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Governor Again Suspends Georgia Gas Taxes Into Mid-November – 69News WFMZ-TV https://collincountynewsonline.com/governor-again-suspends-georgia-gas-taxes-into-mid-november-69news-wfmz-tv/ ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia’s governor is extending the suspension of the state’s motor fuel tax through Nov. 11. Gov. Brian Kemp on Monday signed an executive order extending the suspension for a fifth time, meaning the suspension will be in place through the Nov. 8 election when Kemp, a Republican, seeks another term against Democrat Stacey Abrams. Kemp previously signed a law in March that passed with broad bipartisan support, suspending the state’s gas tax through May 31. Kemp signed additional extensions in May, July, August and September. The order also suspends the state sales tax on train locomotive fuel. Under state law, Kemp can suspend taxes as long as state lawmakers ratify the action the next time they meet. Georgia’s gasoline price normally includes a federal tax of 18.4 cents per gallon and a state tax of 29.1 cents per gallon. A number of counties and the city of Atlanta also charge taxes. Federal taxes on diesel fuel are 24.4 cents per gallon, while Georgia’s tax on diesel is 32.6 cents per gallon. Kemp’s extension comes as gas prices begin to creep up after hitting recent lows last month. According to motorist group AAA, the average price for a gallon of regular gas in Georgia was $3.17 on Monday. That’s down about 17 cents in a month, but up about a nickel from a week ago. While the national average is now $3.80, Georgia is one of eight states in the South, with average gas prices below $3.25 a gallon. Gas prices in Georgia remain 18 cents a gallon above where they were a year ago. A gallon of diesel fuel is averaging $4.57 a gallon, down 17 cents in the last month. The suspension costs the state more than $150 million a month in tax revenue, with Kemp estimating the amount of forgone tax revenue at $800 million so far. Kemp plans to backfill the money for road building using some of the $6.6 billion in state surplus. Kemp, who has blamed President Joe Biden for inflation and high gas prices, seeks to tie Abrams to the unpopular president. Abrams has called for Kemp to commit to suspending the gas tax through the end of the year. The price of oil has risen dramatically around the world since Russian President Vladimir Putin began amassing troops on Ukraine’s border and then invaded the eastern European country. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

Healthy Living Spotlight: 4-County Can Help In Energy Saving – WCBI https://collincountynewsonline.com/healthy-living-spotlight-4-county-can-help-in-energy-saving-wcbi/ COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – These days every penny counts. Especially when it comes to heating and cooling your home. Find out how 4-County can help you. Here’s a healthy living spotlight. “I’m Ronnie Vernon, marketing specialist for 4-County Electric. A big part of my job is advising members on ways to lower their power bills, especially senior members who may live on a fixed income. 4-County has several programs and tools that can help. We’ve got ways to track your power usage daily or weekly, and even get alerted when those large amounts of electricity are being used. We can come to your home and do an energy audit and show you ways to make improvements to make your house more energy efficient. We also have programs that can help you with those improvements, including on-bill financing. We also have payment options for seniors. Levelized billing is a good way for seniors. That way your bill will not increase more than $25 a month. Give us a call here 4-County.” For 24/7 news and updates, follow us on Facebook and Twitter

VIDEO: Former UH Warrior And CFL Great Chad Owens Hosts Star-Advertiser Sports Show ‘The CO2 RUN DWN’ – Honolulu Star-Advertiser https://collincountynewsonline.com/video-former-uh-warrior-and-cfl-great-chad-owens-hosts-star-advertiser-sports-show-the-co2-run-dwn-honolulu-star-advertiser/ STAR-ADVERTISER Chad Owens hosts “The CO2 RUN DWN,” the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s Live sports talk show. STAR-ADVERTISER Chad Owens hosts “The CO2 RUN DWN,” the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s Facebook Live sports talk show. Former University of Hawaii and Canadian Football League standout Chad Owens hosts the “The CO2 RUN DWN,” the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s Live sports talk show. Owens discusses the top local and national sports news and highlights Hawaii star athletes on the “The CO2 RUN DWN” every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 1 p.m. Today’s show is broadcast at 2:30 p.m. Watch the show above or on the Star-Advertiser’s Facebook page.

Moët Hennessy USA Files NFT & Metaverse Trademark Applications – NFTevening.com https://collincountynewsonline.com/moet-hennessy-usa-files-nft-metaverse-trademark-applications-nftevening-com/ Infamous beverage company ‘Moët Hennessy’ submitted not one but five NFT and metaverse trademark applications for the names “Moet,” “Moet & Chandon,” and “Dom Perignon”. This signals that Moët Hennessy is moving into the NFT space in a big way. Is Moët Hennessy USA moving to the NFT & Metaverse world? | Credit: Lux Expose Another recent top beverage brand that recently filed for NFT and metaverse application was Jack Daniel’s. Surprisingly, Moët Hennessy filed for its trademark application only a few days after Jack Daniels. In other words, the competition to enter the NFT world is getting bigger. So, what do you think of the move of Moët Hennessy into the NFT world? More Details On Moet Hennessy NFT And Metaverse Trademark Applications At the moment, Moët Hennessy is yet to say anything to the public on the matter. However, thanks to Mike Kondoudis — an Intellectual Property Attorney — we could get hold of the report.  According to Mike, Moët Hennessy filed for five NFT and metaverse trademark applications with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on September 23. Seeing that Mike also confirmed the news of Jack Daniel’s NFT trademark applications, it is safe to say that the competition is healthy. Also, in Mike’s post, he mentioned what the trademark application covers. It includes three major categories: NFT-backed digital collectables, Retail stores for virtual goods, and Virtual restaurants and bars. Furthermore, he stated there were many other collectables involved. Altogether, Moët Hennessy is taking their NFT and metaverse game to the next level by introducing offers where buyers can use NFT tickets to access online services, including events. What are the trademark applications of Moët Hennessy for NFT & metaverse about? Credit: PRNewswire The Rise Of NFT And Metaverse Trademark Applications In 2022 Clearly, 2022 is the year many famous brands — beverage and none beverage companies and top celebrities, embrace NFTs. From Christina Aguilera, who recently filed for NFT and metaverse trademarks, Kanye west, to Johnnie Walker. Interestingly they are trying different things out and taking advantage of their early adoption. Are you excited to see what comes next for a brand like Moët Hennessy, which is just entering the space? In due time you will find out. All investment/financial opinions expressed by NFTevening.com are not recommendations. This article is educational material. As always, make your own research prior to making any kind of investment. Zainab Owolabi Zainab is a Web content creator and technical writer who loves talking about and teaching topics related to the creator economy, Web3 development, and other blockchain-related topic and news.

What Arizona Coach Jedd Fisch Said At His Press Conference To Open Oregon Week – Arizona Desert Swarm https://collincountynewsonline.com/what-arizona-coach-jedd-fisch-said-at-his-press-conference-to-open-oregon-week-arizona-desert-swarm/ Arizona has alternated wins and losses this season. And while the opponent each week has played a role in that, there’s something to be said about what, if anything, the Wildcats have learned from each performance and used it to prepare for the next game. That was the mindset Jedd Fisch and his staff had when reviewing film from the 43-20 victory over Colorado on Sunday and how it can help Arizona for this week’s matchup against No. 12 Oregon. “Saw a lot of things that we felt we could build upon,” Fisch said. “Saw a lot of things that we thought we did well but can do better. Complimentary football last week. We’re going to need complimentary football this week. This is going to be a great challenge for our team.” Here’s what else Fisch discussed at his Monday press conference: On Jayden de Laura: “I think that he’s going to be somebody that will continue to improve each week. It was pretty, pretty neat to see how he played, and the fact that we’ve only had him for five games. You look around the league and look at the quarterbacks and the head coaches, the relationships that they’ve had with their guys for a very long time. Even in this case, with Bo Nix, coming from Auburn where their offensive coordinator was at prior (to Oregon). I’m just looking forward to just Jayden getting better every single week.” On his relationship with de Laura: “Every week we continue to build trust. He was 20 for 29 against North Dakota State and no turnovers. Against Cal he threw for 401 yards and continued to move the ball, this week he did it again. I think every day we build more and more trust, and that’s what it comes down to. This is year one, game five for us. And he’s a sophomore coming out of a run-and-shoot system, so the more time he spends in our system, the better he’s going to be. And he has all the gifts physically. So it’s now a matter of just continuing to improve in the system.” On de Laura checking down more often: “As we are spending more time together in the film room there are some opportunities, especially on early downs, to be able to find completions. I think he was a 71 percent passer this past game. And when you’re when you’re at that number, it’s because you’re able to say no, yes, rather than No, I’ll wait … and then something bad happens. And what he’s been able to do and what he’s really emphasized is, the more you can see things quicker, the more he can get the ball out of his hands, faster, less hits, and more to the playmakers quicker.” On how Arizona’s receivers compare to others Fisch has worked with in college: “It’s a very good receiving corps. I’ve been very fortunate. We had a bunch of first-rounders at Miami the two years I was there. At Michigan Amara Darboh and Jehu Chesson were both drafted in the third and fourth round. Eric Decker at Minnesota. At UCLA, Jordan Lasley and Darren Andrews were both NFL players, but this is certainly a good group and it’s fun to coach them.” On Keyan Burnett taking on a bigger role: “Keyan is gonna have to step up. It’s a next man up mentality. He’s gonna have to play more than he was probably expecting to play, let’s call it a couple of weeks ago. He’s extremely athletic. He is 238 pounds. He’s strong. He can run, he catch, but it’s college football now and you’re now blocking defensive ends that are big and strong and some older than you, and he’s going to have to not just be a pass catcher. I expect him to be able to run behind him, to have him cut off the backside ends if we’re running away from him. And really, in general, I think he is just going to grow up fast.” On if Tanner McLachlan’s role changes with Alex Lines’ departure: “Tanner is playing the same position as he played. In our zebra package, he’s the only tight end in the game. Alex and him were rotating, so Tanner will take more of those reps. Keyan will take some of those reps, Roberto (Miranda) or Tyler (Powell) might come in for a few of those. And then, when we get into our two tight-end sets, it’s a pretty balanced formation, so whichever side you’re on you’re on but. For the most part Tanner’s role is not really changing too much, but potentially expanding here or there.” On McLachlan’s blocking: “I think that Tanner, the more confident you feel as a blocker, the more you’re gonna continue to drive players down the field, the more you’ll use your feet rather than just trying to block with your hands. And what Tanner did was kept his feet moving, and he kept him engaged, so you kept seeing kind of the defender moving with him backwards. And when you have that, that’s just great effort. And it’s also the determination to block through the whistle rather than just assume the player’s blocked.” On Tetairoa McMillan: “When you watch T-Mac this past week, the blocking showed up. We used him on a critical 3rd and 3 where we ran a quarterback sweep play where he blocked the defensive end and did a really nice job with that. I think he saw some blocking downfield. Still needs to get better with his run blocking, his pass blocking. There was a screen that we threw to Cowing, that was a 3rd and 20, that we got tackled two yards short of the sticks. We could have completed that block better and gotten in the end zone. But T-Mac is improving every week. I expect a better game out of him this week than last week, but you know when it comes to being a true freshman and starting and playing 65 plays in the game you have to start building up that callus of being able to just get better, get stronger and get tougher. And he’s doing all of those three things, it’s pretty cool to watch.” On Jacob Cowing: “He’s fast, he’s twitchy. He has the ability to see space in front of him. Football is a big game of geometry, and when you can see space and you’re able to have an idea of angles, is what I think he does really well. I think he can understand what angle a defender is coming at him, and he does a nice job of avoiding.” On if he was concerned Cowing’s play at UTEP could translate to the Pac-12: “I wasn’t, because I think when you look at his skills, his true skills of catch, run and you could see him pulling away from defenders. And when you can see a guy pull away from defenders you kind of can translate that our level. To being able to do it in Pac-12 games. He’s gonna have to have a good game this week. We need Jacob to have his best game. And we know that, with these defenders, they’re going to be physical, they’re going to be very well coached, they’re tough, and for Jacob in this game it’s going to be a great challenge.” On how de Laura and Cowing have gelled so quickly: “I think it’s a credit to those two kids and their coaches. Jimmie and Kevin have done a great job, Coach Cummings and Coach Doherty, connecting those guys pre-practice post-practice, making sure that they’re always getting some extra work in. Those two guys are very close. But it’s not just those two, it’s now Dorian (Singer) getting involved in the picture, and T-Mac of course. The ability to just kind of use the summertime and use training camp post-practices to just get maybe another rep. The more comfortable you are communicating, like hey, if they do this I’m gonna break in, or if this corner stays high I’m going to do whatever. The more comfortable they are to talk with each other the more players could just be players out there. That’s what Mike Wiley is. Mike Wiley is just a ballplayer. There’s some things that Mike does sometimes I’m like, hey, what just happened there? And he’s like, well, I saw this or I saw that, and that’s what really good players can do.” On Wiley’s in-play adjustments: “The first touchdown he caught he was not necessarily designed to run that route, per se, he was more a checkdown on the left side of the tackle box, but he just saw this space occur right in front of them and he said, if I go right right here, I’m gonna be wide open right in front of Jayden’s vision, but if I hang right on the left, the Will linebacker can attach to me. And he just kind of was a player, and he just made a big time play and Jayden saw him right away. Gave it to him and walked into the end zone.” On how the defense played vs. Colorado: “Defensively I thought we had a good game. The more I watched it, the more plays I saw on film that were to be had. I thought our guys played with great passion and energy.” On tackling and gap integrity: “We need to continue to improve in all those areas as well. Ten missed tackles for 65 yards. Can’t have it. You’re gonna always have a missed tackle or two in all leagues, and you’re certainly going to have them in our league where you have a lot of skill players, but you want to try to minimize that, the missed tackles. You need to create a couple tackles for losses, and then make it hard to run. So we’re going to spend all week long talking about gap fits, talk about running fits, talk about being where we need to be, and we’ll drill tackling every single day this week as we did last week to see if we can be a little bit better at it.” On getting more young players in the game on the defensive front: “Number one, we don’t want to have the same four defensive linemen play every snap. It’s a it’s a physical game. You’re up front, your guys are trying to wear on you a little bit. Coach (Johnny) Nansen, when we hired him, one of the biggest things that he’s shown over the different teams he’s been with is the amount of defensive linemen that play and rotate. We weren’t getting enough of that, and we needed to make a decision that we’re going to play freshmen in the rotation. Our depth was coming from two freshmen. Jacob Kongaika, Ta’ita’i (Uiagalelei), Deuce Davis, Deuce Lane. So when you’re using your true freshmen in depth, you...

