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(PRNewsfoto/Avidity Biosciences, Inc.) SAN DIEGO , Nov. 21, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: RNA), a biopharmaceutical company committed to delivering a new class of RNA therapeutics called Antibody Oligonucleotide Conjugates (AOCsTM), today announced that on November 20, 2024, the Human Capital Management Committee of Avidity's Board of Directors granted non-qualified stock option awards to purchase an aggregate of 117,000 shares of its common stock and 58,500 restricted stock units ("RSUs") to twelve (12) new non-executive employees under the Avidity Biosciences, Inc. 2022 Employment Inducement Incentive Award Plan (the "2022 Inducement Plan"). The awards were granted as inducements material to the employees entering into employment with Avidity in accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4). The 2022 Inducement Plan is used exclusively for the grant of equity awards to individuals who were not previously employees of Avidity, or following a bona fide period of non-employment, as an inducement material to such individuals' entering into employment with Avidity, pursuant to Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4). The options have an exercise price of $43.65 per share, which is equal to the closing price of Avidity's common stock on The Nasdaq Global Market on November 20, 2024, or the vesting commencement date. The shares subject to the stock options will vest over four years, with 25% of the shares vesting on the one-year anniversary of the vesting commencement date and the balance of the shares vesting in a series of 36 successive equal monthly installments thereafter, subject to each employee's continued employment with Avidity on such vesting dates. The RSUs will vest in four equal installments on the first four anniversaries of the vesting commencement date, subject to each employee's continued employment with Avidity on such vesting dates. The awards are subject to the terms and conditions of the 2022 Inducement Plan and the terms and conditions of a stock option agreement or RSU agreement, as applicable, covering the grant. About Avidity Avidity Biosciences, Inc.'s mission is to profoundly improve people's lives by delivering a new class of RNA therapeutics - Antibody Oligonucleotide Conjugates (AOCsTM). Avidity is revolutionizing the field of RNA with its proprietary AOCs, which are designed to combine the specificity of monoclonal antibodies with the precision of oligonucleotide therapies to address targets and diseases previously unreachable with existing RNA therapies. Utilizing its proprietary AOC platform, Avidity demonstrated the first-ever successful targeted delivery of RNA into muscle and is leading the field with clinical development programs for three rare neuromuscular diseases: myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1), Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) and facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD). Avidity is also advancing two wholly-owned precision cardiology development candidates addressing rare genetic cardiomyopathies. In addition, Avidity is broadening the reach of AOCs with its advancing and expanding pipeline including programs in cardiology and immunology through key partnerships. Avidity is headquartered in San Diego, CA. For more information about our AOC platform, clinical development pipeline and people, please visit www.aviditybiosciences.com and engage with us on LinkedIn and X . Investor Contact: Mike MacLean (619) 837-5014 investors@aviditybio.com Media Contact: Navjot Rai (619) 837-5016 media@aviditybio.com View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/avidity-biosciences-announces-inducement-grants-under-nasdaq-listing-rule-5635c4-302313526.html SOURCE Avidity Biosciences, Inc.Jacob Hansen, CEO of ALA Engineering, explains how the company's automated feed truck works during the Nebraska Ag Expo on Dec. 12 at Sandhills Global Event Center. Driving a feed truck on a farm means steering a 60,000-pound vehicle inches away from a concrete feed trough that would wreck the truck. While augers are shoveling food out of the truck to the hungry cattle below, drivers have to drive perfectly straight. “It's just one of the most demanding jobs in one of the worst environments out there,” said Jason Hansen, the CEO of ALA Engineering. “And so food truck drivers, specifically, do not stick around very long.” ALA Engineering, a startup based in Scottsbluff that also has an office at Nebraska Innovation Campus, hopes to change the livestock industry with driverless technology. The company showed off its concept for a driverless feed truck at the Nebraska Ag Expo in Lincoln earlier this month. Hansen said the truck could help farmers deal with labor shortages and food costs. People are also reading... The ALA Navigator is still being developed, but the company brought its technology attached to a normal feed truck to the Ag Expo. ALA Engineering's driverless feed truck aims to help farmers who have to drive large trucks with precision to feed cattle. Once the truck is on the market, it would drive a predetermined route with lane limits. The truck will also have sensors in order to see any obstacles on the road ahead while it is dumping feed. Hansen, who studied software engineering at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, said the predetermined routes that will be used by the truck means that autonomous vehicles in agricultural settings are safer than a driverless car in city traffic. “When larger robotaxi companies and stuff make big public mistakes, it shines negatively on the autonomy industry as a whole,” Hansen said. “And it's worth knowing that agricultural and industrial and off-highway autonomy is a lot different than kind of urban autonomy, especially when it comes to safety.” Although the company’s trucks may be less likely to crash, there are still big stakes. “If you plant a week late it's a big deal,” Hansen said. “If you don't feed cattle for a week, it's the end of the world.” The engineering company is building multiple different sensors into the truck so that it can operate day after day in whatever weather conditions a state like Nebraska might throw at it. The backup sensors even have backups. Asher Khor, the senior embedded engineer for the company and a UNL graduate, said the truck can be accurate within less than an inch. Asher Khor (left), the senior embedded engineer for ALA Engineering, shows off how the company's automated feed truck at the Nebraska Ag Expo on Dec. 12 at Sandhills Global Event Center. "If you're a few inches off, you will hit the bunk," Khor said. "They're major vehicles and so we need really, really precise accuracy of the vehicle." The truck is meant to solve problems like inaccuracies in food distribution and crashes. Hansen also said the agriculture industry as a whole has experienced labor shortages. The average farmer was unable to hire 21% of the workforce they would have hired under normal circumstances, according to a 2022 National Council of Agricultural Employers survey. The vehicle is set to go into production in 2026, Hansen said. Before then, the company will work on commercial pilot programs and complying with different regulations. The truck will be ALA Engineering's first product. Hansen said the company had built a driver-assistance program but decided to keep engineers working in research and development, building toward the end goal of an autonomous vehicle. The startup’s goal isn’t to replace all of a farmer’s trucks or employees, Hansen said. He said good employees are often more useful elsewhere in a stockyard. “As your oldest truck ages out of your fleet, bring in one of ours,” Hansen said. “As you lose an employee, or you have an unfilled position, bring in one of our trucks.” Download the new Journal Star News Mobile App 15 things invented in Nebraska Round baler The invention of the round baler is credited to the Luebben family of Sutton, with the patent issued in the early 1900s. This advertisement of Ummo Luebben circulated in 1909 and mentions a Beatrice manufacturer of the invention. Kool-Aid Edwin E. Perkins, who walked 3 miles to school as a child, began mixing up potential products in his mother's Hendley kitchen at age 12 or 13. Perkins sold a number of products, including a tobacco habit remedy, and moved with his wife to Hastings in 1920. In 1927, Perkins mixed up the first packet of what would become Kool-Aid. Vise Grip Vise Grip locking pliers, developed by Danish immigrant William Petersen and patented in 1924, took a strong hold on the small town of DeWitt. Petersen began production at his blacksmith shop, but by 1928 the company he founded had more than 600 employees. The metal tools were popular additions to toolboxes because they allowed a craftsman to grab a nut or a bolt and hold onto it, leaving his hands free. In 2002 the company was sold by remaining family members, and it closed its doors in 2008. Vise-Grips, although not made in DeWitt anymore, are still sold in almost every hardware store. Dorothy Lynch dressing Among the now nationally famous brands and inventions from Nebraska is Dorothy Lynch’s salad dressing, which owes its invention to the eponymous Dorothy and the American Legion Club in St. Paul, Nebraska, nearly 75 years ago. Car rentals Appropriately located in a former horse stable, the Ford Livery Company at 1314 Howard St. in Omaha was America's first car rental company, dreamed up in 1916 by Joe Saunders. He and his brothers expanded their company, later renamed Saunders Drive It Yourself System, to 56 cities by 1926. They sold to Avis in 1955. Reuben sandwich From historian Jim McKee: The Reuben sandwich is often claimed by the Schimmel's Blackstone Hotel in Omaha, but other sources are New York City grocer/delicatessen owner Arnold (Arthur) Reuben or Reuben Kolakofsky, whose Reuben sandwiches supposedly dated from 1914. Blackstone did develop butter brickle ice cream. 