MICHELIN introduces two new light truck offers with the Defender LTX M/S2 and Defender LTX Platinum, continuing leadership in longevity and durability

  • When tested for treadwear on a diesel pickup truck, the Michelin Defender LTX Platinum tire lasted twice as long as the Defender LTX M/S.
  • The Michelin Defender LTX M/S2 tire outlasted three leading competitive tires by more than 25,000 miles on a treadwear test, delivering two extra years of treadlife.


GREENVILLE, S.C.–
As the light truck market continues to evolve and luxury vehicles push the capabilities of what heavy duty trucks can offer, Michelin is launching the new Defender LTX M/S2 and Defender LTX Platinum tires to provide consumers rugged durability, no matter the season.

“Light truck consumers have new demands and desires for their vehicles compared to previous generations, and Michelin is answering the call by upgrading the LTX tire line,” said Debora Junca, senior brand director for Michelin North America, Inc. “Creating new products like the Defender LTX Platinum and Defender LTX M/S2 tires delivers on our promise of longevity without compromise by being the leader in mileage. When a consumer sees the LTX name, they can trust in the performance over the life of the tire.”

Continuing the LTX legacy as one of the premier light truck tires in the market, the Defender LTX M/S2 tire uses the updated Evertread 2.0 compound to provide the best treadwear performance with excellent wet and snow grip throughout the life of the tire. Showcasing a 70,000-mile warranty for Euro-Metric sizes and a 50,000-mile warranty for LT-Metric, the Defender LTX M/S2 tire will have 53 sizes providing coverage on all 2013 or newer pickups and traditional SUVs.

Meeting the needs of the growing heavy-duty and luxury pickup truck market, the new Defender LTX Platinum tire will offer six 20” rim sizes with cutting-edge aesthetics and dramatically better treadlife than its competitive set. Featuring a 70,000-mile warranty, the all-new tread pattern and compound of the Defender LTX Platinum – derived from Michelin heavy truck technology – delivers outstanding wet and snow grip throughout the life of the tire.

Ensuring the tradition of comfort for Michelin LTX tires, both the Defender LTX M/S2 and Defender LTX Platinum tires are designed for smooth, even wear, so the last mile is as comfortably quiet as the first mile. Sizes for both tires will launch in stages over the next several months.

To find out which sizes are available today, please visit michelinman.com.

About Michelin North America, Inc. 

Michelin, the leading mobility company, is working with tires, around tires and beyond tires to enable Motion for Life. Dedicated to enhancing its clients’ mobility and sustainability, Michelin designs and distributes the most suitable tires, services and solutions for its customers’ needs. Michelin provides digital services, maps and guides to help enrich trips and travels and make them unique experiences. Bringing its expertise to new markets, the company is investing in high-technology materials, 3D printing and hydrogen, to serve a wide variety of industries — from aerospace to biotech. Headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina, Michelin North America, Inc. has approximately 23,000 employees and operates 34 production facilities in the United States and Canada. (michelinman.com)

For more information contact:

Contact: Christian Fisher
Email: christian.fisher@michelin.com | www.michelinmedia.com    

LexisNexis Launches Lexis+ AI, a Generative AI Solution with Hallucination-Free, Linked Legal Citations

New solution transforms legal work with the fastest legal generative AI on the market, delivering fully encrypted, secure interactions with accurate results in seconds

NEW YORK – LexisNexis® Legal & Professional, a leading global provider of information and analytics, today announced general availability of Lexis+ AI™ for U.S. customers, a generative AI solution designed to transform legal work. Lexis+ AI delivers trusted results in a familiar, easy-to-use interface with hallucination-free, linked legal citations that combine the power of generative AI with proprietary LexisNexis search technology, Shepard’s® Citations functionality, and authoritative content.

Developed with commercial preview users from leading global law firms, corporate legal departments, small law firms, and U.S. courts, Lexis+ AI answers are grounded in the world’s largest repository of accurate and exclusive legal content from LexisNexis. Lexis+ AI provides comprehensive results in seconds versus minutes, making it multiple times faster than any other legal generative AI solution available today. The solution’s AI capabilities were built internally at LexisNexis with world-leading tech partnerships, enabling the company to rapidly introduce new features and technology in a native environment and provide customers with a seamlessly integrated ecosystem.

Lexis+ AI is the only legal generative AI solution with citations linked in its responses, providing trusted legal results backed by verifiable authority. It minimizes the risk of invented content, or hallucinations, and checks all citations against Shepard’s to ensure citation validation. The solution also offers users the ability to input specific citations to verify accuracy and flag when a citation might be wrong. Customers can give instant feedback within the product to continually improve product performance, content relevance, and overall product accuracy.

Lexis+ AI features conversational search, intelligent legal drafting, insightful summarization, and document upload capabilities, all supported by state-of-the-art encryption and privacy technology to keep sensitive data secure:

Conversational search simplifies complex and time-consuming legal research by enabling users to conversationally interact with Lexis+ AI, explore new insights, and ask for adjusted and refined output.

Document drafting instantly produces legal arguments, contract clauses, and client communications from a simple user prompt.

Summarization functionality delivers case summaries in seconds with more content and capabilities coming soon.

Document upload capabilities enable users to rapidly analyze, summarize, and extract key insights from legal documents.

Lexis+ AI offers industry-leading data security and attention to privacy. Uploaded documents are always purged at the end of each session and users can easily manage or delete their prompt conversation history. The solution is continually improving with hundreds of thousands of rated answer samples by LexisNexis legal subject matter experts used for model tuning. LexisNexis employs over 2,000 technologists, data scientists, and subject matter experts to develop, test, and validate its solutions and deliver comprehensive, accurate information.

