NoneCoinbase Global, Inc. Investors: Please contact the Portnoy Law Firm to recover your losses. November 12, 2024 Deadline to file Lead Plaintiff Motion
NoneFull house: Inside production of the European Curling Championships The 2024 European Curling Championships are currently underway in the south Finland town of Lohja, bringing together 20 teams from across Europe to compete in a sport that has become more popular in recent years, particularly since the 2022 Winter Olympics. Television coverage has played a part in raising the profile of what was previously regarded as a niche and somewhat arcane game that involves two teams sliding granite ‘stones’ along a lane marked out on ice towards a target known as a house. Curling is now played in many countries around the world, having spread out over the years following its creation in Scotland during the 16th century. It is a major sport in Canada, where it arrived due to Scottish emigration, and is also popular in the US, Japan and Korea. It is Europe, however, that has the greatest concentration of curling countries, including Sweden, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Turkey, Estonia, Lithuania, Czechia, Austria, England and, of course, Scotland. For competitions including the European, World and World Mixed Championships, the sport’s governing body, World Curling, distributes both the world feed to national broadcast companies of competing countries that request it and something more basic for the streamed Curling Channel. The distribution and booking manager for World Curling TV (WCTV), Sylvie Aubrit, who deals with rights holders and unilateral activity on- and off-site, explains that three levels of coverage are produced. “This is because between three and six different matches can be being played on the same sheet of ice during the same session,” she says. “Level 1 coverage will focus on one game but there will be updates on what is happening in the others going on at the same time. And if that game finishes early, we switch to one of those other matches until it is over, while updating the remaining games as well. Level 2 concentrates on only one game, with no updates from any others, and the coverage finishes when it’s over.” The vision set-ups for both these levels involve moving cameras mounted on trusses above the ice, supported by cameras on tripods controlled by operators on the same level as the players. Level 1, used only for the World Championships, involves more crew and offers features such as commentary, replays, interviews and live graphics. Aubrit describes level 2 as similar but more computer-based, involving fewer people; the European Championships is being covered with two level 2 feeds for broadcasters plus one level 3 production on The Curling Channel. This coverage comprises a static overhead camera looking at either end of a sheet with no commentary. “Level 3 uses PTZ cameras and is web-only,” Aubrit comments. “Levels 1 and 2 use broadcast-quality cameras and on the Europeans those are Sony HDC-4300s. We don’t always have the same model and even if we’re using the same supplier the cameras can change [from production to production] but they are always broadcast-quality cameras and lenses. Our suppliers know what we need but it’s not as specific as something like the Tour de France.” The main issue, Aubrit continues, is the workflow, which is “incredibly complicated” due to several games taking place at the same time, with crossovers between different sheets of ice. “Usually the productions are controlled from an OB truck but on this occasion we are using a flyaway kit with all the equipment inside the arena,” she adds. “Sometimes it is easy to send a truck but our suppliers can provide the same equipment in a flyaway kit.” Vision mixers are a 128-input Grass Valley K-Frame for the broadcast coverage and a vMix software switcher on the streaming feed. Aubrit describes the video side of covering curling as relatively simple, while the audio is “very complicated”. This is largely because all the players and coaches are miked up with wireless microphones, with other sound sources dedicated to ambience within the arena and the commentator mics. The wireless system for this event is based on 30 Wisycom MTP 41S transmitters working with Dante Audio over IP for networking and control. The mixing consoles used on European productions are Lawo, while Calrec features on North American events. “The audio mixing requires a lot of expertise and we have two people who work on it for us,” Aubrit says. “There’s also an audio manager and a floor manager who look after the wireless mics. It’s a big thing for us and we can’t mess up on it. If a player goes to the washroom we have to make sure that their mic isn’t left on.” The crew additionally includes production and technical managers, Aubrit comments, with most of those working on at the different competitions coming from Canada, where curling is extremely popular. Aubrit, who worked previously for FIFA and has a background in transmission, oversees distributing the broadcast coverage, which was recently taken in-house. “It’s something new for us, handling the distribution ourselves,” she says. “Transmission costs a lot and we used to use satellite and then fibre. Now we’ve gone full IP with a software-defined networking system provided by GlobalM in Switzerland. We use their technology to schedule all the transmissions to broadcasters and do not have to involve an intermediately or a production company.” Like other sports broadcasters, WCTV has been looking into remote production in recent times but it is does not appear to be something the organisation is preparing to adopt any time soon. “Everyone is testing remote production at the moment,” says Aubrit. “We have run tests on smaller events with some success but not enough for us to move to it yet.” The European Curling Championships began on 16 November, with the men’s and women’s competitions running concurrently. It is available on platforms including Eurosport and BBC iPlayer, as well as The Curling Channel, and concludes on Friday 22 November.
