Virgilio Clapp

Altria Gets $2.7 Bln From Philip Morris For IQOS U.S. Sales Rights – Reuters.com https://bentoncountynewsnow.com/altria-gets-2-7-bln-from-philip-morris-for-iqos-u-s-sales-rights-reuters-com/ Oct 19 (Reuters) – U.S. cigarette maker Altria Group Inc on Wednesday said industry peer Philip Morris International Inc (PMI) (PM.N) has agreed to pay it $2.7 billion for the exclusive right to sell IQOS heated tobacco products in the United States. Altria in a statement said it has already received $1.0 billion from PMI and will receive the remainder by July 2023. The company had been selling IQOS in the United States through unit PM USA in partnership with the smoke-free product’s developer PMI under an agreement that was set to expire in 2024. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com “Upon achieving additional milestones, PM USA had the option to renew for an additional five-year term through April 2029. We believe that PM USA met each of these milestones, but PMI disagreed with our position,” Altria said. Philip Morris, which was spun off from Altria in 2008, did not respond to a request for comment outside of business hours. The company will report its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, whereas Altria will report its earnings on Oct. 27. IQOS devices differ from traditional combustible cigarettes in that they heat tobacco-filled sticks wrapped in paper, generating an aerosol that contains nicotine. They are different from e-cigarettes such as those from Juul, which vaporize a nicotine-filled liquid. Separately, Philip Morris plans to raise its $16 billion offer for Swedish Match AB (SWMA.ST), the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday citing people familiar with the matter. The new offer is likely to be announced as soon as Thursday, the newspaper said. Activist investor Elliott Management, which raised its stake in Swedish Match last month, plans to oppose the bid under its current terms along with some other investors. read more Swedish Match did not respond to a Reuters request for comment outside of business hours. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Reporting by Anirudh Saligrama and Deborah Sophia in Bengaluru; Editing by Stephen Coates and Christopher Cushing Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

1,500 Poor Households To Get Technology Boost | News – Jamaica Gleaner https://bentoncountynewsnow.com/1500-poor-households-to-get-technology-boost-news-jamaica-gleaner/ Flow Jamaica will start providing bundled package Internet, laptops and training at a subsidised rate to selected poor households as a means of spurring economic and social development.  The pilot will initially supply 1,500 households across Jamaica. The data gathered from the pilot will inform Flow on steps to widen the project. Households will pay $800 a month for the service worth at least five times more at market rates.   “The pilot will be rolling out in days,” stated Stephen Price, vice president and general manager at Flow Jamaica, at the launch on Wednesday at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in New Kingston.   Headlines Delivered to Your Inbox The households will receive devices, particularly a HP laptop, Internet connectivity and digital skills training. Educational entities OneonOne Limited, an online platform, and the Caribbean School of Data, with its implementing partner Mona School of Business, will provide the training.  “From a cost perspective we are sharing the partnership in terms of education fees and digital literacy fees,” said Price in the question-and-answer session.  Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government issued some 40,000 laptops to students as a means of allowing them to conduct classes remotely. It was aimed at stemming the spread of the virus.   The Flow project, called Jump, aims to hone in on vulnerable households that are likely to continue to fall behind in connectivity and education. Price said that overtime he expects it to increase graduation rates, jobs, financial inclusion and overall economic growth.  “Jump is our new programme to bridge the digital divide,” he said and later explained about measuring the uptake and usage of the devices. “We will be measuring success at every stage. So, we have a mark for three-months, six-months and so on, just to make sure we are collecting the data as we go,” said Price.  The launch was endorsed by Karl Samuda, Minister of Labour and Social Security, and Daryl Vaz, Minister of Science, Energy and Technology. The 1,500 households will be chosen from a list under the Government’s Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH) programme.   Steven.jackson@gleanerjm.com Follow The Gleaner on Twitter and Instagram @JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @GleanerJamaica. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com or editors@gleanerjm.com.

Student Walking To School Escapes Suspect Who Grabbed Them – Newstalk870.am https://bentoncountynewsnow.com/student-walking-to-school-escapes-suspect-who-grabbed-them-newstalk870-am/ Just after 2 PM Wednesday, October 19th, the Kennewick School District released an alert to parents.    Student walking to Park Middle School grabbed by man but escapes The KSD reported in their release, sent by way of their Parent Square App, that around 11:46 AM a student was walking west on West 10th near South Benton Street when a man driving a blue van pulled up and tried to grab the student. The location is less than 1,500 feet east of the school. The student was headed to Park Middle School. Park Middle School (google street view) Park Middle School (google street view) loading… They were able to break free and run away. The student then reported the incident to staff and the KSD school resource officer. The student was not hurt, and KSD says additional patrols are being run in the area, especially in areas where students are known to walk heading home after school. The KSD said more information is expected to be released by Kennewick Police regarding the investigation. No other description of the vehicle has yet been released. 25 True Crime Locations: What Do They Look Like Today? Below, find out where 25 of the most infamous crimes in history took place — and what the locations are used for today. (If they’ve been left standing.)

Have You Been Priced Out Of Hawaii Vacations Too? – Beat Of Hawaii https://bentoncountynewsnow.com/have-you-been-priced-out-of-hawaii-vacations-too-beat-of-hawaii/ You’ve said it thousands of times in the comments. And we hear you. The cost of Hawaii vacations has jumped tremendously. We just experienced this ourselves on last week’s visit to the Big Island. The price of the same accommodations rose about 300% over pre-Covid. Wow. At the same time, interisland airfare plummeted to $39 each way. The increases in the cost of Hawaii vacations are across the entire range of trip expenses. It includes transportation (and especially car rentals), hotels, food, and Hawaii activities. We’d go so far as to say that Hawaii vacations have become synonymous with being expensive and are best compared with international vacation costs rather than with domestic ones. It is said that Americans tend to budget about 2% of their annual budget on vacations. That is according to the latest federal government statistics. But Hawaii is in a league by itself, and those budgets are now out the window in most cases. How we saved on our Hawaii vacation on the Big Island. Instead of booking massages for $300 or more at the hotel spa, we both opted for the Hokulani Massage Academy in Waimea, where apprentice massage rates are $45 for an hour and a professional hour-long massage is $75. We also asked for a microwave at our hotel to enjoy lanai dining from the grocery store rather than an expensive eat-out meal every single night. With that said, we did splurge and ate at the Canoe House one night, which we enjoyed thoroughly and will perhaps review based on the food, location, ambiance, and creativity. Another savings was checking and rechecking the prices of car rentals before our trip. We wrote about that experience specifically in We Saved Extra 25% On Hawaii Car Rental. It Wasn’t Costco. We also had sticker shock trying to get an Uber at one point. The 12-mile trip was first priced at $179, and we’ll let you know what happened to that in another humorous yet telltale article. So while airfare and hotel prices may or may not fluctuate, you can save on activities and dining by being creative and doing online research. If you have any tips on how you saved on your Hawaii vacation, please share them with others in the comments below, since prices have soared to new records. What is today’s average cost of a moderate 7-night Hawaii vacation for two? Accommodations: $2,800 (that is at the economy end of the scale). Air transportation: $1,200 (may be more or less depending on location). Car rental: $800 (varies significantly by season and other factors). Food and beverages: $1,400 (with one moderate main meal out daily). Total estimated average cost: $6,200 per week. Due to the cost of airfare to travel from 2,500 to 5,000 miles and the highest accommodation cost in the U.S., Hawaii vacations are unlike most domestic trips. The total costs can vary greatly by how you travel, where you stay and eat, and what you do. Older Hawaii vacationers tend to spend more. We’ve seen estimates that those who are retired or near retirement spend up to 4x more on Hawaii vacations than those in their 20s for example. Will you now shun Hawaii for more affordable vacations? Hawaii vacation costs here have escalated more rapidly than we see elsewhere. Take even restaurants, for example. They have raised their prices due to food, supplies, shipping, insurance, and fuel costs. That is probably the truth, given what we see here at Costco and other stores here in Hawaii. Prices have risen more here than elsewhere. In part, that is due to the distance that everything needs to travel to get to Hawaii. How hard is it for Hawaii tourism businesses to attract and retain employees? Then there’s the cost of people. It is extremely hard to attract employees to the Hawaii travel industry after Covid. And that problem doesn’t seem to be improving. We still find businesses suddenly closed when adequate staffing doesn’t show up to work. Higher airfares are coming too, except for these specific routes. The cost of flights to Hawaii is on the rise. Economy airfares to Hawaii have risen less, whereas extra legroom and business class have risen far more. These premium offerings have risen in price by on average more than 100% since pre-Covid, based on our own checking. The exception to airfare increases is on those routes where extreme competition between Hawaiian and Southwest continues to suppress price increases. That includes Hawaii flights from California cities and interisland flights primarily. On those routes, it is still easy to find Hawaii airfares of about $300 RT, or less, including all taxes and fees. In that case, for two people, the average cost might be at or below $600. Start Hawaii trip planning with Hawaii hotels to find any value options. Since Hawaii hotel rates are the highest in the US, start looking for value options there before purchasing airfare. Revenge travel, post-pandemic, allowed those rates to rise to levels never seen before. In your editors’ visit to the Big Island this week, we found that hotel rates had risen multiple times since last being there pre-Covid. For example, we once wrote about staying at the oceanfront Kona Tiki Hotel on Big Island, when it was $69 a night. When checking rates today, that same room starts at $309 nightly for a two-star budget hotel. Up on the Kohala coast, oceanfront resorts have gone up in price by hundreds of percent. Hawaii hotels/vacation rentals are the number one expense. This can now cost at least five times more than Hawaii airfare. With the highest hotel accommodation rates in the U.S., accommodation for an average 7-night Hawaii vacation, including all taxes and fees, is likely to amount to $3,000 or more. And if you’re heading to Maui, keep in mind that Wailea hotels are still getting daily rates in the range of $1,000. So you can expect a 7-nighter with taxes and fees to run you $8,500 or more. Those estimates are conservative too. We recently checked rates at South Maui properties for January and found Andaz, and Four Seasons, for example, starting at nearly $2,000 per night. Lower-end properties, such as Aston Maui Hill, were asking $1,098 in January. Remember that Hawaii hotels have dynamic pricing and tend to adjust prices daily and seasonally. Ever considered the 7-night NCL Cruise visiting four islands? The current price starts at $1,449 per person and includes your room, dining, entertainment, Wi-Fi, and free ground excursions. Your editors have done this cruise twice and highly recommend it. When you add up the cost of a 7-night vacation for two, this is an attractive option to save money and visit Big Island, Oahu, Maui, and Kauai. Plus it’s just a lot of fun. Have you tried buying a lei in Hawaii lately? This is just another example of costs that have gone through the roof. The cost of flowers in Hawaii has become extreme. Once ubiquitous and cheap, flowers are hard to come by. Also likely due to the lack of labor for island flower farming. We also opted out of purchasing a beach towel at our Big Island hotel, which was $117 with tax. Seriously? Now it’s your turn to comment. Have you been surprised by the costs in Hawaii? What have you done to save money? Disclosure: We receive a small commission on purchases from some of the links on Beat of Hawaii. These links cost you nothing and provide income necessary to offer our website to you. Mahalo! Privacy Policy and Disclosures. %

Piramal Pharma Falls 4.98 Pc After Listing | Business News – The Indian Express https://bentoncountynewsnow.com/piramal-pharma-falls-4-98-pc-after-listing-business-news-the-indian-express/ PPL includes Piramal Pharma Solutions (PPS), an integrated contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO), Piramal Critical Care (PCC), a complex hospital generics business and the India consumer healthcare business, selling over-the-counter (OTC) products. Piramal Pharma Ltd, which listed its shares on the stock exchanges on Wednesday, closed down by 4.98 per cent at Rs 191.75 on the BSE. As part of the demerger process, four equity shares of face value of Rs 10 each fully paid up of Piramal Pharma will be issued and allotted for every one share of face value of Rs 2 held in Piramal Enterprises. “The simplification of the corporate structure will unlock greater shareholder value. PPL is well poised to be a global Indian brand in the pharmaceutical space. It has an integrated business model, niche product offerings and a global team to deliver responsible growth in the future,” said Ajay Piramal, Chairman of Piramal Group. In June 2020, PPL signed an agreement with The Carlyle Group Inc. to invest growth equity capital for a 20% stake in Piramal Pharma. Accordingly, the pharmaceuticals business was vertically demerged from Piramal Enterprises Ltd (PEL). In October 2021, the board of directors of PEL approved the demerger of the pharmaceuticals business and simplification of the corporate structure to transform PEL from being a multi-sector conglomerate to two separate sector-focused listed entities in financial services and pharmaceuticals. PPL includes Piramal Pharma Solutions (PPS), an integrated contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO), Piramal Critical Care (PCC), a complex hospital generics business and the India consumer healthcare business, selling over-the-counter (OTC) products. In addition, it has a joint venture with Allergan, a leader in ophthalmology in the Indian formulations market. First published on: 20-10-2022 at 04:16:47 am

