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CorpHousing Group Inc. Establishes Presence In New Orleans With 15-Year Master Lease Agreement For Historic Lafayette Hotel – Business Wire https://bentoncountynewsnow.com/corphousing-group-inc-establishes-presence-in-new-orleans-with-15-year-master-lease-agreement-for-historic-lafayette-hotel-business-wire/ MIAMI–(BUSINESS WIRE)–CorpHousing Group Inc. (“CorpHousing,” “CHG”, or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: CHG), which utilizes a long-term lease, asset-light business model to acquire and manage a growing portfolio of short-term rental properties in major metropolitan cities, today announced it has acquired long-term rights to the Lafayette Hotel, a 60-unit historic boutique property located in New Orleans, LA, via a 15-year Master Lease Agreement (“MLA”). The Lafayette Hotel is CHG’s first property in New Orleans, joining the Company’s portfolio properties in New York, Washington, DC, Miami, Denver, Boston, and Seattle. CHG will manage and market the Lafayette Hotel to business and vacation travelers under its LuxUrbanTM brand, with operations expected to commence in October 2022. The addition of the Lafayette brings to 10 the total number of hotels in CHG’s portfolio and the 60 units added under this MLA increases CHG’s total units under long-term lease to 1037. The Lafayette Hotel is located on the fashionable St. Charles Avenue Streetcar Line, within the heart of the Historical Arts and Warehouse Districts in the Central Business District. The hotel is a short stroll from the French Quarter, Bourbon Street, the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, the Superdome, the New Orleans Riverwalk, and the National World War II Museum. Desi Vega’s Steakhouse is also located inside of the Lafayette Hotel on St. Charles Avenue, offering patrons opportunity to wine and dine in downtown style. “An important long-term component of our post-IPO scaling strategy is entering new, destination markets that attract business and vacation travelers, and New Orleans certainly fits that bill,” said Brian Ferdinand, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of CorpHousing Group. “New Orleans is a city that has something for everyone, including more than 1,200 restaurants, a rich multi-ethnic history, over 130 festivals each year, and a world class airport. We are very excited to offer this new property later this year.” New Orleans is known for its round-the-clock nightlife, live-music scene, and distinct cuisine that reflects the intersection of its French, African and American cultures. The city earned numerous awards and rankings during 2022, including: a #2 ranking on the Top 10 U.S. Cities list (Travel + Leisure); a #7 ranking on the Top 50 U.S. Destinations list (Conference Direct Meeting Mentor Magazine); a #3 ranking as a destination in the U.S. for City Lovers (Tripadvisor’s Travelers’ Choice); and a #2 ranking as the happiest travel destination in North America (Club Med). CorpHousing Group Inc. CorpHousing Group (CHG) utilizes a long-term lease, asset-light business model to acquire and manage a growing portfolio of short-term rental properties in major metropolitan cities. The Company’s future growth focuses primarily on seeking to create “win-win” opportunities for owners of dislocated hotels, including those impacted by COVID-19 travel restrictions, while providing CHG favorable operating margins. CHG operates these properties in a cost-effective manner by leveraging technology to identify, acquire, manage, and market them globally to business and vacation travelers through dozens of third-party sales and distribution channels, and the Company’s own online portal. Guests at the Company’s properties are provided Heroic Service under CHG’s consumer brands, including LuxUrban. CHG’s Heroic ServiceTM provides guests a hassle-free experience which exceeds their expectations with “Heroes” who respond to any issue in a timely, thoughtful, and thorough manner. Forward Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements, including with respect to the expected closing of noted lease transactions and continued closing on additional leases for properties in the Company’s pipeline, as well the Company’s anticipated ability to commercialize efficiently and profitably the properties it leases and will lease in the future. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including those set forth under the caption “Risk Factors” in the prospectus forming part of the Company’s effective Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-262114). Generally, such forward-looking information or forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “plans”, “expects” or “does not expect”, “is expected”, “budget”, “scheduled”, “estimates”, “forecasts”, “intends”, “anticipates” or “does not anticipate”, or “believes”, or variations of such words and phrases or may contain statements that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might” or “will be taken”, “will continue”, “will occur” or “will be achieved”. Forward-looking information may relate to anticipated events or results including, but not limited to business strategy, leasing terms, high-level occupancy rates, and sales and growth plans. The financial projection provided herein are based on certain assumptions and existing and anticipated market, travel and public health conditions, all of which may change. The forward-looking information and forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release, and the Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information and/or forward-looking statements that are contained or referenced herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. %

AP Business SummaryBrief At 8:03 A.m. EDT – Federal News Network https://bentoncountynewsnow.com/ap-business-summarybrief-at-803-a-m-edt-federal-news-network/ Lights out, ovens off: Europe preps for winter energy crisis FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Europe is staring down a winter energy crisis. Russia has reduced natural gas supplies as Europe supports Ukraine, and the continent’s ability to get through the winter may depend on how cold it is and competition from Asia. The lights of the Eiffel Tower are turning off earlier than normal and shop windows across Europe are going dark to save energy…. READ MORE Lights out, ovens off: Europe preps for winter energy crisis FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Europe is staring down a winter energy crisis. Russia has reduced natural gas supplies as Europe supports Ukraine, and the continent’s ability to get through the winter may depend on how cold it is and competition from Asia. The lights of the Eiffel Tower are turning off earlier than normal and shop windows across Europe are going dark to save energy. High prices mean households and businesses are trying to use less heat and electricity, but they’re running into the hard truth that cutting back only shaves a little off their bills. Governments are rolling out relief and have been able to bolster natural gas storage. But analysts say Russia still has leverage with energy prices high and supplies tight. British pound plunges to new low as tax cuts spark concern LONDON (AP) — The British pound has fallen to an all-time low against the U.S. dollar after the government pledged a sweeping package of tax cuts that have fueled concerns about its economic policy. The pound fell as low as $1.0373 Monday, before rallying to above $1.07 in early London trading. The British currency has lost more than 5% against the dollar since Friday, when Treasury chief Kwasi Kwarteng announced the biggest tax cuts in 50 years. It comes as the government plans to spend billions of pounds to help consumers and businesses struggling with high energy bills that are driving a cost-of-living crisis. The combination sparked investor concern about spiraling government debt. Pakistan floods raise fears of hunger after crops wrecked KHAIRPUR, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan’s massive floods this summer have wiped out large swaths of crops. Now the country fears significant food shortages. One reason for concern is that the wheat planting season is fast approaching, but vast areas that would normally be planted with wheat are still underwater and may not drain in time. That could mean a smaller harvest down the line. At the same time, hundreds of thousands of small farming families have had their livelihoods and food stores wiped out. The cash-strapped government has been forced to turn to imports, but still hopes the upcoming wheat crop will come through. Amazon to hold holiday shopping event in October Amazon says it is holding a second Prime Day-like shopping event in October. The company is the latest major retailer to offer holiday deals earlier this year to entice cautious consumers dealing with tighter budgets. The event will be held October 11 and 12, offering early access to discounted items to Prime members. The event will mark the first time Amazon is holding a major sales event twice in a year and follows its annual Prime Day in July. It signals a recognition from Amazon that it needs to provide more deals to cash-strapped consumers in what’s expected to be a challenging holiday shopping season for retailers. Recession clouds gather in Germany, Europe’s largest economy FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Europe’s largest economy is sending recession signals. Germany’s key future indicator has pointed down for the fourth month in a row as high inflation fed by astronomical natural gas prices undermines consumer pricing power and imposes heavy costs on businesses. The Ifo index dropped to 84.3 in September from 88.5 in August. That is its lowest level since the global financial crisis more than a decade ago. High inflation caused by exorbitant natural gas prices is taking away consumers’ spending power. And it’s not just Germany. Recession calls have multiplied for Europe as a whole later this year and early next year. EXPLAINER: How a party of neo-fascist roots won big in Italy ROME (AP) — The Brothers of Italy party has won the most votes in Italy’s national election. The party has its roots in the post-World War II neo-fascist Italian Social Movement. Giorgia Meloni has taken Brothers of Italy from a fringe far-right group to Italy’s biggest party. Meloni is poised to lead Italy’s first far-right-led government since World War II and become its first female premier. Drone attack hits Ukraine; US vows ‘consequences’ over nukes KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — An overnight drone strike near the Ukrainian port of Odesa has sparked a massive fire and explosion, hours after the United States vowed to take decisive action and promised “catastrophic consequences” if Russia uses nuclear weapons in Ukraine. The airstrike was the latest in a series of drone attacks on the key southern city in recent days. This one hit a military installation and detonated ammunition when it struck. Firefighters were struggling to contain the blaze, the Ukrainian military’s southern command said Monday. World shares mixed; British pound slides on tax cut concerns TOKYO (AP) — Global shares are mixed while the British pound declined to an all-time low against the U.S. dollar on concerns over planned tax cuts. U.S. futures and oil prices slipped. Shares were higher in early trading in Paris, London and Frankfurt after a day of declines in Asia. The pound’s tumble against the U.S. dollar picked up pace last week after the U.K.’s new government outlined plans to cut taxes and boost spending. The recent moves by the Federal Reserve and other central banks to raise interest rates are designed to curb decades’ high inflation, but they also threaten a recession. Civil rights law targets ‘cancer alley’ discrimination RESERVE, La. (AP) — The Biden administration is using Title VI of the Civil Rights Act to investigate environmental discrimination by state agencies and others that receive federal funds. Experts say it is a seismic shift to use the civil rights law to go after environmental discrimination. In one example, the EPA has agreed to investigate allegations that Louisiana officials discriminated against Black residents by failing to control air pollution in parishes packed with refineries and petrochemical plants, a region some call cancer alley. The effort is part of the Biden administration’s promise to prioritize environmental justice enforcement in communities overburdened by pollution. On Saturday, the agency announced a new office at EPA focused on environmental justice. Apple Inc will manufacture iPhone 14 in India NEW DELHI (AP) — Apple Inc. has announced it will make its iPhone 14 in India. Manufacturers have been shifting production from China amid geopolitical tensions and pandemic restrictions that have disrupted supply chains for many industries. Apple unveiled its newest line-up of iPhones earlier this month. They will have improved cameras, faster processors and longer lasting batteries at the same prices as last year’s models. The announcement from the Cupertino, California-based company dovetails with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s push for local manufacturing. India is the world’s second-largest smartphone market after China but iPhone sales have struggled to capture a large share of the market due to their high price tags. Copyright © 2022 . All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

Child Tax Credit 2022 — Thousands Of Americans To Get $750 New Direct Payments Next Month – When To Expect… – The US Sun https://bentoncountynewsnow.com/child-tax-credit-2022-thousands-of-americans-to-get-750-new-direct-payments-next-month-when-to-expect-the-us-sun/ Live Blog MORE MONEY Updated: 8:30 ET, Sep 26 2022 TAX rebates worth up to $750 are on the way for families in Rhode Island, and nearby states have similar programs. In Rhode Island, families will get $250 per child and a maximum of $750 total for up to three children with payments going out beginning in October. In Connecticut, families can also claim $250 per child, which is capped at three children – for a total of $750. These payments started rolling out in late August. Meanwhile, New Yorkers claiming the Empire State child credit, which is based on income, will be mailed their checks automatically and can expect to receive them by the end of October. Read our child tax credit live blog for the latest news and updates… Lawmakers call for pregnant moms to get benefits Sen Mike Lee and Sen Steve Daines, both Republicans are the leading advocates for the “Child Tax Credit for Pregnant Moms Act,” which allows pregnant moms to claim the Child Tax Credit (CTC) for their unborn children.  The bill was not been voted on. “I am honored to support its expansion and to include expectant mothers whose children are not yet born,” Lee said. “This bill will help protect life, support parents, and reduce the number of children born into poverty.” “From prenatal care to stocking up on baby supplies, this tax relief will help parents prepare for the arrival of their baby,” Daines added. What if parents are divorced? If parents are divorced or separated, the parent that claimed the child will receive the credit. If the parent is receiving credit in error, they are encouraged to go to IRS.gov and unenroll to stop receiving payments. The federal credit The American Rescue Plan has allocated a yearly payment of $3,000 per child for children over the age of six until they are 17. In 2021, Kids under six got anywhere from $2,000 to $3,600 for children under the age of six. Most people divide this into monthly payments., untill this was eliminated in 2022. The income limit for the full payment is $150,000 for a couple or $112,500 for a single parent. Connecticut credit closes The state of Connecticut issued $250 checks to families making less than $200,000. There was a limit of up to three children. The checks went out in August. Single filers needed to make $100,000 or less to receive payment. “In addition to making groundbreaking investments in childcare, crime prevention, environmental protection, and caring for our most vulnerable, the budget that we just enacted provides relief specifically targeted for lower and middle-income families with children,” Governor Lamont said when the payment was announced. New York’s Child Tax Credit The 2022–2023 New York State budget allows for one-time checks to eligible taxpayers for both the Empire State child credit and the one based on the earned income credit. The state will automatically send those who qualify a check throughout September. The amount varies based on income and is a percentage of last year’s payment. Potential Congressional deal could impact CTC Negotiations have begun in Congress to push a federal CTC into law by the end of this year. Democrats were not able to extend the CTC this past year due to Joe Manchin’s opposition, but a negotiation to revive the CTC in exchange for corporate tax cuts could be in the works. The Washington Post reports these discussions “have been quietly ongoing for months” and could put CTC back on the table. Eligibility for child and dependent care credit  In order to qualify for child and dependent care, you have to meet all of the following:  You must have earned income for the tax year. If you’re filing jointly with your spouse, you both have to have earned income for the tax year. You must be the custodial parent or main caretaker of the child or dependent. The child or dependent care service must have been used so that you could work or seek employment.  Your filing status must be single, head of household, qualifying widow or widower with a qualifying child, or married filing jointly Your child or dependent must be under 13. If they are disabled and physically or mentally incapable of caring for themselves, there is no minimum age requirement. The childcare provider cannot be your spouse or dependent or the child’s parent. The mission of child care credit The child and dependent care credit is designed to provide financial relief for working parents and guardians in raising a child or a disabled dependent.  The credit is dependent on the taxpayer’s income and the expenses used to provide for the child or dependent. It ultimately reduced the federal income taxes, which means people can receive a higher refund.  Deducting summer camps and daycare expenses  For people who paid for a daycare center, babysitter, summer camp, or other care providers to care for a child under age 13 or a disabled dependent of any age, they are eligible for a tax credit. It is up to 35 percent of qualifying expenses of $3,000 for one child or dependent, so the maximum a person can claim is $1,050 per child, as reported by Turbotax. The Quality Childcare Initiative Grant, part three To apply for the grant, organizations must attend the Letter of Intent and Stewardship Package Meeting on September 27, 2022, at 530 pm. You must RSVP to Dorothy Chambers at 812-235-6287 or dchambers@uwwv.org. Details for the full grant eligibility can be found at uwwv.org/funding. The Quality Childcare Initiative Grant, continued The grant is for two years and up to $150,000 will be available upon request for a proposal grant. Plus, childcare sites can grab up to $20,000 per year and must meet at least one of the following objectives: Increase regulated capacity in an existing Levels 3 or 4 Paths to QUALITY or ExceleRate Illinois program Attain Level 3 or 4 in Paths to QUALITY or ExceleRate Illinois for an existing program For a new program, show progress toward enrolling in Paths to QUALITY or ExceleRate Illinois and attaining Level 3 or 4 The Quality Childcare Initiative Grant In an effort to increase quality childcare, the United Way of the Wabash Valley is offering a third round of the Quality Childcare Initiative Grant opportunity. The initiative is funded through Success By 6 Impact Council which promotes healthy early childhood development. A major focus is to lay the foundation to prepare children for lifelong learning. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act Passed in 2021, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act was created to stop discrimination toward pregnant workers. The law states that employers cannot force pregnant workers off of the job. Plus, they cannot deny them reasonable accommodations that would allow them to continue working while maintaining healthy pregnancies. USDA’s $12.5billion plan to reduce childhood hunger The USDA is working towards ending child hunger by providing summer food buying benefits to families with children. The agency is working with 42 states and issuing roughly $12.5billion in temporary nutrition benefits to nearly 32million children, according to a press release. Cindy Long, administrator of the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service, said in the statement, “Providing children with the food and nutrition they need to live healthy lives is a year-round mission, and we are proud to partner with many states and territories to provide food-buying benefits for this summer.” White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health The conference will be September 28 and will focus on nutrition security and maintaining consistent and equitable access to healthy, safe, and affordable food, according to a press release. The White House Conference will also call on all stakeholders to address hunger and improve nutrition and diet-related health. This will be the first conference in 50 years, since 1969, which led to the expansion of the National School Lunch Program and other, similar programs. The cost of raising a child The USDA issued a report in 2017 detailing the cost of raising a child in America. The measure is for a middle-income, married couple with two children born in 2015. As inflation has since gone up raising prices in nearly every sector, the report may not be as accurate but did factor in a four percent inflation rate. The report showed that the cost of raising a child born in 2015 through 17 is $310,605 – nearly $18,0000 per year. USDA partnerships offer benefits for families The US Department of Agriculture partnered with 26 states and Puerto Rico to offer children temporary food benefits. Children will be eligible for the program if they receive free or reduced lunch at school, or if they’re under the age of 6 and live in a household that receives SNAP benefits. An estimated 13million children will benefit from the program. Benefits will be loaded onto a debit card that can be used to buy food. States with the highest teacher salaries According to the report, the following states are some of the highest paying states for teachers. California New York Pennsylvania Massachusetts Connecticut States with the lowest teacher salaries The average teacher salary in the US is $65,090, according to The Hill. Business.org comprised a list of states with the lowest and highest salaries. Below are the five states with the lowest salaries for teachers: District of Columbia Arizona Virginia Florida Colorado Teacher salaries fall behind A report by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) found that teachers are paid less in weekly wages and total compensation than their nonteacher college-educated counterparts. Additionally, the average weekly inflation-adjusted wage of public school teachers...

