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PHILADELPHIA, PA — U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers recently confiscated 22,000 counterfeit Pennsylvania vehicle inspection stickers during inspections at the Area Port of Philadelphia. The illegal shipments, originating from Israel, were valued at $1,404,700 if authentic. The counterfeit inspection stickers were discovered in two separate parcels—10,000 stickers were intercepted on November 26, and another 12,000 were found on December 9. Following an investigation, Pennsylvania authorities confirmed the stickers were fraudulent, leading to their official seizure on December 16. Vehicle inspection stickers in Pennsylvania play a critical role in ensuring compliance with mechanical, safety, and emissions standards. Fraudulent stickers compromise public safety by obscuring uninspected, potentially unsafe vehicles. According to state law, vehicle owners caught using counterfeit stickers may face a fine of up to $500 and possible jail time. “Unscrupulous actors peddling fraudulent vehicle inspection stickers create a very serious public safety concern. Fake inspection stickers mask unsafe motor vehicles that place all motorists on our roadways in harm,” stated Cleatus P. Hunt, Jr., CBP’s Area Port Director. CBP officers emphasized their commitment to identifying and seizing counterfeit goods that pose risks to consumers and public safety, maintaining vigilance in monitoring shipments entering U.S. ports. No arrests have been made in connection with the seized shipments. For the latest news on everything happening in Chester County and the surrounding area, be sure to follow MyChesCo on Google News and MSN .
UDF IV's Plan "Not to Reconvene the Annual Meeting" is Unacceptable Outcome for Shareholders NexPoint Urges UDF IV to Reconvene Meeting Following Full Disclosure of Ready Capital Transaction Details and to Disclose Amount of Shareholder Funds Used on Advisors for an Annual Meeting it has Failed to Hold DALLAS , Dec. 12, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- NexPoint Real Estate Opportunities, LLC (together with its affiliates "NexPoint") today issued a statement regarding the "adjournment" of the United Development Funding IV ("UDF IV" or the "Company") Annual Meeting of Shareholders ("Annual Meeting") due to a lack of quorum and the Company's statement that it will not reconvene the Meeting. NexPoint provided the following comment: "We are deeply alarmed by UDF IV's announcement that it will not reconvene the Annual Meeting after failing to meet the quorum threshold. This decision exemplifies UDF IV's governance failures and unwillingness to engage with shareholders. This outcome also raises serious concerns about the current Board's ability to protect shareholder interests in the context of the proposed acquisition by Ready Capital (NYSE: RC). UDF IV's decision appears predicated on the assumption that the Ready Capital deal will close before the next Annual Meeting, suggesting they may seek to avoid holding its first contested annual meeting and Trustee election in nine years. "We call on UDF IV to reconvene the Annual Meeting in accordance with the Company's bylaws within 120 days after the record date, but only after providing shareholders with the disclosures necessary to assess the proposed transaction, including previously omitted disclosure schedules, recent financials, the proxy statement and many other material details. We also call on UDF IV to obtain a non-objecting beneficial owners (NOBO) list to ensure greater shareholder oversight and engagement." As stated, NexPoint declined to appear at the Annual Meeting due to concerns over the Company's last-minute announcement of the proposed Ready Capital merger, which appeared to be an attempt to sway the Annual Meeting's outcome without providing shareholders the necessary information to evaluate the proposed transaction. NexPoint would support the acquisition if full disclosure is presented, including current financials, and the transaction terms are fair. Independent proxy advisory firm Glass Lewis shares NexPoint's concerns about UDF IV's disclosure deficiencies and the Ready Capital deal: "While we understand a transaction of this nature could be viewed as something of a panacea for investors dissatisfied with the Trust's longstanding lack of liquidity and poor corporate governance, we believe shareholders have ample cause to question the timing of the transaction, the absence of key disclosures and, most fundamentally, the board's ability to credibly negotiate and secure a transformative transaction of this nature. That such an agreement would be executed less than two weeks prior to the Trust's first substantive election of directors in nearly ten years is more alarming still, and, in our view, further stokes concern about the board's true commitment to good governance and shareholder feedback." 