News Hub | News Direct

Comcast Hosts Community Event and Makes a $50,000 Contribution to Santa Cruz Non-Profit Organizations for Storm Relief and Recovery

Comcast California

As Santa Cruz County works to recover and rebuild from the recent historic rainstorms that caused massive flooding, downed trees, landslides and other devastation, Comcast yesterday hosted a free event to support the community and made a $50,000 donation to the United Way of Santa Cruz and Community Bridges of Santa Cruz. “The Santa Cruz area has suffered so much from the recent storms – the devastation has been heart wrenching to experience and witness,” said Ray Cancino, CEO, Community Bridges. “This partnership and financial support from Comcast is coming at the ideal time and will provide important, valuable resources as the community strives to get back on its feet.” “We appreciate Comcast hosting yesterday’s event. It was so nice to enable this hard-hit community to take a break, come together and support each other, while having some fun.” said Keisha Browden, CEO, United Way of Santa Cruz County. “Comcast’s financial contribution to our community will help us not only expand our recovery efforts but also help us rebuild from this catastrophic disaster.” A unique feature at the Scotts Valley community event was the Xfinity Experience trailer, which features a 12 foot by 18-foot LED screen on which the movies Sing 2 and Minions: Rise of Gru were screened. The trailer also enabled free WiFi access and power so attendees could get online and charge their devices. Attendees can enjoy free food and beverages from local restaurants and there will be raffles with a variety of door prizes and special giveaways. Throughout the series of dangerous and severe storms, Comcast provided a range of services to evacuation and community support centers in Northern and Central California. Comcast’s network and engineering technicians monitored the storms’ impacts and worked diligently to restore Xfinity and Comcast Business services that were impacted as quickly and safely as possible so customers could stay connected. Comcast also made available for free use by anyone its 147,000 public Xfinity WiFi hotspots throughout Northern and Central California. This helped residents and emergency personnel stay connected during the rainstorms. # # # About Comcast Corporation Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA) is a global media and technology company that connects people to moments that matter. We are principally focused on connectivity, aggregation, and streaming with 57 million customer relationships across the United States and Europe. We deliver broadband, wireless, and video through our Xfinity, Comcast Business, and Sky brands; create, distribute, and stream leading entertainment, sports, and news through Universal Filmed Entertainment Group, Universal Studio Group, Sky Studios, the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks, multiple cable networks, Peacock, NBCUniversal News Group, NBC Sports, Sky News, and Sky Sports; and provide memorable experiences at Universal Parks and Resorts in the United States and Asia. Visit www.comcastcorporation.com for more information. Contact Details Adriana Arvizo +1 925-200-1919 Adriana_Arvizo@comcast.com

February 02, 2023 02:01 PM Pacific Standard Time

Bill Introduced in Senate Calls for NMTC to Receive Permanent Extension at $5 Billion

New Markets Tax Credit Coalition

Today, Senators Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Steve Daines (R-MT) introduced the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) Extension Act of 2023, joined by co-sponsoring Senators Cantwell (D-WA), T. Scott (R-SC), Schumer (D-NY), Cassidy (R- LA), Menendez (D-NJ), and Blackburn (R-TN). The legislation permanently extends the NMTC at $5 billion in annual credit authority, adjusts that amount for inflation in future years and provides an exception from the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) for New Markets investments. “In Maryland and across the country, the New Markets Tax Credit has demonstrated its strength in encouraging a diverse range of infrastructure and community development efforts in low-income neighborhoods and communities of color. New Markets Tax Credits provide a strategic tool for the transformation of historically under-invested communities,” said Senator Cardin. “I thank Senator Daines and all of our cosponsors for joining this effort to make permanent this tax credit that will continue to create jobs and stimulate our economy in communities nationwide.” “The New Markets Tax Credit is a win-win-win – it has been an invaluable tool for encouraging investment into our communities, creating good-paying jobs in Montana, and spurring growth in local economies across the nation. It’s time we make a permanent commitment to helping our Montana communities thrive and economies grow,” said Senator Daines. In recent years, Congress has taken action to expand and sustain the NMTC. In 2019, Congress increased the annual allocation of Credits to $5 billion, a 44 percent increase over the previous years. In 2020, Congress enacted a five extension of the NMTC, the largest in the program’s history. The NMTC Extension Act of 2023 establishes the NMTC as a permanent part of the tax code, which will provide certainty in delivering resources to low-income and marginalized communities, creating jobs, increasing economic opportunity, and improving lives at a time when the economic frailty of our underserved communities has never been more apparent. “With bipartisan and bicameral support, coupled with its track record of creating jobs and bringing much-needed economic development to underserved areas, we believe the NMTC is an effective program deserving of a permanent home in our tax code,” said Aisha Benson, President of the NMTC Coalition and President and CEO of Nonprofit Finance Fund Established in 2000 in the Community Renewal Tax Relief Act (P.L.106-554), the New Markets Tax Credit is a bipartisan effort to stimulate investment and economic growth in low-income urban neighborhoods and rural communities. Since 2021, $63.4 billion in NMTC allocation has been deployed to 7,615 projects and businesses, totaling $120.5 billion in total project investment, resulted in: More than one million total jobs in all 50 states; 228 million sq. ft. of real estate; 1,073 mixed-use projects; More than 3,500 federally qualified health centers, schools, daycare centers, vocational programs, treatment facilities, and other service providers benefiting tens of millions of low-income people; and 1,803 manufacturing projects. “The New Markets Tax Credit has been and remains absolutely vital for many of America’s urban neighborhoods and rural communities and will provide billions of dollars for high-impact, community revitalization projects,” said Bob Rapoza, spokesperson for the NMTC Coalition. “Over the years, the credit has been instrumental in financing plant and equipment for small manufacturing businesses and patient, flexible capital to other small businesses, hospitals, healthcare centers, homeless shelters and other transformative projects that improve communities, create jobs and economic opportunity. We appreciate the leadership of several members of the U.S. Senate in championing this effort for communities across the U.S. We expect the U.S. House of Representatives to follow suit with a bill in the very near future.” The New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) was enacted in 2000 to stimulate private investment and economic growth in low-income urban neighborhoods and rural communities that lack access to the patient capital needed to support and grow businesses, create jobs and sustain healthy local economies. Since its inception, the NMTC has generated more than one million jobs. Today due to NMTC, more than $120 billion is hard at work in underserved communities in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico. For examples of how the NMTC is making an impact in each state, see the NMTC Coalition's newly released report, NMTC at Work in Communities Across America, featuring updated state statistics sheets on NMTC efficacy and more than 80 Tax Credit success stories. For more information, visit www.NMTCCoalition.org. Contact Details Bob Rapoza +1 202-498-9921 bob@rapoza.org Company Website https://nmtccoalition.org/

February 02, 2023 04:53 PM Eastern Standard Time

News Release

Best Essay Writing Service Reviews

R.P. Writingsmart Technologies

This article will break down the best essay writing service reviews to make sure your student days run smoothly. Here's why you need to read this. Being a student is a challenge, and often a very difficult one. Professors give students a ton of different academic assignments to handle while trying to have a normal social life and an active relationship with their families. Not to mention the lack of time to rest, practice some self-care, or enjoy a hobby. For so many students, this is close to impossible. It's because they still haven't found the right tools to help them overcome those academic difficulties. One of the most common academic tasks is writing an essay or a paper. This is a hugely time-consuming and dreadful task for students who need more writing skills. Luckily, there are essay writing services that students can turn to for writing help. Since dozens of websites write essays for you, finding an affordable but professional one is yet another obstacle you must pass. That’s where we step in. Our objective and well-researched reviews of the best essay writing services are all the information you need. Just keep reading! Best Paper Writing Services It’s time for you to learn about our top choices for writing services aimed primarily at American college students, high schoolers, and other English-speaking students. Let’s take a closer look at each one. 1. WritingUniverse We’ll kick it off with an affordable and solid website that writes essays for you which is WritingUniverse. The service was designed to help students with their writing in different ways. Company Overview The first thing we always look for with the best essay websites is when they were founded. Unfortunately, we were unsuccessful in finding this data. Since we couldn’t learn about their history, we looked at their reviews and found these: Sitejabber: 4.7 Trustpilot: 4.6 Let’s Grade It 4.8 These reviews show they’re truly well-rated and their customers are fairly satisfied with the services they provide. They offer the following services: Free essay examples Academic writing, rewriting, and research Editing and Proofreading This best essay service offers essay examples in more than a dozen subjects which students can use to learn about different writing styles and rules of essay creation. They cover virtually any type of essay, from analytical and argumentative, to reflective and rhetorical. This professional service also has an educational resource for students called Essay Guide, which helps students learn about essay writing, revision, drafting, length, and more. Finally, we were thrilled to learn that they accept a deadline as short as 3 hours. Writers We also learned that WritingUniverse has a huge base of great available writers, who are experts in a certain subject, have college degrees, and are skilled writers, even though they offer cheap writing services. This allows the company to choose the writer that is the best fit for your paper and connect you with them. They only write unique and plagiarism-free papers, so you don’t have to fear being tricked in any way. Quality Based on the USA customer reviews we've read, we can say that the quality of the paper this service offers is satisfactory. Their papers are well-researched and written by highly professional writers. They pass all the plagiarism tests and are completely original. Plus, they cover the given topic in-depth, respecting all academic writing rules. Prices and Discounts As for the prices, WritingUniverse is truly affordable and the best among the best essay writer companies. The price of one academic paper page, with a 14-day deadline, is $10.99. They even provide a 10% discount on the first order. Guarantees When you need help with an essay, the guarantees are immensely important. As for WritingUniverse, they have quite satisfactory guarantees. Those include: confidentiality a money-back guarantee no hidden charges on-time delivery high-quality Plus, all of their writers are native speakers, so your essay will be written accurately. In case you’re not happy with your essay, you can file it for revision and have them take another look at it to correct the mistakes. Customer Support Another reason why WritingUniverse is a top essay writer service is that they offer 24/7 customer support. You can reach them day and night via phone call, WhatsApp chat, or by sending an email. They'll promptly answer to solve any dilemma or help you understand their services better. Pros and Cons 2. ProEssayService Let’s proceed with the next best online essay writing service called ProEssayService. Company Overview This company is based in Manchester but we couldn’t find data about when they were founded. The company may be British, but it provides essay writing services for all English-speaking students from the UK to Canada and USA. We were first a bit put off by the interface and design of their website since it’s fairly simple and somewhat boring. However, this doesn’t change the fact that they’re among the best when it comes to finding a website that writes papers for you. They lack public reviews and ratings, so we can only share their 4.4 grade at LetsGradeIt. We went through the process of placing an order and checking if this truly is the best college essay writing service. We were happy to receive a well-written essay without any grammar or spelling mistakes. The content was fairly good as well, which made us take a closer look at this company. The services they offer are primarily academic writing. They also have editing and proofreading services, as well as rewriting and solving math problems. Their Samples section is a bit under-organized since all their samples are listed randomly. Finally, we wanted to see how fast they can deliver an order and were happy to learn there’s a 6-hours minimum deadline. Writers To make it to the team of this trustworthy writing service, writers first need to prove they're college graduates and hold an academic degree from an English-speaking country. They also have to be native English speakers and pass a research and writing test. Quality The quality of the essays we received from this service was more than satisfactory. There were no errors, stylistic, or in the content. It was punctual, grammatically correct, and well-organized. We can say for sure that they offer great high school and university-level essays. Prices and Discounts The prices of their services are fair. They start with $12.99 per page for a high school paper with the longest deadline of 14 days. If you choose 6 hours, you’ll have to pay$35.99 per page. Also, you become eligible for a lifetime discount if you’ve purchase(d) an essay before. This is great if you plan on becoming a loyal customer. Guarantees This best essay writing website does everything it can to secure its customers feel safe. They provide secure payment and sale options and guarantee confidentiality. They allow revisions and have a money-back policy. Customer Support You can reach customer support at this service via a chat form that you fill out on their main page, so it's easy to find it. You can also send them an email to get the answers you need. Finally, there's a phone you can dial as well. Pros and Cons 3. TopEssayWriting TopEssayWriting is listed next as the best website for essays so let’s take a look at their story. Company Overview This company was founded in 2023. They have a good reputation, and their rating on Trustpilot is 4.6 and 4.7 on Let’sGradeIt. This shows their credibility and the fact they’re trusted by so many customers from all over. We also loved that they have a wide plethora of services, with essay writing being the most important. The list of the type of essay you can choose seems to be going forever and includes custom essays, research papers, term papers, book reports, dissertations, thesis, scholarship essays, and more. They also offer to rewrite and edit services for students who just need someone to check their work. There are free essay samples you can find on the website of this best essay writing service in us. They have an astonishing base of more than 100,000 free essay samples that helped me write my essay more than once. They can meet a minimum deadline of 6 hours. Writers TopEssayWriting has a four-stage selection process after the application to make sure they only hire the best writers. Researchers of talented writers first look at their CVs. Then they take a grammar test, an essay writing test, and finally, their education documentation is checked. They only hire native speakers. Quality The quality of the papers this service writes is great. Dissertation, high school essay, Master’s thesis - you name it, they hold a strong level of quality for each one. We found close to no negative comments about the quality of their work. Prices and Discounts This service starts with the price of $12.99 per page for a regular high-school essay and a 14-days deadline. If you choose the minimum 6-hour deadline, the price will be $39.99. However, they are unique in offering regular discounts to customers. The more you order, the better discounts you'll receive. The discount can go up to 15% per order. Guarantees This company cares about your privacy and your satisfaction. They base their guarantees on these three principles: you’ll get your money back if you’re not happy with the order or want to cancel your identity is 100% protected your paper will be 100% original You can check for plagiarism using Turnitin if you’re suspicious at first. These guarantees are crucial for the best essay writing service online and a must for all customers looking for professionalism. Customer Support Does 24/7 help sound good to you? Whether you’re looking for essay writing assistance or help with your order, this service will provide help whenever you need it. They have a live chat at your disposal at any time, with the answer from an operator coming almost immediately. If you prefer, you can call them or send an email. Pros and Cons 4. GrabMyEssay Finally, we list GrabMyEssay next, here's what we learned about them. Company Overview This company was founded in 2013 and is considered one of the top essay writing services for students. After checking their public reviews on credible websites, we found that their Sitejabber rating is 4.6 and their Let’sGradeIt rating is 4.7 which is all great. There are many reviews and mostly positive ratings on their website as well. They seem to be credible, and we took those into account as well. They offer the three most important services for students: Essay writing Free samples Blog As for essay writing, they cover all types of essays including research papers, research proposal, dissertations, term papers, case studies, lab reports, and more. In addition, they offer editing, proofreading, and rewriting services, as well as the services of writing annotated bibliographies. It's an all-encompassing student website that provides all the necessary services in one place. Their blog is full of useful information for students regarding essay writing and written assignments. As for the deadlines they handle, their minimum deadline is 3 hours. They can complete even the most complex student assignments quickly and remain completely professional in what they deliver. Writers GrabMyEssay proudly announces that all of its writers are: native English speakers degree holders academically qualified to write your essay They allow you to inquire more about the good essay writer you choose and learn about their skills and expertise. You are also in direct communication with your writer the whole time to make sure everything runs smoothly. Quality This service is not listed as the best website for essay writing by accident. The quality of the paper they offer is undeniable, and they offer the best quality out of the four services on our list. This is due to their highly experienced and well-trained writers. Prices and Discounts The prices start at $14.99 per page for a high school-level academic paper due in 14 days. The price is fair considering the quality they offer, and you can rest assured they'll make it worth your money. However, they are a bit more expensive when you buy urgent orders. For a 3 hours deadline, the price per page jumps to $54.99 which is way more expensive than the previous service. But, if you're in luck, you might be offered a discount for a first-time order or as a returning customer. Discounts go up to 15%. Guarantees This service offers all the guarantees a customer can wish for. They guarantee that the paper will be 100% unique and plagiarism free, plus proofread to perfection. If you still find a flaw, they’ll offer a revision to make it better. They also guarantee full confidentiality and data protection. Finally, they have a money-back guarantee in case you want to cancel your order somewhere along the process. Customer Support Customer support is brilliant on this website. They have a 24/7 customer support system, and you can reach them via live chat on their website, phone, or via email. As soon as you open the website, they'll offer assistance through their live chat. Pros and Cons How do we decide what is the best paper writing service? We want to make sure that our reviews are objective and well-researched. We also want to make sure there are only trustworthy websites on our list. This is why we base our decision about what company is the best on a certain set of criteria that we always apply. Below, we’ll explain these criteria to you to help you understand the depth of our research for every website and company. Interface We find that the interface of a website plays a seriously important role. Therefore, we analyze each service's interface in terms of design, sections, ease of placing an order, CTA buttons, and more. The 4 services on our list all satisfy these criteria and offer a seamless UX to their users. Support Team Students who need to order an essay online usually have some questions along the way. This is especially the case if there’s an urgent matter to be solved. We analyze the support team for each company based on their availability, channels through which you can reach them, and their response time. We believe the support team is one of the most important factors for students hiring such services. Best Essay Writers We only wanted to choose the services that offer the top writers. When we say the best, we mean: native English speakers educated and holding a college degree experienced in writing versatile in writing possibilities We found that our top writing services all satisfy these criteria and even help you choose the best essays writers for your needs. Some offer premium and top 10 writers for a higher price, making sure you only receive the best. Quality Paper quality depends on the professional writers that are working for the company and the company's readiness to help you find the perfect match. We carefully selected those companies that assign you to the writer who is the most experienced in the subject matter you need to be covered in the essay. We also made sure there were no negative reviews about the paper's quality and that all the papers passed the plagiarism check. Prices The next criterion we use to make a solid recommendation is the price of the services. We know that students’ budgets are fairly limited, and most of them don’t have any money to waste. This is why we checked if the prices are fair. We choose affordable but quality services. Guarantees When you want to buy a research paper, you also want to ensure you are protected as a client. We looked into the guarantees these services offer and made sure that confidentiality about your identity is a priority. We also looked for Money-Back Guarantees, Revisions, Plagiarism-Free guarantees, and On-Time Delivery. Benefits of Hiring a top essay writing service You may be having doubts about hiring an essay writing service and having them handle your assignment for you. Maybe you don’t trust them enough or fear they’ll trick you. Below, we listed the top benefits that will help you change your mind. Expertise Instead of struggling to write the assignment yourself or hiring some shady freelance essay writer, you can have a writing expert do it instead. The services we’ve listed offer nothing but highly experienced and trained writers who can take care of any type of task you give them. Time-Saving High school and college students both lack the same thing - time. There’s so much to do in so little time, and they often find themselves swamped with academic tasks and private matters. Luckily, a huge benefit of hiring the best essay writer to write instead of you is that it’ll save you a ton of time. You'll be able to use this time to study, prepare for an exam, or simply rest. Healthy Nervous System Stress is extremely dangerous for our health, and students experience high levels of stress almost daily. This only proves that they need help wherever they can find it, especially with homework and studying. This is why writing services help students stress less and maintain a healthy nervous system. Quality and Uniqueness If you’re not a skilled or talented writer, it’ll be very hard for you to write a paper that is both unique and properly written. You’d need a ton of exercise and some poor attempts to reach this level of writing. But, the professional writers at these services already have the necessary experience. This guarantees your essay will be a success. Free Checks Finally, we know you want to make sure your essay is ready to be submitted to avoid any unfortunate situations. These essay writing sites will offer you a free essay check, free of charge. This helps you turn in the essay confidently and without any doubt. FAQ about the websites to write essays Now, let’s take a look at the FAQs that are probably roaming your mind as well. We'll answer them to help you understand how these quality essay services work and benefit you. Is buying papers legal? Buying a paper is completely legal, and there’s no law stopping you from doing it. These websites provide you with a service, and you are fully entitled to spend your money as you like. These companies aren’t responsible for how you’ll use this paper, so that is all on you. Can anyone find out that I buy essays online? All of the companies we’ve listed full offer confidentiality to clients. This way, you can be certain that no one will ever know that you bought college papers online unless you tell them. Also, your private data is safe and not available to any third parties to use, which increases confidentiality. Why am I anonymous? None of the websites for essays want to be responsible for your data or identity in buying essays. They also want to make sure that you feel completely safe and protected while using their services. This way, both parties are much more at ease and have fewer worries to think about. With your identity being hidden, you can freely buy essays and not fear they will somehow become public. How to distinguish a reliable site from scammers? As we've already mentioned, there is a ton of custom essay writing companies offering writing services. But not all of them are credible. Some are just scammers who are looking to get you to pay and then leave you hanging with a poorly written essay. To distinguish a reliable site, you should read the best essay writing service reviews and pay attention to the criteria we’ve mentioned in the sections above. What if I need essay help urgently? Urgency is not a problem for the best essay writing websites. Their writers are trained to write exceptional papers with deadlines as tight as 3 hours. You will have to pay a higher price for such an urgent order, but they'll deliver a quality essay as per agreement. So, even if you forgot about a paper due and need one urgently, they'll be able to handle it. What are the cheapest writing companies? If you're all looking for cheap essay services, you can find them online with just a bit of research. But if you’re looking for a combination of affordable and professional, those are the services from our list above. We sorted them starting from the cheapest one listed first. What is a good website to write essays? Not all essay writing services are good. You’ll get low-quality papers on so many of these services. But, if you read trusted review websites and gather enough information, you’ll be able to choose the services that are highly professional and offer quality papers. What essay writing services are legit? Not all essay writing services are legitimate. Many companies hire unreliable authors, overcharge, have hidden fees, or don't respect the confidentiality agreement. The best essay writing services online are those that have clear company policies they respect and guarantees that make sure their customers are protected. This is exactly what all four websites from our list above offer their customers. How do I find the best essay writing service? You need to do some thorough online research and cross-compare several most popular websites. You need to check what services they offer, what their customers are saying, and how professional they write. Your second option is to read the best custom essay writing service review and trust their research and facts. What problems might I encounter when hiring writers? Hiring a writer as your writing helper can be tricky. You don’t know these people and might have a hard time choosing the best match for your needs. Also, it might be hard to communicate with a writer who’s not from the United States due to the time zone difference. Finally, a writer may not be as experienced in your subject matter and could lack the knowledge to write your paper. Luckily, none of this is the case with our top 4 sites that write essays for you. Conclusion The question of what are the best essay writing services is difficult to answer if you don't have time to do research and dig up information on your own. This reviews list is the ultimate helper that will guide you to find the perfect service for you. The top four services on our list all offer the highest quality essays at affordable prices. They hire the best paper writers to make sure their customers are happy with the result. They're easy to navigate, and it takes a couple of minutes to place an order. They offer confidentiality and professionalism in communication so that you can freely use their services and not feel stressed about it. Hopefully, this ultimate best essay writing services review will help you find the service that is a perfect match for your academic needs and what you need to be written. Use our recommendations to find your writer and a website that you’ll be loyal to in your future orders. Contact Details Mark Blackwood markuskblackwood@gmail.com

February 02, 2023 05:25 AM Eastern Standard Time

Alliance Hails the Introduction of a Bipartisan Bill to Establish a Nationally Chartered Private Bank to Boost Infrastructure Investments in the U.S.

Alliance for Financing U.S. Infrastructure

The Alliance for Financing U.S. Infrastructure today praised Reps. Daniel Webster (R-FL) and Colin Allred (D-TX) for introducing bipartisan legislation to create a nationally chartered bank to provide capital for infrastructure projects throughout the United States. The Federal Infrastructure Bank, as it’s called, will receive no federal funds or government guarantees. The bill, “The Federal Infrastructure Bank Act of 2023,” H.R. 490, was introduced and referred to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, of which both Congressmen are members. J. Patrick Cave, president of the Alliance for Financing U.S. Infrastructure, called the bill “an important milestone on the march to securing the world’s greatest infrastructure for this nation. Infrastructure is not just an economic boon. It boosts national security at a time of heightened threats around the world.” “America’s infrastructure is long overdue for critical repairs and needed advancements,” said Rep. Webster. “This bank will work with state and local partners to facilitate private infrastructure investments, creating a much-needed mechanism for projects to access necessary funding.” "Our rapid growth in Texas requires us to use every tool we can to invest in our infrastructure so our economy can grow an we can remain competitive," said Rep. Allred. "This bipartisan bill will create a national infrastructure bank, modeled after similar banks in states across the country to leverage the private sector to spur sustained, long-term investment to create jobs and help meet our infrastructure needs. I am proud to join my fellow Transportation & Infrastructure Committee colleague Congressman Webster on this bill and look forward to working together to invest in our infrastructure." Even after funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) estimates that at least another $2 trillion is needed to bring U.S. infrastructure up to acceptable levels – and much more to become the global leader. According to the World Economic Forum, the U.S. ranks 12 th in transportation infrastructure and 23 rd for water and electricity infrastructure. “While federal infrastructure investment is critical,” said Rep. Webster, “the current level of resources from the federal government will not address America’s current infrastructure needs on its own.” The new bank will attract investments from around the world and provide long-term debt financing and loan guarantees for bridges, tunnels, ports, the electric grid, broadband connectivity, energy pipelines and storage facilities, rail, airports, dams, water treatment, and, says the bill, “any other infrastructure project which the Bank identifies as providing a public benefit.” The legislation encourages private investment for initial capitalization of the bank through limited tax incentives. The bill requires that at least 10% of the bank’s loans go to “rural areas.” Loans to any foreign country are prohibited, and China, its Communist Party and military are not permitted to invest. The Federal Reserve will oversee the bank, which will not take deposits or be engaged in any activities beyond infrastructure investment. A major feature of the bank will be working with state infrastructure banks, most of which are now moribund, to invest in worthy projects throughout the nation. “In contrast to other infrastructure bank proposals,” said Cave, “this legislation establishes a nationally chartered bank that is entirely capitalized by private investment, with a board appointed by shareholders and no taxpayer dollars at risk.” The Alliance for Financing U.S. Infrastructure is a 501(c)(6) organization whose role is to support the financing of infrastructure in the United States and to promote the common business interests of businesses that would benefit from increased federal financial support for infrastructure development in the United States.” Contact Details Elizabeth Heaton +1 202-445-9858 elizabeth@eahstrategiesllc.com Jim Glassman +1 202-344-5777 jim@glassmanadv.com

January 31, 2023 12:42 PM Eastern Standard Time

NowSecure Launches GovAppDB™ and Threat Assessment Service to Support Federal Mandates for Mobile Security and Privacy

NowSecure

NowSecure, the recognized experts in mobile security and privacy, today announced the NowSecure GovApp solution suite to help federal agencies ensure the mobile apps they use are compliant with upcoming federal mandates. Available exclusively to United States governmental agencies and authorized contractors, the NowSecure GovApp solution suite delivers proactive risk reports, threat assessments and mitigation recommendations to make the federal compliance process easy, efficient and cost effective, so agencies can meet their mandates on time. With over 15 years working with the public sector and employed experts with more than 30 years accumulated experience in federal and security clearance, NowSecure is uniquely positioned to help federal agencies meet compliance requirements of the upcoming federal mandates. Four major U.S. mandates have upcoming deadlines in 2023 for federal agencies and their suppliers to ensure the mobile apps they use are compliant with the principles outlined including: CISA BOD 23-01 - Requires all federal agencies to track vulnerabilities in the iOS and Android mobile apps they use. OMB M-22-18 - Mandates that all federal agencies must self-attest mobile app SBOMs and ensure secure developer practices for all of their software supply chain, including mobile apps. DoD CMMC 2.0 - Provides a framework that includes cyber protection standards to protect the Defense Industrial Base (DIB) from damage by advanced persistent threats (APTs) including mobile apps. DoD SP NIST 800-171 - Provides proof of controls for secure data management & privacy including mobile apps. Every U.S. federal agency uses commercial mobile apps from the Apple App Store™ and Google Play™ and now must track the vulnerabilities and SBOMs for all those mobile apps in key scenarios, including: Bring Your Own Devices (BYOD) that connect to a government network and include connected Bring Your Own Apps (BYOA). Commercial mobile apps that access, collect and transmit government data. Federal contractors developing or providing mobile apps to government agencies. Developers of commercial mobile apps sold to government agencies. U.S. agencies need to ensure they meet all these mandates and deadlines or otherwise risk non-compliance with federal regulations, leaving their agencies, employees and citizens at risk of a mobile app breach with potential national security ramifications. “Software supply chain risk poses one of the biggest threats to national security today,” said NowSecure CEO Alan Snyder. “As deadlines approach for these mandates, it is imperative that federal agencies have a complete understanding of what the mobile apps they use are doing to ensure that they are fully compliant. Given the volume of mobile apps and the rate of change, manual testing is not remotely feasible due to time and cost limitations. The NowSecure GovApp solution suite offers an easy, on-demand and cost-effective solution that agencies need to comply with the various regulations about to take effect.” NowSecure GovApp DB™ is an on-demand database of commercial mobile app risk reports and SBOMs for the most popular mobile apps utilized by the federal government. The NowSecure GovApp DB™ is built on an automated analysis engine and provides continuously updated reports that include mobile app metadata, vulnerability and privacy data, risk scores and compliance information plus SBOMs updated for each new mobile app release. Rather than manually testing every mobile app and each new mobile app release, security and compliance teams using NowSecure GovAppDB™ can automatically receive updated analysis every time the mobile app changes. These reports enumerate vulnerabilities such as unencrypted credentials UID/PWD, unencrypted data transmission, improperly stored sensitive data, trackable GEO location, insecure third-party libraries, insecure authentication and biometrics, disabled native mobile OS security APIs, weak cryptography and data transmission to nations of interest. With NowSecure GovApp Threat Assessment Service, agencies can additionally receive expert threat analysis and consultation of the top mobile apps they specifically use across their work streams. The annual professional service pairs a federal agency with a NowSecure expert to inventory the top mobile apps deployed across all employee-connected and agency-owned devices and analyze them for mobile app supply chain risk and federal mandate compliance. Agencies will then receive comprehensive threat assessment documentation outlining the risk and compliance posture across their mobile portfolio with actionable recommendations to help meet vulnerability reporting requirements and supply chain management requirements, protecting mobile users and improving national security. The NowSecure GovApp solution suite joins the industry’s only full suite of mobile app security solutions from NowSecure including NowSecure Platform for automated security testing, NowSecure Workstation kit for pen tester productivity, NowSecure Supply Chain Risk Management, NowSecure expert Mobile Pen Testing as a Service (PTaaS), and NowSecure Academy training courseware for dev and security teams. Built on a foundation of standards and automation, NowSecure empowers organizations to deliver the most secure mobile apps faster and continuously monitor their mobile app supply chains for risk at a lower cost. Dozens of federal agencies from the Department of Defense to the Department of Justice to the intelligence community entrust NowSecure to assess the security and privacy of mobile apps, train developers about secure coding, pinpoint risks in the mobile app supply chain and achieve NIAP compliance. To learn more about how the NowSecure GovApp solution suite can ensure federal agencies are mandate compliant, sign up for a demo here. For a deeper dive, join us on February 16 at 11 a.m. EST for the Carahsoft Mobile Mandates: NowSecure GovApp Threat Assessment Service Webinar. Aligned with this launch, NowSecure CEO Alan Snyder will participate in a panel at the 2023 Carahsoft National Cyber Innovation Forum in partnership with Microsoft and Forescout, where he will discuss securing software development and the software supply chain. About NowSecure: As the recognized experts in mobile security and privacy, NowSecure protects the global mobile app economy and safeguards the data of millions of mobile app users. Built on a foundation of standards, NowSecure empowers the world’s most demanding private and public sector organizations with security automation to release and monetize 30% faster, reduce testing and delivery costs by 30% and reduce appsec risk by 40%. Only NowSecure offers a full solution suite of continuous security testing for DevSecOps, mobile app supply-chain monitoring, expert mobile pen testing as a Service (PTaaS) and training courseware. NowSecure actively contributes and supports the mobile security open-source community, standards and certification including OWASP MASVS, ADA MASA, NIAP and is recognized by IDC, Gartner, Deloitte Fast 500, and TAG Cyber. Contact Details Hannah LaCorte +1 202-240-7611 press@nowsecure.com Company Website https://www.nowsecure.com/

January 31, 2023 09:00 AM Eastern Standard Time

Volatus Aerospace Completes Acquisition of Empire Drone in New York

Volatus Aerospace Corp.

