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WisdomTree Issuer plc – Daily Fund Prices 14-April-21 WisdomTree Artificial Intelligence UCITS ETF - USD Acc14/04/2021IE00BDVPNG137543541USD470,903,308.2662.4247WisdomTree AT1 CoCo Bond UCITS ETF – USD14/04/2021IE00BZ0XVF52513029USD54,007,920.83105.2726WisdomTree AT1 CoCo Bond UCITS ETF – EUR Hedged14/04/2021IE00BFNNN236324036EUR33,995,118.86104.9115WisdomTree AT1 CoCo Bond UCITS ETF – GBP Hedged14/04/2021IE00BFNNN45934640GBP3,685,949.50106.4073WisdomTree AT1 CoCo Bond UCITS ETF – USD Acc14/04/2021IE00BZ0XVG6942463USD5,183,986.84122.0824WisdomTree AT1 CoCo Bond UCITS ETF – USD Hedged14/04/2021IE00BFNNN01247006USD5,254,504.14111.7837WisdomTree Battery Solutions UCITS ETF - USD Acc14/04/2021IE00BKLF1R758058534USD362,054,144.7544.928WisdomTree Cloud Computing UCITS ETF - USD Acc14/04/2021IE00BJGWQN7213208000USD671,181,404.8850.8163WisdomTree Cybersecurity UCITS ETF - USD Acc14/04/2021IE00BLPK3577510000USD11,478,842.9922.5075WisdomTree Emerging Markets Equity Income UCITS ETF14/04/2021IE00BQQ3Q0672637109USD41,371,998.5815.6884WisdomTree Emerging Markets Equity Income UCITS ETF Acc14/04/2021IE00BDF12W4990558USD2,019,687.0622.3027WisdomTree Emerging Markets Small Cap Dividend UCITS ETF14/04/2021IE00BQZJBM261630000USD31,768,836.2619.4901WisdomTree Enhanced Commodity UCITS ETF – CHF Hedged Acc14/04/2021IE00BG88WL21210000CHF2,334,966.3311.1189WisdomTree Enhanced Commodity UCITS ETF – EUR Hedged Acc14/04/2021IE00BG88WG773050000EUR31,653,456.4810.3782WisdomTree Enhanced Commodity UCITS ETF – GBP Hedged Acc14/04/2021IE00BG88WH841975000GBP20,918,353.1810.5916WisdomTree Enhanced Commodity UCITS ETF - USD14/04/2021IE00BZ1GHD371125000USD12,691,936.3711.2817WisdomTree Enhanced Commodity UCITS ETF - USD Acc14/04/2021IE00BYMLZY7411425000USD134,177,171.9511.7442WisdomTree EUR Aggregate Bond Enhanced Yield UCITS ETF – EUR14/04/2021IE00BD49R912186389EUR10,126,671.1954.3308WisdomTree EUR Aggregate Bond Enhanced Yield UCITS ETF – EUR Acc14/04/2021IE00BD49RB3976339EUR4,244,223.0755.597WisdomTree EUR Government Bond Enhanced Yield UCITS ETF14/04/2021IE00BD49RJ1512743EUR701,851.0655.0774WisdomTree EUR Government Bond Enhanced Yield UCITS ETF – EUR Acc14/04/2021IE00BD49RK2047000EUR2,649,441.9356.3711WisdomTree Europe Equity Income UCITS ETF14/04/2021IE00BQZJBX311732717EUR19,987,680.6211.5355WisdomTree Europe Equity Income UCITS ETF Acc14/04/2021IE00BDF16007352386EUR5,147,177.2014.6066WisdomTree Europe Equity UCITS ETF - CHF Hedged Acc14/04/2021IE00BYQCZT117703CHF148,996.3819.3426WisdomTree Europe Equity UCITS ETF - EUR Acc14/04/2021IE00BYQCZX56269545EUR5,316,977.8719.7258WisdomTree Europe Equity UCITS ETF - GBP Hedged14/04/2021IE00BYQCZQ89131454GBP1,624,858.1212.3607WisdomTree Europe Equity UCITS ETF - USD Hedged14/04/2021IE00BVXBH1631135423USD23,283,986.3420.5069WisdomTree Europe Equity UCITS ETF - USD Hedged Acc14/04/2021IE00BYQCZP721988673USD48,088,585.3324.1812WisdomTree Europe Small Cap Dividend UCITS ETF14/04/2021IE00BQZJC5271607964EUR31,284,578.5919.456WisdomTree Europe Small Cap Dividend UCITS ETF Acc14/04/2021IE00BDF16114263593EUR4,749,069.0918.0167WisdomTree European Union Bond UCITS ETF - EUR Acc14/04/2021IE00BMXWRM76160000EUR15,557,575.9597.2348WisdomTree Eurozone Quality Dividend Growth UCITS ETF - EUR14/04/2021IE00BZ56SY76547208EUR10,453,451.8219.1033WisdomTree Eurozone Quality Dividend Growth UCITS ETF - EUR Acc14/04/2021IE00BZ56TQ67679042EUR14,843,965.8721.8602WisdomTree Global Quality Dividend Growth UCITS ETF - USD14/04/2021IE00BZ56RN96319521USD9,345,425.0229.2482WisdomTree Global Quality Dividend Growth UCITS ETF - USD Acc14/04/2021IE00BZ56SW521990284USD63,225,988.1231.7673WisdomTree Japan Equity UCITS ETF - CHF Hedged Acc14/04/2021IE00BYQCZL3585650CHF1,806,518.8421.0919WisdomTree Japan Equity UCITS ETF - EUR Hedged Acc14/04/2021IE00BYQCZJ13201551EUR3,637,182.1918.046WisdomTree Japan Equity UCITS ETF - GBP Hedged14/04/2021IE00BYQCZF7489539GBP1,037,911.3511.5917WisdomTree Japan Equity UCITS ETF - JPY Acc14/04/2021IE00BYQCZN5839960USD915,422.7322.9085WisdomTree Japan Equity UCITS ETF - USD Hedged14/04/2021IE00BVXC48541231738USD22,592,832.3018.3422WisdomTree Japan Equity UCITS ETF - USD Hedged Acc14/04/2021IE00BYQCZD50400818USD8,434,773.0721.0439WisdomTree UK Equity Income UCITS ETF14/04/2021IE00BYPGTJ261800000GBP8,031,922.974.4622WisdomTree US Equity Income UCITS ETF14/04/2021IE00BQZJBQ63794894USD16,582,723.2420.8616WisdomTree US Equity Income UCITS ETF - EUR Hedged Acc14/04/2021IE00BD6RZW238073EUR149,263.2018.4892WisdomTree US Equity Income UCITS ETF - GBP Hedged Acc14/04/2021IE00BD6RZZ53294189GBP4,888,202.4016.6159WisdomTree US Equity Income UCITS ETF Acc14/04/2021IE00BD6RZT931541920USD34,560,968.9722.4142WisdomTree US Quality Dividend Growth UCITS ETF - USD14/04/2021IE00BZ56RD98266031USD7,913,143.2929.7452WisdomTree US Quality Dividend Growth UCITS ETF - USD Acc14/04/2021IE00BZ56RG202054651USD66,110,764.2232.1762WisdomTree USD Floating Rate Treasury Bond UCITS ETF - USD14/04/2021IE00BJFN5P6320916USD1,049,071.5550.1564WisdomTree USD Floating Rate Treasury Bond UCITS ETF - USD Acc14/04/2021IE00BJJYYX67408822USD20,850,787.4551.0021
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Dublin, April 15, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "In-vehicle Air Purifier - Global Outlook and Forecast 2021-2026" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global in-vehicle air purifier market by revenue is expected to grow at a CAGR of approx. 11% during 2020-2026.The global automotive air filter market is observing a shift from conventional purifiers to smart technology. The inclusion of prominent technologies - HEPA, active carbon systems, and photocatalytic is likely to increase vendors' growth opportunities. Vendors are expected to incorporate features such as Bluetooth speaker, USB, lights, air conditioner to cool, fan to circulate air, dehumidifier to remove moisture to increase penetration. Hence, multifunctional in-vehicle air purifiers are expected to increase the market demand during the forecast period. Further, the increased awareness of air filters among consumers has driven innovations in the industry. An increasing trend of multifunctional compact and simple designs of these devices is driving market adoption. Major vendors are investing in R&D activities to manufacture augmented products for the future. Innovations and feature-enrichment in-car air purifiers have evolved as a trend among the key players.Global In-Vehicle Air Purifier Market SegmentationThe market is expected to be strong in the next six years. Also, vehicle production in this region is the highest globally, and it is estimated that the region would show promising growth. Moreover, countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia are taking initiatives to increase awareness of these technologies. Although the hybrid in-vehicle air purifier market is currently at the introductory phase, the increased knowledge of these products is expected to increase during the forecast period. The increasing collaboration between manufacturers is likely to contribute to the global in-vehicle air purifier market growth.Standardization of air purifiers in sedans and SUVs is expected to increase OEMs' market share during the forecast period. High-end manufacturers in the US have started including built-in air filters and fragrance disseminators in their vehicles. Hence, the increase in air pollution and product standardization is expected to drive automobile manufacturers to provide in-built air purifiers as a standard accessory, thereby providing growth opportunities for OEMs.A high percentage of passenger vehicles are equipped with in-vehicle air purifiers, which are likely to increase the market share. Several automobile manufacturers in China have shown interest in automotive air purifiers (AAP). Moreover, automotive air purifiers are becoming handy solutions against allergies and ensure sanitization. They are exported to the Americas and Europe. However, India is emerging as the most lucrative market for these products as the country is witnessing deterioration in air quality levels. The commercial in-vehicle air purifier market is expected to grow as several heavy vehicle manufacturers are expected to invest in this technology. The demand for HEPA filters increases as they effectively remove small particles and pollutants; however, they require high maintenance. APAC accounts for maximum demand for HEPA filters on account of high air pollution levels in several countries. Strict government regulations to improve air quality and the increasing consumer spending are expected to drive the demand. The HEPA purifier market is fragmented due to several small and national vendors and is expected to be highly competitive with increased investments.With the increase in e-commerce worldwide, manufacturers have shifted to online sale platforms. The online in-vehicle air purifier market is currently observing growth. However, the offline segment is expected to flourish during the