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Several watchdogs and agencies are sharpening their gaze on FinTechs, specifically bank-FinTech relationships and the risks tied to those partnerships. In July, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System , the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued a request for information on those partnerships and a statement that discussed the risks. “The statement details the potential risks and provides examples of effective risk management practices for these arrangements,” the agencies said in a press release at the time. “In addition, the statement reminds banks of relevant existing legal requirements, guidance and related resources, and provides insights that the agencies have gained through their supervision.” The FDIC’s Role Although three agencies were involved in the July action, it may be the FDIC that winds up fundamentally altering the nature of the bank-FinTech interactions, certainly when it comes to how those pacts are forged and how they operate day to day. The Synapse bankruptcy helped set that closer examination in motion. The FDIC does not regulate FinTechs directly, but it oversees banks, so it has a hand in directing how traditional financial institutions work with digital innovators. It also has the ability to monitor FinTechs and has begun more closely tracking FinTechs that partner with banks, aiming to spot potential problems before they affect banks and track FinTechs as they switch banking partners. Beyond monitoring, actions on the part of the FDIC, including proposed rules, give insight into key regulatory themes. As the expanded list of actions that would be required of the banks indicates, banks will more closely vet those partnerships. 1. Record Keeping An extension of a commentary period that would implement new rules on ledgers and data standardization sheds light on the complexity of the relationships. The commentary period will now last until the middle of January, where it had been set to end last week. The proposal requires FDIC-insured banks holding certain custodial accounts to ensure accurate records are kept determining the individual owner of the funds and to reconcile the account for each individual owner daily. Since the FDIC only insures deposits of insured depository institutions, the agency’s deposit insurance coverage “does not provide consumers and businesses with general protection against the default, insolvency or bankruptcy of any nonbank entities,” the FDIC said. 2. Compliance The FDIC would require banks to complete an annual validation of third parties through an independent party. As detailed in the proposal, FDIC-insured banks would be required to certify those results, including “any material changes to their information technology systems relevant to compliance with the rule” and “the account holders that maintain custodial deposit accounts with transactional features, the total balance of those custodial deposit accounts, and the total number of beneficial owners.” 3. Insurance “In recent years, the FDIC has observed an increasing number of instances where financial service providers ... have engaged in false advertising or made misrepresentations about FDIC insurance coverage on the internet,” the FDIC said in the proposed rules . Companies in relationships with FDIC-insured banks have “made false statements on the companies’ websites stating or suggesting that the companies are FDIC-insured and/or that their uninsured financial products are insured by the FDIC,” the FDIC said. “In other instances, companies have misused the FDIC logo or failed to identify [a bank] with which they have a relationship. These types of misrepresentations and omissions would be false and misleading and have potential to harm consumers.” Beyond the advertising aspect of FDIC insurance, there may be a debate (re)opened surrounding deposit insurance itself. The FDIC only insures deposits of the banks themselves, and insurance (up to $250,000 per account) is paid out only in the event of a bank failure. The current structure does not provide customers with protection “against the default, insolvency or bankruptcy of any nonbank entities with which [banks] might do business, even if a nonbank entity has a relationship with, or deposits funds” with those insured depository institutions, the FDIC said.Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Purchases 47,165 Shares of Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST)
Aston Villa march on in Champions League after beating RB Leipzig
Global Launch of JETOUR T2 i-DM: Reshaping the Hybrid SUV MarketPolice became convinced they were investigating a crime in the disappearance of University of Mississippi student Jimmie “Jay” Lee when they interviewed the man now on trial in his death, a top officer testified Tuesday. Lee had been missing for two weeks when officers arrested Sheldon “Timothy” Herrington Jr. on July 22, 2022, said Oxford Police Chief Jeff McCutchen. Authorities interviewed Herington twice that day, and he gave conflicting information about the hours before Lee vanished, the chief said. “From the moment that we gave Tim Herrington the opportunity to tell the truth and he couldn’t and he lied and we backed that up, we knew then,” McCutchen said. Herrington, 24, is being tried on a capital murder charge in the death of Lee, 20, a gay man who was well known in the LGBTQ+ community at Ole Miss and in Oxford. Lee disappeared in Oxford, where Herrington’s trial is in its second week. Prosecutors and the defense both called their final witnesses Tuesday, and Herrington did not testify. Closing arguments are set for Wednesday. Lee’s body has never been found, but a judge has declared him dead. Herrington maintains his innocence and his attorney, Kevin Horan, told jurors last week that