Volatus Aerospace Corp. (TSXV: VOL) (OTCQB: VLTTF) ("Volatus" or "the Company") is pleased to announce that it has finalized the arms-length acquisition of New York based Empire Drone Company LLC. The acquisition, first announced November 28 th, 2022, provides Volatus with expanded distribution for drone technologies in the American Market and a corresponding increase in gross margin performance for all US sales. “The addition of this company adds approximately $2.3M in trailing proforma revenue with an estimated 7% proforma EBITDA,” said Abhinav Singhvi, Chief Financial Officer for Volatus Aerospace. “The ability to support our US sales with domestic inventory and support is also expected to improve general gross margin, inventory turnover, and make our logistics management more efficient.” Under the terms of the agreement, Volatus will purchase 100% of the company for a cash consideration USD$300,000 on Closing; (ii) issuance of 721,538 common shares at a deemed price of CDN$0.65 per common share on closing; and (iii) subject to certain revenue milestones 12 months after closing, issue up to an additional 721,538 common shares at a deemed floor price of CDN$0.65 per common share or 30 days VWAP on first anniversary from closing, whichever is higher. Volatus Aerospace distributes products and services in Canada under the Volatus Aerospace, OmniView Tech, MVT Geo-solutions, Canadian Air National, and Synergy Aviation brands; in the USA under the Volatus Aerospace USA, ConnexiCore, and Empire Drone Brands; in South America under the Volatus Aerospace LATAM brands; and in European Markets under the Volatus Aerospace UK, and iRed Remote Sensing brands. *Non-IFRS measure. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization ("EBITDA") should not be construed as alternatives to comprehensive loss or income determined in accordance with IFRS. EBITDA does not have any standardized meaning under IFRS and, therefore, may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers. The Company defines EBITDA as IFRS net loss excluding interest expense, depreciation and amortization expense. The Company believes that EBITDA is a meaningful financial metric as it measures cash generated from operations which the Company can use to fund working capital requirements, service future interest and principal debt repayments and fund future growth initiatives. About Volatus Aerospace: Volatus Aerospace Corp. is a leading provider of integrated drone solutions throughout North America and growing into Latin America and globally. Volatus serves civil, public safety, and defense markets with imaging and inspection, security and surveillance, equipment sales and support, training, as well as R&D, design, and manufacturing. Through our subsidiary, Volatus Aviation, we are introducing green and innovative drone solutions to supplement and replace traditional aircraft and helicopters for long-linear inspections such as pipeline, energy, rail, and cargo services. Volatus is committed to carbon neutrality; the fostering of a safe, equitable and inclusive workplace; and responsible governance. Forward-Looking Information This news release contains statements that constitute “forward-looking information” and “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including statements regarding the plans, intentions, beliefs, and current expectations of the Company with respect to future business activities and operating performance. Often, but not always, forward-looking information and forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as “plans”, “expects”, “is expected”, “budget”, “scheduled”, “estimates”, “forecasts”, “intends”, “anticipates”, or “believes” or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases, or statements formed in the future tense or indicating that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might” or “will” (or other variations of the foregoing) be taken, occur, be achieved, or come to pass. Forward-looking information includes information regarding: (i) the business plans and expectations of the Company; and (ii) expectations for other economic, business, and/or competitive factors. Forward-looking information is based on currently available competitive, financial, and economic data and operating plans, strategies, or beliefs as of the date of this news release, but involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Such factors may be based on information currently available to the Company, including information obtained from third-party industry analysts and other third-party sources, and are based on management’s current expectations or beliefs. Any and all forward-looking information contained in this news release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking information is not based on historical facts but instead reflects expectations, estimates or projections concerning future results or events based on the opinions, assumptions and estimates of management considered reasonable at the date the statements are made. Forward-looking information and forward-looking statements reflect the Company’s current beliefs and is based on information currently available to it and on assumptions it believes to be not unreasonable in light of all of the circumstances. In some instances, material factors or assumptions are discussed in this news release in connection with statements containing forward-looking information. Such material factors and assumptions include, but are not limited to: the commercialization of drone flights beyond visual line of sight and potential benefits to the Company; and meeting the continued listing requirements of the TSXV. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results to differ from those anticipated, estimated or intended. The forward-looking information contained herein is made as of the date of this news release and, other than as required by law, the Company disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. There can be no assurance that forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information.Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. Source: Volatus Aerospace Corp. TSXV: VOL Contact Details Abhinav Singhvi +1 514-447-7986 abhinav.singhvi@volatusaerospace.com Company Website https://volatusaerospace.com

January 31, 2023 07:43 AM Eastern Standard Time

Image

Federal Government Adoption of NCMA Contracting Standard Will Ease Staffing Shortages and Improve Training

National Contract Management Association

U.S. government agencies will be better able to address contracting staffing shortages, and contracting professionals will be better trained now that all civilian agencies have adopted the National Contract Management Association (NCMA) Contract Management Standard™ (CMS™). The U.S. Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) announced January 19 that the NCMA CMS ™ will become the foundation of a new contracting training system for all civilian agencies effective February 1, 2023. Adoption of the American National Standard Institute (ANSI)-approved CMS™, means the new Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting (FAC-C) (Professional) program matches the DoD’s, allowing seamless mobility between DoD and other agencies. “NCMA celebrates the increase in talent mobility in government that will come through adoption of our CMS™,” said NCMA Chief Executive Officer Kraig Conrad. “Our members invested considerable resources to achieve ANSI approval of our standard and accreditation of our certifications. We are proud that the federal government recognizes their power." “The next step is for government to increase talent mobility with industry by accepting NCMA certifications. There certainly is precedent in government’s acceptance of other professional certifications for program management, accounting, and finance,” Conrad added. In a January 19 memo, Lesley A. Field, Deputy Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy said the FAC-C (Professional) is “designed to attract more people into the contracting workforce from a variety of sources – colleges, industry, internal candidates from other functions, and state and local governments.” Contracting training is “critical to the success of important public priorities, such as advancing equity, promoting sustainability, increasing domestic sourcing, and ensuring our supply chains and cyber assets are secure,” Field observed in her memo to chief acquisition officers and senior procurement executives. The ANSI approved 3rd Edition of the NCMA CMS™ is recognized globally as the preeminent standard in the profession. It is the basis of NCMA’s ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB) accredited Certified Contract Management Associate (CCMA) certification; one of three ANAB accredited contracting certifications offered by NCMA. ### The National Contract Management Association (NCMA), founded in 1959, is the world’s leading association in the contract management field. With more than 18,000 members, NCMA is dedicated to the professional growth and educational advancement of procurement and acquisition personnel worldwide. NCMA strives to serve and inform the profession in government and industry by offering opportunities for open exchange of ideas in neutral forums. To learn more, please visit ncmahq.org. Contact Details National Contract Management Association Dominick Belfiore, Director of Operations and Special Projects +1 571-382-1121 dominick.belfiore@ncmahq.org Company Website https://www.ncmahq.org/

