Daily Archives: August 2, 2017

Pharmaceutical Brands Can Use Programmatic Technology, Too – eMarketer

Posted: August 2, 2017 at 9:10 am

Jack Hogan CTO Lifescript

For pharmaceutical companies, deploying programmatic technology is a sticky subject. Because of strict privacy and patient protection laws, pharma companies are limited in how they can target individual consumers, which makes programmatic advertising more of a guessing game. But that doesnt mean it cant be done. Jack Hogan, CTO at medical publisher Lifescript, spoke with eMarketers Maria Minsker about how pharma companies can use publishers data to leverage programmatic technology.

eMarketer: How can medical publishers create proxy audiences to power programmatic technology for pharma brands?

Jack Hogan: Medical publishers have vast audiences of opt-in consumers with targetable IDs and declared health interests. Were talking about first-party data, not third-party health and medical data, which is inaccurate 50% of the time. By decoupling that first-party, declared health data from any private information, publishers enable brands to reach desired audiences with specific medical interests across the entire ad ecosystemwithout breaking any HIPAA rules.

Publishers are able to create segments of users interested in certain conditions, and feed these audience sets to pharma companies.

eMarketer: How does this make it possible for pharmaceutical companies to leverage programmatic advertising technology?

Hogan: While the guidelines for HIPAA are very stringent and strict when it comes to the type of data that can be accessed and shared, medical publishers typically dont touch any medical records or confidential medical data. Rather, publishers have access to declared interest in specific conditions or symptoms, which falls under other guidelines. As a result, publishers are able to create segments of users interested in certain conditions, and feed these audience sets to pharma companies through programmatic pipelines for ad targeting.

Plus, once a publisher zeros in on a users interests and pinpoints that users identity using a primary identifier such as an email address, that anonymized identity can then be extended to a mobile device for programmatic advertising via mobile as well.

eMarketer: Can you share an example of how a brand might work with a publisher to target a specific audience segment using programmatic technology?

Hogan: Lets say a statin drug manufacturer is looking to target people who have high cholesterol with a marketing campaign. A publisher can create a segment of people who have self-identified as showing interest in this topic while engaging with the publishers site. The publisher can then make that segment available to the advertiser through a programmatic pipeline, enabling them to work with their technology vendors to target that segment through programmatic display, video or mobile advertising.

There are some marketers in the space who dont understand the marketing technology requirements for handling private data.

eMarketer: Are enough pharmaceutical marketers taking advantage of programmatic advertising, or are they missing an opportunity when it comes to health data?

Hogan: There are some marketers in the space who dont understand the marketing technology requirements for handling private data. For example, all user data should be de-identified, and not tied back to an individual. Personal health data like that should not be used in any marketing or advertising efforts. Marketers should be using smart tools that can decouple data from individuals identifiers, starting at the point of opt-in through collection and use.

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Pharmaceutical Brands Can Use Programmatic Technology, Too - eMarketer

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Asian Technology Stocks Just Hit 17-year Peaks – Fortune

Posted: at 9:10 am

LONDON, Aug 2Asian technology stocks hit 17-year peaks and Wall Street's Dow index looked set to break 22,000 points later on Wednesday, as blockbuster earnings from Apple rippled out to component makers globally.

Shares in the world's most valuable company surged 6% after-hours to a record of more than $159 each, taking its market capitalization above $830 billion.

That should help carry the Dow through the 22,000 mark when trading resumes in New York. E-Mini futures for the Dow were up 0.2 percent despite a lower Europe as disappointing results from Societe Generale and Commerzbank weighed on the bank stocks.

Apple reported better-than-expected iPhone sales , revenue, and earnings per share and signaled its upcoming 10th-anniversary phone is on schedule.

It helped dispel one of the few nagging doubts of the corporate earnings season so farthat Amazons lackluster results last week might have revealed some tiredness among the giant U.S. tech and internet stocks that have been driving the stock market rally all year.

"It is all about Apple," said Naeem Aslam chief market analyst at Think Markets. "The firm comfortably topped its forecast and produced stellar numbers for its revenue and profit."

Among Asia's Apple suppliers, LG Innnotek jumped 10 percent and SK Hynix, the world's second-biggest memory chip maker, rose 3.8 percent.

Murata Manufacturing firmed 4.9 percent and Taiyo Yuden 4.4 percent, helping Tokyo's Nikkei up 0.47 percent.

