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Dallas Cop Running For Texas House Faced Nine Brutality Investigations Early In Career – The Dallas Morning News https://collincountynewsonline.com/dallas-cop-running-for-texas-house-faced-nine-brutality-investigations-early-in-career-the-dallas-morning-news/ Frederick Frazier, a Dallas police officer endorsed by Donald Trump for a North Texas House seat, has condemned district attorneys’ efforts to prosecute cops for aggression toward George Floyd protesters. Newly released internal affairs records show Frazier himself avoided penalties after allegations of abuse early in his career. The 26-year veteran was investigated nine times during his first decade on the force for unnecessary violence after traffic stops or during other assignments, according to the documents obtained by The Dallas Morning News. None of the inquiries led to prosecution or punishment. Police released most of the documents last week after reporters filed open-record requests in August. The News has been investigating Dallas officers’ use of force since historic protests in 2020. In November 2000, five people said they saw Frazier tackle and beat a Black man after a foot chase. The man, Demarqus Alexander, said the officer called him the N-word and struck him in the head, back and ribs. Frazier denied the accusations. The internal affairs division substantiated the abuse. But Frazier’s supervisors and the city manager’s office declined to punish him after he appealed, suggesting Alexander was “race baiting’’ and coaching witnesses. In Frazier’s eight other brutality cases — at least six of the people were Black or Latino — investigators concluded there was not enough evidence to determine he used inappropriate force. The documents shed new light on the record of the McKinney Republican who was indicted in June by a grand jury. He faces a felony charge for allegedly posing as a code compliance officer in Collin County. Frazier campaign consultant Craig Murphy said the focus should be on the candidate’s award-winning law enforcement record. And Frazier’s lawyer said he has saved lives. “This is a man who was at the tip of the spear in fighting drug crime for the department,’’ Murphy said. “And he was cleared in these cases.’’ He noted that the investigator in the Alexander case left the department under a cloud last year. In another case, the whistleblower was fired years later following allegations he took a bribe. The cases renew questions about patterns of leniency for Dallas officers accused of abusing people of color. This summer, officials quietly cleared Sgt. Roger Rudloff of using excessive force against a Latina protester during the George Floyd protests, despite photographs capturing his violence. It was the 19th time Rudloff had escaped punishment for complaints of abusive behavior, racial profiling and other misconduct toward minorities. “These patterns are concerning,’’ said Brandon Friedman, a member of the Community Police Oversight Board. “And it’s a poor reflection on DPD that it keeps Frazier and other officers with these records on its payroll. It doesn’t inspire faith in police and opens the door to serious questions.’’ Dallas police officials placed Frazier, 51, on administrative leave shortly after his June indictment. The charges stem from a Texas Department of Public Safety investigation into allegations Frazier impersonated a compliance officer to try to force removal of his opponent’s campaign signs near a store. The candidate’s lawyer has said that Frazier did nothing wrong and looks forward to his day in court. Frazier is running against Democrat Sheena King for the House seat on Nov. 8. Rookie years In the five years after Frazier joined the department in 1995 working patrol and other jobs, he won at least 27 commendations for quick responses to calls, assisting other officers and displaying leadership, personnel records show. Frazier was one of a dozen officers in the Southwest Patrol Division awarded the prestigious certificate of merit for making 85 felony drug arrests. Some problems surfaced, too. In the summer of 1997, Frazier’s supervisors found he improperly reported his overtime. On another occasion, they found he lied to one of his sergeants so he could leave work early, on a day busy with calls. He received counseling and a written admonishment for the policy violations, internal affairs records show. Beginning in November 1997, Frazier was investigated for three complaints of excessive force in eleven months. Detectives opened one of the cases after another cop, Frank Hasty, reported seeing Frazier assault a Black man in a yard following a traffic stop and foot chase in Oak Cliff. Frazier has been charged in Collin County with impersonating a public servant.(Richardson Police Department) Hasty said he witnessed Frazier and several officers standing around the man, Mark White, who was lying on the ground after being maced. He said Frazier put his foot on the prisoner’s groin and called him a “mother f—-r.” White later told an investigator he had been kicked by several officers — in the shoulders, stomach, arm and leg before he was handcuffed. He said he could not identify the cops because he was on the ground, blinded by mace. He did not recall a slur. White said that after he was placed in a squad car, Frazier hit him in the jaw with his elbow, according to the investigator’s report. White said he asked another officer whether he saw the blow. The officer’s only response was: You should “buy Officer Frazier a six-pack,” the report said. Frazier denied assaulting White. He acknowledged standing next to White in the yard, but did not step on him. He said his only remark was: “You shouldn’t have ran.” Officers who were at or near the scene denied they kicked White, records show. The officers also said they did not witness Frazier step on White, use profanity or strike him in the patrol car. One officer acknowledged that he threw a can of mace at White, but said the can did not hit him. The case against Frazier was ruled inconclusive. The report mentioned that White was treated for heat exhaustion. But an apparent description of his injuries was blacked out in the report. The News could not reach White for comment. Six years later, the department conducted a sting operation on Hasty, the whistleblower, finding that he took a bribe from an informant in an unrelated case. “He’s beating him” Frazier faced the accusation of beating Alexander and using racial slurs in November 2000. That incident also took place after a foot chase. Five witnesses said they saw Frazier on top of Alexander delivering blows. That day, Frazier was among several officers assisting a narcotics squad in making stops of suspected drug users, according to documents. They pulled over Alexander’s car near Kingsley and Lancaster roads after narcotics officers alerted them that Alexander had left a drug house under surveillance. According to Alexander’s statement, three officers pulled him from his car and slammed him against the hood. One called him the N-word, he said. Frightened, he broke away and ran toward people he saw in front of nearby homes. Frazier tackled him on a lawn face down, and handcuffed him. That’s when the blows came to his head, back and ribs, Alexander told investigators. From across the street, a woman screamed. “He’s beating him, that’s not right! He’s on the ground, he’s not fighting back,’’ according to her affidavit. Other witnesses signed statements saying they saw Frazier strike him after he had been handcuffed. None said they heard a slur. A man who later watched officers place Alexander in a squad car said he heard the N-word. He did not describe or identify the officer in his statement. Frazier told investigators he struck Alexander three times with his palms to get control of him and handcuff him. He never struck Alexander after he was cuffed or used any slur, Frazier said. Internal affairs sided with witnesses and substantiated the physical abuse. Detectives did not finalize the inquiry until 14 months later, in January 2002. Frazier received a reprimand. His lawyers insisted that was excessive. In a statement at the time, Frazier said Alexander falsely portrayed him as being racially motivated. His supervisors, including a sergeant who later headed up a Black police association, sided with him. They pointed out contradictions in witness accounts, questioning for example, how one person could hear blows but not slurs. The supervisors also suggested Alexander coached some of the witnesses because detectives said he had talked with some of them after the incident. The city manager’s office withdrew the reprimand and said there was not enough evidence to sustain the allegation. Frazier received a written admonishment for not reporting his location at the scene. It is not clear from the records whether internal affairs officials defended their finding of abuse. The documents also do not reflect whether prosecutors were asked to review the witnesses’ allegations. This week, Frazier’s campaign questioned the credibility of the investigator who handled the case 22 years ago, pointing to how he left the department last year. The officer, Major Vincent Weddington, retired after investigators found he allegedly tampered with documents in a 2019 homicide case. Over the next four years Frazier was investigated four more times for allegedly using excessive force. In a 2005 case, Frazier was among nine cops investigated over a Latino man’s accusation that he was beaten when Dallas officers assisted immigration and customs officers in a raid. The man could not identify the officers. Frazier denied involvement and detectives said there was no evidence he harmed the man. Political career Over the past 15 years, Frazier worked multiple assignments in the department’s criminal intelligence unit while partnering with federal marshals to capture fugitives, records s...

Travel: A Trip To The Canadian Rockies Will Elevate Your Senses – OCRegister https://collincountynewsonline.com/travel-a-trip-to-the-canadian-rockies-will-elevate-your-senses-ocregister/ O Canada. A day after eyeing Banff’s notorious Merman Monster, I’m confronting higher frights. Yes, that’s adrenalin-amped me gingerly tiptoeing along the glass-floored U-shaped Columbia Icefield Skywalk that juts out from a cliff and thrillingly hangs 918 (see-through!) feet above a glacier-gouged valley in Jasper National Park. Let me emphasize how ultra-freaky it is to peer down at your shoes, seemingly suspended in midair and attached to your cantilevered body. Far below, a waterfall, pine trees and river look like miniature land. Tourists stand, sit and even lie down on the glass-floored Columbia Icefield Skywalk, dangling 918 feet above a valley in Jasper National Park. (Photo by Norma Meyer) Clearly my trip to the Canadian Rockies rocked. Among other adventures, my husband and I journeyed on an “Ice Explorer” snow coach to stroll atop the ancient Athabasca Glacier, pedaled e-bikes to a trading post where a pet black bear named Teddy once waved to tourists, and sampled local beers aboard a boat sailing over a sunken ghost town. But no, we didn’t try a landmark eatery’s distinctive dish — rattlesnake fondue. Lake Louise is one of Banff National Park’s gems. Its brilliant color is from light reflecting off sediment deposited by melting glaciers. (Photo by Norma Meyer) We spent most of our mid-September visit in deliriously beautiful Banff National Park, with jaunts into Yoho and Jasper national parks, all three part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and boasting Canada’s iconic splashy eco-celebrities: the wildly bright aqua-blue and emerald-bedazzled alpine lakes. Scientifically, the stunning colors occur when light reflects off glacier-pulverized rock particles in the water. Although I swear someone drained the basins and poured in glossy Sherwin-Williams paint. World-famous, teal-toned Lake Louise is regally staggering (and named after Queen Victoria’s daughter). Better yet, climb the short Rockpile Trail to stare open-mouthed at the crazily intensely turquoise Moraine Lake, fringed by jagged pinnacles of Valley of the Ten Peaks. This literally is the money shot. Dubbed the “Twenty Dollar View,” the scene formerly appeared on the back of Canadian $20 bills. Jewel-hued Emerald Lake, in Yoho National Park, was discovered and named by a mountain guide in 1882. (Photo by Norma Meyer) Banff is Canada’s first national park, founded in 1885, spread over 2,564 square miles, and a hypnotic vacation haven since the late 19th century. What’s cool is you can commune here with nature in unique ways without breaking much of a sweat (unless you’re acrophobic). For starters, the Banff Gondola soars passengers in four-person cars during a breathtaking eight-minute ascent to lofty 7,486-foot-tall Sulphur Mountain. At the summit, there’s an expansive four-story Above Banff interpretive center ringed by six mountain ranges and featuring educational displays (everything from info on Banff pioneers to molds of wildlife scat), two restaurants with sweeping vistas, and a 360-degree rooftop observation deck with lounge chairs and fire pits. On the ground level, a long boardwalk leads to the defunct site of the bizarre Cosmic Ray Station, erected in the 1950s to detect high-energy particles from outer space. A sign with oversized letters welcomes visitors to the resort town of Banff in Canada’s Rocky Mountains. (Photo by Norma Meyer) Speaking of UFOs. The best summit seat may be inside the Sky Bistro, where patrons dine next to floor-to-ceiling windows as the sunset casts an otherworldly flaming red-pinkish-purple “alpenglow” over the Rockies. Savor it while quaffing a similarly hued Alpen Glow cocktail (made with Wildlife Adventure-label gin from this neck of the woods). Foodie alert: I had a delish vegetarian orange-and-cardamon endive entrée, my husband devoured braised short ribs, and our forks battled over an apple pie pastry garnished with cheddar cheese gelato. Then, whoosh, a descending gondola zipped us back down Sulphur Mountain to earth. These boats take tourists on beer voyages or regular cruises around history-rich Lake Minnewanka in Banff National Park. (Photo by Norma Meyer) The next day, we tasted local craft brews aboard the Beer Voyage Cruise on azure Lake Minnewanka, aka “Water of the Spirits” to the original indigenous people and “Devil’s Lake” to early Europeans who believed a terrifying beast lurked there. Our exuberant guide Gary dispensed a boatload of Banff lore, in between shouting “3-2-1, cheers!” as we 12 passengers simultaneously popped open cans of Trail Session IPA and Babe Blueberry Vanilla Ale. The Merman Monster, apparently a fake conglomeration of who-knows-what, has been a tourist lure at the Banff Trading Post since the early 1900s. (Photo by Norma Meyer) Gary enlightened us about Norman Luxton, a legendary entrepreneur and newspaperman who hyped Banff tourism starting around 1903 and owned so many businesses in town he was called “Mr. Banff.” To entice more curious visitors to cruise this lake, Gary said Luxton “came up with a half-man, half-fish monster” known as the Merman and sporting scales, fins and clawed arms. One story has Luxton buying the fake mummified creature in Japan for $283. After it was “captured,” Luxton put the Merman on display in his Banff Trading Post store, where it has creepily remained for more than 100 years. Shoppers will find the glass-encased decrepit mutant near the “I met the Merman” souvenir tees. Just outside downtown Banff, the Bow River Trail, leading to Bow Falls, is a scenic path to bike and walk. (Photo by Norma Meyer) Gary also noted that if we were scuba diving under our boat — instead of slurping Banff-fermented Black Pil and gnawing complimentary warm pretzel buns —  we’d be inspecting the submerged Minnewanka Landing resort village. Initially established in 1886, the lakeside summer getaway once thrived with hotels, restaurants, avenues, cottages and sailing tours. In 1941, it was flooded when a new dam was built to provide hydroelectric power. Recreational divers can still see haunting remains of the sunken town, preserved by frigid waters and including hotel foundations, wood stoves, sidewalks, a picket fence and wharf. Zipping over tree tops, the Banff Gondola first opened in 1959 as a tourist attraction and has been hugely popular ever since. (Photo by Norma Meyer) Planning-wise, here’s what makes our Rockies’ trip so easy: Almost every activity (gondola, beer cruise, Skywalk) plus our lodging, tours and transportation (including shuttles from and to Alberta’s Calgary airport) are operated by the Pursuit Collection. You can devise your own personalized, independent, car-free itinerary by piecing together various deals and combo packages on Pursuit’s website (banffjaspercollection.com). Their Brewster Sightseeing excursions date way back — in 1892, the Brewster brothers, ages 10 and 12, first led tourists on an outing into Banff’s wilderness. Recreating the past, Brewster’s Open Top Touring now ferries passengers to scenic overlooks in vintage 1930s-style vehicles with drivers-guides dressed in period clothes, and among tidbits, pointing out where Marilyn Monroe rode a chairlift. (Due to winter weather, except for the gondola, most tours and attractions are open May through early October.) The guests-only lobby of the Glacier View Hotel offers a gorgeous glacial and mountain landscape, a stone’s throw away. (Photo by Norma Meyer) One afternoon a Brewster bus picked us up at our contemporary Elk + Avenue Hotel in downtown Banff and drove three hours, mostly on the two-lane incredibly picturesque Icefields Parkway, to the middle of nowhere near the Athabasca Glacier. The only lodging is the 32-room chalet-chic Glacier View Hotel, the sole glacier-view auberge in Canada. You’ll melt. We walked into the cozy private lobby, were handed signature welcome glacier-blue cocktails, and gazed through the cathedral ceiling window at a spectacular panorama of ice fields and snowy chiseled Rockies — right across the street. We ate up the same view from the onsite Altitude restaurant and our room. In Jasper National Park, a tour takes guests to the Athabasca Glacier, part of the Columbia Icefield that spans 125 square miles. (Photo by Norma Meyer) In the morning, a mega all-terrain Ice Explorer brought visitors out to the Athabasca Glacier, one of six glaciers comprising the massive Columbia Icefield, formed some 240,000 years ago. Our driver talked about climate change, and then we had about a half-hour to amble atop a thick frozen plain of the sprawling but shrinking glacier. It’s humbling and extraordinary to be on this pristine natural wonder; upsetting to consider its future. The glass-bottomed Columbia Icefield Skywalk is bolted to a cliff in Jasper National Park. It will elevate your senses. (Photo by Norma Meyer) After the Icefield experience, a bus shuttled us to the glass Skywalk, bolted to a craggy bluff, perched above the gaping Sunwapta Valley and facing white-powdered peaks. As I tottered along, trying not to imagine free falling, an elderly mauve-haired British woman hollered to me, “I can’t stop smiling!” Banff’s main avenue, lined with shops, restaurants and hotels, is a lively pedestrian zone during the summer and early fall. (Photo by Norma Meyer) Back in downtown Banff, we rented cycles from Black Diamond Bikes and began an idyllic ride, first along the forested path beside brilliant blue Bow River. Banff is a charming hamlet, its main avenue bookended by majestic towering Cascade Mountain and the flowering terraced Cascades of Time Garden. Between souvenir outlets, The Fudgery sells chocolate “bear paws” with cashew nut “claws.” The rustic half-century-old Grizzly House serves its viper fare, rattlesnake fondue, which customers c...

