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Saga CEO: “The Metaverse Will Be The Bridge To Mainstream Web3 Adoption” – Blockster https://collincountynewsonline.com/saga-ceo-the-metaverse-will-be-the-bridge-to-mainstream-web3-adoption-blockster/ People Kayley Hamilton October 7, 2022 Ethereum Interview Video Fintech Thought Leader Ad Doodles 9.99 ETH ($13,314.91) Visit Marketplace ATARI SNEAKER Asteroids edition by NB04D A homage to the ATARI legacy, Akira, and our love of video games. Skin design by NB04D The first owner can redeem a wearable NFT on the Sandbox… 35.0 ETH ($46,648.85) Ad RTFKT Creators ATARI SNEAKER Asteroids edition by NB04D A homage to the ATARI legacy, Akira, and our love of video games. Skin design by NB04D The first owner can redeem a wearable NFT on the Sandbox 35.0 ETH ($46,648.85) Ad Visit Marketplace Sappy Seal #7011 Sappy Seals is community-led project focused on metaverse expansion and a growing ecosystem. Sappy Seals offers: The open world cross-community Pixlverse & Pixl Pets. Marketplace for exclusive metave… 0.77 ETH ($1,026.27) Ad Sappy Seals Sappy Seal #7011 Sappy Seals is community-led project focused on metaverse expansion and a growing ecosystem. Sappy Seals offers: The open world cross-community Pixlverse & Pixl Pets. Marketplace for exclusive metaverse items. Rarity-based staking for the PIXL utility token. 0.77 ETH ($1,026.27) Ad Visit Marketplace Ad RTFKT Creators 8.8888 ETH ($11,847.21) Visit Marketplace Ad Moonbirds 11.85 ETH ($15,793.97) Visit Marketplace NFT October 7, 2022 By Rory Kejzerko People October 7, 2022 By Kayley Hamilton People October 6, 2022 By Kayley Hamilton NFT October 6, 2022 By Nathan Tam

Get Best-Of-Web Pricing On This Minimalist Corner Floor Lamp – Engadget https://collincountynewsonline.com/get-best-of-web-pricing-on-this-minimalist-corner-floor-lamp-engadget/ This content is made possible by our sponsor; it is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Engadget’s editorial staff. When decorating your home, one important thing to consider is the lighting. Elements such as natural light, pre-installed pendant lamps and even the color temperature of your bulbs can make a room inviting, sterile or downright dim, and that doesn’t even take into account furniture placement. If you don’t know the first thing about home decor, your safest bet would be purchasing a versatile and understated fixture, and Lamp Depot has an option that might suit your needs. During our Deal Days event, which runs through October 12, you can get a Minimalist LED Corner Floor Lamp for only $60 or 25 percent off. This sale is our answer to Prime Day, and our promotional collection features over 150 discounted products, some of which you won’t find on Amazon. This chic corner lamp earned four stars in our store and is designed to blend in with any interior design. You may barely notice it’s there until you turn it on. The fixture measures 15 inches long and wide by 55 inches tall, and its clever weighted base can easily be tucked behind and underneath furniture such as desks, drawers and consoles, so you won’t have to rearrange your room arrangement to set it up. The RGB LED bulbs are rated at 50,000 hours and can produce a soft white light providing up to 1,680 lumens. But the real fun begins when you switch up the colors. Using the included remote control, you can shuffle between 16 million hues and over 300 multi-color lighting effects to set the mood or match the shades in your home. So if you’re planning a party soon, choose cool blues, greens and purples to energize your guests. Or you can cast warmer hues like yellow and orange when unwinding after work. Verified buyer Sue B. enjoyed her lamp’s ambiance, sharing: “This light is so delightful. It is picking me up from the grey Michigan weather! It is a beautiful accent in my living room.” You can purchase this Minimalist LED Corner Floor by Lamp Depot for just $60 or get a two-pack for just $40 more, the best price you’ll find online. No coupons are necessary to claim this discount, which expires on October 12. And if you’re decorating a new home, don’t forget to check out our Deal Days collection for more sales. Prices subject to change. Engadget is teaming up with StackSocial to bring you deals on the latest headphones, gadgets, tech toys and tutorials. This post does not constitute editorial endorsement, and we earn a portion of all sales. If you have any questions about the products you see here or previous purchases, please contact StackSocial support here.

Analysts Are Blown Away By This Coin, Projecting A 7,000% Climb Next Quarter – Cryptonews https://collincountynewsonline.com/analysts-are-blown-away-by-this-coin-projecting-a-7000-climb-next-quarter-cryptonews/ Disclaimer: The Industry Talk section features insights by crypto industry players and is not a part of the editorial content of Cryptonews.com. While the crypto bear market continues, fresh applications of blockchain technology are emerging all the time. The projects that will thrive in the downturn are those that embrace the latest trends, while also generating consistent revenues, with bear-resilient products and services. One such project is ArbiSmart, an interest-bearing wallet and financial services hub, powered by the RBIS token. EU authorized and registered, ArbiSmart’s rapidly expanding ecosystem generates steady passive profits, whichever direction the market is moving, leading analysts to project a 7,000% rise in the value of the native token by the end of 2022.  How ArbiSmart Is Generating Profits Right Now ArbiSmart offers an interest-generating wallet with built in arbitrage trading, which continues to generate the same returns in a bull or bear market. The wallet provides sky-high interest of up to 147% a year on 25 supported crypto and FIAT currencies. Users can choose to keep their funds stored securely, interest-free, but withdrawable at any time. Alternatively, they can lock them in a savings plan for a short period like 1 or 3 months, or a long period like 2, 3, or 5 years and the longer the time frame for the lock, the higher the interest rate will be. The wallet holder can also decide to automatically transfer the interest being earned on their capital, which is paid out daily, to a separate balance, where it is always accessible, or have it transferred into the locked savings balance for a higher rate.  In addition, wallet holders can choose to take advantage of the automated crypto arbitrage system, which generates passive profits of up to 45% a year. This is a low-exposure trading strategy that generates revenue from temporary price inefficiencies. These are brief periods in which a coin is available across exchanges at different prices simultaneously.  Occurring frequently, in all types of market conditions, price inefficiencies have various causes such as disparities in trading volume and liquidity between larger exchanges and smaller ones. ArbiSmart’s automated system, connected to 35 exchanges, scans hundreds of coins at once, 24 hours a day for price disparities, automatically buying at the lowest available price and selling at the highest for a profit.  How RBIS Demand Is Being Increased Wallet holders can earn more profits by purchasing RBIS, increasing demand for the token.  The amount of interest that you can earn depends on your account level, which is determined by how much RBIS you own. So, owning more RBIS translates to a higher rate on your BTC or EUR savings balance. Wallet holders are also incentivized to open savings balances in RBIS, as these earn three times higher interest rate than balances in any other supported currency. Those who don’t wish to convert their funds into ArbiSmart’s native token but still want to boost their profits can choose to keep their balance in Bitcoin or Euro and just receive the daily interest in RBIS.  The ArbiSmart wallet was only introduced at the beginning of this quarter, though it is already gaining traction and the number of users is rapidly increasing. This growing momentum means that more people are locking RBIS in savings balances, taking it out of general circulation. As token demand rises, the supply, which is finite and permanently capped at 450M, is dropping, pushing up the RBIS price. The Expansion and How It will Impact RBIS’ Value Token demand is expected to rise even higher through the second half of 2022, with the introduction of multiple new RBIS utilities, all of which require use of the native token. This will further diminish the supply and drive demand, increasing the token price and generating substantial capital gains from the rising token value.  Later this quarter ArbiSmart will be launching a mobile application for buying, selling, exchanging and storing crypto. Immediately after, the development team will be introducing a decentralized yield farming program, with one-of-a-kind gamification features, offering up to 190,000% a year as well as 0.3% of the fees from every trade.   This will be closely followed by the release of a collection of thousands of original digital artworks, as well as an NFT marketplace for purchasing and selling non-fungible tokens.  In Q4, ArbiSmart also plans to launch a play-to-earn gaming metaverse as well as a professional cryptocurrency exchange.  All the services in the ArbiSmart ecosystem are interconnected, enabling RBIS holders to benefit from preferential terms when using additional utilities. For example, purchasing an ArbiSmart-purchased NFT can boost a yield farmer’s APY.  ArbiSmart already offers lucrative, bear-proof utilities, with more revenue streams expected to become available by the end of the year, from gaming and liquidity mining to NFT investment. Each new service will generate its own rewards, while simultaneously decreasing the RBIS supply, and driving demand, pushing up the price. To purchase the coin, before the token price explodes in the months ahead, buy RBIS today!

How Do U.S. Marijuana Policies Compare Globally After Biden’s Pardon? – The Washington Post https://collincountynewsonline.com/how-do-u-s-marijuana-policies-compare-globally-after-bidens-pardon-the-washington-post/ President Biden offered pardons Thursday to thousands of people convicted of simple marijuana possession under federal law, as U.S. states and other governments around the world reconsider their approach toward the drug, with some moving to decriminalize or legalize it. “No one should be in jail just for using or possessing marijuana,” Biden said. He called on senior administration officials to review how the drug is regulated under federal law and whether it should continue to be treated as a Schedule I substance along with drugs such as heroin, LSD and ecstasy. On Oct. 6, President Biden pardoned thousands of people convicted of a federal crime for simply possessing marijuana and urged governors to do the same. (Video: Julie Yoon/The Washington Post) Here’s what you need to know about how U.S. marijuana policies and laws compare to those of other countries. What does Biden’s offer of mass pardons for people convicted of simple marijuana possession mean? More than 600,000 people were arrested for marijuana possession in the United States in 2018, according to the latest available data from the American Civil Liberties Union. (Not all arrests lead to charges and convictions.) But Biden’s announcement applies only to federal prosecutions, a fraction of people affected by possession laws. His pardon power does not extend to those convicted under state law. “Many if not most people serving time are in state systems,” said Griffen Thorne, an attorney at Harris Bricken, a law firm that works with cannabis companies. (Biden also called on state governors Thursday to offer similar pardons.) No one is serving time in a federal prison solely for the crime of marijuana possession, White House officials said Thursday, though more than 6,500 people may have such convictions on their records. How do the United States’ policies stack up against the rest of the world? Possessing or consuming marijuana for any reason is illegal under federal law, but as of February, 37 states and the District of Columbia had authorized it for medical use, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. In addition, at least 19 states and D.C. had legalized recreational marijuana for adults as of May. Technically, “every state-level marijuana program is a complete violation of federal law,” Thorne said, but the federal government has “looked the other way.” A handful of countries have legalized recreational use of marijuana, though there are many gray areas and caveats. Places where it is legal to recreationally use cannabis include Uruguay, Canada and Malta. In some cases, there are restrictions on age, quantities and transport of the drug. South Africa decriminalized adult use of cannabis in private, although purchasing or selling it remains illegal. Thailand this year legalized growing and trading marijuana. However, government officials have warned that “nonproductive” use of the drug — such as smoking it outside — could lead to penalties such as short prison terms. Germany’s coalition government pledged before taking office last year to legalize the recreational use of cannabis. Australia allows medical marijuana, but recreational use at home is only legal in the Australian Capital Territory, encompassing Canberra and surrounding townships. Personal use of limited quantities of cannabis is tolerated in the Netherlands, though it’s technically illegal. “Certainly, there are other countries that have liberal policies and are more consistent about it,” said Robert Mikos, a professor at Vanderbilt University who specializes in drug law. “But because we have so many states that have legalized adult recreational or medical use, I would count the U.S. as one of the more progressive countries.” Is the world moving toward legalizing marijuana for personal use? Momentum toward legalizing marijuana is ramping up in Latin America and Africa, Thorne said. A 2018 Constitutional Court decision paved the way for South Africa to decriminalize personal use, and President Cyril Ramaphosa said this year that his government would work on bolstering its domestic cannabis sector, Reuters reported. Peru legalized medical use in 2017, and Zimbabwe did so in 2018. Marijuana is one of the world’s most widely consumed drugs, with roughly 147 million people — about 2 percent of the global population — using it annually, according to the World Health Organization. U.S. adults between the ages of 19 and 30 also used marijuana at record levels last year, the National Institutes of Health reported. But there are pockets of opposition in parts of the world, particularly Asia. In a 2020 referendum, New Zealand voters narrowly rejected legalizing cannabis for nonmedicinal use. It is available there with a prescription. Singapore — whose tough drug laws extend to cannabis — also recently signaled that it would not move to permit medicinal marijuana in the near future. Does the mass pardon for marijuana possession have global significance? Maybe. U.S. drug policy has long influenced how the world treats marijuana. Since the 1960s, the United States has championed international conventions and treaties that required participating countries to ban recreational cannabis, said Mikos, the law professor. But now that dozens of U.S. states have legalized cannabis for recreational or medicinal use, several countries “have taken that as a green light to go ahead and start experimenting,” he said.

Facebook Is Warning 1 Million Users About Stolen Usernames, Passwords – The Indian Express https://collincountynewsonline.com/facebook-is-warning-1-million-users-about-stolen-usernames-passwords-the-indian-express/ Meta Platforms Inc. said it would notify roughly 1 million Facebook users that their account credentials may have been compromised due to security issues with apps downloaded from Apple Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s software stores. The company announced Friday that it identified more than 400 malicious Android and iOS apps this year that target internet users in order to steal their login information. Meta said it informed both Apple and Google about the issue in order to facilitate removal of the apps. The apps worked by disguising themselves as photo editors, mobile games or health trackers, Facebook said. Apple said 45 of the 400 problematic apps were on its App Store and have been removed. Google removed all the malicious apps in question, a spokesperson said. “Cybercriminals know how popular these types of apps are, and they’ll use similar themes to trick people and steal their accounts and information,” said David Agranovich, director of global threat disruption at Meta. “If an app is promising something too good to be true, like unreleased features for another platform or social media site, chances are that it has ulterior motives.” A typical scam would unfold, for example, after a user downloaded one of the malicious apps. The app would require a Facebook login to work beyond basic functionality, thus tricking the user into providing their username and password. Users could then, for example, upload an edited photo to their Facebook account. But in the process, they unknowingly compromised their account by giving the author of the app access. Meta said it would be sharing tips with potential victims on how they can avoid being “re-compromised” by learning how to better spot problematic apps that pilfer credentials, whether for Facebook or other accounts. The malicious activity occurred off Meta systems, Agranovich said, adding that not all 1 million people necessarily had their passwords compromised.

