ASA Urges Senate to Exempt Ag Commodities from Unilateral Economic Sanctions
ASA News ReleaseASA Urges Senate to Exempt Ag Commodities from Unilateral Economic SanctionsMay 11, 1999… Saint Louis, Missouri… The American Soybean Association (ASA) today voiced strong support in testimony before two separate U.S. Senate committees for legislation that would reform unilateral economic sanctions that are denying U.S. soybean farmers access to export markets. With world demand and farm prices at historic lows, these lost market opportunities only worsen the current crisis in the U.S. farm economy.ASA’s comments were presented today before the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, in support of S.566, “The Agricultural Trade Freedom Act,” and the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, in support of S.425, “The Food and Medicine for the World Act of 1999.”ASA President Mike Yost, a soybean producer from Murdock, Minn., said, “The use of unilateral economic sanctions by our government has been a recurring nightmare for soybean producers and all of U.S. agriculture for nearly three decades. Every year, these actions deny U.S. farmers, processors, and exporters access to multi-billion dollar markets.”In a report completed last August, ASA determined that restrictions on exports to Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan, Cuba, and North Korea resulted in lost U.S. sales of nearly $150 million annually for soybeans and soybean products alone. Even more damaging than the loss of annual sales to specific countries, unilateral sanctions establish the reputation of the U.S. as an unreliable supplier.”The restrictions on agricultural exports due to supply shortages imposed by Presidents Nixon and Ford in 1972 and 1973 sent shock waves through countries that had become dependent on the U.S. as a supplier of basic food products, including soybeans,” Yost said. “Within a few years, major importers led by Japan initiated a long-term investment program to develop the agricultural potential of South American countries, particularly soybean production in Brazil. Twenty-five years later, Brazil is our chief competitor for global soybeans, soybean oil, and soybean meal markets.”S.566 would exempt commercial sales of U.S. agricultural commodities from unilateral economic sanctions unless the president determines that the exemption should not apply for foreign policy or national security reasons. In the event of such a determination, the president is required to submit a report explaining these reasons and assessing the actual or potential importance of the sanctioned country as a market for U.S. agricultural exports, and the effect of the sanctions on exports. The report would also access the impact of the sanctions on the income of U.S. agricultural producers, on the potential increase in competition from other countries, and on the reputation of the U.S. as a reliable supplier.”In ASA’s view, this legislation represents a positive step toward reforming U.S. policies governing unilateral economic sanctions,” Yost said. “It would force an administration to assess and publicly state the likely impacts that a particular unilateral economic sanction would have on U.S. agriculture, and the extent to which the U.S. would be displaced by other suppliers to the sanctioned country. In every case we have examined, these responses would amount to prior acknowledgement that a sanction will be ineffective and will benefit our competitors at the expense of our own producers.”S.425 would exempt U.S. exports of agricultural and medical products from unilateral economic sanctions unless requested by the president and approved by both houses of Congress. The only exceptions to this exemption are in the event Congress has declared war, the president has declared a state of national emergency, or in the case of products which could have some military application. Also, the bill would not exempt products included in any multilateral sanction.”This legislation would set a precedent for exempting sales of agricultural and medical supplies from export restrictions, unless conditions meeting the standard of a national emergency exist,” Yost said. “This bill would also protect humanitarian exports under the Food for Peace Program, Section 416, and the GSM export credit guarantee program. These authorities are extremely important to the U.S. soybean industry since we depend on food assistance and credit sales programming for a significant part of our annual exports.”ASA strongly supported the administration’s April 28 decision to lift unilateral sanctions on sales of food and medicine to Iran, Libya and Sudan. This action opens markets worth more than $4.2 billion annually, and would allow a requested sale to Iran of $500 million of U.S. agricultural commodities, including soybean oil and soybean meal, to be completed.”Enactment of S.566 and S.425 would send a signal to both our customers and our competitors that the U.S. is beginning to understand that unilateral sanctions are not good foreign policy tools,” Yost said.
The American Soybean Association (ASA) expresses appreciation to House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson (D-MN) who introduced legislation yesterday to expand U.S. agriculture exports to Cuba. ASA has been a supporter of eliminating the Cuban sanctions. In 2008, there were more than $134 million worth of soy products exported to Cuba. If current policies that require third country banks, cash advance payments and limits on travel were lifted, these exports would be expected to increase.”ASA opposes restrictions on exports of U.S. agricultural commodities for national security or foreign policy reasons that are not supported by all other major world producers and exporters,” said ASA President Rob Joslin, a soybean producer from Sidney, Ohio. “ASA favors a normal trading relationship with Cuba including direct banking and elimination of the cash in advance rule. ASA also supports the country’s eligibility for the Foreign Market Development and Market Access Programs.”H.R.4645, the Travel Restriction Reform and Export Enhancement Act, would eliminate both the need to go through banks in other countries to conduct agricultural trades and the accompanying fees those banks charge. The bill would also require agricultural exports to Cuba to meet the same payment requirements as exports to other countries, which means payment would be required when the title of the shipment changes hands, not in advance. Finally, the bill would allow U.S. citizens to travel to Cuba, reducing the bureaucratic red tape currently required for individuals to travel to Cuba to facilitate new agriculture sales.”Agricultural producers in the United States are well positioned to benefit from additional trade in Cuba,” Joslin said. “U.S. suppliers can reach the three major Cuban ports in a matter of one day or less, compared to 25 days from Brazil.”
ABC’s “20/20” episode on Clyde Ray Spencer has been rescheduled to Nov. 5.The episode had been scheduled to air tonight. Spencer, a former Vancouver police officer, served nearly 20 years in prison for sexually abusing his children. Last month he was allowed to withdraw the no-contest pleas he entered in 1985.After entering the no-contest pleas, Spencer was sentenced to two life terms plus 14 years. He was denied parole several times because he maintained his innocence.Appellate rulings have shredded the way his case was handled by the Clark County Sheriff’s Office and the Clark County Prosecutor’s Office. Spencer’s sentence was commuted by former Gov. Gary Locke just before Locke left office in 2004. Locke cited a number of troubling aspects with Spencer’s case, including the fact that a supervising detective had an affair with Spencer’s ex-wife.But Spencer remained a convicted sex offender until he was allowed to withdraw his pleas last month.Spencer’s two children have said they were never abused. A stepson maintains he was abused, but appellate courts ruled he was too young at the time of the alleged abuse to have any independent recollection. According to the allegations, the children were together at the time of the supposed abuse.The Columbian did a three-part series, “Reversal of Fortune,” on Spencer’s case in 2005.
An overturned tractor-trailer carrying recycled paper triggered a two-hour closure Monday morning on state Highway 14, four miles east of Washougal. Rock Eggleston, 53, of Idaho Falls, Idaho, was cited for negligent driving. The wreck occurred at about 8:30 a.m.According to a crash memo from the Washington State Patrol, Eggleston was westbound on the highway when he crossed the center line while following a curve to the right. He slid into a barrier on the shoulder and the truck fell to its side, dumping multi-colored recycled paper on the roadway and on the side of the road over an embankment.Eggleston was not injured in the single-vehicle wreck.
Police located a missing teen who ran away from home with her 4-month-old son.Kiah Mickels, 16, was found by police early Friday, according to a Vancouver police bulletin.Police were told just after midnight Friday that her son, Jayden, was dropped off at a relative’s home and is safe, the release said.Mickels was last seen in her home Wednesday.
Seven stockings filled with goodies are hanging over a lit fireplace. Nearby, a 2-foot decorated tree is surrounded by packages. It’s a cheery Christmas spread, but this Felida family sees the meaning behind the gifts: generosity and hope.The Scovil family was displaced when a fire caused heavy smoke damage to their split-level home on Dec. 9. Since then, the family has relocated to a two-bedroom suite at a local hotel. On Saturday, a friend of daughter Nicole Scovil, 17, presented the family of five (plus two dogs, a gecko and two cats) with the Christmas presents, plus other essentials such as toiletries, blankets and clothes. It was a community effort.“I was touched and humbled,” Sandy Scovil said. “It was kind of like we’re going to be OK, we’re going to get through this.”She said she was amazed at how “wonderful and generous” people can be.This support network was powered, in part, by Katrina Cabalfin, who goes to school with Nicole at Skyview High School.When Katrina heard about the fire at the Scovil home, she decided to go to school, even though she had a concussion and was supposed to be out for the week. Katrina felt compelled to help after Nicole shared the story of the house fire at school, she said.“I was like, ‘Oh we have to help this family,’” Katrina said.She called various stores and got in touch with other students and teachers to get donations. Stores and businesses donated items and gift cards to the family.
Local and federal health officials urge all residents to test their homes for radon. Home test kits are available for as little as $15, and can be found at many hardware stores.January is National Radon Action Month. More information about the potentially hazardous gas is available at EPA.The number didn’t mean much to John Koroloff at first: 26 picocuries per liter.That’s the amount of radon gas the retired environmental science professor measured in the air of his own basement, after getting his hands on a home test kit a couple of years ago. He just wasn’t sure if it was good or bad.“It meant nothing to me,” Koroloff said.That feeling didn’t last long. Turns out, the reading registered way past what’s considered a safe level of radon — the second-leading cause of lung cancer in the United States, after only smoking, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.Koroloff didn’t waste time in taking action. He used another test kit to verify his initial result — the second test came in at 22 picocuries per liter (pCi/L), still more than five times higher than the EPA’s safe radon threshold. He installed a new ventilation pipe in the basement of his home in Vancouver’s Rose Village neighborhood, and more recently worked on new walls and flooring.
PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center and Oregon Health & Science University are joining forces to enhance neonatal care in Southwest Washington.Beginning March 1, board-certified neonatologists from OHSU’s Doernbecher Children’s Hospital will staff the Vancouver hospital’s Holtzman Twins Neonatal Intensive Care Unit around the clock. The collaboration will be headed by Dr. Robert Schelonka, head of the division of neonatology at Doernbecher and an associate professor at OHSU’s School of Medicine.The partnership will address the need for acute neonatology care at PeaceHealth Southwest, Schelonka said in a news release.“Building on the existing efforts of their neonatal team, we will enhance and broaden clinical services and capabilities to provide comprehensive, quality, safe, timely and family centered neonatal care for families in their home community whenever possible,” he said.The two hospitals will also share resources to enhance quality and reduce costs, cross-train medical professionals and broaden access to unique clinical trials that provide medical treatments and therapies often not available elsewhere in the region.“This collaboration will allow OHSU and PeaceHealth Southwest to work more closely to enhance and coordinate care for our most vulnerable newborns,” said Dr. Mark O’Hollaren, vice president for strategic outreach at OHSU and professor of medicine at OHSU’s School of Medicine. “Our goal is to allow as many babies as possible to receive care close to home and family, and when that is not possible, to have seamless care coordination between our two organizations to most effectively and compassionately care for these patients.”
