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Here Are The Most Amazing Shots of the NEOWISE Comet – Futurism

Posted on July 17, 2020 by Danzig

Comet C/2020 F3 better known as NEOWISE, for the Near Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer telescope that first discovered it has came so close to Earth over the weekendthat its visible to the naked eye, blazing brightly over Northern skies. The rare event was captured on camera by amateurs and professionals alike from around the globe and the results are dazzling.

For instance, just check out this short video from the International Space Station.

The space rock was about 194 million miles from the Sun when first discovered in March, making it far too faint to see with the naked eye. But over the last few months, the comet has become far brighter as its approached.

On July 3, it was only 27.3 million miles (44 million km) from the Sun. To put that into perspective, the closest flyby of the Sun by an artificial object was NASAs Parker Solar Probe back in January, passing by our star at a mere 18.7 million kilometers.

In fact, the solar probe was able to get its own look at the comet on July 5, according to NASA.

Astronomers were concerned the comet would not survive such a close encounter, but as evidenced by this weekends sightings, it seems to be doing fine.

Its tail or coma is extremely visible, making it stand out against its predecessors, ATLAS and SWAN, as Space.com reports, which only had very faint paths of condensed heat following their paths.

While astronomers discover hundreds of comets every single year, every once in a while a great comet passes by our planet and appears considerably brighter. According to Space.com, the last comet that was of a comparable brightness was Comet Hale-Bopp in 1997.

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What an awe inspiring experience. A celestial visitor that has been around since the beginning of our universe. What stories it could tell, what sights it has beheld. How this cosmic being has brought humankind together. Regardless of race, color, sex, creed, age, profession, or any other distinguishing characteristics, we cannot help but gaze towards the heavens and become lost in its beauty. Take a minute to forget everything else going on right now. Just breathe, feel, love. We are all one world, never forget that. . . . Shot on the @sonyalpha A7RIV with the @sigmaphoto 105mm f/1.4 and 50mm f/1.4 Art lenses. . . #lestertsaiphotography #neowise #cometneowise #discoverwithalpha #sonyalpha #sonya7riv #sigmaart #mykgw #bbcearth #nationalgeographic #koin6news #fox12news #pnwphotographer #mthoodterritory #oregonexplored #pnwisbeautiful #pnwonderland #pnwadventurers #mthood #pnwphotography #portlandphotographer #pdxphotographer #pdxphotography #portlandphotography #comet #nightsky #myplanetdaily #earthfocus #keepportlandweird

A post shared by (@lestertsaiphotography) on Jul 11, 2020 at 1:44pm PDT

READ MORE: Comet NEOWISE could give skywatchers a dazzling show this month. Heres what to know. [Space.com]

More on comets: NASA: Something Is Off About This Interstellar Comet

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Here Are The Most Amazing Shots of the NEOWISE Comet - Futurism

6 Steps To Get You On Track Towards Financial Independence

Posted on July 17, 2020 by Danzig

Financial independence is achievable, but you have to follow the steps to get there. These are the 6 steps to get you on track towards financial independence.Financial independence isnt the same thing as retirement.

Retirement means the end of your working life (although as people retire younger and live longer, the definition is changing). Financial independence means merely the end of mandatory work, semi-early retirement. Like Mr Money Mustache!

Financial independence means being able to do whatever you want in life without having to worry about money.

You get a new boss who is impossible to work with? Just quit.

Do you want to go back to school to become a teacher? Enroll!

Do you want to spend a year traveling the world? Pack your bags!

Do you want to start your own business? Start writing up a business plan!

You cant get there overnight. Achieving financial freedom takes the right planning and the discipline to stick to the plan even if things are sometimes harsh. It also means a lot of sacrifices. Your friends are taking exotic vacations, buying brand new cars, buying big houses with swimming pools and outdoor kitchens.

Youre staycationing. You drive a ten-year-old Toyota. Youre still living in the same apartment youve been living in since you moved out of your college apartment. You keep your annual spending low. You have a savings goal.

But all of the sacrificing is front loaded. When you get to the sixth and final step on this list, you will be free while all of those people youve spent years envying are chained in place by credit card debt, car loans, and a huge mortgage.

You in? Good, lets start right now. Here are 6 steps towards financial independence that you can follow to reach the freedom youve always wanted.

Getting control of your money is simple; spend less than you earn.

What are your monthly expenses? Some of us bury our head in the sand when it comes to our spending. Facing it can be scary but you must.

Next, you can set up a budget. A good rule of thumb is the 50/30/20 method to allocate your money. This will work well for most people, but remember, were trying to achieve financial independence here!

The more money you can save, the better. This allocation doesnt mean you have to spend the entire 50% on essentials. And if you have debt, swap the 30 and 20. Put 30% towards paying off debt (at least) and 20% for discretionary expenses.

Now set up your budget categories. It might take a few weeks or months of tracking to see your patterns, but it will be worth it.

Lets talk about debt. Every month it costs you money. You cant achieve financial independence if youre being held back by debt. Credit card debt is the most serious since it usually has the highest interest rate. Attack it with the snowball or stacking method.

Student loan debt can be refinanced with Earnest for a better interest rate which will save you thousands of dollars over time. Lending Club can do the same for any personal loan debt you have.

You must rid yourself of this debt as quickly as possible.

Its important to see your whole financial picture and our favorite tool to od this isPersonal Capital. Its free and will help you budget, manage your investments, plan for retirement, and calculate your net worth.

Link your financial accounts, and Personal Capital will pull in all of the information. This not only lets you see how much you make and spend, it shows you on what and gives you a 1,000-foot overview of your finances.

Having completed Step 1, we now understand where our money is going. Knowing is half the battle when youre working towards financial independence. The other half is slicing out the fat. No one becomes wealthy by spending all their money.

Cutting the fat isnt always easy but remember, we told you some sacrifices would be made. Once you trim your budget, youll see your money starting to pile up much faster, and youll see it was worth it.If it seems overwhelming, choose one category a week and focus on pairing that down.

Food is always a good place to start because so many of us overspend on it. Bringing lunch to work is an excellent first step. It doesnt have to be fancy at first, just make a PB & J.

Seeing how much youre saving each week will be an incentive to keep going and get a bit more creative when it comes to cutting expenses. Let Trim and Billshark do some of the heavy lifting.

Trim will cancel recurring expenses for things like subscription boxes, gym memberships, and music services. When youre striving for financial independence, these things are luxuries you can do without. I work out every day, and I dont belong to a gym.

Billshark will negotiate lower prices for things like your cable and internet bills. Although you should really cut the cord, no one watches cable anymore!

At some point, there isnt any more fat to cut so if you want to reach financial independence, youll have to make extra money.

Start where you are, ask for a raise. Go in prepared. Know how much people in similar jobs in areas with a similar cost of living are making on Glassdoor. Know the number you want. Lay out all of the reasons you deserve a raise.

If you dont get a deserved raise, start looking for another job. The average raise is a paltry 3% when you change jobs; the average increase is 15-20%.

Job hopping, long frowned upon is going to be a big part of your path towards financial independence. Those who dont change jobs requently make less money than their less than loyal colleagues. How much less?

The worst kept secret is that employees are making less on average every year. There are millions of reasons for this, but were going to focus on one that we can control. Staying employed at the same company for over two years on average is going to make you earn less over your lifetime by about 50% or more.

Americans watch an average of five hours of television a day, 35 hours a week which is nearly another full-time job! A criminal waste of time. Take some of those hours and use them to do something that will aid in your journey to financial independence.

Drive for Uber, babysit with Sittercity, sell stuff on eBay or Poshmark. Everyone should have more than one income stream, but that is doubly so for those trying to become financially independent.

At some point, you have no more time left that can be used to make more money. Youre working a regular job and have at least one additional income stream. We have to find ways to make money that dont require our time.

Thats called passive income, and one of the best forms of passive income is investing. When you invest your money, it makes money for you. You dont need a lot of money to start investing, but you will never have a lot of money if you fail to invest.

There are many ways to invest and build your nest egg opening retirement accounts like a Roth IRA or 401k, investing in the stock market, mutual funds, index funds, rental properties the list goes on.

Since we already have many great posts on investing were not going to go in depth here. Instead, we will leave you with links to our best beginner investment posts.

Everything in here is low risk and low effort. We want you to have the peace of mind knowing that your money is safe and growing while you focus on other important things like your family, Xbox, etc.

There are plenty of tools that you can utilize to help you smooth your path to financial independence.

The right tool for the right job will make things easier and allow you to monitor your progress.

These tools can budget for you, help regulate your investments automatically, find you savings when you do spend or even challenge you to increase your savings by rewarding you with cash for doing so!

These are our tried and tested personal finance tools.

Betterment is the ideal investing tool for beginners. You dont have to know anything about investing to get started, there is no minimum required to invest, and the fees are low.

Betterment is hands-off, there are no humans making investing decisions which might sound scary but 79% of human money managers dont beat the market.

AS we mentioned above, Personal Capitals software can help develop your long-term financial strategy calculate your net worth, set a budget, manage investment accounts, and plan for retirement.

Be sure to check out Personal Capitals Fee Analyzer. You can use a huge percentage of your retirement money to fees over time. Personal Capital can help you find and eliminate unreasonable investing fees.

Did you know that investors with 20% allocated to real estate outperform those who only invest in stocks and bonds? Youd love to do that, but you dont have hundreds of thousands of dollars to invest in real estate.

You are going to love Fundrise! Fundrise lets the rest of us get in on real estate investing too. You can invest for as little as $500. Fundrise has an impressive track record boasting anannual return of 12-14%.

If youre worried about liquidity, dont. Fundrise allows investors to liquidate any amount of their holdings quarterly.

For the full list of resources weuse to manage ourfinances,click here.

For people that are ready for a more hands-on approach (and a bit more growth potential), this section is for you!

It will take a bit more work than a set it and forget it strategy, but you dont need to be a rocket scientist to make gains here. Just remember, take the risks seriously.

When you are ready to further diversify your investments and take on a little risk, take a look at our list of the best Vanguard funds.

