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Rice’s Baker Institute launches Eastern Mediterranean Energy Center with US Department of Energy

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HOUSTON, June 16, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Watch launch video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxNITPw8yJg&t=3s

Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy welcomed dignitaries from the United States, Cyprus, Greece and Israel June 11 to mark the launch of the Eastern Mediterranean Energy Center (EMEC), a new initiative focused on advancing energy security, regional stability and international collaboration.

U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright with the Minister of Energy, Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Cyprus Michael Damianos, Minister of Environment and Energy for Greece Stavros Papastavrou, Israeli Ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter and Rice President Reginald DesRoches signed a declaration of intent to establish EMEC. The agreement establishes a framework for cooperation among the four nations and advances a key initiative envisioned in the Eastern Mediterranean Security and Energy Partnership Act of 2019.

As the Eastern Mediterranean has become increasingly important to the future of the global energy markets and energy security, basing EMEC in Houston, connects regional expertise with a global ecosystem to create new opportunities for research, dialogue and collaboration that extend far beyond national borders.

As one of the nation’s leading research universities, Rice is uniquely positioned at the intersection of academic excellence and energy leadership. Located in Houston, the energy capital of the world, the university has long approached complex global challenges through a combination of interdisciplinary research, international partnerships and practical solutions that inform policy and action, DesRoches said.

“That philosophy was reflected in our strategic plan, Momentous, which prioritizes cutting edge research and partnerships across academia, industry and government to create resilient, efficient and secure energy systems,” DesRoches said. “Today’s launch is a powerful example of that commitment, drawing on the Baker Institute’s internationally recognized expertise in energy markets and policy and its ability to convene leaders to address complex global challenges.

“For decades, the Baker Institute’s Center for Energy Studies has earned international recognition for bringing together rigorous scholarship, thoughtful policy analysis and leaders from across the energy sector to tackle some of the world’s most consequential energy challenges. Its reputation for objective, data-driven research and convening diverse perspectives makes it an ideal place for this new center to flourish.”

Through the partnership, the center will play an important role in advancing energy security, regional stability and technological cooperation among the United States, Greece, Cyprus and Israel. EMEC aims to foster innovation, research and policy analysis to enhance energy infrastructure and connectivity, which can provide not only the potential for new energy projects but stabilization of an important region.

“This is a dynamic field,” said David Satterfield, director of the Baker Institute and former U.S. ambassador to Turkey and Lebanon. “The East Med has enormous further potential, not just for development but for coordination of development. It is a positive thing for energy, it’s a positive thing for industry, for all of the three states represented here today. It’s good for the region in a geopolitical sense as well. It provides a stabilization based upon the pragmatic and integrated development and distribution of energy resources, and that is a very good thing indeed. The Center for Energy Studies, which Ken Medlock heads here, has long been a leader not just in the United States but globally in discussion of policy issues, including the East Med. We are delighted to be able to deepen our engagement on all of this.”

The partnership will support collaboration on shared priorities including natural gas development, U.S. LNG infrastructure, energy transportation networks, grid reliability, critical infrastructure resilience and emerging technologies. It will also facilitate scientific and technical exchanges, research partnerships, workforce development initiatives and engagement with industry stakeholders.

“We need to use commerce to suppress and surpass conflict — that is the way to bring nations together in geopolitical tensions between countries,” Wright said. “You think of it as zero sum, there’s a winner and a loser, and both sides want to be the winner. Ultimately, one side will be the winner, one side will be the loser. Maybe more objectively, both sides lose, but one loses more than the other. In commerce, it’s entirely different, and commerce is voluntary exchange. It only happens when there’s winners on both sides. So when you build, you develop energy and you build energy distribution infrastructure, you bring countries, you bring people together. The three founding nations here and their leadership are all friends of mine and passionate in this mission. They not only want to develop energy to bring better opportunities to their people, but they wanted to bring those three nations together, and all of their neighbors as well, and use commerce to suppress and surpass conflict. These are generational investments.”

The Center for Energy Studies provides data-driven and politically neutral insights on the role of economics, policy and regulation in the performance and evolution of energy markets across the globe. As the No. 1 university-affiliated think tank in the world, the Baker Institute conducts rigorous, data-driven research on critical foreign and domestic issues in order to offer essential data and nonpartisan analysis to inform policymaking and private sector efforts. Learn more at the institute’s website.

