Colman Domingo Details Why ‘The Madness’ Is a Drama for Today’s Era of Media Feeding FrenziesIt’s a daunting reality for Democrats: Republican Donald Trump's support has grown broadly since he last sought the presidency. In his defeat of Democrat Kamala Harris , Trump won a bigger percentage of the vote in each one of the 50 states, and Washington, D.C., than he did four years ago. He won more actual votes than in 2020 in 40 states, according to an Associated Press analysis. Certainly, Harris’ more than 7 million vote decline from President Joe Biden’s 2020 total was a factor in her loss, especially in swing-state metropolitan areas that have been the party’s winning electoral strongholds. But, despite national turnout that was lower than in the high-enthusiasm 2020 election, Trump received 2.5 million more votes than he did four years ago. He swept the seven most competitive states to win a convincing Electoral College victory, becoming the first Republican nominee in 20 years to win a majority of the popular vote. Trump cut into places where Harris needed to overperform to win a close election. Now Democrats are weighing how to regain traction ahead of the midterm elections in two years, when control of Congress will again be up for grabs and dozens of governors elected. There were some notable pieces to how Trump's victory came together: Trump took a bite in Northern metros Though Trump improved across the map, his gains were particularly noteworthy in urban counties home to the cities of Detroit, Milwaukee and Philadelphia, electoral engines that stalled for Harris in industrial swing states Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. Harris fell more than 50,000 votes — and 5 percentage points — short of Biden's total in Wayne County, Michigan, which makes up the lion's share of the Detroit metro area. She was almost 36,000 votes off Biden's mark in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, and about 1,000 short in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. It wasn't only Harris' shortfall that helped Trump carry the states, a trio that Democrats had collectively carried in six of the seven previous elections before Nov. 5. Trump added to his 2020 totals in all three metro counties, netting more than 24,000 votes in Wayne County, more than 11,000 in Philadelphia County and almost 4,000 in Milwaukee County. It’s not yet possible to determine whether Harris fell short of Biden’s performance because Biden voters stayed home or switched their vote to Trump — or how some combination of the two produced the rightward drift evident in each of these states. Harris advertised heavily and campaigned regularly in each, and made Milwaukee County her first stop as a candidate with a rally in July. These swings alone were not the difference in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, but her weaker performance than Biden across the three metros helped Trump, who held on to big 2020 margins in the three states' broad rural areas and improved or held steady in populous suburbs. Trump's team and outside groups supporting him knew from their data that he was making inroads with Black voters, particularly Black men younger than 50, more concentrated in these urban areas that have been key to Democratic victories. When James Blair, Trump's political director, saw results coming in from Philadelphia on election night, he knew Trump had cut into the more predominantly Black precincts, a gain that would echo in Wayne and Milwaukee counties. “The data made clear there was an opportunity there,” Blair said. AP VoteCast, a nationwide survey of more than 120,000 voters, found Trump won a larger share of Black and Latino voters than he did in 2020, and most notably among men under age 45. Democrats won Senate races in Michigan and Wisconsin but lost in Pennsylvania. In 2026, they will be defending governorships in all three states and a Senate seat in Michigan. Trump gained more than Harris in battlegrounds Despite the burst of enthusiasm Harris' candidacy created among the Democratic base when she entered the race in July, she ended up receiving fewer votes than Biden in three of the seven states where she campaigned almost exclusively. In Arizona, she received about 90,000 fewer votes than Biden. She received about 67,000 fewer in Michigan and 39,000 fewer in Pennsylvania. In four others — Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina and Wisconsin — Harris won more votes than Biden did. But Trump's support grew by more — in some states, significantly more. That dynamic is glaring in Georgia, where Harris received almost 73,000 more votes than Biden did when he very narrowly carried the state. But Trump added more than 200,000 to his 2020 total, en route to winning Georgia by roughly 2 percentage points. In Wisconsin, Trump's team reacted to slippage it saw in GOP-leaning counties in suburban Milwaukee by targeting once-Democratic-leaning, working-class areas, where Trump made notable gains. In the three largest suburban Milwaukee counties — Ozaukee, Washington and Waukesha — which have formed the backbone of GOP victories for decades, Harris performed better than Biden did in 2020. She also gained more votes than Trump gained over 2020, though he still won the counties. That made Trump's focus on Rock County, a blue-collar area in south central Wisconsin, critical. Trump received 3,084 more votes in Rock County, home of the former automotive manufacturing city of Janesville, than he did in 2020, while Harris underperformed Biden's 2020 total by seven votes. That helped Trump offset Harris' improvement in Milwaukee's suburbs. The focus speaks to the strength Trump has had and continued to grow with middle-income, non-college educated voters, the Trump campaign's senior data analyst Tim Saler said. “If you're going to have to lean into working-class voters, they are particularly strong in Wisconsin,” Saler said. “We saw huge shifts from 2020 to 2024 in our favor.” Trump boosted 2020 totals as Arizona turnout dipped Of the seven most competitive states, Arizona saw the smallest increase in the number of votes cast in the presidential contest — slightly more than 4,000 votes, in a state with more than 3.3 million ballots cast. That was despite nearly 30 campaign visits to Arizona by Trump, Harris and their running mates and more than $432 million spent on advertising by the campaigns and allied outside groups, according to the ad-monitoring firm AdImpact. Arizona, alone of the seven swing states, saw Harris fall short of Biden across small, midsize and large counties. In the other six states, she was able to hold on in at least one of these categories. Even more telling, it is also the only swing state where Trump improved his margin in every single county. While turnout in Maricopa County, Arizona's most populous as the home to Phoenix, dipped slightly from 2020 — by 14,199 votes, a tiny change in a county where more than 2 million people voted — Trump gained almost 56,000 more votes than four years ago. Meanwhile, Harris fell more than 60,000 votes short of Biden's total, contributing to a shift significant enough to swing the county and state to Trump, who lost Arizona by fewer than 11,000 votes in 2020. Rightward shift even in heavily Democratic areas The biggest leaps to the right weren't taking place exclusively among Republican-leaning counties, but also among the most Democratic-leaning counties in the states. Michigan's Wayne County swung 9 points toward Trump, tying the more Republican-leaning Antrim County for the largest movement in the state. AP VoteCast found that voters were most likely to say the economy was the most important issue facing the country in 2024, followed by immigration. Trump supporters were more motivated by economic issues and immigration than Harris', the survey showed. “It’s still all about the economy," said North Carolina Democratic strategist Morgan Jackson, a senior adviser to Democrat Josh Stein, who won North Carolina’s governorship on Nov. 5 as Trump also carried the state. “Democrats have to embrace an economic message that actually works for real people and talk about it in the kind of terms that people get, rather than giving them a dissertation of economic policy,” he said. Governor’s elections in 2026 give Democrats a chance to test their understanding and messaging on the issue, said Democratic pollster Margie Omero, whose firm has advised Wisconsin’s Democratic Gov. Tony Evers in the past and winning Arizona Senate candidate Ruben Gallego this year. “So there’s an opportunity to really make sure people, who governors have a connection to, are feeling some specificity and clarity with the Democratic economic message,” Omero said.jili free 58 。

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DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 18, 2024-- In a move designed to support healthcare practices in maintaining their autonomy and ensuring financial sustainability, IKS Health, a provider of care enablement platforms, today announced a new partnership with Western Washington Medical Group, a prominent multi-specialty healthcare organization in Washington State. This collaboration aims to streamline revenue cycle related processes, enabling the medical group to focus more on patient care while reducing administrative burdens and improving operational efficiency. The announced partnership aims to improve revenue cycle operations at Western Washington Medical Group, and will subsequently improve patient access and elevate the overall patient experience. This collaboration underscores WWMG’s commitment to prioritizing optimal care delivery by leveraging IKS Health’s expertise in efficient and scalable multi-specialty medical group operations. Through this strategic partnership, WWMG aims to streamline processes, reduce administrative burdens, and ensure that its healthcare professionals can dedicate more time to patients. By integrating IKS Health’s advanced technologies and skilled professionals, WWMG is positioned to enhance care quality while delivering improvements to financial outcomes that will allow them to continue to invest in growing the organization. "Partnering with IKS will enable WWMG to significantly enhance our revenue cycle operations AND improve patient care and access. This strategic decision will help WWMG's providers focus on what we do best: delivering exceptional patient care.” said Dr. David Russian, CEO of Western Washington Medical Group. IKS Health’s solutions improve patient access through faster administrative processing, enhance efficiency with advanced tools that reduce errors and minimize claim denials, and alleviate administrative burdens by freeing resources for patient care. With round-the-clock support, IKS accelerates task completion and reimbursement to benefit both patients and providers. “We are excited to partner with Western Washington Medical Group,” said Sachin Gupta, CEO of IKS Health. “Our collaborative approach will enable WWMG to remain independent and continue to grow, while providing excellent patient care in a way that is scalable and financially sustainable.” This partnership reflects IKS Health’s dedication to empowering healthcare organizations with tailored solutions that prioritize patient outcomes and address today’s operational challenges. About Western Washington Medical Group Western Washington Medical Group (WWMG) is a team of over 100 providers in 20+ specialty areas serving patients and their families in the north Puget Sound region of Washington State. Their providers are owners of the company, and they live and work in the communities that they serve. For over 30 years, it's been WWMG’s mission to provide clinicians the freedom to practice medicine with compassion, in the best interest of their patients and community. Learn more at www.wwmedgroup.com About IKS Health IKS Health takes on the chores of healthcare—spanning administrative, clinical, and operational burdens—so that clinicians can focus on their core tasks of care delivery. Combining pragmatic technology and dedicated experts, IKS enables stronger, financially sustainable enterprises. IKS’s Care Enablement Platform delivers data-driven value and expertise across the care journey, and IKS is a partner for clinician enterprises looking to effectively scale, improve quality and achieve cost savings through forward-thinking solutions. Founded in 2006, IKS’s technology-enabled solutions and global workforce supports large health systems, medical groups and risk bearing entities across the United States. For more information, visit ikshealth.com . Inventurus Knowledge Solutions Limited is proposing, subject to receipt of requisite approvals, market conditions and other considerations, to make an initial public offer of its equity shares, and has filed a prospectus dated December 16, 2024, (“ Prospectus ”) with the Registrar of Companies, Maharashtra at Mumbai. The Prospectus is available on the website of SEBI at www.sebi.gov.in as well as on the websites of the Company at https://www.ikshealth.com , book running lead managers, ICICI Securities Limited, JM Financial Limited, J.P. Morgan India Private Limited, Jefferies India Private Limited and Nomura Financial Advisory and Securities (India) Private Limited, at https://www.icicisecurities.com , https://www.jmfl.com/ , www.jpmipl.com , www.jefferies.com and https://www.nomuraholdings.com/company/group/asia/nfaspl.html respectively, and the websites of the stock exchange(s) at www.nseindia.com and www.bseindia.com , respectively. Any potential investor should note that investment in equity shares involves a high degree of risk and for details relating to such risk, see “ Risk Factors ” of the Prospectus, when available. Potential investors should not rely on the DRHP for any investment decision. View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241218349024/en/ CONTACT: Sarah Bennight SVP Marketing sarah.bennight@ikshealth.com KEYWORD: TEXAS NORTH AMERICA UNITED STATES ASIA PACIFIC INDIA CANADA INDUSTRY KEYWORD: SOFTWARE GENERAL HEALTH ACCOUNTING PROFESSIONAL SERVICES FINTECH APPS/APPLICATIONS TECHNOLOGY HOSPITALS HEALTH TECHNOLOGY HEALTH INSURANCE PRACTICE MANAGEMENT HEALTH SOURCE: IKS Health Copyright Business Wire 2024. PUB: 12/18/2024 03:35 PM/DISC: 12/18/2024 03:33 PM http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241218349024/en

AUDI has unveiled its new logo with major changes a mere few days after Jaguar was slammed over the "woke" EV rebrand. The car brand has divided drivers through its launch of a new sub-brand which gets rid of the iconic four rings logo. The German premium vehicle manufacturer has announced a new partnership with SAIC - a Chinese motoring giant. This collaboration is to sell a separate range of Audi models within the market. The sub-brands first reveal shows the model featuring a brand new logo - not with four rings. China has the largest new car market worldwide with around 26 million models sold in 2023 - and Gernot Döllner, CEO of Audi, has shared his excitement for the sub-brand. He said: "The automotive industry is undergoing the largest transformation in its history. "With our partnerships in China, we are playing a decisive role in this transformation." Audi are very familiar with the car market in China, having sold its cars there since 1988 after beginning a contract with First Automobile Works (FAW). Here they became the first company to import luxury cars to the brand. Now the new Audi sub-brand looks to sell unique models with its design to younger motorists. The company pointed out the additional driver-assistance technology in comparison to models in Europe as China is currently enforcing fewer restrictions on autonomous vehicles. But the new models are missing the iconic four ring logo that first popped up in 1932 and instead have 'Audi' written across the front. The rings were originally used by Auto Union and were to represent the four German car brands Audi, Chemnitz, DKW and Horch who were all in an alliance at the time. Users took to Reddit to express their thoughts on the new Audi look in China. One user said: "Honestly? This is hilarious. It's one of those things that make you believe the simulation is real and the creator is going for maximum silliness. "Next week: Mercedes launches 'MERCEDES'." Another commented: "China is a different market. There's an Audi A7 L there. I guess Audi China knows what it is doing. "In my opinion, it looks exactly like one of those new Chinese electric car brands without personality in their designs." Meanwhile a 'new' classic Jaguar has been unveiled with a roaring petrol engine - just days after the British firm's controversial re-brand ahead of its electric revolution. A monstrous version of Jag's iconic XJS model has been revealed for the first time, although the marque won't be the ones making it. Indeed, Berkshire-based car maker Tom Walkinshaw Racing, known as TWR, is the brains behind this very cool looking XJS Supercat. The limited-edition beast is a modernised take on the classic sports car, which Jaguar originally produced between 1975 and 1996. Widely considered one of the most famous Jags, some 115,413 XJS models rolled off production lines in that time - and today it's considered a mainstay at classic car shows. "Available to commission" now, the timing of the arrival of TWR's XJS Supercat couldn't have come at a more curious period in Jaguar's 102-year history, as the manufacturer is in the midst of one of motoring history’s most outrageous rebrands. This month, they began the first phase of their transition by putting a stop to all of their current models being sold in dealerships , with only the F-Pace to be carried over into 2025. This is because the firm is fully committed to going all-electric by next year, with a handful of brand new models to be released - including a four-door GT that's to be fully unveiled in concept form next week. They then sent ripples through the motoring world when they released a new logo along with a bizarre teaser video that received backlash on social media. By Jacob Jaffa, Motors Reporter What is being investigated? The FCA announced in January that it would investigate allegations of "widespread misconduct" related to discretionary commission agreements (DCAs) on car loans. When you buy a car on finance, you are effectively loaned the value of the car while you pay it off. These loans have interest payments charged on top of them and are often organised on behalf of lenders by brokers - usually the finance arm of a dealership . These brokers earn money in the form of commission - a percentage of the interest payments on the loan. DCAs allowed brokers to, to a certain extent, increase the interest rate on a loan, which in turn increased the amount of commission they received. The practice was banned by the FCA in 2021. Who is eligible for compensation? The FCA estimates that around 40% of car deals may have been affected before 2021. There are two criteria you must meet to have a chance at receiving compensation. First, you must be complaining in relation to a finance deal on a motor vehicle (including cars, vans, motorbikes and motorhomes) that was agreed before January 28 2021. Second, you must have bought the vehicle through a mechanism like Personal Contract Purchase (PCP) or Hire Purchase (HP), which make up the majority of finance deals and mean you own the vehicle at the end of the agreement. Drivers who leased a car through something like a Personal Contract Hire, where you give the car back at the end of the lease, are not eligible.

How a new DNC chair can help Democrats stage a comeback

The starts may not look like locks at first, but they should come through in Week 13. Conversely, I’ve included some players who might otherwise seem like safe plays to avoid as well. Quarterbacks Start: Sam Darnold, Vikings vs Cardinals Darnold had a rough patch a few weeks ago, but he’s back in good form, putting up five combined TDs in his past two games. Even against the Bears top-notch pass defense last week, Darnold threw for a season-high 330 yards to go along with his two scores. His opponent this week, the Cardinals, have a decent secondary, but they pale in comparison to Chicago’s. Other locks: —Jalen Hurts at Ravens —Baker Mayfield at Panthers —CJ Stroud at Jaguars —Justin Herbert at Falcons Avoid: Jared Goff, Lions vs Bears Goff doesn’t force the ball through the air if he doesn’t have to and he would be remiss to do so against a top rated Bears secondary that will be looking to vindicate themselves after giving up some big plays to Sam Darnold last week. He’s also got the best 1 and 2 punch in football in his backfield. Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery are a force and they’ll likely have a much easier time finding holes in Chicago’s run defense than Goff will in the passing game. Running backs Start: Chuba Hubbard, Panthers vs Buccaneers Hubbard fantasy owners were anxious last week, upon hearing the news that rookie running back Jonathon Brooks would be seeing his first game action this season. Fears were assuaged when Brooks only got two carries the entire game for 7 yards. Brooks’ carries could increase as he gets more comfortable in the offense, but Hubbard should have at least one more week as the starter in Carolina. It will come against a Buccaneers run defense that is a top-10 matchup for opposing runners in Week 13. Other locks: —Bucky Irving at Panthers —Jonathan Taylor at Patriots —Josh Jacobs vs Dolphins —Tyrone Tracy Jr., at Cowboys Avoid: James Conner, Cardinals at Vikings The Week 11 bye didn’t do Conner any favors as he only ran for 8 yards on seven carries in his Week 12 return. He was able to salvage his day through the air, catching five passes for 41 yards, but it was an underwhelming game from a fantasy perspective against the Seattle run defense. He’ll face a Vikings defense that ranks as a top-two run stopper going into Week 13 — Conner only gained 25 combined yards against Detroit’s top-three run defense in Week 2. Trey Benson is also gaining steam in the Arizona offense. It’s best to fade Conner this week, if you have that luxury. Wide receivers Start: DJ Moore, Bears at Lions Moore is finally starting to make waves again in fantasy, after slumping from Weeks 6 to 10. He’s had his best two-game stint of the season thus far in Weeks 11 and 12 though, going for a season-high 119 combined yards and a score in the latter game. New offensive coordinator Thomas Jones has sparked the offense and Moore has been a prime beneficiary. The Bears will have fits trying to run at the Lions’ stout run defense, so they could attack them through the air. Moore is a prime contender to keep up his recent run in Week 13. Other locks: —Ladd McConkey at Falcons —Puka Nacua at Saints —Jaxon Smith-Njigba at Jets —Jakobi Meyers at Chiefs Avoid: Quentin Johnston, Chargers vs Ravens Johnston is the definition of boom or bust, either scoring double-digit fantasy points or gaining fewer than 25 yards in nearly every game he’s appeared in this season. On "Monday Night Football," he had zero catches on five targets. Johnston has a great matchup this week, but there’s no guarantee he’ll capitalize on it. Johnston is anything but a lock this week. Tight ends Start: Luke Schoonmaker, Cowboys vs Giants Schoonmaker had three catches for 55 yards and a score against Washington in a thrilling game. Schoonmaker provided another dependable option to QB Cooper Rush. Jake Ferguson is still in concussion protocol and it’s a short week as Dallas is playing on Thanksgiving, so Schoonmaker is likely to start once again. With CeeDee Lamb nursing nagging injuries as well, look for Rush to lean heavily on Schoonmaker this week. Other locks: —Jonnu Smith at Packers —Trey McBride at Vikings —Taysom Hill vs Rams —Dallas Goedert at Ravens Avoid: Sam LaPorta, Lions vs Bears LaPorta just can’t find any consistency in the Detroit offense, going weeks between decent fantasy outings at times. He had just three catches for 19 yards in Week 12 after missing Week 11 with a shoulder injury and things aren’t looking up for him this week as the Lions are playing a stalwart Chicago defense on short rest. Look for the Lions to go run heavy this week, taking the onus off LaPorta and the rest of the Lions receiving group. ___ This column was provided to The Associated Press by RosterWatch, www.rosterwatch.com. Dorian Colbert Of Rosterwatch, The Associated PressNoneFamilies Seek Answers In Fatal Stabbings Of 2 Men Inside Florida Private Prison

SCHOOL NOTEBOOK | Common Table to use Lincoln Education Center in JanuaryMeet Smith at CES 2025 in Las Vegas

kk jili free 58 ( MENAFN - GetNews) [CA,United States, Dec 18th 2024] - Tedmos is proud to announce its new collection, which includes rechargeable puck lights, picture frame lights and ceiling lights. These innovative wireless lighting solutions offer superior performance and stylish aesthetics in every corner of your house. The new Tedmos products are equipped with powerful rechargeable batteries and fast charging technology. They also offer advanced features like customizable brightness and dynamic colour modes. Tedmos is known for creating lighting solutions which combine form and functionality. This new range of rechargeable light is no exception. Tedmos offers a wide range of products that will meet your needs, whether you want to illuminate your kitchen counter, illuminate your hallway, highlight an image frame, or brighten up your bathroom with hands-free technology. 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Marc-Andre Fleury’s game still blooms in new Wild roleATLANTA (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 afternoon, 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. The center said he died peacefully, surrounded by his family. As reaction poured in from around the world, President Joe Biden mourned Carter’s death, saying the world lost an “extraordinary leader, statesman and humanitarian” and he lost a dear friend. Biden cited Carter’s compassion and moral clarity, his work to eradicate disease, forge peace, advance civil and human rights, promote free and fair elections, house the homeless and advocacy for the disadvantaged as an example for others. “To all of the young people in this nation and for anyone in search of what it means to live a life of purpose and meaning – the good life – study Jimmy Carter, a man of principle, faith, and humility,” Biden said in a statement. “He showed that we are a great nation because we are a good people – decent and honorable, courageous and compassionate, humble and strong.” Biden said he is ordering a state funeral for Carter in Washington. 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.” Sanz is a former Associated Press reporter.

