NoneBy ROB GILLIES, Associated Press TORONTO (AP) — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told Donald Trump that Americans would also suffer if the president-elect follows through on a plan to impose sweeping tariffs on Canadian products , a Canadian minister who attended their recent dinner said Monday. Trump threatened to impose tariffs on products from Canada and Mexico if they don’t stop what he called the flow of drugs and migrants across their borders with the United States. He said on social media last week that he would impose a 25% tax on all products entering the U.S. from Canada and Mexico as one of his first executive orders. Canadian Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc, whose responsibilities include border security, attended a dinner with Trump and Trudeau at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club on Friday. Trudeau requested the meeting in a bid to avoid the tariffs by convincing Trump that the northern border is nothing like the U.S. southern border with Mexico . “The prime minister of course spoke about the importance of protecting the Canadian economy and Canadian workers from tariffs, but we also discussed with our American friends the negative impact that those tariffs could have on their economy, on affordability in the United States as well,” LeBlanc said in Parliament. If Trump makes good on his threat to slap 25% tariffs on everything imported from Mexico and Canada, the price increases that could follow will collide with his campaign promise to give American families a break from inflation. Economists say companies would have little choice but to pass along the added costs, dramatically raising prices for food, clothing, automobiles, alcohol and other goods. The Produce Distributors Association, a Washington trade group, said last week that tariffs will raise prices for fresh fruit and vegetables and hurt U.S. farmers when the countries retaliate. Canada is already examining possible retaliatory tariffs on certain items from the U.S. should Trump follow through on the threat. After his dinner with Trump, Trudeau returned home without assurances the president-elect will back away from threatened tariffs on all products from the major American trading partner. Trump called the talks “productive” but signaled no retreat from a pledge that Canada says unfairly lumps it in with Mexico over the flow of drugs and migrants into the United States. “The idea that we came back empty handed is completely false,” LeBlanc said. “We had a very productive discussion with Mr. Trump and his future Cabinet secretaries. ... The commitment from Mr. Trump to continue to work with us was far from empty handed.” Joining Trump and Trudeau at dinner were Howard Lutnick, Trump’s nominee for commerce secretary, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Trump’s pick to lead the Interior Department, and Mike Waltz, Trump’s choice to be his national security adviser. Canada’s ambassador to the U.S., Kirsten Hillman, told The Associated Press on Sunday that “the message that our border is so vastly different than the Mexican border was really understood.” Hillman, who sat at an adjacent table to Trudeau and Trump, said Canada is not the problem when it comes to drugs and migrants. On Monday, Mexico’s president rejected those comments. “Mexico must be respected, especially by its trading partners,” President Claudia Sheinbaum said. She said Canada had its own problems with fentanyl consumption and “could only wish they had the cultural riches Mexico has.” Flows of migrants and seizures of drugs at the two countries’ border are vastly different. U.S. customs agents seized 43 pounds of fentanyl at the Canadian border during the last fiscal year, compared with 21,100 pounds at the Mexican border. Most of the fentanyl reaching the U.S. — where it causes about 70,000 overdose deaths annually — is made by Mexican drug cartels using precursor chemicals smuggled from Asia. On immigration, the U.S. Border Patrol reported 1.53 million encounters with migrants at the southwest border with Mexico between October 2023 and September 2024. That compares to 23,721 encounters at the Canadian border during that time. Canada is the top export destination for 36 U.S. states. Nearly $3.6 billion Canadian (US$2.7 billion) worth of goods and services cross the border each day. About 60% of U.S. crude oil imports are from Canada, and 85% of U.S. electricity imports as well. Canada is also the largest foreign supplier of steel, aluminum and uranium to the U.S. and has 34 critical minerals and metals that the Pentagon is eager for and investing for national security.TORONTO, Dec. 27, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Clear Blue Technologies International Inc. (TSXV: CBLU) (FRANKFURT: OYA) (OTCQB: CBUTF) (“ CBLU ” or the “ Company ”) today announces that as a result of strong support from its secured lenders, its shareholders, customers, suppliers, employees and convertible debenture holders and other creditors and investors, it has initiated a proposed package of financial restructuring which should position the company well to