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City And Partners Open 275 Permanently Affordable Homes And Community Center In East New York – City Life Org https://dentoncountynewsonline.com/city-and-partners-open-275-permanently-affordable-homes-and-community-center-in-east-new-york-city-life-org/ Chestnut Commons Includes One-Stop Shop Community Center for Recreation, Youth and Adult Education, Workforce Development, Kitchen Incubator and Human Services Passive House Development with Solar Panels and Rooftop Garden Largest Public Site Designated through East New York Rezoning Responds to Priorities Identified by the Community Today New York City Department of Housing Preservation (HPD), Housing Development Corporation (HDC), Department of City Planning (DCP), MHANY Management (MHANY), Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation (CHLDC), and Urban Builders Collaborative opened the doors to 275 permanently affordable homes at Chestnut Commons Apartments. This unique mixed-use development is affordable to households with incomes between 20% and 80% of Area Median Income (AMI), including 55 for formerly homeless New Yorkers. All homes are permanently affordable. Chestnut Commons includes a mix of studios, one, two, and three-bedroom apartments. On the ground floor, a new Cypress Hills East New York Community center offers rich, multi-layered programming by Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation, CUNY Kingsborough Community College, and more. As identified in the East New York Neighborhood Plan, the project also includes affordable retail space for local small businesses. Chestnut Commons is a model for healthy and sustainable urban living. The project is certified as a Passive House and includes solar panels and a rooftop garden that reduces energy consumption, tenants’ utility costs, and improves resident wellness. MHANY and CHLDC together with Food Print Group have not only prioritized recycling but have spearheaded an organic/composting program throughout the building including the installation of a biodigester that will compost and generate fertilizer right on site for immediate use as well as distribution to local farms and gardens. “Chestnut Commons combines all the aspects of healthy living – with homes for the lowest-income New Yorkers and those who formerly experienced homelessness, space for the community and small businesses, and sustainability best practices,” said New York City Mayor Eric Adams. “This project delivers on priorities for the community in East New York, including, most importantly, hundreds of affordable homes. I was proud to support this project as borough president with half a million dollars, and I am excited to see it housing our neighbors as the mayor.” “Congratulations to the entire Chestnut Commons Team for bringing this exemplary project to East New York. Alongside the critically needed housing that will give hundreds of New Yorkers a safe, affordable place to call home, Chestnut Commons offers the programming, amenities and climate conscious features that are the future of live, work communities. The East New York neighborhood plan continues to deliver on its promises as part of our efforts to advance a New York City that allows everyone to thrive in our city,” said Chief Housing Officer Jessica Katz. “Today marks a significant milestone in fulfilling the commitments we made in the East New York neighborhood plan. The development team, including locally-based non-profit organizations with deep ties to the community, has brought to life a dynamic project with a wide array of community services, culturally-rich programming and hundreds of deeply affordable homes that will benefit local residents for generations,” said HPD Commissioner Adolfo Carrión Jr. “I thank and congratulate MHANY, Cypress Hills, and all of our partners for breathing new life into this previously vacant site and provide lasting affordability for the neighborhood.” “With 275 permanently affordable and sustainably designed homes, Chestnut Commons will benefit the East New York community for generations,” said HDC President Eric Enderlin. “Residents will also benefit from the dynamic program offerings of the Cypress Hills East New York Community Center, in addition to extensive onsite supportive services. Congratulations and thank you to all our partners and elected officials who made this incredible project possible.” “New Yorkers need affordable housing and access to higher education to move ahead on the path to upward mobility,” said CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez. “That’s why I’m proud that this newest mix-use development in Brooklyn will feature a satellite campus for Kingsborough Community College so that residents can take introductory college classes and other training that may be critical to their workplace success. We need more of these types of partnerships and I’m thankful to Mayor Adams and other city leaders involved in making Chestnut Commons a reality for giving New Yorkers the support they need to thrive.” “Chestnut Commons is a perfect example of how saying yes to good planning and the creation of new housing leads to great results. With hundreds of new affordable homes and affordable retail space made possible by the East New York rezoning – this graceful energy-efficient building shows how equity, economic opportunity, and sustainability work hand in glove to create a bright future for New Yorkers,” said DCP Director Dan Garodnick. The new 34,000 square-foot Cypress Hills East New York Community Center, operated by CHLDC, features a computer lab, gym and fitness studio, and a commercial kitchen that will serve as an incubator for culinary businesses in the neighborhood. The community center features a range of partners that provides programs for local residents: Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation, operator of the Community Center, provides workforce development, public benefits enrollment, college success and youth and family services. CHLDC will also provide active recreation programs and use the kitchen incubator to provide industrial kitchen facilities and small business technical assistance to help launch and sustain neighborhood-based caterers, home-based food businesses, food manufacturers, and restaurant entrepreneurs. CUNY Kingsborough Community College is establishing a satellite campus in the center that offers college introductory courses and career track certification training programs. HousingPlus provides community-based housing and comprehensive services to women to support them in overcoming poverty, homelessness, addiction, trauma, and the effects of incarceration and help them build lives of stability for themselves and their families. Housing Plus will provide services to 55 formerly homeless households at Chestnut Commons while also welcoming the Chestnut Commons community. Menotti Enterprises, a safety consulting company, offers trainings and certifications for local residents interested in working in the construction industry. Per Scholas, a non-profit focused on advancing economic equity through tech careers, offers IT workforce trainings. Brooklyn Conservatory of Music offers music instruction to youth in the neighborhood. Collective Fare, a Black-owned chef-collaborative, will operate a healthy food café. Hot Bread Kitchen, a non-profit focused on creating economic opportunity through careers in food, trains women to enter the culinary sector. Cypress Hills-East New York Coalition will be distributing emergency food to residents. To activate the Chestnut Dinsmore Corridor and provide additional retail options to residents and the community, there are three commercial spaces on the ground floor of the building, including: Brooklyn Federal Credit Union: In addition to traditional retail banking services, the credit union will pilot a credit building rent payment program and offer financial education and homeownership workshops. East Brooklyn Mutual Aid (EBMA): EBMA sources low-cost groceries from predominantly Black distributors and farmers and delivers them to New Yorkers, prioritizing elderly people, disabled folks, and low-income families. EBMA also partners with Collective Fare to support those who need support with meal preparation. The development team also dedicated significant resources to make local hiring a priority and create jobs for community residents during construction of this project. Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation ran a construction skills training and certification program for local residents, free of charge. 30 trainees were further vetted by Building Skills NY and hired by Lettire Construction and its subcontractors. “Chestnut Commons Apartments has provided an opportunity for MHANY to positively impact East New York, the neighborhood of our origin. Chestnut Commons Apartments, jointly with CHLDC and Urban Builders Collaborative, is the culmination of a partnership with a creative design team at Dattner; open-minded public partners at HPD and HDC as we negotiated the income levels to target for families specifically in ENY; supportive local elected officials; a skilled supportive service team in Housing Plus; and a willing partner to actualize our dream in construction with Lettire,” said MHANY Management’s Executive Director, Ismene Speliotis. “All of this hard work is gratifying beyond any expectation we may have had as we watch each family walk into their new home. MHANY believes where there is a will based on deep understanding of the community within which we are building and a respect for and towards each other the outcome is not only beneficial to the occupants but a cornerstone and beacon available to and embraced by the entire community.” “Guided by the vision and aspirations of East New York community residents, we are proud to collaborate with MHANY Management and Urban Builders Collaborative to bring Chestnut Commons to the finish line. We are all proud to provide very deeply and permanently affordable housing and...

Senior Memories | News, Sports, Jobs – Evening Observer https://dentoncountynewsonline.com/senior-memories-news-sports-jobs-evening-observer/ Fredonia’s Gigi Ferro (17) possesses the ball, pressured by Dunkirk’s Angelina Piede (1), as Fredonia’s Arianna Huber (16) looks on during Tuesday’s game at SUNY Fredonia. OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen Through 40 minutes of action, the rivalry showdown between Dunkirk and Fredonia was deadlocked at one goal apiece. Then, Fredonia regrouped after a lengthy intermission to honor its nine seniors and righted the ship. The Hillbillies scored three times in the second half to come away with a 4-1 victory over the Marauders on Tuesday in a Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association Division 1 West girls soccer game under the lights at SUNY Fredonia. “Basically, the message was we didn’t have the effort,” said Fredonia head coach Dan Tomaszewski of his speech to the team after the first half. “I think it was a big moment, and we struggled with that a little bit, but we found a way to grind it out.” One of the key forces in Fredonia’s second-half resurgence was senior captain Annie Gondek, who tallied a goal and an assist in the final 40 minutes of the victory, on her Senior Night, against rival Dunkirk. Fredonia’s Rylee Beers (14) fights for possession with Dunkirk’s Angelina Piede (1) during Tuesday’s game. OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen “It’s unreal, honestly. As a freshman, I never thought I would be in this place. It’s gone by really fast,” Gondek said after the game. A night earlier, the same two teams met in Dunkirk for the Marauders’ Senior Night. The contest was a lopsided 6-0 Fredonia victory. Tuesday’s game was far more competitive, as Dunkirk rebounded and gave Fredonia its best shot. Dunkirk (3-8, 0-7) had the game’s first two notable scoring chances, both around the 10th minute of play. Fredonia’s senior goalkeeper Sarah Davis neutralized the early threat to give her team the chance to take the lead. “I think we had more chances (than Fredonia) early in the game,” said Dunkirk head coach Chris Piede. “I was super proud of the girls. They brought it today. Honestly, I couldn’t be more proud of them.” Fredonia (8-4, 6-3) pulled ahead 1-0 in the 20th minute of play after a free kick by Gigi Ferro into the box connected with Sophia Gullo in traffic for the game’s first goal. Dunkirk’s Lauryn McCraken (17) celebrates her goal just before halftime with teammate Angelina Piede (1) during Tuesday’s game against Fredonia. OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen Still, Dunkirk would not go away and immediately responded with pressure of its own. Within a minute of the Fredonia goal, Dunkirk sent a bouncing ball just wide of the Fredonia net. Then, four minutes after the Fredonia goal, Lauryn McCracken pulled away from the Hillbillies defense and let off a strong shot, but Sarah Davis was there again for a stellar save. Within the final 10 minutes of the half, Fredonia had more opportunities to score, but Dunkirk’s senior goalkeeper Tayler Skelly kept Fredonia’s lead to only one goal. “Tayler Skelly made some amazing saves. There was one in the first half that was just riding that line,” said Piede. As the first half neared its end, McCracken once again pulled away from the Fredonia defense, but this time she delivered. McCracken rifled a shot from distance beyond Davis and into the center of the net to tie the score at 1-1 with just less than two minutes left to play in the first half. “They know they can play with anyone,” said Piede after the game. “They brought it today.” But from that point on, it was all Fredonia. The Hillbillies tallied three goals in the second half — first by Ella Koopman to take the lead, next by Gondek to extend the lead to 3-1 with 10:45 left to play, then finally Gullo finished off the night with her second of the game to bookend the five total goals of the contest with two minutes left to play. “The mentality changed,” said Gondek of the halftime adjustments. “We knew we needed to be better. We picked it up and we won.” Dunkirk, with only one substitute for the entire contest, looked like an entirely different team in the second half after putting up arguably its best fight of the year in league play. “We just ran out of gas. When Fredonia is rolling out three to four subs every couple minutes and I have one sub, we just ran out of gas is what I think it came down to,” said Piede. “We’re doing the best with what we’ve got.” Both coaches credited the other team for their efforts in the rivalry contest, which is as friendly of a rivalry as Dunkirk-Fredonia can be. The two coaches spend time coaching many members of both teams in the offseason. “It’s a nice group of girls on both sides. We like playing against and with the Dunkirk girls all summer long,” said Tomaszewski. “We’ve got a lot of tight bonds and it’s always fun to play them.” Those tight bonds were not broken by consecutive Dunkirk defeats at the hands of Fredonia. “Congrats to all the seniors on both sides. … I coach a lot of (Fredonia’s players) so I was happy to see those faces. I hope they do well the rest of the way,” said Piede. Dunkirk has four league contests remaining the rest of the regular season as the Marauders look for their first win in league play. Fredonia, coming off last season as Section VI co-champions, has three more league games to play over the next two weeks to close out the regular season. The Hillbillies play Olean on Thursday. “This team is pretty special. After last year, it’s hard to follow in those footsteps, but I think we’ll be OK come playoffs,” said Gondek. Today’s breaking news and more in your inbox

