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Will oversee the company's global legal and privacy functions
TripleLift to name new Chief Privacy Officer, reporting to Ostoya
NEW YORK, Aug. 8, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- TripleLift, the advertising technology company reinventing ad placement, today announced the elevation of Kama Ostoya to General Counsel and appointment to the company's executive leadership team. As General Counsel, Ostoya assumes responsibility for TripleLift's global legal and privacy organizations. She reports to TripleLift's Co-Founder and CEO, Eric Berry.
In this role, Ostoya leads a global team supporting TripleLift's rapidly expanding international business and operations. She is responsible for ensuring that TripleLift's technology, practices and procedures meet policy requirements as global privacy regulation continues to evolve. In addition, Ostoya is also tasked with driving TripleLift's go-to-market privacy strategy, which is central to the company's first-party data solutions, a result of their recent acquisition of award-winning data management platform, 1plusX. As TripleLift's General Counsel, Ostoya is expected to announce a new Chief Privacy Officer in September.
"TripleLift is in a high growth period. This requires a sharp and experienced legal mind with business and operational expertise. Our only choice was Kama," said Eric Berry, Co-Founder and CEO, TripleLift. "We are excited to partner with her on the executive leadership team and experience her impact as we enter a new chapter for our business in the U.S. and beyond."
Ostoya first joined TripleLift in March of 2020 as the company's Deputy General Counsel where she played a key role in the integration of TripleLift into the Vista Equity portfolio in addition to executing TripleLift's acquisition of 1plusX, an award-winning first-party data activation platform.
"Rapid global scale and transformation means there are many opportunities ahead of us, and we've got the brightest, most technologically and creatively audacious team that I have worked with to take advantage," said Kama Ostoya, General Counsel, TripleLift. "We're excited to continue being an industry thought leader for global legal and privacy regulations."
In addition to her experience at TripleLift, Ostoya brings a wealth of senior legal experience to TripleLift, having served as senior counsel at Amazon Web Servies, at top tier law firms Latham & Watkins and Clifford Chance, and investments banks including Bank of America, Merril Lynch and Barclays.
Ostoya succeeds Julia Shullman, former General Counsel and Chief Privacy Officer for TripleLift. Ostoya added, "Julia built an incredible foundation for us to build on and during her tenure set us up for much future success."
About TripleLift
TripleLift is the advertising technology company reinventing ad placement at the intersection of creative, media and data. Our marketplace serves the world's leading brands, publishers, streaming companies and demand-side platforms, executing over 1 trillion ad transactions every month. Customers choose us because of our addressable offerings from native to online video to connected television, innovations that insert brands into content in real-time, and supportive experts dedicated to maximizing partner performance. Part of the Vista Equity Partners portfolio, TripleLift has appeared on both the Inc. 5000 and Deloitte Technology Fast 500 for five consecutive years, has been named to Business Insider's list of Hottest Ad Tech Companies for three straight years and was awarded Most Innovative TV Advertising Technology by AdExchanger in 2021. Find out how TripleLift is shaping the future of advertising at triplelift.com.
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SOURCE TripleLift | https://www.kxii.com/prnewswire/2022/08/08/triplelift-appoints-kama-ostoya-general-counsel/ | 2022-08-08T15:43:56Z |
NEW YORK, Aug. 11, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Pet theft is constantly on the rise, so it's important to stay vigilant with your pet at all times. Leaving your dog unattended is never a good idea, and the cost of losing a family member is devastating. Staying alert is key, whether you're home or out walking your dog. Pet thefts have risen 40% since 2021, so it is increasingly important to take precautions to keep your pet safe. The American Kennel Club and AKC Reunite are here to give you tips on keeping your pets safe from thieves.
- Walk close. When you're out on walks with your dog, keep them on the leash and in-sight at all times. This will reduce the likelihood of them wandering off or catching the attention of someone with the intent to steal.
- Never leave your dog unattended in your yard. Whether your yard is in your front or backyard, leaving them outside by themselves makes them an easy target for thieves. Especially if your yard is visible from the street, they become an easy target if alone.
- Avoid isolated routes. Especially early in the morning or late at night, avoid routes with few people and buildings if possible. If there are others around, your pet is less likely to be stolen, or in the case that they are, there are more likely witnesses.
- Be wary of what information you give out. It's fairly normal for strangers to approach you and admire your dog on walks, but giving out too much information about your dog can also put them at risk. Information like how much your dog cost, or details about where you live are not things you should share.
- Vary your route. Walking the same routes with your dog every day might seem like a great idea, but it's also a great way for someone looking to steal your dog to make themselves aware of your routine and where you go. Varying your walking route makes it harder for thieves to find you and your dog.
- Don't tie your dog outside a store. Leaving your dog tied up outside of a store unattended is extremely dangerous, even if you can see them from the window. It only takes moments for your attention to be elsewhere and someone to untie them and take them along. If you need to go in stores, go to dog-friendly establishments or leave your dog at home.
- Don't leave your dog in the car. Similarly to leaving them outside, leaving your dog in your car unattended is not only dangerous for the dog, but also can prompt thieves to break in, or steal your vehicle.
- Be diligent. In the event that your pet is lost, post recent photos of your pet everywhere you can: social media, community pages, put up signs, etc. Make sure to also contact local shelters and vets so that if your dog does turn up, or someone tries to bring them in as their own, they can recognize your stolen dog.
- Protect your dog with microchip identification. Collars and tags are important, but can be easily removed. Make sure your pet is microchipped with a permanent ID. For more information on microchipping, go to https://www.akcreunite.org.
- Always report to the police. Many don't realize that reporting this theft to the police can make a huge difference, but it is a crime. If your pet is stolen, make sure to alert authorities so that they can also be on the lookout and even apprehend the person who stole them. In the event that your dog is stolen, also report this to your microchip company.
- Update microchip contact information. Make sure your pet's microchip is up-to-date in case your pet is ever stolen, as well as their collar tags. Keep AKC Reunite's number, 800-252-7894, in your phone in case of emergency or if your pet is found.
For more information about responsible dog ownership, visit www.akc.org and www.akcreunite.org.
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SOURCE American Kennel Club | https://www.kxii.com/prnewswire/2022/08/11/american-kennel-club-amp-akc-reunite-offer-tips-keep-your-pet-safe-with-pet-theft-rise/ | 2022-08-11T15:14:10Z |
(NerdWallet) – President Biden’s highly anticipated federal student loan cancellation announcement last month created as many questions as it answered, prompting at least one major loan servicer’s website to crash as borrowers hustled to check their eligibility.
What is clear: Individuals making less than $125,000 and couples filing jointly making less than $250,000 may receive up to $10,000 in student debt cancellation — and that maximum goes up to $20,000 if the borrower ever received a Pell Grant.
What has been murky: Which loans will the cancellation apply to first? Will payment amounts on any remaining student debt change after cancellation? And what happens with FFELP loans?
Here’s the latest about how student loan cancellation will actually work.
1. When can I apply?
The application for student loan cancellation will be available by early October, according to the Education Department.
While about 8 million borrowers may see cancellation automatically, most will need to submit an application. The application will initially be available only online, but borrowers can expect access to a paper version at a later date.
Borrowers must apply for cancellation before the window closes on Dec. 31, 2023. So, if you have access to the online application, don’t wait around for the paper one, to ensure your application is handled in as timely a manner as possible.
2. How can I get ready for cancellation?
There are two main steps you can take to prepare for cancellation:
- Verify you meet the income eligibility criteria.
- Make sure your contact information is up to date on Studentaid.gov and with your servicer.
To be eligible, your annual federal income for 2020 or 2021 must be less than $125,000 if you filed as an individual. If you filed jointly, the cutoff is $250,000. If you earned above the maximum in one of the two years but met the threshold in the other, you can qualify with the lower annual income.
While it may seem safe to assume adjusted gross income is what qualifies for federal annual income, the Education Department has not clarified explicitly.
3. How much will I get?
Here’s the deal on the Pell Grant qualification: If you have ever received a Pell Grant of any amount and meet the income requirement, you get $20,000 in cancellation ($10,000 based on income requirements, plus an extra $10,000 for being a Pell Grant recipient).
The Pell Grant award does not have to correlate with the time, school or program for which you used your federal student loans. For example, let’s say you received a Pell Grant for your community college and didn’t use loans. Ten years later, you went back and finished your undergraduate degree with loans. Those loans can qualify for the $20,000 cancellation.
This is particularly critical for Parent PLUS borrowers. A Parent PLUS loan is not necessarily eligible for the extra $10,000 in cancellation just because the child who benefited from the loan was a Pell Grant recipient. In order for a Parent PLUS loan to get the extra relief, the parent borrower must have received a Pell Grant for their own education at some point.
The extra $10,000 is not prorated based on the amount of your Pell Grant. A Pell Grant award of any amount qualifies for the extra $10,000 in full.
4. Do FFELP loans count?
Some FFELP loans will receive cancellation. Here are all the loan types that are eligible:
- All loans under the Direct Loan Program.
- Federally-owned FFELP loans.
- Defaulted FFELP loans held at a guaranty agency.
- Federally-owned Perkins loans.
- Other defaulted loans, including commercially-serviced Stafford loans.
Commercially-owned FFELP loans can count if you consolidate them into a direct loan. Consider the pros and cons of consolidation to make sure it’s worth it.
Check Studentaid.gov to verify which types of loans you have. Here’s how to find that information on the portal.
- Log in to Studentaid.gov.
- Select “My Aid” in the dropdown menu under your name.
- See your loans listed in the “Loan Breakdown” section.
- Expand “View Loans” and select “View Loan Details” next to each loan to see more details.
5. Will a payment refund increase my cancellation amount?
You can request a refund on student loan payments made during the pandemic forbearance if payments weren’t required. However, Scott Buchanan, executive director of the Student Loan Servicing Alliance, recommends only asking for a refund if you’re experiencing a financial hardship.
The Education Department hasn’t announced the official date it will use to determine your cancellation loan balance, but Buchanan expects a clarification will be posted on the department website in the next couple of weeks.
“If you are trying to get a refund to maximize or optimize your loan forgiveness, my suggestion to borrowers is to wait,” says Buchanan.
6. Will my payment change after cancellation?
Borrowers will see their loans reamortized based on their post-cancellation balances. Monthly payments will likely decrease as a result. However, the remaining payment term will stay the same.
“Ideally if everything is still in order, if you can afford that (original) payment, continue making that bigger payment,” says Damian Dunn, certified financial planner and vice president for corporate financial wellness platform Your Money Line. Borrowers “know how painful student loan debt can be,” he says. “If they can get from under that faster, even better.”
7. Can I pick which loans are canceled?
Borrowers with multiple loans cannot select how they want their cancellation applied. Here is the order in which loans will receive relief:
- Defaulted federally-owned loans.
- Defaulted commercially-owned FFELP loans.
- Direct loans and federally-owned FFELP loans in good standing.
- Federally-owned Perkins loans.
The Education Department will use the following order to cancel loans if you have several loans of the same type:
- Loans with the highest statutory interest rate.
- If interest rates are the same, unsubsidized loans get relief before subsidized loans.
- If interest rate and subsidy are the same, newest loans get relief.
- If all other factors are the same, the loan with the lowest combined principal and interest balance gets relief.
How can I get updated information?
You can find the latest updates on the Education Department’s website. Once the application is live, borrowers should call 833-932-3439 for help. | https://cw33.com/news/nexstar-media-wire/7-new-details-on-how-student-loan-cancellation-will-actually-work/ | 2022-09-17T14:46:32Z |
Family of victim in ‘Rust’ shooting demands Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office remove graphic video of her dying after being fatally injured, attorney letter says
By Paul Vercammen and Amir Vera, CNN
The family of Halyna Hutchins is demanding the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office remove video it released of her “dying on the church floor” in the moments after she was shot on the set of the movie “Rust” last year, according to a letter written by the family’s attorney and obtained by CNN.
Hutchins, the film’s cinematographer, was killed and director Joel Souza was injured when a gun being handled by actor Alec Baldwin went off while they were rehearsing a scene at the Bonanza Creek Ranch in New Mexico in October.
The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office released several files Monday from its ongoing investigation into the shooting, including photos, recordings and reports, officials said. Video of Hutchins dying is included in the data released.
In the letter to the sheriff’s office, Brian Panish, an attorney for the Hutchins family, said the release of the evidence has caused “irreparable” damage to her husband, Matthew Hutchins, and their son.
“Your office trampled on the constitutional rights of the Hutchins,” the letter, dated April 27, reads. “Without any discussion, your office unilaterally determined that Mr. Hutchins would be given access to the materials to review early in the morning on Monday, April 25 before being released to the public later in the afternoon giving him less than a business day to review the materials.”
Due to the “sheer volume of material,” that was “a wholly inadequate amount of time,” and the family wasn’t given the opportunity “to request that discretion be exercised, and sensitive material be redacted,” Panish wrote.
On top of that, the letter said, the sheriff’s office did not redact Hutchins’ private and personal information. Panish wrote his client fears video of his wife’s final moments could be used by bullies to emotionally abuse their son.
The letter demands the sheriff’s office respect the Hutchins family’s “constitutional rights of dignity, privacy, respect, and fairness going forward,” and the office take down footage of Hutchins “dying on the church floor.”
“While the damage of publishing the video is irreparable, taking down the video will end your office’s complicity in causing further harm,” the letter reads.
CNN has reached out to the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office to confirm receipt of the letter and additional comment.
During an interview on ABC’s “Good Morning America” Wednesday, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza defended releasing the material. “We’re in response to a public records request, where we’re required to release the information, and it was also an effort to be transparent in the investigation,” Mendoza said.
The investigation is “nearing completion” he told ABC, adding his office is waiting on FBI analysis of munitions, latent prints, DNA, a report from the medical examiner, and some cell phone data analysis. His office is hoping this will wrap up in “weeks and not months,” he told GMA.
Released evidence includes ‘concerning texts,’ sheriff says
The evidence files released by the sheriff’s office also contained text messages “Rust” armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed shared with an ammunition supplier for a previous film in 2021 — not “Rust” — where she stated she planned on shooting live ammunition while on set.
Mendoza called the text messages “concerning” during an interview with NBC’s “Today” on Tuesday and said investigators are looking into who brought live ammunition to the “Rust” set.
“Right now, no one has come forward and admitted to bringing the live rounds onto the movie set. There was information from text messages that was concerning based on the fact that live ammo was spoken about and was possibly used on a prior movie set and that was just a few months before the ‘Rust’ movie set production began, so that is concerning,” Mendoza said.
A law enforcement official told CNN they consider the text exchange important as they try to determine whether the armorer made a practice of conducting live fire exercises at the same time she was responsible for safety on sets.
Gutierrez Reed’s attorney Jason Bowles told CNN his client wanted to fire the gun to understand how the historical weapon worked and maintains she didn’t fire live rounds on set.
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CNN’s Cheri Mossburg, Josh Campbell and Stella Chan contributed to this report. | https://localnews8.com/news/2022/04/27/family-of-victim-in-rust-shooting-demands-santa-fe-county-sheriffs-office-remove-graphic-video-of-her-dying-after-being-fatally-injured-attorney-letter-says/ | 2022-04-28T07:11:50Z |
‘You’re more beautiful in person’: Woman meets her birth mother for the first time in over 50 years
MONROVIA, Calif. (KCAL/KCBS) – A Colorado mother had a tearful reunion with her own mother, someone she has never met.
Sarah Kleinhans was put up for adoption in South Korea when she was just 14 months old.
Her mother now lives in California, and with the help of some DNA analysis, Kelinhans was able to track her down.
Kleinhans was waiting with excitement to meet her half sister, Linda, and birth mom, who they call Oma.
She anxiously awaited the two at a friend’s house in Monrovia, California, after flying into the state from Colorado with her two kids for this reunion that’s been decades in the making.
When she was given up for adoption, Kleinhans was adopted by a family in New Hampshire along with her half brother.
They each had a locket with their mother’s picture and their baby picture in it.
She had been wanting to reconnect with her birth mom for her whole life.
“Every year on my birthday, I think of you,” Kleinhans said. “Every single year and I look out and I go, ‘Are you alive? Are you wondering, are you thinking about me?’”
They just spoke on the phone two weeks before the big moment.
There were hugs and tears when the two embraced for the first time after 53 years apart.
“I’m so happy,” Kleinhans said to her mother. “I’m so grateful to you. I’m here. You’re more beautiful in person.”
She showed her mother the locket she had kept all of those years.
“Look what I have,” Kleinhans said. “I found you.”
Linda, Kleinhans half sister, had been looking for her for 15 years. Kleinhans did not even know Linda existed.
Kleinhans used the genetic testing company 23andMe to begin her family search.
Linda finally found Kleinhans through Facebook and sent her a message.
Kleinhans also found what she believes is a picture of her biological father, who died in 2015. He was a sergeant in Seoul when he met Kleinhans’s mother
Kleinhans had toured as a dancer and model, and now is a single mom. Her son, Addison, survived leukemia as a young boy.
While Kleinmans said she can’t imagine ever leaving her children, she admires what her own mother had to do.
“How selfless do you have to be to know that your child is going to have a better life,” she said. “And so, as a mixed baby, it’s a kind of hard time and it was the late 60s.”
Now, the two are faced with the delicate and slow process of getting to know each other and enjoying the little moments together, like talking about their favorite dish, kimchi.
Kleinshans and her family are in California until Thursday, where they will be catching up on all of the time they missed out on. She said they plan to have her birth mother visit them in Colorado.
Copyright 2022 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.wibw.com/2022/05/03/youre-more-beautiful-person-woman-meets-her-birth-mother-first-time-over-50-years/ | 2022-05-04T00:36:54Z |
(The Hill) – Former Vice President Al Gore said on Sunday that there was “nothing really extraordinary” about him contesting his presidential election loss in 2000 in response to his name being invoked during a Jan 6. committee hearing last week.
During an appearance on ABC’s “This Week,” co-anchor Jonathan Karl asked Gore for his reaction to former White House aide Matthew Pottinger’s calling Gore’s concession to former President George W. Bush after contesting the results a model for American democracy.
“Well, of course, but all I did is what Winston Churchill once said about the American people, the American people generally do the right thing after first exhausting every available alternative,” Gore told Karl. “That’s really all I did. The Constitution required what I did and there’s nothing really extraordinary about it.”
“What, was it personally difficult? Well, you know, when the fate of the country and the traditions and honor of our democracy are at stake, it’s not really a difficult choice,” Gore concluded.
Gore’s remarks come as the House select committee investigating the Jan 6, 2021 attack at the Capitol held its eighth public hearing on Thursday.
The committee heard testimony from Pottinger, who served as the deputy national security advisor under the Trump administration, and Sarah Matthews, who served a the former White House deputy secretary under former President Trump.
Gore also took the opportunity to commend the panel’s work as having “performed an amazing service to our democracy” since Watergate.
“Well, I would like to say that Bennie Thompson and Liz Cheney and every single member of that committee have performed an amazing service to our democracy,” Gore told Karl. “I think these hearings have been the most persuasive and effective since the Watergate hearings so long ago, and I think we’re seeing a huge impact on public opinion in our country, too. They’ve done an incredible job.”
Gore, who served as vice president under former President Clinton, lost the 2000 presidential election to Bush after pushing for a recount in Florida that eventually established Bush as the winner. | https://cw33.com/news/nexstar-media-wire/al-gore-calls-contesting-his-2000-presidential-loss-nothing-really-extraordinary-after-name-invoked-at-jan-6-hearing/ | 2022-07-24T19:20:06Z |
OPELOUSAS, La., May 18, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Summer is right around the corner and as temperatures heat up, many people want to eat lighter meals, but eating lighter doesn't mean you have to skimp on taste.
One of the most popular light, summer meals is a cobb salad – full of amazing flavors you can switch up any time you want – like this Fried Crawfish Tails Cobb Salad by My Diary of Us which is a tasty Cajun twist on the traditional, thanks to Tony's Creole-Style Ranch Dressing.
FRIED CRAWFISH TAILS COBB SALAD
INGREDIENTS
1 Pound Louisiana Crawfish Tails
6 Slices Cooked Bacon
4 Boiled Eggs
1 Head Romain Lettuce, Cut Up
1 English Cucumber, Diced
½ Cup Grape or Cherry Tomatoes, Cut in Half
1 Avocado, Sliced
2 Ears Fresh Corn, Kernels Removed
1/8 Cup Red Onion, Thinly Sliced
2 Tablespoons Fresh Dill
1 Box Tony's Crispy Creole Fish Fry Mix
½ Teaspoon Tony's Original Creole Seasoning
½ Cup Buttermilk
1 Cup Vegetable Oil for Frying
Tony's Creole-Style Ranch Salad Dressing, to Taste
PREPARATION
Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Cook Time: 5 Minutes
Serves: 4-6
- Take 2 shallow and wide bowls and pour buttermilk into one bowl and Tony's Crispy Creole Fish Fry Mix into the other bowl. Season the buttermilk to taste with Tony's Original Creole Seasoning.
- Marinate the crawfish tails in buttermilk to coat for 2-3 minutes and then remove the excess buttermilk before adding them into the Tony's Fish Fry Mix to coat them thoroughly.
- Heat a large iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add the vegetable oil, and when the oil is hot, add the coated crawfish tails. Cook for 2-3 minutes per side until golden brown.
- Remove the crawfish tails from the oil and place onto a paper towel-lined baking sheet to remove the excess oil, then sprinkle on more Tony's seasoning as desired.
- While the crawfish tails cook, assemble the salad by adding the bacon, eggs, lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, avocado, corn, onion, and dill to a large bowl.
- Top with the fried crawfish tails and drizzle on the Tony's Ranch Dressing as desired. Serve immediately and enjoy!
TIP: You can test your oil heat by using the end of a wooden spoon and placing it into the preheated oil. If bubbles form around the wooden spoon end, the oil is ready.
Tony Chachere's® Famous Creole Cuisine is celebrating its 50th Anniversary! Founded in 1972 by Tony Chachere, the "Ole Master" of Creole cooking, Tony's continues to be family-owned and operated in Opelousas, Louisiana. Employing more than 100 people, the family maintains a tradition of Creole authenticity in its comprehensive line of seasonings, dinner mixes, marinades, and sauces for both pantry and table.
As part of Tony's 50th Anniversary Celebration, pick up your commemorative can of Tony's Original Creole Seasoning. Order it now at tonychachere.com.
tonychachere.com
#PassAGoodTime
#50YearsOfFlavor
@tonychacheres
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SOURCE Tony Chachere's | https://www.mysuncoast.com/prnewswire/2022/05/18/give-your-summertime-cobb-salad-whole-new-flavor/ | 2022-05-18T18:03:18Z |
The value optical retailer helps families see clearly and maximize savings
DALLAS, Sept. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Families are budget-conscious, yet many are spending an average of $864 on back-to-school items, according to a recent survey from the National Retail Federation. Because of this costly expense, they are cutting back in other areas, including prescription glasses, to balance their budgets. Shopping for new glasses is easier and more affordable than ever at Eyemart Express, a national value optical retailer. Kids and their families alike can see clearly and look stylish without breaking the bank.
Eyemart Express stores have more than 2,000 frames to pick from, so customers on every budget can find glasses for everyone in the family. Children favorites include Paw Patrol, Jonas Paul, and My Little Pony. Parents can also see clearly with trendy designer frames from Burberry, Versace, Dolce & Gabbana, Michael Kors, and more, at affordable prices.
"The ability to see clearly is tied to a child's success at school, so that is why we're helping families stretch their budgets and kids have an A-plus year," says Katy Hanson, Eyemart Express CMO. "Our store associates are ready to help everyone maximize savings on new glasses."
Ways to Save on Glasses at Eyemart Express:
- Save More with the Back-to-School Sale: Maximize savings on kids' glasses for the new school year thanks to Eyemart Express' annual sale that provides two pairs with durable, polycarbonate lenses built to hold up on the playground and during activities for $79 (reg. $200). For college students and parents, the everyday pricing is hard to beat: Two pairs of single vision glasses start at $38.
- Get Extra Value with a Free Warranty: Life happens, especially with younger kids, and it can be challenging to keep glasses in top shape when worn every day. Luckily, all frames purchased at Eyemart Express come with a free one-year frame warranty, providing families with additional value.
- Save Time, Too: Your time is valuable, especially when adjusting to a new school schedule. Between carpool, homework, and extracurricular activities, any downtime is precious. That is why the on-site labs and skilled lab techs at Eyemart Express stores offer a big perk: They can have high-quality glasses ready in as little as 30 minutes.
- Optimize Insurance Benefits: While you don't need insurance to shop at Eyemart Express, there are perks, including getting a free second pair. Eyemart Express associates are trained to help you optimize your plan and will even fill out the paperwork for you.
- Use Additional Discounts: If you are a teacher, first responder, health care worker, veteran, or military member, bring a valid ID to your local Eyemart Express store and save an additional 20% on everything from frames to lenses and accessories.
Visit a local Eyemart Express store to maximize savings on prescription glasses and sunglasses. Find your local store at eyemartexpress.com/get-glasses.
Eyemart Express (EyemartExpress.com) is a national optical retailer known for providing high-quality prescription eyewear with a focus on affordability and convenience. Eyemart Express ranks among the top optical retailers in the country with its family of brands: Vision 4 Less, Visionmart Express, and Eyewear Express. The company is based in Farmers Branch, Texas, and has 237 stores in 42 states. Eyemart Express offers a robust frame selection for the whole family with more than 2,000 frames from brands such as Ray-Ban, Coach, Nike, and Disney. On-site lens labs and skilled lab technicians can deliver high-quality glasses in as little as 30 minutes.
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SOURCE Eyemart Express | https://www.mysuncoast.com/prnewswire/2022/09/06/how-save-money-prescription-glasses-eyemart-express/ | 2022-09-06T14:37:36Z |
HOUSTON, Aug. 10, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- McDermott International has been awarded a Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) contract by QatarEnergy for the North Field South (NFS) Offshore Pipelines and Power/FO cables Project. The new contract is in addition to the awards received by McDermott this year for the NFS Jackets and Topsides and Pipelines for the North Field Expansion Project (NFXP).
The NFS infrastructure is part of the NFXP development and is designed to supply feed gas for two additional LNG trains and help increase total LNG production in the State of Qatar from the current 77 million tons per annum (MTPA) to 126 MTPA.
"McDermott is one of the most experienced engineering and construction firms serving the LNG market and has delivered more than 30 LNG Pre-FEED and FEED projects over the past ten years," said Tareq Kawash, McDermott's Senior Vice President, Offshore Middle East. "We look forward to continuing to work closely with QatarEnergy to contribute to the development of this strategic offshore development."
"McDermott has decades of experience delivering projects in Qatar, a historically strategic market, and is significantly increasing localization efforts with the Tawteen In-Country Value (ICV) program," said Neil Gunnion, McDermott Qatar Country Manager and Vice President Operations. "McDermott is uniquely positioned to combine its EPC expertise with FEED and ensure that our design is practical, safe, and commercially viable."
The scope of the contract comprises developing FEED studies for offshore and onshore pipelines, cables, and associated facilities. The project will be managed from the McDermott Doha office with support from Chennai.
McDermott is a premier, fully-integrated provider of engineering and construction solutions to the energy industry. Our customers trust our technology-driven approach engineered to responsibly harness and transform global energy resources into the products the world needs. From concept to commissioning, McDermott's innovative expertise and capabilities advance the next generation of global energy infrastructure—empowering a brighter, more sustainable future for us all. Operating in over 54 countries, McDermott's locally-focused and globally-integrated resources include more than 30,000 employees, a diversified fleet of specialty marine construction vessels and fabrication facilities around the world. To learn more, visit www.mcdermott.com.
McDermott cautions that statements in this communication which are forward-looking, and provide other than historical information, involve risks, contingencies and uncertainties that may impact McDermott's actual results of operations. These forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements about the expected scope and execution of the project discussed in this press release. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in those forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that those expectations will prove to have been correct. Those statements are made by using various underlying assumptions and are subject to numerous risks, contingencies and uncertainties, including, among others: adverse changes in the markets in which we operate or credit or capital markets; our inability to successfully execute on contracts in backlog; changes in project design or schedules; the availability of qualified personnel; changes in the terms, scope or timing of contracts, contract cancellations, change orders and other modifications and actions by our customers and other business counterparties; changes in industry norms; actions by lenders and other creditors of McDermott and adverse outcomes in legal or other dispute resolution proceedings. If one or more of these risks materialize, or if underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those expected. This communication reflects management's views as of the date hereof. Except to the extent required by applicable law, McDermott undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement.
Global Media Relations
Reba Reid
Senior Director, Communications and Marketing
+1 281 588 5636
RReid@McDermott.com
Offshore Middle East Media Relations
Barbara Knight
Senior Director, Communications and Marketing
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SOURCE McDermott International, Ltd | https://www.wibw.com/prnewswire/2022/08/10/qatarenergy-awards-mcdermott-feed-contract-north-field-south-offshore-pipelines-project/ | 2022-08-10T11:47:06Z |
How you can conserve energy in record breaking heat
SHERMAN, Texas (KXII) - “What happened to spring? Gone in a flash,” said Monica Chumley, a Texas resident.
It’s only May, but it feels much more like the hot summer months.
“It’s awful,” said Alison Watson, another Texas resident. “It’s only preparing us for even hotter weather. We’re going to fry.”
On Sunday, Texoma broke the 70-year heat record, soaring above 92 degrees to 94 and drawing dozens out to the water to escape the heat.
“We are going to put the boat in lake Texoma and just hang out and stay cool,” said Watson.
And the higher the heat, typically means the higher the energy demand.
“I just hope that nobody’s air conditioner goes out, so keep it down,” said Watson.
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas asked Texans to conserve energy as the state faces a heatwave this weekend.
They said to make sure your thermostat is at least 78 degrees and minimize your use of large machines, like washers and dryers.
If you need to do laundry or wash the dishes, the best time is after 8 pm, when the demand for energy is typically lower.
“A lot of times, I like to open the drapes, and I said, ‘today, I think I’m going to keep all the drapes closed, try to keep it as dark in the house as possible, try to keep it cool enough for the pets and everything ... not let the hot air in,’” said Chumley.
ERCOT said six power generation facilities went offline Friday, but they are back up now, and there is enough power to meet demand.
Copyright 2022 KXII. All rights reserved. | https://www.kxii.com/2022/05/16/how-you-can-conserve-energy-record-breaking-heat/ | 2022-05-16T01:15:55Z |
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., May 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Pinkberry® (www.Pinkberry.com) introduces the new Lava Swirl frozen yogurt and smoothie, now available in participating stores nationwide for a limited time until August 18, 2022.
Just in time for summertime temperatures, the new Lava Swirl frozen yogurt and smoothie bring instant refreshment and flavors reminiscent of a beachside vacation. Combining the flavors of fresh strawberries, juicy pineapple and tropical coconut, the new Lava Swirl evokes feelings of sipping on a smooth, cool strawberry piña colada. Featured toppings for this eye-catching frozen yogurt swirl include pineapple, coconut shavings, strawberry puree and whipped cream.
"We are excited to bring the new Lava Swirl flavor to our menu this summer," said Melissa Hubbell, senior director of marketing for Kahala Brands™, parent company of Pinkberry. "Guests can enjoy this tropical flavored treat in a frozen yogurt or a smoothie - it's the perfect way to stay cool on a warm day!"
At Pinkberry, guests can customize their swirl with a variety of toppings that include fresh, never frozen, fruit that is hand-cut in stores daily, along with premium granolas and nuts, specialty chocolates, and much more. Pinkberry is swirling with possibilities!
Promotional Flavor:
- Lava Swirl
Promotional Combination:
- Lava Swirl frozen yogurt topped with pineapple, coconut shavings, strawberry puree, and whipped cream
About Pinkberry
Pinkberry® launched in Los Angeles, CA in 2005 as the original brand that reinvented frozen yogurt. Today, over a decade later, Pinkberry continues to create great tasting treats with fresh ingredients in an experience comprised of distinctive product, outstanding service and inspirational design. At Pinkberry you can taste the difference of an uncompromising commitment to quality and freshness. Most recently, Pinkberry was acquired by Scottsdale, Arizona-based Kahala Brands™, one of the fastest growing franchising companies in the world with a portfolio of 22 quick-service restaurant brands and approximately 2900 locations in 28 countries.
For more information, please visit www.Pinkberry.com.
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SOURCE Pinkberry | https://www.kxii.com/prnewswire/2022/05/27/pinkberry-goes-tropical-this-summer-with-new-lava-swirl-frozen-yogurt-smoothie/ | 2022-05-27T11:16:42Z |
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — Joe Flacco will huddle up for the New York Jets against his former team. And likely a few more opponents after that.
Coach Robert Saleh announced Wednesday that Flacco will start at quarterback in the season opener Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens in place of the injured Zach Wilson — who likely will be out until Week 4 at Pittsburgh.
“Yeah, it’s frustrating, of course,” Wilson said. “You want to be healthy as much as possible.”
Flacco starting this week is not unexpected, as it appeared to be trending that way for a few weeks. But the announcement that the Oct. 2 game against the Steelers is likely “the earliest” Wilson will return from a knee injury was a surprise.
“Now, can it change? Sure, I’m always going to leave that door open,” Saleh said. “You guys know me, I’m the eternal optimist. But we are going to make sure both mind and body are 110% and make sure we do right by him.
“And we feel like, talking to the doctors and everyone, it’s going to be that Pittsburgh week.”
Wilson worked out on the field Monday and Tuesday while testing out his right knee, which was injured in the preseason opener at Philadelphia on Aug. 12. Saleh said Monday “it’s possible” Wilson could play against Baltimore but that the quarterback would be evaluated in the next few days. Saleh said the second-year QB had no setbacks while working out, but the Jets don’t want to rush him back to the field.
“He looks fantastic, he still looks good, he feels good,” Saleh said. “He’s not walking with a limp or anything.”
Despite Wilson missing at least the first three games, the Jets did not consider putting him injured reserve — which would sideline him for a minimum of four games — so that he can continue to practice with the team. Wilson will work with the training staff this week, Saleh said, and then slowly resume practice during the next few weeks. Wilson said he’s able to throw and drop back.
“For what the injury was,” he said, “I’m very optimistic to be able to get back and still play football the way I want to this year.”
Wilson said he won’t change the way he plays despite the injury.
“People can say, ‘He should’ve gone out of bounds, should’ve slid,’” Wilson said. “It was a non-contact injury. The guy didn’t tackle me. If the guy hit me and I got injured, that’s one thing. If I can’t run and cut without getting hurt, then what am I doing? I’ve got to take care of myself and put myself in a better situation there.”
Saleh also left no doubt that the starting job remains Wilson’s whenever he is fully ready to play.
“When Zach’s healthy, he’s rolling,” Saleh said.
Wilson suffered a bone bruise and torn meniscus, which was repaired via arthroscopic surgery in Los Angeles on Aug. 16. It’s the same knee in which he sprained a ligament last year and sidelined him for four games. He was initially expected to miss two to four weeks with the current injury, a timetable that turned out to be a bit overambitious.
Taking the cautious approach in Week 1, New York will turn to Flacco — who will take on his former team. And with the confidence of the Jets.
“Heck yeah, man, Cool Joe,” Saleh said. “He’s been preparing. He’s freakin’ awesome. I’m really excited for him for this opportunity.”
The 37-year-old quarterback spent his first 11 NFL seasons in Baltimore, helping lead the Ravens to a Super Bowl victory to cap the 2012 season. He was the MVP of that game and signed a six-year, $120.6 million contract a month later, becoming the highest-paid quarterback in NFL history at that time.
A hip injury midway through the 2018 season put Flacco on the sideline — and Lamar Jackson into the starting lineup. The following offseason, Flacco was traded to Denver, where he spent one season before signing with the Jets for his first stint in New York. Meanwhile, Jackson went on in 2019 to become the second player to win the AP NFL Most Valuable Player award unanimously.
This will mark Flacco’s first start against the Ravens, and he’ll take on the QB who replaced him.
“Obviously, there’s going to be some different emotions that I haven’t experienced before this one,” Flacco said. “I think at the end of the day, it is like every other game. Once kind of the dust settles and the game gets going, it’s a football game.”
Flacco is looking for his first win as a starter with the Jets, going 0-5 while filling in for Wilson in one game last season and four in place of Sam Darnold in 2020.
“Even at 37, I know that it’s in the back of his head, he’s getting a chance to play Baltimore and all these different things,” Saleh said. “Even at 37, he’s got to keep the main thing the main thing and just do his best, and trust his best is good enough.
“I think we’re all excited for Joe and his opportunity, and excited for Sunday.”
NOTES: Wilson and LT Duane Brown (shoulder) were the only players who didn’t practice Wednesday. … RT George Fant (knee), CB D.J. Reed (knee), CB/ST Justin Hardee (calf) and OL Conor McDermott (ankle) were limited.
___
More AP NFL coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL | https://cw33.com/sports/ap-sports/ap-jets-qb-wilson-out-until-at-least-week-4-flacco-to-start/ | 2022-09-08T17:06:13Z |
The water level in Lake Mead — the nation's largest reservoir — dropped below 1,050 feet elevation for the first time last week, a critical milestone that signals more stringent water cuts are around the corner for the Southwest.
If the US Bureau of Reclamation determines in its August report that the lake level will be at or below that elevation in January 2023, the Southwest will move into the second tier of unprecedented water cuts that will further reduce the amount of Colorado River water that can be used by cities, industry and tribal water users.
As of Tuesday, Lake Mead's level was around 1,049 feet above sea level.
As the water level drops, formerly sunken boats are emerging in the mud, and other vehicles are getting newly stuck.
Travis Pardee, who took several photos of the boats, told CNN he believes there are dozens in the area, but he only photographed a few of them.
And on Monday the National Park Service shared several photos on Twitter that showed trucks stuck in the mud around the lake -- a shoreline that looks deceivingly stable, but acts more like quicksand.
"If you're struggling to maneuver your car, boat or yourself along the beach, immediately head to higher ground if possible," NPS said on Twitter. "No boat or car is worth a life."
Future water cuts
Lake Mead, which provides water to roughly 25 million people in Arizona, Nevada, California and Mexico, is currently operating in a Tier 1 shortage, which began in January. Under Tier 1 conditions, Southwest states saw mandatory cuts in the water they could consume from the Colorado River. Those cuts have primarily affected agriculture.
If the lake's water level is expected to stay below 1,050 feet by January 2023, the more significant Tier 2 shortage would be implemented. Arizona would go from the current 18% cut to 21% and Nevada will go from 7% to 8%. Mexico will also see a 7% cut in its water.
Additional cuts — each tier with rising impact on agriculture and municipal water use — are expected if Lake Mead continues to fall. And if officials expect the level to be under 1,045 feet come January, then California too, would see a mandatory 5% cut from what they can pull from the Colorado River.
"This illustrates how truly bad the situation is," John Fleck, director of the Water Resources Program at the University of New Mexico, told CNN. "The climate change risk we face on the Colorado River basin right now has never been greater."
Patti Aaron, the Bureau of Reclamation's public affairs officer, said the projections are nuanced, since water officials also have to account for the dwindling water levels at Mead's upstream neighbor, Lake Powell, the country's second-largest reservoir.
The agency recently announced unprecedented, emergency steps to help boost water levels at Lake Powell, which includes releasing more water from smaller upstream reservoirs on the Colorado River into Powell, while also holding back water in Lake Powell itself, instead of sending water downstream to Lake Mead.
Without those emergency steps, the bureau estimated there was about a 25% chance the Glen Canyon Dam, which is powered by Lake Powell, would have stopped producing by the end of this year. The dam generates power for as many as 5.8 million homes and businesses across seven states.
"Under the 2022 operational criteria, Glen Canyon Dam was supposed to release 7.48 million acre-feet of water to Lake Mead," Aaron told CNN. "It was determined to lower that release to 7 million acre-feet to help protect Lake Powell from reaching critical levels."
Given these recent unprecedented actions, "it is impossible to say what exactly will happen between now and August," she said, which is when the Lake Mead report is issued.
Water authorities across the affected states as well as the federal government are already bracing for what's to come.
"In preparation, we are continuing to work with the stakeholders, tribes, partners, and water districts to help them understand how much of a decline in their deliveries there might be," Aaron said. "We also fund conservation actions and activities across the [Colorado River] Basin."
As the climate rapidly changes and the drought persists, Fleck said the West should prepare for more shortages and take proactive actions.
"Whatever we do with moving water around from one reservoir to another reservoir, that's just a bandaid, what we really need to do is dramatically reduce the use of water in the basin," he said. "The heart of the problem is those reservoirs are empty because we've been using more water than the river can provide. We've got to turn that around."
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved. | https://www.albanyherald.com/news/previously-sunken-boats-are-emerging-at-lake-mead-as-water-disappears/article_1af40ceb-dcc5-51c1-bb94-ecf32004167e.html | 2022-05-24T21:46:14Z |
Myanmar orders foreign money held by banks changed to kyats
By ELAINE KURTENBACH
AP Business Writer
BANGKOK (AP) — An order by Myanmar’s central bank that all foreign currency in bank accounts must be converted into the local currency has many in the military-ruled country worried over potential losses. Businesses and individuals were told in a notice issued Sunday that they must convert dollars and other foreign currency into kyats within one day or face legal consequences. Myanmar’s military leaders are facing a raft of sanctions after they seized power on Feb. 1, 2021, ousting the country’s elected government. The order to hand over foreign exchange suggests the authorities may be running short of hard currency needed to pay debts and purchase key supplies such as oil, gas and weapons. | https://localnews8.com/news/ap-national-business/2022/04/05/myanmar-orders-foreign-money-held-by-banks-changed-to-kyats/ | 2022-04-05T14:10:10Z |
L.A. City Councilmember Paul Koretz Introduces Opposition Resolution
LOS ANGELES, July 28, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Members of Los Angeles Drug & Alcohol Policy Alliance (L.A. DAPA), California Alcohol Policy Alliance (CAPA) and Alcohol Justice, along with Los Angeles City Councilmember Paul Koretz, demonstrated at a City Hall rally yesterday to oppose California SB 930. The "gut & amend" bill, authored by Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) and Assembly Member Mark Haney (D-San Francisco) is the 5th attempt since 2013 to disrupt the protections of California's statewide uniform last call.