Back in May, the Labor government spruiked some big changes to the way higher education debts were indexed. It came amid much fanfare about cost-of-living relief from the government ahead of the federal budget. But despite being announced six months ago, the changes still haven't been legislated yet. There's been no indication it won't become law and for most people the policy affects, the timing may not seem critical. But a fraction of those people are owed refunds from the government — and still don't have that money in their pockets. What were the changes? Changes to the way indexation is calculated for Higher Education Loan Program (HELP) debts. Under HELP, students can get a government loan to pay their university fees, called Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS) — and they don't have to start repaying that debt until they earn a certain amount. The debts are technically interest free, but they increase each year because of indexation. HELP debts were indexed in line with the inflation rate — otherwise known by its formal name, the Consumer Price Index (CPI). This never used to be that big of a deal, because the inflation rate wasn't all that high. But it became a massive problem when inflation was at 7.1 per cent last year, because it meant debts increased significantly. After increased pressure, the federal government said it would change the way indexation was calculated. It proposed pegging the indexation rate to either the Wage Price Index (WPI) or CPI — whichever was lower. And the government wanted to apply this change to the 2024 indexation rate, but also be retrospectively applying that to the 2023 rate. This would have resulted in credits for people who still had student debt and refunds for people who had paid the loans off completely after indexation applied last year. People could have seen these benefits when they filed their 2023-2024 tax returns from July. But those credits haven't been applied yet and the refunds haven't been paid out. Why haven't the changes come through? They haven't been legislated yet. The bill passed the House of Representatives in October, but it still has to go through the Senate . When will the changes become law? After the bill passes the Senate. It was due to be discussed in the Senate this week, but it wasn't passed. And now there's only one more week of Senate sittings this year. So if the bill isn't passed next week , people won't get their refunds until next year. And because parliament doesn't sit in January, it'll be at least February before the bill is passed. Why the hold up? Because of a plan by the Greens to link this bill to another student debt relief proposal announced by the government earlier this month . You'd assume the Labor government would want these both to be passed — which it does — but it doesn't want that second proposal to come into action yet. That's because they're using it as an election promise to try to convince voters to keep them in power when we all go to the polls next year. Here's how ABC political reporter Tom Crowley put it : "They want to amend Labor's bill to add... Labor's HECS relief policy, which was announced a couple of weeks ago but is only supposed to happen after the election. "The Greens amendment would enact it now. "It seems Labor doesn't want to contemplate that, because it's instead trying to push for a vote on the bill without voting on the Greens amendment, presumably wanting to avoid voting down their own policy. "But Labor will need the Coalition's help to succeed, and if it can't get that, it could torpedo its own policy to avoid a vote on another one of its policies." Who is owed a refund? Anyone who still had a HECS debt as of June 1, 2023 who has since paid off their loans . People who had a HECS debt as of June 1, 2023 and haven't paid off their loan will get a credit taken off whatever they still owe. How many people are owed refunds? As many as 200,000 — but we don't know exact figures . That's because people will only be paid out refunds if they don't have a tax debt. "According to ATO data, as at July 2024, approximately 200,000 people have fully repaid their HELP debt since indexation was applied on 1 June 2023," the Education Department wrote in a response to a question at a public hearing back in September . "Some of these may receive a refund depending on their individual circumstances. "The department is unable to estimate the size of these refunds." How much are the refunds? The Department of Education says it was unable to estimate this. However, individuals can use the federal government's online HELP Indexation Credit Estimator tool to get a sense of what they're owed. How will people be paid their refunds? It'll be paid into their bank accounts , Education Minister Jason Clare said in his press release last month . It should be the account the Australia Taxation Office (ATO) has on file for you. "You will not need to wait until you lodge your next tax return for the credit to be applied," a government fact sheet about the changes said . "You can view or update your current nominated bank account for refunds by logging in through the myGov portal." [form]Fastly, Inc. (FSLY) UBS Global Technology and AI Conference (Transcript)
Police hunt for UnitedHealthcare CEO's masked killer after 'brazen, targeted' attack on NYC street
Fresh off its biggest win of the season, Penn State plays its first true road game Tuesday when it visits Rutgers in Piscataway, N.J. Aces will be wild for the Nittany Lions (8-1, 1-0 Big Ten) and the Scarlet Knights (5-4, 0-1) as Penn State's Ace Baldwin Jr. will square off against Ace Bailey of Rutgers. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.
