Latest news with #Longo
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Warriors Choice Foundation looks to redefine veteran resources
(NewsNation) — Anthony Longo, founder of Warriors Choice Foundation, is helping connect veterans with service dogs and other holistic treatments. The nonprofit tailors PTSD-treatment plans for each veteran it helps, offering resources in one-on-one counseling, occupational therapy, wellness retreats, sensory deprivation float tanks and more. 'We try to make it our mission to being able to provide essentially that choice back to the individual, being able to say, 'Hey, look, what do I need for me to get better?' and to take it from there and just kind of give them that sovereignty,' Longo told 'Morning in America' on Memorial Day. Arlington National Cemetery's Section 60 honors Iraq, Afghanistan vets By taking veterans' care from the one-size-fits-all mold, Longo said it's possible to recognize 'what's accessible and available out there that isn't really covered through insurance a lot of the times.' Longo said his own service dog, Bourbon, is 'the founder of this organization.' 'Through his lines and litter, we had 17 puppies that went out to veterans initially, and then as we started growing with the organization,' he said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Fallujah vet turns Medal of Heroism into a healing mission for fellow warriors with service dogs program
Marine veteran Anthony Longo is acutely aware of the inner battles many veterans face long after leaving the combat zone. He has also experienced the healing that can come from having "man's best friend" as a companion. That is why Longo, who served in Fallujah, Iraq, and earned the Department of State's Medal of Heroism in Afghanistan, founded the Warriors Choice Foundation in 2016 with the mission of helping fellow veterans heal. In an interview with Fox News Digital, Longo explained that rather than relying solely on medications or a one-size-fits-all approach to treatment, his foundation tailors care to individual veterans through counseling, wellness retreats and a truly unique treatment called "cognitive K9 rehabilitation." Through Warriors Choice K9 rehabilitation program, the group matches veterans with Belgian Malinois breed service dogs specially bred and trained to help people suffering from PTSD and other combat-related mental health challenges. Americans Should Honor Memorial Day In This Way, Military Service Members Suggest Since 2018, Warriors Choice has helped 72 veterans and matched 46 with their own service dog. Read On The Fox News App The group has even bred a service dog named "Trump," who Longo said was "the best" and the hardest one to let go." "Trump," the service dog, is now the companion to a 20-year special operations veteran, and Longo said he feels "blessed" to be a part of "what that dog has helped that man through." "You're seeing complete lives transferring 180 degrees into a new direction," he said. "It's man's best friend for a reason. I can appreciate my dog sometimes a lot more than humans. And to have that connection and the ability to work through complicated issues together, it was a good fit." While the K9 treatment program is not for everyone, Longo said that he has seen incredible results, transforming veterans' lives. Florida Veteran Nonprofit Sees Best-in-state Suicide Reductions Sitting by him during the interview was his own K9 companion, "Bourbon," who he said has "set the tone" in his own healing journey as well as laid the foundation for Warriors Choice's K9 program. "That dynamic between handler and canine, I think it adds just a sense of more responsibility beyond ourselves," he explained. "There are times when I wanted to be just completely left alone and isolated and not have to do anything, but someone's got to take the dog out. Someone's got to put food on the table. There are things that have to be done, I have to go do the training, I have to go maintain a level or a standard that I've imposed on myself to essentially hold myself accountable for my actions and what I'm doing in my day-to-day." Beyond that, Longo explained that Bourbon has helped him gain a "true understanding of what I needed to do for myself." Though Longo said that fighting against issues like veteran PTSD and suicide can feel like "trying to move a mountain," he explained that the need could not be more urgent. According to Warriors Choice, veterans are 1.5 times more likely to die by suicide. What Is Ptsd? Symptoms That Can Emerge After Experiencing A Traumatic Event "At the end of the day," said Longo, "you're here not for yourself, you're here for your brother." "You're here to provide somebody with an opportunity and a chance who's reaching out for help. And all you got to do is just grab on, hang on, and give your best effort in assisting them in a time of need because you've been there with them. You understand what it's like to be in those situations. You know the – I hate to say it – the cognitive fog of what it's like to be overseas and to be here and to be more comfortable overseas than you are at home." "I wouldn't be able to do it unless there was success involved with it. And that's seeing guys staying out of the ground." Longo urged any veteran struggling with PTSD to reach out, saying, "We'll be happy to communicate with you and assist you in mapping out what is going to be the best path and direction forward."Original article source: Fallujah vet turns Medal of Heroism into a healing mission for fellow warriors with service dogs program
USA Today
25-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Coach Ray Longo wonders why Ilia Topuria's former team can't be part of UFC 317 camp