“This is a moment unlike any we’ve seen in the legal industry, and we are delighted to deliver generative AI that will safely and securely accelerate our customers’ success,” said Sean Fitzpatrick, CEO of LexisNexis North America, UK, and Ireland. “Lexis+ AI gives legal professionals a significant competitive advantage by driving improved speed, productivity, and work quality gains for law firms and their clients.”

LexisNexis deploys ethical, powerful generative AI solutions with a flexible, multi-model approach that prioritizes using the best model for each individual legal use case. This approach includes working with large language models like Anthropic’s Claude 2, hosted on Amazon Bedrock from Amazon Web Services (AWS), and OpenAI’s GPT-4 and ChatGPT, hosted on Microsoft Azure.

“It’s gratifying to see our longstanding relationship and joint innovation with LexisNexis Legal & Professional continue to grow, especially in this new era of generative AI,” said Scott Liska, Vice President, Strategic Accounts, Amazon Web Services. “LexisNexis was an early adopter of Amazon Bedrock, using the service to customize a foundation model and launch Lexis+ AI on AWS. The result is a cloud solution that dramatically improves productivity for legal professionals, harnessing the power of LexisNexis’ search and legal citation technology and our shared commitment to security and privacy.”

“Together with the LexisNexis team, we have built a custom, fine-tuned model that achieves significant performance gains in legal use cases such as drafting legal memos, identifying relevant case law, and legal document summarization and upload, while prioritizing safety,” said Neerav Kingsland, Anthropic’s Head of Strategic Partnerships. “Our companies are working together to build responsible AI solutions that boost efficiency and productivity for legal professionals, and we are excited about how Lexis+ AI will start to transform their work.”

LexisNexis is responsibly developing legal AI solutions with human oversight. LexisNexis, part of RELX, follows the RELX Responsible AI Principles, considering the real-world impact of its solutions on people and taking action to prevent the creation or reinforcement of unfair bias.

The Lexis+ AI Insider program, which is open to all legal professionals, is designed to support the legal industry with generative AI education and LexisNexis breaking news on the latest AI developments. More than 12,000 Insiders have signed up to be among the first to experience Lexis+ AI. To sign up for the Lexis+ AI Insider program, visit www.lexisnexis.com/ai-insider.

With unprecedented pre-sales of Lexis+ AI, onboarding for customers in the U.S. is currently being scheduled. For more information on Lexis+ AI and to sign up for a demo, visit www.lexisnexis.com/ai.

About LexisNexis Legal & Professional
LexisNexis Legal & Professional provides legal, regulatory, and business information and analytics that help customers increase their productivity, improve decision-making, achieve better outcomes, and advance the rule of law around the world. As a digital pioneer, the company was the first to bring legal and business information online with its Lexis® and Nexis® services. LexisNexis Legal & Professional, which serves customers in more than 150 countries with 11,300 employees worldwide, is part of RELX, a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers.

Media Contact
Dana Greenstein
Director of Communications, North America & UK
LexisNexis Legal & Professional
212-448-2163
dana.greenstein@lexisnexis.com

Southern Stars Shine in Premiere of MICHELIN Guide Atlanta

  • Five restaurants receive a MICHELIN Star in inaugural selection
  • City boasts two restaurants earning MICHELIN Green Star
  • 10 Bib Gourmand, plus four Special Awards, also revealed
  • 45 total restaurants, 23 cuisine types reflected in Guide

 

ATLANTA, Oct. 24, 2023 The first MICHELIN Guide Atlanta has been revealed, and the selection features five one-MICHELIN-Star establishments and two MICHELIN Green Star eateries. Bacchanalia brought home one of each.

The full selection, including Bib Gourmand restaurants and Recommended eateries, totals 45 restaurants. Chefs and restaurant teams were honored Tuesday night at the Rialto Center for the Arts.

“Our famously anonymous inspectors enjoyed experiencing Atlanta and its dynamic culinary landscape,” said Gwendal Poullennec, the International Director of the MICHELIN Guides. “They came away impressed with the diverse offerings, as the selection of restaurants not only reflects a taste of the South, but also has a good deal of international flavor. There is so much for foodies to savor here. Whether they’re local residents or international travelers, they’re in for a treat!”

Here are the new one-MICHELIN-Star restaurants, with inspector notes from each (Inspectors’ comments in full on the MICHELIN Guide website and mobile app):

One MICHELIN Star

Atlas (American cuisine)

When the night calls for a grand celebration, few places fit quite like Atlas. Order à la carte from Chef Freddy Money’s seasonal American menu with European influences or celebrate with the tasting menu for dishes like tender lobster plated with smoked paprika butter sauce and heirloom summer squash, and poached halibut composed with a trio of beet preparations. Wagyu beef from Australia is a decadent end to the savory courses. Impressive cocktails, a cheese cart and whimsical desserts complete the well-rounded experience.

Bacchanalia (American cuisine)

Chefs/Owners Anne Quatrano and Clifford Harrison and Executive Chef Kai NaLampoon offer a multicourse prix fixe that involves a bit of flair, with some dishes arriving on carts or nestled inside glass cloches, and the cheese course is a wonderful surprise. Rather than an expected slice, the team presents a clever take with a crumbly oat date cake and a dot of black garlic sauce surrounded by rings of parmesan. Chilled lobster in a ponzu sauce with bright English peas and horseradish oil is also memorable, but it may just be the delicate grapefruit soufflé garnished with spicy pistachio crumble and rose crème anglaise that takes the cake.