How Worried Are Ethereum Devs About Safety At Devcon Bogatá? – Decrypt https://collincountynewsonline.com/how-worried-are-ethereum-devs-about-safety-at-devcon-bogata-decrypt/ Cadres of crypto developers began trickling into Bogotá, Colombia, on Monday in anticipation of Devcon, the Ethereum Foundation’s marquee global conference, which is set to kick off next week in the South American nation’s capital city.  But according to reports, some of crypto’s leading digital builders may already be second-guessing those travel plans. Twitter buzzed early Monday with rumors of Devcon attendees being robbed and experiencing other safety issues after arriving in Bogotá. On Monday morning, Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal tweeted that he would no longer be attending Devcon “due to safety concerns.”  Source: Twitter Nailwal has since deleted the tweet, and did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Decrypt clarifying why he deleted the comment or whether he would still be attending the conference.  Ethereum core developers, meanwhile, largely dismissed the rumors swirling Monday as sensationalized and consistent with what travelers to the region should reasonably expect.  “I don’t think [the safety issue] is as bad as people are saying,” Ethereum core developer Terence Tsao told Decrypt. “I think all these people getting mugged aren’t exercising common sense,” said Ethereum core developer Raul Jordan to Decrypt.  Jordan confirmed he’d already heard multiple accounts of Devcon attendees getting mugged upon arrival in Bogotá, but emphasized that these individuals had all made themselves into “huge targets” by “trusting strangers, wearing bright clothing, big backpacks, and shorts, and […] taking phone calls in public,” among other missteps. having thousands of rich eth holders all fly to bogota for ethereum devcon, with their nerdy unicorn tshirts and their private keys on laptops and phones and usb devices, must be the stupidest thing the ethereum foundation has ever done and that’s saying a lot — Udi Wertheimer (@udiWertheimer) October 3, 2022 Devcon’s site advises all conference attendees to follow the Colombian practice of “No des papaya,” which translates to “not giving a papaya”—a local expression that means avoid making yourself an obvious target. The site lists tips such as avoiding wearing flashy items, leaving valuables at home, and abstaining from walking in public with phones and laptops.  Marius Van Der Wijden, another Ethereum core developer, told Decrypt that he plans “to travel very light” and mitigate risks by purchasing a burner phone for the trip. He expects other developers will likely follow suit.  It’s unclear whether the conference attendees thus far targeted were unaware of these warnings; Jordan felt the Ethereum Foundation’s obligation to warn Devcon attendees was besides the point.  “I think people should do their research on the safety of any region in the world they are visiting,” Jordan said.  One crypto-specific twist to standard travel precautions in the case of Devcon appears to be the necessity of avoiding wearing apparel donned with the logos of crypto companies and organizations, a common practice at promotion-heavy conferences. Avoid looking like an easy target: – Wearing expensive jewelry – Bringing all your cash with you in your pocket – Carrying your laptop if you know you’re going to be walking around all day – Walking around with your iPhone in your back pocket or hand – Wearing crypto clothes — cami ᵍᵐ (@camiinthisthang) October 3, 2022 Heard someone from the Solana eng team got robbed at Bogota airport (they were wearing Solana merch lmao). Think ETH devs should value safety for me bringing no crypto stuff at all. Picking up and new laptop and phone tomorrow. Taking zero chances. — McKenna (@Crypto_McKenna) October 3, 2022 Apparently, a Solana shirt is, by local standards, a papaya. Stay on top of crypto news, get daily updates in your inbox.

U.S. In Oath Keepers Trial Outlines Alleged Plotting Before Capitol Attack – The Washington Post https://collincountynewsonline.com/u-s-in-oath-keepers-trial-outlines-alleged-plotting-before-capitol-attack-the-washington-post/ Stewart Rhodes, founder of the citizen militia group known as the Oath Keepers. (Susan Walsh/AP) Updated October 3, 2022 at 7:36 p.m. EDT|Published October 3, 2022 at 10:17 a.m. EDT Opening statements and trial testimony started Monday for Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes and other members of the extremist group who face seditious conspiracy and other charges in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Rhodes and four co-defendants — Kelly Meggs, Kenneth Harrelson, Jessica Watkins and Thomas Caldwell — have pleaded not guilty to felony charges alleging that they conspired for weeks after the 2020 presidential election to unleash political violence to oppose the lawful transfer of power to Joe Biden. The defendants came from Texas, Florida, Ohio and Virginia, and allegedly led a group that traveled to Washington and staged firearms nearby before forcing entry through the Capitol Rotunda doors in combat and tactical gear. Day 2 of testimony in the Oath Keepers trial will resume Tuesday Return to menu The Washington Post’s live coverage of opening statements and the first day of testimony in the seditious conspiracy trial of Stewart Rhodes and other Oath Keepers affiliates has ended for today. Read a recap of Monday’s coverage here. Stewart Rhodes messaged Roger Stone on Nov. 7, 2020: ‘We need to roll’ Return to menu On the day news networks declared Joe Biden the winner of the 2020 election, Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes sent a message to a group chat that included longtime Trump confidant Roger Stone. “What’s the plan?” he asked. “We need to roll.” He added, “I’m on my way to DC Right now, with my Oath Keepers tactical leaders for a possible DC op, to do a leaders recon and make plans. I’m available to meet face to face.” He also shared a video comparing the U.S. election in 2020 to the election of Serbian dictator Slobodan Milosevic in 2000, with advice for those contesting the results. One of the points Rhodes highlighted was, “We swarmed the streets and started confronting the opponents.” Another: “We stormed the Parliament.” Rhodes discussed resisting election results within hours, messages show Return to menu The first witness in the Oath Keepers trial, FBI Special Agent Michael Palian, displayed a number of messages sent by the group’s leader, Stewart Rhodes, to other people beginning early on Nov. 4, 2020, urging them to resist the result of the presidential election. He said “the left, including the Democratic Party … seek our destruction. We must defeat them. … Even if one of them occupies the White House.” Palian said the FBI extracted numerous messages from Rhodes’s phone that he sent on Signal, an encrypted messaging app. The government is attempting to show that Rhodes began plotting for Jan. 6, 2021, within hours of the election ending on Nov. 3, 2020, even though no one had called the result of the election then. Some of the messages have not previously been made public. These 7 Oath Keepers have pleaded guilty to Jan. 6 conspiracy charges Return to menu Three Oath Keepers members have already pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy, and four others to conspiring to obstruct Congress’s confirmation of the presidential vote on Jan. 6, 2021. Joshua James, 34, of Arab, Ala., and Brian Ullrich, 44, of Guyton, Ga., were charged with seditious conspiracy with Stewart Rhodes. William Todd Wilson, 45, of Newton Grove, N.C., was charged separately. All are cooperating with U.S. prosecutors. In plea papers, James said that Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes “instructed [him] and others to be prepared and called upon to … use lethal force if necessary” to keep Trump in office. After Jan. 6, James said he spent several weeks with Rhodes in Texas, where he said they gathered weapons, burner phones and tactical gear, then returned to Alabama where he “awaited Rhodes’s instructions,” according to his plea. FBI agent investigating Oath Keepers guarded crying senators on Jan. 6 Return to menu On Jan. 6, 2021, FBI special agent Michael Palian was working from home on a health-care fraud squad, he testified as the first witness at the trial of Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and four others. Palian was called to the Capitol at 3:30 p.m. that day and was eventually asked to go to the undisclosed location nearby where U.S. senators had relocated. “It was chaotic,” he said. The senators were in “shock,” he said, and some were crying. At 7:30 p.m., he and about 70 other FBI agents walked the senators back to the Capitol building and into the Senate chamber. Two defendants defer opening statements; testimony to start Return to menu After attorneys for Stewart Rhodes, Thomas Caldwell and Jessica Watkins made their opening statements Monday, attorneys for two defendants — Kelly Meggs and Kenneth Harrelson — chose to defer their case introductions to the jury. So prosecutors are now readying their first witness of the trial. Defense lawyers have the option of giving their opening statement immediately after the prosecution has given its statement, or at the outset of the defense case. Defense lawyers are of varying opinions on whether to lay out the defense before the prosecutors start or after they’ve finished. Some believe it is best to get the defense side in before evidence is presented. Some believe it’s better to respond to that evidence after the jury has heard it. Ohio bar owner was a ‘protest junkie’ just ‘there to help,’ lawyer says Return to menu The lawyer for Jessica Watkins, the Ohio bar owner who is accused of leading one of the assaults on the Capitol on Jan. 6, said she became involved with the Oath Keepers out of her compulsion to protect people and had no role in planning for any attack on the Capitol. Watkins had served in the Army but was discharged early, then served as a firefighter, her attorney Jonathan Crisp said. She started the Ohio State Regular Militia, Crisp said, because “she was a protest junkie. She wanted to go to protests and help law enforcement. She was a medic, she was there to help. She followed protest to protest to protest, that was her thing.” Who is Stewart Rhodes, what has he said about Jan. 6 and why does he wear an eye patch? Return to menu Would-be paramilitary commander or couch-surfing grifter? Stewart Rhodes has been described as both and more as he has risen to become one of the most visible leaders of the right-wing “Patriot/militia” movement. A former Army paratrooper and Yale Law School graduate, Rhodes founded the Oath Keepers in 2009 with the what he said was the mission of preventing a “full-blown totalitarian dictatorship,” and drawn recruits from the military and law enforcement. In practice, analysts say, it is a collection of local chapters with a similar, disinformation-fueled ideology about what they view as the inevitable collapse of the U.S. government into tyranny. Attorney for Virginia defendant points blame at FBI Return to menu The attorney for Thomas Caldwell, a 68-year-old Berryville, Va., defendant accused of organizing a “Quick Reaction Force” for the Oath Keepers on Jan. 6, used much of his opening statement to accuse the FBI of incompetence and overreach. “It’s an absolute outrage,” David Fischer said. “I’m begging you to clear his name.” Fischer said investigators “spared no expense” yet repeatedly fumbled. He said that they initially believed that Caldwell had gone into the building when he hadn’t, that they got his age and eye color wrong, and that they didn’t know he had actually briefly worked for the FBI. They thought he was a commander in the Oath Keepers because other associates called him that, but it was actually a reference to his military service, Fischer said. Oath Keepers often staged armed ‘quick reaction forces’ outside rallies, lawyer says Return to menu As the lawyer for defendant Thomas E. Caldwell began his opening statement Monday, he said that the Oath Keepers regularly used “quick reaction forces” with multiple weapons as a contingency for rallies they protected in recent years. The government has alleged that Caldwell, a Virginia resident, helped coordinate the gathering of guns and ammunition for a “quick reaction force” across the river from D.C., to be summoned as part of the effort to stop the congressional certification of the electoral college vote. Caldwell’s attorney, David Fischer, emphasized to the jury that, “the verb is to react, it’s not to act. Anybody who has served five seconds in the United States military knows that a quick reaction force or quick response team reacts to emergency situation. It’s a ‘break the glass in case of emergency’ group of people, typically EMTs or other medical personnel, to come in as a rescue unit. By definition a QRF would not be used to attack anything, including the United States Capitol.” Why does Rhodes invoke Insurrection Act as defense for Jan. 6 planning? Return to menu Stewart Rhodes has pleaded not guilty to seditious conspiracy, saying his co-defendants’ planning and actions related to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol were defensive, taken in anticipation of what they believed would be a lawful order from then President Donald Trump deputizing militias under the Insurrection Act to stop Joe Biden from becoming president. But why is Rhodes using an obscure, rarely used statute designed to protect the country from insurrection allegedly to support an actual insurrection? Rhodes plans to testify, denies call to Trump: defense lawyer Return to menu The closest the Justice Department has come to tying Donald Trump directly to extremists involved in the violent riot at the U.S. Capitol is the allegation that on the evening of Jan. 6, Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes ca...

How Technology Solves School Bus Routing Challenges – School Transportation News https://collincountynewsonline.com/how-technology-solves-school-bus-routing-challenges-school-transportation-news/ A recent School Transportation News webinar made the case for technology as it can help make school bus routing easier for transportation staff and safer for students. Buttons Cheeley, a customer success specialist with webinar sponsor TransACT, noted on Wednesday that districts are struggling with driver shortages exacerbated by COVID-19. A smooth routing system, she said, helps operations run smoothly and keeps drivers happy. “If your routes aren’t as efficient as they could be, you’re not maximizing driver productivity,” she declared. Related: Chicago School Bus Driver Shortage Worries Parents as School Startup Looms Related: Ease Your Staffing Shortages Related: Driver Shortage Forces Rotating School Bus Service at Alaska’s Largest District Related: Equity, Diversity and Inclusion: A Plan for Improved Staff Recruitment, Retention Strong mapping technology is also important to allow drivers to always know where they are going and provide dispatchers with the most updated information to provide parents, noted Kathryn Johnson, also a customer success specialist for TransACT. Manual routing does not allow for quick updates. School districts are also being asked to improve the efficiency of their school bus routes due to budget concerns. Johnson recounted the example of a school district that needed to pull transportation-related reports for the state, a case where a digital system came in extremely handy. “Transportation is affecting more of the school district these days,” Johnson commented. Digital routing technology is also crucial for substitute school bus drivers to obtain the correct information about an area they may not be familiar with, Cheely said. Mapping obstacles like railroad crossings also saves time on a school bus route. In rural areas like the Navajo Nation in northwest New Mexico that do not have an exact street address, TransACT’s routing technology TravelTracker allows a pin to be dropped on a student’s home location. Parents have come to expect frequent communication from student transportation departments, and digital messaging is now preferred to a manual, paper-based system, Cheely said. Sam Caoili, a sales representative for TravelTracker, added that routing technology is also preferable for school bus drivers, who can more easily access the most updated information on their student riders. Related: ‘Rising Star’ Talks Trial and Error of Chicago School Bus Routing Related: Nevada School District Reduces General Education Routes Amid Bus Driver Shortage Related: (STN Podcast E129) How Do We Do This? Recognizing School Bus Challenges & Solving With Technology Related: Technology Abounds, But What Are You Going to Do With It? “If you could minimize or optimize the distribution of your stops, what would that mean in terms of your cost savings?” Johnson asked the attendees. She conducted a live demo of TravelTracker that showcased suggested changes to a route that had been built in a less than efficient way. The “sandbox” feature allows routing staff to play with potential routes, change various filters, and add different parameters before it creates the most efficient route options. Page 165 of the National School Bus Specifications and Procedures manual on “Operations” recommends that student transporters periodically review routes and bus stops, to identify “factors that might indicate the need for a route change.” A staff member may perform a “dry run” of the route in the same bus that will be used in actual operations. GPS systems may also be used for verification and comparative data. If a district uses driver tablets or GPS on its buses, office staff can track vehicle progress along the routes. Drivers can receive turn-by-turn directions and scan students on board as well, she added. TravelTracker’s street view integrated with Google Maps allows transportation staff to check the safety of all stops without having to drive the entire route. In responding to an attendee question, Johnson said that TravelTracker staff can assist with making map changes that may not be reflected on Google Maps yet. In answering an attendee question on delineating a cul-de-sac versus a driveway, moving stops and marking them accurately helps to create accurate routes and prevent buses from driving down the wrong roads, Johnson stated.