Packers Vs. Buccaneers Final Score, Results: Green Bay, Aaron Rodgers Outlast Late Tom Brady Comeback Attempt – Sporting News https://bentoncountynewsnow.com/packers-vs-buccaneers-final-score-results-green-bay-aaron-rodgers-outlast-late-tom-brady-comeback-attempt-sporting-news/ What was billed as a duel between two of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history ultimately devolved into a scrappy, low-scoring and ugly defensive battle.  When the dust settled, it was Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers who emerged victorious in Tampa. The showdown between Rodgers and Tom Brady was hyped up all week. After all, the two legendary signal-callers are both in the twilight of their careers, and this could well be the last time they meet on the gridiron.  MORE: Bills’ OC Ken Dorsey rages in coaching booth after loss to Dolphins At first, it looked like the game was going to deliver on the hype. The Buccaneers put points on the board on their opening drive, kicking a field goal after making their way to Green Bay’s 21-yard line. Then, the Packers’ offense went on a tear, scoring two touchdowns on their first two possessions. They would have made it 3 for 3, too, if not for an Aaron Jones fumble at the goal line. Rodgers and his offense were seemingly moving the ball at will. Then, suddenly, everything ground to a halt. Jones’ fumble was the first in a series of momentum-killing turnovers by both teams. The Bucs had two costly fumbles by receivers just as they were moving into Packers territory, and Rodgers also got in on the action by throwing a pick of his own. It highlighted what was truly a terrible offensive display from both teams in the second half. After Jones’ fumble, Rodgers and the Packers got the ball nine more times throughout the rest of the game. The results? Punt, punt, punt, interception, punt, punt, punt, punt, kneeling out the clock. But Brady, who was missing several of his favorite receiving targets, had an equally hard time getting anything going. Apart from the two drives ended by fumbles, Tampa’s only offense of note before their final possession was a field goal set up by Rodgers’ interception. Still, they had a chance to send the game to overtime in the final seconds. After finally finding the end zone on a Russell Gage touchdown, the Bucs needed a two-point conversion to tie things up. But a disastrous delay-of-game penalty moved the attempt back five yards, and it ended up unsuccessful.  MORE: Aaron Rodgers reveals chat with officials before crucial delay-of-game penalty on Bucs Sporting News was tracking live updates and highlights from Packers vs. Buccaneers on Sunday. Here are all the key moments you may have missed from the Week 3 matchup. Packers vs. Buccaneers score   Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 F Packers 7 7 0 0 14 Buccaneers 3 0 3 6 12 Packers vs. Buccaneers live updates, highlights from Week 3 matchup (All times Eastern.) 7:28 p.m. — Brady and Rodgers embrace for what could be the last time on an NFL field. This game was expected to be a duel between the two quarterbacks, but instead we got a scrappy defensive battle for most of the afternoon. Both teams come out of this one at 2-1 on the season.  7:26 p.m. — Lazard recovers the onside kick and that’ll do it. The Packers will escape with a win despite an awful second half for their offense.  7:24 p.m. — THE TRY IS NO GOOD. Brady was looking for Gage again, but his pass gets tipped and hits the turf incomplete. Tampa needs a miracle now. The @Packers prevent the 2-pt conversion! #GBvsTB pic.twitter.com/0qyneZbAix — NFL (@NFL) September 25, 2022 7:23 p.m. — WOW. Brady and the Bucs take a brutal delay of game penalty to move their two-point try back five yards. That is a huge mental error. Packers 14, Buccaneers 12 7:21 p.m. TOUCHDOWN — Brady hits Gage for Tampa’s first touchdown of the game. But the job isn’t done. They need to convert this two-point attempt to realistically stay alive. — NFL (@NFL) September 25, 2022 7:20 p.m. — Fournette gets stuffed on 1st down and a Brady pass intended for Brate falls incomplete on 2nd down.  7:17 p.m. — With 30 seconds on the clock, Adrian Amos gets called for a costly defensive pass interference penalty. The Bucs have the ball at the 3-yard line needing a touchdown and a two-point conversion to tie it.  7:15 p.m. — Brady, working out of the hurry-up offense, finds Cameron Brate for an 11-yard gain. Then, Fournette secures a catch and scurries out of bounds for another first down. The Bucs have entered the red zone. 7:12 p.m. TWO-MINUTE WARNING — Tampa is (finally) on the move. Brady takes advantage of some soft coverage by Green Bay to string together three consecutive completions. It’s Bucs ball inside Packers territory with under two minutes to play. 7:09 p.m. — HUGE SACK BY TAMPA. Logan Hall buries Rodgers at midfield, pushing the Packers well out of field goal range. Brady is going to get the ball back again with a chance to tie it. When have we seen this before?  — Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) September 25, 2022 7:07 p.m. — On 3rd and 10, Green Bay uses their second timeout of the half. They have the ball on Tampa Bay’s 42-yard line, and any points on this drive will go a long way to securing the win. 7:04 p.m. — Rodgers finds Lazard again, this time down the sideline for a gain of 26. The Packers are approaching field goal range, but they could use a few more yards to give Mason Crosby a chance to stretch the lead to two possessions.  — NFL (@NFL) September 25, 2022 7:03 p.m. — Finally, the Packers get a conversion on 3rd down. Rodgers finds Lazard to earn a fresh set of downs, and the clock continues to tick. Less than four minutes remaining now.  7:00 p.m. — The clock has been slowly ticking along, and we’ve reached the stage where any points by Green Bay could put this game to bed. The Packers call a timeout facing another 3rd down deep in their own territory.  6:57 p.m. — A 25-yard pass to Jaelon Darden gets Tampa’s drive off to a great start, but a failed trick play and a sack on Brady puts them right back where they started. On 3rd and 30, the Bucs take their medicine with a short pass and trot the punter onto the field yet again. 6:55 p.m. — On 3rd and 5, Tonyan makes a catch but is hauled down short of the marker. The punters are certainly getting their chance to shine this afternoon.  6:51 p.m. — Rodgers heaves a pass high into the steamy Tampa Bay air, only for it to be picked off. But the Bucs had 12 men on the field, negating the turnover.  6:46 p.m. — Surprise, surprise. Another three-and-out. This time it’s the Bucs’ turn to punt the ball away. After the explosive start, not many would have predicted this in the second half. Perhaps we’re seeing the effects of the brutal Florida heat? There are likely a lot of tired legs out there.  6:41 p.m. — Another failed 3rd down conversion for Green Bay. Jones gets stuffed in the backfield for a loss on 3rd and short. The difference between first half and second half has been night and day for the Packers’ offense. Brady now gets the ball with a chance to tie things up on this drive. End of third quarter: Packers 14, Buccaneers 6 6:34 p.m. — Brady scrambles for a big gain on 3rd and 3, but it’s called back for a holding penalty. He slid down awkwardly at the end of that play and spent a moment fiddling with his knee brace, but seems fine. The 3rd and 13 play goes nowhere, leading to another punt. This game has turned into a real defensive battle.  6:31 p.m. — The Packers’ offense has ground to a halt. Tampa’s defense gets off the field again after Aaron Jones is stopped on 3rd and 7. That’s six straight possessions without points for Green Bay. Packers 14, Buccaneers 6 6:27 p.m. FIELD GOAL — A shot to the end zone falls incomplete on 3rd down, but the Bucs are in field goal range thanks to an earlier 19-yard completion to Cameron Brate. Succop connects from 45 yards to make it a one-possession game.  Ryan Succop makes it a one score game #GoBucs pic.twitter.com/Kv0NeICcXm — Pro Football Culture (@proftblculture) September 25, 2022 6:25 p.m. — Tampa’s rushing game hasn’t gotten anything going so far today. Leonard Fournette, who has been dealing with a hamstring issue, has shouldered the bulk of the workload, but he’s been held in check by the Packers’ defense. 6:20 p.m. INTERCEPTION — The offensive struggles for both teams continue, and Rodgers has made his first big mistake of the game. He’s looking for Robert Tonyan, but it’s plucked out of the air by Tampa defender Logan Ryan. Can the Bucs capitalize with a score? — Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) September 25, 2022 6:12 p.m. — Bucs offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich dials up three straight passes from deep in his own end, and all three fall incomplete. Both offenses have been stuck in neutral for a while now, but the Packers have another chance to add to their lead.  6:09 p.m. — Packers punter Pat O’Donnell hits a beauty that’s downed at the Bucs’ 1-yard line. An excellent play on special teams. 6:07 p.m. — The Bucs’ defense comes up with another important stop, with a Rodgers pass falling incomplete again on 3rd down. That’s three straight three-and-outs for the Packers.  6:02 p.m. FUMBLE — Wow. Another big mistake by a Bucs receiver, this time it’s Russell Gage who puts the ball on the turf near midfield. Rodgers gets the ball back with great field position.  — Green Bay Packers (@packers) September 25, 2022 5:58 p.m. — Tampa’s defense forces a three-and-out after a penalty backed up Green Bay. They really needed that stop. Now, they need points. Brady gets the ball at his own 20-yard line. 5:54 p.m. — The second half is underway. The Packers get the ball back looking to extend their lead. 5:46 p.m. — Regarding the Rodgers vs. Brady duel, both have played extremely well so far. A-Rod (15/18, 171 yards, 2 TD) has the edge over TB12 (13/14, 110 yards) thanks to his two scores. But in the more important battle...

Color Star Breaks Into The Mobile Industry With DONO Metaverse Phone – PR Newswire https://bentoncountynewsnow.com/color-star-breaks-into-the-mobile-industry-with-dono-metaverse-phone-pr-newswire/ , /PRNewswire/ — Color Star Technology Co., Ltd. ( Nasdaq: CSCW) (“Color Star” or the “Company”), an entertainment technology company with a global network that focuses on the application of technology and artificial intelligence in the entertainment industry, has recently officially announced to the public that it will enter the mobile industry to cooperate on the development and manufacturing of a metaverse phone. This will not only become another key segment of Color Star’s future business, but also show that Color Star, as a NASDAQ-listed international technology company, is fully utilizing its technology and platform advantages to push for new advancements in metaverse and Internet+ technologies. It is understood that Color Star is cooperating with leading international enterprises to develop and manufacture the DONO metaverse phone (“DONO”). The DONO phone is an ESG-compliant, eco-friendly smartphone, from its materials all the way to the lifespan of the device. Each device will have the Color Star logo printed on the back along with the ColorWorld Metaverse (“Color World”) software pre-installed. The phone is highly hack-resistant thanks to its state-of-the-art technology, guaranteeing high levels of security. The Color Star team will be providing full support to the development process, and the Color World platform will be used to advertise and generate publicity for the phone. DONO is more than just a smartphone with communication functionalities; it links the user to the metaverse, allowing easy access to limitless entertainment, collaboration, and education content via a tap of a finger. Through the pre-installed Color World app, users can be among the first to experience new virtual locations, digital products, celebrity entertainment, and so on. Under the protection provided by Color Star, users can safely enjoy using the DONO phone without worrying about the safety of their privacy. DONO is expected to be officially unveiled in October at the 2022 Gulf Information Technology Exhibition (“GITEX”) to be held in Dubai. Farhan Qadir, CEO of Color Star, said: “The mobile industry is our new business segment, and we are very excited and confident about developing this segment in the years to come. We are a technology company, and combined with our continuous development and optimization of our metaverse platform, our DONO phone will be a significant entry in the industry. While the public has been studying the features of our metaverse, we have been looking into user safety and protecting their privacy. Moreover, we will combine our metaverse with other services and businesses in order to widen our market. We are not your typical tech company. Here, everything is possible.” About Color Star Technology Co., Ltd. Color Star Technology Co., Ltd. ( Nasdaq: CSCW) is an entertainment and education company that provides online entertainment performances and online music education services. Its business operations are conducted through its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Color China Entertainment Ltd. and CACM Group NY, Inc. The Company’s online education is provided through its Color World music and entertainment education platform. More information about the Company can be found at www.colorstarinternational.com. Forward-Looking Statement This press release contains forward-looking statements as defined by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance, and underlying assumptions and other statements that are other than statements of historical facts. When the Company uses words such as “may,” “will,” “intend,” “should,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “project,” “estimate” or similar expressions that do not relate solely to historical matters, it is making forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not guarantee of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that may cause the actual results to differ materially from the Company’s expectations discussed in the forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to uncertainties and risks including, but not limited to, the following: the Company’s goals and strategies; the Company’s future business development, including the development of the metaverse project; product and service demand and acceptance; changes in technology; economic conditions; the growth of the educational and training services market internationally where CSCW conducts its business; reputation and brand; the impact of competition and pricing; government regulations; fluctuations in general economic and business conditions and assumptions underlying or related to any of the foregoing and other risks contained in reports filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. For these reasons, among others, investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements in this press release. Additional factors are discussed in the Company’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which are available for review at www.sec.gov. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly revise these forward–looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that arise after the date hereof unless required by applicable laws, regulations or rules. SOURCE Color Star Technology Co., Ltd.

