Latest news with #Wendel
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
🧐 Brazilian clubs' transfer plans for the Club World Cup
The FIFA Club World Cup will take place in the United States, from June 14 to July 13. Brazilian football will be represented by Botafogo, Flamengo, Fluminense, and Palmeiras. For the tournament, which is expected to be held every four years, FIFA has opened a specific "transfer window" from June 1 to June 10. Advertisement So, how are Brazilian clubs planning to act in the market with the Club World Cup in mind? Botafogo After breaking off with Wendel, from Zenit, with negotiations practically closed, the Glorioso is racing against time to strengthen its squad. Especially since they are expected to negotiate Igor Jesus, Jair, and Cuiabano with the same club, Nottingham Forest. If there is no specific name in the spotlight, Botafogo's SAF strategy, through owner John Textor, is to invest in young and promising players, but also in athletes whose contracts are ending. A center-back, midfielder, and right winger would be the priorities for Botafogo's scouting team. Advertisement Álvaro Montoro, an 18-year-old midfielder from Vélez, is reportedly on their radar. 📸 MAURO PIMENTEL - AFP or licensors Flamengo Despite having the most valuable squad in South America and probably one of the most qualified, the Rubro-Negro is also expected to strengthen its team. The Italo-Brazilian midfielder Jorginho, for example, has said goodbye to Arsenal and is practically signed, likely to be announced soon. However, José Boto – the club's football director – recently stated that there are "defined targets," although he did not reveal any names. 📸 Alex Davidson - 2025 Getty Images "I want to let the fans know that the entire process of monitoring, selection, and internal discussion is already finished. We have identified our targets and have already entered the negotiation phase with them so that they can come as soon as possible to join us and make the squad even stronger than it already is," said Boto, in an interview with FlaTV at the end of May. Advertisement A "shadow" for Arrascaeta and wingers are among Flamengo's priorities. Fluminense The Tricolor das Laranjeiras has "ambitious" plans for the mid-year transfer window. According to president Mário Bittencourt, Fluminense will seek reinforcements with the entire second half of the year in mind, not just the Club World Cup, although there is an expectation for the arrival of "two or three names." "It would not be honest, intelligent, or professional on our part to think only of reinforcements for the Club World Cup. We are thinking of reinforcements for the Club World Cup, for the Copa Sudamericana, for the Copa do Brasil... To strengthen the team and try to become champions again this year," said the Tricolor president to O Globo. 📸 Wagner Meier - 2024 Getty Images Advertisement Midfielders and forwards would be the targets for the Tricolor, but specific names have not yet been revealed. "I estimate that (we will bring in) between two and three players, especially those who are more aggressive from an attacking point of view. If there is an opportunity to bring in a (big-name) player who will increase our brand exposure, we will obviously try to do so within Fluminense's means," concluded the president. Palmeiras Leader of the Brasileirão and with a 100% record in the Conmebol Libertadores group stage, Verdão has one of the best squads in the country. However, for the Club World Cup, coach Abel Ferreira does not want a specific reinforcement. Advertisement According to the Portuguese coach, what Palmeiras needs is a replacement for Estêvão, who will transfer to Chelsea in the second half of the year. "I don't want any player just to play in the Club World Cup. I have the players I want and when Estêvão leaves I hope to have a replacement for his position. I would be lying if I said the team will be stronger with his departure, but I will find solutions," said Abel Ferreira, in a press conference after the 6-0 win over Sporting Cristal in midweek. 📸 Miguel Schincariol - 2025 Getty Images This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here. 📸 FREDERIC J. BROWN - AFP or licensors
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Porter allocates $350,000 for Swain Road pump station repairs