Hayakawa (Japanese cuisine)

A local legend for his Japanese cuisine on Buford Highway, Chef Atsushi Hayakawa has begun a new chapter in West Midtown. The meal is a procession of small courses and hews toward the structure of kaiseki. After items such as an appetizer trio with clear fish soup, scallop sashimi with miso-mustard sauce and simmered monkfish, it’s time for sushi. The chef crafts nigiri from imported fish that needs little embellishment and is amply sized in the tradition of Hokkaido style in deference to the chef’s hometown.

Lazy Betty (Contemporary cuisine)

Chef Ron Hsu and Chef Aaron Phillips oversee a contemporary tasting menu with clever flavor combinations that highlight regional ingredients. Causa is given a Southern slant with sweet Georgia shrimp, avocado purée and potato foam infused with aji amarillo pepper, while seared Hudson Valley foie gras is sided by Granny Smith apple, sweet potato and dots of pumpkin butter. From the pre-dessert lemon sherbet with a coconut crumble to the elegant rosewater panna cotta, they impress to the end.

Mujō (Japanese cuisine)

Mujō is an intimate setting with a moody elegance. This is the domain of Chef J. Trent Harris and his skilled team who make all feel well cared for. Here, tradition has been replaced with a rollicking good time, where the always-surprising interpretation of omakase begin with an array of zensai, like a morsel of Florida cobia grilled over binchotan, dressed with a red miso sauce and some local pattypan squash. After some cooked bites, it’s time for the raw. Nigiri needs little to impress, while supplemental dishes offer the likes of Hokkaido hair crab, tosazu and mozuku.

MICHELIN Green Star

Bacchanalia (American cuisine)

Chefs own and operate Summerland Farm in Cartersville, Georgia, where they grow much of their produce and harvest eggs. They also have a composting program, and they feed chickens with vegetable scraps.

The Chastain (American cuisine)

Chef Christopher Grossman’s menu changes often, depending on what’s available from local farm partners and in his onsite regenerative-farmed garden. The Chastain recently joined Georgia Organics to help quantify local and organic food purchases. The team composts on site and also uses a compost company to reduce landfill waste. They also recycle glass and use compostable carryout containers.

Bib Gourmand

The MICHELIN Guide inspectors gave 10 restaurants the Bib Gourmand distinction, which recognizes eateries for great food at a great value: Antico Pizza Napoletana, Arepa Mia, Banshee, Bomb Biscuit Co., The Busy Bee, Estrellita, Fishmonger, Fred’s Meat & Bread, Heirloom Market BBQ, and Little Bear.

MICHELIN Special Awards

In addition to the Bib Gourmand and Stars, the Guide announced four Special Awards:

The MICHELIN Guide Ceremony is presented with the support of Capital One.

Hotels

The restaurants join the MICHELIN Guide selection of hotels, which features the most unique and exciting places to stay in Georgia and throughout the world.

Each hotel in the selection has been chosen by MICHELIN Guide experts for its extraordinary style, service and personality — with options for all budgets — and each can be booked directly through the MICHELIN Guide website and app. The selection for Georgia features the state’s most spectacular hotels, including design-forward boutiques like the Clermont in Atlanta and the Perry Lane in Savannah, standouts from our “Plus” collection like the intimate Stonehurst Place, music-inspired college-town haunts like Graduate Athens, and dependable luxury-boutique stalwarts like the Thompson and the Andaz.

The MICHELIN Guide is a benchmark in gastronomy. Now it’s setting a new standard for hotels. Visit the MICHELIN Guide website, or download the free app for iOS and Android, to discover every restaurant in the selection and book an unforgettable hotel.

About Michelin North America, Inc.

Michelin, the leading mobility company, is working with tires, around tires and beyond tires to enable Motion for Life. Dedicated to enhancing its clients’ mobility and sustainability, Michelin designs and distributes the most suitable tires, services and solutions for its customers’ needs. Michelin provides digital services, maps and guides to help enrich travel and make them unique experiences. Bringing its expertise to new markets, the company is investing in high-technology materials, 3D printing and hydrogen, to serve a wide variety of industries — from aerospace to biotech. Headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina, Michelin North America has approximately 23,000 employees and operates 34 production facilities in the United States and Canada. (michelinman.com)

About Capital One
At Capital One we’re on a mission for our customers – bringing them best-in-class products, rewards, service, and experiences. Capital One is a diversified bank that offers products and services to individuals, small businesses and commercial clients. We use technology, innovation, and interaction to provide consumers with products and services to meet their needs. Through Capital One Dining and Capital One Entertainment, we provide our rewards cardholders with access to unforgettable experiences in the areas they’re passionate about, including dining, music and sports. Learn more at capitalone.com/dining and capitalone.com/entertainment.

For more information, contact:

Andrew Festa
Michelin North America
andrew.festa@michelin.com

Devon Gunn
Capital One
devon.gunn@capitalone.com
Phone: 571-308-4762

National Advertising Division Finds Additional Disclosures for Spectrum Mobile “Speed Boost” Claim Not Needed in Spectrum Mobile Commercial

New York, NY – October 13, 2023 – In a Fast-Track SWIFT challenge brought by AT&T Services, Inc., the National Advertising Division (NAD) of BBB National Programs determined that no additional or more prominent disclosures regarding Spectrum Mobile’s “Speed Boost” feature were necessary in a thirty-second commercial for Charter Communication, Inc.’s Spectrum Mobile and Spectrum One Mobile home internet services.

Spectrum One is Charter’s brand name for converged product offerings that include Spectrum Internet, Spectrum Advanced WiFi, and Spectrum Mobile. Speed Boost is a technology that lets Spectrum Mobile customers receive faster wireless speeds on their Spectrum Mobile devices when connected to their Spectrum home WiFi network.