911 Cary Steele checks one of his seven computer monitors while taking a 911 call in 2014 at the Lincoln Emergency Communications Center. Although the system was first used in Alabama, Lincoln is credited as the home of the 911 system's invention. Eskimo Pie Inspiration for the chocolate-coated ice cream bar came from a candy store in Onawa, Iowa, in 1920. But it wasn’t until owner and creator Christian Kent Nelson took his invention to a Nebraska chocolatier named Russell Stover that the Eskimo Pie went into mass production. Many variations of the delicious treat are available in grocery and convenience stores worldwide. Railroad engineer invented the ski lift -- in Nebraska Union Pacific Railroad mechanical engineering employees determine a comfortable speed at which the world's first ski chairlift should operate during a test at the railroad's Omaha railcar and locomotive repair shop complex in the summer of 1936. The next time you sit on a ski lift on the way to the top of a mountain, think of bananas and the Union Pacific Railroad. Credit them with the modern-day chairlift system used by ski resorts around the globe. Seventy-five years ago, Jim Curran, a structural engineer with U.P., came up with the idea of adapting a system used to load bunches of bananas onto boats into one to move people up steep, snow-covered slopes. His design called for replacing the hooks for bananas with chairs for skiers to sit on while wearing skis. The chairs would be suspended from a single cable running overhead. Curran's idea was so out of the box for its day that his co-workers thought it was too dangerous and his boss tried to shelve it. Fortunately, Charlie Proctor, a consultant brought in by the railroad to help plan the Sun Valley Resort in Idaho, saw Curran's design, which he had slipped in with some approved designs, and thought otherwise. Proctor, a famous skier from Dartmouth College, convinced the railroad's top management to allow Curran to make his idea a reality. This winter ski season, the Union Pacific and Sun Valley Resort are marking the 75th anniversary of the world's first chairlift operation, which was invented not in the mountains but in the flatlands of Nebraska in Omaha. "From our side ... it's kind of unusual that a railroad would invent a chairlift," U.P. spokesman Mark Davis said. The railroad did so to serve a need, "and it turned out to be groundbreaking for the skiing industry," he said. During the 1930s, Union Pacific Chairman W.A. Harriman saw Americans beginning to embrace winter sports and knew his railroad operated through some of the most scenic and mountainous territory in the western United States, according to the railroad's history. Harriman's vision: Develop a world-class winter sports resort served by the Union Pacific. Other railroads were thinking the same way. Harriman enlisted Austrian sportsman Count Felix Schaffgotsch to find land for such a resort. In winter 1935, the count came across the area that would become the world-famous Sun Valley Resort in south-central Idaho, about 100 miles northeast of Boise. "Among the many attractive spots I have visited, this (location) combines more delightful features than any place I have seen in the United States, Switzerland or Austria, for a winter sports resort," Schaffgotsch wrote to Harriman. Based on Schaffgotsch's recommendation, the railroad bought 4,300 acres adjacent to the Sawtooth Mountain National Forest. The Sawtooth Mountains, running east and west, would protect the future resort from northern winds. The mountains also surrounded a small basin, with hills and slopes largely free of timber. Snowfall and sunshine were abundant. And natural hot springs would provide outdoor swimming year-round. Schaffgotsch had found the perfect spot for a winter sports resort. Construction of the ski lodge and other facilities began in April 1936. Meanwhile, nearly 1,200 miles away in Omaha, members of the railroad's engineering department were investigating ways to transport skiers up slopes, including by rope tows, J-bars and cable cars. But those designs were put aside after Curran's chairlift idea was championed by Proctor. Soon prototypes of the lift were being built and tested at the railroad's locomotive and railroad car repair shops, on land that is now home to the Qwest Center Omaha and the new downtown baseball stadium. To help determine how fast a chairlift should travel up a mountainside, engineers attached one to the side of a truck for tests. Because it was summer and relatively flat in Omaha, engineers wore roller skates to simulate skis running over snow. Their conclusion: 4 to 5 mph would be a comfortable speed to pick up and drop off skiers. It's the summer of 1936, in Omaha, as the world's first snow ski chairlift is ready for a round of testing to determine a comfortable speed for snow skiers to get on and off the lift. The world's first two first snow ski chairlifts were debuted by Union Pacific Railroad at the opening of its Sun Valley, Idaho ski resort in December 1936. (Courtesy Union Pacific Railroad) When Union Pacific opened the Sun Valley resort on Dec. 21, 1936, the world's first two chairlifts went into operation. As with anything new, it took skiers awhile to get used to the newfangled invention that changed the sport forever. The railroad sold the Sun Valley Resort in 1964. Frozen TV dinners In 1896, 17-year-old Carl A. Swanson borrowed enough money from his sisters to travel from his native Sweden to Omaha. Without knowing a word of English, he began working on a farm near Wahoo, then moved to Omaha, where he continued studying English, business and accounting. While working in a grocery store, he met John Hjerpe, who sold produce for farmers on a commission, and in 1898 went to work for him. After saving $125, Swanson put his nest egg into a partnership with Hjerpe and Frank Ellison for a net capital of $456. Although the enterprise was intended to be called the Hjerpe Commission Co., the sign painter accidentally eliminated a letter and the firm was spelled Jerpe from that day forward. In 1905, the partnership became a corporation with $10,000 in capital and within a decade moved from a commission firm to paying cash for all purchases. With Ellison's death at the beginning of World War I, the corporation assumed his stock and began moving seriously into butter production and, a short time later, into poultry in general. Swanson bought out Hjerpe's interest in 1928 but retained the name Jerpe. About 1923, Clarence Birdseye developed fast-freezing as a method of not only preserving food but also retaining fresh flavor, which had not worked well with conventional freezing. As the Depression lessened, Jerpe Co. became a distributor for Birdseye, which was purchased by General Foods and inexplicably named Birds Eye. By the beginning of World War II, Jerpe's had grown to the point where Swanson was known as the "Butter King," one of the four largest creameries in the United States. During the war, production again was diverted, with the firm becoming one of the largest suppliers of poultry, eggs and powdered eggs to the military. At the end of the war, the firm's name was changed to C.A. Swanson & Sons, its major brands being called "Swanson Ever Fresh." With Carl Swanson's death in 1949, management was assumed by sons Gilbert and Clarke, who had been apprenticing for the position for some time. A year later, after considerable experimentation with crust recipes, the company introduced a frozen chicken pot pie using some of Birdseye's techniques. Although some of the story of frozen dinners may be apocryphal, it is simply too good not to repeat. Two ill-fated versions of the idea, the Frigi-Dinner and One-Eye Eskimo, already had been attempted. Then an overpurchase of 500,000 pounds -- 10 refrigerated boxcars -- of turkeys sent the Swansons scrambling for a solution. One of the less probable versions of the incident said that the only way the boxcar refrigeration worked