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The second system consisted of a pair of Focal Sopra No.3 speakers ($33,798/pair) and electronics by Musical Fidelity, about which: EQ Audio owner Ed O’Herlihy prefaced my auditioning of this system by declaring: “I dub myself the Canadian ambassador of Musical Fidelity. I’m going to rebuild the brand come hell or high water. They just punch so high above their weight.” On display were the Musical Fidelity streaming MX-DAC ($969), M8SPRE preamp ($6500), and a pair of M8S-700M mono amps ($5590/each). Cabling and power conditioning were by Audience.
On a variety of music streamed via Tidal, both systems displayed power, excellent dynamics, and tentacle-like in-room extension. They also produced images that were clearly demarcated at various depths and heights across a deep and wide soundstage.

More specifically, on the Monitor Audio-centered system, I noted—literally noted, on my writing pad—how it delivered an airy, uncluttered sense of wide-open space and deep-diving transparency, along with vivid tones, stygian bass impact, and a chunky—dare I say ballsy—musical momentum.
On the Focal-centered system, I noted the size of it images—huge in this high-ceilinged space—its startling bass impact, the lusciousness of its acoustic sounds, the in-my-face—in a good way—intimacy of its vocal renditions, and its uncanny ability to make sounds appear behind me.
In the end, they both charmed my pants off, figuratively speaking.
(All prices in Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted.)

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In the world of record production, Toronto’s Adam Feeney is no longer putting up his Dukes.
The 39-year-old Feeney, who, as Frank Dukes, has factored in sales upwards of 50 million records either producing or creating samples for Drake, The Weeknd, Shawn Mendes, Daniel Caesar, Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Post Malone, Camila Cabello, Lorde, Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar among others, has not only retired the moniker, but also his producer-for-hire status.
Moving forward, Feeney will be known as Ging (a play on his middle name, King,) and take on a role that throughout his 20-year career, he swore he’d forego: that of recording artist and performer.
Feeney released his debut album, “We’re Here, My Dear,” independently on Nov. 11, and the most intriguing question surrounding the project is, what changed to make him consider an artistic rebirth?
“I think my life’s changed,” said Feeney over a Zoom call while he was holidaying in Japan.
“For so long, I wanted to accomplish something. With Frank Dukes, I think I came to that point in my career as a record producer where I got a lot of the things that I thought I wanted. Arriving at that moment makes you sort of re-evaluate what it is that you now want, and that started a chain reaction in my life that started with my career but sort of transcended into every part of my life.”
Feeney shared that there were some radical transitions in his personal life.
“When I started an inventory, I started really changing,” explained the father of two. “My relationship with the mother of my children — we had been together for 10 years — resulted in separation and that was a huge change. We lived in California and co-parented, and for me it was like, making this record and becoming an artist, it wasn’t a frivolous desire that I was repressing to be an artist. It was kind of out of a sense of urgency — of exploring myself as a person — and then knowing that I wanted to make art.
“At the beginning, I didn’t necessarily know what that meant for me exactly.”
Feeney said he initially entertained the prospect of making a Frank Dukes producer album featuring many of his high-profile superstar friends, but then soured on the idea.
“In the back of my head, as Frank Dukes, I thought maybe as a producer record I’d get my friends to be featured on it,” he admitted. “That was the first place my mind went: maybe I’ll make a producer-artist album. But that felt really unchallenging for me — not vulnerable and not scary enough.
“Everything I’ve done in my career had some sort of excitement coupled with the right kind of fear. The fear of, ‘am I going to be able to do this?’ Doing a producer record would have been really safe and comfortable, especially because when I was making records as Frank Dukes, I never really had an ambition to be the artist. I was never sitting in a studio with the artist thinking, ‘that’s supposed to be me.’”
But the lure of the unknown served as a catalyst for “We’re Here, My Dear,” a nine-song alt rock effort that’s very much an ode to love.
In fact, Feeney’s voice is reminiscent of Smashing Pumpkins’ Billy Corgan — something that surprised him as much as those that will listen to this record — mainly because Feeney had never even heard his own singing voice prior to creating “We’re Here, My Dear.”
“As a record producer, I’d write songs for people all the time and I’d never record my voice singing,” said Feeney, no slouch as a songwriter with such chart-toppers as The Jonas Brothers “Sucker,” Camila Cabello’s “Havana,” the Shawn Mendes/Justin Bieber duet “Monster” and Post Malone “Wow” among his credentials.
“Even the formation of my singing voice was forming in real time. I started singing maybe three years ago — and to my surprise — that’s what my voice sounded like.”
As for “We’re Here, My Dear,” named after the first full song Feeney ever wrote for himself, he said the project is “really influenced by the records I grew up with — like The Beatles and Nirvana and sonically and texturally like Wu-Tang and RZA’s productions.
“I think that’s like the foundation of everything for me — almost the core of the music I followed first as a child. And that process of disseminating almost where I was at with Frank Dukes and almost going back to his core as an artist was a really important part of the process for me.
“The foundation that I want to build Ging on … I want that to be the foundation for me to merge all my worlds together where the new music that I’m making is a lot more exploratory and experimental and free and colourful and fun, because that’s also where I’m at, at this moment in my life.
“I finished writing ‘We’re Here, My Dear’ two years ago. It was very indicative of where I was at in my life. It’s a record that has a purpose that is intentional and is a period of my life that was very serious and very emotional that I want to share.”
Speaking of merging his worlds, his legacy as Frank Dukes is far from dead. It was as that persona that Feeney served as mentor and helped evolve a number of local talents ranging from Charlotte Day Wilson and BadBadNotGood to Daniel Caesar, Mustafa and River Tibor on to bigger and better things.
He created and owns the Kingswood Music Library — with one volume of it called Parkscapes including performances by Regent Park School of Music students, part of which was sampled by Taylor Swift for her song “It’s Nice To Have Friends” on her 2019 album “Lover” — and the proceeds of that sample library has financed — and continues to finance — D’Bi Anitafrika’s Who Am I workshop, a program designed to help young artists and creatives connect with their cultural roots and express them through both visual and musical arts.
While he was transitioning from Frank Dukes to Ging, issuing an earlier “The Ghost of Frank Dukes” project called “The Way of Ging,” Feeney also issued a number of NFTs (nonfungible tokens) and tipped a toe into Web 3.
“That exploration had taught me a lot,” he said. “I got really excited about the prospect of the future and I still am. ‘NFT’ feels like a little bit of a dirty word now, but even the web 3 in general, the evolution of the internet, and this idea of ownership and artists rewriting the rules — it’s still an exciting prospect and I really believe that in the future — I don’t know when, I don’t know how — but that’s where we’re all going.
“It is going to revolutionize the models for everything, especially for art and creators. This idea of generative music and building a music library that exists in Web 3 — really, the first of its kind — felt like throwing a party that started at midnight and I showed up at 1 p.m. to DJ and wondering, ‘where is everybody?’
“I realized that I was working with a niche within a niche: the producer market that is into NFTs, and ultimately my goal with that was an experiment to explore a radical concept in generative music and a music library and in experimenting with sampling, which has always been in the ethos of my world.
Next up for Ging is performance, and Feeney said that he’s performed in L.A. and Paris thus far, and promises a Toronto appearance at some point in 2023.
In the meantime, as tracks like “Never Want To Leave,” “Miracles,” “Dear Boy” and “Can You See Me” continue to attract more fans into the Ging fold, Adam Feeney is willing to bide his time and soak in and grow with this new chapter of his life.
“As a person I constantly shift and change, and all my ideas of how I thought I was supposed to do this have changed over the course of doing it,” he concluded. “The music is precious to me, but the way of sharing it doesn’t need to be so precious. I make music. I love making music and I want to continue to share making music.
“It’s almost that simple.”

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Kevin Allen Music Production will perform at a Holiday Kickoff Party at Lawrence Preserve on Nov. 19. Tickets are $12 for one, or $20 for two.

Kevin Allen Music Production will perform at a Holiday Kickoff Party at Lawrence Preserve on Nov. 19. Tickets are $12 for one, or $20 for two.
Local band Kevin Allen Music Production will perform at a Holiday Kickoff Concert on Nov. 19 at Lawrence Preserve.
The concert will feature dance music for guests to enjoy.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the concert begins at 7:30 p.m.
“This is a great band that have male and female vocalists,” said Lawrence Preserve General Manager Todd Williams. They play a lot of Motown, R&B and current pop. It’s a great party band. They’ll play music that’s fun to dance to whether it’s dance music or even some soul.”
The concert coincides with the club’s Turkey Tennis tournament happening that weekend. The concert will double as the players’ party.
Tickets are $12 for one or $20 for two. There will be a full bar selling drinks and the Sauce on the Side food truck will be set up for guests to buy food. Tickets are available online at Eventbrite.com by searching “KAMP”
There will also be multiple televisions showing college football.
“We’re encouraging the public to come out and have a great time with us at this concert and party,” Williams said. “They’ll tap their toes and sing along and feel like dancing all night. Come enjoy the music and the full bar in a great location with excellent views you can’t get downtown.”
Lawrence Preserve is located off Horseleg Creek Road at 127 Winding Rd.