Students Are Excited And Hopeful For What The Metaverse May Bring – The Eyeopener https://dentoncountynewsonline.com/students-are-excited-and-hopeful-for-what-the-metaverse-may-bring-the-eyeopener/ Reading Time: 5 minutes By Christina Flores-Chan and Matthew Davison Long before the metaverse became a common term, Michael Bergmann, an assistant professor at Toronto Metropolitan University’s (TMU) School of Performance and director of research at the Technological Research in Performance Lab had been incorporating it into not only his own storytelling, but also in his teaching.  Throughout the university’s time online during the pandemic, Bergmann said he took the opportunity to explore other mediums of performance besides the program’s usual in-person theatrical shows. He began using virtual reality (VR), a computer-generated experience that immerses users into a simulated environment with a headset, as a virtual stage for his students. “Taking aspects of scenic design, lighting design and sound design, we’re basically creating that environment originally in VR, then we’re having the actors come into it,” Bergmann said. For certain projects, actors would perform live using their own headsets and the audience would join in through VR. “The fun aspect of it is you can do things in VR and in the metaverse that you can’t do in real life. So all of a sudden, we can jump between floors, you know?” said Bergmann.  “The actors can change the entire scene and now we’re in a completely different environment. It takes a lot of the magical aspects of theatre and performance and gives us another tool to really make that immersive.” To some students, the term metaverse may be a foreign concept—a word associated with the neon green coding language from The Matrix or reminiscent of a dystopian future where society exists only online. For others, the word might just have as much significance as the newest name of the technology company Meta, formerly known as Facebook. And as it happens, none of those guesses would be very far off.  “You can do things in VR and in the metaverse that you can’t do in real life” The “metaverse,” according to Forbes, is an umbrella term for the virtual, online worlds that are accessible through three-dimensional, immersive technologies such as artificial intelligence, VR and augmented reality. Different applications of the metaverse work to simulate and enhance the physical reality in which society currently exists.  For instance, while Bergmann’s virtual stage helped students to maximize their education in the physical world throughout online learning, other spaces aim to simply provide users with a digital alternative to the analog one.  These digital spaces are made possible through blockchain technology, which is defined by the International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) as a decentralized database that collects, records and tracks all digital assets and transactions, like the trading of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), that exist across a network.  “If we’re not engaging with the metaverse at this point, then we’re behind” Through the trading of NFTs, virtual real estate and cryptocurrency, metaverse users can spend and earn capital in the digital space. Brands like Gucci and Nike have already released fashion designs made specifically for digital avatars, while the National Football League partnered with Ticketmaster earlier this year to offer NFT tickets in celebration of the 2022 Super Bowl. And these spaces are projected to keep growing. A September report by GlobalData valued the metaverse market size at $22.79 billion USD (or $31.1 billion CAD) in 2021 and it is estimated to balloon to $996.42 billion by 2030.  According to another article in Forbes, the metaverse’s eventual goal is to create “an individualized experience for the user,” allowing participants to travel and experience destinations around the world through VR and a headset or communicate with other users in ways that mimic real-life interaction.  For Bergmann, one of the only setbacks of using advanced technology for performance was the challenge of making VR headsets accessible to members of the audience. He thinks, however, that in a few years time, metaverse technology will become more common. “It’s still kind of a niche market because of the hardware requirements. As soon as the hardware becomes ubiquitous, that’s going to open the floodgates for people creating for this space and for the people engaging with that,” Bergmann said. He said so far, his students have been excited about the possibilities of performance in the metaverse, especially within education. “If we’re not engaging with the metaverse at this point, then we’re behind.” Fourth-year marketing management student Sabrina Padilla said she has noticed her Ted Rogers School of Management (TRSM) classmates taking an interest in the metaverse as well. “[The metaverse] is a big area of interest for student innovators, especially within the business, finance and tech realms,” Padilla said. “Although I can’t guarantee that it will be successful, it has a lot of potential for growth.” “Right now, it feels like a spruced-up Poptropica or Club Penguin” Padilla recalls analyzing furniture brand Ikea’s AI interactive design experience, IKEA Kreativ, in class. The program allows users to visualize what specific products would look like in their own homes by using their phone’s back camera to place furniture virtually in a space. “When you get the app, you can see the products and visualize it as if it was right in front of you. It creates a more dynamic environment for people,” Padilla said. Once developed, digitally-focused companies hope the metaverse will become a resource for shopping for both digital and physical products, plus being used for services like education and doctor’s appointments, according to Reader’s Digest.  At the moment though, the virtual space is mostly used for gaming, an activity in which students participate at their leisure. Ben Chandler, a fourth-year sport media student and the captain of TMU’s National Hockey League esports team, believes that gaming in the metaverse still has room for improvement. “There are definitely some cool parts, but as far as the practicality of competitive gaming goes, being in VR [and] being in the metaverse doesn’t add much to the experience,” Chandler said. A poll conducted by Globant, a tech company that helps businesses move into the digital sphere, found that 52 per cent of gamers in the United States believe that the metaverse will change the landscape of the industry and 41 per cent believe that it will have a positive impact. Chandler added that because it’s still so new, most gaming in the metaverse is similar to existing in a virtual meeting room, like Zoom, rather than the immersive experience that video games provide. “Right now, it feels like a spruced-up Poptropica or Club Penguin.” “You never know how integral it could be [to] the way we live 15 years from now” One of the main ways gaming is changing is through the continued development of NFTs. According to digital business consulting firm EY, items within games that are purchased or earned, such as weapons or skins, are turning into NFTs. This allows gamers to acquire, create, develop and sell virtual properties. Chandler said that while he would not invest in NFTs at present, he believes this aspect of the virtual world could explode as gaming within the metaverse continues to grow.  Padilla shared the same opinion as her fellow student on the potential of the metaverse, in all its industries and purposes.  She compared the ever-growing digital sphere to the internet in the 90s:, a new technology that had not yet been explored but would soon be transformational to human life and interaction around the world. “The one constant about our world is that it’s changing,” she said. “And people should be open to learning more about the metaverse,” Padilla said.  “You never know how integral it could be [to] the way we live 15 years from now.”

James Bond At 60: Britain’s Bulletproof Cultural Export Is Ripe For Another Rebirth – The Guardian https://dentoncountynewsonline.com/james-bond-at-60-britains-bulletproof-cultural-export-is-ripe-for-another-rebirth-the-guardian/ It’s the 60th anniversary of James Bond and the right time for all TikTok to be going crazy for “James Bond chord guy” – Jord, or @jrw21 – who’s got 1.4m views and climbing for his hilarious guitar tutorial on how to play the James Bond Chord, E minor with a major 7th and 9th, first used in the soundtrack for the first Bond film, Dr No, which premiered on 5 October 1962. The tense, unresolved chord, says Jord, usually follows Bond saying something cool and then Jord himself demonstrates in a surreally broad Sheffield accent: “Oh Mr Goldfinger, yeah. Come in. We’ve got space for you to have a haircut. Come on, sit down here. Fuckin’ jokin, dickhead. I’m not really a barber. I’ m fuckin’ James Bond. Short back and blow your fuckin’ ’ead off? TWAT!” And then that eerie chord …. Nothing demonstrates the phenomenal survival potency of the canonical 007 movie brand over 60 years, like that viral video. Somehow secret agent Bond, that preposterous dinner-jacketed imperial throwback, has persisted into 21st century popular culture as the exemplar of nonchalant alpha-maleness, evolving in such a way as to absorb and assimilate all the irony and objection that has been thrown his way. It is the most bulletproof action franchise of all, whose basic unitary identity has carried on for six decades. Like Doctor Who, Bond has survived by regenerating – from Connery to Lazenby to Moore to Dalton to Brosnan to Craig – but Doctor Who doesn’t have the continuity or international recognition (or not quite). Like Sherlock Holmes or Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple, 007 is an addictive returning persona, but those legendary sleuths, however feted in the cinema, never had 007’s single movie marketplace dominance. Forgiven by the Beatles … Sean Connery in Goldfinger. Photograph: United Artists/Allstar Harry Potter had a staggering run in tandem with the books’ appearance: but Daniel Radcliffe has now grown up. Tom Cruise’s Mission: Impossible movies and his Top Gun revival are colossal box office hits but even the Cruise can’t last for ever. Yet Bond carries on, apparently endlessly rebooting. But now, after the great apocalyptic ending of No Time to Die, the new Bond has to be finessed or retconned somehow. They must choose a new pope of luxury watch wearing and sexual banter from the various cardinals now assembling in Vatican City of Eon’s offices in London’s Piccadilly: Tom Hardy? Regé-Jean Page? Tom Hiddleston? Idris Elba? We do know that Eon are not looking for someone in their 20s. Gen Z is out. Brooklyn Beckham need not apply. James Bond’s appearance in the cinema was and continues to be a cash cow for Eon productions (now bought out, with MGM, by Amazon) and a global cultural phenomenon. It was a consolatory declinist fantasy for Britons, essentially the second world war action man of Ian Fleming’s conception in the books whose derring-do is cleverly presented as “secret” in a postwar world where Old England doesn’t count for as much. And yet, when Dr No was released in cinemas in 1962, Britain still had quite a few imperial possessions, including Hong Kong, Grenada, Kenya, Malawi and Qatar. And Sean Connery’s Bond became the standard bearer for that new detumescent paradox of British prestige: soft power. Bond was a great ambassador for British style, British class. And throughout the Connery-Lazenby-Moore years, international air travel and consumer gadgets were still not commonplace, at least not for the pennypinched, IMF-humiliated Brits who lapped it all up, and so Bond was a delicious Walter Mitty reverie which floated on to the present. 007 … Lashana Lynch in No Time to Die. Photograph: MGM/Nicola Dove/Allstar Soft power was the thing. And the irony was that this essentially conservative establishment figure became Britain’s soft power standard-bearer into the 1960s and beyond alongside those long-haired caterwauling non-establishment layabouts that Bond detested: British pop stars. In Goldfinger, Bond declares that drinking Dom Perignon ’53 above the temperature of 38 degrees fahrenheit is as bad as listening to the Beatles without earmuffs. That was a stuffy and pompous thing for Bond to say, but The Beatles really forgave him: Paul McCartney wrote one of the great Bond themes with Live and Let Die and Ringo Starr married Barbara Bach, who was, in the toe-curlingly sexist language of the time, a “Bond girl”. And so Bond carried on; through the eras of Reagan-Thatcher, the fragile special relationship, 9/11, the “war on terror”, the 2012 London Olympics (in which Daniel Craig’s Bond co-starred with the Queen) and now the Brexit retreat into Fortress Britain, he somehow aligned himself with the exo-skeletal inhumanity of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Terminator and the wised-up ordinariness of Matt Damon’s Bourne, slightly modifying his style to accommodate these eddies in fashion. And in the last Bond movie, No Time to Die, in which the 007 title is given to a new agent, stylishly played by Lashana Lynch, there is even some mockery of Bond’s obsolete attitudes, his ageing and his dodgy knee. Modified style … Daniel Craig in No Time to Die. Photograph: MGM/Universal Pictures/Eon/Danjaq/Nicola Dove/Allstar Will the new Bond send himself up? I don’t think so. When Danny Boyle was hired to direct No Time to Die, he reportedly got himself fired from the project because he and writer John Hodge wanted to re-imagine the script and chuck some new ingredients into the Coca-Cola formula. Eon chiefs Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson balked. The point is that the audience and the pundits can do the re-imagining and the ironising but Bond himself plays it straight, with a few teases and quirks. I have myself been one of those (many) people asking Eon if they might refresh the Bond brand by going back to basics or pre-basics and dramatise the original non-gadget Bond from the 1950s Ian Fleming novels. Well, the movies need the luxury and the glamour so that won’t fly, not even in a streaming TV series. But what about a prequel series imagining the dashing young M’s own adventures at the end of the war and then in rationing-hit London? That would leave the central icon untouched. Either way, Bond’s tux will probably come back from the dry cleaners good as new or thereabouts.

‘New Frontier’ Of Crypto Laundering Involves Cross-Chain Bridges And DEXs: Elliptic – Cointelegraph https://dentoncountynewsonline.com/new-frontier-of-crypto-laundering-involves-cross-chain-bridges-and-dexs-elliptic-cointelegraph/ Curve, Uniswap, 1inch, and the Ren bridge were the top platforms of choice for laundering illicit crypto, according to Elliptic. 653 Total views 24 Total shares New research from blockchain analytics and crypto compliance firm Elliptic has revealed the extent to which cross-chain bridges and decentralized exchanges (DEXs) have removed barriers for cybercriminals. In an Oct. 4 report titled “The state of cross-chain crime,” Elliptic researchers Eray Arda Akartuna and Thibaud Madelin took a deep dive into what they described as “the new frontier of crypto laundering.” The report summarized that the free flow of capital between crypto assets is now more unhindered due to the emergence of new technologies such as bridges and DEXs. Cybercriminals have been using cross-chain bridges, DEXs, and coin swaps to obfuscate at least $4 billion worth of illicit crypto proceeds since the beginning of 2020, it reported. Around a third of all stolen crypto, or roughly $1.2 billion, from the incidents surveyed, was swapped using decentralized exchanges. Delving further into the details, the report noted that more than half of the illicit funds it identified were swapped directly through two DEXs — Curve and Uniswap, with the 1inch aggregator protocol coming a close third. A similar amount (around $1.2 billion) has been laundered using coin swap services which allow users to swap assets within and across different networks without having an account. “Many are advertised on Russian cybercrime forums and cater almost exclusively to a criminal audience,” it noted. Sanctioned entities are increasingly turning to such technologies in order to move funds and carry out cyber-attacks, according to Elliptic. “Wallets connected to groups eventually sanctioned by the United States – including those used by North Korea to perpetrate multi-million-dollar cyberattacks – have laundered more than $1.8 billion through such techniques.” In a June report on virtual asset risks, global money laundering, and terrorist financing watchdog, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), also fingered cross-chain bridges and “chain hopping” as a high risk. Related: $2B in crypto stolen from cross-chain bridges this year: Chainalysis The Ren bridge was mentioned as a top choice for crypto laundering with the vast majority of illicit assets, or more than $540 million, passing through it. “Ren has become particularly popular with those seeking to launder the proceeds of theft,” it said. One potential solution to mitigate crypto theft was proposed by Stanford researchers last month. It involves an opt-in token standard called ERC-20R that provides the option to reverse a transaction within a set time period.