was when the cars were in motion, which necessitated their constant movement from Omaha to the east, then back. Back in Omaha, Gerry Thomas discarded the previous metal trays and perfected an aluminum compartmentalized container with turkey, cornbread dressing and peas, which could be retailed for 98 cents. Because the box design resembled a rectangular television screen, the product was dubbed the TV Dinner. Unsure of the salability, 5,000 were produced and instantly sold in the first year, 1952. The second year, mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce were added and an astounding 10,000,000 were sold. Not resting on the success of the TV Dinner, 1953 also saw the Swansons as one of the nation's largest margarine producers. Despite their success in butter and margarine, both products were discontinued in 1954 to allow the company to concentrate on its main items of canned chicken fricassee, boned chicken and turkey, frozen chickens, drumsticks, chicken pot pies and TV Dinners. In April 1955, Swanson merged its more than 4,000 employees and 20 plants with the Campbell Soup Co., which ultimately dropped the famous TV Dinner label, thinking it limited their market. Still generically thought of as TV dinners, the frozen dinner joins butter brickle ice cream, raisin bran and maybe even the Reuben sandwich as an Omaha original. Historian Jim McKee, who still writes with a fountain pen, invites comments or questions. Write in care of the Journal Star or e-mail jim@leebooksellers.com . SAFER barrier a key player in motorsports safety Dean Sicking of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Midwest Roadside Safety Facility examines a SAFER barrier on display at the Smith Collection Museum of American Speed on Friday, Oct. 21, 2011. (ROBERT BECKER/Lincoln Journal Star) Don't turn until you know where to turn. Mac Demere watched the car in front of him lose control and veer left toward the inside of the track. He tried to anticipate the car's next move, not wanting to turn until he knew where the other car was headed next. Don't turn until you know where to turn. He finally swerved far to the track's outside. But as the other car regained traction, it veered sharply to the right, directly toward Demere, and Demere's car smashed into its right side. "I can't tell you what caused him to lose control," Demere said of the 1983 crash at Watkins Glen International in upstate New York. "It happens so fast." Demere, now 57, walked away from that crash, but the other driver suffered a broken ankle. Sometimes, no matter how hard you try, you crash, said Demere, a former racer from South Carolina and longtime motorsports journalist. That certainly seemed to be the lesson at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway a week ago when 15 cars crashed, killing two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon. He was the first IndyCar driver to die on a track since Paul Dana was killed during a practice run at Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2006. On Oct. 16, two cars went airborne -- Wheldon's and Will Power's. Wheldon hit a catch fence built to protect spectators from crash debris. He died later at a hospital of head injuries. Power hit a barrier designed by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Midwest Roadside Safety Facility. He walked away. The tragically different fates of Wheldon and Power have raised concerns about the catch fence at NASCAR and IndyCar tracks and have highlighted the safety performance of the UNL-designed SAFER barrier. Dean Sicking, director of the safety facility at UNL, said the SAFER -- or Steel and Foam Energy Reduction -- barriers now are in place at all NASCAR and IndyCar tracks. There have been no fatalities involving crashes into those barriers since 2004, when all of the barriers were fully installed at NASCAR tracks. Before those barriers were installed, 1 to 1.5 drivers died each year at NASCAR tracks alone, Sicking said. In an especially cruel span of 10 months in 2000 and 2001, NASCAR crashes claimed the lives of budding stars Adam Petty, Kenny Irwin Jr. and Tony Roper, and one of the sport's legends, Dale Earnhardt. The trapezoidal barriers designed at UNL are made of insulation foam that is waterproof and effective at absorbing the impact of cars going well over 100 mph, Sicking said. Steel tubes serve as a barrier between the foam blocks and track. The SAFER barriers protect drivers from the unforgiving nature of concrete walls. Sicking -- whose office is decorated with a photo of him shaking hands with former President George W. Bush, as well as numerous awards -- related the story of how the UNL center got the contract to design the barriers. In 1998, Tony George, the longtime former IndyCar president and Indianapolis Motor Speedway CEO, wanted a new racetrack barrier. The concrete barriers simply weren't good enough. IndyCar designers had developed a new barrier made of sheets of plastic, but it broke into 50- to 100-pound chunks that littered the speedway when hit too hard. George asked the UNL center to improve the design. "He said, ‘Can you fix this?'" Sicking said. "We never admit we can't do something." Initially, Sicking wasn't convinced it would be worth the extra effort. Then his assistant director, Ron Faller, convinced him it would drive the UNL center to find new solutions to road safety and new materials with which to build them. Sicking agreed and asked George for $1 million. "He said, ‘When can you start?'" It didn't take the UNL center long to figure out the IndyCar plastic barrier would never perform as well as foam, and Sicking worked to convince a skeptical George. Finally, George relented. In 2002, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway installed the SAFER barriers, and, seeing how well they performed, NASCAR CEO Bill France Sr. ordered them installed at all NASCAR speedways by the end of 2004 at a cost of $100 million. The UNL center oversaw installation. "No one can ever put it in right," Sicking said, laughing. The barrier has earned the UNL center numerous awards, including the prestigious 2002 Louis Schwitzer Award, presented in conjunction with the Indianapolis 500. IndyCar senior technical director Phil Casey called SAFER barriers the greatest achievement for safety in automobile racing. The barriers were installed at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in 2003, and the speedway where both Petty and Irwin Jr. died has had no fatalities or serious injuries since, said speedway spokeswoman Kristen Costa. "It's better on impact. It moves with the vehicle," she said. Costa said the speedway reconfigured its catch fence in 2009 to make it safer as well. Sicking said catch fences at motorsports facilities need to be re-examined. "The catch fence is a difficult safety issue, a tough nut to crack, but I think it can be," he said. Sicking said IndyCar is reluctant to invest the large amount of money required to redesign the catch fence, and NASCAR isn't as interested in redesigning it as its cars rarely go airborne like the open-wheel Indy cars are prone to do. While nothing has been determined, the UNL center could end up leading the investigation into the crash that killed Wheldon, as it did with the 2001 crash that killed Earnhardt, Sicking said. The UNL center has examined nearly 2,000 crashes under federal contract. "Any time you have a big wreck, we normally get to look at it," he said. Demere, the former racer who now is pursuing a master's in journalism from UNL, said it appears Wheldon tried to slow down by lifting his foot off the accelerator and tried to direct his car toward the gearbox of the slowing car in front of him. But his car's nose lifted, and, traveling at more than 200 mph, his car quickly took to the air. With 15 cars involved, it was simply impossible for Wheldon to avoid the carnage, Demere said. He said drivers try not to think about getting seriously injured or killed while they're racing. They simply try to focus on the track and the racers around them. "We all know that it might happen to us," he said. "Quite frankly, I'm surprised that it didn't happen to me." CliffsNotes CliffsNotes study guide for "To Kill a Mockingbird." Before the Internet and Wikipedia, the distinctive yellow-and-black covers of CliffsNotes adorned the bookshelves of many a college and high school student. The series of study guides (which are not to be used as a substitute for reading the actual text, OK?) was launched in Lincoln by Cliff Hillegass and his wife Catherine. From the original 16 Shakespeare titles, CliffsNotes has grown to include hundreds of works and has saved many a student. Crete woman invented today's voting booths The canvas-draped voting booth is still produced in Crete by the Douglas Manufacturing Company. Found in its voting materials catalogue, the booth remains in use in hundreds, if not thousands, of locations across the U.S. Nebraska history shows many inventions have originated in the Cornhusker