10 Scariest Monsters In Gaming – DualShockers https://collincountynewsonline.com/10-scariest-monsters-in-gaming-dualshockers/ Monsters have been a part of art for as long as it has existed, such as the dragon in spoken tales. As life progressed, the creation of even more monsters took over all forms of media. Video Games take monsters and go mad in what they choose to design, with some of them being based on concepts from the past while others are unique to themselves. Several of these monsters have brought fear into the eyes of players. This is either because the monster was too scary to witness or way too powerful that merely going up against it would be enough to make someone tremble in fear. 10/10 Deathclaws — Fallout Series What originally started as a companion in Fallout 2 soon turned into one of the most feared monsters in all the Fallout series. Quite often, when players go against one of these beasts, they will be taken out very quickly. The scariest part of the Deathclaw is that they continue to get stronger as the series goes on. Fallout 4 has the Mythic Deathclaw, which is the most powerful one in the series. This monster brought fear, as most of the time, even the weaker ones would kill unsuspecting players in a single shot. 9/10 Ludwig, The Accursed — Bloodborne Ludwig, The Accursed in Bloodborne, is an enemy that personifies madness in all of his being. A lot of the time, his dialogue resembles soldiers who have passed beneath him, along with the screams of a tormented beast. He then switches to a much nobler-sounding man once he grabs the sword. It’s off-putting in a disturbingly creepy way. This boss is difficult to beat but also scary to look at for the entire duration of the fight. 8/10 Abominations — Warcraft Series Abominations are part of the Undead army in the Warcraft series. This is a cool monster design that took the Frankenstein concept and formed it into something a lot more messy and grotesque than what is given in the original Frankenstein. Abominations look like a Hodge podge of body parts. These monsters look like they were bred for war and are seen as guards predominantly in World of Warcraft. They wield up to three weapons and are overall interesting monsters. 7/10 Cowman — The Forest The Cowman is someone that’ll scare almost everyone who’s playing The Forest. It can ram the players at extremely fast speeds, instantly killing them if they are not careful about it. The mutant also has an insane amount of health that players have to put up with, and its regular blows do huge damage. On top of its ability, the mutant is terrifying to look at as it acts like a rhino, is called the Cowman, yet looks like a chicken. It’s an extremely malformed being that’s threatening in every way. 6/10 Xenomorph – Alien Isolation Alien Isolation might have been a little too long, but the game still had one of the best monsters in the video game world: the Xenomorph. This monster will make players want to be as silent as possible and understand to spot it at all times because one wrong move would lead to death. The Xenomorph has plenty of ways in which it can kill the player,s and some lead to moments where players will feel a jump scare on par with what they’d feel at a haunted house. 5/10 Pregnant Necromorph — Dead Space Series The Pregnant Necromorphs in the Dead Space series are infected humans that are comprised of only one person. The appearance of this monster is spine-chilling as the arms are actually connected to its side, and the claws are ripping out of the monster’s shoulders. The gelatinous belly is also very unsightly. Pregnant Necromorphs might not even be pregnant from what the game states and are mainly composed of people who happen to have more fatty tissue. 4/10 Twin Victims — Silent Hill 4: The Room Silent Hill 4: The Room takes making babies creepy to a whole other level. The Twin Victims are huge conjoined twins that look deceased due to their pale skin. They walk around on their giant arms and have tattered robes to accompany them, giving them a disturbing appearance. Outside their appearance, they fight with a relentless attitude and deal big attacks on the game’s main character, Henry. 3/10 Laura — The Evil Within Laura in The Evil Within is one scary monster as she walks on her hands and feet and has a second pair of arms that come out of her back. She moves fairly slowly but can move from corpse to corpse, bursting with blood when she rips out of them. She is persistent in her chase of the player throughout the game and appears as a primary antagonist of the first title. She’s an enemy that players need to be very careful with, or they will be killed by her in an instant. So, they need to be constantly on the move when facing her. 2/10 Chris Walker — Outlast Chris Walker from Outlast is a Former Marine that fought in Afghanistan. As his life went on, he went insane and started killing people left and right. In the game, he has completely lost it, and his bloodlust has taken over him. Chris Walker will chase down the player until he kills or loses him. He is the strongest of the Variants in the first Outlast game. Everything about Chris Walker seems off as he is also one of the most monstrous looking of all the Variants in the Outlast series. 1/10 Jack — Resident Evil: Biohazard Jack in Resident Evil: Biohazard is a monster that was made to be completely feared. During the initial part of Biohazard, there is a big question of whether Jack will ever actually be killable. Anytime Jack goes down, he comes back more powerful with something more deadly up his sleeve. Jack likes to trap the players in tight spaces, so going up against him when players are not initially used to the controls is an absolutely horrifying experience. NEXT: Most Iconic Outfits In Gaming

The 10 Most Affordable Texas Metros For First-Time Homebuyers – 69News WFMZ-TV https://collincountynewsonline.com/the-10-most-affordable-texas-metros-for-first-time-homebuyers-69news-wfmz-tv-2/ Texas Real Estate Source used data from the Texas Real Estate Research Center to find the 10 most affordable metros for first-time homebuyers in Texas. The 10 most affordable Texas metros for first-time homebuyers Updated 15 hrs ago The Texas real estate market is showing signs of cooling off, after two years of low rates and record activity that sent Austinites and other Texans’ home values skyrocketing. Today, higher interest rates are causing a drop in home sales, which means there are more options on the market for first-time home buyers than at any time since late 2020. Texas Real Estate Source used data from the Texas Real Estate Research Center at Texas A&M University to find the 10 most affordable metros for first-time homebuyers in the state. In its calculations, Texas A&M based its first-time home price on 70% of the area median. It also applied a half-percentage-point higher interest rate to account for private mortgage insurance and a higher loan-to-value ratio for first-time buyers. Data is from the second quarter of 2022, and is based on making a down payment of 20%, and monthly payments at or below 25% of income. Texas A&M’s first-time homebuyer affordability index for Texas was 1.13 at the start of July 2022, the most recent period for which data is available. That means the median family income is 13% more than what’s necessary to afford a typical starter home statewide. The university’s real estate research center has tracked a considerable decline in overall affordability in the Lone Star State for first time homebuyers since 2020. Just two years ago, the median household income in the state was 65% more than was necessary to purchase a first home assuming a down payment equal to 20% of the house’s value. Factors driving unaffordability include a push by the Federal Reserve bank to curb inflation by raising interest rates, and the fact that home prices remain at stubbornly high levels. The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage surpassed 6% in September – the highest seen since the 2008 housing crash. Higher loan interest rates may also be discouraging homeowners from selling, seeing as the vast majority of homeowners in Texas have locked in rates well below what they are today. Those that are selling, have reportedly shown a willingness to cut listing prices in order to make a deal. Affordability in Texas’ most populous counties dipped below 1.0 for the first time in the second quarter of this year. The least affordable homes are found in Travis County, home of the capital city of Austin and numerous transplant-attracting tech companies. The monthly mortgage payment on the typical home sold in Travis County today is $2,356, up from $1,529 one year ago, according to National Association of Realtors data. North Texas’ Collin County, where the typical home sold today commands a $1,985 monthly mortgage payment, follows closely behind. The most affordable cities for first time homebuyers in Texas aren’t in any of the most populous areas, but are found along the refinery-dotted Gulf Coast and West Texas. Canva #10. Victoria Updated 15 hrs ago Victoria’s median family income is 50% more than required to purchase a starter home in the metro (First-time homebuyer affordability index: 1.5). About 65,000 residents live in the inland city of Victoria, which sits north of the port town of Corpus Christi. Borne of a colony founded by a Mexican aristocrat, modern day Victoria is equidistant from the major metro areas of San Antonio, Houston and Corpus Christi. The typical monthly mortgage payment in Victoria County is $780, according to the NAR. In neighboring Harris County, the typical mortgage payment hovered around $780 last year, but has since risen to more than $1,100 per month. Philip Arno Photography // Shutterstock #9. Amarillo Updated 15 hrs ago Amarillo’s median family income is 55% more than required to purchase a starter home in the metro (First-time homebuyer affordability index: 1.55). The panhandle city of Amarillo remains on the better end of affordability for first time home buyers. Located just minutes from Palo Duro Canyon State Park’s towering red rocks and the famous Cadillac Ranch public art installation, Amarillo is not far from the Texas-New Mexico state line, as well as some of the largest cattle ranches in the state. The city spans the counties of Randall and Potter. In Potter County, monthly mortgage payments on a typical home purchased today are $573, up from $407 a year prior, according to NAR data. Canva #7. Abilene (tie) Updated 15 hrs ago Abilene’s median family income is 59% more than required to purchase a starter home in the metro (First-time homebuyer affordability index: 1.59). Located to the south of Amarillo in Texas Central Great Plains, Abilene is a major business and economic hub for the 19 farming and ranching counties surrounding the small city. The median household income in Abilene is around $52,000 annually, which is lower than the national average. Still, the typical home in Abilene is far more affordable than the national median home price, giving first time homebuyers in this city more options. The average monthly mortgage payment for a home purchased in Abilene today is $757, according to the NAR. Canva #7. Texarkana (tie) Updated 15 hrs ago Texarkana’s median family income is 59% more than required to purchase a starter home in the metro (First-time homebuyer affordability index: 1.59). Tying with Abilene in this ranking is Texarkana – one of a handful of U.S. cities that span multiple states. The Arkansas state legislature makes a special exception for Texarkana in their tax code, exempting residents from having to pay income tax, in hopes of keeping Texarkanans from moving to the state income-tax free Texan west side. Texarkana lies within Bowie County, where the typical mortgage payment on a home runs $607 per month, according to the NAR. Canva #6. Lubbock Updated 15 hrs ago Lubbock’s median family income is 66% more than required to purchase a starter home in the metro (First-time homebuyer affordability index: 1.66). Lubbock is home to a quarter of a million people as well as Texas Tech, one of the largest universities in the state. Lubbock serves as a gateway to the Permian Basin to the south, where the oil and gas industry dominates. The median household income is $53,425 per year, and a typical monthly mortgage payment in Lubbock for a home purchased today is $914, according to the NAR. The Texas A&M Real Estate Research Center’s affordability score for first time home buyers in Lubbock has fallen from 2.02 in 2020. Canva #5. San Angelo Updated 15 hrs ago San Angelo’s median family income is 71% more than required to purchase a starter home in the metro (First-time homebuyer affordability index: 1.71). San Angelo is located southwest of Abilene, and is an economic center for many employers in the West Texas oil and gas industry. San Angelo’s Shannon Medical Center also serves as a health care hub for the surrounding central West Texas region. The city boasts a median household income of $55,682 and the median monthly mortgage payment for a home is $819 per month, according to NAR data. Canva #3. Beaumont-Port Arthur (tie) Updated 15 hrs ago Beaumont-Port Arthur’s median family income is 74% more than required to purchase a starter home in the metro (First-time homebuyer affordability index: 1.74). Beaumont-Port Arthur is Texas leading oil, gas and chemical refinery hub on the Gulf of Mexico. The metro area consists of the cities of Beaumont and Port Arthur which are located about a 25 minute drive from each other. Its close proximity to Louisiana means the region’s culture and cuisine represents a melting pot of both Texana and Cajun cultural influences. The city has a median household income of $37,794, far lower than the national median household income. But housing in the Beaumont-Port Arthur region is relatively cheap compared to major metro areas including its neighbor to the southwest, Houston. Canva #3. Midland (tie) Updated 15 hrs ago Midland’s median family income is 74% more than required to purchase a starter home in the metro (First-time homebuyer affordability index: 1.74). Tying with Beaumont and Port Arthur is Midland, a West Texas city synonymous with dusty plains and oil derricks. The oil boomtown’s surrounding region boasts a much higher median income than West Texas cities like Abilene. The median household income in Midland County is $83,616 and the typical monthly mortgage payment on a home purchased today is $1,212 per month, according to the NAR. Midland is often associated with its neighboring city, Odessa, which ranks even more affordable for first time home buyers. Canva #2. Odessa Updated 15 hrs ago Odessa’s median family income is 91% more than required to purchase a starter home in the metro (First-time homebuyer affordability index: 1.91). Odessa is located 30 minutes southwest of Midland in the plains of West Texas, and its economy is similarly driven by the country’s largest oil and gas drillers. After its oil, Odessa is perhaps best known for its high school football teams, and as the home of presidents George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush, as well as First Lady Barbara Bush. Between 2010-2020 the city’s population grew at the fastest rate recorded since the 1950s, and now boasts a population of more than 114,000 residents. The median household income in Odessa is lower than Midland at $63,829 annually. The typical monthly mortgage payment on a home in Odessa, however, is much lower than Midland, at $785, according to the NAR. Canva #1. Wichita Falls Updated 15 hrs ago Wichita Falls’s median family income is 95% more than required to purchase a starte...