Trudeau told Trump Americans would also suffer if tariffs are imposed, a Canadian minister saysEarlier in 2024 a joint advisory was issued in the U.S. by the joint agencies responsible for security – FBI, CISA, and HHS. This was a warning the healthcare sector of BlackCat ransomware , following the group’s association with the Change Healthcare cyberattack. BlackCat, also known as ALPHV, is a ransomware code written in Rust. It first appeared in November 2021. The same name is applied to the threat actor who exploit it. How safe is healthcare now? To review the situation, Digital Journal heard from Andrew Costis, Chapter Lead of the Adversary Research Team at AttackIQ . To begin with Costis presents a reminder as to the key elements of the U.S. government security statement: “This advisory contains updates to the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) and indicators of compromise (IOCs) associated with BlackCat from a December advisory and the FBI’s FLASH alert from April 2022.” As to the actual threat agent, Costis summarises the risk as: “BlackCat, a Rust-based ransomware family first identified in November 2021, operates under a Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) model. The group was disrupted by FBI operations last December. After this takedown, BlackCat administrators urged affiliates to target hospitals and critical infrastructure.” BlackCat operates on a ransomware as a service (RaaS) model, with developers offering the malware for use by affiliates and taking a percentage of ransom payments. Threat actors who work with BlackCat seek to gain initial access to IT environments and user accounts. This can be achieved in a variety of ways, such as remote desktop protocols, compromised credentials, and exchange server vulnerabilities. Of the different risk areas, healthcare is the most vulnerable according to Costis: The healthcare sector has been the most commonly victimized out of the nearly 70 leaked victims. The cyberattack on Change Healthcare, the largest healthcare payment exchange platform, has significantly impacted pharmacies nationwide, prompting the adoption of electronic workarounds” The best options are for the healthcare sector to prioritize cybersecurity measures. Costis recommends: “The vast amount of sensitive patient data stored within healthcare systems makes these organizations a dangerous target for ransomware groups, with the potential for far-reaching consequences. These attacks can cripple organizational operations and, more importantly, compromise patient health and safety.” Furthermore, Costis advises: “Healthcare organizations must now prioritize validating their security controls against BlackCat’s TTPs as outlined in the joint advisory leveraging the MITRE ATT&CK framework. By emulating the behaviors exhibited by BlackCat, organizations can assess their security postures and pinpoint any vulnerabilities. This proactive approach is essential to mitigate the risk of future attacks.” Dr. Tim Sandle is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for science news.Tim specializes in science, technology, environmental, business, and health journalism. He is additionally a practising microbiologist; and an author. He is also interested in history, politics and current affairs.

Each zodiac sign has its unique traits that shape their personalities & differentiate them from each other. Wouldn’t it be useful to start your day knowing what’s universe planned for you? Keep reading to see if today will bring good fortune your way. ARIES The day ahead looks full of potential! You're in good health, which sets the stage for a productive time. Finances seem stable with opportunities to grow. While minor challenges may arise at work or home, you’ll handle them like a pro. In love, travel, and property matters, things are steady, allowing you to make balanced decisions. Overall, it’s a harmonious day with positive vibes in most areas of life. TAURUS Work may not go entirely as planned, but there’s little to do except stay patient. Keep your finances in check by watching your expenses. A long-awaited payment may finally come through. A lifestyle change could benefit your health. Homemakers might find themselves dealing with extra chores, and students need to stay focused to avoid mistakes in their studies. GEMINI A golden opportunity at work could be coming your way, so be ready to shine! Your past efforts may bring recognition in academics. Stay cautious with tempting investment plans. Regular exercise will keep you fit and energized. A thrilling road trip might be on the cards for some, adding excitement to your day. CANCER Be cautious on the social front, as someone might try to tarnish your reputation. If you're considering buying property, waiting a little longer could be wiser. Handle joint family matters carefully to maintain peace at home. Although your ideas at work may not get immediate attention, they’ll likely be appreciated later. LEO Your professional brilliance will be on full display today! A visit from a distant relative might light up the mood at home. Smart networking could open exciting job opportunities. Financially, things look promising as profits start rolling in. Staying organized will keep your health in top shape. VIRGO You're on a roll professionally, with success continuing to favor you. Upskilling through a course or training could boost your career prospects. Thoughtful investments are improving your financial situation, and a side hustle might bring in extra earnings. Your spouse’s unwavering support will be your biggest asset. LIBRA Some changes at work might be on the horizon, but they won’t disrupt you. Adopting healthy habits could bring you to peak fitness. Those dabbling in stocks might see significant gains. At work, you may find yourself reflecting on whether your job truly fulfills you. SCORPIO Expect a busier day at work, but you’ll gain valuable insights. Be mindful of eating street food, as it might upset your stomach. Avoid blindly trusting health products—they might not suit you. A sudden business trip may pop up, and you could play a key role in resolving a friend’s love dilemma. SAGITTARIUS Your efforts at work may yield mixed outcomes, but motivating your team could speed things up. Attending seminars or off-site meetings might cause a backlog of tasks. Be cautious about pushing too hard to recover money—it may not be worth the effort. A quick getaway might provide some much-needed relaxation, but keep an eye on your health. CAPRICORN Working women might prefer staying home to juggle work and family commitments. Aspiring candidates in aviation or hospitality may hear good news about interviews. Cutting down on calorie-heavy foods could help avoid health issues like high blood pressure. AQUARIUS Your financial situation is improving as previous investments start paying off. A phase of excellent health is on the horizon. Successfully organizing a social event could earn you recognition. A refreshing outing might be just what you need to recharge. PISCES Someone trying to control or influence you might throw you off, but only briefly. Choose your words carefully to avoid upsetting authority figures. There’s a chance someone might delay repaying a loaned amount. It’s best to hold off on investing in seemingly attractive schemes. Minor family conflicts could arise, but a pleasant outing could lift your spirits. Also See: Horoscope Predictions for 2025Aries Horoscope 2025Taurus Horoscope 2025Gemini Horoscope 2025Cancer Horoscope 2025Leo Horoscope 2025Virgo Horoscope 2025Libra Horoscope 2025Scorpio Horoscope 2025Sagittarius Horoscope 2025Capricorn Horoscope 2025Aquarius Horoscope 2025Pisces Horoscope 2025 Get Latest News Live on Times Now along with Breaking News and Top Headlines from Astrology and around the world.Jimmy Carter: A brief bioAmazon has Orastone rechargeable hand warmers that stay warm for up to 4 hours on sale for 50% off

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Actress Neha Sharma , well-known for her roles in films like Bad Newz and Yamla Pagla Deewana 2, has recently sparked rumors about her relationship status. The actress was spotted walking hand-in-hand with Croatian footballer Petar Sliskovic in Mumbai, with the moment captured by paparazzi. Neha, dressed in a chic black dress, and Petar, in casual attire, appeared comfortable and happy as they strolled together, leaving fans intrigued. ET Year-end Special Reads What kept India's stock market investors on toes in 2024? India's car race: How far EVs went in 2024 Investing in 2025: Six wealth management trends to watch out for The video of the pair has quickly gone viral, with fans and media outlets speculating whether the two are romantically involved. Neha, who has remained relatively private about her personal life, has not commented on the reports, but the sighting has certainly caught attention. The question on everyone's mind now is: Who is Petar Sliskovic? — Harii33 (@Harii33) Who Is Petar Sliskovic? Petar Sliskovic, 33, is a Croatian professional footballer who hails from Bosnia. He is known for his impressive career as a striker, having played for various football clubs, including Mohammedan SC in Kolkata, India. Petar made his professional debut with Mainz 05 in 2011, and over the years, he has also played for teams like St. Pauli and Dynamo Dresden in Germany. His most recent club was Jamshedpur FC, where he signed a one-year deal in 2023 after a successful stint with Chennaiyin FC. Known for his technical skills, goal-scoring ability, and aerial strength, Petar has made a name for himself in the Indian Super League (ISL). In 2022, he joined Chennaiyin FC, where he contributed significantly with eight goals and four assists in 17 appearances. His performance on the field has earned him recognition both in India and internationally, including representing Croatia's U-21 team in the past. Neha Sharma’s Personal and Professional Life Neha Sharma, born in Bhagalpur, Bihar, is a versatile actress who has earned acclaim for her work in both Bollywood and regional cinema. She is known for her roles in Chirutha (2007), Crook: It’s Good to Be Bad (2010), and Kyaa Super Kool Hain Hum (2012), among others. Recently, she starred in Bad Newz, alongside Triptii Dimri and Vicky Kaushal. While Neha’s upcoming projects remain unannounced, fans are eagerly awaiting news of her next film. Despite being very active on social media, where she often shares pictures with her sister Aisha Sharma, Neha had kept her romantic life under wraps. The recent appearance with Petar has finally ended the speculation about her relationship status, confirming that she is indeed dating the Croatian footballer. The revelation that Neha is dating Petar has left many of her fans in shock. While Neha has kept a low profile regarding her relationships in the past, the public appearance indicates that the two share a special bond. Neither Neha nor Petar have made an official statement regarding their romance.Trump’s tariffs in his first term did little to alter the economy, but this time could be differentPush for tech-transfer initiatives to boost economic growth

As we enter 2025, those born under the Ox zodiac sign (Born in 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009, 2021) will face many opportunities and challenges that require them to work hard and be patient. The Ox’s inherent traits of being hardworking, loyal, and powerful will be key assets in managing the coming year. Some challenges may come the way, especially in the workplace. It is important to remain rational and rely on one’s personal resources to overcome them. More than anything, your ability to continue will define how successful you are. Also Read 3 Chinese zodiac signs will likely receive financial luck in January 2025 Ox Career Horoscope 2025 For the Ox, 2025 is a year of catching up on opportunities, particularly for those who are looking for new employment prospects. The best time to look for a job is in the year's first quarter. Expect to demonstrate your strengths and readiness to work since employers will seek a reliable and hardworking individual, which the Ox is. Promotion is a real possibility for the Ox in 2025 as long as you take the initiative and leadership role. Your bosses will pay attention to your efforts this year and even acknowledge them. However, to progress through the career ladder, working harder will not be enough; it will be important to work smarter and be ready to go the extra mile. Nonetheless, in 2025, the Ox must be careful of some threats, too. You are usually shy, so you may have to be more aggressive than you would like to get noticed. Moreover, the Ox is vulnerable to burnout as they are willing to work hard and take as much work as possible. You should also avoid overworking yourself and ensure you are not wasting too much time. Ox Money Horoscope 2025 2025 is the year of rationality and a careful approach to financial issues, meaning one must invest wisely. Considering your working traits, it is better to choose reliable, stable types of investment rather than take risks in searching for great profits. It is wise to check the investment portfolio and make necessary changes periodically depending on the market trends and the financial goals. Businesses that provide online learning or educational technology can be an industry to consider investing in since digital learning is rising. These platforms are growing in popularity and will likely be a good investment. Also, during a period of volatility, Ox investors can find refuge in assets such as gold. The Ox may consider it comforting to invest some of their money in gold or other such instruments to hedge against fluctuations in other parts of the portfolio. Ox Love Horoscope 2025 The Ox will experience some changes in 2025. For single Oxen, 2025 is a year to find a partner through various social events with new topics of concern or newly developed hobbies. Get out of your comfort zone and participate in new social events. Your usual shy demeanour may require a little prodding; therefore, do not decline invitations to parties or other social functions, and attend community functions where such people can be found. Look to join clubs, groups, or classes that interest you. For people who are in the process of dating, 2025 is the year to be calm and forgiving. As an Ox, you have a slow nature, which is very effective in the early stage of a relationship, where you need to lay the foundation. For this year, it is suggested to concentrate on communication and trust. Set dates for serious talks and fun moments to bring you two closer. If you are together with your partner for a long time, 2025 is a year when you need to work on your partnership and become better together. This is the best time to remember what was once a common vision and plan. Maybe it is time to start a business partnership or have a big life event, such as purchasing a home or going abroad. These common things can make you even more connected and introduce a new level of passion into your partnership. Ox Health Horoscope 2025 For the Ox, 2025 will be particularly health-sensitive for the neck and shoulders. These areas may become tense if you sit for long hours or perform repetitive tasks or movements at your workplace. It is also important to change the ergonomics of the work area and make breaks to stand up and relax your muscles. In 2025, Ox individuals should pay attention to their blood pressure, as stress and overwork could elevate it. Maintaining a balanced diet rich in potassium and low in sodium is essential. Regular exercise can help regulate blood pressure while avoiding smoking, and excessive alcohol consumption is key. The period critical for the Ox’s health is April and August. In April, Ox people with allergies should prepare for worsening the situation. Regularly clean your living areas to minimise dust mites, and see your doctor about the right medication or remedy.A key figure in a trucker protest that jammed Canada's capital and sparked a global movement against Covid mandates was found guilty Friday for his role in the blockade. The self-styled "Freedom Convoy" of big rig drivers and protesters rolled into Ottawa in early 2022 from across Canada to express anger at government protocols imposed to contain Covid-19. After three weeks of turmoil, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked rarely used emergency powers to dislodge the protesters. Pat King was among hundreds of people arrested, and the first of the protest leaders to be convicted. Two other organizers, Tamara Lich and Chris Barber faced a separate criminal trial but those verdicts are not expected until 2025. King faces up to 10 years in prison after being convicted on five charges, including mischief, counselling others to commit mischief and disobeying a court order. Acquitted of more serious charges, he smiled at a packed courtroom of supporters as the judge read the verdict. "Mr King was not merely engaging in political speech," Justice Charles Hackland said. "Rather, he was inciting the protesters to continue their ongoing blockade of downtown Ottawa." King led hundreds of big rigs and thousands of protestors to Ottawa, bringing the capital to a standstill for more than three weeks. Residents and business owners complained of incessant honking and harassment. As the demonstrators' demands expanded to a broader anti-establishment agenda, solidarity rallies popped up at Canada-US trade corridors and various places abroad. Most of the evidence at trial consisted of videos King posted on social media in which he urged his nearly 300,000 followers to rail against government overreach. "Hold the line," he said in video posts, appearing also to delight in the gridlock and misery of locals: "Pretty hilarious that people haven't been able to sleep for 10 days." Trudeau faced strong criticisms from civil liberties groups and the opposition Conservatives for invoking the Emergencies Act to dislodge the protestors. But a commission of inquiry ruled it had been "appropriate," calling it "a drastic move, but... not a dictatorial one." amc/bs/bfm

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Trudeau told Trump Americans would also suffer if tariffs are imposed, a Canadian minister saysWarren Buffett Says "The Stock Market is Designed to Transfer Money from the Active to the Patient" and the Numbers Prove He is RightDES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Republican Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks won her reelection bid Wednesday after a recount confirmed her lead, helping her party pad its thin majority in the U.S. House and retain control of all four of Iowa’s congressional seats. Miller-Meeks said in a post on the social platform X that she was “deeply honored” after she defeated Democrat Christina Bohannan in a rematch of 2022, when Miller-Meeks won by 7 percentage points. The margin this year was much tighter — Miller-Meeks’ lead over Bohannan was less than a percentage point, or fewer than 1,000 votes. “I am now looking forward to getting back to work in Washington to lower prices at the gas pump, grocery store and on prescription drugs, secure the border and help farmers,” said Miller-Meeks, who represents the 1st District, which includes the eastern part of the state and a swath of south-central Iowa, including Johnson County, home to University of Iowa in Iowa City. Miller-Meeks earned a first term in Congress representing Iowa’s 2nd District when she defeated Democrat Rita Hart by just six votes in 2020. The Associated Press called this year’s race at 4:02 p.m. ET on Wednesday. Miller-Meeks had declared victory earlier, but the AP had not yet called the race because the margin was close enough that it could prompt a recount. More election coverage Trump won about 2.5M more votes this year than he did in 2020. This is where he did it Schools are bracing for upheaval over fear of mass deportations Democrats in Pennsylvania had a horrible 2024 election. They say it’s still a swing state Bohannan’s campaign on Nov. 14 requested a recount , as any candidate is allowed to do, saying in a statement that the recount will make certain “that every voter is heard.” She congratulated Miller-Meeks in a message on X after the vote count was completed. What to know about Trump’s second term: Staffing the administration: Here are the people Trump has picked for key positions so far. Plus, a look at recess appointments and how could Trump use them to fill his Cabinet. Follow all of our coverage as Donald Trump assembles his second administration. “Although this is not the result we wanted, I am so proud of our campaign,” she wrote. “We exceeded all expectations and turned a district that many pundits thought was unwinnable into one of the very closest races in the country.” The request was made for a recount in each of the district’s 20 counties. Because the margin was less than a percentage point, the state — not the candidate — pays for the costs associated with the recount. Miller-Meeks’ campaign accused Bohannan and other Democrats of being “election deniers,” and Republicans have said Bohannan is wasting taxpayer dollars. “This is a delaying tactic to thwart the will of the people,” the Miller-Meeks campaign said in a Nov. 14 statement. “A recount won’t meaningfully change the outcome of this race as the congresswoman’s lead is mathematically impossible to overcome.” Republican incumbents held onto Iowa’s three other congressional seats, maintaining GOP control over the entirety of Iowa’s congressional delegation. The sweep in 2022 represented the first time in three decades that Iowa had an all-Republican delegation, emblematic of the sharp rightward shift in the state not long after former President Barack Obama carried Iowa in 2008 and again in 2012. Obama won with solid support from the eastern counties along the Mississippi River that have mostly backed Trump since and bolster Miller-Meeks’ in her district as well. Two competitive congressional races in Iowa this year — the 1st and 3rd Districts — brought millions of dollars in paid advertising to the state from national campaign arms for House Republican and Democrats. Zach Nunn fought off the challenge from Democrat Lanon Baccam in the 3rd District, which includes much of the Des Moines metro area. Republican incumbents Ashley Hinson in the 2nd District and Randy Feenstra in the 4th District won decisively. Hinson defeated Democrat Sarah Corkery. Feenstra defeated Democrat Ryan Melton.Maker of Trump guitars reportedly sent cease and desist order by Gibson

Timeline: Jimmy Carter, 1924-2024

kijiji ca Brazil’s Bolsonaro participated in a 2022 coup plot, unsealed police report saysAn online debate over foreign workers in tech shows tensions in Trump’s political coalition

