Collin County News Online

SBA Offers Disaster Assistance To Texas Businesses And Residents Affected By Severe Storms And Flooding – Focusdailynews https://collincountynewsonline.com/sba-offers-disaster-assistance-to-texas-businesses-and-residents-affected-by-severe-storms-and-flooding-focusdailynews/ Euless – Low-interest federal disaster loans are available to Texas businesses and residents affected by the severe storms and flooding that occurred Aug. 22 – 25, 2022, announced Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman of the U.S. Small Business Administration. SBA acted under its own authority to declare a disaster in response to a request SBA received from Governor Greg Abbott on Sept. 13, 2022. The disaster declaration makes SBA assistance available in Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Kaufman, Rockwall and Tarrant counties in Texas. “SBA’s mission-driven team stands ready to help Texas’s small businesses and residents impacted by the severe storms and flooding,” said Administrator Guzman. “We’re committed to providing federal disaster loans swiftly and efficiently, with a customer-centric approach to help businesses and communities recover and rebuild.” “Low-interest federal disaster loans are available to businesses of all sizes, most private nonprofit organizations, homeowners and renters whose property was damaged or destroyed by this disaster,” said SBA’s Director Tanya N. Garfield of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Disaster Field Operations Center-West. “Beginning Monday, Sept. 19, SBA customer service representatives will be on hand at the following Disaster Loan Outreach Centers to answer questions about SBA’s disaster loan program, explain the application process and help each individual complete their application,” Garfield continued. The centers will be open on the days and times indicated below until further notice. No appointment is necessary. Businesses of all sizes and private nonprofit organizations may borrow up to $2 million to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate, machinery and equipment, inventory and other business assets. SBA can also lend additional funds to businesses and homeowners to help with the cost of improvements to protect, prevent or minimize the same type of disaster damage from occurring in the future. For small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture and most private nonprofit organizations of any size, SBA offers Economic Injury Disaster Loans to help meet working capital needs caused by the disaster. Economic injury assistance is available regardless of whether the business suffered any property damage. Disaster loans up to $200,000 are available to homeowners to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate. Homeowners and renters are eligible for up to $40,000 to repair or replace damaged or destroyed personal property. Interest rates can be as low as 3.04 percent for businesses, 1.875 percent for private nonprofit organizations and 2.188 percent for homeowners and renters with terms up to 30 years. Loan amounts and terms are set by SBA and are based on each applicant’s financial condition. Applicants may apply online, receive additional disaster assistance information and download applications at https://disasterloanassistance.sba.gov/. Applicants may also call SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov for more information on SBA disaster assistance. For people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services. Completed applications should be mailed to U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX  76155. The deadline to apply for property damage is Nov. 14, 2022. The deadline to apply for economic injury is June 14, 2023.

Former Stockton Unified Superintendent To Receive Full Pay For A Year Under Newly Released Contract – ABC10.com KXTV https://collincountynewsonline.com/former-stockton-unified-superintendent-to-receive-full-pay-for-a-year-under-newly-released-contract-abc10-com-kxtv/ The contract was reaffirmed by the district’s board after the county’s top education official said the initial passing of the deal broke the law. STOCKTON, Calif. — The Stockton Unified School District will pay former Superintendent John Ramirez Jr. a monthly salary of nearly $23,750 for nine more months under a contract released publicly for the first time and re-approved by five of the district’s trustees Tuesday. The agreement was initially approved by the district in a closed-door meeting directly following Ramirez’s resignation in June, a move the San Joaquin County’s top education official said violated the law. In a letter to the Stockton Unified Board of Trustees and the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office obtained by ABC10, San Joaquin County Superintendent of Schools Troy Brown said by approving the contract during a closed session of a board meeting and not orally reporting the action when back in open session, the school board violated the Brown Act. “The Stockton Unified School District Governing Board violated important rights when it took this illegal action on June 9, 2022,” the letter said. “Failure of the District to cure and correct these violations of the Brown Act may necessitate further interventions, including seeking judicial invalidation of the challenged action.” Ramirez’s resignation agreement went before the board for a second time Tuesday but this time during the public portion of the meeting. Trustees Cecilia Mendez, Scot McBrian, Alicia Rico, Ray Zulueta Jr. and Zachary Avelar voted to reaffirm the contract, which offers Ramirez his annual salary of $285,000 for a year after the date he resigned. The contract also offers Ramirez his existing benefits, excluding a travel stipend and vacation days. The agreement says Ramirez will hold the title of “Superintendent Emeritus” and will report to the district’s board. In a description of the agreement on the board’s agenda Tuesday, the district said it disagreed that their action violated the law. “While the District does not agree that there was a violation of the Brown Act, it is nevertheless recommended that the Board reaffirm its approval of the Agreement,” the agenda item says. “It is clarified, though, that Mr. Ramirez’s title of “Emeritus Superintendent” is reflective of his resignation and not of an employment position, and that the compensation under the Agreement is severance, not salary for services rendered.” While the Board publicly reaffirmed the contract, Brown said in a statement he is still disappointed with the district. He says while the district’s board calls the contract a resignation agreement, the contract itself is also an employment agreement. “It is disappointing that the SUSD Governing Board refuses to accept that it violated the Brown Act,” Brown said in a statement. “The agreement is clearly also an employment agreement in that it includes Ramirez serving and reporting directly to the board, providing transition assistance; indicates duties will be assigned by the Board President; and provides the option to terminate his employment under certain conditions.” Brown recommends the school board receive additional Brown Act training. ABC10: Watch, Download, Read

Dawn Takeuchi Apuna Named Acting Director Of DPP – Pacific Business News – The Business Journals https://collincountynewsonline.com/dawn-takeuchi-apuna-named-acting-director-of-dpp-pacific-business-news-the-business-journals/ Dawn Takeuchi Apuna named acting director of DPP – Pacific Business News  The Business Journals

How Naomi Osaka Maintains A Healthy Lifestyle While On The Road – The List https://collincountynewsonline.com/how-naomi-osaka-maintains-a-healthy-lifestyle-while-on-the-road-the-list/ Lev Radin/Shutterstock Naomi Osaka is the first Asian tennis player to be ranked No. 1 in singles by the Women’s Tennis Association and the first Japanese-born player to win a Grand Slam. The 24-year-old athlete was born in Japan to a Japanese mother, Tamaki Osaka, and a Haitian-American father, Leonard Francois, according to Cosmopolitan — and thanks to her success, Osaka’s earnings have landed her at No. 19 in Forbes‘ 2022 ranking of the world’s highest-paid athletes. Through the years in the spotlight, Osaka has used her platform to speak about living healthy and the importance of mental health. She was thrust into controversy in 2021 when she announced that she wanted to skip press conferences at Roland Garros for mental health reasons. Her decision, she says, left her feeling scrutinized. “Athletes are humans,” wrote Osaka for Time. “Tennis is our privileged profession, and of course, there are commitments off the court that coincide. But I can’t imagine another profession where a consistent attendance record … would be so harshly scrutinized.” On top of being vocal about her depression and social anxiety, Osaka has shared how she’s prioritized a healthy lifestyle while on the road. How does Naomi Osaka prioritize health on the road? Featureflash Photo Agency/Shutterstock When she’s traveling, Naomi Osaka prefers staying at short-term rentals or Airbnbs, as opposed to hotels, she told People, mainly because she can “feel at home.” She believes bonding with her teammates is an important part of the process, so she chooses to remain close to them. “I normally stay with my team, so it’s much better for team bonding than multiple rooms in a soulless hotel,” Osaka told the publication. All of them “cook together, watch TV, and hang out, so it feels like a family,” she explained. As a high-ranking athlete, Osaka prioritizes nutrition to maintain a healthy lifestyle. “I take my nutrition very seriously, so the best way to manage it is definitely at a house with a kitchen,” she told People, highlighting another reason she prefers Airbnb stays. “So a spacious kitchen is essential to my wellness lifestyle.” Osaka also shared her two must-have items when traveling: a massage table and a juicer. Naomi Osaka loves spending time close to the water Much has been said about the healing effects of being in water or even being close to the water — and it seems Naomi Osaka feels the same way when it comes to her mind and body. Prioritizing tranquility and quiet moments amid the bustle, she told People that she tries to book an Airbnb “with a pool or close to the water whenever possible.” Osaka has also recently embraced meditation and says she likes to “find a quiet spot in the house or even outside in the background and take some time to recenter” herself. Spending time with her pet “baby Butta” — a cream-colored French bulldog — is also important, so she looks for pet-friendly stays. “Finding larger spaces allows my team, family, and friends to join me, so it feels less homesick,” she told People. The tennis star, who calls herself “naturally introverted” as per Time, said she is “uncomfortable being the spokesperson or face of athlete mental health” because “it’s still so new” to her, so she doesn’t “have all the answers.” Nevertheless, it seems she’s gotten the hang of things when it comes to being intentional about maintaining a healthy lifestyle while on the road. If you or someone you know needs help with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.

Oregon State Vs. Montana State: How To Watch, Schedule, Live Stream Info, Game Time, TV Channel – CBS Sports https://collincountynewsonline.com/oregon-state-vs-montana-state-how-to-watch-schedule-live-stream-info-game-time-tv-channel-cbs-sports/ Who’s Playing Montana State @ Oregon State Current Records: Montana State 2-0; Oregon State 2-0 What to Know The Montana State Bobcats will square off against the Oregon State Beavers at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday at Providence Park. You can’t lose the matchup if you win every quarter, and that was precisely Montana State’s strategy against the Morehead State Eagles last week. The Bobcats were totally in charge, breezing past Morehead State 63-13 at home. The game was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 35-3. Meanwhile, it was a close one, but last week Oregon State sidestepped the Fresno State Bulldogs for a 35-32 win. Oregon State’s RB Deshaun Fenwick looked sharp as he rushed for one TD and 102 yards on 19 carries. Their wins lifted both teams to an identical 2-0. Watch the contest and check back on CBS Sports to find out who keeps up the positive energy and who hits a stumbling block. How To Watch When: Saturday at 8 p.m. ET Where: Providence Park — Portland, Oregon TV: Pac 12 Networks Online streaming: fuboTV (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.) Follow: CBS Sports App Series History This is the first time these teams have played each other within the last seven years.

Web3 Fashion Giants Come Together To Host Global Metaverse Fashion Event – CryptoSlate https://collincountynewsonline.com/web3-fashion-giants-come-together-to-host-global-metaverse-fashion-event-cryptoslate/ Web3 fashion giants come together to host Global Metaverse Fashion event Zeynep Geylan · 15 seconds ago · 2 min read RLTY, The Fabricant and World of Women came together to host a fashion event in the Decentraland between Sept. 20 and 22. 2 min read Updated: September 17, 2022 at 12:55 am Cover art/illustration via CryptoSlate The metaverse event company RLTY partnered up with metaverse fashion giants The Fabricant and World of Women (WoW) to host a global metaverse fashion event in the Decentraland between Sept. 20 and 22. The Fabricant is a digital fashion company focusing on bringing a sense of fashion to the metaverse. WoW, on the other hand, is a global fashion NFT collection created by the contribution of thousands of creators. The event The event’s primary goal is to attract women and fashion into the metaverse. The three-day event will take place at a specifically designed destination in Decentraland called “Synth Ave.” The area is intended by RLTY and is inspired by the famous New York Fashion street. Designers from WoW and The Fabricant will be sprawling around the event area to set up pop-up shows and offer collectibles. Lucky participants will also encounter one of the secret POAP dispensers to collect NFTs. The WoW and Fabricant came together to showcase a digital fashion collection made up of 27 pieces to kickstart the event. The 27 pieces are a part of a 1000-piece collection which will be released later. Participants can purchase one of these 27 pieces from OpenSea, or buy one during the event using MANA. The first day of the event and the educational panel discussion, which will take place on Sept. 21, will also be live-streamed for a broader audience to participate. Metaverse and fashion Throughout 2022, many metaverse ventures launched, including virtual McDonald’s shops and digital weed within a platform users can’t eat, drink, or smoke. According to a recent study, Metaverse awareness has more than doubled since the beginning of the year. In other words, more people are knowledgeable about the metaverse and its scope. Most of the study participants (82%) categorized it as a place to socialize, while 70% said they saw it as a place to shop. When it comes to the trends emerging with the metaverse, augmented reality comes first out of the top five areas. Metaverse events come as the fourth from the top, indicating an increasing hype around metaverse events. Fashion events are one of the most popular events under this category. Many fashion giants, including Nike and Zara, have entered the metaverse by releasing their digital collections and showcasing them in the metaverse. The global metaverse fashion event by RLTY, WoW, and The Fabricant will be Decentraland’s second fashion event. The Decentraland hosted the world’s first metaverse fashion week in March of this year. The festival hosted many high-end fashion brands, including Dolce&Gabanna, Tommy Hilfiger, Cavalli, and Paco Rabanne. The Fabricant was an active participant in that event, along with Auroboros and DressX, who also focus on metaverse fashion.

