A history of the Panama Canal — and why Trump can’t take it back on his own
DUBAI , UAE , Dec. 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Huawei Consumer Business Group (CBG) unveiled its first TWS earbuds under the HUAWEI SOUND brand, the HUAWEI FreeBuds Pro 4, at the HUAWEI Flagship Launch Event in Dubai on December 12 . Drawing inspiration from classical design and Huawei’s dedication to audio innovation, the HUAWEI FreeBuds Pro 4 aims to “Catch the Sound,” delivering lossless, pure, and immersive listening experiences. The earbuds feature powerful hardware including Dual-driver True Sound and proprietary algorithms to ensure stable and clear calls with effective background noise elimination. Outstanding Acoustic Precision: Dual-driver True Sound HUAWEI FreeBuds Pro 4 incorporates Dual-driver True Sound working with Digital Cross-Over technology to deliver rich, authentic sound experiences. The Dual Independent Sound Output System precisely allocates audio signals to each driver, while the 11mm Quad-Magnet Dynamic Driver Unit ensures stable and accurate real-time audio reproduction. Featuring Polar Code technology and Huawei’s proprietary L2HC 4.0 codec [1] , it achieves 2.3Mbps lossless [2] TWS audio transmission, supporting 48kHz/24-bit high-resolution audio. Users can select between professionally tuned EQ modes, including Classic and Balanced, to accurately recreate live music essence. Stable and Clear Call Experience Equipped with Huawei’s AI noise cancellation algorithm, it eliminates up to 100 dB of external call noise. The quad-microphone system, combined with multi-channel deep neural network (DNN) algorithm, accurately distinguishes human voices from environmental sounds. Whether at concerts, sports events, or cafes, the system intelligently isolates your voice. Head Motion Controls allow call answering and rejection through nodding or head shaking. Enhanced Noise Cancellation Features Shape Memory Foam ear tips, offering 30% [3] improved noise reduction compared to the previous generation. Intelligent Dynamic ANC generates customized noise-cancellation parameters based on real-time environment for a pure immersive listening experience. Elegant Design Inspired by Classical Instruments Adopts the Spectrum Silver Strings design, available in Black, White, and refreshing Green. Each earbud features a meticulous 6-layer protective lacquer coating, with the golden HUAWEI SOUND emblem emblazoned on its surface, signifying flagship quality. SOURCE HUAWEIPolice arrested a “strong person of interest” Monday in the brazen Manhattan killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO after a quick-thinking McDonald’s employee in Pennsylvania alerted authorities to a customer who was found with a weapon and writings linking him to the ambush. The 26-year-old man had a gun believed to be the one used in the killing and writings suggesting his anger with corporate America, police officials said. He was taken into custody after police got a tip that he was eating at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a news conference. Police identified the suspect as Luigi Mangione. Mangione was born and raised in Maryland, has ties to San Francisco, and his last known address is in Honolulu, Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said at a news briefing. Here's the latest: Asked if he needed a public defender, he asked if he could “answer that at a future date.” According to court documents, Mangione was sitting at a table in the rear of the McDonald's wearing a blue medical mask and looking at a silver laptop computer and had a backpack on the floor. When he pulled down his mask, Altoona police officers “immediately recognized him as the suspect” in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, the documents say. Asked for identification, Mangione provided officers with a fake ID — a New Jersey driver’s license bearing another name and the incorrect date of birth. When an officer asked Mangione if he’d been to New York recently, he “became quiet and started to shake,” the court documents say A police criminal complaint charged him with forgery, carrying firearms without a license, tampering with records or identification, possessing an instrument of crime and providing false identification to law enforcement. Video posted on the social platform X shows a handcuffed Mangione arriving at the Blair County Courthouse in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania. For example, it took about 10 months to extradite a man charged with stabbing two workers at the Museum of Modern Art in 2022. The suspect, Gary Cabana, was also arrested in Pennsylvania, where he was charged with setting his Philadelphia hotel room on fire. Cabana was sent back to New York after he pleaded guilty to an arson charge in Pennsylvania. Manhattan prosecutors could seek to expedite the process by indicting Mangione for Thompson’s killing while he’s still in custody of Pennsylvania authorities. They could then obtain what’s known as a supreme court warrant or fugitive warrant to get him back to New York. Freddie Leatherbury hasn’t spoken to Mangione since they graduated in 2016 from Gilman School in Maryland. He said Mangione was a smart, friendly and athletic student who came from a wealthy family, even by the private school’s standards. “Quite honestly, he had everything going for him,” Leatherbury