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President Donald Trump has commuted the prison sentence of former investment manager David Gentile, who was convicted of defrauding investors the latest in a series of clemency actions Trump has taken in white-collar criminal cases.Gentile had reported to prison on Nov. 14, just days before Trump commuted his sentence, according to a White House official who requested anonymity to provide details of the clemency action. Gentile had been the CEO and co-founder of GPB Capital, which had raised $1.6 billion in capital to acquire companies in the auto, retail, health care and housing sectors.He had been sentenced to seven years in prison after an August 2024 conviction for his role in what the Justice Department at the time described as a scheme to defraud more than 10,000 investors by misrepresenting the performance of three private equity funds.But the White House official said GPB Capital had disclosed to investors in 2015 that their capital might go to pay dividends to other investors, which the White House said undercut claims that the company had engaged in a “Ponzi” scheme in which new investments are used to reimburse previous investors.The government has agreed to no restitution in the criminal case, though various civil cases are handling repayments and damages to investors. Josh Boak, Associated Press
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The Salt Lake City Olympics planned for 2034 are now the Utah Games after organizers announced a new logo and name to reflect the multi-community work that goes into hosting the largest winter sports event on Earth. The state’s Governor, Spencer Cox, says the new logo has united peoplethough not in a good way. “It’s really brought people together because everyone seems to not like it,” Cox said at a recent press conference. [Image: Utah 2034] The new logo is temporary until the final emblem of the Games is released in 2029. It spells out “Utah” in irregularly shaped characters (does that say “IJTAH?”) that are stacked on top of “2034.” Its launch color palette is just black and white. Cox called the logo bold. “I’m a little old-fashioned and it’s certainly a bold logo,” he said. The comment section of one local Utah news site included reviews like “beyond terrible,” “a marketing disaster,” and “unreadable.” Some don’t like the name change that leaves out Salt Lake City. “It hurts,” Salt Lake County Mayor Erin Mendenhall told The Salt Lake Tribune. [Image: Utah 2034] A starting point, not a finish line This bare-bones logo, though, is just the beginning of what will become an expansive visual brand expressed across venues, apparel, and more. It’s a starting point, not a finish line. “I think that Olympics are uniquely a moment to do something new and different. And yet, many Olympics have bland and forgettable design,” Doug Thomas, an associate professor at Brigham Young University’s Department of Design and author of Never Use Futura, tells Fast Company. “Personally, I like that the Utah 2034 design team are swinging for the fences and trying something new and memorable.” [Image: Utah 2034] Utah organizers say the International Olympic Committee (IOC) allows for “transition logos” to “help the host regions build early awareness and momentum,” but they’re limited to typography only. The Utah 2034 mark, then, is a chance to introduce shapes through letters and numbers alone, the beginnings of a geometric visual language that could one day be revealed in a full Olympics brand expression. Just as the “Chrystal Rhythm” pattern of the 2002 Salt Lake City Games appeared in the snowflake-like Chrystal logo and was repeated across assets like venue signage and the iconic jackets worn by volunteers, the shapes in the letterforms of the Utah 2034 mark could well be repeated in future expressions of the brand. “The typography is recognizable, it is distinctive, and as such, opens space to create new meaning,” Thomas says. “The visual forms may not work in every application, but for a transition team logo, this is excellent as a starting point.” [Image: Utah 2034] Brand inspiration Organizers say the shapes of the letters in the logo were inspired by Utah’s landscape. It’s most noticeable in the stylized A designed to evoke southern Utah’s Delicate Arch. Other characters were drawn to resemble rivers, mountains, canyons, and petroglyphs, and one can imagine these same angles and shapes showing up in Olympic pictograms that denote sports and venues. [Image: Utah 2034] The letterforms are monospaced and laid out on a grid. Inspired by the urban grids that Mormon pioneers laid out in cities across Utah and the American West in the late 1800s, it gives the otherwise unusual logo a sense of balance. The logo was designed by a project team led by Molly Mazzolini, cofounder of the Salt Lake City design studio Elevate Creative. As for the name change, Salt Lake shouldn’t take it personally. Cox, the governor, says naming the Games for Utah instead of Salt Lake City was a decision made following decades of feedback from other cities and counties in the Salt Lake metro area that also hosted events during the 2002 Games but didn’t get credit. But it’s also aligned with the recent trend of Winter Olympics naming themselves after multiple cities or a region instead of a single city. The 2026 Milano Cortina Games are named for both Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo in Italy as they’re being held across a wide region, and they 2030 Games are named for the French Alps. In Utah, where events will be held from Provo to Park City, organizers are going with the state name. And by embedding the geography of Utah into the very letters of their new logo, designers found a creative way to begin telling Utah’s story in just a few characters.