The MSCI tech index for Asia also climbed 0.9 percent to ground not trod since early 2000, bringing its gains for the year to a heady 40 percent.

Those gains balanced losses in basic materials and energy to leave MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan steady near its highest since late 2007.

There was a note of caution over reports that U.S. President Donald Trump was close to a decision on how to respond to what he considers China's unfair trade practices.

Tepid U.S. inflation along with political turmoil in Washington has lessened the possibility of another Federal Reserve rate hike this year, lowering bond yields across the globe.

Improving data in other major economies has also served to push the greenback down nearly 11 percent from January peaks, benefiting commodities and emerging markets.

A swathe of manufacturing surveys (PMIs) out on Tuesday had underlined how the improvement in activity had broadened out from the United States to Asia and Europe.

Alan Ruskin, head of G10 forex at Deutsche Bank, noted the top five PMIs were all Northern European economies and every index in Europe was now in expansionary territory above 50.

"That will do nothing to hurt ebullient global risk appetite," said Ruskin. "This phase of the risk rally is based on growth data, but even more on subdued inflation measures."

MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe was just below an all-time peak.

On Wall Street later electric car maker Tesla, gadget firm Fitbit and insurance provider AIG will report results.

In currency markets, the dollar index was stuck at just under 93, after touching 92.777, the lowest since early May 2016. It was aided by gains on a softer yen which saw it creep to 110.80.

Yet the euro also benefited from buying against the yen , reaching its highest since February last year. It nudged up against the dollar and Swiss Franc too, briefly striking new 2-1/2-year highs against both at $1.1846 and 1.1468 francs per euro respectively.

Euro zone June producer price inflation data helped it on its way as it topped analysts' forecasts. There was a slowdown in the pace overall, but it bolstered bets that the European Central Bank could soon start winding down its more than 2-trillion-euro stimulus program.

"The ECB is going to be the central bank to watch for the rest of the year," said JP Morgan Asset Management global market strategist Alex Dryden.

"We think they are going to take 9-12 months to get out of the market but that is a big question ... it could even be six months," he added.

Bond markets were largely quiet, with the premiums investors demand to hold South European government debt over the German equivalent close to their lowest levels in weeks and both 2- and 10-year U.S. Treasury yields barely budged.

In emerging markets, MSCI's EM stocks index was near a three-year high. India's central bank became the first in Asia to cut interest rates this year, while Venezuela's bonds continued to slid amid rising political tensions there around President Nicolas Maduro.

Oil prices were under pressure again too amid rising U.S. fuel inventories and as major world producers kept pumping, causing investors to worry that several weeks of steady gains had pushed the rally too far.

Brent crude eased to $51.80 a barrel, while U.S. crude lost 8 cents to $49.07.

(Additional reporting by Wayne Cole in Sydney; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

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Teachers embracing technology in the classroom – KRIS Corpus Christi News

Posted: at 9:10 am

CORPUS CHRISTI -

Teachers from area districts are turning to technology to make learning activities more exciting for students and staff alike. Instructional Technology Specialist Cary Perales says, it's all for the third annual "Tech 2 Teach" conference held at Veterans Memorial High School.

"We have teachers that're on their break coming in to learn something to bring to their classroom to teach at a higher level," Teacher, Denis Wisner said.

Wisner is just one of nearly a thousand teachers trying to better their ability to educate, ahead of the new school year.

"Really it's to let our teachers get fired up about going back into the classroom and teaching our students those 21st century skills sets that they need," Perales said.

She adds, that the conference considers multiple ways of learning and bringing staff together.

"Getting to network with other teachers, they're getting to see all kinds of sessions integrating technology in the classroom."

Teachers like Emily Schellinger and Jenifer Martinez say, while technology is seeming taking over, some still like the old fashioned way of hands-on learning. However, students are still encourage to B.Y.O.D.

"It's very important for the students to come into the classroom and use their devices, here at Veterans we have BYOD, which is bring your own device and whether it's a phone or chrome book or a laptop the kids are encouraged to use it," Martinez said.

Overall, the goal is to keep the attention of easily distracted students, focused on fun, interactive learning tools.

