SCROLL NEWS / DISCOVERY
Search headlines
Find the stories shaping the conversation.
Results for " TOM " 25,573 found 🔀 AI-powered Shuffle
How Daylight Saving Time affects your health
The Elder Scrolls VI Reportedly Titled Sentinel, Set in Hammerfell
The Elder Scrolls VI might finally get its full name soon. According to The Verge's Tom Warren, Bethesda is preparing to announce the game as The Elder Scrolls VI: Sentinel, and the reveal could come as soon as November. Warren expects it to be a name reveal only, so a trailer, gameplay, or...
Scientists use sound waves to deliver a new attack on deadly brain cancer
Scientists at the University of Virginia have developed a promising new strategy to fight glioblastoma, one of the deadliest and most difficult-to-treat forms of brain cancer. Their experimental approach combines focused ultrasound, tiny nanoparticles, and genetic molecules called microRNAs to attack multiple cancer-driving genes simultaneously.
Business Owners Have a Window. Most Aren't Ready to Use It. by Tully Ryan
I spend my working life on both sides of a business sale. As an M&A advisor based in Wilmington, I help lower middle market owners across North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia sell what they've built. As the founder and CEO of IQExit, I work with the bankers, wealth advisors, CPAs and attorneys who sit beside those owners for years before a sale ever comes up. From both seats, I keep seeing the same thing. The market is ready for our owners. Too many of our owners aren't ready for the market. Start with our own backyard. Wilmington's metro area added more than 12,000 residents between July 2024 and July 2025, a 2.6% jump that ranked seventh in the country. It also posted the highest job growth rate of any metro in North Carolina. I see the same pattern in the growth markets I work in across the Southeast. New residents mean new customers and new workers. They also mean new buyers: people who moved here from corporate jobs and want to own something, private equity groups looking for add-ons in HVAC, electrical, landscaping and other trade services, and younger entrepreneurs who would rather buy a running business than start one from scratch. The ownership numbers are hard to ignore. About half of North Carolina's small businesses have an owner who is 55 or older, and roughly 85% of those owners have no succession plan, according to the North Carolina Employee Ownership Center. Nationally, more than half of Baby Boomer business owners have no documented transition plan. That isn't a crisis yet. It's a timing problem. A lot of businesses will change hands over the next decade, and the prepared ones will get the better buyers and the better terms. Buyers have money and they're using it. But an active market doesn't mean a fast one. The IBBA's latest Market Pulse survey found that Main Street deals took six to 10 months from engagement to close in the second quarter, and lower middle market deals took 11 to 12 months. That clock starts after the owner decides to sell. In my experience, the real preparation has to start years before. Two clocks, two playbooks When I sit down with an owner or their advisor, my first question isn't “What's it worth?” It's “When?” The answer puts the owner in one of two groups. If the owner wants out within 24 months, we're in execution mode. There's no time to rebuild the business. The work is cleaning up what a buyer will test: three years of financials that tie to the tax returns, an add-back schedule you can prove, customer and vendor contracts in writing, a lease that can be assigned, and a price the market will actually pay. The goal is certainty to close. If the exit is two to five years away, the owner has something worth more than time. They have choices. That window is where most value gets built, and most owners waste it by waiting. What kills deals In the lower middle market, deals rarely die over the headline price. They die in diligence, or they get retraded late in the process. I see the same causes again and again. The owner is the business. If every key customer relationship runs through the owner's cell phone, a buyer sees risk and a lender sees more of it. The books don't hold up. Buyers spot weak accounting fast. Statements that get revised mid-process, a revolving door in the bookkeeper's chair, revenue tracked on a side spreadsheet, and margins that slip while sales climb with no clear reason all make a buyer nervous. So does an owner who pushes back when asked for documents. And plenty of private owners run personal expenses through the company. Add-backs are normal. Add-backs you can't document turn into a lower offer. The real estate isn't sorted out. Many owners hold their building in a separate LLC. That's fine, but the lease terms or the property sale should be settled before a buyer shows up, not halfway through diligence. Revenue sits in too few hands. Picture a contractor with 40% of its work coming from one builder, or a service company running on handshake deals. Buyers will still look, but the terms shift toward more seller financing, an earnout, or less cash at closing. Owners and advisors: if your exit is three to five years out • Get a baseline now. Find out where the business really stands today: what a buyer would pay, who that buyer is likely to be, and which