49ers quarterback Brock Purdy did some light throwing without issue Monday, coach Kyle Shanahan said. Purdy, who missed Sunday’s game with right shoulder soreness, will rest Tuesday. “It went all good,” Shanahan said, via David Bonilla of 49erswebzone.com. “We didn’t push it that hard, but he did some light throwing, which was a good sign that the pain hadn’t come back, and we’ll rest it tomorrow and see how he feels as the week goes.” In a Week 11 loss to the Seahawks, Purdy appeared to injure the shoulder when his hand hit the arm of Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon as he released a pass early in the fourth quarter. The 49ers, though, don’t know specifically when Purdy injured it as he not miss time in that game with the injury. An MRI showed no structural damage, and Purdy reportedly underwent a second MRI after he continued to experience soreness in the shoulder late last week. “Most guys, we always get more than one [MRI] when you get one, and it seems all right, then you have some pain later in the week,” Shanahan said. “So, you get another one to make sure you didn’t miss anything. And so, that’s what he did, I think, after the Thursday practice.” The 49ers listed him as limited in practice last week before ruling him out Friday. The 49ers play the Bills on Sunday Night Football in Week 13.Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story actor Tyler Hynes is one of the most popular stars on Hallmark Channel these days and fans have fallen in love with his movies! While many actors on Hallmark are very open about their personal lives, Tyler isn’t one of them. Keep reading to find out more... It’s not currently clear if Tyler has a special someone in his life or not. He has not shared any details about a wife or girlfriend on his social media pages. Rumors have circulated throughout the years that Tyler was linked to Miami-based model Racquel Natasha , but there is no proof that they were or are a couple. So you’ll have to look at that with a grain of salt! The one time that Tyler has spoken about his dating life is when he revealed he had a girlfriend in an October 2018 interview. “My girlfriend opened up my Twitter the other day, and I haven’t been on there in so long. She told me I had so many followers on this Twitter account. I don’t know if I had looked at it since I was on Saving Hope ,” he said . Learn more about Tyler ‘s Santa Boot tradition . There are 12 Hallmark Channel couples who are married or dating in real life , plus two fan-fave couples have split.THE DARKER SIDE
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Dec. 02, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Teck Resources Limited (TSX: TECK.A and TECK.B, NYSE: TECK) (“Teck”) has released its 2024 Climate Change and Nature Report, which for the first time combines the recommendations of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) with the recommendations of the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) to deliver an integrated report covering both climate and nature-related aspects of our business. “This report details how we are incorporating nature and climate considerations into our strategy as we work to build Teck into one of the world’s leading providers of responsibly produced energy transition metals,” said Jonathan Price, President and CEO. “Teck has prioritized sustainability for decades, because it is the right thing to do and because it strengthens the resilience of our business and helps drive economic growth and value for our shareholders and all stakeholders.” For the full report, please click . Teck is a leading Canadian resource company focused on responsibly providing metals essential to economic development and the energy transition. Teck has a portfolio of world-class copper and zinc operations across North and South America and an industry-leading copper growth pipeline. We are focused on creating value by advancing responsible growth and ensuring resilience built on a foundation of stakeholder trust. Headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, Teck’s shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbols TECK.A and TECK.B and the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol TECK. Learn more about Teck at or follow . Fraser Phillips Senior Vice President, Investor Relations and Strategic Analysis 604.699.4621 Dale Steeves Director, External Communications 236.987.7405