Jill Spiegel Takes Over As PGA Tour Superstore President In Major Move For Male-Dominated Golf Business: Q&A – Forbes https://bentoncountynewsnow.com/jill-spiegel-takes-over-as-pga-tour-superstore-president-in-major-move-for-male-dominated-golf-business-qa-forbes/ PGA Tour Superstore Jill Spiegel has been promoted to President of PGA TOUR Superstore, a move that positions her as one of the highest-ranking female executives in the golf industry. The longtime merchandising chief for golf’s leading retailer, Spiegel has been with Superstore since 2011. She assumes greater control of the company’s day-to-day operations from Dick Sullivan, who adds Executive Chairman title to his CEO role and will focus on growth strategies going forward. Spiegel previously was Superstore’s Senior Vice President and Chief Merchandising Officer, meaning she oversaw all merchandising as well as financial planning at the venue level. She now takes control of operations and planning for Superstore’s 54 U.S. locations as well as ecommerce, marketing and construction. Here’s some of what Spiegel had to say about the opportunity to assume what PGATSS owner and chairman Arthur Blank calls the “critical daily operations of the business”: You’re a 37-year veteran of the retail sector, but how excited are you for what’s next – for both you and PGA Tour SuperStore? “When Dick hired me 11 years ago, we had just opened store No. 11. We’re at 54 today and 58 in the next few months and 70 by the end of the year. To be part of the growth over the past decade, especially over the past three years, has been really fun and rewarding. When I came here, there were 30 people in the store support center and we now have over 150. So, we really built a foundation; not just me, but Dick and the leadership team. We’re at a point where we can handle that growth and open all these stores. It’s been wonderful. To get the promotion, I’m very excited about it. And we’re still in growth mode. We’re not slowing down, if anything, that growth is going to accelerate to an even greater degree. I look forward to taking on a bigger leadership role as we continue that growth.” PGA Tour Superstore Golf has been diversifying its participant base, especially among women, and we’re also seeing that more in the C-suite ranks among golf companies. How meaningful is this promotion, which puts you in very select company in the sport? “If you look at my background, I was in the department stores (including Belk and Macy’s), which is really female-based. When I came here, I was the only woman on the leadership team for quite a long time. It was never an issue for me and I wasn’t treated any differently. The (golf) manufacturing side is much more male dominated, so that took some getting used to. But it was actually a benefit for me in the beginning — I felt I brought a different point of view to the table. And now there’s been a lot of change in the last decade. There’s another female on the (PGATSS) leadership team. We have a lot of women in director positions in our company and, if you look at the mix of our store support center, we’re almost at 50/50 split between male and female. There’s been a lot of really good change and a lot of positive momentum for women in these male-dominated industries. It’s really nice to see and it does make this promotion extremely meaningful. There aren’t a lot of women leaders across the golf industry, in general.” PGA Tour Superstore Being heavily involved in the merchandising end, you’ve seen, and helped push forward, some of the notable evolution within golf. What do you see as some of the most significant changes on the retail front? “There have been a lot. Our core brands will still make up the lion’s share of the business. But I have really good apparel merchants with the same kind of background I do. They’re always out there looking for new brands. I remember when we first dabbled in Under Armour and they went from brand No. 8 to No. 1 in just a couple of years. Jordan Spieth had a little bit to do with that. But you never know what the next big brand is going to be. Printed polos are a huge trend the last several years. We’re not so big that we can’t test-case things and the minute we get traction, we really maximize it. We see a lot of brands in our store like Bad Birdie, William Murray, Chubbies, and our apparel merchant was one of the very first ones onto shorter inseams. We’re selling 7-inch shorts in men’s and who would have thought that? Several years ago, everything was down to your knee. She was on hoodies and she was on joggers. That’s the fun part of it. It’s become much more casual and you’ll even see that on the course. Outside the apparel pieces, there’s a lot of technology and you’re hearing more music on the golf courses. We’re selling a lot of (Bushnell) Wingman speakers and all those fun gadgets. In general, there’s just so much awareness around the sport and not only seeing women and youth, but young adults. It’s a ‘cool sport’ at the moment. Hopefully that will continue.” PGA Tour Superstore Golf is very much of a lifestyle activity and those who are really avid or committed play and spend like no other participation sport. What has that opportunity meant as golf has enjoyed a real renaissance the past few years? “We’re comparing everything to 2019 (pre-Covid), and we’ll be up over 90% (in 2022 revenue) compared to 2019. Everybody went into 2022 kind of holding their breath because we had such significant growth in two years. We did more business the first half of 2021 than we did all of fiscal 2019, which is pretty staggering to think about. But you’ve seen a lot of retailers outside of golf giving back 20% to 25% and we haven’t seen that. For the rounds (played) to be hanging on to a 20% increase just shows the sport isn’t slowing down.” How do you see the split between the company’s physical retail and online presence? “Our E-comm business tripled from 2019 to 2021. What’s great to see in 2022 is that it’s contracting a little bit. Our brick-and-mortar business is really healthy and it’s great to see people coming back into the stores. We’re very focused on ecommerce as well and we want to grow that channel, but we don’t want to grow at the sake of our brick-and-mortar store. We want that customer to come in and experience our fitting capabilities, take lessons, putt on our putting greens, hit in our hitting bays. So, it’s a huge priority, but we don’t want to shift that business from brick and mortar. We want our ecommerce growth to be incremental.” PGA Tour Superstore Where would you like to see PGA Tour Superstore five years down the road? “We’re going to continue to grow. We opened three stores in the midst of Covid. We continued to put our foot on the gas. We’ve taken advantage of real estate opportunities the last couple years and we’ll continue to do so. We know there’s still a lot of white space. All eight stores we’re going to open this year, they’re in new markets: Charlotte, greater D.C., Philadelphia, Fairfax in Virginia, Milwaukee. We’re going to be opening stores in Boise and Kansas City next year, and there are a lot of markets we haven’t been in. One of our goals is also to help grow the game of golf and, when we go into new markets, we’re not just stealing share from our competitors. Yes, we might get some of their business, but we’re lifting the whole market. It’s nice to see it’s not just a shift from one retailer to another, it really brings more awareness to the sport.”

DeFiChain’s DFI Token Starts Trading On The Gate.io Exchange – Cryptonews https://bentoncountynewsnow.com/defichains-dfi-token-starts-trading-on-the-gate-io-exchange-cryptonews/ Disclaimer: The Industry Talk section features insights by crypto industry players and is not a part of the editorial content of Cryptonews.com. Singapore, Singapore, 26th September, 2022, Chainwire DeFiChain, the world’s leading blockchain on the Bitcoin network dedicated to bringing decentralized financial applications and services to everyone, today announces the listing of its DFI token on Gate.io, one of the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchanges. This is a major step in DeFiChain’s mission to make DFI accessible to investors worldwide. Gate.io is one of the world’s biggest exchanges and supports the most cryptocurrencies of any exchange. The DFI token (ERC-20 version) will start trading on Gate.io at 10am UTC on September 26th. Initially, it will trade against USDT, though Gate.io could bring a DFI-BTC pair as well in the near future. The native version of DFI will become available on the platform in late October. Buying the token on Gate.io will enable users to transfer DFI to any compatible wallet the user wants. It gives users access to the entire DeFiChain ecosystem including decentralized stock tokens. The DFI token is also available for trading on Huobi, Kucoin, Bybit (ERC-20 format), Bittrex, Bitrue and Hotbit. Each additional listing makes it easier for investors to enter the world of native decentralized finance on DeFiChain. “We are extremely happy that the DFI token can now be traded on Gate.io and more and more people are able to access the no. 1 DeFi blockchain on Bitcoin.” said Benjamin Rauch, VP Marketing DeFiChain Accelerator. The DFI token opens up the world to the DeFiChain ecosystem. It is at the core of all activities on the DeFiChain blockchain including: Providing liquidity in multiple pools Staking for blockchain consensus and security As collateral to mint or borrow stock tokens and the dUSD stablecoin As a reward token As the governance token of DeFiChain  As the only blockchain to offer decentralized assets on the Bitcoin network, DeFiChain offers users flexibility and benefits of decentralization. Users can mint and trade dTokens to get price exposure to stocks and ETFs without leaving the DeFi ecosystem. They can also buy dTokens – even in fractional pieces – on the DeFiChain DEX. DeFiChain is a fully decentralized blockchain with on-chain governance. Since its mainnet launch in May 2020, the project has seen an enthusiastic involvement from the community in almost all aspects of the blockchain, from masternodes, projects, tools, governance, economic ideas, to code governance. Its codebase has been developed in an open source manner, and widely peer-reviewed and discussed by many. About DeFiChain DeFiChain is a decentralized Proof-of-Stake blockchain created as a hard fork of the Bitcoin network to enable advanced DeFi applications. It is dedicated to enabling fast, intelligent, and transparent decentralized financial services. DeFiChain offers liquidity mining, staking, decentralized assets, and decentralized loans. The DeFiChain Foundation’s mission is to bring DeFi to the Bitcoin ecosystem. For more information, visit: Website | Twitter | Discord | GitHub Contact Benjamin Rauch [email protected]

U.S. Energy Information Administration – EIA https://bentoncountynewsnow.com/u-s-energy-information-administration-eia/ September 26, 2022 Data source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Petroleum Supply Monthly Note: HGLs = hydrocarbon gas liquids. In the first half of 2022 (January–June), U.S. exports of petroleum products averaged nearly 6 million barrels per day (b/d), the most first-half-of-year exports in Petroleum Supply Monthly data, going back to 1973. U.S. petroleum product exports increased in the first half of 2022 by 11% (596,000 b/d) compared with the first half of 2021—the fastest growth rate for that time period since 2017. Nearly all petroleum products contributed to increased exports, and the largest volumes came from distillate fuel oil and hydrocarbon gas liquids (HGLs), which include propane. Distillate fuel oil exports increased by 19% (190,000 b/d) from the first half of 2021 to the first half of 2022. High demand and low inventories globally, along with economic sanctions against Russia and self-sanctioning by some firms after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February, have disrupted global distillate trade. Despite changes in trade patterns for other products, Europe’s imports of distillate from Russia, so far, show little change from 2021. Europe’s sanctions, adopted in June, prohibit imports of crude oil and certain petroleum products from Russia, including distillate fuel oil, and will take effect in December for crude oil and in February 2023 for petroleum products. Because these sanctions have not yet gone into effect, we have not seen the expected increase in U.S. exports to Europe, and instead exports to Europe decreased to 71,000 b/d in the first half of 2022, while U.S. distillate exports to Latin America increased to more than 1 million b/d. Propane was the most-exported U.S. petroleum product in the first half of this year by volume, continuing a trend started in 2020. U.S. propane exports averaged 1.4 million b/d in the first half of 2022, a 6% increase (78,000 b/d) from the first half of 2021. U.S. exports to Asia have grown rapidly in recent years as consumption of propane as a petrochemical feedstock and consumer demand have both increased. This year, changing supply patterns have increased Europe’s demand for U.S. propane. Most of the growth in propane exports in the first half of 2022 went to Europe. U.S. propane exports to Europe increased by 51% (87,000 b/d) and set a record of 349,000 b/d in June. U.S. motor gasoline exports increased by 11% (89,000 b/d) to reach a record of 910,000 b/d for the first half of 2022. U.S. jet fuel exports more than doubled in the first half 2022 compared with the same period last year. Only U.S. residual fuel oil exports declined slightly compared with last year, to 113,000 b/d. Principal contributor: Alex DeKeyserling

ATP’s Aviation Technology Reaches New Heights – Kirkland Lake Northern News https://bentoncountynewsnow.com/atps-aviation-technology-reaches-new-heights-kirkland-lake-northern-news/ Author of the article: Join ATP’s engineering team at the Kong 2022 Summit to find out how ATP leverages Kong to enable customer access to data. GNW San Francisco, Sept. 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — For nearly 50 years, ATP has supported the aviation industry with forward-thinking technology that helps airlines, aircraft operators, schedulers, dispatchers, pilots, and many others complete their work easily and efficiently. To support these complex operations, ATP has carefully chosen technology partners who can strengthen our foundation for growth and scale.   Advertisement 2 This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. As ATP continues to evolve our unique and innovative suite of solutions, our foundational technology grows along with it. ATP uses Kong Inc., the leading API gateway and service connectivity platform, to support our products and ensure that we’re bringing cutting-edge technology to the market.  ATP’s product platform brings together a comprehensive set of capabilities to support the aviation industry, and Kong brings together ATP and its customers’ technology ecosystems. Kong’s innovative Developer Portal enables self-service access and allows customers to explore, understand, and experiment with over 1,000 configurable REST API endpoints.  Our philosophy is that customers will stay when they are treated well and provided with solutions that meet their needs. This is why we don’t put restrictions on our customers’ ability to access or export their data to other services or solutions.   Advertisement 3 This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. ATP’s engineering team is attending the 2022 Kong Summit where they will share how they’ve used different Kong Enterprise features to support more than five billion API calls a year. If you’re headed to the 2022 Kong Summit, details are below for ATP’s session:   Speakers:  Fedor Gorin, ATP’s Senior Director of Engineering, Tyler Hall, Software Architect, & Cara Li, ATP’s Director of Software Engineering.  Title: APIs Take Flight: Using Kong to Support a Complex Ecosystem  Date: September 28, 2022  Time: 1:50 – 2:20 PM PDT   About ATP:   ATP is the leading provider of aviation software and information services.  Our innovative products, including Flightdocs, Aviation Hub, ChronicX, and SpotLight, reduce operating costs, improve aircraft reliability, and support technical knowledge sharing and collaboration in all aviation and aerospace industry sectors.  The products and services of ATP support more than 75,000 aircraft maintenance professionals worldwide. As a global company, ATP has more than 7,500 customers in 137 countries and partnerships with over 90 OEMs.  About Kong: Kong makes connecting APIs and microservices across today’s hybrid, multi-cloud environments easier and faster than ever. We power trillions of API transactions for leading organizations globally through our end-to-end API platform.  Attachment

