Andreozzi + Foote, a nationally recognized law firm representing survivors of sexual abuse, has partnered with Rhode Island attorney Eric B. DiMario of Kiernan, Plunkett & Redihan, LLP, to represent survivors pursuing claims under Rhode Island's newly enacted childhood sexual abuse revival-window legislation.

In a landmark victory for survivors, Rhode Island has opened a two-year revival window that allows victims of childhood sexual abuse to file civil lawsuits that were previously barred by the state's statute of limitations.

The new law, which takes effect on July 1, 2026, gives eligible survivors until June 30, 2028, to pursue claims against institutions and organizations that knew about, concealed, or failed to prevent sexual abuse. For many Rhode Island survivors of childhood sexual abuse, this may be the first meaningful opportunity in decades to seek accountability through the civil justice system.

The legislation follows the release of Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha's landmark report detailing decades of alleged clergy sexual abuse and institutional failures within the Diocese of Providence. The more than 200-page report documented allegations involving more than 300 victims, included summaries of 72 clergy members determined to have been credibly accused of child sexual misconduct, and identified numerous instances in which abuse allegations were not reported to law enforcement and accused clergy remained in ministry.

While the Attorney General's investigation focused on clergy abuse, the revival window applies broadly to survivors of childhood sexual abuse and will allow claims involving other religious institutions, schools, youth-serving organizations, healthcare providers, and other entities entrusted with the care of children.

"Sexual abuse cases are rarely just about the actions of one individual," Ben Andreozzi, Partner, Andreozzi + Foote, said. "Time and again, we uncover institutional failures that enabled abuse or allowed it to continue unchecked. Our mission is to help survivors pursue accountability, expose institutional failures, and create meaningful change that protects others from suffering the same harm."

Andreozzi added, "For many survivors, the passage of time has been one of the greatest barriers to justice. Rhode Island's revival window recognizes the reality that childhood sexual abuse trauma often takes years or even decades to process. This law gives survivors an opportunity to have their voices heard and to hold institutions accountable for the role they may have played in allowing abuse to occur."

DiMario has long advocated for expanding survivors' access to the civil justice system in Rhode Island. In February 2019, he testified before the Rhode Island House of Representatives in support of earlier legislation aimed at extending survivors' legal rights.

"If this bill becomes law, it will unlock the doors of the civil justice system for many survivors of childhood sexual abuse who have found those doors closed for far too long," DiMario testified.

The revival window will allow courts to hear claims based on their merits rather than dismissing them solely because of the passage of time. Survivors are encouraged to reach out to an attorney to learn about their legal options as soon as possible.

About Andreozzi + Foote

Andreozzi + Foote is one of the nation’s leading sexual abuse law firms with a history of representing survivors in cases against large and powerful organizations, including Penn State University, the Boy Scouts of America, and the Catholic Church. The trauma-informed Pennsylvania-based sexual abuse lawyers at Andreozzi + Foote are committed to obtaining life-changing results for victims and their families. For more information, visit www.victimscivilattorneys.com.

Media Contact

Maria Smith
Andreozzi + Foote
marias@vca.law
+1 717-807-5808

TrueData Solutions LLC today announced the expansion of its private network infrastructure operations into Europe as part of the company’s continued investment in global connectivity and routing capabilities.

As part of the expansion, TrueData Solutions has obtained a new Autonomous System Number (ASN) through RIPE NCC, AS209827, enabling the company to independently manage internet routing policies and deploy dedicated network infrastructure throughout European regions.

The deployment is intended to strengthen the company’s private network backbone while improving redundancy, resiliency, and routing efficiency for customers operating across international environments.

Initial European interconnection points are expected to include major internet exchange and carrier hubs in Frankfurt and Amsterdam, supporting lower-latency connectivity and improved regional traffic optimization.

“Establishing an ASN presence through RIPE represents an important step in expanding our infrastructure internationally,” said Del Andujar, CEO of TrueData Solutions. “This expansion provides greater operational control over our network environment and allows us to deliver faster, more resilient, and more reliable connectivity services for clients operating across multiple regions.”

The company said the European expansion is designed to support increasing demand for dedicated networking infrastructure, secure enterprise connectivity, and distributed system deployments requiring high availability and cross-border performance consistency.

About TrueData Solutions

TrueData Solutions LLC provides private networking infrastructure, secure connectivity services, and enterprise-grade routing solutions designed to support modern distributed systems, secure communications, and high-availability environments. For more information, visit truedata.broker.

Disclaimer

This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding anticipated network expansion, infrastructure deployment, operational capabilities, and future business activities of TrueData Solutions LLC. These statements are based on current expectations and assumptions and are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those described. Planned deployments, interconnection arrangements, and service enhancements may change or be delayed due to technical, regulatory, operational, or commercial considerations. TrueData Solutions LLC undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements except as required by law.

Media Contact

Del Andujar
TrueData Solutions
press@truedata.broker
+1 833-878-3053

In her new book, "The Father Who Shielded and Never Left," published March 27, author and strategist Fari Sonita examines Cambodia’s transformation from a nation scarred by conflict into one characterized by stability, growth, and increasing international engagement.

For decades, global perceptions of Cambodia were often shaped through the narrow lens of its historical tragedies. However, Sonita's new work examines the international conversation by analyzing the nation's painful past and its remarkable modern-day transformation and resilience.

At the heart of this narrative is the leadership journey of Samdech Techo Hun Sen. The book explores how his “Win-Win” philosophy and long-standing commitment to national unity became the foundation for one of Southeast Asia’s most stable and steadily growing nations. By silencing the guns of conflict and prioritizing peace above all else, Cambodia was able to move from a post-war era toward a new chapter of development, investment, and international confidence.

More than a historical account, the book serves as a strategic case study for global leaders, policymakers, investors, and readers seeking to understand how peace and stability can transform a nation. Through the author’s perspective, readers discover the soft power of Cambodia — a unique combination of cultural resilience, strategic diplomacy, national unity, and a pro-growth environment that continues attracting international attention and investment.

“While many only know Cambodia for its dark history, this book reveals the nation’s true potential and offers invaluable lessons in leadership,” says the author. “Cambodia’s journey proves that a nation can rise from destruction into stability, dignity, and growth when peace becomes the highest priority. This story is not only about the past — it is about the future that Cambodia continues building today.”

As the world navigates an era of uncertainty and geopolitical tension, Cambodia’s transformation offers a rare example of recovery, reconciliation, and long-term stability. By documenting the journey of the “Father Who Shielded and Never Left,” the book presents a deeper understanding of the leadership, sacrifices, and strategic decisions that helped protect the nation and create an environment where development, tourism, infrastructure, and investment could steadily flourish.

The publication is aimed at global leaders, policymakers, and researchers who wish to understand the spirit of a rising nation and the leadership principles that continue guiding Cambodia toward its Vision 2050 ambitions. More importantly, it invites the world to look beyond old headlines and discover a modern Cambodia emerging as one of ASEAN’s most promising and resilient nations.

About Fari Sonita

Fari Sonita is an author and independent researcher born in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. She writes about the lives of extraordinary individuals, people whose journeys carry lessons of courage, leadership, sacrifice, and responsibility. Her work examines the decisions, struggles, and inner strength of those who shaped nations or quietly carried a weight that others can learn from.

Media Contact

Fari Sonita
info@farisonita.com

Zoyk has officially launched a strategic partnership with Visa through Visa Direct to introduce a new interoperable digital payment solution designed to transform money movement across Zambia and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region.

The announcement was made during an official launch event attended by fintech leaders, government representatives, payment infrastructure experts, and regional stakeholders focused on accelerating digital financial inclusion and regional interoperability. The partnership marks a significant milestone in Zambia’s evolving digital economy, bringing together global payment infrastructure and locally built fintech capabilities to support faster, more secure, and more accessible financial services across the region.

The newly launched Zoyk Visa Direct Account and Wallet Partnership integrates Visa Direct capabilities with mobile money platforms, bank accounts, merchant wallets, agent networks, and Visa cards into a unified digital ecosystem. The platform is designed to simplify person-to-person payments, merchant transactions, wallet interoperability, and cross-border money movement while supporting SMEs, enterprises, traders, and underserved communities with improved access to digital financial services.

The launch event was opened by Program Director Makondo Mukando, who introduced a distinguished lineup of speakers addressing the broader significance of the partnership for Zambia’s financial ecosystem and regional digital transformation agenda.

Chembo Sumbwe, co-founder and Chief Commercial Officer at Zoyk, described the partnership as a major step forward in building an inclusive financial infrastructure capable of connecting fragmented payment systems into a seamless digital environment.

“This partnership represents a significant milestone in expanding interoperable financial infrastructure across Zambia and the region,” said Sumbwe. “By connecting wallets, bank accounts, mobile money services, merchant ecosystems, and Visa Direct capabilities, we are creating a framework that allows businesses and consumers to move money more efficiently, securely, and confidently.”

Clive Nabale, co-founder and CEO of Zoyk, emphasized that the company’s long-term vision extends beyond payments toward enabling broader regional digital integration.

“Our vision is to build interoperable payment rails that support financial inclusion, regional trade, and Zambia’s broader digital transformation agenda,” Nabale said. “We believe infrastructure plays a critical role in unlocking long-term economic participation across both urban and underserved communities.”