Straight To The Point | Living It | Stlamerican.com – St. Louis American https://bentoncountynewsnow.com/straight-to-the-point-living-it-stlamerican-com-st-louis-american/ Kelly McGowan, a self-proclaimed health advocate, talks about the legislation of local St. Louis politics in her animated series Straight Facts. The St. Louis city resident isn’t shy about sharing her concerns, dislikes, or downright disdain for some of our elected officials or their policies.  Straight Talks sheds light on how our local government contributes to many of the things that go on in our neighborhoods. For example, development projects, zoning, the closing of our schools, or the opening of liquor stores in our communities.  She helped develop a wellness program aimed at making sure that Black and brown communities are engaging in healthy behaviors for the Missouri Foundation for Health initiative Healthy Schools Healthy Communities. It illuminated many of our region’s problems that are beyond access to healthy food options for poor Black and brown neighborhoods.  “I realized through that experience that local government impacts how our environment, and communities are designed,” said McGowan.  Straight Facts encourages residents to attend municipal and St. Louis County Council meetings, and McGowan believes that access to local government can be difficult – especially for everyday people. Straight Facts breaks down jargon and “lets the people know what’s going down.”  Straight Facts creator Kelly McGowan sitting in front of St. Louis City Hall where the idea for the series started Fri. Oct. 14, 2022. Photo by Wiley Price | The St. Louis American During her work with MFH initiative, McGowan visited north county communities and school districts including Riverview Gardens, Normandy, and Ferguson-Florissant.  She noted “how much red tape and hoops” she had to jump through to get free programs addressing healthy eating incorporated in many north county municipalities. “The fragmentation in north county was eye-opening for me,” said McGowan.  Bordering municipalities don’t collaborate, she said. This created many barriers and challenges, slowing progress on her work.  After ending her time with the Missouri Foundation For Health she immersed herself in talking with the locals about their thoughts and feelings about the eclectic officials in our region.  She heard concerns that many residents do not have enough time to engage in politics, and residents needed more explanation about zoning, development projects, legislation, and board bills.  McGowan listened to recordings of public meetings and wondered how she could get this information to the public in a way that is easily understood. The Straight Facts concept was born. “The process to get the series up and running took over a year, but it was a real labor of love,” said McGowan.  The animated series made its debut in September at the Contemporary Art Museum, and the creator says it is “a conversation starter to get people to start asking questions, start calling these politicians out,” said McGowan.  The first season included five-episodes, and covered former and current local elected officials. McGowan hopes viewers walk away feeling empowered and “revved up to make a difference, and address their complaints and concerns.” “If we show up collectively actively we can make something shake,” she said.  “I want everybody and their mama to see [Straight Facts],” she said. “Too many of our elected officials feel like ‘who gon check me boo?’ and it’s time we start checking them. They work for us.  She is hoping viewers check out the show on YouTube, in particular high school students. She hopes to partner with St. Louis Public Schools to see how she can collaborate with them on how to incorporate Straight Facts into their curriculum.  “We have to be very intentional about nurturing our students and providing them with the tools to learn more about local government. Teaching them the importance of advocacy. I want to make sure young minds have the right information,” said McGowan.  You can find Straight Facts on Youtube under Kelly McG314. Ashley Winters is the Report for America reporter for the St. Louis American

Minor Injuries In Three-Vehicle Accident | News, Sports, Jobs – Evening Observer https://bentoncountynewsnow.com/minor-injuries-in-three-vehicle-accident-news-sports-jobs-evening-observer/ A three-vehicle accident led to minor injuries on Wednesday afternoon in the town of Dunkirk. At about 3:13 p.m., Chautauqua County sheriff’s deputies responded to Vineyard Drive for a reported motor vehicle accident with personal injury. Upon arrival patrols located three vehicles involved. An investigation at the scene alleged that 31-year-old Jonathan Gonzalez Colon of Dunkirk was traveling east and rear ended a vehicle that was stopped at a red light. This vehicle then struck another vehicle that was also stopped at the red light. Gonzalez Colon was found to be driving with a suspended license, following too closely and using speed not reasonable and prudent for the road conditions. A passenger in Gonzalez’s vehicle was transported to the hospital for minor injuries. Gonzalez Colon was issued traffic citations and will answer the charges in the town of Dunkirk court at a later date and time. Patrols were assisted at the scene by Alstar EMS and East Dunkirk Fire Department. Today’s breaking news and more in your inbox

Will The Gulf’s Metaverse Gamble Pay Off? – Scoop Empire https://bentoncountynewsnow.com/will-the-gulfs-metaverse-gamble-pay-off-scoop-empire/ Saudi Arabia has invested billions into metaverse technologies and included the metaverse as a vital component of its ambitious NEOM city project. The UAE has likewise made heavy investments and the country’s Ministry of Economy has even opened an office in the virtual world. However, the promise of a new digital economy to aid the region’s transition away from a reliance on oil has so far been built on the conceptual framework of the metaverse, which has continued to elude any concrete definition. Despite massive investments and the utopian promises of its proponents, serious doubts have begun to emerge about the feasibility of the project as a whole, especially in regards to the belief that it has the ability to reshape the global economy. As the NFT and cryptocurrency markets crash and many who have ventured into the metaverse for work or play report underwhelming and headache-inducing experiences, many are increasingly asking the question, what’s the point of the metaverse? The Arab World Invests Big in the Metaverse In a symbolic move representing how seriously the UAE is taking the metaverse, the country’s Ministry of Economy during the Dubai Metaverse Assembly announced that it had invested in metaverse real estate to host the ministry’s digital headquarters. According to Khaleej Times, during the event, Minister Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri announced that, “with advanced physical and digital infrastructure, the UAE can build on its position as a gateway for global trade to become a digital export centre and a leading metaverse economy.” The announcement by the UAE’s Ministry of Economy shortly followed Dubai’s Crown Prince Shiekh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum announcing the Dubai Metaverse Strategy. As a world first, the comprehensive plan ambitiously aims to add $4 billion a year to the emirate’s economy by 2030, in addition to adding 40,000 virtual jobs. To encourage a digital economy, the UAE also set up the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority and approved a whole host of laws relating to virtual asserts. This attempt to attract investments and confidence in the UAE’s metaverse project and for cryptocurrencies to increasingly turn to Dubai, was a world first. The emirate of Ajman in the UAE experimented with the metaverse in a bid to improve its police services. Several officers from one of the emirate’s police stations were trained on how to use virtual reality goggles and were tasked with meeting residents in the metaverse and responding to their queries. Reported by local officials as being a success, Ajman claims to have plans to expand the program to all police stations across the country and to slowly include other government services. Not addressed, however, was why putting on a pair of VR goggles and logging into the metaverse to get your question answered by a police officer was either better or more convenient than just calling on the telephone. Qatar has similarly been no stranger to efforts to incorporate the metaverse as an important part of its economy. In a world first, Warba Bank became the first bank run on Islamic principles to enter the metaverse. Qatar University similarly followed suit and became the world’s first university to enter the metaverse. Turning to Saudi Arabia, as part of its economic restructuring plan, $6.4 billion has been set aside for investments into advanced technologies, many of which depend on metaverse and blockchain technologies. NEOM city is set to have a virtual city alongside the physical one, with NEOM Tech & Digital Company having just been given a billion dollars by the central government to launch its own metaverse. Private initiatives have also tried to experiment with the metaverse, with one advertising agency organising celebrations for Saudi National Day virtually on the metaverse. A Storm Brewing in the Metaverse? Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar have ridden the wave of metaverse enthusiasm, undoubtedly driven by predictions by McKinsey & Company that the sector will generate up to $5 trillion by 2030 in an opportunity described by the global management consultancy as “too big for companies to ignore”. However, critics are increasingly arguing that the metaverse, which proponents claim is “too big for companies to ignore”, may instead be too good to be true. Continuing to avoid definition or a clear summary of its benefits and workings, the metaverse has also in its early stages failed to impress upon a large range of users its real use or value. With the undefined future digital economy being such a large part of the development plans of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE and such large amounts of money in the region already being invested in the sector, whether the metaverse comes to fruition is of great importance. NFTs, or non-fungible token, which are proposed as being an important part of the ownership structure in the metaverse, have undergone a significant drop in value. With both the amount of sales going down by 92% and average price of sales for NFTs now a quarter of what they once where, the market is undergoing a drastic dip following the previous hype around the digital assets. Many critics have been pointing to examples of how the massively reduced resell value of NFTs is revealing how NFT valuation was built almost completely on hot air. For example, the listing of an NFT of the world’s first ever tweet, went from a list price of $48 million to only receiving a top bid of around $13,000. Considering the owner originally paid $2.9 million for the NFT, this incredible loss in value raises serious questions as to the viability of the use of NFTs in the metaverse, let alone proposing they form an important part of a nation’s economy, as proposed by Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The plunge in NFT prices have been mirrored by a collapse in the metaverse’s real estate market. Bringing to light the question of how the virtual world really relates to the physical world in terms of actual value, virtual mansions brought almost for the same price as actual mansions are now worth a mere 20% of their previous value, according to WeMeta. Considering that the metaverse is presented as an important part of the world’s future economy by its proponents, market volatility and false valuations leaving investors empty handed are the opposite of the type of market confidence that successful economies require. The virtual world has also unfortunately brought parts of the real world that would be best left behind. In a depressingly common occurrence mentioned by numerous female journalists exploring the metaverse, sexual harassment is rife. With various metaverse platforms enabling hand gestures, groping and lewd gestures have also become part of this new world. Worryingly, reporters have also posed as children on several metaverse platforms and were very quickly subject to grooming attempts by adults. This widely reported phenomenon puts the metaverse’s claim to being an inclusive place into serious doubt and raises serious concern for the safety of women and children. How and if this can be properly policed is a difficult question to answer, and presents serious problems for Saudi’s NEOM project trying to introduce virtual citizenship as an important part of city life for its residents. Away from the serious economic and social problems plaguing the metaverse, there’s also the question of whether people actually like using the platform. With Meta’s Horizon platform receiving numerous complaints about glitches and how awkward it can make social interactions, the platform has only attracted around 200,000 monthly users. Considering the amount of money invested and promotion of the platform, these low numbers when compared to Meta’s other platforms puts doubt on the feasibility of people and businesses adopting to transition to the metaverse for both work and leisure. The notion of the metaverse and associated technologies like blockchain and NFTs are undoubtedly coming under increasing scrutiny and going through a turbulent period. However, many explain these as necessary growing pains for a growing technology that has yet to be properly or even understood. While there is an argument to be made that the internet similarly went through a slow, steady, and sometimes tumultuous growing period, and likewise avoided a substantial definition for many years. Whether the metaverse as a concept will emerge along with the development of the technology itself and its real value and uses make themselves apparent over time is still yet to be seen. However, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE show no signs of slowing down on their drive to create a new virtual economy and social life based on the metaverse and are continuing full steam ahead. WE SAID THIS: Don’t Miss… Good News, Pilgrims! Saudi Is Taking Hajj And Umrah To The Metaverse