forecast period as the B2C segment will gradually shift toward B2B with vendors' partnerships with automotive manufacturers. In 2020, the online segment observed growth, particularly due to the COVID-19 virus. Moreover, online platforms are growing as they offer discounts and free-of-cost aftermarket service. INSIGHTS BY VENDORSThe global in-vehicle air purifier market is in the growth stage, and it has achieved popularity and penetration in several countries such as China and the US. The market consists of several players, making it highly fragmented. Philips Ltd., 3M, and Honeywell are the major vendors capturing the largest market share. In APAC, Europe, and North America, major players account for more than 80% of the overall share. There are immense opportunities for vendors to expand their business in high pollution regions and densely populated areas. Since the entry barriers are low, the in-vehicle air purifier market is flexible. This increases the focus of mergers or acquisitions and is also expected to enable manufacturers to intensify product innovation and improve the customer experience. Market Dynamics Market Opportunities & Trends Increasing Technological AdvancementsIncreasing Use Of Multi-Functional In-Vehicle Air Purifiers Market Growth Enablers Growing UrbanizationIncreasing Health Problems Due To Air PollutionGrowth In Automotive Sector Market Restraints In-Built Filters In Air Conditioning SystemsEmission Of Pollutants From Smart Air Purifiers Prominent Vendors Philips Ltd.3MHoneywell Other Prominent Vendors SharpBlueairBlaupunktAmwayAirlabsBonecoCowayEureka ForbesIQAirGreenTech EnvironmentalPure EnrichmentAnsioKent ROLivpureNebelrOlansi HealthcarePurafilPuritaVantroXiaomi For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/hyw34k CONTACT: CONTACT: ResearchAndMarkets.com Laura Wood, Senior Press Manager press@researchandmarkets.com For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900
Michele K. Short/HBOMare of Easttown is one of those shows that makes it hard to fall asleep after watching. It may not seem that way after its scene-setting, though still engrossing, premiere on HBO Sunday night, but the mystery-thriller speeds through a winding maze of twists, startling you after each hairpin plot turn.Marketing materials tease the Kate Winslet-starring drama using a line of dialogue that compares solving one of the show’s crimes to finding “a needle in a thousand haystacks.” As the episodes unfold, in each of those haystacks is another disturbing grenade of information, just waiting to detonate.You’d be excused for assuming Mare of Easttown, based on a first-episode impression, is the kind of crime drama you’ve seen before. “It’s like True Detective! Or Broadchurch! Or Top of the Lake!” you could rightfully recommend to a friend. That’s not meant as a deterrent; you’ve probably loved and devoured those shows.Like those series, there’s meticulous crafting of a place and its people, transporting you to a fictionalized town in the Delaware County suburb of Philadelphia, both affectionately and self-deprecatingly referred to as “Delco” by locals. There’s an inescapable dourness, the chill of its winter setting manifesting in the pile-up of tragedy and pain experienced by the characters. And, like far too many HBO dramas before it, graphic acts of violence against women are central to the plot—at this point an exasperating, played-out device. Stellan Skarsgard Is Finally Seizing the SpotlightBut what starts as the familiar slow burn of those other shows—a close-knit community is rocked by a murder that a hardened local detective must investigate—quickly catches fire, becoming a powerful portrait of grief, trauma, and the devastating secrets buried in this claustrophobic town’s tangled web of relationships.Critics were provided five of seven episodes to review. The panic attack I had watching the events of episode four and the way that, after five, I’m bereft at having to last one more minute without seeing the other two… Let’s just say that despite all the faults of the series, it’s one that knows how to hook you and then reel you in fast, like you’re being dragged through choppy waters by a speedboat.Winslet, returning to television for the first time since her Emmy-winning turn in Mildred Pierce a decade ago, plays Mare, a local legend (she made an important shot in an important high school basketball game 25 years ago) who is now a veteran detective in the same town, investigating, as she describes it, all the “burglaries, overdoses, and the really bad crap that happens around here.”Her born-and-bred ties to the community make her the first call for everyone, regardless of how beneath her pay grade the “emergency”—a neighbor wakes her up with a panicked phone call about a “peeper” she swears was spotted in the backyard. That she knows everyone and everyone knows her is both an asset and a roadblock to her job; an out-of-town detective (Evan Peters’ Colin Zabel) who joins her for a case can’t help but smirk each time it’s revealed that a suspect or witness is her cousin, childhood friend, or both.But her local fame is hardly a bulletproof vest. The teenage daughter of one of her former high school teammates disappeared over a year ago, and her failure to provide any answers has started to draw the ire not just of the girl’s mother, but the entire town. When another tragedy befalls a local girl, they’re skeptical she can handle the case.That the investigation consumes her only hastens her unraveling. She lives at home with her mother, Helen (Jean Smart, serving up a masterclass in how to steal a scene), her teenage daughter, and her 4-year-old grandson, who she’s raising following the death by suicide of her son (and the boy’s father). Her ex-husband lives in the house behind hers with his new fiancée, her grandson’s ex-addict mother is pursuing custody, and her friendships are tested as the case starts to involve those she’s known all her life.You witness the weight of all this threatening to crush Mare, with Winslet showing how every step she takes requires effort: lifting her injured foot to move under the force of all her grief, fighting the attacks of her personal demons as they work against her ability to investigate the case. It’s a staggering, lived-in performance, the kind that Winslet hinted at in the recent period drama Ammonite, but brought down to earth in a way that escapes the blue-collar drag movie stars can sometimes wear in roles like this.There will be much dissection to come of Winslet’s labor-intensive, at time distractingly mannered Delco accent, in which “water” becomes “wudder” and long “o” sounds terrorize the most basic of nouns: “phone” is “fewn” and “home” is “hewm.”I’ve spent a lot of time in Delco and around its defectors, and, honestly, every time you hear a strong version of the accent it sounds so outrageous that it’s hard to decipher if Winslet’s swing-for-the-fences attempt nails it or not.She’s surrounded by a cast that does a more natural, subtle version of it, like Smart and Julianne Nicholson, who plays Mare’s best friend. But the accent is just one layer of the rare, multidimensional look at a community with generational roots that all intertwine. Supporting characters are rarely undeveloped plot devices or stereotypes. It’s not Tinseltown leering at a working-class area, but rather a clear-eyed look into people’s daily struggles and the ways those can avalanche into the kind of trauma you can’t outrun.The relentless reminders of the violence that has been inflicted on the young girls at the center of the show’s mystery causes the show to skirt dangerously close to tragedy porn. Admirable space is given to the pain that not just Mare, but even tertiary characters, are enduring, which can sometimes settle like a fog of misery over the already dark and dreary Easttown. HBO But unlike the recent I Know This Much Is True, whose onslaught of misfortune could be too much of an emotional slog to endure, Mare of Easttown finds the lightness and levity in survival and pushing through, because what else is there to do?Peters’ Detective Zabel forms an amusing buddy-cop comic relationship with Mare, while Smart’s litany of deadpan, sardonic line deliveries—tossed off at Mare in a mother-daughter repartee familiar to anyone who has spent much time in close quarters with a parent—will surely be clipped and .GIF’d until the actress’ entire screen time has been meme’d.Having not seen the final episodes—give them to me now, HBO!—I can’t speak to how the various threads are tied up, or whether it careens off the rails after an intriguing start, a la The Undoing. But even not taking into account how sleepy 2021 has been for TV dramas, this is one that whisks you away, even if it hits a few bumps in the road.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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Black and Hispanic drivers are disproportionately targeted for traffic stops. Could these changes in Fayetteville, North Carolina work elsewhere?
