On PR Newswire: Best of 2019, Part 2

Last week, On PR Newswire looked back at the best releases of the first half of 2019. This week, we present the second half of 2019’s best releases.

Source: PRNewsfoto/Equifax

Equifax Announces Comprehensive Consumer Settlement Arising From 2017 Cybersecurity Incident

Equifax Inc. announced on July 22 a comprehensive resolution of significant U.S. consumer-related litigation and regulatory matters facing the company related to its 2017 cybersecurity incident. The $671 million resolution includes settlement agreements that would resolve the multi-district consumer class action litigation, as well as investigations by the Federal Trade Commission; the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; the attorneys general of 48 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia; and the New York Department of Financial Services.

Source: PRNewsfoto/Farmers’ Almanac

Wild Ride Ahead – 2020 Farmers’ Almanac Predicts a ‘Polar Coaster’ Winter

If you didn’t like last winter, you may want to stop reading right now. The 2020 Farmers’ Almanac’s extended weather forecast is calling for a “Polar Coaster Winter,” with plenty of frigid temperatures and snow for a majority of the country. “Freezing, frigid, and frosty” are the exact terms used to describe the upcoming season, especially for areas east of the Rockies all the way to the Appalachians.

Source: PRNewsfoto/Voting booth

National Voter Registration Day Shatters Record for “Off-Year” with an Estimated 400,000 Voters Registered

This year’s National Voter Registration Day (Sept. 24) shattered records with an estimated 400,000 citizens registering for the first time or updating their voter registration. This unprecedented number is more than three times the previous record set for an “off-year” focused primarily on local elections, and far outpaced expectations.

Source: PRNewsfoto/Reading

Reading Scores Decline on 2019 Nation’s Report Card

The average reading score for American fourth- and eighth-grade students decreased between 2017 and 2019, according to the Nation’s Report Card, released on Oct. 30 by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Changes in mathematics scores were mixed over the two-year period, with an increase at grade 4 and a decrease at grade 8.

SOURCE: PRNewsfoto/McDonald’s

McDonald’s Corporation Announces Leadership Transition

McDonald’s Corp. announced on Nov. 3 that its board of directors has named Chris Kempczinski, most recently president, McDonald’s USA, as president and chief executive officer, effective immediately. Kempczinski also has been elected to the McDonald’s board of directors. Kempczinski succeeds Steve Easterbrook, who has separated from the company following the board’s determination that he violated company policy and demonstrated poor judgment involving a recent consensual relationship with an employee.

Source: PRNewsfoto/TIME

TIME Names the 2019 Person of the Year: Greta Thunberg

On Dec. 11, TIME named Greta Thunberg the 2019 Person of the Year.  TIME Editor-in-Chief and CEO Edward Felsenthal wrote, “Meaningful change rarely happens without the galvanizing force of influential individuals, and in 2019, the earth’s existential crisis found one in Greta Thunberg…Thunberg has become the biggest voice on the biggest issue facing the planet — and the avatar of a broader generational shift in our culture that is playing out everywhere from the campuses of Hong Kong to the halls of Congress in Washington…this was the year the climate crisis went from behind the curtain to center stage, from ambient political noise to squarely on the world’s agenda, and no one did more to make that happen than Thunberg…For sounding the alarm about humanity’s predatory relationship with the only home we have, for bringing to a fragmented world a voice that transcends backgrounds and borders, for showing us all what it might look like when a new generation leads, Greta Thunberg is TIME’s 2019 Person of the Year.”

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Larry Grady is online content manager at PR Newswire for Journalists.  He has worked in business media for nearly 30 years and enjoys reality TV and daydreaming about travel and wine.