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Enhanced Faucet Safety and Efficiency for Healthcare & Commercial Facilities DES PLAINES, Ill. , Dec. 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Chicago Faucet Company, a leading manufacturer of commercial faucets, is proud to announce the launch of its new HyTronic® TempShield® Series touchless faucets. This innovative product line integrates an ASSE 1070-certified thermostatic mixing valve (TMV) directly into the spout, setting a new standard for safety and efficiency in healthcare patient and staff areas as well as public restroom environments. The HyTronic TempShield Series offers three spout designs: Gooseneck, Contemporary and Traditional to meet specifier or facility manager specifications. Key Features and Benefits: Integrated ASSE 1070-Certified Scald Protection: The built-in thermostatic valve (TMV) ensures scald protection combined with less opportunities for infection due to a reduction in leak points. Streamlined Installation: With fewer connections and up to six fewer leak points, these faucets reduce installation time for facilities staff and contractors. Advanced Technology: Built-in Bluetooth® technology allows for easy adjustments, mode changes, and Hygiene Flush to reduce standing water using the Chicago Faucets CF Connect app on a smartphone or tablet. Operation mode settings include: Normal Mode, Scrub Mode, Metering Mode, Water Saver Mode, Handwash Mode, Volume Mode, and Cleaning Mode. Durability and Reliability: Constructed from low-lead brass with a chrome finish, these faucets are designed to withstand the demands of healthcare settings. Hygiene-Focused Design: Laminar flow and programmable hygiene flush settings also support infection prevention and water quality management. Versatile Options: Available in three spout styles with easy above-deck maintenance and reliable dual-beam infrared activation. Code Compliance: Meets or exceeds industry standards including ASME A112.18.1/CSA B125.1, ADA ANSI /ICC A117.1, and NSF/ANSI/CAN 61 and 372. "The HyTronic® TempShield® Series represents a significant advancement in touchless faucet technology for healthcare facilities," said Richard Nortier , Director of Marketing at Chicago Faucets. "By integrating scald protection and reducing potential leak points, we're providing a solution that enhances both safety and hygiene while simplifying installation and maintenance for our customers." The HyTronic® TempShield® Series is now available for specification by architects, engineers and designers in commercial and healthcare projects. They are available for renovations and project updates for facility managers and contractors through Chicago Faucets United States and Canada distributors . For specifiers, water management teams, nurses, and infection preventionists Chicago Faucets sales representatives are available to discuss the entire +Healthcare line of plumbing fittings. For more information, visit chicagofaucets.com or contact Chicago Faucets at 800-566-2100. About Chicago Faucets: The Chicago Faucet Company is a leading manufacturer of commercial faucets and showers for healthcare, education, food service, and commercial facilities. Committed to innovation, quality, and sustainability, Chicago Faucets produces durable touchless and manual faucet designs that meet high industry standards. As a member of the U.S. Green Building Council and partner with EPA WaterSense, Chicago Faucets is dedicated to water efficiency and environmental responsibility. For additional information, visit chiagofaucets.com or contact the company at 847-503-5000. SOURCE The Chicago Faucet CompanyText-recognition election audit verifies voting machine count in GeorgiaWarning: This article contains disturbing details of alleged animal abuse. People on social media are calling for a boycott of Butterball brand turkeys ahead of Thanksgiving after People for Ethical Treatment of Animals resurfaced an old video, causing confusion and disturbance. The video, posted to PETA’s Instagram account last week, highlighted disturbing allegations from an investigation at a Butterball plant that reportedly took place nearly 20 years ago. According to PETA’s website, the 2006 “undercover investigation” that allegedly took place at a Butterball slaughterhouse in Ozark, Arkansas, found workers physically and sexually abusing live turkeys. However, Butterball said these allegations took place before the company became privatized and certified by American Humane. The resurfaced video zeroes in on the alleged sexual abuse of the live turkeys. The caption on the video states, “Do you know what happened to your Butterball turkey before they were killed?” However, PETA did not specify that the content was from 18 years ago. Still, a majority of the comments encourage people to boycott Butterball ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. Videos of other people on social media discussing PETA’s post have sparked confusion that there is a recall associated with it, but there are currently no active recalls for Butterball turkeys. Scripps News reached out to Butterball and its spokesperson provided the following statement: "We are aware of a video from nearly 20 years ago, which is being re-shared across social media. This video is not current and was taken prior to Butterball becoming a private company and prior to our engagement and certification through American Humane. Animal care and well-being is central to who we are as a company, and we are committed to the ethical and responsible care of our flocks. Eleven years ago, Butterball was the first, and remains the only, turkey company to be American Humane certified. That means we have yearly audits conducted by a third party to ensure compliance with our 200+ science-based standards of best practice for care of turkeys, well exceeding industry best practices. We are proud of this designation that no other turkey company can claim and have a zero-tolerance policy for animal mistreatment."