First Quarter 2021 Revenue - Returning to growth in Q1 in a challenging environment April 15, 2021 Solid organic growth of +2.8% in Q1, thanks to our transformationU.S. positive for the second quarter in a row at +5.1% organic, with: Publicis Sapient at +11.2% Mid-single digit growth for Epsilon for the 2nd consecutive quarter, at +4.7% Double-digit growth in digital media Acceleration of organic growth in Asia at +5.7%, +3.0% in ChinaSequential improvement in Europe at -1.8% (+2.8% excluding MediaTransports and the Drugstore)Uncertainties remain due to still evolving sanitary conditions Q1 2021 § 2021 Net revenue €2,392m§ 2020 Net revenue €2,481m§ Organic growth+2.8%§ Growth at constant currencies+2.7%§ Reported growth-3.6% Arthur Sadoun, Chairman and CEO of Publicis Groupe: “In an environment that remains challenging, Publicis Groupe is returning to positive organic growth. Thanks to the effects of our transformation, we posted a solid +2.8% in Q1, ahead of expectations. This performance is mainly driven by the U.S. and Asia, which already outperformed all of our competitors in 2020. Our U.S. operations were positive for the second quarter in a row, with +5.1% organic growth. We continued to capture a disproportionate amount of the shift in client investment towards digital channels, e-commerce and DTC, as demonstrated in the acceleration of Publicis Sapient’s U.S growth at +11.2%. It is also visible with Epsilon, posting mid-single digit growth for the second consecutive quarter, at +4.7%. In Asia, we reported an acceleration in organic growth of +5.7% for Q1. China returned to growth at +3.0%, as it began to benefit from a strong series of wins over the past 18 months. Europe meanwhile is showing sequential improvement, with a performance that was slightly down in Q1 at -1.8%. Excluding Mediatransports, and The Drugstore, on the Champs-Elysées, organic growth in Europe was at +2.8%. Some countries like France and Germany are returning to growth, but ongoing lockdowns weighed on some of our operations. On the new business front, Q1 has been very busy, with some structural wins like L’Oréal Media business in China, Infinity’s global creative, AB Inbev’s data business, Toyota’s entire advertising portfolio in Australia, Unilever Shopper Marketing and Samsung media in the U.S. For the rest of the year, we will continue to focus on our main priorities: putting our people first by safeguarding their health and wellbeing; staying close to our clients, who are under pressure to reinvent their business model; and accelerating on our product roadmap, which is advancing well, as demonstrated by our recent partnership with The Trade Desk. Of course, returning to growth earlier than expected raises even further the confidence we have in our model, and I would like to thank our people for their incredible efforts and our clients for their trust. Nonetheless, we remain cautious in what is a still very challenging environment.” * * * NET REVENUE IN Q1 2021 Publicis Groupe’s net revenue in Q1 2021 was 2,392 million euros, down by 3.6% from 2,481 million euros in 2020. Exchange rates had a negative impact of 151 million euros. Acquisitions, net of disposals, accounted for a decrease in net revenue of 3 million euros. Organic growth stood at +2.8%, a solid number supported by the performance in the U.S. Breakdown of Q1 2021 Net revenue by region EURNet revenueReportedOrganicmillionQ1 2021Q1 2020GrowthGrowthNorth America1,5051,555-3.2%+4.7%Europe561578-2.9%-1.8%Asia Pacific217219-0.9%+5.7%Middle East & Africa 6275-17.3%-11.0%Latin America4754-13.0%+7.7%Total2,3922,481-3.6%+2.8% North America net revenue was up by 4.7% on an organic basis in Q1 2021, down by 3.2% reported due to the US dollar exchange rate. This includes a solid performance in the U.S., up by 5.1% on an organic basis, demonstrating further sequential improvement and positive for the second quarter in a row. This is the result of a faster than expected economic recovery in the country, combined with the strength of the Groupe’s model that allowed to capture the shift in client investment towards digital, e-commerce and direct-to-consumer. Publicis Sapient was up by 11.2%, benefitting from the encouraging pipeline that started to pick up in Q3 2020. Epsilon recorded a +4.7% growth, driven by digital media, data practice, as well as recovery in automotive and further cross-fertilization with existing Groupe’s clients. Outside Epsilon, digital media activities were up double digit, supporting the growth of Media overall. Creative was broadly flat and Health activities were up double digit for the fourth consecutive quarter. Canada was down 4.4% organically. Net revenue in Europe was down by 2.9% on a reported basis. It was down by 1.8% on an organic basis, but it is worth mentioning that excluding the French outdoor media activities and the Drugstore, Europe was up by 2.8% on an organic basis. Some countries like France and Germany returned to organic growth, at +4.9% (excluding MediaTransports and the Drugstore) and +6.0% respectively. But ongoing government restrictions in the region continued to weigh on some of our largest operations, like in the UK, which declined organically by -3.4%. Net revenue in Asia Pacific was down by 0.9% on a reported basis, but returned to positive on an organic basis at +5.7%. China, which was the first country impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, posted an organic growth of +3.0% thanks to a better sanitary context and strong series of wins. India and Australia both recorded dynamic organic growth in Q1. Middle East & Africa declined by 17.3% in net revenue, or -11.0% on an organic basis, remaining impacted by the sanitary situation and impacted by a particularly high comparison base for Publicis Sapient. Net revenue in Latin America was down by 13.0% on a reported basis due to currency impact, it was up by 7.7% on an organic basis. Brazil was broadly flat, while Mexico, Argentina and Columbia saw an increase in organic growth. Breakdown of net revenue at March 31, 2021 by sector On the basis of 2,984 clients representing 92% of net revenue NET DEBT AND LIQUIDITY Net debt totaled 1,866 million euros at the end of March 2021, compared with 833 million euros at year-end 2020, reflecting the seasonality in the activity. Net debt was 4,094 million euros at the end of March 2020. The Groupe’s average net debt stood at 1,497 million euros in the first quarter 2021, compared to 3,486 million euros in the first quarter 2020. The Groupe’s liquidity position remains very solid, at 5.1 billion euros, improving by around 400 million euros compared to 4.7 billion euros a year ago. Furthermore, following the merger of MMS USA Investments Inc. into MMS USA Holdings Inc. that took place on March 31st 2021, MMS USA Holdings Inc. is the new issuer of the 2025 (FR0013425139), 2028 (FR0013425147), et 2031 (FR0013425154) eurobonds. ACQUISITIONS AND DISPOSALS There were no significant transaction on the period. OUTLOOK The first quarter demonstrated a better than expected start of the year. As far as Q2 is concerned, the Groupe expects to recover between 60% to 80% of what it lost in Q2 2020, implying an organic growth between 8% and 10%, assuming no further deterioration in sanitary conditions. The crisis is not over yet, and a limited visibility continues to prevent the Groupe from giving a full year revenue guidance for 2021. As announced at the Full Year 2020 results, the Groupe will update further in July at its Half Year 2021 results, when the visibility on the economic and sanitary situation will have improved. In the meantime, the Groupe will continue to manage its cost base and its cash tightly while preserving its agility and investing in future growth, providing confidence in delivering on the margin and cash objectives set for the year. The Groupe confirms that its operating margin rate will improve by up to 50 basis points in 2021, consolidating further the achievement of 2020. The Groupe also confirms that its free cash flow before change in working capital should be around 1.2 billion euros in 2021, contributing to the Groupe’s deleveraging plans. NEW BUSINESS EUROPE Pandora AS (Technology), Polestar Performance AB (Technology), Nomad Foods (Media), La Poste (Creative), Société des Produits Nestlé (Technology), Daimler (Technology), Unilever (Technology), PMU (Technology), TUI Group (Creative), Groupe Casino (Creative), SNCF (Creative), FNPCA - ARTISANAT (Creative), Procter & Gamble (Creative), Etihad Airways (Media), Sephora (Data), April (Technology), ABBVIE (Creative), France Télévisions (Data), Izneo (Media), Enedis (Creative), G-Star (Creative), Zava (Technology), Comic Relief (Creative), Brown Forman (Media), Vinted (Media), DocMorris N.V. (Media), Reckitt Benckiser (Media) NORTH AMERICA Loblaw Digital (Technology), Verizon Wireless Digital (Technology), Mercedes-Benz USA (Technology), National Cancer Institute (Technology), Academy Sports & Outdoors (Technology), Comcast Corporation (Technology), The Depository Trust & Clearing Corp (Technology), Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (Technology), Sally Beauty (Media), Inspire Brands (Media), Samsung (Creative), Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (Creative), Unilever (Creative), Procter & Gamble (Creative), Hut 8 Bitcoin Mining (Creative), Mercedes-Benz (Creative), MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Inc (Creative) ASIA PACIFIC/MEA Garena Online (Creative), PRC - Martell (Creative), L'Oréal (Media & Creative), Yili (Creative), Yinlu (Creative), Capital Foods (Creative), Diageo (Creative), Yinlu (Creative), Others (Creative), Ecco (Creative), AXA (Creative), Samsung (Digital), Penang South Island (Power of One), Spotify (Creative), AMC (Creative), Mercedes-Benz (Creative), Nestle Content (Production), Medgulf (Creative), Essilor (Creative), Nestlé (Wyeth) (Power of One), Sephora (Creative), Toyota Motor Corporation (Creative & Media) LATAM Grupo SURA (Data), Banco Bradesco (Creative), Citigroup (Production), Pfizer (Creative), Astrazeneca (Creative), Compania Nacional de Chocolates de Peru S.A. (Creative), Visa (Creative), Grupo Nutresa (Creative), Mercedes-Benz (Creative), Heineken (Creative), PepsiCo (Digital), Grupo Bimbo (Creative), Procter & Gamble (Creative & Data) GLOBAL AB InBev (Data), Nissan Motor Corporation – Infiniti (Creative) * * * Disclaimer Certain information contained in this document, other than historical information, may constitute forward-looking statements or unaudited financial forecasts. These forward-looking statements and forecasts are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. These forward-looking statements and forecasts are presented at the date of this document and, other than as required by applicable law, Publicis Groupe does not assume any obligation to update them to reflect new information or events or for any other reason. Publicis Groupe urges you to carefully consider the risk factors that may affect its business, as set out in the Universal Registration Document filed with the French Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) and which is available on the website of Publicis Groupe (www.publicisgroupe.com), including an unfavorable economic climate, a highly competitive industry, risks associated with the confidentiality of personal data, the Groupe’s business dependence on its management and employees, risks associated with mergers and acquisitions, risks of IT system failures and cybercrime, the possibility that our clients could seek to terminate their contracts with us on short notice, risks associated with the reorganization of the Groupe, risks of litigation, governmental, legal and arbitration proceedings, risks associated with the Groupe’s financial rating and exposure to liquidity risks. 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For all of us who have black fathers, brothers, sons, and nephews this national moment we continue to find ourselves in right now is terrifying.
Marcos del Mazo/GettyWillow Breshears says she has been contacted by several young transgender people in Arkansas over the last few days. “One of them said he was going to kill himself if the bill passed,” Breshears, an 18-year-old community organizer for the Center for Artistic Revolution and a founder of the Young Transwomen’s Project, told The Daily Beast of the now-notorious House Bill 1570. “That has weighed heavily on me. I was at a loss for words when he said it. It really showed me how important gender-affirming care is.”In early April, Arkansas became the first state in America to ban the provision of gender-affirming treatments and surgery for transgender youth. The state’s legislature has voted to override Governor Asa Hutchinson’s veto of HB 1570, which bans transition care for trans minors, prohibiting doctors from providing gender-affirming hormone treatment, puberty blockers, or surgery to anyone under 18 years old, or from referring them to other providers for the treatment. (Legal challenges are expected against the bill; it is one of a plethora of proposed anti-trans bills in Arkansas.)These States Could Outlaw Transgender Teens’ Access to Health Care and SportsA local doctor working with trans youth has told Breshears they had already received several calls from trans youth saying that if the medical bill passed they would kill themselves. “People don’t realize the impact this bill will have on trans kids,” Breshears said. “When it comes to the health care ban, hormones are essential for trans kids that want them. I know I would not be the person I am today had I not had access to transition-related care. It is so life-changing for young people. Without it, suicide rates are higher.”Madi, a 13-year-old trans girl from North Carolina, told The Daily Beast about how hard it was facing the onslaught of a similarly poisonous slate of bills in that state. “It’s hard to see people like me being hurt by this and not be able to do what they love. It’s very difficult to know I might not be able to do a sport if I want to, and it's just overall…” Madi paused and sighed, as she spoke to The Daily Beast on a Zoom call alongside her mother, Katie Jenifer. “It’s very stupid and un-needed in our lives right now. It feels horrible being threatened with who I am, because without these things I might not be here today. My mom knows I was very depressed as a child when I wasn’t transitioned. And if I were to go through my whole life like that, I don’t know if I could have done it. And that’s probably scary for my mom to hear. It’s scary for me to hear coming out of my own mouth.”There appears to be a perverse race in Republican-controlled states right now as to who can legislate most viciously against transgender youth. There are so far more than 240 anti-LGBTQ bills under consideration in state legislatures, according to the Human Rights Campaign; more than 115 of them directly target transgender people, with over 60 bills focused on banning trans kids from participating in sports consistent with their gender identity. The discriminatory bills have been condemned by the country’s leading medical associations (including the American Medical Association, the Endocrine Society, and the American Psychiatric Association), and are opposed by professional sports organizations like the NCAA.As The Daily Beast has reported, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee have already passed bills that would bar trans girls from participating in women’s sports. Texas’ Senate yesterday passed another trans youth sports ban. Legislators in the state are also considering a bill that classifies providing children with puberty suppression drugs or performing gender reassignment surgery as child abuse. The Florida House also passed a trans sports ban yesterday—a bill which also mentions genital checks of children, genetic testing, and the measurement of students’ testosterone levels.Missing so far in the vitriol and misinformation issuing forth from legislators’ lips has been any consideration of what their targets–trans youth themselves—might feel, which is a mixture of desperation, anger at being malignly used as culture war targets, and yet despite all that is being done to them, a determination to fight on.In North Carolina, doctors would be banned from performing gender confirmation surgery on anyone under the age of 21 (many of the other anti-trans health care bills use 18, the conventional legal-adult age, as the cutoff). The proposed legislation would also stop doctors from providing gender-confirming hormone treatment, puberty blockers, or surgery.Another North Carolina bill would restrict trans girls’ access to sports; another would allow medical providers to turn patients down for treatment according to their religious or moral beliefs. One of the most notorious bills would compel state employees to effectively out children, demanding they notify parents in writing if their child displays “gender nonconformity” or expresses a desire to be treated in ways incompatible with the gender they were assigned at birth. The bills also protect the widely condemned practice of conversion therapy.“It’s horrible knowing that there is a chance that these laws could happen eventually,” said Madi. “And I just don’t think anyone should go through this, because it’s basic human rights—to be able to be yourself and do what you want to do. And it’s just horrible that anyone would have to have that even close to being taken away from them.”Ash, a 16-year-old young trans man also from North Carolina, told The Daily Beast he was finding this period of time “pretty terrifying. I’ve been quite a bit of a nervous wreck this week. I’m terribly angry at the state government, and I’m trying to channel that into action. It’s just a complete mess. I’m really worried about these bills.”The bill preventing medical care concerns Ash the most. “It’s been a nightmare of mine for a couple of years that some legislation would be passed that would mean I could not access my hormones. I was deeply, terribly depressed and suicidal before I was on testosterone. I would not be alive today without it. I fear terribly for the well-being of other trans people my age who are hoping to access this care in the future, and also to a lesser degree for myself. I already have a lot of dysphoria-easing changes from this medication.”The raising of the age of medical care to 21 “means they are not only taking away bodily autonomy of kids but also of legal adults,” Ash said.Ash was granted special permission to begin taking the medicines when he was 15 (as opposed to 16). “My mental state was so terrible I needed medication to live. I felt like my own body was alien to me. I felt like under constant attack from my own body. You can’t outrun that. I never felt like my gender identity ever matched the sex I was assigned at birth. But I didn’t really feel this super-alien-threatening sort of presence from my body until puberty. “It felt like there were really only two ways out. I could end my life, or I could change the form I was in, so that my external features matched my internal gender identity. I am very lucky to have a very supporting family, therapist, and doctor. My whole community helped me through it.”When Justin Sykes, a 22-year-old trans male student studying sustainable development at Appalachian State University, began his course of hormone replacement he was a minor and had to get both his parents’ consent.