Anfield may have been shrouded in fog, but Liverpool have a clear gap at the top of the Premier League table. The Reds took advantage of Chelsea's defeat at home to Fulham to stretch their lead to seven points at the top, but they did have to battle back from a goal down against a limited Leicester after Jordan Ayew opened the scoring inside six minutes. Cody Gakpo levelled with a fine strike on the stroke of half-time, before Curtis Jones put the Reds ahead with a close range finish early in the second period. Mo Salah then rounded things off with his customary Anfield goal to ensure a happy Boxing Day for the hosts. Here are the main talking points. 1. Keep watching the skies The fog had descended on Merseyside on Boxing Day afternoon, but any suggestions that there was a pitch inspection needed or that the game was ever in serious doubt were wide of the mark. The club were always confident that the game would go ahead, and frankly they don't have anywhere to put it should it have needed to be rearranged. In truth once the match started there didn't look to be any serious issues for the players in dealing with the conditions, however difficult they looked from afar. Trent Alexander-Arnold's radar was certainly off kilter during the first period but that seemed to be more of a personal issue than one to do with the weather, and both sets of players - although playing a very different style - played their way into the game. 2. Another sloppy Liverpool start punished by Leicester In their previous home game against Fulham the Reds started slowly and were punished twice, first by Andreas Pereira's goal and then by Andy Robertson's red card . That was partly to do with the impressive play of the south west Londoners though, whereas here it was more of a self inflicted wound. Liverpool were just too slow to react as Stephy Mavididi made his way down their right, and his ball across the box was allowed to reach Ayew, whose finish on the turn was impressive. The Foxes could scarcely believe it, but they hadn't really had to do much to score their goal. Liverpool had laboured. 3. Cody Gakpo coming up clutch The Reds hadn't really been rattled by that Ayew opener, and instead they set about continuing trying to do what they had been even before the goal went in. The switch from Alexander-Arnold to Gakpo was on constantly, and it quickly looked as though hitting the Dutchman would be Liverpool's best route back into the game. It was a surprise that it took until first half stoppage time until the leveller came, but when it did it was glorious from Gakpo, who has developed a trademark in cutting in from the right and firing at goal. This one was more precision than power and pace, and boy it was needed. 4. Curtis Jones adds to the midfield goals If you want to find the biggest difference between Arne Slot's Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp's you need only look at midfield. In Klopp's Champions League and Premier League winning side those players were facilitators, whereas in Slot's they can be matchwinners. Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai both found the net in the huge win at Tottenham before Christmas , and here was Jones steaming in to get on the end of Mac Allister's centre to give the Reds the lead, eventually once VAR did its thing. Midfield is the area Klopp overhauled in what proved to be his final summer, and Slot is now reaping the rewards. 5. The bigger picture So, seven points clear at the top with a game in hand, rivals looking unconvincing and Manchester City a lot more disappointing than that. This really could not be going any better for Liverpool. The Christmas period always looked to be a time when the Reds could potentially stretch away from their rivals, a possibility which opened up after the win at Tottenham. West Ham away comes next in their final game of 2024, and right now it is hard to bet against 2025 bringing a 20th league title. Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. Amazon's Prime Video is broadcasting the Premier League Boxing Day round of fixtures on December 26-27. Each match can be streamed free with an Amazon Prime subscription or by signing up for an Amazon Prime 30-day free trial .Verizon Communications Unusual Options ActivityCOLUMBUS, Ohio - The number of razor-thin majorities in several Ohio rases on Nov. 5 underscores how every vote counts, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose said Thursday. In all, 23 local races were so close that they triggered an automatic recount. But nine of those resulted in a tie or were decided by three or fewer votes. “While the focus is often on the top of the ticket, local elections can have a big impact in communities across Ohio,” said LaRose, a Republican who is Ohio’s chief elections officer, in a prepared statement. “By doing our part to protect the vote, we are also protecting your voice to ensure the outcome accurately reflects the will of the community.” Of the 23 local races that resulted in an automatic recount – which the law requires when the difference in votes between the losing candidate or question is within 0.5% of the winner, among all votes cast – three issues were tied, three contests were determined by three votes and three contests came down to a single vote. Among some of the standout votes: Voter turnout in 2024 didn’t hit the historic highs that some expected, but millions more cast ballots this year than those who are likely to turn out in 2025. “Local elections which occur in odd-numbered years like 2025 can come down to notoriously slim margins, so it is more important than ever to ensure you are registered to vote and prepared to participate in our democracy in the New Year,” LaRose said. Stories by Laura Hancock Legislature passes bill allowing collection of Ohio native plant seeds Dec. 24, 2024, 11:05a.m. Lt. Gov. Jon Husted visits Mar-a-Lago. Could he succeed JD Vance as Ohio’s next U.S. senator? Dec. 23, 2024, 2:31p.m. After OSU team doctor abuse, Gov. DeWine signs bill that expands medical board’s authority over sexual misconduct Dec. 20, 2024, 1:46p.m. Gov. DeWine vows to veto ‘medical free speech’ provision OK’d by legislators Dec. 20, 2024, 11:38a.m. Laura Hancock covers state government and politics for The Plain Dealer and cleveland.com.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — An online spat between factions of supporters over immigration and the tech industry has thrown internal divisions in his political movement into public display, previewing the fissures and contradictory views his coalition could bring to the White House. The rift laid bare the tensions between the newest flank of Trump’s movement — wealthy members of the tech world including billionaire and fellow entrepreneur and their call for more highly skilled workers in their industry — and people in Trump’s Make America Great Again base who championed his hardline immigration policies. The debate touched off this week when , a right-wing provocateur with a history of racist and conspiratorial comments, criticized Trump’s selection of as an adviser on artificial intelligence policy in his coming administration. Krishnan favors the ability to bring more skilled immigrants into the U.S. Loomer declared the stance to be “not America First policy” and said were doing so to enrich themselves. Much of the debate played out on the social media network X, which Musk owns. Loomer’s comments sparked a back-and-forth with venture capitalist and former , whom Trump has tapped to be the “White House A.I. & Crypto Czar.” Musk and Ramaswamy, , weighed in, defending the tech industry’s need to bring in foreign workers. It bloomed into a larger debate with more figures from the hard-right weighing in about the need to hire U.S. workers, whether values in American culture can produce the best engineers, free speech on the internet, the newfound influence tech figures have in Trump’s world and what his political movement stands for. Trump has not yet weighed in on the rift, and his presidential transition team did not respond to a message seeking comment. Musk, the world’s richest man who has , was a central figure in the debate, not only for his stature in Trump’s movement but his stance on the tech industry’s hiring of foreign workers. Technology companies say H-1B visas for skilled workers, used by software engineers and others in the tech industry, are critical for hard-to-fill positions. But critics have said they undercut U.S. citizens who could take those jobs. Some on the right have called for the program to be eliminated, not expanded. Born in South Africa, Musk was once on an a H-1B visa himself and defended the industry’s need to bring in foreign workers. “There is a permanent shortage of excellent engineering talent,” he said in a post. “It is the fundamental limiting factor in Silicon Valley.” Related Articles Trump’s own positions over the years have reflected the divide in his movement. His tough immigration policies, including his pledge for a mass deportation, were central to his winning presidential campaign. He has focused on immigrants who come into the U.S. illegally but he has also , including family-based visas. As a presidential candidate in 2016, Trump called the H-1B visa program “very bad” and “unfair” for U.S. workers. After he became president, Trump in 2017 issued a “Buy American and Hire American” , which directed Cabinet members to suggest changes to ensure H-1B visas were awarded to the highest-paid or most-skilled applicants to protect American workers. Trump’s businesses, however, have hired foreign workers, including , and his social media company behind his Truth Social app for highly skilled workers. During his 2024 campaign for president, as he made immigration his signature issue, Trump said immigrants in the country illegally are “poisoning the blood of our country” and promised to carry out the largest deportation operation in U.S. history. But in a sharp departure from his usual alarmist message around immigration generally, Trump this year that he wants to give automatic green cards to foreign students who graduate from U.S. colleges. “I think you should get automatically, as part of your diploma, a green card to be able to stay in this country,” he told the “All-In” podcast with people from the venture capital and technology world. Those comments came on the cusp of Trump’s budding alliance with tech industry figures, but he did not make the idea a regular part of his campaign message or detail any plans to pursue such changes.

Emphasising the importance of building a national consensus on reforms, Environment Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan has said that public participation is crucial to achieving this goal. "If we fail to align with the people's expectations, we will constantly find ourselves in political discomfort and complications," she said. She was speaking at the first session of the National Dialogue 2024, held under the theme "Unity, Reform, Elections" and titled "Which Path to Unity," at the Krishibid Institution Auditorium in Dhaka yesterday. The adviser also said that achieving national consensus may require some compromises, and we must be prepared to make them. She said that unity is essential in various areas, including communal harmony, political reform, and ensuring the inclusion of the younger generation's aspirations in governance. The adviser remarked that agreement on reforms should not result in treating one another as adversaries. Decisions on what reforms are necessary, who will implement them, how they will be carried out, and within what timeframe must be made. She stressed that backing down from reforms is not an option, as broad cooperation is needed to ensure public opinion is reflected in these changes. Failure to meet public expectations will lead to repeated political instability and complications. Addressing the broader responsibility for change, she noted that it is not just the task of an interim government but a collective obligation. Merely drafting reforms on paper will not suffice; these changes must be practised to benefit the public. Leadership changes alone are not enough without a shift in mindset. We must internalize that leadership is about responsibility, not power, and commit to fulfilling these responsibilities. She also underscored the importance of public engagement in governance, noting that although the need for reform is widely acknowledged, the path forward remains challenging. She warned that breaking away from entrenched political norms or eliminating inequalities will not happen overnight. Patience and persistence will be essential. Rizwana said, "I remain optimistic and hopeful about the youth. Major changes are likely to come from them because they bring fresh perspectives and innovative approaches. However, change is a process that cannot be achieved solely through new laws. Training ourselves to sustain this process is vital, and both youth and experienced individuals have roles to play." She concluded by expressing confidence in the government's initiatives and reform commissions, stating that public engagement would follow once commission reports are received. The chief adviser has also proposed forming a commission to build consensus. She added that effective reforms would benefit current and future political leaders by clarifying public expectations and ensuring responsive governance. Although the road to unity is challenging, the ultimate goal is to reflect the aspirations of the people. Emphasising the importance of building a national consensus on reforms, Environment Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan has said that public participation is crucial to achieving this goal. "If we fail to align with the people's expectations, we will constantly find ourselves in political discomfort and complications," she said. She was speaking at the first session of the National Dialogue 2024, held under the theme "Unity, Reform, Elections" and titled "Which Path to Unity," at the Krishibid Institution Auditorium in Dhaka yesterday. The adviser also said that achieving national consensus may require some compromises, and we must be prepared to make them. She said that unity is essential in various areas, including communal harmony, political reform, and ensuring the inclusion of the younger generation's aspirations in governance. The adviser remarked that agreement on reforms should not result in treating one another as adversaries. Decisions on what reforms are necessary, who will implement them, how they will be carried out, and within what timeframe must be made. She stressed that backing down from reforms is not an option, as broad cooperation is needed to ensure public opinion is reflected in these changes. Failure to meet public expectations will lead to repeated political instability and complications. Addressing the broader responsibility for change, she noted that it is not just the task of an interim government but a collective obligation. Merely drafting reforms on paper will not suffice; these changes must be practised to benefit the public. Leadership changes alone are not enough without a shift in mindset. We must internalize that leadership is about responsibility, not power, and commit to fulfilling these responsibilities. She also underscored the importance of public engagement in governance, noting that although the need for reform is widely acknowledged, the path forward remains challenging. She warned that breaking away from entrenched political norms or eliminating inequalities will not happen overnight. Patience and persistence will be essential. Rizwana said, "I remain optimistic and hopeful about the youth. Major changes are likely to come from them because they bring fresh perspectives and innovative approaches. However, change is a process that cannot be achieved solely through new laws. Training ourselves to sustain this process is vital, and both youth and experienced individuals have roles to play." She concluded by expressing confidence in the government's initiatives and reform commissions, stating that public engagement would follow once commission reports are received. The chief adviser has also proposed forming a commission to build consensus. She added that effective reforms would benefit current and future political leaders by clarifying public expectations and ensuring responsive governance. Although the road to unity is challenging, the ultimate goal is to reflect the aspirations of the people.

Kansas Sen. Michale Fagg, R-El Dorado, urged peers on the joint House and Senate pensions committee to endorse a proposal to invest $1 billion in surplus state revenue in lowering the $9.7 billion unfunded liability of the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System. The committee agreed to ask the 2025 Legislature to consider the concept, but didn't back his call for a $1 billion investment. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector) TOPEKA — Republican Sen. Michael Fagg wants to persuade the 2025 Kansas Legislature to allocate $1 billion of the state’s revenue surplus to shrinking the $9.7 billion long-term unfunded liability in the state’s pension system. The Kansas Public Employees Retirement System, which serves more than 300,000 Kansans and possesses $27 billion in assets, years ago received legislative authorization to issue bonds so proceeds could be invested in the market to bolster the system’s bottom line. KPERS made use of $500 million bond issues in 2004 and 2021, and a $1 billion offering in 2015. On Wednesday, Fagg couldn’t convince the Legislature’s joint committee on pensions to get behind his idea of dedicating another $1 billion to address the system’s 30-year liability. Losses in 2022 — the return on investment was a negative 9.7% compared to a positive 15.7% in 2021 — deepened the challenge at KPERS in terms of meeting obligations on the pension-benefit horizon. “I’m really focused on unfunded liabilities,” Fagg said. “Folks, very seldom have we had this kind of money sitting around. I’m letting you know I know the spot it ought to go.” Sen. Pat Pettey, a Democrat from Kansas City, Kansas, said she was more interested in making use of available state revenue to enhance benefits under the modest KPERS 3 retirement plan offered to public employees since 2015. “I cannot support this recommendation because I think we have to look at the whole picture,” she said. “We can’t underestimate the senior tsunami that is facing us.” House and Senate members on the joint pension committee voted to encourage the 2025 Legislature to study the potential of a fourth infusion of cash to lower the unfunded liability. They decided to ask the Legislature to give thought to altering KPERS 3. The committee agreed to recommend the Legislature once again think about giving KPERS’ retirees a cost-of-living adjustment. The panel said the Legislature ought to research expansion to other KPERS members the deferred retirement program incentivizing fire and law enforcement personnel to stay on the job rather than retire. It might be helpful, for example, in diverting the wave of teacher retirements in Kansas. “I strongly encourage you to keep in mind ... any increase in benefits that is not paid for upfront hurts the fund,” said Sen. Jeff Longbine, an Emporia Republican who didn’t seek reelection in 2024. There is growing concern among public employees and legislators about the KPERS 3 retirement plan signed into law by GOP Gov. Sam Brownback nearly a decade ago. In an attempt to lower the burden on Kansas taxpayers, the Brownback administration settled on KPERS 3 to substantially lower financial benefits compared to KPERS 1 and KPERS 2. A report produced this year by the Legislature’s auditing unit said KPERS 3 had higher worker contribution requirements, a longer vesting period and lower financial rewards than public retirement plans offered in comparable states. Auditors said a survey of current and former Kansas public employees showed people in KPERS 3 were more likely to leave their job than participants in KPERS 1 or KPERS 2. In 2023, Rep. Sean Tarwater, R-Stilwell, put it this way: “I don’t think you need to do an audit to find out Tier 3 sucks.” Public employees in KPERS 3 were guaranteed 4% annual earnings on their personal account balances, but additional benefits to these city, county or state employees was dependent on performance of the pension system’s investment portfolio. Neither KPERS 1 nor KPERS 2 deposited the investment-return risk directly on the back of public employees in Kansas. Dissatisfaction has prompted proposals to move all KPERS 3 members to KPERS 2, which would transfer financial risk of retirement investments to the state. Meanwhile, the executive director of KPERS said the pension system was undergoing a five-year transition to a new information technology system estimated to cost $75 million. “It’s a massive undertaking,” said Alan Conroy, executive director at KPERS. “We’ve tried to do the prep work — cleaning data, backfilling staff — so we aren’t having staff trying to work full time on the project and doing their full-time, day-to-day jobs.” Rep. Cindy Neighbor, a Shawnee Democrat on the joint committee, said she hoped KPERS securex a modern IT platform without the spider web of problems encountered by the Kansas Department of Labor while reforming the state’s unemployment insurance system. “So far, I think we’ve done the right steps mechanically to have a successful project,” Conroy said. “The ultimate goal, as I tell the staff, is to keep us out of the ditch. We would not want 116,000 retired KPERS members marching on the statehouse because they didn’t get a retirement benefit check because of a failure in the IT system.” Bruce Fink, chief investment officer at KPERS, said the retirement system was in compliance with a new state law mandating divestiture from countries that posed unusual investment risks. The countries targed by the Legislature were Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Venezuela and China, including Hong Kong. The law compelled state agencies to complete divestiture transactions by Jan. 1, 2026. “We’ve not identified any trade violations since the act became effective,” Fink said. “We’ve augmented our due-diligence process for new and future investments to confirm that the countries in which potential future managers may invest in will not ... be organized in countries of concern.” In response to enactment of the law on July 1, he said KPERS terminated investments in China and Hong Kong. That involved divesting 12 securities in 10 companies valued at $294 million, he said. Fink said KPERS retained 300,000 shares of Norilsk Nickel, Russia’s leading metals mining company. He said trading of the stock was halted in conjunction with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “There were sanctions put in place,” he told legislators. “We continue to hold those shares in our accounts, but they are currently valued at zero market value.”

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EDMONTON - Alberta’s Technology Minister Nate Glubish says he’s hoping to see $100 billion worth of artificial intelligence data centres under construction within the next five years. Such centres are filled with computer servers used by companies like Meta to develop and train large-scale artificial intelligence models. Glubish says Meta, as well as other major companies including Google and Amazon, are on the hunt for space to build more facilities, and he wants Alberta to be an option. He says landing some data centres would create jobs and bring in much needed new tax revenue for the province. Glubish also says that since Alberta’s electricity grid regulations allows for off-grid power generation, he thinks the province is an ideal location. He says allowing for off-grid power connections where power generators supply data centres directly also means there’s less risk for Albertans, as there wouldn’t be major drains on the electrical grid. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 4, 2024.

Financial Institutions launches public offering of sharesSTORZ & BICKEL Makes History as First Vaporizer Brand to Sponsor NYLON House During Miami Art WeekSOUTH BEND, Ind. — Eight thoughts on Notre Dame ’s 25-man recruiting Class of 2025, which got a major boost as the early signing period began on Wednesday. 1. And just like that, the perception of Notre Dame’s recruiting class changed. Notre Dame signed four-star linebacker Madden Faraimo on Wednesday, beating out perceived favorite USC and former finalist Texas. Marcus Freeman broke his own news, casually mentioning the addition to open his news conference. Advertisement This was the kind of recruitment Notre Dame needed to win, for a linebacking corps that’s developed into one of the nation’s best and to fortify the notion that recruiting has taken steps forward. Faraimo is a top-100 prospect from Oceanside, Calif., roughly halfway between Los Angeles and San Diego. There was no organic connection to Notre Dame, only the one the program could create. Signing Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa last year helped. Mixing with alumni — football and regular — helped. A staff that includes Freeman, Al Golden and Max Bullough helped. But Faraimo had to say yes, which he wasn’t ready to do Tuesday night or Wednesday morning. Freeman told Faraimo to “choose hard,” which can be a losing pitch with the wrong prospect. When Faraimo made his decision, he told Freeman that he “chose God,” which underscores the fit and the necessity of landing him. The best in California choose Notre Dame @MaddenFaraimo has officially signed #2TheeIri5h #GoIrish ☘️ | @Gatorade pic.twitter.com/D8RN2L7qIV — Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) December 4, 2024 To put it another way, USC and Texas didn’t need to sign Faraimo. They had other options near the top of the recruiting food chain. Notre Dame did not have other options, unless you’re counting Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng, who faded from consideration late and committed to Michigan. The necessity of signing Faraimo doesn’t make it any easier to close the deal, though. It just makes getting his signature that much more rewarding for Notre Dame. “Yes, there’s some truth to the recruiting rankings, but I think more important is that we still have to trust our evaluation and our eyes in terms of bringing in the right guys to this program,” Freeman said. “Obviously you’ve heard me say this before. We can’t recruit everybody. We’ve got to recruit the guys that fit this place, but we want to get the best players in the country that do.” Advertisement 2. In the 247Sports Composite , Faraimo ranks as the No. 2 player in Notre Dame’s class, behind offensive tackle Will Black. That makes him the top-ranked defensive prospect in a haul that was outstanding in the back seven. The Irish couldn’t have done better at defensive back than the six signed, which included Dallas Golden and Mark Zackery IV. Linebacker production on the field turned into linebacker production in recruiting, and that happened at defensive back, too. There aren’t better recruiting billboards than the seasons of Xavier Watts , Christian Gray and Leonard Moore , with the freshman cornerback’s the most compelling pitch. Not every freshman will play right away. That’s fine. But showing prospects that the staff isn’t afraid to go young at least gives the recruiting office an angle to play. 3. Offensive line recruiting has been strong enough at Notre Dame during the past decade that it hardly moves the needle when the Irish land three four-star prospects and a single three-star prospect who’s 6-foot-6, 287 pounds. And Matt Augustine is the smallest of the three offensive tackle prospects signed by Notre Dame, joining Black (6-7, 292) and Owen Strebig (6-7, 292). The Irish also landed center Cam Herron from Indianapolis. The best part about the class for Notre Dame is the Irish probably don’t need it to contribute for years. That’s how healthy offensive line rooms are built: two years in the weight room and the practice field before breaking into the lineup. Notre Dame couldn’t afford to play that waiting game with Anthonie Knapp and the offense suffered for it. With back-to-back-to-back strong classes up front, the Irish shouldn’t have to go down that road again. 4. Freeman repeated what he said a year ago when asked about the plans to take a transfer quarterback this winter. After going in for Riley Leonard , Notre Dame didn’t want to spend in that market again. Freeman confirmed the Irish won’t. It’s a smart business move considering the costs associated with defensive tackles and the needs at wide receiver. It’s also good news for Notre Dame because it means CJ Carr remains on track to compete for the job this spring. Advertisement 5. Freeman keeps talking about wanting to “major in high school recruiting” and only doing a “minor” in the transfer portal. I get it. Notre Dame doesn’t work if it builds its roster like Colorado . Different approaches for different programs and different universities. But why can’t the Irish double major? Notre Dame has a higher hit rate in transfer recruiting than high school recruiting the past two cycles, which makes sense with how much available film is out there. Yes, it’s more complicated and more expensive to go heavy in the portal. It’s probably not sustainable. But the Irish didn’t leave themselves much choice at wide receiver or defensive line with this recruiting class. And the maturity of a graduate transfer maybe plays better at Notre Dame than a high school prospect, anyhow. 6. When Freeman was asked about wide receiver recruiting Wednesday, he seemed taken aback by the insinuation Notre Dame didn’t nail the position and didn’t have a good product to sell. It’s worth remembering the Irish have had one 100-yard performance by a wide receiver in the past three seasons combined. The leading receiver on this year’s team is Beaux Collins (34 catches, 427 yards, two touchdowns). Irish wideouts have nine receiving touchdowns total this year. Kris Mitchell had six by himself at FIU last season. “We’re looking for speed but also really good football players. That’s what we feel like we got with this class in wideouts,” Freeman said. “We’re extremely happy about it, and we’ll continue to recruit wideouts at a high level.” Maybe Elijah Burress, Scrap Richardson and Jerome Bettis Jr. — all outside the top 250 nationally, with Bettis the lowest-rated position player in the class at No. 853 overall and No. 125 at receiver — will exceed expectations. But while Notre Dame has earned the benefit of the doubt at defensive back in terms of development, the opposite is true at receiver. How Notre Dame treats the portal at wideout will say plenty about how the staff views the haul. Advertisement 7. The biggest sleeper in this class might be running back Nolan James Jr. The running back from DePaul Catholic in New Jersey was a longtime commitment to Boston College before the Irish decided to upgrade their running back class as Justin Thurman (Kansas) and Daniel Anderson ( Northwestern ) moved on. James is stronger than both and the kind of all-purpose back who plays bigger than 5-9, 200 pounds. He’s not Jeremiyah Love or Jadarian Price , but he’ll fit better into the Notre Dame running back room than either previous commit. 8. Notre Dame’s class ranks 12th in the 247Sports Composite as of Wednesday evening, with three top-100 signees and 14 four-stars. Overall, Notre Dame’s class has enough talent to settle the debate (assuming there still is one) that the program is recruiting better under Freeman than it did under Brian Kelly. This is another by-product of landing Faraimo at the end. Now that we have Notre Dame's final recruiting class numbers after Madden Faraimo's signing, here are ND's last 16 classes It's certainly a step back from the 2022-24 classes but the average player rating is still higher than all but two Kelly classes pic.twitter.com/WC6ZYMaFoY — Notre Dame Football Stats & Analytics (@ND_FB_Analytics) December 4, 2024 Are the Irish closing the gap on Georgia, Ohio State and Alabama? It’s hard to make that case with conviction. But Notre Dame is still improving in the recruiting department from where it was much of the past decade. (Photo: Rich Graessle / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

