Clark County News Now

China’s Crypto Billionaire Stocks Up On Precious Metals, Gems And Fine Art – Kitco NEWS https://clarkcountynewsnow.com/chinas-crypto-billionaire-stocks-up-on-precious-metals-gems-and-fine-art-kitco-news/ (Kitco News) Chinese crypto billionaire Jihan Wu is diversifying into physical assets, including precious metals, gems and fine art, with his recent purchase of what is dubbed Asia’s Fort Knox. Bitdeer Technologies Holding Co., which Wu leads, paid $28.4 million to purchase Le Freeport, which is a state-of-the-art maximum security vault in Singapore designed and engineered by a team of Swiss architects and engineers. The news was reported by Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter. Jihan Wu is an influential figure in the crypto space. He founded Bitmain Technologies Ltd, which is the largest Bitcoin mining-machine manufacturer, with a revenue of $5.6 billion in 2021. Wu left the company last year and is now heading up its Bitcoin-mining spinoff Bitdeer and crypto-finance company Matrixport. The vault’s depository includes gold and silver bars, precious gems, and fine art from shareholders headed up by Swiss art dealer and founder Yves Bouvier, the media report said. The transaction was private and happened in July. Prior to this, Bouvier had been unsuccessful in trying to sell Freeport, located in Singapore near Changi airport. Freeport began operations more than a decade ago, intending to appeal to customers such as collectors, wealth managers, and major bullion traders. “The facility offers integrated services to handle the shipping, storage, display and trade of these valuables … Maximum security and 24/7 security access. Stringent security provisions include electronic monitoring of staff, clients and valuables as well as armed guards,” described Freeport’s website.  According to the deal, Bitdeer is the sole shareholder of Straitdeer Pte., which now is the new owner of Asia Freeport Holdings Pte. In another development, Wu is also forming a fund worth $250 million to buy up distressed assets from mining firms. “We can buy the cheaper machines and run them in our existing facilities with stable and cost-effective power purchase agreements,” Bitdeer CEO Matt Kong told Bloomberg. Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.

U.S. House Advances Bill To Boost Antitrust Efforts – Reuters.com https://clarkcountynewsnow.com/u-s-house-advances-bill-to-boost-antitrust-efforts-reuters-com/ WASHINGTON, Sept 28 (Reuters) – The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday voted to advance a bill that would update fees companies pay for merger reviews and strengthen state attorneys general in antitrust fights, according to Majority Leader Steny Hoyer’s office. The bill combines measures introduced by Representative Joe Neguse, a Democrat, and Representative Ken Buck, a Republican. The next step is for the full House to vote on final passage. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com It would allow state attorneys general to choose which court they want to hear antitrust cases. Defendants would not be allowed to request a change of venue. Texas, along with other states, brought an antitrust action against Alphabet Inc’s Representative Zoe Lofgren, a California Democrat, joined with at least four other California Democrats to urge that the bill be defeated because of the venue measure. California is home to some of the biggest tech companies, including Google and Meta Platforms’ (META.O) Facebook. The measure also would lower the fees paid for antitrust reviews of smaller deals. But bigger deals would be more expensive. Deals worth $5 billion or more would pay $2.25 million to regulators conducting the antitrust review. The reviews are conducted by the U.S. Justice Department’s Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission. The Senate has passed a bill giving state attorneys general the right to pick the venue for antitrust fights but has not passed a bill to update merger filing fees. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Reporting by Diane Bartz; editing by Jonathan Oatis and Leslie Adler Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

New Community Center To Bring Gyms And Technology To Champaign – Wcia.com https://clarkcountynewsnow.com/new-community-center-to-bring-gyms-and-technology-to-champaign-wcia-com/ CHAMPAIGN, Ill., (WCIA) — When you picture a playground, you probably remember monkey bars and slides at recess.  The Champaign Park District is changing that with an electronic playground and video game spaces powered by movement.  Those are just a few parts of the new Martens Center on Market Street, just south of I-74.  The space was supposed to open in June, but supply chain issues slowed down the project. But, come Saturday, anyone can check it out after the ribbon cutting. There are multipurpose rooms, a media center, basketball courts, an indoor track and lots of classrooms. Joe DeLuce, Champaign Park District’s executive director, said he’s excited to see kids smiling, running around and using the space.  “People on the north end of town haven’t had a facility like this before,” he said.  DeLuce said the facility has been in the works since 2017. It’s complete with fitness rooms for yoga or dance, classrooms with large TVs, a kitchen for teaching people how to cook, and even an electronic playground.  “There’s types of dancing, lights, displays, even one part you have to pedal a bike in order to play a video game,” DeLuce said.  He added that something like this has never been done before.  “Get exercise while playing video games, what a great opportunity,” he said.  DeLuce said they plan to get the whole community involved in the center. The Boys and Girls Club will be using it for part of its after-school program.  And DeLuce said they plan to invite various groups to teach classes.  “From entrepreneurial, English as a second language, you name it. How to cook in the kitchen, how to become a cook,” he said.  He said it’s an $11-12 million project. Before, only a few soccer fields took up the space on Market Street.  “Plus, we’re gonna have an innovation center where we have all kinds of computers, robotics, 3D printers,” DeLuce said.  He said adults will benefit too, not just kids.  “We have pickleball, we have basketball, we have volleyball, and a walking track for people to just come, walk around the track, especially in the wintertime.” And he added, to have it all in one location, he feels it is unique and different.  If you’re looking to sign up for classes or programming, visit the Park District’s website. You can sign up for fall or winter classes, or sign up for a membership.

DUEX Plus Portable Laptop Monitor Review — You Need This. Now. – Gaming Trend https://clarkcountynewsnow.com/duex-plus-portable-laptop-monitor-review-you-need-this-now-gaming-trend/ Whether you are gaming, working, coding, surfing the web, or doing some combination of all of those things, a second monitor is almost a requirement nowadays. That’s easy when you’ve got a desk with a monitor tower to hold multiple displays and all of the associated connectivity and power cables, but what do you do when you need a more portable solution? If you use your laptop in the living room like I do, hauling an entire extra monitor is as disruptive as it is ludicrous. There are small portable devices on stands that you can employ, for sure, but they are often cumbersome as well, requiring space for a small stand or needing separate power. When I stumbled on the DUEX Plus portable laptop monitor, it seemed like I might have found my solution. Let’s unbox the device, wire it up, and see if it could give me the additional work space I need without a dump truck of wires, and hopefully without breaking the bank. DEUX Plus Portable Monitor Unbox and Review Gaming Trend There’s little to unpack, as you can see, with the contents of the box containing just the monitor itself with its integrated stowing mechanism, four neodymium magnets with 3M adhesive, a USB-C cable with integrated Ferrite bead and USB-C to USB-A adapter attached, and the instructions – not that you’ll need them. The DUEX Plus is the very definition of plug and play. Before we get to that, however, let’s talk about how this device attaches to your laptop. Utilizing four extraordinarily strong magnets (easily placed with the included guide sheet) you’ll place the DUEX Plus on the rear of your monitor – I’m recommending dead center. These four magnets become exceedingly important with what comes next. One of the most important aspects of portability for a laptop is the overall bulk, and the DUEX Plus adds very little to it. In fact, at its thinnest point (comprising more than 80% of the rear of it), the device is just 6.45mm, with the thicker part, where the monitor attaches to the sliding mechanism, being slightly larger at 14.92mm. More than likely, if something like the DUEX Plus is of interest, you likely have a laptop you take with you for travel. Whether that’d be a basic one or an ultraportable, there’s one thing you think about when you put it in a bag – the weight. To that end, the DUEX Plus adds 1.3 pounds to the overall weight of your device. Whether that’s a little or a lot to you is entirely subjective, but for frame of reference, 1.3 pounds is roughly the equivalent of a loaf of bread or two rolls of quarters. There are a lot of smaller screen options out there, and entirely too many are TN displays. If you aren’t aware, TN stands for twisted nematic, and there are several advantages to them, not the least of which being that they are cheap and sport some shockingly high refresh rates. Unfortunately they are also terrible for color reproduction, suffer from input lag, and that refresh rate comes with fairly streaky colors and poor viewing angles. Most folks have moved to the next type – IPS. IPS stands for In-Plane Switching, and most modern monitors fall into this category. Better viewing angles, deeper black reproduction, and refresh rates in the 200s coupled with response times as low as a sub-millisecond make these an obvious choice, though the price to make these tend to be higher. It’s also why so many manufacturers spring for TN to keep prices low. Thankfully, MobilePixels didn’t choose that option. The DUEX Plus uses a 300 nit, 60Hz, 16:9, 1080p IPS display. Drawing just 4.5 watts over that USB-C connection, it measures 13.3″, with a viewing area of 11.7” by 6.5” as viewable space, thanks to the slim bezel. There are two other use cases for this monitor – one is documented and officially supported, and the other is not. First and foremost, the DUEX Plus is certified to work with the Nintendo Switch, and thanks to the two USB-C ports, it does so while charging the device to boot. Plugging in the DUEX Plus, the screen sprang to life, as expected. I did run into one hitch, however: you’ll need to disconnect your Joycons and use them externally for this device to work. Not a big deal, but something to know. The second use case isn’t officially sanctioned, but the DUEX Plus works perfectly for the Steam Deck. Sure, neither the Switch nor the Steam Deck is going to see regular use with the DUEX Plus in my case, but when I’m on the road, it’s mighty handy on an airplane. If you do end up grabbing a DUEX Plus, you’ll probably also want to nab the “origami” folding stand. Not unlike the stand on a Kindle Fire, this little device will prop the DUEX Plus up in the appropriate position safely so you can position it on your tray table or wherever you plan to play. The DUEX Plus supports a specific Samsung device, but we are a Pixel 6 Pro household these days, so I wasn’t able to test out that use case. Obviously you can use the DUEX Plus in landscape mode, and that’s very likely how you’ll use it most of the time, but if you are a coder or somebody who works on webpages and needs a vertical orientation, the DUEX Plus has you covered. In fact, it also has auto-rotation detection, so placing the monitor in portrait mode automatically switches your content and reframes it. Similarly, if you move the monitor from the left side to the right, it will once again re-orient, making it very easy to keep your monitor out of other people’s line of sight. There are only two real drawbacks to the DUEX Plus, and one is very subjective. The MSRP for the device is $399, though it’s currently on sale for $299. There’s a productivity bundle that’ll run you an extra $30 and it comes with that portable “origami” stand I mentioned. The mobility bundle is a little more pricey at $450, but it comes with a whole bevy of goodies, including a privacy filter, a camera, mini-mouse, a foldable keyboard, and a case to hold the device. The company also offers extended warranties for all of it based on pricing, so you can be sure your device is covered. The second drawback may make you consider that coverage. The monitor is fantastic, but the sliding mechanism is made of ABS Plastic, with some aluminum bits. The sliding mechanism seems like it’ll work just fine for long periods of time, but seeing the entire thing flex when I went to fold the monitor into that external presentation mode gave me a moment of pause. You’ll want to fold the device closest to the hinge just to be safe. There is a mode called “Eyecare” that does precisely what’s on the tin – cools the color temp of the monitor to help with eye strain. This is a function you can find within windows, but here it’s native to the device. It’s not exactly necessary, but it’s nice to have. I’m already shocked at just how much more productive my laptop is with the DUEX Plus. On more than one occasion I’ve been tempted to lug a monitor into the frontroom, but divorce is expensive. Now I have that same flexibility without needing additional power or wiring beyond the single cable to connect it to my system. Sure, I do wish that cable was a little more streamlined, but in the grand scheme of things that’s a fairly small hitch. The price may give you a bit of sticker shock, but just think of how much productivity you’ve wasted debating it. If you are a desiccated laptop user, you need this. Immediately. Lightweight, clear, and in HD, the DUEX Plus is a force multiplier for any laptop user. Whether you are coding websites, or simply filling forms on the Internet, this device makes it easier to get work done. —Ron Burke PROS Incredibly easy to mount Simple use – just pull and use True plug-and-play – it just works! Low-power IPS display is clear from all angles Orientation and autorotation support CONS Screen frame gets a little “bendy” if not folded at the base Asking price is a bit stiff Ron Burke is the Editor in Chief for Gaming Trend. Currently living in Fort Worth, Texas, Ron is an old-school gamer who enjoys CRPGs, action/adventure, platformers, music games, and has recently gotten into tabletop gaming. Ron is also a fourth degree black belt, with a Master’s rank in Matsumura Seito Shōrin-ryū, Moo Duk Kwan Tang Soo Do, Universal Tang Soo Do Alliance, and International Tang Soo Do Federation. He also holds ranks in several other styles in his search to be a well-rounded fighter. Ron has been married to Gaming Trend Editor, Laura Burke, for 21 years. They have three dogs – Pazuzu (Irish Terrier), Atë, and Calliope (both Australian Kelpie/Pit Bull mixes). See below for our list of partners and affiliates:

Latest U.S. Military Package For Ukraine Suggests Shift In Focus To Long, Open-Ended War – The New York Times https://clarkcountynewsnow.com/latest-u-s-military-package-for-ukraine-suggests-shift-in-focus-to-long-open-ended-war-the-new-york-times/ Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker

Fight Over Dead Reporter’s Sources Stalls Before Vegas Judge – The Washington Post https://clarkcountynewsnow.com/fight-over-dead-reporters-sources-stalls-before-vegas-judge-the-washington-post/ LAS VEGAS — A fight to block government access to a slain investigative journalist’s sources and unpublished work stalled Wednesday, when a Las Vegas judge said she didn’t have jurisdiction to consider the question. However, a lawyer heading efforts by Nevada’s largest newspaper, 43 media organizations and The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press promised to ask a state court to prevent police and prosecutors from reviewing records, files and phone calls on the dead reporter’s electronic devices. Police allege that Robert “Rob” Telles, a Democratic elected county official, waited in a vehicle outside the home of Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Jeff German and fatally stabbed him on Sept. 2. Prosecutors characterized the attack as a response to German’s articles, which were critical of Telles and his managerial conduct. “The press relies upon sources to come forward and be able to trust reporters to keep information and their identities confidential in order to share information about all kinds of wrongdoing,” Ashley Kissinger, the attorney representing the Review-Journal and media entities including The Associated Press, said outside court. Otherwise, Kissinger said, “stories of true importance to the public would not come to light.” A Review-Journal court filing on Monday argues that police should never have seized German’s cellphone, computers and hard drive. It maintains that confidential information, names and unpublished material should be protected from disclosure under both federal and state law. “The most damaging potential outcome of this case is the precedent that murdering a journalist will expose the journalist’s work product, source material and confidential contacts to government inspection,” said Glenn Cook, executive editor of the newspaper. Nevada’s so-called “news shield law” is among the strictest in the U.S. The lawsuit also cites federal Privacy Protection Act and First Amendment safeguards. Kissinger said prosecutors and police in Las Vegas have assured the newspaper that detectives have not reviewed material on German’s electronic devices. Defense attorneys are entitled to any material viewed by prosecutors that could be evidence in their case. Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson and Las Vegas police homicide detectives were waiting in the courtroom Wednesday when attorney Matthew Christian, representing the police department, confirmed for Justice of the Peace Karen Bennett-Haron that the devices had not been accessed. The Review-Journal bid for court intervention notes that German was a crime victim, not a suspect, and proposes a court-appointed “special master” and prosecutorial “taint team” review the devices now held by police and determine what material would be relevant to the criminal case. A 12-point proposal calls for the review to be conducted by parties “from outside the Las Vegas law enforcement and state and federal judicial systems.” “This court is very limited in what I can do,” Bennett-Haron said at the start of a 14-minute discussion with the attorneys for both sides. She concluded: “I don’t have jurisdiction, OK?” In the court hallway, attorneys for all sides met informally for about 20 minutes before reaching what Kissinger termed an impasse. “We will be filing in district court,” Kissinger told reporters. Wolfson, Christian and public defense attorneys Edward Kane and David Lopez-Negrete declined to comment. “Nevada’s strong shield law is intended to protect journalists and news organizations from being forced to disclose exactly the kind of work product and reporter-source communications likely to be found on Jeff German’s electronic devices,” Katie Townsend, of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, said in a statement. “Allowing the Las Vegas district attorney, public defender and other government investigators to review this privileged information would profoundly chill the type of vitally important newsgathering and investigative journalism German devoted his life and career to,” Townsend said. In 44 years as a reporter, first at the Las Vegas Sun and then at the Review-Journal, the Monday court filing noted, German “reported on everything from organized crime and government malfeasance to political scandals and mass shootings.” “There may not be a single government agency in Las Vegas that he has not written about,” it said. Telles, 45, became Clark County public administrator in 2019 and lost his Democratic party primary in June, about a month after articles by German documented “turmoil and internal dissension” in Telles’ office. Stories included claims of administrative bullying, favoritism and Telles’ relationship with a subordinate female staffer. Telles was arrested Sept. 7 at his home and remains jailed pending an Oct. 26 preliminary hearing of evidence before Bennett-Haron determines if he should stand trial in state court. German, 69, was widely respected for his tenacity and was inducted posthumously last weekend into the Nevada Press Association’s Newspaper Hall of Fame. His colleagues said he had no plans to retire and was working on follow-up reports about Telles and the public administrator’s office when he was killed. Police said security video shows a man believed to be Telles near German’s home. A prosecutor said German was stabbed and slashed seven times. A judge who reviewed a police report following Telles’ arrest said German had apparent defense wounds on his arms, and DNA believed to be from Telles was found under German’s fingernails. Wolfson, representing Clark County, is separately seeking a court order to remove Telles from his elected position ahead of the end of his term on Dec. 31. The county administrator handles assets of people who die without a will or family contacts.

Incredible Caves You Can Stay In For The Most Unforgettable Vacation – The Zoe Report https://clarkcountynewsnow.com/incredible-caves-you-can-stay-in-for-the-most-unforgettable-vacation-the-zoe-report/ A “bigger is better” approach to building pervades the travel sector. Cloud-grazing skyscraper hotels and palatial resorts come to mind. But that’s certainly not the only category of vacation lodgings. Many conscious wanders are turning their attention to more grounded, mindful types of dwellings that foster a deeper connection to the natural world. And, yes, in some cases that means physically digging deeper…like going underground or into the underside of a cliff. Sure, hotel rooms and suites have long been the norm. But something has shifted recently and there’s more of a desire than ever before to step outside the box in search of utterly unique accommodations — whether that’s underwater chambers where fish swim past, transparent orbs in the desert below a sky of stars, whimsical treehouses, or fantastical caves. Of course, the idea of snoozing in a cavern isn’t new. Our ancestors did it millennia ago. A far cry from Stone Age living, many present-day properties are injecting modern conveniences into long-standing craggy structures in a way that feels very of the moment. These dreamy troglodyte hideaways serve as a true escape, a place to leave the stress of daily life behind even for just a night or two. Ahead, 10 incredible caves that invite overnight visitors to experience the wonder of a subterranean stay. Argos in Cappadocia: Uchisar, Turkey Cappadocia’s fairytale terrain makes it the most popular hot air balloon destination. After a day spent soaring high above the fairy chimneys, pinnacles, and pigeon houses, discover the wondrous underground world that’s waiting at Argos in Cappadocia. A favorite among couples, this rehabbed monastery turned boutique hotel in the village of Uçhisar offers subsurface rooms and suites that ooze romance. The curvature of volcanic rocks shapes the interiors, which are appointed with warm yet sleek furnishings and traditional Turkish handicrafts. Some even have in-cave pools. Les Hautes Roches: Rochecorbon, France Les Hautes Roches, part of the Relais & Châteaux portfolio, presides over the Loire Valley from the top of a tula cliff. A sense of serenity permeates the entire property. Part of that rests on the fact that the limestone caverns attached to the Abbey of Marmoutier were previously inhabited by devotees to monasticism. The former monk dormitories were completely reimagined into luxurious halcyon hideaways befitting discerning travelers. Etched details echo a peaceful past. Bathtubs and chandeliers reflect the posh present. Iconic Santorini: Imerovigli, Greece Situated in the white-washed hillside village of Imerovigli, away from the throngs of tourists in Oia, sits a tranquil, timeless, and sophisticated grotto stay at the adults-only Iconic Santorini. Spread out over five levels, guest quarters are caved into the famous volcanic caldera and individually designed to resemble traditional Cyclades residences. Full-blown Greek island vacation mode means unwinding in your own personal outdoor jetted plunge pool on the veranda and watching the sunset over the sparkling waters of the Aegean Sea. La Dimora di Metello: Matera, Italy For an unforgettable evening in the heart of Matera’s UNESCO-listed Sasso Barisano, check into La Dimora di Metello. Tucked inside ancient caves that date back to the Paleolithic period, this atmospheric hotel marries old-world charm and modern elegance in an intimate environment. Four distinctive suites show off excavated rock alongside modern minimalist design elements such as light wood, neutral textiles, and glass bathrooms. Besides the blissful soundproof sleeping quarters, there’s a lovely terrace and a serene spa notched into the limestone. Kagga Kamma Nature Reserve: Cederberg, South Africa Sold as “an oasis on the edge of time,” Kagga Kamma Nature Reserve honors the beauty of nature at every turn while breaking from the typical safari lodge mold of tented camps. Constructed to be an extension of the scenic landscape, the cave suites trade cell phone reception and Wi-Fi for soaking tubs and sunset sweeps. The façades are man-made but you’d never know. Everything looks so innate as though it had always existed amongst the rock formations and native fynbos. Beckham Creek Cave: Parthenon, Arkansas The majesty of the Ozark Mountains in Northwest Arkansas shines at Beckham Creek Cave. Attracting families and groups of pals with a penchant for the finer things (and $1,600 a night to spend), this natural cavern turned exclusive 5,800-square-foot vacation rental has an open-plan living area that’s punctuated by a dramatic waterfall, a state-of-the-art gourmet kitchen, four bedrooms — including a spacious upstairs suite with a bed encircled by stalactites — and an outdoor patio that supplies jaw-dropping panoramas. The most VIP perk? A private helipad. Sextantio Le Grotte della Civita: Matera, Italy Nestled in UNESCO-listed Sassi of Matera, Sextantio Le Grotte della Civita preserves the history and character of the ancient cave dwellings. The original shape and materials of the caverns inform the design. By integrating contemporary comforts such as freestanding tubs and king-size beds with ergonomic mattresses, the hotel provides a head-turning example of how to blend old and new. The rest of the property follows the same respectful, conservation-oriented roadmap with breakfast served at communal tables inside a medieval church. Kayakapi Premium Caves: Urgüp, Turkey The otherworldly region of Cappadocia houses a vast array of formerly tenantable caverns that have been painstakingly restored and brought into the 21st century — few have the gleam of Kayakapi Premium Caves. Receiving high praise from past visitors, this long-favored Urgüp boutique hotel comprises hundreds of cave houses and historical structures. Each of the subterranean rooms and suites is unique. Luxurious amenities (think: in-ground pools and Turkish baths), antiques, and, of course, heaps of rocks are the common thread. Perivolas Lifestyle Houses: Oia, Greece Santorini isn’t lacking in caves turned into chic Grecian hotels. Located in the tourist-darling village of Oia, splurge-worthy Perivolas Lifestyle Houses sets itself apart from the rest with a sense of effortless elegance and relaxed elan that’s impossible to replicate. Enchanting Cycladic architecture plays a huge part in that. Sculpted into the iconic topography like some sort of masterful Greek pottery, white-washed grotto suites flaunt hand-woven rugs, en-suite domed bathrooms, and outdoor terraces with sun loungers. And the vistas? In a word, wow. Kokopelli’s Cave: Farmington, New Mexico Built into 65-million-year-old sandstone rock of Tertiary Ojo Alamo in northwestern New Mexico, Kokopelli’s Cave is the most rugged overnight experience on the list. The lairs sit 70 feet beneath the surface. Intrepid travelers enter by taking a near vertical sloping path carved into a cliff. Such effort comes with a big payoff. Cavernous rooms with Southwestern-style furnishings, waterfall showers, and spectacular views of the La Plata River Valley. (It’s closed from December to February, so best to plan accordingly.) This article was originally published just now

Business News | Insidenova.com – Inside NoVA https://clarkcountynewsnow.com/business-news-insidenova-com-inside-nova-3/ The Business Voice is produced in partnership with the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce In its fifth decade, Great American Restaurants isn’t slowing down. Instead, it’s launching two new concepts and expanding on a third in a large complex on Leesburg Pike in Tysons. The successful restaurant group knows what works, but it continues to push itself in new directions in its ques… Virginia’s new Economic Resilience and Recovery Program aimed at addressing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic will give Northern Virginians a new tool in helping get back to work. As businesses shut down, unemployment rose and people stayed home due to COVID-19, nonprofit organizations found themselves in a tenuous position. They faced an increased need for their services while sources for funding became uncertain. Four area nonprofits shared with The Business Voice h… In February, only about 5% of the nation’s workforce performed their jobs remotely, according to statistics released by the U.S. Census Bureau. By mid-June, that number had jumped to 62%. With all that’s changed, two things remain the same: the people committed to doing good in and for our community, and your Chamber’s commitment to recognizing and celebrating them. The efforts of these individuals, businesses, and nonprofits mean a lot to all of us, so we asked a few of the … In June, at its annual Greater Washington Good Business Awards, the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce honored four individuals for their purposeful and outstanding community leadership. Here we offer you the opportunity to get to know the Lifetime Achievement Honoree, F. Kevin Reynolds, … Read more When Navy veteran Brad Halsey worked for the Stanford Research Institute, now SRI International, in the early 2000s, he noticed that, while researchers were doing good work for the military, none of that research and technology was going to the battlefield. Meanwhile, U.S. forces were being … Why is it important to get a business education? That’s an easy question for the new dean of the George Mason University School of Business. Matt McQueen, Chief Communications and Engagement Officer at Peraton, began his year as Chair of the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce in June. The Business Voice talked with him about his vision for the Chamber, its biggest challenges and opportunities, and how working in a funeral home… Before you take off for summer vacation, don’t forget to pack (or download!) one or two of these 10 terrific books on leadership. Each comes highly recommended by a top business leader in our region, and all are guaranteed to provide unique insights and resources for seasoned leaders.  Real-time social media posts from local businesses and organizations across Northern Virginia, powered by Friends2Follow. To add your business to the stream, email cfields@insidenova.com or click on the green button below. Most Popular Articles on InsideNoVa