said. Leatherbury said he was stunned when a friend shared the news of their former classmate’s arrest. “He does not seem like the kind of guy to do this based on everything I’d known about him in high school,” Leatherbury said. One of his cousins is Republican Maryland state legislator Nino Mangione, a spokesperson for the delegate’s office confirmed Monday. Luigi Mangione is one of 37 grandchildren of Nick Mangione Sr., according to a 2008 obituary. Mangione Sr. grew up poor in Baltimore’s Little Italy and rose after his World War II naval service to become a millionaire real estate developer and philanthropist, according to a 1995 profile by the Baltimore Sun. He and his wife Mary Cuba Mangione, who died in 2023, directed their philanthropy through the Mangione Family Foundation, according to a statement from Loyola University commemorating her death. They donated to a variety of causes, ranging from Catholic organizations to higher education to the arts. A man who answered the door to the office of the Mangione Family Foundation declined to comment Monday evening. Mangione Sr. was known for Turf Valley Resort, a sprawling luxury retreat and conference center outside Baltimore that he purchased in 1978. The father of 10 children, Nick Mangione Sr. prepared his five sons — including Luigi Mangione’s father, Louis Mangione — to help manage the family business, according to a 2003 Washington Post report. The Mangione family also purchased Hayfields Country Club north of Baltimore in 1986. On Monday afternoon, Baltimore County police officers had blocked off an entrance to the property, which public records link to Luigi Mangione’s parents. A swarm of reporters and photographers gathered outside the entrance. “Our hope is that today’s apprehension brings some relief to Brian’s family, friends, colleagues and the many others affected by this unspeakable tragedy,” a spokesperson for UnitedHealth Group said Monday. “We thank law enforcement and will continue to work with them on this investigation. We ask that everyone respect the family’s privacy as they mourn.” In an email to parents and alumni, Gilman headmaster Henry P.A. Smyth said it “recently” learned that Mangione, a 2016 graduate, was arrested in the CEO’s killing. “We do not have any information other than what is being reported in the news,” Smyth wrote. “This is deeply distressing news on top of an already awful situation. Our hearts go out to everyone affected.” Mangione, a high school valedictorian from a Maryland prep school, earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in computer science in 2020 from the University of Pennsylvania, a spokesman told The Associated Press on Monday. He had learned to code in high school and helped start a club at Penn for people interested in gaming and game design, according to a 2018 story in Penn Today, a campus publication. His posts also suggest that he belonged to the fraternity Phi Kappa Psi. They also show him taking part in a 2019 program at Stanford University, and in photos with family and friends in Hawaii, San Diego, Puerto Rico, the New Jersey shore and other destinations. Police said the suspect arrested Monday had a ghost gun , a type of weapon that can be assembled at home from parts without a serial number, making them difficult to trace. The critical component in building an untraceable gun is what’s known as the lower receiver. Some are sold in do-it-yourself kits and the receivers are typically made from metal or polymer. Altoona police say officers were dispatched to a McDonald’s on Monday morning in response to reports of a male matching the description of the man wanted in connection with the United Healthcare CEO’s killing in New York City. In a news release, police say officers made contact with the man, who was then arrested on unrelated charges. The Altoona Police Department says it’s cooperating with local, state, and federal agencies. “This just happened this morning. We’ll be working, backtracking his steps from New York to Altoona, Pennsylvania,” Kenny said. “And at some point we’ll work out through extradition to bring him back to New York to face charges here, working with the Manhattan district attorney’s office,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said. “As of right now, the information we’re getting from Altoona is that the gun appears to be a ghost gun that may have been made on a 3D printer, capable of firing a 9 mm round,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said at a news briefing. The document suggested the suspect had “ill will toward corporate America,” police added. Mangione, 26, was born and raised in Maryland, has ties to San Francisco, and his last known address in Honolulu, Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said at a news briefing. Police have arrested a 26-year-old with a weapon “consistent with” the gun used in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson , New York City’s police commissioner says. Thompson , 50, died in a dawn ambush Wednesday as he walked to the company’s annual investor conference at Manhattan hotel. Thompson had traveled from Minnesota for the event. A man being questioned Monday in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson had writings that appeared to be critical of the health insurance industry, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press. The