The Best Baby Food Makers Make Life Easier – Saveur https://collincountynewsonline.com/the-best-baby-food-makers-make-life-easier-saveur/ The best baby food makers make it simple to whip up homemade, high-quality food for your little one. Sometime between four and six months old, your baby will make the exciting—sometimes nervewracking—transition from subsisting solely on breastmilk and/or formula to eating solid foods. Navigating baby food can be intimidating for the best of us: Should you make purees or do baby-led weaning? What should your baby’s very first food be? And do you really need a baby food maker? While you can certainly get by without one, baby food makers make life a little easier—and for new parents, anything that makes life a little easier is worth its weight in gold. Many makers multitask, so you can also steam veggies for your toddler or make a smoothie for your own breakfast. Investing in a baby food maker means you know exactly what your baby is eating, you can save money over time, and you can get meals on the table (er, highchair, and possibly the floor) quickly and easily. Here are the very best baby food makers. Our Top Picks Best Overall: Beaba Babycook Solo Blender: Bamix Immersion Blender Puree Maker: Breville Mini Wizz Grinder: OXO Good Grips Food Mill Smoothies: Grownsy Baby Food Maker Steamer: Baby Brezza One Step Homemade Baby Food Maker Deluxe Masher: OXO Tot Food Masher Best Overall: Beaba Babycook Solo 7″D x 9″W x 9.5″H | 4 pounds | plastic Pros Works as a steamer, blender, warmer and defroster in one Easy to clean and store Fast – makes food in 15 minutes or less Auto shut-off cooking timer means there’s no need to watch over the machine Cons Pricy Must descale with vinegar occasionally to get rid of mineral deposits (true for any steamer) Why we chose it: This awesome appliance steams, blends, defrosts, and reheats fruits, veggies, fish, and meat, making it the ideal one-and-done baby food champion. That means you can put in raw meat and come out with perfectly cooked and pureed food for your baby without getting any pots, pans or blenders dirty. Plus, it’s intuitive to use. “It’s easy to use, virtually mold-proof, and cooks and reheats in under fifteen minutes,” says Christen Costa, CEO of Gadget Review. “It also has built-in blending capabilities which make it a perfect all-in-one baby food maker.”  Its compact design is great for small spaces, and it’s truly easy to clean. Bonus: its ergonomic one-handed design means you can hold your baby in one hand and prep organic baby food with the other, like the super parent you are. Blender: Bamix Immersion Blender 4.8 x 2.8 x 14.4 inches | 2.6 pounds | Metal Pros Highly durable, with two-year warranty The AC motor keeps a constant, precise speed under heavy loads Relatively small and easy to store Stainless steel blades can blend almost anything with ease Cons Only one function – no steaming, etc. Expensive Why we chose it: “A baby food maker can be a good choice for preparing baby food, but it has limited use,” says Colleen Colodany, CEO of kidswiki.co.uk, a website that reviews kids’ products. “Instead of buying a baby food maker, an immersion blender would do the job just as well. It has diverse use in the kitchen and does multiple things.” She recommends the Bamix Immersion Blender for its small size, ease of use, and durability. Plus when the baby has moved onto eating like a toddler (hi mac and cheese!), you’ll have a well-made kitchen tool on hand. This blender will become a favorite in your kitchen, from making baby food to beyond. It’s built by hand in Switzerland, and Bamix has been making excellent appliances since 1954. Found in the kitchens of professional chefs, it has three interchangeable blades and offers both power and precision, making quick work of pureeing baby food. You can puree soups, turn frozen fruit into sorbet, and whip milk into cream after your baby has enjoyed their pear puree, and when you’re all finished, it’s easy to clean thoroughly with water. Puree Maker: Breville Mini Wizz 18.5 x 14 x 22.5 cm | 250 watts | 1.5 kg | stainless steel Pros One year replacement warranty Useful for baby food and beyond Attractive design, easy to clean and store Cons Only one function – no steaming, etc. Too small to make big batches Why we chose it: Whether you’re turning basil and garlic into silky pesto or steamed sweet potatoes into baby food, Breville’s Mini Wizz will easily and efficiently do the trick.  With its compact frame, it’s friendly to kitchens where space is in short supply. It’s also refreshingly easy to use, with ergonomic design and simple controls. The lid has two small holes in the indents on top so that you can easily add liquid ingredients as you prepare food for your family. This little food processor is well designed, easy to clean, and a great size when you only need to feed a very little human. Grinder: OXO Good Grips Food Mill 14.75 x 7.25 x 10.25 inches | 2.29 pounds Pros Can wash all parts in the dishwasher Silicone coating for comfortable grip Can make applesauce, marinara, and more for the whole family Cons Only a grinder – will have to cook food separately Why we chose it: Low tech can be a positive thing. The OXO Good Grips Food Mill is a smart choice if you’re ok with a manual option for processing food into smooth purees.  It includes three grinding discs for fine, medium and coarse textures, and the stainless steel inner bowl won’t stain even when you’re dealing with messy foods like beets or carrots It’s easy to exchange discs and disassemble, and its legs fold for easy storage. Smoothies: Grownsy Baby Food Maker 0.5″D x 2″W x 2″H | 4.11 pounds Pros See through design means you can watch food being made Warming function means you can put a bottle in the water tank to warm the milk Large container means you can prep a week’s worth of baby food Multi-function and easy to use Cons Takes up a relatively large amount of counter space Why we chose it: This steamer, grinder, and blender is incredibly multi-functional—the Grownsy Baby Food Maker monitors and maintains food temperature as well. It’s also incredibly easy to use for sleep deprived parents: you can control the speed of its four precision blades with a handy LCD touch screen panel. It can also heat milk, keep things warm, and even self-sterilize. It’s great for smoothies as the special blade design makes it easy to turn fresh and frozen fruits into a silky-smooth consistency. Pour a satisfying smoothie for your baby, and make one for yourself while you’re at it. Steamer: Baby Brezza One Step Homemade Baby Food Maker Deluxe Pros Easy to use and clean Comes with three reusable food pouches and filling funnels Takes about 10 minutes to make 3.5 cups of baby food – fast! Cons Relatively expensive Why we chose it: This all-in-one baby food maker has plenty of useful features. Its one-button option for steaming and blending lets you add water and food and come out with freshly steamed and pureed fruits and veggies only about 10 minutes later.  If you only want to steam or blend, you can do that, too. It’s an especially great steamer as its steam tank is fully accessible for easy cleaning, and it’s fast, reliable, and easy to use. It’s also great for non-baby foods – you can use it to steam pasta and vegetables, and hard boiled eggs or even make soup. Masher: OXO Tot Food Masher 4.5″ L x 7.1″ W x 8.1″ H | .42 pounds Pros Super affordable Lifetime manufacturer’s warranty Compact and easy to store Cons Only one very specific use Why we chose it: For those who aren’t into fancy baby food makers, this product is genius in its simplicity. Turn tender foods like avocado, bananas, and berries into mushy goodness perfect for babies eating (and smearing everywhere, as babies love to do). Steep sides prevent food from slipping out of the bowl while you’re using it, and teeth help scoop food out when it’s ready for serving so you won’t waste food. The already compact masher collapses into two parts for easy portability, and a 360 lid can be snapped shut in multiple positions, making it easy to handle. Things to Consider Before Buying a Baby Food Maker Capabilities Some baby food makers will steam, blend and puree, while others simply grind or blend your food. Decide which functions are important to you, and how much you want to invest, as the makers with more capabilities tend to have a higher price tag.  Size Your kitchen is probably already taken over by baby bottles, just as your home is taken over by baby stuff. Decide how much counter space you’d like to devote to making baby food, keeping in mind that it will be for a specific period of time. FAQs Is it worth it to buy a baby food maker? “A baby food maker is definitely worth the investment if you want to be 100% certain of all of the ingredients in your little one’s meals,” says Costa. Making your own food also means you can introduce your little ones to your family’s favorite dishes, instead of being limited to the store-bought foods on offer. Another bonus: prepping your own baby food lets you figure out the perfect portion for your baby in advance, and even freeze any leftovers. What is the difference between a baby food maker and a food processor? Top-of-the-line baby food makers often include a steamer and a blender or food processor in a single appliance. In contrast, a regular food processor can make purée, but you’ll need to cook or steam the food separately. You can absolutely use a food processor to prepare baby food. What are the healthiest baby foods? Just like for adults, there’s no single healthiest food for babies. A healthy strategy is to intoduce your baby to a variety of flavors and foods. Many experts recommend starting with single foods or ingredients, like pureed squash, applesauce, mashed bananas, avocado, pureed peaches, pureed meats, and iron-enriched baby cere...

Binance’s Attempt To Buy Voyager Digital’s Assets Complicated By National Security Concern: Sources – CoinDesk https://collincountynewsonline.com/binances-attempt-to-buy-voyager-digitals-assets-complicated-by-national-security-concern-sources-coindesk/ Ian Allison is an award-winning senior reporter at CoinDesk. He holds ETH. Binance’s attempt to purchase crypto lender Voyager Digital’s assets through a bankruptcy auction this week has been complicated by concerns the U.S. government would reject the transaction, according to people familiar with the matter. Purchases of companies with U.S. operations by overseas entities are reviewed by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which blocks deals it worries pose a national security risk. Under U.S. President Donald Trump, CFIUS took a dimmer view of takeovers by Chinese companies, and his successor Joe Biden just this week signed an executive order “designed to sharpen the federal government’s powers to block Chinese investment in technology in the United States and limit its access to private data on citizens,” the New York Times reported. Changpeng Zhao, the founder and CEO of Binance, was born in China but grew up in Canada. Binance has defended itself against claims the company is Chinese, with Zhao spelling out details about his lineage as recently as this month. “I am a Canadian citizen, period,” he wrote in a Sept. 1 post. In the Voyager auction, Binance has been asked to add money on top of its bid as insurance in the event of a CFIUS review, which could delay an acquisition, according to one of the people familiar with the matter. “Binance has made investments into countless American companies both directly and through Binance Labs,” Patrick Hillmann, the company’s chief communications officer, said Friday. “Binance has never been the subject of an inquiry officially or unofficially by CFIUS.” He added: “Binance is a Canadian company owned wholly by a Canadian citizen. The xenophobia underlying the very nature of us receiving [a question about CFIUS concerns] is almost as shocking as the violation of confidentiality” represented by information leaking from the bankruptcy auction. Another Binance spokesperson, Jessica Jung, subsequently reached out and said Hillmann misspoke and Binance is an “international company,” not a Canadian one. Voyager declined to comment. CoinDesk reported Thursday that FTX currently has the highest bid for Voyager, though additional offers could come in soon. Sam Bankman-Fried, FTX’s billionaire founder and CEO, was born in California. His company is headquartered in the Bahamas and incorporated in Antigua. Voyager is headquartered in Canada but has U.S. lending customers. The contest to acquire Voyager’s assets is not officially decided until the end of this month, giving time for Binance or someone else to potentially top FTX. UPDATE (Sept. 16, 2022, at 19:23 UTC): Updates with statement from Binance spokesperson Jessica Jung. Sign up for The Node, our daily newsletter bringing you the biggest crypto news and ideas. By signing up, you will receive emails about CoinDesk product updates, events and marketing and you agree to our terms of services and privacy policy. DISCLOSURE Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated . The leader in news and information on cryptocurrency, digital assets and the future of money, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups. As part of their compensation, certain CoinDesk employees, including editorial employees, may receive exposure to DCG equity in the form of stock appreciation rights, which vest over a multi-year period. CoinDesk journalists are not allowed to purchase stock outright in DCG . Ian Allison is an award-winning senior reporter at CoinDesk. He holds ETH. Ian Allison is an award-winning senior reporter at CoinDesk. He holds ETH.

U.S. Justice Dept Asks Appeals Court To Allow Review Of Classified Docs In Trump Probe – Reuters.com https://collincountynewsonline.com/u-s-justice-dept-asks-appeals-court-to-allow-review-of-classified-docs-in-trump-probe-reuters-com/ An American flag waves outside the U.S. Department of Justice Building in Washington, U.S., December 15, 2020. REUTERS/Al Drago/File Photo Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com WASHINGTON, Sept 16 (Reuters) – The U.S. Justice Department on Friday asked a federal appeals court to let it resume reviewing classified materials seized in an FBI search of former President Donald Trump’s Florida estate. In the filing before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, the Justice Department said the circuit court should halt part of the lower court decision that prevents prosecutors from relying on the classified documents in their criminal investigation into the retention of government records at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach after his presidency ended. The department also asked that a third party appointed to examine all the records taken in the federal raid at Trump’s part, Senior U.S. Judge Raymond Dearie, not be permitted to review the classified materials. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com The government asked the appeals court to rule on the request “as soon as practicable.” The government’s motion comes after U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon on Thursday rejected the same requests from the Justice Department. There were roughly 100 classified documents among the 11,000 records gathered in the FBI’s court-approved Aug. 8 search at the former president’s Mar-a-Lago resort. Cannon, whom Trump appointed to the bench in 2020, had said she would tell Dearie, who is filling the role of a “special master” in the case, to prioritize the classified records in his review, which she set a Nov. 30 deadline to complete. If Cannon’s ruling stands, experts said, it would likely stall the Justice Department investigation involving the government records. The department is also looking into possible obstruction of the probe after it found evidence that records may have been removed or concealed from the FBI when it sent agents to Mar-a-Lago in June to try to recover all classified documents through a grand jury subpoena. The Justice Department must now convince the Atlanta-based appeals court, with a conservative majority, to take its side in litigation over the records probe. Trump appointees make up six of the 11 active judges on the 11th Circuit. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Reporting by Jacqueline Thomsen; Editing by Tim Ahmann and William Mallard Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