On The Middle Fork Of Idaho’s Salmon River, White-Water Rafting At Its Best – The Washington Post https://collincountynewsonline.com/on-the-middle-fork-of-idahos-salmon-river-white-water-rafting-at-its-best-the-washington-post/ Nacho Libre knows rivers. Okay, maybe not the real Nacho, but definitely my friend Kurt, who has kayaked all over the world and is standing before me, cocktail in hand, dressed as the fictitious Mexican wrestler. We’re at a campsite along the Middle Fork of the Salmon River in central Idaho, and Señor Libre is on a roll. “This is one of the best — if not the best — river trips in the country,” he says of the Middle Fork, which cleaves through the alpine forest, high desert and shadowy gorges of the 2.4 million-acre Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness. We are here in mid-June with my wife, Cathleen, and 21 friends, many from the University of Colorado at Boulder, Class of ’80-something, on a five-day guided run of the river, which drops 2,900 vertical feet over 100 free-flowing miles and serves up a steady parade of Class III and IV rapids; Kurt and two others are kayaking while the rest of us are riding rafts. “It’s the gradient, the scenery, the fact that there’re no dams,” Kurt continues, sweeping his drink across a view that features towering ponderosa pines, the luminous currents of the river and a hatch of caddis flies rising like dust into columns of sunlight. In short, the Middle Fork is a portal into bygone eras of natural purity, Native American and frontier history, and near-zero connectivity with the outside world. No cell reception, no roads, no evidence of the modern world. Still, at the put-in, it’s hard to fathom we’ll have any peace over the coming days. Two dozen rafts are tied up along the shore, and teams are ferrying oars, dry bags and coolers from a dirt parking lot down a 100-foot wooden ramp to the boats. Shuttle buses steer around a frenzy of guides in frayed ball caps, clients struggling into wet suits and kayakers waiting for breaks in the action to shoulder their boats down to the water. But minutes after we shove off into a chilly drizzle at elevation 6,000 feet, civilization feels very far away. The river sluices through a misty forest of lodgepole pines and Douglas firs, many skeletonized by wildfires, and starts into five miles of nearly continuous rapids. Fortunately, we appear to be in capable hands. Our lead guide, Jamie Zahner, 56, a shaggy, ursine outdoorsman, has been running the Middle Fork for 20 years, the past 10 with our outfitter, Middle Fork River Expeditions. Standing in the company’s warehouse the night before our departure, Jamie impersonates a raft, a paddle, a variety of client prototypes, a leaning ponderosa pine tree (beneath which we’re instructed not to camp), the wind and the river itself as he preps us for the week ahead. “Tomorrow’s going to be cold … like ice-on-the-windshield cold, and Tuesday morning, too,” he says, hugging himself in a mock shiver. “But then it warms up.” He smiles skyward to the imagined sunshine. “Plus, the river’s at a fun level right now, really cooking. You all know what to do if you see your buddy falling off a raft?” Jamie teeters, windmilling for a saving hand. “So pay attention. You fall in and it might be a while before we can get to you.” Among our other six guides: Sadie Grossbaum: 31, gold dreadlocks, five months pregnant, works winters as a predator tracker, heading into Idaho’s snowy wilds at 2 a.m. to stalk mountain lions and wolves; Madeline Martin, a lithe 29, enjoys snorkeling in freezing rapids and teaches winter avalanche safety courses in Fernie, British Columbia; and Mark Martin (no relation to Madeline), fit, bearded and 38, encyclopedic knowledge of river life, moonlights as a conservation advocate. All our guides are trained in emergency response, wilderness medicine and swift-water rescue, and they could no doubt survive weeks in the backcountry on sticks, leaves and a handful of ants. We, of course, could not. And so lashed to our armada are an embarrassment of clothes, food, booze, kitchenware, tents, sleeping bags and camp chairs, and the vital necessities: musical instruments, costumes, glow-in-the-dark bocce balls and hula hoops. Shortly after launch, we hit a train of six-foot standing waves that explode over the bows, smacking us with a 45-degree wake-up call. (The Middle Fork is fed predominantly by snowmelt, especially in spring and early summer.) It is indeed gasp-inducing cold, and the rapid doesn’t so much end as settle into a mile-long Class II/III ramble that culminates in Murph’s Hole, a Class III/IV pour-over with a habit of flipping even heavily loaded rafts. We encounter no such drama, although John McKinney — who is audaciously kayaking the Middle Fork following a 15-year break from boating — takes the first of a few swims he’ll endure after failing to roll his boat upright in rapids. At Mile 13, we reach our first camp, form a fire line to unload the rafts, disperse to pitch our tents and return to find that the guides have set up the kitchen and bar, complete with hors d’oeuvres, and built a fire. They have also, at the end of a very private trail, set up the “groover,” a five-gallon bucket with a toilet seat and a stellar view. After dinner, and after Cathleen and I follow a whisker of trail in the fading daylight up to a rocky moraine with steam rising from its far border, and after we sink into a 106-degree hot spring beneath ambling clouds and piercing stars — after all that, on our return to camp, we hear the faint strains of live music. It’s my friend Dan Rubinoff — a tall, scraggly-haired hippie — on acoustic guitar, and his partner, Joice Moore, playing a bass plugged into a toaster-size, battery-powered amp. Their music is mellow, beautiful, original. It’s also mildly curious, because in a pre-trip group email exchange, Dan had requested that people minimize the use of Bluetooth-enabled speakers on our trip. “We are traveling a long way to be in one of the most incredible remote wilderness areas left in the country,” he wrote. “We spend a lot of time on rivers and prefer the natural sounds that those areas give us.” He signed off, “Love ya, Rube.” When I ask him about the seeming contradiction, he doesn’t blink. “People have been making live music around campfires for thousands of years,” he tells me. So even though Joice’s bass is amplified, “it’s totally different” from piping canned music from a phone through a speaker. Fair enough, brother. The next morning, hot coffee in hand, I listen to those natural sounds — the timeless wash of the river, the calls of osprey, canyon wren and western tanager, the wind through the pines — while watching fog billow down the mountainside. We’re slow to break camp, but nobody seems to care: The Middle Fork is clipping along at 5,500 cubic feet per second — by late summer, it will drop well below 1,000 CFS — and we should reach our next camp with time to spare. However, the severe terrain and ever-changing weather here can scuttle even the best-laid plans. In 2006, not far below our first camp, a natural dam broke high on the riverbank, sending a massive flow of fallen trees, soil and rocks into the river at Lake Creek — where a rapid had been created only a few years prior by a similar debris flow. In the 2006 breach, a mess of logs washed a half-mile downstream before sealing off one of the Middle Fork’s marquee rapids, Pistol Creek. “We had groups backed up for three days,” Jamie tells me in Camp 2 as he flips (wild-caught Alaskan) salmon filets over the fire. “Hundreds of people. We all just sat there until the Forest Service showed up with dynamite and cleared it out.” Pistol today is striking — a plunging, narrowing S-turn with a lateral current that, Sadie warns us as we approach it, endeavors to smash us into a rock wall on river left and, if things go poorly, bounce us into a massive, churning hole. (With a few well-timed oar strokes, she reduces the smash to a nudge and the hole to a roadside attraction.) The first recorded run of the Middle Fork occurred in 1926; filmmaker Henry Weidner canoed it, taking four months and shooting 800 reels of film for a nature documentary. The first descent in a rubber raft followed in 1929, but recreational trips didn’t take off until after the signing into law of the 1968 Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. The Forest Service started issuing permits to outfitters in the 1970s, and the industry continued to grow after the 1980 designation of the area as wilderness. And although new development is prohibited in wilderness areas, the Frank Church-River of No Return contains active airstrips for small planes and a few old ranches and miners’ cabins, all of which predated the wilderness designation. What also predated that, of course, were the 10,000 years that the Shoshone Indians and other tribes lived here, subsisting on bighorn sheep (which still thrive here) and native salmon (which don’t), before their forcible removal by the U.S. Army in the late 1800s. At various stops, we see remnants of the Indians’ time — rounded depressions, mostly, which served as firepits inside their teepees, along with an obsidian arrowhead that Mark finds at our second camp. Day 3 carries us through some of the week’s calmest pools, but even here there are highlights: our bright orange rafts drifting dreamlike over crystalline green waters, a waning moon rising over a ridge, Rube actually mooning me from a raft as I take my 200th photo of the day. From our third camp, in a massive grove of ponderosas, Cathleen and I run a trail two miles downriver, through forest, meadow and sage, before turning up Loon Creek, which pours forth from the mountains in a turquoise cascade. This delivers us to the nicest hot spring of the week, a 6-by-15-foot log-and-earthen berm within steps of the creek. Upon our return, we confirm that we are in fact in ursus country. We are playing mu...

LIVE: Rajnath Singh Arrives At Gurugram’s Hospital To Pay Visit To Mulayam Singh – Hindustan Times https://collincountynewsonline.com/live-rajnath-singh-arrives-at-gurugrams-hospital-to-pay-visit-to-mulayam-singh-hindustan-times/ Live Updated on Oct 07, 2022 05:15 PM IST Get latest news, breaking news, latest updates, live news, top headlines, breaking business news and top news of the hour. Get latest news, breaking news, latest updates, live news, top headlines, breaking business news and top news of the hour. Welcome to hindustantimes.com updates platform where you can find breaking news from India and across the world. Find fast updates about the latest news as it breaks. Follow all the updates here: Oct 07, 2022 05:15 PM IST Watch | Thane faces waterlogging due to heavy rainfall #WATCH | Maharashtra: Several parts of Thane face waterlogging due to incessant heavy rainfall. Regional Meteorological Centre, Mumbai has issued Yellow Alert for Thane for the next 5 days (till Oct 11th) pic.twitter.com/8WErUSTOWw — ANI (@ANI) October 7, 2022 Several parts of Thane in Maharashtra face waterlogging due to incessant heavy rainfall. A Yellow Alert in Thane has been issued by the Regional Meteorological Centre, Mumbai for the next 5 days (till Oct 11th). Oct 07, 2022 04:48 PM IST Rajnath Singh arrives at Gurugram’s hospital to pay visit to Mulayam Singh Yadav Defence Minister Rajnath Singh reaches the Medanta hospital in Gurugram to visit the ailing former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav admitted there. Oct 07, 2022 04:32 PM IST Delhi HC reserves order on AAP MLA Amanatullah’s plea challenging Delhi police order  Delhi High Court on Friday reserved order on the plea of AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan challenging the Delhi police order declaring him a bad character, according to news agency ANI. Oct 07, 2022 04:13 PM IST RBI says e-rupee will bolster India’s digital economy, pilot launch soon Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday issued concept paper on digital currency and said will soon launch pilot e-rupee for specific use cases, according to news agency PTI.  Oct 07, 2022 04:09 PM IST Areas in Uttarakhand’s Pithoragarh district receive fresh snowfall Nabi & Kuti villages and other areas along Om Parvat & Adi Kailash Yatra route in  Uttarakhand’s Pithoragarh receive fresh snowfall. Oct 07, 2022 03:27 PM IST Uttarkashi Avalanche: 26 bodies recovered till now, search operation under for the remaining 3 trainees Totally, 26 bodies have been recovered till now in the Uttarkashi Avalanche that hit a team of mountaineering trainees and instructors from the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM) on Tuesday. The institute said in a statement that search and rescue operation is in progress for the remaining three trainees. Oct 07, 2022 02:45 PM IST Gyanvapi row: On plea over ‘carbon dating of Shivling’, Varanasi court asks Muslim side to file response by Oct 1 1 Gyanvapi mosque row: On plea over ‘carbon dating of Shivling’, Varanasi court asks Muslim side to file response by Oct 11 when matter would be heard next. Oct 07, 2022 02:35 PM IST Nobel Peace Prize 2022 awarded to Belarus human rights advocate Ales Bialiatski, and organisations from Russia, Ukraine amid war The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize to human rights advocate Ales Bialiatski from Belarus, the Russian human rights organisation Memorial and the Ukrainian human rights organisation Center for Civil Liberties. Oct 07, 2022 02:19 PM IST 2 soldiers killed, 1 injured in T-90 tank barrel burst near Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh; probe ordered 2 soldiers killed, 1 injured in T-90 tank barrel burst near Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh; probe ordered Oct 07, 2022 01:59 PM IST 10-year-old from Gujarat youngest Mallakhamb player in National Games 2022 Oct 07, 2022 01:31 PM IST India’s ranks 34th in WEF’s Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index: Govt Oct 07, 2022 12:51 PM IST Sri Lanka crisis: Top court allows proceedings against former President Rajapaksa, others Sri Lanka’s top court has granted permission for proceedings against former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, former PM Mahinda Rajapaksa, its former finance minister and two of its former central bank governors, the rights group – which filed the case seeking accountability for the island nation’s worst financial crisis in over 70 years said in a statement on Friday, as per Reuters. Oct 07, 2022 12:14 PM IST Maha govt allocates ₹513 cr for Diwali package scheme for 1.5 cr ration card holders Maharashtra government has issued a government resolution and allocated ₹513 crores for the Diwali package scheme for 1.5 crore ration card holders of the state, reported news agency ANI. Oct 07, 2022 11:39 AM IST Centre forms 9-member task force to monitor cheetahs introduced in Kuno National Park Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change constitutes a 9-member task force for monitoring Cheetah introduction in Kuno National Park, Madhya Pradesh and other suitable designated areas. Read more Oct 07, 2022 11:09 AM IST Stalker sets Jharkhand woman on fire for refusing to marry him A 19-year-old woman was battling for her life after a stalker allegedly barged into her home and set her afire in Jharkhand’s Dumka district late on Thursday for refusing to marry him, police said on Friday. Read more. Oct 07, 2022 10:41 AM IST Chief Justice of India UU Lalit asked by govt to name his successor: Sources The government has written to Chief Justice of India Uday Umesh Lalit to name his successor, sources said on Friday. Read more. Oct 07, 2022 10:21 AM IST MP principal suspended for construction of ‘mazar-like platform’ on campus A school principal has been suspended in Madhya Pradesh’s Vidisha over the alleged illegal construction of a “mazar-like platform” on campus, refusal to allow an idol of goddess Saraswati and stopping students from singing the national song and anthem. Read more. Oct 07, 2022 09:43 AM IST Rupee opens at record low against US dollar of 82.20/$ for the first time Rupee on Friday opened at a record low against US dollar of 82.20/$ for the first time. Oct 07, 2022 09:15 AM IST Excise policy case: ED raids in Delhi, Punjab In Delhi excise policy case, raids by Enforcement Directorate being carried out in national capital, Punjab, reports ANI. Read more. Oct 07, 2022 09:04 AM IST With 1,997 Covid fresh infections in last 24 hours, India’s daily tally down by 22% in a day India reported 1,997 fresh Covid-19 infections in the last 24 hours taking the total registered cases to 4,46,06,460.  Oct 07, 2022 08:43 AM IST NCB seizes drugs worth ₹120 cr in international market from Mumbai godown: Reports Narcotics Control Bureau seized 50 kg mephedrone worth ₹120 cr in international market from Mumbai godown and has arrested two including former Air India pilot, reported news agency PTI quoting official. Oct 07, 2022 08:08 AM IST Karnataka: 9 booked for allegedly trespassing into madrasa and performing puja Karnataka’s Bidar police booked nine people for allegedly trespassing into Mahmud Gawan madrasa, a heritage site and performing puja during Dussehra festivities on Thursday. Members of Muslim community staged a protest. “The situation is under control,” Additional SP Mahesh Meghannavar told news agency ANI. Oct 07, 2022 07:34 AM IST Uttarkashi avalanche update: Death toll rises to 19 A total of 19 bodies have been recovered from the crevice and efforts will be made to bring the bodies to Matli helipad by Advanced Light Helicopter on Friday. Total 30 rescue teams have been deployed at the site, reported news agency ANI quoting Uttarakhand DGP Ashok Kumar. Oct 07, 2022 07:06 AM IST Railways running 179 pairs of special trains till Chhath Puja to meet demand Easing festive travel for the passengers! To ensure convenience of the travellers & clear extra rush, Railways is running 2,269 trips of 179 special trains (in pairs) till Chhath Puja. Special Trains have been planned to connect major destinations across the country. pic.twitter.com/dXmmeAMx0T — Ministry of Railways (@RailMinIndia) October 5, 2022 Oct 07, 2022 06:37 AM IST National Lok Adalat to be held on November 12 National Lok Adalat will be held on November 12 across the country to dispose of pending cases through settlement, said the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution. Oct 07, 2022 06:07 AM IST US President Joe Biden pardons thousands convicted of marijuana possession United States President Joe Biden has announced pardoning thousands of Americans convicted of marijuana possession under federal law – a step towards decriminalising the drug…read more. Oct 07, 2022 05:36 AM IST First native American woman reaches space as part of NASA’s Crew-5 mission Subscribe to our best newsletters Congress’s ‘capability’ jibe after Shah says Azad not among ‘three families’ Updated on Oct 07, 2022 05:17 PM IST Union home minister Amit Shah had attacked leaders from opposition parties with frequent references to the “three families”, “Mufti and company” and “Abdullah and sons”. Union home minister Amit Shah, Democratic Azad Party chief Ghulam Nabi Azad, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh (L to R). On fresh summons, DK Shivakumar says BJP needs to understand ED’s limitations Updated on Oct 07, 2022 05:13 PM IST In a tweet, Karnataka Congress president DK Shivakumar said political battles must be fought on a similar battlefield and misuse of central agencies to harass opponents will receive a befitting reply for voters. Govt shifts annual school exams, admissions in Kashmir to March Published on Oct 07, 2022 05:06 PM IST In August, the Jammu and Kashmir administration moved the board examinations for classes 10 and 12 students to March to bring them in sync with institutions in the Jammu division and the rest of the country. ‘Alarming’: 6 Indian prisoners died in Pakistan in last 9 months, says MEA Published on Oct 07,...