A deteriorating manhole for a Town of Porter pump station could lead to a public health emergency if it is not addressed. The Porter Town Board approved spending up to $350,000 on emergency repairs for the Swain Road pump station last month. It hired Buffalo-based Wendel Companies to design the needed improvements. After town officials conducted a site visit at the pump station with Wendel engineers on March 7, they determined the current arrangement of sewer main lines entering and exiting this manhole would cause gases inside to build up, leading to failure. Wendel engineer Robert Klavoon said the Swain Road pump station takes in all of the sewage from the western part of Porter and pumps it south towards the Lewiston Water Pollution Control Center. It also takes in sewage from another pump station near Old Fort Niagara, running along Third Street. 'The manhole that is just upstream of it is deteriorated,' Klavoon said, due to a build-up of hydrogen sulfide gas in the system. Town Supervisor Duffy Johnston and Youngstown DPW Superintendent Greg Quarantillo added that the force of water going through the system is creating a swirling effect that exacerbates the deterioration. Despite its location at the end of Swain Road in the Village of Youngstown, the pump station is Town of Porter property. Klavoon said the repair plan involves putting a new, precast manhole in its place; the new manhole is 15 feet deep and covered with an epoxy coating to prevent future deterioration. The old manhole will be excavated and bypass pumps will run for a week or two as the work occurs. Wendel is about 50% complete with design and hopes to get it out to bid in the next 30 days. The bidding process will take eight to 12 weeks to complete. It's anticipated that work will start in late summer and take around four weeks to complete.
WIRED
14-04-2025
- Health
- WIRED
HHS Systems Are in Danger of Collapsing, Workers Say
Apr 14, 2025 11:15 AM The purging of IT and cybersecurity staff at the Department of Health and Human Services could threaten the systems used by the agency's staff and the safety of critical health data. The Health and Human Services building in downtown Washington DC on April 1, 2025. Photograph:Much of the IT and cybersecurity infrastructure underpinning the US health system is in danger of a possible collapse following a purge of IT staff and leadership at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), four current and former agency workers tell WIRED. This could put vast troves of public health data, including the sensitive health records of hundreds of millions of Americans, clinical trial data, and more, at risk of exposure. As a result of a reduction in force, or RIF, in the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO), the sources say, staff who oversee and renew contracts for critical enterprise services are no longer there. The same staff oversaw hundreds of contractors, some of whom play a crucial role in keeping systems and data safe from cyberattacks. And a void of leadership means that efforts to draw attention to what the sources believe to be a looming catastrophe have allegedly been ignored. Thousands of researchers, scientists, and doctors lost their jobs earlier this month at HHS agencies critical to ensuring America's health, such as the Centers for Disease Control and and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Hundreds of administrative staff were also subjected to a RIF. Many of these staffers were responsible for helping ensure that the mass of highly personal and sensitive information these agencies collect is kept secure. Employees who were subject to the RIF, as well as some who remain at the agency, tell WIRED that without intervention, they believe the systems they managed could go dark, potentially putting the entire health care system at risk. 'Pretty soon, within the next couple of weeks, everything regarding IT and cyber at the department will start to operationally reach a point of no return,' one source, who was part of a team that managed these systems at HHS for a decade before being part of the RIF, alleges to WIRED. Like many across the agency, administrative staff found out they were part of the RIF on April 1 in an email sent at 5:00 am Eastern, though a number of employees only realized they had been let go when their badges no longer worked when trying to access HHS buildings. Among those impacted were half of the staff working at the OCIO—around 150 people, including the entire workforce at the Immediate Office of the CIO, which includes senior figures like the chief of staff, HR director, acquisition director, and budget director, sources tell WIRED. The CIO Jennifer Wendel, who has worked in the federal government for almost three decades, is also departing, sources say, and will end her tenure next month. Wendel did not respond to a request for comment from WIRED. 