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Whirlpool Brand Increases Access to Laundry in Schools Through Its Care Counts™ Laundry Program

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3 years ago

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Appliances installed in schools through the program now provide an estimated 50,000 students across 40 states with access to clean clothes, helping to combat chronic absenteeism

BENTON HARBOR, Mich., Nov. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Whirlpool brand announces its eighth and biggest year of the Care Counts™ Laundry Program, which provides access to washers and dryers in schools primarily located in underserved communities. For the 2023-2024 academic year, the program has expanded to 154 schools across 40 states, including new schools in Connecticut, Michigan, Montana, North Carolina and Oregon. The program now provides an estimated 50,000 students with clean clothes, a driver of absenteeism in the United States. Chronic absenteeism remains a national education crisis, impacting an estimated 16 million students across the country, or approximately one in three students.1

Experience the full interactive Multichannel News Release here: https://www.multivu.com/players/English/9212851-whirlpool-brand-care-counts-laundry-program/

“We are immensely proud of the profoundly positive impact that the Care Counts™ Laundry Program has had in decreasing absenteeism in participating schools; not only has the program had a direct impact in increasing student attendance, but also their grades,” said Nelly Martinez, senior brand leader for Whirlpool brand. “At the core of our brand’s values lies a deep commitment to improving the lives of families, and this program continues to reflect our purpose with a meaningful impact on a critical issue.”

With support from Teach For America, the Care Counts™ Laundry Program by Whirlpool brand has increased attendance rates and grades since the program’s inception in 2015. Based on findings from the 2022-2023 academic year, nearly 80% of participating high-risk elementary school students where the program is active saw an increase in attendance.2

“As a former teacher, I’ve seen what the lack of basic resources would have on my students and how something as simple as a clean shirt could make a major difference,” said McKenzie Roney, Managing Director of Corporate Partnerships at Teach For America. “Since TFA began supporting the Care Counts™ Laundry Program by Whirlpool brand, we’ve seen a noticeable increase in attendance, grades and even student engagement within their classrooms.”

In analyzing the impact of the Care Counts™ Laundry Program since its inception, Whirlpool brand has observed:3

Participating high-risk elementary school students saw an average increase in attendance rate that would result in 16 more days in school across a full academic year.4Nearly 68% of participating high-risk elementary school students decreased their level of chronic absenteeism while in the Care Counts™ Laundry Program.5Nearly 61% of participating high-risk students were no longer at risk for chronic absenteeism at the end of the 2022-2023 academic year.6

By 2028, Whirlpool brand is committed to expanding the Care Counts™ Laundry Program to all 50 states and doubling the number of participating schools in the fight to eliminate chronic absenteeism. Beyond Teach For America, Whirlpool will continue to work with schoolteachers, administrators and researchers to monitor the impact of the program.

“There is an undoubtable research-based correlation between access to clean clothes and attendance given the lack of resources available to students nationwide” said Richard Rende, Ph.D., a developmental psychologist and researcher supporting the program. “Whirlpool has made tremendous strides in combating the issue of absenteeism with this successful, hands-on approach, and this is set to continue on a positive trajectory as the program grows.”

For a visual representation of the program’s impact, Whirlpool brand has also released Care Counts Continued, a short film that features students, teachers and other partners who have benefitted from the Care Counts™ Laundry Program since its start.

To learn more about the Care Counts™ Laundry Program by Whirlpool brand, visit https://www.whirlpool.com/care-counts.

About Whirlpool Brand
For more than one hundred years, Whirlpool brand has been inspired by how people care for their families. Whirlpool brand is designing home appliances that are focused on improving how families give and get the care they need with the latest technologies and innovations – whether that means flexible refrigerator storage for all types of family needs, induction technology for efficient cooking and easier cleaning, or laundry pairs that sense and adapt to clothes with the latest in connected technologies. Whirlpool brand created and continues outpacing goals of its Care Counts™ Laundry Program, through which the brand is committed to helping create educational equality by installing washers and dryers in schools to help remove one small but important barrier to attendance – access to clean clothes. Whirlpool brand is part of Whirlpool Corporation, a leading appliance manufacturer committed to being the best global kitchen and laundry company, in constant pursuit of improving life at home. For more information on Whirlpool, please visit whirlpool.com or find us on Facebook at facebook.com/whirlpoolusa, Instagram at @whirlpoolusa, or TikTok at @whirlpoolusa. Additional information about the company can be found at whirlpoolcorp.com.

1Source: A Review of State Attendance Data Policy and Practice in School Year 2022-23
2High-risk elementary school students are defined as elementary students who have missed 10% or more days of school during a reporting period.
3Attendance and Chronic Absenteeism data considers 2022–2023 school year results according to Impact YOY data
4High-risk elementary school students are defined as elementary students who have missed 10% or more days of school during a reporting period.
5High-risk elementary school students are defined as elementary students who have missed 10% or more days of school during a reporting period.
6High-risk elementary school students are defined as elementary students who have missed 10% or more days of school during a reporting period.

