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ROBOT JOINS CHARITY COMPETITION AT AMERICAN CENTURY CHAMPIONSHIP – American Century Investments adds “Beat the Bot” to the roster of charity contests at the premier celebrity golf tournament

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Celebrity lineup features newest stars, stalwart favorites and hottest athletes

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, N.V., June 13, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — American Century Investments®, the title sponsor of the American Century Championship since 1999, continues its 26-year philanthropic role in partnership with NBC Sports, the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority, Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course and the South Tahoe community with a new “Beat the Bot” charity challenge benefiting the Stowers Institute for Medical Research. Since its inception in 1990, the American Century Championship has raised nearly $8 million for local and national nonprofits. In addition to the Stowers Institute and local Tahoe charities, the 2024 tournament will benefit the Eat.Learn.Play. Foundation, Stephen and Ayesha Curry’s foundation for children’s wellbeing. Founded in 2019, Eat.Learn.Play. supports children with access to nutritious meals, quality reading resources and opportunities to play and be active.

The “Beat the Bot” charity challenge will take place during the July 11 scramble practice round. Golfers can compete with a robot in a tee shot challenge or play the robot’s ball. American Century will donate $500 for each shot that beats the bot, up to $25,000, to the Stowers Institute, a world-class biomedical research organization dedicated to defeating life-threatening diseases. Instead of trying to beat the bot, which replicates the swing dynamics of human golfers and is used by major golf companies to test new equipment, players can make a donation to the Stowers Institute and opt to play the robot’s ball rather than their own.

“We are a top global money manager that directs over 40% of our profits each year to medical research, so when you invest with us, you also invest in the future of others. That’s the spirit we bring as title sponsor of the American Century Championship: let’s have a good time for a good cause. Our ‘Beat the Bot’ contest is just one way we are bringing this spirit to life throughout the tournament,” said Erik Schneberger, chief marketing officer of American Century.

American Century Championship Fantasy Golf Contest awards $10,000 to winner’s charity of choice
American Century proudly returns its popular American Century Championship Fantasy Golf Contest. Fans can build their teams at www.accfantasygolf.com for a chance to win one of four trips for two to next year’s tournament and $10,000 for a charity of their choice. Participants have until July 11 at midnight, PDT to pick their starting team of five players from over 80 sports legends and celebrities competing in the prestigious American Century Championship annual celebrity golf tournament in South Lake Tahoe, Nevada. “In addition to our ‘Beat the Bot’ challenge for those playing in beautiful Lake Tahoe, we are bringing the tournament to fans everywhere with the American Century Fantasy Golf Contest. It is easy to join, fun to play and you’ll have a chance to win $10,000 for your favorite charity,” said Schneberger.

The 2024 American Century Championship lineup boasts newcomer Jason Kelce, the recently retired, future Hall of Fame football player. He will be joined by his brother, Travis Kelce, the tight end for the 2024 Super Bowl winning Kansas City Chiefs, who has been playing in Lake Tahoe since 2019.

In addition to the Kelce brothers, the tournament will feature more than 80 sports and entertainment celebrities competing at Edgewood Tahoe, July 12-14, preceded by a Wednesday practice round and the Thursday Celebrity-Am, July 10-11. The field represents a collection of Hall of Famers, All-Pros, All-Stars and fan favorites including Charles Barkley, Tony Romo, Josh Allen, Jerry Rice, Steve Young, Aaron Rodgers, John Elway, Ray Allen, DeMarcus Ware, Baker Mayfield, Kyle Lowry, Brian Urlacher, Charles Woodson, Canelo and Larry Fitzgerald. Entertainers include Colin Jost, Miles Teller, Nate Bargatze, Ray Romano, Don Cheadle, Carson Daly, Jake Owen, Larry the Cable Guy, Rob Riggle, and Brian Baumgartner.* Previous tournament winners are NBA All-Star Steph Curry, 3-time champions Tony Romo and former MLB pitcher Mark Mulder, two-time winner Jack Wagner, plus Mardy Fish and Vinny Del Negro.

The American Century Championship can be streamed live on Peacock (July 14-16) and NBC (July 15-16), with an encore presentation of the first round July 14 on the Golf Channel. To follow and join the tournament action use #ACCgolf on social media, and catch exclusive content on American Century Championship’s Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts. For tournament information, visit www.AmericanCenturyChampionship.com.

American Century Investments is a leading global asset manager focused on delivering investment results and building long-term client relationships while supporting breakthrough medical research. Founded in 1958, American Century Investments’ 1,400 employees serve financial professionals, institutions, corporations and individual investors from offices in Kansas City, Missouri; New York; Los Angeles; Santa Clara, California; Portland, Oregon; London; Frankfurt, Germany; Hong Kong; and Sydney. Jonathan S. Thomas is president and chief executive officer, and Victor Zhang serves as chief investment officer. Delivering investment results to clients enables American Century Investments to distribute over 40% of its dividends to the Stowers Institute for Medical Research, a 500-person, nonprofit basic biomedical research organization. The Institute owns more than 40% of American Century Investments and has received dividend payments of more than $2 billion since 2000. For more information about American Century Investments, visit www.americancentury.com.

This press release was issued through 24-7PressRelease.com. For further information, visit http://www.24-7pressrelease.com.

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SOURCE American Century Championship

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Roadrunner Announces General Rate Increase

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Top-tier LTL trucker implements first across-the-board rate action since 2021

CHICAGO, Jan. 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Roadrunner, the greatest comeback story in transportation’s history and now a leading provider of direct metro-to-metro, Less-than-Truckload (LTL) long-haul transportation services across the United States and Canada, today announced a general rate increase (GRI) of 6.9%, effective January 15, 2025. This increase applies to rates set up under the existing RDFS 501 tariff, which was implemented on November 29, 2021.

“After three years without an across-the-board rate adjustment, this increase is a necessary step to ensure we can continue to meet the evolving needs of our customers while delivering the highest levels of service and operational excellence,” said Thu Vu, Director of Pricing. “As part of Roadrunner’s commitment to long-term, sustainable growth, this adjustment will enable us to enhance our capabilities, maintain industry-leading service levels, and continue investing in our award-winning network.”

The general rate increase will be applied across select lanes, adjusted in line with operational requirements. The GRI will affect each customer differently, depending on their specific shipping lanes and total distance traveled. In addition to the rate increase, several accessorial charges in the Roadrunner 100 Rules Tariff will also be implemented. These adjustments reflect rising operational costs and will support enhancements to the company’s comprehensive service offerings.

Commitment to Service Excellence and Innovation

Since 2020, Roadrunner has prioritized on-time delivery and superior service quality. The company is proud to have built one of the industry’s most reliable networks, consistently achieving on-time performance and expedited service that exceeds customer expectations. In 2024, Roadrunner achieved the highest jump in Net Promoter Score (NPS) and Customer Value Index score of any company as ranked by Mastio, the industry’s most recognizable operational audit and reputation survey. The rate increase will help support their prominent level of service as they continue to expand and improve their infrastructure.

In the coming year, Roadrunner will further strengthen its industry-leading direct metro-to-metro network, ensuring faster and more reliable connections between major metropolitan areas across North America. The company is also investing heavily in innovative technologies and automation, driving efficiency and enhancing the customer experience. Their commitment to innovation will continue to set them apart as they build a best-in-class transportation network, designed to meet the growing demands of the modern supply chain.

“Our investments in technology, automation, and infrastructure are aimed at creating a seamless, more efficient experience for our customers,” added Vu. “By focusing on innovation and expanding our capabilities, we are positioning Roadrunner for future growth and reinforcing our commitment to providing unparalleled value and service.”

Next Steps

For more details on how the general rate increase and accessorial charge adjustments may impact your shipments, please visit Roadrunner or contact your Roadrunner account representative.

About Roadrunner
Roadrunner offers more direct long-haul metro-to-metro shipping than any other nationwide LTL carrier in the United States. With nationwide presence and terminals across 40+ metro markets, the company’s Smart Network™ is the preferred choice for shippers looking to move freight quickly and reliably. With Driver Teams executing Over-the-Road (OTR) moves and no freight moving on rail, their customers enjoy industry-leading transit times. The award-winning operations platform is fueled by AI and ML technology assuring integrity of custodial controls of freight and real-time tracking and visibility. Direct routing eliminates the need for rehandles and freight handovers and hence reduces the risk of loss or damage.   

