SEOUL, Dec 29 (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un held a policy-setting key meeting of the country's ruling party last week ahead of the new year, state media KCNA reported on Sunday. The "strongest" response strategy towards the United States was declared during the party for the country's safety and national interests, the report said, without providing any details. The trilateral alliance between South Korea, the U.S. and Japan has expanded to a "nuclear military bloc" and South Korea has become an "anti-communism outpost" for the U.S., the KCNA report added. "The reality clearly suggests which direction we should go and what we should do and how," the report said. The meeting, which was held from Dec. 23-27, according to the report, also reviewed the handling of floods earlier this year, including the plan that brought those affected to Pyongyang, the capital. The reclusive state also vowed to promote relations with "friendly" countries during the meeting. The assembly of the party and government officials often lasts a few days and has been used in recent years to make key policy announcements. The 11th plenary session of the eighth central committee of the Workers' Party of Korea wraps up a year in which Russian President Vladimir Putin held a summit with Kim and signed a deal that included a mutual defence pledge. Washington and Seoul have criticized the two countries' military cooperation, including what they say is a dispatch of North Korean troops to fight for Russia in its war against Ukraine. Previously, state media had released Kim's speech on New Year's Day. Sign up here. Reporting by Hyunsu Yim; Editing by Leslie Adler Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. , opens new tab Thomson Reuters Seoul-based reporter covering the Koreas with a focus on South Korean politics, North Korea's missile tests and the K-pop industry. Before joining Reuters, he worked at The Korea Herald.BOSTON (AP) — Donald Hand Jr. scored 15 of his career-high 29 points in the first half and grabbed 10 rebounds to help Boston College beat Fairleigh Dickinson 78-70 on Saturday. Chad Venning scored a season-high 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting for Boston College (8-5). Ahmed Barba-Bey was fouled on a 3-point shot and made all three free throws before Terrence Brown converted a three-point play to cut FDU's deficit to five points with 2 minutes left and Barba-Bey’s 3 with 39 seconds left made it 74-70. Hand answered with a layup 10 seconds later and followed with two free throws that capped the scoring with 18 seconds to play. Barba-Bey, a graduate transfer from Division-II Jefferson, hit eight 3-pointers and led Fairleigh Dickinson (4-11) with a career-high 31 points on 10-of-12 shooting. Brown added 20 points and Bismark Nsiah scored 10, all in the second half. Hand hit a 3-pointer that gave Boston College the lead for good with 17:17 left in the first half and scored 13 of the game's first 24, including a three-point play that gave the Eagles a 17-7 lead with 11:58 left before the intermission. Barba-Bey hit back-to-back 3-pointers to cut FDU's deficit to four just over a minute later but Boston College scored the next eight points and the Knights got no closer until the second half. Boston College won for just the second time since beating Boise State 63-61 on Joshua Beadle's late 3-pointer to win the Cayman Islands Classic on Nov. 26 and improve to 6-1. The Knights have lost four games in a row overall and are 0-10 away from home this season. Boston College won the lone previous meeting between the programs 72-54 on Dec. 10, 1992. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here . AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
UnitedHealthcare leads health insurer stocks lower as markets speculate about more scrutiny following CEO shootingBEIRUT — Israel's military launched airstrikes across Lebanon on Monday, unleashing explosions throughout the country and killing at least 31 while Israeli leaders appeared to be closing in on a negotiated ceasefire with the Hezbollah militant group. Israeli strikes hit commercial and residential buildings in Beirut as well as in the port city of Tyre. Military officials said they targeted areas known as Hezbollah strongholds. They issued evacuation orders for Beirut's southern suburbs, and strikes landed across the city, including meters from a Lebanese police base and the city's largest public park. The barrage came as officials indicated they were nearing agreement on a ceasefire, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 's Security Cabinet prepared to discuss an offer on the table. Bulldozers remove the rubble of a destroyed building Monday that was hit in an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon. Foreign ministers from the world’s leading industrialized nations also expressed cautious optimism Monday about possible progress on a ceasefire. “Knock on wood,” Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said as he opened the Group of Seven meeting outside Rome. “We are perhaps close to a ceasefire in Lebanon," he said. "Let's hope it's true and that there's no backing down at the last-minute.” A ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon was foremost on the agenda of the G7 meeting in Fiuggi, outside Rome, that gathered ministers from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, in the last G7 encounter of the Biden administration. For the first time, the G7 ministers were joined by their