18 Burst results for "About A Year And A Half"
Sam's Happy Hour
California gubernatorial candidate: Companies leaving state like 'a snowball rolling downhill'
"Of California business Phantom Republican gubernatorial candidate John Cox, who believes that if the state doesn't change some of its policies affecting businesses, companies are going to flee the state. Several large California companies, including Oracle and Tesla, have already moved their headquarters to Texas. In what some have dubbed a tech exodus. Cox will challenge California Governor Gavin Newsom if a recall effort makes it to the ballot later this year. Half across reporting nearly 100 people are looking for new accommodations after
John Williams
Chicago aquarium pushes restaurants to reduce plastic use
"Chicago's Shedd Aquarium has launched a program encouraging restaurants to reduce the use of plastic to take part restaurants have to commit to a study. They're plastic use and seek alternatives when possible, For example, they could offer to go plastic cutlery by request. Only the aquarium will provide training in tips, Experts say. An estimated £22 million of plastic enters the Great Lake each year. Half of which enters Lake Michigan.
WGN Programming
Chicago aquarium pushes restaurants to reduce plastic use
"That aquariums launched a program encouraging restaurants to reduce the use of plastic to take part. Restaurants have to commit to steady their plastic use and seek alternatives when possible, For example, they could offer to go plastic cutlery. By request, the aquarium will provide training and tips, experts say. An estimated £22 million of plastic enters a great lakes each year, half of which enters Lake
WGN Programming
Chicago aquarium pushes restaurants to reduce plastic use
"Launched program encouraging restaurants to reduce the use of plastic to take part. Restaurants have to commit to steady their plastic use and seek alternatives when possible, For example, they could offer to go plastic cutlery. By request, the aquarium will provide training and tips, experts say. An estimated £22 million of plastic enters a great lakes each Year, half of which enters Lake Michigan. Steve Roxton, WGN news of
The Economist: The Intelligence
More needles in the haystack: vaccine candidates proliferate
"Just as soon as it became clear that a novel virus outbreak in china was going to become a global concern. It became clear that the world would need a vaccine in those early days that seemed impossibly distant vaccines often take the better part of a decade to develop and test now just a year on and several are already approved in many jurisdictions then in the space of a day last week encouraging results from two more but in the intervening year. The garona virus has done. What all viruses do. It's mutated and that as a complicating factor to an already complicated global. Rollout out so that you've seen quite exciting. The first is from novak's an american company and the second is from johnson which is belgium. But it's part of johnson and johnson also condruct company. Slovenia jong is our healthcare correspondent. There almost completely effective against the worst cases of covid nineteen. They're also easy to star in regular fridges. Which makes them. Very easy to distribute more widely than the vaccines. We already have approved but they also have some key differences. Okay let's take them in turn. What is the the nova vaccine. So the novak's vaccine is made of a lab made version of the spike protein which is part of the virus so immune system would recognize the and that's how develop immunity against the virus itself. It's a more traditional method vaccine making then the modern in pfizer vaccines which are already being used around the world and the number of vaccine was tested in britain and in south africa in britain it was almost ninety percent effective against symptomatic covid. Nineteen given into shots. Twenty one days. Apart in south africa it was only around fifty to sixty percent effective. Okay and The vaccine the vaccine was also tested in several countries. America south africa and latin america. The youngson vaccine is made out of the pike protein of the virus which is deliberate by virus. That's how it gets into your body. Virus is harmless but your immune system recognizes it. That's how you develop immunity crucially. It's a vaccine now. The results on efficacy are also very encouraging. The vaccine reduced mother of the severe cases of covid nineteen by seventy two percent in america but in south africa. The effectiveness wells also much lower. Same as the novel vaccine. It was just around fifty seven percent. This being said comparing scenes is very tricky because the trials have been conducted at different times so during the and pfizer vaccines when those results came out the variants that we have now weren't circulating widely nonetheless all the vaccines are highly effective in preventing hospitalization and death. And that's the most important thing to keep in mind but both of these vaccines in the trials in south africa. Were less effective suggesting that the that both of them are less effective against the south african variants of the virus. Yes that's right. There are less effective but not ineffective if is around fifty sixty percent which is reasonably good. Say this was to be expected. Because laboratory tests for the and the pfizer vaccines have also hinted that they may be less effective against the variant from south africa. But this will not be the last variance we keep seeing new variants emerging around the world. There may be some that are already here. But they're not detective because not enough sequencing happens in most countries so this is different something that we should be prepared for. But how worrisome is that there is already a very into that is that is sort of unpicking. The efficacy of some of these vaccines mean. This is something that we have to live with. Mutations will continue to evolve and we'll see more like those that vaccines are less effective against several vaccine makers are already working on modified jabs targeting the mutations so we'll see is probably something similar to what we have with the seasonal flu vaccines you get a shot. Every year which is customized circulating strains of the virus. The problem is that with the flu. There are systems around the world that have been set up to track those viruses. lead systems. Are well running. They've been around for decades so vaccine manufacturers no every year which trains to put in the vaccine there is no such system for covid nineteen america and some other countries are setting up variant surveillance. But this is not a global effort which means that we may have very ends emerging around the world for which the existing vaccines are less effective. And we don't know about that and what about in the meantime the existence of these potential new vaccines that seem to be effective and the potential for these various. How does that change the kind of global roll out plans for what we do have and do know eastern you. Vaccines are excellent news because we have a shortage right now of vaccines globally and even in the countries that have the most supplies for the moment. Novak's has promised to deliver about chew billion doses of this year. Half of that will be made in. India johnson johnson also think that they can make a billion doses. This here half of that is going to go to kovacs which is a global facility that will supply vaccines to developing countries. So these vaccines are particularly good news for poorer countries. Because they're easier to store and distribute the johnson and johnson is just a single shot which gives it the massive advantage but of course the country has purchased the vaccine to be delivered and as we can see production. Doesn't always run on schedule. We saw that in in the tussle for vaccine is between the eu and britain. For the astra zeneca shots and then of course getting the vaccine into people's arms also presents. Its own challenges. As we can see particularly in europe and in the us as well sign extend the distribution is often tied up in bureaucracy or logistical challenges on the ground or even in some cases people not wanting the vaccine. Do you think should have taken in total that that essentially this grand will get ahead of the virus before the virus gets ahead of humans efforts. I think we've already made tremendous progress. I mean if you think a year on goal we couldn't even dream of having a vaccine so quickly and now we have at least five vaccines tested in large scale. Proper clinical trials which are vastly effective. I mean they're almost completely effective against hospitalization and death. There are some which are also doing clinical trials so we may see in the coming weeks months more successful. Clinical trials being announced the west production of all these vaccines gets going in the next couple of months. Supplies will be steady. So i think that by the end of this year things will look much much better. Thanks very much for joining us. La thank you jason.
