Latest news with #Cass
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Yellow Corp. to sell Ontario terminal, 2 others for $16M
Bankrupt Yellow Corp. has entered a motion with a federal bankruptcy court in Delaware to sell three terminals valued at approximately $16 million, according to a Thursday filing. A $15.6 million sale agreement has been inked for a 42-door terminal in Ontario, Canada. A local concrete supplier appears to be the buyer. The other properties include a 14-door location in Jacksonville, North Carolina ($300,000) and an 8-door terminal in Quebec ($115,000). All three properties are owned by the defunct less-than-truckload carrier's estate. Proceeds from the sales will settle claims against the estate, including employee claims for PTO, sick time and amounts sought under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. Yellow's estate has sold roughly 215 terminals for nearly $2.4 billion. A monthly operating report for June showed the estate had $608 million in cash and has paid out $220 million in professional fees and expenses since the August 2023 bankruptcy filing. More FreightWaves articles by Todd Maiden: Freight shipment decline streak extends to 30 months, Cass says Landstar says $3.4M jury verdict, other charges to weigh on Q3 Forward Air posts Q2 EBITDA beat; investors waiting to see if company will be sold The post Yellow Corp. to sell Ontario terminal, 2 others for $16M appeared first on FreightWaves. Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
Hindustan Times
7 days ago
- Business
- Hindustan Times
The Chocolate Company Where Prices Change Every Three Months
Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory has adopted a dynamic pricing strategy after seeing rising cocoa costs cut into profits. That means prices for its gourmet chocolates could change every three months. Cocoa prices that soared late last year have fallen in recent months, hovering Wednesday afternoon at around $8,660 a metric ton compared with over $12,000 in December. But they remain above historical levels with supplies squeezed by poor weather and plant disease. In response, chocolate makers have doubled down on hedging strategies, changed packaging and raised prices to protect profits. Rocky Mountain Chocolate's answer includes quarterly pricing adjustments for truffles, chocolate-covered pretzels and more to account for the turbulent cocoa market. Executives call it dynamic pricing, though there are no plans to change prices based on demand around popular chocolate holidays such as Valentine's Day, said Chief Financial Officer Carrie Cass. Instead, the chocolate seller will raise—and lower—prices on a set schedule based on its own costs. 'We're really trying to stick to a certain margin,' Cass said. Volatility in the cocoa market is spurring changes across companies. Oreo maker Mondelez International announced a planned price increase this year. Nestlé has raised prices on certain items after trying other efforts to offset higher cocoa costs, such as finding efficiencies in the supply chain, according to a company representative. And Hershey has plans for a roughly double-digit percentage increase in prices in response to higher costs. As companies raise chocolate prices, a risk is that wallet-watching consumers pull back or stop buying, analysts said. 'Is the consumer going to eventually hit a breaking point where they say, 'I'm priced out of the category or I can only buy smaller pack sizes?'' asked Connor Rattigan, a senior analyst covering food and beverages at Consumer Edge. U.S. consumers are already eating less chocolate candy, with unit sales down 1.7% for the 52 weeks ended in mid-July from the comparable period a year earlier, according to market-research firm Circana. The average unit price is up 4.8%, to $3.58, Circana said. At Rocky Mountain Chocolate, price adjustments are expected to help. The past several quarters have been bruising for the company, prompting cost cuts, leadership shifts and operational changes including the new pricing strategy. Revenue has largely remained flat the past few years, aside from spikes around occasions like Valentine's Day and Christmas. With two price adjustments so far, total product and retail gross profit increased 200%, to $300,000, for the quarter ended May 31 compared with a year earlier. Total gross margin increased to 6.9% for the period, compared with negative 5.8% a year earlier. Rocky Mountain Chocolate anticipates adding several million dollars in gross profit this fiscal year because of the new approach to price adjustments, executives said in June. The plan was put into motion this year after the company revamped its data collection on sales, input costs and other items. Such figures used to come with a delay, and often weren't granular enough to make decisions about specific products. Now, the company monitors sell-through, inventory trends and product performance in real time and at a store level, and executives can see the margins tied to each product, Cass said. 