ORCA AI Agent (@OrcaOfficialAI), an AI-powered infrastructure platform focused on prediction markets, is proud to announce that it has secured USD 7 million in a Series A strategic funding round. The USD 7 million series A round is backed by Alpha Capital, Genesis, Castrum, and Becker Ventures, reflecting growing institutional confidence in the convergence of artificial intelligence and prediction market infrastructure. ORCA is building an AI-native execution layer designed to connect intelligence, automation, and liquidity across the global prediction market ecosystem. The platform combines real-time data analysis, autonomous strategy execution, cross-market routing, portfolio management, and institutional-grade risk controls. The funding...

BROWNS SUMMIT, N.C., Aug. 05, 2026 (GLOBE PR Wire) — Black Tie CBD today introduced its new BudTender’s Choice program, combining Certified Ganjier recommendations with flexible subscription options to help customers discover rotating THCA flower cultivars across its Exotic, Indoor, Light Dep, and Greenhouse collections. As the selection of federally compliant THCA flower continues to grow, choosing the right cultivar has become increasingly complex for many consumers. Rather than asking customers to sort through dozens of strains based on cannabinoid percentages or unfamiliar terpene profiles, Black Tie CBD has introduced a different approach through its BudTender’s Choice program—an expert-guided service...

ADVAN ADVERTISING INC. (“ADV”) today announced that its Series C financing is progressing steadily according to plan. Driven by the continued expansion of its global smart retail network, ongoing improvements to its operational system, and significant progress in the development of the Central American market, the company’s overall corporate valuation has surpassed USD 25 billion, marking a new milestone in ADV‘s global strategic expansion. Over the years, ADV has remained committed to developing the smart retail industry by focusing on digital operations and the deployment of intelligent vending machine networks. The company continues to expand its global presence while strengthening...

For years, Coach Sean Kirtz has built a reputation for developing championship wrestlers and creating one of the most respected wrestling cultures in the country. This past weekend, his vision for women’s wrestling was on full display as the Lady Hammers delivered another statement performance at the Back-to-School Duals. Under Kirtz’s leadership, the Lady Hammers Black team captured the tournament championship, while his second squad, Lady Hammers Pink, battled its way to an impressive third-place finish. Bringing two teams capable of reaching the podium is a rare accomplishment and a testament to the depth Kirtz has cultivated within his program....

Academic studies documenting thousands of scam tokens and millions in estimated investor losses are prompting renewed discussion over whether decentralized exchanges can strengthen user protection without compromising permissionless innovation. LONDON, United Kingdom – August 6, 2026 – As millions of new tokens are launched across decentralized exchanges each year, researchers and blockchain developers are increasingly questioning whether permissionless trading and meaningful user protection must remain mutually exclusive. Permissionless finance has become one of decentralized finance’s (DeFi) defining principles, allowing anyone to create a token, add liquidity, and begin trading without centralized approval. The model has helped fuel innovation across the...

Amazon Link: https://a.co/054AdnDF CLEAR LAKE, Iowa — Ben Furleigh has written a memoir that covers more than six decades of life experiences, from growing up on a small Iowa strawberry farm to serving in local government, building a manufacturing career, reconnecting with biological family members, and retiring at age 56. The book, An Iowa Farm Boy: A Collection of Stories and a Journey of Discovery, brings together stories from Furleigh’s life in Iowa and beyond. It follows a path that includes adoption, public service, business leadership, financial independence, health challenges, and family history. Rather than focusing on a single period...

In The Gentling of Hanna Johansen: A Betrayal of Trust, Dr. Alexa Muybridge, Hanna Johansen’s psychiatrist, adopts a “gentling approach” to engage her fifteen-and-a-half-year-old patient via remote-therapy “Zoom” calls in trying to decipher the root source(s) of her debilitating, self-destructive behaviors that have become alarmingly life-threating, leaving her distraught parents (and prior therapists) with little choice but institutionalization or extended confinement in a RTCT (residential treatment center for teens). But Hanna, being her precocious, rebellious “my-way-or-the-highway”-Self, demands an alternative to either option: a “visit” with her “Grandpa Andy” in his “retirement cabin” deep in forests of rural New Hampshire. What...

New York, August 7, 2026 — At 9:30 AM Eastern Time, Nasdaq announced the successful listing of XORKETS FX as the opening bell officially rang. XORKETS FX (ticker symbol: XFX) has formally completed its listing and will begin trading on August 10. This marks the historic transformation of a fintech platform founded just seven years ago from a startup into a Nasdaq-listed public company. This morning, the Nasdaq MarketSite studio in Times Square was illuminated with brilliant lights. The Founder and CEO of XORKETS FX, together with representatives from four major institutions — Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Bancolombia, and Banco...

If you’ve hung out in AI companion communities or dug through app store comment sections over the past couple of years, you’ve definitely heard the same complaint repeated over and over. People build out rich, layered virtual characters, pour hours into role‑play sessions, and get genuinely hooked on sharp, natural‑feeling conversations — only for the whole illusion to fall apart the second visuals come into play. The dialogue might hit every right note. Your virtual partner picks up on inside jokes, reacts to small emotional cues, and flows through long‑form storytelling without feeling scripted. But the visuals? They live in...

Human Interest PR Real Stories, Real Hearts: Raven Austen’s ‘Backlit—A Collection’ Highlights the Quiet, Everyday Moments That Shape Us Adair Oklahoma – August 06, 2026 – Raven Austen (Terri Kruse) shines a gentle light on the ordinary experiences that quietly define our lives in Backlit—A Collection. Instead of dramatic fiction or larger-than-life events, the book explores real human moments, those small decisions, unexpected kindnesses, fears, and reflections that carry lasting emotional weight. Drawing from a lifetime of journaling and 30 years as a speech and drama coach, Austen captures both the simplicity and hidden complexity of being human. Standout pieces...