Categories
Small Business Funding

Starting next week, December 16, 2024, through January 12, 2025, clients can apply for an Early Tax Refund Advance loan at any participating Jackson Hewitt office, as well as company-branded kiosk locations within Walmart. | PR Newswire [Video]

Starting next week, December 16, 2024, through January 12, 2025, clients can apply for an Early Tax Refund Advance loan at any participating Jackson Hewitt office, as well as company-branded

Categories
Small Business Funding

Zoth and Plume collaborate with SC Ventures backed Olea to launch trade financing on blockchain using Olea’s supply chain and trade finance expertise | PR Newswire [Video]

NEW YORK, Dec. 10, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Zoth, a leading ecosystem for real-world assets, is expanding its on-chain fixed-income pools with Olea, a digital infrastructure platform for supply chain assets,

Categories
Small Business Funding

The grinding war pitting Ukraine against its Russian invaders has escalated ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration [Video]

The grinding war between Ukraine and its Russian invaders has escalated ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration, with President Joe Biden rushing out billions of dollars more in military aid before U.S. support for Kyivs defenses is thrown into question under the new administration.Related video above: Biden works to cement legacy during final month in officeRussia, Ukraine and their global allies are scrambling to put their side in the best possible position for any changes that Trump may bring to American policy in the nearly 3-year-old war. The president-elect insisted in recent days that Russia and Ukraine immediately reach a ceasefire and said Ukraine should likely prepare to receive less U.S. military aid.On the war’s front lines, Ukraine’s forces are mindful of Trump’s fast-approaching presidency and the risk of losing their biggest backer.If that happens, those people who are with me, my unit, we are not going to retreat,” a Ukrainian strike-drone company commander, fighting in Russia’s Kursk region with the 47th Brigade, told The Associated Press by phone.As long as we have ammunition, as long as we have weapons, as long as we have some means to defeat the enemy, we will fight, said the commander, who goes by his military call sign, Hummer. He spoke on condition he not be identified by name, citing Ukrainian military rules and security concerns.But, when all means run out, you must understand, we will be destroyed very quickly, he said.The Biden administration is pushing every available dollar out the door to shore up Ukraine’s defenses before leaving office in six weeks, announcing more than $2 billion in additional support since Trump won the presidential election last month.The U.S. has sent a total of $62 billion in military aid since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. And more help is on the way.The Treasury Department said Tuesday it would disburse $20 billion the U.S. portion of a $50 billion multinational loan to Ukraine, backed by Russia’s frozen central bank assets before Biden leaves the White House. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the funds will provide Ukraine a critical infusion of support. And the State Department said Tuesday it had approved the sale of a $266 million package to help Ukraine with the long-term operation and maintenance of F-16 fighter aircraft from the U.S. and other allies.Biden also has eased limits on Ukraine using American longer-range missiles against military targets deeper inside Russia, following months of refusing those appeals over fears of provoking Russia into nuclear war or attacks on the West. He’s also newly allowed Ukraine to employ antipersonnel mines, which are banned by many countries.Biden and his senior advisers, however, are skeptical that allowing freer use of longer-range missiles will change the broader trajectory of the war, according to two senior administration officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.But the administration has at least a measure of confidence that its scramble, combined with continued strong European support, means it will leave office having given Ukraine the tools it needs to sustain its fight for some time, the officials said.Enough to hold on, but not enough to defeat Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces, according to Ukraine and some of its allies.Even now, the Biden administration has been very careful not to run up against the possibility of a defeated Putin or a defeated Russia for fear of the tumult that could bring, said retired Gen. Philip Breedlove, a former supreme allied commander of NATO. He is critical of Bidens cautious pace of military support for Ukraine.Events far from the front lines this past weekend demonstrated the war’s impact on Russias military.In Syria, rebels seized the capital and toppled Russia-allied President Bashar Assad. Russian forces in Syria had propped up Assad for years, but they moved out of the way of the rebels assault, unwilling to take losses to defend their ally.Biden said it was further evidence that U.S. support for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was wearing down Russias military.Trump, who has long spoken favorably of Putin and described Zelenskyy as a showman” wheedling money from the U.S., used that moment to call for an immediate ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia.And asked in a TV interview taped before he met with Zelenskyy over the weekend in Paris if Ukraine should prepare for the possibility of reduced aid, Trump said, Yeah. Probably. Sure.Trump’s supporters call that pre-negotiation maneuvering by an avowed deal-maker. His critics say they fear it shows he is in Putin’s sway.Zelenskyy said Monday that Russian forces retrenchment from outposts worldwide demonstrates that the entire army of this great pseudo-empire is fighting against the Ukrainian people today.Forcing Putin to end the war requires Ukraine to be strong on the battlefield before it can be strong diplomatically, Zelenskyy wrote on social media, repeating near-daily appeals for more longer-range missiles from the U.S. and Europe.In Kursk, Hummer, the Ukrainian commander, said he notices Russian artillery strikes and shelling easing up since the U.S. and its European allies loosened limits on the use of longer-range missiles.But Moscow has been escalating its offensives in other ways in the past six months, burning through men and materiel in infantry assaults and other attacks far faster than it can replace them, according to the Institute for the Study of War.In Kursk, that includes Russia sending waves of soldiers on motorcycles and golf carts to storm Ukrainian positions, Hummer said. The Ukrainian drone commander and his comrades defend the ground they have seized from Russia with firearms, tanks and armored vehicles provided by the U.S. and other allies.Ukraines supporters fear that the kind of immediate ceasefire Trump is urging would be mostly on Putins terms and allow the Russian leader to resume the war when his military has recovered.Putin is sacrificing his own soldiers at a grotesque rate to take whatever territory he can on the assumption that the U.S. will tell Ukraine that U.S. aid is over unless Russia gets to keep what it has taken, Phillips OBrien, a professor of strategic studies at Scotlands University of St. Andrews, wrote on his Substack channel.Putin’s need for troops led him to bring in North Korean forces. Biden’s decision to allow Ukraine to use longer-range missiles more broadly in Russia was partly in response, intended to discourage North Korea from deeper involvement in the war, one of the senior administration officials said.Since 2022, Russia already had been pulling forces and other military assets from Syria, Central Asia and elsewhere to throw into the Ukraine fight, said George Burros, an expert on the Russia-Ukraine conflict at the Institute for the Study of War.Any combat power that Russia has left in Syria that it could deploy to Ukraine is unlikely to change battlefield momentum, Burros said.The Kremlin has prioritized Ukraine as much as it can, he said.

