draft.
“I am the one helping them. What are you doing to help them? If you’re going to bring them up, no, not talking, action,” shouted one pro-choice protestor.
The leaked draft opinion from the monumental Roe v. Wade case has sparked controversy around abortion in the U.S. In Bismarck, what started as a pro-life prayer service turned into a protest as groups from both sides shared their voices on the topic.
“Different sides are saying that they’re pro-choice, but the babies are not given a choice. They aren’t given a choice to have life, or even say, ‘hey, I wouldn’t like to be murdered here.’ So, we’re here to speak for them,” said event organizer Keith Hapip Jr.
Members of the Capitol Heights Baptist Church and others aimed to worship God and share their beliefs with pro-choice activists.
“My foundation is that our trust is in God, so if God chooses to give life, he has a plan and a purpose for every life,” said prayer service participant Mariah Young.
Pro-choice activists marched around the capitol loop.
“My body, my choice,” the group shouted.
“In my opinion, it’s all about choice. It’s like, am I exactly thrilled that a bunch of people are getting abortions? No, but it’s all about somebody’s choice,” said pro-choice demonstrator Hannah Himmes.
Tension grew as protesters from both pro-choice groups and one woman who prayer organizer Hapip Jr. said is not a part of their event began shouting at each other.
More than a hundred people were at the gathering.
“Your master is a cruel master. The devil has blinded your eyes,” said Hapip Jr.
North Dakota Highway Patrol stood by in case of violence.
“Not everyone is Christian,” shouted one pro-choice demonstrator.
Similar gatherings have been happening around the state.
Copyright 2022 KFYR. All rights reserved. | https://www.kfyrtv.com/2022/05/16/pro-life-pro-choice-demonstrators-rally-north-dakota-state-capitol/ | 2022-05-16 00:52:35 | 1 | https://www.kfyrtv.com/2022/05/16/pro-life-pro-choice-demonstrators-rally-north-dakota-state-capitol/ |
The debate over abortion moves from the court to the states and voters
After the Supreme Court overturns Roe V. Wade, lawmakers on Capitol Hill tell us what they think about the court’s decision.
WASHINGTON (Gray DC) -The country is reacting to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision that ruled there is no longer a federal constitutional right to an abortion.
States will now get to decide their own laws surrounding abortion.
“There will be daughters waking up with less rights than their mothers had,” said Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.).
Cortez Masto joined protestors outside the Supreme Court Friday, shortly after the opinion came down. She told us she believes the court’s ruling treats women like 2nd class citizens.
“We’ve had over 50 years of women being able to make these decisions. And now it is going to be elected representatives, people making these decisions, government officials making these decisions for women. It’s outrageous,” said Cortez Masto.
The ruling means access to abortion may be more difficult for Americans living in states that regulate or ban the procedure.
Democrats are calling on Americans to elect more pro-choice lawmakers so they can pass legislation that would federally protect abortion access.
Meanwhile, Republicans are celebrating the court’s decision.
Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas.) believes the court did the right thing. “This decision is an incredible vindication for the Constitution and for the rule of law,” he said.
Kansas Senator Roger Marshall (R) also praised the court.
He told us, “So many people worked so hard for years for this moment.”
A moment that is igniting the country and moving the debate over abortion from the court to the states and voters.
More than a dozen states have already passed laws restricting legal access to abortion. Some ban abortion even in cases of incest or rape.
Copyright 2022 Gray DC. All rights reserved. | https://www.kxii.com/2022/06/25/debate-over-abortion-moves-court-states-voters/ | 2022-06-25 05:34:01 | 0 | https://www.kxii.com/2022/06/25/debate-over-abortion-moves-court-states-voters/ |
Maryland Care, Inc. d/b/a/ Maryland Physicians Care MCO (MPC), a Maryland Managed Care Organization (MCO) contracted with SS&C for comprehensive investment accounting, reporting and statutory statement preparation services
WINDSOR, Conn., July 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- SS&C Technologies Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: SSNC) today announced that MPC has chosen SS&C Singularity to support the operational, accounting and regulatory reporting needs of its investment portfolios. MPC will be transitioning from its current service provider to Singularity™, SS&C's innovative cloud-based investment accounting platform supported by an experienced team of professionals who have unmatched expertise in a wide range of asset classes, accounting treatments and insurance reporting requirements.
"The knowledge and responsiveness of SS&C's insurance team coupled with their proven control process gives us confidence that we will receive timely, accurate deliverables, especially at critical times," said John Walega, Chief Financial Officer of Maryland Care, Inc. "Through SS&C's flexible and transparent technology platform and dedicated service model, we expect to improve automation and operational efficiency, while streamlining our month-end close and statutory filing process."
SS&C has a 36-year track record providing software and outsourcing services to the global insurance and asset management market. Singularity automates middle/back office processes using evolving technologies like AI and Natural Language Processing to deliver a centralized view of all public and private assets. As the world's largest fund administrator for alternative investments, SS&C also has deep expertise to support complex asset classes like private equity, real estate, commercial & residential mortgages, syndicated bank loans, private credit and derivatives.
"Singularity has significant momentum in the insurance space and we are delighted to welcome Maryland Care to SS&C's growing family of insurance clients," said Stan Szczepanik, Managing Director and Head of Insurance Solutions at SS&C. "Our unique ability to combine industry-leading technology with subject matter experts allows us to deliver a tailored and scalable solution for our insurance clients."
About Maryland Care
Maryland Care, Inc. is a Linthicum Heights, MD-based Managed Care Organization. Founded in 1996, MPC believes in helping its members make good decisions about their health through free, quality health care services. MPC is a Managed Care Organization in Maryland participating in the Maryland Department of Health, Health Choice program.
About SS&C Technologies
SS&C is a global provider of services and software for the financial services and healthcare industries. Founded in 1986, SS&C is headquartered in Windsor, Connecticut, and has offices around the world. Some 18,000 financial services and healthcare organizations, from the world's largest companies to small and mid-market firms, rely on SS&C for expertise, scale and technology.
SOURCE: SS&C
Additional information about SS&C (Nasdaq: SSNC) is available at www.ssctech.com.
Follow SS&C on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.
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SOURCE SS&C | https://www.kfyrtv.com/prnewswire/2022/07/14/maryland-care-inc-selects-ssampc-enhanced-insurance-investment-accounting/ | 2022-07-14 13:48:08 | 1 | https://www.kfyrtv.com/prnewswire/2022/07/14/maryland-care-inc-selects-ssampc-enhanced-insurance-investment-accounting/ |
Industry veteran brings proven track record in building successful businesses and leading high-performance teams across large pharmaceutical, biotech, and specialty pharma companies
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., June 21, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- QurAlis Corporation, a biotech company developing breakthrough precision medicines for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and other neurodegenerative diseases with genetically validated targets, today announced the appointment of Anne Clem Whitaker as chair of its board of directors. Ms. Whitaker replaces founding board member Johnathan J. Fleming, who is stepping down from the company's board.
"As we welcome Anne to her new role, I would like to thank Jonathan for the integral role he played as chairman of the board of QurAlis since our founding. His guidance has been invaluable, and we are grateful for his leadership and dedication to QurAlis," said Kasper Roet, Ph.D., founder and CEO of QurAlis. "Anne is a world-class leader who brings deep experience and expertise in building successful businesses and leading high-performance teams across all facets of the life sciences industry. We are exceptionally privileged to have Anne join as board chair, in this critical phase in which QurAlis is transforming from a pre-clinical to a clinical stage company. I am excited to work with her and our board in advancing our goal of halting disease progression and significantly improve outcomes for patients with ALS and other serious neurodegenerative diseases."
Ms. Whitaker is a seasoned healthcare executive and director with more than 30 years of extensive leadership and commercialization experience in pharmaceuticals, biotech, consumer products, and medical devices. She currently serves as managing partner of Anne Whitaker Group, LLC, a board and private equity advisory firm. She has held senior-level executive leadership roles at Sanofi, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Bausch Health, and multiple CEO roles for private and public development-stage companies.
"QurAlis has made tremendous strides in researching and developing a new approach to treating ALS and other serious neurodegenerative diseases. With a compelling pipeline and dynamic leadership team, QurAlis has the potential to transform the CNS therapeutic landscape. I am honored to join as chair to help QurAlis achieve its vision of pioneering the path to conquering ALS and other neurodegenerative diseases with genetically validated targets with next-generation precision medicines," said Ms. Whitaker.
Most recently, Ms. Whitaker served as CEO of Aerami Therapeutics before taking on the chair of the board position in November 2020. She also serves as an independent director on the boards of numerous public and private companies: Bryn Pharma, Caladrius Biosciences, Curio Digital Therapeutics, Faron Pharmaceuticals, Nykode Therapeutics, OraSure Technologies, ErgoMed and Trinity Life Sciences. She previously served on the boards of Cree, Mallinckrodt, KNOW Bio, Novoclem Therapeutics, Synta Pharmaceuticals, UDG Healthcare, and Vectura Group. In addition to her board work, she is an active industry advisor to private equity and venture capital funds in the U.S. and Europe.
Prior to joining Aerami, Ms. Whitaker served in multiple C-suite roles for emerging biotechnology and specialty pharmaceutical companies. Previously, she served as the North America Pharmaceutical Region Head and president for Sanofi from 2011 to 2014, and as senior vice president from 2008 to 2011 at GSK, where she ran their cardiovascular, metabolic and urology business in the U.S. From 1992 to 2008, Ms. Whitaker held several commercial roles at GSK and a senior level global role as the senior vice president, head of the Organizational and Leadership Development Center of Excellence based in London. She started her career in the pharmaceutical industry as a pharmaceutical sales representative for the Upjohn Company. Ms. Whitaker holds a B.S. in chemistry from the University of North Alabama.
About QurAlis Corporation
QurAlis is trailblazing the path to conquering amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and other neurodegenerative diseases with genetically validated targets with next-generation precision medicines. QurAlis' proprietary platforms and unique biomarkers enable the design and development of drugs that act directly on disease-causing genetic alterations. Founded by an internationally recognized team of neurodegenerative biologists from Harvard Medical School and Harvard University, QurAlis is advancing a deep pipeline of antisense oligonucleotides and small molecule programs including addressing sub-forms of ALS that account for the majority of ALS patients. For more information, please visit www.quralis.com or follow us on Twitter @QurAlisCo.
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SOURCE QurAlis | https://www.ktre.com/prnewswire/2022/06/21/quralis-announces-appointment-anne-c-whitaker-chair-board/ | 2022-06-21 14:59:14 | 1 | https://www.ktre.com/prnewswire/2022/06/21/quralis-announces-appointment-anne-c-whitaker-chair-board/ |
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WFLA) — As previously reported, attorney Ben Crump will file a lawsuit against Gov. Ron DeSantis for rejecting the Advanced Placement African American studies course that was undergoing a test pilot in some Florida schools, as well as those in other states.
Florida officials announced their rejection of the course last week, citing historical inaccuracies and violations of state law, particularly the inclusion of what officials called overtly political content and ideological lessons that were not allowed in the state.
Joined by state lawmakers and Florida students in Tallahassee, Crump spoke about the legal challenge. The event started with prayer, calling the current circumstance “a time of misery” and asking for god’s wisdom “amidst the pain and constant rejection we feel.”
Crump announced plans to file the lawsuit on Tuesday, with an expected media briefing in Tallahassee at 12:30 p.m. alongside state lawmakers on Wednesday. In the state capitol, Florida Sen. Shevrin Jones (D-Broward), members of the National Education association, National Action Network, Democratic House Leader Fentrice Driskell (D-Tampa), Florida Legislative Black Caucus Chair Dianne Hart (D-Tampa), members of the National Black Justice Coalition, and Florida Rep. Michele Rayner (D-Clearwater), will also be present.
Driskell spoke first, of those gathered, thanking those who had traveled from across Florida to show their support. She said that by rejecting the AP course, “Ron DeSantis has clearly demonstrated that he wants to dictate whose story does and does not belong. He wants to control what our kids can learn based on politics, not on sound policy. He repeatedly attacks the First Amendment rights of Floridians.”