gaps would hurt you in diligence. You can't fix what you haven't measured, and the answer is often different from what the owner expects. • Make yourself less necessary. Spend the next few years building a manager or small team that can run daily operations and own customer relationships. Put handshake deals into written contracts. A business that runs without its owner is worth more and is far easier to finance. • Clean the books for three straight years. Buyers and lenders look back at least three years. Separate personal expenses, keep the financials tied to the tax returns, track every add-back as you go, and settle the real estate plan early. A word to CPAs CPAs often see a sale coming before anyone else, and you're usually the most trusted voice an owner has. Year-end meetings are the right time to start this conversation. Here's what I'd ask every CPA to do this season with business owner clients over 55: • Ask the timing question. “Do you see yourself owning this business in five years? If not, who takes it over?” Write down the answer and bring it up again at next year's meeting. • Run a proof of cash and review revenue recognition. Make sure the cash in the bank ties to the revenue on the books. Pay close attention to contractors with work in progress and to companies selling memberships or service plans. These issues are easy to fix with years of lead time and painful to fix a month before closing. • Pair the tax return with an exit readiness review. Invite clients to complete IQExit's Exit Readiness Intelligence (ERI) process as part of year-end planning. It gives you and the client a shared picture of readiness gaps and an indicative value range, and the results come back to you as the advisor. That turns a tax meeting into a planning relationship, and it puts you in position to bring in tax and M&A help early, when choices like purchase price allocation can still save the client real money. Changing the conversation For bankers, wealth advisors and attorneys, the hard part is raising the subject without seeming to nudge a client toward the door. I understand that. Nobody wants to tell a 60-year-old owner it's time to sell. So don't. Ask a different question: “If a buyer called tomorrow, what would they find?” That's a planning question, not a pitch, and it's useful whether the exit is two years out or 15. It's the question we built IQExit to help advisors answer. Whether you're in Wilmington, Raleigh, Charleston, Richmond or anywhere else, owners have a real opening right now. The buyers are out there and so is the capital. The owners who come out ahead will be the ones who start getting ready before they're ready to sell.
The Best Time to Fix Your Business Is When Things Are Going Well by Nathan Tayloe
There's a pattern I've noticed working with growing businesses over the years. Conversations about what needs to change rarely happen when things are going well. They tend to happen when growth slows, a competitor starts winning business, or something that used to work stops producing the same results. By then, the decisions are often harder, more expensive, and more urgent than they needed to be. It's understandable. When revenue is growing, customers are coming in, and employees are busy, there's little incentive to question what's working. Leaders have plenty to manage without creating new challenges for themselves. Running my own business has taught me that it's easy to get caught up in what's happening today and put off improvements you know will matter tomorrow. Those periods of success may actually be the best opportunity a business has to make meaningful improvements. When Success Makes Change Less Urgent Most businesses have things they know could be better. The challenge is finding a compelling reason to address them when everything appears to be working. Maybe the company has outgrown its original positioning. Perhaps internal processes haven't kept pace with growth, or the customer experience has become inconsistent as the organization has expanded. These issues don't necessarily prevent a business from growing. Strong demand can make them easier to overlook, especially when teams are focused on keeping up with the work already coming in. Over time, small inefficiencies become accepted ways of operating. Outdated processes remain in place because they've always worked well enough, and opportunities to improve get pushed aside in favor of more immediate demands. The business continues moving forward, but some of the things supporting that growth aren't getting stronger along with it. The Advantage of Acting Early When a business is performing well, leadership has something valuable: options. There's more flexibility to invest, experiment, develop people, and make thoughtful decisions without the pressure of an immediate problem that needs solving. Compare that with trying to make the same changes when revenue is declining, or the market has shifted. Investments become harder to justify, timelines get compressed, and decisions that could have been made strategically become urgent responses to circumstances. I've seen businesses postpone improvements for years because there was never a particularly good time to address them. Eventually, circumstances decide for them, often when they have fewer resources and less flexibility to respond. Growth Changes