A retirement account is a tax-advantaged account. If you have retirement accounts (you should!), you can further maximize them. Gather up any 401ks from previous jobs and roll them over into an IRA. This allows you to consolidate retirement accounts, gives you more choice, and usually much lower fees.

And check out these super advanced (and super advantaged!) Roth strategies. Part of achieving financial independence will depend on how good you are at (legally) avoiding taxes. These strategies will help you do that.

If you want to live like most people cant, you have to be willing to do what most people wont. There will be times along the way when you want to give up. You want to do all of the things everyone else gets to do.

When you feel that way, just imagine what life will be like once youve become financially independent. You can do what you want to do when you want to do it.

No Monday morning dread, no depressed feeling when you realize your once a year vacation is almost over and you have to go back to real life soon. No going to a job you hate surrounded by people you cant stand. You have no debt keeping you up at night.

If you can stay the course and retire early, Im sure youll agree that once you reach financial freedom, it was all worth it.

If you want to read more, check out fatfire on Reddit and Mr. Money Mustaches blog. Lots of like-minded folks working towards financial independence.

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6 Steps To Get You On Track Towards Financial Independence

Hoping to Retire Early? DONT! Even if You Can – Yahoo News Canada

Posted on July 17, 2020 by Danzig

Retiring early is the goal of everyone. Even when you were young, one day you knew youd be ready to retire and be able to do what you want, when you want. But can you?

As the years tick by, and that day seems closer, you begin to ask yourself whether you can retire early. Wouldnt that be great? Weve all heard the FIRE acronym: Financial Independence; Retire Early.

But there are a number of problems with early retirement, and its the reason you should ask yourself some hard questions before taking the plunge. After all, while it can be easy to jump into retirement, it can be incredibly hard to jump back out. So, before you retire, ask yourself these three questions.

Im sure you already have a goal in mind for how much you need to have before you retire. But is that number reasonable? In fact, did you decide that number when you were 30 and making $45,000 a year? Because now, youre more likely making even double that. Youve become used to a lifestyle that perhaps you simply cant keep upwhen you retire.

So, before you retire, take a hard look at what you really think youll want to spend on a regular basis. Youll need to be able to create a paycheque similar to the one you have now, combining your pension and savings all of it. And once that moneys gone, its gone. So, make sure you have a realistic goal that means you wont have to retire poor after living large.

Sure, we all plan to start up a hobby, travel the world, volunteer for charities. However, that can only take up so much time. Is it really that you just want to stop working? Digging even deeper, is it perhaps that you just dont want to work at the job you have now?

Instead of retiring all together, maybe its time for a career change. See if your savings can support the cost of perhaps starting up consulting, freelance projects, or a side gig of sewing sweaters for dogs. The world is your oyster! Once youre set up, then maybe its time to leave that old life behind and start a new one. While its far more freeing than the job you had before, youll still have money coming in.

Its nice to imagine that in the future, everything will be shiny and new. But life doesnt always work out that way. Anything can happen that suddenly affects your finances. Those numbers you worked so meticulously on suddenly make no sense at all.

Instead, all of these points mean you should be working towards the goal of financial independence, not the goal to retire. At what point do you think youll be emotionally, mentally, and even physically unable to work the way you are now? When that point comes, where will all your money be coming from? And what can you do to make sure you can continue to bring in money, even after 20 years of retirement?

To meet this goal, its important to meet with a financial advisor and come up with some options to invest in your future. By purchasing shares in steady stocks, you can bring in cash, even decades after you retire. Bank stocks are a great option, as each Big Six Bank has over a hundred years of steady growth and dividends that have grown year over year, sometimes even during severe economic downturns.

If youre looking for a great bank option, that will even give you strong dividend income during retirement, right now, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce is an excellent choice. It has the highest dividend income, is a bargain share price, and has plenty of room to grow. Todays investors can lock in a 6.41% dividend yield. You can even use that income to put aside travel money. After all, just because you arent going to retire today doesnt mean you cant have fun!

The post Hoping to Retire Early? DONT! Even if You Can appeared first on The Motley Fool Canada.

The Hidden Toll of California’s Black Exodus – KQED

Posted on July 17, 2020 by Danzig

In adopted hometowns, Black Californians face newer, subtler forms of segregation. Old regimes of legal housing and job discrimination have given way to predatory loans, shifting patterns of disinvestment and flare ups of racism or violence in areas that once promised a level playing field, reports fromUC Berkeley,UCLAandsocial services groupshave found.

Now, as Black Lives Matter protests collide with anxiety about COVID-19sdisproportionate Black death tolland anxiety about a comingwave of evictions, at issue is whether these overlapping crises will accelerate Californias Black exodus or force a reckoning both inside and outside major cities.

Wilson had never been to Elk Grove before she moved there in 2002 to start a family. Shed never been called the n-word before she moved there, either.

By 2017, after years of working a day job in sales and doing hair late into the night, her own salon in Old Town Elk Grove was thriving. She went back to L.A. often to dream up business ideas with her sister and make sure her kids werent too far out of the loop on Black culture. But one day, a stylist at Wilsons salon found a note jammed in the door. It was riddled with racial slurs and said to get out soon.

It didnt make me want to leave, Wilson said. It made me want to force them to understand who I am, what Im about, and that I add value to this community just like everybody else.

In 2000, just before Wilson left L.A., California had the countrys second-largest Black population at more than 2.2 million people. But under the surface, a seismic shift was happening in where people lived, the opportunities they chased and the social networks they relied on.

After white flight, Black flight had accelerated in the 1980s. Outer suburbs like Palmdale, Antioch and Elk Grove saw exponential growth.

The state went from a high of 7.7% Black in 1980 to 5.5% Black in 2018, Census data shows, even as it added 15 million residents who were mostly Latino, Asian or multi-racial. Nearly 75,000 Black Californians left the state in 2018, according to a CalMatters analysis of federal estimates, compared to 48,000 Black people who moved in. The three most popular states for Black ex-Californians were Nevada, Texas and Georgia, reflecting both anational reversalof last centurys Great Migration and movement to emergingmiddle class hubsfor Black homeownership, education and entrepreneurship.

The first time Cierra Washington-Griffin left California was in 2010, when she was 23 and fresh off a breakup. Three days on a Greyhound from her hometown of Sacramento to Fort Benning, Georgia, gave her plenty of time to think about starting over.

Within a month, she had a car, a job at a hotel and a two-bedroom duplex that cost $450 a month a rapid shift to financial independence that had seemed impossible back home. She also didnt have to change her voice to sound white like when she applied for work in affluent California suburbs. It was just so much simpler there, said Washington-Griffin, now 33.

Her grandmother was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, and she sees things differently. Barbara Washington followed family from St. Louis to California in the 1970s, at the tail end of the migration that brought hundreds of thousands of Black people to California from the South. Washington settled in Richmond, part of the Bay Areas jobs-rich former war corridor, a center of Black life forged by discriminatory housing practices.

Washington worked as a nurse, and by the time her children were having children in the 80s, the Bay Area seemed too fast. They moved to the cow town of Sacramento, and she never regretted moving to California.

We wanted something different for the kids, Washington said on a recent 100-degree day at a park in Elk Grove, where she moved after the house she rented in Sacramento was sold.

See, thats weird though, said Washington-Griffin, who moved back in last year with plans to leave again but now is unsure. I feel like its better out there, especially for people of color, in the South.

Her grandmother shook her head. I dont think so, she said.

Timing is everything in Californias winner-take-most economy. The longer it takes Black residents to cash in when times are good and the harder theyre hit when things turn bad, the wider the states racial wealth gap grows.

Read this article:

The Hidden Toll of California's Black Exodus - KQED

Blockchain technology will remove barriers to instant international settlement – Banking Dive

Posted on July 17, 2020 by Danzig

HaohanXu is chief executive officer of Apifiny, a global trading and value transfer network. Views expressed are the author's own.

Barriers are springing up everywhere for remittance companies and banks. Overcoming obstacles to cross-border payments is especially daunting right now, with slow settlement times, high fees and fresh competition bringing new challenges.

COVID-19 has brought unwelcome complications to international settlement. The World Bank in April issued an alarming report: Its experts project global remittances to decline by roughly 20% in 2020 the sharpest drop in recent history because of the pandemic and resulting shutdowns. This means banks are losing business from a wide swath of society: employees ranging from seasonal workers to those who work for embassies, international organizations and foreign companies.

Adverse global conditions arising from the coronavirus have played a huge part in this disruption of international remittance growth. However, even a vaccine won't cure the challenges for remittances. If international workers must still pay high fees and endure long settlement times, they will forcefully demand better and more affordable services, and may actively explore alternative international payments solutions.

It's not too late for banking institutions to retain these customers. However, they must recognize the barriers preventing the execution of cross-border payments that are faster, more cost-effective and more reliable.

Banks and payments companies face two key international remittance roadblocks:

No global network.International payments are painful because no single global network or service exists for all banks participation that enables real-time funds settlement.

While the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) protocol is far-reaching, it is a messaging service and not a true banking network. A bank in one region can send a message to a bank in another with SWIFT, but they must have a bilateral arrangement or rely on other banks that have the relationships. SWIFT unquestionably improved on the lack of international coordination preceding it. However, its structure remains inefficient and convoluted, causing long settlement cycles.

This lack of a global settlement network carries higher transaction costs, too. The global average cost of sending $200 was 6.8%in the first quarter of 2020, according to the World Bank. In Sub-Saharan Africa, that cost is around 9% high enough to be a deterrent.

Outdated tech.Most banks'post-execution technology platforms are increasingly outdated. They also typically prove difficult and expensive to change. These platforms often comprise multiple interoperating systems including middle office, clearing and settlement, books and records, risk systems for securities processing, payment systems and general ledger processing.

As a result, banks must undergo high-risk, expensive, multiyear projects to elevate their processing platforms to modern standards.

Although clearing and settlement for securities differ from remittances, a closer look at securities settlement provides a window to how banks can revitalize remittances.