All Things Considered
Virtual 2021 Sundance Film Festival opens on a screen very near you
"City, Utah. And because of the pandemic, thousands of film lovers will go to premieres, panels and parties, mostly online. NPR's Mandali Del Barco has this preview. This year's Sundance opens with the premier of the documentary, Summer of Soul or when the Revolution could not be televised. Director Amir Thompson, known as the Musician. Quest, Love presents footage of the 1969 Harlem cultural Festival that has never been seen since. Pressure's lower. Take My hand was Dr King's favorite zone and Sistema Hey, you're Jackson was my idol. She was my hero. I love this. So much listening to singer Mavis Staples praising my Hayley and Jackson is just one highlight of the film. In a normal year. There'd be long lines of festivalgoers standing in the snow to get into theaters to watch. This year films will be screened virtually through especially built online platform, says the festival's new director, Tabatha Jackson. The global pandemic hit And we realized that we had to re imagine everything. Jackson says her team wanted to create a wafer, filmgoers and filmmakers to gather will be able to chat with each other in virtual waiting rooms. Then watch film premieres together before asking questions of the casts and crews, and that's to preserve the energy and the excitement on the buzz and the conversation. In that moment, as we are confined in our Safe spaces. This is an opportunity to go out into the world and be taken around the world by some of these films as an international festival dedicated to independent filmmaking, the Sundance Community prides itself on being a bit scrappy. We're excited. I think this feels like a grand experiment, so people who are they couldn't afford it or couldn't make the journey. Couldn't navigate the icy streets of Park City can now come to Sundance. We're bringing Sundance to them. This year, Half the films at Sundance were directed by people of color as well as by women. Many were shot or finished during the pandemic lockdown. There's even one titled In the same breath about how covert 19 began in Wuhan, China. Many of the doctors said these hospitals must have known this new virus was spreading between people, but they were afraid to say so for fear of punishment from the government. Among the feature films to watch for is Koda, about a hearing girl whose family is deaf, also sons of monarchs, about a Mexican biologist and flee and animated film about an Afghan refugee. Other highlights included documentary about choreographer Alvin Ailey and another about the life and career of actress Rita Moreno. Life can be pressing America what was different about Anita and with side stories that she was a girl who respected herself. Who had a certain amount of dignity. Actually, she became my role model. The festival will also include online panels, meetups concerts and parties, many of them free. There will be virtual spaces for black and Latin. Next creators, and Jackson says festival goers can participate in the new frontier program using Webcams or virtual reality headsets from home, you Congar! Oh, in as an avatar, you can wonder around this incredible space garden. Go to parties, which are where people are going to gather to talk about films. We felt a cinema house in this virtual environment, and there's an extraordinary gallery off new work. The reason I'm so excited about it is because it really is an unusual space in which we can still come together and socialize, and it doesn't feel anything like Zoom. Sundance is also partner with art House cinemas around the country to present some in person events, including at drive in theaters. Manda Little Barco. NPR news.
Broken Brain with Dhru Purohit
Build Your Brain and Burn Fat with Shawn Stevenson
"Sean. Welcome back to the broken. Bring podcast brother. We re just been chitchat. A little bit. I feel like that was a whole podcast and itself like save. Save save save save. Save it for the audience to get into it and we definitely are so many topics to talk about today. And i was thinking as i was preparing for this Interview on my drive up from san diego visiting family. I was thinking. What kind of frame do i want to give this conversation and actually put out a quote that i came across recently from the author james. Nestor he tweeted it once before he wrote this book breath which is really great book. We have on the podcast. When read this quote. And i'm gonna tied into why it's so central to this conversation the first subjects. We're going to get into so this is from albert zafy gory a pri- butcher that a little bit nobel prize winner. 1937 was individual who was responsible for discovering vitamin c as a mechanism inside the body. He says more than sixty years of research on living systems has convinced me that our body is much more nearly perfect than the endless list of ailments suggest its shortcomings are due less to its inborn imperfections then to our abuse it and what i love about. That quote is that. And i posted on instagram this morning. So much of what we think of our body is messing up. Our body is failing us. Our bodies not showing up. How he wanted it to be is much of the by just trying to survive the crazy environment. We've put it in and nothing better describes as inside of your new book. It's smarter than how you introduce the world of fat to us and i'd love to start there so fat loss. Losing fat getting rid of belly fat. It's something that people always think of especially at the time to this. Podcast is coming out. Twenty twenty one. Everybody's like it's a new year. Let me get started. Twenty twenty was a tough one. Takes down the rabbit hole of what we do not understand and get about that. This is so good. And i love that quote so much you know. We're we're in a state where you our system is really focused on malfunction of the human body and not on the grace and the perfection in the beauty of the human body in all the potential you know. An an that's shifting. There's a shift taking place for sure and part of that overall assessment. Because right now we've seen it just run rampant here in the united states. We have about two hundred million citizens who are overweight or obese cry now things populations what three hundred ten. Something they'd it makes no like we can't rationally understand the magnitude of that and right now just shared a study yesterday. That within the next ten years half of the us population will be clinically obese. And we've we've gotten into where we're we're in a battle with fat. We're at war with fad. And i think that the war is a little bit misdirected. And that's wars that something on drugs on everything in that war inherently creates backlash. There's consequences to all of our actions. And i think that there's really just a lack of of well rounded understanding about what fat is because. Here's the the rub. your body. Fat is actually one of the most miraculous important things to your survival into your evolution as a human and so i wanted to start with that premise and kind of dive into fat in. Just open that conversation up because it's evolutionary adaptation that humans have that we've developed over time to be very good at storing fat. Our body fat is there for our survival and it's really really good at doing that. And during times of course we'd experience to our evolution. Where food is scarce. We want that fat to be there to provide a source where we can live to fight another day to see you know scavenger hunt or whatever it is to keep us going and now today however we've gotten we're in a war with this thing that is there for our survival in understanding how miraculous it really isn't so to start at the heart of it. Fat is an first and foremost. And as that's i think a big thing that even people who are in the world of wellness sometimes don't understand it. S just like the way that you would think about the heart. The lungs the brain fat and itself is in oregon. And and when you say it's an organ what are the characteristics of an oregon. That fat has so. This is okay. Psychologically we see fat as like this scattered random droplets of unhappiness at different points of our body right but there there are networks are communities of fat that i talked about in the book and so that i community is storage fats and this is what people are usually trying to target or we're talking about burning fat or getting rid of fat. It's these storage fats. And this goes under the umbrella of these white adipose tissue storage fats and again they're all interconnected and being that it's an organ it creates and produces its own hormones. It has its own receptor sites. It has its own management in cellular communication
TED Talks Daily
10 years to transform the future of humanity -- or destabilize the planet