‘Sextortion’ Crimes Involving Boys On The Rise, FBI Reports – Arkansas Online https://bentoncountynewsnow.com/sextortion-crimes-involving-boys-on-the-rise-fbi-reports-arkansas-online-2/ Hands type on a laptop computer keyboard in this Feb. 27, 2013, file photo. (AP/Damian Dovarganes) FAYETTEVILLE — The FBI and local police are reporting an increase in “sextortion” crimes in Northwest Arkansas, with boys increasingly being targeted. Mark Grimm, special supervisory agent for the FBI office in Fayetteville, said the increase in schemes targeting young males reflects a national trend. He said the predators persuade victims to provide sexual videos or photos and then rely on threats and embarrassment to coerce their victims into providing money. “It’s not just in Arkansas, it’s national,” Grimm said. “Particularly with young men, the fraud really succeeds if the subject is embarrassed.” Grimm said a typical scheme begins with the predator posing as a young girl and trying to establish a relationship with the victim online or on social media. If they can persuade the target to provide a sexual image then the extortion begins. “They turn around and use that image or video and the threat that they’ll make it public,” Grimm said. “They demand the target provide them with gift cards or information for bank accounts they have access to.” Grimm said he couldn’t discuss specific cases but said the FBI and local police in Northwest Arkansas are seeing more and more reports of the crime. Recent arrests in Benton and Washington counties show some of the earmarks of this type of crime. In Benton County, Matthew Nance is currently being held in the Benton County jail in connection with rape and sexual extortion. Court records indicate the victims in those crimes were young girls. Other court records show search warrants for social media accounts used by Nance found IP addresses with locations in Africa. Grimm said “a lot” of the sextortion crimes reported show links to African criminal enterprises also active in cyber fraud, banking fraud and other internet crimes. In Washington County, Coleton Russell of Vian, Okla., was arrested Aug. 31 in connection with sexual extortion. Sexual extortion under Arkansas law is a Class B felony with penalties of five to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $15,000. Prosecuting Attorney Matt Durrett said Russell’s case showed similarities to the types of cases the FBI is reporting. According to the criminal information filed in Russell’s case during November and December 2021, he “with the purpose to coerce the victim to engage in sexual conduct or sexually explicit conduct … communicated a threat to harm the reputation of the other person, or produce or distribute a recording of the other person engaged in sexually explicit conduct or depicted in a state of nudity.” Court records show the victim in the case is a juvenile. Russell was released from the Washington County Detention Center Sept. 1 on $15,000 bond. Durrett said some cases may be handled in state courts but others are taken up by federal courts. Connor Hagan, public affairs officer for the FBI office in Little Rock, said federal law states any person who forces or persuades a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct can face up to 30 years in prison. Additionally, Hagan said, most sextortion crimes also involve the use of a computer, which is an additional offense that can be punished by up to 10 years in prison and fines of up to $250,000. According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, reports received by the organization show how sextortion is changing. Since 2016, according to information on the center’s website, the CyberTipline has received 262,573 reports of online enticement, the category that included sextortion. Between 2019 and 2021, the number of of reports involving sextortion more than doubled. The center also reports in the past the dominant motive of offenders was to get more explicit images of a child but in reports from early 2022, 79% of the offenders were seeking money. Grimm said the use of social media platforms by the predators in these cases make it essential that parents, guardians and other adults are available to the victims and open to communication. Victim services providers agreed communication is the key to preventing or minimizing these crimes. Casey Atwood, program director at the Children’s Safety Center of Washington County, said she’s aware of the recent increase in sextortion cases targeting young boys. “I know that it is happening,” Atwood said. “It’s a growing trend. Technology is ever-evolving and kids are getting access at younger and younger ages.” Atwood said that parents need to replace or modernize the antiquated “birds and the bees” conversation about sex and discuss the risks kids are facing today. “Parents and guardians need to get out of the window of having a once-in-a-lifetime talk about the birds and the bees and have conversations about things they’ve seen or heard about in today’s world,” she said. “Some people may be afraid that they’re putting ideas in kids’ heads. Don’t worry, they’re already being exposed to all those things.” Atwood said the center website has a list of crisis hotlines and community resources. Gretchen Smeltzer is executive director of Into the Light, a nonprofit organization providing services to victims of child sex trafficking. Smeltzer agrees that the trend of young boys being targeted in sextortion crimes has grown recently and that communication is vital. Smeltzer said Into the Light has resources available online and through a hotline. She said the group makes informational presentations to individuals and to groups.

How German Travelers Spent The Summer Of 2022 – DW (English) https://bentoncountynewsnow.com/how-german-travelers-spent-the-summer-of-2022-dw-english/ Many German tourists skipped vacations abroad over the past two years — but this changed in the summer of 2022. What does this mean for the domestic tourism industry? The island of Usedom in northern Germany was not quite as popular this summer as it was the two previous years. Nevertheless, those working on the Baltic Sea island were not altogether displeased by the number of bookings this season. The number of reservations was only about 20% below those of the previous two years, says Michael Raffelt, founder of the Hotel Hanse-Kogge in the municipality of Koserow and chairman of the Usedom Island Hotel Association. “It hasn’t been a bad summer either,” he says. Due to the pandemic, the previous two summer seasons saw an unusually large number of Germans spending their vacations on the Baltic Sea instead of traveling abroad.” Now we have to get used to fighting for every guest again,” said Raffelt. The number of tourists on Usedom approached pre-pandemic levels in 2022 Traveling outside Germany again Traditionally, about two thirds of Germans spend their vacations outside of Germany. Yet the pandemic changed this, as COVID-19 health and safety measures made international trips more difficult. This summer, however, many German holidaymakers eagerly headed abroad. Package trips to destinations in the Mediterranean were especially popular, according to the German Travel Association. The island of Mallorca, Spain, along with Greece and Turkey were in particularly high demand. Bookings even surpassed those of 2019, before the pandemic.  The Spanish island of Mallorca was one of the most sought-after destinations for German tourists this summer Tour operator Dertour observed a similar trends. After two years without vacations abroad, many German travelers seemed willing to spend a bit more than in pre-pandemic years. According to Dertour’s recently published figures, spending on hotels outside of Germany rose by some 51%. Many travelers booked high-end hotels and stayed one day longer, on average, according to the operator. The situation in Germany is somewhat different. On Usedom, for example, Michael Raffelt has noticed a great deal of uncertainty among his guests this summer. Many bookings were made short-term, often only 14 days in advance. He feels it is partly due to rising prices in Europe. Guests want to wait to see how they develop and only then “decide if they go on vacation at all.” And once they decide to take a trip, they are spending less than usual. “Many guests no longer go to the restaurant every day,” he says. Hotels in crisis mode Sales figures in the German hospitality industry remain below pre-pandemic levels, according to the German Hotel and Restaurant Association (DEHOGA). The situation is “extremely challenging” because the industry is simultaneously “confronted with exponential costs in the areas of energy, food and personnel,” says DEHOGA head Guido Zöllick.  Additionally, more than 60% of hospitality businesses were still looking for staff at the start of the season in June. “Because there is a shortage of staff, companies are reducing their opening hours and scrapping events,” says Zöllick. Yet despite the challenges, business picked up once COVID-related regulations were dropped in May.  Staff shortages remain one of the major problems in the hospitality industry This positive trend is also confirmed by the Ministry of Tourism of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The region in Germany’s northeast had a successful summer tourism season. The utilization of all tourist capacities was 87% in July and 80% in August. Schleswig-Holstein, in turn, reported a 4.4% increase in overnight stays in the first half of the year compared to the same period in 2019. The North Sea Tourism Association, meanwhile, expects summer numbers to be about the same as before the pandemic. However, guests have recently become “more price-sensitive” and have shown more restraint when it comes to paying for leisure activities and gastronomy, says the organization. Low water levels and camping success Daniel Thiriet of IG RiverCruise, an industry group, also saw numerous challenges to his sector this summer. A prolonged drought led to low water levels in many places and made river cruising more difficult. Although there were only a few cancellations and complete route closures, companies had to go to great lengths to maintain operations. On Germany’s Rhine river, for example, ships could no longer operate in some places, so passengers had to be transported by bus in certain sections. Low water levels made it difficult for boat cruises on the Rhine to take place this summer One of Germany’s travel sectors that grew during the pandemic is camping. In the first half of the year, Germany’s campsites set a new record. According to the Federal Association of the Camping Economy in Germany (BVCD), the number of overnight stays rose by 11% to 14.2 million, compared to the same period in 2019. Yet, the joy may be short-lived. “In view of the uncertain forecasts and current burdens on consumers, we are looking ahead to the fall with subdued expectations,” says BVCD head Christian Günther. Germany’s most beautiful campsites Beach fun a stone’s throw away Welcome to the Baltic Sea, a popular vacation destination during the pandemic. Summer, sun, sand and sea ― what more could you want? Well, ideally, a place to stay near the coast. Campingpark Kühlungsborn is located on a 12-hectare nature reserve by the sea. Here you’ll find sunny and tree-shaded sites, some only 50 meters from the beach. It’s also not far from the seaside resort of Kühlungsborn. Germany’s most beautiful campsites Camping surrounded by the sea Wulfener Hals is also located close to the sea, on the island of Fehmarn, between Burger Binnensee and the Baltic Sea ― a paradise for surfers and water sports enthusiasts. You will find here campsites, vacation apartments, hotel rooms and restaurants. Fehmarn is Germany’s third-largest island, with sandy beaches and steep slopes, small villages and around 2,000 hours of sunshine a year. Germany’s most beautiful campsites Camping in the Mecklenburg Lake District Let’s continue south ― to the Mecklenburg Lake District, Germany’s largest contiguous lake area. Here you’ll find the Havelberge camping park. The area is far from the hustle and bustle of the big city at the Woblitzsee lake, with a beach and large lawn to sunbathe. Canoes, kayaks, motorboats and dragon boats can be rented. And for those who come with their own boat: there’s mooring in the harbor. Germany’s most beautiful campsites A campsite among impressive rock formations The LuxOase (luxury oasis) lives up to its name: The five-star campsite offers a range of activities, playgrounds and sports fields, a climbing castle and a wellness area with sauna, steam bath, infrared cabin and more. There is also a golf course nearby. The surrounding area has plenty to discover: the bizarre rocks of Saxon Switzerland, the city of Dresden and many castles and palaces. Germany’s most beautiful campsites Lakeside camping in the Lüneburg Heath In the middle of the Lüneburg Heath near Wietzendorf, on a lake with a sandy beach, lies the Südsee-Camp with sites for tourists, permanently rented sites and even chalets. Amusement parks like Heide-Park Soltau or Serengeti-Park are popular destinations. And, of course, there is the Lüneburg Heath, where millions of heather blossoms bloom in a vibrant purple in late summer. Germany’s most beautiful campsites Camping in the middle of the river looking out on vineyards With its many bends, the Moselle River winds through the landscape. Vineyards, wine-growing villages and castles shape the area. In the middle of the river is the camping island Sonnenwerth, which is connected by a dam to Hatzenport, a village between Koblenz and Cochem. From here you have a great view of the vineyards and the Moselle. Germany’s most beautiful campsites Camping in the Black Forest Nestled in the meadows and forests of the Black Forest in southern Germany is the five-star Münstertal campground with a swimming pool, sauna area and sports grounds. Anyone emerging from their tent or caravan here will be faced with a magnificent mountain panorama. The Black Forest is a popular vacation region for skiing in winter and hiking in summer. Germany’s most beautiful campsites Lakeside camping in Bavaria Moving on, we reach Strandcamping Waging am See in Upper Bavaria. The campground offers sites, apartments and sleeping barrels. There are plenty of activities: a swimming, sports and wellness park, an open-air cinema and an agility course for dogs, including a dog shower. In the surrounding area, excursion destinations such as Herrenchiemsee Castle, Salzburg and the Berchtesgadener Land await. Germany’s most beautiful campsites Camping close to Germany’s fairy-tale castle The Bannwaldsee campsite in the Allgäu region could hardly have chosen a better location: It’s located directly on the lake, just a few kilometers from the famous Neuschwanstein Castle, surrounded by an impressive alpine landscape. Hiking, biking, swimming, sightseeing ― the campsite offers everything for a fun-filled vacation. Germany’s most beautiful campsites Camping in a mountain panorama The five-star Camping Resort Zugspitze is located in the Alps, at the foot of the Zugspitze near Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in the very south of Germany. At 2,962 meters, the Zugspitze is the country’s highest mountain. Here you can go hiking, mountaineering, cycling and in the winter, skiing. If you come without a tent or caravan, you can also spend the night in Bavarian mountain huts. Author: Elisabeth Yorck von Wartenburg What’s in store with the energy crisis Back on the island of Usedom, Michael Raffelt is also concerned...

Live News Updates: German Recession Fears Drag Business Confidence To 28-Month Low – Financial Times https://bentoncountynewsnow.com/live-news-updates-german-recession-fears-drag-business-confidence-to-28-month-low-financial-times/ Choose your subscription Trial Try full digital access and see why over 1 million readers subscribe to the FT For 4 weeks receive unlimited Premium digital access to the FT’s trusted, award-winning business news Digital Be informed with the essential news and opinion MyFT – track the topics most important to you FT Weekend – full access to the weekend content Mobile & Tablet Apps – download to read on the go Gift Article – share up to 10 articles a month with family, friends and colleagues Print FT print edition delivered Monday – Saturday along with ePaper access Delivery to your home or office Monday to Saturday FT Weekend paper – a stimulating blend of news and lifestyle features ePaper access – the digital replica of the printed newspaper Team or Enterprise Premium FT.com access for multiple users, with integrations & admin tools Group Subscription Premium Digital access, plus: Convenient access for groups of users Integration with third party platforms and CRM systems Usage based pricing and volume discounts for multiple users Subscription management tools and usage reporting SAML-based single sign-on (SSO) Dedicated account and customer success teams Or, if you are already a subscriber Sign in Are you a student or a professor? Check if your university has an FT membership to read for free. Check my access

Healthy Living With TAU: How New Chapter Ensures You Receive Quality Supplements – The Suburban Newspaper https://bentoncountynewsnow.com/healthy-living-with-tau-how-new-chapter-ensures-you-receive-quality-supplements-the-suburban-newspaper/ The adage “you get what you pay for” rings in your ears as you reach, click, and decide on a purchase. This saying ties the quality for a good or service to its price. The more it costs, the more it should be worth, right? But worth is a relative term. Let’s add up how great value gets built into high-quality products like New Chapter ‘s family of vitamins and supplements. What ‘Quality’ Means in Vitamins & Supplements In general, when it comes to vitamins, herbals, and supplements, price and worth may not necessarily be tied to each other. As a customer, you may have read news stories about id the price for the product but didn’t get supplement recalls or adulterations. The consumer tion what is quality when it comes the promised quality and value. These stories draw us to queue to supplements, and how do we know if the products we ingest are not only safe, but efficacious? How New Chapter Chooses Our Ingredients When formulating New Chapter vitamins and supplements, we believe that excellent quality really starts at the source. You wouldn’t choose rotten apples to make an apple pie-you’d want the best apples you can find. We take that further for our products by using the finest botanical ingredients we can find on Earth. We know that choosing the right plants, grown with care, and harvested in their prime, makes for a better herbal product. We know how ingredients that have been tested and validated by science are more likely to deliver the benefits you expect and want. By Charlotte Traas, New Chapter Director of Education & Board Certified Master Herbalist TAU wants to be your partner in turning your health around. At TAU, we are attentive to your needs. TAU will accompany you in your approach and you will discover a variety of products and health food sources. Moreover, in TAU, you can still enjoy the sound advice of our naturopaths and our natural health counselors.

