wild fish ace fishing From supply chain bottlenecks and environmental regulations to overcapacity, the shipping sector is grappling with unprecedented challenges, forcing companies to rethink strategies and adapt to the uncertain, transformative future, some industry leaders shared recently. This discussion took place at the seventh edition of the Colombo International Maritime and Logistics Conference (CIMC) held on a rotational basis in South Asia among maritime nations. Supported by the Ministry of Transport, Highways, Ports and Civil Aviation and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the event took place from 27 to 29 November, with many international speakers and around 500 delegates taking part in this three-day conference. Discussing essential points from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) maritime report, Drewry Shipping Consultants Director Shailesh Garg said, “The global GDP outlook is looking stable, but somewhat flat. The downside risk is still there. Especially the China slowdown, geopolitical scenarios, supply chain disruptions, and weather extremes are adding more complexity.” Despite these challenges, the global throughput in 2024 was likely to grow to be 4.8%. While the first half of the year had been very strong with around 6% throughput, continuing from the momentum of the last quarter of 2023, this momentum had slowed in the second half. A significant challenge for growth was overcapacity that will affect the industry more in the future years. With a surge of new ships from the pandemic-era orders entering the market, the shipping industry was bracing for mounting challenges from overcapacity and plummeting freight rates. Yet, “despite concerns of overcapacity, ship-owners are aggressively ordering new vessels. This isn’t just about market competition, it’s about ensuring these vessels are ready for a decarbonised future,” Garg noted. He explained that the surge in new vessel orders reflected a proactive shift towards sustainability. Many of these new vessels were being designed with dual-fuel or alternative fuel capabilities to comply with stricter environmental regulations. However, this ambitious drive had not completely replaced older vessels; “ship-owners are holding onto older fleets as a hedge against market uncertainty.” According to Maersk Lanka Country Manager Biju Ravi, the capacity increase will not be uniform and will depend on how ship-owners managed the fleets. It depended on “how many ships are going to get scrapped.” He also mentioned the possibility of positioning ships in emerging markets, which may alter how and where they are deployed; “It depends on the ship-owners, on how they want to operate, or how they want to position these ships into merging smaller markets.” One of the key challenges for the shipping companies in the coming years will be how to manage fleet utilisation efficiently, Ravi added, stressing the need for companies to be agile and dynamic, adapting their operations using advanced technologies to predict and adjust fleet deployment. “We need to really look at predictive forecasts using advanced technologies today which we have like IoT or AI, and how agile you can be to move the ships strictly around to different port pairs or destinations.” Garg highlighted that the Red Sea Crisis and weather extremes like the Panama Canal disruptions were also compelling ship-owners to adapt swiftly. These factors have diverted major shipping routes and sustained the demand for additional vessel capacity. However, “these disruptions are not short-term hiccups. They’re reshaping the way we think about logistics and fleet management, potentially driving up freight rates even as fleet sizes expand,” he explained. He said that to mitigate overcapacity, some ship owners were turning to idling strategies. This approach had been effective in stabilising rates in the past, and was being considered again as fleets grew. Ship-owners were also aggressively securing building spots for new vessels, Garg noted. This trend and strategy was due to anticipated higher costs and reduced availability in coming years, prompting ship-owners to place orders to stay ahead of market dynamics. “This is a competitive game. Ship-owners are not just planning for today, they’re preparing for a future where sustainability and capacity are non-negotiable.” With all these transformations taking place in the global shipping industry, South Asia was emerging as a critical growth hub. According to Garg, with a projected compound annual growth rate of 5.7% over the next five years, the regions expanding trade volumes were creating significant opportunities for ship-owners and logistics providers. “South Asia’s growth trajectory is remarkable. It’s a region where investments in port infrastructure and logistics are urgently needed to keep pace with trade demands,” Garg noted. Talentbridge CEO Prabath Manimeldura also added that the region’s port sector would play a critical role in keeping shipping costs stable. He further emphasised that, with South Asia leading the way, there is an expected reduction in operational costs as port efficiencies improve in the next few years. “If you look at the possibilities of newcomers coming into the shipping industry, what we saw was a consolidation in the industry. This large number of ship owners became a smaller number of ship owners. There are some talks that some Asian superpower would eventually invest in ships, introducing a new shipping line or company,” Manimeldura noted. During the discussion, Colombo West International Terminal CEO Munish Kanwar brought attention to the importance of port operations in addressing the shipping industry’s challenges. He highlighted the need for ports like Colombo to focus on reducing inefficiencies and increasing productivity. Kanwar explained that operational and non-operational times during a vessel’s port stay were key areas for improvement. He said, “Worldwide, the operational time is around 60%, and the non-operational time is around 40%. This 40% is something manageable, which can be reduced.” Sharing strategies to enhance efficiency, he also stressed on the necessity of standardising operations, adopting automation, and improving training facilities for staff. Managing what cannot be measured could be impossible, and therefore, deploying a strategy which focused on tracking, evaluating and measuring all processes would increase efficiency, Kanwar advised. Additionally, explaining that reducing a vessel’s time in port had broader implications for costs and environmental impact, he said, “more time at sea would reduce your fuel consumption; you can reduce the speed and emissions.”

Elon Musk wasn't always the polarizing figure we see today in climate discussions. Once celebrated as a green-tech pioneer, Musk was vocal about the urgent need to combat climate change. In 2006, he described Tesla's mission as a way to "help expedite the move from a mine-and-burn hydrocarbon economy toward a solar electric economy." In 2015, he warned of the devastating consequences of delaying this transition. “The worst case,” he said, “is more displacement and destruction than all the wars in history combined.” At the time, Musk painted a grim picture of the future if humanity failed to act. He specifically talked about the dangers of rising sea levels, warning that oceanfront property would become “a lot less valuable” as floods destroyed homes and businesses. Don't Miss: Unlock the hidden potential of commercial real estate — This platform allows individuals to invest in commercial real estate offering a 12% target yield with a bonus 1% return boost today! Deloitte's fastest-growing software company partnered with Amazon, Walmart & Target announces the deadline to invest this year is 12/20. – Last Chance to get 4,000 of its pre-IPO shares for just $0.26/share! In his first appearance on the Joe Rogan Podcast in 2018, Musk stressed how strong the scientific agreement on climate change is, saying, “The scientific consensus is overwhelming. I mean, I don’t know any serious scientists – zero, literally zero – who don’t think that we have quite a serious climate risk that we’re facing.” His past concerns align with findings from a Climate Central study, which revealed that nearly 650,000 parcels of oceanfront property in the U.S. currently sitting on dry land will be at least partially submerged within 30 years due to rising sea levels. This shift will devastate property owners and strain cities and counties that rely on property taxes to fund schools, emergency services and utilities. See Also: This Jeff Bezos-backed startup will allow you to become a landlord in just 10 minutes, with minimum investments as low as $100 for properties like the Byer House from Stranger Things. Insurance giant Swiss RE warned in 2021 that climate change could cut the world economy by $23 trillion in 2050, equivalent to 14 percent of global economic output. Fast forward to today and Musk's rhetoric on climate change has undergone a dramatic shift. In an August conversation with Donald Trump on X, Musk downplayed the urgency of transitioning away from fossil fuels, suggesting the world has "plenty of time" to act. Many on the left and fake news have created another hoax that Trump was "slurring his words" during the X Spaces conversation with @elonmusk Here is the full recording proving them wrong again pic.twitter.com/vrVcRKpu60 Trending: Maker of the $60,000 foldable home has 3 factory buildings, 600+ houses built, and big plans to solve housing — you can become an investor for $0.80 per share today. He even described the risk of climate change as “not as high as a lot of people say it is,” framing the issue in terms of discomfort from high CO2 levels instead of catastrophic dangers scientists have long warned about. This change in attitude has left people wondering why Musk, who once called for urgent action, now seems so dismissive. Musk's pivot has not gone unnoticed. Critics point to his embrace of right-wing politicians and climate denialism as a key factor. On X (formerly Twitter), a platform he owns, climate scientists have been leaving in droves, citing a surge in misinformation about global warming. Musk's partner in DOGE, the prospective agency tasked with cutting government costs , Vivek Ramaswamy, previously called climate change a “hoax.” Musk’s behavior presents a conflicting image. On the one hand, Tesla TSLA has revolutionized the electric vehicle market and Musk’s endeavors, such as the $100 million Xprize for carbon removal, demonstrate his dedication to creative solutions. However, his personal carbon footprint undermined his message, as his private jet logged a whopping 441 flights in 2023, emitting 5,159 tonnes of CO2, according to JetSpy. Trending: Commercial real estate has historically outperformed the stock market, and this platform allows individuals to invest in commercial real estate with as little as $5,000 offering a 12% target yield with a bonus 1% return boost today! Then there's his claim that CO2 levels would only become a problem at 1,000 parts per million (ppm), much higher than today's 420 ppm . Scientists quickly debunked this, explaining that society would collapse long before CO2 reached those levels, as extreme weather, rising sea levels and food shortages would create chaos. Musk's mix-up of indoor air quality standards with outdoor atmospheric CO2 measurements shows a serious misunderstanding of basic science. This evolution – or perhaps devolution – has left many wondering: What changed? Some suggest Musk's interests now lie more in maintaining relationships in conservative circles than in driving climate advocacy. For example, President-elect Donald Trump said climate change is not "the biggest threat" and claimed it would create "more oceanfront property." Others speculate that his sprawling business empire and the demands of his ventures have pulled him away from his once-clear mission. Read Next: Inspired by Uber and Airbnb – Deloitte's fastest-growing software company is transforming 7 billion smartphones into income-generating assets – The deadline to invest and receive your shares this year is 12/20. Join 30,000+ shareholders and invest at $0.26/share today. Arrived Home's Private Credit Fund’s has historically paid an annualized dividend yield of 8.1%* , which provides access to a pool of short-term loans backed by residential real estate with just a $100 minimum. © 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

The 2024 NFL season has been a rough one for some of the game's best kickers, and even the consensus GOAT has been affected. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Thanks for the feedback."Through Alacriti's Payments Hub, ABNB FCU is now among the leading payment providers offering its members 24/7 access to send and receive funds instantly." Post this "Being at the forefront of payment innovation is essential to meeting our members' evolving needs," stated Cassandra Tucker, Director of Operations at ABNB FCU. "With instant payments, our members now have the power and the control to move their money securely 24/7, whether they're paying a bill, transferring money to a friend, or cashing out from an investment account. This is a game-changer for convenience and financial management," concluded Tucker. At ABNB FCU, delivering exceptional member experiences through innovative technology solutions is at the foundation of our strategic focus," said Victor Hall, ABNB Chief Experience Officer. "By integrating the FedNow Service and the RTP network, we're demonstrating our commitment to using technology to elevate our members' experience—ensuring they can securely move money," Hall concluded. "Through Alacriti's Payments Hub, ABNB FCU is... Alacriti

Shortstop Willy Adames and San Francisco Giants finalize $182 million, 7-year contractShares of Sonoro Gold Corp. (SMO.V) ( CVE:SMO – Get Free Report ) were up 3.6% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as C$0.29 and last traded at C$0.29. Approximately 25,000 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 65% from the average daily volume of 71,465 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$0.28. Sonoro Gold Corp. (SMO.V) Stock Performance The company has a market cap of C$23.34 million and a P/E ratio of -8.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 0.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 702.99. The company has a 50 day moving average price of C$0.29 and a 200-day moving average price of C$0.29. Sonoro Gold Corp. (SMO.V) Company Profile ( Get Free Report ) Sonoro Metals Corp., an exploration stage company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral properties in Mexico and the United States. It primarily explores for gold and silver. The company holds interest in the San Marcial project covering an area of approximately 1,000 hectares located in Sonora, Mexico. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Sonoro Gold Corp. (SMO.V) Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Sonoro Gold Corp. (SMO.V) and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .Delaware judge reaffirms ruling that invalidated massive Tesla pay package for Elon Musk

Home Franchise Concepts' Leading Window Covering Brand Promotes and Expands Roles for Veteran Team Members to Drive Collaboration, Growth and Innovation IRVINE, Calif. , Dec. 5, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Budget Blinds, a leader in window coverings, today announced significant changes to its executive leadership team, positioning the company for continued success and industry disruption. Effective immediately, the brand has promoted Tracy Christman to Chief Operating Officer; and expanded roles for Amy Campbell to Vice President of Marketing, Product Design & Strategy; and Nicholas (Nick) Petropoulos as Director of Information Technologies. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.GM to stop funding troubled Cruise autonomous vehicle unit, abandoning robotaxis

Former Rogers middle school teacher arrested by FBI'Why do we need to rush?' California's Lake County may have the nation's slowest elections department

ATLANTA (AP) — Jimmy Carter, the peanut farmer who tried to restore virtue to the White House after the Watergate scandal and Vietnam War, then rebounded from a landslide defeat to become a global advocate of human rights and democracy, has died. He was 100 years old . The Carter Center said the 39th president died Sunday, more than a year after entering hospice care , at his home in Plains, Georgia, where he and his wife, Rosalynn, who died in November 2023, lived most of their lives. A moderate Democrat, Carter ran for president in 1976 as a little-known Georgia governor with a broad grin, effusive Baptist faith and technocratic plans for efficient government. His promise to never deceive the American people resonated after Richard Nixon’s disgrace and U.S. defeat in southeast Asia. “If I ever lie to you, if I ever make a misleading statement, don’t vote for me. I would not deserve to be your president,” Carter said. Carter’s victory over Republican Gerald Ford, whose fortunes fell after pardoning Nixon, came amid Cold War pressures, turbulent oil markets and social upheaval over race, women’s rights and America’s role in the world. His achievements included brokering Mideast peace by keeping Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin at Camp David for 13 days in 1978. But his coalition splintered under double-digit inflation and the 444-day hostage crisis in Iran. His negotiations ultimately brought all the hostages home alive, but in a final insult, Iran didn’t release them until the inauguration of Ronald Reagan, who had trounced him in the 1980 election. Humbled and back home in Georgia, Carter said his faith demanded that he keep doing whatever he could, for as long as he could, to try to make a difference. He and Rosalynn co-founded The Carter Center in 1982 and spent the next 40 years traveling the world as peacemakers, human rights advocates and champions of democracy and public health. Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002, Carter helped ease nuclear tensions in North and South Korea, avert a U.S. invasion of Haiti and negotiate cease-fires in Bosnia and Sudan. By 2022, the center had monitored at least 113 elections around the world. Carter was determined to eradicate guinea worm infections as one of many health initiatives. Swinging hammers into their 90s, the Carters built homes with Habitat for Humanity. The common observation that he was better as an ex-president rankled Carter. His allies were pleased that he lived long enough to see biographers and historians revisit his presidency and declare it more impactful than many understood at the time. Propelled in 1976 by voters in Iowa and then across the South, Carter ran a no-frills campaign. Americans were captivated by the earnest engineer, and while an election-year Playboy interview drew snickers when he said he “had looked on many women with lust. I’ve committed adultery in my heart many times,” voters tired of political cynicism found it endearing. The first family set an informal tone in the White House, carrying their own luggage, trying to silence the Marine Band’s traditional “Hail to the Chief" and enrolling daughter, Amy, in public schools. Carter was lampooned for wearing a cardigan and urging Americans to turn down their thermostats. But Carter set the stage for an economic revival and sharply reduced America's dependence on foreign oil by deregulating the energy industry along with airlines, trains and trucking. He established the departments of Energy and Education, appointed record numbers of women and nonwhites to federal posts, preserved millions of acres of Alaskan wilderness and pardoned most Vietnam draft evaders. Emphasizing human rights , he ended most support for military dictators and took on bribery by multinational corporations by signing the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. He persuaded the Senate to ratify the Panama Canal treaties and normalized relations with China, an outgrowth of Nixon’s outreach to Beijing. But crippling turns in foreign affairs took their toll. When OPEC hiked crude prices, making drivers line up for gasoline as inflation spiked to 11%, Carter tried to encourage Americans to overcome “a crisis of confidence.” Many voters lost confidence in Carter instead after the infamous address that media dubbed his “malaise" speech, even though he never used that word. After Carter reluctantly agreed to admit the exiled Shah of Iran to the U.S. for medical treatment, the American Embassy in Tehran was overrun in 1979. Negotiations to quickly free the hostages broke down, and then eight Americans died when a top-secret military rescue attempt failed. Carter also had to reverse course on the SALT II nuclear arms treaty after the Soviets invaded Afghanistan in 1979. Though historians would later credit Carter's diplomatic efforts for hastening the end of the Cold war, Republicans labeled his soft power weak. Reagan’s “make America great again” appeals resonated, and he beat Carter in all but six states. Born Oct. 1, 1924, James Earl Carter Jr. married fellow Plains native Rosalynn Smith in 1946, the year he graduated from the Naval Academy. He brought his young family back to Plains after his father died, abandoning his Navy career, and they soon turned their ambitions to politics . Carter reached the state Senate in 1962. After rural white and Black voters elected him governor in 1970, he drew national attention by declaring that “the time for racial discrimination is over.” Carter published more than 30 books and remained influential as his center turned its democracy advocacy onto U.S. politics, monitoring an audit of Georgia’s 2020 presidential election results. After a 2015 cancer diagnosis, Carter said he felt “perfectly at ease with whatever comes.” “I’ve had a wonderful life,” he said. “I’ve had thousands of friends, I’ve had an exciting, adventurous and gratifying existence.” Contributors include former AP staffer Alex Sanz in Atlanta.Notre Dame puts losing streak in past, turns focus to DartmouthWASHINGTON (AP) — The House shut down Democrats' efforts Thursday to release the long-awaited ethics report into former Rep. Matt Gaetz , pushing the fate of any resolution to the yearslong investigation of sexual misconduct allegations into further uncertainty. The nearly party-line votes came after Democrats had been pressing for the findings to be published even though the Florida Republican left Congress and withdrew as President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for attorney general. Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., was the sole Republican to support the effort. Most Republicans have argued that any congressional probe into Gaetz ended when he resigned from the House. Speaker Mike Johnson also requested that the committee not publish its report, saying it would be a terrible precedent to set. While ethics reports have previously been released after a member’s resignation, it is extremely rare. Shortly before the votes took place, Rep. Sean Casten, D-Ill., who introduced one of the bills to force the release, said that if Republicans reject the release, they will have “succeeded in sweeping credible allegations of sexual misconduct under the rug.” Gaetz has repeatedly denied the claims. Earlier Thursday, the Ethics panel met to discuss the Gaetz report but made no decision, saying in a short statement that the matter is still being discussed. It's unclear now whether the document will ever see the light of day as lawmakers only have a few weeks left before a new session of Congress begins. It's the culmination of weeks of pressure on the Ethics committee's five Republicans and five Democrats who mostly work in secret as they investigate allegations of misconduct against lawmakers. The status of the Gaetz investigation became an open question last month when he abruptly resigned from Congress after Trump's announcement that he wanted his ally in the Cabinet. It is standard practice for the committee to end investigations when members of Congress depart, but the circumstances surrounding Gaetz were unusual, given his potential role in the new administration. Rep. Michael Guest, R-Miss., the committee chairman, said Wednesday that there is no longer the same urgency to release the report given that Gaetz has left Congress and stepped aside as Trump's choice to head the Justice Department. “I’ve been steadfast about that. He’s no longer a member. He is no longer going to be confirmed by the Senate because he withdrew his nomination to be the attorney general,” Guest said. The Gaetz report has also caused tensions between lawmakers on the bipartisan committee. Pennsylvania Rep. Susan Wild, the top Democrat on the panel, publicly admonished Guest last month for mischaracterizing a previous meeting to the press. Gaetz has denied any wrongdoing and said last year that the Justice Department’s separate investigation against him into sex trafficking allegations involving underage girls ended without federal charges. His onetime political ally Joel Greenberg , a fellow Republican who served as the tax collector in Florida’s Seminole County, admitted as part of a plea deal with prosecutors in 2021 that he paid women and an underage girl to have sex with him and other men. The men were not identified in court documents when he pleaded guilty. Greenberg was sentenced in late 2022 to 11 years in prison.

ITC’s GTEX Project conducts textile and clothing program phase IIManchester school board members are expected to hear the long-awaited details of Phase II of the school district’s Long Range Facilities Plan next week, which includes new construction and renovation costs totaling more than $2 billion. The plans reference a new Central High School, and renovation and new construction work at West and Memorial, with cost estimates ranging from $911 million to $1.3 billion. Phase II also recommends closing Manchester School of Technology and redistributing Career and Technical Education (CTE) courses among the three remaining high schools, as well as between $852 million and $894 million in construction and renovation work to city elementary schools. The plans are on the agenda for Monday’s meeting of the Board of School Committee, scheduled to get begin at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall. Superintendent of Schools Jennifer Chmiel views Phase II as a “roadmap for the long-term facilities planning” for the district, the result of “months of work between the district, community and our expert consultants, SMMA.” “We have approached this work with a respect for studies of the past along with changes in educational practices to better align the district with 21st Century learning,” Chmiel said in a statement. “The recommendations contained within this long-term roadmap can serve as a guide to help both current and future city leaders plan for and invest in our District school buildings, which benefits our city as a whole. This is not an ‘everything right now’ plan, rather it is a staggered 25-30 year guide for our school facilities, serving multiple generations and ensuring we are constantly moving forward while investing in our facilities.” Chmiel said school officials understand funding options and strategies still need to be identified to ensure the “level of affordability needed for the greater community.” “Our primary focus at this time continues to be the Priority One projects — specifically the previously approved additions and renovations of the four middle schools and construction of the new Beech Street elementary school," Chmiel said. Manchester Mayor Jay Ruais said while he needs to review the plan more deeply, “I cannot support a multi-billion-dollar spend that will undoubtedly be borne by Manchester taxpayers.” “A thriving school system is essential to the long-term health and prosperity of our city,” Ruais said. “While aging facilities naturally need to be maintained, renovated and upgraded, these undertakings must always be done with taxpayers in mind.” Alderman Joe Kelly Levasseur was stunned at the total estimated cost of Phase II. “It’s time the school district be made a department of the city once again,” Levasseur said. “The tone deaf big spenders on the school board have proven they cannot be trusted with money or even the basic educational needs of our students. Bricks and mortar will not improve test scores. This billion dollar-plus plan puts our taxpayers on a rocking chair of uncertainty as it relies on money from the state-which could be lowered at any time. “The school board needs to go back to the renovation plan it accepted in 2021 at one-tenth the cost.” Phase II follows the previously-approved, $306 million first phase of the school district’s long-term facilities planning project, which includes the closure of Henry Wilson Elementary School, construction of a new elementary school near the current Beech Street School, shifting Hillside and McLaughlin middle schools to the grade 5-8 model, and additions and renovations at all four middle schools to accommodate fifth-grade students. School officials say the average lifespan for buildings is 50 years. The average age of school buildings in Manchester is 75 years, with the newest building - McLaughlin Middle School — constructed in 1998. Manchester aldermen are standing by their vote last month to put on hold plans to demolish the existing Beech Street Elementary School and build a new school on land currently occupied by Sheridan-Emmett Park. Chmiel estimated that delaying the project could result in additional costs added to Phase One of $250,000 per month. Phase II includes building a new Central High School at a site to be finalized, serving 2,000 students (Central’s current enrollment is 1,129). Building a new 445,000 gross square foot high school at Central’s current location would require a five story building and removal of all existing buildings and no on-site athletic fields. The plans mentions additions and renovations to Memorial High School, which would be home to 1,200 students (current enrollment 1,302) and additions and renovations at West High School to better serve 800 students (current enrollment 767 students). Estimated Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) costs for the high school plans are pegged at $560 million for a new Central, $442 million for Memorial and $363 million for West, totaling $1,365,000,000. Phase II references looking at ways to repurpose the Manchester School of Technology building (current enrollment 305 students) following completion of a new Central and additions and renovations at Memorial additions and renovations. Potential opportunities include creating a special needs alternative middle/high school (which could generate tuition from neighboring communities), or a possible site for offices for the Manchester School District’s transportation office.New 'stay home' warning issued as highly contagious bug spikes again

wild n out las vegas aces NoneSmart Sensors Market Surge: From USD 58.2B in 2022 to USD 240.95B by 2031NEW YORK , Dec. 5, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Board of Directors of Omnicom (NYSE: OMC) declared a quarterly dividend of 70 cents per outstanding share of the corporation's common stock. The dividend is payable on January 10, 2025 to Omnicom common shareholders of record at the close of business on December 20, 2024. About Omnicom Omnicom (NYSE: OMC) is a leading provider of data-inspired, creative marketing and sales solutions. Omnicom's iconic agency brands are home to the industry's most innovative communications specialists who are focused on driving intelligent business outcomes for their clients. The company offers a wide range of services in advertising, strategic media planning and buying, precision marketing, retail and digital commerce, branding, experiential, public relations, healthcare marketing and other specialty marketing services to over 5,000 clients in more than 70 countries. For more information, visit www.omnicomgroup.com . View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/omnicom-declares-dividend-302324450.html SOURCE Omnicom Group Inc.

Zacks Research Forecasts Reduced Earnings for Lam ResearchNone

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC decreased its position in GXO Logistics, Inc. ( NYSE:GXO – Free Report ) by 5.6% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 64,567 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,814 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC’s holdings in GXO Logistics were worth $3,362,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new stake in shares of GXO Logistics during the third quarter worth about $28,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in GXO Logistics by 111.4% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 628 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 331 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of GXO Logistics by 37.2% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 918 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of GXO Logistics in the third quarter worth $50,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its holdings in shares of GXO Logistics by 37.6% during the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,032 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.67% of the company’s stock. GXO Logistics Stock Performance GXO opened at $60.47 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $57.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $52.69. GXO Logistics, Inc. has a 52-week low of $46.07 and a 52-week high of $63.33. The company has a market cap of $7.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 67.19, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Analysts Set New Price Targets Several equities research analysts have commented on GXO shares. UBS Group increased their price target on GXO Logistics from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on GXO Logistics from $75.00 to $73.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Citigroup initiated coverage on GXO Logistics in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $60.00 price target for the company. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of GXO Logistics from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of GXO Logistics from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.00. Check Out Our Latest Research Report on GXO Logistics GXO Logistics Company Profile ( Free Report ) GXO Logistics, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides logistics services worldwide. The company provides warehousing and distribution, order fulfilment, e-commerce, reverse logistics, and other supply chain services. As of December 31, 2023, it operated in approximately 974 facilities. The company serves various customers in the e-commerce, omnichannel retail, technology and consumer electronics, food and beverage, industrial and manufacturing, consumer packaged goods, and others. Featured Articles Want to see what other hedge funds are holding GXO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for GXO Logistics, Inc. ( NYSE:GXO – Free Report ). Receive News & Ratings for GXO Logistics Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for GXO Logistics and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .

Ocean Biomedical, Inc. Announces Receipt of Notice from Nasdaq Regarding Late Filing of Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q

GSA Capital Partners LLP Invests $292,000 in LivaNova PLC (NASDAQ:LIVN)LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James says he’s taking a break from social media. The NBA’s all-time leading scorer and Los Angeles Lakers star posted on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, and Instagram on Wednesday to announce that he’s stepping away from his pages. James has 159 million followers on Instagram, 52.9 million on X. James started the farewell by reposting something that Rich Kleiman, Kevin Durant’s longtime manager, posted to X on Oct. 24. “We can all acknowledge that sports is the last part of society that universally brings people together. So why can’t the coverage do the same?” Kleiman wrote that day. “It’s only click bait when you say it. When the platform is so big, you can make the change and allow us all an escape from real life negativity. I for one find it all a waste of breath.” James, on Instagram, posted a screengrab of Kleiman’s post and added the caption, “Damn shame what it’s come to.” On X, his repost of Kleiman simply said, “AMEN!!” Kleiman has posted only a handful of times since his Oct. 24 post, and evidently, James isn’t planning to post much — or anything — until further notice. Related Articles Entertainment | Duct-taped banana sells for $6.2 million at art auction Entertainment | Pamela Hayden, longtime ‘Simpsons’ voice actor, including Bart’s friend Milhouse, hangs up her mic Entertainment | Simone Biles to join Snoop Dogg as a guest mentor for an episode on NBC’s ‘The Voice’ Entertainment | Alec Baldwin wasn’t invited to ‘Rust’ premiere, incites anger of slain cinematographer’s family Entertainment | 'Euphoria' star Storm Reid not returning for season 3 His announcement came one day after he said “everybody on the Internet called me a liar all the time” when he said he was watching Dalton Knecht’s college games last year at Tennessee — long before the Lakers drafted the sharpshooting guard. “And with that said I’ll holla at y’all! Getting off social media for the time being. Y’all take care,” James posted, followed by emojis of a hand holding up two fingers — often symbolizing someone leaving a place — and a crown, a nod to his “King James” moniker. James, the NBA’s oldest active player — he turns 40 next month — is a four-time NBA champion and a three-time Olympic gold medalist, the most recent of those coming earlier this year at the Paris Games. The Lakers are 10-4, winners of six straight and next play Thursday at home against Orlando.

None

AP Sports SummaryBrief at 5:05 p.m. ESTAfter-hours movers: SentinelOne, Synopsys, PVH Corp, Verint Systems, American Eagle

Coalition senator Matt Canavan says he is still unsure if he will support the Albanese government’s social media ban for kids under 16. The world-leading policy has received broad support in principle, but parliamentarians have had little time to scrutinise the legislation and privacy has emerged as a key concern for the opposition. Senator Canavan said on Tuesday he understood the need for the ban but did not think there was a need “to rush it”. “I certainly think the Bill needs major changes, and regardless of the changes, I remain unimpressed with this condensed timeframe to analyse the Bill,” Senator Canavan told the ABC. “There is widespread support across the parliament for something like this. “And given that, there’s just no real need, I think, to rush it. “I don’t think that support is going to somehow disappear over the summer break. “We can, I think, just pause here, come back and do this.” Senator Canavan also said the ban would affect social media users of all ages “because once you have to try and verify someone’s age under 16, you’re going to have to verify everyone’s age to check their age”. The Greens have also taken issue with the lack of scrutiny over the ban, with MP Max Chandler Mather saying there were “a lot of unresolved questions”. Meanwhile, independent MP Zoe Daniel said the legislation let social media platforms “off the hook”. She introduced her alternative proposal in a private member’s Bill on Monday. “We need to get the platforms to take responsibility for what is in their environment, and actually, it would make an age ban redundant if we were to put in this kind of safety by design and a duty of care and hold the platforms accountable for what’s happening in their spaces,” she told the ABC. “You wouldn’t actually need an age ban.”

Giants' Malik Nabers, Darius Slayton don't care about No. 1 pick: "I'm not finna let people tee off on me just to tank' | Sporting NewsThe standard Lorem Ipsum passage, used since the 1500s "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum." Section 1.10.32 of "de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum", written by Cicero in 45 BC "Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt. Neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit, sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi consequatur? Quis autem vel eum iure reprehenderit qui in ea voluptate velit esse quam nihil molestiae consequatur, vel illum qui dolorem eum fugiat quo voluptas nulla pariatur?" Thanks for your interest in Kalkine Media's content! To continue reading, please log in to your account or create your free account with us.wild one hack 。

( MENAFN - GetNews) "The Asian Advance Directives market is experiencing rapid growth, driven by a convergence of factors. As societies age and cultural attitudes shift, there's an increased focus on personalized and patient-centered healthcare."Browse 120 market data Tables and 120 Figures spread through 67 Pages and in-depth TOC on "Advance Directives Market by Component (Software, Services), Demographics (Elderly Population (65 yrs & above), Middle Aged (40-64 yrs), Young Adults (18-39 yrs)), End User (B2B (Providers, Payers), B2C), & Region - Global Forecast to 2028 Advance Directives Market in terms of revenue was estimated to be worth $122.9 billion in 2023 and is poised to reach $291.1 billion by 2028, growing at a CAGR of 18.8% from 2023 to 2028 according to a new report by MarketsandMarkets. Rise in investments & funding in the advance directives market, supporting government initiatives, and increasing focus on personalized care are some of the key factors that offer opportunities to the market during the forecast period. However, the fragmented healthcare systems, and lack of in disciplinary collaboration and communication are challenging the market growth to some extent. Download an Illustrative overview: Healthcare Providers segment is expected to register the substantial share by end user of advance directives market The healthcare providers segment has emerged as a prominent contributor to the Advance Directives market share due to its pivotal role in facilitating and guiding patients through the AD process. Healthcare providers, including hospitals, clinics, and hospice organizations, possess the expertise to initiate AD conversations, educate patients about their options, and help them create legally binding documents such as advance directives. With a growing emphasis on patient-centered care, healthcare providers are recognizing the significance of honouring patients' preferences for end-of-life treatment. Their involvement not only ensures that patients' wishes are respected but also helps in aligning medical care with individual values. As a result, the healthcare providers segment has established itself as a key driver of AD adoption, shaping the market's considerable share. Advance Directives Services holds a substantial share by component in advance directives market Advance Directives (AD) services hold a significant share in the advance directives market by component due to their integral role in guiding individuals, families, and healthcare professionals through the complex process of making informed decisions about end-of-life care. These services offer a comprehensive approach, encompassing education, facilitation of discussions, legal documentation, and emotional support. With the growing recognition of patient autonomy and the importance of honouring individual preferences, AD services have become indispensable. Asia to witness a considerable growth rate during the forecast period. The Asian Advance Directives market is experiencing rapid growth, driven by a convergence of factors. As societies age and cultural attitudes shift, there's an increased focus on personalized and patient-centered healthcare. The integration of technology has made Advance Directives more accessible, while healthcare systems aim to optimize resource allocation. Regulatory support and policy initiatives further emphasize patient autonomy and shared decision-making. Request Sample Pages: Advance Directives Market Dynamics: Drivers: Restraints: Opportunities: Challenge: Key Market Players: ADvault, Inc.(US), VyncaCare (US), WiserCare Inc.(US), Sharp HealthCare(US), ACP Decisions (a DBA of Nous Foundation, Inc.) (US), Iris Healthcare(Aledade, Inc.) (US), Bronson Health Care Group, Inc. (US), ThroughCare, Inc.(US), Vital Decisions LLC (US), New Century Health (US), Honor My Decisions LLC (US) are some of the major players in this market. These companies are majorly focusing on the strategies such as agreements, collaborations, partnerships, and service launches in order to remain competitive and further increase their share in the market. Get 10% Free Customization on this Report: MENAFN13122024003238003268ID1108991899 Legal Disclaimer: MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.

Mauritius demands £800million a year and billions in reparations for controversial Chagos Islands deal By DAVID CHURCHILL, CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT FOR THE DAILY MAIL Published: 22:42 GMT, 29 December 2024 | Updated: 23:14 GMT, 29 December 2024 e-mail View comments Mauritius has been demanding £800million a year and ‘billions of pounds in reparations’ as part of the beleaguered Chagos Islands talks, it emerged today. Sir Keir Starmer has been facing calls to abandon his surrender of the archipelago after Mauritius’ new government rejected a proposed deal and started demanding more money. Downing Street has refused to reveal how much it has offered to pay Mauritius for a 99-year lease of the crucial Anglo-American military base on Diego Garcia, the largest of the Chagos atolls. But a source familiar with the talks told the Sunday Times: ‘They wanted crazy money. ‘They were talking £800million a year for as long as we wanted to keep the base there, plus billions of pounds in reparations.’ Sources close to David Lammy , the current Foreign Secretary , said UK negotiators have never ‘considered’ paying these amounts. But they did not deny that they have ever been demanded. And they refused to say how close to the demands that they have settled, simply saying that the proposed deal was ‘underpinned by a financial package which will support a new era of economic partnership between the UK and Mauritius’. Critics of surrendering sovereignty of the archipelago fear Labour is trying to rush a deal before Donald Trump re-enters the White House . Diego Garcia, part of the Chagos Islands. Mauritius has been demanding £800million a year and ‘billions of pounds in reparations’ as part of the beleaguered Chagos Islands talks, it emerged today Sir Keir Starmer (pictured) has been facing calls to abandon his surrender of the archipelago after Mauritius’ new government rejected a proposed deal and started demanding more money Protesters voicing their opposition to the deal outside Parliament. Downing Street has refused to reveal how much it has offered to pay Mauritius for a 99-year lease of the crucial Anglo-American military base on Diego Garcia, the largest of the Chagos atolls The president-elect’s pick for secretary of state, Marco Rubio, has warned that the deal posed ‘a serious threat’ to US national security by handing over the islands to a country allied with China. Last week new Mauritian leader, Navinchandra Ramgoolam, had a phone call with outgoing US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is also keen to get the deal across the line. The prime minister told his MPs afterwards: ‘I made him understand that we do not agree with certain things contained in the agreement concluded on October 3 by the former Mauritian prime minister and informed him that we have made a counter-proposal which will be transmitted to him.’ Days earlier his deputy had suggested that Mauritius is demanding more money to allow the continued operation of the base on Diego Garcia. Mauritius’s deputy prime minister Paul Berenger told constituents: ‘This base existed on our land, on our territory... but not only it is [about] our sovereignty. The British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) or Chagos Islands (formerly the Oil Islands) is an overseas territory of the United Kingdom situated in the Indian Ocean, halfway between Africa and Indonesia Diego Garcia, the largest island in the Chagos archipelago ‘There are some things you can’t accept if you’re a true patriot. They are trying to make us sign and they are quibbling on a small amount.’ The Labour government insists the deal is not dead and that the new Mauritian administration is willing to do a deal. A Foreign Office spokesman said: ‘An amount this high has not been considered at any point in negotiations between the UK and Mauritius.’ Keir Starmer Labour David Lammy Downing Street Share or comment on this article: Mauritius demands £800million a year and billions in reparations for controversial Chagos Islands deal e-mail Add commentThe Premier League table is starting to have a 1979 kind of feel to it — with Liverpool at the top of the standings and Nottingham Forest in second place as the closest challenger. Liverpool padded its lead with a 5-0 rout of West Ham on Sunday, while upstart Nottingham Forest climbed into second place by beating Everton 2-0 to continue its surprising push for a Champions League place. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings. Get updates and player profiles ahead of Friday's high school games, plus a recap Saturday with stories, photos, video Frequency: Seasonal Twice a week

From Our Special Correspondent Daijiworld Media Network Bengaluru, Dec 29: Leader of Opposition in Assembly and senior BJP leader R Ashoka has demanded the resignation of IT, Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge over the suicide of a contractor due to monetary demands of his personal assistant and said Kharge junior is not the Nizam of Kalaburagi district nor are his associates Razakars. The senior BJP leader said Priyank Kharge, son of senior Congress leader and AICC president, must honourably quit and exhibit his morality instead of preaching it to others as he is directly responsible for the high-handedness of his close associate Raju Kapanur, who he dubbed as a goonda and possessor of illegal pistol. Ashoka, has in a press statement, wondered if the Constitution of Dr B R Ambedkar does not apply to Kharge family. “Let him resign and display his morality before preaching to others,” he said blaming Priyank Kharge for the suicide of contractor Sachin Panchal, who has in a death note directly blamed Kharge’s close aide Raju Kapanur for his suicide. The BJP leader reminded the ruling Congress party leaders that the party’s minister K S Eshwarappa’s resignation was demanded by them when the contractor Santhosh had left a suicide note blaming the minister’s aides for demanding 40% commission. “The death note left behind by contractor Sachin Panchal has accused Raju Kapanur for fraud and cheating as also threats to kill him,” Ashoka said and pointed out that the contractor had uploaded his death note in the social media before committing suicide. The BJP leaader alleged that the police of Gandhigunj station in Bidar had neglected to immediately act when the family members of contractor Sachin Panchal went to lodge a missing complaint. Ashoka alleged that Priyank Kharge’s close associate Raju Kapanur had taken Rs 15 lac from the contractor for awarding a contract and had even demanded Rs 1 crore as per the death note. There are complaints against six persons including former Kalaburagi corporator Ravi Kapanur, Nandakumr, Nagabhujanga and Goraknath, the BJP leader said.The accusation that President Bola Tinubu favours his ethnic Yoruba to dominate the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL’s) hierarchy and the financial sector of the nation’s economy is baseless, a former presidential aide, Mr Reno Omokri, has said. In a statement on Sunday, the former presidential aide said the accusation contradicts the facts, which show that the president has been even-handed in his choice of appointments. In an article titled “Tinubu’s Buharisation of the NNPC,” published last week, an academic, Prof Farouk Kperogi, accused President Tinubu of appointing “Yoruba people” to significant positions at the NNPC. He added that the concentration of Yoruba figures in critical economic roles, including the minister of finance and the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), represented “state-sanctioned ethnocentric domination of a critical segment of national life.” But a former governor of Kaduna State, Mr Nasir el-Rufai, responded to Kperogi’s claim on his X handle, admonishing, “Two wrongs do not make a right. Sensible inclusion always trumps arrogant exclusion!” However, the Chief Corporate Communications Officer of the NNPC Ltd., Olufemi Soneye, addressed concerns raised in Kperogi’s article in a weekend statement, explaining that the NNPC’s leadership structure was guided by business requirements, expertise, and merit rather than ethnicity, tribe, religion, or political affiliation. He said the NNPCL prided itself on being a professional organisation with a diverse leadership team that includes individuals from various parts of the world. On Sunday, Omokri weighed in on the matter and said el-Rufai and Kperogi were mischievously misrepresenting facts. “Let us consider the facts,” he said, adding, “Look at the breakdown of the current management of the NNPCL: Chief Pius Akinyelure: Non-Executive Board Chairman-Southwest; Mallam Mele Kolo Kyari: Group Chief Executive Officer-Northeast; Adedapo Segun: Chief Financial Officer-Southwest; Mr Ledum Mitee: Non-Executive Director-South-South; Mr Musa Tumsa: Non-Executive Director-Northeast; Mr Ghali Muhammad: Non-Executive Director-Northcentral; Prof Mustapha Aliyu: Non-Executive Director-Northwest; Mr. David Ogbodo: Non-Executive Director-Southeast; and Ms. Eunice Thomas: Non-Executive Director-South-South. He said from the record that only two company board members were from the Southwest, explaining that none of the top management of the supervisory agencies was from the president’s region. He pointed out that the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobori, and Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Mr Ekperikpe Ekpo, were from the South-South, while the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Mr Nicholas Agbo Ella, was -North-Central. “From the above, how can anybody honestly project to the Nigerian people that President Tinubu is Yorubacentric in his appointments at the NNPCL? It beggars belief,” Omokri said. His words, “If there is any dominance at all, then that hegemony favours the South-South, which is the most represented on the board and cabinet-level with authority over NNPCL. Then you have the Northwest, Northeast, and North-Central. “Now, even if you want to go to the ridiculous extent of scrutinising those in the lower cadre of the NNPCL, you will find that, except possibly two positions, all of those posts were filled by former President Muhammadu Buhari. “Therefore, to say that a Yoruba heads every consequential agency in finance in Nigeria is not only without basis but also capable of causing the type of market ripples that negatively affect the All-Share Index of the Nigerian Stock Exchange. “When you mention finance, you use a broad brush that includes revenue-generating agencies. And the highest revenue-generating agencies in Nigeria are not the Central Bank of Nigeria or the Ministry of Finance.”Friday’s trade between the New York Yankees and the Milwaukee Brewers did not exactly come at a good time for Nestor Cortes. The veteran lefty Cortes was sent by the Yankees to the Brewers as part of a package for an All-Star reliever . The move ends Cortes’ time in New York after five total MLB seasons. Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel revealed that Cortes had a particularly bad way of finding out about the trade. Cortes is currently in Las Vegas celebrating his birthday (Cortes turned 30 earlier this week) and woke up on Friday to a lot of missed calls and texts that had him confused. The Cuba native Cortes had a nice run with the Yankees and was an All-Star in 2022 (going 12-4 with a 2.44 ERA and a 0.92 WHIP that season). But the final memory of Cortes in pinstripes will be of him giving up an epic grand slam to Los Angeles Dodgers star Freddie Freeman in Game 1 of this year’s World Series. A Cortes trade was probably only a matter of time too after the Yankees handed out a historic contract to another lefty starter just days ago . This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

(CNN) — The Supreme Court agreed Friday to wade into a fight over Congress’ ability to delegate power to federal agencies — opening the next chapter in a decadeslong effort by conservatives and business interests to reduce the power of the federal government. The appeal, filed by the Biden administration, comes months after the high court handed down a blockbuster ruling limiting the power of federal agencies to interpret vague federal laws on workplace conditions, environmental protections and consumer safeguards. At issue in the latest case is the mechanism used to fund the multibillion-dollar Universal Service Fund, through which the Federal Communications Commission provides reduced-price phone and internet services for rural schools, low-income families and others. But the court’s decision, expected by June, could have a much wider impact, affecting delegations of power by Congress to other agencies. The Supreme Court granted two appeals Friday dealing with the same issue, one from the Biden administration and another from a coalition of schools and libraries that would be affected by the court’s decisions. The high court also added a question to the case, ordering the parties to discuss whether the case is moot because of how it was handled in the lower courts. In 1996, Congress created the fund and required telecommunication companies to contribute to it — a cost that is generally passed on to consumers. Critics say that arrangement acts like a tax and that the law violates the Constitution by “delegating” Congress’ taxing authority to the FCC. The appeal also raises questions about the constitutionality of the FCC’s decision to let a private entity manage the fund. The case is the latest in a series of efforts — most of which have been successful — to shift the balance of power between Congress and the presidency. The court is likely to decide the issue by June, months after President-elect Donald Trump begins his second term. A nonprofit “consumer awareness group” and others challenged the FCC’s funding arrangement in several federal courts, losing in the Cincinnati-based 6th Circuit and the Atlanta-based 11th Circuit but winning in the New Orleans-based 5th Circuit. The Supreme Court initially declined to decide the question, but the 5th Circuit ruling against the government prompted an appeal from the Biden administration. The Supreme Court last invoked the “nondelegation doctrine” in the 1930s but has since permitted Congress to delegate authority under certain conditions. Conservative groups in particular have argued the permissiveness has perverted separation-of-powers principles, allowing government agencies to take the lead on difficult choices that critics say should be left to elected lawmakers. The high court handed down several major cases earlier this year challenging the power of what critics call the “administrative state.” In one, the court overturned a precedent that required lower courts give deference to federal agencies when interpreting vague laws — an outcome that has already inspired a flood of challenges to other federal regulations. The-CNN-Wire TM & © 2024 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.Stephen A. Smith 'closes in on huge new ESPN contract' after rejecting opening $18m-a-year offer READ MORE: Stephen A. Smith claims Trump ran for president to get back at NFL By ALEX RASKIN Published: 21:33 GMT, 3 December 2024 | Updated: 21:56 GMT, 3 December 2024 e-mail 19 shares View comments Stephen A. Smith appears to be staying with ESPN as he enters the final year of his contract. The two sides have been negotiating a new deal for months , and Variety is now reporting that a final agreement may be just weeks away. The contract could create a ‘first-look’ agreement for Smith’s other potential endeavors at the network, a source told Variety. ESPN has declined comment on the matter. Previously the Wall Street Journal reported Smith rejected an $18 million-a-year offer from ESPN. Multiple outlets have since reported he's seeking $25 million annually from ESPN as part of his next deal. The 56-year-old is already a popular podcaster and ESPN host, working on such programs as First Take and the World Wide Leader's in-studio NBA coverage. There has been some speculation he could join Inside the NBA when the popular TNT-produced show moves to ESPN next season, but network president Burke Magnus shot down that notion in an interview with Sports Illustrated . ESPN may not have been the only suitor for Smith, who has recently dipped his toe into political infotainment with appearances on Sean Hannity's Fox News show and Bill Maher's 'Club Random.' The New York native could have created his own platform, with the help of his agency, WME, according to one sports media insider. Stephen A. Smith appears to be staying with ESPN, according to a new report from Variety Read More Stephen A. Smith issues scathing verdict on Joe Biden's decision to pardon son Hunter 'I think what ESPN is up against is the possibility that WME could go out and create an architecture where Stephen A. has a podcast, a deal with this, a deal with that, whatever, and at the end of the day, it's $20 million a year,' James Andrew Miller told SI Media's Jimmy Traina in June. 'Smith currently has a podcast partnership with iHeartMedia, and recently produced a documentary for ESPN about the history of sports punditry. 'I do believe there are enough possibilities ... that Stephen A. can get outside of ESPN and even outside an exclusive deal with another network that could make him very happy and very rich,' Miller added. As Smith told Front Office Sports in September, he hopes to follow in his idol Howard Cosell's footsteps by lending his voice to ESPN's football coverage. 'I don't want to insult the legacy of the great Howard Cosell, who's somebody that I idolized. But that's what I want to do,' Smith told Front Office Sports. But unlike Cosell, who did play by play for ABC in addition to other various roles from 1953 until 1985, Smith doesn't want to be in the booth. 'When I think about the NFL, I'm not talking about being in the booth with [ESPN Monday Night Football announcers] Troy Aikman and Joe Buck,' Smith said. 'You don't mess with that chemistry; you leave that alone. But I'm unapologetic about what I want. 'I would love to be a part of Monday Night Football. I would love to work with [Monday Night Countdown's new cast including] Jason Kelce and Scott Van Pelt and Ryan Clark and my man Marcus Spears. I mean, two of those guys are on First Take every week.' Obviously the decision on what to do with Smith is up to ESPN and chairman Jimmy Pitaro. 'Of course, I believe that I can do it,' Smith told Front Office Sports. 'When you think about Howard Cosell and what he meant to the business, do I believe I have the potential to mean nearly as much? Yes, I do. So that's my opinion. It doesn't mean that opinion is shared by others. We'll find out ...' Steve Smith Share or comment on this article: Stephen A. Smith 'closes in on huge new ESPN contract' after rejecting opening $18m-a-year offer e-mail 19 shares Add comment

Calgary Board of Education students showed ‘significant’ attendance improvement: report

Michigan tight end Colston Loveland declared for the 2025 NFL draft on Friday. Loveland made the announcement in an Instagram post , via ESPN's Adam Schefter. The 20-year-old spent all three years of his college career with the Wolverines, appearing in 39 total games. He was ranked as the No. 1 tight end and No. 13 overall player in the 2025 draft class on the latest big board from Bleacher Report's NFL Scouting Department. B/R NFL Scout Dame Parson highlighted Loveland's ability to fit in a wide variety of schemes in his scouting report. "Loveland can operate as a traditional in-line and/or the pass-catching move tight end in both the run and passing games," Parson wrote. "That versatility will help NFL offensive coordinators create a game plan for him within the offense." Loveland still had one more year of eligibility remaining, but he's choosing to make the jump to the professional level after wrapping up consecutive impressive seasons. He initially sat behind Luke Schoonmaker on the depth chart as a true freshman, but he thrived in a starting role once Schoonmaker entered the NFL ahead of the 2023 season. Loveland was a key piece of the Wolverines' passing offense during their undefeated campaign that ended with a national championship. In 15 games during the 2023 season, he racked up 45 receptions for 649 yards and four touchdowns. While Michigan's air attack took a step back in 2024, Loveland remained an important contributor. His 58.2 receiving yards per game represented an increase compared to his average of 43.3 yards each week in the prior season, while his 56 catches and five scores were both the highest marks on the team. After winning two Big Ten championships and a national title at Ann Arbor, Loveland will now be heading to the NFL.