"The LA City Council has spoken out against 4 a.m. bar bills again and again and again, and I am here to tell you that we will not allow Sacramento to endanger our public safety, our lives, at any cost and we refuse to pay dearly for it without a fight," stated L.A. City Councilmember Koretz. "And that is why I'm heading into the City Council meeting this morning to introduce the resolution in opposition and I'm letting my colleagues know that we cannot get fatigued now and give up after years of fighting. This bill is built to be fast tracked and Jerry Brown isn't there to stop it this time if it gets to the Governor's desk. The time is now for Californians to tell Sacramento we will not stand by and let the 4 a.m. bar bill endanger the lives of our citizens."
SB 930 would allow closing times for on-sale retailers to be extended from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. as part of a dangerous "pilot program." The experiment would take place in 7 cities: San Francisco, Oakland, West Hollywood, Fresno, Cathedral City, Coachella, and Palm Springs. It has been estimated that it will cost the state at least $3-4 million per year to administer, mitigate the harm, and clean the blood off the highway while costing cities and towns in surrounding "Splash Zones" millions more.
While the authors of the bill frame it as a "local control" issue, there is no local control when it comes to alcohol because danger doesn't stay in the district where the drinking occurs. If this bill becomes law, Los Angeles will be surrounded by late night drinkers -- drivers traveling drunk back through the district in the early morning commute hours.
"It takes time for people to sober up after drinking," said Dr. Marielle Reataza, Executive Director, National Asian Pacific American Families Against Substance Abuse (NAPAFASA). "With last call being extended to 4 a.m. and so close to morning rush hour, this poses dangers for other commuters, including neighboring small businesses that do not have capacity to mitigate situations with potentially violent customers. Lastly, I worry that extending last call will continue to push the limits of our already overextended healthcare system. Extending last call poses concern for increased admissions into emergency rooms."
Studies show that sleep deprivation can impair driving as severely as alcohol intoxication. This means that sleep-impaired drivers can be severely impaired even with a BAC under the legal limit of .08. Because alcohol's euphoric effects can create feelings of stimulation as BAC increases, the fatigue can be masked. Drivers can already be on the freeway before exhaustion sets in.
"This should not be called the Weiner bill, it should be called the madman bill," stated Ruben Rodriguez, Executive Director of Pueblo y Salud, and spokesperson for L.A. DAPA. "Who in their right mind thinks someone needs another drink after 2 a.m. in the morning? Only a few bars and restaurants that want to make a few more dollars at the expense of the health and safety our community."
There is consensus among public health and safety advocates that SB 930 disregards 40 years of peer-reviewed, public health research on the dangers of extending last call and ignores the existing annual catastrophe of alcohol-related harm in California.
"All previous attempts to extend last call until 4 a.m. have failed and for good reason, it's a terrible public policy change for California," stated Cruz Avila, Executive Director at Alcohol Justice. "Today we are here together, to say NO to SB 930 and NO WAY to creating a dangerous new class of late night, bar hopping commuters. We are also here today to state that it's time to end the false narrative that this is a "local issue" and that because of COVID, the only way to save small nightlife businesses is by allowing 2 more hours of alcohol sales and consumption. SB 930 does nothing but subsidize and reward late-night alcohol-sellers at government and tax-payer expense."
According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), California currently suffers more annual alcohol-related harm than any other state: 11,000 alcohol-related deaths, $35 billion in total costs, $18.5 billion in state costs. The CDC also identifies maintaining existing last call times as one of the 10 key policies for reducing the harms from reckless drinking and from alcohol-related motor vehicle deaths.
"The idea of extending hours for bars and restaurants until 4 a.m. in the morning with the promise of improving the economy is not only a false message but a dangerous one," said Jorge Diaz, HIV Prevention Activist. "Think about the impact that this will have on mental health, emotional intelligence and self-esteem of LGBTQ people in our Latino community. We already have enough challenges and social barriers and don't need to add more."
" As a mental health professional working with vulnerable families, I have seen the impact of alcohol use in increasing domestic violence, child abuse and neglect, unemployment, and mental health issues," stated Janis Reid, Board Member, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Network of Southern California. "The intent of SB 930 is to sell more alcohol. Having increased access to alcohol will increase exposure to our vulnerable children. As many as one in twenty babies are born with neurodevelopment disabilities due to prenatal exposure to alcohol. Alcohol is the substance that most easily passes the brain-blood barrier while the child is in utero. People with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders are over-represented in our mental health systems, criminal justice systems, homelessness, under and unemployment, child protection systems, and welfare systems. Having increased access to alcohol will increase exposure to our vulnerable children."
"I am here today representing thousands of mothers across Los Angeles County that fight for their kids day-in and day-out in a society that has much to learn from us - the mothers that fight to raise their kids to get ahead even when our laws and resources are not in our favor," stated Aracely Ocampo, spokesperson for California Alcohol Policy Alliance (CAPA.) "We have enough harms related to alcohol in California, more than any other state in the country, SB 930 doesn't make sense. THAT'S ENOUGH!"
"A link between alcohol misuse and gun violence has been widely established in medical research through numerous studies," said Alec Foster, spokesperson for Women Against Gun Violence (WAGV). "The data is clear and this is why we must prevent the 4 a.m. bar bill from taking effect in Los Angeles and in California. The alcohol lobby should not be more powerful than the need to keep our communities safe."
"Here's the SB 930 bottom line: Extending hours of on-site alcohol sales into the wee hours of the morning will benefit a few bar, restaurant and nightclub owners, as well as alcohol producers and distributors, while increasing alcohol-related harms and costs at great public expense," added Avila. "The policy change is a prescription for increased harm. Doctors take a solemn oath to "first do no harm." Our legislators should be held to the same standard. They can start by VOTING NO on SB 930!"
Alcohol Justice encourages the public to TAKE ACTION to STOP SB 930: Text JUSTICE to 313131 or visit: https://alcoholjustice.org/take-action/stop-sb-930-no-late-last-calls-in-ca-not-now-not-ever
CONTACT:
Mayra Jimenez 323 683-4687
Michael Scippa 415 548-0492
Alison Simard 213 473-7005
213 505-7467
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SOURCE Alcohol Justice | https://www.wibw.com/prnewswire/2022/07/29/los-angeles-rallies-stop-sb-930-4-am-bar-bill-southern-california/ | 2022-07-29T02:46:39Z |
CALGARY, AB, April 7, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Universal Ibogaine Inc. (TSXV: IBO) ("UI" or the "Company") a life sciences company with a mission to develop and deliver medicalized ibogaine-centered addiction care, advises that it has temporarily closed the Kelburn Recovery Centre ("Kelburn") due to an on-site flooding issue.
Kelburn is UI's addiction treatment site operating near Winnipeg, Manitoba, and which experienced abnormally high winter snowfall conditions, resulting in high current groundwater levels arising from spring melt conditions. Kelburn is currently assessing options for continuation of in-process patient treatment, and remediation of damages, which will fall under Kelburn's property and business interruption insurance coverage, subject to policy limits. The timing for remediation and ultimate re-opening of operations at Kelburn is not determinable, but will likely require a minimum of 2 to 3 months.
Nick Karos (CEO) noted "this is of course an unfortunate unforeseen event, and our first priority is to ensure the continuity of ongoing care of our patient group. The extent of damage will hopefully be contained to a portion of the basement, and allow us to resume on-site operations in a reasonable time frame."
UI is a life sciences company, with a mission to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of its ibogaine based drug detox protocol through a planned Canadian Clinical Trial (focused on opioid use disorder), and ultimately to utilize that protocol around the globe through planned future licensing agreements. UI is concurrently developing a state of the art holistic addiction treatment protocol at its Kelburn Recovery Centre that, when paired with the planned ibogaine detox protocol, is intended to revolutionize the way we treat addiction and drastically improve the lives of individuals and families affected by addiction.
NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.
This news release may contain forward-looking statements and information. Forward-looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plans", "expect", "project", "intend", "will", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "scheduled", "potential", or other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may", "should" or "could" occur. The forward-looking statements and information are based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by UI. Although UI believes that the expectations and assumptions on which the forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements because UI can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct.
Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks, which include, but are not limited to, risks that required regulatory approvals are not obtained. The reader is cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of such information, although considered reasonable by UI at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information, which speaks only to conditions as of the date hereof. UI does not undertake any obligation to release publicly any revisions to forward-looking information contained herein to reflect events or circumstances that occur after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.
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SOURCE Universal Ibogaine Inc. | https://www.kxii.com/prnewswire/2022/04/08/universal-ibogaine-provides-update-kelburn-recovery-center-operations/ | 2022-04-08T01:04:16Z |
NEW YORK (AP) — The Edsel. Quibi. New Coke. The Segway. DeLorean sports cars. The pantheon of colossal business failures has a new member in the CNN+ streaming service.
The news network’s subscription offering hadn’t even been operating for a month before Warner Bros. Discovery announced this week that it would be shutting down on April 30.
“It’s going to be in the Top 10,” said Steve Rosenbaum, executive director of the NYC Media Lab and an expert in business innovation, surveying the lengthy history of products that went belly-up.
While “CNN minus” comments quickly proliferated, it’s no joke to the more than 300 people hired for CNN+, which was in development for two years. CNN is expected to absorb some of those jobs but there will be layoffs — a clear picture on those numbers is still emerging.
The company spent hundreds of millions of dollars on the project and no one knew when, or if, losses would be replaced by profits.
Old-timers remember the Edsel, a new car model introduced by Ford in 1957 that was poorly made and too expensive. It was discontinued after two years, costing Ford an estimated $250 million, the name remembered as a synonym for business failure long after the car itself was forgotten.
Coca-Cola’s attempt to introduce a new flavor in 1985 was dropped in weeks. Except for its cameo role in the “Back to the Future” movies, the DeLorean didn’t make a dent. Inventors of the Segway found in 1999 that not many people wanted to spend around $5,000 for a glorified scooter.
Quibi, short for “quick bites,” had the backing of Hollywood’s biggest names and $1.75 billion from investors when the mobile video service was introduced in 2020. It lasted six months.
Presciently, reporter Josef Adalian recalled that failure in an article for Vulture headlined, “CNN+ has Quibi Vibes,” that posted two days after its launch.
“CNN+ in its formative phase feels somewhat like the Quibi of streaming news,” Adalian wrote. “Lots of money has been spent, big stars are onboard, but it’s hard to figure out just what the service is supposed to be and why a large number of people will want to pay for it.”
Rosenbaum, a self-described news junkie, couldn’t figure out what CNN+ offered that was unique and vital to him. He said he never even considered paying the monthly $5.99 fee to subscribe.
He said it had “lots of famous faces that I get other places.”
CNN+ has a handful of its own news programs, documentaries and talk shows and big names like Chris Wallace, Anderson Cooper and Jemele Hill but, because of cable and satellite contracts, could not offer a streamed version of what most people know CNN for, the television network’s continuous news coverage.
People can find streaming news in several places — ABC, CBS and NBC all have their own services, for example — for free.
“In launching a new business, timing is everything and their timing couldn’t have been worse,” said Allen Adamson, cofounder of the marketing firm Metaforce. “Streaming services were in a bubble and everyone knew there was a limit to how many streaming services they would get.”
When Discovery bought out CNN’s previous corporate owner, AT&T, many observers believed CNN+ would eventually be absorbed into a larger app that also had entertainment offerings.
It never got that far, leaving some of its employees shell-shocked at the Thursday meeting when they were told the service would abruptly close.
One of the service’s biggest champions, former CNN chief Jeff Zucker, was bumped out of the picture on Feb. 1 when he was forced to resign because of not disclosing a romantic relationship with a co-worker.
CNN+ launched on March 24, only days before Discovery executives took over. In a sense, that was a business provocation: Why start a project that was the brainchild of a former leadership team, just before new leaders were coming with ideas of their own, not to mention a mandate to cut costs?
Incoming CNN chief executive Chris Licht, in Thursday’s meeting with employees, likened it to a new owner coming in, seeing a beautiful new house, but declaring he needed an apartment instead.
The Discovery team made it clear in the meeting that they didn’t think CNN+ was going to work, based on its own experience with streaming.
“If we’re going in a new direction, we can’t let it go on one moment more than it needs to,” said J.B. Perrette, head of streaming for the new company, in the employee meeting.
Licht repeatedly praised his staff for the quality of CNN+, and there’s no way of knowing whether the product itself would have failed if it had a few years to settle in.
And Rosenbaum said he might have been enticed to see if it was worth it with an offer of a few free months.
Time, however, was one thing CNN+ did not have.
“It’s a big failure,” Adamson said, “but not as big as it would have been if it kept going and became a black hole of money.”
___
Business writer Mae Anderson in New York contributed to this report. | https://cw33.com/technology/ap-technology/the-edsel-quibi-and-cnn-new-addition-to-business-failures/ | 2022-04-23T12:21:24Z |
(The Hill) — The Canadian government’s swift push this week for tough new limits on firearms is adding fuel to the fierce debate over gun reform south of the border in the United States, where last week’s shooting massacre at a Texas elementary school has sparked Congress’s latest effort to curb endemic gun violence – and triggered new questions about why U.S. policymakers have been so ineffective at doing so.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Monday that his government would push to halt new sales of all handguns, while also proposing a new buyback program on military-style semi-automatic rifles, the purchase of which is already prohibited nationwide.
The proposals are much more aggressive than those being floated by Congress in the wake of last week’s shooting in Uvalde, Texas, where an 18-year-old with an AR-style semi-automatic rifle killed 19 fourth-grade students and two teachers.
Gun experts are citing numerous reasons for the cross-border contrast, some of them legal, some cultural and some political. But taken together, they point to the same reality that’s practically defined America’s gun-violence debate for the past several decades: What reforms are possible in other countries won’t be happening anytime soon in the U.S.
Indeed, even the more tepid policy changes being pushed by President Biden and Democrats in Congress — including an expansion of background checks prior to gun sales and red flag laws designed to disarm violent people — confront long odds of being enacted this year in the face of overwhelming Republican opposition. And those partisan divisions, some experts warn, have created a culture of inaction that’s gained strength by feeding on itself.
“Partisan politics have a way of reinforcing themselves,” said Adam Winkler, a constitutional law expert at the UCLA School of Law. “All of these proposals require more political support in Congress than they currently have. And for them to get adopted is going to mean that there’s got to be some changes.”
In Canada, Trudeau’s aggressive campaign to tackle gun violence was initially prompted by a mass shooting in Nova Scotia in 2020, when a lone gunman killed 22 people and injured three others, marking the deadliest rampage in the country’s history.
But the prime minister said the latest round of reforms was also inspired by last week’s shooting in Uvalde, Texas, the deadliest school shooting in the U.S. since the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.
“Unfortunately, the reality is in our country [gun violence] is getting worse and has been getting worse over the past years,” Trudeau said Monday in announcing the proposals. “We need only look south of the border to know that if we do not take action, firmly and rapidly, it gets worse and worse and more difficult to counter.”
Trudeau has proposed a countrywide “freeze” on the sale, import and transfer of all handguns, designed to put a permanent cap on the number of those weapons within Canada’s borders. He’s also vowing to implement new limits on high-capacity magazines, install new red flag laws and launch a buyback program for the so-called “assault” rifles that were already in the hands of Canadian gun owners before the 2020 ban on hundreds of models of that style of weapon.
The reforms are reminiscent of aggressive gun laws adopted by other countries following mass shootings, including a ban on certain firearms in Australia after a violent attack in 1996, and a similar prohibition in New Zealand in the wake of a shooting massacre there in 2019 that left 50 people dead.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern met with Biden on Tuesday at the White House to discuss the issue. Speaking to reporters afterwards, she noted that her country’s political culture allowed lawmakers to adopt changes that would not be possible in the U.S.
“Our political system is very different,” she said. “We had the ability with, actually, the unanimous support of parliamentarians to place a ban on semiautomatic, military-style weapons and assault rifles. So we did that.”
Capitol Hill’s response to Uvalde has been much more tempered.
While the House Judiciary Committee is set to vote Thursday on a slate of eight anti-gun violence bills — including proposals to raise the purchase age on assault rifles and ban the new sale of high capacity magazines — those proposals have little chance of moving through the Senate, where Republicans are overwhelmingly opposed to any new limits on the sale or possession of firearms.
Such opposition is forcing the Senate’s Democratic gun reformers to focus on a tiny sliver of reform proposals, including an expansion of red flag laws and federal background screenings before gun sales. A bipartisan group of senators has been in steady talks since last week in search of a compromise that can win the support of at least 10 Republicans — the number needed to defeat a GOP filibuster in the 50-50 Senate. Even that has gained little momentum so far.
“To be clear: Using this horror to infringe upon the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens — before we even know what might have prevented this tragedy — and accusing anyone who disagrees of being complicit in this abhorrent crime is not a solution that will make us safer,” Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) said in a statement after the Uvalde shooting, summarizing the sentiment of most GOP senators.
One factor driving the debate is cultural: Many Republicans consider the Second Amendment to be sacrosanct, and any effort to curtail gun rights to be a non-starter. Winkler, of UCLA, noted that California gun owners simply ignored a state ban on high-capacity magazines, predicting the same trend would follow if Congress tried to implement something like Canada’s buyback program for assault rifles, which are wildly popular in the U.S.
“There are 400 million guns in America, and the people who have these weapons are the least likely to participate in any kind of buyback program, whether it’s voluntary or mandatory,” said Winkler, the author of “Gunfight: The Battle over the Right to Bear Arms.”
“There’s going to be a lot of non-compliance.”
Legal factors are also governing the current debate. Daniel Webster, a public health professor at Johns Hopkins University who focuses on gun violence prevention, pointed to a pair of Supreme Court decisions — Heller v. District of Columbia in 2008, and McDonald v. Chicago in 2010 — both of which recognized “an individual right to own handguns for protection within the home,” he noted. Those rulings almost guarantee that the high court would overturn any effort by Congress to adopt something like Canada’s ban on handguns.
“Of course, such a proposal is a political nonstarter in the US as well,” Webster added.
Not insignificantly, the nation’s powerful gun lobby has pressured Republicans on Capitol Hill to oppose virtually any new gun restriction, raising concerns that support for such measures would prompt a primary challenge from the right.
“The NRA’s and gun voters’ grip on the Republican Party — that has really shifted,” said Winkler. “It used to be that there were more Republicans who were willing to support gun-safety regulation and there just aren’t anymore.”
The combination of factors has frustrated gun reformers, who lament that even the most popular changes can’t gain a foothold on Capitol Hill. Background checks, for instance, are widely popular across the political spectrum.
“In a democracy, when you have a problem like that, you’re supposed to respond with legislation that protects lives, that takes appropriate steps, consistent with your constitution or with your laws,” Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas) told CNN on Monday.
“We obviously have been unable to do that in this country.” | https://cw33.com/news/nexstar-media-wire/on-gun-reform-neighboring-canada-takes-a-different-tack/ | 2022-06-01T13:05:47Z |
BEIJING, May 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- China on Wednesday reaffirmed its commitment to high-standard opening-up and pledged to foster a business environment based on market principles.
"I wish to reiterate that China's resolve to open up at a high standard will not change, and that the door of China will open still wider to the world," Chinese President Xi Jinping said when addressing the conference of the 70th anniversary of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) and the Global Trade and Investment Promotion Summit via video link.
"China will continue to foster an enabling business environment that is based on market principles, governed by law and up to international standards," Xi said.
The world's second-largest economy will pursue high-standard implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement and high-quality Belt and Road cooperation and offer more market, investment and growth opportunities to the global business community, he said.
Despite challenges posed by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, China achieved a strong trade performance in the first quarter of the year, with total goods imports and exports surging 29.2 percent year on year to 8.47 trillion yuan (about $1.25 trillion), data from General Administration of Customs showed.
In the first quarter, China's trade with countries along the Belt and Road rose 21.4 percent year on year to reach 2.5 trillion yuan (about $370 billion). The country's trade with the other 14 RCEP members amounted to 2.67 trillion yuan (about $395 billion), up 22.9 percent year on year and accounting for 31.5 percent of its total imports and exports during the period.
Since its establishment in 1952, the CCPIT has played an important role in strengthening the bond of interests between Chinese and foreign enterprises, promoting international economic and trade exchanges and promoting the development of relations, Xi said.
The 70-year journey of the CCPIT has been "an epitome of China's ever-expanding opening-up endeavor, and an important witness of how businesses from different countries could share in development opportunities and benefit from win-win cooperation," he added.
Xi calls for making 'pie' of cooperation bigger
Noting that economic globalization is experiencing headwinds and the world is entering a new period of volatility and transformation, the president made several proposals.
Joint efforts are needed in defeating the pandemic, he said, adding that it is important to put people and their lives first, actively engage in international cooperation on vaccine R&D, production and distribution, and bolster global public health governance.
On reinvigorating trade and investment, he stressed supporting the World Trade Organization (WTO)-centered multilateral trading regime, ensuring security and stability of the global industrial and supply chains, and making the "pie" of cooperation bigger to allow development gains to better trickle down to people of all countries.
He also emphasized the efforts to unleash the power of innovation in driving development, calling for fostering an open, fair, equitable and non-discriminatory environment for scientific and technological development.
On improving global governance, he said true multilateralism must be upheld.
"We should choose dialogue over confrontation, tear down walls rather than erect walls, pursue integration instead of decoupling, opt for inclusiveness, not exclusion, and guide reforms of the global governance system with the principle of fairness and justice," he said.
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SOURCE CGTN | https://www.mysuncoast.com/prnewswire/2022/05/19/cgtn-china-reaffirms-commitment-high-standard-opening-up/ | 2022-05-19T07:49:15Z |
DALLAS, Aug. 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Comerica Incorporated (NYSE: CMA) announced that Corey Bailey, Executive Vice President, Credit Risk Management & Decisioning, has been named to the new role of Executive Vice President, Head of Middle Market & Business Banking. Bailey will report to Peter Sefzik, Executive Vice President, Commercial Bank.
Bailey's new role is part of Comerica's restructure within its Commercial Bank, which will feature two divisions focused on 1) Middle Market & Business Banking and 2) National & Specialty Businesses. Recently, Comerica announced that Mike Ritchie will serve as Executive Vice President, Head of National & Specialty Businesses. These added leadership roles serve to enhance go-to-market strategies as Comerica focuses on investments towards commercial lending businesses and recent expansions into North Carolina and Colorado.
"The added roles and restructuring within the Commercial Bank allow us to enhance our relationship banking approach, while accelerating new opportunities to strengthen the future of our organization," said Sefzik. "Adding Corey to the Commercial Bank division with his extensive knowledge of Comerica and its businesses, combined with his customer-focused expertise and leaderships skills, will establish a strong foundation for this position and ensure we continue to deliver business solutions for our clients."
In his role, Bailey will lead the Middle Market and Business Banking segments, which provides companies with an array of credit and non-credit financial products and services, nationally.
Bailey is a 25-year veteran of Comerica Bank. In his previous role, he supported Business Banking, Captive Insurance, Energy, Environmental Services, Financial Institutions, Health & Education, International, Leasing, Middle Market-Michigan, Middle Market-Texas, Private and U.S. Banking. Through the years, Bailey's scope of responsibilities has increased.
He joined Comerica as a credit analyst for the bank's commercial lending training program. He ascended through the training program, working in energy and middle market lending before landing the role as senior relationship manager in Dallas middle market. During his tenure, Bailey has served in multiple leadership positions that include Senior Vice President, Alternate Credit Administration Officer; Senior Vice President, Group Manager Dallas; and Senior Vice President, Chief Credit Officer Texas Market.
Bailey continues to demonstrate his leadership within Comerica and abroad, serving on the board of the Texas Risk Management Association and currently holds the role as the bank's United Way Leadership Giving Chair.
Bailey earned his bachelor's degree in finance from Baylor University and is completing graduate degrees at Queen's University in Canada and the SC Johnson College of Business at Cornell University.
Comerica Incorporated (NYSE: CMA) is a financial services company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and strategically aligned by three business segments: The Commercial Bank, The Retail Bank and Wealth Management. Comerica focuses on relationships, and helping people and businesses be successful. In addition to Texas, Comerica Bank locations can be found in Arizona, California, Florida and Michigan, with select businesses operating in several other states, as well as in Canada and Mexico. Comerica reported total assets of $86.9 billion as of June 30, 2022.
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SOURCE Comerica Incorporated | https://www.mysuncoast.com/prnewswire/2022/08/15/comerica-bank-names-corey-bailey-lead-middle-market-amp-business-banking/ | 2022-08-15T15:54:45Z |
Action-packed weekend with food, drink, music and competition viewing for the public
TAOS SKI VALLEY, N.M., April 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Taos Ski Valley will host the World Pro Ski Tour World Championships event April 8-10. This prestigious event draws professional athletes from all over the world and will include both men's and women's races. This thrilling event and Taos' world-renowned terrain will be viewable live around the world on FLoLive.tv and in 70 million homes on CBS Sports Network. The World Pro Ski Tour is presented by Rocket Mortgage. The World Championships is presented by Keep New Mexico True.
This year's Championships event will feature top-tier athletes including current and former Olympians:
- Paula Moltzan: Olympian, current US Ski Team athlete, 2022 National Champion
- Tricia Mangan: 2x Olympian, current US Ski Team athlete, NCAA All-American
- Katie Vesterstein: Olympian, current University of Utah National Champion
- Tuva Norbye: Current Rocket Mortgage Women's Tour leader
- Linus Strasser: Olympic silver medalist, current German Ski Team athlete
- Luke Winters: Olympian, current US Ski Team athlete
- River Radamus: Olympian, current US Ski Team athlete, World Junior Champion
- Nolan Kasper: 3x Olympian, US Ski Team alum
- Erik Read: 3x Olympian, World Championships silver medalist, current Canadian Ski Team athlete
- Simon Breitfuss-Kammerlander: Olympian, 2020 WPST Rookie of the Year
- Robert Cone: 2020 & 2021 WPST Champion, current Tour leader, US Ski Team alum
In addition, former Olympians Franz Klammer, Julia Mancuso, Bode Miller, Deb Armstrong, and Billy Kidd will be on hand to enjoy the fun.
"We look forward to welcoming athletes and visitors to the first World Pro Ski Tour World Championships event in 25 years and showing off Taos Ski Valley's sunny spring skies and plentiful snow," said David Norden, CEO of Taos Ski Valley. "Our terrain is unmatched, and the Taos Ski Valley experience is better than ever before thanks to our 'grow better not bigger' motto and commitment to retaining a pure mountain experience along with world-class amenities. This group of world-famous Olympians and professionals will find a truly unique spirit in Taos Ski Valley, and the entire Taos community will have the opportunity to highlight its culture and hospitality to the world."
The public is encouraged to come watch this thrilling competition, which is free for spectators. The full weekend lineup of competition and entertainment includes:
- Friday, April 8:
- Saturday, April 9:
- Sunday, April 10:
Viewing the race is free and open to the public, and shuttles will be running from 7 AM-5 PM from the Eis Haus ice rink in the Plaza to the Kachina Basin where races will take place. Event tickets are available for $20 and include a souvenir cow bell for cheering on the athletes, a complimentary alcoholic drink for those 21 and over (or other beverage of choice), a Frito pie, and entrance into exclusive raffles for a chance to win skis, gear, a Taos Winter 23 Season Pass, and more. A portion of the proceeds from event tickets will benefit Working on Wellness, which supports healthy activities for Taos Pueblo Youth, including the Charles N. Romero Snowsports program.
The Junior Ski Tour Challenge presented by Centinel Bank is open to any youth competitors ages 8-17. It is a two-lap developmental training race on a modified World Pro Ski Tour racecourse. Participants will also complete their course inspection with the pro athletes. Registration can be completed online here and race entry will be $20. Discounted lift tickets will be available to participants and their parents at the Lake Fork ticket office the day of the race.
Taos Ski Valley will remain open throughout the event, with lifts opening daily at 8:30 AM. Visitors who purchase Winter 23 Season Passes will be able to use them during the WPST event April 8-10, as can current season passholders.
To learn more about the World Pro Ski Tour, please visit www.worldproskitour.com.
About Taos Ski Valley
Nestled among the pristine peaks of northern New Mexico, Taos Ski Valley is undergoing a $300 million renaissance making it one of North America's premier vacation and adventure destinations. With over more than 300 inches of average annual snowfall, 300 days of sunshine and more than 1,200 skiable acres, Taos Ski Valley is the industry's only B Corp Certified ski resort, which means it operates with the highest standards of environmental sustainability, and social and economic justice. An independently owned and operated resort, Taos maintains an authentic charm while delivering a world-class experience both on-mountain and off for skiers and riders of all abilities. Taos Ski Valley is proud to participate in the Mountain Collective and Ikon Pass. To learn more about Taos Ski Valley and its B Corp commitment, please visit www.skitaos.com.
About the World Pro Ski Tour:
The World Pro Ski Tour, presented by Rocket Mortgage, is a nationwide tour of events where professional skiers race side-by-side in a single elimination, bracket format. Prize money and an overall World Pro Ski Tour title attracts Olympians, World Cup athletes and professional skiers from around the globe. On-site spectators and TV viewers can watch all stops on the Tour in an exciting and easy to understand format where the first racer to the finish is the winner. The WPST is viewed in more than 100 million homes and can be seen in primetime on CBS Sports Network, live on Flolive.tv and via the award-winning docuseries, Life In Between Gates. More information on the World Pro Ski Tour and all its partners can be found at http://worldproskitour.com
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SOURCE Taos Ski Valley | https://www.mysuncoast.com/prnewswire/2022/04/01/olympians-world-cup-athletes-heading-taos-ski-valley-compete-world-pro-ski-tour-world-championships-event-april-8-10/ | 2022-04-01T14:00:03Z |
NEW YORK, June 7, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Klein Law Firm announces that a class action complaint has been filed on behalf of shareholders of Bakkt Holdings, Inc. f/k/a VPC Impact Acquisition Holdings (NYSE: BKKT) alleging that the Company violated federal securities laws.
This lawsuit is on behalf of persons and entities that purchased or otherwise acquired: (a) Bakkt securities between March 31, 2021 and November 19, 2021, both dates inclusive; and/or (b) Bakkt Class A common stock pursuant and/or traceable to documents issued in connection with the business combination between the Company and Bakkt Holdings, LLC completed on or about October 15, 2021.
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: June 20, 2022
No obligation or cost to you.
Learn more about your recoverable losses in BKKT:
https://www.kleinstocklaw.com/pslra-1/bakkt-holdings-inc-f-k-a-vpc-impact-acquisition-holdings-loss-submission-form?id=28120&from=4
Bakkt Holdings, Inc. f/k/a VPC Impact Acquisition Holdings NEWS - BKKT NEWS
CLASS ACTION CASE DETAILS: The filed complaint alleges that Bakkt Holdings, Inc. f/k/a VPC Impact Acquisition Holdings made materially false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) the Company had defective financial controls; (ii) as a result, there were errors in the Company's financial statements related to the misclassification of certain shares issued prior to the business combination between the Company and Bakkt Holdings, LLC; (iii) accordingly, the Company would need to restate certain of its financial statements; (iv) the Company downplayed the true scope and severity of these issues; (v) the Company overstated its remediation of its defective financial controls; and (vi) as a result, the documents issued in connection with the business combination and defendants' public statements throughout the class period were materially false and/or misleading and failed to state information required to be stated therein.
WHAT THIS MEANS TO YOU AS A SHAREHOLDER: If you have suffered a loss in Bakkt Holdings, Inc. f/k/a VPC Impact Acquisition Holdings you have until June 20, 2022 to petition the court for lead plaintiff status. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as a lead plaintiff.
NO COST TO YOU: If you purchased Bakkt Holdings, Inc. f/k/a VPC Impact Acquisition Holdings securities during the relevant period, you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out-of-pocket fees.
HOW TO PROTECT YOUR FINANCIAL INTERESTS: For additional information about the BKKT lawsuit, please contact J. Klein, Esq. by telephone at 212-616-4899 or click this link: https://www.kleinstocklaw.com/pslra-1/bakkt-holdings-inc-f-k-a-vpc-impact-acquisition-holdings-loss-submission-form?id=28120&from=4.
ABOUT KLEIN LAW FIRM
J. Klein, Esq. represents investors and participates in securities litigations involving financial fraud throughout the nation. The Klein Law Firm is a boutique litigation firm with experience in a wide range of areas including securities law, corporate finance and commercial litigation. Since 2011, our experienced attorneys have achieved superior results for our clients with a personalized focus. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.
CONTACT:
J. Klein, Esq.
Empire State Building
350 Fifth Avenue
59th Floor
New York, NY 10118
jk@kleinstocklaw.com
Telephone: (212) 616-4899
www.kleinstocklaw.com
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SOURCE The Klein Law Firm | https://www.wibw.com/prnewswire/2022/06/07/bkkt-alert-klein-law-firm-announces-lead-plaintiff-deadline-june-20-2022-class-action-filed-behalf-bakkt-holdings-inc-fka-vpc-impact-acquisition-holdings-shareholders/ | 2022-06-07T11:03:04Z |
iPad accessory streamlines efficiency and protects tech for off-grid adventures
ORANGE COUNTY, Calif., June 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Urban Armor Gear (UAG), leading designers of rugged, lightweight mobile device cases and accessories, recently launched its Rugged Bluetooth Keyboard with Trackpad, a durable keyboard with eight feet of drop protection, designed for the iPad 10.2. The launch marks the brand's introduction into the hardware space, offering a premium Bluetooth accessory with the rugged protection UAG is known for.
"The launch of the Rugged Bluetooth Keyboard with Trackpad aligns with UAG's commitment to protection and our mission to help you Work From Anywhere," said UAG's Vice President of Brand and Creative, Casey Bevington. "We're excited to offer yet another tool to inspire you to push the boundaries and take your essential tech with you everywhere."
Since 2013, UAG has been a leading name in hand-held device protection. Known for its rugged yet functional cell phone cases, UAG has since expanded to offer a perfect balance of defense and design throughout its line of accessories for phone cases, smartwatches, headphones, and tablets alike.
The UAG Rugged Bluetooth Keyboard with Trackpad offers unique 360° protection, a rugged, non-slip exterior and other premium features that UAG is known for. The keyboard offers a laptop-style tracking and typing experience, and it features a backlit, spill-resistant keyboard for added protection against the elements. To top it all off, the keyboard's rechargeable battery allows up to 180 hours of battery life, offering users long-lasting utility while off-the-grid.
Work from anywhere with the UAG Rugged Bluetooth Keyboard with Trackpad, now available at select retailers and online at www.urbanarmorgear.com.
About Urban Armor Gear
Inspired by adrenaline-fueled outdoor adventures throughout Southern California, Urban Armor Gear (UAG) delivers mobile accessories and cases developed to survive rugged terrains while protecting your tech throughout any journey. Urban Armor Gear's innovative and lightweight yet durable designs constantly evolve to provide urban adventurers and global thrill seekers high-quality accessories to preserve the latest tech gear on the market, with the reassurance that their UAG mobile cases will perform in all extremes. Our badge of honor stands behind every single UAG product, receiving a military-grade certification for protection against shock by enduring rigorous laboratory drop-testing.
Visit: urbanarmorgear.com or www.instagram.com/urbanarmorgear for more information.
About Backbone Media
Backbone Media targets, engages and inspires the active lifestyle market through public relations, media planning and buying, and social media. For more than 20 years, Backbone has worked with leading outdoor gear, apparel, technology, food and beverage brands, as well as tourism destinations around the world. Backbone has offices in Carbondale and Denver, Colorado, and has consistently been named one of Outside magazine's "Best Places to Work." For more about Backbone Media, visit www.backbonemedia.net.
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SOURCE Urban Armor Gear | https://www.kxii.com/prnewswire/2022/06/22/urban-armor-gear-enters-hardware-space-with-new-rugged-bluetooth-keyboard/ | 2022-06-22T18:54:15Z |
SAN DIEGO, May 24, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Hyperspace Lighting Company has just launched the Kickstarter campaign for their newest product, The HyperCube Nano! The campaign was successfully funded - reaching its $100k goal in under 24 hours - and is live until June 10th, offering early bird pricing for early backers. Their new model of sound reactive LED infinity cube has been streamlined for maximum portability and affordability. This futuristic infinity mirror lighting is being used in homes and businesses as a generator of infinite awe and inspiration in everyone who sees it!
Back the HyperCube Nano Kickstarter Campaign to get your HyperCube Nano infinity cube for only $150 (retail $200-$220) and get high-tech, beautifully designed infinity cube art and lighting for your home or entertainment space. After the campaign you can find them at hyperspacelight.com
HyperCube Nano Features
The HyperCube Nano features 95 patterns and 3 modes: Kaleidoscopic, Meditative, and Sound Reactive. The advanced sound reactivity has been custom coded to convert the low, mid, and high tones to luminous patterns within, visualizing your music with light. The cube is USB-C powered and scratch resistant - you can power it with your laptop or battery pack, making it easily portable. Multiple HyperCubes can be synced, creating art installations and coordinated mood lighting arrays, and they can be completely customized using the HyperSpace App. All HyperCubes come with a 1 year warranty.
Global crowdfunding support and wide ranging appeal
Driven by global support of the crowdfunding community, Hyperspace has successfully delivered over 4,000 HyperCubes to over 50 countries and has now run three successful crowdfunding campaigns. These backers and customers are using HyperCubes in their homes as modern decor and zen-inducing bedside lights, and inspiring kids with art and science. They are also being used in art spaces, entertainment venues, bars, clubs, musician and dj setups, wedding decor, and yoga studios, and businesses are using them to decorate their shops and workplaces.
Check out the campaign on Kickstarter and after the campaign at hyperspacelight.com
About the founders
Hyperspace was created by Dylan Lovinger and Timothy O'Connor - two scientists with a passion for light and art-tech fusions turned garage shop entrepreneurs. They met in grad school at the University of California, San Diego while working toward their PhDs. Inspired by the radical and connected communities of transformational festivals and Burning Man, the pair sought to bring a part of those kaleidoscopic landscapes back home. Their work holds a message: "Technology will continue to become a bigger part of our lives - and if we design it appropriately, it will be beautiful." The mission is simple - "to spread infinite light throughout the multiverse."
Media contact:
Timothy O'Connor
hello@hyperspacelight.com
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SOURCE The Hyperspace Lighting Company LLC | https://www.mysuncoast.com/prnewswire/2022/05/24/hyper-chromatic-infinity-art-that-turns-music-into-light-hypercube-nano/ | 2022-05-24T14:20:11Z |
New facility set to be the largest, most sustainable PepsiCo Beverages North America plant in U.S. and create 250 new jobs for Denver-area residents
DENVER, July 13, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, PepsiCo Beverages North America (PBNA) acquired nearly 152 acres of land at the Denver High Point development area where it will build a state-of-the-art, 1.2 million square foot manufacturing facility. Set to open in 2023, the new facility is PBNA's latest project as part of its near 75-year investment in the Denver community, including the company's River North Art District location that has been in operation since the 1950s. This new development, located near the intersection of 72nd Avenue and Argonne Street, holds three times the capacity of the current facility and will be PBNA's largest U.S. plant location.
Following a lengthy and competitive site selection process that analyzed four states, PBNA chose Denver to build on its long history in the state through sustainable business. The initiative is part of PBNA's effort to double down on its commitment to both the company's 1,200 current Coloradan employees and Denver's highly educated and skilled workforce populations.
With a positive value chain at the forefront of its design, the new development supports PepsiCo's pep+ (PepsiCo Positive) pledge to positively impact people and the planet. As the company's most sustainable domestic outpost, the new facility will aim to achieve 100% renewable electricity, best-in-class water efficiency, and reduced virgin plastic use.
From supply chain leadership roles to hourly positions including mechanics, truck drivers and forklift operators, the High Point facility will create nearly 250 new jobs in the Denver area in addition to retaining all 250 current employees who will be upskilled as needed to operate the innovative manufacturing equipment.
"We're thrilled to call Denver, a city that shares so many of our values, home to PepsiCo's most sustainable U.S. plant location," said PepsiCo Beverages North America's West Division President, Johannes Evenblij. "With the High Point facility serving a model for the future of PBNA's supply chain, we're eager to continue deepening our dedication to Colorado through positive impacts such as new job opportunities and more sustainable business solutions."
To support the new facility, PBNA is partnering with the City and County of Denver through Denver Economic Development and Opportunity (DEDO) for outreach and hiring activities to connect Denver area residents with these employment opportunities.
"PepsiCo has been committed to our community for nearly 75 years, and we're proud that they have chosen to deepen their roots here and grow that commitment," said Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock. "Not only will their new facility create more quality jobs in our city, it significantly boosts their commitment to sustainability and supports my administration's climate action efforts. We've been working hand in hand with the PepsiCo team on this project and look forward to taking it across the finish line."
This significant project was supported by several organizations including multiple agencies within the City and County of Denver, Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation and Xcel Energy.
"Our strong workforce and thriving economy are proving that Colorado is the best place to live, work, and do business, and we are thrilled over 250 new jobs are being created in our state," said Colorado Governor Jared Polis.
"Metro Denver welcomed this opportunity to support the expansion of such a distinguished company like PepsiCo," said Raymond H. Gonzales, President of the Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation. "Their dedication to upskilling and reskilling their workforce, all while implementing sustainable business practices, speaks to the collective values of the region. We look forward to PepsiCo's future success and the positive impact their new facility will have on our communities."
The new PBNA High Point facility is scheduled to open in Summer 2023 and will produce many popular products including Pepsi, Pepsi Zero, Gatorade, bubly, Rockstar, Propel and Muscle Milk.
Additional details about hiring, technological innovation, facility operations and community initiatives will be announced in the coming weeks. To learn more about current open positions across PepsiCo, visit www.PepsiCoJobs.com.
PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers more than one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated more than $79 billion in net revenue in 2021, driven by a complementary beverage and convenient foods portfolio that includes Lay's, Doritos, Cheetos, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Mountain Dew, Quaker, and SodaStream. PepsiCo's product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including many iconic brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales.
Guiding PepsiCo is our vision to Be the Global Leader in Beverages and Convenient Foods by Winning with PepsiCo Positive (pep+). pep+ is our strategic end-to-end transformation that puts sustainability at the center of how we will create value and growth by operating within planetary boundaries and inspiring positive change for planet and people. For more information, visit www.pepsico.com.
