Bears' Omier lands Big 12 Player of Week honor(Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said on Monday he had picked businessman Warren Stephens to be ambassador to Britain. Trump made the announcement in a post on social media. Stephens is chairman, president, and CEO of Stephens Inc., a privately owned financial services firm headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas, according to the firm's website. (Reporting by Katharine Jackson and Rami Ayyub)
( ) stock fell late Wednesday after the cybersecurity firm reported third quarter revenue that edged by Wall Street estimates while guidance came in slightly above views. The company reported October-ended quarter SentinelOne earnings after the market close. SentinelOne said it broke even on an adjusted basis vs. an 3-cent loss a year earlier. The cybersecurity company posted revenue of $210.6 million, up 28%. SentinelOne stock analysts expected the Mountain View, Calif.-based company to report revenue of $209.7 million and a 1-cent loss. SentinelOne Stock: Key Metric SentinelOne said annualized recurring revenue from subscription-based services increased 29% to $859.7 million, just above estimates of $857 million. For the current quarter ending in October, SentinelOne predicted revenue of $222 million. On the , SentinelOne stock fell more than 10% to 25.70 in extended trading. In 2024, SentinelOne stock had gained nearly 4%. The company's software detects malware on laptops, mobile phones and other "endpoints" that access corporate networks. Also, it's building a broad, threat-detection cybersecurity platform. Also, SentinelOne rivals include ( ), ( ) and ( ). Meanwhile, SentinelOne stock owns a Relative Strength Rating of 85 out of a best-possible 99, according to . Further, SentinelOne is among .
Twenty years ago, Somalia was headed for catastrophe. Conflict, drought and government collapse threatened to plunge 200,000 people into famine. But relief groups lacked enough food for everyone and had no consistent way of identifying those most at risk of starvation. A man angered about his clan’s limited share of food aid fired shots at humanitarian workers. Nicholas Haan, an American then working on the aid effort for the United Nations, had an idea: Create an evidence-driven system that objectively classified acute food insecurity and engaged both international experts and Somali leaders so all agreed on how to manage the crisis. The idea worked, Haan said. Locals helped gather evidence for the analysis. That led to greater acceptance of tough decisions on where to send aid, he said. The process Haan and other aid workers sketched out in about a month eventually evolved into the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC, a global partnership that’s a linchpin in today’s vast system for monitoring and alleviating hunger. It is designed to sound the alarm about developing food crises so organizations can respond and prevent famine and mass starvation . But as hunger crises sweep parts of the developing world this year, the technocratic assumptions on which the IPC warning system rests are colliding with messy and brutal realities. In March, the IPC warned that famine was imminent in northern Gaza. In August, it said famine had taken hold in part of Sudan’s North Darfur state. Nevertheless, U.N. officials said in early November that the entire population of northern Gaza was at “imminent risk of dying from disease, famine and violence.” In Darfur, little aid has reached Zamzam, a famine-stricken camp for displaced people, and its estimated 500,000 residents are at risk of dying of hunger-related causes. Critically, the IPC is struggling to access the data it needs to conduct informed analyses . With most of the world’s food crises being driven by conflict, it has become increasingly difficult to gather the information the IPC requires to classify vulnerable nations on its five-stage acute food-security scale. In Gaza, Israeli bombing and restrictions on movement have impeded efforts to collect statistics on malnutrition, deaths unrelated to trauma , and other essential data. In Sudan, violence, military roadblocks, bureaucratic obstruction and a telecommunications blackout have disrupted efforts to test for malnutrition, count deaths and survey people about their access to food. Another frequently false assumption underpinning the IPC’s work: The world will respond promptly to its warnings. In reality, significant aid sometimes comes after the starving are already dying in droves. Perhaps the system’s greatest weakness – one its creator Haan points to himself – is the premise that governments in hunger-stricken countries will cooperate fully with the IPC, the U.N. and other outside helpers. G overnment involvement can be the system’s greatest strength, Haan said, empowering countries to solve their own problems. But Reuters found that giving local officials a seat at the table – as the IPC usually does – also can pose a conflict of interest, positioning them to undermine the hunger monitor’s work and harming the people it is meant to protect. This is especially true in cases of civil war, when a government’s military strategy can trump humanitarian goals. “It inadvertently gives a veto to any belligerent party that does not want a famine declared,” said Jeremy Konyndyk, president of the humanitarian relief group Refugees International and former director of the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance in the U.S. Agency for International Development. In three countries now suffering severe food crises, Reuters found that governments or rebels have blocked or falsified the flow of data to the IPC or have tried to suppress its findings. In Ethiopia, the government disliked an IPC finding that 350,000 people were experiencing catastrophic acute food insecurity – so it stopped working with the IPC. In Yemen, Houthi rebels commandeered the IPC’s research process and exaggerated a food crisis to try to get more aid. In Sudan, the government tried to invalidate a survey that showed high rates of acute malnutrition among children. Ethiopian and Sudanese officials told Reuters the IPC analyses were flawed. Houthi representatives said their research documented a legitimate humanitarian crisis . One reason for such sabotage: Governments fear the international stigma and domestic political blowback from being unable to perform one of their most basic duties – feeding their own people. “Countries don’t want to be told they’re presiding over a famine,” said Mark Lowcock, who coordinated U.N. emergency relief efforts from 2017 to 2021. “It does not win you international kudos and admiration. So these state entities try to wiggle and weave to avoid having that exposed.” The IPC acknowledges that the impediments sometimes slow its work and delay alerts seeking urgently needed resources for places with extreme hunger crises. That is one reason for new protocols the IPC announced Nov. 22. IPC Global Program Manager Jose Lopez, in response to questions about the warning system’s shortcomings, said the IPC will now require that its technical experts take over government-headed analyses within two weeks of when evidence points to famine and there are exceptional circumstances, such as government interference or delay. The IPC said the change is intended to ensure timely, unbiased reports during crises, in