For securities, there is typically a central depository and a centralized clearing and settlement service such as The Depository Trust & Clearing Corp. (DTCC) in the U.S. for the financial markets. Together, these two entities provide clearing, settlement and custody services for member firms, meaning all transactions from financial institutions and their counterparties must be submitted. DTCC is the custodian of the stock certificates and, via the Continuous Net Settlement process, it provides each member with a net obligation between counterparties that it's due to deliver or receive for each security, without physically transferring the stock certificates.

While this netting provides efficiency and reduces counterparty risk, it is a centralized process that takes two days in the U.S.

Member firms must also pledge capital or securities to cover for potential failures, tying up capital that could be deployed elsewhere. A major overhaul of DTCC technology would be required to enable real-time settlement.

DTCC is actively addressing that securities sector roadblock, evaluating distributed ledger technology (DLT)solutions that it hopes will significantly accelerate settlement for their industry. Dual DTCC initiatives Project Ion and Project Whitney have been announced to better integrate DLT with capital markets. DLT is a key component of blockchain, a rapidly maturing technology with the proven ability to execute peer-to-peer, direct-value transfer between parties for traditional assets like fiat currency, securities and commodities.

Blockchain technology is a leading candidate to sweep away the roadblocks noted above and many more in the drive to transform global settlement. It can enable banks to make transactions transparent to all relevant parties in minutes. The evolution of the financial account paradigm into the token paradigm via blockchain technology enables traditional assets like fiat currency, securities and commodities to be digitized as tokens. Blockchain technology can "mirror"virtually any asset for instantaneous value transfer between parties, with complete transparency.

This technology eliminates the need for much of the middle-office processing used to successfully confirm transactions and identities between parties. Real-time settlement reduces the need to spread reserves across multiple exchanges, optimizing capital utilization and reducing trading costs.

Banks and other parties to a transaction are ready to benefit from the next generation of blockchain-based solutions. The latest blockchain technology advancements are fully capable of creating a network that goes beyond simply being a messaging service like SWIFT to one that optimizes transactions using smart contracts to fulfill the settlement lifecycle. Participants on such a network can transact and have the transaction visible and settled between parties in minutes or even seconds instead of days, leading to significant increases in transparency and efficiency in step with cost reductions.

The banking industry could be on the verge of moving settlement to the next level. Transaction participants are hungry for a new kind of transparent, global 24/7 network boosted by seamless access and near-instant transactions for a fraction of today's costs. Banks must take courageous action to transcend the status quo. The speed, cost savings and customer satisfaction rewards of a blockchain-based settlement network will reward their bravery.

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Blockchain technology will remove barriers to instant international settlement - Banking Dive

What are the Pros and Cons of Blockchain? – CIOReview

Posted on July 17, 2020 by Danzig

Blockchain is a growing technology that as helped businesses helm their financial transactions and revolutionise the way they store data. However, it comes with its own list of pros and cons that firms must consider before implementation.

FREMONT, CA: The 21st century has primarily driven several technological practices, and the financial world is not necessarily untouched by it. Blockchain has emerged as a digital leader to cater to all kinds of transactional leads, offering a safe and secure harbor.

A blockchain is a tech tool that facilitates the transfer of digital currency, for instance, cryptocurrency, and other similar assets. It has played a pivotal role in advancing the usage and reach of cryptocurrency by offering multi-fold benefits.

Offers Transparency- It offers unique transactional transparency that is absent in traditional mediums, and is commonly termed as an "incorruptible digital ledger" or record. It paves the way for verification without the need to rely on external or third parties.

Maximum Trust Verification- All transactions and detailed parts of the block secured by protected cryptography shall take its entry only after the maximum trust verification. Every participant will have a say in what all recorded in the ledger. Additionally, there would not be an alteration in the data or deletion due to the append-only feature.

Decentralization- Another unique feature of blockchain is the decentralization of data, where data transactions are stores in millions of devices partaking in the chain. Therefore, recovering lost data is as easy as a breeze.

While there is an evident upside to it, blockchain comes with its fair share of drawbacks. Industry experts have pointed out that blockchains often become overhyped. Businesses are advised to strategically evaluate their company needs, to ascertain if blockchain is indeed feasible for them. Few might not even see the returns in the initial years.

Although it is far into the mainstream, blockchain should be not be trusted blindly. Even with a complex algorithm, there is always the chance that hackers can use the most advanced technologies. Sometimes the stored data might not be agreeable or trustworthy to all participants.

Although the pros outweigh the cons, the current market climate is still acclimating to the changes brought about by cryptocurrency. They are still restricted optimum exposure required for blockchain tools to thrive.

South Korea Brings Blockchain to Healthcare, but Thats Just the Start – Cointelegraph

Posted on July 17, 2020 by Danzig

The government of South Korea is trying its best to adopt blockchain technology in various industries. The countrys central bank is reviewing the use of a central bank digital currency, and various government ministries want to adopt decentralized identification features within their current systems. Hospitals, pharmaceutical companies and research centers are also looking at blockchain solutions.

Everyone knows that blockchain can help the medical industry, but at the same time, applying a new blockchain service structure to traditional industries is not so quick and simple. Lots of testing needs to be done before it can be to be applied in peoples daily lives.

The South Korean government is encouraging blockchain technology and conducting several proof-of-concept projects to find a proper way to connect blockchain to the current system. The nations Ministry of Science and ICT and its National IT Industry Promotion Agency started blockchain proof-of-concept projects in 2019.

As governments globally struggle with the healthcare implications of the coronavirus pandemic, their focuses have invariably shifted away from many chronic diseases and conditions to the more pressing concern of bringing the pandemic under control.

But behind all the noise, government health organizations are making impressive steps forward in the ways in which they use technology to analyze and respond to the challenges that chronic conditions such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease place on populations and healthcare systems.

Professionals working within health departments have long had to contend with a lack of funding that often forces them to rely upon legacy computer software and hardware that is unsuited for a fast-changing healthcare system.

This is where blockchain, and the underlying cryptocurrencies that support it, can play a role, bringing decentralized solutions to departments that rely on clear, accurate daily information to treat their patients.

In South Korea, a country that is very open to blockchain technology and its potential, this new technology is now being used to develop a blockchain-based data registry platform that has been set up to help more than 11 million people living in the country who suffer from chronic conditions such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Diabetes debilitates its sufferers, leading to a reduced quality of life and a dependence on ongoing treatment and drugs to keep the disease at bay. The International Diabetes Foundation estimates that as of 2019, 463 million people suffer from diabetes globally, while South Korea has over 5 million people who struggle with the disease.

Many hospitals and laboratories rely on centralized solutions and databases to coordinate data collaboration, a method that makes it almost impossible to track the use and manipulation of the typically huge volumes of data collected and used by healthcare providers.

The use of blockchain in ordering and storing such a large amount of data will ultimately lead to efficiency improvements for healthcare staff, which means they will be able to spend more time with the people who matter: the patients.

South Korea passed new data-related regulations that will be effective in December. Once the regulations are applied, more corporations are expected to look to the benefits of blockchain for data management and storage.

Current data management systems do not allow corporations to manage data properly, as they cannot track data access or use, so some feel data management and storage could be streamlined and improved using blockchain.

With government support, blockchain adoption isnt far away, but it depends on whether people are ready to accept this new structure in certain industries. Nobody wants to be the first one to do it and take the risk, but the work of pioneering businesses means we are only one step away from much wider adoption of blockchain technology.

The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the authors alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

Henry Hong is the CEO of Sendsquare, which created the Fleta blockchain. Fleta is a blockchain platform designed to resolve the issues of current blockchain platforms and create a sustainable blockchain ecosystem.

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South Korea Brings Blockchain to Healthcare, but Thats Just the Start - Cointelegraph

Blockchain Market Business Analysis, New Innovation | Share, Revenue, And Sales Till 2028 – Kentucky Journal 24

Posted on July 17, 2020 by Danzig

Market Overview:

A blockchain is a distributed, decentralized and public digital ledger that is used to record communications across computers so that the record cannot be transformed retroactively without the modification of all subsequent blocks. This permits the contributors to audit and verify transactions inexpensively. A blockchain database is managed autonomously using distributed time-stamping server and peer-to-peer network. The use of a blockchain eliminates the characteristic of infinite generation of data from a digital asset. It approves that, each unit of value is transmitted only once, thus resolving the long-standing problem of double capital expenditure. Global blockchain market was valued, in 2017 USD XX million and in 2025 is expected to reach at USD XX million with growing CAGR of XX%.

Market Dynamics:

The driving factors for the growth of his market are reduced total cost of ownership and growing demand for distributed ledger technology. Growing demand for simplified business processes, increasing cryptocurrencies market cap and initial coin offerings, and creating transparency and immutability are also some of the factors also driving growth of this market.

Request For ReportSample@http://marketgrowthanalysis.com/reports/sample/333

However, high adoption of blockchain for payments, smart contracts, the transformation of international trade and supply chain management, digital identities are anticipated to boost the growth of blockchain market in upcoming years. In addition, adoption of blockchain technology and increasing importance for communication service providers, and a new breed of programmable blockchain platforms would create beneficial market opportunities.

Market Players:

Some of the key players offering blockchain solutions include Amazon Web Services, Inc., BTL Group Ltd., Chain, Inc., Coinbase, Digital Asset Holdings LLC., Earthport PLC, Factom, International Business Machines Corporation, Microsoft Corporation, Ripple, Abra, AlphaPoint, and Bitfury Group Limited.

Market Segmentation:

The global block chain market is segmented into application, organization size, provider, industry vertical and geography. The application segment for the blockchain market is sub-segmented into payments, exchanges, smart contracts, documentation, digital identity, supply chain management, governance, risk and compliance management and others. Based on provider, the market is classified into application and solution provider, middleware provider and infrastructure and protocol provider. On the basis of organization size the market is bifurcated into small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and large enterprises. Furthermore, based on industry vertical, the market is classified as banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI), government and public sector, healthcare and life sciences, media and entertainment, retail and e-commerce, travel and hospitality, transportation and logistics, real estate, it and telecommunications and others.