Remarks By President Biden At The White House Conference On Hunger, Nutrition, And Health – The White House https://clarkcountynewsnow.com/remarks-by-president-biden-at-the-white-house-conference-on-hunger-nutrition-and-health-the-white-house/ Ronald Reagan Building Washington, D.C. 10:27 A.M. EDT   THE PRESIDENT:  Jimmieka, she — please, sit down.  Sit down.  (Laughter.)  She’s awful good, isn’t she?  She was really good.  Jimmieka, thank you for joining us and — for this historic Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health.   Before I begin, though, I — speaking of health, you all have been reading and hearing about the hurricane and — Hurricane Ian and its impact it’s going to have on our fellow Americans down in Florida.    Yesterday, I spoke with Governor DeSantis for some time — my team has been in constant contact with him from the very beginning — and the mayors of Tampa, St. Pete’s, and Clearwater.   And my message has been absolutely clear — is that we are on alert and in action.  We’ve approved every request Florida has made for temporary assistance, emergency assistance, long-term assistance that I’ve received.    We discussed what we have done to prepare for the hurricane.  That includes dispatching hundreds of FEMA personnel and activating thousands of National Guard members.  I have also developed the search and rescue teams — and deployed them from multiple federal agencies.  And they’re already on the ground and ready to help as we speak.   FEMA pre-positioned millions of — literally millions of liters of water, millions of meals, and hundreds of generators.  We have scheduled everything we can possibly do. And we think, and so do the mayors and the governor, that — and we’ve had — put up shelters — they’re ready.   We’re not sure exactly where it’s going to hit, but we’ve — pretty — it’s getting pretty clear exactly where it’s going to hit.   I made it clear to the governor and the mayors that the federal government is ready to help in every single way possible.    And I want to repeat what I said yesterday to the people of Florida: This storm is incredibly dangerous, to state the obvious.  It’s life threatening.  You should obey all warnings and directions from emergency officials.  Don’t take anything for granted.  Use their judgment, not yours.  Evacuate when ordered.  Be prepared.  The storm warnings are real.  The evacuation notices are real.  The danger is real.    And when the storm passes, the federal government is going to be there to help you recover.  We’ll be there to help you clean up and rebuild, to help you get — Florida get moving again.  And we’ll be there at every step of the way.  That’s my absolute commitment to the people of the state of Florida.  (Applause.)    And if you’ll forgive me, I want to add one more warning.  That’s a warning to the oil and gas industry executives: Do not — let me repeat — do not — do not use this as an excuse to raise gasoline prices or gouge the American people.  (Applause.)    The price of oil has stayed relatively low.  It kept going down.  The price of gas should be going down as well.   My experts inform me that production of only about 190,000 barrels a day has been impacted by this storm thus far.  That’s less than 2 percent of the United States’ daily production impacted for a very short period of time.   This small, temporary storm impact on oil production provides no excuse — no excuse for price increases at the pump.  None.   If gas companies try to use this storm to raise prices at the pump, I will ask officials to look into whether price gouging is going on.  America is watching.  The industry should do the right thing.  As a matter of fact, they should move more quickly now to bring down the price at the pump because gasoline is down — the price of gasoline is down a great deal.  There’s too much of a delay between the price of barrel of ga- — of gas being pro- — oil and the price of gasoline at the pump.   Now to why we’re all here for this — on this historic day: The Secretary of Agriculture said everything, so I’m leaving.  (Laughter.)  You really did.  So I apologize to you for any repetition that may occur here.    But all kidding aside, you know, it’s been over 50 years, to state the obvious — you all know it well — since President Nixon convened the original White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health.   And the single — that single conference and the laws that inspired it — it inspired led a transformational change that has helped millions of Americans live healthier lives for generations.    Since that time, advances in research and medicine have taught us so much more about nutrition and health.   And today, I’m convening this conference again because I believe we can use these advances to do even more to make America stronger and a healthier nation.  And so many of you know so much about this as well, and you’re committed.   And I want to thank all of you here, including bipartisan elected officials like Representative McGovern, Senator Braun, Senator Booker, Representative — Jackie, are you here?  Where’s Jackie?  I didn’t think she was — she wasn’t going to be here — to help make this a reality.  And thanks to Senator Stabenow, Representative DeLauro for their leadership.    And here today we have advocates and activists — José Andrés — you’ve heard of him, haven’t you?  (Applause.)  La- — last time we hung out on the Ukrainian border in Poland.  And leaders of business, labor, agriculture, faith, and philanthropy and — to achieve ambitious goals that I know we can do if we work together — I really do know we can do this: End hunger in this country by the year 2030 and lower the toll — (applause) — lower the toll that diet-related diseases takes on for too many Americans.   This goal is within our reach.  Just look at how far we’ve come on child poverty.   Thirty years ago, as was referenced, 1 in 4 children lived below the poverty line.  Today, 1 in 20 live below the poverty line.  So I know we can take — tackle hunger as well.  And I’ve released a national strategy to meet that bold goal.  The strategy that — has three key — three key principles.   First, help more Americans — I’ll say this again — help more Americans access the food that will keep their families nourished and healthy.  A lot of food deserts out there.   Second, give folks the option and information they need to make healthy dietary choices.   Thirdly, help more Americans be physically active.  People want to be; lots of times of times there’s no places to go to be active from where they live.   The good news is that we’ve already been laying a strong foundation for this work.   Soon after I came to office, I signed what was called the American Rescue Plan into law.  It helped put food on the table and keep a roof over the heads of millions of American families.  It helped our economy create nearly 10 million new jobs — most jobs created in that timeframe in American history.  We kept a pri- — a key price of — of the — a piece of the American Rescue Plan is the expanded Childcare Tax Credit.  (Applause.) Where is she?  The gentlewoman from Connecticut, I —   Overwhelmingly, working families used the Child Tax Credit to buy food and other basic needs for their families.  And it helped cut child poverty by nearly 50 percent in the United States — 50 percent.  (Applause.)  And it cut food insecurity for families by 26 percent.  (Applause.)   Look, folks, people are constantly looking at federal programs to see which ones are working and which ones are ineffective.   Well, during the pandemic, we had a real-world example right in front of us.   The expanded Childcare Tax Credit is one of the most effective programs we’ve ever seen.  And that’s why my national strategy calls on Congress to expand the Child Credit permanently.  (Applause.)  Permanently.  We got to do it.  (Applause.)  We tried.  We couldn’t get it done the first time.  We’ll get it done this time.  (Applause.)   At the same time, I remain committed to protecting workers’ rights and fair wages and collective bargaining, including workers who grow, produce, and process our food; who transport it to grocery stores — (applause) — who stock the grocery shelves and — so they too can afford to feed their families.   Look, folks, my strategy would also make permanent the Ameri- — an American Rescue Plan program that has made sure families, including over 30 million children, had money to buy groceries into the summer months so kids don’t go hungry when school isn’t in session. It sounds silly for a person to hear that who doesn’t have a child, but full school programs — food programs do a lot.  During the summer months, things change.   Within the next 10 years, my plan, as was already referenced, would make at least 9 million more children eligible for free school meals — a major first step for free meals for every single student.  (Applause.)   And we’re also supporting schools so they can cook more meals from scratch, purchase more food from local farmers and ranchers.  (Applause.)  And this will mean kids will have healthier meals, and we’ll strengthen rural economies at the same time.   You heard from Senator — from Secretary Vilsack.  “Senator.”  Excuse me, I demoted you.  (Laughter.)  All kidding aside, he’s doing a hell of a job.  Earlier — (applause) — I not only thank him for leading on this iss- — he knows a great deal about it and he cares passionately about this issue.   The national strategy recognizes the critical role that nutrition plays in our health and our healthcare system, and it acknowledges that we give — we have to give families the tools to keep them healthy.   How many of you here are — are medical people involved in research?  You know, almost every single — almost every single discipline, from cancer to heart disease on down the line, are finding out it’s affected by...

PHOTOS: CVC All-Inclusive Sports Day With Empower Sports, Sept. 28, 2022 – The News-Herald https://clarkcountynewsnow.com/photos-cvc-all-inclusive-sports-day-with-empower-sports-sept-28-2022-the-news-herald/ Photos from CVC All-Inclusive Sports Day with Empower Sports, Sept. 28, 2022, by Steve Hare. Photos from the CVC All-Inclusive Sport Day with Empower Sports, Sept. 28, 2022, at West Geauga High School (Steve Hare – Ohio Varsity) Photos from the CVC All-Inclusive Sport Day with Empower Sports, Sept. 28, 2022, at West Geauga High School (Steve Hare – Ohio Varsity) Photos from the CVC All-Inclusive Sport Day with Empower Sports, Sept. 28, 2022, at West Geauga High School (Steve Hare – Ohio Varsity) Photos from the CVC All-Inclusive Sport Day with Empower Sports, Sept. 28, 2022, at West Geauga High School (Steve Hare – Ohio Varsity) Photos from the CVC All-Inclusive Sport Day with Empower Sports, Sept. 28, 2022, at West Geauga High School (Steve Hare – Ohio Varsity) Photos from the CVC All-Inclusive Sport Day with Empower Sports, Sept. 28, 2022, at West Geauga High School (Steve Hare – Ohio Varsity) Photos from the CVC All-Inclusive Sport Day with Empower Sports, Sept. 28, 2022, at West Geauga High School (Steve Hare – Ohio Varsity) Photos from the CVC All-Inclusive Sport Day with Empower Sports, Sept. 28, 2022, at West Geauga High School (Steve Hare – Ohio Varsity) Photos from the CVC All-Inclusive Sport Day with Empower Sports, Sept. 28, 2022, at West Geauga High School (Steve Hare – Ohio Varsity) Photos from the CVC All-Inclusive Sport Day with Empower Sports, Sept. 28, 2022, at West Geauga High School (Steve Hare – Ohio Varsity) Photos from the CVC All-Inclusive Sport Day with Empower Sports, Sept. 28, 2022, at West Geauga High School (Steve Hare – Ohio Varsity) Photos from the CVC All-Inclusive Sport Day with Empower Sports, Sept. 28, 2022, at West Geauga High School (Steve Hare – Ohio Varsity) Photos from the CVC All-Inclusive Sport Day with Empower Sports, Sept. 28, 2022, at West Geauga High School (Steve Hare – Ohio Varsity) Photos from the CVC All-Inclusive Sport Day with Empower Sports, Sept. 28, 2022, at West Geauga High School (Steve Hare – Ohio Varsity) Photos from the CVC All-Inclusive Sport Day with Empower Sports, Sept. 28, 2022, at West Geauga High School (Steve Hare – Ohio Varsity) Photos from the CVC All-Inclusive Sport Day with Empower Sports, Sept. 28, 2022, at West Geauga High School (Steve Hare – Ohio Varsity) Photos from the CVC All-Inclusive Sport Day with Empower Sports, Sept. 28, 2022, at West Geauga High School (Steve Hare – Ohio Varsity) Photos from the CVC All-Inclusive Sport Day with Empower Sports, Sept. 28, 2022, at West Geauga High School (Steve Hare – Ohio Varsity) Photos from the CVC All-Inclusive Sport Day with Empower Sports, Sept. 28, 2022, at West Geauga High School (Steve Hare – Ohio Varsity) Photos from the CVC All-Inclusive Sport Day with Empower Sports, Sept. 28, 2022, at West Geauga High School (Steve Hare – Ohio Varsity) Photos from the CVC All-Inclusive Sport Day with Empower Sports, Sept. 28, 2022, at West Geauga High School (Steve Hare – Ohio Varsity) Photos from the CVC All-Inclusive Sport Day with Empower Sports, Sept. 28, 2022, at West Geauga High School (Steve Hare – Ohio Varsity) Photos from the CVC All-Inclusive Sport Day with Empower Sports, Sept. 28, 2022, at West Geauga High School (Steve Hare – Ohio Varsity) Photos from the CVC All-Inclusive Sport Day with Empower Sports, Sept. 28, 2022, at West Geauga High School (Steve Hare – Ohio Varsity) Photos from the CVC All-Inclusive Sport Day with Empower Sports, Sept. 28, 2022, at West Geauga High School (Steve Hare – Ohio Varsity) Photos from the CVC All-Inclusive Sport Day with Empower Sports, Sept. 28, 2022, at West Geauga High School (Steve Hare – Ohio Varsity) Photos from the CVC All-Inclusive Sport Day with Empower Sports, Sept. 28, 2022, at West Geauga High School (Steve Hare – Ohio Varsity) Photos from the CVC All-Inclusive Sport Day with Empower Sports, Sept. 28, 2022, at West Geauga High School (Steve Hare – Ohio Varsity) Photos from the CVC All-Inclusive Sport Day with Empower Sports, Sept. 28, 2022, at West Geauga High School (Steve Hare – Ohio Varsity) Photos from the CVC All-Inclusive Sport Day with Empower Sports, Sept. 28, 2022, at West Geauga High School (Steve Hare – Ohio Varsity) Photos from the CVC All-Inclusive Sport Day with Empower Sports, Sept. 28, 2022, at West Geauga High School (Steve Hare – Ohio Varsity) Photos from the CVC All-Inclusive Sport Day with Empower Sports, Sept. 28, 2022, at West Geauga High School (Steve Hare – Ohio Varsity) Photos from the CVC All-Inclusive Sport Day with Empower Sports, Sept. 28, 2022, at West Geauga High School (Steve Hare – Ohio Varsity)