man also had a gun thought to be similar to the one used in the killing, the official said. Police apprehended the man after receiving a tip that he had been spotted at a McDonald’s near Altoona, Pennsylvania, about 233 miles (375 kilometers) west of New York City, said the official, who wasn’t authorized to discuss details of the investigation and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity. Along with the gun, police found a silencer and fake IDs, according to the official. — Michael R. Sisak That’s also according to the law enforcement official. — Michael R. Sisak That’s according to a law enforcement official. — Michael R. Sisak New York City Mayor Eric Adams is expected to address this development at a previously scheduled afternoon news briefing in Manhattan. While still looking to identify the suspect, the FBI has offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to his arrest and conviction. That’s on top of a $10,000 reward offered by the NYPD. That included footage of the attack, as well as images of someone at a Starbucks beforehand. Photos taken in the lobby of a hostel on Manhattan’s Upper West Side showed the person grinning after removing his mask, police said. NYPD dogs and divers returned to New York’s Central Park today while the dragnet for Thompson’s killer stretched into a sixth day. Investigators have been combing the park since the Wednesday shooting and searching at least one of its ponds for three days, looking for evidence that may have been thrown into it. Police say the shooter used a 9 mm pistol that resembled the guns farmers use to put down animals without causing a loud noise. Police said they had not yet found the gun itself. Ammunition found near Thompson’s body bore the words “delay,” “deny” and “depose,” mimicking a phrase used by insurance industry critics . A man with a gun thought to be similar to the one used in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was taken into police custody Monday for questioning in Pennsylvania, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press. The man is being held in the area of Altoona, Pennsylvania, about 233 miles (375 kilometers) west of New York City, the official said. The official was not authorized to discuss details of the ongoing investigation and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity. The development came as dogs and divers returned Monday to New York’s Central Park while the dragnet for Thompson’s killer stretched into a sixth day. — Michael R. Sisak
Search for Sentimental Wedding Ring Lost by "A Christmas Story" Museum Employee in Cleveland
The gravel highway leading east from Hay River, Northwest Territories, features a relatively uniform (some might say monotonous) landscape of flat, spruce and jack pine forest. About 40 kilometers outside of the highway’s terminus at Fort Resolution, a few rock piles near the side of the highway stand out in bold relief. A quick left turn on an unmarked paved road, and one enters a grid of streets, sidewalks, and parking lots — but there are no buildings anywhere. Travel around the site, and it is not hard to stumble on one of the many large open pits that have filled with water, often coloured a brilliant azure blue. Brown grass covering abandoned fairways is all that remains of a nine-hole golf course. Although you might see the odd person, the site is completely abandoned, an industrial ruin that is a mere shadow of what was here before. From 1964 to 1988, the Pine Point lead-zinc mine operated on the site, one of the biggest and most important mineral developments in the Northwest Territories. Located on the south shore of Great Slave Lake, prospectors surveyed the site as early as 1898, but development only accelerated 50 years later, when the Canadian government granted Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company (CM&S) a 1295-km2 concession at Pine Point with exclusive exploration rights. At the time, the government regarded Pine Point as the centrepiece of its northern development program, eventually offering nearly $100 million dollars to help build a railway, highway, and hydro dam to kickstart the mine. To house the mine’s large workforce, the government and CM&S envisioned an orderly, planned town, that would be neither a hardscrabble camp nor a company-owned settlement. Instead, the government and industry would create an idyllic, suburban-style town, with high quality housing, top-notch schools, and ample recreational opportunities. Pine Point might lack the local colour of the frontier mining town, but its designers gladly traded saloons and dance halls for a stable, family-oriented town that would retain workers in a relatively remote location. The plan worked out spectacularly well. The 1200 to 1500 people who lived in Pine Point at any given time remember it as an idyllic town, so much so that an active online community of Pine Pointers has kept the town “alive” on the internet, posting photos and memorabilia to the “Pine Point Revisited” website organized by local legend Richard Cloutier, who sadly passed away in 2021. Inspired by Cloutier, media artists Paul Shoebridge and Michael Simons created a web-based interactive documentary, “Welcome to Pine Point,” that mixes photos, videos, and residents’ memories to create a nostalgic reverie for Pine Point. One former resident summed up the prevailing sentiment: “Looking in, it is hard not to think that it was a great time to be alive and up north, in a time before seatbelts and sunscreen, when you could still pull block-long wheelies without fear of judgement or consequences.” The photographs and film footage show a modern town with exceptional recreational opportunities: baseball, organized basketball, the aforementioned golf course, a curling rink, outstanding fishing, and an arena (the documentary features remarkable footage of an ice dance performance of The Wizard of Oz ). As one scrolls through “Welcome to Pine Point,” it is hard to disagree with one resident’s statement that, “most Pine Pointers think their hometown was the best place on earth to have lived.” The nearby Dene community of Fort Resolution has a somewhat more mixed recollection of Pine Point. When I participated in an oral history project about Pine Point in 2009, many in the community expressed frustration that the highway to the mine was not extended to their community until 1972, making it difficult to access employment at the mine. Others noted the lasting impact of pits, haul roads, seismic lines, and the tailings ponds on hunting and trapping activities in the Pine Point area, recalling the many ways the mine had changed the land-based culture of the Fort Resolution Dene. Despite these issues, residents of Fort Resolution who moved to Pine Point were almost unanimous in their praise for the town. Many said it had the best of the best of everything, and that they would move back “in a second” if it were ever re-built. While some remembered isolated incidents of racism, most testified to the remarkable social harmony in the town, and the fact that everybody looked out for one another. Some said it was hard to move back to Fort Resolution (a smaller town with more limited services) after the mine closed. When the mine did finally close in 1988, the company either flattened or moved all the industrial and residential buildings, leaving the ghost town that remains today. While some of the houses and other buildings could be moved elsewhere (the arena ended up in Fort Resolution, for instance), a major reason for dismantling the town was so squatters would not drift in and inhabit what was no longer an official town. For many Pine Pointers, the fact the town no longer exists accentuates the fond memories. Their former home is frozen in memory at its absolute best. As a place that has been wiped off the map, it can never change for the worse. According to many former residents, demolishing the town was better than witnessing its slow decline. For all the successes at Pine Point, the heyday of family-oriented mining towns was coming to an end by the early 1980s. The last incorporated town built specifically to support a mine was Tumbler Ridge, B.C., incorporated in 1981. Canadian mining companies have largely turned to flying workers in and out of well-serviced camps. What is lost with such arrangements is the community cohesion and the strong bond between people and place that occurs in mining towns such as Pine Point. For the “Pine Point Revisited” site, see https://www.pinepointrevisited.com/ . For the “Welcome to Pine Point” web documentary, see https://www.nfb.ca/interactive/welcome_to_pine_point/ . John Sandlos is a professor in the History Department at Memorial University of Newfoundland and the co-author (with Arn Keeling) of “Mining Country: A History of Canada’s Mines and Miners,” published by James Lorimer and Co. in 2021.His new book on the history of Giant Mine (also co-authored with Arn Keeling), will be released with McGill-Queen’s University Press in 2025.
Donald Trump has been ordered by a federal judge to sit for a deposition next week as part of his defamation litigation against ABC. U.S. Magistrate Judge Lisette M. Reid wrote that the deposition should take place some time the week of Dec. 14 and should be limited to four hours. It also should be in person and take place in Miami, where the lawsuit was filed, she wrote. Trump sued the network earlier this year over remarks that This Week anchor George Stephanopoulos made during a contentious interview with Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) in March. Reid also ordered that Stephanopoulos’ deposition also should take place next week, but that attorneys will determine whether the session will be remote or in person. During the interview, Stephanopoulos said that “juries have found” Trump “liable for rape.” In a June ruling, a federal judge refused to dismiss the case . Last year, a civil jury found that Trump was liable for sexually abusing and defaming writer E. Jean Carroll . Trump contended that he was defamed as Stephanopoulos did not make the distinction. The judge in Carroll’s case, Lewis Kaplan, wrote in a later ruling. “The finding that Ms. Carroll failed to prove that she was ‘raped’ within the meaning of the New York Penal Law does not mean that she failed to prove that Mr. Trump ‘raped’ her as many people commonly understand the word ‘rape.’ Indeed, as the evidence at trial recounted below makes clear, the jury found that Mr. Trump in fact did exactly that.” Trump is appealing the jury’s verdicts in the Carroll civil case, in which juries have awarded her almost $90 million in damages. Reid also reminded that parties that “with Election Day now behind us, there is no reason for any further delay.”