LOS ANGELES — A former Oregon congressman has been sentenced to a year in federal prison for failing to report nearly $500,000 he received from a $10 million investment fraud scheme.Los Angeles federal prosecutors say 80-year-old Wester Shadric Cooley, who lives in Bend, Ore., was ordered on Monday to serve a year and a day in prison starting March 11.The judge also ordered Cooley to pay $3.5 million restitution to 400 investor victims and $138,000 to the Internal Revenue Service.The Republican represented Oregon’s 2nd Congressional District from 1995-97.Investigators say Cooley and two others lured victims into purchasing unregistered stock in Bidbay.com Inc. by falsely telling them the company was being acquired by eBay.Cooley pleaded guilty to filing a false tax return and receiving $1.1 million from the scheme.
Rain showers were scattered around the great Northwest on Labor Day, mainly at the coast and northward. Thunderstorms were moving up and over the Cascades late in the day. A risk of one in the western valleys was present.The pesky upper-level low was still spinning off the coast late Monday and will impact our weather the rest of our week. A chance of showers or thunderstorm is in the works so expect a chance of something any day this week.The upcoming weekend does look warm and dry extending into next week. So summer weather is in the forecast for a while. Still no complaints submitted to the weather office.How was your holiday weekend? Weatherwise it was perfect for just about any outdoor activity; even the ocean beaches had a few sun breaks.A fact from August as it lingers in our minds: The Portland International Airport recorded 22 days with overnight lows of 60 degrees or above, setting a record. The average is 11. Vancouver had 14 days, making it the third-warmest August in its history. The record: 16 days, in 2009. The average nights of 60 degrees or above are eight. Hot August nights!
Ben Dobson has been appointed reward and resourcing manager at Lancaster University.He joins from the University of Sheffield, where he held the roles of HR adviser, reward and recognition, HR departmental manager, and HR adviser, reward and benefits.
More than one in 10 (14%) respondents believe that every employer provides death-in-service benefits, according to research by Aviva.Its Protecting our families report, which surveyed 2,500 UK adults, also found that 18% of respondents do not know what support they would get from their employer if the main income earner within the family was unable to work for at least six months due to ill health.The research also found:52% of respondents know that death-in-service benefits cease once an employee stops working for the employer that provides them.27% of respondents think that death-in-service payments are subject to tax.26% of respondents believe death-in-service benefits only apply if they die at work or in a work-related situation.50% of respondents cite their employer as their most trusted source of financial support should their family face income loss for at least six months due to ill health, and 42% of respondents cite their partner’s employer as their most trusted source of financial support.10% of respondents believe they would receive sick pay indefinitely if the main income earner within the family was unable to work for at least six months due to ill health.Paul Brencher (pictured), managing director, individual protection at Aviva UK said: “Many parents say they would depend on government or employer support if they became too ill to work, but do not know what this would actually entail.“Affordability is also frequently cited as a barrier to having protection in place, but our research suggests families do have space to reduce their monthly spending. There is a clear challenge for the industry to ensure cover comes at a reasonable price. However, families must also ask themselves whether they can really afford not to be protected against the unexpected.”
A second Finance Bill 2017 has been introduced into Parliament, which includes the introduction of an income tax exemption for the first £500 of employer-arranged pensions advice, company car tax bands, and the retrospective application of the money purchase annual allowance (MPAA).A number of measures were dropped from the Finance Bill 2017 after the snap general election was called on 8 June 2017 in order to ease its passage through Parliament. This included the reduction of the MPAA from £10,000 to £4,000, as well as the pensions advice tax exemption. At the time, Jane Ellison, former financial secretary to the Treasury, confirmed that the provisions withdrawn from the bill would be legislated for at the earliest opportunity at the start of the next Parliament.The slimmed down Finance Bill received Royal Assent on 27 April 2017.The tax exemption for £500-worth of employer-arranged pensions advice replaces the current £150 cap. The new provision also broadens the scope of advice available to include general financial and tax issues relating to pensions. The new exemption would apply retrospectively from 6 April 2017.The reduction of the MPAA from £10,000 to £4,000 will also be effective from 6 April 2017. The reduction was first announced in the Autumn Statement 2016 by Chancellor Philip Hammond. This restricts the tax-relieved amount that individuals who have accessed their pension savings through the pension freedoms can contribute to their defined contribution (DC) pensions. In March 2017, the government confirmed that no transitional arrangements would be put in place, and that the MPAA reduction would apply to those who have accessed, or will access, their pensions flexibly, regardless of when the decision to make use of the freedoms occurred.The new Finance Bill also legislates for new tax bands for ultra-low emission vehicles (ULEVs) for the purposes of calculating the taxable benefit of company cars. The percentage for cars that emit 0-50g/km of CO2 will be based upon carbon dioxide emissions and the distance the car can travel in pure electric mode – its electric range. The percentage for cars that emit 51g/km of CO2 or more will continue to be based on CO2 emissions. These changes result in graduated bands for cars with CO2 emissions of 50g/km of CO2 or below, as well as a band for cars with zero emissions. These changes will come into effect from the 2020-2021 tax year.A date for making good on benefits in kind (BIKs) that are not accounted for in real time through pay as you earn (PAYE) is among the other measures included in the second bill. This relates to a payment made by an employee in return for a BIK, which can reduce the value of the BIK to zero. The date of 6 July has been set for BIKs that give rise to a tax liability for the 2017-2018 tax year onwards. This measure does not impact existing legislation or dates for making good on BIKs that are payrolled.The second Finance Bill 2017 was introduced to Parliament on 8 September 2017. A second reading of the bill in the House of Commons is scheduled for 12 September 2017.Mel Stride, financial secretary to the Treasury and paymaster general, said: “A fair tax system is a key part of our plan to build a fairer society. The UK is a world leader in tackling tax avoidance and evasion, but we must continue to take action to ensure everyone pays their fair share. The Finance Bill will allow us to do just that by preventing companies and individuals from using complicated tax structures to avoid paying the tax they owe, and penalising people that help them to do it.”Lauren Pamma, head of fleet consultancy at Lex Autolease, said: “It’s good to see the 11 company car tax bands for ultra-low emission vehicles, first introduced in last year’s Autumn Statement, included in the new Finance Bill. It provides clarity for fleets and makes switching to electric vehicles much more appealing in the longer term.”
EXCLUSIVE: Tammy Palmer (pictured), head of people development and engagement at charity Age UK, will discuss how community opportunities can work as a low-cost employee engagement tool at Employee Benefits Live 2017.The session, titled ‘Creative and cost-effective employee engagement strategies’, will form part of the employee engagement conference stream on Tuesday 10 October.In her session, Palmer will speak about how employers can engage a multi-generational workforce with their organisation’s brand and culture without having to invest in expensive schemes that may be unaffordable for some businesses, such as those in the voluntary sector.Palmer, in particular, will highlight her experiences at Age UK, describing how the organisation uses community volunteering and career opportunities, such as work experience, paid internships, a graduate programme and an apprenticeship programme, to encourage staff to become brand ambassadors for the charity.She will cite how an employee-led social media campaign bolstered the charity through a difficult business period, and how Age UK’s charity mission and goals influences its employee engagement proposition.She said: “I’m going to be talking about cost-light employee engagement opportunities, and flying the flag for the voluntary sector.“It doesn’t matter what sector [employers] work in, it doesn’t matter who [employers] are; [organisations] don’t have to throw millions of pounds at engagement opportunities. It’s about people coming together and sharing experiences, being part of something, and I think really, really crucially, it’s opportunity to give back to their community.“[Employee engagement is] nothing to do with money; it’s the way in which [employers] approach it and it’s the way in which staff responds to it. […] For me, it is about valuing everybody in [the] organisation and believing everybody in [the] organisation can and wants to contribute and finding the best way to get them to do that.”Employee Benefits Live 2017 will take place on Tuesday 10 and Wednesday 11 October at Olympia National, London.For more information or to book your place.
MIAMI (WSVN) – A few South Florida students are enjoying a lunch date with Ronald McDonald and police.The lunch is part of the Do The Right Thing initiative where kids in student-at-risk areas get rewarded for their good behavior and good deeds.Ronald McDonald led the first ever Dine with an Officer event at the McDonald’s near Biscayne Boulevard and Northeast 82nd Street, in Miami.He packed games, prizes and happy meals for everyone. “We’re here with the Do The Right Thing organization, teaming up with McDonald’s and the Miami-Dade Police Department, having lots of fun and encouraging doing the right thing,” said Ronald McDonald.“It’s kind of rewarding because just by doing the right thing, I get to see police officers and come to McDonalds,” said North Miami Elementary School Student, Tatiana Luc.The students were awarded with prizes, T-shirts and personalized congratulatory letters signed by Miami Police Chief Rodolfo Llanes and Miami-Dade Schools Police Chief Ian Moffett.Copyright 2019 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Wow – check out these flames from West Miami-Dade brush fire – area of SW Eighth Street and 142nd Avenue. Video: @thefitchairman @wsvn pic.twitter.com/eVpC3FBtPK— Brian Entin (@BrianEntin) March 5, 2017 SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) – Although strong wind gusts and dry conditions have made it difficult for firefighters to extinguish a forest fire that engulfed over 1,000 acres of undeveloped land in Southwest Miami-Dade, the wind gusts are pointing west, and have prevented structures and roads from being affected.Monday afternoon, smoke and ash from the forest fire could still be seen by people driving along Southwest Eighth Street.“The good thing is the winds are still pretty much in our favor, in the same direction as yesterday,” said Scott Peterich from the Florida Forest Service. “So, we’re working on the same game plan as last night.”According to the Florida Forest Service, beginning at around 1 p.m., Sunday, the fire swept through Eighth Street from 137th Avenue, all the way to Krome Avenue. At around 2 p.m., the fire jumped across Krome Avenue and was threatening surrounding structures. The fire eventually made its way to Southwest 177th Street by Sunday evening.The fire shut down nearby roads and businesses, but for now, neighboring structures are out of the danger zone. “There’s nothing west of it, except vegetation,” said Gabriel Llamas with the Florida Forest Service. “There’s no threats as far as structures.” Peterich was the first from the Florida Forest Service to come out to assess the status of the fire around the location where it started, near Southwest Eighth Street and 137th Avenue.Since most of the damage has already been done on the undeveloped land, which is mostly covered in grass and melaleuca trees, the focus is now containment, which stands at 75 percent, according to officials.There is no clear date or time set on when the fire will be completely contained. “Mother Nature is pretty much the one that does all the calling here,” Llamas said.Although the cause of the fire remains under investigation, officials believe it was man-made. They said these kinds of fires are a yearly problem. “Vegetation dries up, humidity drops and the vegetation is easily ignited,” Llamas said.The area where the fire started is popular for four-wheelers, and hot exhaust systems could ignite the dry vegetation and quickly spark an out-of-control forest fire.“You get ATV-ers out here, running full speed all the time, and the exhaust systems get extremely hot. So, if they stop for a second to chat with their buddies, or whatever, they could ignite the grass,” said Peterich. “With these winds, it doesn’t take long to spread and become a wildfire.”“You have to eliminate certain factors,” Peterich continued. “No lightning. So, the only thing I could imagine was that it was four-wheelers. However, we don’t know if it was intentional or not.” 
