Collin County News Online

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

Cardano Crypto Price Prediction – ADA Gives Up Gains But Vasil Can Spur Return To $0.52 – Cryptonews https://collincountynewsonline.com/cardano-crypto-price-prediction-ada-gives-up-gains-but-vasil-can-spur-return-to-0-52-cryptonews/ Much like the Ethereum Merge, the successful Cardano Vasil hard fork upgrade has not yet sparked significant gains in the days since it went live. Both upgrades appear to have led to ‘buy the rumor, sell the news’ sentiment among investors, with gains seen in the days leading up to the events and selling pressure in the days following. Cardano (ADA) is down 3% in the last 24hrs and nearly 7% since its 7-day peak in the hours before the Vasil hard fork went live at 9.44pm UTC on September 22. Cardano Reaches Price Inflection Point ADA has now reached an inflection point that could see if pump up to more than $0.50 if the bulls can take control of the market – a more than 10% rally. The fork was designed to make the blockchain more developer friendly and to encourage more projects to build there.  Vasil will bring more functionality, scalability and speed to the network and bullish analysts say it could push the price back over $1 and beyond. Cardano recently passed 50 million transactions and handles an average of 50,000 per day and continues to champion sustainability and long-term growth, underpinning more than 1,000 projects. MSN has described it as “the most important blockchain project in Africa right now”, given its continued development on the continent. Cardano has partnerships with a number of African projects and governments to use their technology to help unbanked people access better financial services and develop agriculture.  Cardano Founder Expects TVL Boost One continued criticism of Cardano is that its total value locked (TVL) lags way behind the biggest blockchains.  TVL is a formula that calculates the total value of all crypto assets locked in a DeFi protocol and is a key indicator in the value of both the blockchain itself and the projects built on it. According to DeFi Llama, Cardano is 27th on their list with just $80 million in TVL – many times smaller than the biggest projects such as Ethereum ($31.5 billion), Tron ($5.39 bn) and the Binance Smart Chain ($5.3 bn). However, in an interview with Cheeky Crypto ahead of the Vasil hard fork, Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson said he is now expecting a major boost to TVL after the upgrade. He said: “I think there’ll be kind of a big spike within three to six months post-Vasil because there’s a lot of people building who are waiting to deploy [new applications].” Vasil will also introduce Plutus V2, Cardano’s smart contract language, which will help create faster and more complex dApps on the blockchain.  Indeed, Cardano-based NFT project Artano has claimed they have seen a 93% decrease in transaction size and 75% decrease in overall cost while testing Plutus V2.

Goldman’s Playbook On What To Buy And Sell With The U.S. Dollar Surging – CNBC https://collincountynewsonline.com/goldmans-playbook-on-what-to-buy-and-sell-with-the-u-s-dollar-surging-cnbc/ The surging U.S. dollar is the new big worry in the markets, adding to the pain from central bank rate hikes that have sent the S & P 500 back to near its lows for the year. But there is a way to play the booming greenback. The British pound hit a record low against the dollar on Monday and the euro hit the lowest since 2002. The U.S. Dollar Index , which measures it against a basket of currencies, is up 9% the last three months and 18% this year, sizable moves in the currency markets. A strong dollar generally is not necessarily bad for U.S. companies and the market. However, when you have a rapid strengthening like we are seeing now, it can wreak havoc on financial markets and some companies’ bottom lines. How to trade it Goldman Sachs has two portfolios that it gives to clients on how to protect and profit from the strong U.S. dollar, which can crimp profits of multinationals by making their products more expensive to overseas buyers. What to buy For those looking for a long trade, Goldman gives clients the U.S. stocks that have all domestic sales so they are not subject to the same currency exposure as multinationals. Shares of these companies could see increased demand from investors as they look to shelter in domestic players not subject to any currency risk. Here are some of the stocks in the Goldman basket: Notable names on this list include Chipotle , CVS Health and Dollar General . What to sell On the flip side, there are certain names investors should avoid or for the nimble traders, bet against in this environment. Goldman has a basket of companies that get a large majority of their sales from outside the U.S., making them vulnerable to the latest surge in the greenback. Here are some of the names in that basket. Some surprising names on this list include Netflix , Alphabet and Booking Holdings . To be sure, if the dollar’s run was to turn dramatically, then these stocks could be among the first to bounce. However, even if that occurs they could still be at risk over the longer term as there is a lag effect on the dollar’s impact on their earnings. With the greenback up so much already this year, their earnings estimates could still be at risk even if the dollar’s run slows a bit. —With reporting by Michael Bloom

Generational Equity Advises Challenge Technology In Its Sale To Rackmount Solutions – Business Wire https://collincountynewsonline.com/generational-equity-advises-challenge-technology-in-its-sale-to-rackmount-solutions-business-wire/ DALLAS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Generational Equity, a leading mergers and acquisitions advisor for privately held businesses, is pleased to announce sale of its client, Challenge Technology, Inc. to Rackmount Solutions (a portfolio company of Baymark Partners). The transaction closed August 31, 2022. Challenge Technology (Challenge), located in Louisville, Colorado, provides power quality products, consulting, and maintenance services along with offering products from the most well-respected manufacturers in the industry. As a result, Challenge provides customized solutions that fit specific client power quality needs. The Company primarily provides products and services to end users, commercial businesses, distributors, and contractors in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming. Challenge has built a strong reputation in the specifying engineering community resulting in extensive use of its products in new construction projects. Challenge works with some of the leading manufacturers in the industry including: EATON / POWERWARE, HITEC POWER PROTECTION, XTREME POWER CONVERSION, APC / SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC, GE CRITICAL POWER, CITEL, ANORD MARDIX POWER DISTRIBUTION UNITS (PDU), GENEREX, and ENERSYS. Located in Plano, Texas, Rackmount Solutions (Rackmount) provides off-the-shelf, custom, and niche server racks, server cabinets, wall mounts, portable cooling solutions, outdoor enclosures, batteries, integrated AC and DC power system solutions, rack accessories and power, along with installation and maintenance services. Rackmount serves any customer needing computer system and network peripherals. The resulting customer markets are therefore a function of the level of need by demand industries. Typical customer markets include the technology industry, government and defense, retail, engineering and construction, and education. Located in Plano, Texas, Baymark Partners is a growth oriented private equity firm acquiring growing middle market service (healthcare, business and IT), distribution, manufacturing and tech enabled (SAAS and E-Commerce) companies providing owners with liquidity and companies with resources to accelerate their growth. The professionals at Baymark Partners possess over 105 years of successful experience in acquiring, investing and operating growth companies. Their experience ranges from early stage, high growth to fully developed market leaders. This experience gives Baymark the ability to implement strategic and operational discipline required to transition middle market companies to a more mature and valuable market position. Generational Equity Executive Managing Director of M&A – Western Region, Stephen Crisham, Senior M&A Advisor, Donald Beezley, with the support of Managing Director – M&A, Chad Comroe closed the transaction. Executive Managing Director – North America, Edward G. Weber established the initial relationship with Challenge. “I am delighted that we were able to be a part of making this transaction a success,” said Beezley. About Generational Equity Generational Equity, Generational Capital Markets (member FINRA/SIPC), Generational Wealth Advisors, Generational Consulting Group, and DealForce are part of the Generational Group, which is headquartered in Dallas and is one of the leading M&A advisory firms in North America. With more than 300 professionals located throughout 16 offices in North America, the companies help business owners release the wealth of their business by providing growth consulting, merger, acquisition, and wealth management services. Their six-step approach features strategic and tactical growth consulting, exit planning education, business valuation, value enhancement strategies, M&A transactional services, and wealth management. The M&A Advisor named the company Investment Banking Firm of the Year three years in a row, Valuation Firm of the Year in 2020, and North American Investment Bank of the Year in 2022. For more information, visit https://www.genequityco.com/ or the Generational Equity press room.

