Latest news with #Portage
Finextra
3 days ago
- Business
- Finextra
OatFi raises $24m to build credit network for B2B payments
Fintech infrastructure startup OatFi has raised $24 million in Series A funding to build a credit network for business-to-business payments. 0 White Star Capital led the round, with participation from existing investors Portage and QED backing OatFi's effort to tackle one of the main pain points in B2B commerce: payment terms. In traditional B2B transactions, buyers and suppliers often operate on opposing cash flow incentives. Suppliers seek fast post-delivery payments to recover working capital, while buyers look to delay payments to preserve operating cash and liquidity. By embedding its underwriting, origination, and funding capabilities directly into B2B payment platforms within their AP, AR, and commercial charge card workflows, OatFi's APIs enable platforms to facilitate B2B transactions with built-in financing at the point where it's needed most. 'B2B payments are not just a money movement challenge—they're a data and workflow challenge,' says Michael Barbosa, CEO, OatFi. 'That's why we've focused on deep API integrations that offer working capital solutions within the platforms that businesses already rely on to pay and get paid.'
Chicago Tribune
29-05-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Portage's Kaleb Hacker doesn't mind being called ‘Chucky.' When he's confident, pitching is like child's play.
If Portage junior pitcher Kaleb Hacker is laughing on the mound, it may be because a teammate just called him 'Chucky.' But the 6-foot-7, 240-pound right-hander said he sometimes needs those heckles from teammates to keep him from venturing too far inside his head. 'I'll still beat myself up a lot when I walk one or two guys, and that's kind of been my issue for the last two years,' Hacker said. 'So that loosens me up a little bit.' It worked again Wednesday, when Hacker turned in another quality outing while guiding Portage to a 5-0 win over Merrillville in a Class 4A Valparaiso Sectional opener. Hacker struck out six in five shutout innings for the Indians (12-12-2), who will play Chesterton (15-12) in the sectional semifinals on Friday. His victory against Merrillville (5-23) improved his record to 5-3 and lowered his ERA to 3.77 in a team-leading 42 2/3 innings. Portage coach Shane Prance said wins like that, the team's first in the postseason since 2019, should give Hacker a boost. 'It's just confidence,' Prance said. 'Throwing him in a game like this and getting this win under this belt helps him know he can do it when he just trusts his stuff and goes for it. Sometimes he is his harshest critic. Getting him to be confident is half the battle.' Hacker's teammates have been happy to help with that half of the battle. Among them is junior pitcher Hunter Cole, who is 3-2 with a team-best 2.23 ERA this season. Cole said he has found that joking with Hacker has been one way to keep his spirits up, even if that means bringing up an inside joke from earlier in Hacker's career when a picture of him looked like the villainous doll from the 'Child's Play' movies. 'We just heckle him a little bit, humble him, and then he throws his game,' Cole said. 'He can get in his head a lot, but as soon as he gets out of there, he starts throwing strikes and ends up being a really good ballplayer.' Hacker handles the other half of the battle, putting in all the physical work necessary to become a pitcher worthy of a postseason start. Extra hours in the weight room helped him increase the velocity of his fastball from 86 mph last summer to 90 mph. 'That's a big improvement,' he said. 'But I still have a long way to go.' Hacker said his work continued throughout the winter months, even while he was part of a basketball team that won its first sectional title since 2001. There were plenty of late-night workouts following basketball practices or games. Hacker said his frequent self-critiques are a symptom of his passion for sports. 'I've always been that way,' he said. 'Ever since I was younger, I always wanted to be better.' But Hacker has made a believer out of Prance. 'He just has to trust his stuff within the strike zone because when he's in the zone, he's dominant,' Prance said. 'He has a high ceiling, and he isn't close to reaching it.' Whenever Hacker makes his next appearance on the mound, he will know what to do. 'Don't even think about it,' he said. 'Just go out there and throw.'