Request For COVID-19Analysis@http://marketgrowthanalysis.com/reports/enquiry/333

Market segmented based on application: Payments Exchanges Smart Contracts Documentation Digital Identity Supply Chain Management Governance Risk and Compliance Management Others

Market segmented based on provider:

application and solution provider, Middleware provider Infrastructure and protocol provider

Market segmented based on region:

North America US Canada Mexico Europe UK Germany France Rest of Europe Asia-Pacific China Japan India Australia Rest of Asia-Pacific Latin America Brazil Rest of Latin America Middle East and Africa (MEA) South Africa Saudi Arabia Rest of MEA

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Blockchain Market Business Analysis, New Innovation | Share, Revenue, And Sales Till 2028 - Kentucky Journal 24

OKEx Jumpstart to Launch Its 15th Token Sale With ATTN English English – PR Newswire India

Posted on July 17, 2020 by Danzig

VALLETTA, Malta, July 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- OKEx(www.okex.com), a world-leading cryptocurrency spot and derivatives exchange, announced that the launch of its 15th token sale project, on OKEx Jumpstart, will be on July 29. Based on blockchain technology, ATTN is committed to creating a closed-loop network ecology with the core goal of maximizing the value of esports intellectual property.

Established in 2016, ATTNhas become the largest esports eco-industry alliance in Southeast Asia with a global player base of more than 25 million. Featuring several popular self-designed player-versus-player games, the ATTN platform is about to integrate all of the business practices in the gaming industry, while the ATTN token is applied for the exchange of all services and applications across the entire ecosystem in order to address the adverse effects of a centralized platform.

"We are pleased to see more and more industries, like esports, entering the blockchain world, which shows that the ability of blockchain to transform traditional industries is increasingly recognized by the public," said OKEx CEO Jay Hao. "ATTN is the most popular esports alliance in Southeast Asia and has a lot of influence. We believe that the combination of ATTN and blockchain will benefit both the gaming and blockchain industries. technology will help the ATTN platform improve fairness and transactional efficiency, while ATTN will, at the same time, help blockchain enhance its influence in a wider field."

"We are glad to reach cooperation with OKEx, to jointly promote the popularity of blockchain. The characteristics of esports fans and crypto users have a great degree of overlap. We believe that esports will be a better entrance for crypto adoption," said Daniel Santos, CEO of ATTN. "Blockchain is one of the most promising technologies of the 21st century. We believe blockchain technology can transform the gaming industry and bring users a fairer and more transparent gaming experience."

Subscription details

ATTN has a total supply of 1,000,000,000, and the token will be available on OKEx Jumpstart at 0.04 USDT per ATTN while the private sale price for ATTN is 0.08 USDT per ATTN with an individual minimum subscription amount of 12,500 ATTN. OKB is the only token accepted for the subscription and settlement. The exchange rate of OKB/USDT will be confirmed on the sale day. There will still be two subscription sessions on July 29. The OKBelievers Exclusive Allotment Session will open at 4:00 am UTC, and the OKTraders Privilege Allotment Session will open at 5:00 am UTC.

OKBelievers Exclusive Allotment Session: 25,000,000 ATTN

Individual cap: 100,000 ATTN

Oversubscription limit: None

OKTraders Privilege Allotment Session: 25,000,000 ATTN

Individual cap: 100,000 ATTN

Oversubscription Limit: None

Following the token sale, the ATTN/USDT and ATTN/USDK spot trading pairs will be available at 7:00 am and 9:00 am UTC on July 29, respectively. For more information, please visit OKEx Academy.

For further information, please visit our website.

About ATTN Token (ATTN)- 15th Project of OKEx Jumpstart

How to Participate in OKEx Jumpstart 15th Project ATTN Token (ATTN)

END

About OKEx

A world-leading cryptocurrency spot and derivatives exchange, OKEx offers the most diverse marketplace where global crypto traders, miners and institutional investors come to manage crypto assets, enhance investment opportunities and hedge risks. We provide spot and derivatives trading including futures, perpetual swap and options of major cryptocurrencies, offering investors flexibility in formulating their strategies to maximize gains and mitigate risks.

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OKEx Jumpstart to Launch Its 15th Token Sale With ATTN English English - PR Newswire India

Edinburgh scientists to blast asteroid-eating bacteria into orbit on a SpaceX rocket – Edinburgh Live

Posted on July 17, 2020 by Danzig

Scientists from Edinburgh University are set to blast an experiment into space on a SapceX rocket, to see if tiny microbes could one day help us to mine asteroids.

The experiment, called BioAsteroid, sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie. It will see tiny microbes grown inside an incubator on the International Space Station for three weeks.

The science team, comprised of boffins from Edinburgh University and private company Kayser Space, want to find out what effect low gravity will have on the bacteria.

The idea is that when the microbes (called Sphingomonas desiccabilis and Penicillium simplicissimum) are placed in a liquid they can feed off of a rock surface.

This causes the rock to breakdown forming soil or releasing valuable elements in a process dubbed biomining.

The Science Verification Test for BioAsteroid will take place later this month in Edinburgh, where the microbes will be grown for the first time on the actual flight culturing hardware.

The experiment is scheduled to be launched to the ISS with SpaceX in October 2020.

Prof. Charles Cockell, University of Edinburgh, said: By studying biofilm formation of these organisms on the asteroidal material in microgravity, BioAsteroid will investigate how space conditions ultimately affect microbe-mineral interactions, addressing questions on the biochemistry of the organisms, biofilm morphology and structure, fungal attachment and the ability of the microbes to break down rock, a key process for the future use of microorganisms in space exploration, including the mining of asteroids.

David Zolesi, Kayser Space Managing Director, added: Executing the entire BioAsteroid project within one year, the UK has positioned itself at the forefront of two activities that will define the future of the commercial exploitation of space: asteroid mining and fast-track access to microgravity.

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Edinburgh scientists to blast asteroid-eating bacteria into orbit on a SpaceX rocket - Edinburgh Live

Kelly Claes, Sarah Sponcil want to be the youngest U.S. Olympic beach volleyball team ever – Yahoo Sports

Posted on July 17, 2020 by Danzig

U.S. beach volleyball teammates Kelly ClaesandSarah Sponcilwere all packed and minutes from driving separately to Los Angeles International Airport in mid-March when they received the notification.

An FIVB World Tour event in Sydney, Australia, their first of the Olympic year, was canceled due to the emerging coronavirus pandemic.

We called each other, Sponcil said. We kind of were in that moment of now what? Like everyone else.

Claes, 24, and Sponcil, 23, then spent nearly the entire spring apart. Sponcil drove to her native Arizona. Claes hunkered in Southern California, where stay-at-home measures were instituted. Beaches closed. Beach volleyball tournaments, in the U.S. and abroad, were wiped off the calendar. The Olympics were postponed to 2021.

It was heartbreaking, especially given Claes and Sponcil accepted the risk of flying abroad back in March. While other teams withdrew from the Sydney event, they were entered right up until the cancellation.

We were prepared to go out and play and get quarantined out there, Claes said. We had friends in Australia. Well quarantine with them.

Every tournament could be vital for Claes and Sponcil over the next year, starting with the AVP Champions Cup. The three-legged substitute for a season is being held in the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center parking lot with imported sand. Matches are the next three Saturdays and Sundays with coverage on NBC Sports.

Next year, Claes and Sponcil can become the youngest U.S. Olympic beach volleyball team in history. So every extra opportunity to play together is viewed as beneficial.

Theyre also ranked third more than halfway through U.S. Olympic qualifying. The top two teams go to Tokyo. Thats why they were so intent on flying to Sydney. The No. 2 team of Kerri Walsh JenningsandBrooke Sweat, plus others, withdrew before the event was canceled.

We want to pursue the Olympics, Sponcil said. If our health is on the line, were going to risk it.

The AVP is not part of Olympic qualifying. But Claes and Sponcil will continue to season a partnership that is not yet two years old. All of the other teams going for U.S. Olympic spots are in the AVP Champions Cup field, except for Walsh Jennings and Sweat, given the three-time gold medalist is no longer under AVP contract.

In U.S. Olympic qualifying, world silver medalists April RossandAlix Klinemanhold a substantial 1,800-point lead over Walsh Jennings and Sweat. Claes and Sponcil are another 320 points behind. When international play resumes, the standings can change in a week. A team can earn as many as 1,200 points for a top-level international title.

Walsh Jennings, who is 41, is trying to become the oldest Olympic beach volleyball player ever. She has said this will be her last Olympic run. If Claes and Sponcil accomplish their goal of qualifying for Tokyo, they will also likely end the Olympic career of a legend.

I havent thought about it all that much, Claes said. Theres so many different outside voices and pressures. Weve been just trying to stay in our own little bubble and focus on what we need to focus on.

Plenty has kept them busy since partnering in September 2018.

Weve gone to hell and back, Claes said last year on the beach volleyball podcast Sandcast.

Claes won NCAA beach volleyball titles with USC in 2016 and 2017. She and fellow TrojanSara Hughesbegan playing internationally with a pedigree to become the next great U.S. team. Their bond was so strong that Hughes turned down Walsh Jennings proposal to partner up in 2017.

But in 2018, Hughes decided to pair withSummer Rossfor a Tokyo Olympic run (which ended after Ross suffered a 2019 back injury). Claes finished the 2018 season with veteranBrittany Hochevar, then had to decide about a Tokyo Olympic run.

Claes interviewed multiple potential partners. She reached out to Sponcil, a promising player who was still competing collegiately for UCLA.

Sponcil was a revelation during her summer break from the Bruins. She made her AVP main-draw debut with Rio Olympian Lauren Fendrickand reached a final, dropping two close sets to April Ross and Klineman. Sponcil and Fendrick trained together once or twice before the tournament, which took place two weeks after Sponcil and the Bruins won the NCAA beach title.

Story continues

Before that, I didnt really have a future planned, said Sponcil, a setter for UCLAs indoor team after transferring from Loyola Marymount, where she was that schools Female Athlete of the Year. I kind of wanted to go the indoor, USA national team route, but after we did so well in that tournament, it kind of flipped a switch. I kind of wanted to pursue beach.