SPORTS AGATE — SEPT. 23, 2022 | Daily Sentinel – Rome Sentinel https://collincountynewsonline.com/sports-agate-sept-23-2022-daily-sentinel-rome-sentinel-2/ FIELD HOCKEY Wednesday Holland Patent 5, Camden 1 Camden (goals-assists): Koziarz 1-0. HP: Cummings 0-1, McLaughlin 1-0, Oliver 2-0, Reader 1-0, Alexander 0-2. Goalie saves: Henderson, C, 1; Koenig, H, 1. RFA 8, Whitesboro 1 RFA (goals-assists): Paccica 1-0, Dani Kopek 1-0, Thompson 0-1, I. McMahon 2-0, F. McMahon 0-1, Nardlisco 1-3, Mecca 2-0, Drew Kopek 1-0. Whitesboro: DiCesare 1-0, Cornine 0-1. Goalie saves: Rodriguez, R, 4; Irizarry, W, 9. Halftime: 7-0. VVS 7, Oneida 0 VVS (goals-assists): Guertin 2-0, Garcia 2-3, Burger 1-0, A. Sequin 1-1, K Sequin 0-1, Herzog 1-0. Goalie saves: Honness, O, 7; Balfe, VVS, 3. New Hartford 4, CVA 0 NH (goals-assists): Greico 3-0, McNamara 0-1, Holmes 1-0. Goalie saves: Russo, C, 27; Clarey, NH, 4. SOCCER Girls Wednesday Clinton 3, Canastota 2 Clinton (goals-assists): DeTraglia 2-0, Luke 1-0. Canastota: Wood 1-0, Congden 1-0. Goalie saves: Heintz, Clin, 10; Steven, Can, 12. Half: 2-2. Westmoreland 3, Dolgeville 1 Westmoreland (goals-assists): Downs 1-0, Geglia 0-1, Ferguson 2-0, Moore 0-1. Dolgeville: Comstock 0-1, Miller 1-0. Goalie saves: Gubbins, W, 8. Poland 3, Remsen 2 Remsen (goals-assists): Dening 2-0. Poland: Martin 2-0, Hagues 0-1, Cookinham 1-2. Goalie saves: Aiken, R, 11; P, Roark, P, 5. Oriskany 2, Old Forge 1 Oriskany (goals-assists): Rizzo 2-0, A. Fabbio 0-1. Goalie saves: Burnop, O, 12 saves. halftime: 1-0. Cooperstown 4, Waterville 0 Cooperstown (goals-assists): Hotaling 2-0, Jensen 1-0, Pelcer 1-0, Franck 0-2. goalie saves: Seamon, C, 6; Roberts, W, 14. TENNIS Girls Wednesday RFA 6, CVA 1 Singles Cianfrocco, RFA, def. Jory 6-0, 6-0; Tharrett, RFA, def. Rana 6-0, 6-0; Shepherd, C, def. Sciorilli, 6-3, 6-2. Doubles Denton/McLeod, RFA, def. Wilbur/Fornier 6-0, 6-0; Keoviengsamay/Jackson, RFA, def. Mizerak/Holovitz 6-0, 6-0; Lane/Degroat, RFA, def. Davis/Lewellyn 6-1, 6-1; Barrett/Johnson, RFA, def. Watkins/Casey 6-3, 6-2. Whitesboro 7, Holland Patent 0 Singles Kane, W, def. Carlson 6-3, 6-1; Levatino, W, def. Matthews 6-0, 6-2; Mullen, W, def. Niemetz 6-2, 6-2. Doubles Dzeravenets/Andronovich, W, def. Spatto/Ball, 6-4, 6-0; Howlett/Nash, W, def. Kirkland/Armitage 6-0, 6-0; Kraeger/Giorgi, W, def. Millick/Lenart 6-3, 3-6, 6-2; Osilovskiy/Myalik, W, def. Foote/Carlson 6-1, 6-1. New Hartford 4, VVS 3 Singles Burynski, NH, def. Marcello 6-2, 6-2; Paciello, NH, def. Laney Falkenmeyer 6-1, 6-0; Cioni, NH, def. Pawlika 6-0, 6-1. Doubles Lyla Falkenmeyer/Villahermosa, V, def. Goodemote/Sabanovic 7-6(9-7), 5-7, 6-4; Robinson/Talbot, V, def. Nigro/Mihajlovic 6-2, 1-6, 7-6(7-2); Watkins/Makarchuk, V, def. Curry/Battaglia 7-6(11-9), 7-5, 7-6(12-10); Patel/Gautam, NH, def. Barney/Gerhardt 6-2, 6-1. Camden 4, Proctor 3 Singles T. Kyet, P, def. Kiel 6-2, 6-3; Sha, P, def. Liberatore 6-1, 6-4; Allard, C, def. Williams 6-0, 6-2. Doubles Tun/Matheh, P, def. Coady-Corcoran 6-1, 6-3; Heath/Austin, C, def. Sue/Sheen 6-3, 7-6(7-5); Platt/Bielby, C, def. R. Kyet/Thein 6-4, 6-4; Cookinham/Greggains, C, def. Son/Chitt 6-3, 7-5. KING PIN LANES John Knight’s Bowlers Shop in Memory of Marty Rieck Tyler Casler, 300 and 804. Josh Talbot, 761; Josh Solon, 715; Bob Martinez, 695; Roger Van Slyke III, 694; Mike Ferlo, 685; Carmen Guiliano, 673; Eric Bennett, 668; Jim Giordano, 664; Lexi Bertrand, 661; Ed Krutz, 654; George Marsh, 654; Jason Burning, 651; Michael Pouliot, 647; Robert Roscoe, 642; Charlie Kipp, 640; Matt Karhnak, 635; Shawn Casler, 635; Lizzie Van Slyke, 621; Bob Rieck II, 618; Chris Pape, 618; Bob Matteson, 613; Rob Taylor, 612; Aaron Finster, 611; Randy Solon, 610. Lexi Bertrand, 226 and 661. Lizzie Van Slyke, 621. VERNON DOWNS Friday’s entries Post time 6:05 p.m. 1ST RACE–Trot 1 Mile. Purse $5,000. 1 First Response (Miriam Toland) 15-1 5-6-5 2 If Not Why Not (Michael D Miller) 5-1 4-1-5 3 Summer Storm (Leon Bailey) 5-2 1-3-3 4 Nanuet (Frank Affrunti) 2-1 7-6-6 5 All Heart I Am (Steeven Genois) 3-1 2-4-2 6 Brandy Brook (Ronald Harp) 9-2 1-3-3 2ND RACE–Trot 1 Mile. Purse $8,700. 1 Cash N Chrome (Barton Dalious) 12-1 5-2-5 2 Worth A Whisper (Truman Gale) 12-1 8-X-X 3 E Street (Todd Cummings) 3-1 3-5-6 4 Bourbon Express (Frank Affrunti) 3-2 4-2-5 5 Lepanto (Leon Bailey) 7-5 2-2-3 3RD RACE–Pace 1 Mile. Purse $5,000. 1 San Franny (Joe Nassimos) 12-1 6-4-6 2 Idon’tthinkso (Leon Bailey) 5-2 2-1-2 3 Buffalo Heart (Steeven Genois) 9-2 5-3-6 4 Rhythm Seelster (Todd Cummings) 9-1 4-X-X 5 Relentless Dancer (Frank Affrunti) 7-2 1-5-2 6 Sweet Style (Adam Capizzano) 2-1 2-7-4 4TH RACE–Trot 1 Mile. Purse $5,000. 1 Schwarber (Steeven Genois) 3-1 5-2-3 2 Giulietta (Roman Lopez) 10-1 5-6-1 3 Immaculate Prayer (Michael D Miller) 9-2 3-4-5 4 Hall Of Duty (Truman Gale) 3-1 6-7-4 5 Summer Chrome (Frank Affrunti) 5-2 5-8-2 6 Keystone Orion (Leon Bailey) 9-2 4-3-6 5TH RACE–Pace 1 Mile. Purse $5,000. 1 Willamina (Adam Capizzano) 8-1 4-7-X 2 Dude’s Anna (Truman Gale) 15-1 6-7-X 3 Dancing Dream (Steeven Genois) 6-1 3-3-X 4 Mandemic (Todd Cummings) 15-1 6-X-X 5 Stroll Patrol (Frank Affrunti) 12-1 6-5-X 6 Eric’s Dude (Joe Nassimos) 15-1 7-4-4 7 Dreamscape Afs (Barton Dalious) 9-5 3-2-X 8 Slingshotdan (Leon Bailey) 12-1 5-3-3 9 Parallel Line (Henry Westbrook III) 2-1 2-3-3 6TH RACE–Pace 1 Mile. Purse $4,400. 1 Gimme Some Lovin’ (Todd Cummings) 7-2 5-5-4 2 Sm Ernest (Leon Bailey) 9-2 2-X-X 3 Bet On Yourself (Truman Gale) 8-1 4-3-3 4 Mr D Duff (Joe Nassimos) 15-1 7-5-5 5 Siros Blue Chip (Steeven Genois) 4-1 2-4-4 6 Mindy Mae Rain (Barton Dalious) 8-1 4-3-4 7 Somelucksomerock (Irving Mauran) 3-1 5-6-8 8 Cloudbreak (Brennan Enos) 12-1 6-8-4 7TH RACE–Trot 1 Mile. Purse $4,400. 1 Heid (George Harrison) 2-1 5-7-6 2 Manruptcy (Frank Affrunti) 9-5 3-3-1 3 Shady Mccoy (Adam Capizzano) 15-1 6-4-6 4 Give Angel Credit (Joe Nassimos) 15-1 5-5-4 5 Havana Ooh Nana (Leon Bailey) 5-2 4-7-5 6 Fleetwood Hall (Miriam Toland) 7-1 2-2-7 8TH RACE–Pace 1 Mile. Purse $5,700. 1 Stirling Ensign (Truman Gale) 12-1 1-4-5 2 Jericho Willie (Frank Affrunti) 9-2 6-2-7 3 Jet Ace (Steeven Genois) 3-1 X-X-X 4 Stewardoftheland (Roman Lopez) 7-1 5-5-8 5 Gemini Express (Joe Nassimos) 9-1 5-2-3 6 Love Yourself (D Huckabone-miller) 8-1 3-4-4 7 Kisses From Above (Leon Bailey) 4-1 2-1-3 8 Topville On A Virg (Todd Cummings) 12-1 X-X-X 9 Little Sammy Chung (Brandon Cruse) 15-1 4-4-2 Major League Baseball American League East Division WLPctGB New York9058.608_ Toronto8465.56461/2 Tampa Bay8267.55081/2 Baltimore7771.52013 Boston7276.48618 Central Division WLPctGB Cleveland8267.550_ Chicago7673.5106 Minnesota7377.48791/2 Kansas City6189.407211/2 Detroit5792.38325 West Division WLPctGB x-Houston9951.660_ Seattle8267.550161/2 Texas6584.436331/2 Los Angeles6585.43334 Oakland5595.36744 x-clinched division Wednesday’s Games Cincinnati 5, Boston 1 Houston 5, Tampa Bay 2 Baltimore 8, Detroit 1 Yankees 14, Pittsburgh 2 Texas 7, Angels 2 Cleveland 8, White Sox 2 Philadelphia 4, Toronto 3, 10 innings Kansas City 5, Minnesota 2 Oakland 2, Seattle 1 Thursday’s Games Kansas City 4, Minnesota 1 Texas 5, Angels 3 Seattle 9, Oakland 5 Toronto at Tampa Bay, late Houston at Baltimore, late Boston at Yankees, late Cleveland at White Sox, late Friday’s Games Boston (Hill 7-7) at Yankees (Cole 12-7), 7:05 p.m. Houston (Urquidy 13-7) at Baltimore (Kremer 7-5), 7:05 p.m. Toronto (Manoah 14-7) at Tampa Bay (Springs 9-4), 7:10 p.m. Cleveland (Morris 0-2) at Texas (Gray 7-7), 8:05 p.m. Detroit (Rodriguez 3-5) at White Sox (Giolito 10-9), 8:10 p.m. Angels (Ohtani 13-8) at Minnesota (TBD), 8:10 p.m. Seattle (Gonzales 10-14) at Kansas City (Singer 9-4), 8:10 p.m. Mets (Bassitt 14-8) at Oakland (Irvin 9-11), 9:40 p.m. Saturday’s Games Boston at Yankees, 1:05 p.m. Mets at Oakland, 4:07 p.m. Toronto at Tampa Bay, 6:10 p.m. Cleveland at Texas, 7:05 p.m. Houston at Baltimore, 7:05 p.m. Detroit at White Sox, 7:10 p.m. Angels at Minnesota, 7:10 p.m. Seattle at Kansas City, 7:10 p.m. National League East Division WLPctGB z-New York9556.629_ z-Atlanta9356.6241 Philadelphia8167.547121/2 Miami6189.407331/2 Washington5297.34942 Central Division WLPctGB St. Louis8863.583_ Milwaukee7970.5308 Chicago6485.43023 Cincinnati5990.39628 Pittsburgh5594.36932 West Division WLPctGB x-Los Angeles10346.691_ San Diego8367.553201/2 San Francisco7377.487301/2 Arizona7080.467331/2 Colorado6486.427391/2 x-clinched division z-clinched playoff berth Wednesday’s Games Washington 3, Atlanta 2 Milwaukee 6, Mets 0 Cincinnati 5, Boston 1 Cubs 4, Miami 3 Yankees 14, Pittsburgh 2 Philadelphia 4, Toronto 3, 10 innings San Francisco 6, Colorado 1 San Diego 1, St. Louis 0 Arizona 6, Dodgers 1 Thursday’s Games San Francisco 3, Colorado 0 St. Louis 5, San Diego 4 Cubs at Pittsburgh, late Milwaukee at Cincinnati, late Atlanta at Philadelphia, late Arizona at Dodgers, late Friday’s Games Cubs (Assad 1-2) at Pittsburgh (Wilson 3-9), 6:35 p.m. Milwaukee (Alexander 2-3) at Cincinnati (Minor 4-12), 6:40 p.m. Washington (Gray 7-9) at Miami (TBD), 6:40 p.m. Atlanta (Odorizzi 5-5) at Philadelphia (Nola 9-12), 7:05 p.m. San Diego (Manaea 7-9) at Colorado (Feltner 3-8), 8:10 p.m. Mets (Bassitt 14-8) at Oakland (Irvin 9-11), 9:40 p.m. San Francisco (Rodón 13-8) at Arizona (TBD), 9:40 p.m. St. Louis (Quintana 5-6) at Dodgers (Heaney 3-2), 10:10 p.m. Saturday’s Games Atlanta at Philadelphia, 4:05 p.m. Mets at Oakland, 4:07 p.m. Washington at Miami, 6:10 p.m. Cubs at Pittsburgh, 6:35 p.m. Milwaukee at Cincinnati, 6:40 p.m. San Diego at Colorado, 8:10 p.m. San Francisco at Arizona, 8:10 p.m. St. Louis at Dodgers, 9:10 p.m. Triple-A International League East Division WLPct.GB Durham8063.559— Scranton/WB7864.54911/2 Jacksonville7666....

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

Oshkosh, Fond Du Lac’s New Streetwise Reporter Focuses On Businesses – Fond Du Lac Reporter https://collincountynewsonline.com/oshkosh-fond-du-lacs-new-streetwise-reporter-focuses-on-businesses-fond-du-lac-reporter/ As someone who’s partial to finding a good slice of pizza, a creative cup of coffee or a boutique that will awaken my desire to buy something shiny, I think it was inevitable that I’d find myself as a business reporter. I know it’s been a while since Fond du Lac readers have seen “Streetwise” in a headline, and Oshkosh readers have been in good hands with Katy Macek’s expert eye on business news, but I’m pleased to report that I’m taking the helm for both papers as the new Oshkosh-Fond du Lac Streetwise reporter. I couldn’t have asked for a better pair of communities. Fond du Lac has always been my home, where I’ve watched businesses grow and shift, and Oshkosh’s charm often drew me in for not only school, but also weekend lunch dates and shopping trips.  After graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh with an English degree in 2019, I started as a news assistant for The Northwestern and The Reporter. Afterward, as a reporter, I wrote for the Door County Advocate before spending the last nine months focused solely on Fond du Lac. MORE: ‘Ope, sorry!’ Where did Midwesterners get this onomatopoeia? Let’s ask linguists MORE: Wisconsin Dells, Door County tourism is surging — but businesses are struggling to find employees My favorite stories to write have centered on business news, especially when I get to see the passion of local business owners as their community supports them and cheers them on. I watched an ongoing upswing of businesses starting in downtown Fond du Lac the last few years, including a new bookstore, a jewelry store, a restaurant in a church, a boutique full of products from local businesses and many other successful and creative ventures. The area’s industrial businesses continue to thrive as well, and nationally known chain stores like Big Lots and Hobby Lobby have seen the city as a viable place to put down roots and fill one of its empty big-box properties. I’m excited to dig as deep into Oshkosh’s business side, from its own downtown sector to the Sawdust District and the hidden gems scattered throughout the city. Streetwise thrives on the participation of readers sending in their questions and tips, so I encourage any and all input on business in both areas. What have I overlooked in Fond du Lac? What am I missing out on in Oshkosh? Tell me what you want to see by emailing me at dlemke@gannett.com or calling me at 920-907-7968. You can also follow me on Twitter at @daphlemke.