counterparts from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, as well as the Secretary General of the Arab League. Thick smoke, flames and debris erupt Monday from an Israeli airstrike that targeted a building in Tayouneh, Beirut, Lebanon. Meanwhile, massive explosions lit up Lebanon's skies with flashes of orange, sending towering plumes of smoke into the air as Israeli airstrikes pounded Beirut's southern suburbs Monday. The blasts damaged buildings and left shattered glass and debris scattered across nearby streets. Some of the strikes landed close to central Beirut and near Christian neighborhoods and other targets where Israel issued evacuation warnings, including in Tyre and Nabatiyeh province. Israeli airstrikes also hit the northeast Baalbek-Hermel region without warning. Lebanon's Health Ministry said Monday that 26 people were killed in southern Lebanon, four in the eastern Baalbek-Hermel province and one in Choueifat, a neighborhood in Beirut's southern suburbs that was not subjected to evacuation warnings on Monday. The deaths brought the total toll to 3,768 killed in Lebanon throughout 13 months of war between Israel and Hezbollah and nearly two months since Israel launched its ground invasion. Many of those killed since the start of the war between Israel and Hezbollah have been civilians, and health officials said some of the recovered bodies were so severely damaged that DNA testing would be required to confirm their identities. Israel claims to have killed more than 2,000 Hezbollah members. Lebanon's Health Ministry says the war has displaced 1.2 million people. Destroyed buildings stand Monday in the area of a village in southern Lebanon as seen from northern Israel. Israeli ground forces invaded southern Lebanon in early October, meeting heavy resistance in a narrow strip of land along the border. The military previously exchanged attacks across the border with Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militant group that began firing rockets into Israel the day after the war in Gaza began last year. Lebanese politicians have decried the ongoing airstrikes and said they are impeding ceasefire negotiations. The country's deputy parliament speaker accused Israel of ramping up its bombardment to pressure Lebanon to make concessions in indirect ceasefire negotiations with Hezbollah. Elias Bousaab, an ally of the militant group, said Monday that the pressure has increased because "we are close to the hour that is decisive regarding reaching a ceasefire." Israeli officials voiced similar optimism Monday about prospects for a ceasefire. Mike Herzog, the country's ambassador to Washington, earlier in the day told Israeli Army Radio that several points had yet to be finalized. Though any deal would require agreement from the government, Herzog said Israel and Hezbollah were "close to a deal." "It can happen within days," he said. Israeli officials have said the sides are close to an agreement that would include withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon and a pullback of Hezbollah fighters from the Israeli border. But several sticking points remain. A member of the Israeli security forces inspects an impact site Sunday after a rocket fired from Lebanon hit an area in Rinatya, outskirts of Tel Aviv, Israel. After previous hopes for a ceasefire were dashed, U.S. officials cautioned that negotiations were not yet complete and noted that there could be last-minute hitches that either delay or destroy an agreement. "Nothing is done until everything is done," White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Monday. The proposal under discussion to end the fighting calls for an initial two-month ceasefire during which Israeli forces would withdraw from Lebanon and Hezbollah would end its armed presence along the southern border south of the Litani River. The withdrawals would be accompanied by an influx of thousands more Lebanese army troops, who have been largely sidelined in the war, to patrol the border area along with an existing U.N. peacekeeping force. Western diplomats and Israeli officials said Israel demands the right to strike in Lebanon if it believes Hezbollah is violating the terms. The Lebanese government says such an arrangement would authorize violations of the country's sovereignty. On paper, being more sustainable and eco-friendly while shopping sounds great—so why don't more people do it? There is growing consumer consciousness about the environmental impact of where people choose to shop and the sustainability of the products they buy. According to McKinsey, over 60% of individuals surveyed in 2020 said they would be willing to pay more for a product that is packaged in an eco-friendly way. Since 2019, products marketed as being environmentally sustainable have seen a 28% growth in revenue compared to 20% for products with no such marketing, a 2023 McKinsey and NielsenIQ report found. Much of this is thanks to the preferences and attitudes of Gen Z, who, on average, care more than their older counterparts about being informed shoppers. The younger generation also has more social justice and environmental awareness altogether. Shoppers are willing to spend around 9.7% more on a product they know is sourced or manufactured sustainably, with 46% saying they would do so explicitly because they want to reduce their environmental footprint, according to a 2024 PwC report. Sustainable practices consumers look for from companies include production methods, packaging, and water