UTC Donor Day seeks $500,000 in one day
In its third year, Mocs Give Day on Tuesday will seek to raise $500,000 from 750 donors in a 24-hour digital fundraising campaign for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
Matching gifts offered on Oct. 4 double a donor's gift with five UTC colleges offering a dollar-for-dollar match up to $10,000 on Mocs Give Day. Mocs Club, the annual giving arm for UTC Athletics, can receive an additional $150,000 if they reach 300 donors on Mocs Give Day thanks to a generous donor, according to Kim White, the vice chancellor of advancement and executive director of the UC Foundation.
"All gifts in any amount to UTC on Mocs Give Day will help us reach our goal and positively impact students," White said in an announcement of Mocs Give Day. "Whether you give a gift of $5 or $500, making a gift to UTC on Mocs Give Day truly goes far."
UT System President Randy Boyd has committed to a $50,000 matching gift if donors give $50,000 for the Denise and Tim Downey Student Emergency Fund, which provides limited funding for UTC students experiencing financial hardship due to an accident, emergency, illness or other unforeseen event.
Tobacco buyer ITG must pay settlement
Cigarette manufacturer ITG Brands assumed liability for tobacco settlement payments to the state of Florida when it acquired four brands from Reynolds American in 2015, a Delaware judge has ruled.
Vice Chancellor Lori Will ruled Friday that, as a result, ITG must compensate Reynolds American for losses due, granting summary judgment in favor of Reynolds.
Reynolds sold the Kool, Winston, Salem and Maverick brands to ITG in 2014 to gain federal regulators' approval of its acquisition of Lorillard Inc.
Before the sale closed, Reynolds American affiliate R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. was making payments under a preexisting settlement agreement with Florida for reimbursement of smoking-related health care costs. After closing, Reynolds stopped making payments for the four brands it no longer owned.
The asset purchase agreement required ITG to use reasonable best efforts to join the Florida settlement and make annual payments to Florida for sales of the brands it acquired from Reynolds. ITG has yet to join the settlement agreement with Florida or make any payments.
Florida sued Reynolds and ITG and obtained a judgment requiring Reynolds to continue making payments based on ITG's brands, unless and until ITG joined the Florida settlement agreement.
"That judgment on Reynolds amounts to over $170 million to date and tens of millions of dollars more each year into perpetuity," Will said.
Fraud, scam cases increasing on Zelle
Incidents of fraud and scams are occurring more often on the popular peer-to-peer payment service Zelle, according to a report issued Monday by the office of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, giving the public its first glimpse into the growing problems at Zelle.
The report also found that the large banks who partly own Zelle have been reluctant to compensate customers who have been victims of fraud or scams. For instance, less than half of the money customers reported being sent via Zelle without authorization was being reimbursed.
The company that operates Zelle has said previously that 99.9% of all transactions on the network happen without complaints of fraud or scams.
Apple Music crosses 100 million song barrier
Apple Music is about to reach a huge milestone, offering its eye-and-ear-popping 100 millionth song on the streaming service.
The music giant tells The Associated Press that internal data indicates Apple Music will reach the heady mark on Monday. Every day, 20,000 singers and songwriters release music on the service.
Apple Music says the milestone cements it as the world's largest catalog of music. While the actual song that crosses the 100 million threshold won't be known, there's a good chance it will not originate from the U.S. or even be in English as the services sees more and more music arrive from all over the world.
— Compiled by Dave Flessner