embrace the opportunities in front of it in 2025 and beyond. The Package consists of the following: A Shares for Debt Transaction to convert existing convertible debentures, shareholder loans, and other creditor amounts into equity. A Private Placement to raise additional working capital funds. A share consolidation of 6:1 to meet certain TSX Venture Exchange (“ TSXV ”) regulatory requirements. A cost reduction program within the Company to reduce operating expenses and R&D investments. “Clear Blue is strongly positioned to address North American and African Telecom and Smart City opportunities. It is a leader in its target markets and now has 4 proven products, each with strong growth potential. The last 3 years of Covid, war, inflation, interest rate hikes and related events have held the Company back from being able to capitalize on this opportunity. As a result of this financial restructuring, the Company can now move forward and focus on the opportunity in front of it,” said Miriam Tuerk, Co-Founder and CEO of Clear Blue. “A community builds a company, and the Clear Blue community has stepped forward at this stage to support the Company in a big way. We cannot thank everyone enough for their contribution and willingness to work together to achieve this milestone.” Details of the above are provided below: The Company will be entering into debt settlement agreements with certain debenture holders and other creditors to settle an aggregate of approximately $8.77 million indebtedness that will be converted into units of the Company, with each unit comprised of one common share and one common share purchase warrant at a price per common share of $0.03, with each warrant exercisable for 24 months at a strike price of $0.05 (the “ Shares for Debt Transaction ”). If $8.77 million indebtedness is settled then an aggregate of 292,438,847 common shares and 272,503,847 warrants will be issued on closing. The completion of the Shares for Debt Transactions is subject to a number of conditions, including the approval of the TSXV. Upon finalizing agreements with all creditors, the Company will issue a subsequent news release outlining the precise amount of debt settled and the number of units issued on closing. Alongside the Shares for Debt Transaction, the Company has also initiated a non-brokered private placement on identical terms to the Shares for Debt Transaction, with units of the Company to be issued comprised of one common share and one common share purchase warrant at a price per common share of $0.03, with each warrant exercisable for 24 months at a strike price of $0.05 (the “ Private Placement ”, and together with the Shares for Debt Transaction, the “ Transactions ”), for gross proceeds of up to $2 million. The net proceeds from the Private Placement will be used for working capital and general corporate purposes. If the maximum of $2 million is raised, an aggregate of 66,666,666 common shares and 66,666,666 warrants will be issued on closing the Private Placement. The Company also announces a plan to proceed with a consolidation of its issued and outstanding common shares on the basis of six (6) pre-consolidation shares for each one (1) post-consolidation share (the “ Consolidation ”). The Company believes that the Consolidation is in the best interests of shareholders as it will allow the Company to complete the Transactions in accordance with abiding by TSXV policies as well as enhance the marketability of the common shares. Accordingly, the Company plans to hold a special meeting of shareholders on or around the beginning of March 2025, prior to which time an information circular will be sent to shareholders containing additional details pertaining to the Consolidation. No fractional shares will be issued as a result of the Consolidation. Any fractional shares resulting from the Consolidation will be rounded down to the next whole common share. The initial closings of the Transactions are expected to occur on or before December 31, 2024, or such other date as the creditors, investors and the Company may agree upon, and are subject to the completion of formal documentation and the Company receiving all necessary regulatory approvals, including the approval of the TSXV. The securities issued pursuant to the Transactions will be subject to a hold period of four months and one day from the issuance date in accordance with applicable securities laws. Insiders may participate in the Transactions and the participation of insiders will be considered a related party transaction subject to Multilateral Instrument 61-101 – Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions (“ MI 61-101 ”). The Company intends to rely on exemptions from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements provided under subsections 5.5(b) and 5.7(1)(a) of MI 61-101 on the basis that no securities of the Company are listed on specified markets and the fair market value of the debt being settled by interested parties does not exceed 25% of the Company’s market capitalization. Additionally, the Company announces that it entered into a promissory note dated September 30, 2024, pursuant