Driskell said DeSantis now was “throwing his weight” against the AP course, and by doing so “undermining the rights of parents and students to make the best decisions for themselves.” She said they were in Tallahassee to tell the governor that Black history was American history and that he was on the wrong side of history.
“Now we’ve been told that this AP African American history course will be altered and resubmitted, and most likely they’ll make enough changes for the governor to approve it, but at what cost?” Driskell said. “And are we really ok with Ron DeSantis deciding what’s acceptable for America’s students across the country about Black history?”
On Tuesday, the College Board announced a newer version of the education program would be revealed on Feb. 1, to start off Black History Month. The non-profit did not say the changes were due to the rejection of the program in Florida, they also did not confirm if the changes were for the national version of the course, or just in the Sunshine State.
Driskell described the course as being developed by experts, with AP students being among the brightest in the country and able to handle “challenging topics.” She also said it wasn’t political to discuss history, and that by refusing to teach it accurately or sugar coat it would diminish or erase the truth.
The pilot program version of the AP Studies Course was rejected by state officials, but the Florida Education Department didn’t shut the door entirely, offering a chance to include the program in the state pending revisions to comply with state education standards and laws.
In response to some of the previous pushback, Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz, Jr. said Florida is proud, and statutorily required, to teach African American history but would not “accept woke indoctrination masquerading as education,” which is against state law. The state law in question was 2022’s ban on teaching of Critical Race Theory, the “Stop WOKE Act.”
“We all know that united we stand and divided we fall, and while Ron DeSantis tries to divide us for his own political goals, to truly love our country means to bravely face our history, to know our own history, and to never be afraid to hold America to its highest ideals,” Driskell said.
The Democratic representative said DeSantis’ drawing attention to the course had happened while the course was already under revision and had done it for political reasons, in preparation to allegedly run for President of the United States in 2024.
As of now, DeSantis has not confirmed he will be running for president during the next general election, but it has been widely rumored, even during the November midterms.
After Driskell spoke, Rayner spoke, describing the move by DeSantis and state officials as a witch hunt, and saying that the students affected by rejection of the course knew and understood what was happening.
“Our babies know what’s going on…they know that the erasure of history is not a secret. There are 2.8 million students sitting in Florida public schools right now knowing that their governor does not want them to learn about Black history,” Rayner said. She reminded those gathered about DeSantis’ election for his first term while he “was campaigning on political ideology and made comments like ‘don’t monkey this up.'”
Rayner asked what about this decision was freedom and said that DeSantis had seen the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd and “pass a bill to silence the Black vote,” in response. She said that when DeSantis was asked about it, he had said it wasn’t about race, it was about keeping businesses and residents safe.
Turning to teaching of Critical Race Theory, Rayner called the ban a “dog whistle,” noting that the topic was not taught in Florida’s K-12 schools. She said “DeSantis had the audacity to invoke MLK,” while discussing changes to education policy.
“For five years,” students have “watched their governor attack people based on what they look like, who they love, and what they believe,” Rayner said. “And now he tells students that Black history lacks value. Value means importance, worth, or usefulness of something. Value is akin to mattering. Mattering means something to be of importance or significance.”
Rayner said that DeSantis was showing people who he was, in real time.
“You cannot say on Monday that you support Dr. King, and then on Wednesday refuse to tell his story,” Rayner said.
Thompson spoke after Rayner, also weighing in on the educational policy changes in Florida, beginning by quoting late Black author James Baldwin “I can’t hear what you say because I see what you do,” saying that in Florida, people hear that African American history is required, but for the 30 years that law was “on the books,” it was not enforced, with no consequences. She said it was time out for hypocrisy.
“There have been no consequences for not teaching African American history,” Thompson continued. “The courses that were to be taught on African American history were intended to explore how individual freedoms have been infringed by slavery, racial oppression, segregation, racial discrimination, and laws that resulted in racial oppression, racial segregation, and racial discrimination, and to highlight those individuals who worked to overturn unjust laws.”
She said residents were told by Ron DeSantis that these lessons “had no value,” saying that in Florida’s 67 school districts, only 12 had been determined to be doing “an exemplary job” of teaching African American history by the Commissioner of Education’s African American History Taskforce. Thompson said that as far as consequences, someone needed to be held accountable for the lack of teaching on the subject.
Thompson urged Floridians to ensure the law was upheld and teaching African American history to actually occur in Florida and for the task force to receive appropriate funding to do so. She announced legislation to ensure that any school in Florida that receives tax dollars be required to teach African American history, including private schools.
Hart spoke after Thompson, saying that the purpose of education was “the advancement of knowledge and dissemination of truth,” citing President John Kennedy. She said that under DeSantis, Black culture had been attacked and dismissed, and that now Black Floridians were being told their history didn’t matter.
“The only reason I can think of that they would try to hide the truth is they’re afraid,” Hart said. “They’re afraid that by learning the truth about African American history, Black children will change, that what truth about what has transpired in America will ruin that perspective of American exceptionalism, that we push in the world.”
Hart said fear and intimidation will “never stop the truth,” and that all students deserve quality education that is honest about history. She also pushed back on recent legislation to provide more opportunities for private school in Florida, via House Bill 1.
Sen. Jones spoke after Hart, calling upon his colleagues, saying not to get weary and not to give up. He thanked supporters who had come for their effort, as well as his fellow lawmakers, saying that they were not gathered “for an exercise, not because it’s cute to stand here,” saying that those present would not allow this to happen.
“We are dealing with the structure of a system that continues to perpetuate racism across this country and across this state,” Jones said. “This is not just a Florida problem. Hear what I’m telling you, Florida is just the petri dish. People from across the country should be concerned about what legislatures and governors are doing and what they’re watching Florida to do.”
Jones continued, saying that “if it can happen in Florida, it can happen in Tennessee, it can happen in Colorado,” but that they would “resist right here, right now. Ron DeSantis is a problem, but he is not the problem. The problem that we are facing is that we are not dealing with the bigger issue at hand.”
Jones said schools were “crumbling” and in disrepair, and highlighted the ongoing high property insurance crisis as continuing issues.
“These are problems that are being ignored because we have to deal with the promotion of Jim Crow 3.0 by people who don’t know and don’t care about what’s happening in Black communities but they decided to referee how you teach our history,” Jones said. He said the focus on the AP African American studies was what they were dealing with now, but the bigger issue was being ignored, alleging that staff of the governor’s office was “telling them to cry about it.”
Jones noted that Florida had multiple cultural AP courses, including European history and Japanese culture and language, and German language and culture, and that they were valued.
After a variety of other community and organization leaders spoke, Crump took the podium. He said that the planned lawsuit announced Tuesday night would not be filed yet, pending the status of the revisions to the pilot program course.
“We’re here to give notice to Gov. DeSantis that if he does not negotiate with the College Board to allow AP African American Studies to be taught in the classrooms across the state of Florida, that these three young people will be the lead plaintiffs in a historic lawsuit,” Crump said. “You all need to remember their names because its their courageous tenacity and their intellect that reminds” him of the examples of a young John Lewis, Julian Bond, and Fannie Lou Hamer, among other Civil Rights leaders from American history.
Crump said they would not allow Black history to be “exterminated” in American classrooms, and that Black Americans could not be exterminated, as well as the value of their children or their culture. He asked if DeSantis was trying to lead Americans into an era akin to Communism, that “provides censorship of free thoughts,” and pledged to ensure that DeSantis understands those in opposition to his directive would stand on American principles of the free exchange of ideas, no matter the origin or history of the ideas.
“We say no to censorship, we say yes to community, no to censorship, yes to community,” Crump said. “As Dr. King taught us, we are all part of the beloved community. My last thoughts are this, as the court wrote in November when it granted an injunction against university boards, it is not for the state of Florida to declare which viewpoints will be deemed orthodox, and which will be forbidden from its university classrooms.”
The student would-be plaintiffs spoke about the impact the rejection would have on them and describing the types of history not currently taught in AP U.S. History courses, that the pilot program had included.
The event was closed with another group prayer, asking for strength to overcome, wisdom, and grace fighting the “new Jim Crowism” and pledging that African Americans were not going to “be neglected, will not be overlooked, we are not three-fifths of a person,” and that education on Black history did not lack value.
The rejection of the course has also been of note in just Florida. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre commented that the rejection by DeSantis and Florida education leaders was “incomprehensible,” while Florida Democrats had also criticized the decision.
While speaking in Jacksonville Monday, DeSantis weighed in on the rejection.
“That’s a political agenda, so we’re on, that’s the wrong side of the line for Florida standards. We believe in teaching kids facts and how to think, but we don’t think they should have an agenda imposed on them,” DeSantis said in Jacksonville. “When you try to use Black history to shoehorn in queer theory, you are clearly trying to use that for political purposes.” | https://www.cbs42.com/regional/florida-news/lawsuit-against-florida-gov-ron-desantis-over-ap-course-on-hold-pending-course-revisions/ | 2023-01-25 21:49:02 | 0 | https://www.cbs42.com/regional/florida-news/lawsuit-against-florida-gov-ron-desantis-over-ap-course-on-hold-pending-course-revisions/ |
The patent is rooted in scientific research led by PhD developmental neurobiologist and Cerebelly founder, Dr. Teresa Purzner
LOS GATOS, Calif., Dec. 21, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Cerebelly, the first and only science-backed, brain-focused baby food brand, announced today that it has received a U.S. patent for food composition of 16 key nutrients to promote optimal infant neurodevelopment. This landmark achievement means Cerebelly is now the first baby food brand with a patented food composition designed for optimal nutrition. The patent was issued based on scientific research led by Neurosurgeon, PhD developmental neurobiologist, and Cerebelly Co-Founder Dr. Teresa Purzner and underscores the company's commitment to providing superior nutrition critical for healthy brain development. As the only children's food brand that contains 16 essential nutrients and with 8x the nutrition to support a healthy brain compared to the 7-top selling baby food pouches on the market, Cerebelly is setting a new industry standard grounded in modern nutrition science.
"Our mission as a company is to make transformative changes to the way we nourish our kids. The standards we have in this country do not meet the needs that developmental neuroscience has made clear, and we will push and fight hard to change that," says Dr. Purzner. "Securing this patent is one step in that direction by once again setting new standards for our industry that are not just incrementally improved, but considerably higher than anything previously attempted. Our commitment to providing children with the optimal nutrition for cognitive development is rooted in science, and I'm proud that with this patent, we are able to give parents that extra assurance and trust that they are receiving the support they need to provide superior nutrition when their children need it most."
Dr. Purzner and her team of scientists, doctors and nutritionists developed Cerebelly's first-of-its-kind formulation based on decades of research demonstrating that various regions of the brain grow and peak at different times, each having their own nutrient needs to support seeing, hearing, memory, cause and effect, attention, social awareness and more. The Cerebelly team carefully selected each ingredient to provide the crucial brain-supporting nutrients needed for early development, including Vitamin D, Iron, Vitamin A, Vitamin B₆, Vitamin B₁₂, Zinc, Copper, Niacin, Folate, Iodine, Selenium, Choline, Protein, DHA, Vitamin E, and Lutein. Each Cerebelly pouch contains these 16 nutrients in organic vegetable-first formulas with no added sugar and undergo rigorous testing for heavy metals and harmful toxins.
The patent issuance is the latest in a series of industry trailblazing accomplishments since Cerebelly launched in 2019. Cerebelly was the first ever shelf-stable children's food brand to receive The Clean Label Project Purity Award, which tests for over 400 contaminants including heavy metals, chemicals, plastics, pesticides, and more. Cerebelly's use of retort packaging in its manufacturing process enables the brand to create baby food that's shelf-stable for up to 18 months without the use of preservatives, all while providing a nutrient-dense, organic baby food puree.
Cerebelly is sold at cerebelly.com, Amazon, Thrive Market, and at over 7,600 retail stores nationwide including Target, Wegmans, Meijer, Whole Foods, Giant Eagle, and more. Its market share growth continues to outpace legacy baby food brands, a testament to how its science-backed approach and clean, value-added ingredients, are resonating with parents and families seeking a trusted resource for their child's nutritional needs.