RMIT Supercomputer Fast-Tracking Research Has Opened For Business – Tech Business News https://collincountynewsonline.com/rmit-supercomputer-fast-tracking-research-has-opened-for-business-tech-business-news/ Researchers at RMIT University are using the AWS Cloud Supercomputing facility, RACE, which opened in July this year, to develop battery technology, photonics, and geospatial science. Australia’s first university cloud supercomputing facility allows researchers to test new ideas and solutions up to 80 times faster than existing on-premises servers offically opened to industry partners on Wednesday night RACE provides fast, secure, and private connections, powered by Amazon Web Services and AARNet—ideal for higher-speed workloads that require fewer delays than the internet. RACE Director Dr Robert Shen says researchers, students, and industry partners will be able to fast-track the time it takes to turn initial ideas into products, thanks to the increased bandwidth. ­­“RACE will enable researchers to test out ideas and solutions up to 80 times faster compared to the existing on-premises servers”  “Research typically involves many failures before success: this facility lets researchers fail quickly so they can fine-tune their solutions and improve them,” says Shen AWS Chief Technologist for Australia and New Zealand, Simon Elisha says high performance computing is key to solving complex problems across many industries. “Using AWS, RMIT can securely deliver advanced computer performance, memory capacity, and scalability.”  “AWS’s portfolio of cloud services allows researchers at RMIT to focus on ground-breaking research, across a broad range of sectors, and innovate faster,” says Elisha. AARNet CEO Chris Hancock says the high-speed internet and communication services provided for RACE were designed to service both current and future demand. “AARNet has deployed a high-capacity network for RACE that scales up to 400Gbps to provide RMIT researchers with enough headroom to transfer massive amounts of data to AWS on demand now and in the future,” says Hancock New service makes a difference for the RMIT research groups  A team led by Professor Matt Duckham is applying computing power to design automated methods to locate a person based on a verbal description of their surroundings. This approach may be particularly valuable in emergencies if satellite positioning is unavailable. Duckham say his team now has the ability to process massive information streams including drone imagery, satellite data, data from sensor networks and crowd-sourced data that could overwhelm conventional computing facilities. “Enabling us to analyse these huge volumes of data from new sources can help better inform evidence-based policy decisions to improve public transport, traffic, infrastructure and many other aspects of quality of life,” says Duckham. Professor Michelle Spencer has used it to analyse data and communicate a new ultra-fast screening method for hundreds of potential electrolytes for lithium-metal batteries, which could potentially increase storage capacity by 10-fold, for lithium-metal batteries. “We are using RACE to analyse our data and produce high-resolution animations that help us to interpret our data and communicate our research findings,” says Spencer Associate Professor Thach Nguyen and the team at the Integrated Photonics and Applications Centre rely heavily on high performance computing to design fingernail-sized photonic chips that can be plugged into optical fibre networks to make the internet faster or medical diagnostic tools to track cancer cell spread in real time. “Direct access to RACE means that when designing and simulating brain-like chips or creating a chip which could break the record for the world’s fastest internet, the team can run multiple processes at once with computing capability that expands and scales as needed.” “RACE has provided our team with on-demand computing power anywhere, anytime to simulate our photonic chips at 10 times faster than was previously possible.” says Nguyen The research opens the doors to new opportunities including: The design of chips that could make internet faster,  Help drones more accurately inspect railway infrastructure Build handheld devices to detect ovarian cancer more accurately.  The Victorian Government has provided financial backing for RACE through the Victorian Higher Education State Investment Fund, establishing it as a critical resource for advanced data processing in universities and industry. Now officially open, researchers and educators can now participate in RACE to advance digital innovation in research and education. Editorial Team The TBN team is a well establish group of technology industry professionals with backgrounds in IT Systems, Business Communications and Journalism.

Help Me, Hillsborough – Hillsborough County https://collincountynewsonline.com/help-me-hillsborough-hillsborough-county/ I Want To… Register Animals, Permits, Water…

Premier League News Live Updates: Tables, Fixtures, Team News, Midweek Football Reaction And Build-Up – The Athletic https://collincountynewsonline.com/premier-league-news-live-updates-tables-fixtures-team-news-midweek-football-reaction-and-build-up-the-athletic/ October 20, 2022 at 12:49 PM EDT Ronaldo made to train alone Cristiano Ronaldo will be separated from the Manchester United first-team as Erik ten Hag deals with his refusal to come on as a substitute during his side’s win over Tottenham Hotspur. The Athletic revealed that the Portugal international left the ground early, before the final whistle, earlier on Thursday. It has now emerged that he refused to come on as a substitute and it is now expected that he will be made to train alone. Read more here. Luke Brown· Managing Editor, News October 20, 2022 at 10:20 AM EDT Fred: Spurs win a high point Manchester United midfielder Fred has suggested the club’s impressive 2-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur was the highpoint of their season so far. Fred scored the opening goal of the game after Ben Davies deflected his effort beyond Hugo Lloris, with Bruno Fernandes making sure of the three points late on. “It was a big game and very important for me, a collective game which was very important for our team,” he said. “When I missed the ball we recovered it quickly so it worked well. “We did a good pressing and we built a result with all the hard work that we’ve done. It’s a collective result and a very important one. “A very good performance. Our team worked hard for this during the season. “We are adapting with the new coach, the pre-season and now starting the season, game after game. So we talk in the changing room, we help each other. “(Against Spurs) we started very concentrated since the first minute until the end, and we got a big game and result.” Luke Brown· Managing Editor, News October 20, 2022 at 9:25 AM EDT Brentford Women to make history by playing at the Gtech Community for first time Brentford Women will make history by playing at the Gtech Community Stadium for the first time on Sunday, November 13. They will face Watford Ladies Development in a London South East Regional Women’s Football League Division One North match and kick-off will be at 3pm. All of the tickets for the game are free and supporters can claim up to six each as the club hope to break their record attendance of 1,010 which they set in March during a 7-2 victory over Sport London e Benfica at Bedfont Sports club. Jon Varney, Brentford’s chief executive, says they want to put “more focus” on the women’s teams. “Playing at the Gtech Community Stadium will be an amazing experience for the team and a great way to show how important they are to the Club,” Varney said. “We want our women’s teams to continue to grow and progress and I believe an opportunity like this is a great way to help them do that.” Brentford women’s first-team manager Karleigh Osborne added that it will be “a massive occasion.” “It’s great that the Club are fully behind us and are pushing our team to be playing at the highest possible level,” he said. “We’ve had some great experiences playing for Brentford already, including playing at Griffin Park and having more than 1,000 supporters down at Bedfont Sports Club last season but this game takes us to another level and will help us to retain our players and give them the support they need for future success.” Anthony Hay· EPL Staff Editor October 20, 2022 at 9:22 AM EDT West Ham charged for breach of FA rules The Football Association has charged West Ham for failing to ensure their players conducted themselves in an orderly fashion during their 1-1 draw with Southampton. West Ham’s players protested as referee Peter Bankes appeared to impede Jarrod Bowen ahead of Romain Perraud’s opener at St Mary’s. They have until Monday to reply to the charge. Anthony Hay· EPL Staff Editor October 20, 2022 at 8:58 AM EDT West Ham report ‘racist abuse’ directed at Hawa Cissoko to police after Aston Villa altercation West Ham United have reported a “number of racist and abusive messages” directed at Hawa Cissoko to the police following the club’s 2-1 Women’s Super League victory over Aston Villa. West Ham defender Cissoko, 25, was sent off late on following an altercation with Villa’s Sarah Mayling on Saturday. Later that day, Cissoko posted a message on Twitter saying: “It’s lucky that not much affects me! Because some nonsense and (very aggressive) insults are flying around! It makes you want to kill yourself!” Charlotte Harpur· Junior Editor, News GO FURTHER West Ham report ‘racist abuse’ directed at Hawa Cissoko to police after Aston Villa altercation October 20, 2022 at 7:19 AM EDT No Manchester United pressure to select Cristiano Ronaldo — Mike Phelan Former Manchester United assistant manager Mike Phelan has said that he never felt any pressure from the club to select Cristiano Ronaldo during his time at Old Trafford. Phelan, 60, returned to Manchester United in 2019 to work as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s assistant. Both men were at the club when Ronaldo was signed from Juventus in August 2021. Ronaldo was a regular in Manchester United’s starting XI under Solskjaer and Phelan, with the Portugal international appearing in all nine of the club’s Premier League matches between his return to Old Trafford and Solskjaer’s dismissal. Anthony Hay· EPL Staff Editor GO FURTHER No Manchester United pressure to select Cristiano Ronaldo — Mike Phelan October 20, 2022 at 6:46 AM EDT QPR manager Michael Beale turns down Wolves approach Queens Park Rangers manager Michael Beale has turned down the opportunity to move to Wolverhampton Wanderers. The Athletic revealed on Wednesday that Wolves had identified Beale as their number one target to replace Bruno Lage. Talks between Wolves and Beale were scheduled for Thursday, after QPR’s impressive 3-0 victory over Cardiff City on Wednesday night. David Ornstein· Football Writer GO FURTHER Wolves make approach for QPR boss Michael Beale over head coach role October 20, 2022 at 5:26 AM EDT Wolves make approach for QPR boss Michael Beale over head coach role Wolves have made an official approach to speak to QPR boss Michael Beale over their head coach vacancy. The Athletic reported on Wednesday that Wolves had made Beale their top target to replace Bruno Lage. Beale is understood to have a release clause in his contract and contact has now been made between the clubs. Steve Madeley· West Bromwich Albion Staff Writer GO FURTHER Wolves make approach for QPR boss Michael Beale over head coach role October 20, 2022 at 4:49 AM EDT Doncaster Rovers appoint Danny Schofield League Two side Doncaster Rovers have appointed Danny Schofield as their new manager. Schofield, 42, was named Huddersfield Town manager at the start of the season but was sacked after just nine games. He replaces Gary McSheffrey at the Keepmoat Stadium. Doncaster are 12th in England’s fourth tier having won six, drawn three and lost five of their 14 league games. Anthony Hay· EPL Staff Editor October 20, 2022 at 4:13 AM EDT Brighton to tour US ahead of 2023-24 season Brighton’s pre-season preparations for 2023-24 will include a US tour. They are keen to be involved in a mini-tournament next summer which will involve several Premier League clubs, as revealed by The Athletic’s David Ornstein on Monday. If they don’t get an invite, Brighton will still go to the US as part of plans to broaden the club’s appeal. Their main sponsors are American Express, their kit suppliers are Nike and they have a partnership with Seacoast United, an amalgamation of community clubs in New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Maine. Andy Naylor· Brighton & Hove Albion Correspondent October 20, 2022 at 3:15 AM EDT Cristiano Ronaldo left Old Trafford before final whistle after being unused substitute in Manchester United win Cristiano Ronaldo left Old Trafford before the final whistle after being an unused substitute in Manchester United’s 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur. Ronaldo watched from the bench on Wednesday evening as his United team-mates defeated Antonio Conte’s side, thanks to goals by Fred and Bruno Fernandes. The Portugal international walked down the tunnel before the full-time whistle but also left the stadium rather than heading to the dressing room. Laurie Whitwell· Manchester United Correspondent GO FURTHER Cristiano Ronaldo left Old Trafford before final whistle after being unused substitute in Manchester United win October 20, 2022 at 2:53 AM EDT ICYMI – Erik ten Hag to ‘deal with’ Cristiano Ronaldo after early exit down tunnel Erik ten Hag says he will “deal with” Cristiano Ronaldo after his early exit in Manchester United’s 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur. Ronaldo was an unused substitute as his United team-mates swept aside Antonio Conte’s side on Wednesday night, thanks to goals from Fred and Bruno Fernandes. The Portugal international walked down the tunnel before the full-time whistle after failing to make it onto the pitch. Asked about Ronaldo’s hasty exit, Erik ten Hag told Amazon: “I have seen him (leaving), I didn’t speak to him after. I will deal with that tomorrow.” The Dutchman added in his press conference: “I want to get focus on this team, it was a magnificent performance from all 11 players. I have to correct myself, it was a performance (also from) the subs who came on. A squad performance.” Anthony Hay· EPL Staff Editor GO FURTHER Erik ten Hag to ‘deal with’ Cristiano Ronaldo after early exit down tunnel October 20, 2022 at 2:33 AM EDT Good morning Stay tuned for the reaction to last night’s games as Manchester United defeated top-four rivals Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool overcame West Ham thanks to a goal by Darwin Nunez. Here are last night’s results: Bournemouth 0-1 Southampton Brentford 0-0 Chelsea Liverpool 1-0 West Ham Newcastle 1-0 Everton Manchester ...

