Rivian is launching its first DC fast-charging sites this week in Colorado and California. The three sites are the first deployments in its US-wide DC fast charging network, which is known as the Rivian Adventure Network.
Rivian’s Level 3 DC fast charging sites will initially provide over 200 kilowatts of power for Rivian vehicle owners.
The first Rivian Adventure Network site in Salida, Colorado, opened to the public today, with four DC fast chargers, including a pull-through charger to accommodate vehicles towing trailers. The site also hosts four Level 2 chargers (known as Rivian Waypoints), which any EV can use.
The second and third Adventure Network sites in Inyokern and Bishop, California, will open on June 28 and 29.
Rivian’s charging stations will be powered directly by renewable energy where possible and through certificates where it’s not.
The Rivian Adventure Network Launches! We are here in Salida, CO for the launch of Rivian’s new DC Fast Charging network. Full 500A CCS capability, 3 dispensers per cabinet which can output about ~300kW(ish) so we have some testing to do with power sharing strategy. Video coming pic.twitter.com/j2gMd5eTWi
Electrek first reported in June 2020 that the EV maker was working on the Rivian Adventure Network and that it was hiring people who worked on Tesla’s Supercharger network. It’s called “adventure” because the fast chargers are being located near off-roading pit stops, national parks, and RV parks.
Rivian has an initial goal of opening 3,500 fast chargers at 600 Rivian Adventure Network sites across North America. Electrek‘s Fred Lambert reported in March 2021 that Rivian’s fast-charging rollout goal included a target date of the end of 2023.
Today’s announcement affirms the number of chargers and sites, but it no longer includes the target date of the end of 2023. See the date reference on Rivian’s map from 2021 below:
Rivian only produced and delivered around 1,000 vehicles in 2021, and it produced 2,500 and delivered about 1,200 of those in the first quarter of this year, when it reported a loss of $1.5 billion. The company is still a fledgling startup, but it’s got $17 billion in cash, and it’s going to make 100,000 electric delivery vans for Amazon.
UnderstandSolar is a free service that links you to top-rated solar installers in your region for personalized solar estimates. Tesla now offers price matching, so it’s important to shop for the best quotes. Click here to learn more and get your quotes. — *ad.
CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — It’s Saturday, June 11 in Charlottetown, PEI. Inside the Eastlink Centre, the Shawinigan Cataractes and Charlottetown Islanders are 40 seconds into overtime of the fifth game in their QMJHL final series. Shawinigan leads the best-of-seven three games to 1.
Brett Budgell, captain of the Islanders, has played for the team for five years. He's just finished his most successful season as an individual player, scoring 79 points (40G, 37A) in 67 games during the regular season, and a further 20 points (12G, 8A) in 15 playoff games. His team has become the first PEI-based major junior team to qualify for a QMJHL final.
One second from now, Budgell’s junior career will end on a Pierrick Dubé goal.
Halifax Mooseheads Stephen Davis and Charlottetown Islanders Brett Budgell collide during QMJHL action in Halifax, Saturday April 2, 2022. - Tim Krochak
Read more
Wrong Feet, Forward
Budgell can’t remember a time when he didn't love hockey. Growing up in St. John’s, he went as often as he could to watch the St. John’s Maple Leafs and later, the Fog Devils. When he was very small, however, he couldn’t leave the rink without attending to one very important ritual.
“The big thing for me when I was a kid was watching the Zamboni,” laughs Budgell.
“Just had to stay after the game to watch the Zamboni.”
When he was old enough, Budgell joined the St. John’s Caps minor hockey organization. It was there that he first encountered coach Wally Bray, who would end up coaching Budgell until he left to play junior at 16. Now, getting a five-year-old ready for hockey is a geometrically challenging exercise. Anyone could make a mistake like Budgell’s father did that first day.
“He actually put my skates on the wrong feet the first time I went to go skate,” says Budgell. “Wally Bray actually was the coach that day and sent me back in to go get my skates changed to the right feet.”
Brett Budgell. - QMJHL photo
Bantam Talents
There was no lack of hockey skill in Budgell’s generation of Newfoundland hockey players. He played with newly-minted Stanley Cup Champion Alex Newhook and against New Jersey Devils centre Dawson Mercer of Bay Roberts. For elite players like these, who may be plying their trade away from major hockey centres, tough choices come early.
“I think my second year of bantam, I kind of knew I had to make a decision, if I was going to pursue it, that I had to leave the island. It was kind of where I realized that I could make a career out of playing hockey.”
“I think my second year of bantam, I kind of knew I had to make a decision, if I was going to pursue it, that I had to leave the island. It was kind of where I realized that I could make a career out of playing hockey.” — Brett Budgell
At just 15 years old, Budgell was off to London, Ontario to play for the Minor Midget Junior Knights. It wasn’t as jarring a move for him as for some since he was able to stay with his aunt and uncle.
“It’s certainly a young age. It’s certainly hard not only for me but for my family to send their kid away at a young age to play a sport,” says Budgell. “It’s certainly nothing I would ever take back. I had a great experience in London and I loved every minute.”
Doubly Drafted
In 2017, after putting up 58 points in 32 games for London, Budgell was drafted twice, by the USHL’s Chicago Steel and the QMJHL’s Charlottetown Islanders. He was also considering the US college route. Players like Budgell face a binary choice in this case. The NCAA considers the CHL to be a pro league, so any player that plays for a CHL team forfeits their NCAA eligibility.
Budgell chose a middle ground by starting the season with the Steel.