Valkyrie Elysium Review – Summon And Kill – GAMING TREND – Gaming Trend https://collincountynewsonline.com/valkyrie-elysium-review-summon-and-kill-gaming-trend-gaming-trend/ As the newest Valkyrie created by Odin, you are tasked with descending to Midgard to purify souls which have been corrupted into undead beasts after eons of neglect. The All-Father needs these souls to prevent the end of the world, along with four ancient artifacts. Along your journey, you’ll encounter special souls of note who will join you as Einherjar. While you unquestioningly follow your righteous mission, is there more Odin isn’t telling you? It’s been a long time since we’ve seen a proper Valkyrie Profile game. The first, released in 2000 on PlayStation, was an interesting hybrid of RPG and Platformer with an open ended structure. This was followed up with a sequel on PS2, a DS game, and a remaster on PS2 all in 2006. Since then, there’s been a mobile game that ended service in 2019, but that’s it. While I’ve been interested in the series, I sadly haven’t put too much time into the first or second games, but what I have played has been incredibly interesting and engaging. Along comes Valkyrie Elysium then to serve as a proper reintroduction of the series. Valkyrie Elysium Gameplay – PS5 [Gaming Trend] In Valkyrie Elysium, you play as a god known simply as Valkyrie and battle your way through several stages with fast paced, real-time combat and some very light platforming and exploration. While the first game has its roots firmly planted in the history of turn-based RPGs, Elysium is strictly a hack and slash affair closer to God Hand, Devil May Cry, or Bayonetta. If you are looking for the depth and replayability found in those titles though, you won’t find it here. That’s not a bad thing, however, as Valkyrie Elysium’s campaign, which runs just shy of 20 hours for full completion, is a ton of fun and fully explores all the game’s systems. The game is divided into chapters, with one of each pair having you run through about half of a larger stage. If you’ve played the aforementioned Bayonetta, you’ll find the level structure very familiar here, with combat encounters trapping you in an arena before you can progress to the next one. In those arenas, you’ll be engaging in the main draw of the game: the combat. Valkyrie can acquire an arsenal of weapons over the course of the game, though she can only equip two at a time along with two consumables all bound to the D-Pad. Using those weapons, she can perform combos similar to the Warriors games, with standard attacks executed with Square and finishers or special attacks with Triangle. Valkyrie can also jump with X (complete with aerial combos), dodge with Circle, block with L1, and even grapple towards enemies with a Divine Tether by pressing L2. She doesn’t have the biggest move pool out there, but it’s varied enough to give you plenty of options with more to unlock as you upgrade your favorite weapons. For example, the rapier can unlock a drop kick move by pressing Triangle after dodging twice with Circle. You can unlock follow ups to just about every action you can perform, which keeps combat constantly flowing in a satisfying way. As you explore and complete missions, you’ll also unlock new Divine Arts to cast and Einherjar to summon. Every enemy has two weaknesses: one elemental and another weapon based. Valkyrie can consume a portion of the Arts meter at the bottom of the screen to use Divine Arts by holding R2 and pressing a face button to shoot a fireball, summon a holy blade from the earth, heal herself, and much more. While the Arts gauge is replenished simply by landing attacks, other meters like health are restored through items or drops from enemies. By progressing the story, you’ll recruit a total of four powerful souls as your Einherjar who can each be summoned with R1 and the assigned face button at the cost of some of the soul gauge. The character you summon will help you in combat for a brief time, but more importantly your weapons will become enchanted with their corresponding element while they’re out, allowing you to exploit enemy weaknesses and deal tons of damage. If you have more than one Einherjar summoned, you can switch by simply pressing the button to summon them once more. Additionally, you can unlock automatic summons through the game’s skill tree which will call on the set Einherjar when certain conditions are met, like having your guard broken or parrying or dodging at the perfect time. All of this together makes for an incredibly fun combat system, though it has a few major issues. I can forgive the lack of depth compared to character action games, as this is more of a beat-em-up with light RPG elements, but it can get very repetitive because of this by the end of the game. Especially if you’re going for all four endings to see the full story, you’re going to have to play through some stages multiple times and the final stage at minimum four times. I had fully maxed out all weapons and the skill trees (which unlocks certain moves like the dodge as well as more boring things like health increases) quite a while before the final credits roll, so it felt like I was just going through the motions for cutscenes rather than experimenting and discovering new moves or the best way to fight each enemy type. To be honest, the story isn’t that great anyway, with the biggest plot twists having already been done in the original game or are obvious if you’re familiar with Norse Mythology. Outside of that, this is a fairly rote tale of an “emotionless” character learning to express herself thanks to her friends while they all use the power of friendship and love to kill god, you know, what basically every RPG is about. It’s disappointing when the other two mainline games were so fresh and innovative at the time. Part of the original’s spirit is retained, however, with you learning your Einherjars’ backstories by completing their quests and listening to the unlocked audio dramas. These have some pretty good voice acting, though I found they were forgettable and overly long aside from Cypher or Kristopher’s, but hey two out of four ain’t bad. Aside from that, the characters are generally likable and have some great designs, in particular your rival Valkyrie Hilde who looks like a Final Fantasy Dragoon dressed all in black but with Norse mythological flair-like wings that she can summon. She’s so cool in fact that I hope she stars in a sequel or DLC campaign, but I digress. The game uses a semi-realistic art style, but with black outlines to highlight characters, and it’s a bit of a mixed bag. This can look incredible in some lighting situations, but in others it’s just a little uncanny, especially when combined with the stiff animation and terrible lip synch for most cutscenes. It works mostly in the pre-rendered or higher budget cutscenes, because you can really tell where the probably slim amount of money went. This does feel like a budget title, and that’s a shame because I feel just a bit more polish could have really made Valkyrie Elysium one of the best looking games on PS5. As it is though, the characters look like robots most of the time and the environments feel drab and colorless. The lack of color is most likely an artistic choice however, as the game takes place AFTER the major events of Ragnarok while the world is dying. It does help to convey that idea a little bit, but not enough that I wouldn’t think more color would be better. As it is, you’ll be running from combat arena to combat arena and not paying attention to the environmental storytelling. Meanwhile, the music conveys this much better, with very subdued tracks that seamlessly transition into combat versions. This is one of my favorite tricks in gaming, and while I wouldn’t actively seek out the music to listen to outside of the game it does its job very well. The level design is spiced up a bit with tons of items to collect hidden everywhere in these stages, particularly the Blossom flowers (which contain memories of the dead) which are needed to unlock the true ending. In fact, finding them in stages is the only way to get items like healing potions, which was a bit annoying by the end of the game. You are penalized slightly for using items in the end of stage scoring, but it was never enough to matter and I was able to achieve an S or A rank on every single level. That could be because I’m very good at action games like this (I achieved the maximum combo of 999 hits very early on, not to brag), so your results may vary. That being said, I do feel the difficulty was just right on normal mode. I did die a few times when I wasn’t properly using my resources. While Einherjar gain stats every time you summon them, if you’re haphazard with their use you’ll quickly run out of SP to summon them and suddenly you’re the target of every enemy at once. Bosses in particular are a ton of fun, with you having to balance the summon they are weak to and the fact that you can’t restore the gauge as the blue orbs only drop from defeated enemies. Exploiting weaknesses isn’t required to beat enemies, but it certainly helps a lot thanks to the break system. Opposite to their health bar, every enemy has a break gauge that fills up as you hit them with the element they are weak to. Once it reaches max, they’ll be stunned for a short time allowing you to go ham on them for extra damage. However, you also have another, slightly risky option while they’re broken. You can continue to exploit their weakness to immobilize them, essentially resetting their break timer for double the free damage at the cost that you won’t be able to fill their break gauge again for a short time. This is mostly relevant in boss fights, since normal foes can be dispatched fairly easily, and even then it’s not that much of a hindrance, but I really enjoy the idea and it came in clutch a few times when I just needed to finish the...

Opening Statements In Oath Keepers Seditious Conspiracy Case – Law & Crime https://collincountynewsonline.com/opening-statements-in-oath-keepers-seditious-conspiracy-case-law-crime/ Left-Right: Stewart Rhodes, Jessica Watkins, Thomas Caldwell, Kenneth Harrelson, Kelly Meggs. (Image of Rhodes via the Collin County, Texas Jail; other images via FBI court filings.) Opening statements in the trial of five members of the Oath Keepers group charged with seditious conspiracy in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol began Monday morning, with federal prosecutors previewing evidence that they say will show months of planning on the part of the defendants, and efforts to delete incriminating evidence afterwards. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Nestler laid out what the jury can expect in the coming weeks as prosecutors will attempt to prove its seditious conspiracy case against Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes and four of his co-defendants charged with seditious conspiracy and other crimes in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Rhodes, Jessica Watkins, Kenneth Harrelson, Thomas Caldwell, and Kelly Meggs are charged with plotting to stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden‘s win in the 2020 presidential election and keeping Donald Trump in power. They are accused, along with four other co-defendants set to be tried in November, of conspiring to travel to Washington, D.C. ahead of Trump’s so-called “Stop the Steal” rally, and preparing a “Quick Reaction Force” standing at the ready to bring a cache of weapons allegedly stored in a Virginia to the Capitol. Members of the group could be seen allegedly approaching the Capitol using a “stack formation” to force its way through the crowd. “The Defendants Seized Upon the Opportunity to Disrupt Congress.” Nestler, standing at a podium directly in front of the 16 jurors, said that over the course of the coming weeks, prosecutors would show that the defendants were looking for the chance to block Biden from taking office, and that Jan. 6 — when the House of Representatives and Senate met in a joint session required by the Constitution — eventually provided that opportunity. They came to Washington, Nestler said, prepared for violence on Jan. 6, breached the Capitol using military-style maneuvers — celebrating their achievements afterwards — and then, in the days and weeks afterwards, deleted incriminating evidence. “The defendants seized upon the opportunity to disrupt Congress,” Nestler said. “If Congress could not meet, Congress could not declare a winner.” When the defendants “descended upon D.C.” the defendants attacked not just the government, not just Congress, but the country itself, Nestler added. Describing Rhodes as someone with an “impressive pedigree” — citing the fact that he’s a graduate of Yale Law School, a former military paratrooper, and a one-time Congressional staffer — Nestler said that the Oath Keepers leader was “careful with both words and actions.” Rhodes knew, for example, that if Oath Keepers members were caught with weapons inside the District of Columbia, they would lose what Nestler described as “access to manpower and firepower” — and that’s why Rhodes made the “calculated” decision to set up the so-called “Quick Reaction Force” at a hotel in Arlington, Virginia. Even that decision, however, was strategic: according to Nestler, the QRF was under the command of Caldwell, a Navy veteran who was chosen to for that particular post that day because of his “water experience” and presumed expertise in using boats to transport weapons. Nestler also said that Rhodes took efforts to mask his conspiratorial efforts, including speaking in “code” or “shorthand,” sending messages using phones other than his own, and, importantly, staying outside of the Capitol building, giving orders rather than actually participate in the breach. The prosecutor appeared to prepare the jury for at least one probable defense tactic. “You will hear evidence that they had more than one reason” for being in Washington, Nestler said, nodding to the expected argument from the defense that the Oath Keepers had no unlawful purpose that day. He acknowledged that it was certainly legal to be at Trump’s so-called “Stop the Steal” rally, and that even if the claims of providing security for VIPs were “a little suspect” because the group was neither licensed nor paid to do so, “even being bad security guards isn’t itself illegal.” A legal purpose, however, doesn’t excuse “unlawful intent” on the part of the defendants, the prosecutor said. Nestler also said that Rhodes used the Insurrection Act as “legal cover” for his plan, and that his reference to the Insurrection Act — which Rhodes publicly asked Trump to invoke several times — was simply “legal cover” for Rhodes’ conspiracy. In his opening statements, Nestler included statements from defendants that appeared to show a tendency and inclination toward violence. He showed the jury pictures of patches, for example, that the prosecution alleges were affixed to a vest or backpack that Meggs was wearing that day. “I don’t believe in anything,” the patch says. “I’m only here for the violence.” Nestler also shared an audio recording taken on Jan. 10 of a meeting between Rhodes and at least one person in his inner circle. During that meeting, which was recorded by someone close to Rhodes who had become “alarmed” by Rhodes’ escalating rhetoric, Rhodes allegedly asked a confidante to pass along a message to Trump. While the participants of that meeting weren’t revealed, the audio recording was, and Rhodes could be heard sharing his regrets from Jan. 6. “My only regret is we should have had rifles,” Rhodes could be heard saying on the recording, implying that if he and the Oath Keepers members had been armed, Congress would not have certified Biden’s electoral win. The jurors remained mostly stoic during Nestler’s opening statements, although any facial reaction may have been obscured by the masks that everyone is required to wear while in the courtroom, except for when they are speaking on the records. Some, but not all, took notes on pads of paper provided by the court — notepads which, Mehta told the jury at the start of the day, would never be seen by him or anyone else, so “feel free to write whatever you want.” Nor did the defendants’ faces or body language betray any emotion or reaction, although Caldwell could be seen taking notes throughout much of Nestler’s opening remarks, and Rhodes took notes occasionally. Harrelson’s lawyer Geyer, however, made his displeasure clear when Nestler showed one video that purported to show defendants inside the Capitol building, repeatedly shouting the word “traitors.” Geyer, who has previously filed motions suggesting that “suspicious actors” are responsible for the violence at the Capitol that day, was seen shaking his head repeatedly as the video played. “What the Government Is Trying To Tell You Today Is Completely Wrong.” Rhodes attorney Phillip Linder was the first of the defense lawyers to present opening statements. He framed the case as an amalgamation of weighty issues, including the First Amendment’s free speech guarantees, attorney-client privilege issues, the transition of presidential power, and whether Trump did actually invoke the Insurrection Act. Perhaps in an attempt to highlight the stakes, Linder started to tell the jury that the defendants faced significant prison time, but was promptly interrupted by Nestler, who objected. Mehta agreed that bringing up possible sentence was out of line for an opening statement and sustained the objection. Linder then started talking about the evidence in the case and how, he claimed, the government’s presentation of it lacks crucial context. The defense, Linder said, will show the “full picture of what happened that day.” “I’m sure [prosecutors] will object to some of it, and that’s what we expect,” Linder said, before once again being thwarted by another objection from Nestler, which Mehta again sustained. Linder then shifted focus to the defendants, making several references to how they have already been depicted by prosecutors and “the media.” The lawyer acknowledged that while even he “may not like some of what the defendants say, even though it may look inflammatory, they did nothing illegal.” “What the government is trying to tell you today is completely wrong,” Linder added. He then revealed that Rhodes does intend to testify on his behalf, noting that his client had previously “offered” to testify before the House committee investigating Jan. 6, but that Congress didn’t want it to happen. Nestler, again, objected. Mehta sustained, and told Linder to avoid references in his opening statement to media coverage and the Jan. 6 committee. Linder was thwarted again, moments later, when he told the jury that they would hear references to the Oath Keepers as “racist,” “sexist,” and “white supremacist,” among other negative characterizations. Nestler objected immediately. Linder’s reference to this possible testimony was somewhat surprising, as during jury selection, Caldwell attorney David Fischer had previously expressed concern about jurors who had heard the Oath Keepers described that way. At the time, Mehta pledged that evidence of the Oath Keepers being a white supremacist organization would not be allowed at trial. On Monday, Mehta stuck to that pledge, sustaining Nestler’s objection and instructing the jury to disregard Linder’s reference. “They’re not a violent group,” Linder said after the course correction, describing Rhodes as “extremely patriotic” and a “constitutional expert” who is facing criminal charges only because of his “good faith” reliance on the Insurrection Act. “Stewart Rhodes meant no harm at the Capitol that day, Stewart Rhodes had no violent intentions that day,” Linder said, adding that the Oath Keepers are “basically a peacekeeping group” who “swore an oath” to “pr...