Browns' Myles Garrett makes history with 2 sacks, but another loss leaves him frustrated
NEW YORK — Luigi Nicholas Mangione, the “strong person of interest” arrested in connection to the shooting slay of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson is a Maryland native who graduated at the top of his high school class and went on to major in computer science at University of Pennsylvania. Included in an online list of books 26-year-old Mangione read this year is Unabomber Theodore Kaczynski’s “Industrial Society and its Future,” which Mangione rated four out of five stars. Mangione graduated as valedictorian of the private all-boys Gilman School in 2016, according to the Baltimore school’s website. A Gilman classmate, Freddie Leatherbury, told The Baltimore Sun he “almost had a heart attack” from the shock of seeing Mangione was suspected in the shooting. “He would be the last one I would think would do something like this,” Leatherbury said to the newspaper. “He was a nice kid. He was the valedictorian.” Leatherbury said Mangione had joined the private prep school in sixth grade. “He was a brainy kid,” he said. “He was a big math guy” and belonged to a number of academic clubs. In a profile of area high school valedictorians written in the Baltimore Fishbowl in 2016, Mangione said his instructors emphasized learning outside of school and “an excitement to explore academic topics outside of the classroom”. “The teachers at Gilman influenced me especially,” Mangione said before he graduated. In a recap of the Gilman graduation ceremony posted on the school’s site, Mangione is quoted as commending his classmates for their “inventive, pioneering mentality that accompanies a strong commitment to Gilman tradition.” During high school, Mangione learned how to code and when he got to the University of Pennsylvania he co-founded a group to develop video games, according to Penn Today, a publication of the college. University of Pennsylvania Game Research and Development Environment (UPGRADE), then in its second year, was profiled in Penn Today in 2018, and quoted Mangione as saying he was a computer science major. Before starting his freshman year of college, he posted in the class of 2020’s Facebook group asking if classmates wanted to start UPGRADE, he told the publication. “I just really wanted to make games,” said Mangione. According to a Facebook account, Mangione was a UI Programming intern at Maryland-based Firaxis Games in 2016 and 2017, which makes the popular XCOM strategy game series. Take2 Games, which owns Firaxis, declined to speak to the Daily News about Mangione on Monday. “As a practice, we do not comment on former employees,” said spokesman Alan Lewis. Mangione’s cousin is Nino Mangione, a GOP lawmaker who represents a suburban Baltimore district in the state’s House of Delegates, the lawmaker’s office confirmed Monday. In January, Mangione tweeted a post that asked for reactions to a quote from philosopher J. Krishnamurti: “It is no measure of good health to be well-adjusted to a profoundly sick society.” (John Annese, Chris Sommerfeldt, Rocco Parascandola, Graham Rayman and David Goldiner contributed to this story.) ©2024 New York Daily News. Visit at nydailynews.com . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.Current and former Arizona Wildcats are making news. We’ve got views. News : The UA men’s basketball team blows out Southern Utah to get back to .500. Michael Lev is a senior writer/columnist for the Arizona Daily Star , Tucson.com and The Wildcaster . Views : It’s interesting — though hardly unusual — that Tommy Lloyd is still tinkering with roles and rotations. Remember 2022-23? Arizona’s season took off after Pelle Larsson moved from the starting lineup to the sixth-man role. That happened Jan. 19. KJ Lewis thrived coming off the bench vs. Southern Utah, playing perhaps the best all-around game of his career. His 15-point performance on 6-of-7 shooting with eight rebounds, five assists and two steals earned a career-best “game score” of 17.8, per Sports-Reference.com . Lewis as the sixth man might be the way the pieces fit together best. We’ll see. The other notable development from that game was the spark Conrad Martinez provided off the pine. The sophomore played a career-high 15 minutes and tied his career best with four assists without committing a turnover. (He has yet to commit a turnover in 44 minutes this season.) Arizona guard Conrad Martinez, shown vs. Old Dominion on Nov. 9, played a career-high 15 minutes vs. Southern Utah and played well, giving Tommy Lloyd another option to consider when assessing his lineup rotations. StatBroadcast.com tracks an advanced metric called “floor%,” which it defines as “the percentage of a player’s possessions on which at least one point is scored.” Martinez clocked in at 100% vs. the Thunderbirds. Of course, doing that against SUU is not the same as doing it vs. UCLA, Arizona’s opponent Saturday in Phoenix. Even Lloyd, who’s been Martinez’s biggest advocate, has been hesitant to give him extended minutes against anyone but mid-majors. But amid this process of figuring out who the 2024-25 Wildcats are, it might be time for Lloyd to give Martinez some run. He’s the only pure point guard Arizona has. News : The UA women’s basketball team loses to Grand Canyon to fall to 7-4. Views : Someone asked me an intriguing question the other day: “How is the women’s team doing compared to the men’s team?” My response: “The women have a better record but against lesser teams. If you’re going by the eyeball test, the men are actually better.” Arizona coach Adia Barnes communicates with her team during the second half of the game against Grand Canyon in McKale Center on Dec. 5, 2024. It's been a rough stretch for Adia Barnes’ team, which began the season 5-0, including a quality win over UNLV. The Wildcats have gone 2-4 since, including losses to both in-state mid-majors, NAU and GCU. Ouch. Barnes’ squad is still young — most of the main rotation players are sophomores or freshmen — and there’s still time for growth and maturation. The offense, in particular, needs a lot of work. The Wildcats remain under water in assist-to-turnover ratio and it’d take a dramatic turnaround for them to rise to the surface. Arizona is averaging 12.7 assists and 19.6 turnovers per game. The latter ranks 299th nationally . The Wildcats’ 0.65 assist-to-turnover ratio ranks 15th in the 16-team Big 12. Barnes has her share of critics, especially when it comes to coaching offense. But she hasn’t had a team with an assist-to-turnover ratio this lopsided since 2016-17, her first season as Arizona’s head coach. It’s actually impressive that the Wildcats’ record is as good as it is with an assist-to-turnover ratio that’s that bad. News : UA junior offensive lineman Jonah Savaiinaea declares for the 2025 NFL Draft. Views : This was an expected move by the three-year starter, who, I’m told, is a top-50 prospect for next year’s draft. He has popped up in the bottom half of the first round in many mock drafts and it wouldn’t be at all surprising if he came off the board on the first night. Savaiinaea is more likely to play guard than tackle in the NFL, but I wouldn’t bet against him. He seamlessly moved from right guard to right tackle to left tackle during his UA career. When he first moved from the right side to the left side this year, he did so without having taken any practice reps there. I can’t begin to tell you how difficult that is. Savaiinaea probably wasn’t as effective a player as he would have been had he remained at one position. But the fact that he put the team’s needs above his own will endear him to NFL organizations. Arizona offensive lineman Jonah Savaiinaea (71) lines up against TCU linebacker Cooper McDonald (44) during the first half of their game Nov. 23, 2024, in Fort Worth, Texas. The other aspect of Savaiinaea’s UA career that separates him from others: He started — and was a reliable performer — from Day One. Offensive linemen typically require the longest developmental timeline. Not Big Jonah. He was plug-and-play. Aside from his natural size — he carries 330-plus pounds on his 6-foot-5 frame with ease — and athletic ability, Savaiinaea possesses ideal makeup. I’ve yet to hear a negative word about his character or work ethic. News : UA football signs 20 players for the class of 2025. Views : The Wildcats undoubtedly would have placed higher in the team rankings if they hadn’t lost quarterback Robert McDaniel to UCLA. Rivals ranks Arizona’s class — high school and JC recruits only — ninth in the Big 12, while 247Sports has the UA 11th. I have the utmost respect for my colleagues who scour the prep ranks to rate players, but I’m sure even they would concede it’s easier to grade skill-position players than linemen. A quarter of the Wildcats’ class consists of offensive linemen. They need to hit on at least two or three of them. In the stellar class of 2022 , Savaiinaea was a relative unknown from Hawaii who had minimal camp exposure because of the pandemic. He was the eighth-ranked player among Arizona’s signees that year, per 247Sports, behind Tetairoa McMillan, Rayshon Luke, Keyan Burnett, Ephesians Prysock, Sterling Lane II, Kevin Green Jr. and Jonah Coleman. That’s five skill-position players, a cornerback and an edge rusher if you’re scoring at home. The only team ranking that truly matters anymore is what 247Sports now calls the “overall rank” — recruits plus transfers. We won’t know how that shakes out for a while. But we’re already getting an idea of who won’t be back. Arizona linebacker Jacob Manu (5) indicates a turnover on downs after the Wildcat defense swarmed Northern Arizona running back Darvon Hubbard (23) in the first quarter on Aug. 31 at Arizona Stadium. News : Twenty UA players (and counting) enter the transfer portal, including linebacker Jacob Manu. Views : Nothing surprises me when it comes to the portal, but Manu putting himself out there comes close. Every indication — as recently as this past weekend — was that Manu was going to stick around. Then he decided to bet on himself at a time when his stock isn’t exactly soaring. Manu suffered what’s believe to be a torn ACL on Oct. 19 vs. Colorado. The typical recovery timeline