StarV Launches Indiegogo Campaign for Cutting-Edge AR Glasses: Air1- MYVU and View 11-22-2024 10:36 PM CET | Business, Economy, Finances, Banking & Insurance Press release from: Getnews / PR Agency: LianPR November 22, 2024 - StarV, a leader in wearable augmented reality (AR) innovation, has officially launched its highly anticipated Indiegogo campaign for two breakthrough AR smart glasses:StarV Air1 - MYVU [ https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/starv-air-myvu-ar-smart-glasses--2#/ ] and StarV View [ https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/starv-view-ar-glasses-portable-entertainment-hub#/ ] We also officially launched sales on StarV website [ https://flyme.global/products/ar-smart-glasses-starv-air-myvu-1]and opening pre-orders to global users through both channels. These models redefine usability, accessibility, and entertainment, showcasing the brand's commitment to innovation and inclusivity. Key Features of StarV MYVU [ https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/starv-air-myvu-ar-smart-glasses--2#/ ] * Ultra-Light Design: Weighing just 43g, MYVU is the world's lightest AR glasses, designed for all-day comfort. * Real-Time Translation: Powered by Microsoft, it supports 13 languages, making it an essential tool for travel and communication. * Accessibility for All: Includes speech-to-text functionality, making it a valuable device for individuals with hearing impairments. * Hands-Free Connectivity: Bluetooth-enabled for music, calls, and seamless multitasking. Photos: StarV Air1- MYVU Image: https://www.getnews.info/uploads/1f07560a93f7063a27630a380535e7a3.jpg Image: https://www.getnews.info/uploads/27bf4cf4513d656b8f3d50678a38b694.jpg Key Features of StarV View * Immersive Entertainment: Offers a 188-inch virtual screen with Dolby sound for movies and gaming anywhere. * Adjustable Focus: Supports 0-600 degrees myopia, ensuring an optimal experience for users with varying vision needs. * Portable Cinema: Designed for users seeking on-the-go entertainment without sacrificing comfort or quality. StarV View:Image: https://www.getnews.info/uploads/25df4df2acce8f276b1c81802061b8b4.jpg Image: https://www.getnews.info/uploads/934f90c53a826b3750dc49c37be4ee0d.jpg StarV's Commitment to "Technology for Good" StarV integrates accessibility and inclusivity into its products. From aiding communication with real-time translation to assisting individuals with hearing challenges, these AR glasses embody the brand's mission to make cutting-edge technology accessible to all. Also, Early-Bird Crowdfunding Pricing As part of the Indiegogo launch, StarV offers exclusive early-bird prices: * MYVU [ https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/starv-air-myvu-ar-smart-glasses--2#/]: $299 * View: $349 Readers can enjoy an exclusive $20 discount on StarV Website by using the code: StarVUP20, which can be applied on top of the early-bird price. Both models are now available for pre-order at the following links: * StarV MYVU Indiegogo: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/starv-air-myvu-ar-smart-glasses--2#/ Official Web: https://flyme.global/products/ar-smart-glasses-starv-air-myvu-1 * StarV View Indiegogo https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/starv-view-ar-glasses-portable-entertainment-hub#/ Official Web https://flyme.global/products/ar-smart-glasses-starv-view-1 Awards and Recognition StarV has earned accolades for its innovation, including [list relevant awards if applicable, further cementing its reputation as a forward-thinking leader in AR technology. Our StarV Air1-MYVU series has been honored with the prestigious iF Design Award and the G-Mark Best Design Award, recognizing its excellence in innovation and design. Social Media Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61567095793998 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/starv_global/ About StarV StarV is a pioneering AR technology company dedicated to creating accessible, practical, and socially responsible wearable devices. Its products aim to enhance user experiences across entertainment, communication, and professional applications. DreamSmart AI Ecology Conference was held in Beijing in 2024, released a series of new products, including Meizu Lucky 08 AI phone, AR smart glasses StarV View, StarV Air2, smart ring StarV Ring2 and Z10 STARBUFF jointly developed by Meizu and Lynk & Co. For more information, visit our website or contact us. Media Contact Iris Zou: Irisz@iadlink.com Elisa: xinxin.tong@dreamsmart.com Media Contact Company Name: DreamSmart Contact Person: Iris Zou Email: Send Email [ http://www.universalpressrelease.com/?pr=starv-launches-indiegogo-campaign-for-cuttingedge-ar-glasses-air1-myvu-and-view ] Country: United States Website: https://flyme.global/pages/starv-air This release was published on openPR.JUVENTUS stewards rubbed salt into Manchester City fans' wounds - by forcing them to stay until the bitter end of their latest defeat in Turin. Pep Guardiola's side were comprehensively beaten 2-0 in northern Italy as their horror run of form continued. And, as City's near 2,000 away fans considered making an early exit during the second half the Allianz Stadium's PA announcer told them otherwise. This game – played in the shadow of the Alps - showed just how far they have fallen since the end of October. And City supporters were kept from sneaking into the comfort of their hotels, after being forced to stay behind and watch the home side gloat. A journalist in the stadium wrote on X: "Man City fans trying to leave the Juventus Stadium have just been told over loudspeaker that they have to stay until they're allowed out. Brutal." READ MORE FOOTBALL NEWS But it is common practice for away fans to be kept back for a while to prevent any fan disturbances, with that unspoken rule particularly prevalent in Italian fixtures. Yet the City team and manager have more pressing issues at hand as they stand on the brink of Champions League elimination. It's just eight points from six games in Europe this season, with Guardiola's side dropping from 17th to 22nd in the standings - with the top 24 go through. They've lost SEVEN of their last 1O games in all competitions, with Manchester United travelling to the Etihad in the Prem on Sunday. Most read in Football FOOTBALL FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALS Wednesday night's loss makes it the club's worse run since the days of Stuart Pearce in 2009. City have two European games remaining to get themselves through against Paris Saint-Germain and Club Brugge at home. Dusan Vlahovic 's header opened the scoring for Juventus as City failed to clear in the 53rd minute. While former Prem loanee with Leeds Weston McKennie 's volley doubled their advantage on the break in the 75 minute. City host fierce rivals United, who play in the Europa League tomorrow, in the Manchester derby on Sunday. What happens next? Those in ninth to 24th enter a round of two-legged play-offs in February, with the winners taking the other eight spots in the last 16. Those who finish ninth to 16th will be seeded for the play-offs, so will have the second leg at home. Those from 17th to 24th will be unseeded, so have the first leg at home. Teams that finish anywhere from 25th to 36th will be eliminated from this season's competition, with no access to the Europa League.

LANCASTER, Pa. , Dec. 12, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Burnham Holdings, Inc. BURCA ("BHI", the "Company", "we" or "our") today announced common and preferred stock dividends. At its meeting on December 12 , 2024, Burnham Holdings, Inc.'s Board of Directors declared a quarterly common stock dividend of $0.23 per share and a semi-annual preferred stock dividend of $1.50 per share, both payable December 30, 2024 , with a record date of December 19, 2024 . Burnham Holdings, Inc.'s Annual Meeting will be held virtually via a secure website meeting platform on Monday, April 28, 2025 , beginning at 11:30 a.m. eastern. Also today, William F. Dodge, II announced his retirement from the Company's Board of Directors effective immediately. Mr. Dodge had been a director of BHI since 1999 and was one of the longest-serving directors in our history. We thank Bill for his many years of dedicated service on the Board of Directors and wish him well in his retirement. His insights and leadership will be missed. About Burnham Holdings, Inc. : BHI is the parent company of multiple subsidiaries that are leading domestic manufacturers of boilers, furnaces and related HVAC products and accessories for residential, commercial, and industrial applications. BHI is listed on the OTC Exchange under the ticker symbol "BURCA". For more information, please visit www.burnhamholdings.com . View original content: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/burnham-holdings-inc-declares-dividends-announces-date-of-annual-meeting-and-director-retirement-302330749.html SOURCE Burnham Holdings, Inc. © 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

Only about 2 in 10 Americans approve of Biden's pardon of his son Hunter, poll findsNEW YORK, Dec. 11, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Future Vision II Acquisition Corp., (NASDAQ: FVNNU) a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company (the “Future Vision”), and Viwo Technology Inc., a Cayman Islands exempted company operating its business via wholly owned entities in China (“Viwo”), today announced that, on December 10, 2024, they have entered into Amendment No. 1 to the Merger Agreement. Amendment No. 1 to the Merger Agreement requires pre-Business Combination Viwo shareholders to enter into a lock up agreement with respect to Future Vision shares they receive from the consummation of the Business Combination. The lock up is designed to align the interests of these shareholders with the long-term growth of the post-Business Combination company, Viwo Inc. Under the terms of the lock-up agreement, shareholders will be required to enter into a lock-up agreement, which includes a Viwo Inc. performance based release mechanism. This mechanism provides that shares are released based on the achievement of specific financial performance milestones and time-based criteria. Key Highlights of the Lock-Up Agreement: Company Shareholders’ shares received in connection with the consummation of the Business Combination will be locked up for two (2) or three (3) years from the Effective Time of the Business Combination if the following performance-based milestone is met by Viwo Inc. Condition of the Two-Year Lock-Up Period Shares will be eligible for release if Viwo Inc. achieves an audited gross revenue growth of 20% by the end of the first fiscal year and 30% by the end of the second fiscal year, or a compounded growth rate of 24.96% year over year for the two-year period. If Viwo Inc. does not achieve the required gross revenue growth, than the shares will be locked up for a third year. Condition of the Three-Year Lock-Up Period: Shares will be eligible for release if Viwo Inc. achieves an audited gross revenue growth of 126.2% by the end of the third fiscal year, representing a compounded growth rate of 28.46% year over year, or 45% revenue growth from the second year assuming Viwo Inc. achieves a compounded growth rate of 24.96% year over year for the first and second years. Forfeiture of Shares to Release Lock Up: Alternatively, shareholders may effect the forfeiture of 10% of their Consideration Shares after the end of the third fiscal year to release the lock up. “We believe that this lock-up agreement, with its staggered release mechanism, will foster a stronger alignment between shareholders and the company’s long-term goals,” said Fidel Wang of Viwo Technology Inc. “By tying the release of shares to specific financial performance milestones, we are reinforcing our commitment to sustainable growth and value creation.” About Viwo Technology Inc. Viwo is an innovation-driven technology company specializing in AI and “Martech” (marketing + technology) services, as well as AI and software development services. Viwo’s mission is to drive business growth and enhance corporate value for its customers. Viwo assists customers across various industries in achieving digital upgrades and transformations, thereby creating future value. Viwo is committed to continuous technological innovation with the aim of industrializing intelligent digital technology. About Future Vision II Acquisition Corp. Future Vision II Acquisition Corp is a newly incorporated blank check company incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities. While we will not be limited to a particular industry in our identification and acquisition of a target company, we intend to focus our search on businesses within the technology, media, and telecommunications sector. Additional Information about the Business Combination and Where to Find It To facilitate the Business Combination, Future Vision will file a registration statement on Form S-4 (as may be amended from time to time, the “Registration Statement”) that will include a preliminary proxy statement/prospectus of Future Vision, and after the Registration Statement is declared effective, Future Vision will mail a definitive proxy statement/prospectus relating to the Business Combination to its shareholders. The Registration Statement, including the proxy statement/prospectus contained therein, when declared effective by the SEC, will contain important information about the Business Combination and the other matters to be voted upon at a meeting of Future Vision’s shareholders to be held to approve the Business Combination and related matters. This communication does not contain all of the information that should be considered concerning the Business Combination and other matters and is not intended to provide the basis for any investment decision or any other decision in respect to such matters. Future Vision and Viwo may also file other documents with the SEC regarding the Business Combination. Future Vision shareholders and other interested persons are advised to read the preliminary proxy statement/prospectus and the amendments thereto and the definitive proxy statement/prospectus and other documents filed in connection with the Business Combination, when available, as these materials will contain important information about Future Vision, Viwo, and the Business Combination. When available, the definitive proxy statement/prospectus and other relevant materials for the Business Combination will be mailed to Future Vision shareholders as of a record date to be established for voting on the Business Combination. Shareholders will also be able to obtain copies of the preliminary proxy statement/prospectus, the definitive proxy statement/prospectus and other documents filed with the SEC that will be incorporated by reference therein, without charge, once available, at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov . Participants in the Solicitation / No Offer or Solicitation Future Vision, Viwo, and their respective directors and executive officers may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from Future Vision shareholders in connection with the proposed Business Combination. A list of the names of the directors and executive officers of Future Vision and information regarding their interests in the business combination will be contained in the proxy statement/prospectus when available. You may obtain free copies of these documents as described in the preceding paragraph. This communication does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities or a solicitation of any vote or approval, nor shall there be any sale of any securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation, or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of such other jurisdiction. Forward-Looking Statements Neither Future Vision, Viwo, nor any of their respective affiliates make any representation or warranty as to the accuracy or completeness of the information contained in this Current Report on Form 8-K. This Current Report on Form 8-K is not intended to be all-inclusive or to contain all the information that a person may desire in considering the proposed Business Combination discussed herein. It is not intended to form the basis of any investment decision or any other decision in respect of the proposed Business Combination. This Current Report on Form 8-K and the exhibits filed or furnished herewith include “forward-looking statements” made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 with respect to the proposed transactions by and among Future Vision, Merger Sub, and Viwo, including statements regarding the benefits of the transaction, the anticipated timing of the Business Combination, the business of the Company and the markets in which they operate. Actual results may differ from expectations, estimates and projections and consequently, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. These forward-looking statements generally are identified by the words or phrases such as “aspire,” “expect,” “estimate,” “project,” “budget,” “forecast,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “may,” “will,” “will be,” “will continue,” “will likely result,” “could,” “should,” “believe(s),” “predicts,” “potential,” “continue,” “future,” “opportunity,” “seek,” “intend,” “strategy,” or the negative version of those words or phrases or similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, Future Vision’s and Viwo’s expectations with respect to future performance and anticipated financial impacts of the proposed Business Combination. These forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from the expected results. Most of these factors are outside Future Vision’s and Viwo’s control and are difficult to predict. Factors that may cause such differences include, but are not limited to: general economic, financial, legal, political and business conditions and changes in domestic markets; risks related to the business of Viwo and the timing of expected business milestones; changes in the assumptions underlying the expectations of the Viwo regarding its future business; the effects of competition on the Viwo’s future business; the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against Future Vision, Viwo, and/or the combined company or others following the announcement of the proposed Business Combination and any definitive agreements with respect thereto; the inability to complete the proposed Business Combination, including, without limitation, the inability to obtain approval of the shareholders of Future Vision or to satisfy other conditions to closing; the ability to meet stock exchange listing standards in connection with and following the consummation of the proposed Business Combination; the risk that the proposed Business Combination disrupts current plans and operations of Future Vision and Viwo as a result of the announcement and consummation of the proposed Business Combination; the ability to recognize the anticipated benefits of the proposed Business Combination, which may be affected by, among other things, competition, the ability of the combined company to grow and manage growth profitably, maintain relationships with customers and suppliers and retain its management and key employees; costs related to the proposed Business Combination; changes in applicable laws or regulations and delays in obtaining, adverse conditions contained in, or the inability to obtain regulatory approvals required to complete the proposed Business Combination; the Parties’ estimates of expenses and profitability and underlying assumptions with respect to shareholder redemptions and purchase price and other adjustments; the possibility that the combined company may be adversely affected by other economic, business, and/or competitive factors; and other risks and uncertainties set forth in the filings made by Future Vision with the SEC, including the proxy statement/prospectus that will be filed relating to the proposed Business Combination. These filings identify and address other important risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events and results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Future Vision and Viwo caution that the foregoing list of factors is not exclusive. Future Vision and Viwo caution readers not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. Neither Future Vision or Viwo undertake or accept any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect any change in its expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based. For investor and media inquiries, please contact: Ms. Caihong Chen, CFO of Future Vision Email: caih_chen@outlook.comKnight stops 20 shots, Florida rolls past Carolina 6-0 for 2nd win over 'Canes in as many days

In 2008, the World Wildlife Foundation and Marine Mammal Council made Nov. 24 Walrus Day. This day is to help raise awareness to these magnificent mammals and their declining numbers. These massive mammals are the third-largest pinniped species, behind only the two elephant seal species. There are two walrus subspecies, Pacific and Atlantic, with the Pacific being slightly bigger. Pacific males can range between 7 to 11 feet long and weigh between 1,800 and 4,000 pounds! Even the babies have some heft to them. Newborn walruses can weigh between 70 and 185 pounds and be between 3 to 4 feet long. Their body shape is similar to their other pinniped relatives of seals and sea lions. They can turn their rear flippers forward and “walk” on all four limbs like sea lions, but swim more like true seals, using full-body movements and less flipper flaps. The most prominent feature of walruses is their tusks. These protrusions can reach more than 3 feet in length and weigh around 12 pounds each. Both males and females have tusks, and they are used in a variety of ways. Males use them for display, fighting, and exerting dominance. Walruses are social animals, and the dominant male is the one with the longest and strongest tusks. Outside of mating rituals, tusks can also help walruses form holes in the ice or to aid in climbing out of the water. Also common is using them as defense against predators such as orcas and polar bears; however, due to their size and formidable weaponry, these predators tend to only hunt walrus calves. Another distinguishing feature of walruses are their bristly whiskers. These are called vibrissae, and a walrus can have between 400 and 700 of them. They are very sensitive sensory organs that help them find food in the sea floor. While their favorite foods are clams and other mollusks, they have also been known to eat shrimp, crabs, marine worms, sea cucumbers, snails, squid and fish. Other than their tusks, walruses have few teeth, which are flat in shape. Walruses use a suction to get mollusks out of their shells and swallow them whole. Like all animals, walruses have a specific need in their Arctic environment. Climate change is reducing their habitats and as a result, reducing their populations. World Walrus Day has helped bring awareness to conservation efforts for these giants, so their numbers can continue to grow, but more work is always needed. ———— Explorit's coming events: * Explorit is open Fridays from 1 to 4 p.m. and Saturday and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The current exhibit is “Blast Off! A Journey Through Our Solar System.” Admission is $5 per person, free for Explorit members and those aged 2 and under. * Thanksgiving week hours: Nov. 25-27, open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; closed Nov. 28; Nov. 29, open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. * Winter Break hours: Dec. 23, 1-4 p.m.; Dec. 24, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.; closed Dec. 25; Dec. 26 10 a.m.-2 p.m.; Dec. 30, 1-4 p.m.; Dec. 31 10 a.m.-2 p.m.; closed Jan. 1; Jan. 2, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Regular hours Friday, Saturday and Sunday. * Consider Explorit for your end-of-year giving and help to educate and inspire the scientists of tomorrow: https://www.explorit.org/donate * Give the gift of science this holiday season. An Explorit Membership grants the recipient free visits to Explorit’s regular public hours, discounts on events, summer camps and workshops, and gives you ASTC benefits to visit other museums throughout the world.To purchase or for more information visit https://www.explorit.org/membership or call Explorit at 530-756-0191. * Celebrate your birthday at Explorit! Offered Saturdays and Sundays between 2 and 4 p.m., this two-hour program includes themed group activities and crafts, a decorated party room, and exclusive access to Explorit’s Exploration Gallery. Themes include Amazing Animals and Dynamic Dinosaurs. Call 530-756-0191 to reserve. Find information at https://www.explorit.org/birthday-parties . — Explorit Science Center is at 3141 Fifth St. For information, call 530-756-0191 or visit http://www.explorit.org , or “like” the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/explorit.fb .Consumer advocate, PUC, lawmakers set to tussle over state energy policy roles