You Can Now Wear Spaceship Earth And Expedition Everest On Your Face – Disney Dining https://collincountynewsonline.com/you-can-now-wear-spaceship-earth-and-expedition-everest-on-your-face-disney-dining/ Credit: Disney / Ulta Posted by: Krysten Swensen October 3, 2022 When you vacation at Walt Disney World Resort, there are so many fun and exciting things you can do. Maybe your little ones like to venture into Fantasyland at Magic Kingdom Park and enjoy attractions like Mickey’s PhilharMagic and Peter Pan’s Flight. Perhaps your family has more thrill seekers, and you like to visit Disney’s Hollywood Studios and ride attractions like Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. Animal lovers and conservationists enjoy seeing the sites of Animal Kingdom and riding Kilimanjaro Safaris. And those who love to travel and enjoy all types of food from around the world are sure to have the best day ever if they visit EPCOT. Credit: Disney Whatever your family likes, there is something for you at Walt Disney World Resort. And now, you can wear some of those attractions on your face. Yes, you read that right. Disney has teamed up with beauty retailer Ulta to create the ultimate Disney collection. The Disney x Ulta Beauty Collection features four eye shadow palettes with lip gloss. Each of Disney’s four theme parks is represented in its own palettes — the Magic Kingdom, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, EPCOT, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Each eye shadow palette has shades named after popular rides and attractions within each Park. Credit: Ulta The Magic Kingdom palette is full of classic shades, complete with some princess inspiration. The palette has the following shades: Dumbo Splash Mountain Liberty Bell Lefou’s Brew Madame Leota Mad Tea Party Cinderella’s Castle Enchantment Fantasy Main Street Pixie Dust Grey Stuff Credit: Ulta The EPCOT collection features a number of fun shades, along with enough silver because who doesn’t want to have some fun repping Spaceship Earth? Here are the fun shades in the EPCOT palette. World Discovery Harmonious World Nature Test Track Living with the Land World Showcase Remy Spaceship Earth World Celebration Club Cool Soarin’ Stardust Credit: Ulta The Animal Kingdom Ulta palette is perfect for those who love spending the day in nature or out on the savanna. Here are the colors that come in the Animal Kingdom palette: Wilderness Explorer Zebra Domes Tree of Life Expedition Everest Harambe Market Nature Night Blossom Yeti Jungle Trek Pandora Pongu Pongu Firefly Magic Credit: Ulta Last, but certainly not least, is the Hollywood Studios palette, which has bold shades that are perfect for those who love to travel back to the golden age of Hollywood or into places like the Twilight Zone. Here are the incredible shades in the Hollywood Studios palette: Tower of Terror Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Adventure Glimmer Muppet Vision Galaxy’s Edge Echo Lake Hollywood Tower Hotel Sunset Boulevard Slinky Dog Dash Totchos Walt Disney Presents Credit: Ulta Each of these incredible palettes is available on the Ulta website. However, these amazing palettes aren’t the only Disney options you can buy. The Disney Collection also includes a makeup brush set and a makeup sponge set — which also represent each of the four Walt Disney World theme Parks. What is your favorite part of this amazing collection?

Highway 99 Businesses Return In Talent – Medford News, Weather, Sports, Breaking News – Mail Tribune https://collincountynewsonline.com/highway-99-businesses-return-in-talent-medford-news-weather-sports-breaking-news-mail-tribune/ Peter Lunoak and Ian Bagshaw talk about upcoming cycling events throughout valley at Flywheel Bicycle Solutions, which is getting ready to reopen. [Andy Atkinson / Mail Tribune] Peter Lunoak works on cleanup in the showroom of Flywheel Bicycle Solutions in Talent. [Andy Atkinson / Mail Tribune] The exterior of Flywheel Bicycle Solutions is being painted as the business gets ready to reopen. [Andy Atkinson / Mail Tribune] More commercial spots along Highway 99 in Talent are reopening or nearing completion of new buildings two years after the Almeda Fire gutted the business district. Flywheel Bicycle Solutions expects to open later this fall. Jahnke Heating & Air Conditioning has returned to a new building, with a grand opening set for Oct. 8. Valley Plastic Surgery already has reopened. Green Valley Pump’s office building is expected to be occupied near the end of the year. Star Body Works has construction underway, and Simple Machine winery opened its new facility in October last year, one of the first buildings reconstructed in the zone. Some buildings on the east side of the highway are outside city limits. Flywheel, at 550 S. Pacific Highway, will open with a new owner. Founder Ian Bagshaw has sold the business to his manager, Pete Lunoak, but will retain ownership of the building and property. Bagshaw will continue in the business but transition away from mechanical work. “We had been talking about it for a while. After the fire I was pretty devastated. I wasn’t sure I wanted to go back,” said Bagshaw. “The thought of starting over was pretty daunting. If it wasn’t for Peter encouraging me, I probably would have sold the property.” In rebuilding, the pair took advantage of a blank slate to rearrange the structure’s interior better for bicycle repairs and sales. It had been a hamburger joint and then a beauty college. It’s on the same footprint as the old building. The business will continue to sell beer, wine and cider at an inside bar, a popular addition that attracted riders and food trucks. With the rebuild, the facility is better positioned to accommodate food trucks. “I’m working on the building of cabinets, the work bench, the bases. Mostly we are just finishing the interior,” said Lunoak, who was manager for two and a half years before the fire. “Having a blank slate really freed us to optimize the layout and make the work station really flow better. Also, we won’t have all the weird intersecting walls and the pillars,” said Lunoak. Supply chain issues brought on by the pandemic are receding, said Lunoak. The market for bicycles also has softened a bit after heavy demand in the first year of the pandemic. He’s already got some bikes to sell, and more are coming. Green Valley Pump’s new office building at 609 S. Pacific Highway is enclosed. Green Valley might have relocated after the fire, but the business owned the lots, said operations manager Leigh Johnson. Everything at the site was burned, including three buildings and three vehicles. “The office space depends on the city and the county. The hope is by the end of the year, we will be in there and running,” said Johnson. The company started operations in Talent during the 1970s. The site is outside city limits. A nearly $1 million cost estimate to rebuild the shop prevented reconstruction at this time. Green Valley operations were back on site three months after the fire. A trailer is used for an office, and large metal shipping containers have been configured for workshop and storage use. Jahnke returns to Talent at 112 S. Pacific Highway after operating out of White City since the fire. A grand opening is set for Saturday, Oct. 8, and Southern Oregon Humane Society will offer pet adoptions during the event. A large new metal building replaces the structure that burned. The firm has been based in Talent since 1987. A new structure attached to the front of an older metal building that survived the fire with damage in the back is under construction at the Star Body Works property at 1119 S. Pacific Highway in the south end of the business corridor. The property is outside city limits. “The back part will be reskinned. We had to replace some of the red iron,” said JR Lamensdorf, a co-owner of the business. The office there previously burned totally. The front addition will serve as an office. Star Body moved all employees who had been working in Talent to other locations in Medford for both body shop and towing operations. A paint booth is in the metal building, and the business aims to reopen the site by the end of the year. New blacktop and landscaping will be installed out front. Site fencing is partially completed and will be finished after work on the structures is done. Valley Plastic Surgery, 280 S. Pacific Highway, is reopened after rebuilding. A manager was not available to discuss details. Owners Clea Arthur and Brian Denner reopened Simple Machine winery and tasting room at 717 S. Pacific Highway in October last year after rebuilding. They used the 2,700-square-foot concrete pad from the original structure but reconfigured to better accommodate winemaking. Land that was occupied by the Goodnight Inn motel at 210 N. Pacific Highway before the fire now has approval for commercial and residential development, although no work has started. Also, Snap Fitness reopened in Talent Saturday, in a new building just off Highway 99, at 245 W. Valley View Road. A grand reopening of the new club was Friday, Sept. 30, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Talent lost 61 commercial structures to the fire. So far, 10 permits have been issued for reconstruction on those sites, Community Development Director Kristen Maze reported. Reach Ashland freelance writer Tony Boom at tboomwriter@gmail.com.

Type 2 Diabetes: Research Shows Mindfulness May Help Lower Blood Sugar – Healthline https://collincountynewsonline.com/type-2-diabetes-research-shows-mindfulness-may-help-lower-blood-sugar-healthline/ New research shows that mind-body practices like yoga effectively lower blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes. Getty Images/Jessie Casson Type 2 diabetes is a chronic condition with widespread prevalence, but symptoms are manageable through medication, a healthy diet, and lifestyle modifications, including physical activity. A new meta-analysis of the current research shows that mind-body practices effectively lower blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes. Results indicate that yoga had the most significant effect compared to other mindfulness practices that were studied. While rigorous physical activity can be helpful for managing T2D, gentler mind-body practices, including meditation, breathwork, and basic yoga postures, can also be effective. Around 37 million Americans have diabetes, 90–95% of cases of which are type 2 diabetes (T2D), according to the . Type 2 diabetes is a chronic condition, but symptoms are manageable and, in some cases, potentially reversible through treatments like prescription drugs, a healthy diet, and regular physical activity. New research shows that mind-body practices like yoga can help people with type 2 diabetes lower their blood sugar (blood glucose) levels. Rooted in mindfulness, mind-body practices are intended to be used alongside current standard treatments. By keeping blood glucose levels within the recommended range, people can reduce their risk of complications associated with type 2 diabetes, such as cardiovascular disease, kidney damage, nerve damage, and vision problems. In the study, recently published online in the Journal of Integrative and Complementary Medicine, the authors combined and analyzed results from 28 previous randomized controlled trials in what’s known as a meta-analysis. Earlier studies involved people with type 2 diabetes doing a mind-body practice alongside standard diabetes treatment. Researchers compared them to a second group of people who received only the standard treatment. In a meta-analysis published in 2017, Herpreet Thind, PhD, MPH, associate professor in the department of Public Health at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, and her colleagues found that people with type 2 diabetes who did yoga saw improvements in their blood glucose levels. The new analysis, led by Fatimata Sanogo, a PhD student in the department of Population and Public Health Sciences at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, expanded on the previous research and included studies looking at the benefits of other mind-body practices, such as: meditation qigong mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) However, the majority of studies included in the analysis were yoga interventions. The results from the new analysis show that mind-body practices led to an average reduction of 0.84% in participants’ . This is a measure of the average blood glucose levels over the past 3 months. Yoga had the biggest impact on blood glucose levels, leading to an HbA1c reduction of 1%. The other mind-body practices studied also had a positive impact on blood glucose. Study author Richard M. Watanabe, PhD, a professor of population and public health sciences at the Keck School of Medicine at USC, told Healthline that many doctors who specialize in diabetes would not be surprised that mind-body practices can positively impact blood glucose levels. “What is surprising in this study, though, is the magnitude of the effect,” he said. “It’s almost the same effect size that you would see with pharmacologic intervention.” One , for instance, found that treatment with the drug metformin by itself lowered people’s HbA1c by 1.12%, compared to people taking an inactive placebo. Watanabe added that the impact of mind-body practices on blood glucose levels was “on top of the standard of care,” such as diet, physical activity, and medication treatments. Watanabe said one of the strengths of the new analysis is that the studies were done in several countries — although the majority occurred in India. As a result, “the consistency in the outcomes [of these studies] suggests that what we’re observing probably can be generalized to the entire human population,” he said. Thind, the lead author of the 2017 meta-analysis, agreed that the new study’s results are promising. “It is encouraging to see that the research on mind-body interventions is increasing and consistently showing beneficial outcomes [for type 2 diabetes],” she told Healthline. However, she pointed out that most of the studies did not have a long-term follow-up to see if the benefits of the mind-body interventions persisted. By comparison, another recent study, which looked at the health benefits of online yoga for knee osteoarthritis, found that once the study ended, people’s participation in the classes dwindled, as did the benefits. “Overall, we need more rigorous research to make any conclusive statements about the efficacy of yoga or other mind-body interventions as a complementary therapy for individuals with prediabetes or type 2 diabetes in the United States,” Thind said. Many mind-body practices include physical activity, which in itself can improve blood glucose levels. In addition, “mind-body interventions also lead to increased awareness, so they may help promote self-care activities including improved diet and physical activity,” Thind said. According to Dr. Rashmi S. Mullur, an endocrinologist at UCLA Health in Los Angeles, mind-body practices can also help people with type 2 diabetes cope with stress, including any stress related to their condition. This is the stress that comes from living with diabetes (i.e., carefully monitoring what you eat and how active you are and possibly taking medications.) “As a stress-reduction tool, yoga and other mind-body approaches have been shown to improve blood sugar numbers for patients with diabetes-related distress,” Mullur noted. In terms of future research, Watanabe said he’d like to see more research looking specifically at how mind-body practices impact the body’s stress response in people with type 2 diabetes alongside the changes in blood glucose levels. Some studies have already begun to explore the association between stress hormones and type 2 diabetes. “I think the next step is to see if stress hormones such as cortisol, glucagon, or epinephrine are elevated [in these people] and whether these mind-body interventions can lower them,” he said. Many people are familiar with yoga as a form of physical activity, but this traditional practice also includes breathing exercises, meditation, and other techniques to help focus the mind and improve overall health. “As an Indigenous practice to India, yoga includes the physical, mental, and spiritual practices that support an overall healthy lifestyle that is part of Ayurvedic living,” Muller said. Meditation can also be practiced by itself. As with yoga, there are a number of types of meditation, such as keeping your attention on the breath or another object, visualization, or reciting a phrase (mantra). A similar practice is mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), an 8-week structured program developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD, and based on the traditional Buddhist practices of mindfulness and meditation. It includes both sitting meditation and mindful movement. Qigong is a that involves gentle movements, deep breathing, and meditative techniques, all aimed at improving health and well-being. An intense physical practice — such as what’s often seen with certain types of yoga — can positively impact blood glucose levels through increased physical activity and weight loss. But gentle and seated yoga practices may also improve blood sugar levels, in part, by improving diabetes-related distress. “If we think about yoga in its gentlest form — sitting, breathing, and linking breath with movement — that has a huge impact for patients with diabetes,” Mullur noted. And many of the benefits of yoga come from its role not as a physical practice but as a mind-body awareness practice. “The support for [the blood glucose benefits of] yoga is really around the physical practice linked with pranayama — the breath — and with meditation,” Mullur said. A growing body of research suggests that mind-body practices, particularly yoga, can lower blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes. Despite the positive implications, however, more long-term research is still needed. Be that as it may, almost anyone can benefit from practicing mindfulness. Thind said that people with type 2 diabetes could try out the mind-body practices included in the recent research to see if they are beneficial. If you’re living with type 2 diabetes and are curious whether mind-body practices could help you manage your symptoms, you may wish to speak with your doctor first. And regardless of which type of mindfulness practice you choose, it’s always a good idea to learn from a qualified teacher. “Individuals with chronic conditions who are new to yoga or qigong should practice them under supervision of a trained instructor to ensure their safety,” Thind said.