Wall Street's holiday cheer ended abruptly on Friday, with all three main benchmarks closing lower in a broad-based sell-off affecting even tech and growth stocks that had driven markets higher through much of the shortened trading week. The decline ended the Dow Jones Industrial Average's five-session winning streak that had followed a 10-session decline, its worst losing stretch since 1974. According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 lost 65.34 points, or 1.08 per cent, to end at 5,972.25 points, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 294.69 points, or 1.47 per cent, to 19,725.67. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 321.73 points, or 0.74 per cent, to 42,992.58. "Today feels like there is quite a bit of profit-taking across the board," said Michael Reynolds, vice president of investment strategy at Glenmede. "We are more than two years into a pretty strong bull market ... so it's really not surprising to see some people taking their profits and rebalancing their portfolios ahead of the new year." The sell-off thwarted the seasonal Santa Claus rally, in which stocks traditionally rise during the last five sessions of December and the first two of January. Since 1969, the S&P 500 has climbed 1.3 per cent on average, according to the Stock Trader's Almanac. Thursday's session hinted at momentum stalling, with both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq posting marginal losses to end multi-session winning runs. Rising US Treasury yields had been catching investors' attention, with the benchmark 10-year note hitting a more than seven-month high in the previous session. The yield hovered close to that mark on Friday, at 4.62 per cent. Higher yields are seen as hampering growth stocks, as they raise borrowing costs for business expansion. These stocks, especially the so-called Magnificent Seven technology megacaps which had been key drivers of the market's 2024 rally, were also caught up in Friday's sell-off. For the second successive day, Tesla led decliners among the group. "We have a higher cost of capital whenever rates go up like this, and they have gone up pretty significantly over the last month or so," said Glenmede's Reynolds. "Investors may just be reassessing the bets they are taking when the cost of capital is higher, perhaps looking at some of the valuations on the Mag 7 and wondering whether they can find better value elsewhere." Most of the 11 major S&P sectors fell. The worst performers on Friday were the three indexes which have been 2024's leading lights: consumer discretionary, information technology and communication services. Despite Friday's travails, all three indexes recorded weekly gains. News events helped some stocks to buck the market sell-off. Amedisys gained after the home health service provider and insurer UnitedHealth extended the deadline to close their $US3.3 billion ($A5.3 billion) merger. Lamb Weston climbed after a filing showed activist investor Jana Partners is working with a sixth executive to push for changes at the French fry maker, a move which could result in a majority of the company's board being replaced. Trading volumes in this holiday-shortened week have been below the average of the last six months and are likely to remain subdued until January 6. The next major focus for markets will be the December employment report due on January 10.( MENAFN - GetNews) The Seoul Metropolitan government will host the media art event Winter Festa: 2024 SEOULLIGHT GWANGHWAMUN, under this year's theme,“Luminous Axis,” from December 13, 2024, to January 5, 2025, throughout the Gwanghwamun area. This event will feature a media façade show on an international scale, accompanied by luminous axis sculptures by renowned artists displayed throughout Gwanghwamun Square, as well as various interactive content, all set spectacularly against the stunning backdrop of Gwanghwamun. Together, these elements will provide audiences with a captivating media art experience that harmoniously blends light, art, and technology. Seating areas will be arranged to enhance audience immersion, and various interactive events, such as Wish Light 2025, will be held. Additionally, it will feature various attractions, including a collaborative exhibition with Netflix hit series Squid Game Season 2, as well as a vibrant New Year Countdown. The main exhibition of the Gwanghwamun Media Façade will feature the signature media façade,“Luminous Symphony: The Symphony of Light,” David Hartono's“A Shining Journey,” David Hugonot Petit's“Suprême Ultime (Past - Present – Future),” Javier Cañal Sanchez's“ELEMENTAL SYMPHONY,” Yim Tae Kyu's“erehwon,” and five additional artworks selected through an open call. Video Link: Additionally, a new artwork by actor Ha Jung-woo will be showcased at the Yukjo Plaza Lighting Axis Cube, while media art pieces selected through a student contest will be projected onto the exterior wall of the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts' Atelier Gwanghwa. Visitors can also experience a variety of lighting installations, including citizen participation message videos at Haechi Plaza and media art content at the State Council Site-Historic Heritage Plaza. A variety of attractions and events will take place throughout Gwanghwamun Square, culminating in a New Year Countdown to welcome 2025, which will kick off at 11:30 PM on December 31. 2024 SEOULLIGHT GWANGHWAMUN, running from December 13, 2024, to January 5, 2025, will operate daily from 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM. For more details about the event, please visit the official website at MENAFN13122024003238003268ID1108991890 Legal Disclaimer: MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.Man United star “absolutely devastated” as Ruben Amorim receives fresh blow

Stocks closed higher on Wall Street as the market posted its fifth straight gain and the Dow Jones Industrial Average notched another record high. The S&P 500 rose 0.3%. The benchmark index’s 1.7% gain for the week erased most of its loss from last week. The Dow rose 1% as it nudged past its most recent high set last week, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.2%. Markets have been volatile over the last few weeks, losing ground in the runup to elections in November, then surging following Donald Trump's victory, before falling again. The S&P 500 has been steadily rising throughout this week to within close range of its record. It's now within about 0.5% of its all-time high set last week. “Overall, market behavior has normalized following an intense few weeks,” said Mark Hackett, chief of investment research at Nationwide, in a statement. Several retailers jumped after giving Wall Street encouraging financial updates. Gap soared 12.8% after handily beating analysts' third-quarter earnings and revenue expectations, while raising its own revenue forecast for the year. Discount retailer Ross Stores rose 2.2% after raising its earnings forecast for the year. EchoStar fell 2.8% after DirecTV called off its purchase of that company's Dish Network unit. Smaller company stocks had some of the biggest gains. The Russell 2000 index rose 1.8%. A majority of stocks in the S&P 500 gained ground, but those gains were kept in check by slumps for several big technology companies. Nvidia fell 3.2%. Its pricey valuation makes it among the heaviest influences on whether the broader market gains or loses ground. The company has grown into a nearly $3.6 trillion behemoth because of demand for its chips used in artificial-intelligence technology. Intuit, which makes TurboTax and other accounting software, fell 5.7%. It gave investors a quarterly earnings forecast that fell short of analysts’ expectations. Facebook owner Meta Platforms fell 0.7% following a decision by the Supreme Court to allow a multibillion-dollar class action investors’ lawsuit to proceed against the company. It stems from the privacy scandal involving the Cambridge Analytica political consulting firm. All told, the S&P 500 rose 20.63 points to 5,969.34. The Dow climbed 426.16 points to 44,296.51, and the Nasdaq picked up 42.65 points to close at 2,406.67. European markets closed mostly higher and Asian markets ended mixed. Crude oil prices rose. Treasury yields held relatively steady in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.41% from 4.42% late Thursday. In the crypto market, bitcoin hovered around $99,000, according to CoinDesk. It has more than doubled this year and first surpassed the $99,000 level on Thursday. Retailers remained a big focus for investors this week amid close scrutiny on consumer spending habits headed into the holiday shopping season. Walmart, the nation's largest retailer, reported a quarter of strong sales and gave investors an encouraging financial forecast. Target, though, reported weaker earnings than analysts' expected and its forecast disappointed Wall Street. Consumer spending has fueled economic growth, despite a persistent squeeze from inflation and high borrowing costs. Inflation has been easing and the Federal Reserve has started trimming its benchmark interest rates. That is likely to help relieve pressure on consumers, but any major shift in spending could prompt the Fed to reassess its path ahead on interest rates. Also, any big reversals on the rate of inflation could curtail spending. Consumer sentiment remains strong, according to the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index. It revised its latest figure for November to 71.8 from an initial reading of 73 earlier this month, though economists expected a slight increase. It's still up from 70.5 in October. The survey also showed that consumers' inflation expectations for the year ahead fell slightly to 2.6%, which is the lowest reading since December of 2020. Wall Street will get another update on how consumers feel when the business group The Conference Board releases its monthly consumer confidence survey on Tuesday. A key inflation update will come on Wednesday when the U.S. releases its October personal consumption expenditures index. The PCE is the Fed's preferred measure of inflation and this will be the last PCE reading prior to the central bank's meeting in December.Yankees get closer Devin Williams from Brewers for Nestor Cortes, Caleb DurbinWhen Ruto and the Church began reading from different scriptures

Trump calls for end to 'spring forward, fall back' clock changesYankees reportedly agree eight-year, $218 million deal with pitcher FriedTrump says 'hell to pay' if Israeli hostages aren't released by January

ATLANTA — President Jimmy Carter’s work making the world a better place will continue because of his faith, a dogged determination to leave a mark on the planet and a curious late-night dream. He left the White House in bitter disappointment and frustration in early 1981 at not having a second term because of the ascendance of Ronald Reagan. The ambitious Carter was not content to build a presidential library and rest on the laurels of a Mideast peace treaty, a nuclear arms deal with the Soviet Union, expanding national parks and reemphasizing human rights in American foreign policy. There was much left undone, in his estimation, but how to go about it now that he was out of the bully pulpit? He and his wife Rosalynn decided to leverage the prestige of his being a former president into opening doors and continuing work addressing poverty, illnesses and democracy around the world. Carter said in a 2009 interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that they realized there could be advantages in working without the shackles of congressional approvals, presidential protocols or inter-party politics. He and Rosalynn would later talk about whether he was able to accomplish more in the world through the Carter Center than he would have as a second-term president. “I think yes,” Carter told the AJC. He reemphasized his satisfaction with his decision during an August 2015 press conference. He said, in retrospect, given the choice between winning a second term or founding the Carter Center, he would have chosen the Carter Center. The well-funded and globally respected nonprofit will carry his work and ideals well into the future. The Carters dived — freelance and sometimes to the chagrin of the White House — into brokering peace between warring groups, addressing global health, shoring up human rights, freeing hostages, spreading democracy and increasing food production. It led to a passel of recognitions and awards — including his 2002 Nobel Peace Prize. The idea for the center came to him in a night-time dream of cabins built on a patch of wooded land, incongruously, within the shadows of Atlanta’s skyline, Carter told the AJC. His center was to be a re-creation of the wooded presidential retreat at Camp David, the location where he orchestrated, through stubborn refusal to accept “no” from either side, the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty. He found a patch of land east of downtown, but he had to plead with his former United Nations Ambassador Andrew Young, who was then mayor of Atlanta, to spare the land from a proposed highway project. The Israel-Egypt peace deal was a foreign-policy coup in the Mideast that no one has come close to replicating, and Carter’s hopes of re-creating the highlight of forging peace between implacable enemies grew into the ever-evolving Atlanta institution. The Carters wrestled with what the center’s other roles should be before turning to their personal experiences with poverty in south Georgia during the Great Depression. They recalled small-town values of neighborly help and their deeply held Christian values and applied those to Carter Center work. At the center’s founding, his work focused on mediating peace between warring groups, such as helping end a conflict between Ethiopia and its breakaway region of Eritrea. “And we still do some of that,” Carter said, but the focus of the center’s work changed and shifted with world need. They looked for causes few others were working on and used their status to leverage donations and attention, ultimately tipping the balance in battles against various human ills. The Carters’ work moved into fostering democracy by monitoring national and village level elections. Carter and his staff monitored more than 113 elections in 39 countries. As president, he helped normalize relations with China, and its government invited him in the 1990s to help standardize the vast array of electoral procedures in rural areas. The Carters adopted mental health issues, something Rosalynn had worked on since their days in the Georgia governor’s mansion, as well as press freedoms, human rights and government transparency. They threw themselves into food production programs in African villages, something Carter had worked on as president. But it was a visit from an old Georgia friend and former White House staffer Dr. Peter Bourne that opened the former president’s eyes to the issues on which a lion’s share of Carter Center money is spent: the eradication of little-known but devastating diseases. Bourne continued working on world health issues after leaving the White House, but the former president had him come to the Carter Center in May 1985 to talk about Guinea worm disease. Bourne and others believed it could be wiped out, which would make it the second human disease in history to be eliminated, after smallpox. Later that year, Bourne and the Carters were together in Wales indulging in one of their favorite pastimes, fishing. Bourne told them that others had some success eradicating Guinea worm at local levels in Africa and south Asia, where about 3.5 million people were affected. They knew that once the parasitic, water-born cycle was broken, it would be wiped from the earth. But those working on it didn’t have the political clout to convince countries to get involved at the highest levels. Carter could bring that, Bourne told them. Carter thought about it a few weeks, then called Bourne to say he was in. “He has been the driving force in getting the political will necessary ever since,” Bourne said. With Carter raising the profile of the illness and money — the center’s assets were more than $925 million according to its 2020 annual report — governments and nonprofits got behind it. Guinea worm was down to 14 reported cases in 2021 in four African countries, the center said. “We analyzed every human illness on earth to ascertain which ones of those might theoretically be ... eradicated,” Carter said. And they chose four others in addition to Guinea worm. River blindness was found in Africa and parts of Central and South America. By 2015, the center’s work coordinating nonprofits and governments pushed the disease into a few isolated deep-jungle spots in Venezuela and Brazil. With a great deal of optimism, the center moved in 2014 to declare a war on eradication of river blindness in Africa, where more than 100 million people are at risk. The center also began programs for trachoma, an infectious eye disease causing blindness; two diseases carried by parasitic worms, elephantiasis and schistosomiasis; and malaria in the Caribbean. The center will carry the couple’s work well past their demise. “I think 100 years from now we will still have the Carter Center as an independent entity,” Carter said. “I hope they are still doing the kinds of good things we have done so far.” ©2024 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Visit at ajc.com . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.NBA president highlights unconstitutionality of judges receiving gifts from politicians

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — In losing Sunday’s battle with the Buffalo Bills, perhaps the best team in football, Jerod Mayo won the war. Best I can tell, he’s staying put. For 2025, and maybe beyond. To his angry fan base and incredulous pockets of the New England Patriots’ media corps, remember Mayo’s future doesn’t hinge on winning this season. It’s not about what you want, or what I think. It’s about the Krafts, who hand-picked Mayo to succeed Bill Belichick four and a half years before he actually did, believing in him, and finding reasons to maintain that belief. In the eyes of someone who wants to believe, Sunday supplied enough reason. The Patriots led at halftime, then lost by three as 14-point underdogs. They became the first team since mid-October to hold the Bills under 30 points. Drake Maye outplayed the next MVP of the league for most of the game and took another step toward his destiny as a franchise quarterback, If that sounds like a low bar, that’s because it is. Such is life in Year 1 of a rebuild, a multi-year process ownership has committed to seeing through to the end with their organizational pillars now in place: Mayo, Maye and de facto GM Eliot Wolf. As frustrating as this 3-12 campaign has been, there are always nuggets of optimism amid the rubble of a losing season; particularly if you want to find them. The Krafts do, and so does Maye, who loves his head coach, by the way; calling questions about Mayo’s job security “BS.” “We’ve got his back,” Maye said post-game. Maye’s voice matters. Certainly more than any number of fans or media members. Ever since media-fueled speculation that Mayo could get canned at the end of his first season began rising, the caveat has always been the same: if, a Gillette Stadium-sized “if,” the Patriots bomb atomically down the stretch, ownership could pull the plug on Mayo. NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport became the latest to join that chorus Sunday with this pregame report: “The Krafts want to keep Jerod Mayo,” he said. “They believe he is the leader for the organization for the future, and they knew it would be a multi-year process to get this thing right. Now if things go off the rails, if they really start to struggle and he loses the locker room the last couple games of the season, we’ve seen this thing turn. “But as of now, the Patriots believe Jerod Mayo is their leader for the future.” Well, Mayo hasn’t lost the locker room. That’s a fact. To a man, both in public and from those I’ve spoken to in private, Patriots players believe in their head coach. Mayo might be a players’ coach, yes, in the best and worst senses. But the Patriots were a few plays away Sunday from pulling off their largest upset since Super Bowl XXXVI. “I think we’re building something good,” Maye said. The Patriots also played their best half of football this season against their toughest opponent yet. Another fact. Now, to the frustrated, I am with you. To the shocked, I understand. But to the trigger-happy, lay down your arms. Mayo, by all accounts, is returning in 2025. Alex Van Pelt, however, is another story. In the same vein that the Krafts could have viewed Sunday’s performance as a reason to save Mayo — despite his pathetic punt at midfield, down 10 with just eight and a half minutes left — they could have convinced themselves their offensive coordinator is the real problem. After all, team president Jonathan Kraft was visibly exasperated over Van Pelt’s play-calling during the Pats’ loss at Arizona a week earlier. Four days later, Van Pelt told reporters he had yet to hear from his boss. Well, that time may be coming. Trailing by three in the fourth quarter Sunday, Van Pelt called a pass that resulted in an unnecessary lateral and game-winning touchdown for Buffalo. His offense later operated like it was taking a Sunday drive with the game on the line, using up 3:16 of the final 4:19 en route to its final touchdown. Van Pelt, finally, weaponized Maye’s legs in critical situations, something that arguably should have been done weeks ago. Not to mention, Van Pelt’s top running back can’t stop fumbling, and the offensive line remains a hot mess. Call him Alex Van Fall Guy. Because Van Pelt’s offense, for the first time in a while, under-performed relative to Mayo’s defense. On merit, he deserves to stay; a case that’s harder to make for defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington. But it’s not about merit this season. It’s not about what you want. It’s not about what I think. It’s about the Krafts; what they see, what they want, what they believe. Even in defeat. ____ Sent weekly directly to your inbox!CTO Realty Growth: A Safe 7.6% Dividend Yield, I Bought MoreRICE_Dickmann 31 pass from Warner (Horn kick), 12:33. USF_Wright 1 run (Cannon kick), 9:14. RICE_Jackson 12 run (Horn kick), 7:44. RICE_FG Horn 25, :22. RICE_Connors 23 pass from Warner (Horn kick), 6:32. RICE_FG Horn 25, :12. USF_S.Atkins 16 pass from Archie (Cannon kick), 12:22. RICE_Chiaokhiao-Bowman 33 pass from Warner (Sykes pass from Warner), 6:26. USF_K.Singleton 28 pass from I.Carter (Cannon kick), 3:09. USF_Brown-Stephens 32 pass from I.Carter (Cannon kick), 2:25. RUSHING_South Florida, Wright 6-35, Keith 3-31, Archie 10-21, Joiner 9-19, I.Carter 2-5. Rice, Francisco 12-42, Jackson 5-40, Connors 17-40, Chiaokhiao-Bowman 1-2, Warner 5-(minus 11). PASSING_South Florida, Archie 19-35-1-227, I.Carter 5-6-0-93, (Team) 0-1-0-0. Rice, Warner 27-42-0-437. RECEIVING_South Florida, Atkins 7-110, K.Singleton 7-107, Brown-Stephens 6-80, Singletary 2-5, Hardeman 1-12, Yaseen 1-6. Rice, Sykes 7-118, Connors 4-91, Chiaokhiao-Bowman 3-58, K.Campbell 3-52, G.Walker 3-45, Mojarro 3-16, Dickmann 2-36, B.Walker 1-12, Francisco 1-9. MISSED FIELD GOALS_Rice, Horn 41, Horn 39.wild rice productions 。

While The Denver Nuggets are no longer considered world beaters, they clearly have enough talent to remain in the mix in the Western Conference. However, swapping a former MVP for a dynamic Utah Jazz bench scorer could do wonders for the Nuggets’ second unit. “In this scenario, the Jazz would look to Denver as a trade partner,” The J Notes’ Travis Hughes wrote Sunday. “The Jazz would send Jordan Clarkson to the Nuggets in return for Zeke Nnaji, Russell Westbrook, Vlatko Cancar, and a 2026 first-round pick swap, in which the Jazz retain the rights to the higher pick.” “The Nuggets have been on a decline since their NBA title because their depth has taken more hits every year, and their complements to Nikola Jokic seem to be regressing as well.” “There have also been some rumblings that this may be the last season the Nuggets' core will be together, with all their contracts bringing them close to the 200 million mark against the cap. The Nuggets may be due for a down year.” “The Nuggets would like this trade because of their need for backcourt depth. While Westbrook is their current backcourt depth piece, he has been very streaky as has been the nature of Westbrook over the last few seasons." “As ironic as it sounds, Clarkson could provide much more consistency and can play both the one and two positions.” "Clarkson could be the Bruce Brown replacement the Nuggets have been searching for since their championship run." "He's also younger and could also save them money. In this hypothetical, the Nuggets' salary would actually drop $187k.” Clarkson is making valuable contributions for the Jazz off the bench as a confident isolation operator with perhaps the greenest light in the league. The 6-foot-3 guard isn’t known for scoring efficiently, but it’s worth noting that Clarkson is averaging 15 points while playing 26 minutes per game this season. Westbrook, on the other hand, struggled to adjust to life as a Nugget early on, but he’s slowly transformed into a dependable bench contributor for Mike Malone and company. Despite being unpredictable as a straight-line driver, Westbrook is netting 11.7 points and handing out 6.0 assists per contest this year. Clarkson and Westbrook have massive flaws in their respective games, but Clarkson’s instant scoring ability and higher ceiling should make the Nuggets consider an in-season swap. More NBA: Lakers could reunite with cherished $48 million NBA champion via trade with BucksAP News Summary at 11:51 a.m. EST

President-elect Trump wants to again rename North America’s tallest peak

None

The are heading into their first off year since 2017, with only the friendly in February on the national team schedule for 2025 so far. Fans will be hoping that this time will be used to expand the playing pool and continue the process of squad regeneration without the pressures of needing to qualify for and perform on the biggest stage. With that being said, it's never too early to look at what's coming up for the team and what future squads could look like. ESPN's Big Board has been wheeled out prior to and as a way of gauging not only who would make a squad, but which players are in and around the national team conversation. In previous editions, the Big Board was constructed with one key consideration in mind: if the squad had to be picked tomorrow, who would make the cut? For a new cycle of Big Boards, we've decided to switch it up. This time around, we're looking into our crystal balls and trying to predict the squad as it will be in 2026. Under the old rules, wouldn't make the cut as she continues to rehab her ACL injury, but this new version of the Big Board means Kerr stands to be fit and available for 2026. In addition to the squad, we will drop some names who are in and around the conversation for each of the position categories: goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders, and forwards. We will select a 23-player squad with three spots reserved for goalkeepers. Who is stepping up? Who will make the final squad? And who will be unlucky to miss out? Let's find out. ESPN'S PREDICTED 2026 WOMEN'S ASIAN CUP MATILDAS SQUAD , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , GOALKEEPERS Mackenzie Arnold, Teagan Micah, Chloe Lincoln This most recent window offered up a clear indication as to where the future of the Matildas' goalkeeping stocks lies. Arnold and Micah should be battling it out for the No. 1 spot in 2026 with Lincoln, who will be 21 by the time the Asian Cup rolls around, a third-choice keeper soaking up her first senior major tournament. did not take to the field in the last window of 2024 but is one to watch. So too is who was a mainstay -- albeit as third-choice -- in the Tony Gustavsson era, but will need to prove herself all over again. Closer to home, and are two young goalkeepers in the who could be more seriously in contention come 2026 or beyond. DEFENDERS Ellie Carpenter, Charlotte Grant, Alanna Kennedy, Steph Catley, Clare Hunt, Kaitlyn Torpey, Winonah Heatley The World Cup back four of choice goes again in 2026 with Catley, Carpenter, Hunt, and Kennedy all in. Catley serves as centre-back cover as does Heatley, who has impressed enormously in her nascent national team career. Heatley also provides an option in defensive midfield. For full-back cover, Grant gets the nod as someone who can play either flank while Torpey is a viable option as a full-back, winger, or wing-back. There are plenty of people who will read this list and ask where is, and it's a valid question. She is one of the unlucky ones to miss out in this iteration based on the versatility of those ahead of her. Other names which will continue to float around this group of players are , , , , , and . All will need to prove themselves to continue being a part of the conversation, especially Nevin who is the most experienced of the group. For a look at some even younger players, and are two exciting prospects worth keeping an eye on. MIDFIELDERS Kyra Cooney-Cross, Tameka Yallop, Emily van Egmond, Clare Wheeler, Katrina Gorry, Daniela Galic In 2026, Cooney-Cross will be the player the midfield is built around. Gorry should still be an integral part of the lineup, with Wheeler serving as a more defensive option. Yallop's form across the November/December window was an incredible reminder of how good she can be when utilised in her preferred positions, and how big a role good form plays in good performances. Galic and van Egmond represent the new and the old in terms of a technically sound, creative midfielder. Galic will be 19 come the start of the tournament and this will be a good place for her to cut her teeth and learn the ropes. Van Egmond's inclusion will no doubt be contentious but there is still a time and place for the 153-gamer -- namely as a luxury option off the bench. While injuries don't preclude anyone from selection under the new rules of the Big Board, they still colour our selections. Knee injuries have meant the likes of and haven't made the cut this time around. Players like , , and all got game time against and will be worth watching in the A-League Women. , and represent players at the beginning, middle, and end of their national team careers who could come into calculations. FORWARDS Caitlin Foord, Hayley Raso, Mary Fowler, Sam Kerr, Cortnee Vine, Sharn Freier, Holly McNamara The ideal Matildas attack remains a combination of Kerr, Foord, Fowler, and Raso. The issue, as always, is ensuring everyone is a) healthy and b) in form at the same time. Foord, Raso and Kerr will all be in their early 30s by the time the Asian Cup rolls around but will be supported by a crop of younger, exciting wingers. Freier has been an excitement machine over the last six months, while McNamara will hopefully be healthy for long enough to show exactly why she is so highly rated. Vine is the selection with the most question marks around her and there is a case to replace her in this squad with a more traditional No. 9. That brings us to those who are unlucky to miss out. Adding in a classic, big striker would make the squad more balanced but the key options are and , who will be 37 and 33 respectively come the Asian Cup. presents a more youthful strike option but will need to force continued selection with strong goal-scoring form. , , and are some options who have played in the Young Matildas and are currently in the A-League.