More information: https://www.tcea.org/event/area-2-corpus-christi-technology-conference-tech2teach/

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A Better, Safer Battery Could Be Coming to a Laptop Near You – New York Times

Posted: at 9:10 am

Ionic said it had developed prototypes of a rechargeable alkaline battery that can be made using continuous manufacturing processes similar to the making of plastic wrap. So far, the company, which is backed by William Joy, a pioneering Silicon Valley computer designer, has demonstrated up to 400 recharge cycles for its prototypes. Ionic executives say they believe they will be able to triple that.

The alkaline batteries that Ionic has developed would initially be heavier than todays lithium-ion batteries, said Mike Zimmerman, a materials scientist who is the founder and chief executive of Ionic. But the new batteries would more than compensate for that handicap with their cost advantage and, in time, their ability to store more energy.

There are other advantages besides cost and safety. Lithium-ion batteries rely on cobalt, and using that element comes with a human cost. Cobalt mines in Africa, for example, have been accused of using child labor while leaving behind a toxic mess.

Alkaline batteries, on the other hand, use relatively abundant zinc and manganese. Ionic can help us get lithium-ion past cobalt and completely eliminate it with alkaline, said Mr. Joy, who is a member of Ionics board.

He also said that the company had made progress toward an alkaline battery design that would replace zinc with more affordable aluminum. In the past, aluminum has not been usable because of issues like corrosion. Alkaline batteries based on aluminum would potentially weigh less than lithium-ion batteries and would be even cheaper to produce than todays alkaline designs.

Ionic will make its announcement in Colorado at a conference for the 35th anniversary of the Rocky Mountain Institute, a sustainable-energy research group founded by the physicist and environmentalist Amory Lovins and Hunter Lovins, his former wife.

They started with a very sensible set of criteria, Dr. Lovins said of Ionic. They use an unusual electrolyte to come up with a battery that uses common cheap materials and is benign.

But he added a note of caution: Batteries are very difficult and I want to see what they have and what can be measured and proven and whether it will get to market.

Technological progress in battery technology has been glacial compared with the exponential advances in processing speed and data storage capacity that have been staples of Silicon Valleys growth. In the last 150 years, only a handful of rechargeable battery chemistries have reached mass adoption.

Tesla, in partnership with Panasonic, is building a factory in Nevada with the intent of greatly expanding capacity to make lithium-ion batteries and lower production costs. Tesla officials said they wanted to create enough capacity to produce batteries for 1.5 million cars a year.

There is growing interest in pursuing such so-called solid-state battery technologies for both consumer and transportation applications. Last fall, the United States Department of Energys agency for supporting research in next-generation energy technology announced 16 research awards aimed at accelerating development of solid battery technologies, including a $3 million contract to Ionic Materials. The company said it had signed several licensing deals to produce commercial versions of its design, but it would not identify its partners.

The United States Advanced Battery Consortium, an auto industry group, wants to greatly reduce the cost of lithium-ion production. Analysts, however, say they believe the new facilities and technology from auto and battery manufacturers will help bring costs down, but still fall short of industry goals.

In contrast, Ionic executives said they had found a way to achieve energy production costs that would be less than a fifth of the auto consortiums target.

Bloomberg New Energy Finance, an energy research group, has forecast that mass-market adoption of electric vehicles will not occur until operating costs fall to match those of internal combustion engines. That is expected to happen in 2025, according to the group.

In December, Ionic Materials also described a solid material it said would improve the safety of existing lithium-ion batteries. The company has demonstrated the batteries resistance to catching fire or exploding by driving nails through them and even shooting them with bullets.

A version of this article appears in print on August 2, 2017, on Page B2 of the New York edition with the headline: Massachusetts Start-Up Trumpets Advance in Battery Capacity.

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Geron: SLOW Progress – Seeking Alpha

Posted: at 9:10 am

Introduction

From the formation of their collaboration in November 2014, Geron (NASDAQ:GERN) and Janssen, Johnson and Johnson's (JNJ) pharmaceutical arm have moved steadily forward in their efforts to prove the beneficial impact of imetelstat as a critical lifesaving therapy in the battle against certain cancers. Step by methodical step, they have advanced their understanding of imetelstats detailed clinical merits. Two clinical trials are gathering and assessing necessary data and have undergone formal clinical reviews.

Today they announced another advance. Insofar as it involves still more data collection, the market is showing frustration with the pace of progress. Shareholders can only wince and go forward. Todays announcement constitutes progress, albeit progress of the frustrating type for those impatient for final resolution.

