Denver, CO, Dec. 19, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bobby Rusnak, franchisee and Area Director for Dickey's Barbecue Pit in Colorado and Wyoming, has become a key figure in the brand's regional operations. His journey with Dickey's began in 2016 when he stepped in to assist his family during a challenging period. In 2021, Rusnak officially took ownership of the business, evolving into a leadership role that combines operational excellence with a dedication to franchisee support and community engagement. "My role is to support the brand and my fellow franchisees while ensuring we deliver exceptional barbecue experiences to our guests," Rusnak said. "As an Area Director, I'm focused on strengthening operations and helping franchisees overcome challenges, one store at a time." Rusnak oversees 15 locations across Colorado, balancing ownership of his stores with responsibilities as an Area Director. This includes guiding franchisees in stabilizing operations and adhering to the high standards Dickey's is known for. "Bobby's ability to lead by example and his deep understanding of the challenges franchisees face make him an exceptional Area Director," said Roland Dickey Jr., CEO of Dickey's Capital Group. "He is a true partner in growing the brand and supporting our franchisees in achieving their goals." Laura Rea Dickey , CEO of Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants, Inc., added, "Bobby's story embodies the heart of our brand—stepping up for family and community. His leadership as an Area Director strengthens not only the Dickey's franchise system but also the relationships we value so deeply with our owner-operators." Under Rusnak's leadership, Dickey's locations in Colorado continue to deliver the slow-smoked barbecue experience that has defined the brand for over 80 years. His commitment ensures franchisees have the tools and resources they need to thrive. "Stepping into this role was about doing what was needed to stabilize and grow the business," Rusnak said. "It's rewarding to see the impact we're making in our communities and across the region." Bobby Rusnak's journey underscores Dickey's dedication to empowering franchisees and fostering a collaborative network that drives success. About Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants, Inc. Founded in 1941 by The Dickey Family, Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants, Inc. is the world's largest barbecue concept and continues as a third-generation family-run business. For over 80 years, Dickey's Barbecue Pit has served millions with its signature Legit. Texas. Barbecue.TM Slow-smoked over hickory wood-burning pits, Dickey's barbecued meats are paired with a variety of southern sides. Committed to authentic barbecue, Dickey's never takes shortcuts—because real barbecue can't be rushed. With over 866 restaurants across eight concepts in the U.S. and several countries, Dickey's Barbecue Franchise and Dickey's Restaurant Brands continues to grow under the leadership of Roland Dickey, Jr., CEO of Dickey's Capital Group, and Laura Rea Dickey, CEO of Dickey's Barbecue Pit, Inc. Dickey's has been recognized on Newsweek's 2022 "America's Favorite Restaurant Chains" list, Nation's Restaurant News 2024 top fast-casual brands for value, and USA Today's 2021 Readers' Choice Awards. The brand has also ranked in the Top 20 of Fast Casual's "Top 100 Movers and Shakers" for four of the past five years. Additional accolades include Entrepreneur's Top 500 Franchise and Hospitality Technology's Industry Heroes list. The brand has been featured by Fox News, Forbes, Franchise Times, The Wall Street Journal, and People Magazine . For more information, visit www.dickeys.com . For information about becoming a franchise partner, visit www.dickeysfranchise.com . Attachment Bobby Rusnak © 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
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A victim of an elaborate online romance fraud has told BBC Scotland that she was completely convinced by deepfake videos used to scam her out of £17,000. Nikki MacLeod, 77, sent gift cards and made bank and Paypal transfers believing she was sending money to a real woman she was in an online relationship with. She said she was initially sceptical but felt reassured by video messages from the person, which she now knows were fake. She wants to warn others about the increasing use of AI technology by scammers. Nikki got in touch with BBC Radio Scotland's Morning Programme during the BBC's Scam Safe week last month. The retired lecturer from Edinburgh said: "I am not a stupid person but she was able to convince me that she was a real person and we were going to spend our lives together." The 77-year-old said she was lonely after losing her parents during lockdown and the end of a long-term relationship. She started speaking to people online and met the person she knows as Alla Morgan in a chat group. She was told this person was working on an oil rig in the North Sea and was asked to buy Steam gift cards to allow them to keep talking. These cards are typically used for buying video games. The person Nikki was chatting to told her she needed them to allow her to get an internet connection on the rig so that they could keep talking. Nikki said she was sceptical, but was persuaded to buy several hundred pounds worth of the cards. She repeatedly asked Alla Morgan for a live video call which was