“At the time I was really on the fence about what I wanted to do and the USHL was a good league where I could go and play and take some time to make my decision. Where I could go and visit some schools and still keep in contact with Charlottetown.”
Charlottetown Islanders forward and team captain Brett Budgell attempts to redirect a shot past Shawinigan Cataractes goaltender Antoine Coulombe during Game 4 in the 2021 best-of-seven Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s President Cup final. - Ghyslain Bergeron/QMJHL
After 14 games with Chicago, Budgell made his choice, and at Christmas he returned to Atlantic Canada to play for the Islanders. It wasn’t quite home, but it was familiar enough for a teenager swapping one island for another.
“Charlottetown is a lot like St. John’s, in my opinion,” says Budgell. “Chicago, obviously, is just a completely different world than anything I was used to. It’s a huge city with a lot of people. It was a great experience for me, but to come back to Charlottetown was very nice to get that sense of a small, close-knit community.”
Under GM/Coach Jim Hulton, Budgell put up 22 points in the Islanders' remaining 32 games, chipping in a further 12 in 18 playoff tilts. The very next season, 2018-2019, he was named an assistant captain.
“[Jim Holton] had a lot of confidence in me. So as soon as I came into the league, I was put into a big role, and at 17, I was wearing a letter.”
Brett Budgell of Paradise, the captain of the QMJHL's Charlottetown Islanders, is one of a number of unsigned, undrafted players invited to the Toronto Maple Leafs' prospects camp, beginning Thursday in Etobicoke, Ont. — SaltWire Network file photo - SaltWire Network
Steady Improvement
Over the next four seasons, Budgell’s counting stats rose: 33, 49, 58 and 79 points. At the beginning of the 2020-2021 season, he swapped the 'A' on his jersey for a 'C'. He credits prior captains Pierre-Olivier Joseph and Brendon Clavelle for preparing him for that responsibility.
“[Joseph] was a great leader to me, he drove me to the rink every day and I certainly learned a lot from him. Then I had Brendon Clavelle after that and he was another great leader,” says Budgell.
“I just tried to lead by example on and off the ice each and every day, and I think that earned my teammates’ respect. So, when I was eventually voted by my teammates as captain, it was a big honour and something I take pride in.”
Career stats
Last Second
Junior careers are short. It’s a world where 20 is old. The QMJHL allows for three such “overage” players per team. In the Islander’s room, these elder statesmen sit in adjoining stalls across from the team’s youngest players.
“Probably once a week, I’d get one of those feelings where I’m just sitting around the room and I just kind of reflect back on previous years and think, I used to be on the other side of the room,” says Budgell.
“It’s certainly something that I tried to make sure the younger guys understood on my team after this season, and throughout this season, was to just enjoy every minute, because it certainly goes by fast and you really don’t want to blink and miss any special moments.”
"...it certainly goes by fast and you really don’t want to blink and miss any special moments.” — Budgell
Which brings us back to June 11: Dubé is scoring his overtime goal, and Budgell’s junior career is ending.
“You don’t really know what to think. In the moment, you just kind of go blank and blackout,” says Budgell.
“To be honest with you, I'm not even sure that I've still fully digested it. It’s something that I think I need to take some time to reflect on. I don’t think I've really had that downtime to reflect on not only this season, but my entire junior career.”
The Charlottetown Islanders acknowledge the fans at Eastlink Centre for one final time during the 2021-22 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League season following Game 5 of the President Cup final. The Shawinigan Cataractes edged the Islanders 4-3 in overtime on June 11 to win best-of-seven series 4-1. - Jason Simmonds
'When People Need Help, You Give'
As the only captain to lead Charlottetown to a QMJHL final, Budgell has secured a legacy among the team’s alumni.
However, he is especially proud of his efforts in the wider community, for which he earned the Humanitarian Player of the Year award from the league.
That award was for two projects, one of which was working as an ambassador for Hockey Gives Blood. The other was spearheading the Fill the Net food drive for The Upper Room Hospitality Ministry in Charlottetown. Budgell was motivated after working on a school project that highlighted the degree to which people in Canada must deal with food insecurity.
“I think it’s something that my parents instilled in me as a kid, is when people need help, you give. So helping out at the food bank or even with hockey gives blood, it just was second nature to me. I just knew that that was something I always wanted to do, to give back as much as I could.”
What’s Next?
Like most people in their young adulthood, Budgell has begun to reflect on the role his parents played in helping him reach major junior.
“You kind of reflect on your childhood and then you see how much they really did for you. I don’t think you really realize it as a kid,” he says. “But my parents have been beyond supportive and that’s something I’m forever grateful for.”
He says there are dozens of others deserving of thanks for helping him get where he is, but didn’t want to name one if he couldn’t name them all — and there’s only so much room in a newspaper column.
But if things go according to plan, that list of hockey helpers is not finished, either. Budgell plans to try to continue his career somewhere in the professional ranks, either before or after finishing the business degree he’s found the time to get halfway through while playing junior.
“Nothing will be set in stone for the next few weeks, but I want to play pro hockey, for sure. That’s what I want to do for a living. Hopefully, that’s next season,” he says.
The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization lost steam after posting an all-time high of US$67,566.83 on November 8, 2021. In less than a month, the price sunk below US$50,000, and it started the crypto winter. As of this writing, Bitcoin(CRYPTO:BTC) is down 54% year to date.
Bitcoin isn’t having a good year. To call it catastrophic would be an understatement. While stock markets are also shaky, the turmoil in the entire cryptocurrency market is much worse. BTC and other cryptos are falling at a faster pace.