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ACA residency call for artists
Atlantic Center for the Arts in New Smyrna Beach is seeking artists for Residency No. 188 from Feb. 12 to March 4.
Residency No. 188 will feature writer Susanna Sonnenberg and mentoring artists with Judd Greenstein, a composer/performer, and Dean Haspiel, a cartoonist.
Application deadline is Nov. 27. Residencies are free at ACA, but there is a $25 registration fee. To register: atlanticcenterforthearts.org/mentoring-artist/susanna-sonnenberg/.
Gallery extends deadline for alternative space
Arts on Douglas alt_space gallery has extended the deadline for 2023-24 exhibit proposals until midnight Monday, Dec. 5.
The gallery is a space dedicated to Florida artists working in a variety of artistic genres using experimental practices and alternative processes. The gallery hosts a total of six exhibits a year with each display on view for six weeks.
Florida artists age 18 or older may apply. Individual and group exhibit proposals will be considered. Applying artists must not have current gallery representation in Volusia County. There is no fee to apply.
For more information, visit artsondouglas.net or artsondouglas.submittable.com.
Atlantic Center for the Arts
Atlantic Center for the Arts is having an open call for previous associate artists from its residency program to participate in the inaugural Inforbahn Exhibit.
Submission deadline is Dec. 2. Exhibit dates will be Feb. 11 to May 6.
Second Saturday Soundwalk will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 12, at Canaveral National Seashore Apollo Beach Visitor’s Center. Featuring a listening prompt for those who are hard of hearing, deaf or experience tinnitus, and an ASL interpreter on-site. Free with park admission. Open to everyone. Limited to 20 participants. For a reservation, visit atlanticcenterforthearts.org/store/soundwalk/.
Southeast Museum of Photography will present Andrew Sovjani from Nov. 17 to Feb. 6 at Pabst Visitor Center & Gallery, 1414 Art Center Ave., New Smyrna Beach. An opening reception will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 17. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday to Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.
Stacey Fletcher: Silver Linings will be on display until Nov. 25 at ACA Downtown: Arts on Douglas, in the Feature Gallery, 123 Douglas St, New Smyrna Beach. An artist’s talk will be at 11 a.m. Friday, Nov. 18
Jan Tomlinson Master: Configured will be on display until Dec. 9 in the alt_space Gallery. An artist’s talk will be at 11 a.m. Dec. 9.
Gallery hours at Arts on Douglas are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday to Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.
For more information, call (386) 427-6975.
Artists Workshop
Artists Workshop of New Smyrna Beach offers adult classes and workshops in the studio at 540 Barracuda Blvd.
Upcoming workshops are Capturing the Light, Nov. 12-13, and “Simplifying the Landscape” en plein air, Nov. 14, both workshops with Manon Sander.
Studio hours are 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Friday.
The exhibit “Florida Then and Now” will be on display to Nov. 30 and “Deck the Walls” will be on display Dec. 3 to 30 at the Gallery on Canal at 115 Canal St. Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday with First Saturday hours extended to 7 p.m.
For more information, email [email protected], call (386) 424-9254 or visit artistsworkshopinc.com.
Hub on Canal
The Hub on Canal has workshops and classes at 132 Canal St., New Smyrna Beach.
The Founders Gallery will host “Visionary Realms,” paintings by Denise Vezza Maggiore on display until Nov. 27.
•Advanced 2-D Art Course for grades sixth to 12 with Lisa Carlson will meet from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Mondays, Nov. 7, 14, 21. Students will build on their 2-D art production skills, featuring classical drawing, light and shadow. The fee is $110 for the three-workshop series. All materials provided. For the 2022-23 full course description, visit smore.com/a9vqy.
Tickets and tables are available online for Friday Night Fever – The Hub on Canal fourth annual Affair of the HeART Gala, which will be from 6 to 10 .m. Friday, Nov. 18, at the Brannon Center, 105 S. Riverside Drive, New Smyrna Beach.
Individual tickets are $125; the cost is $700 for a club table for four; and $1200 for a reserved table for eight. For tickets or tables, visit hubsignatureevents.org.
For sponsor opportunities, call Richard England, HUB president, at (781) 883-8987.
Undoing the Blues – Cyanotype Workshop with Judy Pickett will meet from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 12. Learn to alter the traditional blue and white color scheme of a cyanotype print. The fee is $55 for members; $65 for non-members (plus $10 supplies fee paid to instructor on day of workshop). Limited enrollment. For more information, email [email protected].
Art in the Form of Film with Paul Marino will show “Good Will Hunting” (1997) from 5:45 to 9 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 12. Mr. Marino will introduce the film, raise questions to ponder and host a post-viewing discussion. The cost is $7 includes glass of wine or bottle of water.
Painting with Morris Wiener will meet from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday, Nov. 14, Learn the basics of oil painting and leave the workshop with your own creation. No mineral spirits will be used. The fee is $50 for members and $60 for non-members (plus $10 supplies fee paid to instructor on day of workshop). Limited enrollment.
Painting With Mops and Other Unusual Tools, A Demonstration by Jules Silver will meet from 1 to 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19. Mr. Silver combines the ancient Japanese and Chinese art of calligraphy and movement with non-representational abstract art. The demonstration is free and open to the public
The third annual The Spirit of Christmas will be Sunday, Nov. 13, to Monday, Dec. 26.
The Giving Tree opens Sunday, Nov. 13. Donations, large or small, help decorate the tree. Every dollar donated goes towards The Hub’s Summer or Winter Art Camp scholarships for students.
•Painting Foundations with Mary Gerlach meets 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Tuesdays. The fee is $20 per class (bring your own supplies). To register, call (386) 846-3104.
•Jewelry Making and Design with Debbie Moser meets from 4 to 5:45 p.m. Fridays. The cost is $20 per class (materials and basic tools provided). To register, email [email protected].
•Group Ukulele with Sally Mackay meets multiple times during the week. The cost is $20 per class. To register, call (386) 235-4140.
•Elevate your Drawing Skills with Bob Stinziano will be from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. each Monday. All skill levels welcome. The fee is $20 per class. Space is limited. To register, call (386) 944-9249 or email [email protected].
•French language classes with Yveline Del Villar are offered multiple times during the week. The fee is $20 per class. To register, email [email protected] or call (407) 760-7355.
•Benvenuto in Italia! with Joanne Kehrli will meet Tuesdays with beginners 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. and intermediate 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. The fee is $96 for eight-week. To register call (703) 727-7897 or email [email protected].
•Harmonica with Farley Palmer will meet from 6 to 8 p.m. second Thursday of each month. Open to students of all levels. The fee is $10 per class.
Volunteers are needed for the reception desk, special events, outreach programs, promotional events, building maintenance and most all areas of operations.
For more information or to register for classes, visit thehuboncanal.org or call (386) 957-3924.
Jane’s Art Center
Jane’s Art Center will host the exhibit Dreamscapes by Featured Artist Dave Bowers to Nov. 25 at 199 Downing St., New Smyrna Beach.
Beginning Hand-Building & Wheel-Throwing Ceramic Workshops will meet throughout November.
One-Day Ceramic Classes for adults and children will meet throughout November.
Admission is free. For more information or to register, visit janesartcenter.com or call (386) 402-8673.
Photography exhibit
Fine Art Photographer Robyn Cowlan will exhibit her work to Feb. 28 at Environmental Discovery Center, 601 Division Ave., Ormond Beach.
The center will offer a Thanksgiving crafts project for ages 4 to 11 from 11 a.m. to noon Saturday, Nov. 19. Space is limited. For a reservation, call (386) 615-7081.
The center is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday. For more information, call (386) 615-7081.
Xpress Yourself Art Classes in November
Xpress Yourself, a community-based art program, will host classes in November.
The program supplies the materials. This month participants are decorating pumpkins with fluid art.
Class will meet from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 14, at The Extension of Alberto’s Pizza, 4036 S. Nova Road, Port Orange.
Class will meet from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 16, at Schnebly Center, 1101 N. Atlantic Ave., Daytona Beach.
For more information, call (386) 500-8589 or visit xpress-your-self.com.
Art League of Daytona Beach
The Art League of Daytona Beach annual “Members’ Showcase” awards exhibit will be on display until Nov. 13 at 433 S. Palmetto St., Daytona Beach.
Beaux Arts Annual Members’ Exhibit will be on display from Sunday, Nov. 20 to Sunday, Dec. 18. An opening reception will be from 1-4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 20.
For more information, visit artleague.org or call (386) 947-7103.
Museum of Arts & Sciences
The Museum of Arts & Sciences offers events and exhibits at 352 S. Nova Road, Daytona Beach.
Pacific Exotics: The Woodblock Prints of Paul Jacoulet will be on display until Jan. 15. Mr. Jacoulet designed a set of woodblock prints that are beautifully composed, visually exciting and masterfully produced.
Tinker Day will be from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 12. MOAS educators and GE volunteers will lead a day of tinkering and building. Different stations will be set up so families can work together to dismantle and explore the inner workings of various pieces of technology. Free for members or with paid museum admission.
Movie Night in the Lohman Planetarium will show “Top Gun: Maverick” at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 18. Popcorn and snacks will be available at the concession stand. Arrive at least 15 minutes before event start time. Advanced tickets are recommended by calling (386) 255-0285. Tickets are $10 for members, $12 for non-members.
The Volusia County Chess Club 2022 Championship will be from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19. Free to members or with paid museum admission.
“Minor Masterpieces: Porcelain Painted Scenes from the Collection” will be on display to Dec. 4. The exhibit highlights miniature scenes, some of which were painted by highly-regarded painters, and shows the mostly forgotten technique, once considered essential for the well-dressed table.
“Tech Savvy: Home Technology from 1890s to the 1990s” will be on display until Dec. 4.
“Key West: Southernmost USA” exhibit is on display. Explore the southernmost point of the continental United States.
The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.
For more information or to register for classes or events, call (386) 255-0285 or visit moas.org.
Ormond Memorial Art Museum
Ormond Memorial Art Museum is hosting more than 100 pieces of the Colored Pencil Society of America’s 30th Annual International Exhibition at 78 E. Granada Blvd., Ormond Beach.
“Gratitude” Sunset Sound Bath on the Rooftop Terrace will be from 5 to 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 21. Participants will use a combination of crystal singing bowls, shruti box, drumming, chimes and vocals. Participants should dress cozy, bring a yoga mat, a pillow and blanket. An intention journaling prompt will be provided when guests arrive, and herbal eye masks will be available to buy. Advanced registration encouraged. The cost is $40 for museum members; $45 for non-members.
For more information, visit ormondartmuseum.org or call (386) 676-3347.
ArtHaus classes
ArtHaus offers several classes at 3840 Ridgewood Ave., Port Orange.
Acrylic Painting Class for ages 18 and older will meet from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturdays. The classes are taught by professional artists Aaron Shelton and Savannah Zanosky. These are two-class sessions and supplies are included. Each class is $60 and includes a professionally hand-stretched canvas.
Arts After School will meet from 4 to 5p.m. Tuesdays for ages 5 and older. The cost is $20 per class and all supplies are included. Registration is required.
For more information or to register, call (386) 767-0076 or visit arthaus.org.
Celebrating history
The Ponce Inlet Historical Museum will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Meyer-Davis House at the Ponce Inlet Historical Museum.
One aspect of the celebration is the “Preserving Ponce History Youth Art Contest,” which is open to any Ponce Inlet school-aged resident. Students’ art should highlight:
What would life be like as a children, having fun and living in the Meyer-Davis House, in 1922?
The museum at 143 Beach St. highlights some of the things children did around the 1920s. Take a free tour from 10 a.m, to 2 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday and get inspired to create art for the contest.
Students’ submissions must be received by town staff no later than Friday, Nov. 18. Limit one entry per eligible student.
One winner will be selected from Elementary (K-5), Middle (6-8), and High School (9-12), and will receive a certificate from the Town Council and their art will be on display at the museum on the anniversary celebration.
Mail or drop off submissions to Ponce Inlet Town Hall; Attention: Jennifer LaGreca, Historical Museum Art Contest, 4300 S. Atlantic Ave. Ponce Inlet, FL 32127
For more information, email [email protected] or call (386) 761-2408.
Founder’s Day Celebration
Stetson University’s Gillespie Museum will host a Founder’s Day Celebration from 10 a.m. to noon, Saturday, Nov. 12 at 234 E. Michigan Ave., DeLand.
There will be some special activities to check out and a new exhibit on mineral pigments.
For more information, call(386) 822-7330.
African American Museum Of the Art
African American Museum of the Art will host an exhibit by Joy Hayes, “As a Woman Painteth,” starting Saturday, Nov. 12, at 325 S. Clara Ave., DeLand.
Ms. Hayes is a multidimensional artist who has worked with a variety of media and techniques, but she is most recognized for her large-scale pastel illustrations of famous individuals.
An opening reception will be from 4 to 6 p.m. Saturday. Admission is free and open to the public.
The exhibit will be on display until Jan. 14. Museum is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday and Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. For more information, call (386) 736-4004 or africanmuseumdeland.org.
West Volusia Artist
The West Volusia Artists will meet to share and paint from 9 a.m. to noon, Friday, Nov. 18, at the Sanborn Center, 815 S. Alabama Ave., Deland.
Artists of all levels are welcome to attend.
For more information, contact Melinda Cummings, president, at (386) 846-3330.
Deltona Art Show Reception
The Deltona Art Club will host a reception from 4-7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19, for the fall art show at the Enterprise Museum at 360 Main St.
All are welcome. Enjoy original art by local artists at affordable prices. Admission is free.
For more information, email [email protected].
Museum of Art-DeLand
Museum of Art-DeLand will host Family Fun Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19, Museum of Art-DeLand.
All visitors enjoy free gallery admission to each of the museum’s exhibits and galleries. Plus, they’ll be offering a free hands-on art activity for kids at their 600 N. Woodland Blvd.
Robert Shetterly’s “Americans Who Tell the Truth, Portraits of Activists” is on exhibit until Dec. 11 at 600 N. Woodland Blvd., DeLand.
Mr. Shetterly, 75, an activist and self-taught artist, has been painting outspoken Americans for more than 20 years. More than 50 of his portraits will be featured.
Najee Dorsey’s Southern Crossroads will be featured at the Museum of Art-DeLand until Dec. 23 at 100 N. Woodland Blvd.
For more information, call (386) 734-4371 or email [email protected].
Gateway Center for the Arts
Gateway Center for the Arts hosts pottery classes for adults from noon to 2 p.m. each Wednesday at 880 N. U.S. 17/92, DeBary.
Classes are for beginner and intermediate students. Each session is $50. Masks are required and class sizes are limited.
Open Studio is at 10 a.m. each Tuesday.
A Stained Glass class with Frank Alderfer will meet from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. each Wednesday until Nov. 16. A lunch break will be from noon to 1 p.m. The cost is $199 for the nine-week session. Each class is $40.
Volunteers are needed and can participate in events and shows for free, while also gaining credit for future classes and shows.
For more information or a reservation, call (386) 668-5553 or visit gatewaycenterforthearts.org.
Youth Choir
The Singsations Youth Choir for ages 7-13 will have rehearsals from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Wednesdays to December at Dickinson Memorial Library and Hall, 148 Albertus Way. Orange City. For more information, call (386) 216-9917.
The Singphony Youth Chorus for girls and boys from fourth to eighth grade will meet from 3:45 to 5 p.m. each Wednesday at 880 N. U.S. 17/92, DeBary. Tuition is $175 per semester and $25 chorus fee from August to December. The holiday concert will be at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 9.
For more information, call (386) 668-1060.
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Brisbane

Posted 11 Nov 2022
Closes 11 Dec 2022
GYROstream is looking for an experienced DistroDirect Product & Client Relations Specialist to work across its DistroDirect white label product. 
A market disruptive White Label B2B (Business to Business) SaaS (Software as a Service) solution, DistroDirect provides a fully customizable and automated distribution platform, delivering music to over 100 DSPs globally including Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, Deezer, TikTok and more. The platform allows any music company to add digital distribution to their current business services, to scale their artist network and increase revenue for their business. Since launching in 2020, DistroDirect has welcomed over 250 hyper-local micro-distributors in over 35 markets globally.
You will assist the senior management team to coordinate the onboarding, day to day communications and premium client services for all existing DistroDirect B2B clients. A quick learner and early adopter of new technologies, systems and processes, you will be required to know the DistroDirect system and its features intimately in a short time to assist in servicing clients to the highest level. Alongside the CEO, you will coordinate communications with DistroDirect clients and assist with additional promotional and pitching services including scheduling and the roll out of global DSP pitching operations. 
In addition to servicing existing clients you will help coordinate the administration process for DistroDirect’s US, EU and LATAM based sales teams and inbound leads process as well as sitting in on and conducting software demonstrations and onboarding training sessions with new and potential clients. 
The job requires a knowledge of the music distribution process, IT knowledge and a quick learner who is eager to get across new technologies quickly and able to manage multiple partners and relationships to a high standard. Many of DistroDirects partners and all of its sales teams are based offshore, this means you may be required to work hours outside of the usual Monday to Friday 9am – 5pm cycle to accommodate multiple timezones and client needs in a timely manner. 
The job requires an exceptional administrator and a confident, enthusiastic and results-driven communicator who thrives on finding good music and has a passion for the independent music sector and building relationships. Ideally you have a minimum of two years experience within the music distribution landscape and you are someone who can develop highly effective systems and work quickly to achieve real and measurable results.
 
