Atlanta’s dreadful rush-hour traffic could be extra nasty for months to come after a raging fire underneath Interstate 85 collapsed an elevated portion of the highway and shut down the heavily traveled route through the heart of the city.

Traffic was bumper to bumper on nearby streets as drivers were forced to take a detour Friday, the morning after the blaze caused the concrete to crumble.

The collapse took place a few miles north of downtown, and the effects could fall most heavily on commuters from Atlanta’s densely populated northern suburbs. They will have to find other routes to work or ride mass transit.

Connie Bailey-Blake, of Dacula, 37 miles northeast of Atlanta, waited for a MARTA commuter train to reach her job downtown. She typically drives, often by way of the interstate.

President Trump’s former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, has volunteered to be interviewed by the FBI and congressional committees probing possible links between the Trump campaign and Russia in exchange for immunity from prosecution.

The Wall Street Journal first reported the development Thursday evening, which comes a month and a half after Flynn was forced to resign amid revelations that he misled administration officials, including Vice President Pence, about his conversations with Sergey Kislyak, Russia’s ambassador to the United States.

The House and Senate Intelligence committees don’t yet appear to be biting. Reports surfaced Friday that the Senate panel had so far rejected Flynn’s request.

Still, Chairman Richard BurrRichard BurrFive questions investigators want to ask Michael Flynn HB2 replacement makes all the wrong compromises Senate intel panel declines Flynn immunity offer ‘at this time’: report MORE (R-N.C.) has strongly implied that the committee would like to interview Flynn.

A spokesman for House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) told The Hill that his panel had a “preliminary conversation” with Flynn’s lawyer about arranging for him to speak to the panel but noted the discussions did not include immunity or other potential conditions of his appearance.

Flynn’s testimony could provide valuable information to members of the committees as well as the FBI, all of which have launched their own probes into Russia’s election meddling.

Here are five questions that FBI investigators and members of Congress might have for Flynn should they reach an agreement to interview him.

Who knew what about Flynn’s Russia contacts, and when did they know it?

Flynn could be questioned about which associates of Trump — including the president himself — knew about his associations with Russia, what they knew, and when they knew it.

He also could be asked to provide more information about the nature of his encounters with the Russian ambassador, as well as any other individuals linked to Moscow.

Flynn resigned as national security adviser in February after the Washington Post reported that he discussed sanctions on Russia with Kislyak before Trump’s inauguration despite public denials by White House officials, including Pence. Flynn acknowledged that he had provided “incomplete information” to administration officials.

“The starting points [are] like with any other type of case,” Mark Zaid, an attorney who specializes in national security cases, told The Hill. “Who, what, when, and why. When did he first have conversations with which Russians, and why? And who, if anyone, told him to do it?

Zaid said investigators would also want to know when the conversations took place, and that they would be looking for evidence of any possible quid pro quo with regard to sanctions.

What did the Trump campaign know about Flynn’s payments from sources in Russia and Turkey?

Flynn filed papers with the Justice Department in early March registering himself as a foreign agent. The papers revealed that his firm was paid over $500,000 to lobby on behalf of a Dutch-based firm owned by a Turkish businessman as he serve as a campaign adviser. The owner of Inovo BV, the Dutch-based firm, has ties to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The White House has denied that Trump knew about Flynn’s lobbying work, though it acknowledged that lawyers for the transition team were informed he might have to register as a foreign agent.

Additionally, records obtained by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and released by ranking member Rep. Elijah Cummings in mid-March showed that Flynn had been paid over $45,000 by Russian state-owned media outlet RT to attend a gala in Moscow in December 2015 at which he was photographed dining next to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Democrats have alleged that the payment could constitute a violation of the U.S. Constitution’s Emoluments Clause, which bars top officials from taking money from foreign governments.

The new documents also showed that Flynn received thousands of dollars in 2015 from a Russian charter cargo airline and an American subsidiary of Russia-based cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Lab. His payments from Russia-related organizations totaled nearly $68,000.

Less than a week later, committee leaders requested documents from the White House FBI, Pentagon, and Director of National Intelligence related to Flynn’s contacts with and payments from foreign sources. Flynn served as director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) before resigning in August 2014.

“I would want to know more about any financial payments that he took before being with Trump and also post-DIA to now,” Zaid said.