'The suggestion that critical IT and cybersecurity functions at HHS are being left unsecured is simply untrue. Essential operations at HHS, including contract management and cybersecurity oversight—remain staffed and functional. It's unfortunate that some former employees are spreading unfounded rumors. HHS remains committed to a secure, modernized HHS that serves the American people, not internal bureaucracy,' an HHS spokesperson tells WIRED. One team that was purged from HHS managed over a hundred contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars, including crucial cybersecurity licenses. It also managed the renewal of contracts for hundreds of specialized contractors who perform critical tasks for the department, including a dozen cybersecurity contractors who work at the Computer Security Incident Response Center (CSIRC)—the primary component of the department's overall cybersecurity program which is overseen by the chief information security officer. While all of HHS's agencies have their own cybersecurity and IT teams, the CSIRC is the only one that has visibility across the entire network of the department. This center, based in Atlanta, monitors the entire HHS network and is tasked with preventing, detecting, reporting, and responding to cybersecurity incidents at HHS. 'It is the department's nerve center,' the source says. 'It has direct links to DHS, CISA, Defense Health Agency, and the intelligence community.' The contractors provide round the clock coverage on three, eight-hour shifts every single day, monitoring the network for any possible outages or attacks from inside or outside the network. Those contracts are set to expire on June 21; while there is time to renew them, it's not clear who is authorized to do so or knows how, since the entire office that oversees the process is no longer working at HHS. Adding to the threat is the decision by the General Service Administration to terminate the lease for the CSIRC in Atlanta, effective December 31, 2025. Many of the cybersecurity and monitoring tools the contractors use to monitor the networks are also due for renewal in the coming months. If the situation is not addressed, 'pretty soon, the department will be completely open to external actors to get at the largest databases in the world that have all of our public health information in them, our sensitive drug testing clinical trial information at the NIH or FDA, or different organizations' mental health records,' the source claims, echoing the opinions of other sources who spoke to WIRED. In the weeks leading up to the RIF, some administrative staff did have interactions with Elon Musk's so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) operatives, including Clark Minor, a software engineer who worked at Palantir for over a decade and was recently installed as the department's chief information officer. As one employee was detailing the work they did at the OCIO, they said, they got the sense that Minor—whose online resume does not detail any experience in the federal government—seemed overwhelmed by the sheer scale of HHS, an agency that accounted for over a quarter of federal spending in 2024 and consists of an almost innumerable amount of offices and staff and operating divisions. Minor has not provided guidance to the remaining HHS staff on the transition, according to two sources still at the agency. Minor did not respond to a request for comment from WIRED. Some internal systems are already breaking down, according to sources still working at HHS. One employee, who facilitates travel for HHS employees, says the RIF 'set federal travel back to processes that were in place prior to the first Electronic Travel System contract in 2004.' While sources who spoke to WIRED differed on exactly when and how the IT and cybersecurity infrastructure at the department might collapse, they all agreed that without a radical intervention in the coming weeks, the fallout could be catastrophic. "If the US health system lost CMS, FDA, NIH, and CDC functionality indefinitely without warning, and no backup systems were available, this would be an unprecedented systemic shock," one source at the OCIO tells WIRED. Current HHS workers say they have not been presented with a plan to remedy the looming crisis, and have seen no leadership from either the political appointees or DOGE operatives who have been installed at HHS. 'There is no transition and those in charge are AWOL,' one person currently working at HHS tells WIRED, echoing the sense of 'chaos' found in an in-depth investigation into HHS by Stat. 'I'm doing nothing productive. I'm answering emails stating we cannot help, we cannot process, we have no guidance, we cannot operate. This ship has no captain whatsoever and I'm playing in the band, while the Titanic sinks.'