“That in itself was a hurdle. My mom was on my side. At that time my dad wasn’t sure where he stood. Now they’re very supportive. Now, to think you might have to leave the state to get what you need is just so devastating—to put another layer or block on something that should just be basic health care. For a lot of people like me, these surgeries or hormone replacements are not optional. That’s why my parents supported me. They thought, ‘We have the choice of losing our daughter completely because I was so depressed and lost, or give him this medicine that will help him feel more affirmed in his own body.”Katie Jenifer, Madi’s mom, is her daughter’s most passionate advocate, and has been helping campaigners against similar bills in other states like Montana, Arkansas, Utah, and Alabama. “I had hoped North Carolina had learned the lesson of HB2”—the notorious “bathroom bill” that cost the state billions of dollars in lost revenue and national notoriety—“but apparently not,” Katie said. “It’s stressful, but I appreciate any opportunity to clear up the misinformation out there. It’s harder for Madi and other trans folks to have their very existence discussed and argued about at a state level. That in itself is a tragedy. The bills solve problems that don’t exist and seek to erase trans people. But no matter what bills are passed, trans people are not going away. They’ve been here forever, and they will continue to be here.”Among parents of cis children “the biggest misunderstanding” Katie has faced is they don’t seem to grasp that “trans girls are girls, trans women are women, trans boys are boys, and non-binary people are non-binary.”Katie hears the recycling of transphobic talking points like, “What if a cis boy isn’t doing well in sports, and decides all of a sudden to be trans and try out for the girls’ team?” Katie sighed. “One, that doesn’t happen, and two, there is so much gatekeeping for trans kids already. It’s a long process with a lot of hurdles. If somebody wakes up tomorrow and determines they are trans, legitimately or not, they can’t automatically try out for boys’ sports or any of those things. Madi has been on this journey for eight years almost. That simply doesn’t happen.”The other major misunderstanding, said Katie, was around the medical interventions trans kids have, like taking hormones or puberty blockers. “My response to that is permanent change for Madi and her body would be for us not to help her, and she would go through natal puberty, and her chances for suicide go way up. Studies show over and over again that trans kids shown support at home, and with medical interventions and mental health support help bring their suicide rates down to the same as the cis population. That alone should tell us that it helps, not hurts, kids to allow them to be part of their own health care. What happened to bodily autonomy for people anyway?”In his veto, Governor Hutchinson talked about the Arkansas medical bill as a “vast government overreach,” but he had already signed Senate Bill 354 into law on March 25, preventing trans girls and women from playing school sports consistent with their gender identity. Hutchinson also signed a law allowing doctors to refuse to treat someone because of religious or moral objections, a law whose opponents believe will be used to turn away LGBTQ patients. He is also expected to sign a hate crimes bill, much criticized by advocates, which doesn’t refer to specific categories such as race, sexual orientation, or gender identity. A proposed “bathroom bill,” which seeks to stop trans people from being able to pee in public restrooms, is currently stalled over concerns about its costs. One bill would make it a felony to give hormones to anyone under 18 years old.To the state legislators in Arkansas, Breshears said she would say: “These attacks go so much deeper than having access to a bathroom or accessing hormones. All of these bills are rooted in the belief that trans people don’t deserve to live, that they don’t deserve to thrive, and they don’t want to see us in Arkansas. The blood of these kids is on their hands when the suicide rates go up. When kids feel like they have no one and nothing on their side, it is directly because of these bills. We’ve been doing legislative work for over a month now. It’s a lot. We haven’t had any wins. As you can imagine, it’s very disheartening. It’s all just a direct attack on trans kids.”What would Breshears say to Governor Hutchinson, who she has already met along with other trans activists prior to his ultimately futile veto of the Arkansas health care bill? “So much more needs to be done beyond vetoing one of these bills. All of these bills should have been vetoed. These bills should never have come into existence. Cherry-picking which bills are government over-reach and which are not is hypocritical. They’re all government overreach. These are children they’re legislating against. It’s really disgusting, and the reason a lot of families and parents of trans kids are moving out of state.”“Living in the South and being trans is an exhausting reality”Breshears and other trans activists in Arkansas are planning a “trans week of mourning” commencing this coming Monday, to reflect on the passage and impact of the slate of anti-trans bills that have passed through its legislature. There will be events, discussions, and expert advice on hand. Help is being planned for those who may need to travel out of state for their health care needs. The week of mourning will end with a “day of celebration,” said Breshears. “We are pretty hopeful that the lawsuits and injunctions being filed mean the bill won’t get signed into law. But we are trying to get resources in place in case people suddenly lose their treatment. We’re still here fighting to make sure these kids get the respect and dignity they deserve.” The sports bill was a non-issue, said Breshears, given that there were so few trans kids in sports. “The bills use biologically essentialist language, claiming trans women have an innate power, more athletic ability, than cisgender women. It’s not true at all.”“It’s disheartening,” said Breshears. “I’m ready for this legislative session to be over. Living in the South and being trans is an exhausting reality. It just feels surreal. You heard about bills like these popping up in other states and they did pop up in Arkansas but never to this extent. It is attack after attack after attack. We cannot catch a break.”Kendra R. Johnson, executive director of advocacy campaign group Equality NC, spoke to The Daily Beast as it emerged that Jaida Peterson, a 29-year-old Black transgender woman, had been murdered in Charlotte, North Carolina. At least 14 transgender or gender non-conforming people have been violently killed so far in 2021, according to the Human Rights Campaign. “It’s been a really tough week,” said Johnson, her voice betraying raw emotion. The murder had happened at the same time as the emergence of some of the most virulent anti-trans bills in the nation in North Carolina. Apart from being intrusive and unnecessary, the proposed legislation also begs the question of who gets to decide what “gender non-conforming” means, and how outing any child who you know nothing about helps them; indeed it may put them in danger if the person they are being outed to is anti-LGBTQ.Johnson told The Daily Beast that the relentless attacks on trans people in the state were part of an “ongoing culture war that we’ve seen before marriage equality, but which has definitely ratcheted up since marriage equality. They have increasingly targeted the trans community just because it’s misunderstood.”In the lead-up to the landmark Supreme Court ruling for marriage equality, there was an increase in LGB visibility, and public opinion shifted, said Johnson. “There has been an increase in trans visibility in recent years—including the presence of people like Laverne Cox and Angelica Ross, and shows like Pose—but it’s not as comprehensive as the normalized representations of other minorities in the media. So, there is this greatly misunderstood group of individuals which unfortunately makes them a major target for the conservative right.“What is most devastating to me, whether these bills get advanced, is the harm they have already done to the trans community, further marginalizing people who already struggle to get basic income, housing, employment, and health care. It sort of ratifies this marginalization of this group that is already pushed out of mainstream society.”Appalachian State student Sykes told The Daily Beast that he thought there would be bills like the slate in North Carolina “over and over again. But we shouldn’t get tired and burned out. We don’t want them to pass.” To try and stop trans teens getting the health care they need “won’t stop people being trans, it’s just going to make their lives more miserable. It’s not protecting or helping anyone. People are not choosing to be trans. The choices are how to be affirmed in one’s own body.” The North Carolina legislators putting roadblocks in the way of progress are doing so in the face of “the momentum for change.” If the bills pass, said Sykes, they will not be long-lasting. “I feel frustrated, like banging my head against a wall. I want to say, ‘Grow up, guys.’ Who is in charge of the world is changing. That is scaring these cis white men who are used to being in power. Now people are living freely, they are lashing out. They’re going to hurt people in the short term, but in the long term these bills are not here to last. That’s what I hold on to. The likelihood of the bills passing is low. If they do pass they will be fought against. This is not going to be part of the status quo.” Legislators would better spend their time by spending time in their communities getting to know the full range of people in that community, Sykes said, rather than playing power games.If he could, Ash would tell legislators that these bills would harm children, not protect them. “Some children will die, some will be kicked out of their homes from being outed to unsupportive parents by schools. Some will no longer be able to participate in sports that provided a sense of community for them. And some will go through the thoroughly psychologically damaging process of conversion therapy which these bills also support. I would ask legislators to oppose these bills with all the power they have. I would ask them to not only vote against them being passed, but to speak out against them and inform others who might support them about the damage they will cause.”If she could talk to legislators direct, Katie Jenifer, Madi’s mom, would ask them to talk to parents with trans kids or to talk to trans people. “It’s obvious that they have not. It’s obvious they don’t understand what all the issues around transgender health are, or transgender mental health. Like Madi said, we’re trying to solve problems that don’t exist, as we did with HB2. Trans people have existed for all time, trans athletes have played sports for decades. There has not been some massive takeover. It’s just hurting trans people, even having these conversations. To have people discussing your very existence and right to be who you are is harmful to them.”This reporter asked Madi what it was like to be discussed in this way.“Nobody wants to be thought of as being disgusting, nobody wants to be disgusting,” said Madi. “Nobody wants to feel like they don’t belong. Nobody wants to feel they can’t be who they want to be. You’re not going to take someone out of themselves. Trans is a part of me, so you are not going to strip that out of me and try and make me someone I am not. I will always be like this. I will always be a girl. You can’t take that away no matter how hard you try.”Ash too has found it exhausting having his “existence constantly debated. It takes a terrible toll on a person’s mental health and general well-being, and trans people have just gotten used to it. Unfortunately, it’s very expected at this point. I can’t say I expect it to stop any time soon. I have just become accustomed to it. Although I have learned to step back from it a little. I learned not to debate people online because you are not going to change people’s minds in the YouTube comments.”One of the brutal consequences of this are acts of anti-trans violence and murder, said Johnson. The anti-trans bills repeat one another, and only differ in language depending on the level of bigotry and prejudice held by their individual authors, Johnson said. The N.C. health care bills were “overreach” into the health care of those already facing discrimination, she added. “It’s horrific that guidance counselors, who should be creating safe spaces, would be compelled to out kids if they have ‘gender non-conformity,’ and then it also protects conversion therapy, which is akin to torture and debunked by every major health association.”Johnson’s “best hope” is that people speak up against the bills and they expire in committee—or that North Carolina's Democratic governor, Roy Cooper, vetoes them as he is anticipated to do. But just to have the debates has been “devastating” and “horrific” for trans people in North Carolina, and the trans and non-binary staff of Equality NC. “The hateful rhetoric being propagated does the community harm,” said Johnson. In the year that marriage equality had passed, suicide among LGBTQ teens had declined in the spirit of affirmation that followed. “The inverse is true when you have these negative bills,” Johnson said.Doctors being able to turn away patients on religious grounds “means if you’re trans and need cardiac care in a rural area, a doctor could deny you treatment and a referral. This should be unconstitutional, but LGBTQ people are still fighting for our basic civil rights, unfortunately,” Johnson added.Breshears believes the Arkansas bills are “coming from a place of retaliation” for Joe Biden being elected president—and being so vocally in support of trans people and LGBTQ equality. “Most of the bills in Southern states are really an attempt to remind already-marginalized people that these legislators don’t care about us,” Breshears said.“I will always be a trans girl. I will always be a regular girl.”Breshears herself started to take hormones when she was 13 years old, “so I definitely know what it’s like to transition at a young age—and I also work with a lot of youth facilitating programs for young people.” Breshears said she fortunately had a supportive family. “My family has always been super-grounding. My mom and grandma are very supportive.”Breshears and others wish lawmakers would address the real problems young trans people face. She has her own “share of horror stories” being trans at public school, and had heard “countless” other stories from young people about mistreatment they had faced. “This bill aside, it’s already extremely difficult to navigate schools and public spaces as a trans kid. And this bill only furthers that,” said Breshears. “I definitely received a lot of verbal abuse—not only from students but teachers as well. It was very difficult to navigate. A lot of times it was misgendering—by staff and other kids.” In her work, she has emailed several schools, urging principals and teachers to use correct names and pronouns. Madi in softball garb, 2019-2020 (7th grade) Courtesy Katie Jenifer This reporter asked if the North Carolina bills passed, would Madi and her family leave the state.“My mom and my dad will not let anyone hurt me,” Madi said. “They won’t let anybody change the way I am. I will always be a trans girl. I will always be a regular girl. We will do whatever we have to to keep me, my sister, and the whole family safe. That’s it. They said they would do anything to protect trans kids, me. They said they would do anything.”Katie interjected to say their family had “a lot of unearned privilege. We would be able to move, but not everybody can. That’s the real problem, and it will create a real health care crisis in our state for folks who maybe don’t have the financial means to do that, or people who already face discrimination, like Black, indigenous, and other people of color.” Katie said campaigners were already planning to set up a mutual aid organization to assist those who will not have access to medical care if the bills pass.Madi’s mom and dad, Craig, have lost friends, and years ago had people advise them to prevent Madi’s transition. Katie said she and Craig were heartened by how many people at their church had supported them, “but we also lost quite a few friends. People left the church, one couple spent hours trying to convince us to send Madi to conversion therapy which is still legal in North Carolina, and which one of the bills protects. That was a tough period.”Katie said Madi was outed by a local news station when she was in first grade; the crew turned up and started asking other parents questions about Madi. Madi was in running club, and one of the parent-volunteers outed her to the other kids in that. Her gymnastics gym wouldn’t let Madi transition from the “mommy-and-me” class to the girls’ class.Katie and Craig decided they needed a legal advocate to help Madi, but it was beyond their financial means—and so Katie went to law school, so she could be her daughter’s advocate. This would not be necessary, said Katie, if the Equality Act was law, or any of the statewide equality bills proposed by Equality NC come to pass. “But that’s not what’s happening right now,” said Katie. “My other child is also a member of the queer community. Even with a law degree, I’m still relatively helpless when it comes to the state trying to interfere in how I raise my kids.”If Madi could address North Carolina legislators directly, “I would just say these bills are unnecessary. There is no reason for them. As my mom said, they are attacking vulnerable trans kids. We can’t really do anything to protect ourselves, so they’re just going to do anything they can to bring us down. But parents like mine, who are supportive and who love their kids, are not going to let anything happen. We are going to do whatever we can to stop this, and to give everyone the treatment they deserve.” Justin Sykes. Courtesy Justin Sykes Justin Sykes, who will graduate in May, is particularly alarmed by how, who, and what will be judged as “gender non-conforming.” For one thing, one person’s performance of masculinity, say, is different from another person’s.It “feels wrong” to Sykes that the government would seek to interfere in family life through the policy of forcible outing. “That is never OK. It’s all about respecting boundaries. If you have an identity you don’t want to be shared, you shouldn’t have to be scared of being outed.”