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Lebawit Lily Girma | (TNS) Bloomberg News When winter rolls around, travelers predictably turn their attention to beaches. And this year, it’s the destination that comedian Tony Hinchcliffe called “a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean” that’s experiencing outsize demand from Americans planning a warm island vacation. Talk about trashing stereotypes. Puerto Rico has recovered overseas visitors (excluding those from Canada and Mexico) faster than any U.S. state or territory — a staggering 85% increase over its 2019 overseas inbound visitor levels as of 2023, according to an October study from the U.S. National Travel and Tourism Office. There are now more daily flights from the U.S. West Coast, and hotel bookings are 6% higher so far in this last quarter of 2024 year-over-year. It’s a trifecta of tourism growth: more visitors, but also longer stays and a higher spend that reached a record $9.8 billion in 2023, boosting small businesses as well as major brands. “We don’t have a slow season in Puerto Rico anymore,” says Brad Dean, chief executive officer at Discover Puerto Rico. Even if they’re not booking, people are dreaming about “La Isla.” By tracking flight searches for trips between November 2024 and February 2025, a measure of “inspirational” demand, tourism intelligence company Mabrian Technologies reports Puerto Rico is up 9% compared with the same period last year and leads Barbados, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and the Bahamas in the Caribbean proper. Only Costa Rica ranked higher in the wider region. Dean attributes Puerto Rico’s ongoing tourism growth to a strategic effort to reposition the island’s brand as more than a sun-and-sea destination, starting back in 2018. That led to the Live Boricua campaign, which began in 2022 and leaned heavily on culture, history and cuisine and was, Dean says, “a pretty bold departure” in the way Puerto Rico was showcased to travelers. He adds that at least $2 billion in tourism spend is linked to this campaign. “We (also) haven’t shied away from actively embracing the LGBTQ+ community, and that has opened up Puerto Rico to audiences that may not have considered the Caribbean before,” Dean says. Hotels are preparing to meet this growing demand: A number of established boutique properties are undergoing upgrades valued between $4 million and more than $50 million, including Hotel El Convento; La Concha, which will join the Marriott Autograph Collection; Condado Vanderbilt Hotel; and the Wyndham Grand Rio Mar. That’s in addition to ultra-chic options that are coming online in 2025, including the adults-only Alma San Juan, with rooms overlooking Plaza Colón in the heart of Old San Juan, and the five-star Veranó boutique hotel in San Juan’s trendy Santurce neighborhood. The beachfront Ritz-Carlton San Juan in Isla Verde will also be reopening seven years after Hurricane Maria decimated the island. The travel industry’s success is helping boost employment on the island, to the tune of 101,000 leisure and hospitality jobs as of September 2024, a 26% increase over pre-pandemic levels, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Efforts to promote Puerto Rico’s provinces beyond the San Juan metro area — such as surfing hub Rincón on the west coast, historical Ponce on the south coast and Orocovis for nature and coffee haciendas in the central mountains —have spread the demand to small businesses previously ignored by the travel industry. Take Sheila Osorio, who leads workshops on Afro-Puerto Rican bomba music and dance at Taller Nzambi, in the town of Loíza, 15 miles east of San Juan; or Wanda Otero, founder of cheese-producing company Vaca Negra in Hatillo, an hour’s drive west of Old San Juan, where you can join a cheese-making workshop and indulge in artisanal cheese tastings. “The list of businesses involved in tourism has gone from 650 in 2018 to 6,100, many of which are artists and artisans,” Dean says. While New Yorkers and Miami residents have always been the largest visitor demographic, Dean says more mainland Americans now realize that going to Puerto Rico means passport-free travel to enjoy beaches, as well as opportunities