"Ten years is a long time for US humans on Earth. Ten turns around the Sun. When I was on the Ted. Stage a decade ago I, talked about planetary boundaries that keep our planet in a state that allowed humanity to prosper. The main point is that once you transgress won the risks, start multiplying the planetary boundaries are all deeply connected but climate alongside bio-diversity, our core boundaries they impact on all others. Back then we really thought we had more time. The warning lights were on absolutely, but no unstoppable change had been triggered. Since mytalk, we have increasing evidence that we are rapidly moving away from the safe operating space for humanity on earth, climate has reached a global crisis point. We have now had ten years of record breaking climate extremes, fires blazing, Australia set area California, and the Amazon floods in China Bangladesh and India. During heatwaves across the entire northern, hemisphere we risk crossing tipping points that shift the planet from being our best resilient friend dampening are impacts to start working against US amplifying the heat. For the first time, we are forced to consider the real risk of destabilizing the entire planet. Our children can see this they are walking out of school to demand action looking with disbelief at our inability to deviate away for potentially catastrophic risks. The next ten years to twenty thirty must see the most profound transformation. The world has ever known. This is our mission. This is the countdown. When my scientific colleagues summarized about a decade ago for the first time, the state of knowledge on climate tipping points just one place had strong evidence that it was on a sears downward spiral. Arctic Sea ice. Other tipping points were long way off fifty four hundred turns around the Sun. Just. Last year, we revisited these systems in I got the shock of my career. We are only a few decades away from an Arctic without since summer in. Permafrost is now thawing at dramatic. Scales Greenland is losing trillions of tons of ice and may be approaching a tipping point. The great force of the North are burning with plumes of smoke, the size of Europe. Atlantic Ocean circulation is slowing the Amazon rainforest is weakening and may start emitting carbon within fifteen years. Half of the Coral Great Guy Wreath has died west Antarctica may have crossed the tipping point already today, and now the most solid of glaciers on earth east Antarctica parts of it are becoming unstable. Nine out of the fifteen big biophysical systems that regulate climate are now on the move showing worrying signs of decline in potentially approaching tipping points. Tipping Points Bring Three threats I sea level rise, we can already expect up to one meter this century. This will endanger the homes of two, hundred million people. But when we add the melting is from Antarctica and greenland into the equation, this might lead to a two meter rise. But it won't stop there. It will keep on getting worse. Second if our carbon stores like permafrost enforced flipped to belching carbon, then this makes the job of stabilizing temperatures so much harder and third these systems are all linked like dominoes. If you cross one tipping point, you lurch closer to others. Let's stop for a moment and look at where we are. The foundation of our civilization is a stable climate and the rich diversity of life everything I mean everything is based on this civilization has thrived and a goldilocks zone not too hot not too cold. This is what we have had for ten thousand years since we left the last ice age. Let's zoom out a little here three million years. Temperatures have never broken through the two degree Celsius limit. Earth has self regulated within a very narrow range of plus two degrees in a warm into glacial minus four degrees. Defy. Sage. Now we are following path that would take us to a three to four degree world. In just three generations, we would be rewinding the climate clock, not one, million, not two million, but five to ten million years we are drifting towards hothouse earth. For. Each one degree rise one billion people will be forced to live in conditions that we today largely consider uninhabitable. This is not a climate emergency. It is a planetary emergency. My fear is not that Earth will fall over a cliff on the first of January twenty thirty. My fear is that we press unstoppable buttons in the Earth System.
TED Talks Daily
What if lifesaving prescriptions were affordable for all
"Hi Hugh Ted Talks Daily today a super cool idea to ensure people have access to the medicines they need to survive and thrive Kia Williams the founder of the nonprofit serum saw both a problem and a solution that exists in the pharmaceutical space and her idea link. The two together should explain in her talk from Ted Twenty twenty. Every day in this country families are forced to make impossible choices when it comes to their healthcare. Like Kimberly who said? There is time I to choose between my food and my pills. It wasn't luxury stuff because I didn't make that much. It was like, can I get shampoo or conditioner? Things you take for granted and Debbie. Who Said you put your medicine in one hand your living costs in the other. Okay. Well, what am I going to do? Am I GONNA get my medicine or am I gonNA pay my bills? Will. I can't live without my medicine but I can't live if I don't pay my bills ten thousand people die every month in this country because they don't take the medicine that they need. More people die from not taking medications than. Overdoses and car accidents combined. But you can't take medicine if you can't afford it. Today the average household spends three thousand dollars a year on medications about a third of folks who are uninsured said that they stopped taking medicine as prescribed because of cost even folks with insurance. If they make under thirty, five, thousand dollars a year half of them report skipping the medications if their insurance doesn't cover it. So there are. Million adults like Kimberly in like Debbie who are forced to make impossible choices every day. We all know that prescription drug prices are too high. In our healthcare system that makes some folks uninsured and other folks underinsured doesn't prioritize people who need access now and need medications. Now, ten million, it's a big number, but it's also a solvable number because there's also ten billion dollars of perfectly good unused medication that goes to waste. So this is an injustice onto sides people not getting the medicine that they need to survive and to thrive. In, that very same medication being sent to a medical waste incinerator to be destroyed this waste is unconscionable, but it also offers an opportunity I started serum a not for profit technology company with my co founders Adam and George. To turn discarded medications into a lifeline, we may not be able to fix all the ways in which our healthcare system is failing us, but we can fix this one. Medications come from manufacturers wholesalers who have safety stock, and when it's short dated, they destroy it. It also comes from healthcare facilities like fiddles pharmacies in nursing homes who end up with surplus when a patient stops taking medication or when they pass away. We can use this untapped source of medications to supply all ten million people who need medications, and we can do this today. Serum get surplus medications by putting recycling bins into the hundreds of facilities that have surplus they fill the been and when the boxes full serum initiates a courier pickup to pick up that medication in we handle the shipping the tracking the manifests in the tax receipt medicine donors want to donate because it's actually cheaper and easier than the highly regulated medicine destruction process. And they're strong tax incentives to actually donate. We then deliver those donated medications to people who needed a new prescription comes in in our platform matches that patient need with the inventory that's available. Our platform then generates a warehouse pick lists. The medications are picked in the prescription spills. We are building the twenty-first-century pharmacy experience that low income families deserve patients can register in under five minutes and have access to over five hundred different medications A. Stable list of medications for everything from heart disease to mental health conditions
Managing to be Wealthy with John Sestina
Beirut explosion: Death toll rises to 200 as protests continue