What information does he have about other associates of Trump’s campaign who may have had contact with Russians?

FBI Director James Comey has said the bureau’s probe of the election includes looking into the nature of any links between individuals associated with Trump’s campaign and Russia.

Flynn could be crucial to understanding any links between other Trump campaign associates and the Russian government. 

Three other people have come under heavy scrutiny: Carter Page, who briefly advised Trump on foreign policy and who has ties to Russian state-owned gas giant Gazprom; Roger Stone, a longtime Trump ally who has admitted to having contact with Guccifer 2.0, the hacker who claimed responsibility for the Democratic National Committee breach, during the campaign; and Paul Manafort, Trump’s former campaign chairman who has come under fire for his work for pro-Russian oligarchs.

Flynn could face questions about any contacts between Russian individuals and these and other Trump associates.

Flynn could also provide information about other Trump associates’ communications with Kislyak. These included former Alabama Sen. Jeff SessionsJeff SessionsFive questions investigators want to ask Michael Flynn Trump proclaims April ‘Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month’ Sessions warns of crime spike despite being ‘near historic lows’ MORE, now Trump’s attorney general, who spoke twice with Kislyak last year but did not disclose the contacts during his confirmation proceedings. Session later recused himself from investigations related to the 2016 presidential campaign.

Senior White House adviser Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, also met with Kislyak at Trump Tower in December. Flynn attended the meeting, which the White House told the New York Times was meant to “establish a line of communication” between the new administration and the Kremlin.

What did the Trump campaign know about campaign aides’ past ties to Russia?

Since Manafort stepped down as campaign chairman last August, more information has emerged about his past work for pro-Russian figures, which has raised questions about how much Trump’s campaign knew about his history before bringing him on.

Most recently, the Associated Press reported that Manafort worked for a Russian billionaire as far back as a decade before the presidential election in order to advance the interests of Putin’s government.

Flynn would likely be questioned on what he or members of the campaign knew about Manafort’s past associations, as well as those of Page, who had a history of pro-Russian rhetoric.

“What was Manafort doing, especially when he was campaign manager? What did the Trump campaign know about these individuals’ prior connections to Russia, to Ukraine?” Zaid observed. 

Did Flynn have any other foreign contacts besides Russia?

Flynn’s past lobbying on behalf of the firm linked to Turkey raises questions about whether he may have had other contacts with foreign sources during the campaign.

“The whole notion of why Flynn said he was talking to the Russian ambassador in the first place was, ‘this is what we do as a transition. We’re talking to foreign leaders, foreign dignitaries.’ Well, what else was going on with respect to that?” Zaid said. “Who else was he talking to?”

Tzahi Stein, the CEO Founder of Positive Mobile, analyzes the leading mobile video advertising trends from the campaigns run on the company’s technology platform to provide marketers and agencies with insights to enhance their mobile video campaigns in 2017

For over a decade, the classic example used in mobile marketing was the mobile ad a user walking down the street would receive from a nearby Starbucks, advertising an off-hours special to increase foot traffic during slow hours.

Though location-targeting via mobile devices isn’t yet in use at the street level universally, location-based targeting was clearly the biggest trend in mobile video advertising in 2016, as we took a big step forward to making the aforementioned example a mobile marketing reality. And I believe that this location-based trend will only gain traction in 2017.

Another trend from 2016 which will gain traction in 2017 is enhanced use of seasonality in mobile video advertising. We’ve seen seasonal trends in travel advertising whereby travel marketers increase advertising in Q2 (Spring) and Q4 (Fall) leading up to traditional Summer and Winter vacations, and Home Improvement (in our Retail category) advertising increases in Q2 (Spring) as home owners fix their house leading up to the summer. I also believe late Q3/early Q4 is an opportunity for home improvement advertisers to run campaigns about winter-proofing homes.

An additional trend which I expect to grow in 2017 is the use of ads created and optimized to run vertically, such as on Snapchat. With their upcoming IPO, Snapchat is the biggest platform to influence mobile video advertising since Facebook, so it’s not surprising that its vertical format is gaining acceptance and usage in the industry.

Advancements in media planning and buying technologies will increase the percentage of mobile video ads which are purchased via programmatic technologies in 2017. Other technology advancements in the coming years will enable better location-driven targeting at the DMA (city) and even neighborhood level along with time-based targeting, making the example I presented in the opening paragraph a reality for more and more marketers around the world.