“I think I would ask them to see my humanity,” Sykes said of his message to legislators, “and to remember that when making these bills that they affect real people. If they go through, they are not moving the country forward. And they won’t get rid of trans people. We will be here, we will always be here. We’ve been taught there is one normal. There is not one normal. Human experience is diverse.”As the bills are being discussed, Madi wants to be a person other trans youth can look to. “It’s just something that shouldn’t be thought of as disgusting for someone to be who they want to be. And it’s just…” Madi sighed. “I don’t know what other to say other than it’s stupid. It’s not the nicest thing to say, but when you’re not being nice to me, what am I going to do? You’re always told, ‘Treat people as you would wish to be treated.’ We, trans people, have done nothing wrong, and we are being attacked for it.”Ash finds doing martial art helps a lot, by getting his anger out physically. “If I can take my anger out on a punching bag, it’s much better than bottling it up and potentially being more on edge around friends and family because of this stuff. Also what helps is spending time with trans friends—specifically having that community and solidarity where you don’t have to explain yourself. There’s a lot of anger and fear. I think in general people seem to be going through different stages of grief with this, like we are grieving the loss of a sense of safety and security that we had in North Carolina up till this point.”Ash says he is in the fortunate position where his family can move if they feel they need to. “If these bills do go through we will move,” said Ash. “And I also know plenty of people who this is definitely not the case for, especially trans friends I have who are not out, and who have unsupportive parents who they might get forcibly outed to by schools for presenting trans behaviors. They can’t move because the bills are being passed, because their parents don’t know. They can’t do anything about it. They will have to perform according to the gender roles of the sex they were assigned at birth, so as not to get kicked out of home, or not to be outed. And I definitely know people who are not financially able to leave the state.”Would leaving North Carolina be a huge change, this reporter asked Ash.“I have lived in North Carolina my whole life,” Ash said. “We moved to a new town this last year, and we are just feeling settled. I do not want to move because of this. It is definitely a big deal to be effectively uprooting my entire life, and not being able to be in contact with my friends anymore. It’s not something I want to do, but I will have to it if this legislation is passed.”“People are realizing how dumb bigotry is.” Madi said her school experience right now was “great. I haven’t been torn down by anybody that I know of. Everybody who I have told has been supportive. I don’t think many of my teachers know. Only some of my friends and the principal, so learning has been normal. My life has been normal.” It was “trickier” at a previous school, where fellow pupils were less supportive. “When I first transitioned in fourth grade, people would call me ‘It,’ and they wouldn’t address me by my preferred pronouns. That hasn’t really stuck with me because I was so young, and they didn’t know what they were talking about either.”The present debates have reminded Justin Sykes of the HB2 era. He finds it exhausting, “having to tell cis straight men again and again that I exist, and that my existence is valid. It’s just different than yours. It’s like, ‘Why are you trying to control me? Leave my body alone. Worry about your own life.’ On the flip side, it is bringing more awareness and making our voices heard in the mainstream. We’re not a small group hiding in the corner. We are making big contributions in society. People are realizing how dumb bigotry is.” Allyship, for Sykes—who is looking to a possible career in social justice and community organizing—is not just helping with political activism, but can be “smaller, being respectful, use someone’s proper pronouns.”As a Black trans man, Sykes said he experienced “a double whammy. I always have to explain my Blackness in queer spaces and my queerness in Black spaces. There are very few spaces where I can just exist and not have to justify why I’m there.” Appalachian State is a “very white school, the many spaces I work in are very white. Many times I find myself here having to create the queer spaces and the Black spaces. And it's exhausting in some ways. I also know that in creating these spaces I am building bridges for other people and helping my department become more diverse. Hopefully, I’m making things easier for the people coming up behind me.”Madi hopes people talk about the bills more, “and realize what’s going on,” lobby their representatives, sign petitions, and show their support. A recent group chat on the subject at school only yielded 2 positive responses, which disappointed her. Her mom Katie feels like parents of cis kids do not realize their kids would be impacted by aspects of the sports bill, which will include invasive physical examinations of children. Craig is a nurse, and the notion anyone could be refused medical care on the grounds of religion “would go against every single reason why he became a nurse. There are very real issues that need dealing with around girls and women’s sports—like coaches who sexually assault the people they’re training, and disparities in resources compared to male sports—but trans people playing sports is not an issue. And the outing of children around perceived ‘gender non-conformity could put kids in very dangerous situations.”Ash’s two major hopes and ambitions for the future are to study creative writing at MIT. His other interest is epidemiology. “I find viruses fascinating. This past year I have gotten into the virus-nerding aspects of the pandemic. And I’m definitely going to keep living, and even if it’s not in this state I am going to keep fighting for the rights of trans people who still live here.”“Seeking a license to discriminate is not new in America,” Kendra R. Johnson of Equality NC told The Daily Beast, but it was “particularly cruel” when aimed at the trans community, given the high levels of discrimination and marginalization they already face. “Legislators don’t understand the blood they have on their hands when they propose these measures without sitting down with their constituency to understand conditions of all the people in their constituency. Words matter. Actions matter. The bills are solutions to problems that don’t exist.”These words and actions are attacks on trans people, and send out a dangerous, wider message about them, Johnson said. “Legislators should work to serve the full community, not only the vocal parts of the community that are spewing hate. Their role as legislators should be to improve access to education, health care, employment, and safety for everyone, not sanctioning hate against a greatly misunderstood portion of the population. They should be working to build a state where everyone can thrive, instead of creating a situation where only certain people deemed worthy have access to basic human rights.” Allies of trans people need to get involved and support trans people actively, Johnson said, lobbying legislators, donating money, and offering their time. In Arkansas, Breshears asks trans allies to donate to local pro-trans equality organizations, like the ACLU of Arkansas, and to find ways to let trans youth in the state “know that you love and see them and wherever you are you’re going to keep fighting for them.”How is Breshears managing day to day? “It’s a struggle, I’m not going to lie,” she said. “I’m just trying to take as much time for myself as I possibly can.”“I have thought a lot about leaving Arkansas,” Breshears added. “But these bills remind me about how much work there is to do here. I am definitely in it for the long run.”Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
Data: CSSE Johns Hopkins University; Map: Andrew Witherspoon/AxiosThe number of new coronavirus infections in the U.S continues to rise, making a quick, clean end to the pandemic less and less likely.The big picture: Much of the U.S. is relying almost exclusively on vaccines to control the virus, abandoning social distancing and other safety measures. And that’s helping the virus to steadily gain ground even as vaccinations barrel ahead.Get market news worthy of your time with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free.By the numbers: The U.S. averaged roughly 71,000 new cases per day over the past week. That’s about a 9% jump over the daily average from the week before.The number of new cases rose over the past week in 25 states, and only declined in six.Why it matters: Another surge in cases is likely to be a lot less deadly than previous waves, because so many vulnerable Americans have been vaccinated. But it will provide fertile conditions for the virus to continue mutating into new variants, keeping the coronavirus in our lives even longer.The bottom line: The less you do to control the coronavirus, the harder it becomes to control the coronavirus in the future. Each week, Axios tracks the change in new infections in each state. We use a seven-day average to minimize the effects of day-to-day discrepancies in states’ reporting.Like this article? Get more from Axios and subscribe to Axios Markets for free.