Cool Holiday Gifts For Dads In 2022 – CNET https://bentoncountynewsnow.com/cool-holiday-gifts-for-dads-in-2022-cnet/ This story is part of Gift Guide, our year-round collection of the best gift ideas. The holidays are fast approaching, and if you’re looking for a gift to show dad how much you care, you’ve come to the right place. Your favorite elves at CNET have compiled a gift list for every kind of dad this holiday season. Whether he’s a sporty dad, techy dad, culinary dad, outdoorsy dad… or any other kind of dad, there’s probably something here that he would love to open on Christmas morning or a Hanukkah evening. And it doesn’t matter if you have $20 to spend on Pops or $220 — you can be sure that these vetted gifts will “wow” at the family gift exchange. We’ve got sought-after brands and trendy gifts on this list, including new gadgets, cozy clothing, gifts just for fun and practical presents that serve a purpose. Check out the surefire suggestions below and see which one jumps out at you. Perhaps it’s the beer dispenser? Or the cool joggers? Hopefully you’ll have soon checked another gift off your shopping list — just don’t forget to wrap it. n “,”topic”:””,”ttag”:””,”searchDim”:”article-body|listicle|image”,”variant”:”article-body|listicle|image”,”viewguid”:””,”event”:”listicle|image|1″,”correlationId”:””,”_destCat”:”https://www.therabody.com/us/en-us/mini-us.html”,”productName”:”Theragun Mini”,”formatType”:”IMAGE”,”location”:”LIST”,”position”:1,”sku”:””,”dwLinkTag”:”article-body|listicle|image”,”selector”:”#article-body #listicle-a087bb83-dbce-43da-afa7-067c6225d597 .itemImage”}}” data-omitnoreferrer=”http://www.cnet.com/” href=”https://theragun.xibx.net/c/159047/617418/10041?&sharedId=cnet&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.therabody.com%2Fus%2Fen-us%2Fmini-us.html&subId1=cn-___COM_CLICK_ID___-dtp___OPTOUT___” rel=”noopener nofollow” target=”_blank” David Carnoy/CNET Maybe you’ve eyed pricey Theragun massagers (which we’re big fans of, by the way) but haven’t pulled the trigger. The affordable Mini size is here to change that — and fulfill your holiday shopping needs. With the Theragun Mini, Dad can knead his sore muscles using three different speeds. The ergonomic handle is easier to use than a bulkier, bigger massage gun and reduces wrist strain. The Theragun Mini provides 150 minutes of battery life and it’s actually quiet, making it nicely portable. The new fourth generation is available in black, dusty rose, white and red. n “,”topic”:””,”ttag”:””,”searchDim”:”article-body|listicle|image”,”variant”:”article-body|listicle|image”,”viewguid”:””,”event”:”listicle|image|2″,”correlationId”:””,”_destCat”:”https://vuoriclothing.com/products/sunday-performance-jogger-forest-heather?”,”productName”:”Vuori Sunday Performance Jogger”,”formatType”:”IMAGE”,”location”:”LIST”,”position”:2,”sku”:””,”dwLinkTag”:”article-body|listicle|image”,”selector”:”#article-body #listicle-e2b5ea64-db9b-4422-b2d0-fe347e5bdf4d .itemImage”}}” data-omitnoreferrer=”http://www.cnet.com/” href=”https://vuoriclothing.com/products/sunday-performance-jogger-forest-heather?” rel=”noopener nofollow” target=”_blank” Vuori Athleisure brand Vuori has taken dads by storm with its comfortable performance wear. Most notable: the Sunday Performance Jogger, a favorite for its relaxed yet tapered cut. This pant goes from the home office to school pickup to the grocery store and everywhere in between. They’re available in 10 different colors, and the dad in your life will want to collect them all. n “,”topic”:””,”ttag”:””,”searchDim”:”article-body|listicle|image”,”variant”:”article-body|listicle|image”,”viewguid”:””,”event”:”listicle|image|3″,”correlationId”:””,”_destCat”:”https://www.amazon.com/ZWILLING-J-Henckels-Gourmet-Stainless/dp/B0758JZBL6″,”productName”:”Zwilling Gourmet 8-inch Chefu0027s Knife”,”formatType”:”IMAGE”,”location”:”LIST”,”position”:3,”sku”:””,”dwLinkTag”:”article-body|listicle|image”,”selector”:”#article-body #listicle-ef939060-54d3-437a-9dfb-fdc025f1c6c0 .itemImage”}}” data-omitnoreferrer=”http://www.cnet.com/” href=”https://assoc-redirect.amazon.com/g/r/https://www.amazon.com/ZWILLING-J-Henckels-Gourmet-Stainless/dp/B0758JZBL6?tag=cnet-buy-button-20&ascsubtag=___COM_CLICK_ID___%7C___VIEW_GUID___%7Cdtp” rel=”noopener nofollow” target=”_blank” David Priest/CNET J.A. Henckels’ Zwilling Gourmet 8-inch Chef’s knife is CNET’s top pick for the best midprice chef’s knife — one you don’t need to spend hundreds of dollars on, but still feels good in your hand. Dad can slice and dice meat and veggies with ease thanks to this knife’s ergonomic polymer handle. And the large blade means it can tackle most kitchen tasks. n “,”topic”:””,”ttag”:””,”searchDim”:”article-body|listicle|image”,”variant”:”article-body|listicle|image”,”viewguid”:””,”event”:”listicle|image|4″,”correlationId”:””,”_destCat”:”https://www.parksproject.us/collections/candles”,”productName”:”Parks Project candle”,”formatType”:”IMAGE”,”location”:”LIST”,”position”:4,”sku”:””,”dwLinkTag”:”article-body|listicle|image”,”selector”:”#article-body #listicle-dcb6ee09-8f12-4581-a141-90c038993681 .itemImage”}}” data-omitnoreferrer=”http://www.cnet.com/” href=”https://www.parksproject.us/collections/candles” rel=”noopener nofollow” target=”_blank” Parks Project If the dad on your holiday list loves the great outdoors, this Yosemite National Park Lodgepole Pine candle is a great gift idea that will light his fire. Pine, granite, meadow dew and fresh chopped wood scents mix and mingle in this popular Parks Project gift. The 11.6-ounce candle has an 80-hour burn time.  n “,”topic”:””,”ttag”:””,”searchDim”:”article-body|listicle|image”,”variant”:”article-body|listicle|image”,”viewguid”:””,”event”:”listicle|image|5″,”correlationId”:””,”_destCat”:”https://theathletic.com/checkout/?type=gift”,”productName”:”The Athletic”,”formatType”:”IMAGE”,”location”:”LIST”,”position”:5,”sku”:””,”dwLinkTag”:”article-body|listicle|image”,”selector”:”#article-body #listicle-447993ee-9eef-4d98-a74c-e294877ec3fc .itemImage”}}” data-omitnoreferrer=”http://www.cnet.com/” href=”https://theathletic.com/checkout/?type=gift” rel=”noopener nofollow” target=”_blank” Ezra Shaw/Getty Images If your dad is a sports fanatic who loves to keep up with his favorite pro or college sports teams, you can always get him a subscription to The Athletic, which covers basketball, football, soccer, baseball, hockey, mixed martial arts, auto racing, rugby, cricket and more. There are currently three subscription tiers for gifting: $30 for three months, $72 for one year and $100 for two years.  n “,”topic”:””,”ttag”:””,”searchDim”:”article-body|listicle|image”,”variant”:”article-body|listicle|image”,”viewguid”:””,”event”:”listicle|image|6″,”correlationId”:””,”_destCat”:”https://www.amazon.com/Fizzics-DraftPour-Beer-Dispenser-Nitro-Style/dp/B07G5NQ5B7/”,”productName”:”Fizzics DraftPour”,”formatType”:”IMAGE”,”location”:”LIST”,”position”:6,”sku”:””,”dwLinkTag”:”article-body|listicle|image”,”selector”:”#article-body #listicle-11acc92e-f2ab-4561-92f3-981c45dfce83 .itemImage”}}” data-omitnoreferrer=”http://www.cnet.com/” href=”https://assoc-redirect.amazon.com/g/r/https://www.amazon.com/Fizzics-DraftPour-Beer-Dispenser-Nitro-Style/dp/B07G5NQ5B7/?tag=cnet-buy-button-20&ascsubtag=___COM_CLICK_ID___%7C___VIEW_GUID___%7Cdtp” rel=”noopener nofollow” target=”_blank” Fizzics The Fizzics DraftPour makes any beer better by converting natural carbonation into microfoam, which gives beer the aroma and flavor you usually only get from a bar tap. The beer dispenser works with most beer cans and bottles, and any type of beer: lagers, IPAs, ambers, porters and more. n “,”topic”:””,”ttag”:””,”searchDim”:”article-body|listicle|image”,”variant”:”article-body|listicle|image”,”viewguid”:””,”event”:”listicle|image|7″,”correlationId”:””,”_destCat”:”https://www.amazon.com/Starter-Set-Dragons-Stormwreck-Isle/dp/B09V84WNPK”,”productName”:”D&D Starter Kit: Dragons of Stormwreck Isle”,”formatType”:”IMAGE”,”location”:”LIST”,”position”:7,”sku”:””,”dwLinkTag”:”article-body|listicle|image”,”selector”:”#article-body #listicle-4b02e2ae-45c2-4141-a6e9-a5121846e40c .itemImage”}}” data-omitnoreferrer=”http://www.cnet.com/” href=”https://assoc-redirect.amazon.com/g/r/https://www.amazon.com/Starter-Set-Dragons-Stormwreck-Isle/dp/B09V84WNPK?tag=cnet-buy-button-20&ascsubtag=___COM_CLICK_ID___%7C___VIEW_GUID___%7Cdtp” rel=”noopener nofollow” target=”_blank” Wizards of the Coast If dad has always wanted to try out D&D but never got a chance, this starter kit is the perfect gift. As CNET’s James Bricknell says, “I’m an avid tabletop gamer and I love giving these starter kits out to friends and family. So many people want to learn about Dungeons and Dragons but don’t know where to begin. This box has everything you need to start your first adventure.” Imagination is the key to a good D&D campaign, but you also need rules and dice. This set gives you both. n “,”topic”:”Smart Home”,”ttag”:”other”,”searchDim”:”article-body|listicle|image”,”variant”:”article-body|listicle|image”,”viewguid”:””,”event”:”listicle|image|8″,”correlationId”:””,”assettitle”:””,”campaign”:”other”,”cval”:35,”leadCpc”:0.35,”leadProdPrice”:59.99,”manufacturer”:”Amazon”,”productName”:”Amazon Smart Thermostat (White)”,”seriesGuid”:”b7e2ee50-5758-4b50-911d-51ac1fc6d939″,”sku”:”B08J4C8871″,”reviewId”:”9756bf72-8a8a-4544-8698-b61dd4a8f4e7″,”formatType”:”IMAGE”,”location”:”LIST”,”position”:8,”dwLinkTag”:”article-body|listicle|image”,”selector”:”#article-body #listicle-a9f2ecf9-8e0a-473b-aa82-6be83e1d7bc7 .itemImage”}}” data-omitnoreferrer=”http://www.cnet.com/” href=”https://shop-links.co/link/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fbestbuy.7tiv.net%2Fc%2F376373%2F633495%2F10014%3Fprodsku%3D6483323%26u%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.bestbuy.com%252Fsite%252F-%252F6483323.p%253Fcmp%253DRMX&publisher_slug=cnet&article_name=cool%20holiday%20gifts%20for%20dads%20in%202022&article_url=__ARTICLE_URL__&exclusive=1&u1=cn-___COM_CLICK_ID___-d...

Crypto Asset Manager Valkyrie Lost The Biggest Investor In Its $11M Funding Round – CoinDesk https://bentoncountynewsnow.com/crypto-asset-manager-valkyrie-lost-the-biggest-investor-in-its-11m-funding-round-coindesk/ Elizabeth Napolitano is a news reporter at CoinDesk. Months after announcing it had raised $11.15 million, crypto asset manager Valkyrie Investments earlier this month revealed – quietly – that the biggest participant in the funding round reneged, leaving Valkyrie scrambling to find others to fill the gap. In a letter that went largely unnoticed until now, Valkyrie CEO Leah Wald wrote that an entity she called CSA Evolution VC Fund was no longer able to contribute $5 million toward the transaction. “We had a signed subscription doc in-hand, and their [limited partners] were blue chip firms that have impeccable reputations in the business,” she wrote in the letter dated Oct. 7. “In the months that have since passed, though, those LPs backed out and the investor was unable to meet its obligation.” She went on to say that Valkyrie was looking for other investors to step in. When reached Wednesday, a Valkyrie spokesperson said, “we of course are in advanced talks with a number of potential investors who have expressed interest in our firm, and hope to have positive news in the coming weeks.” Before the publication of this story, there was a single Google search result for CSA Evolution VC Fund: Wald’s letter. There are signs, however, that there is an association of some kind with Clear Sky Advisers, a Houston-based firm that describes itself as an investor in “environmental credits and companies focused on decarbonization, electrification and resource sustainability.” First, there’s the obvious: Clear Sky Advisers can logically be shortened to CSA. But far more significantly than that, Valkyrie’s June press release on the more than $11 million fundraising listed, among others, a participant it called “Clearsky.” There was no mention of CSA Evolution VC Fund. Furthermore, there’s a person who clearly connects Valkyrie and Clear Sky Advisers. The CEO of the latter, Shawn Singh, is mentioned in Valkyrie regulatory filings for its exchange-traded funds (ETFs). He is listed, for instance, as a trustee of the Valkyrie ETF Trust II. Clear Sky Advisers declined to comment. Singh did not respond to multiple requests for comment. In June, Valkyrie Chief Investment Officer Steven McClurg downplayed the importance of Valkyrie’s raise. He told CoinDesk that Valkyrie had even declined some offers, which were unsolicited. In the end, the decision to accept the investments was “less about the money and more about [forming] strategic partnerships” with key industry players, McClurg said. “We really weren’t anticipating raising any capital right now.” That message conflicts with Valkyrie’s own regulatory filings. In March, the company told the SEC it was seeking to raise $20 million and already had $5.1 million in fresh capital banked. (Valkyrie’s previous funding round was a $10 million Series A in June 2021). And Wald’s comments suggest Valkyrie is still hungry for capital. “Over the past few months, we explored a number of avenues and potential solutions to get the promised investment in the door,” she wrote. “In fact, the firm’s principal recently made an investment from his own personal funds.” And now Valkyrie has “decided for now to pursue alternative funding sources, including additional investors.” Valkyrie had hoped to use venture capital money to fund its staking and mining operations and ultimately court more institutional investors in the digital assets space. The firm currently runs several operations, including a decentralized finance (DeFi) hedge fund, three ETFs listed on Nasdaq, several protocol trusts and a protocol treasury management business. In the second quarter, the firm reported $1.2 billion in assets under management. “It pains me to have to write this letter,” Wald wrote. “Thankfully, we are already talking to a handful of prominent investors who may be willing to step in and fill this gap, and are eager to move past this challenge.” Sign up for Market Wrap, our daily newsletter explaining what happened today in crypto markets – and why. By signing up, you will receive emails about CoinDesk product updates, events and marketing and you agree to our terms of services and privacy policy. DISCLOSURE Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated . The leader in news and information on cryptocurrency, digital assets and the future of money, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups. As part of their compensation, certain CoinDesk employees, including editorial employees, may receive exposure to DCG equity in the form of stock appreciation rights, which vest over a multi-year period. CoinDesk journalists are not allowed to purchase stock outright in DCG . Elizabeth Napolitano is a news reporter at CoinDesk. Elizabeth Napolitano is a news reporter at CoinDesk.