Extreme volatility
The demand for or confidence in Bitcoin has waned significantly this year because of the present economic conditions. With runaway inflation, rising interest rates, and a likely recession, investors will stay away from risky assets. The crypto’s volatility is too great in that you could lose money in a flash.
According to some analysts, the worth of Bitcoin depends on its desirability. Expect the selloff to extend if the value keeps going down. It could even be a never-ending cycle. Moreover, FT markets editor Katie Martin said, “Bitcoin has no intrinsic value to underpin it, and there are no bricks and mortar, revenue stream or underlying business.”
Ms. Martin added, “The price is only and purely whatever people are prepared to buy it from you for. That’s when it gets scary for people, because if enough people head for the exit, there’s no floor. There’s nothing to stop it trading at $10,000 tomorrow if enough people give up or are forced to sell.”
Buy or sell?
Bitcoin fanatics will argue that now is an excellent time to buy the digital asset, because it’s cheap. Their advice is to sit tight, as it will turn the corner eventually, as it did in the past. But State Street Advisors managing director Altaf Kassam urges people to exercise tremendous caution. He said, “Honestly, it’s somewhere only the brave should enter.”
In 2013 and 2017, Bitcoin plunged by 85% and 84%, respectively. After last week’s performance, US$20,000 remains the pivotal point. However, crypto analysts say the tumble from those years could repeat in 2022. Thus, a drop below the psychological threshold isn’t remote.
Ian Harnett, Absolute Strategy Research’s co-founder and chief investment officer, said Bitcoin could plunge to US$13,000, or by 40% more from the current price. He said, “We would still be selling these kinds of cryptocurrencies into this environment.”
Bullish sentiment
Alex Kuptsikevich, a senior analyst at FxPro, contends that comparing the declines in 2013 and 2017 in today’s environment is unreliable. He said, “In our view, it is much more reliable to estimate that Bitcoin finds a long-term bottom near the highs of the previous four-year cycle.”
However, Kuptsikevich added, “It may not be the best time to buy, as it may take considerable time before the crypto market digests the recent turmoil and enters a new phase of sustained demand from broad segments of investors, not just stressed asset hunters.”
JPMorgan maintains a bullish sentiment and predicts an uptrend for Bitcoin. While the downfall is steeper in 2022, the American investment bank said it also highlights that the cryptocurrency market has more room to recover. Still, you must be a brave investor to stay invested in cryptocurrencies.
(Pocket-lint) - Google is preparing an update to Wear OS which will allow the Google-powered smartwatches to take advantage of Fast Pair's biggest convenience: connecting to headphones you've already paired to your Android phone.
A changelog published by Google and discovered by 9to5Google.com reads as follows:
"[Wear OS] Fast Pair on Wear OS to allows previously paired headphones to be discovered and connected to wearables.[5]
— [5] Available through Google Play services v22.24 updated on 06/24/2022."
Like Apple's AirPods with the iPhone, the Fast Pair functionality not only allows you to quickly and easily pair to compatible headphones from your phone, but also saves them to your Google account, and makes them accessible from other Android devices without having to re-pair them.
With this functionality coming to Wear OS smartwatches, it will mean that when you pair some headphones to your Android phone, they'll be logged to your account, and instantly available to connect to from your Wear OS watch. You won't have to go through any cumbersome process to pair your earbuds to your watch.
Fast Pair is something Google has been developing and improving over the course of the past couple of years, and it's not just a feature for headphones to quickly pair to your devices.
It's also been built into wearables to make them easier to pair with your Android phone, and also means you can then find lost devices using Google's Find My Device service through Google Search.
Google has also been building out the service so that it works on Android/Google TV devices, Chromebooks and even Matter-enabled smarthome devices, making connection and access to smart IoT devices and wearables more convenient than ever.
At I/O last year, Google revealed its plans to extend Fast Pair support to more device types, including speakers, Wear OS smartwatches, and cars from select manufacturers. The company followed up with an announcement earlier this year at CES to further bring Fast Pair support to even more products, like Android TVs, Chromebooks, and Matter-enabled smart home devices. Recently, the company shared another update about Fast Pair on Chromebooks, claiming that the feature would reach Chrome OS devices later this summer. Now, a new report reveals that Fast Pair support could soon make its way to Wear OS smartwatches as well.
Google recently updated the June 2022 Google Play System Updates changelog with the following entry under the “Device Connections” section (via 9to5Google):
[Wear OS] Fast Pair on Wear OS to allows previously paired headphones to be discovered and connected to wearables.
The fine print at the bottom of the page adds that the feature will become available through the Google Play services v22.24 update, which started rolling out to users last week. This means that users should be able to connect to previously paired headphones using a Wear OS smartwatch once the update becomes available widely. However, the update hasn’t rolled out to most users yet.
Google could be releasing the feature in preparation for the upcoming Pixel Watch, and it might not show up on other Wear OS smartwatches before Google’s own smartwatch hits the market. The Pixel Watch product page on the Google Store states that the watch will offer Fast Pair support to help users quickly “connect your earbuds, watch, and phone with each other.” However, it doesn’t reveal whether the feature will be available on other Wear OS smartwatches or not. The chances of Google limiting Fast Pair support to the Pixel Watch seem slim, as it will definitely be a useful addition for all Wear OS smartwatches.
After a two-year absence from competition, Amos finished the FireFit course with a personal best time of one minute, 20 seconds — it was more than enough for the St. Catharines fire captain to win the overall individual event.