"One of the top stories this week, unfortunately, was the massive explosion in Beirut. There was arrested Look for more survivors. As thousands were injured and the explosion there looked to be the result of negligence. There was huge amounts of ammonium nitrate that exploded, they were improperly stored in a warehouse for over six years. Half of the city's destroyed and thousands have been left homeless for more on what we know about this. We spoke to miss you. Ryan, National Security reporter at the Washington Post, You know well, it was really just a catastrophic scene in downtown Beirut. And he said there was a series of explosions. First, this initial fire, smaller fire or explosion. They're different accounts. And then this. Masses mushroom cloud blasts followed by the blast wave course he not across the city, and one would assume that some people were killed in the explosion close to the port. And then there were lots of people wounded and probably dead in the blast wave that broke windows, destroyed buildings and affected people, Miles and miles away. And so people who are on the ground there, and they were just sort of describing this apocalyptic scene where hospitals were overwhelmed. There was nitrous oxide fumes that were potentially dangerous, and this is happening in the country that is already really struggling with Cupid. Pandemic, of course, but then a series of political and economic crises that have triggered inflation and widespread protests over the last year, so this is coming at a very, very hard time for Lebanon. Obviously a lot of people. I know by now, I've seen the video of the explosion. There's so many different angles, so many different videos. There's videos of people experiencing their normal life. And then the blast comes. I saw A video of a family just looking out their window at the fire, and then the windows just completely exploding on them. As the big blast came. Another video I saw was a woman taking bridal pictures and then the huge blast comes and knocks her down and the crew down and everything so just kind of the devastation that that's there and was caught on video is pretty crazy, but I wanted to ask about the ammonium nitrate and why it was there in the first place, and why it was there for so long. Basically, obviously one of the first questions after this happened, Wass what caused this explosion. Initially people were trying to figure out was this some sort of military attack or terrorist attack, But Lebanese officials have said that they believe that it was The result of this improperly stored ammonium nitrate, which we're told was there as a result of basically a stranded shipment that was headed for somewhere else in 2013 or 2014 and was brought And because of a legal dispute in a sort of custody dispute was brought into the port facility in Beirut. And then nobody has really clarify. Why remain there for so long? And I think that that the anger of the Lebanese people ask you why there would have been this highly flammable explosive material stored in the middle of a pact teeming city that's going to be prompting, you know a huge amount of political pressure there already. We've reported that there are some port employees have been placed under house arrest. There are calls or government officials or port officials to be held personally accountable, But I think we're just the beginning of that whole process. And I should add that the U. S government officials that we're talking Tio don't have that much independent information at this point, But what they're saying is They don't have any reason to think so far, and this is evolving that it was anything other than but negligence or an accident. Yeah, it just seems like if this was purely negligence, it's almost worse that if it was a nefarious attack, this is something that could have been totally avoided. You did mention a few of the other things that were going on in Beirut and Lebanon specifically with regards to Corona virus, because the pandemic is obviously affecting the world right now. I know the hospitals are already kind of overtaxed and this is just going to make it worse considering so many people were injured there. I think, they said over 135 dead now and over 4000 people injured and those numbers they're going to change. One would have seemed so. I mean, one of the things that was happening today, with people digging through rubble. Many buildings further away from the port, sort of as he went out, had windows or doors blown out, but structurally or intact, but that no one's closest to the port. Some of them are destroyed. And so people were pulling people out of the rebel today, So you would assume that that death toll would potentially rise and then we have reports of at least 4000 people who were injured. So it was really scary event for a lot of people and then the rebuilding process. Now I've been seeing just people throw numbers around. You never know what the true cost would be. Repairs could cost $5 billion. I mean in the initial area, there was just totally devastated. There's a huge hole the warehouse was One of other countries been doing to offer help. The French president is supposed to visit Lebanon tomorrow. Some of the European countries already sending or talking about sending assistance. I saw reports of Russia operate assistance. The U. S government has so far not said whether or not It'll send eight or potentially logisticians or any sort of personnel to assist. But that's also a possibility. And I would assume that something like that would, of course from the United States as well. One of the other things Teo think about is the fact that there were these massive grain Silas basically right next to the areas, the site of the explosion in the port area that had And them so those were not destroyed or significantly damaged. And so that could really hasten concerns about food security in Lebanon, which it is sort of crazy to think about Lebanon. Being a food, insecure country was always thought as one of the most well to do in the past countries. In the Middle East. It did go through a big punishing civil war in the 19 eighties, but it's really sad to think about Lebanon being in this place. Missy Ryan, National Security reporter at the Washington Post. Thank you very much for joining us. Thank you.
WBZ Midday News
Saturday protests in Paris call for racial justice
"Several thousand people attending an anti racism and anti police violence protests in Paris today here's the sister of a woman who died in twenty sixteen and police custody in France she says she is absolutely outrageous violence the rallies came at the end of weeks when France's police watchdog said it had received almost fifteen hundred complaints against officers last year half of them for alleged violence
Business Wars Daily
As Unemployment Skyrockets, So Too Do LinkedIn Learning, Coursera Enrollments
"From one day I'm David Brown and this is business awards daily on this Thursday April thirtieth. Have you learned something new over the last few weeks signed up for an online course on work related skills or maybe decided to take up a new hobby. You are in good company. My friend during the first week of January Lincoln reported that its users watched more than a half million hours of linked and learning. That sounds like a lot but the first week in April learners watched one point seven million hours of classes three times as many same transit true of other online learning platforms to among the heavy hitters in this category is core. Sarah launched in two thousand twelve. The platform offers virtual classes taught by university professors for a fraction of university prices. Since stay at home orders began. The company. Says there's been eightfold increase in enrollment in social science personal development and arts and humanities courses according to The Guardian? That's an unprecedented increase core. Sarah Chief Product Officer Shrub on Goalie told newspaper. So what's happening? Well like so. Many Corona virus related phenomena. A lot of things are happening at once. I of course it's simply that millions of people have been home and while parents are busier than ever trying to help their children learn online. Many people without kids at home have time on their hands. And there's only so much netflix you can watch can hear it amen. In addition millions of us are searching for ways to tame pandemic inspired anxiety both linked in learning and core Sarah have seen enormous enrollment jumps in classes designed to help us manage stress for instance core. Sarah serves up the yield course. The science of wellbeing last year. Half a million students took the course encore Sarah's online platform making it the company's bestseller but that's nothing compared to this year so far in twenty twenty one point. Six million people have signed up for the class and on linked in learning over the last few weeks. People have been gravitating toward classes on mindfulness stress reduction and resilience. And then there's the elephant in the room layoffs as of last week. More than twenty six million. Americans had filed for unemployment. Some people are using. This moment is an opportunity to learn skills. Intended to make them more employable to prepare for job-hunting students are signing up to learn everything from data science and computer to personal branding both core Sarah and linked in are also trying to help solve pandemic related problems. Normally Corsair sells a version of its platform to schools and universities but when schools closed the company offered it to them for free in February fifty campuses were paying for the service today. Sixty eight hundred. Schools and universities are using the platform. The company says course era has also just started to make its courses free to the unemployed through partnerships with state local and international government. The company launched the program last week in Illinois Oklahoma and Arizona linked in to is offering classes in everything from small business management sales skills leadership for free to anyone who wants them unemployed or not normally linked in courses come with premium memberships. Which cost thirty dollars to a hundred dollars? A month courses from these platforms are useful but also quite serious. So what if you're just looking to learn something new for fun? Will you could turn to masterclass which offers eighty courses taught by celebrity? Instructors consider for instance a class self expression from Dragonstar Rupaul. Tennis from Serena Williams were screenwriting from Shonda rhimes. One class costs ninety dollars. In annual all access pass is just twice that much masterclass which is privately held. Says it's enrollments are growing but it's tight lipped and won't give any numbers away. Clearly though masterclasses leaders know how to grab eyeballs with so many of its ideal customers at home. It seems to be advertising more than ever video trailers seem to be all over facebook and instagram streams. The company claims it has an increased. Its advertising budget is just targeting its prospects precisely still. The ads are so ubiquitous that Saturday. Night Live spoofed. M. S. and L.'s. Version parodies actor Timothy. Shell may teaching students. How to wear a Hoodie? And Josie with the teenage former dance MOMS star teaching tick tock skills. Satire is rarely far from the truth. Of course masterclass has such diverse