Canada Promises Industry It Will Respond To U.S. Inflation Act – Reuters Canada https://bentoncountynewsnow.com/canada-promises-industry-it-will-respond-to-u-s-inflation-act-reuters-canada/ OTTAWA, Oct 19 (Reuters) – Canada must strengthen its incentives meant to help industry scale up clean technologies after the United States passed massive investments in August to accelerate the green transition there, the finance minister said on Wednesday. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) was signed into law by U.S. President Joe Biden and contains incentives for consumers and businesses as the United States seeks to drastically cut its carbon emissions. “This is a far-reaching piece of legislation with a lot of different consequences for Canada,” Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland told reporters in Windsor, Ontario, where she spoke to automotive parts manufacturers earlier. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com There are “elements” of the IRA that Canada needs to “respond to,” she said. “We are working on it. You will see some of that in the fall economic statement, and you’ll see further action in the budget in the spring.” Freeland said she would soon announce a date for the annual fall economic statement (FES), which is when the government updates its economic projections and sometimes tweaks its spending plans. Canada should avoid new stimulus in the FES, analysts told Reuters last week. Canadian companies seeking to build carbon capture facilities and manufacturers hoping to attract new electric vehicle (EV) or battery plants have expressed concern that the IRA will give the United States an unfair advantage. Governments in Europe and Asia have raised complaints about parts of the act impacting their industries. On Wednesday, the Biden administration announced another big boost for its green transition, saying it was awarding $2.8 billion in grants to encourage U.S. production of EVs or the minerals that go in their batteries. Freeland has repeatedly welcomed the introduction of the IRA because it puts the United States on a path toward the green transition without penalizing Canada with new EV consumer tax credits only for American carmakers as had initially been announced. Instead the tax credits are allowed for “North American” carmakers. The sweeping IRA also boosts the requirements to source critical minerals used to make batteries with free-trade agreement allies like Canada, which has an abundance of the minerals but still needs to scale up production and processing. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Reporting by Ismail Shakil in Ottawa; Editing by Steve Scherer and Matthew Lewis Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

US Busts Network Providing Technology To Russian Military – The Associated Press https://bentoncountynewsnow.com/us-busts-network-providing-technology-to-russian-military-the-associated-press/ WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration on Wednesday announced a round of criminal charges and sanctions related to a complicated scheme to procure military technologies from U.S. manufacturers and illegally supply them to Russia for its war in Ukraine. Some of the equipment was recovered on battlefields in Ukraine, the Justice Department said, and other nuclear proliferation technology was intercepted in Latvia before it could be shipped to Russia. The Justice Department charged nine people in separate cases in New York and Connecticut, as well as two oil brokers for Venezuela. The defendants are accused of acquiring the military technology from U.S. companies and then laundering tens of millions of dollars for wealthy Russian businessmen and other sanctioned entities. Some of the defendants are also accused of brokering illicit oil deals for the Venezuelan state-owned oil company. “As I have said, our investigators and prosecutors will be relentless in their efforts to identify, locate, and bring to justice those whose illegal acts undermine the rule of law and enable the Russian regime to continue its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. The five defendants charged in New York are all Russian nationals, and two have been arrested. All four defendants in the Connecticut case — three Latvians and one Ukrainian — were taken into custody months ago at the request of U.S. authorities. The criminal charges complement the latest round of Biden administration sanctions targeting Russia. The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control announced sanctions Wednesday against one of the men charged by the Justice Department, designating Yury Orekhov and two of his firms, Nord-Deutsche Industrieanlagenbau GmbH and Opus Energy Trading LLC, for procuring advanced semiconductors and microprocessors used in fighter aircraft and ballistic and hypersonic missile systems among other military uses. Orekhov and the firms ultimately sent the materials to Russian end-users, including companies designated by various federal agencies, in violation of U.S. export controls. The Justice Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control worked in coordination to identify the Russian network. Along with sanctions on members of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s inner-circle, the U.S. has frozen Russian Central Bank funds and imposed aggressive export controls. The latest effort is dedicated to preventing Russia from procuring military technologies. Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said in a statement Wednesday that Russia has increasingly struggled to get the technologies it needs to sustain the war “thanks to the unprecedented sanctions and export controls imposed by our broad coalition of partners and allies.” “We know these efforts are having a direct effect on the battlefield,” he said, “as Russia’s desperation has led them to turn to inferior suppliers and outdated equipment.” Information from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, presented Friday at the Treasury Department, said Russia has lost more than 6,000 pieces of equipment since the beginning of the war in late February and is turning to Iran and North Korea for supplies. Russia is reliant on foreign production machinery and ongoing banking sanctions have undercut the Kremlin’s ability to obtain financing for importing military equipment, the ODNI said.

US Counties Where Women Get Patents Grew Over 30 Years – Law360 https://bentoncountynewsnow.com/us-counties-where-women-get-patents-grew-over-30-years-law360/ By Dani Kass (October 19, 2022, 3:04 PM EDT) — The number of U.S. counties where women received patents increased 32% between 1990 and 2019, with women having the strongest showing in Michigan, Texas, Connecticut, Massachusetts and California counties, according to a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office report issued Wednesday…. Stay ahead of the curve In the legal profession, information is the key to success. You have to know what’s happening with clients, competitors, practice areas, and industries. Law360 provides the intelligence you need to remain an expert and beat the competition. Access to case data within articles (numbers, filings, courts, nature of suit, and more.) Access to attached documents such as briefs, petitions, complaints, decisions, motions, etc. Create custom alerts for specific article and case topics and so much more! TRY LAW360 FREE FOR SEVEN DAYS

New Culinary Collection Of Holiday Menus From Princess Cruises Kicks Off Holiday Season In Grand Fashion – PR Newswire https://bentoncountynewsnow.com/new-culinary-collection-of-holiday-menus-from-princess-cruises-kicks-off-holiday-season-in-grand-fashion-pr-newswire/ Guests sailing during 2022 holiday season to experience a whole new holiday dining offering—including a new gourmet Thanksgiving menu , /PRNewswire/ — Guests sailing on a Princess Cruises vacation over the 2022 holiday season will enjoy a host of new gourmet dining options and traditional go-to’s. Today, the Princess culinary arts team, led by Chef Rudi Sodamin, unveiled the Princess Cruise Culinary Collection of Holiday Menus, a new series of inspired fare available in the main dining rooms throughout the fleet ranging from a Thanksgiving feast featuring five entrees, to the meaningful and fun foods of Hanukkah, delectable Christmas dishes from traditions around the world, and concluding with a sparkling New Year’s Gala menu. Over the Thanksgiving holiday period, Princess will offer dozens of sailings to ports of call around the world. No matter where they happen to be in their itinerary, each ship will recognize the American Thanksgiving holiday on November 24 in high style—with festive autumnal decorations, and Thanksgiving-inspired activities with football broadcast on outdoor big screens. Of course, the centerpiece of the Princess Cruise Thanksgiving celebration will be the elaborate Thanksgiving feast. “Growing up in a large family, holiday meals were always extremely important to me and a source of excitement and anticipation. But it wasn’t until I was an adult and went to work at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City that I learned about the American tradition of Thanksgiving where food is the undisputed star of the show,” said the Austrian-born Sodamin, head of Culinary Arts for Princess Cruises. “The imaginative and innovative new Thanksgiving menu honors cherished holiday traditions while also introducing some exciting fresh options that we hope can become new favorites. Collaborating with our talented team of culinary artists on this menu has been a meaningful and memorable.  This year will be a totally stress-free holiday as we’ll do all the shopping, cooking and clean up too!” “The entire Food & Beverage staff sees this new Thanksgiving menu as an opportunity to go the extra mile in impressing our guests,” says Sami Kohen, Princess’ vice president of food and beverage. “Princess has always done a great job taking the stress out of the holidays and making each holiday special for our guests, and with this new Thanksgiving menu, we have elevated the experience to a whole new level.” The four-course Thanksgiving menu offers a choice of five entrées. Naturally, there will be juicy whole roasted turkey served with apple sage dressing, giblet gravy and the rest of the traditional American Thanksgiving trimmings like caramelized sweet potato, brussels sprouts and whole cranberry sauce. Vegetarians will appreciate the offering of homemade potato gnocchi with roasted butternut squash and sage in a light Champaign-parmesan cream or the grilled vegetable mille feuille with roasted red pepper sauce. The other entrées on offer are a grilled jumbo shrimp and seared sea scallops combination with a tomato-caper beurre blanc and a festive pineapple-glazed ham spiked with cloves served in a pineapple-bourbon sauce with mashed yams. The full menu follows below. More information about Princess Cruises is available through a professional travel advisor, by calling 1-800-PRINCESS (1-800-774-6237), or by visiting the company’s website at www.princess.com. THANKSGIVING 2022 ~ The Captain and Culinary Staff Wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving! ~ OUR DAILY GIFT OF BREAD Maple Corn Bread ~ Whole Wheat – Rye Rolls WHET THE APPETITE Chilled Winter Citrus Supreme blood orange, pink grapefruit, satsuma tangerine chili lime zest Seafood Martini poached shrimp, calamari, scallops, basil lemon vinaigrette Duck and Pistachio Pate autumn lettuces, roasted cherry vinaigrette Roasted Pumpkin Soup toasted almond oil, pumpkin seeds Chilled Carrot Dill Soup cranberry coulis FROM BOUNTIFUL GARDENS AND FIELDS Autumn Mesclun Salad sliced apple, crumbled feta, candied walnuts, maple champagne vinaigrette MAIN OFFERINGS FROM SEA AND SHORE Potato Gnocchi roasted butternut squash, caramelized shallots, sage leaves, shaved parmesan Grilled Jumbo Shrimp and Seared Sea Scallops jasmine rice timbale, snow peas and red bell pepper, tomato-caper beurre blanc Traditional Thanksgiving Turkey tender breast slices, caramelized sweet potato, apple sage dressing, steamed broccoli, roasted brussel sprouts, giblet gravy, whole cranberry sauce Pineapple-glazed Ham spiked with Cloves pineapple-bourbon sauce, mashed yams, broccoli and carrots Grilled Vegetable Mille Feuille flaky puff pastry, arugula, red-pepper sauce, balsamic reduction, basil-infused oil TO COMPLETE THE FEAST Traditional Pumpkin Pie Cinnamon Apple Pie whipped cream a la mode Bourbon Pecan Pie Sugar-free Strawberry Napoleon a la mode mascarpone cream About Princess Cruises One of the best-known names in cruising, Princess Cruises is the world’s leading international premium cruise line and tour company operating a fleet of 15 modern cruise ships, carrying millions of guests each year to 330 destinations around the globe, including the Caribbean, Alaska, Panama Canal, Mexican Riviera, Europe, South America, Australia/New Zealand, the South Pacific, Hawaii, Asia, Canada/New England, Antarctica, and World Cruises. A team of professional destination experts have curated 170 itineraries, ranging in length from three to 111 days and Princess Cruises is continuously recognized as “Best Cruise Line for Itineraries.”  In 2017 Princess Cruises, with parent company Carnival Corporation, introduced MedallionClass Vacations enabled by the Medallion device, the vacation industry’s most advanced wearable device, provided free to each guest sailing on a MedallionClass ship. The award-winning innovation offers the fastest way to an effortless personalized vacation, giving guests more time to do the things they love most. The company is part of Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE:CUK).       SOURCE Princess Cruises %

President Lovell, Marquette Business Acting Dean Recognized Among Inaugural Wisconsin Titan 100 Accomplished Business Leaders // News Center // Marquette University – Marquette Today https://bentoncountynewsnow.com/president-lovell-marquette-business-acting-dean-recognized-among-inaugural-wisconsin-titan-100-accomplished-business-leaders-news-center-marquette-university-marquette-today/ Oct. 19, 2022 MILWAUKEE — Marquette University President Michael R. Lovell and Tim Hanley, acting Keyes Dean of the College of Business Administration, have been recognized among the inaugural Wisconsin Titan 100 by Titan CEO, which recognizes the most accomplished business leaders in their industry using criteria that includes demonstrating exceptional leadership, vision and passion. Titan 100 recognizes a premier group of CEOs and C-level executives in Wisconsin and the greater metropolitan area representing both the private and public sectors. The first Wisconsin Titan 100 recipients will be honored at an awards ceremony at the Fiserv Forum in January 2023. “It is an honor to be recognized alongside Dean Hanley and this group of innovative and passionate leaders from throughout Wisconsin, who are truly making a difference across our state,” President Lovell said. “I share this acknowledgement with everyone in the campus community who comes together to make Marquette such a special and transformative place.” “Since beginning his role as the 24th president of Marquette and first layperson leader eight years ago, President Lovell has set forth an ambitious, strategic vision and fostered a culture of innovation at Marquette, so that the university can confidently adapt to meet the needs of our changing world,” said Bob Eck, chair of the Marquette University Board of Trustees. “Amid a pivotal time in higher education, he and his leadership team have advanced the university’s strategic and campus master plans, added several new world-class facilities, a Center for the Advancement of the Humanities, and a host of new academic programs.” Under President Lovell’s leadership, the percentages of incoming Black and Latinx students have doubled, and the university welcomed the most diverse student body in university history. President Lovell has long championed mental health and successful student outcomes — Marquette recently announced the development of two new major facilities: the Lemonis Center for Student Success, fueled by a $15 million gift from noted alumnus Marcus Lemonis, and a reimagined Wellness and Recreation facility that will foster a holistic view of health and wellness for the campus community. Marquette is currently amid a $750 million comprehensive fundraising campaign, Time To Rise, which is the most ambitious in its 140-year history. Through relationship-building and creative philanthropic efforts, President Lovell acts as a key fundraiser, contributing greatly to the overall $615 million raised to date (82% of the campaign goal). These efforts elevate resources to advance the university’s mission and pillars of excellence, leadership, faith and service. President Lovell’s work within the Milwaukee community advances strategic partnerships, new technologies, and pivotal talent pipelines. He worked with business and community leaders in Marquette’s neighborhood to create the Near West Side Partners, a nonprofit focused on strengthening economic development, housing, neighborhood identity and safety. Together with his wife, Amy, President Lovell also co-founded Scaling Wellness in Milwaukee (SWIM), a community-wide effort addressing the impacts of generational trauma, and played a key role in launching several other important initiatives in Milwaukee, including the Midwest Energy Research Consortium, The Commons, Scale-Up Milwaukee, The Water Council and the Northwestern Mutual Data Science Institute. President Lovell serves on the boards of Children’s Wisconsin, Milwaukee Film, the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities, and the Fund for Wisconsin Scholars. He is a member of the executive committees of the Greater Milwaukee Committee, The Water Council, the Higher Education Regional Alliance, and the Big East Conference. President Lovell serves as chair of the board for the Wisconsin Association of Independent Colleges and Universities. He is also a member of the Council on Competitiveness and co-chairs its University Leadership Forum. About Tim Hanley Hanley assumed his role as acting dean in March 2020 after the tragic death of former Keyes Dean Dr. Joe Daniels. Hanley worked closely with Daniels and is continuing his vision for the future of the Marquette Business and the construction of its new home on campus. Prior to being named acting dean, Hanley was named the university’s first-ever executive-in-residence in October 2019, a role meant to elevate the college’s engagement with the business community. He was previously named the College of Business Administration’s Distinguished Alumnus of the year in 2012. He also served as a member of the college’s Dean’s Council, the university’s President’s Advisory Council and Campaign Executive Committee. Hanley came to Marquette as a seasoned global executive, with extensive experience consulting with manufacturers regarding digital transformation, organizational strategy development and execution, acquisitions, and market development. Hanley led Deloitte’s Global Consumer and Industrial Products industry practice and helped grow the practice to be the largest at Deloitte with over $14 billion in revenues. He retired as a senior partner with Deloitte LLP in 2019. “I consider this to be a tremendous honor to be named among such visionary and passionate leaders, including President Lovell,” Hanley said. “My own leadership approach reflects the many role models I’ve had during my career. In many ways, I share honors such as this with them.” A new 100,000-square-foot, $60 million home for Marquette Business and innovation leadership programs at 16th St. and Wisconsin Ave. is the largest fully donor-funded construction project in Marquette’s history and will feature collaborative classroom, lab and study spaces, as well as an event space, café, and areas for programmatic centers of excellence. The building will anchor the west gateway to the heart of Marquette’s urban campus, bringing together world-class faculty, students and industry leaders to build a talent pipeline for the region’s business community and advance economic development. The Wisconsin Titan 100 recognizes top executives from established companies and organizations which demonstrate specific, tangible contributions to the growth of their companies through high-level leadership and influence in their fields. Honorees are chosen from Kenosha, Racine, Walworth, Rock, Dane, Jefferson, Waukesha, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Washington and Dodge counties. The Titan 100 program is a product of Titan CEO, which brings CEOs together through private events and roundtables. Titan CEO offers a suite of resources including private coaching, high-level networking, and executive level retreats. Through its community, its aim is to work with CEOs to help them connect and grow as Titans of industry. About Kevin Conway Kevin is the associate director for university communication in the Office of University Relations. Contact Kevin at (414) 288-4745 or kevin.m.conway@marquette.edu.