Denver Economic Development & Opportunity is leading an inclusive and innovative economy for all Denver residents, businesses, and neighborhoods by supporting local and global business development, workforce development programs, and stabilization efforts in Denver's diverse neighborhoods. Learn more at www.denvergov.org/economicdevelopment.
CONTACT:
Megan O'Malley
(409) 766-0750
MOMalley@Golin.com
Yera Ha
(603) 505-1268
yera.ha@pepsico.com
Chelsea Rosty
(970) 250-2189
chelsea.rosty@denvergov.org
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SOURCE PepsiCo | https://www.kxii.com/prnewswire/2022/07/13/pepsico-beverages-north-america-acquires-nearly-152-acres-land-construction-12-million-square-foot-manufacturing-facility-high-point-development-district-expands-denver-footprint/ | 2022-07-13T14:38:53Z |
Addition of Scherer, an energy specialist, further elevates NFP's expertise and capabilities for large-enterprise multinationals
TORONTO, Sept. 8, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- NFP, a leading property and casualty broker, benefits consultant, wealth manager and retirement plan advisor, today announced it has added Robert Scherer, senior vice president, to its Complex Risk Solutions Group (CRSG) in Canada. Scherer, an energy industry specialist, will assist clients in the energy sector by addressing their most complex risk mitigation challenges through innovative, cost-effective solutions. Scherer will report to Joe Seeger, managing director, CRSG in Canada.
"Rob is an excellent addition to our Complex Risk Solutions Group and will positively impact the sourcing of new clients, the promotion of the NFP brand and overall team growth," said Seeger. "His background developing sophisticated insurance and risk transfer solutions for complex coverages and implementing global insurance programs for multinationals will be a tremendous asset to our clients and colleagues."
Scherer brings nearly two decades of risk assessment and loss prevention experience in the energy sector to his new role. He joins NFP from Aon, serving most recently as National Energy practice leader in Canada, where he provided strategic account management consulting, innovative insurance program design, and coordination of client services for large and mid-size energy companies. He earned his bachelor's degree in finance and risk management from the University of Calgary.
"I couldn't be happier to join this team and contribute to the continued success of NFP's fast growing Complex Risk Solutions Group," said Scherer. "NFP has an unmatched enthusiasm for learning and growth, an entrepreneurial spirit, and a commitment to delivering best-in-class expertise and service to clients. This makes us an attractive partner for companies navigating complex risks in the energy sector."
NFP is a leading property and casualty broker, benefits consultant, wealth manager, and retirement plan advisor. The company provides solutions enabling client success through the expertise of 1,000 employees based in Canada, more than 6,900 global employees, investments in innovative technologies, and enduring relationships with highly rated insurers, vendors, and financial institutions. NFP is the 9th best place to work for large employers in insurance, 7th largest privately-owned broker, 5th largest benefits broker by global revenue and 13th largest broker of US business (all rankings according to Business Insurance).
Visit NFP.ca to discover how NFP empowers clients to meet their goals.
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SOURCE NFP Corp. | https://www.wibw.com/prnewswire/2022/09/08/nfp-welcomes-robert-scherer-its-complex-risk-solutions-group/ | 2022-09-08T14:10:08Z |
CHICAGO, July 8, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --
The following table sets forth the estimated amounts of the current distribution, payable July 11, 2022 to shareholders of record June 30, 2022, together with the cumulative distributions paid this fiscal year-to-date (YTD) from the following sources. The fiscal year is November 1, 2021 to October 31, 2022. All amounts are expressed per share of common stock based on U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, which may differ from federal income tax regulations.
The Fund will issue a separate 19(a) notice at the time of each monthly distribution using the most current financial information available. You should not draw any conclusions about the Fund's investment performance from the amount of this distribution or from the terms of the Fund's managed distribution plan.
The Fund estimates that it has distributed more than its income and capital gains; therefore, a portion of your distribution may be a return of capital. A return of capital may occur, for example, when some or all of the money that you invested in the Fund is paid back to you. A return of capital distribution does not necessarily reflect the Fund's investment performance and should not be confused with "yield" or "income."
The amounts and sources of distributions reported in this notice are only estimates and are not being provided for tax reporting purposes. The actual amounts and sources of the amounts for tax reporting purposes will depend upon the Fund's investment experience during the remainder of the fiscal year and may be subject to changes based on tax regulations. The Fund or your broker will send you a Form 1099-DIV for the calendar year that will tell you how to report these distributions for federal income tax purposes.
* Simple arithmetic average of each of the past five annual returns.
DNP Select Income Fund Inc. (NYSE: DNP) is a closed-end diversified investment management company. The Fund's primary investment objectives are current income and long-term growth of income. The Fund seeks to achieve these objectives by investing primarily in a diversified portfolio of equity and fixed income securities of companies in the public utilities industry. For more information, visit the Fund's website at www.dpimc.com/dnp or call the Fund at (800) 864-0629.
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SOURCE DNP Select Income Fund Inc. | https://www.kxii.com/prnewswire/2022/07/08/dnp-select-income-fund-inc-section-19a-notice/ | 2022-07-08T21:50:47Z |
ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (AP) — The Vatican plans to keep open paths of dialogue with Russia, even if doing so “smells,” Pope Francis said Thursday, reaffirming Ukraine’s right to defend itself.
Francis spoke at length about Russia’s war in Ukraine and the need for peace during a press conference while traveling home from Kazakhstan. Francis had visited the former Soviet republic to participate in an interfaith peace conference that, in its final communique, called on all political leaders to stop conflict and bloodshed “in all corners of our world.”
Francis has long touted the need for dialogue, even with antagonists and countries that are hostile to the Catholic Church. He reaffirmed that policy in comments about Russia, China and even Nicaragua, where the government has been cracking down on the church.
“I don’t exclude dialogue with any power that is in war, even if it’s the aggressor,” Francis said. “It smells, but you have to do it. Always take a step forward, with the hand outstretched, because the alternative is to close the only reasonable door to peace.”
In that vein, Francis had hoped his trip to Nur-Sultan in Kazakhstan would provide a chance to meet with the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, who has justified the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine on spiritual and ideological grounds. Patriarch Kirill bowed out of the conference last month, but his envoy who attended said another meeting was possible between the two world religious leaders but must be prepared well in advance.
At the same time, though, Francis affirmed that it was “morally acceptable” for Ukraine to receive weapons to defend itself against Moscow’s invasion. He said such a defense is not only right but “also an expression of love for your country.” But he said the motivation behind such fighting is key.
“It can be immoral if it’s done with the intention of provoking more war or selling weapons or getting rid of the weapons that you don’t need anymore,” he said.
Lamenting that wars are raging around the planet, he recalled that when he was 9 years old, in 1945, he learned the value of peace as word spread in Buenos Aires that World War II had ended.
“Even today, I can see my mother and the neighbor weeping with joy because the war had ended. We were in a South American country, far away. But these people, these women, knew that peace was bigger than all wars. And they wept with joy when peace was made.”
“I won’t ever forget that,” he said.
___
Follow all AP stories about the war in Ukraine at https;//apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine.
___
Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. | https://cw33.com/news/international/ap-international/ap-pope-keeps-moscow-dialogue-open-even-if-its-uncomfortable/ | 2022-09-16T15:06:45Z |
Leading cashless payment provider offers self-checkout solutions set to enable operators to increase their sales with a new revenue stream
HERZLIYA, Israel, July 13, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Nayax Ltd. (TASE: NYAX), a global commerce enablement and payments platform designed to help merchants scale their business, today announced the availability of the Nova Market self-checkout kiosk in its U.S. ecommerce shop (https://shop.nayax.com/usa_en/nova-market.html). This latest addition to Nayax's offering is a modular and affordable self-checkout point of sale (POS). The kiosk offers an easily scalable solution, meets all merchant requirements, and seamlessly integrates with Nayax's best-in-class retail POS device, including robust cloud-based management service.
Micro markets are on track to make the quickest recovery of all convenience services because they offer a practical and improved experience both for vendors and consumers. Since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, consumer behavior has changed with consumers demanding a more personalized and seamless experience. Nova Market's intuitive interface, cashless payment acceptance, and consumer loyalty offering gives consumers just this.
Bernard Streeter of S and S Vending, a current Nova Market user, opened his micro market business as an alternative to his vending business following a request from his customer in Fort City, Kansas. Streeter comments, "Currently, we've been maintaining about 65-70% sales increase per week. For us, compared to the standard vending system that we've been using, the ease of use and traceability is just so hands down better. We're excited to see that we can save money and at the same time increase our sales."
"With the growth of micro markets across the U.S., the use of Nayax's Nova Market is an easy entry for Nayax customers looking to expand their business and increase their revenue," said Carly Furman, CEO, Nayax LLC. "At Nayax, we're continually thinking of how we can best serve retail operators in the long-term and are excited for this new offering to continue to help us accomplish this mission."
The small, easy to install kiosk allows for a quick set-up and offers a fast and cost-effective way to start a micro market business. Additionally, the solution allows existing Nayax operators to:
- Utilize the same solution to offer fresh, warm, cold, and premium products
- Offer higher priced products
- Serve more customers
- Avoid operating hour restrictions (24/7)
- Reduce labor costs
- Earn higher revenue
For more information about Nayax and its product offerings, please visit https://www.nayax.com/.
About Nayax
Nayax is a global commerce enablement and payment platform designed to help merchants scale their business. Nayax offers a complete solution including localized cashless payment acceptance, a management suite, and consumer engagement tools, enabling merchants to conduct commerce anytime, anywhere. With global experience in serving the unattended retail industry, Nayax has transformed into a comprehensive solution focused on our customers' growth across multiple channels. Today, Nayax has 8 global offices, over 600 employees, connections to more than 80 merchant acquirers, payment method integrations and is a recognized payment facilitator worldwide. Nayax's mission is to improve our customers' revenue potential and operational efficiency. www.nayax.com
Forward-looking statements
The information included in this press release contains, or may be deemed to contain, forward-looking statements (as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and the Israeli Securities Law, 1968). Said forward-looking statements, relating to the initial public offering, are subject to uncertainties and assumptions and the actual results may materially differ. All forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information available to Nayax on the date hereof. All written or oral forward-looking statements attributable to Nayax are expressly qualified in their entirety by the factors referred to above. Nayax does not intend to update these forward-looking statements.
Nayax Public Relations Contact:
Courtney Tolbert
5W PR
ctolbert@5wpr.com
Nayax Investor Relations Contact:
ICR
ir@nayax.com
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SOURCE Nayax | https://www.kxii.com/prnewswire/2022/07/13/nova-market-self-checkout-kiosk-now-available-purchase-nayaxs-ecommerce-shop-us-markets/ | 2022-07-13T11:33:34Z |
Further to receiving the Honorary Doctorate, Kathy Hilton delivered a stirring commencement speech to Academy of Art University's graduating class of 2022
SAN FRANCISCO, May 18, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- San Francisco-based Academy of Art University has today honored famed American entrepreneur, fashion designer, and philanthropist Kathy Hilton with an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters.
The award was presented to Hilton by University President Dr. Elisa Stephens during the Spring 2022 Graduate Commencement Ceremony and recognized her remarkable achievements as an artistic entrepreneur. She was driven to the event in a one of a kind, 1963 Gold Rolls Royce Silver Cloud, a car originally made for Sammy Davis Jr and which now forms part of Academy of Art University's classic car museum which preserves a rare collection of classic cars for use in its automobile design and restoration program.
The Commencement Ceremony took place at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium on May 18th, 2022 and celebrated the finest and brightest young talents from across numerous creative disciplines which included; architecture, fashion, fine art, interior design, animation, game design and more.
"I'm so honored to be receiving this honorary doctorate from the distinguished Academy of Art University. Education is the basis of all we do in this life and nowhere is that more apparent than in this remarkable institution. The amount of talent I've seen in these students makes me excited for all our futures. In a digital age of endless content, being a pupil and perfecting your art is a gift. Thanks to social media where these students can immediately showcase their art and design, this new generation has prioritized their creativity in every art form. Nowhere will they be taught the tools to excel and hone their craft like the Academy of Art University. Thank you to Dr. Elisa Stephens for this esteemed academic recognition," Kathy Hilton.
Hilton later delivered a stirring commencement speech to a packed auditorium of over a thousand Academy of Art University student graduates, attending family members and Academy of Art faculty.
During the speech, Kathy provided students with her 'Pearls from the Profession', a list of life lessons highlighting the value of preparation and persistence, of living with purpose and seeking perfection, while leaving time to be a prankster.
"It was an immense privilege to bestow the Academy of Art University's Honorary Doctorate to the brilliant, generous and talented Kathy Hilton," said Academy of Art University President Elisa Stephens. "Kathy epitomizes the spirit of artists who are capable of turning their art form into a thriving career. She is an inspiration for young women everywhere who want to have their voices as artist heard and honored. Today she delivered a wonderful commencement speech with pearls of wisdom that I know our remarkable graduating class will find invaluable as they take their first steps into the world of work."
About Academy of Art University
Established in 1929, Academy of Art University is one of the largest private, accredited art and design schools in the nation. Located in San Francisco, the epicenter of culture and technology, Academy of Art University offers more than 129 accredited degree programs—available online and on-campus—spanning 70 areas of study, including entertainment arts, advertising, fashion, architecture, game development, music, communications, photography, and more. For more information, please visit https://www.academyart.edu
For media inquiries, please contact:
For Academy of Art University:
Kate Ross | SJS PR
kate@sjspr.co
PR contact for Kathy Hilton:
Andy Gelb | Slate PR
andy@slate-pr.com
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SOURCE Academy of Art University | https://www.kxii.com/prnewswire/2022/05/19/famed-entrepreneur-fashion-designer-philanthropist-kathy-hilton-presented-with-honorary-doctorate-academy-art-university/ | 2022-05-19T03:24:38Z |
A tooth unearthed from a remote cave in Laos is helping to sketch an unknown chapter in the human story.
Researchers believe the tooth belonged to a young female who lived at least 130,000 years ago and was likely a Denisovan -- an enigmatic group of early humans first identified in 2010.
The lower molar is the first fossil evidence placing Denisovans in Southeast Asia and may help untangle a puzzle that had long vexed experts in human evolution.
The only definitive Denisovan fossils have been found in North Asia -- in the eponymous Denisova cave in Siberia's Altai Mountains in Russia. Genetic evidence, however, has tied the archaic humans most closely to places much further south -- in what's now the Philippines, Papua New Guinea and Australia.
"This demonstrates that the Denisovans were likely present also in southern Asia. And it supports the results of geneticists who say that modern humans and the Denisovans might have met in Southeast Asia," said study author Clément Zanolli, a researcher in paleoanthropology at CNRS, the French National Center for Scientific Research and the University of Bordeaux.
Archaeologists uncovered the tooth in a place known as Cobra Cave, 160 miles (260 kilometers) north of Laos' capital, Vientiane, where excavations began in 2018. The study, which published in the journal Nature Communications on Tuesday, estimated the molar was between 131,000 and 164,000 years old, based on analysis of cave sediment, the dating of three animal bones found in the same layer, and the age of rock overlying the fossil.
"Teeth are like the black box of an individual. They preserve a lot of information on their life and biology. They have been always used by paleoanthropologists, you know, to describe species or to distinguish between species. So for us paleoanthropologists (teeth) are very useful fossils," Zanolli said.
Comparison with archaic human teeth
The researchers compared the ridges and dips on the tooth with other fossilized teeth belonging to archaic humans and found it didn't resemble teeth belonging to Homo sapiens or Homo erectus -- an archaic human that was the first to walk with an upright gait whose remains have been found across Asia. The cave find most closely resembled a tooth found in a Denisovan jawbone found on the Tibetan plateau in Xiahe county, in Gansu province, China. The authors said it was possible, though less likely, it could belong to a Neanderthal.
"Think about about it (the tooth) as if you are traveling into (a) valley between mountains. And the organization of these mountains and valleys is very typical of a species," Zanolli explained.
Analysis of some protein in enamel from the tooth suggested that it belonged to a female.
Denisovan DNA lives on in some humans today because, once our Homo sapiens ancestors encountered the Denisovans, they had sex with them and gave birth to babies -- something geneticists call admixture. This means we can look back into human history by analyzing current-day genetic data.
The "admixing" happened was thought to have happened more than 50,000 years ago, as modern humans moved out of Africa and likely crossed paths with both Neanderthals and Denisovans. But pinning down exactly where it happened has proven difficult -- particularly in the case of Denisovans.
Definitively Denisovan?
Any addition to the meager hominin fossil record of Asia is exciting news, said Katerina Douka, an assistant professor of archaeological science at the department of evolutionary anthropology at the University of Vienna. She wasn't involved in the research.
She said she would have liked to see "more and extensive evidence" that the tooth was definitively Denisovan.
"There is a chain of assumptions the authors accept in order to confirm that this is a Denisovan fossil," she said.
"The reality is that we cannot know whether this single and badly preserved molar belonged indeed to a Denisovan, a hybrid or even an unknown hominin group. It might well be a Denisovan, and I would love it to be a Denisovan, because how cool would that be? But more confident evidence is needed," she said.
In deeming the Laos tooth Denisovan, the researchers in this study relied heavily on a comparison with the Xiahe jawbone, Douka said. However, the jawbone, while thought by many to be Denisovan, was not an open-and-shut case. No DNA had been retrieved from the fossilized jawbone, only "thin" protein evidence, she added.
"Anyone working on this hominin group, where many major questions still remain, wants to add new dots on the map. The difficulty is in reliably identifying any fossils as that of a Denisovan," she said. "This lack of robust biomolecular data, however, reduces significantly the impact of this new find and it is a reminder of how difficult it is to work in the tropics."
The study authors said they planned to try and extract ancient DNA from the tooth, which, if possible, would provide a more definitive answer but the warm climate means that could be a long shot. The research team also plans to continue excavating the site after a pandemic-induced hiatus in the hope of more discoveries of ancient humans that lived in area.
"In this kind of environment, DNA doesn't preserve well at all but we'll do our best," said study coauthor Fabrice Demeter, an assistant professor at the Lundbeck Foundation GeoGenetics Centre in Denmark.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved. | https://www.albanyherald.com/news/cave-discovery-in-laos-could-unlock-more-about-human-evolutions-biggest-mystery/article_63f79347-9fb4-55bf-af31-c1fbe054cb92.html | 2022-05-17T17:36:22Z |
After a pilot project incubated by GET Cities Chicago, the Digital Equity Fund and Tech Desk scale
programming to advance diversity and equity within Chicago's tech ecosystem.
CHICAGO, July 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, GET Cities Chicago, WEI and Gumbo Media announce the launch of the Chicago Digital Equity Fund and Tech Desk (Chicago Tech Desk for short), sponsored by Verizon.
The Chicago Tech Desk was initially incubated as a pilot in 2021 in the GET Cities Chicago Tech Equity Working Group (TEWG). The TEWG is an alliance of Chicago accelerators, incubators, and funds creating city-wide solutions to systemic inequities in Chicago's tech entrepreneurship ecosystem. The group's aim is to jumpstart, accelerate, and fund more Chicago tech startups founded by women, trans, non-binary, Black, Indigenous, Latino/a, people of color, and LGBTQIA+ founders.
"The ambition of this group is to collaboratively ideate, pilot, and scale interventions targeting systemic gender and racial inequities that impact Chicago tech founders. We were thrilled by the success of many of last year's pilots, including the Tech Desk, and we're even more excited about the ongoing partnerships that help these projects expand, increasing reach and impact," said Elle Ramel, Director, GET Cities Chicago.
This year, the program is officially being launched and hosted at Gumbo Media, where seven qualified participants in the Women in Entrepreneurship Institute (WEI) Accelerator Program will receive a $5,000 technology grant to use toward their tech enablement needs - whether that be digital marketing, social media channels, e-commerce integration, or other tech-related services - as an expansion of the WEI program they just completed.
"Receiving this tech grant is great because it will help my company speed up the process of establishing the best tech stack and operational processes for my company," says Karyna do Monte, founder of Archie.io and one of the entrepreneurs receiving the technology grant. "I am excited to demonstrate how a bit of help can go a long way for me as a small business owner and am grateful for the opportunity to work with such a supportive organization."
WEI's goal is to provide women entrepreneurs with the tools and resources they need to grow their businesses and reach new markets. WEI supports women entrepreneurs through research and programs that invest in the success and sustainability of women-owned businesses. As a 100% women-led institute, board members and WEI staff use their own entrepreneurial experience to address women's funding gap and obstacles in scaling their businesses, board positions, and funding.
"This is a game changer for Chicago's women entrepreneurs. The cards have been stacked against women business owners in terms of financing and gender bias for far too long. At WEI, we are excited to provide the Chicago Tech Desk to our cohort members as a way to help level the playing field," says Kimberly Campbell, Program Manager at Women in Entrepreneurship Institute.
Tech Desk support, provided by Gumbo Media, will help each WEI entrepreneur to assess their technology needs, branding, digital storytelling and communications, online marketing, search/paid advertising, SEO as well as information technology (IT), client relationship management and database systems and other relevant tech enablement activities targeted by the WEI program.
"As a Black, creatively powered ecosystem of storytellers, cultural curators, visual architects, reality shifters, and legacy builders, we hold a special place for initiative and entities like our own, who on a daily basis, are defying odds and contributing to a more equitable world. Participating in this coordinated effort to bridge technology gaps that level the economic playing field is but one way we seek to cultivate the communities we serve and make plentiful the resources they deserve to have access to," says Etiti Ayeni, Director of Operations, Gumbo Media
Last year, the Chicago Equity Tech Desk pilot was led by a partnership between the YWCA of Metropolitan Chicago and the Women in Entrepreneurship Institute (WEI) at DePaul University. The University of Chicago Polsky Center, MATTER and Mhub also participated as partners in the pilot and Verizon acted as a sponsor. The pilot served 8 women entrepreneurs in the WEI program, providing tech curriculum, micro-grants and introductions to BIPOC tech vendors.
The Chicago Equity Tech Desk is a collaborative effort with an aligned vision and mission. Its success will be measured by the number of marginalized entrepreneurs we're able to directly support, the number of marginalized service providers connected to new business, and the growth of the ecosystem as a whole.
To learn more about the Chicago Digital Equity Fund and Tech Desk, please visit GET Cities, WEI, and Gumbo Media. To partner with the Chicago Tech Desk, contact info@getcities.com.
GET Cities, led by SecondMuse Foundation and Break Through Tech in partnership with Pivotal Ventures, is an initiative designed to accelerate the representation and leadership of women, transgender, and non-binary people in tech through the development of inclusive tech hubs across the United States.
Women in Entrepreneurship Institute (WEI) at DePaul University supports women entrepreneurs through research and programs that invest in the success and sustainability of women-owned businesses. As a 100% women-led institute, advisory board members and WEI staff use their own entrepreneurial experience to address women's funding gap and obstacles in scaling their businesses.
Gumbo Media is a multimedia storytelling enterprise and creative ecosystem that nourishes Black voices through editorial content, brand consulting services and digital media. Collectively, the Gumbo team believes in "the invisible". The stories, opportunities, and pathways that others overlook, Gumbo seeks to illuminate and empower.
Media Contact: Kisha Barton (347) 720-5099
kisha@globalvisiongroupintl.com
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SOURCE GET Cities Chicago | https://www.kxii.com/prnewswire/2022/07/27/chicago-get-cities-depaul-universitys-women-entrepreneurship-institute-wei-gumbo-media-announce-launch-chicago-digital-equity-fund-tech-desk-supported-by-verizon/ | 2022-07-27T14:07:48Z |
Scientists at Cincinnati Children's Demonstrate 'Plug-and-Play' Method to Consistently Make – And Safely Freeze – Material Needed for Large Numbers of Lab-Grown Small Intestines, Colons and Stomachs
CINCINNATI, July 28, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- As the idea of growing tiny human organs in lab dishes has moved in recent years from futuristic science fiction to actual bioscientific reality, the usefulness of organoids as a research tool for studying the digestive system swiftly encountered a bottleneck—these valuable tissues are quite difficult to make.
Even with highly trained teams using all the best ingredients and equipment, one batch of starting material can generate lots of tiny spheroids of organ precursor cells that can then be grown into specific organoid types. But the next batch may produce few spheroids or none at all.
As a result, lab teams often experience delays making the organoids they need for pre-clinical experiments that seek to test the safety or potency of potential medications or for basic research to delve deeper into the genetic and molecular activities that cause disease.
Now, in a paper published June 28, 2022, in Stem Cell Reports, a team of experts at Cincinnati Children's reports developing a method that overcomes this production bottleneck. The new method already is being used to advance organoid studies within the medical center. But since the materials involved can be frozen and thawed and still produce high-quality organoids, this discovery makes it possible to ship starter materials to other labs anywhere in the world—which could spark dramatically accelerated use of human gastrointestinal organoids throughout medical research.
"This method can make organoids a more accessible tool," says first author Amy Pitstick, MS, manager of the Pluripotent Stem Cell Facility at Cincinnati Children's. "We show that the aggregation approach consistently produces high yields and we have proven that precursor cells can be thawed from cyrogenic storage to produce organoids of the small intestine."
"Using this approach will make it possible for many research labs to use organoids in their experiments without the time and expense of learning how to grow induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs)," says corresponding author Chris Mayhew, PhD, director of the Pluripotent Stem Cell Facility. "The ability to freeze the precursor cells also will allow labs to easily make organoids without having to start each new experiment with complicated and highly variable iPSC differentiation."
Typically, organoid production requires collecting skin or blood cells that are converted in the lab to make iPSCs. To use these to make intestinal organoids, highly trained lab staff grow a flat layer of organ precursor cells called the mid-hindgut endoderm.
Given the right conditions, early-stage organoids called spheroids spontaneously form into 3D balls of cells. These get collected and transferred into a growth medium that provides the necessary signals for the cells to form into the specific cell types of a human organ—in this case the small intestine.
But the number of spheroids generated this way has proven inconsistent. The Cincinnati Children's team determined it was possible to collect the unused precursor cell layer and use a centrifuge to drive cells into hundreds of tiny wells contained on small plastic plates. This prompts the formation of 3D cell aggregates that can be collected and used for organoid production.
Testing detailed in the paper shows that the spheroids made this way have no meaningful differences from those that grew spontaneously.
Next, the team placed samples of the precursor cells into freezers for storage. Once these cells were thawed and aggregated, they also formed viable spheroids.
The paper confirms that these spheroids can be reliably grown into more mature organoids that mimic the functions of the small intestine, the large intestine (colon) and the bottom portion of the stomach that connects to the intestines (antrum).
Even with this advance, it will require years of work to develop organoids large enough and sophisticated enough to use as replacement tissue in transplant surgery. But having lots of easy-to-produce organoids opens many doors for medical research.
- More labs will be able to make patient-specific organoids to test drug combinations for precision treatment of complex conditions or rare disease states that require customized care.
- Scientists doing basic research to learn more about the genetic factors and molecular mechanisms at work in diseases affecting the digestive tract will be able to use organoids by ordering frozen spheroid precursors for their experiments.
- Labs testing ways to grow larger organoids for potential transplantation would obtain less expensive, more-reliable supplies of large numbers of human organoids for their research.
- And a new generation of biomedical research students will have much easier access to human organoids to study without needing to learn how to grow iPSCs.
Michael Helmrath, MD, Director of Clinical Translation for the Center for Stem Cell & Organoid Medicine (CuSTOM) at Cincinnati Children's, already has started using materials made from the new process in his ongoing research to develop transplantable intestinal tissues.
"This is a great step forward for the field on many fronts," Helmrath says. "To be able to reduce the complexity of the process and provide higher yields is beneficial to our work. And to be able to translate the methods to other labs will help move regenerative medicine forward."
Jim Wells, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer for CuSTOM, led the team that achieved the first success at making a human intestinal organoid, published online in 2010 in Nature.
"The work led by Amy and Chris represents an important advance for our efforts to develop high-throughput platforms for drug discovery," Wells says.
In addition to Pitstick and Mayhew, Cincinnati Children's co-authors for this study include Wells, Helmrath, Holly Poling, BS, Nambirajan Sundaram, PhD, Phillip Lewis, PhD, Daniel Kechele, PhD, J. Guillermo Sanchez, PhD candidate, Melissa Scott-Preusse, BS, and Taylor Broda, MBA.
Funding sources for this project include the National Institutes of Health (P30 DK078392, U18 EB021780, U19 AI116491, P01 HD093363, UG3 DK119982, and U01 DK103117); the Shipley Foundation, the Allen Foundation, and Cincinnati Children's Pursuing Our Potential Together program.
Aggregation of cryopreserved mid-hindgut endoderm for more reliable and reproducible hPSC-derived small intestinal organoid generation, July 28, 2022, Stem Cell Reports. DOI: 10.1016/j.stemcr.2022.06.011
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SOURCE Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center | https://www.wibw.com/prnewswire/2022/07/28/organoid-production-breakthrough-help-accelerate-disease-drug-development-research/ | 2022-07-28T16:07:22Z |
Iconic drive-thru brand announces recent franchise agreements and award achievements as it continues its expansion plans
TAMPA, Fla., Aug. 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Checkers & Rally's, an iconic and innovative drive-thru restaurant chain known for bold and flavorful food at an exceptional value and its people-first attitude, today announced its strong momentum in the first half of 2022, with 32 signed franchise & multi-unit development agreements representing a total of 53 new restaurant locations, to date this year. The company has also been announced as the recipient of three industry accolades from The International Foodservice Manufacturers Association (IFMA), Franchise Update Media and Franchise Business Review. The news proceeds the company announcing its record year-end progress for 2021 and accelerated growth plans for 2022 as it continues to reach new markets and expand nationwide.
The new development agreements encompass locations with new and existing franchise groups that will expand the brand in identified priority markets including Phoenix, California and the tri-state area, and enter into new markets including Knoxville, Tenn., Providence, R.I. and Montgomery, Ala. With a healthy new restaurant pipeline, the Company has opened 11 locations so far in 2022, with upwards of another 40 expected to open by year's end in key markets across the country.
In addition, Checkers & Rally's is proud to announce its President & CEO, Frances Allen, has been awarded the prestigious Silver Plate Award by IFMA in the 'Chain Limited Service' category. The award recognizes operators for outstanding leadership and innovation and their contributions to the advancement of the foodservice industry.
"It is such an honor to have been nominated alongside a number of my incredible peers for this year's Silver Plate Award," said Allen. "In my decades of service in the restaurant industry, this is a pinnacle moment in my career, and I am so thankful to all of my team members for their unwavering support and dedication as Checkers & Rally's continues to be recognized as a leader in the quick-service industry. I'd also like to extend a thank you to the team at Coca-Cola for the nomination and greatly appreciate their continued partnership."
The company has continued its award momentum with the announcement that franchisee Bruce Keehn, with his daughter and partner Staci Force, has been named the winner of Franchise Business Review's Franchise Rock Stars award in the 'Family-owned' category. The award recognizes franchisees who are an exceptional example of achieving success within their franchise model. Checkers & Rally's has also been named a winner of this year's Innovation Awards by Franchise Update Media, which recognizes franchise brands that are successfully innovating, building market share and engaging employees and customers. This is the third year in a row that Checkers & Rally's has received an Innovation Award for its accomplishments in operations and technology.
"We are so proud of Bruce, Staci and their entire organization. They serve as tremendous role models for our brand and the entire industry," said Allen. "We also congratulate Checkers & Rally's Operations and IT teams. Their commitment to innovation and guest service has enabled our restaurants to implement successful AI at the drive-thru technology, our new Restaurant of the Future design, our new kitchen engine, and our eCommerce-only drive-thru lanes that have significantly benefited our company-owned and franchised restaurants across our system."
Checkers & Rally's has also created a big splash this year tied to its recent campaign surrounding National French Fry Day. The brand was successful in its petition encouraging the National Day Calendar to move National Fry Day from July 13 on any given year to always land on an actual Friday (the second Friday of July starting in 2023). The campaign led to a groundswell of support among both consumers and media, garnering more than 750 media placements nationwide.
Finally, Checkers & Rally's small real estate footprint, double drive-thru, and advanced delivery-focused concept has seen increased success as consumer preference continues to shift in favor of takeout and delivery options, strengthening its franchising value proposition as it fuels growth for both new and existing franchisees.
"We are eager and excited about the momentum we've had in the first and second quarters and will continue to focus on multi-unit franchising agreements as we look to expand in California, Texas, Massachusetts, Connecticut and North and South Carolina," said Kris McDonald, Vice President of Development at Checkers & Rally's. "We offer franchisees the opportunity to bolster their portfolios with a well-known and innovative brand, and we pride ourselves on the support we provide to ensure successful openings and continued store traffic and sales. It's an honor to have been recognized for our distinguished franchising opportunity, and we congratulate Bruce on his well-deserved recognition."
Checkers & Rally's has more than 800 locations nationwide and growing. To learn more about its franchising opportunities, please visit CheckersFranchising.com.
Based in Tampa, Fla., Checkers Drive-In Restaurants, Inc., an iconic and innovative drive-thru restaurant chain known for its bold, craveable food, famous fries, exceptional value, and people-first attitude, operates and franchises both Checkers® and Rally's® restaurants. With more than 800 restaurants and room to grow, Checkers & Rally's is a proven brand with flexible building formats that is aggressively expanding across the country. Checkers & Rally's is dedicated to being a place where franchisees and employees who work hard can create opportunities for themselves, their families, and their communities. In recent years, the brand has earned several of the industry's most prestigious awards including: "#1 Most-Loved Fries" in 2021 and "#1 Most Craveable Fries" by Restaurant Business in 2019 and 2017; Best Franchise Deal and "Best Drive-Thru in America" by QSR Magazine; Top Food and Beverage Franchise by Franchise Business Review; the "Hot! Again" award from Nation's Restaurant News; several "Most Innovative" awards from Franchise Update Media; and has consistently been ranked on Entrepreneur's Franchise 500.
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SOURCE Checkers & Rally's Restaurants, Inc. | https://www.wibw.com/prnewswire/2022/08/15/checkers-amp-rallys-kicks-off-first-half-2022-with-strong-development-growth-recognition/ | 2022-08-15T14:17:45Z |
DALLAS (KDAF) — There is nothing that quite hits the spot like a great pizza.
There’s a reason that classic New York cheese pizza is the go-to food choice of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It’s so delicious, simple and always hits (no matter the time of day you eat it).
Well, in celebration of this fantastic food we call cheese pizza, Monday, Sept. 5 is National Cheese Pizza Day (as well as Labor Day). If you have the day off and you want to celebrate with a slice of pie, you have come to the right place.
Here are some of the best places to celebrate the holiday, according to Tripadvisor:
- Cane Rosso
- Pie Tap Pizza Workshop + Bar
- Eno’s Pizza Tavern
- Campisi’s Restaurant
- Grimaldi’s Pizzeria
- Social Pie
- Fireside Pies
- Olivella’s Neo Pizza Napoletana
- Tony’s Pizza and Past
- Serious Pizza | https://cw33.com/news/local/here-are-the-best-places-to-get-cheese-pizza-in-dallas-according-to-tripadvisor/ | 2022-09-05T14:04:57Z |
WYNDHAM HOTELS & RESORTS REPORTS SECOND QUARTER 2022 RESULTS
Published: Jul. 26, 2022 at 3:30 PM CDT|Updated: 51 minutes ago
Company Raises Full-Year 2022 Outlook and Grows Global Development Pipeline by 9% to a Record 208,000 Rooms
PARSIPPANY, N.J., July 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (NYSE: WH) today announced results for the three months ended June 30, 2022. Highlights include:
Global RevPAR grew 23% compared to second quarter 2021 in constant currency.
System-wide rooms grew 3% year-over-year, including 2% of growth in the U.S. and 4% of growth internationally.
Hotel Franchising segment revenues grew 18% year-over-year.
Diluted earnings per share of $1.00 and adjusted diluted earnings per share of $1.07.
Net income of $92 million and adjusted net income of $99 million.
Adjusted EBITDA of $175 million.
Year-to-date net cash provided by operating activities of $242 million and free cash flow of $224 million.
Domestic development signings increased 77%, including 22 new construction projects for the Company's new extended-stay brand, bringing the total number to 72 since launch in March.
Completed the sale of the Wyndham Grand Rio Mar Resort.
Returned $171 million to shareholders through $142 million of share repurchases and a quarterly cash dividend of $0.32 per share.
Company raises full-year 2022 outlook.
"We kicked off our high-demand summer season with the strongest Memorial Day we've ever experienced, as guests traveled further, stayed longer and spent more at our hotels than they did pre-pandemic," said Geoffrey A. Ballotti, president and chief executive officer. "Our business experienced another strong quarter performing above both last year and 2019 as international recovery accelerated and our development teams grew our pipeline to a record level. Our second quarter results once again demonstrated the strength and durability of our business model and we are well on track to deliver on our 2022 commitments."
Fee-related and other revenues increased 10% year-over-year to $354 million as the impact from the increase of global RevPAR and higher license fees were partially offset by a $21 million impact from the sale of the Company's owned hotels and the exit of its select-service management business.
The Company generated net income of $92 million, or $1.00 per diluted share, an increase of $24 million, or $0.27 per diluted share, reflecting higher adjusted EBITDA, lower depreciation and amortization expense due to the sale of the Company's owned hotels and lower expenses associated with the early extinguishment of debt. Adjusted EBITDA increased $7 million, or 4%, versus 2021 to $175 million reflecting the revenue growth, which was partially offset by an $8 million impact from the sale of the Company's owned hotels and the exit of its select-service management business as well as a $2 million unfavorable timing impact from the marketing fund.
Full reconciliations of GAAP results to the Company's non-GAAP adjusted measures for all reported periods appear in the tables to this press release.
System Size
The Company's global system grew 3%, reflecting 2% growth in the U.S. and 4% growth internationally. As expected, these increases included strong growth in both the higher RevPAR midscale and above segments in the U.S. and the direct franchising business in China, which grew 7% and 12%, respectively. The Company remains solidly on track with its goal of achieving a retention rate above 95% and its net room growth outlook of 2 to 4% for the full year 2022.
RevPAR
Second quarter RevPAR grew 23% globally in constant currency, including 15% growth in the U.S. and 59% growth internationally. The increase is approximately 80% driven by stronger pricing power and 20% driven by higher occupancy levels.
Business Segment Discussion
Hotel Franchising revenues increased 18% year-over-year to $335 million primarily due to the global RevPAR increase and higher license and other fees. Hotel Franchising adjusted EBITDA increased 11% to $185 million reflecting the growth in revenues, partially offset by a 340 basis point unfavorable timing impact from the marketing fund.
Hotel Management revenues decreased 59% year-over-year to $51 million, including a $53 million decrease in cost-reimbursement revenues, which have no impact on adjusted EBITDA. Absent cost-reimbursements, Hotel Management revenues decreased $19 million, or 50%, to $19 million due to the sale of the Company's owned hotels and the exit of its select-service management business. Hotel Management adjusted EBITDA decreased $10 million year-over-year reflecting the same.
Development
The Company awarded 187 new contracts this quarter compared to 154 in the second quarter 2021. On June 30, 2022, the Company's global development pipeline consisted of approximately 1,600 hotels and approximately 208,000 rooms, of which approximately 80% is in the midscale and above segments (nearly 70% in the U.S.). The pipeline grew 9% year-over-year, including 17% domestically and 5% internationally. Approximately 62% of the Company's development pipeline is international and 78% is new construction, of which approximately 36% has broken ground.
Sale of Owned Hotel
On May 24, 2022, the Company completed the sale of the Wyndham Grand Rio Mar Resort in Puerto Rico for gross proceeds of approximately $62 million. There was no gain or loss on the sale as the proceeds approximated adjusted net book value. The Company entered into a 20-year franchise agreement with the buyer.
Cash and Liquidity
The Company generated $242 million of net cash provided by operating activities year-to-date and $224 million of free cash flow. The Company ended the quarter with a cash balance of $400 million and approximately $1.1 billion in total liquidity.
Share Repurchases and Dividends
During the second quarter, the Company repurchased approximately 1.9 million shares of its common stock for $142 million. The Company also paid common stock dividends of $29 million, or $0.32 per share, in the second quarter.
Full-Year 2022 Outlook
The Company is increasing its outlook as follows to reflect future projections related to the Company's license fees from Travel & Leisure based on their full-year 2022 Gross VOI Sales outlook provided on April 28, 2022 as well as the impact of second quarter share repurchase activity:
More detailed projections are available in Table 8 of this press release. The Company is providing certain financial metrics only on a non-GAAP basis because, without unreasonable efforts, it is unable to predict with reasonable certainty the occurrence or amount of all of the adjustments or other potential adjustments that may arise in the future during the forward-looking period, which can be dependent on future events that may not be reliably predicted. Based on past reported results, where one or more of these items have been applicable, such excluded items could be material, individually or in the aggregate, to the reported results.
Conference Call Information
Wyndham Hotels will hold a conference call with investors to discuss the Company's results and outlook on Wednesday, July 27, 2022 at 8:30 a.m. ET. Listeners can access the webcast live through the Company's website at https://investor.wyndhamhotels.com. The conference call may also be accessed by dialing 888 632-3382 and providing the passcode "Wyndham". Listeners are urged to call at least five minutes prior to the scheduled start time. An archive of this webcast will be available on the website beginning at noon ET on July 27, 2022. A telephone replay will be available for approximately ten days beginning at noon ET on July 27, 2022 at 800 925-9942.
Presentation of Financial Information
Financial information discussed in this press release includes non-GAAP measures, which include or exclude certain items. These non-GAAP measures differ from reported GAAP results and are intended to illustrate what management believes are relevant period-over-period comparisons and are helpful to investors as an additional tool for further understanding and assessing the Company's ongoing operating performance. The Company uses these measures internally to assess its operating performance, both absolutely and in comparison to other companies, and to make day to day operating decisions, including in the evaluation of selected compensation decisions. Exclusion of items in the Company's non-GAAP presentation should not be considered an inference that these items are unusual, infrequent or non-recurring. Full reconciliations of GAAP results to the comparable non-GAAP measures for the reported periods appear in the financial tables section of this press release.
