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Welcome back, Laurel! Let's get you started this Monday with everything you need to know going on in town today. First, today's weather: Times of clouds and sun. High: 41 Low: 26. Here are the top three stories today in Laurel: Since the start of 2021, the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office has charged 23 defendants with criminal offenses based on fraud schemes connected to the COVID-19 pandemic. These cases involve attempts to defraud over $14 million and more than $419,000 has been seized as the proceeds of these fraud schemes. The CARES Act was designed to provide emergency financial assistance to Americans suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. It stands for the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security. (BayNet) The City of Laurel Department of Economic and Community Development (ECD) will administer three grant programs using funds awarded by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). These grants will provide economic relief to businesses located within the City of Laurel that were impacted by the pandemic. Mayor Craig A. Moe encourages local businesses to take advantage of this program. (City of Laurel) UPDATE: Community Based Classroom in Bladensburg and Tall Oaks Vocational High School in Bowie are on the chopping block. This has caused an emotional reaction from the students, parents and faculty. Some students who want to raise their voice to fight for their school have been receiving threatening phone calls in an attempt to silence their voices which they are using to keep these two alternative high schools in Maryland from closing. As a result, Prince George’s County police are now investigating these threats. (WTOP) From our sponsor: Today's Laurel Daily is brought to you in part by Newrez, a leading nationwide mortgage lender. Make a smart move for your future and refinance with Newrez today. Call 844-979-1707 to connect with a Newrez loan officer. Newrez, LLC (NMLS #3013) Today in Laurel: Play Group: Babies and Toddlers—Weekly conversation among the adults while newborn to 2-year-olds play. Discussions will be led by Dr. Deborah Wood and occasional guests. This event will be held in Annapolis at the Chesapeake Children's Museum. (9:30 a.m.) We Make Black History—In celebration of Black History Month, Montpelier House Museum, in partnership with the Uhuru Quilters Guild, is proud to present “We Are Black History: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow.” This free exhibit will feature dynamic designs by skilled quilters on various themes of Black History. (10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.) Virtual Gentle Yoga—Gain strength, flexibility, and balance physically while encouraging relaxation and meditation mentally in this class taught by Beth Lawrence. Practice a set of poses, both seated and standing using the chair as a prop, that will promote strength, flexibility, and balance physically while encouraging relaxation and meditation mentally. Designed for older adults who prefer a slower-paced practice. Beth has been practicing yoga for 20 years and teaching in the D.C. area for 15. Join this event online via Zoom. Please visit https://www.aroundtowndc.org for more information and to register. (11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.) AfroCode DC| AfroBeats Undefeated Happy Hour + Late Night—Enjoy Your Monday night at Amsterdam Lounge in NW DC with Live DJs playing music from the best of 90s, R&B, HipHop, Top40. AfroBeats and International Hits VIP Table Reservations TEXT 202-321-5324 | 21+ Valid ID Required Dress Code Fashionable! (5:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m.) Piano Jazz at Tagliata in Baltimore—To complement the restaurant’s menu and decor, guests will be able to hear some of Baltimore’s most talented musicians play Tagliata’s 1926 Steinway piano, seven nights a week in the lounge. Pasta, wine and live piano will make every night out even more memorable! (6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.) Wellness Workshop: Coping with Stress—Stress is a ubiquitous part of life. It has a bad reputation but it's not always a bad thing. Join the Counseling Center to learn about the different types of stress, common reactions to stress, and best practices for coping with various stressors. Advanced registration for this online event is not required. This is a skill-building workshop and is not a therapy space or confidential. The workshops will close to new participants 15 minutes after the start of the workshop. (12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.) From my notebook: Laurel Police Department: Our thoughts and prayers are with Officer Douglas Haggerty and his family and friends as well as his fellow law enforcement family. (Facebook) City of Laurel - Government: The Laurel Historical Society's new exhibit opens Feb. 18! "What’s Cookin’ Laurel" puts food in the spotlight, exploring all the ways that we as Americans, Marylanders and Laurelites connect with our past and experience the present through growing food, cooking, dining out, and shopping. Visitors will discover Laurel’s farmers, restaurants, food stores, African American traditions, community cookbooks and more. (Facebook) Nextdoor Neighbor, Fieldstone Preserve: I’m starting a series of videos and blogs about living in Maryland. I thought this is a great place I can get ideas for content. What are some places or activities that are great to go or do in Maryland? (Nextdoor) Nextdoor Neighbor, Arden Pointe: I'm in search of someone to tutor my third grader in math, preferably a high school student. I'm willing to pay the tutor. My daughter struggles with math a lot and she is very shy. (Nextdoor) Nextdoor Neighbor, Montpelier Woods: Are there any truly local hardware stores left? Not Home Depot, Lowe's or Ace. (Nextdoor) Nextdoor Neighbor, Russett: Lost dog found! A very young pit bull mix. Gray and white color. This dog has no leash or collar. Found strolling along mallard shore drive and spice bush drive. Anyone knows her please contact me 703-507-3881 (text only). (Nextdoor) Nextdoor Neighbor, Montpelier: Thank you to everyone on Nextdoor. My son is now home with us. We found him yesterday afternoon. Sorry I did not update my post. Everything is OK now. Thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers. I love this community! (Nextdoor) Nextdoor Neighbor, Kings Woods: Anyone know anyone who does custom cakes reasonably priced? I am looking for someone to make a baby shower cake similar to this but for a baby boy. Thank you for any suggestions! (Nextdoor) More from our sponsors — thanks for supporting local news! Featured businesses: 3 Gear Games / 3 Gear Studios — (Visit website) Add your business here Events: Fired Up! Dance Class for Girls 10-17 (February 7) FREE WEBINAR | “Siena and the Palio” (February 😎 Add your event Housing: Providing Savings to Everyday Heroes When Buying/ Selling a Home (Details) Add your listing Loving the Laurel Daily? Here are all the ways you can get more involved: Send a friend or neighbor this link so they can subscribe Get your local business listed in front of readers Send me a news tip or suggestion at alexiswritesforpatch@gmail.com You're all caught up for today! I'll see you around. — Alexis Goring About me: My name is Alexis A. Goring. I'm a Bowie area resident with a pulse for people, news and feature stories! I've worked as a freelance writer/editor/proofreader in the media industry for 15 years. I'm also a published author, experienced blogger, and founder of Writer at Heart Editorial Services. Visit my website for more details about me and my work. Here's the link: https://alexisagoring.jimdofree.com. This article originally appeared on the Laurel Patch https://www.bing.com/news/search?q=News+Ecnomics+today&qft=interval%3d"7"&form=PTFTNR

