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We must ask for no references to Gaza/Palestine/Israel as it’s a very sensitive topic in our area. If these topics are included it drastically changes our risk management plans for events. Thus for safety and harmony we kindly ask the guest speakers avoid these topics and any questions about it that come up. Sam Wallman and I received this message from our publicist, one day before an event at a suburban library about our coauthored book. “Did they even read the damn thing?” Sam joked, as we strategised our response. Twelve Rules for Strife discusses grassroots social change. It celebrates the creativity of the people historian Studs Terkel described as the world’s “etceteras”. It contrasts the power of collective solidarity with what we dub “smug politics”: a liberalism that treats the masses as irredeemably backward, and so requiring careful management by the clever few on whom progress supposedly depends. We had been invited to discuss the political agency of ordinary people – and then told our audience couldn’t hear about the world’s most significant crisis. But Gaza is all I think about. In January, six-year-old Hind Rajab fled the fighting in Gaza City alongside her extended family. An Israeli tank targeted their car , killing almost everyone inside. Amid the wreckage and the blood, Hind’s 15-year-old cousin, Layan Hamadeh, phoned the Palestinian Red Crescent, crying and pleading for help. “They are shooting at us,” she said. “The tank is right next to me.” The dispatchers heard Layan scream as a machine gun again raked the vehicle. When they rang back, Hind, the only person now alive, answered. “I’m so scared. Please come. Come take me. Please, will you come?” She stayed on the phone for three hours, while the Red Crescent transmitted her location to the Israeli army and dispatched an ambulance – and then the line dropped out again. Twelve days later, Hind’s surviving relatives found the wreckage of a van with two dead paramedics sprawled inside. Nearby, they located the car in which Layan, Hind and their family lay. An investigation by the US-based Forensic Architecture team established that 355 bullets had hit the vehicle. The researchers concluded that the shooters must have realised the vehicle contained civilians. “They were small,” writes W.H. Auden in The Shield of Achilles , And could not hope for help and no help came: What their foes liked to do was done. Safe spaces and moral seriousness I mention Hind because our interaction with the library (“we are doing this for everyone at the moment”, its email said) echoed the decision by the State Library of Victoria to cancel workshops by pro-Palestinian authors Omar Sakr, Jinghua Qian, Ariel Slamet Ries and Alison Evans. Grotesquely, the library cited its fears for children. Within the arts and elsewhere, sensitivity has been weaponised against Palestine. Sam and I were told we could not mention Gaza for “safety and harmony”, just as the State Library of Victoria explained that at a “time of heightened sensitivities” it needed to ensure “cultural safety”. When three actors wore keffiyehs for the curtain call of the Sydney Theatre Company’s performance of The Seagull, a subsequent letter accused them of using a “safe space, a theatre that is meant to bring communities together [...] as a platform for a political stunt that sought only to divide and alienate”. Ironically, Sam’s illustrations for the book we were invited to discuss draw on research I had done about the evolution of the “safe spaces” concept. The term emerged in the United States in the mid-1960s. It was first used by the gay and lesbian bars where patrons sheltered from homophobic police. Then it came to be used for the centres, shelters and bookshops in which the pioneers of women’s liberation organised. The meaning of a “safe space” shifted during the mass movement against the Vietnam war. In 1972, the psychoanalyst Chaim Shatan wrote for the New York Times about attending a “rap session” with the activist group Vietnam Veterans Against the War. He coined the phrase “post-Vietnam syndrome” for psychic injuries inflicted on men “deceived, used and betrayed” by those who led them into a cruel and brutal conflict. The condition pertained not to combat per se, but the political context in which it took place. Psychoanalyst Chaim Shatan coined the phrase ‘post-Vietnam syndrome’ for the psychic injuries suffered by soldiers. Image: U.S. Army helicopters during Operation Wahiawa, northeast of Cu Chi, South Vietnam, 1966. James K. F. Dung, SFC, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons When the anti-war movement declined, damaged veterans interpreted their suffering through less collective and more psychological narratives. In 1980, the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual III included “post-traumatic stress disorder”, a condition stripped of the political specificity on which Shatan had insisted. The description related to any severe stressors, and so could be diagnosed away from the battlefield. The US Department of Veterans Affairs listed “natural disasters, serious accidents, assaults or abuse, or even sudden and major emotional losses” as possible causes. PTSD entered popular consciousness through depictions of veterans traumatised by backfiring cars or other noises resembling gunfire. By analogy, feminist commenters on the early internet began posting warnings before discussing sexual abuse, eating disorders or other topics that might “trigger” involuntary responses. The practice spread through blogs and then social media, and made its way to US universities in the 2010s. Most campus trigger warnings simply replicated the journalistic convention of providing audiences notice before the display of disturbing content. Nevertheless, lurid – and sometimes entirely false – stories about safe spaces provided ammunition for the never-ending culture war in which right-wing populists denounced universities for indulging politically-correct snowflakes. It was that backlash, more than anything else, that brought the terminology into widespread use. For a small number of radicals, trigger warnings and safe spaces became, in the absence of a mass student movement, a mechanism for shielding the marginalised and oppressed. To that end, activists looked to policies enforced by sympathetic student unions or university administrations. The reliance on institutional support gave the strategy a distinctly bureaucratic character, with “safety” defined and imposed from the top by a tiny and often self-selected minority. The meaning of “safe spaces” evolved, in other words, from an adjunct to mass struggles to a version of the “smug politics” our book polemicised against. That was why the term provided convenient cover for the opponents of Palestinian solidarity: the historical association with campus activism eased the conscience of “progressive” administrators, even as their bans received applause from the conservatives who had mocked and belittled safe spaces in the 2010s. Consider how the organisers of Western Australia’s major arts festival prepared for discussions of Palestine. Under the heading “Perth festival fosters a safe and inclusive environment”, they explained: there is great concern and distress felt by members of our community in response to the suffering and tragic loss of innocent lives in the conflict between Israel and Hamas. Our hearts are with all those who are hurting or have lost loved ones or friends. Perth Festival seeks to bring people from broad backgrounds and perspectives together to embrace our shared humanity and foster understanding and compassion through a diverse program of artistic experiences. We believe art has the power to unite people and bridge divisions. [...] We all have a collective responsibility to engage with each other – including our audiences, artists, staff and volunteers – in a mutual spirit of safety, inclusivity, respect, courtesy and tolerance. Fine sentiments, in the abstract. Yet conciliation is a virtue only in particular circumstances. People squabbling over a cake might, respectfully and courteously, cut it into halves. They couldn’t do the same with a disputed kitten – at least, not without covering themselves in blood. The International Court of Justice has declared “plausible” the allegations that Israel is committing acts of genocide in Gaza. United Nations Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese says that there are “reasonable grounds to believe that the threshold indicating the commission of the crime of genocide [...] has been met”. Israeli Holocaust scholar Raz Segal speaks of “a textbook case of genocide”. The University Network for Human Rights, the International Human Rights Clinic at Boston University School of Law, the International Human Rights Clinic at Cornell Law School, the Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria, and the Lowenstein Human Rights Project at Yale Law School have collaborated on a report that concludes Israel has committed genocidal acts of killing, causing serious harm to, and inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the physical destruction of Palestinians in Gaza, a protected group that forms a substantial part of the Palestinian people. How much less does festival etiquette matter than credible, serious claims about the worst crime known to humanity? A paternalistic injunction to “bridge divisions” displays a jaw-dropping lack of moral seriousness, as if artists and audiences should find middle ground between those opposed to genocide and those supportive of it. For or against? To illustrate the perversity of the safety trope, consider the literary response to a different war. In June 1936, Nancy Cunard, the poet, shipping heiress and bohemian, circulated a document to her extensive network of writerly contacts asking about their attitudes to the Spanish Civil War. At the time, most of the left supported the Spanish republic against General Franco. Many on the right – particularly, the Catholic right – backed the fascists, presenting Franco’s insurrection as a defensive war against communism. Nancy Cunard. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Countries like Britain and Australia maintained a purported neutrality, though, as historian Paul Preston explains, “everything was done in legal and financial terms to facilitate arms procurement by the [fascist] rebels while obstacles were repeatedly put in the way of the Republic purchasing arms and equipment”. Despite the controversy, Cunard did not urge the community of writers to come together and embrace a shared humanity. She sought, rather, to widen its divisions: “now, as certainly never before,” she said, “we are determined or compelled, to take sides. The equivocal attitude, the Ivory Tower, the paradoxical, the ironic detachment, will no longer do.” Rejecting the logic of the “safe space”, Cunard demanded writers adopt a position: Are you for, or against, the legal government and the people of Republican Spain? Are you for or against Franco and Fascism? For it is impossible any longer to take no side. The Left Review published the responses as a sixpenny pamphlet, Authors Take Sides on the Spanish War . It remains a remarkable document, with 148 statements from some of the 20th century’s greatest writers – Aldous Huxley, T.S. Eliot, Samuel Beckett, H.G. Wells, W.H. Auden, Ford Maddox Ford, Christina Stead, Arthur Koestler – alongside many figures now entirely forgotten. Cunard divided contributors into three categories: “For”, “Neutral?” and “Against”. She justified her project by taking seriously the claims artists made for their work. If poets were, as she said, “the most sensitive instruments of a nation”, their very sensitivity demanded a response to the war. As Thomas Mann argued, the artist “ever occupies humanity’s furtherest outposts” – and as such could not “be allowed to shirk a decision”. By comparison, today’s safety rhetoric reveals a cruelly diminished understanding of culture and its role. When submitting applications for funding, event organisers celebrate the supposed propensity of creatives to speak the unsayable. They don’t describe their programs as “safe”. They invoke Kafka’s call for an art experienced like “a fist hammering on our skulls” and scour thesauruses for words like “challenging”, “provocative”, “brave” and “transgressive”. Over Gaza, however, curatorial courage melts away faster than Kafka’s frozen sea, as if artists can shock and provoke only when absolutely nothing is at stake. The insistence on “safety” demonstrates that arts administrators understand culture as an umbrella full of holes – perfectly fine until actually required. Individual responsibility In June 1937, the singer and actor Paul Robeson addressed a fundraising event for Spain in London’s Albert Hall. “Every artist, every scientist, every writer,” he said, “must decide now where he stands [...] The artist must take sides. He must elect to fight for freedom or for slavery. I have made my choice. I had no alternative.” Both Robeson and Cunard stressed individual responsibility in a moment of extreme moral crisis. But both also made a different, and apparently contradictory, claim. Invoking choice, they hinted at necessity (“I had no alternative”), implying that the war forced everyone, whether they liked it or not, to pick a side. By then, the stakes were evident. A victory for Franco meant mass extermination: a program of reprisals Preston later called the “ Spanish Holocaust ”. It ensured the consolidation of fascism, not in a single country, but throughout Europe and the world. A global conflagration would follow, a crisis engulfing everything and everyone. Partisanship was inevitable because the catastrophe made every safe places deadly. We might say something similar today. After the second world war, the victorious nations established various rules and structures designed to ensure that the horrors that began with Spain and culminated in Auschwitz never recurred. The norms and institutions so forged included the United Nations, the International Court of Justice, and the Geneva Conventions. All of them were flawed and partial, repeatedly used in the decades that followed to legitimate the powerful against the weak. Nevertheless, they at least symbolised an ideal of international relationships governed by something other than naked violence. That model has now been shattered. The Gaza Strip – a territory only 41 kilometres long and less than 12 kilometres at its widest – houses nearly two million Palestinians, 47 percent of them children. Israel has dropped thousands of tonnes of explosives on that tiny area. The death toll is now more than 43,000 . At least 31 of the 36 hospitals have been damaged or destroyed , with more than 800 health care workers slain. Over 130 journalists have been killed (only 69 died in the whole second world war ), and 300 or more aid workers are dead . Human Rights Watch , Amnesty International and the United Nations report the systematic infliction of torture. As Amnesty International’s head Agnès Callamard argued, Gaza has revealed international law to be “frankly useless”. Israel has been accused of violating the Geneva Conventions – and been rewarded by Washington with US$17.9 billion in military assistance . In an increasingly unstable geostrategic environment, marked by rising tensions between the US, China and Russia, all the historic mechanisms for governing and restraining conflict lie in ruins. “We are really as close to the abyss as we have ever been,” Callamard says – and the chasm extends beyond military conflict. The international strategy for climate action depends, utterly and absolutely, on a liberal consensus now defunct. In theory, the 2015 Paris Agreement , by which nations agreed to limit emissions, mandates legally binding obligations. But given that Israel has simply ignored rulings by the International Court of Justice – and suffered no consequences as a result – who or what will compel recalcitrant leaders to fulfil climate pledges? The willingness of Western nations to privilege strategic interests over the lives of Palestinian children raises obvious questions about what or whom might be sacrificed as the environmental emergency intensifies. The profits from fossil fuels – a staggering US$2.8 billion dollars every day for the last 50 years – provide a substantial incentive for the wealthy to continue with carbon business as usual. They know that rising temperatures disproportionately affect the poor and the brown – and Gaza has shown such people can be disposed of with impunity. The time is short In the 1930s, the Spanish writer Miguel Hernández warned: A future of dust advances, A fate advances In which nothing will remain; Nor stone on stone nor bone on bone. So too today. The horrors of Gaza will resonate for decades to come. Paradoxically, the very scale of the crisis makes worthwhile even the tiniest gesture of solidarity. When Sam and I said that we would not speak at a censored event, we received, almost immediately, an apology from the organisers. The directive, they explained, had not originated from the staff, but had been circulated without their knowledge by someone in management. We should ignore the ban, they said. We could discuss whatever we wanted. They really hoped we would speak. We did, and I’m glad that we did. It wasn’t a huge event: perhaps 30 or so people around a makeshift stage and a dodgy speaker system. The participants were, like most attendees at literary events today, old, even frail, determinedly rugged up against a cold winter night. But they raised Palestine before we said anything. “I feel like I’m going mad,” a woman in her seventies told me: Like there’s something wrong with me. All these dead children, and we’re supposed to think it’s all right, that it’s normal. But it’s not! It’s not! She was almost crying. I doubt she cared very much about our book of cartoons about political organising. She came to a public event because she sought human connection, looking, in her anguish, for others who shared the sense of profound moral injury. And there are lots of us. If any good can be salvaged from this evil time, it is the solidarity of ordinary people, the crowds assembling again and again and again at events at which noisy contingents of Jews and Palestinians stand side-by-side. Auden described how, in the struggle for Spain, “our moments of tenderness blossom”. So too in the movement for Gaza, which brings together a kaleidoscope of identities, ethnicities and genders: refugee families alongside delegations of lawyers, Queers for Palestine next to pious Christians, Indigenous leaders on almost every platform. I have never experienced an Australian writers’ festival or cultural event that manifests anything comparable to the diversity of Palestinian solidarity, nor one in which the same youthful idealism dominates. A literary culture that, in the name of safety, guards itself against the world will, almost by definition, descend into sterility. By taking their place in the fight for Palestine, writers might, perhaps, play some role in reorienting a literature seemingly determined to pursue its own irrelevance. But, really, that’s not what matters. Journalist Alex McKinnon has written about the experience of social media in a genocide, the cascading images of children burned and broken among their bombed-out homes, each clip or picture a unique obscenity, a pornography of violence that degrades us all by its existence. You try and look away when you realise what you’re looking at but by then it’s too late, you put the phone down or turn it off or fling it away from you like a spider crawling on your hand but the image is already in your head along with all the other ones, filed away for when you’re in a Zoom meeting or meeting someone for coffee or rocking your daughter back to sleep in the middle of the night. Many of us know what he means. Roland Barthes described photography in terms of the “punctum”: the accidental aspect of a particular scene that reaches out and pricks a viewer. I scroll, more or less unscathed, past a man flattened by an Israeli tank or a journalist sobbing as he learns his wife and children are dead, or a woman lying on a gurney with her brains leaking out and, for no obvious reason, it’s the cheap plastic necklace around the neck of a little dead girl that unexpectedly brings me completely undone. “I don’t know if ‘radicalised’ is the right word,” McKinnon concludes, “but I’m a different person now than I was at the start of October. I’ve changed in a deep and fundamental way and I don’t see myself ever changing back.” I don’t either. In the 1930s, Auden expressed the nature of the obligation we now face: The stars are dead. The animals will not look. We are left alone with our day, and the time is short, and History to the defeated May say Alas but cannot help or pardon. Writers – and everyone else – must take sides, irrespective of the sensitivities they offend. We have no choice. Gaza is not safe, and neither is the world that allows Gaza to happen. This essay was shortlisted for the 2024 Melbourne Prize for Literature . Jeff Sparrow has signed a statement of solidarity with Palestine from academics in Australian universities.Financial giants have made a conspicuous bearish move on Lululemon Athletica. Our analysis of options history for Lululemon Athletica LULU revealed 12 unusual trades. Delving into the details, we found 25% of traders were bullish, while 33% showed bearish tendencies. Out of all the trades we spotted, 3 were puts, with a value of $129,565, and 9 were calls, valued at $489,635. Projected Price Targets Taking into account the Volume and Open Interest on these contracts, it appears that whales have been targeting a price range from $260.0 to $450.0 for Lululemon Athletica over the last 3 months. Volume & Open Interest Trends Looking at the volume and open interest is a powerful move while trading options. This data can help you track the liquidity and interest