Taiwan Vows To Protect Its Firms’ Interests At U.S.-Led ‘Chip 4’ Group – Reuters https://dentoncountynewsonline.com/taiwan-vows-to-protect-its-firms-interests-at-u-s-led-chip-4-group-reuters/ TAIPEI, Oct 5 (Reuters) – Taiwan will use the new U.S.-led “Chip 4” group to safeguard the interests of Taiwanese companies and to ensure supply chain resilience, a deputy minister said on Wednesday, though he added that the group had no agenda yet. A preliminary meeting of the group took place last week with representatives from Taiwan, the United States, South Korea and Japan attending. read more A global semiconductor shortage has thrust chip powerhouse Taiwan into the spotlight and made supply chain management a bigger priority for governments around the world. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Taiwan Deputy Economy Minister Chen Chern-chyi told reporters in Taipei that chipmaking required collaboration to ensure a “very resilient supply chain”. “We will use that platform to strive to safeguard our companies’ interest,” he said, but added that the group not started formal meetings. Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen has said that the island is committed to ensuring its partners have reliable supplies of semiconductors and has urged allies to boost collaboration amid intensified threats from China. Beijing claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory. Taiwan’s government rejects China’s sovereignty claims. The “Chip 4” group’s Asian members are home to the world’s largest contract chip maker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (2330.TW), South Korean memory chip giants Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930.KS) and SK Hynix (000660.KS), and key Japanese suppliers of semiconductor materials and equipment. The establishment of the group also comes on the heels of a new U.S. law passed in August that includes $52 billion in subsidies for companies that make chips or conduct chip research in the United States, as Washington looks to lessen U.S. reliance on Asia for semiconductors. Asked about the United States wanting to reduce its reliance on manufacturing in Taiwan, Chen said Taiwan’s chip industry has a well integrated supply chain and a very good workforce. “From the government’s perspective we think Taiwan’s advantage and Taiwan’s edge in developing the most advanced manufacturing technology will always be here in Taiwan.” But the government is happy to see Taiwanese chip firms investing in like-minded countries, he added. “We think that will only deepen and strengthen our relations.” Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Edwina Gibbs Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Facebook Winds Down Its Newsletter Service | Technology News – The Indian Express https://dentoncountynewsonline.com/facebook-winds-down-its-newsletter-service-technology-news-the-indian-express/ Home Technology Social Facebook winds down its newsletter service Facebook, which is now part of the parent company Meta, has contacted writers within the program to tell them that the Bulletin platform will be wound down early next year. Writer Malcolm Gladwell at his office in Hudson, New York, on June 24, 2021. Facebook is shuttering its Bulletin subscription service, ending its attempt to compete with Substack and other newsletter services; Gladwell was one of the writers for Bulletin, which will close next year. (Landon Speers/The New York Times) You have exhausted your monthly limit of free stories. To continue reading,simply register or sign in Already have an account? Sign In You need a subscription to read on. Now available starting just Rs 2.75/ day. *Conditions Apply Already a subscriber? Sign In This premium article is free for now. Register to continue reading this story. Already have an account? Sign In This content is exclusive for our subscribers. Subscribe to get unlimited access to The Indian Express exclusive and premium stories. This content is exclusive for our subscribers. Subscribe now to get unlimited access to The Indian Express exclusive and premium stories. Already a subscriber? Sign In Written by Katie Robertson Facebook is shuttering its Bulletin subscription service, ending its attempt to compete with Substack and other newsletter services. Facebook, which is now part of the parent company Meta, has contacted writers within the program to tell them that the Bulletin platform will be wound down early next year. “Bulletin has allowed us to learn about the relationship between creators and their audiences and how to better support them in building their community on Facebook,” the company confirmed in a statement Tuesday. “While this off-platform product itself is ending, we remain committed to supporting these and other creators’ success and growth on our platform.” The program began in June last year, aiming to attract independent writers when more were looking to leave publications and have a direct relationship with their readers and take home all of their own revenue. It was looking to mimic the success that Substack, another newsletter platform, had with enticing writers to build their own newsletter brands. A note at the time from executives said Bulletin would support writers with a suite of publishing and subscription tools, as well as services like legal resources and design. “Our unique ability to help talented people find and connect with the audiences and markets they need to flourish gives independent journalism a greater opportunity to thrive,” wrote Campbell Brown, vice president of news partnerships, and Anthea Watson Strong, product manager for news. Bulletin began with a group of established writers and high-profile names, including Malcolm Gladwell, James Hamblin and Erin Andrews, as well as up-and-coming writers. It also offered support to local news writers through a $5 million commitment. Some of the deals were in the six figures. The contracts, some of which were for two years and go into 2024, will be paid in full, according to two people with knowledge of the decision. The writers are able to take their content and subscriber lists with them. Meta had previously specified that it would not take a cut of subscription revenue “until at least 2023.” There were signs in July that the program would not last much longer. Facebook executives told employees that month that the company was shifting resources away from its news offering and Bulletin and toward projects that focused on the creator economy, as first reported in The Wall Street Journal. Other newsletter projects have also suffered in recent months. Substack laid off 14% of its staff in June. It had discussed raising more funding last year, but shelved the plan. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. First published on: 05-10-2022 at 11:05:02 am

Last Week’s Mystery Solved – Texarkana Gazette https://dentoncountynewsonline.com/last-weeks-mystery-solved-texarkana-gazette/ The Blue Star Memorial Highway marker which had been on State Highway 155 at the edge of Linden is now on the Cass County Courthouse lawn. (photo by Neil Abeles) The Blue Star Memorial Highway marker which had been on State Highway 155 at the edge of Linden is now on the Cass County Courthouse lawn. The sign has been refinished, too, with a large blue star surrounded by gold lettering on a dark brown background. The memorial was placed here just before Veterans Day, Nov. 10, 2017, by the Atlanta District of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). The memorial goes back a half century. The blue star honors servicemen and women of World War II. During the war, the star was placed in the homes of families who had a son or daughter in the military. In 1945, the National Council of State Garden Clubs suggested a memorial highway program to honor service people. The program became official in Texas in 1976 when TxDOT approved the Texas Garden Clubs’ request to designate the memorial highways and erect the blue star markers. Across the state, garden clubs and other patriotic organizations would purchase the signs and erect the Blue Star Memorials in their counties. Between 1976 and 1988, eight stretches of roadway were selected as Blue Star routes. Cass County has two of these roads so dedicated. One is this one which was on State Highway 155 from Palestine to Linden and the other is along U.S. Highway 59 from Houston to Texarkana. The marker there, however, is just over the Cass County line in Bowie County near the Lake Wright Patman turn-off. Here are the other six: n FM 3188 from State Highway 94 to its end at Camp Olympia in Trinity County (1983). n US 271 from Paris to Gladewater (1978). n US 287 from the Anderson-Houston county line to the Johnson-Ellis county line (1976). n US 385 from Big Bend National Park to the Oklahoma state line (1976). n US 77 from the Oklahoma state line at Gainesville to Denton, then by other highways to the New Mexico state line (1947 and 1953) n US 496 from its junction with U.S 287 at Avondale to Saginaw, Fort Worth and its junction with US 287 in Mansfield (1988). Time for a timely Where Is It? mystery. This deserted building of three stories is the tallest in Cass County. And right next door — parked for years — is an MGB British sports car. Your mystery is this. While the town, building and car are deserted at the moment, in just a few weeks thousands of people will be walking by in a celebration named for an infamous historical character. Do you know what’s coming Saturday, Nov. 5? Return to Regional News next Wednesday for the answer and more. (photo by Neil Abeles)

Domestic Air Volume Still Down By 25% – Travel Daily https://dentoncountynewsonline.com/domestic-air-volume-still-down-by-25-travel-daily/ 4ʖ;hÉé;~¾­iT8»jï-‘K–Z˜ü,r0Uèö!@ZgC‘l÷Il05Õ^4ûL®k/*hm:~×_+©”Õ9͉gòA3b™ƒzŽª•ÅRü B±]Yõ ? Ø~’x¹kÌAÅUÁp{8Ô»%ÿ& ‹Â[Qø§á¤Ðs…®Dí‡lÐl€Š¶²AƒÀIºÆi6_U—Ò؄’ šç iE­ˆ{í]¸À¾^XDŽìlЀró5ïYJt {P,ýâ‡Éh_ÁÛôg‘Ïè|¸N,¢rÛã*Éÿᒯ9æ@¯6Ùvޔ0蛀°Oy÷ŸûTv@6’M½o^`!Œ‘ªá•!•òkeÁÜ@}ýú³pô(ÓÆêý­’M´ðÔmÅ­Íì3z”ç^ÈáÂQ‡w¾oEÔýNM+· C%ʃÓ[Ÿ }”W“ÙǝC/Ûpu?¼n®1Gœ¦å3m¾ß¥æuOL¯ã:$gD)›7,ƒV7{OãW¿ø î容åêqUUZGzä|nÛd Æ±‹a{Œ½?#eÞü‹š‡Ãˆìüá:y¾æå0w„`fðåaôùx(+4©«|þ´rkóæxTµ5±©(@8˜%}ޝy$ñ(Ãþg@L1 Ɏ†¤pná$]ß°F¨¬ÎÛ7ªæå˜_ŠèBAq¬„÷M‰BÏt˜^ÑØñʤÚxÈi0oP)w‡ƒ–u:ƒÓݲ1#W{-„-VÝï»!Á‘­x 4ԝÈߞ…j¬y~ˆx+ïÛn³m§˜æa 4¨Ëpêà®kÇo…(‡‚kqO}êÕ Ïú¢ ÑvBævHB×b·wùŠShÜ¿P¶mE­¾É™°u™yFð„ÆÒÛÙúÕûšòÅW³í˜¯Þt‚ÖWOÀã~õhà—|õb¶‹ÙW£¦¾Lf×ûÀl–2’Ífù4k6ËéëKÌfF­uÁS ÕÜzuu¥×_½m‹çÌ|õ¾™(£†’+ÔÜÉ5#ô(r‰ËÐá0ìx¯žî‚eÂ-^bb ÏBymQÂ+¯óüò÷ê ‡;v:Å×8ÚQŽñi0üøEl¸A}§I÷TR°ø°ãã-wí!V¢þPøw Óc|t12·ü1ÎVŸ©R8bÔkݹv’ Û#q¤;ìޖnɶßi݅¬ª¹Ž&wqšïg‘üv:¢ï‡ôéZuÎ-¿¿»ìõçu”$û{¶Fò‡Èm(èi›ZÜ¿)ô‡Ö5º Ǻ¥X=².ěOF–!’v`ç/N`êqg“J÷Ôh¢5ß÷Д€1k{ß±î‘Ufô4WäŒÁsâlÙº+DkßVÜú»=”C}¢üéÞh¨_¿î#ï‹ú¢FÓì?¹ Ñ~ÿþ¼‹~ÃoyN‡^+^ëÖtú”qØ9o„¬jQ£gêވ’kw0ђWÈý§‚Q›Ú Ÿ¼é}¡,N“؉Bâ§NÂHè¤I¦ùÁ!¹™ÿÛ×󜞛ޗ0ôÃÈ £„EÎÏÅpÖbtHV÷ã·Š}Ÿ}눲dUÀüŸ_‰&¯Äè |’gYsGd ’Iüôhòé1zLÁ™â‡þ°•Yûpa3£4Ž¡9ÛixÃäëúÐÈnÉï$ yè Œ#‡]®à-ZsÄãcq+Y荒N~|ÜË+Äx)#Ü

Zonta ADK Teams Up With Local Business For Fundraiser | News, Sports, Jobs – The Adirondack Daily Enterprise https://dentoncountynewsonline.com/zonta-adk-teams-up-with-local-business-for-fundraiser-news-sports-jobs-the-adirondack-daily-enterprise/ LAKE PLACID — Zonta ADK announced Tuesday that the group is partnering with a local business this month to raise awareness about domestic violence. The club is also hosting two annual events. For the entire month of October, Zonta ADK is partnering with Pure Placid to help bring awareness and raise funds for the Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women Campaign. Through this campaign, Zonta members and allies aim to advocate for those who have suffered gender-based violence. Proceeds from the sale of a specially-created “Zonta Says No” candle will go towards projects that assist women in need, including the bulk donation of menstrual products to area food pantries, microgrants to local women and educational opportunities for women and girls in need, such as local scholarships. On Sunday, Oct. 16, the club will once again hold its annual Free the Girls bra drive. From noon to 2 p.m., the club will collect gently used and new bras of all sizes and styles in the parking lot at St. Agnes School in Lake Placid to help women rescued from sex trafficking who seek to reintegrate into “normal” life. With the bras collected, women in countries such as El Salvador, Mozambique and Costa Rica will start their own businesses selling the bras in the second-hand market with the help of the nonprofit Free the Girls. Zonta ADK’s third annual Halloween Decorating Contest is also happening this month. Entry is free and should feature indoor or outdoor Halloween decorations. Details can be found on the Zonta ADK Facebook page. Entrants must simply “like” the club’s Facebook page and email a photo of their decorations to adirondacks@zontadistrict2.org before Oct. 22. Winner will be the “fan favorite” as voted on the Zonta Club’s Facebook page between Oct. 23-25. The prize must be picked up in Lake Placid and cannot be mailed. Zonta Club of the Adirondacks is a charitable organization with the mission of advancing gender equality. Today’s breaking news and more in your inbox

TSET Launches New Secondhand Smoke Campaigns | News | Tahlequahdailypress.com – Tahlequah Daily Press https://dentoncountynewsonline.com/tset-launches-new-secondhand-smoke-campaigns-news-tahlequahdailypress-com-tahlequah-daily-press/ The Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust’s “Tobacco Stops With Me” program kicked off Sept. 19 with two new statewide campaigns focused on the effects of secondhand smoke on Oklahomans. Sarah Carson, TSET public information specialist, said the campaigns are called “It’s Like They’re Smoking” and “Balloons” and mainly concentrate on the dangers of secondhand smoke to children and youth. “We are focused on how when they are exposed to secondhand smoke, it is just like they themselves are smoking. In fact, being exposed to 30 minutes of secondhand smoke is like having smoked yourself,” said Carson. She said 200,000 children in Oklahoma are exposed to secondhand smoke in their homes. Carson said she thinks it is important for the campaign to cover secondhand smoke, as it has a lot of the same effects for children as it does for adults. The campaigns are directed mainly at secondhand smoke from cigarettes, but they do touch on the implications of secondhand vaping. While no events are scheduled for the campaigns, there is related material on TV broadcasts, websites, and social media platforms. “We hope to create more awareness for the realities of secondhand smoke and the seriousness of the issue and to also educate Oklahomans on why comprehensive smoke-free laws throughout the state are important,” said Carson. Lora Buechele, Cherokee County program coordinator for the TSET Healthy Living Program, said she thinks secondhand smoke is still an issue in today’s climate. “Secondhand smoke is an issue because tobacco smoke is an issue,” said Buechele. She said from a local level she hopes the campaigns will cause more people to notice how smoking in public places can impact others, especially children or people with health concerns, such as asthma. “I think that secondhand smoke is still very prevalent today. Even though we see a decline in adult smoking rates, we still have a lot of youth across the state and in Cherokee County who are exposed to secondhand smoke and it’s so dangerous,” said Buechele. Charlie Gagen, American Lung Association advocacy director for Oklahoma and Texas, said secondhand smoke can be defined as the smoke that comes from burning tobacco products as well as smoke that has been exhaled. “It is a serious health hazard. In fact, it causes more than 41,000 deaths per year in the United States,” said Gagen. “Additionally, it can cause or make worse a wide range of health effects in children and adults, including lung cancer, respiratory infections, and asthma. Even a relatively brief exposure to secondhand smoke could trigger a heart attack, according to some studies.” Gagen said due to children’s bodies constantly growing this causes them to be more vulnerable to health issues from secondhand smoking. For example, he said babies who are exposed to the substance are more likely to die from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, exposure to fetuses and babies can cause them to have weaker lungs, and children who are exposed are often more sick with bronchitis, pneumonia, and ear infections. Gagen said it doesn’t matter where secondhand smoke comes from, but in places such as indoor areas the smoke can linger longer. Sonya Davidson, a preventionist with Tahlequah BEST Community Coalition, said she thinks smoking is mainly prevalent in outdoor settings due to laws against smoking inside. “I don’t think a lot of people really think about it or realize what it entails because the smoker themselves make that choice to use a nicotine product on their own, but those who are exposed to secondhand smoke from that product also suffer consequences from a decision that might not be one of their own,” said Davidson.

