WASHINGTON — Three American citizens imprisoned for years by China have been released and are returning to the United States, the White House said Wednesday, announcing a rare diplomatic agreement with Beijing in the final months of the Biden administration. The three are Mark Swidan, Kai Li and John Leung , all of whom had been designated by the U.S. government as wrongfully detained by China. Swidan had been facing a death sentence on drug charges while Li and Leung were imprisoned on espionage charges. “Soon they will return and be reunited with their families for the first time in many years,” the White House said in a statement. The release comes just two months after China freed David Lin, a Christian pastor from California who had spent nearly 20 years behind bars after being convicted of contract fraud. U.S.-China relations have been roiled for years over major disagreements between the world’s two largest economies on trade, human rights, the production of fentanyl precursors, security issues that include espionage and hacking, China’s aggressiveness toward Taiwan and its smaller neighbors in the South China Sea, and Beijing’s support for Russia’s military-industrial sector. The release of Americans deemed wrongfully detained in China has been a top agenda item in each conversation between the U.S. and China, and Wednesday’s development suggests a willingness by Beijing to engage with the outgoing Democratic administration before Republican President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House in January. Trump took significant actions against China on trade and diplomacy during his first term. He has pledged to continue those policies in his second term, leading to unease among many who fear that an all-out trade war will greatly affect the international economy and could spur potential Chinese military action against Taiwan. Still, the two countries have maintained a dialogue that has included a partial restoration of military-to-military contacts. President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping met this month to discuss potential improvements. In a separate but related move, the State Department on Wednesday lowered its travel warning to China to “level two,” advising U.S. citizens to “exercise increased caution” from the norm when traveling to the mainland. The alert had previously been at “level three,” telling Americans they should “reconsider travel” to China in part because of the “risk of wrongful detention” of Americans. The new alert removes that wording but retains a warning that the Chinese government “arbitrarily enforces local laws, including exit bans on U.S. citizens and citizens of other countries, without fair and transparent process under the law.” The Biden administration had raised the cases of the detained Americans with China in multiple meetings over the past several years, including this month when Biden spoke to Xi on during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Peru. Politico was first to report the men’s release, which it said was part of a prisoner swap with the U.S. The White House did not immediately confirm that any Chinese citizens in American custody had been returned home. Senators from both political parties praised the move. Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas said he was “overjoyed” — Swidan's mother lives in Texas — and credited senior Biden administration officials for having “worked tirelessly to secure this achievement.” Li, a Chinese immigrant who started an export business in the U.S. and lived in New York, was detained in September 2016 after flying into Shanghai. He was placed under surveillance, interrogated without a lawyer and accused of providing state secrets to the FBI. A U.N. working group called his 10-year prison sentence arbitrary and his family has said the charges were politically motivated. Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who said he had worked for years to try to secure Li's release, welcomed the news. “Even when it felt like there was no hope, we never stopped believing that one day Mr. Li would return home,” Schumer said in a statement. Leung was sentenced last year to life in prison on spying charges. He was detained in 2021, by the local bureau of China’s counterintelligence agency in the southeastern city of Suzhou after China had closed its borders and imposed tight domestic travel restrictions and social controls to fight the spread of COVID-19. After Leung's sentencing, the U.S. recommended — though without citing specific cases — that Americans reconsider traveling to China because of arbitrary law enforcement and exit bans and the risk of wrongful detentions. Swidan had been jailed for the last 12 years on a drug charge and, along with Li and Leung, was considered by the State Department to be wrongfully detained.
