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Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird is cautioning Iowans to be aware of sweepstakes scams after helping a central Iowa couple save more than $16,000 from a scamming attempt. Sweepstakes scams are when scammers use the promise of a prize to get someone’s money or personal information. These scams typically take place over the phone where scammers usually ask individuals to pay money or provide personal and financial account information to receive prize, which is actually nonexistent. Last month, Bird’s office helped the couple after a scammer called the 72-year-old husband, telling him he won a Publishers Clearing House prize of $3.5 million, plus $5,000 a week for life, according to a release put out by the office on Monday. People are also reading... Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird speaks during a town hall campaign event for Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley on May 17, 2023, in Ankeny, Iowa. He was instructed to pay $16,340.18 in upfront fees and taxes, leading him to mail a cashier's check to a Miami address provided by the scammer. The man’s wife and daughter learned what happened and contacted their son-in-law, who was at a training for Iowa county attorneys, the release said. The son-in-law spoke with an investigator from the Iowa Attorney General’s office about the scam and they were able to intercept the package and return it to the couple after working with a local postal inspector. “If it seems too good to be true, it probably is,” Bird said in the release. “I am so glad that we saved this Iowa couple their $16,000. Sweepstakes scams are evil and manipulative. And con artists will do everything they can to exploit Iowans’ emotions, like the excitement of hitting the jackpot, in order to steal from you.” Bird encourages Iowans to call her office at 1-888-777-4590 if they or someone they know is suspicious of a sweepstakes scam. Here are ways to spot a sweepstakes scam, according to the Iowa Attorney General’s Office: New money scams are popping up: Here are the ones to look out for New money scams are popping up: Here are the ones to look out for Financial scams are an unfortunate reality of life for consumers. According to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, Canadians reported $530.4 million (CND) in financial fraud losses in 2022, a 170.2% increase in just one year. And the situation in the U.S. is even bleaker, with the Federal Trade Commission reporting Americans lost more than $10 billion (USD) from financial fraud in 2023. While some scams are obvious, others can be rather convincing. It doesn't help that scams are constantly evolving, and new types of fraud are invented daily. A quick slip-up, and you could be giving away some of your vital information. To protect yourself, Money.ca shares tips to think like a thief and stay current with the most common scams. Facebook Scams While Facebook is a great place to connect with people, it's almost become a prime hunting ground for thieves. One common scam involves fraudsters who set up a group or fan page that looks identical to an authentic brand. For example, it could be an airline or a popular retailer. They'll then advertise a contest where all you need to do is enter your personal information or bank details for your chance to win. As soon as any "brand" starts asking for specific information about you, red flags should be going off. It's okay to give your name and email, but if they're asking for your government ID numbers, bank account, or copies of your ID, it's probably a scam. Note that there are other scams on Facebook, including account cloning, where someone poses as a relative or friend and asks for financial help. There are also romance scams where the end game is getting you to send them money. If something doesn't seem right, don't be afraid to call the brands or your friends in person to see if what they're advertising or asking for is legit. AI Scams Artificial intelligence, or AI, is seemingly everywhere nowadays, so it's only fitting that AI is now making its way into consumer financial scams. Fraudsters are using AI for a whole host of scams, including deepfakes, a process in which scammers employ AI to create convincing voice clones, making it difficult for victims to distinguish between real and fake emergency situations. But the threat of AI scams also extends to phishing attacks, with fraudsters using AI bots to create sophisticated emails, text messages, and social media accounts. These bots are highly personalized and can bypass traditional spam filters, increasing the likelihood of users falling for the scam. Online Shopping Scams Online shopping scams have become a prevalent issue in today's digital age. Scammers have honed their skills and are now specifically targeting online shoppers, who are particularly vulnerable to fraud. These scams are becoming increasingly sophisticated, with scammers creating fake websites and launching social media campaigns to deceive unsuspecting consumers. What makes these scams even more dangerous is that they often impersonate well-known brands, luring shoppers with unbelievably low prices that are simply too tempting to resist. What makes these scams even more dangerous is that they often impersonate well-known brands, luring shoppers with unbelievably low prices that are simply too tempting to resist. Because of this, it's important to be cautious when encountering too-good-to-be-true offers, especially when shopping online , as they can have devastating financial consequences. Revenue and Tax Scams Tax