By reviewing the leading ad category performance in 2016, and taking into account the coming industry trends, I am confident mobile marketers and agency media planners and buyers can improve their performance in 2017.

David Young, assistant manager of PR at Nintendo of America, and dairy farmer Alayna Perkins interact over a cow at Billings Farm in Woodstock on Wednesday. Dairy farmers took on Nintendo representatives in a video game inspired by milking cows. Photo by Jovelle Tamayo/Valley News

(This story by Matt Hongoltz-Hetling first appeared in the Valley News on March 30, 2017.)

WOODSTOCK — A media event pitting video gamers against dairy farmers was meant to showcase a new milking-themed video game in the authentic setting of a Vermont cow barn, but what began as a marketing stunt may have unintentionally broken down some of the cultural barriers standing between its participants.

The actual milking competition was brief, held Wednesday morning in Billings Farm and Museum’s cavernous milking barn, where the odor of cow muck easily overpowered the layer of fresh sawdust the farmers had spread to welcome their visitors.

As a competition, it was pretty low stakes, an all-in-good-fun faceoff sparked when Billings marketing director Tom Remp wrote to the video game maker, challenging Nintendo staffers to come to Vermont and match their skills against actual dairy farmers. Compared with authentic farmers, Remp boasted, “you guys are pretty slow.”

The Nintendo crew, who work in northern California, accepted the challenge, and the two marketing teams began arranging a milk-off.

But instead of milking real bovines, the competitors harvested digital milk from digital cows, the stroking and squeezing action of each person’s hand captured by small wireless video game controllers packed full of accelerometers, gyroscopes and a motor that buzzed to simulate action on the screen.

Those who did the best job of manipulating the controller, part of the Nintendo Switch gaming system that was released worldwide earlier this month at a price of $299.99, would be rewarded by the most voluminous stream of milk from the cartoonish teat on the display screen.

Though the competition wasn’t meant to be serious, there was a hint of tension in the air when Billings Farm manager Alayna Perkins, 23, sat down on a milk crate to represent Vermont’s dairy industry.

Like many New England farmers, Perkins is sturdy, with heavy boots and a serious expression. She prefers spending time with her animals to making small talk.

“I work with cows for a reason,” she said. With the exception of a short practice round of the milking game Tuesday, Perkins had never played a video game of any sort. Never had the urge, she said. She was always too busy.

Facing her was Tim Kwong, a 37-year-old Nintendo marketer whose black and red Nike sneakers matched his black skinny jeans and wide-open flannel shirt. Kwong was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay area and had never been to New England before.

“I’m going to put ‘milked a cow’ on my LinkedIn account,” he joked, referring to the professional social networking website.

Earlier in the week, the Nintendo team had flown into Rutland, then traveled by car over Route 4 and through snow-covered terrain before checking into the Woodstock Inn.

“It was absolutely beautiful,” Kwong said.

But the lack of bumper-to-bumper traffic also was a little unnerving. He wondered where all the people were.

“It was almost kind of eerie,” he said.

One of the unusual features that distinguishes the Nintendo Switch’s 1-2-Switch game, which features the minigame Milk, from other video games is the relative position of its players. Rather than facing the video display, Kwong and Perkins sat facing each other, knees almost touching.

“The key is constant eye contact,” Kwong said, only half joking.

With a crowd of media representatives watching, the contest began. Holding the controllers at head height, Perkins and Kwong stared into each other’s eyes as they milked the air with all they had.

With each downward stroke, they squeezed their controller, releasing it so they could grab hold of the virtual teat again at the top. Behind them, their success on any particular stroke could be measured by the length and strength of each stream of milk on the display.

In terms of competing for America’s hearts and minds, it’s a close race between dairy and video gaming.

Statistics from the U.S. Department of Agriculture show that U.S. milk sales topped $35.5 billion in 2012, while video games brought in $23.5 billion in 2015, according to the national Entertainment Software Association.

Although dairy still seems to have a significant edge there, Nielsen reports that the average video gamer now spends more than six hours a week playing video games, presumably far more time than they spend thinking about dairy.

And the people and cultures behind these two enormous industries couldn’t be more different.