Communicator’s Guide To Messaging Around The Metaverse – Axios https://collincountynewsonline.com/communicators-guide-to-messaging-around-the-metaverse-axios/ The making of Accenture’s employee training sessions in the metaverse. Photo: Accenture Accenture CEO Julie Sweet made waves when she banned the corporate memo. Now she’s communicating with her employees in the metaverse. Why it matters: By 2024, the metaverse could be an $800 billion opportunity — and embracing this new channel of communication could be key to remaining competitive and relevant. Zoom in: Accenture immediately establishes its company culture by including virtual reality headsets in each new hire’s welcome bag. From there, employees are onboarded and trained at Accenture’s virtual office. The idea is rooted in learning science, which shows that immersive learning — like training sessions in the metaverse — increases retention by more than 75%. However, it does take some getting used to. Most Accenture employees need an average of five visits before feeling comfortable enough to embrace the experience. But the consulting firm is leaning in and recently launched an entire business group focused on the metaverse. State of play: Jensen Huang, president and CEO of the software company Nvidia, says there’s a case for conducting manufacturing and logistics simulations in the metaverse too, telling CNBC it could reduce waste and save billions of dollars. BMW plans to create digital twins of all global plants by 2023 and Airbus is selling custom luxury jets using VR headsets. Zoom out: Alex Herrity, co-founder of the augmented reality platform Anima, thinks forcing the metaverse into the workplace could taint some users’ experiences. “The way the metaverse emerges is by starting with fun,” he told Axios. “There’s a reason why people often point to video games as the blueprint for what this more integrated, digital-physical life could look like — and I think starting with work is likely to get people to reject it fully.” State of play: Brands are keeping it fun by offering unique experiences like Nikeland, OKCupid’s Gay Pride parade, Degree Deodorant’s “metathon” — a virtual marathon created for people with disabilities— or the upcoming metaverse music festival featuring Ozzy Osbourne. Get smart: While the business case for the metaverse is compelling, coherently explaining it to investors, employees and consumers is a major hurdle. By the numbers: 60% of U.S. adults can’t define the metaverse, according to a 2022 Axios|Momentive poll. However, tech experts say it’s coming, whether or not it’s understood. Pew Research Center and Elon University’s Imagining the Internet Center found that 54% of experts expect the metaverse to be a “fully-immersive, well-functioning aspect of daily life” by 2040. And users in emerging countries are most excited about this technology, the World Economic Forum found. More than two-thirds of people in China, India, Peru, Saudi Arabia and Colombia say they feel positive about engaging in the metaverse, compared to less than one-third in Japan, Great Britain, Belgium, Canada, France and Germany. In plain language, the metaverse is “an interactive, 3D version of today’s internet, where people can travel through virtual spaces,” says Axios chief technology correspondent Ina Fried. Yes, but: There are some things to consider before pitching metaverse experiences to your boss, colleagues or clients. It’s still not a thing. The metaverse as it exists now is still very decentralized, with different hosts — like Meta, Epic Games and Decentraland. The concept of an interconnected virtual world is cool, but it’s still very much a concept. We’ve (kind of ) seen this fad before. Second Life was the virtual world du jour in the early 2000s and brands like Adidas, Dell and Circuit City paid big bucks to have a presence across the platform. While Second Life still has about 1 million users, it lacks the major tech backing that the metaverse has. Meta’s issues. The most vocal backer, Meta, is getting a lukewarm reception in the virtual world. According to The Wall Street Journal, only 200,000 users are visiting Horizon Worlds on a monthly basis and “only 9% of worlds built by creators are ever visited by at least 50 people. … Most are never visited at all.” Horizon Worlds is currently “on ‘lockdown,’ meaning it is pausing the launch of new features until it improves the current user experience,” the Journal reports. The digital divide could grow deeper, leaving more people behind. “In the U.S., there are 47 million people that are offline and 18 million households have access to internet but can’t afford it,” says Karen Baker, president of Boathouse. “And communities of color are impacted the most.” And yet, according to a Morning Consult study, most Black and Hispanic adults (52%) are interested in entering the metaverse — far ahead of the 34% of white adults who said the same. Privacy concerns. Because of its decentralized nature, regulations around online safety and data collection are implemented and enforced on an ad hoc basis. The bottom line: There’s a lot of hype around the metaverse, but before diving in head first, it’s up to communicators to better understand how this new channel can help leaders, employers and brands better connect with stakeholders in a productive way. Subscribe to Axios Communicators.

According To TikTok, Amazon Is Officially The “It Girl” Of Retail – Essence https://collincountynewsonline.com/according-to-tiktok-amazon-is-officially-the-it-girl-of-retail-essence/ The online commerce hub has now turned into an ultra lifestyle market to find everything from cool gadgets for your home, to luxury fashion. If you’ve been scrolling through TikTok, you’ve most likely come across a few Amazon try-on hauls that had you zoom into the shopping site and fill up your cart. The online commerce hub has now turned into an ultra lifestyle market to find cool gadgets for your home and closet.  Before the influx of viral videos of “Amazon Fashion Finds” garnered a whopping 58.6 million views, the idea of breaking retail boundaries has been planned since 2006 after Amazon acquired Shopbop and Zappos in 2009. Nine years later, Amazon Fashion launched in 2018, accounting for $30 billion of the fashion industry’s $390 billion in the US market, surpassing Target and Walmart for the leading spot in online fashion.  Sergio Hudson Collection 10 — Image by Iker Aldama It’s a genius strategy to be a one-stop marketplace for all our favorite brands and styles. Instead of numerous pages on Google Chrome to do your shopping, Amazon holds almost every brand you can think of, from Nike to Calvin Klein, and reportedly plans on expanding to feature 12 luxury labels, possibly from the LVMH mega-corp. Currently, under their Luxury Stores vertical launched in 2020, Amazon is offering “pre-loved” items, including Louis Vuitton, Dior, and Chanel from the third-party resell brand What Goes Around Comes Around, as well as in season Sergio Hudson and Theophilio.  Courtesy of Theophilo Christian Cody Although you can shop for established brands, it’s the emerging ones that are currently getting a lot of traction. Most of the clothes we see on influencers are trendy pieces that have better quality than Shein, Pretty Little Thing, or Fashion Nova, cheaper dupes of the pricey real thing, and athleisure/loungewear gear. A few pieces getting a lot of attention are the “BBL Jacket”’ $16 compared to Lulumelon’s $118, the parachute pants $18 compared to Jaded London’s $93, and of course, the slim maxi dress, $11 compared to Skim’s $78. Thanks to the Amazon Storefront feature, it’s made it easier to bridge the gap from influencer to consumer to purchase the exact garment shown in TikTok without having to search through pages of products. Each item is shipped from nameless brands, similar to the Aliexpress model, yet, have issued a takeover to our wardrobe. So far, and shockingly, Amazon Fashion holds the number one spot as the most purchased category.  Earlier this year, the mega-conglomerate opened its first brick-and-mortar at The Americana at Brand Ball in Los Angeles, California, and recently Columbus, Ohio. Amazon Style follows its three grocery stores, Amazon Go, Amazon Fresh, and Whole Foods, as its fourth physical market. The retail does offer brands like Levi’s and Steve Madden, and it’s a traditional tech-savvy shopping experience with customers using QR codes as a virtual cart while employees gather apparel to try on on check out and can pay with a physical card or online account.  Also if you factor in Amazon’s investment in fostering the next global design talent through its reality competition series, Making The Cut, and the Making The Cut store, Amazon is determined to hold space in the fashion online marketplace sector. With an influx of brands and physical locations joining the market’s strategy, it’s safe to say they’ll play a big part in the way we see fashion in the future.

This Crypto Has Just Signed An Affiliate Deal With Amazon – Huge Pump Incoming? – Cryptonews https://collincountynewsonline.com/this-crypto-has-just-signed-an-affiliate-deal-with-amazon-huge-pump-incoming-cryptonews/ IMPT is a brand new cryptocurrency project that is focused on revolutionizing the space of carbon credits, seeking to put them on-chain in an attempt to dramatically improve the efficiency and transparency of the industry, and to incentivize their users to “shop responsibly”. IMPT shopping platform now boasts over 25,000 partners, including Amazon The team at IMPT has been extremely busy over the past few weeks, having dramatically enhanced their product offering through their affiliate partnership program with over 25,000 different brands being added to their shopping platform.  These brands include some of the largest companies in the world, such as Amazon, Microsoft, Gamestop, River Island, and more.  The ESG industry continues to explode  The ESG industry has been dramatically expanding over the past few years and is expected to continue to grow in the months and years to come.  Broadridge Financial Solutions has predicted that by the year 2030, the total market capitalization of the ESG industry will have come to exceed $30 trillion, and the industry of carbon credits is expected to grow to in excess of $50 billion.  However, much of the current ways in which the carbon credit market currently operates are based on incentivizing companies to pollute less, rather than individuals: companies must purchase carbon credits if they wish to pollute, and with fewer carbon credits issued each year, it becomes gradually more expensive for companies to pollute – this is one of the tools that Western governments are using to reach their 2030 “net zero” targets.  Socially responsible shopping  IMPT hopes to change all of this and to find new ways to incentivize both individuals to pollute less as well as companies. Their “socially responsible shopping” system means that users of their platform are rewarded with IMPT cashback rewards when shopping through their platform with companies that score highly on ESG metrics.

U.S. Existing Home Sales Slide Again In September; Jobless Claims Fall – Reuters https://collincountynewsonline.com/u-s-existing-home-sales-slide-again-in-september-jobless-claims-fall-reuters/ Oct 20 (Reuters) – Sales of existing U.S. homes slid for an eighth straight month in September and will likely fall further in the months ahead as the housing market continues to stand out as the economic sector absorbing the hardest hit from the Federal Reserve’s aggressive interest rate hikes. The broadly weak report from the National Association of Realtors on Thursday stood in contrast with another strong reading of the U.S. job market, with the Labor Department reporting an unexpected drop last week in the number of people seeking unemployment benefits for the first time. The two reports illustrate the uneven impact seen so far from the swiftest series of Fed rate hikes in at least four decades. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com The rate-sensitive housing market, which rocketed during the pandemic on then-low borrowing costs and demand for more living space during COVID-19 restrictions, has been broadsided by the increases as rates on the most popular form of home loan soar to near 7% – the highest in 20 years. But other areas of activity, from the job market to consumer spending, have shown little effect so far, indicating the Fed still may have work to do to lower the overall demand that is keeping price pressures elevated. The U.S. central bank has raised its benchmark overnight interest rate from near zero in March to the current range of 3.00% to 3.25%, and that rate is likely to end the year in the mid-4% range, based on Fed officials’ own projections and recent comments. SELLERS’ MARKET NO MORE Existing home sales fell 1.5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.71 million units last month, the NAR said. Outside of the short-lived plunge during the spring of 2020, when the economy was reeling from the first wave of COVID-19, this was the lowest sales level since September 2012. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast sales would decrease to a rate of 4.70 million units. On a regional basis, sales fell in the Northeast, Midwest and South and were unchanged in the West. Home resales, which account for the bulk of U.S. home sales, decreased 23.8% on a year-on-year basis. Data this week showed confidence among homebuilders eroding for the 10th straight month in October, and ground-breaking for new single-family home projects tumbled to the lowest level in more than two years in September. Mortgage rates, which move in tandem with U.S. Treasury yields, have soared even higher. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate averaged 6.94% in the latest week, the highest in 20 years, up from 6.92% in the prior week, according to data from mortgage finance agency Freddie Mac. NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said the September sales numbers don’t reflect the latest surge in mortgage rates, which have climbed roughly a percentage point in a month. As a result, he expects the sales rate to decline further in the months ahead, perhaps to as low as 4.5 million annually, which would be roughly 4% to 5% lower than the current sales pace. Though house price growth has slowed as demand weakened, tight supply is keeping prices elevated. The median existing house price increased 8.4% from a year earlier to $384,800 in September. There were 1.25 million previously owned homes on the market, down 0.8% from a year ago. “The details of the report suggest that housing is no longer a sellers’ market,” Aneta Markowska, chief financial economist at Jefferies, wrote. “Until this summer, home prices continued to rise despite declining demand; likely because supply was also muted. However, the balance of power is finally shifting from sellers to buyers.” LABOR MARKET STILL STRONG Meanwhile, few indications have surfaced so far that the labor market is loosening significantly or that employers are shifting into job-cutting mode. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell unexpectedly by 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 214,000 for the week ended Oct. 15, the Labor Department said. Data for the prior week was revised to show 2,000 fewer applications filed than previously reported. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 230,000 applications for the latest week. The government reported earlier this month that job openings dropped by 1.1 million, the largest decline since April 2020, to 10.1 million on the last day of August. But economists do not expect widespread layoffs, saying companies were wary of releasing their workers after difficulties hiring in the past year as the pandemic forced some people out of the workforce, partly due to prolonged illness caused by the virus. The claims report showed the number of people receiving benefits after an initial week of aid, a proxy for hiring, increased 21,000 to 1.385 million in the week ending Oct. 8. So-called continuing claims have not strayed materially from that level for roughly six months and remain 400,000-500,000 below the level that prevailed before the pandemic. “Even as the economy slows, employers appear to be reluctant to lay off workers that they have struggled to hire and retain,” Nancy Vanden Houten, lead U.S. economist at Oxford Economics, wrote in a note to clients. “We don’t look for claims to fall much below current levels, but we don’t look for a significant rise in claims or unemployment either until we enter a recession in 2023.” Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Reporting by Dan Burns; Editing by Paul Simao Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