Imagine you’re one of the richest dudes in the world looking for a new adventure and a little notoriety. You’ve already built a huge company, attracting a stir about working conditions. Then you shot yourself and a few others towards the edge of space, joining the 21st century version of that race. Now your heart’s set on setting sail in the world’s largest yacht. The last time someone built such a large boat was over 50 years ago, so the seas aren’t awash with competitors. You pick a Dutch company near Rotterdam to build the vessel. You’ve decided to erect all the boat’s onboard rigging —the masts, etc. — before you push off. Others planning such a mission might wait to clear land obstacles before raising their rigging. There are two issues. The first is ”De Hef,” a 100-year-old decommissioned vertical lift bridge that would need to be “deconstructed” to let your 417-foot cruiser pass. The second is a brigade of egg-throwers organizing themselves on Facebook. Who knows what compels figures like Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to hatch such schemes? Perhaps the challenge of a new project to create a big new splash? The yachting spectacle is producing headlines in Rotterdam, which celebrates De Hef as a landmark. Nobody uses the Koningshaven Bridge to cross the river anymore. There’s little dispute that the shipbuilders would have to pay for the de- and re-construction of the bridge if the deal goes through. Reports have quoted officials as saying that no permits have been requested, suggesting they’ll cross that bridge — or go under it — when they get there. Others have celebrated the idea of new jobs. The steel span is 95 years old, so no one’s ­suggested that such a monument be junked after it’s taken down. And a few weeks after De Hef is reerected, any bad feelings over its temporary disappearance will likely vanish. Perhaps the yacht will be used for a new top tier for Amazon Prime shoppers, who’d rate a little ride for their loyalty. Who knew that what started as a reading habit would lead to such grandeur? Or that it took a sweat to choose a way to stand out from other wealth? The yacht venture pushes forward the new meaning of “disposable income.” Holdings of Mr. Bezos and his competitors (Gates, Zuckerberg, Buffett, etc.) serve in today’s financial world as an illustration of the widening realm of the super-rich. In this world, the value of your holdings— and the “capital gains” involved — define why uber-wealth grows so much faster than mere income. Tomorrow’s new headliners will likely mark themselves more by the ventures on which they spend their money than by the homes, planes, and yachts they already own. There will be a challenge to get to a new frontier of philanthropy faster than before. Nobody — including Mr. Bezos — can afford to be sidelined now. Nobody of such fame and notoriety will want to miss any charitable egg toss. Chalk it up to duty. The writer (dukeofdanforth@gmail.com) is a founder of the Aspen Daily News and his column appears here on Sundays. https://www.aspendailynews.com/opinion/lifestyles-of-the-super-rich-and-famous/article_3e21da0c-86ea-11ec-a2fb-c7918c1ceeb8.html