Obesity Rises Over 12% In School Students – Muscat Daily https://bentoncountynewsnow.com/obesity-rises-over-12-in-school-students-muscat-daily/ Muscat – To curb obesity among school students, the Ministry of Education, in cooperation with the Ministry of Health, launched an initiative called ‘Ideal Weight Challenge’ on Tuesday. Dr Sulaiman al Shereiqi, senior specialist of public health in the Ministry of Health (MoH) and head of the technical team of ‘Ideal Weight Challenge’, informed that its pilot programme is being run in 12 schools in the Governorate of Muscat, targeting 200 students of Grades 2 and 3. The programme is optional, requiring the approval of a participating student’s father. It will run for four years to eventually include all schools in the sultanate. “The programme includes four axes – healthy and balanced nutrition, promoting physical activity and a healthy lifestyle, sleeping enough hours, and enhancing the psychological aspect of healthy living. It will be implemented in school and at home, and involve physical activities and an introductory meeting with students’ parents to implement the programme highlighting the importance of eating breakfast and healthy meals,” Dr Shereiqi said. The programme aims to diagnose obesity cases in a scientific way, reduce obesity among school students and spread awareness of the dangers of obesity-related health conditions, in addition to conducting important health tests to detect the presence of diabetes and anaemia among school students. “The latest official statistics indicate a rise in obesity among students aged five to nine years – an increase of up to 15 per cent among boys and 12 per cent among girls.” According to Dr Shereiqi, finding enough time to implement the programme in schools and nursing cadres was one of the biggest challenges. “But in cooperation with the schools, we created the necessary time and MoH also delegated nursing cadres for the programme. We recently held workshops to implement it.” Participants discussed all aspects of providing services for managing obesity in targeted schools, besides setting realistic targets for implementation of the programme. Dr Shereiqi described obesity as an outcome of several risk factors, including those that are in individual’s control and others that are not. “Genetic inheritance is one factor that is beyond our control. On the other hand, lack or insufficient physical activity, unhealthy diet, stress, binge-eating, and lack of basic nutritional knowledge are factors in our control,” Dr Shereiqi said. Obesity in itself, he noted, is a disease and a sign of malnutrition linked to several chronic conditions. “These include diabetes, high blood pressure, abnormal blood fat (dyslipidemia), osteoarthritis and certain types of cancers. Being aware of these will alert people to seek medical help. By doing so, they can help themselves regain their optimum health and reduce risk of premature death.” The programme also includes a competition among students and schools for losing weight, with prizes for schools that succeed in implementing it, the top ten schools that lose weight collectively and the top weight loser among students. “Preventing obesity in communities requires the efforts of all stakeholders,” Dr Shereiqi said. In 2017, the National Non-communicable Disease Survey reported that 66 per cent of the population in Oman is overweight and obese. The prevalence of obesity in the sultanate has increased to 23.2 per cent among men and 39.3 per cent among women.

BreShawn Holley ’22 Credits Having The Right People In His Corner For His Success – Today At Elon https://bentoncountynewsnow.com/breshawn-holley-22-credits-having-the-right-people-in-his-corner-for-his-success-today-at-elon/ Holley, a broadcast journalism graduate, is now a Minorities in Sports Fellow with Tepper Sports & Entertainment and works with the Carolina Panthers and Charlotte Football Club in a variety of behind-the-scenes roles. BreShawn Holley (left) during the Minorities in Sports Fellowship with Tepper Sports & Entertainment. When BreShawn Holley ’22 first came to Elon as a broadcast journalism major, he wasn’t comfortable with his camera work or production skills. But through the diligent and innovative faculty in the School of Communications, Holley has not only developed greatly in these areas, he has excelled in them. “Now, I’m literally doing that work for an NFL and MLS team. It’s all coming to fruition,” Holley said, who is in the middle of a year-long Minorities in Sports Fellowship with Tepper Sports & Entertainment. Working with the Carolina Panthers and the newly minted Charlotte Football Club for the year-long fellowship, Holley will spend three months getting hands-on experience in four different departments for both franchises – ticketing, stadium operations, brand and consumer marketing, and “Panther Vision,” the team’s broadcast network. The variety of experiences Holley has gained in a field he is passionate about has been the ultimate reward. Holley in his Elon cap and gown outside of Bank of America Stadium, where the Carolina Panthers and Charlotte Football Club play their home games. “I didn’t know what I wanted to do; I just knew I wanted to be in the sports world. And for me to find a fellowship that had four different departments in one and I’m able to get my feet wet in every area was a blessing in disguise,” he said. A piece of advice Holley would give current students preparing to embark on their future careers is to be passionate about what they’re doing. Although it’s not an original or insightful observation, Holley said it’s still important. “The biggest tip for anyone that wants to get into the sports world is you have to love what you’re doing,” Holley said. “Right now, I’m averaging between 60 and 70 hours a week, but I love it because I’m going into an NFL and MLS stadium and it’s something that a lot of people wish they could do. I never take it for granted.” Holley said his short-term goal is to land a full-time position with the Panthers once his fellowship is completed. But long-term, Holley has his sights sets on a far loftier goal. “I definitely want to be the general manager one day. It’s a hard position to get, but with me being born and raised in Charlotte and being a life-long Panthers fan, that’s the main goal,” Holley said. But it’s not just the position title that motivates him. “I just want to be able to leave a legacy and be remembered for doing good in the community. I just want my name to be associated with nothing but positivity and respect … that’s my life goal,” Holley said. “My career goal would be to have a lasting impact on the Carolina Panthers organization before my time is up.” Holley (right) with Sir Purr, the Panthers mascot. Holley said he’d be remiss not to acknowledge all the helping hands that have supported him along the way. Whether it be his family, the mentors he developed in the Panthers organization through LinkedIn networking such as Director of Inclusion and Belonging Jasmine James, or Elon faculty and staff, like Kelly Furnas, Alex Luchsinger or Kathy Ziga, Holley has always had the right people in his corner. “That’s the best thing about Elon,” he said. “I didn’t know how to do a lot of things and I would question and doubt myself if I was capable enough to do it, but Elon had the right people to be in my corner and push and guide me.” Holley said Elon didn’t just give him the car and keys and expect him to drive. But step by step, he was given the tools to take his career forward and now is utilizing them in great ways. “Right now, I think I’m driving pretty good,” Holley said.

Prager Metis Hosts Launch Party In Metaverse With Musical Guests – Accounting Today https://bentoncountynewsnow.com/prager-metis-hosts-launch-party-in-metaverse-with-musical-guests-accounting-today/ Top 50 Firm Prager Metis kicked off its formal establishment in the metaverse with a launch party last night. A precise definition of the metaverse is hard to pin down, but it generally describes an immersive virtual world and the places where it intersects with the physical one. What they seem to have in common is having a persistent or semi-persistent virtual “space” that is separate from the physical world. The metaverse is composed of a growing number of persistent or semi-persistent virtual “spaces” that are separate from the physical world; the spaces or platforms are distinct from each other, and all of them have different focuses, whether art, technology or just social interaction. Some of the biggest ones right now that are explicitly pitching themselves as metaverse platforms include Decentraland, Illuvium, Sandbox, Axie Infinity and Cryptovoxels. The Prager Metis launch party took place in the Decentraland environment. It began with a panel discussion featuring CEO Glenn Friedman, global managing partner Lori Roth, and chief metaverse officer Jerry Eitel. During the talk, Roth said the firm has always been interested in emerging markets, and the metaverse seemed like a place with a lot of growth potential. Eitel, meanwhile, talked about how the firm’s presence in this virtual space could be seen as an outgrowth of its historical ties to the entertainment industry, which has also shown great interest in the metaverse. “It’s sort of fitting just as we were leaders there 100 years ago, that we are now leaders into the metaverse,” said Eitel. Friedman said there is much the firm can offer the metaverse, noting that even though it is made of bits and bytes, it is not free from real-world financial complications that can arise. “Whatever is in the real world sort of exists, to some extent, in the metaverse. There are rules and regulations, and governments do dictate those, so there are international issues [for which] we have a robust international department. There are estate and trust issues for inheriting. So the real world has those issues and today we find them in the virtual world,” he said. Besides the talk, the event also featured live musical performances from Song Camp, Chaos and DJ GucciToe. There will likely be similar events in the future, which Roth hopes will drive more community engagement. “We look forward to seeing you in this world and all the others,” she said. Technology Editor, Accounting Today

Grab These Top 5 Deals From Verizon During Black Friday Sale In November 2022 – The Tech Outlook https://bentoncountynewsnow.com/grab-these-top-5-deals-from-verizon-during-black-friday-sale-in-november-2022-the-tech-outlook/ With a tagline to attract the most customers, Verizon is getting ready for its biggest Black Friday sale ever. The holiday deals are crazier than ever. There are deals on various electronic gadgets such as smartphones as well as accessories. What’s more to this is that we have handpicked the top five deals from Verizon from their ongoing Black Friday sale. Let’s throw some light on the duration of the sale and then, move on to the deals.  Firstly, the Black Friday sale would begin as early as November 10th, 2022 onwards. Various promotional offers would be available then. The sale would end on November 27th, 2022. Selectively, these deals will be available in stores. If you are planning to visit Verizon stores to avail the offers, check with your nearest store. In-store pickups are also available. Most of them would be offered as online exclusives. Two-day free shipping will be offered on products worth more than $ 49.  Now, let’s have a look at the top deals during the Black Friday sale at Verizon. We have the best five deals here. Have a look. The iPhone 14 Pro Deal The phone’s on Verizon, meaning they’d be giving you $ 200 when you switch phones. There’s also $ 500 that’s given when you exchange an old or damaged phone for the new iPhone 14 Pro. It’s cool that they’re offering this deal on a premium phone like iPhone 14 Pro. Unlimited 5G plans are also an add-on. 20% off on Google Pixel accessories  You can save up to 20 % on Google Pixel accessories such as Google Pixel 7 and 7 Pro cases. The offer is also available on screen protectors. Most of the products are available under $ 100 with this Black Friday sales offer. This is actually helpful if you are buying on a budget. Get Samsung Galaxy GS22+ for free If you bring a phone that you own and buy a new phone, you get up to $ 500 off. You get an additional $ 200 when you switch phones. The price of the Samsung Galaxy GS22+ is covered in that. So, you could probably get that for free. Colors available include Phantom White, Phantom Black, Green, and Pink Gold. And, you can also avail up to 60 % off on Galaxy Buds 2 while purchasing this device. Free in-store pickup as well as free two-day shipping is also available. Get $100 off on Google Pixel Buds Pro  For prospective buyers planning to indulge in this sale, here’s some information. The offer is valid only if you buy a Google Pixel 7 or Google Pixel 7 Pro. Otherwise, the offer is not available. The Google Pixel 7 is a great phone to buy. The 7 Pro is a higher version than this one. It is available in three colors Snow, Hazel, and Obsidian. If you buy the device, you can avail a stunning $100 discount on the Google Pixel Buds Pro.  Get up to 70 % on Verizon chargers  Verizon is offering up to 70 % off on accessories such as chargers. Accessories on sale include Verizon 24W Quick Charge Vehicle Charger, Verizon Wireless Charging Pad with Fast Charge, Verizon 40W USB-A, and USB-C Travel charger amongst others. The sale not only covers chargers but also covers only charging cables as well. Most of these products will be under $100 during the Black Friday sale. You can also avail of two days’ free shipping and save money.  If you chat with Verizon’s live agent on their website, there’s a chance of getting an extra 30 % off. How cool is that?  There are other deals apart from the ones mentioned above. The Black Friday sale at Verizon is going to be a blast. We urge tech enthusiasts and users to go and try it out in November 2022. It’s the best sale season after the Halloween parties. Wait and watch, this will turn out to be a success. Grab the best deals during the Black Friday sale at Verizon. You definitely don’t want to regret not doing this later on.