conservation. But despite the growing consciousness around being more environmentally responsible, consumer actions don't always align with their values. In psychology, this is defined as the "say-do gap": the phenomenon wherein people openly express concern and intention around an issue, but fail to take tangible action to make a change. According to the Harvard Business Review in 2019, most consumers (65%) say they want to buy from brands that promote sustainability, but only 1 in 4 follow through. So why don't people actually shop sustainably, despite how much they express a preference for eco-friendly products—and how can we close the gap? The RealReal examined reports from the Harvard Business Review and other sources to explore why some shoppers want to buy sustainably but struggle to follow through. This lack of action isn't due to a lack of caring—in many cases, it's hard to know how to be a sustainable consumer and other factors are often outside of shoppers' control. But the more people shop sustainably, the easier and more accessible that market will be for everyone—making it much easier for folks to buy aligned with their values. There are many obstacles preventing shoppers from upholding eco-friendly habits as much as they may want to—but not all of these barriers are necessarily real, or accurately understood. Shopping sustainably simply isn't convenient or accessible for many. Those who live in apartment buildings are 50% less likely to recycle , according to Ipsos. Reasons for this can vary from lack of space to buildings being excluded altogether because of recycling contamination issues. Many believe that sustainable products are too expensive or of a lower quality. The former is often true, which does create a hurdle for many: The manufacturing processes and materials for sustainable products are pricey. For instance, organic cotton requires an intensive production process free of certain chemicals or pesticides; by definition, true eco-friendly products can't be mass-produced, further upping their price tag. Using recycled materials for packaging, or obtaining an eco certification, can also be expensive. However, although the narrative of eco-friendly products being more expensive is true, there is often more of an effort to use better quality materials that last longer than their noneco-friendly counterparts. This could end up saving consumers money in the long run: By paying more upfront, they can get more wear out of sustainable fashion, for instance. There is also undeniable political rhetoric surrounding eco-friendly products—however, despite many Conservative politicians decrying sustainable products, members of all generations are increasingly choosing to prioritize shopping sustainably regardless of their political affiliation, according to research from NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business . This finding shows a trend toward seeing sustainability as a nonpartisan subject everyone can benefit from, no matter where they lie on the political spectrum. Some might think eco-friendly clothing, in particular, is not fashion-forward; after all, many of the top clothing retailers in the world partake in fast fashion. However, brands are increasingly being recognized as 'cool' and 'trendy' for supporting environmentally ethical practices, particularly as younger generations prioritize sustainability, as noted before. Many increasingly popular online stores are taking advantage of this paradigm shift by offering secondhand shopping options that are not only fashionable, but also more affordable, like ThredUp or Poshmark. Additionally, many legacy large-name brands are hopping on the sustainability movement and are gaining appreciation from loyal customers. Amazon's Climate Pledge Friendly program partners with third-party certification bodies to make it easier for shoppers to identify eco-friendly products as they browse the website. H&M's newly launched H&M Rewear program debuts a resale platform that allows the resale of all clothing brands—not just their own. Similarly, Patagonia's Worn Wear program allows shoppers to trade in and buy used gear and clothing. The federal government is also working to close this gap. The Environmental Protection Agency's Safer Choice program is attempting to make sustainable shopping easier for consumers and companies alike. It includes a directory of certified products, a list of safer chemicals to look out for on labels, a "Safer Choice" label that products can earn to denote they are eco-friendly, and resources for manufacturers looking to adopt more sustainable practices. Most of all, though, the biggest way shoppers can shift toward sustainable shopping is through their behaviors and attitudes amongst their peers and communities. Studies show that humans largely care what others think of their actions; the more shoppers make environmentally conscious shopping the norm, the more others will follow suit. From an economic perspective, the more consumers shop eco-friendly, the more affordable and accessible these products will become, too: Sustainable products are currently more expensive because they are not in high demand. Once demand rises, production rates and prices can lower, making these products more accessible for all. Story editing by Carren Jao. Additional editing by Kelly Glass. Copy editing by Kristen Wegrzyn. This story originally appeared on The RealReal and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio. Get local news delivered to your inbox!