About Wyndham Hotels & Resorts
Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (NYSE: WH) is the world's largest hotel franchising company by the number of properties, with approximately 9,000 hotels across over 95 countries on six continents. Through its network of approximately 819,000 rooms appealing to the everyday traveler, Wyndham commands a leading presence in the economy and midscale segments of the lodging industry. The Company operates a portfolio of 22 hotel brands, including Super 8®, Days Inn®, Ramada®, Microtel®, La Quinta®, Baymont®, Wingate®, AmericInn®, Hawthorn Suites®, Trademark Collection® and Wyndham®. The Company's award-winning Wyndham Rewards loyalty program offers over 95 million enrolled members the opportunity to redeem points at thousands of hotels, vacation club resorts and vacation rentals globally. For more information, visit www.wyndhamhotels.com. The Company may use its website as a means of disclosing material non-public information and for complying with its disclosure obligations under Regulation FD. Disclosures of this nature will be included on the Company's website in the Investors section, which can currently be accessed at www.investor.wyndhamhotels.com. Accordingly, investors should monitor this section of the Company's website in addition to following the Company's press releases, filings submitted with the Securities and Exchange Commission and any public conference calls or webcasts.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including statements related to the Company's current views and expectations with respect to its future performance and operations, including revenues, earnings, cash flow and other financial and operating measures, share repurchases and dividends, restructuring charges and statements related to the coronavirus pandemic ("COVID-19"). Forward-looking statements include those that convey management's expectations as to the future based on plans, estimates and projections at the time the Company makes the statements and may be identified by words such as "will," "expect," "believe," "plan," "anticipate," "intend," "goal," "future," "outlook," "guidance," "target," "objective," "estimate," "projection" and similar words or expressions, including the negative version of such words and expressions. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release.
Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include, without limitation, general economic conditions; the continuation or worsening of the effects from COVID-19, its scope, duration, resurgence and impact on the Company's business operations, financial results, cash flows and liquidity, as well as the impact on the Company's franchisees and property owners, guests and team members, the hospitality industry and overall demand for travel; the success of the Company's mitigation efforts in response to COVID-19; the Company's performance during the recovery from COVID-19 and any resurgence or mutations of the virus; various actions governments, businesses and individuals continue to take in response to the pandemic, including stay-in-place directives (including, for instance, quarantine and isolation guidelines and mandates), safety mitigation guidance, as well as the timing, availability and adoption rates of vaccinations, booster shots and other treatments for COVID-19; concerns with or threats of other pandemics, contagious diseases or health epidemics, including the effects of COVID-19; the performance of the financial and credit markets; the economic environment for the hospitality industry; operating risks associated with the hotel franchising and management businesses; the Company's relationships with franchisees and property owners; the impact of war, terrorist activity, political instability or political strife; risks related to restructuring or strategic initiatives; the Company's ability to satisfy obligations and agreements under its outstanding indebtedness, including the payment of principal and interest and compliance with the covenants thereunder; risks related to the Company's ability to obtain financing and the terms of such financing, including access to liquidity and capital; and the Company's ability to make or pay, plans for, and the timing and amount of any future share repurchases and/or dividends, as well as the risks described in the Company's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and any subsequent reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, subsequent events or otherwise.
The above press release was provided courtesy of PRNewswire. The views, opinions and statements in the press release are not endorsed by Gray Media Group nor do they necessarily state or reflect those of Gray Media Group, Inc. | https://www.wibw.com/prnewswire/2022/07/26/wyndham-hotels-amp-resorts-reports-second-quarter-2022-results/ | 2022-07-26T21:21:55Z |
- Qoala raised US$ 65 million in Series B funding led by Eurazeo with participation from several existing investors including Flourish Ventures, KB Investment, MassMutual Ventures, MDI Ventures, SeedPlus and Sequoia Capital India. In addition, BRI Ventures, Daiwa PI Partners, Indogen Capital, Mandiri Capital Indonesia and Salt Ventures also joined the investment round as new investors.
- Qoala becomes Southeast Asia's fastest growing and first insurtech company with licenses and presence in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand.
JAKARTA, Indonesia, May 11, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Entering 2022, Indonesian insurtech startup Qoala, has successfully raised Series B funding of US$ 65 million. The company distributes retail insurance products to consumers for car, bike, home, and health through its omnichannel platform. Based in Indonesia, the platform has successfully expanded to Thailand and Malaysia in 2021, strengthening Qoala's commitment to make makes insurance accessible, easy to understand, and help consumers better with their claims.
Having grown 30 times since the Series A round in April 2020, Qoala is the fastest growing insurtech in SEA. Qoala has acquired over 50,000 insurance marketers and provides a platform supported by over 50 insurers for them to sell insurance from multiple insurers, while managing pre-sale and post-sale services. It also provides several innovative micro-insurance products through its partnerships with Traveloka, Redbus, DANA, JD.ID, Shopee, Kredivo and Investree among others.
Qoala focuses on "retail insurance" which involves insurance for cars, bikes, homes, and health. "Qoala is the only insurtech with licenses in three markets in SEA and with this new round we are optimistic in sustaining our growth momentum. Our business in Thailand has also already grown by three times since we joined forces with FairDee in February 2021, which gives us confidence in our expansion capability," added Tommy Martin, Co-founder and COO of Qoala.
"Qoala's business model of expanding the use of insurance among underserved consumers in Southeast Asia resonates with our thesis of backing innovation to improve financial health of households," said Smita Aggarwal, Global Investments Advisor at Flourish Ventures. "We are excited about the momentum that Qoala has generated since we last invested in Series A. We at Flourish Ventures are pleased to continue our commitment to Qoala."
Tara Reeves of Eurazeo, a European investment firm who led this round and previously funded WeFox, the largest insurtech in the world also added, "Qoala stands out amongst the insurtech companies due to its diverse team which has been able to deliver rapid growth with promising unit economics despite the pandemic. With regional presence and fast growth forecasted for the region, we are excited to lead this round and join Qoala in its journey."
Qoala sets itself apart through a superior tech stack. This enables them to offer industry-leading speed in policy issuance, instant pricing as well as an industry first - instant commissions to insurance marketers. These innovations not only solve very key issues for insurance marketers and consumers but also allow Qoala to acquire and service consumers at a lower cost, leading to superior unit economics. Global insurers like Sompo, AXA, and Chubb have also joined Qoala's platform due to their focus on retail customers so they can fasten insurance adoption while maintaining healthy loss ratios.
The funding also demonstrates appreciation and trust from both Qoala's existing and new investors to continue its growth in the insurtech sector. "We will continue to invest towards scaling up Qoala's reach in our core markets and focus on enhancing our technology and product experience to greatly reduce the hurdles to accessing insurance that are today still very significant," said Harshet Lunani, Founder and CEO of Qoala.
Furthermore, Qoala aims to add over 250 employees this year focus on building out an engineering and product management hub in Gurugram, India. In parallel, Qoala also plans to grant employees with equity compensation and give them the right to acquire shares in the company to strengthen employee ownership in the company.
"Insurance penetration in Indonesia is currently only 2%, far behind the global average of 6%, with most consumers just beginning to understand the value of insurance and hence there is plenty of room for growth. Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia are amongst the top 10 fastest growing global markets for insurance in the next decade," added Harshet.
About Qoala
Qoala is a startup in the field of insurance technology with a mission to socialize insurance through a combination of new product development supported by machine learning-based claim processes. Qoala operates in three countries; Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand offering various insurance protections, ranging from health, motor vehicle, property, personal accident, and other needs that can be accessed quickly, easily, and transparently through the Qoala application or website.
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SOURCE Qoala | https://www.wibw.com/prnewswire/2022/05/12/qoala-raises-us-65-million-series-b-clocking-30x-business-growth-since-series/ | 2022-05-12T10:36:57Z |
DALLAS (KDAF) — Here’s a new lunchtime pizza spot to put on your radar. A Dallas late-night pizza shop/bar is now introducing weekend brunches this summer.
You can now book a reservation on the weekends as early as 11 a.m. at Sfuzzi Pizza in Dallas. This (usually) late-night spot offers delicious pizza and Italian food options like:
- Pizza
- Calamari
- Meatballs
- Pasta
- Salads
- Deserts
Their brunch menu includes:
- Breakfast Pizza
- Mimosas
- Spritz
- Breakfast hash
- Croissant
- Pancakes
- And more
To see their full brunch and dinner menus, and to book your reservation, click here.
Photo courtesy Sfuzzi Photo courtesy Sfuzzi Photo courtesy Sfuzzi Photo courtesy Sfuzzi Photo courtesy Sfuzzi Photo courtesy Sfuzzi Photo courtesy Sfuzzi Photo courtesy Sfuzzi Photo courtesy Sfuzzi Photo courtesy Sfuzzi | https://cw33.com/news/inside-dfw/food-fix-dallas-pizza-restaurant-sfuzzi-launches-weekend-brunch/ | 2022-07-08T16:34:59Z |
Idaho governor talks tax cuts following April revenue report
By KEITH RIDLER
Associated Press
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho Gov. Brad Little is promising more tax cuts after state budget officials on Tuesday reported April tax revenue came in nearly double what had been expected.
The Republican governor in a statement attributed the $1.2 billion April tax revenues to conservative principles.
“Idaho’s record-setting economy is no accident,” he said. “The continued strength of Idaho businesses and the health of our state budget prove our conservative approach to governing works.”
The April revenue includes about $700 million in income tax and $300 million in corporate income tax. Officials said Idaho could have a $1.3 billion surplus when the current fiscal year ends June 30.
Little earlier this year signed into law a record $600 million income tax cut that includes a one-time $350 million in rebates and $250 million in permanent income tax reductions going forward for people and businesses.
“To Idahoans, I tell you this – we have achieved historic tax cuts for you in the past few years, and we are not done yet,” he said. “Our conservative principles mean more tax cuts are coming.”
Opponents of the tax cuts from earlier this year said they mostly benefit the wealthy at the expense of essential government services such as education. | https://localnews8.com/news/2022/05/10/idaho-governor-talks-tax-cuts-following-april-revenue-report-2/ | 2022-05-10T23:04:55Z |
NCOA ranks 24th among 50 U.S. nonprofits and 9th among midsize organizations
ARLINGTON, Va., April 12, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Council on Aging (NCOA), the national voice for every person's right to age well, was recently selected as one of the 2022 Best Nonprofits to Work For in the nation by the publication The NonProfit Times.
"I am thrilled that NCOA received this recognition and that our employees think so highly of our work culture," said Ramsey Alwin, NCOA President and CEO. "This award is truly a celebration of our staff and their commitment to ensuring that all can age well. We pride ourselves on creating an environment where people can thrive professionally and feel appreciated while contributing to our mission."
NCOA ranked 9th in the medium-size employer category—the most competitive—representing nearly half of the entire list of 50 organizations nationwide. The NonProfit Times survey is designed to identify, recognize, and honor the best employers in the nonprofit industry.
Participating nonprofits went through a battery of surveys by employees and leaders, as well as outside benchmarking. There are 77 questions within eight categories that make up the Employee Benchmark Report. Key categories where NCOA led are leadership, culture and communications, work environment, relationship with supervisors, and overall engagement.
"I am comfortable enough to step out of my zone, and I have a voice where I feel appreciated and valued as a team member," one employee reported. Another commended NCOA for having "clear goals, mission, and strategy. Staff members are very mission-driven, passionate, and hardworking."
"We are honored to be named among such fine organizations from around the country and more than proud of our employees who made this happen," said Alicia Waller, Chief People Officer. "It is only because of the passion and dedication of our amazing staff that we could receive this prestigious recognition."
For more information about working at NCOA, visit our Careers page.
The National Council on Aging (NCOA) is the national voice for every person's right to age well. We believe that how we age should not be determined by gender, color, sexuality, income, or zip code. Working with thousands of national and local partners, we provide resources, tools, best practices, and advocacy to ensure every person can age with health and financial security. Founded in 1950, we are the oldest national organization focused on older adults. Learn more at www.ncoa.org and @NCOAging.
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SOURCE National Council on Aging | https://www.kxii.com/prnewswire/2022/04/12/national-council-aging-among-nonprofit-timess-2022-best-nonprofits-work/ | 2022-04-12T13:39:54Z |
AURORA, Colo., June 21, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR), America's largest grocery retailer, today announced it will offer more Americans delivery through the addition of a new customer fulfillment center (CFC) in Aurora, Colorado, powered by the Ocado Group (LSE: OCDO), engineering a model for the region, leveraging advanced robotics technology and creative solutions to redefine the customer experience in the Denver Metro Area.
"We are thrilled to expand and introduce our innovative Kroger Fulfillment Network to one of the fastest growing areas in the country and have the opportunity to grow our workforce," said Gabriel Arreaga, Kroger's senior vice president and chief supply chain officer. "Through the incredible partnership and support from the City of Aurora and Adams County, Kroger Delivery can accelerate its commitment to provide exceptional customer service through our state-of-the-art facility and end-to-end cold solutions, including custom-built refrigerated vans, to ensure our delivery customers receive the freshest products directly to their doorstep throughout the Denver region."
"As we continue to expand our nationwide CFC program, Kroger and Ocado Group are now live with five state-of-the-art fulfilment centers across the USA. As this site ramps up, Kroger Delivery will bring a world class online experience to homes across the Denver Metro area, powered by some of the most advanced technology available anywhere in the world," said Luke Jensen, CEO of Ocado Solutions.
"Adams County is excited to have this new state-of-the-art food distribution facility opening in our community," said Lynn Baca, Chair, Adams County Board of Commissioners. "Not only will it showcase innovative sorting technology, it will also help provide greater access to high quality food and fresh produce for our residents. Providing a delivery option will also benefit those in our community who may have mobility issues, or simply lack the time to go into a physical location."
The nearly 300,000 square-foot distribution center will bring nearly 400 new jobs to Aurora and adjacent communities.
Kroger Delivery Explained
This expansion represents an extension of a partnership between Kroger and Ocado, a world leader in technology for grocery e-commerce. In 2018, the companies announced a collaboration to establish a delivery network that combines artificial intelligence, advanced robotics, and automation in a bold new way, bringing first-of-its-kind technology to America.
The delivery network relies on highly automated fulfillment centers. At the hub sites, more than 1,000 bots whizz around giant 3D grids, orchestrated by proprietary air-traffic control systems in the unlicensed spectrum. The grid, known as The Hive, contains totes with products and ready-to-deliver customer orders. As customers' orders near delivery times, the bots retrieve products from The Hive and are presented at pick stations for items to be sorted for delivery, a process governed by algorithms that ensures items are intelligently packed. For example, fragile items are placed on top, bags are evenly weighted, and each order is optimized to fit into the lowest number of bags, reducing plastic use.
After being packed, groceries are loaded into a refrigerated delivery van, which can store up to 20 orders. Powerful machine learning algorithms optimize delivery routes, considering factors like road conditions and optimal fuel efficiency. Drivers may travel up to 90 miles with orders from facilities to make deliveries.
Kroger currently operates customer fulfillment centers in Monroe, OH, Groveland, FL, Forest Park, GA (Atlanta) and Dallas, TX and Pleasant Prairie, WI with additional customer fulfillment centers slated for California, Frederick, MD, Phoenix, AZ, Romulus, MI (Detroit), Cleveland, OH, Charlotte, NC as well as South Florida and the Northeast.
Media Assets
To download Kroger Delivery photography and video, visit here.
About Kroger
At The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR), we are Fresh for Everyone™ and dedicated to our Purpose: To Feed the Human Spirit®. We are, across our family of companies, nearly half a million associates who serve over 11 million customers daily through a seamless shopping experience under a variety of banner names. We are committed to creating #ZeroHungerZeroWaste communities by 2025. To learn more about us, visit our newsroom and investor relations site.
About Ocado Group
Ocado Group is a UK based technology company admitted to trading on the London Stock Exchange (Ticker OCDO). It provides end-to-end online grocery fulfilment solutions to some of the world's largest grocery retailers and holds a 50% share of Ocado Retail Ltd in the UK in a Joint Venture with Marks & Spencer. Ocado has spent two decades innovating for grocery online, investing in a wide technology estate that includes robotics, AI & machine learning, simulation, forecasting, and edge intelligence.
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SOURCE The Kroger Co. | https://www.wibw.com/prnewswire/2022/06/21/kroger-fulfillment-network-expands-with-customer-fulfillment-center-denver-metro-area/ | 2022-06-21T13:40:22Z |
Company brings new rental homes under management as trip searches to Florida increase
MIAMI, May 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Zeus Living, a leading property management and hospitality platform, today announced its expansion in South Florida with the addition of 20 properties to its portfolio and another six expected to go live on the company's website by mid-June, totaling in 26. The decision to grow in the region was fueled by the increasing number of people who have the ability to live and work from anywhere, and the consistent demand for rental homes and apartment-style units in the state. Compared to last year, Zeus Living has seen a 130% increase in searches for Florida accommodations on the company's website. The properties newly managed by Zeus Living range from studios to five-bedrooms, and are located in the communities of Coral Gables, Doral, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, and West Palm Beach.
Zeus Living manages properties that can be rented for 30 days or longer across more than 100 destinations in the U.S. The tech-enabled company aims to alleviate pain points for owners by designing, listing, marketing, booking, and caring for their homes. While driving revenue for owners, Zeus Living provides 24/7 support to residents throughout their rental experience. Florida is the newest state to be added to Zeus Living's portfolio, and is among the company's top-performing markets based on bookings.
"I'm excited to expand our presence in Florida at a time when individuals and families are considering living and working from sunny, beachside destinations," said Kulveer Taggar, CEO and Co-Founder of Zeus Living. "With the standardization of remote work, we've seen that people are increasingly embracing what we call 'FlexLiving' — and the summer season opens up greater opportunity to bring the whole family along. As travel and living continue to merge and pandemic restrictions lift, we look forward to reaching more homeowners and offering increased options for our residents, wherever they want to be."
In a new survey of more than 1,700 Americans who work remotely at least part of the time, Zeus Living found 67% would consider living and working from a new city in 2022, pointing to increased demand for flexible rentals on the horizon. While maintaining north of 85% occupancy, Zeus Living has experienced recent boosts in overall search volume on its website, up 38% since the start of the year.
About Zeus Living
Zeus Living designs and manages modern homes that can be rented for 30 days or longer across more than 100 destinations in the U.S. Through its leading technology platform and the expertise of dedicated hospitality professionals around the country, Zeus Living strives to help people live well, and on their own terms. Zeus Living drives revenue for owners while taking care of their properties, and delivers unparalleled support to residents, ensuring memorable experiences wherever they choose to stay. Organizations trust Zeus Living to serve as an end-to-end corporate travel partner, with flexible options based on personalized needs. To date, Zeus Living has raised over $150 million in capital from leading investors and hosted more than 40,000 residents for 1.6 million nights. For more information, visit zeusliving.com or follow @zeusliving on Twitter.
PR Contact
Anni Jones
PR Director, Zeus Living
Anni.Jones@zeusliving.com
(831) 588-4121
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SOURCE Zeus Living | https://www.kxii.com/prnewswire/2022/05/19/zeus-living-expands-south-florida-meet-surge-demand-flexible-extended-stays/ | 2022-05-19T12:43:58Z |
NEW YORK, July 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- This press release provides shareholders of Cohen & Steers REIT and Preferred and Income Fund, Inc. (NYSE: RNP) (the "Fund") with information regarding the sources of the distribution to be paid on July 29, 2022 and cumulative distributions paid fiscal year-to-date.
In December 2017, the Fund implemented a managed distribution policy in accordance with exemptive relief issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The managed distribution policy seeks to deliver the Fund's long-term total return potential through regular monthly distributions declared at a fixed rate per common share. The policy gives the Fund greater flexibility to realize long-term capital gains throughout the year and to distribute those gains on a regular monthly basis to shareholders. The Board of Directors of the Fund may amend, terminate or suspend the managed distribution policy at any time, which could have an adverse effect on the market price of the Fund's shares.
The Fund's monthly distributions may include long-term capital gains, short-term capital gains, net investment income and/or return of capital for federal income tax purposes. Return of capital includes distributions paid by the Fund in excess of its net investment income and net realized capital gains and such excess is distributed from the Fund's assets. A return of capital is not taxable; rather, it reduces a shareholder's tax basis in his or her shares of the Fund. In addition, distributions from the Fund's investments in real estate investment trusts (REITs) may later be characterized as capital gains and/or a return of capital, depending on the character of the dividends reported to the Fund after year-end by REITs held by the Fund. The amount of monthly distributions may vary depending on a number of factors, including changes in portfolio and market conditions.
At the time of each monthly distribution, information will be posted to cohenandsteers.com and mailed to shareholders in a concurrent notice. However, this information may change at the end of the year because the final tax characteristics of the Fund's distributions cannot be determined with certainty until after the end of the calendar year. Final tax characteristics of all of the Fund's distributions will be provided on Form 1099-DIV, which is mailed after the close of the calendar year.
The following table sets forth the estimated amounts of the current distribution and the cumulative distributions paid this fiscal year-to-date from the sources indicated. All amounts are expressed per common share.
You should not draw any conclusions about the Fund's investment performance from the amount of this distribution or from the terms of the Fund's managed distribution policy. The amounts and sources of distributions reported in this Notice are only estimates, are likely to change over time, and are not being provided for tax reporting purposes. The actual amounts and sources of the amounts for accounting and tax reporting purposes will depend upon the Fund's investment experience during the remainder of its fiscal year and may be subject to changes based on tax regulations. The amounts and sources of distributions year-to-date may be subject to additional adjustments.
*THE FUND WILL SEND YOU A FORM 1099-DIV FOR THE CALENDAR YEAR THAT WILL TELL YOU HOW TO REPORT THESE DISTRIBUTIONS FOR FEDERAL INCOME TAX PURPOSES
The Fund's Year-to-date Cumulative Total Return for fiscal year 2022 (January 1, 2022 through June 30, 2022) is set forth below. Shareholders should take note of the relationship between the Year-to-date Cumulative Total Return with the Fund's Cumulative Distribution Rate for 2022. In addition, the Fund's Average Annual Total Return for the five-year period ending June 30, 2022 is set forth below. Shareholders should note the relationship between the Average Annual Total Return with the Fund's Current Annualized Distribution Rate for 2022. The performance and distribution rate information disclosed in the table is based on the Fund's net asset value per share (NAV). The Fund's NAV is calculated as the total market value of all the securities and other assets held by the Fund minus the total liabilities, divided by the total number of shares outstanding. While NAV performance may be indicative of the Fund's investment performance, it does not measure the value of a shareholder's individual investment in the Fund. The value of a shareholder's investment in the Fund is determined by the Fund's market price, which is based on the supply and demand for the Fund's shares in the open market.
Fund Performance and Distribution Rate Information:
Investors should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expense of the Fund carefully before investing. You can obtain the Fund's most recent periodic reports, when available, and other regulatory filings by contacting your financial advisor or visiting cohenandsteers.com. These reports and other filings can be found on the Securities and Exchange Commission's EDGAR Database. You should read these reports and other filings carefully before investing.
Shareholders should not use the information provided here in preparing their tax returns. Shareholders will receive a Form 1099-DIV for the calendar year indicating how to report Fund distributions for federal income tax purposes.
Website: https://www.cohenandsteers.com/
Symbol: (NYSE: CNS)
About Cohen & Steers. Cohen & Steers is a leading global investment manager specializing in real assets and alternative income, including real estate, preferred securities, infrastructure, resource equities, commodities, as well as multi-strategy solutions. Founded in 1986, the firm is headquartered in New York City, with offices in London, Dublin, Hong Kong, and Tokyo.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release and other statements that Cohen & Steers 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. You can identify these forward-looking statements by the use of words such as "outlook," "believes," "expects," "potential," "continues," "may," "will," "should," "seeks," "approximately," "predicts," "intends," "plans," "estimates," "anticipates," or the negative versions of these words or other comparable words. Such forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties.
Accordingly, there are or will be important factors that could cause actual outcomes or results to differ materially from those indicated in these statements. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or review any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.
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SOURCE Cohen & Steers, Inc. | https://www.mysuncoast.com/prnewswire/2022/07/20/cohen-amp-steers-reit-preferred-income-fund-inc-rnp-notification-sources-distribution-under-section-19a/ | 2022-07-21T00:25:26Z |
Explosions rock Kyiv again as Russians rain fire on Ukraine
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia pounded a wide area of Ukraine on Thursday, including Kyiv, bombarding the city while the head of the United Nations was visiting in the boldest attack on the capital since Moscow’s forces retreated weeks ago.
At least one person was killed and several were injured in the attack on Kyiv, including some who were trapped in the rubble when two buildings were hit, rescue officials said.
The bombardment came barely an hour after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a news conference with U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, who said Ukraine has become “an epicenter of unbearable heartache and pain.” A spokesperson said Guterres and his team were safe.
Meanwhile, explosions were reported across the country, in Polinne in the west, Chernihiv near the border with Belarus, and in Fastiv, a large railway hub southwest of the capital. The mayor of Odesa in southern Ukraine said rockets were intercepted by air defenses.
Ukrainian authorities also reported intense Russian fire in the Donbas — the eastern industrial heartland that the Kremlin says its main objective — and near Kharkiv, a northeastern city outside the Donbas that is seen as key to the offensive.
In the ruined southern port city of Mariupol, Ukrainian fighters holed up in the steel plant that represents the last pocket of resistance said concentrated bombing overnight killed and wounded more people. And authorities warned that a lack of safe drinking water inside the city could lead to outbreaks of deadly diseases.
In Zaporizhzhia, a crucial way station for tens of thousands of people fleeing Mariupol, an 11-year-old boy was among at least three people wounded in a rocket attack that authorities said was the first to hit a residential area in the southern city since the war began. Shards of glass cut the boy’s leg to the bone.
Vadym Vodostoyev, the boy’s father, said: “It just takes one second and you’re left with nothing.”
The fresh attacks came as Guterres surveyed the destruction in small towns outside the capital that saw some of the worst horrors of the first onslaught of the war. He condemned the atrocities committed in towns like Bucha, where evidence of mass killings of civilians was found after Russia withdrew in early April in the face of unexpectedly stiff resistance.
“Wherever there is a war, the highest price is paid by civilians,” the U.N. chief lamented.
Separately, Ukraine’s prosecutor accused 10 Russian soldiers of being “involved in the torture of peaceful people” in Bucha. Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova did not say her office had filed criminal charges, and she appealed to the public for help in gathering evidence. Russia denies it targets civilians.
In the attack on Kyiv, explosions shook the city and flames poured out of windows in at least two buildings — including one residential one — in the capital, which has been relatively unscathed in recent weeks. Plumes of smoke could be seen over the city.
The explosions in northwest Kyiv’s Shevchenkivsky district came as residents have been increasingly returning to the city. Cafes and other businesses have reopened, and a growing numbers of people have been out and about, enjoying the spring weather.
“I was shocked to be informed that two rockets have exploded in the city where I am,” Guterres was quoted as telling the BBC. “So this is a dramatic war, and we absolutely need to end this war and we absolutely need to have a solution for this war.”
Getting a full picture of the unfolding battle in the east has been difficult because airstrikes and artillery barrages have made it extremely dangerous for reporters to move around. Several journalists have been killed in the war, now in its third month.
Also, both Ukraine and the Moscow-backed rebels fighting in the east have introduced tight restrictions on reporting from the combat zone.
Western officials say the Kremlin’s apparent goal is to take the Donbas by encircling and crushing Ukrainian forces from the north, south and east.
But so far, Russia’s troops and their allied separatist forces appear to have made only minor gains, taking several small towns as they try to advance in relatively small groups against staunch Ukrainian resistance.
Russian military units were mauled in the abortive bid to storm Kyiv and had to regroup and refit. Some analysts say the delay in launching a full-fledged offensive may reflect a decision by Russian President Vladimir Putin to wait until his forces are ready for a decisive battle, instead of rushing in and risking another failure that could shake his rule amid worsening economic conditions at home because of Western sanctions.
Many observers suspect Putin wants to be able to claim a big victory in the east by Victory Day, on May 9, one of the proudest holidays on the Russian calendar, marking the defeat of Nazi Germany during World War II.
As Russia presses its offensive, civilians again bear the brunt.
“It’s not just scary. It’s when your stomach contracts from pain,” said Kharkiv resident Tatiana Pirogova. “When they shoot during the day, it’s still OK, but when the evening comes, I can’t describe how scary it is.”
Ukraine’s military said that Russian troops were subjecting several places in the Donbas to “intense fire” and that over the past 24 hours, Ukrainian forces had repelled six attacks in the region.
Four civilians were killed in heavy shelling of residential areas in the Luhansk region of the Donbas, according to the regional governor.
Columns of smoke could be seen rising at different points across the Donetsk region of the Donbas, and artillery and sirens were heard on and off.
In Mariupol, video posted online by Ukraine’s Azov Regiment inside the steel plant showed people combing through the rubble to remove the dead and help the wounded. The regiment said the Russians hit an improvised underground hospital and its surgery room, killing an unspecified number of people. The video couldn’t be independently verified.
Hundreds of thousands of Mariupol’s residents have fled. Authorities said the estimated 100,000 who remain run the risk of diseases like cholera and dysentery.
“Deadly epidemics may break out in the city due to the lack of centralized water supply and sewers,” the city council said on the messaging app Telegram. It reported bodies decomposing under the rubble and a “catastrophic” shortage of drinking water and food.
Loud bangs were also reported in Russia’s Belgorod region bordering Ukraine, but there was no immediate explanation. In recent days, fuel and ammunition sites on Russian soil have been hit with explosions and fires, and suspicion has fallen on Ukraine.
Ukraine has urged its allies to send even more military equipment to fend off the Russians. U.S. President Joe Biden asked Congress for an additional $33 billion to help Ukraine.
___
Associated Press journalists Jon Gambrell and Yuras Karmanau in Lviv, Mstyslav Chernov in Kharkiv, Yesica Fisch in Sloviansk, and AP staff around the world contributed to this report.
___
Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine: https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.mysuncoast.com/2022/04/28/european-leaders-blast-cutoff-russian-gas-blackmail/ | 2022-04-28T21:09:24Z |
Three people were killed and at least 14 others were injured after gunshots rang out in Chattanooga, Tennessee, early Sunday, with some victims struck by bullets and others by fleeing vehicles, according to local police.
Police responded to reports of a shooting at a nightclub just before 2:45 a.m., Jeremy Eames, a spokesperson for the Chattanooga Police Department, told CNN. Officers found multiple victims when they arrived and began rendering medical aid.
In all, 14 victims were shot while three others were hit by vehicles attempting to flee the scene, Eames said. Among the three deaths, two stemmed from gunshot wounds and one stemmed from injuries sustained after the victim was struck by a vehicle, he said.
Police believe multiple shooters using several types of firearms were involved. No suspects are in custody, and police have yet to identify any potential suspects or victims.
A motive for the shooting is unclear, but authorities believe the shooting was an isolated incident "in which one or more of the victims were targeted."
It's also the second major shooting in Chattanooga in as many weekends. Last Saturday night, six people were shot following an altercation between two groups downtown, police said at the time. No victims died, though two were critically injured.
In a news conference Sunday, Mayor Tim Kelly expressed frustration, telling reporters, "I'm tired of standing in front of you talking about guns and bodies."
Kelly vowed he and the city council would spend time in the coming weeks to address gun violence, saying they would "treat this like the crisis it is."
The mayor himself is a gun owner and lifelong hunter and marksman, he said, and he supports responsible gun ownership.
"But Congress needs to do their jobs and pass common sense regulations that will help stop this nonsense," he said.
"That doesn't mean taking guns away from responsible gun owners, but it does mean mandatory background checks and prohibiting high capacity magazines that allow shooters to hurt dozens of people without even having to reload."
The current job market is seeing businesses compete over great talent. To help small businesses land the right recruits, Simply Business compiled tips from interview hacks to perfecting job descriptions. Click for more.
CNN's Dakin Andone and Hannah Sarisohn contributed to this report.
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Dear Heloise: With the nation’s lack of formula, why not go back to what millions of babies were fed before all of these fancy formulas? When I asked my pediatrician about the evaporated milk formula, he told me, “There is nothing wrong with it. Try it if you want.”
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NEW YORK, Aug. 9, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Klein Law Firm announces that a class action complaint has been filed on behalf of shareholders of 17 Education & Technology Group Inc. (NASDAQ: YQ) alleging that the Company violated federal securities laws.
This lawsuit is on behalf of persons or entities who purchased or otherwise acquired publicly traded 17EdTech securities pursuant and/or traceable to the registration statement and related prospectus issued in connection with 17EdTech's December 2020 initial public offering.
Lead Plaintiff Deadline: September 19, 2022
No obligation or cost to you.
Learn more about your recoverable losses in YQ:
https://www.kleinstocklaw.com/pslra-1/17-education-technology-group-inc-loss-submission-form?id=30650&from=4
17 Education & Technology Group Inc. NEWS - YQ NEWS
CLASS ACTION CASE DETAILS: The filed complaint alleges that 17 Education & Technology Group Inc. made materially false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) 17EdTech's K-12 Academic AST Services would end less than a year after the Company's initial public offering; (2) as part of its ongoing regulatory efforts, Chinese authorities would imminently curtail and/or end 17EdTech's core business; and (3) as a result, defendants' statements about the Company's business, operations, and prospects were materially false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times.
WHAT THIS MEANS TO YOU AS A SHAREHOLDER: If you have suffered a loss in 17EdTech you have until September 19, 2022 to petition the court for lead plaintiff status. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as a lead plaintiff.
NO COST TO YOU: If you purchased 17EdTech securities during the relevant period, you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out-of-pocket fees.
HOW TO PROTECT YOUR FINANCIAL INTERESTS: For additional information about the YQ lawsuit, please contact J. Klein, Esq. by telephone at 212-616-4899 or click this link: https://www.kleinstocklaw.com/pslra-1/17-education-technology-group-inc-loss-submission-form?id=30650&from=4.
ABOUT KLEIN LAW FIRM
J. Klein, Esq. represents investors and participates in securities litigations involving financial fraud throughout the nation. The Klein Law Firm is a boutique litigation firm with experience in a wide range of areas including securities law, corporate finance and commercial litigation. Since 2011, our experienced attorneys have achieved superior results for our clients with a personalized focus. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.
CONTACT:
J. Klein, Esq.
Empire State Building
350 Fifth Avenue
59th Floor
New York, NY 10118
jk@kleinstocklaw.com
Telephone: (212) 616-4899
www.kleinstocklaw.com
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SOURCE The Klein Law Firm | https://www.kxii.com/prnewswire/2022/08/09/yq-alert-klein-law-firm-announces-lead-plaintiff-deadline-september-19-2022-class-action-filed-behalf-17-education-amp-technology-group-inc-shareholders/ | 2022-08-09T17:38:00Z |
Temporary agreement prevents Google from
- Forcing mandatory use of Google Play Billing;
- Removing Match Group apps that offer alternate billing systems from Google Play Store;
- Gaining unfettered access to consumer data and behavior.
DALLAS, May 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Match Group (NASDAQ: MTCH) today announced it has withdrawn its request for a temporary restraining order against Google, after Google made various concessions that Match Group demanded to benefit consumers. Those include guaranteeing that Match Group apps will still be allowed to offer users choice in payment systems, lessening the undue burden on developers by its previously stated policy, and eliminating Google's complete control over user data. In exchange for withdrawing the temporary restraining order, Google has conceded the following:
- Match Group apps will not be rejected or removed from the Google Play Store because they offer alternatives to Google Play Billing.
- Google will approve Match Group app updates that offer alternatives to Google Play Billing, continuing to provide users with the choice and optionality they've grown accustomed to.
- Google will work - in good faith - to fix the deficiencies of Google Play Billing, outlined HERE. When Google addresses these problems, Match Group apps that currently do not offer Google Play Billing will - in good faith - test Google's system on their platforms, alongside current payment systems.
As part of this arrangement, Match Group plans to put up to $40 million into an escrow account, instead of paying Google directly for billing transactions that occur on Android outside of Google Play Billing. Match Group maintains that the fees Google is demanding for payments outside of Google Play Billing are illegal under federal and state law. No other app or product in Google Play currently pays Google for transactions that occur outside of Google Play Billing. But, because of Google's complete monopoly control over the Android app distribution ecosystem, Match Group has agreed to hold funds in escrow and maintain the status quo of Match Group apps in the Google Play Store, until the Court hears and adjudicates the claims filed against Google on May 9 for violating federal and California antitrust laws. Both Match Group and Google can terminate this agreement, but Match Group retains the option to reinstate its request for a TRO if that should happen. The date for the trial is currently set for April 2023.
Match Group believes that Google's behavior will be found to be anticompetitive, in violation of federal and state antitrust laws, and the funds in the escrow account will be returned to Match Group for reinvestment in the business and benefit of consumers.
About Match Group
Match Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: MTCH), through its portfolio companies, is a leading provider of digital technologies designed to help people make meaningful connections. Our global portfolio of brands includes Tinder®, Match®, Hinge®, Meetic®, OkCupid®, Pairs™, PlentyOfFish®, OurTime®, Azar®, Hakuna Live™, and more, each built to increase our users' likelihood of connecting with others. Through our trusted brands, we provide tailored services to meet the varying preferences of our users. Our services are available in over 40 languages to our users all over the world.
For further information: Visit EndtheGoogleTax.com
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SOURCE Match Group | https://www.mysuncoast.com/prnewswire/2022/05/20/google-concedes-key-issues-google-play-policies-match-group-withdraws-temporary-restraining-order-response-concessions/ | 2022-05-20T12:49:48Z |
RADNOR, Pa., June 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The law firm of Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP (www.ktmc.com) informs investors that the firm has filed a securities class action lawsuit against AbbVie, Inc. (AbbVie) (NYSE: ABBV) on behalf of all persons and entities who purchased or otherwise acquired AbbVie securities between April 30, 2021, and August 31, 2021, inclusive (the "Class Period").
CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT YOUR ABBVIE LOSSES. YOU CAN ALSO CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING LINK OR COPY AND PASTE IN YOUR BROWSER: https://www.ktmc.com/new-cases/abbvie-inc?utm_source=PR&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=abbvie&mktm=r
TO VIEW OUR VIDEO, PLEASE CLICK HERE
TO VIEW OUR COMPLAINT, PLEASE CLICK HERE
LEAD PLAINTIFF DEADLINE: JUNE 6, 2022
CLASS PERIOD: APRIL 30, 2021 through AUGUST 31, 2021
CONTACT AN ATTORNEY TO DISCUSS YOUR RIGHTS:
James Maro, Esq. (484) 270-1453 or Email at info@ktmc.com
Kessler Topaz is one of the world's foremost advocates in protecting the public against corporate fraud and other wrongdoing. Our securities fraud litigators are regularly recognized as leaders in the field individually and our firm is both feared and respected among the defense bar and the insurance bar. We are proud to have recovered billions of dollars for our clients and the classes of shareholders we represent.
ABBVIE'S ALLEGED MISCONDUCT
AbbVie is one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies. The company's revenues will come under significant pressure in the coming years when its best-selling drug, Humira, will lose patent protection in 2023. Accordingly, AbbVie's future revenue and earnings depend in large part on its ability to develop new sources of revenue to offset Humira's lost sales. Rinvoq—an anti-inflammatory drug manufactured by AbbVie and used to treat rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and other diseases by inhibiting Janus kinase (JAK) enzymes—was touted as one such drug. Rinvoq was initially approved in the United States to treat only moderate to severe RA. However, AbbVie was actively pursuing additional treatment indications and, in 2020, asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to approve Rinvoq for the treatment of several other diseases.
As is relevant here, Rinvoq is similar to other JAK inhibitor drugs, including Xeljanz, manufactured by Pfizer Inc. When the FDA approved Xeljanz in 2012 for the treatment of RA, it required an additional safety trial to evaluate Xeljanz's risk of triggering certain serious side effects. Beginning in February 2019, the FDA repeatedly warned the public that the safety trial indicated that Xeljanz's use could lead to serious heart-related issue, cancer, and other adverse events. Notwithstanding the similarities between Rinvoq and Xeljanz, during the Class Period, Defendants assured investors that Rinvoq was far safer than Xeljanz and not subject to the same regulatory risks.
However, investors began to learn the truth about Rinvoq's significant risks on June 25, 2021, when AbbVie revealed that the FDA was delaying its review of expanded treatment applications for Rinvoq due to the safety concerns associated with Xeljanz. On this news, the price of AbbVie common stock declined $1.76 per share, or approximately 1.5%, from a close of $114.74 per share on June 24, 2021, to close at $112.98 per share on June 25, 2021.
Then, on September 1, 2021, the FDA announced that final results from the Xeljanz safety trial established an increased risk of serious adverse events, even with low doses of Xeljanz. As a result, the FDA determined that it would require new and updated warnings for Xeljanz and Rinvoq because Rinvoq "share[s] similar mechanisms of action with Xeljanz" and "may have similar risks as seen in the Xeljanz safety trial." The FDA also indicated that it would further limit approved indications for Rinvoq as a result of these safety concerns. On this news, the price of AbbVie common stock declined $8.51 per share, or more than 7%, from a close of $120.78 per share on August 31, 2021, to close at $112.27 per share on September 1, 2021.
After the Class Period, on December 3, 2021, AbbVie announced that the FDA had updated Rinvoq's label to require additional safety warnings and limit marketing of Rinvoq to only its use after treatment with other drugs has failed. On January 11, 2022, Defendants admitted that these changes to Rinvoq's label would negatively impact sales, forcing the Company to reduce its long-term guidance for Rinvoq's sales in 2025.
The complaint alleges that, throughout the Class Period, the Defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements, about the company's business and operations. Specifically, Defendants misrepresented and/or failed to disclose that: (1) safety concerns about Xeljanz extended to Rinvoq and other JAK inhibitors; (2) as a result, it was likely that the FDA would require additional safety warnings for Rinvoq and would delay the approval of additional treatment indications for Rinvoq; and (3) therefore, Defendants' statements about the company's business, operations, and prospects lacked a reasonable basis, As a result of the Defendants' wrongful acts and omissions, and the significant decline in the market value of AbbVie's securities, AbbVie investors have suffered significant damages.
WHAT CAN I DO?
AbbVie investors may, no later than June 6, 2022, seek to be appointed as a lead plaintiff representative of the class through Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP or other counsel, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member. Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP encourages AbbVie investors who have suffered significant losses to contact the firm directly to acquire more information.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE CASE
WHO CAN BE A LEAD PLAINTIFF?