China Science, Technology News Summary — Sept. 17 – China.org.cn https://collincountynewsonline.com/china-science-technology-news-summary-sept-17-china-org-cn/ BEIJING, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) — The following is a summary of published science and technology news of China. SPACEWALK China’s Shenzhou-14 astronauts will conduct extravehicular activities (EVAs) for the second time within the next few days, the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) announced on Friday. The Shenzhou-14 astronauts are now in good condition, and the space station combination is operating stably, with the conditions in place for the crew’s second EVAs, the CMSA said. LUNAR WATER The analysis of moon samples brought back to Earth by China’s Chang’e-5 probe suggests that minerals on the lunar surface have a high content of solar-wind-derived water. Researchers from the Institute of Geochemistry under the Chinese Academy of Sciences found a large amount of water in the returned lunar soil samples, with an estimated content of at least 170 parts per million, equivalent to 170 grams of water per tonne of lunar soil. The discovery, which was published in the journal Nature Communications earlier this month, shows that the moon minerals are important reservoirs of water. YAK EVOLUTION Chinese researchers have revealed genetic and cellular mechanisms underlying adaptations of yak to low-oxygen environments. Based on the data of genomics and transcriptomics, researchers from the Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences assembled two chromosome-level genomes, one each for wild yak and domestic yak, and screened structural variants (SVs) through the long-read data of yak and cattle. According to the findings published in the journal Nature Communications, 127 genes carrying special types of SVs were differentially expressed in the lungs of cattle and yak. Researchers then found a yak-specific endothelial cell subtype which expresses genes associated with adaptation to a low-oxygen environment. Enditem

AndaSeat Kaiser 3 Gaming Chair Review — The Absolute Best Chair Of 2022 – Gaming Trend https://collincountynewsonline.com/andaseat-kaiser-3-gaming-chair-review-the-absolute-best-chair-of-2022-gaming-trend/ I review a lot of seats, but I’d not heard of AndaSeat before. They’ve been around since 2007 and have made a lot of seats, but for luxury cars. They partnered up with the Macau Grand Prix, as well as the Macau National Football Team, National Volleyball League, Football Clubs, Racing Clubs, and now world-wide Esport Teams, but they just weren’t on my radar for some reason. When I got the opportunity to check out one of their newest flagship chairs, the AndaSeat Kaiser 3, I thought I’d give them a go and see what makes them different, if anything. Imagine my surprise when I found the most comfortable seat I’ve ever purchased or reviewed, from a company I’d never heard of before. Let’s unbox this thing and find out why this might just be the best seat on the market. AndaSeat Kaiser 3 Unboxing and Review [Gaming Trend] Before we get into what makes this chair special, let’s talk about the ways it is the same. Everyone is using PVC leather, and so is this chair. Underneath is a rolled memory foam, just like most other chairs in this category. The chair uses a class-4 gas piston for raising and lowering its height. It reclines, sports ergonomic options, comes with pillows, and has a metal frame. Absolutely nothing new under the sun, right? Well, not so fast. The first thing you’ll notice about the leather is that it is downright plush. It’s PVC leather, but clearly it’s a premium version of it. Designated “DuraXtra Leatherette”, this material is precisely the type of material you’d expect out of something in a high end car (the Acura uses a similar blend) or luxury furniture. PVC Leather is made via an extrusion process, rather than being beaten cow hide, meaning it comes out uniform, can have other strengthening materials added to the mixture, and is ultimately extruded to form. Colors can be added, as well as texturing and patterns like we see on AndaSeat’s various tie-in products – I particularly like their G1 Transformers chairs. On the Kaiser 3, we have a smooth but textured main body and back, with the side wing materials looking not unlike the carbon fiber you’d find on a supercar, giving it an aggressive and elegant look. Double stitched on every seam, with heavy reinforcement at roll points, it’s also built to last. The foam underneath the PVC also gets the royal treatment. “60kg/m³ Re-dense Moulde Foam” might not mean anything to you, but ultimately it translates to some thick foam where it matters, making the chaira pleasure to sit in for long periods of time. Generously padded side wings, and a seat that is the sort of thickness you’d expect from a “XXL” version of this chair are just standard on the Kaiser 3, but it’s what you’ll find next that makes a world of difference. A lot of chair manufacturers, most of them in fact, will supply you with a small lumbar pillow complete with straps. These do well enough, but not everyone has pressure points in their spine in the same spots. To that end, the Kaiser 3 has two lumbar adjustments courtesy of a knob on both sides of the seat. This can help support your upper or lower back independently, and it won’t move, unlike a pillow. Better still, it allows you to be very prescriptive about how much support you want and where. This is a silver bullet for this chair, and a function I’ve not seen on nearly any other chair to date. The last thing on the “it’s the same” list is the frame and recline options. Here’s where I’ve pointed out that you need to match the chair to the person, and not just buy the biggest chair by default. The frame, while reinforced and sturdy, is rated for 260lbs for the standard model, and rated for a person at a max height of 6’2”. That should fit most people, but be mindful of this when you select the size. The reason for the restriction is actually not the frame, but the stability when reclining. You can tilt the chair back 160 degrees, but unlike some other chairs I’ve reviewed, you can feel safe at that maximum value. Personally I don’t like sitting like that, but you could. More realistically, you’ll be able to tilt the chair as much as you’d like, and you can do so knowing it’s not going to flip over and break your neck. Now that we’ve gotten past what makes this chair the same as others, let’s talk about the things that make it not only different, but better. It’s a crazy thing to start with, but the packing is the best I’ve seen. Sure, there are no little white gloves in the box, but more importantly, the chair is carefully packed and padded. What you ordered is going to arrive undamaged, no matter how much hate the shippers put on the box. When you get it out of the box, you are going to find the next big differentiator almost immediately. Assembling this chair is a breeze. Everything can be slotted together by one person, and you’ll find a unique safety feature awaiting you when you go to attach the back to the seat. A small red screw prevents the control arm from accidentally closing on your fingers. You’ll only remove this when you are sure everything is secure and safe. It’s a minor thing, but it shows that AndaSeat has really thought about the experience from the moment you open the box all the way through using it. The next thing you’ll notice is that all of the parts are part metal and part plastic. I don’t own a single other chair that has metal buttons, smoothly rotating metal mechanisms, or metal plates to raise and lower the arm rests, but I do now. The 4D armrests feature buttons to rotate them in and out. The plate to raise and lower them is metal and locks into position with a satisfying latch. Sliding the arm rest closer or further away from your body is also accomplished with a small metal button on the side. Everywhere that you might actuate is an area where a chair can get wear and tear, but not here – these parts are going to outlive us all. Speaking of the arm rests, it’s the first stop on the magnetized list. The armrests can be removed from the top and are held on with four very strong magnets. This allows you to clean them easily (after all, it’s where your forearms will rest and potentially sweat), making sure they stay hygienic. While these seem to be injection molded rubber material, they are at least on par with the rest of the chairs I have. The other reason these are magnetized, however, is that it makes the chair modular. You can swap in a water bottle holder, a dry-erase board, a phone holder, and more. Talking about pillows again, naturally the Kaiser 3 comes with a headrest. I was surprised that I didn’t see any straps or plastic buckles on it. No, this head rest is magnetized. Locking onto the top of the chair, this pillow stays in place perfectly, but can be removed for easy cleaning. It’s here that I ran into my first issue with this otherwise wonderful chair. Unzipping the pillow you’ll find a layer of blue cooling gel to keep your head cool and comfortable. Under that lies the same foam as the rest of the chair, with four strong magnets at the rear to hold it in place. The pillow case is a soft and plush cloth that I unfortunately couldn’t zip up again. No matter how hard I tried, the zipper had come apart and would not go back together. My wife tried as well to no avail. It was time to learn about the warranty on the AndaSeat. Talking with a customer service agent, they were eager to resolve the issue. Within a week, I had a brand new pillow in my hands and ready to go. Thankfully, I was able to unzip and re-zip it meaning I was back in business. I’m not sure if what I previously had was a defective zipper, or if this is an area where AndaSeat should talk with whatever subcontractors made that pillow, but the speed at which they resolved the problem was impressive. To that point, the AndaSeat Kaiser 3 carries a 2 year warranty, but if you jump over to their warranty page and submit a Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or YouTube post, you’ll extend that out to a whopping 6 years. That’s a full year longer than anyone else on the market. I appreciate it when a company stands behind their product, and clearly AndaSeat is willing to do exactly that. Everything below the seat is fairly standard. The tilt mechanism is the high-end type we’ve seen on other premium chairs, as is the star. The wheels are the same ones that I routinely remove and replace due to them picking up chunks of carpet over time. No surprises here, so I don’t have much to say there. AndaSeat does offer a wheel upgrade to a rubberized version of the same wheel, but my recommendation continues to be these single-wheel replacements – they are on over a dozen of my chairs and they haven’t steered me wrong yet. Enjoy that pun. The last question to answer is price. The AndaSeat Kaiser 3 is competitively priced at $529 MSRP, but it’s already on sale for the month of September for $449 at the official site. I’m going to do something I’ve never done before – I’m declaring the AndaSeat Kaiser 3 the best chair on the market for 2022. Honestly, I’d say it’s the best chair on the market for several years prior as well – it’s just that good. I have an embarrassment of various chairs in my possession and frankly none of them come close. Nobody on the market comes close – the AndaSeat Kaiser 3 is the best chair of 2022. —Ron Burke PROS This chair is insanely comfortable Modular magnet system is a game changer 6 year warranty beats everyone else High-quality actuation for anything that moves Materials are top-shelf across the board Excellent packaging for shipping CONS Zipper on the pillow might be a problem Ron Burke is the Editor in Chief for Gaming Trend. Currently living in Fort Worth, Texas, Ron is an old-school gamer who enjoys CRPGs, action/adventure, platformers, music games, and has recently gotten into...

Raynaldo Rivera Ortiz Jr. Tampered With IV Bags: Prosecutors – Law & Crime https://collincountynewsonline.com/raynaldo-rivera-ortiz-jr-tampered-with-iv-bags-prosecutors-law-crime/ Raynaldo Rivera Ortiz Jr. appears in a Dallas Police Department mugshot. A Texas anesthesiologist with a history of professional discipline and several past brushes with the law has now been arrested for “allegedly injecting nerve blocking and bronchodilation drugs into patient IV bags at a local surgical center, resulting in at least one death and multiple cardiac emergencies,” the U.S. Department of Justice announced on Thursday. Dr. Raynaldo Rivera Ortiz Jr. is charged with four counts via a criminal complaint: (1) tampering with a consumer product and tampering with a consumer product causing death and/or serious bodily injury (a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1365(a)), the doing of an act that results in a drug being adulterated while held for sale after shipment of the drug in interstate commerce (a violation of 21 U.S.C. § 331(k)), intentional adulteration of a drug having a reasonable probability of causing serious adverse health consequences (in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 333(b)(7)), and adulteration of a drug by mixing or substituting another substance (21 U.S.C. § 351(d)). Professional discipline papers on file with the Texas Medical Board say Ortiz was also arrested several times in the past on allegations that he abused women and shot a pet dog. Prosecutors say one of Rivera Ortiz’s colleagues, a 55-year-old woman listed only by the initials M.K., “experienced a medical emergency and died immediately after treating herself for dehydration using an IV bag of saline taken from the surgical center” where the bags were tainted. That center was not named in the complaint; it was listed only as a “surgical center located in Dallas.” However, a Texas Medical Board suspension order regarding Ortiz’s license to practice medicine names the facility as Baylor Scott & White Surgicare’s North Dallas facility. The New York Post identified the victim as Melanie Kaspar. The suspension order Kaspar she took the bag home to rehydrate “when she was ill.” “She inserted the IV into her vein at home and almost immediately had a serious cardiac event and died,” the suspension order indicates. Kaspar’s autopsy revealed a lethal dose of bupivacaine, “a nerve blocking agent that is rarely abused but is often used during the administration of anesthesia,” the DOJ indicated. The incident involving Kaspar occurred “on or around” June 21, according to the DOJ. On Aug. 24, another incident involving an 18-year-old man identified only as J.A. occurred. That incident was described as a “cardiac emergency during a scheduled surgery.” “The teen was intubated and transferred to a local ICU,” the DOJ said. “Chemical analysis of the fluid from a saline bag used during his surgery revealed the presence of epinephrine (a stimulant that could have caused the patient’s symptoms), bupicavaine, and lidocaine.” A subsequent investigation “suggested a pattern of intentional adulteration.” A total of 10 “unexpected cardiac emergencies” had occurred during “otherwise unremarkable surgeries between May and August 2022,” prosecutors indicated — an “exceptionally high rate of complications over such a short period of time.” The DOJ explained: In each of those cases – which investigators believe occurred on or around May 26 and 27; June 27; July 7, 15 and 18; and Aug. 1, 4, 9 and 19 – medical personnel were able to stabilize the patient only through use of emergency measures. Most of the incidents occurred during longer surgeries that used more than one IV bag, including one or more bags retrieved mid-surgery from a stainless steel bag warmer. According to an affidavit, federal authorities learned that Ortiz was told of a disciplinary probe which alleged that he “deviated from the standard of care” just two days before the incidents began. The affidavit says Ortiz was “expressed his unhappiness” with that disciplinary probe and suggested to a “fellow doctor that [the surgical facility] was trying to ‘crucify’ him.”  Ortiz also complained to a managing doctor at the facility that losing work would be “devastating” to him financially, according to the document. None of the emergencies occurred when Ortiz was directly involved in a procedure, and none of the emergencies occurred when Ortiz was on vacation, the affidavit indicates. In one instance, a U.S. Food and Drug Administration special agent wrote that a nurse reported to federal authorities that Ortiz refused to use a certain IV bag she presented to him during a surgery. The affidavit explains: She stated that ORTIZ was the anesthesiologist for the surgery. The nurse stated that she retrieved an IV bag from the warmer to use during the surgery, but that ORTIZ strongly refused to use the bag and physically waived the bag off. The nurse stated that she recalled the event as unusual. The nurse also stated that, around the same time, ORTIZ retrieved his own IV bags for use during his procedures. The nurse said that it was unusual for ORTIZ to engage in this practice, as doctors at Facility-1 did not typically obtain their own IV bags. The document also alleges that surveillance video suggests Ortiz was personally placing IV bags into a warming device where they were generally stored: Surveillance video shows that, on August 4, 2022 at or around 11:35 a.m., ORTIZ exited Operating Room 5 and walked toward the warmer with an IV bag in his hand. No one else is visible in the video from the OR Hall at this time. In the footage, ORTIZ walked slightly past the warmer, then turned and quickly placed the IV bag into the warmer. After he placed the IV bag in the warmer, he looked both directions in the OR Hall and then quickly walked away. A short time later, ORTIZ opened the warmer and looked inside, then quickly closed the warmer. A patient suffered an emergency complication an hour later, the affidavit says: T.Y., a 56-year-old female, was in Operating Room 1 for a scheduled cosmetic surgery at or around the same time that ORTIZ placed the IV bag in the warmer on August 4. At or around 12:11 p.m., video shows a nurse obtaining an IV bag from the warmer for T.Y.’s surgery in Operating Room 1. Surveillance video shows that no other staff member accessed the warmer between the time ORTIZ accessed the warmer and the time that the staff member obtained the bag at 12:11 p.m. After that IV bag was placed, T.Y. developed severe hypertension and cardiac arrhythmias at or around 12:50 p.m. She was given emergency treatment and transferred to an emergency facility. A similar pattern repeated itself on Aug. 9, 2022, the affidavit indicates: On August 9, 2022, at or around 10:19 a.m., surveillance video shows ORTIZ exiting Operating Room 5 with an IV bag in his hand. The OR Hall was empty at the time. ORTIZ walked to the warmer and quickly placed the IV bag in the warmer. J.E., a 78-year-old male, was in Operating Room 4 for a scheduled wrist surgery at or around the time that ORTIZ placed the IV bag in the warmer on August 9. At or around 10:54 a.m., a staff member exited Operating Room 4 and retrieved an IV bag from the warmer. Surveillance video shows that no other staff member accessed the warmer between the time ORTIZ placed the IV bag in the warmer and the time that the staff member obtained the bag at 10:54 a.m. Medical records reflect that J.E.’s blood pressure spiked at or around 11:02 a.m. Emergency measures were employed, and J.E. was transferred to an emergency facility. Similar patterns were allegedly caught on video on Aug. 19 and Aug. 23. “ORTIZ’s behavior as described in the preceding paragraphs—according to information received during the investigation—is alarming and unusual,” the FDA special agent wrote in an affidavit. “[T]here is a direct and likely correlation between ORTIZ placing IV bags in the warmer and the incidents under investigation in which patients other than ORTIZ’s patients experienced severe adverse medical events,” the affidavit continues.  “There also appears to be a likely correlation between ORTIZ coming under scrutiny for medical errors and the adverse events affecting other anesthesiologists’ patients at Facility-1.” Ortiz’s disciplinary history says he was arrested for allegedly assaulting a spouse in June 1995. A “second female” sought a protective order against him in September 2005, the paperwork indicates, and another domestic violence arrest occurred in December 2014 “involving a third female victim.” That latter woman filed for a protective order against Ortiz in January 2015, according to the Texas Medical Board. In June 2016, a Collin County jury convicted Ortiz of cruelty to a non-livestock animal — namely, he “shot his female neighbor’s pet dog in retaliation for helping the third female victim of domestic violence escape him and testifying against him at the protective order hearing,” according to the medical board’s paperwork. An appellate record of the shooting of the dog says the animal survived after emergency treatment. It also says the shooting occurred after sounds of a “very loud sports car” were heard; Ortiz was said to have owned “three or more Corvettes.” Baylor Scott and White Medical Center-Garland “administratively suspended” Ortiz’s privileges for 14 days “for his failure to notify the hospital of the misdemeanor criminal charges,” the medical board noted in an earlier decision connected to the shooting. Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton said in a statement regarding the new federal criminal charges that the “safety of the nation’s pharmaceutical supply is critically important” and that the DOJ would “vigorously prosecute this case.” “Our complaint alleges this defendant surreptitiously injected heart-stopping drugs into patient IV bags, decimating the Hippocratic oath,” said U.S. Attorney Chad E. Meacham for the Northe...