Former chief of staff Marc Short joins several senior Republicans to defend the former vice-president in escalating feud with Trump Mike Pence’s former chief of staff Marc Short joined several senior Republicans in rallying to defend the former vice-president on Sunday in his escalating feud with Donald Trump over the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election. Some of Trump’s advisers on the 2020 election were like “snake oil salesmen”, Short said on Sunday. Pence angered the former president this week by rejecting Trump’s false claim that he had the power to overturn Joe Biden’s victory by refusing to accept results from seven contested states. At a conference hosted by the conservative Federalist Society in Florida on Friday, Pence delivered his strongest rebuke to date of Trump’s election lies, declaring that it was “un-American” to believe that any one person had the right to choose the president. On Sunday, Short, and Republican senators John Barrasso, Lisa Murkowski and Marco Rubio, were among senior party figures who backed Pence’s position, adding their voices to a backlash by other prominent Republican figures apparently growing weary of Trump’s continued obsession with his election defeat and subversion of democracy. “There’s nothing in the 12th amendment or the Electoral Count Act that would afford a vice-president that authority,” Short told NBC’s Meet the Press, describing advisers who told Trump that Pence could send election results back to the states as “snake oil salesmen”. “The vice-president was crystal clear from day one that he didn’t have this authority.” Pence, as president of the US senate, certified Biden’s victory in the early morning of 7 January 2021, hours after a mob incited by the defeated president launched a deadly insurrection on the US capitol. Short, who sheltered with Pence in the Capitol as the mob outside erected a gallows and called for the then vice-president to be hanged, added that his boss had no alternative but to certify Biden’s win. “He was following what the Constitution afforded the vice-president … he was doing his duty, which was what he was required to, under an oath to the constitution to defend it,” he said. “Unfortunately the president had many bad advisers, who were basically snake oil salesmen giving him really random and novel ideas as to what the vice-president could do. But our office researched that and recognized that was never an option.” Short also attacked the Republican party’s position – crystalized this week in a widely derided censure motion for Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, the only two Republicans on the House committee investigating the insurrection, that the January 6 rioters were engaging in “legitimate political discourse”. “From my front-row seat, I did not see a lot of legitimate political discourse,” said Short, who along with the vice-president had to be hustled to a place of safety as the mob rampaged through the building. “They evacuated us into a secure location at the bottom of the Capitol. There was an attempt to put the vice-president into a motorcade but he was clear to say: ‘That’s not a visual I want the world to see of us fleeing.’ We stayed there and worked to try and bring the business back together and complete the work that night.” Barrasso, a Wyoming Republican and ranking member of the Senate foreign affairs committee, agreed with Short’s assessment in an appearance on Fox News Sunday. “I voted to certify the election, Mike Pence did his constitutional duty that day,” Barrasso said. “It’s not the Congress that elects a president, it’s the American people.” Rubio, a Republican Florida senator, told CBS’s Face the Nation that he had long known that Pence lacked the authority to bend to Trump’s will. “I concluded [that] back in January of 2021, when the issue was raised,” he said. “I looked at it, had analyzed it, and came to the same conclusion that vice-presidents can’t simply decide not to certify an election.” Rubio refused to say whether he thought the riot was political discourse, but added: “Anybody who committed crimes on January 6th should be prosecuted. If you entered the Capitol and you committed acts of violence and you were there to hurt people, you should be prosecuted.” Murkowski, an Alaska Republican, is among the supporters of an “aggressive” bipartisan effort in Congress, criticized by Trump, to overhaul the 1887 Electoral Count Act and enshrine in statute that a vice-president has no role in deciding a presidential election. “We’ve identified clearly some things within the act, the ambiguities that need to be addressed,” she told CNN’s State of the Union. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/feb/06/trump-election-advisers-snake-oil-salesmen-mike-pence-aide

Mike Pence: ‘Trump is wrong. I had no right to overturn the election’ Trump spoke to Jim Jordan on morning of Capitol riot, records show ‘America is back to work,’ says president as US adds 467,000 jobs Full story: US adds nearly half a million January jobs Sign up to receive First Thing – our daily briefing by email Summary Donald Trump called for the House committee tasked with investigating the 6 January 2021 insurrection on the US Capitol to “stop its work immediately”. The former president, who encouraged his supporters to “fight like hell” before they headed to the Capitol, falsely claimed the committee was a coverup for “Biden’s failed administration”. The US surpassed 900,000 Covid-19 deaths, the highest highest reported death toll of any country. The new figures come less than two months after Covid deaths in the US reached 800,000 as the highly contagious Omicron variant led to a surge in cases this winter. The Republican National Committee approved a resolution censuring Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, the two Republican members of the House select committee investigating the Capitol insurrection. The resolution refers to the violent insurrection, which resulted in several deaths and hundreds of arrests, as “legitimate political discourse”. The RNC’s mischaracterization of the insurrection sparked bipartisan outrage, with many accusing the party of attempting to normalize political violence. Cheney shared a video that included footage from the insurrection, showing rioters attacking police officers with chemical spray and flag poles. “This was January 6th. This is not ‘legitimate political discourse,’” Cheney said in her tweet. Mike Pence rejected Donald Trump’s claims that he could have overturned the results of the 2020 election. Trump and some of his allies have argued Pence could have overruled the Electoral College as the vice-president oversaw the congressional certification of Joe Biden’s victory on January 6. “President Trump is wrong. I had no right to overturn the election,” Pence said at a Federal Society event today. “The presidency belongs to the American people and the American people alone.” The House select committee investigating the insurrection has reportedly gathered evidence that Trump spoke to Republican congressman Jim Jordan the morning of the Capitol attack. According to CNN, call records show Trump spoke with Jordan for 10 minutes on the morning of January 6. The select committee has asked Jordan to voluntarily provide information on the events of January 6, but he has so far refused to do so. Biden celebrated the strong January jobs report, which showed that the US economy added 467,000 jobs last month. In a speech this morning, Biden noted that 6.6m jobs have been created in the year since he took office, as the country continues to recover from the coronavirus pandemic. “America is back to work,” Biden said. “History’s been made here.” -Joan E Greve and Dani Anguiano https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2022/feb/04/joe-biden-jobs-report-omicron-covid-russia-ukraine-us-politics-latest?page=with:block-61fda2ff8f08df1d7f0915fb