Report Details ‘Systemic’ Abuse Of Players In Women’s Soccer – The New York Times https://collincountynewsonline.com/report-details-systemic-abuse-of-players-in-womens-soccer-the-new-york-times/ A yearlong investigation found U.S. Soccer executives, N.W.S.L. owners and coaches at all levels of American soccer had turned a blind eye toward years of reports of abuse from players. Send any friend a story As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Anyone can read what you share. The Portland Thorns and Houston Dash paused their match last October to honor sexual abuse survivors and protest the league’s handling of complaints.Credit…Soobum Im/USA Today Sports, via Reuters Oct. 3, 2022Updated 6:39 p.m. ET One coach called in a player to review game film and showed her pornography instead. Another was notorious at the highest levels of women’s soccer for alternately berating his players and then quizzing them about their sex lives. A third coach coerced multiple players into sexual relationships, behavior that one top team found so disturbing that it fired him. But when he was hired by a rival team only a few months later, the original club, which had documented his behavior in an internal investigation, said nothing. Instead, it publicly wished him well in his new post. Those details and others fill a highly anticipated investigative report into abuse in women’s soccer that found sexual misconduct, verbal abuse and emotional abuse by coaches in the game’s top tier, the National Women’s Soccer League, and issued warnings that girls face abuse in youth soccer as well. The report was published Monday, a year after players outraged by what they saw as a culture of abuse in their sport demanded changes by refusing to take the field. It found that leaders of the N.W.S.L. and the United States Soccer Federation — the governing body of the sport in America — as well as owners, executives and coaches at all levels failed to act on years of voluminous and persistent reports of abuse by coaches. All were more concerned about being sued by coaches or about the teetering finances of women’s professional soccer than player welfare, according to the report, creating a system in which abusive and predatory coaches were able to move freely from team to team at the top levels of women’s soccer. “Our investigation has revealed a league in which abuse and misconduct — verbal and emotional abuse and sexual misconduct — had become systemic, spanning multiple teams, coaches and victims,” Sally Q. Yates, the lead investigator, wrote in the report’s executive summary. “Abuse in the N.W.S.L. is rooted in a deeper culture in women’s soccer, beginning in youth leagues, that normalizes verbally abusive coaching and blurs boundaries between coaches and players.” Last year, U.S. Soccer commissioned Yates, a former deputy attorney general, and the law firm King & Spalding to look into the sport after reports in The Athletic and The Washington Post detailed accusations of sexual and verbal abuse against coaches in the women’s league. After the news media reports, and after games were postponed as furious players protested publicly, league executives resigned and were fired. Within weeks, half of the 10-team league’s coaches had been linked to allegations of abuse, and some of the world’s top players had recounted their own stories of mistreatment. Cindy Parlow Cone, the U.S. Soccer president and a former member of the national team, called the findings “devastating and infuriating.” Cone said there are “systemic failures within soccer that must be corrected,” and that the federation would immediately implement a number of the report’s recommendations. Image A National Women’s Soccer League game between Gotham F.C. and the Washington Spirit last October.Credit…Monique Jaques for The New York Times The report made a lengthy list of recommendations that it said should be adopted by U.S. Soccer, and in some cases the women’s league, including making a public list of individuals suspended or barred by U.S. Soccer, meaningfully vetting coaches when licensing them, requiring investigations into accusations of abuse, making clear policies and rules around acceptable behavior and conduct, and hiring player safety officers, among other requirements. The report also raises the question of whether some team owners should be disciplined or forced to sell their teams, as it recommended the league “determine whether disciplinary action is appropriate for any of these owners or team executives.” Even with so much of the worst abuse publicly known, the Yates report is stunning in how meticulously it details how many powerful soccer officials were told about abuse and how little they did to investigate or stop it. Among those whose inaction is detailed are a former U.S. Soccer president; the organization’s former chief executive and women’s national team coach; and the leadership of the Portland Thorns, one of the league’s most popular and best-supported teams. “Teams, the league and the federation not only repeatedly failed to respond appropriately when confronted with player reports and evidence of abuse, they also failed to institute basic measures to prevent and address it,” Yates wrote. She added that “abusive coaches moved from team to team, laundered by press releases thanking them for their service,” while those with knowledge of their misconduct stayed silent. In a statement, the women’s league said in the report, and an investigation it is undertaking with the players’ union, “will be critical to informing and implementing systemic reform and ensuring that the N.W.S.L. is a league where players are supported, on and off the pitch.” The players’ union said in a statement that players who had spoken to investigators “have shown profound courage and bravery, and we stand with them.” The national team players association released a statement saying it was “dismayed” that some clubs and U.S. Soccer staff “impeded the investigation,” and urged U.S. Soccer to implement the report’s recommendations. National team players largely did not respond publicly to the report, as they were on a plane to London for a match against England as the report was released. The report said the sport does little to train athletes and coaches about harassment, retaliation and fraternization. It noted that “overwhelming” numbers of players, coaches and U.S. Soccer staff members remarked that “women players are conditioned to accept and respond to abusive coaching behaviors as youth players.” From left, Rory Dames, Christy Holly and Paul Riley.Credit…Getty Images While the report details complaints made about several coaches, it focuses its narrative on three: Paul Riley, Rory Dames and Christy Holly. The accusations against Riley, who last coached the North Carolina Courage, and Dames, who coached the Chicago Red Stars, have been well documented in news media reports. The accusations against Holly, who was abruptly dismissed as coach of Racing Louisville F.C. last year with little explanation, have not been aired publicly before. Holly spoke with investigators and denied some, but not all, of the claims made against him. Through his lawyer, Dames declined to speak with investigators. Riley agreed to provide written responses but never did. Riley and Dames did not respond to requests for comment Monday. Holly declined to comment. Holly sexually coerced a player, according to the report, by inviting her to his home for what he said was a session to watch game film. Instead, he showed the player pornography and masturbated in front of her. Another time, according to the report, after calling in the player again under the pretense of watching game film, Holly groped the player’s genitals and breasts each time the film showed she made a mistake. While coaching in the women’s league years earlier, the report also found, Holly drew complaints of verbal abuse and mistreatment and had a relationship with a player “that caused a toxic team environment.” Yet little vetting of his past occurred as he moved from job to job. The report found that Riley “leveraged his position” as a coach to coerce at least three players into sexual relationships while working previously in a different women’s soccer league, and it said that investigators received “credible reports of sexual misconduct with other players” that were not detailed in the final report. Dames, a longtime youth soccer coach, fostered a “sexualized team environment” that included speaking to youth players about their sex lives, according to the report. That environment “crossed the line to sexual relationships” in multiple cases, which the report says “may have begun after the age of consent.” Dames also screamed at and belittled players, and joked about the age of consent for sexual activity. Image Portland Thorns fans lit a smoke bomb last November as part of a protest of the sexual misconduct scandal in the league.Credit…Steve Dykes/Getty Images In the cases of all three coaches, the report found, the women’s league and U.S. Soccer officials, as well as individual team owners and executives, were repeatedly made aware of complaints of inappropriate behavior but largely did nothing to address them or prevent them from occurring elsewhere. Sexual misconduct allegations were brought against Riley each year from 2015 to 2021, for example, and an anonymous player survey in 2014 also identified Riley, then coaching the Portland Thorns, as verbally abusive and sexist. The survey results were seen by U.S. Soccer and league officials, and feedback was distributed to the Thorns owner Merritt Paulson. In 2015, after the Thorns conducted an investigation, Riley was terminated. But the team said publicly that it had chosen not to extend his contract, and Riley was not disciplined. When he was hired by another team months later, no one from the league or the federation — which at the time eff...

UPS Launches A Metaverse Location In Decentraland – NFTevening.com https://collincountynewsonline.com/ups-launches-a-metaverse-location-in-decentraland-nftevening-com/ UPS, one of the world’s biggest shipping and parcel supply services, is joining the metaverse. The multinational company has launched a venue in Decentraland and aims to target small businesses in the virtual world. Significantly, they will use this space for events and educational purposes! The Helping You Be Unstoppable Store was built in partnership with companies Inc. and Fast Company. UPS is joining the metaverse with an event venue in Decentraland. UPS launches virtual metaverse space! In April, the United Parcel Service (UPS) filed a trademark to protect its brand in the metaverse and NFT space. Now, the company is finally entering the metaverse and launching a unique venue, offering education for the small business market in key areas, such as sales and marketing. Significantly, The Helping You Be Unstoppable Store will not offer one-to-one interaction with UPS staff at this moment. In the future, there could be a UPS service within the metaverse, allowing you to post items without leaving Decentraland. Of course, much of this depends on the overall success of the metaverse. However, it is great to see big brands joining and productively using the space. Last week Disney announced it is hiring metaverse and web3 lawyers as it expands its plans for web3. Education at the heart of Metaverse space UPS wants to help small companies, focusing primarily on this for the metaverse space. The events taking place at the new venue will include some brilliant speakers. Notably, these experts will provide excellent talks on essential aspects of running a business. The UPS team has been working hard on this latest venture, aiming to provide an immersive and dynamic learning experience. Thanks to the metaverse, it is a unique opportunity to learn from small business experts worldwide without leaving your sofa! All investment/financial opinions expressed by NFTevening.com are not recommendations. This article is educational material. As always, make your own research prior to making any kind of investment. James Ellis James is an English teacher and freelance writer with a passion for NFTs, football, film and technology.

Samsung’s Decidedly Awesome Galaxy Tab S8+ With Free S Pen Is On Discount – PhoneArena https://collincountynewsonline.com/samsungs-decidedly-awesome-galaxy-tab-s8-with-free-s-pen-is-on-discount-phonearena/ If there is one manufacturer other than Apple which has shown it’s serious about tablets, it’s Samsung, and one of the South Korean giant’s best Android tablets to date is selling at a discount right now. The Galaxy Tab S8+ offers everything you would want in a slate: a vibrant and big 12.4-inches display with a high refresh rate of 120Hz, a slim design, fast performance, support for the S Pen stylus for added productivity, and better multitasking than most Android tablets out there. The tablet has a reliable in-display fingerprint sensor and features Dolby Atmos-supported speakers that deliver better sound quality than average laptops. The $59 S Pen comes bundled with the tablet. Unlike most other gadgets available these days, the tablet has a microSD card slot for expanding storage. There is a USB-C port on the right side and pogo pins at the bottom for attaching the optional keyboard case. The slate is powered by Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip and packs a 10,090mAh battery with support for 45W fast charging. There are two cameras (13MP main + 6MP ultrawide) on the back which are good enough for casual images and document scans and a 12MP front-facing camera which is better than the webcams on most laptops. The S8+ runs Google’s tablet-first Android 12L operating system, which makes large screened devices simpler and easier to use. The biggest addition is a taskbar at the bottom of the display which can temporarily be hidden and elevating the experience further are Samsung’s multitasking tools. The slate will get software support for five years. To sum everything up, the Galaxy Tab S8+ is great for anyone looking for a powerful high-end tablet with multi-day battery life and elegant design. The cherry on top is the Dex mode which turns the interface into a desktop-like layout. The 128GB WiFi model usually costs $899, but right now, Amazon is selling it for $125 less. You can save even more if you opt for the 256GB version, as it’s going for $813 instead of $979 after a discount of 17 percent. The deal is unlikely to last long so act fast and treat yourself to one before it ends.

Argentina’s State-Owned Energy Company Moves Into Crypto Mining – CoinDesk https://collincountynewsonline.com/argentinas-state-owned-energy-company-moves-into-crypto-mining-coindesk/ Andrés Engler is a CoinDesk editor based in Argentina, where he covers the Latin American crypto ecosystem. He holds BTC and ETH. YPF, Argentina’s state-owned energy company, is supplying power to an undisclosed international crypto mining company, the firm said on Sunday. The renewable energy arm of YPF – YPF Luz – three months ago commenced a 1 megawatt (MW) pilot operation that provides power generated from waste gas left over from oil production, YPF Luz CEO Martín Mandarano told the national news agency Télam. The project is located in southern Argentina, in an area known for its shale oil and gas resources called Vaca Muerta (Dead Cow). The company plans to open a second pilot – this one 8MW in size – before the end of the year, Mandarano said. “We started to develop this generation pilot for cryptocurrency mining with a vision of sustainability and business from flare natural gas, which cannot be harnessed during exploration and at the beginning of the production of an oil field,” Mandarano added. In June, Crusoe Energy, a privately held U.S. company that pioneered bitcoin (BTC) mining by using wasted natural gas as a power source, announced it was expanding to Oman and Abu Dhabi after receiving investments from the sovereign wealth funds of those two countries. Sign up for Market Wrap, our daily newsletter explaining what happened today in crypto markets – and why. 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 . Andrés Engler is a CoinDesk editor based in Argentina, where he covers the Latin American crypto ecosystem. He holds BTC and ETH. Andrés Engler is a CoinDesk editor based in Argentina, where he covers the Latin American crypto ecosystem. He holds BTC and ETH.

