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When does Black Ops 6 season 1 Reloaded release?By JUAN A. LOZANO, Associated Press HOUSTON (AP) — An elaborate parody appears to be behind an effort to resurrect Enron, the Houston-based energy company that exemplified the worst in American corporate fraud and greed after it went bankrupt in 2001. If its return is comedic, some former employees who lost everything in Enron’s collapse aren’t laughing. “It’s a pretty sick joke and it disparages the people that did work there. And why would you want to even bring it back up again?” said former Enron employee Diana Peters, who represented workers in the company’s bankruptcy proceedings. Here’s what to know about the history of Enron and the purported effort to bring it back. Once the nation’s seventh-largest company, Enron filed for bankruptcy protection on Dec. 2, 2001, after years of accounting tricks could no longer hide billions of dollars in debt or make failing ventures appear profitable. The energy company’s collapse put more than 5,000 people out of work, wiped out more than $2 billion in employee pensions and rendered $60 billion in Enron stock worthless. Its aftershocks were felt throughout the energy sector. Twenty-four Enron executives , including former CEO Jeffrey Skilling , were eventually convicted for their roles in the fraud. Enron founder Ken Lay’s convictions were vacated after he died of heart disease following his 2006 trial. On Monday — the 23rd anniversary of the bankruptcy filing — a company representing itself as Enron announced in a news release that it was relaunching as a “company dedicated to solving the global energy crisis.” It also posted a video on social media, advertised on at least one Houston billboard and a took out a full-page ad in the Houston Chronicle In the minute-long video that was full of generic corporate jargon, the company talks about “growth” and “rebirth.” It ends with the words, “We’re back. Can we talk?” Enron’s new website features a company store, where various items featuring the brand’s tilted “E” logo are for sale, including a $118 hoodie. In an email, company spokesperson Will Chabot said the new Enron was not doing any interviews yet, but that “We’ll have more to share soon.” Signs point to the comeback being a joke. In the “terms of use and conditions of sale” on the company’s website, it says “the information on the website about Enron is First Amendment protected parody, represents performance art, and is for entertainment purposes only.” Documents filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office show that College Company, an Arkansas-based LLC, owns the Enron trademark. The co-founder of College Company is Connor Gaydos, who helped create a joke conspiracy theory that claims all birds are actually surveillance drones for the government. Peters said that since learning about the “relaunch” of Enron, she has spoken with several other former employees and they are also upset by it. She said the apparent stunt was “in poor taste.” “If it’s a joke, it’s rude, extremely rude. And I hope that they realize it and apologize to all of the Enron employees,” Peters said. Peters, who is 74 years old, said she is still working in information technology because “I lost everything in Enron, and so my Social Security doesn’t always take care of things I need done.” “Enron’s downfall taught us critical lessons about corporate ethics, accountability, and the consequences of unchecked ambition. Enron’s legacy was the employees in the trenches. Leave Enron buried,” she said. Follow Juan A. Lozano on X at https://x.com/juanlozano70Unions score a major win in Wisconsin with a court ruling restoring collective bargaining rights
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — NATO and Ukraine will hold emergency talks Tuesday after Russia attacked a central city with an experimental, hypersonic ballistic missile that escalated the nearly 33-month-old war. The conflict is “entering a decisive phase,” Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Friday, and “taking on very dramatic dimensions.” Ukraine’s parliament canceled a session as security was tightened following Thursday's Russian strike on a military facility in the city of Dnipro. In a stark warning to the West, President Vladimir Putin said in a nationally televised speech that the attack with the intermediate-range Oreshnik missile was in retaliation for Kyiv’s use of U.S. and British longer-range missiles capable of striking deeper into Russian territory. Putin said Western air defense systems would be powerless to stop the new missile. Ukrainian military officials said the missile that hit Dnipro had reached a speed of Mach 11 and carried six nonnuclear warheads each releasing six submunitions. Speaking Friday to military and weapons industries officials, Putin said Russia is launching production of the Oreshnik. “No one in the world has such weapons,” he said with a thin smile. “Sooner or later other leading countries will also get them. We are aware that they are under development." But he added, "we have this system now. And this is important.” Testing the missile will continue, “including in combat, depending on the situation and the character of security threats created for Russia,” Putin said, noting there is ”a stockpile of such systems ready for use.” Putin said that while it isn’t an intercontinental missile, it’s so powerful that the use of several of them fitted with conventional warheads in one attack could be as devastating as a strike with strategic — or nuclear — weapons. Gen. Sergei Karakayev, head of Russia’s Strategic Missile Forces, said the Oreshnik could reach targets across Europe and be fitted with nuclear or conventional warheads, echoing Putin's claim that even with conventional warheads, “the massive use of the weapon would be comparable in effect to the use of nuclear weapons.” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov kept up Russia's bellicose tone on Friday, blaming “the reckless decisions and actions of Western countries” in supplying weapons to Ukraine to strike Russia. "The Russian side has clearly demonstrated its capabilities, and the contours of further retaliatory actions in the event that our concerns were not taken into account have also been quite clearly outlined," he said. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, widely seen as having the warmest relations with the Kremlin in the European Union, echoed Moscow's talking points, suggesting the use of U.S.-supplied weapons in Ukraine likely requires direct American involvement. “These are rockets that are fired and then guided to a target via an electronic system, which requires the world’s most advanced technology and satellite communications capability,” Orbán said on state radio. “There is a strong assumption ... that these missiles cannot be guided without the assistance of American personnel.” Orbán cautioned against underestimating Russia’s responses, emphasizing that the country’s recent modifications to its nuclear deployment doctrine should not be dismissed as a “bluff.” “It’s not a trick... there will be consequences,” he said. Separately in Kyiv, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský called Thursday's missile strike an “escalatory step and an attempt of the Russian dictator to scare the population of Ukraine and to scare the population of Europe.” At a news conference with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, Lipavský also expressed his full support for delivering the necessary additional air defense systems to protect Ukrainian civilians from the “heinous attacks.” He underlined that the Czech Republic will impose no limits on the use of its weapons and equipment given to Ukraine. Three lawmakers from Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, confirmed that Friday's previously scheduled session was called off due to the ongoing threat of Russian missiles targeting government buildings in central Kyiv. In addition, there also was a recommendation to limit the work of all commercial offices and nongovernmental organizations "in that perimeter, and local residents were warned of the increased threat,” said lawmaker Mykyta Poturaiev, who added this is not the first time such a threat has been received. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office continued to work in compliance with standard security measures, a spokesperson said. Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate said the Oreshnik missile, whose name in Russian means “hazelnut tree,” was fired from the Kapustin Yar 4th Missile Test Range in Russia’s Astrakhan region, and flew 15 minutes before striking Dnipro. Test launches of a similar missile were conducted in October 2023 and June 2024, the directorate said. The Pentagon confirmed the missile was a new, experimental type of intermediate-range missile based on its RS-26 Rubezh intercontinental ballistic missile. Thursday's attack struck the Pivdenmash plant that built ICBMs when Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union. The military facility is located about 4 miles (6 1/2 kilometers) southwest of the center of Dnipro, a city of about 1 million that is Ukraine’s fourth-largest and a key hub for military supplies and humanitarian aid, and is home to one of the country’s largest hospitals for treating wounded soldiers from the front before their transfer to Kyiv or abroad. The stricken area was cordoned off and out of public view. With no fatalities reported from the attack, Dnipro residents resorted to dark humor on social media, mostly focused on the missile’s name, Oreshnik. Elsewhere in Ukraine, Russia struck a residential district of Sumy overnight with Iranian-designed Shahed drones, killing two people and injuring 13, the regional administration said.. Ukraine’s Suspilne media, quoting Sumy regional head Volodymyr Artiukh, said the drones were stuffed with shrapnel elements. “These weapons are used to destroy people, not to destroy objects,” said Artiukh, according to Suspilne. —— Associated Press journalists Lorne Cook in Brussels, Samya Kullab in Kyiv, Dasha Litvinova in Tallinn, Estonia, and Justin Spike in Budapest, Hungary, contributed. —— Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraineProvident Bancorp, Inc. Adopts Stock Repurchase Program
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Alyssa Naher made two critical saves in her final match for the United States, Lynn Williams scored the go-ahead goal in the 71st minute and the Americans beat the Netherlands 2-1 on Tuesday. The U.S., which won its fifth Olympic gold medal this summer in France, wrapped up the year on a 20-game unbeaten streak. The Americans were coming off a scoreless draw with England on Saturday at Wembley Stadium. Penn State product Naeher announced two weeks ago that the European matches would be her last. The 36-year-old goalkeeper played in 115 games for the U.S., with 111 starts, 89 wins and 69 shutouts. Naeher is the only U.S. keeper with shutouts in a World Cup and an Olympic final. She was in goal when the United States defeated the Netherlands 2-0 in the 2019 Women’s World Cup final. The Netherlands took the lead on center back Veerle Buurman’s header off a corner kick in the 15th minute. Naeher prevented a second goal when she punched away Dominique Janssen’s shot in the 38th. The United States drew even at the end of the first half on an own goal that deflected off Buurman and past Dutch goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar. Naeher slid to stop Danielle van de Donk’s shot in the 69th minute before Williams scored her fourth goal of the year and 21st of her career. Lily Yohannes came in as a substitute in the second half. Yohannes, who has dual citizenship, opted to play for the United States over the Netherlands last month. She plays professionally for the Dutch club Ajax. The U.S. finished the year without the trio of Mallory Swanson, Trinity Rodman and Sophia Smith, who were left off the roster for the final two matches to rest and heal nagging injuries. The U.S. is unbeaten in 15 matches under coach Emma Hayes, who took over in May.