hopes of halting mass starvation and preventing widespread deaths. In October, the IPC also issued new guidance on how analysts should incorporate conflict conditions into their reports . The guidance cites the IPC’s failure to warn early enough that South Sudan seemed headed for famine in 2020. Armed militias were fighting over resources and historic grievances, displacing tens of thousands of people. Analysts hadn’t adequately factored in the impact of the organized violence on food security, the document says. The guidance directs analysts to consider ways conflict can drive food insecurity, such as cutting access to food, causing prices to skyrocket and disrupting crop production. Reuters’ examination of how the IPC operates and whether it is an effective alert system is based on internal IPC documents and communications, meeting minutes of humanitarian organizations and data on aid delivery, nutrition and donations. Reporters also interviewed dozens of aid workers, government officials, IPC analysts and academics who study food security. Many of the problems plaguing the IPC are beyond its control, from civil war and other conflicts that obstruct data collection to tardy reactions to its forecasts by aid donors and distributors. The IPC says its hunger analyses help direct $6 billion in annual aid to the more than 35 nations it monitors. But $15 billion of requests for food security and nutrition globally went unmet in 2023 , according to U.N. data that tracks the flow of aid. Martin Griffiths, who stepped down as U.N. humanitarian relief chief in June, said shortage s of data, money and access to areas where people are starving has created a situation in which “your hands are tied behind your back from the beginning.” The U.N.’s own internal weaknesses also can hamper relief efforts. In Ethiopia, massive amounts of aid from the U.N.’s World Food Program (WFP) were diverted, in part because of the organization’s lax administrative controls. An internal WFP report on Sudan identifies a range of problems in the organization’s response there, including an inability to respond adequately to the crisis, missed funding opportunities and what it describes as “anti-fraud challenges,” Reuters reported Wednesday. Today, the IPC is an independent body funded by Western nations and overseen by 19 large humanitarian organizations and intergovernmental institutions. Though its duties are far-reaching, its resources are tight: It has just 60 paid staff and an $8.5 million annual budget. It relies on hundreds of analysts from governments and partner agencies to produce reports on hunger and acute malnutrition in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. IPC reports rank areas for acute food insecurity on a one-to-five scale that slides from minimal to stressed, crisis, emergency and famine. In each country, a “technical working group,” usually headed by the national government, analyzes data, classifies areas on the IPC scale and issues periodic reports. Rather than gathering its own data, the IPC relies on the WFP, a multi-billion-dollar global distributor of food aid, and other relief organizations and government agencies to provide it. When famine is in play, the group’s analysis often gets another layer of scrutiny – from the IPC’s five-member Famine Review Committee, which vets and verifies the finding. The IPC’s hunger analyses require rigorously examining data on factors scientifically linked to food security, such as crop yields, food prices and malnutrition. Although those uniform standards and technical rigor are important, it is essential that they don’t become a barrier or slow the process of delivering aid, said Deepmala Mahla, chief humanitarian officer for the relief organization CARE, an IPC partner. “The single largest driver of hunger in the world is conflict,” Mahla said. “This means that people who are most desperately in need are in the hardest-to-reach areas. The single most pressing IPC challenge is the difficulty in collecting mortality and nutrition data from these areas.” In Gaza, Israel’s 13-month military campaign has displaced an estimated 1.9 million Palestinians, many of them multiple times. Bombings, movement restrictions and evacuations ordered by Israel’s military block access to health care and keep aid workers from reaching people in need. All this makes it extremely difficult for the IPC to get data for two of the statistics it seeks for a famine determination – malnutrition and hunger-related deaths , aid workers told Reuters. The IPC’s preferred method for assessing acute malnutrition levels is to measure children’s weight and height. But Israeli bombing has destroyed many of Gaza’s hospitals and clinics – and along with them, scales and height boards. Humanitarian organizations instead trained health workers to measure children’s upper arms. The IPC relied on such measurements in October, when it reported that acute malnutrition rates in Gaza were 10 times higher than before the conflict but still below its threshold for deeming an area in famine. But the data was collected in August and September, before conditions worsened in the north, where Israel is conducting intense attacks. Since October, health workers have been unable to get there to collect malnutrition data. The conflict also has imperiled the data collectors themselves, who often are aid workers. At least 337 aid workers have been killed in Gaza since the Israeli operation began , the most ever in a single crisis, according to the U.N. In November 2023, a few weeks before IPC analysts began working to gauge whether Gaza was in famine, a convoy carrying staff and family from Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders, or MSF) came under fire, killing two. MSF said the convoy was clearly marked with the aid group’s logo and said all evidence pointed to a deliberate attack by Israel. So worried was the IPC about aid workers’ safety in Gaza that it set up anonymized Zoom calls to conduct its work, six participants told Reuters. Some of the IPC analysts worked for humanitarian organizations on the ground in Gaza, and the IPC feared they could be targeted by Israel. So each day, a facilitator would conceal the analysts’ identities before letting them into the virtual meeting room. Instead of screen names, they had numbers: Analyst 1, Analyst 2, Analyst 3. All kept their cameras off. The Israel Defense Forces did not respond to Reuters questions about the MSF incident, attacks on aid workers or the IPC’s efforts to protect its analysts . COGAT, the Israeli government body that oversees aid to Gaza, told Reuters that in recent months a new Israeli government board has begun focusing on the safety of humanitarian workers. It “facilitates efficient and rapid information sharing” to help them distribute aid safely and effectively, COGAT said. The IPC did not have a group of analysts working in Gaza when Israel’s military operation began. So the IPC set up an ad hoc group, headed by its own staff rather than local government representatives. The arrangement was meant to protect the group’s neutrality, two IPC sources said. Almost everywhere else the IPC operates, a government official heads the working group. The IPC works on the assumption that governments want to get aid to the starving. But Reuters found that several governments or ruling factions sought to manipulate or