1 NexPoint believes the Annual Meeting vote was a dead heat – certainly much closer than reported by UDF IV – demonstrating significant shareholder dissatisfaction with UDF IV's leadership. The Company exploited the purpose of the Annual Meeting and positioned it as a referendum on the merger to sway votes, which indeed caused some shareholders to change their vote in favor of the Company just days before the election. Glass Lewis states: "With the first meaningful board referendum in nearly a decade on the near-term docket — in this instance, seemingly only as a result of legal action in Maryland by NexPoint — UDF has notionally elevated the stakes by announcing a prospective acquisition of the Trust by Ready Capital in a partially contingent cash, stock and CVR transaction executed just eight days prior to the forthcoming AGM." 1 UDF IV has actively suppressed shareholder engagement, refusing any constructive dialogue with NexPoint. To avoid accountability, the Company first spent significant shareholder funds to prevent this meeting from occurring. Then, once a Maryland court ordered it to hold this meeting, it took no steps to obtain the NOBO list representing approximately 24 million of UDF IV's 30 million shares, which would have enabled them to advise those shareholders directly about the first election of independent trustees in nine years. They later fought NexPoint's efforts to obtain such a list, but spent significant shareholder funds on high-priced attorneys and public relations firms to advance their agenda. NexPoint now calls on UDF IV to disclose the costs borne by shareholders related to the Annual Meeting (and efforts to avoid it) the Company now suggests it may never hold. Shareholders are entitled to information from UDF IV to make their own decisions about the current Trustees and the proposed merger and deserve the opportunity to hold the Trustees accountable for years of value erosion and lost trust in favor of NexPoint's independent nominees. We encourage UDF IV shareholders to contact the Company to demand they reconvene the shareholder meeting, publish information on the merger, then meaningfully engage with NexPoint and other shareholders to answer their questions. (1) Glass, Lewis & Co., LLC.: United Development Funding IV. December 6, 2024 . About NexPoint NexPoint Real Estate Opportunities, LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of NexPoint Diversified Real Estate Trust, Inc. (NYSE: NXDT), an affiliate of NexPoint Advisors, L.P. NexPoint Advisors, L.P. is an SEC-registered adviser on the NexPoint alternative investment platform. It serves as the adviser to a suite of funds and investment vehicles, including a closed-end fund, interval fund, business development company, and various real estate vehicles. For more information visit www.nexpoint.com IMPORTANT INFORMATION NexPoint Real Estate Opportunities, LLC ("NexPoint") has delivered a proxy statement with respect to its solicitation of proxies for nominees to be elected to the United Development Funding IV ("UDF IV") Board of Trustees at the Annual Meeting of Shareholders of UDF IV. INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS ARE URGED TO READ THE NEXPOINT PROXY STATEMENT (INCLUDING ANY AMENDMENTS OR SUPPLEMENTS THERETO) IN ITS ENTIRETY. Copies of the documents are available free of charge from NexPoint by accessing the website www.udfaccountability.com . NexPoint, its affiliates, their directors and executive officers and other members of management and employees may be participants (collectively "Participants") in the solicitation of proxies by NexPoint. Information about NexPoint's nominees to the UDF IV Board of Trustees and information regarding the direct or indirect interests in UDF IV, by security holdings or otherwise, of NexPoint, the other Participants and NexPoint's nominees will be available in the proxy statement. NexPoint's disclosure of any security holdings will be based on information made available to NexPoint by such Participants and nominees. UDF IV is no longer subject to the reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Consequently, NexPoint's knowledge of significant security holders of UDF IV and as to UDF IV itself is limited. NexPoint has neither sought nor obtained consent from any third party to use previously published information in this press release, including any quotes used in this press release. CONTACT INFORMATION UDF IV Investor Contacts Chuck Garske / Jeremy Provost / Theo Caminiti (Okapi Partners): Email: info@okapipartners.com Phone: (212) 297-0720 For Additional Information/Updates on UDF IV Website: www.udfaccountability.com Email: udfinvestors@nexpoint.com Media Contacts Lucy Bannon (NexPoint): lbannon@nexpoint.com Paul Caminiti / Pamela Greene (Reevemark): nexpointteam@reevemark.com NexPoint Investor Relations Kristen Griffith : ir@nexpoint.com View original content: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nexpoint-comments-on-cancellation-of-united-development-funding-iv-udf-iv-2024-annual-meeting-302330865.html SOURCE NexPoint Advisors, L.P.Trump’s tariffs in his first term did little to alter the economy, but this time could be differentPitt quarterback Eli Holstein leaves game with left leg injury against Louisville
PITTSBURGH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 12, 2024-- Carnegie Learning has been named to the 2025 edition of the GSV 150 : GSV’s annual list of the top 150 private companies transforming digital learning and workforce skills. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241212349001/en/ For the third time, Carnegie Learning has been named to the 2025 edition of the GSV 150: GSV’s annual list of the top 150 private companies transforming digital learning and workforce skills. (Graphic: Business Wire) To select the GSV 150, GSV evaluated 2,500+ global companies across five key factors: revenue scale, revenue growth, user reach, geographic diversification, and margin profile. The 2025 cohort of the GSV 150 collectively reaches 3B learners and generates over $25B in annual revenue. “I am deeply honored that Carnegie Learning has been recognized by ASU+GSV in their prestigious annual GSV 150 list of the Top 150 Private Companies,” said Carnegie Learning CEO Barry Malkin . “As pioneers in AI-driven education and leaders in HQIM , this recognition is a testament to our unwavering commitment to innovation and excellence. I am incredibly proud of our dedicated team—this honor reflects their hard work, passion, and the shared vision we bring to empowering learners everywhere.” “The rapid rise of generative AI is fueling knowledge and creating opportunities we had not imagined before,” says Luben Pampoulov, Partner at GSV Ventures. “Multi-modality is making education more engaging, AI tools are driving personalization and productivity, and learning is happening at the speed of light. Effectively everyone across the 2025 GSV 150 has generative AI deeply embedded in their offering.” Of the 2025 GSV 150, 58% are based in the US; 4% are based in Canada; 11% are India-based; 15% are Europe-based; and, notably, after two years’ absence, Chinese EdTech companies are back on the list. A meaningful shift towards profitability is evident throughout, with the estimated EBITDA score of the 2025 cohort up 21% versus last year. See the list at https://www.asugsvsummit.com/gsv-150 , and join many of them at the 2025 ASU+GSV Summit, April 6-9 in San Diego. About Carnegie Learning, Inc. Pittsburgh-based Carnegie Learning is at the forefront of ed tech companies using data and AI to dramatically improve learning outcomes for students. A leader in K-12 education for 26+ years, Carnegie’s award-winning math , literacy , world languages , professional learning , and high-dosage tutoring products are used by over 5.5 million students and educators in all 50 states and Canada. Born out of Carnegie Mellon University, the company continues to conduct research with over $90M in grant funding from the Gates Foundation, Walton Family Foundation, Department of Education, among others. Visit carnegielearning.com , LinkedIn , Twitter , and Instagram . ABOUT GSV Founded in 2011, GSV is a global platform that drives education and workforce skills innovation. Our mission is that ALL people have equal access to the future, and we believe that scaled innovations in “PreK to Gray” learning and skills are crucial to achieving this goal. The GSV platform includes the ASU+GSV Summit, hosted annually in San Diego with 7,000+ attendees; the India-based ASU+GSV & Emeritus Summit, now entering its third year; and The AI Show @ ASU+GSV, an immersive exploration of the AI Revolution in education, which welcomed 10,000+ attendees this year. GSV Ventures, GSV’s investment arm founded in 2015, is a multi-stage venture fund investing in the most transformational companies across the global “PreK to Gray” landscape. View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241212349001/en/ CONTACT: Eden Bloss, VP of Communications 336-706-1372 (m) ebloss@carnegielearning.com KEYWORD: CALIFORNIA PENNSYLVANIA UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA INDUSTRY KEYWORD: TECHNOLOGY PROFESSIONAL SERVICES SOFTWARE CONTINUING TRAINING DATA ANALYTICS PRIMARY/SECONDARY EDUCATION ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE SOURCE: Carnegie Learning, Inc. Copyright Business Wire 2024. PUB: 12/12/2024 04:26 PM/DISC: 12/12/2024 04:26 PM http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241212349001/en
An influential and transformative force in the world of global music: Taufiq QureshiAn online spat between factions of Donald Trump 's supporters over immigration and the tech industry has thrown internal divisions in his political movement into public display, previewing the fissures and contradictory views his coalition could bring to the White House. The rift laid bare the tensions between the newest flank of Trump's movement — wealthy members of the tech world including billionaire Elon Musk and fellow entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and their call for more highly skilled workers in their industry — and people in Trump's Make America Great Again base who championed his hardline immigration policies. The debate touched off this week when Laura Loomer , a right-wing provocateur with a history of racist and conspiratorial comments, criticized Trump’s selection of Sriram Krishnan as an adviser on artificial intelligence policy in his coming administration. Krishnan favors the ability to bring more skilled immigrants into the U.S. Loomer declared the stance to be “not America First policy” and said the tech executives who have aligned themselves with Trump were doing so to enrich themselves. Much of the debate played out on the social media network X, which Musk owns. Loomer's comments sparked a back-and-forth with venture capitalist and former PayPal executive David Sacks, whom Trump has tapped to be the “White House A.I. & Crypto Czar." Musk and Ramaswamy, whom Trump has tasked with finding ways to cut the federal government, weighed in, defending the tech industry's need to bring in foreign workers. It bloomed into a larger debate with more figures from the hard-right weighing in about the need to hire U.S. workers, whether values in American culture can produce the best engineers, free speech on the internet, the newfound influence tech figures have in Trump's world and what his political movement stands for. Trump has not yet weighed in on the rift, and his presidential transition team did not respond to a message seeking comment. Musk, the world's richest man who has grown remarkably close to the president-elect, was a central figure in the debate, not only for his stature in Trump's movement but his stance on the tech industry's hiring of foreign workers. Technology companies say H-1B visas for skilled workers, used by software engineers and others in the tech industry, are critical for hard-to-fill positions. But critics have said they undercut U.S. citizens who could take those jobs. Some on the right have called for the program to be eliminated, not expanded. Born in South Africa, Musk was once on an a H-1B visa himself and defended the industry's need to bring in foreign workers. “There is a permanent shortage of excellent engineering talent," he said in a post. “It is the fundamental limiting factor in Silicon Valley.” Trump's own positions over the years have reflected the divide in his movement. His tough immigration policies, including his pledge for a mass deportation, were central to his winning presidential campaign. He has focused on immigrants who come into the U.S. illegally but he has also sought curbs on legal immigration, including family-based visas. As a presidential candidate in 2016, Trump called the H-1B visa program “very bad” and “unfair” for U.S. workers. After he became president, Trump in 2017 issued a “Buy American and Hire American” executive order, which directed Cabinet members to suggest changes to ensure H-1B visas were awarded to the highest-paid or most-skilled applicants to protect American workers. Trump's businesses, however, have hired foreign workers, including waiters and cooks at his Mar-a-Lago club, and his social media company behind his Truth Social app has used the the H-1B program for highly skilled workers. During his 2024 campaign for president, as he made immigration his signature issue, Trump said immigrants in the country illegally are “poisoning the blood of our country" and promised to carry out the largest deportation operation in U.S. history. But in a sharp departure from his usual alarmist message around immigration generally, Trump told a podcast this year that he wants to give automatic green cards to foreign students who graduate from U.S. colleges. “I think you should get automatically, as part of your diploma, a green card to be able to stay in this country," he told the “All-In" podcast with people from the venture capital and technology world. Those comments came on the cusp of Trump's budding alliance with tech industry figures, but he did not make the idea a regular part of his campaign message or detail any plans to pursue such changes.