Child Tax Credit 2022 — Thousands Of Americans To Get $750 New Direct Payments Next Month – When To Expect… – The US Sun https://collincountynewsonline.com/child-tax-credit-2022-thousands-of-americans-to-get-750-new-direct-payments-next-month-when-to-expect-the-us-sun/ Live Blog MORE MONEY Updated: 6:00 ET, Sep 26 2022 TAX rebates worth up to $750 are on the way for families in Rhode Island, and nearby states have similar programs. In Rhode Island, families will get $250 per child and a maximum of $750 total for up to three children with payments going out beginning in October. In Connecticut, families can also claim $250 per child, which is capped at three children – for a total of $750. These payments started rolling out in late August. Meanwhile, New Yorkers claiming the Empire State child credit, which is based on income, will be mailed their checks automatically and can expect to receive them by the end of October. Read our child tax credit live blog for the latest news and updates… Potential Congressional deal could impact CTC Negotiations have begun in Congress to push a federal CTC into law by the end of this year. Democrats were not able to extend the CTC this past year due to Joe Manchin’s opposition, but a negotiation to revive the CTC in exchange for corporate tax cuts could be in the works. The Washington Post reports these discussions “have been quietly ongoing for months” and could put CTC back on the table. Eligibility for child and dependent care credit  In order to qualify for child and dependent care, you have to meet all of the following:  You must have earned income for the tax year. If you’re filing jointly with your spouse, you both have to have earned income for the tax year. You must be the custodial parent or main caretaker of the child or dependent. The child or dependent care service must have been used so that you could work or seek employment.  Your filing status must be single, head of household, qualifying widow or widower with a qualifying child, or married filing jointly Your child or dependent must be under 13. If they are disabled and physically or mentally incapable of caring for themselves, there is no minimum age requirement. The childcare provider cannot be your spouse or dependent or the child’s parent. The mission of child care credit The child and dependent care credit is designed to provide financial relief for working parents and guardians in raising a child or a disabled dependent.  The credit is dependent on the taxpayer’s income and the expenses used to provide for the child or dependent. It ultimately reduced the federal income taxes, which means people can receive a higher refund.  Deducting summer camps and daycare expenses  For people who paid for a daycare center, babysitter, summer camp, or other care providers to care for a child under age 13 or a disabled dependent of any age, they are eligible for a tax credit. It is up to 35 percent of qualifying expenses of $3,000 for one child or dependent, so the maximum a person can claim is $1,050 per child, as reported by Turbotax. The Quality Childcare Initiative Grant, part three To apply for the grant, organizations must attend the Letter of Intent and Stewardship Package Meeting on September 27, 2022, at 530 pm. You must RSVP to Dorothy Chambers at 812-235-6287 or dchambers@uwwv.org. Details for the full grant eligibility can be found at uwwv.org/funding. The Quality Childcare Initiative Grant, continued The grant is for two years and up to $150,000 will be available upon request for a proposal grant. Plus, childcare sites can grab up to $20,000 per year and must meet at least one of the following objectives: Increase regulated capacity in an existing Levels 3 or 4 Paths to QUALITY or ExceleRate Illinois program Attain Level 3 or 4 in Paths to QUALITY or ExceleRate Illinois for an existing program For a new program, show progress toward enrolling in Paths to QUALITY or ExceleRate Illinois and attaining Level 3 or 4 The Quality Childcare Initiative Grant In an effort to increase quality childcare, the United Way of the Wabash Valley is offering a third round of the Quality Childcare Initiative Grant opportunity. The initiative is funded through Success By 6 Impact Council which promotes healthy early childhood development. A major focus is to lay the foundation to prepare children for lifelong learning. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act Passed in 2021, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act was created to stop discrimination toward pregnant workers. The law states that employers cannot force pregnant workers off of the job. Plus, they cannot deny them reasonable accommodations that would allow them to continue working while maintaining healthy pregnancies. USDA’s $12.5billion plan to reduce childhood hunger The USDA is working towards ending child hunger by providing summer food buying benefits to families with children. The agency is working with 42 states and issuing roughly $12.5billion in temporary nutrition benefits to nearly 32million children, according to a press release. Cindy Long, administrator of the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service, said in the statement, “Providing children with the food and nutrition they need to live healthy lives is a year-round mission, and we are proud to partner with many states and territories to provide food-buying benefits for this summer.” White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health The conference will be September 28 and will focus on nutrition security and maintaining consistent and equitable access to healthy, safe, and affordable food, according to a press release. The White House Conference will also call on all stakeholders to address hunger and improve nutrition and diet-related health. This will be the first conference in 50 years, since 1969, which led to the expansion of the National School Lunch Program and other, similar programs. The cost of raising a child The USDA issued a report in 2017 detailing the cost of raising a child in America. The measure is for a middle-income, married couple with two children born in 2015. As inflation has since gone up raising prices in nearly every sector, the report may not be as accurate but did factor in a four percent inflation rate. The report showed that the cost of raising a child born in 2015 through 17 is $310,605 – nearly $18,0000 per year. USDA partnerships offer benefits for families The US Department of Agriculture partnered with 26 states and Puerto Rico to offer children temporary food benefits. Children will be eligible for the program if they receive free or reduced lunch at school, or if they’re under the age of 6 and live in a household that receives SNAP benefits. An estimated 13million children will benefit from the program. Benefits will be loaded onto a debit card that can be used to buy food. States with the highest teacher salaries According to the report, the following states are some of the highest paying states for teachers. California New York Pennsylvania Massachusetts Connecticut States with the lowest teacher salaries The average teacher salary in the US is $65,090, according to The Hill. Business.org comprised a list of states with the lowest and highest salaries. Below are the five states with the lowest salaries for teachers: District of Columbia Arizona Virginia Florida Colorado Teacher salaries fall behind A report by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) found that teachers are paid less in weekly wages and total compensation than their nonteacher college-educated counterparts. Additionally, the average weekly inflation-adjusted wage of public school teachers increased by just $29 from 1996 to 2021. The EPI has tracked the “teacher pay penalty” for almost 20 years and found that it reached a record high last year as teachers made 23.5 percent less than other college graduates. Denver teachers see pay raises Last week, the Denver Public Schools and the district’s teachers union temporarily agreed to increase educators’ salaries by an average of 8.7 percent. The deal was reached after weeks of negotiations and even an all-night bargaining session. The previous contract with the Denver Classroom Teachers Association expired last week. The union originally had asked for a 12 percent raise for educators for the 2022-23 academic year, noting the rising cost of living in the metro area. YouthBuild Program YouthBuild helps kids by providing education, prepare for future careers, and grow into community leaders. The program targets students 16 years old up to 24, helping them develop leadership skills and community service awareness. The students learn to build affordable housing as they earn their high school diploma or GED. IDEA Special Education Grants The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) issues Special Education Grants for schools and other educational agencies. The program provides free courses to disabled children to properly prepare them for higher education and independent living. Over $11.5billion in grant funding had been provided during the 2011 fiscal year. The National School Lunch Program The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) is a federally assisted meal program operating in public and nonprofit private schools and residential child care institutions. The NSLP provides nutritionally balanced, low-cost, or free lunches to children each school day. The program was established under the National School Lunch Act, signed by President Harry Truman in 1946. According to the website, in 2019, schools served over 4.8billion lunches to children nationwide. Federal government aid programs Funding for schools comes from several states and local governments, but recently the federal government has started providing aid to schools. According to the New America Foundation, the federal government issues over $40billion to elementary and secondary schools for the f...

What Channel Is Cowboys Vs. Giants On Today? Schedule, Time For ‘Monday Night Football’ In Week 3 – Sporting News https://collincountynewsonline.com/what-channel-is-cowboys-vs-giants-on-today-schedule-time-for-monday-night-football-in-week-3-sporting-news/ The Battle of the Backs arrives Monday night. While prime-time games are often reserved for prime-time QB matchups, very few will be tuning in to “Monday Night Football” in Week 3 to see Cooper Rush and Daniel Jones sling it. Rather, all eyes will be on Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott and Giants running back Saquon Barkley as the high-motor pair will look to rush their team to victory. Barkley has seemingly turned back the clock in the early going of the season. In Week 2, he had an explosive second half to help push the Giants (2-0) past the Panthers. Elliott and Tony Pollard will likely have to carry more of the load in Dallas while Dak Prescott recovers from a hand injury. Elliott has yet to get going, but expect him to get volume carries if nothing else in Week 3. MORE: Watch Cowboys vs. Giants on ‘Monday Night ‘Football’ with fuboTV (free trial) It’s the first meeting of the season between the NFC East rivals, and it happens on a Monday night. Here’s how to watch: What channel is Cowboys vs. Giants on today? Game: Cowboys vs. Giants Date: Monday, Sept. 26 TV channels: ESPN, ABC Live stream: FuboTV | ESPN+ | DAZN (Canada) Cowboys vs. Giants is the “Monday Night Football” matchup for Week 3, meaning Joe Buck and Troy Aikman will be in the booth and Lisa Salters will report from the sideline. Those who choose to stream “MNF” have several options. FuboTV carries the ESPN family of networks as well as CBS, Fox, NBC and NFL Network, which means they will be able to stream local games throughout the 2022 season. FuboTV also offers a free trial. ESPN+, the network’s proprietary streaming service, will also carry Cowboys vs. Giants. Viewers in Canada will be able to stream the game via DAZN. What time is Cowboys vs. Giants on today? Date: Monday, Sept. 26 Kickoff: 8:15 p.m. ET Kickoff for Monday night is set for 8:15 p.m. ET. That’s the customary start time for “Monday Night Football” games. The Cowboys will travel to MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., to take on the Giants. NFL live stream for Cowboys vs. Giants Cowboys vs. Giants will be simulcast on ESPN and ABC. That means it will be available to stream on the ESPN app, as well as ESPN+ (with a subscription). Cord-cutters can watch “Monday Night Football” with fuboTV, which carries ESPN and ABC and also offers a free trial. FuboTV also carries CBS, Fox, NFL Network and NBC, so users can find most locally broadcast NFL games. Other streaming options for Cowboys vs. Giants are as follows: Streaming option Cable subscription needed? Free? Cost Free trial? NFL App Yes Yes — — Yahoo! Sports App Yes Yes — — NFL+ No No $9.99/month Yes DirecTV Stream No No $49.99/month Yes fuboTV No No $69.99/month Yes Hulu Plus Live TV No No $69.99/month Yes Sling TV No No $35/month Yes YouTube TV No No $54.99/month Yes