‘PUBG’ Creator’s Next Project Is An Open Source Metaverse For Everyone – The Washington Post https://clarkcountynewsnow.com/pubg-creators-next-project-is-an-open-source-metaverse-for-everyone-the-washington-post/ Brendan “PlayerUnknown” Greene, the creator of “PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds” (commonly known as “PUBG”) has embarked on a metaverse project called Artemis. Greene revealed new details about Artemis in Hit Points, a newsletter by video game journalist Nathan Brown. In 2019, the developer announced a new project after leaving the PUBG team: “Prologue,” an open-world survival game on a massive, 40-square-mile map. In Tuesday’s edition of Hit Points, Greene told Brown that “Prologue” will ultimately be a tech demo for the even more ambitious Artemis, an Earth-size virtual sandbox. Companies in the tech world have expressed their ambitions to build the metaverse, the hypothetical next iteration of the internet that technologists surmise will be less like the text-based internet we have now, and closer to a digitized version of the real world. And Greene’s vision of the metaverse is a world owned and shared by everybody. PlayerUnknown Productions, the Amsterdam-based studio Greene founded to develop “Prologue” and Artemis, sounds more like a research and development lab than a game developer. Greene told Hit Points the staff includes nuclear physicists and mathematicians — decidedly not the sort of workers you might typically find on a video game team. But Artemis isn’t really a game in a traditional sense. Greene described it as a decentralized interactive world where the inhabitants are free to make or play whatever they wish. “I’m quite zealous about this,” Greene said. “It has to be made a certain way. The only way this exists is if it’s made for everyone, and it’s not made for money.” It’s a big vision that requires skilled management, which is why Greene brought on former Ubisoft Massive managing director David Polfeldt to the PlayerUnknown team as a senior adviser. The technology to create something like Artemis does not even exist yet. Making a 1:1 scale virtual Earth with thousands of people exploring its fully realized biomes is, currently, an impossible task. The tools for crafting a metaverse mirror of Earth don’t exist yet, at least on a scale that is practical. That is why PlayerUnknown Productions has been singularly devoted to building a game engine, Melba, which will be propped up by machine learning. Building Artemis, Greene said, would require an absurd amount of labor for human engineers, but it may be doable for an AI capable of churning out an entire planet’s worth of trees, plants, valleys, rivers and mountains at a relentless pace. It may also be able to populate Artemis with animals and even human NPCs that behave and interact in realistic ways — as long as the AI is built well and fed the right data. Greene told Hit Points that his studio has already filed several patent applications for some of the tech it has developed, and he shared a little about how it works. “We’ve created some new knowledge here: mapping terrain, populating it with trees and assets, inserting artist-made locations into that terrain,” Greene told Hit Points. “And that’s all done generatively, as you move through the world.” All of this is going to take a long time, about 10 to 15 years by Greene’s estimation. Polfeldt is optimistic about the project’s success and cited the team’s small staff as an advantage rather than a hurdle. To Polfeldt, it means the team can knock out the many objectives ahead of them — task by task — as they steadily march toward the white whale of a planet-size digital playground. Greene has remained open to using blockchain technology. Since anyone in Artemis can create whatever or do whatever they want, Greene said, they’ll need some way to verify proof of ownership or some sort of currency to exchange for providing a service. “We’re building a digital place,” Green said. “That has to have an economy, and it has to have systems at work. … But it’s not about, like, Chanel and Louis Vuitton. It’s some kid called AwesomePickle selling cool skins because he understands what people want.” The dream is for Artemis to be an open source world that anyone can modify with a decentralized ownership. All of Artemis’s inhabitants will have a stake, with PlayerUnknown Productions eventually fading into a “maintenance” role to make sure that things are running smoothly, according to Greene. It’s a place with a framework but “no real rules,” he said. Open-world games — even those with a limited scope and strictly controlled ownership relative to Artemis’s pitch — have already created some fascinating emergent moments, unplanned and often unforeseen by the developers. In 2007, a woman in New York City placed an ad on Craigslist offering sex in exchange for 5,000 gold in “World of Warcraft” to purchase an epic flying mount (the woman claimed to have found a client in a follow-up post). In 2012, the zombie apocalypse title “DayZ” inspired discussions on human nature as players chose to either band together or murder each other over cans of beans in the game’s cutthroat world. In 2005, a “World of Warcraft” glitch that acted like a viral epidemic forced the developer to briefly shut down the game to keep the “virus” from infecting all players — an incident later referenced by epidemiologists researching predictive modeling around covid-19. Greene referenced English computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web who also gave his creation away freely without copyrights or patents. More recently, Berners-Lee has been deeply critical of Silicon Valley giants controlling vast portions of the web and warning against a future he described as a “digital dystopia.” To that end, PlayerUnknown Productions is going to build Artemis — but Greene wants its inhabitants to determine what it will be. “We want to make our engine easy to mod, and to make it open source so everyone can participate,” Greene told Brown. “It won’t be PlayerUnknown’s Metaverse, just like it isn’t Tim Berners-Lee’s internet. It has to be owned by everyone.”

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Is Great, But It Won’t Make Me Play Cyberpunk 2077 – TheGamer https://clarkcountynewsnow.com/cyberpunk-edgerunners-is-great-but-it-wont-make-me-play-cyberpunk-2077-thegamer/ I’m not much of an anime head, as my colleagues constantly bemoan. I’ve seen most Studio Ghibli films, the first few series of Pokemon, and Death Note, but that’s it. I’m not going to watch 1,000 episodes of One Piece, and although Cowboy Bebop has been recommended to me time and time again, I still haven’t got around to watching it. But ten short episodes set in the Cyberpunk 2077 universe? Sure, I’ll give it a shot. Cyberpunk: Edgerunners was great. I enjoyed the second half much more than the first, but overall it was a really cool story propelled by great characters. The show explored concepts of losing your humanity as you augment your flesh with increasingly complicated bionics in interesting ways, and the central love story was as poignant as it was tragic. Gory fight scenes are full of unrealistic athletics, time-slowing gadgets, and more explosions than a Schwarzenegger flick. For an anime noob, it was perfect. On the other hand, we have Cyberpunk 2077. While I only played five to ten hours of CD Projekt Red’s RPG before I got bored and turned it off, I’ve read a lot about it. I’m aware that’s no substitute for playing the game, but everything I’ve read has turned me off it, and I’m not even talking about bugs. When it first launched (and was subsequently pulled from stores), I read about its childish views of sex (something Edgerunners sadly replicates), its useless skills, and the fact that Cyberware barely worked. You can only play by shooting your way through levels, there’s no place for hackers or any other roleplaying in Night City, no matter how hard you try. Since joining TheGamer nearly a year ago, I’ve read and edited countless articles about Cyberpunk 2077, and have therefore read up even more on the subject to provide useful and constructive advice. I’ve read about a world full of locked doors and buildings you can’t enter, racial stereotypes and poor-to-useless cosmetic upgrades. Sure, there are apparently some great characters, quests, and set pieces, but it’s clear to me this is not the game that will replicate the Edgerunners experience. I don’t care about getting David’s yellow jacket or spotting the Edgerunners references that have been patched into 2077, I want to upgrade myself with an Arasaka Exoskeleton so I look more like a Warhammer 40,000 Dreadnought than I do a man, become a metal monster and wreak havoc in Night City of my own accord. But that’s not an option for V, whose cyberware only buffs stats and grants abilities rather than giving her any cosmetic changes or significantly changing her playstyle. The only real physical upgrade is the Mantis Blades, which I’m told are useless when melee combat is rare and ineffective. While I’ve also been made aware that a cyberpsycho does wear a similar exoskeleton in the game, that’s not enough. What’s the cyberpunk genre without the risk of losing your humanity? Edgerunners tells that story perfectly, and while I don’t know how Johnny Silverhand gets to grips with his virtual life in V’s head, nothing tells me that 2077 will even attempt to tackle similar existential questions. From the outside, Cyberpunk 2077 looks all style and no substance. The character creator – which I did use in my short playthrough – is a prime example of this. You can match any genitals with either of the binary genders, but your voice is locked to being deep for a male V or high for a female. Everything is for show, to create a cool-looking world filled with edgy-looking people, but nothing goes deeper. Nothing is explored or analysed, none of the most interesting genre concepts used for anything more than epic set pieces. Maybe I’m wrong, and maybe Cyberpunk 2077 does a great job of embodying and interrogating cyberpunk ideas but it just so happens that nobody talks about that aspect of the game. But, at least from the outside, Edgerunners seems to achieve that better in its ten short episodes than 2077 does in its 100 hours of gameplay. Either way, I’m not going to waste my time in finding out. Next:

The Crypto World Is On Edge After A String Of Hacks – The New York Times https://clarkcountynewsnow.com/the-crypto-world-is-on-edge-after-a-string-of-hacks-the-new-york-times/ Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker

Latest U.S. Support For Ukraine Targets Long-Term Security Investment – Department Of Defense https://clarkcountynewsnow.com/latest-u-s-support-for-ukraine-targets-long-term-security-investment-department-of-defense/ The Defense Department today announced an additional $1.1 billion in aid to Ukraine that is part of the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative. An array of important warfighting equipment is included in the package, but one portion is aimed at supporting Ukraine’s defense needs long-term, a senior defense official said during a background briefing today. The latest USAI package includes 18 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, along with associated ammunition. Being part of USAI, the United States will purchase those systems from the manufacturer in order to provide them to Ukraine, rather than pull them directly from U.S. military inventory, as has been done previously with the 16 HIMARS sent to Ukraine under presidential drawdown authority.  It may take a while for the latest HIMARS promised to Ukraine to arrive, the senior defense official said.  “The procurement and delivery of these HIMARS systems and associated ammunition will take a few years,” the official said. “Today’s announcement is only the beginning of a procurement process.”  While the long-term purchase of newly manufactured HIMARS for Ukraine doesn’t preclude the U.S. from continuing to pull existing systems from inventory if need be, it does serve a larger purpose to have those systems on contract and in the pipeline for delivery at a later date, the official said. “If we don’t invest today to procure HIMARS for the future, they won’t be there when the Ukrainian armed forces need them down the road,” the official said. “This is a really sizable investment and it’s intended so that down the road, Ukraine will have what it needs for the long-haul to deter future threats. It in no way rules out us continuing to invest in their current force with capabilities that are available today, and that we can draw down today from U.S. stocks.”  Planning now for Ukraine’s future defense needs, post conflict, is not a new concept. In April, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III hosted the first of what has been an ongoing series of meetings by the Ukraine Defense Contact Group. The first meeting was held in Germany. Back then, the secretary alluded to the need to not only provide for Ukraine’s immediate needs, but also for its future defense needs.   “Ukraine needs our help to win today,” the secretary said at the time. “And they will still need our help when the war is over.” The senior defense official pointed out that in addition to the 16 HIMARS systems that the U.S. has already provided to Ukraine, allies have provided Ukraine with another 10-equivalent multiple-launch rocket systems. The official said the Ukrainians have used these systems to great effect.  “We’ve all seen how Ukraine has leveraged this system to push back against Russia’s war of aggression, disrupting ammunition depots, supply lines and logistical hubs far behind the frontlines,” the official said.  Also included in the latest USAI package are 150 Humvees, 150 tactical vehicles, explosive ordnance disposal equipment, body armor and an array of tactical secure communications systems, surveillance systems and optics.  The official also said the package includes 20 multi-mission radars that can track airborne objects and threats, including mortar and artillery fire, along with enemy unmanned aerial systems.  “As with every package, we provide funding for training, for maintenance and sustainment of this equipment,” the official said.  Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, the U.S. has provided approximately $16.2 billion in aid to Ukraine, both as part of presidential drawdown authority and USAI.  The Russians have also recently announced that they plan to pull up some 300,000 conscripts from Russian society to send into the fight in Ukraine. The reaction among the Russian population has not been positive to the announcement. A senior military official said it’s not the first time the Russian’s have done something similar, and that dipping into the civilian population to find new warfighters demonstrates the challenges they are facing in meeting their goals with the military they have in place already.  “They’ve mobilized twice before this, one was in 1914 and one was in 1941,” the senior military official said. “If you think about the consequences that they kind of feel that they’re in right now and you compare that to World War I and World War II, that certainly says a lot about what the Ukrainians have been able to do … to the Russian army.”  That same senior military official said there might be challenges with outfitting so many civilians for military service so quickly, and said that many of the military personnel who would need to train those new conscripts are unavailable now because they are already in Ukraine. The official reported having seen one open-source report online that said conscripts might have seen as little as one day of training before being shipped off to Ukraine to enter the fight.  “I just think about the level of training that we put in our own armed forces and know that that’s … pretty inadequate,” the official said.

Fast Company Shuts Website After Hack Sends ‘obscene’ Apple News Notifications – Reuters https://clarkcountynewsnow.com/fast-company-shuts-website-after-hack-sends-obscene-apple-news-notifications-reuters/ Sept 27 (Reuters) – U.S. business and media publication Fast Company said it shut down its website on Tuesday evening after the site was hacked and sent “obscene and racist” notifications to Apple users via the iPhone maker’s Apple News service. News publishers using the Apple News aggregation app can connect their digital publishing tools to Apple News to send push notifications to Apple customers who subscribe to the publisher’s channel. Fast Company said hackers broke into those publishing tools. Hackers sent two “obscene and racist push notifications” about a minute apart, Fast Company said in a tweet, adding it had suspended the Apple News feed until the situation was resolved. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com “We are investigating the situation and have suspended the feed & shut down FastCompany.com until we are certain the situation has been resolved,” the publication added. Fast Company’s website was down and the page displayed a 404 error when viewed by Reuters on Tuesday evening. In a subsequent tweet after the shutdown, Fast Company said that its content management system – software used by news outlets to publish and manage their stories – had been hacked to send the notifications. Apple News said in a tweet that it had disabled Fast Company’s channel. Fast Company said it had earlier suffered an “apparently related” hack of its website on Sunday afternoon, when similar language appeared on its home page, causing it to shut the site down for about two hours. Fast Company is owned by publishing firm Mansueto Ventures LLC. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Reporting by Abinaya Vijayaraghavan and Akriti Sharma in Bengaluru and Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Editing by Neha Arora and Jamie Freed Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Highway 14 Construction To Add Third Lanes Set To Begin Next Week – The Columbian https://clarkcountynewsnow.com/highway-14-construction-to-add-third-lanes-set-to-begin-next-week-the-columbian/ Third lanes in both directions expected to ease congestion Published: September 28, 2022, 6:03am The segment of state Highway 14 between Interstate 205 and 164th Avenue is notorious for congestion, a problem which WSDOT seeks to address by adding additional travel lanes and a “peak-use shoulder lane” for overflow traffic. (Amanda Cowan/The Columbian) Construction of a third lane in both directions of state Highway 14 between the Interstate 205 and Southeast 164th Avenue interchanges will begin as early as Oct. 3. The project is expected to significantly improve commute times, ease congestion and improve travel reliability. Travelers should plan for delays as travel lanes in both directions of Highway 14 will be narrowed during construction. The $28 million Washington State Department of Transportation project has been in the works since 2017 and is scheduled to be completed by the summer of 2024. “There’s a bottleneck, both eastbound and westbound, currently where the lanes narrow to two lanes instead of three lanes,” said Laura Peterson, assistant project manager at WSDOT’s southwest office. “We’re removing it by adding a third lane.” The project will also include a peak-use shoulder lane along westbound Highway 14 between Southeast 164th Avenue and I-205, the first in Clark County. Buses may currently use the shoulder lane. “(Westbound is) where most of the congestion happens,” Peterson said. “Eastbound by just adding that third lane, we completely remove congestion — it’s free-flow conditions. We needed to add that peak use shoulder lane westbound to help with congestion.” When the project is completed, electronic signs will display when the shoulder lane is open or closed to traffic, including buses. When the lane is open, there will be four travel lanes instead of three. Other improvements include stormwater facilities, a noise wall, fiber optics, electronic message signs, a ramp meter, traffic cameras and right-of-way acquisition. This story was made possible by Community Funded Journalism, a project from The Columbian and the Local Media Foundation. Top donors include the Ed and Dollie Lynch Fund, Patricia, David and Jacob Nierenberg, Connie and Lee Kearney, Steve and Jan Oliva and the Mason E. Nolan Charitable Fund. The Columbian controls all content. For more information, visit columbian.com/cfj.