Cerebelly is the first and only children's food brand on the market that combines up-to-date child nutrition and developmental neuroscience to offer products such as age-optimized pouches and smart bars with meaningful brain-supporting nutrients that science shows babies' growing brains need. Co-founded in 2019 by practicing neurosurgeon, PhD in developmental neurobiology from Stanford, and mom of three Dr. Teresa Purzner, MD, PhD understands the critical importance of early childhood brain development and developed Cerebelly based on decades of research that demonstrated that various regions of the brain grow and peak at different times – each having their own nutrient needs to support seeing, hearing, memory, cause and effect, attention and social awareness. Organic, non-GMO, 100% plant-derived, vegetable-first, dairy-free, gluten-free, with no added sugar, Cerebelly's brain-supporting pouches and Smart Bars contain 8x the amount of nutrients compared to the 7 top-selling baby food brands. Cerebelly additionally received the Clean Label Project Purity Award, an honor only bestowed after products are tested for over 400 contaminants and heavy metals and meet the organization's highest standards.
Press Contact:
Ana Gerst
Ana.gerst@cerebelly.com
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SOURCE Cerebelly | https://www.1011now.com/prnewswire/2022/12/21/cerebelly-becomes-first-baby-food-brand-receive-us-patent-its-food-composition-16-key-nutrients-promote-optimal-infant-neurodevelopment/ | 2022-12-21 14:37:12 | 1 | https://www.1011now.com/prnewswire/2022/12/21/cerebelly-becomes-first-baby-food-brand-receive-us-patent-its-food-composition-16-key-nutrients-promote-optimal-infant-neurodevelopment/ |
Police: Teen considered armed, dangerous arrested
SAGINAW, Mich. (WNEM) - The Saginaw Police Department arrested a 17-year-old who was considered armed and dangerous, Saginaw Police Sgt. Matthew Gerow said.
The police department made the announcement that they were looking for the teen Monday afternoon at 12:27 p.m.
He had multiple arrest warrants from Saginaw, Saginaw Township, and Bridgeport Township stemming from several armed robberies, unlawful driving away of an automobile, and assault with intent to murder a police officer, the Saginaw Police Department said.
The teen had been robbing businesses, people, and stealing cars over the last five days, Saginaw Police Chief Robert Ruth said, adding he shot at Saginaw police officers about 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, May 14.
That incident happened in the area of Hess and the Vista Villa Apartments in Buena Vista Township. The teen was in a stolen vehicle that was being pursued by police when he bailed out of the vehicle, ran, and shot at police officers, Ruth said.
The officers were not struck nor did they return fire, Ruth said.
The teen was arrested on Monday, May 15. Police recovered a weapon from him at the time of his arrest, police said.
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Copyright 2023 WNEM. All rights reserved. | https://www.wnem.com/2023/05/15/police-teen-considered-armed-dangerous-arrested/ | 2023-05-15 18:37:07 | 1 | https://www.wnem.com/2023/05/15/police-teen-considered-armed-dangerous-arrested/ |
Baird's Global Consumer, Technology & Services Investors Conference and Stifel's Cross Sector Insight Investor Conference
DOTHAN, Ala., May 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Construction Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ: ROAD) (the "Company"), a vertically integrated civil infrastructure company specializing in the construction and maintenance of roadways across five southeastern states, today announced that it will participate in two upcoming investor conferences in June 2022.
Members of the Company's management team are scheduled to meet with investors at the Baird 2022 Global Consumer, Technology & Services Conference on June 6 and 7, 2022; the Company's "Fire Side Chat" discussion on June 6th at 2:35 p.m. Eastern Time/1:35 p.m. Central Time will be broadcast live over the internet and can be accessed via the Company's website at http://ir.constructionpartners.net/events-and-presentations.
In addition, the Company will participate in the Stifel Cross Sector Insight Investor Conference on June 8, 2022.
Construction Partners, Inc. is a vertically integrated civil infrastructure company operating across five southeastern states, with 57 hot-mix asphalt plants, 14 aggregate facilities and one liquid asphalt terminal. Publicly funded projects make up the majority of its business and include local and state roadways, interstate highways, airport runways and bridges. The majority of the Company's public projects are maintenance-related. Private sector projects include paving and sitework for office and industrial parks, shopping centers, local businesses and residential developments. To learn more, visit www.constructionpartners.net.
Contact:
Rick Black / Ken Dennard
Dennard Lascar Investor Relations
ROAD@DennardLascar.com
(713) 529-6600
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SOURCE Construction Partners, Inc. | https://www.kalb.com/prnewswire/2022/05/25/construction-partners-inc-participate-two-june-investor-conferences/ | 2022-05-25 20:29:19 | 1 | https://www.kalb.com/prnewswire/2022/05/25/construction-partners-inc-participate-two-june-investor-conferences/ |
Relatives turned to social media and waited in a desperate attempt to find their missing children as the death toll in a gruesome school shooting at a Texas elementary school rose to at least 19 students. Authorities said the gunman also killed two adults.
Adolfo Cruz, a 69-year-old air conditioning repairman, was still outside Robb Elementary School in the town of Uvalde Tuesday night as the sun set, waiting for word on his 10-year-old great-granddaughter, Elijah Cruz Torres, whose whereabouts remained unknown to family.
Cruz drove to the scene after receiving a tearful and terrifying call from his daughter shortly after the first reports that an 18-year-old gunman had opened fire. While he waited outside the school Tuesday night, his family was at the hospital and civic center waiting for any potential word on her condition.
Çruz called the waiting the heaviest moment of his life.
“I hope she is alive,” Cruz said. “They are waiting for an update.”
“It’s a shock for me. I also feel for all the other families. This is a small community. Uvalde has always been real friendly. People are real friendly,” Cruz said.
On social media, pictures of smiling children were posted, their families begging for information. Classes were winding down for the year and each school day had a theme. Tuesday’s was Footloose and Fancy. Students were supposed to wear a nice outfit with fun or fancy shoes.
By nightfall, names of those killed during the attack were beginning to emerge. Fourth-grade teacher Eva Mireles was remembered as a loving mother and wife.
“She was adventurous. I would definitely say those wonderful things about her. She is definitely going to be very missed,” said 44-year-old relative Amber Ybarra, of San Antonio.
Ybarra was preparing to give blood for the wounded and was pondering how no one was able to spot possible problems in the shooter in time to stop him.
“To me, it’s more about raising mental health awareness,” said Ybarra, a wellness coach who attended the elementary school where the shooting happened. “Someone could possibly have seen a dramatic change before something like this happened.”
Hillcrest Memorial Funeral Home, which is located across the street from Robb Elementary School, said in a Facebook post on Tuesday evening that it would be assisting families of the shooting victims with no cost for funerals. | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/news/national/relatives-worry-mourn-in-wake-of-elementary-school-shooting/ | 2022-05-25 10:00:03 | 1 | https://www.wearegreenbay.com/news/national/relatives-worry-mourn-in-wake-of-elementary-school-shooting/ |
Max Scherzer has theorized that baseball’s new pitch clock will allow pitchers to dictate the pace of games.
In the eyes of one umpire, he raced too fast even for the pitch timer Friday.
Scherzer tested the boundaries of baseball’s novel pace-of-play rules during his second spring training start, trying several unusual tactics to get Washington Nationals hitters off their game Friday. At one point, he started throwing a pitch to Victor Robles the moment plate umpire Jeremy Riggs reset the clock, and Riggs called him for a balk.
“He calls time, I come set, I get the green light,” Scherzer said. “I thought that was a clean pitch. He said no. We have to figure out where the limit is.”
Major League Baseball’s pitch clock has left pitchers and hitters learning a whole new pace to the game this spring. Players have 30 seconds to resume play between batters. Between pitches, pitchers have 15 seconds to deliver the ball with nobody on and 20 seconds if there’s a baserunner.
Batters must be in the box and alert to the pitcher with at least eight seconds on the clock, and they only get one timeout per plate appearance.
Some are adjusting and taking advantage of the rules faster than others. New York Yankees reliever Wandy Peralta rushed through an at-bat so effectively Thursday that he completed a three-pitch strikeout in only 20 seconds.
Scherzer experimented with a few strategies Friday.
With two on and two strikes against the Riley Adams in the third inning, Scherzer froze in the set position and let the pitch clock tick down to seven before Adams called timeout.
On the next pitch, Scherzer became set as the 20-second clock started. Adams finally stepped into the box with the clock at 11 seconds, and Scherzer immediately delivered, getting a swinging strike on a 96 mph fastball.
“You can tell they were expecting me to work quick today, and you can make that work to your advantage by speeding up and slowing down the game,” Scherzer said.
Not all the experiments worked. Not only was Scherzer called for a balk, but he also had a double play overturned when umpires ruled he had narrowly let the pitch clock run out before starting his delivery.
“Max and a lot of veteran pitchers and pitchers in general are going to use this time to test some things and make some adjustments,” Mets manager Buck Showalter said. “Everybody up here is looking for a competitive edge — hitters, pitchers, catchers — and it’s a good time to be testing those things.”
JAYME’S BUYING
Jayme Hoskins already is known for picking up the beer tab for fans in Philadelphia.
Now the wife of Phillies first baseman Rhys Hoskins wants to make sure some fans at spring training have free snacks.
Jayme Hoskins became the heroine of Phillies fans when she picked up the beer tab for a bunch of them in her vicinity at Citizens Bank Park during last year’s World Series.
On Friday, before the Phillies’ game against the Detroit Tigers at BayCare Ballpark, she hid 15 envelopes with gift cards good for snacks sold by concessionaires around the ballpark.
She blasted it out on social media and asked the finders to tag her.
One social media commenter suggested Jayme has become more popular than the Phillies players.
GUERRERO OUT
Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. left Friday’s game with knee discomfort.
Guerrero was seen walking toward the clubhouse with an athletic trainer in the second inning and was replaced defensively by Rainer Nunez to start the third.
He had an RBI single during the first inning in his lone at-bat in the game against Tampa Bay.
The slugger hit .274 with 32 homers and 97 RBIs in 160 games last year.
Guerrero is on the Dominican Republic roster for this month’s World Baseball Classic.
WINDY DAY
Toronto right-hander Kevin Gausman was blown off balance on the mound by gusty winds in his first spring training start against Tampa Bay.
“I worked hard in the offseason to put on some weight, but that wind just knocked me right off,” Gausman said with a smile. “I got lucky that the (pitch) clock manager actually kind of noticed it and re-started it because it was at six seconds.”
Gausman added that situations like that are among things that may need to be addressed by MLB.
“When it’s raining, we don’t have time to sit on the back of the mound and wipe off our spikes after every pitch where we used to be able to,” Gausman said. “Those are little things that are going to come up as spring training goes on, and the more us players that we can bring these things up to them the better off we can make the new changes as a whole.”
WHATEVER WORKS
After losing 100 games last season, the Cincinnati Reds need all the togetherness and morale building they can get.
This spring, Reds players are putting on regular talent shows, with veteran first baseman Joey Votto donning different costumes to act as master of ceremonies.
“Reds’ Got Talent” is a private, team-only affair that has reportedly featured singing, dancing and magic tricks.
A 3-point basketball shooting contest was also planned by the team.
COLE IN COMMAND
New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole gave up one hit over three scoreless innings against the Detroit Tigers in his first spring training start.
Cole struck out four and allowed just two baserunners. The right-hander’s fastball reached 99 mph during his 51-pitch outing.
“I like how I feel now.” Cole said. “I liked the amount of strikes. I liked the pace.”
This was the first Cole took the mound with the pitch clock that is being used in games this season.
“I’m excited,” Cole said. “It’s going to be great. Get home quicker. It’s going to be awesome.” Cole was 13-8 with a 3.50 ERA in 33 starts last season.