Coach Ray Longo wonders why Ilia Topuria's former team can't be part of UFC 317 camp Champion-level head coach Ray Longo believes Ilia Topuria will be fine as he transitions to a new gym, but also wonders why his old coach can't be a part of the fight camp for Charles Oliveira. Topuria (16-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) will move up to lightweight to fight for the vacant title against Oliveira (35-10 MMA, 23-10 UFC) in the main event of UFC 317. Not only is Topuria leaving the featherweight title behind, he's also making a coaching change from Jorge and Agustin Climent as he settles into his own gym in Madrid, Spain. While all parties involved say the split was amicable, UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier questioned the move, considering the team helped build Topuria into the star he is today. Cormier would like to see the Climents be a part of Topuria's camp, even if it's just for a short period. Longo, who has led multiple UFC fighters to championship gold, shares the same thought. "I'm going to agree with Cormier, too," Longo said on the "Anik & Florian Podcast." "That coach can come in for one or two weeks and, I'm not saying make a big difference, but can hold to what they were doing. ... Everybody makes this decision after they're already on the top for a while, you know what I mean? Would he have made that decision as he was coming up when he really needed the guy? That's where I get a little salty with this. Like hey, if you're going to do it, do it at the beginning. I go back to what Teddy Atlas said to me in that interview, he said Gus Damato always told him, 'What a guy does in the end, is what he always wanted to do in the beginning.'" Longo has experienced dealing with fighters moving to a different gym in the middle of their championship runs, such as Aljamain Sterling and Merab Dvalishvili. However, the difference is that they moved to Las Vegas to better deal with the COVID pandemic. The move was a necessity, but Longo remains in their corner to guide them on fight night, which appears not to be the case with Topuria and the Climent team. "It's probably what he always wanted to do," Longo said. "I think we had a different situation. We all lived together; we were all two minutes from each other. I think it's a totally different vibe. Without the COVID thing, there would have been no changes, and I would have loved to have seen what the gym could have did, because I do miss those guys, too. It was never really a business to me." Despite the changes, Longo believes Topuria will be fine going forward, at least for this upcoming fight against Oliveira. However, he would like to see the old team join the camp for a few days to maintain the familiar feeling in preparation. "He looks like he's squared away to me," Longo said. "That's why I say I think that guy can come in a week, two weeks. I think you just get that vibe right in the corner, and I think that guy's on autopilot. ... There's certain cases where when there's a lot of drama involved, then there's other areas, right? Who knows? You don't want to be stressed out one way or the other, in either direction. So, this one looks like it's a mutual kind of thing where everybody's got their own thing. I don't know, definitely not this fight. I think he'll be squared away with that."
San Francisco Chronicle
14-05-2025
- Business
- San Francisco Chronicle
Bay Area educational tech company slashes 248 jobs as students turn to AI tools for learning
Chegg, the beleaguered Silicon Valley educational technology company, announced a third major round of layoffs in less than a year, cutting 248 jobs — about 22% of its workforce. The move is part of a broader restructuring plan aimed at curbing costs amid falling revenue and a shrinking customer base, the company said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 'We are executing an additional restructuring plan to continue to align our cost structure with our revenue as we navigate the continued industry challenges and the negative impact on our business,' CEO David Longo said in a statement. As part of the overhaul, Chegg plans to close its U.S. and Canadian offices by the end of the year and scale back investments in marketing and product development. The Santa Clara company expects to save between $45 million and $55 million in 2025, with further savings projected for 2026. Chegg, initially launched in 2007 as the 'Netflix for textbooks,' earned popularity for allowing students to rent textbooks at discount prices. Despite $140 million in early investments, the company struggled to keep up with the rising costs of book purchases, shipping and warehouse rentals. The company pivoted to a subscription-based model offering homework help, test prep and other educational resources that helped it regain its financial footing during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Chegg has struggled to stay relevant as students increasingly turn to AI-powered tools like ChatGPT for assistance with academics. Simultaneously, Google's AI-integrated search summaries, known as AI Overviews, have disrupted search traffic, further weakening Chegg's digital foothold. In response, Chegg filed a lawsuit against Google earlier this year, claiming the Mountain View tech giant exploited its search monopoly to prioritize AI-generated content trained with Chegg's proprietary database of questions and answers. Financially, the company is under mounting pressure. Its first-quarter earnings revealed a 31% drop in subscribers, which now total 3.2 million, alongside a 30% year-over-year revenue decline, bringing total revenue to $121 million. 'While ongoing industry challenges impacting Chegg Study continue to affect our financial performance, the opportunity to support and serve students remains,' Longo added.