scams are a very common form of fraud that prays on a collective fear of the tax man. These scams come in many forms, but follow one basic pattern: Someone claiming to be from the Canada Revenue Agency or the Internal Revenue Service will call or email and claim you owe back taxes. If you don't pay immediately, you'll be arrested or deported. The claim seems far-fetched, but it targets seniors or new immigrants who may not know any better. You'll know it's a scam when they ask you to pay by gift cards or Bitcoin. They'll also tell you that you'll be arrested or deported right away if you say anything to anyone. Just hang up if you ever get one of these calls. Tax authorities will never call you with aggressive language or threats. They'll also never ask for immediate payment. If you're not sure if a call you received is fraudulent, call the agency directly and ask them if an agent has been trying to contact you. Package Delivery Scams Package delivery scams have become increasingly prevalent in recent times. Individuals are receiving fake messages, supposedly from reputable companies such as Amazon, UPS, FedEx, or the post office, regarding upcoming or missed deliveries. These scams aim to deceive you into clicking on links that direct them to fraudulent sign-in pages or websites infected with malware. It is crucial to remain vigilant and exercise caution when encountering such messages. Rental Scams With the cost of rent rising in many parts of the country, many people are looking to cut back on their living expenses. Thieves know that and are starting to exploit people by putting up fraudulent ads about apartments or rooms for rent on sites like Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist. The price will usually be a touch below market price, which will drive up interest. These listings will look legit as there will be plenty of pictures, but once you reach out, you'll know that it's a scam as they won't do a face-to-face showing. While it's easy for locals to verify if the rental available is real or not, fraudsters target people who don't live in the area, but need affordable housing. Also, note that this scam doesn't apply to just monthly rentals. The same scam has been used for short-term rentals in popular tourist destinations. The fraudster will demand the first and last month's rent via wire or e-transfer. Once you've made the deposit, you'll never hear from them again. To avoid this scam, always view the property in person and verify the person is the owner. The easiest way to do this is to ask to see a property tax bill with their name on it. You could even check with the city's public records to verify ownership. Fake Employment Scams Many job postings online look legit, but are clearly fake. One of the most common job scams involves working from home. Your new employer will send you a cheque. You'll use part of that money to set up your home office. The rest of the money will be sent back to your employer via e-transfer. The cheque will seem legit at first since some of the funds become available right away. However, the cheque will eventually bounce after a week or two. While you could return any items you purchased, there's no chance of recovering the funds you sent via e-transfer. So although you're clearly a victim of fraud, your financial institution won't be returning any money to you. Protect Yourself From Financial Scams Fraudsters are constantly coming up with new scams, so it's important to take steps to protect yourself. Here are some tips to keep in mind: Remember, being proactive and cautious is key to protecting yourself from financial scams. Stay vigilant and follow these guidelines to safeguard your personal and financial information. This story was produced by Money.ca and reviewed and distributed by Stacker. Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter.ROCHESTER – A meeting room inside the Rochester Public Library was stuffed Thursday with folks curious about the Minnesota Department of Transportation’s rail plans, wondering whether passenger rail or other options might finally come to their community. MnDOT officials say more than 5,000 people have recently submitted comments, thoughts and proposals as state officials update the rail policy plan over the next few months. They’ve heard from people want expanded rail across the state, from Moorhead to Duluth , St. Cloud to Red Wing. Though the plan is more a recommendation, it’s got southern Minnesota communities wondering about how they could benefit from more rail access. Not every community supports rail connections; some like Rochester have been scared off of rail talks for years after previous plans went awry. Other cities like Austin say they want to focus on more pressing issues. Yet more transportation options have cities pondering the future of rail transportation. “There’s pretty strong interest in connection between the Twin Cities and places like Rochester, Winona, Owatonna, Northfield,” said Robert Clarksen, a MnDOT planning coordinator managing the process to update Minnesota’s State Rail Plan. “But we’re also hearing people who are telling us that it’s important to continue to investigate options to get to St. Cloud and other places via whatever mechanism that may look like in the future.” MnDOT officials update the plan every decade. It’s meant to guide lawmakers on potential rail projects 20 years into the future. The current update work started in 2022; MnDOT has two more public meetings planned for Moorhead and St. Paul next week. If all goes well, the updated plan’s expected to wrap up next spring. State lawmakers have fought in recent years over