INJURIES
Phillies 19-year-old pitching prospect Andrew Painter is getting tests on his right elbow after reporting some tenderness during his spring training debut Wednesday. He gave up a run and three hits in two innings with a strikeout. He’s been the buzziest prospect in baseball this spring as he tries to crack the NL champions’ opening day rotation. … Red Sox left-hander James Paxton left his spring training debut on Friday with a right hamstring injury.
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://cw33.com/sports/ap-sports/scherzer-tests-pitch-clock-limits-gets-quick-pitch-balk/ | 2023-03-04 03:25:06 | 0 | https://cw33.com/sports/ap-sports/scherzer-tests-pitch-clock-limits-gets-quick-pitch-balk/ |
Police are searching for a gunman who opened fire at a group of people in downtown Cleveland, injuring nine people before fleeing.
The shooting occurred at 2:30 a.m. Sunday morning in the city's warehouse district, the Cleveland Police Department said in a press release. There were no fatalities in the incident, but all nine victims did have gunshot wounds.
Investigators interviewed the victims and are reviewing video evidence. Police have not identified a suspect or given a description of the shooter.
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Read the full story on NBCNews.com here. | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/national-international/9-shot-in-downtown-cleveland-no-suspect-in-custody/3600866/ | 2023-07-10 01:19:11 | 0 | https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/national-international/9-shot-in-downtown-cleveland-no-suspect-in-custody/3600866/ |
The U.S. debt is expected to soar to historic levels over the next 30 years, eventually reaching 181 percent of the country’s total economic output — even after Republicans drove a high-stakes standoff this spring to secure what they described as a major improvement to the nation’s fiscal health.
Over the next 30 years, the annual imbalance between what Washington spends on federal programs and collects in tax revenue — known as the deficit — is expected to fall as a share of the economy until it begins growing again, eventually reaching levels not seen since World War II by 2053.
The yearly deficit adds to the federal debt held by the public, which the CBO expects to reach 107 percent of the country’s growth domestic product, a measure of economic output, by 2029 — surpassing its historical high. The debt is expected to continue to grow as a share of GDP to 181 percent by 2053.
The predictions reflect a host of assumptions about the strength of the U.S. economy, the uncertainty about interest rates, the state of the labor force and the government’s ongoing fight to curb inflation. They also amount to a meager upgrade from the CBO’s last forecast, issued in July 2022, which the watchdog attributed in part to the adoption of the Fiscal Responsibility Act. The deal, brokered between President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) limits federal spending in exchange for suspending the debt ceiling until 2025.
But the CBO still raised “significant risks” to the country’s long-term fiscal climate, while cautioning its predictions hinge on Congress carrying out current law as written. Even now, though, lawmakers openly admit they hope to flaunt the spending caps they just passed — with Republicans already angling to boost defense and Democrats eager to plus-up domestic health, education and welfare programs.
GOP leaders, meanwhile, have made clear they hope to extend a set of tax cuts for businesses and individuals that they first secured under President Donald Trump in 2017. Those tax cuts are supposed to start expiring in two years, contributing to what CBO described as a “significant source” of new federal revenue growth in the coming decades — unless lawmakers opt to put them back in place.
Taken together, the CBO report underscores the complicated calculations on the horizon for U.S. policymakers, who must grapple with the reality that any significant improvement in the nation’s finances could come at the cost of their own agendas.
Generally, budget hawks see a stubbornly high federal debt as a drag on the economy and a threat to the government’s fiscal health and national security. In its report, CBO warned that an imbalance that consistently exceeds the country’s yearly output could slow future growth while making it more expensive for the U.S. to service debt held by foreign holders. Other experts, however, take a less rigid view, arguing in a part that extreme efforts to cut costs could also hurt the economy and its workers.
Nevertheless, Republicans took control of the House this January and immediately embarked on an effort to slash federal spending by hundreds of billions of dollars. For months, McCarthy and his allies held up an effort to raise the debt ceiling — the legal maximum the U.S. can borrow to pay its bills — in a bid to force Biden to accept massive spending reductions. The move brought the government within days of its first-ever default, which could have tipped the economy into a recession.
The resulting agreement, enacted in June, largely preserved spending at its existing levels, capping agencies’ future budgets at 1 percent growth through 2025. McCarthy and Biden also agreed to a set of nonbinding spending targets for the remainder of the decade, which could contribute to a total $1.5 trillion in savings under the law, if Congress sticks to the agreement.
In its new forecast Wednesday, the CBO attributed some of the country’s persistent fiscal woes to “persistently large” deficits, which could cause interest costs to blossom as well. The U.S. also faces rising health care and retirement costs due to an aging population, two issues that Democrats and Republicans did not address as part of their recent spending deal.
But CBO noted that the government’s retirement programs — Social Security and Medicare — still face the fast-approaching prospect of insolvency unless Congress rethinks the way they are paid for or cuts benefits. The two trust funds seniors’ retirement benefits and hospital care could be exhausted by 2032 and 2035, respectively, the CBO warned anew. | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/06/28/debt-cbo-projection/ | 2023-06-28 18:12:07 | 1 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/06/28/debt-cbo-projection/ |
WFO LAS VEGAS Warnings, Watches and Advisories for Tuesday, August 2, 2022
_____
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
Flash Flood Statement
National Weather Service Las Vegas NV
536 PM PDT Tue Aug 2 2022
...FLASH FLOOD WARNING WILL EXPIRE AT 545 PM PDT THIS AFTERNOON FOR
CENTRAL INYO COUNTY...
The heavy rain has ended. Flooding is no longer expected to pose a
threat. Please continue to heed remaining road closures.
_____
Copyright 2022 AccuWeather | https://www.sfchronicle.com/weather/article/CA-WFO-LAS-VEGAS-Warnings-Watches-and-Advisories-17346954.php | 2022-08-03 01:44:56 | 1 | https://www.sfchronicle.com/weather/article/CA-WFO-LAS-VEGAS-Warnings-Watches-and-Advisories-17346954.php |
Search teams racing to find the missing Titanic submersible have detected underwater noises in the area. But it won’t be easy to find the source of that sound in the ocean.
“It’s not a simple problem,” said Matt Dzieciuch, an ocean acoustics expert at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
The ocean is a “noisy place,” Dzieciuch said. There are many other potential sources of sound under water, including from fish, other animals and of course human-made instruments, he explained.
The Coast Guard said search teams heard banging noises at 30-minute intervals.
But it’s still “speculative” whether the banging noises were a true signal of life, said Art Trembanis, a marine scientist at the University of Delaware. Even this kind of pattern could come from an underwater instrument making repeated noise.
Usually, an underwater vehicle will have a device called a pinger that can correspond with the surface and make it easier to locate, Dzieciuch said. But it’s unclear whether the Titan submersible was using one.
A big challenge is that the search team doesn’t know exactly what kind of signal they’re looking for, said Lora Van Uffelen, an ocean engineering researcher at the University of Rhode Island.
“They’re just kind of listening for anything,” she said.
Another challenge for the search team: Sound gets bent as it travels underwater, because of how pressure and temperature change at different depths, Dzieciuch said. This can create echo-like effects and make it hard to locate the source of a particular sound.
“Someone tapping, say, an S.O.S. at the bottom of the ocean might sound like just some random banging at the surface of the ocean,” he said. “It’s like shouting in a canyon. You can’t really understand what the person at the other end of the canyon is saying.”
The sounds in the Titan search were picked up using devices called sonobuoys, which can be tossed out of airplanes to detect noises to avoid interference with ship sounds, Dzieciuch said. These devices could help triangulate the location of the sub, but searchers would need to deploy many buoys to make it work, experts said.
But Van Uffelen said that despite the challenges, “sound is one of the best hopes they have of finding it.” Sound waves move farther underwater compared to on land, she said.
And in the underwater environment, sound also travels farther than light, she pointed out — so “it’s going to be easier to find it by listening than it would be by looking.”
___
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content. | https://www.pahomepage.com/news/science/how-search-teams-could-use-sound-to-find-the-titan-sub-and-why-its-a-challenge/ | 2023-06-22 22:18:54 | 1 | https://www.pahomepage.com/news/science/how-search-teams-could-use-sound-to-find-the-titan-sub-and-why-its-a-challenge/ |
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday morning's drawing of the Texas Lottery's "Daily 4 Morning" game were:
8-3-7-2, FIREBALL: 6
(eight, three, seven, two; FIREBALL: six)
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday morning's drawing of the Texas Lottery's "Daily 4 Morning" game were:
8-3-7-2, FIREBALL: 6
(eight, three, seven, two; FIREBALL: six) | https://www.beaumontenterprise.com/lottery/article/Winning-numbers-drawn-in-Daily-4-Morning-game-17623996.php | 2022-12-01 17:24:29 | 1 | https://www.beaumontenterprise.com/lottery/article/Winning-numbers-drawn-in-Daily-4-Morning-game-17623996.php |
Just three months ago scientists issued a report with a dire warning: Utah’s Great Salt Lake, after decades of drying that had only accelerated in recent years, was on track to disappear in five years. Now a record snowpack, fueled by more than 800 inches of snow during the season in some locations, offers a glimmer of hope for the Western Hemisphere’s largest salt water lake and an important economic driver for the state.
The Great Salt Lake reached its record low in November when it dipped to 4,188.6 feet above sea level, having lost more than 70 percent of its water since 1850 according to the report published in January by researchers at Brigham Young University. As of Wednesday, however, the lake had risen three feet in a little more than five months, primarily because of snow and rain dumped directly into the lake by a season-long series of water-loaded storms. Salt Lake City has seen its seventh snowiest season on record and among the most snow of any major U.S. city, with 87.3 inches.
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The rising lake level is cause for both celebration and caution.
“While we celebrate our progress, we must continue to prioritize water conservation efforts and make sustainable water management decisions for the future of this vital ecosystem and for water users throughout the basin,” said Candice Hasenyager, director of the Utah Division of Water Resources, in an email.
This season’s record snowpack promises to push water levels even higher in the coming weeks as warmer temperatures melt the snow and runoff enters the lake. The statewide average snowpack, which is measured by calculating the amount of water contained in the snow, reached 30 inches on Thursday, beating the previous record of 28.8 inches in 1952.
“This year’s snowpack is nothing short of miraculous. After so many years of drought, this definitely feels like an answer to prayers,” said Brigham Young University ecologist Ben Abbott in an email. Abbott was the lead author for the January report, which warned of “widespread air and water pollution, numerous Endangered Species Act listings, and declines in agriculture, industry, and overall quality of life” if the lake were to vanish.
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Despite its recent rise, the lake is still six feet below what is considered “the minimum acceptable elevation for the lake’s ecological and economic health,” according to Abbott. The snowpack, and what happens to its runoff, holds the key to whether the lake can make relatively quick progress toward that six-foot level. With an above-average snowpack, the lake level can increase 3 to 4 feet, according to Utah’s Division of Water Resources.
Even if the water level recovers to an “acceptable” level, the longer-term sustainability of the lake will depend on water management decisions and conservation efforts.
“Impressive winter precipitation and record-breaking snowpack have undoubtedly improved the situation of Great Salt Lake,” Hasenyager said. “However, it’s important to note that it will take much more than one above-average winter to fully replenish the lake’s water levels and address our long-term challenges.”
Historically, management of the Great Salt Lake watershed has prioritized human water usage over the health of the lake, with most of the river and stream water flowing toward the lake diverted for home, business and agricultural use. A February assessment by a team of Utah researchers and state officials found that 67 to 73 percent of the decline in water levels is due to natural and human water use.
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Water levels have been further diminished in recent years by an intense drought, made more likely by climate change, which has only finally started to ease with this winter’s record snowfall. In March 2021, the federal drought monitor showed most of the state in extreme or exceptional drought, the two driest out of five drought categories. In the latest report, released Thursday, extreme and exceptional drought have disappeared, with most of the state classified under the two least severe drought categories.
Reduced inflow of freshwater into the lake results in high salinity levels that have far-reaching consequences including the release of toxic dust, poor air quality, the collapse of food webs and loss of brine shrimp that feed fish and shrimp sold worldwide. A 2019 assessment found that a further decline in lake levels could result in economic damage up to $1.69 billion to $2.17 billion per year, adding up to as much as $25.4 billion to $32.6 billion over 20 years.