prosecutors have “zero” proof Lee was killed. Lee has not contacted friends or family, and his financial transactions and once-prolific social media posts have stopped since the day he went missing, investigators testified. Before officers interviewed Herrington, they had already obtained sexually explicit text messages exchanged between social media accounts belonging to Herrington and Lee in the early hours of July 8, 2022, when Herrington disappeared in Oxford, McCutchen said. Lee communicated with his mother daily, and sent his last message to her hours before he vanished to wish her happy birthday, according to earlier testimony. Google records obtained through a warrant showed that Herrington searched “how long does it take to strangle someone” at 5:56 a.m., University Police Department Sgt. Benjamin Douglas testified last week. The final text message from Lee's phone was sent to a social media account belonging to Herrington at 6:03 a.m. from a spot near Herrington's apartment, and cellphone tower in another part of Oxford last located any signal from Lee's phone at 7:28 a.m., McCutchen said Tuesday. A security camera showed Herrington jogging at about 7:30 a.m. out of a parking lot where Lee's car was abandoned, investigators testified earlier. “We’ve been looking for Jay Lee’s body for two years, and we’re not going to stop 'til we find it," McCutchen said in court Tuesday. On the day Lee vanished, Herrington was also seen on security cameras buying duct tape in Oxford and driving to his own hometown of about an hour away, police have testified. Herrington is from an affluent family in Grenada, Mississippi, about 52 miles (83.7 kilometers) southwest of Oxford, testified Ryan Baker, an Oxford Police Department intelligence officer who was a detective when he helped investigated the case. Herrington’s grandfather is bishop of a church in Grenada, other family members work at the church and Herrington himself taught youth Sunday school classes there, Baker said. Herrington “was not portraying himself as gay” to family or friends, Baker said. During testimony Tuesday, Herrington's father and grandfather both said Herrington had never spoken about having boyfriends. Herrington operated a furniture moving business with another man while they were students at the University of Mississippi, and they had a white box truck that Herrington drove to Grenada, Baker said. Security cameras at several businesses and a neighbor’s house showed Herrington and the truck in Grenada hours after Lee disappeared, Baker said. During McCutchen's testimony Tuesday, Horan asked whether DNA tests on items taken from Herrington's apartment and the truck showed “any trace evidence at all implicating my client.” McCutchen said they did not, but police first searched Herrington's apartment two weeks after Lee vanished and they searched the box truck a few days after the apartment. Both Herrington and Lee had graduated from the University of Mississippi. Lee was pursuing a master’s degree. He was known for his creative expression through fashion and makeup and often performed in drag shows in Oxford, according to a support group called Justice for Jay Lee. Prosecutors have announced they do not intend to pursue the death penalty, meaning Herrington could get a life sentence if convicted. Mississippi law defines capital murder as a killing committed along with another felony — in this case, kidnapping.Trump taps SF legal firebrand to lead civil rights enforcement
Small fish, pig Pond: Lakers excited for tougher waters in Central Lakes Conference( MENAFN - Robotics & automation News) Interview: Ambi Robotics founder sees 'huge opportunities' in new markets December 28, 2024 by David Edwards The founding of Ambi Robotics is somewhat obscured by the mist of history, but it started with some abandoned robots in a basement and the co-founders meeting at University of California Berkeley in 2018. Within about a year, the five founders made a breakthrough in simulation-to-reality transfer learning systems for robotics, calling it Sim2Real AI, which, in turn, led to the establishment of Ambidextrous Laboratories Inc, and a year later to the commercialization of the technology in the form of the AmbiSort parcel sorting system. The lightning quick pace of development led to huge interest from investors, who poured in $21 million into the startup by 2021, and another $32 million the following year. Now, three years on, Ambi Robotics can look back on numerous multimillion-dollar commercial installations and look forward to many more diverse deployments in the years ahead. In this interview, we speak to Jeff Mahler (main image), one of the founders of Ambi Robotics and its chief technology offer, and ask him about himself, his company and the future of robotics. Robotics & Automation News: Let's start by telling readers about yourself and your job at Ambi Robotics. Jeff Mahler : I'm Jeff Mahler, co-founder and chief technology officer of Ambi Robotics. I lead the engineering and product teams at Ambi, executing our technology strategy to develop highly dexterous AI-powered robotic systems that help people handle more in commercial logistics operations. I earned my Ph.D. from UC Berkeley, where my research focused on AI for robotic grasping. It was in Professor Ken Goldberg's AUTOlab where I met Stephen McKinley, David Gealy and Matt Matl, and we began combining our complementary skills to later become the co-founders of Ambi Robotics. My experiences in both industry and academia, including co-launching UC Berkeley's course on robotic manipulation and publishing award-nominated research on robotics and AI, have given me a strong foundation to develop advanced technologies and lead the creation of transformative robotic systems at Ambi Robotics. R&AN: And let's also introduce the company, Ambi Robotics, to