Could a suspension be coming for Colorado Buffaloes starting quarterback Shedeur Sanders? Sanders, one of the top quarterbacks in the country, got heated with an official late in Colorado's loss to Kansas on Saturday. The Buffaloes fell to the Jayhawks, 37-21, on Saturday afternoon. Colorado dropped to 8-3 on the season with the loss, falling out of Big 12 championship and College Football Playoff contention. It was a tough day for Shedeur Sanders, who took a brutal cheap shot hit from a Kansas defender. Following that play, Shedeur Sanders made contact with an official. The son of Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders was not ejected , but that doesn't mean he'll be avoiding further punishment. Icon Sportswire/Getty Images Sanders was lucky to not be ejected for making contact with an official. Usually, if the ref deems it to be intentional, it's an automatic ejection. "Yeah there's no question that he (pushes the official). Look, I get why he's upset because people are almost climbing over him after he was down," Fox Sports' broadcast officiating expert Mike Pereira said during the broadcast. "But, you know, the officials can use their hands all they want to try to keep order, but you can not come back as a player and push an official. In the chaos, the officials don't see it, but he's lucky he wasn't ejected from the game." "He's lucky he wasn't ejected from the game." @MikePereira takes a closer look at Shedeur Sanders' push on the ref ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/SSESj7QtId While Sanders wasn't ejected, he could still face punishment for what happened. The Big 12 could choose to make an example of Sanders. The conference doesn't want to set a precedent that making contact with refs is OK. NCAA rules mandate automatic suspensions for certain things, like fighting or targeting, but contact with officials is not part of that, per ESPN. Still, to be fair to Shedeur Sanders, it makes sense why he was so upset. This was a brutal cheap shot hit to his legs that went uncalled. @NCAA These refs need to be suspended IMMEDIATELY. Thankfully, @ShedeurSanders cleats came off the ground... Half a second sooner and his career could be changed, maybe forever. This is why these players deserve that #NIL money. No flag on this play is a fireable offense. pic.twitter.com/zr6wxZsTj8 Of course, one bad missed call doesn't give you the right to make contact with a referee. Sanders is lucky to not have gotten ejected from the game and he'll be lucky to avoid further punishment, too. Colorado, 8-3 on the season, is set to take on Oklahoma State to finish the regular season. Kickoff on Friday is set for noon E.T. The Week 14 game will air on ABC.
AI and Blockchain Reshape Enterprise Cloud Security ArchitectureNEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 28, 2024-- Halper Sadeh LLC, an investor rights law firm, is investigating whether the merger of Aerovate Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVTE) and Jade Biosciences is fair to Aerovate shareholders. Upon closing of the proposed transaction, Aerovate stockholders are expected to own approximately 1.6% of the combined company. Halper Sadeh encourages Aerovate shareholders to click here to learn more about their legal rights and options or contact Daniel Sadeh or Zachary Halper at (212) 763-0060 or sadeh@halpersadeh.com or zhalper@halpersadeh.com . The investigation concerns whether Aerovate and its board violated the federal securities laws and/or breached their fiduciary duties to shareholders by failing to, among other things: (1) obtain the best possible consideration for Aerovate shareholders; and (2) disclose all material information necessary for Aerovate shareholders to adequately assess and value the merger consideration. On behalf of Aerovate shareholders, Halper Sadeh LLC may seek increased consideration for shareholders, additional disclosures and information concerning the proposed transaction, or other relief and benefits. We would handle the action on a contingent fee basis, whereby you would not be responsible for out-of-pocket payment of our legal fees or expenses. Halper Sadeh LLC represents investors all over the world who have fallen victim to securities fraud and corporate misconduct. Our attorneys have been instrumental in implementing corporate reforms and recovering millions of dollars on behalf of defrauded investors. Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241228033951/en/ CONTACT: Halper Sadeh LLC Daniel Sadeh, Esq. Zachary Halper, Esq. One World Trade Center 85th Floor New York, NY 10007 (212) 763-0060 sadeh@halpersadeh.com zhalper@halpersadeh.com https://www.halpersadeh.com KEYWORD: NEW YORK UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA INDUSTRY KEYWORD: CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT PROFESSIONAL SERVICES LEGAL SOURCE: Halper Sadeh LLC Copyright Business Wire 2024. PUB: 12/28/2024 01:32 PM/DISC: 12/28/2024 01:31 PM http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241228033951/en