Crews have been up in the air looking for hotspots by plane, Monday. “We have our pilot up in the air and he’s trained to do surveillance and provide the commander and the firefighters on the ground a real great picture of the fire activity,” Peterich said.Fire officials are counting on an increase in humidity to help decrease the intensity of the fire, Monday afternoon. As of 6 p.m. Monday, officials said the current phase is classified as “mopping up the fire” and that they’re on their way to have the situation 100 percent contained.Copyright 2019 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
“Let’s all unite and get together because theft is not good. Crime is not good, and bringing down dreams is not good too,” Christian said.One of the subjects had a tattoo of a crown on the right side of his neck while the other had long deadlocks.With thousands of dollars worth of equipment gone, Christian said he will have to shut down the studio until he can get back on his feet.If you have any information on this burglary, call Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a $3,000 reward.Copyright 2019 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. DAVIE, FLA. (WSVN) – Over $8,500 worth of music equipment was stolen during a burglary at a Davie music studio.The items were taken from City Media, a father-and-son operated studio located near Griffin Road and the Florida Turnpike on Sunday.Two subjects broke into the building and loaded the equipment into the trunk of a car waiting outside at around 4 a.m.Surveillance video shows the entire ordeal. “They come in, and the first thing they try to do: shut the lights down and they start looking around,” said Jose Pareja, father of the studio’s owner.One thief could be seen on camera looking around a room before deciding to grab a guitar. The studio’s owner, Christian Pareja, discovered the theft.“Taking some things quickly, guitars, the computer, eventually started pulling, yanking the whole thing out like no respect to the equipment at all,” he said. “Wanted to make a place that people feel comfortable and creative and secure.”Pareja and his father are now hoping to catch the people who broke into the studio. “It was something to make somebody’s dream better,” said Jose. “That’s what we were trying to build, your dreams.” 
MIAMI (WSVN) – Police are searching for a subject who robbed a man and fled the scene on his motorcycle.City of Miami Police said they began their search for a man who stole $500 from another person, Thursday.Police said the victim was leaving a South Florida Credit Union on Northwest 19th Street and 14th Avenue when he was robbed by a subject on a motorcycle. Officials said the motorcyclist fled the scene while wearing a white helmet.The victim then went back to the credit union to seek help and ask for police to be called.If you have any information on this robbery, call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a $1,000 reward.Copyright 2019 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
MIAMI (WSVN) – A group of students were awarded for their actions as part of the Do the Right Thing program.The children were recognized for doing something extraordinary at school — either through a community service project or an act of kindness.“If you go out and do a good job, you wanna know that people notice,” said Miami Police Chief Jorge Colina, “and so it’s really important. We can’t recognize everyone who’s deserving every day, every month, but we do our best to try to come together — bring the officers together — and let them know how much we appreciate them and what a good job they do.”Each child was given a special plaque, certificate and goodie bag.Copyright 2019 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Facebook0TwitterEmailPrintFriendly分享Last updated on June 13th, 2019 at 05:59 amHomer Electric Association, Inc. (HEA) crews will be taking an emergency power outage tonight, June 5. The outage will begin at 11:00pm and scheduled to be completed by 3:00am on June 6. Remember to protect your sensitive electronic equipment. HEA crews will be making emergency repairs to the 115,000 volt transmission line in this area. This outage and repair are necessary to ensure reliable and safe power transmission to our members, according to a release from HEA.
This outage will affect approximately 5,500 members in the Soldotna and Kasilof areas: Starting from the Peninsula Center Mall in downtown Soldotna to the intersection of south Kalifornsky Beach Road along the Sterling Highway, including all of Kalifornsky Beach Road, and Airport Circle off Funny River Road in Soldotna.
1. Create ScaleIn a down market, advertisers need to know programs have reach and that can mean packaging print with other products. “One of the challenges for larger advertisers—automobile, cigarettes, etc.—is when they’re executing programs, especially with magazines, does it have enough scale to warrant creating a display?” says Capua.Events are a common added-value component for AD. “Events are a hot button in is this ‘experience economy’ and we’ll offer to make an advertiser’s event more special,” says Capua. AD leveraged the Architectural Digest Design Show—a consumer trade show that draws about 20,000 attendees—to create new sponsorship opportunities for brands such as Lincoln Mercury, which wanted to emphasize the design of a new vehicle series. The campaign featured in-book advertising, exposure at the show and ultimately (unsolicited) editorial coverage in the magazine when Lincoln Mercury brought three young female designers who worked on the cars to the event. “This helped shatter myths about what Lincoln Mercury was about and influenced a community with some predispositions about the design,” says Capua. “Our editor-in-chief thought it was interesting to profile three young women working for a Detroit car company. It was completely unrelated to the sponsorship but ended up taking it full circle.”2. Develop New ProductsReal Estate Media has made up for some of the advertising drop with a series of sponsored roundtables in which a client gets to sponsor and even participate in a discussion of trends in the marketplace, which is then featured in the magazine. “They’re basically buying a seat on the panel and the stories are labeled ‘sponsored panel,’” says Desiato. “Sometimes we’ll package it for high volume advertisers. It’s basically custom publishing. It’s a legitimate topic done as a legitimate story. The advertiser doesn’t get to review the story but they do get a few more bells and whistles such as a logo, a bio for their representative, something to help promote their company.”Real Estate Media typically does one sponsored roundtable per quarter for each of its four magazines. The publisher tries to recruit four or five sponsors per roundtable, at $10,000 each. In addition to the print component, podcast versions appear on the magazines’ respective Web sites. “Audio works well for this audience,” says Desiato. “We’ve looked into video but we’re not sure it’s right for them. We will do focus groups on video, which is a substantial investment, especially when you’re not sure how to monetize it.”Desiato also advises publishers to reach out to markets and clients they may not have considered before the downturn. “We’re working with Dubai right now and if it works out, that could be very big,” he says. “ Those are the kinds of things you reach out for—what you typically would not look for. This time last year, I wouldn’t have sent my sales manager to Dubai.” 3. Make Sure Online Ads Drive ResponseIf ads aren’t working, try something new. Online ads are especially quick to fix. “Typically, ads on our Web sites are static and not based on a CPM model,” says Desiato. “We’ve gone to more text-style link ads that tend to drive more traffic than a cube. People don’t tend to click on Web ads but will click on text.” 4. Hold Rates But Offer Alternative BuysArchitectural Digest is a fairly unique Conde Nast title in that its endemic advertiser base—fabric, lighting, furniture, basically anything going into the home—has little cross-over with its sister magazines. Many advertisers are small businesses with an average schedule size of two to three pages. “We’re usually the biggest line item on their marketing budget and we’re often twice as expensive as other magazines out there,” says Capua. Holding to set rates is getting increasingly difficult for publishers but AD just abides by an established corporate policy, according to Capua. “It’s the easiest thing in the world at Conde Nast—corporate contracts are negotiated on revenue and it’s out of our hands,” he adds. “We negotiate added-value but we don’t negotiate rates.”Still, AD has to offer some flexibility for the smaller advertisers that make up much of its customer base. “We’ve had to be creative in creating regional opportunities for advertisers that want to be in the magazine but can’t make the leap nationally first,” says Capua. “We have Top 10 metro buys, New York City-buys, California-only buys. Those are usually the way you find companies entering our brands and as their business grows, they grow into a national buy.” 5. Find the Sweet SpotSometimes publishers can tap into other budgets beyond print or online dollars. “It’s interesting to see where advertisers will have money in the budget,” says Desiato. “They may not have money for an ad but they will have it for a cocktail reception. More and more, we’re saying we’ll produce a cocktail reception and you can fly in under our banner.”Relationships are key but it may be time to cut out the middleman. “There are ways of finding money and the key is finding where the sweet spot is,” Desiato says. “If you’re just talking to marketing directors or agencies, you’re never going to get it. You have to go direct now. Go right into executive level decision-making. If you don’t do that, you’ll just be in more pain. There’s no magic bullet in this. I’ve been through four of these, I know how the story ends.”6. Take A Long Term ApproachAs advertisers pull back (and many push publishers on price and value-adds), publishers need to consider the long term relationship with the client. That means going above and beyond for an advertiser with a proven relationship but also drawing the line for a client that’s proving to be more trouble than they’re worth. “When you hear an advertiser say they have to trim an insertion, do we still execute on the added-value or do we trim it back 20 percent?” says Capua. “We try to take a long term approach with our long term partners. If you’re both on same page and honest and direct, you can work it out even if there are a lot of hard costs tied into the value-added component. Understand the client’s objectives early so you can be out ahead.”7. Put Some Distance Between You and The CompetitionOne opportunity in a downturn is that category leaders can actually increase their lead on the competition trailing behind them more easily. “In booming markets, it’s harder to grow market share,” says Capua. “Advertisers are compelled to spread their money around. When the market shrinks, they’re faced with difficult decisions and say, ‘I’m going to stick with what works.’”Negotiate from a position of strength (even if that’s not the case). “You need to position your products more as something advertisers need than something they want,” says Desiato. “There’s a thin line between advertisers who want to be there and those that need to be there.” Debating whether the U.S. economy is technically in recession or not is largely academic for magazine publishers trying to hit their budgets each month. “I’ve been through a few of these and this one is troubling in many ways because there doesn’t seem to be one sector that isn’t feeling the strain in one shape or form,” says Giulio Capua, vice president and publisher of Architectural Digest. “When you’re a magazine like ours and you’re tied to the housing market, believe me, it’s a frightening time.”Especially when you consider that in some markets, like real estate, major advertisers aren’t just cutting back, they’re disappearing. “Bear Stearns goes out, Countrywide goes out, that’s a lot of money that’s just not coming back,” says Michael Desiato, group publisher of Incisive’s Real Estate Media. “I’m trying to do forecasts now for this year and next year and it’s anybody’s guess. You’re almost afraid to call up people for fear they might cancel an ad.”Still, both Capua and Desiato and their teams continue to sell (Architectural Digest is up 3.9 percent in pages and 10.1 percent to $88.1 million in ad revenue in the first half of 2008, according to PIB). Below, the two publishers outline what has worked for them to keep money coming in, including trying to tie advertisers more directly to editorial without crossing the church-state line.