MLB Power Rankings: 100 Losses For Baseball’s Worst Teams? – USA TODAY https://bentoncountynewsnow.com/mlb-power-rankings-100-losses-for-baseballs-worst-teams-usa-today/ Last week we looked at Major League Baseball’s 100-win candidates, with the Houston Astros since joining the Los Angeles Dodgers in the triple digits. At the bottom of the league, as many as five teams could end the season with at least 100 losses. Entering Monday with 99 losses, the Washington Nationals should be the first club to get there, with the Pittsburgh Pirates (56-97) and Oakland Athletics (56-97) not far behind. MLB PLAYOFFS: Trade deadline disappointments can change the narrative NEWSLETTER: Get the latest sports news straight to your inbox There’s still a chance for the Cincinnati Reds (60-93) and Detroit Tigers (60-92) to finish with 100 losses, but the Reds would only have to finish 3-6 and the Tigers 3-7 to avoid hitting the “milestone.” Four teams finished with 100 losses last season – the Pirates (101), Arizona Diamondbacks (110), Baltimore Orioles (110) and Texas Rangers (102). Here’s how USA TODAY Sports’ eight- person panel voted this week: Rank (movement from last week) 1. Los Angeles Dodgers (–) Dustin May hits the IL with back tightness, but could be back in the playoffs. 2. Houston Astros (–) Astros reach 100 wins for the fourth time in five full seasons. 3. New York Mets (+1) Jacob deGrom has given up 11 earned runs in his last three starts – a 6.60 ERA. 4. New York Yankees (+1) After up-and-down summer, Yankees are hot at the right time, winning 14 of 18 from Sept. 3-24. 5. Atlanta Braves (-2) Spencer Strider will miss the rest of the regular season with an oblique injury 6. St. Louis Cardinals (–) If he wasn’t going to do it in St. Louis, Albert Pujols hitting No. 700 at Dodger Stadium was pretty special.  7. Toronto Blue Jays (–) Entering Monday with a 1.5-game advantage for home-field advantage in the Wild Card Series. 8. Cleveland Guardians (+4) Clinched AL Central with a seven-game win streak – as second-place White Sox lost six straight. 9. Tampa Bay Rays (-1) Tyler Glasnow will return to Rays’ rotation this week after August 2021 Tommy John surgery. 10. San Diego Padres (+1) Juan Soto is 11-for-26 (.423) with two homers and five RBI in his last seven games. 11. Philadelphia Phillies (-1) Kyle Schwarber’s 42 home runs are a career-high. 12. Seattle Mariners (-3) Acquired at the trade deadline, Luis Castillo gets a five-year, $108 million extension. 13. Milwaukee Brewers (–) Four wins in a row, entering Monday 1½ games back of the NL’s third wild-card spot. 14. Baltimore Orioles (+1) Mathematically alive! A playoff spot is unlikely, but final weeks should be fun. 15. Chicago White Sox (-1) Tony La Russa won’t manage again this season. What about next year? 16. Minnesota Twins (–) Batting .366 in September, Carlos Correa is (again) preparing to secure the bag should he opt out. 17. San Francisco Giants (+1) What the Giants do with Evan Longoria’s contract option is something to keep an eye on. 18. Boston Red Sox (-1) Shoutout Alex Verdugo, hitting .314 in 223 at-bats since the All-Star break. 19. Arizona Diamondbacks (–) Corbin Carroll named USA TODAY Sports Minor League Player of the Year.  20. Los Angeles Angels (–) Another listless Angels season finally nearing its conclusion. 21. Chicago Cubs (+2) This may actually be Willson Contreras’ final homestand at Wrigley Field. 22. Colorado Rockies (-1) Kris Bryant played 42 games in the first season of his $182 million contract. 23. Texas Rangers (-1) Josh Jung had six extra-base hits in his first 15 big-league games. 24. Miami Marlins (–) Manager Don Mattingly announces he won’t be back in 2023. 25. Cincinnati Reds (–) Mike Minor mulls retirement after shoulder injury, “tough” season.  26. Kansas City Royals (–) GM J.J. Picollo says a Bobby Witt Jr. extension has “loosely been discussed.”  27. Detroit Tigers (–) Weekend sweep in Chicago eliminated White Sox from the AL Central race. 28. Oakland Athletics (+1) Oakland scored five runs against Jacob deGrom on Saturday. 29. Pittsburgh Pirates (-1) Pittsburgh claimed 2018 Rookie of the Year runner-up Miguel Andujar off waivers from the Yankees. 30. Washington Nationals (–) With 99 defeats through Sunday, this will be the Nationals’ first 100-loss season since 2009.

South African Financial Services Giant Nedbank Secures A ‘Village’ In The Metaverse – Metaverse Bitcoin News – Bitcoin News https://bentoncountynewsnow.com/south-african-financial-services-giant-nedbank-secures-a-village-in-the-metaverse-metaverse-bitcoin-news-bitcoin-news/ The South African financial services giant, Nedbank, is reported to have acquired a village in the metaverse. The village will be used to showcase African creativity and to create experiences that “go beyond banking.” By securing a virtual property in Ubuntuland, Nedbank became one of the first financial institutions in Africa to embrace the metaverse. Showcasing Africa’s Creativity Nedbank, the South African financial services group, recently secured a “village” in the Ubuntuland metaverse which reportedly measures 12 by 12. By securing the village, which will be used to showcase African creativity, Nedbank is said to have become one of the first financial institutions on the African continent to embrace the metaverse. According to a Bloomberg report, the financial services group has partnered with Africarare, the creators of Ubuntuland. Remarking on Nedbank’s entry into the metaverse, Khensani Nobanda, the financial giant’s marketing and corporate affairs executive, said that her organization chose to secure space in the virtual world because it wants to create experiences for its clients that “go beyond banking.” Nobanda added: Our entry into the metaverse is not merely about having a presence in this space, it’s about meeting the needs of our clients on platforms that resonate with them. Nedbank’s Metaverse Village As per the Bloomberg report, Nedbank’s metaverse village will come with experiences that range from virtual gaming to a sports lounge. Meanwhile, the report revealed that through its acquisition of the virtual space, Nedbank has followed in the footsteps of the South African mobile network operator MTN. As previously reported by Bitcoin.com News in March, MTN became one of the first South African companies to enter the metaverse after it purchased 144 plots in Ubuntuland. At the time, the mobile network operator said the purchase of the virtual land would help it “amplify” consumers’ digital experiences. Besides MTN, World Data Lab and M&C Saatchi Abel are also identified as two other companies to embrace the metaverse ahead of Nedbank. Register your email here to get a weekly update on African news sent to your inbox: What are your thoughts on this story? Let us know what you think in the comments section below. Terence Zimwara Terence Zimwara is a Zimbabwe award-winning journalist, author and writer. He has written extensively about the economic troubles of some African countries as well as how digital currencies can provide Africans with an escape route. Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article.

Save Big On Aqara Smart Home Gear – MUO – MakeUseOf https://bentoncountynewsnow.com/save-big-on-aqara-smart-home-gear-muo-makeuseof/ If you’ve been trying to get some new smart home gadgets, then Aqara’s promotions came right on time. Turning your house into a smart home doesn’t have to be done in one go, but it can certainly be done step by step, bringing one device after the other to make your life easier. Aqara is a company that features all sorts of gadgets that will improve your home security, automate mundane tasks, and so on. Thankfully, all these cool products are even cheaper now, making it easier to purchase more of them in one go. Automate Your Home With Aqara Your home can be so much easier to navigate if you have the right tools at your disposal. Smart home devices can improve your lifestyle, completely changing how you do things at times. Let’s see what promotions Aqara is running right now. Please keep in mind that these deals are only available on September 26th, 2022, so you have to make your choice as soon as possible. Camera Hub G3: Save $22 and get it for $87.99 (down from $109.99) Camera Hub G2H Pro: Save $14 and get it for $55.99 (down from $69.99) Temperature & Humidity Sensor: Get it for $15.99 (down from $19.99) Curtain Driver E1 (Rod Version): Get it for $80 (down from $99.99) Other sensors sold by Aqara are also 20% OFF right now! Be mindful that the Aqara deal is available for a limited time, so you’ll want to place your order sooner rather than later to get the discount. Smarter Home, Safer Home When it comes to Aqara, some of its best products are going to make your home safer. For instance, the Aqara Camera Hub G3 is a complete security system. This essential smart surveillance tech features an AI-powered camera that can recognize and remember you, as well as your family members. If anyone unknown enters your home, it will alert you by mobile notification while also sounding the alarm. That siren is no joke! The best part is that this is also super easy to handle because you’ll just need to import pictures of you and your family to the AI and then it automatically takes care of the rest. Thanks to the powerful NPU, facial recognition is completed on device, and you can be reassured that the facial images are not sent to any cloud. The G3 can also detect motion and abnormal sounds in the room. This can come in handy if someone breaks down a window, for instance. The 360-degree viewing angle also means that this camera will see everything in the room, with no space to hide. The Camera Hub G3 works with Apple HomeKit, Alexa, Google Assistant, IFTTT, and more. Automate and Enjoy You can get other sensors for your home as well. For instance, there are sensors that can detect motion, vibrations, water leaks, open doors and windows, and even air quality. There’s also the Aqara Temperature and Humidity sensor that will immediately transmit information about temperature, humidity, and atmospheric pressure to your phone. It requires absolutely no wires and the battery can last for about two years. If you throw in a smart plug and humidifier, you will be able to adjust the indoor humidity levels too. Of course, this can be super important for those with various respiratory issues, as well as babies. Or you can pick up a few Motion Sensors and Smart Wall Switches so that your lights will turn on automatically when you enter a room, and turn them off after you leave. No more leaving the lights on overnight. Aqara’s newly released Curtain Driver E1 is also a great choice. The retrofit solution mounts to your existing curtain rod and opens/closes your curtains without you lifting a finger. With its built-in light sensor, you can set the curtains to be closed when it’s too bright outside, and open them when it darkens. Paired it with a Motion Sensor, and it will close the curtains when you’re in the bedroom to protect your privacy. Automate Your Home For Less If you’ve been waiting to smarten up your home, now’s the perfect time to do this because some of the Aqara products are at their best-ever prices, so it would be a shame to miss out on the deal.

Brazilian Police Raid Six Crypto Exchanges In International Money Laundering Ring Bust – Cryptonews https://bentoncountynewsnow.com/brazilian-police-raid-six-crypto-exchanges-in-international-money-laundering-ring-bust-cryptonews/ Source: William F. Santos/Unsplash Police and tax officers in Brazil have launched a major operation that has seen them raid six domestic crypto exchanges. They believe the platforms may be implicated in a massive international crime and money laundering ring. In a joint announcement, the Special Department of Federal Revenue of Brazil (known locally as the Receita Federal, or the federal revenue service agency) and the Federal Police Force, stated that the raids took place as part of what they are calling “Operation Colossus.” Officers explained that they believe some $380 million worth of dirty money has been laundered through domestic crypto trading platforms – and that a single “criminal organization” is behind this. They wrote: “The operation will combat a criminal organization dedicated to money laundering that has used an intricate system of remittances. [The organization] has sent illicit resources abroad via the purchase and sale of cryptoassets.” The agencies stated that the organization had made use of a network of “shell companies” and “passed funds through transit accounts” – before purchasing “cryptoassets.” They claimed that the money comprised “embezzled funds, drug trafficking profits, laundered money,” and the revenues of various “crimes against the national financial system.” A total of 158 officers were dispatches to addresses in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Bahia, and Santa Catarina. Crypto Exchanges Raided The media outlet Metropoles reported that the Criminal Court of São Paulo had issued 101 court orders pertaining to the case, as well as “two arrest warrants,” and 37 search-and-seize warrants. Twenty two of these were issued to individuals and 15 to companies. Six of these search warrants were issued to crypto exchanges, although the identity of the trading platforms has not been revealed. A further four financial institutions that have Central Bank-issued licences for operating in the foreign exchange market have also been searched, as well as three accountancy firms. The media outlet added that the ring’s operators were allegedly “responsible for purchasing large amounts of cryptoassets abroad, in countries such as the United States, Singapore, and Hong Kong” and then selling these tokens on the Brazilian black market. The agencies added that they believed the crime ring may have been active for up to four years prior to the launch of Operation Colossus. The development comes as talk about crypto regulation begins to intensify in Brazil – with regulators now vying for more control over the sector.

Dow Futures Fall 200 Points As The British Pound Hits Record Low Against The Dollar – CNBC https://bentoncountynewsnow.com/dow-futures-fall-200-points-as-the-british-pound-hits-record-low-against-the-dollar-cnbc/ Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during morning trading on September 06, 2022 in New York City. Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images U.S. equity futures fell on Monday as surging interest rates and foreign currency turmoil threatened to push the S&P 500 to a new closing low for the year. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 241 points, or 0.8%. S&P 500 futures shed 0.8%. Nasdaq 100 futures lost 0.6%. The British pound dropped to a record low on Monday against the U.S. dollar. Sterling at one point fell 4% to an all-time low of $1.0382. The Federal Reserve’s aggressive hiking campaign, coupled with U.K.’s tax cuts announced last week has caused the U.S. dollar to surge. The euro hit the lowest vs. the dollar since 2002. A surging greenback can hurt the profits of U.S. multinationals and also wreak havoc on global trade, with so much of it transacted in dollars. “Such U.S. dollar strength has historically led to some kind of financial/economic crisis,” wrote Morgan Stanley’s Michael Wilson, chief U.S. equity strategist, in a note. “If there was ever a time to be on the lookout for something to break, this would be it.” On Friday, stocks ended a brutal week with the blue-chip Dow finding a new intraday low for the year and closing lower by 486 points. The broad-market S&P 500 temporarily broke below its June closing low and ended down 1.7%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost 1.8%. Traders will be closely watching the S&P 500 on Monday for any break below its bear market low. The S&P’s low close for the year in June was 3,666.77. It closed Friday at 3,693.23 after trading briefly below that close. The benchmark’s intraday low for the year is 3,636.87. Any trade below those levels could drive more selling in the market. Another super-sized rate hike by the Federal Reserve last week was the catalyst for the latest leg downward in markets. The central bank indicated it could raise rates as high as 4.6% before pulling back. The forecast also shows the Fed plans be aggressive this year, hiking rates to 4.4% before 2022 ends. Bond yields soared after the Fed enacted another rate hike of 75 basis points. The 2-year and 10-year Treasury rates hit highs not seen in over a decade. On Friday, Goldman Sachs slashed its year-end target for the S&P 500 to 3,600 from 4,300. Rates were surging again on Monday wit the 2-year Treasury topping 4.29%. European markets choppy; sterling slumps against the dollar European stocks were choppy on Monday as investors continued to weigh the deteriorating economic outlook in the region. The pan-European Stoxx 600 was down 0.2% by mid-morning in London, having recouped opening losses of roughly 0.6% before pulling back again. Utilities dropped 1.7% while tech stocks added 1.7%. The British pound plunged to a record low on Monday, following last week’s announcement by the new U.K. government that it would implement tax cuts and investment incentives to boost growth. – Elliot Smith British pound drops to record low The sterling fell to a record low in Asia’s morning, briefly shedding more than 4% to $1.0382. It later recovered slightly to $1.0513. The dollar index — which trades against a basket of six currencies including the euro, yen and sterling — gained about 1%. — Abigail Ng U.S. Treasury yields jump as Asian markets tumble, 2-year Treasury hits 4.3% CNBC Pro: Asset manager says one FAANG stock looks ‘very attractive’ in the medium term Stocks prepare to test their lows in the final week of trading for September Heading into the final week of trading for September, the Dow and S&P 500 are each down about 6% for the month, while the Nasdaq has lost 8%. Both the Dow and S&P are now sitting 1.2% and 1.6%, respectively, above their lows from mid-June. The Nasdaq is 2.9% above its low. — Tanaya Macheel Fear often leads to short-term bottoms, says Truist’s Lerner Investors are mentally preparing to see the S&P 500 test its low of the year, and that could mean a shorter-term bottom, according to Truist’s chief market strategist Keith Lerner. “The increased probability of breaking the June S&P 500 price low may be what it takes to invoke even deeper fear,” Lerner said in a note. “Fear often leads to short-term bottoms. Importantly, as we saw in June, even if the market overshoots, snapbacks can be sharp and hard to time.” He added that with extreme selling having already taken place and stocks being oversold, it’s not the time to press a negative view. “In August, we had been advocating to reduce equities in the 4200-4300 range for the S&P 500 and a continued focus on increasing quality in portfolios,” he said. “In our view, the challenging macro environment is here to stay. This is not the time to be on offense. However, it doesn’t make sense to pile on to the negativity in the short term and become even more defensive after a large selloff has already occurred.” — Tanaya Macheel Futures open lower in pre-market trading Stock futures opened little changed on Sunday evening after the major averages suffered steep losses in the previous week, as Federal Reserve policy, surging interest rates and foreign currency turmoil spooked investors. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down by just 40 points, while S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.1%. Futures tied to all three of the major averages quickly fell much lower soon after premarket trading began. — Tanaya Macheel