suppress data collection for IPC analyses. They have used the IPC’s own rigorous requirements to exclude crucial evidence of famine and delay the publication of reports warning about the risk of famine. In Sudan, the government sought to suppress a key malnutrition and mortality s tudy that helped show that the huge displaced persons camp called Zamzam was in famine. The camp formed in 2004, during attacks by the Sudanese government and Janjaweed-aligned militia that resulted in ethnically motivated mass killings. It now shelters about 500,000 displaced people. MSF randomly selected and measured the upper arms of 659 children there in January. The aid group found almost 25% to be acutely malnourished – higher than the IPC’s 15% threshold for famine. It also found alarmingly high mortality rates among the wider population. At the end of March and into early April, the group screened another 4 7 ,000 children and found one of every three malnourished. Some children died while waiting in line to be screened, said Seham Abdullah, a 28-year-old doctor who worked on the survey and is still treating patients there. Others died on the way to the clinic, she said. “The children are sent away because there are no beds,” Abdullah told Reuters. “Then they come back later and their conditions are worse.” MSF treatment for malnourished children has been hindered by sporadic aid shipments. For a time this fall, it was unable to treat 5,000 children with acute malnutrition because warring parties were preventing supplies from reaching the camp. MSF’s child nutrition and mortality survey from January gave the IPC valuable data points as it worked to determine if the area was in famine. A famine analysis considers people’s access to food, along with malnutrition and mortality rates. But the Sudanese government – engaged in a civil war with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and adamantly opposed to a famine declaration for strategic reasons – rejected the study. Ibrahim Khatir, head of the North Darfur health ministry, told Reuters in August that MSF’s findings were exaggerated to drum up funding. Aid organizations “d o it as advertising so they can get more support,” he said. “So they can get nice houses, cars, salaries, they rely on the suffering, the hunger.” In response to Khatir’s remarks, MSF noted the statistical rigor of its analysis and called its findings “unambiguous.” “The plight of Sudanese people, only receiving a trickle of humanitarian aid at best while trapped by hunger and war, is nothing short of outrageous,” Michel-Olivier Lacharité, MSF head of emergency operations, said in an emailed statement to Reuters. In June, Sudan’s ambassador to the U.N., Al-Harith Idriss al-Harith Mohamed, criticized outsiders’ efforts to declare famine in Sudan, which he called “a narrative whereby famine can be dictated from above.” A famine declaration would increase pressure on the government to open a key aid-shipment border crossing from Chad, which he called a “Pandora’s box” that would open up arms smuggling to the RSF. Sudan’s agriculture minister, Abubakr al-Bushra, raised similar objections in a letter later that month to Lopez, the IPC chief. Lopez replied that the IPC could not factor Sudan’s military concerns into its analysis. “The issues you raised about the risks of diversion of humanitarian assistance and of a potential conflict expansion go beyond the purpose and objectives of a Famine Review,” Lopez said in the July 4 letter, seen by Reuters. After MSF published its nutrition and mortality findings on Zamzam in February, it took the IPC six months to alert the world that famine was happening there. Over that time, the average number of graves dug daily in Zamzam grew. Reuters used high-resolution optical and radar satellite imagery to examine activity in seven Zamzam graveyards. The images reveal an average rate of at least 1.6 new graves added each day in March. By November, that rate had grown to at least 4 each day . The analysis is likely an undercount because it is impossible to know if the images reveal every burial, especially small children’s graves. In February, MSF estimated that one child was dying every two hours in the camp. The news agency’s use of satellite imagery is an example of new types of data that could be incorporated into the IPC’s analyses, Haan said. The Famine Review Committee cited Reuters’ work as one piece of evidence in its August famine finding. The IPC is now working with Yale University’s Humanitarian Research Lab to explore ways of using similar analyses in its reports, Haan said. It also is exploring machine-learning techniques, which rely on computer models to predict outcomes. Zamzam’s misery continues. The camp has come under intense shelling this week, a volunteer worker and an aid organization told Reuters. Sudan isn’t the only place where the IPC ran into intense government resistance . In June 2021, the IPC analyzed the risk of famine in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, where paramilitary forces were then in the midst of violent conflict with government forces. The hunger monitor found that more than 350,000 people were in Phase 5, or catastrophic conditions. Ethiopia’s central government challenged the IPC’s methodology and conclusions, but the IPC published its analysis anyway. It added a disclaimer: “This report has not been endorsed by the Government of Ethiopia.” The government reacted furiously. It “perceived the publication as unilateral and unauthorized,” a senior government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters. The government later expelled seven senior U.N. officials and blocked further IPC access in Ethiopia. No IPC analyses have been performed in Ethiopia since, although the government official said talks recently began in an effort to improve relations between the government and the IPC. Strong-arming of the IPC and the broader humanitarian relief system became severe in Yemen in 2023, when Houthi rebel forces who control the country’s north tried to exaggerate a hunger crisis to draw international humanitarian aid, four sources with knowledge of the situation told Reuters. Houthi rebels have been accused of massive aid diversion there. The Houthis’ humanitarian arm handpicked data collectors in 2023 to conduct surveys to assess the population’s access to food, according to three sources from the U.N.’s WFP. Reuters was unable to learn specifics about how the data was collected. The Houthis then used the data to press the IPC to say that many urban areas were experiencing food emergencies when in fact people had access to food and markets, said an IPC working group member, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The person said that Houthi officers threatened IPC members with consequences if they did not classify areas as the Houthis wanted. Houthi security forces have arrested and held incommunicado dozens of U.N. staff and employees of nongovernmental organizations. In a written response to questions from Reuters, the Houthi Supreme Council for the Management and Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (SCMCHA) said the humanitarian crisis in Yemen is an “undisputed fact and not fabricated.” “The data collection process was carried out in the required manner according to the standards agreed upon with the World Food Program,” the SCMCHA said, noting