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:      
 
QUALIFICATIONS/ SKILLS REQUIRED
The role is based in Brisbane with a global focus. GYROstream is committed to providing equal employment opportunity for all persons regardless of age, disability, national origin, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, veteran or military status, genetic information or any other status protected by applicable federal, state, or local law. 
 
About GYROstream
GYROstream is the leading independent and Australian-owned digital music distribution and artist services company, delivering music to Spotify, Apple, TikTok, Amazon, Youtube and 100+ more. Launched in 2018 and based in Brisbane, Queensland with offices in Sydney, the company represents tens of thousands of Australian and New Zealand artists for global distribution. 
Awarded The Music Network’s Music Distributor of the Year award in 2021, GYROstream and its artists are seeing increased success in both AU/NZ and beyond. The company distributed five independent releases landing in the 2021 triple j’s Hottest 100, recently achieved an ARIA number one album with Ruby Fields ‘Been Doin’ It For a Bit’, and is achieving global recognition for artists through targeted DSP playlisting and promotion with stacks of local and international editorial playlist wins every week.
Through its B2B SaaS export product, DistroDirect and niche genre promotional brands therestisnoise and Soothe Sounds, and upstream programs such as GYROgold and GYROrecords, GYROstream as a parent company is expanding rapidly on a global scale. 
Much more than just global music distribution, GYROstream also offers additional ad-hoc and bespoke services for independent artists and labels such as PR, digital marketing, playlist pitching, sync opportunities and more. A company that prides itself on premium artist support, GYROstream aims to assist and educate independent AU/NZ artists about effective release strategies to get the best results for their music. 

If you are interested, please send a CV and cover letter to [email protected] 
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The Art Room is welcoming the Windermere Police Department to the studio for the first "Paint with the Police" event this weekend.
Families will have the opportunity to come out and paint a special K-9 dog alongside the local police officers.
The first class, which has already been filled, will take place from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Nov. 12.
The second class still has spots and will take place from 1 to 3 p.m. on the same day. 
Registration is $35 per person with all art supplied included. 
Proceeds raised from the event will go directly to the Windermere Police Department Foundation. 
For more information or to register, call (407) 909-1869 or email [email protected].
The Observer has invested in new technology, so you can enjoy a more personalized online experience. By creating a user profile on OrangeObserver.com, you can manage settings, customize content, enter contests and more, all while continuing to enjoy all the local news you care about — Click Here it’s FREE.

Annabelle Sikes is a staff writer at the West Orange Times & Observer, Southwest Orange Observer and OrangeObserver.com. She graduated in May 2021 from the University of Central Florida with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a minor in sociology.  Her past…
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We all know someone like that in our lives. Someone who’s cool, collected, and empathetic even in stressful circumstances, who understands non-verbal communication and makes everyone around them feel comfortable. That’s an example of someone with a high emotional intelligence, otherwise known as emotional quotient (EQ). A person with high EQ, per Verywell Mind, is someone who is not only able to understand and control their emotions but also able to tune into other people’s feelings and express empathy for others.
Many psychologists believe that good emotional intelligence is more valuable than IQ, or intelligence quotient, a metric used to quantify an individual’s intellect. While IQ has more to do with logic and problem-solving skills, EQ is about understanding yourself and others and mastering the art of saying the right word at the right time. Not only does a high EQ make your daily life and social interactions better, but it also makes a more accurate indicator of success in the workplace, per Diffen. In other words, the world will become a much more humane place if everyone is endowed with high EQ.
Let’s dive into the benefits of emotional intelligence and how you can use it to lead a happier, more successful life.

EQ plays a vital role in solidifying both personal relationships and workplace connections. Family might be home to our closest allies, but it’s also a breeding ground for misunderstandings and conflicts. Family life comes with responsibilities and expectations, and it’s hard not to feel misunderstood and buckle under pressure at some point. Because of this, it’s crucial to practice active awareness and empathy, without which maintaining familial ties become a cross to bear. In order to do this, you must learn how to regulate your emotions, make an effort to understand other people’s points of view, and make your loved ones feel accepted even when you disagree with them, HelpGuide points out.
At the workplace, EQ is an indispensable skill to effectively support your co-workers and lead your team in the right direction, per In Professional Development. An office is where both work-related and personal conflicts take place. Some “pressure cooker” environments produce healthy productivity, and some turn people against one another. A leader or colleague with high EQ knows how to stay calm, help his or her colleagues navigate tense moments with tact and clarity, and foster supportive relationships. With low emotional intelligence, a workplace will become a hotbed of miscommunication and conflicts where employees operate in their silos.
Although some researchers suggest that emotional intelligence is innate, it can be acquired through observation and practice.

To improve self-awareness, the foundation of EQ, Goverb recommends the practice of recognizing, reframing, and rationalizing. First, you identify your hot buttons and recognize your feelings about a certain event. It’s okay to have emotions but learn to control them. Then, you reframe your response by considering the possible outcomes of the interaction. After that, you rationalize the way you respond by analyzing whether it is called for. Only when you understand how you feel and why you react the way you do can you not be controlled by other people’s emotions.
Another practical approach to honing your emotional intelligence, per Mind Tools, is to look at the way you react to people. Are you responding, or are you reacting? Responding factors in long-term consequences before replying. When you react, you simply meet one action with another one. To better your EQ in social interactions, listen to people with a receptive mind, acknowledge their perspectives, and refrain from jumping the gun. You might have a lot of wisdom, but if you want a few friends, in the end, you might want to resist the urge to straighten out everyone’s affair. To use empathy effectively, be helpful but not bossy, humble but not servile.
Emotional intelligence is an essential part of becoming an all-around better human and leader. A high degree of emotional intelligence enables you to empathize with others, communicate tactfully, and deal with your relationships both at work and at home effectively.

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Master Wang Soulmate Drawings Reviews – Real Psychic Soul Mate Sketch Or Cheap Program?  Outlook India
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SINGAPORE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Informatica (NYSE: INFA), an enterprise cloud data management leader, today announced that the company is expanding its Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) version of multidomain Master Data Management (MDM) to Asia with Microsoft Azure, serving broader Asia Pacific and Japan markets as customer demand for multitenant cloud MDM solution increases.

In a recent Forrester Consulting APAC and Japan study commissioned by Informatica, the study found over 80% of the 250 companies surveyed across Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Mainland China, Malaysia, and New Zealand, have already implemented or plan to implement master data management in the next 12 months. Majority of the survey respondents prefers to adopt automated, agile, and intelligent approaches to data management, with data governance and privacy at its core to comply with local and cross-border regulations for data sharing, while focusing on improving data quality and consistency for better customer experience as top priority.
From public sector, financial services, automotive to retail sector across Asia Pacific and Japan, Informatica is serving demands in these key verticals that are looking to create golden records of data to promote accurate reporting and make better-informed decisions, as part of their cloud modernisation strategy.
Manouj Tahiliani, GVP & GM for Master Data Management and 360 Applications at Informatica, commented, “There is market appetite for our MDM SaaS offering across key verticals as we see more and more companies looking to adopt a next-generation multidomain MDM SaaS to improve all domain data to drive data accuracy and consistency across their organisation. We are very excited about the growth opportunity, together with the expanded reach with Microsoft Azure in the region, we look forward to helping companies in Asia use cloud-native MDM to drive key initiatives and attain better business outcomes.”
“Microsoft is pleased to be deepening our global relationship with Informatica. We are bringing Informatica’s Master Data Management SaaS to Microsoft Azure Asia Pacific and Japan regions, offering our joint cloud capabilities to customers looking to unlock the value of data for their business transformation,” said Paul Carvouni, General Manager, Solution Sales, Microsoft Asia Pacific.
With the SaaS version of Informatica’s multidomain MDM, customers can create and manage a centralised single view of their data to provide consistent, trusted data on their customers, products and suppliers in a modern cloud experience, which in turn enables them to increase productivity, improve profitability while reducing total cost of ownership, accelerate business outcomes and delighting their end customers.
Informatica’s multidomain MDM manages all domains of master data in a single SaaS solution as a service of Informatica’s Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC) is available on Microsoft Azure Marketplace.
About Informatica
Informatica (NYSE: INFA), an Enterprise Cloud Data Management leader, empowers businesses to realize the transformative power of data. We have pioneered a new category of software, the Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud™(IDMC), powered by AI and a cloud-first, cloud-native, end-to-end data management platform that connects, manages, and unifies data across any multi-cloud, hybrid system, empowering enterprises to modernize and advance their data strategies. Over 5,000 customers in more than 100 countries and 85 of the Fortune 100 rely on Informatica to drive data-led digital transformation. Learn more at informatica.com.
Informatica Public Relations
[email protected]
Informatica Public Relations
[email protected]