While dairy farming, Perkins has had her finger broken by a cow. Another time, a bovine head-butt gave her a concussion. Yet another time, a cow kicked her in the side, breaking her ribs.

Tyler Catterall, a 19-year-old dairy farmer who squared off against another Nintendo employee a bit earlier in the day, said his grandfather had to quit the farm after a bull gored him, causing him to lose 3 feet of intestine.

By contrast, Kwong, a long-distance runner, said he’d never suffered an injury while playing the Nintendo Switch. After hours of consecutive game play, he allowed, his arm might get a bit sore, but he said it likely was his own fault for not properly stretching beforehand.

Each side came in with preconceived notions of what their opponents might look like.

Perkins said that, before Wednesday, she pictured video games as the domain of college fraternity brothers sitting on the couch and gaming all day rather than doing work.

“I thought they were going to be more nerdy,” Perkins said.

The milking game and its marketing materials feature film clips of actors pretending to be farmers — an obese man and a thin woman, both in green overalls and straw hats who beam toothy, simple smiles at each other as they compete, hoe-down music playing in the background.

“Farmers don’t look like that anymore,” Perkins said. “I’m sure they expected me to be in overalls.”

Kwong said he came into rural Vermont with no preconceived stereotypes.

“I have never set foot on a farm before,” he said. “Yesterday I had a cow licking me in the face like a puppy.”

Asked about the portrayals, Kwong avoided using the word “stereotype” but said the images were not meant to be any more realistic than other characters in the game package, which includes tin-starred cowboys facing off in a quick-draw shootout, and headband-wearing samurai competing in swordplay.

As the milking competition drew to a close, Kwong and Perkins were still looking into each other’s eyes. Perkins’ face, once serious, was now laughing, and Kwong wore a broad smile.

The dairy farmers got creamed.

The game display revealed that Kwong won, milking 15 virtual cups of milk to Perkins’ 13. In the other matchup of the day, Catterall lost to his opponent, Nintendo assistant public relations manager David Young, by a wider margin, 13 cups to eight.

But Young and Kwong weren’t celebrating.

“These guys are up at 4 in the morning working,” Young said afterward. “We don’t hold a candle to them.”

Though some people think of both video gamers and farmers as socially withdrawn, Kwong said, playing on the Nintendo Switch proved otherwise. By encouraging its users to interact with each other, rather than the screen, the Switch is meant to create a social, party atmosphere different from many solitary gaming experiences.

“It forces interaction,” he said. “It’s all about bringing people together.”

Perkins said she walked away with a new appreciation for both the Nintendo staffers and video games.

“That one was fun,” she said. “I might do that one again.”

An Air New Zealand safety video in which the Bay of Islands takes a starring role has been watched about 4 million times on board the airline’s fleet and is approaching 10 million views online.

And, according to the figures from the Bay of Islands Marketing Group, in total the « Summer of Safety » video has reached a staggering 540,000,000 people in the past year. That figure includes people who read newspapers which ran stories about it.

Some 173 articles were published about the Northland-made safety video, which starred supermodel Rachel Hunter, singer Ladyhawke, Shortland Street actor Jayden Daniels, Olympic pole vaulter Eliza McCartney and Joe Naufahu from Game of Thrones alongside a large cast of Northlanders.

Marketing Group chairman Charles Parker, of Fullers GreatSights, said the video’s reach exceeded his expectations and he had no doubt it had contributed to a busy tourist season in the Bay.

« Many things go in to a good summer, but we definitely believe this was one of the contributing factors … Everyone who’s coming to New Zealand and hasn’t made up their mind where to go will see that video and have the Bay of Islands at front and centre of their minds, » Mr Parker said.

The total number of people reached was so high because it included the readership of some major newspapers around the world which had run stories about the video.

Originally the safety video was to have been shown on board aircraft until the end of April but Mr Parker understood that had been extended to the end of May.

Within the first month the clip had been watched 7,384,000 times on Facebook, YouTube and other social media.

Businesses in the Bay of Islands Marketing Group contributed a substantial but undisclosed sum towards making the video. The Far North District Council contributed $50,000.

In the past year other stories about the Bay of Islands reached 420,000 people through social media, 1.7 million people through broadcast and online media, and 2.9 million people through print.

– Northern Advocate