refused, or didn't work. It was then that she started receiving recorded video messages. "I had started to think, are you a real person?" Nikki said. "Then she sent me a video to say 'Hi Nikki, I am not a scammer, I am on my oil rig', and I was totally convinced by it. "A few weeks later she sent me another video, also on the oil rig with bad weather in the background. This was before she started asking me for all this money. " The images and video sent to Nikki were created using AI technology. There is no way of knowing where the image of the woman - Alla Morgan - came from. It could have been made using the face of a real person with no connection to the scammers and no idea that their identity was used. Nikki said documents, images and videos she was sent were enough to convince her to part with her cash. "She (Alla Morgan) said she was going to come and visit me and asked could I pay for her vacation from the oil rig to come to Scotland," Nikki said. Nikki was the sent details of a company Alla supposedly worked for and contacted by someone in their HR department who asked for money to pay for a helicopter. "She said she would pay me back, so I gave them $2,500," Nikki said. The scam finally came to light when Nikki was attempting to make another payment to a bank account, supposedly belonging to Alla Morgan, and her own bank informed her she was a victim of fraud. Police Scotland confirmed they are investigating the matter. BBC Scotland asked Dr Lynsay Shepherd, an expert in cybersecurity and human-computer interaction at Abertay University, to take a look at the video messages Nikki was sent. She said: "At first glance it looks legitimate, if you don't know what to look for, but if you look at the eyes – the eye movements aren't quite right. "There are a number of apps out there, even something as simple as a face swap app or filters, that can do this. You can sometimes see when people are talking, when you look around the jawline, the filter kind of slips a bit. "It is relatively straightforward to do." Dr Shepherd said online scammers often claim to be in a location where meeting face-to-face or even a live video call are not possible. "Oil rigs is one of the common ones - in the military on base, a doctor overseas - and then typically they build up that relationship and then say 'there has been an emergency, I need some money for travel'." Nikki said she sent around £17,000 in total to the scammers. Her bank and PayPal have been able to get around £7,000 of that money back, but she was persuaded by the scammers to send some of the money as personal payments - through the friends and family function on PayPal. This has not been recovered. PayPal said they do not cover personal payments under PayPal Buyer Protection. In a statement a spokesman added said: "We're very sorry to hear this has happened to Ms MacLeod. Authorised Push Payment (APP) fraud, which includes romance scams, is a threat that has grown across the industry." He urged PayPal users to be wary of "unusual payment requests" and added "always question uninvited approaches in case it's a scam." On their website, Steam warn of increasing reports of scammers coercing victims to purchase Steam wallet gift cards. The company said people should never give out a steam wallet gift card to a person they do not know." Police Scotland said an investigation is under way after the fraud was reported in October and inquiries are ongoing. A spokeswoman added: "We would ask people to be vigilant and encourage anyone who believes they may have been victim to fraud or a scam to contact police on 101." Nikki told us the scammers are continuing to contact her, most recently sending her a newspaper article, claiming Alla Morgan is now in a Turkish jail and needs more money. She wants others to learn from her experience. "These scammers don't have any empathy at all. It's their job and they are very good at it," she said. "The documents looked real, the videos looked real, the bank looked real. "With the introduction of artificial intelligence, every single thing can be fake."Iran said on Sunday that it would hold nuclear talks in the coming days with the three European countries that initiated a censure resolution against it adopted by the UN's atomic watchdog. Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said the meeting of the deputy foreign ministers of Iran, France, Germany and the United Kingdom would take place on Friday, without specifying a venue. "A range of regional and international issues and topics, including the issues of Palestine and Lebanon, as well as the nuclear issue, will be discussed," the spokesman said in a foreign ministry statement. Baghaei described the upcoming meeting as a continuation of talks held with the countries in September on the sidelines of the annual session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. On Thursday, the 35-nation board of governors of the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) adopted a resolution denouncing Iran for what it called a lack of cooperation. The move came as tensions ran high over Iran's atomic programme, which critics fear is aimed at developing a nuclear weapon -- something Tehran has repeatedly denied. In response to the resolution, Iran announced it was launching a "series of new and advanced centrifuges". Centrifuges enrich uranium transformed into gas by rotating it at very high speed, increasing the proportion of fissile