More than 1,000 drivers leverage the Roadrunner Smart Network™ to empower their businesses and are fiscally motivated to deliver freight on time, intact, and damage free. Roadrunner was recognized by Newsweek™ as one of America’s Most Trustworthy Companies in 2022. (PINK: RRTS) 

To learn more about shipping with Roadrunner: https://www.roadrunnerLTL.com   

Explore careers in sales, operations, and technology at Roadrunner: https://www.shiproadrunnerfreight.com/careers/work-with-us/   
  
To drive for Roadrunner as Owner Operators and Teams: https://run4roadrunner.com/  

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SOURCE Roadrunner

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Illumina and NVIDIA collaborate to decode biology and propel precision health

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Collaboration combines Illumina’s sequencing technologies and Illumina Connected Software with NVIDIA tools to develop biological foundation models

SAN DIEGO, Jan. 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ: ILMN), a global leader in genomic sequencing and analysis, today announced it is collaborating with NVIDIA to advance technology platforms for the analysis and interpretation of multiomic data, accelerating progress in clinical research, genomics AI development, and drug discovery.

To optimize analysis of the vast amounts of data involved in multiomic research, Illumina and NVIDIA will combine advancements in AI with multiomic data at scale. Leveraging Illumina’s leading sequencing technology and informatics tools alongside NVIDIA’s leading AI technology, the partnership aims to accelerate drug discovery and clinical development, delivering powerful tools to help pharmaceutical companies identify new and better drug targets.

Illumina’s leading sequencing technology—as well as its menu of DRAGEN-powered multiomics offerings, genomics AI tools, and Illumina Connected Analytics platform—has streamlined genomic data generation and analysis. Illumina has invested in AI for genomic interpretation, developing the leading SpliceAI, PrimateAI-3D, and Emedgene xAI algorithms.

Now, in addition to its own efforts, Illumina will look to expand its customer offerings with models developed by the NVIDIA Biology Foundation Model Research Team and partners. Customers will also be able to leverage these models with their own proprietary datasets to improve the performance for biologically relevant tasks of interest, such as cell state or gene transcription prediction.

With this new partnership, the global R&D community can tap into rich genomic data by integrating NVIDIA RAPIDS™ accelerated data science software with the NVIDIA BioNeMo™ platform’s generative AI models and fine-tuning capabilities for proprietary datasets, as well as MONAI for spatial cell imaging workflows. Illumina and NVIDIA will work to make these tools accessible on the Illumina Connected Analytics platform.

“Over the past 20 years, Illumina has democratized sequencing, and with the progress in AI and multiomic analysis, we are enabling customers to derive novel insights for their applications,” said Rami Mehio, head of global software and informatics at Illumina. “This collaboration with NVIDIA moves us closer to that vision. This is also part of our commitment to continue to enrich our analysis and interpretation tools that will enable deeper biological insights, delivering total workflow solutions for our customers.”

“AI and data science will find their most profound application in genomics,” said Rory Kelleher, senior director, global head of Business Development, Healthcare and Life Sciences at NVIDIA. “Combining Illumina’s world-leading sequencing and analytics platforms with NVIDIA’s accelerated computing and AI, we will drive the next generation of genomics interpretation and democratize genomics for drug discovery through AI-powered insights.”

In the first phase of the collaboration, Illumina and NVIDIA will work toward enabling DRAGEN algorithms on NVIDIA GPUs. Bringing Illumina DRAGEN to NVIDIA accelerated computing will expand the accessibility of Illumina multiomics analysis. The two companies will also work to incorporate NVIDIA’s image processing and single-cell tertiary analysis tools onto the Illumina Connected Software multiomics module.

Use of forward-looking statements

This release may contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Among the important factors to which our business is subject that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in any forward-looking statements are: (i) challenges inherent in developing and launching new products and services, including modifying and scaling manufacturing operations, and reliance on third-party suppliers for critical components; (ii) our ability to manufacture robust instrumentation and consumables; and (iii) the acceptance by customers of our newly launched products, which may or may not meet our and their expectations, together with other factors detailed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our most recent filings on Forms 10-K and 10-Q, or in information disclosed in public conference calls, the date and time of which are released beforehand. We undertake no obligation, and do not intend, to update these forward-looking statements, to review or confirm analysts’ expectations, or to provide interim reports or updates on the progress of the current quarter.