 

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/whirlpool-brand-increases-access-to-laundry-in-schools-through-its-care-counts-laundry-program-301977668.html

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Changan Group Unveils Its In-house Developed ADAS — SDA Pilot

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20 minutes ago

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June 14, 2026

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CHONGQING, China, June 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — At the 28th Chongqing International Auto Exhibition, Changan Group showcased its full brand lineup including CHANGAN NEVO, CHANGAN DEEPAL and AVATR at Hall N8, and officially launched its self-developed Advanced Driver-Assistance System, SDA Pilot.

At the press conference, Zhu Huarong, Chairman of Changan Group, stated: “Changan will work together with partners and users worldwide to make ADAS better, more practical, and more accessible, protecting every journey with smart technology.” It is announced that the CHANGAN NEVO Q06 will come standard with SDA Pilot across all trim levels and hit its domestic market in the second half of 2026.

SDA Pilot Takes the Spotlight: Three-tier Safety Defenses Upgrade the ADAS Experience

As Changan’s latest technological achievement in smart mobility, SDA Pilot breaks the boundaries of traditional physical safety and establishes three comprehensive safety defense systems covering physical well-being, mental comfort and emotional interaction.

The entry-level SDA Pilot Pro comes standard with LiDAR, capable of identifying obstacles in low-light conditions such as at night or in tunnels two seconds faster than the human eye. Supported by the globally leading SDA Central Ring Network Architecture, the system cuts response time by an additional 150 milliseconds. SDA Pilot Max, leverages over 20 million high-quality real-world driving data segments for training, delivering exceptional perception and predictive capabilities to confidently navigate complex, high-frequency commuting scenarios. The top-tier SDA Pilot Ultra is integrated with the VLM (Vision Language Model), which greatly enhances the vehicle’s environmental perception and enables interactive advanced driver-assistance functions, turning the vehicle into an intuitive travel companion. In the future, an active driver incapacitation protection function will also be introduced to safeguard driving safety at the first moment.

While continuously evolving its ADAS user experience, Changan remains committed to its safety bottom line, clearly reminding: “Driver assistance is not autonomous driving. Drivers are still required to take on the core responsibilities of real-time monitoring and taking over control at any time.”

Advancing the “1445” Global Strategy: 17 Years of Intelligent R&D Build Solid Safety Foundations

Changan Group lives by the tenet of “Intelligence defines Changan.” As a core component of the “1445” Global Strategy that underpins four transformation priorities (The four priorities refer to: intelligent mobility, electrification, a unified ecosystem, and globalization), intelligent mobility stands as the primary driving force for Changan’s upgrading. The company is committed to building a world-class auto group with global competitiveness and independent core technologies, aiming to rank among the world’s top 10 automobile brands by 2030. The launch of SDA Pilot marks a landmark achievement of this strategy in the advanced driving-assistance sector.

Behind this technological breakthrough lies a solid intelligent foundation built by Changan over 17 years. Since establishing its intelligent R&D team in 2009, Changan has forged ahead in uncharted technological territories and built the China’s only national key laboratory dedicated to intelligent vehicle safety technology — CHANGAN SDA LAB. The lab supports round-the-clock global collaborative testing with more than 400,000 virtual simulation scenarios.

Over the past five years, more than 2,000 Changan engineers have completed over 5 million kilometers of real-road tests across Chongqing’s notoriously complex road conditions, covering 185 typical driving scenarios. Rich field experience has been embedded into the system, which keeps evolving based on user feedback and forms the unshakable safety strength of SDA Pilot.

Empowered by intelligent technologies, Changan continues to accelerate its global footprint. To date, the group has established 22 overseas manufacturing bases with an annual capacity of 350,000 vehicles, and 1,124 overseas sales outlets, covering 118 countries and regions, with 41 global models launched. In 2025, Changan’s overseas sales reached 637,000 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 18.9%.

Since the start of 2026, Changan has made successive moves in its globalization strategy: launching the Vast Ocean Plan 2.0 during the AutoChina 2026 in Beijing, establishing four core principles: long-term development, localization, systematization, and responsible ESG practices; and more recently, partnering with the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) to become the Official Global Partner of the Portugal National Football Team, using sports as a bond to deepen global user connections and brand engagement.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/changan-group-unveils-its-in-house-developed-adas–sda-pilot-302799729.html

SOURCE Changan Group

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Kakunin Announces Cryptographic Compliance Shield for Google Gemini and OpenAI Agent Ecosystems

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7 hours ago

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June 14, 2026

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SaaS Compliance Leader Launches First-Class SDK Integrations for Google Antigravity, OpenAI Swarm, and OpenAI Assistants API to Meet Strict MiCA and EU AI Act Standards.

LONDON, June 13, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — Kakunin, the leading compliance infrastructure platform for autonomous AI agents, today announced the release of first-class SDK integrations for Google Antigravity SDK, OpenAI Swarm, and the OpenAI Assistants API.

Autonomous agents are executing high-value, real-world tasks—but without strict boundaries, they represent a massive security risk,” said Palash Bagchi, Founder, at Kakunin.