for Lululemon Athletica's options for a given strike price. Below, we can observe the evolution of the volume and open interest of calls and puts, respectively, for all of Lululemon Athletica's whale trades within a strike price range from $260.0 to $450.0 in the last 30 days. Lululemon Athletica Option Activity Analysis: Last 30 Days Significant Options Trades Detected: Symbol PUT/CALL Trade Type Sentiment Exp. Date Ask Bid Price Strike Price Total Trade Price Open Interest Volume LULU CALL SWEEP BULLISH 03/21/25 $22.1 $21.4 $21.4 $400.00 $104.5K 1.1K 56 LULU PUT SWEEP BEARISH 12/27/24 $15.0 $12.85 $14.94 $400.00 $74.9K 159 50 LULU CALL TRADE NEUTRAL 01/16/26 $116.75 $111.45 $113.95 $310.00 $68.3K 142 6 LULU CALL SWEEP BEARISH 06/20/25 $49.8 $49.55 $49.55 $380.00 $64.4K 230 66 LULU CALL SWEEP BULLISH 01/17/25 $108.5 $104.65 $107.43 $280.00 $53.7K 837 5 About Lululemon Athletica Lululemon Athletica designs, distributes, and markets athletic apparel, footwear, and accessories for women, men, and girls. Lululemon offers pants, shorts, tops, and jackets for both leisure and athletic activities such as yoga and running. The company also sells fitness accessories, such as bags, yoga mats, and equipment. Lululemon sells its products through more than 700 company-owned stores in about 20 countries, e-commerce, outlets, and wholesale accounts. The company was founded in 1998 and is based in Vancouver, Canada. Having examined the options trading patterns of Lululemon Athletica, our attention now turns directly to the company. This shift allows us to delve into its present market position and performance Present Market Standing of Lululemon Athletica Trading volume stands at 495,677, with LULU's price up by 0.57%, positioned at $385.69. RSI indicators show the stock to be may be overbought. Earnings announcement expected in 86 days. Turn $1000 into $1270 in just 20 days? 20-year pro options trader reveals his one-line chart technique that shows when to buy and sell. Copy his trades, which have had averaged a 27% profit every 20 days. Click here for access . Options trading presents higher risks and potential rewards. Astute traders manage these risks by continually educating themselves, adapting their strategies, monitoring multiple indicators, and keeping a close eye on market movements. Stay informed about the latest Lululemon Athletica options trades with real-time alerts from Benzinga Pro . © 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
-- Amazon Web Services Recognizes Solution as a Top AI/Blockchain Product at re:Invent Conference -- NEW YORK and CHESTERFIELD, Mo. and BOISE, Idaho , Dec. 12, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Bridgetower Capital, a leading global provider of AI and Web3 platform services and infrastructure, InterVision Systems, a premier Managed Service Provider and leader in innovative IT solutions, and ProvLabs, a provider of enterprise-grade APIs and SaaS solutions that enable regulated firms to deploy digital assets on Provenance Blockchain, have launched a breakthrough Sovereign AI Data Lineage solution solving significant corporate and regulatory concerns about data use in AI LLM models globally. The solution was recognized by Amazon Web Services (AWS) as a top Blockchain/AI solution at its re:Invent 2024 conference last week. "This is an extremely strong solution expertly filling a growing need in a massive market," said Jonathan Lerner , CEO of InterVision Systems. "We are excited to partner with Bridgetower and to have the solution recognized and validated by AWS is encouraging and gratifying." Bridgetower's Sovereign AI Data Lineage Solution is a part of a transformative proprietary suite of AI and Web3 services developed in partnership with InterVision Systems to accelerate adoption of the technologies in a variety of industries around the world. The solution is being integrated by Provenance, the world's largest public Layer 1 blockchain measured by real-world assets controlling approximately 70% of all RWAs ledgered on public blockchains. As a leading financial services blockchain, Provenance has facilitated more than $41 billion in financial transactions. "The Provenance Blockchain was purpose-built for regulated financial and data services, with interoperability, confidentiality, and privacy incorporated directly into the protocol," said Anthony Moro , ProvLabs CEO. "Sovereign data lineage is crucial for highly regulated entities and is a perfect fit for the Provenance Blockchain ecosystem. ProvLabs' ProvConnect and BlockVault services remove the friction of bringing this solution to life on-chain. We are thrilled to be participating." "Bridgetower's roots are anchored in blockchain technology aimed at real world solutions. By partnering with world-class companies, we are seeing the results of a patient and purposeful strategy," Bridgetower CEO Cory Pugh . "Our Sovereign AI Data Lineage solution is at the nexus of blockchain and AI – two of the centuries most transformative technologies - and will have a meaningful impact on the continued acceleration of AI models for the public and private sectors." Bridgetower's solution innovatively uses Blockchain-Integrated Traceability to maintain immutable records of data transformations and robust traceability of data being sourced and utilized across the full stack of AI services including model creation, fine tuning and inference. The solution provides rich benefits of explainability, transparency and predictability for all solution sets inside the AI stack. It addresses a high-demand and critical need for corporations and regulators around the world who are rapidly developing their own LLM models in every sector of public and private entities.The solution solves cross-border compliance, complex proof-of-authenticity, and data immutability via decentralized autonomous consensus and secure deployment and directly addresses concerns held by regulators and corporations around the world regarding data protection and authenticity for the rapidly developing use of AI and LLM models. The AI Data Lineage solution features: Automated data collection that can reduce ingestion times by 70% Automated data validation and traceability features to decrease the likelihood of human errors in document processing by up to 60% and associated remediation costs by 40% Faster document retrieval and search through Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) models that allow users to access relevant information 50-70% faster To view a demonstration of the solution click here. About Bridgetower Bridgetower Capital is a global leader and pioneer in the convergence of blockchain and AI, the most transformative technologies of the 21st century. Bridgetower's blockchain offerings include a customizable Web3 architecture with robust API layers and a full end-to-end Web3 platform. Bridgetower's AI services include AI modeling, training Large Language Models (LLM), offering GPUs as a service, and complete blockchain data authenticity and validation. Bridgetower is strategically located in global blockchain hubs including the United States , the UK, Switzerland and Abu Dhabi . About InterVision Systems InterVision is a leading IT managed services provider, delivering and supporting cloud, security and innovation for mid-to-enterprise and public sector organizations throughout the US. With 30 years of experience and one of the most comprehensive solution portfolios, InterVision drives business outcomes with an unparalleled focus on the customer and employee experience to help organizations be more competitive, compliant, and secure. The company has headquarters in St. Louis with locations in Boston , Richmond , Roanoke, Sacramento , San Francisco , Seattle , San Jose , Kosovo and India . Experience us at intervision.com. About ProvLabs ProvLabs (Provenance Blockchain Labs, Inc.) is a blockchain infrastructure technology company that provides mission-critical APIs and SaaS solutions that enable the deployment of real-world assets at scale on Provenance Blockchain. ProvLabs' solutions provide a frictionless path to Web3 enablement and are built specifically for Provenance Blockchain Network, the world's largest public Layer 1 blockchain network as measured by real-world assets with over $13 billion in total value locked and over $41 billion in supported transactions. Learn more at ProvLabs.io, and follow us on X and LinkedIn. Notes to editors Media contacts: Bridgetower Capital: Todd Wolfenbarger / [email protected] InterVision Systems: [email protected] Alyssa Rinehart BLASTmedia for InterVision [email protected] SOURCE InterVision
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota regulators approved permits Thursday for underground storage of carbon dioxide delivered through a massive pipeline proposed for the Midwest, marking another victory for a project that has drawn fierce opposition from landowners. The governor-led Industrial Commission voted unanimously to approve permits for Summit Carbon Solutions’ three proposed storage sites in central North Dakota. Summit says construction of the project would begin in 2026 with operations beginning in 2027, but it’s expected that resistant landowners will file lawsuits seeking to block the storage plans. “With these permits, we’re one step closer to providing vital infrastructure that benefits farmers, ethanol producers, and communities across the Midwest," Summit Executive VP Wade Boeshans said in a statement. Summit’s proposed 2,500-mile (4,023-kilometer), $8 billion pipeline would transport planet-warming CO2 emissions from 57 ethanol plants in North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota and Nebraska for underground storage. Carbon dioxide would move through the pipeline in a pressurized form to be injected deep underground into a rock formation. The company has permits for its route in North Dakota and Iowa but can’t yet begin construction. Also on Thursday, Minnesota regulators approved a permit for a 28-mile (45-kilometer) leg of the project in western Minnesota. Summit also recently applied in South Dakota, where regulators denied the company’s previous application last year. Last month, the company gained approval for its North Dakota route , and Iowa regulators also have given conditional approval. Summit faces several lawsuits related to the project, including a North Dakota Supreme Court appeal over a property rights law related to the underground storage plan. Further court challenges are likely. North Dakota Republican Gov. Doug Burgum, who chairs the Industrial Commission, is President-elect Donald Trump's choice for Interior Secretary and to lead a new National Energy Council. Burgum has frequently touted North Dakota's underground carbon dioxide storage as a “geologic jackpot.” In 2021, he set a goal for the No. 3 oil-producing state to be carbon-neutral by 2030. His term ends Saturday. Summit's storage facilities would hold an estimated maximum of 352 million metric tons of CO2 over 20 years. The pipeline would carry up to 18 million metric