Share this Story : Pembroke cyclist injured after being hit in head by object thrown from vehicle Copy Link Email X Reddit Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Breadcrumb Trail Links Local News Pembroke cyclist injured after being hit in head by object thrown from vehicle At about midnight on Dec. 1, the cyclist was on Pembroke Street East when they were assaulted, police said. Author of the article: Staff Reporter Published Dec 02, 2024 • Last updated 42 minutes ago • 1 minute read Join the conversation You can save this article by registering for free here . Or sign-in if you have an account. An Ontario Provincial Police cruiser. POSTMEDIA / FILE PHOTO Article content The OPP are investigating after a cyclist in Pembroke was taken to hospital after being hit in the head with an object thrown from a vehicle. Article content Article content At about midnight on Dec. 1, the cyclist was on Pembroke Street East between Drive-in Road and Old Mill Road when a dark-coloured vehicle with three or four people inside approached, police said in a news release. After being struck from something that was thrown from the vehicle, the cyclist required treatment at the hospital. Advertisement 2 Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles from Elizabeth Payne, David Pugliese, Andrew Duffy, Bruce Deachman and others. Plus, food reviews and event listings in the weekly newsletter, Ottawa, Out of Office. Unlimited online access to Ottawa Citizen and 15 news sites with one account. Ottawa Citizen ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles from Elizabeth Payne, David Pugliese, Andrew Duffy, Bruce Deachman and others. Plus, food reviews and event listings in the weekly newsletter, Ottawa, Out of Office. Unlimited online access to Ottawa Citizen and 15 news sites with one account. Ottawa Citizen ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. 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Gilmore Girls fans left in tears by sweet reunion starring Lauren Graham and Scott Patterson By EMILY LEFROY FOR DAILYMAIL.COM Published: 22:08 GMT, 3 December 2024 | Updated: 22:13 GMT, 3 December 2024 e-mail 22 shares View comments If they lead we will follow - right into a Walmart commercial. Gilmore Girls fans are feeling especially festive after a new advertisement for the retailer dropped, with three fan favorites reuniting. The 30-second Walmart ad begins with Sean Gunn, who played Kirk in the series, walking into Luke's diner in Stars Hollow and dropping off a branded box on the counter. Kirk leaves the diner, crossing paths with Lorelai (Lauren Graham), who walks in and asks Luke (Scott Patterson), for 'coffee, coffee, coffee, please' - a signature phrase of the show. Luke responds by telling her it's 'coming right up' before opening the box to reveal a Keurig coffee maker, exclaiming: 'You shouldn't have.' 'I had to,' he dryly replies. 'You're drinking me out of business.' The advertisement ends with the couple standing next to each other in the snow while Lorelai holds the Walmart box. Fans loved the nostalgic advertisement, many immediately clocking the wedding ring on Luke's hand. The 30-second Walmart ad begins with Sean Gunn, who played Kirk in the series, walking into Luke's diner in Stars Hollow and dropping off a branded box on the counter 'I love being a Gilmore Girls fan bc why am I crying over a 20-second Walmart ad after an eight-year drought,' one fan posted to X, formerly known as Twitter. 'Walmart really ate with that Gilmore Girls ad,' declared another. 'Walmart ads hitting me in the feels with Chad Michael Murray and the cast of Gilmore Girls,' another gushed. However, not all were charmed by the throwback. 'Gilmore Girls Walmart ad is bleak to me. Why did they use one of the sad la la songs. Why does Kirk look like Lulu just died. In what universe would Lorelai use a Keurig,' a fan ranted. 'This Gilmore Girls Walmart commercial gives me the ick and I really wish it did not,' agreed someone else. The stars spoke to People about what it was like working together again for the Walmart commercial. 'It's always a little surreal [returning to Stars Hollow], because we were back where we've been so many times,' Graham admitted. Fans were thrilled to see their favorite actors and characters back on screen (pictured is Lauren Graham as Lorelai Gilmore) Luke gifts Lorelai, who is coffee-obsessed, with a Keurig saying she's 'drinking him out of business' The advertisement ends with the couple standing next to each other in the snow with Lorelai holds the Walmart box Gilmore Girls ran for seven seasons chronicling the lives of Lorelai and Rory Gilmore, a mother and daughter with just a 17 year age difference living in a town called Stars Hollow Scott Patterson (Luke Danes) and Sean Gunn (Kirk) photos posted to Instagram, teasing 'something special' happening Most of the fans loved the nostalgic advertisement, many immediately clocking the wedding rings on Luke and Lorelai's hands Last week, the trio teased 'something special' happening on December 3, much to the delight of eager viewers. They shared a series of images to social media, including a snap of a cup of coffee at Luke's Diner, run by charmingly grumpy Luke Danes, shared by Patterson. Gunn posted a photo of the iconic gazebo and the Stars Hollow sign, to his Instagram, writing: 'Kirk's 63rd job? Find out on 12/3.' READ MORE: Gilmore Girls fans sent into a frenzy