The platform is expected to enable real-time transactions and seamless digital payment experiences through multiple access channels, including mobile applications, USSD functionality, agent-assisted services, merchant payment systems, and digital wallets. By combining local fintech infrastructure with Visa’s global payment network, the partnership aims to strengthen cross-border transaction capabilities throughout the SADC region while improving operational efficiency for businesses and consumers alike.

Salome Makau, Head of Cluster for Central Southern Africa at Visa, highlighted the importance of combining international payment systems with locally embedded digital ecosystems to support sustainable regional growth.

“Digital interoperability is becoming increasingly important for Africa’s financial future,” Makau said during the launch event. “Partnerships that combine global infrastructure with localized innovation create stronger opportunities for financial inclusion, regional connectivity, and scalable economic participation.”

Viveka Govender, Head of Visa Direct South East Africa, added that the collaboration reflects Visa’s broader commitment to supporting secure and efficient digital commerce across the continent.

“This collaboration reflects our commitment to enabling secure, fast, and reliable payment solutions that improve financial inclusion and support cross-border commerce throughout Africa,” Govender said.

The event also featured a keynote address from Percy Chinyama, National Coordinator at the SMART Zambia E-Government Division, who spoke about the role of interoperable digital infrastructure in supporting Zambia’s national digital transformation priorities. According to the company, the platform has been developed in alignment with Bank of Zambia regulatory requirements and international payment security standards. The infrastructure includes integrated fraud management systems, KYC verification processes, transaction monitoring capabilities, and consumer protection measures designed to ensure safe and compliant digital financial services.

As digital adoption accelerates across Southern Africa, the partnership positions Zoyk as an emerging regional financial infrastructure provider focused on enabling long-term cashless ecosystem development and regional interoperability. The initiative also reflects broader momentum across Africa’s fintech sector, where governments, payment providers, and infrastructure companies are increasingly prioritizing connected financial ecosystems capable of supporting both domestic and cross-border digital commerce.

For Zoyk, the launch represents the beginning of a larger mission to strengthen digital accessibility and financial participation across the region. Now the focus shifts toward making Zambia’s financial system more accessible, secure, and fully digital.

About Zoyk

Zoyk is a Zambia-based fintech company and a portfolio company of Velex Investments, building interoperable digital financial infrastructure for consumers, businesses, and institutions across Africa. Through integrated payment solutions that connect mobile money, bank accounts, wallets, agent networks, and global payment systems, Zoyk enables secure, accessible, and inclusive financial services. The company is focused on advancing financial inclusion, strengthening regional connectivity, and accelerating digital transformation across Zambia and the broader SADC region. For more information, visit zoyk.co.zm.

Media Contact

Chembo Sumbwe
chembo.sumbwe@zoykgroup.com

Milkinside founder Gleb Kuznetsov joined industry leaders at the 10th anniversary edition of Digital Design Days (DDD) in Milan, where he spoke about the role of human taste, judgment, and creative leadership as artificial intelligence continues to reshape design and digital product development.

Founded and curated by Filippo Spiezia, DDD has grown over the past decade from an independent design gathering into an international platform for conversations about creativity, technology, branding, product design, and the future of digital experiences. Before founding DDD, Spiezia built an award-winning design career that included years in the United States, working between San Francisco and Portland, Oregon, with the renowned experience design studio Second Story. That background has helped shape the event’s distinctive curation and global network, attracting leading speakers, major brands, and creative professionals from around the world.

Now in its tenth year, DDD has engaged more than 240,000 participants worldwide across its in-person and online editions. Its latest event welcomed more than 3,500 attendees from 48 countries, and Google has cited DDD as one of the three most authoritative events in its field.

Across three days of talks, workshops, and conversations, one concern kept returning: AI is not only making creative production faster. It is making polished mediocrity easier to ship. That is why the strongest conversation in Milan was not about tools. It was about taste.

For Kuznetsov, one of the event’s standout speakers, the message was clear: AI has not made taste less important. It has made the value of taste visible.

The 2026 edition arrived at a time when artificial intelligence is transforming how products, brands, and digital experiences are created. Across talks, panels, and discussions, recurring themes included creativity, craft, technology, burnout, business transformation, and the future role of human judgment in an increasingly automated world.

Speakers approached those themes from different angles, with Stefan Sagmeister emphasizing beauty and craft, Marina Willer bringing a brand and identity perspective, Wesley ter Haar addressing AI’s impact on creative operations, and Kuznetsov focusing on taste and judgment as increasingly important forms of design leadership.

Before Apple challenged the category, personal computers were largely accepted as gray, functional boxes. Apple refused that standard and made technology feel personal, emotional, and desirable. With AI technology, design leadership faces this same challenge today.

Kuznetsov drew parallels to earlier moments in technology history. Before companies such as Apple challenged prevailing assumptions about personal computers, the market largely accepted functional but uninspiring products as the norm. In his view, designers face a similar responsibility today: not simply accepting what AI can generate, but determining what deserves to exist and what should be rejected.

The significance of these discussions extended beyond the design profession itself. Agencies are rethinking workflows, brands are reassessing differentiation strategies, founders can now generate products faster than ever before, and creative teams are navigating uncertainty about how AI will reshape their roles. DDD provided a forum for addressing not only the opportunities created by AI, but also the business, cultural, and human questions emerging alongside it.

An Emerging Role for Modern Designers

One of the themes that emerged repeatedly throughout DDD was that the role of designers is evolving rather than disappearing. Speakers explored how creative professionals are increasingly becoming curators, directors, and decision-makers who shape outcomes rather than simply execute them. Kuznetsov’s keynote offered one of the clearest articulations of that shift.

At the intersection of AI and creativity, designers are moving from makers to maker-directors. They are not losing the ability to make. They are gaining a bigger responsibility: directing tools, shaping outcomes, and deciding what deserves to exist.

For Kuznetsov, this is where taste and judgment become most valuable. As AI makes production faster and more accessible, the ability to discern quality, make decisions, and define what is worth creating may play an increasingly important role in the future of product design.

Positioned in this context, a designer does not need to view AI technology as some kind of threat. With this new perspective, it will be a lack of human craft in AI that should be avoided. To this end, the existence of AI design may be understood as a force multiplier. Designers are not competing with AI on speed alone, but on judgment, empathy, memory, cultural awareness, and the ability to distinguish between what is generated for its own sake and what may be felt on a human level.

“We did not become designers to ship the average,” Kuznetsov stated. “AI can generate the average faster than any human. Our job is to bring memory, empathy, friction, history, and taste into the work. That is the human layer machines cannot replace.”

This perspective resonated with one of the event’s broader themes: as AI makes the production of “good enough” outputs easier and faster, competitive advantage may increasingly come from taste, judgment, differentiation, and the ability to create experiences that connect with people on a deeper level. Several speakers explored how these human qualities could become more valuable, not less, as generative technologies continue to mature. 

A Turning Point for the Creative Industry

The 10th anniversary edition of Digital Design Days was more than a milestone event. It reflected an industry grappling with fundamental questions about creativity, productivity, technology, and the future of work.

While AI remained a dominant topic throughout the program, the conversation in Milan ultimately centered on human value: the role of judgment, the importance of taste, and the responsibility of creative leaders to shape outcomes rather than simply accelerate production.

As one of the standout voices at the event, Kuznetsov contributed to that discussion by arguing that AI has not diminished the importance of human creativity. Instead, it has made the value of human judgment more visible.

For many attendees, that idea captured the broader message of DDD 2026: the future of design is not becoming less human. It is becoming more human.

Spiezia’s role as founder and curator has become central to the event’s identity, giving DDD a point of view that is shaped by design culture rather than by a conventional conference model. Following its 10th-anniversary edition, Digital Design Days is positioned to continue serving as an independent international platform for discussions on AI, creativity, design leadership, and the future of creative work.

About Milkinside

Milkinside is a San Francisco-based design agency that focuses on creating innovative product design, interactions, branding, and motion design. Founded in 2011 by Gleb Kuznetsov, the company takes digital products from idea to launch. For more information, visit milkinside.com.

At the 10th anniversary edition of Digital Design Days in Milan, Milkinside founder Gleb Kuznetsov delivered a standout keynote addressing how artificial intelligence is forcing the creative industry to prioritize human taste, judgment, and originality over automated volume.

Everyone is asking whether AI will replace designers. That may be the wrong question.

The real challenge is that AI has made average work infinite. Polished interfaces, competent visuals, and functional products can now be generated at unprecedented speed. As the cost of producing acceptable work approaches zero, the qualities that make creative work memorable—taste, judgment, originality, and the willingness to reject easy answers—are becoming more valuable, not less.

That tension sat at the center of discussions during the 10th anniversary edition of Digital Design Days (DDD) in Milan, where designers, technologists, founders, brand leaders, and creative executives gathered to examine how artificial intelligence is reshaping creativity, product development, and decision-making. 

For many attendees, DDD felt less like a conference and more like an early look at where the creative industry is heading. As AI rapidly lowers the cost of production, the conversation has shifted from what can be made to what is worth making.