Oracle shares fall 8% in extended trade on disappointing growth, denting cloud enthusiasmThe 2024 Heisman Trophy finalists have been announced. Here are the four players who have a shot at being a part of one of the more exclusive fraternities in all of the sports. ESPN's Adam Schefter shared via X. Heisman finalists: ▪️Dillon Gabriel (Oregon) ▪️Travis Hunter (Colorado) ▪️Ashton Jeanty (Boise State) ▪️Cam Ward (Miami) pic.twitter.com/z8dWEzPUvc This year's Heisman Trophy ceremony will be broadcast on ESPN at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday, Dec. 14. It will also be available via streaming on ESPN+. Our 2024 #Heisman finalists will be announced live tonight during @ESPN 's Monday Night Countdown, approximately in the 6:30-7 p.m. ET window. Look for our full release tonight following the announcement at https://t.co/iVGq1xFizI and on our social channels. #MoreThanATrophy pic.twitter.com/qk3yE8plhg These four players are all deserving to win the award after an incredible 2024 season. However, according to FanDuel Sportsbook , Hunter of the Colorado Buffaloes is the odds-on favorite to win the award with -4000 odds. Following Hunter is Jeanty with +1100 odds, Gabriel with +40000 odds, and Ward comes in last with +50000 odds. The 2024 season has been one to remember, and it will soon conclude with what should be an incredible 12-team playoff. However, before we get to that, one of those four players mentioned above will take home the illustrious trophy. The two front runners have a great shot at taking home the trophy in Hunter and Jeanty. Hunter can do it all on both sides of the ball. The wide receiver/ cornerback had a historic season as he collected 92 receptions for 1,152 yards and 14 receiving touchdowns while helping lead Colorado's turnaround from 4-8 to 9-3. On the defensive end, Hunter recorded a 90.9 coverage grade, which is third among all corners in the county compared to PFF. Hunter is an athlete and can play anywhere on the football field. As for Jeanty, he had one of the greatest seasons we've ever seen from a collegiate running back. His 2,497 rushing yards are 131 from Barry Sanders' single-season FBS record, while his 29 rushing touchdowns are tied for sixth all-time. Jeanty also collected 1,882 yards after the contract, which is 222 more than any other FBS running back's total rushing yards this season. It appears to be a two-horse race between the do-it-all football payer and the elite ball carrier. However, the quarterbacks are also worth discussing. Gabriel led the Ducks to an undefeated season and clinched the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff. Gabriel finished the season with 2,558 yards, 28 touchdowns, and six interceptions with an 86.5 QBR, second in the county. As for Ward, he led the Hurricanes to their best season in a long time. On top of that, he put on his Superman cape more times than not but failed to finish the season on a strong note. Still, Ward recorded 4,123 yards, 36 touchdowns, and seven interceptions with an 88.0 QBR, first in the country. In the end, I'll go with Hunter to win the award and become the first player from Colorado to win the Heisman since running back Rashaan Salaam did so in 1994. More news: College Football Playoff First-Round Expert Predictions
WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump's pick for intelligence chief, Tulsi Gabbard, faced fresh scrutiny Monday on Capitol Hill about her proximity to Russian-ally Syria amid the sudden collapse of that country's hardline Assad rule. Gabbard ignored shouted questions about her 2017 visit to war-torn Syria as she ducked into one of several private meetings with senators who are being asked to confirm Trump's unusual nominees . But the Democrat-turned-Republican Army National Reserve lieutenant colonel delivered a statement in which she reiterated her support for Trump's America First approach to national security and a more limited U.S. military footprint overseas. “I want to address the issue that’s in the headlines right now: I stand in full support and wholeheartedly agree with the statements that President Trump has made over these last few days with regards to the developments in Syria,” Gabbard said exiting a Senate meeting. The incoming president’s Cabinet and top administrative choices are dividing his Republican allies and drawing concern , if not full opposition, from Democrats and others. Not just Gabbard, but other Trump nominees including Pentagon pick Pete Hegseth, were back at the Capitol ahead of what is expected to be volatile confirmation hearings next year. The incoming president is working to put his team in place for an ambitious agenda of mass immigrant deportations, firing federal workers and rollbacks of U.S. support for Ukraine and NATO allies. “We’re going to sit down and visit, that’s what this is all about,” said Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., as he welcomed Gabbard into his office. The president-elect announced other appointments Monday, including his lawyer Harmeet Dhillon for assistant attorney general for civil rights at the Justice Department and Mark Paoletta as the returning general counsel of the Office of Management and Budget. Meanwhile, Defense Secretary pick Hegseth appeared to be picking up support from once-skeptical senators, the former