Fast-Track SWIFT is an expedited process designed for single-issue advertising cases brought to NAD. At issue for NAD was whether Charter should make more prominent disclosures regarding Speed Boost to avoid a misleading or unsupported claim. AT&T argued that the commercial failed to effectively disclose the limitations of Speed Boost while conveying a misleading message about the performance and availability of the feature.

In the challenged commercial, a voiceover states “At Spectrum Mobile, you get more with your mobile!” along with an on-screen list of product features, including “Unlimited Data. Unlimited Talk & Text. Reliable Coverage. Nationwide 5G. Secure WiFi. Speed Boost.” The end of the commercial displays a promotional offer for Spectrum One with a disclosure that states “Speed Boost available on Spectrum Mobile devices when connected to Spectrum Advanced WiFi.”

NAD determined that the advertising reasonably conveys the message that Speed Boost is one feature available to Spectrum Mobile customers as part of having the combined Spectrum One service and does not convey a broader message about the performance, availability, or access to Speed Boost.

In this context, NAD determined that no additional or more prominent disclosures regarding Speed Boost were necessary.

In its advertiser statement, Charter stated that it “appreciates NAD’s recognition that Charter may continue to make truthful and accurate claims regarding the availability and benefits of Mobile Speed Boost, and that Charter’s Speed Boost claim in this case does not need additional disclosures.”

All BBB National Programs case decision summaries can be found in the case decision library. For the full text of NAD, NARB, and CARU decisions, subscribe to the online archive. This release shall not be used for advertising or promotional purposes.

About BBB National Programs: BBB National Programs, a non-profit organization, is the home of U.S. independent industry self-regulation, currently operating more than a dozen globally recognized programs that have been helping enhance consumer trust in business for more than 50 years. These programs provide third-party accountability and dispute resolution services that address existing and emerging industry issues, create a fairer playing field for businesses, and a better experience for consumers. BBB National Programs continues to evolve its work and grow its impact by providing business guidance and fostering best practices in arenas such as advertising, child-and-teen-directed marketing, data privacy, dispute resolution, automobile warranty, technology, and emerging areas. To learn more, visit bbbprograms.org.

About the National Advertising Division: The National Advertising Division (NAD) of BBB National Programs provides independent self-regulation and dispute resolution services, guiding the truthfulness of advertising across the U.S. NAD reviews national advertising in all media and its decisions set consistent standards for advertising truth and accuracy, delivering meaningful protection to consumers and leveling the playing field for business. 

Contact:
Jennie Rosenberg
Media Relations
BBB National Programs
press@bbbnp.org

AI-Driven Partnership: Myndshft & Augmedix to Revolutionize Clinical Documentation & Prior Authorization

The Collaboration Aims to Significantly Boost Operational Efficiency, Enhancing Provider Experiences and Patient Outcomes

Mesa, AZ (October 5, 2023) — Healthcare tech leaders Myndshft, an automated prior authorization platform, and Augmedix (Nasdaq: AUGX), a healthcare technology company that delivers industry-leading, ambient medical documentation, announced today a plan for a strategic partnership to deeply integrate their platforms to create a combined offering for the healthcare market. Together, Augmedix and Myndshft plan to offer harmonized automation solutions to address the spectrum of critical administrative burdens that face healthcare providers, ensuring a superior healthcare experience for both practitioners and patients.

“Our alliance with Augmedix is a milestone in healthcare efficiency. We expect our merged technologies to streamline operations and ensure precision and care at every stage, from documentation of patient interactions, to prior authorization submissions and status monitoring. We aim to set a new benchmark in healthcare delivery standards,” remarks Ron Wince, CEO of Myndshft.

Countering Burnout with Advanced Tech

The American Medical Association has underscored the link between administrative pressures and its impact on clinician burnout and productivity. Augmedix’s industry-leading technology alleviates this burden by capturing patient-provider conversational data in real time and converting the data into medical notes. Myndshft provides further enhancements and ROI benefits, with a rapid provider-payer data exchange, automation of benefits verification, and streamlining of authorizations. Augmedix and Myndshft plan to collaborate to offer a combined implementation, support model, data model, and EHR integration infrastructure that enables providers to prioritize patient care over paperwork.

The key benefits of the Myndshft and Augmedix partnership will include:

 

  • Boosted Productivity: AI and automation can reduce prior authorization transaction times and EHR administrative entry times by 70% or more.1
     
  • Enhanced Accuracy: Quality medical notes and error-checked authorizations mitigate delays or denials.
     
  • Improved Reimbursements: Accurate clinical records and smoother authorizations reduce friction in providers’ revenue cycles.
     
  • Optimized Patient Care: Reduced administrative tasks let clinicians emphasize patient interactions, enhancing experiences and outcomes.
     

“Together with Myndshft, we are poised to transform healthcare documentation and delivery, from the exam room to the back office,” shared Ian Shakil, Founder, Director, and Chief Strategy Officer of Augmedix. “Augmedix is committed to not only directly tackling the critical administrative burdens of note-taking, but also to enabling an open ecosystem of partners and integrations to directly address other mounting administrative challenges that face providers beyond note creation.”

This partnership will allow Myndshft and Augmedix to set new standards, ensuring that clinicians can do what they do best—care for their patients. The parties have agreed in principle on a strategic partnership and are working towards the completion of a definitive agreement regarding the partnership.

1 Source: McKinsey

About Myndshft

Myndshft began with a mission to enable value-based care by empowering healthcare providers and payers to drive down costs and increase revenue while achieving optimal patient care.

Today, Myndshft is the only prior authorization platform in the market that consolidates drug management across both medical and pharmacy benefit types. Myndshft reduces manual work, eliminates duplication of effort, and shortens preauthorization cycle times so providers and payers can focus on patients, not paperwork.

For more information, visit www.myndshft.com.