LITEON Technology Reports 2022 Nine-Month Net Profit Of NT$10.3 Billion With EPS Of NT$ 4.51, Record Gross Profit And Operating Profit USA – English – USA – English – PR Newswire https://collincountynewsonline.com/liteon-technology-reports-2022-nine-month-net-profit-of-nt10-3-billion-with-eps-of-nt-4-51-record-gross-profit-and-operating-profit-usa-english-usa-english-pr-newswire/ TAIPEI, Oct. 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — LITEON Technology (2301-tw) reported third quarter consolidated sales of NT$46.2 billion, up 7% Q-o-Q, 10% Y-o-Y, supported by delivery growth from power management in cloud computing, automotive electronics and high-end photocouplers, a record of the same period in 3 years. Thanks to the product-mix optimization, increasing output value and market share gain, gross profit margin was 19.5%, up 0.2ppt Y-o-Y and gross profits reached NT$9 billion; operating profit margin was 9.5%, up 1.1ppt Y-o-Y, operating profit reached NT$4.4 billion. Net profits were NT$4.2 billion, with a record EPS of NT$1.86, up 40% Y-o-Y. Net cash reached NT$36.6 billion, attributable to the aggressive working capital management and strong positive free cash flow generated from operation. LITEON continues to achieve the goal of profitable growth. Cumulated sales of first nine months of 2022 reached NT$130.4 billion, up 8% Y-o-Y, gross profit margin and operating profit margin were 19.1% and 9%, up 0.1ppt and 1.2ppt Y-o-Y respectively, also a record of the same period. Gross profit and operating profit were NT$24.8 billion and NT$11.7 billion, up 9% and 25% Y-o-Y respectively. Net profit totaled NT$10.3 billion with EPS of NT$4.51. Meanwhile, the R&D expense reached 4% of sales, up around 20% Y-o-Y, majorly investing in software, firmware and system integration of three core growth business. “In the third quarter, revenue and operating profit increased by 10% and 25%Y-o-Y respectively; EPS was up by 40% Y-o-Y, a quarterly record. LITEON gained dominant market share in new models and tenders of major global datacenter customers, as the consequence of investing product development in advanced power systems in the past years. In automotive electronics, we assured smooth delivery growth from LED vehicle lighting, ADAS camera modules and new model launches of EV chargers, and win new business from automotive brands, high-end commercial fleets, as well as European and American charging station operators. Furthermore, the capacity expansion in North America is expected that the power management system for data center and EV chargers will ramp up the trial production in the second half of 2023.” said Mr. Anson Chiu, President of LITEON Technology. Looking ahead, LITEON expects the sequential growth in the Q4 revenue and profit, mainly driven by cloud computing power management, 5G small cells, AIoT, automotive electronics and photocouplers. For media enquiries: [email protected] SOURCE LITEON Technology

Q&A With Local Politicians: Jeff Williams – Local Profile https://collincountynewsonline.com/qa-with-local-politicians-jeff-williams-local-profile/ Posted inCommunity, Politics Williams is a Democrat running for Collin County Commissioner in Precinct 4 Photo: Jeff Williams | Headshot The election is quickly approaching. Voters deserve to know who their candidates are and what they represent. Up until election day, Local Profile will publish Q&A with politicians running for this year’s election. What position are you running for and why? I am the Democratic nominee for Collin County Commissioner in Precinct 4, and I am running to bring honesty, decency and leadership to the Commissioner’s Court. Of the 40 elected positions in Collin County government, not a single one is held by a Democrat, nor has there been for decades. Collin County has all the hallmarks of a major metropolis, so we need a leader with vision and guts to anticipate and address the problems of a rapidly growing population. What policies do you hope to enact and why? The three main pillars of my campaign are public safety, public health and infrastructure. Presently, the sheriff’s office is amid a personnel crisis, which has greatly impacted the county’s ability to maintain a safe and sanitary environment at the county jail as well as create an orderly workflow for our justice system. Regarding public health, the problem with emergency response in Collin County has had more to do with leadership than actual policy.  The commissioner’s court has repeatedly been at odds with officials in local and state government as well as administrators in the public school system and community college. While it is true that during COVID, Collin had some of the highest vaccination rates in the state, the population is still at risk due to the variants that have emerged. We need to focus on helping people who are working on the front lines in this pandemic where morale is especially low and job turnover is alarmingly high. This includes police and fire departments, corrections officers, doctors, nurses and, above all, teachers. And, finally, infrastructure has been and will continue to be a major issue as current projects age and future projects become necessary. Our focus should be on dramatically improving access to transit for seniors, the indigent and residents with disabilities, as well as developing economic ecosystems around areas with the most traffic congestion. What are the biggest challenges facing your district? My primary concern right now is how we, at all levels of municipal government, address crisis-level manpower shortages in our schools, our hospitals and in law enforcement. Teachers and first responders have been leaving the workforce in record numbers due to the aftereffects of the pandemic and the increasingly hostile political climate in which we now exist. My hope is that I can help usher in a new form of politics that focuses on professionalism and a needs-based approach to problem-solving. How will your policies affect North Texas as a whole? The only way we can share our success is to participate in an exchange of ideas with our neighbors. We should view neighboring counties and governments as partners and not competitors, a doctrine that the current political regime in Collin has fully embraced. What are the biggest challenges facing Texas? The biggest challenges we face as Texans have changed little going back several years. We still struggle to build and maintain safe and stable infrastructure across various sectors, including energy, transportation and technology. Despite its vast wealth, Texas still ranks near the bottom in nearly every major category with regard to healthcare access and outcomes, public education and economic inequality. It has also been ground zero for many polarizing political issues such as gun control, school curriculums and civil rights. How is your district changing? The most obvious change has been in its diversity. According to the U.S. Census, Collin will soon be a minority-majority populated county, with Precinct 4 leading the way. One of the reasons the Precinct 4 Commissioner’s race is now competitive is because of the concentration of demographic change within its boundaries. This will undoubtedly change the political calculus for races that overlap with the geography of Precinct 4 going forward. What book that you’ve read has had the biggest impact on you? When I was in business school, I had an operations management professor who assigned The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement by Eliyahu M. Goldratt. I read it in a single sitting. It’s a fictional story about how a manager at a factory is tasked with turning around a failing business. It’s a life lesson, used to illustrate how as human beings, regardless of the endeavor, we often get bogged down in ephemera at the expense of whatever we set out to achieve in the first place. Goldratt officially defined this premise as the Theory of Constraints. What does the future hold for your district and for Texas? I think Precinct 4’s greatest asset is its people. The diversity in the backgrounds of the people that live here speaks to their hopefulness and the opportunity that Collin has provided. The people that live here are more than just a tax base — they raise their families here and they take great pride in contributing to the communities in which they reside. But many groups in the community feel ignored or underrepresented. As a commissioner who grew up in a minority-majority city, I look forward to collaborating with residents and officials alike to ensure that success as a community. Local Profile will continue to release Q&A segments with politicians running for various positions in this upcoming election.  Related

September U.S. Travel Agency Air Ticket Sales Total $7.3 Billion – Business Wire https://collincountynewsonline.com/september-u-s-travel-agency-air-ticket-sales-total-7-3-billion-business-wire/ ARLINGTON, Va.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Airlines Reporting Corp. (ARC) today released data showing ARC-accredited travel agency air ticket sales totaling $7.3 billion in September 2022, a 129% year-over-year increase.* Month over month, September 2022 results showed: Total sales increased 1%. Total passenger trips decreased 2%. U.S. domestic trips decreased 2%. International trips decreased 2%. “Travel demand remained relatively flat throughout September as vacation season wound down and airlines, airports and other stakeholders in the travel industry addressed the issues that impacted summer travel,” said Steve Solomon, chief commercial officer at ARC. “As we look ahead to the final quarter of the year, we expect additional recovery in the corporate and online travel agency sectors while leisure travel holds at its current pre-pandemic levels.” Total passenger trips settled by ARC in September 2022 increased 38% year over year from 15.4 million to 21.2 million. U.S. domestic trips increased 26% year over year to 13.9 million, with international trips increasing 65% to 7.3 million over the same period. The average round-trip U.S. air travel ticket price in September 2022 was $560. This marks the first month-over-month increase since May 2022, and a 44% increase year over year. EMD sales increased 119% year over year to $14,441,242. EMD transactions increased 93% to 256,887 over the same period.** More detailed information is available on ARC’s sales statistics page. Additional breakdown of corporate, leisure and online ticket sales can be found on the ARC COVID-19 data page. About ARC: ARC accelerates the growth of global air travel by delivering forward-looking travel data, flexible distribution services and other innovative industry solutions. We are a leading travel intelligence company that possesses the world’s largest, most comprehensive global airline ticket dataset, including more than 15 billion passenger flights representing 490 airlines and 230 countries and territories. Our solutions and expertise strengthen economies and enrich lives by connecting stakeholders across the travel ecosystem. For more information, visit arccorp.com. Notes: *Ticket Sales Results are based on monthly sales data ending September 30, 2022, from 10,630 U.S. retail and corporate travel agency locations, satellite ticket printing offices and online travel agencies. Results do not include sales of tickets purchased directly from airlines. The average ticket price (USD) is for a round-trip ticket settled through ARC for an itinerary that included only U.S. domestic travel. Passenger trips include the total number of passengers taking a trip from one airport to another using direct or connecting flights. Newly issued trips are added, and refunded trips are deducted to provide a net view of traveling passengers. U.S. domestic passenger trips include the total number settled through ARC where the itinerary is wholly within the U.S. International passenger trips include the total number settled through ARC where some or all the travel occurs to airports outside the U.S. or originates outside the U.S. Total sales are equal to the total amount paid for a ticket, which includes taxes and fees. **Electronic Miscellaneous Documents (EMD) Includes fees for products and services such as upgraded seats, checked bags, an unaccompanied minor, pet-in-cabin, etc. © Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC). All rights reserved.

AP Top Business News At 10:27 A.m. EDT – WTMJ https://collincountynewsonline.com/ap-top-business-news-at-1027-a-m-edt-wtmj/ by AP News October 20, 2022 in AP Business, AP News Previous Post Average long-term US mortgage rates rise this week to 6.94% Next Post Russia seeks to regain ground, hits Ukraine’s infrastructure AP News Stay Connected 22.3k Followers 1k Follower 643 Subscribers Most Popular WHO: Ugandan Ebola outbreak ‘rapidly evolving’ after 1 month October 20, 2022 US home sales fell in September for eighth straight month October 20, 2022 Slavery is on the ballot for voters in 5 US states October 20, 2022 WHO: Ugandan Ebola outbreak ‘rapidly evolving’ after 1 month October 20, 2022 Study: Cancer-causing gas leaking from CA stoves, pipes October 20, 2022

Getting At The Root Of Acanthosis Nigricans In Young Children – Medpage Today https://collincountynewsonline.com/getting-at-the-root-of-acanthosis-nigricans-in-young-children-medpage-today/ Outcomes of the Children’s Healthy Living (CHL) intervention around overweight and obesity in young children were maintained at the 6-year mark — and included a lower prevalence of acanthosis nigricans. The findings, which focused on children ages 2-8 years in the US-affiliate Pacific region, appear in JAMA Network Open. Most of the program’s interventions were broad, community-oriented measures, such as training, policies, systems, and environments. Six more targeted children’s behaviors: consumption of fruits and vegetables, water, and sugar-sweetened beverages; sleep; physical activity; and screen time. Among the 9,840 children included in the analysis (4,866 girls [49.5%] and 4,974 boys [50.5%], 6,334 [64.4%] aged 2-5 years), the intervention group showed significant improvements compared with the control group in prevalence of overweight plus obesity (d = -12.60% [95% CI -20.92% to -4.28%]), waist circumference (d = -1.64 [95% CI -2.87 to -0.41] cm), and acanthosis nigricans prevalence (d = -3.55% [95% CI -6.17% to -0.92%]). First study author, Rachel Novotny, PhD, RDN, is professor and graduate chair with the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and director of the CHL Children’s Healthy Living Center of Excellence and Resilience in Food Systems. Her exchange with the Reading Room has been edited for length and clarity. What was the initial motivation for creating CHL? Novotny: Interventions to change behavior alone have not been sufficient to reduce the prevalence of obesity or type 2 diabetes. Rather, broad changes in the obesogenic environment are needed to determine, for example, whether obesity is associated with occurrence of acanthosis nigricans, an indicator of insulin resistance. The CHL trial was a multilevel, multicomponent, community-randomized intervention trial designed to change the environment so that children in the US-affiliated Pacific (USAP) region can eat healthier food and be more physically active, in order to decrease prevalence of overweight, obesity, and acanthosis nigricans. The CHL trial used a social ecological framework of health and wellness designed to act on multiple levels and in multiple components within behavioral, physical, social, cultural, economic, and policy environments to reduce the prevalence of overweight and obesity among children in multiple communities, ultimately reducing it by 3.9% in 4 years. What was the impetus for this particular investigation? Novotny: At the same time, few obesity prevention studies have included long-term follow-up, described intervention maintenance, and/or reported follow-up analyses after completion of the study intervention program. We hypothesized that the CHL trial would maintain a reduction in the prevalence of overweight and obesity among young children in the USAP region. How would you summarize the finding’s key result? Novotny: The trial was effective in decreasing prevalence of overweight and obesity and acanthosis nigricans, including further decrease 6 years after the funded intervention activities stopped. What are the implications for people with acanthosis nigricans? Novotny: Acanthosis nigricans among young children is a good way to measure and monitor the metabolic impact of a community-based intervention in a noninvasive way. More attention is needed to the potential of acanthosis nigricans for surveillance systems and as a recognizable marker that action is needed. Although endocrinologists already believe its presence is enough for action, we believe more research on acanthosis nigricans will further our understanding of nuanced metabolic changes. More tools to illustrate the presentation of acanthosis nigricans in diverse populations would be helpful for diagnosis and further research and action. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Individual and community-based interventions improved obesity and rates of acanthosis nigricans in young children in US-affiliated Pacific regions. Effects were maintained 6 years after the end of the 2-year intervention. Acanthosis nigricans could be used as marker of insulin resistance.