One of the speakers at DDD was Gleb Kuznetsov, founder of Milkinside, whose keynote challenged a common assumption about AI: that technology reduces the importance of human creativity.

His argument became one of the event’s defining ideas: “AI did not make taste less important. It made the value of taste visible.”

Rather than diminishing human judgment, Kuznetsov argued, AI may be exposing its importance. When everyone can generate polished work, the ability to recognize what is original, meaningful, or culturally relevant becomes easier to see, and harder to replace.

Digital Design Days Marks a Turning Point for the Creative Industry

The 2026 edition of Digital Design Days represented more than a milestone anniversary. It arrived at a moment when creative industries are being forced to reconsider where value actually comes from.

Founded by Filippo Spiezia, Digital Design Days has evolved over the past decade into an international platform focused on design, creative technology, branding, motion, product thinking, and digital experience. 

Its reputation has been built on curation rather than scale, attracting practitioners who often encounter major shifts in design, technology, and culture before those shifts become mainstream industry conversations.

The 10th-anniversary edition brought together a global speaker lineup that included Stefan Sagmeister, Marina Willer, Wesley ter Haar, Emily Rickard, Robert Hodgin, Itay Schiff, and Gleb Kuznetsov, among many others. 

That range mattered. Sagmeister brought a long-term perspective on beauty, craft, and cultural value. Willer spoke from the experience of shaping brand identity at global scale. Ter Haar addressed the operational realities facing agencies as AI changes how creative work is produced. Kuznetsov focused on something different: the growing economic value of taste and judgment in a world where production is becoming abundant.

Rather than focusing solely on emerging tools, many conversations centered on larger questions about creativity, originality, business value, and the future role of human judgment in an era where AI can generate content, interfaces, code, and design concepts at unprecedented speed.

AI’s Impact on the World of Business

Across talks on design, branding, products, and innovation, a common question emerged: if everyone has access to increasingly powerful creative tools, where does differentiation come from?

One of the clearest answers came from Gleb Kuznetsov, founder of Milkinside: “AI did not make taste less important. It made the value of taste visible.” 

The statement resonated because it reframed the AI conversation. Much of the public debate focuses on whether AI can generate work. Kuznetsov's argument was that generation is becoming the easy part. Selection, judgment, and conviction remain difficult.

The shift is bigger than design alone. 

For founders, agencies, and brand leaders, the question increasingly becomes which ideas deserve investment, attention, and distribution. AI can generate more possibilities than ever before. Human judgment still determines which of those possibilities matter.

The Challenges of the Design Industry

For many attendees, the challenge is no longer whether AI will influence creative work, but how creative professionals can maintain originality, quality, and cultural relevance in an environment where generating polished outputs has become significantly easier. 

Kuznetsov argued that AI’s greatest impact may be its tendency toward the average. AI can generate endless variations, concepts, interfaces, and campaigns, but it cannot explain why one idea matters more than another. 

That observation connected with a broader concern running through the event. As production becomes easier, creative industries risk becoming more homogeneous. Distinction increasingly comes from perspective, taste, and the willingness to reject obvious answers.

These Issues Stretch Well Beyond AI

While AI has brought these issues of sameness to the forefront, it is far from being the cause of them. The industry has always adopted templates, frameworks, and dominant trends. Bootstrap, Material Design, Tailwind, SaaS templates, and startup design systems have already pushed digital products toward similarity. AI has simply accelerated this pattern and made it impossible to ignore.

What made the conversations at DDD notable was the recognition that this is not really an AI story. It is a cultural and economic story about what becomes valuable when production stops being scarce.

A Conversation Bigger Than One Speaker

While speakers approached the topic from different angles, DDD’s 10th-anniversary edition captured a broader industry realization: AI is raising the value of distinctly human judgment.

Kuznetsov’s keynote reflected that broader conversation. His argument that AI has made the value of taste more visible resonated with ongoing discussions about how designers are evolving from makers into directors of outcomes, helping determine not only what can be created, but what should be created.

Final Thoughts

The most memorable conversations at DDD were not about what AI can do. They were about what remains difficult to automate.

The takeaway that lingered long after the talks ended was Kuznetsov's observation that AI has made the value of taste visible. The easier creation becomes, the more obvious it becomes who can recognize quality, originality, and cultural relevance, and who cannot.

That idea gave DDD’s anniversary edition its sense of urgency. 

For many attendees, DDD felt like one of the first places where the implications of that shift were being discussed seriously. The event's significance was not that it asked whether AI would change creative work. It was that many of the industry's leading voices appeared to agree on what becomes valuable after that change has already happened.

About Milkinside

Milkinside is a San Francisco-based design agency that focuses on creating innovative product design, interactions, branding, and motion design. Founded in 2011 by Gleb Kuznetsov, the company takes digital products from idea to launch. For more information, visit milkinside.com.

Bryan Crabtree, a veteran Lowcountry real estate broker with over 27 years of local market experience, has officially announced the listing of 5010 Timber Race Course. Situated on a prime one-acre lot within the prestigious The Plantation at Stono Ferry, this four-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath estate offers a rare combination of marsh-front proximity, championship golf access, and full-service equestrian amenities.

As inventory for premium, multi-amenity communities in the Charleston region remains highly competitive, this property represents a significant opportunity for buyers seeking a blend of coastal luxury, historical depth, and an active outdoor lifestyle.

"Stono Ferry remains one of the few communities in the Charleston area where deep historical roots, equestrian facilities, and world-class golf truly coexist," says Bryan Crabtree of IndigoOak – Christie’s International Real Estate. "5010 Timber Race Course isn't just a home; it's an estate designed for the active Lowcountry lifestyle, particularly for buyers who value space, privacy, and unparalleled community amenities."

Property Specifications and Key Features

To provide clear transparency for prospective buyers and real estate analysts, the core features of the property include:

• Address: 5010 Timber Race Course, Hollywood, SC 29449
• Community: The Plantation at Stono Ferry
• Price/inquiries: Available upon request via IndigoOak
• Lot size: Approximately 1.0 acre, featuring a mature live oak canopy
• Square footage: Approximately 2,945 sq. ft.
• Bedrooms/bathrooms: 4 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms
• Vehicle storage: 5-car garage, optimized for boats, golf carts, and workshops

Premium Interior and Exterior Layout

The residence has been intentionally designed to support both remote work flexibility and formal Lowcountry entertaining.

• Flexible living spaces: Features both formal and informal gathering areas, vaulted ceilings, and dedicated office spaces perfectly suited for remote executives.
• Gourmet kitchen: Equipped with a central island layout that serves as the anchor for daily living and social hosting.
• The 5-car garage advantage: A standout feature for the region, providing extensive storage capacity for watercraft, collector vehicles, and recreational gear suited for the nearby Stono River.

Neighborhood Infrastructure: The Stono Ferry Lifestyle

Living in The Plantation at Stono Ferry provides access to a micro-market that historically holds strong valuation due to its unique, non-replicable amenities:

• Championship golf: Immediate access to The Links at Stono Ferry, a critically acclaimed course designed by Ron Garl. The course winds along the scenic Stono River and intra-coastal marshes, presenting a visually stunning and challenging play.
• Full-service equestrian center: One of the only neighborhoods in the Charleston tri-county area featuring an active, full-service equestrian facility, offering horse boarding, riding arenas, and pastures.
• Community amenities: Residents enjoy an Olympic-sized swimming pool, lighted tennis courts, a children's playground, and miles of nature and walking trails.
• Location and accessibility: While offering a peaceful, rural atmosphere, Hollywood, S.C. provides seamless commuting access to downtown historic Charleston, Johns Island, local beaches, and major regional healthcare and employment hubs.

Private, qualified showings can be scheduled directly through the listing brokerage.

About Bryan Crabtree Real Estate

Bryan Crabtree is a Charleston, South Carolina real estate broker and Realtor® with IndigoOak | Christie’s International Real Estate, serving Charleston, Mount Pleasant, and the surrounding Lowcountry. With over 27 years of experience, more than 5,500 homes sold, and over $1 billion in career sales, he has consistently been recognized as one of the top-performing agents in the Charleston market. Crabtree specializes in luxury homes, historic properties, golf communities, and waterfront real estate, working with both local and relocating buyers and sellers. He is widely known for his expertise in pricing strategy, advanced marketing, and maximizing value for his clients. For more information, visit www.therealestateexperts.com.

Media Contact

Bryan Crabtree
Real Estate Broker, IndigoOak | Christie's International Real Estate
bc@therealestateexperts.com
+1 843-343-4141

In a world where most people feel either disconnected or spend their days managing emotions, curating reactions, and keeping composure, sport and intimacy both offer a rare exception. And now the biggest event of all is about to start in North America with teams and Fans from all over the world.

For ninety minutes, fans openly surrender to anticipation, joy, heartbreak, tension, disbelief, and euphoria. They scream. They cry. They jump into other people’s arms. Their faces tell the story before they ever say a word, they truly ‘Feel Everything’ in moments of shared pleasure and togetherness.

The same happens in the bedroom and during intimacy, and that has always been the North Star of SKYN, one of the world's fastest-growing intimate wellness brands: Feel Everything for shared pleasure.