MUNCIE, Ind. — Two Oklahoma residents were arrested Friday after their children became seriously ill from carbon monoxide fumes while in the family's vehicle outside a Muncie Walmart. City police said the car's engine had been left running, with the children — ages 8 and 2 — left inside the vehicle while the parents went into the Walmart at 4801 W. Clara Lane. Investigators discovered the car's exhaust system was malfunctioning, resulting in a carbon monoxide level in the vehicle that was dangerously high. Emergency personnel were sent to the store about 12:15 p.m. The children were taken by ambulance to IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital and later transferred to an Indianapolis hospital. The parents — Antonio Kendrell Davis, 41, and Brittany Chris Rogers, 26 — were arrested on preliminary counts of neglect of a dependent. Davis and Rogers also face preliminary counts of theft, apparently based on allegations they stole merchandise while at Walmart. They were being held in the Delaware County jail on Saturday under bonds of $42,500. Officers at the jail said the couple were listed as residents of Miami, Oklahoma, about 90 miles northeast of Tulsa, and 620 miles southwest of Muncie. STAY INFORMED AND SUPPORT LOCAL JOURNALISM: Subscribe today using the link at the top of this page. Douglas Walker is a news reporter at The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com. This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Oklahoma parents held after auto exhaust makes kids ill at Muncie Walmart https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/oklahoma-parents-held-after-auto-exhaust-makes-kids-ill-at-muncie-walmart/ar-AATuGfA?ocid=BingNewsSearch

Kashmir, India police on Friday arrested a journalist for publishing "anti-national content," The Associated Press reports. Police said they found Fahad Shah, editor of news portal Kashmir Walla, on Facebook where his work was identified as being anti-national and posted with "criminal intention." The Kashmir Walla outlet covered a Jan. 30 gunfight between civilian rebels and Indian troops in Pulwama, presenting the story from both civilian and military viewpoints. A Kashmiri rebel commander, a Pakistani, a third militant and a teenage boy were killed in the incident. Police described the teenager as a "hybrid" militant, a term that refers to a so-called militant who is a civilian with no criminal record. Kashmir Walla published videos of the teenager's family disagreeing with the police, as well as contradicting earlier statements. The content could "provoke the public to disturb law and order," police said, adding that it was "tantamount to glorifying the terrorist activities." Shah was arrested under anti-terror and sedition laws and may face up to seven years of punishment. Police have questioned reporters from Kashmir Walla, including Shah, multiple times in recent years as part of a wider crackdown on freedom of the press in the country. Police tweeted Saturday that Shah was wanted for "glorifying terrorism, spreading fake news & inciting general public for creating L&O (law and order) situations. https://news.yahoo.com/indian-police-arrest-journalist-publishing-163003632.html

Happy Birthday!

With the advent of the work from home lifestyle, every element of daily life has moved to the internet. From ordering online groceries, having virtual weddings and online meetings, everything is now on the digital space. In such a situation, setting up comfortable workspaces at home is the need of the hour. People are coming up with innovative ideas to create a makeshift workstation. But, not without the best home office gadgets that make working from home efficient, easy and effective. If you're on the verge of transforming your living into a functional working environment, here are five ideas to make it a tech-savvy spot. Smart Monitors Smart Monitors are interactive displays that come with a bucket full of features. With a 4K display, Smart TV, in-built applications and more, these monitors are your PC, TV and smartphone rolled into one. A great boon for traders, researchers and analysts, Smart Monitors are a great way to work efficiently and do everything that needs to be done on one single interface. Ergonomic Seating If you're converting your outdoor dining area into a makeshift office, ensure you give your posture importance. Outdoor wicker furniture is a boon in terms of comfort and elegance. One can sit on Rattan wicker furniture all day without feeling fatigued or tired. Choose outdoor wicker furniture with a comfortable incline and sturdy aluminum body to give your back and neck all the support needed. A well-placed desk stand is all you need to complete the entire set-up and enjoy an ergonomic makeshift workspace. Availability Calendars Your Home office is missing a secretary to schedule meetings and take your calls. Lo and behold a smart Availability calendar! It syncs with your Calendar and email to display your current work status. This ensures nobody disturbs you while you're in a meeting. It also allows you to plan the day to schedule calls and find pockets of free time for household errands. Put up this availability calendar on a wall within your vision so all you need to do to check your schedule is lookup. Element Hubs Too many wires and too little space. Don't make your home office a haven of tangled wires and chaos. Instead, invest in an element hub that channelizes all your wires into a single console and ensures you have a clutter-free desk! Smart Glasses Yes, you do need a pair of smart glasses to work effectively from home. It isn't always possible to sit before a screen, especially with home errands to be done. Smart glasses are a great boon for millennials who are constantly multi-tasking. Check notifications, take calls, book meetings and stay ahead of the news with a pair of smart glasses. All while you throw together a dinner and keep an eye on your toddler playing. Webcam Regular laptop cameras just don't cut it for high-profile meetings and presentations. Invest in a standalone webcam that can cover a wider frame, enabling you to conduct presentations or demonstrations easily. A webcam also offers good quality video streaming and improves the overall experience of an online meeting. Wrap Up Now that we have filled you in on all the must-have gadgets in your home office, we hope you ace your productivity and efficiency from the comfort of your home! https://news.tmcnet.com/topics/articles/2022/02/04/451419-home-office-gadgets-a-tech-savvy-worker.htm