Doing it at home, in front of the community he serves, was something else.
“That didn’t set in until last night,” said Amos. “You just ran the first ever event in St. Catharines and one of our own took it home. How cool is that? That’s history, it won’t change. The first winner ever in St. Catharines was a St. Catharines member. That’s pretty cool.”
But Amos wasn’t alone. The multi-year break did little to slow down St. Catharines Fire and Emergency Services, which entered three teams into the competition.
Firefighters, family, friends and spectators gathered over the weekend at Seymour-Hannah Sports and Entertainment Centre as first responders hosted a regional FireFit competition for the first time in the event’s history.
On Saturday, one St. Catharines team finished in first place in team time, with another finishing in third place. Firefighter Kevin Coffey won first with the fastest time in the over-40 division.
During Sunday’s events, St. Catharines captured both first (with a time of 1:08:41) and second place (1:17:60) in the team relay.
It was a long road, and a lot of work, to put the event together, but watching the entire team pull off races like they did, was “really, really good to see,” said Amos.
“You couldn’t ask for anymore from our team and then everyone ran their personal best yesterday — we were putting up lightning fast times and it’s just incredible,” he said.
“I couldn’t be more proud of our team.”
More than 100 firefighters from across southern Ontario and Quebec competed in individual and team events that saw firefighters, dressed in full bunker gear, go through a series of tasks, each representing a firefighter requirement. Tasks included: six-flight stair climb, hose hoist, forcible entry, run, hose advance and victim rescue.
On Sunday, the team relay events welcomed men, women and mixed teams from Whitby, Ottawa, Markham and Clearview. Lambton College fire school and Fleming College pre-service firefighters also competed.
In the technical relay, spectators cheered on one Fleming College team, as pre-fire service student Amber Milley fought her way to the end, dragging an 80-kilogram Rescue Randy dummy to safety.
For the public to watch, and see the difficulty of the tasks required of firefighters in emergency situations “is a big eye-opener for them,” said Amos.
“This is a sport that’s like no other,” he said.
RELATED STORIES
President of FireFit of Canada, Hilary McRoberts and her husband, a retired firefighter, started the competition 29 years ago, travelling coast to coast to bring FireFit to local communities.
The course was developed in the United States as an entry level test for firefighters, to make sure they could physically handle the job, said McRoberts.
“We thought it was fantastic. It represented what firefighters do at any given call that they go to,” she said.
“It just embodies (firefighters) and you can just see it — they’re so proud when they’re out there and what they’re doing and being able to represent their homes, their departments, the cities that they work for and that they protect.”
In September, the top St. Catharines team will compete at the FireFit Worlds and Canadian National Championships in Spruce Meadows, Alta.
In Revlon’s 1980s heyday, supermodels Cindy Crawford and Claudia Schiffer appeared in television and magazine advertising that promised to make women “unforgettable” with the brand’s bright red lipsticks.
Today, consumers scout out cosmetics on social media and a flood of buzzy independent brands fronted by celebrities like singer Rihanna and influencer Kylie Jenner that have sidelined the likes of Revlon. Saddled by high debts, the 90-year-old US group, which is majority owned by billionaire Ron Perelman, filed for bankruptcy last week.
The high-profile casualty shows how competitive and fast-paced the beauty sector has become, requiring heavy investment in digital marketing and product innovation to prevent brands from fading into irrelevance. Unlike other staples like food or household products where brands can survive decades with minimal tweaks, consumers’ desires in beauty evolve rapidly, often under the influence of culture, fashion and art.
“The indie brands are constantly taking risks and starting trends,” said Stephanie Wissink, an analyst at Jefferies. “It is as if the big established beauty companies are like a tortoise, who is racing not against one hare, but against hundreds of them.”
Industry leaders L’Oréal, Estee Lauder and Shiseido have learned to thrive in this new landscape by playing on their global reach and scientific knowhow, and snapping up the most promising indie brands to stay relevant.
But the likes of Revlon and Coty have struggled because their cosmetics are more mass-market and they lacked scale in the fastest-growing category and market — skincare and China. Both were constrained by debts racked up from acquisitions, although Coty has made progress in paying it down so analysts say it is unlikely to suffer Revlon’s fate.
The Covid-19 pandemic pushed the less agile companies further on to the back foot, as lockdowns and mask wearing hit demand for beauty products while also sending more consumers online. Supply chains for everything from plastic to pigments have been snarled, another advantage for the bigger companies that carry more sway with suppliers.
Global make-up sales have not yet recovered to their 2019 levels, although some categories like skincare and luxury fragrances have done so, according to McKinsey data.
The strongest players L’Oréal and Estee Lauder have already exceeded their pre-pandemic sales, helped by their large presence in the booming Chinese market and strength in skincare with brands like Lancôme and La Mer. L’Oréal has predicted that its revenue growth will outpace the 4 to 5 per cent expansion of the global beauty market this year.
In contrast, sales at Revlon, Coty and Shiseido are still languishing at pre-pandemic levels.
Even the beauty industry’s winners have had a bad run on the stock market this year, as a combination of Covid-19 restrictions in China and fears of a global recession alarm investors. Estee Lauder is down 30 per cent, L’Oréal has fallen 22 per cent and Shiseido is off 18 per cent — all underperforming Dow Jones Industrial Average and global consumer staples indices. Coty has fallen 30 per cent this year, and Revlon has tumbled 38 per cent.
Although China has proved a boon over the past decade for some beauty companies, Beijing’s zero-Covid policy has curbed its attraction this year.
