Latest news with #Whitlow
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
‘Keep putting in the work:' Marietta High School student beats the odds to become valedictorian
This year's Marietta High School valedictorian is sharing how he beat the odds and became a star student. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Kaleb Whitlow credits his success to the village that helped raise him during the most challenging times of his life. Whitlow grew up with his grandparents in another state before he moved to Georgia to live in a single-parent household with his mother. Growing up, some kids may go after popularity, others may choose to get caught up with the wrong crowd, but Whitlow chose the path of academic success and mentorship to his peers. 'It's so important that you overcome challenges to reach your goal. An obstacle should not be something between you and what you desire the most. The promise I made to myself and my mom pushed me and propelled me forward,' Whitlow told Channel 2 Cobb County Bureau Chief Michele Newell. TRENDING STORIES: President Donald Trump to pardon Todd and Julie Chrisley Police ask for help identifying man they say shot, killed homeowner during robbery Suspect breaks into Hyatt hotel room, steals guest's credit card to use at Atlanta gas station Whitlow has a long list of accomplishments, which includes being the school president. He is biliterate in Spanish and a member of numerous clubs and organizations, including Habitat for Humanity. Whitlow was a drum major for three years and has played the saxophone since he was in the sixth grade. For a school project, Whitlow chose to create something that could help the homeless population. 'It's sort of a wagon that can transform into a temporary shelter for the homeless population. It's reversible. It's so important to me because I hate it when you see homeless people,' Whitlow said. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] Whitlow credits his success to his family and the mentor who has believed in him since he was in middle school. 'He believed in me. He's like you're going to actually be great as long as you keep putting in the work. We manifested a lot of things too, just like words of wisdom on the wall,' Whitlow said. With a 4.68 GPA, Whitlow is headed to his dream school, Georgia Tech, with numerous scholarships to help with tuition.
Buzz Feed
06-03-2025
- Business
- Buzz Feed
Don't Forget To Do This 1 Thing After Signing A Restaurant Receipt
If you have ever dined out, you know the drill. After your delicious drink or meal, you're likely going to get two receipts of your bill from your server: a merchant and a customer copy. Sometimes, a merchant copy will be the only receipt with a line for a signature, but often there is no distinct difference in the agreements between the two versions. So what happens if you accidentally sign the customer copy instead of the restaurant copy? Restaurant workers and fraud experts weighed in. Signing the customer copy over the merchant copy likely is not going to matter. Alicia Perry, a San Diego-based beverage director, said it can depend on the exact policies of the restaurant or establishment, from what she's experienced in the industry. 'It's not something that we traditionally worry about or are concerned about, just as long as there's a signed copy,' she said. 'So that way, we can ensure that whoever chooses or hopes to dispute it, that they've essentially signed whatever they have marked on that side of the receipt.' Gabriella Zottola, a Waltham, Massachusetts-based restaurant manager, agreed and said that leaving behind a signed customer copy is not a big deal. 'As long as the tip is clearly written on it, we're good!' she said. Zottola noted that if a customer copy is left behind, her practice is to 'toss them.' Perry echoed this sentiment, saying, 'If the guest isn't there, then we just throw [the customer copy] away to make sure that it's not tampered with.' As technology makes paper receipts increasingly obsolete, consider that this is less of an issue nowadays. Perry said that whether or not you sign the merchant copy is 'largely a moot point because of digital payments like Toast; however, it's totally fine to sign the customer copy. Nothing will happen.' The one thing you should check? Whether you're accidentally taking home the only signed receipt. Bill Whitlow, a Covington, Kentucky-based restaurant operator, said that a bigger issue is when a customer signs the merchant copy and then accidentally takes it home, so that all that is left behind is a blank customer copy. The restaurants are then left to figure out what the tip was meant to be. In these scenarios, what happens next depends on the restaurant's policy. Whitlow said in the restaurants he was raised in, staffers would work off of the indentation of the tip left behind if it was clearly visible. 