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Scientific Reports volume 12, Article number: 19178 (2022) Cite this article
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A large set of nucleobases and amino acids is found in meteorites, implying that several chemical reservoirs are present in the solar system. The “geochemical continuity” hypothesis explores how protometabolic paths developed from so-called “bricks” in an enzyme-free prebiotic world and how they affected the origins of life. In the living cell, the second step of synthesizing uridine and cytidine RNA monomers is a carbamoyl transfer from a carbamoyl donor to aspartic acid. Here we compare two enzyme-free scenarios: aqueous and mineral surface scenarios in a thermal range up to 250 °C. Both processes could have happened in ponds under open atmosphere on the primeval Earth. Carbamoylation of aspartic acid with cyanate in aqueous solutions at 25 °C gives high N-carbamoyl aspartic acid yields within 16 h. It is important to stress that, while various molecules could be efficient carbamoylating agents according to thermodynamics, kinetics plays a determining role in selecting prebiotically possible pathways.
The question of the emergence of the first life forms, of which we know nothing and yet are the Darwinian descendants, can be tackled from the angle of the inert-to-living transition. The “geochemical continuity”¹ hypothesis states that, at some stage during the evolution of life, key parts of metabolic pathways recapitulated reactions which previously occurred in a non-biological setting. It is both parsimonious and falsifiable, and also compatible with the idea that life developed in a continuous process rather than as a “freak accident”. Additionally, protometabolic paths from simple abundant precursors may continually resupply biochemical building blocks, avoiding the depletion problem encountered with exogenous delivery scenarios^2,3. In this hypothesis, life-defining structures (metabolism, information, compartments) may have been initiated along the same general paths, but with other alternatives for kinetic (inorganic, including heterogeneous, catalysis) and thermodynamic control (free energy issued from macroscopic environment fluctuations) than those we observe today in organisms^4,5.
In this line of thought, we are exploring a typical metabolic sequence of nucleotide biosynthesis, the de novo synthesis of pyrimidines (orotate pathway), with the aim to transpose it to an abiotic environment. Non-enzymatic pyrimidine biosynthesis has been the object of much interest lately, either through attempts at transposition of the orotate pathway⁶, or through alternative pathways involving different precursors⁷. In a previous publication, we considered the prebiotic potential of carbamoyl phosphate, an activated carbamoylating agent used at the beginning of this biochemical pathway. In the present one, we concentrate on the formation of N-carbamoyl-aspartic acid (NCA), the 7-atom precursor of the uracil framework.
NCA, also called ureidosuccinic acid⁸, exists in all living species, ranging from bacteria to eukaryotes. NCA is present in cytoplasm as well as excreta (saliva) and organs (prostate). It is synthesized from carbamoyl phosphate and L-aspartic acid through the action of the aspartate carbamoyltransferase enzyme (ATCase)⁹. As it plays a key role in aspartate and pyrimidine metabolisms, it is involved in several dysfunctions such as Canavan disease and dihydropyrimidinase deficiency¹⁰.
After an additional cyclization step, NCA forms the core skeleton of orotic acid^11,12, the precursor of uracil^5,13,14 (Fig. 1), hence it is a major prebiotic target to check whether the geochemical continuity hypothesis is valid.
Current in vivo pyrimidine biosynthesis along the orotate pathway. The step studied here is boxed.
In previous work, we showed that carbamoyl phosphate (CP) is rather unstable under prebiotic conditions, but produces two other molecules still containing the energy-rich carbamoyl moiety: cyanate and urea¹⁵. It is therefore unlikely that CP itself was involved in a prebiotic carbamoylation pathway. However, the potential of cyanate and urea-type compounds as alternate carbamoylating agents deserves to be explored. Cyanate and urea-like compounds can be produced by several pathways in prebiotic settings, contrary to carbamoyl phosphate¹⁶. Therefore, we first investigated NCA synthesis through the reaction between cyanate and L-aspartic acid under alkaline aqueous conditions. Then, we also assessed mineral surface scenarios involving drying steps in order to test the predictions of the geochemical continuity hypothesis, including the idea that mineral catalysts can mimic the role of enzymes (Fig. 2).
Three scenarios of NCA formation.
In our first experiment, the carbamoyl donor was sodium cyanate, reacting with aspartate under basic conditions (see Methods). The N-carbamoylation of aspartic acid has, in fact, been used long ago in Nyc’s protocol¹⁷ for orotic acid synthesis. The N-carbamoylation of generic amino acids by cyanate was further explored by the Commeyras team^18,19.
The sodium hydroxide solution, initially containing aspartic acid and sodium cyanate in a 1:1 ratio, was left to react for 16 h at 25 °C, sampled and directly analysed in deuterated water by ¹H NMR. Two sets of signals are identifiable (Fig. S1). The set of sodium aspartate (Fig. 3) is constituted by four signals corresponding to NH, H_α and the two H_β protons, the latter overlapped with signals of the second set. Similarly, the second set is comprised of four signals corresponding to NH, H_α and the two H_β protons, the latter overlapped with signals of the first set. This fits with NCA, a molecule that exhibits the same type of protons as aspartate, only slightly perturbed by carbamoylation.
Comparison of the molecular structures of aspartate and of NCA. The added carbamoyl function is in blue.
The identification of the two sets is fully consistent with COSY correlation (Fig. S2). Minor peaks correlate as one set (Asp) whereas all major peaks (NCA) correlate together. In each set, H_α is correlated to H_β with a J³_H-H. In addition, the two H_β are correlated to each other with a J²_H-H. ¹³C NMR confirms the assignments (Fig. S3). A DEPT 135 acquisition (Fig. S4) discriminated the signals amongst each set. An extra ¹³C signal at 162.0 ppm with no correlation with hydrogen atoms was identified as a carbonate resulting from cyanate partial decomposition^15,20. HSQC and HMBC correlations (Fig. S5 and S6) helped to link carbons and hydrogens without ambiguity. These results provide a clear spectroscopic signature of a successful NCA formation (Fig. 2).
By integrating proton signals, the average NCA yield after 16 h is 92%. Upon further evolution, it is found to be 88% after 23 days (Figs. S7 and S8) and 91% after one year (Fig. S9). Thus, the NCA remained stable (or rather metastable) for a long period of time, although the pH value drifted from 6.96 to 8.66, then 9.41, respectively. For comparison, using carbamoyl phosphate (instead of cyanate) and aspartate at 8.3 mM concentration and pH 8, Yi et al. obtained NCA in a 37% yield⁶.
Two experiments were carried out under the same conditions (see Methods section) as the preceding one but cyanate was replaced by other potential carbamoyl donors.
Biuret, issued from the dimerization of urea^21,22,23, is also relevant in prebiotic scenarios^24,25,26,27. Theoretically, each biuret molecule could carbamoylate two aspartates following the two successive reactions shown in Fig. 4: thus, although the “carbamoylating agent” concentration is the same as in the preceding experiment, the carbamoyl group/aspartate ratio is 2:1 instead of 1:1.
Biuret as a potential double carbamoyl donor.
After 16 h at 25 °C, the reaction products were analysed by ¹H NMR (Fig. S10). Only one set of four signals was present and attributed to aspartate (Fig. 3). This lack of reactivity is confirmed by a COSY correlation (Fig. S11). It can be concluded that no detectable amount of NCA is formed in 16 h. Evolution was monitored for longer periods: after 23 days and even after 10 months, only unmodified aspartate was detected (Figs. S12 and S13).
Since the expected yield of this reaction at equilibrium would theoretically be 99.98%, based on the reaction Δ_rG°’ (standard transformed molar free enthalpy of reaction, − 44.1 kJ/mol), we can conclude that the biuret-aspartate reaction has extremely slow kinetics. We cannot exclude that for very long time scale (longer than several years) carbamoylation by biuret could occur but, at any rate, kinetic competition would favour cyanate as a carbamoylating reagent—not to mention the fact that the rate of NCA decomposition by amide bond hydrolysis would be comparable to its rate of formation.
Urea was also checked as a potential carbamoylating agent⁸ but under the considered conditions (16 h, 25 °C), aspartate remained unmodified (Fig. S14).
Carbamate itself (^–O₂C-NH₂) cannot be an efficient carbamoylating agent because its free enthalpy content is too low: the calculated Δ_rG°’ of NCA formation from carbamate and aspartate is largely positive at all pH (Fig. 5). One could have thought, however, that the addition of energy-rich reagents such as phosphorylating agents could allow aspartate carbamoylation by carbamate. Trimetaphosphate chemistry seems promising in this respect since this molecule and its degradation products have been widely used in prebiotic chemistry^28,29; it has even been suggested that the “RNA world” was characterized by the use of trimetaphosphate as an energy source^30,31.
Left: pH dependence of transformed Gibbs free energy of reaction for biotic and abiotic NCA formation equilibria from aspartate and carbamate (a), urea (b), cyanate (c), carbamoyl phosphate (d), and biuret (e). The values are calculated for pMg = 5, ionic strength = 1 M. Right: the corresponding reactions, conventionally written with all reagents in the fully protonated form.
To check this idea, a solution of phosphorylating agents (generated from trimetaphosphate ammonolysis at 70 °C for 66 h¹⁵) was reacted at 100 °C with L-aspartic acid and ammonium carbamate and analysed by ¹H and ¹³C NMR. The targeted reaction—condensation of aspartic acid with carbamate—did not occur, but the initial signals of aspartate were nonetheless profoundly altered.
The doubling of each ¹H NMR signal from L-aspartic acid alone can be interpreted as evidence of dimerization³². The split signals of L-aspartic acid present in ¹H NMR could be unambiguously attributed to an Asp-Asp dimer (Figs. S15 and S16)³², that we assigned to the species β-Asp-Asp. Thermally obtained polyaspartic acid has a α/β ratio of 1/1.3³³. Thermal polymerization is therefore hardly selective; in contrast, our reaction seems to form a single compound.
Thus, the free enthalpy contained in phosphoramidate was transferred to other high-energy bonds, namely the peptide bonds in the Asp-Asp dimer, affording another example of the versatility of phosphoramidates as coupling agents highlighted by Osumah and Krishnamurthy³⁴; but it did not result in NCA formation.
Amorphous silica (SiO₂) is well-known to be efficient for prebiotic condensation reactions, especially those of amino acids to peptides³⁵, and is a prebiotically realistic mineral^36,37,38. It is a moderately acidic catalyst, its catalytic properties relying on H-bonding and silanol acidity^39,40. Thus, we co-adsorbed aspartate on silica with cyanate or urea, but also with carbamate and with ammonium carbonate. Most of these potential carbamoylating agents were eliminated by drying at room temperature, i.e., before they could react with the aspartate molecules, as revealed by transmission IR spectra of the dried systems (Fig. S17). For the (aspartate + cyanate), (aspartate + carbamate) and (aspartate + carbonate) systems, only the bands of adsorbed aspartate were observed, indicating that the other partner was lost to the gas phase. For the (aspartate + urea) on SiO₂ system, the characteristic bands of urea are still visible after drying, but a subsequent TG + MS study indicated that urea decomposes thermally at 140 °C without reaction with aspartate.
Since carbamoylation failed on acidic silica, we turned to a mineral support with basic properties. Brucite (Mg(OH)₂) would be a candidate, already studied for aspartate adsorption and reactivity^41,42. However, in the presence of a CO₂-rich atmosphere, brucite is carbonated to magnesite (MgCO₃)^{43,44,45,46,47}, and so is periclase (MgO)⁴⁸. Therefore, we chose magnesite as a support. Also, aspartic acid and Mg²⁺ ions from MgCO₃ dissolution rapidly form the aspartate complex^49,50, which prompted us to select Mg(Asp)₂ for Asp deposition. Despite being marketed as MgCO₃, powder XRD studies showed the mineral phase after impregnation and drying under nitrogen is always hydromagnesite (Mg₅(CO₃)₄(OH)₂·4H₂O)^51,52 (Fig. S19). No crystallisation of organic molecules was observed by XRD in biomolecules-impregnated hydromagnesite (Figs. S20, S22, S24 and S26).
After impregnation followed by drying at variable temperatures (Table S1), solid samples were directly desorbed with deuterated water. The desorption solutions were analysed by ¹H (Figs. S25, S27, S28 and S29) and the spectra were compared with those of reference compounds (Figs. S18, S21 and S23). Hydromagnesite is partly soluble, so chances for organic molecules to stay adsorbed on the mineral and unanalyzed are negligible. According to ¹H signal integration, a significant amount of NCA was already observable after drying at room temperature, and the NCA yield was improved by thermal treatment. An optimal yield seems to be reached at 150 °C (Fig. S27, Table S1). At 230 °C, new signals appeared, probably decomposition products of NCA and poly-Asp or poly-succinimide (Fig. S29).
Two reaction attempts of biuret and magnesium di-aspartate on magnesite were tried, at 25 °C and 140 °C. No condensation reaction occurred, as indicated by ¹H NMR (Figs. S30 and S31).
The thermodynamic and kinetic parameters of biological compounds formation are considered with much care in many biochemical studies, especially in the two subdomains of bioenergetics and enzymatic catalysis. In contrast, they are often neglected in origins of life studies, although rigorous and insightful data have been published in some cases^53,54.
A first rough indicator of whether a particular prebiotic reaction is thermodynamically possible is the standard (Gibbs) free energy of reaction, Δ_rG°, or the transformed value at constant pH, Δ_rG°’. Figure 5 displays the theoretically expected Δ_rG°’ for NCA formation reactions from aspartate and several possible carbamoylating reagents in aqueous solution as a function of solution pH. These estimates permit differentiation between two sets of potential carbamoylating agents. With carbamate and urea, the reaction should be endergonic, although only slightly in the case of urea, and therefore these two molecules (especially carbamate) are not likely contenders for carbamoylation in solution. In contrast, aspartate carbamoylation by carbamoyl phosphate (the current biochemical agent), cyanate, and biuret should be exergonic. These values are pH-dependent, strongly so for biuret and cyanate; reaction with the latter becomes unfavourable at pH < 4, and conversely it is a more promising carbamoylating agent at high pH.
While the Δ_rG° (resp. Δ_rG°’) allow to calculate the equilibrium constants K (resp. K’), the equilibrium reaction yields will depend, in addition to the pH, on the initial concentrations of all reagents. For instance, reaction c) with cyanate is a simple condensation and should proceed further in the forward direction if the total concentrations are increased. As an illustration, Fig. 6 shows the expected NCA yields (at equilibrium) as a function of pH for an initial 1:1 molar ratio of cyanate to aspartate, and concentrations of 50 × 10^–3 mol.L^-1 (our conditions) and 25 × 10^–6 mol.L^-1.
Theoretical equilibrium yield of NCA as a function of pH for (a) C°_Asp = C°_cyanate = 50 mmol.L⁻¹, (b) C°_Asp = C°_cyanate = 25 µmol.L⁻¹.
In the conditions we used, the carbamoylation yield is expected to be at least 96% for all pH ≥ 5, and even in the micromolar range, it should be > 50% for pH ≥ 6. In the same way, excellent yields are expected using carbamoyl phosphate, and even more using biuret.
Experimentally, aspartate carbamoylation with cyanate results in a 92% yield after 16 h, and this composition remains stable for over a year. While this is not as high as the theoretically expected yields in the experimental pH range (> 99.3%), the reaction is indeed highly favoured, and seems to reach equilibrium in a few hours.
A very different situation is observed with biuret. While even higher carbamoylation yields would be expected, no reaction is detected even after 10 months. The kinetics of this reaction must therefore be extremely slow—no kinetic data were available in the literature to predict this conclusion. With urea, carbamoylation is expected to be only slightly endergonic, so that a > 30% yield would be predicted in our conditions. After 16 h, no reaction is observed, so this reaction is not very fast either.
In previous studies, Fox⁵⁵ obtained NCA from Asp and urea in “hot water” with solid mineral bases. High yields (46–80%) were obtained; fast kinetics are the consequence of high temperatures, but certainly also of specific catalytic effects of the solid phases. Yamagata et al. reacted aspartic acid with urea at pH 7 and 90 °C, in an open flask that allowed for constant elimination of the NH₃ product (open system)⁵⁶. In these conditions, about 80% of the aspartate transformed into NCA, and further products formed from it, in a matter of days. This would mean that the carbamoylation reaction by urea, while slow at 25 °C, is reasonably fast at 90 °C.
In summary, aspartate carbamoylation is an illustration of the fact that in prebiotic chemistry, as in all branches of chemistry, kinetic and thermodynamic aspects must be considered in order to assess the feasibility of any given scenario. Thermodynamic data are available for many reactions; they tell us that carbamoylation by carbamate is not a feasible pathway, and by urea hardly so. Of course, an endergonic reaction can occur if it is coupled with an exergonic one, as happens often in biochemistry. However, such a coupling may only be considered if a convenient reaction pathway is available to induce coupling between the reagents: introducing the energy-rich trimetaphosphate in the system did allow an endergonic reaction, but it was aspartate dimerization instead of carbamoylation.