Ahead of the global tournament, SKYN is celebrating those unfiltered moments in a new global campaign called "Faces." The campaign captures supporters during the tournament's most emotionally charged moments, spotlighting the instinctive reactions that emerge when people stop holding back and allow themselves to feel everything. Those faces look incredibly intimate and recall the very moment where you Feel Everything with your partner.

At first glance, the campaign's close-up portraits appear intensely intimate. Eyes closed. Mouths open. Breaths held. Expressions suspended somewhere between anticipation and release.

The reveal: they're not moments of intimacy. They're football fans watching the world's biggest sporting event.

Created in partnership with award-winning creative agency L&C, "Faces" extends SKYN's global "Feel Everything" platform into one of culture's most emotionally powerful experiences. The campaign is inspired by a simple observation: football is one of the few remaining cultural rituals where adults feel comfortable expressing every emotion openly and unapologetically, like they do during intimacy.

Science suggests those reactions aren't just emotional — they're physical. A 2026 study published in Scientific Reports found that fans attending a match in person recorded average heart rates 23% higher than fans watching elsewhere, with heart rates climbing above 100 beats per minute during pivotal moments. Researchers described the phenomenon as "football fever" — a measurable state of emotional and physical arousal.

"The upcoming global football tournament is one of the few moments where people completely let go, publicly," said Marta Toth, VP Global Marketing & Innovation at LifeStyles. "Fans scream, release tension, celebrate, and react instinctively because they care so deeply. Those are the moments that stay with us. With Faces, we wanted to celebrate the passion and emotional intensity that make football fandom such a powerful human experience, much like the shared intimate pleasure SKYN champions.”

While many brands focus on the competition itself, SKYN is spotlighting the feelings behind it: the tension before a penalty kick, the anticipation of extra time, the eruption of joy after a last-minute goal.

"Football creates a level of emotional honesty that's incredibly rare," said Rolando Cordova, Co-founder and Co-CCO at L&C. "For a few hours, people stop worrying about how they look and simply react. That's what fascinated us. The faces people make while watching football can be surprisingly intimate because both experiences come from the same place: complete emotional investment."

The campaign will run globally across social, connected TV, and digital platforms throughout the tournament inviting fans everywhere to embrace every gasp, scream, celebration, heartbreak, and unforgettable moment.

Because whether it's sport, culture or intimate connection, the experiences we remember most are the ones that make us feel everything.

About SKYN

SKYN® is on a mission to reimagine intimacy — designing condoms, lubricants and massagers that center shared pleasure, comfort and connection. With SKYNFEEL®, a technologically advanced and patented soft non-latex material, designed to adapt smoothly & seamlessly to the body for the most natural fit and feeling, the brand invites people to experience more — without compromise. SKYN® is a brand of LifeStyles Healthcare, a global leader in the sexual wellness sector, owned by the Chicago based private-equity firm Linden Capital Partners.

Media Contact

Emma Swanson
emma@lc-nyc.com

Lifesight, the agentic unified marketing measurement platform trusted by over 300 global brands, today announced the launch of Lifesight MCP. This innovative connector, built on the open Model Context Protocol (MCP), gives users direct, secured access to their company’s live marketing measurement data directly within Claude (Desktop) and ChatGPT (Custom Connectors) with no analyst intervention, API tokens, or coding.

The new integration fundamentally transforms how marketing and finance teams interact with critical business data. Lifesight’s platform unifies Marketing Mix Modeling (MMM), geo-based incrementality testing, and incrementality-adjusted attribution. Through Lifesight MCP, executives can now ask complex performance questions in natural language and receive immediate, actionable answers, closing the gap between raw data and executive decision-making.

"For a long time now, marketing measurement insights lived in notebooks and dashboards that only some specialists could read correctly," said Tobin Thomas, CEO and co-founder of Lifesight. "Lifesight MCP changes who gets to ask the question. When a CMO or a CFO can query the model directly inside the assistant they already work in the distance between insight and decision collapses from weeks to minutes. That decision speed, compounded over a year, is a real competitive advantage."

Empowering Leaders with the Skills Library

To cater specifically to executive workflows, Lifesight MCP features a built-in skills library, allowing users to execute high-level marketing and financial analyses instantaneously. The launch capabilities include:

• Board Briefing: Automatically generates board-ready summaries of marketing performance.
• P&L Translator: Reframes marketing outcomes into the language of profit and loss for finance teams.
• Scenario Planner: Models the impact of alternative budget allocations and investment paths.
• Q4 Reallocation Stress Test: Tests the resilience of spending plans under high-pressure parameters.
• Channel Deep-Dive: Delivers granular, channel-by-channel performance breakdowns.
• Anomaly Triage: Surfaces and contextualizes unexpected week-over-week performance changes.

"The hardest part was never the model. It was getting the right answers and decisions out of it," explained Rajeev Nair, Chief Product Officer and co-founder of Lifesight. 

"Every question used to be routed through a small team, which meant most questions never got asked at all. Lifesight MCP opens the model up to everyone who needs it. The people closest to the decision can finally ask their own questions and act on the answers and the experts get their time back for the work that actually needs them."

Enterprise-Grade Security and Governance

Designed to meet strict enterprise procurement standards, the Lifesight MCP architecture is deliberately read-only at launch, ensuring complete governance over live budgets and model parameters.

Setup is completed through simple OAuth using an existing Lifesight login, and connector permissions map exactly to the user's existing workspace access. The integration inherits the Lifesight platform’s rigorous compliance posture including GDPR, HIPAA, SOC 2, and ISO 27001 certifications while maintaining a complete audit trail for every query made through the connector.

Lifesight MCP is available immediately to all current Lifesight customers. For more information about Lifesight and its unified measurement capabilities, visit lifesight.io.

About Lifesight

Lifesight is an agentic unified marketing measurement platform that gives enterprise marketing and finance teams a single, trusted, causal view of what drives business growth. Combining marketing mix modeling (MMM), geo-based incrementality testing, and incrementality-adjusted attribution, Lifesight empowers brands to forecast outcomes, optimize ad budgets, and drive sustainable growth. Currently managing over $4 billion in global marketing spend, Lifesight serves more than 300 brands worldwide. For more information, visit lifesight.io.

Media Contact

Stephanie Balaconis
Director of Demand Generation, Lifesight
stephanie@lifesight.io

Odience, an Estonia-based performance influencer marketing platform, announced that it has paid more than $2.8 million to creators across nearly 2,000 completed campaigns worldwide, marking a milestone for the company's conversion-based approach to creator partnerships.

The milestone reflects increasing demand from brands and creators for influencer marketing models tied to measurable outcomes, including tracked clicks, leads, sales, and other verified campaign actions.

Based in Tallinn, Estonia, Odience is part of the country's growing technology sector. The company said its latest milestone shows how technology platforms built in smaller European markets can support creator campaigns at a global scale.

Odience supports performance-based campaign models including CPA, revenue share, and hybrid payout structures. These models have been used across the nearly 2,000 campaigns included in the company's latest payout milestone.

"Reaching more than $2.8 million in creator payouts shows that performance-based partnerships can create meaningful opportunities for creators," said Marii-Heleen Penu, Influencer Marketing Manager at Odience. "Many creators rely on short-term brand deals, which can make it difficult to build predictable success. Long-term partnerships can change that when creators are compensated for measurable results."

The milestone aligns with a broader shift as brands continue to increase investment in influencer partnerships while placing greater emphasis on measurable success from creator campaigns. Odience said its platform is designed to address that shift by connecting creator compensation directly to verified campaign performance.

"The creator-brand relationship has become increasingly focused on measurable outcomes," said Valeri Pevnitski, Brand Partnerships Specialist at Odience. "Many brands still approach influencer marketing through CPC or CPM-style metrics. Influencer marketing includes brand awareness, trust, community engagement, and direct communication with target audiences. Performance data helps make those partnerships more transparent for both sides."

Odience is available worldwide for creators through its self-serve platform. Brand partnerships are available by request.

About Odience

Odience is an Estonian technology company operating a performance-based influencer marketing platform that connects creators and brands through tracked, measurable campaigns. The platform enables creators to build success on verified actions, including clicks, leads, and sales, while providing brands with transparent campaign performance data. Odience has facilitated nearly 2,000 campaigns globally and paid more than $2.8 million to creators through its platform. For more information, visit odience.io.

Media Contact

Liise-Kristiine Laas
PR & Communications Coordinator, Odience
l.laas@odience.io

The 7th Qingdao Multinationals Summit is scheduled to take place June 15–17, 2026 at the Qingdao International Conference Center in Fushan Bay, bringing together corporate leaders and business representatives from around the world to discuss economic cooperation, investment opportunities, and industry development.

According to summit organizers, the event will host 435 corporate delegates from 36 countries and regions, including 355 senior executives from overseas multinational companies.

As a platform for dialogue between multinational enterprises, government officials, and industry stakeholders, the Multinationals Summit has become one of several major international events hosted by Qingdao in recent years. Organizers say the event is intended to facilitate trade and business exchanges, strengthen international partnerships, and provide multinational companies with opportunities to explore developments in China's economy and regional markets.