Hamilton Spectator
23-05-2025
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
Portage Chamber taking action on inter-provincial trade barriers, commends province's efforts
The Portage la Prairie & District Chamber of Commerce is applauding the Manitoba government for introducing new legislation that would reduce trade barriers among Canadian provinces, after recently sending a letter urging for swift action on the issue. In a formal letter sent to Premier Wab Kinew and Economic Development Minister Jamie Moses earlier this month, the chamber praised the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed this spring, calling it a 'significant and forward-looking step' toward improving labour mobility, investment, and the free flow of goods and services between provinces. Stefanie Dunn, executive director of the chamber, says the agreement must serve as a model for further action, which is why the Chamber wrote to legislators to do more. 'We're thrilled to see this announcement, but we need to build on this momentum,' Dunn said. 'Eliminating interprovincial trade barriers is something that's long overdue. It really wouldn't take much to get provinces around the table to harmonize standards and open up the labour market.' Under the MOU, Manitoba and Ontario have agreed to streamline business regulations, improve credential recognition, and ease restrictions — including on direct-to-consumer alcohol sales — in an effort to boost economic ties. In 2021, trade between the two provinces totaled nearly $19.5 billion. Dunn said that while that number is significant, the potential is even greater if more provinces follow suit. 'The agreement with Ontario is a strong start,' she said. 'But there's an exponentially larger opportunity if we take a national approach to removing outdated, fragmented policies that slow down trade within our own borders.' The chamber's letter called on the Manitoba government to: Dunn emphasized that these efforts are not just about economic growth, but about supporting small and medium-sized businesses that are already working hard to expand. 'Manitoba's economy is incredibly diverse — we're producing so much more than just agricultural goods,' she said. 'There's a lot of manufacturing, processing, and export-ready product coming out of the province. We need to make it easier for those businesses to grow beyond provincial borders.' The chamber has long made advocacy one of its core missions, and Dunn said this development proves that even smaller voices outside major urban centres can have influence. 'Sometimes people think we're just a small player outside the perimeter,' she said. 'But we've shown that we can effect change. This MOU is a win — not just for Portage, but for all Manitobans.' Dunn also acknowledged the provincial government's 'Buy Manitoba, Buy Canadian' campaign set to roll out on June 1, encouraging people to shop local. 'We always encourage people to shop Portage,' she said. 'Even when businesses bring in products from other places to stock their shelves, your dollars are staying in the community. Definitely support local and keep that circular economy going.' As for what's next, Dunn says the chamber is ready to support further provincial efforts and is encouraging direct dialogue between business leaders and policymakers. 'We're definitely capable of making change,' she said. 'We're hopeful that momentum will continue.' To find out more about the Chamber, visit. . — Renée Lilley is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of the Portage Graphic. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
Japan Times
19-05-2025
- Japan Times
Deep love or deepfake: Dating in the time of AI
Beth Hyland thought she had met the love of her life on Tinder. In reality, the Michigan-based administrative assistant had been manipulated by an online scam artist who posed as a French man named "Richard," used deepfake video on Skype calls and posted photos of another man to pull off his con. Deepfakes — manipulated video or audio made using artificial intelligence to look and sound real — are often difficult to detect without specialized tools. In a matter of months, Hyland, 53, had taken out loans totaling $26,000, sent Richard the money, and fallen prey to a classic case of romance baiting or pig butchering, named for the exploitative way in which scammers cultivate their victims. A projected 8 million deepfakes will be shared worldwide in 2025, up from 500,000 in 2023, says the British government. About a fifth of those will be part of romance scams, according to a January report from cyber firm McAfee. "It's like grieving a death," Hyland said. "When I saw him on video, it was the same as the pictures he had been sending me. He looked a little fuzzy, but I didn't know about deepfakes," she said. Hyland lives in Portage, about 230 kilometers west of Detroit, and had been divorced for four years when she began dating again. She matched on Tinder with a man whose profile seemed to complement hers well. Now, she says this "perfect match" was likely orchestrated. Richard said he was born in Paris