About Augmedix

Augmedix (Nasdaq: AUGX) delivers industry-leading, ambient medical documentation and data solutions to healthcare systems, physician practices, hospitals, and telemedicine practitioners.

Augmedix is on a mission to help clinicians and patients form a human connection by seamlessly integrating our technology at the point of care. Augmedix’s proprietary platform digitizes the natural clinician-patient conversations, which are converted into comprehensive medical notes and structured data in real time. The company’s platform uses automatic speech recognition and natural language processing, including large language models, to generate accurate and timely medical notes that are transferred into the EHR.

Augmedix’s products relieve clinicians of administrative burden, in turn, reducing burnout, increasing clinician efficiency and improving patient access. Through Augmedix’s proprietary platform and bi-directional communication channel, Augmedix is ideally suited to serve as the vehicle for change at the point of care.

Augmedix is headquartered in San Francisco, CA, with offices around the world. To learn more, visit www.augmedix.com.

Myndshft Media Contact
Name: Jennifer Royle-Jones
Email: jen@myndshft.com
Phone: (480) 718-2163 ext. 719

Augmedix Media Contact
Name: Kaila Grafeman
Email: pr@augmedix.com
Phone: (888) 669-4885

STATE REPRESENTATIVES HARRIS AND SCHWEYER KICK-OFF PENNSYLVANIA EDUCATION TOUR

Pennsylvania Education Tour Kicks-Off in Pittsburgh October 5

HARRISBURG, PA., (October 3, 2023)– House Appropriations Committee Chairman Jordan Harris and House Education Chairman Pete Schweyer will kick-off the Pennsylvania Education Tour in Pittsburgh on Thursday, October 5, 2023.

As part of a joint effort between the House Appropriations and Education Committees, the statewide tour will examine education funding broadly in the wake of the Commonwealth Court’s ruling declaring Pennsylvania’s public education funding system unconstitutional and to assess efforts to address educational inequality in Pennsylvania, including existing and additional options to education.

“Now is not the time to be adversarial on the issue of education; it is the time to be visionary, it is the time to be inspirational and aspirational about what we could do as a Commonwealth with regards to our children,” said Representative Jordan Harris, Majority Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. “It is incumbent upon us to make the necessary changes to ensure that every child in Pennsylvania, regardless of zip code or economic status, has the opportunity to propel themselves, their family, and their community, upward through the power of education.”

The Pennsylvania Education Funding Tour will address the shared concerns beyond educational funding related to staffing shortage issues, school safety, infrastructure investments, and access to high-quality and equitable

schools. Tour stops throughout the state will invite parents, residents, community leaders, and education experts to come together, provide testimony, and collectively take on the responsibility of supporting and realizing equitable and safe schools for all Pennsylvania students.

“The challenge is more than just a financial one,” said Representative Pete Schweyer, Majority Chairman of the House Education Committee. “We must re-examine and reimagine the education system in Pennsylvania- not just how many dollars we spend on education but also how those dollars are being spent. That is why we, the Education and House Appropriations Committee members, will be embarking on this statewide tour throughout the Commonwealth to learn from experts on issues including funding challenges, school facilities, school-based mental health, and academic curriculum.”

The full list of Pennsylvania Education Tour dates and locations are as follows:

  • October 5- Allegheny Traditional Elementary Academy, 810 Arch Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15212

           1 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. Public Hearing & 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. Public Comment

  • October 6- Community College of Beaver County, Athletic & Events Center, 1 Campus Dr., Monaca, PA 15061

          10 a.m. – 1 p.m. Public Hearing

  • October 24- School District of Philadelphia, Administrative Building, Suite 301 440 N. Broad, Philadelphia, PA 19130

          1 p.m. – 4 p.m. Public Hearing & 6 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. Public Comment

  • October 25- Community College of Philadelphia Library & Learning Commons, Exhibit Hall 1700 Spring Garden Street, Philadelphia, PA 19130

          10 a.m. – 1 p.m. Public Hearing

  • November 2- Kings College, McGowan School of Business, Burke Auditorium 131 N. River St., Wilkes-Barre, PA 18711

          2 p.m. – 5 p.m. Public Hearing

  • November 16 – Norristown, PA

          1 p.m. – 4 p.m. Public Hearing

  • November 17- Penn Wood High School Auditorium, 100 Green Ave., Lansdowne, PA 19050

          10 a.m. – 1 p.m. Public Hearing

For more on the Education Funding Tour, visit https://www.houseappropriations.com/EducationTour and follow the tour on YouTube, Facebook, and X (formerly known as Twitter).

Contact Information

Name: Christina Fonseca
Email: cfonseca@hacd.net
Job Title: Director of Communications

The post-pandemic legal bubble is under pressure – and it’s showing. Latest LexisNexis research predicts slowing growth for 2024 legal market.

Market challenges might finally be hitting the seemingly resilient legal sector. The latest GLP Index predicts growth will drop to only +2% in 2024 from 2023’s +6% growth.   

LONDON, 3 October 2023 – Today, LexisNexis Legal & Professional®, a leading global provider of legal information and analytics, has released the latest “Gross Legal Product (GLP) Index”.  This report predicts that the legal sector will grow by +2% in 2024 – suggesting that its growth trajectory is slowing.

Despite exceptionally challenging market conditions over the past three years, the Index revealed that legal demand grew by +22% in 2021, +3% in 2022 and is expected to grow by +6% in 2023.

However, the latest edition of the GLP Index, which pulls historic data from hundreds of sources to predict future demand across the legal market, reveals market challenges may finally be catching up with the legal sector.  These findings align with other recent events in the legal market, such as several high-profile law firms considering redundancies.