wild rift 0 percent Aries : Today, you possess all the innate qualities that will help attract and inspire people to join you. If you present a new project at the workplace or organise a team venture, your persuasive energy will be infectious, and people will be attracted to your confidence. This is the time to come up with that idea you have been contemplating – the heavens are telling you it is time to mobilise people and lead. Taurus : Today brings a flood of thoughts, and while this is good, it can also be a little tiring. The constant need to make the right decision might stress you out – but do not worry, not all choices are set in stone. Make sure you can consider other possibilities without being tied down to a particular plan. The universe reassures you that flexibility is on your side and that it’s not a failure to pivot later on. Gemini : You will be armed with charm and light-heartedness that are perfect for the workplace. A positive attitude and a touch of humour will not only make your tasks feel lighter but also draw people towards you. Your words have power over others not because you can compel them but because you can make them comfortable. Harness this energy to encourage compliance. Smile, and you’ll discover that each effort makes the day more fulfilling. Cancer : This is the day to broaden your focus rather than narrow it down. Let ideas come to you, and be receptive without trying to categorise them. This is the right time to assemble your group, call for diversity and let the ideas flow in. The energy around you is all about teamwork, and when everyone is given an equal voice, then the best solution will emerge. Remember that the answers are right there before you – all you have to do is wait for them to come to you. Leo : You are quite energetic today, and people will automatically be attracted to your energy. The workplace is less heavy when you walk into it with a positive attitude. Your capacity to make people believe in your actions will start things off, and you will discover that even the most bizarre concepts have a reasonable probability of succeeding. Follow your gut and let your beautiful soul guide you. This is your moment to shine. Virgo : Today will bring a change of pace, Virgo, and this will feel like a welcome move. Your willingness to embrace partnership can lead to success in uncharted territories. This will give you positive feedback. To your surprise, stop trying so hard and see how things work on their own. The gods are smiling and ready to compensate for your readiness to consider other positions. Don’t let the pace slow down – success is just around the corner. Libra : Today is about sharing, Libra. The energy of the day is giving; by giving out your thoughts and wisdom, you make waves that will return to you in ways you did not anticipate. You have the gift of being able to create harmony, which can brighten the whole workplace; embrace it. This is not a day to think about what you can get but to give – advice, words of encouragement, or ideas. The more you give, the more you will see the opportunities coming your way. Scorpio : Some underlying conflict might be present today, but do not let it bring you down. Your alienation from a person at work has nothing to do with conflict – it is simply a matter of perception. Step back and give room to develop. You will be shocked to discover that both are similar in ideas than you thought. A calm and rational discussion would lead to finding some similarities and changing the nature of the relationship for the better. Sagittarius : Your mind is looking for growth, and the cosmos is pushing you toward acquiring knowledge. Whether signing up for a class or just going down a rabbit hole of something interesting, learning feels so good right now. This is not just a fleeting idea – you might be surprised to find that it is possible to open new opportunities in your career by investing in yourself. Just have faith in the process and remain interested. Capricorn : Today you are filled with the energy and motivation that will help you achieve your goals, Capricorn, but do not forget to look at the bigger picture. Even if the current direction seems rather stable, there is much more to be achieved if you consider the long-term prospects. Your actions today are relevant, but the scope of your thinking will define long-term success. Take your time and think ahead. Aquarius : Your creativity is rising today, and you can easily develop new ideas based on what you watch or read. This can help trigger creativity, but the stars tell you to keep one foot on the ground. Remember to view them practically before applying them in your practice. It is possible to create something new if you combine the idea with the notion of possibility. This balance will help you turn inspiration into something that is of value. Pisces : Today, you need to be more active. Technology can be useful, but it can also be disadvantageous since details may be overlooked. Listen to your instincts and your inner self – sometimes, the solutions you need are not online. It is always useful to take a bird’s eye view of things. Allow words and feelings to get in the gaps where the machines might not see. By combining technology with interpersonal interaction, you will find a more accurate picture. ---------------------- Neeraj Dhankher (Vedic Astrologer, Founder - Astro Zindagi) Email: info@astrozindagi.in , neeraj@astrozindagi.in Url: www.astrozindagi.in Contact: Noida: +919910094779

Inter beats Como and closes gap at the top of Serie A while Bove back on Fiorentina sideline

Article content FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Republican senators pushed back on Sunday against criticism from Democrats that Tulsi Gabbard, Donald Trump’s pick to lead U.S. intelligence services, is “compromised” by her comments supportive of Russia and secret meetings, as a congresswoman, with Syria’s president, a close ally of the Kremlin and Iran. Recommended Videos Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Illinois, a veteran of combat missions in Iraq, said she had concerns about Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s choice to be director of national intelligence. “I think she’s compromised,” Duckworth said on CNN’s “State of the Union,” citing Gabbard’s 2017 trip to Syria, where she held talks with Syrian President Bashar Assad. Gabbard was a Democratic House member from Hawaii at the time. “The U.S. intelligence community has identified her as having troubling relationships with America’s foes. And so my worry is that she couldn’t pass a background check,” Duckworth said. Gabbard, who said last month she is joining the Republican party, has served in the Army National Guard for more than two decades. She was deployed to Iraq and Kuwait and, according to the Hawaii National Guard, received a Combat Medical Badge in 2005 for “participation in combat operations under enemy hostile fire in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom III.” Duckworth’s comments drew immediate backlash from Republicans. “For her to say ridiculous and outright dangerous words like that is wrong,” Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Oklahoma, said on CNN, challenging Duckworth to retract her words. “That’s the most dangerous thing she could say — is that a United States lieutenant colonel in the United States Army is compromised and is an asset of Russia.” In recent days, other Democrats have accused Gabbard without evidence of being a “Russian asset.” Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, has claimed, without offering details, that Gabbard is in Russian President Vladimir “Putin’s pocket.” Mullin and others say the criticism from Democrats is rooted in the fact that Gabbard left their party and has become a Trump ally. Democrats say they worry that Gabbard’s selection as national intelligence chief endangers ties with allies and gives Russia a win. Rep. Adam Schiff, a California Democrat just elected to the Senate, said he would not describe Gabbard as a Russian asset, but said she had “very questionable judgment.” “The problem is if our foreign allies don’t trust the head of our intelligence agencies, they’ll stop sharing information with us,” Schiff said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” Gabbard in 2022 endorsed one of Russia’s justifications for invading Ukraine: the existence of dozens of U.S.-funded biolabs working on some of the world’s nastiest pathogens. The labs are part of an international effort to control outbreaks and stop bioweapons, but Moscow claimed Ukraine was using them to create deadly bioweapons. Gabbard said she just voiced concerns about protecting the labs. Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Missouri, said he thought it was “totally ridiculous” that Gabbard was being cast as a Russian asset for having different political views. “It’s insulting. It’s a slur, quite frankly. There’s no evidence that she’s a asset of another country,” he said on NBC. Sen. James Lankford, another Oklahoma Republican, acknowledged having “lots of questions” for Gabbard as the Senate considers her nomination to lead the intelligence services. Lankford said on NBC that he wants to ask Gabbard about her meeting with Assad and some of her past comments about Russia. “We want to know what the purpose was and what the direction for that was. As a member of Congress, we want to get a chance to talk about past comments that she’s made and get them into full context,” Lankford said.

Israeli aggression in Gaza kills over 44,211 Palestinians since October 2023Conte’s last public act as Spurs head coach after a 3-3 draw at St Mary’s in 2023 was to launch a furious tirade against his own “selfish” players who he claimed “don’t want to play under pressure” before he seemed to turn on the board as he questioned the club’s ongoing trophy drought. Eight days later Conte had left Tottenham by mutual consent after a whirlwind 16-month period, with Postecoglou his eventual permanent successor. Postecoglou has been in charge of the Premier League club for two months longer than the Italian, but managed 12 fewer matches and is currently in the middle of an injury crisis which has resulted in a drop in form, with Spurs only able to claim one victory from their last eight fixtures. However, when Postecoglou was asked if he would jump ship in the wake of making remarks like Conte did in March, 2023, he said: “Look, I don’t think it’s fair to comment. “Antonio is a world-class manager and has his own way of doing things, his own reasons for doing that. “I am here, I am in for the fight. I am in a fight, for sure. For better or worse I am not going anywhere at the moment because everything is still in my power and my responsibility. “I still have a real desire to get us through this stage so that people see what is on the other side. My resolve and determination hasn’t wavered one little bit. “I love a fight, I love a scrap, I love being in the middle of a storm when everyone doubts because I know what it is on the other side if you get through it. My job is to get through it.” Postecoglou was Celtic boss when Conte’s extraordinary 10-minute press conference made waves around the world, but acknowledged being aware of his predecessors’ comments and attempted to explain the psyche behind why a manager would make such a move. “I was on Planet Earth at that time, and yes I was well aware of it,” Postecoglou smiled. “I think you know when a manager gets to that point that there’s obviously some underlying issues. “I think most of the time when managers do that they’re trying to get a reaction, trying to get some sort of impact on the team. “In difficult moments, what you want from your leaders is action rather than inaction of just letting things drift along. He did it to try and get a positive impact on the group, one way or another. We’ve all been in that situation as a manager where you feel this is time to send a message.” Postecoglou sent out his own message on Thursday after a 1-1 draw away to Rangers when he insisted Timo Werner’s display “wasn’t acceptable” at Ibrox. Werner was replaced at half-time following an error-strewn performance, but was not alone in being below-par in Glasgow. A day later Postecoglou explained how with Spurs missing several key first-teamers, the onus is on their fit senior players to deliver a level of application and commitment – and admitted Werner will be required at St Mary’s on Sunday. “I’ve got no choice. Who else am I going to play? I’m pulling kids out of school, I literally am,” Postecoglou mentioned in reference to 16-year-old duo Malachi Hardy and Luca Williams-Barnett, who have recently made the bench. “That was the reasoning for me pointing it out last night. We need Timo. We need all of them. “In normal times if you have a poor game, there’s a price to pay. It doesn’t exist right now. We need everybody we’ve got.”

Jack Doohan has revealed he’ll with race the number seven in Formula 1 next season, the Aussie brushing aside Franco Colapinto rumours as he prepares for his Alpine debut. Although Alpine confirmed Doohan for the F1 2025 championship back in August, there was a twist in the tale earlier this month when a rumour emerged claiming Colapinto could replace him even before his first Grand Prix. According to Gazzetta dello Sport , Doohan’s debut went from signed and sealed to ‘in doubt’ as Alpine executive advisor Flavio Briatore wanted Colapinto alongside Pierre Gasly next season. ‘It seems that Flavio Briatore has changed his mind and wants to steal from the competition the Argentine Franco Colapinto, 21, the revelation of this part of the season,’ AMuS also claimed. Fuel was thrown on the fire with The Times adding that Alpine were even open to a loan agreement with Williams, who have their driver line-up of Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz locked in until the end of 2026. Alpine did not outright deny the rumours, only taking to social media a week later to post a video of Doohan working on his fitness with the caption ‘2025 in progress’ . But with the Colapinto to Alpine rumour going quiet in recent weeks, even Red Bull’s interest in bringing him in for either Red Bull or VCARB said to be waning considerably , Alpine have now confirmed the Australian racer has chosen his number that he will race next season. It’s lucky No.7, the number previously used by 2007 F1 World Champion Kimi Raikkonen. Posting a video on X, formerly known as Twitter, of Doohan at a blackjack table, Alpine said they were “looking forward to seeing 7 on the A525”. 👉 F1 2025 driver line-up: Who is already confirmed for the 2025 grid? 👉 F1 records: Who are the youngest drivers ever to race in Formula 1? Doohan went on to explain why he’d chosen ‘7’ as his F1 race number. “So, that’s it, number 7 will be my race number for 2025,” said the 21-year-old. “I’m super psyched. I really wanted to go with a number than I’d raced with before, something that had meaning to me. “I raced with #7 in 2019 and also one of my idols, a super special person and driver, Kimi Raikkonen, who also drove with that number. “I’m really looking forward to continuing it on and making it my own and getting some luck from #7.” Read next: Critical GM problem raised by Christian Horner: ‘We’re not paying for it’As President-elect Donald Trump assembles the key players to drive his new administration's agenda, Elon Musk is rarely far away. From meetings at Mar-a-Lago in Florida to a weekend UFC match in New York, Musk has been in recent months. The Tesla CEO spent at least $119 million supporting the president-elect's 2024 campaign. Musk is poised to be a high-profile player in Trump's second term. He's expected to serve as a co-lead of the forthcoming alongside onetime GOP presidential contender Vivek Ramaswamy. There seems, however, at least for now, some limit to Musk's influence on Trump. Trump tapped hedge fund manager , the founder and chief executive of Key Square Group, to be his next Treasury secretary on Friday. Bessent, a Wall Street veteran and a top economic advisor to Trump, emerged as a favorite of the president-elect while on the campaign trail this year. Last Saturday, however, before Trump decided, Musk shared his thoughts about the Treasury job, writing in a post on X that Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick would be a stronger choice. "My view fwiw is that Bessent is a business-as-usual choice, whereas @howardlutnick will actually enact change," Musk wrote at the time. "Business-as-usual is driving America bankrupt, so we need change one way or another." Days later, Trump nominated . If confirmed by the Senate, the veteran businessman — who the president-elect's campaign — is set to drive the administration's trade policy. That Trump went his own way in selecting Bessent for what is seen as the top economic role in any presidential administration may be an early sign of the limitations of Musk's relationship with the president-elect. The Wall Street Journal reported that from Wall Street leaders for the Treasury spot, and his advisors told him that analysts would view Bessent as a stabilizing figure. Bessent's economic worldview has largely mirrored Trump's. Shortly after the election, the hedge fund manager argued in an op-ed that the country's competitiveness "has been weakened by destructive energy policies and the channeling of investment toward a quixotic energy transition." "Allowing the private sector rather than the government to allocate capital is crucial to growth," he wrote. "Overhauling the regulatory and supervisory environment will encourage more lending and reinvigorate banks." It's the sort of message that Trump touted as he campaigned for a second term. And, in his announcement of Bessent's nomination, he continued in that same vein, remarking that Bessent will "help me usher in a new Golden Age for the United States." Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider. Read the original article on

Why Are Some Street Lights Purple? Here's What The Color Change Might MeanFLORENCE, Italy (AP) — Inter Milan beat Como 2-0 to cement third place in Serie A and close the gap on top two Atalanta and Napoli on Monday. Carlos Augusto got the opener when he headed home a corner kick in the 48th minute. Marcus Thuram scored the second in stoppage time with a potent strike into the roof of the net. It was the first time these teams have played each other in the top division since 2003 and although Inter had lost only one league game all season it struggled to impose itself on 15th-placed Como. However, it won without exerting itself and the three points were enough to take Simone Inzaghi’s men within three points of leader Atalanta and within one of Napoli. Inter has a game in hand over both clubs. Fiorentina missed a chance to go fourth when it lost at home to Udinese 2-1. The Florence club won a record eight consecutive Serie A games before losing to Bologna 1-0 on Dec. 15, and it looked to be back on track when Moises Kean converted a penalty after eight minutes to become the first Fiorentina player to reach double figures in the league since Federico Chiesa in the 2019-20 season. However, Udinese was a different prospect after the break. Lorenzo Lucca equalized with the aid of sloppy defending four minutes into the second half and then Florian Thauvin found space on the edge of the box to curl in the second eight minutes later. The result left Udinese in ninth place and Fiorentina in fifth. The match was a special one for Edoardo Bove, the Fiorentina player whose collapse with a heart issue led to the suspension of its game with Inter Milan on Dec. 1. Bove was fitted with a defibrillator implant soon after and sat on the Fiorentina bench for the first time since his collapse. He is not allowed to play but his position on the sideline alongside coach Raffaele Palladino was seen as a step towards normality for the 22-year-old midfielder. AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Women entrepreneurs are essential for the Canadian economy, a fact recognized by the government’s Women Entrepreneurship Strategy . This strategy was launched in 2018 and has seen nearly $7 billion be put toward supporting women-owned businesses in Canada. Although women in Canada engage in entrepreneurship more than in other comparable countries, there is still a significant gender gap . Only 15 per cent of women are engaged in startups and seven per cent are owner-managers of established businesses, compared to 24 per cent and nine per cent of men, respectively. If women participated in entrepreneurship as much as men, global GDP would rise by an estimated three to six per cent, adding $2.5 to $5 trillion to the global economy . This is not just about economic growth, but is a broader ethical and societal issue. By limiting women’s entrepreneurial participation, we are also limiting women’s opportunities for employment, empowerment and the promotion of gender equality more broadly. To make entrepreneurship more gender-inclusive, it’s important to confront the underlying biases that create barriers for women. As experts and researchers in entrepreneurship, we’ve identified five common misconceptions about women and entrepreneurship that need to be challenged. The first misconception is that women are not motivated to become entrepreneurs. This misconception partly arises from the gendered language that is often used to describe entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurial language tends to be masculine, using terms like “risk-takers,” “achievement-oriented” and “confident,” which are all characteristics more commonly associated with men . This perceived mismatch may contribute to the belief that women are less motivated to pursue entrepreneurship. While women are less likely than men to start a business, in reality, there is strong entrepreneurial motivation among women. Women make up 37 per cent of self-employment statistics in Canada. The second misconception is that women are not successful entrepreneurs. This has to do with traditional measures of success, which focus on business size, profitability and growth rate. Relative to men, women are more likely to run smaller businesses with lower profitability and growth , but this does not necessarily mean they underperform. First, small businesses — regardless of the owner’s gender — have limited profitability and growth in general. Second, women are more likely to be part-time entrepreneurs because they often have to balance business ownership with family and household responsibilities. And third, women are over-represented in lower-growth and lower-wage industries like retail and food services . These factors explain the lower performance levels for women entrepreneurs, which are influenced by socially constructed and historical factors, not an inability to be successful. The third misconception is that women entrepreneurs are not capable of securing business funding. While women entrepreneurs are less likely to receive financial backing , this is not because of lack of capabilities. Instead, women are less likely to ask for financial funding, either because they don’t require it or because they’re discouraged from applying due to fear of rejection. When women do seek financial backing, they’re usually asked different questions than men are , which affects their outcomes. Finance providers tend to ask women questions that focus on potential failures, while they ask men about potential success. Since the framing of questions influences their responses, women’s answers — which are often focused on preventing failure — instil less confidence and lead to less funding. The fourth misconception is that women are risk averse, preventing them from becoming entrepreneurs. There is some research that points to this misconception being true; one study , for instance, found that women exhibit higher levels of risk aversion when making financial decisions compared to men. However, most women are not inherently risk-averse. This perception is likely a result of how women are socialized according to cultural norms and expectations. Women are often expected to be more communal and caring , while men are expected to be more competitive and risk-taking. The way we define and understand “risk” may also contribute to this misconception. Success stories about entrepreneurs often focus on financial risk — something more commonly associated with men. Less attention is given to the risks women are more likely to take, such as standing up for their beliefs or choosing the ethical route when faced with a dilemma, even if it might result in lower financial success. The fifth misconception is that women fail to build the right networks as entrepreneurs. Research shows women tend to develop more formal mentoring and networking relationships , such as through professional associations, while men typically have a mix of both formal and informal connections. Formal mentoring often offers fewer career development benefits compared to informal connections. Women are less likely to engage in informal mentoring, not because they lack interest or ability, but because there are fewer women entrepreneurs to connect with. Despite this, women are actually more active than men in supporting others’ careers, both men and women. These misconceptions about women entrepreneurs are rooted in the historically masculine nature of entrepreneurship and can be barriers to women becoming successful entrepreneurs. By challenging these stereotypes and promoting gender inclusivity in entrepreneurship, we can help remove obstacles and create a more supportive environment for women entrepreneurs. Ingrid Chadwick received funding from the Fonds Québécois de la Recherche sur la Société et la Culture (FRQ-SC) for this project. Alexandra Dawson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Inter beats Como and closes gap at the top of Serie A while Bove back on Fiorentina sidelineLow-cost, no-frills: How budget airlines changed air travel in Singapore over 20 yearsPope Francis kicks off a yearlong Jubilee that will test his stamina and Rome's patience VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis has opened the great Holy Door of St. Peter's Basilica. The ceremony kicks off the 2025 Holy Year. It's a celebration of the Catholic Church that is expected to draw some 32 million pilgrims to Rome. And it will test the pope’s stamina and the ability of the Eternal City to welcome them. This begins the Christmas Eve Mass. The ceremony inaugurates the once-every-25-year tradition of a Jubilee. Francis has dedicated the 2025 Jubilee to the theme of hope. Bethlehem marks a second subdued Christmas Eve during the war in Gaza BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP) — Bethlehem is marking another somber Christmas Eve under the shadow of war in Gaza. Manger Square lacked its usual festive lights and crowds of tourists on Tuesday. Instead, the area outside the Nativity Church was quiet. The church was built atop the spot where Jesus is believed to have been born. The war, the violence in the occupied West Bank it has spurred and the lack of festivities has deeply hurt Bethlehem's economy. The town relies heavily on Christmas tourism. The economy in the West Bank was already reeling because of restrictions placed on laborers preventing them from entering Israel during the war. Heavy travel day starts with brief grounding of all American Airlines flights WASHINGTON (AP) — American Airlines briefly grounded flights nationwide due to a technical problem just as the Christmas travel season kicked into overdrive and winter weather threatened more potential problems for those planning to fly or drive. Government regulators cleared American flights to get airborne Tuesday about one hour after the Federal Aviation Administration ordered a national ground stop, which prevented planes from taking off. American said in an email that the problem was caused by an issue with a vendor technology that maintains its flight operating system. Aviation analytics company Cirium said flights were delayed across American’s major hubs, with only 37% leaving on time. Nineteen flights were cancelled. Middle East latest: Israeli raid and airstrikes in West Bank kill at least 8 Palestinians The Palestinian Health Ministry says at least eight people were killed by Israeli military operations in the northern West Bank. The ministry said three of the dead were killed by Israeli airstrikes. The attacks took place around the city of Tulkarem and nearby refugee camps. The Israeli military said it opened fire after militants attacked soldiers, and it was aware of some uninvolved civilians who were harmed in the raid. Elsewhere in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian city of Bethlehem was marking a somber Christmas Eve under the shadow of the war in Gaza. Most festivities were cancelled and crowds of tourists were absent. Caitlin Clark honored as AP Female Athlete of the Year following her impact on women's sports Caitlin Clark has been named the AP Female Athlete of the Year after raising the profile of women’s basketball to unprecedented levels in both college and the WNBA. She led Iowa to the national championship game, was the top pick in the WNBA draft and captured rookie of the year honors in the league. Fans packed sold-out arenas and millions of television viewers followed her journey on and off the court. Clark's exploits also put other women's sports leagues in the spotlight. A group of 74 sports journalists from AP and its members voted on the award. Other athletes who received votes included Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles and boxer Imane Khelif. Clark’s only the fourth women’s basketball player to win the award since it was first given in 1931. Major storm pounds California's central coast, blamed for man's death and partially collapsing pier SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (AP) — A major storm has pounded California’s central coast bringing flooding and high surf that was blamed for fatally trapping a man beneath debris on a beach and later partially collapsing a pier, tossing three people into the Pacific Ocean. The storm was expected to bring hurricane-force winds and waves up to 60 feet Monday as it gained strength from California to the Pacific Northwest. Some California cities have ordered beachfront homes and hotels to evacuate early Monday afternoon. Forecasters have warned that storm swells would continue to increase throughout the day. Medellin Cartel victims demand truth and justice as cartel boss Fabio Ochoa walks free in Colombia BOGOTÁ, Colombia (AP) — The return of the notorious drug trafficker Fabio Ochoa to Colombia, following his deportation from the United States, has reopened old wounds among the victims of the Medellin cartel, with some expressing their dismay at the decision of Colombian authorities to let the former mafia boss walk free.Some of the cartel victims said on Tuesday that they are hoping the former drug lord will at least cooperate with ongoing efforts by human rights groups to investigate one of the most violent periods of Colombia’s history, and demanded that Colombian prosecutors also take Ochoa in for questioning. Man arraigned on murder charges in NYC subway death fanned flames with a shirt, prosecutors say NEW YORK (AP) — Prosecutors say a man accused of burning a woman to death inside a New York City subway train used a shirt to fan the flames, causing her to become engulfed. The suspect, identified by police as Sebastian Zapeta, was arraigned in Brooklyn criminal court on Tuesday. He faces murder charges that could put him in prison for life. Federal immigration officials say 33-year-old Zapeta is a Guatemalan citizen who entered the U.S. illegally after being deported in 2018. The apparently random attack occurred Sunday morning on a stationary F train at the Coney Island station in Brooklyn. Amsterdam court sentences 5 men over violence linked to Ajax-Maccabi soccer game THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — An Amsterdam District Court has issued sentences of up to six months in jail against 5 men who were involved in violent disorder after a soccer match between the Dutch club Ajax and Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv in November. The riots caused an international outcry and accusations of deliberate anti-Semitic attacks. The violence following a UEFA Europa League match left 5 people in hospital. More than 60 suspects were detained. The court on Tuesday sentenced one man to 6 months in prison, another to 2 1/2 months, two to 1 month and one to 100 hours of community service.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Londynn Jones scored 15 points, making all five of her 3-pointers, and fifth-ranked UCLA stunned No. 1 South Carolina 77-62 on Sunday, ending the Gamecocks’ overall 43-game winning streak and their run of 33 consecutive road victories. The Gamecocks (5-1) lost for the first time since April 2023, when Caitlin Clark and Iowa beat them in the NCAA Tournament national semifinals. Te-Hina Paopao scored 18 points and Tessa Johnson scored 14 for the Gamecocks, whose road winning streak was third-longest in Division I history. It was the first time UCLA took down a No. 1 team in school history, having been 0-20 in such games. The program's previous best wins were over a couple of No. 2s — Oregon in 2019 and Stanford in 2008. Elina Aarnisalo added 13 points as one of five Bruins in double figures. UCLA (5-0) dominated from start to finish, with the Bruins' suffocating defense preventing the Gamecocks from making any sustained scoring runs. Takeaways South Carolina: The Gamecocks trailed by double-digits at halftime for the first time since Dec. 21, 2021, against Stanford, according to ESPN. Chloe Kitts, who averages a team-leading 14 points, finished the game with 2 points on 1 of 7 shooting. UCLA: The Bruins led 43-22 at halftime. Eight different players scored and contributed to 11-0 and 7-0 runs in the first and second quarters as they shot 52% from the field. Key moment The first quarter set the tone for a game in which the Gamecocks never led. They missed their first nine shots and were 4 of 18 from the floor in the quarter. UCLA ran off 11 straight points to take a 20-10 lead into the second quarter. Key stats The Bruins dominated the boards, 41-34, and held the Gamecocks well under their scoring average of 80.2 points. Up next South Carolina travels to Florida to meet Iowa State in the Fort Myers Tipoff on Thanksgiving. UCLA travels to the Rainbow Wahine Showdown in Hawaii to play UT Martin on Friday. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 all season. Sign up here. AP college basketball: and Beth Harris, The Associated Press