Climbing Pedestrian Bridge Promotes Healthy Heart – Firm – Punch Newspapers https://collincountynewsonline.com/climbing-pedestrian-bridge-promotes-healthy-heart-firm-punch-newspapers/ A food brand, Power Oil, has said that climbing pedestrian bridges promotes a healthy heart. The company disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday, in commemoration of the 2022 World Heart Day, observed annually on September 30. According to the statement, the company engages over 15,000 people directly across three locations within Lagos State, discouraging passers-by against the option of crossing the express road and enlightening them to use the overhead bridge as a safer and healthier alternative. The Brand Manager, Valerie Amakulor, said the rationale behind the campaign was to educate Nigerians on the importance of a healthy lifestyle through routines in daily lives. She said, “The need to create awareness about maintaining a healthy heart can never be over-emphasised as cardiovascular diseases are the most common cause of death globally. “An estimated number of over 17 million people die from the CVD every year, coronary heart disease or strokes were the major causes of these deaths. “While reviewing this estimation, it was realised that awareness effort needed to go further in Nigeria, especially at different touch points unimaginable, which gave rise to this concept of pedestrian-bridge engagement exercise.” It added that an estimation of 20 people die in Lagos State from crossing the road monthly in Nigeria, noting that even when the bridges were available for use, they still opted for the risky option. The statement explained that to further drive healthy choices, pedestrians were asked to partake in minor workouts to get more rewards. “Power Oil rose to the occasion by not only cheering pedestrians to use the bridge for safety purpose, but to also educate them about the benefits of living a healthy lifestyle, at this point, a sample the brand is offered. “It was delightful to see the number of people being engaged at all three locations, this further demonstrates that a little push might only be required to achieve the right amount of behavioral adjustments towards a healthy lifestyle,” it read.

Sports About Town: WHHS Inducts Final Class Into The Athletic Hall Of Fame – Bluffton Today https://collincountynewsonline.com/sports-about-town-whhs-inducts-final-class-into-the-athletic-hall-of-fame-bluffton-today/ Author’s Note: The Hampton County Guardian was unable to obtain a group photo of all the Hall of Fame inductees, but we congratulate all of the honorees. With high school consolidation ahead for next year, Wade Hampton High School inducted its final class into the WHHS Athletic Hall of Fame on Sept. 23. The Wade Hampton High School Athletic Hall of Fame was started in 1999 and now includes 129 members. The final class of inductees are all “the exact definition of a Red Devil,” having represented the school as outstanding student- athletes or coaches and showed commitment, determination and sacrifice to obtain the accolades that they achieved during their years at Wade Hampton, said school officials.  Beginning with the 2023-24 academic year, WHHS and Estill High School will consolidate to form the Hampton County High School, and the new school’s mascot will be the Hurricanes. The inductees were presented with their Hall of Fame plaques by WHHS Principal and Hall of Fame Committee member Cassandra Williams, and Hampton County School District Board Member and Hampton County School District Athletic Committee Chair Kari Foy. Information on the 2022 Hall of Fame inductees was provided by the school’s athletic department, and the final class includes: William Albert Burch IV For 34 years, Coach Burch has been an outstanding educator and coach for Wade Hampton. Coach Burch spent five years as a football coach, 10 years as a basketball coach, where he was the head boys coach for six years, 24 years as an assistant baseball coach and one year as head baseball coach. His longest coaching tenure is 23 years as the cross-country coach, which he still does today. In cross country, he has coached 14 region championship teams and 13 All-State athletes. In 2015, his boys’ team finished third in the state. Coach Burch is also a committed activity bus driver for all sports at Wade Hampton and even calls the Friday Night Football games on the local radio for WBHC. Amber Crozier (Class of 2009) Crozier was a three-sport athlete while at Wade Hampton, playing volleyball, basketball and softball. She made all- region in volleyball her last two years and was also named to the North/South Volleyball Team her senior year. During her four years playing softball, she was team MVP three times, all-region two years and was also named to the North/South Softball Team her senior year. After graduating from Wade Hampton. Amber went on to play softball at USC-Salkehatchie for one year Alexis Deloach (Class of 2021) DeLoach was a five-sport athlete while at Wade Hampton. She played tennis for six years, soccer and basketball for four years, cross country for three years and track and field for one year. She was the 2021 Wade Hampton Female Athlete of the Year and graduated as Valedictorian of her class. She made All-Region seven times in her sports and was the Region Player of the Year in tennis her sophomore and senior Year, and in soccer her senior year. As a senior, she made the North/South Tennis Team and the North/South Soccer Team. She was also named All-State during her senior year for soccer. DeLoach is currently a student at Wofford University. Robert Gibson (Class of 1979) Coach Gibson played football and baseball while at Wade Hampton and was named all-region in football his junior year and in baseball his senior year. Coach Gibson is the perfect example of giving back to his community with 37 years of teaching and coaching at North District Middle School. He has been the athletics director, head football coach, girls basketball coach, and girls softball coach over his 37 years. His overall middle school football record is 182-32-1, where he has had 12 undefeated seasons and 14 conference championships. His overall girls’ basketball record is 463-102, where he has had nine undefeated seasons and over 40 conference championships, and his softball record is 170-80-2, where he has had two undefeated seasons and eight conference championships. All three sports combined, he has 815 wins. He was named “Middle School Coach of the Year” by the South Carolina Athletic Coaches Association in 2010. Kylie Godley (Class of 2013) Godley was a four-sport athlete while at Wade Hampton, playing volleyball, basketball, softball and track. During her four years at Wade Hampton, she made all-region nine times: four in volleyball, one in basketball, and four in softball. She was named Region Player of the Year in volleyball her senior year and she was named All-State in volleyball her senior year and in softball her junior and senior years. Kylie also was named Female Athlete of the Year as a senior. Romon Gray (Class of 1990) Coach Gray played basketball at Wade Hampton for four years. He was a big part of three region championship teams and two Lower State runner-up teams. After graduating from Wade Hampton, Gray decided to give back to his community by getting involved with coaching at Wade Hampton. Starting in 1997, he has been an assistant basketball coach, head cross country coach, head girls basketball coach and most recently, the head boys basketball coach. He has been part of numerous region championships in cross country (2), girls’ basketball (2) and most recently, he has led our boy’s program to two region championships, two back-to-back Lower State Championships, four Lower State appearances, and two appearances in the State Championship. Gray is the automotive tech teacher for Wade Hampton, a Hampton County Deputy Sheriff and still finds time to work at the family automotive shop – Gray’s Garage. Chad Green (Class of 1994) Chad was a two-sport athlete while at Wade Hampton, playing football and basketball. He was named All-Region his senior year of football, and his senior year for basketball. He also made the All-State basketball team in 1994. He was named Wade Hampton Athlete of the Year his senior year and went on to play football and basketball for Knoxville College. Cory Magwood (Class of 2012) Magwood was a three-sport athlete while at Wade Hampton, excelling in football, basketball and track and field. Magwood was a two-time All-State football and basketball player. In his senior year, he was named to the North/South All-Star team for basketball. He attended Furman University on a football scholarship, where he played for four years earning First Team All SOCON Defense honors twice, and he was named the SOCON Defensive Player of the Year in 2015. After finishing college, Magwood was invited to the Pittsburgh Steelers camp and played professional football for two years overseas in Finland and Germany before returning home to become a strength coach. He was a student intern strength coach at Furman University, Georgia Tech University, Georgia State University and was named the Director of Strength and Conditioning at Morehouse College. Magwood is currently the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach at Phillip Simmons High School in Charleston. Eric Moore (Class of 2000) Moore was a three-sport athlete while at Wade Hampton, playing football, basketball and running track and field. He was named all-region in football twice and made All-Region in track and field his senior year. He was named All-State in football his senior year. He attended the University of Pikeville for football, where he played defensive back and punt returner. Moore currently still holds five Wade Hampton school records in football. Jamez Myers (Class of 2006) Myers was a three-sport athlete while at Wade Hampton. He excelled at football, basketball and baseball. Myers won All-Region awards in all three sports and was named All-State in baseball and named to the North/South Team his senior year. He went on to earn a scholarship to play baseball at Claflin University. He still currently holds two Wade Hampton school records in football. Randall Orr (Class of 2001) Orr was a four-year letterman for the basketball team at Wade Hampton. He was named team MVP and helped his team make the Lower State Championship. After high school, Orr played basketball at Western Kentucky University and Georgia Perimeter College before going overseas to play basketball professionally where he played on 12 teams. Basketball has allowed Orr the opportunity to play professionally in 12 different counties and try out for six NBA teams.  In 2010, Orr was a member of the Harlem Globetrotters and in 2018 was in the movie “Uncle Drew.” Telley Priester (Class of 1993) While at Wade Hampton, Priester was a three-sport athlete playing football, basketball and baseball. Priester was an All-Region football player and went on to play football for Virginia State University, where he won numerous awards in his four years. He was named All-Conference three times, made the first team All-American for HBCU three times and was named the Player of the Year in the CIAA. After college, he signed an undrafted contract with the New York Jets where he made the practice squad. Debbie Terry Hiers (Class of 1987) Hiers was a three-sport athlete at Wade Hampton playing volleyball, basketball and softball. Over her four years, she was named All-Region in all three sports, twice for softball and volleyball and once for basketball. In her senior year, she was named to the North/South All-Star game for softball. Hiers was a vital part of the 1984 softball team that won the South Carolina Lower State Championship. Most recently, Hiers was a paraprofessional at Wade Hampton and coached JV volleyball and varsity softball for three years. Reginald Scott (Class of 1994) Scott was a three-sport athlete while at Wade Hampton, playing football, basketball and track. He was an All-Region football player his senior year and was a vital part of a state championship track team in ...

Top 10 Metaverse Development Companies In India 2023 – Hindustan Times https://collincountynewsonline.com/top-10-metaverse-development-companies-in-india-2023-hindustan-times/ Being one of the trending technologies of tomorrow’s world, Metaverse development is delivering promising results to different industries. Various organizations and even industries are stepping up and forward with metaverse development to offer an immersive user experience. Utilizing advanced technologies like AR, VR, AI, ML, NFT and many more as the base of every metaverse development solution makes a strong impact in the digital world. As Meta was one of the first brands to step into the metaverse, most individuals have the misconception that Metaverse development is for specific industries only. Breaking this stereotype various Metaverse development companies in India are offering metaverse development services for almost every industry such as real estate, retail, entertainment, education, finance and many more. Even though people are familiar with the concept of metaverse development the only thing they are not aware of is how to build the Metaverse. As organizations and industry leaders need someone with understanding and expertise in Metaverse development, the team of TopSoftwareCompanies.co has made a list of top 10 Metaverse developers in India considering their skill set, experience, expertise, team strength, location and many more. The List of Top 10 Popular Metaverse Development Companies in India 2023 1. Hyperlink InfoSystem Hyperlink InfoSystem is a leading IT and software development company having offices in the USA, UK, UAE, France, Canada, and India. The company is known for delivering outstanding web app development solutions using the latest technologies and tools. Along with enhancing the staff to 950+ employees, the company has started working on metaverse development solutions and many more in the year 2022. Hyperlink InfoSystem worked on various projects and built multiple solutions for clients based on their requirements. 2. Fingent Fingent is an enterprise software development company headquartered in India, with offices across the globe and 590+ employees. More than 150 businesses, including start-ups, SMBs, and Fortune 500 corporations, have placed their trust in them. Their services include web development, mobile app development, metaverse, IoT, and enterprise software development. 3. Deloitte Deloitte helps clients to understand and capitalize on the next massive wave disrupting business and society using next-generation strategies, tools, and technologies that can create and connect virtual worlds for the industrial, workplace, enterprise, and consumer contexts. Deloitte professionals leverage today’s technologies such as AI, blockchain, IoT, metaverse to develop the most advanced computational infrastructure for the clients. 4. Globant Globant is a Metaverse Studio that focuses on opening portals to digital spaces for their clients around the globe to provide a seamless pipeline for digital twin generation and enhanced content production systems that can provide results of a presence in the different virtual online worlds. They help their clients to develop and operate their new virtual space to expand their brand presence. 5. Tech Mahindra Tech Mahindra has the aim of changing customer experience and delivering real business outcomes. They provide world-leading network and technological capabilities like pervasive artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, 5G, augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and quantum computing to build B2B (business-to-business) Metaverse-based solutions. 6. Zensar Technologies Zensar technologies provide Metaverse solutions to boost digital experiences with AR/VR integrated services to create digital items based on NFT using Blockchain Technology. The Zensar team of Metaverse developers provides all the support and tools to the businesses to bring virtual content and experiences into the real world. 7. Infosys Infosys has introduced the Infosys metaverse foundry to navigate the unusual confluence of technologies such as XR, DLT, 5G, AI, IoT, and many more. Enterprises can harness this platform’s on-demand ability to securely and efficiently create their own metaverse environment to adapt to new priorities and emerging market trends. 8. Accenture Accenture delivers the best Metaverse development services to bring human connection into the digital world. Accenture is providing Metaverse technology for meetings and learning and team get-togethers that can help them transform new joiners’ experiences. Accenture is providing Metaverse Development Services for multiple concepts. 9. Capgemini India Pvt Ltd Capgemini Metaverse Development services provide consumers with a premium interface to the Metaverse platform, allowing them to construct user-friendly apps with blockchain-specific features like automation, privacy, transparency, and user sovereignty. Capgemini guides its clients through the process of creating and developing their virtual environment in order to engage with customers. 10. HData Systems HData Systems helps clients establish a future-ready metaverse by supporting their project’s technical and development needs. They are all ready to design and construct Metaverse components like 3D virtual worlds, Metaverse NFT markets, Metaverse apps, and decentralized platforms, leveraging their years of experience and skill in Blockchain, Augmented Reality, and Virtual Reality development services. Disclaimer: This article is a paid publication and does not have journalistic/ editorial involvement of Hindustan Times. Hindustan Times does not endorse/ subscribe to the contents of the article/advertisement and/or views expressed herein. The reader is further advised that Crypto products and NFTs are unregulated and can be highly risky. There may be no regulatory recourse for any loss from such transactions. Hindustan Times shall not in any manner, be responsible and/or liable in any manner whatsoever for all that is stated in the article and/or also with regard to the views, opinions, announcements, declarations, affirmations etc., stated/featured in same. The decision to read hereinafter is purely a matter of choice and shall be construed as an express undertaking/guarantee in favour of Hindustan Times of being absolved from any/ all potential legal action, or enforceable claims. The content may be for information and awareness purposes and does not constitute a financial advice.