AI Today Podcast: Artificial Intelligence Insights, Experts, and Opinion
Interview with Oki Mek, Special Advisor, HHS
"Hello and welcome to the AI. Today podcast I'm your host Kathleen Walsh and I'm your host Schmeltzer. Our guest today is okay. Mack who is the senior advisor to the chief information officer at the US Department of Health and Human Services? Hhs So okay thank you so much for joining us on Ai Today. Thank you for having caffeine wrong. Yeah thank you so much for joining us. You'd like to start by having you introduce yourself to our listeners. And tell them a little bit about your background and your current role at HHS. I am a. I am the senior adviser to Sasebo. And I'm also the technical integration. Lead but edgy reimagined but my background is really cybersecurity but my principal around cybersecurity. That just knowing cyber alone is not enough. You really need to know and understand the business I've been with. Hr FINANCE BUDGET GRANTS ACQUISITIONS. I was leaving sponsored to help onboard new employees for personnel security and badges and laptops. So I find that to be very critical and crucial in terms of modern nine station in the government just knowing to three sixty just understanding what you know what budget stream is coming through. What is the budget calendar Audi acquisition services and products and even just getting people on board with badges an laptop? Just getting that three sixty view and been very critical in terms of you know modernizing trying to innovate in trying to change the landscape Embracing Emerging Tech and dealing with big data paradigm shifts excellent. Yeah it's definitely the government's been very interesting. Adopter not just technology in general but especially with artificial intelligence. Because you know is is a transformative technology. Just like You know many of the other big transformative waves in the Internet and mobile and big data and the cloud and now five G. and then blockchain so all of these technology transformative right. They had changed a whole lot of things or multi. System the multidisciplinary and so obviously there are many ways that we see being applied to government agencies organizations. And we've been very impressed. One of the things that been talking about here a lot today is sort of the many ways in which is being adopted. Not only an industry as a whole but especially in government very impressive actually some of these ways that hopefully it's making the government more responsive more efficient more effective more. Give it more visibility into things. So can you tell us some of the ways that? Hhs is currently adopting AI and various solutions. And maybe how those ways are unique to. Hhs or perhaps similar to what other of different governmental agencies are doing in this space so we start of area to the CIO. And I started a program like celery leveraging ai machine learning and blockchain. It was the first watching network that had been authorized to operate in the federal government but in terms of a I think we are using similar to agency mainly we use it to clean and format the data and as you know you deal with a lot of data set the day. I need data. The biggest thing is cleaning the data. Ninety five I believe ninety percent of it is cleaning the data. People WanNa do they WANNA do machine learning they WANNA do. But they don't focus on they're gonna up a root of baking because Clinton. The data is the biggest component of that process. So we use a machine learning to basically normalize the data from different data sets using supervised and unsupervised learning to normalize the data. And then we also get into linear regression as well in terms of predictive analysis. One of the main thing that we'd do accelerate is looking at prices paid and just as so large we do about twenty five billion in spending on products and services just minding data and cleaning the data at it was a big call just to look at. Why are we buying things that different prices and a good example is? I'm just throwing the example while we buy that. Dobie pro at cms for aided aqua- eighty dollars per license and buying that CDC thirty dapper night or licensed an opportunity to mind data to come to the table to be able to negotiate a different price. You can't come to table to negotiate without having that insight so data claiming and looking at data mining and looking at predictive analysis the three main usage for a for us. That's great you know Melinda. We produced a report last year. And then we did a follow up report this year Dataprep prep and data labeling and I think that a lot of people underestimate how long it's going to take to actually get their data into a usable state so it's great that you pointed that out because I think that people underestimate the time and the difficulty that sometimes it can be actually get data in a usable state. Data's the heart of AI. So you need that. For these systems to learn as a government agency adoption of new technologies such as artificial intelligence can bring its own unique set of challenges that sometimes the private sector doesn't always run into. These can be issues around privacy data usage. What can and can't be used where it can be stored so can you tell us some of the challenges you've seen with Ai. Adoption in your agency and how you're overcoming them by the biggest mistake that people do is looking at the technology before they look at the business and the mission of agency. I always say that does no such thing at it. Project and the business project with it components. You have to start with the business. And what are you trying to saw? Most of these challenges that the EPA my experience I've been in a government close to twenty years half awaiting contractor in private industry and also have in federal government. The challenge is not the technology challenges to culture is leaning chain change management and. I don't think we do not a strategic planning. Just because we have one hundred idea doesn't mean we pursued ideas. We need to look at you know strategic planning comes into play. You may have one hundred ideas but you should only pursue one idea through strategic. Planning you know. The first thing is really feasibility studies. I didn't even feasible to at any regression issue. Anani downstream impact. Accountability is big. I think in terms of trying to modernize. Can you prove a concept just because you have this idea? People might think is a crazy idea but if you do it at a tangible way that you could prove that idea is feasible and it's scalable because you wanNA start small and scale that big as well. Sustainability is huge as well just because the project is a success. Doesn't mean that sustainable as your culture your agency your privacy mature enough to take on this new shining toy you know this new technology but the important part is marketability I we. I can't overemphasize that did not marketability is people. Don't think that the government market but you have to market you ideas. You have to win. The hearts and minds of the workforce the people that They coders you have to be able to market in different ways to senior leadership to middle managers workforce. I think culture is the biggest obstacle. But I think doing a thorough strategic planning analysis and putting emphasis on marketability analysis is key and the biggest part of marketability is human design is really engaging the workforce I'll model in terms of accelerated that. We're not building the solution. We are allowing the workforce to go to solution getting them engaged yet here at thoughts and pain point incorporating agile depth. Bob You know building something. Every two weeks and bring him back to them is a Saab issue and we cycled out every two or three weeks and that really is the key of getting people to lean in and to win the heart and mind of people.