Estee Lauder in particular has been hard hit by recent lockdowns in China, triggering a profit warning in May. China accounts for about one-third of its sales and its main distribution centre is in Shanghai, the epicentre of the recent Covid-19 outbreak, leaving it unable to supply the rest of the country.
Given China’s role as the second-biggest cosmetics market after the US, Wissink of Jefferies said that China would continue to hang over the sector unless authorities shift away their strict Covid-19 policy.
But in Paris, a destination for Chinese tourists when travel was easier, there was little sign of a slowdown at the city’s high-end Bon Marché department stores this week where indie brands like Charlotte Tilbury vie for attention alongside mainstays Dior and Chanel.
A sales clerk who declined to be named said that it had been busy since international tourists were back and the wedding season was in full swing. “People want to indulge, so they’ve been snapping up beauty products that make them feel good,” the person said.
Elena Boulard said she had come to the store on the hunt for new lipstick and bronzer since she planned to go to the office more this summer after a long stretch working from home. “I haven’t bought make-up in a while and there is so much new stuff,” she said.
High-end beauty products have fared better emerging from the pandemic than cheaper brands. In the US, the “prestige beauty” market, which includes products sold via specialists like Ulta and department stores, grew robustly last year to $22 bln, or 7 per cent above 2019 levels, according to market researcher NPD.
Luxury fragrances, including new brands that offer bespoke blends for an individual, have also enjoyed a renaissance. “Consumers are trading up to treat themselves to a $300 bottle of perfume instead of the $80 one,” said NPD’s Larissa Jensen.
For Revlon, the nascent recovery has come too late. But its problems stretch back far longer: sales stagnated for much of the past two decades save for a bump in 2016 when Revlon bought Elizabeth Arden and it has posted losses for the past six years.
Analysts said Revlon’s brands did not keep up with changing consumers’ tastes, which began to emphasise self-expression and embracing flaws over unattainable beauty norms. Revlon’s weakness in skincare also meant it failed to benefit from that category’s boom.
A stretched balance sheet left the group unable to acquire indie brands to refresh its product lines. Following its bankruptcy court filing, the company will continue trading while it works out a creditor repayment plan.
The way beauty’s indie brands often emerge from unexpected places underlines the scale of the challenges a flat-footed Revon faced.
Take Half Magic, a brand started in May by Doniella Davy, a make-up artist who shot to fame by creating “emotional glam” looks for the actresses on the hit US television teen drama Euphoria. On TikTok, the hashtag #EuphoriaMakeUp, where people post videos of themselves putting on brightly coloured eye shadow, glitter, and neon face gems inspired by the show, has racked up 2.1bn views.
While Half Magic may well fizzle out, it is emblematic of how new brands and trends flourish on social media. To monitor the changes, big beauty companies have increased their spending on digital marketing both to advertise their brands and seize on trends when they emerge.
“If you want to run a successful cosmetics business nowadays, you have to pay an army of 20 somethings to be on TikTok and Instagram all day to monitor trends and engage with people about your brands,” said Iain Simpson, an analyst at Barclays. “It’s not a business you can run lean and mean with a lot of debt on it.”
Coty chief executive Sue Y Nabi said in an interview that the group had “made a lot of progress” on using social media to renew its storied mass-market brands, which include CoverGirl and Max Factor. “Staying relevant is the most important thing,” she said, including jumping on consumers’ desire for so-called “clean beauty” products that strip out harsh chemicals or by using TikTok to attract Gen Z consumers.
An example of how Coty tries to refresh older names came with a recent launch of a new mascara under its Rimmel brand. It enlisted a UK TikTok influencer Olivia Neill to help design and promote the product called Thrill Seeker.
“It’s the first time we’ve done something like this,” said Nabi. “Companies like ours have learned how to create viral products just as the indie brands do.”
Police are investigating a string of overnight armed robberies in Toronto on Friday night that police believe were led by one man.
Toronto police say the robberies took place at several fast food restaurants and a convenience store in downtown and the west end.
The first robbery took place in the area of Yonge and Front streets at 8:52 p.m.
Police say a man walked into a fast food restaurant carrying a blunt weapon. He then took cash from the register and fled the scene.
Shortly after, at around 4:30 a.m., a second robbery occurred in the area of Queen and Beverly streets where a man entered a fast food restaurant while swinging around a blunt object, police say. He then demanded money from everyone before fleeing the store.
Police received a call about a third robbery at 4:58 a.m. in the area of Bathurst and Dundas streets where a man entered a fast food restaurant carrying a blunt object and demanding money. He was confronted by a customer or employee and fled the store without obtaining anything.
The last reported robbery happened at 5:13 a.m. in the Dundas Street West and Manning Avenue area where police say a man entered a convenience store with a blunt object. He demanded money and then fled the scene.
ADVISORY:<br>- The same man believed responsible for all 4 robberies<br>- No one injured but his aggressive behavior is escalating<br>- Desc: male, white, 25-30, 5'6", short dark hair<br>- He is wearing a white t-shirt, and off white pants<br>* If encountered do not approach - Call 911 *<br>^dh
Police say they believe one man is responsible for all four incidents.
Const. David Hopkinson, spokesperson for the Toronto Police Service, tells CBC News the blunt object the man was carrying has been described as a stick or a club.
No injuries were reported but police said the suspect's "aggressive behaviour is escalating."
The suspect is described as white, between 25 and 30 years old, about five-foot-six-inches tall, with short dark hair. He was wearing a white t-shirt and off-white pants.