More controlled water releases, such as the one coordinated by city and county officials in early March, could not only reduce flood risks this spring but also help restore the lake closer to a healthy water level. Yet regardless of how much improvement comes from spring runoff, Abbott stands by the cuts in water consumption he and his co-authors recommended in their report earlier this year.
“We’ve got to keep our eye on the conservation ball,” Abbott said. “To replenish Great Salt Lake, we need to reduce our consumptive water use by 30 to 50 percent.” | https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2023/04/09/great-salt-lake-snowpack-water-level/ | 2023-04-09 11:43:34 | 0 | https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2023/04/09/great-salt-lake-snowpack-water-level/ |
El Paso Walmart shooting suspect to plead guilty to federal charges
EL PASO, Texas (AP) — The man accused of killing nearly two dozen people in a racist attack at an El Paso Walmart plans to plead guilty to federal charges in the case, according to court records filed days after the federal government said it wouldn’t seek the death penalty in the case.
Patrick Crusius is still charged in state court with capital murder and could still face the death penalty in Texas if convicted in the 2019 mass shooting that killed 23 people.
In a court filing Saturday, defense attorneys asked for a hearing to be set so Crusius could plead guilty to federal charges. He was charged with federal hate crimes and firearms violations.
U.S. District Judge David Guaderrama, in an order Monday, set the hearing for Feb. 8 in El Paso.
Crusius surrendered to police after the attack, saying, “I’m the shooter,” and that he was targeting Mexicans, according to an arrest warrant. Prosecutors have said he published a screed online shortly before the shooting that said it was “in response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas.”
The Aug. 3, 2019, shooting happened on a busy weekend day at a Walmart that is typically popular with shoppers from Mexico and the U.S. In addition to those who died, more than two dozen were injured. Many were citizens of Mexico.
El Paso is a largely Hispanic city that forms an international metro area with Ciudad Juarez with more than 2 million people. On the U.S. side, suburbs stretch into New Mexico.
Although the federal and state cases have progressed along parallel tracks, it’s unclear when Crusius might face trial on state charges. A status hearing in the state case was scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, according to court records.
The district attorney who had been leading the state case, Yvonne Rosales, resigned in November over accusations of incompetence involving hundreds of cases in El Paso and slowing down the case against Crusius. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott last month appointed a new district attorney to “restore confidence” in the local criminal justice system.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.kwch.com/2023/01/24/el-paso-walmart-shooting-suspect-plead-guilty-federal-charges/ | 2023-01-24 15:13:33 | 1 | https://www.kwch.com/2023/01/24/el-paso-walmart-shooting-suspect-plead-guilty-federal-charges/ |
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Fourth of July weekend is here and so are the sales! Whether you're looking to fill your closet with chic new clothes for summer or you want to get your home guest ready for summer entertaining, Nordstrom has everything you need and more from all the best brands like Tory Burch, Free People, Le Creuset, and Good American.
If you're a frequent Nordstrom shopper, you're probably waiting for their big Nordstrom Anniversary Sale to arrive on July 15. Truth be told, so are we! But the good news is, you don't have to wait to find an amazing deal. Nordstrom put out a ton of new discounts ahead of the July 4 holiday weekend, and you can score deals up to 81% off right now.
Best part is, Nordstrom offers free and fast shipping, so you could order something today and get your item before the holiday weekend. For instance, if you're throwing a pool party or hitting the beach, you can snag an adorable Sunnylife float or inflatable pool for 40% off, and get it in a few days.
There are so many deals available right now, we highly recommend shopping today. With Nordstrom, items tend to sell out fast and you don't want to miss out on something you love. We've rounded up some of the best deals on Nordstrom right now. Check those out below.
The Best 4th of July Deals at Nordstrom
ASTR the Label Bubble Sleeve Smocked Blouse
This pretty smocked top from ASTR the Label is a cute, versatile piece for summer. One reviewer loved it so much, they bought it on multiple colors. As they wrote, "Love! Usually a medium, but was able to get a small because of the stretch. If you're on the fence, go for it! You will not be disappointed. There is a reason it keeps selling out." There are six colors to available, but the black and white will score you the best deal.
Halogen Bias Cut A-Line Skirt
This flowy a-line skirt from Halogen is perfect for every season. It's originally $59, but it's on sale for $12. We'd snap this up while it's still in stock!
ASTR the Label Ruffle Floral Keyhole Crop Top
Looking for the perfect summer date night top? We've got what you're looking for right here. Nordstrom shoppers say it's super flattering and cute. One reviewer loved the boning as it gives the top a "flattering corset-like shape." There are three colors to choose from and it's on sale for $39.
Clinique Quickliner for Eyes Eyeliner Pencil
This top-rated eyeliner from Clinique features a long-wearing formula and comes in 10 shades. It's an eyeliner that numerous Nordstrom shoppers highly recommend. In fact one wrote, "Over the years, I've tried many other higher-end liners (YSL, Laura Mercier, Dior, and Chanel), but I always end up coming back to Clinique Quickliner. The first time I purchased this eyeliner was over 15 years ago, and I remember thinking how much I liked the way it smoothed on without me having to tug or pull on my lid. It's still the same. I also love that it stays in place all day, with no transfer. I would definitely recommend this eyeliner to anybody looking for a cost-effective, professional looking liner!"
Best part is, it's on sale now for $14.
Katie May Collette Strapless Gown
A sexy and sleek $300 dress for less than $75? That's a deal you can't miss.
BP. Retro Oversize Cotton Blend Cardigan
This cool, retro-inspired cardigan is lightweight, making it perfect for cooler summer evenings. Best part is, it's originally $69, but you can get it on sale for $20.
Free People Cerine Ruched Cotton Skirt
Throw on a cute tank or crop top and you'll have the perfect summer outfit. Right now, this chic ruched skirt from Free People is on sale for $59.
Julia Jordan Halter Neck Jumpsuit
This stunning jumpsuit comes in seven gorgeous colors. Shoppers say it has a nice flattering fit, and one even said they get an endless amount of compliments.
Stuart Weitzman Sawyer Slide Sandal
The simple and chic Sawyer Slide Sandal from Stuart Weitzman comes in four colors, all of which are on sale now for 40% off. Not only are these sandals stylish, Nordstrom shoppers say they're comfy to wear as well. As one wrote, "These are adorable. The sole is jelly and the straps are a good quality patent. I got these in black, periwinkle, and pink. They are comfortable and a great casual sandal. I have a slightly wide foot and the straps fit fine."
Madewell Stone Collection Friendship Bracelet Set
For just under $11, you can give one of these cute Madewell friendship bracelets to your friend and keep one for yourself.
Tory Burch Shower Slide Sandal
Give your basic shower slides a chic designer upgrade with these sandals from Tory Burch. According to one shopper, these sandals feel like you're walking on air. They're originally $158, but you can snag a pair for as low as $95.
BP. Canvas Tote
This colorful canvas tote can fit everything you need for a beach day. There are several patterns to choose from, and you can get it today for as low as $8.
Le Creuset 5.25-Quart Deep Dutch Oven
For a limited time only, you can snag this highly versatile Le Creuset dutch oven for over $100 off. It's extra deep, so you'll reduce the chance of splatters and boil overs you'll have to clean later. Plus, you can make anything in it from soups and stews to fried chicken.
Urban Decay Naked Honey Eyeshadow Palette
Create a gorgeous golden look with Urban Decay's Naked Honey Eyeshadow Palette. It features 12 shadows in shimmer, metallic and matte finishes, and it's on sale for $24. Urban Decay is known for their smooth, highly pigmented eyeshadows, so you're getting a really great deal on a quality product here.
Nordstrom Moonlight Easy Pajamas
Keep comfy and cool all summer long (and beyond!) in sleepwear that "fits like a dream." This pj set comes in five colors, including this pretty pink camelia. It's originally $59, but you can get it on sale today for just $32.
Sam Edelman Valeri Slide Sandal
These cute and comfy slides from Sam Edelman come in a variety of colors. They're originally $120, but you can snag a pair for $75.
Free People Cleo Print Faux Wrap Cotton Miniskirt
You're guaranteed to get a ton of compliments in this lightweight cotton miniskirt from Free People. It's listed at $88, but you can get it on sale now for $26.
Nordstrom at Home Percale Sheet Set
Need new sheets? This $119 king sheet set in the color rust leaf is on sale today for $48. According to one reviewer, it keeps you cool and comfortable all night.
Treasure & Bond Woven Favorite Dress
This easy, breezy woven maxi dress will be your favorite dress for summer. It comes in eight colors including several bold and bright options that are perfect for the season. You can add it to your summer wardrobe for $23.
Looking for more great 4th of July deals to shop today? Check out The Best 4th of July 2022 Sales to Shop Now. | https://www.eonline.com/news/1335960/nordstrom-4th-of-july-2022-deals-score-up-to-81-off-tory-burch-le-creuset-free-people-more | 2022-06-28 00:13:36 | 1 | https://www.eonline.com/news/1335960/nordstrom-4th-of-july-2022-deals-score-up-to-81-off-tory-burch-le-creuset-free-people-more |
NEW YORK, N.Y. — Within 3,000 square feet, a challenge facing the whole world over found its home.
"Museums are places where people go voluntarily to learn. They're a highly trusted source of information,” said Miranda Massie, founder of the Climate Museum. "The Climate Museum is the first climate-dedicated museum in the United States."
The idea for the museum came to be just a few short years ago and it is now a reality in New York City's SoHo neighborhood.
"The idea of a climate museum popped into my mind like a nickel in a piggy bank,” Massie said. “I didn't think about generating it. It just was deposited there by something else."
It's a place designed to help people feel like climate change can be tackled by taking one action at a time.
"We've seen that in the super powerful responses that people had after just a 10-minute visit to this space," Massie said.
Walking in, the first thing that confronts visitors is a wall, full of historic-looking postcards, until you take a closer look.
"So, each postcard becomes a pixel in a larger image," Massie said.
The larger image depicts climate change impacts in states like Ohio, Nebraska, Virginia, California, and other states.
"It's very important for us to be very inclusive about different regions of the country," Massie said.
Visitors can use those free postcards to write to elected leaders, and the museum addresses and mails it for them.
While the museum brings in adults, it is a younger demographic that is making its mark there.
"I felt really frustrated,” said high school senior Hindani Patel, “and I still do, because it feels like we need to protect our Earth, yet we aren't doing enough."
Teenagers volunteer at the museum and learn from programs such as a recent NASA lecture.
"I learned like kind of how to explain it, like so that it doesn't lead to an argument, but to like an intellectual discussion, where people learn things," said Jacob Olveira, a student who is part of the museum’s student program.
For them, the Climate Museum is a place they take to heart.
“It's a lot of pressure on our on our generation to be the one that solves it all,” said high school student Daniela Sueiro, “but at the end of the day, we're still kids and there are people out there with real responsibility."
That is something the museum's founders hope might lead people to take action—from taking small steps to larger ones, as depicted in "action stickers" that are offered to everyone. Those include stickers that say, “I’m going to organize,” “I’m voting climate” and “I’m posting on social media.”
"If we're part of a group that's working on different aspects of it, that feels doable,” Massie said.
They are pieces of a larger puzzle to the climate conundrum. | https://www.kxxv.com/news/national/americas-climate-museum-aims-to-help-people-take-environmental-action | 2022-11-18 17:20:39 | 0 | https://www.kxxv.com/news/national/americas-climate-museum-aims-to-help-people-take-environmental-action |
This is how you feng shui a bedroom
The art of feng shui
Feng shui is an ancient Chinese practice that harnesses “Chi,” the life force or energy of the universe possessed by all living beings. Feng shui follows the principle of yin and yang, or the connection between opposite but interconnected forces. It’s all about achieving harmony and balance. It’s not a type of design or decor style, but rather a philosophy that you can incorporate into a variety of spaces.
