rivalry bet
Love for the Motor City: Football fans from UK in Detroit for Lions-Packers game
Not long after Donald J. Trump had secured a second go at being president, a group of dreamers set their sights on building a new world, far from this polluted planet and its troubles. This cohort was not destined for Mars, but to a space within themselves – a digital utopia just for the like-minded. Bluesky is a microblogging site for idealists, devoted to protecting them against the raging reality of divergent opinion in a democratic system. The pilgrims took with them their in-house journal, The Guardian , which left Elon Musk’s X with the flounce of a friendless man leaving a party to which he hadn’t been invited. Henceforth, the trust-funded worldwide webzine will dedicate itself to nurturing the delicate biosphere of an alternative reality. Defectors from Elon Musk’s X are taking up with Bluesky. Credit: NurPhoto via Getty Images Three million users have joined Bluesky over the past week, according to the platform, and they have been busy tending to their new world. In this environment, misinformation and disinformation are not alone the enemy; malinformation – information that does not accord with the idealists’ worldview – is the apple from the tree of knowledge, from which the Devil bid Eve to sup. Curious interlopers from the Other Place – the increasingly uncensored X – have experimented by pushing the boundaries of the sayable on Bluesky. To their delight , reasonably mainstream opinions attract the ire of the moderators, and are soft-censored as “intolerance”. Posts labelled thus are not visible in the app until a user clicks on “show”. This functionality is a clue to what the spotless mind can experience on Bluesky. Only the opposite of malinformation – “euinformation”, eu being the obverse prefix – is welcome here. Euinformation is well-meaning information; not really information so much as a curation of comforting progressive axioms. Meanwhile, in the real world, way over here in Australia, I’m never quite sure which way the discussion is going to go when someone raises the re-election of Donald Trump. Given space to speak, tradies volunteer that it’s not a surprise to them that Trump won. Hairdressers venture that it might be a good thing. Even in trendy urban enclaves, the anti-Trump clucking is not as secure as in 2016. The top three concerns in the US election were democracy (presumably whether it would be honoured), the economy and migration. But the cultural effect of focusing on those essentials is wide-reaching. On reflection, it seems everyone knew that they or other people privately had less and less patience with the vanity projects of the boardroom, while the economy constricted the lives of salary men and women. Acronyms have been crumbling. Many companies have slunk away from the ESG (environmental, social and governance) trend as it has emerged that many were just faking it. Australian companies have become more wary about the claims they make in this area after corporate watchdog ASIC announced it was cracking down on greenwashing – the “practice of misrepresenting the extent to which a financial product or investment strategy is environmentally friendly, sustainable or ethical”. In August this year, the world’s largest investment firm, BlackRock , which has $US10 trillion ($15.4 trillion) under management, reported that it had dramatically reduced its support for shareholder proposals addressing environmental and social issues. Another acronym, DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion), is also under fire. Over 200 US colleges have backtracked on their DEI programs, as suggestions swirl that race-based admissions programs have disadvantaged some ethnic groups, including Asian Americans. The grandmama of corporate DEI, White Fragility author Robin DiAngelo, was accused of appropriating passages and ideas in her PhD dissertation from minority scholars without attribution. DiAngelo has become wealthy lecturing corporate teams around the Anglosphere on DEI, leaving them with a tangle of rules and terminology so confusing that their main use is to be weaponised in internal disputes. DEI scepticism and exhaustion have reached Australia too, with some consultants reporting that companies are scaling back, or at the very least rebranding, these departments. Australia, of course, also had the Voice referendum to remind us that permission for social change has to be sought once core concerns are covered. The arc of history does not bend inexorably towards the preoccupations of student newspaper alumni and their kin over at Human Resources. Conservatives used to insist that politics is downstream of culture; in fact, if Australia’s choice of Scott Morrison in 2019 didn’t get them over the line, America’s choice of Donald Trump this year should finally persuade them that this adage isn’t complete. Culture is downstream of economics. The party perceived to be capable of managing things so you can live a good life has first dibs on defining the mainstream culture. But you won’t hear that over at Bluesky, where the butterfly logo symbolises a new type of white flight from unpleasant ideas. As the progressive influx gains pace, the Bluesky Trust & Safety team received 42,000 reports of “harmful content” in a single day , compared with 360,000 for the whole of 2023. You can block your ears and block your enemies in a digital utopia, but Trump’s election has already changed the culture of the US, and Australia too. Parnell Palme McGuinness is managing director at campaigns firm Agenda C. She has done work for the Liberal Party and the German Greens. Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter .None
Turning sunflower seeds into sustainable, cocoa-free chocolate has netted Munich-based B2B food tech startup Planet A Foods (formerly QOA ) a $30 million Series B funding round. Now, the Y Combinator alum is gearing up for industrialization, with the funds set to be deployed to scale its production capacity by around 7.5x. The round fast follows a $15.4 million Series A back in February . Currently, the startup is producing 2,000 tons of ChoViva, as it calls its cocoa-free, lower carbon chocolate alternative, per year. It plans to step that up to over 15,000 tons as it adds capacity and kicks off international expansion outside an initial trio of European markets. Opening its first U.S.-based production facility is on the cards. Building on the three local markets (Germany, Austria, and Switzerland) where its chocolate substitute is already in food products that aim to tempt sweet-toothed consumers, it is also eyeing launches into the U.K. and France during the first quarter of 2025. Brands buying into ChoViva so far include Lambertz, Lindt, Rewe Group, and even the German train operator, Deutsche Bahn, which doubtless pops a lot of chocolate treats on customers’ tea trays every day. So far, the startup has around 20 customers for its alt chocolate ingredients, mostly major European food manufacturers but also some U.S. brands. As it grows capacity, it’ll be aiming to add more strategic partners too. Cocoa, not so sweet The problem Planet A Foods is tackling is making a staple sweet treat (chocolate) less of an environmental horror. Traditional cocoa-based chocolate production raises serious sustainability issues, since the crop grows in areas with rainforest, which can be cut down to make way for cocoa bean plantations. Global demand is also outstripping an increasingly fragile (and ethically fraught) supply, leading to inflated costs and fears for the future of the cocoa bean in a rapidly warming world. Supplying the food industry with an alternative chocolate-esque ingredient that — just like the real deal — can be baked into or folded onto snack products like breakfast cereals, confectionary, and cakes is Planet A’s mission. And it’s not a trivial goal: The startup reckons an annual toll of some 500 million tons of CO 2 could be avoided through switching bulk chocolate production away from cocoa beans to its more sustainable method that avoids deforestation and localizes ingredients sourcing. The ingredients it uses to produce ChoViva have been selected in part as they can be grown locally (oats are another of its staples) — hence it claims a carbon footprint that’s up to 80% lower than conventional chocolate (but note that higher bound is for the vegan version of ChoViva which, unlike other blends, doesn’t contain any milk products). “We’re not against chocolate,” stresses co-founder and CEO Dr. Maximilian Marquart, one half of the brother-sister founder team behind Planet A Foods. CTO Dr. Sara Marquart is the food scientist who developed the process for making the cocoa-free chocolate. “That’s very important. So we’re not taking away your [premium] chocolate. We’re after all the snacking applications — [confectionary such as] M&Ms, Snickers, Mars, Bounty, you know, all that stuff.” Premium chocolate is a tiny market compared to the bulk business of mass market confectionary that Planet A Foods is targeting. And in this domain, where environmental degradation occurs at terrible scale, the quality of the chocolate that’s used is generally lower, often because it’s lower in actual cocoa-content — hence [Maximilian] Marquart argues there’s no difference between how ChoViva tastes, and the stuff consumers are routinely being sold in mass market products. “It’s indistinguishable,” he suggests. “My sister Sara . . . found out that actually 80% of the typical chocolate flavors come from the processing of the cocoa beans and not from the beans itself — so . . . if eight out of 10 flavors are actually coming from fermentation roasting, why do you need cocoa beans?” Scaling for impact The economics also make ChoViva an attractive switch for the industrial food industry, as the startup tells it, since the product is