In contrast, thermodynamics tells us that both cyanate and biuret are possible carbamoylating agents. Here, kinetics comes into play. Usually kinetic studies have to be completely implemented since few such studies are available, even for biochemically important molecules. Only the cyanate reaction is promising from both the thermodynamic and kinetic points of view. We have not studied the biochemical carbamoylating agent, carbamoyl phosphate (CP), because a previous study has led us to conclude that it is unlikely to be present in prebiotic conditions, or, if formed, would probably isomerize to cyanate before reacting.
Carbamoylation of aspartate by cyanate has all the characteristics of a “good” prebiotic reaction. It is strongly favoured because of a negative Δ_rG°; there exists a fast reaction path even in the absence of specific catalysis, and its product, NCA, while still energy-rich, is kinetically inert (not prone to decomposition even on the scale of several months), so that it will remain available for futher transformations for a long time after being formed. This is illustrated in Fig. 7 where fast reactions are represented by full arrows and slow ones by dashed arrows.
A partial energetic view of NCA formation reactions in aqueous solutions containing carbamoyl donors. Plain arrows correspond to fast transformations and dashed arrows to slower ones. Values based on equilibrator.weizmann.ac.il data.
This constitutes a simple example of how the elucidation of reaction thermodynamics and kinetics allows pruning a potentially complex network of prebiotic reaction pathways.
As mentioned, silica has been known to constitute a good platform for condensation reactions between molecules. The reason for this is twofold. First, from the thermodynamic point of view, silica allows to work in conditions of low water activity, by simply applying a drying step. Because water is a product of the condensation reaction, continuously removing it drags the condensation to the right according to Le Châtelier’s principle, and this is also true for any volatile condensation product. Therefore, carbamoylation by all the agents we considered could in principle be made favourable on silica (as opposed to the solution where only some agents are allowed). All it takes is for the surface to be thoroughly dehydrated, which in the case of fumed silica occurs at about 100 °C.
Second, from the kinetic point of view, silica catalyses the nucleophilic addition that constitutes the first step of the condensation. Although in-depth studies have been devoted to the complexity of this phenomenon⁵⁷, the basic mechanism probably implies weakly acidic surface silanols activating the leaving group (silica behaves as a weak solid Brönsted acid), as schematically illustrated in Fig. 8a for the aspartic acid/carbamic acid condensation.
Silanol-assisted catalysis of carbamate condensation (a) and competitive hydrolysis (b) on silica.
It is a basic principle of kinetics that everything that catalyses a reaction in the forward direction also catalyses it in the reverse direction. For instance, if silica catalyses a condensation that liberates one water molecule, it will also catalyse the reverse reaction of hydrolysis: which one will actually occur depends on the water activity in the system. In fact, in the present case additional pathways may be considered for the reverse reaction as illustrated in Fig. 8b for the hydrolysis of carbamic acid.
Thus, we can understand the failure to observe carbamoylation reactions on silica. All carbamoylating agents already contain one C-N bond, which is usually quite labile. Silica is actually too good a catalyst: it will activate the C-N bond in the carbamoylating agent at low temperatures where water is still abundant on the surface, and thus cause its hydrolysis before it can functionalize the aspartic acid, a reaction that has a higher energy barrier.
Carbamoylating scenarios involving mineral surfaces are not completely excluded since NCA was observed from (cyanate + aspartate) deposited on MgCO₃. We can say therefore that whatever catalytic sites are present on the MgCO₃ surface (it would be expected to exhibit at least general basic catalysis), they are not able to significantly activate amide bonds at room temperature. They might still activate condensation at higher temperatures, as the NCA yields increase somewhat after heating at 150 °C, although remaining lower than those obtained in a mineral-free reaction. On the other hand, excessive heating causes a degradation of the NCA product, in a matter of hours at 230 °C: this represents the upper limit of the temperature range available for the use of the prebiotic precursor NCA.
In this work, we have shown that among the various carbamoyl donors that could have been present in prebiotic conditions, cyanate is probably the most efficient to perform aspartate carbamoylation. This reaction has all the features of a “good” prebiotic reaction, and only necessitates precursors that are known to be formed prebiotically.
Our results underline the necessity of always considering both the thermodynamic and kinetic dimensions of potential prebiotic reactions. For instance, from a thermodynamic point of view, biuret should provide high carbamoylation yields, but the reaction rate at room temperature is so low that the corresponding scenario appears unlikely. In the same way, the input of chemical energy from a well-known inorganic precursor, trimetaphosphate, did result in energy transduction—but through the formation of an aspartate dimer, rather than the desired product, NCA. In this case, a different reaction pathway was opened.
While thermodynamic data on many biomolecules and their precursors are often available, at least in standard conditions, kinetic data are scarce and reaction kinetics must systematically be assessed.
The answer to the question asked at the beginning of this study—is aspartate carbamoylation a likely step in prebiotic pyrimidines synthesis?—is clearly positive, provided that cyanate is used as the carbamoylating agent. Thus, the geochemical continuity hypothesis is only partially vindicated⁵⁸. While the reaction could very well have happened in prebiotic settings, it is likely to have used cyanate rather than the carbamoylating agent of current biochemistry, carbamoyl phosphate, which was probably not easily available¹⁵.
An aqueous phase scenario is quite likely. Mineral surfaces can actually be detrimental if they are acidic as is the case for silica. On the other hand, the basic hydromagnesite did not prevent carbamoylation by cyanate, but neither did it bring clear benefits. However, once NCA is formed, deposition on a mineral surface could stabilize it against thermal degradation, with respect to the species in solution. This aqueous solution/mineral surface versatility of the carbamoylation reaction could be part of a primitive pond scenario.
While we are trying to replicate the orotate pathway of extant biochemistry in a geochemical context, we do not want to rule out alternative sources of orotate. Indeed, Krishnamurthy et al. have investigated a different one-pot aqueous scenario⁷, in which orotate is obtained from hydantoin and glyoxylate. Several pathways to orotate may have once coexisted, with the current one being selected at some stage of chemical evolution.
In a forthcoming article, we will concentrate on replicating the next step in the orotate pathway, namely NCA cyclization, as it represents a key metabolic crossroads in current biochemistry.
The following chemical compounds were purchased from commercial suppliers and used without further purification: ureidosuccinic acid (Sigma-Aldrich Co., cat. n°69037-500MG), biuret (Sigma-Aldrich Co., cat. n°15270-25G), L-aspartic hemimagnesium salt dihydrate (Sigma-Aldrich Co., cat. n°11260-100G), L-aspartic acid (Sigma-Aldrich Co., cat. n°A8949-100G), magnesium carbonate basic (Sigma-Aldrich Co., cat. n°13118-1 KG) with a Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area of 31.5 m²/g, sodium cyanate (Sigma-Aldrich Co., cat. n°185086-100G), sodium hydroxide anhydrous pellets (Carlo Erba reagents, cat. n°480507), deuterium oxide 99.90% D (Eurisotop, cat. n°D214FE), linear dimer H-Asp-Asp-OH (Bachem, cat. n°4010210.0250), ammonium carbamate (Sigma-Aldrich Co., cat. n°292834-100G), ammonia 28% analaR Normapur (VWR Chemicals, cat n°21190.292), trisodium trimetaphosphate (Sigma-Aldrich Co., cat. n°T5508-500G), urea ACS reagent (Sigma-Aldrich Co., cat. n°U5128-100G), ammonium carbonate ACS reagent (Aldrich chemical company, Inc., cat. n°20786-1), carbamoyl phosphate disodium salt (Sigma-Aldrich Co., cat. n°C4135-1G), fumed silica Aerosil 380 (Evonik Industries), with a Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area of 380 m²/g.
The Gibbs free energies of reactions were calculated by using the eQuilibrator calculator^{59,60,61,62,63} at http://equilibrator.weizmann.ac.il/.
NMR experiments were conducted on a Bruker Avance III 500 spectrometer (ω_L = 500.07 MHz for ¹H and 125.74 MHz for ¹³C) equipped with a 5 mm inverse double resonance broadband probe. Chemical shifts were calibrated as δ values (ppm) relative to the peak of TMS set at δ = 0.00 ppm (¹³C NMR), residual light water in D₂O set at δ = 4.79 ppm (¹H NMR). Coupling constants are given in Hertz. All spectra were processed with the Bruker TopSpin 4.0.6 and 4.0.8 softwares. The used 2D correlations were the following: ¹H-¹H COSY (COrrelated SpectroscopY), ¹H-¹³C HSQC (Heteronuclear Single Quantum Coherence) and ¹H-¹³C HMBC (Heteronuclear Multiple Bond Correlation). The used DEPT 135 (Distortionless Enhancement by Polarization Transfer) experiment gives inverted CH₂ and C groups.
pH measurements were carried out using a Fischer Scientific Accumet AE150 pH Benchtop Meter.
A small portion of each sample was ground and mounted on a zero-background holder. The X-ray powder diffraction data were registered at room temperature with a D8 DISCOVER Bruker diffractometer at Sorbonne University. This instrument is equipped with a Cu anode (Kα₁ and Kα₂ copper doublet) source operated at 40 kV and 30 mA and a LynxEye XE-T 1D detector. The data were recorded from 5° to 80° in 1 h with steps of 0.02°
L-Aspartic acid (6.50 g, 50 mmol, 1 eq.) and sodium cyanate (3.21 g, 49 mmol, 1 eq.) were dissolved into a 1 M sodium hydroxide solution (50 mL). The resulting mixture was stirred and allowed to stand for 16 h at room temperature, then sampled (400 µL into 200 µL D₂O) for NMR analyses.
L-Aspartic acid (6.50 g, 50 mmol, 1 eq.) and urea (3.00 g, 50 mmol, 1 eq.) were dissolved into a 1 M sodium hydroxide solution (50 mL). The resulting mixture was stirred and allowed to stand for 16 h at room temperature, then sampled (400 µL into 200 µL D₂O) for NMR analyses.
L-Aspartic acid (6.50 g, 50 mmol, 1 eq.) and biuret (5.08 g, 49 mmol, 1 eq.) were dissolved into a 1 M sodium hydroxide solution (50 mL). The resulting mixture was stirred and allowed to stand for 16 h at room temperature, then sampled (400 µL into 200 µL D₂O) for NMR analyses.
L-Aspartic acid (173 mg, 1.3 mmol, 1 eq.) and ammonium carbamate (132 mg, 1.7 mmol, 1.3 eq.) were dissolved into 2.5 mL of an ammonia solution containing phosphoramidates (sampled after 66 h at 70 °C, preparation described in¹⁵). The solution was stored in a 25 mL airtight bottle in an oven at 100 °C for 16 h. 600 µL were collected for NMR analyses.
To deposit organic molecules on minerals, we used a wetting-and drying procedure, also called “incipient wetness impregnation” or IWI in the heterogeneous catalysis literature. It implies putting a solution containing an Asp precursor and carbamoyl donor in contact with a mineral surface to obtain a paste or slurry. During this process, solubilised organic compounds are in prolongated contact with the dispersed mineral and the slurry is subsequently dried at room temperature. Similar events could happen in a geochemical scenario due to climatic fluctuations.
L-Aspartic acid (20 mg, 0.13 mmol, 1 eq.) and a carbamoyl donor* (0.20 mmol, 1.3 eq.) were dissolved into 5 mL distilled water under stirring. 500 mg of silica Aerosil were impregnated by the solution. The resulting slurry was dried under N₂, until a dry powder was obtained. Additional treatment in a desiccator under vacuum removed water traces. The powder was ground and sampled for IR analyses. *urea (12 mg), ammonium carbonate (19 mg), ammonium carbamate (15 mg), sodium cyanate (13 mg) or sodium carbamoyl phosphate (27 mg).
Magnesium di-aspartate (24 mg, 0.074 mmol, 2 eq. Asp) was dissolved into 6 mL distilled water under stirring. 500 mg (5.9 mmol, 39 eq.) of magnesium carbonate (5.9 mmol) were impregnated by the solution. The resulting suspension was dried under N₂, until a dry powder was obtained. The powder was ground and sampled for XRD and NMR analyses (30 mg suspended into 600 µL D₂O).
Asp-Asp dimer (24 mg, 0.15 mmol) was dissolved into 6 mL distilled water under stirring. 500 mg of magnesium carbonate were impregnated by the solution. The resulting suspension was dried under N₂, until a dry powder was obtained. The powder was ground and sampled for XRD and NMR analyses (30 mg suspended into 600 µL D₂O).
Ureidosuccinic acid (22 mg, 0.12 mmol) was dissolved into 6 mL distilled water under stirring. 500 mg of magnesium carbonate (5.9 mmol) were impregnated by the solution. The resulting suspension was dried under N₂, until a dry powder was obtained. The powder was ground and sampled for XRD and NMR analyses (30 mg suspended into 600 µL D₂O).
Magnesium di-aspartate (24 mg, 0.074 mmol, 2 eq. Asp) and sodium cyanate (13 mg, 0.20 mmol, 1.4 eq.) were dissolved into 6 mL distilled water under stirring. 500 mg (5.9 mmol, 39 eq.) of magnesium carbonate (5.9 mmol) were impregnated by the solution. The resulting suspension was dried under N₂, until a dry powder was obtained. The powder was ground and sampled for thermal activations. 10 mg of the powder were thermally activated at four different temperatures (150 °C, 200 °C and 230 °C) for 30 min in an oven fitted with desiccants. Hygrometry measurement at 88 °C is 3.5% RH. After cooling down in a desiccator under reduced pressure, the samples were analysed by NMR (10 mg suspended into 600 µL D₂O).
Magnesium di-aspartate (24 mg, 0.074 mmol, 2 eq. Asp) and biuret (21 mg, 0.20 mmol, 1.4 eq.) were dissolved into 6 mL distilled water under stirring. 500 mg (5.9 mmol, 39 eq.) of magnesium carbonate (5.9 mmol) were impregnated by the solution. The resulting suspension was dried under N₂, until a dry powder was obtained. The powder was grinded and sampled for thermal activations. 10 mg of the powder were thermally activated at 140 °C for 30 min into an oven packed with desiccants. Hygrometry measurement at 88 °C is 3.5% RH. After cooling down into a reduced pressure desiccator, samples were analysed by NMR (10 mg suspended into 600 µL D₂O).
The authors declare that all data supporting the findings of this study are available within the paper and Supplementary Information.
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We are grateful to Baptiste Rigaud and Mohamed Selmane for their help respectively for NMR and XRD measurements. We are also grateful to Brittany Foley for her careful proofreading of the manuscript. This work was funded by the CNRS MIT program “Origines 2020”.
Laboratoire de Réactivité de Surface (LRS, UMR 7197 CNRS), Sorbonne Université, Case courrier 178, 4, Place Jussieu, 75005, Paris, France
Louis M. P. Ter-Ovanessian & Jean-François Lambert
Institut de Systématique, Évolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB, UMR7205 CNRS), École Pratique Des Hautes Études, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Sorbonne Université, Université Des Antilles, CP 50, 57 rue Cuvier, 75005, Paris, France
Louis M. P. Ter-Ovanessian & Marie-Christine Maurel
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L.T.O. planned the experiments, prepared the samples, performed spectroscopic analyses and wrote the first draft of the manuscript. J.F.L. and M.C.M. supervised the work and reviewed the manuscript.
Correspondence to Jean-François Lambert.
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Ter-Ovanessian, L.M.P., Lambert, JF. & Maurel, MC. Building the uracil skeleton in primitive ponds at the origins of life: carbamoylation of aspartic acid. Sci Rep 12, 19178 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-21272-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-21272-7
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by: Laura Duerr, BestReviews Staff
Posted: Nov 10, 2022 / 09:26 AM EST
Updated: Nov 10, 2022 / 09:26 AM EST
by: Laura Duerr, BestReviews Staff
Posted: Nov 10, 2022 / 09:26 AM EST
Updated: Nov 10, 2022 / 09:26 AM EST
A reliable webcam is an essential piece of technology, whether you need one for occasional video calls or work presentations. While laptops, tablets and phones all offer relatively good cameras, investing in a separate webcam makes calling and recording easier, clearer and more professional.
Logitech is a respected brand known for producing a comprehensive line of dependable webcams at various price points. To help narrow the field, we put two of its bestsellers through our testing process to determine which is the best pick. 
We asked one of our testers to use two Logitech webcams. They’re an artist and video editor, and they have plenty of experience with webcams. They tested the Logitech C920X HD Pro and the Logitech Brio 4K in their daily routine. Here’s what we learned.
The resolution you need from a Logitech webcam depends largely on what you plan to use it for. If you do lots of high-level streaming, recording or other video work, you may want a webcam that offers detailed 4K resolution, higher frame rates, reliable autofocus and lighting correction. For more informal video calls, you may only need an affordable camera that’s easy to set up, even if it offers a lower resolution.
While webcams don’t always come with built-in microphones, both of the Logitech models we tested have microphones. Picking a webcam with dual mics and noise cancellation creates clearer sound during calls and recordings.
Regardless of your webcam’s quality, it won’t be very useful if you can’t position it in a way that makes sense with your workspace. Look for a camera with a sturdy, adaptable base or clamp that will work with your setup. Both the Logitech cameras we tested have secure bases, so you can mount them on a tripod or place them atop your monitor.
It’s a good idea to look for security features such as a privacy shutter. This feature ensures the camera can’t see you when it’s not in use. If the camera doesn’t include a privacy cover, you can usually purchase one separately or unplug the camera when it’s not in use.