Explore the nuances of feng shui and find product recommendations for setting up your ideal bedroom, from calming tabletop water fountains to handy closet organizers.
Shop this article: Rubbermaid Configurations Deluxe Closet Kit, Mose Cafolo Zen Art Brass Feng Shui Gong, HoMedics Tabletop Water Fountain
Creating your dream feng shui bedroom
Creating a feng shui bedroom — or any room, for that matter — starts with clearing away clutter, which can lead to stress and take away from the flow of positive energy. A closet organizing system and under-bed storage are great for minimizing clutter. Additionally, you want to arrange furniture so that pathways in and around the room are open for the flow of traffic and energy.
Feng shui involves the concept of the command position, a specific place in a room that makes you feel empowered or protected. Along these lines, your bed should be oriented in a way that lets you see the door. Placing your bed diagonally from the door is typically your best bet.
The five elements of feng shui
Feng shui revolves around five elements of nature; water, earth, fire, metal and wood. A truly feng shui environment has all five.
Water
This element represents purity and cleansing, as well as flow and the flexibility of going with life’s changes — think of how an ocean can be roiling and choppy at one point but calm and serene at another. A water fountain or water imagery conveys this element nicely.
Earth
The earth element symbolizes stability, nourishment and a sense of feeling grounded. You can incorporate earth tones, nature-inspired art, crystals, pottery or natural stone.
Fire
This element represents the intensity of passion and inspiration, just as flames give off intense heat. You can incorporate this element through lighting, lamps, candles, fireplaces and warmer colors in general.
Metal
Metal conveys clarity and precision akin to the intricacies of metalworking. Metal furniture, fixtures, wall art and more can bring this element to a space.
Wood
Like a towering tree or verdant forest, this element is associated with growth and vitality. Houseplants and furniture crafted from wood embody this element.
Popular products for feng shui bedrooms
Rubbermaid Configurations Deluxe Closet Kit
This convenient organization system includes adjustable wire shelves and telescoping hanging rods, offering different ways to reconfigure your closet to your preference. It’s made of lightweight aluminum with all the mounting hardware provided. The installation process is easy, too. The system fits both walk-in and reach-in closets with a width of 4 to 8 feet.
Sold by Amazon
Whitmor Zippered Underbed Bags
This handy set of under-bed storage bags have a clear vinyl top, so you can easily see the contents inside. The zippered closure protects items from dust, dirt and pests. They’re foldable and store away neatly when not in use, with handles for easy accessibility and portability.
Sold by Amazon
Mose Cafolo Zen Art Brass Feng Shui Gong
The resonant tones of a gong channel positive energy, promoting concentration, relaxation and overall well-being. Gongs are a companion for meditation and Zen practices while also functioning as attractive decor. This one features wood and polished copper with classic dragon and yin and yang imagery.
Sold by Amazon
This stunning canvas print proves that wall art doesn’t have to cost a fortune. There are 45 nature-themed designs to choose from, including lush forest scenery, glowing sunsets, ocean views and others. You can opt for a frame (available in beige, black or white) or plain-wrapped canvas in sizes ranging from 12 by 18 inches to 32 by 48 inches.
Sold by Amazon
Fourth Level Yin Yang Koi Fish
Water and wood elements combine in this beautiful wall art. This rendering of the yin and yang symbol is represented by two koi fish. In Chinese, Japanese and Buddhist cultures, the koi fish channels good fortune, success and perseverance. The pine wall hanging can be mounted as is, or you can paint it in whatever colors you’d like.
Sold by Amazon
HoMedics Tabletop Water Fountain
This beautiful tabletop fountain brings tranquility and calm to the bedroom. The sound of flowing water is naturally soothing, providing gentle white noise that can aid sleep. The fountain’s three tiers create a waterfall effect and the multicolored river rocks are a nice touch. A lighting feature produces pleasant ambient light, casting a glowing reflection on the water. A quiet built-in pump circulates the water to prevent algae buildup.
Sold by Amazon
This set of three flameless candles feature a birch bark grain for both fire and wood feng shui elements. They have a realistic flickering effect and can be controlled using the included remote control. Unlike real candles, you don’t have to worry about wax dripping or the candle tipping over and starting a fire.
Sold by Amazon
Emporion Natural Amethyst Crystal
This gorgeous crystal is the perfect earthy piece to display in the bedroom. It’s a raw cut, natural amethyst with crystal clusters that have a soft sparkling effect.
Sold by Amazon
Everydecor Metal Decorative Sphere
This decorative orb displays the metal element of feng shui. With its stylish gold accents, this piece fits especially well with modern and glam decor.
Sold by Amazon
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Copyright 2023 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved. | https://www.koin.com/reviews/br/bed-bath-br/bed-frames-headboards-br/this-is-how-you-feng-shui-a-bedroom/ | 2023-07-18 04:36:14 | 0 | https://www.koin.com/reviews/br/bed-bath-br/bed-frames-headboards-br/this-is-how-you-feng-shui-a-bedroom/ |
PARIS (AP) — The French president is pressing his country’s interests in the South Pacific this week and trying to make France’s voice heard in a region shaping up as a prime geopolitical battleground for China and the U.S.
President Emmanuel Macron’s trip to Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and New Caledonia starting Monday comes as French forces take part in massive U.S.-Australian-led military exercises in the region. With troops, citizens and resources spread across its Pacific territories, France wants to protect its interests and project its power alongside like-minded democracies worried about China’s growing assertiveness.
The most strategically important stop is Thursday in Papua New Guinea, which has seen growing Chinese influence and signed a new security cooperation pact with the U.S. in May. The most populous Pacific Island nation is also negotiating a security treaty with Australia.
Macron’s office insists the trip is not aimed at pressing an ‘’anti-China policy,” but at encouraging regional powers to diversify their partnerships beyond Beijing and Washington. He felt the trip was needed because of “new, more intense threats’’ to security, institutions and the environment in the region, according to an official in Macron’s office who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
His chief diplomatic adviser, Emmanuel Bonne, speaking at the Aspen Security Forum last week, said “China is a global challenge. It is a challenge for the U.S. as well as for the EU,” adding that “there is kind of a strategic awakening in Europe today” of the need for tougher policy toward China.
But he insisted that Europe shouldn’t “delegate” its global security needs to the U.S. and should craft its own strategic policies. “If we want to remain relevant in today’s world and to tomorrow’s world as France, as Europeans, we need to be much more robust,” he said.
Macron’s office says he plans to visit a French patrol ship in the area, and offer infrastructure projects and a partnership to save forests and mangroves while ensuring jobs in Papua New Guinea, where France’s TotalEnergies is leading a liquefied natural gas project.
The French tour is coinciding with trips by some top U.S. officials to the region, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Tonga, New Zealand and Australia this week after a visit to Papua New Guinea in May.
Macron began Monday in the French archipelago of New Caledonia, trying to rebuild trust after voters rejected a string of independence referendums that exposed entrenched frustrations of native Kanaks and inequalities with the mainland, and divisions over management of the region’s rich nickel reserves. Negotiations are underway for a new status for the territory and its institutions.
“I am at our compatriots’ side to define the basis of this new path,” Macron said in a televised interview after arriving.
Coastal erosion and other impacts of climate change top the agenda at each stop on Macron’s trip, in a region replete with islands that see periodic tsunamis and risk disappearing to rising seas, according to his advisers.
France has been an uninterrupted presence in the region since the 19th century, thanks to its colonial history and continued control over territories that are home to 1.5 million citizens and some 7,000 troops across the Indo-Pacific.
___
Nick Perry in Wellington, New Zealand contributed. | https://cbs4indy.com/news/national-world/ap-international/ap-macron-promotes-french-interests-on-a-trip-to-south-pacific-where-us-china-rivalry-is-intensifying/ | 2023-07-25 06:28:29 | 0 | https://cbs4indy.com/news/national-world/ap-international/ap-macron-promotes-french-interests-on-a-trip-to-south-pacific-where-us-china-rivalry-is-intensifying/ |
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Badminton upheld its ban on Russian and Belarusian players in international competitions on Thursday, days before Olympic qualifying begins.
Badminton’s qualifying period for next year’s Paris Olympics starts on May 1 and uses a calendar-year ranking.
Meanwhile, modern pentathlon said it would set up a “pathway” for athletes from the two countries to return but didn’t commit to a date.
The Badminton World Federation cited security concerns and the need for “more clarity” on the International Olympic Committee’s “complex criteria” to admit some Russians and Belarusians as neutral athletes without national symbols but keep excluding others, such as military personnel or those who have supported the invasion of Ukraine.
The IOC also recommends allowing athletes from only Russia and Belarus to compete individually and not in team sports or “team events in individual sports.” That raises the prospect in badminton of players being allowed to play singles but not doubles as a national team, a point the BWF did not address directly in its statement on Thursday.
The recommendations from the IOC last month aren’t binding on sports’ governing bodies, which can implement them as they wish. The IOC has said it hasn’t made a decision on what happens at the Paris Olympics.
Modern pentathlon’s governing body, known as the UIPM, said it would follow the IOC’s recommendations but didn’t set any timetable. It will be up to an “independent panel” to decide when and how Russians and Belarusians are readmitted, the governing body said.
“It is our firm belief that sport should be politically neutral and now, more than ever, must act as a vehicle for peace and a symbol of solidarity between athletes,” the UIPM said.
Other Olympic sports which have followed the IOC and said they want to allow Russians and Belarusians to compete as neutral athletes include wrestling, taekwondo and triathlon. Athletics, weightlifting and equestrian have all maintained bans.
___
More AP coverage of the Paris Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports | https://www.kxnet.com/sports/badminton-keeps-barring-russia-as-olympic-qualifying-begins/ | 2023-04-21 01:48:21 | 0 | https://www.kxnet.com/sports/badminton-keeps-barring-russia-as-olympic-qualifying-begins/ |
Some Phillies fans shelled out hundreds of dollars on National League Championship Series tickets this week, dipping into their saving accounts, charging their credit cards, and vowing to cut back on other discretionary spending.
The Phillies haven’t been in the playoffs in more than a decade, and attending one of this weekend’s three home games at Citizens Bank Park was an opportunity these fans said was worth the financial hit.
“I don’t want to say it’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing,” said Danica Jordan, 33, of Old City, who was recently laid off from her job with a mortgage company and used savings to buy a $309 standing room ticket to Sunday’s game through StubHub. “It’s a rare-enough thing that I’m willing to go all in on this.”
Other fans said they simply could not afford the unexpected expense, especially given the rising price of gas, groceries, and other essentials.
“It’s a bit out of my price range right now, but I’ll definitely be watching and supporting,” said Tim Delaney, 25, of South Philadelphia, a medical student who keeps to a tight monthly budget. “I love to make it to games and sacrifice in other ways,” but playoff prices would have made for too large of sacrifices — such as needing to spend less on groceries or take the subway to work instead of driving.
» READ MORE: Phillies-Padres news: Game 3 lineups, starting pitchers; expect traffic delays; weather could impact Game 5
While a limited number of tickets were sold through the Phillies (which buyers said started around $110 for standing room), many fans had to rely on secondary-market sites, such as StubHub, SeatGeek, and Gametime, where ticket prices were higher and more volatile. Social media sites like Facebook were also flooded this week with posts from people looking to turn a profit on their tickets, with some selling them for $400 or more apiece.
The price of tickets to the average sporting event has increased incrementally over the past 15 years, according to the the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index, with a $100 ticket in 1997 estimated to cost about $216 today. That’s “not dramatic,” said Matthew Robinson, a sport management professor at the Lerner College of Business and Economics at the University of Delaware, with much of the steady increase over time due to increased costs, including player salaries.
This year, regular-season and playoff ticket prices haven’t been directly impacted by sky-high inflation, he said.
But with rising costs elsewhere, some may be changing their game plans. In July, about 53% of MLB fans said the increased cost of living had changed the number of sporting events they planned to attend this year, according to a Sports Business Journal survey of nearly 1,300 U.S. adults.
Yet the sports industry has proven over time to be somewhat “recession proof,” Robinson said.