'Abhorrent hate crime': PM calls out anti-Semitic raid
Ifeoma Onumonu starred as the Super Falcons of Nigeria were beaten 2-1 by France in an international friendly on Saturday night. The Falcons ended the game with 10 players after a late red card was shown to Osinachi Ohale, who fumed at the referee before leaving the pitch. In a thrilling encounter, France opened scoring through Eugenie Le Sommer on the half hour mark and doubled their lead Amel Majri seven minutes after. Read Also: Madugu invites 20 Super Falcons players for France friendly Nigerian ladies, led by coach Justin Madugu, kept piling pressure on their hosts, and successfully pulled one back just before halftime. The game played at the Raymond Kopa Stadium saw Onumonu score Nigeria women’s first-ever goal against their French counterparts. The French side enjoyed more possession in the game and got close to extending their lead late on but goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie denied them from a goal mouth scramble. Opinions Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs. As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake. If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause. Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development. Donate NowFrom Wealth and Success to Murder Suspect, the Life of Luigi Mangione Took a Hard Turn
December 2024 Monthly Dividend of $0.12 Per Share of Common Stock RMBS Portfolio Characteristics as of November 30, 2024 Next Dividend Announcement Expected January 8, 2025 VERO BEACH, Fla., Dec. 10, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Orchid Island Capital, Inc. (the "Company") ORC announced today that the Board of Directors of the Company declared a monthly cash dividend for the month of December 2024. The dividend of $0.12 per share will be paid January 30, 2025 to holders of record of the Company's common stock on December 31, 2024, with an ex-dividend date of December 31, 2024. The Company plans on announcing its next common stock dividend on January 8, 2025. The Company intends to make regular monthly cash distributions to its holders of common stock. In order to qualify as a real estate investment trust ("REIT"), the Company must distribute annually to its stockholders an amount at least equal to 90% of its REIT taxable income, determined without regard to the deduction for dividends paid and excluding any net capital gain. The Company will be subject to income tax on taxable income that is not distributed and to an excise tax to the extent that a certain percentage of its taxable income is not distributed by specified dates. The Company has not established a minimum distribution payment level and is not assured of its ability to make distributions to stockholders in the future. As of December 10, 2024 and November 30, 2024, the Company had 79,849,645 shares of common stock outstanding. As of September 30, 2024, the Company had 78,082,645 shares of common stock outstanding. RMBS Portfolio Characteristics Details of the RMBS portfolio as of November 30, 2024 are presented below. These figures are preliminary and subject to change. The information contained herein is an intra-quarter update created by the Company based upon information that the Company believes is accurate: RMBS Valuation Characteristics RMBS Assets by Agency Investment Company Act of 1940 (Whole Pool) Test Results Repurchase Agreement Exposure by Counterparty RMBS Risk Measures About Orchid Island Capital, Inc. Orchid Island Capital, Inc. is a specialty finance company that invests on a leveraged basis in Agency RMBS. Our investment strategy focuses on, and our portfolio consists of, two categories of Agency RMBS: (i) traditional pass-through Agency RMBS, such as mortgage pass-through certificates and collateralized mortgage obligations issued by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac or Ginnie Mae, and (ii) structured Agency RMBS. The Company is managed by Bimini Advisors, LLC, a registered investment adviser with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other federal securities laws. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about the Company's distributions. These forward-looking statements are based upon Orchid Island Capital, Inc.'s present expectations, but these statements are not guaranteed to occur. Investors should not place undue reliance upon forward-looking statements. For further discussion of the factors that could affect outcomes, please refer to the "Risk Factors" section of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023. RMBS Valuation Characteristics ($ in thousands) Realized Realized Sep-24 - Nov-24 Nov-24 Net Weighted CPR CPR Weighted Average (1-Month) (3-Month) Modeled Interest Current Fair % of Current Average Maturity (Reported (Reported Rate Sensitivity (1) Type Face Value Portfolio Price Coupon GWAC Age (Months) in Dec) in Dec) (-50 BPS) (+50 BPS) Fixed Rate RMBS 15yr 5.0 TBA $ 50,000 $ 50,113 0.94 % 100.23 5.00 % 5.87 % 6 170 n/a n/a $ 651 $ (746 ) 15yr Total 50,000 50,113 0.94 % 100.23 5.00 % 5.87 % 6 170 n/a n/a 651 (746 ) 30yr 3.0 1,104,053 976,396 18.40 % 88.44 3.00 % 3.47 % 44 309 6.2 % 6.3 % 29,637 (29,960 ) 30yr 3.5 177,113 163,207 3.08 % 92.15 3.50 % 4.04 % 57 290 6.2 % 7.1 % 4,518 (4,564 ) 30yr 4.0 528,702 496,826 9.36 % 93.97 4.00 % 4.64 % 70 283 3.9 % 5.4 % 12,085 (12,898 ) 30yr 4.5 307,807 296,925 5.59 % 96.46 4.50 % 5.44 % 29 327 5.6 % 6.3 % 5,932 (6,512 ) 30yr 5.0 578,068 569,631 10.73 % 98.54 5.00 % 5.94 % 24 331 5.6 % 6.7 % 10,533 (11,985 ) 30yr 5.5 281,760 284,083 5.35 % 100.82 5.50 % 6.40 % 18 338 1.8 % 3.2 % 4,683 (5,579 ) 30yr 6.0 1,211,604 1,236,362 23.30 % 102.04 6.00 % 6.98 % 11 344 8.1 % 12.4 % 15,602 (19,624 ) 30yr 6.5 854,817 881,122 16.60 % 103.08 6.50 % 7.43 % 10 347 15.3 % 19.1 % 8,028 (10,523 ) 30yr 7.0 323,885 336,969 6.35 % 104.04 7.00 % 7.94 % 13 340 33.7 % 32.6 % 2,656 (3,356 ) 30yr Total 5,367,809 5,241,521 98.76 % 97.65 5.02 % 5.83 % 28 327 9.2 % 11.1 % 93,674 (105,001 ) Total Pass-Through MBS 5,417,809 5,291,634 99.71 % 97.67 5.02 % 5.83 % 28 325 9.2 % 11.1 % 94,325 (105,747 ) Structured MBS IO 20yr 4.0 7,135 680 0.01 % 9.53 4.00 % 4.57 % 155 79 9.6 % 10.0 % 4 (4 ) IO 30yr 3.0 2,608 311 0.01 % 11.94 3.00 % 3.64 % 118 231 0.7 % 9.7 % - (1 ) IO 30yr 4.0 72,153 13,445 0.25 % 18.63 4.00 % 4.60 % 123 228 5.1 % 6.2 % (131 ) 194 IO 30yr 4.5 3,155 583 0.01 % 18.49 4.50 % 4.99 % 173 174 6.7 % 7.3 % (4 ) 1 IO 30yr 5.0 1,703 346 0.01 % 20.33 5.00 % 5.37 % 173 174 14.2 % 8.8 % (6 ) 3 IO Total 86,754 15,365 0.29 % 17.71 4.01 % 4.60 % 128 213 5.6 % 6.7 % (137 ) 193 IIO 30yr 4.0 22,184 225 0.00 % 1.01 0.00 % 4.40 % 86 262 0.6 % 7.3 % (70 ) (122 ) Total Structured RMBS 108,938 15,590 0.29 % 14.31 3.19 % 4.56 % 120 223 4.6 % 6.8 % (207 ) 71 Total Mortgage Assets $ 5,526,747 $ 5,307,224 100.00 % 4.99 % 5.80 % 29 323 9.1 % 11.0 % $ 94,118 $ (105,676 ) Hedge Modeled Interest Notional Period Rate Sensitivity (1) Hedge Balance End (-50 BPS) (+50 BPS) 3-Month SOFR Futures(2) $ (455,900 ) Oct-25 $ (5,699 ) $ 5,699 5-Year Treasury Future(3) $ (62,500 ) Mar-25 $ (1,281 ) $ 1,252 10-Year Treasury Future(4) $ (22,500 ) Mar-25 $ (725 ) $ 711 10-Year Ultra Treasury Future(5) $ (32,500 ) Mar-25 $ (1,484 ) $ 1,413 Swaps (3,516,800 ) Jun-30 (86,811 ) 83,823 TBA (200,000 ) Dec-24 (5,687 ) 5,862 Hedge Total $ (4,290,200 ) $ (101,687 ) $ 98,760 Rate Shock Grand Total $ (7,569 ) $ (6,916 ) (1 ) Modeled results from Citigroup Global Markets Inc. Yield Book. Interest rate shocks assume instantaneous parallel shifts and horizon prices are calculated assuming constant SOFR option-adjusted spreads. These results are for illustrative purposes only and actual results may differ materially. (2 ) Amounts for SOFR futures contracts represents the average quarterly notional amount. (3 ) Five-year Treasury futures contracts were valued at prices of $107.60 at November 30, 2024. The market value of the short position was $67.3 million. (4 ) Ten-year Treasury futures contracts were valued at prices of $111.19 at November 30, 2024. The market value of the short position was $25.0 million. (5 ) Ten-year Ultra Treasury futures contracts were valued at prices of $114.80 at November 30, 2024. The market