The Logitech C920X HD Pro Webcam is a versatile camera that can capture both video and stills in true 1080p HD. It records video at 30 frames per second and takes photos at 15 megapixels. The camera has dual mics to provide clear, natural sound. You can make video calls in 1080p or 720p on a variety of video-call apps. Thanks to its threaded, 360-degree swivel clip base, you can mount it on a tripod or simply rest it on top of a laptop. It comes with software to help you create polished video content, too. 
Sold by Amazon
The Logitech C920X HD Pro is easy to set up and start using — simply plug it in and it’s ready to go. We tested the webcam on a MacBook, but it works with Windows and Chrome OS as well. The Photobook software that comes with the C920X doesn’t offer a huge range of customization features, but it’s easy to use and helpful for video chatting.
While recording with the C920X, we noticed clear and accurate video quality in both natural and dim lighting conditions. The autofocus and light correction responded well to our tests, keeping the focus on the subject despite distracting background movement. It also adjusted the picture quality quickly in good lighting conditions.
The C920X HD Pro webcam features crisp, quality stereo audio with no distortion. While it doesn’t come with a privacy shutter, you can easily purchase one separately.

Like the Logitech C920X, the Logitech Brio 4K UHD webcam is compatible with Windows and Mac as well as Chrome, and setup is as easy as plugging in the webcam. It offers three levels of recording quality (720p, 1080p and 4K UHD) and three fields of view, so you can focus the picture on yourself or include more of your background. The camera offers HDR support, autofocus and records video up to 90 frames per second.
The Brio 4K comes with more advanced software that automatically adjusts picture quality according to the lighting in the room, and its dual microphones have effective noise-canceling technology. Like the Logitech C920X, it offers versatile mounting options. Unlike the C920X, it comes with an attachable privacy shade. 
Sold by Amazon and Dell
Right away, the Logitech Brio 4K’s video quality was noticeably better than the Logitech C920X. It delivered the high-quality video we wanted in a range of lighting conditions. The autofocus also responded well. However, users won’t be able to make the most of the Brio 4K’s high frame rate or image quality if their computer doesn’t have enough processing power.
Since this type of camera is intended for higher-end streaming and recording, we used both Logitech’s included software and third-party video software to make adjustments to the field of view, color balance and frame rate. Although we noticed a small, predictable drop in quality at lower frame rates, the quality was more than satisfactory.
The audio was relatively good, given the Brio 4K’s price point. Our tester lives on a busy street and found that the noise-canceling features in the microphone weren’t enough to fully eliminate distracting background noise.
For casual use such as occasional video calling and informal recording, the Logitech C920X HD Pro is a great pick. Its plug-and-play settings, solid video and stellar audio make it a solid option. However, if you’re a content creator who relies on better audio and higher resolution for your work, we recommend the Logitech Brio 4K. It’s customizable, more secure and offers excellent video quality.
 
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Laura Duerr writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
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The asteroid’s upper size estimate is just short of the world’s tallest building.
A newly discovered, “potentially hazardous” asteroid almost the size of the world’s tallest skyscraper is set to tumble past Earth just in time for Halloween, according to NASA.
The asteroid, called 2022 RM4, has an estimated diameter of between 1,083 and 2,428 feet (330 and 740 meters) — just under the height of Dubai’s 2,716-foot-tall (828 m) Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world. It will zoom past our planet at around 52,500 mph (84,500 km/h), or roughly 68 times the speed of sound.
At its closest approach on Nov. 1, the asteroid will come within about 1.43 million miles (2.3 million kilometers) of Earth, around six times the average distance between Earth and the moon. By cosmic standards, this is a very slender margin.
Related: Why are asteroids and comets such weird shapes?
NASA flags any space object that comes within 120 million miles (193 million km) of Earth as a “near-Earth object” and classifies any large body within 4.65 million miles (7.5 million km) of our planet as “potentially hazardous.” Once flagged, these potential threats are closely watched by astronomers, who study them with radar for signs of any deviation from their predicted trajectories that could put them on a devastating collision course with Earth. 
No danger, but newly-discovered asteroid 2022 RM4 will pass less than 6 lunar distances on November 1. Possibly as wide as 740 meters, it will brighten to mag 14.3, well within reach of backyard telescopes. @unistellar This is very close for an asteroid this size. #2022RM4 pic.twitter.com/Z8khblg3GqOctober 5, 2022
NASA tracks the locations and orbits of roughly 28,000 asteroids, pinpointing them with the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) — an array of four telescopes able to perform a total scan of the entire night sky every 24 hours.
Since ATLAS was brought online in 2017, it has spotted more than 700 near-Earth asteroids and 66 comets. Two of the asteroids detected by ATLAS, 2019 MO and 2018 LA, actually hit Earth, the former exploding off the southern coast of Puerto Rico and the latter crash-landing near the border of Botswana and South Africa. Fortunately, those asteroids were small and didn’t cause any damage.
NASA has estimated the trajectories of all the near-Earth objects beyond the end of the century. The good news is that Earth faces no known danger from an apocalyptic asteroid collision for at least the next 100 years, according to NASA.
—How many satellites orbit Earth?
—What happened when the dinosaur-killing asteroid slammed into Earth?
—What are the largest impact craters on Earth?
But this doesn’t mean that astronomers think they should stop looking. Though the majority of near-Earth objects may not be civilization-ending, such as the planet-busting comet in the 2021 satirical disaster movie “Don’t Look Up,” there are plenty of devastating asteroid impacts in recent history to justify the continued vigilance.
For instance, in March 2021, a bowling ball-size meteor exploded over Vermont with the force of 440 pounds (200 kilograms) of TNT. In 2013, a meteor that exploded in the atmosphere above the central Russian city of Chelyabinsk generated a blast roughly equal to around 400 to 500 kilotons of TNT, or 26 to 33 times the energy released by the Hiroshima bomb. During the 2013 explosion, fireballs rained down over the city and its environs, damaging buildings, smashing windows and injuring approximately 1,500 people.
If astronomers were to ever spy a dangerous asteroid headed our way, space agencies around the world are already working on possible ways to deflect it. On Sept. 26, the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft redirected the non-hazardous asteroid Dimorphos by ramming it off course, altering the asteroid’s orbit by 32 minutes in the first test of Earth’s planetary defense system.
China has also suggested it is in the early planning stages of an asteroid-redirect mission. By slamming 23 Long March 5 rockets into the asteroid Bennu, which is set to swing within 4.6 million miles (7.4 million km) of Earth’s orbit between the years 2175 and 2199, the country hopes to divert the space rock from a potentially catastrophic impact with our planet.
Ben Turner is a U.K. based staff writer at Live Science. He covers physics and astronomy, among other topics like tech and climate change. He graduated from University College London with a degree in particle physics before training as a journalist. When he’s not writing, Ben enjoys reading literature, playing the guitar and embarrassing himself with chess.
Closest black hole to Earth discovered lurking in our ‘cosmic backyard’
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The creative team behind Lenoir Community College’s presentation of A Christmas Carol – A New Musical is hard at work to bring this musical adaptation of Charles Dickens’ novel to life on stage. This production is an excellent way to start the holiday season with a 13-piece orchestra and 38-member cast. 
The musical production is in partnership with the LCC Foundation and Fine Arts Department Nov. 11, 12, 18, and 19 at 7:30 p.m., and Nov. 13 and 20 at 3 p.m. in the newly renovated Briley Auditorium with new seating and performance space, and a state-of-the-art sound and lighting system. 
This musical adaptation of Charles Dickens’ novel, A Christmas Carol, brings the traditional story of Scrooge to life on the stage. Written by Keith Ferguson and Bruce Greer, and directed by LCC’s own, Jessica Cruz, this musical theater adaptation is faithful to the words of Charles Dickens and has been performed by professional theaters, community theaters, schools, and churches in the United States, Canada, and United Kingdom over and again in recent years.  
Tickets range from $12 for children ages 3-12, to $25 for reserved orchestra seating.  Tickets are available at https://our.show/lenoirccachristmascarol or by calling the LCC Foundation at 252.233.6824.  
Director Jessica Cruz is no stranger to the stage as a performer and a director. She is the current Program Chair of Fine Arts at LCC.  She is committed to inspiring her students to reach their full potential in both their academics and talent.  She received her Masters of Divinity from Campbell University where she focused on classes in Music, Worship, and Pastoral Care.  She has performed both on stage and behind the scenes in numerous roles over the years.  Her participation in Rivertowne Players 2015 staging of Les Miserables led her to making lasting connections to some of her closest most trusted friends.  Her husband and their five children have many shared successes on the stage, and she loves supporting each of them.  She is extremely grateful to her immediate and extended family for their continued support while working on this latest project.  Without their love, help, and understanding, this show would not have occurred.  
Musical Director Dr. Timothy Maddox-Fisher received his Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Northcentral University and his master’s in music education from Bob Jones University. He has musically directed numerous musical theatre shows in New Bern, Wilmington, Kinston, and surrounding areas, and has been a Church Pianist, Music Minister, Piano Teacher, and Music Instructor for the past 10 years. He currently serves as the Associate Vice President of Instruction & Institutional Effectiveness/SACSCOC Liaison at LCC and as Contemporary Worship Pianist at Centenary United Methodist Church in New Bern. Previously, he served as Dean of Arts and Sciences, Special Events Coordinator, and Music Instructor at LCC. He has judged numerous theatrical and dance events and has been a part of more than 25 musicals in various artistic roles. He currently resides in New Bern with his husband, Jamie, and he is excited to be musically directing this show. 
Assistant Musical Director Dr. Brian McBride serves as Music Instructor at LCC. As a professional tubist, his performance experience covers a wide range as a soloist, chamber musician, and performer with many orchestras throughout the nation, including the Canton Symphony Orchestra, Westmoreland Symphony, Johnstown Symphony, Lansing Symphony Orchestra, and the Pittsburgh Symphony. Recent performances include the World Premiere of Michael Goodman’s Pneumatic Funk for solo tuba and Rolf Wilhelm’s Concertino with the 440th U.S. Army Band. 
Kristi Wiley is currently an instructor of Communication and English at LCC. She is the producer of A Christmas Carol. While at North Lenoir High School, she participated in The Pajama Game in the ensemble but found her passion is behind the scenes. She served as a technical assistant for six years and a total of 12 productions. Wiley said it is honored to be back to produce A Christmas Carol after the long pause following Annie in 2018. None of this would have been possible without the fantastic creative team, cast, crew, and support of Cat Kosinski. 
Daniel McLawhorn has designed and built sets for the LCC art program and is the set designer for A Christmas Carol.  He has played a role and designed/built the set for the play Annie. He said he enjoys having an idea given, then making it come to life on the stage.  
Emily Davis is excited to be working on her first production at LCC as a costume designer. She has been involved with theater for over 20 years, participating in 10 productions at North Lenoir High School and assistant directing over 25 productions with NLHS Drama. She is married to Tyndall Davis, starring as Fred, and resides in Kinston with their two labs, Ficklen and Banks. She is a graduate of Meredith College and works at LCC as the Academic Support and RISE Transition Coordinator. 
 