Last night's press release from Geron, followed by this morning's conference call, provided new data points to consider in the lingering imetelstat saga. The conclusion I drew from the carefully scripted presentations was that all's well for those who have plenty of time and are willing to wait patiently while this multipart drama unfolds on its own time schedule.

My initial introduction to this latest bit of news was quite disconcerting. This morning I was checking out the stocks I follow and saw that Geron had taken a big hit. Then I saw a SA news headline, "Geron down 13% in early trading on extended timeline for imetelstat study, risk that Janssen will bail".

Oh no, I thought; the worst is happening. Then I realized after reading the release that this was nothing more than business as usual in the imetlstat world. Any statement about Janssen potentially bailing was mere surplusage. As is true in most, if not all such deals, the big dog has a retained right to bail. It is a background fact, akin to gravity...no need to keep repeating it, particularly in a news item. I guess the point that gave it piquancy was the stock price drop, suggesting something more was afoot. Not so.

Let me address the basics of the announcement and its significance as I see it.

First, the Imerge trial addresses patients with low-to-intermediate risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) who failed to respond to prior treatment with an erythropoiesis-stimulating agent.

Janssen has analyzed data from the Imerge trial and has determined that a subset of 13 patients show positive results at a higher rate than the remaining group of patients. These 13 patients share the commonality that they had not received prior treatment from "... a hypomethylating agent (HMA) or lenalidomide".

Janssen further determined that it should enroll an additional cohort of 20 patients to bring this subset of patients to 30, the number that it considers sufficient for its next analysis.

Rather than being negative or neutral, I consider this decision to be on the whole positive. It shows that Janssen is actively interested and engaged with the imetelstat data.

It also shows that this is going to be a lengthy process. The timing is uncertain but the press release states that active recruitment will begin in Q4, 2017. Certainly the work of recruiting, enrolling, processing and then analyzing data from 20 additional patients implies a considerable time lag.

In the written press release Geron states:

Detailed results for the original 32 patients in Part 1 of IMerge, including key secondary endpoints of hematologic improvement and rate of RBC-TI lasting at least 24 weeks, as well as duration of response and detailed safety information, will be submitted for presentation at a major medical conference. [Emphasis added]

The more Janssen interacts with imetelstat in the public sphere, the more encouraged I become that it will proceed to bring the therapy to market. Certainly its previous announcement of imetelstat as future blockbuster in its pipeline was a big positive indication. I take its intention to present Imerge results at a major medical conference in the same vein.

Janssen's Phase 2 IMbark trial, assessing imetelstat in patients with treatment-resistant intermediate/high risk myelofibrosis (MF) is on an entirely different track.

The IMbark trial will continue without modification. According to the press release:

Janssen will conduct an internal data review in Q1 2018 to enable a protocol amendment to allow long-term treatment and follow-up. Janssen will notify Geron earlier, probably in Q4, whether it intends to pursue development of imetelstat for any indication after a primary data analysis is done on IMbark (should start no later than the end of Q3)

As I see this, today's CC simply confirms the ongoing process to which Janssen has committed itself. As far as any tell on the efficacy of imetelstat, it has to be more on the positive side than the negative.

Although, when one looks at a five day chart of Geron's stock, it doesn't look positive.

GERN Price data by YCharts

What caused this violent stock reaction? I suspect it was impatience.

For those who are timing imetelstat's progress towards continuation by Janssen and ultimately FDA approval, today was something of a disappointment. Optimists have hoped that Janssen would take its next big step forward by issuing a continuation decision under its Geron collaboration agreement sometime in 2017 or early in 2018.

The following language from its press release suggests to me that Q3, 2018 is a more likely target date:

Continuation Decision

The Joint Steering Committee has agreed that the timing of the protocol-specified primary analysis for IMbark will begin upon the earlier of either a pre-specified number of deaths occurring in the trial or the end of the third quarter of 2018. Following completion of this primary analysis, which includes an assessment of potential survival benefit associated with imetelstat treatment, Janssen will notify Geron whether it elects to maintain the license rights and continue the development of imetelstat in any indication, i.e., the Continuation Decision.

Generally my own optimism for Geron's imetelstat prospects focuses more on the likelihood that Janssen proceed, rather than any expectation that it do so on an expedited basis. However, today's drop suggests that I may be in the minority on that score.

Geron had cash and equivalents of $121MM according to its Q1, 2017 10-Q. This was stated as sufficient for expected needs for at least one year. However, insofar as net cash expended during Q1, 2017 was <$8MM, Geron should not face a cash crunch if indeed Janssen waits to issue a continuation decision until 2018.

At the close of Geron's 8/1/2017 call, Geron announced that because of the proximity of its upcoming earnings release, it would not do an earnings CC this quarter. Rather, it said it would issue its earnings press release. Geron will next address investors at its presentation to the Cantor Fitzgerald Healthcare Conference taking place September 25-27, 2017.

Geron is soldiering boldly ahead as it works to bring the development of imetelstat to fruition. There are no guarantees in this drug approval business. However, Geron has managed to put itself on a path where it has reasonable prospects for a highly remunerative future.

Geron offers a binary bet on its imetelstat cancer therapy. Although I know from researching Geron articles that it has other irons in the fire, I also know these other irons have no current impact on Geron's stock price.

Today's announcement seems to have disturbed the market. I submit that it should not have done so. When Johnson and Johnson boasted about imetelstat's future prospects, it was referring to the year 2021.

Anyone who has counted on this playing out as near term story has been fooling themselves. Geron appears to have the cash resources to follow this to its conclusion. Investors in Geron should likewise consider that they are in it for the long haul.

Disclosure: I am/we are long GERN.

I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

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Progress Releases Kendo UI Builder 2.0, Delivering the New Face of OpenEdge Web Experience – Business Wire (press release)

Posted: at 9:10 am

BEDFORD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Progress (NASDAQ: PRGS) today announced the latest version of Progress Kendo UI Builder, an industry-leading responsive web UI toolkit for rapidly delivering beautiful and intuitive web experiences. The new release introduces browser compatibility with Electron Shell, an extended library of built-in templates, the ability to customize screens with Blank View and enhanced data connectivity.

Today, the ultimate success of a business application depends on the availability of an engaging user experience. While reliability and scalability remain the backbone of superb performance, the look and feel of an application is vital for attracting and retaining users, said John Ainsworth, SVP, Core Products, Progress. With the latest version of Progress Kendo UI Builder toolkit, our partners and customers can quickly and cost-effectively enhance their Progress OpenEdge applications using an extended library of UI components and data connectivity to better optimize development efforts.

New features in Progress Kendo UI Builder 2.0 toolkit include:

In todays digital world, the ability to quickly develop software gives organizations a competitive advantage. With Progress Kendo UI Builder toolkit, weve significantly accelerated the development time of our new web-based application, TWIN360, by leveraging its ready, pre-built UI components, said Magnus Svensson of CGI, a global information technology and business process services provider. Progress Kendo UI Builder toolkit enabled us to easily create beautiful and personalized user interactions across all channels and devices and, as a result, to ensure excellent customer satisfaction.

Progress Kendo UI Builder toolkit enables developers to define the layout and content of their web apps with easy to use, pre-built and pre-tested visual components. Based upon the popular Progress Kendo UI framework and built to run on industry-standard technologies such as Angular, HTML, CSS and JavaScript, Progress Kendo UI Builder toolkit minimizes development time.

For more details about the latest release of Progress Kendo UI Builder toolkit, and to download a free trial, please visit https://www.progress.com/openedge/components/kendo-ui-builder or watch webinar.

Additional Resources

About Progress Progress (NASDAQ: PRGS) offers the leading platform for developing and deploying mission-critical business applications. Progress empowers enterprises and ISVs to build and deliver cognitive-first applications, that harness big data to derive business insights and competitive advantage. Progress offers leading technologies for easily building powerful user interfaces across any type of device, a reliable, scalable and secure backend platform to deploy modern applications, leading data connectivity to all sources, and award-winning predictive analytics that brings the power of machine learning to any organization. Over 1700 independent software vendors, 80,000 enterprise customers, and 2 million developers rely on Progress to power their applications. Learn about Progress atwww.progress.comor +1-800-477-6473.

Progress, OpenEdge, and Kendo UI are a trademarks or registered trademarks ofProgress Software Corporationand/or one of its subsidiaries or affiliates in the US and other countries. Any other trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.

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Progress Releases Kendo UI Builder 2.0, Delivering the New Face of OpenEdge Web Experience - Business Wire (press release)

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William Hill profit rises; sees progress in 2017 – MarketWatch

Posted: at 9:10 am

LONDON--Bookmaker William Hill PLC (WMH.LN) Wednesday recorded a 2% rise in first-half adjusted pretax profit and said it expects to make good progress in 2017 and beyond.

The company, which operates betting shops and a website in the U.K. as well as operations in the U.S. and Australia, said adjusted pretax profit--which excludes exceptional items--rose to 111.2 million pounds ($143.2 million) during the 26 weeks ended June 27, compared with GBP109.3 million a year earlier. Pretax profit was down 7% to GBP93.5 million in the first half from GBP100.7 million a year earlier

The company's net revenue rose 3% to GBP837 million compared with GBP814.4 million a year earlier.

"The first half of 2017 has seen good progress against our three strategic priorities and wagering growth across all four divisions. Our product improvements combined with improved marketing have seen both existing customers respond positively and the number of new customers start growing again during the period," Chief Executive Philip Bowcock said.

The company added it is on track to deliver GBP40 million of annualized savings by the year-end and is confident about delivering a good outturn in 2017 and beyond.

-Write to Razak Musah Baba at razak.baba@wsj.com; Twitter: @Raztweet

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Progress made on pipeline to connect Exit 8 to Lowland – Citizentribune

Posted: at 9:10 am

Pre-construction has begun. A tentative timeline has been set.

Morristown Utility Systems general manager, Jody Wigington, said the construction and implementation of a new sewer line running from Exit 8 of Interstate 81 to the Lowland wastewater treatment plant just south of Exit 12 could be complete in as little as a year if no unforeseen challenges arise.

The project includes placing the new line, which will replace an old line nearing its capacity, and updating the treatment plant itself.

Both are a part of a consent order from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. With the order in place, Wigington said the projects have to be seen through to completion. However, because the work was needed and MUS consented, he said fewer penalty payments were required.

He said it was not only the only option but was the best option as the construction will benefit the city long-term.

Weve been a little limited with knowing we cant recruit certain types of wet business that uses a lot of water and waste water (to this area) with the existing line, Wigington said. This will open the door to welcome any type of customer the city might want to recruit. The only effect on our existing customers are the rate increases.

In addition to providing development opportunities for Exit 8, Wigington said this will allow for Exit 12 development.

Other rate increases may be coming down the pike for MUS electricity customers as a result of increases from the Tennessee Valley Authority, the supplier for MUS and other companies around the Lakeway Area and state.

In a presentation at the most recent MUS board of directors meeting, a TVA representative reported the organization has cut operating costs by reducing its footprint and has conserved fuel costs by using what is economical to produce the greatest amounts of power for its customers.

Despite this, the TVA has been unable to pay down its debt of nearly $26 billion as revenue continues to decrease.

In order to reduce the debt, TVA will be recommending a 1.5 percent rate adjustment per year at the retail level.

I think they do a good job. They have a balanced portfolio of plants and are able to pick the fuel that is most efficient to run, Wigington said. Meanwhile, TVA, for the first time in its history, is predicting negative load growth. We are barely moving, and if our industry hadnt done so many expansions in the last three or four years, we would be negative, too.

Wigington said load growth is the amount of electricity used by customers. It decreases with conservation.

We are seeing conservation across the board, he continued. The sewer rates are high, so people are conserving water use to keep the sewer bill down. With electricity, its primarily been lighting. LED lighting uses about 10 to 15 percent of the power incandescent lighting uses. At the same time, we have to have revenue.

I mean, were the company that wants to help people save and cut their bills, he said. Were sitting with flat sales here, and TVA has declining sales and declining revenue. Theyre not being about to reduce their debt, so theyre having to increase the rates to make up the difference.

During the board meeting, the TVA representative said the increases will most likely take place the next two years. After, TVA will revisit the long-term financial plan and make a decision to increase rates further or stabilize them.

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The Center For American Progress Is Releasing A Nearly 50-Page Report Claiming TrumpRussia Collusion – BuzzFeed News

Posted: at 9:10 am

A major progressive think tank wants Democrats to stop being shy about accusing the Trump campaign of colluding with Russia.

The Center for American Progress has written a nearly 50-page report for Democrats in Congress, making the case for collusion between President Donald Trumps campaign and Russia. The report, a draft of which was reviewed by BuzzFeed News ahead of its release Wednesday, makes the bold claim that it is now clear there was collusion and this is the biggest political scandal in American history.

CAPs report, which includes several appendices linking to news reports and quotes from the Trump administration, does not include any new information, but it does represent a push for a dramatic change of tone for Democrats in Congress.