About Rice University

Located on a 300-acre forested campus in Houston, Texas, Rice University is consistently ranked among the nation’s top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has highly respected schools of architecture, business, continuing studies, engineering and computing, humanities and arts, music, natural sciences and social sciences and is home to the Baker Institute for Public Policy and Kinder Institute for Urban Research. Internationally, the university maintains the Rice Global Paris Center, a hub for innovative collaboration, research and inspired teaching located in the heart of Paris, and Rice Global India in Bengaluru, India. With 4,793 undergraduates and 4,185 graduate students, Rice’s undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio is just under 6-to-1. Its residential college system builds close-knit communities and lifelong friendships, just one reason why Rice is ranked in the top 10 for best quality of life by the Princeton Review.

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SOURCE Rice University

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FULL CIRCLE BOYS DROP HIGH-ENERGY SPORTS ANTHEM “BLEACHERS” WITH EXPLOSIVE MUSIC VIDEO AND VIRAL DANCE CHALLENGE

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The latest single from Full Circle Boys arrives with Keone Madrid-choreographed visuals and a towel-waving dance challenge built for stadiums, arenas, and living rooms everywhere.

LOS ANGELES, June 16, 2026 /PRNewswire/ –Full Circle Boys have officially unleashed their newest single, “Bleachers,” and it’s already making noise. Available now on all major streaming platforms, the track is a high-octane record designed to soundtrack the biggest moments in sports and beyond.

Building on the momentum of their second EP, PLIÉ, which has surpassed 2 million streams, “Bleachers” marks a bold new chapter for the five-member group. The single is pure adrenaline, a chest-thumping, crowd-moving anthem built for stadium jumbotrons, halftime shows, pregame warmups, and championship celebrations. From the first beat, it demands that you get on your feet.

The Music Video
Accompanying the single is the group’s 9th official music video, choreographed and directed by acclaimed creative director Keone Madrid (BTS, Justin Bieber) and featuring the Choreo Cookies. The video showcases explosive, high-energy choreography that pushes Full Circle Boys into new territory, matching the song’s intensity beat for beat.

Watch the official music video here: https://youtu.be/lJM-z0ohbkc

The #BleachersChallenge
Full Circle Boys are calling on fans everywhere to join the movement. Grab a towel, learn the choreography straight from the boys, and post your best take. The “Bleachers” dance challenge is built for everyone, whether you’re courtside, in the student section, or in your living room. It’s the kind of routine that turns spectators into participants and fans into performers.

With a fresh sound that builds on the foundation of PLIÉ and the debut EP JETÉ, “Bleachers” signals a group ready to own the intersection of music, movement, and sports culture, and they’re just getting started.

Release Details
Single: “Bleachers”
Status: Out Now on all major streaming platforms
Music Video: Available now on YouTube
Choreography & Video Direction: Keone Madrid
Featuring: Choreo Cookies

Follow Full Circle Boys:
Instagram: @fullcircleboys
TikTok: @fullcircleboys
YouTube: @fullcircleboys

About Full Circle Boys:
Full Circle Boys is a five-member pop group consisting of Jagger Moon, James Herron, Sean Garrity, Dossan Bell, and Oliver Hincy. Known for their jaw-dropping choreography, self-penned anthems, and authentic brotherhood, they are redefining what it means to be a pop group by uniting movement and music to get the world moving again.

Created by David Loeffler and Steve Miller of Anomaly Create, in collaboration with Jon Lucero and Stacy Pyle, with executive producing by Nappytabs (Jennifer Lopez, SYTYCD) and creative direction by Keone Madrid (BTS, Justin Bieber).

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/full-circle-boys-drop-high-energy-sports-anthem-bleachers-with-explosive-music-video-and-viral-dance-challenge-302800478.html

SOURCE Anomaly Create I, LLC

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Steer Health Wins 2026 Hearst Health Prize

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$125,000 in Hearst Health Prize awards recognize Steer Health and finalist Dana-Farber Cancer Institute for innovative uses of data science to improve health outcomes

LOS ANGELES, June 16, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Hearst Health, in partnership with the UCLA Center for AI & SMART Health, awarded the 2026 Hearst Health Prize to Steer Health, an AI-driven clinical orchestration company whose platform has measurably reduced care gaps for more than 1.6 million patients across 34 states. Greg Dorn, senior vice president of Hearst and president of Hearst Health, presented the award on June 16, 2026 at the UCLA Health Data Day event. Dana-Farber Cancer Institute was recognized as the 2026 finalist for MatchMiner, an open-source platform that automatically matches cancer patients to precision medicine clinical trials. Hearst Health awarded $100,000 to Steer Health and $25,000 to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

Steer Health was recognized for its AI-powered patient engagement and care coordination engine, which addresses one of U.S. healthcare’s most costly and persistent problems: clinical inertia. Up to 40% of patients in the U.S. never complete a specialist referral and nearly one in five scheduled appointments are no-shows, representing an estimated $150 billion in annual waste and millions of patients who fall out of the care continuum each year. Steer’s platform predicts which patients are at risk of disengaging and autonomously guides them through scheduling, intake, and post-visit follow-up, integrated with more than 50 EHR systems.