The Healthcare Policy Podcast
CBPP's Dr. Joseph Llobrera Discusses the Administration's Proposed Cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
"Can you. Provide a brief primer or background on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Sure David Wanted to start off by saying that snap is proven highly effective program. It's vital to our nation's health and wellbeing and it's been shown to reduce poverty reduce food insecurity and improve health outcomes. And I WANNA come to those outcomes in just a minute but before that wanted to start off with some basics Snap as an entitlement which means it provides benefits to anyone who meets the programs eligibility requirements. this design means that it can respond quickly when needs increase We most saw this inaction during the last recession when it expanded to meet the needs of millions of Americans who are losing their jobs and losing their source of income It helps Close to forty million Americans each month and the vast majority of those are recipients in families with kids Older adults or those with disabilities At this point about eighty five percent of individuals that are eligible for the program participate. So it's Participant participation rates have improved over the past decade or so Participants received benefits through a debit card That can be used at over a quarter of a million retailers across the country Last year about fifty billion In benefits were distributed to Participating households I wanted to say that benefits are relatively modest They average about two hundred fifty dollars a month for the average household. I if you and if you do the math comes out to an average of about a dollar and forty cents per person per meal But despite those benefit levels those modest benefit levels snap has been shown to deliver strong outcomes reduces poverty so it it it's been shown to raise the income of millions of people and children out of poverty and and makes millions of Americans lest poor It's anti-poverty effect is larger than any other safety. Net program outside of The earned income tax credit child tax credit combination The other thing is the benefits are targeted fish. Lately to those with the greatest need Very poor households get the largest. Get larger and benefits kind of scaled. Down as household income. Goes up So the other area that's The literature shown snap having great if Impact is reducing food insecurity Participation in snap reduces food insecurity By up to thirty percent among Snap households that join That participated in the program and When if you were calling I referenced. The Recovery Act During the last recession snap benefits were increased across the board and we saw that With that boosting benefits Food Insecurity rates came down for participating households When when it came time to cut those benefits if years later the inverse happened Benefits of cut the benefits increasing food insecurity and then. The last area wanted or bucket. I wanted to address was Links BETWEEN SNAP AND IMPROVED. Health Outcomes Investing in snap is an investment in the health and wellbeing of Americans snouts been linked with a wide range of improved health outcomes Adults receiving snap miss fewer days of work. Because of illness make fewer physician office visits are more likely to adhere to their medications and have a more positive self assessment of their health status event. There have been studies that have shown that receiving snap early in life can lead to improved outcomes. Not just now but years down the road. is GonNa Studies that have found that access to snap during pregnancy and childhood was associated with fewer low birth weight babies and reduced risk of out Abi City and other conditions related to heart disease and diabetes and adulthood There's a study that came out on health affairs last fall that found that snap was really Was associated with a one to one to two percentage point reduction in population wide mortality So the last piece I wanted to touch on was Is that snap? Participation has been associated with reduced healthcare expenditures One study found that annual medical care costs of low income adults that are participating in the program was about a thousand four hundred dollars less than similar non-participants. So that's about twenty five percent less than Comparable non-participants okay. Thank you Joseph. I know your organization last November. Put out a snap chart book which includes a good number of research findings relative to the pros performance on healthcare. I did note somewhere in my reading that For every dollar spent on snap between three sixty seven eight thousand three or four cents is estimated to be saved in health care costs. So thank you for that overview. Let's go now to what the current administration has proposed the last few years and is proposing again in the twenty twenty one administration's budget as proposed This was out about a month ago. Your Organization wrote and overview What affects the proposal would have and that was in a February eighteenth memo which will provide a link When I post this but let's go. What did what did the trump administration propose This this past month for funding And the snap program in fiscal year. Twenty sure David thanks So too high level this administration's budget And other proposals With significantly cut public services that help struggling households for the basics and that includes snap As you mentioned this administration's Twenty Twenty one budget was very similar to the previous to And snap it calls for cuts of more than one hundred eighty billion over the next decade That represents nearly thirty percent reduction in program funding I did want to note that. That's on top of fifty billion dollars in cuts that administration is seeking to affect through regulatory action. And I'm hoping we have a tiny host best Unemployed workers elderly individuals low income working families and with kids all bear. The brunt of these cuts Just for some specifics For the first sorry for the third time in three budget proposals Administration is proposing to hold back about forty percent of benefits that comes out to twenty to thirty billion a year Half of those of that amount would go to what the administration is calling America's harvest boxes and the other half those benefits that are held back would simply be eliminated Some of your listeners may have heard of the harvest box But just briefly. It's A. It's a box of shelf. Stable food products peanut butter canned goods including canned meats pasta cereal shelf stable milk and other similar products Those that harvest box would not include Fresh fruits and vegetables and participants wouldn't have To our knowledge wouldn't have a say in what they what they receive The administration has justified this. Change these cuts by claiming that the government can purchase box and distribute food commodities at a substantial reduced cost but it hasn't really pro provided any evidence to back that up
The Common Cents Show
Why Strategic Planning Is Important For Small Business
"So yeah topic today. Title Net flicks worst nightmare. What's the worst nightmare eh? We've talked about this a lot but maybe we haven't talked about it on air. I don't think specifically so obviously when we were putting the information together You know we talked to one F lakes and article in Forbes magazine by Stephen McBride and one of the things that says which will then pull from today is that the net flicks in the last decade. Their stock has risen to about eighty. Five hundred percent has risen by eighty-five hundred percent. That's not because streaming ozzy caught fire. I mean streaming is like first of all the word streaming was invented. Because of what Netflix does I know like no one used the word really like streaming in relation to viewing things until Netflix really came along and now it's like streaming as his own category which is impressive. Whenever you can create its things Hastings Reed Hastings Ya Hastings company that like the smart brands words words right Amex? Yeah exactly. It's like netflixing. Chill not exactly that one. Maybe actually. That's he can miss his better thing. Big You're like old married couples. That's what they say will take Shade Mahar in the tender tender account. I don't F- looks to me Netflix. And Chill and has put Netflix ongoing asleep so because the different indices sold as me. That's the that's what I do. They netflixing watch Netflix. Watch me so anyway. So net flicks achieved those gains. How do they do it? They literally disrupted video rental the whole industry. They stole millions of customers. Oh no not even just a video rental like they they were beyond that streaming actually took away customers from the large cable companies. Millions of cable companies loss customers at the hands of readings Netflix. God I'd love to be able to drop Kale. I know I have a way to watch sports without having in cable. 