What a Business Needs This is especially relevant in a growing market like Wilmington, where new businesses, new residents, and continued investment are creating opportunities across the region. As organizations grow, the expectations placed on them change. Customers expect greater consistency, employees need clearer processes and opportunities, and leadership has to make decisions that support a larger, more complex business. What worked when a company was smaller may still work today, but that doesn't necessarily mean it will support where the organization wants to go next. Sometimes the most valuable improvements are the ones that prepare a business for demands it hasn't experienced yet. That might mean: Strengthening internal processes before they become bottlenecks Developing leaders before the organization depends on them Improving the customer experience before inconsistencies affect retention Revisiting positioning before the market outgrows the company's story None of these changes requires a crisis. They require recognizing that a growing business needs to keep evolving, even when current performance gives leadership little reason to worry. Use the Good Years Wisely Successful businesses don't need to constantly reinvent themselves. There's value in knowing what works and having the discipline to build on it. There's also value in occasionally asking whether the business is as strong as its current performance suggests. Are there problems we've learned to work around instead of solving? Are we still operating the way we did several years ago, even though the business has changed? What would we improve today if we weren't waiting for something to go wrong? Success creates the freedom to ask those questions and act on the answers. The businesses that make the most of that opportunity are often better prepared for whatever comes next. The strongest businesses don't need a crisis to recognize an opportunity to improve. They use the good years to prepare for the years ahead. — Learn more about how we help organizations strengthen their positioning, align their strategy, and prepare for what's next at tayloegray.com, or reach out directly at nathan@tayloegray.com.
Scientists say a forgotten particle may explain why the universe exists
A mysterious particle overlooked for decades may hold the key to why matter survived the Big Bang, allowing stars, planets, and life to exist. Scientists believe this forgotten neutrino reshaped the early universe and may have left detectable gravitational wave signals that could help unlock the cosmos’s deepest mysteries.
Florida regenerative farm focuses on soil health during harvest season
A Florida regenerative farm is showing how crops, composting and local markets can rebuild soil and connect customers with their food.
$10,000 in Vanguard's Health Care ETF in 2004 Grew to $93,915, and It Still Charges 0.09%
A single health care ETF launched two decades ago at rock-bottom cost has quietly compounded into a sum that surprises most investors, but whether its three closest rivals can match it depends entirely on what kind of risk you are willing to carry.
Monument Health opens second Community Heart Hub in Sturgis
Monument Health opened its second Community Heart Hub at the Sturgis Public Library, offering free automated blood pressure checks and educational materials.
Virginia and D.C. sue over Trump's arch, adding to legal challenges as government wants work to begin
There are now three lawsuits calling for a halt to potential work on a monument that would rise 250 feet on a patch of grass off the bridge that spans the Potomac River, connecting the city with Arlington National Cemetery.
NYC business owner says e-bike takeover is driving away tenants, customers as city struggles to rein in chaos
A New York City neighborhood is at the center of a growing battle over food delivery e-bikes, as residents say hundreds of riders have taken over their streets, blocking driveways, attracting rats and hurting local businesses.
In a New Jersey House race, Trump is putting a centuries-old family legacy at risk
Republican Rep. Tom Kean Jr. is descended from New Jersey’s first governor. A blue wave may take him out anyway.
Virginia and D.C. sue over Trump's arch, adding to mounting legal challenges
Le Havre manager Didier Digard to be sacked following chaotic early Ligue 1 season
Didier Digard has reportedly been sacked as Le Havre’s manager, according to information from L’Équipe.Bottom of Ligue 1 with seven defeats and just two points after nine league matches, the Norm...
Packers’ Micah Parsons reportedly eyeing Week 12 return for Thanksgiving Eve game against Rams
Albany respiratory therapist shares warning signs for lung health during Respiratory Care Week
Ignoring persistent respiratory symptoms can trigger a dangerous ripple effect throughout the entire body.
College football games, schedule, how to watch Week 9: Arizona vs. Texas Tech, Florida vs. Georgia, OSU vs. USC and more
Computer science grad lands software engineering job despite AI fears
A computer science graduate's job search offers a hopeful lesson about AI, automation, and the future of work.
Computer science grad lands software engineering job despite AI fears
A computer science graduate's job search offers a hopeful lesson about AI, automation, and the future of work.