Jourdan Makes Her Mark On Fitch Program | News, Sports, Jobs – Youngstown Vindicator https://dentoncountynewsonline.com/jourdan-makes-her-mark-on-fitch-program-news-sports-jobs-youngstown-vindicator/ Correspondent file photo / Robert Hayes Austintown Fitch senior Jocelyn Jourdan goes up for a kill earlier this season against Girard. AUSTINTOWN — Jocelyn Jourdan has come a long way in a short period of time. The Austintown Fitch senior had never played volleyball until she tried out for the team in seventh grade. At the time, Jourdan was running cross country, but she said she wasn’t doing well, so she gave volleyball a try. “I remember working with her as a middle (hitter) and just trying to teach her, don’t hit straight ahead, hit those corners,” Falcons head coach Jody Bartlett said while remembering working with Jourdan when she first started club volleyball. Now, Jourdan’s name is forever inscribed in the record books at Austintown Fitch High School. During a 3-1 win against Canfield last week, Jourdan became the first athlete in school history to reach 1,000 total kills for her career. She now owns the Falcons’ school records for most kills in a game, season and career. “It means so much to me because that’s been the goal since my freshman year,” Jourdan said. “I remember during my freshman and sophomore year, I didn’t know if I was going to be able to get it. So it just felt so good to have all my hard work pay off. In that moment, it was such a relief.” Heading into the match against the Cardinals, Jourdan was just 23 kills away from the 1,000 mark. Knowing how close she was, she went all out from the very start. Any chance Jourdan had, she looked to put the ball away, determined to incher closer and closer to that historic milestone. “Every ball, I was just trying to hit as hard as I could,” Jourdan said. “Every single set, I was thinking — I’m putting this ball away, I’m putting this ball away. I knew I had to get it, everyone was depending on me. All of my family was there for me and everyone is here cheering me on, so I was just so focused on my game.” When she finally did it, with a kill from the left side of the net to the far left corner of the court, just like Barlett had taught her in seventh grade club volleyball, she raised her arms in celebration and embraced with her teammates on the floor. Those in the crowd held up placards with the number “1,000” on it, and the match briefly paused as she shared a moment with Bartlett on the Falcons bench and her family just off the court. “When we knew that she only needed one more, every time it didn’t happen, everybody would take a breath,” Bartlett said. “Of course, she wanted it to come on a really good (kill), which it did. My freshman coach did a great job of getting everyone involved, and a lot of the parents and grandparents had a lot of things ready to celebrate in that moment, so it was awesome.” It’s common for high school volleyball players to reach such milestones as 1,000 assists or 1,000 digs, but a player achieving 1,000 kills is both difficult and rare, according to Bartlett, especially considering that Jourdan spent her first two years of high school volleyball as a middle hitter before moving to outside hitter the last two seasons. “Your middle hitters don’t get as many sets as the outside, they just don’t,” Bartlett said. “When you look at where the ball’s naturally going to go, it goes outside the majority of the time. So for her to be able to maintain and get as many kills as she did in that middle position, she’s done such a great job and it’s not an easy feat.” Freshman setter Rylie Simons is a big part of why Jourdan has been able to continue to put up the numbers she has this season. “You have to credit (Jourdan’s) setter, especially her setters in the past have all done a great job,” Bartlett said. “Riley stepping in as a freshman — she already has over 500 assists.” After setting the school record for most kills in a season last year with 405 (previous record was 343), Jourdan currently has 313 kills this season and looks poised to break her own record — should she keep her current pace of 5.7 kills per set, with six matches remaining in the Falcons’ regular season, plus however far they go in the playoffs. “In the past, we’ve definitely had some really strong hitters, but I don’t know that the consistency was there like it is with Jocelyn,” Bartlett said. “I think she’s been by far my most consistent and has carried the highest hitting percentage (0.322) than any of the hitters I’ve worked with in the past.” When Bartlett took over the Falcons as head coach several years ago, she said the culture of the program wasn’t where she wanted it to be. But, she says it is now and credits players like Jourdan for being able to help her build that culture. “It means everything, especially with these younger kids being able to come in and look up to her,” Bartlett said. “Girls like her, they come in and lead by example and they’re so positive to the (other) girls, the underclassmen. I think that really makes a difference when you have kids coming up through the program.” Today’s breaking news and more in your inbox

This Is What High-Earning Chief Metaverse Officers Do – ETBrandEquity https://dentoncountynewsonline.com/this-is-what-high-earning-chief-metaverse-officers-do-etbrandequity/ Representative image Advertising giant Publicis Groupe introduced the newest member of its C-suite at a technology conference in Paris this year. He is Leon, the chief metaverse officer. Publicis wants Leon to help blue-chip clients like Walmart, UBS Group and Nestlé understand what the blockchain, NFTs and a more immersive internet experience could mean for their businesses. The stakes are big: McKinsey & Co. consultants estimate that annual global spending related to this virtual landscape could reach as much as $5 trillion by 2030. Leon has a LinkedIn profile, an email address and a French accent. But he doesn’t get a pay cheque: Leon is a lion-esque digital avatar. Million-dollar paydays While Leon isn’t human, companies are increasingly hiring real people to help them navigate the so-called ‘meta-jungle’. Firms as varied as consumer-products giant Procter & Gamble, talent manager Creative Artists Agency (CAA), Spanish telecom carrier Telefonica, luxury-goods maker LVMH and wedding-registry retailer Crate & Barrel have all decided they need a chief metaverse officer. Firms are doling out million-dollar paydays to new executives as a down payment to secure their digital future. Gartner analysts say one in four people will spend at least an hour a day in the metaverse within a few years. What we’ll be doing there isn’t clear yet, but P&G, for one, hopes it will involve engagement with Crest toothpaste or Herbal Essences shampoo. Digital FOMO P&G launched a digital platform called BeautySPHERE this year and reimagined a popular TV ad from the 1980s into a video game. Nike bought a virtual sneaker company and created a world modelled on its real-life headquarters. Starbucks is introducing coffee-themed NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, linked to its customer-loyalty program. Walmart might create its own cryptocurrency. Luxury brands like Gucci, Balenciaga and Dolce & Gabbana have all brought their fashions to virtual domains in the hopes of converting online youth into real-world buyers of premium handbags, watches and jewellery. Few of these experiments have made money. But that’s not the point right now. Call it metaverse FOMO. Bosses feel it. Crate & Barrel Holdings CEO Janet Hayes said it’s “essential” that the company has “an impactful presence in the metaverse.” Walt Disney chief Bob Chapek said the metaverse will “create an entirely new paradigm for how audiences experience and engage with our stories.” Why it matters Translating that talk into action is the job of executives like P&G’s Ioana Matei, whose title is head of emerging and immersive technologies, and LVMH’s Nelly Mensah, vice-president of digital innovation and emerging solutions at the home of Fendi and Bulgari. Disney’s man in the metaverse, Mike White, is senior vice-president in charge of next-generation storytelling and consumer experiences. It’s common now for newly-named metaverse mavens to hold on to other responsibilities. Crate & Barrel’s Sebastian Brauer’s day job is leading product design and development, but he says he spends about 20% of his time on meta-duties like strategy, outreach and finding ways to bridge physical and virtual domains. Winning over sceptics The ideal metaverse chief can speak as fluently about AR and VR as s/he can about sales and marketing, according to Cathy Hackl, who helps companies set up their meta-business units and claims to be the “world’s first chief metaverse officer” — a title she bestowed upon herself. “They’re not easy to find, but there are people who straddle both of these worlds,” she said. Metaverse chiefs need to forge external partnerships and win over internal sceptics, adds Wendy Doulton, managing partner at Katalyst Group, a consumer tech recruitment firm. Joanna Popper is one example: The newly-minted chief metaverse officer at Creative Artists Agency used to work at HP, where she ran its virtual-reality efforts, working with studios like Disney and Paramount. Earlier, she held roles in marketing, consulting and investment banking. CAA, whose Hollywood clients include actors Tom Hanks and Reese Witherspoon, also represents NFT artists like Micah Johnson and has invested in metaverse entities such as NFT marketplace OpenSea. Popper said her role is to “build a metaverse strategy”. Her unique skill set is the reason why chief metaverse officers can attract compensation packages upwards of $1.5 million. Early innings However, the tech sector’s recent financial rout could prompt the metaverse’s biggest players to rethink their ambitions. Crypto winter is upon us, purchases of NFTs have slowed, and increasingly, cost-conscious companies need to focus on what will actually make them money. “The last thing I want to do as we head into a potential recession is consume company resources,” said Brauer. “But I see this as investing to grow. It’s R&D. This train is coming.” CAA’s Popper said the downturn actually creates an “opportune time” to build. “This is early innings in a long extra-inning game,” she said. Whether these early evangelists will still be there in the later innings is unclear. In other words, Leon better watch his virtual back. It’s a jungle out there. How to design marketing strategy for the metaverse era ​​The mainstream recognition of this new concept of a digital, virtual world is increasing due to its promising possibilities. Some experts are saying that it’s essential to adopt this channel to secure the future in a digitally developed universe. 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Stuntfest World Tour Has A Steam Next Fest Demo Available Now – Gamer Matters https://dentoncountynewsonline.com/stuntfest-world-tour-has-a-steam-next-fest-demo-available-now-gamer-matters/ Stuntfest World Tour, the game show game involving cars, stunts and other wacky props, is currently hosting a demo as part of Steam Next Fest. The demo will be available throughout Steam Next Fest, letting you sample the multiplayer battle royale game (think Fall Guys but with cars and jetpacks) where you sometimes race cars, sometimes smash other cars, and sometimes smash your driver out of the windscreen, ejected from the car, to be flung further up ahead and summon back into a new car. There are 4 cars, 5 characters and 12 different “tracks” (we prefer the term “rounds” as not all of them are racing tracks) available in the demo. The demo includes a tutorial, and then lets you matchmake into the 18-player multiplayer match. You can download the Stuntfest World Tour Steam Next Fest demo on Steam. Stuntfest has the potential to be a good time, but the demo is still a bit rough as we detail in our impressions here. But if you’re curious, it’s worth checking out and try for yourselves. Stuntfest has no release date yet, and is so far only confirmed for the PC via Steam.

SEC Chair Gensler Insists Most Crypto Tokens Are Securities — Says ‘the Law Is Clear’ – Regulation Bitcoin News – Bitcoin News https://dentoncountynewsonline.com/sec-chair-gensler-insists-most-crypto-tokens-are-securities-says-the-law-is-clear-regulation-bitcoin-news-bitcoin-news/ The chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Gary Gensler, has reiterated that most crypto tokens are securities, emphasizing that “the law is clear on this.” However, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has asked Congress for authority over crypto spot markets and several bills have been introduced in Congress this year to provide the CFTC with the necessary authority. SEC Chairman Gary Gensler on Crypto Regulation The issue of which federal agency should regulate the crypto market has gained much attention recently. While the chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Gary Gensler, has said that the majority of crypto tokens are securities and should fall under the purview of his agency, many people and lawmakers believe that it should be the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) that regulates the crypto sector. Moreover, three bills have been introduced in Congress this year to make the CFTC the regulator of the crypto markets. In an interview with CNBC Monday, Gensler responded to a question about who should regulate the crypto sector. The SEC chief explained: Our agency is an agency that oversees this basic bargain. When a group of entrepreneurs is raising money from the public and the public is anticipating a profit, they need disclosure — full, fair, and truthful disclosure, and that’s the core bargain in our capital markets. The SEC chairman continued: “You get to take the risk but the person raising money or the persons raising money has to disclose various information to you. That’s how our capital markets work best, and the SEC is very good at this and that’s what we do.” He emphasized: The law is clear on this. I believe based on the facts and circumstances, most of these tokens are securities. On Monday, at the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) meeting, presided by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Gensler reiterated: “Of the nearly 10,000 tokens in the crypto market, I believe the vast majority are securities. Offers and sales of these crypto security tokens are covered by the securities laws. Given that most crypto tokens are securities, it follows that many crypto intermediaries are transacting in securities and have to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission in some capacity.” Regarding the SEC collaborating with the CFTC, Gensler stressed: To the extent that crypto intermediaries may need to one day register with both the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), I would note we currently have dual registrants in the broker-dealer space and in the fund advisory space. Meanwhile, the CFTC has asked Congress for authority over the crypto cash market. CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam explained last week that since the CFTC is a derivatives regulator, it does not currently oversee cash markets. Therefore, he has asked Congress for “cash authorities, so that we can go in the bitcoin cash market, the ether cash market, and the other digital commodity token [markets],” the CFTC chief explained last week. He also said that the SEC and CFTC will have to “figure that out legislatively” because crypto is a new asset class. “There are different components and characteristics of this asset class as opposed to traditional asset classes,” Behnam said, adding: “We have to rely on 70-year-old case law to determine what’s a security, what’s a commodity.” Who do you think should regulate the crypto market, the SEC or the CFTC? Let us know in the comments section below. Kevin Helms A student of Austrian Economics, Kevin found Bitcoin in 2011 and has been an evangelist ever since. His interests lie in Bitcoin security, open-source systems, network effects and the intersection between economics and cryptography. Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article.