How Scores Of Migrants Were Sent To Martha’s Vineyard And D.C. – The New York Times https://collincountynewsonline.com/how-scores-of-migrants-were-sent-to-marthas-vineyard-and-d-c-the-new-york-times/ Politics|Is That Legal? How Scores of Migrants Came to Be Shipped North https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/16/us/politics/migrants-marthas-vineyard-desantis.html The migrant drop-offs orchestrated by two Republican governors raised questions about how the law treats immigrants. Here’s what you need to know. Send any friend a story As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Anyone can read what you share. A mother and daughter, who were recently flown to Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., aboard a ferry to the mainland on Friday.Credit…Matt Cosby for The New York Times Sept. 16, 2022Updated 7:58 p.m. ET WASHINGTON — A pair of southern Republican governors this week used scores of migrants in a political stunt designed to bludgeon Democrats about the state of the nation’s immigration system, loading the migrants onto airplanes and buses bound for heavily progressive places to the north. But while the political message from Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida and Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas was clear, the abrupt drop-offs left uncertain what would happen to the human beings involved and raised complicated questions about how the immigration system works, what rights migrants have and what legal issues are involved. Immigration lawyers and legal observers said they were still determining whether any laws were broken when Mr. Abbott sent nearly a hundred migrants, including children, to be dropped off by bus without warning outside the vice president’s residence in Washington, and when Mr. DeSantis arranged for about 50 more to be flown on chartered planes to Martha’s Vineyard, the island vacation spot in Massachusetts. Here’s what we know so far. The migrants were already in immigration limbo. The migrants transported to Martha’s Vineyard are Venezuelans who recently crossed the southwest border without authorization and turned themselves in to border officials. The migrants who were dropped at Vice President Kamala Harris’s home were from Colombia, Cuba, Guyana, Nicaragua and Panama and came into the country in the same manner. After they were taken into custody, they were screened and released to face proceedings in the future. The Biden administration has been using this process with nearly all of the Cuban and Venezuelan border crossers because it lacks the diplomatic relations with those countries that would be necessary to send them back to those countries. But many of the migrants likely plan to claim asylum, declaring that they face violence or persecution in their home countries and are afraid to return. Under American law, any migrant has the right to do so, starting a process in which federal officials determine whether the claim is valid and they can obtain authorization to reside legally in the United States. That process faces a yearslong backlog, meaning that these migrants, like many in the United States, are living in a state of immigration limbo. It’s legal for states to transport migrants, but the drop-offs raise questions. Under the law, once migrants have been released by border officials and served documents to appear in court, they are no longer in federal custody and are free to travel within the United States. It is not illegal for a state government to pay for that travel. But if there is evidence the migrants were lied to by state officials about where they were going or what awaited them, as some attorneys have alleged, the migrants could pursue tort suits for fraud or severe emotional distress, according to Heidi Li Feldman, a professor at Georgetown University. Iván Espinoza-Madrigal, the executive director for Lawyers for Civil Rights Boston who is representing some of the migrants sent to Martha’s Vineyard, said his clients were denied their constitutional right to due process, since the trip to Massachusetts likely means they will be unable to attend their immigration court appointments in San Antonio, Texas. “If you are coerced and induced onto an airplane under false promises and told you’ll be flying to one place and directed somewhere else in midair, that is a deprivation of liberty the Constitution forbids,” Mr. Espinoza-Madrigal said. Some lawyers have also said that federal agents deliberately listed incorrect addresses for the migrants, which would prevent them from receiving proper notifications for their immigration hearings. But it was unclear whether any laws were broken; it is not uncommon for a federal agent confronting a migrant who does not have an address in the United States to list the name of a homeless shelter in the destination to which the migrant says they are headed. While critics have compared the actions of Mr. DeSantis and Mr. Abbott to human trafficking or kidnapping, multiple lawyers cast doubt on the possibility that they could be prosecuted for such crimes because no evidence has surfaced that the migrants boarded the flights or buses unwillingly. Top Trump officials first weighed migrant drop-offs. Nonprofit organizations have for years helped migrants pay for flights and buses to join friends and relatives around the United States. But the plan for the government to use migrant drop-offs in Democratic cities and towns dates back to former President Donald J. Trump’s administration, when it was embraced by Stephen Miller, his senior adviser and the architect of his immigration policies. Mr. Miller and other immigration hard-liners in the administration saw the move as a way to retaliate against so-called sanctuary cities that limited their cooperation with federal immigration authorities. The idea was ultimately scrapped after it was rejected by Matthew Albence, then the acting deputy director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, who raised concerns about liability issues if a migrant was injured during transport. He also said the agency’s budget had not been appropriated for the drop-offs. Critics of the recent migrant drop-offs have made comparisons to the so-called Reverse Freedom Rides arranged by white segregationists in 1962 to retaliate against those protesting segregation in the South. The segregationists misleadingly promised jobs and permanent housing to Black Americans, leading about 200 of them to travel north. Those families, too, were dropped off in Massachusetts, near the holiday home of President John F. Kennedy.

Black Entrepreneurs Face Tough Adventure Landing Venture Capital – St. Louis American https://collincountynewsonline.com/black-entrepreneurs-face-tough-adventure-landing-venture-capital-st-louis-american/ Finding more venture capital for minority and women-owned start-up firms could help bolster the region’s business community in many ways, says Doug Villhard, director of Olin Business School’s entrepreneurship program at Washington University in St. Louis. According to a Bloomberg report, Black/African American and Hispanic/Latinx founders received just 2% or less of the total venture capital in 2021. Just 2% of venture capital money went to female business founders. “This funding gap shortchanges not only underrepresented founders but also the vitality of the entire innovation community,” Villhard said. Villhard and Wash U are partnering with the Brookings Institution, a nonprofit public policy think tank based in Washington, “to develop policy-based solutions for the historically lopsided funding support available to underrepresented minorities and women,” according to a release. A nine-member commission that includes entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and public policy experts will oversee and guide the project while providing input and insight from the perspective of innovation practitioners. The goal is to address questions including: What are the root causes of this inequity? What impact does this have on the economy? What solutions can address it? “Rather than simply talk about the past, this commission intends to identify meaningful public policy solutions to drive more equitable funding, unlock more potential and further spur our economy,” Villhard said.   The project is the second backed by a $750,000 grant to Olin Business School from The Bellwether Foundation. The grant called for three separate annual commissions — formed jointly with Brookings — tackling “megatrend” issues affecting the quality of life in the region and across the country. The first Olin Brookings Commission project concluded in April, and saw participants develop an artificial intelligence-driven tool to flag suspicious shipments of prescription opioids and developed policy recommendations designed to empower the tool’s use among federal agencies, law enforcement and industry. In November, the commission will host a national conference of researchers presenting work focused on unearthing the root causes for disproportionate funding and informing any potential public and private policy solutions to address the yawning gap. The conference will be held at the Brookings Institution. Daniel Elfenbein, professor of organization and strategy at Olin, will serve as chair of the conference. In addition to Villhard and Elfenbein, the project will be led by WashU faculty members Dedric Carter, Olin’s professor of practice in entrepreneurship and WashU’s vice chancellor for innovation and chief commercialization officer; and Gisele Marcus, professor of practice. A key component of the Bellwether funding calls for student involvement. Ming Zhu Wang, a fifth-year Olin PhD student in strategy, will organize related research, along with five entrepreneurship fellows pursuing master’s in business administration degrees, who will assist with planning, research, and feedback. Commission members include: Christine Aylward, founder and managing partner at Magnetic Ventures Charli Cooksey, founder and CEO of WEPOWER Lori Coulter, co-founder and CEO of Summersalt Morgan DeBaun, founder and CEO of Blavity and advisory board member for the Black Economic Alliance Gaurav Garg, founding partner of Wing Venture Capital Lisa Morales-Hellebo, co-founder and general partner at REFASHIOND Ventures Martin Hunt, CEO of Swanlaab USA Ventures Andre Perry, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution Akeem Shannon, CEO and founder of Flipstik Commission members will collect and distill data and industry input over several meetings — including the November conference — with plans to release a comprehensive report of its findings and recommendations by April 2023.