January 30, 2023 09:30 AM Eastern Standard Time

Three Universities Align Curriculums to NCMA’s Contract Management Standard™, Providing a Path to Certification

National Contract Management Association

Three universities are the first group of higher education institutions to commit to aligning their program curriculums to support certification offered by the National Contract Management Association (NCMA). The university programs include: University of California, Irvine, Division of Continuing Education Contract Management Certificate University of Maryland Global Campus MS in Acquisition and Contract Management Webster University Procurement and Contract Management for Information Technology Management “Preparing students for the contract management profession is one of our highest priorities,” said NCMA Chief Executive Officer Kraig Conrad. “The commitment of these universities elevates their programs and positions them as champions of the contract management workforce." “Contracts are at the crux of every business deal in every industry and contract managers drive how these deals are made. Think of contract managers at the center of a wheel, interacting with every part of an organization including the c-suite, technical experts, marketing, information technology, and more.” Professionals in the field of contract management often handle contracts for the procurement and acquisition of products and services with major federal agencies such as the Department of Defense, General Services Administration, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NCMA is the steward of the profession, providing a neutral forum to facilitate the open exchange of ideas and the professional growth and educational advancement of procurement and acquisition personnel worldwide. NCMA has established a Contract Management Standard™ (CMS™) that is the basis for preparing students and industry professionals to obtain certifications in the field, starting with the Certified Contract Management Associate™ (CCMA™). The CMS™ is approved by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and is recognized globally as the preeminent standard in the profession. “Establishing a ‘common language’ across the profession is essential, and the CMS™ is the foundation to build that consistency,” Conrad said. “A common language in contract management promotes talent mobility and facilitates interaction between academia, government and industry.” University programs are encouraged to join NCMA’s cohort of committed programs by signing the NCMA MOU for Higher Education CMS™ Alignment/CCMA Certification Preparation on the NCMA Higher Education Resources page. This commitment can lead to more opportunities for universities to attract students in this field of study and prepare them for CCMA certification. # # # The National Contract Management Association (NCMA), which was founded in 1959 and is the world’s leading association in the field of contract management. The organization, which has over 18,000 members, is dedicated to the professional growth and educational advancement of procurement and acquisition personnel worldwide. NCMA strives to serve and inform the profession and industry it represents and to offer opportunities for the open exchange of ideas in neutral forums. To find out more, please visit www.ncmahq.org. Contact Details National Contract Management Association Dominick Belfiore +1 571-207-5151 dominick.belfiore@ncmahq.org Company Website https://www.ncmahq.org/

January 25, 2023 10:30 AM Eastern Standard Time

Travel Technology Association Files Comments with DoT Supporting Transparency & Consumer Protections

Travel Tech

The Travel Technology Association (Travel Tech), the voice of the travel technology industry and consistent advocate for public policy that supports a competitive and transparent marketplace, filed comments today in response to the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on “ Enhancing Transparency of Airline Ancillary Service Fees ” (DOT-OST-2022-0109). “Travel Tech has long supported the U.S. Department of Transportation’s efforts to ensure consumers have access to critical ancillary fee information. We did so in 2014 and are doing so again in 2023,” stated Laura Chadwick, President & CEO of the Travel Technology Association. “For too long, consumers have lacked the consistent ability to know the true cost of different flight options.” In its comments, Travel Tech addresses how ancillary fee information should be provided to ticket agents. In its proposed rule, the DOT seeks to omit global distribution systems from receiving mandatory ancillary fee data from airlines. “Travel Tech strongly recommends that ancillary fee data be shared with all channels that distribute fare and schedule information,” Chadwick continued. “It is the most simple and direct way to solve the issue of ancillary fee transparency for consumers.” Travel Tech also filed a petition today requesting a hearing on DOT’s proposed requirement to display the critical ancillary fee information on the first page of online search results. Travel Tech addresses this matter in its comments. “Our members are the leading innovators in creating consumer-friendly online travel information sites. We are deeply concerned about the DOT’s first-page search results requirements included in the proposed regulation. These rules, if adopted as written, will clutter and confuse the online air travel shopping experience for consumers. This is especially true for travel comparison sites that display multiple airlines’ schedules and fares,” said Chadwick. “In our comments and hearing petition, we argue that the Department should not displace ticket agents’ well-established expertise with a government-regulated website design mandate. Ticket agents should have the flexibility to design appropriate displays of ancillary fees and develop innovative new methods for consumers as well,” Chadwick continued. ### About Travel Tech The Travel Technology Association (Travel Tech) is the voice of the travel technology industry, advocating for public policy that promotes transparency and competition in the marketplace to encourage innovation and preserve consumer choice. Travel Tech represents the leading innovators in travel technology, including global distribution systems, online travel agencies and metasearch companies, travel management companies, and short-term rental platforms. To schedule an interview with a Travel Tech spokesperson, contact Dan Rene of kglobal at 202-329-8357 or daniel.rene@kglobal.com. Contact Details Travel Technology Association Dan Rene +1 202-329-8357 daniel.rene@kglobal.com Company Website https://www.traveltech.org.

January 24, 2023 10:00 AM Eastern Standard Time

Professional Services