Qingdao's position as a major port city and economic center continues to play a key role in attracting international business participation. Located on China's eastern coast, the city serves as an important gateway for the Yellow River Basin and a transportation and logistics hub connected to the Belt and Road Initiative. Qingdao Port ranks among the world's leading container ports and has maintained the highest sea-rail intermodal transport capacity in China for 11 consecutive years.

The city is also home to established manufacturing, transportation and marine industries, including smart home appliances, rail transit and marine technology. Qingdao's marine science and research sector has attracted significant investment and research activity, contributing to its role in China's broader ocean economy development strategy.

In addition to its industrial base, Qingdao has continued efforts to improve its business environment and support international investment through infrastructure development, business services, and innovation initiatives.

Media Contact

Junrong Wei
qms-info@mncsummit.org.cn

Sundance Growth, a growth equity firm focused on partnering with mission-critical B2B software companies, today announced a strategic investment in CDWare, the leading fleet and delivery management software purpose-built for specialized heavy-duty vehicle operations, to support the company's continued North American expansion and product innovation.

CDWare serves fleet and delivery operators in ready-mix concrete, snow and ice control, waste collection, street sweeping, and hazardous goods transport—industries that mainstream technology was never built to support. These are mission-critical, heavily regulated operations where a missed delivery, a compliance gap, or a vehicle out of position can become an operational emergency. The product was built specifically for that reality, providing a platform that offers on- and off-road navigation, automated e-ticketing, digital proof-of-delivery, quality assurance data capture, and ELD and EDVIR compliance, all unified in a single visibility portal that gives operators and their customers one source of truth across every truck, driver, and load in the field. For industries that had no choice but to run on paper tickets, radio dispatch, and disconnected hardware, CDWare is the platform that fills those gaps.

The company is led by Marc-André Côté and Marie-Christine Côté, whose partnership runs deeper than any boardroom could produce. Marc-André and Marie-Christine are a brother and sister duo who chose to build on complementary strengths and a shared conviction that specialized fleet operators deserved a purpose-built solution, not an adaptation of tools designed for generic, light-duty fleets. That depth of trust and unity of vision is what allows CDWare to move the way it does, decisively, without hesitation. In an industry where the window to become the category-defining platform is open right now, that kind of alignment is a structural advantage. Where most companies deliberate, CDWare acts.

“Our customers don’t run generic fleets; they run some of the most operationally complex and regulated routes in the economy, and they’ve been underserved by technology for decades. We’re seeing that change rapidly. Operators who used to manage dispatch on whiteboards and paper tickets are now running fully digital, compliance-ready operations, and they’re growing faster because of it. This investment from Sundance accelerates what’s already working: a product that’s earning category-defining retention in every vertical we serve and a U.S. expansion that’s already showing early traction. We’re not just entering a market; we're building the operating system for an entire segment of the economy that’s been waiting for this.” — Marc-André Côté, CEO, CDWare

The investment will enable CDWare to expand its North American footprint, including continued execution against its U.S. growth plan. It will also accelerate development of new product capabilities designed to meet the evolving needs of regulated, heavy-duty fleet operators.

“Specialized heavy-duty fleet operators run some of the most complex and regulated workflows in the economy, where routing, compliance, and asset-level visibility are mission critical. CDWare has built a vertical-specific platform that serves as the operating system for these fleets, replacing fragmented legacy tools with a single, integrated solution. The company has demonstrated strong growth, exceptional customer retention, and clear product-market fit across its core verticals. We believe CDWare is uniquely positioned to become the North American category leader in vertical fleet management software, and we are proud to partner with Marc-André, Marie-Christine, and the team as they scale the platform and expand into the U.S.” — Christian Stewart, Managing Partner, Sundance Growth

About Sundance Growth

Founded by Christian Stewart, a former Accel-KKR investor, Sundance Growth is a growth equity firm focused on mission-critical B2B SaaS companies. The firm raised a $125 million debut fund in 2025. Sundance provides founders with flexible capital and hands-on support to grow organically and through strategic M&A. Sundance invests in companies with $3 to $10 million in ARR. For more information, visit www.sundancegrowth.com.

About CDWare

CDWare Technologies is a leading provider of industry-specific fleet and delivery software for construction materials, public works, and hazardous goods operators. Leveraging deep expertise in routing, connected vehicle data, and IoT-enabled workflows, the platform delivers operational intelligence that improves execution, reduces waste, and drives predictable outcomes across complex, field-driven environments. The company is headquartered in Montreal, Canada. Learn more at www.cdware.com.

Media Contact

Christian Stewart
Managing Partner, Sundance Growth
cstewart@sundancegrowth.com

Cash App today announced the pilot launch of Cash App Mobile, an unlimited 5G phone plan. The premium plan runs on AT&T’s network and is designed for Cash App’s Modern Earners — the young adults, underbanked consumers, and gig workers who depend on connectivity to manage daily life. Powered by Gigs, the global leader in embedded connectivity, Cash App Mobile is priced at $40 per month including taxes and fees.

Phone bills represent one of the most universal, high-frequency payments Modern Earners make regardless of income predictability. With millions of users already using the Cash App Card to pay their phone bills, Cash App is expanding into mobile service to offer a more affordable and accessible option. According to a 2026 Cash App survey of U.S. respondents, 46% experienced friction when paying recurring phone bills.¹ This product is designed to remove common barriers and introduce an entirely new category of financial value:

• Beyond unlimited connectivity: Cash App, the No. 1 personal finance app in the U.S.², plans to deepen how Mobile connects to the rest of its ecosystem through Cash App Green and Families — giving individuals and communities new ways to earn and save on one of life's largest recurring expenses.
• A phone plan built for financial wellness: Cash App Mobile exists with the platform’s full suite of financial tools, allowing users to manage their mobile service, spending, and saving all in one place to create an integrated experience for Modern Earners.
• Premium 5G on AT&T's network: Unlimited 5G data, talk and text, unlimited HD streaming, and 10 GB of monthly hotspot within the United States, data roaming in Canada and Mexico, and more.

“Modern Earners deserve mobile service that works as hard as they do. They’re building their futures, managing multiple income streams, and every dollar matters,” said Owen Jennings, Executive Officer and Head of Business at Block (the parent company of Cash App). “By integrating connectivity directly into Cash App, we’re delivering the affordability and convenience our customers have been asking for, and managed all in one place.”

“For years, connectivity has been built around rigid contracts and legacy carrier models that don’t reflect how people live or earn today,” said Hermann Frank, CEO and co-founder of Gigs. “We built Gigs to change that. Mobile connectivity is essential infrastructure for how people participate in the economy. Cash App Mobile demonstrates how carriers and technology leaders can come together to build experiences that best serve modern consumers.”

Cash App Mobile is rolling out to select users, with broader availability planned in the coming months.

Notes

¹ Cash App survey of U.S. respondents conducted in 2026.
² Source: Block Investor Day presentation, November 2025.

About Gigs

Gigs, the operating system for mobile services, empowers tech companies to seamlessly embed connectivity into their offerings in weeks. By bundling phone plans and travel data with their core services, Gigs' customers can increase stickiness and unlock a new recurring revenue stream with digital mobile experiences that create meaningful value for consumers. Gigs' end-to-end platform provides everything brands like Revolut, Klarna, Nubank and OnePay need to launch and operate their own multi-market mobile service: premium connectivity, a hosted checkout, billing, subscription management, analytics, and AI-powered customer service. Backed by Ribbit Capital, Google, Y Combinator, Speedinvest and BoxGroup, Gigs was founded by Hermann Frank and Dennis Bauer in 2020. For more information, visit gigs.com.

About Cash App

Cash App is the money app. Banking* on Cash App is easy: customers can receive paychecks early with direct deposit, spend money where Visa is accepted with a personalized Cash App Card, and grow their money with a separate savings balance — all without hidden fees. Customers can also create a unique $Cashtag to share with anyone to get paid fast, make purchases with Cash App Pay, trade stocks and buy and sell bitcoin**. With Afterpay***, customers can also pay over time in a way that best fits their financial needs through participating merchants or directly in the app. Download Cash App for free at cash.app/download.

*Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App’s bank partner(s). Prepaid debit cards issued by Sutton Bank, Member FDIC. Cash App Visa® Debit Flex Cards issued by Sutton Bank, Member FDIC, and The Bancorp Bank, N.A., pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. See terms and conditions for the Sutton prepaid card, Sutton debit flex card, and Bancorp debit flex card. See cash.app for more details.

**Brokerage services provided by Cash App Investing LLC, member FINRA/SIPC, subsidiary of Block, Inc. Stablecoin, Bitcoin Map, and Lightning Network are not available to New York residents. Bitcoin services provided by Block, Inc. Bitcoin services are not licensable activity in all U.S. states and territories. Block, Inc. operates in New York as Block of Delaware and is licensed to engage in virtual currency business activity by the New York State Department of Financial Services. Investing and bitcoin are non-deposit, non-bank products that are not FDIC insured and involve risk, including monetary loss. Cash App Investing does not trade bitcoin and Block, Inc. is not a member of FINRA or SIPC. For additional information, see the Bitcoin and Cash App Investing disclosures.

***Afterpay is offered and managed through your Cash App account — no Afterpay account needed. Eligibility is based on several factors and is not guaranteed. Afterpay is not available in all states. Afterpay loans issued by First Electronic Bank, serviced by Square Capital, Inc. View state licenses.