'So instead of just saying: 'We're going to increase prices across the board 5% or 10%' or whatever, we strategically look at each [stock keeping unit] and set a target margin so that even if our costs go up, our adjusted pricing will still provide us with that target margin,' the CFO said. The company hasn't shared specifics on its target margin. The figures are updated daily, but price changes will be less frequent so that the franchise owners who sell the company's chocolate drizzled caramel apples, English toffee and other treats have time to plan for any adjustments, according to Cass. The first price change was in March followed by a second in June, both increases because of cocoa prices. The next adjustment is expected in September. Rocky Mountain Chocolate executives are watching for signs of pricing fatigue from franchisees. And the company will lower prices when possible. 'If cocoa prices come down … those prices could also fall,' she said. The company only has so much say in what consumers pay for treats. This is because it suggests retail prices to franchisees, but doesn't dictate them, the CFO said. Price adjustments at larger chocolatiers tend to be made as needed rather than at set intervals, analysts said. The Rocky Mountain Chocolate approach likely works in limited circumstances when there is greater control of the store shelves, said John Baumgartner, a senior analyst covering the U.S. food industry at Mizuho Financial Group. 'If you're going to be that iterative with pricing on a month-by-month basis, the expectation is that you will adjust prices down' when input costs decline, even if overall costs don't similarly drop, he said. 'I just don't think for large [consumer packaged goods] companies, the appetite is really there to swing prices up and down like that.' Write to Jennifer Williams at
STV News
06-08-2025
- Health
- STV News
Long Covid: 'The Scottish Government failed sufferers - the trust is gone'
Campaigners have branded Scotland's £4.5m fund for people living with long Covid 'a symbol of inaction and broken promises,' claiming no money has been spent since it was announced. The fund, unveiled in December 2024, is designed to support people with long Covid, ME, and related conditions. Long Covid Scotland and Long Covid Kids have now formally resigned from the Scottish Government's Strategic Network for the Long-Term Effects of Covid-19, accusing ministers of failing to deliver promised services, uphold policy commitments, or support patients. Public health minister Jenni Minto said the government will 'shortly be setting out' how the investment will provide specialist support across Scotland. Charity leaders say the decision to leave wasn't easy but that remaining was 'no longer tenable'. Jane Ormerod, chair of Long Covid Scotland, said: 'There has been no apology and no indication of how we move forward. Decisions about the money keep being delayed. 'We've had challenges being seen as equal partners, and communication has been poor throughout. Despite feeding back about many of these issues, little has been done. Trust has been lost. 'It makes me angry and disappointed that we're not seeing much change from three, four, five years ago. Services are still not meeting people's needs.' STV News 'I've lost part of my identity' – Cass was forced to stop working in 2023 Former nurse Cass Macdonald, 50, was forced to give up their job in 2023 due to worsening long Covid symptoms after contracting the virus during the first wave of the pandemic. Cass said the government has 'failed' in its public health response to long Covid. 'There are failures in public health messaging. You don't know what infection can disable you – diabetes, cardiac damage,' they said. 'Nothing is being done about air quality in schools or hospitals, or about seasonal viruses. We should be masking up, especially in healthcare. People are trying to pretend it hasn't happened. 'We should have had clinics five years ago, looking at all the research and properly engaging to relieve symptoms. They've done none of that. It's peer groups and charities helping us. They've messed this up.' STV News Long Covid campaigners outside parliament Cass first became ill in April 2020 after developing a fever and losing their sense of smell. At first, the symptoms seemed mild, but their breathing worsened, stamina plummeted, and fatigue and brain fog set in. 'Before Covid, I was walking an hour a day as part of my job. Afterward, if I pushed myself, I was wiped out. I couldn't get out of bed. I couldn't get dressed for days on end. I was scared that if I went into hospital, I wouldn't come out.' Over time, Cass developed tremors, neuropathic pain, breathlessness, and non-epileptic seizures. They were eventually diagnosed with functional neurological disorder and mast cell activation syndrome. Their mobility deteriorated to the point that they now use a wheelchair. STV News Cass suffers from a variety of physical and neurological symptoms due to long Covid 'I woke up gasping for breath at night, like my nervous system just wasn't working. As a nurse, I knew what that meant. I went to bed wondering if I'd wake up in the morning. 