to which, Miriam and John Tuerk, directors and officers of the Company, collectively loaned the Company the principal amount of $994,704 (the “ Loan ”). The Loan is repayable on January 1, 2026, without interest. The lenders are control persons and directors and officers of the Company, and accordingly, the Loan constitutes a “related party transaction” pursuant to MI 61-101. The Loan is exempt from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements of 61-101. The Company is exempt from the formal valuation requirement contain in section 5.5(b) of MI 61-101 as the Company does not have securities listed on a specified stock exchange. The Loan is further exempt from the minority shareholder approval requirement pursuant to section 5.7(1)(a) of MI 61-101 as the fair market value of Loan is less than 25% of the Company’s market capitalization. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities described in this news release. Such securities have not been, and will not be, registered under the U.S. Securities Act, or any state securities laws, and, accordingly, may not be offered or sold within the United States, or to or for the account or benefit of persons in the United States or "U.S. Persons", as such term is defined in Regulation S promulgated under the U.S. Securities Act, unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or pursuant to an exemption from such registration requirements. For more information, contact: Miriam Tuerk, Co-Founder and CEO +1 416 433 3952 investors@clearbluetechnologies.com www.clearbluetechnologies.com/en/investors About Clear Blue Technologies International Clear Blue Technologies International, the Smart Off-GridTM company, was founded on a vision of delivering clean, managed, “wireless power” to meet the global need for reliable, low-cost, solar and hybrid power for lighting, telecom, security, Internet of Things devices, and other mission-critical systems. Today, Clear Blue has thousands of systems under management across 37 countries, including the U.S. and Canada. (TSXV: CBLU) (FRA: 0YA) (OTCQB: CBUTF) Legal Disclaimer Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities described in this news release. Such securities have not been, and will not be, registered under the U.S. Securities Act, or any state securities laws, and, accordingly, may not be offered or sold within the United States, or to or for the account or benefit of persons in the United States or “U.S. Persons”, as such term is defined in Regulation S promulgated under the U.S. Securities Act, unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or pursuant to an exemption from such registration requirements. Forward-Looking Statement This press release contains certain "forward-looking information" and/or "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Such forward-looking information and forward-looking statements are not representative of historical facts or information or current condition, but instead represent only Clear Blue’s beliefs regarding future events, plans or objectives, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and outside of Clear Blue's control. Generally, such forward-looking information or forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or may contain statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "will continue", "will occur" or "will be achieved". The forward-looking information contained herein may include, but is not limited to, information concerning the Company's current and future financial position. By identifying such information and statements in this manner, Clear Blue is alerting the reader that such information and statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Clear Blue to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such information and statements. An investment in securities of Clear Blue is speculative and subject to several risks including, without limitation, the risks discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" in Clear Blue's listing application dated July 12, 2018. Although Clear Blue has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking information and forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. In connection with the forward-looking information and forward-looking statements contained in this press release, Clear Blue has made certain assumptions. Although Clear Blue believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing, and the expectations contained in, the forward-looking information and statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information and statements, and no assurance or guarantee can be given that such forward-looking information and statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information and statements. The forward-looking information and forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release. All subsequent written and oral forward- looking information and statements attributable to Clear Blue or persons acting on its behalf is expressly qualified in its entirety by this notice. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities described in this news release. Such securities have not been, and will not be, registered under the U.S. Securities Act, or any state securities laws, and, accordingly, may not be offered or sold within the United States, or to or for the account or benefit of persons in the United States or “U.S. Persons”, as such term is defined in Regulation S promulgated under the U.S. Securities Act, unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or pursuant to an exemption from such registration requirements.
