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Malaysia Huawei AI Talent Push: 30,000 Expert Training Program

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Malaysia Huawei AI Talent Push: 30,000 Expert Training Program

Malaysia’s competition to build its country’s AI workforce has entered a new phase with Huawei’s pledge to train 30,000 local experts.

Speaking at Huawei Cloud AI Ecosystem Summit APAC 2025, Digital Minister Govind Singh Deo emphasized that this Malaysian AI Talent Development Initiative must be inclusive and inclusive, and that every segment of society must ensure that it benefits from technological advancements.

“AI-led productivity must benefit all Malaysians. No one is left and we must work together inclusively,” Gobind said in his keynote speech at the Huawei Cloud AI Ecosystem Summit APAC 2025 held during the ASEAN AI Malaysia Summit.

The Minister emphasized that technology needs to provide concrete value across all sectors through AI-assisted diagnostics for remote clinics through a cloud-based platform for small and medium-sized businesses.

Huawei’s infrastructure leadership drives talent strategy

Huawei’s commitment to developing AI talent in Malaysia comes as the company solidifies its position as a major cloud infrastructure provider. In August 2025, Gartner positioned Huawei as a leader in the magical quadrant for container management, recognising the deep expertise and strategic investments of the Cloud Native 2.0 company.

This recognition examines Huawei’s infrastructure capabilities that support Malaysia’s AI ambitions. The company’s container products, including CCE Turbo, CCE Autopilot, Cloud Container Instances (CCIs), and distributed cloud native services UCS, provide the optimal cloud-native infrastructure for managing large, scalable containerized workloads in public, distributed, hybrid clouds and edge environments.

Huawei Technologies (Malaysia) CEO Simon Sun has outlined the scope of the Malaysian AI Talent Development Initiative, targeting a wide range of experts, including students, government officials, industry leaders, think tanks, and associations.

“We have set the goal of fostering 30,000 Malaysian AI talent, consisting of students, government officials, industry leaders, think tanks, associations and more,” Sun announced during the summit, attended by around 300 regional representatives.

AI Excellence’s Technical Foundation

Huawei Cloud’s technical capabilities are well positioned to support Malaysia’s AI workforce development. The company operates a global network of 34 regions and 101 availability zones, particularly in ASEAN, including five regions and 17 availability zones, providing low-latency infrastructure essential for AI applications.

The platform supports over 160 open source models through AI cloud services, providing flexibility for development in a variety of industries. At the core is Huawei’s Pangu Multimodal model, which forms the backbone of the company’s “AI for Industries” strategy, providing tailored solutions for manufacturing, healthcare, transportation and other sectors.

Li Yin, CTO at Huawei Cloud Enterprise Intelligence, showed us how these features translate into real applications during the session “Journey to the Cloud, Heading to AI.” She shared examples of Huawei Cloud work with customers in over 30 industries, applying AI to over 500 scenarios around the world.

The Talent Development Program is based on Huawei’s existing ICT Academy and AI Talent Development Plan. This praised the Digital Minister for “creating a highly skilled, future-ready workforce with industry-related expertise.

Beyond training, Huawei is also committed to fostering 200 local AI partners through knowledge transfer and cloud solutions collaboration with top AI companies. The initiative will include encouraging AI investment in Malaysia and helping to launch new Malaysian AI entities through partnerships with local players.

Cloud Native 2.0 and AI Integration

Huawei’s advances in cloud-native 2.0 technology have been fully upgraded to incorporate intelligence, directly supporting Malaysia’s AI ambitions. The company is building a next-generation AI native cloud infrastructure powered by advanced AI technology.

Key innovations include CCE AI clusters that form the cloud-native infrastructure of CloudMatrix384 supernodes, scheduling with a large supernode topology, autoscaling that recognizes AI workload characteristics, and ultra-fast container startups that dramatically accelerate AI training and inference.

Huawei also introduced CCE Doer. It integrates AI agents throughout the container usage process and provides intelligent Q&A, recommendations, and diagnostics. The system can diagnose more than 200 critical exception scenarios with a root cause accuracy rate of over 80%, enabling automated intelligent container cluster management.

The national policy framework supports the growth of AI

The Human Resource Development announcement has been announced as Malaysia announces NCCP and established a comprehensive framework for cloud recruitment that directly supports AI capabilities development. The policy is intended for Malaysia to become a world-class cloud computing hub by 2030 and is fixed on innovation, cybersecurity, sustainability and inclusiveness.

Gobind emphasized that building an “AI Nation” under the 13th Malaysian Plan requires strengthening infrastructure, greater security, and developing local talent, and collaboration that plays a pivotal role in achieving these objectives.

“We talk about infrastructure, security and talent, but there is much we can learn from the industries in the region, from our friends and from the world about how other countries, sectors and industries have evolved,” the minister noted.

Actual applications will promote adoption

The Malaysian AI Talent Development Initiative is intended to address existing applications where AI is already impacting. Sun pointed to fraud detection in banking, predictive maintenance in factories, supply chain management, and personalized learning in schools as an area of increasing need for skilled professionals.

Huawei’s approach highlights localized partnerships to ensure that global expertise is applied in a way that meets the specific needs of ASEAN. The company introduced the AI-Native cloud infrastructure built in collaboration with local partners, showing how such partnerships can drive intelligent sector-wide upgrades.

Governance and Security Priorities

The Digital Minister emphasized the important importance of governance and regulatory frameworks, particularly as Malaysia becomes more dependent on data-driven infrastructure, to ensure that AI adoption remains safe and sustainable.

“If we build a country that is entirely dependent on data centers and data centers, we cannot afford to have a breakdown that will affect all sectors that rely on them,” Gobind warned, highlighting the need for robust infrastructure and security measures.

Government approaches include preparing policies and legal preparations that can adapt to new technologies while ensuring safety and security are not compromised. Founded in December 2024, the National AI Office has already worked with six sectors, identifying 55 potential AI use cases.

Regional impact and future outlook

Malaysia’s AI Talent Development Initiative has great significance in a broader ASEAN region where skilled AI professionals are lacking. Investments in Huawei’s local capabilities, backed by Gartner’s perceived infrastructure leadership, could position Malaysia as a regional hub of AI expertise and could attract additional technology investments and partnerships.

“The future is now. Today we need to start thinking about how we can create an ecosystem that will ensure that Malaysia is ready five years after new technologies are rolled out.”

The convergence of Huawei’s talent development commitment with Malaysia’s new cloud computing policy framework represents a critical step to building Indigenous AI capabilities while maintaining strategic partnerships with global technology leaders. Success relies on effective implementation and ensures benefits to reach all segments of Malaysian society.

(Photo: Panos Sakalakis)

See also: Can Huawei’s open source Cann Toolkit break Cuda Monopoly?

Want to learn more about AI and big data from industry leaders? Check out the AI & Big Data Expo in Amsterdam, California and London. The comprehensive event will be held in collaboration with other major events, including the Intelligent Automation Conference, Blockx, Digital Transformation Week, and Cyber Security & Cloud Expo.

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$101,000 knee replacement? Why do hospital fees vary so much?

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1,000 knee replacement? Why do hospital fees vary so much?

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People are usually well versed to see if the hospital or doctor has insurance. However, it is a mystery how much medical procedures and operations cost, even with coverage.

A new report from healthcare analytics firm Trilliant Health shows how much the same healthcare services cost differently in different hospitals and surgical centers.

Do I need to change my entire knee? It costs just $12,870 or $101,527. Ankle replacement? A hospital in Austin, Texas has charged $22,011, while a hospital in New Jersey has been charged more than $197,000 for the same business. These broad price fluctuations can leave large bills, loans and medical liabilities for insured consumers.

Using claims data from two major health insurance companies, Trilliant Health analyzed inpatient and outpatient rates billed from nearly 2,700 hospitals and 3,500 surgical centers. The report found that the same operations or procedures could lead to a 9-fold change in price. And the prices of hospitals in the same state have more than tripled, the report said.

Trilliant also analyzed 10 hospitals listed on multiple best hospital lists, but there was no link between higher prices and improved health quality.

Allison Oakes, Chief Research Officer at Trilliant Health, said the report is intended to inform consumers and employers about medical prices so that they can better assess the value of the services they are purchasing. Oaks said healthcare prices and discounted rates negotiated by insurance companies – historically “a very well-secured industry secret.”

“The fact that we have information related to prices now would be great if we could start to keep our spending down,” Oaks said.

Hospital prices increase health spending

Research shows that such price fluctuations are key contributors to why healthcare costs are so high in the US than in any other country. The US spent $4.9 trillion in healthcare in 2023 – or $14,570 on everyone. According to the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker, the US life expectancy is the lowest among the larger, wealthy countries, despite spending more than any other country.

Employers paying health insurance for working-age adults historically did not have a price when deciding which hospitals or surgical centers to include in their network of workplace insurance plans.

Consumers with deductible health plans often pay thousands of dollars out of their pocket before coverage begins. Or, in many cases, they will have to pay a percentage of their medical expenses.

According to a peer-reviewed health issues 2024 survey, over the past 25 years, employers’ health insurance premium costs have almost tripled the pay rate for workers. Key contribution factors: hospital price.