A lead plaintiff is a representative party who acts on behalf of all class members in directing the litigation. The lead plaintiff is usually the investor or small group of investors who have the largest financial interest and who are also adequate and typical of the proposed class of investors. The lead plaintiff selects counsel to represent the lead plaintiff and the class and these attorneys, if approved by the court, are lead or class counsel. Your ability to share in any recovery is not affected by the decision of whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff.
ABOUT KESSLER TOPAZ MELTZER & CHECK, LLP
Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP prosecutes class actions in state and federal courts throughout the country and around the world. The firm has developed a global reputation for excellence and has recovered billions of dollars for victims of fraud and other corporate misconduct. All of our work is driven by a common goal: to protect investors, consumers, employees and others from fraud, abuse, misconduct and negligence by businesses and fiduciaries. For more information about Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP please visit www.ktmc.com.
CONTACT:
Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP
James Maro, Jr., Esq.
280 King of Prussia Road
Radnor, PA 19087
(484) 270-1453
info@ktmc.com
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SOURCE Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP | https://www.wibw.com/prnewswire/2022/06/02/abbv-shareholder-reminder-kessler-topaz-meltzer-amp-check-llp-reminds-shareholders-abbvie-inc-deadline-securities-fraud-class-action-lawsuit/ | 2022-06-02T17:54:34Z |
Retired nurse saves baby’s life on flight: ‘I’m glad I was there’
ORLANDO (WESH) - A retired nurse jumped into action and saved a 3-month-old infant who had stopped breathing during a flight.
Tamara Panzino was already in vacation mode 35 minutes into her Spirit Airlines flight Thursday night from Pittsburgh to Orlando.
“I was reading my book, not paying attention, had my ear buds in, and I heard a flight attendant say, ‘We have an infant not breathing,’” Panzino said.
Soon after, an announcement came over the speaker, asking if there was a doctor on board. Panzino, a retired registered nurse, got up and ran to the back of the plane to help the 3-month-old girl.
“I didn’t know what I was dealing with. I saw an infant. The head was back and blue lips, and my heart just dropped,” Panzino said.
Even though Panzino is retired, her years of nursing experience kicked in. A round of questions revealed the infant was just lying still when she stopped breathing.
“Gave daddy the baby, held it while I did a sternal rub, kind of an aggressive shake of the chest… trying to make it cry, take a deep breath,” Panzino said.
The group then moved to the front of the plane
“The baby’s color started looking better. I was so glad, but I kept shaking it aggressively,” Panzino said.
Panzino did not have to perform CPR and calls the response a team effort.
“Spirit Airlines had everything we needed right on board, and before we knew it, within a couple minutes, we were home free. The baby was going to be good. The color came back. I heard breathing sounds, a heartbeat. Total relief,” Panzino said.
She is pushing back on being called a hero.
“It’s not a hero thing. It’s a community coming together and everyone volunteering to do what their knowledge can help them do. I’m glad I was there,” she said.
After a day to decompress, Panzino was ready for her and her husband’s Caribbean cruise out of Port Canaveral over the weekend.
Spirit Airlines released a statement thanking Panzino and the crew for their quick response.
Copyright 2022 WESH via CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. | https://www.wibw.com/2022/09/12/retired-nurse-saves-babys-life-flight-im-glad-i-was-there/ | 2022-09-12T08:05:22Z |
SOCIAL CIRCLE — The Georgia dove hunting season opens Saturday, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Wildlife Resources Division.
“The opening day of dove hunting season is a highly anticipated even for wing shooters, and it always feels like the big kickoff for the fall hunting season,” Alan Isler, chief of the WRD Game Management Section. “During the dove season, whether it is opening day or later in the season, I want to encourage you to make plans to visit a public dove field. Game management staff have been working hard to prepare these fields and attract as many doves as possible.”
The official 2022-2023 dove season hunting dates are Sept. 3-Oct. 9, Nov. 19-27 and Dec. 19-Jan. 31. Statewide shooting hours for all dove seasons are one-half hour before sunrise to sunset.
More Dove Season Tips and Information:
· Dove Field Forecast (GeorgiaWildlife.com/hunting/dove): The dove field forecast identifies available crops and anticipated hunting conditions for opening day.
· Regulations Quick Review: The daily bag limit is 15 doves per hunter. Collared doves may be taken and do not count toward your daily limit. Shotguns must be plugged to hold no more than three shells while hunting doves. Hunters must obtain permission from landowners before hunting on private property.
· Report Banded Doves: In 2003, the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in cooperation with several states, including Georgia, initiated an ongoing dove banding project. Hunters can participate in this conservation effort by examining harvested doves for leg bands and reporting band numbers to the USFWS at www.reportband.gov.
· Private Field Plans? Make Sure the Field is Legal: Check out the online brochure, “Dove Hunting and Agricultural Practices in Georgia,” available at GeorgiaWildlife.com/migratory-bird-info.
· Licenses Needed: Hunters 16 years of age and older need to have a hunting license and a Georgia Migratory Bird Stamp. This stamp is how Georgia participates in the federal Harvest Information Program. Some licenses allow the license holder to get the Georgia Migratory Bird Stamp at no cost. Hunters may purchase licenses online at GoOutdoorsGeorgia.com, by phone at 1-800-366-2661 or at license vendor locations (list of vendors available online).
Before hunters hit the field for the upcoming dove season, they are urged to make sure they have completed a hunter education course. Hunters can take the course completely online or take part in a classroom course, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Wildlife Resources Division.
“We want to set people up for hunter education success before they head to the dove field or the hunting stand, and that means working with busy schedules and different learning styles,” Jennifer Pittman, hunter development program manager with the Wildlife Resources Division, said. “For example, if you only have a limited amount of time available, then the online course options may work for you, while attending an in-person instructive class may work for others.”
The five available online courses each require a fee (from $19.95 to $29) but all are “pass or don’t pay” courses. Fees for these courses are charged by and collected by the independent course developer. The Georgia DNR classroom course is free of charge.
Completion of a hunter education course is required for any person born on or after Jan. 1, 1961, who:
♦ purchases a season hunting license in Georgia;
♦ is at least 12 years old and hunts without adult supervision;
♦ hunts big game (deer, turkey, bear) on a wildlife management area;
The only exceptions include any person who:
♦ purchases a short-term hunting license (as opposed to an annual season license);
♦ is hunting on his or her own land or is a dependent hunting on land of their parents or legal guardians.
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accounts, the history behind an article. | https://www.albanyherald.com/features/georgia-dove-hunting-season-opens-saturday/article_0750694e-2a2d-11ed-8b1e-f7d885fdbdec.html | 2022-09-02T04:27:52Z |
TORONTO, April 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Abraham Reichmann is very pleased to announce that he has reached a private and confidential settlement of the Reichmann v Reichmann et al lawsuit in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice concerning Ralph and Ada Reichmann.
Tom Curry, Partner at Lenczner Slaght LLP, counsel for Abraham Reichmann comments: "Abraham is glad that the litigation has concluded without the need for a trial and that the matter is now resolved."
No further comment will be made about the settlement or the issues in the lawsuit.
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SOURCE Lenczner Slaght LLP | https://www.kxii.com/prnewswire/2022/04/07/settlement-reached-reichmann-litigation/ | 2022-04-07T04:56:10Z |
KOHLER, Wis., July 7, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Kohler, a global leader in the design and manufacture of kitchen and bath products, launches Tone, a bathroom faucet collection rooted in clean, transitional form, stunning finish combinations, and industry-leading functionality.
Crafted from premium metal for unrivaled durability and resistance to corrosion and tarnishing, the Tone Bathroom Collection delivers dynamic beauty with a fresh take on mid-century modern style. With clean lines and a soft teardrop shape, the Tone collection brings an unmistakable warmth to minimalism. The unique two-tone finish option breaks through the expected and adds bold confidence to any transitional bathroom.
Like its corresponding kitchen collection, Tone encourages expressions of individuality with faucets offered in different sizes and configurations. The Tone Bathroom Collection consists of five faucet options, shower and bath faucets, including a free-standing bath filler, and accessories for a coordinated look. The collection is offered in six different finishes options: Polished Chrome, Brushed Nickel, Brushed Moderne Brass, Matte Black, and two-toned options, Matte Black/Polished Chrome and Matte Black/Brushed Moderne Brass. For a cohesive look, match Tone faucets to the complementary line of bathroom accessories including Kohler Lighting.
To learn more about the Tone Bathroom Collection please visit kohler.com.
Founded in 1873 and headquartered in Kohler, Wisconsin, Kohler Co. is one of America's oldest and largest privately held companies comprised of more than 40,000 associates. With more than 50 manufacturing locations worldwide, Kohler is a global leader in the design, innovation and manufacture of kitchen and bath products; luxury cabinetry, tile and lighting; engines, generators, and clean energy solutions; and owner/operator of two, five-star hospitality and golf resort destinations in Kohler, Wisconsin, and St. Andrews, Scotland. Kohler's Whistling Straits golf course recently hosted the 43rd Ryder Cup. The company also develops solutions to address pressing issues, such as clean water and sanitation, for underserved communities around the world to enhance the quality of life for current and future generations. For more details, please visit kohlercompany.com.
Media Contact
Jillian Rosone, Kohler Public Relations
Jillian.rosone@kohler.com
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SOURCE Kohler Co. | https://www.kxii.com/prnewswire/2022/07/07/kohler-introduces-new-tone-bathroom-faucet-collection/ | 2022-07-07T16:55:05Z |
LONDON (AP) — Portuguese-British artist Paula Rego, who created bold, visceral works inspired by fairy tales, her homeland and her own life, has died at age 87.
The Victoria Miro Gallery, which represents Rego, said Wednesday that she died “peacefully this morning, after a short illness, at home in north London, surrounded by her family.”
Rego’s work spanned styles from naturalism to the abstract, and often included vivid, unnerving depictions of people, animals or both. Among her best-known works are the “Dog Woman” pastel drawings portraying women in a series of canine poses.
Born in Lisbon in 1935, Rego was sent to school in England and went on to study art at the Slade School in London. At the time, Portugal was governed by Antonio Salazar’s dictatorship and women were second-class citizens without the vote.
Rego said her father had told her: “Leave Portugal. This is no country for a woman.”
In the 1960s Rego exhibited alongside rising young artists such as David Hockney as part of the London Group collective. One early painting, the semi-abstract “Salazar Vomiting the Homeland,” excoriated the dictatorship. Producing it in Portugal at the time would have landed her in jail.
Though she lived in Britain for decades, Rego’s work was infused with the colors and stories of her homeland, and drew on her childhood in conservative Portugal under the Salazar regime.
“Our infancy is always with us, isn’t it?” Rego told The Associated Press in a 2014 interview.
On the Portugal of her childhood, she said: “It was a fascist state for everyone, but it was especially hard for women. They got a raw deal.”
A feminist who helped change the way women are depicted in art, Rego challenged expectations of beauty and explored subtexts of sex and violence in Portuguese folk tales and nursery rhymes.
A staunch champion of human rights, she memorably produced a series of paintings entitled “Abortion,” shortly after Portugal had rejected pregnancy termination on demand in a 1998 referendum. In 2008-2009 she created another series, “Female Genital Mutilation.”
After Portugal’s transition to democracy in the 1970s, Rego became one of the country’s most famous artists. A museum of her work opened in the seaside town of Cascais in 2009.
The Portuguese government decreed a day of national mourning, when flags on government buildings will fly at half-mast in the artist’s honor.
“Her paintings, drawings and engravings contain powerful images that will stay with us and with generations to come,” the government said in a statement. It added that Rego “was an artist who was acutely alive to the reality of our society.”
Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said Rego was the country’s greatest modern artist of the past three decades. He recalled that on a visit to Rego’s London studio in 2016 he “witnessed the enchanting and disturbing power” of her work.
Rego also was renowned in Britain, where she was the first artist-in-residence at the National Gallery in London. Tate Britain held a major retrospective of her work last year.
Tate director Maria Balshaw called Rego “an uncompromising artist of extraordinary imaginative power, who uniquely revolutionized the way in which women’s lives and stories are represented.”
Rego’s work is in the collections of the British Museum, the National Gallery, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Art Institute of Chicago and the Yale Center for British Art.
In 2010, Queen Elizabeth II made Rego a dame, the female equivalent of a knight.
Rego was married for 29 years to British artist Victor Willing, who died in 1988. She is survived by their children Nick, Caroline and Victoria, and by several grandchildren and great-grandchildren. ___
Hatton reported from Lisbon. | https://cw33.com/entertainment-news/ap-entertainment/renowned-portuguese-british-artist-paula-rego-dies-at-87/ | 2022-06-08T23:35:14Z |
Biden looking to open up Obamacare subsidies to more families
By Tami Luhby, CNN
More families would be able to access Affordable Care Act subsidies next year, under a rule proposed by the Biden administration Tuesday.
The announcement comes as former President Barack Obama returns to the White House for his first public appearance since he left office to celebrate record enrollment in Affordable Care Act policies with President Joe Biden. Obama, Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are scheduled to speak at an event Tuesday afternoon.
The proposed rule seeks to address a longstanding problem with Obamacare’s regulations pertaining to the affordability of employer coverage, known as the “family glitch.”
Under the health reform law, workers who don’t have “affordable” health insurance options through their jobs can qualify for subsidized coverage on the Obamacare exchanges. A work-based policy is considered “affordable” if it costs the employee less than roughly 10% of his or her income for single coverage.
However, the law doesn’t take into account the increase in premiums for adding family members to the policy, even if it pushes the cost above the threshold. In these cases, workers and their families aren’t eligible for financial assistance to buy Affordable Care Act coverage.
The average annual premium for a single worker was just over $7,700 in 2021 but topped $22,000 for a family, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Some 5.1 million Americans, a majority of them children, are affected by the family glitch, according to Kaiser.
The proposed rule would allow family members of workers who are offered affordable single coverage but unaffordable family policies to qualify for subsidies on the Obamacare exchanges.
An estimated 200,000 uninsured Americans would gain coverage, and nearly 1 million people would see reductions in premiums, according to the White House. Many families would be able to save hundreds of dollars a month.
If finalized, the rule would go into effect in January 2023.
The White House declined to comment on the cost of eliminating the family glitch, but the Congressional Budget Office has previously pegged it at $45 billion over 10 years.
Record interest
Biden and Obama are expected to tout the surge in interest in Affordable Care Act policies this year. A record 14.5 million people signed up for 2022 coverage during open enrollment — lured in part by enhanced federal subsidies.
The Democrats’ $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, which was enacted in March 2021, has temporarily made the subsidies more generous and opened them up to more middle class Americans. It also allows lower-income Americans to sign up for Obamacare coverage with $0 premiums on the federal exchange outside of the open enrollment period.
Separately, nearly 19 million low-income American adults are enrolled in Medicaid expansion coverage, bringing total Medicaid enrollment to a record of nearly 80 million people.
Biden is expected to sign an executive order Tuesday directing federal agencies to continue doing everything they can to expand affordable, quality health coverage, including making it easier for people to understand their options and to enroll in and keep their policies.
It also calls for strengthening the generosity of benefits and improving access to health care providers, as well as protecting Americans from low-quality coverage and taking steps to reduce medical debt. The order also seeks to expand eligibility and lower costs for those with Obamacare, Medicare or Medicaid coverage and to improve access to health care providers.
Challenges ahead
The historic gains in Affordable Care Act and Medicaid coverage may be short lived, however.
Unless Congress acts, the enhanced subsidies will not be available for 2023 policies on the Affordable Care Act exchanges. The Democrats’ plan to extend the provision as part of their Build Back Better spending package was thwarted last year when Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia said he would not support it.
And Medicaid enrollment has swelled in large part because states have not been allowed to remove anyone involuntarily from coverage during the pandemic in exchange for a more generous federal Medicaid match, under a coronavirus relief package Congress passed in 2020. However, states will resume checking residents’ eligibility once the public health emergency ends, which could be as early as July.
An estimated 14.4 million people could lose Medicaid coverage if the public health emergency expires after the second quarter of this year, according to the Urban Institute.
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™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved. | https://localnews8.com/news/2022/04/05/biden-looking-to-open-up-obamacare-subsidies-to-more-families/ | 2022-04-05T10:44:09Z |
CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa., Sept. 8, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Firstrust Bank today announced that President Timothy J. Abell will become CEO as part of a long-planned executive transition that will ensure business continuity and growth for the region's largest and strongest full-service, family-owned bank.
Current Board Chairman and CEO, Richard J. Green, who has spent his 45 year banking career building Firstrust, will become the Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors. Richard's grandfather, Samuel, founded the bank in 1934, and during Richard's career was privileged to have worked with both his grandfather, and father, Daniel. Richard will remain the Owner of the bank.
This planned transition will become effective on January 1, 2023. As Tim Abell becomes CEO, Richard, in turn, will focus more fully on Firstrust's continued growth as well as the expanding philanthropic work of The Green Family Foundation.
During his tenure as CEO, Green led several successful transformations for Firstrust, including its transition to a full-service commercial bank, the reinvention of Hatch Bank, a subsidiary of Firstrust, into a bank focused on serving the Fintech community, as well as deftly navigating Firstrust through the Great Recession and the Global Pandemic.
Under his leadership, Philadelphia's Hometown Bank and the Official Bank of the Philadelphia Eagles has become national in capability, technology and innovation, while remaining local and personal in its service to its customers, while growing its assets to more than $5Billion.
"Tim Abell is an exceptional banker and charismatic leader who lives and breathes the Firstrust culture and our commitment to our customers and the community," Green said. "I have had the privilege of working side by side with Tim for the past 18 years, and I have complete confidence in his leadership and ability to accelerate the bank's growth and serve the community that we both love."
Abell was born and raised in Philadelphia and has longstanding ties throughout the community. He has served as Firstrust's President since 2007 and as a member of the Board of Directors since 2016. He will be the first non-family member to serve as CEO and he will remain President.
In his new position, Abell will be responsible for implementing the bank's strategic plan, including guiding its digital transformation, and the overall growth of the enterprise. He will oversee the day-to-day operations of Firstrust, as well as its Apex Commercial Capital, Firstrust Financial Resources and Hatch Bank subsidiaries.
Abell has more than 30 years of experience working with businesses and entrepreneurs in the Philadelphia region. He joined Firstrust in 2004 and during his tenure has expanded the bank's small business, commercial and real estate lending businesses, developed new business lines, overseen the investment in digital technologies, the expansion into the Maryland market and the growth of the subsidiaries. Prior to joining Firstrust, Abell was Market President for Fleet Bank in Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey.
"Firstrust is a special bank with a professional, caring and motivated team that is passionate about our customers and their success, and the well-being of the communities we serve," Abell said.
"Richard has made an indelible mark on the bank and on the Greater Philadelphia community," he added. "Fortunately for me and the Firstrust Family, he is stepping up, not down. As we continue to work together in our individual capacities, I am excited to grow the Firstrust legacy of outstanding customer service, commitment to the prosperity of our community while continuing to invest in our people, technology and innovation."
Founded in 1934, with assets of approximately $5 billion, Firstrust Bank is the region's largest family-owned financial institution, one of the region's largest and strongest full-service commercial banks, and one of the most consistently top-performing banks in the Nation. Founded by Samuel A. Green, who began the business in his mother's kitchen in South Philadelphia, Firstrust is currently in its third generation of family management, operating as Philadelphia's Hometown Bank® for nearly 90 years. Firstrust offers a broad range of retail and commercial banking products and services to individuals, businesses, and institutions. In commercial banking, Firstrust provides a wide variety of solutions, including commercial real estate finance, business banking, asset-backed lending, and deposit and treasury management services. Firstrust meets the need of its consumer customers by offering a full range of deposit, lending, and residential mortgage products. Firstrust is a Small Business Administration (SBA) Preferred Lender, is a Top Workplaces employer, the Official Bank of the Philadelphia Eagles and serves its customers through 19 branch banking offices located in Southeastern PA, Cherry Hill, NJ, and Towson, MD. For more information, visit firstrust.com or call 800-220-BANK. Member FDIC.
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SOURCE Firstrust Bank | https://www.wibw.com/prnewswire/2022/09/08/firstrust-announces-timothy-j-abell-will-become-ceo-richard-j-green-serve-executive-chairman/ | 2022-09-08T18:39:51Z |
With Six Promotions and Two Senior Advisor Hires on the Portfolio Services Team, Norwest Expands Strategic Leadership to Support Portfolio Companies
PALO ALTO, Calif., May 4, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Norwest Venture Partners, a leading venture capital and growth equity investment firm, today announced that it named Lisa Ames as the firm's first chief marketing officer and principal. Ames joins Norwest's Portfolio Services organization, which offers founders and their teams comprehensive advisory services, a vibrant community, and a range of impactful resources to help companies grow and thrive. Working closely with the firm's investors, Norwest's Portfolio Services provides access to advice, resources and collaborative support in the areas of greatest value to today's companies.
In addition to appointing Ames as CMO, the firm announced six promotions and two advisory team hires on the Portfolio Services team across critical functions including talent acquisition; people advisory; M&A and capital markets; environmental, social and governance (ESG); and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).
"Norwest prides itself on providing holistic support to our founders, CEOs and executives. Whether we're partnering with our companies to build and retain a team, establish a strong culture, launch or expand into new markets, or prepare for an IPO, we are dedicated to helping them succeed at every stage of their journey," said Katie Belding, partner at Norwest, who spearheaded and leads the firm's Portfolio Services team. "Adding Lisa Ames as our first CMO and promoting several key leaders on the Portfolio Services team underscores Norwest's ongoing commitment to delivering strategic value and meaningful connections to our portfolio companies."
Ames brings more than 20 years of B2B marketing experience to Norwest, where she leads the firm's brand strategy and collaborates with portfolio company leaders to help optimize and scale their businesses for growth. She served as an operating executive with Norwest for the past two years and is continuing in that role in addition to her CMO responsibilities. Prior to joining Norwest, she was vice president of Marketing at Lucidworks and has held leadership roles at VC-backed B2B SaaS companies, including Demandbase and Castlight Health. As a certified Account-Based Marketing (ABM) expert, Ames was a frequent speaker on ABM best practices while at Demandbase.
"As we interviewed our founders and CEOs to better understand Norwest's value proposition, three significant themes were echoed back to us: Our portfolio leaders rely on Norwest for support in building their teams and culture, activating their brands and taking them to market, and maximizing their valuations," said Ames. "These insights motivated us to increase our investment in the Portfolio Services team, reflected in today's promotions and important additions to our ESG and DEI senior advisory team, as well as the creation of our first chief marketing officer position, which I'm honored to hold."
Ames will also continue to advance Norwest's ESG and DEI initiatives in partnership with the firm's senior advisors, investors and portfolio services team. As one of the prominent leaders on Norwest's ESG and DEI steering committee, she helps Norwest execute on programs related to these initiatives while partnering with the portfolio services team to educate companies on how to develop their own best practices.
Norwest also recently promoted six key members of the Portfolio Services team:
- Laura Boyd, principal, head of M&A and Capital Markets – Boyd provides M&A, capital markets, debt and private capital advisory support for Norwest's portfolio companies. Previously she was an investment banker at Harris Williams, Morgan Keegan and UBS, focused on technology and consumer M&A, private placements and structured derivative financings.
- Laurie Tennant, principal, People Advisory – Tennant advises portfolio company leaders on people management practices and programs; people operations and team infrastructure; policies and compliance; as well as facilitates sharing and learning opportunities for our community of people leaders. She brings more than 20 years of experience in HR leadership at startups and large companies.
- Teri McFadden, principal, Talent – McFadden co-leads Norwest's Talent team and drives growth for enterprise portfolio companies by helping them build world-class management teams and boards of directors. She also adds tremendous value to the portfolio with her compensation advisory work across all sectors. She was previously human capital partner at ComVentures and a senior recruiting partner at Accel Partners.
- Kris Snodgrass, principal, Talent – Snodgrass co-leads Norwest's Talent team and specializes in board, advisor and executive leadership placements for Norwest's consumer companies. She leverages more than a decade of retained executive search experience recruiting VP- and C-level executives, previously as a principal at Howard Fischer Associates, Bialla & Associates and Heidrick & Struggles.
- Lauren Heller, vice president, Talent – Heller works closely with Norwest's healthcare investment team and its portfolio companies on strategic hiring and talent searches. Previously she served as chief of staff to the CEO of Caremore Health and was a director at Oxeon Partners, where she partnered with innovative, early-stage healthcare IT and services clients to build high-performing executive teams.
- Julia Noellert, vice president, Talent – Noellert supports the Norwest Growth Equity team and its wide-ranging portfolio with talent and retention expertise. She brings extensive experience recruiting executives across finance and operations from her previous role at Robert Walters, where she partnered with executive teams and founders to drive pivotal searches at early- and late-stage startups.
The firm also strengthened its commitment to ESG and DEI with recent additions to its advisory team:
- Shu Dar Yao, senior advisor, ESG – Yao educates and guides Norwest and its portfolio companies on strategic ESG initiatives, including climate change, social inequality, and related risks and opportunities. She is the founder and managing partner of Lucid Capitalism and brings 20 years of ESG and impact investing expertise.
- Rachel Williams, senior advisor, DEI – Williams educates and guides the firm and its portfolio companies on diversity and inclusion strategies and best practices. She currently serves as the chief diversity and inclusion officer at The Motley Fool, where she applies her expertise on recruiting, leadership development, employee engagement and retention. Williams was previously the head of DEI at X, the moonshot factory at Alphabet.
Norwest is a leading venture and growth equity investment firm managing more than $12.5 billion in capital. Since its inception, Norwest has invested in more than 650 companies and currently partners with more than 200 companies in its venture and growth equity portfolio. The firm invests in early- to late-stage businesses across a wide range of sectors with a focus on consumer, enterprise and healthcare. The Norwest team offers a deep network of connections, operating experience, and a wide range of impactful services to help CEOs and founders scale their businesses. Norwest has offices in Palo Alto and San Francisco, with subsidiaries in India and Israel. For more information, please visit www.nvp.com. Follow Norwest on Twitter @NorwestVP.
All brands, names or trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners.
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SOURCE Norwest Venture Partners | https://www.mysuncoast.com/prnewswire/2022/05/04/norwest-venture-partners-announces-lisa-ames-first-chief-marketing-officer-principal/ | 2022-05-04T10:36:23Z |
Nearly Half of U.S. Mortgages Considered Equity-Rich; Seriously Underwater Portion of Mortgages Holds at 3 Percent; Ratio of Equity-Rich to Seriously Underwater Properties Now at 14 to 1
IRVINE, Calif., May 12, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- ATTOM, a leading curator of real estate data nationwide for land and property data, today released its first-quarter 2022 U.S. Home Equity & Underwater Report, which shows that 44.9 percent of mortgaged residential properties in the United States were considered equity-rich in the first quarter, meaning that the combined estimated amount of loan balances secured by those properties was no more than 50 percent of their homes estimated market values.
The portion of mortgaged homes that were equity-rich in the first quarter of 2022 inched close to half, up from 41.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021 and from 31.9 percent in the first quarter of 2021.
"Homeowners continue to benefit from rising home prices," said Rick Sharga, executive vice president of market intelligence for ATTOM. "Record levels of home equity provide financial security for millions of families, and minimize the chance of another housing market crash like the one we saw in 2008. But these higher home prices and rising interest rates make it extremely challenging for first time buyers to enter the market."
The report shows that just 3.2 percent of mortgaged homes, or one in 31, were considered seriously underwater in the first quarter of 2022, with a combined estimated balance of loans secured by the property of at least 25 percent more than the property's estimated market value. That was virtually the same as the 3.1 percent level of all U.S. homes with a mortgage in the prior quarter, but still well down from 4.7 percent, or one in 21 properties, a year earlier.
Across the country, 45 states saw equity-rich levels increase from the fourth quarter of 2021 to the first quarter of 2022 while seriously underwater percentages increased in 28 states, albeit by less than one percent in most cases. Year over year, equity-rich levels rose in 48 states and seriously underwater portions dropped in 46 states.
These latest equity trends came as the decade-long U.S. housing market boom continued from late 2021 into early 2022, although at a slower pace. Nationwide, the median home price rose 2 percent during that time, to yet another record of $320,500. That left it 17 percent ahead year over year nationally and up by at least 10 percent in most of the country.
While market analysts generally are predicting a slowdown this year, the most recent gains happened as a glut of home buyers kept chasing a historically tight supply of properties for sale, kicking prices up even higher. The market remained strong amid an ongoing combination of rock-bottom mortgage rates and a desire of many households to trade life in congested virus-prone locales for the wider spaces afforded by a house and yard.
Homeowner equity improved again in the first quarter of 2022 as rising home prices widened gaps between what homeowners owed on their mortgages and the value of their properties.
"It's likely that equity will continue to grow through the rest of 2022, although home price increases should moderate as the year goes on," Sharga said. "Rising interest rates, the highest inflation in 40 years, and the ongoing supply chain disruptions due to the war in Ukraine are likely to weaken demand and slow down home price appreciation."
Biggest improvements in equity-rich share of mortgages in West and South
The 15 states where the equity-rich share of mortgaged homes rose most from the fourth quarter of 2021 to the first quarter of 2022 were all in the western and southern regions of the U.S. States, with the biggest increases in New Mexico, where the portion of mortgaged homes considered equity-rich rose from 35.3 percent in the fourth quarter to 43.4 percent in the first quarter of 2022; Florida (up from 46.6 percent to 53.6 percent), California (up from 53.7 percent to 60.5 percent), South Carolina (up from 35 percent to 41.2 percent) and Montana (up from 40.5 percent to 45.7 percent).
States where the equity-rich share of mortgaged homes decreased from the fourth quarter of last year to the first quarter of this year were South Dakota (down from 36 percent to 32.3 percent), Mississippi (down from 26.3 percent to 23.5 percent), Louisiana (down from 22.5 percent to 21.6 percent), North Dakota (down from 29.3 percent to 28.6 percent) and Pennsylvania (down from 35.49 percent to 35.46 percent).
Largest increases in seriously underwater properties across South and Midwest
Twelve of the 15 states with the biggest increases in the percentage of mortgaged homes considered seriously underwater from the fourth quarter of 2021 to the first quarter of 2022 were spread across the South and Midwest. They were led by Mississippi (share of mortgaged homes seriously underwater up from 12.2 percent to 17 percent), Missouri (up from 5.1 percent to 6.6 percent), Louisiana (up from 10 percent to 11.3 percent), Pennsylvania (up from 4.2 percent to 5.2 percent) and Delaware (up from 3.7 percent to 4.5 percent).
States where the percentage of seriously underwater homes declined the most from the fourth quarter of last year to the first quarter of this year were Wyoming (down from 14.3 percent to 10 percent), Maine (down from 4.4 percent to 3.1 percent), Oklahoma (down from 5.5 percent to 4.8 percent), Alabama (down from 5.1 percent to 4.6 percent) and Montana (down from 3.4 percent to 3 percent).
West still with largest shares of equity-rich homes; Midwest and South again have smallest
The highest levels of equity-rich properties around the U.S. remained in the West during the first quarter of 2022, with eight of the top 10 states located in that region. They were led by Idaho (68.8 percent of mortgaged homes were equity-rich), Vermont (68 percent), Utah (63.6 percent), Washington (60.9 percent) and Arizona (60.9 percent).
Twelve of the 15 states with the lowest percentages of equity-rich properties in the first quarter of 2022 were in the Midwest and South. The smallest portions were in Louisiana (21.6 percent of mortgaged homes), Mississippi (23.5 percent), Illinois (23.5 percent), Alaska (25.2 percent) and Wyoming (26.1 percent).
Among 107 metropolitan statistical areas around the nation with a population greater than 500,000, the 30 with the highest shares of mortgaged properties that were equity-rich in the first quarter of 2022 were in the West and South. The top five were San Jose, CA (74.4 percent equity-rich); Austin, TX (73.8 percent); Boise, ID (70 percent); San Francisco, CA (68.1 percent) and Salt Lake City, UT (65.2 percent). While Austin again led the South and San Jose led the West, the leader in the Northeast region was Portland, ME (52.1 percent) and the top metro in the Midwest continued to be Grand Rapids, MI (49.1 percent).
Seventeen of the 20 metro areas with the lowest percentages of equity-rich properties in the first quarter of 2022 were in the Midwest and South. The smallest levels were in Baton Rouge, LA (18.1 percent of mortgage homes were equity-rich); Wichita, KS (19.6 percent); Jackson, MS (22.6 percent); Little Rock, AR (23.5 percent) and Chicago, IL (24.6 percent).
The portion of mortgaged homes considered equity rich rose from the fourth quarter of 2021 to the first quarter of 2022 in 103 of 106 metro areas with sufficient data in both time periods (97 percent) while the level rose annually in 105, or 99 percent.
West still has top equity-rich counties
Among 1,617 counties that had at least 2,500 homes with mortgages in the first quarter of 2022, 37 of the top 50 equity-rich locations were in the West.
Counties with the highest share of equity-rich properties were Dukes County (Martha's Vineyard), MA (81.1 percent equity-rich); Teton County (Jackson), WY (78.7 percent); San Mateo County, CA (outside San Francisco) (77.4 percent); Chittenden County (Burlington), VT (77.1 percent) and Nantucket County, MA (76.6 percent).
Counties with the smallest share were Vernon Parish, LA (northwest of Lafayette) (7.2 percent equity-rich); Otero County, NM (outside El Paso, TX) (7.7 percent); Geary County (Junction City), KS (7.9 percent); Cumberland County (Fayetteville), NC (9.5 percent equity-rich) and Boone County (Columbia), MO (10 percent).
At least half of all properties considered equity-rich in a third of zip codes
Among 8,705 U.S. zip codes that had at least 2,000 residential properties with mortgages in the first quarter of 2022, there were 3,247 (37 percent) where at least half the mortgaged properties were equity-rich.
Forty-one of the top 50 were in California and Texas, with 12 of the top 25 in Austin, TX. They were led by zip codes 78739 in Austin, TX (84.5 percent of mortgaged properties were equity-rich); 78733 in Austin, TX (84.5 percent); 78617 in Del Valle, TX (83.6 percent); 94703 in San Francisco, CA (83.6 percent) and 94116 in San Francisco, CA (83.4 percent).
Largest shares of seriously underwater properties again in South and Midwest
Nine of the 10 states with the highest shares of mortgages that were seriously underwater in the first quarter of 2022 were in the South and Midwest. The top five were Mississippi (17 percent seriously underwater), Louisiana (11.3 percent), Wyoming (10 percent), Iowa (7.4 percent) and Illinois (7.2 percent).
Among 107 metropolitan statistical areas with a population greater than 500,000, those with the largest shares of mortgages that were seriously underwater in the first quarter of 2022 were Baton Rouge, LA (11.3 percent); Wichita, KS (8.6 percent); New Orleans, LA (8 percent); Jackson, MS (6.9 percent) and Youngstown, OH (6.8 percent).
Despite the slight quarterly increase in the level of seriously underwater mortgages nationwide, the portion actually declined in 62, or 58 percent, of the metro areas with enough data to analyze in both the fourth quarter of 2021 and the first quarter of 2022. Seriously underwater rates decreased, year over year, in 103 of those 107 metros (97 percent).
More than 25 percent of residential properties seriously underwater in just 42 zip codes
Among 8,705 U.S. zip codes that had at least 2,000 homes with mortgages in the first quarter of 2022, there were only 42 locations where more than 25 percent of mortgaged properties were seriously underwater. Of those, 20 were in Cleveland, OH; others were found in Columbia, MO; Detroit, MI; St. Louis, MO, and Philadelphia, PA.
The top five zip codes with the largest shares of seriously underwater properties in the first quarter of 2022 were 39553 in Jackson, MS (55.2 percent of mortgaged homes were seriously underwater); 39564 in Jackson, MS (52 percent); 44108 in Cleveland, OH (48.8 percent); 46408 in Gary, IN (45.4 percent) and 65202 in Columbia, MO (45.2 percent).
Most homeowners facing foreclosure have at least some equity
Only about 201,000 homeowners were facing possible foreclosure in the first quarter of 2022, or just three-tenths of one percent of the 58.1 million outstanding mortgages in the U.S. However, 180,000, or 90 percent of those facing possible lender takeover, had at least some equity built up in their homes.
"Positive equity should give financially distressed homeowners better options than their counterparts had during the Great Recession, when 33 percent of all homeowners were underwater on their mortgages," Sharga noted. "Hopefully these borrowers will be able to tap into their equity to refinance their debt, or be able to leverage it to sell their property and get a fresh start."
States with the highest percentages of homeowners who had equity in their properties and were facing foreclosure in the first quarter of 2022 included New Hampshire (99 percent with equity), Idaho (99 percent), Utah (99 percent), Washington (97 percent) and Colorado (97 percent). States with the lowest percentages included Mississippi (58 percent with equity), Louisiana (76 percent), Maryland (80 percent), Illinois (81 percent) and Kansas (82 percent).
Report methodology
The ATTOM U.S. Home Equity & Underwater report provides counts of properties based on several categories of equity — or loan to value (LTV) — at the state, metro, county and zip code level, along with the percentage of total properties with a mortgage that each equity category represents. The equity/LTV is calculated based on record-level loan model estimating position and amount of loans secured by a property and a record-level automated valuation model (AVM) derived from publicly recorded mortgage and deed of trust data collected and licensed by ATTOM nationwide for more than 155 million U.S. properties. The ATTOM Home Equity and Underwater report has been updated and modified to better reflect a housing market focused on the traditional home buying process. ATTOM found that markets where investors were more prominent, they would offset the loan to value ratio due to sales involving multiple properties with a single jumbo loan encompassing all of the properties. Therefore, going forward such activity is now excluded from the reports in order to provide traditional consumer home purchase and loan activity.
Definitions
Seriously underwater: Loan to value ratio of 125 percent or above, meaning the property owner owed at least 25 percent more than the estimated market value of the property.
Equity-rich: Loan to value ratio of 50 percent or lower, meaning the property owner had at least 50 percent equity.
About ATTOM
ATTOM provides premium property data to power products that improve transparency, innovation, efficiency and disruption in a data-driven economy. ATTOM multi-sources property tax, deed, mortgage, foreclosure, environmental risk, natural hazard, and neighborhood data for more than 155 million U.S. residential and commercial properties covering 99 percent of the nation's population. A rigorous data management process involving more than 20 steps validates, standardizes, and enhances the real estate data collected by ATTOM, assigning each property record with a persistent, unique ID — the ATTOM ID. The 20TB ATTOM Data Warehouse fuels innovation in many industries including mortgage, real estate, insurance, marketing, government and more through flexible data delivery solutions that include bulk file licenses, property data APIs, real estate market trends, property reports and more. Also, introducing our newest innovative solution, that offers immediate access and streamlines data management – ATTOM Cloud.
Media Contact:
Christine Stricker
949.748.8428
christine.stricker@attomdata.com
Data and Report Licensing:
949.502.8313
datareports@attomdata.com
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SOURCE ATTOM | https://www.wibw.com/prnewswire/2022/05/12/homeowner-equity-grows-again-across-us-first-quarter/ | 2022-05-12T10:33:10Z |
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Which new car accessories are best?
Purchasing a new car is always an exciting and memorable experience. Whether it’s your first vehicle or a model you’ve had your eye on for a while, owning a new car also comes with added responsibilities. New car owners will likely want to invest in a few necessary items to help with regular maintenance and upkeep, as well as some accessories to enhance their overall driving experience. From seat cushions to jumper cables, the best items for your new car will keep you comfortable, safe and ready to hit the road.
What are the best new car accessories to buy?
Phone mount
Holding your phone while navigating isn’t only dangerous and distracting, but also illegal in many states. A sturdy magnetic car phone mount, like this model from WixGear, allows you to conveniently attach your phone to the air vent mount using a magnetic plate. This hands-free device also lets the driver adjust and swivel their phone to their desired viewing angle.
Sold by Amazon
Charger
Anker Mini Aluminum Car Charger
If your car doesn’t offer a USB charging port, you’ll benefit from this compact and quick-charging Anker model. Compatible with most phones and tablets, you can charge up to two devices at once at a significantly faster rate than similar options. The aluminum alloy construction will mesh nicely with stylish dashboards and interiors.
Sold by Amazon
Seat cushion
Everlasting Comfort Seat Cushion
Designed for use in a variety of locations, from the car to the office to your home, these memory foam cushions will add an extra level of comfort, especially on long drives and road trips. The strategically placed ventilation holes create more consistent airflow to keep you cool. Those dealing with back problems will also enjoy advanced lumbar support.
Sold by Amazon
Seat covers
When it comes to a new car, nothing will bring down the mood like a stain on your brand new seats. These Black Panther seat covers are available in a variety of color options to match your style, all while keeping the original fabric clean and protected. With a breathable design, airbag compatibility, non-slip construction and quick installation process, you’ll be just as impressed by their functionality as you will be by their appearance.
Sold by Amazon
Vacuum
BLACK+DECKER Dustbuster Handheld Vacuum
Another way to stay on top of your new car’s cleanliness is to invest in a powerful portable vacuum. This lightweight, portable dustbuster has a long nozzle so you can access all of the hard-to-reach areas and crevices between the seats and armrests. It also has two speed modes and an additional Powerboost function to remove larger dirt or debris.
Sold by Amazon
Trash can
A cup holder trash can is another useful car accessory that helps with cleanliness and organization. Fitting securely in most cup holders or side door compartments, this small and sleek trash can features a lid and has a total capacity of 15 ounces. You can also use it to hold small accessories, keys, coins and more.
Sold by Amazon
Dash cam
Accidents happen, but with a reliable vehicle dashcam, you’ll have greater protection against hit and runs, theft, purposeful vehicle damage and more. This Garmin dashcam records in high-definition 1440p resolution for consistently clear video. Sporting an automatic parking mode feature and interior night vision mode, you’ll be covered in every situation.
Sold by Amazon and Home Depot
Tire pressure gauge
A trustworthy tire pressure gauge will help ensure your tires are filled to the recommended PSI, which improves fuel economy and guarantees optimal performance. The TireTrek analog gauge doesn’t require any batteries so it’s always ready to go, while the flexible hose gives you convenient access to the air valve. This specific model can be used on most cars, trucks and SUVs.
Sold by Amazon
Jumper cables
No car is complete without a trusty set of jumper cables. These Energizer cables are more than long enough to reach the battery of an adjacent vehicle. These jumper cables also sport a 2-year warranty.