Xinhua News Agency Uses VR Technology To Conduct Interactive News Reporting – GlobeNewswire https://bentoncountynewsnow.com/xinhua-news-agency-uses-vr-technology-to-conduct-interactive-news-reporting-globenewswire/ September 26, 2022 06:20 ET | Source: Xinhua News Agency Beijing, Sept. 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Recently,Xinhua News Agency innovates the media reporting form, uses VR technology to conduct interactive news reporting, and leads readers to experience China’s 360 ° panoramic news scene. Nowadays, new breakthroughs have been made in technology, and even news information has a new way of communication! Now VR technology can also be used in news reporting to provide everyone with an immersive news experience. Through the virtual reality technology, the process of reading news becomes interesting, and the news is told in a new way, which makes people feel like they are on the news scene. VR news transforms news content and details into stories, creates a scene of news events, and then restores them in a 360 degree panorama, allowing users to explore and restore news events. Click the link to experience VR news and explore together: https://xhnews-static.xinhuaxmt.com/h5hd/qiyouji/index.html There are 8 stops for VR News, including: 1. Cliff Village, Sichuan 2. Yunnan elephants wander north 3. The completion of Huoshen Mountain Hospital in 10 days 4. China Europe Express 5. Making Xinjiang cotton 6. The first gold medal of China’s snowboarding Winter Olympics 7. Rising City of the Future Xiong’an New Area 8. China’s space industry VR news experience through Xinhua News Agency，every time reader finish the news experience, will get tokens. After collecting tokens from 8 stations, reader can get an electronic certificate. In addition, there is a question answering session to test whether reader really understand the news event. There are also some interactive experiences in the process, which let people immerse themselves. Experience tips ： 1. Click experience according to the instructions to lead you to news events. 2. Click “Read More” in the upper right corner to read the detailed content. 3. In the upper right corner, reader can select to open or close music during experience. Company Name: Xinhua News Agency Contact Person: WangJing Yun Email:xhsxmtz52911@sina.com Website: http://xinhuanet.com/

Rising Interest Rates And Property Costs Slow Lending Momentum – Arkansas Business Online https://bentoncountynewsnow.com/rising-interest-rates-and-property-costs-slow-lending-momentum-arkansas-business-online/ The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage topped 6% nationally earlier this month for the first time in 14 years. Nationally, the rising rates — which were under 3% as recently as a year ago — have caused a pullback in home buying. That has happened in Arkansas, as well, but state banking officials said they don’t fear a collapse of the housing market like in 2008, the last time mortgage rates were as high. “That 6% is a new number for a lot of homebuyers,” said Scott Hancock, the northwest Arkansas division president of Centennial Bank of Conway. “It’s a change in 2022 from 3% in the same calendar year. The sticker shock of the new rate is making people think differently as much as the 6%.” The rise in rates has slowed the momentum of the housing market, which has cooled in recent months.  A complication is that the higher interest rates, while still reasonably low historically, are coupled with a significant increase in the principal price of a home. “It’s a double whammy,” said Matt Kendall, the mortgage division CEO of Arvest Bank of Fayetteville. Kendall said he remembers buying his first home in Fayetteville in 1993 and getting an employee rate of 8%, which he said was a discount but also several percentage points higher than today’s rates. “When rates were higher [before], homes were more affordable,” said Michael Powell, executive vice president of mortgage lending for Simmons Bank of Pine Bluff. “That is impacting your first-time homebuyer for sure. Either they step out of the market or they can’t find a property to meet their needs.” In northwest Arkansas, homes are beginning to stay on the market longer and have fewer bids. Hancock said there isn’t a frenzy of bids on houses because many buyers are becoming more deliberate because of higher costs. “It’s not such a strong seller’s market,” Hancock said. “My overall take is some people took a little bit of a pause; they tapped the brakes. The demand for housing is there. Costs are up and rates are up, and it will get people to slow down but our demand and our overall economy is strong. Six percent, historically, is not high.” High home prices often drive buyers to rentals until prices change. Mervin Jebaraj But there is a rental crunch in northwest Arkansas, where vacancy is “functionally zero,” said Mervin Jebaraj, the director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Arkansas’ Sam M. Walton College of Business.  “At some point, it has to give,” he said. “We are seeing nationally home sales slow dramatically. The flip side of all that is it increases rental demand. Rents are going up, and that is true here, too. People are on wait lists to get apartments.” The Skyline Report, issued by Arvest and researched by Jebaraj’s CBER team, released its residential report earlier this month. It said the average sales prices of a home in Benton and Washington counties, the two most populous of the region, rose 27% since last year, while the number of sales dropped 20%. The average Benton County home cost more than $403,000 in the first half of 2022, compared with $311,333 in the same period of 2021. In Washington County, the price was nearly $363,000, up from $297,343. “It is not a seller’s market like it was before,” Kendall said. “Was the market really healthy for the buyers? It was driving up prices with artificially low rates. It was crowding out a lot of people. Now folks don’t have to make a rash decision and can be patient and make good, educated decisions.  “Borrower education is a must.” Call to ARMs Bankers said more potential buyers are asking about adjustable-rate mortgages, the so-called ARM loans that were heavily criticized for their role in the housing crash of 2008.  This time around, banks cite stricter oversight and better underwriting research to prevent the carelessness that caused borrowers’ pain when higher fixed rates kicked in.  The Mortgage Bankers Association said that ARMs made up 10% of loans, the highest percentage since 2008.  With an ARM, a borrower gets a lower up-front interest rate for a short period — such as five years with a 5/1 ARM — but then has the fixed rate attached after that period ends. It can help buyers early since ARM rates are lower than fixed rates at the beginning of the loan. It can hurt if unprepared or poorly qualified borrowers can’t manage the fixed-rate after the adjustment. “ARMs are starting to dominate the market,” Kendall said. “Those guys got a bad name back in the day. Today, we underwrite to extremely stringent guidelines, our loan officers are very well trained to put the home buyer into the right product.”  Powell said potential home buyers are willing to take the risk of increased costs later to get an affordable loan for the first five or seven years.  He used the old banker’s saying that you marry the house, but you date the interest rate. “That’s definitely been a go-to product,” Powell said. “People weren’t taking ARMs when rates were 2.75% on a 30-year fixed. People are taking the risks associated with it to get that lower rate.” A Drop in Refinancing The higher interest rates have changed the mortgage market in another way. It is now a market of buyers, not refinancers, as would be expected as rates go up. Banks did a brisk business when rates fell as homeowners resigned to get locked into a lower rate.  “The whole market has changed; it has totally flipped,” Kendall said. “It is a purchase money market now. Refis have really dwindled.” Organizations like the Walton Family Foundation and the Northwest Arkansas Council have worked to address the affordable housing situation in the past few years.  The average price of a home in Washington and Benton counties is out of reach for most residents and the more moderately priced homes in the region are few and hotly sought after. “We didn’t build enough housing in the past decade so we have to build a lot just to catch up to what we missed out on,” Jebaraj said. “That plays a part in stabilizing prices.”

‘Bleisure’ Travelers Give Some Fort Lauderdale Hotels A Lift By Lingering For Longer Stays – South Florida Sun Sentinel https://bentoncountynewsnow.com/bleisure-travelers-give-some-fort-lauderdale-hotels-a-lift-by-lingering-for-longer-stays-south-florida-sun-sentinel/ For years, Fort Lauderdale has been known as a hot spot for college spring breakers, family vacationers, conventioneers and cruise line passengers. But now, so-called “bleisure” visitors — business travelers who extend their trips for a few extra days so they can take in local attractions — are making their presence felt as the COVID-19 pandemic fades and companies again underwrite the cost of sending employees out of town on business, downtown hoteliers say. Nationally, the trend has helped the industry recover from the devastating financial blows delivered by the coronavirus, according to a top industry official. The visitors to Fort Lauderdale are arriving from large U.S. cities, Europe and South America. One hotel has become a popular spot for technology companies that are using it for brainstorming sessions among employees who haven’t seen each other since the COVID breakout. “We have very specific companies and groups that come in, and you definitely ascertain they are in the bleisure market,” said Jason Alexander, sales director for a new Courtyard Marriott in Flagler Village on Federal Highway. Technology and medical companies from as far away as San Francisco and Ireland are frequenting the hotel, which has aligned its amenities to accommodate the guests’ work and play requirements, he said. [ RELATED: Many fancy hotels are just opening in South Florida. They want to wow you with food, spas and lots more. ] At Las Olas Boulevard’s venerable Riverside Hotel, the city’s oldest, there’s an easy way to spot the bleisure traveler, said general manager Heiko Dobrikow. “You see people in the lobby with their laptops and they’re working,” he said. “But their attire does not reflect the attire of a business person.” “Bleisure travel is here to stay because technology has advanced in such a way that we can work anywhere in the world,” he said. “Most people can work from anywhere and still get a job done.” He said bookings are strong for the forthcoming Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, which is scheduled for late October and traditionally an event that generates both business and leisure visits. At the Hyatt Centric Las Olas to the west, bleisure traffic started in early 2021, took a brief pause for COVID variants late in the year, and came on strong again this past spring, said Katherine Beja-Mclennan, director of sales and marketing. “We had a lot of demand in March, April and June,” she said, and it continued through the summer. ”Our occupancies have been very high compared to 2019 levels.” The 100 Las Olas high rise, which is home to the Hyatt Centric Las Olas Fort Lauderdale, is shown downtown. The hotel has seen an uptick in “bleisure” travelers who extend their stays after completing the business phase of their trips. (Diamond Public Relations / Courtesy) She said the guests come mainly from the U.S., as well as from Canada, the United Kingdom and Brazil. “It’s funny because generally you wouldn’t think Brazil is a market for Fort Lauderdale specifically, but definitely we do get our fair share,” Beja-Mclennan said. The hotel also welcomes workers to use its facilities through a day pass. Its “Office for the Day” program allows for the private use of a guest room from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and includes premium Wi-Fi, dining discounts and access to the hotel gym, pool and spa. Downtown shared work spaces, restaurants and the Brightline rail service are benefiting. Some bleisure travelers require pure office spaces that hotels don’t offer, said Tim Hasse, founder of General Provision in Fort Lauderdale. “It’s been something that’s steadily rising,” he said. “This is not something we had a lot of emphasis on pre-pandemic.” As a result, the company is modifying its membership-based business model, allowing single-day passes for those who need to drop in and use its spaces for short periods of time. “They can use it whether it’s one day or one month,” Hasse said. “That’s the range of use.” He’s adding another 25 private offices and additional work space “which will better accommodate these types of travelers who are dropping in.” [ RELATED: How pandemic ‘revenge travel’ is bringing a big boost to South Florida tourism ] Restaurants are seeing out-of-town businesspeople with families in tow, said Emi Guerra, a founder Breakwater Hospitality Group of Miami, owner of The Wharf Fort Lauderdale and Rivertail downtown. “You can tell by the way they’re dressed,” he said, noting the fathers are in slacks while spouses and children are clad in resort wear. “We’ve definitely seen an uptick in general. Guests are coming in from out of town. And it’s been great.” At Brightline, the inter-city railroad that serves the downtowns of Fort Lauderdale, Miami and West Palm Beach, the company “has experienced a significant increase in business travel to leisure” since its resumption of service late last year after a lengthy COVID-driven layoff, a spokeswoman said. Its local transportation links to and from its stations help passengers reach tourist spots in Fort Lauderdale, in Miami Beach, Miami’s Brickell Avenue district, and The Square in West Palm Beach. Peter Ricci, professor and director of the hospitality and tourism management program at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, said the bleisure travel concept has been around for more than a decade. “COVID heightened the use of travel for bleisure in that people are often working remotely anyway, so they simply travel with friends, family, significant others, or on their own and mix in work/life quality time with their trips,” he said by email. “If they’re attending a business meeting, they’ll come a day or two ahead or stay a day or two longer. “Hotels and restaurants and destinations can benefit greatly from the ‘bleisure’ phenomenon by extending the length of stay for their typical traveler,” he added. “If a destination had a typical stay of 2.3 days, I would hope that this bleisure phenomenon would extend that to 3 days as just one example. Added length of stay means more revenues in destination, more dollars for our local workers, and more tax dollars for our communities.” Ricci asserted the hotel industry can better profit from the sector by “quite openly and transparently promoting bleisure or ‘work remotely from the beach’ type of advertising and marketing.” “There are have been some campaigns,” he said, but not enough make any hotels stand out as a leader in the field. The American Hotel and Lodging Association in Washington, D.C., an industry trade group, credits bleisure travelers with helping the hotels’ recovery. “The increased prevalence of remote work during the pandemic has fueled the emergence of new types of hotel guests, including bleisure travelers and digital nomads,” Chip Rogers, the association president and CEO, said in an emailed statement. “Bleisure travelers blend business and leisure trips while digital nomads travel while they work, staying in different destinations for as long as they want.” A survey commissioned by the association in May found that 82% of business travelers would be interested in extending their trips by a day or two for leisure purposes. “So this is one trend that started during the pandemic that we hope sticks around,” Rogers said. Fort Lauderdale has no campaign per se to attract the bleisure traveler. But Broward County’s Visit Lauderdale tourism promotional agency has designed its marketing to move past its traditional beach-centric appeals “to highlighting the diversity of the community and the downtown experience,” said Jenni Morejon, CEO of the Downtown Development Authority. “It’s been kind of a fun trend or story to hit on,” she said. “As businesses engaged their employees for conferences and meetings, we feel as though hotels have been so successful with leisure that they want to make this a destination for business travel as well.” “Bleisure” travelers, visitors who combine business with tourism, are helping to give some downtown Fort Lauderdale hotels a lift as many extend their stays to see local attractions. (Fort Lauderdale DDA and Sublime Imagery/Courtesy) Some hotels are actively cultivating certain industry groups to visit. Morning Update Daily Start your day with the top stories in South Florida. The technology workers didn’t find the Courtyard Marriott in Flagler Village by chance, Alexander said. The hotel, which opened its doors last year, reached out to specialty travel planners in California and Europe through online digital marketing efforts. Some of the visitors are employed by companies with headquarters in Broward County. Others are from companies based in the San Francisco area “but have half their teams here.” [ RELATED: International travel still lags amid COVID, inflation and gun worries ] He said the worker-guests are eager to explore the community, hopping on water taxis to other parts of town and even participating in beach cleanups. “It’s interesting to me to see a group of co-workers vacationing together,” he said. “It benefits us because they stay longer. I think that our destination is important. In olden times it may not have been as important.” Bleisure travelers also have been spotted at beach hotels that normally count on pure leisure travelers for the majority of their business. “We have seen our business travelers tacking on extra days for some fun in the sun and to enjoy all of the amenities we have to offer,” said Trish Penderson, director of sales and marketing at the AC Hotel Fort Lauderdale Beach . “The bleisure traveler is a real trend these days, and we see it not only with the business traveler but also with the leisure traveler who needs to check ...