but lived in Indiana and worked as a freelance project manager for a construction company that required a lot of travel, including to Qatar. Months of emotional manipulation, lies, fake photos and AI-doctored Skype calls followed. The scammer pledged his undying love but had myriad reasons to miss every potential meet-up. Weeks after they matched, Richard convinced Hyland that he needed her help to pay for a lawyer and a translator in Qatar. "I told him I was gonna take out loans and he started crying, telling me no one's ever loved him like this before," said Hyland in an online interview. But Richard kept asking for more money and when Hyland eventually told her financial adviser what was happening, he said she was most likely the victim of a romance scam. "I couldn't believe it, but I couldn't ignore it," said Hyland. She confronted Richard; he initially denied it all but then went silent when Hyland asked him to "prove her wrong" and return her money. More and more scammers are using deepfakes to look and sound real on dating apps such as Tinder. | REUTERS Police told Hyland they could not take her case further because there was no "coercion, threat or force involved," according to a letter from Portage's director of public safety. The office of public safety — which oversees both the police and fire services — did not respond to a request for comment. In an email sent to Hyland after she flagged the scammer's account to Tinder, the company said it removes users who violate their terms of service or guidelines. While Tinder said it could not share the outcome of the investigation due to privacy reasons, it said Hyland's report was "evaluated" and "actioned in accordance with our policies." A Tinder spokesperson said the company has "zero tolerance" of fraudsters and uses AI to root our potential scammers and warn its users, as well as offering fact sheets on romance scams. In March, Hyland attended a U.S. Senate committee hearing when a bill was introduced to require dating apps to remove scammers and notify users who interact with fake accounts. The senator proposing the bill said Hyland's story showed why the legislation was needed. In general, dating apps do not notify users who have communicated with a scammer once the fraudster's account has been removed or issue alerts about how to avoid being scammed, as required in the proposed new bill. The United States reported more than $4 billion in losses to pig-butchering scams in 2023, according to the FBI. Microsoft, which owns Skype, directed queries to blog posts informing users how to prevent romance scams and steps it had taken to tackle AI-generated content, such as adding watermarks to images. The company did not provide further comment. Jason Lane-Sellers, a director of fraud and identity at LexisNexis Risk Solutions, said only 7% of scams are reported, with victims often held back by shame. Jorij Abraham, managing director of the Global Anti-Scam Alliance, a Netherlands-based organization to protect consumers, said humans won't be able to detect manipulated media for long. "In two or three years, it will be AI against AI," he said. "(Software exists) that can follow your conversation — looking at the eyes, if they're blinking — these are giveaways that something is going on that humans can't see, but software can." Lane-Sellers from LexisNexis Risk Solutions described it as an AI "arms race" between scammers and anti-fraud companies trying to protect consumers and businesses. Richard Whittle, an AI expert at Salford Business School in northern England, said he expects future deepfake detection technology to be built in by hardware makers such as Apple, Google, and Microsoft who can access users' webcams. Neither Apple nor Google responded to requests for comment on how they protect consumers against deepfakes, or on future product developments. Abraham said the real challenge was to catch the scammers, who often work in different countries to those they target. Despite her dead end, Hyland still believes it is good to report scams and help authorities crack down on scammers. And she wants scam victims to know it is not their fault. "I've learned terminology ... we don't lose (money) or give it away — it's stolen. We don't fall for scams — we're manipulated and victimised."
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
‘Moo-ve Over': Loose cows spotted on Wisconsin interstate
PORTAGE, Wis. (WFRV) – Some loose cows were spotted on central Wisconsin interstate traffic cameras last week, prompting drivers to moo-ve over for the cattle. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) shared one of the photos on Facebook, where two cows can be seen, one in the median and the other on the side of the interstate. Multiple agencies work to put out 25-30 acre brush fire in Two Rivers WisDOT officials say the 'only in Wisconsin' incident happened in the Portage area and that the cows made it safely off the interstate on their own, and traffic continued smoothly. Drivers had a real beef with the cow hogging the fast lane. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
