Category Archives: Yahoo

Tilray Inc

LEAMINGTON, Ontario, March 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tilray Brands, Inc. (Tilray Brands or the Company) (Nasdaq | TSX: TLRY), a leading global cannabis-lifestyle and consumer packaged goods company inspiring and empowering the worldwide community to live their very best life, today announced that the Company will release financial results for its third quarter fiscal 2022 ended February 28, 2022 before financial markets open on April 6, 2022.

Tilray executives will host a live conference call and audio webcast to discuss these results at 8:30 am Eastern Time, details of which are provided below.

Live Conference Call and Audio Webcast:

Date/Time: Wednesday, April 6, 2022 at 8:30 am Eastern Time.

Call-in Number: (877) 407-0792 from Canada and the U.S. or (201) 689-8263 from international locations. Please dial in at least 10 minutes prior to the start time.

A telephone replay will be available approximately two hours after the call concludes through April 22, 2022. To access the recording dial (844)-512-2921 from Canada and the U.S. or (412) 317-6671 from international locations and use the passcode 13728025.

There will be a simultaneous, live webcast available on the Investors section of Tilrays website at http://www.tilray.com. The webcast will also be archived. Additionally, Tilray's third quarter earnings call will be syndicated live to retail investors on the Public.com app.

Tilray shareholders will be able to submit and upvote questions for the upcoming conference call to the executive team via shareholder Q&A platform Say Technologies.

To submit questions ahead of the conference call, please visit the Say platform (https://app.saytechnologies.com/tilray-2022-q3/) Tilray shareholders and brokers with Say can participate directly in their investing app or broker website. The Q&A platform for Tilrays upcoming conference call on April 6, 2022 will remain open until 24 hours beforehand.

About Tilray Brands

Tilray Brands, Inc. (Nasdaq | TSX: TLRY), is a leading global cannabis-lifestyle and consumer packaged goods company with operations in Canada, the United States, Europe, Australia, and Latin America that is changing people's lives for the better one person at a time. Tilray Brands delivers on this mission by inspiring and empowering the worldwide community to live their very best life and providing access to products that meet the needs of their mind, body, and soul while invoking wellbeing. Patients and consumers trust Tilray Brands to deliver a cultivated experience and health and wellbeing through high-quality, differentiated brands and innovative products. A pioneer in cannabis research, cultivation, and distribution, Tilray Brands unprecedented production platform supports over 20 brands in over 20 countries, including comprehensive cannabis offerings, hemp-based foods, and craft beverages.

Story continues

For more information on how we open a world of wellbeing, visit http://www.Tilray.com.

ContactsFor media inquiries, please contact:Berrin Nooratanews@tilray.com

For investor inquiries, please contact:Raphael Gross 203-682-8253Raphael.Gross@icrinc.com

See the original post:

Tilray Brands to Announce Third Quarter Fiscal 2022 Financial Results on April 6, 2022 - Yahoo Finance

Unix Hash

Shenzhen, China, March 29, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ethereum and Bitcoin are among the top two cryptocurrencies in the market. The Ethereum vs. Bitcoin debate has been raging for some years now. Google searches for "Ethereum merge" just hit an all-time high. Some expert crypto analysts believe that Ethereum may overtake Bitcoin in the coming years, as it continues to grow and be accepted worldwide. According to Yahoo Finance, Ethereum could eventually pass Bitcoin in market cap because its smart contracts are a more versatile alternative to Bitcoin.

Ethereum is a decentralized platform upon which different applications can be built, enabled, and supported by the collective value and effort of the people who use it. These applications are not only limited to managing financial transactions alone but also contract negotiation and other forms of agreement.

With a focus on decentralization and security, Ethereum blockchain produces blocks within a given period that fix the computational power needed to mine automatically. However, many people consider these features as bugs to be fixed in future updates because these features make mining less profitable.

However, there are now new ASIC mining hardware setups that are specially designed to mine Cryptocurrency. Miners can use these computers to mine any cryptocurrency that operates through proof of work.

ASIC miners can generate or mine more ether as compared to the GPU miners, however that efficiency comes along with a high cost as these computers are relatively expensive than GPU mining. If you want to know more about the best GPU for mining, ASIC, and other high performance mining hardware then you can visit Hushi.

There are several key distinctions between mining Ethereum and mining Bitcoin. While they were both designed with different purposes in mind, the former is not a direct derivative of the latter. This article explores the reasons for their differing natures, highlighting some crucial differences between Ethereum vs. Bitcoin.

Story continues

Bitcoin Basics

Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer, decentralized payment network that is powered by its users with no central authority. It was released in 2009 by an individual or a group named "Satoshi Nakamoto."

Bitcoin, the most popular cryptocurrency of all time, allows people to do secure transactions so that no one will be able to uncover the identity of a person sending or receiving Bitcoin. Payments are made using cryptography; hence all transactions are secured on the blockchain, and the network nodes can verify their legitimacy.

Although bitcoin wasn't the first try at an online currency of this sort, it was the most successful in its early years, and it has become something of a precursor to virtually all other cryptocurrencies that have been developed over the past decade. Many people believe Bitcoin to be a better alternative to conventional electronic transactions.

Ethereum Basics

Ethereum is a blockchain technology that was created in 2015 by Vitalik Buterin. Ethereum is a cryptocurrency that provides ether tokens. This is similar to bitcoins in the Bitcoin network. However, the functionality of Ether is more than just enabling digital currency. Ether is the most established, open-ended decentralized software platform.

Ether is being used to build and deploy decentralized applications whose back-end code runs on a computer network consisting of a collection of machines rather than a centralized server. According to Dragonfly Research, Ethereum is the 'MS-DOS' of blockchains.

Ether tokens are used to pay for services like computational power needed before new blocks can be added to the blockchain or transaction fees paid via smart contracts.

This platform has its own programming language that runs on blockchain and allows developers to create and run distributed apps. The two most common purposes of Ethereum are cryptocurrency trading and running decentralized applications on the Ethereum network.

What are Smart Contracts?

Smart contracts are simply pieces of code that have been written on the blockchain. When certain conditions have been met, they will initiate automatically and proceed to do what they were programmed. They can be used as a part of an agreement and provide real-time security to all parties involved in an exchange.

Bitcoin vs. Ethereum

BTC and ETH both have one thing in common - they are both digital currencies - but that's where the similarities end. Ether is not meant to replace bitcoin as much as it was created to allow for the more efficient and decentralized running of smart contracts and dApps on their platform, which aims to facilitate distributed applications.

More importantly, both digital currencies are greatly different with respect to their overall aims. Bitcoin is better known for being a form of currency created purely for monetary use and lacks any potential use cases other than that.

That is not the case for Etherit has been primarily used as "gas" for Ethereum's platform, and its value was gained as more developers began creating applications that run on top of Ethereum's blockchain. However, the overgrowing popularity of Ethereum has pushed it ahead in the competition to all other cryptocurrencies, and it has gained significance from a trading perspective. Now, Ethereum is very close to Bitcoin in terms of rankings and total market cap.

Mining

When it comes to Ethereum vs. Bitcoin mining, there are some crucial differences between them. The reason is the same: both digital currencies don't share a common purpose at first.

The Bitcoin miners validate the crypto transactions by solving a complicated math puzzle to add a new block to the blockchain. First, this process is called "Proof of work." Ethereum miners do the same but work on a different transaction form, and their process of validation is called "Proof of stake."

In Ethereum mining, an individual can mine or validate transactions based on the number of Ether he/she owns. That means the best Ethereum miner with more coins holds more mining power in Ethereum mining.

Fees

The transaction fee for Bitcoin is optional. You can choose to pay more money to get it prioritized by the miners and make sure your transaction gets through faster. Otherwise, it will go through anyway.

On the other hand, though, when you create an Ethereum transaction, you must specify how much Ether you're willing to spend in order to have the computation take place that adds your transaction onto the blockchain which is necessary to send transactions on Ethereum. It's called "gas," and what it drives is known as a "transaction."

In simple words, Ethereum-based transactions tend to be far faster than Bitcoin transactions, while there's a steep cost that comes with that convenience which one must provide in Ether for a successful translation. Many people consider it a drawback of Ether when it comes to Bitcoin vs. Ethereum fees.

Time

In a blockchain, the block time is used to determine how quickly everyone in the network sees new transactions or how much time it takes to mine a block. The block time of Bitcoin is 10 minutes. On the other hand, Ethereum can verify transactions in 10 seconds.

Hashing Algorithms

Hashing algorithms are part of what makes blockchain technology difficult to hack and ensure its security. Cryptographic hash functions maintain their privacy and ensure the security of the systems. Bitcoins use a hashing algorithm called SHA-256, whereas Ethereum uses the Ethash hashing algorithm.

How many BTC and ETH are currently in circulation?

Bitcoin and Ethereum's monetary supply isn't even comparable. There are approximately 18.99 million bitcoins currently in existence, whereas Ethereum has approximately 120 million ether tokens circulating around.

Although the number of ethers in market circulation amounts to more than 120 million, its current market capitalization is still lower than Bitcoin's, which is valued at $844 billion as opposed to Ethereum's $375 billion valuations.

Bitcoin vs. Ethereum Daily Transactions

There are roughly 262,000 daily Bitcoin transactions taking place every day, whereas Ethereum processes roughly a 1.1million transactions every day.

Final Verdict: Bitcoin vs. Ethereum

Which is better, Bitcoin or Ethereum? There is no clear winner. The truth is that it depends entirely on your requirements. When choosing between both cryptocurrencies, it's important to consider what you hope to accomplish with either currency. If you're looking for a decentralized peer-to-peer transactions system, you may be better suited to opt for Bitcoin. Ethereum, on the other hand, seems like a stronger choice if you wish to create and build applications and smart contracts with a cryptocurrency platform.

This article was provided by Hushi, a global leader in manufacturing computer hardware for mining Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other digital currencies. They've focused on creating a number of core competencies related to mining digital currency products to become an innovator in the fields of ASIC designs and chip manufacturing.

Read more:

Unix Hash: Ethereum vs. Bitcoin, Which One Is a Better Investment? - Yahoo Finance

Two thousand eight hundred and twenty-nine days after the U.S. mens soccer team played its last World Cup game, it qualified for the 2022 edition of the planets preeminent sporting event.

With a 5-1 thrashing of Panama on Sunday and then a 2-0 loss in Costa Rica on Wednesday, the USMNT the teams popular acronym clinched one of 32 places at this years tournament, and unleashed months of excitement that American fans so dearly missed in 2018.

The 2022 World Cup, though, will be unlike any other men's World Cup. It wont be the nationwide summer celebration of soccer that used to arrive every four years.

Heres everything you need to know about it and about the U.S. team that will participate.

The 2022 World Cup begins Nov. 21 in Qatar, a peninsular emirate on the Persian gulf where summer temperatures often top 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

To avoid hazardous heat, FIFA, global soccers governing body, decided in 2015 to move the tournament out of its traditional summer window and to the cusp of winter. It will interrupt European club soccer seasons, rather than fall during their offseasons, as it had since its inception in 1930. No previous mens World Cup ended later than July 30.

Qatar won a sensationally shady bid for hosting rights way back in 2010. Years later, with many suspecting corruption, American investigator Michael Garcia produced a 430-page report that did not offer proof that Qatar had essentially bought the World Cup, but did detail loads of questionable behavior. Various high-ranking soccer officials who took part in the 2010 vote have since been banned from the sport or indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice.

The Qatar World Cup has provoked ethical and logistical concerns. Human rights groups have highlighted the gulf states systemic exploitation and mistreatment of migrant workers, thousands of whom have helped build World Cup stadiums and infrastructure from scratch. Fans worry about everything from LGBTQ+ rights and womens rights in the host country to its hotel shortage. FIFA has known all along that Qatar, whose size would make it the 49th-biggest U.S. state, could be too small to host the worlds grandest single-sport tournament.

Story continues

But organizers have never wavered. Foreign fans, including thousands of Americans, are still buying tickets. And the geographically condensed nature of the tournament will have its benefits: All eight stadiums are within 40 miles and 50-minute drives of one another, in and around Doha, the Qatari capital.

Twenty-nine of the 32 spots are accounted for. The qualified teams are (sorted by confederation and listed best-to-worst):

SOUTH AMERICA: Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, EcuadorEUROPE: France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, England, Netherlands, Denmark, Croatia, Switzerland, Poland, SerbiaAFRICA: Senegal, Morocco, Cameroon, Tunisia, GhanaNORTH/CENTRAL AMERICA: U.S., Mexico, CanadaASIA: Iran, Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Qatar (hosts)

The final three berths are up for grabs in playoffs in June. Costa Rica will face New Zealand for one of the three. Australia will play the United Arab Emirates for the right to take on (and probably lose to) Peru for another spot.

The third will go to either Wales, Scotland or Ukraine. The Ukraine-Scotland playoff semifinal was postponed from March until June because of the war. The semifinal winner will meet Wales a few days later for a win-and-in playoff final.

Italy, shockingly, lost to North Macedonia and failed to qualify for a second straight mens World Cup. Colombia, Chile, Nigeria and Egypt will also be absent. Sweden was the next-best European team to miss out. Russia was banned after its invasion of Ukraine.

Among players, Egypts Mo Salah and Norways Erling Haaland are the biggest stars who wont be present.

The 2022 World Cup draw is Friday. (Photo by FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)

The U.S. will learn its group stage opponents at the World Cup draw, which takes place this Friday, April 1 in Qatar. The listed start time is noon ET (FS1, Telemundo). The actual drawing of the 32 teams into eight groups will likely happen closer to 12:30 or 1 p.m.

The U.S. will be seeded in Pot 2 out of 4, meaning it will match up with one top seed, and one team each from Pots 3 and 4. The pots, which will be based on the FIFA rankings released Thursday, will be as follows:

POT 1: Qatar, Brazil, Belgium, France, Argentina, England, Spain, PortugalPOT 2: Netherlands, Mexico, U.S., Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, Uruguay, CroatiaPOT 3: Senegal, Japan, Iran, Serbia, Morocco, South Korea, Poland, TunisiaPOT 4: Canada, Cameroon, Ecuador, Saudi Arabia, Ghana, Peru/Australia/UAE, Costa Rica/New Zealand, Wales/Scotland/Ukraine

The simple analysis goes like this:

Qatar is the prize from Pot 1. It is seeded as the host, not as a top-eight team in the world. Its group will almost certainly end up being the weakest.

Non-European teams cannot draw nations from their own confederation meaning the U.S. wont get Canada or the Costa Rica-New Zealand playoff winner from Pot 4. This also means, for example, that if it gets South Korea from Pot 3, it cannot get Saudi Arabia from Pot 4.

The USMNTs dream draw is Qatar-Tunisia-Wales/Scotland/Ukraine (or Ecuador from Pot 4).

The USMNTs dream draw that doesnt include Qatar is Spain/Portugal-Tunisia-Saudi Arabia or Spain/Portugal-South Korea-Ghana.

The USMNTs nightmare draw is either Brazil-Serbia-Wales/Scotland/Ukraine or France-Serbia-Peru.

FIFA released the official procedures for the draw last week, if youd like to climb into the weeds.

Fox and Telemundo have TV and digital streaming rights in the U.S.

Beginning Nov. 21 and ending Nov. 28, throughout the first two rounds of the group stage, there will be four games per day in four standalone windows, at 1 p.m., 4, 7 and 10 Qatar time which is 5 a.m., 8, 11 and 2 p.m. ET. (The U.S. east coast is eight hours behind Qatar in the fall and winter.)

The final group matches, the Round of 16 and the quarterfinals will kick off at either 11 a.m. ET or 2 p.m. ET. The semifinals are at 2 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Dec. 13 and Wednesday, Dec. 14. The final is at 11 a.m. ET on Sunday, Dec. 18. (The full pre-draw schedule is here.)

Group stage kickoff times will be assigned after the draw. FIFA typically tries to accommodate major markets and maximize TV viewership at home, so unless the USMNT draws Japan or Korea, its games will likely start at 11 a.m. or 2 p.m. ET, not 5 a.m. or 8.

If work will interfere with your weekday viewing, take solace in this: One of the first two U.S. games will take place on either Thanksgiving (Groups G and H), Black Friday (Groups A and B) or that weekend (Groups C, D, E and F).

A lot. The rosters that opened the 2022 cycle and clinched qualification for the U.S. featured just four players from the team that lost in Trinidad on Oct. 10, 2017. The player pool has gotten younger and more talented. The team culture has improved significantly under head coach Gregg Berhalter, who was hired in December 2018. Theres also a new general manager former USMNT striker Brian McBride and a new sporting director former USMNT striker Earnie Stewart. And above them, theres a new CEO (Will Wilson) and president (former USWNT midfielder Cindy Parlow Cone).

The changes came slowly, in stages, but were ultimately sweeping, and this USMNT will look nothing like the one that failed to qualify five years ago.

Realistically, probably not. Theoretically, theres a slim chance.

The more reasonable statement would be that the Americans are semifinal dark horses in large part because theyre so young. This past summer, when they beat Mexico in a manic Nations League final, and then again at the Gold Cup two months later, they were the youngest team in program history, and the youngest national team in the world. Their best players Christian Pulisic (23), Tyler Adams (23), Weston McKennie (23), Sergio Dest (21), Brenden Aaronson (21), Gio Reyna (19), Yunus Musah (19), Ricardo Pepi (23) are all youthful and still growing.

The true contenders remain several steps ahead of the U.S. The favorites, per BetMGM, are:

1. Brazil (+550)2. France (+550)3. England (+700)4. Spain (+750)5. Germany (+900)6. Argentina (+1000)7. Belgium (+1000)8. Portugal (+1000)

Brazil and Argentina are the best bets at those odds. Both ran through South Amerias qualifying gauntlet undefeated.

Eight months out, there appear to be roughly 13 near-locks for the U.S. squad, assuming health especially with rosters potentially expanding from 23 to 26. Heres our projection:

(Roster bubble players in italics)

GOALKEEPERS: Zack Steffen, Matt Turner, Ethan Horvath

FULLBACKS: Sergio Dest, Antonee Robinson, DeAndre Yedlin, Joe Scally

CENTER BACKS: Walker Zimmerman, Miles Robinson, Chris Richards, Aaron Long

MIDFIELDERS: Tyler Adams, Weston McKennie, Yunus Musah, Luca de la Torre, Gianluca Busio, Kellyn Acosta

WINGERS/ATTACKING MIDFIELDERS: Christian Pulisic, Brenden Aaronson, Gio Reyna, Tim Weah, Paul Arriola

STRIKERS: Ricardo Pepi, Jesus Ferreira, Josh Sargent, Jordan Pefok

ALSO CONSIDERED: Sean Johnson (GK), John Brooks (CB), Tim Ream (CB/LB), Reggie Cannon (RB), George Bello (LB), James Sands (CB/CM), Christian Roldan (CM/everywhere), Sebastian Lletget (CM/AM), Jordan Morris (W), Caden Clark (W/AM), Gyasi Zardes (ST)

Likely in early November. FIFA hasnt yet set a roster deadline, but in 2018, it was 10 days before the first match. (Preliminary rosters of 35 players were due a month in advance, but those dont usually reveal much.)

European clubs, however, will play matches on the weekend of Sunday, Nov. 13, and wont be required to release players to their national teams until Monday, Nov. 14, which will complicate and condense preparations. Berhalter will likely name a squad, convene a group of the squads MLS-based players and others in the U.S., then travel to Europe and eventually Qatar to meet up with the European-based players.

If one of them gets injured after being named to the roster, he can be replaced up until 24 hours before the start of his teams first match, per tournament regulations.

Typically, all of this would happen in May and June. Thered be an extended stateside training camp, sendoff friendlies, media extravaganzas and more. None of that will be possible ahead of Qatar.

Read more here:

The USMNT is back in the World Cup. Heres everything you need to know about Qatar 2022 - Yahoo Sports

Yahoo Sports Senior NFL Writer Charles Robinson and Yahoo Sports Columnist Shalise Manza Young discuss the NFLs decision to require each of their clubs to hire a female or a member of an ethnic or racial minority to serve as an offensive assistant. Hear the full conversation on the You Pod to Win the Game podcast. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher or wherever you listen.

CHARLES ROBINSON: You see the league now starting to make strides, or trying to attempt, however you want-- if you want to say they're doing it for optics, you want to say they're actually doing it to try and change things-- however you want to absorb it, there's movement. And the movement, I think, is absolutely spurred by the Brian Flores lawsuit. And I think part of it today was know Roger Goodell got asked about this adding a minority in an offensive assistant position-- mandating it. And the league's thought process is, offensive coaches are getting hired like crazy, OK? And we need more minority positions. We need more minorities on the offensive side of the ball to start to grow that tree, grow the pool of candidates. This is clearly what teams are hiring. We need minorities groomed on this side of the ball. And it is just not happening right now. So we need to go ahead and attack it head on. SHALISE MANZA YOUNG: But they're there. They're there. They're there. Byron Leftwich should be the coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars. CHARLES ROBINSON: I'm not-- I'm not defending the stance or structure of it. SHALISE MANZA YOUNG: I know, you're just-- I'm not trying to shooting the messenger. But this idea-- because it just kind of feels like it goes back to, oh, the pipeline, the pipeline. It's there. There are men there. There are qualified, capable men of color on the offensive side of the ball who are there. You're just not hiring them. You're excluding them. And I struggle with this new thing about you have to have-- it's either an ethnic minority or a woman. And you know, to keep it 100, that puts me in a little bit of a mixed position. Because the data has shown that white women benefit more from affirmative action type rules than people of color do. So will it be great if we see a woman as an offensive coordinator in five or seven years? It would be amazing. But at the end of the day, I just am so pessimistic that anything's ever going to change and we're just going to keep seeing Black men, in particular, excluded from these positions. And you know, the gatekeepers in the NFL have been wrong all along. I mean, they deliberately excluded Black men from the game for years. Once they finally let them back in, it was only at the wide receiver or the running back position, because what was the thinking? Up until-- it still persists in some circles. Oh, Black men aren't leaders, they're not smart enough to be quarterbacks and all that kind of stuff. Well, that's been completely debunked because three or four of the best quarterbacks in the league right now are Black-- young Black quarterbacks. So it just feels like-- I'm just very pessimistic on this. I guess I shouldn't be, but I'm overly very pessimistic about-- CHARLES ROBINSON: Well, look. SHALISE MANZA YOUNG: This deliberate exclusion, it feels like. CHARLES ROBINSON: Track record supports pessimism. And it's endorsed pessimism, because there is a track record, particularly from the coaching standpoint of it. And let's be honest, there was a lot of pessimism when I started covering the league 20 years ago. There wasn't a plethora of Black quarterbacks at the position. It was still very much talked about like, hey, you know, it's never going to be an overwhelmingly mainstream position where you see Black players playing quarterback. And you know, it did change over time, but it was somewhat organic. It was someone on the collegiate level. Like, there was a number of factors that went into it. It wasn't just the NFL ramrodding it and going, we just need to-- it kind of did happen organically. Maybe that can happen organically here, although it's different, because it's talent acquisition versus leadership acquisition versus, you know, other elements of things that get measured. What I think, though, is interesting-- and I think the point I was trying to make was you see the NFL saying here's this thing that's not working. We just need to do this. And I think they even had to have known this is going to look like what I said-- ramrodding. Like, we're just straight up going-- but they're like-- I think the NFL is out of options. I don't think-- they're just like, look, we're just going to do it. Like, we don't care if people have an issue with it or not. Now it's a mandate. Like, we're done trying to entice, or incentivize, or all this other [BLEEP] We're just going to say, it's a mandate. We don't care.

Here is the original post:

Is mandating that all 32 teams hire a diverse offensive assistant the right move for the NFL? | You Pod to Win the Game - Yahoo Sports

Weeks after Russian soldiers took over the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in northern Ukraine, new reports reveal that the invading forces have engaged in reckless behavior at the facility beyond their initial shelling of it.

The Chernobyl power plant, which suffered a reactor meltdown in 1986 that left dangerously high radiation levels in the area, was the site of one of the first face-to-face confrontations in the Ukraine War. Russian forces won that battle, taking control of the reactors and raising concerns throughout Europe about their stewardship of them.

Recent reports show just how real those concerns were.

While the Russian army has occupied the Chernobyl plant, Ukrainian workers remain stationed there and overseeing the sites safety protocols. Around 200 employees were still at Chernobyl as of March 7, according to the BBC, where they have continued carrying out duties despite limited food and medical supplies. Chernobyl workers are usually rotated out regularly, but since the Russian occupation employees have had to endure dangerous weeks-long shifts.

Two of these employees have reportedly witnessed instances of rash and dangerous conduct by the Russians, according to Reuters, with one source calling their behavior suicidal. Some soldiers had reportedly never heard about the disaster that some historians believe signaled the beginning of the end for the Soviet Union.

Shortly after the occupation started, Ukrainian officials warned that radiation levels at Chernobyl were rising due to a large number of heavy military machines disturbing the topsoil around the area. These reports have now been confirmed by employees working at Chernobyl around the time of the invasion who observed a big convoy of military vehicles driving straight through zones so contaminated with radiation that even trained safety workers at Chernobyl are not allowed to venture there.

Russian armored vehicles without radiation protection were seen driving through an area called the Red Forest, an area of woods four square miles in size surrounding the power plant. The area absorbed so much radiation from the Chernobyl explosion that its trees turned a gingery brown color, giving the forest its nickname. It is considered one of the worlds most radioactive places.

Story continues

The employees said that the military vehicles kicked up a big column of dust, which may be what sent radiation levels soaring in the area following the invasion. The workers believed that breathing in that much radioactive dust could cause radiation poisoning, which can quickly turn lethal.

Valery Seida, the acting general of Chernobyl, has not been at the power plant since the invasion and could not verify the reports, but did confirm several witness accounts of recklessness by Russian soldiers who drove wherever they needed to, without heeding the warnings of plant safety officials.

The Russian army has made occupying nuclear power plants a common practice during its campaign in Ukraine. Around a week after taking Chernobyl, Russian forces took over the Zaporizhzhia plant, Europe's largest nuclear plant, in southern Ukraine.

Ukrainian and Western officials have said that keeping radiation levels at nuclear power plants contained is of paramount importance. In a nearly two-hour call earlier in March, French President Emmanuel Macron spent most of the conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin discussing safety protocols at Chernobyl and other nuclear power plants in Ukraine.

Since being taken by Russian forces, Chernobyl has lost electrical power multiple times, which Ukrenergo, Ukraines electrical grid operator, has said could impair the plants safety and containment protocols.

Ongoing military activity in the area surrounding Chernobyl has continued well into March. Last week, the International Atomic Energy Agency warned that Russian shelling near the plant was preventing workers from rotating their shifts after nearly weeks of continuous work, endangering the plant and its safety protocols.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

Visit link:

Chernobyl employees say Russian soldiers had no idea what the plant was and call their behavior suicidal - Yahoo Finance

Special to Yahoo Sports

[Batter up: Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Baseball league for free today]

After a string of 11 (!) games in which Hellebuyck allowed at least three goals, the former Vezina winner has returned to form lately with five goals allowed in his last three games, including a 42-save shutout win against Vegas. His raw numbers still aren't very good, but at least he's still winning games. Despite a 3.15 GAA in March, which ranks 12th of 15 goalies with at least 10 appearances, Hellebuyck has still managed to win seven games, tied for the second-most in the month. He's been able to do this because the Jets' offense has been excellent during that span, averaging the fourth-best GF/GP. With Nikolaj Ehlers back, the Jets' offense is pretty much at full strength, and as long as their offense flies high, it should make it easy for Hellebuyck to rack up wins.

Connor Hellebuyck's resurgence has gone hand-in-hand with the Jets' healthy offense. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Other than a disastrous January (2-4-1, .884 Sv%, 4.61 GAA), Reimer has been very good this season and in March has allowed just eight even-strength goals in six games. The Sharks aren't very good, but Reimer is a big reason why they've steered clear of the league basement all season, and even with Adin Hill and the recently added Kaapo Kahkonen on the depth chart, there's no question the Sharks think Reimer's their No. 1.

He's won three consecutive games. Granted, two of those games were against Arizona and Anaheim, but there are still two more games against them, not to mention they will also face Chicago twice and Seattle once more. Reimer is a good option for the occasional spot start down the stretch for fantasy managers scouring the waiver wire for an extra win or two.

It's not that Kallgren has played particularly well since his shutout debut, but another injury less than eight minutes into Petr Mrazek's start Tuesday against the Bruins has opened the door yet again for Kallgren to start. Kallgren allowed three goals on 26 shots coming in relief, and thanks to the Leafs' six-goal effort, managed to snag another win. Early reports indicate it's Mrazek's troublesome groin yet again, and Jack Campbell's return date has still not been set even though he's been practicing. The Leafs can provide a ton of good goal support, making Kallgren a good short-term target for fantasy managers.

Story continues

Perhaps we shouldn't be too surprised a 25-year-old undrafted goalie is saving the Knights' season, fitting right in with the rest of their "Golden Misfits." Thompson's circuitous path to the NHL had its skeptics, including the Knights themselves who started Laurent Brossoit in back-to-back games not too long ago. But Thompson continues to outplay Brossoit, and with news that Robin Lehner's rehab has suffered a setback, it looks like Thompson will continue to start. He's rostered in less than 15 percent of Yahoo leagues, and note the Knights have a very favorable schedule coming up, facing Arizona, Seattle twice and Vancouver three times.

Don't be surprised if Thompson emerges in the next couple of weeks as one of the league's best goalies, statistically, given his easy schedule.

Disregarding his 6-3 loss to the Bruins, in which the Islanders allowed an uncharacteristically high 44 shots, Varlamov has been very good the last two weeks. It feels like Varlamov's having a terrible season, but it's not really true if you look at his individual performance. By most public GSAA models, Varlamov continues to be well above average; his six wins in 21 starts is a huge eyesore, but it's mainly because he gets very, very little goal support. That may change now that Brock Nelson's line has been setting the league on fire, but Varlamov's fantasy value will get a big boost because of an injury to his running mate, Ilya Sorokin, who did not travel to Tuesday's game in Columbus. What was a 50-50 timeshare is now Varlamov's net since the Isles have shown a strong reluctance to play Cory Schneider.

Forsberg's raw numbers are excellent; it's just too bad the team in front of him isn't that good, with the likes of Travis Hamonic and Michael Del Zotto on defense. It's taken a lot of attention away from just how reliable Forsberg has been, whose strong performances recently netted him a multi-year extension, and with Matt Murray on the shelf and Filip Gustavsson giving little reason for the coaches to trust him, look for Forsberg to be Ottawa's undisputed No. 1. Managers looking to rack up the saves should look no further.

Honorable Mention: Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta, Hurricanes; Cam Talbot and Marc-Andre Fleury, Wild; Jake Allen, Canadiens; Andrei Vasilevskiy, Lightning

There's been zero stability in the Caps' net all season and Vanecek has allowed 15 goals in his last four games, including five on just 23 shots in just two periods against the Canes. The irony with goaltending is that some goalies prefer to see more shots because it helps them get into a groove, and that does seem to be the case for Vanecek. However, note that the Caps have a tough stretch coming up against Minnesota, Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh, Boston and Toronto. Even if Ilya Samsonov somehow returns to be a hero, fantasy managers should not put too much confidence in either goalie. It's best to just avoid them altogether down the stretch due to their inconsistency and general unreliability.

Lankinen is rostered in nearly 30 percent of Yahoo leagues, an expected spike after Marc-Andre Fleury was dealt to Minnesota, paving the way for Lankinen to be their starter the rest of the season. However, Lankinen continues to struggle and there's definitely a scenario in which third-string Collin Delia begins to siphon some starts. Even in the best-case scenario, Lankinen and Delia will just give the Hawks a chance to stay in the game and cross their fingers in the hopes that their offense bails them out. Neither goalie is recommended in any fantasy leagues in any format.

Dishonorable Mention: John Gibson and Lukas Dostal, Ducks; Karel Vejmelka, Coyotes; Jacob Markstrom, Flames; Alex Nedeljkovic, Thomas Greiss and Calvin Pickard, Red Wings; Mike Smith and Mikko Koskinen, Oilers; Cal Petersen, Kings; Juuse Saros, Predators; Nico Daws, Devils; Igor Shesterkin and Alexandar Georgiev, Rangers

[Play in one of Yahoo's NHL DFS contests]

Read the original:

Fantasy Hockey Goalies: Connor Hellebuyck has returned to form at the perfect time - Yahoo Sports

(Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc. extended gains on Tuesday, in a winning-streak last seen nearly two decades ago, as improved risk sentiment is sending investors back to the largest U.S. technology companies.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Apple rose for an 11th-consecutive day in New York, climbing 1.9% to close at $178.96 and roughly $3 shy of a closing record reached in early January. The longest-winning streak since 2003 sent the stock back into the green for the year, and follows similar breakouts in Nvidia Corp. and Amazon.com Inc. in the past week.

What were seeing is the difference between companies that are actually performing phenomenally well and those whose future is harder to quantify, said Ross Gerber, chief executive officer of Gerber Kawasaki Inc. People are betting on the companies that are growing earnings the fastest over time.

With prospects for some scaling back in the war in Ukraine boosting risk sentiment, attention turned to Apples profits outlook. Analysts have increased their earnings per share estimates by 8.6% so far this year, while those for the S&P 500 have gained 4.6%, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Investors also largely bypassed a Nikkei report about production cuts, leaving the stock within striking distance of a $3 trillion market value.

The recent rally comes after a difficult start of the year for big tech, whose marquee names had fallen behind the broader market as the Federal Reserve signaled it would raise interest rates multiple times. Higher interest rates hurt the present value of future profits, hurting growth stocks with lofty valuations, including technology.

Read more: Key Treasury Curve Inches Closer to Inversion as Yields Decline

Story continues

But investors who initially fled the sector have started to come back, enticed by discounts and the belief large technology companies with strong balance sheets and broad exposure to fast-growing markets like cloud computing can continue to churn out bigger profits.

The selloff got overdone, and took these big tech names down to levels that were very attractive, said David Katz, chief investment officer at Matrix Asset Advisors. Apple is a very strong and dynamic growth company, and it remains at the better end of the pack in terms of its valuation.

Confounding Rally

Among the other Nasdaq 100 bellwethers, Amazon rose 0.2% on Tuesday, while Alphabet Inc. advanced 0.7% and Microsoft Corp. gained 1.5%. Despite this weeks rebound, the Nasdaq 100 remains down about 7% for the year.

The rally in big tech amid rising interest rates has left some investors scratching their heads. The yield on 10-year U.S. Treasuries has advanced more than 50 basis points this month to 2.39%.

Lisa Shalett, chief investment officer of Wealth Management at Morgan Stanley, wrote that the advance in the teach-heavy Nasdaq 100 has been confounding, as it comes at a time of higher interest rates as the Fed takes steps to fight inflation.

To Bill Stone, chief investment officer at Glenview Trust Co., the rally in big tech is a matter of investors looking to add to portfolios after the selloff and seeking out stocks with the highest returns on capital and low amounts of debt.

People are going shopping and they are certainly the ones that people will look at first, he said. Weve been telling clients to move to quality in case we go into a recession. Companies with low debt and high returns on capital wont suffer as much.

(Updates with closing prices throughout.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2022 Bloomberg L.P.

Read the original post:

Apple Rallies Like Its 2003 as Buyers Flock Back to Big Tech - Yahoo Finance

Sophomore players are among the hardest to predict in fantasy baseball. They tend to be young, exciting players, but they also have small sample sizes of MLB data. Some players take a massive step forward in their sophomore year, while others fall victim to the dreaded sophomore slump.

Here are the 14 players who received multiple votes in the 2021 Rookie of the Year voting, and a quick-hitting analysis of where they are likely headed in 2022.

Arozarena looks great on the surface. After all, he followed up a memorable 2020 postseason by going 20-20 with a .274 average last year. But a closer look raises some cause for concern, as Arozarena struck out 170 times, and according to Statcast logged a lowly .220 xBA. Im avoiding the outfielder at his current Yahoo! ADP (54).

India created plenty of buzz in Spring Training but started the season slowly before warming up with the weather and being a terrific leadoff man all summer. I expect India to build off his rookie season, although his counting stats may be dinged by the Reds' decision to deplete their lineup. Still, Im happy to draft him at his ADP (pick 89).

[Batter up: Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Baseball league for free today]

Rogers was brilliant last season, posting a 2.64 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. He made just 25 starts, but his August absence was due to a family emergency rather than an injury, which makes me feel comfortable projecting the right-hander for 30 starts this year. The Marlins are trending up, and I like Rogers at his ADP (pick 107).

Trevor Rogers could pay off his fantasy baseball ADP in a big way. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

Garcia was an afterthought in 2021 drafts before making 30 appearances (28 starts) and posting helpful ratios (3.48 ERA, 1.18 WHIP). The right-hander is backed by one of baseballs best teams and a pitcher-friendly home park, and he is one of my favorite value picks at his current ADP (pick 150).

Franco is going to be one of the better players in the American League this year. This 21-year-old budding star has it all, and I can see him hitting .300 with an .850 OPS in his first full season. But Im still not drafting Franco at his ADP (pick 42), as he produced just seven homers and two steals in 70 games last year and needs to show more power or speed before warranting an early pick.

Story continues

Garcia started out hot (.840 first-half OPS) before fading badly in the second half (.626 OPS). The outfielder struggled to make contact (31.2 percent strikeout rate) and finished the year with a lowly .223 xBA, according to Statcast. Im staying far away from Garcia (ADP 169) in my 2022 drafts.

Carlson was solid as a rookie (.780 OPS) but doesnt steal bases and isnt a Statcast darling (.246 xBA). I would normally predict significant regression, but I know that there is good potential for continued skill development from someone who held his own in the Majors at age 22. I likely wont draft Carlson in any leagues this year, but Im fine with anyone who tabs him at his ADP (pick 156).

Clase is already one of the best closers in baseball and should notch 30-plus saves in his sophomore season. Im happy to draft Clase (pick 96) at any point after the top-three closers (Liam Hendriks, Josh Hader, Raisel Iglesias) are off the board.

The slugger carries a significant level of risk despite hitting 33 homers last year. His strikeout rate (27.5 percent in 2021) limits his ability to hit for a high average, and his power production should be negatively impacted by the decision to move the outfield fences back in Camden Yards. Im avoiding him at his ADP (pick 111).

Anderson has emerged as a solid starter but is unlikely to take the next step anytime soon. The right-hander mixes three pitches well and gets plenty of groundballs. But his 13.3 percent K-BB rate last season was a subpar mark, and his 4.30 xERA and 4.12 FIP paints a picture of someone who will contribute to fantasy teams but is being over-drafted at his current ADP (pick 137).

[Try Yahoo Fantasy Plus for free to get premium baseball draft tools and more]

McClanahan is a bit of a mixed bag. His rookie season K-BB rate was good (20.1 percent), he regularly mixes four pitches and he works for a team that typically provides fantasy managers with strong pitching options. That being said, he gave up plenty of line drives and hard contact last year, causing Statcast to assign him a 4.60 xERA. Still, Im good with drafting McClanahan at his ADP (pick 114).

Stephenson is someone who should take another step forward this season. The Reds have opened up more playing time for the sophomore by trading away Tucker Barnhart. Stephenson (ADP 193) could immediately become one of the few catchers who supplies respectable power and helps with batting average.

Schwindel will open the season as one of the biggest mysteries in fantasy baseball. Such is life for someone who broke out at age 29 by posting a 1.002 OPS across 56 games with the Cubs. Chicago thought enough of Schwindels performance to have him open 2022 as their starting first baseman, making this boom-or-bust option a fine choice at his ADP (pick 181).

The rookie is someone who could take a small step back this year. The imposing right-hander certainly has strikeout skills (10.2 K/9 rate) but is still working on his control (3.2 K/9 rate) and last year logged a 3.80 FIP and 4.17 xFIP that dont match his 3.22 ERA. Im a little bit reluctant to draft Manoah at his pick 97 ADP.

More here:

Fantasy Baseball: What will 2022 hold for these intriguing second-year players? - Yahoo Sports

There's reason to believe the Detroit Tigers could be a lot better this season. The projections don't see it though.

The PECOTA projected season standings from Baseball Prospectus offers fans a chance to either complain (if their team is lower than expected) or praise PECOTA (if their team is higher than expected). The fan base with the biggest issue this season is the Tigers.

The Tigers' projected win total is a full 11 games under its BetMGM odds. PECOTA has the Tigers at 67.3 wins, which is 11.2 wins less than the BetMGM season win total of 78.5. No other team has a difference of more than 7.8 wins between PECOTA projection and BetMGM odds.

Tigers fans shouldn't be too happy with that.

The optimism about the Tigers is twofold. They have young players on the rise and added some key veterans.

The Tigers have some prospects like Spencer Torkelson and Riley Greene who probably should be on the opening day roster and could make an impact right away. Players like outfielder Akil Baddoo and pitcher Tarik Skubal could take steps forward after showing some promise.

This offseason, Detroit added shortstop Javier Baez, pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez and catcher Tucker Barnhart. The AL Central isn't too strong outside of the Chicago White Sox, and the Tigers saw an opportunity to take a step forward. They got aggressive.

If everything comes together, Detroit could improve from last season's 77-85 record. That's why BetMGM's season win total is set at 78.5. Just don't tell that to PECOTA, which is not a big Detroit fan this season. If you trust that projection, a Tigers under bet is pretty easy.

Detroit Tigers center fielder Akil Baddoo (60) is a big part of the team's young core. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)

PECOTA, or any other projection, has flaws. It should not be the final word in anyone's future bets. But it's a tool, and if it is way off a team's odds, it's worth looking into.

There are other teams PECOTA hates. The San Francisco Giants' PECOTA projection of 77.7 wins seems crazy after they went 107-55 last season, but that's the second-biggest discrepancy compared to BetMGM odds. BetMGM has the Giants' season win total at 85.5, 7.8 off its PECOTA projection. The other teams whose BetMGM odds are five or more games higher than the PECOTA projections: St. Louis Cardinals (5.4-win difference), Tampa Bay Rays (5.2-win difference) and Kansas City Royals (5-win difference). If you trust PECOTA fully, those are your under bets this season.

The best over bet, based solely on PECOTA projections, is the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Diamondbacks' projection is 72.9, and the odds are set at 65.5. The Diamondbacks are interesting because Fangraphs' projections also like them. Fangraphs has Arizona at 70 wins, 4.5 wins over the BetMGM odds. Other possible over bets based on PECOTA projections: New York Yankees (7.2 wins over BetMGM odds) and Cincinnati Reds (5.9 over).

There's more to betting season win totals than blindly following a projection. But what projections do is eliminate the biases we can have and give us a win projection based on stats and simulations. And this season, the computers at least the ones at Baseball Prospectus really don't like the Tigers.

See more here:

MLB betting: Computer projections really hate Tigers (and other teams) this season - Yahoo Sports

On Wednesday, Baidu was added to an SEC provisional watchlist of companies that did not comply with auditing requirements. Here, people visit Baidu booth during 2021 World Artificial Intelligence Conference at Shanghai World Expo Center on July 10, 2021 in Shanghai, China.VCG/VCG via Getty Images

The SEC added Baidu to a provisional list of firms that failed US audit requirements.

If these firms continue to flout these requirements, they may be asked to delist in the US.

Beijing has rejected US demands to look into the audit books of its US-listed firms.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) warned Chinese search giant Baidu on Wednesday that it could be removed from American stock exchanges if it fails to comply with auditing requirements.

The SEC did so by adding Baidu to a provisional watchlist that names foreign companies that did not give US authorities full access to their audit books.

Google is among several western tech sites blocked by China's "Great Firewall." Baidu's dominance in online search in China has earned it the moniker "China's Google." It's the largest Chinese tech company by market value on the SEC's provisional list, which also includes China's version of Twitter, Weibo, and online video site iQiyi. These Chinese tech firms now have 15 business days to dispute the SEC's decision.

Companies that have been conclusively identified by the SEC will have to comply with the US Public Accounting Oversight Board's (PCAOB) audits for three years in a row. If they fail to comply, they may be kicked off US exchanges entirely.

The SEC's decision on Wednesday intensifies an ongoing dispute between American and Chinese regulators over granting US officials full access to US-listed Chinese firms' auditing data.

The watchlist was compiled based on the 2020 Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, which requires listed firms to prove that they're not owned or controlled by foreign governments. Even though the legislation applies to companies from any country, its sponsors have made it clear that they're targeting Chinese companies. Last year, the NYSE delisted China Unicom Hong Kong, China Mobile, and China Telecom for noncompliance.

Earlier this month, Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler said that the SEC was scrutinizing an additional 248 Chinese companies with a market capitalization of around $2.1 trillion.

Story continues

If China fails to provide access, said Gensler, those companies would be blocked from trading in the US "potentially as early as 2024."

Even though Beijing has rejected these demands citing national security concerns, it has, in recent weeks, been signaling that it's willing to find a compromise.

Chinese authorities have asked several large tech companies to prepare for more audit disclosures to US authorities to remain listed in America, Reuters reported. However, the PCAOB told Reuters they were still unsure if full access would be granted.

Read the original article on Business Insider

View original post here:

Wall Street told 'China's Google' that it may have to delist amid ongoing US-China discussions over audit dispute - Yahoo Finance