tons of CO2 per year to be injected about 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) underground, according to an application fact sheet. Jessie Stolark, who leads a group that supports the project and includes Summit, said the oil industry has long used similar technology. “We know that this can be done safely in a manner that is protective of human health and underground sources of drinking water,” said Stolark, executive director of the Carbon Capture Coalition. Summit's project has drawn the ire of landowners around the region. They oppose the potential taking of their property for the pipeline and fear a pipeline rupture releasing a cloud of heavy, hazardous gas over the land. A North Dakota landowners group is challenging a property rights law related to the underground storage, and attorney Derrick Braaten said they likely would challenge the granting of permits. “The landowners that I'm working with aren't necessarily opposed to carbon sequestration itself,” Braaten said. “They're opposed to the idea that a private company can come in and use their property without having to negotiate with them or pay them just compensation for taking their private property and using it.” Carbon capture projects such as Summit's are eligible for lucrative federal tax credits intended to encourage cleaner-burning ethanol and potentially result in corn-based ethanol being refined into jet fuel. Some opponents argue the amount of greenhouse gases sequestered through the process would make little difference and could lead farmers to grow more corn despite environmental concerns about the crop. In Minnesota, regulators granted a route permit that would connect an ethanol plant in Fergus Falls to Summit’s broader network. They attached several conditions, including requirements that Summit first begin construction in North Dakota. An administrative law judge who conducted hearings concluded in November that the environmental impacts from the Minnesota segment would be minimal and noted that Summit has secured agreements from landowners along most of the recommended route. Environmental groups that oppose the project disputed the judge’s finding that the project would have a net benefit for the environment. Iowa regulators required Summit to obtain approvals for routes in the Dakotas and underground storage in North Dakota before it can begin construction in Iowa. The Iowa Utilities Commission's approval sparked lawsuits related to the project. In Nebraska, where there is no state regulatory process for CO2 pipelines, Summit is working with individual counties to advance its project. At least one county has denied a permit. ___ Karnowski reported from Minneapolis. Jack Dura And Steve Karnowski, The Associated PressUpbound Group Enters Definitive Agreement to Acquire Brigit, a Leading Financial Health Technology Firm, for up to $460 MillionCousins Properties Announces Pricing of Senior Notes Offering
The pair rocketed into orbit on June 5 , the first to ride Boeing's new Starliner crew capsule on what was supposed to be a weeklong test flight. They arrived at the International Space Station the next day, only after overcoming a cascade of thruster failures and helium leaks . NASA deemed the capsule too risky for a return flight, so it will be February before their long and trying mission comes to a close. While NASA managers bristle at calling them stuck or stranded, the two retired Navy captains shrug off the description of their plight. They insist they're fine and accepting of their fate. Wilmore views it as a detour of sorts: "We're just on a different path." "I like everything about being up here," Williams told students Wednesday from an elementary school named for her in Needham, Massachusetts, her hometown. "Just living in space is super fun." Both astronauts lived up there before, so they quickly became full-fledged members of the crew, helping with science experiments and chores like fixing a broken toilet, vacuuming the air vents and watering the plants. Williams took over as station commander in September. "Mindset does go a long way," Wilmore said in response to a question from Nashville first graders in October. He's from Mount Juliet, Tennessee. "I don't look at these situations in life as being downers." Boeing flew its Starliner capsule home empty in September, and NASA moved Wilmore and Williams to a SpaceX flight not due back until late February. Two other astronauts were bumped to make room and to keep to a six-month schedule for crew rotations. Like other station crews, Wilmore and Williams trained for spacewalks and any unexpected situations that might arise. "When the crews go up, they know they could be there for up to a year," NASA Associate Administrator Jim Free said. NASA astronaut Frank Rubio found that out the hard way when the Russian Space Agency had to rush up a replacement capsule for him and two cosmonauts in 2023, pushing their six-month mission to just past a year. Boeing said this week that input from Wilmore and Williams was "invaluable" in the ongoing inquiry of what went wrong. The company said it is preparing for Starliner's next flight but declined to comment on when it might launch again. NASA also has high praise for the pair. "Whether it was luck or whether it was selection, they were great folks to have for this mission," NASA's chief health and medical officer, Dr. JD Polk, said during an interview with The Associated Press. On top of everything else, Williams, 59, had to deal with "rumors," as she calls them, of serious weight loss. She insists her weight is the same as it was on launch day, which Polk confirms. During Wednesday's student chat, Williams said she didn't have much of an appetite when she first arrived in space. But now she's "super hungry" and eating three meals a day plus snacks, while logging the required two hours of daily exercise. Williams, a distance runner, uses the space station treadmill to support races in her home state. She competed in Cape Cod's 7-mile Falmouth Road Race in August. She ran the 2007 Boston Marathon up there as well. She has a New England Patriots shirt with her for game days, as well as a Red Sox spring training shirt. "Hopefully I'll be home before that happens — but you never know," she said in November. Husband Michael Williams, a retired federal marshal and former Navy aviator, is caring for their dogs back home in Houston. As for Wilmore, 61, he's missing his younger daughter's senior year in high school and his older daughter's theater productions in college. "We can't deny that being unexpectedly separated, especially during the holidays when the entire family gets together, brings increased yearnings to share the time and events together," his wife, Deanna Wilmore, told the AP in a text this week. Her husband "has it worse than us" since he's confined to the space station and can only connect via video for short periods. "We are certainly looking forward to February!!" she wrote.Lazio are guaranteed a place in at least the Europa League play-offs as they are , while Roma boost their chances of getting into the top 24. The Biancocelesti put in a dominant performance in Amsterdam to with goals from Loum Tchaouna, Fisayo Dele-Bashiru and veteran Pedro. It puts them on 16 points from six games in the Europa League, joint top with Athletic Club, but ahead on a superior goal difference of +11. This guarantees them a place in the top 24 places, which is worth a spot in at least the play-offs, although the top eight is what allows teams to go directly into the Round of 16. at the Stadio Olimpico to bolster their position to 14 on nine points. As things stand, it would still be enough to qualify the Giallorossi for a seeded spot in the play-offs draw. The top eight go directly into the Round of 16, teams from 9-16 are seeded in the play-offs, facing a side from 17-24. The sides from 25 place onwards are eliminated from Europe altogether when this phase concludes in January.Chandrababu Naidu is back in the driver’s seat and he’s stepping on the gas. The longest-serving chief minister of Andhra Pradesh—including a 9-year stint from 1995 to 2004 at the helm of the undivided state—is now on his fourth term. In October, Naidu made national headlines when he publicly accused his predecessor Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy (better known as YSR) of permitting the use of ghee adulterated with animal fat to make the famous Tirumala laddus. Done with that bit of ‘political drama’, Naidu’s now back to his old self, that of a CEO-type leader, bidding to reprise his role as the architect of a high-tech Hyderabad to rival Bengaluru. The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief presented a budget of Rs 30 lakh crore with a slew of ambitious plans to make AP a global economic and tech hub with massive infusions of money and technology in several industrial sectors. Setting an ambitious 15 per cent annual growth rate and a target of 20 lakh jobs in the next five years, Naidu said the state would invest in its youth to set the tone. He announced a clutch of new industrial parks, huge investments in agrobased food-processing sectors and innovation hubs to achieve his goal of making AP a global manufacturing hub. The centrepiece of Naidu’s tech vision is the creation of a ‘drone city’ in Orvakal in Kurnool district spread over 300 acres. Announced last month at the Amaravati Drone Summit 2024 in Mangalagiri, it envisages an investment of Rs 1,000 crore, the generation of 40,000 jobs and the churning out of 25,000 skilled drone pilots. With a 20 per cent subsidy on investments and a Rs 500 crore allocation for the rollout, it is also an attempt to lure over a 100 drone companies to the state. Andhra Pradesh will be competing with the neighbouring states of Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, all of whom have drone ambitions. The Andhra Pradesh Drone Policy 4.0 (2024–29) aims to transform the state into the country’s primary destination for drone technology, said AP Drone Corporation CMD K. Dinesh Kumar. The drone market is estimated to grow rapidly over the next 5 years (one estimate puts it at 17 per cent annually), fuelled by galloping demand from diverse sectors like agriculture, defence and e-commerce. With a shift from military use to commercial applications in agriculture (crop assessment), urban planning for smart city interventions and healthcare (medical supplies delivery), the government is also looking at ways to include drones in the delivery of government services and seeks to appoint special ‘drone innovation officers’ in government departments. Andhra Pradesh already has a record of delivering public services such as monthly payments to older women and rations at people’s doorsteps. It will be interesting to see how drones could up this game. Seaplane tourism takes off A De Havilland Twin Otter Series 400 seaplane is the centrepiece of a new tourist attraction that the state is touting. It made its inaugural flight on 9 November, taking off from Punnami Ghat (near Prakasam Barrage) in Vijayawada for a short hop to Srisailam in Nandyal district. CM Chandrababu Naidu, who travelled on the flight, said seaplane tourism offered an innovative way to promote tourism in the state. It was, he said, essential to harness technology to promote growth, adding it would also improve local connectivity and supplement existing air services. According to the state tourism minister, the test run was a demonstration of the feasibility of seaplane flights as a method to showcase picturesque locations in the state including Araku Valley, Lambasinghi, Rushikonda, Kakinada and the temple town of Tirumala. Laddus, anyone? Coming in from the cold A long-time member of the banned CPI(Maoist) group has surrendered to the police after more than three decades on the run. Kodi Manjula, a.k.a. Nirmala, was a Dandakaranya special committee member of the group. The 46-year-old gave herself up to the Warangal commissioner of police, Amber Kishore Jha. The Rs 20 lakh reward for her capture was handed over by cheque towards her rehabilitation. Manjula had joined the People’s War Group (a forerunner of the Maoist party) after her brother and a close relative, both Naxalites, were killed in police action. She was reportedly involved in several Maoist operations, including the 2013 attack on a convoy of the Indian National Congress in Darbha valley, Chhattisgarh. Among the 27 people killed was Congress leader V.C. Shukla. Manjula’s surrender is symptomatic of the waning of the Maoist movement in the central Indian jungles of Bastar, following a crackdown by successive state and central governments. A pale shadow of itself, it has lost considerable ground in Andhra Pradesh, which had nurtured the revolutionary movement in its early stages. Sustained police action, combined with substantial reform measures, led to operations being shifted to Odisha and Chhattisgarh. Vizag to see Singapore-style Marina Bay Sands facility The demolition of the Taj group’s iconic Gateway hotel on Beach Road, Visakhapatnam has been received with mixed feelings by locals. Originally the Sea Pearl hotel dating back to 1988, the Gateway, which opened in 2018, quickly became a city landmark with its vintage charm. Varun Hospitality, which now owns the prime property, announced its plans to come up with a new mixed-use facility along the lines of Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands. The proposed structure includes a deluxe hotel with 374 sea-facing rooms and a rooftop replete with bars, restaurants, swimming pool and helipad. The project which claims to minimise its carbon footprint with advanced green technologies such as double-glazed windows, is estimated to cost Rs 500 crores and is expected to be finished by 2028. 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Stocks closed higher on Wall Street ahead of the Christmas holiday, led by gains in Big Tech stocks. The S&P 500 added 1.1% Tuesday. Trading closed early ahead of the holiday. Tech companies including Apple, Amazon and chip company Broadcom helped pull the market higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.9%, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 1.3%. American Airlines shook off an early loss and ended mostly higher after the airline briefly grounded flights nationwide due to a technical issue. Treasury yields held steady in the bond market. On Tuesday: The S&P 500 rose 65.97 points, or 1.1%, to 6,040.04. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 390.08 points, or 0.9%, to 43,297.03. The Nasdaq composite rose 266.24 points, or 1.3%, to 20,031.13. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 22.42 points, or 1%, to 2,259.85 For the week: The S&P 500 is up 109.19 points, or 1.8%. The Dow is up 456.77 points, or 1.1%. The Nasdaq is up 458.53 points, or 2.3%. The Russell 2000 is up 17.48 points, or 0.8%. For the year: The S&P 500 is up 1,270.21 points, or 26.3%. The Dow is up 5,607.49 points, or 14.9%. The Nasdaq is up 5,019.77 points, or 33.4%. The Russell 2000 is up 232.78 points, or 11.5%.8 Thanksgiving mistakes: Frozen or overcooked turkey, too many sides and other common holiday miscues
“Gladiator II” asks the question: Are you not moderately entertained for roughly 60% of this sequel? Truly, this is a movie dependent on managed expectations and a forgiving attitude toward its tendency to overserve. More of a thrash-and-burn schlock epic than the comparatively restrained 2000 “Gladiator,” also directed by Ridley Scott, the new one recycles a fair bit of the old one’s narrative cries for freedom while tossing in some digital sharks for the flooded Colosseum and a bout of deadly sea-battle theatrics. They really did flood the Colosseum in those days, though no historical evidence suggests shark deployment, real or digital. On the other hand (checks notes), “Gladiator II” is fiction. Screenwriter David Scarpa picks things up 16 years after “Gladiator,” which gave us the noble death of the noble warrior Maximus, shortly after slaying the ignoble emperor and returning Rome to the control of the Senate. Our new hero, Lucius (Paul Mescal), has fled Rome for Numidia, on the North African coast. The time is 200 A.D., and for the corrupt, party-time twins running the empire (Joseph Quinn and Fred Hechinger), that means invasion time. Pedro Pascal takes the role of Acacius, the deeply conflicted general, sick of war and tired of taking orders from a pair of depraved ferrets. The new film winds around the old one this way: Acacius is married to Lucilla (Connie Nielsen, in a welcome return), daughter of the now-deceased emperor Aurelius and the love of the late Maximus’s life. Enslaved and dragged to Rome to gladiate, the widower Lucius vows revenge on the general whose armies killed his wife. But there are things this angry young phenom must learn, about his ancestry and his destiny. It’s the movie’s worst-kept secret, but there’s a reason he keeps seeing footage of Russell Crowe from the first movie in his fever dreams. Battle follows battle, on the field, in the arena, in the nearest river, wherever, and usually with endless splurches of computer-generated blood. “Gladiator II” essentially bumper-cars its way through the mayhem, pausing for long periods of expository scheming about overthrowing the current regime. The prince of all fixers, a wily operative with interests in both managing gladiators and stocking munitions, goes by the name Macrinus. He’s played by Denzel Washington, who at one point makes a full meal out of pronouncing the word “politics” like it’s a poisoned fig. Also, if you want a masterclass in letting your robes do a lot of your acting for you, watch what Washington does here. He’s more fun than the movie but you can’t have everything. The movie tries everything, all right, and twice. Ridley Scott marshals the chaotic action sequences well enough, though he’s undercut by frenetic cutting rhythms, with that now-familiar, slightly sped-up visual acceleration in frequent use. (Claire Simpson and Sam Restivo are the editors.) Mescal acquits himself well in his first big-budget commercial walloper of an assignment, confined though he is to a narrower range of seething resentments than Crowe’s in the first film. I left thinking about two things: the word “politics” as savored/spit out by Washington, and the innate paradox of how Scott, whose best work over the decades has been wonderful, delivers spectacle. The director and his lavishly talented design team built all the rough-hewn sets with actual tangible materials the massive budget allowed. They took care to find the right locations in Morocco and Malta. Yet when combined in post-production with scads of medium-grade digital effects work in crowd scenes and the like, never mind the sharks, the movie’s a somewhat frustrating amalgam. With an uneven script on top of it, the visual texture of “Gladiator II” grows increasingly less enveloping and atmospherically persuasive, not more. But I hung there, for some of the acting, for some of the callbacks, and for the many individual moments, or single shots, that could only have come from Ridley Scott. And in the end, yes, you too may be moderately entertained. “Gladiator II” — 2.5 stars (out of 4) MPA rating: R (for strong bloody violence) Running time: 2:28 How to watch: Premieres in theaters Nov. 21. Michael Phillips is a Tribune critic.NASA's stuck astronauts hit 6 months in space. Just 2 more to goEAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield embarrassed the woeful Giants with his arm and legs, and if that wasn't enough, he rubbed it in by mimicking New York fan favorite Tommy DeVito's celebratory dance after scoring a touchdown. Mayfield catapulted into the end zone on a spectacular 10-yard scramble for one of Tampa Bay's four rushing TDs, and the Buccaneers beat the Giants and new starting quarterback DeVito 30-7 on Sunday, snapping a four-game losing streak and extending New York's skid to six. With both teams struggling and coming off byes, most of the focus leading up to the game was on the Giants' decisions this week to bench and then release quarterback Daniel Jones. The brash DeVito was given the starting job and asked to spark coach Brian Daboll's team, as he did last season. Instead, Mayfield provided the energy with his play and his trolling of DeVito. “Tribute to Tommy,” said a straight-faced Mayfield, who was 24 of 30 for 294 yards. “He’s a good dude, that’s why. Most of the times, I don’t know what I’m going to do. It’s spontaneous.” Mayfield was asked several times about the gesture and admitted he wanted to give Giants fans something they liked, adding he met DeVito at the Super Bowl in Las Vegas in February. “He had his chain blinged out, swag walking through the casino. It was awesome,” Mayfield said. “It was like a movie scene, honestly.” DeVito did nothing to help the NFL's lowest-scoring offense. He threw for 189 yards, mostly in the second half with New York well on its way to its sixth straight loss at home, where it is winless. Meanwhile, the Buccaneers dominated in every phase in a near-perfect performance that featured TD runs of 1 yard by Sean Tucker, 6 yards by Bucky Irving and 1 yard by Rachaad White. After recent losses to the Ravens, 49ers and Chiefs, Tampa Bay (5-6) moved within one game of idle Atlanta in the NFC South. “We’re hoping it builds confidence,” Mayfield said. “We have a belief that we are still sitting and controlling our own destiny.” Tampa Bay scored on five of its on first six possessions to open a 30-0 lead, and none was more exciting than Mayfield's TD run with 12 seconds left in the first half. On a second-and-goal from the 10, he avoided pressure and went for the end zone. He was hit by Cor'Dale Flott low and Dru Phillips high around the 2-yard line, and he was airborne when he crossed the goal line. The ball came loose when he hit the turf but he jumped up and flexed, DeVito-style, as the Bucs took a 23-0 lead. DeVito said players talked about the celebration in the locker room but he did not see it. Daboll was