LIVE: Ghulam Nabi Azad Names His Party ‘Democratic Azad Party’, Reports ANI – Hindustan Times https://bentoncountynewsnow.com/live-ghulam-nabi-azad-names-his-party-democratic-azad-party-reports-ani-hindustan-times/ Live Updated on Sep 26, 2022 12:45 PM IST Breaking news LIVE updates September 26, 2022: Get latest news, breaking news, latest updates, live news, top headlines, breaking business news and top news of the hour. Get latest news, breaking news, latest updates, live news, top headlines, breaking business news and top news of the hour. Welcome to hindustantimes.com updates platform where you can find breaking news from India and across the world. Find fast updates about the latest news as it breaks. Follow all the updates here: Sep 26, 2022 12:45 PM IST ‘Democratic Azad Party’: Ghulam Nabi Azad’s new stint after Congress exit Ghulam Nabi Azad announces the name of his party as ‘Democratic Azad Party’ on Monday, a month after his exit from Congress. Read more. Sep 26, 2022 12:20 PM IST ‘Want it to be democratic, peaceful & independent’: Ghulam Nabi Azad on naming party “Around 1,500 names for my new party were sent to us, in Urdu, Sanskrit. The mix of Hindi & Urdu is ‘Hindustani’. We want the name to be democratic, peaceful & independent,” says Ghulam Nabi Azad, in Jammu. Sep 26, 2022 11:43 AM IST Pakistan military chopper crashes killing 6 soldiers: Report A military helicopter crashed killing 6 soldiers onboard in Pakistan on Monday. The plane was carrying two major-rank Read more. Sep 26, 2022 11:13 AM IST ED provisionally attaches immovable assets worth ₹16 Crore in case related to Mandeep Industries Enforcement Directorate has provisionally attached immovable assets worth ₹16 Crore under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 in connection with a case against Mandeep Industries, Rajkot, news agency ANI reported. Sep 26, 2022 10:48 AM IST Apple to manufacture latest iPhone 14 in India, says it is ‘excited to…’ Technology giant Apple will be manufacturing iPhone 14 in India, the company said. “Excited to be manufacturing iPhone 14 in India”, the Cupertino-headquartered company said.Apple’s chief executive officer Tim Cook had unveiled the latest iPhone 14 series in India during the company’s annual ‘Far Out’ event on September 7. The latest iPhone 14 series includes iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max. Read more Sep 26, 2022 10:31 AM IST SDPI denied permission to hold dharna at Jantar Mantar, says Delhi Police: Report Permission denied to SDPI to hold a dharna at Jantar Mantar today, in order to maintain communal harmony and security/law & order arrangements in the jurisdiction of New Delhi District: Delhi Police Sep 26, 2022 10:26 AM IST Actor Jacqueline Fernandez gets bail in ₹200 crore extortion case Actor Jacqueline Fernandez gets bail in ₹200 crore extortion case…read more. Sep 26, 2022 09:57 AM IST Amit Shah inaugurates Bhadaj Bridge in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad Union home minister Amit Shah inaugurates Bhadaj Bridge in Ahmedabad. Gujarat chief minister Bhupendra Patel also present. Sep 26, 2022 09:28 AM IST Assam CM reacts to complaint over Kaziranga National Park night drive After a complaint was filed against Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Sadhguru J Vasudev & others over taking a jeep safari at Kaziranga National Park at night, Assam CM said, “there’s no law that people can’t go at night. People can enter the park even at 2 am if wildlife wardens allow.” Sep 26, 2022 08:57 AM IST India reports slight dip in Covid cases with 4,129 fresh infections; active caseload at 43,415 India reported slight dip in Covid-19 cases with 4,129 fresh infections on Monday. The active caseload stands at 43,415 cases. Sep 26, 2022 08:46 AM IST Drugs worth ₹10 lakh seized in Assam by BSF & Assam Rifles in a joint op In a joint operation, Assam Rifles & BSF recovered 2000 Yaba tablets worth ₹10 lakhs in the general area of Lafasail village in Assam’s Karimganj district along the Indo-Bangladesh border, yesterday. Seized contraband drugs handed over to Karimganj PS for further probe, Assam Rifles said. Sep 26, 2022 08:11 AM IST Delhi Police Special Cell averts murder conspiracy to kill rival gang members Delhi Police Special Cell averted a murder conspiracy to kill rival gang members and apprehended four members of Rajesh Bawana Gang from roadside near bus terminal Azadpur, Delhi on Sunday, police said. Sep 26, 2022 07:40 AM IST Centre set to revamp Aarogya Setu, CoWIN The central government is repurposing Aarogya Setu and CoWIN, the two digital health platforms used effectively to monitor and manage the Covid-19 pandemic, to manage other public health…read more. Sep 26, 2022 07:01 AM IST Apple now manufacturing iPhone 14 in India Apple’s newest phone iPhone 14 will be made in India as the global tech titan bets big on the manufacturing prowess of the world’s second-biggest smartphone market after China. Sep 26, 2022 06:33 AM IST World Bank pledges USD 2 billion in aid to flood-hit Pakistan The World bank has said that it will provide USD 2 billion in aid to Pakistan for reconstruction and rehabilitation that includes food, shelter and other urgent needs of the victims of the recent devastating floods. Sep 26, 2022 06:06 AM IST Himachal Pradesh: 7 killed, several injured after tourist vehicle rolls down a cliff Seven people were killed and ten others were injured after a tourist vehicle rolled down from a cliff at 8:30 pm on Sunday on NH-305 in Ghiyagi area of Banjar Valley in Kullu, news agency ANI reported quoting Gurdev Singh SP Kullu. Sep 26, 2022 05:35 AM IST Yamuna water level in Delhi nears warning mark, likely to breach it today The water level in the Yamuna here neared the warning mark of 204.5 metres on Sunday following heavy rain in the upper catchment areas and is expected to breach it  today, officials said. Subscribe to our best newsletters Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara SUV launched at ₹10.45 L, takes on Creta and Seltos Published on Sep 26, 2022 12:33 PM IST Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara already has at least 55,000 bookings and is promising to be a hot-seller in the upcoming festive season. Grand Vitara is the biggest launch from Maruti Suzuki in quite some time, and that is not just in terms of dimensions of the vehicle but in its sheer significance as well. Uttarakhand teen murder: Resort demolished, but official says ‘evidence safe’ Published on Sep 26, 2022 12:26 PM IST The probe is in connection with the alleged murder of a 19-year-old receptionist working at a property owned by Haridwar BJP leader Vinod Arya’s son Pulkit. Rajasthan crisis: Opposition makes veiled attack at ongoing political drama Published on Sep 26, 2022 12:03 PM IST Deputy leader of opposition in the Rajasthan assembly Rajendra Rathore on Monday termed the crisis amid high-tension political drama in the state unfortunate Assam CM, Sadhguru draw flak for jeep safari inside Kaziranga after sunset Published on Sep 26, 2022 11:02 AM IST Usually, jeep safaris are allowed inside the park in the early morning hours and in the afternoon when the park is open for tourists After 1 lakh bookings in 30 minutes, deliveries of Scorpio-N start Updated on Sep 26, 2022 11:45 AM IST Mahindra Scorpio-N is looking at replicating the success of Thar and XUV700. With over one lakh bookings in 30 minutes on July 30, it seems to have opened its innings on a high. Rajasthan political crisis: All you need to know about the likely scenarios Updated on Sep 26, 2022 11:47 AM IST Central observers, Mallikarjun Kharge and Ajay Maken, along with Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot are expected to reach Delhi to discuss the issue with the party leadership Rainfall unlikely over northwest India: IMD Published on Sep 26, 2022 10:18 AM IST A trough is running from the cyclonic circulation over north Punjab and neighbourhood areas to southeast Bihar across Uttar Pradesh in lower tropospheric levels Gehlot’s supporters want announcement of his successor postponed till Oct 19 Published on Sep 26, 2022 10:05 AM IST Congress’s central observers Ajay Maken said there seems to be a conflict of interest as a resolution authorises the party chief to take the final decision and that Gehlot could be the Congress president by then BySunetra Choudhury & Sachin Saini Story Saved New Delhi 0C Monday, September 26, 2022

I Am Profoundly Disappointed At The Celebration Of Alcohol By UG’s Administration – Stabroek News https://bentoncountynewsnow.com/i-am-profoundly-disappointed-at-the-celebration-of-alcohol-by-ugs-administration-stabroek-news/ Dear Editor, I am aware that the subject of this letter has been addressed by others. Yet, from my position of a member of the 40th. Anniversary of the University of Guyana twenty years ago and currently a long-standing faculty member of its Department of Law, I have strong convictions on the association between the University of Guyana and Demerara Distillers Ltd on the occasion of the University’s 60th anniversary. However the University and DDL may want to portray this unaged, 60th edition product, it is nothing more than the promotion of a substance which takes a heavy toll on Guyanese, the poorer class, youth, Amerindians, households and increasingly, women.  Two years ago, the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) published a Regional Status Report on Alcohol in the Americas 2020. I am not sure which is worse – that the UG Administration is aware of the distressing findings of the Report but sells its intellectual soul and reputation for an uncertain sum of money, or that it does not know of the Report. Of the thirty-five (35) countries covered by the Report, Guyana ranks among the bad to very bad in most of the metrics surveyed – alcohol use by youth (aged 15 – 19); alcohol consumption among adults; alcohol drinks per day per drinker; alcohol attributable deaths; fetal alcohol spectrum disorder and fetal alcohol syndrome. Working class families are stuck in poverty because the “rum bill” is the first claim on the household’s income, leaving little for education, healthy living and savings. Domestic abuse, miserable and unhappy households, lost working days, lives shortened, debilitating illnesses and inter-personal violence are some of the other common realities attributable to alcohol. Alcohol is itself a public health hazard, putting a strain on medical services with the society having to bear the consequence and cost of medical, pharmacological, psychosocial and rehabilitation and aftercare services. In Canada, the health cost associated with alcohol is higher than that of tobacco, itself a destructive product. That is probably true of Guyana as well. Guyana, including the University of Guyana, needs to undertake research on alcohol and its consequences. DDL does not need to make a contingent contribution to UG’s 60th. Anniversary. In 2021, DDL reported a staggering $5.6 billion in pre-tax profits of which a meagre 20% is paid out as dividends. It can easily fund such an exercise, knowing that the tax laws would allow the cost as tax-deductible, meaning that the activity is in any case partly funded by the State.  On the other hand, a premier institution of higher learning ought to adopt a policy on the type of companies, businesses and products with which it will engage. Alcohol ought to disqualify itself, along with companies whose activities harm the environment, which disregard their corporate social responsibility, which practise aggressive accounting and disclosure policies, or which engage in abusive labour practices.  The Government too must play its part. Management of the health sector requires relevant and timely statistics, better laws on the sale of alcohol as well as on driving under the influence, clear rules on advertising of alcoholic products and increased spending on research, all designed to mitigate some of the more serious consequences of alcohol use across demographics. It must ask itself about the logic of applying a lower corporation tax rate on the producers of alcohol than on those companies that import and sell medical products to treat the consequences of alcohol! Finally, it must ask itself why, and do something about the resistance of public companies to a binding corporate governance code for Guyana. I express my profound disappointment at this decision by the UG Administration, essentially celebrating alcohol. Hopefully, alongside the product at its Campus Store – virtual or otherwise – there will be some warning about the harmful effects of alcohol on users and society.    Sincerely, Christopher Ram

Jose A. Carmona Jr. | News, Sports, Jobs – Evening Observer https://bentoncountynewsnow.com/jose-a-carmona-jr-news-sports-jobs-evening-observer/ Jose A. Carmona Jr. Jose A. Carmona Jr., 39, entered into rest on Friday, Sept. 23, 2022. Beloved husband of Meagan R. Carmona. Loving father of Stephon, Mya, Isabella, Aaliyah, Jada and Jaxon Carmona. Loving brother of Lizzette, Josseline and Giovany Carmona. Predeceased by mother, Carmen Montanez; and sisters, Nannette, Wilma, and Daiana Carmona. Survived by many aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews. Go Giants Relatives and friends may call Wednesday from 2-4 and 6-8 p.m. at the R. Mackowiak Funeral Home Inc., 56 E Doughty St., where funeral services will be held Thursday morning at 10 a.m. Interment will be in St. Mary’s Cemetery.

Metaform And XP&DLand Announces Durga Puja Celebrations To The Metaverse – The Indian Express https://bentoncountynewsnow.com/metaform-and-xpdland-announces-durga-puja-celebrations-to-the-metaverse-the-indian-express/ Metaform and XP&DLand has announced MetaPujo, the iconic Durga Puja celebrations of Kolkata to the Metaverse. This Pujo season, the iconic and popular Ahiritola Sarbojanin, Deshapriya Park, Ballygunge Cultural and Tala Prattay pandals will be accessible through 3D twins on the Metaverse. “The worlds of digital and real life are colliding, where we will constantly toggle between the real and metaverse worlds in the future. This is the first time in history that such a massive festival of devotion has been twinned in the Metaverse. We are piloting it with four pandals this year, with over 100 next year, and in the near future, every single pandal on the ground will have a metaverse twin for people to experience and enjoy,” said Sukrit Singh, co-founder of Metaform & XP&DLand. MetaPujo will introduce four unique NFTs of Maa Durga idols from the most visited pandals of Kolkata. These include Deshapriya Park, Tala Prattay, Ahiritola Sarbojanin, and Ballygunge Cultural. The four NFTs will be dropped for free on XP&DLand, for devotees and collectors who may want to claim them using their Web 3.0 wallets.  “This initiative gives Maa Durga an enhanced address on Web 3.0 where the devout from across the world will be able to enter a three-dimensional recreation of the pandals and take part in darshans from the most popular pandals of Kolkata,” Singh notes. Metaform and XP&DLand’s plan centres around 3D recreations of the pandals, where users in ‘Spatial’, a metaverse platform, can enter a shared social space where people from across the world can come together and walk around, interact, and even take photographs. Users can make a meta-realistic avatar of themselves in minutes. The platform is accessible to all through simple smart phones, tablets, and wearables.

Navratri Shopping? These 5 Indian Startups Will Manage All Your Navratri Shopping Needs – Trak.in https://bentoncountynewsnow.com/navratri-shopping-these-5-indian-startups-will-manage-all-your-navratri-shopping-needs-trak-in/ By Guest Last updated Sep 26, 2022 Know about these 5 startups taking care of your shopping needs this Navratri The arrival of the festive season brings fresh energy, joy and happiness in lives. It is a time to join your loved ones to celebrate the bonds, have fun and create new memories together. It is an occasion that gives you a chance to pick up the shopping bags and finally add those things to your cart for which you have been waiting for long. Be it your favourite designer outfit to coolest gadget like a hi-end smartphone, great discounts and offers further add new spark to the joy of shopping during this time. This Navratri, know about these 5 startups that are adding zest to the festive mood by taking care of all your shopping needs:   Snapdeal: This leading lifestyle shopping destination has everything for everyone. A range of good quality and value-based products are enough to fulfil all your shopping needs. Snapdeal launches various exciting offers to help you save big on its platform. It is definitely a great choice to enjoy the joy of buying gifts or shopping for yourself which is also value for money.mPokket: The 9 auspicious days of Navratri serve as a great opportunity to gift your loved ones and shower your love and affection on them. To help you go ahead with instant purchase and help you buy things instantly, mPokket—an instant loan app is solving all your problems by taking care of your finances and festive needs. You can easily avail a loan from Rs 500 to Rs 30,000 instantly for a hassle-free shopping experience. Its flexible repayment options lets you repay the amount as per your convenience. boAt: This popular and ultra-fashionable audio brand needs no introduction. You can simply choose from your favourite speaker or earphones and groove to those peppy beats. The cool products are the perfect match for your Garba plans and also to enjoy the festive mood in full-swing. Furlenco: The auspicious time of Navratri brings fresh energy and positivity in lives. To enjoy this season in full spirit, if you are moving into a new home or even if you are not, you can always give a new look to your home with vibrant and colorful decor. Especially if buying furniture seems unaffordable at the moment, then Furlenco is the startup for you- you can opt for rental furniture, delivered to your doorstep. Decorate your home with the most affordable and trendiest collection of furniture from Furlenco. It offers a wide range of furniture and home décor items from sofas and beds to home appliances like refrigerators and washing machines. Furlenco is a one-stop shop for all your home needs. Spinny: If you are thinking of finally bringing your dream car home this auspicious season, then Spinny is the right destination for you. It is the most trusted online used car buying platform which offers a range of options across different categories and budgets to let you pick your favourite. Spinny ensures quality at every touchpoint for its customers to give the best used-car buying experience.. ?