'Nursing was all I ever wanted to do. It's part of my identity. Now that chunk of me is gone. I'll never get that back. Covid took that decision out of my hands.' Campaigners say Scotland's failure to deliver specialist long Covid clinics is leaving tens of thousands without care. An estimated 100,000 people in Scotland are living with long Covid, with around 40% unable to work, according to a report by Chest, Heart and Stroke Scotland. STV News Helen Goss (left) with her daughter Anna, who has long Covid Helen Goss, Scottish lead for Long Covid Kids, said their resignation from the government network was a last resort. 'We entered 2025 with cautious optimism. Instead, six months on, we are forced to resign from a system that continues to fail the very people it was created to support. 'It wasn't an easy decision because we've worked in good faith with the Scottish Government and national services for nearly five years.' Minto said: 'The Long Covid Strategic Network is managed by NHS National Services Scotland and has greatly benefited from these organisations and their important work. We regret this decision and remain committed to learning from the experiences of those with long Covid. 'We are working hard with NHS boards and will shortly be setting out how our new investment of £4.5m will deliver specialist support across Scotland for long Covid, ME, Chronic Fatigue and other similar conditions. This builds on the more than £9.4m already allocated through our £10m Long Covid Support Fund, with further allocations to follow later this financial year.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
Yahoo
05-08-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Louisville boy makes medical history as first patient in US with new cochlear implant
DuJuan Broadus couldn't believe how loud the birds outside his bedroom window sounded. The buzzing of the cicadas near his grandmother's home in Georgetown was almost overwhelming. Having unknowingly lived with profound hearing loss for years, the world sounded so much more colorful than the Louisville native ever imagined. In December, DuJuan, now 11, went from having 'the hearing of a World War II veteran,' as one doctor put it, to becoming the first patient in the United States to receive a MED-EL FLEX34 cochlear implant. This new technology is the longest implant on the market and is designed for people, like DuJuan, who have an unusually large cochlea, which is the part of the ear that converts sound vibrations into signals the brain interprets as sound. If doctors had used a shorter model, DuJuan's hearing would have improved, but he wouldn't necessarily have access to such a dynamic range of frequencies, said Dr. Nathan Cass, a UK HealthCare otology and neurotology specialist, who implanted the FLEX34 in DuJuan's ear in December 2024. Specifically, lower, deeper sounds are limited, Cass said. If the electrode can't reach to the end of the patient's cochlea, they'll likely hear voices at a higher pitch. 'They'll say at their (cochlear implant) activation that voices sound kind of like Mickey Mouse,' Cass said. 'But one of the things that this new technology is aiming to try to help is to try to get people to get things to sound more natural.' With the help of the FLEX34, DuJuan now hears the world, and all the background noise that comes with it, at a completely different level. For the past eight months or so, it's been a daily adventure for him to learn and put names to sounds and background noises that his brain had never registered before. 'A lot of times it was really difficult, but I got used to it,' DuJuan told the Courier Journal. 'Now I can tell that the bird is a bird. I can tell a cricket is a cricket. I can tell a motorcycle is a motorcycle.' 'I didn't even know I had hearing loss' The journey to hearing and understanding what the world sounded like started well before DuJuan ended up at UK HealthCare. When DuJuan was about three years old, his parents noticed a speech impediment. His mother has a clear memory of him pointing to a motorcycle as a child, but pronouncing the word for it similar to the name 'Michael.' One of the first lines of intervention with speech is a hearing test. Studies have shown that about one to five children in about every 1,000 has hearing loss, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More: Confused about the COVID-19 booster? Here's what children, pregnant women in Kentucky need to know DuJuan passed that first hearing test, and from there, his parents enrolled him in speech therapy. Over time, his speech improved, and he graduated from speech therapy in the third grade. But something still didn't seem right. His grades were strong in reading and math, but his fourth-grade teacher had concerns about how he responded when she spoke to him. She wasn't sure if he didn't understand the question or if he couldn't hear what she was asking. So Jefferson County Public Schools tested him for hearing loss, and this time he failed — dynamically. He was just 10 years old at the time, and was already in severe and profound stages of hearing loss. No one had noticed up until this point, though, because DuJuan is an incredibly bright and resilient child. Without knowing it, DuJuan had taught himself to read lips. He'd become so good at it over the years, that when his mother, Letisha Broadus, spoke to him in the car, he knew to crane his neck up so that he could see her lips moving in the rearview mirror. He thought that this was something that everyone needed to do. 