Categories
Small Business Funding

Burlington Cathedral set to be demolished after green light from Vermont Superior Court [Video]

THE CATHEDRAL OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION IN BURLINGTON CLOSED IT’S DOORS IN 2018… FOR YEARS…IT’S BEEN SITTING EMPTY IN THE HEART OF DOWNTOWN. IT’S ACROSS FROM the NEW CITY PLACE development. BUT THAT MAY NOT BE THE CASE FOR MUCH LONGER… NBC5 STEPHEN BIDDIX IS LIVE IN BURLINGTON WITH MORE. THE BUILDING THAT SITS COVERED IN GRAFFITI, FENCED IN, AND UNUSED WILL NOW BE DEMOLISHED THIS WINTER AFTER A STATE SUPREME COURT RULING. AFTER welcoming worshippers for over 4 decades IN 20-18 THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION CATHEDRAL on pine street in burlington CLOSED its doors DUE TO FINANCIAL PRESSURES. THE CATHEDRAL OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION TRUST HAS WANTED TO DECONSECRATE AND DEMOLISH THE BUILDING BUT WAS MET WITH SOME RESISTANCE IN RECENT YEARS. Ron Wannamaker, President of Preservation Burlington,00: 01:21:06 FEB 2023 super “There’s a good use for it besides being a church,” MULTIPLE MEMBERS OF PRESERVATION BURLINGTON FILED LAWSUITS AND APPEALS TO THE DECISIONS TO ALLOW FOR THE DEMOLITION. Ron 00:01:39:25 “Our statute is giving preferential treatment to a church over secular uses or secular people.” BUT THAT’S ALL BEEN PUT TO BED AFTER THE VERMONT SUPREME COURT RULED IN FAVOR OF THE TRUST… allowing the demolition to move forward.

Categories
Small Business Funding

Young girl provides ‘joy’ through American Girl Doll restoration for kids impacted by Helene [Video]

Leah Barcus founded the non-profit Joy Doll Hospital five years ago at the age of 12. Now 17, Barcus said she’s blessed to be able to spread joy.According to the organization:”Joy Doll Hospital is a charitable organization dedicated to restoring pre-loved dolls and bringing them to children experiencing crisis in their journey of life. By restoring dolls that have been discarded or left behind, the hospital provides these beloved toys to children who are facing challenging circumstances. With a focus on community support and resilience, Joy Doll Hospital strives to make a meaningful difference in the lives of children by offering them comfort and hope through the power of this beloved and restored toy.”Leah’s passion has garnered her national attention and the ability to restore dolls for people all across the country.This week, Leah and her small but mighty team packaged 70 pre-owned, fully refurbished and refined dolls that will now go to girls in western North Carolina who were impacted by Hurricane Helene. The dolls are normally redesigned for young girls who experience some form of crisis.”That crisis situation might be theyve gone into foster care and theyre away from families or could be that theyre in the hospital,” Joy Doll Hospital Board of Director’s Treasurer and Secretary Luke Frank said. “In this case, we have a large group of people who have been displaced from their homes in the Asheville, North Carolina area. It brings with it a story of restoration and of hope.Each doll comes with a detailed tag containing a message of the doll’s journey, a little bible, clothes and other accessories.”Just getting my doll and seeing how much joy and fun it brought me, I decided to start gathering dolls that needed to be fixed and fix them up and give them to kids who didnt have one, Barcus said. “To get it back to looking like new and playable again probably takes about six hours a doll. Its kind of like a doll workshop. Like, youre rebuilding the toy all over again. Just like God takes us and our sin and our brokenness and he restores us and brings us joy, that is the whole message around this ministry.The dolls are expected to be delivered this week. If you have any American Girl dolls that you’d like to get rid of, if you’d like to donate or if you would like more general information, click here.