Why Reddit Is The Best Platform For Research On Crypto – Bravewords.com https://bentoncountynewsnow.com/why-reddit-is-the-best-platform-for-research-on-crypto-bravewords-com/ Among the most crucial necessities for both veteran crypto experts and newcomers is access to reliable information. As a result, sites that report on the cryptocurrency industry are providing invaluable support to its rapid growth. This finding explains why social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter have become so important to the community-based approach that characterises the cryptocurrency sector.  Because of this, more and more people working in the crypto industry are gravitating toward social news and discussion websites like Reddit. We’ll go over the basics of Reddit, show you around, and give you some tips on what to look for in a crypto-specific subreddit. What Exactly Is Reddit? Social media platform Reddit bills itself as “the main site of the web.” While this claim may appear implausible at first, a quick look around the site will show you differently. The software organises the vast amount of data it stores into distinct discussion groups. Since users of Reddit are free to build communities devoted to sharing material on whatever subject they want, the site serves a wide variety of subcultures.  Users, often known as Redditors, may participate in the site by posting links, images, writings, and videos. Moreover, you have the option to either upvote or downvote the efforts of others. Subreddits Based on our definition, crypto Subreddits are communities on Reddit dedicated to discussing cryptocurrency and related issues. The popularity of Reddit within the large crypto community has attracted the attention of crypto-focused businesses and information hubs. Subreddits have been set up so that people who use or are interested in the platform’s services may talk to one another and address any questions or concerns they may have. Furthermore, anybody may start a crypto-themed Subreddit. Reasons Reddit Is The Best Crypto Platform For Crypto Research Multiple forms of communication are Facilitated by Reddit. Reddit’s multimedia sharing features are a big draw for the crypto community. Users may choose the most effective method of conveying information to the group. This is especially the case with Subreddits where users often provide helpful resources like Best Crypto to Buy Right Now on Reddit and how-to guides as well as cryptocurrency charts. They may upload videos themselves, or they can send a hyperlink to a video hosted on YouTube. Quickest Way To Keep Up To Date Reddit is likely the first social media site where crypto news is disseminated, and this is well-known among crypto companies and news outlets. That’s why they’ve committed some of their resources to monitor crypto-specific subreddits in order to learn more about the prevalent attitudes in the crypto space. This will help them determine what types of products or content are most popular within the crypto community. Great To Build A Strong Crypto Personality  Experts in the field of cryptography often provide helpful insights and answers to user questions in various crypto-related Subreddits. They understand that the more useful and insightful information they provide about cryptocurrencies they publish, the more others will appreciate their expertise and respect their judgement. This is encouraging news for them and any associated businesses or endeavours. Finding The Right Subreddits After covering the inner workings of Reddit and its increasing popularity within the crypto community, this part will go into what to look for in a crypto-specific subreddit. This depends on the following elements: What The Particular Subreddit Specializes In As we said previously, Subreddits tend to focus on certain niches. Consequently, you must think about the specific area of cryptocurrency that said Subreddit covers. There’s no use in joining a Cryptocurrency-related Subreddit if you’re not going to get any value out of it. Given that this is the case, it is wise to learn the fundamentals of your chosen crypto vocation or specialisation. Then, check to see whether the selected Subreddits have the tools you need to reach your scalability goals. Let’s look at a crypto trader as an example. He is well aware of the need of having ready access to relevant and timely information, such as news, quality crypto signals, gateways to cryptocurrency exchange, and development reports pertaining to the crypto assets in said portfolio. Having compiled his essential requirements, it is reasonable to assume that the finest cryptocurrency exchanges Subreddits are those that fit him. Member Activeness Simply joining a Subreddit dedicated to talks about your chosen area of cryptography is not sufficient. Instead, you should look at Subreddit’s activity to see whether its users are determined to assist you. Subreddits with a large number of members probably won’t be helpful in any way for your cryptocurrency-related endeavours. Therefore, before submitting yourself to a potentially hostile world on such Subreddits, it is wise to confirm the response of its members. Quality Of Content Quality, on the other hand, demonstrates how valuable the member’s inputs really are, in contrast to plain activity, which reflects the member’s enthusiasm to add to the community.  If you’re having trouble finding postings that are really of interest to you, it doesn’t matter how much hype surrounds your favourite crypto Subreddit; you’ll soon lose interest. This idea also applies if the participants of a Subreddit are resistant to hearing alternative ways of conveying their viewpoint. Using visuals or movies might be helpful when trying to convey the nuances of something like crypto mining. You may have to put in additional work to understand explanations provided in text format if the self-proclaimed specialists in the Subreddit are hesitant to impart information through training videos. For this reason, before signing up for a crypto-specific Subreddit, you should research the community’s openness to suggestions and the level of discourse there. Beginner Friendly Subreddits Individuals enter Subreddits since they desire to be members of a community with people who are eager to teach each other and spread the word about a certain topic. For this reason, newcomers to the crypto space should avoid crypto-related Subreddits that don’t provide a welcoming and learning environment.  Certain subreddit will have more advanced topics and users will not take to kindly to beginner questions.  Keeping this in mind, experts suggest you subscribe to Subreddits whose ethos is centred on guiding newcomers through the ever-changing world of cryptocurrencies.

Cuba Calls U.S. Trade Embargo A ‘hurricane’ That Never Ends – Reuters Canada https://bentoncountynewsnow.com/cuba-calls-u-s-trade-embargo-a-hurricane-that-never-ends-reuters-canada/ Cuba’s Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez speaks during a news conference in Havana, Cuba, October 19, 2022. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini HAVANA, Oct 19 (Reuters) – Cuba on Wednesday said the decades-old U.S. trade embargo has been causing record financial losses and untold human suffering in recent months, at a time when Cuba was also battling the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and Hurricane Ian. Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez made the comments at the launch of an annual campaign for a United Nations resolution condemning the trade embargo, which was put in place after Cuba’s 1959 revolution. The foreign minister’s comments follow a Biden administration announcement on Tuesday saying it would provide $2 million to Cuba for emergency relief efforts following Hurricane Ian, a rare olive branch between the two long-time foes. read more Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com “Despite the positive announcements… the blockade has not changed in its scope or depth,” Rodriguez told reporters in a news conference in Havana. He said Cuba was grateful for the U.S. aid but was still crippled by the embargo, which he called a “hurricane” that never ceases to batter the island. “The embargo is a permanent pandemic, a constant hurricane,” he said. “Today the policy of President Biden’s government towards Cuba is… the same Republican policy, no changes have been introduced in that policy.” Former U.S. President Trump, a Republican, introduced stiff new sanctions against Cuba, beginning in 2017. The administration of President Joe Biden, a Democrat, has since eased some policies around remittances, flights, tourism and more recently, migration, saying it would reopen full consular services in Havana in 2023. The broader embargo, however, has remained largely unchanged. The web of U.S. laws and regulations complicate financial transactions and the acquisition of goods and services by the Cuban government. The United States has said its policies are aimed at channeling “funds toward the Cuban people and away from a regime that has failed to meet the most basic requirements of a free and just society.” Rodriguez on Tuesday blasted that assertion, saying the blockade was “aimed at causing the inability of the country to meet the fundamental needs of the population.” The U.N. General Assembly will vote on Nov. 2 and 3 on a non-binding resolution condemning the trade embargo. It will be the 30th time Cuba has marshaled international support against the embargo. The resolution has historically garnered near unanimous support from member nations and is expected to pass again this year. Economic losses caused by the embargo from August 2021 through February 2022 amounted to $3.8 billion, a record for that seven month period, Rodriguez said, bringing the total cost to $154 billion since the embargo’s inception. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Reporting by Dave Sherwood and Nelson Acosta, Editing by Rosalba O’Brien Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Mississippi Rolls Out Mobile ID For Statewide Elections – The Associated Press – En Español https://bentoncountynewsnow.com/mississippi-rolls-out-mobile-id-for-statewide-elections-the-associated-press-en-espanol/ JACKSON, Miss (AP) — Mississippi voters will be able to use their smartphones as voter identification in the November election, marking the first real test of a new statewide program that integrates technology into the voting process. The program was launched last year in the form of an Apple and Android app. It stores a resident’s driver’s license in digital form and allows someone to use their phone in places they would typically show a license, such as voting locations. Keith Davis, deputy commissioner for the Department of Public Safety, told WLBT-TV that around 100,000 people have downloaded the app, and more than 51,000 residents signed up for the digital driver’s license. Industry experts have estimated that the coronavirus pandemic sped up the widespread adoption of contactless identification methods by at least a decade. Mississippi is one of 10 states with a “fully engaged” mobile identification program, Davis said. Idemia, a multinational technology company headquartered in France, was contracted by DPS to build the app. The company has launched similar apps in several other states. Davis said DPS is also working to build a system that would allow people in Mississippi to use their phone instead of their license to check in with the Transportation Security Administration before boarding a flight. “We are working with Idemia as well as the other states that are rolling out mobile ID, working with TSA to get that put into place,” Davis told the news station.

MDWFP, MSU Deer Lab Receive Funding For CWD Research – Mississippi’s Best Community Newspaper | Mississippi’s Best Community Newspaper – Natchez Democrat https://bentoncountynewsnow.com/mdwfp-msu-deer-lab-receive-funding-for-cwd-research-mississippis-best-community-newspaper-mississippis-best-community-newspaper-natchez-democrat/ Published 1:05 pm Wednesday, October 19, 2022 WASHINGTON D.C. — On Oct. 12, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced it is providing $9.4 million to 27 States and 6 Tribes or Tribal organizations to further develop and implement Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) management and response activities in wild and farmed cervids (e.g., deer, elk). The funding will also allow Tribes to submit samples for testing at no cost. Of those 27 states, Mississippi was one of several states to receive funds for managing Chronic Wasting Disease. According to the Wild Cervid Chronic Wasting Disease Spending Plan, the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks will receive $250,000 to quantify the role of intra and inter specific interactions in CWD spread by studying hogs and deer.  Chronic Wasting Disease is an infectious neurological disease caused by a prion that is always fatal to deer. Prions are misfolded proteins and the CWD prions are shed into the environment throughout a deer’s life with the disease.  MDWFP Deer Program Coordinator William McKinley said they had several ongoing research projects in partnership with the MSU Deer Lab. Mississippi State acts as the research arm for the MDWFP.  Bronson Strickland, Co-Direcor of the MSU Deer Lab, said they actually had two research projects receive funding from the USDA. The first is a series of animated videos to help educate the public about CWD, how it spreads, how it affects a deer, how a hunter can submit a sample and how to handle the carcass and meat.  “The videos take something pretty complex and try to explain it in a way everyone can understand it. We have some videos on what is CWD and what are prions. We have videos on management of the disease,” Strickland said. “What was good about it was we built stories on it being useful in states or areas with CWD. It can also teach you how to be proactive and to help serve in areas that don’t have CWD. It is powerful.”  These videos will serve much of the southeastern states and will be shared with the partnered wildlife agencies including Tennessee, Missouri and Alabama.  He said they have finished a little over half the videos and should have the test complete by November. The plan is to release the videos to the public in November because it will be firearm season for most places.  These videos will be available on the MSU Deer Lab website and YouTube page. It will be the completion of a project that started a year ago with a grant of $80,271.  A second project receiving funding will be on the intra and inter-specific interactions between Wild Hogs and deer and how that could play a role in CWD spread and management. It is in the early stages and has not started yet.  Research will be done through GPS collars placed on hogs and deer in the same area to see how they interact. Strickland said he has been a part of research projects before looking at hog movements in Mississippi.  MSU’s research would look closely at shared space and how much shared space they have. This could lead to answers on how or if hogs could exacerbate the spread of CWD.  “We got the notification a couple of weeks ago and haven’t started the project just yet,” Strickland said. “We are proposing to have the study done in north Mississippi. When you look at counties and samples. At this point, CWD is more prevalent there. Logistics and cost play a role in this too. North Mississippi is a happy medium between prevalence of CWD and proximity to campus.”  He said one thing he has learned about hog movement in the past was how sows and deer had similar movement in a space. By contrast, boars covered a greater distance than bucks did. One boar covered an area of 60,000 acres.  The USDA’s funding commitment is just for a year right now although it could change. He said their hope is to get as much information and data out of the collars as possible over the year. Battery life could limit some collars to nine months or a year and more. It is not the only CWD research project they are conducting. Strickland said the MSU Deer lab is looking at the role scrapes could play in transmission.  Prions can be found in both saliva and deer and a licking branch can be found above a scrape. Bucks and does urinate in the scrape to leave scent and use the licking branch to leave and receive scentX  “We are looking at collected samples from north Mississippi. We have the lab work going on now to see if we can isolate prions,” he said. “Management wise, it would be good from a surveillance standpoint. We detect CWD in carcasses right now through hunter harvest. We are wondering because scrapes will concentrate deer. Maybe you can sample the environment. it could be a real game changer.”   Hunters have submitted 396 CWD samples since June 2022. Two suspect cases of CWD were detected last week in Benton County. A list of participating taxidermists and CWD sample drop off locations can be found on the MDWFP website.  Across the river, Louisiana has sample drop off locations in Madison, Franklin and Tensas Parishes, which are in the CWD management zone. Due to their one positive they do not have a dashboard of samples and positives like other states do. LDWF Deer Program Director Johnathan Bordelon said last week he expects the samples to stream in during firearm season.