Media Contact

Six Eastern
hello@sixeastern.com

Cash App
press@cash.app

The American Kratom Association (AKA) today applauded the American Medical Association (AMA) for recognizing the growing public health concerns associated with highly concentrated 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) products but urged the AMA to more clearly distinguish these chemically manipulated opioid products from traditional natural kratom leaf products.

In a policy statement adopted at its annual meeting, the AMA highlighted concerns about concentrated 7-OH products and supported restrictions on their sale and marketing, particularly where children and adolescents may be exposed. The AMA specifically noted that manufacturers are increasingly extracting and concentrating 7-OH into products that are chemically manipulated opioids that have no legitimate relationship to traditional kratom leaf products.

While the AMA’s concerns regarding chemically manipulated 7-OH opioid products are justified, the American Kratom Association believes the policy statement unintentionally contributes to ongoing public confusion by repeatedly characterizing these products as “kratom products” when they have no resemblance to natural kratom leaf products.

“The AMA correctly identifies the danger posed by concentrated 7-OH products, but it stops short of making the most important distinction,” said Mac Haddow, Senior Fellow on Public Policy for the American Kratom Association. “These chemically manipulated 7-OH opioids are not traditional kratom products. They are highly concentrated opioids manufactured through chemical conversion processes that fundamentally alter the natural composition of kratom.”

Natural kratom leaf contains mitragynine as its dominant alkaloid, while 7-OH exists only in trace amounts. The products now appearing on the market often reverse that natural relationship by chemically converting mitragynine into concentrated 7-OH opioids, creating products with pharmacological profiles dramatically different from natural kratom leaf.

The scientific evidence increasingly demonstrates why policymakers must distinguish between these chemically manipulated opioids and natural kratom.

In a human dose-finding safety study conducted under FDA oversight, healthy adult participants consumed kratom doses up to 12 grams of leaf material without experiencing serious adverse events. Researchers concluded that kratom was generally well tolerated across all dose levels tested, with only nausea being the most commonly reported non-serious adverse event experienced by both the kratom and the placebo test groups.

More recently, the National Institutes of Health announced the approval of a groundbreaking human clinical trial evaluating whether kratom can serve as a treatment for opioid use disorder and help individuals reduce or eliminate dependence on more dangerous opioids. That study, led by researchers at the University of Florida, could not proceed without approval by an independent Institutional Review Board (IRB), which is legally and ethically required to determine that human participants will not be exposed to unreasonable or unacceptable safety risks.

“The significance of the NIH announcement cannot be overstated,” Haddow continued. “A study designed to evaluate kratom as a tool to help people overcome opioid addiction could not move forward unless an independent ethics review concluded that participation in the study presents an acceptable safety profile for human subjects. That is fundamentally inconsistent with the narrative that natural kratom leaf is itself a significant public health threat.”

The AKA strongly supports federal and state actions targeting chemically manipulated 7-OH products. In fact, the Association has consistently advocated for strict regulation and scheduling of chemically converted 7-OH opioids that are marketed as kratom despite possessing pharmacological characteristics far removed from natural leaf material.

The FDA itself has warned consumers about concentrated 7-OH products, and both HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and former FDA Commissioner Marty Makary have emphasized that federal enforcement efforts are focused on chemically manipulated 7-OH products rather than properly manufactured natural kratom leaf products.

Unfortunately, when public statements fail to clearly distinguish between natural kratom and concentrated 7-OH opioids, consumers, healthcare providers, legislators, and regulators are left with the mistaken impression that all kratom products present the same risks. That confusion undermines efforts to develop evidence-based public health policy.

The American Kratom Association calls on the AMA, public health officials, and policymakers to accurately identify the source of the emerging safety concerns: chemically manipulated 7-OH opioid products masquerading as kratom.

“The solution is not to stigmatize or prohibit natural kratom leaf products that millions of Americans use responsibly,” Haddow said. “The solution is to focus regulatory attention where it belongs — on chemically manipulated 7-OH opioid products that are fundamentally different from natural kratom and should not be marketed as kratom in the first place.”

The AKA remains committed to advancing science-based regulation, protecting consumers from dangerous synthetic and chemically manipulated 7-OH opioid products, and preserving access to properly manufactured natural kratom leaf products that meet established safety and quality standards.

About American Kratom Association (AKA)

American Kratom Association (AKA) is a consumer-based, nonprofit organization, focused on furthering the latest science as guidance for kratom public policy. AKA works to give a voice to millions of Americans by fighting to protect their rights to access safe and natural kratom. For more information, visit www.americankratom.org and learn more at kratomanswers.org.

Media Contact

Mac Haddow
Senior Fellow on Public Policy
press@americankratom.org
+1 571-294-5978

Marquis Who’s Who honors Sanford L. Moskowitz, PhD, for contributions to innovation research, technology history and interdisciplinary scholarship. Dr. Moskowitz, a full professor in the Department of Global Business at the College of St. Benedict and St. John’s University, is recognized for his work examining the intersection of science, technology, economics and history through research, consulting and authorship.

Recognition for Interdisciplinary Scholarship

Dr. Moskowitz has built a career that bridges scientific research, economic history, technology studies and writing. His work focuses on how innovation evolves across industries and societies, particularly in advanced materials, global competitiveness and the commercialization of emerging technologies.

Dr. Moskowitz’s research has been cited by organizations and publications including The Economist, Wired, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. His work has also appeared in doctoral dissertations and academic studies involving engineering, architecture and industrial development.

A Career Shaped by Science and History

Dr. Moskowitz earned a Bachelor of Science in physics with a minor in mathematics from the City College of New York before pursuing graduate studies at Columbia University, where he completed a master’s degree in history, a Master of Philosophy and a Doctor of Philosophy in economic history and the history of technology.

Although accepted into graduate physics programs at institutions including the University of Chicago and the University of California, Berkeley, Dr. Moskowitz chose a broader interdisciplinary path combining science, history and economic analysis. He has often credited his father, Dr. Fred Moskowitz, as a major influence on his intellectual development. Dr. Fred Moskowitz was an electrical engineer whose work on the Moskowitz Factoring Theorem became foundational in network reliability systems.

Books and Research Contributions

Throughout his career, Dr. Moskowitz has authored books exploring innovation, technology management and industrial change, including “The Advanced Materials Revolution: Technology and Economic Growth in the Age of Globalization,” “Advanced Materials Innovation: Managing Global Technology in the 21st Century” and “Cybercrime and Business: Strategies for Global Corporate Security.”

Dr. Moskowitz’s most recent book, “Managing Technology from Laboratory to Marketplace: Cheating the Valley of Death,” was published in 2024 as part of Springer Nature’s Management for Professionals series. The book examines the challenges organizations face when moving technological innovation from research environments into commercial markets.

In addition to his academic work, Dr. Moskowitz has consulted for multinational corporations, technology firms and government agencies. He has also served as an expert witness in legal matters involving technology and innovation.

Continued Research and Future Projects

Dr. Moskowitz continues to write and conduct research on innovation and industrial transformation. He is currently developing projects focused on global nanotechnology, national competitiveness and the long-term economic effects of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, including a book for Springer Nature scheduled to be published in 2028.

Marquis Who’s Who’s recognition reflects Dr. Moskowitz’s longstanding commitment to scholarship, intellectual curiosity and interdisciplinary analysis. His work continues to influence researchers, students and professionals studying the relationship between technology, innovation and society.

About Sanford L. Moskowitz

Sanford L. Moskowitz, PhD, is a professor, researcher, author and consultant whose work explores the intersection of innovation, technology, economics and history. A faculty member in the Department of Global Business at the College of St. Benedict and St. John’s University, Dr. Moskowitz specializes in technology management, advanced materials, industrial competitiveness and the commercialization of emerging technologies. His research has been cited by leading organizations, policymakers and academic institutions, and he has authored numerous books on innovation, technology strategy and economic development. Through his scholarship, consulting and writing, Dr. Moskowitz examines how technological change shapes industries, markets and society. For more information, follow on LinkedIn.

About Marquis Who’s Who

Since 1899, when A. N. Marquis printed the first edition of Who’s Who in America®, Marquis Who’s Who® has chronicled the lives of the most accomplished individuals and innovators from every significant field, including politics, business, medicine, law, education, art, religion and entertainment. Who’s Who in America® remains an essential biographical source for thousands of researchers, journalists, librarians and executive search firms worldwide. The suite of Marquis® publications can be viewed at the official Marquis Who’s Who® website, marquiswhoswho.com.

Media Contact

Marquis Who’s Who
info@marquiswhoswho.com

Concentrate AI today launched out of stealth with the LLM gateway built for companies running AI in production. The platform gives teams one API to access every major frontier and open-source large language model with enterprise-grade security, governance, compliance, and spend controls built in by default and free. It arrives as AI legislation reaches every state in the country and as companies shift from AI experimentation to AI as core infrastructure.