the viability of commuter rail projects, from light rail proposals to high-speed tracks. It’s led advocates like Suzi Nakasian, a former Northfield City Council member, to push compromises like introducing more conventional passenger rail options, which would also lay the groundwork for more freight and business connections across the state. “We’re just hoping to get on the game board and study the possibilities,” Nakasian said. Nakasian has put together a coalition of colleges, cities and counties across south-central and southeast Minnesota in favor of a few large-scale proposals: Build passenger rail (think regular commuter railroad lines) from the Twin Cities to Albert Lea and further south roughly following Interstate 35. Get another connection from the Cities to Mankato. And create an east-west connection by expanding freight rail lines along Highway 14, which could run from South Dakota through Wisconsin. Thus far, almost 20 cities and counties have officially supported Nakasian’s proposals. Albert Lea officials jumped at the opportunity. A line connecting the Twin Cities to Des Moines and beyond could lead to an unprecedented boom period for the city of 18,000. “It’s huge in dealing with everything from some of our housing issues to when we look at our climate and the ability to find alternate transportation instead of singular use vehicles,” Albert Lea City Manager Ian Rigg said. Though Rigg acknowledged such a line would take years — and likely another city manager — to complete, he said the proposal would offer “extraordinary” economic development as a stop along a potential north-south route from Minnesota to Texas. A Federal Railroad Administration study earlier this year identified a Twin Cities-to-Kansas City-to-San Antonio long-distance routes as one of 16 preferred projects to add to Amtrak’s U.S. network. Amtrak appears to support the Twin Cities route, according to Nakasian. Even if it has Amtrak support, a large-scale railroad network throughout southern Minnesota would be a heavy undertaking. “When it comes to passenger rail, it’s not just about Minnesota most of the time,” said Adam Fulton, a rail planning coordinator for MnDOT. “It’s usually about how we coordinate with other places.” Albert Lea could be a decent place to build Amtrak rail, but it would require support from several states before track could be laid down. And Minnesota would also have to take federal policymaking into account before it hurdles into a rail project. “The FRA has done a lot of work in thinking about what a long-term system looks like,” Fulton said. “Recognizing how that looks and how it has changed over time is something that should be considered as those big investments happen.” Fulton pointed to the recent Borealis Amtrak line stretching from the Twin Cities to Chicago as a project that took years to complete, involving Wisconsin, Illinois and federal transportation officials. Austin balks at rail Not everyone is convinced passenger rail is the future for southern Minnesota. Last month, the Austin City Council voted 3-1, with three council members absent, against supporting Nakasian’s idea for a criss-cross passenger rail network across southern Minnesota. Council Member Jason Baskin said Thursday he felt the project had low odds of success, especially when people could drive to other parts of Minnesota faster than they could take a conventional train. “When it’s been tried in other areas of the state, it’s ended up being a really poor financial decision,” Baskin said. “Our [city] staff are already overworked trying to deal with core issues like public safety and plowing the streets. It didn’t make sense for us to put additional burden on them .. having to participate in a process like this.” Baskin worries Greater Minnesota doesn’t have the the population density to financially support expanded rail networks. He sees investing in more bus lines as a better approach. “We’ve already got stuff that works really, really well,” he said. “It’s just a matter of taking what’s proven to work and scaling it up.” In Rochester, ‘we’re going to be Switzerland’ Arguably the biggest voice in a southern Minnesota rail conversation is Minnesota’s third-largest city, home to the Mayo Clinic. But Rochester officials haven’t made rail policy plans for more than a decade after a failed attempt to get a high-speed line from the metro area to Med City. The Rochester area pushed for the line in the mid-2000s, but communities in between there and the Twin Cities arduously opposed the project. Republican lawmakers killed the line soon after, according to former DFL Rep. Kim Norton of Rochester. Though some groups have tried to push for rail connections over the years years, city officials haven’t really discussed rail projects since then. “I think people thought it’s not going to happen,” said Norton, whose served as Rochester’s mayor since 2019. “And so we don’t want to keep wasting political capital on something that isn’t going to move because of the politics.” Earlier this week, Norton called on city staff and the Rochester City Council to start talks on rail policy after Nakasian approached her and other officials. While Norton said she personally would prefer high-speed rail or hyperloop connections, it’s up to the city to research the issue and get community feedback before Rochester could support any project. “We’re nowhere near ready to be able to take any position for or against,” Norton said Thursday. “We’re just going to be Switzerland right now because we haven’t had a discussion.” Nakasian meets with Mankato officials this week and hopes to convince more communities to support expanded rail proposals. She’s already got support from several colleges and universities, including Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, St. Olaf and Carleton colleges in Northfield, and South Central College in North Mankato. “We want to make the colleges competitive and keep attracting people to the region,” Nakasian said. “And if you’re going to do that, you’d better have regional passenger rail because other cities are doing it. It’s the wave of the future.”Bonnie Crombie pitches her vision for Ontario, while distancing herself from Trudeau