HICKSVILLE, N.Y. , Dec. 13, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Flagstar Financial, Inc. (NYSE: FLG) (the "Company") today announced the appointment of Brian Callanan , Senior Managing Director and General Counsel at Liberty Strategic Capital ("Liberty"), to its Board of Directors, effective December 16, 2024 . Commenting on the appointment, Joseph M. Otting , Chairman, President, and CEO said, "I'm pleased to have Brian join our Board. His proven track record and expertise in financial services, along with his strategic insights will be instrumental as we continue to execute on our transformation and long-term vision. Brian's perspectives will provide valuable guidance, and his leadership will play a critical role in driving sustainable growth, ensuring we achieve long-term success and maximize the value we deliver to our shareholders, employees, and clients." Callanan is a distinguished lawyer with extensive experience in financial regulation, regulatory compliance, and financial technology. At Liberty, Callanan leads the firm's legal function, serves on its Investment Committee, and focuses on financial sector investments. Prior to joining Liberty, he served as General Counsel of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, overseeing 2,000 lawyers across the department. As Chief General Counsel, he played a key role in major initiatives such as economic rescue programs during COVID-19, the design of new economic sanctions, and the implementation of tax reform. While serving as Deputy General Counsel, Callanan managed major litigation and advised on regulatory reform efforts, among other responsibilities. For his service, he received the Alexander Hamilton Award, the department's highest honor. This appointment aligns with the $1.05 billion equity investment in March 2024 , which stipulated that two Board seats would be granted to lead investor Liberty Strategic Capital. With Callanan's addition, the Company's Board of Directors, which was reconstituted earlier in 2024, expands to nine members, including Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer, Joseph M. Otting , Milton Berlinski , Alessandro P. DiNello , Alan Frank , Marshall Lux , Lead Independent Director Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin , Allen Puwalski , and Jennifer Whip. About Flagstar Financial, Inc. Flagstar Financial, Inc. is the parent company of Flagstar Bank, N.A., one of the largest regional banks in the country. The Company is headquartered in Hicksville, New York . At September 30, 2024, the Company had $114.4 billion of assets, $73.0 billion of loans, deposits of $83 .0 billion, and total stockholders' equity of $8 .6 billion. Flagstar Bank, N.A. operates over 400 branches, including a significant presence in the Northeast and Midwest and locations in high growth markets in the Southeast and West Coast. In addition, the Bank has approximately 80 private banking teams located in over 10 cities in the metropolitan New York City region and on the West Coast, which serve the needs of high-net worth individuals and their businesses. Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This release may include forward‐looking statements by the Company and our authorized officers pertaining to such matters as our goals, beliefs, intentions, and expectations regarding (a) revenues, earnings, loan production, asset quality, liquidity position, capital levels, risk analysis, divestitures, acquisitions, and other material transactions, among other matters; (b) the future costs and benefits of the actions we may take; (c) our assessments of credit risk and probable losses on loans and associated allowances and reserves; (d) our assessments of interest rate and other market risks; (e) our ability to execute on our strategic plan, including the sufficiency of our internal resources, procedures and systems; (f) our ability to attract, incentivize, and retain key personnel and the roles of key personnel; (g) our ability to achieve our financial and other strategic goals, including those related to our merger with Flagstar Bancorp, Inc., which was completed on December 1, 2022, our acquisition of substantial portions of the former Signature Bank through an FDIC-assisted transaction, and our ability to fully and timely implement the risk management programs institutions greater than $100 billion in assets must maintain; (h) the effect on our capital ratios of the approval of certain proposals approved by our shareholders during our 2024 annual meeting of shareholders; (i) the conversion or exchange of shares of the Company's preferred stock; (j) the payment of dividends on shares of the Company's capital stock, including adjustments to the amount of dividends payable on shares of the Company's preferred stock; (k) the availability of equity and dilution of existing equity holders associated with amendments to the 2020 Omnibus Incentive Plan; (l) the effects of the reverse stock split; and (m) transactions relating to the sale of our mortgage business and mortgage warehouse business. Forward‐looking statements are typically identified by such words as "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "outlook," "estimate," "forecast," "project," "should," "confident," and other similar words and expressions, and are subject to numerous assumptions, risks, and uncertainties, which change over time. Additionally, forward‐looking statements speak only as of the date they are made; the Company does not assume any duty, and does not undertake, to update our forward‐looking statements. Furthermore, because forward‐looking statements are subject to assumptions and uncertainties, actual results or future events could differ, possibly materially, from those anticipated in our statements, and our future performance could differ materially from our historical results. Our forward‐looking statements are subject to, among others, the following principal risks and uncertainties: general economic conditions and trends, either nationally or locally; conditions in the securities, credit and financial markets; changes in interest rates; changes in deposit flows, and in the demand for deposit, loan, and investment products and other financial services; changes in real estate values; changes in the quality or composition of our loan or investment portfolios, including associated allowances and reserves; changes in future allowance for credit losses, including changes required under relevant accounting and regulatory requirements; the ability to pay future dividends; changes in our capital management and balance sheet strategies and our ability to successfully implement such strategies; recent turnover in our Board of Directors and our executive management team; changes in our strategic plan, including changes in our internal resources, procedures and systems, and our ability to successfully implement such plan; changes in competitive pressures among financial institutions or from non‐financial institutions; changes in legislation, regulations, and policies; the imposition of restrictions on our operations by bank regulators; the outcome of pending or threatened litigation, or of investigations or any other matters before regulatory agencies, whether currently existing or commencing in the future; the success of our blockchain and fintech activities, investments and strategic partnerships; the restructuring of our mortgage business; our ability to recognize anticipated expense reductions and enhanced efficiencies with respect to our recently announced strategic workforce reduction; the impact of failures or disruptions in or breaches of the Company's operational or security systems, data or infrastructure, or those of third parties, including as a result of cyberattacks or campaigns; the impact of natural disasters, extreme weather events, military conflict (including the Russia / Ukraine conflict, the conflict in Israel and surrounding areas, the possible expansion of such conflicts and potential geopolitical consequences), terrorism or other geopolitical events; and a variety of other matters which, by their nature, are subject to significant uncertainties and/or are beyond our control. Our forward-looking statements are also subject to the following principal risks and uncertainties with respect to our merger with Flagstar Bancorp, which was completed on December 1, 2022 , and our acquisition of substantial portions of the former Signature Bank through an FDIC-assisted transaction: the possibility that the anticipated benefits of the transactions will not be realized when expected or at all; the possibility of increased legal and compliance costs, including with respect to any litigation or regulatory actions related to the business practices of acquired companies or the combined business; diversion of management's attention from ongoing business operations and opportunities; the possibility that the Company may be unable to achieve expected synergies and operating efficiencies in or as a result of the transactions within the expected timeframes or at all; and revenues following the transactions may be lower than expected. Additionally, there can be no assurance that the Community Benefits Agreement entered into with NCRC, which was contingent upon the closing of the Company's merger with Flagstar Bancorp, Inc., will achieve the results or outcome originally expected or anticipated by us as a result of changes to our business strategy, performance of the U.S. economy, or changes to the laws and regulations affecting us, our customers, communities we serve, and the U.S. economy (including, but not limited to, tax laws and regulations). More information regarding some of these factors is provided in the Risk Factors section of our Annual Report on Form 10‐K/A for the year ended December 31, 2023, Quarterly Report on Forms 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2024 , June 30, 2024 , and September 30, 2024 , and in other SEC reports we file. Our forward‐looking statements may also be subject to other risks and uncertainties, including those we may discuss in this news release, on our conference call, during investor presentations, or in our SEC filings, which are accessible on our website and at the SEC's website, www.sec.gov . Investor Contact: Salvatore J. DiMartino (516) 683-4286 Media Contact: Nicole Yelland (248) 219-9234 View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/flagstar-financial-inc-appoints-brian-callanan-to-board-of-directors-302331692.html SOURCE Flagstar Financial, Inc.

Top 10 Cryptos Your Portfolio Needs! Experts Reveal the Best Picks for Explosive GrowthOn average, General Mills sold more than 1,400 boxes of cereal per minute at U.S. retailers over the past year. That was more than enough to retain the crown as the nation’s top cereal producer ahead of rival Kellogg. With $3.4 billion in sales over the past 12 months, according to Circana data, General Mills now sells 31% of all cereal in stores around the country. Yet that prime position has eroded in recent years as higher prices for cereal and just about everything else turn more consumers toward cheaper knockoffs. All major cereal companies are losing market share to store brands and private labels, which now accounts for 9% of all cereal sold at retailers in the U.S., according to Circana, a Chicago-based market research firm. In 2021 generics had just a 5.6% market share. And upstarts like Purely Elizabeth and Seven Sundays are also growing, capitalizing on strong consumer spending on products with a health and wellness focus. The cereal executives in Golden Valley know they can’t take their hard-won leadership position for granted. “We’re the leader of the category. We have to behave like the leader,” Dana McNabb, president of North American retail at General Mills, said during a call with analysts last week. “What we’re learning is that when we get on our front foot and do what we’re good at, we see growth.” That means partnering with the NFL’s Kelce brothers for advertising and a new mashup cereal , keeping Chex stocked for holiday mixes and developing high-protein Cheerios, which will be released next month. With a focus on value and “remarkability,” McNabb said, “I think we will continue to see progress in our market share.” Cereal remains the single largest category for the company’s U.S. retail business. A Jeffries analysis pegs it at nearly 20% of domestic retail sales. Selling more cereal, then, is essential. But it’s no easy task. As the major sales boost during the pandemic fades and price increases have reached their limit, the industry is back to the pre-pandemic norm of steady decline or tepid growth at best. Piper Sandler analyst Michael Lavery says General Mills is “focused on making the right adjustments to promotion to help hold and grow market share and remain competitive.” The company is already discounting products at its highest rate in five years, and General Mills expects to trade short-term profit growth to keep the deals coming in order to get in more homes and build long-term momentum. ‘Flattish’ growth is here Honey Nut Cheerios remains the best selling brand in the U.S., followed by Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes and Honey Bunches of Oats from Lakeville-based Post Consumer Brands. Compared to General Mills, cereal is even more important for Post, as it accounts for nearly half of its domestic retail sales. Post Holdings CEO Rob Vitale told investors last month cereal is returning to “flattish” growth, which is precisely what happened this year. Total retail cereal sales grew 0.2% through the 12 months ending Dec. 1, according to Circana, and that growth was driven by modest price increases. The actual number of boxes and bags of cereal sold declined 1.3%. “We can’t shrink our business to prosperity,” Vitale said. “Our branded portfolio outperformed the category, and private label continued to grow.” Private label cereal grew 9% this year to a $1 billion business, a benefit to Post, which produces many store brand varieties. Kellogg also sees “stable” cereal sales on the horizon. Last year the company split up into the cereal-focused W.K. Kellogg Co. and snack-focused Kellanova, maker of Pop-Tarts and Cheez-it crackers. Compared to its Minnesota competitors, “all we do is think about cereal,” Kellogg CEO Gary Pilnick said at an investor conference earlier this month. Among the 10 top-selling cereal brands this year, most of which saw sales declines, Frosted Flakes grew the most, both in dollars and in units sold. “Cereal is undefeated. We haven’t lost a debate yet about where to invest our money because everything we do is about cereal,” Pilnick said. “We know we’ll drive the business.” Doing well at school Retail store sales aren’t the whole cereal story, however — General Mills and others sell tons of cereal to schools, hotels and other foodservice venues. “Our market share in schools more than twice what it is in retail,” General Mills CEO Jeff Harmening said in an interview last week. That gives Lucky Charms and other brands a dominant position with kids, building brand affinity from a young age. Which pays dividends down the line, as McNabb said nostalgia is a key strategy for connecting with cereal consumers. Harmening said as more schools offer breakfast, they tend to go with General Mills for cereal. “One of the reasons we’ve been able to be so successful is that we keep enhancing the nutritional profiles of our cereals,” he said. “Our kids will be better off and better positioned to learn, and we do better, too, but so are the kids, and so we feel great about that” Harmening said acting like the cereal leader means “delivering for consumers what they’re looking for.” “I feel good about our cereal business, in both what you see at the grocery store every day and what we’re selling through schools.”

'Ailing' Bushra won't participate in PTI's final showdown: spokesperson PTI founder's wife will not be able to join party’s final call protest due to illness, confirms Gohar Ali Khan A spokesperson of the incarcerated Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan's wife Bushra Bibi, Mashal Yousafzai, said on Saturday that the former first lady would not be able to attend the party's much-hyped protest on Sunday (today) due to ill health. The statement from Bushra's spokesperson came on the eve of former ruling party' much-hyped "decisive" anti-government protest in Islamabad. PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan also confirmed that the former first lady would not participate in the PTI demonstration due to ill health. He made the statement while speaking on the Geo News programme "Naya Pakistan". Bushra has recently faced a strong reaction from government officials for her recent video message wherein she accused Saudi Arabia of playing a role in Khan’s ouster as premier. In a video message shared on PTI’s official X handle, Bushra alleged that Saudi officials had expressed displeasure over ex-prime minister Khan’s "barefooted" visit to Madina. She had also urged PTI supporters to join much-hyped protest on November 24 in Islamabad. However, Imran rebuffed the government’s impression, saying that he has "excellent relations" with Saudi Arabia. Sources closer to the former ruling party told Geo News that the former first lady had been busy participating in political activities since November 1 and also held meetings with the PTI leaders regarding preparations for the November 24 demonstration. They also revealed that the incarcerated PTI founder had sent a message to Bushra to stay out of political matters after her statement backfired at a crucial time when his party was mounting pressure on the government for his release. Following her statement that stirred a controversy, cases were registered against Bushra, under the Telegraph Act of 1885 a day ago. The FIRs were lodged in Dera Ghazi Khan and other cities, accusing her of inciting hatred through her video statement, The News reported. According to the police, legal proceedings were underway under Section 126 of the Telegraph Act and other relevant laws. A case of cybercrime offence was also under consideration that would be taken up by the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) Cybercrime Wing within a day, it added. PTI, govt talks face stalemate as Islamabad braces for 'final showdown' Security forces gun down three militants in KP 30 killed, 20 injured as tribal clashes rock KP’s Kurram Govt warns PTI against bringing ‘armed groups’ to IslamabadDiontae Johnson will be contributing to an AFC playoff team after all – just not the Baltimore Ravens . The wide receiver was claimed by the Houston Texans on Monday, according to multiple reports, just three days after he was waived by the Ravens . Johnson, 28, was acquired by Baltimore in a deal ahead of the NFL trade deadline . The sixth-year veteran led the Carolina Panthers with 30 catches for 357 yards and three touchdowns at the time of the move but expressed his frustration with the offense as the team slid to 1-7. Yet his time with the Ravens proved far less fruitful. Johnson recorded just one catch for 6 yards in four games, and the team suspended him for one game after he refused to enter a Week 13 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. He remained away from team activities the week after his ban and then was waived. In Houston, Johnson could be in line for meaningful playing time in the early going after wide receiver Tank Dell suffered a season-ending knee injury in Saturday's loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Stefon Diggs, who was acquired in the offseason, also is out for the rest of the season after suffering a torn ACL in late October. All things Texans: Latest Houston Texans news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more. The Texans , who will host the Ravens on Christmas, have already clinched the AFC South for the second consecutive season. This story has been updated with new information.‘Extraordinarily tough’: Cats coach opens up on travel issues

Pressure is on the Albanese government to make headway on its long list of stalled legislation before the federal election, as the final sitting week of 2024 begins in Canberra today. Housing will be back in the spotlight with the Help to Buy government equity scheme and incentives for build-to-rent to be brought to a final vote in the Senate, after failing to pass without support from the opposition or the Greens. The government knocked back fresh demands from the Greens, which included funding for 25,000 “shovel-ready” homes not given the go-ahead under the first round of the Housing Australia Future Fund. Labor insists the demand is unlawful and would result in the construction of million-dollar homes that are not value for money. With 30 or so bills still before the parliament, the government has been ramping up pressure on the Greens and the coalition to co-operate. A friendless crackdown on misinformation and disinformation has been shelved, and gambling reforms have been pushed into next year. The government is expecting wins on its aged care reforms and its social media age limit, with the former expected to attract opposition support. Labor will also be spruiking its Future Made in Australia plan, with its hydrogen and critical minerals production tax incentives to be introduced to parliament on Monday. The federal election is due to be held by May 17. In the wee hours Sunday at the United Nations climate talks, countries from around the world reached an agreement on how rich countries can cough up the funds to support poor countries in the face of climate change. It’s a far-from-perfect arrangement, with many parties still deeply unsatisfied but some hopeful that the deal will be a step in the right direction. Here’s how they got there: Rich countries have agreed to pool together at least $300 billion a year by 2035. It’s not near the full amount of $1.3 trillion that developing countries were asking for, and that experts said was needed. But delegations more optimistic about the agreement said this deal is headed in the right direction, with hopes that more money flows in the future. The deal decided in Baku replaces a previous agreement from 15 years ago that charged rich nations $100 billion a year to help the developing world with climate finance. The new number has similar aims: it will go toward the developing world’s long laundry list of to-dos to prepare for a warming world and keep it from getting hotter. That includes paying for the transition to clean energy and away from fossil fuels. Countries need funds to build up the infrastructure needed to deploy technologies like wind and solar power on a large scale. Election results around the world that herald a change in climate leadership, a few key players with motive to stall the talks and a disorganized host country all led to a final crunch that left few happy with a flawed compromise. Developing nations also faced some difficulties agreeing in the final hours. Meanwhile, activists ramped up the pressure: many urged negotiators to stay strong and asserted that no deal would be better than a bad deal. But ultimately the desire for a deal won out. Good morning and welcome to the national news blog from and My name is Josefine Ganko, I’ll be with you on the blog for the first half of the day. It’s Monday, November 25. Here’s what’s making headlines this morning.

wild thing ace frehley None

NPP General Secretary Confident of Election Victory, Calls for Vigilance as Polls CloseTORONTO, Dec. 27, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Abaxx Technologies Inc., (CBOE: ABXX) (OTCQX: ABXXF) (“ Abaxx ” or the “ Company ”), a financial software and market infrastructure company, indirect majority shareholder of Abaxx Singapore Pte Ltd. (“ Abaxx Singapore ”), the owner of Abaxx Commodity Exchange and Clearinghouse (individually, “ Abaxx Exchange ” and “ Abaxx Clearing ”), and producer of the SmarterMarketsTM Podcast, today announces that it has filed an early warning report in respect of MineHub Technologies Inc. (“ MineHub ”). On December 27, 2024, pursuant to a share purchase agreement between Abaxx and MineHub dated December 3, 2024 (the “ SPA ”), Abaxx acquired 8,810,000 common shares of MineHub (“ MineHub Shares ”). Prior to the closing of the SPA (the “ Closing ”), Abaxx held 8,333,333 MineHub Shares representing 10.83% of the issued and outstanding MineHub Shares on an undiluted and a partially diluted basis. Immediately after Closing, Abaxx held 17,143,333 MineHub Shares, representing 19.87% of the issued and outstanding MineHub Shares on an undiluted and a partially diluted basis. As a result of the MineHub Shares issued in connection with the SPA, Abaxx’s holdings have changed by more than 2% on a partially diluted basis since the filing of its previous early warning report. The MineHub Shares held by Abaxx are for investment purposes. In accordance with applicable securities laws, Abaxx may, from time to time and at any time, acquire additional shares and/or other equity, debt or other securities or instruments of MineHub in the open market or otherwise, and reserves the right to dispose of any or all of such securities in the open market or otherwise at any time and from time to time, and to engage in similar transactions with respect to such securities, the whole depending on market conditions, the business and prospects of MineHub and other relevant factors. This disclosure is issued pursuant to National Instrument 62-103 - The Early Warning System and Related Take-Over Bid and Insider Reporting Issues , which also requires an early warning report to be filed with the applicable securities regulators containing additional information with respect to the foregoing matters. A copy of the early warning report will be filed by Abaxx under MineHub’s profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.com or may be obtained at Abaxx’s head office address at 110 Young St., Suite 1601, Toronto, Ontario M5C 1T4. The MineHub Shares are listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol “MHUB”. MineHub is a corporation existing under the laws of British Columbia with its head office at Suite 918 - 1030 West Georgia St., Vancouver, British Columbia, V6E 2Y3, Canada. About Abaxx Technologies Abaxx is building Smarter Markets — markets empowered by better financial technology and market infrastructure to address our biggest challenges, including the energy transition. In addition to developing and deploying financial technologies that make communication, trade, and transactions easier and more secure, Abaxx is an indirect majority-owner of subsidiaries Abaxx Exchange and Abaxx Clearing, recognized by MAS as a “recognised market operator” (RMO) and “approved clearing house” (ACH), respectively. Abaxx Exchange and Abaxx Clearing are a Singapore-based commodity futures exchange and clearinghouse, introducing centrally cleared, physically deliverable commodities futures and derivatives to provide better price discovery and risk management tools for the commodities critical to our transition to a lower-carbon economy. For more information please visit abaxx.tech , abaxx.exchange and smartermarkets.media . Media and investor inquiries: Abaxx Technologies Inc. Investor Relations Team Tel: +1 246 271 0082 E-mail: ir@abaxx.tech Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information This press release includes certain “forward-looking statements” which do not consist of historical facts. Forward-looking statements include estimates and statements that describe Abaxx’s future plans, objectives, or goals, including words to the effect that Abaxx expects a stated condition or result to occur. Forward-looking statements may be identified by such terms as “seeking”, “should”, “intend”, “predict”, “potential”, “believes”, “anticipates”, “expects”, “estimates”, “may”, “could”, “would”, “will”, “continue”, “plan” or the negative of these terms and similar expressions. Since forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and assumptions and address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Although these statements are based on information currently available to Abaxx, Abaxx does not provide any assurance that actual results will meet respective management expectations. Risks, uncertainties, assumptions, and other factors involved with forward-looking information could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects, and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Forward-looking information related to Abaxx in this press release includes but is not limited to, Abaxx’s objectives, goals, and future plans. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions including material estimates and assumptions related to the factors set forth below that, while considered reasonable by Abaxx as at the date of this press release in light of management’s experience and perception of current conditions and expected developments, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. Such factors impacting forward-looking information include, among others: risks relating to the global economic climate and extreme weather events; dilution; Abaxx’s limited operating history; future capital needs and uncertainty of additional financing; the competitive nature of the industry; currency exchange risks; the need for Abaxx to manage its planned growth and expansion; the effects of product development and need for continued technology change; protection of proprietary rights; the effect of government regulation and compliance on Abaxx and the industry; regulatory risks in Singapore and Canada; the ability to list Abaxx’s securities on stock exchanges in a timely fashion or at all; network security risks; the ability of Abaxx to maintain properly working systems; reliance on key personnel; global economic and financial market deterioration impeding access to capital or increasing the cost of capital; taxation; resource shortages; damage to the Company’s reputation due to the actual or perceived occurrence of any number of events, including negative publicity with respect to the Company’s operations, whether true or not; risk of loss due to acts of war, terrorism, sabotage and civil disturbances; the impact of inflation, including global energy cost increases; and volatile securities markets impacting security pricing unrelated to operating performance. In addition, particular factors which could impact future results of the business of Abaxx include but are not limited to: operations in foreign jurisdictions, protection of intellectual property rights, contractual risk, third-party risk; clearinghouse risk, malicious actor risks, third-party software license risk, system failure risk, risk of technological change; dependence of technical infrastructure; changes in the price of commodities, capital market conditions and restriction on labor and international travel and supply chains. Abaxx has also assumed that no significant events occur outside of Abaxx’s normal course of business. Abaxx cautions that the foregoing list of material factors is not exhaustive. In addition, although Abaxx has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated, or intended. When relying on forward-looking statements and information to make decisions, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and potential events. Readers are cautioned that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. Abaxx has assumed that the material factors referred to in the previous paragraphs will not cause such forward-looking statements and information to differ materially from actual results or events. However, the list of these factors is not exhaustive and is subject to change and there can be no assurance that such assumptions will reflect the actual outcome of such items or factors. The forward-looking statements and information contained in this press release represents the expectations of Abaxx as of the date of this press release and, accordingly, is subject to change after such date. Abaxx undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements and information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. Accordingly, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements and information. Cboe Canada does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.IIT-K meet on engineering in medicine