Army National Guard major denying sexual misconduct allegations and pledging not to drink alcohol if he is confirmed. The president-elect's choice to lead the FBI, Kash Patel , who has written extensively about locking up Trump's foes and proposed dismantling the Federal Bureau of Investigation, launched his first visits with senators Monday. “I expect our Republican Senate is going to confirm all of President Trump’s nominees,” said Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., on social media. Despite widespread concern about the nominees' qualifications and demeanors for the jobs that are among the highest positions in the U.S. government, Trump's team is portraying the criticism against them as nothing more than political smears and innuendo. Showing that concern, nearly 100 former senior U.S. diplomats and intelligence and national security officials have urged Senate leaders to schedule closed-door hearings to allow for a full review of the government’s files on Gabbard. Trump's allies have described the criticisms of Hegseth in particular as similar to those lodged against Brett Kavanaugh, the former president's Supreme Court nominee who denied a sexual assault allegation and went on to be confirmed during Trump's first term in office. Said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., about Hegseth: “Anonymous accusations are trying to destroy reputations again. We saw this with Kavanaugh. I won’t stand for it.” One widely watched Republican, Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa, herself a former Army National Guard lieutenant colonel and sexual assault survivor who had been criticized by Trump allies for her cool reception to Hegseth, appeared more open to him after their follow-up meeting Monday. “I appreciate Pete Hegseth’s responsiveness and respect for the process,” Ernst said in a statement. Ernst said that following “encouraging conversations,” he had committed to selecting a senior official who will "prioritize and strengthen my work to prevent sexual assault within the ranks. As I support Pete through this process, I look forward to a fair hearing based on truth, not anonymous sources.” Ernst also had praise for Patel — “He shares my passion for shaking up federal agencies" — and for Gabbard. Once a rising Democratic star, Gabbard, who represented Hawaii in Congress, arrived a decade ago in Washington, her surfboard in tow, a new generation of potential leaders. She ran unsuccessfully for president in 2020. But Gabbard abruptly left the party and briefly became an independent before joining with Trump's 2024 campaign as one of his enthusiasts, in large part over his disdain for U.S. involvement overseas and opposition to helping Ukraine battle Russia. Her visit to Syria to meet with then-President Bashar Assad around the time of Trump's first inauguration during the country's bloody civil war stunned her former colleagues and the Washington national security establishment. The U.S. had severed diplomatic relations with Syria. Her visit was seen by some as legitimizing a brutal leader who was accused of war crimes. Gabbard has defended the trip, saying it's important to open dialogue, but critics hear in her commentary echoes of Russia-fueled talking points. Assad fled to Moscow over the weekend after Islamist rebels overtook Syria in a surprise attack, ending his family's five decades of rule. She said her own views have been shaped by “my multiple deployments and seeing firsthand the cost of war and the threat of Islamist terrorism.” Gabbard said, “It's one of the many reasons why I appreciate President Trump’s leadership and his election, where he is fully committed, as he has said over and over, to bring about an end to wars.” Last week, the nearly 100 former officials, who served in both Democratic and Republican administrations, said in the letter to Senate leaders they were “alarmed” by the choice of Gabbard to oversee all 18 U.S. intelligence agencies. They said her past actions “call into question her ability to deliver unbiased intelligence briefings to the President, Congress, and to the entire national security apparatus.” The Office of the Director of National Intelligence was created after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to coordinate the nation’s intelligence agencies and act as the president’s main intelligence adviser. Associated Press writer Stephen Groves contributed to this report.Islamabad deserves debt relief from all creditors urgently, says economist Pakistan’s debt situation has been worsening since 2008, but deteriorated at speed never witnessed since 2019 ISLAMABAD: Several low-income countries (LICs) including Pakistan face severe debt crisis and deserve to receive debt relief from bilateral, multilateral and private creditors urgently. Pakistan’s renowned economist Dr Ashfaque Hassan Khan, who is currently serving at the National University of Sciences & Technology (NUST), has come up with a detailed research work titled ‘Sinking in debt: A framework for debt relief for low income countries’ and argued that Pakistan’s current debt situation is far worse than many of the LICs and hence it deserves to receive debt relief urgently. Pakistan’s debt situation has been worsening since 2008, but deteriorated at a speed never witnessed before since 2019. Pakistan’s external