asked about the gesture and said Mayfield played well. He said the Giants' poor performance had nothing to do with Jones being released. “No excuse on that,” said Daboll, whose job is on the line despite making the playoffs in 2022. “We just didn’t do a good enough job.” “We played soft, and they beat the (expletive) out of us,” defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence added. Mayfield's favorite target Mike Evans returned to the lineup after missing three games with a hamstring injury and had five catches for 68 yards. Irving had 87 yards rushing and six catches for 64 yards. The Bucs held New York to three first downs and 45 yards in the first half, and they finished with 450 yards to the Giants' 245. DeVito had a 17-yard run in the fourth quarter to set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Devin Singletary. The brash New Jersey native was sacked four times, including once in the fourth quarter, which forced him to go to the bench for one play. Buccaneers: LT Tristan Wirfs (knee) did not play and Justin Skule replaced him. ... Tampa Bay lost OLB Joe Tryon-Shoyinka to an ankle injury in the second quarter and safety Jordan Whitehead to a pectoral injury in the fourth quarter. Giants: LT Jermaine Eluemunor (quad) and OLB Azeez Ojulari (toe) were hurt in the first quarter and did not return. Buccaneers: At Carolina next Sunday. Giants: At Dallas on Thanksgiving AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Most of us are not professional chefs or caterers or decorators, so the thought of cooking for and entertaining a Thanksgiving crowd can be daunting. That's why we turned to the experts — professional chefs and caterers and interior designers — to discuss some typical Thanksgiving mistakes and how to avoid them. "The overriding first mistake people make is they think they have more time than they do," said Bistro to Go Cafe and Catering executive chef Kate Kobylinski. She regularly hosts her extended family of 30 and knows "every single problem." "Food takes longer to cook, the table takes longer to set and houses take longer to clean than you think." Clean your house on Monday. On Wednesday, dice vegetables so they're "food-show ready," as Kobylinski put it. Prepare (but don't cook) your green bean casserole (leaving off garnishes like fried onions) so it can just be popped in the oven and set the dining room table. Don't feel that you have to do everything yourself. But be as specific as possible when doling out the assignments. "Don't let them make their own decisions!" Kobylinski said emphatically. Thanksgiving is "micromanager's heaven." For example, have someone bring ice on Thanksgiving Day because going out to buy it takes time and ice hogs freezer space. If you don't like making desserts, have someone bring one. If a guest wants to prepare a side dish, great, but decide beforehand what they will bring. Ahead of dinner, interior designer Kacie Cope likes to set out all of her serving platters with Post-it notes attached denoting what will go on them. "You'll be amazed if you have them labeled," she said. "People can help in a jiff." During the evening, Kobylinski gives people assigned jobs, such as serving drinks or taking charge of an after-dinner game. And the chef is forgiving about using premade ingredients, like gravy or cranberry jelly. "There's no right or wrong way to make any of your foods," she said. But you might want to give a homemade touch to prepared ingredients, like adding sauteed onions or celery to prepared gravy. "Everyone goes into Thanksgiving Day with a half-frozen turkey," said Kobylinski. "And you can't get the bag of giblets out because they're frozen in place." It takes one day for every 4 pounds of turkey meat to defrost in the refrigerator. (No, it is not safe to leave your frozen turkey out on the counter to thaw and breed bacteria.) So if you've got a 20-pound bird, you've got to start thawing on the Saturday before Thanksgiving. However, there are other methods. Kobylinski suggests submerging the bird and running a thin stream of cold water over it. "It doesn't have to be a lot of water." The U.S. Department of Agriculture says there are only three ways to safely thaw food: In the refrigerator, in cold water or in the microwave. To safely thaw turkey in cold water, the USDA says it takes about 30 minutes per pound. Put the turkey in a leak-proof plastic bag to prevent cross-contamination and submerge it. Change the water every 30 minutes, and cook immediately when it's thawed. If opting for your microwave, follow its instructions for thawing and cook immediately. Then, if you're running late and need to speed things up to satisfy the hungry hordes, you can cut the bird in half before cooking (skin side up). This significantly reduces cooking time, requiring about 10 minutes per pound. Kobylinski also recommends resting the turkey on vegetables in the oven to keep the bottom from getting burned. Private chef and culinary educator Emily Larsen warns that those plastic thermometers in supermarket turkeys are setting you up for failure. The USDA says that you should cook a turkey until the internal temperature is 165 degrees. Plastic thermometers don't pop out until the breast meat is at about 180 degrees, "when your turkey is completely dry," Larsen said. Plus, people forget that meat continues to cook once it's out of the oven. She recommends taking a bird out of the oven when it is at 155 degrees — she likes to use an inexpensive instant-read folding probe thermometer — and continue to monitor it. (Insert it into the thickest part of the breast, avoiding the bone.) "Ten dollars [for the thermometer] can save your Thanksgiving," she said. Some feel that buying a frozen rather than fresh bird is another no-no, since freezing leaches water out of the turkey. However, if, despite your best efforts, your turkey is lacking moisture, Kobylinski has a fix: Put warm chicken or turkey stock and clarified butter into a mister and spritz sliced turkey with it before serving. "The same with stuffing if it's too dry," she said. Thanksgiving Day is not the time to try out a completely new recipe. And you don't have to lay out 10 side dishes. In addition to opting for a simple menu, Kobylinski also recommends figuring out how long your items will take to cook and what method of cooking it requires ahead of time. Your turkey will be monopolizing your oven for four hours, so other oven foods should be limited or be easily reheated during the time that the turkey is resting. (As for resting a turkey, the chef puts her turkey on a hot plate with towels over it so "the meat rebinds itself and stabilizes for a smoother cut.") "Stovetop items should be staggered," she said, so you don't have a frying pan and three pots all going at once. As a sample menu, she suggests you might have one baked potato dish and one mashed. And for vegetables, one baked dish and one that is blanched or grilled. Interior designers advise against going too crazy with holiday-specific décor. "There's a lot that's being sold to us that we feel like we need," said Pittsburgh interior designer Amanda Bock. Do you really need a turkey-shaped vase or pilgrim figurines? "They're out for two weeks, and then you have to figure out where to store them," agreed Cope. "It takes an already busy season and makes it stressful in an unnecessary way." Cope says you can take things that are already part of your menu and use them as décor — a bowl of nuts or cranberries, or even removing the label from a cranberry sauce tin and repurposing it as a vase for flowers and fall leaves. Bock adds that dining room table décor should be kept to a minimum, since you'll need space for your food. You don't have to have "big chargers and five plates and three different glasses, plus all of your Thanksgiving food on the table," Bock said. If you do have flowers or a centerpiece in the middle of the table, keep it low, Cope advised. "That way, you can actually see the person who's across the table from you." Tableware and tablecloths might be in fall colors, so they can be repurposed throughout the season. Water glasses or wine goblets could be amber-toned, Bock suggests. Well in advance of your guests' arrival, think critically about the setup of your home. Don't be afraid to rearrange your furniture so your guests move to different areas and don't all congregate in your kitchen. "You want to make sure that there are areas where people can sit and chat, watch the parade or just hang out together," Bock said. Set up a drinks station and an hors d'oeuvres station in different parts of the house, Bock suggests. Though, she admits, "I can't do that in my house because my dogs would just gobble up the hors d'oeuvres." She suggests repurposing a kitchen nook for kid seating, or as a serving area. Kobylinski might set up a half-built puzzle in a side room. She even puts out winter jackets and boots for "the gentlemen" for the moment when she urges them to go out on the porch to smoke cigars and drink brandy so they won't be underfoot. As a finishing touch, don't neglect to set the mood by using lamps around the room instead of harsh overhead lights. Putting out tapers or tea candles establishes an intimate feeling. "That just leans into the cozy fall vibe," Cope said of low lighting. But don't use scented candles, Bock warns. Or a smelly flower arrangement. "That can overwhelm you when you're eating," Bock said. Putting on a favorite music playlist can set the mood and take away self-consciousness, especially early in the evening. The most important thing on Thanksgiving is simply for everyone to enjoy each other's company. A little advance preparation can help you, the host, stay relaxed throughout the evening so you can interact with your guests. As Bock advised, "Keep it simple for Thanksgiving." Let friendship and fellowship be the stars of the show. In Macy's first Thanksgiving parade, Santa Claus sat atop a float pulled by a team of horses down Broadway. That year floats, bands, and Central Park Zoo animals were featured in the procession. At the parade's end, Santa Claus was crowned "King of the Kiddies" on Macy's balcony at the 34th Street entrance. Macy's quickly announced the parade would be an annual event. The large balloons that replaced live zoo animals in 1927 were filled with regular air and had no release valves—they were simply let go to pop in the air following the parade. 1928 marked the first year of Macy's inflating balloons with helium to allow them to float. They were also outfitted with valves so the helium could gradually escape rather than waiting for the balloon to inevitably pop, and featured a return address so anyone who found them could return them and receive a reward. In this photo from 1928, a 35-foot fish and 60-foot-long tiger were featured prominently in the parade. A $100 prize was offered for each balloon recovered after its release. Pinnochio, Tin Man, and Uncle Sam make their way along the parade route in 1939. Mickey Mouse made his debut five years earlier with a balloon designed in part by Walt Disney; Mickey's handlers were also dressed as mice. New iterations of Mickey appeared over the next 70 years as the character evolved. The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was canceled from 1942-1944 because of supply shortages during World War II, namely helium and rubber. Festivities returned in 1945. The Christmas classic "Miracle on 34th Street" was released in 1947 and prominently features actual footage from the 1946 parade. 