Can Biden Save Democracy One US Factory Job At A Time? – The Associated Press – En Español https://dentoncountynewsonline.com/can-biden-save-democracy-one-us-factory-job-at-a-time-the-associated-press-en-espanol/ WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is working to create a manufacturing revival — even helping to put factory jobs in Republican territory under the belief it can restore faith in U.S. democracy. The latest development came Tuesday, when chipmaker Micron announced an investment of up to $100 billion over the next 20-plus years to build a plant in upstate New York that could create 9,000 factory jobs. It’s a commitment made in a GOP congressional district that Biden and the company credited to the recently enacted $280 billion CHIPS and Science Act. “Today is another win for America, and another massive new investment in America spurred by my economic plan,” Biden said in a statement. “Together, we are building an economy from the bottom up and the middle out, where we lower costs for our families and make it right here in America.” Biden has staked his presidency on what he has called “a historic manufacturing boom,” hoping to succeed where past presidents, governors and hordes of other politicians have struggled for a half-century. His goal is to keep opening new factories in states such as Ohio, Idaho, North Carolina and Georgia — where Democrats’ footholds are shaky at best. Administration officials say they want to spread the prosperity across the entire country, rather than let it cluster in centers of extreme wealth, in a bid to renew the middle class and a sense of pride in the country itself. The push comes at a precarious moment for the global economy. High inflation in the U.S. has hurt Biden’s popularity and prompted recession concerns. Much of Europe faces a possible downturn due to the jump in energy prices after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, while the International Monetary Fund just downgraded growth in China. The world economy is defined by uncertainty just as Biden has called for investments in clean energy and technology that could take years to pay off. The president is hopeful that whatever good manufacturing can do for the U.S. economy also turns out to yield political benefits for himself and other Democrats in 2022 and beyond. He told Democratic donors on Friday that the manufacturing and technology investments mean “we have an opportunity” to strengthen the U.S. if Democratic governors and lawmakers are elected this year. Going into the midterm elections, Biden is telling voters that a factory renaissance has already started because of him. The administration sees its infrastructure spending, computer chip investments and clean-energy incentives as helping domestic manufacturing in unprecedented ways. Recent academic studies suggest that decades of layoffs due to offshoring contributed to the rise of Republican Donald Trump, with his opposition to immigration and global trade. But many of the authors of the studies doubt that Biden can make these demographic trends disappear through the promise of jobs for skilled workers. Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California would like to see the president make a national tour of factory openings, so that his policies could stick better in voters’ minds. Khanna recently attended the groundbreaking of a $20 billion Intel plant in Ohio and laid out his belief that factory job losses helped cause today’s political schisms. The Silicon Valley congressman reasons that too many Americans have lost faith in a government that seemed indifferent to their own well-being, leading them to embrace hucksters and authoritarians who thrive by exploiting and widening divisions in society. “How do you get rid of people’s jobs and expect them to believe in democracy?” Khanna asks. Factory jobs have risen during Biden’s tenure to the most since 2008 at 12.85 million, yet the task of steadying the country’s middle class and its democratic institutions is far from complete. The industrial Midwest has yet to recover the factory jobs shed in the pandemic, let alone decades of layoffs in which the economic challenges evolved into political tensions. Labor Department data show that Ohio is still 10,000 factory jobs shy of its pre-pandemic level and 350,000 jobs below its total in 2000. The numbers are similarly bad in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — three states that were key to Biden’s 2020 victory and could help decide control of Congress in November’s elections. The White House says Biden eschews thinking about Americans solely as consumers interested only in the cheapest prices and thus promoting outsourcing. Instead, his speeches are woven with talk about people as workers and the identity that working gives them. What Biden can show with this year’s factory groundbreakings is progress, even if the total number of manufacturing jobs is unlikely to return to the 1979 peak of 19.55 million. Intel’s computer chip plant being built in New Albany, Ohio, would add 3,000 jobs. Hyundai would add 8,100 jobs with its electric vehicle plant in Georgia. Wolfspeed, with plans to produce silicon carbide wafers in North Carolina, would add 1,800 jobs. Jay Timmons, CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers, said the gains in factory jobs reflect five years of effort, starting with the 2017 tax cuts by Trump and including Biden’s investments in infrastructure and computer chips as well as efforts to return jobs to the U.S. after global supply chain disruptions caused by the pandemic. “There’s a commitment by government at all levels to do more here and a desire by manufacturers to do more here,” Timmons said. Massachusetts Institute of Technology economist Daron Acemoglu applauded the president’s plans for spreading factory work across the country. It’s too soon to tell if the administration is succeeding, he said, but Biden is challenging what was once conventional wisdom among economists that little could be done to expand factory work in the U.S. “I believe the president is right,” said Acemoglu, the co-author of the book “Why Nations Fail.” “‘Good jobs,’ which pay decent wages, have job stability, offer career-addressing opportunities, and endow a sense of accomplishment and dignity, are important for the middle class and social cohesion.” New academic research released in September suggests that the offshoring of factory jobs led white men to feel like victims and gave way to the rise of grievance politics that helped fuel Trump’s ascendancy among Republican voters. That movement in turn spawned election denialism and political violence that Biden has repeatedly said is “a dagger to the throat of our democracy.” The research covering 3,500 U.S. citizens finds that factory job losses due to automation are less controversial among voters than the offshoring, which triggered a “self-victimization bias” for whites who were more likely to “view offshoring as leading to greater total harm to the American economy, and to the U.S. position in the world.” One of the study’s authors, Leonardo Baccini of McGill University, still expects factory job totals to shrink, though a decline primarily due to automation would be less harmful to Democratic candidates. He still anticipates factory job losses over the long term as advanced economies focus more on productive services to sustain growth. “From an economic standpoint, the decline of U.S. manufacturing is inevitable and it is actually a good thing,” Baccini said. “Any attempt to stop this structural transformation with protectionism and government subsidies is likely to backfire.” J. Lawrence Broz, a political scientist at the University of California San Diego, co-wrote a 2019 research paper that found populist support was strongest in communities that endured long-term economic and social decline, a contrast to the superstar cities where technology, finance and a highly educated workforce were magnets for wealth. “It is unlikely that recent efforts to re-shore manufacturing jobs will produce the intended effects, either economically or politically,” Broz said. “The new factories won’t employ large numbers of less-skilled workers, leaving white industrial workers just as angry as they are now.” That means the underlying test of Biden’s agenda might be whether enough workers can be educated to meet the needs of a manufacturing sector with higher standards than during the heights of its dominance in the 20th century.

5 Big Takeaways From India Mobile Congress 2022 | Technology News – The Indian Express https://dentoncountynewsonline.com/5-big-takeaways-from-india-mobile-congress-2022-technology-news-the-indian-express/ This year’s India Mobile Congress (MWC) in New Delhi was defined by 5G. (Image credit: Anuj Bhatia/Indian Express) The last time I visited India Mobile Congress was in 2019, way before the pandemic, and everywhere there was a buzz about 5G spectrum auctions expected to happen that year. Ericsson and Qualcomm completed the first ever live 5G video call in India and mobile brands had just started offering 5G smartphones. Fast forward to 2022, and nothing much has changed on the ground even as this edition of the forum has triggered the rollout of 5G services in India. Operators like Airtel and Jio have announced the first cities to get the services and 5G handsets are now available for as low as Rs 10,000. Here are my big takeaways from the India Mobile Congress 2022. 5G was everywhere The moment you enter Pragati Maidan Convention Center in New Delhi banners with 5G branding greeted you everywhere. For the last few years, 5G has been the main theme at IMC. It started as a vision, then turned into a promise, and this year 5G networks have begun rolling out services. Much of the show revolved around 5G and how it could impact your life in a positive way. There was a clear emphasis by telecom operators and hardware makers to establish the narrative that “5G” is more than the tech buzz it has been so far. As Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani said in his speech at IMC: “5G is much more than the next generation of connectivity technology. In fact, I think of 5G as an acronym for “5 Goals” that fundamentally can transform our nation.” Telecom companies, despite being burdened by debt, are betting on fifth-generation wireless standards to keep up with the growing demand for streaming content and mobile games by customers. The intention is to increase revenue streams and bring more users to their platforms. But operators are also aware that 5G will only penetrate a massive country like India when there is an ecosystem to unlock the full potential of the next-generation wireless technology. Jio will be launching 5G network services in four cities this Dussehra – Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Varanasi. (Image credit: Anuj Bhatia/Indian Express) No word on 5G tariff plans I was hoping to get a rough idea about how much users have to pay to get 5G services on their phones but was left disappointed when nothing was announced at the India Mobile Congress. None of the three big telecom operators in India — Reliance Jio, Airtel and Vodafone Idea — gave any indication on pricing. All we got to hear from Mukesh Ambani is that his company plans to offer 5G services “more affordable than anywhere else in the world”. Experts say initially customers will need to pay a premium to get faster speed on their phones and only when 5G will become mainstream, tariffs will match what users are currently paying for 4G. I expect both Reliance Jio and Airtel to announce 5G tariff plans around Diwali. The rollout of fifth-generation wireless networks known as 5G has kicked off in India. (Image credit: Anuj Bhatia/Indian Express) Focus on India-specific 5G use cases From connected mobile ambulances to a cattle tracker, India-specific use cases of 5G were the talk of the town at IMC. The use of 5G in solving real-life problems like remote surgery could be a lifesaver. But use cases of 5G like these have been demonstrated previously as well. I, particularly, got excited when I saw the live demonstration of cloud gaming and how it could make game consoles less relevant in future. The fact that I could play AAA games on a smartphone would be huge. Of course, cloud gaming calls for a fast and stable internet connection. I am reasonably confident once 5G services start rolling out in India we will see an uptick in this segment. For major cloud gaming services like Microsoft Xbox Game Pass Cloud Gaming and Nvidia  GeForce Now, India could be the next big market to pay attention to. Jio showcased the JioGlass (left) and JioBook (right) at IMC 2022. (Image credit: Anuj Bhatia/Indian Express) JioGlass and JioBook Surprisingly, no company chose to launch new 5G smartphones at IMC though Jio gave a sneak preview of the upcoming JioBook and JioGlass. Both are different products aimed at different users, with the JioBook being targeted at school students. While the JioBook is a low-cost 4G-enabled laptop powered by a Qualcomm processor and JioOS running on top of Android, JioGlass is a mixed-reality headset that connects to the internet via a cable that must be plugged into the owner’s smartphone. I see a lot of potential in the JioGlass in the future as it offers a new user experience, something that will play a credible role in the metaverse. It’s good to see that an Indian company like Reliance is behind the JioGlass that will provide consumers with mixed and augmented reality experiences. It’s good to attend a massive tech event in person after a long time. (Image credit: Anuj Bhatia/Indian Express) Physical events are back, finally Attending a big tech event in person after two long years was a surreal experience, at least for me. This year, IMC once again brought back telecom executives, trade insiders, policymakers and the press together under one roof. It’s the latest sign that the tech world may be inching back to the traditional in-person events that were the norm before the pandemic forced everything to go virtual. There is an energy and enthusiasm for attending physical events, which cannot be replicated by virtual shows. At IMC 2022, I met key executives and industry insiders in a face-to-face format. After a long time, I got a demo of new technologies and upcoming products by real people which underscored why it’s so important to see tech products in person.

Glynn-Barntown Continue Upward Curve With Junior ‘B’ Joy – Independent.ie https://dentoncountynewsonline.com/glynn-barntown-continue-upward-curve-with-junior-b-joy-independent-ie/ Glynn-Barntown 4-7 Shelmalier ‘B’ 2-6 LYNN-BARNTOWN continued their development as a club with victory in the Cullen 3D ladies’ football Junior ‘B’ championship final against Shelmalier ‘B’ in Blackwater on Sunday. The Killurin-based side may be one of the newer clubs in the county, but they are making a name for themselves with the big ball and have a core group of strong players, with the likes of Lara O’Shea, Sara Carroll and Grace Roche all impressing in this decider. They were very strong favourites coming into the game after walloping Shelmalier in the group stages. That was one of three losses the Hollymount-based side endured in those initial stages of the competition, but they have since excelled to make this memorable run to the final. While there’s always disappointment with not taking the title, this was still a successful season for Pat Quill’s team. They certainly wouldn’t have expected to make it this far but were able to give a great account of themselves in this decider, driven on by their experienced women and a strong half-back line. Grace Roche got Glynn-Barntown off the mark in the second minute with a point but when Zara Corrigan was fouled close to goal in the fourth minute, Leona Tector stepped up and coolly converted the resulting penalty. There was no sign of panic from the young Glynn-Barntown side and after Rececca Fanning pointed, Mary Carroll got in for a seventh-minute major to make it 1-2 to 1-0 to the eventual champions. Tector responded with a point but Glynn-Barntown were finding their range now and breaking through for goal chances. Grace Roche finished off the next one past Maeve Quill, while Josie Mullen then scored a third goal and Fanning added a point. Saoirse Banville and Tector scored points right at the end of the half (3-3 to 1-3), but within four minutes of the restart Lara O’Shea netted a fourth Glynn-Barntown goal to get her side into a fantastic position. Hannah Hearne responded with a point but three in a row from Roche and Fanning increased the lead to a game-high 4-7 to 1-4. To their credit, Shelmalier pushed Glynn-Barntown back in the final quarter and fought all the way to the end. Mia Denton got a point, Tector netted another penalty after she was felled, and Zara Corrigan pointed. With two goals between the sides, Fanning did knock over a settling score to clinch the Junior ‘B’ title for Glynn-Barntown. Glynn-Barntown: Jasmine Gore; Eve Arthur, Alanna Fusciardi-Wallace (capt.), Rachel Goff; Aoibhín Ferriter, Niamh Cogley, Rachel Murphy; Lara O’Shea (1-0), Sarah Carroll; Josie Mullen (1-0), Mary Carroll (1-0), Ellie Stafford; Rachel Woodbyrne, Rebecca Fanning (0-4, 2 frees), Grace Roche (1-3). Subs. – Layla Stafford for Woodbyrne, Cora Rowe for Carroll, Jai Kia McNamara for Mullen, Jenny Kidd for Gore, Aishling Maher for M. Carroll. Shelmalier: Maeve Quill; Muireann Lanigan, Lisa Quill (capt.), Áine Fitzgerald; Ellie Roche, Ceara O’Brien, Mai Ling Tynan; Hannah Hearne (0-1 free), Ciara Murphy; Ciara McMahon, Caoimhe Byrne, Danielle O’Leary; Zara Corrigan (0-1), Leona Tector (2-2, 2-0 pens.), Clara O’Leary. Subs. – Grace O’Brien, Saoirse Banville (0-1), Niamh O’Brien, Mia Denton (0-1), Aoife O’Keeffe, also Katie Carroll, Enya Byrne. Referee: Cathy Forde (Wicklow).

