A BRIDE has caused a stir after banning guests from wearing smart watches at her wedding. Purists in fashion often believe that certain rules should be followed to preserve an outfit's integrity - and the likes of Apple Watches simply don’t fit the bill. Just like trainers with tuxedos is frowned upon for wedding attire, pairing a smart watch with your best clobber is controversial. The style is so divisive that one bride specifically banned the look when sending out her wedding invitations. “Received a wedding invite that specifically said on the dress code line ‘No Apple Watches please,’” someone penned on X (formerly Twitter). The revelation sparked immense debate across X, as well as Reddit. "We are headed in the right direction," one social media user said in support of the ban. “Smart watches literally run every nice outfit, so they have a point,” another penned. “I think it’s possible it could be due to the distraction they cause,” a third weighed in. “A lot of people I know that wear smart watches tend to look down and scroll through them a lot when they get notifications.” And while some felt the ban was “firm but fair”, others staunchly disagreed with it. “I wear an Apple Watch because it syncs to a system my doctor can see,” one Reddit user shared. “A lot of disabled people wear them as they are like life alert if you fall - although, it doesn’t catch nearly enough. “If someone told me not to wear one, I would ask if I’m also not allowed to wear my prosthetic leg.” One X user hedged that the dress code rules indicated that “the marriage will last two years max”. Smart watches are often linked with fitness tracking and casual, day-to-day convenience. Wearing one with a cocktail dress can give the impression that you're prioritising utility over the elegance expected in formal settings. What’s more, formal attire (like gowns and tuxedos) is typically associated with timeless, classic accessories like analog watches. Smart watches, with their digital screens and tech-heavy look, are seen as incongruous with the sleek, elegant vibe brides and grooms want to cultivate at their nuptials. If you're struggling to decided on a dress to see you through wedding season, here's a few rules on what not to wear so you don't get in trouble.Analyst Scoreboard: 5 Ratings For Life Time Group HldgsFRISCO, Texas (AP) — Dallas Cowboys linebacker DeMarvion Overshown could miss the 2025 season recovering from the right knee injury sustained in a loss to Cincinnati, coach Mike McCarthy said Tuesday. McCarthy said Overshown has a “long road of rehab in front of him.” The second-year player tore multiple ligaments when a Bengals lineman crashed into his leg in the Cowboys' 27-20 loss Monday night. Overshown missed all of his rookie year in 2023 after tearing the ACL in his left knee in a preseason game. The latest injury came in his first game since a spectacular 23-yard interception return for a touchdown in a 27-20 victory over the New York Giants on Thanksgiving. “DeMarvion is getting ready to have a big surgery in front of him,” McCarthy said of the procedure planned this week. “His physical and football talent speaks for itself. He’s such a bright light. He’s got a great, infectious personality — a tough young man. He is definitely going to be missed.” The former Texas standout, drafted in the third round last year, was second on the team to star pass rusher Micah Parsons with five sacks when he went down. The December timing of Overshown's injury means rehab is likely to extend past training camp and into the regular season next year, after he turns 25. Parsons was emotional when asked about Overshown after the Cincinnati game. “I cried,” he said. “It’s like my little bro, bro. He doesn’t deserve that either. Just to understand what he’s going to go through and to be there for him physically, mentally. It’s just so challenging because of the year he was having. I really just don’t think that’s fair either.” The loss of Overshown comes with defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence close to return from a foot injury that has sidelined him since Week 4. But the Cowboys (5-8) are all but out of the playoffs as they prepare to visit Carolina (3-10) on Sunday. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Every so often, small business owners south of Sydney begin their day cleaning up human faeces. It's an odorous reminder of Port Kembla's dire need for a main street public toilet. "It's a fairly regular basis," local chamber of commerce president Greg Rodgers tells AAP. "When businesses are asking me how things are progressing with getting a toilet, they say they're having ongoing issues, sometimes multiple times a week - people urinating, defecating in the public areas." Those desperate for relief can ask the pub or restaurants - or walk two kilometres to the beach if it's both daylight and surf lifesaving season. But it's hardly an option for all abilities or all hours, hampering dozens of new businesses and families helping revive the industrial town. "Are people going to say 'we'll check out this new area - shame, I have to pee in the park'?" Mr Rodgers wonders. The six-year battle for a public loo in Port Kembla illustrates Australia's inconsistent lavatory landscape, with accessibility, safety and availability varying widely. Standards do not address existing social norms - such as parenting and gender - nor are they able to reflect the gamut of human experience, or even respond to the variety of wheelchair users, a recent Churchill fellow found. Standards also do not apply to existing buildings, leaving people resorting to dank decades-old facilities or holding on in hope of something better down the road. "With very few exceptions, they're not very well designed," design expert Christian Tietz tells AAP. "The general look and feel is really one of bare necessity and extremely function focused. "It's really sort of addressing the lowest common denominator." But it shouldn't be so, the senior lecturer in UNSW's Faculty of the Built Environment says. Toilets set the tone for public behaviour, expectations and conduct, he says. Facilities that show respect and offer an opportunity to refresh and revive will result in people carrying that through their other interactions with a town. "But if I go in somewhere and it's got blue lighting, it doesn't work, and I feel like I'm being treated like a criminal ... then that sets the tone for that locality and I come out feeling accordingly," Dr Tietz says "The toilet is a place where you can make an impression - it's also place where we are more or less equal, right?" He rejects counter arguments based on cost and vandalism, saying loos could be durable, highly frequented and visually appealing. Australia's 23,000 public and private public bathrooms could be even more, with power points to charge phones, benches to rest and external wash basins for non-toileting matters such as rinsing fruit. Increasing interaction with the facilities would also promote personal safety, he said. Dr Tietz's recognition that loos can be more than just places for ones and twos is well supported. Visionary architects in one Tokyo district recently led the redesign of 17 accessible public bathrooms, resulting in rooms shaped like a spacecraft and another like a squid in a wider octopus park. Sydney's Inner City Legal Centre in October called on NSW to recognise public toilets as an essential private space that allows for changing clothes after exercise or spilling food, cleaning children and nappies or as 'wind-down' spaces. The Australian College of Road Safety meanwhile suggests improvements to highway rest area public toilets could enhance initiatives to ensure motorists take regular rest breaks. It notes some rest areas lack public toilets and those that do have them may discourage use due to a lack of flushing toilets or potable water. Women truck drivers also face difficulty accessing equitable facilities, as do the 5.5 million Australians with a disability. Sanitary bins are not compulsory in men's toilets, the Country Women's Association points out, compromising the dignity and ability of older men to manage their health needs while using public spaces. And any women attending a large event knows queuing for bathrooms is an experience far more infrequent for men. One answer meets many of those concerns however - universal design principles in bathrooms. They're designed for everyone, with single cubicles with a basin, a full-height door that opens out onto public space as well as change facilities. Medical doctor Amanda Cohn led the charge to revamp her regional city's restrooms to factor in universal design principles and is investigating the potential for wider rollout. The Albury-based MP is chairing a NSW inquiry into public toilets encompassing topics of design, minimum standards and international best practice. "(With universal design) you're designing out the old-fashioned narrow, winding corridor where there's a hidden, shared space - that's really where a lot of the inaccessibility and the danger of public toilets comes from," she tells AAP. "For a surprising number of people, the provision of public toilets actually impacts their decisions about whether or not to visit a town or go to an event. "It actually impacts people's participation in community life. "And for people whose lives are impacted by this every day, this inquiry is a really incredible opportunity for their voices to be heard." Those include the voices of people with disabilities or chronic medical conditions, people who are trans or gender diverse and parents with young children. One member of the public has also demanded an end to the 'prison look' in some older facilities. "Those cold metal seats make taking a potty-trained child to the park horrible," one submission says. The inquiry, which is receiving submissions until December 2, will also examine maintenance. That touches a concern some people have raised to previous inquiries about using non-gender-segregated bathrooms. Albury City Council noted its 10-year public toilet strategy and redevelopment drive had increased maintenance costs by up to $100,000 per year. But shouldering those costs had been prioritised, the council said. It's an argument Greg Rodgers hopes the local government for Port Kembla can also get behind as he underlines the benefit a best-practice toilet would deliver community and business. "Costs shouldn't be an issue - we shouldn't have to expect the pub to be the only available option," he says. "There are so many things that branch from having a good access to a toilet."Article content Boeing is resuming production of its bestselling plane, the 737 Max, for the first time since 33,000 workers began a seven-week strike that ended in early November. Recommended Videos The company said Tuesday that plane-building resumed at its plant in Renton, Washington, after going through a process of training workers and identifying and fixing potential problems. Boeing shares rose 4.5%, their best single-day percentage gain in nearly four months. Production and deliveries of Max jets and another airline plane, the 787 Dreamliner, have been stopped several times in recent years to fix manufacturing flaws. “Our team has worked methodically to restart factory operations in the Pacific Northwest. We have now resumed 737 production in our Renton factory, with our Everett (Washington) programs on plan to follow in the days ahead,” the company said in a statement. Boeing builds its 777 and 767 jets in Everett, north of Seattle. Separately, the company said it took orders for 49 planes in November but lost an order by U.K. carrier TUI for 14 Max jets. It delivered 13 planes, down from 56 a year earlier. Ever since a panel called a door plug blew off a Max operated by Alaska Airlines in January, the Federal Aviation Administration has capped Boeing’s production of Max jets to 38 per month. Boeing hopes to convince regulators that it has corrected quality and safety issues and can raise that number to 56 planes per month. Boeing has been losing money since 2019, after two Max jets crashed, killing 346 people. It needs the cash it earns from delivering new planes to begin digging out of a deep financial hole. New CEO Kelly Ortberg has announced plans to lay off about 17,000 workers and sell new stock to raise cash and prevent the company’s credit rating from sliding into junk status.
Most world leaders, states and humanitarian organizations have praised the International Criminal Court’s decision to issue long-awaited arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and ousted war minister Yoav Gallant. They said arrest warrants issued for Netanyahu and Gallant were "binding" and should be implemented. The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said during a visit to the Jordanian capital Amman that the decision to issue these warrants was “not political,” and that the court’s decision should be “respected and implemented.” "It is not a political decision. It is a decision of a court, of a court of justice, of an international court of justice. And the decision of the court has to be respected and implemented," Borrell said "This decision is a binding decision and all states, all state parties of the court, which include all members of the European Union, are binding to implement this court decision," he said after a joint news conference with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi. Safadi, for his part, said that the International Criminal Court’s decision must be respected and implemented, adding the Palestinians deserved justice after Israel’s “war crimes” in Gaza. He said the decision also serves as a message to the international community to take practical steps to stop "the massacres being committed in Gaza." The French Foreign Ministry spokesman says that France’s reaction to the decision will be in line with the court’s statutes. The Netherlands is prepared to act upon the arrest warrant issued by the ICC against Netanyahu if needed, Dutch news agency ANP has reported, citing the country’s Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp. If the Israeli leader comes to Dutch soil, he will be arrested, Veldkamp said in the House of Representatives, local outlet Nos reported. The Netherlands will also avoid “non-essential” contact with Netanyahu and Gallant. “The Netherlands implements the Rome Statute 100 percent,” the foreign minister said. The Republic of Ireland’s Prime Minister Simon Harris said the ICC’s arrest warrants were a significant and serious step. “The decision... is an extremely significant step,” Harris said. “These charges could not be more serious.” “Ireland respects the role of the International Criminal Court. Anyone in a position to assist it in carrying out its vital work must now do so with urgency,” he added. Ireland’s Foreign Ministry also said that countries must respect the ICC’s “independence and impartiality, with no attempts made to undermine the court.” The warrants issued today “follows the court’s determination that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the alleged crimes were committed” by Netanyahu and Gallant, the ministry’s statement added. Ireland has long supported Palestinian statehood, going so far as to independently recognize Palestine this May. Rights group Amnesty International said that Netanyahu was "now officially a wanted man" after the ICC's decision Thursday. "Prime Minister Netanyahu is now officially a wanted man," Amnesty Secretary General Agnes Callamard said in a statement. "We urge all ICC member states, and non-states parties including the United States and other allies of Israel, to demonstrate their respect for the court's decision... by arresting and handing over those wanted by the ICC," Callamard added. "ICC member states and the whole international community must stop at nothing until these individuals are brought to trial before the ICC's independent and impartial judges." The Palestinian resistance group said that the International Criminal Court’s issuance of arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former war minister is an “important step towards justice.” “[It] can lead to redress for the victims in general, but it remains limited and symbolic if it is not supported by all means by all countries around the world,” Hamas political bureau member Basem Naim said in a statement. Palestinian official Wasel Abu Yousef, a Member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) said that though this decision was long overdue, it is still in the right direction. "It is an important decision in the shadow of the genocide against the Palestinian people that has been going on for 411 days." he said, adding that the 'War criminals must be prosecuted." Observers say the court’s arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant are important, as Israel’s allies, such as the US and the UK and Germany, have been “reluctant” to call his actions war crimes. The US, which is the main backer of Israel's genocidal campaign in Gaza, has called for sanctions against ICC. Long-serving Republican US Senator Lindsey Graham said that it was time for the US government to penalize the ICC for its warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant, he said. DAWN, a US-based rights group, welcomes the arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant and warns Biden administration officials – including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin – that they could be next. “By continuing to provide military assistance to Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Netanyahu, despite credible accusations of war crimes by the ICC, US leaders ... are exposing themselves to personal liability under international law,” Raed Jarrar, DAWN’s advocacy director, said in a statement. “Article 25(3)(c) of the Rome Statute outlines clear criminal liability for aiding and abetting war crimes, which applies to individuals in non-member states like the US when their actions enable violations under ICC jurisdiction.” The ICC said that there are reasonable grounds to believe that Netanyahu and Gallant were involved in actions constituting crimes against humanity and war crimes under its jurisdiction. The ICC prosecutor said the crimes include starvation of civilians as a method of warfare and intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population. In May, the prosecutor had applied for warrants of arrest for Netanyahu and Gallant. Now the 124 ICC member states are technically obliged to arrest Netanyahu and his former war minister if they travel there. Numerous human rights organizations have documented horrific Israeli abuses in Gaza, including forced displacement, the targeting of civilians and the use of hunger as a weapon of war. United Nations experts have also accused Israel of carrying out a genocide against Palestinians. Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide, Israel has been massacring the Palestinians in Gaza since October 7, 2023. Over 44,000 civilians have been killed so far and more than 104,200 others injured in Israel’s genocidal war since October last year.
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Technology entrepreneur Elon Musk has caused uproar after backing Germany’s far-right party in a major newspaper ahead of key parliamentary elections in the Western European country, leading to the resignation of the paper’s opinion editor in protest. Germany is to vote in an early election on February 23 after Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-party governing coalition collapsed last month in a dispute over how to revitalise the country’s stagnant economy. Mr Musk’s guest opinion piece for Welt am Sonntag – a sister publication of Politico owned by the Axel Springer Group – published in German over the weekend, was the second time this month that he has supported the Alternative for Germany, or AfD. “The Alternative for Germany (AfD) is the last spark of hope for this country,” he wrote in his translated commentary. He went on to say that the far-right party “can lead the country into a future where economic prosperity, cultural integrity and technological innovation are not just wishes, but reality”. The Tesla Motors chief executive also wrote that his investment in Germany gives him the right to comment on the country’s condition. The AfD is polling strongly, but its candidate for the top job, Alice Weidel, has no realistic chance of becoming chancellor because other parties refuse to work with the far-right party. Billionaire Mr Musk, an ally of US President-elect Donald Trump, challenged in his opinion piece the party’s public image. “The portrayal of the AfD as right-wing extremist is clearly false, considering that Alice Weidel, the party’s leader, has a same-sex partner from Sri Lanka! Does that sound like Hitler to you? Please!” Mr Musk’s commentary has led to a debate in German media over the boundaries of free speech, with the paper’s own opinion editor announcing her resignation, pointedly on Mr Musk’s social media platform, X. Eva Marie Kogel wrote: “I always enjoyed leading the opinion section of WELT and WAMS. Today an article by Elon Musk appeared in Welt am Sonntag. I handed in my resignation yesterday after it went to print.” A critical article by the future editor-in-chief of the Welt group, Jan Philipp Burgard, accompanied Mr Musk’s opinion piece. “Musk’s diagnosis is correct, but his therapeutic approach, that only the AfD can save Germany, is fatally wrong,” he wrote. Responding to a request for comment from the German Press Agency, dpa, the current editor-in-chief of the Welt group, Ulf Poschardt, and Mr Burgard – who is due to take over on January 1 – said in a joint statement that the discussion over Mr Musk’s piece was “very insightful. Democracy and journalism thrive on freedom of expression.” “This will continue to determine the compass of the ‘world’ in the future. We will develop ‘Die Welt’ even more decisively as a forum for such debates,” they wrote to dpa.Unai Emery feels confidence returning after Aston Villa end winless run
By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday named Andrew Ferguson as the next chair of the Federal Trade Commission . He will replace Lina Khan, who became a lightning rod for Wall Street and Silicon Valley by blocking billions of dollars’ worth of corporate acquisitions and suing Amazon and Meta while alleging anticompetitive behavior . Ferguson is already one of the FTC’s five commissioners, which is currently made up of three Democrats and two Republicans. “Andrew has a proven record of standing up to Big Tech censorship, and protecting Freedom of Speech in our Great Country,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, adding, “Andrew will be the most America First, and pro-innovation FTC Chair in our Country’s History.” Related Articles National Politics | Donald Trump is returning to the world stage. So is his trolling National Politics | Biden says he was ‘stupid’ not to put his name on pandemic relief checks like Trump did National Politics | Biden issues veto threat on bill expanding federal judiciary as partisan split emerges National Politics | Trump lawyers and aide hit with 10 additional felony charges in Wisconsin over 2020 fake electors National Politics | After withdrawing as attorney general nominee, Matt Gaetz lands a talk show on OANN television The replacement of Khan likely means that the FTC will operate with a lighter touch when it comes to antitrust enforcement. The new chair is expected to appoint new directors of the FTC’s antitrust and consumer protection divisions. “These changes likely will make the FTC more favorable to business than it has been in recent years, though the extent to which is to be determined,” wrote Anthony DiResta, a consumer protection attorney at Holland & Knight, in a recent analysis . Deals that were blocked by the Biden administration could find new life with Trump in command. For example, the new leadership could be more open to a proposed merger between the country’s two biggest supermarket chains, Kroger and Albertsons, which forged a $24.6 billion deal to combine in 2022. Two judges halted the merger Tuesday night. The FTC had filed a lawsuit in federal court earlier this year to block the merger, claiming the deal would eliminate competition, leading to higher prices and lower wages for workers. The two companies say a merger would help them lower prices and compete against bigger rivals like Walmart. One of the judges said the FTC had shown it was likely to prevail in the administrative hearing. Yet given the widespread public concern over high grocery prices, the Trump administration may not fully abandon the FTC’s efforts to block the deal, some experts have said. And the FTC may continue to scrutinize Big Tech firms for any anticompetitive behavior. Many Republican politicians have accused firms such as Meta of censoring conservative views, and some officials in Trump’s orbit, most notably Vice President-elect JD Vance, have previously expressed support for Khan’s scrutiny of Big Tech firms. In addition to Fergson, Trump also announced Tuesday that he had selected Jacob Helberg as the next undersecretary of state for economic growth, energy and the environment.
LOS ANGELES -- If you've hunted for apartments recently and felt like all the rents were equally high, you're not crazy: Many landlords now use a single company's software - which uses an algorithm based on proprietary lease information - to help set rent prices. Federal prosecutors say the practice amounts to "an unlawful information-sharing scheme" and some lawmakers throughout California are moving to curb it. San Diego's city council president is the latest to do so, proposing to prevent local apartment owners from using the pricing software, which he maintains is driving up housing costs. Note: The video in the media player above is from related coverage. San Diego's proposed ordinance, now being drafted by the city attorney, comes after San Francisco supervisors in July enacted a similar, first-in-the-nation ban on "the sale or use of algorithmic devices to set rents or manage occupancy levels" for residences. San Jose is considering a similar approach. And California and seven other states have also joined the federal prosecutors' antitrust suit, which targets the leading rental pricing platform, Texas-based RealPage. The complaint alleges that "RealPage is an algorithmic intermediary that collects, combines, and exploits landlords' competitively sensitive information. And in so doing, it enriches itself and compliant landlords at the expense of renters who pay inflated prices..." But state lawmakers this year failed to advance legislation by Bakersfield Democratic Sen. Melissa Hurtado that would have banned the use of any pricing algorithms based on nonpublic data provided by competing companies. She said she plans to bring the bill back during the next legislative session because of what she described as ongoing harms from such algorithms. "We've got to make sure the economy is fair and ... that every individual who wants a shot at creating a business has a shot without being destroyed along the way, and that we're also protecting consumers because it is hurting the pocketbooks of everybody in one way or another," said Hurtado. RealPage has been a major impetus for all of the actions. The company counts as its customers landlords with thousands of apartment units across California. Some officials accuse the company of thwarting competition that would otherwise drive rents down, exacerbating the state's housing shortage and driving up rents in the process. "Every day, millions of Californians worry about keeping a roof over their head and RealPage has directly made it more difficult to do so," said California Attorney General Rob Bonta in a written statement. A RealPage spokesperson, Jennifer Bowcock, told CalMatters that a lack of housing supply, not the company's technology, is the real problem - and that its technology benefits residents, property managers, and others associated with the rental market. The spokesperson later wrote that a " misplaced focus on nonpublic information is a distraction... that will only make San Francisco and San Diego's historical problems worse." As for the federal lawsuit, the company called the claims in it "devoid of merit" and said it plans to "vigorously defend ourselves against these accusations." "We are disappointed that, after multiple years of education and cooperation on the antitrust matters concerning RealPage, the (Justice Department) has chosen this moment to pursue a lawsuit that seeks to scapegoat pro-competitive technology that has been used responsibly for years," the company's statement read in part. "RealPage's revenue management software is purposely built to be legally compliant, and we have a long history of working constructively with the (department) to show that." The company's challenges will only grow if pricing software becomes another instance in which California lawmakers lead the nation. Following San Francisco's ban, the Philadelphia City Council passed a ban on algorithmic rental price-fixing with a veto-proof vote last month. New Jersey has been considering its own ban. According to federal prosecutors, RealPage controls 80% of the market for commercial revenue management software. Its product is called YieldStar, and its successor is AI Revenue Management, which uses much of the same codebase as YieldStar, but has more precise forecasting. RealPage told CalMatters it serves only 10% of the rental markets in both San Francisco and San Diego, across its three revenue management software products. Here's how it works: In order to use YieldStar and AIRM, landlords have historically provided RealPage with their own private data from their rental applications, rent prices, executed new leases, renewal offers and acceptances, and estimates of future occupancy, although a recent change allows landlords to choose to share only public data. This information from all participating landlords in an area is then pooled and run through mathematical forecasting to generate pricing recommendations for the landlords and for their competitors. The San Diego council president, Sean Elo-Rivera, explained it like this: "In the simplest terms, what this platform is doing is providing what we think of as that dark, smoky room for big companies to get together and set prices," he said. "The technology is being used as a way of keeping an arm's length from one big company to the other. But that's an illusion." In the company's own words, from company documents included in the lawsuit, RealPage "ensures that (landlords) are driving every possible opportunity to increase price even in the most downward trending or unexpected conditions." The company also said in the documents that it "helps curb (landlords') instincts to respond to down-market conditions by either dramatically lowering price or by holding price." Providing rent guidance isn't the only service RealPage has offered landlords. In 2020, a Markup and New York Times investigation found that RealPage, alongside other companies, used faulty computer algorithms to do automated background checks on tenants. As a result, tenants were associated with criminal charges they never faced, and denied homes. Thirty-one-year-old Navy veteran Alan Pickens and his wife move nearly every year "because the rent goes up, it gets unaffordable, so we look for a new place to stay," he said. The northeastern San Diego apartment complex where they just relocated has two-bedroom apartments advertised for between $2,995 and $3,215. They live in an area of San Diego where the U.S. Justice Department says information-sharing agreements between landlords and RealPage have harmed or are likely to harm renters. The department in August filed its antitrust lawsuit against RealPage, alleging the company, through its legacy YieldStar software, engaged in an " unlawful scheme to decrease competition among landlords in apartment pricing ". The complaint names specific areas where rents are artificially high. Beyond the part of San Diego where Pickens lives, those areas include South Orange County, Rancho Cucamonga, Temecula, and Murrieta and northeastern San Diego. In the second quarter of 2020, the average rent in San Diego County was $1,926, reflecting a 26% increase over three years, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. Rents have since risen even more in the city of San Diego, to $2,336 per month as of November 2024 - up 21% from 2020, according to RentCafe and the Tribune. That's 50% higher than the national average rent. The attorneys general of eight states, including California, joined the Justice Department's antitrust suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina. The California Justice Department contends RealPage artificially inflated prices to keep them above a certain minimum level, said department spokesperson Elissa Perez. This was particularly harmful given the high cost of housing in the state, she added. "The illegally maintained profits that result from these price alignment schemes come out of the pockets of the people that can least afford it." Renters make up a larger share of households in California than in the rest of the country - 44% here compared to 35% nationwide. The Golden State also has a higher percentage of renters than any state other than New York, according to the latest U.S. Census data. San Diego has the fourth-highest percentage of renters of any major city in the nation. The recent ranks of California legislators, however, have included few renters: As of 2019, CalMatters could find only one state lawmaker who did not own a home - and found that more than a quarter of legislators at the time were landlords. Studies show that low-income residents are more heavily impacted by rising rents. Nationally between 2000 and 2017, Americans without a college degree spent a higher percentage of their income on rent. That percentage ballooned from 30% to 42%. For college graduates, that percentage increased from 26% to 34%. "In my estimation, the only winners in this situation are the richest companies who are either using this technology or creating this technology," said Elo-Rivera. "There couldn't be a more clear example of the rich getting richer while the rest of us are struggling to get by." Private equity giant Thoma Bravo acquired RealPage in January 2021 through two funds that have hundreds of millions of dollars in investments from California public pension funds, including the California Public Employees' Retirement System, the California State Teachers' Retirement System, the Regents of the University of California and the Los Angeles police and fire pension funds, according to Private Equity Stakeholder Project. "They're invested in things that are directly hurting their pensioners," said K Agbebiyi, a senior housing campaign coordinator with the Private Equity Stakeholder Project, a nonprofit private equity watchdog that produced a report about corporate landlords ' impact on rental hikes in San Diego. RealPage argues that landlords are free to reject the price recommendations generated by its software. But the U.S. Justice Department alleges that trying to do so requires a series of steps, including a conversation with a RealPage pricing adviser. The advisers try to "stop property managers from acting on emotions," according to the department's lawsuit. If a property manager disagrees with the price the algorithm suggests and wants to decrease rent rather than increase it, a pricing advisor will "escalate the dispute to the manager's superior," prosecutors allege in the suit. In San Diego, the Pickenses, who are expecting their first child, have given up their gym memberships and downsized their cars to remain in the area. They've considered moving to Denver. "All the extras pretty much have to go," said Pickens. "I mean, we love San Diego, but it's getting hard to live here." "My wife is an attorney and I served in the Navy for 10 years and now work at Qualcomm," he said. "Why are we struggling? Why are we struggling?" ___ This story was originally published by CalMatters and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.
FRISCO, Texas (AP) — Dallas Cowboys linebacker DeMarvion Overshown could miss the 2025 season recovering from the right knee injury sustained in a loss to Cincinnati, coach Mike McCarthy said Tuesday. McCarthy said Overshown has a “long road of rehab in front of him.” The second-year player tore multiple ligaments when a Bengals lineman crashed into his leg in the Cowboys' 27-20 loss Monday night. Overshown missed all of his rookie year in 2023 after tearing the ACL in his left knee in a preseason game. The latest injury came in his first game since a spectacular 23-yard interception return for a touchdown in a 27-20 victory over the New York Giants on Thanksgiving. “DeMarvion is getting ready to have a big surgery in front of him,” McCarthy said of the procedure planned this week. “His physical and football talent speaks for itself. He’s such a bright light. He’s got a great, infectious personality — a tough young man. He is definitely going to be missed.” The former Texas standout, drafted in the third round last year, was second on the team to star pass rusher Micah Parsons with five sacks when he went down. The December timing of Overshown's injury means rehab is likely to extend past training camp and into the regular season next year, after he turns 25. Parsons was emotional when asked about Overshown after the Cincinnati game. “I cried,” he said. “It’s like my little bro, bro. He doesn’t deserve that either. Just to understand what he’s going to go through and to be there for him physically, mentally. It’s just so challenging because of the year he was having. I really just don’t think that’s fair either.” The loss of Overshown comes with defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence close to return from a foot injury that has sidelined him since Week 4. But the Cowboys (5-8) are all but out of the playoffs as they prepare to visit Carolina (3-10) on Sunday. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nflRestaurant Brands International's executive chairman sells $2.9m in stock
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RICHMOND, Va. , Nov. 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Universal Corporation (NYSE:UVV) ("Universal" or the "Company"), a global business-to-business agriproducts company, today announced that, as expected, on November 19, 2024 , it received a notice (the "NYSE Notice") from the New York Stock Exchange (the "NYSE") that the Company is not in compliance with Section 802.01E of the NYSE Listed Company Manual as a result of its failure to timely file its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2024 (the "Form 10-Q") with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") prior to November 18, 2024 , the end of the extension period provided by Rule 12b -25 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The NYSE Notice has no immediate effect on the listing of the Company's common stock on the NYSE. The NYSE Notice informed the Company that, under NYSE rules, the Company has six months from November 18, 2024 , to regain compliance with the NYSE listing standards by filing the Form 10-Q with the SEC. If the Company fails to file the Form 10-Q within the six-month period, the NYSE may grant, in its sole discretion, an extension of up to six additional months for the Company to regain compliance, depending on the specific circumstances. The NYSE Notice also noted that the NYSE may nevertheless, in its own discretion, commence delisting proceedings at any