40 Best Gifts For 13 Year Old Boys – National Today https://collincountynewsonline.com/40-best-gifts-for-13-year-old-boys-national-today/ If you ask the average 13-year-old how good their parents are with gift giving, there probably aren’t many that would tell you they’ve had the best results. A pair of socks, a wooly sweater, a pair of reversible slacks. No thank you. It can be hard for adults to shop for kids, mostly because of the age gaps. We suggest trying to base your selections on how you’d react to prices on a game show. For example, a sports car sounds incredible when you’re a kid, but a luxury suit for special occasions would be boring. You wouldn’t rush to get a 13-year-old a sports car, but you get the idea. Try to put yourself in their shoes and you’ll manage. To get you jump-started with some ideas, here are some great suggestions. Our Top 3 Picks Best Playstation 5 Console Quite possibly the greatest console in existence. Buy it! Also Great Xbox Game Pass The gaming gift that keeps on giving. Buy it! Good on a Budget Dual Color LED Neon Sign All signs point to an awesome game room. Buy it! Best Christmas Gifts for 13-Year-Old Boys “Finish This Book,” By Keri Smith  Half a book from author Keri Smith and the reader is tasked with finishing the other half. It’s a great book for teaching kids how to solve problems, and some can even up their teamwork skills by working together to finish it. Some kids even found it addictingly fun to get into.  Get one on Amazon. Wekapo Inflatable Lounger Easy to blow up. This air lounger is designed to support your upper back and neck so your teen can have an easier time relaxing and feeling comfortable. Once it’s set up the lounger will remain standing for five to six hours. Get one on Amazon. Create-a-Sticker Some gifts just stick with you, and this one grabs your attention at first sight. Stickers make everything great, and with this sticker maker, your teen’s world will keep on spinning and sticking like there’s no tomorrow.  Get one on Amazon. Galaxy Projector A lot of kids grow up with a set of glow-in-the-dark stickers attached to the walls of their childhood homes. However, times change and those stickers aren’t built to last, or they simply move on and leave them behind. This projector not only shines stars but calls in the tide too with an ocean-wave projection. Connect your phone via Bluetooth and watch the stars around you. The best part is you can take it with you whenever.  Get one on Amazon. Gloomhaven: Jaws of The Lion Strategy Boxed Board Game Gaming is just the thing for teens and sometimes that includes board games. Your teen will enjoy the video game-like storyline without getting more screen time. It’s great for solo players or group sessions.  Get one on Amazon. Best Birthday Gifts for 13-Year-Old Boys Signature Series 3 Skateboard Skateboards are a hot-ticket item, but you don’t become a pro skateboarder without knowing a thing or two about boards. Featuring a colorful and artsy deck as well as Pro Trucks and skateboard wheels, the Tony Hawk Popsicle skateboard series comes with it all. It’s an ideal starter board for someone new to skateboarding and advanced enough for veteran boarders on the ramp.  Get one on Amazon. Game Room Dual Color LED Neon Sign All signs lead to somewhere awesome. This awesome place is your game room, or just your bedroom. It’s good for your kid’s room and a versatile piece of electric art that can easily be hung almost anywhere.   Get one on Etsy. The Comfy Original Jr. Oversized and cozy, your teen is going to want to snuggle up in this wearable blanket all day long. It’s great for staying warm around the house, at sporting events, or even while camping.  Get one on Amazon. Ripster Caster Board This board features a unique design perfect for riders with a narrow stance. Not only will they be able to practice tricks on the boards, but the slip-resistant deck will make sure they’re safer, and that they have a smoother ride.  Get one on Amazon. Catan Board Game Whether your teen plays with family or friends, they will be sure to have a fun time with a social game that’s all about using strategy. Get one on Amazon. Best Electronics Gifts for 13-Year-Old Boys Arctis 1 Wired Gaming Headset If he’s an avid gamer, this headset comes with a signature soundscape, bringing out the most subtle sounds for an improved audio experience. The headset is also adjustable for a comfortable fit and they’re built to last.   Get one on Amazon. Snaptain S5C Pro 2K Drone Easy to use and hard to destroy, this drone is great for a beginner in drone piloting. It features voice-activated commands, one-touch takeoffs, landings, and video transmission that can automatically be uploaded to your social media.  Get one at Walmart. Merge Augmented Reality Cube The Merge Cube is one of the more well-known STEM gifts this year. It’s going to change your kids’ perspectives, and how they learn and see the world. They have the entire world in the palm of their hands, creating and interacting with virtual objects they can also share.  Get one on Amazon. Clip 4 Waterproof Speaker If you have a kid who loves music, this is the speaker for them. It functions for 10 hours on battery and streams wirelessly. As an added bonus, it’s durable enough to take a mild beating or a quick swim in whatever body of water your child accidentally drops it in.  Get one at Walmart. Instax Mini 11 Instant Camera Printed pictures are coming back in style. This camera will provide memories in the palm of their hand, or he can hang them in his school locker or keep them in his wallet. These little cameras are handy, small, and snazzy, bringing instant gratification to any hangouts, trips, or surprise photos of the family. Get one at Target. Best Science Gifts for 13-Year-Old Boys Robotikits 14-in-1 Solar Robot This solar-powered robot can be transformed into 14 different robot modes which include a bunch of comical and functional movements. You can change from a dog wagging its tail to a running beetle, walking crab, surfer, speedster, or zombie chaser, to name a few. It also comes with unique accessories and parts to allow it to move on land and water. Get one on Amazon. Thames and Kosmos Rocket Science Kit Physics comes alive with a set of action-packed experiments centered around a specially–designed stomp-on rocket launcher with three foam rockets. Launch water and air-powered rockets to learn about actions and reactionary forces. There are loads of fun ways to learn science and this kit has plenty to show you the fun in the fundamentals of physics.  Get one on Amazon. Lego Architecture Studio Bring your architectural creations to life and in LEGO form with the LEGO architecture studio. The set comes with over 1200 LEGO bricks and a guidebook filled with tips, techniques, features, and intuitive hands-on exercises endorsed by leading design houses. LEGO gives you everything you need to make your very own unique buildings.  Get one on Amazon. DX SkyExpedition Computerized Telescope With this, you can automatically locate over 4,000 wonders of the universe with its motorized system and on-board computer. It comes with a fully adjustable tripod sporting a convenient accessory tray. It’s got computerized hand controls that are easy to use and can help locate objects with the touch of a button.  Get one on Amazon. Perplexus Twist The Perplexus Twist is going to amaze players as they try to solve the latest in the line of award-winning 3D puzzles. This gadget challenges players to move the stainless steel marble through 30 different points while it rotates on its axis. Fun and intriguing, it’ll help with hand-eye coordination, thinking steps ahead, practicing impulse control, and even memory skill.  Get one on Amazon. Best Disney Gifts for 13-Year-Old Boys Meme the Game: Disney Version Turn some of your best movie moments into chuckl-worthy memes. Match a picture card with a phrase and see who’s pairing makes people laugh the hardest.  Get one on Amazon. Mickey Mouse Waffle Maker The classic Mickey Mouse waffle maker finally gives him an excuse to have his Disney world-level character breakfast in the comfort of his own home. It makes a 6-inch waffle in just two minutes, which means the whole gang can be fed in no time.  Get one on Amazon. 3D Crystal Jigsaw Puzzle This puzzle only comes with 41 pieces, but it’s still quite the brain teaser. Once it’s put together you’re going to have an interesting sculpture to put on display. Reviewers claim it doesn’t even take that long to put together.  Get one on Amazon. Disney World Cast Member Ornament Even if they haven’t fulfilled their dreams of working at Disney, their Christmas ornament can be a reminder of the good times, as it’s personalized to look just like the name tags cast members wear in the parks.  Get one on Etsy. Delish Loves Disney: An Insider’s Guide to the World’s Most Magical Treats Now, they don’t have to hop on a flight to devour a plate of those magical treats. This book covers all of the park staples, from decadent dinner to tempting treats so they can get mom to make it for them and enjoy them whenever, wherever they please.  Get one on Amazon. Best Cheap Gifts for 13-Year-Old Boys Buddha Board Art Set Yet another product adored by shoppers and with thousands of five-star ratings. This Amazon best seller is great for inspiring the young artist in your life.  Get one on Amazon. LED Strip Lights Nobody can resist a good light show, and not your teen can bring that same flair to their room. These LED strip lights are simple and easy to use, featuring 20 different colors and eight various modes. Colors and settings can change with the simple flick of the remote that comes with the lights.   Get them on Amazon. 400 Bubbles Jumbo Rainbow Pop-It Pop-its have been a big hit amongst a range of ages, from toddlers to teen...

Permits Propel Crypto Operations In Brainerd Forward – Brainerd Dispatch https://collincountynewsonline.com/permits-propel-crypto-operations-in-brainerd-forward-brainerd-dispatch/ Two lots on Thiesse Drive in Brainerd’s industrial park, seen here Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2022, will serve as locations for a cryptocurrency mining operation by VCV Digital Infrastructure Minnesota. Kelly Humphrey / Brainerd Dispatch BRAINERD — Brainerd city officials issued two permits Monday, Oct. 3, that will move forward proposed cryptocurrency mining operations in the industrial park. Despite a split vote from the Planning Commission, City Council members approved two interim use permits, allowing VCV Digital Infrastructure Minnesota LLC to build storage containers at 1911 and 1918 Thiesse Drive, with outdoor storage designated as the primary use for the properties. VCV Digital will operate the crypto mining facilities after working with B&D Power Solutions — the company that originally approached the city — to acquire the land for the operations. The permits are contingent on final sale of the properties to VCV Digital, and they would be voided if crypto mining operations discontinue at the sites. Cryptocurrency is a form of digital money that is decentralized and can be used to buy goods over the internet and exchange money without a bank being involved. While there are thousands of cryptocurrencies and counting, Bitcoin has emerged as the most popular one. Cryptocurrency mining is the energy-intensive process of extracting digital money by solving complex puzzles via supercomputers. While council members unanimously approved the permits Monday, the Planning Commission’s vote on the items was split at 3-3 during its September meeting, when some members voiced their opposition to the cryptocurrency mining operation in general. “I think it’s a horrible project for our city, and I think it compromises our future energy independence and sustainability,” said Mike Duval, Planning Commission chair, on Sept. 21. “When I look at 16 employees for combined 50 megawatts of power, that’s a tremendous amount of energy.” Brainerd Public Utilities approved a purchase power agreement with VCV Digital in March, allotting the company 50 megawatts of power per month once the operations are up and running. The approved purchase agreement states the power is interruptible, meaning if power had to be shut off for any reason, the power to the cryptocurrency facility would be the first to go before the rest of the city. Brainerd’s extra power capacity made the city an attractive location for cryptocurrency mining. When a new BPU substation was built in 2008, its capacity was based on future growth projections for the city, leading to three transformers each capable of handling 47 megawatts of power. The peak energy use for BPU’s coverage area during the year is 40 megawatts, roughly 100 megawatts less than the total capacity. In March, BPU commissioners approved an agreement with American Electric Power — BPU’s energy supplier — to purchase the necessary power when needed. Once the cryptocurrency operations are up and running, American Electric Power will provide BPU with the cost for the energy, and BPU will in turn bill the company. BPU is working on a similar agreement with Clough Properties and its subsidiary Just for Krypto for 20 megawatts of power. The idea of cryptocurrency operations in Brainerd was highly contested late last year, when both Texas-based B&D Power Solutions and local Clough Properties expressed interest in purchasing the same lots in Brainerd’s industrial park for their cryptocurrency facilities. There were also concerns over the city having the capacity to fulfill the power requests from both companies. During an Economic Development Authority meeting last December, commissioners addressed misinformation that had spread on social media regarding the issue, including accusations that the city was choosing to work with an out-of-state company rather than a local one. B&D Power Solutions previously had operations in China before cryptocurrency mining was banned in the country. The City Council’s actions up until that point did not accept or reject proposals from either company but conveyed land in the industrial park to the EDA, giving the EDA authority to enter into negotiations with either company. EDA members agreed to move into those negotiations in December, but Clough Properties has since opted to buy an existing building in the industrial park for its cryptocurrency operations. The EDA agreed in March to sell two parcels in the industrial park to VCV Digital for $277,815, with the sale contingent on the company submitting a construction plan and securing financing. The EDA found those conditions to be met in September and conveyed the lots to VCV Digital. A Crow Wing County map shows the parcels of land VCV Digital Infrastructure Minnesota purchased for its cryptocurrency mining facilities. Contributed Planning Commission response A 3-3 vote saw planning commissioners split on approving VCV Digital’s interim use permits in September. Chair Duval, along with commissioners Don Gorham and Chuck Marohn, opposed the measures, while commissioners Tad Erickson, Kevin Yeager and Theresa Woodward supported them. Commissioner Matt Kallroos was absent from the meeting. Gorham asked several questions about the city’s power supply, how much of its energy is renewable and the ethics of using so much power to promote wealth by mining cryptocurrency. Jerry Tang, who attended the meeting virtually on behalf of VCV Digital, compared crypto mining to any other activities people use power for, like playing video games or streaming videos on YouTube, and said the productivity of such is subjective to the user. Duval argued against the business by using the city’s comprehensive plan, which states the city aims to ensure adequate water and power supply to meet long-term needs of the city and steer city development toward energy conservation. He also said he did not believe the proposed 16 full-time jobs that would result from the facility were not enough to warrant the project. “I am just blown away at the amount of energy that this project would consume,” Duval said. “It’s in direct contradiction to the goals of our comprehensive plan.” Tang reminded the commission the operations would not be taking energy away from the city but only using the city’s infrastructure to use the power, which would be bought through American Electric Power. He added the company will pay BPU well over $1 million a year for the energy it uses, which will in turn finance BPU’s solar power project, providing more renewable energy for the city. BPU Superintendent Scott Magnuson said during a phone interview Thursday, Oct. 6, VCV Digital purchased solar renewable energy credit for five years. The city will use those credits to pay down the cost of the solar field, which in turn makes the purchase power price lower for BPU. Marohn suggested a reclamation clause be included with the permit, requiring VCV Digital to reimburse the city for work that would have to be done on the site for other business ventures if the crypto mining operations failed within a certain amount of time. Erickson, who sits on both the Planning Commission and City Council, advocated for the permits, telling commissioners it was not their place to question the business plan of someone proposing to do business in the city. The business, he said, is the one taking the risk upon themselves. A design rendering shows one of the cryptocurrency mining facilities planned for Brainerd’s industrial park by VCV Digital Infrastructure Minnesota. Contributed “How long have we sat with empty lots in this industrial park? And now we have an opportunity to at least put it to some use,” Erickson said. Yeager agreed, noting BPU officials already stated they did not have concerns about the amount of power requested by both companies proposing cryptocurrency operations. Yeager said the city’s energy capacity is a unique asset, and he fully supports a business coming in to make use of that asset. “We have an applicant in front of us who wants to do something with a bare lot that is sitting there doing nothing. We don’t have anything in front of us right now. So I just believe that if you have somebody who wants to go, you let them go,” Yeager said. When it came time to vote on the first permit for 1911 Thiesse Drive, Duval said there was too much confusion on how everything would work in terms of the power supply, and Gorham said he had too many unanswered questions. Council members unanimously approved both permits during their meeting Monday, as was staff’s recommendation. Council member Mike O’Day said while he was against this project to begin with, he would vote in favor of the permits because of all of the work into it, including the power agreement and the land sale. Erickson reiterated his comments about the city’s role in questioning business plans and the information about BPU officials already addressing the availability of power. During the council comments portion at the end of Monday’s meeting, Mayor Dave Badeaux spoke about city officials’ duty to be stewards of the city and hold themselves to the highest possible standards, saying there were a few recent happenings that have been “a little squirrely” and gotten the city off track. One of the items he mentioned was the last Planning Commission meeting, saying those who sit on all city commissions should make a point of asking relevant questions related to issues ahead of time and come to meetings prepared. In the case of the crypto mining operations, Badeaux said some of the questions asked at the Planning Commission meeting were answered at previous meetings of other bodies, and if commissioners still had questions, they could have arranged for BPU officials to be present to answer those. “Even if we are commissio...