From TikTok To JPMorgan, These Companies Are Ending Lavish Employee Perks Amid Economic Uncertainty – Fortune https://bentoncountynewsnow.com/from-tiktok-to-jpmorgan-these-companies-are-ending-lavish-employee-perks-amid-economic-uncertainty-fortune/ Gone are the days of free catered meals or first-class travel for workers. Companies like Goldman Sachs and Salesforce are cutting back on a number of employee perks, many of which were first offered in the early days of the pandemic as companies jostled for top talent and to retain existing ones.  Businesses are now scrutinizing expenses, reassessing budgets, and looking for areas to slash costs amid economic uncertainty. The about-face comes during hiring slowdowns and job cuts across industries. Goldman plans to cull between 1% and 5% of its worst performers (though likely on the lower end of that range), while Meta is weeding out employees deemed underperforming. Despite a still-tight labor market—unemployment was at 3.5% in September—some say the pendulum is swinging back to employers. Several companies are targeting in-office perks they no longer consider necessary for a remote-first or hybrid workforce. A July survey from Gartner found that 72% of chief financial officers plan to cut real estate and facilities management budgets by the end of the year, the highest of any corporate function. Employers like Meta and Google have cut perks primarily only accessible on campus, like free laundry services and meal stipends. While workers haven’t always been receptive to the extra perks companies offer to woo new talent, many lament the reversal after years of being accustomed to the royal treatment. Here’s a breakdown of companies that have sunset popular employee perks. Goldman Sachs Goldman Sachs has been relentless in its quest to get employees back to the office. Now, the bank is slowly chipping away at perks it instated earlier in the pandemic to persuade bankers to return to in-person work.  In mid-April, Goldman informed employees it would end its free lunch and breakfast service and, instead, increase its “out of hours” meal stipend from $25 to $30, provide snack pop-ups, and offer “support a local restaurant” days.  After Labor Day weekend, the bank ended its complimentary grab-and-go coffee station in the lobby of its Manhattan headquarters and free daily car rides to and from the office, first introduced at the start of the pandemic.  Employees were not happy with the decision. “RIP to another pandemic perk for junior bankers,” one junior Goldman banker told the New York Post. “I’m sure the partners still don’t have to pay for their coffee—or anything in their fancy dining hall.” To the bank’s credit, it started offering senior staffers unlimited vacation time in May and two extra vacation days for junior employees. Salesforce Not all companies removing perks are forcing employees back into the office. Salesforce told employees in early October that it’s axing well-being days—a monthly paid day off for engineers and technical staff—in fiscal year 2024.  The company says it encourages employee health and well-being in other ways, including embracing flexible work arrangements and requesting that employees take time off. The cloud-based software company has yet to enforce any return-to-office mandates, allowing employees to work wherever they desire, so long as teams stay in the same time zone. Google The tech giant is well known for employee perks like free meals, on-site gyms, and its famous nap pods. In an attempt to get employees back to the office earlier this year, it made grand gestures, including hosting a private Lizzo concert. The company is now pulling back on spending, citing economic concerns. Google told senior managers in an email made public in September to limit employee travel to “business critical” trips and no longer approve travel for social functions, team offsites, and in-person events that offer virtual options. CEO Sundar Pichai also told employees in an all-staff meeting that he wants to “simplify the company” and improve employee productivity by 20%. Employees pushed back on the cuts and questioned why the company was limiting travel and entertainment in a late-September all-hands meeting. Pichai responded that the company was tightening its belt ahead of tough macroeconomic conditions. But he also noted that ending some perks doesn’t mean the tech giant’s culture will change. “I remember when Google was small and scrappy,” he told staffers. “We shouldn’t always equate fun with money.” Microsoft After disappointing fourth-quarter results in July, Microsoft chief financial officer Amy Hood said the company will prioritize growth “while maintaining intense focus on operational excellence and execution discipline.” Microsoft previously announced hiring freezes for some of its teams and, on Tuesday, announced it would lay off 1,000 of its employees. In August, managers reportedly told employees that the company was targeting spending on business travel, outside training, and company gatherings as it trimmed its budget. One employee reported that a manager footed the bill for food and drinks at a recent team picnic instead of the company, which covered such expenses in the past. TikTok Just one month after TikTok mandated that employees return to the office at least twice a week, the video-sharing platform announced it would end its $45 daily meal stipend for employees outside its Los Angeles and Mountain View, Calif. hubs. The company said it plans to introduce office catering instead. Some employees reported that TikTok is no longer reimbursing them for Wi-Fi and gym bills either, though a spokeswoman at the time said there wasn’t a companywide change for those expenses. Netflix This year has been rough for Netflix. The streaming giant reported its first subscriber losses in over a decade in April and lost over one million subscribers for the quarter ending in June. Operating expenses for the streaming giant rose to $23.5 billion in 2021, up 15% from 2020. As a result, Netflix laid off more than 450 staffers this year, cut back on real estate investments—closing its Salt Lake City office—and is clamping down on free corporate swag. The company has limited the price tag for Netflix-branded items employees can order, such as coffee mugs and sweatshirts, to $300. Twitter In August, Twitter’s chief financial officer Ned Segal warned employees they might only receive half of their annual bonus this year. The company ties its bonuses to performance against revenue and profitability targets and blamed financial performance for the potential bonus cut. The social media platform is currently in a drawn-out legal battle to complete a $44 billion sale to Elon Musk. Meta Meta, the parent company of Facebook, informed employees in March that it’s scaling back several free services offered before the pandemic. One of those perks is free laundry and dry cleaning, which a Facebook spokeswoman once touted for making “people’s lives easier.” The company also changed the end time for free employee meals to 6 p.m., from 6:30 p.m.  Office real estate hasn’t been spared either, especially as the company pushes into the metaverse more forcefully. Meta announced in early October that it would downsize its offices and plans to increase employee wellness stipends from $700 to $3,000. Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Both banks have scrapped a pre-pandemic perk loved by employees: free sports tickets. Top performers enjoyed complimentary access to U.S. Open tournaments or Major League Baseball games, but employees say the banks are now only doling out tickets if a client accompanies them. Bloomberg Bloomberg told employees in an October email that it’s ending its free lunch program. The financial media company began offering $20 meal stipends to in-office workers in April 2021, though the New York City, Princeton, N.J., and San Francisco offices already served lunch daily. The company said it would keep “snacks and treats” on hand and roll out “more wholesome and exciting offerings” shortly. Sign up for the Fortune Features email list so you don’t miss our biggest features, exclusive interviews, and investigations. %

Live News: Canadian Inflation Rate Hotter Than Expected In September – Financial Times https://bentoncountynewsnow.com/live-news-canadian-inflation-rate-hotter-than-expected-in-september-financial-times/ Choose your subscription Trial Try full digital access and see why over 1 million readers subscribe to the FT For 4 weeks receive unlimited Premium digital access to the FT’s trusted, award-winning business news Digital Be informed with the essential news and opinion MyFT – track the topics most important to you FT Weekend – full access to the weekend content Mobile & Tablet Apps – download to read on the go Gift Article – share up to 10 articles a month with family, friends and colleagues Print FT print edition delivered Monday – Saturday along with ePaper access Delivery to your home or office Monday to Saturday FT Weekend paper – a stimulating blend of news and lifestyle features ePaper access – the digital replica of the printed newspaper Team or Enterprise Premium FT.com access for multiple users, with integrations & admin tools Group Subscription Premium Digital access, plus: Convenient access for groups of users Integration with third party platforms and CRM systems Usage based pricing and volume discounts for multiple users Subscription management tools and usage reporting SAML-based single sign-on (SSO) Dedicated account and customer success teams Or, if you are already a subscriber Sign in Are you a student or a professor? Check if your university has an FT membership to read for free. Check my access

‘Healthy Eater’ Loses 3.5st After Realising She Made Key Diet Mistake – What She Changed – Express https://bentoncountynewsnow.com/healthy-eater-loses-3-5st-after-realising-she-made-key-diet-mistake-what-she-changed-express/ Rapid weight loss ‘becoming much more accepted’ says Mosley Invalid email We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info Sometimes it takes big life changes for people to make the decision to better themselves. And following her divorce, CC Thompson wanted to kick-start a new healthy lifestyle. She decided to commit to running her first half-marathon, with some training websites suggesting people should spend around five to six hours per week training if they want to make a good time. In order to keep herself accountable, she wanted support from like-minded people. “When you post your race times on social media, people get a little sick of it,” she admitted, finding that while her friends and family supported her goal, they didn’t necessarily want to hear about it all the time. She hoped to mingle with people also passionate about fitness, running and healthy living and joining the MyFitnessPal community helped her enormously. READ MORE: Diet: Expert warns against common mistake Slimmer dropped 3.5st fast after identifying key diet mistake (Image: CC Thompson) Not only did CC find the friends and support she needed, she also found her now-husband Ash, and the pair welcomed their son Harrison earlier this year. Shortly after signing up, she realised that her diet was actually negatively affecting her training and weight loss goals. Despite eating extremely healthy, CC had no idea she was missing vital nutrients that were impacting her progress and daily life. But through the support of her community, she discovered a healthy lifestyle was about much more than just counting calories. As CC began logging her food with the app, she realised she was missing something crucial. DON’T MISS Diet: 5 myths of Military Diet that could have adverse effects [LATEST] Dr Michael Mosley shares 3 alternatives to help cut down on carbs [ADVICE] Fitness: Best way to warm-up for strength training [HEALTH NEWS] “Knowing what’s in your food and what you’re putting in your body gives you a better understanding,” she said. “During my training, I had days where I felt exhausted by 6pm and couldn’t figure out why.” But her support group were quick to help her identify what was going on and she explained: “My MFP friends looked into my diary and pointed out I wasn’t getting enough calories or protein for the daily distances I was going, and that I also needed weight training to vary it up. “I wouldn’t have known that without tracking and without opening my diary to others!” READ MORE: Michael Mosley weight loss: Remove three foods to stay slim CC soon realised that her diet was actually negatively affecting her goals (Image: CC Thompson) Protein is good for building muscle, and for an active person, it is recommended that they eat a range of 1.2-1.7 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight each day. Not only that, but it can help boost weight loss, too. CC was looking to shift some weight, setting a goal of 3.5 stone and soon reached her target with her new-found knowledge. According to Healthline, a protein-rich diet helps to boost the metabolism as well as lead to an automatic reduction in calorie intake and cravings. This is because high-protein foods help to suppress appetite, keeping slimmers fuller for longer. Other examples of protein-rich foods include: Eggs Almonds Chicken breast Lean beef Greek yoghurt Tofu Cottage cheese Lentils Spinach Fish Quinoa

FanDuel, Barstool Approved For Ohio Sports Betting – Gaming Today https://bentoncountynewsnow.com/fanduel-barstool-approved-for-ohio-sports-betting-gaming-today/ Two more mobile operators have been approved to offer sports betting in Ohio ahead of the Buckeye State’s universal launch on Jan. 1. That brings the total number of approved mobile sportsbook operators to seven so far. FanDuel and Barstool Sportsbook were approved as Ohio sports betting mobile operators by the Ohio Casino Control Commission (OCCC) at a meeting today. FanDuel is partnered with Belterra Park racino in Cincinnati. Barstool is partnered with Hollywood Casino in Columbus. Both operators have also been approved as retail operators for their mobile partners. Additionally, Barstool has been approved to operate retail sportsbooks at Dayton Raceway and Hollywood casinos in Toledo and Youngstown, bringing the total number of approved Ohio retail sportsbook operators to nine.  Ohio approved its first five mobile sportsbook operators on Oct. 5. Those five operators were PointsBet, Caesars, Betfred, bet365, and SuperBook. It is uncertain how many more operators, or service providers, will be approved before launch. Sportsbook Approval Conditional On Meeting Upcoming Deadlines Approval of all sportsbooks and their facility partners is conditional. Potential licensees must submit their sports gaming employee applications, responsible gaming plans, facility plans, geolocation procedures, and house rules to the OCCC by Nov. 2 in order to launch on Jan. 1.  Missing the Nov. 2 deadline will push their launch date to later next year.  Additionally, all sports gaming facilities and sportsbooks must have their gaming equipment verified and ready to go no later than Dec. 2 if they hope to launch on New Year’s Day.  OCCC staff were among hundreds of participants at the G2E Conference last week in Las Vegas, where companies that will drive the Ohio sports betting market shared their latest ideas. Staying on track to meet the universal launch date was emphasized at today’s meeting by OCCC Chair June Taylor.  “We are essentially seven and a half weeks away from what we are calling ‘the launch,’” Taylor said to operators. “So we ask that you continue to work with our team and ask questions, and just be authentic in your quest to get your paperwork and everything complete. Because we are genuine in what we’re doing in responding to you morning, night, weekends, and working as best as we can.”  “The date is the date, the deadlines are the deadlines, and let’s continue to work hard to meet them and we’ll hope this operation is successful.”  Sports Betting Kiosks and Suppliers Also Approved Ahead of Jan. 1 Launch Sports betting kiosks will also go live in Ohio at the first of the year at hundreds of locations statewide, including supermarkets, restaurants, bars, and gas stations. The OCCC approved another 29 locations today.  That brings the total number of approved kiosk hosts, so far, to 877.  Before today, the OCCC had not approved any of the seven companies that will service the hundreds of sports betting kiosks around the state.  Four of those companies – Green Bear Gaming (UBet Ohio), Intralot, betIGG, and Skybox Sports Network – were finally granted approval this morning.  Several new sports gaming suppliers were also approved today by the OCCC, bringing the total number of approved suppliers to 15. The suppliers provide software and other equipment for wagering from start to finish. Suppliers approved today include IGT, SimpleBet, IMG Arena, Skybox Sports, and Aristotle.  Image by: viewimage