value of the short position was $37.3 million. RMBS Assets by Agency ($ in thousands) Percentage Fair of Asset Category Value Portfolio As of November 30, 2024 Fannie Mae $ 3,709,848 69.9 % Freddie Mac 1,597,376 30.1 % Total Mortgage Assets $ 5,307,224 100.0 % Investment Company Act of 1940 Whole Pool Test ($ in thousands) Percentage Fair of Asset Category Value Portfolio As of November 30, 2024 Non-Whole Pool Assets $ 207,178 3.9 % Whole Pool Assets 5,100,046 96.1 % Total Mortgage Assets $ 5,307,224 100.0 % Borrowings By Counterparty ($ in thousands) Weighted Weighted % of Average Average Total Total Repo Maturity Longest As of November 30, 2024 Borrowings Debt Rate in Days Maturity Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith $ 363,741 7.3 % 4.79 % 18 12/23/2024 ABN AMRO Bank N.V. 339,329 6.8 % 4.75 % 16 12/16/2024 ASL Capital Markets Inc. 303,988 6.1 % 4.77 % 14 12/16/2024 Cantor Fitzgerald & Co 257,867 5.2 % 4.80 % 9 12/9/2024 DV Securities, LLC Repo 254,866 5.1 % 4.77 % 19 12/26/2024 Mitsubishi UFJ Securities (USA), Inc 251,062 5.0 % 4.79 % 20 12/23/2024 J.P. Morgan Securities LLC 241,736 4.8 % 4.82 % 9 12/26/2024 Daiwa Securities America Inc. 237,672 4.8 % 4.77 % 23 12/23/2024 Goldman, Sachs & Co 235,394 4.7 % 4.79 % 19 12/23/2024 Citigroup Global Markets Inc 232,657 4.7 % 4.77 % 26 12/26/2024 Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. 228,473 4.6 % 4.76 % 48 1/17/2025 Banco Santander SA 219,810 4.4 % 4.78 % 18 12/18/2024 ING Financial Markets LLC 217,067 4.4 % 4.82 % 19 12/19/2024 Marex Capital Markets Inc. 215,013 4.3 % 4.75 % 19 12/19/2024 RBC Capital Markets, LLC 206,603 4.1 % 4.81 % 26 1/21/2025 Bank of Montreal 195,180 3.9 % 4.81 % 12 12/12/2024 South Street Securities, LLC 186,535 3.7 % 4.85 % 29 1/24/2025 Mirae Asset Securities (USA) Inc. 177,867 3.6 % 4.76 % 170 5/19/2025 Clear Street LLC 166,849 3.3 % 4.78 % 12 12/12/2024 StoneX Financial Inc. 153,466 3.1 % 4.75 % 19 12/19/2024 The Bank of Nova Scotia 145,151 2.9 % 4.80 % 16 12/16/2024 Nomura Securities International, Inc. 73,140 1.5 % 4.90 % 16 12/16/2024 Lucid Prime Fund, LLC 61,924 1.2 % 4.79 % 12 12/12/2024 Wells Fargo Securities, LLC 22,686 0.5 % 4.88 % 54 1/23/2025 Total Borrowings $ 4,988,076 100.0 % 4.79 % 25 5/19/2025 Contact: Orchid Island Capital, Inc. Robert E. Cauley 3305 Flamingo Drive, Vero Beach, Florida 32963 Telephone: (772) 231-1400 © 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.On Sunday afternoon in Ottawa, Tom Willander had a breakout performance for Team Sweden at the 2025 World Junior Championship. Willander had a steady start to the tournament, leading Sweden in ice time in each of their first two games against Slovakia and Kazakhstan but only picking up a single assist in each game despite lopsided scores in Sweden's favour. As much as his reliable defensive game is a big part of why the Vancouver Canucks drafted him eleventh overall in 2023, a little more offence is always reassuring when it comes to top prospects at the World Juniors. It was gratifying for Canucks fans, then, that Willander had such a strong performance against Switzerland in his team's third game of the tournament. Willander scored two goals, both on the power play, and added an assist for a three-point game. That brings Willander to five points in three games, which is good for sixth in scoring in the tournament — second among defencemen behind teammate Axel Sandin-Pellikka — though he'll likely move down that list as other teams finish their games on Sunday. Willander opened the scoring for Sweden, sending a perfectly placed wrist shot into the top corner over the blocker of Elijah Neuenschwander. After Sweden and Switzerland traded goals to make the score 2-1 for Sweden, Willander nearly scored another power play goal, hammering a one-timer from the point that pinged off the post. Willander found the twine again in the second period. All four Swiss penalty killers got caught too low in the zone, giving Willander plenty of space above the faceoff circles. He loaded up his shot to pick a spot but the puck deflected off the stick of Swiss forward Loris Wey to change direction and give Christian Kirsch, who came in for Neuenschwander, no chance to make the