UPDATE: Fredonia Man Dies In Rollover Accident | News, Sports, Jobs – Evening Observer https://collincountynewsonline.com/update-fredonia-man-dies-in-rollover-accident-news-sports-jobs-evening-observer/ State Police in Fredonia said a rollover collision on state Route 20 in Pomfret on Wednesday evening led to the death of a 41-year-old man. Troopers say an investigation determined that a 2013 Hyundai was traveling westbound at a high rate of speed and exited the road on a curve around 8 p.m. The vehicle struck a fence and a tree stump off the road causing the vehicle to overturn multiple times. The operator and only occupant, Mark A. Daniels of Fredonia was pronounced deceased at the scene. The Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the Fredonia Fire Department assisted in this investigation. This is still an active investigation. County Emergency Services and a county coroner also were at the scene. Today’s breaking news and more in your inbox

Four U.S. States Order A Metaverse Casino To Halt Sale Of NFTs – CNBC https://collincountynewsonline.com/four-u-s-states-order-a-metaverse-casino-to-halt-sale-of-nfts-cnbc/ The metaverse is a set of virtual worlds where people live, work and play. Weiquan Lin | Moment | Getty Images Regulators in four states simultaneously filed emergency cease-and-desist orders Thursday against virtual casino Slotie. States law enforcement officials allege Slotie’s owners were soliciting investors online to participate in an illegal gambling operation in the metaverse, a digital world where participants can interact with each other, purchase products and gamble. State securities boards in Texas, Kentucky, New Jersey and Alabama accused Slotie of defrauding investors and ordered it to immediately halt the sale of its non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, to retail investors. NFTs are blockchain-based digital assets that designate ownership of virtual art, music, or in this case, proprietorship of a metaverse casino to the holder of the NFT. According to the order, 10,0000 Slotie NFTs were sold to the public. Slotie, which is based in the country of Georgia, began operating in October 2021, according to the order. On its website, it said its NFTs “are your ticket into the largest and fastest-growing online casino network on the blockchain.” Although the metaverse project was selling securitized NFTs, the order said it failed to provide purchasers with essential information such as the business address of the company or its founders, with a telephone number or an email address. The order further alleges the respondent failed to disclose its assets, liabilities, revenue and other financial information related to its operations of the metaverse casinos. Joe Rotunda, the Texas state securities board director, said while the metaverse does provide legitimate business opportunities, it also can provide a new forum for fraudsters looking to scam the public. “The latest metaverse investment products — NFTs that purport to provide passive income — often bear significant undisclosed risks,” he said in a statement. “These risks are often significant, and investing in virtual realities can leave investors virtually broke.” As a result of the order, Slotie must immediately cease and desist from selling to investors until the security is properly registered. If the founders violate the order, they are subject to a fine of up to $10,000. They also have 31 days to request a hearing on the issue.

Step Into The Future With SmartThings: Samsung’s No Mo’ FOMO Sale Is Here To Bring Your Dream Home One Step Cl – Gadgets Now https://collincountynewsonline.com/step-into-the-future-with-smartthings-samsungs-no-mo-fomo-sale-is-here-to-bring-your-dream-home-one-step-cl-gadgets-now/ The festive season is upon us to fill our hearts with joy. It is auspicious to make new purchases for friends, family & your home. Given the festive season, Samsung has taken it upon itself to bring you some fantastic offers and deals. Samsung’s biggest sale of the year promises to end FOMO for good by bringing you one step closer to your dream device. Read on to learn more! To get exclusive offers and deals on a wide range of Samsung products, all you need to do is just click here & head to WhatsApp, and type ‘FOMO’ or ‘offers’ in the chat to learn about the deals. Or download the Samsung Shop App, sign up and become a member today. One of the biggest advantages of installing the app is that you no longer need a minimum purchase to access Samsung’s Smart Club membership. All you need to do is sign up on Samsung Shop App to become a member. In fact, in order to make your purchase more delightful, Samsung is giving out vouchers worth up to ₹5000 just for signing up! Moreover, with every purchase, you are eligible to get up to 2% loyalty points, instant cashback with leading banks, free gifts (T&C*) and more. Apart from the amazing benefits & discounts on offer, if you plan to make your current home future-proof this festive season, then do check out Samsung’s suite of IoT home appliances that talk to each other & listen only to you. Think Smart. Be Smart. Buy Smart with Samsung. With SmartThings, you are in control of all the appliances of your home, and you can transform your space according to your needs. With this, Samsung aims to empower you to live your everyday life most easily and efficiently as possible. SmartThings gives you more time for what matters to you most. With SmartThings & Samsung’s range of intelligent home appliances, you get to create a personalised ecosystem that not only listens to your command but can elevate your living standards. The SmartThings app gives you access to all your connected devices that can be monitored and controlled on the go. Samsung Washing Machines Washing clothes is a chore everyone has to do. And for this, a washing machine is the most commonly used appliance in almost every home. However, washing clothes frequently means large amounts of energy and water are wasted with each round of washing. Sometimes, clothes do not need washing, but the machine may not understand this requirement. However, Samsung understood this gap between user needs & product output. Hence the brand launched washing machines with Eco Bubble technology, AI control and SmartThings integration. These next-gen washing machines not only get you clean clothes but also help to reduce energy usage. AI Eco Bubble Frontload washing machine will inform you how much detergent to add to your wash cycle, depending upon your load. Not only that, but it will also suggest the optimal wash course and the right amount of detergent to dispense. What’s even great is that the AI Control keeps a tab on the weather for the day & automatically suggests a drying cycle. With the SmartThings app, the washing machine can help optimise your washing cycles. In fact, you can manage & troubleshoot your washing machine if needed. Samsung Refrigerators With the festive seasons and amazing discounts on the Samsung Shop App, you must check out The BESPOKE Family Hub Refrigerator by Samsung. This one-of-a-kind home appliance designed for your kitchen can take your experience of using a refrigerator to the next level. With The BESPOKE refrigerator, Samsung has created a product that fits your lifestyle and simplifies it. The refrigerator comes with a home screen on the front door, which can be used in numerous ways. Make it a family board, notepad, and calendar or use it to show family pictures. If fact, the Calendar app can sync up with family members so that you always know all the important family events. Want more? Watch food videos on YouTube or browse the web for secret recipes on the screen of The BESPOKE refrigerator with the SmartView app. You can do all this while you cook without touching your smartphone once. Samsung WindFree AC Another important home appliance is the air conditioner. Summers would be impossible to survive without an air conditioner, but, we all know that they use a lot of energy. But on this front, Samsung’s WindFree Split AC uses proprietary technology that not only saves on electricity but also keeps your room cool effectively. The WindFree Split AC gently and quietly disperses air through 23,000 micro air holes without having to blow cold wind directly. This one-of-a-kind advanced airflow technology cools a wider and larger area more evenly. And this uses 77% less energy than regular air conditioners. Moreover, the SmartThings App monitors your monthly energy consumption and automatically tries to save energy wherever possible. The SmartThings app can inform you if you have left the fridge door open. Additionally, you control the AC from the app to keep your home cool when you return home from work. Do good for the environment with Samsung SmartThings Home Appliances There are many great things you can do for the environment, but have you ever thought that you could continue to live your life & get a chance to do your bit for the environment? With SmartThings Home appliances, you can optimise your energy usage with Samsung energy-efficient devices whether you buy any energy-efficient home appliances like washing machines, refrigerators and air conditioners at up to [43%] discount during the ongoing No Mo’ FOMO sale. Needless to say that this festive season, it’s the Samsung Shop App that offers an experience that allows you to bring home appliances from diverse categories to make your home truly future-proof. Avail benefits up to Rs.25890*, but the caveat is that the amazing offer is valid only from Oct 21, 12 noon, till Oct 23, midnight. Learn more about the products you love, add them to your cart & check out – all on Samsung Shop App! To know more about these offers, click here. Disclaimer: The article has been produced on behalf of Samsung by the Times Internet’s Spotlight team. FacebookTwitterLinkedin

Crypto News Summary: Nubank’s New Nucoin Crypto, Fidelity’s ETH Offer, Bitpanda Partners With N26 Digital Bank – Cryptonews https://collincountynewsonline.com/crypto-news-summary-nubanks-new-nucoin-crypto-fidelitys-eth-offer-bitpanda-partners-with-n26-digital-bank-cryptonews/ Source: AdobeStock / Tada Images Get your daily, bite-sized digest of cryptoasset and blockchain-related news – investigating the stories flying under the radar of today’s crypto news. __________ Adoption news Brazil’s Nubank announced plans to release its own crypto as part of a new customer rewards program, with a goal to offer customers benefits such as discounts and perks as they accumulate its Nucoins, Reuters reported. The Nucoin digital currency is expected to be launched in the first half of 2023. Investment news Investment giant Fidelity, through its digital assets subsidiary Fidelity Digital Assets, plans to offer institutional users access to Ethereum (ETH) transactions, according to investor Bruce Fenton, who cited a company email to investors. Customers will be able to buy, sell, and transfer the asset from October 28, it said. Exchange news Bitpanda said that it joined forces with digital bank N26 to give its customers access to crypto trading. This partnership allies two major fintechs of the DACH region, and through Bitpanda’s White Label Solution, it’s now possible for N26’s users to invest in almost 200 cryptocurrencies from as little as €1, said the announcement. FTX.US is offering a recovery plan that would see the customers of the bankrupt crypto broker Voyager Digital recover about 72% of their funds, according to Bloomberg. The deal can’t be completed until a US Bankruptcy Judge approves Voyager’s bankruptcy payout plan. Legal news The US Department of Justice (DoJ) said that five Russian and two Venezuelan nationals have been charged in a global sanctions evasion and money laundering scheme. “As alleged, the defendants were criminal enablers for oligarchs, orchestrating a complex scheme to unlawfully obtain U.S. military technology and Venezuelan sanctioned oil through a myriad of transactions involving shell companies and cryptocurrency, stated the United States Attorney Breon Peace. They laundered tens of millions of dollars, the announcement added. Regulation news South Africa’s financial markets regulator has declared crypto assets as a financial product. Crypto is not issued by a central bank but can be traded, transferred, and used for payments, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) said in a notice on Wednesday. The Government Blockchain Association (GBA)’s Regional Lead for Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) will speak at the UK House of Commons. According to the press release, the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Blockchain Chair in the House of Commons, Martin Docherty-Hughes MP, has invited Priya Guliani to speak at the APPG Evidence Meeting on Sustainability & Climate Change: Energy Consumption & Other Issues. This meeting is part of a series of APPG meetings to make the policymakers aware of blockchain technology’s developments, applications, and regulatory implications, it said. DeFi news Decentralized, non-custodial crypto platform ShapeShift DAO announced the release of a new mobile app and the migration of native web users to a decentralized version of the app. Per the press release, the new mobile app support combined with the user migration from beta.shapeshift.com expands the flexibility, mobility, and features users have access to when interacting with the decentralized world. Charity news American Red Cross partnered with artist Marlon Pruz to raise funds to help people impacted by hurricane Ian, said the press release. Non-fungible token (NFT) platform Sweet has released 10,000 digital collectibles designed by this Miami-based artist, priced at $14.99, while 10% of secondary sales will be donated in perpetuity to help people and communities as the relief efforts continue, it added. Career news a16z crypto announced that Collin McCune will be joining it as the Head of Government Affairs. Per the press release, McCune has spent a decade on US Capitol Hill and joins the company from the House Financial Services Committee, where he served as Deputy Staff Director. He will work in a bipartisan fashion with policymakers and their staff to help produce comprehensive Web3 legislation and regulation, it said.