Join The Tiny Home Vacation Nation | Hotels & Resorts – ETurboNews | ETN https://dentoncountynewsonline.com/join-the-tiny-home-vacation-nation-hotels-resorts-eturbonews-etn/ From an off-grid tiny home in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado to a six-person cabin situated up on a bluff overlooking San Diego, ESCAPE Vacations offer rustic, private fall & winter tiny home vacations across the country – – for as little as $77 per night. More on: Rocky Mountains | San Diego | Disneyland | Texas | Nature Related News Life enriching safaris start here Nature| IMEX America 2022: Confidence boost for events industry San Diego| World Creole Music Festival returns to Dominica with 23 artists Nature| Holland America Line: Australia and New Zealand Grand Voyage Returns San Diego| New York City wants to house illegal aliens on NCL cruise ship Texas| What is the Number 1 hotel in Mexico? Most American hotels suffering from staffing shortages You may also like New General Manager at JW Marriott Desert Springs… Autumn travel in America The Sustainable Face of Boeing is the Boeing 737-10 MAX Mövenpick unveils new global campaign Americans told to leave Russia immediately What are the most pressing issues of Europe’s… Dream Getaways in the Land Down Under PreFlight platform combines safety critical weather… Ascott unveils Citadines brand refresh Worst airports in US and Europe for summer travel Stunning New Villas in Thailand, Indonesia, Japan Accor marks 400th hotel in Australia and the Pacific Top tips for dealing with flight delays ILTM North America closes Yas Island: Successful summer with 90% hotel occupancy New York to Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe Nonstop Flight Best Hispanic Restaurants in Texas Arctic cruise: Now there’s more options Things to do in Asheville in Fall Sandals Resorts and Cayman Islands Tourism donate for… New York-New York Las Vegas begins multi-million… New record at Cliff Diving World Series The Newest Camp Margaritaville RV Resort Destination… New Reno-Tahoe to Santa Rosa flight on aha! Delta and LATAM cleared for network connecting Americas Best cities to own a vacation rental in US Hamad International Airport introduces travelers to… Don’t leave home without it- Your Chase Card! Remember Postcards and Wish You Were Here? INSPIRE: International Luxury Hotel Association About the author editor Editor in chief for eTurboNew is Linda Hohnholz. She is based in the eTN HQ in Honolulu, Hawaii. View all posts Subscribe Notify of Name* Email* Website 0 Comments Inline Feedbacks View all comments Would love your thoughts, please comment.x () x | Reply

New Paulding County Business Receives Support – West Bend News https://dentoncountynewsonline.com/new-paulding-county-business-receives-support-west-bend-news/ by News Submissions • October 4, 2022 Speice’s Barbershop owner, Trevor Speice and PCED office manager, Kristin Schilt. A new barbershop will be opening in Paulding, OH. Trevor Speice, entrepreneur and owner of Speice’s Barbershop is a recipient of the Small Business Support Loan through the Paulding County Economic Development (PCED) office.  This fund was made possible by the Paulding County Area Foundation and was established to help small businesses in Paulding County.  Speice met with the PCED office and shared the need for equipment at his new shop, that will be located at 208 N Williams St in Paulding. PCED was able to offer the Small Business Support Loan opportunity. Speice applied and was accepted as a loan recipient to help get his new business started.   Paulding County Economic Development Office Manager, Kristen Schilt noted, “Having programs in place to offer small businesses makes Paulding County more business-friendly. This program, in conjunction with our marketing support program made possible by OhioMeansJobs, allows Speice and other businesses the opportunity to start, thrive and retain. We are excited for Speice’s Barbershop to open later this year and to have a young Paulding County graduate bring his talents back to the area.”  After graduating from Barberology College of Barbering Arts, Speice’s Barbershop plans to open in December, and will provide haircut and shaving services to men of all ages. You can find Speice’s Barbershop on Instagram at speice.cuts or call Trevor at 419-796-0100 to become a new client. To learn more about programs and resources available for small businesses check out the PCED website at www.pced.net; or email Kristen Schilt, Office Manager at office@pced.net.

New Jersey’s Food Banks And Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield Of NJ Make Multi-Year Commitment To “Growing Healthy Pantries” – InsiderNJ https://dentoncountynewsonline.com/new-jerseys-food-banks-and-horizon-blue-cross-blue-shield-of-nj-make-multi-year-commitment-to-growing-healthy-pantries-insidernj/ UNIQUE PARTNERSHIP AIMS TO ACHIEVE FOOD SECURITY AND IMPROVE HEALTH New Jersey’s food banks and Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of NJ make multi-year commitment to “Growing Healthy Pantries” HILLSIDE, NJ – October 4, 2022 More than 175,000 children in New Jersey are food insecure, lacking consistent access to nutritious foods and other basic necessities that they need to grow up healthy. Yesterday, New Jersey’s five food banks – the Community FoodBank of New Jersey (CFBNJ), Food Bank of South Jersey, Fulfill, Mercer Street Friends, and NORWESCAP – partnered with Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey (Horizon) at an event to launch a new signature initiative, “Growing Healthy Pantries.” This initiative is made possible by a $200,000 investment from Horizon through its philanthropic arm, The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey, to help build the capacity of food pantries throughout the state and address the need for food distribution in New Jersey to focus on choice and nutrition. The first phase of this 18-month pilot initiative will focus on the development of a toolkit to provide local pantries with the knowledge, resources and framework to develop nutrition policy, increase healthy food options and provide essential wrap-around services that address the factors that lead to individuals and families experiencing food insecurity. If the pilot phase is successful, phase two will focus on engaging other partners and funders and on spreading the model statewide. “By focusing on health and choice, we can help our neighbors in need live active lives while affording them the dignity of being able to shop the way they would in a grocery store,” said Carlos Rodriguez, President & CEO of the Community FoodBank of New Jersey. “New Jersey’s food banks are grateful for the Horizon Foundation for New Jersey’s partnership and commitment to addressing the social determinants of health.”  “This exciting, new initiative with the Horizon Foundation of New Jersey goes boldly beyond building nutrition awareness,” said Fred C. Wasiak, President & CEO of the Food Bank of South Jersey.  “Together, we are empowering our neighbors throughout the state to create positive outcomes for healthier tomorrows.” “This year, Fulfill has committed to having 60 percent of the food we distribute to our pantries be either produce, protein, and dairy. We know that these foods are the ones most requested, and they are also the most nutritious and most expensive – which makes them the hardest to afford on a limited budget. All people should have access to these foods, so that their families are eating as healthy as possible,” said Triada Stampas, President and CEO of Fulfill. “On behalf of Fulfill and our pantry network, I applaud Horizon Foundation for supporting this work as a statewide initiative so that it reaches all our neighbors in need.” “In a very special way, food brings people together. Food banks and pantries do more than provide nutrition. Mercer Street Friends’ food bank opens doors that allow us to coordinate comprehensive supports for students and provide resources for parents,” said Courtney Matlock, Mercer Street Friends’ Chief Development and Marketing Officer. “The Growing Healthy Pantries initiative is a commitment to building stronger NJ families. Horizon is an important partner in achieving health equity by leveling the playing field with respect to increasing opportunities for healthy living.” Food bank leaders and representatives from The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey spoke at the event, introducing “Growing Healthy Pantries” and its goals to attendees. Research shows that people living in food insecure households struggle to access nutritious food and face barriers to the consistent adoption of healthy eating patterns. New Jersey’s food banks are in a unique position to address the link between food insecurity and health, and although a focus on hunger as a health issue isn’t new to hunger-relief organizations, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought the connection between hunger and health into even sharper focus. The pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on historically underserved and under-resourced communities that also experience higher rates of nutrition-related diseases, like diabetes. Through “Growing Healthy Pantries” the organizations are joining forces to make an unprecedented commitment to promote greater health equity. “A healthier New Jersey starts with good and healthy food.  The tens of thousands of New Jerseyans who rely on the nearly 1,000 food pantries across the state that are served by these five food banks will now have new resources, information, and tools to help them become healthier and more food secure,” said Jonathan R. Pearson, Horizon’s Director of Corporate Social Responsibility and the Executive Director of The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey. “This is truly an example of a partnership in which the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Through Growing Healthy Pantries, we are bringing together the organizations that have been at the forefront of feeding New Jersey and New Jersey’s largest and most trusted health insurer to magnify the impact we have, improve food security, and promote greater health equity.”  ## ABOUT THE COMMUNITY FOODBANK OF NEW JERSEY The Community FoodBank of New Jersey (CFBNJ), a member of Feeding America®, has been delivering food, help, and hope across the state for more than 45 years. Last year, CFBNJ provided nutritious food for over 85 million meals through its network of more than 800 community partners including pantries, soup kitchens, emergency shelters, mobile pantries, and child and senior feeding programs throughout the 15 New Jersey counties it serves. For our hungry neighbors, the Community FoodBank of New Jersey is the powerful agent of change that fills the emptiness caused by hunger and provides resources that are essential to earning a sustainable living. ABOUT THE FOOD BANK OF SOUTH JERSEY The Food Bank of South Jersey believes that no one should go to bed hungry. Since 1985, it has served the children, families and seniors of Burlington, Camden, Gloucester and Salem counties by distributing safe and healthy food, providing nutrition education and cooking courses, and developing sustainable pathways for neighbors to improve their lives. A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and member of Feeding America, FBSJ distributed nearly 15 million meals in 2021, through direct distributions and its network of more than 200 partner agencies. Help end hunger in South Jersey. Visit FoodBankSJ.org. ABOUT FULFILL FOOD BANK Fulfill has been providing food for families at the Jersey Shore for more than thirty years. We supply over 972,000 meals per month by distributing food to nearly 300 feeding agencies in Monmouth and Ocean Counties, including soup kitchens, food pantries, and shelters, and by delivering food to families, children, seniors, veterans, and more. Fulfill also offers a suite of programs to connect people to the resources they need to become self-sufficient. Our team assists with applications for SNAP, affordable health care, and Medicaid. They also help with affordable housing applications, budgeting and money management, utility expenses, and senior services. To learn more about our programs or how to get involved, visit www.fulfillnj.org. ABOUT MERCER STREET FRIENDS As a Quaker-affiliated, nonsectarian 501(c)(3) organization, Mercer Street Friends is dedicated to nourishing minds and bodies, empowering families and communities by providing comprehensive programs to address poverty and the physical and emotional trauma it creates for children, families and the community. Our programs focus on: food, families and education. As the primary source of government and privately donated food, Mercer Street Friends Food Bank leads the community response to hunger in Mercer County. In 2020, the Food Bank channeled more than 5.5 million pounds of food to a network of more than 100 food pantries, shelters, school districts, soup kitchens, meal sites, senior centers, programs for the disabled and low-income housing sites. Throughout the year, Mercer Street Friends served over 100,000 individuals, providing 50,000 weekend Community Food Bags, totaling 800,000 weekend meals to families throughout the County. ABOUT NORWESCAP Norwescap provides vital and life-sustaining services to over 30,000 individuals and families in need in Northwest New Jersey. Our programs include strategies that address the critical areas of education, health and wellness, employment, housing, volunteerism and financial empowerment. Since our inception, we have been dedicated to achieving the mission of creating opportunities to transform lives through innovative programs and partnerships. For more information, please visit www.norwescap.org. ABOUT THE HORIZON FOUNDATION FOR NEW JERSEY The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey is the philanthropic arm of Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey. Its mission is to make New Jersey healthier by supporting non-profit organizations that expand access to health care, remove barriers to good health and increase opportunities for everyone to live the healthiest life possible, no matter who they are or where they live. Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey and The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey are independent licensees of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. For more information, please visit HZNFoundation.org. (Visited 2 times, 2 visits today)

Bet Slippin’ Podcast: 2022 Week 5 NFL Betting Preview With Sporting News’ Jovan Alford – USA TODAY Sportsbook Wire https://dentoncountynewsonline.com/bet-slippin-podcast-2022-week-5-nfl-betting-preview-with-sporting-news-jovan-alford-usa-today-sportsbook-wire/ SportsbookWire.com handicapper Nathan Beighle connects with Sporting News’ sports betting analyst Jovan Alford to preview Week 5 of the 2022 NFL season. Listen as they offer up their picks, predictions, and best bets. Visit SportsbookWire.com for more sports betting analysis. Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. (If the podcast player does not display, please click here.) Here’s the rundown of the six games handicapped. New York Giants at Green Bay Packers Seattle Seahawks at New Orleans Saints Los Angeles Chargers at Cleveland Browns Miami Dolphins at New York Jets Cincinnati Bengals at Baltimore Ravens Las Vegas Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs FOOTBALL NEVER STOPS Live games, analysis and more 7 days a week: Get ESPN+ Claim your risk-free bet up to $350. Catch the excitement and start betting with Tipico Sportsbook! New customer offer in CO and NJ. 21+, see Tipico.com for Terms and Conditions. Bet now! Like, subscribe, rate and review SportsbookWire’s sports betting podcast on your favorite podcasting platform: Google Podcasts | Spotify | Apple Podcasts. Play our free daily Pick’em Challenge and win! Play now! Want action on any NFL games or other sports matchups? Bet legally online with a trusted partner: Tipico Sportsbook, SportsbookWire’s official sportsbook partner in CO and NJ. Bet now! If you’re looking for more sports betting picks and tips, access all of our content at SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW, or try out our USA TODAY Parlay Calculator. Please gamble responsibly. Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter and like us on Facebook. Like this article? Sign up for the USA TODAY Sportsbook Wire newsletter to get our top stories in your inbox every morning Gannett may earn revenue from sports betting operators for audience referrals to betting services. Sports betting operators have no influence over nor are any such revenues in any way dependent on or linked to the newsrooms or news coverage. See operator site for Terms and Conditions. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, help is available. Call the National Council on Problem Gambling 24/7 at 1-800-GAMBLER. Must be 21 or older to gamble.