NoneRecord numbers of basketball fans filled arenas to watch the rookie seasons of Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese unfold. Simone Biles captivated the world at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Coco Gauff made women’s tennis history. It was all part of a pivotal year for women in sports, financially and culturally, and after a steady rise in popularity and reach in recent years, the women’s game is more valuable than ever. “(Clark) just moved the needle of the global movement of women in sports,” said softball great and Olympic gold medalist Jennie Finch, “and what a thrill it’s been to be able to see her rise.” The consulting firm Deloitte estimated in November 2023 that women’s sports would generate more than $1 billion in global revenue this year for the first time ever, which the company said is up about 300% from its last estimate in 2021. Skyrocketing viewership and corporate sponsorships were major factors. The WNBA in July signed a historic 11-year media rights deal with Disney, Amazon Prime and NBC valued at about $200 million — a jump from about $60 million currently. Players hope higher salaries and a greater share of revenue could be on the horizon as parity, star power and competition in the WNBA continue to grow. The WNBA had its most-watched regular season in 24 years and best attendance in 22 seasons, and commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in a recent state-of-the-league address that players are getting a lot more marketing deals, turning them into household names. That includes Las Vegas star A’ja Wilson, who had one of the most dominant seasons in WNBA history, and Clark, who set numerous rookie records. The decisive Game 5 of the WNBA finals between the New York Liberty and the Minnesota Lynx drew an average of 2.2 million viewers, peaking at 3.3 million, which made it the most-watched WNBA game in 25 years. “We’ve been growing in popularity, endorsements, media rights, all of those things,” said Amira Rose Davis, a sports historian and assistant professor at the University of Texas at Austin. “This period is one of rapid acceleration,” Davis continued, “where all that growth seems to switch into overdrive, where the deals are getting bigger, where the visibility is stretching out.” Clark, the sharp-shooting Indiana guard became a phenomenon when she played at Iowa, capitalized on a foundation laid by hoops stars such as Diana Taurasi, Candace Parker and Wilson, and turbocharged the visibility of women’s basketball. Ticket sales to Indiana Fever games were up 182% in 2024 from the previous season. The Fever also shattered the attendance record of 13,398 set by the Liberty in 1998 with around 16,084 tickets sold per game. And games featuring Clark and her on-court rival Reese of the Chicago Sky prompted social media debates about basketball, race and culture. “Something that I always tried to do with me was rise and elevate the game,” said Finch, now an adviser for the Athletes Unlimited Softball League. “And that’s what (Clark)’s doing and her teammates. And just to be able to watch her do it and how humbly she does it, and the impact of not only domestic women’s basketball, but women’s athletics globally. It’s a dream.” While many point to the WNBA as a blueprint for success in women’s sports, accomplishments in 2024 went far beyond one league or athlete. Gauff, the 20-year-old tennis superstar, was the world’s highest-paid female athlete this year with $30.4 million in earnings, according to Sportico rankings. Gauff could not defend her 2023 U.S. Open title, but ended her 2024 season with a WTA finals title and a $4.8 million check — the biggest payout ever for a women’s tennis event, per Sportico. The Olympics neared complete gender parity for the first time among the more than 11,000 men and women who competed in Paris this summer. More than 34 million people across all NBC platforms in the U.S. watched Biles exorcise the demons of her surprising exit from the Tokyo games three years earlier. The 27-year-old shared a message of resilience and redemption as she added four gold medals to her resume. Nearly everything she did in Paris made headlines — a clap back at social media trolls, a revelation about her mental health, a moment of triumph. Her TikTok showing Team USA’s gold medals from team competition has more than 139 million views. “She became a symbol,” Davis said. “Whether you wanted to symbolize her as persevering, or talking about mental health or refusal, the politics of refusal. Or (whether) you wanted to symbolize her as being a quitter — being everything that you’re bemoaning about the