not subject to the price volatility that can hit cocoa beans as a limited resource. But for such a switch to happen, the startup needs to be able to produce its alternative at the volumes that food giants demand — so there’s a long road of scaling ahead for the team. At this point, the production capacity for ChoViva still represents an incredibly tiny portion of the global cocoa bean harvest — which [Maximilian] Marquart notes is between 4 million and 5 million tons annually. So it will require giant leaps in production capacity to have the massive positive sustainability change the Marquarts want. “We’ve already acquired the machines [for this stage of industrialization]. So we are already in the scale-up runs, and we have some real industrial clients already, so we’re currently just trying to cope with the demand in Europe,” he says, adding: “We’re automating. We’re improving the processes. We are also commissioning new machines. Plus, we are currently planning another facility in the States.” They are also exploring how the business might respond to demand from Asia ([Maximilian] Marquart happens to be on a business trip to Japan when we talk). But he says they also recognize that, as a startup, they do need to focus, too. “We’re a startup . . . we’re not naive. So we can’t conquer the world alone,” he tells TechCrunch. “I think U.K. and U.S. are the main markets where we will expand. However, in Asia we have a lot of demand, so we’re currently investigating what we do here — what we can do alone, and together with partners eventually.” Supply chain all-nighters Being in the (quasi) chocolate-making business might conjure up quaint images of high-hatted chocolatiers gently whipping batches of sweet stuff in charmingly rustic environs. But don’t be fooled: the business of manufacturing ChoViva is already sweating toil. Having everything in place to be able to precisely produce tons of cocoa-free chocolate to ship out exactly when customers need it has required the founders to pull some all-nighters at the plant. And [Maximilian] Marquart says a big focus for this tranche of scaling is automation — so they can reduce the risk of human errors causing supply chain headaches. We slept under those machines . . . Every day our life is a hell given the challenges that we have in the supply chain.” “I think currently we’re at a scale — industrial scale — that no one else is,” he suggests when asked about the competitive landscape for cocoa-free chocolate. Other startups he name-checks are Foreverland, Nukoko, WinWin, and Voyage Foods. They are using various methods and base ingredients (including cereals, broad beans, carob, grape seeds, and more) to blend up rival cocoa-free chocolate products. So there’s a range of approaches in play. In this context, and, indeed, for almost any kind of startup, succeeding “takes more than just developing a product” — or, in this case, an ingredient in a lab — and [Maximilian] Marquart says this invention element represents only 5% of the challenge they’ve set themselves. “The main challenge lies in building up production, building up quality management, building up the supply chain. Every day, two 40-ton lorries leave our factory with our product. And that’s something that someone else needs to figure out. It’s really a challenge,” he emphasizes, adding: “Sara — my sister — and I, we slept under those machines. We really figured out the supply chain. It’s a big hassle. Every day our life is a hell given the challenges that we have in the supply chain.” “Most of the other competitors, they have great products, but they need to bring that into reality, and need to be really able to deliver it to their customers, and that lies ahead of them. It’s incredibly difficult to deliver 40 tons of chocolate to a customer in time, at the right place, at the right recipe, the right quality.” Planet A Foods’ Series B was co-led by Burda Principal Investments and Zintinus, with participation from AgriFoodTech Venture Alliance, Bayern Kapital, Cherry Ventures, Omnes Capital, Tengelmann Ventures, and World Fund. R&D Scaling aside, funding will also go on further research and development, as the team is working on an alternative to cocoa butter, which is another key ingredient for the food industry. Being able to offer a replacement for palm oil is another goal, as that also creates huge sustainability problems. The startup also believes its approach could work to replace other specialty fats that are used in food production, such as stearin, an animal fat, or coconut oil, per [Maximilian] Marquart. “[Sara] developed a kind of full fermentation platform where we can make bio identical coco butter,” he notes, saying bio identical in this context “means the right mouthful, the right snap, the right melting point, the right properties.” “With our fermentation technology, we can offer a bio identical cocoa butter using fermentation at a much lower price than