Gate.io Labs Invests In Magic Square, World’s First Crypto App Store – Cryptonews https://bentoncountynewsnow.com/gate-io-labs-invests-in-magic-square-worlds-first-crypto-app-store-cryptonews/ Disclaimer: The Industry Talk section features insights by crypto industry players and is not a part of the editorial content of Cryptonews.com. Singapore, Singapore, 26th September, 2022, Chainwire Magic Square announced today that Gate.io Labs has made a strategic investment in the project, marking Gate.io’s ongoing efforts to support promising blockchain projects globally. With this investment, Magic Square will further bolster its digital presence across continents and build an authentic community worldwide as it builds a holistic ecosystem with extensive support from Gate.io Labs and other backers. Established in 2013, Gate.io is one of the oldest, leading cryptocurrency exchanges offering products and services to over 10 million users worldwide. Gate.io Labs, the venture capital arm of Gate.io, is focused on investments in decentralized infrastructure, ecosystems, and applications that will reshape the world in the digital age. Magic Square is a one-stop platform for all crypto user needs. Its mission is to bridge the gap between developers and users, so everyone from beginners to experts can have access to the world of blockchain apps, games, NFTs, CeDeFi, and more. The ultimate goal is to become the main discovery point of all crypto applications. The Magic Store is the core product of Magic Square. The multi-dimensional platform is integrated with DAO mechanisms, where the community vets, ranks, and prioritizes the apps, enabling users to discover applications safely, and incentivizing developers to continuously improve their offerings with a transparent and fair ranking system. “Gate.io Labs is thrilled about this collaboration with Magic Square and how it will shape the future of web3. We believe the platform that prioritizes users will emerge as a new star in the crypto space while working toward the same objective,” Gate.io Labs commented. Andrey Nayman, Co-Founder & CEO of Magic Square, said “The future is here. We are super excited that Gate.io Labs, with other industry leaders like Binance Labs, KuCoin Labs, and Republic Capital are all coming together to transform the crypto experience with us.” About Magic Square Magic Square is a web App Store that simplifies Crypto. Users can discover dApps, CeFi and DeFi, NFTs, Games, and much more in one place with an intuitive design.  The Magic Store is a Web3 solution where the community vets, ranks, and prioritizes the apps via a DAO mechanism, with clear earning metrics to incentivize the participation of validators, creators, and users.  Users can access all of the community vetted content with one click using the MagicID (Decentralized ID). This multi-chain wallet solution aims to become the Web3 alternative to Google or Apple connect. Contact Vanessa Tang Magic Square [email protected]

Drone Attack Hits Ukraine; US Vows ‘consequences’ Over Nukes – The Associated Press https://bentoncountynewsnow.com/drone-attack-hits-ukraine-us-vows-consequences-over-nukes-the-associated-press/ KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — An overnight drone strike near the Ukrainian port of Odesa sparked a massive fire and explosion, the military said Monday, hours after the United States vowed to take decisive action and promised “catastrophic consequences” if Russia uses nuclear weapons in Ukraine. The airstrike was the latest in a series of drone attacks on the key southern city in recent days. This one hit a military installation and detonated ammunition when it struck. Firefighters were struggling to contain the blaze, the Ukrainian military’s southern command said. Concerns are growing that Russia may seek to escalate the conflict once it completes what Ukraine and the West see as illegal referendums in parts of Ukraine under its control. The voting, which ends Tuesday, happened after thousands of residents had fled and has included images of armed Russian troops going door-to-door to pressure Ukrainians into voting. Russia is widely expected to declare the results in its favor, a step that could see Moscow annex the territory and give it the pretext to seek to defend it as its own territory under the Russian nuclear umbrella. Jake Sullivan, the U.S. national security adviser, made clear that Russia would pay a high price if it made good on veiled threats to use nuclear weapons in the conflict. “If Russia crosses this line there will be catastrophic consequences for Russia. The United States will respond decisively,” he told NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday. Washington’s message has been more detailed in private conversations with their Russian counterparts, he said, without elaborating. “So, the Russians understand where we are. We understand where we are. We are planning for every contingency” he said in separate comments to ABC’s This Week. “And we will do what is necessary to deter Russia from taking this step.” Elsewhere, a Russian rocket attack targeted a village in southeastern Ukraine. The attack struck an unnamed village and the regional center of Zaporizhzhia, regional military official Oleksandr Starukh said online. He posted pictures of damaged buildings and said unspecified infrastructure also had been damaged and fires were sparked by the attack. Meanwhile, the first batches of Russian troops mobilized by Moscow have begun to arrive at military bases, the British military said Monday. In an online intelligence briefing, the British Defense Ministry said “many tens of thousands” had been called up. However, the Russians face challenges ahead. “Unlike most Western armies, the Russian military provides low-level, initial training to soldiers within their designated operational units, rather than in dedicated training establishments,” the British said. Under normal circumstances, two battalions deploy while a third remains behind to train. But in the Ukraine war, even the third battalion is deploying, weakening that training, the British said.

Technological Advancements And Talent Driving MGA Growth: AM Best – Reinsurance News https://bentoncountynewsnow.com/technological-advancements-and-talent-driving-mga-growth-am-best-reinsurance-news/ A new report from AM Best highlights that premium growth attributable to managing general agents (MGAs) has increased significantly over the last decade. Fuelled by premium growth, delegated underwriting authority enterprises (DUAE) are gaining a more prominent role with insurers when it comes to addressing more specialized coverage needs. Both experience and specialty expertise have helped DUAEs widen the scope of responsibilities they handle for their insurer/partners. In the current global insurance market, some of the biggest growth areas include construction, energy, healthcare, environmental, professional, and cyber liability. At the same time, inflation, changes in climate-related risks, and exposure to cyber-attacks have combined to necessitate specialized coverage to address inherent risks. Additionally, technological advancements have also allowed for DUAEs to add accretive value to both new and established relationships. Furthermore, the report notes that MGA premiums stood at a record $60 billion, or 19%, in 2021, a major increase from $51 billion, up 6%, in 2020. However, the actual premium produced by MGAs is more than $60 billion since insurers report only MGAs that generate premiums greater than the 5% surplus, therefore there may be a number of MGAs whose premiums have not been captured because of the 5% threshold. Overall, by AM Best’s estimates, the premium generated through the MGA market has doubled over the past decade. Best concludes, that while, acquisitions and consolidations of insurance distributors have led to a decline in the number of brokers, the number of MGAs has grown. Specialized brokers have shifted to MGA operations, providing insurers with a more cost-effective conduit to new markets.

Photos For September 25, 2022 – Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette https://bentoncountynewsnow.com/photos-for-september-25-2022-northwest-arkansas-democrat-gazette/ Randy Koontz, 2022 Hope Cancer Resources Gentleman of Distintion (center), is joined by Ethan Whitney, Cora Ann Koontz, Matthew Koontz, Deann Koontz, Cari and Chris Whitney, Connie Laborde and Mallory Koontz at the benefit Sept. 16 at the Rogers Convention Center. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Carin Schoppmeyer) Published on September 25, 2022 Megan Crozier, Celebrity Bartending Tip-off competitor (second from left), is joined by Mariah Newman, Dallas Counts, Julie McGrover and Brad Newman at the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank benefit Sept. 15 at Hunt Tower in Rogers. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Carin Schoppmeyer) Published on September 25, 2022 Joe Adams, former Arkansas Razorback and North Carolina Panther player, and wife Imani attend the University of Arkansas Sports Hall of Honor luncheon Sept. 16 at the Frank Broyles Athletic Center on the UA campus in Fayetteville. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Carin Schoppmeyer) Published on September 25, 2022 Joe Adams, former Arkansas Razorback and North Carolina Panther player, and wife Imani attend the University of Arkansas Sports Hall of Honor luncheon Sept. 16 at the Frank Broyles Athletic Center on the UA campus in Fayetteville. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Carin Schoppmeyer) Published on September 25, 2022 Jacob Arnold (from left), Zach Hocker, Cody Davis, Stan Rodgers, Jonathan Kargas, Josh Lock and Nathan Fridley, 2022 Gentlemen of Distinction models, stand for a photo at the Hope Cancer Resources benefit Sept. 16. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Carin Schoppmeyer) Published on September 25, 2022 Blane Howard (from left), Emi Cardarelli and Tom McDonald compete to raise the most tips to benefit the NWA Food Bank. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Carin Schoppmeyer) Published on September 25, 2022 Gary Blair, former Arkansas Razorbacks women’s head basketball coach, and Debbie Scoggin visit at the UA Hall of Honor luncheon Sept. 16 in Fayetteville. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Carin Schoppmeyer) Published on September 25, 2022 Todd and Melissa Fleeman (from left) with Branden Fleeman help support Hope Cancer Resources at the Bill Fleeman Gentlemen of Distinction benefit Sept. 16. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Carin Schoppmeyer) Published on September 25, 2022 Bert Kell (left) and Patrick Shanks visit at the NWA Food Bank Celebrity Bartending Tip-off. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Carin Schoppmeyer) Published on September 25, 2022 Ray Doakes, former Arkansas Razorback track and field athlete (third from left), is joined by Joshua Suttle (from left), Kennedy Doakes, Ray Doakes II, Cade McCauley and Goat McCauley at the Hall of Honor luncheon. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Carin Schoppmeyer) Published on September 25, 2022 Chris Elliott of Bella Vista rolls his luggage, Friday, April 2, 2021 at the Northwest Arkansas National Airport in Bentonville. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Charlie Kaijo) Published on September 25, 2022 Performing in the debut of the Perry Ryan Theater Co. are founder Kayla Grizzard (top left), Jordan Grizzard, Francesca Noe, Nick Hardeman (bottom left), Lyle Oberman and Scott Jones. (Courtesy Photo) Published on September 25, 2022 In this photo Sept. 11, 2022, taken Britain’s King Charles III carries out official government duties from his red box in the Eighteenth Century Room at Buckingham Palace, London. (Victoria Jones/PA via AP) Published on September 25, 2022 Robert Ator (right), director of military affairs for the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, flies an F-35 simulator in August 2021 as Cody Blake, cockpit demonstrator instructor pilot for Lockheed Martin, directs him at TAC Air in Fort Smith. The simulation tutorial was preceded by a talk from 3rd District Rep. Steve Womack, R-Rogers, about the Air Force’s selection for the Ebbing Air National Guard base to house up to 36 Lockheed Martin F-35 Lighting IIs and General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcons fighter jets for Foreign Military Sales and training. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Max Bryan) Published on September 25, 2022 Nancy Galarza looks at the damage that Hurricane Fiona inflicted on her community, which remained cut off four days after the Category 1 storm slammed the rural community of San Salvador in the town of Caguas, Puerto Rico, Thursday, Sept. 22, 2022. (AP Photo/Danica Coto) Published on September 25, 2022 Bailee Lutz, M.D., a board-certified family medicine physician, joins Northwest Health. Published on September 25, 2022 Washington Regional names Megan Burks director of critical care. Published on September 25, 2022 Mike Matherly has been named director of nutrition services at Washington Regional. Published on September 25, 2022 Marla Joyner a volunteer and 4H Main Leader of the Ozark Youth Shooting Sports Club put contesting entrees for the Home Arts a shelf Saturday Sept. 2, 2022, at the Benton County Fair Grounds. Saturday all the arts and crafts arrive for the contest and will judged on Monday as the Fair midway its self opens on Tuesday. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Spencer Tirey) Published on September 25, 2022 Marla Joyner a volunteer and 4H Main Leader of the Ozark Youth Shooting Sports Club put contesting entrees for the Home Arts a shelf Saturday Sept. 2, 2022, at the Benton County Fair Grounds. Saturday all the arts and crafts arrive for the contest and will judged on Monday as the Fair midway its self opens on Tuesday. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Spencer Tirey) Published on September 25, 2022 Judy Fenton, (from left) and Linda Simpson, superintendent of house hold arts, registered entrees for the Home Arts contest, Saturday Sept. 2, 2022, at the Benton County Fair Grounds. Arts and crafts arrive Saturday for the contest and will judged on Monday as the Fair’s midway opens on Tuesday. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Spencer Tirey) Published on September 25, 2022 President Joe Biden addresses the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday at the U.N. headquarters. Stories circulating online incorrectly claim Biden announced that he is adding the U.S. as a signatory to the United Nations “Small Arms Treaty,” which would “establish an international gun control registry” in which other countries can “track the ‘end user’ of every rifle, shotgun, and handgun sold in the world.” (AP/Evan Vucci) Published on September 25, 2022 Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks Thursday during a press conference in Miami. Stories circulating online incorrectly claim that Florida ranks 9th in the U.S. for teacher pay. (AP/Rebecca Blackwell) Published on September 25, 2022 A nursing student administers the Moderna covid-19 vaccine April 26, 2021, at a vaccination center at UNLV in Las Vegas. Stories circulating online incorrectly claim humans and other mammals injected with an mRNA vaccine die within five years. (File Photo/AP/John Locher) Published on September 25, 2022 Caelyn Gunn (left) of the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith passes, Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022, during the first set of the Lady Lions†3-2 loss to Oklahoma Christian at the UAFS Stubblefield Center in Fort Smith. Visit nwaonline.com/220925Daily/ for today’s photo gallery. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Hank Layton) Published on September 25, 2022 Indianapolis Colts quarterback Matt Ryan (2) is sacked by Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Roy Robertson-Harris (95) during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux) Published on September 25, 2022 Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) throws a pass for a touchdown to wide receiver Christian Kirk (13) over Indianapolis Colts safety Julian Blackmon (32) during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/Gary McCullough) Published on September 25, 2022 Indianapolis Colts safety Julian Blackmon (32) breaks up a Jacksonville Jaguars pass during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/Gary McCullough) Published on September 25, 2022 Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Justin Watson celebrates after scoring during the second half of an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Chargers Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga) Published on September 25, 2022 Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes throws during the first half of an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Chargers Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga) Published on September 25, 2022 Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid watches from the sidelines during the first half of an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Chargers Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga) Published on September 25, 2022 Police officers carry a detained a demonstrator during a protest against a partial mobilization in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022. (AP Photo) Published on September 25, 2022 Russian policemen detain demonstrators protesting against mobilization in St. Petersburg, Russia, Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022. (AP Photo) Published on September 25, 2022 Russian policemen detain a demonstrator protesting against mobilization in St. Petersburg, Russia, Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022. (AP Photo) Published on September 25, 2022 Russian policemen detain a demonstrator protesting against mobilization in St. Petersburg, Russia, Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022. (AP Photo) Published on September 25, 2022 Russian policemen detain a demonstrator protesting against mobilization in St. Petersburg, Russia, Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022. (AP Photo) Published on September 25, 2022 A Police officer stands inside a police bus with detained demonstrators during a protest against a partial mobilization near Red Square with the St. Basil’s Cathedral, right, in the background in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022. (AP Photo) Published on Sept...