In the last 3 months, 4 analysts have offered 12-month price targets for Check Point Software. The company has an average price target of $130.25 with a high of $145.00 and a low of $100.00. Below is a summary of how these 4 analysts rated Check Point Software over the past 3 months. The greater the number of bullish ratings, the more positive analysts are on the stock and the greater the number of bearish ratings, the move negative analysts are on the stock This current average represents a 1.7% increase from the previous average price target of $132.50. Analyst Ratings: What Are They? Analysts work in banking and financial systems and typically specialize in reporting for stocks or defined sectors. Analysts may attend company conference calls and meetings, research company financial statements, and communicate with insiders to publish "analyst ratings" for stocks. Analysts typically rate each stock once per quarter. Some analysts will also offer forecasts for metrics like growth estimates, earnings, and revenue to provide further guidance on stocks. Investors who use analyst ratings should note that this specialized advice comes from humans and may be subject to error. This article was generated by Benzinga's automated content engine and reviewed by an editor. https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/where-check-point-software-stands-with-analysts-1031162883

A photo of a sign outside a Home Hardware in Strathroy, Ont., west of London, has been shared hundreds of times online after the message was changed to express support for the controversial trucker convoy. On Feb. 2, the sign read, "We support the truckers — end the mandates." The message was changed the following day, returning to the typical signage announcing store deals or other shopping information. Global News has requested comment from the owner of the Strathroy location but had yet to hear back by publication time. Read more: Trudeau says Ottawa residents need their ‘lives back,’ won’t commit to negotiate with truckers Home Hardware headquarters in St. Jacobs, Ont., provided a brief statement Thursday afternoon. "The health and safety of our Dealers, staff and the communities we serve has always been our top priority," said an email from Home Hardware Stores Limited. "The global pandemic has created a number of complex challenges that Canadians and people around the world continue to navigate. As a national home improvement retailer, our primary focus is on providing our customers with the essential products and services they rely on us for." Home Hardware Stores Limited did not detail whether the Strathroy location's messaging contravened company policy or whether the owner would face any repercussions over the signage. https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/other/home-hardware-sign-in-strathroy-ont-expresses-support-for-trucker-protest/ar-AATryY5?ocid=BingNewsSearch

The national police force today arrested a man in the deep south they accuse of being behind an extensive network that trafficks wildlife from owls to hawks. Identified only as Manusi, 23, he was arrested in Narathiwat city and has been charged with the trade and possession of protected wildlife. The police say he confessed to selling exotic animals for over three years including Sumatran owls, white hawks, lorises, black giant squirrels, and leopards. If convicted, he faces upward of 10 years in jail and THB 1 million (US$30,000) in fines. He was the subject of an arrest warrant approved last month by the Southern Bangkok Criminal Court. The authorities were led to him after another trafficker they identified only as Jirati, nickname New, was arrested in late December. Jirati was found to be purchasing wildlife through the network, called Bangsi, via Line. Jirati was deemed a middleman in the network, who intended to resell the animals for profit via social media. The ongoing investigation is looking for additional members of the group. https://coconuts.co/bangkok/news/wildlife-trafficker-nabbed-in-deep-south-sold-animals-over-line-thai-cops/

Stocks were mixed Friday morning as investors viewed a much stronger-than-expected jobs report as bolstering the case for the Federal Reserve to continue down its more hawkish monetary policy path. The S&P 500 dipped to extend Thursday's losses. The Dow also declined, while the Nasdaq rose. A day earlier, the Nasdaq Composite index sank by 3.7% for its worst single-day decline since September 2020. Oil prices also remained in focus as U.S. West Texas intermediate crude oil prices jumped further above $90 per barrel after crossing that threshold for the first time since 2014 on Thursday. New labor market data was the major focal point for investors on Friday, showing employment growth held up much more robustly than expected despite the surge in Omicron cases at the beginning of the year. Payrolls grew by 467,000, or well above the 125,000 expected to return, and job gains for December were upwardly revised to more than half a million. The labor force participation rate also improved markedly, and average hourly earnings jumped by a greater-than-expected 5.7%, or the most since May 2020. The latest jobs report came as a surprise following a string of other softening data points on the state of the labor market, with ADP's private payrolls report showing earlier this week the first contraction in private-sector employment in more than a year. But Friday's report offered potential fodder for the hawks in the Federal Reserve to press ahead with their plans to raise interest rates and begin tightening in the near-term, as the economic recovery continues to progress. "For markets, the jobs report is all about the Fed, and today’s upside surprises in both job creation and wage growth keep the Fed on track to begin raising rates in March and hike four or more times this year," Barry Gilbert, asset allocation strategist at LPL Financial, wrote in an email Friday. Meanwhile, a batch of upbeat quarterly results from Amazon (AMZN), Snap (SNAP) and Pinterest (PINS) helped dispel some of the gloom hanging over technology shares from during the regular trading day, after Meta Platforms (FB) offered an outlook that fell well short of Wall Street's expectations. Investors responded favorably to Amazon's announced price hike on its premium Amazon Prime subscription and better-than-expected growth in its lucrative cloud computing business unit. And Snap and Pinterest each topped Wall Street estimates for quarterly sales and earnings, suggesting Meta Platforms may have been alone among the ad-driven internet companies in bearing the brunt of headwinds from competition and Apple iOS software changes. https://fr.finance.yahoo.com/news/stock-market-news-live-updates-february-4-2022-231355196.html

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Workers at a General Motors assembly plant in northern Mexico voted for a new independent union to represent them after ousting an old guard union last year, according to results announced Thursday. The vote among the roughly 6,500 employees of GM transmission and pickup plants in the northern Mexico city of Silao was a major test of whether a measure of freedom has come to Mexico, where pro-company unions held wages down for decades and drained manufacturing jobs from the U.S. When finally given the chance to vote by secret ballot on which union would represent them — something it took a U.S. labor complaint to achieve — the results from the voting Tuesday and Wednesday weren't even close. The Independent Union of Auto Industry Workers, known by its initials in Spanish as Sinttia, won 76% of the roughly 5,500 votes cast. The old-guard Confederation of Mexican Workers, the CTM, which long dominated the plant, won less than 1,000 votes. “I want all the workers to see it can be done, because this is the start of a new change in unionism,” the leader of the Sinttia independent union, Alejandra Morales Reynoso, said after the vote. “I think we are going to start showing all our colleagues that a real change can be achieved, not just here in Silao, but in the state, the country and in the whole world.” Asked about what lessons other unions could learn, Morales Reynoso, an assembly line worker, said “we hope they change, that they should work for the base employees, for the workers, and not just for their own interests.” In a statement, GM called it “an unprecedented exercise in democracy,” and said “General Motors will act in compliance with the law to work with the union representation elected by the workers.” It was not an easy or quick victory, and took U.S. intervention to achieve, something that led labor organizers to wonder whether a similar process could be repeated in thousands of Mexican factories where old-guard unions continue to rule. The United Auto Workers said in a statement Thursday it welcomed the results. “The UAW congratulates the workers of GM Silao on forming a free, fair and independent SINTTIA union," according to the statement. "We commend the Biden Administration and USTR ( U.S. Trade Representative) for ensuring a fair election process and we look forward to a new era of free, fair, independent unions in Mexico.” https://www.riverbender.com/sports-news/details.cfm?id=369615

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the entire world, with a casualty score of roughly 10 million people every year. Cancer not only affects the person suffering but also the people associated with the patient. The journey of a cancer patient is taxing as it drains the person entirely in terms of mental and physical resources. According to data churned out by the National Centre for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), only 5-10 percent of cancer cases are triggered by anomalies in the genetic structure. As much as 90-95 percent of cancer cases rise from lifestyle and environmental habits. Today, as we observe World Cancer Day, here are a few lifestyle tips that you can imbibe to sway away from this malevolent and deadly disease. Say No To Tobacco Tobacco and cancer are inseparable. So, if you are not yet tired of reading this advisory almost everywhere, here you go one more time. Tobacco is the leading cause of cancer and must be avoided at all costs. Smoking or chewing tobacco has severe and adverse effects on the body, with the epitome being cancer. Do it Right With a Healthy Diet A healthy diet is like a universal key that opens the gates to every good thing that can happen to your body. A balanced and healthy diet keeps the ability of your body to cope with changing hygiene of various environments and keeps you away from diseases. In addition, many foods have medicinal and anti-carcinogenic properties that may fight cancer-causing cells. Also read: World Cancer Day 2022: Most Common Cancers In India and Why They’re Rising Exercise Will Suffice Just like a healthy diet is a universal key, an active body, too, acts as a tough barrier that does not allow any malevolent organism to disrupt the normal functionality of the body. Exercising daily maintains the Body Mass Index (BMI) and keeps you away from being obese. Obesity is a vicious state of the body that paves the way for multiple ailments, including cancer. Sun Is Good, But Not Too Much Basking in the sun is a healthy habit and fuels the necessary Vitamin D into the body. However, prolonged exposure to a scorching sun might also lead to cancer of the skin. It is the result of the ultraviolet radiation that decreases the skin’s immune function and tames it for the cancerous cells to attack the skin. Say No To Processed Meat And Sugary Components Processed meat, sugary components, and refined carbs foster the growth of carcinogenic compounds such as food that is low in fibre and high in sugar concentration. It also increases the body fat that in itself acts as a catalyst for deadly diseases such as cancer. https://www.msn.com/en-in/lifestyle/topstories/world-cancer-day-2022-lifestyle-tips-to-avoid-cancer/ar-AATsj3x?ocid=BingNewsSearch