And he said that is never more true than during the playoffs, when the demand for tickets is extremely high, driven by the scarcity of opportunities and the high stakes of every game.
Being at the National League Division Series games last weekend, when the Phillies eliminated the Atlanta Braves, “was a lifetime memory for anyone who was at the stadium,” Robinson said. “I don’t think many people were walking out of Citizens Bank Park complaining abut prices last Friday and Saturday.”
Chris Richman knows he won’t be complaining when he walks out of the ballpark Friday night alongside his mother, a lifelong sports lover.
He snagged two $150 tickets through the Phillies after Game 1 of the NLDS, and knew immediately whom he was taking.
» READ MORE: Why the Phillies’ and Eagles’ successes might have you feeling happier, even if you’re not a fan
He later checked the resale market, out of curiosity, and said he saw tickets in the same section going for nearly $500 each.
“I started having some dollar signs dancing in my head,” Richman said. “If could make $1,000 on these two tickets, I could take my mom out to the nicest restaurant in Philadelphia and get the nicest bottle of champagne or wine and watch the game with her.”
He called his mother, Angela, in Springfield, Delaware County, and asked her one question: How much are you looking forward to Friday’s game? Without hesitation, she said her excitement level was a 10 out of 10.
Hearing that, Richman said he asked himself how he ever could have considering selling.
He and his mother attended Game 4 of the 2008 World Series and Roy Halladay’s perfect game in Florida in 2010, and he said he was hopeful Friday might be just as memorable.
“In the playoffs, something magical can happen at any game,” said Richman, 40, of South Philadelphia, the director of marketing and communications for University City District. “You can’t recreate those experiences.”
He wouldn’t have spent $500 on a ticket without advance planning or budgeting, he said, but paying $150 apiece was an “easy” decision.
The chance to be among the playoff energy, “that’s worth more than a lot of money to me,” he said. “And the chance to experience that with my mom, who is very important to me and has inspired my passion for sports … In 10 years, I’m telling that story. I’m not talking about selling the ticket for $1,000 on StubHub.” | https://www.inquirer.com/news/philadelphia/phillies-tickets-prices-nlcs-playoffs-2022-20221021.html | 2022-10-21 21:31:12 | 0 | https://www.inquirer.com/news/philadelphia/phillies-tickets-prices-nlcs-playoffs-2022-20221021.html |
(The Conversation) – Most of the debates on the usage of “Latinx” – pronounced “la-teen-ex” – have taken place in the U.S. But the word has begun to spread into Spanish-speaking countries – where it hasn’t exactly been embraced.
In July 2022, Argentina and Spain released public statements banning the use of Latinx, or any gender-neutral variant. Both governments reasoned that these new terms are violations of the rules of the Spanish language.
Latinx is used as an individual identity for those who are gender-nonconforming, and it can also describe an entire population without using “Latinos,” which is currently the default in Spanish for a group of men and women.
As a Mexican-born, U.S.-raised scholar, I agree with the official Argentine and Spanish stance on banning Latinx from the Spanish language – English, too.
When I first heard Latinx in 2017, I thought it was progressive and inclusive, but I quickly realized how problematic it was. Five years later, Latinx is not commonly used in Spanish-speaking countries, nor is it used by the majority of those identifying as Hispanic or Latino in the U.S.
In fact, there’s a gender-inclusive term that’s already being used by Spanish-speaking activists that works as a far more natural replacement.
Low usage
Though the exact origins of Latinx are unclear, it emerged sometime around 2004 and gained popularity around 2014. Merriam-Webster added it to its dictionary in 2018.
However, a 2019 Pew research study and 2021 Gallup poll indicated that less than 5% of the U.S. population used “Latinx” as a racial or ethnic identity.
Nonetheless, Latinx is becoming commonplace among academics; it’s used at conferences, in communication and especially in publications.
But is it inclusive to use Latinx when most of the population does not?
Perpetuating elitism
The distinct demographic differences of those who are aware of or use Latinx calls into question whether the term is inclusive or just elitist.
Individuals who self-identiy as Latinx or are aware of the term are most likely to be U.S.-born, young adults from 18 to 29 years old. They are predominately English-speakers and have some college education. In other words, the most marginalized communities do not use Latinx.
Scholars, in my view, should never impose social identities onto groups that do not self-identify that way.
I once had a reviewer for an academic journal article I submitted about women’s experiences with catcalling tell me to replace my use of “Latino” and “Latina” with “Latinx.” However, they had no issue with me using “man” or “woman” when it came to my white participants.
I was annoyed at the audacity of this reviewer. The goal of the study was to show catcalling, a gendered interaction, as an everyday form of sexism.
How was I supposed to differentiate my participants’ sexism experiences by gender and race if I labeled them all as Latinx?
The ‘x’ factor
If a term is truly inclusive, it gives equitable weight to vastly diverse experiences and knowledge; it is not meant to be a blanket identity.
Women of color, in general, are severely underrepresented in leadership positions and STEM fields. Using “Latinx” for women further obscures their contributions and identity. I have even seen some academics try to get around the nebulous nature of Latinx by writing “Latinx mothers” or “Latinx women” instead of “Latinas.”
Furthermore, if the goal is to be inclusive, the “x” would be easily pronounceable and naturally applied to other parts of the Spanish language.
Some Spanish speakers would rather identify by nationality – say, “Mexicano” or “Argentino” – instead of using umbrella terms like Hispanic or Latino. But the “x” can’t be easily applied to nationalities. Like Latinx, “Mexicanx” and “Argentinx” don’t exactly roll off the tongue in any language. Meanwhile, gendered articles in Spanish – “los” and “las” for the plural “the” – become “lxs,” while gendered pronouns –“el” and “ella” becomes “ellx.”
The utility and logic of it quickly falls apart.
‘Latine’ as an alternative
Many academics might feel compelled to continue to use Latinx because they fought hard to have it recognized by their institutions or have already published the term in an academic journal. But there is a much better gender-inclusive alternative, one that’s been largely overlooked by the U.S. academic community and is already being used in Spanish-speaking parts of Latin America, especially among young social activists in those countries.
It’s “Latine” – pronounced “lah-teen-eh” – and it’s far more adaptable to the Spanish language. It can be implemented as articles – “les” instead of “los” or “las,” the words for “the.” When it comes to pronouns, “elle” can become a singular form of “they” and used in place of the masculine “él” or feminine “ella,” which translate to “he” and “she.” It can also be readily applied to most nationalities, such as “Mexicane” or “Argentine.”
Because language shapes the way we think, it’s important to note that gendered languages like Spanish, German and French do facilitate gender stereotypes and discrimination. For example, in German, the word for bridge is feminine, and in Spanish, the word for bridge is masculine. Cognitive scientist Lera Boroditsky had German speakers and Spanish speakers describe a bridge. The German speakers were more likely to describe it using adjectives like “beautiful” or “elegant,” while the Spanish speakers were more likely to describe it in masculine ways – “tall” and “strong.”
Moreover, the existing gender rules in Spanish are not perfect. Usually words ending in “-o” are masculine and those ending in “-a” are feminine, but there are many common words that break those gender rules, like “la mano,” the word for “hand.” And, of course, Spanish already uses an “e” for gender-neutral words, such as “estudiante,” or “student.”
I believe Latine accomplishes what Latinx originally meant to and more. Similarly, it eliminates the gender binary in its singular and plural form. However, Latine is not confined to an elite, English-speaking population within the U.S. It is inclusive.
Nevertheless, problems can still arise when the word “Latine” is imposed onto others. “Latina” and “Latino” may still be preferable for many individuals. I don’t think the “-e” should eliminate the existing “-o” and the “-a.” Instead, it could be a grammatically acceptable addition to the Spanish language.
Yes, Argentina and Spain’s ban of Latinx also included a ban on the use of Latine. Here is where I diverge from their directive. To me, the idea that language can be purist is nonsensical; language always evolves, whether it’s through technology – think emojis and textspeak – or increased social awareness, such as the evolution from “wife beating” to “intimate partner violence.”
Linguistic theory posits that language shapes reality, so cultures and communities can create words that shape the inclusive world they want to inhabit.
Language matters. Latine embodies that inclusivity – across socioeconomic status, citizenship, education, gender identity, age groups and nations, while honoring the Spanish language in the process. | https://www.pahomepage.com/uncategorized/stop-using-latinx-if-you-really-want-to-be-inclusive/ | 2022-09-11 16:18:39 | 0 | https://www.pahomepage.com/uncategorized/stop-using-latinx-if-you-really-want-to-be-inclusive/ |
NEW YORK, Aug. 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Jakubowitz Law announces that a securities fraud class action lawsuit has commenced on behalf of shareholders of Weber Inc. (NYSE: WEBR).
To receive updates on the lawsuit, fill out the form:
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This lawsuit is on behalf of persons and entities that purchased or otherwise acquired Weber Class A common stock pursuant and/or traceable to the registration statement and prospectus issued in connection with the Company's August 2021 initial public offering.
Shareholders interested in acting as a lead plaintiff representing the class of wronged shareholders have until September 27, 2022 to petition the court. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as a lead plaintiff.
According to a filed complaint, Weber Inc. issued materially false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) Weber was reasonably likely to implement price increases; (2) as a result, consumer demand for Weber's products was reasonably likely to decrease; (3) due to the resulting inventory buildup, Weber was reasonably likely to run promotions to "enhance retail sell through"; (4) the foregoing would adversely impact Weber's financial results; and (5) as a result of the foregoing, defendants' positive statements about the Company's business, operations, and prospects, were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis.
Jakubowitz Law is vigorous in pursuit of justice for shareholders who have been the victim of securities fraud. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.
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SOURCE Jakubowitz Law | https://www.wsaz.com/prnewswire/2022/08/19/webr-shareholder-alert-jakubowitz-law-reminds-weber-shareholders-lead-plaintiff-deadline-september-27-2022/ | 2022-08-19 11:13:55 | 1 | https://www.wsaz.com/prnewswire/2022/08/19/webr-shareholder-alert-jakubowitz-law-reminds-weber-shareholders-lead-plaintiff-deadline-september-27-2022/ |
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — As Europe heads into winter in the throes of an energy crisis, offices are getting chillier. Statues and historic buildings are going dark. Bakers who can’t afford to heat their ovens are talking about giving up, while fruit and vegetable growers face letting greenhouses stand idle.
In poorer eastern Europe, people are stocking up on firewood, while in wealthier Germany, the wait for an energy-saving heat pump can take half a year. And businesses don’t know how much more they can cut back.
“We can’t turn off the lights and make our guests sit in the dark,” said Richard Kovacs, business development manager for Hungarian burger chain Zing Burger. The restaurants already run the grills no more than necessary and use motion detectors to turn off lights in storage, with some stores facing a 750% increase in electricity bills since the beginning of the year.
With costs high and energy supplies tight, Europe is rolling out relief programs and plans to shake up electricity and natural gas markets as it prepares for rising energy use this winter. The question is whether it will be enough to avoid government-imposed rationing and rolling blackouts after Russia cut back natural gas needed to heat homes, run factories and generate electricity to a tenth of what it was before invading Ukraine.
Europe’s dependence on Russian energy has turned the war into an energy and economic crisis, with prices rising to record highs in recent months and fluctuating wildly.
In response, governments have worked hard to find new supplies and conserve energy, with gas storage facilities now 86% full ahead of the winter heating season — beating the goal of 80% by November. They have committed to lower gas use by 15%, meaning the Eiffel Tower will plunge into darkness over an hour earlier than normal while shops and buildings shut off lights at night or lower thermostats.
Europe’s ability to get through the winter may ultimately depend on how cold it is and what happens in China. Shutdowns aimed at halting the spread of COVID-19 have idled large parts of China’s economy and meant less competition for scarce energy supplies.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said this month that early preparations mean Europe’s biggest economy is “now in a position in which we can go bravely and courageously into this winter, in which our country will withstand this.”
“No one could have said that three, four, five months ago, or at the beginning of this year,” he added.