Eugene authorities crack down on religious group feeding the homeless, but members vow ‘we won’t stop’BJP mostly prefers new faces, sparks rebellionRebel Wilson looks solemn as she steps out in black activewear while heading on a coffee run in LA just days after sharing family heartbreak READ MORE: Rebel Wilson reveals heartbreaking news just days after celebrating Thanksgiving with her young family By KATE DENNETT FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA Published: 23:51, 6 December 2024 | Updated: 23:58, 6 December 2024 e-mail 7 shares View comments Rebel Wilson looked sombre as she stepped out in Los Angeles on Friday just days after detailing her heartbreaking family news. The Australian actress, 44, kept it low-key as she stepped out solo to grab a cup of coffee during her casual outing. She cut a sporty figure in an all-black activewear set, made up of a V-neck T-shirt, fitted leggings and an oversized zip-up hoodie. The Pitch Perfect star shielded her eyes with a pair of aviator shades and tied her golden locks back in a loose ponytail for the laidback outing. It comes just days after Rebel shared her heartbreak after her beloved grandfather passed away at the age of 97. She took to Instagram last week to share the sad news as she paid tribute to her grandfather in the post. Rebel Wilson looked sombre as she stepped out in Los Angeles on Friday just days after detailing her heartbreaking family news She cut a sporty figure in an all-black activewear set, made up of a V-neck T-shirt, fitted leggings and an oversized zip-up hoodie Sharing a picture of herself and her elderly relative, Rebel wrote: 'RIP Poppy - 97 years young. The best grandpa!' Just days earlier, Rebel had spent Thanksgiving with her wife Ramona Agruma and their daughter Royce, two. Rebel took to Instagram to give a rare insight into their family festivities as they celebrated on a yacht. In one photo, Rebel and Ramona cuddled up on board the yacht before the fashion designer took a dip. Another image showed the delighted actress helping her toddler daughter walk along a picturesque beach. 'Happy Thanksgiving everyone. So grateful and lucky to have such an awesome family! Love you all so much,' she wrote in her caption. Some of the photographs in the gallery also appeared to be throwback snaps from her recent wedding to Ramona. The couple said 'I do' at a destination wedding on the Italian island of Sardinia in the Mediterranean Sea in September. The Pitch Perfect star shielded her eyes with a pair of aviator shades and tied her golden locks back in a loose ponytail for the laidback outing It comes just days after Rebel shared her heartbreak after her beloved grandfather passed away at the age of 97, with the star sharing a tribute to social media Just days earlier, Rebel had spent Thanksgiving with her wife Ramona Agruma (pictured) and their daughter Royce, two Rebel took to Instagram to give a rare insight into their family festivities as they celebrated on a yacht (She is pictured with her daughter Royce) A source previously told DailyMail.com that the couple planned to tie the knot in a 'super romantic' and intimate ceremony surrounded by their nearest and dearest. It was the perfect fairytale location for the couple to exchange vows as they notably holidayed in Porto Cervo, Sardinia, just days after going Instagram official with their romance in 2022. The comedian and her partner were reportedly supposed to get married in a 2025 beach wedding but Rebel decided to move up the date. The couple first met in 2021 and announced their engagement in February 2023 . They welcomed their daughter Royce in November 2022. Los Angeles Rebel Wilson Instagram Share or comment on this article: Rebel Wilson looks solemn as she steps out in black activewear while heading on a coffee run in LA just days after sharing family heartbreak e-mail 7 shares Add commentStunning rally in Big Tech drives Nasdaq to 20,000

DALLAS — Willy Adames makes the San Francisco Giants a better baseball team. He fills a position of need. He provides power and defense . In Buster Posey’s estimation, Adames and Matt Chapman, who signed his own lucrative deal , represent baseball’s best left side of the infield. But Adames alone does not elevate the Giants to contention status. Adames alone doesn’t guarantee they’ll be a playoff team. So when Posey was asked if it was fair to say that the team still has multiple holes to fill, the Giants’ president of baseball operations didn’t entirely disagree. “I think baseball is unique in the sense that that’s probably true for any team,” Posey said. Posey has repeated his goal to build a team with strong defense and pitching. Adames, one of baseball’s better defensive shortstops, addresses the former. With Adames in place, Posey and general manager Zack Minasian can turn their attention to addressing the latter. San Francisco’s rotation , as currently constructed, features Logan Webb, Robbie Ray, Jordan Hicks, Kyle Harrison and Hayden Birdsong. (Posey said on Monday that Hicks will be a starter.) Mason Black, Landon Roupp, Keaton Winn and Carson Whisenhunt could contribute innings as well. The Giants have options but after Webb, their rotation features a lot of variance. Ray has only pitched 34 innings over the last two seasons after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2023. Hicks battled fatigue in his first season as a full-time starter. Harrison experienced a velocity dip as he threw a career-high 124 1/3 innings. Birdsong flashed excellent stuff but struggled with command. The best way for the Giants to reduce that variance is by acquiring external talent. The list of available free agents thinned out a bit during the Winter Meetings as left-hander Max Fried and right-handers Nathan Eovaldi and Alex Cobb signed deals, but plenty of arms remain unsigned. That list includes Corbin Burnes, Jack Flaherty, Sean Manaea, among others. With Fried receiving an eight-year, $218 million deal from the Yankees, Burnes stands to sign a deal in the $250 million range. “Anytime there’s players available, we’re going to look at them,” Minasian said on Monday. “I think most players who get to free agency have earned it through their career, so usually they’re pretty good. And (we are) just continuing to look at those options and balancing the cost and our internal opportunity that we can offer.” Another one of those options is right-hander Roki Sasaki , whose agent, Joel Wolfe, held court on Tuesday . The Dodgers and Padres are the favorites to land “The Monster of the Reiwa Era,” but Wolfe outlined that the process will be open-ended with Sasaki willing to consider different options. “My advice to Roki is to go in with an open mind,” Wolfe said. Minasian, who has spent time scouting the NPB and KBO, has had Sasaki on his radar dating back to Sasaki’s amateur days, describing the right-hander as a “special arm” with “huge, raw stuff.” When asked what makes San Francisco an alluring destination, Minasian cited Oracle Park’s pitcher-friendly dimensions; direct flights to Tokyo and Osaka; the culture of the city and organization; and a fan base “hungry for the star player.” “With the rules, we haven’t gotten to know him personally, but certainly done a lot of homework,” Minasian said. “We feel like we have a good sense of what makes him tick and we feel like it’s a situation we can make very comfortable for him, just give him the best chance for success as a big-league pitcher.” Along with the rotation, the Giants will continue to explore options in the outfield. San Francisco can currently roll out an outfield of Heliot Ramos in left, Jung Hoo Lee in center and Mike Yastrzemski, who agreed to a one-year, $9.25 million deal to avoid arbitration , in right. Despite having those three in place, San Francisco expressed interest in right fielder Kyle Tucker, a pending free agent, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post . Over the last five seasons, Tucker has earned three All-Star selections, a Silver Slugger Award and a Gold Glove Award, posting an .883 OPS and totaling 121 home runs. The Giants would likely need to package multiple prospects to acquire him, and Minasian is confident in San Francisco’s stable of minor leaguers. “I do believe we have the minor-league talent to entice a team to consider us in a trade,” Minasian said. Circling back to the infield, LaMonte Wade Jr. is currently slated as San Francisco’s starting first baseman, but Posey and Minasian both said the Giants will explore their options. Wade has the 11th-best on-base percentage in baseball since 2023 (min. 900 plate appearances), but the soon-to-be 31-year-old has dealt with injuries during his time in San Francisco. “LaMonte’s a special player,” Posey said on Monday, citing his on-base ability. “He plays solid defense. I think we’re just trying as much as anything to keep options on the table.” Bryce Eldrige, the Giants’ top prospect per MLB Pipeline, could also see time at first base next season. The 20-year-old skyrocketed through the Giants’ system, hitting .291/.374/.516 with 23 homers and 92 RBIs across four levels and ending the season with eight games at Triple-A Sacramento. For as well as Eldridge played, he isn’t a lock to make his major-league debut next season. “You never want to say never, but I think it is somewhat fair to temper expectations from my end just because — whether is this is right or wrong — I’m looking at it like he should be entering his sophomore year of college,” Posey said. “We see the upside for this guy being tremendous and (want) to make sure that he gets the experience that he needs before he’s thrown into the fire.” Worth noting

MadamLead/iStock via Getty Images Today, we put Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ( NASDAQ: RYTM ) in the spotlight for the first time since the early summer of 2023 . The stock has made a nice move up recently. The company also has several key Live Chat on The Biotech Forum has been dominated by discussion of lucrative buy-write or covered call opportunities on selected biotech stocks over the past several months. To see what I and the other season biotech investors are targeting as trading ideas real-time, just join our community at The Biotech Forum by clicking HERE . Bret Jensen has over 13 years as a market analyst, helping investors find big winners in the biotech sector. Bret specializes in high beta sectors with potentially large investor returns. Bret leads the investing group The Biotech Forum , in which he and his team offer a model portfolio with their favorite 12-20 high upside biotech stocks, live chat to discuss trade ideas, and weekly research and option trades. The group also provides market commentary and a portfolio update every weekend. Learn More . Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, and no plans to initiate any such positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.Music fans should be easy to shop for this holiday season, right? Wrong! What do you pick up for the friend who knew about that rapper months before the rest of the world? What about the audiophile, whose listening habits are particular and immovable? Your sister loves Taylor Swift, but surely she already owns everything the pop star has ever released, right? Here's a gift guide for the audio lover in your life — from a can't-miss box set for the Elvis Costello obsessive to a set of wine glasses that will be music to everyone's ears. Play it by ... wine Major Scale Musical Wine Glasses Chances are, you've seen someone play water glasses before — rubbing the rim of a glass with a finger can produce musical notes, which change depending on how full the glass is. Uncommon Goods has taken the idea a step further: What if, instead of water glasses, you used wine? And what if there was a way to determine which notes could be produced, by marking each glass like a measuring cup? Well, that's exactly what they did. Compose a symphony of one with these wine glasses. $68 People are also reading... Clear the way Herschel Classic Crossbody Clear bag A recent trend in venue security is the clear-bag policy. The goal is to streamline bag checks upon entry, making the process safer and faster. If you're looking for a great gift for a loved one who plans their life around stadium and arena shows, look no further. The clear bag is an alternative to shoving everything in your pockets and clutching your smartphone to your palm. Herschel has a few reasonably priced bags that are practical, stylish and will meet most venue guidelines. $35 Elvis Costello has entered the building “King Of America & Other Realms” by Elvis Costello A new six-disc Elvis Costello box set, " King Of America & Other Realms ," has what you'd expect from a revisit to Costello's 1986 "King of America" album — a remastered version of the original, demos of most songs, a live concert from the era, even some newly recorded takes. The "Other Realms" is what sets it apart. Building on the original album's roots-based theme, half of the set explores other Costello recording adventures in the United States — many from the 2000s — with alternate versions and previously unreleased tracks. Inventive and full of buried treasures, the box is an enriching look back — and a great gift. $139.98 Learn Korean! "Learn! Korean with BTS" There's no better gift to give or receive than one that expands horizons. In " Learn! Korean with BTS ," K-pop fans can discover a new language through their love of BTS and members Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V and Jungkook. The book package teaches Korean consonants and vowels, using the names and songs of BTS. A workbook is supplemented by video and other media. What could be better — or more rewarding — for the K-pop fan? $44.49 Loud and proud Bose QuietComfort Headphones A decent pair of headphones is step one on the journey to true bliss for the audiophile. However, carrying around a studio set may not always be in the cards. But a noise-canceling pair? That's necessary. Bose's QuietComfort Headphones are a solid investment, all high-fidelity audio perfect for a long plane ride or a daily commute in equal measure. $229 For the Swifties Gold-plated chain link bracelet, featuring the logo for Taylor Swift's album, "The Tortured Poets Department" Everyone knows someone who loves Taylor Swift. But what do you give the superfan who already owns all her albums in every colorway? Unisex jewelry, maybe? In honor of this year's release of "The Tortured Poets Department," get them the official gold-plated, stainless-steel, chain-link bracelet featuring the "TTPD" logo on the pop star's website . It comes in two sizes: a small/medium option, 7.5 inches long, and a large/extra-large option, 8.5 inches long. $40 For the soul "High and Rising: A Book About De La Soul" by Marcus J. Moore Music books are always a good idea. For the hip-hop expert, a new text from the critic Marcus J. Moore, " High and Rising: A Book About De La Soul ," is a necessary cultural history of the hip-hop trio of Kelvin "Posdnuos" Mercer, Dave "Trugoy the Dove" Jolicoeur and Vincent "Maseo" Mason, who changed music forever. The book covers their ascent, and the ways in which the group defied expectations and defined a new Black alternative music, as well as the legal troubles they faced. $27.89. Get up and go Varieties of Green Day's coffee brand Punk Bunny Coffee, from left, Dookie Roast, American Idiot Roast and Fancy Sauce Roast. Pop-punk band Green Day's coffee brand, Punk Bunny Coffee , is ideal for fans of their palm-muted power chords and political anthems — and for those who prefer their morning brew to be organic, fair trade and delicious. This holiday season, they're offering a few limited-edition roasts, including some themed after their best-known albums, like "Dookie" and "American Idiot." If coffee isn't preferable, no worries! They've got a limited-edition hot cocoa, too. $13.99-$17.99 Take a trip to West Germany "Neu Klang: The Definitive History of Krautrock" by Christoph Dallach Let's be honest: True music lovers enjoy all different genres and styles. Those with the deepest knowledge are insatiable; they want to learn as much as they can about a variety of different subcultures and niches. For those real ones, the best gift this holiday season is the first ever oral history of Krautrock, Christoph Dallach's " Neu Klang: The Definitive History of Krautrock ," featuring German bands like Can, Neu!, Amon Düül, Popul Vuh, Tangerine Dream, Faust, Cluster and, of course, Kraftwerk. $29.80 2024 holiday mailing tips: Deadlines, packaging advice and more things to know Small, luxury foods are great as stocking stuffers or other gifts. Ideas for under $50 Why your favorite catalogs are smaller this holiday season Stay up-to-date on what's happening Receive the latest in local entertainment news in your inbox weekly!

NoneFacebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President-elect Donald Trump said Saturday that he wants real estate developer Charles Kushner , father of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, to serve as ambassador to France. Trump made the announcement in a Truth Social post, calling Charles Kushner “a tremendous business leader, philanthropist, & dealmaker." Kushner is the founder of Kushner Companies, a real estate firm. Jared Kushner is a former White House senior adviser to Trump who is married to Trump’s eldest daughter, Ivanka. The elder Kushner was pardoned by Trump in December 2020 after pleading guilty years earlier to tax evasion and making illegal campaign donations. People are also reading... City officials admit Corvallis' flag is 'bad.' Will it change? 2 bucks illegally killed with crossbow in Corvallis The real reason Corvallis' Pastega Lights moved to Linn County OSU football: Three takeaways from Oregon State's loss at Boise State Commentary: Gulbranson shows he should be starter in thrilling win over Cougars Head-on crash on Highway 228 kills 1, injures 2 Linn County deputy resigns during menacing case Prosecutor: Driver on laughing gas caused double fatal in Sweet Home More allegations against ex-OSU coach Corvallis homes in on layout options for a new government center Corvallis man gets prison for armed robbery case OSU football: Boise State's pass rush is formidable A busy day: A series of crashes in Sweet Home OSU football: Preview and prediction for regular-season finale against Boise State OSU football: Game notes for the Beavers' win over Washington State Charles Kushner arrives July 20, 2022, for the funeral of Ivana Trump in New York. Prosecutors alleged that after Charles Kushner discovered his brother-in-law was cooperating with federal authorities in an investigation, he hatched a scheme for revenge and intimidation. Kushner hired a prostitute to lure his brother-in-law, then arranged to have the encounter in a New Jersey motel room recorded with a hidden camera and the recording sent to Kushner's own sister, the man’s wife, prosecutors said. Kushner eventually pleaded guilty to 18 counts including tax evasion and witness tampering. He was sentenced in 2005 to two years in prison — the most he could receive under a plea deal, but less than what Chris Christie, the U.S. attorney for New Jersey at the time and later governor and Republican presidential candidate, sought. Christie blamed Jared Kushner for his firing from Trump’s transition team in 2016, and called Charles Kushner’s offenses “one of the most loathsome, disgusting crimes that I prosecuted when I was U.S. attorney.” Trump and the elder Kushner knew each other from real estate circles and their children were married in 2009. Here are the people Trump has picked for key positions so far President-elect Donald Trump 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, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, 67, was a senior adviser to Trump's 2024 presidential campaign and its de facto manager. Marco Rubio, Secretary of State 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, Secretary of Defense 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. Pam Bondi, Attorney General 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. Kristi Noem, Secretary of Homeland Security 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. Doug Burgum, Secretary of the Interior 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., Secretary of Health and Human Services 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, Treasury Secretary 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. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Labor Secretary 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, Housing and Urban Development 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, Secretary of Transportation 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. Chris Wright, Secretary of Energy 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. Linda McMahon, Secretary of Education 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, Secretary of Agriculture 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. Howard Lutnick, Secretary of Commerce 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, Secretary of Veterans Affairs 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, White House press secretary 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. Tulsi Gabbard, National Intelligence Director 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. John Ratcliffe, Central Intelligence Agency Director 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.” Lee Zeldin, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator 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.” Brendan Carr, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission 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. Elise Stefanik, Ambassador to the United Nations 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. Matt Whitaker, Ambassador to NATO 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. Pete Hoekstra, Ambassador to Canada 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.” Mike Huckabee, Ambassador to Israel 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. Steven Witkoff, Special Envoy to the Middle East 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. Keith Kellogg, Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia 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) Mike Waltz, National Security Adviser 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, Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy 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. Tom Homan, ‘Border Czar’ 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, Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services administrator 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 and Vivek Ramaswamy to advise White House on government efficiency 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, Office of Management and Budget 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. Additional selections to the incoming White House 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.