Exclusive: Assa Abloy Considers Selling Yale, Emtek Brands To Win U.S. Approval For Spectrum Deal – Reuters https://collincountynewsonline.com/exclusive-assa-abloy-considers-selling-yale-emtek-brands-to-win-u-s-approval-for-spectrum-deal-reuters/ NEW YORK/FRANKFURT, Oct 7 (Reuters) – Assa Abloy AB (ASSAb.ST) is considering options including selling its Yale and Emtek locks brands as it seeks to overturn U.S. antitrust opposition to its planned purchase of Spectrum’s Hardware and Home Improvement (HHI), three sources familiar with the matter said. Stockholm-listed Assa Abloy, the world’s leading lockmaker with a market value of 231.56 billion Swedish crown ($20.79 billion), is working with an advisor to find a buyer for the brands, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity. It comes just weeks after the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) sued to block the company’s proposed $4.3 billion deal to buy a unit of Spectrum Brands Holdings Inc (SPB.N) that makes security, plumbing and builders’ hardware products. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com The two brands that Assa Abloy is looking to sell could be valued at about $1 billion-$2 billion, the sources said. Potential buyers may include private equity firms, two of the sources said. The DoJ sued to block the deal in September, saying that a merger of Assa Abloy and the HHI unit would give the Swedish company a “near monopoly” share of the mechanical door lock market and could lead to higher prices and reduced innovation for homeowners who want to buy premium mechanical door hardware or smart locks. Spectrum’s HHI unit owns the Baldwin and Kwikset lock and lock hardware brands. Assa Abloy and Spectrum said last month that they “strongly disagree” with the Justice Department and would “vigorously contest” the suit. Assa Abloy declined to comment on the sale talks. “As you would know we informed the markets in September that we intend to dispute the DoJ’s complaint in relation to our proposed acquisition of HHI. We are now in the process of setting together the formal appeal of their complaint,” said a spokesperson for Assa Abloy. The deal between Assa Abloy and the HHI unit was announced last year. ($1 = 11.1399 Swedish crowns) Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss in New York and Emma-Victoria Farr in Frankfurt; Editing by Anirban Sen and Susan Fenton Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. Emma-Victoria Farr Thomson Reuters Reports on European M&A with previous experience at Mergermarket, Bloomberg The Daily Telegraph and Deutsche Presse Agentur.

Third Informal, Focused Consultation In Relation To A New International Instrument On Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness And Response: Intellectual Property, Production And Transfer Of Technology And Know-How – World Health Organization https://collincountynewsonline.com/third-informal-focused-consultation-in-relation-to-a-new-international-instrument-on-pandemic-prevention-preparedness-and-response-intellectual-property-production-and-transfer-of-technology-and-k/ Home/ Newsroom/ Events/ Detail/ Third informal, focused consultation in relation to a new international instrument on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response: intellectual property, production and transfer of technology and know-how At its second meeting, the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body to draft and negotiate a WHO convention, agreement or other international instrument on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response (INB) decided that the INB Bureau would conduct informal, focused consultations (IFCs) with experts, open to all WHO Member States and relevant stakeholders, on selected key issues. All IFCs will be fully virtual, with interpretation in all WHO official languages. Each will be chaired by an INB Bureau Co-chair and will have two parts: an interactive, moderated roundtable between independent experts during which the moderator will ask questions and stimulate input from and dialogue between the experts; and a discussion and reflection session, for Member States and relevant stakeholders, where questions and reflections may be sent through email or the meeting “chat” function. Four IFCs have been scheduled. The third will focus on intellectual property, production and transfer of technology and know-how. Time and date: 14:00-17:00, 7 October 2022. Topics to be covered Research and development Patents and access to technology, including related know-how The role of TRIPS, compulsory licensing and IP waivers Production capacity and supply chain considerations Regulatory approvals during emergencies Chairs: Ms Precious Matsoso, INB Bureau Co-Chair and Mr Roland Driece, INB Bureau Co-Chair Moderator: Ms Emma Ross, Senior Research Fellow, Chatham House, Royal Institute of International Affairs, London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland   Participating experts External Richard Hatchett, CEO, Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) Carlos Correa, Executive Director of South Centre Padmashree Gehl Sampath, Fellow and Senior Advisor, Global Access in Action Program, Berkman Klein Center, Harvard University and Chair Person, Technical Advisory Group of COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (CTAP) Ellen ‘t Hoen, Director, Medicines Law & Policy / Global Health Law Fellow Law Faculty, University of Groningen, Netherlands Mojisera Adeyeye, Director-General National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control in Nigeria (NAFDAC), Nigeria Martin Harvey Allchurch, Head of International Affairs, European Medicines Agency WHO Secretariat Soumya Swaminathan, Chief Scientist Mariângela Simão, WHO Assistant Director-General, Access to Medicines and Health Products Additional information Mindful of the informal nature of the IFCs and the goal of stimulating full and frank discussion, the following will apply to all IFC sessions: discussions at IFC sessions, including among participating experts, will in no way prejudice the positions of Member States or any other session participants; no comment or question presented by session participants, including Member States, during the IFCs, will imply a view or position of Member States or other session participants; and expert presentations will be provided solely for the consideration of Member States and will not themselves be sources of input to the Conceptual zero draft.

Mercedes Clement Case: North Texas Mother’s Remains Found In Collin County Nearly 2 Years After She Went Missing – KTRK-TV https://collincountynewsonline.com/mercedes-clement-case-north-texas-mothers-remains-found-in-collin-county-nearly-2-years-after-she-went-missing-ktrk-tv/ DALLAS, Texas (KTRK) — A mother who vanished two years ago was found dead, leaving her family desperate for answers. This week, investigators in Collin County, which is near Plano, confirmed that the remains found in February are those of 25-year-old Mercedes Clement. Investigators said they used dental records to identify her. SEE ALSO: 1 year later, family continues search for missing woman, last seen with man in Texas parking lot On the night of Oct. 11, 2020, Mercedes, then 25 years old, called a few of her friends, telling one that she felt scared and needed a ride to her car. The next day, her parents, Alicia and Emiliano Gazotti, received a letter notifying them that their daughter’s car had been towed. Clement’s purse, found in her car the next day, also raises suspicions. Surveillance video released last year captured Clement walking across a Dallas parking lot, accompanied by a man. The man in the video was considered a person of interest, but no official suspects have been named. Copyright © 2022 KTRK-TV. All Rights Reserved.

Sometimes You Have To Leave A Cruise: What To Know In Those Cases – USA TODAY https://collincountynewsonline.com/sometimes-you-have-to-leave-a-cruise-what-to-know-in-those-cases-usa-today/ Christopher Elliott  |  Special to USA TODAY Elaine Chan never had a choice about leaving her Holland America cruise early. She says the captain summoned her husband and her to his office while their ship was docked in Helsinki and accused them of assaulting a crew member.  “The captain gave us an envelope with tickets back to San Francisco,” remembers Chan, an accountant from San Jose. “He forced us to leave the cruise by 10 a.m. to catch our flight. If we did not leave on time, he said we would miss our flight. So we had no time to plead our case.” Chan says it was a case of mistaken identity. While they were disembarking the ship in St. Petersburg, Florid, she says another group of passengers argued with the crewmembers. But they weren’t part of the group.  Passengers leave cruises for all kinds of reasons – some voluntarily, some not. But with cruise season just getting started, it’s a good time to ask: Should I leave my cruise early? Also, what are my rights if someone makes you (forgive me!) walk the plank? Check out Elliott Confidential, the newsletter the travel industry doesn’t want you to read. Each issue is filled with breaking news, deep insights, and exclusive strategies for becoming a better traveler. But don’t tell anyone! Holland America would not talk about Chan’s case. But in an email to the couple, the cruise line said it had looked into her claim and found no reason to change its decision to expel them. It regretted that the outcome of its investigation “could not be more favorable.” It added, “We do hope you will continue to include Holland America Line in your travel plans.” I doubt they will. What demanding customers want: ‘Travelers have sky-high expectations for the trips’ Finding love on a cruise: These passengers took their vacation romances ashore Do lines have the right to kick you off a cruise? Let’s start with involuntary disembarkations like Chan’s. It turns out a cruise line has the right to kick you off a cruise, at least according to its ticket contract, the legal agreement between the passenger and cruise line. I have more details on your cruise rights in my free guide to taking a cruise. Holland America’s contract says the carrier may “disembark or refuse to embark you, confine you in a stateroom, quarantine you, restrain you …” Well, you get the idea.  Other cruise lines have similar policies. They basically give the company a broad right to remove you from a cruise any time and for any reason. They don’t even have to present you with any evidence of wrongdoing, which is what Chan said happened to her. Story continues below. I’ve dealt with dozens of other involuntary disembarkation cases as a consumer advocate. They are just as painful as Chan’s situation. I remember one woman who experienced kidney pain shortly after boarding a cruise to Mexico. Carnival asked her to leave the ship in Long Beach, California. Another woman was ejected from her Holland America cruise after her brain-damaged husband urinated into the swimming pool. True story. In each of these cases, the cruise line failed to refund the cruise until I asked about them. And that raises the most important issue when it comes to leaving a cruise: You probably won’t get any of your money back, even if you ask, and maybe – maybe! – if I ask. Book your tickets now: This isn’t the holiday travel season to procrastinate ‘Was it worth the risk? I don’t think so’: What it’s like to cruise with fewer COVID rules What to do when you leave a cruise early Before you get off the boat, talk to your cruise line. There are restrictions on transporting passengers under the Passenger Vessel Services Act that may result in fines to your cruise line. Also, it’s the polite thing to let a cruise line know you’re exiting your vacation early. So when should you consider leaving? ► When someone tells you. The Chans had to comply with the captain’s request. Plus, the cruise contract was clear about their obligation. Right or wrong, they had to leave the ship. ► When the service is sub-par. Ben Taylor and his wife exited their cruise in Barcelona, at its first port of call, after a series of misunderstandings. First, a casino employee claimed Taylor had been given too much money by the cashier, provoking a stressful and lengthy dispute. “Then we returned to our cabin to find it full of sewage water – not good at all but especially undesirable for my wife, who was pregnant at the time,” said Taylor, who writes a blog about working from home. NCL offered the couple a cruise credit, which they never used. “It was our first cruise and probably our last,” he added. ► When you have an emergency. That’s what Holly Haskins’ husband, Ben, did. She’d fallen ill just before the Royal Caribbean cruise but urged him to go on the planned vacation with his extended family anyway. “I became increasingly ill,” remembered Haskins, a grant writer from Lansdale, Pennsylvania. “He decided to leave the cruise on day four, in St. Thomas, and fly home. He told ship staff what was going on and they assisted him in disembarking and scheduling a flight. They were very helpful and kind.” ► If there’s a disruption of essential services. Under the Cruise Industry Passenger Bill of Rights, adopted by the major cruise lines, you have the right to disembark a docked ship if “essential provisions such as food, water, restroom facilities and access to medical care cannot adequately be provided onboard.” There are exceptions for safety and immigration requirements of the port. ► Some cruises are not meant to be finished. If you think you’re on one, remember to follow the laws and crewmember instructions. If the cruise line tries to push you off the ship, you can always fight for a refund once you’re on dry land. How to avoid an early cruise exit ► Ask yourself: Is a cruise right for you? If you’re prone to motion sickness or don’t like being confined to a vessel for days at a time, you might try an all-inclusive vacation on land instead. You’ll never have to worry about voluntarily leaving a cruise early – or being kicked off one. ► Research your cruise carefully. Cruises come in all shapes and sizes. Choose your floating vacation with care. For example, your average octogenarian might prefer the Caribbean to the Antarctic. And some theme cruises aren’t welcoming to younger guests. Shop around carefully. ► Hire an expert. A travel agent can help steer you in the right direction when it comes to the perfect cruise. Check the CLIA.org site for a qualified travel agent. Note: Agents take a commission, so they work for you. That means you can call or email your travel agent at any time for advice on leaving your cruise early. Christopher Elliott is an author, consumer advocate, and journalist. He founded Elliott Advocacy, a nonprofit organization that helps solve consumer problems. He publishes Elliott Confidential, a travel newsletter, and the Elliott Report, a news site about customer service. If you need help with a consumer problem, you can reach him here or email him at chris@elliott.org.

AP Top Business News At 5:14 A.m. EDT – WNYT NewsChannel 13 https://collincountynewsonline.com/ap-top-business-news-at-514-a-m-edt-wnyt-newschannel-13/ To buy Twitter, Musk has to keep banks, investors on board Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. For Related Stories: Hurricane Ian

Horoscopes Oct. 7, 2022: Simon Cowell, Discuss Your Feelings – Monterey Herald https://collincountynewsonline.com/horoscopes-oct-7-2022-simon-cowell-discuss-your-feelings-monterey-herald/ CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Shawn Ashmore, 43; Toni Braxton, 55; Simon Cowell, 63; Joy Behar, 80. Toni Braxton (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File) Happy Birthday: Refuse to let uncertainty set in. Go directly to the source, and you’ll get the answers you require to bring your plans to fruition. Trust and believe in yourself, and be willing to put energy into your dreams, hopes and wishes. Don’t sit idle when progress is within reach. Discuss your feelings, intentions and self-improvement that offers a healthy, trendy lifestyle with loved ones. Your numbers are 7, 10, 14, 26, 31, 42, 48. ARIES (March 21-April 19): Temptation to overdo things is prevalent. Rethink your financial and professional positions and create a plan to help you stretch your money by doing only what’s necessary. A serious relationship needs to be addressed and adjusted. 3 stars TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Change will cause uncertainty. When in doubt, sit tight until you feel comfortable with the changes you want to make. Do whatever it takes to tidy up loose ends, and address sharing private information with caution. Avoid injury and health risks. 4 stars GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Be careful what you share with others. Don’t put yourself in a vulnerable position. Listen and assess situations before you share your opinion. Personal improvement will bring the highest return. A social event will lead to an exciting connection and a new opportunity. 2 stars CANCER (June 21-July 22): You know the drill. Your perception will encourage you to forge ahead in a direction that makes you feel good about yourself. A positive change at home or work will bring you closer to those you deal with. Take a unique approach. 5 stars LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Take an aggressive approach to getting things done and making a difference. Reach out to people who can help bring about positive change and who tend to ground you and encourage stability and security. Romance will encourage long-term plans. 3 stars VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Let go of the people and situations that drag you down. Reassess your personal and financial positions, and you’ll devise a plan to help you resolve issues that cause tension. Back away from shared expenses or joint ventures. 3 stars LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Take pride in how you look and how you treat others. Reach out to someone who needs help, and together you will make a difference. Added discipline will help you push your way through to victory. Trust your instincts. 3 stars SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Nurture what you love. Build a solid home base that fits your lifestyle. Listen to the experts and check out groups of interest. The information you receive will change your way of thinking. Invest in yourself. 5 stars SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Choose your words wisely. Someone will misinterpret you if you skirt issues or are vague. Add to the comfort of your home by doing the work yourself and saving money. Be creative but don’t go over budget. Romance is favored. 2 stars CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Dismiss outdated ideas and concepts and make room for something new and exciting. Take pleasure in using your creative imagination to figure out what you want to do next. Consider pursuing knowledge or learning a trade. 4 stars AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Set a budget to help you reach your financial goal, and save for something you want. It’s up to you to bring about change if you aren’t happy with your lifestyle. Invest time and money into self-improvement, enlightenment and healthy living. 3 stars PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Fatigue will occur if you lack organization. Listen to what others say and offer, but don’t trust anyone to handle matters for you. Keep your discussions honest and your plans doable. Set yourself up for success; represent yourself. 3 stars Birthday Baby: You are amicable, insightful and disciplined. You are analytical and expressive. 1 star: Avoid conflicts; work behind the scenes. 2 stars: You can accomplish, but don’t rely on others. 3 stars: Focus and you’ll reach your goals. 4 stars: Aim high; start new projects. 5 stars: Nothing can stop you; go for gold. Visit Eugenialast.com, or join Eugenia on Twitter/Facebook/LinkedIn. Want a link to your daily horoscope delivered directly to your inbox each weekday morning? Sign up for our free Coffee Break newsletter at mercurynews.com/newsletters or eastbaytimes.com/newsletters.

