Accelerating Cell and Gene Therapy Development Using Gene Editing Functional Genomics ApproachesSAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil’s federal police said Thursday they indicted former President Jair Bolsonaro and 36 other people for allegedly attempting a coup to keep him in office after his defeat in the 2022 elections. Police said their sealed findings were being delivered Thursday to Brazil’s Supreme Court, which will refer them to Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet, who decides either to formally charge Bolsonaro and put him on trial, or toss the investigation. Bolsonaro told the website Metropoles that he was waiting for his lawyer to review the indictment, reportedly about 700 pages long. But he said he would fight the case and dismissed the investigation as being the result of “creativity.” The former right-wing president has denied all claims he tried to stay in office after his narrow electoral defeat in 2022 to his rival, leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Bolsonaro has faced a series of legal threats since then. Police said in a brief statement that the Supreme Court had agreed to reveal the names of all 37 people who were indicted “to avoid the dissemination of incorrect news.” Dozens of former and current Bolsonaro aides also were indicted, including Gen. Walter Braga Netto, who was his running mate in the 2022 campaign; former Army commander Gen. Paulo Sérgio Nogueira de Oliveira; Valdemar Costa Neto, the chairman of Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party; and his veteran former adviser, Gen. Augusto Heleno. Other investigations produced indictments for Bolsonaro's roles in smuggling diamond jewelry into Brazil without properly declaring them and in directing a subordinate to falsify his and others’ COVID-19 vaccination statuses. Bolsonaro has denied any involvement in either. Another probe found that he had abused his authority to cast doubt on the country's voting system, and judges barred him from running again until 2030. Still, he has insisted that he will run in 2026, and many in his orbit were heartened by the recent U.S. election win of Donald Trump, despite his own swirling legal threats. But the far-reaching investigations already have weakened Bolsonaro’s status as a leader of Brazil’s right wing, said Carlos Melo, a political science professor at Insper University in Sao Paulo. “Bolsonaro is already barred from running in the 2026 elections,” Melo told the The Associated Press. “And if he is convicted he could also be jailed by then. To avoid being behind bars, he will have to convince Supreme Court justices that he has nothing to do with a plot that involves dozens of his aides. That’s a very tall order,” Melo said. An indictment over the alleged coup attempt means the investigation has gathered indications of "a crime and its author,” said Eloísa Machado de Almeida, a law professor at Getulio Vargas Foundation, a university in Sao Paulo. She said she believed there was enough legal grounds for the prosecutor-general to file charges. Bolsonaro's allies in Congress have been negotiating a bill to pardon individuals who stormed the Brazilian capital and rioted on Jan. 8, 2023 in a failed attempt to keep the former president in power. Analysts have speculated that lawmakers want to extend the legislation to cover the former president himself. However, efforts to push a broad amnesty bill may be “politically challenging” given recent attacks on the judiciary and details emerging in investigations, Machado said. On Tuesday, Federal Police arrested four military and a Federal Police officer, accused of plotting to assassinate Lula and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes as a means to overthrow the government following the 2022 elections. And last week, a man carried out a bomb attack in the capital Brasilia . He attempted to enter the Supreme Court and threw explosives outside, killing himself.OTTAWA – Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s latest attempt to topple the minority Liberal government in a non-confidence vote failed on Monday, thanks to the New Democrats. The Conservatives’ motion quoted NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh’s criticism of the Liberals over labour issues, and called on the House to agree with Singh and vote non-confidence in the government. The New Democrat leader said last week he would not be supporting Poilievre in bringing down the government. There were jeers from the Conservative benches as NDP MPs cast their votes against the motion on Monday afternoon. Singh was not in the House chamber during the vote because of a meeting, and cast his vote remotely. “We’re not going to vote in favour of any of their games because that’s what (the Conservatives are) doing. They’re playing games,” Singh told reporters after the