We're ... trying to convey that its time to stop beating around the bush on Trumps collusion with Russia. There is a mountain of evidence that Trump and his associates colluded with Russia and its time to start saying so, Adam Jentleson, senior strategic adviser and former deputy chief of staff for Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid, told BuzzFeed News in an email.

We think its time to be a lot more forward-leading because the evidence is overwhelming.

This is a drastic departure from what most Democrats in Congress have been saying since Trump entered the White House in January. At least in public, most congressional Democrats have yielded on the side of caution, calling for further investigation before alleging actual collusion while at the same time emphasizing stories like the recent revelation that Donald Trump Jr. and others from the campaign spoke with a Russian lawyer last summer, in a meeting pitched to the presidents son with the promise of damaging information about Hillary Clinton.

I think the reason why were putting this report out is that we need to sort of face the facts of whats staring us in the face here, Max Bergmann, a senior fellow at CAP and author of the report, told BuzzFeed News. When you piece it all together and you lay out the facts, all the information that we know the picture becomes very clear. And what is clear is that the presidents campaign was willing to collude with Russians and did.

The Justice Department under special counsel Robert Mueller, the House and Senate intelligence committees and the Senate Judiciary Committee are all still conducting investigations on Russia interference in the US election and any involvement by the Trump campaign.

The draft of CAPs report lays out everything the public knows about how the Trump campaign and Russia interacted during the campaign based on information gathered from press reports and congressional testimony. According to CAP, the evidence should be enough for Democrats to argue the campaign colluded with Russia.

CAPs plan is to deliver the report to key offices on the Hill with the hope of giving Democrats the confidence to make a collusion argument. Jentleson said Democratic leadership, as well as members of the Judiciary and Intelligence committees in the House and Senate, will be receiving the report.

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Lack of barge progress irks some Davenport aldermen – Quad City Times

Posted: at 9:10 am

Fifth Ward Alderwoman Rita Rawson joked that maybe the city forgot to specify the year when it told the Rhythm City Casino Resort to have its barge removed from the Davenport riverfront by March 31.

The lack of movement is no longer a laughing matter for some on the Davenport City Council.

Rhythm City was able to find a taker for the barge in the city of Keokuk, but the City Council learned Tuesday during its management update meeting that the process to remove it willtake a minimum of a two more weeks.

"We're disappointed they are not further along," Alderwoman Kerri Tompkins, 8th Ward, said. "This should have been executed months ago."

Rhythm City was initially given a deadline of March 31 to remove the barge and structure atop it after the City Council elected to pursue land-based development.

The Council had received two proposals from U.S. Inland Marine Inc. and Restoration St. Louis with development ideas for the barge, but the proposal lacked a certain "wow" factor.

After the March 31 deadline passed, Rhythm City was without any concrete offers so it requested and was granted an extension so it could find a city in eastern Iowa to donate the barge.

The city of Clinton passed on the idea after finding the cost to move and operate the structure cost prohibitive, but the Rhythm City was able to reach a deal with Keokuk in May.

The process, however, has seen its fair share of delays since.

High river levels prevented movementbecause the barge would not have navigated past the 54-foot clearance at the Interstate 280 bridge.

The delay is barge traffic then caused the cost to move it to skyrocket, prompting Keokuk to wait until prices subsided.

Finance Director Brandon Wright said he was still awaiting news from Keokuk City Administrator Aaron Burnett, who indicated was expecting proposals for moving the barge to come in.

Wright said that the acceptance of a contract, however, would require approval from the Keokuk City Council, which would draw out the process at least two more weeks.

The new timeline was not what the aldermen wanted to hear.

Alderman Mike Matson, 7th Ward, uttered expletives in complete disbelief.

After City Attorney Tom Warner said the city planned to speak with Keokuk officials, Matson interrupted and said "We've been planning on talking to them for a while."

Matson said the city needed to "put some teeth" into its actions.

"Put a $10,000 fine every day that passes August 15," Matson said. "Seriously, I'm ready to bring that to Council to do something like that. This is ridiculous that this is taking so long."

City Administrator Corri Spiegel said that if the process did not progress quickly enough for the aldermen, she would schedule for Burnett to address the Council on Aug. 15.

"Because there was another government involved, we were trying to be a good partner in allowing them to mobilize at a pace they were comfortable with," Spiegel said.

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Lack of barge progress irks some Davenport aldermen - Quad City Times

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