readers. What are the main services and products and what is its position in the market. JM : Ambi Robotics is an AI and robotics company developing advanced solutions that scale ecommerce operations to meet demand while empowering humans to handle more. Our flagship solution, AmbiSort A-Series, uses robotic arms combined with advanced gantry technology to automate the sorting of mixed parcels into destination containers. It's modular and configurable, supporting customer demand for both bin-fed and conveyor-fed operations for high-efficiency parcel sorting. All of our robots run on our proprietary operating system, AmbiOS, which uses simulation-to-reality (Sim2Real) AI to train the robots 10,000 times faster in virtual simulations and then transfer those learnings to the real world, enabling the robots to handle any bag, box, envelope or unpackaged item with high speed and accuracy. With continuous learning capabilities, our technology's performance improves and evolves over time. Ambi Robotics is leading the way for AI-powered automation to solve operational challenges for shippers, positioning us at the forefront of innovation in the booming e-commerce shipping and logistics space. R&AN: What are the key problems that Ambi Robotics solves? When Ambi Robotics is asked to do a job, does it take over from human-centred systems or does it generally improve on a previously implemented technological system? Maybe give us a use case or two. JM : We're tackling some big challenges in ecommerce and supply chain, especially with the increasing demand for faster and more accurate parcel sorting. The AmbiSort A-Series system automates the sorting of mixed parcels from deep bins or automated conveyor induction into destination sacks, a traditionally manual and time-consuming process prone to errors, injuries and bottlenecks. By bringing in our AI-powered robotic systems, warehouses can boost throughput, accuracy and cut costs-all without needing to completely overhaul their existing process. Powered by Sim2Real AI, solutions from Ambi Robotics are ready to go from day one and add immediate value and cost savings. For example, during a partnership with a global shipping and mailing company, we deployed our AmbiSort products into their existing middle-mile operations to help automate and speed up parcel sortation. During our time together, we sorted 87 million packages and trained over 400 of their parcel handlers for higher-value, certified robot operator roles. With this move, their employees were able to focus on more complex and higher-value work while cutting operational costs. R&AN: What are the current challenges in parcel sortation? And how do you see the future playing out in terms of parcel sortation technologies? JM : Many warehouses run into problems with labor shortages combined with rising parcel volumes, especially around the peak holiday season, and inefficiencies in their traditional technology that may cause delays and errors. They also often struggle to scale operations to meet growing ecommerce demand while keeping costs manageable. For example, rising transportation costs are an ongoing challenge to meeting customer desires for lower shipping rates. Looking ahead, we see advanced robotics and automation taking on a larger role within warehouses, leveraging AI to create highly repeatable, efficient, scalable and flexible systems that can integrate with human workers and existing infrastructure to handle diverse parcel profiles efficiently. In addition, intelligent automation can create a fountain of data on every item handled in order to empower operations management to make smarter decisions on how to boost productivity. R&AN: At the moment, most of the end effectors on robots tend to be suction devices of some kind. Is there an alternative to this? Do you use any soft end effectors or human-like hands to deal with specific kinds of items? Is this diversification something that is relevant for you? JM : We primarily use suction-based end effectors because they are highly reliable and effective for handling a variety of parcel types, especially ones with non-porous, flat surfaces like cardboard. Our robots have multiple suction cups of different sizes and flexibility, so they can choose the best“fingertip” for whatever they're handling. While suction cups work great for a lot of items, we know there are objects, like irregularly shaped or delicate ones, that might need a different touch. To address this, we're looking into other types of end effectors, like parallel grippers, to extend the range of items our robots can handle. This flexibility is key as we keep improving our robots to handle an even wider range of objects efficiently and accurately. R&AN: What is the overall market potential for a company like yours? How big could it become, given the growth in e-commerce and so on, and considering the competition you are already up against? JM : The market potential is huge, especially with the massive growth in ecommerce. In 2022 there were over 150 billion packages shipped worldwide, and each one of those packages was touched by a human hand about 10 times. That means that there are over 1 trillion package“touches” occurring each year, and this number is growing rapidly. As more people shop online, the demand for fast, efficient and scalable fulfillment solutions is only going to keep rising. With robots like ours that can handle parcel sortation and even adapt to different types of packages, we're in a strong position to meet that demand. Our competitive edge is the ability to handle a wide variety of objects with precision and speed, thanks to our AI-driven system, and our ability to easily integrate with whatever warehouse layout is needed. As automation becomes a bigger part of the supply chain, we see a ton of room to grow and capture a significant share of the market. We're working alongside global leading logistics companies and continuing to evolve our technology to meet their needs as they grow. R&AN: While you currently specialise in parcel sortation, was that always what you had in mind? And could you diversify into new markets in the future. If so, which markets? JM : Ambi Robotics is all about real-world impact, and parcel sortation was where we saw the biggest opportunity to apply our technology due to the massive market opportunity. That being said, we've always had the vision to make our robots more versatile, and as we grow we can definitely see ourselves branching out into other markets. There are huge opportunities to provide robots that automate repetitive motions in other industries with high-volume material handling such as ecommerce order fulfillment, retail distribution, manufacturing and even recycling. MENAFN28122024005532012229ID1109037657 Legal Disclaimer: MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. 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As the college football season turns to bowl games and College Football Playoff matchups, winter has begun. The Week 14 college football slate features all types of environments around the country, including snowy scenes in Columbia, Missouri. The Missouri Tigers are welcoming the Arkansas Razorbacks in Week 14 for an SEC battle in which the home team is favored by three points, per ESPN BET . Arkansas' social media team posted a photo from Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium, showing the snowy scene in Missouri. According to The Weather Channel , it's currently 35 degrees in Columbia, Missouri. There are five to 10 mile an hour winds, and one inch of snow was originally expected. Snowy scene 📍 pic.twitter.com/MLHlD3ec4H The SEC match will kick off at 3:30 p.m. ET. According to the Weather Channel description, snow will continue to ensue throughout the day and temperatures are set to hit around 18 degrees with light and variable winds that will range around four miles an hour. Snow games >>> pic.twitter.com/V2RWLs9qmK Aside from the focus on the weather, Missouri is looking to use home-field advantage to strengthen its resume. They're no longer in College Football Playoff contention, but a win on Saturday would keep their season record above .500 at the conference level. The Tigers are currently 8-3 on the season, 4-3 in the SEC and the Razorbacks are 6-5 on the year with a 3-4 conference record. Related: Urban Meyer Doesn't Hesitate When Naming the Best Rivalry in College Football Related: Kirk Herbstreit Reveals Plan for Arch Manning Amid Quinn Ewers ConcernsAston Villa’s impressive Champions League debut continued as they strengthened their chances of automatic qualification to the last 16 after a 3-2 win at RB Leipzig. Ross Barkley’s 85th-minute winner gave them victory after they had twice squandered the lead in Germany. John McGinn and Jhon Duran goals at the start of each half were cancelled out by Lois Openda and Christoph Baumgartner. But Barkley had the final say less than two minutes after coming off the bench as his deflected effort earned the points which sent his side third in the new Champions League league phase. The top eight automatically qualify for the next stage and with games against Monaco and Celtic to come, Unai Emery’s men are a good bet to avoid the need for a play-off round in their first foray in this competition. Leipzig are out, having lost all six of their games. Villa enjoyed a dream start and were ahead with less than three minutes on the clock. Matty Cash, playing in a more advanced position on the right, crossed for Ollie Watkins, who nodded down into the path of McGinn and the skipper made no mistake from close range. That gave the visitors confidence and they had enough chances in the first 15 minutes to have the game wrapped up. Lucas Digne’s cross from the left was begging to be converted but Watkins could not make contact from close range and then Morgan Rogers shot straight at Leipzig goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi. Then Youri Tielemans found himself with time and space on the edge of the area from Watkins’ tee-up but the Belgium international disappointingly dragged wide. All that good work was undone in the 27th minute, though, as Emiliano Martinez was left red-faced. The Argentinian was too casual waiting to collect Nicolas Seiwald’s long ball and Openda nipped in to get the ball first and tap into an empty net. pic.twitter.com/LGoAMrLkQy — Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) December 10, 2024 Duran was introduced at the break and needed just a couple of minutes to fire a warning when he drilled wide after a loose ball fell to him 14 yards out. But the Colombian got his goal in the 52nd minute, though it was another moment for the goalkeeper to forget. Duran was invited to drive forward and unleashed a 25-yard shot, which was hardly an Exocet, but still was too much for Gulacsi, who barely even jumped. It was his 10th goal of the season and sixth from the bench as he continues his super-sub role. 😍 pic.twitter.com/ZHeVFiYUW9 — Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) December 10, 2024 The striker was not complaining and he thought he had doubled his tally shortly after when he converted Cash’s centre but the provider was ruled offside by VAR. Five minutes later, Villa found themselves pegged back again with a finish of real quality. Openda was sent clear by another long ball and his cross was perfect for Baumgartner to cushion a far-post volley back across goal and into the corner. Digne brought a save out of Gulacsi and then Openda shot straight at Martinez as both sides pushed for a winner. It was Villa who got it as Barkley saw his deflected effort wrong-foot Gulacsi and hit the back of the net.