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CHICAGO (AP) — As Donald Trump’s Cabinet begins to take shape, those on both sides of the abortion debate are watching closely for clues about how his picks might affect reproductive rights policy in the president-elect’s second term . Trump’s cabinet picks offer a preview of how his administration could handle abortion after he repeatedly flip-flopped on the issue on the campaign trail. He attempted to distance himself from anti-abortion allies by deferring to states on abortion policy, even while boasting about nominating three Supreme Court justices who helped strike down the constitutional protections for abortion that had stood for half a century. In an NBC News interview that aired Sunday, Trump said he doesn't plan to restrict medication abortion but also seemed to leave the door open, saying “things change.” “Things do change, but I don't think it's going to change at all,” he said. The early lineup of his new administration , including nominations to lead health agencies, the Justice Department and event the Department of Veterans Affairs, has garnered mixed — but generally positive — reactions from anti-abortion groups. Abortion law experts said Trump's decision to include fewer candidates with deep ties to the anti-abortion movement could indicate that abortion will not be a priority for Trump's administration. “It almost seems to suggest that President Trump might be focusing his administration in other directions," said Greer Donley, an associate law professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. Karen Stone, vice president of public policy at Planned Parenthood Action Fund , said while many of the nominees have “extensive records against reproductive health care,” some do not. She cautioned against making assumptions based on Trump's initial cabinet selections. Still, many abortion rights groups are wary, in part because many of the nominees hold strong anti-abortion views even if they do not have direct ties to anti-abortion activists. They're concerned that an administration filled with top-level officials who are personally opposed to abortion could take steps to restrict access to the procedure and funding. After Trump’s ambiguity about abortion during his campaign, "there’s still a lot we don’t know about what policy is going to look like," said Mary Ruth Ziegler, a law professor at the University of California, Davis School of Law. That approach may be revealed as the staffs within key departments are announced. Trump announced he would nominate anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Health and Human Services Department, which anti-abortion forces have long targeted as central to curtailing abortion rights nationwide. Yet Kennedy shifted on the issue during his own presidential campaign. In campaign videos, Kennedy said he supports abortion access until viability , which doctors say is sometime after 21 weeks, although there is no defined timeframe. But he also said “every abortion is a tragedy” and argued for a national ban after 15 weeks of pregnancy, a stance he quickly walked back. The head of Health and Human Services oversees Title X funding for a host of family planning services and has sweeping authority over agencies that directly affect abortion access, including the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The role is especially vital amid legal battles over a federal law known as EMTALA, which President Joe Biden’s administration has argued requires emergency abortion access nationwide, and FDA approval of the abortion pill mifepristone. Mini Timmaraju, president of the national abortion rights organization Reproductive Freedom for All, called Kennedy an “unfit, unqualified extremist who cannot be trusted to protect the health, safety and reproductive freedom of American families.” His potential nomination also has caused waves in the anti-abortion movement. Former Vice President Mike Pence , a staunch abortion opponent, urged the Senate to reject Kennedy’s nomination. Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the national anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, said the group had its own concerns about Kennedy. “There’s no question that we need a pro-life HHS secretary," she said. Fox News correspondent Marty Makary is Trump’s pick to lead the FDA, which plays a critical role in access to medication abortion and contraception. Abortion rights groups have accused him of sharing misinformation about abortion on air. Russell Vought , a staunch anti-abortion conservative, has been nominated for director of the Office of Management and Budget. Vought was a key architect of Project 2025 , a right-wing blueprint for running the federal government. Among other actions to limit reproductive rights, it calls for eliminating access to medication abortion nationwide, cutting Medicaid funding for abortion and restricting access to contraceptive care, especially long-acting reversible contraceptives such as IUD’s. Despite distancing himself from the conservative manifesto on the campaign trail, Trump is stocking his administration with people who played central roles in developing Project 2025. Trump acknowledged that drafters of the report would be part of his incoming administration during the Sunday interview with NBC News, saying “Many of those things I happen to agree with.” “These cabinet appointments all confirm that Project 2025 was in fact the blueprint all along, and the alarm we saw about it was warranted,” said Amy Williams Navarro, director of government relations for Reproductive Freedom for All. Dr. Mehmet Oz , Trump’s choice to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, is a former television talk show host who has been accused of hawking dubious medical treatments and products. He voiced contradictory abortion views during his failed Senate run in 2022. Oz has described himself as “strongly pro-life, praised the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade , claimed “life starts at conception” and referred to abortion as “murder.” But he also has echoed Trump’s states-rights approach, arguing the federal government should not be involved in abortion decisions. “I want women, doctors, local political leaders, letting the democracy that’s always allowed our nation to thrive to put the best ideas forward so states can decide for themselves,” he said during a Senate debate two years ago. An array of reproductive rights groups opposed his Senate run. As CMS administrator, Oz would be in a key position to determine Medicaid coverage for family planning services and investigate potential EMTALA violations. As Florida’s attorney general, Pam Bondi defended abortion restrictions, including a 24-hour waiting period. Now she’s Trump’s choice for attorney general . Her nomination is being celebrated by abortion opponents but denounced by abortion rights groups concerned she may revive the Comstock Act , an anti-vice law passed by Congress in 1873 that, among other things, bans mailing of medication or instruments used in abortion. An anti-abortion and anti-vaccine former Florida congressman, David Weldon, has been chosen to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which collects and monitors abortion data across the country. Former Republican congressman Doug Collins is Trump’s choice to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs amid a political battle over abortion access and funding for troops and veterans. Collins voted consistently to restrict funding and access to abortion and celebrated the overturning of Roe v. Wade. “This is a team that the pro-life movement can work with," said Kristin Hawkins, president of the national anti-abortion organization Students for Life. The Associated Press receives support from several private foundations to enhance its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy. See more about AP’s democracy initiative here . The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Dusty May, No. 14 Michigan try to continue strong start vs. ArkansasIf you have an avid cook or food lover in your life, your gifting opportunities these days are vast and deep. There are authentic ingredients and creative concoctions in brick-and-mortar shops and online. The global pantry beckons. Plus, in many cases, the packaging is gorgeous! Many of these affordable luxuries can be tucked into a stocking, but they also make great presents for a co-worker, mail carrier, nephew or teacher. As a slightly compulsive and obsessive gift giver, matching the right edible treat to the recipient is my jam (another great gifting option!). All of these items cost under $50, but make a big splash. Let’s go! – Katie Workman, Associated Press Ah, nuts Two Chinese American friends took the flavors of their favorite childhood treats and transformed them into sweet spreads, ready to be slathered on toast, apples or just eaten with a spoon. Rooted Fare sells spreads like Crunchy Black Sesame Butter (inspired by tang yuan, a Lunar New Year dessert ), Pineapple Cake Cashew Butter, and Chinese Almond Cookie Butter. $15 per jar. Il Colle del Gusto makes some sweet and unusual nut-based spreads with an Italian twist: Coarse Hazelnut and Cocoa, Crunchy Peanut, and Sicilian Pistachio, all blended with olive oil. Swirl them into ice cream, slather them onto toast. Each jar under $10. Related: Sesame lovers will be delighted with either an assortment of tahini products such as Chocolate Sesame Sauce, or a tub of flaky, melt-in-your-mouth halva in flavors like cardamom and pistachio from Seed + Mill. Some great gift sets available for under $50. The crunchiest Chile crunch condiments have taken the cooking world by storm, and there are some highly giftable options. Fly By Jing makes a large assortment of Asian-inspired chile crunches, and they have some attractively packaged gift sets for the holidays. The mini sampler set is around $20. The aptly named Chile Crunch sells several varieties of their crunchy condiment, including hot, chipotle, mild and original, all for about $13 per jar. Somos’ Salsa Macha Mexican Chili Crisps explode with texture thanks to a whole lot of nuts and seeds. Scoop these spicy-crunchy sauces over everything from avocado toast to tacos – and try the sweeter one on ice cream! The gift set of two comes with a cute spoon for $35. Feeling saucy Chef Patricia Quintana has created a line of salsas, sauces, dressings and condiments that preserves the heritage of traditional Mexican cooking. Treat someone to a jar of Achiote sauce or Pineapple Habanero Salsa (and hope you get invited over for the ensuing meal). $15 to $20 per jar. Ever heard of Secret Aardvark sauces? You might be tempted to spread the word. This Caribbean/Tex-Mex line of condiments has a big following for what they call their “flavor that kicks you in the mouth.” There are many choices, including Drunken Jerk Jamaican Marinade, and Aardvark Habanero Hot Sauce. $10 each, with combo packs starting at $20. Something fishy Tinned fish is also having a blockbuster culinary moment (and in many cases the packaging is super fun). Fishwife cans ethically sourced fish, like salmon, anchovies and trout, from around the world, with some attractive gift boxes under $50. La Narval focuses on combinations of fish and sauce, such as their mussels in Spanish sauce. Each tin is about $10. Just a nibble The Drinks Bakery creates savory snacks with flavor profiles meant to match up perfectly with your favorite libations. Munch on a Lancashire Cheese and Spring Onion biscuit with a hoppy IPA or a sauvignon blanc. Serve the Parmesan, Toasted Pine Nut and Basil biscuits with a whiskey highball or champagne. Choose from small or larger boxes. Oil and vinegar I can’t think of a food gift I’m happier to see than a high-quality bottle of oil or vinegar, two of the most-used ingredients in my kitchen. Bona Fortuna’s selection of Sicilian olive oils is fresh and fragrant, and their aged balsamic vinegars are thick, sweet and rich. The Invecchiato 7-Year Aged Balsamic Vinegar of Modena, for instance, sells for $44.95; Forte Extra Virgin Olive Oil from $10.95 to $39.95. Metafora olive oil comes in a beautiful bottle and is a nice introduction to Portuguese olive oil. $40. Alvear makes lovely Andalusian sherry vinegars. For the salad makers and Spanish chefs in your life, think about gifting one each of the bottles, a sweet and a dry, about $20 apop. Fancy pants Tartuflanghe makes all sorts of luxury ingredients infused with white and black truffles. Elevate your cooking game with truffle-infused butters with flavors like porcini or anchovy (about $10 each). Pick up a box of decadent, truffle-flavored Tartufissima 19 for $32. Or how about a little jar of black truffle pearls, which look like caviar, and are the most elegant way to finish off a risotto or a deviled egg ($40)? Sweet delicacies ‘Tis the season for sweet things, but there’s no need to settle for the same old bonbons. Sanders is known for decadent, chocolate-covered caramels, and this holiday season they have some limited-edition flavors. Do you know someone who might like a bag of bourbon, maple or peppermint dark-chocolate sea-salt caramels? I do! $10. Perhaps you’ve seen the elegant Lady M layered crepe cakes? Well this holiday, try their more portable and giftable Holiday Crepe Biscuit Collection. Eight wedge-shaped boxes contain a delicate crepe biscuit with fillings such as vanilla, chocolate hazelnut and green tea. $28. André’s Confiserie Suisse makes handmade chocolate with deep rich flavor, a result of generations of Swiss chocolate-making expertise. Some unusual classics include the Nussbergerli Sticks, a mix of caramel, candied orange peel and nuts, covered in either dark or milk chocolate, as well as a lovely assortment of chocolate-covered almonds. Also check out the festive, almond-stuffed chocolate pinecones, a cute edible ornament. Offerings start at $7. There are chocolate bars and then there are chocolate bars. At Chocopologie, it’s hard to decide among the creative confections. Burnt Caramel Hawaiian Sea Salt? A S’Mores Bar that includes organic graham crackers and vegan marshmallows? At $10 each, you might need to buy a few. The bakers you know will love playing around with the Salted Caramel Crumbles from Kitty Keller. These toffee-like crumbles are made from the butter and salted caramel of Brittany, France, and can be used to finish all kinds of sweet treats with a crunchy little panache. $12. I could go on (quite clearly), but suffice it to say that a little special treat can have a big impact. Those stockings aren’t going to stuff themselves! ___ For more AP gift guides and holiday coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/gift-guide and https://apnews.com/hub/holidays.

Trump's lawyers rebuff DA's idea for upholding his hush money convictionVirtual Currency Market Look a Witness of Excellent Long-Term Growth - Worldwide Survey by 2030

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Deep concerns raised by Surrey board directors about Metro Vancouver paint a troubling portrait of an organization that lacks expertise, fails to consult, and forces the region’s officials to make multibillion-dollar decisions affecting taxpayers without adequate information. The criticism, in the form of a sharply worded letter Nov. 12 to Metro’s finance committee and obtained by Glacier Media, is the most extensive and prominent challenge yet from board directors for change at the regional federation of 21 municipalities, one electoral area and one treaty First Nation. It calls for an overhaul of the 2025 budgeting methods, arguing that inaccurate and insufficient information has been provided to directors, including an exhaustive review of decisions on development cost charges (DCCs), and a repeal of various bylaws. More broadly it calls for changes in how the body is governed. It identifies as specific pain points two Metro Vancouver projects, the North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant in North Vancouver and the looming Iona Island Wastewater Treatment Plant in Richmond, and disparages how they are among the seven top projects reporting directly into Chief Administrative Officer Jerry Dobrovolny “with no independent third-party engineering and financial auditor to provide transparency, accountability and evaluate cost-benefit design-based principles/assumptions.” The projects lack detailed and audited information on how costs are calculated, says the letter. In the case of the North Shore plant, the budget has soared seven-fold to $3.86 billion from an original $550-million contract with little public information along the way. Already the budget for the Iona plant in Richmond has risen to $14 billion from the $9.9 billion mark two years ago, and construction remains years away. The letter was submitted moments before the committee’s most recent Nov. 13 meeting by Surrey Coun. Pardeep Kooner on behalf of five other Surrey directors, including Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke. Surrey’s six directors are second-most to Vancouver’s seven on the 41-director board. The letter’s general contents were briefly discussed but the letter itself was not part of the meeting package. It wasn’t formally dealt with at the committee meeting and has been referred to Metro Vancouver staff for a response early in 2025. But its language argues nothing short of significant shifts in its operating culture and quality of competence are necessary. “I believe there must be additional board oversight and decisions made on the costing of these Major Capital projects at a minimum,” Kooner wrote. The letter reflects the frustration many directors have expressed of a staff-dominated operation that leaves them without the necessary decision-making information – but with the accountability as elected officials to taxpayers in their districts. There have been calls for a third-party audit to examine what Kooner and others have complained is a chronic sprawl of budgets and a culture of indifference about them. While a performance audit will be conducted in-house on the North Shore plant costs, it hasn’t satisfied those who feel it is insufficiently independent. The provincial government, which created Metro Vancouver as a corporate entity, has so far declined publicly to involve itself, whether to launch a fuller-fledged inquiry into costs, provide additional funds to defray significant property tax levies for the North Shore plant, or to take back the responsibilities of the operation, which at the moment is overseeing some 300 infrastructural projects. The three-page letter goes on: “The way the current board is operating has many gaps in information, lacks sufficient details to make the decisions we need to and the full financial impacts or options are not being provided. “For instance, the board is often asked to approve or endorse a very broad strategy that has a suite of staff-led sub-action items and staff-driven priorities. There is often little or no discussion on the broad strategy let alone no consultation is provided on the sub-action items. “This results in a lack of crystal-clear strategies and policies which enables staff to make their own interpretations and significant decisions without Board consideration. I have found that staff has been using the strategic plan to pick and choose areas of focus with no clear direct board resolution which is affecting the information we are provided. I believe that the current governance model is not sufficient to ensure the Board is fully prepared and knowledgeable.” The letter outlines the need to defer the 2025 budget planning to deal with six issues, including what Kooner terms “a huge concern” about DCCs, how they are apportioned to communities, and the quality of the population and dwelling forecasts. “I have been told that there are many factors that are considered; however, these other factors have not been provided.” As it is, the budget information and methodology “is not accurate/insufficient and does not portray the true impact on the decisions that have been brought to the Board.” Kirk LaPointe is a Glacier Media columnist with an extensive background in journalismNoneApple appeals Nebraska tax ruling resulting in $652K in additional taxes

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North Carolina GOP lawmakers enact a law eroding the incoming Democratic governor's powers

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(The Center Square) – The U.S. Government Accountability Office says leadership is needed to fully define quantum threat mitigation strategy. A new report released by the agency emphasizes the urgent need for comprehensive federal leadership to address the emerging cybersecurity risks posed by quantum computing, warning that without prompt and coordinated action, adversarial nations might exploit quantum technology to undermine national security. "It is important for the Office of the National Cyber Director to act on our recommendation now for several reasons," Marisol Cruz Cain, director with GAO's Information Technology and Cybersecurity team, wrote in an email to The Center Square. "Adversaries could copy data protected by cryptography today and store it with the intention of accessing it later once a cryptographically relevant quantum computer is developed." The director is also the lead author of The Future of Cybersecurity. "The key to successful migrations is to start planning now and not wait until a CRQC is on the horizon," Cain wrote. "A fully comprehensive strategy will provide agencies with more clarity on their responsibilities and the common outcomes they are aiming to achieve. It will also provide the nation a better-defined roadmap for allocating and managing resources and holding participants accountable for achieving results." A cryptographically relevant quantum computer is a quantum computer that can run algorithms to crack or weaken existing cryptography. Quantum computing is a rapidly advancing technology that has the potential to solve complex problems at an unprecedented speed, which also poses significant risks in today's cybersecurity. The report says various documents have been developed over the past eight years that have contributed to an emerging U.S. national quantum computing cybersecurity strategy. The Government Accountability Office has identified three goals moving forward. The first goal is to standardize post-quantum cryptography, the second would be to migrate federal systems to that cryptography, and the third would encourage all sectors of the economy to prepare for the threat. The report identifies gaps in federal agency preparedness and a lack of clear leadership to oversee the transition to quantum-safe systems, as "No single federal organization is responsible for the U.S. strategy’s coordination." While agencies like the National Institute of Standards and Technology have taken necessary steps to develop quantum-resistant cryptographic standards, the report found inconsistencies in how federal agencies implement recommendations. The Government Accountability Office says national strategies should ideally contain six characteristics: • Purpose, scope, and methodology. More from this section • Problem definition and risk assessment. • Objectives, activities, milestones, and performance measures. • Resources, investments, and risk management. • Organizational roles, responsibilities, and coordination. • Implementation and integration. According to the report, the accountability office was asked to investigate the federal government's strategy for addressing threats posed by quantum computers to the nation's cryptography. The current encryption methods are designed to secure sensitive data, but unfortunately, could potentially become vulnerable to future efforts of quantum-enabled decryption in the future. The report also stresses that the federal government will need to act swiftly to implement quantum-resistant cryptography in order to ensure that those critical systems would remain secure. According to the report, "some experts predict that a quantum computer capable of breaking certain cryptography – referred to as a cryptographically relevant quantum computer – may be developed in the next 10 to 20 years." The agency also identified challenges in workforce development and noted a shortage of professionals with expertise in quantum computing and cybersecurity, suggesting federal agencies invest in training programs and collaborate with private sector leaders to ensure a skilled future workforce that is ready to tackle any quantum-related threats. The report serves as a roadmap for quantum threat mitigation and outlines ways the federal government could appoint a centralized leadership body to oversee the implementation of quantum-safe measures. The report also calls for increased funding for quantum research and development and stronger public-private partnerships to address other vulnerabilities while also emphasizing that proactive leadership is critical to ensuring the United States remains at the forefront of cybersecurity in the quantum era.Friends and family of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson remembered the 50-year-old father of two as he was laid to rest during a private funeral service in Maple Grove, Minnesota on Monday, the same day that the arrest of his alleged assassin drew the nation's attention. As Luigi Mangione was being detained in Pennsylvania amid an outpouring of online support for the suspected killer, those close to Thompson quietly mourned his loss at a Lutheran church in his Minnesota hometown. Thompson was fatally shot outside a Hilton hotel in midtown Manhattan as he was on his way to an investor conference the morning of December 4. Despite the shock of the brazen public execution, his death has spurred widespread anger at the health insurance industry and its top officials, with many even defending the gunman as a folk hero who was justified in his violence. But those who were close to Thompson during his life say the picture being painted of the 50-year-old husband and father does not reflect the man they knew. Matt Burns, a former colleague at UnitedHealthcare, told Newsweek that while he wasn't Thompson's closest friend or colleague, "I, like many, was lucky to know him because he had a unique way of expressing how much he valued and appreciated those around him in a way that was authentic and personal." Burns described Thompson, who colleagues knew as "BT," as "whip-smart and affable," a man "who could grasp the complexities of health care and explain them in simple, relatable terms true to his Iowa upbringing." "In his plainspokenness, he wasn't shy about using four-letter words nor did he suffer fools lightly, sizing up people quickly," Burns said. "He commanded respect and advanced without sharp elbows common in corporate settings. I have little doubt that eventually he would have ascended to the top role at UnitedHealth Group had his life not ended so tragically." Thompson grew up in a working-class family in Jewell, Idaho, where friends remember him as a farm kid who was well-liked by everyone. His mother was a beautician and his father was employed at a local grain elevator, according to an obituary . The elder Thompson passed away last year at 75. "He was one of the smartest kids, if not the smartest, and I would say the smartest person I've ever known," Taylor Hill, a close friend of Thompson's from childhood, told the Des Moines Register . "He was probably smarter than half our teachers. And the thing with our teachers is they knew it, too." Hill recalled him and Thompson being inseparable while growing up in rural Idaho, where they both graduated from South Hamilton High School in 1993. In a statement released last week, the school remembered Thompson as his class valedictorian, "a star student, athlete, homecoming king, and a respected leader." "The fact that he came from small town Iowa and still was able to achieve what he achieved, that says a lot about his drive," Todd Coy, the principal of South Hamilton Middle and High School, told KKCI, a local television station in Des Moines. "If you would look at his '93 classmates, they would all tell you that they knew he was going to strive to be something big," Coy said. "Being a CEO of a large health insurance company does not surprise any of them." Thompson would go onto attend the University of Iowa, where he met his wife, Paulette. He graduated with a degree in business administration in 1997 near the top of his class. The couple had two children together and settled in Maple Grove, a leafy suburb of Minneapolis near where UnitedHealth is based. According to colleagues who spoke to the New York Times , Thompson kept a low profile at home and was down-to-earth and funny in his personal life. He went to his sons' soccer games and liked to take them out on the golf course. "Brian was an incredibly loving husband, son, brother and friend," Thompson's family said in a statement after his death. "Most importantly, Brian was a devoted father to our two sons, and we will miss him for the rest of our lives. We appreciate the overwhelming outpouring of kind words and support we have received." Thompson joined UnitedHealth Group in 2004. After two decades rising through the ranks, he was named chief executive of UnitedHealthcare, the conglomerate's insurance division, in 2021. "His star ascended rapidly and yet I don't recall him forgetting those he worked with in the trenches along the way," Burns told Newsweek . "He toggled between his leadership role and relatable Joe as effectively and easily as anyone I've encountered professionally." Under his leadership, the company's profits rose to more than $16 billion last year from $12 billion in 2021. During that time, the company was also accused of systematically denying claims, and Thompson was named in a class-action lawsuit filed earlier this year that accused him and other executives of dumping stock before the Department of Justice announced an antitrust investigation into UnitedHealth Group. Newsweek reached out to UnitedHealth via email for comment. Betuchy Galeano, a Florida-based UnitedHealth employee, called Thompson "a truly remarkable person" who was "so humble, kind, cheerful, and full of life" in a Facebook post remembering her colleague. "BT was always fighting for the employees and members, making sure everyone understood the importance of compassion and appreciation," Victoria Claire, a medical coder in Wisconsin, also wrote. "Rest peacefully, BT, you will be missed." In a post on X, formerly Twitter , disability rights activist and former educator Timothy Shriver wrote, "Brian Thompson was a friend, an ally, and a believer in the power and importance of the athletes of Special Olympics . His sudden and horrifying death has left all of us in Special Olympics in shock and heartbreak. We will hold his spirit as we run our races for justice and joy and pray for his rest."