On The Air | News, Sports, Jobs – Marquette Mining Journal https://collincountynewsonline.com/on-the-air-news-sports-jobs-marquette-mining-journal/ Subject to change Highlights of TV, radio coverage ————— Today ————— High school football • Westwood at L’Anse, 7 p.m., WZAM 106.9 FM & 970 AM • Marquette at Menominee, 7 p.m., Fox Sports 105.1 FM & 99.9 FM • Negaunee at Gladstone, 7 p.m., WKQS 101.9 FM • Ishpeming at Tomahawk, Wis., 7 p.m., WRUP 98.3 FM (recently added game) • Rapid River at Newberry, 7 p.m., WMJT 96.7 FM • Corner Canyon (Utah) at Lone Peak (Utah), 10 p.m., ESPNU ————— College hockey • Northern Michigan University at Colgate, 7 p.m., WUPT 100.3 FM ————— Major League Baseball • Playoffs, Wild Card series, Game 1: Tampa Bay Rays at Cleveland Guardians, noon, ESPN • Playoffs, Wild Card series, Game 1: Philadelphia Phillies at St. Louis Cardinals, 2 p.m., WBUP-ABC • Playoffs, Wild Card series, Game 1: Seattle Mariners at Toronto Blue Jays, 4 p.m., ESPN • Playoffs, Wild Card series, Game 1: San Diego Padres at New York Mets, 8 p.m., ESPN ————— Golf • PGA Juniors: Junior League Championship, at Scottsdale, Ariz., noon, ESPN2 • PGA Champions Tour: Constellation Furyk & Friends, first round, at Jacksonville, Fla., 2 p.m., Golf Channel • PGA Tour: Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, second round, at Las Vegas, 5 p.m., Golf Channel • LPGA Tour: Mediheal Championship, second round, at Somis, Calif., 9 p.m. (taped), Golf Channel ————— Pro hockey • Global Series (NHL regular-season game), at Prague, Czech Republic: San Jose Sharks vs. Nashville Predators, 2 p.m., NHL Network • NHL preseason: Toronto Maple Leafs at Detroit Red Wings, 7:30 p.m., Bally Sports Detroit and/or NHL Network ————— Women’s soccer • International friendly, at London: U.S. vs. England, 3 p.m., Fox-U.P. ————— High school volleyball • GEICO Invitational, semifinals, at Omaha, Neb.: Skyview (Idaho) vs. Papillion (Neb.), 5 p.m., ESPNU ————— College volleyball • Penn State at Ohio State, 6:30 p.m., Big 10 Network • Alabama at Mississippi, 8 p.m., SEC Network • Minnesota at Michigan, 8:30 p.m., Big 10 Network ————— College football • Nebraska at Rutgers, 7 p.m., FS1 • Harvard at Cornell, 7 p.m., ESPNU • Houston at Memphis, 7:30 p.m., ESPN2 • Colorado State at Nevada, 10:30 p.m., FS1 • Nevada-Las Vegas at San Jose State, 10:30 p.m., CBS Sports ————— College men’s soccer • Clemson at Pittsburgh, 8 p.m., ACC Network ————— Auto racing • Formula 1, Japanese Grand Prix, at Suzuka, Japan: practice, 11 p.m., ESPN News; qualifying, 2 a.m. Saturday, ESPN2 ————— Tennis • ATP Tokyo, semifinals, 1 a.m. Saturday, Tennis Channel ————— Saturday ————— High school football • Manistique at Charlevoix, 2 p.m., WTIQ 1490 AM • Brimley at Munising, 7 p.m., WQXO 1400 AM ————— College hockey • Northern Michigan University at Colgate, 4 p.m., WUPT 100.3 FM, WUPZ 94.9 FM or WUPG 96.7 FM ————— College football • Davenport at Northern Michigan University, 1 p.m., WUPT 100.3 FM, WUPZ 94.9 FM or WUPG 96.7 FM • Michigan at Indiana, noon, Fox-U.P. • Eastern Michigan at Western Michigan, noon, CBS Sports • Purdue at Maryland, noon, Big 10 Network • Texas vs. Oklahoma, at Dallas, noon, WBUP-ABC • TCU at Kansas, noon, FS1 • Tennessee at LSU, noon, ESPN • Wisconsin at Northwestern, 3:30 p.m., Big 10 Network • Auburn at Georgia, 3:30 p.m., WZMQ-CBS • Texas Tech at Oklahoma State, 3:30 p.m., FS1 • Tulsa at Navy, 3:30 p.m., CBS Sports • Utah at UCLA, 3:30 p.m., Fox-U.P. • Ohio State at Michigan State, 4 p.m., WBUP-ABC • Mississippi at Vanderbilt, 4 p.m. SEC Network • Air Force at Utah State, 7 p.m., FS1 • James Madison at Arkansas State, 7 p.m., NFL Network • Iowa at Illinois, 7:30 p.m., Big 10 Network • Notre Dame vs. Brigham Young, at Las Vegas, 7:30 p.m., WLUC-NBC • Clemson at Boston College, 7:30 p.m., WBUP-ABC • Washington State at USC, 7:30 p.m., Fox-U.P. • Texas A&M at Alabama, 8 p.m., WZMQ-CBS • Hawaii at San Diego State, 10:30 p.m., CBS Sports • Oregon State at Stanford, 11 p.m., ESPN ————— Tennis • ATP Tokyo, ATP Nur-Sultan, WTA Ostrava & WTA Monastir, semifinals, 6 a.m., Tennis Channel ————— Golf • DP World Tour: Open de Espana, third round, at Madrid, Spain, 7:30 a.m., Golf Channel • PGA Juniors: Junior League Championship, at Scottsdale, Ariz., 11:30 a.m., ESPN News • PGA Champions Tour: Constellation Furyk & Friends, second round, at Jacksonville, Fla., 2 p.m., Golf Channel • PGA Tour: Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, third round, at Las Vegas, 5 p.m., Golf Channel • LPGA Tour: Mediheal Championship, third round, at Somis, Calif., 9 p.m. (taped), Golf Channel ————— Men’s soccer • Italian Serie A: Inter Milan at Sassuolo, 9 a.m., CBS Sports • English Premier League: Brentford at Newcastle United, 10 a.m., USA • English Premier League: Tottenham Hotspur at Brighton & Hove Albion, 12:30 p.m., WLUC-NBC • Canadian CPL: Pacific FC at Calvary FC, 6 p.m., FS2 ————— Major League Baseball • Playoffs, Wild Card series, Game 2: Tampa Bay Rays at Cleveland Guardians, noon, ESPN2 • Playoffs, Wild Card series, Game 2: Seattle Mariners at Toronto Blue Jays, 4 p.m., ESPN • Playoffs, Wild Card series, Game 2: San Diego Padres at New York Mets, 7:30 p.m., ESPN • Playoffs, Wild Card series, Game 2: Philadelphia Phillies at St. Louis Cardinals, 8:30 p.m., ESPN2 ————— Auto racing • NASCAR Cup Series, Bank of America ROVAL 400, playoffs round of 12, at Concord, N.C.: qualifying, 12:30 p.m., USA • NASCAR Xfinity Series: Drive for the Cure 250, playoffs round of 12, at Concord, N.C., 3:30 p.m., WLUC-NBC • Formula 1: Japanese Grand Prix, at Suzuka, Japan, 1 a.m. Sunday, ESPN2 ————— Pro hockey • Global Series (NHL regular-season game), at Prague, Czech Republic: Nashville Predators vs. San Jose Sharks, 2 p.m., NHL Network • NHL preseason: Dallas Stars at Minnesota Wild, 6 p.m., NHL Network ————— Horse racing • Thoroughbred Club Stakes, at Caulfield East, Australia, 5 p.m., CNBC ————— Boxing • Showtime Championship, at Carson, Calif.: super-welterweights Sebastian Fundora vs. Carlos Ocampo, 10 p.m., Showtime Today’s breaking news and more in your inbox

Elon Musk’s Hidden Twitter Motives And A Metaverse Meetup – The New York Times https://collincountynewsonline.com/elon-musks-hidden-twitter-motives-and-a-metaverse-meetup-the-new-york-times/ Is the $44 billion dollar Twitter deal actually for real this time? Our hosts disagree. More episodes ofHard Fork Oct. 7, 2022, 6:00 a.m. ET Send any friend a story As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Anyone can read what you share. Listen and follow ‘Hard Fork’ Apple | Spotify | Stitcher | Amazon | Google On the inaugural episode of Hard Fork, Kevin Roose and Casey Newton debate why Elon Musk may buy Twitter after all. Then, they step into Meta’s metaverse with New York Times reporter, Kashmir Hill. Plus: a bonus Hard Fork Transparency Report. For more from the metaverse, check out Kashmir Hill’s story “Welcome to the Metaverse.” Image Credit…The New York Times Credits “Hard Fork” is hosted by Kevin Roose and Casey Newton and produced by Davis Land. The show is edited by Paula Szuchman and Hanna Ingber. Engineering by Corey Schreppel and original music by Dan Powell, Marion Lozano and Elisheba Ittoop. Fact-checking by Caitlin Love. Special thanks to Sam Dolnick, Shannon Busta, Julia Simon, Larissa Anderson, Kate LoPresti, Nell Gallogly, Mahima Chablani and Jeffrey Miranda.

6 New Gadgets To Keep On Your Radar – Gear Patrol https://collincountynewsonline.com/6-new-gadgets-to-keep-on-your-radar-gear-patrol/ This week, it was reported that the current iPhone SE will be the last iPhone to have Touch ID — it’ll be Face ID or nothing moving forward. Google held its big hardware event where it officially announced its newest Pixel smartphone and first Pixel smartwatch. And it looks like if you want to watch 4K videos on YouTube, you’re soon going to have to pay. But that’s just the news. Below, you’ll find a recap of all the cool new gadgets that were announced this week. Sony FX30 Sony The Sony FX30 is the newest entry in the company’s Cinema Line of digital film cameras. It’s essentially a more budget-friendly version of the FX3. It shares similar body and design, but opts for a 26-megapixel APS-C sensor instead of the FX3’s full-frame sensor. It’s positioned as a compact camera for new filmmakers. Price: $1,799+ LEARN MORE Google Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro Google Google Google held its big Pixel event this week where announced its latest flagship smartphones, the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro. As you’d expect, they Google’s best-ever smartphones with the most advanced camera capabilities of any Pixel smartphone to date. Both are powered the latest Tensor G2 chip, and they are actually more similar than they are different. The main differences are that the Pixel 7 Pro has a bigger display, more advanced camera (specifically for zoom) and a longer lasting battery. Both are pretty affordable for flagship smartphones, too. Price: $599+ (Pixel 7); $899+ (Pixel 7 Pro) LEARN MORE Pro-Ject Vinyl NRS Box S3 Courtesy The Vinyl NRS Box S3 is new and niche component for your turntable setup. It’s meant to go between your phono preamp and amplifier (or powered speaker). It then filters and reduces the noise (the crackles and skips) that a turntable picks up because the record is slightly damaged or warped. Available in black or silver finishes. Price: $399 LEARN MORE Audioengine DAC3 Courtesy The Audioengine DAC3 is a tiny portable USB-C DAC/amp that’s designed to squeeze that extra quality out of your smartphone or laptop. It packs a ES9281A PRO DAC and supports high-end lossless audio (up to 32-bit/384kHz including MQA files); it looks to be a perfect and relatively budget-friendly option for people who like to listen to Tidal (or another lossless streaming service) and who have a pair of high-end wired headphones. Price: $149 LEARN MORE Nest Doorbell (Wired) Courtesy Google announced a second-generation model of its smart doorbell, the Nest Doorbell — and it’s a modest update. It looks basically identical to its predecessor and has all the same capabilities. The difference is that it has better local storage capabilities — specifically it can store an hour worth of video footage even if the Wi-Fi goes down temporarily — and it supports HDR, so the video quality it captures should look a little bit better no matter the time of day or the lighting conditions. Available in four finishes: green, gray, beige or white. Price: $180 LEARN MORE Clear Audio Roam Sport Courtesy Clear Audio announced a new pair of wireless earbuds for runs and workouts. The Roam Sport have an IPX4 water-resistance rating and have active noise-cancellation. The earbuds look fairly similar to the Beats Fits Pro, as they both work with a silicone earhook to help them fit more securely. The kicker is that they come with $100 price tag, which is very competitive. Price: $100 LEARN MORE