country. Either way, both projections elevated her even more.” And as Gauff and Biles soared, other women’s leagues leveraged that visibility. The Pro Women’s Hockey League brought in 392,259 fans during its inaugural regular season, highlighted by a women’s hockey record crowd of 21,105 at the home arena of the NHL’s Canadiens for a Montreal-Toronto matchup. The league also reached sponsorship deals with Scotiabank, Air Canada and Hyundai. The PWHL’s strong first season showed its organizers and players that there’s an appetite for women’s sports, so much so that there are hopes to expand from six to eight teams in 2025. “For many of us that have been in the game for so long, it’s emotional to think about where the game’s come from, where we’ve come to,” said Jayna Hefford, the league’s senior vice president of hockey operations. “We spend a lot of time reading research and all these things that suggest the time is now and that the fandom is there. And to be able to live that and feel it in real time was pretty special.” Keith Stein and Justine Siegal want to capitalize on the women’s sports landscape too. Siegal, a former baseball player and coach, partnered with Stein, a lawyer and businessman, to create the Women’s Pro Baseball League, which last month announced plans to launch in 2026 as a six-team circuit for female players. It will be the first pro league for women since the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League dissolved in 1954. “Leagues like the WNBA and (National) Women’s Soccer League have done a lot of the heavy lifting,” Stein said, “and they’re part responsible for the moment we’re having right now where women’s sport is a phenomenon. “I think there’s, in some ways, a lot more momentum behind the development of professional women’s sports leagues than for men’s.” Get local news delivered to your inbox!Healthy habits for 2025: Time to take stock
By HALELUYA HADERO, Associated Press President-elect Donald Trump asked the Supreme Court on Friday to pause the potential TikTok ban from going into effect until his administration can pursue a “political resolution” to the issue. The request came as TikTok and the Biden administration filed opposing briefs to the court, in which the company argued the court should strike down a law that could ban the platform by Jan. 19 while the government emphasized its position that the statute is needed to eliminate a national security risk. “President Trump takes no position on the underlying merits of this dispute. Instead, he respectfully requests that the Court consider staying the Act’s deadline for divestment of January 19, 2025, while it considers the merits of this case,” said Trump’s amicus brief, which supported neither party in the case and was written by D. John Sauer, Trump’s choice for solicitor general. Related Articles The argument submitted to the court is the latest example of Trump inserting himself in national issues before he takes office. The Republican president-elect has already begun negotiating with other countries over his plans to impose tariffs, and he intervened earlier this month in a plan to fund the federal government, calling for a bipartisan plan to be rejected and sending Republicans back to the negotiating table. He has been holding meetings with foreign leaders and business officials at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida while he assembles his administration, including a meeting last week with TikTok CEO Shou Chew. Trump has reversed his position on the popular app, having tried to ban it during his first term in office over national security concerns. He joined the TikTok during his 2024 presidential campaign and his team used it to connect with younger voters, especially male voters, by pushing content that was often macho and aimed at going viral. He said earlier this year that he still believed there were national security risks with TikTok, but that he opposed banning it. The filings Friday come ahead of oral arguments scheduled for Jan. 10 on whether the law, which requires TikTok to divest from its China-based parent company or face a ban, unlawfully restricts speech in violation of the First Amendment. The law was was signed by President Joe Biden in April after it passed Congress with broad bipartisan support. TikTok and ByteDance filed a legal challenge afterwards. Earlier this month, a panel of three federal judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit unanimously upheld the statute , leading TikTok to appeal the case to the Supreme Court. The brief from Trump said he opposes banning TikTok at this junction and “seeks the ability to resolve the issues at hand through political means once he takes office.” In their brief to the Supreme Court on Friday, attorneys for TikTok and its parent company ByteDance argued the federal appeals court erred in its ruling and based its decision on “alleged ‘risks’ that China could exercise control” over TikTok’s U.S. platform by pressuring its foreign affiliates. The Biden administration has argued in court that TikTok poses a national security risk due to its connections to China. Officials say Chinese authorities can compel ByteDance to hand over information on TikTok’s U.S. patrons or use the platform to spread or suppress information. But the government “concedes that it has no evidence China has ever attempted to do so,” TikTok’s legal filing said, adding that the U.S. fears are predicated on future risks. In its filing Friday, the Biden administration said because TikTok “is integrated with ByteDance and relies on its propriety engine developed and maintained in China,” its corporate structure carries with it risk.