The launch comes as the AI gateway and token routing market is heating up. Companies are no longer just asking how to use more AI. They are asking how to control it: which models to use, where traffic should route, how much each team is spending, what happens when providers go down, and how to keep sensitive data out of model streams. The model landscape is fragmenting faster than any team can track: new models, providers, and price-performance tradeoffs every week. Using more than one model once meant juggling separate contracts, SDKs, and integrations, with changes that could take weeks. Concentrate makes it easy: instant access to models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, xAI, Kimi, and more through one integration, with the ability to switch by changing a single line of code.

"Everything we build comes down to giving developers back their two most precious resources — time and money," said Ari Jacoby, co-founder and CEO. "The model landscape is fragmented. New models launch every week, prices keep changing, and teams need a safer, simpler way to choose the right model for the job." 

At the center of the launch is an inversion of how enterprise AI controls have always been sold. The full stack (single sign-on, role-based access controls, audit logging, sensitive-data guardrails, and zero data retention) is free and on by default for every customer, from two engineers to two thousand. No enterprise sales cycle required.

Compliance is a core driver. In 2025, all 50 states introduced AI legislation for the first time, with 1,208 bills introduced and 145 enacted. Trackers count more than 2,000 AI bills across the country in 2026. Just as state privacy laws made data compliance non-negotiable for companies of every size, AI is following the same path but faster. Concentrate gives companies the controls they need to govern AI requests, protect sensitive data, and maintain an audit trail from day one.

Cost gets the same treatment. In the early wave of AI adoption, "tokenmaxxing" became a badge of progress: more usage meant more experimentation. But as AI moves into production, spend is a budget line item that finance, engineering, and security teams all need to understand. Concentrate gives companies one real-time view of AI usage across teams, users, models, providers, and applications with SMS and email alerts the moment spend looks anomalous, whether from a successful product launch, a misconfigured workflow, or a developer accidentally leaving a loop running overnight.

"Every dollar spent on AI should have a purpose," said Jacoby. "The companies that win won't just be the ones spending the most on tokens. They'll be the ones that know where that spend is going, what it is producing, and how to control it."

The platform is also built for production reliability. Concentrate routes across multiple providers and clouds, so if one endpoint fails, traffic automatically falls back to another. Customers can access Anthropic models through multiple providers, for example, reducing dependence on any single endpoint.

"Concentrate is for the in-production systems businesses depend on, not just experiments," said Todd Lieberman, co-founder and CTO. "When one AI provider goes down, we automatically route to another so our customers stay up, even when their providers don't."

Concentrate is free, with tokens billed at cost and no platform markup. The company recently raised more than $5 million in pre-seed funding led by True Ventures and RRE Ventures to expand the core platform, improve the developer experience, and support companies deploying AI at scale. Premium enterprise tiers, including extended logging, SLAs, and dedicated support, are available for teams that need them.

About Concentrate AI

Concentrate AI is the operating layer for enterprise AI — a fully managed LLM gateway giving organizations of any size unified access to every major model through one API, with security, governance, compliance, spend controls, and production reliability built in by default. By making those controls free and on by default, Concentrate lets every company run AI responsibly and at scale, without platform markups or vendor lock-in. Learn more at concentrate.ai.

Media Contact

Concentrate AI
support@concentrate.ai

China's first major project under the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026–2030), the Three Gorges New Waterway, officially commenced construction on June 8. The project, for which China Three Gorges Corporation (CTG) serves as the responsible entity, has an estimated static investment of 77.208 billion yuan ($11.4 billion) and is expected to significantly enhance the Yangtze River's shipping capacity in response to growing freight demand.

Related video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqURo6yMjKs (Produced by Hubei Media Group)

Zhao Yin, who has sailed between Chongqing and Shanghai for 15 years, calls this long-awaited news. He estimates the new waterway will cut his shipping costs by about 20% with much faster voyages.

"Back then, lock transit was fast, but things are different now. There are far more ships on the water. Once the new lock is finished, we’ll save lots of waiting time. I’m really looking forward to it," said Zhao Yin, Captain of Vessel Kuihang 908.

The 59-kilometer river reach between the Three Gorges and Gezhouba Dams forms a critical shipping bottleneck on the Yangtze. The Three Gorges ship locks officially opened to navigation in June 2003 and have maintained efficient operation for over two decades. Driven by China’s robust economic growth, the annual cargo throughput of the Three Gorges ship locks surged from an initial 18.02 million tons to 170 million tons by the end of 2025, exceeding its designed handling capacity by 70%.

Carving a brand-new water corridor one kilometer away

The Three Gorges New Waterway is a parallel corridor about 1km north of the existing locks. 6,680 meters long, it has double-line five-stage ship locks that lift 10,000-ton vessels over the dam like a staircase. To handle the increased flow, the downstream Gezhouba Dam is being demolished and expanded, with the whole project taking nearly a decade. Upon completion, annual lock capacity will jump from 100 million to over 300 million tons.

Why does the whole world care about this river?

The Yangtze is far more than an ordinary river today. It acts as a vital economic artery: upstream stretches carry energy and mineral resources, mid-reaches transport factory machinery, and downstream waterways connect to ocean-going giant ships bound for all corners of the globe.

"After the Three Gorges new waterway is put into operation, Chongqing's logistics costs for the manufacturing industry will drop by 30%. International investors will be more willing to develop relevant resources in upstream regions," said Qin Zunwen, Secretary-General of the Yangtze River High-End Think Tank Alliance, Research Fellow at Hubei Academy of Social Sciences.

Qin Zunwen said the new waterway links west to Europe via China-Europe Railway Express and east to Southeast Asia, forming a key Belt and Road rail-water artery. When completed, it will slash business logistics costs and boost efficiency. Upper Yangtze goods will reach estuary containers more reliably; foreign raw materials and equipment will ship straight to Chongqing, giving inland China easier access to global supplies.

While constructing a massive infrastructure project in a mountainous region, planners prioritized harmonious coexistence with aquatic wildlife inhabiting the river.

The Three Gorges, home to the Chinese sturgeon and Yangtze finless porpoise, has robust conservation measures built into the project. Acoustic deterrents keep fish away from construction sites. When operational, protected areas will have dedicated shipping lanes and speed limits, plus rare fish breeding and release programs to sustain populations. As 10,000-ton giant vessels steadily climb this aquatic staircase, the economic pulse of the Yangtze will beat stronger than ever.

Volodymyr Nosov, founder and president of W Group and WhiteBIT, has acquired a significant stake in Dutch luxury sports car manufacturer Spyker. As part of the transaction, Spyker will become part of the global W Group ecosystem, marking the group's expansion beyond fintech and digital assets into premium manufacturing and luxury mobility.

For W Group, the investment in Spyker represents more than the acquisition of a stake in an iconic automotive brand. It signals the next phase of the group's evolution from a fintech and blockchain ecosystem into a diversified international holding company. By expanding into traditional industries and premium manufacturing, W Group aims to bridge the gap between Web3 technologies and established Web2 businesses, creating a business ecosystem where innovation, digital infrastructure, and real-world assets operate within a single strategic framework.

The investment is intended to support the revival and long-term development of one of Europe's most historic automotive brands. Founded in 1880, Spyker is renowned for its handcrafted sports cars, aviation-inspired design, and limited-production approach that has made the marque highly sought after by collectors worldwide.

Alongside the investment, W Group and Spyker will launch Spyker Digital, a new technology company focused on developing digital infrastructure and ownership solutions for the premium automotive sector. The initiative aims to explore how emerging technologies can enhance customer experience, vehicle ownership, and brand engagement while preserving the exclusivity and craftsmanship that define the Spyker brand.

"For many years, I have been invested in rare automobiles and have always admired Spyker's unique design language and extraordinary heritage," said Volodymyr Nosov. "Becoming a co-owner of Spyker is both a personal and strategic investment. Our goal is to preserve everything that makes the brand special while helping it enter a new era of growth, innovation, and global relevance. Spyker Digital will become a synergy of the finest traditions of European engineering and the digital economy, where a sports car is integrated with blockchain products and tokens."

Victor Muller, founder and CEO of Spyker, welcomed the partnership, describing it as a significant milestone in the company's return to the global automotive market.

"The enthusiasm we have seen since announcing the new Spyker C8 Preliator XXV confirms that there is strong demand for the return of Spyker," said Muller. "With Volodymyr Nosov and W Group joining us as partners, we gain not only long-term strategic support, but also access to technologies and expertise that will help us build the next chapter of the Spyker story."

The investment in Spyker Cars expands W Group’s portfolio beyond fintech and digital assets, adding a premium manufacturing brand with a strong heritage and global recognition. For the W Group of companies, this step is an important part of its long-term strategy to enter traditional non-digital markets. This model of global expansion, in which digital assets and premium physical manufacturing operate within a single technological framework, creates a more multifunctional and resilient business ecosystem.

The Road to Pebble Beach

Spyker’s return starts off with the launch of the new Spyker C8 Preliator XXV at The Quail in Carmel, California, on August 14, followed by a display on the Concept Car Lawn of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance on August 16, two of the most prestigious events in the world of automotive luxury.

The technical specifications of the new Spyker C8 Preliator XXV show a significant leap in performance: it boasts 800 bhp from a non-hybrid twin-turbo V8, allowing the car to reach a top speed of 350 km/h (217 mph).