The late summer/early fall of 2018 was the crucial time. Olympic qualifying was about to start. Partner switches were happening. April Ross and Klineman paired a year earlier. Hughes and Summer Ross (no relation) earlier that year.

When Claes and Sponcil molded their team over lunch at a Southern California burrito joint, Walsh Jennings was still on the lookout. Claes was one of the players who worked out with Walsh Jennings. All of the players flew to China in early autumn for tournaments.

I think it was still a little open in my mind, to consider a partnership with the triple gold medalist, Claes said. I mean, Kerri Walsh Jennings, amazing athlete. Five Olympics under her belt. I felt like I could learn a lot from her.

Claes and Sponcil, in their first tournament together, finished third in a mid-level event in Qinzhou. Claes had agreed the next week to play with Walsh Jennings, who then right before the tournament announced Sweat as her new partner for the upcoming Olympic run.

Claes and Walsh Jennings, both blockers at 6 feet and change, still played that one event together. They won their first two matches. In the third, they went a set up on April Ross and Klineman, who already established themselves as the top U.S. team. Ross and Klineman rallied to win in three. Claes hasnt played with anyone other than Sponcil since.

[Walsh Jennings] and Sarah were, like, top of my list, said Claes, who also tried out with April Ross in 2017 before Ross teamed with Klineman. Each one would have been such a unique journey to go down. Im so thankful it worked out the way it has because I get to now experience life with Sarah. I get to experience this journey fresh with Sarah, and we get to do it together versus if I had decided to play with Kerri, so much experience on her end. It would be me, I kind of feel like, tailing along and figuring out things as I go in that regard versus getting to live it with my partner.

Sponcil said she felt confident that Claes would not leave her for the most decorated Olympic beach volleyball player in history.

Theres always those thoughts, but I dont think it really rattled me too much, Sponcil said. [Claes] was looking for a partner that was younger that she could kind of grow with.

Claes and Sponcil forged ahead. Sponcil came up with a team name Slaes. They write songs and perform them in videos.

Were both so goofy and dorky, said Claes, a fan of Comic-Con, Dungeons & Dragons and the cartoon Rick and Morty. We play off of each other so well.

In competition, they opened the 2019 season in the hell that Claes mentioned. The U.S. was so deep in teams that Claes and Sponcil had to play an all-American qualifier just to get into the normal qualifying tournament for an FIVB World Tour main-draw event in Itapema, Brazil. Its called a country quota.

This country quota came against Walsh Jennings and Sweat. That made it key, given the Olympic qualifying race. The veteran Olympians doused Claes and Sponcil 21-12, 21-14 in 28 minutes. Claes and Sponcil traveled all the way to Brazil for 28 minutes of competition. The early loss meant their travel expenses would not be reimbursed. Plus, they had to play in hurricane-like conditions.

I was holding the ball out on my hand, and it was blowing out of my hand, Claes said.

The early exit turned out to be a blessing. Claes and Sponcil used the extra time before their next tournament in China to train for a week straight. Before that, they were together on sand once or twice a week given Sponcil was finishing her last season with UCLA.

That really changed the momentum for us for the rest of our season, Claes said.

From there, Claes and Sponcil made the semifinals of all four of their AVP starts. They made the final of an FIVB World Tour event in Espinho, Portugal.

There is still room for growth. They have yet to beat April Ross and Klineman or Walsh Jennings and Sweat, according to BVBInfo, but should get plenty of opportunities before Olympic qualifying closes next year.

I really feel like were going to qualify and go the distance here, said Claes, who as a teenager fractured her spine and underwent a cardiac ablation to treat supraventricular tachycardia. I honestly think we have the most to gain from this kind of pause time because we are the youngest team and we have the least experience together. I think we have all the advantages of this time to gain some more experience before this last push before the Olympics.

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MORE: Champions Cup marks beach volleyballs socially distanced return

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‘Epicenter of the epicenter’: Young people partying in Miami Beach despite COVID-19 threat – USA TODAY

Posted on July 17, 2020 by Danzig

The top infectious disease expert in the U.S. issued a warning to young people as cases of the coronavirus continue to climb, with many infections occuring in younger Americans. (June 26) AP Domestic

Florida's record-setting spike in COVID-19 caseshasn't stopped visitors from partyingin Miami Beach, which its mayor, Dan Gelber, calls "the epicenter of the epicenter."

While the fact that Miami is a tourist hot spotis typically a positive, it's exactly the opposite at a time when the city has more than 69,000 cases, the most of any Florida county and more than twice as much as neighboring Broward, the next on the list, according to USA TODAY data.

Florida has recorded more than 77,000 cases in the past week alone and over 300,000 in all. The state all on its own has more infections than the United Kingdom or Spain, reports The Tallahassee Democrat, part of the USA TODAY Network.

Still, crowds continue to gather on Ocean Drive and on party boats, often promoted on Eventbrite, according to Gelber.

R-0 may be the most important scientific term youve never heard of when it comes to stopping the coronavirus pandemic. USA TODAY

Kristen Rosen Gonzalez, a resident of Miami Beach and a former commissioner ofMiami Beach, told USA TODAY that she was on South Beach's iconic Ocean Drive on Monday night as the areastarted to fill with revelers.

"We have this huge party every single night on Ocean Drive," she said, addingthat the party has gone on nightly for years, though it originally began as a holiday weekend tradition. There are "throngs of people in the streets with open containers, nobody is wearing masks, no one is social distancing,no police presence and it presents a real danger."

She said that most attendees are tourists from across the country and notedshe spoke to somefrom New York City and Chicago.

Mitch Novick, who owns the Sherbrooke All Suites Hotel, which is situated behind a nightclub, echoed Rosen Gonzalez's concerns about the parties which both noted havebeen happening for years.

"It's a public safety issue not just with the risk of coronavirus infectionbut with getting shot and stabbed and sexually assaulted all at the same time," Novick said."The latter of incidents I referenced have been going on for years."

Novick said he has seen very few people social distancing or wearing masks in the area which features tight spaces and called the area a "hotbed" for infection

The "chaos," which Novick said happens daily at varying hours, is brought on by tourists. "It's a spring break type of crowd," he said. "Teenagers, 20-somethings just doing what should not be happening now with this global health crisis."

Gelber told USA TODAYthat one statistic stood out during a Wednesday briefing from the Florida Department of Healthhighlighting that the parties are part of the problem.

"By multiples, the largest group of cases is the 18-to-34 age category in Miami-Dade," he said, noting that those people are likely infecting family members ofother age groups in the area."That group is the most likely to be ignoring the social-distance instructions and are also the ones most likely (to get COVID-19)through whatever parties they're having."

And that is worrying for another reason: The surge in casesis straining the county's resources.

"As of today, our county capacity for intensive care patients was 423 beds and we currently have 438 COVID patients," hesaid in a Tuesday statement."That means our county is 'over'capacity."

But the stats aren't enough to discourage all vacationers.

We know theres a pandemic going on but its not like youre not going to live your life, Tamia Young, a 36-year-old visiting from Brooklyn told Reuters.

As a result of the rising cases, Miami-Dade County shut down indoor dining and has imposed a 10 p.m.curfew. The city also put a ban on vacation rentals, including Airbnb, Gelber said.

"If these actions dont reverse these upward arcs, then most certainly in a few weeks or less well have to consider more drastic measures," he said in the statement Tuesday, urging people to wear masks.

On Wednesday, Gelber told USA TODAY that shutting down Ocean Drive entirely could be on the table.

And while authorities have been able to stop some promoted bar parties and may be able to shut down areas of the city, there are other party problems that are less easy to solve.

"The boats are a big issue the promoted party boats have expanded dramatically since weve been stopping promoted parties at bars," Gelber explained, referencing the state's late-June order that essentially shut down bars again. He notedthat some boat parties are organized and others are more impromptu.

But the issue of stopping private parties goes beyond the boats. Gelber said it has been tough to enforce social distancing at private parties.

"We cant really stop private homes from doing stupid things," he said, noting that they are trying to stop people from violating social distancing rules. "There are clearly too many people who are not even trying ... they are actively not complying."

Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber says he hasn't ruled out shutting down Ocean Drive, which has attracted young crowds looking to party despite Florida's high COVID-19 infection rate.(Photo: S_Hoss/Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Florida Gov.Ron DeSantis acknowledged Monday that coronavirusis spreading and urged people to take precautions such as wearing masks in public places, social distancing and avoiding crowds.

We have to address the virus with steady resolve. We cant get swept away in fear, we have to understand what is going on, understand that we have a long road ahead but we also have to understand that within the context of the moment, he said during a Miami news conference.

While the outbreak has been spreading through much of the state, it has hit South Florida particularly hard, both now and throughout the pandemic. Its three counties Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach only make up about a quarter of the state's population but have been responsible for about half the new cases. That rise promptedallthree counties to closetheir beaches for the July 4th weekend.

Florida International University epidemiologist Dr. Aileen Martycalled the region's situation extremely grave, warning thatthe public is not taking this virus seriously enough andignoring the guidelines DeSantis and others have been pushing.

They have not adhered to guidelines, Marty said at an online news conference with Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez. They have been in those closed spaces without taking the appropriate precautions, and thats the main reason we are where we are.

People are enthusiastically flocking: Florida begins reopening beaches amid coronavirus crisis

Contributing: The Associated Press

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Volleyball returns to the beach with AVP Champions Cup – Associated Press

Posted on July 17, 2020 by Danzig

Olympic beach volleyball hopeful Tri Bourne was more eager than most to get back to competition after the coronavirus pandemic shut down the sports world.

But first, he needed to have a talk with his doctor.

Bourne missed most of the previous two seasons after being diagnosed with dermatomyositis, a chronic inflammatory muscle disease that puts him at greater risk of serious complications if he contracts COVID-19. So when the domestic tour announced it would be returning this weekend for the start of the AVP Champions Cup, Bourne paid special attention to the infection control measures.