stop. Willander's technique on his wristshot is impeccable, giving him all kinds of velocity despite a deceptively quick release. The flex on his stick shows just how much torque he's applying to whip the puck forward. Along with the two goals, Willander added a second assist on Sweden's 6-1 goal, setting up Sandin-Pellikka for a one-timer that squeaked through Kirsch and was banged in by Victor Eklund in the crease. That goal ended up being the surprise game-winner, as Switzerland pushed back hard in the third period and took advantage of some undisciplined penalties by Sweden to score four goals. They simply ran out of time to complete the admittedly improbably comeback. Sweden gave Switzerland seven power plays, with five of them coming in the third period. Willander was part of that parade to the penalty box, though in his case it was less a lack of discipline and more that he was a victim of a couple of bad calls. His first high-sticking penalty was just a stick lift where the Swiss player's own stick hit him in the face, while his second penalty was a holding call where he legally pinned his man to the boards in a battle and got whistled when his man fell down. It should be noted that Willander was on the ice for three goals against — one a lucky deflection off a Swedish skate and two Swiss power play goals. That marred an otherwise great game for Willander, though he could really only be faulted on one of the goals against. His positioning was a little bit off on Switzerland's second goal, so he didn't take away a shooting lane to the far post. Despite the goals against, this was a promising performance from Willander, showing the strength of his shot and how he uses that threat to open up lanes for teammates on the power play. He was also solid at 5-on-5, continuing to use his excellent mobility to close gaps and eliminate plays. Basile Sansonnens continues to develop Willander wasn't the only Canucks prospect on the ice in the game between Sweden and Switzerland. The Canucks' seventh-round pick from the 2024 draft, Basile Sansonnens, was patrolling the blue line for the Swiss side. It's important to remember that Sansonnens just turned 18 a few months ago, as he was one of the younger players in the 2024 draft, and he'll still be eligible for next year's World Junior Championship. Combined with his lower draft position, the expectations are quite a bit lower for Sansonnens. Still, he's shown well at this year's World Juniors. His smooth skating is still the biggest argument for his NHL future but he's taken massive strides in his ability to handle and move the puck over the past few months while playing top-pairing minutes for the Rimouski Oceanic in the QMJHL. Sansonnens' passing was shocking when I watched him at the Canucks' prospect development camp in the summer but at the World Juniors, he's made crisp, tape-to-tape passes to break the puck out or move it around the offensive zone. That swift development is pretty impressive and speaks well to his coachability. In fact, it's Sansonnens' play in the offensive zone that stood out against Sweden. He made some smart plays at the blue line, sent shots into traffic in front of the net looking for tips, and showed an awareness of when to activate into open space. On one sequence, he jumped up the left side, looped behind the net, and took a hit to protect the puck along the boards to prolong a possession for Switzerland in the offensive zone — something they didn't have much of at 5-on-5. The sequence ended with a shot on goal — perhaps not the most dangerous shot but still an opportunity for a rebound and for Switzerland to continue to possess the puck down low. Let's be clear, Sansonnens still has plenty of warts. There's a reason why he was a seventh-round pick as a mobile 6'4" defenceman, after all. He was victimized by the Swedish forecheck on the 2-1 goal, for instance, and was also on the penalty kill for three of Sweden's power play goals, which is less than ideal. Some of Sansonnens' defensive flaws should improve with maturity and experience and there's a lot to like about the progression in his game, particularly in his puck skills, which were his biggest weakness. That kind of rapid