“We founded Steer Health because too many patients fall through the cracks of a system that wasn’t built for continuous engagement,” said Sridhar Yerramreddy, founder and CEO of Steer Health. “This recognition from Hearst Health validates what our team and hospital partners already know: AI can take on the complex, invisible work of keeping patients connected to care – doing so at a personalized scale no human workforce could achieve alone. We’re honored, and we’re just getting started.” 

Closing the gap between a physician’s order and a completed patient visit has historically been a staffing problem. Steer Health reframes it as a data problem. Using a gradient-boosted predictive model to identify at-risk patients and a multi-agent AI system to act on those signals in real time, the platform supported 1.68 million patients across 950+ care sites in 2025 — achieving a 2.2% no-show rate against an 18–20% national average and executing more than 4 million automated follow-ups without human intervention.

“The Hearst Health Prize exists because we believe data science is one of the most powerful tools we have to close the gaps between patients and the care they need. Steer Health and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute are doing exactly that — not in theory, but at scale, in real clinical environments, with measurable results,” said Dorn. “Recognizing this work is central to Hearst Health’s mission and we’re proud to support organizations that are moving the field forward in meaningful ways.”

The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute’s Knowledge Systems Group was named the 2026 finalist for MatchMiner, an open-source clinical trial matching platform operational at Dana-Farber since 2016. Fewer than 10% of adult cancer patients ever enroll in a clinical trial, despite trials being the primary mechanism through which new cancer treatments are developed. The matching problem is overwhelming: thousands of active trials, increasingly complex genomic eligibility criteria, and oncologists who cannot track it all manually.

MatchMiner automatically matches patients to precision medicine trials using genomic data and AI that reads unstructured clinical notes. To date, the platform has facilitated 402 trial enrollments and reduced the time to patient consent by a median of 55 days — a critical window when patients’ health is actively declining. The platform is fully open-source, enabling any cancer center to adopt it without licensing fees, and its AI models are trained on synthetic patient data so they can be shared across institutions without privacy barriers. MatchMiner is now expanding to Mayo Clinic.

“Our partnership with Hearst Health was built to surface and celebrate the data science work that is genuinely transforming patient outcomes. The 2026 finalists represent two very different problems — care access and clinical trial matching — but the same underlying insight: that intelligently applied data can find the patients who need help and connect them to it faster. We are proud to recognize both organizations and to inspire others working toward the same goal,” said Dr. Alex Bui, director of the Medical & Imaging Informatics (MII) group at UCLA.

About the Hearst Health Prize
The Hearst Health Prize is an annual competition that showcases data science programs making a health impact. Visit the Hearst Health Prize webpage to sign up to receive updates, including notifications about the call for submissions for the next Hearst Health Prize.

About the UCLA Center for AI & SMART Health
The UCLA Center for Artificial Intelligence & Systematic, Measurable, Actionable, Resilient and Technology-driven (SMART) Health is a campus-wide collaborative that looks to the integrated transformation of healthcare through emergent data and technologies. A joint effort between the Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI), the Institute for Precision Health (IPH) and the B. John Garrick Institute for the Risk Sciences that brings together UCLA’s experts to shape how digital and data-driven healthcare technologies will help to manage risk, reliability, resilience, uncertainty and precision in future biomedical research and clinical care.

About Hearst Health
The mission of Hearst Health is to guide healthcare organizations by delivering essential intelligence and software that improve the quality, safety and efficiency of care. Hearst Health has been innovating with care for more than 40 years, with a commitment to making a lasting positive impact on health. The Hearst Health companies — FDB, Homecare Homebase, MCG, MHK, QGenda and Zynx Health — elevate care by informing and empowering participants across the health journey. To learn more, visit Hearst.com/Hearst-Health and follow @Hearst Health on LinkedIn.

Media Contacts:
Lindsay Gay Jean-Paul, Hearst Health, Lindsay.Gayjean-Paul@Hearst.com
David Sampson, UCLA Health, DSampson@Mednet.ucla.edu
Avni Parekh, Steer Health, Avni@SteerHealth.io
John Noble, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Johnw_Noble@dfci.Harvard.edu

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/steer-health-wins-2026-hearst-health-prize-302802425.html

SOURCE Hearst Health

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Switching Accounting Software to QuickBooks: What Scaling UK Businesses Need to Know According to Software Experts

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NEW YORK, June 16, 2026 /PRNewswire/ –As UK businesses continue to scale, many are reassessing whether their existing accounting systems can support increased operational complexity. In response, platforms such as QuickBooks are seeing increased adoption among mid-sized businesses seeking more advanced reporting, automation, and financial oversight. Rising transaction volumes, evolving reporting requirements, and growing compliance demands are accelerating this shift.