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

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

Crypto News: IRS Tax Compliance And Enforcement – Kiplinger’s Personal Finance https://collincountynewsonline.com/crypto-news-irs-tax-compliance-and-enforcement-kiplingers-personal-finance/ taxes Recent crypto news shows that the IRS remains focused on digital assets—including cryptocurrency tax enforcement. The 2022 crypto price crash understandably has some investors concerned. But for those of you who haven’t run for the hills, it’s worth knowing that cryptocurrency currently has the attention of not only the Biden administration, and Congress, but the IRS as well. In terms of crypto news and taxes, the IRS recently proposed changes to cryptocurrency tax reporting question on the Form 1040. The agency will also receive $80 billion from the Inflation Reduction Act, some of which will be directed to digital asset enforcement—including cryptocurrency tax compliance. Additionally, you may have heard that the IRS continues to successfully obtain court orders to require cryptocurrency brokers and exchanges to provide information to the IRS. That information concerns investors who failed to report and pay taxes on cryptocurrency transactions. And while this IRS enforcement focus isn’t new, recent crypto announcements and developments from Congress, the Biden administration, and the IRS, mean that it’s important to stay up-to-date on crypto tax reporting and compliance. So, here’s some information to get you started. How Crypto is Taxed A common question about cryptocurrency concerns how crypto is taxed. The answer is that cryptocurrency is considered property, so it’s taxed by the IRS in the same way that other capital assets are taxed. As a result, when you sell or trade crypto, you can have asset losses and potential taxable gains depending on the fair market value of the virtual currency, and your basis in the crypto. Given that, it’s important to remember that payments made using virtual currency are subject to IRS information reporting. For federal tax purposes that initially means that all taxpayers are supposed to provide a yes or no response to a virtual currency question on the top of the Form 1040. For 2021, the check-the-box question asked: “At any time during 2021, did you receive, sell, exchange, or otherwise dispose of any financial interest in any virtual currency?” You could answer “no” if you “merely owned” crypto, i.e., the cryptocurrency was in your own wallet or account or was transferred between your own wallets or accounts. You could also answer no to the virtual currency question if you purchased your crypto with real currency. You were supposed to respond “yes” to the virtual currency question if you received cryptocurrency as a payment for goods or services. A yes answer would also be required if you received or transferred crypto for free (but didn’t receive it as a gift). Other reasons to answer yes included receiving new crypto due to mining and staking or because of a hard fork, or if you exchanged virtual currency for property, goods, or services, or for another virtual currency. Proposed Cryptocurrency Tax Reporting Changes Recently however, the IRS proposed a change to the virtual currency question. On the 2022 draft Form 1040, the proposed question reads: “At any time during 2022, did you: (a) receive (as a reward, award, or compensation); or (b) sell, exchange, gift, or otherwise dispose of a digital asset (or a financial interest in a digital asset)?” That could be a signal that the IRS is interested in whether you’ve received or sent crypto as a gift. Or it could indicate a focus on other digital assets like NFTs. For 2021, when the IRS didn’t ask about cryptocurrency received as a gift, the gift tax allowance was $15,000. So, a gift of cryptocurrency under that amount was not subject to tax. For 2022, the gift tax allowance is $16,000, so a crypto gift under that amount similarly wouldn’t be taxable. But keep in mind that if you were to sell or transfer the cryptocurrency that you received, it could later be subject to capital gains tax. Final instructions for the 2022 Form 1040 should be coming soon from the IRS. Is Cryptocurrency Reported to the IRS? The IRS stresses the long-standing requirement that taxpayers maintain records that establish the positions they take on their tax returns. That means that with cryptocurrency, you should keep accurate and detailed records. Records should show any sales, exchanges or disposition of your cryptocurrency or other digital assets and show the fair market value of the assets. And as was mentioned earlier, the IRS has repeatedly taken legal action through court orders (i.e., so-called John Doe summonses), to require cryptocurrency brokers to provide information about customers engaged in cryptocurrency transactions. One recent summons involves customers of SFOX, a cryptocurrency prime broker. These summonses are due in part to the IRS’s focus on closing the tax gap (i.e., the difference between what taxpayers owe and what they actually pay). The agency has said that significant problems with tax compliance relate to cryptocurrencies and other digital assets. On the legislative front, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, enacted earlier this year, requires cryptocurrency brokers to report more information on client’s trading activity. The requirement, which was opposed by some lawmakers and some in the crypto industry, it set to begin in 2023. However, a bipartisan group of Senators have recently proposed legislation to further clarify the definition of broker in the Infrastructure Law. If passed, that proposed legislation would essentially exempt digital asset mining and wallet providers, and software developers, from the information reporting requirements intended for cryptocurrency brokers. The Inflation Reduction Act and Crypto The newly proposed virtual currency question and stepped-up focus on digital assets, comes as the IRS is set to receive $80 billion under the Inflation Reduction Act—massive climate, energy, tax, and healthcare legislation that was signed by President Biden on August 16. About $46 billion of the IRS funding from the new law is designated for enforcement. And while enforcement will include a range of activities, the Inflation Reduction Act mentions that IRS funds could be used for digital asset enforcement—including cryptocurrency tax compliance. Biden’s Cryptocurrency Framework: Also, in recent crypto news, President Biden, on September 16, released a comprehensive Digital Asset Framework. The framework follows Biden’s March 9 Executive Order calling for a whole-of-government approach to address risks associated with digital assets, including cryptocurrency. Biden’s digital asset regulation framework points to the instability of crypto—and the 2022 multi-trillion-dollar crypto crash—as reasons for increased scrutiny and enforcement of digital assets. All these developments mean that significant resources and attention continue to be paid to cryptocurrency tax enforcement. Consequently, as a crypto investor, you’ll need to remain diligent and be accurate with your tax reporting and compliance. Also, stay tuned to digital asset enforcement and related crypto news from Congress and the Biden administration.

Dow Futures Fall 200 Points As The British Pound Hits Record Low Against The Dollar – CNBC https://collincountynewsonline.com/dow-futures-fall-200-points-as-the-british-pound-hits-record-low-against-the-dollar-cnbc/ Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during morning trading on September 06, 2022 in New York City. Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images U.S. equity futures fell on Monday as surging interest rates and foreign currency turmoil threatened to pushed the S&P 500 to a new low for the year. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 221 points, or 0.8%. S&P 500 futures shed 0.8%. Nasdaq 100 futures lost 0.6%. The British pound dropped to a record low on Monday against the U.S. dollar on Monday. Sterling at one point fell 4% to an all-time low of $1.0382. The Federal Reserve’s aggressive hiking campaign, coupled with U.K.’s tax cuts announced last week has caused the U.S. dollar to surge. A surging greenback can hurt the profits of U.S. multinationals and also wreak havoc on global trade, with so much of it transacted in dollars. On Friday stocks ended a brutal week with the blue-chip Dow finding a new intraday low for the year and closing lower by 486 points. The broad-market S&P 500 temporarily broke below its June closing low and ended down 1.7%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost 1.8%. Driving losses on the week was another super-sized rate hike by the Federal Reserve and a strong commitment given by Chair Jerome Powell to tame inflation. The central bank indicated it could raise rates as high as 4.6% before pulling back. The forecast also shows the Fed plans be aggressive this year, hiking rates to 4.4% before 2022 ends. “A lot of traders expected hints of a Fed pivot at Jackson Hole or at the September FOMC policy, but that never happened,” said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda. “A hard landing is becoming the base case scenario for many and that means more economic pain along with a much weaker stock market is coming.” Bond yields soared after the Fed enacted another rate hike of 75 basis points. The 2-year and 10-year Treasury rates hit highs not seen in over a decade. On Friday, Goldman Sachs slashed its year-end target for the S&P 500 to 3,600 from 4,300. “How far we go below the summer lows is anyone’s guess,” said Oanda’s Moya. “It doesn’t seem like any economic data release or Fed speak will convince markets that a downshift from this aggressive tightening campaign will be happening anytime soon.” Looking ahead, traders are anticipating the release of personal consumption expenditures data, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, on Friday. Durable goods and consumer sentiment numbers will also come out this week. A slew of Fed speakers — including Fed Vice Chair Lael Brainard, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard, San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly and Fed Governor Michelle Bowman — and Chair Powell are also scheduled to speak at various events this week. European markets choppy; sterling slumps against the dollar European stocks were choppy on Monday as investors continued to weigh the deteriorating economic outlook in the region. The pan-European Stoxx 600 was down 0.2% by mid-morning in London, having recouped opening losses of roughly 0.6% before pulling back again. Utilities dropped 1.7% while tech stocks added 1.7%. The British pound plunged to a record low on Monday, following last week’s announcement by the new U.K. government that it would implement tax cuts and investment incentives to boost growth. – Elliot Smith British pound drops to record low The sterling fell to a record low in Asia’s morning, briefly shedding more than 4% to $1.0382. It later recovered slightly to $1.0513. The dollar index — which trades against a basket of six currencies including the euro, yen and sterling — gained about 1%. — Abigail Ng U.S. Treasury yields jump as Asian markets tumble, 2-year Treasury hits 4.3% CNBC Pro: Asset manager says one FAANG stock looks ‘very attractive’ in the medium term Stocks prepare to test their lows in the final week of trading for September Heading into the final week of trading for September, the Dow and S&P 500 are each down about 6% for the month, while the Nasdaq has lost 8%. Both the Dow and S&P are now sitting 1.2% and 1.6%, respectively, above their lows from mid-June. The Nasdaq is 2.9% above its low. — Tanaya Macheel Fear often leads to short-term bottoms, says Truist’s Lerner Investors are mentally preparing to see the S&P 500 test its low of the year, and that could mean a shorter-term bottom, according to Truist’s chief market strategist Keith Lerner. “The increased probability of breaking the June S&P 500 price low may be what it takes to invoke even deeper fear,” Lerner said in a note. “Fear often leads to short-term bottoms. Importantly, as we saw in June, even if the market overshoots, snapbacks can be sharp and hard to time.” He added that with extreme selling having already taken place and stocks being oversold, it’s not the time to press a negative view. “In August, we had been advocating to reduce equities in the 4200-4300 range for the S&P 500 and a continued focus on increasing quality in portfolios,” he said. “In our view, the challenging macro environment is here to stay. This is not the time to be on offense. However, it doesn’t make sense to pile on to the negativity in the short term and become even more defensive after a large selloff has already occurred.” — Tanaya Macheel Futures open lower in pre-market trading Stock futures opened little changed on Sunday evening after the major averages suffered steep losses in the previous week, as Federal Reserve policy, surging interest rates and foreign currency turmoil spooked investors. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down by just 40 points, while S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.1%. Futures tied to all three of the major averages quickly fell much lower soon after premarket trading began. — Tanaya Macheel

Turkish Packaging Printer Printpark Invests In Latest Speedmaster XL Technology From HEIDELBERG – WhatTheyThink https://collincountynewsonline.com/turkish-packaging-printer-printpark-invests-in-latest-speedmaster-xl-technology-from-heidelberg-whattheythink/ (From left): Printpark Managing Director Ferit Dansik, Selkut Engin, Managing Director of Heidelberg Turkey, and Printpark Operations Manager Turan Dansik with the new Speedmaster XL 106-7+LX-UV. Push to Stop technology and modern color measuring systems for greater efficiency and higher productivity Service expertise from HEIDELBERG Turkey a key factor in investment decision Printpark Premium Folding Carton is a Turkish family business with around 100 employees that has been operating in Istanbul for 48 years. It is currently run by second generation owners Ferit Dans?k and Turan Dansik. Printpark exports its offset printing products to more than 25 countries and is one of the well-known major companies in the Turkish packaging industry and also a winner of several international packaging awards. Its products, whose production and R&D activities are carried out entirely within the company, include high-quality cardboard packaging for the cosmetics, food, chocolate, beverage and textile industries. Now Printpark is looking to maximize productivity at their print shop with the latest generation of a Speedmaster XL 106-7+LX-UV from Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (HEIDELBERG), which was commissioned in May 2022. The press is equipped with Push to Stop technology for autonomous printing and also features the new Prinect Inpress Control 3 inline color measurement system. The press is also fully integrated into the print shop’s overall workflow via Prinect Production Manager. Ferit Dansik, Managing Director of Printpark, comments: “When we upgraded our production line, the most important criteria were highly productive production and extensive automation. Extensive analyses in the run-up then showed that the Speedmaster XL technology was most likely to meet our requirements. In addition the competent and experienced technical service staff of HEIDELBERG Turkey was also a decisive factor in our investment decision.” And Turan Dansik, Plant Manager at Printpark, adds, “We are very satisfied with the experience and results we have had so far. The new Speedmaster XL 106 has fitted very well into our production processes with the support of Prinect, and the assistance systems for autonomous printing and the new color measurement system have helped us achieve a significant leap in productivity, especially with the many job changes.”