The Independent
01-04-2025
- The Independent
Tears and tail wags: Inmates reunite with service dogs they raised
Hugs, tears, barking and tail wagging abounded at San Quentin's prison when two black Labradors reunited with the incarcerated men who helped raise them to be service dogs. The emotional reunion brought together Chase Benoit, Jared Hansen and the 2-year-old dogs they helped train: Wendel and Artemis. It was the men's first time seeing their former canine companions again and their first time meeting the dogs' disabled handlers in person. The encounter Friday in San Quentin's main courtyard brought Benoit and Hansen full circle after helping launch the prison's puppy training program in April 2023. 'Being in this program, it's given me something that I think I've searched for my whole life,' said Benoit, who is serving 15 years-to-life for second-degree murder. 'And that was meaningful purpose, doing something that's good, better, bigger than myself and feeling like I'm part of something great.' Robert Quigley, who is deaf, teared up after seeing his spirited dog Wendel bark and get excited when he saw Benoit, his old trainer. 'He remembers me, for sure, I could tell when he came in. I'm so happy that you love him, and that you have a bond,' Benoit told Quigley through an American Sign Language interpreter. 'He's with me 24/7. He's very gentle and good with people,' answered Quigley, a recent college graduate who took Wendel home in November after the black Labrador and golden retriever mix completed another six months of professional training outside prison. Teaching pups the fundamentals in prison Benoit and Jensen were part of an initial group of four incarcerated trainers who shared their 4 foot-by-10 foot cells with the 4-month-old puppies. The men divided the responsibility of caring for and teaching the dogs foundational commands for a year. Canine Companions, a nonprofit based in Santa Rosa, runs the program and provides free service dogs to people with disabilities. It has built the San Quentin program to 16 trainers and two dog sitters who, as of this week, are training eight puppies. Artemis, a black Labrador, was matched with Benjamin Carter, a veterinarian from Portland, Oregon, who uses a wheelchair, and traveled to California for the reunion. Like proud parents, Carter and Hansen shared notes on Artemis' calm and loving personality and penchant for cuddles. 'Seeing him in action and actually serving somebody in the community, it's just … I'm at a loss for words right now. It's amazing!' said Hansen, who has been in prison for 15 years for bank robbery. Artemis, or Artie, pushes door plates, pulls doors open, fetches things around the house and does many other tasks that would be hard for Carter alone. First work, then cuddles 'He is responsive when he's working. He is cuddly when he is off the clock. He's an amazing companion. And all that structure and love and trust was built from these guys here, so I'm just super grateful to them,' Carter said. The puppies are placed with incarcerated trainers when the dogs are between 2 and 4 months of age and stay with them until they are about 16 to 17 months old. Every three months the puppies are taken out for socialization experiences like interacting with children, riding in cars or going to the grocery store. The incarcerated men teach them about 20 skills, including fetching, sitting and walking on a leash. After the dogs leave the prison, they train for several more months with professional trainers. People incarcerated at San Quentin and who participate in the program have been convicted of crimes that include bank robberies, gun offenses and murder. Only those who are in an 'earned living unit,' where residents participate in an array of self-help programs, are allowed to apply for puppy training. Inmates with records that include any animal or child cruelty crimes are not allowed to participate, said James Dern, national director of puppy programs for Canine Companions. The value of time Dern said dogs trained in their prison programs have a 10% greater success rate at becoming service dogs than other candidates because of the amount of time and care that incarcerated puppy raisers put into their dogs. 'Being given something to care about other than themselves and the opportunity to give back and to sort of start to make amends for the things they have done in their lives can be life changing,' Dern said. San Quentin was once home to the largest death row population in the United States. The puppy training program started the year it transformed into a lockup where less-dangerous prisoners receive education, training and rehabilitation. Since then, another 11 correctional facilities have joined the nonprofit for a total of 24 prison institutions, Dern said. Speaking to a crowd at the prison chapel gathered to celebrate the program, Benoit credited Canine Companions with bringing out the humanity, love and caring in the incarcerated community. "Instead of keeping it to themselves within their small community of professional trainers or even volunteer puppy raisers, they shared this with us in prison and I think that's huge,' he said.