A nearly century-long effort to explicitly enshrine gender equality in the United States constitution may finally be coming to a head From left to right, Jerry Nadler, Veronica Escobar, Carolyn Maloney, Nancy Pelosi, Jackie Speier, Brenda Lawrence and Lois Frankel at a news conference after the House passage of a bill aimed at advancing the Equal Rights Amendment in Washington on 17 March. Photograph: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters With renewed attention on anti-discrimination policies following the #MeToo movement and a record number of women serving in Congress, a nearly century-long effort to explicitly enshrine gender equality in the United States constitution may finally be coming to a head. If the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) were incorporated into America’s founding document, it would represent a huge victory for women and people across the gender spectrum, whose fundamental rights are too often tied to partisan disagreements. But amid legal controversies, disingenuous talking points and a chronic lack of urgency, the landmark amendment still faces an uphill battle. “It’s outrageous – a scandal, quite frankly – that women still have to be in the begging position for their rights,” said Carol Jenkins, president and chief executive of the ERA Coalition and the Fund for Women’s Equality. First drafted in 1923 and revised over the years, the proposed article is a constitutional guarantee that the “equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex”. It would also give Congress the power to enforce gender equality through legislation, and would take effect two years after ratification. Proponents argue the ERA would send a powerful signal and be used as a tool to effectively challenge restrictions and loopholes currently undermining people’s hard-won protections. As chronicled in last year’s hit television series Mrs America, the fight for the ERA ramped up in the 1970s, bolstered by a strong feminist movement. But it quickly garnered enemies in the form of conservatives with traditional values, who would eventually ensure its demise. It’s outrageous – a scandal, quite frankly – that women still have to be in the begging position for their rights Carol Jenkins When Congress passed the ERA in 1972, lawmakers imposed a seven-year deadline for ratification by at least 38 states. That time limit eventually got extended to 1982, but in the meantime, anti-feminist attacks haunted messaging around the amendment, stifling progress. By the early 1980s, proponents were only able to drum up support from 35 states – three short of the required threshold – even as Nebraska, Tennessee, Idaho, Kentucky and South Dakota tried to invalidate their previous decisions to ratify. “We will not again seriously pursue the ERA until we’ve made a major dent in changing the composition of Congress as well as the state legislatures,” said Eleanor Smeal, then the president of the National Organization for Women. The ERA languished for decades, nominally re-introduced in Congress year after year but largely sidelined and ignored. Then, during Donald Trump’s incendiary tenure that brought the plight of American women into stark relief, three holdout states, Nevada, Illinois and Virginia, ratified back to back. Suddenly, nearly 100 years of advocacy had reached its apex: the endorsement of 38 states. But the former president’s justice department claimed the new ratifications didn’t pass muster, setting up a showdown over whether Congress’ arbitrary deadline rendered them moot. Last month, a federal judge weighed in, dismissing arguments made by several state attorneys general who were trying to get the ERA certified as the 28th amendment. The deadline “expired long ago”, the judge wrote, and recent ratifications “came too late to count”. Similarly, debate persists over whether the five states that tried to rescind, withdraw or sunset their approvals can actually do so, although precedent around past amendments suggests they probably can’t. In March, North Dakota lawmakers nevertheless voted to rescind their support as well. Despite so many roadblocks, the ERA’s proponents are still looking for ways to finish the work their predecessors started soon after successfully advocating for the right to vote. “Really, at this point, I think we’re just trying to get it done. We’re just trying to get this on the books,” said Robin Bleiweis, a research associate with the Women’s Initiative at the Center for American Progress. Last year, and again several weeks ago, the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives voted largely along partisan lines to remove the ERA’s congressional deadline, shirking the justice department’s guidance under Trump. The amendment now faces an uncertain fate in the Senate, where only two Republicans – Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins – have jumped onboard. While anti-abortion lawmakers lean hard on the lightning rod as their reason to oppose the ERA, advocates are trying to convince a larger cohort of right-leaning senators such as Shelley Moore Capito and Mitt Romney to cross party lines. “We’ve lived this way, unequally, for as long as we’ve been in existence, and to some extent we can’t quite grasp that we actually can change this,” Jenkins said. “But it requires now, at this moment, 60 votes in the Senate.” If all other options flounder, Congress can always propose the amendment anew, restarting the ratification process. “We’re never gonna give up – never, ever, ever,” the New York representative Carolyn Maloney, an outspoken champion of the amendment, told the Guardian. “Failure’s impossible.” Carolyn Maloney on Capitol Hill in Washington DC on 24 August 2020. Photograph: Tom Williams/AFP/Getty Images Without the ERA, Americans are left at the whims of three mercurial government branches, which can bolster rights but also take them away. Attorneys have been able to secure major triumphs for women by arguing that the 14th amendment, which mandates “the equal protection of the laws”, applies to gender equality. But not everyone on the bench agrees. “Certainly the constitution does not require discrimination on the basis of sex. The only issue is whether it prohibits it. It doesn’t,” the late supreme court justice Antonin Scalia said. If the ERA were to succeed, individuals would finally be armed with irrefutable proof of their right to gender equality under the constitution. That, in turn, could help them defend themselves from discrimination and prevent their lives and livelihoods from becoming political footballs. “I don’t think that our rights should be dependent on who has the majority in Congress, or who’s the speaker, or who’s the majority leader in the Senate, or who’s the president, or who’s on the supreme court,” Maloney said. “If you are bedrock protected in the constitution, then they can’t roll back your rights. They have to work off that document.” The ERA enjoys overwhelming support, with backing from anywhere between 78% and 94% of Americans, according to two surveys. Life under Trump made clear to many citizens that misogyny still underpins American society and government. The single-term commander-in-chief was elected to the nation’s highest office in 2016 despite his comments about grabbing women by the genitals, on tape. He has faced few repercussions for more than 20 sexual misconduct allegations lodged against him. Just after Trump’s inauguration, millions took to the streets for the Women’s March, the largest single-day protest in US history. Soon, pink “pussyhats” – a reference to his degrading and predatory comments about women – became a symbol of resistance. A demonstrator holds a sign supporting the Equal Rights Amendment in Washington DC on 19 January. Photograph: Joshua Roberts/Reuters But as critics decried Trump’s alleged misconduct and vitriol, he spent four years elevating policies and people on the wrong side of women’s rights – perhaps most famously Brett Kavanaugh, another alleged perpetrator. After televised, high-profile hearings watched by millions, where Christine Blasey Ford carefully recounted how Kavanaugh violated her, he nevertheless slid onto the Supreme Court for a lifetime appointment. Two years later, so did Amy Coney Barrett, a judge who’s notoriously ambivalent on reproductive rights. Their confirmations – alongside the appointments of more than 200 federal judges, many of them ideological and rightwing – underscored the serious risks that exist in a world without the ERA. “A lot of what has been gained is judge-made law, and you can rest on your laurels and think it’s all secure. But in fact, there’s a long history of the courts eroding and diminishing rights previously recognized by the courts,” said John Kowal, vice-president of programs at the Brennan Center for Justice. Meanwhile, the safeguards that currently exist have failed to shield American women from an endless cycle of hardship and victimization. In a country that has never elected a female president, where women still make 82 cents to a man’s dollar, a whopping 42% of working women say they have suffered gender discrimination while on the job. Almost one in five women experience completed or attempted rape, while nearly one in four are subjected to severe physical violence by an intimate partner. Even though the supreme court established the right to an abortion back in the 1970s, state legislatures are still waging a war against comprehensive reproductive care, introducing more than 500 abortion restrictions this year alone. And, faced with the US’s segregated labor market amid a recession connected to the coronavirus pandemic, women have shed a net 5.4m jobs – a million more than their male counterparts. “Gender inequality is rarely talked about like a crisis,” Bleiweis said. “Long-term, disparate treatment that, you know, pushes people into poverty, into violence – that is absolutely a crisis, and should be treated as such.”
Gov. McMaster’s announcement came hours after a group on behalf of private schools and institutions sued the state, saying they should get money, too.
It’s not the most common recipe of the modern era, but USC does have Kevin Harris and MarShawn Lloyd. Will their running game be enough?
The group’s guiding principle is “What can I do to position Greenville to win?” And when it comes to business in South Carolina, Greenville is indeed winning.
The series features the Queen and Prince Philip with their great-grandchildren.
We're guessing a million miles passed beneath its wheels over the years.
The least expensive version of the VW ID.3 is going on sale in Europe, but there are a few good reasons VW isn't offering it here.
SIGNATURE BANK TO HOST 2021 FIRST QUARTER RESULTS CONFERENCE CALL
New needs and new features have resulted in strong growth for segments of the imaging industry in the second half of 2020, as well as the first two months of 2021. According to The NPD Group Retail Tracking Service, camcorders and mirrorless camera unit sales in the U.S. were up 13% and 9%, respectively during the second half of 2020 (July - Dec.). This growth reached 24% and 18%, respectively, during the first two months of 2021.