When looking at specific areas of the law, the Index predicts strong growth across property (+7%), immigration (+7%) and restructuring and insolvency law (+6%).  Both property and immigration law rebounded in the previous GLP Index after several years of decline.  The former has benefited from a record number of newly-completed dwellings (a 9% increase), while the latter has seen the total number of work visas issued almost double, with student visas, settlement applications and citizenship applications also on the rise.

Demand for competition (-5%) and risk and compliance law (+1%), on the other hand, will flatten next year after experiencing steady growth throughout 2022 and 2023.  Practice areas that are challenged include criminal law, which is predicted to see negative growth (-3%) for the third year running, and employment law (-2%).

The report’s editor, Dylan Brown, says:

“Considering the geopolitical and macroeconomic headwinds that have battered the professional services industry for the last 18 months, subdued growth is an overwhelmingly positive message to be sharing.  Recent growth speaks more to the legal sector’s resilience, ability to innovate when needed, and drive to power forward than it does to its impregnability.”

“Margins are becoming tighter” Brown continues.  “So, there is also a very real risk of lawyer burn out as targets increase and the partner track presents greater risk.  Firms need to continue investing in infrastructures that support their people rather than work against them.”       

Notes for editors

  • Read the report here: https://www.lexisnexis.co.uk/research-and-reports/glp-index-2024.html
  • The attached graphs show Year on Year percentage growth across the legal sector and an overview of performance across all practice areas included in the report.  They have been extracted from the report.
  • Spokespeople or quotes can be provided on request.

 

About LexisNexis Legal & Professional

LexisNexis Legal & Professional® provides legal, regulatory, and business information and analytics that help customers increase their productivity, improve decision-making, achieve better outcomes, and advance the rule of law around the world. As a digital pioneer, the company was the first to bring legal and business information online with its Lexis® and Nexis® services. LexisNexis Legal & Professional, which serves customers in more than 150 countries with 11,300 employees worldwide, is part of RELX, a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers.

Contact Information

Matthew Leopold
Head of Brand and PR
07788435569
Matthew.Leopold@lexisnexis.co.uk

2023 MICHELIN Guide Toronto increases in Star power

  • Two restaurants earn a MICHELIN Star for the first time
  • Toronto receives its first-ever MICHELIN Green Star
  • 21 Bib Gourmand, plus four special awards, also unveiled
  • 82 total restaurants, 28 cuisine types reflected in selection

 

TORONTO, Sept. 27, 2023 Two restaurants, Kappo Sato and Restaurant 20 Victoria, joined the exclusive list of MICHELIN-Starred eateries in Canada, as the 2023 MICHELIN Guide Toronto was announced Wednesday night.

Overall, the anonymous MICHELIN Guide inspectors awarded Stars to 15 restaurants, with Sushi Masaki Saito remaining atop that list with two MICHELIN Stars. The 2023 selection comprises 82 restaurants and 28 types of cuisine. Chefs and restaurant teams were honored during a ceremony at HISTORY in Toronto.

Frilu, which retained its one MICHELIN Star, and White Lily Diner, which earned a 2023 Bib Gourmand, were awarded the city’s first MICHELIN Green Stars in recognition for their leadership in sustainable gastronomy.

“Since the inaugural selection in Toronto last year, we have seen and felt the momentum grow in this culinary community,” said Gwendal Poullennec, the International Director of the MICHELIN Guides. “The passion, encouragement and determination has been evident, and we see the fruit of that labor today. We are very pleased to welcome Kappo Sato and Restaurant 20 Victoria into the family of MICHELIN-Starred restaurants. The famously anonymous Guide inspectors were also inspired by the commitment to sustainable gastronomy at Frilu and White Lily Diner.”

Here are the new one-MICHELIN-Star restaurants, with inspector notes from each (inspectors’ comments in full on the MICHELIN Guide website and mobile app):

One MICHELIN Star

Kappo Sato (Japanese cuisine)

Unlike the quiet ceremony of a sushi omakase or the formal structure of a kaiseki, this freewheeling tasting is driven solely by Chef Takeshi Sato, who swims in familiar culinary waters on his own terms. The room is a constant blur of motion thanks to a young team that hurries about preparing multiple courses at once. Sato is their seasoned guide, as he moves with intention, ever masterful with a knife, and works with an impressive bounty of ingredients, most of which are flown in from Japan. Soulful dashi broths weave in and out of view alongside clever courses like tempura fried mackerel with shiso or seared toro nigiri with Japanese green onions.

Restaurant 20 Victoria (Contemporary cuisine)

On a quiet stretch of downtown Toronto, Chef Julie Hyde is making her talents known in this tiny-but-mighty restaurant that captured the city’s heart the day it opened. Top-notch local produce, pristine seafood and refined sauce work make for a delicious trifecta on a seasonal tasting menu that boasts originality in spades. Recent highlights included smoked beets with oyster cream as well as grilled fish with beurre blanc and eel crumble. The dimly lit dining room is elegantly easy-going, as Hyde and her small team work with laser-like focus from a kitchen that’s simultaneously always in use and always pristine.

MICHELIN Green Star

Frilu (Contemporary cuisine)

Owner-established Willowolf Farm uses no-till methods to grow fruits and vegetables for Frilu to use throughout the seasons. Chef John-Vincent Troiano hand-picks produce every morning to ensure a truly sustainable farm-to-table experience. A composting program uses all kitchen waste to enrichen the farm’s soil. Canadian ingredients, bought from local markets and farmers, are used throughout the year.

White Lily Diner (Creative cuisine)

Their organic, no-till farm and greenhouses supply the diner (and more than 15 other restaurants) with produce. They raise chickens to supply the diner with eggs. Only hand tools are used on the farm. Insect netting and greenhouses mitigate insects and disease. An orchard was recently planted and is being cultivated.