The Advertiser
14-05-2025
- Business
- The Advertiser
'Hubris': financial giant in hot water over breaches
Success has come at a cost for one of Australia's financial heavyweights, which is firmly in the sights of the corporate watchdog over "hubris and complacency". The Australian Securities and Investments Commission is taking investment banking behemoth Macquarie to court in the latest of a string of alleged compliance failures. Known as the "millionaires' factory", Macquarie has become one of Australia's most successful financial players, reporting a $3.7 billion profit for 2024/2025. This time, ASIC alleges Macquarie Securities - Macquarie Group's brokering division - failed to report up to 1.5 billion short sales over a 14-year period, putting at risk the nation's financial stability. The commission is seeking potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in penalties from Macquarie Securities in the NSW Supreme Court as well as an independent review of its reporting systems to ensure it complies with the law. The extent of the compliance action is "unprecedented", says ASIC chair Joe Longo. His patience is running out. "One of the reasons we've taken these proceedings is because the previous assurances over this topic haven't been followed through," Mr Longo told AAP. "What I would suggest has happened, so far as their risk management and compliance culture is concerned, is a hubris has crept in." He believes Macquarie's strong market position has bred complacency. "As a group, they've simply not invested in a sustainable way in their systems and processes and technology to ensure the standards of compliance they should be meeting," he said. Macquarie Securities' reporting systems were so inadequate it was difficult for ASIC to determine how many short sales it failed to report between December 2009 and February 2024. Its best estimate was between 298 million and 1.5 billion transactions. Short sales refer to selling stock or other securities an entity does not own in the hope of buying at a lower price later on - essentially a bet the product will decline in value. The method was used by traders to bet against the financial instruments causing the housing bubble that sparked the 2008 global financial crisis, as popularised in the Hollywood film The Big Short. Reports of short selling can warn regulators of potential market risks before they occur. Macquarie Securities' failure to do so made it harder for ASIC to monitor market stability and had the potential to mislead investors, Mr Longo said. It's not the first time Macquarie Securities has been put on notice for misreporting short selling and marks the fourth time ASIC has taken regulatory action against Macquarie Group in just over 12 months. Earlier in May, ASIC imposed licence conditions on Macquarie Bank for misreporting hundreds of thousands of over-the-counter derivatives trades as well as failing to prevent and detect suspicious trading activity in its futures dealing business. ASIC has increased its supervision of Macquarie over the past year and Mr Longo says it's up to the board and senior management - including former Reserve Bank governor Glenn Stevens and CEO Shemara Wikramanayake - to seriously invest in its technology processes. "Our confidence has been undermined through all these failures," Mr Longo said. Macquarie said the group's brokering division first identified issues with its reporting of short sales and self-reported this to ASIC in late 2022. "The reporting issues identified in the proceedings have been remediated with additional controls implemented," Macquarie said in a statement. "Macquarie takes its compliance obligations very seriously and continues to invest in programs to further improve systems and controls across the group." Success has come at a cost for one of Australia's financial heavyweights, which is firmly in the sights of the corporate watchdog over "hubris and complacency". The Australian Securities and Investments Commission is taking investment banking behemoth Macquarie to court in the latest of a string of alleged compliance failures. Known as the "millionaires' factory", Macquarie has become one of Australia's most successful financial players, reporting a $3.7 billion profit for 2024/2025. This time, ASIC alleges Macquarie Securities - Macquarie Group's brokering division - failed to report up to 1.5 billion short sales over a 14-year period, putting at risk the nation's financial stability. The commission is seeking potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in penalties from Macquarie Securities in the NSW Supreme Court as well as an independent review of its reporting systems to ensure it complies with the law. The extent of the compliance action is "unprecedented", says ASIC chair Joe Longo. His patience is running out. "One of the reasons we've taken these proceedings is because the previous assurances over this topic haven't been