14 Top New York Ski Resorts – U.S. News & World Report https://clarkcountynewsnow.com/14-top-new-york-ski-resorts-u-s-news-world-report/ You may be surprised to learn that New York state is home to more than 50 ski and snowboard areas – more than any other state in the U.S. Many of the larger resorts reside in the scenic Adirondacks, Catskill Mountains and Finger Lakes. Some of these destinations, such as Belleayre Mountain Ski Center, sit less than a three-hour drive from Manhattan, positioning them perfectly for a quick getaway from New York City. Whether you’re planning on a day of hitting the slopes or a romantic weekend away, the Empire State’s ski resorts are sure to have something for every age and ability level. From bunny hills to double black diamonds and off-slope activities such as snowshoeing, snow tubing and cross-country skiing, New York state is a winter wonderland for skiing and more. Here are the state’s top ski resorts for your next ski vacation. (Note: Some of the following ski resorts and locations may be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. New policies may be in place, including requirements for proof of vaccination, capacity restrictions, reservation requirements or mask mandates. Check with your chosen establishment and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention before your visit.) HoliMont Ski Club: Ellicottville, Chautauqua-Allegheny HoliMont is America’s largest private ski club. The mountain features seven chairlifts and 56 trails that cover 135 skiable acres, as well as a state-of-the-art snowmaking system. During the weekends in winter, the mountain is open for members only, which means far fewer skiers and snowboarders on the slopes. Previous visitors can’t say enough great things about the grooming of the runs and the lack of crowds. On-mountain amenities include gear rentals, a cafeteria and a mountain shop. You can enjoy cold weather activities like downhill skiing, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing at this New York ski resort. Annual membership includes access to the lifts for skiing and mountain biking with no lines, exclusive perks and events, country club reciprocals, ski clinics taught by Olympic skiers, and more. HoliMont Ski Club also offers a ski school for beginners or those who want to take their skills to the next level. For students who need extra assistance, the resort’s adaptive ski and snowboard program caters to individuals with disabilities. Belleayre Mountain Ski Center: Highmount, Catskills (Courtesy of Belleayre Mountain) Located in the heart of the Catskill Mountains, Belleayre Mountain Ski Center has 64 trails over 175 skiable acres. With more than half of the trails geared toward intermediate skiers and snowboarders, Belleayre is a good mountain for visitors who particularly enjoy blue square or black diamond runs. Trail coverage is typically good, with snowmaking that covers 96% of the mountain. A highlight for some visitors is the gondola, which they call fun for kids and a great way to stay warm while getting up to the top during cold weather. If you’re not into downhill skiing, you can enjoy nearly 6 miles of scenic cross-country trails. The resort has plenty of on-site dining to keep you fueled throughout the day, including grab-and-go food, deli soups and sandwiches, pub food, and waffles. Prior to heading up, check the snow report or get a lay of the mountain by viewing the trail map on Belleayre’s website. You can also skip the ticket window and head straight to the slopes with a reloadable SKI3 Card that allows access through the RFID direct-to-lift gates. At and around the resort, there are a variety of lodging options, from cabins and bed-and-breakfast inns to internationally acclaimed hotels and private home rentals. While making your way to or from the mountain, stop to explore the quaint villages and towns along the way. Whiteface Mountain: Wilmington, Adirondacks Located in the Adirondacks, Whiteface Mountain has a summit elevation of 4,867 feet with a massive vertical drop of 3,430 feet. So, if you prefer it steep, this ski resort is the place to go. Expert skiers will particularly love the narrow chutes known as The Slides. For those who like long downhill runs, the 2.1-mile Wilmington Trail is one of the longest intermediate runs in the Northeast. The mountain has 90 trails covering more than 22 miles with a variety of chairlifts and a gondola. Families in particular love taking little ones to the top on the scenic gondola, which is open year-round. The eight-seater Cloudsplitter Gondola whisks guests to the top of Little Whiteface in 15 minutes with dramatic views of the Adirondacks and Lake Placid. Even non-skiers can pack some snacks to enjoy at the top, where there’s a picnic area and observation deck. This historic ski area is part of Lake Placid’s Legacy Sites, having been a venue for the Winter Olympics in 1932 and 1980. While in the area, the impressive Olympic Jumping Complex about 20 miles away is worth a visit to witness ski jumpers training. Thrill-seekers can also try out bobsledding at speeds of up to 50 mph at Mount Van Hoevenberg. With so much to do around Whiteface Mountain, the Lake Placid area makes a great weekend getaway destination. Spend a night or two at the rustic yet luxurious Whiteface Lodge to enjoy multiple on-site restaurants and the relaxing spa. Gore Mountain: North Creek, Adirondacks (Courtesy of Gore Mountain) With the most skiable terrain in New York state, Gore Mountain is a popular ski and snowboard area that includes four peaks. Visitors appreciate the variety of runs to choose from for varying ability levels, ensuring the whole family can have fun on the mountain. In addition to downhill skiing, there are plenty of other activities at Gore Mountain, such as snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, terrain parks and glade skiing (skiing off-trail in the trees). And the fun doesn’t stop when the sun goes down: Twilight skiing is offered at the Ski Bowl, where the slopes are lit up at night. In between runs, grab a casual, cafeteria-style lunch at the food court in the lodge. For nearby accommodation, The Alpine Lodge offers mountain-chic guest rooms and suites with amenities that range from fireplaces and hot tubs to full kitchens. Bristol Mountain: Canandaigua, Finger Lakes Come day or night to Bristol Mountain to ski or snowboard in the Finger Lakes region of New York. If you’re a first-time skier or snowboarder, take advantage of the resort’s group lesson packages for customized instruction in a small group with your lift ticket and rentals included; you can also opt for a private lesson or a multiweek program for either children or adults. The mountain features 138 acres of skiable terrain – all covered by the snowmaking system – with 39 slopes and two high-speed quads to get you to the top with haste. The quick lifts and long runs were two highlights for recent travelers at Bristol Mountain. If you’re an advanced skier or snowboarder seeking a taste of racing, the Morning Star Race Park is free for nontimed open-gate runs. Cross-country skiers can explore almost 2 miles of Nordic trails. If you’ll be enjoying the mountain for multiple days, stay slopeside at one of North Star Village’s townhouses. Holiday Valley: Ellicottville, Chautauqua-Allegheny (Courtesy of Holiday Valley) Located in Ellicottville, Holiday Valley offers downhill skiing (day and night), snowboarding, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and tubing. This family-friendly ski resort is good for both beginners and experts, and lift tickets for children ages 6 or younger are free. Get a feel for the mountain through the interactive map online. Recent ski school participants praise the certified instructors for being patient, experienced and friendly. In addition to offering ski school for little ones (as well as adults), Holiday Valley can also provide day care for kids who aren’t ready to tackle the slopes. Other kid-friendly activities include searching the mountain for the Seneca Clan Rocks that represent the eight clans of Native American nations from western New York. If cross-country skiing is your thing, there are free trails for varying ability levels. Beginners can stay near the bottom, around the golf course, while more advanced skiers can journey along the top ridgeline of Holiday Valley. Non-skiers can zip down the mountain on the popular two-person Sky Flyer Mountain Coaster, which is a thrilling ride through the snowy woods; go snow tubing; or enjoy some relaxation at the Ellicottville Oasis Spa at the Tamarack Club. For ski-in/ski-out accommodation via the Sunrise Chairlift, the Inn at Holiday Valley is a convenient option that offers spectacular views. Kissing Bridge: Glenwood, Greater Niagara With 700 skiable acres, there is a lot of terrain for all ability levels at Kissing Bridge. Downhillers can speed down the 39 slopes, while visitors who want a bit more of a workout can travel up the slopes with skins or snowshoes. The mountain offers rental equipment, lessons, children’s programs, terrain parks, on-mountain dining and nearby lodging. Families can save money with a Family Season Pass and take advantage of Kissing Bridge’s many activities, such as a guided group snowshoeing tour or the “Family Fun Adventure” package that includes a private ski or snowboard coach to work with your entire family. Visitors highly recommend this resort for its reasonable prices. Hunter Mountain: Hunter, Catskills Located in the Great Northern Catskills with a base elevation of 1,600 feet and 320 skiable acres, Hunter Mountain is known as the “Snowmaking Capital of the World” and says its snowmaking capabilities cover 100% of its runs. Take your skills to the next level at this ski resort: The mountain offers private and group skiing and snowboarding lessons for everyone from toddlers to senior citizens with a range of ability levels. Note, though, that some visitors said the wait in the lift lines was...

Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office – September 4-10, 2022 – Washington Daily News – Thewashingtondailynews.com https://clarkcountynewsnow.com/beaufort-county-sheriffs-office-september-4-10-2022-washington-daily-news-thewashingtondailynews-com/ The following incidents were reported to and investigated by the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office during the period of September 4-10, 2022. September 4 Controlled substance/possession, weapons offense, traffic violation at Clarks Neck Road (block number not noted), Washington at 2:57 a.m. Assault on a female at 700 block of Springs Road, Washington at 4:00 a.m. Sex offense, forcible rape at 100 block of East Drive, Washington, at 9:13 a.m. Communicating threats at 6100 block of Cherry Run Road, Washington, at 12:34 p.m. Communicating threats at 100 block of Heron Bay, Washington, at 3:26 p.m. Theft of property at River View Lane (block number not noted), Belhaven, at 3:07 p.m. Theft of property, “other” (charge/charges not specified), at 19000 block of NC Highway 33 East, (the Veri Kwik), Edward, at 3:32 p.m. Resisting an officer, interfering with an officer, resisting arrest, escape from custody at 800 block of Hollis Drive, Blounts Creek, at 5:24 p.m. Theft of property, “other” (charge/charges not specified) at 1300 block of East Barr Road, Chocowinity, at 6:26 p.m. September 5 Breaking and entering of a vehicle, theft of property from a motor vehicle at 200 block of South Fifth St. (Mallard Creek Apartments), Aurora, at 11:45 a.m. Involuntary commitment, non-criminal detention at 5700 block of NC Highway 33 East, Chocowinity, at 10:05 a.m. Communicating threats at 100 block of East Drive, Washington, at 2:17 p.m. Simple assault at 600 block of New Bern Road, Chocowinity, at 5:09 p.m. September 6 Theft of a motor vehicle at 100 block of Hodges Road, Washington, at 6:18 a.m. Theft of property from a motor vehicle at 700 block of Gray Road, Chocowinity, at 10:33 a.m. Communicating threats at 200 block of Chesterfield Drive, Washington, at 3:01 p.m. Unattended death, calls for service at 100 block of Nature’s Way Road, Chocowinity, at 6:32 p.m. Breaking and entering, forcible entry, larceny, burglary (residential), theft of property, “other” (charge/charges not specified) at 900 block of Whootentown Road, Washington, at 7:07 p.m. Vandalism, destruction/damage to property at 200 block of Lazy “B” Lane, Washington, at 8:09 p.m. Vandalism, destruction/damage to property at 100 block of Hickory Drive (River Road Estates), Washington, at 10:10 p.m. September 7 Agency assistance, calls for service at 7200 block of Broad Creek Road, Washington, at 6:49 a.m. Lost property, calls for service at 100 block of Man-O-War Drive, Washington, at 10:26 a.m. Alcohol offense, traffic violation, “all traffic except DWI” at 1600 block of Highland Drive (Ridgewood Manor), Washington, at 12:03 p.m. Overdose/poisoning at 1600 block of Taylor Road, Chocowinity, at 1:37 p.m. Theft of property, “other” (charge/charges not specified) at 1000 block of Whootentown Road, Washington, at 3:10 p.m. Found property, calls for service, at US Highway 17 South and Whichards Beach Road, Chocowinity, at 4:51 p.m. Trespassing at Wheat Patch Road (block location not noted), Belhaven, at 4:23 p.m. September 8 Controlled substance offense, possession/concealment of drug equipment/paraphernalia at Harding and Gray Roads, Chocowinity, at 12:36 a.m. Breaking and entering, unlawful entry, burglary (residential) at 100 block of Magnolia School Road, Washington, at 3:32 a.m. Weapons offense, “all traffic (charges, none specified) except DWI” at East 15th and North Market Streets, Washington, at 9:30 a.m. Fraud at 100 block of Clark Road, Grimesland, at 11:03 a.m. Contempt of court, court violation at 100 block of Maple Lane, Washington, at 11:55 a.m. Unattended death at 400 block of Griffin-Hodges Road, Washington, at 12:23 p.m. Found property, calls for service at 3400 block of River Road, Washington, at 12:37 p.m. Harassing telephone calls at 100 block of Pine Drive, Chocowinity, at 5:00 p.m. Theft of property at 100 block of Strawberry Lane, Washington, at 8:02 p.m. Controlled substance offense, sale/manufacture of marijuana, sale/manufacture of a controlled substance at Clarks Neck Road (block location not noted), Washington, at 10:49 p.m. Weapons offense, controlled substance offense, possession of marijuana, possession of a controlled substance, “all other reportable offenses” at Clarks Neck Road (block location not noted), Washington, at 10:54 p.m. Controlled substance offense, possession of cocaine, possession of a controlled substance, possession/concealment of drug paraphernalia/equipment at Clarks Neck Road (block location not noted), Washington, at 11:17 p.m. September 9 Breaking and entering of a motor vehicle, theft of property from a motor vehicle, vandalism, destruction/damage to property at 200 block of Deer Run Road, Belhaven, at 9:57 a.m. Resisting an officer, interfering with an officer, resisting arrest, escape from custody at 3400 block of Gray Road, Chocowinity, at 11:29 a.m. Calls for service at 100 block of Deer Tract Road, Washington, at 11:16 a.m. Suspicious person/circumstance, “suspicion” at 300 block of Freshwater Drive, Blounts Creek, at 12:46 p.m. Trespassing at 17300 block of NC Highway 33 East, Blounts Creek, at 3:02 p.m. Communicating threats at 200 block of Ormond Ave., Bath, at 4:32 p.m. Theft of a motor vehicle at 5900 block of US Highway 17 South, Chocowinity, at 6:51 p.m. Fraud at 100 block of Gum Neck Road, Belhaven, at 6:56 p.m. Assault by pointing a gun at 100 block of Charlie Lane, Chocowinity, at 6:36 p.m. September 10 Burglary at 100 block of Camel Drive, Washington, at 12:55 a.m. Theft of property at 200 block of Juniper Drive, Washington, at 8:53 a.m. Theft of property at Pine Crest Road (block location not noted), Bath, at 3:03 p.m. Unattended death at 800 block of Potomac Drive, Chocowinity, at 4:13 p.m. Theft of property, “other” (charges not specified) at 8300 block of Market Street Extension, Washington, at 9:26 p.m.