Bib Gourmand

The MICHELIN Guide inspectors added four restaurants to the Bib Gourmand list, which recognizes eateries for great food at a great value: BB’s, Sunnys Chinese, Tiflisi and White Lily Diner.

Special Awards

In addition to the Bib Gourmand and Stars, the Guide announced four special awards:

The MICHELIN Guide Ceremony is presented with the support of Capital One.

Hotels

The restaurants join the MICHELIN Guide selection of hotels, which features the most unique and exciting places to stay in Toronto and throughout the world. Each hotel has been chosen by MICHELIN Guide experts for its extraordinary style, service and personality — with options for all budgets — and each can be booked directly through the MICHELIN Guide website and app. The selection for Toronto features the city’s most spectacular hotels, including sustainability pioneers like 1 Hotel Toronto, standouts from the “Plus” collection like the Hazelton and the SoHo, cutting-edge boutiques like Ace Hotel and the Drake, and dependable luxury stalwarts like the Ritz-Carlton.

The MICHELIN Guide is a benchmark in gastronomy. Now it’s setting a new standard for hotels. Visit the MICHELIN Guide website, or download the free app for iOS and Android, to discover every restaurant in the selection and book an unforgettable hotel.

The 2023 MICHELIN Guide Toronto selection:

About Michelin North America, Inc.

Michelin, the leading mobility company, is working with tires, around tires and beyond tires to enable Motion for Life. Dedicated to enhancing its clients’ mobility and sustainability, Michelin designs and distributes the most suitable tires, services and solutions for its customers’ needs. Michelin provides digital services, maps and guides to help enrich travel and make them unique experiences. Bringing its expertise to new markets, the company is investing in high-technology materials, 3D printing and hydrogen, to serve a wide variety of industries — from aerospace to biotech. Headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina, Michelin North America has approximately 23,000 employees and operates 34 production facilities in the United States and Canada. (michelinman.com)

About Capital One

At Capital One we’re on a mission for our customers – bringing them best-in-class products, rewards, service, and experiences. Capital One is a diversified bank that offers products and services to individuals, small businesses and commercial clients. We use technology, innovation, and interaction to provide consumers with products and services to meet their needs. Through Capital One Dining and Capital One Entertainment, we provide our rewards cardholders with access to unforgettable experiences in the areas they’re passionate about, including dining, music and sports. Learn more at capitalone.com/dining and capitalone.com/entertainment.

For more information, contact:

Andrew Festa
Michelin North America
andrew.festa@michelin.com

Devon Gunn Capital One
devon.gunn@capitalone.com
Phone: 571-308-4762

Cognition Corporation Raises $6,000,000 to Accelerate Product Development and Customer Expansion in the Life Science Industry

Cognition’s continued growth enables medical device and pharmaceutical companies to bring safer products to market, while reducing time and costs.

Lexington, MA – September 26, 2023 – Cognition Corporation, the leader in SaaS-based product development and compliance solutions for the life science industry, today announced $6 million in funding, with a $5 million investment by Spring Lake Equity Partners which follows a $1 million investment by members of Cognition’s management team. The funding will be used to accelerate product development as well as increase sales and marketing programs to support Cognition’s rapid growth.

Cognition is shifting the data management landscape for medical device and pharmaceutical product development from a static, document centric approach to a dynamic, information-based data driven approach. Our solutions automate processes with built-in templates and work instructions. We leverage a structured data environment, that enables our customers to easily build relevant connections between data items, automatically create complex trace matrices, and export formatted documents instantly for regulatory submissions – saving both time and money.

“We are excited to secure this funding that will enable us to both accelerate product development and expand our customer base, and in the process help our customers save time and costs while bringing safer products to market faster,” said Gerald Wesel, Chairman and CEO, Cognition Corporation. “Spring Lake Equity Partners shares our vision for a new “structured data” paradigm for life sciences companies and recognizes Cognition’s potential as the leader in this space.”

“Cognition is well positioned to capture a significant portion of the market with their SaaS-based product development solutions. Their solutions leveraging structured data are unmatched in the industry and will change the way life science companies manage and submit their product development data,” said Bob Forlenza, Managing Partner, Spring Lake Equity Partners. “We are excited to partner with Gerald and the entire team at Cognition to achieve the company’s strategic goals.”

For more information about Cognition’s SaaS solutions for life science product development data, visit www.cognition.us.

For more information about Spring Lake Equity Partners visit https://springlep.com

About Cognition

Cognition Corporation specializes in product development and compliance solutions for the life sciences industries. For medical device professionals, Cognition offers a design controls software platform that helps meet regulations faster with real-time traceability, guided design controls, and change once, update everywhere functionality – turning manual and disconnected data into structured submissions that enable them to get to market faster.

Unlike other design controls solutions that simply replicate traditional documents and spreadsheets, Cognition takes a structured data approach combining risk with test and requirements data so you can easily build relevant connections between data items, automatically create complex trace matrices, and export formatted documents instantly – offering a more efficient and integrated solution.

We are shifting the data management landscape for medical device and pharmaceutical product development from a static, document-based approach to a dynamic, information-driven approach helping to streamline and alleviate the administrative burden of product development documentation. Further information about Cognition Corporation can be found at www.cognition.us.

About Spring Lake Equity Partners

Spring Lake Equity Partners is a Boston based firm investing in private technology companies. We seek to partner with great management teams to take their businesses to the next level, creating value for all stakeholders. Spring Lake strives to add value to our portfolio companies through active board participation, strategic planning, and accessing our network of contacts. To learn more please visit www.springlep.com.