conventional cocoa butter, and that’s really a game changer in the future,” he suggests. “I think we’re the only company that is actually able to produce cocoa butter using fermentation at a lower price than natural cocoa butter.” There’s an additional challenge here, though. For one version of the cocoa butter, which [Maximilian] Marquart suggests yields the best set of properties, they use precision fermentation. It’s a biotech method that involves genetically engineered microorganisms. This version of the product has to be approved as a novel food before it can be sold. And since European regulations are more stringent, he suggests it could hit the U.S. market first.SAN DIEGO, Dec. 05, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Robbins LLP reminds investors that a class action was filed on behalf of persons and entities that purchased or otherwise acquired Customers Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE: CUBI) securities between March 1, 2024 and August 8, 2024. Customers Bancorp is a bank holding company. For more information, submit a form , email attorney Aaron Dumas, Jr., or give us a call at (800) 350-6003. The Allegations: Robbins LLP is Investigating Allegations that Customers Bancorp, Inc. (CUBI) Failed to Disclose its Inadequate Anti-Money Laundering Practices According to the complaint, during the class period, defendants failed to disclose that Customers Bancorp had inadequate anti-money laundering practices, and as a result, was not in compliance with its legal obligations, which subjected it to heightened regulatory risk. The complaint alleges that on April 12, 2024, the Company announced its CFO had been fired for "cause" for violating company policy. On this news, the price of Customers Bancorp stock fell almost 5%, to close at $46.62 on April 15, 2024. The complaint continues that on August 8, 2024, the Federal Reserve announced that it had "identified significant deficiencies related to the Bank's risk management practices and compliance with the appliable laws, rules, and regulations relating to anti-money laundering ("AML")..." On this news, the price of Customers Bancorp stock fell approximately 15%. Then, on August 8, 2024, the Company disclosed it had entered into a consent order with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Banking and Securities, Bureau of Bank Supervision, which identified deficiencies that "give the Bureau reason to believe that the Bank had engaged in unsafe or unsound banking practices relating to BSA/AML Requirements[.]" On this news, the Company's price fell further. What Now : You may be eligible to participate in the class action against Customers Bancorp, Inc. Shareholders who want to serve as lead plaintiff for the class must submit their application to the court by January 31, 2025. A lead plaintiff is a representative party who acts on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. You do not have to participate in the case to be eligible for a recovery. If you choose to take no action, you can remain an absent class member. For more information, click here . All representation is on a contingency fee basis. Shareholders pay no fees or expenses. About Robbins LLP : Some law firms issuing releases about this matter do not actually litigate securities class actions; Robbins LLP does. A recognized leader in shareholder rights litigation, the attorneys and staff of Robbins LLP have been dedicated to helping shareholders recover losses, improve corporate governance structures, and hold company executives accountable for their wrongdoing since 2002. Since our inception, we have obtained over $1 billion for shareholders. To be notified if a class action against Customer Bancorp Inc. settles or to receive free alerts when corporate executives engage in wrongdoing, sign up for Stock Watch today. Attorney Advertising. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/817f77ee-c221-49d4-90e5-65c450d3df92
The self-discipline challenge, which required participants to adhere to a strict set of rules and goals for a specified period of time in order to be eligible for the grand prize, attracted a large number of competitors eager to test their self-control and determination. The rules of the challenge were clearly outlined at the beginning, including provisions for penalties in case of rule violations or failure to meet the set goals.Just when gaming enthusiasts thought they had seen it all, a new challenger emerges on the scene. Fabled Beast Palru, the highly anticipated fantasy RPG game, has officially announced its participation in The Game Awards (TGA) with a promise of exciting new revelations for its eager fan base.The UEFA Champions League is gearing up for an exciting finale to the group stage, with Matchday 6 set to take place on December 11th. Two standout fixtures on the schedule are Real Madrid facing off against Atalanta and Inter Milan going head-to-head with Bayer Leverkusen.