state, some by women and a few that have lasted for more than a century. One of them that is often overlooked began with a promise and came to be after a dream by a Crete woman. John Quincy Robb’s daughter Elizabeth Jane was born in Washington, Illinois, in 1858, but the family moved to a farm near Tecumseh a short time later. Elizabeth married William Wallace Douglas and moved to Missouri, then to Glenwood, Iowa, before moving to Crete near the beginning of the 20th century. Although both were teachers, William was employed by the Burlington Railroad as a land agent. In 1904, Elizabeth attended a talk by a missionary from Tibet sponsored by a Crete Methodist church and was so taken by his story that she pledged $20,000 to his campaign. Not only was this an incredibly large amount of money, she had no idea where she might come up with it. That night, Elizabeth dreamed of “an old man with a long white beard who told her to make a steel collapsible voting booth,” which would ensure her wealth enough to fulfill her promise and prosper. The concept of voting booths at the time came from the introduction of the Australian balloting system and employed wooden booths. Because of the waste and amount of labor involved in building, then dismantling them, demand for a lightweight, collapsible, reusable booth that could be quickly reassembled by unskilled labor was obvious. The only obstacle was manufacturing a booth with those requirements that also would meet all local and national requirements. The next morning, Elizabeth began to build a prototype with paper, pasteboard and pins. With the idea and working model, the next step was securing a patent. She contacted Albert Litle Johnson, C.C. White’s partner and brother-in-law at Crete Mills, for financial help. Patent 828935A was issued to Johnson and Elizabeth Douglas in August 1906. Dempster Manufacturing in Beatrice then built a small number of booths that were sold locally. In 1909, the Douglas family moved to Los Angeles, where a small factory was built and 1,000 two-stall booths with red, white and blue canvas screens were sold to a local government with William as salesman. Within months, he sold an additional 4,000 booths for $40,000. The family returned to Crete in 1912 and leased property at 1530 Pine St. from the Burlington Railroad, where a factory was established. In less than a decade, a new building had been constructed and employed 10 workers with four salesmen. Elizabeth designed a new booth concept in 1923 resulting in another patent in her name alone the following year. Although William died in 1930, the business prospered until 1945, when the factory burned. A new building was quickly constructed. Elizabeth died in Friend in 1952, but Douglas Manufacturing continued in family ownership. I.B.M. approached the firm in 1970 and subsequently contracted for Douglas to build metal media storage containers. 1980 saw a second fire but the facility was again rebuilt with an expansion. In 1990, the leased land was purchased from Burlington and two years later a third fire was met with yet another expansion, with the firm reporting having 25 employees. Today, Douglas Manufacturing still builds voting booths with as many as five stalls per unit, now using aluminum instead of steel and vinyl attached with Velcro in place of canvas. Elizabeth and William’s great-grandson Roger C. Douglas is now president of the firm, which also produces ballot boxes, election signs, media storage boxes and even flash drive containers. Patents secured through the years for ideas never produced included retractable steps for Pullman railroad cars, a mail cart and shut-off valves for gasoline pumps. Sadly, the company is closing. Douglas broke the news Dec. 30 to the four remaining workers, according to longtime employee Tim Smejdir, who said business had been "very slow, so the decision was made to terminate." Douglas is selling or auctioning equipment and plans to retire, Smejdir said. Douglas Manufacturing was the oldest manufacturer of election equipment in the nation. Interesting, too, is that the election supply company was formed by a woman over a decade before women received the right to vote. Nebraska's connection to the McRib Dr. Roger Mandigo, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln professor of animal science poses with a McRib sandwich inside a meat locker at the UNL Animal Science Complex on Thursday, November 4th, 2010. Mandigo invented a process to bind meat together into different shapes. The technology is often associated with the famous McRib sandwich. Move over, Richie Ashburn and Bob Gibson. Another Nebraskan has made it to the hall of fame. Of course, University of Nebraska-Lincoln meat scientist Roger Mandigo never had Ashburn's ability to hit to all fields or Gibson's ability to back batters off the plate with an inside fastball. His induction Saturday in Scottsdale, Ariz., was into the Meat Industry Hall of Fame. And his biggest claim to fame outside that industry is research that led to the introduction of McDonald's McRib sandwich in 1981. His company is no less exclusive. Among the 10 other honorees were Col. Harland Sanders, founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken; Dave Thomas,founder of Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers; and Ray Kroc, founder of McDonald's. And it just happens that Mandigo's return coincides with what the Wall Street Journal describes as the first nationwide featuring of Mc-Donald's McRib sandwich at 14,000 restaurants, including more than a dozen in Lincoln,in 16 years. Wouldn't this be a great time for a big guy - squeezed into a small, obscure, windowless office during an $18.3 million renovation at the Animal Science Building - to step up, at last, and claim credit for his highprofile work? "I get credit for inventing the McRib fairly often," Mandigo conceded in an interview earlier this week. But taking credit was not something he did back in 1981. And he won't be doing it now, in his 44th year at UNL. That's because, despite common misperception, it's just not true. "We played an important role in the technology to bind pieces of meat to each other.I didn't invent the McRib sandwich," he said. "Mc-Donald's did that." All this is said with the kind of smiling patience that a McDonald's associate is supposed to demonstrate when asked for the 44th time during the lunch rush to hold the pickles. Pickle slices, by the way, are part of the standard preparation of the McRib. As its ravenous fans, including Steve Glass of Walton, know so well, a McRib is a pork patty that's also garnished with raw onions and smothered in barbecue sauce. Glass, 47, had two McRibs on his lunch tray Thursday as he made his way to a table at the McDonald's near the intersection of 10th Street and Cornhusker Highway. That's right, two. "I haven't decided whether to eat the one now or eat it later,"he said. Rapid progress on the first one seemed to leave the choice between one and two very much open to question for a guy who likes "something different - not a burger." Glass is not one to worry about what's under the barbecue sauce."It's like a hotdog," he said. "What's in a hotdog? If it tastes good, go ahead." Decades ago, it was Mandigo who was going ahead with a research initiative launched by the National Pork Producers Council. Its members were looking for another reliable source of demand for pork shoulder. There were never any royalties associated with the results, Nebraska's newest hall of famer said. And to this day, the McRib comes and goes from the McDonald's menu for reasons that have to do with its intense popularity and a national supply of pork trimmings that's typically a lot more limited than the supply of beef trimmings. "If you suddenly start to buy a large amount of that material,"said Mandigo,"the price starts to rise." As the cost to McDonald's rises, the McRib tends to go out of circulation again. And then the same parts of a hog tend to flow back into the processing lines for Spam, Vienna sausages and other specialized products. Anything else that goes into periodic McRib feeding frenzies is not for Mandigo to analyze. "It's a function of a business strategy and that's McDonald's decision, not mine." The official word on that subject comes from Ashlee Yingling at the headquarters of McDonald's USA. The McRib is in something called "a national limited time promotion for the month of November in the U.S.," Yingling said by email. This is only the third time that's happened in the 29 years since it hit the market. The rest of the time, the company has chosen a regional strategy. "To keep it relevant and appealing," Yingling said, "it will continue to be offered as a limited-time promotion on a regional basis." Does Mandigo eat this sandwich that he did NOT invent? "Every chance I get," he said. Harold Edgerton made the invisible visible A bullet from a .22 caliber gun starts to burst from the side of a balloon held by Harold E. Edgerton in his