Harris rallies Democrats in Georgia in final push before midterms
Kamala Harris appeared in Georgia for Sen. Jon Ossoff (D) and Keisha Lance Bottoms, who could be the first Black female governor.
Walmart makes big amends for Zelda Switch 2 console cancellations
There were some very disappointed Walmart customers on Wednesday as the day before the Zelda-themed Nintendo Switch 2 console was released Walmart cancelled a number of orders due to the retailer…
Starlink's Consumer Business Is Booming. This Business Is Growing Even Faster.
There's another Starlink customer that's rapidly increasing its revenue contribution -- and it makes for a more compelling SpaceX investment thesis.
Starlink's Consumer Business Is Booming. This Business Is Growing Even Faster.
There's another Starlink customer that's rapidly increasing its revenue contribution -- and it makes for a more compelling SpaceX investment thesis.
Name the 80s movie from one iconic line – from ‘I’ll have what she’s having’ to ‘The need for speed’
From Meg Ryan to Tom Cruise, some of our favorite '80s movie stars have been associated with exceptional one-liners. Can you guess all 10 in our quiz?
Florida education chief defends science plan
Education Commissioner Henry Mack pushed back Tuesday against criticism that Florida is de-emphasizing evolution in its new plan for teaching science, insisting the state is still covering a subject he agreed was a bedrock of biological science.“Evolutionary biology and the theory of evolution is in the standards,” Mack said. But several parents and teachers who attended an evening forum on the state’s proposed science standards criticized the proposal by the Florida Department of Education, which Mack runs, specifically the handling of evolutionary science.Joshua Garrett, a teacher in Orange County Public Schools, said the state’s proposed standards “danced around” evolution.State standards are benchmarks for what students should learn in their classes kindergarten through 12th grade, guiding what lessons are taught, what subjects are in state-approved textbooks and what concepts are tested on state exams.Florida’s current science standards call evolution a “big idea” and “the fundamental concept underlying all of biology.”The proposed ones barely mention evolution — a scientific theory explaining change in living species over time from natural selection that has been a cornerstone of biology for more than a century. The term “evolution,” in fact, is never defined in the new high school life sciences standards, though the concepts are sprinkled across several units.The education department has made revisions to its proposal, officials said, but it was not immediately clear at the Tuesday forum, held at Lake Buena Vista High School in southwest Orange County, what those changes were.Mack interjected during Garrett’s comments asking him where specifically he wanted the state to mention evolution more prominently. Then he said, “Consider it done.”Mack also asked Garrett to join the state’s faculty committee on the standards.The state released the new standards in September, and several experts quickly criticized them, saying they lacked depth and skirted around both evolution and climate change, important topics for Florida students to learn.The state has since hosted a “listening tour,” including a virtual forum and two other in-person meetings in Walton and Hillsborough counties. Tuesday’s meeting drew a small crowd of about 30 people, six of whom spoke.Mack described the state’s public forums as a chance for “myth busting” and to make clear Florida’s position.He wants to students to learn “above ideology,” he said, and added that evolution isn’t settled science. TNCMS.AdManager.render({region: 'fixed-big-ad-middle-asset', slot: 1, fold: "span"}); “I want to cultivate skeptics in the healthy sense of that term. As a result of these standards, students should not be walking away convinced of anything other than the rigor of the scientific method,” Mack said.The new standards would replace the current set, adopted after a monthslong, statewide fight over the inclusion of evolution as a required subject of study. Those who opposed the 2008 standards argued creationism, or the biblical story that God created all living things, should be taught alongside evolution.Thomas Simon, a Winter Park parent, compared Florida adopting the new standards to Nazi Germany ignoring the findings of Jewish scientists — which in part lost them World War II.“If this board could explicitly name communism in the history standards last year — because words matter — you must explicitly name the foundations of modern medicine, agriculture, and energy,” Simon said.Florida last year adopted new standards that require students learn about the “dangers and evil of communism.”Teri O’Connor, an elementary science teacher in Orange County, urged Mack to curtail the total number of standards, as they list more than 1,000 benchmarks teachers are to cover during their classes.