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Irish Government doubted UK campaign to ‘save David’ TrimbleThose wanting to update their bathrooms can now get 40 per cent off a 'fabulous' shower tower from Debenhams, which has been described as a 'splendid bit of kit'. The 'amazing' and 'stylish' panel previously cost £261.67, but the price has now been dropped to £157.50. Debenhams said the Living and Home shower tower would "bring stunning designer style" to a bathroom and provide a "sensational shower experience". The product description said it was made from "premium quality stainless steel for long-lasting durability", and had a "beautiful, curved design in a brushed silver finish". There were four functions to use - rainfall, waterfall, massage jets, and a handheld shower head - which could be "easily selected by means of a knob". All of the shower tower's functions could be used independently or simultaneously. READ MORE: Amazon drops 17% off scales that 'unlock a whole new area of fitness tracking' with free app A five-star review from a Sutton Coldfield customer said the shower tower pane l was "stylish" and "exceeded expectations". They added: "It’s amazing, my plumber said he wants one too. As long as you have good water pressure it’s fabulous." Adam also gave five-stars and said: "Very impressed for the money - good value for money." Pete echoed his views and said: "Best price around for the item purchased by a long way." Rose wrote: "Didn’t expect Debenhams to sell shower towers , so was pleasantly surprised that they did and at a very good price. The item was well packaged and arrived quickly. It looks lovely and exactly what I wanted. So impressed that I’ve ordered another one for the main bathroom." The shower tower was a "splendid bit of kit", according to Emmanuel from Tamworth , who added: "It's durable, it's amazing. Just what I was looking for." Ritah added: "Lovely panels. Photos don’t do them justice. Delivery was so quick too." However a one-star review was left by Alen, who said: "Disappointed, cheap parts, etched wording on front, spelling errors. Be surprised if lasts the year." The shower tower can be purchased here while stocks last. Alternatives include the Milan shower tower panel from Victoria Plumbing , now £269.95 down from £329.95. Amazon also has an Evolve thermostatic shower panel for £149.99.

Bulls vs. Hornets Prediction & Picks: Line, Spread, Over/Under – December 30CHENNAI: Representatives from the fishermen, Irula, and Puthirai Vannar communities, as well as slum dwellers from Chennai and other parts of the state, vented their ire against successive state governments for denying them land rights at a public hearing on land rights on Sunday. They expressed strong discontent before the five-member panel, headed by social activist Medha Patkar, over successive governments’ lack of political will and persistent red tape that denied them a dignified life. Upon hearing the testimony of the homeless and slum dwellers, Patkar remarked that the labourers built the city and continue to serve it. “They should be given due recognition, and no one should be evicted or displaced from their homes. Moving them to distant locations would have a devastating impact, as it would cause them to lose their livelihoods, and children would struggle to continue their education,” she noted. She also pointed out that while the state government had resettled slum dwellers in Kannagi Nagar, they were not properly rehabilitated. The government should recognise the contribution of these labourers and provide them with housing and essential facilities at their place of living. A group of women from Sathya Nagar, opposite the War Memorial, shared that they had been fighting for land rights for more than half a century, yet successive state governments had failed to address their demands. Nevertheless, they vowed to continue their struggle to secure their land rights. These women were among the 14 groups representing slum dwellers from various parts of Chennai, including coastal slum and Adyar riverside slum in Pattinapakkam. In addition to the slum dwellers, representatives from the Narikuravas, Irula community, released bonded labourers, and Puthirai Vannar from Tiruchy, Perambalur, Tiruvannamalai, Tiruvallur, and Chengalpattu districts attended the public hearing and shared their hardships. R Geetha of the Unorganised Workers Federation stated that the government had declared over 1,500 sites as slums in Chennai between 1971 and 1974. Under the Tamil Nadu Slum Areas (Improvement and Clearance) Act, 1971, these declared-slums should be protected from eviction, and the residents should be granted land rights. However, the authorities have failed to comply with this pioneering Act, which was enacted by the government of then Chief Minister M Karunanidhi in 1971. “The panel will prepare its recommendations in the next 15 days, which will be submitted to the government to address the grievances of the slum dwellers and homeless people in Chennai and other parts of the state,” Patkar said.