Stroboscopic Light Laboratory at MIT in Cambridge, Mass., in 1959. An electronic photo flash invented by Edgerton stopped the motion of the bullet with a minuscule-of-a-second flash. Flash and camera were operated by sound of explosion picked up by microphone just below the balloon. Virtually no one, anywhere in the world, is unfamiliar with the iconic photos of a drop of milk above a white haloed crown just as the previous drop hits a flat surface, or a bullet as it exits a just-pierced apple. Few outside the state, however, realize that Harold Edgerton is a native son and graduate of the University of Nebraska. Harold Eugene Edgerton was born in Fremont on April 6, 1903. Harold’s father, Frank, was born in Iowa, then graduated from the University of Nebraska in 1900 as president of his senior class. After teaching in the Fremont public schools, he returned to Lincoln on the staff of the then-new Lincoln Star. After earning a law degree from George Washington University, Frank again returned to Lincoln in 1911, becoming the assistant attorney general of Nebraska and prominent in state politics before becoming county attorney in Hamilton County. Harold’s interest in science came early; in 1910, he told of attempting to build a searchlight on the roof of the family home and realizing tin cans were unable to produce a tight beam of light. While attending junior and senior high school in Aurora, he became interested in photography and, with the help of an uncle, set up his own darkroom. In 1921, Harold entered the University of Nebraska and at his father’s suggestion, he earned half of his tuition by wiring Lincoln homes for electricity and working on a line gang for the Nebraska Power & Light Company. It was here that he observed how, in the darkest night, his coworkers became suddenly visible in lightning flashes and just as suddenly again were invisible. As a student, Harold joined Acacia, chose a major in electrical engineering and was active in the annual E-Week open houses. Interestingly, although there is no record of which exhibits Edgerton participated in, one of the demonstrations during his student days involved stop-motion photography that employed either 120 flashes per second or an exposure of 1/50,000ths of a second depending on which report is to be believed. The demonstration featured an electric fan with the letter N painted on the blades. The room was darkened, the “strobe light synchronized to the fan, thus making the N stand still ... people could hardly believe their eyes.” After graduating from Nebraska with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1925, Edgerton moved first to Schenectady, N.Y., then entered MIT. He received his master's degree, having developed the stroboscope, which employed a reusable flash bulb that was linked to a camera. Edgerton married his high school sweetheart, Esther Garrett, in 1927, received his doctorate in 1931 and became an associate professor at MIT. As he further perfected his stop-motion photography, some of his work was shown at the Royal Photographic Society’s convention in London. In the 1930s, Edgerton and two of his students formed Edgerton, Germeshausen & Grier, later becoming simply E.G.&G. Corp., which manufactured Rapatronic cameras, consulted with the U.S. Army during World War II, had contracts to do photographic research surrounding atomic explosions for the Atomic Energy Commission, was instrumental in the establishment of the New England Aquarium in Boston and ultimately had 47 operating divisions with more than 23,000 employees in several countries. Often forgotten is Edgerton’s film “Quicker 'n a Wink,” which won an Academy Award for best short subject in 1941. Myriad awards followed, with perhaps the most prestigious being the Medal of Freedom for his nighttime reconnaissance photos during WWII. In 1947, his photo essay on hummingbirds was published in National Geographic magazine, and in 1953, he began working with Jacques-Yves Cousteau to develop an underwater camera using side-scan sonar technology. These experiments led to discovering the USS Monitor, which sank in 1862, and producing the first real photos of the Titanic in 1986-87. Closer to home, in October 1967, Edgerton donated two strobe lights to be mounted on Nebraska’s State Capitol tower as an aircraft warning meant to be visible for 150 miles when extended to their operational capacity, seemingly to fulfill federal aeronautics regulations. Working with Bob Newell, the Capitol building superintendent, Edgerton had his mother standing by to activate the experiment. The low-power version of the lights on the east and west sides of the building were turned on as she said “let there be light,” as instructed by her son, and almost immediately complaints began to pour in. The experiment lasted only briefly before being abandoned. Ultimately, the strobe light was perfected to the point where the light burst lasted only one-billionth of a second with his stop-motion photos of bullets, hummingbirds, Stonehenge, milk droplets, etc., known worldwide. Edgerton died at MIT on Jan. 4, 1990, and five years later the Edgerton Explorit Center opened as a museum in his honor in Aurora. Reach the writer at nfranklin@journalstar.com or 402-473-7391. On Twitter @NealHFranklin The business news you need Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly. Business Reporter {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.Biggest tech trends to expect in 2025: AI, agents, and AR, oh my!
AFTER much speculation the first Riyadh Season card of 2025 is now official and it promises to be a very special night of boxing. The announcement was made tonight by Turki Alalshikh on social media platform X with promoters Frank Warren and Eddie Hearn following suit. On February 22 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia the undisputed light heavyweight title will once again be on the line when champion Artur Beterbiev, 21-0 (20 KOs), faces Dmitry Bivol, 23-1 (12 KOs), in a rematch four months on from their first fight. That October night Beterbiev squeaked past Bivol by split decision to take home all four world titles. The result was a contentious one, however, and now the top two at 175lbs will run it back. IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois, 22-2 (21 KOs), makes the second defence of his belt against former WBO titlist Joseph Parker, 35-3 (23 KOs). The Brit comes into the bout having knocked out former divisional boss Anthony Joshua but faces a rejuvenated Parker who has scored wins against Deontay Wilder and Zhilei Zhang. Shakur Stevenson, 22-0 (10 KOs) makes his first appearance on a Riyadh Season card when Matchroom’s latest marquee signing defends his WBC lightweight title against the up and coming Floyd Schofield, 18-0 (12 KOs). Stevenson had hoped to face Golden Boy Promotions’ lightweight star William Zepeda but the Mexican withdrew because of injury giving Schofield the biggest fight of his career. Britain could have another world champion by the end of the night if Hamzah Sheeraz, 21-0 (17 KOs) can dethrone WBC middleweight champion Carlos Adames, 24-1 (18 KOs). Promoter Frank Warren confirmed weeks ago that his middleweight star would fight for a world title next year with many believing it would come against the current 160lbs number one Zhanibek Alimkhanuly. That fight was put to one side, however, when Sheeraz withdrew from his mandatory position from the WBO to focus instead on the green and gold belt. The lively super welterweight scene adds another intriguing fight to its list on February 22 when Vergil Ortiz Jr, 22-0 (21 KOs), does battle with Israil Madrimov, 10-1-1 (7 KOs) for the WBC’s Interim 154lb strap. It remains to be seen, though, if Madrimov will fight on December 21 in Riyadh against Serhii Bohachuk. Their scheduled bout comes nine weeks before facing Ortiz Jr. The latter was linked to a fight against Jaron Ennis but with no agreement made the unbeaten 26-year-old gets to pit his wits against the former WBA champion Madrimov who lost narrowly to Terence Crawford in August. Another heavyweight battles lands in Riyadh on the same night when Zhilei Zhang, 27-2-1 (22 KOs), and Agit Kabayel, 25-0 (17 KOs), lock horns for the WBC Interim heavyweight belt. Zhang returned to winning way beating Wilder last time out while Kabayel has made the most of his slots on Riyadh Season cards impressing against Arslanbek Makhmudov and Frank Sanchez. Rounding off the announcement is a fight which could easily top a televised card in the UK. Joshua Buatsi, 19-0 (13 KOs), puts his world title aspirations on the line when he defends his WBO Interim belt against Callum Smith, 30-2 (22 KOs). Buatsi looked at his spiteful best beating Willy Hutchinson in September while Smith, who lost to Beterbiev in January, continues to pursue his ambitions of becoming a two-weight world champion. The hard-hitting Liverpudlian dusted off the cobwebs after a 10 month layoff by stopping Carlos Galvan in five rounds on Saturday night.
Nevada 90, Oklahoma St. 78
Carolina Panthers tight end Ja'Tavion Sanders was taken to a hospital for a neck injury after landing on his head while making a catch late in the first half of Sunday's 30-27 home loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. As Sanders was brought down near the sideline after a 10-yard reception, he was flipped upside down and landed directly on the top of his helmet as he went out of bounds on the tackle by cornerback Trent McDuffie. After receiving attention from the team's medical staff, Sanders was strapped to a backboard and taken off the field on a cart with 40 seconds remaining in the half. He was taken to Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte for observation and later released Sunday afternoon, according to the team. On the CBS broadcast following halftime, Panthers head coach Dave Canales said Sanders had movement in all his extremities, while extreme precaution was taken because of back tightness. CBS reported he was being examined for a concussion before later amending that to a neck injury. The 21-year-old rookie out of Texas had a team-leading three receptions for the Panthers at the half for 49 yards. In 11 games this season, Sanders has 29 receptions for 302 yards and a touchdown. Sanders was a fourth-round selection in the NFL draft in April. --Field Level MediaHusbands: SJPI plays significant role in equipping youth for world of workNathan Tella was the hero as his 69th minute strike earned holders Bayer Leverkusen 1-0 win against Bayern Munich in the German Cup. Tella, who came on in the 61st minute, scored what was the winner 69th minute to end Bayern’s German Cup campaign. Bayern Munich had to play most parts of the game with 10 men following Manuel Neuer’s sending off. It was Tella’s first goal for Leverkusen since scoring in a 2-0 win against Wolfsburg in March. Bayern have now gone five straight games without securing a win over Leverkusen in all competitions. In five last meetings, Leverkusen have recorded three wins and two draws. Leverkusen are Unbeaten in their last five games in all competitions (four wins, one draw). Also, they have gone on to win four consecutive games and the last time they tasted defeat was a 4-0 thrashing against Liverpool in the Champions League. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Print Email Telegram Related Got what it Takes? Predict and Win Millions Now Join NowTailwind CSS v4 Beta, New React Framework, BEST JavaScript Animations, and More - This Week in JS
The Pittsburgh Steelers made a couple of big changes in the 2024 offseason to try and fix their awful offense. It started with bringing in offensive coordinator Arthur Smith . Then, the Steelers signed Russell Wilson to a veteran one-year minimum deal. After that, they traded for another quarterback, acquiring Justin Fields . Both quarterbacks have helped the offense improve, but Wilson was riding high with four straight wins before losing 24-19 to the Cleveland Browns on "Thursday Night Football." Before the Browns game, NFL insider Albert Breer revealed that Smith and Wilson had to have some difficult conversations to get the veteran quarterback to buy into the new system. From TNF Tonight—What’s worked for the @Steelers and Russell Wilson, and what’s next. pic.twitter.com/h367En6cEF According to Breer, Smith laid out a vision for the Steelers' offense that focused on discipline and efficiency, elements Wilson struggled with during his time with the Denver Broncos. The uncomfortable conversations reportedly revolved around Smith demanding that Wilson adapt his playing style to fit the team’s system, including quicker decision-making and greater reliance on the run game. While Wilson initially resisted, Smith’s no-nonsense approach eventually won him over, leading to a revitalized offense and the Steelers' surprising early success. "A huge part of this has been getting buy-in from Russell Wilson himself and that has happened from Smith and Wilson having a series of very hard, honest one on one conversations away from the other players and away from the other coaches," Breer said. Despite the recent loss to Cleveland, Wilson’s play has been noticeably more controlled, and the Steelers’ offense has shown flashes of the consistency fans have been waiting for. Smith’s ability to get Wilson on the same page has been pivotal, and his leadership has created a sense of accountability throughout the team. With Fields also in the mix , the Steelers now have multiple options under center, giving the offense a chance to continue evolving as the season progresses. Here was the infamous Russell Wilson miss to a wide open Pat Freiermuth that was talked about last night... Actually a great call by Arthur Smith with a play action Flood look, which gets both safeties to bite down Can see Freiermuth's exasperation pic.twitter.com/w3OxmGqQUb A viral clip from the Browns game highlighted one of those missed chances, showing Wilson not looking at a wide-open Pat Freiermuth on what could have been a likely touchdown. The humbling loss to Cleveland served as a reality check for the Steelers and Wilson. However, at 8-3, the team remains in control of its playoff destiny, and Wilson is expected to rebound with his usual poise. Wilson facing some adversity in Pittsburgh The progress that Steeler Nation had been celebrating came to a screeching halt when the offense failed to score any touchdowns in a win over the Baltimore Ravens. That lack of production carried into the game against the Browns, where touchdowns were hard to come by for most of the night. Though the Steelers scored twice late to take the lead, the missed opportunities left plenty to be desired. Despite the offense's struggles for most of the night, Wilson made some incredible throws to help the Steelers take the lead. The Steelers will need that resilience from their quarterback because the schedule ahead is unforgiving. Dropping a winnable game to the Browns adds pressure to an already brutal stretch, making every remaining matchup even more critical as Pittsburgh fights to stay on top. This article first appeared on SteelerNation.com and was syndicated with permission.Amazon slashes £300 off Samsung cordless vacuum cleaner with 'excellent' power
An ex-Kansas detective accused of terrorizing women died in an apparent suicide as his trial began
(The Center Square) – American taxpayers may provide a loan of more than $7.5 billion to a joint venture involving automaker Chrysler that plans to build electric vehicle batteries in Indiana. On Monday, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Loan Program Office revealed that StarPlus Energy has received a “conditional commitment” for the multi-billion dollar loan. If approved, teh money would help the collaboration between FCA US and Samsung SDI Co. construct two lithium-ion battery plants in the Kokomo 50 miles north of Indianapolis. The loan announcement comes after the Indiana Economic Development Corp. pledged hundreds of millions of dollars in state tax credits and incentives to the project. Stellantis, FCA’s parent company, and Samsung first announced plans to build an electric vehicle battery plant in Kokomo in May 2022. Then, in October 2023, the partners announced they would construct a second plant. According to Monday’s announcement, the project is expected to create up to 3,200 construction jobs as well as 2,800 plant jobs. The batteries built in Kokomo are forecasted to power about 670,000 electric cars each year. Stellantis would purchase the batteries for the vehicles marketed in the United States. An Energy Department fact sheet indicates that the interest rate for the loan would be the “applicable U.S. Treasury rate for the term of the loan with no credit spread.” No details on the term were immediately available. “This project reinforces President Biden’s Investing in America agenda to onshore and reshore domestic manufacturing technologies,” the Energy Department’s statement said. The loan would come through the federal government’s Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program, which was first established through the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. It would be the second Indiana plant to receive program funds. Last month, the Biden administration announced the finalization of a $1.3 billion loan to ENTEK, which is constructing a factory in Terre Haute to make separators used in lithium-ion batteries. The Biden administration and StarPlus must still complete some requirements before the loan can be finalized. Among them, StarPlus must create a Community Benefits Plan that demonstrates how the company will work with local officials and labor groups. The battery plants are being built using workers from local trade unions. Administration officials are also expecting StarPlus to participate in the Justice40 Initiative, which calls for 40% of the benefits produced from the government’s investment to boost communities that are considered underinvested “and overburdened by pollution.”Meet the 12 CFP Title Contenders: No. 12 ClemsonNone