‘The Only Thing We Want Is To Know Who Killed Monica,’ Says Mother Of Woman Killed In Northeast Baltimore – Baltimore Sun https://collincountynewsonline.com/the-only-thing-we-want-is-to-know-who-killed-monica-says-mother-of-woman-killed-in-northeast-baltimore-baltimore-sun/ The recent visits Monica Bullock had with her mother had been pleasant. Her smile was bright, she was a healthy weight, and she talked about her future, Bullock’s mother, Cheryl Auburger said. Bullock had long struggled with depression, which worsened when her infant son died seven years earlier, her mother said. Bullock began abusing prescription painkillers and alcohol to cope with the grief, leading her mother to take custody of Bullock’s oldest son, she said. Recently, Bullock, 31, had been living at an apartment in Baltimore’s northeast neighborhood of Frankford with her boyfriend, working as a cashier at a nearby dollar store. She was working toward stability in hopes of one day being able to raise 12-year-old Naszir herself, Auburger said. Those hopes for a future reunification were abruptly dashed on Aug. 26 when Baltimore Police said Bullock was found fatally shot just before 10 p.m. in the 5300 block of Eastbury Avenue, near the apartment where she was living. Three days after her daughter was killed, Auburger said city homicide detectives called her to say that her youngest — the baby of the family — had been killed. Police publicly identified Bullock on Thursday. Auburger said police have not provided her any other information, and expressed frustration about her unanswered calls to detectives assigned to the case. She fears that the department, burdened by more than 300 homicide cases a year, will not give her daughter’s case their full attention. “The only thing we want is to know who killed Monica,” Auburger said. “She didn’t deserve that.” Bullock is one of 249 people killed in the city so far this year, and one of 22 women. In the same block where Bullock was killed, police said a 24-year-old man was critically injured in a shooting on Aug. 10. Police have not identified any motive or suspects in Bullock’s case. “The investigation is open and ongoing,” police spokeswoman Detective Niki Fennoy said Friday, declining further comment. Auburger said she doesn’t know why anyone would want to hurt her daughter. “She was a good person,” she said. “She was a little firecracker. She said what was on her mind.” Auburger said her daughter was born in Baltimore, but the family relocated to Carroll County, where Bullock attended Gateway, an alternative high school. While her mother’s family remained in Westminster, Bullock remained in Baltimore, where her father still lived. Bullock’s father, Allen Bullock, said Friday that he and his daughter had a falling out 14 years ago and he had not seen her much in the past few years. Breaking News Alerts As it happens Be informed of breaking news as it happens and notified about other don’t-miss content with our free news alerts. Auburger said her daughter had struggled in recent years, since the death of her youngest son, Davion, who accidentally suffocated when he fell between a wall and a bed. “She always had depression, but when the baby died she dabbled in pain pills,” her mother said. Auburger took custody of her older grandson. Recently, Bullock appeared to have stopped abusing drugs and was healthy, her mother said. “I think she was in a good place,” she recalled. Auburger said her daughter recently talked about applying to school programs. She said her daughter dreamed of becoming a marine biologist and moving to California to work with animals. “She loved dolphins,” said Auburger, picked out an urn with dolphins on it. “I know she is going to love it,” she said.

Sports Scores, Highlights: Westport Boys Soccer Back Four ‘stellar’ In Victory Against B-P – Fall River Herald News https://collincountynewsonline.com/sports-scores-highlights-westport-boys-soccer-back-four-stellar-in-victory-against-b-p-fall-river-herald-news/ Herald News Staff  |  The Herald News The fall sports season is underway in the Fall River area. Take a look at the highlights from Friday’s local high school action: Boys soccer: Westport at Bristol-Plymouth SCORE: Westport 3, Bristol-Plymouth 0 LOCATION: Bristol-Plymouth DATE: Sept. 16 RECORD: 3-0-0 (0-0-0 in conference) HIGHLIGHTS: Ben Boudria had 1 goal and 1 assist; Hunter Brodeur had 1 goal; Will Quinlan had 1 goal; Coltrane McGonigle had 1 assist; Noah Amaral had 8 saves. “The back four of Marcos Dutra Africano, Ryan Borges, Nick DosVais and Zachary Lopes were stellar in minimizing the attack of Bristol-Plymouth. Bristol Plymouth did a good job of getting players behind the ball as we entered our attacking third of the field, so it took excellent playmaking to get the three goals,” said coach Chris Parker. Westport will host Bishop Connolly on Tuesday, Sept. 20. Girls soccer: Westport vs. South Shore Vocational Technical High School SCORE: Westport 1, South Shore 0 LOCATION: Westport DATE: Sept. 16 RECORD: 1-3 HIGHLIGHTS: Co-captain Korynne Holden had the winning goal, assisted by Julia George. Eighth-grader Cristina D’Attelo had her first clean slate of the season. Westport will be at Bishop Connolly on Tuesday, Sept. 20. Field hockey: Durfee at Brockton SCORE: Durfee 8, Brockton 0 LOCATION: Brockton DATE: Sept. 16 RECORD: 2-0-1 (1-0 in conference) HIGHLIGHTS: “Today was a true team win. We had goals scored by multiple players and only one save was needed to be made by goalie Kailey Hutchinson,” said coach Nicole Henrique. Josie Caine had 2 goals and 1 assist; Toni Freitas had 2 goals and 1 assist; Ellia Delisle had 2 goals; Jia Syronn had 1 goal and 1 assist; Kacey Curran had 1 goal; Brooke Macedo had 1 assist; Shakira Cadet had 1 assist. Durfee hosts Seekonk on Monday, Sept. 19, at 5:15 p.m. Golf: Case High School vs. Bourne SCORE: Bourne 262, Case 315 LOCATION: Touisset Country Club, Swansea DATE: Sept. 16 RECORD: 0-4 (0-3 in Conference) HIGHLIGHTS: In the loss to Bourne, junior Ryan Farrell was the top scorer for the Cardinals with a 46. Sophomore Everett Rego shot a 47 and junior Connor Lloyd shot a 49. Case plays Seekonk on Tuesday, Sept. 20. Herald News and Taunton Daily Gazette sports editor Steven Sanchez can be reached at ssanchez@heraldnews.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @Chezsports. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Herald News today.

Sports Metaverse Company Secures $200 Million Funding – Cointelegraph https://collincountynewsonline.com/sports-metaverse-company-secures-200-million-funding-cointelegraph/ The company said the funds will support the building of virtual sports cities around the world. 850 Total views 18 Total shares Sports Metaverse startup LootMogul secured a $200 million investment commitment from Gem Global Yield, providing the company a share subscription facility of up to $200 million for a 36-month term following an equity exchange listing.  The company said that the funding is expected to boost the development of LootMogul’s metaverse focused on sports games, including “building meta (virtual) sports cities around the world with real-world benefits, brands & professional athletes on a true cross metaverse & blockchain (multichain) platform on multiple devices such as Oculus, HoloLens, Web, Mobile & Console,” explained the company in a statement. The deal will allow LootMogul to withdraw funds by issuing equity shares to GEM without a minimum drawdown obligation, and allowing the startup to control when and how much funds will be used. The move follows a partnership announced in August with the open-source blockchain DigitalBits for the creation of the MOGUL tokens, a native token for its gaming ecosystem. The token is set to be added with an XDB/MOGUL liquidity pool on the decentralized exchange NicoSwap. With funds of 3.4 billion, GEM has been a source of capital for other startups in the crypto space. In June, the group invested $200 million in the CeDeFi exchange Unizen, and $150 million in the South Africa-based H20 Securities through the sale of the H20N token.

Introducing GroupFund, A New Helping Hand For Developers From GroupGets – Hackster.io https://collincountynewsonline.com/introducing-groupfund-a-new-helping-hand-for-developers-from-groupgets-hackster-io/ GroupGets was founded in 2013 to hack minimum order quantities on pre-distribution, electronic components. Like Voltron, DIYers, researchers and thrifty techies have joined together to save thousands of dollars on consumer-grade electronics. The platform eventually evolved to empower independent hardware developers to raise funds to produce their own electronic designs such as AudioMoth, a bioacoustic logger for wildlife monitoring. So far, over 1,000 public and private campaigns have been created raising over $50M. A few of these campaigns such as an open source SoC evaluation board: LoFive, and an accessible, thermal imaging board: tCam-Mini have made their way to a tier-one distributor, and an FPGA favorite, OrangeCrab, is being distributed on Farnell. These campaigns, along with many others, have also stocked the GroupGets store to continue partnerships and keep cool tech in the market. Greg Davill’s Feather-compatible OrangeCrab Michael Welling, founder of Qwerty Embedded Design, has funded several projects through the platform: “GroupGets has been my trusted crowdfunding partner since 2017. Since then I have launched several campaigns and they have always been transparent and knowledgeable. They are perfect for makers that want to validate that their product has a market without more fanfare than is needed. The campaign setup and launch is simple and successful launches can even lead to your product listing with major vendors.” GroupFund was recently created as a new feature to enable developers and conservation technologists to fund innovative projects without the need to ship a product to backers. It’s like a GoFundMe for technological expeditions, but the value delivered has impact beyond the immediate team making the campaign. An AudioMoth deployed in the wild The process of creating a campaign is the same for both GroupGet and GroupFund; the key difference is the goal of the creator. Members seeking to: market test a working, custom PCB design; group buy gadgets with minimum order quantities; and distribute a device to sell and list in the GroupGets store would build a GroupGet campaign. Members that are seeking to fund research; adding software/firmware/hardware features to open source projects; and R&D’ing their own design despite the chip shortage, would build a GroupFund campaign. Both campaign types are able to create and launch for free, with platform and processing charges only applicable if the campaign is successful. (GroupFunders have the added bonus: whether or not the campaign is successful in meeting its milestone, they can keep the funding that was raised overall!) Our Hackster community aims to recruit and hype technologists that push the edge of electronics and conservation efforts as either a GroupGet or GroupFund campaign creator.

The 8 Most Searched Cryptos Of 2022 – Cryptonews https://collincountynewsonline.com/the-8-most-searched-cryptos-of-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 crypto market’s volatility has resulted in several coins going on massive bull runs. Those coins became the talk of the town, and new investors researched them. We were curious about trending cryptos, so we analyzed the market and found the most searched crypto. Each asset trended for different reasons, so reviewed them to find out what made investors curious. Our guide highlights the features and benefits of 8 top searched crypto. The Top 8 Searched Cryptos in 2022 Before we review the 8 most searched cryptos in detail, let’s have a quick look at each. Tamadoge (TAMA) – Overall Most Searched Crypto and Utility Token Battle Infinity (IBAT) – New Highly Searched Metaverse P2E Gaming Platform Lucky Block (LBLOCK) – Most Popular New NFT Competition Platform Terra Classic (LUNC) – Popular Blockchain Protocol Powering Global Payments Ethereum (ETH) – Pioneering Decentralized Application Platform Shiba Inu (SHIB) – Aspiring Ethereum-based Dogecoin Alternative Dogecoin (DOGE) World-Renowned Meme Coin Owned by Elon Musk Bitcoin (BTC) – Trend-Setting Crypto with the Highest Market Capitalization Reviewing the Most Searched Cryptocurrencies This Year Let’s find out more about what made each asset some of the most searched cryptocurrencies. 1. Tamadoge (TAMA) – Overall Most Searched Crypto and Utility Token Tamadoge proved its popularity since the beginning of its presale. Its presale began just over a month ago and has already raised more than $17 million. Initially, the TAMA token was available for $0.01. High demand for Tamadoge resulted in the presale progressing to the final stage — offering TAMA for $0.03. The presale is scheduled to conclude by the end of Q4 2022, but high demand for TAMA may sell out the presale sooner. Tamadoge has been featured in major financial publications such as Bloomberg, Yahoo Finance, Market Watch, The Economic Times and Coincierge, to name a few. Another key reason for the coin’s growing popularity is its token burn. The developers of this NFT game will burn 5% of all tokens spent on transaction fees in the pet store. That will significantly reduce Tamadoge’s 2 billion coin supply.  Tamadoge’s exposure will extend soon to major exchanges. LBank and Uniswap have announced that they will list TAMA after its crypto presale ends. The coin’s supply will decrease because of token burns but demand will increase due to additional exposure, making TAMA a scarce asset. The best part about Tamadoge is that it enables players to earn TAMA tokens while caring for their digital pets. Players can exercise, feed and breed pets to adulthood and climb the leaderboard as their pets grow into adults. Once adults, the pets compete against other pets in the battle arena. Investors wanting to know more about the most searched cryptocurrency in 2022 can subscribe to the Tamadoge Telegram channel (Admins never DM subscribers first. Be careful of imposters). Visit Tamadoge  2. Battle Infinity (IBAT) – Globally-Known Metaverse P2E Gaming Platform Battle Infinity is a Metaverse game that has flourished since its launch. Its presale was scheduled to last 90 days, but the overwhelming demand for its native token (IBAT) resulted in it selling out within 25 days. This crypto project grew exponentially that even celebrities got involved. Bollywood actress Urvashi Rautela and international cricketer Irfan Pathan attended the project’s exchange listing party. Their involvement added to the hype of this project, which was evidenced by the token’s price pump. Because many investors missed out on the presale, they wanted another opportunity to buy IBAT. The coin was listed on PancakeSwap on 17 August 2022, and its price spiked 700% from the presale value. The price has retraced since the rally but is still up by 200% at the time of writing. Battle Infinity’s popularity extended to big publishers such as The Economic Times, Analytics Insight, Bitcoinist and Outlook India.  One of the reasons that IBAT is the most searched cryptocurrency and the best crypto to buy now is because it offers investors rewards. Players can access six platforms and build teams to battle other players for IBAT tokens. Battle Infinity offers battles in IBAT Premier League, Battle Arena or Battle Games. Another platform enabling players to earn tokens is Battle Stake. Players choose solo, duo or crates staking, and the most active players receive rewards from the global staking pool. In the Battle Arena, players explore the Metaverse with VR headsets and interact with other players in real-time. Players can find out more about Battle Infinity’s developments by subscribing to the Telegram channel.  Visit Battle Infinity 3. Lucky Block (LBLOCK) – Top-Rated NFT Competition Platform Lucky Block is an evolving competition platform that has drastically upgraded its rewards. Originally, this NFT project offered watches and exotic vacations, but it has made its draws more mouth-watering by enabling investors to win a Lamborghini, $1 million in Bitcoin and a home worth $1 million. LBLOCK is the native token, which was on most investors’ lips when it started trading on major exchanges. Investors who bought LBLOCK in January 2022 didn’t have to wait long for huge returns as the coin rallied more than 1,100% in the first two weeks of February. Lucky Block initially developed a BEP-20 token, which included a 12% sales tax. The project wanted to spare investors sales tax, so it developed an ERC-20 token, known as LBLOCK V2. The V2 token excluded transaction tax and fees, but it also paved the way for major exchange listings. LBLOCK became one of the top trending cryptos when it was listed on LBank and MEXC. Its latest listing was on Gate.io on 1 September 2022. Lucky Block CEO Scott Ryder announced that more exchange listings would follow. Another major announcement that made headlines was the LBLOCK token burn. Ryder stated that the network was determined to increase the coin’s value and would do so with a monthly token burn. The first burn is scheduled for 30 September 2022. The word about Lucky Block spread even further when the project announced a partnership with professional boxing champion Dillian Whyte. Another champion to join the Lucky Block roster was Florian Marku.   Entering the competitions requires investors to hold the LBLOCK token and access the Platinum Rollers Club NFT. Draws occur daily, and investors won’t incur transaction fees for buying tokens for the draws. Visit Lucky Block  4. Terra Classic (LUNC) – Popular Blockchain Protocol Powering Global Payments The Terra network has received its fair share of publicity and still remains one of the most searched cryptocurrency on Google today. The network was one of the key culprits of the crypto market crash in May 2022. During that crash, Terra (LUNA) lost 99% of its value. The cause for the price plummet was TerraUSD (UST), a supposed stablecoin, losing its peg from the US dollar after holding its value for almost 18 months. Some investors lost their life savings, and the search for Terra and Luna peaked on Google during that time. But Terra has managed to rise from the ashes and rebrand itself into Terra Classic. It’s a proof of stake (PoS) consensus that supports stablecoins and provides convenient global payments. Terra Classic uses an algorithm to manage the supply of stablecoins and maintains its peg with fiat currencies based on demand. LUNC became one of the best crypto to buy according to Reddit and its search peaked again when it announced a 1.2% tax burn. But LUNC gained traction even before the announcement of the token burn as it started pumping at the end of August. The price pump was because the majority of the original validators upgraded to the chains’ new V22 code. That upgrade enabled staking and contained the code for the 1.2% tax burn. Investors who bought Terra Classic at the end of August received 500% returns by 8 September. The global monthly search volume for Terra Classic is 16,0000, with the highest search coming from the Russian Federation. Buy LUNC on eToro Cryptoassets are highly volatile and unregulated. No consumer protection. Tax on profits may apply. 5. Ethereum (ETH) – Pioneering Decentralized Application Platform Ethereum has always been highly searched since it is the second-biggest coin by market cap. And one of the reasons for that is its various use cases that solve real-world problems.  One of the platform’s main features is smart contracts. It runs on Ethereum’s network and is a collection of codes and data located at a specific network address. Users of smart contracts automate the execution of an agreement when certain conditions are met so all stakeholders immediately know the outcome.  The key appeal of smart contracts is that anonymous parties can participate without using an intermediary. Ethereum’s network is a haven for developers. Thousands of decentralized applications are hosted on this network, which also enables sending, receiving, borrowing and earning interest of global funds. Ethereum has been one of the most volatile cryptos, resulting in several bull runs. It usually follows Bitcoin’s rally and has provided investors with more than 2,000% returns during certain rallies. Although Ethereum has always trended, its online search increased with the announcement of the Ethereum Merge. The network used the original consensus, proof of work (PoW), but decided to migrate to proof of stake. Ethereum claims the reason for the migration was to run a network that is less energy intensive and environmentally friendly. The search for Ethereum Merge increased by 350% recently. The average monthly global searches for ...