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WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States should proceed cautiously as officials consider new natural gas export terminals, Energy Secretary said Tuesday, warning that “unfettered exports” of liquefied natural gas, or LNG, could raise wholesale domestic prices by more than 30% and increase planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions. Granholm’s statement came as the Energy Department released a , which have grown exponentially in the past decade. The analysis found that U.S. LNG shipments drive up domestic prices and frequently displace renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power. Increased LNG exports also would lead to higher global greenhouse gas emissions, even with use of technology such as equipment to capture and store carbon emissions, the report said. “Today’s publication reinforces that a business-as-usual approach (to LNG exports) is neither sustainable nor advisable,” Granholm said. The Energy Department report comes after the in January to study the effects LNG exports have on the planet. Natural gas emits methane, a potent greenhouse gas, when burned, leaked or released. LNG is especially energy intensive, since the gas must be retrieved through underground drilling, then piped to export terminals along the East and Gulf coasts. The gas is then “superchilled” into a liquid that is taken by tanker ships to import terminals in Europe and Asia, where it is then reheated into gas and distributed for business and family use. The oil and gas industry, along with Republican allies in Congress, have decried the LNG pause as unnecessary and counter-productive, and President-elect . The pause is on hold under , but few new terminals have been approved in the past year. The Energy Department said last week it will not decide on two major LNG export projects in Louisiana until the independent completes environmental reviews of each project. The American Gas Association called the Biden administration’s pause a mistake that has resulted in uncertainty for the global market, investors and America’s allies around the world. “This report is a clear and inexplicable attempt to justify their grave policy error,” said AGA president and CEO Karen Harbert. “America’s allies are suffering from the weaponization of natural gas and energy deprivation, and any limitations on supplying life essential energy is absolutely wrong-headed.” Harbert said the industry group looks forward to working with the Trump administration “to rectify the glaring issues with this study during the public comment period,” which lasts until mid-February. Charlie Riedl, executive director of the Center for LNG, a pro-industry group, said Republican and Democratic administrations, as well as independent researchers, “have continually found that U.S. LNG exports provide economic, national security and climate benefits and serve the public interest.” U.S. LNG “remains a vital tool for countries looking to displace dirtier fuels” such as coal and reduce their emissions, Riedl said, adding that U.S. LNG exports play a key role in meeting growing global demand for natural gas. since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The LNG pause, announced by President as the 2024 election year began, aligned the Democratic administration with environmentalists who fear the huge increase in LNG exports in recent years is locking in potentially catastrophic planet-warming emissions at a time when Biden has . “While MAGA Republicans willfully deny the urgency of the climate crisis, condemning the American people to a dangerous future, my administration will not be complacent,′′ Biden said in announcing the pause. His actions “heed the calls of young people and frontline communities who are using their voices to demand” climate action, Biden added. The White House declined to comment on the Energy Department study, referring questions to the agency. Matthew Daly, The Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks rose to records Friday after data suggested the job market remains solid enough to keep the economy going, but not so strong that it raises immediate worries about inflation . The S&P 500 climbed 0.2%, just enough top the all-time high set on Wednesday, as it closed a third straight winning week in what looks to be one of its best years since the 2000 dot-com bust. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 123.19 points, or 0.3%, while the Nasdaq composite rose 0.8% to set its own record. The quiet trading came after the latest jobs report came in mixed enough to strengthen traders’ expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates again at its next meeting in two weeks. The report showed U.S. employers hired more workers than expected last month, but it also said the unemployment rate unexpectedly ticked up to 4.2% from 4.1%. “This print doesn’t kill the holiday spirit and the Fed remains on track to deliver a cut in December,” according to Lindsay Rosner, head of multi-sector investing within Goldman Sachs Asset Management. The Fed has been easing its main interest rate from a two-decade high since September to offer more help for the slowing job market, after bringing inflation nearly all the way down to its 2% target. Lower interest rates can ease the brakes off the economy, but they can also offer more fuel for inflation. Expectations for a series of cuts from the Fed have been a major reason the S&P 500 