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Yahoo
Tears and tail wags: Inmates reunite with service dogs they raised
SAN QUENTIN, Calif. (AP) — Hugs, tears, barking and tail wagging abounded at San Quentin's prison when two black Labradors reunited with the incarcerated men who helped raise them to be service dogs. The emotional reunion brought together Chase Benoit, Jared Hansen and the 2-year-old dogs they helped train: Wendel and Artemis. It was the men's first time seeing their former canine companions again and their first time meeting the dogs' disabled handlers in person. The encounter Friday in San Quentin's main courtyard brought Benoit and Hansen full circle after helping launch the prison's puppy training program in April 2023. 'Being in this program, it's given me something that I think I've searched for my whole life,' said Benoit, who is serving 15 years-to-life for second-degree murder. 'And that was meaningful purpose, doing something that's good, better, bigger than myself and feeling like I'm part of something great.' Robert Quigley, who is deaf, teared up after seeing his spirited dog Wendel bark and get excited when he saw Benoit, his old trainer. 'He remembers me, for sure, I could tell when he came in. I'm so happy that you love him, and that you have a bond,' Benoit told Quigley through an American Sign Language interpreter. 'He's with me 24/7. He's very gentle and good with people,' answered Quigley, a recent college graduate who took Wendel home in November after the black Labrador and golden retriever mix completed another six months of professional training outside prison. Teaching pups the fundamentals in prison Benoit and Jensen were part of an initial group of four incarcerated trainers who shared their 4 foot-by-10 foot cells with the 4-month-old puppies. The men divided the responsibility of caring for and teaching the dogs foundational commands for a year. Canine Companions, a nonprofit based in Santa Rosa, runs the program and provides free service dogs to people with disabilities. It has built the San Quentin program to 16 trainers and two dog sitters who, as of this week, are training eight puppies. Artemis, a black Labrador, was matched with Benjamin Carter, a veterinarian from Portland, Oregon, who uses a wheelchair, and traveled to California for the reunion. Like proud parents, Carter and Hansen shared notes on Artemis' calm and loving personality and penchant for cuddles. 'Seeing him in action and actually serving somebody in the community, it's just … I'm at a loss for words right now. It's amazing!' said Hansen, who has been in prison for 15 years for bank robbery. Artemis, or Artie, pushes door plates, pulls doors open, fetches things around the house and does many other tasks that would be hard for Carter alone. First work, then cuddles 'He is responsive when he's working. He is cuddly when he is off the clock. He's an amazing companion. And all that structure and love and trust was built from these guys here, so I'm just super grateful to them,' Carter said. The puppies are placed with incarcerated trainers when the dogs are between 2 and 4 months of age and stay with them until they are about 16 to 17 months old. Every three months the puppies are taken out for socialization experiences like interacting with children, riding in cars or going to the grocery store. The incarcerated men teach them about 20 skills, including fetching, sitting and walking on a leash. After the dogs leave the prison, they train for several more months with professional trainers. People incarcerated at San Quentin and who participate in the program have been convicted of crimes that include bank robberies, gun offenses and murder. Only those who are in an 'earned living unit,' where residents participate in an array of self-help programs, are allowed to apply for puppy training. Inmates with records that include any animal or child cruelty crimes are not allowed to participate, said James Dern, national director of puppy programs for Canine Companions. The value of time Dern said dogs trained in their prison programs have a 10% greater success rate at becoming service dogs than other candidates because of the amount of time and care that incarcerated puppy raisers put into their dogs. 'Being given something to care about other than themselves and the opportunity to give back and to sort of start to make amends for the things they have done in their lives can be life changing,' Dern said. San Quentin was once home to the largest death row population in the United States. The puppy training program started the year it transformed into a lockup where less-dangerous prisoners receive education, training and rehabilitation. Since then, another 11 correctional facilities have joined the nonprofit for a total of 24 prison institutions, Dern said. Speaking to a crowd at the prison chapel gathered to celebrate the program, Benoit credited Canine Companions with bringing out the humanity, love and caring in the incarcerated community. "Instead of keeping it to themselves within their small community of professional trainers or even volunteer puppy raisers, they shared this with us in prison and I think that's huge,' he said.
