Latest news with #PatrickRyan
Reuters
14-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Walmart hit with $222 million US verdict in food preservation trade secret case
May 14 (Reuters) - A jury in Arkansas federal court found that Walmart (WMT.N), opens new tab owes technology startup Zest Labs more than $222 million following a retrial on allegations that Walmart stole its trade secrets for reducing food waste, Zest said in a press release on Wednesday. Zest said the jury on Tuesday awarded the company $72.7 million in compensatory damages and $150 million in punitive damages, finding that Walmart had misused its trade secrets after Zest shared its technology for improving food preservation with the retail giant. Zest won $115 million from Walmart in a separate trial in 2021. An Arkansas federal judge ordered a new trial in 2023 after finding that Zest had withheld relevant evidence before the first trial. Walmart said in a statement on Wednesday that it would appeal the new verdict and that Zest's "unethical behavior has compromised the integrity of this case from the start." Zest Labs manager Gary Metzger said in a statement that the verdict was a "small but crucial triumph for small businesses that often face exploitation by larger corporations." Zest Labs sued Walmart in 2018 for allegedly stealing its Zest Fresh technology, which tracks produce freshness from farms to stores. Zest said it worked with Walmart and shared proprietary information with the retail giant until 2017. Walmart denied the allegations and argued that it developed its "Eden" produce-tracking technology independently. The case is Zest Labs Inc v. Walmart Inc, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas, No. 4:18-cv-00500. For Zest: Patrick Ryan, Adam Mitzner, Sean McTigue, and Andrew Ryan of Bartko Pavia For Walmart: John Keville and Robert Green of Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton Read more: Lawsuit claims Walmart stole technology to keep produce fresh Walmart hit with $115 million verdict over food-waste trade secrets
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Yahoo
2 incidents in Depew draw large police presence
DEPEW, N.Y. (WIVB) — WIVB News 4 is working to learn more about two incidents in Depew that drew a large police presence Wednesday night. Both Lancaster and Depew police were on the scene on Main Street near Sanilac Street. Residents said it began to unfold around 5:30 p.m. on Main Street. Around 11 p.m., News 4 heard police making commands over a loud speaker and then saw someone being walked in a backyard area towards a SWAT vehicle. Some law enforcement crews were leaving the scene around 11:15 p.m. Main Street is closed between Sanilac Street and Wyandotte Street until further notice, Depew police announced just after 10 p.m. in a Facebook post. The public is asked to avoid the area and use alternate routes. News 4 is also following other police activity located five minutes away from the Main Street scene at the D&L Plaza. Depew police were in the plaza at the Dollar Tree, which was sectioned off with yellow tape. It is currently unknown if the incidents are related. News 4 reached out to law enforcement for more information on both incidents and is waiting to hear back. This is a developing story. Check back for updates. Latest Local News Patrick Ryan is an award-winning reporter who has been part of the News 4 team since 2020. See more of his work here and follow him on Twitter. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to News 4 Buffalo.
Irish Independent
24-04-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Sourdough secrets: Meet the Wicklow man driving Ireland's bread revolution
The powerhouse behind The Firehouse and our craving for sourdough, Patrick Ryan met reporter David Medcalf to talk, well, bread Wicklow People Today at 01:00 He could have been a corporate lawyer. He might have stayed in Britain. There was a moment when it looked as though he was going to settle in west Cork. Instead, Patrick Ryan finds himself very much in his element as the proprietor of a thriving Wicklow enterprise which is setting new, ever higher, standards for Irish food.
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Tennessee Voices celebrates five years of interviews with leaders and newsmakers
On April 18, The Tennessean published the 446th episode of the Tennessee Voices video podcast, a now 5-year-old interview show born of the COVID-19 pandemic. I have hosted the program since the beginning in March 2020 shortly after the virus emerged in Tennessee and sent many employees — including me — home to work. COVID also led to the cancellation of live events — an important part of my job as an opinion and engagement journalist — where I sought to connect people on issues of public interest. It was disappointing and hard, but like many of you, I had to adapt, pivot and innovate. Thus, the Tennessee Voices video podcast launched on March 24, 2020, on The purpose was to record video interviews with leaders, thinkers, doers and makers from Tennessee for a 15-to-20-minute conversation about their work, their origin stories and how they were coping during the pandemic. In some cases, I learned about their reading and TV show preferences, including several who confessed to watching "Tiger King." The name "Tennessee Voices" pays homage to The Tennessean's long-time brand for its opinion columns. The goal was for the guest and me to model civil discourse during a politically polarized time and help each other and the audience understand the world during a pandemic. This was an extension of the work we had been doing through the Civility Tennessee initiative since 2017. I hustled to find the first few guests, who included Patrick Ryan, the former president of the Tennessee World Affairs Council; the Rev. Becca Stevens, founder of Thistle Farms; and Sharon Roberson, president and CEO of the YWCA of Middle Tennessee. Guests have run the gamut from politicians such as U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn to nonprofit leaders like reproductive rights activist Cherisse Scott as well as leaders in health care, education, business and nonprofit. Opinion: How Black and Latino Tennessee Voices Storytellers Live came to be in Nashville I have enjoyed hosting this show because it connects me on a one-on-one level with fascinating people who have a lot to offer in terms of achievements, wisdom and perspective, and I hope the audience gets a lot out of it, too. Speaking with each other — and not at each other — is fundamental to building a strong community and sustaining our democratic republic. April 17: Nick Ogden, founder and CEO of The Clear Blue Company April 15: Mo Sabri, Muslim country music artist (Check out his song "Married in a Barn" on YouTube) March 28: Winston Justice, ex NFL player and new finance CEO March 11: Pat Williams of iScribe on artificial intelligence and health care burnout Feb. 11: Melissa Hudson-Gant, CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Middle Tennessee Jan. 28: Ashley Blum, executive director of NAMI Davidson County Jan. 21: Fahad Tahir, president and CEO of Ascension Saint Thomas, and Laurel Graefe, regional executive, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Jan. 14: Buddy Teaster, president and CEO of Soles4Souls Jan. 7: Delaney Shelton spoke about her son' Boston's fentanyl overdose death and her advocacy David Plazas is the director of opinion and engagement for the USA TODAY Network Tennessee. He is an editorial board member of The Tennessean. He hosts the Tennessee Voices videocast and curates the Tennessee Voices and Latino Tennessee Voices newsletters. Call him at (615) 259-8063, email him at dplazas@ or find him on X at @davidplazas. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee Voices video show celebrates its fifth anniversary | Opinion
USA Today
12-04-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
'Smash' fans debate: Is the new Broadway musical better than the cult TV show?
'Smash' fans debate: Is the new Broadway musical better than the cult TV show? Show Caption Hide Caption NBC's 'Smash' gets a second life with Broadway musical More than a decade after its two-season run on NBC, the much-maligned "Smash" has been reimagined as a Broadway musical. NEW YORK — Like a peanut-laced smoothie or an airborne martini, 'Smash' is back with a vengeance. NBC's soapy backstage drama was a pricey misfire when it premiered in 2012, hoofing along for two critically derided seasons before the network pulled the plug. But the cultishly beloved series has now found new life as a gleefully bonkers Broadway musical, which opened April 10 at the Imperial Theatre. Exuberantly directed by Susan Stroman ('The Producers'), the ultra-meta comedy combines incisive showbiz satire with song-and-dance razzle dazzle, courtesy of the TV series' original choreographer, Joshua Bergasse. The show follows an eager-to-please actress named Ivy Lynn (Robyn Hurder) as she goes outlandishly Method for the role of Marilyn Monroe, alienating everyone she knows and bringing the (fictional) bio-musical 'Bombshell' to the brink of implosion. Join USA TODAY's resident 'Smash' fans, Patrick Ryan and Anna Kaufman, as they unpack this wildly chaotic yet clever theatrical iteration, from its myriad scarves to the "Let Me Be Your Stars": Patrick Ryan: So