Sold by Amazon
Window scraper
Snow MOOver Extendable Ice Scraper
While not everyone will need an ice scraper for their new car, anyone living in areas with harsh winters will be sure to find this 39-inch Snow MOOver handy. The comfortable handle features a cushioned grip, while the foam head won’t cause any scratches or damage to your car’s windows or body.
Sold by Amazon
Window shades
Anyone with young children or those who want to keep their new car cool in hot weather will want to consider these Enovoe window shades. Designed to block up to 97 percent of UV rays, they keep the sun out of your passenger’s eyes while also preventing your car from heating up. The installation process is quick and simple and the mesh construction allows for clear visibility.
Sold by Amazon
Air freshener
Most people enjoy the “new car” smell, but unfortunately, it doesn’t last forever. These compact Febreze air fresheners clip easily onto the vent and provide up to 30 days of fresh scent and impressive odor elimination. This value four-pack includes two distinct scents, so you can mix it up or stick with your favorite.
Sold by Amazon
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Matthew Young writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money. | https://cw33.com/automotive/best-new-car-accessories/ | 2022-04-15T21:48:44Z |
Which Command hooks are best?
Command hooks assist in the organization of various indoor and outdoor items by securely hanging them to the wall. Command products are known for their ability to hang items without damaging the walls or a need to create holes. The right hooks for you should be able to hold an extensive amount of weight and come with extra hanging strips. Before purchasing Command hooks, consider their weight limit, how removable they are and if the hook is plastic or wire.
For a durable Command hook that’s available in multiple quantities and colors and securely hangs your items, try Command Small Wire Hooks.
What to know before you buy Command hooks
Weight limit
Each set of Command hooks details a weight limit in the product description — this is how much weight the hook can support before it’s detached from the wall or before it breaks. The thicker and larger the hook, the more weight it can likely hold. You can also search product reviews to see if items you plan on hanging with the hooks have passed a trial and error test from someone who has already tried the product.
Removable
Command hooks should be easy for the user to remove from the wall. Typically, they can be quickly and effortlessly removed and don’t leave any residue or damage on the wall. Though all the products claim to be easily removable, it’s less easy to remove them if the weight limit is exceeded or if they weren’t carefully stuck to the surface to begin with.
Wire hook
More durable hooks are made with wire rather than plastic. Wire hooks can hold more than plastic hooks and work well to support items that don’t grip to the hook. Plastic hooks feature a softer edge that makes it easier for items like coats and shirts to slip off of them easily, whereas wire hooks are less blunt and keep the item securely on the hook. They’re also thinner and can work better for picture frames.
Quantity
Command hooks are sold in sets of various hooks ranging in quantity. The smaller the hooks, the larger quantities are available for purchase. If you plan to use the same hooks for multiple projects, consider purchasing hooks that are available in a larger quantity. Large, thick hooks are available as singles.
What to look for in quality Command hooks
Extra strips
Command hooks come with extra strips. Those hooks that include extra strips allow the user to get more use out of the hook once the first sticky strip is no longer of use. After the initial strip loses its grip, you can save some money if extra strips were included.
Durability
Command trips are very durable and can hold up many household and personal items effortlessly and securely. They’re popular for the way they provide just as much support and durability as other hanging methods (such as nails) without damaging the wall. This can be especially handy for those renting a property.
Clear
Command hooks come in multiple colors, but the most common are white, black, silver, gold and clear. Clear hooks are more discreet when hanging your items. If you don’t want the hook to be seen, consider purchasing a clear Command hook.
How much you can expect to spend on Command hooks
Command hooks cost anywhere from $4-$25 depending on how many hooks come in a pack and their features. Products that come in a large quantity and are made with the most durable materials are priced higher.
Command hooks FAQ
How many Command strips are needed per hook?
A. Only one Command strip is needed per hook. Using more than one strip can make the item look bulkier on the wall and could cause it to lose its stick more quickly.
What happens if I exceed the weight limit of a Command hook?
A. Exceeding the weight limit of the Command hook could not only cause the product to break, but it could rip the paint and wallpaper off the wall where it’s placed. Exceeding the weight limit is not recommended.
What are the best Command hooks to buy?
Top Command hooks
What you need to know: These Command hooks are extremely adhesive and prevent damage to the surfaces they’re placed on.
What you’ll love: These hooks are made from durable plastic and can be used both indoors and outdoors. There are no tools necessary to hang and assemble, and there’s no residue left after they’re removed. Each hook holds half a pound. These hooks are small and compact and can be reused with the purchase of more adhesive strips. They feature a small wire hook and are available in packs of various quantities and colors.
What you should consider: If these hooks aren’t removed carefully, they can tear wallpaper and rip off paint. Some users question their durability, as these hooks wear quickly.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon and Staples
Top Command hook for the money
What you need to know: This Command hook comes as a single, can hold up to 7.5 pounds and is made with durable plastic.
What you’ll love: This hook can be used indoors and outdoors and on any solid surface besides a mirror or window. No tools are needed for assembly, and the Command strip can be removed cleanly. Three extra strips are included for reuse and they can also be used in areas like the shower to hang items, since they aren’t affected by moisture.
What you should consider: This hook is smaller than it looks in the photo, and some users find it doesn’t work for holding medium-sized outdoor items such as stools, brooms or ladders.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon and Staples
Worth checking out
What you need to know: These Command hooks are small and clear and are available in different quantities. They’re lightweight and sturdy and hold up to 2 pounds.
What you’ll love: You don’t need anything but the hook and Command strips to assemble, and various strips are included. The clear color of these hooks makes them discreet, allowing for greater organization without a cluttered look. They’re easy to store when not in use.
What you should consider: It isn’t recommended to stick these hooks to your windows, and they’re best used indoors. Some say these hooks don’t stick well, and they don’t come with instructions on how to hang them.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon and Staples
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Copyright 2022 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved. | https://cw33.com/reviews/br/beauty-personal-care-br/storage-br/best-command-hook/ | 2022-06-18T19:29:42Z |
- Bayer AG's MagicTrap automatically detects pest infestations and provides optimum crop protection
- 1NCE provides global connectivity for smart monitoring systems
COLOGNE, Germany , April 12, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- To help farmers detect pests early and protect critical agriculture, Bayer AG's Crop Protection Innovation Lab developed the MagicTrap ― a yellow trap that catches and counts potential pests in canola fields automatically and provides data for developing an efficient crop protection system. For communication between the yellow trap and the app used by farmers, Bayer AG relies on 1NCE, the only provider of connectivity and software for IoT with a global flat rate.
"Farmers should not have to worry about SIM cards and contracts," said Fabian Born, product manager at Bayer. "The device must be ready to use anywhere, immediately, and without technical preparation. 1NCE convinced us with its unique offer of worldwide availability and a simple pricing model over the entire lifecycle of a device."
Alexander P. Sator, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of 1NCE GmbH added: "Classic mobile contracts with long term lengths or volume tariffs are a showstopper for the development of smart and scalable IoT solutions, and worldwide accessibility at a fixed price over the entire lifecycle of a device is a must-have. We are pleased to work with Bayer AG on this important concept to protect the world's crops."
Full press release: https://1nce.com/en/news/
Project details: https://1nce.com/en/blog/
About Bayer and 1NCE
Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the life science fields of health care and nutrition: www.bayer.com. 1NCE is the only provider of connectivity and software for IoT with a global flat. rate: www.1nce.com
Media Contact
Dennis Knake, 1NCE
E-Mail: dennis.knake@1NCE.com
View original content:
SOURCE 1NCE | https://www.mysuncoast.com/prnewswire/2022/04/12/bayer-ags-crop-protection-innovation-lab-implements-1nce-services-smart-insect-traps-protect-worlds-canola-crops/ | 2022-04-12T08:13:47Z |
Anton Vlaschenko often hears shelling outside his office in Ukraine’s second-largest city of Kharkiv, not far from the front lines of the war. He sometimes even sees smoke rising from Russian tanks hit by missiles.
But the 40-year-old zoologist continues his work, dissecting and labeling bat tissue, as he probes the disease ecology of the flying mammals. When news of the war overwhelms him, he says, it helps to have something familiar to do with his hands.
He also sees it as an act of defiance.
“Our staying in Ukraine, our continuing to work — it’s some kind of resistance of Russian invasion,” Vlaschenko said via Zoom, a barrage of shelling audible in the background. “The people together in Ukraine are ready to fight, not only with guns. We don’t want to lose our country.”
His resolve isn’t unique. Like other Ukrainians whose labors aren’t essential to the war effort, the scientists and academics want to continue their important work where they can.
A common refrain is that they want to stay connected to their scholarly community, which provides a shard of normalcy amid the chaos and violence, and “keep the light of Ukrainian science and humanities alive,” said Yevheniia Polishchuk, who teaches at Kyiv National Economic University.
As vice chair of the Young Scientists Council at Ukraine’s Ministry of Education and Science, Polishchuk organized an online survey of academics to assess their situation and needs after the Feb. 24 invasion. An estimated 4,000 to 6,000 scholars had left Ukraine by early April — mostly women with families — but about 100,000 stayed.
Most who went abroad wound up in Poland and elsewhere in Eastern Europe, getting temporary positions at European institutions. Some scientists have received grants from the Polish Academy of Sciences, U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and other organizations. Polishchuk, now in Krakow with her children and husband, is a visiting professor at a university for May and June but says she hopes to return to Kyiv when fighting stops.
“We don’t want the war to result in a brain drain from Ukraine,” she said.
While Ukrainian scholars are appealing to international scientific bodies for assistance — including remote work opportunities and access to journals, datasets, archives and other materials — there is also a will to prevent the war from permanently sapping talent and momentum from the country’s academic and professional ranks, which will be needed to rebuild after fighting stops.
“Most of our scholars do not want to move abroad permanently; they want to stay in Ukraine,” Polishchuk said.
Shortly after the war began, Ivan Slyusarev, a 34-year-old astronomer, helped the director of Kharkiv National University’s observatory move computers, monitors and other materials into the basement, which had sheltered equipment and historical artifacts when Nazi forces occupied the city during World War II.
The observatory’s main telescope is located in a field in Russia-occupied territory, about 70 kilometers (43 miles) from Kharkiv on the road to Donetsk. Slyusarev said he doesn’t know its condition, but thinks Ukrainian forces blew up a nearby bridge to stop the Russian advance.
He is relying on scientists outside Ukraine to continue his work. Astronomers in the Czech Republic have sent him observational data from their telescope so he can keep analyzing the properties of metallic asteroids. He also can see data from a small robotic telescope in Spain’s Canary Islands. He operates mostly from a home office on the outskirts of Kharkiv.
Slyusarev, who says he became an astronomer because of “romantic” ideas about the stars, finds refuge in scientific discovery. Astronomy “produces only positive news” and is a welcome respite from daily life, he said.
“It’s very important in wartime,” he added.
After the war started, theoretical physicist and astronomer Oleksiy Golubov left Kharkiv to join his parents in Batkiv, a village in western Ukraine.
Although the buildings of the Kharkiv Institute of Physics and Technology were “bombed and shelled and virtually destroyed,” Golubov said, the school continues to offer some remote classes. He has been keeping in touch with students online — in Kharkiv, in western Ukraine and in Poland and Germany.
The 36-year-old scientist is also a coordinator and trainer for the Ukrainian students preparing to compete in the International Physicists Tournament, a competition for tackling unsolved physics problems that is being held in Colombia this month. The students, who had been training online, met this week in Lviv for the first time — following train journeys delayed by the war.
“We still want to take part and prove that even inconveniences like war can’t stop us from doing good science and having a good education,” he said.
Golubov, who was turned down from joining the military because of a paralyzed hand, submitted a paper in March to the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics and wrote in the acknowledgements, “We are grateful to Ukrainians who are fighting to stop the war so that we can safely finish the revision of this article.”
Some scholars, like Ivan Patrilyak, dean of the history department at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, have enlisted. Eighteen months ago, he was hosting a speaker series on the legacy of World War II and lecturing about the Holocaust. Now, he’s with a territorial defense unit in Kyiv.
Igor Lyman, a historian at the State Pedagogical University in Berdyansk, had to flee when Russian forces occupied the port city early in the war. Before leaving, he had seen the troops break into dormitories to interrogate students and order administrators to teach in Russian, rather than Ukrainian, and use a Moscow-approved curriculum. He said the directors “refused and resigned.”
He later settled in a camp for internally displaced persons at Chernivtsi National University, living in a dormitory with academics from Kyiv, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Kherson and other cities.
“Each of these families has its own terrible story of war,” he wrote in an email. “And everyone, like me, dreams of our victory and coming back home.”
He said the Russian forces “are doing everything they can to impose their propaganda.”
Vlaschenko, the Kharkiv zoologist, wanted to protect 20 bats in his care from the shelling, so he carried them to his home, a walk of about an hour. It also helped to preserve his valuable research, which couldn’t be easily replaced, even if buildings and labs can be rebuilt after the war.
“All the people who decided to stay in Kharkiv agreed to play this dangerous and potentially deadly lottery,” he said, “because you never know in what areas a new rocket or new shell would hit.”
As he scrambles to record data and safeguard his rare samples, he sees it as part of his mission — “not only for us, but also for science in general.” | https://www.tdtnews.com/news/article_850083ca-ce47-11ec-966d-b7179842e7c5.html | 2022-05-08T05:59:58Z |
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine claimed to have destroyed bridges and ammunition depots and pounded command posts in a surge of fighting in the Russian-occupied south, fueling speculation Tuesday that its long-awaited counteroffensive to try to turn the tide of war is underway. Russia said it inflicted heavy casualties in return.
The clashes took place in Ukraine’s Kherson region, where Moscow’s forces rolled up major gains early in the war.
While independent verification of battlefield action has been difficult, Britain’s Defense Ministry said in an intelligence report that several Ukrainian brigades had stepped up their artillery fire in front-line sectors across southern Ukraine.
Ukrainian authorities kept the world guessing about their intentions, sidestepping talk of a major counteroffensive over the past couple of days.
The port city of Kherson, with a prewar population of about 300,000, is an important economic hub close to the Black Sea and the first major city to fall to the Russians in the war that began six months ago.
Occupation forces have spoken of plans to hold a referendum on making the Kherson region a part of Russia and have pressured residents to take Russian citizenship and stop using Ukraine’s currency.
Ukraine’s presidential office reported “tough battles” going on across practically all of the area and said Ukrainian forces destroyed ammunition depots and all large bridges across the Dnieper River vital to supplying Russian troops.
The Ukrainian military said Tuesday evening that the Russians were shelling more than 15 settlements in the Kherson area and resorting to airstrikes.
The British said that most of Russia’s units around Kherson “are likely under-manned and are reliant upon fragile supply lines” while its forces there are undergoing a significant reorganization.
Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Lt. Gen. Igor Konashenkov maintained that its forces stood up well and that Ukraine lost hundreds of troops, tanks and other armored vehicles in Monday’s action. His claim could not be independently verified.
Ukrainian independent military analyst Oleh Zhdanov told The Associated Press that “it will be possible to talk about the effectiveness of Ukrainian actions only after large cities are retaken.” He added that Ukrainian forces had breached the first and the second lines of defense in the Kherson region several times in the past, “but it didn’t bring about results.”
“The most important thing is Ukrainian artillery’s work on the bridges, which the Russian military can no longer use,” Zhdanov said.
The war has turned into a stalemate over the past months, with casualties and destruction mounting and the population bearing the brunt of the suffering during relentless shelling in the east and south.
In other battlefield reports, at least nine civilians were killed in more Russian shelling, Ukrainian officials said, from the Black Sea port of Mykolaiv to the northeastern industrial hub of Kharkiv, where five were killed in the city center.
The fighting complicates what could be a treacherous trip from Kyiv to Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, Zaporizhzhia, by an inspection team from the U.N.’s atomic energy agency.
The experts may have to pass through areas of active fighting, with no publicly announced cease-fire, to reach the Russian-occupied plant, where shelling has driven fears of a catastrophe. Ukraine and Russia have accused each other of shelling the area over and over.
Nikopol, a city just across the Dnieper from the plant, again came under a barrage of heavy shelling, authorities said, with a bus station, stores and a children’s library damaged. And a Russian missile strike targeted the city of Zaporizhzhia, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the plant, Ukraine said.
In other developments:
—The first ship carrying grain from war-torn Ukraine for people in the hungriest parts of the world docked at the Horn of Africa port of Djibouti as deadly drought and conflict grip East Africa. The grain is going to Ethiopia.
—European Union nations were divided over whether to slap a broad visa ban on Russian citizens, torn between a desire to ramp up pressure on President Vladimir Putin and concern about punishing people who don’t support his war.
—German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said his country — Europe’s biggest economy — is well prepared to tackle a possible energy shortage because of Russia’s squeeze on European gas supplies. Russia has cut off or reduced the flow of gas to a dozen EU countries, raising fears ahead of winter. Seven Baltic Sea countries announced plans for a sevenfold increase of wind power production by 2030 to free northern Europe from its dependence on Russian natural gas.
—The Vatican defended Pope Francis from allegations he hasn’t come down hard enough on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, saying the pontiff clearly views the war as “senseless, repugnant and sacrilegious.”
___
Yuras Karmanau contributed to this report from Tallinn, Estonia.
___
Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine | https://cw33.com/news/international/ap-international/ap-eyes-on-kherson-as-ukraine-claims-bold-move-on-russians/ | 2022-08-30T20:02:06Z |
CLEVELAND, July 12, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Sharp increases in average prices for key raw materials drove a surge in the US pipe market in value terms in 2021, finds a new Freedonia Group analysis.
In 2021, average prices of PVC, steel, and copper pipe spiked 38%, 48%, and 49%, respectively. The significant increase in prices was due to a number of factors including:
- major increases in raw material prices, as inflation reaches the highest levels in the US in over 40 years
- significant supply chain issues and shortages
These price increases led to a massive spike in value demand in 2021 that was boosted by a return to growth in pipe usage. In linear feet terms, demand accelerated from a nearly flat 2020, as the oil and gas drilling, industrial processing, and structural and mechanical markets rebounded due to rising gas prices and increasing durable goods production.
Through 2026, demand for pipe products in the US is forecast to increase 2.2% per year to $57.9 billion, equivalent to 12.9 billion linear feet. Growth in value terms is projected to decelerate significantly due mostly to the expectation that average prices of plastic and metal pipe will moderate going forward. However, volume gains will be driven by:
- a rebound in oil and gas drilling activity
- increasing water and sewer construction
- healthy growth in transportation equipment manufacturing
- rising production of air conditioners and refrigerators, particularly larger and higher end models that require more tubing
Pipes Products & Markets provides historical data (2011, 2016, and 2021) and forecasts for the years 2026, and 2031 for the following competitive pipe materials:
- steel
- plastic (broken out by PVC, HDPE, PEX, CPVC, fiberglass, ABS, and other resins)
- copper
- ductile iron
- concrete
- aluminum
- other nonferrous metals (e.g., titanium, nickel)
- clay
Also included are breakouts for pipe markets:
- structural and mechanical (refrigeration and HVAC equipment, appliances, transportation equipment, other structural and mechanical products)
- potable water (water transmission, water distribution, service and rural water)
- oil and natural gas (oil and natural gas drilling and transmission, natural gas distribution)
- storm and sanitary sewer
- conduit
- industrial processing
- drain, waste, and vent
- irrigation
About the Freedonia Group - The Freedonia Group, a division of MarketResearch.com, is the premier international industrial research company, providing our clients with product analyses, market forecasts, industry trends, and market share information. From one-person consulting firms to global conglomerates, our analysts provide companies with unbiased, reliable industry market research and analysis to help them make important business decisions. With over 100 studies published annually, we support over 90% of the industrial Fortune 500 companies. Find off-the-shelf studies at https://www.freedoniagroup.com/ or contact us for custom research: +1 440.842.2400.
Press Contact:
Corinne Gangloff
+1 440.842.2400
cgangloff@freedoniagroup.com
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SOURCE The Freedonia Group | https://www.kxii.com/prnewswire/2022/07/12/major-spike-pvc-steel-amp-copper-prices-2021-leads-record-year-pipe-market/ | 2022-07-12T21:49:56Z |
De Gendt wins Giro 8th stage, López keeps overall lead
NAPLES, Italy (AP) — Belgian cyclist Thomas De Gendt won the eighth stage of the Giro d’Italia on Saturday and Juan Pedro López kept hold of the pink jersey. De Gendt was helped by Lotto–Soudal teammate Harm Vanhoucke and edged out Davide Gabburo and Jorge Arcas in the sprint to the line at the end of an undulating 153-kilometer route that started and finished in the seaside city of Naples. López stayed 38 seconds ahead of Lennard Kämna overall and 58 seconds ahead of Rein Taaramäe. Sunday’s ninth stage is one of the toughest in this year’s race. The 191-kilometer route from Isernia finishes atop the fearsome Blockhaus. | https://localnews8.com/sports/ap-national-sports/2022/05/14/de-gendt-wins-giro-8th-stage-lopez-keeps-overall-lead/ | 2022-05-14T17:20:26Z |
Connect Attendees to Learn about Clearwater's Award-Winning Platform and Explore the Future of Investment Operations
BOISE, Idaho, Aug. 17, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Clearwater Analytics (NYSE: CWAN), a leading provider of SaaS-based investment accounting, reporting, and analytics solutions, today announced that it will host its annual user conference, Clearwater Connect 2022, from September 13 to September 15, 2022, at the Boise Centre in Boise, Idaho.
Connect attendees will get a first look at the newest features and capabilities of the Clearwater platform and learn how these innovative technologies can be used to significantly boost business productivity and growth opportunities.
A Power-Packed Speaker Line-Up and an Immersive Educational Experience
The speaker lineup for Clearwater Connect 2022 includes a range of experts who rely on Clearwater's SaaS-based, state-of-the-art solutions, to conduct faster, accurate reporting to gain a competitive advantage. More than 500 experts in accounting and finance will have the opportunity to gain insights from some of the top minds in the industry, including business leaders from NAIC, PMA Asset Management, Transamerica and more. Some of our event speakers include:
- Susan Agbenoto, Director of Investment Performance at Opus Investment Management
- Dale Bruggeman, Chief, Policy and Development, Foreign Analysis and Administration at Ohio Department of Insurance
- Courtney Clarke, Vice President, Institutional Portfolio Manager at PMA Asset Management, LLC
- Bryan DeJonge, Investment Accounting Finance Director, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan
- Eric Hansen, Senior Director Investment Reporting at Transamerica
- Peter Kelly, Manager, Securities Valuation Office at the NAIC
- Mandy Savage, Director, Investment Management and Assistant Treasurer at BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee
- Richelle Sugiyama, Investment Officer at Public Employee Retirement System of Idaho
- Sandeep Sahai, Chief Executive Officer at Clearwater Analytics
Attendees can choose to attend sessions across three primary tracks. Both the Accounting and Operational Best Practices and the Market Insights tracks offer continuing education credits while attendees learn about industry-relevant topics and upcoming regulatory changes. The Clearwater Product Training track offers a deep dive into the Clearwater platform, with live product demonstrations on how Clearwater technology and services can simplify investment accounting and reporting. Conference attendees can also register for 1:1 sessions with Clearwater Analytics experts for the opportunity to learn more about solutions that address their specific business needs.
Additionally, Clearwater Connect will recognize the success and accomplishments of individuals, teams and firms during the Clearwater Connect 2022 Client Awards ceremony. Visit the Clearwater Connect 2022 Client awards site to learn about the six award categories and nominate your team or team members today.
Attend Special Networking Events
Attendees will explore the special networking events taking place throughout the conference and have multiple opportunities to mingle in-person with investment accounting enthusiasts who span the globe and represent major industries, including banks, investment houses, insurance companies, consumer finance companies, mortgage lenders, and real estate investment trusts (REITs), among others.
Connect participants are invited to share their own valuable knowledge and experiences in small group breakout sessions and learn from peers as they facilitate discussions on a wide range of topics uniquely relevant to investment operations.
This year's Connect takes place in Boise, near Clearwater Analytics' headquarters, and will host several days' worth of recreational activities to showcase the thriving urban culture of Boise and the natural beauty of the surrounding area.
"Clearwater's clients value best practices and connections, and this year, we're thrilled to offer them a variety of opportunities to gain essential knowledge and interact with both our team and each other," said Subi Sethi, Chief Client Officer at Clearwater Analytics. "Our goal is to inspire attendees with our strategic vision, innovative platform, and collective knowledge that promises to accelerate growth and streamline operations."
"This year, Clearwater Connect offers an immersive learning experience where the world's most influential institutions and market leaders will discuss, debate, and navigate the highly complex and ever-changing world of investment accounting and operations," said Susan Ganeshan, Chief Marketing Officer at Clearwater Analytics. "From advances in risk management, to investment reporting, to the latest NAIC regulatory updates, a plethora of solutions to operations challenges will be unveiled at Clearwater Connect."
Connect with Clearwater
- Register to attend Clearwater Connect 2022.
- Follow Clearwater Analytics on LinkedIn and Twitter.
- Join the Clearwater Connect conversation on social media channels by using the hashtag #CWANConnect2022.
About Clearwater Analytics
Clearwater Analytics is a global industry-leading SaaS solution for automated investment data aggregation, reconciliation, accounting, compliance, risk, performance, and reporting. Each day, the Clearwater solution reports on more than $5.9 trillion in assets for clients that include leading insurers, asset managers, corporations, pension plans, governments, and nonprofit organizations – helping them make the most of their investment portfolio data with a world-class product and client-centric servicing. Investment professionals around the globe trust Clearwater to deliver timely, validated investment data and analytics. Additional information about Clearwater can be found at clearwateranalytics.com, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
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SOURCE Clearwater Analytics | https://www.wibw.com/prnewswire/2022/08/17/clearwater-analytics-feature-innovations-investment-accounting-clearwater-connect-2022/ | 2022-08-17T13:43:10Z |
Industry veteran brings nearly two decades of success scaling healthcare technology companies
PHOENIX, June 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- eVisit, the leading enterprise care delivery platform built for modern health systems and hospitals, today announced it has named industry leader Sachin Agrawal as its company president.
Agrawal has nearly two decades of experience leading successful healthcare technology companies. Most recently, he served as president of strategy and corporate development at RLDatix, a leader in the emerging healthcare governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) space. Under Agrawal's leadership, the company grew from 136 employees to more than 1,500 employees supporting 5,500 unique customers across 26 countries. Agrawal was also the chief architect behind a multi-company acquisition strategy across four years that contributed nearly $2 billion of enterprise value to RLDatix.
"Sachin brings a great depth of experience in the healthcare and technology sectors that is crucial to our next growth stage and our aim to make eVisit the market-defining care delivery platform for remote, virtual care for the U.S. healthcare system," said Bret Larsen, CEO of eVisit. "During his career, Sachin has been asked to aggressively address new markets, build growth strategies, and retain clients. His proven track record in scaling healthtech businesses has been tremendous, and we're excited to add his expertise and remarkable skill set to the executive team guiding eVisit's future."
Agrawal will build upon the recent momentum eVisit has achieved in the remote, virtual care space. eVisit was recognized as the sole Leader in the Forrester Wave™: Virtual Care Platforms in Digital Health, Q1 2021 report, as well as a Representative Vendor in the Gartner 2020 Guide for Virtual Care Solutions. The seven-year-old company experienced significant revenue growth across the past several years, and Inc. Magazine recognized eVisit as one of America's fastest-growing companies in 2021, ranking 2,300 on the prestigious Inc. 5000 list.
"eVisit's goal of supporting hospitals, health systems and other healthcare delivery organizations in simplifying their delivery of care is one that personally resonates with me and drew me to the company," said Agrawal. "I'm excited to be part of an organization that is addressing social determinants of health and ensuring that everyone has fair and equitable access to the healthcare system."
eVisit is the only end-to-end, fully integrated, enterprise care delivery platform built for health systems and hospitals. It delivers innovative consumer experiences in care navigation, care delivery, and care engagement, improving margins at scale without sacrificing quality. eVisit works seamlessly across enterprise service lines and departments to improve outcomes, reduce costs, and boost revenue. Based in Phoenix, Ariz., eVisit helps healthcare organizations, including the largest systems in the U.S., innovate and succeed in today's changing healthcare market. eVisit is the only Leader in the Forrester Wave™: Virtual Care Platforms in Digital Health, Q1 2021, and is a Representative Vendor in the Gartner® 2020 Market Guide for Virtual Care. Get your complimentary copy of the Forrester Report here and the Gartner Report here. For more information, visit evisit.com.
Media contact: Mardi Larson, mlarson@acmarketingpr.com Amendola Communications for eVisit or Inquiries@evisit.com.
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SOURCE eVisit | https://www.wibw.com/prnewswire/2022/06/01/evisit-names-sachin-agrawal-president-drive-continued-growth/ | 2022-06-01T18:53:09Z |
Police say they are investigating a report of shots fired at the Dallas Love Field Airport in Texas.
"Dallas police are investigating, and will update media when information becomes available," police said.
Police say they are investigating a report of shots fired at the Dallas Love Field Airport in Texas.
"Dallas police are investigating, and will update media when information becomes available," police said.
The Federal Aviation Administration has a ground stop in place at the airport. Dallas Love Field Airport is located about six miles northwest of downtown Dallas and primarily serves Southwest Airlines, its website states.
Michael Loewinsohn had just arrived at the airport on a flight from Denver and was walking toward baggage claim when the chaos erupted.
"I saw a massive amount of people running up from security checkpoint and people yelling 'shooter,'" Loewisohn told CNN in a Twitter Direct Message. "TSA employees rushed us out of a side door and just started sprinting away from the building."
Loewinsohn took video showing a number of people sitting on the ground between the building and the tarmac. "We're just told there was a shooter and we are going to need to stay outside for a bit," Loewinsohn said.
Video taken by CNN shows a number of police vehicles and ambulances positioned at the airport's entrance.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved.
The Albany State Youth Enrichment Program (ASYEP) at Albany State University (ASU) is a community outreach initiative designed to provide youth within the city of Albany and Dougherty County, Georgia and surrounding counties an opportunity to engage in a variety of enrichment activities duri… Click for more.
CNN's Chuck Johnston and Eric Levenson contributed to this report.
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A receipt was sent to your email. | https://www.albanyherald.com/news/police-investigating-reports-of-shots-fired-at-dallas-love-field-airport/article_fb389e02-a593-50aa-8c8e-eeefcfb066ef.html | 2022-07-25T17:35:58Z |
Silver Lake alum named successor to legendary football coach CJ Hamilton
SILVER LAKE, Kan. (WIBW) - Silver Lake has named Logan Pegram the school’s next head football coach.
Pegram fills the position left open by CJ Hamilton — the namesake of Silver Lake’s stadium — who led the Eagles for 47 years. Hamilton announced his retirement last month.
“It is an honor and privilege to be the next head football coach at Silver Lake High School,” Pegram said in a statement. “I have been extremely blessed to have a supportive wife, family, mentors, and friends. I look forward to working relentlessly to give back to the community and program that gave so much to me.”
Pegram graduated from Silver Lake in 2008 and went on to play football at Northern Illinois University.
He joins the Eagles from Lawrence Free State, where he served as an assistant coach. Prior to his time with the Firebirds, he served as both an assistant coach and head football coach for Anderson County High School.
“Coach Pegram is returning to his alma mater where his education and football career began,” Silver Lake principal Ryan Luke said. “Coach Pegram brings a wealth of experience, knowledge, and success at every level of football as a player and as coach. Coach Pegram understands what it means to be an Eagle. I could not be more excited to welcome Coach Pegram back to Silver Lake Jr/Sr High School both as an educator and a leader of our football program.”
In 2019, Pegram was named a Horizon Award Winner by the Kansas Department of Education. He will teach social studies and serve as the Silver Lake student internship coordinator.
“I would like to thank Ryan Luke, Warren Bledsoe, Brad Womack, and the Silver Lake school board for this opportunity,” Pegram said. “The tradition and excellence established is one to emulate for our district, community, and program. I can’t wait to work with our student athletes and help them succeed in the classroom, athletically, and in life.”
Copyright 2022 WIBW. All rights reserved. | https://www.wibw.com/2022/05/05/silver-lake-alum-named-successor-legendary-football-coach-cj-hamilton/ | 2022-05-05T00:44:16Z |
If you have allergies, there are certain seasons that you might dread. For many people, spring is the worst. The abundance of pollen from trees, grass and weeds mingle with the air to become easily inhaled. Once inside, your body treats these benign invaders and reacts almost the same way it does to a cold or flu virus. The result is that you feel miserable.
For some, the best approach to fighting seasonal allergies might not be treating the symptoms with over-the-counter and prescription medications. It might involve limiting your exposure to allergens that cause the symptoms. Luckily, with modern technology, there are several ways to accomplish that.
What causes allergies?
According to the Mayo Clinic, allergies are the result of an overactive immune system. When a foreign substance — that doesn’t cause a reaction in most people — gets in, your immune system goes on high alert and starts producing antibodies to combat the threat. The antibodies release chemicals, such as histamine, that cause allergy symptoms. As the battle rages on, your body becomes a casualty, producing a variety of reactions from mild irritation to life-threatening emergencies.
What are typical seasonal allergy symptoms?
There is a broad range of allergy symptoms. Many overlap the symptoms you have when you get a virus. Some of the most common reactions to seasonal allergens include:
- Itchy skin, nose, eyes and roof of the mouth
- Sneezing, runny nose and congestion
- Red, swollen, itchy or watery eyes
- Coughing and postnasal drip
- Tightness in the chest, shortness of breath and wheezing
- A rash, hives or swelling
- In rare cases, a severe reaction known as anaphylaxis can occur
What are common allergens?
While nearly anything can be an allergen depending on your sensitivities, the most common seasonal triggers are tree pollen, grass pollen, weed pollen, flower pollen and mold. It is important to understand that allergies are cumulative. You could have a mild sensitivity to animal dander that doesn’t normally bother you. However, when you are exposed to animal dander, tree pollen and mold, your body could reach a tipping point that triggers symptoms.
How to manage seasonal allergies
The key to remaining symptom-free is reducing your exposure to allergens. Here are 15 simple ways to do that.
- Keep a diary of activities and symptoms to learn your triggers.
- Avoid known triggers to the best of your abilities.
- When the pollen count is high, stay indoors as much as possible.
- If you must go outside, plan on late afternoon activities.
- Do not open windows. Use an air conditioner to help remain cool.
- Purge your environment of troublesome allergens by investing in an air purifier and a high-quality vacuum cleaner.
- Choose easy to clean furniture, remove carpets and reduce clutter.
- Change the filter in your central air system. If the system can tolerate it, use a HEPA filter.
- Wash your curtains and bedding often.
- Wear a mask when cutting the grass or doing other outdoor tasks.
- Take a shower after being outside.
- Brush your pets before letting them inside to reduce the amount of pollen they bring into the home.
- Bathe your pets at least once a week.
- Do not allow smoking inside the home.
- Consult a medical professional to determine if you need to be on symptom-alleviating medication
What you need to manage seasonal allergies
Dyson Ball Animal 2 Upright Vacuum Cleaner
This high-end vacuum is certified by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. It has the strongest suction in Dyson’s line and a self-adjusting cleaner head that lets you tackle all types of floors.
Sold by Amazon and Home Depot
Shark NV360 Navigator Deluxe Upright Vacuum
The detachable pod feature lets you take this powerful vacuum into hard-to-reach areas. It has an anti-allergen seal and works with HEPA filters to trap dust and allergens. It is easy to steer and has a large-capacity dust cup.
Sold by Amazon
Dyson Air Purifier with HEPA Filter
The sealed HEPA and activated carbon filter can trap pollen, bacteria and pet dander. It is certified asthma- and allergy-friendly by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, and it has a quiet mode that lets you run the unit around the clock if needed.
Sold by Amazon and Home Depot
LG Electronics 6,000 BTU Portable Air Conditioner
For days when the temperature climbs to an uncomfortably warm degree, this model lets you cool up to 250 square feet without worrying about bringing pollen into the home. It is easy to install, features quiet operation and comes with a remote.
Sold by Home Depot
This NIOSH-approved N95 mask lets you work outside by reducing your exposure to allergens. It has an exhalation valve for up to 50% easier breathing.
Sold by Amazon (10-pack) and Home Depot (5-pack)
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Copyright 2022 BestReviews, a Nexstar company. All rights reserved. | https://cw33.com/reviews/br/health-wellness-br/15-tips-and-tricks-for-handling-seasonal-allergies/ | 2022-04-08T14:02:57Z |
(WFLA/NEXSTAR) — They may look cute and cuddly but they’ve also been described as one of the most venomous creatures in the U.S. Ever heard of “puss caterpillars”?
Many Central Florida residents are currently experiencing the return of the inch-long crawlers typically found on oak and elm trees. The caterpillars (also known as “asps”) are covered in furry-looking hair — which hide “extremely” toxic spines that stick to your skin, according to the Fish & Wildlife Foundation of Florida.
Puss caterpillar stings can involve itching, burning, rashes, lesions and swelling — sometimes in several places on the body.
Measuring in around an inch long, the puss caterpillar is common in Texas, Florida, New Jersey and Arkansas, in addition to surrounding areas. The bugs are typically seen in fall and spring months.
Then 15 year-old Logan Pergola, of Central Florida, told WFLA in Tampa a puss caterpillar stung him while he was out with his family, leaving a large grid-like mark on his wrist.
“It’s burning,” he told his mom before the pain radiated to his chest.
Looking at photos of the caterpillar, you might wonder: where are its head and legs? They’re there, just hidden by hair. Texas A&M University’s AgriLife Extension explains puss caterpillars have chewing mouthparts.
Interesting (gross) fact: puss caterpillars propel their feces. University of Florida says this may be to keep feces off their food.
After a winter cocoon phase, the caterpillars will emerge as flannel moths — also known as southern flannel moths. Adults have wingspans around 1-1.5 inches long, Fish & Wildlife Foundation of Florida says. Wing colors are usually yellow and black (front wings) and cream yellow on hid wings. Their thoraxes are typically orange.
While it’s best to leave them alone altogether, experts say if you do get stung, get the spines out of your skin as soon as possible using cellophane tape. Ice packs, oral antihistamine, and hydrocortisone cream can also be used to help with the pain.
Even though southern flannel moths are less hazardous than puss caterpillars, officials say you should still probably resist touching them. | https://cw33.com/news/puss-caterpillars-what-are-they-and-how-dangerous-are-they/ | 2022-09-10T14:47:58Z |
WASHINGTON (AP) — Inflation eased last month as energy prices tumbled, raising hopes that the surging costs of everything from gasoline to food may have peaked.
According to a Commerce Department report Friday that is closely watched by the Federal Reserve, consumer prices rose 6.3% in July from a year earlier after posting an annual increase of 6.8% in June, the biggest jump since 1982. Energy prices made the difference in July: They dropped last month after surging in June.
Yet on the same day at the Federal Reserve’s annual economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Chair Jerome Powell delivered a stark message: The Fed will likely impose more large interest rate hikes in coming months and is resolutely focused on taming inflation.
There was hope that the Fed might signal a moderation in rate increases if inflation were to show further signs of easing.
So-called core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose 4.6% last month from a year earlier after rising 4.8% in June. The drop — along with a reduction in the Labor Department’s consumer price index last month — suggests that inflationary pressures may be easing.
On a monthly basis, consumer prices actually fell 0.1% from June to July; core inflation blipped up 0.1%, the Commerce Department reported.
And the Fed appears ready to continue efforts to ensure prices are moving in the right direction.
Inflation started rising sharply in the spring of 2021 as the economy rebounded with surprising speed from the short but devastating coronavirus recession a year earlier. Surging customer orders overwhelmed factories, ports and freight yards, leading to delays, shortages and higher prices. Inflation is a worldwide problem, especially since the Russian invasion of Ukraine drove up global food and energy prices.
On Friday, regulators in the U.K. said that residents will see an 80% increase in their annual household energy bills.
In the United States, the Commerce Department’s personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index is less well known than the Labor Department’s consumer price index (CPI).
But the Fed prefers the PCE index as a gauge of inflationary pressures, partly because the Commerce index attempts to measure how consumers adjust to rising prices by, for example, substituting cheaper store brands for pricier name brands.
There is evidence just in the last several months that that is taking place at numerous levels.
CPI has been showing higher inflation than PCE; Last month, for instance, CPI was running at an 8.5% annual pace after hitting a four-decade high 9.1% in June. One reason: The Labor Department’s index gives more weight to rents, which have soared this year.
The Commerce Department also reported Friday that Americans’ after-tax personal income rose 0.3% from June to July after adjusting for inflation; it has fallen in June. Consumer spending rose 0.2% last month after accounting for higher prices.
Spiking prices have become a political threat to the current administration and President Joe Biden was quick to point to the latest data that could show inflation is loosening its grip.
“The American people are starting to get some relief from high prices, and the Inflation Reduction Act that I signed last month will also help bring prices down,” Biden said Friday. “Gas prices decreased every day this summer – the fastest decline in over a decade. And, today’s report showed that personal income was up last month as well.”
The Fed was slow to respond to rising inflation, thinking it the temporary result of supply chain bottlenecks. But as prices continued to climb, the U.S. central bank moved aggressively, hiking its benchmark interest rate four times since March.
On Friday, Powell warned more explicitly than he has in the past that the Fed’s continued tightening of credit will cause pain for many households and businesses as its higher rates further slow the economy and potentially lead to job losses.
“These are the unfortunate costs of reducing inflation,” Powell said. “But a failure to restore price stability would mean far greater pain.”
Price pressures may already be easing as the U.S. economy slows. Gross domestic product — broadest measure of economic output — shrank in the first half of 2020 as borrowing costs increased. The housing market has been hit especially hard. And supply chain backlogs have started to unsnarl.
“Inflation appears to have peaked in mid-2022 and should slow on a year-over-year basis through the rest of this year and in 2023,″ said Gus Faucher, chief economist at PNC.
Nick Zawitz, who runs Tangle Creations, a South San Francisco company that makes Fidget Toys among others, said that shipping costs have plunged and raw materials prices have dropped slightly. Meanwhile, the company’s sales are up 45% over the past year. “Things are chugging along,’’ Zawitz said.