'cause that's literally. The only thing tying cable Youtube Youtube Youtube. TV Okay Forty nine ninety nine a month all regions force not end more mass. Let's check that. I have it now but accidents because I still have direct TV. Once they cancelled DIRECTTV next year. I'm GONNA switch completely over to Youtube. TV sweet actually be free. Leave so so Netflix. Still literally tens of millions of customers from cable companies because so much content yet you know I can literally don't I can't even tell you what channels are what on cable. All I know is that you'd have to hit five hundred to get into like your hd but after that. Ah I'm just hitting like the page until I fall. Oh there we go. That's what I WANNA watch. I can't tell you anything but you WANNA know what's on Netflix. I know all you know what I mean like. I'm always always watching documentaries. And movies and everything so yeah I completely feel that way. It's funny because articles here says says that Last year half of Americans a twenty to forty five didn't even watch a second of cable TV. That's crazy isn't nuts. Wow that's true disruption. But here's the problem. oftentimes when there's a a good idea invented where comes out disrupts the whole marketplace replace what happens competition. Man are the big boys get into the they see going on they get they own honestly that Pie. So that's what's happening right now. Man Disney plus who you name it right there all stripping away so my net flicks is Grip tight grip on this on the street. And there's more coming. Yeah like because all licenses that netflix expiring or not renewing because those major are those major television and film houses are taking the licenses back in creating their own streaming service. You know that's crazy. Yep so the point of this. Is that Netflix. Says worst nightmare would be that what they did the cable. Obviously it's going to happen to them. Yeah we'll be done to them. Do you think that people would cancel their netflix memberships. Though like cable 'cause I see it as a way where people just reduce their netflix subscription. More so than. Cancel it because Netflix still has like so much offer. Yeah that's a good question so we extrap- extrapolating out. I'm looking at it that we would have to reduce it because they still put out some good stuff. They have netflix originals. That some some of them are actually really good now some of the NFL. So I think it's just what I've talked to house of cards. Yeah this is why I've talked about affair with you that I still feel the same as that A little bit off topic but I think me personally for the end consumer. It's a disservice to them. Because you know in a world where everybody is like I you said I'd love to get off the cable. Save some money when you really start to do the math. It's like I think. NBC's starting to get their own thing. Soon we're just reading in in this article. Eighteen tease looking to start their own already. Disney plus we already know Hulu and some of these other ones when you break down all the different subscriptions that you're paying for. It's like Mike expresses went up not down exactly. So how much is Netflix is. Net flicks is fifteen. ninety-nine that's how much I pay and then Disney pluses twelve ninety nine. It's all ready twenty nine dollars here and then Hulu Hulu Netflix and ESPN. But then like let's say you get get what's the other one Like NBC. What if they come on you know what I mean because they have the office and they have friends? It's in frazier and I think those are like the top things that are watched on Netflix. And I love Frazier Frazier okay. Oh don't forget the apple apple plus came out to Oh did it yes apple pluses apples streaming service. And that's like four ninety nine one hundred dollars for cable or three hundred for seriously seriously. But you know what's GonNa Happen is that it's just going to be things that people watching cancel. There's going to be this. Subscription does monthly subscription service. This is going to turn into people turning on and turning off being hop skip like I just already heard of people doing that with the mandatory now that it stopped just cancel their Disney subscription. And they'll come back and they'll come. I'm back and so what happens. Disney just lose revenue because people are leaving and coming back. That's not the kind of when you have a scripture over. She won't be able to be subscribed for life like you don't want cycles of three month customers and then come back this and that it's just like you know you know. They really is a paid. But the reason why we bring this up in the entrepreneur. Life is because as is entrepreneurs. This is going to happen. Competitions part of business is you know especially even if you have something that disrupts the market as much much is a net flicks people come in Nelson and got this really great idea. No one else is doing it. There's no competition and they could be right there. There may not be any competition. But you can't assume that it will always be that way if it's that good of an idea and you have a hold on the market share. Some point people are going to be like wait a minute. They're gonNA wake up and be like oh we gotta do. Is You know you look at Netflix. Netflix is paying Disney And NBC and some of these other companies. A little bit to be able to have those shows on Netflix. So now they're looking like dead. Their stocks rose eighty five hundred eighty five hundred percent percent eight thousand five hundred percent yet whether I want some of that. Yup Well I guess the other thing too is I the reason why we put with is in. There is because it's like like you said like this is going to happen as a small business owner and I don't think I think the wrong I think to wrong reactions to to competition so I'll I'll start off with my own example. Is that when I moved to the city block them on in open a facility disability down there in downtown Boston five years ago when I first open I had four competitors today I have twelve. Which kind of tells you the state of number one the industry that a man number two tells you that there's no market research done uh-huh in some areas but then the other thing too is like it tells you that you know like there's going to be competition and you know you're competing for the same dollar if you think you're competing for the same dollar? You're you're mistaken you're competing for fifty cents and you had to. You GotTa just be careful if you want to compete for the whole dollar then you have to outperform everybody to get that dollar like significantly. You don't have to be a one stop shop but your value has to be tremendously high. You create value. We've talked about it a million a million times and we had a podcast the segment about creating value. How to do so? Go back and listen to that. I think is episode thirty three. Yeah and that's what they're going to have to do here. So what right. So that's the thing is like okay so that so so I was just giving you. The example of how market competition using my example can come into play. And I'm sure for you. I mean I I went went from four to twelve inches my block but for you. I'm sure even bigger than that. You're you're industry. Because you have comp- you have to deal with both companies and individuals
The BreakPoint Podcast
Good Times for Planned Parenthood, So It Says
"America's largest purveyor of abortion claims. It had a banner year if that's the case why our tax dollars still flowing planned parenthood the Colson Center. I'm John Stonestreet. This is breakpoint. Few weeks ago planned. Parenthood released an upbeat even triumphant sounding annual report for the two thousand eighteen nineteen fiscal fiscal year. Despite the increase legal and political challenges they face the organization claims to have met those challenges with resolve this kind of spin and his pretty standard fare for annual report. So it should be taken with a large grain of salt. Still prompts and obvious question if planned parenthood's going from strength to strength as it says that is why does it still need our tax payer support. According to the report planned parenthood performed a record three hundred and forty five thousand abortions during the two thousand eighteen nineteen fiscal year. That's approximately forty percent of the approximately eight hundred sixty two thousand abortions performed in the United States in other words the planned parenthood performed a record number of abortions at a time when the overall number of abortions is declining put differently. We might say that planned planned. Parenthood is cornering the abortion market. The report sounds upbeat because business is good in fact it so good that planned. Parenthood could turn down millions of dollars and federal grants rather than comply with new trump administration rules that bar recipients from referring clients to abortion providers with that kind of financial flexibility. Why are American taxpayers still forced to fund the organization to the tune of six hundred seventeen million dollars a year? More to the point. Why was the most recent funding being approved without the slightest consideration? That things could even be different at least part of the answer to those questions. Lie in the pages of the annual report planned. Parenthood claims that it provided nine point eight million services in the last fiscal year. Half of those were what it called Sti Services and treatment the rest birth control information services and breast exams and PAP test. Now this is of course planned parenthood's continual instill bogus that abortions less than four percent of what the organization does on several occasions. Why that number just isn't true? Apparently there's enough elected officials congressional Republicans included that either belief planned parenthood. Don't care enough to learn. The facts. Were just unwilling to risk their political careers to do anything about it. And so the on the spending bill passed and signed into law late last year directed directed five hundred and fifty million dollars in federal funding for planned parenthood in this fiscal year. That's an increase of twenty million over last fiscal year. Her that of course means the impact of the millions of dollars in grants at planned. Parenthood turned down was limited rather than comply with the new rules or employ their famously justly creative accounting. They instead chose to fight the rules in court. They recently lost that fight. And then I circuit the continued federal funding of planned. Parenthood matters for reasons that that transcend just the symbolic or the moral. Nearly forty percent of planned parenthood's revenue that six hundred seventeen million dollars in the last fiscal year comes from government sources. Nearly ninety percent of that amount comes from the federal government alone which means planned parenthood's quite vulnerable despite the upbeat annual report if that Federal Spigot of funds were just turned off or even just turned down. He'd be in big trouble in fact we should be asking why it hasn't been already. We can't blame what's happened or more accurately what hasn't happened just on those in the courts and legislatures without also pointing to what's happened or more accurately what hasn't happened in the Public Square. See legislatures were only de-fund abortion providers like planned parenthood. If Americans make it clear lear. They view abortion something that they absolutely will not pay for and that will only happen if we can continue and compellingly make the case for for life. If we fail to do that then we can only expect more upbeat annual reports from planned parenthood. Which is America's unquestioned leader of abortion
Talking Points
Why do some people love cruising so much?