debt and liabilities have been growing at differing pace since 2000. They grew at an average rate of 1.4 per cent per annum during 2000-2007; the pace accelerated to 6.2pc per annum during 2008-2015; the pace further accelerated to 8.6pc per annum during 2016-2023. By December-end 2023, Pakistan’s external debt and liabilities stood at $131.4 billion – rising from $36.5 billion in 2000. In other words, Pakistan added almost $95 billion external debt and liabilities in just 23 years as against $37.1 billion in the last 53 years prior to the year 2000, that is, since independence in 1947. More importantly, Pakistan added $66.4 billion in total external debt and liabilities of $131.2 billion or 51pc during the two lost decades (Decades of the 1990s, and 2008-18). Public debt, on the other hand, is influenced by the size of the budget deficit, rate of depreciation of the currency and interest rate. Like external debt and liabilities, the rise in public debt exhibited different pace since the year 2000. Public debt grew at an average rate of 8pc per annum during 2000-2007; accelerated at the rate of 16.5pc per annum during 2008-18; and grew at a dangerously high level of 21.3pc per annum during 2019-2023. Devaluation of Pakistani currency and the persistence of unprecedentedly high interest have contributed enormously to the rise of public debt in Pakistan. With rise in public and external debt over the years, especially during the last five years (2019-2023), Pakistan’s debt servicing liabilities has turned out to be far worse than the many LICs. Devaluation and the persistence of keeping interest rate high have created serious budgetary problems for Pakistan, especially during the last five years. Interest payment as percentage of total revenue continued to surge since 2018-19. It was 28.7pc in 2017-18 but increased to 42.7pc in 2018-19 and further reached to an all-time high at 59.1pc by 2022-23. In other words, almost 60pc revenue (tax and non-tax revenue combined) was consumed by one budgetary item, that is, interest payment. With respect to tax revenue only, interest payment was almost 34pc in 2017-18 but surged to 72.8pc by 2022-23. In other words, Pakistan consumed almost three – fourth of its tax revenue for interest payment. More alarmingly, interest payment alone reached over three times the development expenditure and 35.3pc of total expenditure. Hence, devaluation and high-interest rate policies have seriously affected Pakistan’s economy and made Pakistan even far worse in the comity of developing countries in general and in LICs in particular as externally debt distress country, he added. He suggested that bilateral Creditors may suspend their debt repayment for 10 years. Besides, it is proposed that they may enter into various debt swap arrangements with the eligible countries. This will be a great help for the eligible LICs because instead of repaying principal and interest in foreign currency, they will be using these monies for budgetary purposes to spend on education health, climate change and improving other social indicators.
Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome Pipeline Trends 2024: Clinical Trials, Therapeutic Innovations, Therapies, Mechanism of Action, Route of Administration, and Developments | Chiesi Farmaceutici S.p.A., BioXcel Therapeutics, Braeburn Pharmaceuticals, Indivior(Bloomberg) — As the tax-loss selling season approaches, Bank of Nova Scotia is recommending switch trades in a year where broad-based gains necessitate more targeted action. “Overall, investors do not have as large of choice for tax losses purposes this year, which may exacerbate selling pressure,” Scotiabank analysts including Hugo Ste-Marie wrote in a note Friday. “Given that investors have to sell them to crystallize their losses, these stocks may continue to experience downward pressures until year-end.” The bank is recommending tactical switch trades: selling a year-to-date loser to buy a stock with exposure in the same sector to capture potential upside. In some cases, these are short-term ideas, and the recommendation is to switch back into underperforming names early in 2025. Toronto-Dominion Bank is down 8.7% year to date following a series of regulatory penalties in the US. Scotia recommends dropping TD for competitor Royal Bank of Canada, which is up 30% year to date, or Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, up 43%. Other large switch-trade candidates include selling Canadian National Railway, down 6.6%, to buy Cargojet, up 3.7%, in the logistics space; and selling potash producer Nutrien Ltd., down 12%, to buy West Fraser Timber Co., up 17%. The switch-trade ideas come amid broader outperformance in the Canadian market this year than in the US. The S&P/TSX Composite Index has closed at 40 new highs this year, with more than three stocks gaining for every one that has fallen year to date. The breadth of that rally has surpassed that of the S&P 500, where performance has been more narrowly concentrated in mega-cap tech stocks including the Magnificent Seven. For the two Canadian industries with most of their constituents in the red this year — renewables and telecommunications — Scotia suggested investors replace all names with a sector ETF or structured note. The last day to make trades that will settle in 2024 is Dec. 30.