It was definitely something that was on my mind, Bourne said in a telephone interview on Friday. Right from the get-go it definitely put my mind at ease to know how many precautions they were taking. Every email they sent to us, it was like a new protocol.

A native Hawaiian who was third in qualifying for one of the two U.S. spots for men at the Rio Olympics, Bourne then missed much of the next two years after being diagnosed. He and current partner Trevor Crabb finished tied for ninth at this seasons FIVB opener in Doha in March before the rest of the international tour was suspended.

We had to get back from Qatar before they shut down the border, Bourne said. This offseason is where I finally had the chance to get back to peak form, and then the season got canceled. I really didnt have a chance to put that on display yet. This AVP Champions Cup is really my first chance.

The AVP canceled what had been an eight-tournament season and replaced it with the Champions Cup -- three events on successive weekends in Long Beach, California, with qualifying matches starting Friday. Teams will play for $700,000 in purses, including a $100,000 bonus pool for the pairs that do the best over the series.

Among those entered in the womens brackets are the top two teams in the world: two-time Olympic medalist April Ross and her partner Alix Klineman, and Canadians Sarah Pavan and Melissa Humana-Paredes. Olympic champion Phil Dalhausser (2008) and his partner, Nick Lucena, are the top seed on the mens side, with three-time Olympian Jake Gibb and Taylor Crabb, Trevors brother, as the second seed.

AVP spokeswoman Megan Hanson said all of the athletes have passed the pre-tournament protocol, which included weekly testing since July 6. A confirmed positive test would take a player out of the tournament.

Although the competitors and staff will not be sealed inside a bubble-like environment, players will remain separated as teams in pods in a holding tent until it is time for their match. Their only contact with the opponent will be play at the net; balls will be sanitized after each point.

Sack lunches will replace the usual buffet-style catering.

We all miss live sports, AVP owner Donald Sun said. Our team has been working around the clock to build out this site and create a beach that our athletes can safely compete on with the smallest footprint possible and give fans the opportunity to cheer them on without having to risk a sunburn.

Bourne, who manages his illness with daily medications, weekly injections and monthly transfusions, said he liked that testing started before the tournament, so he knew the teams he was training against had tested negative.

It allows us to really focus on the game -- especially for me, he said. I get to have my mind at ease and just focus on playing.

Although beach volleyball is one of the most watched broadcasts from the Olympics, the sport prides itself on its in-person party atmosphere, with a DJ to fire up the crowd and dance teams entertaining fans between points.

To make up for the fan-free experience, the tour is planning to mic up the referees and coaches, with additional sound from the court that might not have been heard over the crowds. The tours hype man, Jeremy DJ Roueche, will be on-site.

It will for sure be different, especially when we first step out there, Bourne said with an audible sigh. But well adapt really quickly, and I dont think anyone will be using it as an excuse.

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Volleyball returns to the beach with AVP Champions Cup - Associated Press

YouTubers Turned Down Trying To Hand Out Free Masks In Huntington Beach – CBS Los Angeles

Posted on July 17, 2020 by Danzig

HUNTINGTON BEACH (CBSLA) Two YouTubers went to Huntington Beach to hand out free masks to beachgoers during the coronavirus pandemic.

The video titled Solving the Mask Shortage in Huntington Beach has been viewed more than 2.3 million times.

Chad Kroeger and JT Parr started out the video saying, Guys, we have a cure for the mask shortage. They were holding a big sign that said Free Masks and a box of masks as they walked near the beach.

They got turned down by multiple people, who under Orange County guidelines, should be wearing face coverings at all times in public. One man also appeared to want to fight them and they responded, Were not trying to fight anyone. We just want to hand out masks.

It is interesting how people interpreted it as a personal judgment, Kroeger said.

Kroeger, who surfs and eats in Huntington Beach frequently, said he noticed many people werent wearing face coverings and thought one way to approach the issue would be to hand them out at no cost since his friend had a free supply.

Kroeger and Parr are behind the comedy YouTube channel, Chad Goes Deep, that posted the mask video. They admit being initially doubtful about the effectiveness of masks but took it more seriously after a friend who refused to wear one tested positive for coronavirus.

At this point, we dont want that to happen to anyone else, Kroeger said.

The pair said as soon as they get an additional supply of masks, theyre going to try to give them away in San Clemente.

RELATED: Orange County Reports 911 New Coronavirus Cases, 20 Additional Deaths

Orange County health officials reported 911 additional coronavirus cases and 20 new cases on Wednesday. To date, the countywide total is now at 27,031 cases and 455 deaths.

Several videos have shown confrontations over face masks in various parts of the country. In Los Angeles, a maskless Trader Joes shopper called people telling her to wear a mask Democratic pigs. A security guard who authorities say shot a man outside a Gardena store after they fought over him not wearing a mask was charged with murder. Elsewhere in Florida, a man was seen on video shouting in the store after reportedly being asked why he was not wearing a face covering, as required at all Costco locations.

The Centers for Disease Control recommends wearing clean cloth face coverings in public settings where other physical distancing measures are difficult to maintain. Many counties, including Los Angeles County and Orange County, have also issued their own guidelines requiring the use of masks in public.

The CDC on Tuesday affirmed that the latest research shows face coverings as a tool that can be used to help prevent the spread of coronavirus.

We are not defenseless against COVID-19, said CDC Director Dr. Robert R. Redfield. Cloth face coverings are one of the most powerful weapons we have to slow and stop the spread of the virus particularly when used universally within a community setting. All Americans have a responsibility to protect themselves, their families, and their communities.

Palm Beach Shores men accused of harassing deputy: I know where your wife and daughter are at – Palm Beach Post

Posted on July 17, 2020 by Danzig

The two men allegedly threatened the deputy and his family. According to a report, one of them said I know where your wife and daughter are at. I know where you live. The deputy replied: I'll end you if you come to my house.

Two men allegedly harassed and threatened a Palm Beach County Sheriff's deputy in Palm Beach Shores and, at one point, the deputy threatened the two men as well, according to a report.

Fred Patrick Spring, 24, and Carson Shoaf, 23, who live at the same address in Palm Beach Shores, were booked early Wednesday at the Palm Beach County Jail. Spring remained there Thursday morning on no bond. Shoaf left jail Wednesday afternoon on $21,000 bond.

Each is charged with aggravated stalking of a law enforcement officer and threat to an officer.

>>Authorities: Lake Worth Beach man found with missing 12-year-old Georgia girl

According to a PBSO report, Deputy Darrell Russian, 43, lives in and is assigned to the 10-square-block town at the tip of Singer Island.

On the afternoon of July 4, Russian told investigators he and a colleague were patrolling near the ocean at the southeast corner of the town when they encountered the two men walking with spear guns.

Russian said he reminded them beaches were closed because of the coronavirus pandemic and that spear fishing was illegal in the Intracoastal Waterway. Russian said Spring cursed him, using both the "F" word and a gay slur.

On the morning of July 9, Russian said, he helped PBSO's narcotics unit with a search warrant at the home where Spring and Shoaf lived. The report said deputies found two guns.

>>As coronavirus cases continue climb in Florida, deaths set another record

Russian said Spring and Shoaf cursed him and said they know where he lives, which is a few houses away.

On Tuesday, the report said, Russian was off-duty and driving his personal vehicle when he saw a car, with Shoaf driving and Spring inside, tailing him.

Russian said he pulled into the Sailfish Marina and the car blocked him. He said he stepped out and Spring, fists clenched, physically threatened him, accusing him of setting up the narcotics search. Russian said Spring told him, "I know where your wife and daughter are at. I know where you live."

Russian said he told Spring, "I'll end you if you come to my house."

One of the arriving deputies later said she heard Spring threaten the marina manager and also heard him say, "I hate cops."

>>Life after unbearable loss: Legislator Emily Slosberg finds her way amid the pain

The other deputy said Spring cursed him and said, "take off your badge. I'll beat your (expletive.)"

On Tuesday, the report said, Shoaf declined to speak to investigators. Spring said he hadn't liked Russian's attitude during their encounters. He also said he saw Russian parked Friday in front of his home, and said Russian earlier in the day nearly collided with his car.

After an investigator said marina security video gave a different version about the encounter than Springs, Spring answered, "We are done."

A call to a phone number listed for Russian was not returned.

"We deny the allegations," West Palm Beach lawyer Jonathan Wasserman, representing Spring, said Thursday. He said he did not want to comment beyond that for now.

"We certainly dispute almost all of the allegations in the probable cause affidavit," Ian Goldstein, a West Palm Beach lawyer representing Shoaf, said Thursday. "This officer has actually been the one harassing my client. He absolutely denies making any threats to the officer, ever."

PBSO said Thursday that "if the suspects felt threatened by the deputy, they are welcome to file a complaint."

The agency said Russian came to PBSO from Palm Beach Shores when the agency contracted with the town in November. Palm Beach Shores said hed been with that department since October 2013.

Palm Beach County Circuit Court records show five previous felony cases for Spring between 2014 and 2017. Convictions on battery, gun, and traffic charges led to jail time. One case, on drug charges, was dropped. In January 2017, Spring was sentenced to 16 months in state prison on a felony battery conviction. He left in March 2019.

Court records show only two traffic charges for Shoaf.

ek@pbpost.com

@eliotkpbp

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Palm Beach Shores men accused of harassing deputy: I know where your wife and daughter are at - Palm Beach Post

European Championships Group C Now its getting trs Interessant as they say get voting! – OnEurope

Posted on July 17, 2020 by Danzig

Group C represents a bit of a Francophone throwback as Luxembourg and Monaco both stake claims for their inclusion in the Last 16 of the Eurovision championships. Both nations have had fair amounts of success at the contest despite their size and will be keen to throw their heritage into the mix in order to assert their dominance (especially top seeds Luxembourg). They will need to be wary though, Denmark have won the contest as recently as 2013 and were the top-ranked seed in the second pot. Serbia may not have had decades of Eurovision history like their competitors but they have achieved a lot in a short space of time and will be keen to make use of their status as the only Balkan nation to not require qualifying for the tournament. Your votes will decide our two qualifiers. Will you go for Eurovision classicism and heritage or will you go for the more recent bops that you know and love?