Publishers, get ready for your close-up.Kantar Media SRDS and Synaptic Digital have teamed up to offer The SRDS Video Media Kit, which introduces media planners to a publisher’s portfolio via video. The video kits can be created using “sizzle reels” from existing videos such as event footage with subscribers and magazine staff or Synaptic Digital will help publishers create original video. The kits are then delivered via SRDS in a standardized template.”These days it is increasingly difficult for a publisher’s advertising sales team to effectively communicate their entire multimedia offering,” says Stephen Davis, president of Kantar Media SRDS. “The video format will allow publishers to tell a consistent, focused message. It’s akin to bringing an editor and a publisher on every sales call.”
ADC AUTHOR Service members and their families now can have access to a new app that helps them find military discounts in their location.The communities of Savannah and Hinesville, Ga., near Fort Stewart, are among the most recent to gain access to the new app that allows local service members and their families to find the best military discounts in their area, Fox28Media reported.The app, Deal Patrol, was released in the area Wednesday and offers service members a comprehensive database of military discounts that are accessible through the free and user-friendly app.Deal Patrol, which has also been released in other military communities, is free through Apple’s App Store and Android’s Google Play. Once installed, service members and their families can use it wherever they travel, and businesses can also submit their military discounts using the app.Launched in 2018, Military Deal Patrol was founded by two veterans who recognized the need for a comprehensive and user-friendly app to find local military discounts.“When I was a cadet at the Air Force Academy, I was always looking for the places that had military discounts,” said Military Deal Patrol Co-Founder and CEO Gavin Light. “I thought, ‘why hasn’t anyone built a comprehensive database where all the discounts are easy to find?’ Everyone likes to save money. We’re making it easier for the military community.”Logo credit to Deal Patrol
WILMINGTON, MA — Below is a recent Wilmington Little League game summary:Single A Jamboree on Saturday, June 15, 2019 at Rotary Park The 2019 Single-A jamboree highlighted just how bright a future Wilmington Little League has. The Pirates/Giants/Braves/Rays team took on the Cardinals/Astros team in a slugfest. Tommy Roofe (Rays) and Grady Considine (Giants) led the Pirates/Giants/Braves/Rays offense with a double and a single each while Michael Trimarchi (Braves), Cam White (Rays), Sean Theodos (Pirates), Zach Maiella (Pirates), Bradley Stephen (Pirates), Matt Roque (Giants), Gabe Cummings (Giants), and Michael Crowley (Rays) all added a single or two as well. Maiella and Crowley each did a great job catching behind the plate. The Cards/Astros team was led by the Astros’ Andrew Poyant who blasted two doubles. Brady & Jake Beldekas (Cardinals), Lucas Madden (Astros), Noah Drane (Astros), David Collins (Astros), C.J. Morad (Astros), Abram Tavares (Astros), Liam Callahan (Cardinals), and Drew Drozdowski (Cardinals) all made solid contact, with the majority of at bats resulting in singles as well. Morad and Drozdowski manned home plate as catchers for their team. It was so impressive to see the aggressive swings, outstanding fielding, and strong throwing by both teams. Managers Chris Roofe (Rays), Bart Zaino (Pirates), Eric Salvador (Giants), Demetri Beldekas (Cardinals), Cheryl Murphy (Braves), and Steve Morad (Astros), along with their coaches, deserve tremendous credit for developing so many players who are ready for the next step in 2020! Wilmington Little League offers their sincere thanks to all coaches, players, and parents for such a successful season.(NOTE: Summaries provided by the Wilmington Little League.)Like Wilmington Apple on Facebook. Follow Wilmington Apple on Twitter. Follow Wilmington Apple on Instagram. Subscribe to Wilmington Apple’s daily email newsletter HERE. Got a comment, question, photo, press release, or news tip? Email wilmingtonapple@gmail.com.Share this:TwitterFacebookLike this:Like Loading… RelatedWilmington Little League’s Latest Game SummariesIn “Sports”Wilmington Little League’s Latest Game SummariesIn “Sports”Wilmington Little League’s Latest Game SummariesIn “Sports”
WILMINGTON, MA — It is time to clean out your closets, garages, and attics and bring it all to the Annual Yard Sale Fundraiser for the Wilmington Sons of Italy and Wilmington High School Band Parents. The event will be held on Saturday, September 7, 2019, from 8am to 3pm, at the Town Common Parking Lot, next to the 4th of July building.The cost to rent a spot is $20. There will be music and a BBQ as well, with all proceeds supporting both groups. If you would like a spot, fill out the form HERE. Contact John Romano, Sons of Italy President, at jromano45@gmail.com or 617-750-9749. with any questions.Like Wilmington Apple on Facebook. Follow Wilmington Apple on Twitter. Follow Wilmington Apple on Instagram. Subscribe to Wilmington Apple’s daily email newsletter HERE. Got a comment, question, photo, press release, or news tip? Email wilmingtonapple@gmail.com.Share this:TwitterFacebookLike this:Like Loading… RelatedWilmington Sons of Italy & WHS Band Parents To Hold Huge Yard Sale On September 7In “Community”POSTPONED: Wilmington Flea Market Rescheduled From September 7 To October 19 Due To Expected StormIn “Community”Wilmington Sons of Italy & WHS Band Parents To Hold Huge Yard Sale On September 8In “Community”
Preview • 2019 BMW X4: A sportier sports activity coupe 0 Tags Review • 2019 BMW X4: A style-first luxury crossover BMW 2020 BMW M340i review: A dash of M makes everything better 2020 Hyundai Palisade review: Posh enough to make Genesis jealous 2019 BMW X4: A sportier and roomier sports activity coupe 70 Photos More From Roadshow Share your voice Enlarge ImageIn the meantime, just don’t hit stuff. Jon Wong/Roadshow Automakers rely on a variety of suppliers for many parts inside their vehicles, and occasionally, a freak occurrence at one of those suppliers can be serious enough to warrant a recall.BMW has issued a recall for 50 examples of certain variants of the 2019 X3 and 2019 X4. Only 36 X3 variants are involved, covering the sDrive30i, xDrive30i and M40i, carrying production dates of March 19 and 20, 2019. The remaining 14 vehicles were X4 M40i variants built in the same two-day span.The problem stems from the instrument panel. According to the report filed with NHTSA, a supplier error during a lamination process resulted in panels containing adhesive not specified for the intended purpose. This creates the possibility that the cover over the passenger front airbag might not work as intended in a crash, potentially hindering airbag deployment and increasing the risk of injury.BMW found out about this problem from the supplier itself, which admitted that there may have been an error in production. BMW went to work identifying which vehicles might have the potentially faulty instrument panels, and the automaker then conducted a voluntary recall based on the information it gathered. Thankfully, it’s not aware of any accidents or injuries related to this defect.The remedy is about as simple as it can be. Once recalled vehicles have been returned to dealerships, technicians will swap out the faulty instrument panels with correctly bonded pieces. As with all recalls, the job will be performed free of charge, and since the new-vehicle warranty is in effect for all recalled vehicles, there won’t be a reimbursement program in place, as nobody should have paid for a repair in the first place. Owners should expect to receive recall notifications in the mail in early June. More about 2019 BMW X4 2019 Toyota Prius AWD-e review: A thrifty hybrid with more grip Post a comment Recalls BMW Car Industry Luxury cars SUVs
Manny Pacquiao and Keith Thurman will meet for the world welterweight championship title on July 20 in Las Vegas. JP YIM / Getty Images Manny Pacquiao takes on Keith Thurman in a WBA welterweight title fight on Saturday, July 20. Pacquiao is the the only eight-division champion in boxing history. He’s also a senator in his native Philippines when he’s not extending his boxing career into his 40s. His opponent does not hold public office, but Thurman is the current WBA welterweight champ and is undefeated with a record of 29-0 with 22 knockouts. At 30 years old, Thurman is also 10 years younger than Pacquaio.Here’s what fight fans need to know to watch the Pacquaio-Thurman fight. What time does the fight start? The event is scheduled to start on Saturday, July 20 at 9 p.m. ET at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, but Pacquaio (61-7-2) and Thurman (29-0-0) won’t fight until later in the evening, following three undercard bouts. What are the odds?Odds and predictions place Pacquiao as a slight favorite. Pacquaio is a between a -155 and -130 favorite and Thurman is underdog at +110 or +115. How much does it cost?The fight will cost $75 (plus applicable taxes and fees) via Fox PPV. Note that CNET earns commissions from the services featured on this page. Buy at Fox Sports PPVHow to stream the fight You don’t have to have cable to stream the fight. You can stream the fight on any device, including your computer, phone, tablet, TV or streaming box at FoxSports.com or with the FoxSports app. Tags 2 Comments Share your voice Now playing: Watch this: Media Streamers TVs Sports Fox 2:44 Live TV streaming services for cord cutters: How to choose…