isotope material (U-235). "We will substantially increase the enrichment capacity with the utilisation of different types of advanced machines," Behrouz Kamalvandi, Iran's atomic energy organisation spokesman, told state TV. The country, however, also said it planned to continue its "technical and safeguards cooperation with the IAEA". During a recent visit to Tehran by IAEA head Rafael Grossi, Iran agreed to the agency's demand to cap its sensitive stock of near weapons-grade uranium enriched up to 60 percent purity. - 'Doubts and ambiguities' - Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, in power since July and a supporter of dialogue with Western countries, has said he wants to remove "doubts and ambiguities" about his country's nuclear programme. In 2015, Iran and world powers reached an agreement that saw the easing of international sanctions on Tehran in exchange for curbs on its nuclear programme. But the United States unilaterally withdrew from the accord in 2018 under then-president Donald Trump and reimposed biting economic sanctions, which prompted Iran to begin rolling back on its own commitments. On Sunday afternoon, the United Kingdom confirmed the upcoming meeting between Iran and the three European countries. "We remain committed to taking every diplomatic step to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, including through snapback if necessary," London's Foreign Office said. The 2015 deal contains a "snapback" mechanism that can be triggered in case of "significant non-performance" of commitments by Iran, allowing many sanctions to be reimposed. Ali Vaez, an Iran expert with the International Crisis Group think tank, told AFP that Friday's meeting was set to happen earlier, but "those plans were derailed as a result of Iran-Israel tensions" over the Gaza war. Though the parties will be meeting "without knowing what the incoming Trump administration wants to do", Vaez said that "after a lose-lose cycle of mutual escalation, now both sides are back to realising that engagement might be the least costly option." Tehran has since 2021 decreased its cooperation with the IAEA by deactivating surveillance devices monitoring the nuclear programme and barring UN inspectors. At the same time, it has increased its stockpiles of enriched uranium and the level of enrichment to 60 percent. That level is close, according to the IAEA, to the 90 percent-plus threshold required for a nuclear warhead, and substantially higher than the 3.67 percent limit it agreed to in 2015. pdm/smw/ami Originally published as Iran says will hold nuclear talks with France, Germany, UK on Friday Breaking News Don't miss out on the headlines from Breaking News. Followed categories will be added to My News. More related stories Breaking News Left-wing candidate Orsi wins Uruguay presidential election Left-wing candidate Orsi wins Uruguay presidential election Read more Breaking News Petrol industry embraces plastics while navigating energy shift Petrol industry embraces plastics while navigating energy shift Read morePeaky Blinders creator teases the upcoming film ‘won’t be the end’ for the drama
QUEBEC CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 19, 2024-- H 2 O Innovation Inc. (“H 2 O Innovation” or the “Corporation”) is proud to announce the award of several capital equipment projects to its Water Technologies & Services (WTS) business line. This is the result of the strong work of our team and commitment towards delivering top of the class solutions to our clients. The Corporation is happy to announce that after having secured and performed the engineering portion of the work, it is now under contract for the fabrication and supply of its largest wastewater treatment facility in Canada. The Corporation will provide a 67,000 m 3 /day (17.7 MGD) 6-train ultrafiltration facility for the City of Innisfil, Ontario for the treatment of secondary effluent to minimize the discharge of phosphorous into Lake Simcoe. H 2 O Innovation had provided a 38,000 m 3 /day (10.04 MGD) drinking water facility to the City of Innisfil back in 2017. Another project is located in the Province of Quebec, Canada. The Naskapi Nation of Kawawachikamach is implementing a major upgrade to their drinking water facility. The Corporation provided the initial phase back in 2007 and has been providing maintenance and operation services since the original plant start-up. The expansion will include the addition of a second nanofiltration train, along with the associated pre and post treatment unit operations, to provide a total capacity of 1,100 m 3 /day (0.29 MGD). The southwestern part of Ontario, Canada, is also seeing the addition of a project. A new municipal wastewater treatment facility for a rapidly growing community will be implemented. The system will be a three train membrane bioreactor (MBR) using an enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) process to treat up to 886 m3/day (0.23 MDG). In an innovative delivery model, H 2 O Innovation will be supplying the biological and membrane tanks along with prefabricated buildings with all industrial mechanical equipment pre-installed, plumbed and wired to minimize on site installation and overall project cost as well as shorten the overall schedule. In Cheltenham, Maryland, a packaged membrane bioreactor (MBR) wastewater treatment system with the Maryland Environmental Service (MES) was confirmed. The system is designed to