Neuse News is a locally-owned small business startup in downtown Kinston. Our goal is to provide free, hyper-local news to Lenoir, Greene and Jones counties. The kind of news our grandparents read in a format fit for today’s times.
We provide this by having supportive advertisers and we encourage you to click on their ads, shop with them, and eat with them. Every bit of financial support is important to help us sustain free, hyper-local news.
Please consider supporting Neuse News with as little as $5 one-time or via a monthly option. Every little bit helps us, help you.
 

Director of Marketing, Recruiting & Communications
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Lenoir Community College
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[Report Pages No 126] In 2022, What is “Digital Music Market” Insights?
In 2022, the growth of Digital Music Market is projected to reach Multi-million USD by 2026, In comparison to 2021, Over the next Seven years the Digital Music Market will register a magnificent spike in CAGR in terms of revenue, In this study, 2021 has been considered as the base year and 2022 to 2026 as the forecast period to estimate the market size for Digital Music.
Get a Sample PDF of report – https://www.marketgrowthreports.com/enquiry/request-sample/18784809
Digital Music Market Insights 2022 With “Digital Music market revenue was Million USD in 2016, grew to Million USD in 2021, and will reach Million USD in 2026, with a CAGR of % during 2021-2026.” Including Types (Permanent Downloads, Music Streaming), Applications (Below 18 years, 18-40 years, 41-60 years, Above 60 years), Regions and Forecast to 2026. The Digital Music Market Report Contains Full TOC, Tables and Figures, and Chart with In-depth Analysis Pre and Post COVID-19 Market Outbreak Impact Analysis and Situation by Region. Digital Music Market research report is an analysis report that gives you an insight into the future and the future of business. The factual information and data contained in this report will allow you to identify the key features of the Digital Music Market that drive, revenue and growth potential.
During the COVID-19 period, the global economy may be affected in three different ways: directly as it relates to production and demand, indirectly as it relates to supply chains and markets, and as a result of its financial consequences on firms and financial markets. Analysts monitoring the situation around the world explain that producers will be rewarded after the COVID-19 crisis. In this report, we provide an additional illustration of the latest economic slowdown, COVID-19 impact on the industry, and the latest scenario.
Final Report will add the analysis of the impact of COVID-19 on this industry.
TO KNOW HOW COVID-19 PANDEMIC AND RUSSIA UKRAINE WAR WILL IMPACT THIS MARKET – REQUEST SAMPLE
Technological innovation and advancement will further optimize the performance of the product, enabling it to acquire a wider range of applications in the downstream market. Moreover, customer preference analysis, market dynamics (drivers, restraints, opportunities), new product release, impact of COVID-19, regional conflicts and carbon neutrality provide crucial information for us to take a deep dive into the Digital Music Market.
Get a Sample PDF of report – https://www.marketgrowthreports.com/enquiry/request-sample/18784809
The research covers the current Rectifiers market size of the market and its growth rates based on 6-year records with a company outline of Key Players/Manufacturers:
Digital Music Market Analysis and Insights:
The Global Digital Music Market is anticipated to rise at a considerable rate during the forecast period, between 2022 and 2026. In 2021, the market is growing at a steady rate and with the rising adoption of strategies by key players, the market is expected to rise over the projected horizon.
The Digital Music market revenue was Million USD in 2016, grew to Million USD in 2021, and will reach Million USD in 2026, with a CAGR of % during 2021-2026.
Considering the influence of COVID-19 on the global Digital Music market, this report analyzed the impact from both global and regional perspectives. From production end to consumption end in regions such as North America, Europe, China, and Japan, the report put emphasis on analysis of market under COVID-19 and corresponding response policy in different regions.
This report also analyzes the strategies for different companies to deal with the impact of COVID-19 in detail to seek a path to recovery.
Under COVID-19 Outbreak, how the Digital Music Industry will develop is also analyzed in detail in Chapter 1.8 of this report.
Get a Sample Copy of the Digital Music Market Report 2022
The report further studies the market development status and future Digital Music Market trend across the world. Also, it splits Digital Music Market Segmentation by Type and by Application to fully and deeply research and reveal market profile and prospects.
On the basis of product type this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split into:
On the basis of the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, consumption (sales), market share and growth rate for each application, including:
Chapters 7-26 focus on the regional market. We have selected the most representative 20 countries from 197 countries in the world and conducted a detailed analysis and overview of the market development of these countries.
SOME OF THE KEY QUESTIONS ANSWERED IN THIS REPORT:
Inquire more and share questions if any before the purchase on this report at – https://www.marketgrowthreports.com/enquiry/pre-order-enquiry/18784809
Major Points from Table of Contents –
Global Digital Music Market Research Report 2022-2026, by Manufacturers, Regions, Types and Applications
1 Introduction
1.1 Objective of the Study
1.2 Definition of the Market
1.3 Market Scope
1.3.1 Market Segment by Type, Application and Marketing Channel
1.3.2 Major Regions Covered (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Mid East and Africa)
1.4 Years Considered for the Study (2017-2026)
1.5 Currency Considered (U.S. Dollar)
1.6 Stakeholders
2 Key Findings of the Study
3 Market Dynamics
3.1 Driving Factors for this Market
3.2 Factors Challenging the Market
3.3 Opportunities of the Global Digital Music Market (Regions, Growing/Emerging Downstream Market Analysis)
3.4 Technological and Market Developments in the Digital Music Market
3.5 Industry News by Region
3.6 Regulatory Scenario by Region/Country
3.7 Market Investment Scenario Strategic Recommendations Analysis
4 Value Chain of the Digital Music Market
4.1 Value Chain Status
4.2 Upstream Raw Material Analysis
4.3 Midstream Major Company Analysis (by Manufacturing Base, by Product Type)
4.4 Distributors/Traders
4.5 Downstream Major Customer Analysis (by Region)
Get a Sample Copy of the Digital Music Market Report 2022
5 Global Digital Music Market-Segmentation by Type
6 Global Digital Music Market-Segmentation by Application
7 Global Digital Music Market-Segmentation by Marketing Channel
7.1 Traditional Marketing Channel (Offline)
7.2 Online Channel
8 Competitive Intelligence Company Profiles
9 Global Digital Music Market-Segmentation by Geography
9.1 North America
9.2 Europe
9.3 Asia-Pacific
9.4 Latin America
9.5 Middle East and Africa
10 Future Forecast of the Global Digital Music Market from 2022-2026
10.1 Future Forecast of the Global Digital Music Market from (2022-2026) Segment by Region
10.2 Global Digital Music Production and Growth Rate Forecast by Type (2022-2026)
10.3 Global Digital Music Consumption and Growth Rate Forecast by Application (2022-2026)
11 Appendix
11.1 Methodology
12.2 Research Data Source
Continued….
Browse complete table of contents at –
https://www.marketgrowthreports.com/TOC/18784809#Tables
Reasons to buy this report:
Purchase this report (Price 3000 USD for a single-user license) – https://www.marketgrowthreports.com/purchase/18784809
About Us:
Market is changing rapidly with the ongoing expansion of the industry. Advancement in the technology has provided today’s businesses with multifaceted advantages resulting in daily economic shifts. Thus, it is very important for a company to comprehend the patterns of the market movements in order to strategize better. An efficient strategy offers the companies with a head start in planning and an edge over the competitors. Market Growth Reports is the credible source for gaining the market reports that will provide you with the lead your business needs.
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For More Related Reports Click Here :
Know About Digital Transformation Strategy Consulting Market Positive Long-Term Growth Outlook 2022-2026
How COVID-19 Impacting Online Video Platform Market Globally 2022-2026?
Discover How Trail Running Shoes Market 2022-2026 is Estimated Drive the Industry Growth Across World in Coming Year
Network Function Virtualization (NFV) Market Size Overview by Rising Demands, Trends and Huge Business Opportunities 2022 to 2026
Photobooks Market 2022-2026 Is Booming Worldwide With Comprehensive Study Explores Huge Revenue Scope In Future
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To view the original version on The Express Wire visit Digital Music Market Will Explore High Industry Trends, Growth Factors, Segmentation, Future Dynamics and Technologies by 2026