Friday Night Lights…Bonham And Commerce Halftime Photos: Part 1 – North Texas E-News https://collincountynewsonline.com/friday-night-lights-bonham-and-commerce-halftime-photos-part-1-north-texas-e-news/ Friday night lights…Bonham and Commerce halftime photos: part 1  North Texas e-News

World Tourism Day: Best Gadgets To Carry On Your Next Vacation – Gadget Bridge https://collincountynewsonline.com/world-tourism-day-best-gadgets-to-carry-on-your-next-vacation-gadget-bridge/ September 27 is internationally recognised as World Tourism Day. With tourist activity being restored to normalcy after intense worldwide lockdowns due to Covid, an increasing amount of travellers are looking to plan their next vacation. Planning a vacation also comes with its share of stress. Luckily, there are a large number of handy gadgets that will make your life simpler while travelling.  In this article, we bring you the 10 best gadgets to carry along on your vacation. Read Also: What Is USB OTG? 5 great ways to use It on Android devices iPhone 14 Pro – Advertisement – Carrying a smartphone to your vacation is a no-brainer. A smartphone camera is a decent alternative to a DSLR, so you’re cutting down on one additional device. But what does the iPhone offer that other smartphones don’t? With the iPhone 14 Pro, you get satellite connectivity, which means you can send out SOS messages in an emergency even when you don’t have cellular reception. You can read about iPhone 14 Pro’s satellite connectivity feature in detail here. It’s one feature we hope you never have to use, but it doesn’t hurt to have it in your smartphone.  Styleys Gadget Organiser – Advertisement – One of our biggest pet peeves is charging cables and headphones getting tangled with the luggage while travelling. Most travel bags do not have specialised pockets for your electronic devices and accessories. Styleys Gadget Organiser solves this particular issue, offering an organised solution to keeping your electronic gadgets and cords in one place. This portable pouch will fit in comfortably with your luggage and you can pull it out easily without having to rummage through your luggage. Kindle Why carry a book while travelling when you can store an entire library on your Kindle? With Kindle Unlimited you get access to over 2 million titles. While having access to an endless number of books is a big plus, what makes the Kindle Paperwhite perfect for travelling is its thin, lightweight design. It barely occupies any space and its glare-free paperwhite display lets you read the text in any lighting condition. Certainly a must-have travel gadget for readers. rts Dual USB Universal Travel Adapter Nothing less than a necessity when travelling internationally, a universal travel adapter will make your life much easier while dealing with different power outlets. The rts Dual USB Universal Travel Adapter is compatible with 4 different international sockets (Australia, US, UK, Europe) and its compact design barely takes up any space in your luggage. The 4 power outlet plug-ins are enough to cover most places on the planet. You also get 2 USB ports with the rts travel adapter, that can be used to directly charge your smartphone, camera, mp3 player, or Kindle.  Mi Power Bank 3i When travelling long distances, you won’t always get the chance to charge your electronic devices. Smartphones can run out of battery even when they’re on standby mode, as background activities like GPS, mobile data, and background apps can consume a fair amount of power. The Mi Power Bank 3i comes with an impressive 20000 mAh of battery backup, which is more than enough to fully charge multiple smartphones. You can plug in up to three devices at once, and enjoy the luxury of 18W fast charging while on the go.  Sony SRS-XB32 Portable Bluetooth Speaker Take the party with you wherever you go. The Sony SRS-XB32 is one of the best portable speakers around. The XB32 offers a brilliant audio output which can further be taken to another level by turning on the live mode. Its portable design makes it convenient to carry around while travelling, and you can set it up wherever you like. With a battery that lasts up to 24 hours, you don’t have to worry about plugging it in to charge every few hours. The LED lights around the speaker can be controlled with the Sony app, bringing all the more fun to the party. Read our detailed review of the Sony SRS-XB32 here. Ozomax Sleek Travel Iron Travelling on a budget? Save up on unnecessary ironing costs by carrying your own portable travel iron. The Ozomax Sleek Travel Iron has dimensions of 15.8 x 11 x 4.8cm, and you’ll have no difficulty fitting it in with your luggage. The foldable handle adds to the portability and the temperature control knob will help you adjust the iron for different fabrics. This device becomes a lifesaver when you’re travelling to attend a function and need to iron your clothes at the last minute. Oppo Enco Air2 Pro Every traveller is aware of the tedium that comes with travelling long distances. With a pair of wireless headsets, you can combat boredom on the road by listening to music, podcasts, or audiobooks. But why go for wireless headsets when a pair of wired headphones will also do the job? Well, the Oppo Enco Air2 Pro offer Active Noise Cancellation, which will easily tune out the background noise of the road, train tracks, or airplane engine, helping you relax and get some quality rest. Constant exposure to noise is one of the major reasons behind travel fatigue. With a good noise cancelling headset you will be able to get quality sleep on the go. Read our review here. Dyson Airwrap Multi-Styler Grooming your hair becomes an easy task with the Dyson Airwrap Multi-Styler. The new Dyson Airwrap offers reengineered attachments that dry, smooth, and hide flyaways. The intelligent heat control ensures that your hair doesn’t get damaged due to excessive heat. The Dyson-designed storage case neatly packs all the accessories and makes it easier to travel around with.  GoPro Hero 11 Trying out adventure activities on your vacation? Don’t miss a single detail by recording it with the GoPro Hero 11. Specially designed for vloggers and adventure enthusiasts, the GoPro Hero 11 is a rugged little device that can withstand any challenging condition, be it shooting underwater or taking a fall with the camera mounted on your helmet. The GoPro Hero 11 can also record videos in 5.3k resolution and offers HyperSmooth Stabilization when you’re shooting while in motion. Read Also: Sony WH-1000XM5 review: The sound speaks for itself Conclusion These are our picks for the best gadgets to carry along while on vacation. These devices cover all your travel needs, be it safety, convenience, or entertainment. If you think we missed out on any essential travel gadget, let us know in the comments! – Advertisement –

Ins And Outs: September 2022’s Industry Hires Roundup – Business News – MCV/Develop https://collincountynewsonline.com/ins-and-outs-september-2022s-industry-hires-roundup-business-news-mcv-develop/ Here are the highlights from the recent industry hires and moves, as published in MCV/DEVELOP’s August 2022 issue.  BRENT OP DE BEECK has joined RevRooms as an audio programmer. Before working at RevRooms he worked at Bulkhead Interactive on multiple FPS titles. Brent studied Digital Arts and Entertainment Game Development at Howest in Kortrijk, Belgium and graduated with a focus on graphics programming. Brent is considered the odd one out at RevRooms because he doesn’t play any instruments, for which he gets bullied by his colleagues every day. Also at RevRooms is KERRY TURNER, who is its latest senior audio programmer. She started her games career at BAFTA-winning studio Littleloud, and went on to work for studios including Failbetter Games, Mediatonic, and MAG Interactive. She also worked for Unity for several years, providing technical training and best practice guidance. Kerry has spoken at conferences all over the world and has also lectured at degree level. Outside of work, she makes short, strange games and lo-fi electronic music. AMARESH BHANGLE has left the fast-paced world of video games PR at Bastion behind for the even faster paced corporate landscape over at Amazon UK, where he’ll be working hard as a workplace PR specialist. TALAL MUSA has joined BGFG as their head of digital. Talal will oversee the growth and development of WePC, PC Guide and Videogamer.com. He was previously head of digital media at Gfinity, where he created and oversaw the Gfinity Digital Media Group, turning it into a network of multiple websites that reached millions of users every month. Talal has an extensive background in journalism and PR, and has worked with News UK, Edelman, The Daily Mail and M&C Saatchi. SARA MACHADO is the newest senior recruiter at Sumo Group, and has a strong focus on diversity, inclusion and equality. She is known for creating the biggest recruitment survey in games; deep diving into candidates’ job hunting preferences and so that she can design what she considers to be the best hiring processes. MATTHEW CHAPMAN is a new assistant game designer at Sumo Sheffield, and joins the studio after a short stint of work experience at the company. He also studies games design at Sheffield Hallam University, so we’re absolutely certain that he must be a very busy person. LOUISE HEPPELL has also joined the team at Sumo Sheffield, as an HR administrator. She used to work in the care industry as an HR Administrator, and has an MSc in HRM. This is her first games industry role, and has told us that she is very excited about it. AGNIESZKA PRZEPIORKOWSKA has become a senior learning and development advisor at Sumo Sheffield. Before joining the team at Sumo, she worked in translation, interpreting and language teaching jobs. She also used to proofread comic books, although we’re not told which ones. KEVIN WAFER has joined the team at Sumo Sheffield as a principal technical artist. He’s worked in the industry for over 20 years, and has spent time at big industry companies like Activision, Electronic Arts, King and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. Wrapping up our list of new recruits at Sumo Sheffield is ASH LONG, their latest junior QA tester. He finds himself at Sumo after spending some time in the high pressure esports world. Ash used to work as head coach for Team Envy’s Overwatch League academy team and later as the head coach of Cloud 9’s Valorant team, before making the transition to full-time game development. THEO CLARKE is the latest senior quality analyst at Red Kite Games, and comes to them after working at Soccer Manager Ltd and Traveller’s Tales. He’s worked on over a dozen games, across mobile, console and PC – and that’s not including the projects he’s told us he’s secretly working on at home. MICHAEL HAZLE is the newest QA tester at Red Kite Games, coming to them from Universally Speaking, where he also worked in the QA department. Before that he spent some time freelancing as a journalist and content creator for The New Collection. ELLIE BROWN is now a character artist at Sumo Nottingham. Before that she was a 3D Artist at Red Kite Games. Ellie also co-created Ocean Spark Studios, an academy that went to schools and ran workshops to give girls more of an insight into how games are made. NINA KLOS has joined Sumo Leamington as a technical artist. She used to be an associate technical artist at DR Studios. Nina also has a BA (Hons) in game art, which she received from De Montfort University in Leicester. ALEX FULLARTON is a junior programmer at Sumo Warrington. He is also a graduate from the MComp Computer Science for Games at Sheffield Hallam University. He’s from Darlington, which is the same place as MCV/DEVELOP’s staff writer Vince Pavey. JOHN NEWBERRY is now a technical designer at The Chinese Room. He was previously at Bulkhead, where he worked to help bring The Turing Test to the Nintendo Switch and Google Stadia. He also worked on the video game Wardogs. MICHAEL GENESIS ASIS has also become a senior environment artist at The Chinese Room. He used to work at Ubisoft Philippines, on AAA video game releases like Assassin’s Creed Origins, Assassin’s Creed 3 Remastered and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. JOE ROBINSON is the new communications director at Hooded Horse. Until walking into the the stable he was was the strategy editor for PCGamesN. With thirteen(ish) years under his belt across games media and PR, he is sure to be valuable to his new team. JON TIBBLE has joined CI Games as vice president of global sales. He has worked in the industry for nearly 20 years, and was part of the team that relaunched the F1 series at Codemasters as director of sales, as well as numerous Activision Blizzard titles. EMMA O’REILLY has joined Snap Finger Click as a junior Unity engineer. She recently graduated from the University of Central Lancashire with first class honours in Computer Games Development and has a passion for 3D computer graphics. The studio’s upcoming Awkward 2 party game will be her main focus. RUTH CARNEGIE has also joined Snap Finger Click as a junior Unity engineer. She graduated from the University of Abertay, specialising in Computer Games Technologies. Prior to this she achieved a first class degree at the University of Dundee in Applied Computing. Ruth’s passion for accessibility in games is a great fit for Snap Finger Click’s focus on multiplayer party games. KALAM NEALE is the new head of education at British Esports. You might know him as the winner of the prestigious Pearson National Teaching Award, or as the key architect of the esports BTEC diploma. In his new role he intends to continue to help deliver a continued focus on esports as part of education. ANDIE CHIVERS GOUDIE has joined Testronic as chief people officer. Andie has over 25 years of experience in HR, and joins the company following senior roles in the financial services sector and at the guitar manufacturing giant Fender. Also at Testronic, ANN HURLEY has been promoted to senior vice president of sales and marketing. She has been at the studio for over seven years, and has played an important role in growing the company’s games business. As a Women in Games ambassador, Hurley has also been integral to Testronic’s EDI policies and initiatives. CATHERINE BYGRAVE has moved from Gfinity to Humble Games, where she’s taken on the job of director of publishing strategy and growth. She is also a Women in Games Ambassador, and was on our shortlist for the MCV/DEVELOP Women in Games Awards in 2022. MATT HANDRAHAN is now senior portfolio manager at Kepler. Before that, he was a game content analyst for global third-party relations at PlayStation. You may also remember him as the former editor-in-chief of GamesIndustry.biz, a job he held for nearly ten years. SEAN MURPHY is now the studio outsource manager for Firaxis Games. Before joining the company he worked as an outsource manager at places like Aspyr Media and Armature Studio, so that makes sense. He’s been working in games in some form or other since 1985, so it’s safe to say that he likes them rather a lot. CHRISTIAN WAIT has left his job as gaming guides and SEO writer at Social Chain, to become the newest gaming and tech SEO writer at GRV Media. He has a long history of being in the media, having once appeared on a live stand up Michael Barrymore VHS as a five year old. Christian also 3D prints and paints miniatures at @SaberMiniatures on Twitter. Finally, ROGER COLLUM has joined Creative Assembly as vice president of the Total War franchise. He used to be head of studio development at EA Dice and has held several other positions in the industry over more than 15 years, including a stint as lead producer on Epic Games’ Fortnite.