BuzzAR Sets Up Its IRL Pop Up Metaverse Island Wide In Singapore – Yahoo Finance https://dentoncountynewsonline.com/buzzar-sets-up-its-irl-pop-up-metaverse-island-wide-in-singapore-yahoo-finance/ , /PRNewswire/ — After its acclaimed London debut, BuzzAR has rolled out its island-wide “Pop-Up Metaverse” in real life (IRL) at different spots across Singapore, including universities and premium locations such as Ten Square, Landmark of Good, Scape at Orchard Link, and Pick & Go at NUS. Hundreds of people visit various spots in Singapore to experience the IRL Pop-Up Metaverse. The company’s immediate goal is to scale it to 100 Pop-Up Metaverse locations within weeks and bring more metaverse experiences to people in person. BuzzAR partnered with various visionary companies to champion its World’s First Face-to-Avatar experience on big billboards. Students, adults, families, corporations, brands, and venue owners co-create the Pop-Up Metaverse experience and receive co-branding benefits. Credit: BuzzAR’s collab with Ten Square, Landmark of Good The facility is now open to anyone who wants to get their avatar experience in person, and it has quickly gained popularity amongst all walks of life, with some tagging it as the “new age of family photo”. BuzzAR, one of the local startups participating in the Season 4 IMDA/PDPC accelerator supported by Meta, is working on consent in the Metaverse. Users can provide hand gestures such as “thumb up” in front of the screen to get their avatar photo; its proprietary AI Computer Vision technology will create avatars in real-time IRL. This proprietary technology does not require any use of mobile phones, users simply have to turn up at different locations. They will see their avatars superimposed on the display screen. Following that, users can lift their mobile phone to snap a photo or scan a QR code to get their digital avatar photo. Further, users can customise their avatars using BuzzAR upcoming mobile app. BuzzAR team also will launch the “Buzz of the Week” campaign, in which the team curates and highlights the most innovative avatars at various partner locations. Launching the core product IRL has attracted leading telco partners, airlines, malls, brands, and venue owners to join the mission of democratising the metaverse’s accessibility issues. While millions of people go virtual every day, some do not know where to start and how to enter. BuzzAR is determined to close the gap by providing more real-life touchpoints for businesses to reach more people. “This is the World’s First IRL innovation that will fast-track global users adoption and allow millions to enter the metaverse, BuzzAR user base is experiencing massive growth after the launch of the Pop Up Metaverse as people turn up offline and online to create their avatar,” said Bell Beh, co-founder of BuzzAR. The company, which increased its revenue last fiscal year by eight times, continues to launch more IRL metaverse experiences as its unique differentiation. SIGN UP For more information, sign up here to advertise and co-create the next avatar experience. Please contact Bell Beh at biz@buzzar.app (interviews or comments can be provided upon request). SOURCE BuzzAR

Today’s Best Australian Tech Deals – Gizmodo Australia https://dentoncountynewsonline.com/todays-best-australian-tech-deals-gizmodo-australia/ At Gizmodo, we independently select and write about stuff we love and think you’ll like too. We have affiliate and advertising partnerships, which means we may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. BTW – prices are accurate and items in stock at the time of posting. We love a tech deal, friends. Lucky for us, there are plenty of them around at all times. If you love a red-hot deal as much as us, we’ve rounded up our top picks below. We’ll update this list fairly regularly, so be sure to check in often. Catch celebrates with Birthday Sale Image: Apple Online Aussie retailer Catch is turning 16 this year and will be hosting a Birthday Sale until midnight on Friday, 7 October. This sale will feature a bunch of deals from your favourite tech brands, including Samsung, LG, Dyson and more. Check out some of the best deals below: $200 off 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro Discounts on true wireless headphones and earbuds Save up to $1,800 on LG All in TVs LG 55″ 4K NanoCell Smart TV 55NANO77TPA – now $999 (down from $1,399) LG 65″ 4K QNED 80 Series Smart TV 65QNED80SQA.AAU – now $2,199 (down from $2,499) LG 86″ 4K NanoCell Smart TV 86NANO86TPA – now $3,199 (down from $4,999) Save on Samsung smartphones and audio Nintendo Neon console now down to $399 Shop the full sale here. Take 46% off Everfit massage gun Image: Everfit Pummel away your aches and pains with this Everfit massage gun that’s now on sale for 46% off. With up to 30 different speed settings and six interchangeable heads, this massage gun will provide relief to your stiff muscles. Shop it here for $62.95 (down from $116.99). Save on Sennheiser audio Image: Sennheiser If you’re after some new headphones, may we interested you in a pair made by Sennheiser? One of the most cutting-edge headphone brands on the market, you’ll gain among the very best in audio quality and design with Sennheiser. Check out the best Sennheiser deals below: Sennheiser Over Ear Noise Cancelling Alexa Enabled Wireless Headphones – now $129 (down from $299) Sennheiser HD 599 Headphones – now $179 (down from $320) Sennheiser TV Listening Wireless Headphones – now $89 (down from $199) Sennheiser CX Plus True Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones – now $149 (down from $259.95) Sennheiser CX True Wireless Headphones – now $98.10 (down from $199) Shop the full sale here. Save $30.95 on Nintendo Switch Joy-Con controllers Image: Nintendo The thing about Joy-Con controllers is that sooner or later, they’re bound to drift. While there are plenty of games that can be played with a Pro controller instead, unfortunately some of the very best Switch games such as Switch Sports and Mario Party require a working Joy-Con. While Joy-Cons usually sell for a retail price of $119.95, you can grab a pair off Amazon right now for just $89. Shop your colour combination of choice here. 29% off this Hysure Air Dehumidifier Image: Hysure This is your reminder to go and check behind all of your furniture for mould after all that rain that’s been assailing the east coast lately. This Hysure dehumidifier is the perfect choice if you want to prevent any more icky mould from sprouting in the back of your wardrobe. It also doubles as a purifier thanks to its HEPA filter, which will ensure any harmful air pollutants are removed. Shop it here for $176.50 (down from $249.99). Save up to 20% on PS5 DualSense controllers Image: Sony If you’re not a fan of your PS5’s Stormtrooper vibe, you can bring a pop of colour by installing some bright face plates from its intergalactic range and its matching DualSense controllers to boot. All six of the original colours – White, Black, Red, Pink, Purple and Blue – are on sale now, thanks to the arrival of the brand new Gray Camo controller. Shop the range here for $95 (down from $119.95). Score $400 off the Dyson V12 Detect Slim Complete Vacuum Cleaner Image: Dyson V12 One of the most high-tech stick vacuums available is the Dyson V12 Detect Slim Complete, which is the perfect buy for those who suffer from seasonal allergies. Unlike most vacuums that just suck and go, this one has 10 accessories to ensure you don’t miss a speck of dust around your home. But its best feature is the fact that it has a laser that allows you to see invisible dust particles as you clean and an LCD screen that shows what’s been sucked up so you can have scientific proof of an efficient clean. To claim this discount, eBay Plus members will want to use the promo code PLUSV12DA at checkout. However, if you’ve yet to sign up for a Plus account, you can still save $200 on this elite stick vacuum. But keep in mind that Plus memberships are free for the first 30 days and from there, it’s just $4.99 a month – doesn’t sound like much of a stretch when you could save $400 in total. Shop it here for $949 with coupon (down from $1,349). Take $200 off this Dyson HP03 Pure Hot+Cool Link Purifier Heater Image: Dyson The Dyson Hot+Cool is an all-in-one fan, heater and purifier, and the perfect all-year round gadget. Not only will it keep you warm during those colder evenings, but come spring (a.k.a hayfever season), it’ll keep the air 99.95% free of pet dander, pollen and dust to stop those watery-eyed, sniffly allergies from dragging you down. Then, once summer arrives, you’ve already got a great quality fan at the ready to keep you nice and cool. Shop it here for $599 (down from $799). The Dyson Pure Cool Tower Fan is also on sale at the moment for $100 off, bringing it down to $499, if you’re interested in keeping cool this summer. Enjoy 36% off on our favourite AUTENS USB charging station Image: AUTENS We’re a little obsessed with this 8-port USB charging station. Not only will it allow you to charge eight devices at the same time, but it’ll also display each gadget’s charging status on its LED screen. Look forward to less cable management woes and more space around your wall sockets to power the things you need. Shop it here for $48.99 (down from $75.99).

Short Relief Bounce For Altcoins? If Crypto Marketcap Can Do This – NewsBTC https://dentoncountynewsonline.com/short-relief-bounce-for-altcoins-if-crypto-marketcap-can-do-this-newsbtc/ Cryptocurrency market capitalization could be ready to break out from the downtrend as price gears up for a short-term recovery creating more bullish sentiment for the altcoins. Cryptocurrency market capitalization looks strong on both low and high timeframes.  Cryptocurrency market capitalization prepares for a breakout on the daily timeframe after forming a descending triangle. The Crypto Marketcap had had a tough time regaining its hype when the crypto market cap was at its peak of over $2.8 trillion, with most crypto assets performing at their best. The crypto market capitalization also called the crypto market cap, takes in market data from a range of cryptocurrencies — including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Ripple (XRP), and EOSIO network (EOS) — to provide a fuller, real-time picture of how the crypto asset sector is performing. Crypto Market Capitalization Price Analysis On The Weekly Chart Weekly Total Market Cap Price Chart | Source: On Tradingview.com The new month has been a relief for most crypto projects, with altcoins such as BTC, ETH, and even XRP, with the market cap, continues to look promising ahead of a major rally.   With the market having a rally to an all-time of over $2.9 trillion, this positively impacted the price of altcoins and major assets as the market found itself in a blooming phase with so much euphoria. After hitting over $2.9 trillion market cap, the price declined from that region, acting as resistance or blown-off top as the price struggles to regain its form. It dropped to a region of $774 billion market cap seeing a huge sell-off in assets across the crypto market. The market cap bounced from its weekly low of $774 billion as the price rallied to a region of $1.17 before facing resistance to breaking above this region as the price retraced to $850 billion as the price formed a good support zone with what seemed to be a key demand zone for buy orders across the market. In recent weeks, the price of assets in the crypto market has not shown some strength as prices rally, showing some glimpses of relief bounce. Weekly resistance for the price of crypto market cap – $1.2T. Weekly support for the price of crypto market cap – $850T. Crypto Marketcap Analysis Of REN On The Daily (1D) Chart Daily Total Market Cap Price Chart | Source: On Tradingview.com On the daily timeframe, the crypto market cap price remains bullish, holding the support at $850 billion ($850B) as the price range in a descending triangle trying to break out.  The crypto market cap is currently trading at $930 billion, with the price holding above the 8 and 20-day Exponential Moving Averages (EMA) after breaking through resistance in this region.  If the market cap maintains its structure, we could see more relief rallies for all most crypto assets. Daily resistance for the crypto market cap price – $1.2 Trillion Daily support for the crypto market cap price – $850 Billion. Featured Image From zipmex, Charts From Tradingview

Asia-Pacific Markets Trade Higher After U.S. Stocks Rally For A Second Day – CNBC https://dentoncountynewsonline.com/asia-pacific-markets-trade-higher-after-u-s-stocks-rally-for-a-second-day-cnbc/ A man walks past the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE), operated by Japan Exchange Group Inc. (JPX), in Tokyo, Japan, on Monday, Nov. 30, 2020. Toru Hanai | Bloomberg via Getty Images Shares in the Asia-Pacific traded higher on Wednesday after U.S. stocks rallied for a second day. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index jumped 4.4% before paring some gains to trade at 3.8%, on its return to trade after a holiday Tuesday. The Hang Seng Tech index was 5.44% higher. The Nikkei 225 in Japan rose 0.52%, rising above the 27,000 level, while the Topix added 0.51%. In South Korea, the Kospi advanced 0.47% and the Kosdaq gave up early gains to fall 0.63%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was up 1.63. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 2.18%. On the economic front, inflation in South Korea slowed slightly in September, according to official data released Wednesday. Mainland China markets remain closed for the Golden Week holiday, and India’s market is also closed for a holiday. On Wall Street overnight, stocks soared overnight in the U.S. for a second session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 825.43 points, or 2.8%, to 30,316.32. The S&P 500 advanced nearly 3.1% to close at 3,790.93, and the Nasdaq Composite was 3.3% higher to end at 11,176.41. “There is no denying incoming U.S. economic data is having a hand in equity, bond and currency moves so far this week,” wrote Ray Attrill, head of FX strategy at National Australia Bank. The U.S. Job Openings and Labor Turnover report sprang a “big downside surprise” that couldn’t be ignored, he wrote. It’s the “first meaningful sign of some cracks” in the labor market, though it is still very tight, he added. — CNBC’s Tanaya Macheel and Alex Harring contributed to this report. CNBC Pro: This isn’t the market bottom, Morgan Stanley says, naming 3 things that have to happen first There’s unlikely to be a sustainable market bottom unless three conditions are met, according to Morgan Stanley. “We … remind readers that the last few innings of every bear market are very challenging to trade as volatility becomes extreme,” they wrote. “None of the conditions we have been looking for to call an end to this bear market are in place.” Pro subscribers can read more here. — Weizhen Tan South Korea inflation eased slightly in September Consumer prices in South Korea rose less than expected in September from a year ago, official data showed. The CPI print came in at 5.6%, compared with 5.7% that economists polled by Reuters predicted. Prices rose 5.7% in August. September’s reading marks a second month of softening in inflation, and the slowest growth in four months. — Abigail Ng Dollar index falls back to 110 One factor helping equity markets on Tuesday could be a slightly weaker dollar, which is falling for the fifth-straight day. The DXY US Dollar Currency Index was down 1.5% in afternoon trading at 110.06. The index was trading as high as 114.78 last week, when there was concern about a failure of the UK government bond market. The British pound and the euro were each more than 1% against the dollar on Tuesday. The greenback was also down against the Japanese yen. —Jesse Pound, Gina Francolla

Former Mine Sites In Southwest Virginia To Be Labs For Energy Technology Testbed – Cardinal News https://dentoncountynewsonline.com/former-mine-sites-in-southwest-virginia-to-be-labs-for-energy-technology-testbed-cardinal-news/ A first-of-its-kind “energy technology testbed” that will turn some of the 100,000 acres of former coal mining sites in Southwest Virginia into laboratories to promote energy innovation will be developed, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Tuesday. “The Energy DELTA Lab delivers on our vision to define Virginia as a force in energy innovation,” Youngkin said in a news release. “No other project like it exists in the United States. With this energy testbed, we see a commitment to transformation, encouragement for startup enterprises and support for the development of promising careers in exciting new fields.” The announcement came the day after the governor rolled out a new energy plan that called for innovation in energy technologies.The plan mentioned the Energy DELTA project. The initial site will be near the town of Pound in Wise County on property owned by the Cumberland Forest Limited Partnership and managed by the Nature Conservancy. The site will be used as a lab for advanced solar and energy storage, according to Will Payne, managing partner of Coalfield Strategies, the firm leading business development for the Energy DELTA Lab and InvestSWVA. The first site will likely not be up and running for at least two years, he said. A second site, also in Wise County, will be announced later this month, he added. “We currently have a number of projects in the due diligence phase related to both sites worth over a billion dollars,” Payne said Tuesday. Plans call for possible additional sites around the region. DELTA, which stands for discovery, education, learning and technology accelerator, has been four years in the making. It is a collaborative effort by the Virginia Department of Energy, the Southwest Virginia Energy Research and Development Authority, and its business development partner InvestSWVA. The DELTA initiative was developed through a $975,000 grant from the federal Abandoned Mine Land Economic Revitalization Program, which supports economic efforts by regions impacted by the downtown in the coal industry. Payne said DELTA will serve as a hub between landowners, prospects, utilities and broadband companies. He emphasized that the purpose of the effort is not just research and development, but job creation and economic development. He added that the land and its assets above and below the ground will be the lab – there will not be a traditional lab or classroom involved. Mike Quillen, who founded and was CEO of Alpha Natural Resources, is chair of the Energy DELTA Lab and the Southwest Virginia Energy Research and Development Authority. “The Energy DELTA Lab is a concept becoming reality in the most logical place for it to happen,” Quillen said. “Our work in being part of the global energy story is entering another chapter, encouraging a fresh look at energy production and what it means – and requires – to enjoy a successful career in the industry. Payne called Quillen the “godfather of Southwest Virginia,” and said he lends credibility to the project. The initial concept for the project was designed by Michael Karmis, former director of the Virginia Center for Coal and Energy Research, based on what Germany has done with its mine sites, Payne said. Further study of the concept was led by InvestSWVA and the LENOWISCO Planning District Commission through grants from the GO Virginia One Council and the U.S. Economic Development Administration. The region is ideal for research and development of energy technologies because in addition to the former coal mining sites, it has more than 9,000 gas wells, a number of mine cavities and water supplies, diverse terrain, mineral and underground resources, the release states. “The Energy DELTA Lab’s focus on leveraging legacy energy assets to develop new and innovate energy technologies can only happen in Southwest Virginia” Payne said. “This is just the beginning of the work we must do together to deliver on our vision to build a new, diversified economy in the region. And, with the Energy DELTA Lab as our vehicle, we can define Virginia as a hub of energy innovation in America.” The energy technologies mentioned include hydrogen, mine-based geothermal, innovative solar generation and advanced energy storage, including pumped-storage hydro. Also mentioned were small modular nuclear reactors, one of which the governor said Monday he hopes to deploy in Southwest Virginia over the next 10 years.