Do Airline Membership Clubs Really Save You Money? How To Decide – The Arizona Republic https://clarkcountynewsnow.com/do-airline-membership-clubs-really-save-you-money-how-to-decide-the-arizona-republic/ This content is only available to subscribers. Get unlimited digital access. $1 for 6 months. Your subscription supports: Award-winning investigations and consumer reporting that helps Arizonans recover hundreds of thousands of dollars each year. In-depth coverage of the Valley’s real estate market and what’s being built and redeveloped in your city. Voices, experts and personalities on the right and the left. Exclusive sports coverage of Arizona high schools, Sun Devils, Suns, Cardinals and Diamondbacks plus access to USA TODAY Sports+ at no additional cost. The best guide in Arizona to getaways, concerts and the dining scene. Daily newsletter with top news to know. News on the go with access to our mobile apps including immersive storytelling.

AP Top Business News At 8:01 A.m. EDT – WTMJ https://clarkcountynewsnow.com/ap-top-business-news-at-801-a-m-edt-wtmj/ AP Top Business News at 8:01 a.m. EDT  WTMJ

Health Benefits Of Low-Carb Vegan Diet Are Same As Vegetarian Diet: Study – Bel Marra Health https://clarkcountynewsnow.com/health-benefits-of-low-carb-vegan-diet-are-same-as-vegetarian-diet-study-bel-marra-health/ If you’re unsure of what type of diet may be best for you, a new study may be of interest. Researchers have found that the health benefits of a low-carb vegan diet are the same as a vegetarian diet. So, if you’re looking for an animal-free way to reduce your risk of heart disease, diabetes, and other chronic conditions, going low-carb vegan and vegetarian are both excellent choices. Keep in mind that it’s important to ensure you’re getting enough protein and other essential nutrients on a vegetarian or low-carb vegan diet, so talk to your doctor or nutritionist about how to make sure you’re taking care of yourself. The study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggested an important difference between the two diets. It was found that a low-carbohydrate vegan diet had a significantly lower potential carbon emission value than its high-carbohydrate vegetarian counterpart. It was also found that the lower the potential carbon emission value of the diet, the more significant the reduction in blood cholesterol. Food Facts For the study, researchers analyzed people who were on two different types of plant-based diets. The first one was a low-carbohydrate vegan diet with no meat, dairy or eggs, supplemented with canola-oil enriched bread and high-protein vegan meat alternatives. The second diet was a vegetarian version of the DASH diet (a standard clinical diet for lowering blood pressure) which included egg whites and low-fat dairy but no meat. The researchers used this information to compare the health benefits as well as the carbon emission potential of each diet. Greenhouse gas emission databases were used to obtain mean values for each food. At the end of the three months, researchers found that the two diets were similar in their effects on weight loss and seemed to reduce blood cholesterol and blood pressure. Overall, participants on the vegan diet lost 5.9 kilos, and those on the vegetarian diet lost 5.2 kilos. Both groups also saw a reduction in hemoglobin A1c, a marker of glycemic control. “We showed that you actually reduce greenhouse gas emissions, with a diet that is effective, and that the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions is related to the fall in LDL cholesterol—often called the ‘bad’ cholesterol,” said lead author Dr. David Jenkins. “So, as you reduce the impact of your diet on the environment, you also benefit by lowering your cholesterol.” A Complete Diet To help ensure your diet is complete, 65+ Superfood Essentials is an excellent addition to a daily supplement regime. This breakthrough formula is a great way to support and promote cardiovascular and overall health. It contains Capros®, a patented and clinically studied Indian gooseberry extract that has been found to absorb free radicals and provide cascading antioxidants. Acai berry (the powerful natural antioxidant known to support total health) and resveratrol, a premier anti-aging ingredient, are also found in this formulation that can help ensure proper nutrients and vitamins that are essential as you age.

Boys’ Soccer Top 10 (Sept. 28, 2022) | Sports | News-Gazette.com – News-Gazette https://clarkcountynewsnow.com/boys-soccer-top-10-sept-28-2022-sports-news-gazette-com-news-gazette/ RK., SCHOOL REC. PREV. COMMENT 1. Champaign Central 13-1-2 2 Maroons saw a four-match win streak conclude via a draw with Peoria Notre Dame. They’ll visit Normal Community next. 2. Urbana 10-2-2 3 Tigers won on both Monday and Tuesday, dispatching non-league foe Mahomet-Seymour and Big 12 foe Bloomington. 3. Monticello 13-3 5 Sages controlled St. Thomas More on Tuesday for a meaningful Illini Prairie victory. Olympia comes to town on Thursday. 4. Mahomet-Seymour 11-3-2 4 Bulldogs have won six of their last eight matches overall ahead of Thursday’s Apollo Conference showdown with Charleston. 5. St. Thomas More 12-3 1 Sabers will need to recover from a setback versus Monticello in time for Thursday’s bout with Bloomington Central Catholic. 6. Oakwood/Salt Fork 15-3-2 6 Comets rumbled past Watseka and Hoopeston Area in Vermilion Valley action, visit Georgetown-Ridge Farm/Westville this week. 7. Uni High 6-5-4 7 Illineks shut out East Central Illinois opponent Judah Christian last time out, return to the pitch Thursday versus St. Teresa. 8. Fisher/GCMS 14-4-1 8 Bunnies have won three consecutive road matches, most recently at Hoopeston Area, and they visit Clifton Central soon. 9. St. Joseph-Ogden 10-4-1 9 Spartans were slowed by Bloomington CC but will stay busy through this week, facing Iroquois West, Rantoul and St. Anne. 10. Centennial 6-6-2 10 Chargers bounced back from a loss to Normal West by staving off Peoria Richwoods. They’re off until the month of October. Colin Likas is the preps coordinator at The News-Gazette. He can be reached at clikas@news-gazette.com, or on Twitter at @clikasNG.

ACS Laboratory Joins “Automatic Slims Metaverse Marketplace” In Decentraland – StreetInsider.com https://clarkcountynewsnow.com/acs-laboratory-joins-automatic-slims-metaverse-marketplace-in-decentraland-streetinsider-com/ Get inside Wall Street with StreetInsider Premium. Claim your 1-week free trial here. ACS Laboratory is the First Cannabis Testing Facility in the Metaverse, Gamifying Education and Fostering Consumer Safety in an Entertainment-Driven 3D Marketplace. , /PRNewswire/ — ACS Laboratory, the largest hemp and cannabis testing facility in the eastern U.S., is pleased to announce its entrance into Decentraland’s Automatic Slims Metaverse Marketplace. Powered by blockchain company, Blockticity, Automatic Slims is a virtual Metaverse Marketplace featuring four floors of dynamic experiences merging retail, education and entertainment. Visitors will find ACS Laboratory on the first floor, where they can leisurely explore the 3D lab or take ACS Laboratory’s Cannabis Quest to learn about the industry and redeem real-world prizes. On the laboratory floor, Slims visitors will discover ACS Laboratory’s instruments and learn how to read test results from Blockticiy-verified Certificates of Analysis (COAs). In the process, they’ll realize how hemp and cannabis compounds synergize to create the unique strains and products they love. Those who embark on the Cannabis Quest will answer pop quizzes, earning virtual prizes when they complete the journey. After interacting with ACS Laboratory, quest-goers will move to the second floor, where they’ll visit cultivation, extraction, and edibles processing stations, earning more points as they complete the quizzes at each one. They may even stop at the retail store to purchase NFT collections from their favorite cannabis brands. ACS Laboratory’s Cannabis Quest is just one of several Slims Metaverse Marketplace experiences that allow visitors to learn about the industry, connect with brands, and ultimately buy safe products verified by ACS Laboratory and Blockticity’s blockchain technology. Other experiences include product treasure hunts, influencer podcasts, live-streaming music events, health and wellness company interactions, and digital brand activations. “The metaverse is a new and exciting medium for cannabis users to learn more about products, how they affect their body and how finished goods are made. We are proud to be part of the cannabis metaverse community and look forward to harnessing this medium for cannabis compliance,” said ACS Laboratory President and CEO Roger Brown. For an invitation to Automatic Slims Cannabis Metaverse Marketplace’s opening event this Fall, brands, consumers, operators, and influencers can visit https://blockticity.io. About ACS Laboratory The Most Trusted Cannabis and Hemp Laboratory in the USA™, ACS Laboratory has earned 61 Emerald Test Badges for accuracy in testing in 2019, 2020, and 2021, more than any other laboratory in the USA. ACS Laboratory is ISO 17025 compliant, DEA licensed, and CLIA licensed with the largest state-of-the-art facility in the eastern USA. Compliant with the USDA’s rules for hemp testing, ACS is also approved by the Florida Department of Agriculture as a “Designated Compliance Laboratory,” and deemed a “Certified Marijuana Testing Laboratory” by the Florida Department of Health. Due to its success, ACS Laboratory has undergone a 20,000 sq. ft. expansion and increased its reach to 48 states and 16 countries worldwide. Beyond compliance, ACS is committed to innovation, which is why it tests for more cannabinoids than any lab in the country and continuously develops new protocols to analyze lesser-known toxins. Its facility utilizes industry-leading ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry and gas chromatograph technology with proprietary protocols to ensure accurate detection and quantitation. For an inside look behind the scenes, check out this video. Read our blog for up-to-date information on cannabis science and lab testing for both the hemp and cannabis industries. For more information, visit acslab.com, or call (561) 510-8396. About Blockticity Blockticity is the leader in guaranteed certificates of authenticity for the most valuable possessions, providing a different approach to credibility with error-proof certifications through blockchain verification technology. Blockticity provides the platform for the first-ever cannabis and hemp industry blockchain verified certificate of analysis (COA) NFT drop, signifying the beginning of this emerging industry’s need for compliance. For more information, visit https://blockticity.io Media Contact:Durée & Company, Inc. 954-723-9350 / [email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/acs-laboratory-joins-automatic-slims-metaverse-marketplace-in-decentraland-301635117.html SOURCE ACS Laboratory

Intel NUC 12 Pro Mini PC NUC12WSHi7 Unboxing And First Look – Geeky Gadgets https://clarkcountynewsnow.com/intel-nuc-12-pro-mini-pc-nuc12wshi7-unboxing-and-first-look-geeky-gadgets/ 1:04 pm September 28, 2022 By Julian Horsey If you are interested in learning more about the new Intel NUC 12 Pro mini PC reference NUC12WSHi7 which is available in both tall and short versions, with the short version unable to accept the 2.5 inch drives. You will be pleased to know that YouTuber ETA Prime has created a great 10 minute unboxing and first the latest Intel NUC 12 Pro mini PC powered by 12th Generation Intel Core processors and previously codenamed Wall Street Canyon. The mini PC is capable of supporting a wide variety of different operating systems including Windows 11 Home, Windows 11 Pro, Windows 10 Home, Windows 10 IoT Enterprise, Windows 10 Pro, Red Hat Linux and Ubuntu 20.04 LTS depending on your needs. Other features include 2 x 8GB DDR4-3200 SODIMMs and 500GB Gen 4 NVMe SSD. The $1,299 version includes the hardware listed below, but other systems are available for $1,000 and $1,160 if preferred. – i7-1260P 12 Cores 16 Threads 4.7GHz, Intel Iris Xe Graphics, Supports one 8K or four 4K displays – WiFi 6E AX, BT 5.2, 2.5GB Ethernet, 3x USB 3.2 Type-A, 1x USB 2.0 Type-A, 2x USB 4 (Thunderbolt 4 type C) – 2x HDMI 2.0b, 2x DP 1.4a and USB 4 via Thunderbolt , 3.5mm headphone/mic jack – Installed 64GB RAM + 2TB NVMe, Windows 11 Pro NUC 12 Pro mini PC “In this video, we take a look at and test out the new Intel Nuc 12 Pro NUC12WSHi7 land this little PC is pretty amazing! Powered by a 12 Core 16 threads CPU and backed by up to 64 GB of ram, and yes it supports Thunderbolt 4, USB4 external GPUs! So by the end, we attach an RTX 3060 eGPU. We do an unboxing, run some benchmarks test out some PC games and emulation on this awesome Intel NUC 12 Pro” “Streamline your embedded systems by integrating a serial port expansion panel to effortlessly operate within your industrial application and enjoy zero downtime with 24/7 and faulttolerant operation with DC transient voltage suppression. Expand your networking capabilities with headless display and the additional LAN expansion to give your edge devices or embedded solutions network redundancy and security. Dual HDMI with persistent display functionality and dual Thunderbolt 4 ports can power four 4K displays simultaneously giving you superior video quality and flexibility to create immersive digital signage.” Source : Intel Filed Under: Hardware, Top News Disclosure: Some of our articles include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, Geeky Gadgets may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more. Latest Geeky Gadgets Deals