About W Group

W Group is a global fintech ecosystem that makes blockchain and crypto easy, secure, and accessible for everyone. It is built on the values of security, professionalism, and innovation, serving 35 million users across 150 countries worldwide. At the center of W Group is WhiteBIT, the largest European crypto exchange by traffic, offering over 900 trading pairs, over 340 assets, and supporting 8 fiat currencies. WhiteBIT collaborates with Visa, FACEIT, FC Barcelona, Juventus FC, and the Ukrainian national football team. For more information, visit w.group.

About Spyker

Founded in 1880 in the Netherlands, Spyker is one of the world’s oldest ultra-luxury automotive brands, hand-building exclusive hypercars to individual commission. The brand’s rich heritage includes creating the world’s first four-wheel-drive car in 1903, building planes from 1914 to 1918, and participating in Formula One and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Today, the company produces vehicles exclusively in extremely limited numbers featuring aviation-inspired design elements. For more information, visit spykercars.com.

Media Contact

Whitebit PR Team
pr@whitebit.com

NeedTags, an authorized California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) business partner specializing in online vehicle registration services, today announced a structured customer feedback initiative designed to guide future enhancements to its digital platform. The program formalizes how customer input is collected, analyzed, and incorporated into service updates for California vehicle owners who rely on online registration solutions.

NeedTags operates within the DMV’s Business Partner Automation program, allowing it to electronically process registration renewals, title-related transactions, and replacement documents through integrations with state systems. The company focuses on helping drivers complete DMV-required transactions online, reducing the time and effort required for in-person visits.

The new customer feedback initiative creates a centralized channel for users to share detailed experiences with services such as instant registration renewal, expedited title transfer processing when required documents are submitted, and next-business-day shipment of replacement registration documents to addresses throughout the United States. Feedback will be used to prioritize improvements to workflows, communication, and self-service tools for California drivers.

Since launch, NeedTags estimates it has supported roughly two million customer interactions, including processed registrations and resolved questions from California vehicle owners navigating DMV requirements. Its platform is designed to address common problems such as avoiding lapses in registration tags and clarifying steps for required paperwork, particularly for busy drivers who may otherwise face delays or penalties.

“This initiative is about listening in a more structured way to the people who use our services every day,” said Eddy Asmerian, CEO of NeedTags. “Organizing customer feedback and tying it directly to product changes allows the company to focus on practical improvements that make DMV compliance faster and more straightforward for California drivers.”

The company’s services are built around electronic submission of DMV documentation and real-time or accelerated processing timelines made possible through application programming interface (API) connectivity with state systems. NeedTags maintains a strong online reputation, including a 4.8-star rating on the ShopperApproved review platform, reflecting satisfaction with its registration renewal and support offerings.

“Our goal is to consistently refine how we guide customers through each step of the process, from entering their vehicle information to receiving proof of registration,” Asmerian added. “Customer input highlights where instructions need to be clearer, where communication can be more proactive, and where automation can safely reduce friction.”

Customers will be able to submit feedback through designated forms on the NeedTags website, with an emphasis on detailed, transaction-specific experiences such as renewals close to expiration dates, replacement documents after a move, or questions about DMV notices. The initiative is open to all platform users, and submissions will be periodically reviewed to identify recurring themes and opportunities for system updates.

The program is intended to run on an ongoing basis, with NeedTags planning to periodically share information about categories of improvements that emerge from the feedback, such as interface changes or updated help resources. The company continues to focus exclusively on the California market, where it supports a high volume of vehicle registrations within a single, highly regulated environment.

“Customer feedback has always been present in our operations, but this initiative gives it a more formal and visible role in how we plan updates,” Asmerian said. “As vehicle registration requirements and digital expectations evolve, the direct experiences of California drivers will help us align our services with what they need from an authorized online DMV partner.”

About NeedTags

NeedTags is a California-based vehicle registration services provider that participates in the California DMV’s Business Partner Automation program, enabling it to process many common registration transactions online on behalf of vehicle owners. Through its web platform, NeedTags offers services such as instant registration renewal, electronic proof of registration, and shipment of physical documents, with a focus on helping drivers remain compliant with state requirements while minimizing time spent on administrative tasks.

Media Contact

Media Relations
media@needtags.com

Exalate, a global provider of real-time, two-way integration software for enterprise teams, is marking 15 years since the start of its company journey as integration becomes a strategic layer for organizations operating across fragmented tools, external partners, and AI-assisted workflows.

The milestone comes as Exalate expands its global enterprise footprint, reporting 26% year-over-year revenue growth, more than 2,500 customers across 85 countries, an active partner network of more than 200 organizations, and over 40% of core revenue from the U.S. enterprise market.

Solving the Legacy of Software Fragmentation

Exalate’s trajectory reflects the broader acceleration and fragmentation of the global enterprise software landscape. The technology was originally conceived to address a persistent structural problem in corporate environments: collaboration breaks down when enterprise data is isolated across siloed team environments.

What began as a targeted solution to keep engineering and service teams aligned has expanded over a decade and a half into an enterprise-grade platform that bridges major corporate systems, including Jira, ServiceNow, Salesforce, Azure DevOps, Zendesk, Freshservice, Asana, and others.

Today, Exalate supports organizations ranging from fast-scaling startups to multinational corporations, managed service providers, and cross-company networks, helping them keep fast-moving data aligned across conflicting tools, permissions, and organizational boundaries. The company’s market distinction is built on a fundamental architectural principle: each side of an integration must retain control over its own data, local configurations, security protocols, and business logic.

This approach has grown increasingly critical as enterprise organizations weave artificial intelligence into their core operational workflows. AI systems can accelerate work, but their efficacy relies on the accuracy, context, and governance of the data flowing between business systems. When the underlying integration layer is fragile, corporate risk scales alongside automation speed. Incomplete context, broken sync logic, or unmonitored data movement can propagate errors across an enterprise before internal compliance teams can intervene.

“The governance gap in enterprise integration isn’t new. What’s new is the consequence,” said Francis Martens, co-founder and CEO of Exalate. “As AI agents begin to actively execute tasks across enterprise workflows, executive leadership needs to know exactly what data is moving, where it is routed, who controls it, and what happens when an upstream system changes. Basic connectivity is no longer sufficient. Governed integration is what keeps operational speed from turning into organizational chaos.”

De-Risking Complex Enterprise Workflows

Exalate’s ongoing product direction has been explicitly informed by complex, real-world enterprise scenarios where operational visibility and data control are mandatory. These include cross-border incident escalation, vendor-customer collaboration, large-scale M&A workflow consolidation, migration coexistence, managed service operations, and highly regulated data boundaries.

In today's business environments, standardizing on a single software tool across an entire ecosystem is rarely realistic. An internal support organization may operate natively in one system, engineering in a second, and an external strategic vendor in a third. Each entity operates under distinct compliance frameworks, security permissions, and definitions of workflow progress. Exalate is uniquely engineered to harmonize this systemic complexity without forcing any participant to yield control of their local environment.

“Fifteen years ago, integration was frequently dismissed as a back-office IT task,” notes Martens. “Today, as AI transforms enterprise operations, the reliability of that underlying synchronization layer is a boardroom priority. If your data infrastructure lacks context awareness and reliability, automation only accelerates your operational errors.”

Building AI-Assisted Integration Without Losing Control

To address these infrastructure challenges, Exalate introduced a redesigned product experience in 2026 that makes complex integrations easier to build, test, and govern while preserving enterprise control. The updated framework includes a unified management console, script versioning with rollback, and test run capabilities to validate changes before they affect live workflows.

A central element of this update is Aida, Exalate’s purpose-built, context-aware AI assistant embedded directly within the configuration flow. Aida allows operational teams to translate plain-language business intent into secure sync logic, interpret errors in context, and troubleshoot configuration issues. Rather than replacing human oversight, the AI assistant reduces manual configuration friction while ensuring all integration logic remains fully reviewable, auditable, and accountable.

This balance of operational flexibility and clear control mirrors a broader market shift. Integration has evolved past simple software connectivity to become part of the infrastructure governing how work and data move across corporate networks.

“Scaling from our roots in Antwerp into a technology provider trusted by global organizations required relentless discipline at every milestone,” says Hilde Van Brempt, CFO and co-founder of Exalate. “Our steady, product-led expansion was built by staying close to complex enterprise edge cases and making intentional architectural choices. The stability behind Exalate gives enterprise clients a foundation they can trust, while our product focus remains squarely on what’s next.”

As global enterprises scale their software footprints and deploy AI across critical workflows, Exalate’s 15-year milestone underscores an undeniable market reality: automation can only be trusted when the data layers beneath it remain synchronized, governed, and completely under control.

About Exalate

Exalate provides AI-assisted, real-time, two-way synchronization infrastructure across enterprise tools, internal teams, and corporate borders. Specifically engineered for complex ITSM, DevOps, migrations, managed service providers (MSPs), and secure cross-company B2B collaboration, Exalate allows organizations to build resilient operational bridges while maintaining ownership over their private data, local workflows, and compliance logic. The company is ISO 27001 certified and has been recognized in the Main Software 50 Benelux for three consecutive years. For more information, visit exalate.com.

Media Contact

Dafina Hristova
Brand & PR Manager, Exalate
pr@exalate.com
+32 3 318 00 81