Nokia Corporation Stock Exchange Release 10 December 2024 at 22:30 EET Nokia Corporation: Repurchase of own shares on 10.12.2024 Espoo, Finland - On 10 December 2024 Nokia Corporation (LEI: 549300A0JPRWG1KI7U06) has acquired its own shares (ISIN FI0009000681) as follows: On 22 November 2024, Nokia announced that its Board of Directors is initiating a share buyback program to offset the dilutive effect of new Nokia shares issued to the shareholders of Infinera Corporation and certain Infinera Corporation share-based incentives. The repurchases in compliance with the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 (MAR), the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1052 and under the authorization granted by Nokia's Annual General Meeting on 3 April 2024 started on 25 November 2024 and end by 31 December 2025 and target to repurchase 150 million shares for a maximum aggregate purchase price of EUR 900 million. Total cost of transactions executed on 10 December 2024 was EUR 3,648,750. After the disclosed transactions, Nokia Corporation holds 211,649,313 treasury shares. Details of transactions are included as an appendix to this announcement. On behalf of Nokia Corporation BofA Securities Europe SA About Nokia At Nokia, we create technology that helps the world act together. As a B2B technology innovation leader, we are pioneering networks that sense, think and act by leveraging our work across mobile, fixed and cloud networks. In addition, we create value with intellectual property and long-term research, led by the award-winning Nokia Bell Labs. With truly open architectures that seamlessly integrate into any ecosystem, our high-performance networks create new opportunities for monetization and scale. Service providers, enterprises and partners worldwide trust Nokia to deliver secure, reliable and sustainable networks today - and work with us to create the digital services and applications of the future. Inquiries: Nokia Communications Phone: +358 10 448 4900 Email: [email protected] Maria Vaismaa, Global Head of External Communications Nokia Investor Relations Phone: +358 40 803 4080 Email: [email protected] Attachment Daily Report 2024-12-10The piece of technology sits unassumingly on top of the helmet of veteran quarterback Sam Darnold during most practices at TCO Performance Center. ADVERTISEMENT It allows the Vikings to capture footage in real time, providing a peek into the past for the man at the forefront of the future. “It’s super cool,” Darnold said. “It’s a really amazing tool to be able to use.” Though the Vikings are very much keeping the focus on this season with big goals in mind, they also have started laying the foundation for next season with the help of a GoPro camera. “This is the first time I’ve done anything like that,” Darnold said. “It doesn’t really feel like anything when it’s on my helmet.” ADVERTISEMENT That’s arguably the biggest part of its appeal. The fact that the GoPro camera weighs much less than a pound means it doesn’t interfere with anything the Vikings are trying to get done on a daily basis. It exists more or less as an accessory for Darnold at this point, taking video from his perspective whether he’s calling a play in the huddle, making a check at the line of scrimmage or scanning the field after the ball is snapped. That has been extremely useful for rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy as he continues to work his way through his recovery from a knee injury that ended his rookie campaign before it even got started. The ability to see everything through the eyes of Darnold has helped McCarthy train his brain even if he isn’t able to experience it firsthand. ADVERTISEMENT “The mental reps are of utmost importance,” McCarthy said a couple of months ago. “Just watching film from that perspective is really good.” This is the best option for the Vikings right now. Originally, after selecting McCarthy with the No. 10 pick in the 2024 draft, the Vikings hoped he would be able to get live reps himself this season. ADVERTISEMENT Instead, after McCarthy had surgery to repair a torn meniscus, the Vikings are doing everything in their power to make sure he’s ready for next season. That’s something head coach Kevin O’Connell has stressed whenever McCarthy’s name has been brought up. “We wanted to make sure we’re maximizing every moment for him,” O’Connell said. “We thought, ‘How do we make sure we’re doing the things that we need to do to ensure that he’s in the best possible position when he is healthy?'” The use of a GoPro camera is simply another resource the Vikings have at their disposal. ADVERTISEMENT “We’ve done a lot of different stuff that maybe we don’t do with a 10-year veteran quarterback,” O’Connell said. “Just to make sure that we’re farming an ideal learning environment for him to hit the ground running when he’s healthy.” As soon as the GoPro camera captures the footage from a particular practice, McCarthy can go back and watch it, getting a feel for what life is like in the huddle, at the line of scrimmage and after the ball is snapped. Sometimes the Vikings will even put it on in their war room, where there’s a gigantic screen that takes up an entire wall. That grandiose display is something offensive coordinator Wes Phillips appreciates because it makes it feel like McCarthy is inside the helmet. ADVERTISEMENT “It’s pretty cool to watch in there,” Phillips said. “It gives him a chance to see it a little bit more from that perspective.” Some of the other creative ways the Vikings have kept McCarthy on track include allowing him to be a part of the dialogue that goes on between O’Connell and Darnold during games. He was cleared to travel with the team for the first time last month, for example, so he was in attendance at SoFi Stadium when the Vikings suffered a 30-20 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. Just getting a glimpse of what it feels like in the heat of battle will go a long way for McCarthy as he continues to develop. “I’m really excited about having him with us,” O’Connell said. “Any and all areas we can find to maximize those chances, we’re going to use it.” All the while, McCarthy has also been attending meetings, asking questions to O’Connell, Phillips, quarterback coach Josh McCown, assistant quarterbacks coach Grant Udinski and anybody else he can find in their office at TCO Performance Center. “He’s great about saving some questions he has,” Phillips said. “He’ll do that off to the side, understanding that guys are getting ready for the game.” Though the Vikings would’ve loved for McCarthy to be able to learn everything firsthand as a rookie, they are making the most of their current situation, ensuring their young quarterback of the future is completely prepared heading into next season. “Obviously he wants more than anybody to be there physically,” Phillips said. “He’s doing everything he can to be ready when his time comes.” ______________________________________________________ This story was written by one of our partner news agencies. Forum Communications Company uses content from agencies such as Reuters, Kaiser Health News, Tribune News Service and others to provide a wider range of news to our readers. Learn more about the news services FCC uses here .

Adani Group could find funding harder after US indictment as banks review creditKarua: Day angel of death swooped on usShares of GoviEx Uranium Inc. ( CVE:GXU – Get Free Report ) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as C$0.05 and last traded at C$0.05, with a volume of 926180 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at C$0.05. GoviEx Uranium Stock Performance The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 3.16 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The business has a fifty day moving average of C$0.06 and a 200-day moving average of C$0.07. The stock has a market capitalization of C$36.57 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.32 and a beta of 1.50. About GoviEx Uranium ( Get Free Report ) GoviEx Uranium Inc, a mineral resources company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of uranium properties in Africa. The company's principal asset is the Madaouela project which holds 80% interest located in north-central Niger. It also owns 100% interest in the Muntanga project that consists of 3 mining licenses situated to the south of Lusaka, Zambia; and the Falea project, which consists of three exploration licenses located in Mali. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for GoviEx Uranium Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for GoviEx Uranium and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .Fort Worth-area retailers gear up for Small Business Saturday sales

LeBlanc and Joly offer little details about visit with Trump's team in Florida OTTAWA — Two senior members of the federal cabinet were in Florida Friday pushing Canada's new $1. Alessia Passafiume, The Canadian Press Dec 27, 2024 2:44 PM Share by Email Share on Facebook Share on X Share on LinkedIn Print Share via Text Message Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly, centre, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, right, and Dominic LeBlanc participate in a news conference in Ottawa, on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. LeBlanc and Joly are in Florida to meet with officials from President-elect Donald Trump's incoming administration.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang Listen to this article 00:01:24 OTTAWA — Two senior members of the federal cabinet were in Florida Friday pushing Canada's new $1.3 billion border plan with members of Donald Trump's transition team, a day after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau himself appeared to finally push back at the president-elect over his social media posts about turning Canada into the 51st state. Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc and Foreign Affair Minister Melanie Joly shared few details of their meetings in Palm Beach, simply saying in a statement the U.S. officials they met with took notes and agreed to relay messages to Trump. "Minister LeBlanc and Minister Joly had a positive, productive meeting at Mar-a-Lago with Howard Lutnick and Doug Burgum, as a followup to the dinner between the prime minister and President Trump last month," wrote Jean-Sébastien Comeau, a spokesman for LeBlanc. Lutnick is Trump's nominee for commerce secretary, and Burgum is the former governor of North Dakota and current nominee for secretary of the interior. When announcing Lutnick as his commerce pick Trump said the chief executive of the financial firm Cantor Fitzgerald would be in charge of the Trump "tariff and trade agenda." "Both Ministers outlined the measures in Canada’s Border Plan and reiterated the shared commitment to strengthen border security as well as combat the harm caused by fentanyl to save Canadian and American lives." He added the ministers agreed to continue the discussions in the coming weeks. Joly is also expected to meet in Florida with senator Lindsay Graham Friday evening. This trip comes less than four weeks before Trump is sworn in again as president. He has threatened to impose a new 25 per cent import tariff on Canada and Mexico the same day over concerns about a trade imbalance, as well as illegal drugs and migration issues at the borders. The broad strokes of Canada's new border plan were made public Dec. 17, including a new aerial intelligence task force to provide round-the-clock surveillance of the border, and improved efforts using technology and canine teams to seek out drugs in shipments leaving Canada. Comeau said earlier Friday morning the ministers would also emphasize the negative impacts of Trump's threatened tariffs on both Canada and the U.S. Comeau said the ministers were to build on the discussions that took place last month when Trudeau and LeBlanc met Trump at Mar-a-Lago just days after Trump first made his tariff threat. It was at that dinner on Nov. 29 when Trump first raised the notion of Canada becoming the 51st state, a comment LeBlanc has repeatedly since insisted was just a joke. But Trump has continued the quip repeatedly in various social media posts, including in his Christmas Day message when he said Canadians would pay lower taxes and have better military protection if they became Americans. He has taken to calling Trudeau "governor" instead of prime minister. It isn't clear if LeBlanc raised the issue with Trump's team in Palm Beach Friday. Trudeau had not directly responded to any of the jabs, but on Thursday posted a link to a six-minute long video on YouTube from 2010 in which American journalist Tom Brokaw "explains Canada to Americans." "Some information about Canada for Americans" was all he wrote in the post. The video, which originally aired during the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, explains similarities between the two countries, including their founding based on immigration, their trading relationship and the actions of the Canadian Army in World War 2 and other modern conflicts. "In the long history of sovereign neighbours there has never been a relationship as close, productive and peaceful as the U.S. and Canada," Brokaw says in the video. Former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney, who is at the centre of some of Trudeau's recent domestic political troubles, also called out Trump's antics on X Thursday, calling it "casual disrespect" and "carrying the 'joke' too far." "Time to call it out, stand up for Canada, and build a true North American partnership," said Carney, who Trudeau was courting to join his cabinet before Chrystia Freeland resigned as finance minister last week. Freeland's sudden departure, three days after Trudeau informed her he would be firing her as finance minister in favour of Carney, left Trudeau's leadership even more bruised than it already was. Despite the expectation Carney would assume the role, he did not and has not made any statements about it. LeBlanc was sworn in as finance minister instead the same day Freeland quit. More than two dozen Liberal MPs have publicly called on Trudeau to resign as leader, and Trudeau is said to be taking the holidays to think about his next steps. He is currently vacationing in British Columbia. He did not make a public statement about the meeting as of publication. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 27, 2024. Alessia Passafiume, The Canadian Press See a typo/mistake? Have a story/tip? This has been shared 0 times 0 Shares Share by Email Share on Facebook Share on X Share on LinkedIn Print Share via Text Message More National News Vancouver's Bench Accounting abruptly shuts down, with 600 potential jobs lost Dec 27, 2024 2:17 PM Criminologist says Canada should better track foreign student departures Dec 27, 2024 2:13 PM B.C. man who flipped 14 homes in four years is fined $2M for tax evasion Dec 27, 2024 1:28 PM Featured Flyer

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov 22, 2024-- The "Verification and Validation - Product, Equipment/Process, Software and QMS" training has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com 's offering. This seminar will provide valuable assistance to all regulated companies that need to review and modify their Master Validation Planning and Plan(s). While this information is focused on Medical Devices, its principles apply to personnel/companies in the Pharmaceutical, Diagnostic, and Biologics fields. Develop/review a company's Master Validation Plan for major cGMP deficiencies. Address the U.S. FDA's newer and tougher regulatory stance. One major failing is lack of sufficient or targeted risk-based V&V planning: Learning Objectives 9.0 RAC CREDITS RAPS - This course has been pre-approved by RAPS as eligible for up to 9 credits towards a participant's RAC recertification upon full completion. Who Should Attend: Key Topics Covered: Session Start Time: 12:30 PM 05:00 - Day One Wrap-up Day 2 Session Start Time: 12:30 PM Speakers: John E. Lincoln Principal Consultant J. E. Lincoln and Associates LLC John E. Lincoln is principal of J. E. Lincoln and Associates LLC, a consulting company, with over 33 years' experience in U.S. FDA-regulated industries and 20 years as a full-time consultant. He has worked with companies from start-up to Fortune 100, in the U.S., Mexico, Canada, France, Germany, Sweden, China and Taiwan. He specializes in quality assurance, regulatory affairs, QMS problem remediation and FDA responses, new / changed product 510(k)s, process/ product/ equipment including QMS and so+E6ftware validations, ISO 14971 product risk management files / reports, design control / design history files, and technical files. He's held positions in manufacturing engineering, QA, QAE, regulatory affairs, to the level of director and VP (R&D). In addition, Mr. Lincoln has prior experience in military, government, electronics, and aerospace. He has published numerous articles in peer reviewed journals, conducted workshops and webinars worldwide on CGMP subjects. He is a graduate of UCLA. For more information about this training visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/yvji9 About ResearchAndMarkets.com ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends. View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241122509912/en/ CONTACT: ResearchAndMarkets.com Laura Wood, Senior Press Manager press@researchandmarkets.com For E.S.T. Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470 For U.S./ CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 KEYWORD: INDUSTRY KEYWORD: MEDICAL DEVICES FDA HEALTH TECHNOLOGY SOFTWARE PHARMACEUTICAL SOURCE: Research and Markets Copyright Business Wire 2024. PUB: 11/22/2024 02:32 PM/DISC: 11/22/2024 02:31 PM http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241122509912/en Copyright Business Wire 2024.The public expressed little sympathy following the murder of UnitedHealth CEO Brian Thompson's murder.

Ghana counted ballots on Saturday after a tight election with the ruling party's Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia trying to shake off anger over economic woes and rebuff a challenge by opposition party candidate ex-president John Mahama. Ghana's struggling economy dominated the election, after the west Africa gold and cacao producer went through a debt default, high inflation and negotiations for a $3 billion IMF bailout. Voters were choosing a successor to Bawumia's boss, President Nana Akufo-Addo, who steps down after serving the maximum of two four-year terms. They will also elect the country's new parliament. Voting was mostly calm, but one person was shot dead and four people arrested at a polling station in Nyankpala in the country's northern region, police and local media said. After polls closed at 1700 GMT, election teams immediately began tallying ballots under the watch of agents from political parties before sending them to collation centres. Preliminary results are expected early Sunday, with full presidential results scheduled by Tuesday. "Everyone is complaining prices are high. So I want a change, I want a good president who will bring in changes," Abdullah Mohammed, a student said after voting in Accra's Nima district. With a history of political stability, Ghana's two main parties, the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) and National Democratic Congress (NDC), have alternated in power equally since the return to multi-party democracy in 1992. Touting the slogan "Break the 8" -- a reference to going past the usual two terms in power -- the NPP hopes Bawumia can lead them to an unprecedented third term. But he struggled to break away from criticism of Akufo-Addo's economic record. "I think we have done a lot of work with our message to the people and the message has been well received," Bawumia said after voting in his northern home Walewale. A UK-educated economist and former central banker, he points to an economy turning a corner and the government's continued plans for digitalisation to ease business, as well as free education and health programmes. But though inflation slowed from more than 50 percent to around 23 percent, and other macro-economic indicators are stabilising, the economic pain was still a clear election issue. Many Ghanaians still say they struggle with the cost of living, scarce jobs and a depreciated cedi currency. Frustration over the economy has opened the way for a comeback challenge from Mahama, who was president from 2012 to 2017 but has since failed twice in presidential bids. The NDC flag-bearer says he will "reset" Ghana and introduce a "24-hour economy", extending industrial hours to create jobs, and also renegotiate parts of the IMF deal. "Other elections have not been as obvious," Mahama said voting in his northern hometown. "With this one, everybody can tell the direction because of the abysmal performance of the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia government." Some analysts gave him an edge because of voter dismay with NPP, but the former president faced criticism from those who remember financial woes and massive power cuts during his time in office. Shoe saleswoman Esther Adobea said the economic situation hurt, but she was willing to give Bawumia a chance to make things better. "I can see he can handle the country for us. Our economy is not good, but he can do better," she said. Both major candidates are from the north of the country -- traditionally an NDC stronghold, but now more fragmented -- making the region a key battleground. While the economy was key, Ghana also faces an increasing risk of spillover in its northern regions from jihadist conflicts in Niger and Burkina Faso, where military juntas rule. The spread of illegal gold mining also became an election issue. Akufo-Addo promised to stop illegal mining, but it has expanded, poisoning riverways and impacting cacao farmlands -- a major source of export income. bur-pma/jm

Libra - (23rd September to 22nd October) Daily Horoscope Prediction says, – Express emotions freely Look for pleasant moments in a love affair and this will also lead to high productivity at work. Minor monetary issues will not impact routine life today. Ensure you are happy in love. Despite challenges, your professional life will be productive today. There can be minor financial issues but the health will be good. Libra Love Horoscope Today Do not let your emotions fly loose. There can be minor disturbances but you will find ways to mend the troubles. The second part of the day is good to make a call in the future. Office romance is not a good idea as it will compromise your productivity and family life. Married Libras will be happy to conceive while single Libras will meet someone special. You may express the emotion freely to the lover and ensure there are no communication issues between you guys. Libra Career Horoscope Toda There can be minor productivity issues but do not let this impact the job. The second part of the day is good to put down the paper and update the profile on a job portal. You may be given the task to negotiate with a client and utilize this as an option to prove your mettle. Businessmen handling textiles, interior designing, fashion accessories, construction, and transport will see good returns today. Sales and marketing persons will have a tough time meeting the target. Libra Money Horoscope Today Do not let monetary issues impact your routine life. Some females will prefer a vacation abroad and will also make flight bookings and hotel reservations. You may go ahead with the idea of buying electronic appliances. However, the day is not good to lend a big amount to a friend or relative. The seniors at home may suffer from health issues, which you will need to spend on medical expenses. Libra Health Horoscope Today Do not take health issues lightly. You need to be careful about your lifestyle. Start the day with exercise and keep the mind fresh through a positive attitude. Some females may develop menstrual problems and children may be infected by viral fever. Maintain a balance between office and personal life which will help you keep the stress under control. Make sure you drink plenty of water and keep yourself hydrated. Libra Sign Attributes Strength: Idealist, Socially presentable, Aesthetic, Charming, Artsy, Generous Weakness: Uncertain, Lazy, Non-interventionist Symbol: Scales Element: Air Body Part: Kidneys & Bladder Sign Ruler: Venus Lucky Day: Friday Lucky Color: Brown Lucky Number: 3 Lucky Stone: Diamond Libra Sign Compatibility Chart Natural affinity: Gemini, Leo, Sagittarius, Aquarius Good compatibility: Aries, Libra Fair compatibility: Taurus, Virgo, Scorpio, Pisces Less compatibility: Cancer, Capricorn By: Dr. J. N. Pandey Vedic Astrology & Vastu Expert Website: www.astrologerjnpandey.com E-mail: djnpandey@gmail.com Phone: 91-9811107060 (WhatsApp Only)

Punjab offers free solar installation to replace subsidy The Punjab government is plugging away to find a solution to the power crisis. Back in August, it cut Rs 45 billion from its annual development programme to give a Rs 14 per unit subsidy to consumers of less than 300 units. Now it has come up with a CM Punjab Free Solar Panel Scheme, offering to install free of charge solar panels to consumers of 200 units or less, for whom 1100-Watt panels would be provided, while consumers of 100 units would receive 550-Watt panels. The first year of the scheme would benefit 100,000 consumers, compared to the 7.3 million consumers who benefited from the subsidy. It may been pointed out to the CM that subsidizing the consumer actually meant money being paid to the Independent Power Producers in capacity which had been shorn off the Punjab Budget, which meant that roads, schools or hospitals would not be built. It thus made more sense to put that money in solar generation so that the need for the subsidy could be eliminated. If baseline consumers could convert to solar power, the federal government would be relieved of the subsidy it is paying for them. It is assumed that the government will be picking up the cost of the green meter, which even baseline consumers will prefer, as the Scheme does not specify who is to pick up the cost. There will be an effort to avoid fraud, by linking the scheme to the consumer’s ID card, and the kit to be provided will not generate more power than is already used. However, the inventiveness of people’s minds is unlimited, and there will doubtless be frauds. Then there is the case of those consumers who may not be able to apply for the scheme, because while they consume units below the threshold, the cumulative bill of several consumers is above it. However, the Punjab government is showing a commendable commitment to solar power, it needs to beware that storage is presently inefficient, which means that consumers remain WAPDA consumers as well, but that is not permanent. When consumers start going entirely off the grid, the government has nothing to use for advance taxes. In fact, overusing the monthly power bill as a tool incentivizes going off-grid. Another major blow would be if Punjab government offices, like schools, hospitals and police stations, if solarized, would reduce the government’s burden considerably. The distribution companies would go bankrupt, but they would be paying the price of falling behind the technological curve. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Δ document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() );Unlike scores of people who scrambled for the blockbuster drugs Ozempic and Wegovy to lose weight in recent years, Danielle Griffin had no trouble getting them. The 38-year-old information technology worker from New Mexico had a prescription. Her pharmacy had the drugs in stock. And her health insurance covered all but $25 to $50 of the monthly cost. For Griffin, the hardest part of using the new drugs wasn’t access. It was finding out that the much-hyped medications didn’t really work for her. “I have been on Wegovy for a year and a half and have only lost 13 pounds,” said Griffin, who watches her diet, drinks plenty of water and exercises regularly. “I’ve done everything right with no success. It’s discouraging.” In clinical trials, most participants taking Wegovy or Mounjaro to treat obesity lost an average of 15% to 22% of their body weight — up to 50 pounds or more in many cases. But roughly 10% to 15% of patients in those trials were “nonresponders” who lost less than 5% of their body weight. Now that millions of people have used the drugs, several obesity experts told The Associated Press that perhaps 20% of patients — as many as 1 in 5 — may not respond well to the medications. It's a little-known consequence of the obesity drug boom, according to doctors who caution eager patients not to expect one-size-fits-all results. “It's all about explaining that different people have different responses,” said Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford, an obesity expert at Massachusetts General Hospital The drugs are known as GLP-1 receptor agonists because they mimic a hormone in the body known as glucagon-like peptide 1. Genetics, hormones and variability in how the brain regulates energy can all influence weight — and a person's response to the drugs, Stanford said. Medical conditions such as sleep apnea can prevent weight loss, as can certain common medications, such as antidepressants, steroids and contraceptives. “This is a disease that stems from the brain,” said Stanford. “The dysfunction may not be the same” from patient to patient. Despite such cautions, patients are often upset when they start getting the weekly injections but the numbers on the scale barely budge. “It can be devastating,” said Dr. Katherine Saunders, an obesity expert at Weill Cornell Medicine and co-founder of the obesity treatment company FlyteHealth. “With such high expectations, there’s so much room for disappointment.” That was the case for Griffin, who has battled obesity since childhood and hoped to shed 70 pounds using Wegovy. The drug helped reduce her appetite and lowered her risk of diabetes, but she saw little change in weight. “It’s an emotional roller coaster,” she said. “You want it to work like it does for everybody else.” The medications are typically prescribed along with eating behavior and lifestyle changes. It’s usually clear within weeks whether someone will respond to the drugs, said Dr. Jody Dushay, an endocrine specialist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Weight loss typically begins right away and continues as the dosage increases. For some patients, that just doesn't happen. For others, side effects such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea force them to halt the medications, Dushay said. In such situations, patients who were counting on the new drugs to pare pounds may think they’re out of options. “I tell them: It's not game over,” Dushay said. Trying a different version of the new class of drugs may help. Griffin, who didn't respond well to Wegovy, has started using Zepbound, which targets an additional hormone pathway in the body. After three months of using the drug, she has lost 7 pounds. “I'm hoping it's slow and steady,” she said. Other people respond well to older drugs, the experts said. Changing diet, exercise, sleep and stress habits can also have profound effects. Figuring out what works typically requires a doctor trained to treat obesity, Saunders noted. “Obesity is such a complex disease that really needs to be treated very comprehensively,” she said. “If what we’re prescribing doesn’t work, we always have a backup plan.” ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Jeannette Neumann | (TNS) Bloomberg News The Nordstrom family is joining forces with a Mexican retailer to take its namesake department store private in an all-cash transaction valued at about $6.25 billion, including debt. Related Articles Business | New shoplifting data explains why they’re locking up the toothpaste Business | Nicotine pouches are selling fast — and falling into minors’ hands Business | Elon Musk’s preschool is the next step in his anti-woke education dreams Business | A busy 2024 set up big challenges for Disneyland in 2025 Business | Netflix is airing 2 NFL games on Christmas Day. Here’s what to know The founding family is betting that the century-old retail chain will be more successful without the scrutiny and demands of the public market after shares in Nordstrom Inc. plunged 40% in the last five years. During the same period, the S&P 500 rose 84%. As part of the transaction, which is expected to close in the first half of 2025, the family and Mexican department-store chain El Puerto de Liverpool SAB will acquire all of the outstanding common shares of Nordstrom. The Nordstrom family will have a majority ownership stake in the company of 50.1%, with Liverpool owning 49.9%. Nordstrom common shareholders will receive $24.25 in cash for each share of Nordstrom common stock they hold under the terms of the agreement, the company said Monday. That’s roughly in line with where shares were trading on Monday. Shares in Nordstrom fell as much as 1.3% on Monday in New York. The company’s stock was up 33% so far this year as of Friday’s close as reports of a take-private deal boosted the stock price. The board’s acceptance of the offer underscores Nordstrom’s decline from its peak and its subdued growth prospects. In 2018, the board rejected the family’s bid to take the company private at $50 per share as too low. Nordstrom’s annual revenue, including income from credit cards, peaked at $15.9 billion in the fiscal year ended February 2019. The company was hit hard by Covid-19 and has never returned to its pre-pandemic highs. Nordstrom is expected to report $14.9 billion in total revenue at the end of the current fiscal year, according to a Bloomberg survey of analysts. Other department-store chains in the U.S. have also struggled as shoppers pivot to online competitors such as Amazon.com Inc., or brand-specific stores such as Louis Vuitton. Executives at Macy’s Inc., for example, are shrinking the company’s store fleet to cut costs, while the owners of Saks Fifth Avenue bought Neiman Marcus Group earlier this year. During the past couple of years, investors had hoped that Nordstrom Rack, its off-price chain, could help buoy the company’s growth prospects and compensate for sluggish sales at the more upscale flagship chain. Shoppers flocked to competitors such as TJ Maxx, seeking deals as inflation soared post-pandemic. But Rack’s performance has been spotty. It stumbled when executives tweaked their strategy and stopped offering as many high-end fashion brands at a discount. Rack reversed course and sales have bounced back. Company executives have focused on opening more Rack stores in recent quarters, boosting revenue. In November, Nordstrom raised the lower end of its annual sales guidance after revenue was better than expected at Rack and the flagship chain. But the outlook is still weak, highlighting the attraction of going private: The company is forecasting that annual sales, including credit-card revenues, will be flat to up 1% versus last year. The take-private deal will be financed through a combination of rollover equity by the Nordstrom family and Liverpool, cash commitments by Liverpool, up to $450 million in borrowings under a new $1.2 billion ABL bank financing, and company cash on hand. The board also intends to pay a special dividend of up to 25 cents a share in cash contingent on the deal closing. The transaction must be approved by holders of two-thirds of the company’s common stock shareholders and the holders of a majority of the shares not owned by the Nordstrom family or Liverpool. Erik and Peter Nordstrom, who are members of the company’s board, recused themselves from the vote, which unanimously approved the transaction. “On behalf of my family, we look forward to working with our teams to ensure Nordstrom thrives long into the future,” said Erik Nordstrom, chief executive officer of Nordstrom. Liverpool, run by descendants of a French shareholder group that dates back more than a century, is one of Mexico’s most important department store chains, with an ornate flagship location in the capital’s historic center. The $7 billion publicly-traded company has ventured beyond Mexico in recent years, acquiring a stake in Latin American retail operator Unicomer in 2011 and attempting unsuccessfully to acquire control of Chile’s Ripley SA in 2015 before turning its eyes to the U.S. with the Nordstrom investment. Max David Michel, part of Liverpool’s founding family and one of the richest people in the country, retired as head of Liverpool’s board earlier this year. (Updates to include what stock is trading at versus the offer price.) ©2024 Bloomberg L.P. Visit bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.Significant Milestones in Life and Career of Jimmy Carterword ace cheat 。