as they speculate over possible reunion Graham then also shared a picture of a snowy Stars Hollow street, writing: 'I've got something brewing,' a wink to her character, Lorelai Gilmore, and her coffee habit. Gilmore Girls premiered in 2000 on the WB, with the series finale in 2007 on The CW. It ran for seven seasons chronicling the lives of Lorelai and Rory Gilmore, a mother and daughter with just a 17-year age difference living in a town called Stars Hollow. Lorelai's relationship with her wealthy parents, played by Bishop and the late Edward Hermann, is strained at best but both sides do their best to try to get along. The star-studded cast included Melissa McCarthy, Milo Ventimiglia, Jared Padalecki, Chad Michael Murray, Adam Brody, and Kelly Bishop. A four part Gilmore Girls special aired on Netflix in 2016 and picked up nine years after the series ended. That special also ended with the cliffhanger - with Rory revealing she was pregnant in the last seconds of the limited series. Walmart also released advertisements for Crazy Rich Asians, Love Jones and SpongeBob SquarePants. Walmart Share or comment on this article: Gilmore Girls fans left in tears by sweet reunion starring Lauren Graham and Scott Patterson e-mail 22 shares Add commentDonnelly suffers high profile loss as sole Fianna Fáil candidate for WicklowDonnelly suffers high profile loss as sole Fianna Fáil candidate for WicklowTürkiye beat Hungary 92-66 in EuroBasket 2025 qualifiers
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BUCHAREST, Romania — TikTok took down several networks that tried to meddle in Romania’s elections, executives said Tuesday as they defended the company’s election integrity measures to European Union lawmakers. The video-sharing platform is a focus of controversy in the Eastern European country after far-right outsider Calin Georgescu emerged as the front-runner in the vote, plunging the nation into turmoil amid allegations of electoral violations and Russian meddling. Among the networks that TikTok uncovered were two small groups that it disrupted on Friday, days after the first round of voting, Brie Pegum, the platform’s global head of product, authenticity and transparency, told a committee. Both networks targeted Romanian users. One had only 1,781 followers and supported Georgescu, who was a little-known independent candidate until he set off shock waves by convincingly winning the first round of voting, beating the incumbent prime minister. The other networks supported different candidates, Pegum said. Many observers chalked up Georgescu’s success to his TikTok account, which now has 5.8 million likes and 527,000 followers. He gained huge traction and popularity in the weeks leading up to the first vote. Experts suspect Georgescu’s online following was artificially inflated while officials hinted that he was given preferential treatment by TikTok. The controversy highlights how TikTok has become a key election tool in Romania, an EU and NATO member state that shares a long border with war-torn Ukraine. TikTok applied its “global playbook” for the Romanian election and took a local approach with staff on the ground, said Caroline Greer, the company’s top lobbyist in the EU. Greer and Pegum were being grilled by EU lawmakers about TikTok’s role in the Romanian vote as well as its compliance with the 27-nation bloc’s Digital Services Act, a sweeping set of regulations designed to protect users online from illegal or harmful content. Greer said TikTok deployed 95 Romanian language content moderators, worked with a fact-checking group and met with political parties and a number of different authorities including the country’s electoral authority. But many lawmakers were not satisfied with their responses. “The feeling here is that we are losing patience ... and that we need more specific answers,” said Dirk Gotink, a Dutch member of the European Parliament. He also questioned what the scores of Romanian content moderators were doing during the election, and compared Pegum and Greer to firefighters TikTok sent to put out a fire. “They come, they let the fire rage online for weeks, months, during an election. And then they send very nice people here into this committee to answer questions in a very polite way,” Gotink said. “But it is simply not convincing — and it also doesn’t reflect what is happening online.” According to a report by the Bucharest-based Expert Forum think tank, Georgescu’s TikTok account garnered 92.8 million views primarily within the last few months, a figure that grew by 52 million views a week later, just days ahead of the first-round vote. Another TikTok account solely featuring Georgescu content, which had 1.7 million likes on the night first-round polls closed, was removed the day after voting. It had posts with Georgescu attending church, doing judo, running around an oval track, and speaking on podcasts. In an emailed statement to the Associated Press on Monday, TikTok said the account was one of “more than 150 accounts impersonating Georgescu” to date that has been removed, but added: “We also removed more than 650 additional impersonation accounts belonging to other candidates.” Georgescu will face reformist Elena Lasconi, of the progressive Save Romania Union party, in a presidential runoff on Sunday. Chan and McGrath write for the Associated Press. Chan reported from London.
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