"So let's talk about cruising there's a huge upwards of thirty million Leeann people this year are going to cruise. It is definitely a subculture. Why do people love cruising so much? It's not really a subculture. What happens is someone takes it's a cruise and in they cruise on the right experience for them they become cruisers for life So it's not a subculture. Yeah is actually everyone. Yeah could be cruisers for life if they cruise in the first place so under penetrated in every market in the world. And we're GONNA be under penetrated us one point four billion estimated travelers year. Half a billion vacationers a year in the world thirty million cruisers so really small part of the market all the cruise ships added together at Upton less than two percent of hotel rooms in the world one of every two people cruise with us. So we don't even consider all the cruise lines as competitors because I we're gonNA chase the other one percent and we're gonNA chase the ninety eight percent. Yeah it's not that as cruises for certain types of people is that there's a certain cruise for every person if you're with a bunch of college friends different way the kids with you a different one different destinations. If you're dying to go to eighty that's GonNa be a certain choice but the reality is at any moment in time there's a Reich cruise experience for what you're looking for Socialization Fun Excursion Adventure. Sure whatever it might be and if you get that experience in that moment you're looking for it you realize cruises just the best way to travel all right just a quick update from your perspective have on the heels of Hurricane Dorian that ravaged the Bahamas. How are the Bahamas you know the Bahamian people are extremely resilient we have a lot of operations in Grand Bahama almost wish was hit by during we have a shipyard there we have a new project? We're building a new destination there. That's GonNa Continue. The shipyard is up and running not only is up and running but while also providing technical support and manpower to help get the water system you know for the area for the general population reinstituted and we're also helping with the hospital spill to get the hospital up and running but the shipyard is already backed up. We have private islands there. We have a destination throughout the Caribbean but to private islands and the Bahamas Half Moon Cay and princess key. Both of those are up and Robin already and we have another project a new project we have one in half moon cay well established but a new one. We're GONNA continue with that so we see a good recovery. Our job is to bring commerce to help that recovery accelerate and then the provide the support that that we can through that and through the rest of the community
Business Wars Daily
BET Network Launches Streaming Service into Crowded Space
"Business Wars daily is sponsored by audible audible has the world's largest selection of audio books and Audio Entertainment Start Listening with a thirty day audible trial by visiting audible dot com slash B w daily or by texting. Bw Daily to five hundred five hundred from wondering I'm David Brown and this business worse daily on this Wednesday September eighteenth. So how do you watch TV shows and movies the list ways to get your favorite content is getting as long as the menu in an old fashioned diner. You know the kind that takes you ten minutes to read and leaves. You overwhelm not knowing what to choose where we've all well known for months at Apple and Disney will soon debut their own streaming video services apple. TV plus on November first and Disney plus on November twelfth there are also some free free streaming services starting to get attention like Pluto TV and to be and of course Veterans Amazon Hbo Hulu Netflix Have Been Building up their catalog catalog of original content bracing for an onslaught of new rivals not to mention that NBC universal and at's Warner media will both launch streaming aiming services next year now all that leaves you dizzy well. That's the point pretty much any media company. You can think of already offers streaming or will launch it soon. Well make way for yet. One more on Thursday Viacom is launching a nine dollars ninety nine cents a month streaming service called bt Bet plus. It's joint venture with Star writer producer and comedian Tyler Perry. The company says plus will serve what it claims is an avid but underserved black audience it launch with more than one thousand hours of shows according to variety the entertainment industry publication you can count on seeing TV sitcoms dramas Amazon films from Tyler Perry Tracy Oliver will packer and other African American content creators and one of its first original shows a highly touted TV series series based on the Nineteen Ninety six hit movie the First Wives Club starring. Jill Scott Down the road B. E. T. plus will add stand up comedy too and the service. WE'LL BE AD free is shouldn't have been hard to anticipate this move from Viacom. Bt is launched spinoffs of its mainstream channel for years offering TV shows and films for audiences of Women Gospel enthusiasts hip hop lovers and many others. This smart strategy helps the brand sell ads to companies seeking high engagement from Niche Audiences Moreover B. E. T. Says African American audiences adopt on demand video services at a faster rate than any other market archy group. Viacom is relying on those demographics and on Tyler Perry Star power to attract subscribers still that ten dollars a month month price tag could pose a problem or to consider this last week apple announced that Apple TV plus will cost only four dollars ninety nine cents. It's a month about five dollars but worse than that for the competition apple will give a year subscription away for free to people who purchase new IPHONES IPADS or Mac Computers Pink magazine predicts that Apple will sell at least sixty five million new iphones alone by the end of the year half those customers could sign up for Apple. TV plus that's tens of millions of subscribers at launch and many or even most will either get hooked on Apple's new shows and keep the service after a year or just simply. I forget to kill the five bucks a month subscription once the fee kicks in well okay but can general interest dreamer compete with bt for black audiences hungry for better targeted content. That's the same question worth asking about Disney plus which at seven bucks a month is also cheaper than be easy z-plus as we've said before some industry observers and even executives like apple CEO Tim Cook and Netflix Chairman Reed Hastings are betting that TV watchers will subscribe to multiple streamers at some point however most viewers may well say enough is enough but it's far too soon to say of which one of these new services will win or whether even more new streamers by bt plus emerge. I'm wondering this Business Wars Day. You know we try to serve you every day. We need your help to do with best way. We can take a second right now. Wondering Dot Com slash certainly tell us a little bit about yourself. I promise it'll help us out it. Thanks so I'm David Brown will be back happy. New Today's episode of Business Wars daily is brought to you by audible. Audible has the world's largest selection of audio books and audio entertainment right now. I'm listening to an audible original called Burns the scandal-plagued race to breed the world's hottest Chili. It's wild. It's funny and it's about so much more than Chili's with a convenient audible APP. You can listen anytime anywhere and on any device Mobile Alexa Enabled Bluetooth and a lot more as a member. You can easily exchange any title title. You don't love it anytime plus. You get to keep your library of listens. Even if you cancel start listening with a thirty day audible trial choose one audiobook and to audible originals absolutely free visit audible dot com slash. BWI daily or text VW daily to five hundred five hundred that's audible L. Dot com slash V._w. daily or text b w daily to five hundred five hundred.