has set an all-time high 57 times so far this year. And the Fed is part of a global surge: 62 central banks have lowered rates in the past three months, the most since 2020, according to Michael Hartnett and other strategists at Bank of America. Still, the jobs report may have included some notes of caution for Fed officials underneath the surface. Scott Wren, senior global market strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute, pointed to average wages for workers last month, which were a touch stronger than economists expected. While that’s good news for workers who would always like to make more, it could keep upward pressure on inflation. “This report tells the Fed that they still need to be careful as sticky housing/shelter/wage data shows that it won’t be easy to engineer meaningfully lower inflation from here in the nearer term,” Wren said. So, while traders are betting on an 85% probability the Fed will ease its main rate in two weeks, they’re much less certain about how many more cuts it will deliver next year, according to data from CME Group. For now, the hope is that the job market can help U.S. shoppers continue to spend and keep the U.S. economy out of a recession that had earlier seemed inevitable after the Fed began hiking interest rates swiftly to crush inflation. Several retailers offered encouragement after delivering better-than-expected results for the latest quarter. Ulta Beauty rallied 9% after topping expectations for both profit and revenue. The opening of new stores helped boost its revenue, and it raised the bottom end of its forecasted range for sales over this full year. Lululemon stretched 15.9% higher following its own profit report. It said stronger sales outside the United States helped it in particular, and its earnings topped analysts’ expectations. Retailers overall have been offering mixed signals on how resilient U.S. shoppers can remain amid the slowing job market and still-high prices. Target gave a dour forecast for the holiday shopping season, for example, while Walmart gave a much more encouraging outlook. A report on Friday suggested sentiment among U.S. consumers may be improving more than economists expected. The preliminary reading from the University of Michigan’s survey hit its highest level in seven months. The survey found a surge in buying for some products as consumers tried to get ahead of possible increases in price due to higher tariffs that President-elect Donald Trump has threatened. In tech, Hewlett Packard Enterprise jumped 10.6% for one of the S&P 500’s larger gains after reporting stronger profit and revenue than expected. Tech stocks were some of the market’s strongest this week, as Salesforce and other big companies talked up how much of a boost they’re getting from the artificial-intelligence boom. All told, the S&P 500 rose 15.16 points to 6,090.27. The Dow dipped 123.19 to 44,642.52, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 159.05 to 19,859.77. In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury yield slipped to 4.15% from 4.18% late Thursday. In stock markets abroad, France’s CAC 40 rose 1.3% after French President Emmanuel Macron announced plans to stay in office until the end of his term and to name a new prime minister within days. Earlier this week, far-right and left-wing lawmakers approved a no-confidence motion due to budget disputes, forcing Prime Minister Michel Barnier and his cabinet to resign. In Asia, stock indexes were mixed. They rallied 1.6% in Hong Kong and 1% in Shanghai ahead of an annual economic policy meeting scheduled for next week. South Korea’s Kospi dropped 0.6% as South Korea’s ruling party chief showed support for suspending the constitutional powers of President Yoon Suk Yeol after he declared martial law and then revoked that earlier this week. Yoon is facing calls to resign and may be impeached. Bitcoin was sitting near $101,500 after briefly bursting above $103,000 to a record the day before. AP Writers Matt Ott and Zimo Zhong contributed.
AP Business SummaryBrief at 1:03 p.m. EST
Saturday’s contest at Bon Secours Wellness Arena has the Furman Paladins (9-1) taking on the South Carolina State Bulldogs (5-6) at 12:00 PM ET. Our computer prediction is a lopsided 77-63 victory, as our model heavily favors Furman. According to our computer prediction, Furman projects to cover the 12.5-point spread in its matchup against South Carolina State. The over/under is listed at 141.5, and the two sides are projected to go under that total. Catch tons of live college basketball , plus original programming, with ESPN+ or the Disney Bundle. Place your bets on any men’s college basketball matchup at BetMGM. Sign up today using our link. Furman has a 7-1-0 record against the spread so far this season compared to South Carolina State, who is 5-4-0 ATS. The Paladins have a 2-6-0 record going over the point total, while games involving the Bulldogs have a record of 4-5-0 when it comes to hitting the over. The teams score an average of 156 points per game, 14.5 more points than this matchup’s total. Bet on this or any men’s college basketball matchup at BetMGM. Rep your favorite players with officially licensed gear. Head to Fanatics to find jerseys, shirts, hats, and much more. Not all offers available in all states, please visit BetMGM for the latest promotions for your area. Must be 21+ to gamble, please wager responsibly. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, contact 1-800-GAMBLER .