News Corp NWSA, -1.43% was the target of a hack that accessed emails and documents of some employees, including journalists, an incursion the company’s cybersecurity consultant said was likely meant to gather intelligence to benefit China’s interests. The attack, discovered on Jan. 20, affected a number of publications and business units including The Wall Street Journal and its parent Dow Jones; the New York Post; the company’s U.K. news operation; and News Corp headquarters, according to a person familiar with the matter. After discovering the attack, the company notified law enforcement and hired cybersecurity firm Mandiant Inc. to support an investigation, the person said. “Mandiant assesses that those behind this activity have a China nexus, and we believe they are likely involved in espionage activities to collect intelligence to benefit China’s interests,” said David Wong, vice president of incident response at Mandiant. A full version of this report can be found at WSJ.com. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/news-corp-journalists-targeted-by-suspected-cyberattack-11643981021?mod=hp_minor_pos25

For many, the car serves not only as a means of transportation, but also by virtue of the profession as a "second home". However, despite even your favorite "iron horse", you always want to ride a car that you have been dreaming about for a long time, but you do not have the opportunity to purchase. Do not despair, because there is a way out of this situation. The Evolve car rental company provides a wide selection of cars of different levels and different price categories. For example, McLaren price in UAE is the most optimal here, and the service is also of high quality. Many are afraid to rent a car or do not know how to do it. Read the article about the advantages and benefits of renting a car and all your doubts will be dispelled. Driving a car is to some extent an unpredictable experience, which is influenced by a huge number of factors. To make it easier to control the car and make driving more convenient and safe, there are various auto gadgets. Here is the best selection of gadgets that can be a good purchase or a great gift for a car enthusiast. Faraday's Bag This is a smart modern gadget that will not allow modern hijackers and thieves to steal the code from the remote key. The gadget blocks GPS signals/Glonass/GSM/3G/4G/5G/Wi-Fi/BT (News - Alert)/NFC. That is, if you put a smartphone in this bag, then no one will be able to get through to it, and if a bank card– its data will not be able to be copied. Therefore, such things should be stored in a Faraday bag. Start-up charger Sometimes there are unpleasant situations when there is not enough energy in the battery to start the car. Most often this happens in winter mainly due to the influence of cold. If the problem arises far from po[CENSORED]ted areas and busy highways, the driver may face rather unpleasant consequences. Therefore, such a starter charger is necessary for your car, which will help start the engine if the charge suddenly runs out. Autoscanner This device performs diagnostics on the machine and outputs the results to a mobile phone. Its functions include: resets on-board computer errors, analyzes sensor readings and monitors the current state of the car, also notifies about the warming up of the car, helps prevent accidents, keeps trip statistics, suggests how to save on fuel and much more. This device will help save you from expensive technical inspections. Navigation display If you want the instrument readings to be projected onto the windshield, you need a HUD display. It serves as both a smartphone holder and a screen that displays the information the driver needs, and also performs the function of a navigator. In fact, it is an advanced car phone holder. The phone itself at the same time lies in a strong case and is completely protected from any damage. And the image from it is projected onto a tempered glass screen. It is very convenient and safe. Smart Visor Such a device is recommended for drivers with poor eyesight, those who wear glasses or contact lenses. This device protects 100% from glare from headlights or the sun. It is easy to install and suitable for all car models. Speakerphone Anyone who has ever driven a car knows that talking on the phone while driving is not just inconvenient, but also very dangerous. This can lead to an accident. In this case, speakerphones were created for the safety of drivers - car hands-free devices. This gadget syncs with a smartphone via Bluetooth and allows you to answer calls almost without hands using speakers and a microphone. They are able to voice the names of the interlocutors or their phone numbers. Such a device is attached to any place in the car. Mirrors of the "blind zone" Even the most inexperienced driver knows that ordinary side mirrors do not give a full view of the space around the car. There is a so-called blind, as it is also called, "dead" zone, which is not displayed in the mirror. Therefore, engineers have created "blind zone" mirrors to expand the viewing angle to one degree or another. Today, cars of the modern world are gaining wide po[CENSORED]rity - electric cars that have various modern devices and built-in gadgets. But even for such cars, a selection of the above gadgets will be useful. https://news.tmcnet.com/topics/articles/2022/02/02/451382-top-the-best-gadgets-that-will-be-useful.htm