followed through," Mr Longo told AAP. "What I would suggest has happened, so far as their risk management and compliance culture is concerned, is a hubris has crept in." He believes Macquarie's strong market position has bred complacency. "As a group, they've simply not invested in a sustainable way in their systems and processes and technology to ensure the standards of compliance they should be meeting," he said. Macquarie Securities' reporting systems were so inadequate it was difficult for ASIC to determine how many short sales it failed to report between December 2009 and February 2024. Its best estimate was between 298 million and 1.5 billion transactions. Short sales refer to selling stock or other securities an entity does not own in the hope of buying at a lower price later on - essentially a bet the product will decline in value. The method was used by traders to bet against the financial instruments causing the housing bubble that sparked the 2008 global financial crisis, as popularised in the Hollywood film The Big Short. Reports of short selling can warn regulators of potential market risks before they occur. Macquarie Securities' failure to do so made it harder for ASIC to monitor market stability and had the potential to mislead investors, Mr Longo said. It's not the first time Macquarie Securities has been put on notice for misreporting short selling and marks the fourth time ASIC has taken regulatory action against Macquarie Group in just over 12 months. Earlier in May, ASIC imposed licence conditions on Macquarie Bank for misreporting hundreds of thousands of over-the-counter derivatives trades as well as failing to prevent and detect suspicious trading activity in its futures dealing business. ASIC has increased its supervision of Macquarie over the past year and Mr Longo says it's up to the board and senior management - including former Reserve Bank governor Glenn Stevens and CEO Shemara Wikramanayake - to seriously invest in its technology processes. "Our confidence has been undermined through all these failures," Mr Longo said. Macquarie said the group's brokering division first identified issues with its reporting of short sales and self-reported this to ASIC in late 2022. "The reporting issues identified in the proceedings have been remediated with additional controls implemented," Macquarie said in a statement. "Macquarie takes its compliance obligations very seriously and continues to invest in programs to further improve systems and controls across the group." Success has come at a cost for one of Australia's financial heavyweights, which is firmly in the sights of the corporate watchdog over "hubris and complacency". The Australian Securities and Investments Commission is taking investment banking behemoth Macquarie to court in the latest of a string of alleged compliance failures. Known as the "millionaires' factory", Macquarie has become one of Australia's most successful financial players, reporting a $3.7 billion profit for 2024/2025. This time, ASIC alleges Macquarie Securities - Macquarie Group's brokering division - failed to report up to 1.5 billion short sales over a 14-year period, putting at risk the nation's financial stability. The commission is seeking potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in penalties from Macquarie Securities in the NSW Supreme Court as well as an independent review of its reporting systems to ensure it complies with the law. The extent of the compliance action is "unprecedented", says ASIC chair Joe Longo. His patience is running out. "One of the reasons we've taken these proceedings is because the previous assurances over this topic haven't been followed through," Mr Longo told AAP. "What I would suggest has happened, so far as their risk management and compliance culture is concerned, is a hubris has crept in." He believes Macquarie's strong market position has bred complacency. "As a group, they've simply not invested in a sustainable way in their systems and processes and technology to ensure the standards of compliance they should be meeting," he said. Macquarie Securities' reporting systems were so inadequate it was difficult for ASIC to determine how many short sales it failed to report between December 2009 and February 2024. Its best estimate was between 298 million and 1.5 billion transactions. Short sales refer to selling stock or other securities an entity does not own in the hope of buying at a lower price later on - essentially a bet the product will decline in value. The method was used by traders to bet against the financial instruments causing the housing bubble that sparked the 2008 global financial crisis, as popularised in the Hollywood film The Big Short. Reports of short selling can warn regulators of potential market risks before they occur. Macquarie Securities' failure to do so made it harder for ASIC to monitor market stability and had the potential to mislead