Germs Everywhere: How Risky Is Using A Public Restroom? | HealthNews – Healthnews.com https://collincountynewsonline.com/germs-everywhere-how-risky-is-using-a-public-restroom-healthnews-healthnews-com/ Checking if the site connection is secure healthnews.com needs to review the security of your connection before proceeding.

Josephine Rose “Jo” Plucinski (Nee Monte) | News, Sports, Jobs – Evening Observer https://collincountynewsonline.com/josephine-rose-jo-plucinski-nee-monte-news-sports-jobs-evening-observer/ Josephine Rose “Jo” Plucinski (nee Monte) Josephine Rose “Jo” Plucinski (nee Monte) of Buffalo and Silver Creek, N.Y., passed peacefully on Sept. 19, 2022, at the age of 99. Beloved wife of the late Joseph Plucinski Sr.; loving mother of Carolyn (late George) Poynton, Christine (Salvatore) Scozzaro, Joseph Plucinski, II, and John Plucinski; cherished grandmother of nine grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren. She was predeceased by seven brothers and sisters; also survived by many nieces and nephews. The family will be present on Saturday, Oct. 1 from 2-4 p.m. at the (Hamburg Chapel) JOHN J. KACZOR FUNERAL HOME, INC., 5453 Southwestern Blvd. (Corner of Rogers Road) where a memorial service will begin at 3:30 p.m. Flowers are gratefully declined. Please share condolences at www.kaczorfunerals.com.

Dimension X To Host Virtual Metaverse Creators Summit – MarTech Series https://collincountynewsonline.com/dimension-x-to-host-virtual-metaverse-creators-summit-martech-series/ Creating immersive experiences with storytelling at the center is the theme of this Metaverse Creators Summit. This is the next evolution of the internet. Dimension X, Inc. (DimX), a Metaverse company developing a platform that radically simplifies the creation of immersive experiences, is hosting the Metaverse Creators Summit, a virtual learning event focused on next generation immersive storytelling to be held on November 16th, 2022 Consider this event to be the Metaverse 101 for all who want to take part in the economic opportunities that this next evolution of the internet will provide.”— Scott Robertson, DimX CEO “Consider this event to be the Metaverse 101 for all who want to take part in the economic opportunities that this next evolution of the internet will provide,” said Scott Robertson, DimX CEO. “And, storytelling will be at the center of every great immersive experience. There will be something for everyone. For advanced developers, we will have a session on Unity’s Data-Oriented Technology Stack, a key enabling technology for complex Metaverse experiences, that lets your code run faster on multicore processors without the typical heavy programming headaches.” The virtual event includes two keynotes, eight lightning talks, two networking sessions, and a follow-on hackathon a few weeks later. Learning, networking and creating are the three priorities of the event. Perhaps most valuable, facilitated networking will be organized in two formats: 1) Speed networking with quick introductions 2) Round table introductions, and a facilitated discussion about Ball’s keynote talk. Marketing Technology News: Swedish AdTech company, BrightBid taps into London’s Dynamic Start up Scene to Accelerate Growth Headlining the event is keynote speaker, Matthew Ball, author of The Metaverse: And How it Will Revolutionize Everything. About Ball’s work, Tim Sweeney, CEO of Fortnite-maker Epic Games, said: “Matthew Ball’s essays have defined, analyzed, and inspired the Metaverse for years. His book is an approachable and essential guide to the strategic, technical, and philosophical foundations of this new medium.” Respected as one of the best Metaverse thought leaders, Ball has delivered an exceptional overview of the history of the internet leading to the present situation. In part 3 of his book, Ball discusses the winners and losers, the business opportunities and the personal value we might realize as participants in the next evolution of the Internet. One thing appears clear. Immersive and engaging experiences will permeate people’s lives as the physical world is augmented with smart technology. Lives will improve if first-world learning experiences can be made available ubiquitously. The first 100 registrants at the Metaverse Creators Summit will receive a signed copy of Matthew Ball’s book. Marketing Technology News: MarTech Interview with Etai Beck, CEO at Folloze

Awesome IPhone SE 2 Price Drop! Get 44900 Phone For Just 16090 In Flipkart Sale – HT Tech https://collincountynewsonline.com/awesome-iphone-se-2-price-drop-get-44900-phone-for-just-16090-in-flipkart-sale-ht-tech/ iPhone SE 2 price drop announced on Flipkart! Get it for as low as Rs. 16090. Big announcement for iPhone fans! The newly launched Apple iPhone SE 2 price has dropped massively on Flipkart as a part of Big Billion Days Sale. The iPhone SE 2 base model’s price has dropped to as low as Rs. 16090 on Flipkart. However, there’s a catch! The discounted price includes instant store discount as well as a cashback of Rs. 1250 on selected bank cards and exchange value of up to Rs. 16900. The original price of the device is Rs. 44900 in India. Apple had launched the iPhone SE 2 in 2020. Check out all the deals and discounts on iPhone SE 2 offered by Flipkart here iPhone SE 2 price drop break-up on Flipkart The Apple iPhone SE 2 price (128GB) has dropped to just Rs. 34990 from Rs. 44,900 on Flipkart. Making it more cheaper to buy, the e-commerce giant is giving away a cashback offer of Rs. 1250 on the ICICI Bank, and Axis bank credit cards and debit cards and exchange value of 16,900 on selected phone models. If you avail the discount along with bank offer and exchange value, the price drops to Rs. 16090. But before you proceed, do note that the exchange value may vary as per the model of the phone and its working condition. Meanwhile, Flipkart Big Billion Days sale is on and it will go on till Sep 30, 2022. The e-commerce giant is giving several exciting offers on other iPhones, android phones as well as other electronic gadgets. iPhone 11 is selling for just Rs. 42990 while iPhone 12 128GB is listed for 58,990. You can avail bank offers and exchange offers as well making it much cheaper. iPhone SE 2nd Gen features and specs The iPhone SE 2nd Gen is a compact phone that features a 4.7-inch display. It is powered by A13 Bionic chipset similar to the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro/Max along with 1821 mAh battery.

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

Statement By U.S. Ambassador To Japan Rahm Emanuel On The U.S. Presidential Delegation To The State Funeral – US Embassy And Consulates In Japan https://collincountynewsonline.com/statement-by-u-s-ambassador-to-japan-rahm-emanuel-on-the-u-s-presidential-delegation-to-the-state-funeral-us-embassy-and-consulates-in-japan/ The Presidential Delegation that arrives in Japan today, led by Vice President Kamala Harris, demonstrates the respect President Joe Biden has for former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo and his family, and sends a strong signal of our deep commitment to the Japanese people. While we are allies by treaty, we are friends in our hearts. Abe-san lived a life worth living. He was a great statesman with strong connections to America and Americans; he was the first and only Japanese Prime Minister to address a joint session of the U.S. Congress; he accompanied President Obama on the first visit by a sitting U.S. President to Hiroshima; and he was the first Japanese Prime Minister to visit the memorial aboard the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor. These were historic events that show his unwavering commitment to the U.S.-Japan Alliance and our two countries’ friendship. Abe-san was indispensable for developing the strong relations between us, and his vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific informs strategic architecture across the region. I am honored to be part of the Presidential Delegation and to have the opportunity to pay my respects to the former Prime Minister at the state funeral. As President Biden said on the day of Abe-san’s death: “The United States stands with Japan in this moment of grief.” It was true then; it remains true today.

Future Of Autonomous Driving Led By L + S Multi-LiDAR Solution – PR Newswire https://collincountynewsonline.com/future-of-autonomous-driving-led-by-l-s-multi-lidar-solution-pr-newswire/ BEIJING, Sept. 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — The Automotive LiDAR 2022 Annual Conference and Exhibition is the only worldwide summit, specially focused on automotive LiDAR technologies and applications, which has been already held 5 times in the United States, and it’s the highest-level industry exchange summit of automotive grade LiDAR. ZVision was invited to participate the summit as the leader in Chinese LiDAR market , and vice president Frank Li gave a speech “MEMS based LiDARs for ADAS&AV Application” in the summit. With the rapid progress of autonomous driving technology, LiDAR, as an core sensor in perception, has moved beyond aerospace, military, robotics and meteorology into automotive industry, attracting more and more attention. This new technology shows its huge potential. It is expected that the global automotive LiDAR market will exceed US$20 billion by 2025. Frank noted that as the demand of autonomous driving market increase, single LiDAR cannot meet the requirements in safety redundancy and high-level autonomous driving. Thus, multi-LiDAR solution: L+S (Long range LiDAR + Short range LiDAR) is necessary, which can provide blind area detection and full perception around the car body. L stands for long-range LiDAR, facing forward, applies for long range detection, S stands for short-range LiDAR, facing sides, applies for blind area detection around the car.  L + S solution can cover the applications from passenger car to robotaxi. LiDAR, which acted as “the eye of autonomous driving”, is an active sensor that can emit laser beam to measure the precise distance of the target. As a necessary perception sensor above L2, the ML-30s+ short range LiDAR from ZVision has an ultra-wide FOV of 140° x 70°,  and more than [email protected]% detection range, which can provide wide vision coverage, high resolution 3D pointclouds, thus can minimize risks in blind area around car body. Meanwhile, ML-30s+ uses advanced silicon-based MEMS mirror, beneficial from small size and pure silicon material, it has no metal fatigue, no noise, low risk in shock and vibration, has long life time, and can be highly integrated.    As a representative long-range LiDAR, ML-Xs is automotive grade and delivers excellent performance with 1550nm wavelength laser. In consideration of human eye safety, ML-Xs has higher signal intensity, lower background noise, and better beam quality, thus can achieve long detection distance, of  [email protected]%, with high density of 180 lines,. ML-Xs has a unique vertical ROI design in full horizontal FOV, and the vertical resolution is less than 0.1° in ROI region. Also it has an modular horizontal FOV (45° / 30° / 45°) design, which is compatible in both high speed forward detection and medium/low speed wide FOV applications. Among world-wide major LiDAR providers, Chinese companies are pioneers both in mass production and technology innovation. Lots of MP projects means products are fully verified in functions and reliability. And leading advantages in specification, performance and variety show technology innovation. In the end, Frank added “Compared with oversea giants, Chinese companies has advantages in both performance and cost. Besides the technology advantages in solid- state vs mechanical, Chinese manufacturers have more cost down potential in R&D, manufacturing, logistics, and labor etc.” SOURCE ZVision

Medical City Plano Wins Approval For Hospital’s Expansion With Helipads – Community Impact Newspaper https://collincountynewsonline.com/medical-city-plano-wins-approval-for-hospitals-expansion-with-helipads-community-impact-newspaper/ Medical City Plano wins approval for hospital’s expansion with helipads Medical City Plano CEO Jyric Sims talks about the hospital’s expansion plans at a Sept. 20 City Council meeting. (Valerie Wigglesworth/Community Impact Newspaper) Medical City Plano CEO Jyric Sims talks about the hospital’s expansion plans at a Sept. 20 City Council meeting. (Valerie Wigglesworth/Community Impact Newspaper) Medical City Plano’s plans to expand a four-story tower to eight stories and move its three helipads from ground level to the building’s roof will proceed despite concerns from nearby neighbors. Plano City Council voted 6-1 at its Sept. 20 meeting in favor of the hospital’s expansion plans. Council Member Kayci Prince abstained from the discussion and vote. Council member Shelby Wiliams voted against the rezoning case, saying he had hoped more time could be spent considering creative alternatives. “I think that most of this plan is positive. It’s good. It’s needed,” he said. “But I don’t believe that it’s an all-or-nothing equation.” The rezoning approval came after a 2-5 failed vote to table a decision until the council’s October meeting to give the hospital and residents more time to find a better solution. Medical City Plano is the fifth-largest hospital in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and the only Level 1 trauma hospital in Collin County, according to a presentation by hospital CEO Jyric Sims. That trauma designation means the hospital at Coit Road and 15th Street is able to treat the most critical patients. Plans include increasing inpatient beds and adding two parking garages and three medical office buildings. Much of the discussion during the meeting centered on the plans to add four more stories to an existing tower to increase capacity for burn, trauma and critical care patients. “We are, as a hospital, just physically out of space,” Sims told the council. “Right now as we sit here today we have 27 patients waiting in our emergency room” for a bed to open so they can be admitted. The building targeted for expansion is located within 82 feet of the residential area, which does not provide enough transition “to protect the quality of life for the existing adjacent neighborhoods,” according to city planning documents. One study showed how the proposed eight-story building would cast a long shadow over the nearby apartments, condominiums and homes late in the day. Another study showed how noise from the helicopters would increase in duration and intensity with the landing sites on the roof. The current location has the building serving as a buffer between the helipads and the neighborhood. But the helicopters are still noisy, neighbors said. “They promised that those helicopters were going to fly in a north-south pattern right along Coit Road,” said Judy Malandruccolo, president of the nearby Park Bluff Condominiums HOA. “They don’t. They fly directly over our property.” Experts representing the nearby Aspen Court Apartments shared alternative plans they crafted to put the helipads on a new building farther away from residents. But hospital officials said those plans were not workable for many reasons, one being the 20-plus months of construction would limit access to the hospital’s emergency room. The hospital had proposed constructing the eight-story building in 2018 but scaled back plans at that time to four stories due to the effects on nearby neighbors, according to discussion at the meeting. Council Member Anthony Ricciardelli made the motion to table the vote and give the hospital and residents more time to talk. But after his motion failed, he said he would vote to support the hospital’s expansion. “I am deeply sympathetic to the concerns of the neighbors and the impact this will have,” he said. “At the end of the day, saving lives is the overriding consideration.” By Valerie Wigglesworth Valerie has been a journalist for more than 30 years. She is a senior editor in DFW for Community Impact Newspaper.

These 5 Road Trips From Delhi Make For The Perfect Diwali Weekend Getaway – Travel + Leisure India https://collincountynewsonline.com/these-5-road-trips-from-delhi-make-for-the-perfect-diwali-weekend-getaway-travel-leisure-india/ Diwali is right around the corner and with it is coming a week-long vacation that calls for a getaway. Dilliwalas are famous for picking up their cars and driving to nearby destinations as soon as a long weekend arrives and the month of October is serving a week-long vacation opportunity. Here are five road trips from Delhi that will make for the perfect Diwali vacation. So pack your bags when you can and head to explore North India in a brand-new way. By Kumar Shree Best Road Trips from Delhi – Delhi to Shimla One of the most popular hill stations of India, Shimla, makes for a great road trip from Delhi. Shimla wins hearts with its breathtaking beauty and old-world charm. The quaint town with its Victorian architecture, unforgettable train rides, shopping options, and a multitude of adventure sports options make it an all-time favourite destination. Duration of the trip: Shimla is about 344 km from Delhi via NH 44 and NH 5. It takes anywhere between 8 to 10 hours to reach the Queen of Hills. Best time: March to June or November to February is ideal. Where to stay: The Oberoi, Cecil and Snow Valley Resorts are good choices.  Highway restaurants: You can choose from multiple options in Chandigarh. Amrik Sukhdev, Haveli, and Gulshan Dhaba in Murthal are also popular eating spots on the way. Things to keep in mind: Depending on which time of the year you are taking this trip, keep a track of the road conditions and temperature difference between Delhi and Shimla. Prepare and pack accordingly. Delhi to Dharamshala While the Kangra valley is a mesmerising bouquet of dreamy landscapes, it would not be wrong to term Dharamshala as the pride of the valley. After all, lush greenery, gushing streams, pristine grasslands, and stunning backdrops as far as the eyes can see— Dharamshala is truly remarkable. The headquarters of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama is perfect for a day or two of living in solitude and self-reflection. Duration of the trip: Delhi to Dharamshala via road is 474 km, which takes 10 to 11 hours via NH 44 and NH 503. Best time: February to June is a favourable time. Where to stay: D’Polo Club & Spa Resort and Buddha House Himalayan Brothers are good options to stay in Dharamshala. Highway restaurants: Pahalwaan Dhaba in Murthal and Haveli in Karnal rank top on this route. Things to keep in mind: Walking around is one of the best ways to explore Dharamshala. Make sure to carry a pair of good walking or trekking shoes, and easy wears. Delhi to Neemrana The royal town of Neemrana is a quick and short drive from Delhi, and it packs a multitude of experiences to make your visit worthwhile. The royal town fascinates with its architectural richness, eclectic cuisine, and a bevvy of adventure sports. The Neemrana Fort Palace built in 1464 AD doubles as a modern-day hotel, and the site for Flying Fox, one of the most popular adventure sports in the town. Duration of the trip: Delhi to Neemrana is about 129 km via NH 48, which takes 2 to 3 hours to cover. Best time: November to February is the best time for a road trip from Delhi to Neemrana. Where to stay: Neemrana Fort-Palace and Shiva Oasis Resort are the top choices. Highway restaurants: Mannat Dhaba in Dharuhera is ideal for a quick bite. Things to keep in mind: Since Neemrana is one of the rare destinations that blend heritage and adventure, make a list of things that you would like to do and explore. This will help you experience the essence of the place better during a short trip. Delhi to Ranikhet This charming hill station nestled in the Almora district of Uttarakhand exudes a therapeutic vibe that balms the weary soul. Literally translating to ‘Queen’s Meadow’, Ranikhet is a cantonment town that encapsulates the bygone colonial heritage and the present Kumaoni beauty. Duration of the trip: Delhi to Ranikhet is about 400 km via NH 9. It takes anywhere between 8 to 10 hours. Best time: April to July is the best time to visit Ranikhet as the hill station town is at its peak beauty during this time. Where to stay: Chevron Rosemount and Open View Estate. Highway restaurants: Gajraula, Bikanerwala, Moga Punjabi Tadka, and Bhajan Dhaba. Things to keep in mind: Sample Kumaoni food at the local dhabas. Trust us, you do not want to miss it, especially in Ranikhet. Delhi to Narkanda Even though the route to Narkanda passes through Kalka and Shimla, those looking for a calmer escape park their vehicles here. Hatu Peak, the highest in the district of Shimla is situated here. During winter, Narkanda doubles as a skiing destination. Look out for apple trees that pop on the side of the road every other turn. This is one of our favourite road trips from Delhi! Duration of the trip: Narkanda is about 403 km, which can be covered in 9 to 10 hours. Best time: October to February Where to stay: Since there are no proper hotels in Narkanda itself, Taj Theog Resort & Spa, Shimla and Sterling Kufri are great choices. Highway restaurants: Puran Singh ka Dhaba in Ambala. Things to keep in mind: Narkanda is a skiing haven, so do try the sport when you’re there. Also, the place is quiet and serene if you’re looking to skip the Shimla crowd. If you have embarked on these road trips from Delhi already, share the pictures with us on social media and use the hashtag #TnlRoadTrips. Main and Feature Image Credit: Stephen Cook/Unsplash Related: Food Stops On The Mumbai-Goa Highway To Make Your Weekend Roadtrip Worthwhile

Business Briefs | News, Sports, Jobs – Youngstown Vindicator https://collincountynewsonline.com/business-briefs-news-sports-jobs-youngstown-vindicator/ “SHARK TANK” COMPANIES ANNOUNCED: The Youngstown Business Incubator has announced the five companies pitching at 2022 Shark Tank. They are Aura Beauty, a beauty company that uses artificial intelligence and augmented reality technology to deliver reusable manicures to its members; YOGO Bikeshare, which allows patrons to dock a bike from one location and return it to another; Juggerbot3D, an additive manufacturing machine builder; Morgen Technology, which provides building owners with operational insight for older, existing structures that lack infrastructure through wireless sensors that do not require batteries; and Tailored Rings, which provides a perfect fit to anyone’s finger. This will be YBI’s third Shark Tank fundraising event. It will take place Oct. 6 at Mr. Anthony’s Banquet Center in Boardman. YBI received more than 75 applicants hoping to pitch their business at the event. DEALER MARKS MILESTONE: Youngstown Kenworth Inc., a Class 8 truck dealership in Hubbard, is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. In 1972, Youngstown Kenworth opened with 12 employees and over the years has grown to offer truck sales, replacement parts, repair services and a body shop. It employs 80 people from Hubbard and the surrounding area. In addition, Youngstown Kenworth has two other businesses that are part of its operations — TRP East Liverpool was established as a retail parts and service store in East Liverpool, and Big Rig World, an e-commerce all- makes parts store, sells truck, trailer, and diesel engine parts to customers around the world. ALUMNI PROGRAM SET: Seven alumni will be honored at the Youngstown State University’s Bitonte College of Health and Human Services alumni recognition dinner 6 p.m. Oct. 7 at The Embassy in Youngstown. They are Col. Gerald Nunziato Jr., Joe Voytek, Amanda Caldwell, Ken Bielecki, Jeffrey Koontz, Lena Esmail and Jack Butler. The college also will give out five College Appreciation Awards and a Dean’s Appreciation Award. OPEN HOUSE AT YSU: High school graduates interested in careers in business, communication, economics, journalism or telecommunications may attend the Youngstown State University’s Williamson College of Business Administration open house 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday on campus. The event includes information about majors, leadership activities, career opportunities and professional development experiences, as well as tours of various labs and studios. Make a reservation at the college’s page on YSU’s website, www.ysu.edu. Call 330-941-2376 for more information. SOUTHWOODS ANNOUNCES NEW SERVICE: Southwoods Health has launched home health services, including physical, occupational and speech therapy, skilled nursing and social work services. Some of the benefits of home health care include improving or maintaining a patient’s condition and / or level of function, help with managing medications, recognizing signs and symptoms, which can reduce avoidable hospital re-admissions and regaining independence over time and help after discharge with instructions and / or physician orders. Submit items for business briefs, new businesses and people on the move to business@tribtoday.com, fax to 330-841-1717 or online at www.tribtoday.com. Today’s breaking news and more in your inbox

Weight Loss: 10 Ayurveda-Backed Herbs That Can Help In Weight-Loss – NDTV Doctor https://collincountynewsonline.com/weight-loss-10-ayurveda-backed-herbs-that-can-help-in-weight-loss-ndtv-doctor/ Home »  Living Healthy »  Weight Loss: 10 Ayurveda-Backed Herbs That Can Help In Weight-Loss Weight Loss: In this article, we discuss various beneficial herbs that have been proven to aid in weight loss.   By: Manya Singh  Updated: Sep 26, 2022 11:05 IST 3-Min Read Weight Loss: Regular ginger water consumption effectively aids in weight loss Long-term health risks associated with excess body weight include heart disease, diabetes, kidney issues, and others. Gaining weight can have negative effects on a person’s mental health and, regrettably, in some cases, can cause sadness and anxiety. Obesity is a result of unhealthy eating patterns, a sedentary lifestyle, mindless eating, and late-night binge eating. With the right lifestyle and dietary guidelines, the issue of being overweight can be easily resolved. Ayurveda has long placed emphasis on boosting metabolic rate, which results in weight loss. Numerous ayurvedic spices and herbs aid in weight loss. According to Ayurveda, one can lose weight and keep it off by using a few natural herbs and spices in their diet. In this article, we discuss various beneficial herbs that have been proven to aid in weight loss. Ayurvedic herbs that can help in our weight loss journey: 1. Triphala Triphala helps the digestive tract and detoxifies the body. Antioxidants found in abundance in it speed up metabolic rate and enhance fat burning. This aids the body’s elimination of the toxins generated by fat cells. As a result, it aids in weight loss. Furthermore, this herb encourages bowel movements and acts as a natural laxative. It relieves bloating by removing extra water from the body and flushing it out. 2. Ginger Ginger is a crucial component that is used in every meal’s preparation. It fights free radicals and has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant qualities that reduce inflammation. Therefore, its use may encourage frequent exercise, which aids in losing additional weight. Furthermore, it lowers blood sugar levels. Regular ginger water consumption effectively aids in weight loss. 3. Cinnamon This herb aids in weight loss by raising the body’s metabolic rate. It should be taken in powdered form and combined with tea and other meals for optimum results. This water washes out the body’s fat cells and aids in their breakdown. Regular use increases metabolic rate and aids in the body’s more efficient fat burning. 4. Fenugreek Fenugreek popularly known as Methi is a well-known herb for weight loss, aids in reducing food cravings, and enhances fullness. Additionally, it aids with digestion and increases metabolic rate. The active ingredient in fenugreek, galactomannan, is proven to make the advantages possible. For weight loss, doctors advise starting the day with a glass of water infused with soaked fenugreek seeds. 5. Garlic Increased immunity and overall health are two benefits of garlic. Garlic has an allicin component that helps regulate blood sugar, metabolism, and heart-related issues. The faster metabolism prevented fat from accumulating, which could promote weight loss and prevent hunger. You only need one clove per day. 6. Cardamom Elaichi is the common name for cardamom in India. In the kitchen, this spice is frequently used for cooking and baking. It not only improves the taste but also has additional health advantages. They have thermogenic qualities that help reduce body and belly fat by raising internal heat and melting body fat. 7. Cumin Cumin seeds are well known for their nutty flavour as well as a number of additional health advantages. Antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds found in abundance in the seeds enhance immunity and help digestion. Additionally, this can promote the burning of body fat and help you lose weight. In conclusion, these aromatic herbs not only elevate the flavour and taste of your food but also help in weight loss. Incorporate them into your daily cooking for their benefit. Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for a qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information. DoctorNDTV is the one stop site for all your health needs providing the most credible health information, health news and tips with expert advice on healthy living, diet plans, informative videos etc. You can get the most relevant and accurate info you need about health problems like diabetes, cancer, pregnancy, HIV and AIDS, weight loss and many other lifestyle diseases. We have a panel of over 350 experts who help us develop content by giving their valuable inputs and bringing to us the latest in the world of healthcare.