If located, police say not to approach him and to call 911.
The Navy will commission the future USS Montana (SSN 794), the newest Virginia-class fast attack submarine, during a 10:00 a.m. EST ceremony on Saturday, June 25, at Naval Station Norfolk.
Gov. Greg Gianforte of Montana will deliver the principal address. Additional speakers include U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott of Virginia's 3rd District; Undersecretary of the Navy Erik Raven; Adm. James Caldwell, director, Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program; and Ms. Jennifer Boykin, president of Newport News Shipbuilding.
The submarine's sponsor is Sally Jewell, former Secretary of the United States Department of Interior. Montana was christened at Newport News Shipbuilding, a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries, in Newport News, Virginia, on Sept. 12, 2020. Mrs. Jewell will give the order to "man our ship and bring her to life."
The future USS Montana (SSN 794) honors the Treasure State and will be the second commissioned warship bearing the name. The first USS Montana (ACR-13), an armored cruiser, was also built at Newport News Shipbuilding and commissioned in July 1908. ACR-13 served in the Atlantic and Mediterranean, landed Marines during unrest in Haiti in 1914, and escorted convoys during World War I. The Navy decommissioned the first USS Montana in 1921, and two other vessels named after the state never saw commissioned service.
"This boat is a true treasure of the U.S. Navy, and will play an integral part in protecting and promoting American prosperity and security abroad," said Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro. "I am so proud of the brave men and women who will man this submarine, and I look forward to their success on the high seas."
Montana is the third Block IV Virginia-class submarine to enter service, designed to carry out the core missions of the submarine force: anti-submarine warfare; anti-surface warfare; delivery of special operations forces; strike warfare; irregular warfare; intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance; and mine warfare. These capabilities allow the submarine force to operate anywhere, at any time, and contribute to regional stability and the preservation of future peace.
Montana is 377 feet long, has a 34-foot beam, and will be able to dive to depths greater than 800 feet and operate at speeds in excess of 25 knots submerged. It has a crew of approximately 136 Navy personnel.
A newly discovered fast radio burst has some unique properties that are simultaneously giving astronomers important clues into what may cause these mysterious astronomical phenomena while also calling into question one of the few things scientists thought they knew about these powerful flares, as my colleagues and I describe in a new study (opens in new tab) in Nature on June 8, 2022.
When a telescope captures an FRB, one of the most important features researchers look at is something called dispersion. Dispersion is basically a measure of how stretched out an FRB is when it reaches Earth.
The plasma that lies between stars and galaxies causes all light — including radio waves — to slow down, but lower frequencies feel this effect more strongly and slow down more than higher frequencies. FRBs contain a range of frequencies, so the higher frequency light in the burst hits Earth before the lower frequencies, causing the dispersion. This allows researchers to use dispersion to estimate how far from Earth an FRB originated (opens in new tab). The more stretched out an FRB is, the more plasma the signal must have passed through, the farther away the source must be.
Our team then used the Very Large Array (opens in new tab), a radio telescope in New Mexico, to further study this FRB and successfully pinpointed the location of its source — a dwarf galaxy roughly 3 billion light years from Earth. It was then that we started to realize how truly unique and important this FRB is.
Second, since we were able to pinpoint that the FRB came from a dwarf galaxy, we were able to determine exactly how far away that galaxy is from Earth. But this result didn't make sense. Much to our surprise, the distance estimate we made using the dispersion of the FRB was 30 billion light years from Earth, a distance 10 times larger than the actual 3 billion light years to the galaxy (opens in new tab).
Astronomers have only been able to pinpoint the exact location — and therefore distance from Earth — of 19 other FRB sources (opens in new tab). For the rest of the roughly 800 known FRBs, astronomers have to rely on dispersion alone to estimate their distance from Earth. For the other 19 FRBs with known locations, the distances estimated from dispersion are very similar to the real distances to their source galaxies. But this new FRB shows that estimates using dispersion can sometimes be incorrect and throws many assumptions out the window.
The top of this diagram show six spikes in radio wave brightness that are six bursts from FRB190520. The bottom half shows the frequency range for each individual burst.(Image credit: Niu, CH., Aggarwal, K., Li, D. et al., CC BY)
Our new discovery raises specific questions, including whether persistent radio signals are common, what conditions produce them and whether the same phenomenon that produces FRBs is responsible for emitting the persistent radio signal.
And a huge mystery is why the dispersion of FRB190520 was so much greater than it should be. Was it due to something near the FRB? Was it related to the persistent radio source? Does it have to do with the matter in the galaxy where this FRB comes from? All of these questions are unanswered.
What's next
My colleagues are going to focus in on studying FRB190520 using a host of different telescopes around the world. By studying the FRB, its galaxy and the space environment surrounding its source, we are hoping to find answers to many of the mysteries it revealed.
More answers will come from other FRB discoveries in the coming years, too. The more FRBs astronomers catalog, the greater the chances of discovering FRBs with interesting properties that can help complete the puzzle of these fascinating astronomical phenomena.
Follow all of the Expert Voices issues and debates — and become part of the discussion — on Facebook and Twitter. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher.
Despite online insurance gaining popularity, consumers still need — and want — personalized advice from their insurance companies and brokers, executives observed during a recent industry panel discussion.
“I had really thought at the end of 2020 that digital would take over everything,” said Louis Gagnon, president of Intact Canada, at the June 2022 Ontario Young Brokers Conference in Niagara Falls. “I think [consumers have] come out of the pandemic [with] lots of questions about what [they’re] buying, lots of questions about what’s going on in the world. That aspect gave [consumers] a lot more confidence about the product, about the advice that they need.”