1948 marked the parade's first network television broadcast. You may also like: Legendary interior designers from every decade of the 20th century The 23rd annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was held Nov. 24, 1949. In this photo, a teddy bear makes its way through Times Square. This parade marked the second appearance for the bear. Other balloons made their debut: Freida the Dachshund, Howdy Doody on the Flying Trapeze, and Macy's Hobo Clown. Throngs of onlookers pack the sidewalks in Manhattan's Times Square during this 1955 parade. Mighty Mouse, an animated superhero created by Terrytoons, is seen in the back left of the photo. Mighty Mouse made his debut in the Thanksgiving Day parade in 1951; he appeared in 80 short films between 1942-1961. The iconic peacock float makes its debut in this photo of the 1961 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. That same year, Miss Teenage America Diane Lynn Cox appeared in princess attire sharing a float with "Prince Charming" actor Troy Donahue. You may also like: Baltimore buried its urban streams—now an artist is bringing one back Teen performers appear in classic roller skates in this image from the 1961 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. The sign above the skaters reads "Macy's presents A Fantasy of Christmas in New York." This 1961 photo shows shoulder-to-shoulder parade onlookers at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. The year marks the first balloon featuring Bullwinkle Moose and the first year for floats with Pinocchio, The Racetrack Grandstand, Cinderella, Peacock, Ferris Wheel, Brigadoon, Meet the Mets, and Santa's Sleigh. Several years later, in 1968, Macy's creative team figured out how to design floats up to 40 feet tall and 28 feet wide that could fold into 12.5-by-8-foot boxes for strategic transportation from New Jersey to Manhattan via the Lincoln Tunnel. A solo tortoise float makes its way down the street near Columbus Circle in this 1974 parade photo. Not pictured is the accompanying hare. This marked the seventh appearance of the duo. A giant inflatable balloon of Kermit the Frog makes its way down the 1982 parade route in this photo. The parade marked Kermit's sixth appearance. First-time balloons included Olive Oyl and Woody Woodpecker. You may also like: Far from making their last calls, LGBTQ+ bars evolve to imagine a new world Woody Woodpecker greets the crowd as he floats past One Times Square during the 63rd annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1989. In the coming years, safety concerns troubled '90s-era parades—namely the wind. Strong gusts in 1993 pushed a Sonic the Hedgehog balloon into a Columbus Circle lamppost that broke and hurt a child and off-duty police officer. Four years later, intense winds caused a Cat in the Hat balloon to hit a lamppost, hurling debris into the air that fractured the skull of a spectator who spent 24 days in a coma. The incident, among others, led then-New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani to form a task force. The Soaring Spirit Canoe float, pictured here in 1995, made its debut in the parade in 1986. Popular '90s balloons included Bart Simpson, Cat in the Hat, and The Rugrats. Dora the Explorer makes her balloon debut in this 2005 photo. That same year, the M&M 's chocolate candies balloon collided with a streetlight in Times Square, and debris from it injured two siblings. A woman dressed in an elf costume sprinkles spectators with confetti in Times Square during Macy's 85th Thanksgiving Day parade on Nov. 24, 2011. Sonic the Hedgehog and Julius the sock monkey, which was created by Paul Frank, made their balloon entrances that year. You may also like: 5 tips for making your next event more affordable Snoopy and Woodstock made their way along the 89th annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade route Nov. 26, 2015. To date, Snoopy boasts the most years flown as a character balloon in the event. In this 2016 photo, spectators like this one recorded videos of the parade on their phones. More than 24 million people were estimated to have streamed the parade that year on TV. The Pikachu balloon floats down Central Park West for its fourth time during the 91st annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 2017. That year's lineup featured 1,100 cheerleaders and dancers, more than 1,000 clowns, 28 legacy balloons, 26 floats, 17 giant helium balloons, 12 marching bands, and six performance groups. Performers in this photo prepare at the 94th annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on Nov. 26, 2020. The event was one of few public occasions to be kept on schedule during the COVID-19 pandemic, albeit in a tempered manner. Much of the performances were pre-taped and the parade route was massively reduced. Participants wore masks and balloon handlers were cut by nearly 90%. Santa Claus celebrates at the 97th annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in this photo from Nov. 23, 2023. First-time giant balloons included Beagle Scout Snoopy, Leo (Netflix), Monkey D. Luffy, Po from "Kung Fu Panda," and The Pillsbury Doughboy. Copy editing by Lois Hince. You may also like: From the Roman Empire to your therapist's office: The history of the chaise lounge The 98th Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade coverage is slated from 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. EST Thursday, Nov. 28. This year's event will feature 28 clown crews, 26 floats, 16 giant balloons, 11 marching bands, five performance groups, three "baloonicles"—cold-air inflatables driven down the parade route, and numerous performers. Stacker curated a selection of photographs from the past century of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade to help illustrate the history of the iconic event. The parade in New York City, presented by department store chain Macy's, was first held in 1924 under the heading "Macy's Christmas Parade" to promote holiday sales and spotlight the newly expanded and, at the time, largest in the world Herald Square store in Manhattan. The success of the event led organizers to turn the spectacle into an annual tradition. Each year, the parade ends outside the same Herald Square Macy's location. The event has been televised nationally since 1953 on NBC. The parade at first featured Central Park Zoo animals escorted by Macy's employees and professional entertainers for 6 miles from 145th Street in north Manhattan's Harlem to Macy's. A quarter of a million onlookers lined the streets. Real animals were replaced with balloons in 1927; that same year, the name of the event was changed to Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. The longest-running parade float is the event's unofficial mascot, Tom Turkey. Tom features moving wings, head, and eyes and usually functions as the lead float in the parade. Bringing up the caboose in virtually all the parades is Santa Claus who ushers in the holiday shopping season with his arrival at Macy's Herald Square. The parade offers a glimpse into pop culture of the time, from beloved children's entertainment to hit Broadway shows and musical acts. The Radio City Rockettes, formed in 1925, have performed in the parade annually since 1957. In 1933, the outside temperature was 69 degrees F, the warmest it's been; 2018 was the coldest day in parade history at 19 degrees F. In 2022, for the first time, the event featured a trio of women hosts. Today, more than 44 million people tune in to watch the parade. Keep reading to learn more about the parade's history and see some iconic shots of the event. You may also like: Game on: The booming growth of online gaming The Thanksgiving parade enjoyed rapid growth throughout the 1930s, with more than 1 million revelors lining the parade route in 1933. In this 1931 photo, a giant hippopotamus balloon makes its way down Broadway. A blue hippo balloon—possibly this one—released after the parade was still at large several days later, thought to be somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean. In this image, the Felix the Cat balloon is led down Broadway by its four handlers tailed by Terrible Turk and Willie Red Bird. The original Felix the Cat character balloon made its parade debut in 1927, but was destroyed after its post-parade release by a high tension wire in 1931. The Terrible Turk also was destroyed the same year by an electric sign. In 1932, Macy's Tom Cat balloon got stuck in the propeller of a plane when the aviator flying the plane tried recovering the balloon for a reward. While the plane eventually landed safely, that event marked the final year of releasing balloons after the parades and offering prizes for their return to Macy's. Macy's original character The Giant Spaceman made his debut in 1952's parade, measuring 70 feet long and 40 feet wide and weighing 600 pounds. More than 25 gallons of paint went into painting the astronaut. An estimated 2.25 million people lined the streets for the festivities that year. Popeye makes his way through Times Square in the 1959 parade. A year earlier, another helium shortage meant balloons were inflated with air and hung from construction cranes to make their way through the parade route. Also in 1958, the first celebrity performances were added with the Benny Goodman sextet. Live music proved a challenge technically and logistically. The parade was transitioning to the now-familiar lip syncing by 1964. A Bullwinkle Moose balloon floats down Broadway in this 1972 photograph of the parade. The 46th annual parade featured five firsts for floats: Alphabet Blocks, Snow Mountain, Windmill, Curious George, and Santa's Holiday Home. New York City first responders carry two American flags during the Nov. 22, 2001, 75th Anniversary of Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, which was also held on the heels of 9/11. They honored those killed in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks that year. New Yorkers crowded the streets to watch the parade, which featured 15 giant balloons and marching bands that all added an air of patriotism to the event. For the holidays: Get inspiring home and gift ideas – sign up now!
Gov. Kim Reynolds: ‘The best is yet to come’ on Iowa tax policyXiaolu Chu Tesla, Inc.'s ( NASDAQ: TSLA ) stock had an extraordinary run in the last month. Since October, when we published our last sell article on Tesla, the company's stock has increased by over 100%. Although the recent run has been 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.