Election Deniers In U.S. Push Idea Of Voting Fraud In Brazil – The New York Times https://collincountynewsonline.com/election-deniers-in-u-s-push-idea-of-voting-fraud-in-brazil-the-new-york-times/ Politics|Election Deniers in U.S. Push Idea That Brazil’s Voting Was Tainted https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/03/us/politics/election-deniers-brazil-midterms.html Some prominent election denialists in the United States are using Brazil to try to whip up concern about the approaching midterms. Send any friend a story As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Anyone can read what you share. This article is part of our Midterms 2022 Daily Briefing Electoral observers checked the integrity of electronic ballots in Brasília on Sunday.Credit…Dado Galdieri for The New York Times Oct. 3, 2022, 6:37 p.m. ET The false specter of an election rife with conspiracy and fraud — this one in Brazil — is spreading around American right-wing media channels from prominent election denialists still fixated on the fiction that Donald J. Trump was robbed of the presidency two years ago. Some used the voting in Brazil on Sunday to try to whip up concern about the approaching midterm elections in the United States. “Dear Brazil, please watch those vote counts at 3 a.m.,” Mark Finchem, the Republican candidate for Arizona secretary of state, wrote on his Telegram channel on Sunday, Election Day in Brazil. “They are a doozy.” Mr. Finchem also warned of “suitcases coming out under tables” and “pizza boxes up in front of windows to block poll watchers.” These motifs were based on debunked but prominent conspiracy theories pushed by allies of Mr. Trump who tried to overturn the results of the election in 2020. President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil, whose candidacy Mr. Trump and his supporters favored, outperformed expectations, forcing an Oct. 30 runoff election against his opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Some of the Trump allies sowing doubt in elections helped export their strategy to Brazil after the 2020 election. Donald Trump Jr. warned about Chinese meddling in a speech in Brazil last year, while Mr. Bolsonaro’s son appeared at an event in South Dakota last year hosted by the pillow entrepreneur Mike Lindell, a prominent promoter of election conspiracy theories. As our colleagues in Brazil have written, Mr. Bolsonaro has been attacking the election system for months and suggesting that if he did not win, it would be due to fraud. There is no evidence of past widespread fraud and Brazil election officials maintained that these allegations are false. Despite attempts by American election deniers to draw parallels between the two countries, Brazil’s voting system is markedly different from that in the U.S. Rather than using different procedures and equipment in each state, Brazilian voters use the same machines nationwide, and there is no voting by mail. As a result, results can be delivered in a matter of hours. On Monday, even after the better-than-expected results, some allies of Mr. Trump were in the strange position of continuing to push the idea of election fraud even while celebrating the outcome. Stephen K. Bannon said on his show on Monday morning that the Brazilian election was an “absolutely central and very stark warning to MAGA and to all the Republicans of the games being played in these elections.” He referred American viewers to a list of vigilante activities they could participate in for the upcoming election in their own country. Gateway Pundit, a right-wing website, described the election in a headline as experiencing “MASSIVE Fraud” while hailing its outcome.

Tech News: 5 Things To Know In Australia Today – Gizmodo Australia https://collincountynewsonline.com/tech-news-5-things-to-know-in-australia-today-gizmodo-australia-8/ Good morning, we hope those of you with a public holiday yesterday enjoyed the extra day off. A few things have happened in the tech world since we last spoke, so here they are. 1. Australia Post now delivering…internet Australia Post has launched its first home internet service, Australia Post Broadband. The service uses the NBN Co network and includes eight different month-to-month plan options, with no lock-in contracts. The cheapest plan will set you back $54 a month (11Mbps), and the most expensive, $154 a month (250Mbps). I’d rather their ‘innovation’ be opening shopfronts outside of business hours but here we are. Australia Post Broadband pricing. Image: Australia Post/Gizmodo Australia 2. Bruce Willis keeps his face Bruce Willis was back in headlines last week as news broke that the actor had seemingly sold the rights to his face to Deepcake, a Russian AI company specialising in deepfakes. Willis’ representatives, however, are contesting these reports. In a statement shared with the Hollywood Reporter, Willis’ representatives stated that the actor “has no partnership or agreement with this Deepcake company.” Willis’ representatives did not immediately return Gizmodo’s request for further comment. 3. Brissy delivery drone crashed and left many without electricity An unmanned delivery vehicle, operated by Wing — a subsidiary of Alphabet (parent of Google), landed on power lines in Brisbane and fried itself with 11,000 volts of electricity. As a result, more than 2,000 homes and businesses briefly went dark on Thursday in the Browns Plains region. Power was restored for most customers in 45 minutes, with 300 without power for three hours. 4. Tesla’s $20,000 Optimus unveiled Elon Musk hates the spotlight, doesn’t he? Over the weekend, Musk revealed a prototype of a humanoid “Optimus” robot that shares some AI software and sensors with its cars’ Autopilot driver assistance features. At the start of Tesla’s 2022 AI Day presentation, Musk acknowledged that they had “a guy in a suit” last year but promised something much more impressive this time around. Musk predicted it could hit a price of “probably less than $20,000”. pic.twitter.com/EzxImHtqBP — Tesla (@Tesla) October 1, 2022 5. Aussie spacecraft came down to Earth as a fireball This weekend marked a milestone for Western Australia’s Binar Space Program as its first satellite Binar-1 lived up to its name. Binar is the word for “fireball” in the Noongar language and according to a report from The Conversation, Binar-1 became a real “Binar” as it re-entered Earth’s atmosphere over the weekend. Although the chance of it being seen over Australia was low, with the right amount of luck it would have appeared as a shooting star in the night sky. It was launched to the International Space Station on August 29 2021 aboard a SpaceX resupply mission and deployed from the station’s Kibō module. BONUS ITEM: This is what happens when celebs think crypto is a good idea. WATCH: Kim Kardashian has agreed to settle charges of unlawfully touting a crypto security and to pay $1.26 million in penalties and associated fees https://t.co/AMKaWCG2GP pic.twitter.com/PiwRDUVOSs — Reuters Business (@ReutersBiz) October 3, 2022 Enjoy your Tuesday.

Limited Run’s Press Run Wants To Preserve Gaming History With Books – VentureBeat https://collincountynewsonline.com/limited-runs-press-run-wants-to-preserve-gaming-history-with-books-venturebeat/ October 3, 2022 3:31 PM Image Credit: Limited Run Games Interested in learning what’s next for the gaming industry? Join gaming executives to discuss emerging parts of the industry this October at GamesBeat Summit Next. Register today. Limited Run Games announced last week that it’s launching a new book publishing imprint called Press Run. With this new imprint, it plans to release a new book about gaming or related topics at least once a month. Jeremy Parish and Jared Petty, both former games journalists, will oversee the venture. GamesBeat also spoke with Parish during the launch, who said that the imprint plans to publish a new book every month, both reprints of older titles and original works. Some of these will come from the Limited Run team while others come from outside authors. Parish told GamesBeat, “I’ve always been a print publishing enthusiast, and in my career I wanted to be in print publishing — but people kept telling me print was dead. So I just kept making books, print-on-demand. It was something I really wanted to do. [Limited Run CEO] Josh Fairhurst bought some of those books … . Three years ago, [Limited Run] said ‘Why don’t you come work for us? Take these book projects you’ve been doing for yourself and apply it to Limited Run.’” Hot off the presses Parish spoke about the kinds of books Limited Run is working on for the future. “We have a schedule of books that takes us well into 2024-25. There’s been a lot of interest from authors who have had trouble getting deals for their print books. Our goal is to give those authors who want to write about video games a place to publish, to help bring their projects to fruition. “This industry is really, really bad at curating its own history. Collectively, the corporate level doesn’t care. So it falls to people outside of the companies, outside of the creative game development loop to chronicle and document that. ‘Here’s where gaming has been, and these games from the past inform its future.’ That’s an important part of having games as a creative medium.” He added that Press Run’s plans are more expansive, and will likely include contemporary views of games as well. “There’s more than just history. I think having books that talk about or show what makes games great and interesting — the creative processes, the user experiences … . We want to cover a whole spectrum of content.” Press Run’s first books, which it published at the imprint’s launch, include The History of Sunsoft, Vol. 1 by Stefan Gancer, the retrospective chronicles SNES Works: 1991 and Virtual Boy Works, and Limited Run: The Complete Run Vol. I – 2015-16. All three books are available now. October’s title will be PlayStation: A Retrospective, which was originally published in 2011 and fell out of circulation. For November, Press Run plans to release another anthology, NES Works: 1987. In addition, Limited Run currently offers art books, such as The Art of Boyfriend Dungeon and The Art of River City Girls. GamesBeat’s creed when covering the game industry is “where passion meets business.” What does this mean? We want to tell you how the news matters to you — not just as a decision-maker at a game studio, but also as a fan of games. Whether you read our articles, listen to our podcasts, or watch our videos, GamesBeat will help you learn about the industry and enjoy engaging with it. Discover our Briefings.

Worker Rescued From Water Tower In Collin County – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth https://collincountynewsonline.com/worker-rescued-from-water-tower-in-collin-county-nbc-5-dallas-fort-worth/ Firefighters rescued a worker who was trapped in a water tower Monday in the Collin County community of Copeville. Fire officials said the worker was unable to self-evacuate from the tower and needed the help of first responders. Video from Texas Sky Ranger showed the person being loaded on a stretcher into the back of an ambulance. The person was later taken by medical helicopter to a hospital. Further details on their injuries were not immediately available. It’s not yet known what caused the worker to be stranded in the tower. Stay informed during the severe weather season with our local news and weather app. Download NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth for Apple or Android and pick your alerts. Check back for updates on this developing story.

Travel Advisor Answers Your Vacation Questions In Wake Of Hurricane Ian – WSYR https://collincountynewsonline.com/travel-advisor-answers-your-vacation-questions-in-wake-of-hurricane-ian-wsyr/ by: Adrienne Smith Posted: Oct 3, 2022 / 05:18 PM EDT Updated: Oct 3, 2022 / 05:28 PM EDT by: Adrienne Smith Posted: Oct 3, 2022 / 05:18 PM EDT Updated: Oct 3, 2022 / 05:28 PM EDT DEWITT, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) – The years of clean-up in Florida have some Central New Yorkers who spend their winter there or have planned trips to the Sunshine State unsure of what to do next, especially if the destination is one that was devastated by Hurricane Ian. To help clear up the confusion and answer your vacation questions, NewsChannel 9 sat down with a local travel advisor at AAA in DeWitt. Tina Davidson-Deitz is one of the company’s branch managers in Central New York. She said phones at her office have been ringing off the hook in the wake of Hurricane Ian and its aftermath. “We’ve been working diligently on getting everybody back home safely.” TINA DAVIDSON-DEITZ, BRANCH MANAGER, AAA CENTRAL NEW YORK AAA of Central New York has had more than 500 travelers that have been impacted by Hurricane Ian with more expected. Davidson-Deitz said those folks who were traveling when Hurricane Ian made landfall had a manager or travel advisor from AAA reach out to help with changing flights and contacting their insurance companies. It’s fun to book your own travel. It’s fun to go on there and book your airline ticket and see how far you can get, but it’s so important to book with a travel advisor and organization that knows the business. AAA has been in business for well over 100 years. I’ve been in the business for almost 30 years. We’ve been through every pandemic, every weather issue you can think of. Being with someone who can take care of you from the beginning of your trip to the end is so important. TINA DAVIDSON-DEITZ, BRANCH MANAGER, AAA CENTRAL NEW YORK AAA ADVICE IF YOU HAVE AN UPCOMING TRIP PLANNED: Stay informed Download airline apps on your mobile device Communicate with hotel about any potential changes to your stay Research city/town/village before your trip Work with a travel advisor/company Purchase travel insurance for coverage in unprecedented times “Just being informed in advance. Keeping in touch with your travel advisor. That’s going to be the absolute best thing to do is to stay informed. Do not make any unnecessary travel at this time.” TINA DAVIDSON-DEITZ, BRANCH MANAGER, AAA CENTRAL NEW YORK Your Stories link Live Doppler 9 Map Center CNY View Oswego Area Syracuse Area

Oil Prices, Stocks And Economy News: Latest Updates – The New York Times https://collincountynewsonline.com/oil-prices-stocks-and-economy-news-latest-updates-the-new-york-times/ Global oil prices jumped on Monday as traders assessed reports that OPEC Plus, the group of oil-producing countries that includes Saudi Arabia and Russia, was considering a big cut in production at its meeting this week. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose 4.4 percent to $88.86 per barrel, and West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, gained over 5 percent to $83.63 per barrel. Both grades of crude have lost more than a quarter of their value since their peaks in June, lowering the price of gasoline and taking some pressure off stubbornly high inflation. Analysts said the Saudis appeared determined to bring oil prices up to about $90 a barrel. The spike in oil prices triggered a rally in the stock market, as shares of energy companies surged. Marathon Oil rose 10.6 percent, making it the best performer in the S&P 500, while Devon Energy rallied 8.7 percent and ConocoPhillips and Hess rose more than 7 percent. The broader S&P 500 gained 2.6 percent. The OPEC Plus cuts of perhaps up to one million barrels a day, or roughly 1 percent of the global supply, would reverse a series of increases that had put downward pressure on prices alongside slowing economic growth that has led to lower forecasts for oil demand. A report released Monday by the International Energy Agency also predicted that global demand for natural gas would be weaker than previously expected. The drop would continue to be most pronounced in Europe, where high prices since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have led to drops in consumption and raised fears about energy security. Russia has throttled gas flows to Western Europe, and the apparent sabotage last week of the Nord Stream pipelines from Russia to Germany removed the possibility of a return to service anytime soon. The stock market’s rebound on Monday came after a brutal bout of selling that had left the index more than 16 percent below its August high. The S&P 500 ended the third quarter with another loss, the first time that Wall Street had posted three consecutive quarterly losses since the global financial crisis. Europe’s Stoxx 600 ended the day 0.8 percent higher, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1 percent, and the main South Korean and Chinese indexes lost some ground. Government bond yields fell sharply across Europe, particularly in Britain, after Prime Minister Liz Truss reversed course on debt-funded income tax cuts for the highest earners, which had roiled markets last week. The yield on 10-year British government “gilts,” or bonds, dropped 0.13 percentage points to fall below 4 percent. U.S. Treasury yields also fell, as investors moderated their expectations for central bank rate increases in the coming months. Image The headquarters of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries in Vienna.Credit…Heinz-Peter Bader/Reuters OPEC Plus, the oil producers’ group, is considering announcing a major cut in production when it meets on Wednesday, according to a person familiar with the thinking of Saudi Arabia, the group’s de facto leader. Such a move, which analysts say is widely expected, would be a blow to the Biden administration, after it lobbied the Saudis to increase output. A cut would also mark a major turnaround in policy for OPEC Plus, which includes Russia. Since the group slashed oil production in early 2020 when demand collapsed because of the coronavirus pandemic, the producers have announced a series of steady monthly increases, though they have generally not met those goals. Analysts say that the Saudis appear determined to bring oil prices up to about $90 a barrel. Oil prices, about $85 a barrel on Friday for Brent crude, the international benchmark, have fallen by roughly a quarter since their June high. Oil prices in Europe and the United States rose 4 percent on Monday. “We certainly see a significant chance that the producer group will opt for a substantial cut to try to signal that there is indeed an effective circuit breaker in the market,” Helima Croft, head of commodity strategy at RBC Capital Markets, an investment bank, said last week. Ms. Croft estimated that the group was considering announcing a cut of 500,000 to one million barrels a day, roughly 1 percent of the global supply. The person familiar with the thinking of Saudi Arabia also said a cut of that size seemed likely. In his view, he said, the oil market is oversupplied and demand is weakening because of a flagging world economy. The Saudis signaled a hawkish posture last month with a largely symbolic cut of 100,000 barrels a day. Now, analysts say, they may think it is time to make a stronger statement. A sizable cut by Saudi Arabia would appear to be an act of defiance of the Biden administration, which has pushed the Saudis and other OPEC members to supply enough oil to keep a lid on prices. President Biden visited the Kingdom in July despite his disapproval of the 2018 murder of the Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi operatives. OPEC Plus appears to be trying to intervene in a market that is difficult to read. Much of the recent fall in prices may be the result of worries about factors like rising interest rates by central banks around the world rather than oil market fundamentals. In addition, how the world economy will perform in the coming months is far from clear. Still, a cut in oil supplies by OPEC Plus that raises oil prices could increase the likelihood of a global downturn. While prices may be under pressure, oil inventories — the volumes in tank farms — are at low levels, meaning that the market could turn around quickly. A major unknown is the future output of Russia, the co-chair of OPEC Plus. Russian oil production has held up better than many analysts expected under sanctions imposed by the West over the war in Ukraine. But Russian production may fall more when the European Union tightens sanctions on Russia later this year. Just what OPEC Plus means by a cut may also be far from clear. The group has already been missing its targets by a proverbial mile. In August, for instance, Russia came up short a million barrels of its daily quota of 11 million barrels, according to the International Energy Agency, a Paris-based group. To be taken seriously by the markets, a cut will probably need to detail a substantial reduction by Saudi Arabia, the largest producer in the group. Also uncertain is Russia’s status in the organization. The Saudis appear to want to keep Russia, one of the world’s largest oil and natural gas producers, as a key member of the group, even though sanctions will likely make it difficult for Moscow to meet anything close to current production targets. Moscow’s oil and gas industry also appears headed for almost certain medium-term decline because Western companies will no longer supply it with technology. The Saudis appear to be betting that despite these negatives, Russia will remain a key player in energy markets. The Saudis are also trying to make sure that OPEC Plus continues. The oil agreement on production management that binds OPEC Plus together expires at the end of the year. The Saudis want the market management arrangements to continue, but detailed discussion will probably be required on extending the deal. The need to hold such talks soon may be a key reason the group decided to convene in Vienna on Wednesday, its first in-person meeting since the start of the pandemic. Image Gas leaks were discovered on Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea last week.Credit…Danish Defense Command, via Agence France-Press — Getty Images Leaks from the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines have finally stopped after three separate ruptures were discovered in the natural gas lines last week, the Danish Energy Agency said on Sunday. Nord Stream AG, the company that manages the pipeline, told the agency that “a stable pressure now appears to have been achieved on the two Nord Stream 1 pipelines,” meaning that gas is no longer flowing out of them, the agency said in a statement on Twitter. Several news outlets reported that the company said that pressure from water entering the ruptured pipelines had stopped the gas from leaking, but the claim could not be independently verified. The two major lines — which were built to deliver natural gas from Russia to Germany — ruptured in three separate places last week after explosions under the Baltic Sea. Although the official cause has not been identified, political leaders in Europe and the United States have suggested that the incident was an act of sabotage, as much of the speculation about responsibility has focused on Russia, whose state-controlled energy company, Gazprom, is the main owner of the pipelines. A spokesman for President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, Dmitri S. Peskov, dismissed the notion of Russian sabotage as “stupid” and suggested that the United States was behind the attacks. Neither pipeline was actively transporting gas at the time, but they still contained methane, the main component of natural gas. The leaking gas produced a half-mile wide stream of bubbles near Denmark and Sweden, raising questions about the incident’s environmental impact. Though methane partly dissolves in water and is not toxic, it is a greenhouse gas. The pipelines have featured in the conflict over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine for months. The German government shelved the Nord Stream 2 project in February, just as Russia began to invade Ukraine. And Nord Stream 1 appears to be part of a larger Russian strategy of leveraging energy against Europe as punishment for opposing the war. Nord Stream 1 has not moved gas into Europe for weeks, with Russia citing maintenance reasons for closing the line. Europe widely interprets the shut-off as a threat that Mr. Putin could cut Ukraine’s allies off as winter approaches. I...