U.S. Military Leaders Are Reluctant To Provide Longer-Range Missiles To Ukraine – NBC News https://collincountynewsonline.com/u-s-military-leaders-are-reluctant-to-provide-longer-range-missiles-to-ukraine-nbc-news/ The Biden administration has held off on a request from Ukraine to provide longer-range missiles over fears it could provoke a dangerous response from Russia, with senior Pentagon officials opposed to the idea, according to two military officials. Defense officials who have advised against supplying Ukraine with the longer-range missiles, known as Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMs), have voiced concerns that the missiles could be used against targets inside Russian territory and potentially set off a wider war with Russia, the officials told NBC News. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Thursday warned the United States against providing such a weapon to Ukraine, calling it a “red line.” “If Washington decides to supply longer-range missiles to Kyiv, then it will be crossing a red line, and will become a direct party to the conflict,” Zakharova said.  A Russian Investigative Committee officer surveys damage caused by a military strike involving HIMARS multiple rocket launchers by Ukraine’s armed forces on the town of Stakhanov, on Aug. 26, 2022.Alexander Reka / TASS via ZUMA Press file The Biden administration on Thursday announced another major package of military assistance for Ukraine worth $600 million, including artillery rounds, mines and more High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems. But the aid does not include the ATACMs, which have a longer range than the artillery and rocket systems delivered to Ukraine so far. A number of lawmakers from both parties support Ukraine’s request for the missiles, which have a range of up to 300 kilometers or about 185 miles. But the Biden administration said last month that Ukraine does not need the longer-range ATACMs, saying that other shorter-range rockets and missiles have proven effective against Russian forces. On Tuesday, President Joe Biden said that “we’re not going to send to Ukraine rocket systems that strike into Russia,” though he did not specify whether Washington had ruled out certain weapons. “It’s not on the table at this time,” a senior U.S. official said Friday when asked about the long-range missiles.  But the official said the dynamics of the battlefield can change and “as their needs evolve, the types of assistance evolves.” The official said Ukraine was able to hit Russian targets with the weapons it has at ranges of less than 100 miles, and added that “there really isn’t much of a pressing need to be firing at a greater distance.” A Pentagon spokesman said senior leaders are in “regular contact with our Ukrainian partners to assess and support their requirements.” “As evidenced by their recent progress, they continue to employ the capabilities provided to them by the U.S. and international community to great effect on the battlefield,” the spokesman added. “We remain committed to supporting them in their fight to defend their nation.” Since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, the Biden administration has shifted its stance on which weapons it is ready to provide to Ukraine’s military as the war has unfolded, amid repeated appeals from Ukraine, Eastern European allies and U.S. lawmakers. The administration initially withheld approval for requests for Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, Howitzer artillery pieces, anti-ship missiles and HIMARS systems, but later gave the green light to the weapons shipments.  However, the administration has remained opposed to supplying fighter jets to Kyiv, saying other weapons would be more effective in the war and that warplanes could escalate tensions with Moscow. Throughout the conflict, the White House has tried to strike a balance between showing resolve toward Russia without provoking a response that could draw in the United States or NATO as a direct party to the war. Ukraine so far has chosen not to strike targets in Russian territory with the powerful artillery and rockets systems provided by the United States and other governments, and supporters of Ukraine say Kyiv has every incentive to stick to that approach or else risk losing Western military support. Democratic Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado praised the Biden administration for the support given to Ukraine so far, but said he has been urging officials to provide ATACMs as well as long-range armed drones and even U.S. military advisers to help Ukrainian forces on the ground.  “They’re not going to ask for something they can’t use. They’re not going to ask for something they’re going to misuse. I don’t share concerns about escalation,” he said, adding that he believes the Ukrainians will use the weapons in an appropriate way.  Crow said the United States needs to put the Ukrainians in a position to win, not to be in a stalemate.  “The war is constantly changing and evolving,” Crow said. “The targets are getting further out.” Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., defended the Biden administration’s decision. “I want the Ukrainians to have ATACMS as well but the Biden administration has solid rationale for not giving them these weapons at this moment and they briefed us on that this week,” Moulton said. “The broad criticism that the Biden administration could have acted more quickly in the past is fair, but they’re doing everything right. They’re thinking this through.”

NAVSEA Tech Refresh Increases Productivity For Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard – DVIDS https://collincountynewsonline.com/navsea-tech-refresh-increases-productivity-for-pearl-harbor-naval-shipyard-dvids/ Naval Sea Systems Command’s (NAVSEA) goal to transform digital capability through the Naval Sustainment System-Shipyards (NSS-SY) program offers an important edge for increased production across the U.S. Navy’s four public shipyards. With the oversight of the Information Technology (IT) pillar of NSS-SY, new and improved laptops are expected to fill the workspaces of Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PHNSY & IMF) by year’s end – an IT refresh and upgrade that is highly anticipated. “The new laptops are part of a larger, Navy-wide tech refresh effort,” said Fletch Vynne, of Boston Consulting Group, the contractor that oversees implementation of NSS-SY at all four public shipyards. “With older laptops, we observed slow boot up times, computer crashes and program latency.” The acquisition of new laptops are part of a two-phase approach that will replace laptops no longer supported by Microsoft beyond November 2022. The second phase will see an influx of new laptops to replace low-performing models, according to Vynne. Currently, PHNSY & IMF has received more than 3,800 new and faster desktops and laptops since February 2021 and is scheduled to refresh the remaining 1,200 computers by the end of 2022. The new laptops have 512 GB solid-state drives with 16 GB RAM, which is a significant improvement in performance time and durability over the old hard disk drives, according to Darwin Uesato, IT Strategies & Client Services Division Head. “This accomplishment will significantly reduce wasted time for users waiting every day for computers to boot up, and will process information faster, making the workforce more efficient and productive,” Uesato said. This efficiency has decreased service times PHNSY customers. With the new refreshed laptops, appointments that used to take closer to 45 minutes now average between 20-25 minutes, according to Daniel Bumanglag, Information Technology Specialist, Cellular Device Team. “The new laptops enable our cellular device team to deliver appointment sessions in half the time,” said Bumanglag. “We’re able to pass the time savings back to the employee so they can get back to the mission of keeping the fleet ‘Fit to Fight.” According to Uesato, a key success factor of this NSS-SY IT pillar initiative incorporates building strategic relationships with U.S. Pacific Fleet, whose leadership and support throughout the Indo-Pacific region provides the shipyard with access to the right IT tools that are crucial in performing our mission of ship modernization, maintenance and repair. PHNSY & IMF is a field activity of NAVSEA and a one-stop regional maintenance center for the Navy’s surface ships and submarines. It is the largest industrial employer in the state of Hawaii, with a combined civilian, military and contractor workforce of approximately 7,100. It is the most comprehensive fleet repair and maintenance facility between the U.S. West Coast and the Far East, strategically located in the heart of the Pacific, being about a week’s steaming time closer to potential regional contingencies in the Indo-Pacific.

Anbernic RG353V: New Retro Gaming Handheld Previewed With A Vertical Layout And A 3.5-Inch Display – Notebookcheck.net https://collincountynewsonline.com/anbernic-rg353v-new-retro-gaming-handheld-previewed-with-a-vertical-layout-and-a-3-5-inch-display-notebookcheck-net/ Reviews, News, CPU, GPU, Articles, Columns, Other Not Set Default Review Flagship Review Short Review Review Update Ultra Short Review Live Default Review Live Flagship Review First Impression Review Other Review Smartwatch / eBike / Camera Comp. Accessory Review Game Benchmark Review 3D Printer Review Analysis Default News Major Launch News (NDA) Sponsored News Special Topic News Advertorial Article Magazine Article List Article Column “or” search relation. 3D Printing, 5G, Accessory, AI, Alder Lake, AMD, Android, Apple, Arc, ARM, Audio, Benchmark, Biotech, Business, Camera, Cannon Lake, Cezanne (Zen 3), Charts, Chinese Tech, Chromebook, Console, Convertible / 2-in-1, Cryptocurrency, Cyberlaw, Deal, Desktop, DIY, E-Mobility, Education, Exclusive, Fail, Foldable, Gadget, Galaxy S, Gamecheck, Gaming, Geforce, Google Pixel, GPU, How To, Ice Lake, Intel, Intel Evo, Internet of Things (IoT), iOS, iPad, iPad Pro, iPhone, Jasper Lake, Lakefield, Laptop, Launch, Leaks / Rumors, Linux / Unix, List, Lucienne (Zen 2), MacBook, Mini PC, Monitor, MSI, OnePlus, Opinion, Phablet, Radeon, Raptor Lake, Renoir, Review Snippet, RISC-V, Rocket Lake, Ryzen (Zen), Science, Security, Single-Board Computer (SBC), Smart Home, Smartphone, Smartwatch, Software, Storage, Tablet, ThinkPad, Thunderbolt, Tiger Lake, Touchscreen, Ultrabook, Virtual Reality (VR) / Augmented Reality (AR), Wearable, Wi-Fi 7, Windows, Workstation, XPS, Zen 3 (Vermeer), Zen 4 Ticker

Awaiting A Refund For A Vantage Cruise That Was Canceled In 2020 – Miami Herald https://collincountynewsonline.com/awaiting-a-refund-for-a-vantage-cruise-that-was-canceled-in-2020-miami-herald/ Croatia offers picturesque views. Q: Back in 2019, I made a reservation for me and my wife to go on Vantage Travel’s “Croatia & Culinary Gems of the Adriatic Coast” tour. Other members of our family were also planning to join us on this trip. I made the final payment of $20,655 for our trip in Oct. 2019. As part of the cost of the trip, I paid $999 per person for a “cancel for any reason” travel insurance policy from Trip Mate. Part of the reason I had booked it was in case my sister-in-law’s cancer returned. Unfortunately, it did, and she died before the trip. In early 2020, we canceled our tour and initiated a refund request through Vantage Travel. I also submitted a claim to Trip Mate. Because of the pandemic, Vantage canceled our tour before its scheduled departure. Trip Mate reviewed the claim and approved it in mid-2020, but said payment would be made by Vantage. I have emailed Vantage multiple times and have made several phone calls. Twice on those phone calls, a representative provided the projected dates of when we would receive a refund. However, we have not received any refund or a written assurance as to when we will receive one. Can you help me get my $20,655 back? — David Maddox, Arlington, Virginia A: I’m so sorry about the loss of your sister-in-law. You should have received a quick refund on your prepaid, nonrefundable expenses after Trip Mate approved your claim. I don’t know why you didn’t, but I know you aren’t alone. Many travelers had the same problem during the early days of the pandemic. It was a confusing time. You handled this one by the book. You bought the correct insurance for your needs. A “cancel for any reason” policy will allow you to cancel your vacation for any reason and receive a partial refund. But, some restrictions apply. Your Trip Mate policy, however, was a little different from the standard “cancel for any reason” policy. It lets you cancel, and you’ll receive your entire prepaid, nonrefundable trip cost “in the form of a Vantage Travel Certificate for the cancellation penalty amount.” So, the best you could have done was a voucher. But, Vantage also canceled your cruise. In that situation, you should have had a choice between a voucher and a refund. It looks like things got confused between your claim, the Vantage cancellation and your refund request. I publish the names, numbers and email addresses of the Vantage executives on my consumer advocacy site at www.elliott.org/company-contacts/vantage-deluxe-world-travel/. A brief, polite email to one of them might have “un-confused” the process. Bottom line: You should not have to wait years for a company to refund your purchase. I contacted Vantage on your behalf, and it refunded your cruise. Christopher Elliott is the chief advocacy officer of Elliott Advocacy, a nonprofit organization that helps consumers resolve their problems. Elliott’s latest book is “How to Be the World’s Smartest Traveler” (National Geographic). Contact him at elliott.org/help or chris@elliott.org.