Butcher Shop Now Open In Argyle – The Cross Timbers Gazette https://dentoncountynewsonline.com/butcher-shop-now-open-in-argyle-the-cross-timbers-gazette/ A new custom butcher shop opened recently in Argyle. Z Bar Cattle Co. conducted a soft opening in late September in The Shops of Argyle at 100 Country Club Lane. The business plans to have a grand opening in the next couple weeks, after ironing out a few equipment issues, said owner Stephen Kirkland. Kirkland has been in the cattle business since 2008, after graduating from TCU. Zanzibar Cattle Co.’s ranch is located in Sunset. In 2016, the company began selling its own grass-fed, all natural, antibiotic-free beef. “That built upon itself, and pretty soon we realized that instead of selling at farmer’s markets half the year, we needed to sell all year round,” Kirkland said. Z Bar Cattle Co. opened its first location in Keller in 2019, and Kirkland said the company hopes to open a new location every few years because “multiple locations makes the ranch much more efficient,” he said. Argyle was specifically chosen for the business’ second store site. “Argyle is such a great place, if I didn’t live up at the ranch in Sunset, I would live in or around Argyle,” Kirkland said. “It’s got a little bit of a country feel and great people to be around.” The high-end angus beef, pork and chicken is sold in a friendly environment where customers are welcome to ask questions and learn more about where their food is coming from and what sets it apart from other meat markets. Custom length and weight of cuts are available, and employees can help customers find new favorites and recommend different ways to prepare their selections. “The main difference that sets us apart is our customer service,” Kirkland said. “People want a really good product and they want a relationship … Our prices might be a bit higher than some other places but I think certain types of customers are willing and understand a local product of real high quality is gonna cost a little bit more.” Z Bar Cattle Co. Argyle is closed Sundays and Mondays, and open every other day from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Click here for more information. Mark Smith Mark Smith is the Digital Editor of The Cross Timbers Gazette.

Vancouver Traveller Got Sick From Drinking Alcohol In Bali – Vancouver Is Awesome https://dentoncountynewsonline.com/vancouver-traveller-got-sick-from-drinking-alcohol-in-bali-vancouver-is-awesome/ A Vancouver couple had a nightmare experience in Bali after they drank alcohol that was laced with methanol.   Twenty-five-year-old Krauzby Rea and his fiancée, 24-year-old Amanda Mawdsley, travelled to the Indonesian province for a vacation in September. The couple had drinks at a resort with 4.5-star reviews and were trying to be careful about what they consumed.  Rea describes himself as an experienced traveller; he says always tries to gather safety advice for the places he’s going to. But he’d never heard of anyone experiencing methanol poisoning — particularly in a nice resort.  On their second night in Bali on Sept. 28, the couple each ordered a cocktail made with gin. They finished the drinks quickly because they wanted to watch a performance outside of the restaurant area of the resort.  “The performance lasted about 15 minutes and immediately after it ended I was in the bathroom violently puking,” Rea tells Vancouver Is Awesome.  While he was feeling terrible, Rea brushed it off at first; he thought he might have a bad case of what some travellers refer to as “Bali belly”: an upset stomach that travellers often get, which is caused by consuming foods, spices, and other things that aren’t part of their regular diet.  After continuing to feel awful, Rea started looking into his condition online. He found a Facebook group entitled “Just Don’t Drink Spirits In Bali” that described his symptoms and why he might be feeling them: methanol poisoning.  Horrified, the Canadian traveller contacted the group’s administrator, Simon, for more information on how he could prevent his symptoms from worsening. While there are a host of negative reactions to consuming methanol, the most severe are blindness and death, according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.  Simon’s advice might sound shocking, but Rea says it likely saved his life and his eyesight: drink more alcohol.  Bali vacation turns into a nightmare for Vancouver couple The following day the couple each drank several beers in an effort to stop or delay the progression of the methanol poisoning. Mawdsley also had some negative symptoms after she consumed the drink, but they were significantly milder. Still, she says she drank the alcohol out of an abundance of caution because they weren’t sure what had made her sick.  While most people would suggest visiting a hospital before hitting the bottle, the couple wasn’t offered a great deal of help from any of the local medical facilities.  “I ended up going to the hospital because I was in really rough shape,” he explains. “The first hospital didn’t treat me because they weren’t able to test or treat methanol poisoning.” Another hospital about an hour away also denied treating Rea for methanol poisoning, he says. While the second hospital provided him with IV fluids, vitamins, and nausea medication, Rea was very worried about his vision. Initially, he felt “completely drunk” halfway through consuming the poisoned drink. He felt drunk for roughly 15 hours after he ingested it but gradually started to feel sober, except for his eyesight. Rea describes his eyes feeling sore and having a headache, saying the pain had “gotten progressively worse.” The Vancouver couple flew to Seattle on Sunday night and drove back home, cutting their vacation short by about 10 days. An ophthalmologist told Rea that his eyes look completely fine but they will perform some follow-up tests.  While they are both thankful they figured out what was wrong via the Facebook group, Rea says the experience was terrifying.  “When I was going from the first hospital to the second one, I thought like, that was ‘it.’ Like I didn’t make it. I was feeling hopeless. I was blacking out in the vehicle, losing consciousness a lot,” he describes. “And it was to the point where I wrote a goodbye letter on my phone to send people…it was a close call, for sure.” While Rea’s experience was deeply traumatic, he is far from alone. In fact, instances like his aren’t uncommon, with numerous people sharing their experiences of methanol poisoning online. Tragically, many people have died from ingesting tainted alcohol.  Methanol poisoning incidents around the world  In a recent story, a 31-year-old Aussie traveller was photographed in a hospital bed with a bottle of Bacardi, attempting to reverse the effects of methanol poisoning. Between February 23 and May 2, 2020, there were a staggering 5,876 hospitalizations and at least 800 deaths as a result of a contaminated alcohol supply, according to National Geographic. Multiple cases have also been reported in Mexico, the Dominican Republic, and even the United States.

These Regions Have The Most Untapped Real Estate Potential – 69News WFMZ-TV https://dentoncountynewsonline.com/these-regions-have-the-most-untapped-real-estate-potential-69news-wfmz-tv/ Realm calculated untapped real estate potential in single-family homes to determine which U.S. Census regions have the most value. These regions have the most untapped real estate potential Updated 1 hr ago Some regions of the U.S. have had hotter housing markets than others, but inflation and higher interest rates have caused a general cooling-off trend in real estate prices. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, homebuilders primarily focused on the South due to relatively cheap land, fewer zoning restrictions, and growing demand for housing. However, changes in zoning laws and new economic developments in other regions may draw developers’ focus away from the South. As trends shift in new housing construction, there is another area in the housing market that shows untapped value in different regions: existing homes. To better understand where homeowners may have hidden real estate value, Realm compared different areas of the country by evaluating possible projects a house could complete, the return on investment associated with these projects, and home values. Looking at more than 88 million single-family homes as of September 2022 data, the research also compares regions by looking at current and potential home value as well as current and buildable square footage. The remaining buildable square feet is calculated by looking at zoning laws and current square feet for each property to determine how much additional space could be added. (Note that home values change based on a number of factors, so these numbers may be subject to changes.) Canva Regions with the most potential value from improvement projects or building additions Updated 1 hr ago The National Association of Realtors found that sales of houses are decreasing. In its Pending Home Sales Index released on Aug. 24, all of the country’s regions experienced double-digit decreases in the percentage of contract signings compared to the prior year. Housing inventory is on the rise, up 27% from last year. With homes taking longer to sell than in 2021 and interest rates on the rise, many would-be sellers are staying put. Home builders are also curbing their projects due to persistent pandemic-related supply chain issues that have increased building costs to the point where there aren’t enough buyers for new homes. For some homeowners, this has made it more appealing to add value to their existing homes rather than face the uncertainty of the housing market. Realm South Updated 1 hr ago – Median current value: $303,909 – Median current value per square foot: $179 – Median untapped potential value: $128,628 – Median untapped value per square foot: $59 Over 38% of residents live in the South, nearly 15% more than in the West, which is the next largest region in the country. Population growth is particularly high in Texas and Florida, and while people often flock there for warmer weather, these states are known for lower taxes and less regulation. Construction has also increased in the South. According to the Census Bureau, in 2021, over 917,000 housing permits were issued in the region, accounting for over half of all permits issued in the country. This year, although inflation and higher mortgage interest rates are cooling off the market, the South’s overall housing permits are still up 1.2%, about the same as the Midwest. Meanwhile, the Northeast and West saw negative growth of -3.1% and -1.4%, respectively. Trong Nguyen // Shutterstock Midwest Updated 1 hr ago – Median current value: $231,277 – Median current value per square foot: $162 – Median untapped potential value: $141,198 – Median untapped value per square foot: $79 In terms of population, the South’s gain has been the Midwest’s loss. From 2010 to 2020, the top four counties in terms of population loss all came from this region. However, several states in this region are gaining recognition as top places to do business, including Minnesota, Ohio, and Michigan, which could help reverse this trend. Ohio recently broke ground on a $20 billion Intel semiconductor manufacturing plant near Columbus, which will require 7,000 workers to build and employ 3,000 when it’s completed in 2025. Its presence is having a trickle-down effect as Intel suppliers aim to set up in the area as well. Some Midwest cities are showing resilience as the housing market slows down. Indianapolis is one that continues to be a target for buyers looking for affordability. Agnieszka Gaul // Shutterstock Northeast Updated 1 hr ago – Median current value: $392,583 – Median current value per square foot: $235 – Median untapped potential value: $167,116 – Median untapped value per square foot: $78 The Northeast has traditionally been an expensive real estate market. In fact, Massachusetts ranks third in the nation in terms of how much it costs to buy a home and it struggles to keep up with housing demand. However, change may be coming, as a new zoning law will mandate zones for multi-family housing in 175 communities serviced by Boston’s public transportation system. This law could spur development in this area. Vermont has also experienced growth during the pandemic: More people moved to Vermont than to any other state, according to a 2021 United Van Lines survey. haveseen // Shutterstock West Updated 1 hr ago – Median current value: $614,540 – Median current value per square foot: $365 – Median untapped potential value: $161,390 – Median untapped value per square foot: $109 The real estate market on the West Coast has generally been high for a number of reasons. High-paying jobs in the tech industry have encouraged people to relocate there, and a shortage in housing has driven up prices. Population-dense areas such as San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle are already highly developed, making building on new land remarkably expensive. In California, Proposition 13 and bureaucratic zoning laws also disincentivize new housing development. In recent years, mountain-area states have seen a boom as West Coasters move further inland to find more affordable real estate. Utah is one example of this boom, as it boasts strong job growth and low state and local taxes. Meanwhile, in housing-crunched California, new legislation may loosen some of the historic building restrictions, such as allowing some environmental reviews to be bypassed when building up to 10 homes in certain housing zones. And similar to a law passed in Oregon in 2019, California’s Senate Bill 9 permits property owners to build additional housing units on land zoned for single-family homes, which would allow homeowners to collect rent and increase their property value.  This story originally appeared on Realm and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio. Ekaterina Pokrovsky // Shutterstock Originally published on realmhome.com, part of the TownNews Content Exchange. If you know of local business openings or closings, please notify us here. PREVIOUS OPENINGS AND CLOSINGS – Monocacy Development will demolish an existing structure and put up a new building with 55 apartments and retail space on the first floor at 128 E. Third St. in Bethlehem.  – The Bethlehem Historic Conservation Commission approved materials and designs for ArtsQuest’s new cultural center at 25 W. Third St. in the city.  – The gangster-themed restaurant Capo & Co. in Emmaus held a ribbon-cutting last week for its speakeasy-style bar and restaurant. – An attraction that started in downtown Easton may go global, as Crayola said it has reached a licensing agreement for at least five more Crayola Experience venues over the next five years. – Curaleaf marijuana dispensary has taken the place of the old Chess N Checkers bar on Airport Road in Hanover Township, Lehigh County. – Ms. Velvet’s Café held a ribbon-cutting last week for the new restaurant in honor of owner Carlos Marrero’s sister Ruby, who died in 2017 after a hit-and-run accident.  – Pressed Bouquet, which preserves flowers in a variety of forms, recently held a ribbon-cutting with the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce. – The Bethlehem Township Board of Supervisors approved the subdivision plan for River Hills, a Kay Builders plan for 44 single-family dwellings and 36 multi-family units on 29 acres near Shannon Avenue.  – Bethlehem City Council delayed a decision on the certificate of appropriateness for Skyline West, a plan is for 40 apartments in a five-story building overlooking Monocacy Creek and the city’s Moravian industrial quarter. – The Pocono Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon-cutting for Ideal Property Management, a manager of vacation rental properties.  – The Palmerton branch of KeyBank on Delaware Avenue and the Sellersville branch on Main Street will close Dec. 2 as KeyBank and other companies move toward online finance. – The Quakertown-area theater Regal Cinemas in Richland Township has closed after its parent company, Cineworld, filed for bankruptcy. – Saint Rocco’s Treats, a Pipersville-based gourmet kitchen for dogs, will hold a ribbon-cutting Friday, Oct. 14 from noon to 1 p.m., in conjunction with the Upper Bucks County Chamber of Commerce. – Two diners on Route 22 in Warren County caught fire on the same day: Catch 22 and Key City Diner. – After 22 years, the casual restaurant Sullivan’s on the Main in Phillipsburg has been sold.