that half of the data collectors were selected by the WFP. It denied diverting aid and threatening aid workers and said the arrests of U.N. staff were lawful. “These are false and untrue allegations,” the statement read. “We completely reject them. No pressure was exerted on the committee.” A global IPC team reviewed the Houthi-collected data and found that it overstated hunger levels, three IPC sources told Reuters. The IPC decided not to publish the Houthi-led analysis. And because of security concerns, it did not publish its own evaluation, either, the sources said. Even when the IPC’s work is unhindered and timely, donor countries often respond sluggishly to warnings of a food crisis. And conflict, closed borders and movement restrictions make it difficult to deliver aid. That can leave humanitarian agencies with too little money to keep hunger from worsening. The world supplied only 39% of the aid that agencies requested in 2023 to alleviate food insecurity and improve nutrition, according to U.N. data. This year is on track for only slightly better results. Government officials from seven donor countries told Reuters they take note of the IPC’s reports, but they also weigh budgetary and political priorities, climate predictions, logistical hurdles to delivering aid, and the actions of other donors. Germany would pay attention to an IPC Phase 4 or Phase 5 determination, said Andreas von Brandt, Berlin’s ambassador to the U.N. in Rome. But it wouldn’t guarantee a response. “Our funds are limited,” von Brandt said. “Even in the best years we wouldn’t have all the funds to suffice.” The first famine the IPC identified – in 2011 in Somalia – illustrates the devastating toll when aid arrives too late. Drought and armed conflict among militant groups fighting for control of the country’s south led to mass displacement and dire food shortages from 2010 through 2012. IPC analyses repeatedly warned of an imminent risk of famine. Yet donors balked at sending relief to a region controlled by militants the U.S. had labeled as terrorists . Humanitarian aid to the afflicted area dropped by half from 2008 to 2011, as aid workers came under attack. Only after an IPC analysis found the area in famine in July 2011 did donor nations and organizations respond with a deluge of aid. By then, much of the damage had already been done. It turned out to be one of the deadliest famines of the 21st century. An estimated 258,000 people – most of them children under 5 – died from hunger-related causes, according to a 2013 analysis commissioned by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. Almost half died before famine was even declared, the study found. The geopolitical roadblocks and the failure of the various arms of the humanitarian aid system to work together to prevent starvation frustrates Haan, 20 years after he came up with his idea to classify hunger. “All of that comes crashing down on the woman and the girl and the young boy in Zamzam who can’t eat tonight, and there’s no reason why they shouldn’t be able to eat tonight, no reason at all,” he said. Reporting by Lena Masri, Deborah Nelson, Maggie Michael, Steve Stecklow, Ryan McNeill, Jaimi Dowdell and Benjamin Lesser. Source: Reuters (Additional reporting by Giulia Paravicini, Kaylee Kang, Nafisa Eltahir, Khalid Abdelaziz, Allison Martell and Charlie Szymanski. Edited by Janet Roberts.)
Where to watch Rams vs. 49ers on Amazon Prime Video tonight for freeNone
Anyone with a spare $250 who wants to hire U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert to record a personalized video message may have to wait after the Colorado Republican, who joined Cameo over the weekend, deactivated her account Monday afternoon amid questions about whether charging for the service could violate House rules. Boebert appears to have been the first sitting member of Congress to attempt to hawk made-to-order video clips on the popular platform, though some of her former colleagues, including Republicans George Santos and Matt Gaetz, offer their customized videos on the website. "It's your girl from Colorado, Lauren Boebert," said Boebert, who was elected to a third term this month after moving across the state into a new district, in an introductory video posted to the site on Saturday. "I am so excited to be joining another platform where I can connect directly with supporters from all over the world." Initially listing herself as an "influencer" and "political commentator," Boebert's Cameo page said she charged $250 and up to record a range of messages, with suggested possibilities including, "Say happy birthday," "Ask a question" and "Receive a pep talk." "Whether you or someone you know needs an America First pep talk. if you want to surprise friends or family with a message for a special day, or if you just want to know my thoughts on whatever's on your mind, Cameo is the place to connect with me," Boebert said in the video. "You can book a video now on my Cameo profile, and I will be seeing you and talking with you soon." Boebert's page didn't refer to her status as a member of Congress, describing her instead as: "Not your typical Republican politician. Jesus loving, Constitutionalist, America first, freedom fighter." By late morning, Boebert's Cameo page had stopped accepting bookings and by mid-afternoon it had disappeared. Boebert's office declined to comment. Experts in congressional ethics suggested that Boebert's bid to cash in on her celebrity might run afoul of House rules that limit lawmakers' outside income and prohibit sitting members from receiving payment for giving speeches. Aaron Scherb, senior director of legislative affairs at Common Cause, told Colorado Politics on Monday that Boebert appeared to have been the first current member of Congress to set up a Cameo account. He noted that the House Ethics Committee hasn't yet weighed in on the question. "Until they provide some sort of formal guidance, the expectation is that members would probably be allowed to sign up for it," Scherb said, adding, "It seems like it could potentially violate the ban on honoraria, but it’s untested." Under the ethics panel's description of governing laws, rules and standards of conduct , House members and senior staff are prohibited from receiving any honoraria, which is defined as “a payment of money or a thing of value for an appearance, speech, or article." Additionally, the rules define a speech as "an address, oration, talk, lecture, or other form of oral presentation, whether delivered in person, transmitted electronically, recorded, or broadcast over the media." Scherb added that Boebert would have to report any income from the endeavor. "Even if the House Ethics Committee provides guidance that sitting members of Congress may appear on Cameo, the maximum outside income limit for House members is $31,815 currently, so she would have to abide by that limit," he said. Santos and Gaetz both signed up for Cameo soon after they left office. Santos, who represented a New York district, was expelled from the House late last year over allegations of campaign finance improprieties. Gaetz, meanwhile, resigned from Congress last week after President-elect Donald Trump announced he planned to nominate the Florida lawmaker as attorney general, but Gaetz withdrew amid allegations he paid for sex with a 17-year-old girl. He joined Cameo the next day.