Jets Set New Record With Big Win Over Lakes – Daily Mining Gazette https://collincountynewsonline.com/jets-set-new-record-with-big-win-over-lakes-daily-mining-gazette/ Local Sports Sep 26, 2022 Eddie O’Neill Sports Writer eoneill@mininggazette.com The Jets’ Adrian Mercier (3) is brought down by the Lakes’ Isaac Daavettilla during a game at Werner Field on Saturday in Lake Linden. (Eddie O’Neill/Daily Mining Gazette) LAKE LINDEN — It was an historic day in eight-man football on Saturday in Lake Linden. Unfortunately, it was marked with a loss by the Lake Linden-Hubbell Lakes (3-2) to the visiting North Central Jets (5-0). With a 50-0 shutout, the Jets won their 28th consecutive game in a row – a new MHSAA record for consecutive wins in eight-person football. Their last loss was a playoff game to Pickford in 2019. That winning streak has included two state titles in 2020 and 2021, and they are busy making their case that they will be tough to beat again in 2022. Saturday’s victory against the Lakes was their third shutout of this season. The Jets have outscored their four opponents this year by a combined total of 256-3. The only points scored against them was a field goal by Gogebic in a game against them earlier this season in a 65-3 win. What is the secret to their unique success? According to their head coach Leo Gorzinski, it’s the boys’ work ethic. On his Jets’ 18-man roster, 12 of the players are seniors. “A lot of work goes into the off season with these guys,” he said. “This is a really tight group of guys and a lot of seniors who have been playing together. They want to win and so today’s win is special and something they can always be proud of.” The Jets came out flying with their first possession of the game, which ended with a 28-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Luke Gorzinski to Dillon Rabb. The two would connect again in the second quarter for a 19-yard touchdown combo. As well, Raab would go on to have a seven-yard run for a score. While his three first-half tds were impressive, his coach was equally grateful for Raab’s play on defense. “The game ball goes to Dylan,” said Gorzinski. “He led the team in tackles and was all over the field today.” The Jets’ air attack was quite impressive. They were 11-15 in passing attempts for a grand total of 233 yards. In comparison LL-H was 0-7 resulting in zero passing yardage for the game. However, that was the least of the Lakes’ problems on Saturday according to their coach Brett Gervais. “We knew what we were getting into,” he said with a smile. “They have a high-powered offense and defensively they do not make many mistakes.” The one positive takeaway for Gervais was that the Lakes were able to mount 75 positive yards against the Jets – a new high for a North Central opponent this year. “We were able to run the ball some, but not nearly like we are used to,” he said. “That was frustrating, but our guys hung in there.” Gervais added that he was pleased with the complete game his team gave on the gridiron despite a lopsided score. “We competed and we didn’t give up, and I would much rather play competition like this and learn,” he said. “A high competition like North Central is good for us. We want to get better.” The Lakes head to Crystal Falls next Saturday. Today’s breaking news and more in your inbox

Global Tech Players And The Wider Metaverse Community Gather – ZAWYA https://collincountynewsonline.com/global-tech-players-and-the-wider-metaverse-community-gather-zawya/ The Dubai Metaverse Assembly is organized by Dubai Future Foundation under the patronage of HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed on 28-29 September at the Museum of the Future and AREA 2071 The first-of-its-kind event hosts over 300 global experts and more than 40 organizations discussing, exploring and shaping the future of metaverse Over 25 renowned speakers from Meta, Binance, Mastercard, The Sandbox, Polygon, Bedu, PWC, Accenture, BCG Digital Ventures, Decentraland, Mastercard and more HE Omar Al Olama:  The Dubai Metaverse Assembly is a global platform convening technology experts and the wider metaverse community to map out opportunities and harness the potential of this promising virtual world Dubai: Dubai Metaverse Assembly will be organized by Dubai Future Foundation (DFF), under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Chairman of the Executive Council and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the DFF, on 28-29 September at the Museum of the Future and AREA 2071. The first-of-its-kind regional event will host 300 global experts and more than 40 organizations specialized in metaverse and virtual worlds applications. As one of the region’s largest specalised events, the flagship event will explore the digital economy and identify how governments, businesses and communities can unlock the unlimited potential of the metaverse to create a bolder future. More than 30 local and international leaders including international metaverse academics, designers, builders and specialists in virtual education, e-commerce, medicine, art, gaming, events, NFTs and other digital assets will speak at the two-day event. Additionally, the event will host speakers from renowned global organizations such as Meta, Binance, Mastercard, The Sandbox, Bedu, PWC, Accenture, BCG Digital Ventures, Decentraland, Mastercard among others. His Excellency Omar Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications, Deputy Managing Director of Dubai Future Foundation noted that the “Dubai Metaverse Assembly”, hosted in Dubai this week, serves as a global platform convening technology experts and the wider metaverse community from around the world to map out opportunities and harness the potential of this promising virtual world. His Excellency added: “The specialized event is a first for the region and a unique opportunity to exchange knowledge and ideas on the best solutions, projects and industries likely to benefit from the metaverse’s vast potential. Through this inaugural event, we highlight the extraordinary potential of this immersive world to accelerate economic growth, drive innovation and create a fundamentally better future for humanity.” Comprehensive Program More than 25 sessions, meetings, and workshops will take place across the Museum of the Future and AREA 2071 at Emirates Towers during the Dubai Metaverse Assembly. They will cover a broad gamut of topics: from building robust and scalable metaverse infrastructure to creating robust, business-friendly regulation and providing government services in the digital world. What major technology and private-sector companies should do to develop an industry that may exceed $30 trillion in 15 years will also be tackled when the world’s leading metaverse experts converge on Dubai. Ziad Traboulsi, Director, Business Engineering at Reality Labs at Meta, commented: “We are excited to participate in the Dubai Metaverse Assembly and look forward to discussing the metaverse amongst a highly engaged and tech savvy audience. Although nothing beats being together in person, when it is not possible, the metaverse will get us closer, because interactions in the metaverse will feel more like those we have in our daily lives. Along with others, we are building the metaverse to be something that billions can benefit from.” Keith Jordan, Vice President of Innovation at Mastercard Labs, Mastercard; a unique lab committed to delivering high-impact, customer-centric experiences said: “We look forward to welcoming leaders and futurists from across the globe as we explore the countless ways our realities will change as we enter the metaverse. Emerging worlds present limitless possibilities, and Mastercard is proud to drive the acceleration of these technologies as we support Dubai’s ambitions to become one of the world’s top 10 metaverse economies.” Mastercard Labs will host a dedicated session on how shopping, banking and gaming are shaping the metaverse and how these will live side-by-side with the physical world. Mark Zaleski, Managing Director and Partner at BCG Digital Ventures, the world’s leading business builder with a mission to invent, launch, and scale game-changing businesses, stated: “Dubai is globally recognized as a leading city of the future, and we see so much potential to unlock a wave of innovation and help businesses across the city embrace digital technology. The metaverse is at the heart of this digital transformation, and we’re excited by the opportunity to help businesses in Dubai leverage the virtual world to seize a competitive advantage. I’m delighted to join the conversation at this inaugural Dubai Metaverse Assembly Conference.”   Alex Chehade, Executive Director and General Manager of Binance MENA, said: “I am looking forward to connect with peers, metaverse experts and enthusiasts at the Dubai Metaverse Assembly, which will provide a fantastic forum to bring the regional and international metaverse community together and stimulate the debate around virtual ecosystems.” Alex added: “I am also keen to learn others’ points of view and share my own insights into the role that the decentralized world will play in the future of the digital economy. Regulation will substantially influence the possibilities of virtual worlds and their applications in the future, and therefore shaping stable, progressive regulatory frameworks is essential to build further trust and innovation in our industry and drive long-term growth.” Chehade concluded: “Binance remains committed to supporting and contributing to these objectives, and we see the Dubai Metaverse Assembly as an ideal platform to do so.” Sebastien Borget, COO & Co-Founder of The Sandbox, an open Metaverse which launched a Dubaiverse virtual neighborhood, said: “Our vision has always been to empower local creators and allow them to benefit from their creativity and monetize their times and skills the way they want. The Sandbox is progressively becoming a digital nation without frontiers needs to bring culturally rich and immersive experiences – and we are proud Dubai leads the way into this direction.” Sandeep Nailwal, Co-Founder, Polygon, the leading blockchain development platform, offering scalable, affordable, secure and sustainable blockchains for Web3 said: “At Polygon we are working to realize the true potential of web3 technology for millions of users. The tools being built today will improve quality of life for people around the world while ushering in a new technological and industrial digital era. We are building a Web3 future that promotes equality amongst users, fostering self-sovereignty and free expression to meaningfully advance the human experience with blockchain technology.” Abdelrahman Mohamed, Co-Founder MetaCon Global, a one-of-a-kind “metaverse into reality” pop culture convention, commented: “While the metaverse is still in its early days and we are yet to fully unfold its potential or predict the ultimate impact it will have, we already recognize that it holds great promise to unlock the biggest opportunities yet for modern business since the creation of the internet. In short, we are looking at the metaverse and web3 redefining the way in which people work, learn, socialize, and live. And so, we are proud to be standing at the helm, alongside DFF, on this pivotal journey of discovery and learning into web3. In line with the vision of our leaders, the Dubai Metaverse Assembly is the perfect platform to foster effective public and private partnerships and real-life collaborations to address some of the most critical challenges and innovate a more sustainable future for all.” David Clark-Joseph, Vice President of Investments at Pixelynx, the music metaverse gaming platform founded by groundbreaking electronic musicians and technology visionaries, said: “The Dubai Metaverse Assembly, organized by the DFF, brings together the innovators that will articulate our communal vision for the metaverse. This will be a foundational aspect of the future and together we are building that foundation. We approach this vision of the future with a focus on music and experience – the potential for music to evolve in the metaverse can’t be understated and Dubai can be central in these developments.” Catherine Zhou, Global Head of Ventures, Digital Partnerships and Innovation, HSBC, said: “The Metaverse and Web 3 technologies, such as blockchain, tokenization and smart contracts, have the potential to transform how financial services organizations interact with customers, as well as driving the development of new products and services. The Dubai Metaverse Assembly provides an essential forum for many different types of organizations to discuss how to unleash this new era of innovation, including working with governments and regulators to make it safe for consumers.” Samuel Hamilton, Creative Director of Decentraland, said: “We are excited to be at the Dubai Metaverse Assembly, where we’ll be representing the decentralized developers and engineers who are building the open metaverse as we speak. This event will enable all voices to be adequately represented, and we believe it will also be a great opportunity to coordinate and collaborate...