'I didn't even know I had hearing loss at first,' he said. 'Once I knew, I asked my mom 'what is even hearing loss?'' Heartbroken for her son but also determined, Letisha tried to find an ear, nose and throat specialist in Louisville to help. The waitlists locally were months long, so doctors referred her to UK HealthCare's Ear, Nose and Throat Clinic in Lexington, which was ranked No. 37 in the nation by US News and World Report in 2024 for that specialty. The 70-mile trip to the doctors was worth it, if they could schedule a surgery for an implant sooner. In the meantime, DuJuan used a hearing aid, which typically helps patients with low or moderate hearing loss. The day they turned it on in March 2024 was unforgettable for the whole family. 'There were a lot of tears, and a lot of emotions because he could hear things for the first time,' Letisha remembered. When the doctor stapled something to his file, DuJuan's ears caught the quick, snap-like click a stapler makes for the first time, ever. 'Wow,' he told his mom. 'That's what that sounds like.' He had so many things to relearn. 'I wasn't able to stop smiling that day' On the day the Broaduses traveled to Lexington in December 2024 for the cochlear implant surgery, DuJuan was a little nervous, of course, but also excited for what else the implant might help him hear. There are only three companies in the world that manufacture cochlear implants. DuJuan and his parents selected MED-EL, which had released the longest implant currently on the market in 2023. The Food and Drug Administration approved it the July before DuJuan's surgery. DuJuan's cochlea was 38 millimeters long, and he's in the 5-7% of the largest cochleas in the country. It's rare enough that in the eight months that have followed since his surgery, Cass has only implanted one other FLEX34 on a patient. More: Their son died by suicide. Now this Louisville couple is helping other young adults The difference in those extra millimeters, though, is crucial for patients like DuJuan. The cochlea has two fluid-filled chambers lined with tiny hairs. When a sound occurs, it vibrates the fluid in the cochlea. Those impulses are translated into electrical signals that the brain interprets as sound. The farther the implant can reach into the chamber, the more natural the sound becomes in the brain. 'The vast number of sensory cells we have there allows for some of the richness of the sounds that we can understand, and the dynamic range of the frequencies is very large,' Cass explained. When they turned the implant on in the weeks that followed the surgery, DuJuan couldn't wait to hear the world the same way everyone else does. "I wasn't able to stop smiling that day," he remembers. DuJuan is a big fan of music. The hearing aid kept him from having to listen to it on full blast, but now the voices in the songs are clearer. With a shorter implant, the rap music he enjoys might sound like Mickey Mouse is trying to take cues from 50 Cent or Kendrick Lamar. The FLEX34 helps him hear music as everyone else does. Now he has access to lower, bass notes. More: 300 people in line? How hard-to-find bourbons made Buffalo Trace Distillery a cult favorite And that's important, because DuJuan has big plans to join the choir when he starts the sixth grade at Western Middle School for the Arts this school year. He's always been a musically inclined child. When DuJuan was a baby, his mother would sing little songs to him, and he'd somehow managed to reply with the same, proper note. And while he'll have to wait until he's older before his voice lowers enough to hit any bass notes himself — in the meantime, he certainly hears them more on tune than he ever has before. More: What is a cochlear implant? Learn more about device Reach features columnist Maggie Menderski at mmenderski@ Want to learn more? To learn more about cochlear implants, hearing loss, the FLEX34 and other electrodes available for hearing loss patients, visit This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville boy first patient in US with med-el-flex34 cochlear implant Solve the daily Crossword
Newsweek
01-08-2025
- General
- Newsweek
Millennial's Theory on Why 'We Cannot Complain' About Loneliness Goes Viral
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A Pittsburgh woman has sparked conversation online about the link between loneliness and the supposedly millennial habit of canceling plans, after her post about the emotional consequences of flaking on friendships went viral on Threads. Leah Cass (@elleunchained), 38, shared her candid reflection on social isolation and community-building on July 27. The post read: "I regret to inform all of us that we cannot complain about not having community and also cancel plans every single time we feel like staying in bed instead of being awkward for a few hours." It has received over 12,000 likes. Speaking to Newsweek, Cass said she never expected the post to resonate so widely. "I noticed that while many people agreed, a few took it more personally, and I get it," she said. "I have spent quite a few nights canceling plans needing the alone time. "Personally, I have a tendency to withdraw when I'm struggling. I'm introverted, neurodivergent, and was homeschooled, so socializing has never been second nature." Her post, which called into question the comfort-first mindset many have adopted in social settings, struck a cultural nerve in perhaps the first generation marked by the prioritization of mental wellness, hyper-individualism, and burnout. Cass said the message was a reminder—first and foremost—to herself. Stock image: A lonely woman sits on a windowsill and looks outside. Stock image: A lonely woman sits on a windowsill and looks outside. Getty Images "I've come to realize that I haven't always made the effort to build the kind of community I long for," she said. "This post was really a reminder to myself and others that we can't say we want connection if we're not willing to take the sometimes uncomfortable steps to create it. "That doesn't mean it's easy. It's often much more tempting to stay in bed, unfortunately, but real connection requires us to get out there and try, even if we feel awkward." Cass, who began anonymously posting poetry to Instagram in 2015, said that digital vulnerability helped her forge meaningful connections online. Her following grew unexpectedly, eventually leading to the publication of five poetry books, one of which became an Amazon bestseller. Still, while writing may be her forte, Cass says the challenge of in-person interaction persists. "One of the biggest challenges we face is learning how to show up for each other in real, meaningful ways," she said. "Isolation has become so common, particularly since the pandemic. "While it may be awkward and challenging, our only way forward is together, and I've spent quite a bit of time reflecting on what that actually looks like." Leah Cass in a selfie (L) and her Threads post (R). Leah Cass in a selfie (L) and her Threads post (R). @elleunchained Cass' message echoes frustrations with the rise of "plan-cancel culture," where mental exhaustion or a desire to be alone justify bailing at the last minute, a behavior that some say undermines friendships. Several viewers shared their opinions in the comments. "People have made this their entire personality," one viewer said. "'I want to be invited but I'm not going to come'. It's the most selfish thing. Show up for your friends!" "To have a village, you must be a villager," another added. Social trends commentator Jo Hayes told Newsweek that millennial feelings of loneliness stem partly from a lack of deep in-person connection. "There are many reasons why millennials report this feeling of loneliness compared to previous generations at the same age," Hayes said. "A lack of the same social networks that previous generations tapped into is one reason—like church, community or volunteer groups, sports clubs." She noted that social media has replaced much of that community time, but often fails to offer true emotional sustenance. "Social media interaction, that, in many cases, is faux social, doesn't provide the same emotional or relational connection and benefits that in-person activities do, hence, loneliness," she said. Hayes added that packed schedules and over-commitment are also key contributors. "Millennials are also supremely busy—with super-packed, super-hectic schedules providing minimal time for quality social interaction," she said. "They may desire to go out for dinner with friends on a Friday night, but the packed week means all they have energy for is to curl up on the couch and watch a movie." That digital-first lifestyle may also be tied to what some have called the therapization of life—where therapeutic language is frequently used in everyday contexts as a result of an increase in younger generations seeking therapy. The Loneliest Generation One viral example that sparked memes and debate came from a 2019 friend breakup text message, in which a woman told her friend she was at "emotional and mental capacity" and could not hold space for her friend's emotions. Critics argued that mental health terminology is increasingly used as a way to avoid hard interpersonal conversations. Cass' post comes amid ongoing debate about how modern life has restructured friendship. From the slow disappearance of "third spaces" like libraries and community centers, to the economic strains that make socializing expensive or logistically difficult, millennials have reported higher levels of loneliness than generations before them. A 2019 YouGov poll discovered that 30 percent of millennials said they "always or often" feel lonely, compared to 20 percent of Generation X. While a 2025 study by Kaspersky looking into how millennials interact with digital platforms found that "approximately" 36 percent of millennials report that engaging with online communities has positively affected their mental health. The 2018 BBC Loneliness Experiment heard how 55,000 people aged 16 to 99 think and feel about loneliness. The results showed that 40 percent of the participants aged 16 to 24 said they felt lonely often or very often, compared to 29 percent of people aged 65 to 74. Hayes offered some advice to people tackling these feelings. "Be intentional about pursuing quality, in-person relationships," she said. "Arrange a coffee catchup with an old friend, join a church, volunteer at a soup kitchen. It's about balance, common sense, and going back to basics."