Mathieu Olivier is having a great season. He’s in his prime , at 27, and has collected nine points (six goals) in 20 games since the start of the campaign. For a support player and a guy who’s known as a tough guy, that’s more than excellent. That’s why his name has been circulating in Montreal over the past month. He’d be a perfect fit for the Canadiens, in the sense that he’s got qualities that can help the club right now. After all, we’re talking about a guy who works his butt off on the ice time after time, and in Montreal, we know that such players are rare these days. That said, the Québécois is aware of the rumours about him. He doesn’t want to worry about it because he’s concentrating on his game , but it’s playing on his mind all the same: It’s hard not to hear them unless you live under a rock [...] I have family and friends in Quebec, so it comes back to my ears a bit. – Mathieu Olivier The quote above comes from a TVA Sports article : Mathieu Olivier is well aware of what’s being said about him in Montreal: https://t.co/x5mslGPMGJ – TVA Sports (@TVASports) November 27, 2024 It must be special. It’s easy to get distracted, after all: he’s from Quebec... And his name has been mentioned in some Montreal rumors. But if it’s not in Montreal (many would like it to be), we can still expect to see Mathieu Olivier change addresses between now and the next NHL trade deadline. He’s in the final year of his contract ($1.1 million per season), and there are bound to be several clubs interested in his services in the coming months. That said, if Kent Hughes can’t get him in the next few months, he should at least try to bring him to town in the off-season. Because it seems to me that players with heart like him would be a welcome addition to the Montreal line-up. No? Overtime – Too bad. Jonathan Drouin has been particularly unlucky so far this season: https://t.co/7cL2kqYER8 – TVA Sports (@TVASports) November 27, 2024 – He’s going to be good. Lukas Dostal this season: – 5-7-2 record – .922 save percentage – 13.2 goals saved above expected (1st in NHL) – 35 shots against/game (most in NHL) Anaheim arguably has the best goalie in the league and they’re still 13th in the West. pic.twitter.com/tU25GAdkI8 – Big Head Hockey (@BigHeadHcky) November 27, 2024 – An issue to keep an eye on. There’s a lot of interest in the NHL. https://t.co/FDicPPTFcl – TVA Sports (@TVASports) November 27, 2024 – News in MLB: Wonder where he’ll sign. https://t.co/9qEx0j9Z4K – Passion MLB (@passion_mlb) November 27, 2024 This article first appeared on Dose.ca and was syndicated with permission.WASHINGTON – President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday voiced his support for the dockworkers union before their contract expires next month at Eastern and Gulf Coast ports, saying that any further “automation” of the ports would harm workers. The incoming president posted on social media that he met Harold Daggett, the president of the International Longshoreman's Association, and Dennis Daggett, the union's executive vice president. Recommended Videos “I’ve studied automation, and know just about everything there is to know about it,” Trump posted. “The amount of money saved is nowhere near the distress, hurt, and harm it causes for American Workers, in this case, our Longshoremen. Foreign companies have made a fortune in the U.S. by giving them access to our markets. They shouldn’t be looking for every last penny knowing how many families are hurt.” The International Longshoremen’s Association has until Jan. 15 to negotiate a new contract with the U.S. Maritime Alliance, which represents ports and shipping companies. At the heart of the dispute is whether ports can install automated gates, cranes and container-moving trucks that could make it faster to unload and load ships. The union argues that automation would lead to fewer jobs, even though higher levels of productivity could do more to boost the salaries of remaining workers. The Maritime Alliance said in a statement that the contract goes beyond ports to “supporting American consumers and giving American businesses access to the global marketplace – from farmers, to manufacturers, to small businesses, and innovative start-ups looking for new markets to sell their products.” “To achieve this, we need modern technology that is proven to improve worker safety, boost port efficiency, increase port capacity, and strengthen our supply chains,” said the alliance, adding that it looks forward to working with Trump. In October, the union representing 45,000 dockworkers went on strike for three days, raising the risk that a prolonged shutdown could push up inflation by making it difficult to unload container ships and export American products overseas. The issue pits an incoming president who won November's election on the promise of bringing down prices against commitments to support blue-collar workers along with the kinds of advanced technology that drew him support from Silicon Valley elite such as billionaire Elon Musk. Trump sought to portray the dispute as being between U.S. workers and foreign companies, but advanced ports are also key for staying globally competitive. China is opening a $1.3 billion port in Peru that could accommodate ships too large for the Panama Canal. There is a risk that shippers could move to other ports, which could also lead to job losses. Mexico is constructing a port that is highly automated, while Dubai, Singapore and Rotterdam already have more advanced ports. Instead, Trump said that ports and shipping companies should eschew “machinery, which is expensive, and which will constantly have to be replaced.” “For the great privilege of accessing our markets, these foreign companies should hire our incredible American Workers, instead of laying them off, and sending those profits back to foreign countries,” Trump posted. “It is time to put AMERICA FIRST!” ___