Afghan Couple Accuse US Marine Of Abducting Their Baby – The Associated Press – En Español https://collincountynewsonline.com/afghan-couple-accuse-us-marine-of-abducting-their-baby-the-associated-press-en-espanol/ By JULIET LINDERMAN, CLAIRE GALOFARO and MARTHA MENDOZA October 20, 2022 GMT The young Afghan couple raced to the airport in Kabul, clutching their baby girl close amid the chaotic withdrawal of American troops last year. The baby had been rescued two years earlier from the rubble of a U.S. Special Forces raid that killed her parents and five siblings. After months in a U.S. military hospital, she had gone to live with her cousin and his wife, this newlywed couple. Now, the family was bound for the United States for further medical treatment, with the aid of U.S. Marine Corps attorney Joshua Mast. When the exhausted Afghans arrived at the airport in Washington D.C. in late August 2021, Mast pulled them out of the international arrivals line and led them to an inspecting officer, according to a lawsuit they filed last month. They were surprised when Mast presented an Afghan passport for the child, the couple said. But it was the last name printed on the document that stopped them cold: Mast. They didn’t know it, but they would soon lose their baby. This is a story about how one U.S. Marine became fiercely determined to bring home an Afghan war orphan, and praised it as an act of Christian faith to save her. Letters, emails and documents submitted in federal filings show that he used his status in the U.S. Armed Forces, appealed to high-ranking Trump administration officials and turned to small-town courts to adopt the baby, unbeknownst to the Afghan couple raising her 7,000 miles away. The little girl, now 3 ½ years old, is at the center of a high-stakes tangle of at least four court cases. The Afghan couple, desperate to get her back, has sued Joshua and his wife Stephanie Mast. But the Masts insist they are her legal parents and “acted admirably” to protect her. They’ve asked a federal judge to dismiss the lawsuit. The ordeal has drawn in the U.S. departments of Defense, Justice and State, which have argued that the attempt to spirit away a citizen of another country could significantly harm military and foreign relations. It has also meant that a child who survived a violent raid, was hospitalized for months and escaped the fall of Afghanistan has had to split her short life between two families, both of which now claim her. Five days after the Afghans arrived in the U.S., they say Mast – custody papers in hand – took her away. The Afghan woman collapsed onto the floor and pleaded with the Marine to give her baby back. Her husband said Mast had called him “brother” for months; so he begged him to act like one, with compassion. Instead, the Afghan family claims in court papers, Mast shoved the man and stomped his foot. That was more than a year ago. The Afghan couple hasn’t seen her since. “After they took her, our tears never stop,” the woman told The Associated Press. “Right now, we are just dead bodies. Our hearts are broken. We have no plans for a future without her. Food has no taste and sleep gives us no rest.” __ PULLED FROM THE RUBBLE The story of the baby unfolds in hundreds of pages of legal filings and documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, as well as interviews with those involved, pieced together in an AP investigation. In a federal lawsuit filed in September, the Afghan family accuses the Masts of false imprisonment, conspiracy, fraud and assault. The family has asked the court to shield their identity out of concerns for their relatives back in Afghanistan, and they communicated with AP on the condition of remaining anonymous. The Masts call the Afghan family’s claims “outrageous, unmerited attacks” on their integrity. They argue in court filings that they have worked “to protect the child from physical, mental or emotional harm.” They say the Afghan couple are “not her lawful parents,” and Mast’s attorney cast doubt on whether the Afghans were even related to the baby. “Joshua and Stephanie Mast have done nothing but ensure she receives the medical care she requires, at great personal expense and sacrifice, and provide her a loving home,” wrote the Masts’ attorneys. The baby’s identity has been kept private, listed only as Baby L or Baby Doe. The Afghan couple had given the baby an Afghan name; the Masts gave her an American one. Originally from Florida, Joshua Mast married his wife Stephanie and attended Liberty University, an evangelical Christian college in Lynchburg, Virginia. He graduated in 2008, and got his law degree there in 2014. In 2019, they were living with their sons in Palmyra, a small rural Virginia town, when Joshua Mast was sent on a temporary assignment to Afghanistan. Mast, then a captain in the U.S. Marine Corps, was a military lawyer for the federal Center for Law and Military Operations. The U.S. Marines declined to comment publicly, along with other federal officials. That September in 2019 was one of the deadliest months of the entire U.S. occupation in Afghanistan, with more than 110 civilians killed in the first week alone. On Sept. 6, 2019, the U.S. attacked a remote compound. No details about this event are publicly available, but in court documents Mast claims that classified reports show the U.S. government “sent helicopters full of special operators to capture or kill” a foreign fighter. Mast said that rather than surrender, a man detonated a suicide vest; five of his six children in the room were killed, and their mother was shot to death while resisting arrest. Sehla Ashai and Maya Eckstein, attorneys for the Afghan couple, dispute Mast’s account. They say the baby’s parents were actually farmers, unaffiliated with any terrorist group. And they described the event as a tragedy that left two innocent civilians and five of their children dead. Both sides agree that when the dust settled, U.S. troops pulled the badly injured infant from the rubble. The baby had a fractured skull, broken leg and serious burns. She was about 2 months old. Mast called the baby a “victim of terrorism.” His attorney said she “miraculously survived.” __ “DO THE RIGHT THING” The baby was rushed to a military hospital, where she was placed in the care of the Defense Department. The International Committee of the Red Cross told AP that they began searching for her family with the Afghan government, often a plodding process in rural parts of the country where record-keeping is scant. At first, they didn’t even know the baby’s name. Meanwhile, Mast said, he was “aggressively” advocating to get her to the U.S. Over several months, he wrote to then-Vice President Mike Pence’s office, according to exhibits filed in court. He said his colleagues in the military tried to talk to President Donald Trump about the baby during a Thanksgiving visit to Bagram Airfield. Mast also said he made four requests over two weeks to then-White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, asking for help to medically evacuate the baby “to be treated in a safe environment.” The Masts were represented by Joshua’s brother Richard Mast, an attorney with the conservative Christian legal group Liberty Counsel, which says it is not involved in this case. None of the Masts responded to repeated requests for interviews. In emails to military officials, Mast alleged that Pence told the U.S. Embassy in Kabul to “make every effort” to get her to the United States. Mast signed his emails with a Bible verse: “’Live for an Audience of one, for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ.” Pence’s spokesman, Marc Short, did not respond to requests for comment. The U.S. Embassy never heard from Pence’s office, said a Department of State official, who requested anonymity because they did not have permission to speak publicly about the situation. But they did begin getting highly unusual inquiries about the possibility of sending the baby to the U.S. The diplomats were rattled by the suggestion that the U.S. could just take her away; they believed the baby belonged to Afghanistan. “I was aware that it may not be smooth sailing ahead, but that just made me more determined to do the right thing,” the State Department official said. About six weeks after the baby was rescued, the U.S. Embassy called for a meeting, attended by representatives of the Red Cross, the Afghan government and the American military, including Mast. The State Department wanted to make sure everyone understood its position: Under international humanitarian law, the U.S. was obliged to do everything possible to reunite the baby with her next of kin. At the meeting, Mast asked about adoption, the State Department official said. Attendees from Afghanistan’s Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs explained that by Afghan law and custom, they had to place the baby with her biological family. If that did not work, the Afghan Children’s Court would determine a proper guardian. The American concept of adoption doesn’t even exist in Afghanistan. Under Islamic law, a child’s bloodline cannot be severed and their heritage is sacred. Instead of adoption, a guardianship system called kafala allows Muslims to take in orphans and raise them as family, without relinquishing the child’s name or bloodline. American adoptions from Afghanistan are rare and only possible for Muslim-American families of Afghan descent. The State Department recognizes 14 American adoptions from Afghanistan over the past decade, none in the past two years. Yet two days after the embassy meeting, a letter was sent to U.S. officials in Kabul from Kimberley Motley, a near-celebrity American attorney in Afghanistan, the State Department official said. Motley wrote that she was representing an unnamed concerned American citizen who wished to adopt this baby. Motley declined to be interviewed by the AP. Mast also continued his appea...

Banks, Big Tech Seek Clearer Guidance On Combating Scams – U.S. News & World Report https://collincountynewsonline.com/banks-big-tech-seek-clearer-guidance-on-combating-scams-u-s-news-world-report/ By Huw Jones LONDON (Reuters) – Banks, tech and telecom companies in Britain are calling on regulators and lawmakers to make it easier for them to share anonymised data on customers so they can spot and stop scams faster, a report published on Thursday said. Bank fraud has cost British consumers nearly 610 million pounds ($684.36 million) so far this year, posing a national security threat, banking lobby group UK Finance said this month. Banks have already improved defences against scams, but a report from industry body Stop Scams UK and the Royal United Services Institute on Thursday said complex guidelines and processes around privacy law make it difficult for companies to share data to stop fraud. Britain has proposed an ‘online safety bill’ to deal with harmful content online, and help financial regulators crack down harder on scams. Banks hope the bill will include clearer guidance on allowing them to share anonymised customer data – or data that does not identify the individual if refers to – to spot new types of scams more quickly. “If we are to unlock data sharing at scale, we call for proportionate and sensible changes to guidance around the interpretation of privacy law,” said Ruth Evans, chair of Stop Scams UK, whose members include HSBC, Lloyds, NatWest, Barclays, TalkTalk, Meta and Google. Risk of regulatory intervention and a lack of clarity on what is allowed under the law stifles initiative, and changes in policy are needed to make it clear that sharing data is allowed and even encouraged, the report said. Last month, more banks jointed Stop Scams UK’s fraud-reporting hotline as the cost of living crisis is leading to an increase in the number of financial scams. However, banks demanding more certainty over sharing anonymised data face opposition from privacy groups. ($1 = 0.8913 pounds) (Reporting by Huw Jones; Editing by Susan Fenton) Copyright 2022 Thomson Reuters.

Over Two-Thirds Of Texas GOP’s 2022 Nominees For Congress Deny Or Question Biden’s Victory – The Dallas Morning News https://collincountynewsonline.com/over-two-thirds-of-texas-gops-2022-nominees-for-congress-deny-or-question-bidens-victory-the-dallas-morning-news/ WASHINGTON — In 24 of the 38 Texas U.S. House districts, the Republican congressional nominee contends President Joe Biden actually lost to Donald Trump in 2020, and four others have cast doubt on the election’s validity. Most of those GOP nominees appear to have a clear path to victory, including 18 incumbents. If all of them win, over 21 million Texans would be represented in the U.S. House by an election denier or skeptic. At least 21 of these GOP nominees in the Nov. 8 midterms are strongly favored to win. This includes 13 incumbents who voted to reject state-certified electors for Biden on Jan. 6, 2021, and others who did vote for certification but have also raised doubts while stopping short of definitively questioning Biden’s victory. Nationally, 70% of Republicans running for Congress next month have questioned the 2020 election’s legitimacy, according to a New York Times investigation. This compares to the 73% in Texas. Some of the nominees have openly denied the results. Others have echoed disproved assertions of fraud, cast doubt on the outcome by airing allegations of irregularities, claimed that Biden is not the true winner, or voted Jan. 6 against certifying the election. Some of these candidates publicly accepted the results but also voice questions or have continued to point to alleged irregularities. For instance, Rep. Dan Crenshaw, a Houston-area Republican, voted to certify the results on Jan. 6 and has publicly affirmed that Biden won. But he also was one of 14 Texans in Congress at the time to sign onto a friend of the court brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to consider a lawsuit filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to overturn Trump’s defeat in four key battleground states. A Crenshaw rival in the March primary attacked him for accepting Biden’s win. Plano Rep. Van Taylor was also tested in the Republican primary over his acceptance of the election. The two-term congressman won 49% in a five-way primary, but dropped out before the runoff due to a scandal. Several of Taylor’s GOP rivals criticized him for voting to certify the election, including former Collin County judge Keith Self, who as the GOP nominee is all but assured of winning the seat. During the primary, Self embraced fraud claims, telling The Dallas Morning News editorial board that he sees “a high probability” that Trump would have won, if not for cheating in five battleground states. “Courts refused to look at the evidence,” he said. “There were votes changed for Joe Biden. And yes, I do believe that it made a difference in the election.” Tyler Rep. Louie Gohmert, one of the most prominent Trump allies and election deniers in Congress, is leaving office after challenging Paxton unsuccessfully in the primary. His almost certain replacement in the overwhelmingly Republican district is Nathaniel Moran, the Smith County judge who was endorsed earlier this month by Trump. During the primary, one of Moran’s opponents attacked him for calling claims of voter fraud “conspiracy theories.” Moran currently lists election integrity as a key issue on his campaign website where he writes “election fraud is real.” However, he has not publicly commented on the 2020 election or Jan. 6 riot. In an interview with The Washington Post, instead of commenting on the election he emphasized his record of improving voting machines that he says are some of the safest in the United States. A FiveThirtyEight analysis of election deniers running for Congress lists Moran as “raised questions,” a lesser category than outright denial. Moran did not respond to requests from The News to discuss his views on the 2020 election. In two of the more competitive and closely watched U.S. House races in Texas, both Republican nominees have spread falsehoods about alleged fraud or denied that Biden won. Rep. Mayra Flores, R-Los Indios, who won a June special election in South Texas, has insisted that Trump won and called Biden “president in name only.” Inflation has registered the biggest 12-month increase since 1982. The President In Name Only should resign or be impeached! #SaveAmerica — Mayra Flores (@MayraFlores2022) January 12, 2022 She faces Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-McAllen. In Gonzalez’s old district, which he abandoned after the Legislature redrew it to favor Republicans, GOP nominee Monica De La Cruz narrowly lost a bid for Congress in 2020. She asserted without evidence that both she and Trump had been victims of widespread voter fraud. She faces Democrat Michelle Vallejo. Not a priority issue Although election denial is among the sharpest differences between Republican and Democratic candidates in the midterms, other issues generally dominate contests – in Texas and nationally. Economic issues lead most polls when likely voters are asked what’s most important to them. Less than 2% of broadcast TV spending in all House races has focused on Jan. 6, according to a POLITICO analysis data from ad-tracking firm AdImpact. This equates to two dozen democracy-focused spots focused in about 16 battleground districts. In June, the Texas GOP approved a platform declaring Biden’s win illegitimate. Almost two-thirds of Texas Republicans said they don’t believe Biden won, according to a University of Texas/Texas Politics Project poll from August. “Many Republican politicians, whether through sincerely held beliefs or through raw political calculus, are not going to stand at odds [with] two-thirds of their own voters,” said Joshua Blank, research director for the Texas Politics Project. That August poll also showed that voting fraud was a much lower priority for voters than immigration, the economy, abortion and guns. But that doesn’t mean that common refrains about election fraud have no consequences. Blank noted the growing threats to election workers. “This constant attack on the legitimacy of elections … has contributed to a decline in confidence in political institutions,” he said. Impact on state elections While Congress has the authority to certify presidential election results, states have more direct influence in regulating voting. Gov. Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 1 into law in 2021, laying out new rules on when and how Texans can cast ballots. In the March primaries nearly 25,000 mail-in ballots were rejected, a sharp increase associated with the new rules. The three top state officials, Abbott, Paxton and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, all Republicans, have denied or questioned the 2020 election results, from supporting election audits or attempts to overturn elections in key states to offering a bounty to tipsters with information about voter fraud. No evidence of systematic fraud emerged from those efforts, in Texas or elsewhere. Abbott appointed Texas’ top election official, Secretary of State John Scott, in 2021. In a recent Texas Monthly article, Scott complained of the prevalence of misinformation and stated unequivocally that Biden won – a claim that spokesperson Sam Taylor said has led to threats. Taylor said since 2020, a big task has been dispelling misinformation from groups in Arizona and Georgia that are not familiar with Texas voting systems. One misconception is that Texas voting systems are connected to the internet and therefore susceptible to hacking; they are not. Nor are Dominion Voting Systems used in Texas. Dominion has sued Fox News and a number of Trump allies, including former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, pillow magnate Mike Lindell and Dallas lawyer Sidney Powell, for defamation over their claims that its machines had rigged the election for Biden “The misinformed people seem like they really don’t care,” Scott told Texas Monthly. “They know something, and they’re going to stick to it no matter what you tell them. You can talk until you’re blue in the face. With the uninformed, we have to reach out and tell them the truth.”