_______
AP White House Correspondent Zeke Miller contributed to this report from Washington, D.C. | https://cw33.com/business/ap-business/ap-inflation-eases-as-consumer-prices-rise-6-3-in-july/ | 2022-08-27T11:12:22Z |
BELLEVUE, Wash., May 24, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Healthcare Management Administrators (HMA), a pioneer and leader in self-funded health plan benefits for hundreds of employers across the Pacific Northwest, is excited to announce a collaboration with Canopy Wellbeing and Workit Health to make available an innovative new, virtual behavioral health product that solves the complex challenges of access, quality, and affordability for employers that value whole-person health.
HMA's President and CEO, Lindsay Harris, explained, "HMA is committed to being at the forefront of innovation when it comes to the mental and behavioral health crisis facing our nation." Linda Cole, HMA's Director of Member Care added, "Our data mirrors national statistics. Over 20% of our members received mental healthcare last year. Importantly, our solution also includes a virtual treatment program for substance use disorders, which affect 1 in 50 people on average. When someone is struggling with mental health or substance use disorders, finding the right help needs to be easy. That's not always the case today due to the dearth of community-based mental health providers. Our new product makes it simple for members to engage with qualified providers quickly, empowering them to seek treatment earlier in their care journey, which can reduce future in-patient costs."
To offer the product, HMA has partnered with two leaders in the virtual behavioral health space, Canopy Wellbeing, a Portland, OR-based behavioral health company that since 1975 has served people with heart and focused on continuous innovation, and Workit Health, a leading addiction treatment platform that offers different levels of intervention for every stage of substance use and substance use disorder. HMA began working with Canopy in July 2020 to connect members in crisis with licensed therapists trained in de-escalation and intervention, a program that continues specifically for immediate crisis resolution.
"We are excited to expand our collaboration with HMA by extending access to Canopy's panel of highly professional and diverse clinicians and particularly empowering consistency of care which allows members to stay with the same provider for the duration of their treatment plan," offered Anthony Brown, CEO of Canopy Wellbeing.
Workit Health's Co-CEO and Co-Founder, Lisa McLaughlin, added, "HMA understands that substance use disorder treatment is a key ingredient in a robust behavioral health product. We look forward to helping employers and their health plan members discover our proven digital treatment model offers compassion and convenience allowing members to make recovery a part of their daily lives."
Designed to create a more personalized and thereby more effective care experience, HMA's virtual behavioral health product expands the typical set of conditions treated to include non-diagnosable ones such as marital conflict and grief that contribute to emotional well-being but are traditionally excluded from health plan coverage. When employers purchase the product, members enrolled in a participating health plan will have low to no cost-share access to digital cognitive behavioral therapy and mindfulness tools as well as careful matching to therapists and coaches best-suited to their needs anywhere in U.S through Canopy Wellbeing. A six-session minimum helps to ensure that members have time to grow toward readiness for change and/or to begin to resolve the issues for which they seek treatment.
And, for those needing substance use disorder treatment, notably, the HMA virtual behavioral health product features affordable and accessible virtual therapy, coaching and medication assisted treatment powered by Workit Health's evidence-based treatment for alcohol, opioid, and other addictions with additional support through in-app messaging, peer recovery groups, and an interactive curriculum. Being virtual in nature and grounded in a harm reduction-based approach, it removes barriers to care such as an inability to take time off from work or pay for inpatient treatment.
ABOUT HEALTHCARE MANAGEMENT ADMINISTRATORS (HMA)
HMA is Proving What's Possible in Healthcare®. Our team of caring experts design and deliver high-quality, innovative, and affordable health plans for self-funded employers. We are the service-oriented partner employers trust to protect two of their most important assets; their people and their health plan dollars. With over 35 years of industry experience and a team of proactive, highly-skilled professionals, we help employers improve their bottom-line. We call this "Winning Together" because we're on the same side and share the same goals – healthier outcomes for members at the best possible value. To learn more, visit www.accesshma.com or follow us on LinkedIn.
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SOURCE Healthcare Management Administrators, Inc. | https://www.mysuncoast.com/prnewswire/2022/05/24/hma-announces-new-virtual-behavioral-health-product-collaboration/ | 2022-05-24T14:20:04Z |
Twenty years after she denied to a grand jury that R. Kelly had sex with her as a girl and recorded some of their encounters, the now grown woman took the stand Thursday to reverse her testimony.
Testifying under the pseudonym Jane, the 37-year-old only looked at Kelly once during her testimony when asked to identify him. Kelly kept his gaze lowered to the defense table throughout her time on the stand. Prosecutors showed multiple recordings which Jane testified showed Kelly engaging in sex acts with her. At times, Jane began to cry during her time on the stand.
"How old were you when the sexual acts depicted in those recordings occurred?" asked Assistant US Attorney Jeannice Appenteng.
"14," Jane testified.
Jane testified Kelly began engaging in sex acts with her when she was 14, and had sexual intercourse with her starting when she was 15 "hundreds" of times before she turned 18.
Jane is one of five minors that prosecutors allege Kelly sexually abused in the late 1990s, and that he made explicit videos with four of them. Kelly faces charges including producing and receiving child pornography, enticing minors to engage in criminal sexual activity and obstruction charges. He has pleaded not guilty.
His co-defendants include Derrel McDavid, a former business manager and accountant for the singer, who faces child pornography and obstruction charges. Milton "June" Brown, Kelly's former assistant, faces one count of conspiracy to receive child pornography. McDavid and Brown each pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Jennifer Bonjean, an attorney for Kelly, asked jurors during opening statements Wednesday to question why Jane is coming forward now and changing her testimony from two decades before.
"For the last 22 years, she has adamantly denied that it was her in that video. Before there was any criminal investigation, she denied it. She denied it repeatedly to prosecutors, she denied it to social workers to police officers. She denied it under oath to a grand jury," Bonjean said Wednesday.
On the witness stand Thursday, Jane said she is testifying under immunity because she lied under oath to a 2002 grand jury about her sexual relationship with Kelly and about whether she appears in the explicit video recordings with him.
"If I correct my mistakes by telling the truth I won't be prosecuted," Jane testified.
A family connection
As a young teen, Jane traveled the world with a Christian hip-hop group whose members were cousins of hers. Prosecutors asked her not to name the group in order to protect her identity.
"I was living my dream," Jane testified.
Her aunt, known professionally as Sparkle, worked with R. Kelly and had a romantic relationship with him. It was Sparkle who introduced Jane to Kelly when Jane was 12 or 13 years old at a gospel concert her church was having, she testified. Weeks later, Kelly came to one of her group's concerts.
"He was telling me how great of a job I did," Jane testified. "I felt successful. I felt happy."
Shortly after they met, Jane said she began spending more time with Kelly and Sparkle. She would watch Kelly and Sparkle record music and talk about basketball and music with Kelly. Jane testified she was 13 when Sparkle suggested Jane should ask Kelly to play a bigger role in her life.
"She told me that I should ask him to be my godfather." Sparkle is expected to testify later in the trial.
Jane said Kelly "chuckled" and agreed to be her godfather, and within weeks, their relationship became sexual. Kelly would talk to her on the phone and ask "what color panties are you wearing" and "about my breasts growing" and that "I need to be wearing bras," Jane testified.
When Kelly became her godfather, Jane testified that her parents felt comfortable letting her stay the night or even the weekend at his home, without her parents or aunt present.
"They would pretty much drop me off and then leave," Jane testified.
Recordings of sex acts
Jane testified that she was 14 years old when Kelly's sexualized comments became actions. She said Kelly began touching her breasts and vaginal area while touching himself one night when they were at his recording studio. The touching, she testified, quickly turned into oral sex and other sex acts, and she lost her virginity to him when she was 15.
Jane spoke softly as Appenteng asked her to describe one act shown in a video.
"On what part of your body did he urinate?" Appenteng asked.
"My vagina," Jane said, quietly.
Bonjean, and an attorney for McDavid, have repeatedly objected to prosecutors admitting the recordings as evidence. They contested the authenticity of the videos and the chain of custody that the videos have been transferred through in the 20 years since they surfaced. Retired Chicago Police Detective Daniel Everett, who investigated one of the tapes in 2002, testified Thursday that he did not know where the original VHS tape featuring multiple recordings is.
"I do not know where it is today," Everett testified.
Jane testified that after recordings were made, they were sometimes kept in a gym bag, or a wood-paneled room in Kelly's former home that she called the "log cabin" area. She testified that she sometimes saw Brown carrying the bag filled with recordings.
Prosecutors did not play the recordings in court Thursday, but warned jurors during opening statements that they will play portions of the videos during the trial and that they are "difficult to watch."
Lying to authorities
When the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services began investigating an allegation that Kelly was having a sexual relationship with Jane in April 2000 when she was 15, Jane testified that she denied the relationship. She also testified she later denied to Chicago Police investigators she and Kelly had a sexual relationship.
Jane testified Thursday that she denied having a sexual relationship with Kelly to her parents, but after reports began surfacing in 2002 about the existence of a tape showing the pair engaged in sex acts, she said Kelly, Jane and her parents had a meeting where Kelly admitted to them he was having a sexual relationship with their daughter.
Jane and her father received subpoenas to testify before a grand jury in 2002. Jane testified that prior to appearing before the grand jury, she had a conversation with Kelly about "loyalty" and "denying our relationship and the sex tape."
Jane testified she lied to a grand jury in 2002 when she denied having a sexual relationship and appearing in sex videos with the singer.
"And why were you untruthful?" Appenteng asked.
"Because I was afraid to expose Robert. Because I was afraid of what might happen to my parents. I also did not want that person to be me," Jane testified.
Jane is expected to retake the stand on Friday.
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TORONTO and NEW YORK , May 19, 2022 /CNW/ - The Real Brokerage Inc. ("Real" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: REAX) (TSXV: REAX), an international, technology-powered real estate brokerage, today announced that it is renewing its normal course issuer bid (the "NCIB") to be transacted through the facilities of the NASDAQ National Market and other stock exchanges and/or alternative trading systems in the United States and/or Canada (other than the TSX Venture Exchange ("TSXV")), if eligible.
Pursuant to the NCIB, Real may purchase up to 8,915,466 of its common shares (the "Shares") representing approximately 5% of the total 178,309,321 Shares of the Company's issued and outstanding as of May 19, 2022. Purchases will be made at prevailing market prices commencing on or about May 20, 2022 and will terminate no later than May 20, 2023.
The renewal of the NCIB follows on the conclusion of Real's previous NCIB that expired May 19, 2022. From May 20, 2021 to May 19, 2022, Real purchased 6,809,817 Shares at a weighted average price of US $2.63 per Share.
The Company has established a Restricted Share Unit Plan ("RSU Plan") for the benefit of designated participants. Designated participants are employees, officers or consultants of the Company or a related entity of the Company as the Board may designate from time to time as eligible to participate in the Plan. Under the Plan, vested RSUs are redeemable for Shares, a cash payment equivalent to the value of a Share or a combination of cash or Shares. The RSU Plan provides that Shares available to satisfy such redemption will be acquired on the market. The NCIB is being conducted to acquire the Shares for the purposes of the RSU Plan.
In April 2021, Real appointed CWB Trust Services as the Trustee for the purposes of arranging for the acquisition of the Shares and to hold the shares in trust for the purposes of the RSU Plan as well as deal with other administration matters. Through the trustee, RBC Capital Markets ("RBCCM") had been engaged to undertake purchases under the NCIB for the purposes of the RSU Plan.
The Shares acquired will be held by the Trustee until the same are transferred to the designated participants or sold in the market with the proceeds to be transferred to designated participants under the terms of the RSU Plan to satisfy the Company's obligations in respect of redemptions of vested RSUs held by such designated participants.
This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in the United States.
The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available.
Corporate Update
The Company announced that its board of directors has approved the adaption of an omnibus incentive plan (the "Omnibus Incentive Plan"). The TSXV has conditionally approved the Omnibus Incentive Plan, subject to Real obtaining shareholder approval of the Omnibus Incentive Plan. Real is submitting the Omnibus Incentive Plan for approval of its shareholders at the annual general meeting to be held on June 13, 2022.
About Real
Real (www.joinreal.com) is a technology-powered real estate brokerage operating in 44 U.S. states, the District of Columbia and Canada. Real is building the future, together with more than 4,500 agents and their clients. Real creates financial opportunities for agents through better commission splits, best-in-class technology, revenue sharing and equity incentives.
Contact Information
For additional information, please contact:
Elisabeth Warrick
elisabeth@therealbrokerage.com
Investors, for more information, please contact:
Jason Lee
Vice President, Capital Markets & Investor Relations
investors@therealbrokerage.com
908-280-2515
Forward-Looking Information
This press release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking information is often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "seek", "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "estimate", "expect", "likely" and "intend" and statements that an event or result "may", "will", "should", "could" or "might" occur or be achieved and other similar expressions. These statements reflect management's current beliefs and are based on information currently available to management as at the date hereof. Forward-looking information in this press release includes, without limiting the foregoing, information relating to future purchases under the NCIB and or the return of capital to Real's shareholders.
Forward-looking information is based on assumptions that may prove to be incorrect, including but not limited to Real's business objectives, expected growth, results of operations, performance, business projects and opportunities and financial results. Real considers these assumptions to be reasonable in the circumstances. However, forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking information. These factors should be carefully considered and readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based upon what management believes to be reasonable assumptions, Real cannot assure readers that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release, and Real assumes no obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances, except as required by law.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release, and the NASDAQ has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release.
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SOURCE The Real Brokerage Inc. | https://www.mysuncoast.com/prnewswire/2022/05/19/real-brokerage-renews-normal-course-issuer-bid/ | 2022-05-19T21:41:17Z |
NEW YORK, April 4, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Start-ups and entrepreneurs working to help make cities more equitable, sustainable and resilient are invited to compete for USD$150,000 in prize funding in the QBE AcceliCITY Resilience Challenge.
The global social innovation competition has launched and is open to start-ups from around the world whose ventures are helping to make cities more resilient. In partnership with Leading Cities, QBE AcceliCITY seeks innovative solutions to some of the most pressing challenges facing cities to accelerate their growth and adoption.
Todd Jones, CEO of QBE North America and President of the QBE Foundation says, "as an insurer focused on enabling a more resilient future by being the most consistent and innovative risk partner, we recognize the critical need to improve urban resilience in our communities."
"We look forward to partnering with those on the cutting edge of developing solutions that will make a difference by addressing emerging risks and providing advantageous results for cities here and around the world."
Michael Lake, president and CEO of Leading Cities, said QBE AcceliCITY provides start-ups, entrepreneurs and city leaders with the opportunity to work together to build cities that will stand resilient against the social, economic and environmental challenges of the 21st century.
"There are many complex threats facing cities across the globe. By accelerating the deployment of innovative technological solutions, while also increasing the awareness and confidence that city leaders have in these new solutions, we are also accelerating the resiliency of cities everywhere," he added.
Through Leading Cities' accelerator program, participants will be given the opportunity to tap into a 10-week curriculum and the wealth of expertise at QBE through one-on-one expert mentoring, speed gatherings and engagement with QBE Ventures, the venture investment and development arm of QBE.
This year marks the first time a local program is being run for Asia, Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific. A separate program will be run in tandem with entrants from North America and Europe, with ten finalists selected from across all regions to come together and compete in a final live pitch event.
Of these ten, one winner will be awarded USD$100,000 and two People's Choice runners up will each be awarded USD$25,000 in cash prizes, along with additional resources and introductions to valuable networks and collaboration opportunities to help scale their initiatives.
Previous challenge winners include DrugViu, which aims to create greater health equity for people of color, and Bioo, a company that creates 100% renewable energy through plants.
Submissions close April 30, with finalists to be announced in September 2022. To apply or find out more about the challenge, please visit www.accelicity.com
About QBE
QBE North America is global insurance leader focused on helping customers solve unique risks, so they can focus on what matters most. Part of QBE Insurance Group Limited, QBE North America reported Gross Written Premiums in 2021 of $6.29 billion. Information on QBE Insurance Group's results can be found at qbe.com. Headquartered in Sydney, Australia, QBE operates out of 27 countries around the globe, with a presence in every key insurance market. The North America division, headquartered in New York, conducts business primarily through its insurance company subsidiaries. The actual terms and conditions of any insurance coverage are subject to the language of the policies as issued. QBE insurance companies are rated "A" (Excellent) by A.M. Best and "A+" by Standard & Poor's. Additional information can be found at qbe.com/us.
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SOURCE QBE North America | https://www.wibw.com/prnewswire/2022/04/04/qbe-opens-applications-annual-resilience-challenge/ | 2022-04-04T15:35:25Z |
The best way to put a crying baby to sleep, according to scientists
Published: Sep. 14, 2022 at 6:22 AM CDT|Updated: 29 minutes ago
(CNN) - Here is the best way to get a baby to stop crying, according to science.
Hold the baby and walk around for five minutes. Then sit with the baby for five to eight minutes. Finally, put the baby in the crib.
According to a new study in the journal, Current Biology, that is the best way to get a baby to stop crying and sleep.
Researchers compared infant reactions to four scenarios to come up with the formula.
They say skipping the sitting part makes it harder for babies to sleep, and by extension, their parents.
Copyright 2022 CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. | https://www.wibw.com/2022/09/14/best-way-put-crying-baby-sleep-according-scientists/ | 2022-09-14T11:51:57Z |
BALTIMORE, Sept. 13, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Name Experts LLC., a boutique.COM domain name brokerage firm, announces the exclusive representation of the super-premium, beachfront real estate, Aid.com.
Aid.com has no relevant trademarks and holds considerable value as a stand-alone three letter, pronounceable word.
Aid.com was first registered in 1995 and has been owned by the same entity since registered. Aid.com also has a clean SEO history and ready for your next brand development.
Aid.com had been in continuous use for many years. Recently, the owner has transitioned away from Aid.com and they no longer have a use for this domain name. As a result, this asset is now available for your next global brand initiative.
According to .com domain name expert Joe Uddeme, "Aid.com is short, brandable and super-easy to remember, making it extremely attractive to brands looking to stand out and connect with consumers."
The keyword "AID" receives on average, 441,000 global searches per month, and has a limited-profile with backlinks and authority. Uses for this global, beachfront real-estate include: Technology, Financial Aid, Financial Services, Healthcare, SAAS, and many other broad uses.
Terms of Sale:
This is a domain-name-only, acquisition. Please consult DNJournal.com for historical sales pricing. All transactions will close using Escrow.com and will required an executed contract by all parties. All offers should be submitted in writing addressed to this email.
For additional information on the bidding process, including minimum bid requirements—please click here
Name Experts LLC., is a full-service domain acquisition and divestment with more than $100mm in sales for their clients. Since 2009 Joe Uddeme has been brokering domains for both buyers and sellers. Name Experts offers complete expert valuations, market comparisons and stealth-acquisition services. We specialize in the end-user domain acquisitions, and work tirelessly to deliver exceptional results without false promises. For a free analysis, and an honest assessment of your Premium Domain(s), please contact Name Experts LLC., today to learn more.
Contact:
Joe Uddeme, Domain Name Expert
Name Experts LLC.
Phone: 410-977-0693
joe@nameexperts.com
https://nameexperts.com
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SOURCE Name Experts LLC | https://www.wibw.com/prnewswire/2022/09/13/name-experts-llc-exclusively-representing-aidcom-three-letter-brandable-com-domain-name-now-available/ | 2022-09-13T16:11:14Z |
Supreme Court rejects Bayer bid to stop Roundup lawsuits
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has rejected Bayer’s appeal to shut down thousands of lawsuits claiming that its Roundup weedkiller causes cancer.
The justices on Tuesday left in place a $25 million judgment in favor of Edwin Hardeman, a California man who says he developed cancer from using Roundup for decades to treat poison oak, overgrowth and weeds on his San Francisco Bay Area property. Hardeman’s lawsuit had served as a test case for thousands of similar lawsuits.
The high court’s action comes amid a series of court fights over Roundup that have pointed in different directions.
On Friday, a panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected an Environmental Protection Agency finding from 2020 that glyphosate does not pose a serious health risk and is “not likely” to cause cancer in humans. The appellate court ordered the EPA to reexamine its finding.
At the same time, Bayer has won four consecutive trials in state court against people who claimed they got cancer from their use of Roundup. The latest verdict in favor of the company came last week in Oregon.
Bayer had argued that federal regulators have repeatedly determined its products are safe, and that lawsuits based on claims under state laws should be dismissed.
Last year, Bayer set aside $4.5 billion to deal with the claims that glyphosate, the weed-killing ingredient in Roundup, causes non-Hodgins lymphoma, a type of cancer. The company had previously taken a charge of nearly $10 billion for earlier rounds of litigation.
Bayer also had warned that allowing these sorts of claims will damage innovation in agriculture, health and other industries.
Bayer inherited Roundup and the litigation when it acquired Monsanto in 2018.
The EPA says on its website that there is “no evidence glyphosate causes cancer humans.” But in 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, part of the World Health Organization, classified glyphosate as “probably carcinogenic to humans.” The agency said it relied on “limited” evidence of cancer in people and “sufficient” evidence of cancer in study animals.
The Justice Department, which had sided with Bayer in the lower courts during the Trump administration, recommended that the high court not get involved.
Bayer maintains the product is safe, but said that it would replace glyphosate in Roundup for residential use beginning in 2023. Products containing glyphosate will still be available for professional and farm use.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wibw.com/2022/06/21/supreme-court-rejects-bayer-bid-stop-roundup-lawsuits/ | 2022-06-21T15:07:01Z |
TORONTO, May 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Canntab Therapeutics Limited (CSE: PILL) (OTCQB: CTABF) (FRA: TBF1) (the "Company" or "Canntab") a leading innovator in cannabinoid and terpene blends in hard pill form for therapeutic applications, announces that that it has changed its auditor from MNP LLP (the "Former Auditor") to Clearhouse LLP (the "Successor Auditor"). The Former Auditor resigned effective May 27, 2022, at the Company's request, and the Company's board of directors appointed the Successor Auditor to fill the resulting vacancy until the close of the next annual meeting of the Company's shareholders.
The change of auditor notice required under National Instrument 51-102 – Continuous Disclosure Obligations ("NI 51-102") and associated material will be filed on SEDAR under the Company's profile within the prescribed time period. There were no reservations or modified opinions in any auditor's reports nor any reportable events as defined in NI 51-102 in connection with the audits by the Former Auditor of the Company's most recently completed financial year or any subsequent period.
About Canntab Therapeutics Limited
Canntab is a Canadian phytopharmaceutical company focused on the manufacturing and distribution of a suite of hard pill cannabinoid formulations in multiple doses and timed-release combinations. Long referred to as Cannabis 3.0 by the Company, Canntab's proprietary hard pill cannabinoid formulations provide doctors, patients and consumers with medical grade solutions which incorporate all the features one would expect from any prescription or over the counter medication sold in pharmacies around the world. These include once a day and extended-release formulations, both providing an accurate dose and improved shelf stability.
Canntab holds a Cannabis Standard Processing & Sales for Medical Purposes License and a Cannabis Research License.
Canntab trades on the Canadian Securities Exchange under the symbol PILL, on the OTCQB under the symbol CTABF, and on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the symbol TBF1.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. These statements relate to future events or future performance. The use of any of the words "could", "intend", "expect", "believe", "will", "projected", "estimated" and similar expressions and statements relating to matters that are not historical facts are intended to identify forward-looking information and are based on the Company's current belief or assumptions as to the outcome and timing of such future events. The forward-looking information and forward- looking statements contained herein.
Forward-looking information in this news release are based on certain assumptions and expected future events, namely: the Company's ability to continue as a going concern; the continued commercial viability, adoption and growth in popularity of the Company's products; continued approval of the Company's activities by the relevant governmental and/or regulatory authorities; the Company continuing to develop products; continued growth of the Company; the Company hitting its future plans and goals; and the Company will continue and be successful in establishing additional affiliate programs.
These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements, including but not limited to: the potential inability of the Company to continue as a going concern; risks associated with potential governmental and/or regulatory action with respect to the Company's operations; competition within the industry; risks that the Company will be unable to execute its plans and/or meet its goals; risk that the Company will not grow as anticipated; risks that consumers will not purchase its products; risk that the Company will not meet its anticipated timelines; and risk that the Company will be unable to establish or reap benefits from additional affiliate programs.
Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list is not exhaustive. Readers are further cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, as there can be no assurance that the plans, intentions or expectations upon which they are placed will occur. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated.
Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement and reflect the Company's expectations as of the date hereof and are subject to change thereafter. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, estimates or opinions, future events or results or otherwise or to explain any material difference between subsequent actual events and such forward-looking information, except as required by applicable law.
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SOURCE Canntab Therapeutics Limited | https://www.wibw.com/prnewswire/2022/05/30/canntab-announces-change-auditor/ | 2022-05-30T21:02:49Z |
Trooper crawls into drainage pipe to rescue missing dog
CONKLIN, N.Y. (AP) - A missing golden retriever named Lilah, discovered deep inside a culvert pipe in upstate New York, could not be lured out by her owner with peanut butter dog treats or cheese.
In the end, State Trooper Jimmy Rasaphone decided to crawl about 15 feet into the pipe under a rural road to rescue Lilah, despite the extremely tight fit.
“He crouched down and literally disappeared into the hole with a lead that had a choker on it,” said Lilah’s owner, Rudy Fuehrer, who called 911 for help on Sunday morning. “He was able somehow to manipulate his arms and get the choker around the dog’s head.”
The trooper and retriever both emerged soaking wet, but safe.
The 13-year-old dog had been missing since Friday afternoon. Fuehrer was walking his two other dogs — both Lilah’s offspring — a few hundred feet down the road from his house Sunday when he heard a plaintive yelp.
“I said, ‘Oh my God, that’s Lilah!’” he recalled Tuesday.
Fuehrer, who lives near Binghamton, tried the get the weary and confused dog out but eventually called 911.
Rasaphone and his partner showed up within minutes. Rasaphone said he’d go into the pipe since he was the smallest of the three of them. Fuehrer estimates the pipe’s diameter was under 2 feet (60 centimeters). He was able to pull Lilah out after Rasaphone emerged.
Fuehrer said he was grateful Rasaphone had the compassion and initiative to go nose-to-nose with his dog in a drainage pipe.
And he said Lilah is recovering nicely and out walking.
“Needless to say, I took her out on a leash,” he said, “because I didn’t want any more escapades.”
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.kxii.com/2022/06/29/trooper-crawls-into-drainage-pipe-rescue-missing-dog/ | 2022-06-29T02:51:34Z |
NASHVILLE, Tenn. , July 13, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- There are multiple issues related to unidentified and untreated mental illness grabbing news headlines globally. From mass shootings, depression, divorces, suicide, hate crimes, and child abuse, humanity is suffering, especially post-Covid. In response to this acute need, The Road to Nashville - Liverpool International Song Contest (TRTN-L) is providing complimentary access to professional mental health counseling for anyone applying to this songwriting initiative under the umbrella of TUFF, The Unity of Faiths Foundation. TRTN-L is the latest program developed by renowned British psychologist Dr. Shamender Talwar, Co-founder of TUFF and Dr. Vandana Duggal MD, Vice President of TUFF USA to help humanity and encourage mental health, happiness, and global unity.
Launched in May (Mental Health Month) via a partnership between the Nashville, TN & Liverpool, UK city councils, the program has already seen over 732 musicians requesting counseling (16% of participating songwriters), accessing pragmatic tools and pro-bono counseling. Impacting beyond borders, language, race, musical genres, and cultural barriers, this TUFF initiative founded has received 4,862 songs from 4,385 artists. 23 countries are represented, 546 contestants are already receiving counseling with another 186 on boarding with providers who best suit their personal counseling needs.
"Mental illness is the new pandemic. When Covid-19 spread around the globe, we saw connection and community get erased from our lives overnight as we needed to shelter in place to curb transmission rates. What we missed when our day-to-day interactions so drastically changed were the long term impacts of that shift. Mental health practices and the equitable access to those therapies are imperative if we want to make a real swing back to kindness, safety and security. We are so grateful to be in a position to support these musicians and songwriters through the help of incredible partners. Fortunately, with the additional resources, we are able to extend our deadline to hopefully save more lives. And, we cannot thank the artists that have stepped up to share their own stories and struggles." – Dr. Vandana Duggal MD, Vice President of TUFF USA
The TRTN-L initiative is now reviewing submissions through August 31 at https://roadtonashville.us/. The top ten finalists will perform live before judges in Nashville at the legendary EXIT/IN on John Lennon's birthday Oct. 9, 2022 and the winner will perform at the famed Liverpool Cavern Club stomping grounds of music greats, including The Beatles.
Headliners and household names in the country music community have weighed in on the importance of TUFF and the mental health initiative for TRTN-L. This particular community has most recently experienced the heartbreaking impact of mental illness with the tragic deaths of recent Country Music Hall of Fame inductee Naomi Judd and award winning songwriter Tom T. Hall.
"The subject of mental illness is front and center globally. There is nothing explainable about fame and being the center of attention. Whether it be an actor, musician or politician; just being famous does not offer protection from mental illness. In fact, fame can perhaps do just the opposite, exposing vulnerability like a trap. You can't let everyone in and can't let yourself out. You are surrounded and yet alone. I have a few good friends who accept me for who I am not just what I do. It makes a huge difference. Humanity must address mental illness with an open heart and mind." - Gary Morris
In addition to his endorsement, Gary has provided a generous donation to TUFF to support their expanded efforts.
"I didn't really understand the challenges that come with mental health issues until Covid arrived and I found myself dealing with depression and anxiety. It's really important that we keep talking about how stress affects so many of us and how necessary it is to provide everyone with people to talk to and places to go for help." - Michelle Wright
"Life can certainly be grand standing on its peaks, but it also has its challenges and valleys along the way, no matter who you are or what you do. No one is excluded. It's really about the support we all need and reaching out for it. Talking about the lows can be hard and vulnerable, but it can also be liberating when you realize that we all can be effected in some way. Anything that lead us to a mental health conversation is a must in our world. I fully support and see the beauty in this process. We'll all be better for ourselves and for humanity by asking for help when needed. I think TRTN-L is spot on including mental health services for anyone needing it and it's a great thing to see!" - Tim Rushlow, Formerly of Little Texas, currently in The Frontmen
The Road to Nashville is partnered with the following to present and support our 2022 contestants:
- Liverpool City Council
- Metropolitan Government of Nashville & Davidson County
- Visit Music City
- Musicians Hall of Fame & Museum
- Exit/In
- BMI
- SAE Institute
- The Cavern Club Liverpool
- Middle Tennessee State University
- BBC
- Country Music Association
- Porter's Call
The Unity of Faiths Foundation (TUFF) is a British secular charitable organization working in four continents. TUFF bridges community sectors, organizations and government by rebuilding social integration and global community cohesion. TUFF also empowers youth through participation in sports, music and science. Teaching education in human values, integration acceptance, individual liberty, gender equality, understanding, respect for other cultures, the rule of law and democracy. TUFF was established in 2011 and has the support and acknowledgments of many dignitaries including H.H Pope Francis, H.M the Queen, and President Barack Obama to name a few. The ultimate goal is to share kindness and facilitate the integration and empowerment of those people who do not have a voice, due to numerous challenges and obstacles they face in their daily lives.
To make learn more or make a donation to TUFF, visit: www.tuff.earth.
Facebook: www.facebook.com/tuff.earth/
Instagram: www.instagram.com/tuff.earth/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/tuff_earth
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SOURCE TUFF | https://www.mysuncoast.com/prnewswire/2022/07/14/hundreds-lives-saved-through-free-mental-health-services-provided-by-road-nashville-global-music-project/ | 2022-07-14T06:17:04Z |
Marketing Industry Veteran Writes New Book About His Career, Sharing Lessons Learned, Amusing Anecdotes, Short Stories, Revealing Reminiscences and More
BOSTON, July 12, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Adjunct professor, social media consultant, content creator, copywriter and president of the American Marketing Association Boston, Bob Cargill, has written and published a new book called Twenty Jobs, Twenty Lessons – a Long, Strange Career in Marketing, from Junk Mail to Social Media.
Based on his career in the marketing industry since 1983, this book, according to the author, is about marketing, advertising and social media, but also business in general. Cargill offers advice to readers on how to pivot in the face of a big obstacle, how to bounce back from defeat and how to succeed against the odds.
"It is a story of climbing the corporate ladder only to fall. It is a story about ambition, determination, success and failure. It is a story for young professionals with bright futures ahead of them and senior-level executives who have been there and done that," says Cargill. "Read it and you'll learn what it takes to thrive, not just survive, even amid the most challenging, sometimes overwhelming personal and professional crises."
"This book is a memoir, but it's also a tribute to all my former employers who gave me opportunities for which I'll always be grateful," adds the author.
More than 250 pages long, the book documents Cargill's career from job to job, including many lessons he learned the hard way along his professional journey.
The book also includes many repurposed posts from his blog, which you can find here https://thebobcargill.com/, which he began in 2004, that chronicle the evolution of social media - from Cargill's perspective - from infancy to today.
Cargill's book publishing team includes two recent graduates of the school where he is a part-time adjunct professor of marketing, Suffolk University. Designed by Maria Antonia Silva, Suffolk University 2021, and edited by Morgan Hume, Suffolk University 2020, Bob Cargill's book, Twenty Jobs, Twenty Lessons – a Long, Strange Career in Marketing, from Junk Mail to Social Media is available NOW on Amazon at https://tinyurl.com/20Jobs20Lessons.
About Bob Cargill
Bob Cargill, who was the New England Direct Marketing Association's Direct Marketer of the Year in 2009, is an adjunct professor, a copywriter, content creator, social media consultant and public speaker who has worked for some 500 or so different clients over the years.
His work has been recognized with over 40 awards from the New England Direct Marketing Association, including Gold for his blog on marketing, Gold for Best Tweets, Silver for Best Copywriting and two Silvers for his video series about social media on LinkedIn.
Bob is the current president of the American Marketing Association Boston (for which he was the president in fiscal years 2018-2020) and the past president of the New England Direct Marketing Association (fiscal year 1999-2000). In addition to hosting his own podcast on marketing and recording YouTube videos about social media on a weekly basis, Bob also contributes regularly to his blog at thebobcargill.com that he began writing in 2004. Bob resides in the suburbs west of Boston with his wife, Barbara, with whom he shares two sons, Scott and Ben, and two stepchildren, David and Sophie.
Media Contact:
Bob Cargill
bob@redjavelin.com
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SOURCE Red Javelin Communications | https://www.wibw.com/prnewswire/2022/07/12/twenty-jobs-twenty-lessons-long-strange-career-marketing-junk-mail-social-media-by-bob-cargill/ | 2022-07-12T15:14:49Z |
...HEAT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM EDT /7 PM CDT/ THIS
EVENING...
* WHAT...Heat index values up to 110 expected.
* WHERE...Portions of southeast Alabama, south central and
southwest Georgia and Big Bend and Panhandle Florida.
* WHEN...Until 8 PM EDT /7 PM CDT/ this evening.
* IMPACTS...Hot temperatures and high humidity may cause heat
illnesses to occur.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out
of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors. Young
children and pets should never be left unattended in vehicles
under any circumstances.
Take extra precautions if you work or spend time outside. When
possible reschedule strenuous activities to early morning or
evening. Know the signs and symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat
stroke. Wear lightweight and loose fitting clothing when
possible. To reduce risk during outdoor work, the Occupational
Safety and Health Administration recommends scheduling frequent
rest breaks in shaded or air conditioned environments. Anyone
overcome by heat should be moved to a cool and shaded location.
Heat stroke is an emergency! Call 9 1 1.
&&
Riley Keough supports Austin Butler playing her grandfather, Elvis
The women in Elvis Presley's family are supporting the forthcoming film "Elvis" and its star, Austin Butler.
Riley Keough is Presley's granddaughter, an actress known for her work in films like "Zola."
On Tuesday she shared photos of Butler, who plays Elvis in the film, at the late singer's Graceland estate in Memphis.
"We got to spend time with @austinbutler this weekend in the house, at Graceland," Keough captioned the photos.
"It was such a special and overwhelming experience I haven't quite processed. One of many sweet things that happened while we were there- Austin played my grandfather's guitar in the house," she wrote. "This guitar hasn't been played by many people. I know it was tuned by @paulmccartney once, but as far as people sitting down and playing it @austinbutler is one of very few people aside from my grandfather."
Days before, she reposted a clip of Butler singing Presley's hit, "That's All Right Mama." "Elvis" director Baz Luhrmann had originally shared the video and revealed that Butler does the singing himself in the portions of the movie when Preslely was a young man.
"@bazluhrmann shared this clip today from an early screen test of Austin that I wanted to repost because what he was able to do is just so beautiful," Keough wrote in the caption.
She also shared a photo of herself with her grandmother Priscilla Presley and her mother Lisa Marie Presley at the Memphis premiere of the Warner Bros. film. (Warner Bros. and CNN are both part of Warner Bros. Discovery.)
Priscilla Presley had previously endorsed Butler's in the film, writing in May that his "performance as Elvis was mesmerizing."
She and Elvis Presley were married from 1967 to 1973 and had daughter Lisa Marie in 1968.
Lisa Marie Presley also posted about the movie last month, calling it "exquisite" and writing that Butler "channeled and embodied" her "father's heart and soul."
"Elvis," which also stars Tom Hanks as Colonel Tom Parker, debuts in theaters on June 24.
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accounts, the history behind an article. | https://www.albanyherald.com/entertainment/riley-keough-supports-austin-butler-playing-her-grandfather-elvis/article_7a22bf90-14fb-5fa2-a850-6960315ea4e1.html | 2022-06-15T19:42:43Z |
Migrant stabbed to death by Border Patrol agent in altercation, autopsy finds
TUCSON, Ariz. (KOLD/Gray News) - Authorities say a man from Mexico died in a stabbing incident when he was involved in an altercation with a Border Patrol agent earlier this year.
According to an autopsy report, Mexican national Abigail Roman Aguilar had two run-ins with agents the day he died in May.
KOLD reports Aguilar first got tangled up in barbed wire while running away from an agent. He was released but allegedly was involved in an altercation with another agent.
Aguilar was reportedly stabbed to death in that altercation.
The autopsy report listed Aguilar also suffered multiple blunt force injuries, with his death ruled as a homicide.
Officials say the incident is currently being reviewed and released the following statement:
“On May 24, 2022, at approximately 12:43 a.m., a U.S. Border Patrol agent working near Pan-American Avenue and 5th Street in Douglas, Arizona, was involved in a use of force incident which resulted in the death of an individual in Border Patrol custody.
The Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the Inspector General, Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Professional Responsibility, the Douglas Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation responded to the scene. This incident is under investigation by the FBI and any inquiries should be directed to that office.
This incident is under review by CBP’s Office of Professional Responsibility and at the conclusion of that review, it will be presented to CBP’s National Use of Force Review Board. Additional information about the National Use of Force Review Board can be found here.”
Copyright 2022 KOLD via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.mysuncoast.com/2022/06/18/migrant-stabbed-death-by-border-patrol-agent-altercation-autopsy-finds/ | 2022-06-18T02:28:15Z |
Nation's Fastest-Growing Superfoods Franchise Introduces New Bases, Bowls, Smoothies and Toasts with Exciting Build-Your-Own Options
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Sept. 13, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Frutta Bowls, a WOWorks brand and the nation's fastest-growing superfoods franchise, is expanding its menu to allow for more customization and increase its offerings for multiple dayparts. The newly developed menu, with on-trend ingredients and flavors, includes an updated line-up of signature bowls to provide guests more options to fit their unique palates, as well as customize their meals. The brand also introduced new smoothies, smoothie sizes, and toasts.
The updated Signature Bowl menu includes 9 unique and customizable bowls. The new bowls were added to diversify the flavor profile options and provide indulgent eating experiences with healthy and nutrient-rich ingredients. The Rainbowl is filled with naturally sweet, tropical fruits that are a great source of magnesium and potassium, while the Peanutella is a protein-rich, creamy, and filling bowl that is chocolatey and decadent. Additionally, the brand is now offering 5 base options that include Acai, Pitaya, Green, Greek Yogurt, or Oatmeal. Guests now have more options for customization and a choice of a lighter morning or mid-day boost. The oatmeal base provides the choice of a warm, hearty option and the Greek yogurt base offers a creamy, protein-rich selection to expand guests' choices for breakfast for all bowls.
The 9 Signature Smoothie options now come in two sizes: Small and Regular. The new smoothies were created to provide guests with fresh, light, and healthier choices for an on-the-go refreshment. The Very Berry is filled with antioxidant-rich fruits that can boost immunity, while the Glow Up offers a dairy-free alternative to an indulgent superfood, protein and potassium-rich drink with its organic acai, banana, coconut milk, peanut butter and Nutella ingredients.
Rounding out the new menu items are Frutta Bowl's Signature Toast offerings. The new toast options are an exciting addition to the expanded menu that provide guests with heartier ingredients full of rich nutrients and even more delicious flavors. The Everything AVO offers healthy fats from avocados, on-trend "everything bagel" seasoning, and Vitamin C from roasted peppers. The Strawbrie is a sweet and savory toast with a creamy mouthful of brie, chock full of Vitamin B12 and naturally sweetened with strawberries.
"These new menu items focus on nutritious flavor profiles and versatility that aim to satisfy the unique dietary, health and lifestyle considerations of Frutta Bowls' guests," said Lauriena Borstein, Chief Brand Officer of Saladworks, Frutta Bowls, and Zoup! Eatery. "We are excited to roll out these fresh and delicious new options and give guests the freedom to create their own meals based on their personal palates and on-trend ingredients."
Frutta Bowls goes beyond providing flavorful snacks and meals – it provides guests with nutritious and healthy ingredients intended to fuel the mind and body so guests leave feeling reenergized to accomplish their goals for the day. Packed with vitamin-rich ingredients and superfoods like acai, pitaya, kale and a multitude of grains, fruits, vegetables, and nuts, the menu of customizable bowls, smoothies, toast, and protein bites also help boost your immunity levels and provide necessary nutrients.
Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, Frutta Bowls restaurants offers online ordering and delivery through Frutta Bowls or their rewards program as well as third-party delivery services such as Uber Eats, GrubHub and Door Dash. Guests can join the Frutta Bowls Rewards program and download the app for exclusive, members-only rewards, special offers and guest perks. In addition, a full array of catering options are available to feed any size group with fresh, flavorful and nutritious menu items – from in-home gatherings to office parties or special events.