Serious Breach At Uber Spotlights Hacker Social Deception – Business News – Castanet.net https://collincountynewsonline.com/serious-breach-at-uber-spotlights-hacker-social-deception-business-news-castanet-net/ Photo: The Canadian Press FILE – An Uber sign is displayed at the company’s headquarters in San Francisco, Monday, Sept. 12, 2022. Uber said Thursday, Sept. 15, that it reached out to law enforcement after a hacker apparently breached its network. A security engineer said the intruder provided evidence of obtaining access to crucial systems at the ride-hailing service. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File) The ride-hailing service Uber said Friday that all its services were operational following what security professionals are calling a major data breach, claiming there was no evidence the hacker got access to sensitive user data. But the breach, apparently by a lone hacker, put the spotlight on an increasingly effective break-in routine involving social engineering: The hacker apparently gained access posing as a colleague, tricking an Uber employee into surrendering their credentials. They were then able to locate passwords on the network that got them the level of privileged access reserved for system administrators. The potential damage was serious: Screenshots the hacker shared with security researchers indicate they obtained full access to the cloud-based systems where Uber stores sensitive customer and financial data. It is not known how much data the hacker stole or how long they were inside Uber’s network. Two researchers who communicated directly with the person — who self-identified as an 18-year-old to one of them — said they appeared interested in publicity. There was no indication they destroyed data. But files shared with the researchers and posted widely on Twitter and other social media indicated the hacker was able to access Uber’s most crucial internal systems. “It was really bad the access he had. It’s awful,” said Corbin Leo, one of the researchers who chatted with the hacker online. The cybersecurity community’s online reaction — Uber also suffered a serious 2016 breach — was harsh. The hack “wasn’t sophisticated or complicated and clearly hinged on multiple big systemic security culture and engineering failures,” tweeted Lesley Carhart, incident response director of Dragos Inc., which specializes in an industrial-control systems. Leo said screenshots the hacker shared showed the intruder got access to systems stored on Amazon and Google cloud-based servers where Uber keeps source code, financial data and customer data such as driver’s licenses. “If he had keys to the kingdom he could start stopping services. He could delete stuff. He could download customer data, change people’s passwords,” said Leo, a researcher and head of business development at the security company Zellic. Screenshots the hacker shared — many of which found their way online — showed sensitive financial data and internal databases accessed. Also widely circulating online: The hacker announcing the breach Thursday on Uber’s internal Slack collaboration system. Leo, along with Sam Curry, an engineer with Yuga Labs who also communicated with the hacker, said there was no indication that the hacker had done any damage or was interested in anything more than publicity. “It’s pretty clear he’s a young hacker because he wants what 99% of what young hackers want, which is fame,” Leo said. Curry said he spoke to several Uber employees Thursday who said they were “working to lock down everything internally” to restrict the hacker’s access. That included the San Francisco company’s Slack network, he said. In a statement posted online Friday, Uber said “internal software tools that we took down as a precaution yesterday are coming back online.” It said all its services — including Uber Eats and Uber Freight — were operational and that it had notified law enforcement. The FBI said via email that it is “aware of the cyber incident involving Uber, and our assistance to the company is ongoing.” Uber said there was no evidence that the intruder accessed “sensitive user data” such as trip history but did not respond to questions from The Associated Press including about whether data was stored encrypted. Curry and Leo said the hacker did not indicate how much data was copied. Uber did not recommend any specific actions for its users, such as changing passwords. The hacker alerted the researchers to the intrusion Thursday by using an internal Uber account on the company’s network used to post vulnerabilities identified through its bug-bounty program, which pays ethical hackers to ferret out network weaknesses. After commenting on those posts, the hacker provided a Telegram account address. Curry and other researchers then engaged them in a separate conversation, where the intruder provided the screenshots as proof. The AP attempted to contact the hacker at the Telegram account, but received no response. Screenshots posted online appeared to confirm what the researchers said the hacker claimed: That they obtained privileged access to Uber’s most critical systems through social engineering. The apparent scenario: The hacker first obtained the password of an Uber employee, likely through phishing. The hacker then bombarded the employee with push notifications asking they confirm a remote log-in to their account. When the employee did not respond, the hacker reached out via WhatsApp, posing as a fellow worker from the IT department and expressing urgency. Ultimately, the employee caved and confirmed with a mouse click. Social engineering is a popular hacking strategy, as humans tend to be the weakest link in any network. Teenagers used it in 2020 to hack Twitter and it has more recently been used in hacks of the tech companies Twilio and Cloudflare, said Rachel Tobac, CEO of SocialProof Security, which specializes in training workers not to fall victim to social engineering. “The hard truth is that most orgs in the world could be hacked in the exact way Uber was just hacked,” Tobac tweeted. In an interview, she said “even super tech savvy people fall for social engineering methods every day.” “Attackers are getting better at by-passing or hi-jacking MFA (multi-factor authentication),” said Ryan Sherstobitoff, a senior threat analyst at SecurityScorecard. That’s why many security professionals advocate the use of so-called FIDO physical security keys for user authentication. Adoption of such hardware has been spotty among tech companies, however. The hack also highlighted the need for real-time monitoring in cloud-based systems to better detect intruders, said Tom Kellerman of Contrast Security. “Much more attention must be paid to protecting clouds from within” because a single master key can typically unlock all their doors. Some experts questioned how much cybersecurity has improved at Uber since it was hacked in 2016. Its former chief security officer, Joseph Sullivan, is currently on trial for allegedly arranging to pay hackers $100,000 to cover up that high-tech heist, when the personal information of about 57 million customers and drivers was stolen.

Research Shows Spirituality Linked To Better Heart Health Among African Americans – Milwaukee Courier Weekly Newspaper https://collincountynewsonline.com/research-shows-spirituality-linked-to-better-heart-health-among-african-americans-milwaukee-courier-weekly-newspaper/ By Karen Stokes Church attendance and prayer may boost heart health among African American adults, according to a study in the Journal of the American Heart Association. The study shows nearly 3000 African American adults, who reported more frequent church attendance, private prayer and “feeling God’s presence” were more likely to meet the American Heart Association’s key metrics for optimal cardiovascular health, compared to others reporting less frequent religious participation or no such beliefs. The key metrics for optimal cardiovascular health according to the American Heart Association Life’s Simple 7 metrics are based on smoking, diet, physical activity, body mass index, blood pressure, total cholesterol and fasting glucose with an 8th metric, sleep. The Jackson Heart Study is the largest single-site, community-based investigation of cardiovascular disease among African American adults in the U.S. On average, participants were 54 years old at study enrollment, and 66% were women. The ongoing study, initiated in 1998, includes more than 5,000 adults ages 21- to 84-years-old who identify as African American and living in the tri-county area of Jackson, Mississippi. Pastor Veloris Brooks-Mann, Chaplaincy Program Coordinator with the Salvation Army Milwaukee County, believes strong religious beliefs have beneficial impact on heart health. Veloris and Frank Mann (Photo/Veloris Mann) “It truly does, my story is I went to the hospital with 90% clogged arteries needing triple bypass surgery. I believed in God and believed that God sustained me all those months. I wasn’t feeling good and wasn’t getting the care I needed. God sustained me and kept me until the doctors found out what was wrong with me because after they found what was wrong with me the doctor told me I probably had about a week left then the mass heart attack would have taken me out. I believe that was due only to faith and prayer that God did not let that happen,” Veloris said. According to the American Heart Associations’ 2017 “Cardiovascular Health in African Americans” scientific statement, African Americans have poorer overall cardiovascular health than non-Hispanic white people, and death from cardiovascular diseases is higher in African American adults than white adults. “Spirituality improves your quality of life because you have a source or resource which is God in order to cast your cares on,” Veloris said. Throughout scripture, there are over 100 Bible verses from the Old and New Testament on God’s guidance to good health, as it is considered of high importance. Two scriptures that Veloris and her husband Frank Mann look to are 3 John 1:2 and Hebrews 12:11. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace. This is for those who have been trained by it. Hebrews 12:11 “This gives the three components you need and one of them is good health,” said Frank. “I’ve been training since I was 15 in health and fitness, I’m a professional bodybuilder but the key thing is you have to have discipline. I believe if you take care of yourself, if you do your part, the Lord is always going to do his.” Doing his part, Frank at 53, recently placed top 5 in the 2022 IFBB Pro League World at the Masters BodyBuilding Competition in July 2022. He has been dedicated and disciplined for 40 years in health and fitness. “I did that competition to show everybody you can still achieve good health you just have to put in the work,” said Frank. This is the only body that we have. We need to make health a priority.” “Health professionals and researchers should acknowledge the importance of religious and spiritual influences in the lives of African Americans – who tend to be highly religious,” said the study’s lead author LaPrincess C. Brewer, M.D., M.P.H., a preventive cardiologist and assistant professor of medicine at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. “With religious and spiritual beliefs factored into our approaches, we may make major breakthroughs in fostering the relationship between patients and physicians and between community members and scientists to build trust and sociocultural understanding of this population.” “Our findings highlight the substantial role that culturally tailored health promotion initiatives and recommendations for lifestyle change may play in advancing health equity,” she added. “The cultural relevance of interventions may increase their likelihood of influencing cardiovascular health and also the sustainability and maintenance of healthy lifestyle changes.” Frank is also a personal trainer. His mission is to help the people of God live a healthier life through the Word of God. He believes that we are to be in good health and shape for the Bible refers many times to the condition of the WHOLE man/person. “Health and spirituality go hand in hand,” Frank said. Frank and Veloris have a heart to guide people to better health. To reach Frank for Church Group Fitness call Faith and Glory Fitness (414) 252-4855. “This is especially important for socioeconomically disenfranchised communities faced with multiple challenges and stressors. Religiosity and spirituality may serve as a buffer to stress and have therapeutic purposes or support self-empowerment to practice healthy behaviors and seek preventive health services,” Brewer said.

Latest PSN: 70 Years Of ProRodeo Sports News – Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association https://collincountynewsonline.com/latest-psn-70-years-of-prorodeo-sports-news-professional-rodeo-cowboys-association/ Latest PSN: 70 years of ProRodeo Sports News  Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association

Why The Metaverse? – Fast Company https://collincountynewsonline.com/why-the-metaverse-fast-company/ Fast Company Follow Login Co.Design Tech Work Life News Impact Podcasts Video Live EventInnovation Festival IF360IF360 Subscribe FastCo Works AWS Genpact IBM Homepage Co.Design Tech Work Life News Impact Podcasts Video Live Event Innovation Festival IF360 Subscribe Help Center fastco works AWS Deloitte Dept Elevate Prize EY IBM Klarna Visa FastCo Works An award-winning team of journalists, designers, and videographers who tell brand stories through Fast Company’s distinctive lens FC Executive Board collections Fast Government The future of innovation and technology in government for the greater good Most Innovative Companies Fast Company’s annual ranking of businesses that are making an outsize impact Most Creative People Leaders who are shaping the future of business in creative ways World Changing Ideas New workplaces, new food sources, new medicine–even an entirely new economic system Innovation By Design Celebrating the best ideas in business Newsletter Events Innovation Festival Courses and LearningAdvertiseCurrent Issue SUBSCRIBE Follow us: advertisement advertisement Video Tech Advertorial Why the metaverse? Tech Do these 3 things to blaze through Gmail each morning Tech ORBITS Act: What to know about Congress’ effort to clean up space debris News News Wildly popular video game ‘Genshin Impact’ will be transformed into an anime show News Mothers with young children have returned to work at record levels, but it’s an uneven recovery News At this year’s NYFW, crypto and Web3 take the spotlight in the world of haute couture Co.Design Co.Design How TikTok’s pushy watermark boosted its brand—and hurt Instagram Co.Design This designer thinks AI-powered, customized jeans are the future Co.Design Moshe Safdie’s unrealized dream for Habitat 67 may finally be coming true Work Life Work Life Fixing bureaucracy requires more than a month-long sprint. Here’s why Work Life We all know about ‘quiet quitting.’ Now there’s ‘quiet firing,’ too Work Life 6 qualities that will get you hired, no matter the job