vote was tallied. MPs also voted Monday on an NDP opposition motion calling on the government to permanently remove GST from what the New Democrats call essentials. That motion also called on the Liberals to expand their planned $250 “working Canadians rebate” to include vulnerable adults like fully retired seniors and people who rely on disability benefits. Those payments are expected to be issued this spring, if the required legislation is approved. The NDP and Greens were the only parties to vote in favour of this motion, resulting in its defeat. Hamilton East_Stoney Creek Liberal MP Chad Collins was the lone government member to support the NDP motion. The Liberals initially announced plans for the federal sales tax holiday and the rebate together, but they introduced the GST measure in a separate bill after the NDP said it would not support the rebate unless it was expanded. The Liberals need the support of one other party in the House of Commons to passed that measure into law, and Singh said Monday he is open to negotiation. “So I want to see it improved. How that’s done, we’re very flexible, but it has to be improved. Seniors have to get it, people living with disabilities have to get it, a mom trying to raise her kid should get it,” Singh said. The proposed payments would go to all working Canadians who had an income of less that $150,000 in the last year. The government estimates this would include some 18.7 million people and cost nearly $4.7 billion. The Conservatives will introduce their final opposition motion of the sitting on Tuesday, with a vote scheduled to happen after question period. The Tories introduced another motion earlier on Monday that calls for the GST to be removed on the sale of new homes valued at under $1 million, and calls on premiers to enact the same policy for their portion of the sales tax. That motion will also be up for a vote after question period on Tuesday. The marathon voting session is set to run late Tuesday, with a separate vote scheduled on the government’s supplementary estimates. Treasury Board President Anita Anand has asked Parliament for approval of $21.6 billion to fund programs including housing, dental care and the national school food program. If that does not pass, some programs could face a cash shortfall, including veteran benefits and natural disaster assistance. Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our politics newsletter, First Reading, here .
Police arrested a 26-year-old man on Monday in the Manhattan killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO after they say a Pennsylvania McDonald's worker alerted authorities to a customer who resembled the suspected gunman. The suspect, identified by police as Luigi Nicholas Mangione, had a gun believed to be the one used in Wednesday’s attack on Brian Thompson , as well as writings expressing anger at corporate America, police said. Here are some of the latest developments in the ongoing investigation: Where was the man captured? Mangione was taken into custody at around 9:15 a.m. after police received a tip that he was eating at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, about 85 miles (137 kilometers) east of Pittsburgh, police said. Mangione was being held in Pennsylvania on gun charges and will eventually be extradited to New York to face charges in connection with Thompson’s death, said NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny. What evidence did police find? In addition to a three-page, handwritten document that suggests he harbored “ill will toward corporate America,” Kenny said Mangione also had a ghost gun , a type of weapon that can be assembled at home and is difficult to trace. Officers questioned Mangione, who was acting suspiciously and carrying multiple fraudulent IDs, as well as a U.S. passport, New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a news conference. Officers also found a suppressor, “consistent with the weapon used in the murder,” the commissioner said. He had clothing and a mask similar to those worn by the shooter and a fraudulent New Jersey ID matching one the suspect used to check into a New York City hostel before the shooting, Tisch said. What do we know about Mangione? Kenny said Mangione was born and raised in Maryland, has ties to San Francisco and that his last known address is in Honolulu, Hawaii. Mangione, who was valedictorian of his Maryland prep school, earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in computer science in 2020 from the University of Pennsylvania, a university spokesman told The Associated Press on Monday. He learned to code in high school and helped start a club at Penn for people interested in gaming and game design, according to a 2018 story in Penn Today, a campus publication. His social media posts also suggest that he belonged to the fraternity Phi Kappa Psi. They also show him taking part in a 2019 program at Stanford University, and in photos with family and friends at the Jersey Shore and in Hawaii, San Diego, Puerto Rico, and other destinations. The Gilman School, from which Mangione graduated in 2016, is one of Baltimore’s elite prep schools. Some of the city’s wealthiest and most prominent people, including Orioles legend Cal Ripken Jr., have had children attend the school. Its alumni include sportswriter Frank Deford and former Arizona Gov. Fife Symington. In his valedictory speech, Luigi Mangione described his classmates’ “incredible courage to explore the unknown and try new things,” according to a post on the school website. He praised their collective inventiveness and pioneering mindset. Mangione comes from a prominent Maryland family. His grandfather Nick Mangione, who died in 2008, was a successful real estate developer. One of his best-known projects was Turf Valley Resort, a sprawling luxury retreat and conference center outside Baltimore that he purchased in 1978. The father of 10 children, Nick Mangione prepared his five sons — including Luigi Mangione’s father, Louis Mangione — to help manage the family business, according to a 2003 Washington Post report. The Mangione family also purchased Hayfields Country Club north of Baltimore in 1986. On Monday, Baltimore County police officers blocked off an entrance to the property, which public records link to Luigi Mangione’s parents. A swarm of reporters and photographers gathered outside the entrance. Luigi Mangione is one of 37 grandchildren of Nick Mangione, according to his obituary. Luigi Mangione's grandparents donated to charities through the Mangione Family Foundation, according to a statement from Loyola University commemorating Nick Mangione’s wife’s death in 2023. They donated to various causes ranging from Catholic organizations to colleges and the arts. One of Luigi Mangione’s cousins is Republican Maryland state legislator Nino Mangione. A spokesman for the lawmaker's office confirmed the relationship Monday. The shooting and a quick escape Police said the person who killed Thompson left a hostel on Manhattan's Upper West Side at 5:41 a.m. on Wednesday. Just 11 minutes later, he was seen on surveillance video walking back and forth in front of the New York Hilton Midtown, wearing a distinctive backpack. At 6:44 a.m., he shot Thompson at a side entrance to the hotel, fled on foot, then climbed aboard a bicycle and within four minutes had entered Central Park. Another security camera recorded the gunman leaving the park near the American Museum of Natural History at 6:56 a.m. still on the bicycle but without the backpack. After getting in a taxi, he headed north to a bus terminal near the George Washington Bridge, arriving at around 7:30 a.m. From there, the trail of video evidence runs cold. Police have not located video of the suspected shooter exiting the building, leading them to believe he likely took a bus out of town. Police said they are still investigating the path the suspect took to Pennsylvania. “This just happened this morning," Kenny said. "We’ll be working, backtracking his steps from New York to Altoona, Pennsylvania,” Kenny said. Associated Press reporters Lea Skene in Baltimore and Cedar Attanasio in New York contributed to this report. Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. The business news you need Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly.
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A Chinese film set during the Covid-19 pandemic won the top prizes in Taiwan's prestigious Golden Horse Awards, which saw the highest number of entries from China in recent years despite political tensions. Beijing banned its entertainers from joining Golden Horse -- dubbed the Chinese-language "Oscars" -- in 2019 after a Taiwanese director voiced support for the island's independence in an acceptance speech in 2018. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.
FIFA vice-president says Canada's drone-spying at Olympics was 'completely stupid'
PM Modi to participate in 'Odisha Parba 2024' in Delhi tomorrowHEWLETT Packard Enterprise (HPE) reported better-than-expected quarterly revenue and a jump in sales of servers to power artificial intelligence (AI) work. Fiscal fourth-quarter revenue increased 15 per cent to US$8.5 billion, the company said on Thursday (Dec 5). Analysts, on average, estimated US$8.3 billion. Profit, excluding some items, was 58 US cents per share, ahead of the average of 56 US cents expected by Wall Street. Demand for high-powered computing to run AI workloads has led to a boom for hardware makers, including HPE, Dell Technologies and Super Micro Computer. HPE reported that revenue from AI systems increased 16 per cent to US$1.5 billion in the quarter. Server unit sales jumped 32 per cent to US$4.7 billion. The shares increased about 2 per cent in extended trading after closing at US$21.65 in New York. The stock has gained 28 per cent this year to Thursday’s close. In January, the Texas-based hardware company announced plans to acquire Juniper Networks and orient the combined business around networking. The proposed US$14 billion deal has caught the attention of US competition regulators, who have made their concerns known to the company, Bloomberg has reported. HPE said it expects the deal to close in the “early part” of 2025. “We are working very collaboratively with the DOJ,” chief executive officer Antonio Neri said, referring to the US Department of Justice. “We have received unconditional approval from pretty much all the jurisdictions around the world including the European Union, UK, Australia, South Korea – you name it.” Revenue in Intelligent Edge, HPE’s business unit which includes networking, declined 20 per cent to US$1.1 billion in the period ended Oct 31, in line with estimates. In the quarter ending in January, HPE expects sales growth in the “mid teens”, compared with an average analyst estimate of 15 per cent. Earnings, excluding some items, will be 47 US cents a share to 52 US cents a share. Analysts, on average, estimated 48 US cents. BLOOMBERGBetty White Forever: New stamp will honor the much-beloved 'Golden Girls' actor
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“People are afraid to buy because they don’t know what might happen next. The gain is too fast in just three days,” said a Bureau de Change (BDC) operator who prefers to remain anonymous. The last three days have been remarkable for the exchange rate between the naira and the dollar, which, as of Friday, December 6, 2024, had gained 8.9% in one week. Starting the week at N1,672, the exchange rate closed at N1,535 on Friday, December 6, 2024. Related Stories Greece faces urgent need for over 300,000 foreign workers to support economic growth Tinubu rejigs nominees for South East Development Commission board, names Emeka Nworgu as new chairman While the official market experienced rapid gains in the exchange rate, the parallel market, where forex is sold unofficially, presented an even more unsettling scenario for speculators. The naira was gaining faster than they could sell. By the end of the week, operators informed Nairametrics that the exchange rate was trading at N1,570/$1, a sharp decline from N1,700/$1 earlier in the week, as the naira continued its strong recovery against the dollar. Unbeknownst to many Nigerians, the Central Bank of Nigeria recently launched a new trading system called the Enhanced Foreign Exchange Market System (EFEMS). EFEMS essentially consolidates all previous official foreign exchange windows into one unified system. This consolidation replaces the fragmented structure of multiple windows, such as the Investors & Exporters (I&E) FX Window, the SME Window, and the Invisible Window. But how does this explain why the naira is gaining against the dollar? EFEMS Introduces transparency: According to the CBN, EFEMS is expected to simplify operations and improve price discovery, thereby ensuring that trades are more transparent and easier to monitor. This has largely contributed to the positive outcomes currently being recorded in the official exchange rate. For example, one person familiar with the operation of the market suggests that the market is experiencing more supply than demand. With supply outstripping demand, the naira has gained against the dollar. However, it is unclear where the supply in the market is coming from, as there is no official data to explain this. For instance, the dynamics of pricing might change if the supply is primarily driven by the central bank. The new system also mandates a minimum trade value of $100,000 for all interbank FX transactions, which seems to have curtailed speculative activities in the market. Quoting System: Another plausible reason is the format for placing orders and pricing the exchange rate. Unlike the previous opaque system, forex dealers informed Nairametrics that the current system is order-based, similar to the way stocks are traded on the NGX. For example, bids (buying requests) are displayed on the system along with their bid prices, while offers (selling requests) are also shown with their corresponding prices. This makes it easier to determine how much forex is available in the market and the prevailing prices. Another stakeholder suggests that EFEMS also implements a two-way quote system, meaning dealers are expected to display both bid and offer prices. T his ensures that when trading forex, participants must indicate how much they are willing to buy and sell, regardless of their position in the trade. EFEMS/Guidelines Still New: Analysts also opine that the nascent nature of EFEMS creates some uncertainty among traders. According