Is NFT Utility A Challenge? Learn How Cocky Is Setting New Standards – Cryptonews https://clarkcountynewsnow.com/is-nft-utility-a-challenge-learn-how-cocky-is-setting-new-standards-cryptonews/ Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) continue to attract special attention within the cryptocurrency sector, even though the initial hype surrounding them has subsided a little, and even though crypto continues to suffer its way through a bear market. After Collins Dictionary made non-fungible token its word of the year in 2021, the burgeoning NFT sub-sector continues to grow steadily, with trading volume still topping half a billion dollars per month. However, while NFTs still manage to sell for large sums, finding a genuine real-world use case for non-fungible tokens remains something of a conundrum. Musicians and bands have released albums in conjunction with limited-edition NFTs, while names such as Bored Ape Yacht Club are branching out into new areas, yet it’s arguable that non-fungible tokens have yet to find a ‘killer app’ that provides actual utility to their holders. This is a valid criticism, but it’s one that may not remain valid for much longer. Significant players within the music and gaming industries, for instance, are convinced that NFTs have a meaningful future within their sectors, and there’s one new player within the music and entertainment that serves as a good example of this. This is Cocky, a self-styled “lifestyle club” that uses NFTs to offer access to a variety of music events, both in-person and in virtual reality. By linking non-fungible tokens to the attendance of actual events, Cocky anchors them in the real world, ensuring that they will have value insofar as they refer to something other than themselves. What is Cocky and How Is It Linking NFTs to Music Events? Launched only a few months ago, Cocky aims to use NFTs in a variety of interesting ways in the context of live (and virtual) music events. At its most simple, Cocky will issue a collection of 10,000 NFTs based on the Ethereum blockchain. These NFTs will take the form of “visually stunning” cans (i.e. soft drink cans), as picture below. According to Cocky’s website, these cans will be based around 51 skin variations, which alter their basic designs and styles. Where things get interesting, however, is that these NFT-based cans will alter depending on the Cocky events holders attend. For instance, the cans will have one of three possible lids (black, silver and gold), which vary according to the user’s tier and which provide the holder with unique benefits at Cocky events. These lids are randomly assigned to NFTs, providing their holders with such perks as accommodation, subsidized transport and bar tabs. More interestingly, a user’s NFT receives ‘passport stamps’ when attending new events. The more events they attend, the more their can mutates, increasing its rarity and potentially increasing its value on the second-hand market. The combination of these mutations and randomly assigned lids/tiers will likely make buying Cocky NFTs on the secondary market more desirable to traders, since ownership would confer future benefits on holders, as well as enabling attendance of events. This is precisely where utility enters the picture, since holding a Cocky will become useful and valuable to its holder, enabling them to enjoy real-world experiences and obtain special VIP benefits while doing so. As for these experiences, Cocky’s website and Twitter reveal that these will be (at least for now) “world-class” electronic music events. It plans to stage anything from two to four in-person festivals or events each year, as well as more regular virtual events. With the virtual events, they will be streamed by Cocky on its own platform, whereas the physical events will take place at “spectacular locations across the globe.” None of these locations have been revealed yet, but Cocky is certainly promising big things by using the word “spectacular.” The Roadmap and Pre-Mint Sale Helpfully, Cocky has released its roadmap on its website, revealing that it will release the location — as well as open registration — for its first event in the final quarter of this year. This first event will then take place in the opening quarter of 2023, attendance of which will confer mutations onto the NFTs held by participants. As for actually obtaining Cocky’s NFTs in the first place, its pre-mint sale has just begun, with interested parties able to register via a visit to the platform’s official website. Overall, Cocky’s plans are certainly ambitious, with its roadmap and FAQ suggesting that Cocky is positioning itself as a kind of Bored Ape Yacht Club for music events. While it isn’t explicitly stated anywhere in the platform’s online materials, it’s likely that its events and NFTs will be aimed at the higher, more luxury end of the market, at least judging by its promise of beautiful locations around the world. This would mean that ownership of Cocky NFT could potentially provide ordinary holders with the opportunity to rub shoulders with a more ‘upmarket’ demographic. Needless to say, time will obviously tell whether the rich and/or famous will go for Cocky’s NFTs, as they did with BAYC. Assuming that Cocky can secure good lineups for its music events and good facilities, there’s every chance it will attract a decent crowd and community. If this does turn out to be the case, then its NFTs could end up becoming valuable, since they will grant entry into a world where music lovers can enjoy singular experiences and meet likeminded people. The Future of NFTs In other words, Cocky’s events will help non-fungible tokens become more than a nice digital collectible to have in your possession. And this is something that NFTs have been trying to evolve beyond for a couple of years now, despite the initial hype. Encouragingly, there are other indications that NFTs may start offering some genuine value to their holders, beyond speculation. This is evident in the use gaming developers and publishers are aiming to make of non-fungible tokens, while it’s also evident in crypto-native projects such as Bored Ape Yacht Club moving into the metaverse. It will take some time to things to mature the point where NFTs make a valuable contribution to their holders’ lives, yet it’s clear now that the industry is well aware that it needs to do more than simply offer a promising vehicle for speculation. And with Cocky’s plans to attach NFTs to real-world events, it seems that it has begun to do just that.

U.S. Department Of Education Communicates Vision To Advance Digital Equity For All Learners – US Department Of Education https://clarkcountynewsnow.com/u-s-department-of-education-communicates-vision-to-advance-digital-equity-for-all-learners-us-department-of-education/ Today, during the National Digital Equity Summit hosted by the U.S. Department of Education, the Office of Educational Technology (OET) launched Advancing Digital Equity for All: Community-based Recommendations for Developing Effective Digital Equity Plans to Close the Digital Divide and Enable Technology-Empowered Learning. This resource provides recommendations for equitable broadband adoption to support leaders crafting digital equity plans, an aspiration that became an emergency for many schools and families during the pandemic. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed earlier this year supports that goal, allocating $2.75 billion under the Digital Equity Act to ensure that all people and communities can reap the full benefits of the digital economy. “Digital equity has never felt more urgent. But our opportunity to deliver digital equity has never felt more within reach. The pandemic turned equitable access to technology from an aspiration into an emergency,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. “Students without broadband access or only a cell phone have lower rates of homework completion, lower grade point averages … even lower college completion rates. Today, there can be no equity without digital equity. Thanks to President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we’re making tremendous progress towards that goal.” The National Digital Equity Summit will convene nearly 200 equity-minded organizations, state and local systems leaders, federal agencies, and educational technology experts to discuss how broadband investments from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law can be leveraged to better serve students furthest from digital opportunities and close the digital divide, thereby supporting transformative learning experiences empowered through technology. The summit will be livestreamed and can be viewed here. “The pandemic illuminated long-standing educational equity gaps and spurred an unprecedented period of emergency remote learning. One of the most critical challenges during this time has been providing the foundational access to high-speed, reliable internet necessary to facilitate everywhere, all-the-time learning,” said Assistant Secretary for Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Roberto Rodríguez. “We’ve all understood that digital equity is no longer a ‘nice-to-have’ condition, but a ‘must-have’ to ensure that all may fully participate in the digital economy and society of today and tomorrow.” The new publication also highlights existing barriers across the three components of availability, affordability, and adoption, and provides examples of promising strategies to overcome these barriers. Much of the content was gathered through the Digital Equity Education Roundtables (DEER) Initiative launched by OET in the spring, which progressed national conversations with leaders from community-based organizations, as well as families and students furthest from digital opportunities, to learn more about the barriers faced by learner communities and promising solutions for increasing access to technology. During these events, participants expressed the need to address the three components of digital equity — availability, affordability, and adoption – in order to serve all learners in an equitable manner. Key takeaways from participants are captured in the new Advancing Digital Equity for All resource. The DEER Initiative, today’s summit, and the new resource are examples of the commitment from the Biden-Harris Administration to address connectivity barriers around the country. Also, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Education Cindy Marten recently attended a roundtable discussion in Charlotte, North Carolina, hearing directly from school leaders, community-based organizations, and parents about efforts necessary to boost participation in the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). Additionally, the Department engaged in a back-to-school campaign to promote ACP enrollment, contributed to interagency efforts in streamlining information about federal broadband funding, and published a series of resources to ensure students’ access from home. Over the next year, OET will build on this progress by fostering a sense of urgency around adoption barriers that impede digital equity in education and cultivating a community of champions who are implementing solutions. For the latest information on OET’s digital equity efforts, visit DEER – Office of Educational Technology.

Asian Fintech 21st Financial Technology Introduces The First IPhone Subscription Program In Taiwan With Local E-Commerce Giant PChome Group – PR Newswire https://clarkcountynewsnow.com/asian-fintech-21st-financial-technology-introduces-the-first-iphone-subscription-program-in-taiwan-with-local-e-commerce-giant-pchome-group-pr-newswire/ , /PRNewswire/ — 21st Financial Technology Co., Ltd. (“21st Fintech”), a fast-growing Asian fintech company with a gross payment volume of over US$3 billion, launched Taiwan’s first and most flexible “12-month iPhone Subscription Program” on the 9th of September. The introduction of iPhone subscription program successfully drew the attention of the market, spurring a buying frenzy that resulted in pre-orders selling out within minutes, with the iPhone 14 Pro Max as the top-selling model. For a starting price of US$50/month, this subscription program includes exclusive insurance coverage and purchase priority for the most advanced iPhone models in the coming year without any upfront deposits. It also includes flexible cancellation and renewal options, offering customers, especially the new generation of customers, a ground-breaking way to purchase the latest iPhone while also enjoying more flexible spending options. Headquartered in Taiwan, 21st Fintech provides comprehensive payment solutions with integrated fraud management and credit solutions to both merchants and users. Its AI-driven solutions, based on 6500 sets of feature data, process over 3 million requests per day with an over 99.5% accuracy, providing frictionless experience to all customers. Coupled with the company’s strong credit scoring and management capabilities, 21st Fintech is one of the few Asian Fintech players that demonstrates a solid growth with profitability. Its flagship payment product, TapPay, will also be launched in Japan in early 2023, followed by expansion in the SEA market to expand the Fintech ecosystem in Asia. “Our mission is to provide simple, accessible, and trustworthy financial services to our customers. 21st Fintech continues to pioneer technological breakthroughs in fintech-related products in Taiwan following its launch of PayLater, the very-first BNPL mobile wallet, in May 2022. The 12-month iPhone Subscription Program offers five premium features tailor-made for customer preferences: low monthly payment; no upfront deposits; exclusive insurance; flexible renewal options; and cancellation at no charge, breaking new ground in Taiwan‘s market. Customers can design their subscription plans in accordance with their own needs and with approved credit via our BNPL product, and enjoy a seamless and secure checkout experience with just a click,” said Allan Chou, the CEO of 21st Fintech. Key Features of the 12-month iPhone Subscription Program are as follows: Low monthly payments starting from US$50: With a 12-month subscription, customers can pay as little as US$50 per month to purchase the latest iPhone for a sum lower than the retail price. Fast online approval without an upfront deposit: Anyone over the age of 20 is eligible to apply. To subscribe, customers can select the specification and color of their phone depending on their budget and needs at PChome 24h Shopping.Once their online application is approved, customers can receive the latest iPhone in as little as 24 hours. Exclusive insurance: The subscription plan comes with exclusive phone insurance that entitles the subscriber to a one-time servicing or replacement of their purchased phone. Flexible renewal options: Renewal of a subscription can be completed with just a click, as no re-approval is needed upon expiration. Arrangements will then be made in the shortest time possible to collect the old iPhone and deliver the new iPhone. Subscribers will not only be given priority when purchasing the latest iPhone each year, but can also choose to extend their original plan without trading-in their old iPhone. Free Cancellation: After the 12-month subscription period, subscribers can enjoy flexible cancellation options if they decide to end the subscription by choosing to return or buyout the old iPhone without extra interests or fees. Please refer to the official website for more details and T&C’s – https://apple.pchomeec.tw/cdn/sites/apple/subscribe.html About 21st Financial Technology (“21st Fintech”) 21st Financial Technology (“21st Fintech”) is a trustworthy and reliable Fintech platform based in Taiwan that has expanded to SEA and Japan. 21st Fintech provides a wide range of innovative and convenient financial services such as its flagship payment gateway, facilitation, fraud management, and cash management solutions to merchants and customers on the back of its data analytic tools and technologies. As of 2021, 21st Fintech’s ecosystem of products has helped more than 15 million customers and 2 million merchants with a GPV valued at US$3 billion. To learn more, please visit: https://www.21centurydigital.com/ Investor Relations: Email：[email protected] SOURCE 21st Financial Technology Co., Ltd.

PAUL THOMAS – Pleasanton Express https://clarkcountynewsnow.com/paul-thomas-pleasanton-express/ Paul Nathaniel Thomas was born April 1, 1932, in Santa Rosa, deep in the Rio Grande. He was a middle child of 8, born to Homer Alonzo Thomas and Edna Mae (Shelton) Thomas. Paul’s family moved to the Valley from Madison, Indiana in the 1920s. Paul and his siblings worked in the citrus fields of his parent’s farm. He had a carefree, happy childhood working on the farm with dairy cows, raising chickens for food and sharing hog butchering with neighbors and family. His education was better than most because of small classes and one-onone learning with dedicated teachers. He enjoyed calculus, trigonometry, algebra and physics. Paul was a decidedly, dedicated lifetime learner. He was interested in politics, religion, early history and latter-day history of the entire world and knew something about it all, yet Paul was a very humble man. He was the most interesting person to discuss the world news with because up until the day he died, he read constantly. Paul was drafted into the Army and sent to Washington state and trained to be a military policeman. He thought he would be sent to the Korean War, but instead was sent to Hawaii. He finished his service and came home to the Valley. Paul went to work for the chemical company, Celanese in Bishop and worked there until his retirement in September of 1985. He then became a realtor, appraiser of houses and land, and a broker. Paul believed in giving of yourself to your community and was involved in numerous organizations. Paul’s awards included Meritious Service Award from the American Heart Association, Kingsville Board of Realtors Presidential Award, President of Bishop Chamber of Commerce, Kleberg County Appraisal District Award of Appreciaton, Kingsville Board of Realtors-Realtor of the Year, Bishop CISD School Board Member 1983-1998 and Bishop Chamber of Commerce Lifetime Service Award- 2001. Paul served at the Bishop First United Methodist Church in almost every position on the Church Council and was a lifetime member there. Paul was married to Ruth Ann Miller in 1962, and they had three children, Jeri Ruth, Paula Sue and Charles Clark. Ruth passed away in 1997 and Paul later married Laurel Nola-Theresa Starry in 2001. Laurel had three children from a previous marriage, Laura Lee, Roy Lynn and Heather Ann. Paul was preceded in death by his first wife, Ruth, his parents, siblings Charles, Edna Mae, Jane, Homer and stepdaughter Heather. He is survived by his wife, Laurel, sisters, Nell, Jill and brother, Jack. His children Jeri, Paula, Clark, stepchildren, Laura and Eric Ricks, Roy and Sandy Robinette. Twelve grandchildren and numerous great-grand children. All will miss him greatly. Paul’s life was a well-lived life with Christ at the center and love in his heart. A visitation will be held on Saturday, October 1, at Hurley Funeral Home, from 9-10 a.m., with a funeral service starting at 10 a.m. Burial will follow at Pleasanton City Cemetery. Pallbearers are his grandsons, William Chaney Custer, Nathan Martin Ricks, Ryan Patrick Robinette, Darren De La Cruz, granddaughter, Emmalie Thomas and son, Clark Thomas. Grandson, Joseph Paterno, will be honorary pallbearer and will walk beside his grandfather’s casket.

‘Let The Kids Be Kids And You Be A Kid Along With Them.’ Why You Should Take A Trip With Just Your Grandchildren. – Morningstar https://clarkcountynewsnow.com/let-the-kids-be-kids-and-you-be-a-kid-along-with-them-why-you-should-take-a-trip-with-just-your-grandchildren-morningstar/ By Jenny Wisniewski Imagine enjoying your relationship with your grandchildren in a way that might not be possible with their parents around This article is reprinted by permission from NextAvenue.org. When Margie Jordan took her first Disney (DIS) cruise alone with one of her five grandchildren, she jumped into every kid-centered activity her 12-year-old granddaughter desired — until it came time for the AquaDuck. The waterslide required passing through a sheet of cascading water at the end. She wasn’t thrilled with the idea of getting drenched and having to bother with her hair once again. After both her granddaughter and a Disney employee convinced her that she wouldn’t get “that wet,” Jordan, of Jacksonville, Florida, relented. “Well, I got soaked, and we both came down laughing hysterically,” Jordan said. And just like that, a memory was made. Vacations like Jordan’s are having a moment. While families continue to enjoy multigenerational vacations, which usually include children, parents and grandparents, duo-generational trips are gaining in popularity. This sort of trip might look like Jordan’s — a grandparent or set of grandparents traveling with one or more grandchildren. In other cases, older adults travel with their adult children, leaving the grandkids behind. Regardless of the combination of family members, it is clear that the separations and tragedies caused by the pandemic have fueled a desire to spend quality time bonding on a more intimate level. Also read: 8 rules to help your kids or grandkids succeed in college Disney cruising with tweens Jordan wasn’t done cruising. After the first trip with her granddaughter, her next oldest grandchild wanted to get in on the action, so Jordan embarked on her second Disney cruise, this time with both of the eldest grandchildren. “I tell you, the thing that was the best for me was getting to just spend time with them without their parents,” Jordan said. “We’re enjoying it so much that now, when we talk about taking another cruise — because the third grandson just turned 12, so now it’s his turn to join this little cruise thing that we’ve got going on — none of them, not one of them wants a parent to come,” Jordan said. The dynamics change when the trip is multigenerational, Jordan has come to realize. If her two daughters came along, her time and attention would be split. She can nurture her relationship with “her grands” in a way that would probably not be possible with their parents present. When not cruising with her grandkids, Jordan plans trips for others as a travel agent and the owner of Jordan Executive Travel Service, based in Jacksonville. She has advice for other grandparents planning a two-generation trip. First, she recommends waiting until the grandkids are 11 or 12. She also advises that grandparents consider their grandchildren’s interests and book the trip around that. “The trip is about them and all the things that make them amazing. So figure out what their interests are and book the trip around that,” Jordan said. “Let the kids be kids and you be a kid along with them.” You might like:6 lessons I learned from growing up with my grandparents — and great-grandparents Celebrating special occasions with teens Angie Rice, co-founder of Boutique Travel Advisors based in Paradise Valley, Arizona, is also seeing a significant increase in duo-generational travel. She agrees that waiting until kids reach their tween or teen years is important when planning a grandparent-grandchild vacation. “When the kids are little, it’s just a bigger undertaking for the grandparents to take smaller kids, and it’s also hard for the kids to be away from their parents,” Rice said. Giving the gift of travel to commemorate a birthday or graduation has become a part of the trend. Rice planned one trip for a set of grandparents who took their high school and college-age grandkids on a Mediterranean cruise followed up with several days in Rome. The trip was a joint graduation gift for the six cousins. In many cases, parents are unable to take time off from work for this type of extended trip. It also provides the grandparents more autonomy with their grandkids. Another reason for an increase in grandchildren — grandparent travel: the middle generation needs a break. “I think that they (the parents) were in their homes, raising kids 24/7 throughout the pandemic. It could be that the adult children are expressing the need (for a break) to their parents. So I almost think it is happening out of a combination of want and also perhaps need,” Rice said. Travel for landlubbers Aside from cruises, certain types of trips lend themselves to duo-generational travel. All-inclusive resorts in Mexico or the Caribbean are good options, Rice said. If travelers prefer to remain in the country, dude ranches are also conducive to this type of vacation. Flathead Lake Lodge in Bigfork, Montana is one such place. The all-inclusive, 2,000-acre dude ranch is located on the shores of Flathead Lake just 45 miles from Glacier National Park. It offers visitors a “historic, stuck-in-time kind of experience” that appeals to grandparents, said Chase Averill, general manager and third generation member of the family-owned business. In many cases, grandparents have memories of coming to the lodge as a child, or even with their own children. They want to share the experiences that they look back on so fondly with their grandchildren. In addition, Flathead Lake Lodge offers a vast array of activities. It is common for the kids to go in one direction and adults to go in another so that they can participate in the activities that suit their interests and abilities. The kids might ride horses, participate in water sports and mountain bike while their grandparents take a tour through the lodge’s elk preserve or sail aboard one of the historic sailboats, built in 1928 and 1929 for America’s Cup. At night, everyone comes together for a planned activity such as a steak fry or barn dance. Check out:Looking to unplug? Here are 12 peaceful towns great for going off the grid Travel for the adults A dude ranch like Flathead Lake Lodge also appeals to older adults traveling with their adult children. Averill saw a surge in this travel dynamic during the pandemic. During the summer of 2020, families that had traveled to Flathead Lake Lodge didn’t want to leave. They were able to easily maintain social distancing because of the expanse of the property and still enjoy their family members. For some, it became a retreat from a tumultuous world. A number of these travelers returned for a second trip in the fall, this time bringing their older parents and leaving the kids behind. Many have continued this pattern since. Phoebe Knight, a Missoula, Montana resident, has been vacationing at Flathead Lake Lodge with her sisters and their 93-year-old father, even longer. The tradition began with a stay at the lodge 18 years ago to celebrate his 75th birthday. Knight values this time with her father, who lives in Cos Cob, Connecticut, over 2,000 miles away. “My dad was a Navy man and loves to sail,” Knight said. “That’s his thing and the lodge has two beautiful antique sailboats that he can go out and sail. And while we’re sailing, he’s telling me stories of his time in the Navy. I just think it’s irreplaceable. It’s been absolutely amazing.” Rice plans trips for older adults and their adult children, too. Recently, she put together a trip for an older adult couple along with their two adult children and spouses. Leaving their minor children behind, they took a river cruise on the Douro River in Portugal. The grandmother frequently helps out with the grandchildren, and this was a chance for her adult children to say thank you and spend quality time alone. And where did the grandchildren stay while their parents and grandparents were cruising? Several stayed with the other set of grandparents. In a way, it became like two family reunions going on at the same time, Rice observed. Not everyone is so fortunate to have another set of grandparents available to help out. In cases like these, Rice recommends using opportunities like summer camp to plan a two-generation, adults-only trip. Don’t miss:Live it up now: The pleasure we get from spending declines as we age As for Margie Jordan, the Disney-cruising grandma, she’s decided it’s time to plan a trip with her two daughters, leaving the grandchildren behind. Like many families, their mind-set shifted with the pandemic. “I think the pandemic really kind of shook a lot of people up. People that were here a couple of years ago aren’t with us today,” Jordan said. “People are just not willing to let any more time pass without enjoying their family members in some kind of way. It’s the thing that you always wanted to do or that you thought you were going to do. And you say ‘we’re going to plan it one day.’ Well, one day is now.” Jenny Wisniewski is a freelance writer based in Milwaukee. She writes about elder care, the environment and travel. More of her work can be found at jennywisniewski.com and on LinkedIn. This article is reprinted by permission from NextAvenue.org, (c) 2022 Twin Cities Public Television, Inc. All rights reserved. More from Next Avenue: – (END) Dow Jones Newswires 09-28-22 0500ET Copyright (c) 2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

Claiming Social Security At 62? You Might Regret That – 69News WFMZ-TV https://clarkcountynewsnow.com/claiming-social-security-at-62-you-might-regret-that-69news-wfmz-tv/ Many seniors are inspired to claim Social Security at age 62 for one big reason — they can. In other words, age 62 is the earliest age to file for benefits. And while signing up at that point means accepting a reduced monthly benefit for life, for many seniors, that hit is worth it. If you’re contemplating a Social Security filing at age 62, you might feel similarly. And it’s easy to see why claiming benefits that early is appealing. If you’re tired of working, signing up for benefits at age 62 could be your ticket to the early retirement you’ve always dreamed of. Plus, you may want the peace of mind that comes with getting your money earlier. Nobody knows how long they’ll live. But if you claim Social Security at 62 and don’t wind up with a very long lifespan, you’ll generally come out ahead financially compared to filing at a later age. Image source: Getty Images. Yet despite the perks of claiming Social Security at 62, you might end up regretting that move big-time afterward. And if you realize your mistake years after the fact, it’ll be too late to correct it. You need protection from rising living costs In the months leading up to your Social Security filing, you might map out a retirement budget that a lower monthly benefit can support. But the expenses you account for at that stage of life could very much differ from the expenses you wind up incurring years down the line. First of all, inflation could drive the cost of living way up, as it’s already done this year. Secondly, as you age, you might incur added costs you didn’t think about earlier. You might end up spending a lot more on healthcare. And if you become less mobile later in life, you might need to pay for more help — think things like meal delivery services and ride-shares to get you where you need to go. And therein lies the danger of claiming Social Security at age 62. You might think you’ll be OK with a lower monthly benefit, only to find years later that you could use a higher monthly paycheck on an ongoing basis. If you file early, you can undo your mistake If you haven’t yet claimed Social Security but are thinking of doing so at 62, consider this your wakeup call to rethink that decision — or at least make quite sure you understand the risks involved. Meanwhile, if you’ve already signed up for Social Security at 62 and are now realizing that may have been the wrong move, don’t panic. If your filing was recent, you may be able to undo it. Social Security gives every filer one do-over in their lifetime. If you signed up for benefits at 62 but regret that already, you can withdraw your benefits application and repay all of the money you’ve received to date. Do so within a year of your claim, and you’ll be all set to file again at a later age. There are certainly plenty of good reasons to sign up for Social Security at age 62. Just make sure you also understand why doing so could end up being a glaringly bad idea. The $18,984 Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook If you’re like most Americans, you’re a few years (or more) behind on your retirement savings. But a handful of little-known “Social Security secrets” could help ensure a boost in your retirement income. For example: one easy trick could pay you as much as $18,984 more… each year! Once you learn how to maximize your Social Security benefits, we think you could retire confidently with the peace of mind we’re all after. Simply click here to discover how to learn more about these strategies. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.