“It’s only 180 days of school. That right there is an issue, especially if you want to dive in. If we need to teach the rigor of it and to critically think about each one, that’s difficult,” she said.Kathleen Murray, who spoke on behalf of the conservative political group Citizens Defending Freedom, said she was in “strong support” of the proposed standards. Science should teach children how to think, not what to think, she said.“When teaching the origins of life and the universe, the curriculum owes it to the Florida students to be honest about the limits of what scientific models can actually prove,” Murray said.State education officials said they’d received about 1,800 comments on the benchmarks, and they have updated them based on that criticism.With Tuesday the state’s final scheduled public forum, Mack said his biggest takeaway was that the standards needed to be more explicit about teaching students how to evaluate scientific studies and evidence and how to understand the scientific method.“We might have to do a better job of helping students question more as a result of these standards,” he said.In his original statement when the standards were announced in September, Mack wrote in a social media post that “science begins in wonder, not in ideology,” and “the classical tradition taught that nature is intelligible because it is ordered — that the book of creation can be read by reason.”Some read that to mean he was trying to interject religion into public school education. TNCMS.AdManager.render({region: 'fixed-big-ad-bottom-asset', slot: 1, fold: "below"});
Flávio Bolsonaro vows to continue father’s political fight in Brazil
2. Bundesliga preview: Hannover 96 vs. Dynamo Dresden
Hannover 96 will be desperate to end their difficult run of form when they welcome Dynamo Dresden in an important battle at the bottom of the 2. Bundesliga table on Sunday.Both sides have collected ju...
“How Many All-Pros Does Tom Brady Have?”: Rob Parker Makes Massive Claim About Lamar Jackson’s NFL Legacy By Comparing Him To 7x SB Winner
NFL analyst Rob Parker showered praise on Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson and compared him to seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady. On The Odd Couple Show, Parker highlighted Jackson’s three First-Team All-Pro selections and compared them with Brady, who earned the same number in 23 seasons.
Phantom Blade Zero Draws 700,000+ Steam Players Within 24 Hours of Launch
Phantom Blade Zero launched on Steam on October 29, 2026, and within 9 hours of launch had already cracked 500,000 concurrent players on Steam, according to SteamDB, with that number continuing to rise until it hit 723,876 around 12 hours after the game's launch before declining and rocketing up...
Vacant Stockton apartment building burns, sparking frustration from nearby business owner
Voters react to ‘very explicit’ political signs of congressional candidate in far west Bexar County
Tuscarora High School students injured in faulty science experiment
Several students at Tuscarora High School in Leesburg were burned or cut during a faulty chemistry experiment on Oct. 21.
Scientists develop new system to boost prime editing in dicot plants
A new gene-editing system could make it easier for researchers to introduce precise genetic changes into crops such as tomatoes, soybeans and rapeseed. Developed by researchers in China, SmartPE improves ...
Bottom Jokes Fueled Around a Third of the Taboo Humor in 269 Famously Funny Science Papers
An analysis of 269 humorous scientific papers found that 12.3% used sex, bodily functions or other taboo subjects, though the study did not test readers' reactions.
McDonald's dealt legal setback as judge allows McRib meat lawsuit to proceed
A federal judge dealt McDonald's a legal setback, allowing a lawsuit accusing the fast-food giant of misleading customers about the meat in its McRib sandwich to move forward.
Halloween party brings crowds and business to Palm Springs
PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) — Halloween celebrations are bringing thousands of people to downtown Palm Springs this weekend, giving local businesses a chance to bring in more customers. The annual Halloween party on Arenas Road is taking place Friday and Saturday, with music, dancing, entertainment and costume contests. The free event runs from 4 p.m.
United Automobile, Aerospace & Agricultural Implement Workers of America
The labor union representing workers in auto, aircraft and agricultural implement manufacturing and other industries in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico.
West Virginia state workers see moderate rise in health care costs with new PEIA plan
Apple Alerts Stores to iPhone Duo's Display Cracking Issue
In a memo shared with Apple Stores and Apple Authorized Service Providers this week, and later obtained by MacRumors, Apple provided technicians with guidance on how to diagnose and address the iPhone Duo's inner display cracking issue. If a customer reports the issue, Apple advised technicians to inspect the iPhone Duo and repair or replace it in accordance with their standard procedures.