On today’s You Asked: Why do so many movies considered to have great transfers to 4K Blu-ray look so noisy? Is there a problem with Hisense TV stock, just ahead of the holidays? How many calibrations should a TV get? Check that TV model again? John in the U.K. writes: How highly would you rate the 55-inch Samsung Neo QLED QN55D? I entered myself into a competition draw via Dolby. First, I think there may have been a typo there? I’m not aware of a QN55D — at least not in the North American market — and I don’t know of one in the U.K. or Europe either. Did you possibly mean the QN85D or QN95D? Let me know the exact model number. The “55” should go before the QN to signify size, I believe, and the following number is the model or series number. Out-of-stock Hisense Brendan wrote in about the Hisense 75U8N being out of stock at Walmart, and that they’re concerned they may miss out on a big employee deal, and also about the availability of that TV in general since it is highly rated. If you’ve been eyeballing a 75-inch Hisense U8N , my contacts at Hisense let me know that a restock order is due to ship in two to three weeks, which would place the item back in stock at Walmart during the first or second week of December. For a while there, I was wondering if Walmart’s acquisition of Vizio may have led to some Hisense models being edged out strategically, but happily this does not appear to be the case. How many times should you calibrate? Omar writes: Is it better to calibrate a TV twice, once for daytime/bright and once for night/dark? I have never seen anyone mention this before and would like to know. Also, is it common for TVs to have multiple preset “slots” for multiple calibrations? This is a great question. Yes, it is wise to have a TV calibrated for daytime or bright room use and also have a preset for nighttime or dark room use. That way, you can have a fully accurate mode and a mode that is better suited for viewing in the day, when scenes that are displayed at their intended brightness (by the creator anyway) would be too dark to see unless you were in a pitch black room. There’s plenty of content out there like that. And, yes, one of the things we got the TV manufacturers to do is create multiple preset options with labels that make sense for day and night use. But a good TV can have any mode calibrated to perform to your liking — so even the dreaded Vivid mode can be made more accurate, but still bright enough for daytime use. Soundbars in corners Omar writes: Do soundbar systems work in the corner of the room? My TV is wall-mounted, in a corner of the room, with the soundbar hanging underneath. Will Atmos soundbars work in a corner configuration? I’m interested in getting the new Sonos Arc Ultra complete system or the Bravia Quad. Any recommendations on which one I should get? You could go with either the Theatre Quad or the Sonos Arc Ultra system. The Theater Quad might be a little better since it can be placed more flexibly and you’ll still get killer Atmos surround sound. However, the Sonos Arc Ultra could work mounted under the TV. Any drivers shooting out of the sides of the Arc Ultra, though, would struggle to give you some extended width to the sound, as they would not bounce off at the intended angle — that might be hard for the Sonos TruePlay system to overcome. But it would still sound amazing, especially with the surrounds and sub in place. So don’t feel like you should skip it because of that one concern. Both would be great, but if this were my room, I would do Theatre Quad. Noisy 4K Blu-ray blues Max writes that he noticed when watching The Matrix – specifically in scenes like “The Construct” — that the white background is super noisy, even though the 4K Blu-ray version is known to be the product of a high-quality transfer. They noticed it on a Bravia 7 with a Sony UBP-X800M2 Blu-ray player and on a Hisense U8K with a Panasonic Blu-ray player. Is it normal for a movie to have these noise issues? This is something that keeps coming up, and I think that means we need to keep talking about it. The Matrix was shot on 35mm film and used a lot of effects. One of the things that made that movie interesting was its blend of traditional filmmaking and more modern digital special effects. That white background was not digitally manifested. It was an actual white background. That doesn’t necessarily account for it being noisy, though. When doing a transfer to digital, the grain in 35mm film is very difficult to reproduce well — digital scanning must be done very carefully to get a digital representation of it. The real issue, though, is that despite all the advances in TV image processing, digital capture of film grain is hard to perceive as anything but noise to the TV. And even if the TV’s digital noise filters are disabled, the TV still has a hard time knowing what