investors, Mr Longo said. It's not the first time Macquarie Securities has been put on notice for misreporting short selling and marks the fourth time ASIC has taken regulatory action against Macquarie Group in just over 12 months. Earlier in May, ASIC imposed licence conditions on Macquarie Bank for misreporting hundreds of thousands of over-the-counter derivatives trades as well as failing to prevent and detect suspicious trading activity in its futures dealing business. ASIC has increased its supervision of Macquarie over the past year and Mr Longo says it's up to the board and senior management - including former Reserve Bank governor Glenn Stevens and CEO Shemara Wikramanayake - to seriously invest in its technology processes. "Our confidence has been undermined through all these failures," Mr Longo said. Macquarie said the group's brokering division first identified issues with its reporting of short sales and self-reported this to ASIC in late 2022. "The reporting issues identified in the proceedings have been remediated with additional controls implemented," Macquarie said in a statement. "Macquarie takes its compliance obligations very seriously and continues to invest in programs to further improve systems and controls across the group." Success has come at a cost for one of Australia's financial heavyweights, which is firmly in the sights of the corporate watchdog over "hubris and complacency". The Australian Securities and Investments Commission is taking investment banking behemoth Macquarie to court in the latest of a string of alleged compliance failures. Known as the "millionaires' factory", Macquarie has become one of Australia's most successful financial players, reporting a $3.7 billion profit for 2024/2025. This time, ASIC alleges Macquarie Securities - Macquarie Group's brokering division - failed to report up to 1.5 billion short sales over a 14-year period, putting at risk the nation's financial stability. The commission is seeking potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in penalties from Macquarie Securities in the NSW Supreme Court as well as an independent review of its reporting systems to ensure it complies with the law. The extent of the compliance action is "unprecedented", says ASIC chair Joe Longo. His patience is running out. "One of the reasons we've taken these proceedings is because the previous assurances over this topic haven't been followed through," Mr Longo told AAP. "What I would suggest has happened, so far as their risk management and compliance culture is concerned, is a hubris has crept in." He believes Macquarie's strong market position has bred complacency. "As a group, they've simply not invested in a sustainable way in their systems and processes and technology to ensure the standards of compliance they should be meeting," he said. Macquarie Securities' reporting systems were so inadequate it was difficult for ASIC to determine how many short sales it failed to report between December 2009 and February 2024. Its best estimate was between 298 million and 1.5 billion transactions. Short sales refer to selling stock or other securities an entity does not own in the hope of buying at a lower price later on - essentially a bet the product will decline in value. The method was used by traders to bet against the financial instruments causing the housing bubble that sparked the 2008 global financial crisis, as popularised in the Hollywood film The Big Short. Reports of short selling can warn regulators of potential market risks before they occur. Macquarie Securities' failure to do so made it harder for ASIC to monitor market stability and had the potential to mislead investors, Mr Longo said. It's not the first time Macquarie Securities has been put on notice for misreporting short selling and marks the fourth time ASIC has taken regulatory action against Macquarie Group in just over 12 months. Earlier in May, ASIC imposed licence conditions on Macquarie Bank for misreporting hundreds of thousands of over-the-counter derivatives trades as well as failing to prevent and detect suspicious trading activity in its futures dealing business. ASIC has increased its supervision of Macquarie over the past year and Mr Longo says it's up to the board and senior management - including former Reserve Bank governor Glenn Stevens and CEO Shemara Wikramanayake - to seriously invest in its technology processes. "Our confidence has been undermined through all these failures," Mr Longo said. Macquarie said the group's brokering division first identified issues with its reporting of short sales and self-reported this to ASIC in late 2022. "The reporting issues identified in the proceedings have been remediated with additional controls implemented," Macquarie said in a statement. "Macquarie takes its compliance obligations very seriously and continues to invest in programs to further improve systems and controls across the group."