to dine in Michelin-rated restaurants, hike the only rainforest in the U.S. and kayak in a bioluminescent bay. Visitors from Chicago and Dallas, for example, have increased by approximately 40% from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024, compared with the same period in 2022-2023, and more travelers are expected from Denver now that United Airlines Holdings Inc. has kicked off its first nonstop service to San Juan, beginning on Oct. 29. Previously, beach destinations that were easy to reach on direct flights from Denver included Mexico, Belize and California, but now Puerto Rico joins that list with a 5.5-hour nonstop route that cuts more than two hours from the next-best option. Given United Airlines’ hub in San Francisco, it could mean more travelers from the Golden State in the near future, too. In December, U.S. airlines will have 3,000 more seats per day to the territory compared with the same period last year, for a total of 84,731 — surpassing even Mexico and the Dominican Republic in air capacity, according to data from aviation analytics firm Cirium. Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport, the island’s primary gateway, is projecting a record volume of 13 million passengers by year’s end — far surpassing the 9.4 million it saw in 2019. As for Hinchcliffe’s “floating island of garbage” line, Dean says it was “a terribly insensitive attempt at humor” that transformed outrage into a marketing silver lining, with an outpouring of positive public sentiment and content on Puerto Rico all over social media. Success, as that old chestnut goes, may be the best revenge. “It was probably the most efficient influencer campaign we’ve ever had,” Dean says, “a groundswell of visitors who posted their photos and videos and said, ‘This is the Puerto Rico that I know.’” ©2024 Bloomberg L.P. Visit bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.OpenAI's Altman will donate $1 million to Trump's inaugural fund

NEW YORK — A Marine veteran who used a chokehold on an agitated subway rider was acquitted on Monday in a death that became a prism for differing views about public safety, valor and vigilantism. A Manhattan jury cleared Daniel Penny of criminally negligent homicide in Jordan Neely’s 2023 killing. A more serious manslaughter charge was dismissed last week because the jury deadlocked on that count. Both applause and anger erupted in the courtroom as the verdict was read, and Neely’s father and two supporters were ushered out after audibly reacting. Another person also left, wailing with tears. “It really, really hurts,” Neely’s father, Andre Zachery, said outside the courthouse. “I had enough of this. The system is rigged.” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, the Democrat whose office brought the case, said prosecutors “followed the facts and the evidence from beginning to end” and respect the verdict. There was no immediate comment from lawyers for Penny, who rushed to a waiting car after the verdict. Penny’s attorneys claimed he was protecting himself and other subway passengers from a volatile, mentally ill man who made alarming remarks and gestures. The case amplified many American fault lines, among them race, politics, crime, urban life, mental illness and homelessness. Neely was Black. Penny is white. There were sometimes dueling demonstrations outside the courthouse, including Monday, when chants could be heard through the window ahead of the verdict. Penny, 26, served four years in the Marines and went on to study architecture. Neely, 30, was a sometime subway performer with a tragic life story: His mother was killed and stuffed in a suitcase when he was a teenager. As a younger man, Neely did Michael Jackson tributes on the city’s streets and subways. But Neely also struggled with mental illness after losing his mother, whose boyfriend was convicted of murdering her. He subsequently was diagnosed with depression and schizophrenia and was repeatedly hospitalized. Neely told a doctor in 2017 that being homeless, living in poverty and having to “dig through the garbage” for food made him feel so hopeless that he sometimes thought of killing himself, hospital records show. Get local news delivered to your inbox!

28 Singapore brands for your locally-shopped Christmas gifts: Homeware, fashion, books, food and moreAP Business SummaryBrief at 4:21 p.m. EST

Brattleboro's Thurber signs to play football at UVA

President-elect Donald Trump is navigating rocky political waters as two of his nominees, Pete Hegseth and Tulsi Gabbard, face scrutiny from U.S. senators. Both are controversial figures, and their confirmations hang in the balance, reliant on ardent Republican backing. Hegseth, known from his days at Fox News, is vying for the secretary of Defense post. He has met with Senator Joni Ernst, a key figure in his confirmation due to her combat experience and understanding of the military. Ernst's response post-meeting was cautiously optimistic, noting Hegseth's commitments to transparency and tackling sexual assault within the military. Tulsi Gabbard, Trump's pick for director of national intelligence, encountered criticism related to her relations with Russia and past meetings with Syrian officials. Her confirmation could redefine the intelligence community's dynamics amid fears of increased politicization. Both nominees face a tight race for confirmation, especially with a narrow Republican majority in the Senate. (With inputs from agencies.)Three-game skid over, NC State faces winless Coppin StateAP Trending SummaryBrief at 6:29 p.m. EST

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Former Temple basketball standout Hysier Miller sat for a long interview with the NCAA as it looked into concerns about unusual gambling activity, his lawyer said Friday amid reports a federal probe is now under way. “Hysier Miller fully cooperated with the NCAA’s investigation. He sat for a five-hour interview and answered every question the NCAA asked. He also produced every document the NCAA requested,” lawyer Jason Bologna said in a statement. “Hysier did these things because he wanted to play basketball this season, and he is devastated that he cannot.” Miller, a three-year starter from South Philadelphia, transferred to Virginia Tech this spring. However, the Hokies released him last month due to what the program called “circumstances prior to his enrollment at Virginia Tech.” Bologna declined to confirm that a federal investigation had been opened, as did spokespeople for both the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Philadelphia. ESPN, citing unnamed sources, reported Thursday that authorities were investigating whether Miller bet on games he played in at Temple, and whether he adjusted his performance accordingly. “Hysier Miller has overcome more adversity in his 22 years than most people face in their lifetime. He will meet and overcome whatever obstacles lay ahead," Bologna said. Miller scored eight points — about half his season average of 15.9 — in a 100-72 loss to UAB on March 7 that was later flagged for unusual betting activity. Temple said it has been aware of those allegations since they became public in March, and has been cooperative. “We have been fully responsive and cooperative with the NCAA since the moment we learned of the investigation,” Temple President John Fry said in a letter Thursday to the school community. However, Fry said Temple had not received any requests for information from state or federal law enforcement agencies. He vowed to cooperate fully if they did. “Coaches, student-athletes and staff members receive mandatory training on NCAA rules and regulations, including prohibitions on involvement in sports wagering," Fry said in the letter. The same week the Temple-UAB game raised concerns, Loyola (Maryland) said it had removed a person from its basketball program after it became aware of a gambling violation. Temple played UAB again on March 17, losing 85-69 in the finals of the American Athletic Conference Tournament. League spokesman Tom Fenstermaker also declined comment on Friday. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here . AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketballNEW YORK , Dec. 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- It is with profound sadness that TGM mourns the death of its Co-founder and Managing Principal, Steven C. Macy (1949-2024). Steve, real estate executive, husband, brother, uncle, friend, mentor, proud parent and grandparent, and oracle of wisdom who told endless anecdotes, died in New York on December 2 nd . Steve was a dynamic leader with a breadth of interests and knowledge that matched his energy, enthusiasm, and drive. He was born and raised in Dayton, Ohio . Steve co-founded TGM Associates L.P. ("TGM") with Thomas Gochberg in July 1991 . TGM provides an integrated suite of asset and property management services to large, global institutions, including state pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, corporate pension plans, and high-net-worth individuals. Prior to co-founding TGM, Steve worked at Smith Barney Real Estate and its successor company, Security Capital, where he first met Thomas Gochberg . Steve also worked for Integrated Resources, where he headed Integrated's national portfolio of 32,000 apartments. Steve was responsible for overseeing Smith Barney's nationwide property management operations and is recognized by some as one of the principal creators of the national property management business. Prior to his tenure at Smith Barney, real estate investment was predominantly a local and regional business, and Steve was responsible for creating an organization that was national in scope and capable of efficiently managing a portfolio stretching from coast to coast. He replicated this process twice more while at Integrated Resources and TGM. Steve was profiled in Bloomberg Businessweek's Executive Profile Directory for multiple years. He was also awarded the Institute of Real Estate Management's Certified Property Manager designation and was instrumental in TGM's designation as an Accredited Management Organization by that same institution. Steve's Real Estate affiliations included being a member of the Institute of Real Estate Management, the National Multi Housing Council (he served on the Board of Directors from 1990 to 1991), the National Apartment Association, and the Pension Real Estate Association. Steve was a member and patron of numerous New York social and cultural institutions and was an active member of the New York City Catholic Diocese. He accompanied Cardinal Dolan and his predecessor, Cardinal Egan, as members of their entourage on several visits to the Vatican, where Steve met sitting Popes. Steve was also an active member of St. Ignatius Loyola's congregation on the Upper East Side of Manhattan . Steve also enjoyed traveling with his Jesuit friends, including attending several silent retreats and several trips to Israel . Steve and his wife Emi had a plethora of shared interests that included volunteering, cooking, and good food (Steve was an excellent cook and enjoyed preparing meals for all), and was an adventurous traveler. Steve had an amazing rolodex of excellent restaurants from all the places he visited and usually a good story or two from the times he frequented them. Steve dedicated significant time to mentoring young minds in search of wisdom. He once published his feelings on how to lead a "successful life" which reflected those tenets that resonated deeply with him and were evident to any person that he came in contact with. In short, Steve stated that if you wanted to change the world: Start by making your bed every morning. Doing simple things well and maintaining discipline to do these tasks every day builds one's character. Moreover, the completion of this simple task every morning will lead to the completion of many more tasks by the end of the day. Find a mentor to help you along your journey. No successful person ever got ahead and stayed there without the help of others. Your integrity is the most valuable tool in your personal arsenal. Be honest in your dealings with others. The finest compliment you can ever get is "his/her handshake is pretty damn good". Don't be afraid to take risks. Success rarely, if at all, comes to timid individuals that are afraid to take risks. Don't be foolish and caviler about it. Assess the playing field, measure the options and then move boldly and decisively in a well thought out way. Dress and comport yourself appropriately at all times. People will measure you by your appearance and manners; particularly in the way you treat others, just as much as by what you say. It's okay to be strong willed and assertive but don't be an asshole. Work hard at every job you hold. Get to work on time and don't hesitate to work extra time. Don't give 110% – give 200%. Set goals for yourself at the beginning of every year, personal as well as professional. Then monitor your progress on a regular basis. If you are consistently coming up short, then make changes in how you are doing things. Don't keep marching up the hill the same way if it isn't getting you to the summit. Be loyal and true to your family, friends, employer and business partners. Don't whine over spilled milk. Put your failures or negative experiences behind you promptly. Learn from the lesson and move on. Don't let it distract you from your overall goal because your ultimate goal is to win the war, not every individual battle. Don't be flighty and jump around all the time. Decide what you want to do with your life and then stay focused. Never stop learning about your chosen field of endeavor. Focus on making forward progress every day, even if it is only a small step forward. If you want to achieve financial independence, then keep an eye on your Balance Sheet. How much you make is far less important than how much you save and invest. Make it a steady habit to donate some of your time and treasure to people and causes that serve those in need. Whatever you give will come back to you a thousand-fold. Always remember that no matter how high your station in life becomes, stay humble and don't take yourself too seriously because that too will pay dividends that you can only begin to imagine at this stage of your life. Keep a copy of this list. I hope you will use it wisely. Don't just read it once and put it away. Review it again every year, perhaps when you sit down to develop your goals for the upcoming year. I think you will discover that it's an even more valuable tool in the years to come then it is today. Lastly, don't wax philosophical to others about how smart I am for developing this list and sharing it with you. Because the truth is I didn't invent any of these pearls of wisdom. All of them were created and shared with me by others that traveled the road long before me. I merely adopted them to help me follow my personal path over the last six decades. Steve is survived by his wife Emi; children Christopher, Tiffany, Alexa, and Akane; grandchildren Todd Jr., Tess, Tanner and Tom; his sister Karen; and many cousins, nieces and nephews. He will be missed by all. About TGM Founded in 1991, TGM is an investment advisory firm organized to provide an integrated suite of asset and property management services to its investors through a series of fully integrated operating companies. Through its vertically and horizontally integrated operating companies, TGM specializes in acquisitions, property management, leasing, construction, property maintenance and asset management services. An affiliate of TGM provides property management services under the brand TGM Communities. As of September 30, 2024, TGM has invested in 141 multifamily properties throughout 28 states. To learn more about TGM please contact John Gochberg , Managing Principal, Chief Executive Officer, and President. Phone: (212) 830-9312, E-mail: jgochberg@TGMAssociates.com View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/tgm-mourns-death-of-co-founder-and-managing-principal-steven-c-macy-302326734.html SOURCE TGMTruck Transmission System Market 2024 Size, Share, Growth Report 2032ACCRA, Ghana (AP) — Ghana’s former leader John Dramani Mahama was declared the winner of the presidential election on Monday and pledged a “a life of limitless opportunity” for citizens after voters vented their anger over the country’s worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation. Previously president of the West African nation between 2012 and 2017, the 65-year-old Mahama received 56.5% of votes cast, or 6.3 million votes, the electoral commission said. His main opponent from the current governing party, Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, conceded defeat on Sunday and got 41%, or 4.6 million votes. Electoral commissioner Jean Mensa said vote-counting continued in nine constituencies but would not change the final result. Turnout was just over 60%. Mahama had promised to “reset” the country on various fronts. His campaign prioritized the economy and largely appealed to young Ghanaians who saw the vote as a way out of the economic crisis . In his victory speech on Monday, Mahama said Ghana must be able to meet the basic needs of its people including affordable housing, health care, food, clean water, safe work and fair wages. “We want a Ghana that considers the well-being of all her citizens and affords them each the ability to live a life of dignity, a life of limitless opportunity,” he said. “This country, this land, is not for one person or for one family or for one tribe or ethnic group.” He said the last eight years under outgoing President Nana Akufo-Addo have "left a scar on our national psyche, which may take some time to erase.” Mahama’s win is viewed as following the trend of elections around the world, favoring opposition parties against incumbents. Mahama’s National Democratic Congress also won the majority in parliament. After Bawumia conceded defeat, celebrations broke out among opposition supporters in the capital, Accra, and elsewhere. Women and young people danced to music and trumpet blasts. The election for both the president and members of parliament was seen as a litmus test for democracy in a region shaken by extremist violence and coups . West Africa’s regional bloc, ECOWAS, called the election generally peaceful, not unusual for Ghana. The governing New Patriotic Party has struggled to resolve the economic crisis under outgoing Akufo-Addo. The former president is “the only person” who can fix the ailing economy in Ghana, one of West Africa’s economic powerhouses, said Jude Agbemava, a policy analyst who voted for him. The people made their disaffection known against a government that has lost goodwill, said Seidu Alidu, head of the department of political science at Ghana’s University of Legon. The economy is “largely a bread and butter issue for every Ghanaian,” Alidu said. “When the people elect you, they require you to do certain things for them. But it was also about the style of governance (because) even in other countries facing economic challenges, governments were being honest with the people, telling them what the reality is, and the steps they have taken to manage it.”