The hype and excitement with artificial intelligence is starting to morph into substantive concerns: helping people and organizations achieve greater success. Questions now loom: will AI help deliver superior customer experience, enrich peoples’ work experience, and create entrepreneurial opportunities? Or is it just the latest shiny new thing? When done right, AI can be a very successful tool for wowing customers, pleasing employees, and launching new ventures. However, the key is to do AI right — in an ethical and trustworthy manner. Trust and ethics in AI is what is making business leaders nervous. For example, at least 72% of executives responding to a recent survey from the IBM Institute for Business Value say they “are willing to forgo generative AI benefits due to ethical concerns.” In addition, more than half (56%) indicate they are delaying major investments in generative AI until there is clarity on AI standards and regulations. Successful AI is, and will always be, a people-centric process. Boosting people in their work. Delivering products and services to customers. Keeping things running smoothly. “AI technology is still in its early stages, and we have to assume that human input and oversight will continue to be crucial in developing responsible AI," said Jeremy Barnes, vice president of ServiceNow. While the level of human involvement required may change as AI continues to evolve, “I don’t believe it will ever be a fully hands-off process,” said Barnes. “Continuous improvement in AI requires regular monitoring and updates, relying on user research and human expertise for valuable insights and feedback. This ensures AI systems can evolve and adapt effectively and ethically.” As with everything else in life, trust in AI needs to be earned. That trust is likely to keep improving, but it’s something that will evolve over years. Right now, trust is possible, but only under very specific and controlled circumstances, said Doug Ross , US chief technology officer at Capgemini Americas. "Today, guardrails are a growing area of practice for the AI community given the stochastic nature of these models,” said Ross. “Guardrails can be employed for virtually any area of decisioning, from examining bias to preventing the leakage of sensitive data." At this time, generative AI use cases require significant human oversight, agreed Miranda Nash , group vice president for applications development and strategy for Oracle. “For example, generative AI embedded in business processes helps users with first drafts of employee performance summaries, financial narrative reports, and customer service summaries.” The key word here is “help,’” Nash continued. “The responsibilities of end users haven’t changed. They still need to review and edit for accuracy to ensure their work is accurate. In situations where AI accuracy has been validated with months or even years of observation, a human may only be needed for exception handling.” The situation is not likely to change soon, Jeremy Rambarran , professor at Touro University Graduate School, pointed out. “Although the output that's being generated may be unique, depending on how the output is being presented, there's always a chance that part of the results may not be entirely accurate. This will eventually change down the road as algorithms are enhanced and could eventually be updated in an automated manner.” It’s important, then, “AI decisions should be used as just one input into a human-governed orchestration of the overall decision-making process,” said Ross. How can AI be best directed to be ethical and trustworthy? Compliance requirements, of course, will be a major driver of AI trust in the future, said Rambarran. “We need to ensure that AI-driven processes comply with ethical guidelines, legal regulations, and industry standards. Humans should be aware of the ethical implications of AI decisions and be ready to intervene when ethical concerns arise.” It’s also important to “foster a culture of collaboration between humans and AI systems,” Rambarran said. “Encouraging interdisciplinary teams composed of domain experts, data scientists, and AI engineers to all work together to solve complex problems effectively is vital.” Scoreboards and dashboards are tools that can facilitate this process, said Ross. “We can also segment decisions into low, medium, and high-risk categories. High-risk decisions should be routed to a human for review and approval.” AI won’t progress beyond the shiny-new-object phase without the governance, ethics, and trust that will enable acceptance and innovation from all quarters. We’re all in this together.Lightspeed Commerce cutting 200 jobs as it eyes profitable growthMark Young, Woolery's podcast co-host and friend, said in an email early Sunday that Woolery died at his home in Texas with his wife, Kristen, present. “Chuck was a dear friend and brother and a tremendous man of faith, life will not be the same without him,” Young wrote. Woolery, with his matinee idol looks, coiffed hair and ease with witty banter, was inducted into the American TV Game Show Hall of Fame in 2007 and earned a daytime Emmy nomination in 1978. In 1983, Woolery began an 11-year run as host of TV’s “Love Connection,” for which he coined the phrase, “We’ll be back in two minutes and two seconds,” a two-fingered signature dubbed the “2 and 2.” In 1984, he hosted TV’s “Scrabble,” simultaneously hosting two game shows on TV until 1990. “Love Connection,” which aired long before the dawn of dating apps, had a premise that featured either a single man or single woman who would watch audition tapes of three potential mates and then pick one for a date. A couple of weeks after the date, the guest would sit with Woolery in front of a studio audience and tell everybody about the date. The audience would vote on the three contestants, and if the audience agreed with the guest’s choice, “Love Connection” would offer to pay for a second date. Woolery told The Philadelphia Inquirer in 2003 that his favorite set of lovebirds was a man aged 91 and a woman aged 87. "She had so much eye makeup on, she looked like a stolen Corvette. He was so old he said, ‘I remember wagon trains.’ The poor guy. She took him on a balloon ride.” Other career highlights included hosting the shows “Lingo," “Greed” and “The Chuck Woolery Show,” as well as hosting the short-lived syndicated revival of “The Dating Game” from 1998 to 2000 and an ill-fated 1991 talk show. In 1992, he played himself in two episodes of TV’s “Melrose Place.” Woolery became the subject of the Game Show Network’s first attempt at a reality show, “Chuck Woolery: Naturally Stoned,” which premiered in 2003. It shared the title of the pop song in 1968 by Woolery and his rock group, the Avant-Garde. It lasted six episode and was panned by critics. Woolery began his TV career at a show that has become a mainstay. Although most associated with Pat Sajak and Vanna White, “Wheel of Fortune” debuted Jan. 6, 1975, on NBC with Woolery welcoming contestants and the audience. Woolery, then 33, was trying to make it in Nashville as a singer. “Wheel of Fortune” started life as “Shopper’s Bazaar,” incorporating Hangman-style puzzles and a roulette wheel. After Woolery appeared on “The Merv Griffin Show” singing “Delta Dawn,” Merv Griffin asked him to host the new show with Susan Stafford. “I had an interview that stretched to 15, 20 minutes,” Woolery told The New York Times in 2003. “After the show, when Merv asked if I wanted to do a game show, I thought, ‘Great, a guy with a bad jacket and an equally bad mustache who doesn’t care what you have to say — that’s the guy I want to be.’” NBC initially passed, but they retooled it as “Wheel of Fortune” and got the green light. After a few years, Woolery demanded a raise to $500,000 a year, or what host Peter Marshall was making on “Hollywood Squares.” Griffin balked and replaced Woolery with weather reporter Pat Sajak. Listen now and subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS Feed | SoundStack “Both Chuck and Susie did a fine job, and ‘Wheel’ did well enough on NBC, although it never approached the kind of ratings success that ‘Jeopardy!’ achieved in its heyday,” Griffin said in “Merv: Making the Good Life Last,” an autobiography from the 2000s co-written by David Bender. Woolery earned an Emmy nod as host. Born in Ashland, Kentucky, Woolery served in the U.S. Navy before attending college. He played double bass in a folk trio, then formed the psychedelic rock duo The Avant-Garde in 1967 while working as a truck driver to support himself as a musician. The Avant-Garde, which toured in a refitted Cadillac hearse, had the Top 40 hit “Naturally Stoned,” with Woolery singing, “When I put my mind on you alone/I can get a good sensation/Feel like I’m naturally stoned.” After The Avant-Garde broke up, Woolery released his debut solo single “I’ve Been Wrong” in 1969 and several more singles with Columbia before transitioning to country music by the 1970s. He released two solo singles, “Forgive My Heart” and “Love Me, Love Me.” Woolery wrote or co-wrote songs for himself and everyone from Pat Boone to Tammy Wynette. On Wynette’s 1971 album “We Sure Can Love Each Other,” Woolery wrote “The Joys of Being a Woman” with lyrics including “See our baby on the swing/Hear her laugh, hear her scream.” After his TV career ended, Woolery went into podcasting. In an interview with The New York Times, he called himself a gun-rights activist and described himself as a conservative libertarian and constitutionalist. He said he hadn’t revealed his politics in liberal Hollywood for fear of retribution. He teamed up with Mark Young in 2014 for the podcast “Blunt Force Truth” and soon became a full supporter of Donald Trump while arguing minorities don’t need civil rights and causing a firestorm by tweeting an antisemitic comment linking Soviet Communists to Judaism. “President Obama’s popularity is a fantasy only held by him and his dwindling legion of juice-box-drinking, anxiety-dog-hugging, safe-space-hiding snowflakes,” he said. Woolery also was active online, retweeting articles from Conservative Brief, insisting Democrats were trying to install a system of Marxism and spreading headlines such as “Impeach him! Devastating photo of Joe Biden leaks.” During the early stages of the pandemic, Woolery initially accused medical professionals and Democrats of lying about the virus in an effort to hurt the economy and Trump’s chances for reelection to the presidency. “The most outrageous lies are the ones about COVID-19. Everyone is lying. The CDC, media, Democrats, our doctors, not all but most, that we are told to trust. I think it’s all about the election and keeping the economy from coming back, which is about the election. I’m sick of it,” Woolery wrote in July 2020. Trump retweeted that post to his 83 million followers. By the end of the month, nearly 4.5 million Americans had been infected with COVID-19 and more than 150,000 had died. Just days later, Woolery changed his stance, announcing his son had contracted COVID-19. “To further clarify and add perspective, COVID-19 is real and it is here. My son tested positive for the virus, and I feel for of those suffering and especially for those who have lost loved ones,” Woolery posted before his account was deleted. Woolery later explained on his podcast that he never called COVID-19 “a hoax” or said “it’s not real,” just that “we’ve been lied to.” Woolery also said it was “an honor to have your president retweet what your thoughts are and think it’s important enough to do that.” In addition to his wife, Woolery is survived by his sons Michael and Sean and his daughter Melissa, Young said.