Even if there is gas this winter, high prices already are pushing people and businesses to use less and forcing some energy-intensive factories like glassmakers to close.
It’s a decision also facing fruit and vegetable growers in the Netherlands who are key to Europe’s winter food supply: shutter greenhouses or take a loss after costs skyrocketed for gas heating and electric light.
Bosch Growers, which grows green peppers and blackberries, has put up extra insulation, idled one greenhouse and experimented with lower temperatures. The cost? Smaller yields, blackberries taking longer to ripen, and potentially operating in the red to maintain customer relationships even at lower volumes.
“We want to stay on the market, not to ruin the reputation that we have developed over the years,” said Wouter van den Bosch, the sixth generation of his family to help run the business. “We are in survival mode.”
Kovacs, grower van den Bosch and bakers like Andreas Schmitt in Frankfurt, Germany, are facing the hard reality that conservation only goes so far.
Schmitt is heating fewer ovens at his 25 Cafe Ernst bakeries, running them longer to spare startup energy, narrowing his pastry selection to ensure ovens run full, and storing less dough to cut refrigeration costs. That might save 5-10% off an energy bill that is set to rise from 300,000 euros per year, to 1.1 million next year.
“It’s not going to shift the world,” he said. The bulk of his costs is “the energy required to get dough to bread, and that is a given quantity of energy.”
Schmitt, head of the local bakers’ guild, said some small bakeries are contemplating giving up. Government help will be key in the short term, he said, while a longer-term solution involves reforming energy markets themselves.
Europe is targeting both, though the spending required may be unsustainable. Nations have allocated 500 billion euros to ease high utility bills since September 2021, according to an analysis from the Bruegel think tank in Brussels, and they are bailing out utilities that can’t afford to buy gas to fulfill their contracts.
Governments have lined up additional gas supply from pipelines running to Norway and Azerbaijan and ramped up their purchase of expensive liquefied natural gas that comes by ship, largely from the U.S.
At the same time, the EU is weighing drastic interventions like taxing energy companies’ windfall profits and revamping electricity markets so natural gas costs play less of a role in determining power prices.
But as countries scramble to replace Russian fossil fuels and even reactivate polluting coal-fired power plants, environmentalists and the EU itself say renewables are the way out long term.
Neighbors in Madrid looking to cut electricity costs and aid the energy transition installed solar panels this month to supply their housing development after years of work.
“I have suddenly reduced my gas consumption by 40%, with very little use of three radiators strategically placed in the house,” neighbor Manuel Ruiz said.
Governments have dismissed Russia as an energy supplier but President Vladimir Putin still has leverage, analysts say. Some Russian gas is still flowing and a hard winter could undermine public support for Ukraine in some countries. There have already been protests in places like Czechia and Belgium.
“The market is very tight and every molecule counts,” said Agata Loskot-Strachota, senior fellow for energy policy at the Center for Eastern Studies in Warsaw. “This is the leverage that Putin still has — that Europe would have to face disappointed or impoverished societies.”
In Bulgaria, the poorest of the EU’s 27 members, surging energy costs are forcing families to cut extra spending ahead of winter to ensure there is enough money to buy food and medicine.
More than a quarter of Bulgaria’s 7 million people can’t afford to heat their home, according to EU statistics office Eurostat, the highest in the 27-nation bloc due to poorly insulated buildings and low incomes. Nearly half of households use firewood in winter as the cheapest and most accessible fuel, but rising demand and galloping inflation have driven prices above last year’s levels.
In the capital, Sofia, where almost half a million households have heating provided by central plants, many sought other options after a 40% price increase was announced.
Grigor Iliev, a 68-year-old retired bookkeeper, and his wife decided to cancel their central heating and buy a combined air conditioner-heating unit for their two-room apartment.
“It’s a costly device, but in the long run, we will recoup our investment,” he said.
Meanwhile, businesses are trying to stay afloat without alienating customers. Klara Aurell, owner of two Prague restaurants, said she’s done all she can to conserve energy.
“We use LED bulbs, we turn the lights off during the day, the heating is only when it gets really cold and we use it only in a limited way,” she said. “We also take measures to save water and use energy-efficient equipment. We can hardly do anything else. The only thing to remain is to increase prices. That’s how it is.”
The gourmet Babushka Artisanal Bakery in an affluent district of Budapest has had to raise prices by 10%. The bakery used less air conditioning despite Hungary’s hottest summer on record and is ensuring the ovens don’t run without bread inside.
While it has enough traffic to stay open for now, further jumps in energy costs could threaten its viability, owner Eszter Roboz said.
“A twofold increase in energy costs still fits into the operation of our business and into our calculations,” she said. “But in the case of a three- to fourfold increase, we will really need to think about whether we can continue this.”
___
Spike reported from Budapest, Hungary; Janicek from Prague; and Toshkov from Sofia, Bulgaria. Videojournalist Irene Yagüe contributed from Madrid. | https://www.ksn.com/news/business/ap-business/ap-lights-out-ovens-off-europe-preps-for-winter-energy-crisis/ | 2022-09-27 05:13:17 | 1 | https://www.ksn.com/news/business/ap-business/ap-lights-out-ovens-off-europe-preps-for-winter-energy-crisis/ |
HUHHOT, China, Sept. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Yili Group (600887.SS)'s total revenue and net profit reached new heights of RMB 63.463 billion ($9.2 billion) and RMB 6.139 billion ($0.89 billion), up by 12.31% and 15.40% year-on-year, respectively, according to its FY2022 H1 report released on August 30, 2022.
During the reporting period, the company's total revenue outperformed the second tier by over RMB 15 billion ($2.17 billion), widening the gap to 33% from 25% in the previous year.
Yili's milk powder and dairy product business achieved a growth rate of 58.28%, which was the fastest in the dairy industry. Its infant formula realized the fastest growth and adult milk powder remained the leader in its segment; the cheese category also grew by leaps-and-bounds, expanding by over 40%; the liquid milk business took the largest market share with an expanding strength; growing at a rate of 31.71%, the ice cream business topped the industry and has held the largest market share for 28 years in a row.
Core business achieves a stronger lead, and new growth drivers show faster momentum
During the reporting period, Yili's liquid milk business had a total revenue of RMB 42.892 billion ($6.218 billion), leading the industry in terms of scale and market share. The AMBPOMIAL retained the first position in its category with a market share of 65%. As the top brand of organic milk, Satine continued to hold the largest market share in the industry.
Yili's ice cream business kept growing with a wider margin during the same period, topping the industry with year-on-year growth in sales of 31.71%.
As Yili's second growth curve, the milk powder, cheese business and other dairy products kept growing at a pace which far outstripped its peers, realizing revenue of RMB 12.071 billion ($1.75 billion) in FY2022 H1.
Innovation accelerates and new product growth exceeds expectations
Yili accelerated its pace of rolling out new products and full life-cycle coverage, with new products revenue accounting for 12.48%.
Satine Ultra-filtered Milk, Cute Star A2β-casein Pure Milk, Jinlingguan Seine Mouiller A2 OPO Organic Infant Formula and other new products have been launched.
Yili has also kept focusing on organic milk, milk-based nutrients, cheese snacks, natural mineral water and other businesses that show high growth potential. These categories are growing by over 20% year-on-year, of which the sales of Inikin Yike live fountain have more than doubled in H1 this year.
Consumer trust enables growth despite challenges
To better serve consumers, Yili remains committed to its core capacities such as product quality, channels and resources.
Yili has extended its reach to novel channels by seizing new growth opportunities in maternal and infant, catering, e-commerce, community group purchases and other special channels.
Despite COVID-19 and the impact of inflation, Yili has ensured timely delivery of products by optimizing global supply chain networks. Utilizing its global operating platform, Yili has enabled efficient coordination among its bases in China, Southeast Asian countries and New Zealand, with its overseas revenue expanding by 58% year-on-year.
Commenting on Yili's future development, Pan Gang, Chairman and President of Yili Group, said, "Despite the challenges in the external environment, we remain confident and capable of improving our core competencies after surpassing the annual income of over RMB 100 billion ($14.49 billion), so that we may unleash the potential for value creation and future development. At the same time, we will share our values with consumers, employees, players across the whole industrial chain and all of society under the guidance of our New Vision for Value Creation."
(USD 1 ≈ RMB 6.90)
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SOURCE Yili Group | https://www.wistv.com/prnewswire/2022/09/01/yili-achieves-double-digit-revenue-profit-growth-h1-fy2022/ | 2022-09-01 07:52:51 | 1 | https://www.wistv.com/prnewswire/2022/09/01/yili-achieves-double-digit-revenue-profit-growth-h1-fy2022/ |
Gov. Gavin Newsom erects billboards in red states advertising abortion services in California
California Gov. Gavin Newsom is escalating his feud with Republican-led states that have restricted access to abortion after the US Supreme Court's ruling earlier this summer that rolled back the federal right to those services that was enshrined in the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.
As part of his effort to make California a safe harbor for women seeking abortions, Newsom, a Democrat, launched a new state website earlier this week aimed at connecting women who live out of state with reproductive health care, including a tool that would help them find a provider and how to seek financial assistance for those services. On Thursday, he announced that his gubernatorial campaign has paid for 18 billboards advertising that site in seven states that have enacted abortion restrictions: Indiana, Mississippi, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota and Texas.
Touching on the privacy concerns many women in those states now face, Newsom, in a video announcing the new website abortion.ca.gov, noted that it will not track them or their personal information -- as conservative lawmakers in some states weigh laws to prevent their state's residents from seeking care across state lines.
In a statement announcing the billboards, Newsom said he had a message for "any woman seeking abortion care in these anti-freedom states: Come to California. We will defend your constitutional right to make decisions about your own health."
"These un-American abortion bans -- many of them without exceptions for rape and incest -- are literally killing women. The idea that these Republican politicians are seeking to 'protect life' is a total farce. They are seeking to restrict and control their constituents and take away their freedom," he added.
The new billboards feature provocative messages such as "Texas doesn't own your body. You do," along with the new website address. "Need an abortion? California is ready to help," another billboard reads.
The effort by Newsom, who is widely viewed as a future White House contender, is just the latest salvo in his flashy campaign against red state counterparts like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who he has deemed a threat to fundamental human rights in this country. With no serious threat to his re-election prospects this November, Newsom has sought to raise his profile nationally with the help of the prodigious war chest that he built up while successfully warding off a recall last year.
He aired $105,000 of ads on Fox News starting on July 4 targeting DeSantis as he told Floridians that freedom was under attack in their state -- citing DeSantis' restrictive moves to ban books and curtail access to abortion as well as the ballot box -- and inviting those who were bothered by the Florida governor's maneuvers to decamp to California. He then pledged $100,000 to Charlie Crist, the Democratic nominee opposing DeSantis in November.
DeSantis has responded by calling attention to crime in California and some of the worst problems with homelessness in the nation.
From his political Twitter account on Tuesday, Newsom also noted the national stakes that have energized scores of moderate and progressive female voters ahead of the November elections as he drew attention to South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham's new proposed national ban on abortion -- providing a link to California's new website as he argued that the GOP's agenda is about "controlling women."
Earlier this week, Graham introduced a bill that would limit abortion after 15 weeks with exceptions for rape, incest or life of the mother. The South Carolina senator's move has divided the GOP caucus and complicated the path ahead for many candidates in his party who are seeking office in swing states where the majority of voters favor abortion rights. Many Republican senators, including Graham, have previously embraced the view that the decision on how to restrict abortion should be left to the states following the June Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization.
In California, which passed sweeping legal protections for both patients and providers who receive or offer abortion care after the June decision, Newsom is also advocating for and putting his financial weight behind a ballot measure that would amend the state constitution to guarantee the right to an abortion. In early September, the California Legislature also passed a package of about a dozen bills that would protect and expand access to abortion in the state. | https://www.wesh.com/article/gavin-newsom-billboards-red-states-abortion-services-california/41233306 | 2022-09-17 03:44:31 | 1 | https://www.wesh.com/article/gavin-newsom-billboards-red-states-abortion-services-california/41233306 |
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