to one trader, “As a new system, people are obviously wary and do not want to be on the receiving end,” suggesting that the need to comply with market rules is ensuring transparency for now. The CBN’s new guidelines for forex trading also introduce rigorous reporting requirements. For example, Authorized Dealers must report FX transactions to the CBN within 10 minutes via an API-based system. BDCs are required to submit daily activity reports through automated portals, while Commercial and Merchant Banks must adopt real-time reporting to enhance monitoring and oversight. BDC role – The role of Bureau De Change (BDC) operators is critical under the new regulations, fostering further transparency in the functioning of the market. For instance, under the new guidelines, licensed BDC operators are allowed to buy foreign exchange (FX) from Authorized Dealers to meet customer needs. This measure aims to balance market accessibility with effective monitoring and control. The BDC segment, which had previously been excluded from certain FX market activities, is now positioned to play a more active role in meeting retail FX demand. This inclusion is expected to provide a buffer against the FX pressures faced by individuals and small businesses reliant on BDC services. If BDCs are sourcing FX from the same market, their pricing is unlikely to diverge significantly from official rates, reducing the wide disparities previously observed. This marks a significant departure from earlier years when the black market often influenced official rates. However, this expanded operational scope comes with a caveat: the total monthly transactions for BDCs are subject to an aggregate cap as determined by the CBN. It is also worth noting that the Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) informed Nairametrics that the permission for BDCs to purchase foreign exchange directly from Authorized Dealers is not automatic. Only BDC operators that meet the current capital requirements are permitted to participate in this market. “We received the news with mixed reactions,” said Gwadabe, a representative of ABCON. “While it is intended to increase liquidity at the retail end of the forex market, it is contingent on meeting the new recapitalization requirements of either ₦500 million or ₦2 billion as stated in the May guidelines. However, it does not specifically permit all currently licensed BDCs to purchase foreign exchange from the interbank market.” He added, “It is tied and subject to meeting the new capitalization guidelines introduced by the CBN in May 2024. This also addresses questions about the sources of funds under the new BDC guidelines raised by many applicants. It is not automatic but conditional on meeting these new requirements.” Panic Selling – Panic selling is widely regarded as a significant factor behind the sharp appreciation in the exchange rate between the naira and the dollar. Traders who spoke to Nairametrics anonymously suggested that many of their suppliers were in a hurry to sell, as no one wanted to hold on to a currency rapidly losing value against the naira. One trader disclosed that they even sold at rates as low as N1,500/$1 on the parallel market, despite it being much lower than the rates obtainable on the official market. These actions have been attributed to panic selling, particularly by speculators who had hoarded dollars for months in anticipation of the naira’s continuous depreciation. Several economic reports have suggested that the exchange rate of N1,600/$1 is not reflective of the naira’s true value, a sentiment echoed by CBN Governor Yemi Cardoso at the Bankers’ Committee annual dinner. If this is indeed what is happening, more losses could await speculators who are uncertain about when the market will bottom out. Some speculators also point to the December period, which, according to historical data, is often associated with the naira strengthening against the dollar. This trend is partly attributed to increased dollar inflows from diaspora Nigerians returning for the Christmas holidays. Finally, it is worth noting that similar boosts in Nigeria’s forex market have been observed before, where the naira suddenly gains strength before depreciating again. For example, in April this year, the naira appreciated to as high as N1,072/$1 before it started to weaken again. At the time, the central bank had just lifted the suspension of forex sales to BDC operators, injecting liquidity into the system.