Super Micro’s stock is having a historic week — but it’s still 70% off its highsNo injuries or damage reported as quake sparks California tsunami warningNoneCAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Known across the globe as the stuck astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams hit the six-month mark in space Thursday with two more to go. The pair rocketed into orbit on June 5 , the first to ride Boeing's new Starliner crew capsule on what was supposed to be a weeklong test flight. They arrived at the International Space Station the next day, only after overcoming a cascade of thruster failures and helium leaks . NASA deemed the capsule too risky for a return flight, so it will be February before their long and trying mission comes to a close. While NASA managers bristle at calling them stuck or stranded, the two retired Navy captains shrug off the description of their plight. They insist they're fine and accepting of their fate. Wilmore views it as a detour of sorts: "We're just on a different path." NASA astronauts Suni Williams, left, and Butch Wilmore stand together for a photo June 5 as they head to the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 41 in Cape Canaveral, Fla., for their liftoff on the Boeing Starliner capsule to the International Space Station. "I like everything about being up here," Williams told students Wednesday from an elementary school named for her in Needham, Massachusetts, her hometown. "Just living in space is super fun." Both astronauts lived up there before, so they quickly became full-fledged members of the crew, helping with science experiments and chores like fixing a broken toilet, vacuuming the air vents and watering the plants. Williams took over as station commander in September. "Mindset does go a long way," Wilmore said in response to a question from Nashville first graders in October. He's from Mount Juliet, Tennessee. "I don't look at these situations in life as being downers." Boeing flew its Starliner capsule home empty in September, and NASA moved Wilmore and Williams to a SpaceX flight not due back until late February. Two other astronauts were bumped to make room and to keep to a six-month schedule for crew rotations. Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts Butch Wilmore, left, and Suni Williams pose for a portrait June 13 inside the vestibule between the forward port on the International Space Station's Harmony module and Boeing's Starliner spacecraft. Like other station crews, Wilmore and Williams trained for spacewalks and any unexpected situations that might arise. "When the crews go up, they know they could be there for up to a year," NASA Associate Administrator Jim Free said. NASA astronaut Frank Rubio found that out the hard way when the Russian Space Agency had to rush up a replacement capsule for him and two cosmonauts in 2023, pushing their six-month mission to just past a year. Boeing said this week that input from Wilmore and Williams was "invaluable" in the ongoing inquiry of what went wrong. The company said it is preparing for Starliner's next flight but declined to comment on when it might launch again. NASA also has high praise for the pair. "Whether it was luck or whether it was selection, they were great folks to have for this mission," NASA's chief health and medical officer, Dr. JD Polk, said during an interview with The Associated Press. NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, both Expedition 71 flight engineers, make pizza Sept. 9 aboard the International Space Station's galley located inside the Unity module. Items are attached to the galley using tape and Velcro to keep them from flying away in the microgravity environment. On top of everything else, Williams, 59, had to deal with "rumors," as she calls them, of serious weight loss. She insists her weight is the same as it was on launch day, which Polk confirms. During Wednesday's student chat, Williams said she didn't have much of an appetite when she first arrived in space. But now she's "super hungry" and eating three meals a day plus snacks, while logging the required two hours of daily exercise. Williams, a distance runner, uses the space station treadmill to support races in her home state. She competed in Cape Cod's 7-mile Falmouth Road Race in August. She ran the 2007 Boston Marathon up there as well. She has a New England Patriots shirt with her for game days, as well as a Red Sox spring training shirt. "Hopefully I'll be home before that happens — but you never know," she said in November. Husband Michael Williams, a retired federal marshal and former Navy aviator, is caring for their dogs back home in Houston. As for Wilmore, 61, he's missing his younger daughter's senior year in high school and his older daughter's theater productions in college. The astronauts in the video seemed to be in good spirits with one stating, “It’s gonna be delicious.” (Scripps News) "We can't deny that being unexpectedly separated, especially during the holidays when the entire family gets together, brings increased yearnings to share the time and events together," his wife, Deanna Wilmore, told the AP in a text this week. Her husband "has it worse than us" since he's confined to the space station and can only connect via video for short periods. "We are certainly looking forward to February!!" she wrote. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, with a crew of two astronauts, lifts off from launch pad 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara) A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, with a crew of two astronauts, lifts off from launch pad 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara) NASA astronaut Nick Hague, left, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, left, gives a thumbs up as they leave the Operations and Checkout Building on their way to Launch Complex 40 for a mission to the International Space Station Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024 at Cape Canaveral, Fla., (AP Photo/John Raoux) NASA astronaut Nick Hague, right, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov leave the Operations and Checkout building for a trip to the launch pad 40 Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara) NASA astronaut Nick Hague, right, talks to his family members as Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov looks on after leaving the Operations and Checkout building for a trip to the launch pad 40 Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. Two astronauts are beginning a mission to the International Space Station. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara) In this image from video provided by NASA, Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, left, and astronaut Nick Hague travel inside a SpaceX capsule en route to the International Space Station after launching from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (NASA via AP) A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, with a crew of two astronauts, lifts off from launch pad 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara) A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, with a crew of two astronauts, lifts off from launch pad 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara) A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with a crew of two lifts off from launch pad 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024 at Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux) The Falcon 9's first stage booster returns to Landing Zone 1 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024 at Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux) A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with a crew of two lifts off from launch pad 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024 at Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux) Get local news delivered to your inbox!
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The head of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol ’s governing party on Friday signaled more openness to his removal as president for plunging the key U.S. ally into chaos with a short-lived declaration of martial law , reversing his position the day before an impeachment vote. Han Dong-hoon, leader of the conservative People Power Party (PPP), had earlier said he opposed impeaching Yoon because it would only create more turmoil. But on Friday he said he had learned that Yoon ordered the arrest of prominent politicians in addition to declaring martial law, an order that was lifted six hours later after lawmakers voted to reject it. > Watch NBC Bay Area News 📺 Streaming free 24/7 “In light of these new revelations, I have come to the conclusion that it is necessary to suspend President Yoon from exercising his mandate to protect the South Korea and its people,” Han said, adding that Yoon was “not acknowledging his wrongdoings.” If Yoon continues as president, Han said, “I fear that there will be a great risk of radical actions such as this state of emergency repeating, and he will put South Korea and its people in great danger.” Han’s comments increased the likelihood that Yoon will be impeached when a vote is held around 7 p.m. local time Saturday (5 a.m. ET). The opposition bloc holds 192 of the unicameral legislature’s 300 seats, just under the two-thirds majority needed for the motion to pass. The PPP, which repudiated Yoon’s martial law declaration, had asked him to leave the party but said earlier that it opposed the impeachment motion. Before Han changed his position, at least eight lawmakers from the PPP would have had to break with their party in order for it to pass. Six opposition parties had proposed impeaching Yoon over the martial law order, which banned political activity and censored the media. If Yoon is impeached, he will be suspended from office until the Constitutional Court decides whether to uphold the motion, with a deadline of 180 days. The deeply unpopular Yoon, whose approval rating was already at 19% before the emergency martial law, had blamed opposition lawmakers in his declaration, accusing them of paralyzing the government by seeking the impeachment of multiple government officials and slashing critical funding from next year’s national budget. Opposition lawmakers have expressed concern that Yoon, who has not made any public appearances since lifting the order, might declare martial law a second time if he is impeached or even earlier. “I feel that danger is imminent tonight,” Lee Jae-myung, leader of the liberal opposition Democratic Party, said Friday. “I have a gut feeling that something might happen again tonight or early morning tomorrow.” Acting Defense Minister Kim Seon-ho, whose predecessor resigned this week over his role in the martial law declaration, dismissed such concerns and said that even if Yoon made such an attempt, the Ministry of Defense and the South Korean military “would categorically reject it.” Yoon’s special forces commander, Kwak Jong-keun, also said Friday that it would be impossible for Yoon to declare martial law again “because I will refuse to comply with any such order.” In a call Thursday with his South Korean counterpart, Cho Tae-yul, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed “deep concerns” about the martial law declaration and welcomed the lifting of the order. “The Secretary conveyed his confidence in the democratic resilience of the ROK during this period, and noted he expects the ROK’s democratic process to prevail,” the State Department readout said, using an abbreviation for South Korea’s formal name, the Republic of Korea. Blinken also reaffirmed the “ironclad” nature of the U.S. alliance with South Korea, which it views as an important bulwark against North Korea, China and Russia, and which hosts almost 30,000 American troops. The U.S. confirmed Thursday that meetings of the U.S.-South Korea Nuclear Consultative Group and related tabletop military exercises that were planned in Washington this week had been postponed amid the turmoil in South Korea. Meanwhile, more details emerged of the chaotic hours between Yoon’s declaration of martial law around 10:30 p.m. local time Tuesday and the lifting of the order around 4:30 a.m. Wednesday. South Korea’s National Election Commission said Friday that after Yoon declared martial law in a surprise late-night TV address on Tuesday, about 300 troops infiltrated its headquarters and related facilities in what the commission called “a clear violation of the Constitution and the law.” The soldiers confiscated the mobile phones of five people on duty and restricting access to the premises, the commission said, occupying its headquarters for about 3 hours and 20 minutes. “While it has been confirmed that no internal materials were taken by the troops thus far, a thorough and continuous review will be conducted to verify any potential damages,” the commission said in a statement. Kwak, the special forces commander, said some units at the National Election Commission stayed in their vehicles while others “secured and guarded the external perimeter as instructed.” He said they were in the area for about 20 minutes and then moved to withdraw when Kwak issued an order to halt operations at 1:09 a.m., around the same time lawmakers voted to reject the emergency martial law and ordered soldiers to leave the legislature in central Seoul. Kwak said that no one entered the premises, and that there were no plans to detain or obstruct commission personnel. “Basically, I halted the mission before any actions were carried out,” he said. Stella Kim reported from Seoul and Jennifer Jett from Hong Kong. This article first appeared on NBCNews.com . Read more from NBC News here:Proposed Grand Bend community centre features variety of amenities, with a cost of $20 million