'Ninety-nine percent of the time the copies are on top of each other. So you could clearly see the [indentation] of what they wrote on the other stack. And you'd go with that,' he said. But in some cases, restaurant staffers can be left with no tip at all if it's not written down on a receipt. Whitlow recalled that when he worked at a restaurant in Miami's South Beach, if the customer 'had taken the wrong copy, I wasn't going to get tipped on [a] South Beach $200–$300 check. ... I definitely ran a few people down.' For Perry, the signature is key. She said that if a patron fills out a tip for a guest copy of the receipt, but then doesn't sign it, it can leave some staffers in restaurants out of a tip. In some places she's worked at, 'I wouldn't be able to enter that information,' she said. 'I can't really process a tip. Of course, I can process payment.' If you want to be a smart consumer, keep your customer copy. Even though it may not matter for getting charged, you should still take home customer copies of receipts. Amy Nofziger, director of victim support at AARP Fraud Watch Network, said that in general, for any clothing, grocery store, or restaurant purchase, it's a good practice to keep your receipts until the charge processes on your credit card. That way, you can validate 'that what you think you were charged is what was actually charged to your credit card. And then, once you see that it is matching up, then you can dispose of that receipt,' she said. Nofziger recalled how having the customer copy of a bill has helped her dispute an incorrect tip amount. Without the customer copy, you can dispute the incorrect charge, 'but again, having that copy, I think is just more proof,' she said. Nofziger also recommends knowing your last few credit card numbers, so that you can quickly notice if information is not lining up. 'We need to get into the habit of looking to see where our personal information is,' she said. 'If you do look at a receipt, there usually will be the last four digits of your credit card number, and then everything else is etched out.' Whitlow said that if you do see a discrepancy, you should try calling the restaurant first to get it fixed, because it can be costly for restaurants. 'If you see something wrong on your credit card probably just a legitimate mistake,' he advised. 'We've had a problem where, like, someone would say [they] had a $100 check, and they put a $25 tip, and somebody accidentally put that as a $35 tip.' 'And instead of calling the restaurant to have it dispute it,' he continued. Whitlow said that this can result in having the bank charge back the entire amount, along with a fee, instead of just the tip amount. 'The restaurant loses the tip that they already gave the server, the whole check, and also has to pay us, like, a $35 fee for a chargeback,' he said. And if you want to be a good customer, check your math, restaurant workers advised. Whitlow said that it's a common mistake for the tip amount to not match up with the total amount. In these cases, he's been taught to go with what's on the tip line, because, 'People will write what they want, you can't always expect them to do proper math.' Zottola agreed and said in these scenarios, 'We end up doing the math for them and still putting in the correct total from the tip they write.' But Perry said that it can sometimes be a 'null and void situation' when the tip amount does not line up with the final amount, 'because we can't assume that the individual is wanting to pay one or the other, especially if they don't add up.' In other words, what you do and don't write and sign at the bottom of receipts really does matter. That extra diligence of writing legibly and double-checking your math may take you a few more minutes, but it can save you ― and restaurant staffers ― great peace of mind.
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Birmingham startup using clinical trials to improve medical care for minorities
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — Birmingham startup Acclinate is conducting medical trials focused on minorities to better address the medical needs of their communities. Tiffany Whitlow and Del Smith founded Acclinate in 2020 and now have over 50 employees in a footprint that includes Birmingham, Huntsville, and Washington, D.C. Time running out to save a slice of civil rights history in the Texas Panhandle For Whitlow, starting Acclinate was personal. 'My son was diagnosed with asthma,' said Whitlow. 'He was given an albuterol inhaler. I had no idea at the time albuterol is 47% less effective in African-Americans and 67% less effective in Puerto Ricans.' The 2020 census reported that minorities make up 40% of the U.S. population, but only participate in 2% of clinical trials. Because they are not included in the research, the medication is less effective for some groups. Skepticism for trials is motivated by events like the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, which studied untreated syphilis in African-American men without their consent, even after treatment became widely available. The study ended in 1972. Another event motivating skepticism is the harvesting and study of Henrietta Lacks' cervical cells in 1951, which were used without her knowledge or consent. 'You can't just shy over that,' said Whitlow. 'People want to know that you're aware.' With more than 120,000 people participating in Acclinate's trials, their influence is growing. Whitlow plans to increase that number to 500,000 in the coming months. For more information, click here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