Coloradans are now purchasing electric vehicles at a higher rate than any other state, according to a new report from the Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management. The report compared electric vehicle sales across the United States in the third quarter of 2024, and showed Colorado surpassing California to reach the highest electric vehicle market share in the country. The report claimed that electric vehicles made up 25.3% of all new vehicles sold in Colorado this quarter. Eighty-two percent of the electric vehicles were fully electric, while the remaining 18% were plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. In October, the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association released a report that showed Colorado’s electric vehicle market share grew from 16.1% in the second quarter of 2024 to 21.9% in the third. The report found that hybrid and plug-in vehicles had a 15.9% market share for the first nine months of the year, up from 12.5% in 2023. The report claims this made Colorado second in the nation for electric vehicle sales during those nine months. Matthew Groves, CEO of the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association, said that while the association believes the trend in this latest report from the Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management, it is uncertain of the methodology and therefore, its conclusion. “We knew this day would come, and we welcome it. We just want to be able to properly quantify the success,” Groves said. As of Nov. 7, Colorado had 156,281 electric vehicles and 5,561 public charging ports (both Level 2 and DCFC), according to a dashboard created by Atlas Public Policy in partnership with the Colorado Energy Office . This was an increase of around 3.32% from Oct. 7. The dashboard utilizes data from state vehicle registration, the U.S. Department of Energy, ChargePoint, EV Connect and the U.S. Census Bureau. Statewide, this equates to about 27 electric vehicles per 1,000 people. Adoption in some of the resort communities across Colorado’s Interstate 70 mountain corridor is among the highest in the state. Based on the November data, Pitkin County has 53 electric vehicles per 1,000 residents, making it the highest in the state. Boulder County had around 50 electric vehicles per 1,000 residents, and Denver County had 42. Eagle and Summit counties had 33 and 35 per 1,000 residents, respectively. These mountain communities also have a high ratio of charging ports. Statewide, there is less than one Level 2 port — the most common electric vehicle charger in Colorado — per 1,000 residents. In Summit County, there were around 5.5 of these same chargers per 1,000 people. In Pitkin County, there were 4.6 per 1,000 people. Gov. Jared Polis and the Colorado Energy Office shared both aforementioned reports in a news release in early December, indicating that the high adoption in Colorado is due to a lot of upside in the state. “Between investments in charging infrastructure and generous incentives to bring down purchase and lease costs, our commitment to making electric vehicles an affordable and reliable option for Coloradans is paying off,” said Will Tour, the office’s executive director, in a statement. Groves agreed that the state’s vehicle purchase incentives are heavily influencing this adoption. “It’s what separates us from other states. You can lease multiple brands of (electric vehicles) for cheaper than an Uber ride to the airport,” Groves said. Colorado’s Energy Office currently offers a $5,000 tax credit for electric vehicle purchases in addition to rebates for income-qualified residents to trade in old or high-emitting vehicles as well as incentives and grants for charging infrastructure. The federal government also offers a $7,500 tax credit for new electric vehicle purchases as well as a credit for at-home charging stations. Many local municipalities and utility providers — including Holy Cross Energy , Xcel Energy , Black Hills Energy , Yampa Valley Electric Association , the town of Vail and more — offer incentives and rebates for the vehicles and charging infrastructure. The ability to stack these various incentives has led to adoption in mountain communities, said Gina McCrackin, Eagle County’s Climate Action Collaborative manager at Walking Mountains. Colorado’s deployment and investment in public charging infrastructure, including at multifamily developments, has also contributed to this rise as has residents’ attitude, McCrackin added. “Generally, our culture here and our political climate is quite progressive, and so that certainly influences the appetite to adopt in the first place,” McCrackin said. While tax credits and incentives are abundant for Coloradans today, the future is likely to bring some uncertainty. The federal $7,500 electrical vehicle tax credit — created under President Joe Biden’s administration — is one of many climate-related expenses that President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to eliminate . In 2025, Colorado’s tax credit for electric vehicles will drop from $5,000 to $3,500 as part of planned decreases meant to stagger as adoption increases. Groves said he expects “some regression in 2025.” For electric vehicle adoption to continue to increase, Groves said electric vehicles need to rival traditional internal combustion engine vehicles in both performance and cost. On performance, Groves said “we’re hitting the fulcrum” where electric vehicles are becoming competitive. On cost, however, it’s the rebates that were “bridging that delta,” he said. Despite the pending state decrease and federal uncertainty, there’s hope for future adoption in Colorado. “I think the state of Colorado will continue to be supportive of EV adoption because they have to be,” McCrackin said. “They have really ambitious climate action goals, and I don’t see the state of Colorado stalling out on continuing to promote EV adoption and provide incentives for doing so.” As part of its ambitious climate goals, Colorado’s Energy Office has a goal to have 940,000 electric vehicles on the road by 2030 as the state moves to hit net-zero emissions by 2050 . Groves noted that amid federal uncertainty, “Colorado has discovered a pathway to success.” “We should pursue it until the wheels fall off,” he added. “Maybe we’re all wrong and the rebates aren’t why consumers are buying. If that’s true, we’d look pretty silly to back off our strategy just because the money is drying up.” Josh Chetwynd, the director of climate communications for the state of Colorado, said in an emailed statement that regardless of changes, “consumers in Colorado and across the country have made it clear: electric vehicles are here to stay and demand will continue to grow.” “While removing the federal electric vehicle tax credit would increase costs for families and individuals who want cleaner, more affordable transportation options, we expect demand for EVs to remain high, especially as the market continues to become more competitive, driving the costs of EVs down even more,” Chetwynd added. Outside of funding, time will support continued adoption, according to Groves. “Five years ago, you might not have known anyone who drove electric, you might not have taken a test drive, or you might not have had a selection in your manufacturer of choice,” he said. “Today, we’ve probably flipped all three of those.” McCrackin said she remains hopeful that electric vehicle adoption will continue as education increases and local municipalities and communities in Colorado continue to invest and subsidize electric vehicles and infrastructure. “We can continue to lean on the programs and incentives that we have now,” McCrackin said. “I think it’ll just be more pushing from an education and logic-based standpoint onto consumers and the public because we can’t lean on the very large federal incentives that are likely to go away.” This includes remaining opportunities around transitioning business and government fleets to electric, which can have exponential impacts, McCrackin added. In Eagle County, Walking Mountains has led initiatives to support electric vehicle infrastructure at multifamily housing developments , to familiarize consumers with the vehicles and more, she added. “In the absence of this awesome backbone that we’ve had over the last four years for climate funding ... leaning into the state and then local governments, as well as local coalition building, is going to be more important than ever if we desire to keep the momentum on our progress that we want to keep,” McCrackin said. “There’s definitely progress and momentum, and I think we will continue to see that rise.”Markham jewelry store targeted for 3rd time in smash-and-grab robbery at Markville MallNo. 12 Boise State (9-1, 6-0 Mountain West, No. 12 CFP) at Wyoming (2-8, 2-4,) Saturday, 7 p.m. ET (CBSSN) BetMGM College Football Odds: Boise State by 22 1/2. Series record: Boise State leads 17-1. Boise State enters its final conference game of the season with an eight-game winning streak - its longest single-season winning streak since 2014 - and with its sights set on a potential top-four seed in the College Football Playoff. With Boise State in front of BYU, the Broncos became the provisional No. 4 seed in the playoff with two weeks left in the regular season. Despite being mired in a two-win season, Wyoming would love to play the spoiler role against the Broncos. Wyoming’s rushing defense against Heisman Trophy candidate Ashton Jeanty. The junior running back comes into this one leading the nation in several categories, including rushing yards (1,893), rushing touchdowns (26), total touchdowns (27) and all-purpose yards (1,991). The Cowboys rank 116th in the nation in allowing 201.2 yards rushing per game. Boise State: WR Cameron Camper continues to play a pivotal role for the Broncos. As Jeanty draws the attention of opposing defensive units, it creates space in the secondary for Camper to operate. The senior leads the Broncos with 665 yards receiving with 40 catches, including four touchdowns. Wyoming: DE DeVonne Harris