Some consumers choose their insurance through national brand names, and some like to shop around, “but the biggest portion of Canada is still the ones that need help and advice because insurance is complicated,” said Robin Joshua, president at Echelon Insurance.
Consumers are gaining comfort in making online insurance purchases, Gagnon suggested, but many still seek explanations from experts.“I think that’s where we’re going. I think the level of comfort [that consumers have in buying insurance online] is more and more…but I’m surprised because the numbers have not grown exponentially.”
Thirty-five per cent of Canadians claimed to have researched and compared insurance rates online prior to the pandemic. However, the pandemic caused some buyers to alter their online purchasing behaviour, with 42% of respondents saying they now do online research and planning before buying insurance —a 7% increase, according toRatehub.
But omni-channel is hardly left in the dust of a digital sales experience, Ratehub’s research shows. About one-third (31%) of respondents said they don’t feel comfortable purchasing online insurance, although those under 55 years old showed more interest in online policy shopping.
Consumer shopping habits may differ across age demographics, another panellist suggested.
“In terms ofmillennials and Gen Z, they’re more connected, they’re more interested and more adept [at buying online],” said Paul Stone, vice president of personal insurance, sales distribution and marketing at Travelers.
He observed online policy purchases are accelerating — and brokers may be able to make the most of it.
“I think the opportunity for young brokers, and for brokers in general, is to find that spot that they want to play in, provide that value, provide that counsel, and eke out that niche. People want value for what they’re spending their money on,” Stone said.
Whether consumers want personalized consultation or to research policies on their own, it’s imperative for brokers to connect with clients based on their clients’ communications preferences.
“We need to give the customer the ability to connect with us in all sorts of different ways. But it does not change the fact that I think the role of advice and discussion and questions is still is still very, very [present],” said Gagnon.
Fast Shop, one of Brazil's largest retailers, has suffered an 'extortion' cyberattack that led to network disruption and the temporary closure of its online store.
Fast Shop is an online retailer selling a wide range of products, including computers, smartphones, gaming consoles, furniture, beauty products, and home appliances. The retailer has been active in Brazil since 1986 and currently operates 86 physical locations, with its website and app counting over six million visits monthly.
The cyberattack occurred Wednesday, impacting the Fast Shop main website, mobile apps, and online ordering system, as the retailer took systems offline as part of its incident response protocol. The attack didn't impact physical shops.
Followers of Fast Shop's Twitter handle learned about the situation a little earlier, as the network intruders took over the firm's Twitter account to announce that they had performed a data breach.
The threat actors claimed that over the past 72 hours, they were actively extorting Fast Shop after accessing the firm's databases on AWS, Azure, GitLab, and IBM cloud, stealing website/app source code and valuable user and corporate data.
Threat actors allegedly used the stolen information to blackmail Fast Shop into paying a ransom; otherwise, all data would be leaked to the public.
Notably, Fast Shop is soon to launch a new online platform focusing on augmented reality and artificial intelligence, so the stolen source code might include valuable project details.
The threat actor's messages were removed when Fast Shop's admins regained control of the compromised Twitter account. However, Tec Mundo's infosec news reporter, Felipe Payao, was able to save a screenshot.
Fast Shop's announcement has responded to these claims, saying that they see no evidence of customer data having been compromised, and the same applies to the firm's "entire information base."
While Fast Shop is disputing the hacker's claims, everyone who has an account on the Brazilian e-commerce platform should reset their passwords if they use the same credentials on other websites.
From the available information, this looks like a data extortion attack rather than a traditional ransomware attack. Similar to those launched by the now-defunct Lapsus group, which extorted victims with the main threat to publish stolen data.
Bleeping Computer has requested more information about the cyberattack from Fast Shop, and we will update this post when we receive a response.
The R.M. of Ste. Anne has launched a new online option for permit applications.
Reeve Paul Saindon says the ‘Cloud Permit’ can now be found on the municipality’s website.
"The little permit that usually gets rubber stamped and is very easily dealt with, you can do them online so that you don't have to go in the office waste a bunch of time filling in simple information like your land description, your name,” he says.
Saindon says this online application program will really speed up the process.
"It’s way faster, eliminating an awful lot of staff time to sit and ask really basic questions,” he says, adding that “it doesn't mean that everything goes that way.”
Complex applications will still require more time. However, with the online application option, the basic permits can be moved along in a shorter period.
Saindon says they had to make some changes to this process because it was taking too long for all applications to be dealt with.
“When you apply for a simple permit, you could be on a two to three week waiting period to build a simple deck,” he says. “We just don't want to see that happening because it's inefficient.
iPad Mini deals have started to rear their heads in recent months, as the latest generation adds to its time on the shelves. We've seen some extraordinary offers on this miniature tablet over the last couple of weeks, but many have since run off the shelves. If you missed out, though, it's worth muscling in for this last remaining discount at Amazon.
The Pink and Starlight 64GB iPad Minis are still available for $409 right now(opens in new tab) - a $90 discount over the $499 MSRP. While that's $10 away from the lowest price ever, other colorways are a lot more difficult to get hold of this week. The Purple model, for example, has snuck up to $474(opens in new tab), and Space Gray is out of stock. These iPad Mini deals might not last much longer, then, so if you're after a discount soon we'd recommend jumping in quick.