Ukraine’s Forces Gain Ground In The South As Counteroffensive Builds; Russia Acknowledges Advances – CNBC https://collincountynewsonline.com/ukraines-forces-gain-ground-in-the-south-as-counteroffensive-builds-russia-acknowledges-advances-cnbc/ Elon Musk is publicly rebuked by Zelenskyy over his Twitter poll SpaceX Chief Engineer Elon Musk takes part in a joint news conference with T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert (not pictured) at the SpaceX Starbase, in Brownsville, Texas, U.S., August 25, 2022. Adrees Latif | Reuters American tech billionaire Elon Musk drew public ire from Ukraine’s top officials after the Tesla CEO posted a Twitter poll asking the public to agree or disagree with what he claimed is the most likely outcome of Russia’s invasion. “F– off is my very diplomatic reply to you,” Ukraine’s ambassador to Germany, Andrij Melnyk, wrote in response to Musk’s tweet. Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy responded with a Twitter poll of his own. “Which Elon Musk do you like more,” Zelenskyy asked. “The one who supports Ukraine” or “The one who supports Russia.” What Musk calls a “highly likely” outcome presumes that Russia accomplishes several of its major goals, including permanently annexing Crimea, using referendums to determine the fates of 4 other attempted annexations, and prohibiting Ukraine from joining NATO. For Ukrainians, these outcomes would never, ever be acceptable. — Christina Wilkie Photos show destroyed Russian armored vehicles left behind in Izium, Kharkiv Ukrainian forces transport Russian vehicles and missile launch pads left behind by the Russian forces in Izium, Kharkiv, Ukraine on October 02, 2022. Metin Aktas | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images Over the weekend Ukrainian forces seized the strategic city of Lyman and continued a stunning counteroffensive in the northeast of the country. The following photos show destroyed Russian armored vehicles and tanks left behind as Ukrainian forces battle for Izium, Kharkiv and continue to push east through Russian lines. Destroyed Russian armored vehicles left behind by the Russian forces in Izium, Kharkiv, Ukraine on October 02, 2022.  Metin Aktas | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images Destroyed Russian armored vehicles left behind by the Russian forces in Izium, Kharkiv, Ukraine on October 02, 2022. Metin Aktas | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images Destroyed Russian armored vehicles left behind by the Russian forces in Izium, Kharkiv, Ukraine on October 02, 2022. Metin Aktas | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images A destroyed Russian armored vehicle left behind by the Russian forces in Izium, Kharkiv, Ukraine on October 02, 2022. (Photo by Metin Aktas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) Metin Aktas | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images — Metin Aktas | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images Tehran denies that Iranian-made drones are being used by Russians in Ukraine A Ukrainian flag waves in a residential area heavily damaged in the village of Dolyna in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine after the withdrawal of Russian troops on September 24, 2022. Anadolu Agency | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images Iran denied reports that Iranian-made drones were being used by Russian forces on the battlefield in Ukraine. Nasser Kanaani, an Iranian spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told NBC News that press reports about the use of drones in Ukraine are fake. “The Islamic Republic considers this news baseless,” Kanaani said, adding that Iran has declared a stance of neutrality in the Russia-Ukraine war. Last week, the Pentagon said it observed Russian forces using Iranian drones in Ukraine. “We do assess that the Russians are using the Iranian drones in Ukraine,” Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said during a Sept. 27 press briefing. “We’ve also seen reports of Ukrainians shooting down some of these drones,” he added, without providing more detail. — Amanda Macias A Russian court will hear WNBA star Brittney Griner’s appeal this month US’ Women’s National Basketball Association (NBA) basketball player Brittney Griner, who was detained at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport and later charged with illegal possession of cannabis, waits for the verdict inside a defendants’ cage before a court hearing in Khimki outside Moscow, on August 4, 2022. Evgenia Novozhenina | AFP | Getty Images A Russian court will hear WNBA star Brittney Griner’s appeal against her nine-year prison sentence for drug possession on Oct. 25. Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, was convicted in August on accusations that she was smuggling vape cartridges with cannabis oil into Russia. The 31-year-old, who plays professional basketball in Russia during the WNBA offseason, admitted that she had the canisters in her luggage but testified that she accidentally packed them because she was in a rush. The Biden administration has referred to her as “wrongfully detained” and has attempted to broker deals with the Kremlin for her release. — Amanda Macias Ukraine’s first lady christens newest Ukrainian warship in Turkey Ukrainian Minister of Defense Oleksii Reznikov shared a video on Twitter of the newest warship to join Ukraine’s fleet. “With a ship like this, our Black and Azov seas will be safe,” Reznikov wrote on Twitter. He added that the future base port for the warship will be in Sevastopol. The ship was launched in Turkey and is expected to join Ukraine’s fleet by 2024. The anti-submarine corvette, named “Hetman Ivan Mazepa,” was christened by Ukraine’s first lady Olena Zelenska. — Amanda Macias More than 4.2 million Ukrainians have applied for temporary resident status in other countries A taxi driver takes a Ukrainian refugee child in his arms from his taxi as they arrive to Madrid. A convoy of taxis traveled from Madrid to the Polish-Ukrainian border carrying humanitarian aid and bringing back Ukrainian families fleeing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in total 133 refugees, of which 60 are children. The convoy arrived to the foundation ‘Mensajeros de la Paz’, which will provide them accommodation. Marcos Del Mazo | Lightrocket | Getty Images More than 4.2 million Ukrainians have applied for temporary resident status in other countries since Russia’s invasion in late February, the U.N. Refugee Agency estimates. The majority of refugees from Ukraine have relocated to Poland. According to data collected by the agency, more than 7.5 million people have become refugees and moved to neighbor European countries. “The escalation of conflict in Ukraine has caused civilian casualties and destruction of civilian infrastructure, forcing people to flee their homes seeking safety, protection and assistance,” the U.N. Refugee Agency wrote. — Amanda Macias Russian forces release Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant official, IAEA chief says A Russian serviceman stands guard the territory outside the second reactor of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station in Energodar on May 1, 2022. Andrey Borodulin | AFP | Getty Images The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said that Russian forces released an employee from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi said Ihor Murashov, the director general of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, was released and returned to his family. Last week, Murashov was allegedly detained by Russian troops upon leaving the power plant facility in the town of Energodar. — Amanda Macias Five vessels carrying 116,123 metric tons of corn and wheat leave Ukraine An aerial view of Barbados flagged “Fulmar S” named empty grain ship as Representatives of Russia, Ukraine, Turkiye and the United Nations (UN) of the Joint Coordination Center (JCC) conduct inspection on vessel in Istanbul, Turkiye on August 05, 2022. Islam Yakut | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images The organization overseeing the export of grain from Ukraine said it approved five vessels to leave the besieged country on Sunday. The Black Sea Grain Initiative, an initiative of Ukraine, Russia, the United Nations and Turkey, said the vessels are carrying 116,123 metric tons of corn and wheat. Three ships are destined for Spain and are carrying 32,700 metric tons of corn and 50,500 metric tons of wheat. Another ship will depart from Ukraine’s port of Chornomorsk for Tunisia and is carrying 10,000 metric tons of wheat. The fifth vessel is carrying 22,923 metric tons of wheat and will sail to Italy from Ukraine’s port of Odesa. Read more about the Black Sea Grain Initiative here. — Amanda Macias A look inside Russia’s partial mobilization in Rostov, Russia Russian citizens drafted during the partial mobilization begin their military trainings in Rostov, Russia after a military call-up for the Ukraine war. Relatives say goodbye to Russian citizens drafted during the partial mobilization as they join their military units due to a military call-up for the Russia-Ukraine war with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s partial mobilisation order in Rostov, Russia on October 02, 2022. Arkady Budnitsky | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images Russian citizens drafted during the partial mobilization begin their military trainings after a military call-up for the Russia-Ukraine war in Rostov, Russia on October 02, 2022. Anadolu Agency | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images Russian citizens drafted during the partial mobilization begin their military trainings after a military call-up for the Russia-Ukraine war in Rostov, Russia on October 02, 2022. Arkady Budnitsky | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images Russian citizens drafted during the partial mobilization begin their military trainings after a military call-up for the Russia-Ukraine war in Rostov, Russia on October 02, 2022. Arkady Budnitsky | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images Russian citizens drafted during the partial mobilization begin their military trainings after a military call-up for the Russia-Ukraine war in Rostov, Russia on October 02, 2022. Arkady Budnitsky | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images Russian citizens drafted du...

Alset EHome International (AEI) To Change Name To Alset Inc – StreetInsider.com https://collincountynewsonline.com/alset-ehome-international-aei-to-change-name-to-alset-inc-streetinsider-com/ News and research before you hear about it on CNBC and others. Claim your 1-week free trial to StreetInsider Premium here. Alset EHome International Inc. (NASDAQ: AEI) (the “Company” or “AEI”), a diversified company engaged through its subsidiaries in the development of EHome communities and other real estate, financial services, digital transformation technologies, biohealth activities and consumer products with operations in the United States, Singapore, Hong Kong and South Korea, today announced that the Company will be changing its name to Alset Inc., effective Tuesday, October 4, 2022. In addition, the Company will complete its reincorporation from the state of Delaware to the state of Texas. This name change and reincorporation were previously approved by the Company’s stockholders at a Special Meeting. The Company’s symbol on The Nasdaq Capital Market will remain as AEI. “We have strategically positioned our Company to capitalize on innovative business opportunities across various industries,” stated the Company’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Chan Heng Fai. “The name change is intended to realign our brand with our strategic direction as we continue to expand our global footprint and pursue growth opportunities in other areas.” The Company will continue to operate without change. The reincorporation will have no material impact on management, employees or customers. The corporate headquarters will remain in Maryland. The Company’s common stock has been assigned a new CUSIP number of 02115D 109 and the Company’s warrants have been assigned new CUSIP numbers of 02115D 117 and 02115D 125. Expanding our Board to Include Three New Directors The Company also today announced the appointment of three new members of its Board of Directors: Mr. Chan Tung Moe, Mr. Danny Lim Sheng Hon and Ms. Joanne Wong Hiu Pan. Mr. Chan Tung Moe currently serves as the Co-Chief Executive Officer of the Company. The Company believes that Mr. Chan, as an Executive Director, will bring to the Board not only an extensive knowledge of real estate, but an ability to drive the Company’s execution in multiple areas. Mr. Danny Lim Sheng Hon currently serves as Senior Vice President, Business Development and as an Executive Director of the Company’s subsidiary, Alset International Limited (SGX:40V), a publicly traded company on the Singapore Stock Exchange. The Company believes that Mr. Lim, as an Executive Director, will bring to the Board a deep and broad understanding of the opportunities we face. Ms. Joanne Wong Hiu Pan currently serves as Director and Responsible Officer of BMI Funds Management Limited, a Financial Advisor in Hong Kong. Ms. Wong has extensive expertise in a wide array of strategic, business, turnaround and regulatory matters across several industries as a result of her executive management, educational and operational experience. Ms. Wong will serve as an independent director and the Company believes her extensive professional experience will make her a valuable addition to the Board. About Alset EHome International Inc. AEI is a diversified company executing on its vision to accelerate sustainable healthy living with a focus on the development of EHome communities and other property development, financial services, digital transformation technologies, biohealth activities and consumer products. Through its operating subsidiaries, AEI’s mission is to provide a healthy living ecosystem that drives long-term exponential growth, building liquidity and value for shareholders. For more information, please visit: www.alsetinc.com Forward-Looking Statements This press release includes statements that may constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and are intended to qualify for the safe harbor from liability established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that are often difficult to predict, are beyond our control, and which may cause results to differ materially from expectations. For a discussion of the most significant risks and uncertainties associated with the Company’s business, please review our filings with the SEC. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which are based on our expectations as of the date of this press release and speak only as of the date of this press release. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Investor Contact: Alset EHome International Inc. 4800 Montgomery Lane, Suite 210 Bethesda, MD 20814 Email: [email protected] SOURCE: Alset EHome International Inc. View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/718619/Alset-EHome-International-Inc-to-Change-Name-to-Alset-Inc-in-Rebranding-Effort-and-Expands-Board-of-Directors