As organizations move autonomous AI agents from sandboxes to production, securing the tools they run has become a critical operational hurdle. The new integrations allow developers to cryptographically secure and audit agent actions in real time, meeting the strict requirements of upcoming regulations like the EU AI Act and MiCA.

Preventing Agent Drift at the Tool Layer

Instead of relying on prompt engineering or system instructions—which are susceptible to jailbreaks—Kakunin secures agent tool execution at the cryptographic layer:

Pre-Flight Scope Verification: Validates that an agent possesses the required permission scope (e.g., trade.execute, file.write) before executing local code.Active-Agent Enforcement: Dynamically halts execution if the agent’s underlying X.509 certificate has been revoked or suspended.Tamper-Evident Auditing: Automatically logs session starts, prompts, responses, tool successes, and error anomalies.

Ecosystem Compatibility out of the Box

The new releases bring seamless, code-first integrations to the industry’s leading agent frameworks:

Google Antigravity SDK: Hook-based runtime protection that automatically secures Gemini-powered tool workflows.OpenAI Swarm: A lightweight class wrapper (KakuninSwarm) that dynamically gates multi-agent handoffs and task executions.OpenAI Assistants API: A polling-loop helper (handle_assistants_requires_action) that streamlines safety checks and tool output formatting in a single call.

Beyond these core OpenAI and Google environments, the new releases also extend Kakunin’s cryptographic shield to the broader agent development community. Out-of-the-box templates and shims are now available for LangChain (KakuninToolGuard), LlamaIndex (KakuninFunctionToolGuard), CrewAI (KakuninCrewAgent), and AutoGen (KakuninConversableAgent), alongside native middlewares for Next.js API routes and raw client libraries for Go, TypeScript, and Python.

“Autonomous agents are executing high-value, real-world tasks—but without strict boundaries, they represent a massive security risk,” said Palash Bagchi, Founder, at Kakunin. “By bringing cryptographic X.509 validation directly to Google’s and OpenAI’s agent loops, we are giving developers the peace of mind to deploy agents in highly regulated environments like fintech and healthcare.”

Availability

The new SDK integrations are available immediately:

Python Package: Available on PyPI via pip install kakunin.Playground Notebooks: Developers can test the integrations in 1-click via the official OpenAI Cookbook and Google Gemini Cookbook.Reference Samples: Available on the public Kakunin Samples Repository.

To learn more about securing your autonomous agent workflows, visit kakunin.ai/docs. or visit Conversational GTM for more enquiries.

Media Contact
Palash Bagchi, Immortal Reality PA LLC, 1 4125437290, ai@kakunin.ai, https://www.kakunin.ai/

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prweb.com/releases/kakunin-announces-cryptographic-compliance-shield-for-google-gemini-and-openai-agent-ecosystems-302798798.html

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District Taco Kicks Off The Summer’s Biggest Soccer Event with Free Delivery Offer

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14 hours ago

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June 13, 2026

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App Users can enjoy District Taco at home with free delivery during the world’s biggest soccer tournament.

WASHINGTON, June 13, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — District Taco is bringing the excitement of the world’s biggest soccer tournament straight to fans’ homes with a special promotion designed to make game-day meals even more convenient.

This promotion makes it easier and more affordable to enjoy District Taco delivered right to your door so you don’t miss a moment of the action!

From June 11 through July 19, guests who order delivery through the District Taco app can use promo code ‘SOCCER26’ to receive $5 off their order, effectively offsetting the standard delivery fee and creating a free delivery experience.

Whether cheering on a favorite team, hosting a watch party, or enjoying the match from the couch, fans can enjoy District Taco’s fresh, made-to-order menu without leaving home or the extra delivery cost. “We know fans will be gathering throughout the tournament to watch some of the most exciting matches in the world,” said Osiris Hoil, CEO of District Taco. “This promotion makes it easier and more affordable to enjoy District Taco delivered right to your door so you don’t miss a moment of the action!”

The promotion is part of District Taco’s broader effort to drive digital engagement and app use. Here are the campaign details:

Enter Promo Code: ‘SOCCER26’ when placing the order in-appOffer: $5 off delivery ordersAvailable: June 11 through July 19Valid on: District Taco app delivery orders only (not third-party platforms)

Guests can download the District Taco app here for Apple users and here for Android users!

About District Taco

In 2009, two neighbors got together over some homemade chips, salsa and guacamole and decided to launch District Taco as a food cart. Since then, District Taco has opened multiple locations in Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Florida, and Washington, DC. Their mission is to serve quality – Yucatán style – Mexican food that is fresh, simple, and healthful, with a fully customizable menu that includes vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options. At District Taco, food is made fresh daily from the highest quality ingredients. They strive to limit their impact on the environment by serving in environmentally friendly packaging where possible. For more information about District Taco or their menu, and to download the app, visit districttaco.com or follow @districttaco across socials.

Media Contact

Raquel Robinson, District Taco, 1 5712657573, raquel.robinson@districttaco.com, districttaco.com

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prweb.com/releases/district-taco-kicks-off-the-summers-biggest-soccer-event-with-free-delivery-offer-302799507.html

SOURCE District Taco

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