Big Law Attorneys Buy Crypto Despite Lack Of Firm Guidance – Bloomberg Law https://collincountynewsonline.com/big-law-attorneys-buy-crypto-despite-lack-of-firm-guidance-bloomberg-law/ Big Law attorneys are feeling free to buy cryptocurrencies—and some are doing so—as most firms lack policies that restrict investments in digital assets. Lawyers including Joshua Ashley Klayman of Linklaters and Joe Cutler of Perkins Coie confirm they have purchased Bitcoin, and in Cutler’s case Ethereum as well, and others say they have opened crypto wallets to become acquainted with the technology. “I’ve known more than a couple lawyers who made a ton of money” investing in crypto, said Stephen Palley, co-chair of Brown Rudnick’s digital commerce group in Washington. “I’ve also known others who bet big and lost everything.” Lawyers are following their own paths when it comes to crypto investing in the absence of clear firm guidance and a dearth of federal regulations. Some make calls based on firms’ general cautions to avoid mixing their own finances with client business interests. Crypto investing is “not permitted or prohibited” at Hogan Lovells, said Liz Boison, a Washington-based partner with the firm. “There isn’t instruction.” She opened multiple digital wallets to help improve her guidance to clients, she said, adding: “I don’t know how lawyers could do this without knowing how it all works.” Klayman, the US head of fintech, blockchain and digital assets for Linklaters in New York, said she limits her investments, as “I do not wish to be a speculator in the market.” The key is to avoid even the possibility of insider-trading scrutiny by being cautious and doing the right thing, Klayman said. This is particularly important when small crypto clients share material, nonpublic information about their growth plans, she said. Kirkland, Roche Kirkland & Ellis, the world’s largest law firm by revenue, acknowledged in a July court filing that some of its lawyers are customers of crypto broker Voyager Digital Holdings Inc. “These attorneys have not and will not” do work tied to the firm’s representation of Voyager in its bankruptcy, the filing said. Roche Freedman, a boutique launched in 2019, has said some of its lawyers own AVAX tokens or have a personal equity interest in Ava Labs, the issuer of the tokens. The firm has denied allegations, fueled by the August leak of secret recordings of a firm founder, that it used class-action lawsuits to target competitors of Ava Labs. Several firms—including Goodwin Procter, Davis Polk & Wardwell, and Sidley Austin—declined to respond to questions about their crypto investing policies. Two firms mentioned in a news account last year as having policies that limit their lawyers’ ability to trade crypto—Sullivan & Cromwell and Latham & Watkins—also declined to respond. Kari Larsen, co-head of the digital practice at Willkie Farr & Gallagher, said her current and previous firm require approval for lawyers to trade publicly-held securities “when a client might be involved.” She previously practiced at Perkins Coie. There’s no “significant evidence” that crypto-specific policies are needed at law firms, said Tonya M. Evans, a professor at Penn State Dickinson Law. Yet firms should consider updating their policies to ensure they apply to any capital assets that could trigger insider trading rules, Evans said in a statement. Federal Confusion Firms seeking federal guidance for setting their crypto policies will find little clarity. The law hasn’t fully caught up with the technology, and getting there will likely require years of actions in the courts, in Congress and at regulatory agencies. For now, the Securities and Exchange Commission defines many crypto tokens as securities, with Bitcoin being a prominent exception. That means the SEC would have jurisdiction, and issuers would need to follow the same registration and disclosure laws as any company issuing stocks and bonds. But the crypto industry, many members of Congress, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission tend to see tokens as commodities. That would subject the tokens to the lighter-touch regulation of the CFTC. There is some federal guidance from which firms can work. In July, the US Office of Government Ethics issued a legal advisory stating that federal officials who have invested in cryptocurrencies or stablecoins are prohibited from working on regulations that could have “a direct and predictable effect” on the value of those digital assets. Capital Assets After booming in recent years, the digital asset market has swooned. By some estimates, some $2 trillion in market value has evaporated, and 12,100 crypto tokens have effectively ceased trading this year, Bloomberg News reported Oct. 3. On Oct. 4, Bitcoin sold for about $20,400—less than half what it was worth one year prior, when it sold for more than $49,000. Market dissatisfaction has helped drive litigation against crypto companies, which have been accused of everything from money laundering, to pump-and-dump schemes, to trading against their own customers. On Oct. 3, reality television celebrity Kim Kardashian agreed to pay about $1.3 million for promoting EMAX crypto tokens without noting she was paid to do so. And that leads to a key point, several lawyers said. While they feel free to trade in crypto, and some do, their biggest purpose in the space is still to counsel clients. “My personal preference is to focus more on giving legal advice and not on whether or not I would purchase any of these tokens,” said Cutler, co-chair of Perkins Coie’s fintech industry group in Seattle. Lawyers can best avoid crypto pitfalls by following the long-time advice of bar authorities, he said: “This is more about the ethical duty not to entangle yourself in the business of your clients.” —Justin Wise contributed to this story.

India’s RBI Sells Dollars As Rupee Hits Record Low On U.S. Rate Hike Fears – Reuters https://collincountynewsonline.com/indias-rbi-sells-dollars-as-rupee-hits-record-low-on-u-s-rate-hike-fears-reuters/ MUMBAI, Oct 7 (Reuters) – The Reserve Bank of India likely sold dollars via state-run banks on Friday after the rupee slid below 82 to a record low against the dollar on concerns over the U.S. Federal Reserve rate outlook, traders told Reuters. The rupee was last trading at 82.2675, down from 81.88 in the previous session, but off the session low of 82.33. The rupee dropped to 82.33 within the first ten minutes of the open and has been range bound since, likely due to the RBI intervention, traders said. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com The intervention by the RBI was confirmed to Reuters by four bankers and a brokerage firm. “Basically, the RBI is making its presence felt and letting traders know once again that it will not allow one-sided moves,” said one of the state-run bankers who confirmed the intervention. “The intervention will have an impact to (the extent) that it will not allow the rupee to fall more, but will not help rupee recover by much.” Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Reporting by Nimesh Vora; Editing by Savio D’Souza Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

AP Top Technology News At 5:14 A.m. EDT – Federal News Network https://collincountynewsonline.com/ap-top-technology-news-at-514-a-m-edt-federal-news-network/ To buy Twitter, Musk has to keep banks, investors on board Judge delays Twitter trial, gives Musk time to seal buyout Munich Re to stop its backing for new oil, gas fields Polling software CEO given bond, deadline to surrender in LA Twitter under Musk? Most of the plans are a mystery Silent films to live on in movie theater lobby card project EXPLAINER: What’s next in Musk’s epic… READ MORE To buy Twitter, Musk has to keep banks, investors on board Judge delays Twitter trial, gives Musk time to seal buyout Munich Re to stop its backing for new oil, gas fields Polling software CEO given bond, deadline to surrender in LA Twitter under Musk? Most of the plans are a mystery Silent films to live on in movie theater lobby card project EXPLAINER: What’s next in Musk’s epic battle with Twitter? Experts: Russia finding new ways to spread propaganda videos EXPLAINER: Musk Twitter turnaround reflects legal challenges Former Uber security chief guilty of data breach coverup Copyright © 2022 . All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

PHOTOS: Children’s Advocacy Center Of Collin County Cuts Ribbon On Second Full-Service Campus, Located In McKinney – Star Local Media https://collincountynewsonline.com/photos-childrens-advocacy-center-of-collin-county-cuts-ribbon-on-second-full-service-campus-located-in-mckinney-star-local-media/ Allen American Daily Headlines Have the latest local news delivered every morning so you don’t miss out on updates. Allen American e-Edition Receive our newspaper electronically with the e-Edition email. Allen American Local Sports Get the latest headlines on local sports! Carrollton Leader Daily Headlines Have the latest local news delivered every afternoon so you don’t miss out on updates. Carrollton Leader e-Edition Receive our newspaper electronically with the e-Edition email. Carrollton Leader Local Sports Get the latest headlines on local sports! Celina Record Daily Headlines Daily Headlines from Celina Record Celina Record e-Edition Receive our newspaper electronically with the e-Edition email. Celina Record Local Sports Get the latest headlines on local sports! Coppell Gazette Daily Headlines Have the latest local news delivered every afternoon so you don’t miss out on updates. Coppell Gazette e-Edition Receive our newspaper electronically with the e-Edition email. Coppell Gazette Local Sports Get the latest headlines on local sports! Flower Mound Leader Daily Headlines Have the latest local news delivered every afternoon so you don’t miss out on updates. Flower Mound Leader e-Edition Receive our newspaper electronically with the e-Edition email. Flower Mound Leader Local Sports Get the latest headlines on local sports! Frisco Enterprise Daily Headlines Have the latest local news delivered every afternoon so you don’t miss out on updates. Frisco Enterprise e-Edition Receive our newspaper electronically with the e-Edition email. Frisco Enterprise Local Sports Get the latest headlines on local sports! Lake Cities Daily Headlines Have the latest local news delivered every afternoon so you don’t miss out on updates. Lake Cities e-Edition Receive our newspaper electronically with the e-Edition email. Lake Cities Local Sports Get the latest headlines on local sports! Lewisville Leader Daily Headlines Have the latest local news delivered every afternoon so you don’t miss out on updates. Lewisville Leader e-Edition Receive our newspaper electronically with the e-Edition email. Lewisville Leader Local Sports Get the latest headlines on local sports! Little Elm Journal Daily Headlines Have the latest local news delivered every afternoon so you don’t miss out on updates. Little Elm Journal e-Edition Receive our newspaper electronically with the e-Edition email. Little Elm Journal Local Sports Get the latest headlines on local sports! McKinney Courier Daily Headlines Have the latest local news delivered every afternoon so you don’t miss out on updates. McKinney Courier e-Edition Receive our newspaper electronically with the e-Edition email. McKinney Courier Local Sports Get the latest headlines on local sports! Mesquite News Daily Headlines Have the latest local news delivered every afternoon so you don’t miss out on updates. Mesquite News e-Edition Receive our newspaper electronically with the e-Edition email. Mesquite News Local Sports Get the latest headlines on local sports! Plano Star Daily Headlines Have the latest local news delivered every afternoon so you don’t miss out on updates. Plano Star e-Edition Receive our newspaper electronically with the e-Edition email. Plano Star Local Sports Get the latest headlines on local sports! Rowlett Lakeshore Times Daily Headlines Have the latest local news delivered every afternoon so you don’t miss out on updates. Rowlett Lakeshore Times e-Edition Receive our newspaper electronically with the e-Edition email. Rowlett Lakeshore Times Local Sports Get the latest headlines on local sports! The Colony-Courier Leader Daily Headlines Have the latest local news delivered every afternoon so you don’t miss out on updates. The Colony-Courier Leader e-Edition Receive our newspaper electronically with the e-Edition email. The Colony-Courier Leader Local Sports Get the latest headlines on local sports!

Four Points By Sheraton Seeks Chief Brew Officer To Take The Next Great “Beercation” – Hospitality Net https://collincountynewsonline.com/four-points-by-sheraton-seeks-chief-brew-officer-to-take-the-next-great-beercation-hospitality-net/ Four Points by Sheraton®, part of Marriott Bonvoy’s extraordinary portfolio of 30 hotel brands, is searching for an honorary Chief Brew Officer (C.B.O.) to embark on the ultimate “Beercation” of a lifetime around the United States. One lucky beer enthusiast, plus a companion, will start their journey at the Orlando Beer Festival before heading to two hoppin’ cities to explore local beer-focused attractions. Inspired by Four Points’ Best Brews® program, the trip will give a taste of the brand’s signature guest experience, which offers local craft beers on tap at its hotels worldwide. “We are excited to launch this special experience for our C.B.O. to discover the universal connectors that are travel and great beer,” said Diane Mayer, Vice President and Global Brand Leader, Classic Select Brands. “The Four Points Best Brews program transcends oceans, borders, and languages, allowing guests to kick back, relax and immerse themselves in each destination by enjoying a cold pint on-tap from a local brewery. We are celebrating our newest hotels in beloved beer destinations and the lucky winner will get to travel the country while honing their beer tasting skills.” On November 12, 2022, the C.B.O. will test out the position at the Orlando Beer Festival, where their first task will be to pick their favorite brewery to receive the honorary “Four Points stamp of approval.” From there, the C.B.O. will travel to two additional beer destinations to experience Best Brews at each Four Points hotel and the cities’ local breweries. Participating cities include Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Seattle, and more. Four Points’ C.B.O. will also be awarded a Level Two Cicerone Certification training course to learn more about beer quality and identity by taste while on their “Beercation,” adding credibility to their honorary title. Other perks of the “job” include: VIP tickets to the Orlando Beer Festival 3-day/2-night stay at Four Points by Sheraton Orlando International Drive 4-day/3-night stays at two additional Four Points by Sheraton properties in the U.S. Round-trip airfare and ground transportation for up to two people Access to a Level Two Cicerone Certification training course All travelers can book and enjoy Four Points’ Beds and Brews Package through the month of October 2022, providing two complimentary beers per day of stay. Those interested in experiencing this once-in-a-lifetime adventure can submit their application for a chance to win the coveted title of C.B.O at www.FourPointsBestBrewsContest.com from October 6 – October 18, 2022. Four Points invites all beer lovers 21 years or older to share why they would be the best candidate for the job – bonus points for creativity. Terms & conditions apply. About Marriott International Marriott International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MAR) is based in Bethesda, Maryland, USA, and encompasses a portfolio of more than 8,100 properties under 30 leading brands spanning 139 countries and territories. Marriott operates and franchises hotels and licenses vacation ownership resorts all around the world. The company offers Marriott Bonvoy®, its highly awarded travel program. Connect with us on Facebook and @MarriottIntl on Twitter and Instagram. Christine Lin +1 301 380 4906 Marriott

Private School Opens New Campus On Bainbridge Island – Seattle Daily Journal Of Commerce https://collincountynewsonline.com/private-school-opens-new-campus-on-bainbridge-island-seattle-daily-journal-of-commerce/ Photos from Clark Construction [enlarge] The newly renovated school building opened in August, pictured during construction. Students in grades 9-12 at the Hyla School, a private school on Bainbridge Island, are currently taking classes at a new, atypical campus. Back in July, the school finalized the purchase of the Ericksen Avenue Office Park, at 355 Ericksen Ave., to be the new home for its upper school. Students began classes there this August.   . . .

6 Things Every Health Conscious Person Can Relate To – ScoopWhoop https://collincountynewsonline.com/6-things-every-health-conscious-person-can-relate-to-scoopwhoop/ In association with Coka-Cola India Trying to lead a healthy life is just a nightmare, especially if you’re living on your own. How can you expect me to say goodbye to my Monday momos and Tuesday tacos. And once you become health conscious you see the world differently. But while we have all been bidding goodbyes left right and centre, it’s not time yet to say goodbye to great taste! When it comes to conscious beverages, Coke Zero has literally been the OG for sometime now. And boy, are we thankful! The fitness journey is a tough journey, mate. We’ve all been there, or at least tried to get there. So crack open a health conscious beverage, (wink wink) and check out these 6 things every person health conscious will relate to.  1. Your sleep schedule is supposed to be Timotheé Chalamet! Perfect, I meant perfect! Your sleep schedule is the ultimate definition of perfection when you choose to live a fitter life. However, all the drama, parties, binge watching, and aimless scrolling seem too enticing to be missed. Wait, did you just miss another two hours of rest thinking about fixing your sleep? (It’s okay, really…)  2. You ask for Coke Zero everywhere you go.  To you, self indulgence is a trap to test your self control. Be it a cheesecake or a cornchip, you just struggle not go overboard with indulgence. (And your friends play the lead role in ruining your diet.) But with Coke Zero, you can indulge all you want in the great taste without a second thought and thus, that is all you ask for wherever you go.  3. All your math skills come from counting calories. Your friends might call you obsessed at this point and that’s okay. You spend an ungodly span of time calculating nutrition values. You’re slightly tired of it, aren’t you? The only thing you’re getting out of this, is the math skill. Because, well, everything is cake and you love it too much to resist.  4. You tend to try balancing your meals more than your life! A balanced diet is the key to a fit lifestyle and you know it. It gets really difficult when one has to practice eating healthy all the time though. It seems like you put all your energy into healthy eating and end up ordering a pizza for dinner. Well, at least there’s always a good old can of Coke Zero to balance the cheese out…  5. Movie night is a piece of ca…Kale chip for you! Recreation and snacks go hand in hand. But you just feel out of place with your sad pack of kale chips. So, while your friends gobble up tubs of cheese popcorn and milkshakes, you’re stuck with your pack of green goodness. (Life and its struggles get us big time, don’t they?)  6. Cheat day guilt is killing you. Do you run to your “effortlessly fit” friend everytime you cheat? Really, cheat day guilt is the worst nightmare and there’s no way out of it (except for ice-cream). And so, the loop of stressing over cheat days and cheating again to cope with stress proves to be the ultimate obstacle to you. (Hang in there bud, you’ve got this.)  Well, it takes quite a bit of effort to choose fitness over great food. All we can say is kudos to you for trying. Successful or not, your little steps towards fitness deserve a treat. And what better to give yourself a pat on the back than a refreshing can of Coke Zero? So health freak or not, you’ll always have the great taste of Coke Zero to sit back and enjoy!