Mike Rhyner’s ‘Freak,’ Radio Station Appears Ready To Roll On 97.1 FM – The Dallas Morning News https://collincountynewsonline.com/mike-rhyners-freak-radio-station-appears-ready-to-roll-on-97-1-fm-the-dallas-morning-news/ The Freak, Dallas-Fort Worth’s third sports talk station, debuted Monday afternoon with Mike Rhyner emerging from exactly 1,000 days of retirement to lead it. At 3 p.m., Rhyner came on the air to introduce a retooled 97.1 FM station that could rival Cumulus’ KTCK/KTCK-FM and Audacy’s KRLD-FM (105.3 The Fan). In his intro, Rhyner explained his journey from retirement back to the airwaves, from settling into being out of the game to starting negotiations with Freak management. ”Welcome back, my friends, to the show that apparently never ends. Here is 97.1, the Freak. Dallas,” he said. Over the weekend, the station, owned by iHeartRadio, had hinted at a change with promos like “Find out what The Freak is up with us. Today at 3.” At the end of the conclusion of the Ben & Skin Show on Friday, the station played a four-song loop of music with “Freak” in the title. It also leaned into several Tom Petty songs. Rhyner is an avid Petty fan and fronts a tribute band, Petty Theft. On Monday morning, The Eagle’s website showed a splash page that simply read: “WHERE MY FREAKS AT?” Rhyner tweeted an image Monday morning with a handmade sign saying he’s out of retirement and his employer is “97.1 the Freak.” “I’m just as surprised as anybody that this is actually going to happen,” Rhyner told The Dallas Morning News Sunday night. “When the possibility came up and things started to fall into place and we started to put this station together, I realized we might be on to something pretty good here.” In a press release Monday afternoon, iHeartRadio confirmed the changeover, calling the new 97.1 The Freak “a broad based personality radio station that connects in a personal way with the DFW audience.” The new lineup includes The Speakeasy with Jeff Cavanaugh, Kevin “KT” Turner, Julie Dobbs and Matt Cather from 7 to 11 a.m.; The Ben & Skin Show with Ben Rogers, Jeff “Skin” Wade, Krystina “K-Ray” Ray and Michael “Grubes” Gruber from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; and The Downbeat featuring Rhyner, Mike Sirois and Gruber from 3 to 7 p.m. Rhyner’s segment starts at the same time as The Hardline, the show he co-hosted for years on The Ticket with Corby Davidson. Sirois and Dobbs, both of whom are joining The Freak, are former Ticket staples. Related:The way Mike Rhyner has returned to Dallas radio leaves this Ticket P1 awfully conflicted Word of Rhyner’s return to the air surfaced last weekend when Sports Illustrated’s Richie Whitt reported that the Texas Hall of Fame broadcaster was unretiring to host 97.1 The Freak, a replacement for The Eagle. On Thursday, Rhyner, 72 and affectionately known as the Old Grey Wolf, appeared to confirm the reports. He tweeted a 25-second video of himself walking down a dark hallway, sitting down and proclaiming “I’m back, bitches.” In announcing his retirement in early 2020, he had posted a similar video on social media, telling listeners he was leaving the radio business. According to RadioInsight, a radio industry news outlet, The Ticket ranks seventh in the market with an audience share twice that of its competitors. (The News and The Ticket partner to produce the SportsDay Talk app.) Rhyner started the KTCK The Ticket in 1994. The station has won several national Marconi awards and dominated the local ratings for three decades. Rhyner designed The Ticket’s format, which is anchored by sports but includes comedy bits and entertainment news. Soon after, 105.3 The Fan joined the fray. At one time, the two stations competed against 103.3 ESPN before it left the air in 2020. The Eagle upped its sports game in 2021 when it became the flagship station of the Dallas Mavericks. In mid-September, RadioInsight reported that Don Davis, KEGL and KZPS 92.5 program director, had resigned. Mark Cuban, the Mavericks’ owner, said in an email “there is a reason that stations change formats — because it’s hard to draw an audience.” But Cuban has confidence in Rhyner’s effort. “I think the Old Grey Wolf still has some bark and bite left in him,” Cuban said. “And people will come to listen to him, if only out of curiosity and nostalgia. “It’s up to the station to make it work.” An Oak Cliff native, Rhyner began at the late KZEW (The Zoo) as a production assistant and soon wound up as the sports guy on the morning show hosted by John Labella and John Rody. He remained at KZEW until 1986, moved to WBAP-AM, then resurfaced for a time on KZPS-FM’s morning show. Before The Ticket, he reported on sports for GTE On Call, a dial-in sports hotline. When he retired, he told The News that “it really felt like the right thing to do. I started to think about it early in the fall and kept waiting for something to jar me out of that idea. And it never came. Before long I reached — it almost sounds crazy — an almost Zen-like state with it. I guess I hit such a point of acceptance nothing could shake me. And nothing has.” Related:Mike Rhyner, co-founder of ‘The Ticket’ and a Dallas radio fixture since the 1970s, is off the air Jody Dean, a longtime radio industry veteran, said, “Mike thinks unconventionally. “That’s his greatest strength … If anyone could make it work, it’s the Old Grey Wolf. I’m sure he has backers. The question is whether they have the patience. He’ll have to offer something the listener can’t find anywhere else, and that’s no easy thing.” Rhyner has kept busy in retirement. He launched his podcast, Mike Rhyner Is Your Dark Companion, featuring guests such as Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman. Last March, he was a guest co-host on the Ben and Skin show. He also starred in a documentary about his life, Not In This Town. “I do think we’ve got some really good people there,” Rhyner said. “All I want to do is get in there and make it better … to make it as good as it can be.” Staff writer Sharon Grigsby contributed to this report. Related:Mike Sirois steps away from The Ticket to focus his attention elsewhere

Amazon Is Building The Anti-Metaverse With ‘ambient Intelligence’ – Inverse https://collincountynewsonline.com/amazon-is-building-the-anti-metaverse-with-ambient-intelligence-inverse/ In the short hour Amazon jam packs with product releases every Fall, it can be hard to see the forest for the trees on why the company might need to sell both a sleep tracking alarm clock and, say, a robot. But as Amazon figures out how to best offer “ambient intelligence” — products where computers and interfaces driven by screens fade into the background in favor of proactive information and natural, voice-driven interactions — filling every possible niche with its Alexa voice assistant might seem like a valid solution. This year, Amazon framed its products around reducing distractions and limiting screen time, but its most interesting announcement might be how it’s now subtly positioning itself against the current industry obsession with mixed reality and the metaverse. What is “ambient intelligence?” The fifth-generation Echo Dot is a smart speaker that doubles as a Wi-Fi extender.Amazon Ambient computing, or “ambient intelligence” as Amazon specifically refers to the thinking behind its products, is about making the computer “disappear.” That can happen in different ways, but Amazon has identified three main descriptors for its own “ambiently intelligent” devices. They’re intuitive, proactive, and personalized. The thinking goes: Technology should be intuitive to use or figure out how to use. It should be proactive about what information it shares with you and take action on its own so you can limit your time using it. And technology should be personalized, knowing what it needs to know about you to be useful, and fitting into your life in a way that makes sense to you. Talking to Alexa through an Echo speaker is frequently as simple as asking a question. Features like “Alexa Hunches” let you proactively know the state of your various smart home devices, and can even take action on them — turning them off or changing their settings — without you having to ask. At Amazon’s event, Dave Limp, the company’s senior vice president of devices and services shared that 90 percent of Alexa routines (programmable collections of actions for smart home devices) are initiated without a customer saying anything. That impressive statistic requires some setup on the part of the user, but it suggests that Amazon’s vision for a future with even less direct interactions with technology is feasible — if not already here for some people. That’s very different from the vision of a company like Meta, which imagines a less obtrusive computing future enabled by augmented reality, but is committing to a virtual reality present that involves wearing $1,000 displays on your face to go to work, hang out with friends, and have fun. The Meta Quest Pro headset could end up being totally impressive, but I can’t say spending all day inside one sounds more appealing than a world where my interactions with screens are limited by default. As Limp pointedly commented in his closing remarks at the Amazon event, “the real world matters to customers.” Amazon’s products are an attempt to keep people planted here in the real world, solving things “behind the scenes” rather than dragging them into another screen. Digital well-being features aside, most other companies are looking in a very different direction. All eyes on the next internet The Echo Show 15 can recognize who’s in front of it and show them relevant information.Amazon Meta is not alone in toying with VR, AR, and a future mobile internet that could connect them all. Google has made it clear that it’s going to try and make AR glasses again, plenty of also-ran corporations have their own ideas about the metaverse, and Apple has all but announced intentions to make AR and VR products for years with signs pointing to a possible January release of its own mixed reality headset. These plans only help to make Amazon’s case stronger. But what’s not on the surface of Amazon’s pitch, but implicit in all of its new products, is what’s required to make “ambient intelligence” work: a lot of cameras, a lot of microphones, and a pervasive internet connection throughout your home. Adding Eero mesh network extending capabilities to Echo Dot smart speakers is a clever way to make building out your smart home easier, and makes putting an Echo in every room that much more enticing. Easier networking was a mini theme of the event; Amazon also announced new Eero PoE 6 routers which can be powered over Ethernet and placed anywhere you can run cable. Back on the always-on microphone side of things, both the Fire TV Cube and Fire TV Omni QLED Series TVs make having Alexa to control your media center that much better. “[Amazon’s] vision of technology requires you to have a fundamentally different relationship with the tech in your life…” Amazon has privacy in mind for all of its new products, from simple things like shutters for cameras on its Echo Show smart displays to end-to-end encryption for the systems actually processing all the video and audio the company captures (Amazon also does on-device processing). But it doesn’t change the fact that the company’s vision of technology requires you to have a fundamentally different relationship with the tech in your life, one where you’re constantly observed rather than interacting with your computer or phone when you please. Not to say any of these metaverse ideas will require less surveillance, but at least for now, you can take the headset off. Increasingly, two visions around the future of how we’ll interact with technology and each other are coming into view: one involves bringing ourselves even closer to the screens we already have and the other consists of stuffing so much proactive technology into the world around us that we never really have to interact with computers directly. It’s hard to say whether one will be better than the other or whether either will even come to fruition, but it seems like Amazon now knows there could be value in styling itself as an alternative to the metaverse hype.

Xiaomi Mijia Air Conditioner 2 Hp Announced With Voice Commands – Notebookcheck.net https://collincountynewsonline.com/xiaomi-mijia-air-conditioner-2-hp-announced-with-voice-commands-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

Kim Kardashian Fined $1.5 Million For Crypto Promotion – ABC News https://collincountynewsonline.com/kim-kardashian-fined-1-5-million-for-crypto-promotion-abc-news/ Kim Kardashian has been fined $US1 million ($1.5 million) for spruiking a crypto security to her 330 million Instagram followers without making it clear she had been paid to do so. Key points: The reality TV star must also hand over the $US250,000 she earned for the Instagram post She is the latest celebrity sprung for failing to disclose paid promotions Others include actor Steven Segal and boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr The reality TV star must also give up the $250,000 she was paid for the Instagram post about Ethereum Max tokens, plus interest, and is banned from promoting crypto currencies for three years, according to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) settlement. Kardashian is the latest celebrity to get ensnared in regulations that require full disclosure when getting paid to promote financial products. In 2020, actor Steven Segal agreed to pay more than $300,000 in a similar settlement with the SEC, which also banned him from promoting investments for three years. In 2018, the SEC settled charges against boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr and music producer DJ Khaled for failing to disclose payments they received for promoting investments in a digital currency. SEC chair Gary Gensler said the Kardashian settlement “serves as a reminder to celebrities and others that the law requires them to disclose to the public when and how much they are paid to promote investing in securities”. A lawyer for Kardashian, Patrick Gibbs, said she “fully cooperated with the SEC from the very beginning and she remains willing to do whatever she can to assist the SEC in this matter”. The value of cryptocurrencies soared in the pandemic, but has plunged with the decline in overall markets. Bitcoin has lost more than half its value in 2022, hovering near $30,000 today, down from around $88,000 in November 2021. The Ethereum Max token Kardashian promoted has declined in value by more than 90 per cent since its peak last May. AP

Meatpacker JBS To Close U.S. Plant-Based Foods Business – Reuters https://collincountynewsonline.com/meatpacker-jbs-to-close-u-s-plant-based-foods-business-reuters/ CHICAGO, Oct 3 (Reuters) – Brazilian meatpacker JBS SA (JBSS3.SA) is closing its U.S. plant-based foods business, Planterra Foods, after about two years, the company said on Monday. The closure signals increasing troubles in the plant-based protein sector, where U.S. sales are flattening. read more Colorado-based Planterra sold fake meat under the Ozo brand, but JBS will now focus on its plant-based operations in Brazil and Europe, said Nikki Richardson, spokesperson for JBS USA. European and Brazilian operations “continue to gain market share and expand their respective customer bases,” she said. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com The sector has come under pressure because meat alternatives do not taste good enough and prices are too high, said Gary Stibel, chief executive of the New England Consulting Group, which works on consumer products. He said JBS made a good decision to shut Planterra. “Everybody and her sister thinks they can make money in this business and they can’t,” Stibel said. “Eventually it will be a good business for a few players. Today, it is a sinkhole for many folks that are throwing good money after bad, chasing too little demand with way too much supply.” This summer, Beyond Meat Inc (BYND.O) lowered its revenue forecast for the year and announced job cuts as rising inflation hurt efforts to make its pricier plant-based meat more affordable. read more Separately, Canadian pork processor Maple Leaf Foods (MFI.TO) has reduced the size of its plant-based business, Greenleaf Foods, by 25%. The value of all meat alternatives sold in the United States – including fresh and fully cooked products and faux seafood – rose by 1.1% in the year ending Aug. 27 to about $963 million, NielsenIQ said. That compared to growth of 8.1% over the same period in 2021 and 44.8% in that period in 2020. For fresh meat alternatives, U.S. sales dropped by 6.8% in the year ending Aug. 27 to about $254 million, compared to a year earlier, NielsenIQ said. Sales in the category climbed 28.9% over that same period from 2020 to 2021. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Reporting by Tom Polansek in Chicago; editing by Jonathan Oatis and David Gregorio Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.