to do with all that “noise.” The white background, even if it was digitally inserted, would need to have had digital film grain added in order for it to work with the rest of the movie — with actual film grain in the source image. The noise is always there. It’s just way, way more obvious with bright and light colors. I think that’s why it seems so severe. It’s just easy to see and, therefore, potentially more distracting. Where’s the Samsung QN90D review? Devon writes: Will there be a full review on the Samsung QN90D besides the one that I see was done for subscribers? The Sony Bravia 7 was my pick until I saw how bad the reflections are, so now I would really like to hear your full thoughts on the Samsung. Thank you for all that you do! First, a little correction. I have not done a review on the QN90D for members. I have shared some behind-the-scenes info, as I have been testing the TV and have talked a little about some specific experiences and some questions that have come up. The full review of the QN90D has now been published. Unfortunately, the review on the 98-inch version might not provide the information you’re looking for. If you think the Bravia 7 may be too reflective, the QN90D will be a better option. If you are getting a 75-inch model or lower, the QN90D will likely make you very, very happy.None

NoneWDAY+ is proud to bring you the NDSU wrestling team as they take on the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Friday, Nov. 22 at 6 p.m. at the Scheels Center. You can catch that matchup streaming only on WDAY+ with coverage starting at 7 p.m.Unconvincing Canada tops Germany 3-0 at world juniorsBy Ja'han Jones Donald Trump announced Thursday he intends to make tech investor David Sacks his cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence “czar,” essentially giving Sacks the reins to steer the administration’s policy on both fronts. The position would enable Sacks to potentially recommend that artificial intelligence be used in ways that could allow Trump and his crypto bro backers to enrich themselves and worsen inequality. A former PayPal executive, Sacks is a part-time podcaster and member of the Big Tech oligarchy that has become a major financier of Republican politicians. He helped garner support from Silicon Valley elites for Trump, an effort that included hosting a ritzy fundraiser in June. Sacks has been obsessed with rooting out “wokeness” in American society and has also peddled the pro-Kremlin talking point that Russia was “provoked” to invade Ukraine . Sacks is an ally of Elon Musk and Peter Thiel, who, as Joy Reid highlighted in October , spent all or some of their youths in apartheid South Africa. Joy’s segment discusses how the conservative politics all three men are boosting here resemble the ones that dominated South Africa at that time. Sacks also sits on the board of directors for the far-right video platform Rumble. More relevant to his proposed portfolio, Sacks launched an artificial intelligence company called Glue this year and is known to be a major investor in cryptocurrencies , which would seem likely to create some conflicts of interest if he’s steering the administration’s AI and crypto policies. The New York Times, citing Sacks’ company, reports that the “position is not full time,” so it’s unclear right now whether Sacks’ role will carry any real weight or be simply advisory. Particularly when it comes to AI, it’s hard to understate the kind of influence Sacks could have on virtually every aspect of American life. In the coming months and years, an AI czar is likely to face questions of how the country should guard against AI-enabled attacks from foreign adversaries; of how the government could —or should — deploy AI to surveil American citizens and, potentially, crack down on abortion ; and of the potential harms to nonwhite residents from AI algorithms, which have been shown to exacerbate housing discrimination , disparities in the criminal justice system and disproportionate auditing from the Internal Revenue Service . By giving a position like this to a Trump loyalist like Sacks, who’s already shown his commitment to the MAGA cause, it’s possible the administration will not put many guardrails around what is arguably the most powerful emerging technology — artificial intelligence. Earlier this year, President Joe Biden warned that “we must make certain that the awesome capabilities of AI will be used to uplift and empower everyday people, not to give dictators more powerful shackles on the human spirit.” With Sacks informing the administration’s AI and crypto policies, the U.S. might be the ones forging those chains. Ja'han Jones is The ReidOut Blog writer. He's a futurist and multimedia producer focused on culture and politics. His previous projects include "Black Hair Defined" and the "Black Obituary Project."