Knicks look to stand tall vs. Victor Wembanyama, SpursWhat we know about South Korea's martial lawChad Chronister, Donald Trump’s Pick to Run the DEA, Withdraws Name From ConsiderationLike a football off McBride's helmet, the Cardinals aren't getting many lucky bounces these days

NextCure stock hits 52-week low at $1.00 amid market challenges

Each holiday season, the Winnipeg Jets hosts its Challenge Cup — a grassroots minor tournament held at the Hockey For All Centre. 180 teams from all over Canada, with some coming from as far away as Ranken Inlet, Nunavut, have come to face off on the ice and see how far their team can go. “It’s exciting,” said Maxwell Paseska, who captains Winnipeg’s St. James Canucks U11 team. “I want to go score a goal. I want to go get a goal with the team.” Teamwork is what the young players have been focusing on all season, so when they were able to meet Jets players Mark Scheifele, Dylan Demelo and Morgan Barron before their game, it was the push they needed to get onto the ice and do their best to play together to win. “They’re always being a team player, they’re not like, hogging the puck. They’re not trying to do it themselves. They’re always passing, they’re always talking,” said Paseska. The team also delighted in getting autographs from the Jets. “I got them to sign my water bottle and then my old Canucks jersey,” said Brody Ferenc, who plays left and right wing for the team, as he showed off his items to CityNews. Jason Paseska, who coaches the young players, said it was exciting but also important for them to meet Winnipeg’s NHL players. “They’re looking ahead in life and saying like, maybe I want to do that later in life. So it’s really good for them to see them in here and see what kind of they do to get ready for a game and practice and stuff,” he said. Dean Court, the director of amateur development and programming at the centre, said the tournament serves as inspiration for youth to ese how far they can go in the sport. “It gives kids an opportunity to see that, if I work hard maybe there might be an opportunity for me to be like them someday,” said Court. There’s a real chance these dreams can become a reality, as the Challenge Cup has seen its players eventually move into the NHL, like St. Adolphe’s Owen Pickering and Winnipeg’s Denton Mateychuk. “Everyone who normally wouldn’t get a chance to play in a tournament have a tournament right here locally,” said Court. The tournament runs through to January 2.Slowly repeating bursts of intense radio waves from space have puzzled astronomers since they were discovered in 2022. In new research, we have for the first time tracked one of these pulsating signals back to its source: a common kind of lightweight star called a red dwarf, likely in a binary orbit with a white dwarf, the core of another star that exploded long ago. A slowly pulsing mystery In 2022, our team made an amazing discovery: periodic radio pulsations that repeated every 18 minutes, emanating from space. The pulses outshone everything nearby, flashed brilliantly for three months, then disappeared. We know some repeating radio signals come from a kind of neutron star called a radio pulsar, which spins rapidly (typically once a second or faster), beaming out radio waves like a lighthouse. The trouble is, our current theories say a pulsar spinning only once every 18 minutes should not produce radio waves. So we thought our 2022 discovery could point to new and exciting physics – or help explain exactly how pulsars emit radiation, which despite 50 years of research is still not understood very well. The source of the radio waves, as seen by the MWA at low resolution (magenta circle) and MeerKAT at high resolution (cyan circle). The white circles are all stars in our own Galaxy. Hurley-Walker et al. 2024 / Astrophysical Journal Letters More slowly blinking radio sources have been discovered since then. There are now about ten known “long-period radio transients”. However, just finding more hasn’t been enough to solve the mystery. Searching the outskirts of the galaxy Until now, every one of these sources has been found deep in the heart of the Milky Way. This makes it very hard to figure out what kind of star or object produces the radio waves, because there are thousands of stars in a small area. Any one of them could be responsible for the signal, or none of them. An artist's impression of the AR SCO system: a binary red dwarf and white dwarf that interact to produce radio emission. Picture: YouTube/ European Southern Observatory (ESO) So, we started a campaign to scan the skies with the Murchison Widefield Array radio telescope in Western Australia, which can observe 1,000 square degrees of the sky every minute. An undergraduate student at Curtin University, Csanád Horváth, processed data covering half of the sky, looking for these elusive signals in more sparsely populated regions of the Milky Way. And sure enough, we found a new source! Dubbed GLEAM-X J0704-37, it produces minute-long pulses of radio waves, just like other long-period radio transients. However, these pulses repeat only once every 2.9 hours, making it the slowest long-period radio transient found so far. Where are the radio waves coming from? We performed follow-up observations with the MeerKAT telescope in South Africa, the most sensitive radio telescope in the southern hemisphere. These pinpointed the location of the radio waves precisely: they were coming from a red dwarf star. These stars are incredibly common, making up 70 per cent of the stars in the Milky Way, but they are so faint that not a single one is visible to the naked eye. Combining historical observations from the Murchison Widefield Array and new MeerKAT monitoring data, we found that the pulses arrive a little earlier and a little later in a repeating pattern. This probably indicates that the radio emitter isn’t the red dwarf itself, but rather an unseen object in a binary orbit with it. Based on previous studies of the evolution of stars, we think this invisible radio emitter is most likely to be a white dwarf, which is the final endpoint of small to medium-sized stars like our own Sun. If it were a neutron star or a black hole, the explosion that created it would have been so large it should have disrupted the orbit. It takes two to tango So how do a red dwarf and a white dwarf generate a radio signal? The red dwarf probably produces a stellar wind of charged particles, just like our Sun does. When the wind hits the white dwarf’s magnetic field, it would be accelerated, producing radio waves. This could be similar to how the Sun’s stellar wind interacts with Earth’s magnetic field to produce beautiful aurora, and also low-frequency radio waves. We already know of a few systems like this, such as AR Scorpii, where variations in the brightness of the red dwarf imply that the companion white dwarf is hitting it with a powerful beam of radio waves every two minutes. None of these systems are as bright or as slow as the long-period radio transients, but maybe as we find more examples, we will work out a unifying physical model that explains all of them. On the other hand, there may be many different kinds of system that can produce long-period radio pulsations. Either way, we’ve learned the power of expecting the unexpected – and we’ll keep scanning the skies to solve this cosmic mystery. Natasha Hurley-Walker is a radio astronomer at Curtin University This story originally appeared on The Conversation and reproduced with permission Originally published as Astronomers have pinpointed the origin of mysterious repeating radio bursts from space Space Don't miss out on the headlines from Space. Followed categories will be added to My News. More related stories Space Astronaut returns to earth devastated, crying Emily Calandrelli became the 100th woman in space this week but was in tears after a “moaning” controversy erupted on social media. Read more Space ‘They don’t get it’: Elon Musk explodes Elon Musk has slammed Neil deGrasse Tyson after the celebrity astrophysicist mocked the billionaire’s plan to send humans to Mars. Read more

Healthcare organizations may be required to bolster their cybersecurity, to better prevent sensitive information from being leaked by cyberattacks like the ones that hit Ascension and UnitedHealth UNH.N, a senior White House official said Friday. Anne Neuberger, the U.S. deputy national security advisor for cyber and emerging technology, told reporters that proposed requirements are necessary in light of the massive number of Americans whose data has been affected by large breaches of healthcare information. The proposals include encrypting data so it cannot be accessed, even if leaked, and requiring compliance checks to ensure networks meet cybersecurity rules. The healthcare information of more than 167 million people was affected in 2023 as a result of cybersecurity incidents, she said. The proposed rule from the Department of Health and Human Services would update standards under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and would cost an estimated $9 billion in the first year, and $6 billion in years two through five, Neuberger said. Encrypted messaging: Which apps offer it? How to switch to encryption and what to know after feds’ warning Holiday deals: Shop this season’s top products and sales curated by our editors. Large healthcare breaches caused by hacking and ransomware have increased by 89% and 102%, respectively, since 2019, she said. "In this job, one of the most concerning and really troubling things we deal with is hacking of hospitals, hacking of healthcare data," Neuberger said. Hospitals have been forced to operate manually and Americans' sensitive healthcare data, mental health information and other information are "being leaked on the dark web with the opportunity to blackmail individuals," Neuberger said. The Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Additional reporting by Raphael Satter in Washington; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama

Konstas says he's ready to play Tests for Australia

z locations 。

Eco Bright Future, Inc.'s Subsidiary, United Heritage, Secures Bitcoin Exchange License in ...

OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — Asked if there was any special meaning to playing on Christmas for a second straight season, Lamar Jackson paused for several seconds before answering. That said it all. “I mean, it is,” he finally replied, trying to be diplomatic. “That means we're good, but at the same time, I do want to celebrate at home sometimes with my family now. I don't want to be playing on Christmas all the time — not all the time.” That sentiment seemed common among the Baltimore Ravens players this week as they prepared for their second consecutive Christmas road game. Jackson and his teammates will face the Houston Texans on Wednesday. Earlier in the day, the Kansas City Chiefs play at Pittsburgh. Games on Christmas aren't new to the NFL. The Miami Dolphins famously beat the Chiefs in a playoff game on Dec. 25, 1971 — a double-overtime classic that still holds the record for the NFL's longest game. In 2020, New Orleans running back Alvin Kamara tied an NFL record with six touchdowns in a game when the Saints beat Minnesota on Christmas. Lately, however, the league has been much more aggressive about scheduling games on Christmas. There were three last year on a Monday, and this week there are two. The four teams in action this Wednesday all played this past Saturday, giving them a little more time to prepare. But each is still wrapping up a stretch of three games in 11 games. And for Baltimore and Kansas City — the teams spending the holiday on the road — this means a bit of a scramble to find time to celebrate with loved ones. “Santa hasn’t come yet, but as far as my family, we traded gifts (over the weekend),” Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes said. “(His wife) Brittany’s a champ because I’m not there to help build the toys my family got, and the kids have opened up every single one of them.” The Chiefs are playing on Christmas for a second year in a row, although they were at home last season. Baltimore tackle Ronnie Stanley said there is an offensive line Christmas party planned for Friday at center Tyler Linderbaum's house. Jackson’s plan is to celebrate on Thursday. “I already celebrated Christmas with my family this past week," Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton said. "It’s more about the thought of calling people Christmas morning and just going out there and being able to go out in front of my whole family and do what I love. That’s how I’ll celebrate.” The Ravens also have celebrated a bit as a group already. “We actually had a team dinner last night here, which was really neat. And our chefs were incredible (with) what they put out there, so that was fun,” coach John Harbaugh said Monday. "And we are going to have the ability for family members from the Houston area to come over for the team snack after we do a walkthrough (Tuesday) night.” Don't expect Christmas games to go away any time soon. Netflix agreed to a three-year contract in May to carry Christmas Day games. Playing on the holiday certainly gives teams a chance to be in the spotlight, although the Chiefs and Ravens already get plenty of that. The Ravens-Texans game features a halftime performance by Beyoncé. “Wasn't there a time when somebody was out peeking outside the locker room door during the Super Bowl or something like that? Was there some story on that?” Harbaugh said. “He got in trouble for it? There will be big trouble. I like Beyoncé, though. I can't say I'm a huge Beyoncé fan, but I think I like her.” (Harbaugh was referring to Bengals kicker Evan McPherson during the Super Bowl in 2022 when he watched Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige and Kendrick Lamar perform at halftime in Los Angeles.) Jackson, seemingly unaware of Harbaugh's attempt to lay down the law about the halftime show, arrived at the microphone immediately after the coach. “I'm going to go out there and watch,” the star quarterback said. “First time seeing Beyoncé perform, and it's at our game — that's dope. I'm going to go out and watch. Sorry Harbaugh, sorry fellas.” AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Orhan Awatramani, aka Orry, our favourite social media sensation, never fails to keep us updated on all things B-Town. He recently treated fans to a hilarious Instagram reel featuring goofy pictures of Janhvi Kapoor, Shikhar Pahariya, Khushi Kapoor, Vedang Raina, Ananya Panday, and more. These candid shots are bound to leave you in splits—and prove that these stars look stunning even in their silliest moments. You don't believe us? Scroll down and catch a glimpse into this hilariously fun reel of the stars. Orry’s Hilarious ReelOrry took to Instagram to post a reel from a star-studded party, and it’s pure gold. The video kicks off with Orry running alongside Janhvi Kapoor, with the caption, “Photos I should have deleted from last night... but I didn’t.” It’s a montage of goofy, candid moments featuring Janhvi Kapoor, Khushi Kapoor, Vedang Raina, Shikhar Pahariya, Veer, Shanaya Kapoor, and more, all making funny faces. The reel also includes Ananya Panday with her rumoured boyfriend Walker Blanco, Arjun Kapoor, Sharmin Sehgal, and Anant Ambani, along with hilarious snapshots of Sara Ali Khan sharing fun moments. One standout moment is Janhvi Kapoor fangirling over Brown Rang singer Yo Yo Honey Singh, who makes an appearance with his signature electrifying energy. Have a look at the post. ALSO READ: Janhvi Kapoor, Khushi Kapoor Celebrate Christmas 2024 With BFs Shikhar Pahariya And Vedang Raina In Jamnagar Bollywood Celebs Go Crazy in the CommentsThe comment section of Orry’s hilarious reel turned into a frenzy of reactions from Bollywood’s finest. Ananya Panday humorously described it as “scary,” while Vedang Raina kept it subtle with gazing-eye emojis. Veer joined in with multiple folded-hand emojis, and Shanaya Kapoor added a playful mix of spiral-eye, joker, and skull emojis. Khushi Kapoor cheekily commented, “Oopsie,” and Janhvi Kapoor’s excitement was evident as she declared, “I LOVE HONEY SIR!!!!!!!!” The stars’ reactions perfectly captured the lighthearted and fun vibe of the post. Get Latest News Live on Times Now along with Breaking News and Top Headlines from Bollywood, Entertainment News and around the world.DETROIT – Police and Child Protective Services are investigating after neighbors have raised concerns about two young teens in Detroit who have allegedly been sleeping on their front porch for months, even amid cold temperatures. CPS said they’ve been to the home on Leslie Street near Dexter on the city’s west side several times. Many neighbors have reported seeing the teenage boys sleeping on the porch since the summer, with one neighbor saying since August. Even though these concerned neighbors have continued to call the police department and CPS, they still keep seeing the boys on the porch. Marc D' Andre, an independent journalist of 7 Mile Radio, posted a video on social media on Saturday night of him approaching one of the boys as he was sleeping on the porch to see if he needed help. “He popped out from under the cover and you know I tried to ask him if he needed help in any kind of way; if he needed money or wanted to go somewhere, even into my van if to warm up for a minute,” D’Andre told Local 4. He refused everything.” The Detroit Police Department released the following statement: “The Department is aware of the allegations and is actively investigating the circumstances. At this time, our priority is meeting with the parents and routing as much resource as possible to the location to ensure these children are safe. The Department is deeply concerned over this situation, and any evidence of negligence on the part of the parents will be thoroughly investigated and, if appropriate, referred to the Wayne County Prosecutors Office.” Efforts are underway to provide answers to the community over the concerns about these two teens.

'Hopefully inspire those kids': London Knights Booster Club collects thousands of stuffed animals for Teddy Bear Toss gameTrump team signs agreement to allow Justice to conduct background checks on nominees, staff