Under the Federal Price Transparency Rules adopted earlier this decade, health insurance companies must disclose prices negotiated with hospitals and other healthcare providers. Trilliant’s analysis included prices negotiated by the two national health insurance companies: UnitedHealth Group and Aetna.

Will price transparency add competition and lower prices?

Researchers not involved in the Trilliant report analyzed price transparency data and came to similar conclusions about widespread price differences.

One study by Johns Hopkins University found that X-ray prices and CT scans have changed more than 10 times across the country. The study found that the same scans in the same hospital were almost tripled based on different plans from the same insurance company, said Ge Bai, professor of accounting and health policy and management at Johns Hopkins University.

Bye said the study highlighted the lack of competition in health services.

“There’s a long way to go before we reach the competitive market for healthcare prices,” Bye said.

The Baker Institute at Rice University compared prices for three Houston hospitals and found a major difference between the three health insurance companies: Texas, United Health and Humana. The biggest price gap: Overnight stays covered by the Humana PPO plan ranged from $17,628 to $57,898 at different hospitals in the Houston area.

Vivian Ho, an economist at Rice University who studied hospital pricing, said employers can use price information to adjust health insurance offerings to workers.

“There are plenty of opportunities for employers to receive this information and start restructuring their interests,” Ho said.

The massive New York union has tried to drive employees out of New York to other hospitals as part of a cost-cutting move. The union, a local 32BJ of the United Nations of Service Employees, has investigated the Department of Justice’s New York Presbyterians to investigate allegations that anti-competitive behaviour keeps hospital prices high. According to a subpoena reviewed by the New York Times, the Department of Justice has launched an investigation into the contract practices of well-known hospital chains and their insurance companies.

A spokesman for the New York Presbyterian declined to comment.

Another study on Massachusetts health planning that examined the use of staged pricing that charges consumers higher out-of-pocket costs if they choose more expensive hospitals. Consumers can opt for a $250, $500 or $750 copy, and are linked to more expensive hospitals.

Three years later, overall spending fell by more than 8%, making consumers more willing to choose low-cost copies or hospitals.

Ho said the hierarchical Copay approach is easy to understand, as it makes it easier for consumers to understand health prices and what steps they can understand to reduce costs.

“The average consumer doesn’t understand the problem,” Ho said.

When health prices rise, consumers are blamed on insurance companies, Ho said. Additionally, although insurers are being scrutinized for practices such as prior approval and denial of service, the main driving force behind health insurance premiums is hospital fees for both inpatient and outpatient services.

“The hospital and integrated healthcare system charges very high prices,” Ho said. “And there’s nothing in your health insurance benefits to stop you from going to the best priced provider.”

Email Consumer Health Reporter Ken Alltucker (alltuck@usatoday.com).

American Indian Tribal Tribe Court and Constitution

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American Indian Tribal Tribe Court and Constitution

There is 574 Federal Recognition Each American Indian tribe has its own legal system. This explanator provides a brief overview of the tribal courts, laws and constitutions.

Overview of the American Indian Tribe

The American Indian Tribes are sovereign organizations within the geographical boundaries of the United States. Under federal law, they sayDomestic dependent countries“They are both autonomous and are subject to the power to determine their own structure of governance, including their own laws and court system, and the full power of parliament recognized by the Constitution. It has all the powers of a sovereign state Except those I gave it away They were repealed by treaty or federal law, and as the US Supreme Court explained in 1978, they were “It will inevitably be sold“As part of the tribe’s “establishment within US territory and acceptance of its protection.” ”

While the nation has No permissions Unless approved by Congress, intergovernmental coordination between states and tribes is required for American Indian tribes. General. For example, some states and tribes employ it. Comity rules While other states have it, they mutually recognize the effectiveness of each other’s court system judgments. Formal collaboration Between state and tribal judges.

According to Federal Census Datahas identified approximately 9.7 million Americans as American Indians or part of Alaska. 3.7 million people Identify only as American Indian or Alaska native. Since 1924members of the American Indian tribe were dual citizens of both their tribe and the state in which they resided. The American Indian tribes do not have official voting representatives in Congress, but tribe members You can vote in local, state and federal elections based on state citizenship. But tribal members continue to face Critical barriers Complete and equal political participation.

Tribal Governance and Constitutional Law

The governing structure of the American Indian tribes It’s quite different. Many tribes have tribal councils that have legislative powers to write tribal laws, while some have executive power and jurisdiction. Some tribes choose tribal councillors through districts or large elections, while others choose councillors through traditional processes. It also exists in most tribes Chairman, President, Chief, or Governor Those who are permitted to engage with the federal government on behalf of the tribe.

In 1934, as part of the Indian New Deal, Reorganization Method in India (IRA) provided a mechanism by which tribes formalize and institutionalize government. Many tribes There was a constitution before the IRAIRA has increased significantly Tribal Constitution, Many of them were modeled after local governments. The IRA itself did not apply to Oklahoma, Oklahoma Indian Welfare Act In 1936, the IRA was expanded to Oklahoma.

That’s the history of adoption of the IRA constitution Fraaught and complicated. They have scholars and tribal members It was criticized The IRA constitution, which often fails to incorporate traditional tribal values, cultures, and institutions, has resulted in a poor lot suitable for tribal communities. Furthermore, many older IRA constitutions It did not provide tribal justice systems or other checks and balances.and the paternalism of the federal government has been pushing for constitutional formation. For example, part of the original IRA constitution contained provisions that required approval by the Secretary of the Interior for passing tribal laws. (All of these provisions have been abolished, but many, but not all, have been abolished.)

The American Indian National Congress reports that Approximately 60% Tribal governments have an IRA constitution. these IRA Constitution It includes provisions relating to tribal territories and jurisdiction, membership, governmental organizations, tribal councils, judicial systems, tribal administrations, elections, removals, removals, land management, initiatives, referendums, ordinances, and resolutions. Dozens of tribes adopted the IRA constitution before they were amended.

The rest of the American Indian tribes do not have either written or non-IRA constitutions. For example, the largest American Indian tribe in the country – the Navajo tribe – There is a detailed tribal code Although there is no written constitution in some respects due to laws, the Cherokee people are Non-IRA Constitution.

Interpretation of tribal courts, jurisdiction and constitutions

The IRA has recognized the rights of American Indian tribes In Create your own coat system. The number of tribal courts between 1978 and 2013 It’s doubledand there is today Up to 400 tribal judicial systems In the US. There are five Indian Crime Courta unique federal tribal court for use by American Indian tribes to enforce tribal jurisdiction if they do not have their own court system. Appeals from those courts are Indian Court of Appealsthis is a semi-federal court of appeals. Some tribes with tribal courts have chosen different structures for these courts. There are western style courts, some others have traditional courts, while others use hybrid models. Tribal judges are normal elected or appointed by the Tribal Council; And some tribes rely on Not only judges, but tribal elders and peace houses are also lying around. With their judicial system.
Tribes generally have Civil Regulations and Arbitration Authority The federal court has it, but to all parties involved in the Indian land of India limited Its authority From a state officer. However, on non-Indian lands in the Indian country, such as private property on reservations. oWned by non-indiansthe problem is more complicated. The US Supreme Court was held The tribe generally does not have civil jurisdiction Non-tribal members of such areas Or on The right to the road, Sidewalks and roads. However, there are exceptions. The tribes are Consensual relationship When the activity in question is threatened between non-tribal members and tribes or between the activity of the matterPolitical integrity, economic security, or tribal health or welfare;. “Whether tribes may exercise civil jurisdiction over non-Indians; Federal CourtHowever, federal courts generally do not hear such cases until the parties have. Tribal remedies have been exhaustedincluding appeals from tribal courts.

The tribes have more limited criminal jurisdiction. The tribes have criminal jurisdiction All American Indians (Not only members of tribes exercising jurisdiction) in 1978, United States Supreme Court held The tribe no longer had criminal jurisdiction over non-Indians. Since then, Congress has restored the tribe’s inherent criminal jurisdiction to prosecute non-Indians for domestic violence and other listed crimes. Violent behavior against women. If tribes lack the authority to prosecute non-Indians, they still have authority Stop and Frisk Non-Indians are based on reasonable doubts of criminal conduct and will, if necessary, detain them until they can be handed over to state or federal authorities.

When it comes to interpreting the constitution, tribal courts function in several ways similarly to state courts. Federal Constitution Does not apply to tribal governmentsHowever, in 1968, the Congress passed the Indian Civil Rights Act (ICRA).It’s the same, but not the same,” To the Federal Bill of Rights. ICRA is federal law, but tribal courts have jurisdiction over ICRA’s claims. Therefore, as a practical problem, Most Any claims arising under the statute are being sued in tribal courts.

in Santa Clara Pueblo V. Martinezthe Supreme Court confirmed that in interpreting the ICRA, the tribal courts are not obligated to comply with the federal interpretation of the Bill of Rights. Tribal courts have I have come to my own conclusions regularly About Protection provided by law, Relating to due process, equal protection, search and seizures, freedom of speech, rights to ju trials, expedited trials, and appropriate support from lawyers.. These rulings have sometimes discovered that there is an ICRA More protective More than federal and state analog. A federal court considering ICRA’s claims responded with a Mixing methodsometimes it depends on tribal interpretations and federal precedents.