Which board games are best? Even with technology taking over much of our day-to-day lives, board games still offer quality entertainment that can’t be beaten. Of course, the popular board games of today are a far cry from the games your parents grew up playing. Board games are perfect for encouraging your family to work together or for bringing your group of friends around the table for an evening. If you’d like to start up a weekly game night, let this helpful list of the most popular board games be your guide. Utter Nonsense Ages 8+ This game will have every player rolling in stitches with each ridiculous phrase that’s uttered. Combine crazy accents and hilarious phrases to impress the Nonsense Judge and win the round. The player with the highest number of wins ultimately wins the game, but the true fun of this card game is listening to your fellow players trying to say some of the most entertaining phrases of all time. This game is perfect for game nights or parties. Speak Out Ages 8+ This hilarious game is perfect if you have teenagers or are hosting a party with all adults. To play, you insert a mouthpiece that alters the sound of your speech, making every word sound silly. Set the timer and read one of the phrases on the cards and try to help your teammate guess what you’re saying. Speak Out easily provides hours of fun that even grandparents will love. Escape Room in a Box Ages 13+ What’s the next best thing to trying to break out of a room? Escape Room in a Box, of course. This thrilling, immersive game involves solving 2D and 3D puzzles in order to prevent a mad scientist from turning you and your friends or family into werewolves. Work together to escape your fate and use Amazon Alexa to enhance the experience. Codenames Ages 14+ This fun strategy game is perfect for anyone with teenagers. Form two teams and select a spymaster on each team. Using clues, spymasters try to help their teammates find all 25 of the agents they’re in contact with, hopefully without selecting the other team’s agents or running into the deadly assassin. This innovative game offers a challenging and rewarding time working together. ​​​​​​​Harry Potter Clue Ages 9+ Excite your kids on game night with this modern twist on a classic. Play as six recognizable Hogwarts characters — Harry, Hermione, Ron, Luna, Ginny or Neville — to solve the mystery behind a fellow student’s disappearance. It’s up to you to figure out who attacked the student, what bewitching spell they used and where it occurred. Watch out for the Dark Mark, moving staircases and secret passages as you travel along in this magical family game. ​​​​​​​Pandemic Ages 8+ If you’ve ever wanted to save humanity from a deadly outbreak, you’ll love spending an hour playing Pandemic. You and your teammates must fight to contain four deadly diseases threatening the human race. Players must learn to work with their teammates to control outbreak hotspots and treat diseases. Win the game by curing all diseases without wiping out humanity first. ​​​​​​​ Catan Ages 10+ This tactical 60-minute game will push your imagination to its limits as you embark on a journey across Catan. Acquire crucial resources as you travel, build roads, buildings, and cities, and be wary of the ruthless robber and other players halting you on your own road. Through careful trading and clever decisions, you can lead your travelers to victory in this role-playing game of limitless possibilities. Play again and again. Every game is different. Ticket to Ride Ages 8+ Train lovers will enjoy this innovative board game which has won numerous awards. This cross-country train adventure game mimics the concept of traveling around the world in 80 days. Collect train cars and claim railways across the country. Players earn the most points by establishing long train routes and connecting distant cities. Each game takes roughly 30 to 40 minutes to complete, and every adventure is different. ​​​​​​​5 Second Rule Ages 10+ This quick-paced game gives each player five seconds to name items on a certain topic. Although the topics are objectively easy —“Name 3 Mountains,” “Name 3 Types of Hats” or “Name 3 Super Heroes,” the pressure of the time crunch is likely to put you on edge. Race the clock and remain composed to win this game. You can even make up your own topics if you prefer. Half the fun is just hearing what other people blurt out, whether it’s relevant to the topic or not. Prices listed reflect time and date of publication and are subject to change. Check out our Daily Deals for the best products at the best prices and sign up here to receive the BestReviews weekly newsletter full of shopping inspo and sales. BestReviews spends thousands of hours researching, analyzing and testing products to recommend the best picks for most consumers. BestReviews and its newspaper partners may earn a commission if you purchase a product through one of our links.

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — Thomas Brown insists he's focused on the job at hand and not the one he might have down the line. His immediate task as the interim coach of the Chicago Bears is helping the team finish strong over the final five games, starting this weekend at San Francisco. The rest of his life can wait. “I think about just the moment. ... I obviously understand the role that I'm in, understand what might come with it," he said Wednesday. "But I also understand that we make most situations bigger than what it has to be because of the outside noise, what everybody else puts a value on it.” The Bears are in a moment unlike any other in the history of the founding NFL franchise. They fired a head coach for the first time during a season when they let Matt Eberflus go on Friday with a 4-8 record and the team in a six-game losing streak marked by head-scratching decisions. They promoted Brown, who in a span of three weeks went from passing game coordinator to offensive coordinator and now the person in charge. The tipping point was a 23-20 loss at Detroit on Thanksgiving, when the Bears let the clock run down rather than call a timeout following a sack. It led to Caleb Williams throwing an incomplete pass from the Lions 41 as time expired when Chicago should have been able to run more than one play. Star cornerback Jaylon Johnson interrupted Eberflus' postgame speech and made his feelings clear. Other players had gone public in recent weeks with their frustrations over the coaching decisions, and they didn't exactly hide their emotions following the Detroit game. On Wednesday, defensive end DeMarcus Walker said he sensed a change was coming after the loss to the Lions. “You guys just look at the whole turnaround, how everything had been going, we just knew some changes were going to be made,” he said. The 38-year-old Brown now has a huge opportunity. He spent last season as Carolina's offensive coordinator and the previous three on Sean McVay's staff with the Los Angeles Rams — the final two as assistant head coach. Prior to that, he spent nine years as a college assistant, including stops at Wisconsin, Georgia, Miami and South Carolina. It's his job to help right a team that came into the season thinking a playoff spot was in reach. Williams' development obviously will be front and center. To that end, the No. 1 overall draft pick has looked more comfortable in the three games since Brown took over for the fired Shane Waldron as offensive coordinator, completing 75 of 117 passes for 827 yards with five touchdowns, no interceptions and a rating of 99.2. Though Brown will continue to call plays, the Bears have another new offensive coordinator in wide receivers coach Chris Beatty. “I think it is a stepping stone actually with my development because I think down the line I’ll have different OCs or different head coaches or whatever the case may be,” Williams said. “And so being able to handle it my first year, handle a new playbook, handle all these different changes, handle all of this I think it definitely will help the development instead of hurting it or anything like that.” Beyond the development of the prized quarterback, Brown also will be judged during his audition for the regular job on his preparation, decisions during games and command of the locker room. He said he reached out to each player individually on Friday and Saturday and tried to set a tone when the team met on Monday. “I want them to be excellent,” Brown said. “I can nitpick at every single play and tell a guy how he wasn’t perfect. And, so, perfection’s not the goal. It’s to excel at your craft.” Notes: The Bears had a lengthy injury report on Wednesday. WRs Keenan Allen (ankle) and DJ Moore (quad), RBs D'Andre Swift (quad) and Roschon Johnson (concussion), DB Elijah Hicks (ankle) and OL Ryan Bates (concussion) all missed practice. S Kevin Byard (shoulder) and OLs Darnnell Wright (knee) and Coleman Shelton (knee) were limited. AP NFL coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/NFLNew shoplifting data explains why they’re locking up the toothpaste

RICHMOND — With Donald Trump’s return to the White House and Republicans taking full control of Congress in 2025, the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion is back on the chopping block. More than 3 million adults in nine states would be at immediate risk of losing their health coverage should the GOP reduce the extra federal Medicaid funding that’s enabled states to widen eligibility, according to KFF, a health information nonprofit that includes KFF Health News, and the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families. That’s because the states have trigger laws that would swiftly end their Medicaid expansions if federal funding falls. The states are Arizona, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Utah, and Virginia. The 2010 Affordable Care Act encouraged states to expand Medicaid programs to cover more low-income Americans who didn’t get health insurance through their jobs. Forty states and the District of Columbia agreed, extending health insurance since 2014 to an estimated 21 million people and helping drive the U.S. uninsured rate to record lows. In exchange, the federal government pays 90% of the cost to cover the expanded population. That’s far higher than the federal match for other Medicaid beneficiaries, which averages about 57% nationwide. Conservative policy groups, which generally have opposed the ACA, say the program costs too much and covers too many people. Democrats say the Medicaid expansion has saved lives and helped communities by widening coverage to people who could not afford private insurance. If Congress cuts federal funding, Medicaid expansion would be at risk in all states that have opted into it — even those without trigger laws — because state legislatures would be forced to make up the difference, said Renuka Tipirneni, an associate professor at the University of Michigan’s School of Public Health. Decisions to keep or roll back the expansion “would depend on the politics at the state level,” Tipirneni said. For instance, Michigan approved a trigger as part of its Medicaid expansion in 2013, when it was controlled by a Republican governor and legislature. Last year, with the government controlled by Democrats, the state eliminated its funding trigger. Six of the nine states with trigger laws — Arizona, Arkansas, Indiana, Montana, North Carolina, and Utah — went for Trump in the 2024 election. Most of the nine states’ triggers kick in if federal funding falls below the 90% threshold. Arizona’s trigger would eliminate its expansion if funding falls below 80%. Montana’s law rolls back expansion below 90% funding but allows it to continue if lawmakers identify additional funding. Under state law, Montana lawmakers must reauthorize its Medicaid expansion in 2025 or the expansion will end. Across the states with triggers, between 3.1 million and 3.7 million people would swiftly lose their coverage, researchers at KFF and the Georgetown center estimate. The difference depends on how states treat people who were added to Medicaid before the ACA expansion; they may continue to qualify even if the expansion ends. Three other states — Iowa, Idaho, and New Mexico— have laws that require their governments to mitigate the financial impact of losing federal Medicaid expansion funding but would not automatically end expansions. With those three states included, about 4.3 million Medicaid expansion enrollees would be at risk of losing coverage, according to KFF. The ACA allowed Medicaid expansions to adults with incomes up to 138% of the federal poverty level, or about $20,783 for an individual in 2024. Nearly a quarter of the 81 million people enrolled in Medicaid nationally are in the program due to expansions. “With a reduction in the expansion match rate, it is likely that all states would need to evaluate whether to continue expansion coverage because it would require a significant increase in state spending,” said Robin Rudowitz, vice president and director of the Program on Medicaid and the Uninsured at KFF. “If states drop coverage, it is likely that there would be an increase in the number of uninsured, and that would limit access to care across red and blue states that have adopted expansion.” States rarely cut eligibility for social programs such as Medicaid once it’s been granted. The triggers make it politically easier for state lawmakers to end Medicaid expansion because they would not have to take any new action to cut coverage, said Edwin Park, a research professor at the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families. To see the impact of trigger laws, consider what happened after the Supreme Court in 2022 struck down Roe v. Wade and, with it, the constitutional right to an abortion. Conservative lawmakers in 13 states had crafted trigger laws that would automatically implement bans in the event a national right to abortion were struck down. Those state laws resulted in restrictions taking effect immediately after the court ruling, or shortly thereafter. States adopted triggers as part of Medicaid expansion to win over lawmakers skeptical of putting state dollars on the hook for a federal program unpopular with most Republicans. It’s unclear what Trump and congressional Republicans will do with Medicaid after he takes office in January, but one indicator could be a recent recommendation from the Paragon Health Institute, a leading conservative policy organization led by former Trump health adviser Brian Blase. Paragon has proposed that starting in 2026 the federal government would phase down the 90% federal match for expansion until 2034, when it would reach parity with each state’s federal match for its traditional enrollees. Under that plan, states could still get ACA Medicaid expansion funding but restrict coverage to enrollees with incomes up to the federal poverty level. Currently, to receive expansion funding, states must offer coverage to everyone up to 138% of the poverty level. Daniel Derksen, director of the Center for Rural Health at the University of Arizona, said it’s unlikely Arizona would move to eliminate its trigger and make up for lost federal funds. “It would be a tough sell right now as it would put a big strain on the budget,” he said. Medicaid has been in the crosshairs of Republicans in Washington before. Republican congressional leaders in 2017 proposed legislation to cut federal expansion funding, a move that would have shifted billions in costs to states. That plan, part of a strategy to repeal Obamacare, ultimately failed.

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U.S. stock indexes reached more records after tech companies talked up how much artificial intelligence is boosting their results. The S&P 500 climbed 0.6% Wednesday to add to what looks to be one of its best years of the millennium. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.7%, while the Nasdaq composite added 1.3% to its own record. Salesforce pulled the market higher after highlighting its artificial-intelligence offering for customers. Marvell Technology jumped even more after saying it’s seeing strong demand from AI. Treasury yields eased, while bitcoin climbed after President-elect Donald Trump nominated a crypto advocate to head the Securities and Exchange Commission. On Wednesday: The S&P 500 rose 36.61 points, or 0.6%, to 6,086.49. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 308.51 points, or 0.7%, to 45,014.04. The Nasdaq composite rose 254.21 points, or 1.3%, to 19,735.12. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 10.22 points, or 0.4%, to 2,426.56. For the week: The S&P 500 is up 54.11 points, or 0.9%. The Dow is up 103.39 points, or 0.2%. The Nasdaq is up 516.95 points, or 2.7%. The Russell 2000 is down 8.16 points, or 0.3%. For the year: The S&P 500 is up 1,316.66 points, or 27.6%. The Dow is up 7,324.50 points, or 19.4%. The Nasdaq is up 4,723.76 points, or 31.5%. The Russell 2000 is up 399.49 points, or 19.7%.

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli airstrikes tore through a tent camp for displaced Palestinians in southern Gaza on Wednesday, sparking fires and killing at least 21 people, according to the head of a nearby hospital, in the latest assault on a sprawling tent city that Israel designated a humanitarian safe zone but has repeatedly targeted. The Israeli military said it struck senior Hamas militants “involved in terrorist activities” in the area, without providing additional details, and said it took precautions to minimize harm to civilians. The strike on the Muwasi tent camp was one of several deadly assaults across the Gaza Strip on Wednesday. An Israeli attack in central Gaza killed at least 10 more people, including four children, according to Palestinian medics. Israel’s devastating war in Gaza , launched after Hamas’ October 2023 attack, shows no signs of ending after nearly 14 months. Hamas is still holding dozens of Israeli hostages, and most of Gaza’s population has been displaced and is reliant on international food aid to survive. Israel is also pressing a major offensive in the isolated north, where experts say Palestinians might be experiencing famine . The Biden administration has pledged to make a new push for a Gaza ceasefire now that there's a truce in Lebanon between Israel and the militant group Hezbollah, ending more than a year of cross-border fighting. Meanwhile, President-elect Donald Trump demanded this week the release of hostages held by Hamas before he is sworn into office in January. Wednesday's strike in Muwasi — a desolate area with few public services that holds hundreds of thousands of displaced people — wounded at least 28 people, according to Atif al-Hout, the director of Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis. An Associated Press journalist at the hospital counted at least 15 bodies, but said reaching a precise number was difficult because many of the dead were dismembered, some without heads or badly burned. In the morgue, an infant's blackened hand and face peeked out from beneath a heavy blanket used to transport bodies to the hospital. “It was like doomsday,” said a wounded woman, Iman Jumaa, who held back tears as she described how the strike killed her father, her brothers and her brothers' children. Videos and photos of the strike shared widely on social media showed flames and a column of black smoke rising into the night sky, as well as twisted metal tent frames and shredded fabric. Palestinian men searched through the still-burning wreckage, shouting, “Over here guys!” Further away, civilians stood at a distance, observing the destruction. The military said the strikes had set off secondary blasts, indicating explosives present in the area had detonated. It was not possible to independently confirm the Israeli claims, and the strikes could also have ignited fuel, cooking gas canisters or other materials in the camp. Shortly after the strike, Al-Awda Hospital said two people had been killed and 38 wounded in an attack on a residential block in the Nuseirat refugee camp. The military had no immediate comment on the strike, but said earlier strikes in central Gaza had hit “terrorist targets." Israel says it tries to avoid harming civilians and blames Hamas for their deaths, saying the militants often operate in residential areas and are known to position tunnels, rocket launchers and other infrastructure near homes, schools and mosques. Previous Israeli strikes on tent camps in Gaza have drawn widespread international outrage, such as when a wounded student’s last moments were caught on video as he burned to death in a tent outside a hospital. In northern Gaza, dozens of Palestinian families said Israel's expanding offensive had forcibly displaced them from schools-turned-shelters. Associated Press footage showed people on the road Wednesday leaving Beit Lahia, many crowded onto donkey carts with their belongings in their arms. Others walked on foot. “This morning a quadcopter (drone) detonated four bombs at the school. There were people injured, human remains — we left with nothing,” said Sadeia al-Rahel. The 57-year-old said her family has been eating grass, leaves, and animal feed for two months due to the lack of food aid in the north. The amount of aid entering Gaza plunged in October, and hunger is widespread across the territory, even in central Gaza where aid groups have more access. Humanitarian organizations say Israeli restrictions, ongoing fighting and the breakdown of law and order make it difficult to deliver assistance. Israel has said it is working to increase the flow of aid. Israel’s offensive has killed over 44,500 Palestinians in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not say how many were combatants. The Israeli military says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence. The Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack on southern Israel killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and around 250 people were abducted. Some 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, at least a third of whom are believed to be dead. On Wednesday, Israel said its forces recovered the body of a hostage who was captured alive during the Oct. 7 attack. Israel believes Itay Svirsky was killed by his captors. The families of hostages held in Gaza have grown increasingly concerned that their loved ones are at risk so long as the war continues. Israel’s military released on Wednesday the findings of a probe into the circumstances behind the deaths of six hostages whose bodies were recovered in August, determining they were probably shot by their captors after a nearby Israeli strike in February. Shurafa reported from Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip. Associated Press writer Tia Goldenberg in Jerusalem contributed to this report. Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/mideast-wars

The justices’ decision, not expected for several months, could affect similar laws enacted by another 25 states and a range of other efforts to regulate the lives of transgender people , including which sports competitions they can join and which bathrooms they can use . The case is being weighed by a conservative-dominated court after a presidential election in which Donald Trump and his allies promised to roll back protections for transgender people, showcasing the uneasy intersection between law, politics and individual rights. The Biden administration's top Supreme Court lawyer warned a decision favorable to Tennessee also could be used to justify nationwide restrictions on transgender healthcare for minors. In arguments that lasted more than two hours, five of the six conservative justices voiced varying degrees of skepticism of arguments made by the administration and Chase Strangio, the ACLU lawyer for Tennessee families challenging the ban. Chief Justice John Roberts, who voted in the majority in a 2020 case in favor of transgender rights , questioned whether judges, rather than lawmakers, should be weighing in on a question of regulating medical procedures, an area usually left to the states. ”The Constitution leaves that question to the people’s representatives, rather than to nine people, none of whom is a doctor,” Roberts said in an exchange with Strangio. The court’s three liberal justices seemed firmly on the side of the challengers. But it’s not clear that any of the conservatives will go along. Justice Sonia Sotomayor pushed back against the assertion that the democratic process would be the best way to address objections to the law. She cited a history of laws discriminating against others, noting that transgender people make up less than 1% of the U.S. population, according to studies. There are an estimated 1.3 million adults and 300,000 adolescents aged 13 to 17 who identify as transgender, according the UCLA law school's Williams Institute. “Blacks were a much larger part of the population and it didn’t protect them. It didn’t protect women for whole centuries,” Sotomayor said in an exchange with Tennessee Solicitor General Matt Rice. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said she saw some troubling parallels between arguments made by Tennessee and those advanced by Virginia and rejected by a unanimous court, in the 1967 Loving decision that legalized interracial marriage nationwide. Quoting from the 57-year-old decision, Jackson noted that Virginia argued then that “the scientific evidence is substantially in doubt and, consequently, the court should defer to the wisdom of the state legislature.” Justice Neil Gorsuch, who wrote the majority opinion in 2020, said nothing during the arguments. The arguments produced some riveting moments. Justice Samuel Alito repeatedly pressed Strangio, the first openly transgender lawyer to argue at the nation's highest court, about whether transgender people should be legally designated as a group that’s susceptible to discrimination. Strangio answered that being transgender does fit that legal definition, though he acknowledged under Alito’s questioning there are a small number of people who de-transition. “So it's not an immutable characteristic, is it?” Alito said. Strangio did not retreat from his view, though he said the court did not have to decide the issue to resolve the case in his clients' favor. There were dueling rallies outside the court in the hours before the arguments. Speeches and music filled the air on the sidewalk below the court’s marble steps. Advocates of the ban bore signs like “Champion God’s Design” and “Kids Health Matters,” while the other side proclaimed “Fight like a Mother for Trans Rights” and “Freedom to be Ourselves." Four years ago, the court ruled in favor of Aimee Stephens, who was fired by a Michigan funeral home after she informed its owner that she was a transgender woman. The court held that transgender people, as well as gay and lesbian people, are protected by a landmark federal civil rights law that prohibits sex discrimination in the workplace. The Biden administration and the families and health care providers who challenged the Tennessee law urged the justices to apply the same sort of analysis that the majority, made up of liberal and conservative justices, embraced in the case four years ago when it found that “sex plays an unmistakable role” in employers' decisions to punish transgender people for traits and behavior they otherwise tolerate. The issue in the Tennessee case is whether the law violates the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment, which requires the government to treat similarly situated people the same. Tennessee's law bans puberty blockers and hormone treatments for transgender minors, but allows the same drugs to be used for other purposes. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, the administration's top Supreme Court lawyer, called the law sex-based line drawing to ban the use of drugs that have been safely prescribed for decades and said the state “decided to completely override the views of the patients, the parents, the doctors.” She contrasted the Tennessee law with one enacted by West Virginia, which set conditions for the health care for transgender minors, but stopped short of an outright ban. Rice countered that lawmakers acted to regulate “risky, unproven medical interventions” and, at one point, likened the use of puberty blockers and hormone treatments to lobotomies and eugenics, now thoroughly discredited but once endorsed by large segments of the medical community. Rice argued that the Tennessee law doesn’t discriminate based on sex, but rather based on the purpose of the treatment. Children can get puberty blockers to treat early onset puberty, but not as a treatment for gender dysphoria. “Our fundamental point is there is no sex-based line here,” Rice said. While the challengers invoked the 2020 ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County for support, Tennessee relied on the court's precedent-shattering Dobbs decision in 2022 that ended nationwide protections for abortion and returned the issue to the states. The two sides battled in their legal filings over the appropriate level of scrutiny the court should apply. It's more than an academic exercise. The lowest level is known as rational basis review and almost every law looked at that way is ultimately upheld. Indeed, the federal appeals court in Cincinnati that allowed the Tennessee law to be enforced held that lawmakers acted rationally to regulate medical procedures, well within their authority. The appeals court reversed a trial court that employed a higher level of review, heightened scrutiny, that applies in cases of sex discrimination. Under this more searching examination, the state must identify an important objective and show that the law helps accomplish it. If the justices opt for heightened scrutiny, they could return the case to the appeals court to apply it. That's the course Prelogar and Strangio pushed for on Wednesday, though there did not seem to be much support for it. Gender-affirming care for youth is supported by every major medical organization, including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Psychiatric Association. But Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Brett Kavanaugh all highlighted a point made by Tennessee in its legal briefs claiming that health authorities in Sweden, Finland, Norway and the United Kingdom found that the medical treatments "pose significant risks with unproven benefits.” If those countries “are pumping the brakes on this kind of treatment," Kavanaugh said, why should the Supreme Court question Tennessee's actions? None of those countries has adopted a ban similar to the one in Tennessee and individuals can still obtain treatment, Prelogar said. Kavanaugh, who has coached his daughters’ youth basketball teams, also wondered whether a ruling against Tennessee would give transgender athletes "a constitutional right to participate in girls' sports.” Prelogar said a narrow decision would not affect the sports issue.Guardiola marked by Man City collapse, Pulisic among form players - Champions League Briefing