Yolo County law enforcement officers conducted compliance checks and address verifications on more than 300 registered sex offenders last week, finding most in compliance with the terms of their release. Called “Operation Vigilance,” the program began 15 years ago with the goal of protecting Yolo County citizens by ensuring that county residents who must register as sex offenders are complying with all laws and applicable parole or probation directives. More than 60 law-enforcement personnel from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Yolo County Probation Department, Woodland Parole Unit, California Department of Justice, U.S. Courts Federal Probation, Yolo County District Attorney’s Office, Yolo County Sheriff’s Office, and the Davis, Woodland, Winters and West Sacramento police departments participated in the joint operation, with support from the Yolo County IT GIS Division. Law-enforcement personnel went to the residence on file of every registered sex offender with a physical address in Yolo County. Many of the individuals required to register had prior convictions for rape, child molestation or possession of child pornography. About five percent of the county’s registered sex offenders were found to be out of compliance with their registration requirements, which will result in additional investigation by law enforcement. Four offenders on parole were arrested for various violations. A unique aspect of Operation Vigilance is that during the home visits, forensic examiners search the registrants’ computers, smartphones and other digital storage devices for potential violations. Computer forensic investigators from the Yolo County DA’s High Technology Unit and examiners from other participating agencies worked together to conduct these specialized searches. Additionally, the CDCR provided eight K-9 officers with canines trained specifically to detect electronics to enhance these searches. During the operation, 92 electronic devices were searched, with another 16 electronic items were seized for further forensic examination. “Operation Vigilance is an example of Yolo County law enforcement’s commitment to collaboration,” Yolo County Sheriff Tom Lopez said. “I am proud of the dedicated group of professionals who carried out this mission in an effort to keep our communities safe.” Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig praised the efforts of Yolo County law enforcement agencies who continuously monitor these individuals. “We conducted a compliance check of 100 percent of the sex offenders that have a permanent address, and the good news is that 95 percent were in compliance,” Reisig said. “Operation Vigilance continues to serve as an additional deterrent to those who must register as sex offenders who may be prone to re-offend.”CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov 26, 2024-- Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ: PEGA), the Enterprise Transformation CompanyTM, today announced that Ken Stillwell, COO and CFO, Pega, will be presenting at the following upcoming investor conferences: Archives of the presentations will be available from the Investors page of Pega’s website for a limited time. About Pegasystems Pega is The Enterprise Transformation CompanyTM that helps organizations Build for Change® with enterprise AI decisioning and workflow automation. Many of the world’s most influential businesses rely on our platform to solve their most pressing challenges, from personalizing engagement to automating service to streamlining operations. Since 1983, we’ve built our scalable and flexible architecture to help enterprises meet today’s customer demands while continuously transforming for tomorrow. For more information on how Pega empowers its clients to Build for Change®, visit www.pega.com . All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241126520654/en/ CONTACT: Press: Lisa Pintchman VP, Corporate Communications lisa.pintchman@pega.com 617-866-6022 Twitter:@pega Investor: Peter Welburn VP, Corporate Development & Investor Relations PegaInvestorRelations@pega.com 617-498-8968 KEYWORD: MASSACHUSETTS CALIFORNIA ARIZONA UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA INDUSTRY KEYWORD: SOFTWARE NETWORKS DATA ANALYTICS INTERNET ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE DATA MANAGEMENT PROFESSIONAL SERVICES TECHNOLOGY SOURCE: Pegasystems Inc. Copyright Business Wire 2024. PUB: 11/26/2024 04:05 PM/DISC: 11/26/2024 04:06 PM http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241126520654/enWASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump's transition team on Tuesday signed an agreement to allow the Justice Department to conduct background checks on his nominees and appointees after a weekslong delay. The step lets Trump transition aides and future administration staffers obtain security clearances before Inauguration Day to access classified information about ongoing government programs, an essential step for a smooth transition of power. It also allows those nominees who are up for Senate confirmation to face the background checks lawmakers want before voting on them. Teams of investigators have been standing by to process clearances for Trump aides and advisers. "This agreement with the Department of Justice will ensure President Trump and his team are ready on Day 1 to begin enacting the America First Agenda that an overwhelming majority of our nation supported on Election Day," said Susie Wiles, Trump's designate to be White House chief of staff. The announcement came a week after the Trump transition team signed an agreement with the Biden White House to allow transition staff to coordinate with the existing federal workforce before taking office Jan. 20. The White House agreement was supposed to have been signed by Oct. 1, according to the Presidential Transition Act, and the Biden White House issued both public and private appeals for Trump's team to sign on. Security clearances are required to access classified information, including on ongoing operations and threats to the nation, and the Biden White House and outside experts emphasized to Trump's team the importance of having cleared personnel before Inauguration Day so they could be fully briefed and ready to run the government. President-elect Donald Trump arrives before the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024 in Boca Chica, Texas. (Brandon Bell/Pool via AP) Republican Senators also insisted on FBI background checks for Trump's nominees before they face confirmation votes, as has been standard practice for decades. Lawmakers were particularly interested in seeing the findings of reviews into Trump's designated nominee for defense secretary, former Fox News host Pete Hegseth, and for Rep. Tulsi Gabbard to be director of national intelligence. "That's why it's so important that we have an FBI background check, a committee review of extensive questions and questionnaires, and a public hearing," Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said Monday. John Thune, incoming Senate Republican leader, said the Trump team "understands there's going to have to be a thorough vetting of all these nominees." Among President-elect Donald Trump's picks are Susie Wiles for chief of staff, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio for secretary of state, former Democratic House member Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence and Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz for attorney general. Susie Wiles, 67, was a senior adviser to Trump's 2024 presidential campaign and its de facto manager. Trump named Florida Sen. Marco Rubio to be secretary of state, making a former sharp critic his choice to be the new administration's top diplomat. Rubio, 53, is a noted hawk on China, Cuba and Iran, and was a finalist to be Trump's running mate on the Republican ticket last summer. Rubio is the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “He will be a strong Advocate for our Nation, a true friend to our Allies, and a fearless Warrior who will never back down to our adversaries,” Trump said of Rubio in a statement. The announcement punctuates the hard pivot Rubio has made with Trump, whom the senator called a “con man" during his unsuccessful campaign for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination. Their relationship improved dramatically while Trump was in the White House. And as Trump campaigned for the presidency a third time, Rubio cheered his proposals. For instance, Rubio, who more than a decade ago helped craft immigration legislation that included a path to citizenship for people in the U.S. illegally, now supports Trump's plan to use the U.S. military for mass deportations. Pete Hegseth, 44, is a co-host of Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends Weekend” and has been a contributor with the network since 2014, where he developed a friendship with Trump, who made regular appearances on the show. Hegseth lacks senior military or national security experience. If confirmed by the Senate, he would inherit the top job during a series of global crises — ranging from Russia’s war in Ukraine and the ongoing attacks in the Middle East by Iranian proxies to the push for a cease-fire between Israel, Hamas and Hezbollah and escalating worries about the growing alliance between Russia and North Korea. Hegseth is also the author of “The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free,” published earlier this year. Trump tapped Pam Bondi, 59, to be attorney general after U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration. She was Florida's first female attorney general, serving between 2011 and 2019. She also was on Trump’s legal team during his first impeachment trial in 2020. Considered a loyalist, she served as part of a Trump-allied outside group that helped lay the groundwork for his future administration called the America First Policy Institute. Bondi was among a group of Republicans who showed up to support Trump at his hush money criminal trial in New York that ended in May with a conviction on 34 felony counts. A fierce defender of Trump, she also frequently appears on Fox News and has been a critic of the criminal cases against him. Trump picked South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, a well-known conservative who faced sharp criticism for telling a story in her memoir about shooting a rambunctious dog, to lead an agency crucial to the president-elect’s hardline immigration agenda. Noem used her two terms leading a tiny state to vault to a prominent position in Republican politics. South Dakota is usually a political afterthought. But during the COVID-19 pandemic, Noem did not order restrictions that other states had issued and instead declared her state “open for business.” Trump held a fireworks rally at Mount Rushmore in July 2020 in one of the first large gatherings of the pandemic. She takes over a department with a sprawling mission. In addition to key immigration agencies, the Department of Homeland Security oversees natural disaster response, the U.S. Secret Service, and Transportation Security Administration agents who work at airports. The governor of North Dakota, who was once little-known outside his state, Burgum is a former Republican presidential primary contender who endorsed Trump, and spent months traveling to drum up support for him, after dropping out of the race. Burgum was a serious contender to be Trump’s vice presidential choice this summer. The two-term governor was seen as a possible pick because of his executive experience and business savvy. Burgum also has close ties to deep-pocketed energy industry CEOs. Trump made the announcement about Burgum joining his incoming administration while addressing a gala at his Mar-a-Lago club, and said a formal statement would be coming the following day. In comments to reporters before Trump took the stage, Burgum said that, in recent years, the power grid is deteriorating in many parts of the country, which he said could raise national security concerns but also drive up prices enough to increase inflation. “There's just a sense of urgency, and a sense of understanding in the Trump administration,” Burgum said. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ran for president as a Democrat, than as an independent, and then endorsed Trump . He's the son of Democratic icon Robert Kennedy, who was assassinated during his own presidential campaign. The nomination of Kennedy to lead the Department of Health and Human Services alarmed people who are concerned about his record of spreading unfounded fears about vaccines . For example, he has long advanced the debunked idea that vaccines cause autism. Scott Bessent, 62, is a former George Soros money manager and an advocate for deficit reduction. He's the founder of hedge fund Key Square Capital Management, after having worked on-and-off for Soros Fund Management since 1991. If confirmed by the Senate, he would be the nation’s first openly gay treasury secretary. He told Bloomberg in August that he decided to join Trump’s campaign in part to attack the mounting U.S. national debt. That would include slashing government programs and other spending. “This election cycle is the last chance for the U.S. to grow our way out of this mountain of debt without becoming a sort of European-style socialist democracy,” he said then. Oregon Republican U.S. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer narrowly lost her reelection bid this month, but received strong backing from union members in her district. As a potential labor secretary, she would oversee the Labor Department’s workforce, its budget and put forth priorities that impact workers’ wages, health and safety, ability to unionize, and employer’s rights to fire employers, among other responsibilities. Chavez-DeRemer is one of few House Republicans to endorse the “Protecting the Right to Organize” or PRO Act would allow more workers to conduct organizing campaigns and would add penalties for companies that violate workers’ rights. The act would also weaken “right-to-work” laws that allow employees in more than half the states to avoid participating in or paying dues to unions that represent workers at their places of employment. Scott Turner is a former NFL player and White House aide. He ran the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council during Trump’s first term in office. Trump, in a statement, credited Turner, the highest-ranking Black person he’s yet selected for his administration, with “helping to lead an Unprecedented Effort that Transformed our Country’s most distressed communities.” Sean Duffy is a former House member from Wisconsin who was one of Trump's most visible defenders on cable news. Duffy served in the House for nearly nine years, sitting on the Financial Services Committee and chairing the subcommittee on insurance and housing. He left Congress in 2019 for a TV career and has been the host of “The Bottom Line” on Fox Business. Before entering politics, Duffy was a reality TV star on MTV, where he met his wife, “Fox and Friends Weekend” co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy. They have nine children. A campaign donor and CEO of Denver-based Liberty Energy, Write is a vocal advocate of oil and gas development, including fracking — a key pillar of Trump’s quest to achieve U.S. “energy dominance” in the global market. Wright also has been one of the industry’s loudest voices against efforts to fight climate change. He said the climate movement around the world is “collapsing under its own weight.” The Energy Department is responsible for advancing energy, environmental and nuclear security of the United States. Wright also won support from influential conservatives, including oil and gas tycoon Harold Hamm. Hamm, executive chairman of Oklahoma-based Continental Resources, a major shale oil company, is a longtime Trump supporter and adviser who played a key role on energy issues in Trump’s first term. President-elect Donald Trump tapped billionaire professional wrestling mogul Linda McMahon to be secretary of the Education Department, tasked with overseeing an agency Trump promised to dismantle. McMahon led the Small Business Administration during Trump’s initial term from 2017 to 2019 and twice ran unsuccessfully as a Republican for the U.S. Senate in Connecticut. She’s seen as a relative unknown in education circles, though she expressed support for charter schools and school choice. She served on the Connecticut Board of Education for a year starting in 2009 and has spent years on the board of trustees for Sacred Heart University in Connecticut. Brooke Rollins, who graduated from Texas A&M University with a degree in agricultural development, is a longtime Trump associate who served as White House domestic policy chief during his first presidency. The 52-year-old is president and CEO of the America First Policy Institute, a group helping to lay the groundwork for a second Trump administration. She previously served as an aide to former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and ran a think tank, the Texas Public Policy Foundation. Trump chose Howard Lutnick, head of brokerage and investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald and a cryptocurrency enthusiast, as his nominee for commerce secretary, a position in which he'd have a key role in carrying out Trump's plans to raise and enforce tariffs. Trump made the announcement Tuesday on his social media platform, Truth Social. Lutnick is a co-chair of Trump’s transition team, along with Linda McMahon, the former wrestling executive who previously led Trump’s Small Business Administration. Both are tasked with putting forward candidates for key roles in the next administration. The nomination would put Lutnick in charge of a sprawling Cabinet agency that is involved in funding new computer chip factories, imposing trade restrictions, releasing economic data and monitoring the weather. It is also a position in which connections to CEOs and the wider business community are crucial. Doug Collins is a former Republican congressman from Georgia who gained recognition for defending Trump during his first impeachment trial, which centered on U.S. assistance for Ukraine. Trump was impeached for urging Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden in 2019 during the Democratic presidential nomination, but he was acquitted by the Senate. Collins has also served in the armed forces himself and is currently a chaplain in the United States Air Force Reserve Command. "We must take care of our brave men and women in uniform, and Doug will be a great advocate for our Active Duty Servicemembers, Veterans, and Military Families to ensure they have the support they need," Trump said in a statement about nominating Collins to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs. Karoline Leavitt, 27, was Trump's campaign press secretary and currently a spokesperson for his transition. She would be the youngest White House press secretary in history. The White House press secretary typically serves as the public face of the administration and historically has held daily briefings for the press corps. Leavitt, a New Hampshire native, was a spokesperson for MAGA Inc., a super PAC supporting Trump, before joining his 2024 campaign. In 2022, she ran for Congress in New Hampshire, winning a 10-way Republican primary before losing to Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas. Leavitt worked in the White House press office during Trump's first term before she became communications director for New York Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik, Trump's choice for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard has been tapped by Trump to be director of national intelligence, keeping with the trend to stock his Cabinet with loyal personalities rather than veteran professionals in their requisite fields. Gabbard, 43, was a Democratic House member who unsuccessfully sought the party's 2020 presidential nomination before leaving the party in 2022. She endorsed Trump in August and campaigned often with him this fall. “I know Tulsi will bring the fearless spirit that has defined her illustrious career to our Intelligence Community,” Trump said in a statement. Gabbard, who has served in the Army National Guard for more than two decades, deploying to Iraq and Kuwait, would come to the role as somewhat of an outsider compared to her predecessor. The current director, Avril Haines, was confirmed by the Senate in 2021 following several years in a number of top national security and intelligence positions. Trump has picked John Ratcliffe, a former Texas congressman who served as director of national intelligence during his first administration, to be director of the Central Intelligence Agency in his next. Ratcliffe was director of national intelligence during the final year and a half of Trump's first term, leading the U.S. government's spy agencies during the coronavirus pandemic. “I look forward to John being the first person ever to serve in both of our Nation's highest Intelligence positions,” Trump said in a statement, calling him a “fearless fighter for the Constitutional Rights of all Americans” who would ensure “the Highest Levels of National Security, and PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH.” Trump has chosen former New York Rep. Lee Zeldin to serve as his pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency . Zeldin does not appear to have any experience in environmental issues, but is a longtime supporter of the former president. The 44-year-old former U.S. House member from New York wrote on X , “We will restore US energy dominance, revitalize our auto industry to bring back American jobs, and make the US the global leader of AI.” “We will do so while protecting access to clean air and water,” he added. During his campaign, Trump often attacked the Biden administration's promotion of electric vehicles, and incorrectly referring to a tax credit for EV purchases as a government mandate. Trump also often told his audiences during the campaign his administration would “Drill, baby, drill,” referring to his support for expanded petroleum exploration. In a statement, Trump said Zeldin “will ensure fair and swift deregulatory decisions that will be enacted in a way to unleash the power of American businesses, while at the same time maintaining the highest environmental standards, including the cleanest air and water on the planet.” Trump has named Brendan Carr, the senior Republican on the Federal Communications Commission, as the new chairman of the agency tasked with regulating broadcasting, telecommunications and broadband. Carr is a longtime member of the commission and served previously as the FCC’s general counsel. He has been unanimously confirmed by the Senate three times and was nominated by both Trump and President Joe Biden to the commission. Carr made past appearances on “Fox News Channel," including when he decried Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris' pre-Election Day appearance on “Saturday Night Live.” He wrote an op-ed last month defending a satellite company owned by Trump supporter Elon Musk. Rep. Elise Stefanik is a representative from New York and one of Trump's staunchest defenders going back to his first impeachment. Elected to the House in 2014, Stefanik was selected by her GOP House colleagues as House Republican Conference chair in 2021, when former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney was removed from the post after publicly criticizing Trump for falsely claiming he won the 2020 election. Stefanik, 40, has served in that role ever since as the third-ranking member of House leadership. Stefanik’s questioning of university presidents over antisemitism on their campuses helped lead to two of those presidents resigning, further raising her national profile. If confirmed, she would represent American interests at the U.N. as Trump vows to end the war waged by Russia against Ukraine begun in 2022. He has also called for peace as Israel continues its offensive against Hamas in Gaza and its invasion of Lebanon to target Hezbollah. President-elect Donald Trump says he's chosen former acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker to serve as U.S. ambassador to NATO. Trump has expressed skepticism about the Western military alliance for years. Trump said in a statement Wednesday that Whitaker is “a strong warrior and loyal Patriot” who “will ensure the United States’ interests are advanced and defended” and “strengthen relationships with our NATO Allies, and stand firm in the face of threats to Peace and Stability.” The choice of Whitaker as the nation’s representative to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is an unusual one, given his background is as a lawyer and not in foreign policy. A Republican congressman from Michigan who served from 1993 to 2011, Hoekstra was ambassador to the Netherlands during Trump's first term. “In my Second Term, Pete will help me once again put AMERICA FIRST,” Trump said in a statement announcing his choice. “He did an outstanding job as United States Ambassador to the Netherlands during our first four years, and I am confident that he will continue to represent our Country well in this new role.” Trump will nominate former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee to be ambassador to Israel. Huckabee is a staunch defender of Israel and his intended nomination comes as Trump has promised to align U.S. foreign policy more closely with Israel's interests as it wages wars against the Iran-backed Hamas and Hezbollah. “He loves Israel, and likewise the people of Israel love him,” Trump said in a statement. “Mike will work tirelessly to bring about peace in the Middle East.” Huckabee, who ran unsuccessfully for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008 and 2016, has been a popular figure among evangelical Christian conservatives, many of whom support Israel due to Old Testament writings that Jews are God’s chosen people and that Israel is their rightful homeland. Trump has been praised by some in this important Republican voting bloc for moving the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Trump on Tuesday named real estate investor Steven Witkoff to be special envoy to the Middle East. The 67-year-old Witkoff is the president-elect's golf partner and was golfing with him at Trump's club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sept. 15, when the former president was the target of a second attempted assassination. Witkoff “is a Highly Respected Leader in Business and Philanthropy,” Trump said of Witkoff in a statement. “Steve will be an unrelenting Voice for PEACE, and make us all proud." Trump also named Witkoff co-chair, with former Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler, of his inaugural committee. Trump said Wednesday that he will nominate Gen. Keith Kellogg to serve as assistant to the president and special envoy for Ukraine and Russia. Kellogg, a retired Army lieutenant general who has long been Trump’s top adviser on defense issues, served as National Security Advisor to Trump's former Vice President Mike Pence. For the America First Policy Institute, one of several groups formed after Trump left office to help lay the groundwork for the next Republican administration, Kellogg in April wrote that “bringing the Russia-Ukraine war to a close will require strong, America First leadership to deliver a peace deal and immediately end the hostilities between the two warring parties.” (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib) Trump asked Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Fla., a retired Army National Guard officer and war veteran, to be his national security adviser, Trump announced in a statement Tuesday. The move puts Waltz in the middle of national security crises, ranging from efforts to provide weapons to Ukraine and worries about the growing alliance between Russia and North Korea to the persistent attacks in the Middle East by Iran proxies and the push for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas and Hezbollah. “Mike has been a strong champion of my America First Foreign Policy agenda,” Trump's statement said, "and will be a tremendous champion of our pursuit of Peace through Strength!” Waltz is a three-term GOP congressman from east-central Florida. He served multiple tours in Afghanistan and also worked in the Pentagon as a policy adviser when Donald Rumsfeld and Robert Gates were defense chiefs. He is considered hawkish on China, and called for a U.S. boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing due to its involvement in the origin of COVID-19 and its mistreatment of the minority Muslim Uighur population. Stephen Miller, an immigration hardliner , was a vocal spokesperson during the presidential campaign for Trump's priority of mass deportations. The 39-year-old was a senior adviser during Trump's first administration. Miller has been a central figure in some of Trump's policy decisions, notably his move to separate thousands of immigrant families. Trump argued throughout the campaign that the nation's economic, national security and social priorities could be met by deporting people who are in the United States illegally. Since Trump left office in 2021, Miller has served as the president of America First Legal, an organization made up of former Trump advisers aimed at challenging the Biden administration, media companies, universities and others over issues such as free speech and national security. Thomas Homan, 62, has been tasked with Trump’s top priority of carrying out the largest deportation operation in the nation’s history. Homan, who served under Trump in his first administration leading U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, was widely expected to be offered a position related to the border, an issue Trump made central to his campaign. Though Homan has insisted such a massive undertaking would be humane, he has long been a loyal supporter of Trump's policy proposals, suggesting at a July conference in Washington that he would be willing to "run the biggest deportation operation this country’s ever seen.” Democrats have criticized Homan for his defending Trump's “zero tolerance” policy on border crossings during his first administration, which led to the separation of thousands of parents and children seeking asylum at the border. Dr. Mehmet Oz, 64, is a former heart surgeon who hosted “The Dr. Oz Show,” a long-running daytime television talk show. He ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate as the Republican nominee in 2022 and is an outspoken supporter of Trump, who endorsed Oz's bid for elected office. Elon Musk, left, and Vivek Ramaswamy speak before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at an Oct. 27 campaign rally at Madison Square Garden in New York. Trump on Tuesday said Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Ramaswamy will lead a new “Department of Government Efficiency" — which is not, despite the name, a government agency. The acronym “DOGE” is a nod to Musk's favorite cryptocurrency, dogecoin. Trump said Musk and Ramaswamy will work from outside the government to offer the White House “advice and guidance” and will partner with the Office of Management and Budget to “drive large scale structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach to Government never seen before.” He added the move would shock government systems. It's not clear how the organization will operate. Musk, owner of X and CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has been a constant presence at Mar-a-Lago since Trump won the presidential election. Ramaswamy suspended his campaign in January and threw his support behind Trump. Trump said the two will “pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies.” Russell Vought held the position during Trump’s first presidency. After Trump’s initial term ended, Vought founded the Center for Renewing America, a think tank that describes its mission as “renew a consensus of America as a nation under God.” Vought was closely involved with Project 2025, a conservative blueprint for Trump’s second term that he tried to distance himself from during the campaign. Vought has also previously worked as the executive and budget director for the Republican Study Committee, a caucus for conservative House Republicans. He also worked at Heritage Action, the political group tied to The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. Dan Scavino, deputy chief of staff Scavino, whom Trump's transition referred to in a statement as one of “Trump's longest serving and most trusted aides,” was a senior adviser to Trump's 2024 campaign, as well as his 2016 and 2020 campaigns. He will be deputy chief of staff and assistant to the president. Scavino had run Trump's social media profile in the White House during his first administration. He was also held in contempt of Congress in 2022 after a month-long refusal to comply with a subpoena from the House committee’s investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. James Blair, deputy chief of staff Blair was political director for Trump's 2024 campaign and for the Republican National Committee. He will be deputy chief of staff for legislative, political and public affairs and assistant to the president. Blair was key to Trump's economic messaging during his winning White House comeback campaign this year, a driving force behind the candidate's “Trump can fix it” slogan and his query to audiences this fall if they were better off than four years ago. Taylor Budowich, deputy chief of staff Budowich is a veteran Trump campaign aide who launched and directed Make America Great Again, Inc., a super PAC that supported Trump's 2024 campaign. He will be deputy chief of staff for communications and personnel and assistant to the president. Budowich also had served as a spokesman for Trump after his presidency. William McGinley, White House counsel McGinley was White House Cabinet secretary during Trump's first administration, and was outside legal counsel for the Republican National Committee's election integrity effort during the 2024 campaign. In a statement, Trump called McGinley “a smart and tenacious lawyer who will help me advance our America First agenda, while fighting for election integrity and against the weaponization of law enforcement.” Jay Bhattacharya, National Institutes of Health Trump has chosen Dr. Jay Bhattacharya to lead the National Institutes of Health. Bhattacharya is a physician and professor at Stanford University School of Medicine, and is a critic of pandemic lockdowns and vaccine mandates. He promoted the idea of herd immunity during the pandemic, arguing that people at low risk should live normally while building up immunity to COVID-19 through infection. The National Institutes of Health funds medical research through competitive grants to researchers at institutions throughout the nation. NIH also conducts its own research with thousands of scientists working at its labs in Bethesda, Maryland. Jamieson Greer, U.S. trade representative Kevin Hassett, Director of the White House National Economic Council Trump is turning to two officials with experience navigating not only Washington but the key issues of income taxes and tariffs as he fills out his economic team. He announced he has chosen international trade attorney Jamieson Greer to be his U.S. trade representative and Kevin Hassett as director of the White House National Economic Council. While Trump has in several cases nominated outsiders to key posts, these picks reflect a recognition that his reputation will likely hinge on restoring the public’s confidence in the economy. Trump said in a statement that Greer was instrumental in his first term in imposing tariffs on China and others and replacing the trade agreement with Canada and Mexico, “therefore making it much better for American Workers.” Hassett, 62, served in the first Trump term as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers. He has a doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania and worked at the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute before joining the Trump White House in 2017. Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter.

Locally, Leading Tech Solution Bridging Online and Offline Retail, Announces First Omni-Seller Marketplace In Partnership with Trek BicycleNEW DELHI: Malaysian PM Anwar Ibrahim posted a poignant tribute to Dr Manmohan Singh on 'X' Friday, recalling the many kindnesses of "his cherished friend" when he, Anwar, was incarcerated, and describing him as "slightly awkward as a politician but undeniably upright, steadfast and resolute as a statesman", a man "whose legacy would inspire generations to come". Singh was "the midwife of India's emergence as one of the world's economic giants", Anwar wrote on 'X' as he bid goodbye, describing the late former PM as "my mitra, my bhai, Manmohan". He said he had the privilege of "witnessing the early years of these transformative polices first-hand" when they both served as finance ministers of their countries during the 1990s. "We shared a fervent commitment to the war against corruption - even collaborating to unravel a major case," Anwar wrote. Anwar said it was time for people to know why Singh, "as the Bard would have it", was a "man so full of the milk of human kindness". He recalled: "During the years of my incarceration , he extended a kindness that he didn't have to - one that was neither politically expedient nor, as one can imagine, appreciated by the Malaysian govt at that time. Yet, true to his character, he did it anyway. He offered scholarships for my children, particularly my son, Ihsan." He said though he had declined the offer, "such a gesture undoubtedly showed his extraordinary humanity and generosity..." "In those dark days, as I navigated the labyrinth of imprisonment, he stood by me as a true friend. Such acts of quiet magnanimity defined him, and they will remain etched in my heart forever," Anwar, who was imprisoned 1999-2004, wrote. Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India . Don't miss daily games like Crossword , Sudoku , Location Guesser and Mini Crossword .

UnitedHealth Group Inc. stock rises Tuesday, still underperforms market

NoneLONDON (AP) — Brighton had most of the chances but could not find the net in a 0-0 draw with Brentford that extended the south coast club’s winless run in the Premier League to six games on Friday. Read this article for free: Already have an account? To continue reading, please subscribe: * LONDON (AP) — Brighton had most of the chances but could not find the net in a 0-0 draw with Brentford that extended the south coast club’s winless run in the Premier League to six games on Friday. Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? LONDON (AP) — Brighton had most of the chances but could not find the net in a 0-0 draw with Brentford that extended the south coast club’s winless run in the Premier League to six games on Friday. It was a frustrating night for the home side and especially Julio Enciso. The Paraguay striker had a host of opportunities to score but couldn’t make them count. Along with Southampton, Brentford has the worst away record in the league with seven losses and two draws and it was easy to see why in this toothless performance. Brentford had an early goal from Yoane Wissa ruled out for offside and, although it came a bit more into the game in the second half, it failed to pressure Icelandic goalkeeper Hakon Valdimarsson, who made his Premier League debut eight minutes before halftime when Mark Flekken went off with a thigh injury. One bright spot for the home side was the return of winger Solly March. He came on as a late substitute to make his first appearance for Brighton since injuring a knee against Manchester City 14 months ago. The result leaves Brighton in 10th place with 26 points, one spot and two points ahead of the Bees. Arsenal was hosting Ipswich in Friday’s other game in the Premier League, Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. ___ AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer Advertisement

Mexico stocks lower at close of trade; S&P/BMV IPC down 0.98%GENEVA (AP) — World Cup sponsor Bank of America teamed with FIFA for a second time Tuesday, signing for the Club World Cup that still has no broadcast deals just over six months before games start. Bank of America became FIFA’s first global banking partner in August and sealed a separate deal for a second event also being played in the United States, two days before the group-stage draw in Miami for the revamped 32-team club event . It features recent European champions Real Madrid, Manchester City and Chelsea. “FIFA is going to take America by storm and we’re going to be right at their side,” the bank’s head of marketing, David Tyrie, said in a telephone interview Tuesday. Bank of America joins 2026 World Cup sponsors Hisense and Budweiser brewer AB InBev in separately also backing the club event, and more deals are expected after Saudi Arabia is confirmed next week as the 2034 World Cup host. While games at the next World Cup, co-hosted with Canada and Mexico, will be watched by hundreds of millions globally mostly on free-to-air public networks, the Club World Cup broadcast picture is unclear. FIFA has promised hundreds of millions of dollars in prize money for the 32 clubs to share but is yet to announce any broadcast deals for the month-long tournament. It is expected to land on a streaming service. “You have to think about how you are going to connect with these fans,” Tyrie told the Associated Press from Boston. “TV is one, sure, social media is a big avenue. “The smart marketing capabilities are able to say ‘Hey, we need to tilt this one a little bit more away from TV-type marketing into social-type marketing.’ We have got a pretty decent strategy that we’re putting in place to do activation.” Engaging Bank of America’s customers and 250,000 employees are key to that strategy, Tyrie said. “It’s going to be for our clients, and entertainment, it’s going to be for our employees in creating excitement. All of the above.” The Club World Cup will be played in 12 stadiums across 11 cities, including Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C, and Lumen Field where the hometown Seattle Sounders play three group-stage games. European powers Madrid, Man City and Bayern Munich lead a 12-strong European challenge. Teams qualified by winning continental titles or posting consistently good results across four years of those competitions. The exception is Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami, who FIFA gave the entry reserved for a host nation team in October based on regular season record without waiting for the MLS Cup final. LA Galaxy hosts New York Red Bulls playing for that national title Saturday. Messi’s team opens the FIFA tournament June 15 in the Miami Dolphins’ Hard Rock Stadium and will play its three group games in Florida. “The more brand players you bring in, the bigger the following you have got,” Tyrie acknowledged, though adding Messi being involved was “not a make or break for the event.” The Club World Cup final is July 13 at Met Life Stadium near New York, which also will host the World Cup final one year later. AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

ATLANTA — A judge is weighing whether a Georgia state Senate committee has the right to subpoena testimony and documents from Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis as it looks into whether she has engaged in misconduct during her prosecution of President-elect Donald Trump. The Republican-led committee sent subpoenas to Willis in August seeking to compel her to testify at its September meeting and to produce scores of documents. The committee was formed earlier this year to examine allegations of “various forms of misconduct” by Willis, an elected Democrat, during her prosecution of Trump and others over their efforts to overturn the former president’s 2020 election loss in Georgia. Willis’ attorney, former Democratic Gov. Roy Barnes, told Fulton County Superior Court Judge Shukura Ingram during a hearing Tuesday that although the Georgia General Assembly has subpoena power, that power is not automatically conferred on a single legislative chamber or its committees. Even if the committee did have such power, he argued, the subpoenas in question are overly broad and not related to a legitimate legislative need. Barnes said the focus on Willis and her investigation into Trump shows that the committee was politically motivated and not a legitimate inquiry into the practices of district attorneys’ offices: “What they were trying to do is chill the prosecution of Donald Trump and find out what they had.” Josh Belinfante, a lawyer representing the lawmakers, said there is nothing in the Georgia Constitution that prohibits the Senate from issuing a subpoena. The duly formed interim committee is looking into whether new legislation is needed to regulate the practices of district attorneys’ offices in the state, he argued. “They are investigating and making an inquiry into these allegations that may show that existing state laws, including those establishing the processes for selecting, hiring and compensating special assistant district attorneys, are inadequate,” Belinfante said. The resolution creating the committee focused in particular on Willis’ hiring of special prosecutor Nathan Wade , with whom she had a romantic relationship , to lead the prosecution against Trump and others. It says the relationship amounted to a “clear conflict of interest and a fraud upon the taxpayers” of the county and state. One of the committee’s subpoenas orders Wills to produce documents related to Wade, including documents related to his hiring and payment, documents related to money or items of value that Wade and Willis may have exchanged, text messages and emails between the two, and their phone records. The committee also requested any documents her office sent in response to requests from the U.S. House, as well as communications Willis and her office had with the White House, the U.S. Justice Department and the House relating to the 2020 presidential election. And they asked for documents related to federal grant money Willis’ office has received. Before the deadlines in the subpoenas, Willis challenged them in court. Willis’ challenge was pending in mid-September when she skipped a hearing during which the committee members had hoped to question her. In October, the committee asked Ingram to require Willis to comply with the subpoenas. The committee’s lawyers wrote in a court filing that Willis’ failure to do so had delayed its ability to finish its inquiry and to provide recommendations for any legislation or changes in appropriations that might result. Barnes also argued that once the regular legislative session has adjourned, which happened in March this year, legislative committees can meet to study issues and come up with recommendations but do not have the power to compel someone to appear or produce documents. Belinfante rejected that, saying the state Constitution expressly permits the creation of interim committees and allows them to make their rules. Even if these subpoenas were validly issued, Barnes argued, they ask for too much, including private and personal information that is not a legitimate target of a legislative subpoena. Belinfante said the lawmakers are simply trying to do their jobs. He asked that Willis be ordered to appear before the committee in early January. He also asked that she be ordered to provide the requested documents and explain what privilege justifies any that are excluded. With a glaring lack of state case law on the issue of the General Assembly’s subpoena power, that’s one issue Ingram will have to address. She said she will consider the arguments and release her order as soon as she can. Willis and Wade have acknowledged that they had a relationship but have said it began after he was hired and ended before the indictment against Trump was filed. Trump and other defendants argued that the relationship created a conflict of interest that should disqualify Willis and her office from continuing with her prosecution of the case. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee ruled in March that Willis’ actions showed a “tremendous lapse in judgment,” but he did not find a conflict of interest that would disqualify Willis. He said she could continue her prosecution as long as Wade stepped aside, which he did. Trump and others have appealed that ruling to the Georgia Court of Appeals, and that appeal remains pending.