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E-Commerce
For many children, the experience of getting their first pair of glasses is an inevitable milestone, the first in a lifetime of visits to the eye doctor.But what if those lenses could actually help preserve the child’s vision and reduce the chances for more serious eye problems in adulthood?That’s the promise of a new type of lens approved by the Food and Drug Administration in September. While the technology has previously been available in Europe, Asia and other parts of the world, it’s now rolling out in the U.S.Here’s what to know about the new approach. What is myopia and why is it increasing? Myopia, commonly called nearsightedness, is when people can clearly see objects at close range but struggle with distant objects, which often appear blurry or indistinct.Studies conducted around the world have shown rising rates of myopia, which researchers have associated with increased time indoors looking at screens, books and other objects held close to the eyes.In the U.S., 30% to 40% of children will have myopia by the time they finish high school, according to Dr. Michael Repka, a professor and pediatric ophthalmologist at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.Until now, doctors had few options for treating the condition.“It was typically and simply: ‘Your child needs to wear glasses and they’ll live with it,'” Repka said. “‘It will be lifelong and it will likely get worse over the next few years.'” How do the new lenses work? The specialized glasses, sold under the brand Essilor Stellest, are approved by the FDA to slow nearsightedness in 6- to 12-year-olds.The FDA said it cleared the lenses based on company data showing children experienced a 70% reduction in the progression of their myopia after two years.Over time, myopia causes the eye to grow longer, worsening vision and increasing the risk of tears to the retina the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye that is essential for vision.The new lenses use 11 concentric rings filled with tiny raised dots to refocus light onto the retina in a way that is believed to slow elongation of the eye.“Whether this hypothesis is ultimately proven to be true, of course, matters only in part,” Repka said, noting that the lenses appear to work regardless of how the underling science works.In the company study, children wearing the lens showed a 50% reduction in eye lengthening when measured after two years. Currently, researchers in the U.S. and other countries are conducting their own independent studies to confirm those results.Ophthalmologists say the potential benefits go beyond preserving vision to heading off some long-term consequences of severe myopia, which can include cataracts, glaucoma and retinal detachment that can lead to blindness.“Now we have a way to slow that down and maybe we can prevent kids from having that really elongated eye that puts them at risk for blindness,” said Dr. Rupa Wong, a Honolulu-based pediatric ophthalmologist. How much will the lenses cost? The suggested retail price is $450, according to EssilorLuxottica, the company that makes the lenses.Major U.S. vision insurance providers are expected to cover the lenses for children who meet the prescribing criteria. How do the new lenses compare to older treatments? The only other FDA-approved product to slow myopia are contact lenses made by a company called MiSight. The daily disposable lenses, approved in 2019, use a similar approach intended to slow the progression of nearsightedness in children ages 8 to 12.But Gupta says many parents and physicians are likely to prefer the glasses.“A lot of people might be hesitant to put a child as young as 8 in contact lenses, so the glasses offer a really nice alternative,” she said.Some doctors prescribe medicated eye drops intended to slow myopia, but those are not approved by the FDA. Which children are good candidates? Under the FDA’s approval decision, the lenses can be prescribed to any child with myopia who’s within the recommended age range. There were no serious side effects, according to FDA, although some children reported visual disturbances, such as halos around objects while wearing the lenses.The studies that the FDA reviewed for approval were conducted in Asia. Repka said U.S. ophthalmologists and optometrists may want to see some additional research.“I think before it becomes widely used, we will need some data in the United States” showing that the lenses work, said Repka, who is conducting a U.S.-based study of the new lenses supported by the National Institutes of Health. The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Matthew Perrone, AP Health Writer
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