Recently updated to include digital-photo-frame capabilities, the Lenovo Smart Clock brings Google Assistant goodness to your nightstand. It’s a little smaller than the Amazon Echo Show 5, but also a full $30 less (and tied with Prime Day pricing) during this Best Buy Labor Day sale. Lenovo Smart Clock: $59.99 (save $20) See at Turo $999 Sarah Tew/CNET Mentioned Above Apple iPhone XS (64GB, space gray) Best laptops for college students: We’ve got an affordable laptop for every student. Best live TV streaming services: Ditch your cable company but keep the live channels and DVR. $60 at Best Buy DJI’s answer to GoPro’s action cameras is rugged little model that’s shockproof, dustproof and waterproof down to 11 meters. It normally runs $350, but this deal drops it to $261 when you apply promo code 19LABOR10 at checkout. HP Laptop 15t Value: $520 (save $780) NASA,I’m shocked — shocked! — to learn that stores are turning Labor Day into an excuse to sell stuff. Wait — no, I’m not. As much as I respect the original intent of the holiday (which became official back in 1894), to most of us, it’s just a bonus day off — one that’s blissfully tacked onto a weekend. So, yeah, stores; go ahead, run your sales. I’m listening. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Labor Day doesn’t bring out bargains to compete with the likes of Black Friday (which will be here before you know it), but there are definitely some sales worth your time.For example:We’ve rounded up the best Labor Day mattress deals.We’ve also gathered the best Labor Day laptop deals at Best Buy.The 2019 Vizio P Series Quantum is back under $999.Be sure to check out Amazon’s roughly three dozen Labor Day deals on TVs and audio. Google Express is having a big sale as well, one that includes deals on game consoles, AirPods, iPhones, laptops and more.Below I’ve rounded up a handful of individual items I consider to be the cream of the crop, followed by a handy reference guide to other Labor Day sales. Keep in mind, of course, that products may sell out at any time, even if the sale itself is still running. Note that CNET may get a share of revenue from the sale of the products featured on this page. Share your voice Comments Preview • iPhone XS is the new $1,000 iPhone X Google Nest Hub: $59 (save $70) I thought this might be a mistake, but, no, the weirdly named HP Laptop 15t Value is indeed quite the value at this price. Specs include an Intel Core i7 processor, 12GB of RAM, a 256GB solid-state drive and a 15.6-inch display. However, I strongly recommend paying an extra $50 to upgrade that display to FHD (1,920×1,080), because you’re not likely to be happy with the native 1,366×768 resolution. Neil Armstrong is remembered for many feats, including breaking records in aviation and spaceflight. On his birthday, we remember the man who inspired millions when he walked on the surface of the Moon. More: https://t.co/1y4CX4Zvkq pic.twitter.com/3aup0Q5vqC— NASA (@NASA) August 5, 2019 NASA is honoring Neil Armstrong’s birthday by remembering his legacy. Getty Images Neil Armstrong, the first person to walk on the moon, would have been 89 today. NASA on Monday honored the astronaut, who died in 2012, with a tweet and video remembering the “engineer,” “pilot,” “teacher” and “American hero.” The video includes soundbites, images and videos of Armstrong.”Neil Armstrong is remembered for many feats, including breaking records in aviation and spaceflight,” the tweet reads. “On his birthday, we remember the man who inspired millions when he walked on the surface of the moon.” Read DJI Osmo Action preview Sarah Tew/CNET Sci-Tech Sarah Tew/CNET Tidal 3-month family subscription: $5.99 (save $54) $999 $210 at Best Buy 7 Sarah Tew/CNET Use promo code 19LABOR10 to get an unusually good deal on JBL’s interesting hybrid product — not quite headphones, and not quite a traditional speaker, but something you wear like neckphones to listen to music on the go. Angela Lang/CNET Formerly known as the Google Home Hub, Google’s Nest Hub packs a wealth of Google Assistant goodness into a 7-inch screen. At $59, this is within a buck of the best price we’ve seen. It lists for $129 and sells elsewhere in the $89-to-$99 range.This is one item of many available as part of eBay’s Labor Day Sale (which, at this writing, doesn’t specifically mention Labor Day, but that’s how it was pitched to us). JBL Soundgear wearable speaker: $90 (save $160) TVs Speakers Mobile Accessories Cameras Laptops Automobiles Smart Speakers & Displays Post a comment CNET may get a commission from retail offers. The Cheapskate The problem with most entry-level laptops: They come with mechanical hard drives. That makes for a mighty slow Windows experience. This Lenovo model features a 128GB solid-state drive, so it should be pretty quick to boot and load software, even with its basic processor. Plus, it has a DVD-burner! That’s not something you see in many modern laptops, especially at this price. Chris Monroe/CNET Lenovo 130-15AST 15.6-inch laptop: $210 (save $90) Read Lenovo Smart Clock review Though not technically a Labor Day sale, it’s happening during Labor Day sale season — and it’s too good not to share. Nationwide Distributors, via Google Express, has just about the best AirPods deal we’ve seen (when you apply promo code ZBEDWZ at checkout). This is for the second-gen AirPods with the wireless charging case. Can’t imagine these will last long at this price, so if you’re interested, act fast. 0
Turo: Save $30 on any car rental $155 at Google Express Amazon See It Sprint Rylo 5.8K 360 Video Camera: $250 (save $250) Rylo What’s cooler: A snapshot of a firework exploding in front of you, or full 360-degree video of all the fireworks and all the reactions to seeing them? Oooh, ahhh, indeed. At $250, the compact Rylo dual-lens camera is selling for its lowest price yet. And for an extra $50, you can get the bundle that includes the waterproof housing.This deal runs through Sept. 3; it usually costs $500. $520 at HP Share your voice $999 $299 at Amazon Turo is kind of like Uber meets Airbnb: You borrow someone’s car, but you do all the driving. I’ve used it many times and found it a great alternative to traditional car-rental services — in part because you get to choose exactly the vehicle you want (not just, say, “midsize”) and in part because you can often do pickup and dropoff right outside baggage claim.Between now and Sept. 1, the first 300 people to check out can get $30 off any Turo rental with promo code LDW30. An Echo Dot makes a fine match for any Fire edition TV, because you can use the latter to say things like, “Alexa, turn on the TV.” Right now, the 24-inch Insignia Fire TV Edition starts at just $100, while the 32-inch Toshiba Fire TV Editions is on sale for $130. Just add any Fire TV Edition to your cart, then add a third-gen Echo Dot, and presto: The latter is free. Other Labor Day sales you should check out Best Buy: In addition to some pretty solid MacBook deals that have been running for about a week already, Best Buy is offering up to 40% off major appliances like washers, dryers and stoves. There are also gift cards available with the purchase of select appliances. See it at Best BuyDell: Through Aug. 28, Dell is offering an extra 12% off various laptops, desktops and electronics. And check back starting Aug. 29 for a big batch of Labor Day doorbusters. See it at DellGlassesUSA: Aug. 29 – Sept. 3 only, you can save 65% on all frames with promo code labor65. See it at GlassesUSALenovo: The tech company is offering a large assortment of deals and doorbusters through Labor Day, with the promise of up to 56% off certain items — including, at this writing, the IdeaPad 730S laptop for $700 (save $300).See it at LenovoLensabl: Want to keep the frames you already love and paid for? Lensabl lets you mail them in for new lenses, based on your prescription. From now through Sept. 2 only, you can save 20% on the blue light-blocking lens option with promo code BLOCKBLUE. See it at LensablSears: Between now and Sept. 7, you can save up to 40% on appliances (plus an additional 10% if you shop online), up to 60% on mattresses, up to 50% on Craftsman products and more. The store is also offering some fairly hefty cashback bonuses. See it at SearsNote: This post was published previously and is continuously updated with new information.CNET’s Cheapskate scours the web for great deals on tech products and much more. For the latest deals and updates, follow the Cheapskate on Facebook and Twitter. Questions about the Cheapskate blog? Find the answers on our FAQ page, and find more great buys on the CNET Deals page. NASA also shared a post on its site about Armstrong’s 39th birthday, which was spent in quarantine following the Apollo 11 moon landing mission in 1969. After the mission, humans, spacecraft and samples had to be in quarantine for 21 days to avoid contaminating the Earth with any lunar micro-organisms. On that birthday, workers in the Lunar Receiving Laboratory, where Armstrong was in quarantine, made him a cake and threw a surprise party. Armstrong enthusiastically blew out the candles and cut up slices of cake for everyone. The wives of the astronauts watched from the other side of the glass, and he pretended to hand them cake through the partition. Armstrong died at age 82 after complications from cardiovascular surgery. $999 $6 at Tidal Tags Apple AirPods with Wireless Charging Case: $155 (save $45) See It Best Buy Free Echo Dot with an Insignia or Toshiba TV (save $50) See it Spotify and most other streaming services rely on compressed audio, which robs the listener of full fidelity. Enter Tidal, the only “major” service that delivers lossless audio — meaning at least on par with CD quality, if not better. Want to see (er, hear) the difference for yourself? Grab this excellent extended trial while you can. It’s just $6 for three months, and it’s good for up to six listeners. Boost Mobile Read the AirPods review Read the Rylo camera preview DJI Osmo Action camera: $261 (save $89) Apple iPhone XS Review • iPhone XS review, updated: A few luxury upgrades over the XR See It Tags Read Google Home Hub review $90 at Daily Steals via Google Express $261 at Daily Steals via Google Express See at Amazon $59 at eBay Turo
Students from across the state competed in the 26th annual Alaska State Geographic Bee last week in hopes of winning a spot in this year’s national competition in Washington D.C. 101 students vied for the spot.Download Audio
The April 20, 2016 fire took place at Pump Station 5, near Coldfoot. Photo courtesy of Alyeska Pipeline Service Co.A worker with a hand-wrench sparked the fire last month that shut down the trans-Alaska pipeline for nine hours.Download AudioThe fire, on April 20, forced the evacuation of more than 50 people working at a remote pump station near Coldfoot, at the edge of the Brooks Range.Alyeska Pipeline Service Co., which operates the pipeline, is investigating the cause of the fire. Spokeswoman Michelle Egan said the technician was working at the top of an oil storage tank with an adjustable wrench, removing nuts from a panel in preparation for an inspection planned later that week. His wrench, she said, simply slipped.“That hand-tool slipped and struck a hard object, and that likely caused a spark,” Egan said. “Then he saw flames, about three inches of flames around the outside of the panel that he was working on.”The storage tank has vents that allow crude oil vapors to escape, and the spark likely ignited those, she said.The company has strict regulations for most work around tanks, especially with power tools. But it wasn’t clear that work with a hand-tool could cause a fire.“Clearly we did not anticipate that with this kind of work that he was doing, that vapors would be present and this could occur,” Egan said.The company is reexamining its regulations.By the time the technician had climbed down from the tank to retrieve a fire extinguisher, the fire was too large for him to control by himself, Egan said. The full pipeline was shut down within minutes.An on-site fire crew initially held off to see if the fire would go out by itself. When the crew did finally go in, just after midnight, the fire was extinguished within minutes.The pipeline itself was restarted before the fire was put out. Egan said by that point, operators were confident the pump station was isolated from the full pipeline.Alyeska is continuing its investigation. The full results expected within the next few weeks but will not be released publicly.
On the north shore of Lake Clark, there’s a place called Kijik. It’s the historic homeland of the Dena’ina Athabascans of the area, and also the site of a culture camp where youth and elders from the village of Nondalton came together last week. Dozens of abandoned house sites dot the area, and KDLG’s Hannah Colton joined as the kids got their hands dirty learning about one of them.Listen nowArchaeologist Randy Tedor shows kids how to sift through dirt at the “Quk Taz’Un” house site. (Photo by Hannah Colton, KDLG – Dillingham)“A little push down, flick out, and then you wanna keep going down the wall…”Randy Tedor kneels in front of a 50-centimeter square of dirt. The bushy-bearded archeologist is showing a group of kids how to carefully excavate the quadrant.“Excavation is an art,” he tells them, deftly pulling layers of soil loose.11-year-old Cordelle Balluta-Trefon puts down a metal detector he’s been playing with, and gets to work in the dirt with a dustpan and a trowel.After a while, Balluta-Trefon puts down the trowel and hands something to Tedor. It’s a tiny red speck.“Good eye, man! I can’t believe you saw that” Tedor said laughing. “A little baby bead.”That little bead, Tedor explains, is a huge clue. This type of glass bead was only manufactured in Europe after a certain date, so it helps archaeologists like Tedor figure out how old the site is. They think this house was occupied between 1840 and the 1880s.As he explores more into the site, Balluta-Trefon said he’s getting a picture in his head, visualizing what it might have looked like when people lived here“I don’t see people, but I just see a house. There’s a firepit, there’s a storage room, a bedroom, that’s the front door over there,” Balluta-Trefon mused. “I’m still kinda putting the picture together.”This curiosity is exactly what Tedor is trying to inspire; he wants the kids to wonder how people lived back then, maybe to realize that the people living on this land were, in many ways, just like us.But like many old village sites in Alaska, this land and its people have a troubled history.Cordelle Balluta-Trefon holds up a square-sided nail, another clue as to when this house was inhabited. (Photo by Hannah Colton, KDLG – Dillingham)Fur hunters and explorers from Russia started plundering Lake Clark’s Dena’ina villages in the late 1790s. Next came the Russian Orthodox missionaries, who by the 1830s were traveling around regularly to baptize and hold services in villages.And of course, with this new contact came new diseases. Around 1900, a measles and flu epidemic devastated the population at Kijik. The survivors moved down the lake to what is now the village of Nondalton, seeking better access to salmon runs and trading posts.They left Kijik behind, along with a lakeshore full of graves and sad memories.“They’re estimating up to 200 graves here,” said Karen Evanoff, a Dena’ina Athabascan cultural anthropologist with Lake Clark National Park. For five years she’s been working with the Nondalton Tribal Council and researchers to identify and mark the graves.The work culminated in a blessing ceremony last summer.“Close to a hundred people were here, and we combined the traditional way of spirituality and blessing with the Russian Orthodox way, so it was a huge celebration,” Evanoff said . “This is a healing place.”There’s still controversy over the land at Kijik; parts of it are now owned by a Native allotment and a homesteader, who built structures on and around the church and grave sites. The Kijik Corporation has managed to buy a few acres back, and Evanoff said they hope to regain more of the land the people consider sacred.“That’s part of the vision,” she said, “to clear this of the cabins and have some plaques here to identify who’s buried.”Michelle Ravenmoon (right), Nondalton elder Pauline Hobson (left) and kids sing a Dena’ina song at the end-of-camp potluck (Photo by Hannah Colton, KDLG – Dillingham)Holding the culture camp here is another part of that healing process. Evanoff planned the camp along with Michelle Ravenmoon of Pope-Vanoy on Lake Iliamna“Of course, we want the kids to have a lot of fun and enjoy themselves and grow their self-confidence and pride,” Ravenmoon said. “But we also wanted to make sure they learn their history and their identity, where they come from, who they are.”Each activity – from wood carving to caribou hide-tanning to language classes – is meant to help kids understand their Dena’ina culture.“We’ve been very unsuccessful as Native people sending them out, preparing them for this outside world,” Ravenmoon said. “We give them computers, and we teach them history of the United States, but we’ve taught them so little about who they are where they come from. I think it’s important for kids to know their history.”A piece of that history lies in the ground at the archeological site, waiting for the kids to get their hands on it.Up until recently, the archaeological site was known to scientists as “house pit XLC-098.” But Michelle and Karen were happy to share that the site is now being officially renamed: “Quk Taz’Un,” the same name as the culture camp.It means “the sun is rising,” hopefully on a brighter future for the Dena’ina Athabascans of Lake Clark.
The Cruz speech was the low point of the convention for Holmes. His high point? Snapping a photo of a favorite celebrity: Fox News host Megyn Kelly. Downtown Cleveland gussied up for the GOP convention. Photo: Lawrence Ostrovsky.The Republican National Convention ends tonight in Cleveland with a big speech by the party’s presidential nominee, Donald Trump. Of course, Trump wasn’t Alaska’s first choice. Ted Cruz won the state’s GOP vote in March. Are they lining up behind the nominee? Yes. Mostly.Listen nowJohn Moller of Juneau is a Cruz delegate. Going into the convention, he wasn’t sure he could fully back Trump. But Moller says that changed.“It was a gradual migration, but (I’m) 100 percent on board now,” he says.As the convention progressed, Moller says he got a better feel for who Trump is. That was one piece of his conversion.“The importance of unity in our party is critical. That helped me get a little closer,” he said. “And just the events and the speakers, including Mr. Trump, over the course of the last three days has helped me get there.”Here’s a sign that his transformation is complete: Moller says he’s “extremely disappointed” Cruz blew the opportunity to endorse Trump from the convention stage Wednesday night. Instead, Cruz urged people to “vote your conscience,” which drew loud boos.Judy Eledge of Anchorage was an ardent Cruz champion, but is now on board the Trump train, too. She’s of two minds when it comes to Cruz’s non-endorsement. It makes sense, Eledge says, after all the insults Trump hurled earlier in the campaign.Judy Eledge is a Cruz delegate who says she’s on board with Trump now. Photo: Lawrence Ostrovsky.“But I wish he would have at least said, ‘I’m going to support the Republican nominee.’ But he didn’t,” Eledge says. “And to me, Mr. Cruz is a man of principles. He’s not going to endorse someone who has talked about his father, his mother. He’s just not going to do it.”Even on the final day of the convention, some of the Alaskans still wrestled with their doubts about Trump.“I just don’t see him as a consistent, conservative-type candidate. I think he would have been a fantastic candidate for the Democrat party,” said Jesse Clutts of Anchor Point. He sounds like a guy still hoping for another option, because he knows for sure he won’t vote for Hillary Clinton.“If you buy into that there’s only two people that you have a choice of, then I’m going to pull the lever for Donald Trump,” he said.Is he convinced those are his only options? The question drew a resigned sigh.“That seems to be the case,” he said.Doyle Holmes of Willow is a Trump delegate to the Republican National Convention. Photo: Lawrence Ostrovsky.And then there are those who embraced Trump from the get-go. Like delegate Doyle Holmes of Willow. He was on the convention floor for the dramatic Cruz speech. Holmes says Cruz seemed to be building to a big endorsement.“And I thought he’s going to do it. And then he didn’t. And he actually went ahead and said the final words of his speech,” Holmes said. “That’s when the ‘boo’ came and it was very loud. That was a boo heard around the world last night. I’ll guarantee you.”Holmes says he booed, too.
Secunderabad: People planning to take back their dear ones home are hiring private vehicles as most of the ambulances at Gandhi Hospital are not in a working condition. Patients have to wait near the hospital for hours to take the dead body of their dear ones or hire private vehicles.There were 10 ambulances in Gandhi Hospital, but now, only four are in working condition while the remaining six are under repair, according to the officials. Patients are forced to spend a lot of money for hiring private ambulance. Also Read – Secunderabad: Major General N Srinivas Rao makes farewell visit to AOC Advertise With Us Speaking to The Hans India here on Tuesday, Yadaiah, an attendant of a patient, said, “The cost of the ambulance is much more than the cost of treatment. The poor cannot afford it.” A native of Ghatkesar, he was caught stranded at the hospital for want of money and could move his brother only after his relatives brought cash. There are close to 1,800 patients admitted at the hospital at any given point of time, while the bed strength is just over 1,000. Mallesh (name changed on request) a sub-staff at the hospital, said, “Poor patients just cannot afford to hire private ambulance.” Also Read – Kolkata artists giving final touches to 24 ft clay Ganesh idol Advertise With Us Private ambulances charge anywhere between Rs 2,000 to 3,000 even for a few km. Some people need ambulance to shift the patients to other hospital but they have to wait for hours for the ambulance. Senior doctors said that a proposal was submitted to the State government for more ambulances. The demand for ambulance service is huge. Many a time, the vehicles are sent to nearby towns as many patients from the towns close to Hyderabad visit Gandhi Hospital as most of the accident cases are referred there.
Zaheerabad: Leaders of SFI and DYFI demanded that schools running illegally by flouting the regulations should be closed down immediately. They organised dharna in front of Sri Chaitanya School on Monday. Union leaders Ramesh and Avinash said despite several representations the DEO did not take action against the erring schools. They also demanded the district collector to take action against the DEO. Allahuddin, Dayakar, Anil and others were also present.
Amaravati: Replying to a question in the Assembly on Monday, finance minister Buggana Rajendranath Reddy claimed that the global giant Kia motors established their manufacturing unit here in Andhra Pradesh only on request of the then CM YS Rajasekhar Reddy. He further explained to the House that YSR wrote a letter to the company during his tenure to establish the manufacturing unit yin Andhra Pradesh. Meanwhile TDP leaders are laughing at finance minister for his undue claims by saying that the company came to the state only because of the efforts of previous government and subsidies offered to them by former CM N Chandrababu Naidu.
Khammam: TRS MP Nama Nageswara Rao on Thursday termed the Telangana Municipal Bill that was passed by the State Assembly as the role model in the country and extended special thanks to Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao for the initiative. He was speaking to media persons over phone from Delhi. He explained the benefits of the bill and also recalled that the State Cabinet approved the old age pension age to 57 years. Nageswara Rao informed that he met the South Central Railway officials for the restoration of the trains which had stopped services recently in Kazipet, Secunderabad, Vijayawada, and Kothagudem, and Manuguru. He told the officials that due to stoppage of the train services the district people are facing a lot of troubles. He said due to absence of Dornakal- Bhadrachalam passenger train people are going through a lot of problems in reaching their destinations.
Baghlingampally: Leaders of CPI(ML) New Democracy alleged that comrade Linganna was killed by police in a fake encounter. They demanded that the State government conduct investigation of the encounter with a sitting judge and register a criminal case under IPC 302 against the police. They were addressing a press conference organised here at Sundaraiah Vignana Kendram on Thursday. Also Read – Hyderabad: Wall collapse in Kukatpally damages four cars Advertise With Us Speaking to media, Govardhan, state president of CPI(ML) New Democracy, alleged that police killed Linganna in a fake encounter at Rollapadu village of Gundala mandal in Bhadradri, Kothagudem district on Wednesday. He condemned the fake encounter and demanded that the State government take necessary action against the police. He said that the dead body of the killed person was not handed over to his kin. Also Read – With 61 feet high, Khairatabad Ganesh claimed to be tallest idol in India Advertise With Us He demanded that the police hand over his dead body to his kin for conducting last rites. He also demanded the release of the state general secretary of CPI(ML) Newdemocracy Sadhineni Venkateshwar Rao, SK Muktar Pasha, Gummadi Narsaiah and others who were arrested by the police. He alleged that the police arrested leaders of various people’s organisations and their leaders to prevent them from attending the last rites. He termed the police actions as undemocratic. He warned of severe consequences if the government continues to indulge in fake encounters. POW leader Sandhya, K Achyut Rao, M Srinivas, Anuradha, Parashuram and others were present.
The Guardian: London-based The Guardian termed the move by Modi government as “the most radical change any government has suggested for Kashmir’s status”. The report also said that called that splitting the state in two was a “dramatic move”, adding that it might lead it escalation in tension with Pakistan. It further warned of the government facing “resistance” in Jammu and Kashmir. Also Read – NRC in Assam to be released: list to finalize if a person is Indian or Foreigner Advertise With Us BBC: According to the BBC, the move by the government “is the most significant move” with regard to Jammu and Kashmir. The report says that the move may “spark major unrest”. It also referred to the prevailing situation in Jammu and Kashmir, saying that “tensions are high” in the region. CNN: US-based CNN said in its report that the Modi government had “announced contentious changes to the way the territory is administered”. The headline of the report said, “Kashmir in lockdown as India reveals plan to change state’s status”. The report quoted a think tank member as saying that the announcement came as “psychological shock” to Kashmiris. Also Read – Subramanian Swamy cross-examined in National Herald case Advertise With Us The Washington Post: The Washington Post says that the development has set “the stage for new clashes”. The report called Article 370 a “cornerstone of Kashmir’s inclusion in India”. It warned that New Delhi’s relationship with Jammu and Kashmir would further get damaged. Dawn News: Pakistan-based Dawn News expectedly criticised the move by India, referring to the decision as “a rushed presidential order”. According to the report, “Kashmiris fear this will lead to demographic transformation of region from majority Muslim to majority Hindu”. Dawn News said that scrapping of 370 “is the most far-reaching move”.
Jaipur: Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan on Monday. Since the Bharatiya Janata Party did not put up any candidate due to lack of numbers in the assembly, Manmohan Singh was declared elected after the scheduled time to withdraw nominations ended on Monday. Chief whip Mahesh Joshi accepted the certificate of election on behalf of the former Prime Minister. The seat had fallen vacant due to the death of sitting member, BJP state chief Madan Lal Saini. Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Assembly Speaker C P Joshi congratulated Manmohan Singh, “I congratulate former PM Dr #ManmohanSingh ji on being elected unopposed as a member of #RajyaSabha from #Rajasthan.
The Trinamool Congress party wants its party member and Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi to step down following his decision to hike train fares, but he is not resigning lamely. He wants a written request from the party chief to quit.Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee has reportedly spoken to Dinesh Trivedi asking him to step down but the Railway Minister refused. He hit back saying that he would resign only if he is given a written order from the TMC party chief and Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee.Trivedi received lots of flak from his party colleagues for presenting a bold Railway Budget on Wednesday, wherein he hiked passenger fares across all classes ranging from two paise to 30 paise per km, the first hike in a decade.Angry over Trivedi’s move, Mamata had earlier faxed the Prime Minister to sack the Railway Minister and replace him with Rajya Sabha MP and Minister of State for Shipping Mukul Roy.Sources say that Trivedi is likely to be sacked next week.
In a bid to renew the demoralised company and curb the high attrition rate, Vishal Sikka — the newly appointed CEO and MD of Infosys — has announced a steep hike in the salaries of its top executives. The company, which incurred losses and witnessed exodus of top executives, now looks to soar since Sikka’s arrival.Former SAP executive Vishal Sikka is currently the highest paid CEO of an Indian company. He draws $5.08 million (₹30 crore) with additional stock options worth $2 million as annual compensation. Many top executives of Infosys have been offered compensations with a three-to-five fold increase. The executives vice-presidents who were earlier offered ₹1 crore to ₹1.2 crore annually, are now offered around $1 million (₹ 6 crore).Additionally, the company is expected to hike the salary of top 300 executives.Navnit Singh, chairman and MD of India from Korn-Ferry International opines that the steep hike will prevent the senior executives from switching jobs. “If you look at salaries of some of the global companies, it’s comparable to what Infosys has done,” TOI quoted Navnit. “It is a golden Handcuff,” he added.Since June, Infosys has raised the compensation and roles of 12 senior vice-presidents and executives. Among them are: Sandeep Dadlani (head of retail), Rajesh Krishnamurthy (head of energy, communications) Mohit Joshi (head of financial services), Sanjay Jalona (head of high-tech & manufacturing) and Manish Tandon(head of life sciences and services department).
Snapdeal, India’s third largest online portalSnapdealJapanese telecom and media group SoftBank Corp is reportedly buying a major stake in Snapdeal. This deal — worth $627 million — will make the Indian e-commerce retailers market more interesting than ever.The huge consumer market of India has influenced SoftBank to be aggressive with this expansion. The Japanese telecom and media major will also invest $120 million in an Indian logistics company in a separate deal.SoftBank had also bought No. 3 US mobile carrier Sprint Corp for $21.6 billion last year.According to Reuters, Softbank said they will become the biggest investor in India based e-commerce giant Snapdeal, though they didn’t elaborate on how big the stake in India’s third biggest online marketplace will be.This investment in Snapdeal is the second largest investment in India’s e-commerce sector after Flipkart raised $1billion this July. Snapdeal has 25 million registered users and more than 50,000 business sellers, according to a statement by SoftBank.The Snapdeal investment was publicised alongside SoftBank Internet and Media Inc’s (SIMI) lead in a $210 million investment with existing investors in Indian transportation aggregator ANI Technologies Pvt. Ltd. SoftBank didn’t specify how much it was investing in ANI, which operates a mobile application for cab booking.Both deals were finalised by newly appointed SoftBank Vice chairman and SIMI chief executive Nikesh Arora, reflecting the company’s recent aggressive overseas expansion plans.”India has the third-largest internet user base in the world, but a relatively small online market currently. This situation means India has, with better, faster and cheaper Internet access, a big growth potential,” Arora, a former Google executive, said in a statement.Softbank has mentioned that Nikesh Arrora will be joining both Snapdeal and ANI’s board as part of the investment.In one of its most high-profile investments since buying Sprint, SoftBank said earlier this month it was taking a minority stake in Hollywood movie studio Legendary Entertainment for $250 million.