The hype and excitement with artificial intelligence is starting to morph into substantive concerns: helping people and organizations achieve greater success. Questions now loom: will AI help deliver superior customer experience, enrich peoples’ work experience, and create entrepreneurial opportunities? Or is it just the latest shiny new thing? When done right, AI can be a very successful tool for wowing customers, pleasing employees, and launching new ventures. However, the key is to do AI right — in an ethical and trustworthy manner. Trust and ethics in AI is what is making business leaders nervous. For example, at least 72% of executives responding to a recent survey from the IBM Institute for Business Value say they “are willing to forgo generative AI benefits due to ethical concerns.” In addition, more than half (56%) indicate they are delaying major investments in generative AI until there is clarity on AI standards and regulations. Successful AI is, and will always be, a people-centric process. Boosting people in their work. Delivering products and services to customers. Keeping things running smoothly. “AI technology is still in its early stages, and we have to assume that human input and oversight will continue to be crucial in developing responsible AI," said Jeremy Barnes, vice president of ServiceNow. While the level of human involvement required may change as AI continues to evolve, “I don’t believe it will ever be a fully hands-off process,” said Barnes. “Continuous improvement in AI requires regular monitoring and updates, relying on user research and human expertise for valuable insights and feedback. This ensures AI systems can evolve and adapt effectively and ethically.” As with everything else in life, trust in AI needs to be earned. That trust is likely to keep improving, but it’s something that will evolve over years. Right now, trust is possible, but only under very specific and controlled circumstances, said Doug Ross , US chief technology officer at Capgemini Americas. "Today, guardrails are a growing area of practice for the AI community given the stochastic nature of these models,” said Ross. “Guardrails can be employed for virtually any area of decisioning, from examining bias to preventing the leakage of sensitive data." At this time, generative AI use cases require significant human oversight, agreed Miranda Nash , group vice president for applications development and strategy for Oracle. “For example, generative AI embedded in business processes helps users with first drafts of employee performance summaries, financial narrative reports, and customer service summaries.” The key word here is “help,’” Nash continued. “The responsibilities of end users haven’t changed. They still need to review and edit for accuracy to ensure their work is accurate. In situations where AI accuracy has been validated with months or even years of observation, a human may only be needed for exception handling.” The situation is not likely to change soon, Jeremy Rambarran , professor at Touro University Graduate School, pointed out. “Although the output that's being generated may be unique, depending on how the output is being presented, there's always a chance that part of the results may not be entirely accurate. This will eventually change down the road as algorithms are enhanced and could eventually be updated in an automated manner.” It’s important, then, “AI decisions should be used as just one input into a human-governed orchestration of the overall decision-making process,” said Ross. How can AI be best directed to be ethical and trustworthy? Compliance requirements, of course, will be a major driver of AI trust in the future, said Rambarran. “We need to ensure that AI-driven processes comply with ethical guidelines, legal regulations, and industry standards. Humans should be aware of the ethical implications of AI decisions and be ready to intervene when ethical concerns arise.” It’s also important to “foster a culture of collaboration between humans and AI systems,” Rambarran said. “Encouraging interdisciplinary teams composed of domain experts, data scientists, and AI engineers to all work together to solve complex problems effectively is vital.” Scoreboards and dashboards are tools that can facilitate this process, said Ross. “We can also segment decisions into low, medium, and high-risk categories. High-risk decisions should be routed to a human for review and approval.” AI won’t progress beyond the shiny-new-object phase without the governance, ethics, and trust that will enable acceptance and innovation from all quarters. We’re all in this together.Improved agric research funding, solution to food scarcity – Uzodinma
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In the ever-evolving landscape of digital content creation, a new wave of voices has emerged, captivating audiences and carving out unique niches. Among them is , a Ugandan blogger whose vibrant personality and relatable content have garnered her a loyal following on platforms like TikTok and YouTube. Angela Summer Nabiburu, or simply Summer, as her fans lovingly call her, is a young Ugandan woman with a natural gift for content creation. She started as a blogger on social media, but her career quickly took off as she moved to platforms like TikTok and YouTube, where her engaging videos have attracted a large following. She is more than just a name; she represents a fresh perspective on the art of storytelling in the digital age. Hailing from Uganda, Angella has turned her passion for blogging into a full-fledged career, using social media to reach audiences far and wide. With her engaging content, she reflects the beauty, culture, and complexities of Ugandan life, resonating with viewers both at home and abroad. Her unique style and refreshing perspective have gained her a loyal fan base and have allowed her to become one of Uganda’s prominent digital content creators. Angela’s journey into the world of blogging began with a simple desire to express herself. Like many creatives, she started by sharing snippets of her daily life on social media. It didn’t take long for her authentic voice and engaging storytelling to catch the attention of others. Starting with TikTok, Angela quickly realized the platform’s potential for reaching a vast audience. Her short, captivating videos often showcase aspects of Ugandan culture, fashion, food, and lifestyle, all infused with her unique sense of humor and charm. The immediacy of TikTok allows her to connect with viewers in real-time, making her content feel personal and inviting. One of the hallmarks of Angela’s TikTok presence is her ability to blend entertainment with education. She typically shares insights about Ugandan culture, highlighting traditions, festivals, and cuisine. This approach not only entertains her followers but also educates them about the rich tapestry of life in Uganda. YouTube provides the perfect canvas for her to explore various topics, from fashion hauls to beauty tutorials and travel vlogs. In her videos, Angela showcases the beauty of Uganda, introducing viewers to breathtaking landscapes, traditional cuisines, and local customs. Through her lens, audiences gain a deeper appreciation for the rich culture and heritage of Uganda, making her a valuable ambassador for her country. What sets Angela apart from other bloggers is her ability to connect with her audience on a personal level. She often shares her own struggles, triumphs, and the realities of navigating life as a young woman in Uganda. Her content typically sparks conversations around important issues, such as body positivity, mental health, and cultural representation. By addressing these topics, Angela not only entertains but also educates her audience, encouraging them to embrace their own journeys and challenges. One of the most remarkable aspects of Angela’s journey is her commitment to fostering a community. She actively engages with her followers across platforms, responding to comments, hosting Q&A sessions, and even collaborating with fellow creators. Angela’s content regularly sparks conversations about significant topics such as self-acceptance, mental health, and cultural identity. Angela’s rise as a blogger reflects a broader trend in Uganda, where social media has become a powerful tool for self-expression and entrepreneurship. Many young people in the country are leveraging platforms like TikTok and YouTube to showcase their talents and share their stories with the world. This shift has opened up new opportunities for Ugandan creators, allowing them to reach global audiences and redefine the narrative surrounding their culture. Angella is at the forefront of this movement, using her platform to elevate Ugandan voices and showcase the country’s diverse perspectives. Angella Summer Nabiburu is more than just a content creator; she is a cultural ambassador for Uganda. Through her videos, she showcases the beauty and richness of Ugandan life, challenging stereotypes and providing a more nuanced perspective of her country. Her work has the potential to change how the world views Uganda, promoting a greater appreciation for its culture and people. In an increasingly globalized world, the importance of representation cannot be overstated. Angella’s content serves as a reminder that diverse voices and experiences matter. As Angella Summer Nabiburu continues to grow her online presence, the future looks bright. With plans to expand her content even further, she envisions creating collaborations with brands that align with her values. Additionally, she hopes to explore opportunities for community engagement, such as workshops and events that empower aspiring creators in Uganda. Angella’s journey serves as a testament to the power of creativity, resilience, and community. And for those looking to engage with sports and entertainment, you can check out for exciting betting options, connecting the world of digital engagement with thrilling experiences. Angella Summer Nabiburu is a shining example of how one individual’s voice can resonate with many. Through her engaging TikTok videos and in-depth YouTube content, she is not just documenting her life; she is creating a movement that celebrates Ugandan culture, authenticity, and empowerment. For those interested in exploring the world of blogging and content creation, Angella’s story is a reminder that passion, authenticity, and community can lead to remarkable opportunities. As Angella continues to grow her online presence, the future looks promising. Additionally, she envisions creating more community engagement initiatives, such as workshops and events that empower aspiring creators in Uganda. Her journey exemplifies the power of creativity, resilience, and connection.
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