How long do FBI directors normally serve? What to know as Wray announces resignationWe are one week away from the fantasy football playoffs. Odds are, not every spot in your league's postseason has been secured just yet. Positioning, potential first-round byes and playoff berths are still up for grabs, making Week 14 yet another pivotal week where knowing who to start and who to sit could be the difference between a shot at a championship or missing out on your league's winnings. Week 13 included myriad of fantastic performances. Jonnu Smith continued his reign of terror on the rest of the league. Bucky Irving was a monster, and probably the only reason the Tampa Bay Buccaneers didn't lose to the Carolina Panthers . Rookie tight end Brock Bowers also put up a 30 burger in PPR leagues. However, the key to fantasy greatness is finding value in players that others wouldn't consider starting. That's what we're here to do. Here are eight players to start and eight more to sit in Week 14. NFL playoff picture: Bills clinch 2024 season's first division title by bludgeoning 49ers in snow Players to start in Week 14: Quarterbacks: NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more. While the Las Vegas Raiders have been solid against the run as of late, they've been less productive against the pass. Mayfield and the Bucs were nearly embarrassed by the Panthers in Week 13. They'll look to bounce back in a big way against the Raiders in what should be (but probably won't be) an easy win. While Justin Herbert did not have a great week against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 13, every other quarterback to play Atlanta recently has. Bo Nix had 36 points. Derek Carr had 23. Dak Prescott and Cooper Rush had 26. Baker Mayfield had 28. Geno Smith had 21. You get the point. Atlanta is a terrific matchup for any quarterback, and Darnold's ceiling is lifted substantially against them this weekend. Running Backs: While Devin Singletary did get a decent workload in Week 13 against the Dallas Cowboys, the New Orleans Saints' run defense has been bad enough to warrant starting Tracy regardless of how much work Singletary gets. Tracy still got the important carries and wound up in the end zone. That's all that matters in fantasy. Oh, he also got the only receiving work out of the backfield. With the 49ers all out of whack and Nick Bosa hobbled, the 49ers' run defense has been atrocious. They've now surrendered the fifth-most non-PPR points per game to halfbacks on the season. Swift will be the biggest benefactor of San Francisco's collapse this week. Wide Receivers: Look. Volume may be the most important thing to consider in fantasy, but Westbrook-Ikhine's production speaks for itself. He has caught at least one touchdown in seven of his past eight games. That alone makes him fantasy relevant, but his odds increase this week as the Titans face the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Cincinnati Bengals' defense is filled with more holes than the plot of a J.J. Abrams movie, and Cooks – despite hauling in only three passes in his first game back from injury – did earn seven targets and score a touchdown. He'll be heavily involved in Dallas' offensive game plan moving forward. Tight Ends: Don't look now, but the Raiders have been fairly solid against the run the last few weeks, having given up less than 65 rushing yards in two consecutive games. The Bucs will need to pass to get their offense going, and the Raiders have given up the third-most non-PPR points per game to the tight end position. The Bengals just allowed Pat Freiermuth to go off for seven catches, 68 yards, and a touchdown. They've given up a score to opposing tight ends in four consecutive games and have surrendered eight touchdowns to tight ends over the past eight weeks. Players to sit in Week 14: Quarterbacks: The Green Bay Packers have been terrific against quarterbacks all year. While Goff's efficiency can often counter elite defenses, the Packers have been just mediocre against running backs. It's likely the Lions will lean heavily on their halfbacks, as they normally do, attacking Green Bay's weaknesses. While Goff's floor should be incredibly high, his ceiling will be low in this divisional matchup. The Buffalo Bills have been menaces to opposing quarterbacks all season. They've only allowed 20 points to quarterbacks four times this year. Two of those were divisional games, which are often outliers in these types of statistics. The other two were Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson. Don't count on a big performance from Stafford. Running Backs: In his first game back from injury, Pacheco was still used in a timeshare with Kareem Hunt. While Pacheco should get more work as the season winds down, he's not in line this week to return to his workhorse role from the start of the season. Furthermore, the Los Angeles Chargers have only surrendered three rushing touchdowns all year. Even with J.K. Dobbins out, Edwards has been unable to secure the top spot in Los Angeles' backfield. He's been inconsistent, inefficient and hasn't been much of a pass-catcher, either. That alone would be enough to warrant benching him, but he will also be facing the Kansas City Chiefs this weekend. All around, not a great outlook. Wide Receivers: The 49ers' offense is not good. It hasn't been good for some time, and while Samuel is the type of player that can go off at any moment, he hasn't tallied 10 PPR points in three in a row and four of his past six games. The Chicago Bears are one of the best teams in the league at stopping opposing wideouts, and Week 14 should be no different. Don't let his Week 13 stat line fool you. Hill would've had five receptions for 73 yards in Week 13 had it not been for a weird ricochet ball that landed in his hands for a touchdown. Hill is not getting designed looks in Miami's offense like he'd been getting in years past. Now, facing the New York Jets' secondary, Hill will be in for a rough outing. Tight Ends: No team in the NFL is better at shutting down opposing tight ends than the Detroit Lions. This will likely be a game where Green Bay leans on its wideouts, as Detroit's defense is built for stopping running backs and tight ends. With Trevor Lawrence going through concussion protocol, there's a chance that Mac Jones takes the reigns of the Jaguars' offense again in Week 14. In his time under center in Week 13, Jones displayed a connection with wideout Parker Washington, throwing his way 12 times, the most on the team. Should that connection maintain in Week 14, Engram could very well wind up the third option in Jacksonville's lackluster passing attack. That's not a great combo for fantasy production. Furthermore, the Tennessee Titans have surrendered the fifth-fewest non-PPR points per game to opposing tight ends. NFL News: Kirk Cousins' meltdown flings open door to questions on Falcons' QB plan
Art Basel Miami Beach 2024: Biggest parties and eventsShare Tweet Share Share Email Liying Peng’s journey into User Experience andInteraction Design began with her interest in the intersection of aesthetics and human behavior. Initially focused on visual communication design, she learned that effective design transcends visuals; it involves understanding user interactions with products and addressing real-world challenges. This realization prompted her transition to UX design, where she could combine her design skills with a human-centered approach. Liying’s educational path, particularly during her graduate studies, allowed her to explore user research methodologies, prototype testing, and human-centered design principles. This academic foundation equipped her with essential skills to empathize with users, identify their pain points, and create designs that are visually appealing and meaningful. Through comprehensive coursework and practical projects, Liying learned to blend design, psychology, and technology to craft impactful solutions. This synergy solidified her commitment to UX design and shaped her career as a designer focused on enhancing user experiences. Liying’s creative process begins with a thorough understanding of user needs and business objectives. It starts with extensive research, including user interviews, observations, and data analysis to create detailed profiles of user requirements. This phase is crucial for developing empathy and insights that guide her design