Media Contact
Kristen Callahan
Director of Marketing
Cognition Corporation
+1 (781) 253 – 3388
kristen.callahan@cognition.us

National Advertising Division Recommends MacuHealth Discontinue or Modify Certain Claims for Several Brands of Eye Health Dietary Supplements

New York, NY – September 21, 2023In a challenge brought by Vision Elements, Inc., the National Advertising Division (NAD) of BBB National Programs recommended that MacuHealth, LP modify or discontinue certain claims for its dietary supplement products MacuHealth, MacuHealth Plus+, Vitreous Health, Vision Edge Pro, and TG Omega-3. 

Of these supplements, MacuHealth, MacuHealth Plus+, and Vision Edge Pro, each contain a triple carotenoid formula (lutein, meso-zeaxanthin, and zeaxanthin) marketed to help consumers’ vision. VitreousHealth is marketed for managing eye floaters and TG Omega-3 Fish Oil is marketed for various benefits for eyes, heart, and brain health.

MacuHealth Product Claims

NAD determined that the studies submitted by MacuHealth indicating a growing body of research around supplementation with the cartenoids lutein, zeaxanthin, and mesozeaxanthin to effect macular pigmentation and visual performance are a poor fit to substantiate the challenged claims for various reasons, including that the studies were not conducted on MacuHealth as currently marketed to consumers.

Therefore, NAD recommended that MacuHealth discontinue any claims that its MacuHealth dietary supplements:

  • Are clinically proven to rebuild or restore macular pigment, and
  • Enhance vision or visual performance over a lifetime.

NAD also recommended that MacuHealth discontinue any claims that MacuHealth:

  • “reduces inflammation in the retina,”
  • “protects against harmful blue light”
  • “improves photo-stress recovery and contrast sensitivity.”
  • Contains a “patented blend of antioxidants [that] nourishes the eye to protect it against oxidative stress and disease.”

NAD noted that nothing in its decision prevents MacuHealth from making claims regarding the carotenoid formula of 10 mg lutein, 10 mg meso-zeaxanthin, and 2 mg zeaxanthin as long as they are narrowly tailored and properly supported.

MacuHealth Plus+ Claims

NAD found that the record did not contain sufficient evidence to substantiate the claim that MacuHealth Plus+ is “formulated for those diagnosed with Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD)” and recommended that the claim be discontinued. Among other things, NAD found that there were significant differences between the formulas marketed to consumers and those tested.

VitreousHealth Claims

To support its VitreousHealth product performance claims, MacuHealth relied on the Floater Intervention Study (FLIES). NAD found that although the FLIES was conducted on the VitreousHealth product and showed some promising results, it was not a good fit for the broad claims that VitreousHealth is “scientifically proven to significantly reduce floaters, enhance visual function and improve a patient’s quality of life” or can “reduce the severity of floaters.” Therefore, NAD recommended that these claims be discontinued, as well as several other challenged claims related to the outcomes of the FLIES.

TG Omega-3 Claims

NAD found that the articles and study provided by MacuHealth as substantiation did not support its TG Omega-3 product performance claims and recommended that the claims that TG Omega-3 “helps with joint pain, arthritis and other diseases” and “promotes eye, brain, heart and overall health” be discontinued.

NAD also noted that the challenged claims, “Both EPA & DHA have been studied and found to be beneficial for dry eye, and supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids is recognized as a key first step in the management of the disease and its symptoms” and “[B]ased on scientific studies, health care providers and optometrists are recommending patients increase their intake of Omega-3s” focus on product ingredients and not on the product as marketed to the consumer.

NAD found that the record did not contain sufficient evidence to support these claims and recommended that they be discontinued.

Improved Bioavailability Claims

NAD evaluated the study submitted by MacuHealth regarding its Micro-Micelle™ technology and determined that it is not competent and reliable scientific evidence to support the advertiser’s broad improved bioavailability claims. Therefore, NAD recommended that such claims be discontinued.

Natural & Gluten Free Claims

NAD recommended that MacuHealth discontinue claims that its MacuHealth product is an “all-natural formulation” and “a natural extract product,” as well as claims that its MacuHealth Plus+ is “clinically tested and gluten-free.”

During the proceeding the advertiser agreed to permanently discontinue many other challenged claims. Therefore, NAD did not review these claims on their merits.

In its advertiser statement, MacuHealth stated that it “believes that the challenged claims are thoroughly supported” and that it “strongly disagrees with the factual conclusions” reached in the decision, but nonetheless will comply with NAD’s recommendations.

All BBB National Programs case decision summaries can be found in the case decision library. For the full text of NAD, NARB, and CARU decisions, subscribe to the online archive. Per NAD Procedures, this release shall not be used for advertising or promotional purposes.

About BBB National Programs: BBB National Programs, a non-profit organization, is the home of U.S. independent industry self-regulation, currently operating more than a dozen globally recognized programs that have been helping enhance consumer trust in business for more than 50 years. These programs provide third-party accountability and dispute resolution services that address existing and emerging industry issues, create a fairer playing field for businesses, and a better experience for consumers. BBB National Programs continues to evolve its work and grow its impact by providing business guidance and fostering best practices in arenas such as advertising, child-and-teen-directed marketing, data privacy, dispute resolution, automobile warranty, technology, and emerging areas. To learn more, visit bbbprograms.org.

About the National Advertising Division: The National Advertising Division (NAD) of BBB National Programs provides independent self-regulation and dispute resolution services, guiding the truthfulness of advertising across the U.S. NAD reviews national advertising in all media and its decisions set consistent standards for advertising truth and accuracy, delivering meaningful protection to consumers and leveling the playing field for business. 

Contact:
Jennie Rosenberg
Media Relations
BBB National Programs
press@bbbnp.org