is about nine months, so Manu is looking at a summer return at best. He is an undersized linebacker — generously listed at 5-11 — whose game isn’t for everyone. Manu can be a disruptive force (17 tackles for loss in 32 career games), but he also plays out of control at times (37 career missed tackles, per Pro Football Focus ). Given his health status, a program would have to take a leap of faith to invest in Manu. He’d be an asset in any locker room, but there’s no telling when he’ll be back to form physically. Manu also was part of the 2022 signing class. As of this writing, only eight of those 23 players remain with Arizona — and that includes McMillan, who’s certain to declare for the draft. Players who stick with one school for the entirety of their college careers are increasingly rare these days. When the coach who recruited them leaves for another job, that effect is exacerbated. Regardless, this feels like the end of an era that was all-too-fleeting. An all-time great recruiting class in 2022. A glorious 10-win season in ’23. A step back in ’24. Uncertainty entering ’25. Contact sports reporter/columnist Michael Lev at mlev@tucson.com . On X (Twitter): @michaeljlev. On Bluesky: @ michaeljlev.bsky.social Respond: Write a letter to the editor | Write a guest opinion Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sports Reporter/Columnist
Gregg Wallace ghostwriter claims he sexually harassed her after making her sign NDA - The Telegraph
The San Francisco 49ers added Brock Purdy to the injury report on Wednesday for a shoulder issue. The star quarterback has been dealing with soreness in his right (throwing) shoulder since the 49ers 20-17 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday. Purdy was limited in Wednesday's practice but did not throw a pass. On Thursday, the third-year quarterback threw passes but exited practice early to work on rehabilitating the injury. Head coach Kyle Shanahan said on Thursday that he was hopeful that Purdy could play against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday. The 5-5 49ers are set to travel to play the 7-3 Packers at Lambeau Field on Sunday. Per Friday's injury report, San Francisco ruled out Purdy for Sunday's contest against the Packers. The 49ers announced on social media Friday afternoon they plan to start Brandon Allen. Kyle Shanahan announced Brandon Allen as the starting QB for Green Bay. pic.twitter.com/2znMyRRP2W The Jacksonville Jaguars selected Allen in the sixth round of the 2016 draft. The native of Fayetteville played college football for the Arkansas Razorbacks. Allen is 2-7 as a starter in the league. The 32-year-old has gone 149-of-263 passing for 1,611 yards, 10 touchdowns and six interceptions in his five-year NFL career. Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images Allen last made his start for the Cincinnati Bengals in 2021 against the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens defeated the Bengals 38-3 in a game that Allen went 6-of-21 for 48 yards and two interceptions. Allen has attempted no passes for the 49ers this season. Related: 49ers Coach Suggests Brock Purdy Hasn't Made Progress In 2024
Paradise Lost Update Given by James Gunn for Upcoming DCU Show By has shared some new insights about the . Gunn and Peter Safran’s DCU officially kicks off next month with the animated Creature Commandos series. Following that, Gunn’s Superman movie will be released in 2025 and a second season of Peacemaker is planned after that. On Threads, Gunn shared some thoughts about how the DCU will address origin stories; specifically for the characters of and . He , “I’m not telling Batman and Superman’s origin stories again because everyone knows them.” Gunn later that he’s strictly talking about Batman and Superman, meaning other DCU projects could include origin stories for lesser-known characters. What update did James Gunn give on Paradise Lost? When asked about whether or not he believes the general audience knows ’s canonical origin, Gunn , “Not as many people do – also because she’s had various origin stories.” One of the projects that was announced to be part of the DCU’s first chapter, titled “Gods and Monsters,” is , which will be a political drama set in Themyscira before the birth of Wonder Woman. While there hasn’t been much news about Paradise Lost since its initial announcement, Gunn the series is currently in “very active development.” No casting information regarding the series has been publicly revealed at this time and no premiere date has been set. A number of other DCU projects are in various stages of development. Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow currently has a June 26, 2026 release date. Gunn also recently said that Lanterns, the series starring Kyle Chandler as Hal Jordan and Aaron Pierre as John Stewart, will likely premiere around the same time as Supergirl releases in theaters. Other forthcoming DCU television series include Waller, Booster Gold, and a Blue Beetle show, while films such as The Authority, The Brave and the Bold, Swamp Thing, Teen Titans, and more are additionally in the works. Share article