Luxembourg (1965 & 1983)

We start in 1965 in Naples with a woman named France Gall and her Poupe de cire, poupe de son (Wax doll, Rag doll). This wasnt the first time that Luxembourg managed to triumph at the Eurovision Song Contest but it is definitely the most famous and the victory would be massive for the careers of both France Gall and writer Serge Gainsbourg. To zoom out for a moment on Luxembourg at the contest, they have competed 38 times, have won it 5 times but have done so with foreign artists. Of the 38 competing acts, only 9 were Luxembourgish. Whilst this may seem like a strange set of numbers, I can deduce two things, one what an amazing proportion of entries to victories and two what a fantastic blueprint for micronations to have more success at Eurovision moving forward. Its not just the old years that theyre having success with either. In 1983 Corinne Herms won the contest in Munich singing Si la vie est cadeau beating out Eurovision classics from Israel and Sweden. Luxembourg were not just a fixture at Eurovision, they punched above their weight consistently to challenge the summit of the scoreboard. Sure, their identity at Eurovision may be France 2.0 but doesnt it say a lot that with half the total number of participations, Luxembourg still have the same number of victories as their French neighbours. The data alone surely defines them as being worthy of a vote.

Denmark (2000 & 2013)

Despite their glittering history at the contest, I actually think that Denmark are very underrated in the context of how they are seen at the contest. Sure, they are unlucky to exist in the shadow of their Swedish neighbours but even in comparison to fellow Scandinavians Norway, they arent appreciated as much for their contribution to the contest. Step forward two stories of Danes who crossed the resund Bridge and brought the contest back to Copenhagen the following year. Very little was expected of the Olsen Brothers in 2000 when they stepped onto the stage at the Globen to perform Fly on the Wings of Love but they led the voting in Stockholm from start to finish and the song has gone on to become a true Eurovision classic. 13 years later and Emmelie De Forest only had to travel as far as Malm to romp home to a very expected victory with Only Teardrops. Whats the Danish identity? To be honest, its shifted around quite a bit since their first victory with Dansevise in 1963 and the Hot Eyes era of the 80s. Since the language rule changed however, its clear to me that a Danish entry is packed full of heart, has sweet lyrics and remains confidently itself without feeling arrogant or aggressive. Its Sweden without the pressure of consistency, Norway with more passion and Germany with more quality and Eurovision knowhow. If thats exactly what speaks to you, then its time to get out the vote.

Monaco (1971 & 1978)

Whilst it might seem silly to call Monacos attitude to Eurovision as being that of a poor mans France, the decisions made around Monacos Eurovision entries suggest it may be a more accurate statement than first thought. Sure, Monaco is a powerful principality with many extremely wealthy and powerful residents but has that really translated down into the music? After all, they did send a 12 year old boy to Madrid in 1969. Yes, Sverine did win the contest for Monaco with her song Un banc, un arbre, une rue in Dublin in 1971 and Caline & Olivier Toussaint placed in a very respectable 4thin Paris in 1978 with the aptly titled Les jardins de Monaco but has Monacos contribution to Eurovision ever felt particularly special? Personally, I think they gave up on modern Eurovision too soon and that there was some real potential in songs like Lise Darlys 2005 entry Tout de moi but I suppose we will never know for sure with no hope present that Monaco will attempt to return to the contest. But if the Monagesque attitude to Eurovision hits the money for you then make sure that you vote!

Serbia (2007 & 2012)

Serbia represent the classic Balkan nation. Their entries are not only of a high standard but represent a sound and aesthetic that transports you directly to that part of the world. That was what Marija erifovi managed to do so successfully in 2007 in Helsinki when her song Molitva sung in beautiful Serbian transcended the language barrier to touch people across Europe. Five years later, eljko Joksimovi travelled to Baku and successfully placed 3rd with the classic Balkan ballad Nije ljubav stvar. The Balkan nations have not had the most success at Eurovision and none of them have been able to concoct a consistent formula for performing well at the contest but what is certain is that Serbia have come closest. On the three occasions that Serbia have missed out on a Grand Final, they have done so by the narrowest of margins. When they have qualified for the Grand Final, not only have they given the contest many great moments but they have proudly represented the musical culture of a part of Europe that is certainly underrepresented but is nonetheless very special and deserves to be celebrated. Would the last 16 of the Eurovision Championships feel complete without the only Balkan winner to date present? If the answer is no, make sure that they get your vote!

Group C - Usual Form - One vote and two through

Please vote no later than 23.59 BST July 13th and look out for July 14th when we will release the vote for Group D, a Northern European affair to be fought out between France ( On Bastille day too!), Belgium, Finland & Iceland.

This article was written by Fin Ross Russell (Internationalist Eurovision Blog)

Originally posted here:

European Championships Group C Now its getting trs Interessant as they say get voting! - OnEurope

SmartPM Technologies to Deliver Advanced Schedule Analytics to AXA XL’s Construction Ecosystem and Risk Engineering Team – Yahoo Finance

Posted on July 17, 2020 by Danzig

Revolutionary software firm partners with top insurance provider to reduce construction delays and manage risk

ATLANTA, July 16, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --SmartPM Technologies, Inc., a leading project analytics company for the construction industry, has teamed up with AXA XL's North American Construction insurance business. With SmartPM, both AXA XL and its clients will be able to improve visibility and transparency into project performance, risk and delays resulting in less cost overruns, schedule impacts and resultant claims.

SmartPM Technologies is Expanding Management Team (PRNewsfoto/SmartPM Technologies, Inc.)

"By combining the traditional construction risk engineering experience with the power of SmartPM's project scheduling analytics, our team is able to achieve greater operational insight enabling us to provide our clients with more focused service and benchmarking data than ever before," said Rose Hall, AXA XL strategic operations manager for risk engineering.

SmartPM was recently chosen by AXA XL as a new data-driven technology to support its next-generation construction risk engineering strategy. Over the coming months, SmartPM Technologies will provide comprehensive system training to prepare AXA XL's construction risk engineers to use the technology with clients in the field. "Starting with SmartPM's analysis of schedule-related performance risks, we then bake in our risk engineers' deep construction experience to provide tailored and targeted feedback to our customers on how best to mitigate and manage their unique risks," said Rose Hall, AXA XL strategic operations manager for risk engineering.

In addition, SmartPM will be featured in AXA XL's Construction Ecosystem, the first digital platform of its kind that will help clients manage and reduce risk with curated innovative construction technologies. The Construction Ecosystem leverages these technologies to monitor and aggregate data that provide contractors, developers and owners with unique insights and risk management tools.

"AXA XL is leading the charge in identifying the best-in-class solutions for managing risk in the construction industry, and we are excited to join their ecosystem as a top choice in project analytics," said Michael Pink, CEO of SmartPM Technologies. "Not only will the SmartPM schedule analytics platform be made available to its client base at a discounted rate, but it will be deployed to AXA XL's internal underwriting, risk and claims management teams."

Construction Ecosystem is available to select AXA XL customers, with wider access scheduled for later in 2020.For more information about AXA XL, visithttp://www.axaxl.com.

About SmartPM Technologies SmartPM Technologies was designed by industry experts with one mission in mind: to provide stakeholders with the tools necessary to effectively control cost and schedule and keep projects off the path toward disputes. SmartPM provides the only cloud-based, project analytics software solution designed specifically for the construction industry. It is a first-of-its-kind, full-service project analytics system that extracts information from other project management platforms and converts it into meaningful insights, which ultimately minimizes risk of cost exposure related to delays and overruns.For more information, please visithttps://smartpmtech.com.

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SmartPM Technologies to Deliver Advanced Schedule Analytics to AXA XL's Construction Ecosystem and Risk Engineering Team - Yahoo Finance

EY and IBM expand global alliance to help organizations accelerate their digital transformation – PR Newswire UK

Posted on July 17, 2020 by Danzig

- Combines IBM's premier technology consulting services with EY leading strategy and business consulting capabilities

- Provides clients with specialized hybrid cloud functionalities including Red Hat OpenShift, as well as IBM Watson, IBM Blockchain, 5G and edge computing technologies

- Dedicated EY professionals with broad experience across IBM's leading technologies to help solve significant client challenges

LONDON and ARMONK, New York, July 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --EY and IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announce an enhanced, global multi-year alliance designed to help organizations accelerate digital transformation and improve client outcomes, including leveraging the hybrid cloud capabilities of Red Hat OpenShift, as well as IBM Watson, IBM Blockchain and IBM's 5G and edge technologies. Together, IBM and EY professionals will focus on helping clients modernize and transform their businesses.

Carmine Di Sibio, EY Global Chairman and CEO, says:

"The EY-IBM Alliance is built on providing differentiating and transformational business value for clients. As organizations learn how to adapt to today's new normal, leveraging the cloud, AI, analytics and other technologies have become increasingly important. IBM is a proven leader in hybrid cloud and AI, and together we're developing innovative solutions to help provide the sustainability and resiliency that assist clients to operate and lead today, and in the years to come, as they reframe their future amidst an unpredictable and rapidly evolving environment."

EY and IBM teams will provide additional joint consulting and systems integration capabilities to help deliver long-term value to clients. The combination of EY market leading strategy and global business consulting services, and dedicated EY professionals with broad experience across IBM's leading technologies, alongside IBM's premier consulting technology practice and powerful hybrid cloud and AI capabilities, will help clients address significant business challenges.In addition, the alliance will continue to support multiplefunctional areas comprising M&A, finance, HR, legal, tax, risk and compliance, supply chain and asset management to assist clients in business and workforce transformations, and cloud strategies.

Arvind Krishna, IBM Chief Executive Officer, says:

"Expanding this global alliance bolsters our ability to bring our hybrid cloud and AI capabilities to clients. The EY organization is a leader in driving large and complex client transformations. Combining EY teams' breadth of industry and regulatory knowledge, technology capabilities and longstanding strategy and business consulting leadership, with IBM's powerful technology and Red Hat OpenShift's open hybrid cloud portfolio, will play a key role in accelerating our clients' journeys to the cloud."