time during such period. As previously disclosed in the Company's Notification of Late Filing on Form 12b-25, filed on November 12, 2024 (the "Form 12b-25") with the SEC, the Company was unable to file the Form 10-Q on a timely basis due to an ongoing internal investigation. As a result of the additional time required to complete its internal investigation, the process of finalizing financial statements for the second quarter of fiscal year 2025 could not be completed on a timely basis. The Company is committed to completing a deliberate, thorough investigation while diligently working to fulfill all reporting obligations and currently expects to file the Form 10-Q within the six-month period granted by the NYSE Notice; however, there can be no assurance that the Form 10-Q will be filed within such period. About Universal Corporation Universal Corporation (NYSE: UVV) is a global agricultural company with over 100 years of experience supplying products and innovative solutions to meet our customers' evolving needs and precise specifications. Through our diverse network of farmers and partners across more than 30 countries on five continents, we are a trusted provider of high-quality, traceable products. We leverage our extensive supply chain expertise, global reach, integrated processing capabilities, and commitment to sustainability to provide a range of products and services designed to drive efficiency and deliver value to our customers. For more information, visit www.universalcorp.com . CAUTIONARY STATEMENTS REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION This release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Among other things, these statements include statements regarding expectations about the Company's filing of its Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2024 . These forward-looking statements are generally identified by the use of words such as we "expect," "believe," "anticipate," "could," "should," "may," "plan," "will," "predict," "estimate," and similar expressions or words of similar import. These forward-looking statements are based upon management's current knowledge and assumptions about future events and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from any anticipated results, prospects, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the uncertainty of the ultimate findings of the ongoing internal investigation, as well as the timing of its completion and costs and expenses arising out of the ongoing internal investigation process and its results; the impact of the ongoing internal investigation on us, our management and operations, including financial impact as well as any litigation or regulatory action that may arise from the ongoing internal investigation; the impact of the internal investigation on our conclusions regarding the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting and our disclosure controls and procedures; our ability to regain compliance with NYSE listing requirements; success in pursuing strategic investments or acquisitions and integration of new businesses and the impact of these new businesses on future results; product purchased not meeting quality and quantity requirements; our reliance on a few large customers; our ability to maintain effective information technology systems and safeguard confidential information; anticipated levels of demand for and supply of our products and services; costs incurred in providing these products and services including increased transportation costs and delays attributed to global supply chain challenges; timing of shipments to customers; higher inflation rates; changes in market structure; government regulation and other stakeholder expectations; economic and political conditions in the countries in which we and our customers operate, including the ongoing impacts from international conflicts; product taxation; industry consolidation and evolution; changes in exchange rates and interest rates; impacts of regulation and litigation on its customers; industry-specific risks related to its plant-based ingredient businesses; exposure to certain regulatory and financial risks related to climate change; changes in estimates and assumptions underlying our critical accounting policies; the promulgation and adoption of new accounting standards, new government regulations and interpretation of existing standards and regulations; and general economic, political, market, and weather conditions. Actual results, therefore, could vary from those expected. Please also refer to such other factors as discussed in Part I, Item 1A. "Risk Factors" of Universal's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2024 , and related disclosures in other filings which have been filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and are available on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov . All risk factors and uncertainties described herein and therein should be considered in evaluating forward-looking statements, and all of the forward-looking statements are expressly qualified by the cautionary statements contained or referred to herein and therein. Universal cautions investors not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements as these statements speak only as of the date when made, and it undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements made, except as required by law. View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/universal-corporation-receives-nyse-notice-regarding-filing-of-form-10-q-for-the-fiscal-quarter-ended-september-30-2024-302314579.html SOURCE Universal CorporationFortnite players 'tricked' into unwanted purchases are starting to get refunds