Wafer Loader Market Analysis By Top Keyplayers - Astel (Semisyn), RENA, Baumann, Cï1⁄4†D Semiconductor, Inc., Waftech, McBain, Nutek, SemiMotto, Shenzhen S.C, PVA TePla, Schmid Group, Nikon 11-27-2024 09:41 PM CET | Advertising, Media Consulting, Marketing Research Press release from: Verified Market Report The "Wafer Loader Market" is expected to reach USD xx.x billion by 2031, indicating a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of xx.x percent from 2024 to 2031. The market was valued at USD xx.x billion In 2023. Growing Demand and Growth Potential in the Global Wafer Loader Market, 2024-2031 Verified Market Research's most recent report, "Wafer Loader Market: Global Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast 2023-2030," provides an in-depth examination of the industry that includes insights into the market analysis. Along with competition and geographical research, the report also covers recent developments in the worldwide industry. The market for cosmetic packaging has been rising dramatically in recent years due to a variety of important factors, including rising product demand, a greater client base, and developments in technology. The market is thoroughly examined in this study, along with its size, trends, factors driving and impeding growth, competitive aspects, and potential for expansion. Download Full PDF Sample Copy of Wafer Loader Report @ https://www.verifiedmarketreports.com/download-sample/?rid=227328&utm_source=Openpr&utm_medium=202 Wafer Loader Market business report has been produced with a thorough grasp of the business environment that best fits the client's needs. This market analysis can also help businesses understand sustainability initiatives and financial growth. This report's explanation of market drivers and constraints helps readers understand how many factors might affect how much demand a given product has from consumers. All of the leading companies' and brands' company profiles are included in this market analysis. In-depth research and analysis are used to appropriately elaborate on each area in order to produce an accurate Wafer Loader Market survey report. Who is the largest manufacturers of Wafer Loader Market worldwide? Astel (Semisyn) RENA Baumann Cï1⁄4†D Semiconductor Inc. Waftech McBain Nutek SemiMotto Shenzhen S.C PVA TePla Schmid Group Nikon Wafer Loader Market Segmentation Analysis Segmentation analysis involves dividing the market into distinct groups based on certain criteria such as type and application. This helps in understanding the market dynamics, targeting specific customer groups, and devising tailored marketing strategies. Wafer Loader Market By Type Fully Automatic Semi Automatic Wafer Loader Market By Applications Application I Application II Application III Application IV Get Discount On The Purchase Of This Report @ https://www.verifiedmarketreports.com/ask-for-discount/?rid=227328&utm_source=Openpr&utm_medium=202 Detailed TOC of Global Wafer Loader Market Research Report, 2023-2030 1. Introduction of the Wafer Loader Market ►Overview of the Market ►Scope of Report ►Assumptions 2. Executive Summary 3. Research Methodology of Verified Market Reports ►Data Minin ►Validation ►Primary Interview ►List of Data Sources 4. Wafer Loader Market Outlook ►Overview ►Market Dynamics ►Drivers ►Restraints ►Opportunities ►Porters Five Force Model ►Value Chain Analysis 5. Wafer Loader Market, By Product 6. Wafer Loader Market, By Application 7. Wafer Loader Market, By Geography ►North America ►Europe ►Asia Pacific ►Rest of the World 8. Wafer Loader Market Competitive Landscape ►Overview ►Company Market Ranking ►Key Development Strategies 9. Company Profiles 10. Appendix For More Information or Query, Visit @ https://www.verifiedmarketreports.com/product/wafer-loader-market/ Contact us: Mr. Edwyne Fernandes US: +1 (650)-781-4080 US Toll-Free: +1 (800)-782-1768 About Us: Verified Market Reports Verified Market Reports is a leading Global Research and Consulting firm servicing over 5000+ global clients. We provide advanced analytical research solutions while offering information-enriched research studies. We also offer insights into strategic and growth analyses and data necessary to achieve corporate goals and critical revenue decisions. Our 250 Analysts and SMEs offer a high level of expertise in data collection and governance using industrial techniques to collect and analyze data on more than 25,000 high-impact and niche markets. Our analysts are trained to combine modern data collection techniques, superior research methodology, expertise, and years of collective experience to produce informative and accurate research. This release was published on openPR.The world welcomes the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire, but worries remain