The expanded collaboration with IBM is a key component of the EY commitment to growing and strengthening its diversified, connected and intelligent ecosystem of alliances. EY professionals help clients orchestrate their own ecosystem relationships and provide insight and trusted intelligence from EY alliances. As a global leader in driving large scale, complex client transformations, EY Consulting also helps clients focus on facilitating innovation, driving digital transformation and utilizing advanced technology. Working with IBM will include the creation of joint offerings with the EY developer ecosystem and provides access to IBM's leading enterprise technologies to help drive results for clients.

The expanded alliance also marks EY professionals' access to the IBM public cloud ecosystem. The new initiative supports global system integrators and independent software vendors to help their clients modernize and transform mission-critical workloads with RedHat OpenShift for any cloud environment, including IBM public cloud. The IBM public cloud's security leadership, enterprise-grade capabilities and support for open source technologies are designed to differentiate and extend on hybrid cloud capabilities for enterprise workloads.

Joanna HardyEY Global Media Relations+1 212 773-4473joanna.c.hardy@ey.com

Lowell EschenIBM Media Relations+1 303 913 2569Lowell.Eschen@ibm.com

http://www.ibm.com

SOURCE IBM

EY and IBM expand global alliance to help organizations accelerate their digital transformation - PR Newswire UK

The Rundown: July 16, 2020 – Multiversity Comics

Posted on July 17, 2020 by Danzig

Welcome back to The Rundown, our daily breakdown on comic news stories we missed from the previous day. Have a link to share? Email our team at rundown@multiversitycomics.com.

In case you missed it yesterday, AHOY Comics announced a sequel to 2019s Second Coming titled Second Coming: Only Begotten Son, NBCUniversal is launching the new comics publishing venture UCP Graphic, IDW announced Scarenthood, Genius Brands announced plans for a new Stan Lee Universe, and Tom King and Jorge Fornes are staring deep into some ink blots with the Black Label maxiseries Rorschach.

We also spoke with writer Sara Kenny and producer Dr. Bella Starling on their contributions to the new sci-fi Webtoon PLANET DIVOC-91, as well as with Engineward creators George Mann and Joe Eisma.

Cover by Jakub Rebelka

The previously announced BOOM! Studios graphic novel Origins is being converted into a limited series. The Beat has the exclusive news that the sci-fi book from creators Arash Amel, Joseph Oxford and Lee Toland Krieger will move from its October date. Written by Clay McLeod Chapman, with art by Jakub Rebelka, colors by Patricio Delpeche, and letters by Jim Campbell, Origins finds the genius David Adams, whose inventions caused the destruction of the human race, resurrected into a future one thousand years after the extinction of humanity. The books format conversion follows a similar move last month by the BOOM! Studios book Wynd from James Tynion IV, Michael Dialynas, and Aditya Bidikar. Origins #1 is now set for release in November.

Image Comics and writer Donny Cates have teased a cryptic new Anti-Event for the ages. Via GamesRadar, both Cates and the publisher revealed a teaser for the upcoming series Crossover, which will serve as a reunion between Cates and his God Country collaborators, artist Geoff Shaw and letterer John J. Hill. The trio will be joined on the book by colorist Dee Cunniffe. Superheroes arent myths. theyre viruses and theyre spreading Cates teased on Twitter. Crossover #1, whatever it might be, will hit shelves in November.

Marvels Free Comic Book Day offering X-Men #1 revealed a new series from writer Tom Taylor, artist Iban Coello, colorist Brian Reber, and letterer Joe Sabino. Via ComicBook.com, the announcement for the new series Dark Ages featured the tagline Where were you when the lights went out? A saga of the Marvel Universe. The FCBD issue offered a first look at the series, showing Iron Man, Pepper Potts, and Captain America, as a wave of green energy floats over New York City, disabling all electrical elements in the vicinity including Iron Mans suit. Further details on the series have yet to be revealed, but the book is set for release in Fall 2020.

Collider has the trailer for the upcoming documentary Feels Good Man. The film, which received positive reviews and a Special Jury Award during its premiere earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival, follows underground cartoonist Matt Furie, who battled to regain control of his creation Pepe the Frog after it was coopted to become an unlikely symbol of white supremacists. The trailer traces the larger arc of the film, following Pepes journey as one of the Internets earliest memes to one of its most notorious racist images, and Furies attempts to fight back and change the narrative. Feels Good Man premieres on August 14 on Apple TV+.

The Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo has announced that artist Nate Powell (March) will serve as Special Guest Judge for the MICE Mini-Grant Awards this year. MICE will award 30 small grants of $100 each to the creators of previously unpublished print mini-comics, and Powell will select one winner from among the grantees to receive the $500 grand prize. Applications for the Mini-Grant Awards are open through August 1, and you can find more information at the MICE website.

The cast of Edgar Wrights Scott Pilgrim vs. the World reunited for a 10th anniversary table read this summer, and Entertainment Weekly is set to premiere the video of the event next week on Monday, July 20 at EW.com. The table read, which included stars Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Chris Evans, Aubrey Plaza, Ellen Wong, Kieran Culkin, Mark Webber, Johnny Simmons, Alison Pill, Satya Bhabha, Mae Whitman, Brandon Routh, and Jason Schwartzman, is a benefit for the charity Water for People and a part of Entertainment Weeklys Fandom Week.

The upcoming video game Marvels Avengers has set the dates for its beta release. Via ComicBook.com, the beta will feature three phases beginning in August. On August 7, players who pre-ordered the title for PS4 will receive access to the beta, followed by Xbox One and PC on August 14, and the open beta release on August 21. The full release of Marvels Avengers is scheduled for September 4.

Via TV Wise, Jetpack Distribution has acquired the global distribution rights for the sci-fi animated series NEW-GEN, adapted from the Marvel comic of the same name. The series is set to star Stranger Thingss Finn Wolfhard, and his real life brother Nick Wolfhard, as twins who pull double duty as ordinary teenagers and nanotech enhanced superheroes in a futuristic utopia. Anya Chalotra also stars in the series, which is currently in pre-production.

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The Rundown: July 16, 2020 - Multiversity Comics

Reopening Schools: A work in progress | News – The Chief News

Posted on July 17, 2020 by Danzig

With only a few weeks before classes are set to begin for the new school year, district administrators in Columbia County and across the state are carefully assembling policies and procedures under the Oregon Education Departments (ODE) Ready Schools, Safe Learners Blueprint.

Specific plans for the new school year at the Clatskanie and Rainier schools are currently being carefully assembled by district officials under the states health and safety guidelines due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The blueprint is a project designed to provide a framework for schools for the 2020-21 school year that ensures the health and safety of all students and staff and the families they return to each day in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the following conversation Clatskanie School District Superintendent Cathy Hurowitz outlines whats ahead for the new school year.

The Chief: Please give us a snapshot of what the plan involves and what students and parents should expect?

Cathy Hurowitz: The plan, approved by the school board, is to open schools next year for all students who wish to return to school. Elementary students will attend Monday -Thursday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday will be reserved for planning and working with students that choose our on-line option. Middle/High School students will attend from 10 a.m to 4 p.m.

The split schedule will allow for social distancing on our school buses and time to sanitize the buses between runs. We will continue with our academy that we began last year. Students whose families are choosing to not send their children to school will have an online option that will allow students to keep up with their grade-level peers. The District has invested in additional technology as well as a comprehensive K-12 online curriculum. The technology and curriculum will allow our teachers to continue rigorous instruction if schools must move to distance learning or if cohorts of students are quarantined.

The Chief: How will the District handle health and safety of students riding buses to and from the schools?

Hurowitz: We will have two different start times for elementary and secondary students. This allows us to implement the best practice recommendations for distancing on school buses as well as protect our drivers. Drivers will be given face shields for protection.

The Chief: What about school sports and other student activities, such as assemblies?

Hurowitz: We have not received firm guidance on school sports. We are expecting guidance within the next couple of weeks.

The Chief: How is the District communicating the new school year plan to students and parents?

Hurowitz: The plan will be posted on our website. I will be sending a letter home to all families with our plan and a link to the details. We will also use social media to get our information out.

The Chief: When is the opening date of the new school year and what is the projected student attendance?

Hurowitz: We will begin educating our students on Sept. 8. As of now we have our reopening plan but if things change we will move to distance learning. I dont see much change in our student attendance across the district. We will accommodate our families needs for either in class or online or a combination of the two.

Our top priority is the health and safety of students and staff. The District is purchasing Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) for all staff, hand washing stations, additional building sanitizers, and lucite barriers to keep students and staff safe. We will be implementing the 6 social distancing requirements for all staff and students following best practices. We are working with the Columbia County Health Authority to develop protocols for health and safety if there is an outbreak in our schools.

Our initial survey to our families indicated that they want their students to return to school in the fall. The plan that we currently have is in response to community needs. Please keep in mind that this is a very fluid environment and the plans we have now may change to meet the needs of our community.

Rainier School District plans

Our top priority is the safe opening of the schools, Rainier interim school Superintendent Dr. Joseph Hattrick told The Chief. Just ensuring that the district continues to be a healthy, positive leaning environment for students in whatever capacity that is.

Hattrick said his leaderships team is closely following the ODE blueprint. He said the Rainier schools plan is still a work in progress and will involve much participation by families and the community.

Right now we are looking at every option, including Distance Learning and limited in-classroom teaching, Hattrick said. The challenge that I want to assess is how Rainier addressed that this spring and see if there is any way to improve it. I want to be sure that we have multiple options available for parents so that no matter peoples situation, we can meet their needs.

Hattrick said he hopes to have a draft of the new school year plan before the ODE deadline of Aug. 15.

Hattrick was appointed the interim superintendent in June. He replaces Michael Carter who left for a similar position at the Lake County School District 7 in southeast Oregon.

Follow the new school year plans at thechiefnews.com with in-depth reports in the Friday print editions of The Chief.

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Reopening Schools: A work in progress | News - The Chief News

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