direction. Once she understands the user landscape, Liying defines the core problem statement and brainstorms potential solutions. This exploratory phase includes sketching ideas, creating storyboards, and mapping user flows, all aligned with the business’s strategic goals. The aim is to generate various ideas and refine them based on their effectiveness in meeting user needs and business requirements. With a clear direction, Liying progresses to creating wireframes and prototypes, focusing on intuitive design structures and user flows. Collaboration is vital; she works closely with cross-functional teams, including product managers and engineers, to ensure that the designs are user-friendly and technically feasible. After developing initial prototypes, Liying conducts usability testing to gather feedback on user interactions. This iterative process helps identify friction points and facilitates refinements to enhance the overall experience. Throughout her creative journey, Liying strives to balance user needs with business goals, ensuring that the final design is both effective and strategically aligned. One of Liying’s most rewarding experiences was her work on the PeaceMeal project, which received multiple prestigious awards, including the American Graphic Design Award in the Design for Good category in 2023, American Graphic Design Design in Health + Wellness in 2024 and the Muse International Design Award. The project aimed to address the complex relationship individuals have with food and wellness, promoting mindful eating and a compassionate approach to self-care. Throughout the PeaceMeal project, Liying immersed herself in understanding users’ struggles and motivations regarding healthy habits. This involved comprehensive user research, where she combined empathy with strategic design to produce a product that was visually appealing and effectively supportive of users’ needs. The recognition PeaceMeal received affirmed that thoughtful design can significantly impact people’s well-being. When faced with competing priorities, Liying advocates for a user-centered approach by leveraging data-driven insights and usability testing results. She demonstrates that prioritizing user needs can lead to successful business outcomes, fostering collaboration between design, product management, and development teams to achieve a balance that drives both user satisfaction and business growth. Currently PeaceMeal is a conceptual design. Throughout its initial stages, Liying faced challenges in aligning her design vision with the technical constraints presented by the engineering team. Discrepancies emerged between the desired user experience and the practicality of implementing specific features. To tackle this issue, she organized collaborative workshops that brought together both design and engineering teams, fostering open communication and brainstorming potential solutions. This cooperative approach allowed them to identify technical limitations and refine ideas, ensuring that the final design aligned with both user needs and technical feasibility. As a result, the design was successfully adapted to create a functional and user-friendly product. Research plays a critical role in Liying’s design process. When she began working on PeaceMeal, her initial concept targeted individuals who were underweight. However, rigorous research allowed her to narrow her focus to a specific user group: individuals struggling with their relationship with food due to emotional factors rather than medical conditions. Her research process started with qualitative interviews that revealed users’ daily struggles with eating habits. These conversations uncovered emotional patterns related to guilt, stress, and frustration—issues often overlooked by existing wellness tools. Liying also conducted secondary research, reviewing behavioral studies and analyzing similar applications to identify market gaps. Using these insights, she developed wireframes and prototypes iteratively, gathering feedback at each stage to align the app’s features with user needs. Usability testing provided further validation of key design decisions, while surveys offered additional perspectives on user interactions. This continuous cycle of research and testing was instrumental in creating a product that effectively addressed the deeper emotional needs associated with food and wellness. The outcome was PeaceMeal, a thoughtfully designed app that empowers users to foster a healthier relationship with food and establish sustainable habits over time. Rapid prototyping proved essential in Liying’s development of PeaceMeal, allowing her to quickly explore and iterate on design ideas. Her process began with low-fidelity sketches and wireframes, enabling her to focus on functionality and user flow without getting bogged down in visual details initially. Transitioning to interactive prototypes using tools like Figma allowed her to simulate user interactions and test key features quickly. This iterative process was crucial; with each iteration, she gathered feedback from potential users to ensure the interface was intuitive and aligned with their needs. Frequent usability testing during the early prototyping stages was vital for catching potential friction points early on. One effective method employed by Liying was the implementation of design sprints, focusing on building and testing prototypes within a condensed timeframe. This structured approach encouraged rapid decision-making and experimentation, allowing her to refine specific features early on. By continuously incorporating user feedback throughout the prototyping process, Liying ensured that PeaceMeal evolved with users’ needs in mind. This hands-on approach allowed her to move quickly without sacrificing quality, resulting in a product that is both intuitive and meaningful. User feedback was pivotal in reshaping PeaceMeal’s core mechanics. Initially, Liying envisioned a point-based system to motivate users by encouraging them to accumulate points for consistent progress. Early testing revealed that while points provided short-term motivation, users often felt overwhelmed or disengaged over time. They expressed a desire for a more enjoyable and rewarding experience. This critical feedback prompted Liying to rethink the interaction model and pivot towards a more immersive gamified experience. Instead of relying solely on points, she introduced elements such as small challenges, unlockable achievements, and visually engaging progress tracking. These changes aimed to create an experience users would want to revisit—not out of obligation, but because it felt enjoyable and rewarding. The redesign resulted in a product that better addressed users’ emotional and practical needs. The shift from a rigid points system to a dynamic gamified experience significantly increased user engagement and satisfaction, contributing to PeaceMeal’s success. As we move beyond the insights gained from PeaceMeal, Liying identifies key trends that will shape the future of UX design, particularly in smart home technologies. At the forefront are themes of personalization, interoperability, and sustainability. With the evolution of artificial intelligence (AI), smart home devices are expected to increasingly adopt anticipatory design principles, allowing them to predict user behavior and streamline interactions. This proactive design strategy will enhance user convenience by optimizing energy consumption and automatically adjusting environmental settings without requiring any manual input. Interoperability will be crucial, with frameworks like Matter enabling seamless communication between devices from different brands. This will allow users to manage their smart homes through a unified platform, simplifying interactions and enhancing the overall user experience. Sustainability is becoming a central focus in UX design as well. Designers prioritize eco-conscious solutions, such as energy-saving modes and renewable energy integrations, reflecting a growing demand for environmentally responsible technology. In summary, the next generation of smart home UX will emphasize intelligence, ease of use, and environmental awareness, aligning closely with users’ evolving needs and values while driving innovation and adoption. Accessibility and inclusivity are fundamental to Liying’s design philosophy. She embeds these principles at every stage of the