meet very stringent nutrient limits on the effluent for both nitrogen and phosphorus. A ceramic-based membrane solution was selected and will be implemented to treat the phase 1 flow of 11,500 m3/day (3.04 MGD). Finally, a new project in the United States will see the Corporation provide its third facility to a battery recycling company. The new 3-train, 4,900 m3/day (1.29 MGD) reverse osmosis (RO) project will complement the existing ones and is part of a wider partnership where the Corporation is also renting one of its mobile ultrafiltration-based FlexBox unit to this same client. “I am incredibly proud of our team for their relentless pursuit of excellence. Securing these projects is a significant milestone for us, reflecting our collective effort to innovate and lead in our industry. These new projects open exciting opportunities for us to enhance our offerings and better serve our clients. We are eager to leverage our expertise to drive success in these initiatives,” stated Frédéric Dugré, President, Chief Executive Officer and cofounder of H 2 O Innovation. About H 2 O Innovation Innovation is in our name, and it is what drives the organization. H 2 O Innovation is a water solutions company focused on providing best-in-class technologies and services to its customers. The Corporation’s activities rely on five pillars: (i) Water Technologies & Services (WTS) applies membrane technologies and engineering expertise to deliver equipment and services to municipal and industrial water, wastewater, and water reuse customers, (ii) Specialty Products (SP) is a set of businesses that manufacture and supply a complete line of specialty chemicals, consumables, and engineered products for the global water treatment industry, (iii) Operation & Maintenance (O&M) provides contract operations and associated services for water and wastewater treatment systems; (iv) Water Infrastructure Development (WID) is developing WaterHubs, through performance financing, our turn-key projects can be designed, built and operated at no upfront capital expense to our clients, and (v) Maple and Agri-food, offering a complete line of equipment dedicated to maple syrup production and the agri-food industry. Through innovation, we strive to simplify water. For more information, visit www.h2oinnovation.com . Source: H 2 O Innovation Inc. www.h2oinnovation.com View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241219064340/en/ CONTACT: Communication Department +1 418-688-0170 communication@h2oinnovation.com KEYWORD: UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA CANADA INDUSTRY KEYWORD: UTILITIES NATURAL RESOURCES ENVIRONMENT ENERGY ENGINEERING GREEN TECHNOLOGY OTHER NATURAL RESOURCES MANUFACTURING SOURCE: H2O Innovation Inc. Copyright Business Wire 2024. PUB: 12/19/2024 01:25 PM/DISC: 12/19/2024 01:24 PM http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241219064340/enNew York, November 22: The judge in the ‘hush money’ case against President-elect Donald Trump on Friday put off the sentencing indefinitely and indicated that he would consider throwing out the conviction. Judge Juan Merchan’s ruling sets the path for Trump to assume the presidency in January without the cloud of a sentencing verdict hanging over him. It is a temporary hold in an unprecedented case where a defendant convicted of criminal offences is elected president. After postponements, the case had been set to proceed next week. From the judge’s ruling, it appears that it could be resumed in 2029 when Trump ends his second term and will be 83 years old -- if it is not entirely dropped. Prosecutors Oppose Tossing Trump's Hush Money Conviction but Remain Open to Sentencing Delay. Trump’s federal cases accusing him of election interference and mishandling top secret documents are winding down with the likelihood of being withdrawn. State and local prosecutions are separate and federal officials have no authority over them. A Georgia state case against Trump alleging election interference in the 2020 election is still pending, although tied up in a web of accusations of prosecutorial misconduct. Merchan also allowed Trump’s defence team to file requests for dismissing the case by December 2, and for the prosecutors to file their response a week later. Trump was convicted in May of falsely showing on his account books as legal payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels who had claimed to have had a tryst with him. Donald Trump's Lawyers Urge Judge to Ignore Prosecutors and Dismiss Hush Money Conviction. Prosecutors made each of the cheques he wrote as a separate criminal offence showing that he was convicted of 34 criminal offences – a propaganda point for the election campaign of Vice President Kamala Harris. The case was brought by the local Manhattan prosecutor Alvig Bragg, who was elected to the position on a Democratic Party ticket, and the verdict was given by a jury made up of ordinary citizens. The case dragged on for several weeks requiring Trump to appear in court as a defendant leaving him free to campaign on weekends and on days the case was not being heard. The constraints and the convictions did not affect Trump’s showing in the election which he won with a majority of the popular votes. A factor weighing on Merchan was sentencing a defendant who would be president in less than two months would interfere with him exercising his office. Trump’s lawyers have argued that a Supreme Court verdict gave him broad immunity from prosecution and this will be litigated next month. Trump nominated his lead lawyer in the case, Todd Blanche, to be the deputy attorney general, and another lawyer on the defence team, Emil Bove, as the principal associate deputy attorney general. The two lawyers will be filing the papers to dismiss the case based on a Supreme Court verdict giving presidents immunity under certain circumstances. (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 23, 2024 12:04 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com ).ARKK And ARKQ: As Tech Advances, These Busted Growth ETFs May Reward Patient Buyers