HAWKINS, Texas (KLTV) - With the threat of a hard freeze looming, some East Texans are headed to area hardware stores to get anything that will help them be prepared. East Texas hardware stores have been very busy over the last 2 days, from customers looking for generators, pipe insulation, flashlights, batteries, on an on. “Woo man. They’re collecting heat lamps, heat tape, pipe insulation, and kind of insulation really,” said Hawkins Ace hardeware owner Paul Stevens. And generators are a hot item. “Now they have been flying out of here the last couple of days,” Stevens says. People even getting what they can to protect plants. “We don’t have any frost cloth, because they’re sold out everywhere. So that’s what we’re using the contractor bags for,” said one Longview customer. With the memory of ‘Snowmaggedon’ in their minds from last February, being prepared for a power loss or water pipes freezing is a priority. “Everybody’s coming in to get their pipe covers, to make sure they don’t bust with the freeze,” said Brett James with ‘Hardin Ace hardware’ in Longview. A new invention called a ‘Freeze Miser’ could save people thousands of dollars in water pipe repairs. “You put it on your faucet outside, and turn your valve on. When the temperature gets down to 37 degrees, it starts letting out a regulated drip,” Stevens says. Most just hope we don’t have a february repeat. To avoid having your pipes freeze, it’s suggested that you turn your water off at the main and drain the lines. Or leave a faucet running at a trickle so water is continuously moving. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/east-texas-customers-head-to-hardware-stores-for-freeze-prevention/ar-AATptmZ?ocid=BingNewsSearch

AI company DeepMind has built a tool that can create working code to solve complex software challenges DeepMind, a UK-based AI company, has taught some of its machines to write computer software – and it performs almost as well as an average human programmer when judged in competition. The new AlphaCode system is claimed by DeepMind to be able to solve software problems that require a combination of logic, critical thinking and the ability to understand natural language. The tool was entered into 10 rounds on the programming competition website Codeforces, where human entrants test their coding skills. In these 10 rounds, AlphaCode placed at about the level of the median competitor. DeepMind says this is the first time an AI code-writing system has reached a competitive level of performance in programming contests. AlphaCode was created by training a neural network on lots of coding samples, sourced from the software repository GitHub and previous entrants to competitions on Codeforces. When it is presented with a novel problem, it creates a massive number of solutions in both C++ and Python programming languages. It then filters and ranks these into a top 10. When Alphacode was tested in competition, humans assessed these solutions and submitted the best of them. Generating code is a particularly thorny problem for AI because it is difficult to assess how near to success a particular output is. Code that crashes and so fails to achieve its goal could be a single character away from a perfectly working solution, and multiple working solutions can appear radically different. Solving programming competitions also requires an AI to extract meaning from the description of a problem written in English. Read more: DeepMind experiment shows AI must grow smarter, not just bigger Microsoft-owned GitHub created a similar but more limited tool last year called Copilot. Millions of people use GitHub to share source code and organise software projects. Copilot took that code and trained a neural network with it, enabling it to solve similar programming problems. But the tool was controversial as many claimed it could directly plagiarise this training data. Armin Ronacher at software company Sentry found that it was possible to prompt Copilot to suggest copyrighted code from the 1999 computer game Quake III Arena, complete with comments from the original programmer. This code cannot be reused without permission. Read more: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2306820-deepmind-has-made-software-writing-ai-that-rivals-average-human-coder/#ixzz7JnPSNout At Copilot’s launch, GitHub said that about 0.1 per cent of its code suggestions may contain “some snippets” of verbatim source code from the training set. The company also warned that it is possible for Copilot to output genuine personal data such as phone numbers, email addresses or names, and that outputted code may offer “biased, discriminatory, abusive, or offensive outputs” or include security flaws. It says that code should be vetted and tested before use. AlphaCode, like Copilot, was first trained on publicly available code hosted on GitHub. It was then fine-tuned on code from programming competitions. DeepMind says that AlphaCode doesn’t copy code from previous examples. Given the examples DeepMind provided in its preprint paper, it does appear to solve problems while only copying slightly more code from training data than humans already do, says Riza Theresa Batista-Navarro at the University of Manchester, UK. But AlphaCode seems to have been so finely tuned to solve complex challenges that the previous state of the art in AI coding tools can still outperform it on simpler tasks, she says. “What I noticed is that, while AlphaCode is able to do better than state-of-the-art AIs like GPT on the competition challenges, it does comparatively poorly on the introductory challenges,” says Batista-Navarro. “The assumption is that they wanted to do competition-level programming problems, to tackle more challenging programming problems rather than introductory ones. But this seems to show that the model was fine-tuned so well on the more complicated problems that, in a way, it’s kind of forgotten the introductory level problems.” DeepMind wasn’t available for interview, but Oriol Vinyals at DeepMind said in a statement: “I never expected ML [machine learning] to achieve about human average amongst competitors. However, it indicates that there is still work to do to achieve the level of the highest performers, and advance the problem-solving capabilities of our AI systems.” https://www.newscientist.com/article/2306820-deepmind-has-made-software-writing-ai-that-rivals-average-human-coder/