Founded in 2016 to fulfill a need for fresh and flavorful plant-centric dining options, Frutta Bowls has since grown from its original location in Freehold, New Jersey to 39 locations across 16 states. From Acai to Zinc, Frutta Bowls uses only the freshest, ripest and most flavorful plant-based, whole-food ingredients featured in customizable bowls and smoothies, as well as toasts and protein bites. Frutta Bowls is part of WOWorks, a parent company family of restaurant brands that also includes Saladworks, Barberitos Southwestern Grille and Cantina, Garbanzo Mediterranean Fresh The Simple Greek and Zoup! Eatery. For more information, visit www.fruttabowls.com.
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SOURCE Frutta Bowls | https://www.wibw.com/prnewswire/2022/09/13/frutta-bowls-welcomes-fall-with-fresh-new-menu-items-expands-offerings-more-dayparts/ | 2022-09-13T19:09:05Z |
SAN DIEGO, Aug. 29, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Patrina Wisdom, author of Motherhood's Not For Punks, provides women with a road map to achieving success in areas where they may have previously felt they had to settle for the sake of a more healthy and balanced lifestyle.
After losing her husband of 20 years to suicide in 2009 and learning the same day that she was pregnant with her fourth child, Patrina began the process of creating her brand, the Badass Bodacious Life, based on her personal story and decades of experience as an entrepreneur and fearless business leader.
Her message of female empowerment and leadership is conveyed with such passion to her audience that it inspires them to take action as a direct result of hearing her journey.
When Patrina was researching for her book, Motherhood Is Not For Punks, she discovered that many mothers gripe about how difficult it is to make time for themselves. According to Patrina, "They have a propensity to underestimate their own personal power, lose their identity, and/or forget who they are.
In this book you'll discover:
- Methods for dispelling doubt and meeting your needs so that you don't get lost in the shuffle
- Ways to show up and lead by example in your child's life
- How to recognize and nurture each child's unique needs
- The value of community and assistance (Stop doing "It All")
Wisdom defines living a badass bodacious life as owning your truth and claiming space through total and unapologetic self-expression in her book.
Her book will teach women how to remember who they are, how to assert their personal power, and how to practice impeccable Self-care. It will also introduce them to the philosophy of Self-full mothering rather than Self-less mothering.
Order this book at https://patrinawisdom.com/motherhoods-not-for-punks/. This book is available for purchase at https://patrinawisdom.com/motherhoods-not-for-punks/
Patrina Wisdom is an Abundance Activator, serial entrepreneur, best-selling author, financial expert, educator, retreat host, and podcaster. She is also a Badass Bodacious Mom. This Ted X Speaker is on a mission to LEAD, INSPIRE, and EMPOWER women to stand in their own personal authority and create the best life possible with her Badass Bodacious Life Movement. The Badass Bodacious Life Movement is providing women all across the country with the resources they require to assume the role of chief executive officer of their own lives.
At the various conferences she attends, Patrina gives talks on the significance of mindfulness and wellbeing, where she encourages women to lead lifestyles that are healthy and balanced. Her powerful delivery of her motivational presentations for women inspires audiences to action as she teaches leadership through the lens of her experiences and the insights she has gained from them. Patricia is passionately dedicated about showing women how to obtain long-term contentment, harmony, and peace of mind in all aspects of their lives. She does this by guiding them through the process of personal growth, spiritual attunement, and financial progress. To learn more about Patrina Wisdom www.patrinawisdom.com
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SOURCE Patrina Wisdom | https://www.wibw.com/prnewswire/2022/08/29/bad-ass-mom-patrina-wisdom-provides-blueprint-empower-women-achieve-goals-they-thought-theyd-have-give-up/ | 2022-08-29T19:56:52Z |
FINDING THE LIGHT TO DRIVE OUT HATE
WASHINGTON, May 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- "Hate always terrorizes. That's the intention. As an African American woman who came of age during the Civil Rights era, I know at heart how hate works to harm some and paralyze or, at least, to immobilize others. But movement is life. It's certainly the way forward if Democracy is to survive and its aspirational tenets of equality are to be actualized. This is why we must see hateful acts, and their progenitors, hate speech on all forms of media, as threats to our collective health, well-being and future existence.
We must mobilize as a nation, come together to deny the expression of hate permission to continue expanding, unchecked on multiple airways across this nation. Sociologists probe whether the rises in hate speech can be directly linked to racial violence. This is not about free speech, it's about freedom to live healthily and permission for democracy to thrive. Communities in Buffalo, El Paso, Atlanta, Charleston and Charlottesville know this in their bones. Their minds and hearts are forever imprinted with the devastating and horrific memories of violence and lives lost loss simply because of their racial or other identities.
Racial hatred denies our right to exist, to live in loving relationship with ourselves and with one another. No entity, human or corporate, can be allowed to have or to proliferate that misguided right. Ending racism, in all its forms, is a public health and a national imperative. Governmental action to regulate social media through new mechanisms and to enforce existing laws is urgently needed, now.
But more is required.
The 21st century has ushered in new understanding about how molecular and cellular biology works to sustain life. Chemicals find receptors on our cell membranes before they can enter and catalyze action. No receptor, no effect. We need a parallel in our body politic. For example, the life-saving drug Narcan, prevents and reverses opioid overdoses by competing at the nine opioid cellular receptor sites. What are the interventions that can knock out receptors for hate? Available research tells us that authentic human engagements and positive meaningful interactions with perceived "others" can reduce fears and biases and, help counter receptivity to hateful narratives and rhetoric. We must mobilize, with clear intention, so hate can no longer find receptors in our hearts and body politic. This work will also help generate political will needed to expedite essential regulatory and enforcement actions that are urgently required. As Dr. King prophetically told us decades ago, "Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that."
(To schedule an interview with Dr. Christopher, please contact Michael K. Frisby 202-625-4328 or mike@frisbyassociates.com.)
About NCHE
Founded in 2014, NCHE established to promote health equity through action, leadership, inclusion and collaboration. We work to create environments that foster the best possible health outcomes for all populations, regardless of race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status or nativity. NCHE also works to improve conditions for health and well-being, including those related to housing, education, income and wealth and the physical and social environment. Further, it is imperative that we address historic and contemporary structural, institutional and interpersonal racism, which fuels inequities in our society. Dr. Gail C. Christopher, NCHE's executive director, is the former Senior Advisor and Vice President of the W. K. Kellogg Foundation and architect of the Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation framework. Her newly released book, Rx Racial Healing, is a narrative of her understanding of the power of racism and the need for healing.
Contact:
Michael K. Frisby
mike@Frisbyassociates.com/202-625-4328
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SOURCE NCHE | https://www.wibw.com/prnewswire/2022/05/16/statement-by-dr-gail-c-christopher-executive-director-national-collaborative-health-equity/ | 2022-05-16T16:19:17Z |
NEW YORK, Aug. 17, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Behrman Capital ("Behrman"), a private equity investment firm based in New York, today announced that it has acquired George Holding, Inc. ("George Industries" or the "Company"), a leading designer and manufacturer of mission-critical and highly engineered components for the defense, aerospace and industrial sectors. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Headquartered in Endicott, NY since its founding in 1954, George Industries is a recognized leader for its strong capabilities and expertise in manufacturing thermal management products which are critical to the functionality of electronic systems. The Company's product offering includes highly engineered chassis, enclosures, heat sinks, cooling systems and other thermal management products. Core manufacturing capabilities include dip brazing, vacuum brazing, CNC machining, fabricating, welding, painting, laser cutting, mil-spec finishing and mechanical assembly. Additionally, the Company designs and manufactures close-tolerance, high-reliability components for satellites, aircraft and defense programs through its second facility in Wheeling, IL.
Grant G. Behrman, Managing Partner of Behrman Capital, said, "George Industries has an impressive reputation and is well-positioned to take advantage of the growing need for thermal management products serving high-reliability industries, particularly in the defense sector. This transaction builds upon our strong defense and aerospace industry track record, following recent acquisitions of Micross, kSARIA and previous highly successful investment in Data Device Corporation. We are very enthusiastic about our new partnership with George Industries, and we see significant potential in the next stage of the Company's growth trajectory both through organic initiatives and select acquisitions as we build around the Company's thermal management capabilities. We look forward to partnering with the leadership team and continue the legacy that has been built through 60 years of operations."
Jan Mathiesen, CEO of George Industries, added, "We are excited to partner with Behrman Capital as we enter the next phase of the Company's growth. Through their network of relationships and expanded capital base, we will build upon the many opportunities to leverage George Industries' engineering and manufacturing expertise and blue-chip customer base to enhance the Company's strategic position and long-term growth prospects."
Behrman is investing in partnership with members of George Industries senior management team, which will continue to lead the Company.
Houlihan Lokey acted as exclusive financial advisor to George Industries in connection with the transaction.
Based in New York City, Behrman Capital was founded in 1991 by Grant G. and Darryl G. Behrman. The firm invests in management buyouts, leveraged buildups and recapitalizations of established growth businesses. The company's investments are focused in three industries: defense and aerospace, healthcare services, and specialty manufacturing and distribution. The firm has raised $4.0 billion since inception and is currently investing out of its sixth fund. For more information, please visit www.behrmancap.com.
George Industries is a recognized leader in the design, development, and manufacturing or mission critical engineered components for the defense, aerospace, transportation and industrial sectors. George has strong capabilities and expertise in manufacturing thermal management products which are critical to the functionality of electronic systems. George Industries was founded in 1954 and is headquartered in Endicott, NY. For more information, please visit www.georgeindustries.com.
Contact
Ross Lovern / Nathaniel Shahan
Kekst CNC
ross.lovern@kekstcnc.com / nathaniel.shahan@kekstcnc.com
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SOURCE Behrman Capital | https://www.kxii.com/prnewswire/2022/08/17/behrman-capital-acquires-george-industries/ | 2022-08-17T12:56:04Z |
Collaboration creates holistic affiliate and influencer program oversight through managed campaigns and self-service tools for Rakuten Advertising members
SAN MATEO, Calif., June 29, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Rakuten Advertising is partnering with leading influencer marketing platform, Mavrck, to expand its influencer marketing services and create holistic program oversight, optimization and measurement for its affiliate advertisers. This partnership will seamlessly incorporate influencer marketing into Rakuten Advertising's managed affiliate campaign strategies and positions Rakuten Advertising to introduce a fully integrated self-service influencer solution.
Brands managing large-scale and targeted influencer campaigns with Rakuten Advertising will benefit from more sophisticated influencer discovery and curation, with streamlined onboarding, communication and reporting tools. A central dashboard will offer a complete view of their affiliate and influencer campaigns, empowering brands with a holistic vision of their full-funnel affiliate marketing strategy.
"Influencers have become more essential than ever, as brands seek to drive consideration and purchase activity through their Affiliate Marketing strategies," said Jeff Wender, CRO, Rakuten Advertising. "Partnering with an industry leader like Mavrck expands and enhances our influencer management capabilities and empowers brands to achieve their goals from awareness to activation, while delivering breakthrough performance objectives and results."
The partnership with Mavrck is Rakuten Advertising's latest and most significant move towards delivering a differentiated suite of influencer marketing solutions that will create the integration, insight and control brands need to succeed. More than 5,000 marketing professionals at more than 500 global consumer brands rely on Mavrck's technology to more effectively access and manage relationships with content creators. Since 2014, Mavrck has activated more than 3 million creators and paid more than $200 million in incentives.
"Rakuten Advertising is a proven leader and innovator in the affiliate marketing industry, and we are excited to launch this partnership with them," said Lyle Stevens, CEO and Co-Founder of Mavrck. "Affiliate marketing is a leading monetization strategy for creators, and by partnering with Rakuten, we can improve our offering while expanding our reach, diversifying our insights and advancing measurement and sales attribution. Together, we are strongly positioned to drive better business outcomes for both brands and creators with affiliate marketing."
To learn more about this partnership and Rakuten Advertising's influencer marketing suite, visit https://rakutenadvertising.com/content/influencer-marketing-solution/.
Rakuten Advertising connects leading agencies, brands, and publishers to active and engaged consumers around the world. With access to Rakuten's diverse media properties and audiences, combined with an award-winning performance network and proprietary consumer research, Rakuten Advertising creates the right conditions to reach new customers and sustain long-lasting loyalty. Its foundation of advanced technology, data and strategic services positions Rakuten Advertising to offer a differentiated suite of marketing and advertising solutions while continually pushing the industry forward. It is a division of Rakuten Group, Inc. (4755: TOKYO), one of the world's leading Internet service companies. The company is headquartered in San Mateo, CA, with offices throughout EMEA, APAC, LATAM and North America. Learn more at www.RakutenAdvertising.com.
Mavrck is the all-in-one, advanced influencer marketing platform enabling global consumer brands to harness the power of social proof that consumers trust today. Marketers use Mavrck to discover and collaborate with influencers, advocates, referrers, and loyalists to create trusted content and insights for customer journey touchpoints at scale. Using its self-service influencer manager, Mavrck allows marketers to take an automated and performance-based approach to influencer marketing.
Founded in 2014, Mavrck has offices in Boston and Denver. Mavrck's platform has been recognized for its superior offering by the Shorty Awards and Retail TouchPoints' Retail Innovator Awards, honored as "Best Influencer Marketing Platform" by Digiday, is the #1 influencer marketing platform for the enterprise on software review site G2, and was named to the 2019 and 2020 Inc. 5000. Mavrck was also named a "Leader" among the top influencer marketing platforms in Forrester's evaluation, The Forrester New Wave™: Influencer Marketing Solutions, Q2 2020.
Contact:
Steven Shaw,
steven.shaw@rakuten.com
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SOURCE Rakuten Advertising | https://www.kxii.com/prnewswire/2022/06/29/rakuten-advertising-expands-influencer-management-capabilities-with-mavrck-partnership/ | 2022-06-29T12:24:18Z |
GREENWICH, Conn., Sept. 13, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Since the formation of JoySuds LLC, which acquired the Joy® brand from Procter & Gamble in late 2019, JoySuds has embarked on several initiatives to reinvigorate and extend this iconic American brand, while also defining the ethos of the brand moving forward.
In furtherance of this initiative, and in anticipation of the launch of its new Pure Joy™ family of products, JoySuds is excited to announce a new partnership with SEE Turtles, a non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation of sea turtles around the world.
The new Pure Joy™ line will represent an ever-expanding group of eco-friendly products characterized by 100% recyclable packaging and formulas that are free of parabens, synthetic dyes and phthalates, while also giving back to the many great SEE Turtle initiatives.
Every time a Pure Joy™ product is sold, it will help save another baby turtle as a portion of Pure Joy™ profits are put toward this effort. JoySuds is backstopping this pledge with a commitment to put a minimum of 500,000 baby turtles back into oceans around the world every year.
In reference to this partnership, Brad Nahill, President of SEE Turtles said, "More than one-third of our growth this year will be from Joy's contribution alone. Right now we're at eight million turtles at 60 beaches in 20+ countries. We plan to get to 10 million baby turtles saved with the help and support of our partnerships like this one with JoySuds."
As the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) notes, nearly all species of sea turtles are classified as endangered. Besides human activities which include pollution, poaching and habitat destruction, it's estimated that only one out of one thousand hatchlings survive into adulthood.
Through this exciting new relationship with SEE Turtles, Pure Joy™ plans to do its part to help improve these outcomes.
To learn more about the SEE Turtles organization, please visit www.seeturtles.org.
JoySuds, LLC was formed in November 2019 to acquire the Joy® and Cream Suds® brands for the US, Canada and certain other Latin American and Caribbean territories from the Procter & Gamble Company. JoySuds is focused on reinvigorating the distribution and product offerings of both the Joy® and Cream Suds® brands, building on their rich histories of innovation and performance.
Contact:
Director of Marketing, Lauren Martin
(610-513-7922)
lmartin@joysuds.com
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SOURCE JoySuds | https://www.kxii.com/prnewswire/2022/09/13/joysuds-partners-with-see-turtles-pledge-help-save-endangered-sea-turtles/ | 2022-09-13T17:13:54Z |
WASHINGTON (AP) — Faced with a decline in the number of corporate criminal prosecutions over the last decade, a top Justice Department official on Thursday unveiled new sweeteners for companies that cooperate with the government and a $250 million Congressional budget request to expand its work.
Every division that prosecutes corporate crime must now develop programs to incentivize companies to report misconduct, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in a speech at New York University Law School. In some cases, no one will have to plead guilty to criminal charges if the violation was self-reported and the company fixed it.
The Justice Department’s top priority is prosecuting individuals who commit corporate crime, she said. She pointed to companies like Theranos, whose disgraced CEO Elizabeth Holmes was convicted on felony counts earlier this year.
“We will hold those who break the law accountable, regardless of their position, status, or seniority,” Monaco said.
Companies will also be required to come forward more quickly with evidence of suspected misdeeds to get leniency, and could eventually be rewarded for clawing back money from executives that break the law.
The new policies include alluring carrots for companies, but if they’re not accompanied by the stick of increased enforcement they may not have a big impact, so the $250 million request is a key piece, said Julian Andre, a former federal prosecutor who is now in private practice with the Los Angeles-based firm McDermott Will and Emery.
“Corporate prosecutions are still declining,” he said. “Until the DOJ devotes substantial additional resources to pursuing these time-intensive and complex investigations … many companies may still decide that voluntary disclosures are not in its best interests.” | https://cw33.com/business/ap-business/ap-doj-unveils-more-carrots-to-ramp-up-corporate-crime-probes/ | 2022-09-16T15:03:37Z |
MIAMI, Aug. 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- A team of international researchers is shining a light on the often understudied "little things that run the world" — ants.
With the help of cutting-edge technology, the researchers created a first-of-its-kind global biodiversity map to begin answering a long unanswered question about where ants can be found across the globe. Lurking in this map is another one, a so-called treasure map, to guide future research and exploration into unexplored regions where undiscovered species may be found. This data is the first step in protecting and conserving ant biodiversity. The findings were recently published and featured on the cover of Science Advances.
"Much of our knowledge of biodiversity, and our planning of conservation, has been based on other animals, like mammals, reptiles and birds," said Clinton Jenkins, an Florida International University (FIU) conservation biologist in the Department of Earth and Environment and the Kimberly Green Latin American and Caribbean Center, as well as one of the study's authors. "This is a major leap forward in our understanding of life on the planet and its conservation status."
Ants, thought to be nature's most industrious insects, often toil away, carrying out many jobs and juggling important responsibilities. They are hunters, farmers, harvesters, gliders, herders, weavers and carpenters. One of nature's smallest creatures they have a big impact on entire ecosystems. While there's still much to learn about them, what's clear is that the world wouldn't be the world without ants.
"When I started looking into this more than a decade ago, it was so fascinating to realize the amount of effect ants have on an ecosystem," Jenkins said. "There are tens of thousands of types of ants, and in some places, they are key for the ecosystem to function. If you lose ants, other species could disappear. Yes, ants might be small, but they have a huge impact."
Jenkins — who has studied biodiversity of other species — joined a team from the Biodiversity and Biocomplexity Unit at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) and other universities to embark on this ambitious project of pinpointing where in the world ants are. Museum records, field observations and data extracted from academic research papers told part of the story. Because some species are found in more than one location, the researchers turned to computers to build better predictive models of the distribution of each species.
Okinawa in southern Japan is one of these high diversity centers. The team found many ant species in this area have small ranges — meaning this location is critically important to conserve biodiversity. The team also looked at how well-protected these areas of high ant diversity are. They found only 15 percent of the top 10 percent of ant rarity centers had some sort of legal protection, such as a national park or reserve.
To read the full release: http://news.fiu.edu/2022/ants
Media Contact:
Angela Nicoletti
305-348-4493
anicolet@fiu.ed
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SOURCE Florida International University | https://www.kxii.com/prnewswire/2022/08/04/researchers-embark-mission-find-all-worlds-ants/ | 2022-08-04T00:24:56Z |
New Payroll AutoRun and Intelligent Tax Recommendations enables HR leaders and administrators to automate and optimize time-consuming processes
CINCINNATI, Aug. 4, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Paycor HCM, Inc. ("Paycor") (Nasdaq: PYCR), a leading provider of human capital management (HCM) software, today announced the release of two new payroll features, Payroll AutoRun and Intelligent Tax Recommendations. These new product enhancements will help relieve the administrative burden of processing payroll, allowing HR leaders to spend time on more strategic business and employee-focused tasks such as retaining and developing their employees.
Companies are now experiencing geographically dispersed employees unlike ever before, which can be difficult for navigating various state qualifications for taxes and payroll. Helping customers manage these complexities and challenges has never been more important. Paycor's new features help take the guesswork out of the payroll process, helping to process payments both efficiently and accurately, no matter where an employee is located.
"Historically, across nearly all industries, payroll has been a time-consuming and tedious process for HR and administrators. It is also often a process done manually, which can lead to errors and confusion," said Ryan Bergstrom, Chief Product Officer at Paycor. "These new products help automate the process, taking a serious burden off the shoulders of HR leaders and, with the addition of mobile app capabilities, leaders can access and process payroll with a few clicks adding to the overall ease."
Key features of the new solutions include:
- Payroll AutoRun
- Intelligent Tax Recommendations
Payroll AutoRun and Intelligent Tax Recommendations are available to all Paycor users. To learn more about all the product features, visit https://www.paycor.com/hcm-software/payroll-software/.
Paycor's human capital management (HCM) platform modernizes every aspect of people management, from recruiting, onboarding and payroll to career development and retention, but what really sets us apart is our focus on leaders. For more than 30 years we've been listening to and partnering with leaders, so we know what they need: a unified HR platform, easy integration with third party apps, powerful analytics, talent development software, and configurable technology that supports specific industry needs. That's why more than 29,000 customers trust Paycor to help them solve problems and achieve their goals.
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SOURCE Paycor | https://www.wibw.com/prnewswire/2022/08/04/paycor-debuts-new-features-streamline-payroll-process/ | 2022-08-04T13:21:55Z |
Meeting to be held on June 24th, 2022
NEW YORK, June 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Northern Lights Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ: "NLIT") ("Northern Lights"), a special purpose acquisition corporation, announces that it will hold a special meeting of its stockholders (the "Special Meeting") on June 24, 2022 at 2pm ET to approve the business combination whereby NLIT will acquire SHF, LLC, d/b/a Safe Harbor Financial ("Safe Harbor") and other related matters.
The Special Meeting will be exclusively via a live audio webcast at https://www.cstproxy.com/northernlightsacquisitioncorp/2022. Stockholders of record as of May 19, 2022, are entitled to receive notice of and to vote at the Special Meeting. Every stockholder's vote is important, regardless of the number of shares held. Accordingly, Northern Lights requests that each stockholder complete, sign, date and return a proxy card (online or by mail) as soon as possible and by no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on June 23, 2022, to ensure that the stockholder's shares will be represented at the Special Meeting. Stockholders that hold their shares in "street name" (i.e., those stockholders whose shares are held of record by a broker, bank or other nominee) should contact their broker, bank or nominee to ensure that their shares are voted.
If any Northern Lights stockholder does not receive the proxy statement describing the business combination and the other matters to be voted upon at the Special Meeting (the "Proxy Statement") or who may need assistance in completing the proxy card or have questions regarding the Special Meeting, please contact Northern Lights' proxy solicitor, The Laurel Hill Advisory Group by phone at (855) 414-2266 or via email at nlit@laurelhill.com.
If the proposals at the Special Meeting are approved, the parties anticipate that the business combination will close shortly thereafter, subject to the satisfaction or waiver of the other closing conditions. As part of the business combination, NLIT intends to change its name to SHF Holdings, Inc. and expects its common stock and warrants to remain listed on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the new ticker symbols "SHFS" and "SHFSW," respectively.
Safe Harbor, a leading financial services provider to the cannabis industry, was formed to provide an unmet need – compliant banking and financial services to the rapidly expanding U.S. cannabis industry. Over the past seven years (including operations conducted through its parent, Partner Colorado Credit Union, Safe Harbor has processed more than $12 billion in transactions, including approximately $3.6 billion in 2021.
Safe Harbor has grown to nearly 600 clients spanning 20 states, serving both the medical and recreational cannabis markets. As legislative reform unfolds in the U.S., Safe Harbor is uniquely positioned as the trusted, leading standard for cannabis financial services.
To watch Northern Lights' Investor Day, which was held on May 25, 2022, CLICK HERE.
Northern Lights is a blank check company formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, amalgamation, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization, or similar business combination with one or more businesses. For more information, visit https://northernlightsacquisitioncorp.com/home/default.aspx.
Safe Harbor is one of the first financial services providers to offer reliable access to banking solutions for cannabis, hemp, CBD, and ancillary operators, making communities safer, driving growth in local economies, and fostering long-term partnerships. Safe Harbor, through its partners, serves the regulated cannabis industry and implements the highest standard of accountability, transparency, monitoring, reporting, and risk mitigation measures while meeting BSA obligations in line with FinCEN guidance on CRBs. Over the past seven years, Safe Harbor (including its predecessor) has processed over $12 billion in transactions with operations spanning 20 states with regulated cannabis markets. For more information, visit www.shfinancial.org.
Certain statements contained in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to (i) trends in the cannabis industry, including changes in U.S and state laws, rules, regulations and guidance relating to Safe Harbor's services; (ii) Safe Harbor's growth prospects and Safe Harbor's market size; (iii) Safe Harbor's projected financial and operational performance, including relative to its competitors; (iv) new product and service offerings Safe Harbor may introduce in the future; (v) the proposed business combination, including the implied enterprise value, the expected post-closing ownership structure and the likelihood and ability of the parties to successfully consummate the potential transaction; (vi) the risk that the proposed business combination may not be completed in a timely manner or at all, whether as a result of recent volatility in the capital markets or otherwise, which may adversely affect the price of Northern Lights' securities; (vii) the failure to satisfy the conditions to the consummation of the proposed business combination, including the approval of the proposed business combination by the stockholders of Northern Lights; (viii) the effect of the announcement or pendency of the proposed business combination on Northern Lights' or Safe Harbor's business relationships, performance, and business generally; (ix) the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against Northern Lights or Safe Harbor related to the definitive unit purchase agreement or the proposed business combination; (x) the ability to maintain the listing of Northern Lights' securities on the Nasdaq Capital Market; (xi) the price of Northern Lights' securities, including volatility resulting from changes in the competitive and highly regulated industry in which Safe Harbor plans to operate, variations in performance across competitors, changes in laws and regulations affecting Safe Harbor's business and changes in the combined capital structure; (xii) the ability to implement business plans, forecasts, and other expectations after the completion of the proposed business combination, and identify and realize additional opportunities; and (xiii) other statements regarding Safe Harbor's and Northern Lights' expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future. In addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. The words "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intends," "outlook," "may," "might," "plan," "possible," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "would," and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements are predictions, projections and other statements about future events that are based on current expectations and assumptions and, as a result, are subject, are subject to risks and uncertainties. You should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties described in the "Risk Factors" section of Northern Lights' Proxy Statement relating to the proposed business combination, which has been filed with the SEC, other documents filed by Northern Lights from time to time with SEC, and any risk factors made available to you in connection with Northern Lights, Safe Harbor, and the transaction. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties (some of which are beyond the control of Safe Harbor and Northern Lights), and other assumptions, that may cause the actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.
The proposed business combination involving Northern Lights and Safe Harbor will be submitted to the stockholders of Northern Lights for their consideration. Northern Lights filed the Proxy Statement in definitive form with the SEC on June 10, 2022 to be distributed to the stockholders of Northern Lights in connection with Northern Lights' solicitation for proxies for the vote by the stockholders of Northern Lights connection with the proposed business combination and other matters as described in the Proxy Statement. Northern Lights has mailed the Proxy Statement and other relevant documents to its stockholders as of May 19, 2022, the record date established for voting on the proposed business combination. Before making any voting decision, the stockholders of Northern Lights and other interested persons are advised to read the Proxy Statement and any amendments thereto, along with all other relevant documents filed or that will be filed with the SEC in connection with the proposed business combination and Northern Lights' solicitation of proxies for its special meeting of stockholders to be held to approve, among other things, the proposed business combination, because these documents will contain important information about Northern Lights, Safe Harbor, and the proposed business combination. Stockholders will be able to obtain free copies of the Proxy Statement, as well as other documents filed with the SEC regarding the proposed business combination and other documents filed with the SEC by Northern Lights, without charge, at the SEC's website located at www.sec.gov or by directing a request to Northern Lights Acquisition Corporation, 10 East 53rd Street, Suite 3001, New York, NY, 10022, or by telephone at (615) 554-0044.
This press release relates to a proposed business combination between Northern Lights and Safe Harbor and does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, or a solicitation of any vote or approval, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.
Northern Lights and Safe Harbor, and certain of their respective directors and executive officers, under the rules of the SEC, may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from Northern Lights' stockholders in favor of the approval of the business combination. Information about the directors and officers of Northern Lights and their ownership of Northern Lights Class B common stock can also be found in Northern Lights' registration statement on Form S-1 filed with the SEC on June 2, 2021 in connection with its initial public offering, its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 filed with the SEC on March 25, 2022, the Proxy Statement, and other documents subsequently filed by Northern Lights with the SEC. Information about the directors and executive officers of Safe Harbor, as well as information regarding the interests of other persons who may be deemed participants in the transaction, may be obtained by reading the Proxy Statement regarding the business combination when it becomes available. Additional information regarding the interests of these participants will also be included in the proxy statement pertaining to the business combination if and when it becomes available. Free copies of this document may be obtained as described above.
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SOURCE Safe Harbor Financial | https://www.mysuncoast.com/prnewswire/2022/06/14/northern-lights-acquisition-corp-announces-date-special-meeting-approve-acquisition-safe-harbor-financial/ | 2022-06-14T11:58:44Z |
TAMPA, Fla. — Ann Turner Cook, whose cherubic baby face was known the world over as the original Gerber baby, has died. She was 95.
Gerber announced Cook’s passing in an Instagram post on Friday.
“Many years before becoming an extraordinary mother, teacher and writer, her smile and expressive curiosity captured hearts everywhere and will continue to live on as a symbol for all babies,” the company said.
Cook was 5 months old when a neighbor, artist Dorothy Hope Smith, drew a charcoal sketch of her that was later submitted for a contest Gerber was holding for a national marketing campaign for baby food.
The image was a hit, so much so that it became the company’s trademark in 1931 and has been used in all packaging and advertising since.
For decades, though, the identity of the baby was kept secret, spurring rumors about who it was with guesses including Humphrey Bogart and Elizabeth Taylor.
In the late 1970s, it was revealed to be Cook, who grew up to be an English teacher in Tampa, Florida, and later a mystery novelist.
Cook told The Associated Press in a 1998 interview that her mother had told her when she was young that she was the baby in the illustration.
She said, “If you’re going to be a symbol for something, what could be more pleasant than a symbol for baby food?”
As for the image itself, she said, “All babies are appealing. The reason that drawing has been so popular is the artist captured the appeal that all babies have.” | https://www.tdtnews.com/news/article_dfc961da-e451-11ec-8008-67fafeccd40a.html | 2022-06-05T00:38:49Z |
WASHINGTON, Aug. 11, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- NASA and Boeing will host a media teleconference at 1 p.m. EDT Thursday, Aug. 25, to provide an update on the agency's Boeing Crew Flight Test (CFT) to the International Space Station – the first flight with astronauts on the company's CST-100 Starliner spacecraft.
Leadership on the call also will discuss data reviews from Boeing's uncrewed Orbital Flight Test-2 to the space station, which successfully completed in May 2022.
The briefing participants are:
- Kathryn Lueders, associate administrator, NASA's Space Operations Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters
- Steve Stich, manager, NASA's Commercial Crew Program, NASA's Kennedy Space Center
- Mark Nappi, vice president and program manager, CST-100 Starliner, Boeing
To participate in the call, media must RSVP to: ksc-newsroom@mail.nasa.gov no later than one hour prior to the start of the event. Audio of the teleconference will livestream on NASA's website.
CFT will demonstrate the ability of Starliner and the United Launch Alliance's Atlas V rocket to safely carry astronauts to and from the International Space Station. NASA will fly two astronaut test pilots, Barry "Butch" Wilmore and Suni Williams, on the flight test to the space station, where they will live and work off the Earth for about two weeks.
Following a successful test flight with astronauts, NASA will begin the final process of certifying the Starliner spacecraft and systems for regular crew rotation flights to the space station.
Find out more about NASA's Commercial Crew Program at:
https://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew
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SOURCE NASA | https://www.wibw.com/prnewswire/2022/08/11/nasa-boeing-hold-media-update-starliner-progress/ | 2022-08-11T19:59:03Z |
CINCINNATI, Aug. 10, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- First Transit and First Vehicle Services reached 70 National Institute of Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) Blue Seal maintenance shops, more than any other transportation company in the U.S. In total, 554 First Transit and First Vehicle Services technicians are ASE certified and hold more than 3,800 certifications, plus 229 technicians hold master certifications.
"We are proud of our number of ASE Blue Seal shops and master certified technicians," said First Transit and First Vehicle Services Senior Vice President of Maintenance Dave Larsen. "Ensuring excellence in maintenance service for our communities starts with our team members. We have the industry's most experienced technicians, and our commitment to continually innovating and providing our team with resources and additional training allows us to deliver best-in-class maintenance to our customers."
First Transit and First Vehicle Services locations received ASE's Blue Seal recognition due to their achievement in recruiting the best technicians, supporting their training, and utilizing technology to track vehicle histories and request help from other technicians.
As a commitment to our employees' continuing education, First Transit and First Vehicle Services technicians are provided with testing resources and receive test fee reimbursements for successfully completing ASE certification testing.
To participate in ASE's Blue Seal of Excellence Recognition Program, 75 percent of the service technicians at a location must be certified by ASE. In addition, there must be a certified technician in each area of service offered.
First Transit provides maintenance services for more than 10,500 vehicles, including traditional transit and double-decker buses, electric, alternative fuel and shared autonomous vehicles. First Vehicle Services maintains more than 36,500 vehicles and pieces of equipment, ranging from vehicles for law enforcement, fire, and emergency medical service to trucks, construction equipment and aerial lift trucks.
ASE, an independent nonprofit organization, was created in 1972 to provide the transportation industry a viable workforce by providing standards and credentials for institutions, organizations and individuals. Additionally, ASE offers career development and workplace exposure to those who would enter our industry by creating relationships and partnerships with transportation employers.
About First Transit:
First Transit, Inc. has more than 60 years of experience and is the largest private-sector provider of mobility solutions in North America, moving more than 300 million passengers annually. First Transit, Inc. provides operation, management, and consulting for more than 300 locations in 41 states, four Canadian provinces, and Puerto Rico for transit authorities, state departments of transportation, municipalities, universities, and private companies. First Transit employs more than 20,000 dedicated transit professionals. For additional information, please visit FirstTransit.com.
About First Vehicle Services:
Founded in 1981, First Vehicle Services sets the standard for excellence as the leader in public-sector fleet maintenance in North America. From sedans, SUVs, vans, and fire apparatus to light, medium and heavy-duty units, marked and unmarked law enforcement units, sanitation trucks, construction equipment, and specialized and miscellaneous equipment, we provide expert maintenance services to keep your entire vehicle fleet up and running. Every day for 40 years, First Vehicle Services managers and employees specialize in dedicated fleet maintenance and repair services. For additional information, please visit FirstVehicleServices.com.
Contact: Jay Brock
513.362.4600
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SOURCE First Transit | https://www.kxii.com/prnewswire/2022/08/10/first-transit-first-vehicle-services-lead-way-with-ase-blue-seal-shops-master-technicians/ | 2022-08-10T19:25:52Z |
Man found dead in Death Valley after running out of gas in scorching heat, park officials say
DEATH VALLEY, Calif. (Gray News) – A man was found dead in Death Valley National Park after he appeared to have run out of gas and was walking to find help in the scorching heat.
Park officials said the body of David Kelleher, 67, was discovered by park visitors on Tuesday.
Kelleher appeared to have been walking from Zabriskie Point toward Furnace Creek after running out of gas.
Park officials said a crumpled note was found inside Kelleher’s vehicle that read, “Out of gas.”
A heat wave caused record temperatures in the valley, rising to 123 degrees.
Park rangers advise that in extreme heat, it is better to wait with your broken-down vehicle rather than attempt to walk for assistance. They said Kelleher’s car was parked at one of the park’s most popular viewpoints.
Kelleher’s body was found by park visitors about 2.5 miles from his vehicle. However, the body was located just 30 feet from a highway, but the view was obscured by terrain and trees.
This is Death Valley National Park’s second recent fatality. John McCarry, 69, was found dead in the park on June 1.
The National Park Service encourages park visitors to stay safe in the summer by not hiking at low elevations after 10 a.m., staying within a short walk of air conditioning, drinking plenty of water, and eating salty snacks.
Copyright 2022 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.wibw.com/2022/06/16/man-found-dead-death-valley-after-running-out-gas-scorching-heat-park-officials-say/ | 2022-06-16T15:49:16Z |
‘I can’t leave it’: The residents of an embattled Donbas village are determined to stay
By Clarissa Ward, Brent Swails and Scott McWhinnie, CNN
Galina Nikolaevna is weeping in the wreckage of her home in the village of Kamyshevakha in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. Two days ago, a couple of Russian shells landed on the house and the garage, making it uninhabitable.
But Nikolaevna and her husband are refusing to leave.
Like so many people here, they have nowhere to go and no means to support themselves, Nikolaevna said. She has been told that it costs $300 just to get to Bakhmut, the nearest town under full Ukrainian control.
“We don’t even have [a] liter of gasoline. And our property,” Nikolaevna told CNN, breaking down and sobbing before pushing on: “We worked all our lives for this.”
This village, on the outskirts of Popasna in Luhansk, has been hit hard by artillery over the past days. People here are now completely cut off from basic services. Large buckets and troughs are laid out in front of the damaged building to collect the rainwater. A generator — the only means of power the residents have — hums noisily in the doorway.
Down the road from what used to be Nikolaevna’s home, Aleksandr Prokopenko is helping to evacuate residents of the destroyed village.
Prokopenko is from Popasna and used to work as a manager at a gas company. Now he spends his days in his old Zhiguli car, making the dangerous drive across the Donbas to rescue people from his embattled hometown.
Russian soldiers have already entered Popasna, which has seen some of the heaviest fighting in the region.
Prokopenko is picking up Vladimir, who is waiting to be evacuated with his sick father, Anatoly. His mother, Anatoly’s wife, was killed by shrapnel from a shell two days earlier. They buried her the next day.
Like many others in Ukraine, Vladimir doesn’t want his full name to be published for security reasons.
With the steady thud of artillery in the distance, Prokopenko loads up their few belongings and helps Anatoly into the car. A neighbor, seeing the CNN team, shouts from the window to show the world what the Russians have done.
“I love my town and I can’t leave it. I can’t leave the people here. Somebody needs to help people,” Prokopenko told CNN.
While many of the buses evacuating civilians have signs on them saying “children” or “evacuation,” Prokopenko said marking his car isn’t worth the effort.
“Russians don’t look at this, it makes no difference for them, children or evacuations or something else. They shell everything. School buses, red cross convoys, anything that moves,” he said.
‘Everyone is scared’
The Donbas region has already endured eight years of war, with Ukrainian forces fighting Russian-backed separatists since 2014.
When air raid sirens wail, which is often, most people continue going about their business. The steady booms of artillery have become part of the soundtrack of daily life.
But with Russian troops now pushing into several towns as part of a massive new offensive, the fighting has escalated dramatically.
Russian forces are aiming to secure all of of Donetsk and Luhansk, the two regions that form the Donbas. Parts of them have been under separatist control since 2014 and the decision by the Russian President Vladimir Putin to recognize these regions as independent was seen as an opening salvo to his war on Ukraine.
As the fighting grows heavier, thousands of civilians find themselves pinned down in small towns.
Driving into the Donbas region, almost all the traffic is moving in the opposite direction. Ambulances and evacuation buses navigate the pot-holed roads to ferry people out to safety.
Checkpoints have sprung up every few miles. Ukrainian forces can be seen digging trenches along the roadside.
But there is little relief for those who reach Bakhmut, a city that remains under Ukrainian control.
Its central square is largely empty. A handful of people stand in line to take money out of the cash machine. Leaning against a fence, two older men are observing the scene.
Anatoly Vunyak, one of the two, has sent his family away from the city. He plans to sit it out.
“I’m 75, what would I go looking for? I am too old to hide myself. I worked so hard for 12 years as a driver in the north to buy my house,” he said. “Yes, we are scared. Who’s not scared? Find me someone who is not scared. Everyone is scared.”
When asked about the situation, the other of the two men, Yuri, shrugs.
“It’s bright and sunny,” he said wryly. “We are alive.”
Nearby, 38-year old Vera is on her way to see her mother, bringing her freshly cut tulips. Her 10-year-old son Valery is peddling alongside her on his bicycle. He goes to school online but the internet is patchy.
Vera said she heard Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s announcement on Monday that the Russian offensive in Donbas had begun. She said she fears she will soon have to leave Bakhmut — but her mother, who is in a wheelchair, cannot flee easily.
As a steady stream of thuds can be heard in the distance, Vera tilts her head to listen.
“We try to listen and hear how far away it is but now it’s become far away. For now, we sit, we wait and read the news,” she said.
After the treacherous journey out of Popasna, Prokopenko drops off Anatoly and Vladimir at a dormitory for the displaced. The first five nights are free. After that, they are on their own.
In a cold, drafty room a couple of dozen beds are dotted around. Anatoly collapses onto one, coughing from the exertion.
Next door, another couple rescued by Prokopenko lament that their apartment in Popasna was destroyed in the fighting. But unlike most Ukrainians, they don’t blame Putin.
“All our stuff, everything was on fire. It’s a nightmare. Thank you, America who brought us weapons. It’s a horror, it’s a nightmare,” the woman said.
It’s not an uncommon view in some parts of eastern Ukraine. Russian is the primary language here and many watch Russian TV with its relentless propaganda.
“Putin wants to find a peaceful solution,” the woman’s husband added.
Prokopenko looked visibly frustrated with what they said.
“Don’t spread these fairytales. He came with weapons and attacked our land. Did we attack Russia? Please don’t tell this bulls**t to the whole world,” he told them.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved. | https://localnews8.com/news/national-world/cnn-europe-mideast-africa/2022/04/21/i-cant-leave-it-the-residents-of-an-embattled-donbas-village-are-determined-to-stay-2/ | 2022-04-21T23:31:21Z |
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