With President Elect Donald Trump set to take office in January, U.S. immigration policy is expected to change dramatically, with enhanced deportations at the top of the agenda for the new administration. Ever since Trump’s recent electoral triumph, the logistics of mass deportation have been a hot topic of debate. Under the Biden Administration’s watch, more than 10 million illegal aliens have entered the U.S. While we don’t know the exact number of illegal aliens who currently reside in the U.S., the figure is likely around 20-30 million people. Trump campaigned heavily on reversing the damage of the Biden Administration’s border crisis through mass deportation and received a decisive mandate from the American people on election day to do just that. In the weeks since the election, the foundations of Trump’s mass deportation plan have begun to take shape. Just days after his election victory, Trump appointed Immigration Reform Law Institute Senior Fellow and former Acting ICE Director Tom Homan to be his “border czar,” signaling a commitment to carry out his mass deportation pledge. Reports have indicated that the Trump Administration intends to target criminal illegal aliens for the first round of deportation and all options appear to be on the table, including using the military to assist in carrying out the program. However, it’s possible that many illegal aliens will leave on their own before much of this is necessary. The best way to get illegal aliens to leave the country on their own is to make it virtually impossible for them to make money in the country. Many foreign nationals come to the U.S. because our wages and social safety net far exceed the quality of those in their home countries. In Mexico, for example, the minimum wage is less than $15 a day, while in many American cities the minimum wage is $15 an hour. What many Americans see as paltry wages, many foreign nationals see as an opportunity for generational wealth, which fuels the incentives for illegal immigration on a grand scale. In New York, for example, illegal aliens arriving in the city have been treated to free food, health care, and stays at luxury hotels. Of course, if you offer foreign nationals a grab-bag of free stuff and a significant increase in wages, it stands to reason they will do whatever is necessary to come here. Ending this incentive structure would go a long way towards solving America’s illegal immigration problem. There are many steps that can be taken to end the economic incentives for illegal immigration. These include heavily taxing remittances, banning illegal aliens from social welfare programs, and cracking down on employers that hire them. If foreign nationals understand they will not be allowed to earn wages or access America’s social safety net, most will stop coming, and many who are already here will simply head for the exits. This is why Homan has vowed to increase workplace raids in order to send a message to corporations that hiring illegal aliens over American workers will not be tolerated. This strategy has long been known as “attrition through enforcement,” and could be very effective at incentivizing illegal aliens to self-deport without the need to use force and expend resources. Of course, many illegal aliens will decide to stay in the country no matter the circumstances and they will have to be removed by ICE. This will spark some intense backlash from corporate America and activists who argue that it is cruel to attempt to force this specific set of illegal aliens to leave, but it is necessary to restore the rule of law in America’s immigration system. In a sovereign nation, no person who enters the country illegally can be given a free pass to stay as long as they want. The incoming Trump Administration has been given a clear mandate by the American people to fortify the border and remove those in the country illegally, and they appear prepared to implement that plan. While illegal aliens with criminal records and orders of removal will likely be the first ones to be deported, the goal should be to remove as many illegal aliens as possible from the country in order to deter future surges at the border. The work of reversing the Biden Administration’s years-long malfeasance at the border will be long and arduous, but it can and must be accomplished. William J. Davis is a communications associate for the Immigration Reform Law Institute, a public interest law firm working to defend the rights and interests of the American people from the negative effects of mass migration. The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller.