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Severe storms tore through three Midwestern states on Thursday, producing a tornado in northwestern Ohio and damaging dozens of homes in eastern Indiana. In Indiana, the towns of Winchester and Selma appeared to be the worst hit. Local officials said they believed a tornado had hit a trailer park in Winchester according to 13 WTHR, an NBC News affiliate, and a pastor said his church had been destroyed. Meteorologists said they were working to confirm that a tornado had touched down there.

Persons: Selma Organizations: Local, NBC News Locations: Ohio, Indiana, In Indiana, Winchester

☆ The job more parents are taking to get a discount on their kids' college tuition
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-06 | by ( Kevin Williams | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

As a college staff member, Heater gets deeply discounted tuition at the private Marianist Catholic college with approximately 8,000 undergraduate students. She compared universities in her area and their benefits and decided on University of Dayton, which offers tuition benefits for staff workers and their dependents. Washington said that workers and their dependents can also use a tuition exchange program, which allows them to transfer their tuition benefits within a pool of participating schools. For instance, once the tuition benefit exceeds the IRS' guidelines of $5,250 annually, the rest is generally considered taxable income. She said she thinks a lack of awareness about tuition benefits programs keeps them from being more popular.

Persons: Ariel Skelley, Troy Washington, Washington, Jacob Channel, Sherry Kirkland, Kirkland Organizations: Digitalvision, Getty, University of Dayton, Catholic, University of Dayton's, College and University Professional, for Human Resources, Wilmington University Locations: Ohio, Delaware

☆ 'Cyber-physical attacks' fueled by AI are a growing threat, experts say
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-03 | by ( Kevin Williams | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

He said with the widespread arrival of generative AI, concerns about physical attacks being the next phase of cybercrime have grown. He added that the technology, now boosted by AI, exists to wreak havoc on physical systems. Attacks on physical infrastructure would be tantamount to war, and so far, that is something nation-states have avoided. Experts, though, vary on the threat level from cyber-physical attacks and how much AI is raising it. But while she views the threat of AI-assisted cyber-physical attacks as growing, she said AI also assists the good guys.

Persons: Stuart Madnick, Christopher Wray, —, Madnick, don't, Tim Chase, CISO, Chase, Sivan Tehila, Tehila, Michael Kenney, Matthew B Organizations: Cybersecurity, MIT Sloan, FBI, Congress, Katz School of Science and Health, Yeshiva University, Israel Defense Forces, . University of Pittsburgh, Ridgway Center for International Security Locations: United States

☆ The Taylor Swift economic effect has reached every town in America
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-01 | by ( Kevin Williams | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

"We know Taylor Swift is popular; her music is the most requested at the rink," said Ginny Kidd, Skateway spokesperson. "Nothing is preventing a rink from playing Taylor Swift music and getting a line out the door. watch nowThe Taylor Swift events that don't involve Taylor Swift showing up range from library events, to bar crawls, cruises, painting parties, dance parties, and more. The restaurant added another Swift brunch the following weekend and plans a listening party when the singer's new album is released in April. She thought that a Taylor Swift event would be successful.

Persons: Amanda Edwards, Taylor Swift, Ginny Kidd, Skateway, Kidd, Ryan Herzog, Taylor, Herzog, Paul Krugman, Akira Back, Katie Bosworth, Bosworth, Swift, Katie Lovell, Lovell Organizations: Getty, Swift, Gonzaga University, New York Times, CNBC, RMD Group, Rex Theatres, Rex Theater Locations: Middletown , Ohio, San, Los Angeles, Gaslamp District, Manchester , New Hampshire, Manchester

☆ Student Housing Has a New Mantra: Bigger Is Better
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-13 | by ( Kevin Williams | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When the Standard, an off-campus student housing complex, opened in the fall in Bloomington, Ind., welcoming its first batch of residents, it had a decidedly resort vibe. Along with the requisite pool and fitness centers, it enticed students with two pickleball courts, a dog park and a motion sports simulator. The arms race over amenities in student housing is nothing new, but what is striking about the Standard is its size: 1,000 beds, about twice the size of a typical dorm. In fact, the Standard could house 3 percent of Indiana University’s 34,000-plus undergraduates. Off-campus student housing complexes across the country are getting larger, some home to more than 1,500 students, and they are being built on prime parcels as close to campus as possible, as developers seek to better manage their bottom line.

Persons: ”, Wesley Rogers Organizations: Landmark Properties Locations: Bloomington, Ind, Indiana

☆ The AI trust gap that is worrying both workers and executives
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-03 | by ( Kevin Williams | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

While both rank-and-file workers and the C-suite see AI as a great opportunity for business transformation, both sides are skeptical over its deployment. McRae said many employers have anxiety over AI and pass that on to their employees. Employers, McRae said, need to better educate themselves about the opportunities and benefits of AI. McRae said that employers are often uncertain about where or how to deploy AI, leading to some trepidation. Once they see how AI can increase productivity and create new opportunities, they'll spread their enthusiasm for AI to employees.

Persons: aren't, Emily Rose McRae, McRae Organizations: Artificial Intelligence, Economic, Gartner, Employers, Employees Locations: Davos, Switzerland

☆ The future of the American amusement park in a Disney, Universal dominated world of thrills
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-27 | by ( Kevin Williams | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +14 min

Eric Thayer | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesThe theme park business, like many others, is consolidating and changing along with consumer habits. Coney's closing ended an era for Cincinnati-based theme park consultant Dennis Speigel. And there's an underlying rationale for the deal related to what's occurred on the national theme park landscape in recent decades. watch nowA more consistent ride at Cedar Fair Comparatively, Cedar Fair has seen its attendance decline from 22.9 million visitors in the first nine months of 2019 to 20.9 million in 2023. "Disney and Universal have theme parks in several global markets and are considered destination resorts," Baker said.

Persons: Eric Thayer, Knotts, Looney, Richard Zimmerman, Selim Bassoui, Universal, Dennis Speigel, Speigel, Don Helbig, Helbig, Zimmerman, Bassoul, David Katz, Jeffries, It's, Katz, Salim, Berry, Stifel, Carissa Baker, Baker, Dallas restauranteur Shannon Wynne's, Wynne, Wynne's, Angus, Louis, Texans haven't, hadn't, Elizabeth Ringas, Ringas, it's Organizations: Bloomberg, Getty, Disney, Comcast's, Cedar Fair, Flags, Looney Tunes, Marvel, Cedar, Department of Justice, Fair, Dominion, Universal, Google, Dell, Six, Revenue, Cedar Fair Entertainment, Six Flags Entertainment Corp, Getty Images Bloomberg, SIX, University of Central, SeaWorld, Paramount Parks, Premier Parks for Six, Seaworld, Dallas, Texans, American, Enthusiasts, Comcast, CNBC Locations: Valencia , California, Florida, Cincinnati, Coney Island, York, Coney's, Coney, Kings, Virginia, New York, North America, Buena Park , California, Americas, University of Central Florida, Texas, Dallas, Greater Atlanta, St

☆ How Spirit Airlines' uncertain future could add cost and stress to travel across America
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-21 | by ( Kevin Williams | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Spirit Airlines airplanes at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, US, on Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023. Spirit Airlines Inc. is scheduled to release earnings figures on October 26. Photographer: Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesA federal judge's order blocking a $3.8 billion-dollar deal that would have JetBlue Airways purchase rival Spirit Airlines leaves Spirit with an uncertain future. Few places will feel the impact harder than the Arnold Palmer Regional Airport (LBE) if Spirit can't keep flying. The Arnold Palmer Regional Airport has almost all the amenities of any major airport, just on a smaller scale.

Persons: Eva Marie Uzcategui, Arnold, Arnold Palmer, DeNuzio's, Gabe Monzo, Monzo, Jase Ramsey, Ramsey Organizations: Spirit Airlines, Hollywood International, Spirit Airlines Inc, Bloomberg, Getty, JetBlue Airways, Arnold Palmer Regional, TSA, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Florida Gulf Coast University, Southwest, Southwest Florida International Locations: Fort Lauderdale, Fort Lauderdale , Florida, Pittsburgh, Latrobe , Pennsylvania, LBE, Orlando, Myrtle Beach, Florida, Fort Myers, Southwest Florida, South Florida

Six members of the Champaign County Preservation Alliance were touring the picturesque downtown in Urbana, the central Ohio town where Representative Jim Jordan has made his mark as a state champion wrestler, an aspiring politician and now a member of Congress. As they watched his attempt to end the tortured efforts to choose a new House speaker, the uncompromising figure he casts nationally is much the same as seen back home in the heavily gerrymandered, largely Republican, Fourth Congressional District that snakes and loops through hundreds of miles of mainly small towns and farmland. The district is much whiter and slightly poorer, less educated and older than the state at large. It went for Donald Trump in 2020 by nearly a 36 percentage point margin. Amanda McDaniel, a member of the preservation alliance, is rooting for Jordan’s speaker bid — seeing in him the same principles she holds.

Persons: Jim Jordan, Donald Trump, Amanda McDaniel Organizations: Champaign County Preservation Alliance, Republican, Fourth Congressional Locations: Champaign, Urbana, Ohio

Amanda McDaniel, a member of the preservation alliance, is rooting for Jordan’s speaker bid — seeing in him the same principles she holds. It is not an approach that builds consensus — a previous Republican speaker to brand him a “legislative terrorist” — even as he has steadily parlayed it into political success. Mr. Jordan embraced right-wing populism long before the Tea Party or Donald Trump made into a national force. Eric Forson, 50, said that when he wrote to his elected representatives during the 2013 government shutdown, Mr. Jordan was the only one who responded. Ms. Esch and her husband, Mike, 57 were both hopeful that Mr. Jordan would drum up the votes needed to take the speaker role on Wednesday.

Persons: Jim Jordan, Amanda McDaniel, ”, McDaniel, Jordan, “, Katie Porter, Porter, Mr, Jordan’s, Donald Trump, grimaces, Jim wasn’t, Brian Seaver, Eric Forson, Forson, he’s, Missy Esch, . Esch, Mike, Mike Esch Organizations: Champaign County Preservation Alliance, Ohio, Ohio General, Caucus, Tea Party, Lima Correctional, State Senate, Urbana Brewing Company Locations: Champaign, Urbana, Ohio, Washington, Lima, Jordan’s

☆ Safety concerns about missing Titan vessel voiced by former OceanGate employees years ago
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Celina Tebor | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Lochridge worked as an independent contractor for OceanGate in 2015, then as an employee between 2016 and 2018, according to court filings. Court filings from the company indicate there was additional testing after Lochridge’s time at OceanGate, and it’s unclear whether any of his concerns were addressed as the vessel was developed. He said more concerns were raised by contractors and employees during his time at OceanGate, and Rush became defensive and shied away from answering questions during all-staff meetings. In 2022, the legal representative updated the Virginia court on OceanGate’s expeditions in another court filing. “OceanGate decided to cancel the second mission for repairs and operational enhancements” after the vessel “sustained modest damage to its external components,” it reads.

Persons: David Lochridge, Lochridge, Stockton Rush –, “, Rush, OceanGate, of Virginia –, ” Kevin Williams, “ OceanGate, “ Classing Organizations: CNN, US Coast Guard, OceanGate, Stockton Rush, Titan, Coast Guard, U.S, Eastern, of, University of Washington’s, Physics Laboratory, University of Washington, American Bureau of Shipping, Lloyd’s Locations: Cape Cod , Massachusetts, OceanGate, of Virginia, Virginia

Fires are burning across the breadth of Canada, blanketing parts of the eastern United States with choking, orange-gray smoke. So much wildfire smoke pushed through the border that in Buffalo, schools canceled outdoor activities. The average global temperatures today are more than 1.1 degrees Celsius (2 degrees Fahrenheit) higher than in the preindustrial era. The trees and grasses of eastern Canada turned to tinder. “We should expect a stunning year of global extremes,” he wrote.

Persons: It’s, El Niño, Justin Trudeau, ”, Alexandra Paige Fischer, Park Williams, Wiliams, Brendan Rogers, haven’t, La, Jeff Berardelli, El, Ada Monzón Organizations: Northern, University of Michigan, Stanford, University of California, Climate Research, El, Twitter Locations: Canada, United States, Puerto Rico, North America, El, Buffalo, Detroit, Los Angeles, Alberta, Vietnam, China, Siberia, WFLA, Tampa Bay, Fla, WAPA

☆ ‘Scream VI’ Review: Ghostface Is Still Slashing, Now in New York
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Kyle Smith | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

There is no “Scream V,” but now we have “Scream VI.” In case you’ve lost track (or lost interest), the latest self-aware slasher flick is the sequel to a “re-quel,” last year’s modestly successful “Scream.” That entry helpfully included characters who, referring to the franchise-within-the-franchise “Stab” and its successors, in effect told the audience that it was a combination of reboot and sequel (cf. What was once cleverly self-referential now comes across as nostalgia for ’90s comfort food, like the fried ice cream at Chi-Chi’s. The 1996 franchise-starter, written by “Dawson’s Creek” creator Kevin Williamson , fondly mocked the slasher-movie clichés beloved by Gen X audiences who had grown up watching “Halloween” and “Friday the 13th” on cable TV. Two generations later, however, Mr. Williamson’s meta-cinematic framing is everywhere and the tang of originality is long gone. “Scream VI” feels like a photocopy of a photocopy.

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