By Ross Cristantiello The Boston Celtics traveled to the White House Thursday to meet with President Joe Biden and celebrate the franchise’s 18th NBA championship. The Celtics flew to Washington, D.C., on Wednesday and will stay in town for a game against the Washington Wizards on Friday. It is a longstanding tradition for American sports teams to meet with the president after winning a championship. The first visit from an organized sports team occurred in 1865, when President Andrew Johnson met with the Brooklyn Atlantics and Washington Nationals amateur clubs. President Ulysses S. Grant hosted the first professional team, the Cincinnati Red Stockings, in 1869. John F. Kennedy was the first president to host an NBA champion, when the Celtics visited in 1963 . Watch the ceremony below: Ross Cristantiello Ross Cristantiello, a general assignment news reporter for Boston.com since 2022, covers local politics, crime, the environment, and more. Boston.com Today Sign up to receive the latest headlines in your inbox each morning. Be civil. Be kind.Massive Walmart after Christmas sale just went live — 25 deals I’d shop this week
Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley isn’t on board with several of Trump’s Cabinet picks, she told listeners on her recent podcast episode of Nikki Haley Live. The former 2024 presidential candidate is concerned about some of Trump’s picks, but said she is looking at the policies for these nominations instead of personalities. She said Republican U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida will have “a lot of issues,” getting confirmed as Attorney General. “It’s hard to start a confirmation when you have allegations of illicit drug use and sex parties with minors,” Haley said of Gaetz. “So that’s going to be difficult. The same goes for Pete Hegseth, who was accused of sexual assault.” Gaetz withdrew his name to be Attorney General on Thursday. “While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition. There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle, thus I’ll be withdrawing my name from consideration to serve as Attorney General,” he posted on social media platform X. Gaetz has been accused of sexual misconduct allegations including having sex with a minor, which he has long denied. Haley said while the two have a right to defend themselves, they would have to answer to these allegations. Haley said Health and Human Services nominee, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who also ran as a 2024 presidential candidate as an Independent, is “not a health guy.” “He is not educated, trained or practiced in health at all,” Haley said, after explaining the role HHS has on society and the branches it covers, like the FDA and National Institutes of Health. When Kennedy dropped out of the presidential election, he asked his supporters to back Trump. At the time, Trump signaled he would consider Kennedy for a role in his administration. Haley also detailed some of his strongly Democratic views, including his stance on climate change and abortion. She said Kennedy said his and Trump’s positions could not be “further apart.” “Why are we putting someone that’s so ideologically opposed to Donald Trump’s views and Republican views? Why do we want that? You know, but what else do we know about his views?” Haley asked. Haley served under the Trump administration as U.N. Ambassador during his first term in office. She and Trump had a tumultuous relationship during their time campaigning against one another, often calling each other names and trading insults. Haley, however, said she would be voting for Trump months after she dropped out, and Trump said Haley would be a part of his administration again “in some form,” while he was campaigning. However, once Trump was elected, he made a social media post that said Haley would not be returning to work with him. She also has “major issues” on the nomination of Tulsi Gabbard, who was nominated for Director of National Intelligence, Haley said Wednesday. Haley talked about Gabbard’s history of criticizing and disagreeing with Trump on various national intelligence proposals. She also questioned Gabbard decisions like going to Syria in 2017 for a “photo op” with Bashar al-Assad, the current president of Syria, who was massacring his own people, Haley said. “Now, this to me is disgusting,” Haley said. “You can go back and look at a speech I gave holding up pictures of dead children who had been killed by chemical attacks. Yup, choked to death.” She said the Department of National Intelligence analyzes real threats, and it is not a place for Russian, Iranian, Syrian or Chinese sympathizers. ©2024 The State. Visit thestate.com . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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