“I think that Elon Musk’s cooperation and/or technical relationships with other countries is worthy of being looked at,” Biden said.
As we enter the winter months with fewer daylight hours and lower temperatures, staff motivation can be a concern for many business owners.
Oftentimes, DDoS attacks are used during elections to result in large-scale disruptions or prevent people from voting.
A dual Russian-Canadian national has been arrested in Canada on charges of being involved in the LockBit ransomware campaign – Copyright GETTY IMAGES NORTH…
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Follow along for real-time, on-the-ground updates on the 2022 U.S. midterm elections from The Associated Press. Live updates — all times Eastern — are produced by AP journalists around the country.
You can find updates from Election Night itself at this page.
___
2022 isn’t over, yet eyes are already on 2024. On the heels of Tuesday night’s disappointing results for Republicans, allies of former President Donald Trump were calling on him to delay his planned announcement of another White House run, AP national political reporter Jill Colvin reports.
Trump sought to use the midterms as a chance to prove his enduring political influence, endorsing more than 330 candidates in races up and down the ballot. While he notched some big wins, his candidates also lost high-profile races. Trump insisted publicly he was happy with the results, but his setbacks were animating the hopes of a long list of potential rivals waiting quietly in the wings.
Republicans’ biggest victory lay in Florida, where Gov. Ron DeSantis easily won reelection and cemented his status as a rising star while eyeing his own potential 2024 run.
___
“I believed that the people would choose freedom over slavery, if we gave them the opportunity, by taking the slavery question away from the legislators and putting it into the hands of the people. And they proved us right,” he said.
— Max Parthas, campaigns coordinator for the Abolish Slavery National Network
Ballot measures approved Tuesday will change the state constitutions in Alabama, Oregon, Tennessee and Vermont to prohibit slavery and involuntary servitude as punishment for crime, AP national race and ethnicity reporter Aaron Morrison reports.
Meanwhile, lawmakers in Louisiana — one of a handful of states that sentences convicted felons to hard labor — torpedoed their own, similar measure because of ambiguous language.
___
If Tuesday’s vote defied the durable history of presidential parties taking heavy losses in a midterm election, it also reinforced an often-forgotten fact: These campaigns are a patchwork of thousands of races, not a nationwide contest, AP’s Josh Boak and Hannah Fingerhut report.
Inflation, abortion or fears about democracy may have swayed the votes of many Americans, but they did so in myriad ways depending on the state, district or the candidates. That was clear in AP VoteCast, an in-depth survey of more than 94,000 voters nationwide.
Its numbers tell a story of how demographics, cultural issues and the quality of candidates were central to the outcomes of many contests.
___
ROLL TAPE
Ted Johnson, the Senior Advisor of New America, provides analysis about the Black candidates making waves in this year’s election.
___
“If they lose, that just reaffirms beliefs that the whole thing is rigged. And if they win, you have people running elections who have pretty wild thoughts about how elections should be run.”
— Bret Schafer, a senior fellow at the Alliance for Securing Democracy, on candidates for offices that have power over elections who spread misleading claims
AP’s David Klepper reports on Election Day misinformation, offering examples of how misleading claims emerge and travel, and how innocent events can be spun into the latest viral election hoax.
He also delves into the kind of baseless rumors and conspiracy theories that were reverberating around the internet Wednesday as candidates and far-right influencers sought to explain away losses and closer-than-expected races.
___
“We have seen no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was any way compromised in any race in the country.”
— Jen Easterly, director of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency, said in a statement
Despite a few state and local governments appearing to be hit by a relatively basic form of cyberattack that can make public websites unreachable, federal and local officials said none had broken through vote-counting infrastructure, AP’s Nomaan Merchant and Emily Wagster Pettus report.
___
THE EXPECTATIONS GAME
Republicans, according to the narrative, had a disastrous night — even causing Fox News to call for “soul searching” in the GOP. But how big of a disaster was it if Republicans remain favored to retake the House and still might manage to flip the Senate?
Democrats battled tough circumstances and political history to dilute the dreaded red wave. But the relief could obscure growing weaknesses in the party’s position and a tough road ahead for President Joe Biden.
The power of those pre-election expectations fueled the national conversation and the media narrative after election day.
Associated Press media writer David Bauder looks at whether the “bad for GOP, bad for Trump” instant analysis is as clear cut as it seems.
And Zeke Miller, Chris Megerian and Hannah Fingerhut explore why the next two years might still be an uncertain slog for Biden.
___
4:20 p.m.
President Joe Biden, in his first public comments on the outcome of the midterm elections, said his takeaway is that voters were clear that they’re still frustrated with record inflation, crime and other issues. “I get it,” Biden said at the White House.
___
SNAPSHOT
Buu Nygren ousted Jonathan Nez as president of the Navajo Nation, a position that wields influence nationally because of the size of the tribe’s reservation in the U.S. Southwest and its huge population, AP’s Felicia Fonseca reports from Flagstaff, Arizona.
Nygren, 35, positioned himself as the candidate for change in the nonpartisan race and as someone who could get the ball rolling on long-awaited projects. He has a background in construction management but has never held political office.
___
ANALYSIS
“Democrats had plenty to savor in the morning light. But as they exhaled and Republicans lamented big gains that didn’t materialize, there were larger problems that both political parties will need to address — and soon,” AP chief political writer Steve Peoples writes in an analysis of the midterm results so far.
___
In Tuesday’s midterm elections, records were broken and history was made, AP’s Adriana Gomez Licon reports. In states across the country, women, LGBTQ and Black candidates were elected to congressional seats and governor’s offices as part of a new generation of political leadership.
Those firsts include the country’s first openly lesbian governor, Maryland’s first Black governor, and Vermont’s first woman in Congress. Candidates also smashed records — 12 women will be governors, hitting double digits for the first time.
___
STAY TUNED IN GEORGIA
It might be another month before we know who controls the Senate. Georgia’s closely watched race between Raphael Warnock and Herschel Walker will go to a Dec. 6 runoff because neither candidate took more than half of the vote.
Democrats or Republicans would need to win both of the other pending Senate races, in Arizona and Nevada, to control the chamber without winning in Georgia. AP’s Meg Kinnard explains how the runoff will work.
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GROUNDBREAKERS IN ARKANSAS
Arkansas has never had a female governor. Or lieutenant governor. On Tuesday night, they got both.
Voters elevated former White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders to the state’s top role, a position her father held from 1996 to 2007.
Arkansas voters also picked current Attorney General Leslie Rutledge to serve as lieutenant governor. She becomes the first woman to serve as the state’s No. 2 and essentially swaps roles with current Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin, who was elected attorney general.
All are Republicans.
Sanders faced Democrat Chris Jones, a nuclear engineer who would have become Arkansas’ first Black governor. In a statement Wednesday congratulating Sanders, Jones said: “History was made. Sarah’s election has shown women, including my little girls, that being a woman is no longer a barrier to becoming governor in our state.”
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With Sean Patrick Maloney losing his race, New York’s congressional delegation goes from having two Maloneys to zero. Carolyn Maloney lost her primary for the 12th district earlier this year.
For the first time since 1993, when Carolyn Maloney was first elected, New York will have no Maloneys in Congress.
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1:15 p.m.
President Joe Biden completed a final round of calls to lawmakers on Tuesday’s ballot. Amid the many congratulatory and conciliatory calls to fellow Democrats, Biden also called Republican Gov. Mike DeWine of Ohio.
The two have certainly had their policy differences — DeWine even ran campaign ads attacking Biden’s policies — but they have also found areas of common ground and mutual interest. Biden pushed for the CHIPS and Science Act, a $280 billion measure intended to boost the semiconductor industry and scientific research. Passage of the law was crucial to Intel Corp. agreeing to build a new $20 billion facility outside of Columbus, Ohio.
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Pennsylvania Rep.-elect Summer Lee replaced Mike Doyle, a Democrat who did not seek reelection after nearly 30 years in Congress, AP’s Brooke Schultz reports. But to nab the seat, Lee had to face Mike Doyle — a completely different person and a Republican.
The identical names were the source of some puzzlement, and the Republican Doyle tried to capitalize on it by using the tagline #TheRight Mike.
In her speech to supporters Tuesday night, Lee nodded to the name conflation.
“When we were up against a wall — every single time when it looked like it was getting bleak: friends came from all over,” she said. “When we got into the name confusion and people started wondering, ‘What’s going on?’ We had friends come up.”
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Despite outspoken activism by some families of the children killed at Robb Elementary School, voters in Uvalde County backed Gov. Greg Abbott over challenger Beto O’Rourke in the governor’s race.
Unofficial results show about 60% of voters in Uvalde County backed the Republican Abbott.
O’Rourke made the Uvalde attack a centerpiece of his campaign, at one point interrupting Abbott during a press conference shortly after the school shooting that killed 19 children and two teachers.
On the local level, the acting Uvalde police chief — who has been suspended — won a county commissioner’s race, prevailing over challengers that included the father of Jacklyn Cazares, who died in the school shooting.
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The winner of Alaska’s U.S. Senate contest is yet unclear, but whoever it will be, we know it will be a Republican. AP’s Mike Catalini explains how the state’s ranked choice voting will ensure either Republican incumbent Lisa Murkowski or Trump-backed Kelly Tshibaka will nab the seat.
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“The reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated.”
— GOP Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who won reelection Tuesday despite an array of controversies, including disciplinary action by the state bar, an FBI investigation and a long-delayed trial on securities fraud charges.
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Summer Lee has made history as Pennsylvania’s first Black congresswoman with her election. AP called the race for the open seat Wednesday morning.
Lee has served as a state representative since 2019. Speaking to supporters at a watch party, she called their event a “scaled down thing, because we’ve been through it.”
“We had to go through ugly to get here,” she said. “There is a reason why there had never been a Black woman, ever, serving (in Congress) in the history of Pennsylvania. So I can assure you they’re not going to let up on us. They’re not going to relent.”
Lee defeated Republican Mike Doyle, who conceded Tuesday night.
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“Saddle up.”
— Doug Mastriano, Republican gubernatorial nominee in Pennsylvania
The AP called the Pennsylvania governor’s race for Democrat Josh Shapiro on Tuesday night, but Mastriano has yet to concede. He posted a photo of him on a horse with the above caption Wednesday morning and told a crowd of supporters Tuesday night that he would wait “until every vote counts,”
Meanwhile, Republican Mehmet Oz said he called John Fetterman to concede the race for Pennsylvania’s open Senate seat Wednesday morning, saying he wished him well “both personally and as our next United States Senator.” AP called the race in the early hours Wednesday.
“We are facing big problems as a country and we need everyone to put down their partisan swords and focus on getting the job done,” Oz said in a statement.
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12 p.m.
Abortion rights advocates in Kentucky saw clear vindication in that state’s rejection of an amendment that would have provided legal protections for a ban on abortions approved by the state legislature.
“We’ve been making the case throughout this campaign that Kentucky’s abortion laws are very extreme and are out of step with the majority of Kentuckians’ values,” said Rachel Sweet, campaign manager for Protect Kentucky Access, who also coordinated a successful fight against a similar amendment in Kansas earlier this year. “And I think that the results that we are seeing from the Amendment 2 vote are a repudiation of the policies that have been in place in Kentucky so far.”
Sweet, who spoke on a Zoom call organized by opponents on the amendment, said the fight is far from over, in Kentucky or anywhere else: “It is still an issue that we do not anticipate will be settled in any way, shape or form.”
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“There’s still a beating heart to American democracy.”
— U.S. Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Wednesday morning
Maloney, who represents a New York district, acknowledged his own defeat after conceding to Republican Mike Lawler, a state assemblyman. The AP has not declared a winner in that contest.
Maloney said Nov. 8 would stand as a “signature day in American political history.”
“If we fall a little short,” Maloney said of his party, “we’re going to know that we gave it our all and we beat the spread.”
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In a series of statewide ballot measures, voters affirmed abortion rights in the first major election after the overturning of Roe v. Wade earlier this year.
In Michigan, California and Vermont, voters enshrined the right to abortion in their state constitutions on Tuesday, AP’s Lindsay Whitehurst reports. And in Kentucky, a heavily Republican state, voters declared there is no state constitutional right to abortion.
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“Let me say the message so it can be loud and clear — so that the radical left-wing teachers’ union can hear it, so that Joe Biden can hear it. Folks, Oklahoma won’t go woke.”
— Ryan Walters, Oklahoma’s newly elected superintendent of schools who as a candidate targeted teachers over banned books
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Why hasn’t the AP called control of Congress yet? Neither party has reached the thresholds required to win the House or Senate — and it’s not quite clear when that might change, AP’s Mike Catalini explains.
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Here’s the difference between two phrases often bandied about during elections, from AP national political reporter Meg Kinnard’s glossary:
“Too early to call”: Races in which the vote count is active and ongoing and a winner is not yet clear are “too early to call.” That includes races in which the vote count may take several days.
“Too close to call”: Races in which the vote count has reached its primary conclusion – all outstanding ballots save provisional and late-arriving absentee ballots have been counted – without a clear winner are “too close to call.” AP formally declares a race “too close to call” via our election reporting system and in our news report.
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Backers of recreational marijuana scored wins Tuesday night in Maryland and Missouri but in Arkansas, North Dakota and South Dakota legalization efforts went up in smoke.
Recreational pot use will be legal in 21 states following Tuesday’s results, AP’s Andrew DeMillo reports.
The votes come a month after President Joe Biden announced he was pardoning thousands of Americans convicted of simple possession of marijuana under federal law.
In Colorado, recreational pot has been legal for a decade. A ballot measure that would decriminalize certain psychedelic substances including so-called “magic mushrooms” remained too early to call Wednesday morning.
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The AP has tallied votes and declared winners in U.S. elections since 1848. AP’s Meg Kinnard and Mike Catalini take you through how we made the calls in 10 key races so far:
U.S. Senate calls: John Fetterman in Pennsylvania, Maggie Hassan in New Hampshire, Ted Budd in North Carolina, JD Vance in Ohio, Michael Bennet in Colorado
Governor calls: Tony Evers in Wisconsin, Gretchen Whitmer in Michigan, Brian Kemp in Georgia, Josh Shapiro in Pennsylvania, Greg Abbott in Texas, Ron DeSantis in Florida
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The weather in the nation’s capital is cool and crisp on this Election Morning After, as control of Congress still hangs in the balance.
AP’s Brian Slodysko in Washington identifies the takeaways so far:
— Republicans hoped for a sweep that never came — but they could still wrest control of the House and Senate
— The increasing redness of Florida, a traditional battleground state, was reinforced by Gov. Ron DeSantis and Sen. Marco Rubio’s reelection victories
— At $16.7 billion, the midterms themselves are on track to be the most expensive ever, according to the nonpartisan OpenSecrets, nearly doubling the cost of the 2010 midterm elections

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