Protecting Data In The Metaverse: Do Avatars Dream Of Privacy? – JD Supra https://bentoncountynewsnow.com/protecting-data-in-the-metaverse-do-avatars-dream-of-privacy-jd-supra/ SUMMARY The metaverse will bring many benefits, but it is also likely to multiply and compound privacy issues, particularly given its global nature. With the advent of the commercial internet in the 1990s, organizations were increasingly able to track users’ clicks and searches to gather information about their preferences, interests, and purchasing habits. Mobile technology not only added precise location tracking, it also enabled the integration of smartphones into virtually every life activity, giving organizations deeper insights into users’ identities. The metaverse will take us much further down this path, enabling the tracking of human bodies and even thoughts, particularly as users develop deep relationships with digital avatars. Whether through virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR) – which together are known as extended reality (XR) – the metaverse will increase the type and volume of data that organizations collect, as well as change how they process and share it across domains and borders. This will raise a host of privacy issues that we are only just beginning to appreciate. Types and Volume of Data In his recent book The Metaverse: And How it Will Revolutionize Everything, Matthew Ball defines the metaverse as: “A massively scaled and interoperable network of real-time rendered 3D virtual worlds that can be experienced synchronously and persistently by an effectively unlimited number of users with an individual sense of presence, and with continuity of data, such as identity, history, entitlements, objects, communications, and payments.” Much of the activity that takes place in this universe depends on XR technologies that enable 3D experiences. Researchers estimate that XR applications produce one terabyte of data per hour, which is equivalent to 200,000 songs stored in a digital playlist. To convincingly render a scene, VR headsets track a dozen different types of movements at a rate of 90 times per second.[1] Whereas online companies currently observe browsing and search histories, operators in the metaverse will track our bodies themselves. Immersive technologies monitor human physiology, including eyeball motion and point of gaze, facial expression, voice, and heart rate. They also observe a wide range of physical actions, including head and body movements, haptics, gait, and posture. And they can track emotions through expression recognition technologies and neural activity using brain-computer interfaces. Moreover, XR environments use audio, visual, and inertial sensors to detect the position of a user or device relative to its surroundings. This often involves collecting data about non-participants, passive bystanders who happen to be within range of a system’s sensors. Operators that track physiological, mental, and biometric data are subject to laws governing the collection, use, and sharing of sensitive data and biometrics. That includes the General Data Protection Regulation in Europe; state privacy regulations in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah and Virginia; and biometric privacy laws, such as Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act. When the metaverse is used in work, education, or healthcare contexts, operators collecting data of this sort will be subject to sector-specific privacy laws, such as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. How Data is Processed Organizations will process data using machine learning algorithms and artificial intelligence techniques to estimate or infer the identities, emotional states, and intentions of their users, as well as predict how they may behave in the future. Moreover, AIs and bots will actively participate in games as well as social media and other communication platforms, raising challenges related to trust. Deepfakes may raise particularly thorny issues. In recent years, several states have advanced laws on automated decision making, and policymakers in the US, EU, and China are debating the regulation of AI. Under these laws, metaverse operators and participants will be subject to new layers of rules, including standards, trust marks, certification frameworks, and auditing schemes. How Data is Shared Across Domains and Borders One of the defining characteristics of the metaverse – what makes it “meta” – is interoperability. To support an environment that is persistent, live, synchronous, and interoperable, organizations need standards and frameworks for data sharing across domains and platforms. As noted, many countries already have laws on data collection, use, and sharing, especially when it comes to personal data — and many new laws are being considered. But laws in different countries may conflict. And it can be very difficult or even impossible to determine which national laws apply when people come together from different locations around the world to interact in virtual environments. Like the Internet, the metaverse doesn’t “reside” in a specific jurisdiction. Which country’s laws take precedence, for example, when a person who is in Japan meets another person who is in Brazil to interact in a virtual café owned by a US company that uses servers located in India? The internet, which is a relatively static environment, already raises myriad questions on jurisdiction and choice of law. The metaverse – where avatars cruise in interconnected, always-on digital spaces without physical or logical boundaries – will multiply and compound them. Enter the Blockchain The hype surrounding the metaverse also relates to its technological relative, the blockchain. While conceptually separate, the metaverse and blockchain intersect where property issues arise. For example, avatars may dress up in skins that are tradeable as NFTs and portable across platforms and applications through users’ digital wallets. Moreover, Web3 champions support systems for decentralized “self-sovereign identity” in the metaverse, liberated from the control of major platforms and mediated by cryptology. The blockchain, of course, has its own privacy frictions. For starters, it is designed to maximize transparency and actions taken on the blockchain are immutable. Anyone can see the history of every transaction that has taken place on a blockchain dating back to the chain’s launch. And individuals cannot technically enforce their right to privacy by deleting personal data stored on chain or hiding it from public view. The metaverse presents exciting opportunities for reinvigorating online work, commerce, and play. At the same time, organizations designing products and services in this space will need to bake in laws and standards governing sensitive data and biometrics, AI and machine learning, cross platform data sharing, and blockchain applications. Whether through top-down government regulation or bottom-up privacy by design, the metaverse is an exciting new domain not just for gamers but also for lawyers and policymakers. [1] Joseph Jerome and Jeremy Greenberg, “Augmented Reality + Virtual Reality: Privacy & Autonomy Considerations in Emerging, Immersive Digital Worlds” (Future of Privacy Forum, 2021). [View source.]

See What Happens When Two Worlds Best Phone Nothing And IPhone Compete – The Tech Outlook https://bentoncountynewsnow.com/see-what-happens-when-two-worlds-best-phone-nothing-and-iphone-compete-the-tech-outlook/ iPhone 13 and Nothing are the players in the market that have no brand besides them at their level. Nothing famous for its sleek design got its fame in a very short period of time. Apple has been known to the world for a long time. But you can grab the best between these two best options in this article only. Nothing Phone 1 Nothing Phone is one of the best models though they have almost all the best in the clan. But this model has made a special place among other phones because of its special features, sleek and unique design, and large memory. Because this has got 8GB RAM + 128GB storage variant and that’s just for Rs. 29,999. If you are an SBI or Kotak Bank Credit card holder you can instantly grab this for Rs. 1,500 less than the actual rate. On top of it is its exchange value offer that allows you to avail of a discount of up to Rs. 16,900 on your purchase. Initially, it was launched at  Rs 33,999. iPhone 13 The iPhone 13 no doubt has got a lot more than its predecessor iPhone 13. It has got a bright, vibrant 6.1inch wide OLED screen with 60Hz and a notch on the top of the screen. If we talk about the gaming experience of this phone it has been enhanced by A15 Bionic SoC. The camera is decent enough to feature cinematic shoot mode and different features of photography. Battery life can be said to be great though it’s good enough to not make you worry. iOS 15 keeps everything smooth and cool for this phone. So at last it you must have come to know about the best between these two. So grab your best in this festive season.

How Crypto Advocates Are Defending Ooki DAO – CoinDesk https://bentoncountynewsnow.com/how-crypto-advocates-are-defending-ooki-dao-coindesk/ Nikhilesh De is CoinDesk’s managing editor for global policy and regulation. He owns marginal amounts of bitcoin and ether. District Judge William Orrick, of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, ruled last week that LeXpunK Army and the DeFi Education Fund could file amicus (friend of the court) briefs in the CFTC v. Ooki DAO case. The allowance of these amicus briefs throws what looked like an inexorable case into a puzzle. We now no longer know just how this might resolve, and there’s a chance the CFTC’s effort to define a DAO as an unincorporated association might fail. Something a little strange happened last week. I got back to my hotel room, checked the federal court Pacer database and discovered that a federal judge had, surprisingly, approved a longshot motion by two crypto groups – LeXpunK Army and DeFi Education Fund – to weigh in on the CFTC’s case against Ooki DAO. The briefs were in by Monday (alongside another motion by Paradigm), and the CFTC has until Nov. 7 (three weeks) to respond. We’ll have a hearing on Nov. 30, where the parties can argue their motions before the court. There are a few things going on here. First off, it was surprising when the judge ruled in favor of the CFTC’s motion for alternative service, which allowed the agency to say it had served the Ooki DAO members by posting in a forum and a help bot. It was also surprising when the judge then allowed the friend of the court briefs, and said, “I interpret these requests as Motions for Reconsideration regarding my decision to permit alternative service in this case,” meaning he essentially paused that previous order. It seemed a much-needed chance for the Ooki DAO members to continue to figure out whether and how they’ll defend themselves in court. Thus far, the group has not formally responded to the CFTC’s suit, though its website became inaccessible to people with U.S. IP addresses last week. On the legal front, there’s now at least three teams of lawyers arguing that the CFTC should not be able to just serve the entire DAO at once through a chat bot, nor hold the entire DAO accountable as an entity (as opposed to the individual members responsible for any illicit conduct). The question is how the CFTC should have served Ooki DAO. The regulator is making the case that Ooki DAO is an unincorporated association and so serving the entire entity at once is fair game. What’s more, the CFTC says that because it couldn’t identify any Ooki DAO participants and because it is treating the entire collective as one entity, posting the suit on a forum and a help bot should be deemed adequate service. The amicus briefs take aim at these assertions in a variety of ways. The LeXpunK brief spells this out explicitly, saying DAOs are not people and arguing the CFTC’s interpretation of a DAO as an unincorporated association does not hold up under federal statute. We’ll have to wait until Nov. 7 to see what the CFTC has to say about this. The timeline, in a screen-capable form: Wed, Oct. 12: Judge William Orrick grants LeXpunK and DeFi Education Fund friend of the court motions to join the case. DeFi Fund already attached its brief with its motion. Mon, Oct. 17: The deadline for LeXpunK to file its brief (this has happened). Mon, Nov. 7: The deadline for the CFTC to file any opposition. Mon, Nov. 14: The deadline for LeXpunK and DeFi Fund to file any responses. Wed, Nov. 30: Hearing on CFTC’s push to serve Ooki DAO through its website. The end of 2022 is fast approaching. The midterm elections are in less than three weeks, so we won’t see much legislative action for a little bit. Here’s where current legislative efforts stand. The House Financial Services stablecoin bill: We’ve been hearing a lot about this bill’s development, but at this point it sure seems like it’ll be a 2023 effort. We might still see some kind of draft legislative language introduced this year, but that’s about it. At DC Fintech Week last week, Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), the ranking member of the committee, said he and Chair Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) agreed on how they defined the term “stablecoin” and what the components of the asset include, but suggested that there’s still work to be done on other issues like how to assign a federal regulator. Moreover, at CoinDesk’s IDEAS conference in New York, Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) explicitly said the bill is not happening this year, and is not likely to happen in the early part of 2023. The Digital Commodities Consumer Protection Act: The DCCPA is the Stabenow-Boozman bill introduced to the Senate Agriculture Committee by senators Deborah Stabenow (D-Mich.) and John Boozman (R-Ark.) that, if passed, would give the Commodity Futures Trading Commission some more regulatory oversight jurisdiction of crypto spot markets. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), who is a cosponsor on the bill, said she expects a markup to occur before the end of the year. In speaking to others, this does seem like it may actually happen, though passage is still a question mark. If you’ll indulge in some rumor proliferation, the big one right now is that this bill may get attached to the National Defense Authorization Act or another broad bill before the end of the year. I haven’t heard any concrete confirmation of this one way or another, but at the least it does seem like we’ll hear more from this bill before the year’s up. Key: (nom.) = nominee, (rum.) = rumored, (act.) = acting, (inc.) = incumbent (no replacement anticipated) (Platformer) This was a pretty weird one. So the background here is The Wire, a reputable news organization, reported last week that Meta (formerly Facebook) had allowed a senior BJP official (India’s ruling party) the ability to order Instagram posts taken down at will for any reason. It seemed reasonable because, as Casey Newton and Zoë Schiffer point out, the BJP has in the past actually tried doing just this. However, Meta denied the claim, leading to The Wire publishing what looks very much like a faked email, which was then supposedly verified by people, at least one of whom found out after the fact and denied helping verify its authenticity. Newton and Schiffer have more. The Wire announced it would review the story and its reporting on Tuesday. (The Washington Post) The Bering Strait snow crab population declined by about 7 billion over three years, leading Alaska’s Department of Fish and Game to cancel this year’s snow crab fishing season. There seems to be a reasonable argument to be made that overfishing of the waters where snow crabs used to grow up has led to their mysterious disappearance, but this is basically part of the broader ecological collapse we’re starting to see from climate change. (The New York Times) Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Charles Rettig’s term expires next month, and U.S. President Joe Biden has yet to nominate a successor. (Felix Krause) Security researcher Felix Krause reports that Facebook and Instagram’s in-app browsers track all user behavior if they click on third-party links within the app. In other words, if you’re, for example, clicking on the link in the biography of an Instagram user and it opens in the Instagram browser, the app will track your activity, and could allow the company to log and track every input you make on that site. Krause pointed to potentially buying goods on Instagram as an example. Users can open links in another browser – or use the browser versions of these apps – as a way to bypass this. If you’ve got thoughts or questions on what I should discuss next week or any other feedback you’d like to share, feel free to email me at nik@coindesk.com or find me on Twitter @nikhileshde. You can also join the group conversation on Telegram. Sign up for State of Crypto, our weekly newsletter examining the intersection of cryptocurrency and government By signing up, you will receive emails about CoinDesk product updates, events and marketing and you agree to our terms of services and privacy policy. DISCLOSURE Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated . The leader in news and information on cryptocurrency, digital assets and the future of money, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups. As part of their compensation, certain CoinDesk employees, including editorial employees, may receive exposure to DCG equity in the form of stock appreciation rights, which vest over a multi-year period. CoinDesk journalists are not allowed to purchase stock outright in DCG . Nikhilesh De is CoinDesk’s managing editor for global policy and regulation. He owns marginal amounts of bitcoin and ether. Nikhilesh De is CoinDesk’s managing editor for global policy and regulation. He owns marginal amounts of bitcoin and ether.