Royal Caribbean Officially Reveals Icon Of The Seas – Cruise Hive https://collincountynewsonline.com/royal-caribbean-officially-reveals-icon-of-the-seas-cruise-hive/ After months of buildup and anticipation, Royal Caribbean International has finally revealed more details about its upcoming new ship, Icon of the Seas. Truly revolutionary and pushing the boundaries of what a cruise vacation can be, the ship offers outstanding thrills for every guest to enjoy, and will offer a variety of Caribbean sailings when it debuts in early 2024. Icon of the Seas – Raising the Bar For months, Royal Caribbean International has hinted that Icon of the Seas, the first in a new class of vessels, will be an even bigger, better, more thrilling adventure at sea than any cruise ship has offered before. Now, they’re revealing the details to back up that claim. “With each new ship, we raise the bar in the travel industry while enhancing what our guests know and love,” said Jason Liberty, president and CEO, Royal Caribbean Group. “From the moment they step on board, every experience is specifically designed to give them the best vacation anywhere on land and at sea. With Icon of the Seas, we’ve taken this to a new level and made the ultimate family vacation.” Render Courtesy: Royal Caribbean The ship is ultimate indeed, with impressive new features and upgraded, elevated, reimagined favorites well known to Royal Caribbean cruise fans. Icon of the Seas features the largest waterpark at sea with six waterslides and other aquatastic features, plus unrivaled ways to chill with more ocean views and pools – one for each day of the week – than ever before, including infinity designs to offer unparalleled views and the largest pool ever on a cruise ship, Royal Bay, diving in at more than 40,000 gallons. Render Courtesy: Royal Caribbean The ship also includes more than 40 new and returning dining, bar, and nightlife options, and cutting-edge entertainment. Among the favorites are the cruise line’s thrilling dive shows and ice skating shows, each enhanced with immersive features and stunning special effects. Focus on Family Royal Caribbean International’s Icon of the Seas is an amped up adventure on the water, but the cruise line is not forgetting the ultimate focus of the ship – family vacations and making memories with loved ones. “Everything — every ship, every experience — starts with the guest,” says Tim Klauda, vice president of product development at Royal Caribbean International. Whether “family vacation” means getting away as a family, couple, friends, or multiple generations, the company wants to bring people together in ways never done before. “Now more than ever, families and friends are prioritizing experiences where they can bond and enjoy their own adventures,” said Michael Bayley, president and CEO of Royal Caribbean International. “We set out to create a vacation that makes all that possible in one place for the thrill-seekers, the chill enthusiasts and everyone in between, without compromise. It’s this first-of-its-kind combination that makes Icon the future of family vacations, and that future is here.” Icon of the Seas Facts

Priciest Home Sales In Woodmere – Long Island Business News https://collincountynewsonline.com/priciest-home-sales-in-woodmere-long-island-business-news/ Get our free LIBN e-alerts & breaking news notifications! 930 Tee Court Woodmere / OneKey MLS photo By: David Winzelberg October 20, 2022 Priciest home sales in Woodmere (11598)  September 2022  The three highest-priced home sales in Woodmere last month ranged from $1.7 million to $2.75 million.  The priciest Woodmere home sold in September was an 8-bedroom, 5.55-bath colonial on .31 acres at 930 Tee Court that sold for $2.75 million in cash. It was listed by Mark Lipner of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Laffey International Realty and sold by Milka Forst of Milky Forst Properties.  A 5-bedroom, 3.5-bath colonial on .60 acres at 163 Woodmere Blvd. S. fetched $1.85 million. It was listed by Alissa Lurie of Coach Realtors and sold by Ann Bienstock of Five Towns Miller Realty.  At 133 Combs Ave., a 7-bedroom, 4.5-bath colonial on .24 acres went for $1.7 million. It was listed and sold by Lisa Scheininger of Realty Connect USA.  Source: OneKeyMLS.com  × Enjoy This Free Article We Have 2 More For You All You Need To Do Is Register To Receive Your 2 Additional Free Articles

Healthy Living: Support Menopause Naturally – Limerick Live – Limerick Live https://collincountynewsonline.com/healthy-living-support-menopause-naturally-limerick-live-limerick-live/ OCTOBER 18 was World Menopause Day which takes place to raise awareness, break the stigma and highlight the support options available for improving health and wellbeing during this time of transition. Most women in the western world are affected by some of the symptoms – mood swings, low libido, thinning bones, insomnia, and forgetfulness. Hot flushes and night sweats are experienced by more than 85% of menopausal women with varying degree of severity up to ten years after their last period. These symptoms are linked with a drop in Estrogen and Progesterone levels that follows the cessation of ovulation. For example, Estrogen helps lift our mood so, when levels drop, we may feel depressed. Scientists are not sure exactly what causes hot flushes, but they occur because due to the hormonal imbalances the brain somehow decides that the body is overheated and responds by increasing the blood flow through the skin. Night sweats often cause frequent interruption of sleep, contributing to fatigue. The repair and maintenance system of bones is mainly controlled by hormones, including estrogen and progesterone, regulating osteoclasts and osteoblasts which break down old bone cells, replacing them with new. As levels of these hormones fall, bones begin to deteriorate and lose density. Osteoporosis literally means: “bone that has holes”. Long-term poor diet, emotional stress, and lack of exercise may lead to an increase in menopausal symptoms. Hormone replacement therapy has been a lifeline for many women; however, no medicines are without their side effects, therefore natural therapies should be sought first that help to support the transition and overall long-term health. To help ease hot flushes, stop eating foods that are likely to trigger or worsen them, such as stimulants – especially at night. Blood sugar imbalances are also linked to more frequent hot flushes. Avoid snacking on sugary foods – choose wholefoods, including protein and healthy fats in each meal. This will help balance your moods also. Sage is known for its body temperature regulating properties and can overcome hot flushes within a couple of weeks. To help calm the hormone imbalances, phyto-estrogenic foods should be part of everyday diet, such as beans, lentils, fennel seeds and ground flax seeds. Herbal remedies containing red clover, dong quai, maca and evening primrose oil further help to counteract the dropping hormones, while stress supporting ashwagandha, Rhodiola and Siberian ginseng support energy, sleep and mental focus. Studies show that supplementing large doses of Calcium can lead to hardening of the arteries and kidney damage. Calcium is best supplied by mineral rich foods, other than dairy products, such as dark green vegetables, sea vegetables, nuts, seeds, beans and dried fruit such as figs. In any case, Vitamin K2 is of utmost necessity to ensure the calcium gets into the bones, not lodged into soft tissues. As digestion is declining with age, it needs to be boosted every day for best absorption. Taking raw cider vinegar or bitter herbs before main meals can ensure you get the most out of your delicious, nutritious food. ADVERTISEMENT – CONTINUE READING BELOW

N-G Prep Football Top 10 (Oct. 20, 2022) | Sports | News-Gazette.com – News-Gazette https://collincountynewsonline.com/n-g-prep-football-top-10-oct-20-2022-sports-news-gazette-com-news-gazette/ RK., TEAM REC. PREV. COMMENT 1. Mahomet-Seymour 8-0 1 Bulldogs topped Mattoon to finish Apollo Conference play unbeaten. Beating Bloomington secures a perfect regular season. 2. Prairie Central 8-0 3 Hawks overcame Monticello for yet another Illini Prairie Conference triumph, end with Bloomington Central Catholic. 3. Centennial 7-1 2 Chargers dropped a heartbreaking game at Collinsville in overtime, but can win Big 12 title if they defeat Normal West. 4. BHRA 8-0 4 Blue Devils thumped Westville to remain unblemished in Vermilion Valley South, visit Hoopeston Area/A-P on Friday. 5. Unity 7-1 5 Rockets contested a close victory at Paxton-Buckley-Loda in Week 8, host rival Monticello at Hicks Field in Week 9. 6. Danville 5-3 7 Vikings romped past Peoria Richwoods for important fifth win, will take forfeit victory from Urbana and not play this week. 7. Monticello 5-3 6 Sages couldn’t slow Prairie Central for first loss in last four games, close with a trip to Tolono’s Hicks Field to meet Unity. 8. Tuscola 6-2 9 Warriors shut out Warrensburg-Latham to improve to 4-2 in Central Illinois Conference, stop by Meridian on Friday. 9. Paxton-Buckley-Loda 5-3 8 Panthers’ third consecutive loss was a closer one versus Unity. Will they end skid this week during visit to St. Joseph-Ogden? 10. ALAH 6-2 10 Knights are winners of four in a row after defeating Sangamon Valley, host struggling Argenta-Oreana to cap regular season. Colin Likas is the preps coordinator at The News-Gazette. He can be reached at clikas@news-gazette.com, or on Twitter at @clikasNG.

Metaverse Maybe A Money Maker For Enterprises By 2027 – TechNewsWorld https://collincountynewsonline.com/metaverse-maybe-a-money-maker-for-enterprises-by-2027-technewsworld/ In five years, 40% of large organizations worldwide will be using a combination of Web3, AR cloud, and digital twins in metaverse projects aimed at increasing revenue, research and advisory firm Gartner predicted Monday at its IT symposium in Orlando, Fla. Gartner’s metaverse prediction was part of a top 10 list of strategic technology trends released at the event. The firm sees a metaverse as a “collective virtual 3D shared space, created by the convergence of virtually enhanced physical and digital reality.” It is persistent and provides enhanced immersive experiences, it added. A complete metaverse will be device independent and won’t be owned by a single vendor, Gartner continued, and will have a virtual economy enabled by digital currencies and non-fungible tokens (NFT). Gartner’s prediction raised eyebrows among some analysts. “It’s a bit aggressive,” observed Mark N. Vena, president and principal analyst at SmartTech Research in San Jose, Calif. “The primary headwind to the metaverse in business is the arrival of genuine metaverse apps that will have broad appeal with enterprise accounts,” he told TechNewsWorld. “Some of that does exist — and will continue to surface — in operational areas like inventory management, logistics, and other vertical areas, but until a metaverse app, or apps, that increases productivity arrives, I think 40% is a stretch,” Vena added. Metaverse or Metaverses? Ross Rubin, the principal analyst at Reticle Research, a consumer technology advisory firm in New York City, also sees some challenges that could impede the spread of the metaverse into the enterprise. “On a core level, we need improvements in device size and power efficiency and broader applications beyond those in manufacturing, engineering, and other industrial applications that we see today,” he told TechNewsWorld. “Beyond these AR-related improvements, however, there are open questions as to whether the metaverse will evolve as a single, broadly accessible platform, like the web, or whether companies will largely build out their own applications, as they do with cloud technology today,” he continued. “However,” Rubin added, “we are starting to see some encouraging standards-setting here, such as the Metaverse Standards Forum.” Meta, the owner of Facebook, could also be contributing to metaverse traction problems, maintained Rob Enderle, president and principal analyst with the Enderle Group, an advisory services firm in Bend, Ore. “Facebook’s efforts are so bad they are putting a cloud over the entire segment and, ironically, they are the biggest investor in it,” he told TechNewsWorld. “Facebook is effectively putting a big sign over the segment implying it is fake,” he added, “even though Nvidia’s efforts are working far better and being well implemented by firms like BMW, showcasing the potential that Facebook appears to be destroying at the moment.” Patience Needed Impatience could also play a role in a company’s metaverse persistence, noted Quynh Mai, CEO of Qulture, a digital marketing agency in New York City. “As brands enter the metaverse, they often get discouraged upon arrival, not realizing that it is still a nascent but evolving platform,” she told TechNewsWorld. “They don’t see a mass amount of users in metaverses like Decentraland or The Sandbox, and then retreat.” “Perseverance is important as the technology driving Web3 is evolving quickly with developer activity increasing exponentially, so it’s important for brands to experiment now so they can scale their Web3 projects alongside its evolution,” she said. “With the looming recession in the U.S. and the IMF’s economic warnings, many brands are retreating from Web3 and focusing on short-term issues,” she continued. “However, just like during Web 1.0 and Web 2.0, brands that do not innovate will lag behind.” “Web3 adoption will be powered by Gen Z, which is 25% of the world’s population, so brands that do not stay the course will not prosper or connect with this cohort in 2027,” Mai added. ‘Superapps’ Gartner also predicted that by 2027, 50% of the world’s population will be daily active users of multiple “superapps.” Superapps combine the features of an app, a platform, and an ecosystem in a single program. In addition to having its own set of functionalities, it provides a platform for add-ons by third parties. “Although most examples of superapps are mobile apps, the concept can also be applied to desktop client applications, such as Microsoft Teams and Slack, with the key being that a superapp can consolidate and replace multiple apps for customer or employee use,” Gartner Vice President and Analyst Frances Karamouzis explained in a statement. Teams Virtual Meeting Space (Image Credit: Microsoft) Multi-function apps have always had appeal to users, Enderle noted. “A single app that does a lot of things has always been attractive over multiple single-focused apps because folks don’t want the complexity and learning curves associated with a prolific number of apps,” he said. “So relative simplicity, perceived cost, and the utility of superapps make them attractive.” Superapps have been in the news lately since Elon Musk said he wants to purchase Twitter as an accelerant for building one, Rubin explained. “The model for this is WeChat, in China, which is used for tasks as diverse as reading news, making payments, and hailing cars,” he said. “WeChat was able to grow its functionality in part because there were no dominant OS vendors and little competition from outside of China keeping it in check.” “There are higher barriers to replicating its success outside of China,” he continued. “Still, Apple, for example, already supports playing games and sending money through its Messages app, and Telegram supports add-on bot applications that could deliver a lot of functionality beyond messaging.” Sustainable Technology One strategic trend that traverses all the others is sustainability, Gartner noted. It cited one of its recent surveys where CEOs reported that environmental and social changes are now a top three priority for investors, after profit and revenue. This means, it continued, that executives must invest more in innovative solutions that are designed to address [environmental, social, and governance] demands to meet sustainability goals. “[I]n 2023, delivering technology will not be enough,” Gartner Vice President and Analyst David Groombridge said in a statement. “These themes are impacted by environmental, social, and governance expectations and regulations, which translate into the shared responsibility to apply sustainable technologies,” he said in a statement. “Every technology investment will need to be set off against its impact on the environment, keeping future generations in mind,” he added. “‘Sustainable by default’ as an objective requires sustainable technology.”