Aston Villa march on in Champions League after beating RB Leipzig
Ireland's Green Party, one of the three previous governing parties, may lose a significant number of seats - as attention turns to forming a new coalition. Counting is still in the early stages, with the first seats filled in the late afternoon. The final result may not be clear for days. But that hasn't stopped the leaders of Sinn Fein and Fianna Fail speculating about the formulation of the next government. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Mary Lou McDonald told Sky News that "no party has an absolutely straightforward path to government". The Sinn Fein leader said: "This is going to be complicated, this is going to require dialogue and collaboration." She said she would hold discussions with other left parties "who are committed to the politics of change and a change of government". Ms McDonald, who was 162 votes short of the quota to be elected on the first count, added that Sinn Fein has "changed the political landscape here in Ireland , because it's not so long ago that only two parties absolutely dominated government and opposition". More on Ireland What to look out for in Ireland's general election - with counting under way Counting begins in Ireland election - after exit poll shows three main parties neck and neck Voting opens in Irish general election after three-week campaign Related Topics: Ireland But those two parties, Fianna Fail and Fine Gael, look likely to form another coalition but may fall short of the 88-seat majority needed to govern in the Irish parliament. The centre-right parties have vowed not to form a government with Sinn Fein, citing substantial differences on policy. Explainer: What to watch out for in Ireland's election A coalition is inevitable as no party put forward enough candidates to reach a majority in parliament. Fianna Fail's leader Micheal Martin, who was elected on the first count, said: "It's very, very early days, but we do see a route to a very strong finish here in this election." Meanwhile, several high-profile ministers look like they may be in difficulty with Green leader Roderic O'Gorman in with a fight to hold on to his seat. He admitted earlier this morning that his party has "not had a good day". Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player In 2011, the last time the Greens exited a coalition government, the party lost all six of its TDs (MPs). The Fianna Fail health minister Stephen Donnelly and the Green media minister Catherine Martin also look to be in trouble. But alleged crime boss Gerard Hutch appears to be in contention for the fourth seat in Dublin Central - the same constituency as Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald. Read more: How Trump looms over Ireland's election An Irish criminal court judge described Mr Hutch, 61, as the patriarchal figurehead of the Hutch criminal organisation and said he had engaged in "serious criminal conduct". However, Mr Hutch has denied the allegations against him and was found not guilty of the murder of David Byrne, who died after being shot six times at a crowded boxing weigh-in event at a hotel in 2016. Follow our channel and never miss an update It was one of the first deadly attacks of the Hutch-Kinahan gangland feud. He is currently on bail on alleged money laundering charges in Lanzarote. Meanwhile, Labour and the Social Democrats look set to increase their share of votes in this election. Be the first to get Breaking News Install the Sky News app for free Holly Cairns, the leader of the Social Democrats who was elected to her county council by one vote in 2019, was unable to vote this time around as she gave birth to a baby girl on polling day. Counting started across the country at 9am this morning. Voters in Ireland rank their choices rather than choosing one candidate. Prospective politicians must then reach a quota after rounds of vote counting, which often takes several days. There are between three and five seats up for grabs in each constituency.
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Details emerge about suspect charged with murder in killing of UnitedHealthcare CEOWavegate Corporation Announces $26 Million Series A Funding Round Led by UCEA Capital Partners Ltd.Houston Rockets at Timberwolves Tuesday, 7 p.m., Target Center TV, radio: FanDuel Sports North, iHeartRadio app This is the third game for both teams in the Emirates Cup in-season tournament. Houston leads West Group A with a 2-0 record and a +49 point differential after beating the Clippers (0-2) and Trail Blazers (1-1). The Wolves are 1-1 and -14 with a victory over Sacramento and a loss to Portland. The Wolves’ final game in round robin play is Friday at home against the Clippers. Rockets update: They are 12-6 and one game out of the Western Conference lead. G Jalen Green (18.7) and C Alperen Sengun (18.3) lead Houston in scoring a season after the Rockets finished 41-41 and missed the playoffs. Wolves update: They are 8-8 and 11th in the Western Conference after road losses to Toronto and Boston. G Anthony Edwards leads the NBA in three-pointers (78) and is shooting 43.8% behind the arc. Injury report: Houston C Steven Adams (knee) is probable. Wolves G Mike Conley (toe) is questionable.