FRESH PROTESTS AS CHAPO DECLARED WINNER

KORE Announces NYSE Acceptance of Plan to Regain Listing Compliance2024 Concludes with Positive Update On Current Initiatives TOMBALL, TX / ACCESSWIRE / December 23, 2024 / QS Energy, Inc. (OTCQB:QSEP), a leader in advanced crude oil transport efficiency technologies, is pleased to announce a significant progression in its commercial activities and strategic initiatives as the year comes to a close. Building on the strong foundation established throughout 2024, the company has achieved key milestones that position it for accelerated growth in 2025. Expansion into Global Markets Over the past year, QS Energy has made notable strides in deploying its Applied Oil Technology (AOT) systems across new and high-demand markets in Southeast Asia and South Asia. Through partnerships formalized earlier this year, the company has moved from exploratory phases to contract issuance that will enable the rollout of AOT units across critical energy infrastructure in key regions. These developments reflect QS Energy's ability to meet the growing global demand for technologies that enhance pipeline efficiency and reduce operational costs. Financial Backing to Support Customer Expansion and Growth To support these contracts and ensure smooth execution, QS Energy is advancing discussions with a leading U.S. government-supported financial institution specializing in global trade financing. This institution offers a comprehensive suite of financing solutions, including working capital, buyer-backed financing, and funding opportunities designed to enable manufacturing scale and expansion within the United States. These financial pathways allow QS Energy's customers to adopt AOT technology with minimal upfront capital barriers, streamlining the deployment process. As customers adopt and expand their use of AOT, this financing structure positions QS Energy to scale operations, including the necessary expansion of its U.S.-based assembly capabilities to meet growing demand. "Our progress with this trusted export financing partner reflects our ability to align innovative technology with practical financial solutions," says CEO, Cecil Bond Kyte. "This support framework enables us to help our customers adopt AOT systems while also preparing to meet future growth opportunities through scalable manufacturing." Addressing Legacy Licensing Fees with Temple University In support of our positive momentum to clean up our final balance sheet items, QS Energy and Temple University are in discussions to rectify our past obligations to our mutual future economic benefit. Reflecting on a Year Throughout 2024, QS Energy has demonstrated its ability to evolve from technology development to commercialization. Key milestones this year include: Establishing strategic partnerships to bring the first AOT systems into commercial operation. Signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to expand AOT deployment in Southeast Asia. Advancing financial pathways for global adoption through innovative customer financing solutions. "As we reflect on the successes of 2024, we are proud to have reached these milestones while staying true to our vision of enhancing energy efficiency worldwide. The momentum we've built sets the stage for even greater achievements in 2025." says CEO Cecil Bond Kyte. For further information about QS Energy, Inc., click here and read our SEC filings at https://ir.qsenergy.com/sec-filings . To stay connected, subscribe to Email Alerts at https://ir.qsenergy.com/news/email-alerts to receive Company filings and press releases, and subscribe to our new QS UPDATES email service here to receive timely updates on the Company's latest news and innovations. Safe Harbor Statement Some of the statements in this release may constitute forward-looking statements under federal securities laws. Please click here for our complete cautionary forward-looking statement. About Applied Oil Technology QS Energy's patented Applied Oil Technology (AOT) is a solid-state turn-key system which uses a high volt / low amp electric field to reduce crude oil viscosity. AOT installs inline on crude oil pipelines, operates unattended without interrupting pipeline flow, with full remote monitoring and control. More information is available online here . About QS Energy QS Energy, Inc. (OTCQB: QSEP), develops and markets crude oil flow assurance technologies designed to deliver measurable performance improvements to pipeline operations in the midstream and upstream crude oil markets. For further information about QS Energy, Inc., visit www.qsenergy.com . Company Contact QS Energy, Inc. Tel: +1 844-645-7737 E-mail: investor@qsenergy.com Sales: sales@qsenergy.com SOURCE: QS Energy, Inc. View the original on accesswire.com