Diane Moss lost her home in the Santa Monica Mountains after power lines ignited the apocalyptic Woolsey Fire in 2018. Since then, she’s pressed for a safer electric grid in California. “It’s so easy to forget the risk that we live in — until it happens to you,” said Moss, a longtime clean energy advocate. “All of us in California have to think about how we better prepare to survive disaster, which is only going to be more of a problem as the climate changes.” In recent years, California’s power companies have been doing just that: insulating power lines and burying lines underground, trimming trees, deploying drones and using risk-detection technology. As wildfires across the U.S. intensify , California is on the leading edge of efforts to prevent more deadly and destructive fires ignited by downed power lines and malfunctioning equipment. Customers have shouldered a hefty price for wildfire safety measures. From 2019 through 2023, the California Public Utilities Commission authorized the three largest utilities to collect $27 billion in wildfire prevention and insurance costs from ratepayers, according to a report to the Legislature. And the costs are projected to keep rising: The three companies — Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric — continue to seek billions more from customers for wildfire prevention spending. Rates are expected to continue outpacing inflation through 2027 . Fire safety projects are a big part of the reason that Californians pay the highest electric rates in the nation, outside of Hawaii. Other reasons include rooftop solar incentives, new transmission systems and upgrades for electric vehicles. High electric bills have helped fuel a statewide affordability crisis alongside soaring housing prices, expensive groceries and costly gasoline. Small businesses are feeling the burden, along with the state’s poorest residents: One in three low-income households served by the three utilities fell behind in paying their power bills this year. California’s three investor-owned utilities are regulated monopolies, so when they spend money on costs related to wildfires, they recover it through customers’ bills. The price of electricity has ignited debate about how much California families should bear for the cost of wildfire prevention, whether utilities are balancing risk and affordability and whether the money is being spent wisely. Loretta Lynch, a former head of the state utilities commission, said lack of oversight is a problem, with the commission “rubber-stamping outrageous costs” and allowing the companies to “address wildfires in the most expensive, least effective way possible.” One of the biggest controversies is whether the utilities should be spending so much on burying power lines, an extremely costly and slow process. Last year, a state audit concluded that the utilities commission and the state’s advocates office must do more to verify whether utilities were completing the work they sought payment for. The three companies say the billions of dollars in spending is necessary as climate change worsens wildfires across the state . Utility equipment has caused less than 10% of the state’s fires but nearly half of its most destructive fires, according to the utilities commission . PG&E, which a few years ago came out of bankruptcy triggered by its liability for several deadly, destructive fires, has adopted the stance that “catastrophic wildfires shall stop.” The company, which serves the most high-risk areas in California, is the state’s largest spender on wildfire prevention. PG&E plans to bury 10,000 miles of power lines in its highest-risk areas — work that is highly contentious because it is costly and slow. The company has buried 800 miles since 2021 , with each mile costing between $3 and $4 million. Last year, the commission approved a $3.7 billion plan for PG&E to bury 1,230 miles of lines through 2026. Sumeet Singh, PG&E’s chief operating officer, told CalMatters that the utility is concerned about rates, too. He said the company is “very committed to stabilizing our customer rates as we go forward without compromising safety. I think that’s clear, that it’s a non-negotiable....There’s a pretty robust process, and oversight, that we are under.” Kevin Geraghty, chief operating officer of SDG&E, called the wildfire spending process “the most highly-scrutinized, regulatory utility process I have ever been involved in, in my life.” Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order in October aimed at tackling the high costs of electricity, asking state agencies to evaluate their oversight of wildfire projects and ensure that the utilities are focused on “cost-effective” measures. He is seeking proposals for changes in rules or laws by Jan. 1. The spark for the increased spending came seven years ago, after California suffered one of its worst droughts and a series of devastating wildfires in 2017 and 2018, many ignited by utility equipment. Sixteen fires were caused by PG&E equipment during a rash of October 2017 fires that decimated Napa, Sonoma and other Northern California counties. That December, the Thomas Fire , sparked by Southern California Edison equipment, engulfed parts of Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. But the devastation of 2017 was only a prelude to an even graver year. On Nov. 8, 2018, the Camp Fire leveled the town of Paradise, killing 85 people, making it the deadliest wildfire in state history. The Camp Fire was caused by the failure of an old metal hook attached to a PG&E transmission tower. An intense wind event pushed the fire at a rate of roughly 80 football fields per minute at its peak. The company in 2020 pleaded guilty to 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter for its role in the disaster. The same day as the destruction in Paradise, another fire ignited some 470 miles south. In the Simi Hills of Ventura County, Southern California Edison wires in two separate locations made contact with others, triggering “arc” flashes that rained hot metal fragments and sparks onto the dry brush below. These triggered two blazes, which soon merged to form the Woolsey Fire. Santa Ana winds spread the conflagration across parched terrain, with swaths of the nationally protected Santa Monica Mountains reduced to ash. Moss, the clean energy advocate, evacuated her home with her son that day. Her husband, clinging to hope, stayed until the blaze threatened to swallow him whole. Their neighborhood near Malibu, with its heavily wooded surroundings, was no match for the inferno. “My husband stayed until the last minute, when it just — it looked like it could cost him his life,” Moss said. “Everybody else left, and just about all of us lost.” Three people died. Moss’ home was gone, reduced to a hollowed out structure and charred rubble, along with about 100,000 acres of parkland and wilderness , more than any other fire in recorded history for that area. In 2019, downed PG&E lines ignited Sonoma County’s Kincade Fire . Then two years later, the Dixie Fire , also caused by PG&E equipment, became the second largest wildfire in California history, burning 963,000 acres north of Chico. The 2021 Dixie Fire, which claimed one life and destroyed 1,311 structures, was the last catastrophic wildfire in California confirmed to be caused by utility equipment. The number of fires triggered by the companies’ equipment fluctuates from year to year, driven by the huge variability in California’s weather. But data from 2014 through 2023 indicate there were substantially fewer fires last year than in other recent years. SDG&E equipment caused 16 fires after its high of 32 fires in 2015, Southern California Edison had 90 fires, compared to a 2021 high of 173, and PG&E reported 374 fires after a high of 510 in 2020. PG&E also reported that fires in its highest-risk areas trended down every month of 2023 compared to the same months in previous years. But that progress reversed this year, with 62 fires reported by August in high-risk areas, compared to 65 in all of 2023. (PG&E would not provide 2024 fire data to CalMatters.) Caroline Thomas Jacobs, inaugural director of the state Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety, established in 2021 to oversee utility safety, said progress can be hard to measure. Nevertheless, she said she has seen a cultural shift at electric companies in recent years, with a more focused approach in high-risk areas and an environment that empowers workers to prioritize safety. “It just takes the wrong ignition ... under the right conditions, to have a catastrophic fire,” Thomas Jacobs said. “But are we in a better place? The numbers seem to indicate we’re moving in the right direction.” PG&E has installed more than 1,500 weather stations and 600 AI-enabled cameras to detect severe weather and ignitions, Singh said. Enhanced safety systems now cut power to lines within a tenth of a second. The utility also has cleared vegetation, ordered power shutoffs during high-risk times, insulated lines and buried some lines underground. “Where do we see the greatest risk?” Singh said the company asks itself, and “what is the most cost-effective way to be able to reduce that risk for every dollar that’s spent?” Southern California Edison said since its investments began in 2019, the risk of catastrophic wildfire in its system has dropped between 85 and 90%. The company plans to bury 600 miles of lines in high-risk areas but it is relying much more on less-expensive insulating technology, which already has been used on more than 6,000 miles of lines. SDG&E began prioritizing wildfire prevention, including underground and insulated lines, a decade ahead of the other two utilities, after its lines sparked three major fires in 2007. The company has avoided a catastrophic fire since 2007, despite operating in one of the nation’s most fire-prone regions. “We continue to double down, and do and do more tomorrow than we did yesterday,” said Brian D’Agostino, the utility’s vice president of wildfire and climate science. “We don’t take a single day without a fire for granted.” Critics say the scramble to address the wildfire crisis has left the state vulnerable to overspending by utilities. About two months before the Camp and Woolsey fires, outgoing Gov. Jerry Brown in 2018 signed a $1 billion plan to thin forests and clear out the tinderbox of California’s dead and dying trees. That measure came too late to prevent the devastation. But it opened the door to increased spending by utilities beyond limits set in the highly deliberative process known as their general rate cases, which determine what Californians pay. Newsom and the Legislature in 2019 created a $21 billion wildfire fund paid for by Wall Street investors and California ratepayers to help PG&E exit bankruptcy and protect utilities from being financially threatened by the wildfires they cause. The utilities cannot access the state’s $21 billion fund unless their wildfire plans are approved by the energy safety office. One problem, critics say, is that the safety plans are approved by one government entity while the spending to carry them out is approved by another. “We now have this very odd system,” said Lynch, who served on the utilities commission from 2000 through 2004. “The Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety reviews the plans, puts out guidelines, but then the (commission) still has to ratify the plans, so that the utilities can take money from their ratepayers.” On a temperate, clear morning in the Sierra Nevada foothills east of Placerville in October, a PG&E construction crew donned yellow jackets and safety helmets and went about the work of burying power lines along a narrow, wooded road. Overhead lines snaked through thick trees in this area — prime fire risk territory. The workers buried the lines in a trench that had been dug using a heavy piece of equipment designed to cut hard concrete and soil. Once those power lines are buried and activated, their risk of fires are all but eliminated. Burying lines in high-risk areas improves reliability amid rising wildfire risks and extreme weather, PG&E’s Singh said. Though it’s pricier up front, it eliminates the yearly expense of trimming trees and vegetation, which makes it a better, long-run value for customers, he said. “Underground is a no-brainer when you look at it from that lens,” Singh said. But the high cost and the time it takes to do the work has left some skeptical. The company has buried 800 miles of wires underground since 2021, and plans to bury more than 1,600 by the end of 2026. It aims to get the cost per mile down to $2.8 million by the end of 2026 from $3 million at the end of 2023. Michael Campbell, assistant deputy director of energy for the public advocates office, a state entity that represents utility customers, said PG&E should consider other means of preventing wildfire, like insulated wires, otherwise known as “covered conductors.” This can be deployed more quickly and at a lower cost, he said, and is effective when combined with operational techniques like fast trip settings and power safety shutoffs. “In some areas, (burying power lines) really is the correct approach to minimize risk. But it’s also very slow and very expensive, and so there’s a need to address safety in as many miles as quickly as possible, to reduce overall risk,” Campbell said. The utilities commission has taken a proof-of-concept approach: The commission scaled back PG&E’s plan to bury 2,000 miles through 2026 to 1,230. The commission approved installing covered conductors, or insulated power lines, over 778 miles. Lynch is skeptical of utilities and their big projects because they can profit from them, and Mark Toney, executive director of The Utility Reform Network, says too much spending is going unchecked. The sense of urgency following fires paved the way for the multi-billion surge in spending. The commission authorized PG&E, for instance, to spend $4.66 billion on wildfire costs from 2020 through 2022, but the company ultimately spent $11.7 billion and is seeking payment through utility bills, according to The Utility Reform Network. Audits of nearly $2.5 billion in 2019 and 2020 wildfire spending found some costs from PG&E , Southern California Edison and SDG&E may already have been covered by previously approved rates, or more documentation was needed to confirm they had not been covered. The utilities challenged many of the findings, saying they didn’t plan to claim some of the costs, and disputed the auditor’s conclusions as well as some of their calculations. In interviews with CalMatters, representatives for all three utilities said the process in place to oversee wildfire spending at the utilities commission was robust and thorough. Geraghty, of SDG&E, said the process is transparent, with public comment periods and hearings. Regarding critics who say wildfire prevention should be cheaper and faster, “every one of them had that voice, had that say, had that transparency through this entire process,” he said. Some expenses, such as operating costs, have an immediate impact on how much people pay in their bills. But other costs, such as long-term investments in insulating or burying power lines, are stretched out over years, meaning they add to bills for decades to come . Over time, these capital costs are growing due to factors like depreciation and the returns utilities are allowed to generate. This creates a compounding effect, meaning wildfire-related capital costs will take up an increasing share of what California customers are charged in the future. The burden of the rising bills is hitting many Californians hard. Roshonda Wilson, of Oakland, couldn’t afford to pay her power bill even though she said she watches television only after sunset, refrains from running unnecessary appliances and is hyper-aware of every energy-consuming action in her household. At one point PG&E turned her power off this year. “I couldn’t catch up,” she said. On the other hand, Moss — who has weathered not just the trauma of losing her home near Malibu but also the difficult process of rebuilding — says the expensive wildfire prevention work is critical to prevent more tragedies. “Even though (burying power lines) is costly and time-consuming, the cost and time of not doing it is starting to seem more devastating to a broader swath of people,” Moss said. Nevertheless, the rate hikes have alarmed climate activists who fear rising power bills in California may trigger a backlash against the state’s effort to switch to renewable energy, and influence other states, too. “The state, we fear, will start to lose the political will to keep pushing on,” said Mohit Chhabra, a senior scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council. “The problem with that is not that California will be a few years late — we can handle that. But the impact on all the other states who are looking at California.” Natasha Uzcátegui-Liggett and Miguel Gutierrez Jr. contributed to this report.

Just two days after their Week 16 game in Buffalo, the New England Patriots were back at practice on Tuesday. Among the players spotted during the media portion of the in-stadium session was rookie linebacker Curtis Jacobs. Jacobs has officially been designated to return from injured reserve, opening the 21-day window for him to return to the active roster. Given that there are only two games left on the Patriots’ schedule, however, that timeline is effectively irrelevant. The team can bring Jacobs back to its 53-man roster at any time between now and its season finale on the weekend of January 4. Jacobs, 22, arrived in New England as a waiver wire pickup in late August. The Penn State product, who had entered the NFL as a rookie free agent with the Kansas City Chiefs , went on to carve out a regular role on special teams. In total, he was on the field for 136 kicking game snaps plus 23 more on defense until sustaining a head injury in Week 11. That injury eventually prompted the Patriots to send him to IR in mid-November. Now, Jacobs is back on the practice fields — a positive sign for his recovery, if nothing else. The Patriots will host the Los Angeles Chargers at Gillette Stadium on Saturday. Kickoff for the standalone game is set for 1 p.m. ET.Shadow of the Road - Official Gameplay Trailer

A judge twice urged jurors to keep deliberating Wednesday in the trial of a man charged in the killing of a University of Mississippi student who was well-known in the local LGBTQ+ community. Sheldon “Timothy” Herrington Jr. , 24, is charged with capital murder in the death of Jimmie “Jay” Lee , a gay man who disappeared July 8, 2022, in Oxford, where the university is located and the trial is being held. Lee's body has never been found, but a judge declared him dead . Herrington has maintained his innocence, and he did not testify. Jurors deliberated about 3 1/2 hours before sending a note to Circuit Judge Kelly Luther, asking what would happen if they could not reach a verdict. He told them to keep talking to each other. After almost two more hours, they said they were deadlocked 11-1 but did not say whether that was to convict or acquit. Luther sent them back with instructions to keep talking. Prosecutors said during closing arguments Wednesday that Herrington and Lee had a sexual encounter that ended badly and Lee left Herrington's apartment. They said text messages showed that Herrington, who was not openly gay, persuaded Lee to return with the promise of more sex. Prosecutors said Lee was killed after going back. “Tim Herrington lived a lie — lived a lie to his family,” District Attorney Ben Creekmore said. “He lied to Jay Lee to coax him over there, promising to do something with him.” Herrington's attorney, Kevin Horan, has said prosecutors cannot prove Lee is dead without having a body . He told jurors Wednesday that text messages showed Herrington did not lure Lee to his apartment. “He's the one that's being dominant anchoring this particular conversation,” Horan said of Lee. Lee, 20, has not contacted friends or family, and his financial transactions and once-prolific social media posts have stopped since the day he disappeared , investigators testified. Police arrested Herrington two weeks after Lee went missing. Authorities interviewed Herrington twice that day, and he gave conflicting information about the hours before Lee vanished, Oxford Police Chief Jeff McCutchen testified Tuesday. Before officers interviewed Herrington, they had already obtained sexually explicit text messages exchanged between social media accounts belonging to Herrington and Lee during the final hours Lee was known to be alive, McCutchen said. Google records obtained through a warrant showed that Herrington searched “how long does it take to strangle someone” at 5:56 a.m., University Police Department Sgt. Benjamin Douglas testified last week. The final text message from Lee’s phone was sent to a social media account belonging to Herrington at 6:03 a.m. from a spot near Herrington’s apartment, McCutchen said Tuesday. A cellphone tower in another part of Oxford last located any signal from Lee’s phone shortly before 7:30 a.m., the police chief said. A security camera showed Herrington moments later jogging out of a parking lot where Lee’s car was abandoned, investigators testified earlier. On the day Lee vanished, Herrington was also seen on security cameras buying duct tape in Oxford and driving to his hometown of Grenada about an hour south of Oxford, police have testified. Herrington is from an affluent family in Grenada, Mississippi, about 52 miles (84 kilometers) southwest of Oxford, testified Ryan Baker, an Oxford Police Department intelligence officer who was a detective when he helped investigate the case. Herrington’s grandfather is bishop of a church in Grenada, other family members work at the church and Herrington himself taught youth Sunday school classes there, Baker said. Herrington “was not portraying himself as gay” to family or friends, Baker said. During testimony Tuesday, Herrington’s father and grandfather both said Herrington had never spoken about having boyfriends. Both Herrington and Lee had graduated from the University of Mississippi. Lee was pursuing a master’s degree. He was known for his creative expression through fashion and makeup and often performed in drag shows in Oxford, according to a support group called Justice for Jay Lee. Prosecutors have announced they do not intend to pursue the death penalty, meaning Herrington could get a life sentence if convicted. Mississippi law defines capital murder as a killing committed along with another felony — in this case, kidnapping. The judge instructed jurors that they could consider lesser charges, including murder and manslaughter.

Sir Gadfly: Anonymous Rebel Bridging Art, Blockchain, and Cultural RebellionJaylon Johnson isn't interested in bright spots with the Bears' skid at 5 gamesOWINGS MILLS, Md. — 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.” 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.” Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox!

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