design process, adopting universal design strategies to create products and interfaces usable by a diverse range of individuals. To achieve this, Liying adheres to guidelines like the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and aims to exceed mere compliance. She emphasizes multisensory feedback in her designs, combining visual cues with auditory and haptic signals to ensure users can effectively interact with products, regardless of impairments. Flexibility is another key aspect of her approach; Liying prioritizes customizable user interfaces, allowing users to tailor their experiences. Features like dark mode, adjustable text sizes, and simplified layouts contribute to a more inclusive experience. User involvement is critical in this process. Liying conducts testing with diverse participants to uncover pain points across different demographics and abilities. Gathering insights early on allows her to address barriers and fine-tune the experience to ensure it is intuitive and engaging for all. Liying incorporates inclusive language and culturally appropriate design elements to resonate with a global audience. Accessibility is not just an add-on; it reflects her commitment to creating solutions that serve all users effectively. For aspiring UX designers, Liying offers valuable advice: focus on understanding users deeply. Digging into user needs, behaviors, and motivations is crucial; impactful design seeks to solve real problems. This journey requires continuous curiosity and empathy, along with the ability to adapt design thinking across industries. Building a diverse skill set is equally important. Mastering design tools is essential, but developing proficiency in communication, project management, and cross-functional collaboration enables designers to thrive in complex environments. Understanding how one’s work aligns with business goals will set designers apart from the competition. Networking with other professionals, attending workshops, and engaging in community discussions can provide invaluable insights and inspiration. The UX landscape is ever evolving, so staying connected helps aspiring designers remain informed about the latest trends and best practices. In measuring design project success, Liying employs a holistic approach encompassing both quantitative metrics and qualitative insights. She aligns project goals with key performance indicators (KPIs). For physical products, she focuses on sales performance and customer ratings, while for app-based projects like PeaceMeal, she tracks KPIs such as user engagement and conversion rates to evaluate the product’s impact. Liying monitors user reviews across platforms to gauge sentiment and identify improvement areas. These insights help her detect emerging patterns early in the product lifecycle. Monitoring accessibility and usability over time is equally important. As user needs evolve, Liying ensures designs remain inclusive and adaptable. Regular user testing helps her identify changing expectations, allowing the design to evolve to meet new challenges. Collaboration with cross-functional teams is essential. Liying works closely with product managers, developers, and customer support teams to gain a comprehensive view of product performance and ensure prompt responses to emerging issues. Ultimately, Liying measures success by how well the design balances business goals with user satisfaction, believing that a successful project creates value, delights users, and fosters long-term engagement. By combining data with empathy-driven insights, she ensures that products evolve alongside their users, driving immediate impact while maintaining sustained growth. Liying’s journey in UX and interaction design, particularly through her work on the PeaceMeal project, her dedication to creating user-centered solutions that improve lives. With a focus on research, collaboration, and inclusivity, she continues to push the boundaries of design, making a significant impact in the field. For more details and information, please visit https://www.liyingpeng.com/ . Reach out to Liying Peng for professional partnerships at Liying Peng | LinkedIn . Fame Media www.famemediaus.com Writer Sherry Lee, Hollywood Legends Editor in Chief Related Items: Liying Peng , PeaceMeal Project Share Tweet Share Share Email CommentsPardon who? Hunter Biden case renews ethical debate over use and limits of peculiar presidential power
President-elect Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he intends to nominate cryptocurrency advocate Paul Atkins to chair the Securities and Exchange Commission. Trump said Atkins, the CEO of Patomak Partners and a former SEC commissioner, was a “proven leader for common sense regulations.” In the years since leaving the SEC, Atkins has made the case against too much market regulation. “He believes in the promise of robust, innovative capital markets that are responsive to the needs of Investors, & that provide capital to make our Economy the best in the World. He also recognizes that digital assets & other innovations are crucial to Making America Greater than Ever Before,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. The commission oversees U.S. securities markets and investments and is currently led by Gary Gensler, who has been leading the U.S. government’s crackdown on the crypto industry. Gensler, who was nominated by President Joe Biden, announced last month that he would be stepping down from his post on the day that Trump is inaugurated — Jan. 20, 2025. Trump, once a crypto skeptic, had pledged to make the U.S. “the crypto capital of the planet” and create a “strategic reserve” of bitcoin. Money has poured into crypto assets since he won . Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency, is now above $95,000. And shares in crypto platform Coinbase have surged more than 70% since the election. Paul Grewal, chief legal officer of Coinbase, congratulated Atkins in a post on X. “We appreciate his commitment to balance in regulating U.S. securities markets and look forward to his fresh leadership at (the SEC),” Grewal wrote. “It’s sorely needed and cannot come a day too soon.” Atkins began his career as a lawyer and has a long history working in the financial markets sector, both in government and private practice. In the 1990s, he worked on the staffs of two former SEC chairmen, Richard C. Breeden and Arthur Levitt. His work as an SEC commissioner started in 2002, a time when the fallout from corporate scandals at Enron and WorldCom had turned up the heat on Wall Street and its government regulators. Atkins was widely considered the most conservative member of the SEC during his tenure at the agency and known to have a strong free-market bent. As a commissioner, he called for greater transparency in and analysis of the costs and benefits of new SEC rules. He also emphasized investor education and increased enforcement efforts against those who steal from investors over the internet, manipulate markets, engage in Ponzi schemes and other types of fraud. At the same time, Atkins objected to stiff penalties imposed on companies accused of fraudulent conduct, contending that they did not deter crime. He caused a stir in the summer of 2006 when he said the practice of granting stock options to executives before the disclosure of news that was certain to increase the share price did not constitute insider trading. U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry, a North Carolina Republican and chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, said Atkins has the experience needed to “restore faith in the SEC.” “I’m confident his leadership will lead to clarity for the digital asset ecosystem and ensure U.S. capital markets remain the envy of the world,” McHenry posted on X. Atkins already has some experience working for Trump. During Trump's first term, Atkins was a member of the President’s Strategic and Policy Forum , an advisory group of more than a dozen CEOs and business leaders who offered input on how to create jobs and speed economic growth. In 2017, Atkins joined the Token Alliance, a cryptocurrency advocacy organization. Crypto industry players welcomed Trump’s victory in the hopes that he would push through legislative and regulatory changes that they’ve long lobbied for. Trump himself has launched World Liberty Financial, a new venture with family members to trade cryptocurrencies.
BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 4, 2024-- Myomo, Inc. (NYSE American: MYO) (“Myomo”), a wearable medical robotics company that offers increased functionality for those suffering from neurological disorders and upper limb paralysis, today announced that it intends to offer and sell shares of its common stock in an underwritten public offering. In connection with the offering, Myomo also expects to grant the underwriter a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 15% of the shares of common stock offered in the public offering. The offering is subject to market and other conditions, and there can be no assurance as to whether or when the offering may be completed, or as to the actual size or terms of the offering. Craig-Hallum Capital Group is acting as the sole managing underwriter for the offering. Myomo expects to use the net proceeds of the offering, together with its existing cash and cash equivalents, to accelerate its revenue growth by funding an increase in advertising expenses and headcount to support the expected revenue growth in Myomo’s direct billing channel, along with investments in systems to support growth in the O&P channel and in scaling its operations. In addition, the net proceeds of the offering will be used to fund product development and sustaining engineering activities to enhance the current MyoPro product line and to develop the next generation of Myomo’s products, with the remainder for working capital and general corporate purposes. The offering is being made pursuant to a shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-281311), as amended, including a base prospectus, relating to the shares of common stock to be issued in the proposed offering was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on August 6, 2024 and was declared effective on August 28, 2024. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell, or the solicitation of an offer to buy, these securities, nor will there be any sale of these securities in any state or other jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale is not permitted. Myomo will file a preliminary prospectus supplement relating to and describing the terms of the proposed offering with the SEC and will be available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov . The securities may be offered only by means of a prospectus, including a prospectus supplement, forming a part of the effective registration statement. Copies of the preliminary prospectus supplement and the accompanying base prospectus relating to the securities being offered may be obtained, when available, from Craig-Hallum Capital Group LLC, Attention: Equity Capital Markets, 222 South Ninth Street, Suite 350, Minneapolis, MN 55402, by telephone at (612) 334-6300 or by email at prospectus@chlm.com . The final terms of the offering will be disclosed in a final prospectus supplement to be filed with the SEC. About Myomo Myomo is a wearable medical robotics company that offers improved arm and hand function for those suffering from neurological disorders and upper-limb paralysis. Myomo develops and markets the MyoPro product line. MyoPro is a powered upper-limb orthosis designed to support the arm and restore function to the weakened or paralyzed arms of certain patients suffering from CVA stroke, brachial plexus injury, traumatic brain or spinal cord injury or other neuromuscular disease or injury. It is currently the only marketed device in the U.S. that, sensing a patient’s own EMG signals through non-invasive sensors on the arm, can restore an individual’s ability to perform activities of daily living, including feeding themselves, carrying objects and doing household tasks. Many are able to return to work, live independently and reduce their cost of care. Myomo is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, with sales and clinical professionals across the U.S. and representatives internationally. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, of which provisions Myomo is availing itself. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, those regarding the completion of the proposed offering and expectations regarding the timing, anticipated use of proceeds from the offering and expectations to grant the underwriter a 30-day option to purchase additional shares. Certain forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, such as “believes,” “expects,” “may,” “will,” “could,” “should,” “seeks,” “approximately,” “intends,” “plans,” “estimates,” or “anticipates,” or the negative thereof or other comparable terminology, or by discussions of strategy, plans, objectives, intentions, estimates, forecasts, outlook, assumptions, or goals. Any forward-looking statements in this press release are based on management’s current expectations and beliefs and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and important factors that may cause actual events or results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by any forward-looking statements contained in this press release, including, without limitation, uncertainties related to market conditions and satisfaction of customary closing conditions related to the proposed offering. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. Myomo assumes no obligation to update information contained in this press release whether as a result of new developments or otherwise, except as required by law. Please refer to Myomo's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other subsequent filings with the SEC, which are available at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov , for additional and more detailed discussion of risk factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from Myomo’s current expectations. View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241204653512/en/ CONTACT: For Myomo: ir@myomo.comInvestor Relations: Kim Sutton Golodetz Alliance Advisors IR kgolodetz@allianceadvisors.com 212-838-3777 KEYWORD: UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA MASSACHUSETTS INDUSTRY KEYWORD: WEARABLES/MOBILE TECHNOLOGY TECHNOLOGY MEDICAL DEVICES NEUROLOGY OTHER HEALTH HARDWARE HEALTH ROBOTICS GENERAL HEALTH SOURCE: Myomo, Inc. Copyright Business Wire 2024. PUB: 12/04/2024 04:05 PM/DISC: 12/04/2024 04:05 PM http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241204653512/enReurasia, Plastic Odyssey seal recycling agreement