Best Accounting Software for Scaling UK Businesses

QuickBooks – a cloud-based accounting platform that helps businesses manage finances, automate routine tasks, and gain real-time insights to support growth.

According to Software Experts, switching accounting software is emerging as a strategic priority for businesses aiming to improve efficiency and maintain control as they grow.

Why businesses are re-evaluating their accounting software
Growth often exposes limitations in legacy systems. Manual processes, limited reporting, and disconnected tools can slow down decision-making and increase administrative workload. As a result, finance teams are prioritising systems that offer automation, real-time insights, and greater operational control.

Software Experts notes that modern accounting platforms are increasingly expected to support not just finance functions, but broader business operations. This includes managing customer relationships and their employees within a single system.

Software Experts also highlights that many businesses begin exploring a switch when existing systems become costly to maintain, lack scalability, or no longer support long-term growth goals. Increasing demand for forecasting tools, integrations, and automation is encouraging businesses to reassess whether their current accounting setup is fit for future expansion.

What to expect during the switching process
Switching accounting software can be complex, particularly for businesses with large volumes of historical data or multiple entities. Software Experts emphasises that a structured migration process is essential to minimise disruption and maintain data integrity.

Key elements of a typical migration include:

Mapping and transferring the chart of accountsReconciling historical transactions and balancesPreserving audit trails and compliance recordsValidating data accuracy before and after migration

Software Experts recommends planning migrations during quieter business periods where possible, allowing teams time to clean and organise data, test systems in parallel, and onboard employees before fully transitioning to a new platform.

QuickBooks UK works with specialist migration partners to support this process. These partners handle technical requirements such as data mapping and validation, helping ensure continuity during the transition.

Their migration partner DataSwitcher helps businesses transfer financial records efficiently while maintaining data integrity throughout the entire process. The platform specialises in automated migration and includes pre-migration checks and post-transfer validation to help ensure accuracy and continuity when switching accounting systems.

The role of automation and AI in scaling operations
Automation is a central factor in why businesses upgrade their accounting systems. Features such as automated invoice reminders, approval workflows, and customisable processes can reduce manual workload and improve efficiency.

In addition, AI-driven capabilities are becoming more common. QuickBooks UK offers tools designed to proactively assist with financial management tasks, helping businesses save time and identify insights without requiring constant manual input.

Software Experts notes that businesses evaluating new accounting software are increasingly prioritising integrations with tools such as CRMs, payroll systems, and payment platforms. Connected systems can help reduce duplicate data entry and improve operational visibility across departments.

Support and guidance as a differentiator
Beyond features, Software Experts points to support as a critical consideration when switching systems. Dedicated onboarding and ongoing guidance can significantly reduce the learning curve for teams.

For mid-sized businesses migrating to QuickBooks Advanced, QuickBooks UK provides a structured support model that includes:

A dedicated account manager throughout the migration processRegular check-ins for ongoing optimisation and performance reviewProduct training to help teams adapt quickly

QuickBooks UK also provides access to expert support seven days a week via phone, chat, or screen sharing. Additionally, the company offers onboarding support designed to help employees become familiar with new workflows and features, including reporting tools, invoicing systems, and automation capabilities relevant to their day-to-day responsibilities.

This approach is designed to provide clarity at each stage of the transition, from initial setup to long-term use.

Planning for long-term growth
For mid-sized UK businesses, the decision to switch accounting software is increasingly tied to future scalability rather than immediate needs. Systems that can handle growing complexity without requiring frequent upgrades or add-ons are becoming a priority.

As digital transformation continues across industries, accounting software is evolving into a central hub for business operations. Software Experts suggests that companies evaluating a switch should consider not only current requirements, but also how their systems will support growth over the next several years.

By focusing on automation, data visibility, and structured migration support, businesses can position themselves to scale more effectively while maintaining control over their financial operations.

Please visit the Software Experts website to learn more.

About Software Experts: Software Experts delivers in-depth news on the digital tools shaping today’s consumer experience. As an affiliate, Software Experts may earn commissions from sales generated using links provided.

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View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/switching-accounting-software-to-quickbooks-what-scaling-uk-businesses-need-to-know-according-to-software-experts-302802122.html

SOURCE SoftwareExperts.org

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