Unlike scores of people who scrambled for the blockbuster drugs Ozempic and Wegovy to lose weight in recent years, Danielle Griffin had no trouble getting them. The 38-year-old information technology worker from New Mexico had a prescription. Her pharmacy had the drugs in stock. And her health insurance covered all but $25 to $50 of the monthly cost. For Griffin, the hardest part of using the new drugs wasn’t access. It was finding out that the much-hyped medications didn’t really work for her. “I have been on Wegovy for a year and a half and have only lost 13 pounds,” said Griffin, who watches her diet, drinks plenty of water and exercises regularly. “I’ve done everything right with no success. It’s discouraging.” In clinical trials, most participants taking Wegovy or Mounjaro to treat obesity lost an average of 15% to 22% of their body weight — up to 50 pounds or more in many cases. But roughly 10% to 15% of patients in those trials were “nonresponders” who lost less than 5% of their body weight. Now that millions of people have used the drugs, several obesity experts told The Associated Press that perhaps 20% of patients — as many as 1 in 5 — may not respond well to the medications. It's a little-known consequence of the obesity drug boom, according to doctors who caution eager patients not to expect one-size-fits-all results. “It's all about explaining that different people have different responses,” said Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford, an obesity expert at Massachusetts General Hospital The drugs are known as GLP-1 receptor agonists because they mimic a hormone in the body known as glucagon-like peptide 1. Genetics, hormones and variability in how the brain regulates energy can all influence weight — and a person's response to the drugs, Stanford said. Medical conditions such as sleep apnea can prevent weight loss, as can certain common medications, such as antidepressants, steroids and contraceptives. “This is a disease that stems from the brain,” said Stanford. “The dysfunction may not be the same” from patient to patient. Despite such cautions, patients are often upset when they start getting the weekly injections but the numbers on the scale barely budge. “It can be devastating,” said Dr. Katherine Saunders, an obesity expert at Weill Cornell Medicine and co-founder of the obesity treatment company FlyteHealth. “With such high expectations, there’s so much room for disappointment.” That was the case for Griffin, who has battled obesity since childhood and hoped to shed 70 pounds using Wegovy. The drug helped reduce her appetite and lowered her risk of diabetes, but she saw little change in weight. “It’s an emotional roller coaster,” she said. “You want it to work like it does for everybody else.” The medications are typically prescribed along with eating behavior and lifestyle changes. It’s usually clear within weeks whether someone will respond to the drugs, said Dr. Jody Dushay, an endocrine specialist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Weight loss typically begins right away and continues as the dosage increases. For some patients, that just doesn't happen. For others, side effects such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea force them to halt the medications, Dushay said. In such situations, patients who were counting on the new drugs to pare pounds may think they’re out of options. “I tell them: It's not game over,” Dushay said. Trying a different version of the new class of drugs may help. Griffin, who didn't respond well to Wegovy, has started using Zepbound, which targets an additional hormone pathway in the body. After three months of using the drug, she has lost 7 pounds. “I'm hoping it's slow and steady,” she said. Other people respond well to older drugs, the experts said. Changing diet, exercise, sleep and stress habits can also have profound effects. Figuring out what works typically requires a doctor trained to treat obesity, Saunders noted. “Obesity is such a complex disease that really needs to be treated very comprehensively,” she said. “If what we’re prescribing doesn’t work, we always have a backup plan.” The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Furthermore, the airstrikes send a clear message to ISIS and other extremist groups that the international community will not tolerate their violent actions and will take decisive measures to eliminate the threat they pose. By targeting key ISIS strongholds and infrastructure, the military has demonstrated its determination to root out terrorism and restore peace and stability to the region.Simon Harris apologises to carer for ‘not giving her the time she deserved’
Wagner takes down Springfield (Mass.) 81-46
In the end, Mr. Johnson's resilience and determination in the face of adversity stand as a testament to the strength and courage of the human spirit. May his story inspire others to be cautious and wary of false promises, and may he find solace in knowing that he is not alone in his fight for truth and justice.
As the mobile gaming market continues to evolve and expand, Tencent's "Wild Rift" stands out as a promising contender that is set to make a significant impact. With its strong pre-registration numbers and strategic partnership with Sony, the game is well-positioned to capture a substantial market share and establish itself as a key player in the mobile gaming landscape.
One of the key drivers behind the increased activity in the market is the growing population in Beijing, coupled with the desire for many individuals and families to upgrade their living conditions. As a result, both new and old houses are in high demand, as buyers seek properties that offer modern amenities and convenient locations.
NoneAs the stakes are high in these crucial matchups, both Real Madrid and Inter Milan will need to bring their A-game to secure victories and advance to the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League. The football world will be eagerly watching as these two European giants clash with their respective opponents in what promises to be an enthralling display of skill, tactics, and determination.