Flipkart Big Diwali Sale: 5 Corporate Gift Items For This Festive Season – Mint https://collincountynewsonline.com/flipkart-big-diwali-sale-5-corporate-gift-items-for-this-festive-season-mint/ Sign In Subscribe Search My Reads e-paper New Notifications Newsletters IFSC Code Finder New MintGenie For You Top Sections News Companies News Start-ups Company Results People Technology Gadgets Tech Reviews App News Foldable Smartphones 5G Tech Markets Stock Markets Commodities Mark To Market IPO Live Blog Money Personal Finance Q&A Opinion Photos Mutual Funds Mint 50 – Top Mutual Funds News Insurance Lounge Opinion Views Columns Blogs Budget 2022 Budget News Budget Expectations Budget Videos Opinion Auto News Sports Industry Banking Infotech Infrastructure Agriculture Manufacturing Energy Retail Videos India Investment Summit Annual Banking Conclave Mint Explainers Market Analysis Why Not Mint Money Business of Entertainment Long Story Capsule Mint Views Start-Up Diaries Money With Monika Mint Insight Digital Gurus Brand Masters Politics Education Impact Feature Brand Stories Podcast Explore Mint About Us Mint Authors New Contact Us SITEMAP Terms of Use Subscriber – Terms of Use Cookie Policy Print Subscription Privacy Policy Disclaimer Mint Code Code of ethics Mint Apps Copyright © HT Digital Streams Limited All rights reserved. Home / Technology / Gadgets /  Flipkart Big Diwali Sale: 5 corporate gift items for this festive season 2 min read . Updated: 20 Oct 2022, 05:15 PM IST Livemint Premium Flipkart is offering up to 80% discount on electronics. As part of the Big Diwali sale, the e-tailer is giving a 10% instant discount on purchases made using SBI Bank cards. There is a 10% cashback on transactions made using Paytm wallets and UPI. If you are looking for some corporate gift ideas, we have got your back. Walmart-owned Flipkart is back with another edition of its Big Diwali sale. As part of the Big Diwali sale, the e-tailer is giving a 10% instant discount on purchases made using SBI Bank cards. There is a 10% cashback on transactions made using Paytm wallets and UPI. If you are looking for some corporate gift ideas, we have got your back. Here are some cool gadgets corporate gift items on Flipkart: HP V236w 16 GB Pen Drive The HP V236w 16 GB Pen Drive is up for grabs at ₹287 instead of ₹500 during the Flipkart Big Diwali sale. As per the company, the pendrive features a capless design and a sleek metal husin to store all your documents, pictures, video clips and MP3 files. DIGITEK Gorilla Tripod/Mini Tripod for Mobile Phone The DIGITEK Gorilla Tripod/Mini Tripod for Mobile Phone comes at a price of ₹352 instead of ₹995. As per the manufacturer, an anodised finishing rotating sphere in tripods for mobile or gorilla tripod ensures that you get a great load bearing capacity for your dslr camera, mobile tripod, DSLR tripod, gopro tripod, along with an accurate angle lock. HP w100 Webcam The HP w100 Webcam comes at a discounted price of ₹399 instead of ₹1,997. The device comes with in-built microphone, USB type connectivity and offers 60-100 cm of focus range. It is compatible with Windows XP (SP2, SP3), Vista 7, 8, 10, Mac OS X 10.6 or Higher. Ambrane 10000 mAh Power Bank The Ambrane 10000 mAh Power Bank is available during the Flipkart Big Diwali sale for ₹699 instead of ₹1,499. As the name suggests, the power bank houses a 10,000mAh battery for your mobile backups. This device comes with a charging cable. Syska Smart Wi-FI Led Strip Light 25W The Syska Smart Wi-FI Led Strip Light measures five meter strips and is available at a price of ₹2,899 instead of ₹4,999. These strips are compatible with Alexa and Google Assistant that can be easily controlled with voice command. Customers will get 1N 5M Strip light, 1N charging adaptor, 1N controller, 1 packet of mounting clips and 1N user manual cum warranty card. Catch all the Technology News and Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates & Live Business News. More Less Wait for it… Log in to our website to save your bookmarks. It’ll just take a moment. Yes, Continue You are just one step away from creating your watchlist! Login Now Wait for it… Oops! Looks like you have exceeded the limit to bookmark the image. Remove some to bookmark this image. ×

Dash 2 Trade Offers New Crypto Trading Tools For All – Best Presale 2022? – Cryptonews https://collincountynewsonline.com/dash-2-trade-offers-new-crypto-trading-tools-for-all-best-presale-2022-cryptonews/ Disclaimer: The Industry Talk section features insights by crypto industry players and is not a part of the editorial content of Cryptonews.com. The Dash 2 Trade (D2T) presale has already raised over $400,000, barely 24 hours after beginning. Its quick progress comes as significant validation for the Ethereum-based platform, which will provide cryptocurrency traders with actionable market data, insights, and analysis in real time. In a year marked by big presales, the D2T token sale has plenty of competition, yet its strong fundamentals have already helped it stand out from the crowd. And with the market lacking a trading intelligence platform of the scope and usability of Dash 2 Trade, it has a very good chance of becoming one of the most successful presales and coin listings of 2022. Dash 2 Trade Offers New Crypto Trading Tools for All – Best Presale 2022? Kicking off yesterday, the Dash 2 Trade presale quickly passed important milestones, crossing $300,000 within only a few hours. Now, it’s up to $400,00, and likely to pass a few more important targets in the coming hours.  As set forth in its whitepaper, Dash 2 Trade is building a “world class” cryptocurrency analytics and social trading platform, one which will make it easier for investors of all levels to make informed investment decisions. To this end, it will provide such features as the following: Trading signals for indicating new buy or sell opportunities Social sentiment metrics and on-chain analysis to highlight trending cryptocurrencies Strategy building and social trading tools for helping investors formulate new approaches A scoring system enabling users to gain access to presales Crypto listing alerts  All of these features will be situated within the platform’s unique dashboard, which combines a wealth of tools yet presents them in a streamlined and accessible, making them useful for more than just experienced traders. While Dash 2 Trade’s presale has only just begun, its platform and dashboard have already been in development for months, while it has also received venture capital funding worth $200,000. This sets it up nicely for further development, as does the fact that Dash 2 Trade has in fact grown out of Learn2Trade, a forex signals provider that provides daily technical analysis and that draws upon a community of over 70,000 active traders. This puts Dash 2 Trade in an excellent position to build on Learn2Trade’s growth and experience, with its crypto-focused dashboard unique within the cryptocurrency market.  Within the Dash 2 Trade platform, native token D2T can be used to grant holders access to analysis, signals and social trading, as well as other features. It will therefore witness growing demand — and a rising the price — the more popular Dash 2 Trade becomes. At the moment, the presale is making it available at a price of 0.0476 USDT for 1 DST. This price, however, will last only for as long as the sale’s first stage, at which point it will rise to 0.05 USDT. Given that stage one will end after it raises the equivalent of $1,666,000, DST could see its price increase very soon. As such, interested parties may want to act sooner rather than later. How High? Dash 2 Trade’s progress so far suggests that its presale will sell out fairly comfortably, and that it could indeed enjoy some successful listings in the New Year. Of course, the question is, how high could it gain over its presale price? This is an important question, especially when the ongoing bear market would suggest that hopes for big returns should probably be downplayed at the moment. The thing is, even though we are still in a bear market, other presale coins have gone on to enjoy successful initial listings. This was especially the case with Tamadoge (TAMA), which raised $19 million in September and then posted a return of 1,800% at one point, following its listing on OKX. This isn’t to say that D2T will also surge by 1,800% once it receives a few listings. However, it certainly has good fundamentals, with its trading intelligence platform likely to be in demand within the cryptocurrency ecosystem. A

U.S. Charges 5 Russians In Alleged Sanctions Evasion Scheme – The Washington Post https://collincountynewsonline.com/u-s-charges-5-russians-in-alleged-sanctions-evasion-scheme-the-washington-post/ The U.S. Justice Department charged five Russian nationals Wednesday in an alleged sanctions evasion scheme that involved millions of barrels of smuggled oil from Venezuela and U.S. military technology that was traced to the battlefield in Ukraine. Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn accused Yury Orekhov and Svetlana Kuzurgasheva of purchasing “sensitive” military and dual-use technologies from the United States and shipping them to Russian companies, including some that service the country’s defense sector. Orekhov and Kuzurgasheva are accused of helping Russians acquire items including advanced semiconductors and microprocessors, which can be used in fighter aircraft, missile systems and other military technology, the Justice Department said. In some cases, the electronic components were found in Russian weapons platforms seized from the battlefield in Ukraine. They were charged with bank fraud conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, conspiracy to defraud the United States and other counts. Russian nationals Timofey Telegin and Sergey Tulyakov, who control sanctioned Russian companies that received some of the shipments, also face several charges, including money laundering conspiracy and conspiracy to defraud the United States. The Justice Department also accused Orekhov and the son of a Russian governor, Artem Uss, of smuggling hundreds of millions of barrels of oil from Venezuela through a front company that the pair co-owned in Germany. The oil was allegedly sent to clients in China and Russia in illegal multimillion-dollar deals brokered by two Venezuelan nationals, Juan Fernando Serrano Ponce and Juan Carlos Soto, who were also charged Wednesday. As the war in Ukraine drags on for its eighth month, the United States has dialed up pressure on Moscow and parties that cooperate with Russia. In late September, the Biden administration announced new sanctions that aim to restrict the Russian defense industry’s access to technology and penalize Russian and Belarusian officials. The measures were aimed at reducing “the capacity of the Russian military machine to regenerate its ability to threaten Ukraine,” national security adviser Jake Sullivan said at the time. Breon Peace, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, called the seven defendants “criminal enablers for oligarchs.” They face up to 30 years in prison, and the United States has moved to extradite Orekhov and Uss, who were arrested in Germany and Italy, respectively. “Their efforts undermined security, economic stability and rule of law around the world,” Peace said in a statement. In a separate case unsealed by federal prosecutors in Connecticut on Wednesday, four people from Latvia and Ukraine were charged with violating U.S. export laws by trying to send an advanced, computerized grinding machine to Russia. Called a “jig grinder,” the item is export-controlled and has the potential to be used in nuclear proliferation and defense programs, the Justice Department said. Karen DeYoung and Yasmeen Abutaleb contributed to this report.

Reprogrammable Materials Selectively Self-Assemble | MIT News | Massachusetts Institute Of Technology – MIT News https://collincountynewsonline.com/reprogrammable-materials-selectively-self-assemble-mit-news-massachusetts-institute-of-technology-mit-news/ While automated manufacturing is ubiquitous today, it was once a nascent field birthed by inventors such as Oliver Evans, who is credited with creating the first fully automated industrial process, in flour mill he built and gradually automated in the late 1700s. The processes for creating automated structures or machines are still very top-down, requiring humans, factories, or robots to do the assembling and making.  However, the way nature does assembly is ubiquitously bottom-up; animals and plants are self-assembled at a cellular level, relying on proteins to self-fold into target geometries that encode all the different functions that keep us ticking. For a more bio-inspired, bottom-up approach to assembly, then, human-architected materials need to do better on their own. Making them scalable, selective, and reprogrammable in a way that could mimic nature’s versatility means some teething problems, though.  Now, researchers from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) have attempted to get over these growing pains with a new method: introducing magnetically reprogrammable materials that they coat different parts with — like robotic cubes — to let them self-assemble. Key to their process is a way to make these magnetic programs highly selective about what they connect with, enabling robust self-assembly into specific shapes and chosen configurations.  The soft magnetic material coating the researchers used, sourced from inexpensive refrigerator magnets, endows each of the cubes they built with a magnetic signature on each of its faces. The signatures ensure that each face is selectively attractive to only one other face from all the other cubes, in both translation and rotation. All of the cubes — which run for about 23 cents — can be magnetically programmed at a very fine resolution. Once they’re tossed into a water tank (they used eight cubes for a demo), with a totally random disturbance — you could even just shake them in a box — they’ll bump into each other. If they meet the wrong mate, they’ll drop off, but if they find their suitable mate, they’ll attach.  An analogy would be to think of a set of furniture parts that you need to assemble into a chair. Traditionally, you’d need a set of instructions to manually assemble parts into a chair (a top-down approach), but using the researchers’ method, these same parts, once programmed magnetically, would self-assemble into the chair using just a random disturbance that makes them collide. Without the signatures they generate, however, the chair would assemble with its legs in the wrong places. “This work is a step forward in terms of the resolution, cost, and efficacy with which we can self-assemble particular structures,” says Martin Nisser, a PhD student in MIT’s Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS), an affiliate of CSAIL, and the lead author on a new paper about the system. “Prior work in self-assembly has typically required individual parts to be geometrically dissimilar, just like puzzle pieces, which requires individual fabrication of all the parts. Using magnetic programs, however, we can bulk-manufacture homogeneous parts and program them to acquire specific target structures, and importantly, reprogram them to acquire new shapes later on without having to refabricate the parts anew.”  Using the team’s magnetic plotting machine, one can stick a cube back in the plotter and reprogram it. Every time the plotter touches the material, it creates either a “north”- or “south”-oriented magnetic pixel on the cube’s soft magnetic coating, letting the cubes be repurposed to assemble new target shapes when required. Before plotting, a search algorithm checks each signature for mutual compatibility with all previously programmed signatures to ensure they are selective enough for successful self-assembly. With self-assembly, you can go the passive or active route. With active assembly, robotic parts modulate their behavior online to locate, position, and bond to their neighbors, and each module needs to be embedded with hardware for the computation, sensing, and actuation required to self-assemble themselves. What’s more, a human or computer is needed in the loop to actively control the actuators embedded in each part to make it move. While active assembly has been successful in reconfiguring a variety of robotic systems, the cost and complexity of the electronics and actuators have been a significant barrier to scaling self-assembling hardware up in numbers and down in size.  With passive methods like these researchers’, there’s no need for embedded actuation and control. Once programmed and set free under a random disturbance that gives them the energy to collide with one another, they’re on their own to shapeshift, without any guiding intelligence.   If you want a structure built from hundreds or thousands of parts, like a ladder or bridge, for example, you wouldn’t want to manufacture a million uniquely different parts, or to have to re-manufacture them when you need a second structure assembled. The trick the team used toward this goal lies in the mathematical description of the magnetic signatures, which describes each signature as a 2D matrix of pixels. These matrices ensure that any magnetically programmed parts that shouldn’t connect will interact to produce just as many pixels in attraction as those in repulsion, letting them remain agnostic to all non-mating parts in both translation and rotation.  While the system is currently good enough to do self-assembly using a handful of cubes, the team wants to further develop the mathematical descriptions of the signatures. In particular, they want to leverage design heuristics that would enable assembly with very large numbers of cubes, while avoiding computationally expensive search algorithms.  “Self-assembly processes are ubiquitous in nature, leading to the incredibly complex and beautiful life we see all around us,” says Hod Lipson, the James and Sally Scapa Professor of Innovation at Columbia University, who was not involved in the paper. “But the underpinnings of self-assembly have baffled engineers: How do two proteins destined to join find each other in a soup of billions of other proteins? Lacking the answer, we have been able to self-assemble only relatively simple structures so far, and resort to top-down manufacturing for the rest. This paper goes a long way to answer this question, proposing a new way in which self-assembling building blocks can find each other. Hopefully, this will allow us to begin climbing the ladder of self-assembled complexity.” Nisser wrote the paper alongside recent EECS graduates Yashaswini Makaram ’21 and Faraz Faruqi SM ’22, both of whom are former CSAIL affiliates; Ryo Suzuki, assistant professor of computer science at the University of Calgary; and MIT associate professor of EECS Stefanie Mueller, who is a CSAIL affiliate. They will present their research at the 2022 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS 2022).