Prime Day iPad deals are just around the corner, but we're not expecting it to be a blowout for the Mini. This range is refreshed so infrequently that Apple is often keen to have it hold its MSRP for as long as possible. That means we could simply be seeing a return to this price position in July's iPad deals - just with even more competition behind it.
You'll find more information on this offer just below, and more of the latest iPad Mini deals further down the page.
More of today's best iPad deals
Apple's devices are some of the best gaming tablets on the market, so picking one up for a discount is a steal. You'll find all the latest iPad deals across the full range just below.
For more discounts on Apple's luxury tablets, check out the latestiPad Air dealsandiPad Pro deals. We're also rounding up all our expectations for this year'sPrime Day laptop dealsif you're after something a little more traditional as well.
Rob Vanstone remembers former Saskatchewan Roughriders running backs Fred Williams and Molly McGee, both of whom died in untimely fashion.
Fred Williams, 33, celebrates after scoring his first of two touchdowns Aug. 28, 1977 against the Calgary Stampeders at Taylor Field. Also shown is fellow Roughriders running back Molly McGee, 32. Offensive lineman Sam Holden, 65, is partially obscured.Photo by Peter Blashill /Saskatoon StarPhoenix
Article content
Trivia explosion: Did you know that Saskatoon StarPhoenix sports editor Kevin Mitchell and I have combined to win TWO National Newspaper Awards?!
Advertisement 2
Article content
Kevin has won both of them.
Anyway, Kevin deserves an award of a different description for sifting through the StarPhoenix’s filing cabinets, extracting an assortment of decades-old Saskatchewan Roughriders photos, and having them scanned into our system.
While perusing the pictures, which were generally taken between the mid-1970s and mid-1980s, I was especially captivated by the photo that appears above.
It was taken Aug. 28, 1977 at Taylor Field, where the Roughriders defeated the Calgary Stampeders 30-19.
Mom and I had a post-game routine. Back then, the Roughriders’ players got on a bus — whereupon many of them started lighting cigarettes — and made the short ride over to the exhibition grounds, where they were headquartered.
After that 1977 game, we really wanted to catch a glimpse of Fred Williams. In his CFL debut, the former Arizona State star carried the ball 12 times for 85 yards and two touchdowns after replacing Steve Molnar, who had suffered a groin injury earlier in the game.
(That game was also the first as a Roughrider for Joey Walters, who is my all-time favourite athlete. No. 17 caught four passes for 82 yards, the first reception being a spectacular 39-yarder that quickly endeared him to quarterback Ron Lancaster.)
Williams, as impressive as he was, wasn’t even the Roughriders’ leading rusher in that game. Molly McGee carried the ball 16 times for 100 yards.
Anyway, out came Williams, headed for a city bus. As he walked right by us, Mom patted him on the shoulder pads. “Great game,” a 13-year-old me added with considerable eloquence. He smiled and thanked us before acknowledging various other well-wishers en route to a smoke-filled bus.
Advertisement 3
Article content
I had met McGee a few months earlier, at training camp. I got his autograph and chatted with him. He was such a nice guy!
So was Williams, who intrigued me. I remembered reading about him in college football magazines, which typically referred to him as “Fast Freddie Williams.”
Given the build-up, and his considerable skills, I had expected him to enjoy a long and prosperous career in the NFL. But he came to the Roughriders in 1977, not long after being released by the Dallas Cowboys.
After a dazzling debut, I was certain that Fast Freddie was going to be a mainstay in green and white.
Alas, Williams played only one more game (and barely that) of professional football. He carried the ball just one more time, for two yards, and added a reception for a loss of seven during a 26-18 victory over the visiting Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Sept. 5, 1977 — a game in which McGee rushed for 117 yards, including a 39-yard touchdown.
It was a costly victory, though, as Williams suffered torn ligaments in his left ankle — an injury that ended his season and, ultimately, his football career.
I often wondered: What might have been …?
That question again entered my mind after seeing the aforementioned photo. Out of curiosity, I did a Google search in order to hopefully satisfy my curiosity as to what had happened to Fred Williams.
I soon discovered that he was a 2002 inductee into the Arizona State University Sports Hall of Fame — fitting recognition for someone who had rushed for 1,298 yards in 1974 and 1,427 the following season.
Advertisement 4
Article content
Scrolling down, I also discovered that, sadly, he had died on May 14, 2014. He was only 58 years old. The cause of death was not revealed.
Sylvester (Molly) McGee also passed away in untimely fashion — on July 18, 1994, at age 41. According to The Journal News, based in White Plains, N.Y., McGee died in Brooklyn after “a long illness.”
Dick Yerg of The Journal News wrote that McGee had been inducted into the Rockland County Sports Hall of Fame (in 1986) and was to enter the Rhode Island University Sports Hall of Fame in the fall of 1994.
“For those of us who knew him,” Yerg wrote, “he was just a Hall of Fame person.”
That he was. And the same applied to Fast Freddie Williams, whose time with the Roughriders elapsed much faster than I could have imagined on Aug. 28, 1977.
The sports world is ever-changing, as are the times. Supplement your steady diet of sports coverage by subscribing to the Regina Leader-Post’s 306 Sports Fix newsletter. Each week, sports editor Rob Vanstone will provide additional commentary on the Roughriders, Pats and other teams/sports of interest, along with a peek behind the curtain. Click here to subscribe.
:format(webp)/https://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/content/dam/niagaradailies/news/niagara-region/2022/06/26/st-catharines-firefighters-put-up-lightning-fast-times-at-firefit/_1_firefit_competition_4.jpg)