Tribal courts are also run Unique structural constraints. For example, many tribal court systems do not have sufficient resources to consistently staff and run the justice system. Poverty among many American Indian tribes significantly limits the ability of tribal courts to corrective actions.

Most importantly, many IRA constitutions place structural limitations on the authority of tribal judges. Some concentration Legislation, enforcement, and jurisdiction in the Tribal Council, do not have or have any restrictions on the constitutional authority to review the actions of tribal governments. For example, X X Crow Tribal Constitution The judiciary provides that it does not review the enumerated power exercises of the administrative divisions of the Crow Tribal Government, and has limited powers to assess whether the law is in compliance with the Crow Tribal Constitution. Some IRA councils have it One-sided authority over judicial appointment, removal, or pay;. Some even grant councillors the authority to sit as appellate tribe judges. However, some tribes have amended constitutional or tribal laws to provide greater separation of power. General trends The judicial independence from the political sector after the IRA’s constitution is increasing.

••••

Tribal courts and constitutions share several characteristics with federal and state analogues, but occupy a unique position in the United States, shaped by the unique history and sovereign status of American Indian tribes.

Michael Milovcordova is an advisor to the Judicial Program at the Brennan Judicial Center.

Dan Lewentz is an assistant professor at the University of North Dakota Law School.

Serbian populist leaders swear a harsh response to protesters following the riot

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Serbian populist leaders swear a harsh response to protesters following the riot


Belgrade, Serbia
AP
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Serbian President Alexander Vicz announced strict measures against anti-government protesters on Sunday after days of riots on the streets across Serbia that challenged his increasingly dictatorial rule in the Balkan country.

Thousands of people protested in various Serbian towns, including the capital Belgrade, against the threat of Mukacci’s crackdown late on Sunday. Protesters called out “Arrest Vucic” and demanded that all those who were detained for the past few days be released. No incidents have been reported.

Often at one of the TV addresses, Vucic denounced anti-government protesters of “pure terrorism” and reiterated his claim that months of sustained protests against his rule were coordinated in the West and aimed at destroying Serbia.

“Our country is at serious risk. They put all our values, our normal lives, our individuals at risk,” Wykic said. He provided no concrete evidence for his claims.

“Unless we take stricter steps, it’s a matter of the day they (the protesters) kill someone,” Viuch said. “I’m saying this for history.”

The harsh warning came after five consecutive nights of clashes between one protester and the police on the other and Wykic’s loyalty. Angry protesters on Saturday evening were governing Wützic over Serbia’s progressive party office in the western Serbian town, as well as other ruling coalition allies.

Saturday evening demonstrators clashed with police in Belgrade, the capital and the northern city of Novi Sad to the north. Riot officials used tear gas against demonstrators who threw stun grenades, flares and bottles.

Vucic did not specify what the state’s response would be like, he said he’d come within a week. However, he emphasized that an emergency is not imminent. Many have already been detained and injured in the past few days while police face charges of excessive force and arbitrary detention of protesters.

“You will witness the decision of Serbia,” Wüch said. “We will use everything at our disposal to restore peace and order in the country.”

This week’s clash marked a major escalation and killed 16 people after most of the peaceful demonstrations over nine months that began after the collapse of a concrete canopy at a railway station in northern Serbia.

Many in Serbia have condemned the tragedy for alleged widespread corruption of state-run infrastructure projects, saying they have promoted poor renovation work. The Serbian president faces accusations of restraining democratic freedom while allowing organized crime and corruption to flourish. He denied this.

Serbia is officially hoping to join the EU, but Vucic maintains strong ties with Russia and China. On Sunday, he praised Russia’s support for what he called a “colored revolution” to the government.

US stock futures as investors focus on Powell’s comments

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US stock futures as investors focus on Powell’s comments

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U.S. stock futures have been low after last week’s earnings against rising expectations for Federal Reserve cuts in September.

With that in mind, investors will focus on what Fed Chairman Jerome Powell over the weekend at the annual Jackson Hole Economic Symposium for global central bankers and finance directors. They’ll be looking for tips waiting for Powell to see the impact of the tariffs before cutting the fees again.

“As far as Powell talks about the outlook for next week’s policy, he sees soft July job reports point to a part of the employment risk balance,” wrote Michael Ferroli, chief US economist at JP Morgan. “However, as some Fed speakers have said they have not had a case of cutting recently, Powell doesn’t think that with more employment data going forward, Powell will be able to ease the mitigation at the next meeting.”

The CME FedWatch tool, which tracks the odds market, gives rate movements at each Fed policy meeting. Since then, chances have returned to nearly 85% chances.

Before Powell’s speech, investors can get a glimpse at the last Fed meeting mid-week. Federal governments Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman voted against the central bank’s decision to maintain fees between 4.25% and 4.50% last month. It was the first time since 1993 that two governors had opposed it.

At 6:45am ET, futures tied to the Blue Chip Dow slipped -0.12%, while Broad S&P 500 futures fell 0.13%, with Tech-heavy Nasdaq futures losing -0.13%.

Huge retail revenues are paid

Discount Giants’ Walmart and Target, as well as Home Depot and Lowes, home improvement chains, are among the leading retailers scheduled to report revenue this week. How the retail chain operates can provide a window into tariff effects and consumer health.

Of the more than 92% of S&P 500 companies already reporting the quarter, almost 82% surpassed Wall Street expectations, according to Factset.

Cryptocurrency

MicroStrategy Executive Chairman Michael Saylor posted on the Social Media A Chart on August 17, suggesting that the company could purchase more Bitcoin to add to its finances.

Medora Lee is a money, market and personal finance reporter for USA Today. You can contact her at mjlee@usatoday.com and subscribe to our free daily money newsletter for personal finance tips and business news every Monday to Friday morning.

Trump hosts European leader Zelensky on the Russian War: Live Update

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Trump hosts European leader Zelensky on the Russian War: Live Update

The Ukrainian leader will meet with President Trump and his advisors in the oval office before an expanded meeting with European leaders.

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WASHINGTON – When Voldymee Zelenkie finally came to the White House, his meeting with President Donald Trump was very poor, and Ukrainian leaders were kicked out.

Trump laughed at his clothes, and Vice President J.D. Vance called him “disrespectful” at an oval office meeting in February.

Zelenskyy is far better than Trump, who was far better than he was back then. However, he will still be in a challenging position when he came to the White House on August 18 to discuss a potential peace deal with Russia. The Ukrainian leader is scheduled to meet with his advisors alone in the elliptical office before an expanded meeting with European leaders.

In a late-night truth social post ahead of the White House meeting, Trump held Zelensky responsible for ending the attacks on Russia’s own country and ruled out Ukraine’s NATO membership.

“Ukrainian President Zelensky can almost immediately end the war with Russia if he wants or continues fighting. Remember how it started, Trump said in a post on August 17th.

Zelenskyy said in a post by X when he arrived in Washington that the peace agreement must be endured. “It’s not like a few years ago when Ukraine was forced to abandon Crimea and part of the Donbas, part of our east.

“We are confident that we protect Ukraine, ensure safety, and that our people will always be grateful to President Trump, all of America, and all our partners and allies for their valuable assistance. Russia must end this war.

What time will Trump meet Zelenskyy?

Trump and his team will first meet with Ukrainian President Voldy Mie Zelensky and his team before a later meeting with a group of European leaders who discussed how to deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

European leaders are expected to arrive at the White House at noon, an hour before Zelensky arrives. Trump and Zelensky meet in the oval office at 1:15pm

Trump then greets the European leadership group at the state cafeteria at 2:15pm. The group is expected to pos for the photo at 2:30pm. – Defeat Janssen

Will Zelenskyy appear in the White House in a suit?

During the war, the Ukrainian leader chose to wear a simple green T-shirt that would represent many of his rebellion. He is largely obsessed with his outfit style in diplomatic corridors around the world.

“Why don’t you wear a suit? Do you own a suit? Many Americans have problems with you.

It was one of the questions raised by combat reporters to Volodomyr Zelenskyy when he was in the White House in February. The visit came down to a fierce exchange that included Zelensky, President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance of the oval office.

So: Is it a suit this time? –Kim Hujelmgard

Zelenskyy: Putin seeks to “humiliate diplomatic efforts”

It is still hours away from meeting with Ukrainian President Voldymi Zelensky, who will help shape the direction of Russia’s war.

Earlier, Zelensky said Russian President Vladimir Putin was trying to “humiliate efforts” after Moscow launched dozens of drones a night, fired four missiles in Ukraine and killed at least 10 people.

“The Russian war machine, despite everything, continues to destroy lives,” Zelensky wrote in a social media post. “Putin commits empirical killings to maintain pressure on Ukraine and Europe.” – Kim Hujelmgard

Zelenskyy came to Washington alone when he was in the US capital last time. This time he brings a lot of backup.

France’s Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Kiel Starmer, German Prime Minister Friedrich Merz, Finland President Alexander Stabb, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and NATO Secretary-General Mark Latte are also flying.

They arrive at the White House before Zelensky and wait on the wings until their meeting with Trump is over.

The show of force from European leaders came right after President Trump’s summit for Alaska’s Russian President Vladimir Putin, and neither they nor Zelensky have been invited to participate.

Trump rolled out the red carpet for Putin and promoted the strength of the relationship after the August 15th meeting.

He said “many points” had been agreed in a closed door speech, and advised Zelenskyy to “make a deal.” – Francesca Chambers

more: Trump tells Zelensky to leave after an oval office crash, mineral trade has not been signed

Shortly after Putin’s summit, Trump said he would host Zelensky at the White House on August 18th. The assembly soon swelled to include major European leaders thereafter.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures program that Trump could bring other heads of state to Zelensky.

“I also think that being in the room is very helpful for Europeans. Sometimes they give ideas about what accommodations they can make and what flexibility the Ukrainian side can have,” Rubio said.

Overall, Rubio said he expects a six- to seven-hour discussion. – Francesca Chambers

The top administration officials said over the weekend that if the US is attacked again as part of a contract to end the war, they could join Europe to commit to protecting Ukraine.

Envoy Steve Witkov said he agreed to a security guarantee that mimics the protections Ukraine would receive if Russia was allowed to participate in NATO.

“We have come to an agreement that the US and other European countries can effectively provide languages like Article 5 to cover security assurances,” Witkoff said on CNN’s “Union States.”

Zelenskyy called it “a historic decision that the US is ready to participate in Ukraine’s security guarantees,” and said it “should be developed with European participation.”

Russia has previously threw a written agreement with Ukraine, and the country is calling for security commitments from the United States and its allies.

Rubio told Fox News that such a promise would be a “huge concession” by Trump, and he was still weighing his options.

“If the President ends up providing US commitment to security assurances, it would be a very big move by the President,” Rubio said. “If he does that, it will tell you how badly he wants peace.”

In addition to the security guarantee, US Special Envoy Steve Witkov said he agreed to Ukraine’s security guarantee, which mimics the protections the country receives if Russia is allowed to participate in NATO.

Putin also said that Russia would either pursue additional Ukraine territory or pass a law that states that it would not violate European state sovereignty after the peace agreement was codified.

The main and notable issue is “some kind of land exchange, and this is clearly in the control of the Ukrainians,” Trump envoy said.

Witkov said the concession Zelensky firmly rejected would be on the agenda.

Latest additions to Cambridge Dictionary include “Skibidi”, “TradWife”, and “Delulu”

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Latest additions to Cambridge Dictionary include “Skibidi”, “TradWife”, and “Delulu”


London
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With the rise in the trends of Tiktok in everyday conversation and the use of social media terms, the Cambridge Dictionary now includes “Skibidi”, “Deklu” and “Trad Wife” among the 6,000 new words added to the online version over the past year.

For those of us who spend less time online, some of the phrases used by UK-based dictionaries show that these new words may indicate how they fit into the sentence. How do you explain the exact meaning of “it wasn’t your Skividi Liz” or “I’ve entered the “Declaral era” as Generation Z says”? ”

Now, the Cambridge Dictionary defines Skividi as “which can have different meanings such as “cool” or “bad” or can be used as a joke and not to have any real meaning” and removes them as “play of words.” Delusion, It means believing Usually, something that is neither real nor true because you choose. ”

Skividi was first created by the creator of “Skividi Toilet,” a viral, meaningless animated YouTube series depicting the human heads emerging from the toilet.

Meanwhile, DeLulu emerged about a decade ago as a way to rebel fans of obsessions, but has since become a more common way to say “delusions” online.

When Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese dropped the phrase “They are Decree without Solul” during a speech to Parliament in March, it was brought in when he dared him to use it, then dropped the phrase “They are Decree without Solul.”

Colin MacIntosh, Dictionary’s vocabulary program manager, said:

“We only add where they think they have a lasting power. Internet culture changes English and the effect of observing and capturing in a dictionary is fascinating.”

Other words added by the dictionary include “TradWife” (Broligarchy), an abbreviation for “traditional wife” used to describe influencers who praise the role, and “Broligarchy,” a mashup of Bro and Oligarchy.

Language changes in more ways than simply developing new words. Existing phrases and words also picked up new meanings. This is currently reflected in the dictionary. The term “snackable,” which originally refers to addictive foods, can also describe online content that can be read or watched in small bursts.

On the other hand, the phrases “red flag” and “green flag” are increasingly used to express the unwanted or desirable quality of a partner rather than in a more literal sense.

Campbell, PBR creates a beer-infused soup. See Flavors.

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Campbell, PBR creates a beer-infused soup. See Flavors.

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Have you ever wanted it to be a beer while eating a bowl of soup? Now, thanks to Campbell and Pabst’s blue ribbon, you can drink and eat beer.

In time for the soup and soccer season, the brands worked together to create two beer-infused soup flavors aimed at bringing together the “smooth flavor of chunky and pabst blue ribbons.”

The two flavors include:

  • Beer cheese with potatoes and chorizo soup: It is packed with flavorful chorizo sausages and hearty potatoes made from simmered creamy cheese infused with the flavor of Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer.
  • Beef, bacon, beer chili and beans: It is infused with seasoned beef, hearty beans, smoky bacon and all the Pabst Blue Ribbon beer flavours.

“This is the ultimate flavor collaboration,” said Ryan Pauling, senior brand manager at Campbell’s Chunky, in a news release. “Our fans love the bold and unexpected taste experiences, and combining Chunky’s heartfelt recipes with the iconic, malt flavors of PBR brings something completely unique to the soup aisle.”

Soup flavors will only be available at Walmart in both stores and online starting later this month. As part of the launch, Campbell and Pabst Blue Ribbon will also be appearing on a food truck sampling tour at Walmart locations in the US for a month starting September 3rd.

Progresso’s soup drop was a huge hit last winter

Another recent soup innovation created a huge wave when it fell last winter.

The progress in January was a hard candy drop with a soupy chicken noodles flavor similar to a cough suppressant, and the first batch sold out within an hour, so we checked with USA Today at the time.

The company released additional drops every week throughout January.

The drop, tabbed as “soup you can smoke”, tasted like a hint of soup, tasty vegetables, tender egg noodles and parsley.

The drops were packaged in cans that looked like normal progression soup, each with 20 candies wrapped individually. According to Progresso, each order comes with a can of actual Progresso traditional chicken noodle soup, all with $2.49 and all shipping costs.

Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter for USA Today. You can follow him with X @geuna Alternatively, email him at gdhauari@gannett.com.

Zelenki Trump Conference, Crime in Washington, California, Hurricane Erin, NCAA Michigan, Taylor Swift: Daily Briefing

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Zelenki Trump Conference, Crime in Washington, California, Hurricane Erin, NCAA Michigan, Taylor Swift: Daily Briefing

Let’s start Monday!🙋🏼‍♀️I’m Nicole Forelt. Is it possible to actually delete ChatGpt history?

Start your week with news:

  • World leaders are in Washington, DC for a meeting with President Donald Trump.
  • The invasion of mice threatens California’s almond industry.
  • The highly anticipated penalties for Michigan’s illegal, advanced scouting scheme have been announced.

European leaders head to the White House

European leaders will join Washington, DC’s Voldy Mie Zelensky this week when President Trump meets with the White House after it appears he has embraced the peace stance held by Ukrainian President Putin.

  • Why is this important: The cross-border conference at the White House, after a dramatic summit between Alaska’s Trump and President Putin, brought the US president back from his threat to welcome Russian leaders into American soil for the first time in nearly a decade and slap new sanctions in Moscow. The Ukrainians told USA Today that after the “No Deal” summit they were speechless.

Is there really a crime crisis in the US?

President Trump’s crackdown on crime in Washington, D.C. continues the decades of American narrative. Data says crime is declining despite many Americans feeling out of control.

Safety is a real concern for many people. FBI data shows that the country’s crime rate has declined over the past 30 years, but more than half of Americans believe there are more crimes than in almost every Gallup survey conducted since 1993.

  • Why is Americans’ perceptions so different to crime data? The United States is more violent than other countries. Baseline-level violence in the United States remains higher than its affiliates, which can promote legitimate fear, experts say.
  • Keep an eye on the theme of Trump’s acquisition. Trump has picked out cities like Oakland, Chicago and Baltimore. It is all led by a black mayor who is a Democrat.
  • Meanwhile, Republican states are deploying national security forces to DC The military in West Virginia, South Carolina and Ohio came the day after D.C. officials and the Trump administration negotiated a contract to take charge of Mayor Muriel Bowser’s appointed police chief.

More news you need to know now

What’s the weather today? Check out your local forecast here.

California Almond Orchard Besieged by a Rat

“We’ve never seen anything like this. I had growers who lost more than half of their yield. I don’t know if this year’s crops are just weather-related or from damage to mice. It certainly has an impact on the orchard. Hopefully we can get ahead of this and prevent it from becoming a big deal.”

~Roger Isom, president and CEO of the Western Tree Nut Association, spoke to USA Today about an unprecedented phenomenon. It’s a massive rat attack in California’s $4.7 billion almond industry. A sudden invasion last fall takes the growers in surprise, and they are scrambling to fight off the invaders.

$101,000 medical expenses?

Do I need to change my entire knee? It costs just $12,870 or $101,527. People usually check if the hospital or doctor has insurance. However, it is a mystery how much medical procedures and operations cost even coverage, and widespread price fluctuations leave large bills, loans and medical liabilities for insured consumers. USA Today has analyzed a new report that found that prices could change nine times with the same operations or procedures. And the prices of hospitals in the same state have more than tripled. But will better price transparency spur competition or is it a lower price?

Today’s speaker

Michigan handed the punishment for stealing the sign

Almost two years later, Wolverine was handed over after reports of in-person reconnaissance and investigation into alleged sign steel from the Michigan football program. The NCAA fined Michigan $50,000 plus 10% of the football program’s budget. Wolverine is on four years of probation, with manager Sherone Moore facing two years of show’s cause order and has been suspended from the first game of the 2026 season. Michigan has since said it will appeal the NCAA ruling. Former Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh had little to say.

  • USA Today Sports Opinion: The NCAA participated in College Football Money Grab.

Today’s photo: Israelis oppose the war

Thousands of Israelis took part in Sunday’s nationwide strike and demonstrations to support hostage families in Gaza, calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach an agreement to end the war with Hamas.

Nicole Fallert is a newsletter writer for USA Today and sign up for your email here. Want to send a note to Nicole? Please email her at nollert@usatoday.com.

Caleb Williams will debut in 2025, but Bear could do the same

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Caleb Williams will debut in 2025, but Bear could do the same

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  • Caleb Williams excelled in his first preseason game running Ben Johnson’s offensive.
  • Chicago looked great on both sides of the ball after what looked like a very successful offseason.
  • Still, there are many reasons why fans should stick to their expectations for at least a year.

NFL football savvy consumers know better than putting too much stock in preseason performance. I hope the same applies to anyone writing about the NFL for Living. For example, we see the Chicago Bears look like a potential juggernaut, perhaps a Super Bowl candidate, a 38-0 Sunday night, and we know that for example, some of us will be a bit bubbling.

pump. . brake.

nevertheless…

Chicago quarterback Caleb Williams made his game-day debut on Sunday, albeit a contest that doesn’t count, with rookie head coach Ben Johnson’s offense. And Williams saw wonderful. Finally.

Yes, he was on all two drives. Yes, he was facing a Buffalo defender who is likely to compete for (at best) deep chart work in 2025. No, he would not have seen an exotic scheme designed to confuse and annoy him. Certainly, Chicago’s second possession stalled after six plays, bringing punts.

But did you see that first drive?

Maybe we should review the last 16 months or so before we become obsessed at this point.

It was a year ago that optimism was surged in Chicago, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 draft. But he didn’t. After spending the best rookie season of all time, while Williams’ Jaden Daniels quickly turned the Warbegone franchise and perhaps leading Washington commander to a performance that resets the NFC title game – Williams’ bar, the Chosen Man was chosen

Daniels was outstanding, but Williams was torpedoed in his own bad habits, his cruelly tough divisions, and the infrastructure of an organization that simply could not raise him. Chicago was 5-12, with head coach Matt Evals becoming the first coach to have more than a century of Bears football fired before the season ended.

However, this year, I feel that even if scrutiny has been enhanced in some way, it is already different.

Certainly, while trying to ingest his new playbook, it was virtually the daily summer dose of social media clips that Williams vomits his frustration during practice, whether in the right context or not. Even as the coach attempts to ease expectations around his new quarterback and team, he is openly welcoming Johnson’s indistinguishable approach and meticulous scheme.

Then came on Sunday.

There was Williams and opened the game by repeatedly flapping the ball onto his tight edge, with trusted Cole Kumet and first-round rookie Colston Loveland. He then compressed the pass to veteran slotman Olamide Zachoh, and the catch-and-run achieved high levels of difficulty and productivity over the past three seasons, bringing a 36-yard touchdown reminiscent of dozens of Johnson, successfully receiving the Detroit Lions offense.

But it wasn’t just Williams’ numbers. This included five completions with six 97 yards throws during that first March. He was accurate. He was decisive. He showed off his patented pocket mobility, but he didn’t overexpand himself. He didn’t want to make something out of what he often worked for during his college career, including the Heisman Trophy, but not against experts, but rather ran through the ball at the feet of a lineman when plays failed to develop.

“I think it’s important to start fast. That was one of our goals to be in this game,” Williams said during the Fox broadcast. “Team sets the tone for the season.”

It was certainly a snippet of what would make the 2025 Bears campaign successful.

“The challenge is to get it to that direction,” Johnson said Sunday.

Anyway, whether it’s the pre-season or the regular season, these are building blocks that Chicago can build on a new foundation. Williams will definitely need to play hero ball from time to time in 2025, but not in the first quarter. He doesn’t have to absorb unnecessary punishments – he was fired 68 times as a rookie – returning to prison escape football, Johnson undoubtedly tries to dig out of him.

The Bears won nine NFL championships in their proud history, but won only one in the Super Bowl era that began in 1966. Williams knows.

“You want to be able to come to places like this with a lot of history and make them,” he said.

But he has time. Johnson has time. Paul has time. Young and promising rosters have time. But it’s almost certainly time for 2025 to shine.

A successful Bears season requires patience from Hard Drive Johnson as his new accusations progress with his attacks. If he’s not burned constantly on local talk radio, like his predecessors like Eberflus and Matt Nagy, it’s a victory. If Johnson doesn’t anger himself while his players master his system – no trick play has been revealed on Sunday – the Lions took off almost immediately during his first season as their play caller, but it’s a victory.

For the Bears’ season to be successful, it is a positive development for new coordinator Dennis Allen to regain defense at the top of the heap and pitch a shutout in any situation. If the Bears’ season is successful, second-year wideoutro Mao Dunze Blossom will be the number one target.

A successful Bears season may not be better than a third-place finish in the NFC North. It is probably the toughest division in the league, and can realistically generate three playoff entries. a Really A successful Bears season includes at least a split with the hateful Green Bay Packers.

2025 NFL Record Prediction What does Bears look like?

But for the team, it’s been removed nearly 15 years since their last playoff victory, but has there only been one in just seven months since they chose their latest Savior and hired a man who could ultimately succeed Mike Ditka? Third, perhaps eight wins, and perhaps 106 seasons of passing efforts represent realistic progress. And perhaps the right kindling to incite the legitimate Super Bowl flames in 2026.

All NFL news on and off-field. Sign up for USA Today’s fourth and Monday newsletter.

Gaza: Leaked recording reveals that former Israeli military intelligence chief calls 50,000 deaths “necessary”

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Gaza: Leaked recording reveals that former Israeli military intelligence chief calls 50,000 deaths “necessary”


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In the leaked audio, we can hear the former Israeli military intelligence chief saying that the deaths of tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza are “needed and necessary for future generations.”

“For everything that happened on October 7th, for everyone on October 7th, 50 Palestinians need to die,” Major General Ahalong Hariba, Israeli Defense Force (IDF), said in a recording released by Israeli Channel 12 News on Friday. “It doesn’t matter now whether they’re children or not.”

“The fact that there are already 50,000 deaths in Gaza is necessary and necessary for future generations,” Haliba said in the recording.

It is unclear when he was speaking, but the number of people killed in Gaza exceeded 50,000 in March.

“There’s no choice. Sometimes you need a Nakba to feel the price,” Hariba said. The Arabic Naqba, or Arabic “catastrophe,” is an original event in Palestinian history, which was fled or expelled from its home in 1948 by armed Jewish groups during the establishment of the state of Israel.

Haliba was the head of Israeli military intelligence on October 7, 2023, and Hamas launched an attack on southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and tempted another 250 people. He resigned from his position in April 2024 over his “leadership responsibility” and became the first senior IDF officer to do so.

The lengthy recording appears to be from a long conversation with Haliba, but Channel 12 does not identify who the retired officer is speaking to. Hariba’s central argument throughout the recording is that the Israeli military is not a responsibility organization for the failures that led to the October 7 attack.

He holds Israeli political leadership and Sing Bett, an internal security service that Hamas believes will not attack.

In a statement to Israeli Channel 12, Haliba said the recording was “said on the Closed Forum and I just regret it.”

Israeli soldiers organize military equipment while standing on August 6th on an armored craftsman career near the border with the Gaza Strip in southern Israel.

He says that recordings are “a fragment of a partial thing and cannot reflect the whole picture – indeed, when it comes to complex and detailed issues, most of them are highly categorized.”

Israel faces an increasing number of criticism of the war in Gaza and the new plan to occupy Gaza city. Last week, New Zealand Prime Minister Christopal Luxon said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “lost a conspiracy” and that Gaza city’s acquisition was “completely, completely unacceptable.”

“Netanyahu is now a problem with his own,” Danish Prime Minister Mette Fredericksen said in an interview with the Zillands Posten newspaper on Friday.

In a statement, Hamas condemned Haliba’s remarks, saying the audio recordings “confirm that crimes against our people are high-level decisions and formal policies from enemy political and security leaders.”

A UN Special Committee report released last November said Israeli actions in Gaza were “consistent with the characteristics of genocide.” Last month, two Israeli human rights groups accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza. The Israeli military said the conclusion was “completely unfounded.”

Israel has repeatedly denied the genocide accusations and said it is acting in accordance with international law.

Family leaves Texas despite children’s trans rights activities

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Family leaves Texas despite children’s trans rights activities

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Sunny Bryant is about to start a new life with middle school in California.

Sunny, a pint-sized transgender activist, testified four years ago before the Texas legislature to a bill restricting trans rights in the state. However, her family says that activism is not working and they are worried that she will not be able to access medical care.

“The fear of losing her rights came true,” said Sunny’s mother, Rebekah Bryant. “She can’t play sports. She’s an athlete. She’s not a big kid. She’s a small person, but she’s competitive and wants to play.

And then, the seventh generation “proud Texan” Rebekah and her family left the Houston-area home they all love in California, and traded the three-bedroom home for a 900-square-foot apartment and pool.

Passing through the final leg of the trip in late July, Sunny’s mom, Rebekah, drove the family’s car with her dog and spoke to us today in USA.

“It was a long, hard drive,” Rebekah said.

Anti-Trans Law from Florida to Washington

Bryants will not only accept or consider moving to places that feel more trans and LGBTQ-friendly.

A study published in May by the Williams Institute at UCLA Law School found that almost half (48%) of transgender adults have either moved or are considering moving to a more compatible location. Most of them are 45%, and they are considering moving from the US, the study found.

Their reasons are practical and emotional. 76% cited concerns about LGBTQ rights in general, while 71% cited hostile social and political environments. “Respondents from non-supportive communities and states, states with unsupported laws and policies, and those worried about federal policies that affect healthcare access, discrimination and vulnerability to hate crime, wanted to move into a more transgender violation,” the Williams Institute wrote.

This is part of a major trend for Americans to sort themselves politically and geographically and “sort” into like-minded communities, including conservatives looking for “red” states such as Texas. Real estate company Redfin said in 2022 that people are “moving to a place that matches their politics.”

For Bryants, Texas laws have encouraged them to look for a new home. Trans Legislation Tracker monitors 134 anti-trans invoices in Texas, affecting many aspects of daily life, including bathroom use, health care, education, incarceration, marriage, civil rights, adoption, and pronouns.

Trackers found 121 legislation restricting transgender rights has become law in 28 states, including Alaska, Alabama, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Montana, Dakotas, Carolina, New Hampshire, Ohio and Virginia.

There are 81 anti-transgender bills introduced in the US Congress, Tracker says, which impacts healthcare, military service, sports, adoption, marriage, education, employment and parental rights.

Opponents of gender-maintaining care for minors say they are defending “child amputation” and providing that care to children with care that includes surgery, hormones and adolescent blockers can lead to infertility and loss of bone density. They cite possible long-term physical and psychological harms.

Many medical professional organizations, including the American Medical Association, KFF and the American Psychological Association, say criminalising gender-affirming care can cause serious harm to the mental well-being of transgender youth.

Sunny: Like a little child, for sure of himself

Sunny Bryant, her mother said, always knew who she was.

At the age of four, she was in the car seat and was mad at her parents to “make” her boy. An unusually happy baby (Briants’ friends called her “baby Buddha” because of her carefree attitude), Sunny was raised without any particular gender constraints, Rebekah said. Bryant let her put on a dress when she asked. They all went to treatment to ensure that the family was doing the best for their oldest child. She chose a name that clearly matches her temperament and her identity.

Meanwhile, Bodhi is two years old and Rebekah calls him “the youngest allies ever.” The family lived in Australia at the time and Sunny was ready to go to kindergarten, so they realized that the others might not be that kind.

They spoke with the priest at the Catholic school where Sunny was about to attend. He agreed that she could use a pronoun that fits her identity, but not the usual one assigned to a girl, and can only wear a gender-neutral gym uniform.

Bryants returned to the US, and Rebekah admitted that the whole family, including her “Trump-loving stepmother,” had a learning curve, but that was something they were willing to take on.

Though she’s older, not too old, Sunny became a transgender activist and spoke before the Texas Legislature as she weighed the potential for trans athletes to participate in women’s sports. She attracted the public’s attention for calm, strength and persuasiveness, and even impressed supporters of laws that banned girls’ competition in sports in schools. The bill was eventually passed and became law.

The Texas legislative tide was too difficult to ignore, and Bryants knew they had to “finally go.” She began looking for employment in other states, and eventually she was offered an educational position called “dream job.”

But that wasn’t easy. The travel is a huge expense, and Bryants have launched a GoFundMe campaign that has raised over $13,000 so far. The cost of living in the San Francisco Gulf region where they are moving is much higher than in Texas. Rebekah said it’s worth the problem for Bryants and their children.

“(Sunny) deserves an opportunity to grow and thrive,” she wrote in Gofundme. “As parents, we deserve the right not to be criminalised to love who she is. It’s not sunny to be affected by what the Texas Legislature did. It’s the whole family. We’ve had enough.”

Movement also means starting over. For Chet and Rebekah, for Sunny and Bodhis, who have built a community of allies, friends and colleagues, leaving their beloved teachers and friends behind. They had been selling homes in the Houston area, but after just four years they didn’t build much equity. They packed all their possessions into a 16-foot truck.

Still, he feels that a new beginning is right for all four Bryant, Rebekah said.

“When I arrived in California, I cried out as I crossed the Colorado River,” she said. “Just knowing it was sunny, I had more rights to just cross that river. If you could see both us and both…it was like Permaglins since we got here.”

Want to grow your business? News websites hold the key to marketing

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Want to grow your business? News websites hold the key to marketing

News addicts are more likely to show interest in the brand and buy the product. They will retain a more favorable view of the brand, trust them more and recommend them to others.

Ground pen
|Opinion Contributor

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  • Research shows that “news addicts” are valuable demographics for advertisers, indicating higher purchasing intentions and brand trust.
  • Brand safety concerns, often based on outdated block lists, have been exaggerated and missed opportunities for advertising within news content.
  • Advertising within the news platform has proven effective, resulting in a higher return on ad spend compared to other paid media channels.
  • The number of “exclusive news addicts” who primarily consume news is growing representing a growing target audience.

A quarter of Americans check the news more than five times a day. They tend to be hungry, consume media frequently, and receive more money and more education.

In a political and economic environment where everything is constantly changing, more and more people are checking news websites on their mobile phones. A wise marketer will see a simple opportunity there.

However, many brands have been completely withdrawn from digital news. why? An unreasonable fear of “brand safety.” But what are the brands really missing when they’re not advertising on news platforms?

For one thing, they write down the shocking audiences that make up a large section of the population. Approximately 80.4 million US adults follow the news very closely.

News addicts are more likely to show interest in the brand and buy the product. They will retain a more favorable view of the brand, trust them more and recommend them to others.

The average “purchase intention” for news addicts is 66%-16 percentage points higher than the general population, and according to Stagwell’s Ad Impact Survey, we tested a mix of 20 brands and 20 ads in various formats in 20 brands and key sectors: travel/hospitality, consumer packaged products, financial services and automobiles. (Studies define those with intent to buy as those who say they are more likely to buy or use it from a brand within the next six months.)

This section includes the majority of world leaders. 90% of CEOs and executives are also news addicts.

Needless to say, “exclusive news” addicts – 37 million (14% of US adults) follow the news very closely, but not engaged in sports or entertainment as well.

Best 2025 Super Bowl Commercials: Check out all 57 ranked according to the USA Today Ad Meter

By not advertising in the news, the brand is completely abandoning 14% of the adult population. This is a group showing more post-AD exposure lifts than the average American. In other words, it’s a great benefit from brand reputation measurement scores such as favors and trust after displaying an ad. These are individuals who are eager to learn more about information and respond better to advertising.

Additionally, the number of exclusive news addicts is on the rise. Just a year ago, they made up 11% of the population. More than 7 million US adults have now been converted. It jumps nearly three points to the number of news addicts.

Brand safety concerns are exaggerated

Brands that aren’t investing in the news are missing out on the opportunity to drive real business outcomes.

I know why brands aren’t investing in the news. It is the exaggerated “brand safety” movement that turned real concern into brand censorship.

It is an organized coalition that conspires to demo unfavourable content. The Global Alliance of Responsible Media, a currently split advertising coalition that has created subjective guidelines for determining content that is suitable for advertising support, is a prime example.

It’s an outdated block list that keeps ads from being placed in articles along with chicken “breasts” and “shots” and “Ariana Grande.” In other words, if “breasts” are on the block list – the list of keyword brands means you don’t want to see ads next to widely read articles about chicken prices. Now, if you’re a drinks company around the time of the Super Bowl, it’s a big missed opportunity to promote to all boneless fried chicken fans.

But there is growing evidence that these fears are truly exaggerated. A Stagwell news ad survey conducted among 50,000 Americans found that there was no difference in indicators of reputation for major brands between filming and advertising next to war and business, sports, or entertainment stories. The risk has proven to be virtually nothing, and is trivial compared to the reward.

There is “fake news.” But Trump is dangerously wrong about where it came from. |Opinion

It’s time to promote in the news. Nearly 60% of news addicts and exclusive news addicts trace the news closer than they were a year ago. About half of news addicts today consume more political, economic and international news.

News addicts were less attractive viewers to marketers.

News-linked ads drive corporate outcomes

Incorporating news into your advertising strategy has already driven results. Since launching news-centric testing in late 2023, Stagwell has provided three times the average rate of return (ROA) for AD spending.

News offers three times more Roas than other paid media channels from Assembly, a Stagwell distributor. These results reflect what I saw as Executive Vice President of Advertising at Microsoft. News sites were some of the most performant sites for technology.

Opinion warning: Get columns from your favorite columnists and expert analysis of top issues delivered directly to your device via the USA Today app. Do you have an app? Download it for free from the App Store.

Refusing to promote in news about brand safety concerns is like a grocery store that refuses to carry the New York Times or the Wall Street Journal. News is an important platform for marketers and advertisers. It is a powerful business medium that reaches highly desirable audiences.

If you are a Chief Marketing Officer, tell your team that you have decided to handle the news on a level playing field as sports and entertainment. Run your computer model and try minimal media purchases. Test and distribute the same ads and see if they work equally well.

Your performance metrics will thank you.

Markpen is chairman and CEO of Stagwell Inc. His career spans 40 years of market research, advertising, public relations and politics. A globally recognized strategist, Penn advised world leaders, including Bill Clinton and Tony Blair, founded the company and wrote two bestselling books. Gannett, the parent company of USA Today, is a partner in Stagwell’s Future of News initiative.

Hamas rejects Israel’s plan to move to Gaza

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Hamas rejects Israel’s plan to move to Gaza

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CAIRO, Aug. 17 (Reuters) – Palestinian extremist group Hamas said on Sunday that Israel’s plans to relocate Gaza city residents would constitute a “new wave of genocide and evacuation” for the region’s hundreds of thousands of residents.

The group said Israel’s planned deployment of tents and other shelter equipment into southern Gaza was a “blatant deception.”

Israeli forces said they have been preparing to provide tents and other equipment ahead of the plan, starting Sunday, ahead of plans to relocate residents south of the district from the combat zone “to ensure safety.”

Hamas said in a statement that the deployment of the tent under the guise of humanitarian purposes was a blatant deception intended to “conceal the brutal crimes that the occupying forces prepare to execute.”

more: National protests to demand an end to Israel’s stage Gaza war and hostage release

Earlier this month, Israel said it intends to launch a new attack to take control of North Gaza city, the largest city centre of the enclave. The plan raised international caution about the fate of the destroyed strip, home to around 2.2 million people.

According to Israeli authorities, a war began in which Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. Of the remaining 50 hostages in Gaza, around 20 are thought to be still alive.

Subsequent military attacks on Israel’s Hamas killed more than 61,000 Palestinians, Gaza’s health ministry says. It also caused a hunger crisis, evacuating most of Gaza’s population internally, leaving much of the enclave in abandoned.

(Reporting by Nidal Al-Mughrabi, Written by Menna Alaa El-Din, Edited by Tomasz Janenski and Sharon Singleton)

Hong Kong democratic activists granted asylum in Australia and the UK

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Hong Kong democratic activists granted asylum in Australia and the UK


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Hong Kong democratic activists and former lawmakers, who are wanted by city authorities, are granted exile in the UK and Australia, respectively.

Activist Tony Chung, who was jailed under Hong Kong’s sweeping national security law, and former MP Ted Hui, who faced trial for his role in the 2019 anti-government protests, both announced over the weekend that they had been vacated in the country they currently live in.

Independent political activist Tony Chung will be attending the demonstration on March 23, 2024 outside the Foreign and Federal Development Offices in London.

They are one of dozens of activists fleeing Hong Kong authorities. Since Beijing in 2020 imposed a national security law that essentially criminalized opposition to former British colonies, the city’s civil liberties have been heavily eroded. Both Beijing and Hong Kong welcome security laws that bring stability to their financial hubs.

Hui, who fled Hong Kong in December 2020, is part of a group of foreign activists targeting police prizes of up to 1 million Hong Kong dollars ($127,800). The former lawmaker is currently working as a lawyer in Adelaide.

He announced on Facebook on Saturday that he and his family had been granted a protective visa.

“I am truly grateful to the Australian government (both present and former) for recognizing the need for asylum and recognizing this protection,” Hui wrote. “This decision reflects the values of freedom, justice and compassion that my family never takes for granted.”

While in Hong Kong, Hui was an outspoken democratic lawmaker. He was also known for disrupting legislative meetings after throwing rotten plants into the room to stop debate on the Anthem bill. The controversial law makes it illegal to sham the Chinese national anthem. He was subsequently fined 52,000 Hong Kong dollars ($6,600) under the law.

Cheong, who defended Hong Kong’s independence, was sentenced to almost four years in 2020 for leaving and money laundering. He was released on supervision order, during which he traveled to Japan, from which he fled to England in search of asylum.

In a post on a social media platform thread on Sunday, he expressed his excitement about receiving refugee status in the UK along with a five-year residence permit. He said he continues to be committed to his work despite his challenges over the past few years, including sustained mental health issues.

British and Australian authorities did not immediately comment on the status of activists.

The Hong Kong government did not directly comment on the incident, but issued a statement on Saturday denounced “a hub for all forms of criminals.”

“A country with Hong Kong’s criminals in all ways will be dimbling the rule of law, seriously underestimating Hong Kong’s legal system, and obstructing the situation in Hong Kong to the wild bar,” the statement read.

The second round of August 2025 Social Security payments sent this week

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The second round of August 2025 Social Security payments sent this week

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The second Social Security payment in August will be distributed to recipients this week, but remind me that people who previously overpaid may see a lower benefit check.

That’s because agents are expected to withhold 50% of the profits of people who have overpaid but have not begun repayments.

A February 2025 report by the SSA Inspector’s Office found that between 2020 and 2023, government agencies overpaid $13.6 billion in Social Security Benefits, but SSA doesn’t say how many people are overpaid.

Here’s what you need to know about Social Security Payments this week:

Who will receive Social Security payments this week?

According to the SSA payment calendar, beneficiaries born between the 11th and 20th day of their birth month will receive monthly Social Security benefits on Wednesday, August 20th.

When will Social Security payments be sent?

Social Security benefits are paid primarily to older or retired recipients, but are usually paid on Wednesdays.

According to the SSA calendar, if the recipient’s birth date is between the first and tenth of the month, a payment will be issued on the second Wednesday of the payment month.

According to the SSA payment calendar, recipients born between the 11th and 20th will be paid on the third Wednesday, while recipients born after the 20th of the month will be paid on the fourth Wednesday.

Complete 2025 Social Security Payment Calendar

Visualization

Social Security Payment Schedule for August

The Social Security Administration annual benefits schedule for 2025 and 2026 are available online. Therefore, you can check the calendar for budgeting purposes.

The remaining Social Security benefits for the month will be sent on the next schedule.

  • Wednesday, August 20th: Date of birth is a date between the 11th and 20th of the month.
  • Wednesday, August 27th: Date of birth from the 21st to the 31st of the month.

SSI Payment Schedule for the remaining August of 2025 and 2026

The recipients of the Supplemental Security Income Check should have received their payment on the first business day of the month (August 1).

According to the SSA calendar, the SSI check will be sent on the next dates in 2025 and early 2026.

  • Friday, August 29th, 2025 (checks for September 2025)
  • Wednesday, October 1st, 2025 (checks for October 2025)
  • Friday, October 31st, 2025 (checks for November 2025)
  • Monday, December 1st, 2025 (Checked December 2025)
  • Wednesday, December 31st, 2025 (Checked January 2026)
  • Friday, January 30th, 2026 (check February 2026)
  • Friday, February 27th, 2026 (checks for March 2026)

Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA Today. Contact him at fernando.cervantes @gannett.com and follow him at x @fern_cerv_.

Nvidia aims to solve AI problems in many languages

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Nvidia aims to solve AI problems in many languages

AI may feel ubiquitous, but it mainly operates in a small portion of the world’s 7,000 languages, leaving the majority of the world’s population. Nvidia aims to correct this obvious blind spot, especially within Europe.

The company has released a set of powerful open source tools aimed at providing developers with the power to build high quality speech AI in 25 different European languages. This includes major languages, but more importantly, it provides a lifeline for people whom big technology often overlooks, such as Croatian, Estonian, and Malta.

The goal is to enable developers to create voice-driven tools that many of us are the norm, from multilingual chatbots that actually understand you, to instantly functioning customer service bots and translation services.

The heart of this initiative is Graina huge library of human speeches. It includes around a million hours of audio, all curated to help teach the nuances of speech recognition and translation.

To utilize this audio data, Nvidia also offers two new AI models designed for language tasks.

  • Canary-1B-V2A large model built for high accuracy in complex transcription and translation jobs.
  • Parakeet-TDT-0.6B-V3Designed for real-time applications where speed is everything.

If you’re hoping to jump into the science behind it, your paper on Granary will be presented at a speech conference held in the Netherlands this month. The dataset and both models are already hugging their faces as developers want to get their hands dirty.

But the real magic lies in how this data was created. We all know that training AI requires a huge amount of data, but getting it is usually a slow, expensive, and candidly boring human annotation process.

To avoid this, we have collaborated with researchers from Nvidia’s Speech AI Team – Carnegie Mellon University and Fonda Gione Bruno Kessler to build an automated pipeline. Using our proprietary Nemo toolkit, we were able to collect raw, invalid audio and whip up high quality structured data that AI could learn.

This is more than just a technical achievement. It’s a huge leap in digital inclusiveness. This means that Riga or Zagreb developers can ultimately build voice-driven AI tools that understand the local language properly. And they can do it more efficiently. The research team found that granary data was very effective by the time the target was reached, compared to other common datasets.

Two new models demonstrate this power. Canaries are frankly beasts, offering translation and transcriptional quality that rivals model three times their size, but up to ten times faster. Paraquito, meanwhile, can bite a 24-minute meeting recording at once, automatically knowing which language is spoken. Both models are smart enough to handle punctuation, capitalization and provide the word-level timestamps needed to build professional grade applications.

By putting these powerful tools and the methods behind them in the hands of the global developer community, Nvidia isn’t just releasing products. It’s kickstarting a new wave of innovation, hoping that AI will create a world that speaks your language no matter where you come from.

(Photo: Aedrian Salazar)

reference: deepseek returns to nvidia for R2 model after huawei ai chip fails

Want to learn more about AI and big data from industry leaders? Check out the AI & Big Data Expo in Amsterdam, California and London. The comprehensive event will be held in collaboration with other major events, including the Intelligent Automation Conference, Blockx, Digital Transformation Week, and Cyber Security & Cloud Expo.

Check out other upcoming Enterprise Technology events and webinars with TechForge here.

After online backlash in China, Swatch apologises for “Slant Eye” ads

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After online backlash in China, Swatch apologises for “Slant Eye” ads



Reuters
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Swiss watchmaker Swatch issued an apology, pulling an ad featuring images of Asian male models and pulling the corners of the eye up and down in a “different eye” pose.

Images from the Swatch Essentials collection have been widely criticized online in China, with many comments saying they appear to mimic racist provocations about the Asian eye.

In an apology posted on the official account of the Weibo social media platform in both Chinese and English on Saturday, Swatch said it had “beware of recent concerns” and deleted all relevant materials from around the world.

“I sincerely apologize for any pain and misunderstandings that this may have caused,” the statement said. He also posted the same apology on Instagram.

The Swatch Group did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for further comment.

Swatches, which manufactures Omega, Rondyne and Tissot watches, have also been heavily exposed to China for revenue, with around 27% of the group’s sales last year due to sales from China, Hong Kong and Macau regions.

Watchmakers’ revenues fell 14.6% in 2024 to 6.744 billion ($8.4 billion), a slump in demand in China, with Swatch saying “overall demand for consumer goods is sustainably difficult.”

After Putin’s victory in Alaska, Zelensky travels to Washington for a high-stakes talk, but how far can he push Trump?

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After Putin’s victory in Alaska, Zelensky travels to Washington for a high-stakes talk, but how far can he push Trump?

It was billed as a “historic” presidential summit in Alaska on Friday afternoon, and the optics were as clear and overwhelming as the vast Chugach Mountains glowing above Anchorage in the summer sun.

US President Donald Trump literally praised Vladimir Putin.

A full-scale invasion of Ukraine has killed more than a million people so far and warmly greeted the injured Russian president, a US B-2 stealth bomber caught in fighter jets roa overhead.

However, President Putin seemed unprecedented in the sights. After all, this came from his much-anticipated international isolation party. A political gift given to Kremlin Strongman, who was charged with war crimes in the International Criminal Court by a US president called his friend “Vladimir.”

We then found ourselves in the windowless press room of Elmendorf Richardson near Anchorage, where the White House and Kremlin press pools were mistakenly gathering in anticipation of a joint press conference, and we were positioned with energetic, close reporters from one of the fundamentally conservative news networks that seemed to be seeking Trump’s favor.

“Trump is determined to leave Biden’s war,” the reporter unveiled during a live shot, referring to the full-scale Ukraine invasion that began in 2022 when Joe Biden was US president.

“But Ukrainians and Europeans are in the way of him,” the reporter added.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump will meet together on Friday with Elmendorf Richardson of Anchorage, Alaska.

The comment points to Putin’s victory rather than returning to the top table of international diplomacy, although the Schin’s victory is not even greater. In pursuit of a swift peace agreement in Ukraine, the US president appears to have sided with Russia on key issues of the conflict.

For example, a ceasefire. Ukraine and its European supporters have long argued that stopping violence must be an important first step in peace negotiations. Trump, who had previously accepted, clearly changed his mind and posted on his true social platform, and instead on his true social platform about seeking a full peace deal. This believes that it cannot benefit from halting attack operations when it believes that the Russian army has the advantage.

Ukrainian President Volodimia Zelensky heads to Washington, adjacent to European leaders and is at the forefront of this concern and negotiations by the White House about this aspect, due to direct and urgent consultations with Trump.

It is likely that in the end neither Ukraine nor Europe willing to cross, and their leaders will be thrust back violently in Washington on demand for these territorial areas. But say no to the quick deal Trump supports, perhaps in his grasp the Nobel Peace Prize idea, Ukraine and Europe risk throwing themselves into the White House rather than the Kremlin as a real obstacle to peace.

The fact that major territorial concessions are entirely discussed is itself from yet another important victory, from the Kremlin’s point of view. Ukraine and its western supporters have embraced Donbas Kiev’s surrender, but Russia has barely mentioned the territory already captured by the brute force.

Ukrainian military personnel will launch multiple rocket launch systems on June 8th at Russian troops near the frontline town of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region of Ukraine.

As the success or failure of peace negotiations inevitably dominates the news agenda, it is worth considering what Putin can get in the coming weeks as well as what Trump wants.

The Alaska summit in Alaska was probably a clue.

Looking at it firsthand, it was feared how Trump would normally imagine, even allowing Putin, a foreign guest in American soil, to speak first in a media joint statement. The US President quietly listened to his podium for a few minutes as Kremlin leaders delivered the impression of the day’s meeting after Alaska’s Russian and American history.

Putin, who confidently proposed that Trump be visiting Moscow, seemed to have accepted Trump in folding with a rare English statement from the Russian president. With a massive force thousands of miles away from the small concerns of Ukraine and Europe, he reintroduced him into the world from Alaska as a fellow strongman.

Chick-fil-a Autumn menu items are now available. See what they are

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Chick-fil-a Autumn menu items are now available. See what they are

play

Chick-fil-a fans may see some new items on the menu when they stop by for a bite next time.

On August 7, the company announced a limited time menu that includes a new sandwich, the chain’s first seasonal soda, and two new potato chip varieties.

First introduced last spring, Chick-Fil-A brings back a second-year cherry berry drink, but this time it’s mixed with Sprite. The full lineup of Cherry Berry Rings includes:

  • Cherry Berry & Sprite: A sparkling mix of sprites and natural flavors of delicious cherry, blueberries and cranberry.
  • Cherry Berry Lemonade: Classic Chick Fill Lemonade with a sweet and fruity remix featuring natural flavours of cherry, blueberries and cranberry.
  • Cherry Berry Frosted Lemonade: A creamy blend of ice-reem dessert and classic chick fill lemonade with natural flavours of cherry, blueberries and cranberry.
  • Cherry Berry Sunjoy: A sweetened iced tea and lemonade blend of natural flavours of cherry, blueberries and cranberry.

In addition to Cherry Berry Beverages, Chick-Fil-A announced that it will launch its pretzel cheddar club sandwich nationwide due to customer demand after a successful test in Raleigh, North Carolina last spring.

The sandwich features a toasted butter pretzel bread, lettuce, sliced tomatoes, cheddar cheese, strips of applewood smoked bacon and a side of creamy Dijon mustard sauce. Customers can also choose their preferred fillet. That is, the sandwich comes with original spicy, grilled chicken.

“We are always looking for ways to surprise our guests with new, unique menu offerings. This fall lineup offers more opportunities for guests to customize and create their own.”

“The demand for guests for bold and fun drinks has grown, and now Cherry Berry’s return with a hilarious twist brings something fresh and unexpected to our lineup. The Pretzel Cheddar Club Sandwich offers the perfect complement.

Chick-fil-a debuts two potato chip varieties

Chick-Fil-A has also announced two new potato chip varieties, offered in a new waffle cut style that resembles Chick-Fil-A’s waffle fries.

The chips are available as a permanent side item or catering option for any occasion and include the original flavored waffle potato chip options and chick fill flavored waffle potato chips.

Chick-fil-A said potato chips can also be purchased in 7 oz bags at select retailers in the Atlantic and Southeast regions later this fall.

Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter for USA Today. You can follow him with X @geuna Alternatively, email him at gdhauari@gannett.com.

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