About Illumina

Illumina is improving human health by unlocking the power of the genome. Our focus on innovation has established us as a global leader in DNA sequencing and array-based technologies, serving customers in the research, clinical, and applied markets. Our products are used for applications in the life sciences, oncology, reproductive health, agriculture, and other emerging segments. To learn more, visit illumina.com and connect with us on X, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.

Contacts 

Investors:
Salli Schwartz
858-291-6421
IR@illumina.com

Media:
Christine Douglass
PR@illumina.com

 

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/illumina-and-nvidia-collaborate-to-decode-biology-and-propel-precision-health-302348920.html

SOURCE Illumina, Inc.

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Mathnasium Launches New 3-Month Courses: Numerical Fluency & SAT® and ACT® Test Prep

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Leader in math-focused education introduces courses to build foundational skills for young learners and prepare high schoolers for college exams

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Mathnasium Learning Centers, an internationally known franchise with over 1,100 math learning centers worldwide, is proud to announce two new opportunities for students to take advantage of Mathnasium’s proven curriculum and receive essential math skills in a hyper-focused 3-month course.

Our new 3-month numerical fluency course offers young students personalized support in a fun and engaging environment

3-Month Numerical Fluency Course
This course focuses on addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division for elementary school students. When they can easily recall these math facts, they have achieved Numerical Fluency, which is critical for a strong math foundation. Through personalized instruction students learn:

Critical thinking skills that take them beyond strict memorization of factsTo rely on their knowledge rather than inefficient techniques such as finger countingNew skills that give them confidence to tackle what comes next in higher grades

3-Month SAT and ACT Test Prep Course
This course is tailored for high school students, with the goal of enhancing their college entrance exam scores. Utilizing proven test-prep materials developed by math experts through years of research, the program equips students with the specific math skills needed for success on the SAT and ACT. Highlights include:

Practice tests that mirror actual exam questions, helping students navigate various problem types and contentExpert instructors focused on developing essential problem-solving abilitiesRepeated practice opportunities to reduce test anxiety and build confidence

“At Mathnasium, we recognize that establishing a solid math foundation early is essential for future success. Our new 3-month numerical fluency course offers young students personalized support in a fun and engaging environment, helping them develop their math skills and confidence,” said Tyler Sgro, CEO of Mathnasium. “Additionally, we’re excited to offer our proven test-prep curriculum in a focused 3-month program for high school students, preparing them effectively for the SAT and ACT. These initiatives are part of our ongoing effort to support students on their path to long-term achievement in math.”

Mathnasium Learning Centers specializes in math-only tutoring and is committed to providing the world’s best instruction. The goal: teach children math in a way that makes sense to them. For decades, the Mathnasium Method™ has transformed the way kids learn math — building students’ understanding of math concepts through personalized instruction and customized learning plans — all while producing tremendous results and helping students achieve their full potential — ­­in math and in life.

“Our programs are crafted to empower students at every level through personalized instruction that builds confidence and mastery in essential math concepts,” said John Bianchette, Vice President of Education and Training. “We focus on nurturing a strong sense of self-assurance and reducing test anxiety, helping students develop a deep understanding of fundamental skills that set them up for future success.”

Mathnasium has seen a notable rise in student enrollments, spurred by the increased need for supplemental education amid falling math scores since the pandemic. Recent data from the  Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) indicates that academic progress has slowed to below pre-pandemic levels, with achievement gaps expanding and, in some cases, reaching new lows.

To learn more about Mathnasium’s 3-month courses for elementary students, please visit: https://www.mathnasium.com/elementary-school.

For information on Mathnasium’s 3-month SAT/ACT test prep course, please visit: https://www.mathnasium.com/math-test-preparation.

About Mathnasium
Mathnasium Learning Centers is North America’s leading math-only supplemental education franchise. Since 2002, the Mathnasium Method™ — the result of decades of hands-on instruction and development — has been transforming the lives of children in grades K-12 by offering comprehensive assessments, fully individualized learning plans, and teaching true math comprehension. With more than 1,100 learning centers worldwide in 11 countries, Mathnasium has been named on Franchise Business Review’s Top 200 list 4 years in a row. The franchise has also been ranked on Entrepreneur Magazine’s list of top 500 franchises 18 times since 2004. For more information about Mathnasium franchise opportunities, visit https://mathnasiumfranchise.com/.

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SOURCE Mathnasium Learning Centers

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