has proven to be effective for the Cowboys since missing time earlier this season with an injury. Harris registered a season-high six tackles with a tackle for loss and a fumble recovery at Colorado State and has three tackles for loss this season. Harris could be tasked to slow Jeanty in the running lanes while also applying pressure to Boise State quarterback Maddux Madsen. Boise State and Wyoming are two of the best teams on third downs on both sides of the ball with the Broncos’ offense checking in third nationally in third-down conversion percentage (52.7%) and Wyoming’s defense ranked fifth in the country in third-down conversion percentage against (.285). ... The Broncos, who own the third-best rushing offense in the country with 258.7 yards rushing per game, have run for 200 or more yards in eight games this season. ... Wyoming linebacker Connor Shay ranks second on the team with 62 tackles this season. His 6.2 tackles per game rank 20th in the conference. .. Wyoming has won 65.9% of its games in War Memorial Stadium, though the Cowboys are just 1-4 in Laramie this season. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football .The search and rescue organization for Metro Vancouver’s North Shore mountains is warning people to do their research after two international visitors became stranded while relying on hiking apps to plan their routes. Allan McMordie with North Shore Rescue managed the Sunday night rescue of a man from Goat Ridge, a backcountry area behind Grouse Mountain. He said the man told rescuers he had not been expecting snow, despite two of the local ski hills opening with fresh powder last month. “All you had to do was look at the top of the mountains from Vancouver and know there’s snow up there,” he said in an interview. “To be in running shoes and not even expecting any snow was pretty naive.” The man from France had set out on a marked route, then decided to make his way through very rough, steep terrain to a separate trail at significantly higher elevation. “This is rugged backcountry,” McMordie said. “It’s almost impassable.” McMordie could not confirm which apps the hikers in both recent rescues were using, but said a lack of any marked route or trail reports is a good indication not to use the application. In any case, he said trip planning should involve multiple sources for information. If the man from France had done any research, McMordie said he would have discovered the backcountry area where he was rescued is closed for the winter. In both recent cases, he said there are signs at each trailhead with maps showing trails and topography, along with reminders about key steps in trip planning, he said. Both men were lucky to have been able to make 911 calls, McMordie added, as service is patchy in the area and their phone batteries had nearly run out. Above all, he said hikers should tell someone else where they’re going and when they expect to return, so that person can alert local authorities if necessary. “Absolutely nobody knew where this person was and what he was doing that day,” McMordie said of the man from France. “If he had not been able to get that (911) call out, he would still be there.” Sunday’s rescue on Goat Ridge came three days after a similar call, when another man”seriously underestimated the difficulty” of a route marked in an online hiking app, North Shore Rescue said in a statement posted to social media. The group said there is “barely a trail” in the summer and “nothing whatsoever” in the winter, making for “full mountaineering conditions” at this time of year. The man called for help after hiking for eight hours that left him “tired, soaked (and) hypothermic” as the sun was setting,” it said. It’s doubtful the man would have survived the night in the Mount Seymour backcountry if he hadn’t been able to make the call, the rescue group added. The man had been staying in a short-term accommodation and had taken an Uber to the trailhead. Only his girlfriend in Norway knew where he was, and he was not wearing or carrying adequate gear for the conditions, McMordie said. Vancouver-based Stephen Hui, the author of several B.C. hiking guidebooks, said the rough, mountainous terrain steps away from urban Metro Vancouver and the extent of the snowpack in winter is a surprise for many visiting hikers. Hui said online apps can be helpful and often provide commentary about trail conditions from other hikers, but it’s crucial to look at additional sources of information, including complete maps and provincial and national park websites. He said local authorities and outdoor groups have some responsibility for people heading into the backcountry, and there is room for more signage and education. Ultimately, though, he said people must be responsible for themselves. “We can’t handhold everybody,” he said. “There’s always going to be dangers in hiking.”