Anna, when did you first watch "Smash?" Anna Kaufman: I watched it as a preteen and was immediately hooked. We didn't have cable TV, so I found it in bits and pieces on YouTube. I was just enraptured by the dance numbers, the glamour of New York, and the idea of the musical theater world as a rat's nest of broken relationships and grudges. At that age, I was too young to detect camp and therefore engaged in it in a really earnest sense. Years later, I can see that the show wreaked of cringe in the best way, but my love for the music remains earnest. What about you? Ryan: I initially watched 'Smash' during a delirious weeklong binge with my partner in the early days of COVID lockdown, and then again this year in anticipation of the musical. Granted, there's way too much time wasted on Debra Messing's family (enough, Leo!), and Season 2 gets very bogged down with Pasek and Paul doing Jonathan Larson cosplay. And yet, I still love its nonsense. What other major network show had both Nikki Blonsky and Cole Escola? Or Megan Hilty leading a Rihanna singalong in Times Square while high out of her mind in an angel costume? I mean, how could any stage version match that lunacy? Kaufman: I went into the musical with so few expectations, which was kind of freeing. I was hopeful those big power ballads that grounded the series would feel even more stunning on stage and was not at all disappointed. The same goes for the dance numbers, which were costumed to the gods by Alejo Vietti. I will say, as a 'Don't Forget Me' fangirl, I wanted to see at least two Marilyns perform it, maybe even all three. That may have been a lot to ask, though. Ryan: I still can't fathom how with nearly two dozen songs, they couldn't make any room for "History is Made at Night," which is Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman at their best. But alas, enough of my soapbox. I had read and heard so much negative buzz going into the Broadway show that my expectations were on the floor, which is maybe why it's the biggest surprise of the season for me. I loved that writers Bob Martin and Rick Elice didn't just hit copy-paste from the TV series, but actually gave us a book that – while convoluted – is such a deeply weird and often hilarious twist on everything we love about "Smash." The digs at Broadway TikTokers? "I never liked you, Jerry?" Kristine Nielsen essentially playing a witch? It's genuinely the most I've laughed at any musical this past year, and I say that with all reverence to Hilty and Jennifer Simard, who both carry "Death Becomes Her." Kaufman: The comedic timing of Brooks Ashmanskas, who played "Bombshell" director Nigel, was so delightful. I don't remember the TV show being as intentionally funny as the musical was, and I really found myself reveling in his exasperation and subtle breaking of the fourth wall. Beowulf Boritt's scenic design was also stunning. Taking the expansiveness of a TV series and shrinking it for the stage is a challenge, and 'Smash' really rose to it. Ryan: It also can't be overstated what a star Hurder is. She's one of the few legitimate triple threats that we have on Broadway right now, and I felt exhausted on her behalf just watching the opening number and "I Never Met a Wolf Who Didn't Love to Howl." I will admit, I wish we had more Bella Coppola, who is such a powerhouse as Chloe, "Bombshell's" unassuming associate director. One of my favorite things about the "Smash" TV series was the tension of who will and should play Marilyn. Sure, Ivy was perfect on paper, but in the moments when Karen really locked in and you could see the vision, it was thrilling. Yes, I know the musical is telling a mostly different story, but it never truly lets you sit in the suspense of whether Chloe or Karen (or someone else entirely) could usurp the part of Marilyn from Ivy. Kaufman: The music and comedy of the show were a real high point, but the details of the plot disappointed a bit. It felt as though there were a lot of loose ends and ill-thought-out subplots that didn't jive together in a meaningful way. I was also disappointed by the way Karen (Caroline Bowman), who was integral to the TV show, was written. She felt a bit one-dimensional in the musical; confined to the role of the production's punching bag and easily walked over. Some of the unnecessary side-plots could have been axed to make more time for the audience to get to know her story (and hear her belt!). Ryan: Agreed. The show loses a touch of momentum in the overlong second act, and spins its wheels with how far exactly to take Ivy's Marilyn-consumed delusion. But part of the appeal of "Smash" has always been how perfectly imperfect it was, and I love that we have an unbridled musical comedy that captures some of that insane energy. I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy it immensely. Kaufman: It's a soft recommend for me. I think you can definitely enjoy it without having seen the TV series, but I think it's more theater-for-a-theater-person. In many ways, it was a love letter to Broadway, so for fans of the industry and people who grew up loving it, this show will hit the spot. "Smash" is now playing at the Imperial Theatre (249 W. 45th Street).