The Best Spatulas For Eggs, According To A Chef – Food & Wine https://collincountynewsonline.com/the-best-spatulas-for-eggs-according-to-a-chef-food-wine/ We love the OXO Good Grips Silicone Spatula Set for its comfortable handle, ease of cleaning, and ability to tackle any style of eggs, from scrambled to over-easy. Published on September 16, 2022 We independently research, test, review, and recommend the best products—learn more about our process. If you buy something through our links, we may earn a commission. Making scrambled eggs is where many of us start our cooking journeys — and it’s also when we discover that the tools and equipment we use in the kitchen have a big impact on the food we cook. No matter what time of day it is, eggs are a versatile and inexpensive protein to incorporate into meals, but to cook them well, the right spatula is just as important as the right pan. The type of spatula you choose for making eggs is dependent on both the style of egg you’re cooking and the pan you’re cooking it in, so we’ve rounded up a variety of offerings that will enable you to get delicious results every time. From silicone to metal, here are our top choices for crafting everything from expertly-flipped fried eggs to the perfect poach, starting with our winner: the OXO Good Grips Silicone Spatula Set. Our Picks Best Overall: OXO Good Grips Silicone Spatula Set Best Budget: Joie Lil Flip Egg Spatula Best for Scrambled Eggs: Rubbermaid High-Heat Silicone Spatula Best for Omelets: OXO Good Grips Flexible Omelet Turner Best for Flipping: Di Oro Chef Series Standard Flexible Turner Spatula Best Metal: Mann Kitchen Professional Grade Stainless Steel Spatula Best for Poached Eggs: Tenta Kitchen Stainless Steel Skimming Spatula Best Overall: OXO Good Grips Silicone Spatula Set Also available at OXO. Pros: This set is versatile, comfortable to hold, a good value, and easy to clean and store. Cons: One of the spatulas is white, which might show stains. In our test kitchen, our professional product testers analyzed a variety of spatulas, and this set was named the winner of best versatility because it “has everything you’d want in a set, covering all bases for whatever you need it for.” We selected it as our best overall pick for spatulas for eggs because its versatility makes it perfect for flipping a single egg, scrambling a large batch, and turning an omelet with ease. The set comes with three spatulas, including a mini curved one, a large curved one, and a medium-sized spoon spatula. The only con is that one of them is white, which might show stains over time but isn’t a dealbreaker in our book. Our testers said that the spatulas were easy to clean, comfortable to hold, and that the “handle length felt really proportional.” The spoon spatula also works to scoop for serving, so that you don’t need to dirty an additional utensil, and the flat-ended ones can also be used for bowl scraping and mixing. Material: Silicone and nylon Length: 13.5 inches Care: Dishwasher-safe Best Budget: Joie Lil Flip Egg Spatula Pros: It’s affordable, easy to store, family-friendly, and suitable for flipping eggs. Cons: It’s on the smaller side, so it’s not the best fit for large batches. Not your average spatula: This utensil has holes on the surface and a cute egg on the handle, but most importantly, it performs well with small foods like eggs. It’s sturdy, safe on nonstick cookware, and heat resistant up to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. For kids looking to help in the kitchen or young people learning their first dishes, it’s an excellent option for them to use as it has a fun design and fits nicely in little hands. Because of its compact size, this spatula is best for cooking one or two eggs at a time rather than a large pan-full. Material: Nylon Length: 7.87 inches Care: Hand-wash Best for Scrambled Eggs: Rubbermaid High-Heat Silicone Spatula Pros: We love the blade’s divet that allows you to rest the spatula on the pan while patiently waiting for your eggs to cook. Cons: The white blade discolors over time. As our favorite choice for scrambled eggs, the Rubbermaid silicone spatula has a cool-touch handle that keeps your hands from overheating as you stir — not to mention, a staple in professional kitchens. The divet on the blade allows you to set the spatula down on a bowl, a pan, or a resting spoon without creating a mess, and it’s heat resistant up to 500 degrees Fahrenheit, so you don’t have to worry about it burning or melting if it’s against a pan for a few moments. If you prefer longer handles, there are two other size options available. Material: Silicone Length: 9.5 inches Care: Dishwasher-safe Related: We Tested the Best Egg Pans for Perfect Omelets, Scrambled Eggs, and More Best for Omelets: OXO Good Grips Flexible Omelet Turner Also available at Bed, Bath, & Beyond. Pros: It has a long blade with a thin edge, so it easily slides under delicate foods. Cons: It’s not the most suitable for cooking eggs in other ways. Mastering a quality omelet is no easy task, but with the right spatula, you can achieve a flawless fold. This OXO Good Grips turner has a silicone blade with the perfect balance of flexibility and firmness to ensure your omelet holds together and doesn’t spill out. We appreciate its thin edge, as it helps you effortlessly slide under so no eggy bits get left behind as you flip. Heat safe up to 600 degrees Fahrenheit, the spatula is also great for cooking fish and other long, narrow foods. Material: Silicone and stainless steel Length: 13.4 inches Care: Dishwasher-safe Best for Flipping: Di Oro Chef Series Standard Flexible Turner Spatula Pros: The blade is wide and heat-resistant up to 600 degrees Fahrenheit. Cons: It’s slightly unwieldy compared to other options. There’s nothing worse than breaking an egg yolk while flipping it over. To prevent this from happening, you want a wide spatula that lets you get nearly the entire egg encased on it to keep your yolk safe, and that’s where this Di Oro turner excels. The blade is three inches wide, thin enough to slide under eggs, and is heat resistant up to 600 degrees Fahrenheit. The entire spatula is made from durable stainless steel and then the blade and handle are encased with silicone that’s safe for both your food and cookware. Material: Silicone and stainless steel Length: 11.8 inches Care: Dishwasher-safe Best Metal: Mann Kitchen Professional Grade Stainless Steel Spatula Pros: This heavy-duty spatula is great for flipping eggs on flat-top griddles and cast iron pans. Cons: It’s not compatible with nonstick cookware. If you’re making eggs in a cast iron pan or on a griddle, a silicone spatula might not be strong enough to get underneath them completely. This Mann Kitchen spatula is up for that task, and it’s large enough that you can make a family-sized scramble in a snap. Thanks to its heavy-duty construction, it’s designed to last for years and can handle a variety of cooking tasks. It’s the right size and shape for making smash burgers and sturdy enough for flipping large steaks. It’s important to note that stainless steel spatulas are not compatible with nonstick cookware. Material: Stainless steel and wood Length: 11.5 inches Care: Hand-wash Related: We Cooked 68 Omelets to Test the Best Nonstick Pans—These Are Our Favorites Best for Poached Eggs: Tenta Kitchen Stainless Steel Skimming Spatula Pros: It has a curved blade with slots, making it ideal for scooping eggs from hot water. Cons: The edges are fairly sharp, so be careful when storing and grabbing it. The Tenta Kitchen spatula is our favorite option for poached eggs because it’s ideal for scooping and draining food from hot liquids. The stainless steel slotted spatula is a nice balance of flat and curved, so it’s easy to locate your eggs and remove them from the water. This type of spatula is also useful for straining foods, such as pasta and beans, and when removing fried foods from hot oil. The long handle ensures that you won’t have to get too close to piping hot water, broth, or oil. Material: Stainless steel Length: 13 inches Care: Dishwasher safe Our Favorite We selected the OXO Good Grips Silicone Spatula Set as our best overall pick because it’s an excellent value, easy to use and clean, and enables you to cook numerous different types of egg styles without issue. When analyzed in our test kitchen by professionals, it earned a 4.8/5 rating for its versatility and comfortable handle. Factors to Consider Type of Eggs How do you like your eggs cooked? That popular diner question should be your main consideration when deciding on which spatula is right for you. If you prefer oozy sunny-side-up eggs or over-easy eggs, a wide spatula is a must. For omelet fans, you’ll want a spatula with a long, narrow blade and a thin edge. Scrambled egg lovers should reach for silicone spatulas that work well with nonstick pans. Pan Material Silicone spatulas are flexible and work nicely on most types of pans, while stainless steel ones offer superior durability but can’t be used with nonstick cookware. Because eggs are a notoriously sticky food, you’ll want to cook them in a pan that doesn’t present challenges. For most, that means a nonstick one, which makes silicone a top choice for many. Versatility While there’s plenty to be said for one-use tools when you have a niche need, spatulas for eggs can be used for so much more than whipping up breakfast. Some spatulas also work well for grilling, while others are great for mixing up cake and brownie batters. No matter what spatula you choose to make your eggs with, we can guarantee that it will come in handy for many other cooking situations. Q+A Do eggs stick to silicone spatulas? No, eggs shouldn’t stick to silicone spatulas. The biggest advantage of silicone material is that liquids and solids slide off it easily, including eggs. What’s the best way to fry an egg? The best way to...

Binance Partners With Ukrainian Supermarket Chain To Accept Crypto Through Pay Wallet. – Cointelegraph https://collincountynewsonline.com/binance-partners-with-ukrainian-supermarket-chain-to-accept-crypto-through-pay-wallet-cointelegraph/ Customers who use the Binance Pay Wallet to pay for their orders will be eligible to enter a rewards program. 269 Total views 21 Total shares Binance announced Friday that it has partnered with the Ukrainian supermarket chain VARUS, saying it will enable cryptocurrency payments for grocery purchases through its Binance Pay Wallet.  The grocery store is one of the largest companies in Ukraine with over 111 stores across 28 cities in the country. The company said that this partnership will allow its customers to access instant cryptocurrency payments and fast delivery in 9 cities in Ukraine, namely; Kyiv, Dnipro, Kamianske, Kryvyi Rih, Zaporizhzhia, Brovary, Nikopol, Vyshhorod, and Pavlograd. The companies have also announced a “reward fund promotion”, where customers who order anything from the VARUS Delivery program worth over UAH 500 and pay with Binance Pay, will be rewarded with UAH 100. A month ago, a Ukrainian POS and crypto payments company called Whitepay, rolled out a new program that enabled Ukrainians to purchase electronics and other products with cryptocurrency. In attendance at this year’s Kyiv Tech Summit hosted on Sept 6 -9 in Ukraine, Ethereum Founder Vitalik shared that: “Ukraine could well become the next Web3 hub”. He shared: “A country can become a Web3 hub if its citizens are actively interested in this technology and decide to make a major contribution to its development,” Buterin added. “Ukraine has both the capabilities and the determination to do this.”

Russia Vows To Continue Mir Bankcard Expansion After New U.S. Sanctions – Reuters https://collincountynewsonline.com/russia-vows-to-continue-mir-bankcard-expansion-after-new-u-s-sanctions-reuters/ A Russian state flag flies over the Central Bank headquarters in Moscow, Russia March 29, 2021. A sign reads: “Bank of Russia”. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com LONDON, Sept 16 (Reuters) – Russia’s central bank on Friday pledged to keep expanding the number of countries that accept its Mir bank cards after new U.S. sanctions targeting people and entities accused of helping Moscow skirt financial sanctions. The United States on Thursday sanctioned the chief executive of the Bank of Russia’s National Card Payment System (NSPK), which runs Mir, saying it was seeking to hold the Russian government accountable for its Feb. 24 invasion and continuing war against Ukraine. read more “Russia has scrambled to find new ways to process payments and conduct transactions,” the U.S. Treasury said. “Directly and indirectly, Russia’s financial technocrats have supported the Kremlin’s unprovoked war” against Ukraine. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com The importance of Mir cards for Russians rose substantially this year after U.S. payments firms Visa Inc (V.N) and Mastercard Inc (MA.N) suspended operations in Russia and their cards that were issued in Russia stopped working abroad. Cuba, South Korea, Turkey, Vietnam and a handful of former Soviet republics accept Mir, which means both “peace” and “world” in Russian, with others such as Iran intending to follow suit soon. NSPK and Mir themselves are not themselves sanctioned, and U.S. analysts said the U.S. move aimed to keep them from being used to evade U.S. sanctions rather than to prevent Russian tourists from paying for their hotel bills abroad. The central bank said Mir cards and other NSPK services would continue working as usual in Russia. “Foreign partners themselves take decisions about opening their infrastructure to accept Mir cards,” the central bank said. “At the same time, we intend to continue dialogue about expanding the geography of Mir card acceptance.” The U.S. Treasury said it had blacklisted 22 individuals, including four financial executives whose actions could support Russia’s war effort by helping it evade financial sanctions imposed on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine. The four included Vladimir Komlev, the head of NSPK. “Russia created its own state-run card payment system in 2014 out of fear of U.S. and European sanctions,” the Treasury said. “In his role, Komlev has promoted the Mir network in other countries, which ultimately could assist Russia in circumventing international sanctions.” The Treasury said “non-U.S. financial institutions that enter into new or expanded agreements with NSPK risk supporting Russia’s efforts to evade U.S. sanctions through the expanded use of the MIR National Payment System outside the territory of the Russian Federation.” Analysts said this implied that existing, limited agreements with NSPK – such as those allowing Russian tourists to pay their hotel bills abroad – were not likely to violate U.S. sanctions. “They must have some indication, whether diplomatic or intelligence, that Russia is seeking to connect its domestic payments system internationally for the purpose of sanctions evasion,” said Brian O’Toole, a former Treasury official who is a fellow at the Washington-based Atlantic Council think tank. “I don’t think the administration particularly cares all that much about Russian tourists visiting Turkey and paying their hotel bills,” he added. NSPK did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Moscow says what it calls a “special military operation” in Ukraine was necessary to prevent its neighbour being used as a platform for Western aggression, and to defend Russian-speakers. Kyiv and its Western allies dismiss these arguments as baseless pretexts for an imperial-style war of aggression. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Cynthia Osterman Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.