RAW-Romeo Akbar Walter critics reviewTwitterJohn Abraham starrer Raw- Romeo Akbar Walter has got mixed reviews from the critics.The movie is being appreciated by some of the critics, but a few others have declared it to be an average film.Raw- Romeo Akbar Walter is a spy action thriller film. John plays the lead role of an Indian spy who dedicates his life for the nation’s security.Directed by Robbie Grewal, the movie portrays John’s character sporting multiple looks. The positive sides of Raw- Romeo Akbar Walter are the twists and turns that surprises the audience.Although the first half is being said to be sluggish, it is the climax that has a lasting impact. However, there are others who opined that Raw- Romeo Akbar Walter has a interesting storyline, but it fails at the execution level.Overall critics rating for Raw- Romeo Akbar Walter remains at 2.5*/5*Read critics’ review of Raw- Romeo Akbar Walter:Times of India: RAW has its moments but is rough around the edges. The climax is audacious and you need to suspend your disbelief, if you plan to watch it. (3*/5*)Times Now: Overall, Romeo Akbar Walter is another interesting film from John Abraham. The movie has enough twists and turns to keep you intrigued and engaged. Go for it. (3*/5*)The Asian Age: A good spy thriller has to have a plot that is plausible. That is something RAW lacks. With a very old-school esque tone and lacking on some mystery, this film is quite a forgettable affair. See it if you are a John Abraham fan, but if you want to see a haunting and exciting espionage thriller, select another. (2*/5*)DNA: Jackie Shroff passes muster as RAW chief, while Mouni Roy doesn’t have much to do except look good. Sikander Kher as ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence) Col Khudabaksh Khan is plastic. Amjad Khan’s son Shadaab Khan shows up in a small role after 18 long years. See if you recognise the boy who started as hero to Rani Mukerji in Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat (1997). Toss a coin; do you want new Ra(w) or not-so-new Ra(azi!) (2.5*/5*)Pinkvilla: The imagery of the Joker card is evident throughout the film but it looks like it is the audience who got played. Patriotism is overused to compensate for RAW and bland storytelling. (2*/5*)
The World Health Organization (WHO) says efforts must be made for the global health care system to be improved as a whole as the week to 17 May saw the highest weekly total of confirmed cases of Ebola for over a month.Guinea and Sierra Leone reported 35 new Ebola cases in the past week, four times as many as the week before.We must reverse the trend in global health where we wait for the fire to flare-up, run to put it out, but then forget to fire-proof the building. We need to change that. And we call on the global community to support the effort to concentrate on the health care system as a whole rather than on high-profile diseases so that another tragedy like Ebola will never happen again, said Dr Ruediger Krech, WHO director of health systems and innovation office at a news conference in Geneva on 21 May.Krech said the necessary funding to fight and eradicate Ebola had still not been acquired.Only partial funding has so far been offered by the international community. Out of the $2.3bn needed, about half is still missing. And if we, as the international community, want to ensure that this crisis doesnt happen again we all together need to come up with this money, he said.The 35 cases in the week to 17 May were in six districts of Guinea and Sierra Leone, with most in Guinea. Nine were confirmed the previous week.WHO has three key concerns. The first concern is of course to get to zero cases. And as the rainy season is coming we are still very concerned to get to zero cases for at least 42 days, Krech said.Another concern was managing the aid funds, the WHO said. Some of these countries have some problems with their governance, have problems in terms of where money flows, so a lot of money flows elsewhere. And also, this needs to be addressed, so that the international community also has trust and builds up trust, that the money they are giving to those countries will be well spent, Krech said.On 18 May, the WHO said it is setting up a $100m (£64m) contingency fund to ensure it will not be overwhelmed by a major crisis again like it was with Ebola, which has killed more than 11,000 people since December 2013. Close
India’s top IT firms Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Infosys are expected to announce strong revenue growth for April-June quarter, after posting disappointing results in the March quarter.Many brokerages believe that seasonal demand and receding currency fluctuations have helped IT companies in the first quarter of the current fiscal year.Even though some software firms such as Tech Mahindra, Persistent Systems and KPIT Technologies have warned about posting weak earnings in April-June period, some analyst expect top line firms to post an improved growth figures in the quarter, partly supported by increase in technology budgets of their clients.”Seasonally weak mobility business will be a drag on Q1 revenues and EBITDA. H1 B visa costs will be another drag on margins,” Tech Mahindra had said on 29 June.Tech Mahindra’s profit fell nearly 40% to ₹472 crore in January-March quarter, due to lower margin and increase in forex losses.However, India’s largest software firm TCS is expected to post a growth of about 4% in its revenues in the June quarter on sequential basis, while the second biggest company Infosys is also estimated to put up a good show.Country’s third largest IT firm Wipro has already cautioned about a slow beginning to the year. Analysts said that the company would find it difficult to “regain momentum” in the next quarters of FY16.ICICI Securities forecasts the income of the top five domestic IT companies to witness a sequential growth of 2.6% in April-June quarter in dollar terms.”Excluding Tech Mahindra, we expect the revenue growth to be 3 per cent Q-o-Q and 7 per cent Y-o-Y. This is broadly in line with the Qo-Q growth of 2.8 per cent and 3.4 per cent for the top four vendors in Q1 of FY14 and FY15, respectively,” Kuldeep Koul, an analyst at ICICI Securities, told The Economic Times.Infosys and HCL Technologies are projected to record an average sequential revenue growth of about 3% in the first quarter. Wipro estimated its revenue to grow in a range of -0.5% and +1%.While software company Accenture’s upbeat revenue guidance of 9 to 10% for the full year has lifted investors’ confidence in Indian IT companies, some analysts warn that its robust growth may not necessarily benefit domestic IT services firms.”The usual buzz of the June quarter is definitely missing this time — I don’t think we should expect any blockbuster numbers, given that there haven’t been too many large deal signings over the last few quarters, and also clients in general have been tight with budgets,” said an India-based analyst at a top multinational brokerage.In March quarter, revenue growth of top IT companies hit its worst levels in five years, mainly impacted by cross-currency fluctuations. However, the companies expect the currency impact to be less in the June quarter, as rupee saw a depreciation of about 2.2% against the dollar in the period.
Rolls Royce Cullinan owned by CR7.Cristiano Ronaldo is undoubtedly one of the biggest stars the world of sports has ever seen in its storied history and is thus also one of the richest sportsmen actively playing the game. The Portuguese international is well-known for his extravagant collection of cars and recently he added a Rolls Royce Cullinan to his garage. Announcing his newest acquisition, Ronaldo took to his Instagram account and posted, “Trabalho feito” which means “Work done” in his native language of Portuguese. This luxury SUV car cost Ronaldo $3.58 million but that would seem like short change for the Juventus forward as Forbes estimated him to have earned $108 million in 2018 alone. He was estimated to have earned $61 million as a player and a further $47 million from his various brand endorsements. The Cullinan is the first ever SUV launched by Rolls Royce and as is wont, it is the most expensive vehicle of its kind in the world. Rolls Royce Cullinan’s cockpit.Autocar YouTube”The SUV is powered by a gigantic 6.75-litre V12 petrol engine that generates a maximum power of 563 Bhp and a peak torque of 850 Nm. The engine comes mated to a 6-speed automatic unit. All this power ensures that this 2,660 kg behemoth moves swiftly despite its bulk. It comes loaded to gills with features and the features on this vehicle are not just general feel good ones that are found in otherworldly cars,” reports Cartoq. The Cullinan also boasts of some extremely cool features which include a crystal decanter and crystal wine glasses in the rear centre armrest. The SUV also has tailgate picnic seats with fold-out tables, acoustically sealed cabin and push-button for opening and closing its doors.The Cullinan is the latest in the list of brimming luxury cars in the garage of the five-time Ballon d’Or winner. Here are some of the others. Bugatti Chiron Bugatti Chiron owned by Cristiano RonaldoThis car is one of the fastest, powerful and most expensive cars produced by Bugatti. In fact, only 500 models of this car have been produced worldwide and the one Ronaldo owns has his famous CR7 insignia. This car costs $4.7 million and has a top speed of 261 miles per hour. Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4 Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4 owned by Cristiano Ronaldo.Running on a 6.5L V12 engine that generates 700 horsepower at 8,250 RPM and 509 lb-ft of torque, it cost Ronaldo approximately $340,000. BMW M6 BMW M6 owned by Cristiano Ronaldo.Ronaldo bought this car while still a Manchester United player and it cost the 34-year-old $102,000 in 2006. Bentley GT Speed Bentley GT Speed owned by Cristiano Ronaldo.Aston Martin DB7 Aston Martin DB7 owned by Cristiano RonaldoAston Martin is reportedly Ronaldo’s favourite car brand and this beast of a vehicle cost him $200,000.Audi R8 Audi R8 owned by Cristiano RonaldoRolls Royce Phantom Rolls Royce Phantom owned by Cristiano Ronaldo.Ferraris Ferrari 599 GTO owned by Cristiano Ronaldo. 599 GTB Fiorano. Ferrari F430.These Ferraris cost him $385,000 (599 GTO), $300,000 (F430) and $310,000 (599 GTB Fiorano).Apart from these cars, Ronaldo also owns a Maserati GranCabrio, Porsche Cayenne, Porsche Cayenne Turbo, Porsche 911 Carrera 2S Cabriolet, Mercedes-Benz C220 CDI, Mercedes-Benz C-Class Sports Coupe, Bentley Continental GTC, Audi RS6, and Audi Q7.
Black Friday 2015 is going to be more manic than previous years, with mobile deals playing a bigger role, according to the chief executive of shopping website Styloko.Taking place the day after the US celebration of Thanksgiving, this years Black Friday falls on 27 November. As well as bargains being offered in physical stores, a number of online retailers will offer deals on the day in both the UK and the US.Shannon Edwards, the CEO of Styloko, told IBTimes UK that this years sales would not only be bigger than ever before, but would also see shopping on mobile devices feature prominently.This years Black Friday is probably going to be more manic. I think where UK consumers last year thought, Wow, Ive found a deal online in the US, now theyre looking for it, she said.Mobile is going to play a much more significant role. Weve been told by retailers that theyre going to put deals exclusively on mobile to try and drive traffic there. So [this year will] now be multi-device and multi-country. Its no wonder the shipping companies are getting worried.IBTimes UK will bring you the latest on Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals between now and the end of November. Close
Avengers: Endgame stars’ salariesTwitterAvengers Endgame has brought an end to the much popular franchise, but its stars would not mind it considering the heavy paycheques they received for it. Robert Downey Jr tops the list.A report has come out that revealed the salaries of Robert and other stars of Avengers Endgame. According to a report in Hollywood Reporter, Robert made an interesting contract with Marvel Studios by which his fees for Infinity War last year was around USD 75 million. If that was not enough, the actor charged USD 5 million per day for his 3-day shoot for Spider-Man Homecoming. The report stated that Robert total fee for Avengers Endgame is even higher than what he got for Infinity War.The stars’ salaries have been sealed taking future projects into consideration. Apart from collecting a heft cheque for Endgame, Scarlett Johansson is expected to get at least USD20 million for her upcoming stand-alone film in 2020.Another much popular actor Chris Hemsworth, who plays Thor, signed a five-movie deal with Marvel Studios , renegotiated his deal for Infinity War and Endgame for a fee ranging from USD15 million to USD20 million. Chris Evans aka Captain America also comes under the same bracket.Avengers Endgame has turned out to be one of the biggest blockbusters of all time. The movie has been dominating the box office not just in India but worldwide. With superb word of mouth, the superhero film has been breaking several box office records.
Jagdeep SinghPR HandoutThe youth in India is so fascinated with fitness and gym. Having a sexy body is a dream of the majority of people but there are only a few people who also work for it rather than just dreaming about it. Jagdeep Singh who hails from Suro Padda, Amritsar is among those rare hardworking young guy who has now become an inspiration for the youth of Punjab.Coming from a small town middle class family, Jagdeep Singh was also like just an average guy we see in our neighbourhood but he had a mind of superstar and he was willing to achieve to make a name for himself. He was always fond of bodybuilding so he started training at a very young age to compete in the bodybuilding competition.After years of hard work and sweating in the gym in 2016, he finally participated in one of the most reputed bodybuilding show Mr Punjab and his hard work and dedication finally paid off when he came out as the winner of this competition and became Mr Punjab 2016. This accomplishment of Jagdeep Singh gave him a huge exposure in the media and fitness world.However, Mr Punjab title was not enough for Jagdeep, as he wanted to achieve many more things in his life so kept his spirit and aspirations high and later he went on to participate in the even bigger competition of Mr North India. Jagdeep’s momentum and high spirit helped him throughout the competition and conquered his another goal and became Mr North India 2017.Jagdeep Singh with his passionate and positive attitude earned many titles and his a famous name in the bodybuilding and fitness industry today. He also organised one of the biggest show in north India named as “Mr and Miss India glamours” to bring out the best of the best talent from north India.