improvement is exactly what you hope for from a seventh-round pick. Sansonnens is still a longshot to make it to the NHL but he's taking steps in the right direction.YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has sent legal notices to two news publications Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy on Saturday sent legal notices to two publications demanding an unconditional apology for spreading defamatory, false, and scandalous reports about him in connection with the legal proceedings initiated by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) concerning the Adani Group. The notice firmly rejected these claims as false and accused the newspapers of circulating malicious and misleading information about the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) president. "The insinuation and further allegations purported to be sourced from the judicial proceedings in the US are clearly aimed at causing severe damage to my client's reputation as an individual and as a head of the political party being YSRCP, and also to malign my client's functioning as the chief minister of the state between 2019 to 2024," the notice served by Mr Reddy's lawyer to Andhrajyothi newspaper said. The notice to the other newspaper, Eenadu, worded in similar lines, also said, "... The motive behind the patently false and scandalous allegations is actuated by your animosity, as a newspaper entity and as individuals, towards my client and his family." "While the motivation is to serve as the media arm of the Telugu Desam political party and its supremo Mr N Chandrababu Naidu, the publications by Eenadu for the past 20 years would clearly indicate, that you, as an entity are aligned politically to the fortunes of the Telugu Desam party and more particularly its supremo and the present Hon'ble Chief Minister Mr N Chandrababu Naidu," the notice to Eenadu said. The legal notices slammed the publications for carrying "untruthful material with intent and prior knowledge that it would cause harm to my client's reputation seeking to allude to bribes purported to have been paid for securing such agreements and the alleged role of state government securing such contract". The notices come in response to reports saying state officials allegedly took bribes for solar power purchases when Mr Reddy was Chief Minister. Rebutting the reports, the notice shared details of the power purchase agreement, saying it was an agreement among governments and no third party was involved in it. The YSRCP has already strongly refuted allegations made by Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Eenadu that the previous state government allegedly accepted a power supply offer "hastily" and the offer put a huge burden of Rs 1.1 lakh crore. Promoted Listen to the latest songs, only on JioSaavn.com The YSRCP in a statement said the Eenadu newspaper used disinformation spread by the ruling TDP to allege that an offer made by Solar Energy Corporation of India Ltd (SECI) in September 2021 to supply power at Rs 2.49 per kWh was accepted by the then state government very hastily within a seven-hour period, without allegedly taking adequate time to consider the strengths and shortcomings of the proposal. The report also alleged the proposal was very adverse to the interests of the public, with a burden of Rs 1.1 lakh crore. The YSRCP has said the allegations were made despite the fact that one, the tariff was lower than all the sources of power to Andhra Pradesh discoms (power distribution companies) till date and two, despite the offer also conveying the central government's special incentive of waiver of inter-state transmission charges.
When I began covering education in Georgia 28 years ago, most legislation focused on proven drivers of student success including teacher quality, relevant curriculum and adequate funding. State education reform commissions pondered such questions as middle school design, high school size and ideal pupil-teacher ratios. Today, legislators talk more about school bathrooms, book bans and pronouns, issues that don’t bolster academic achievement but do rile up voters. The conversation has changed because the goal has changed. No longer are lawmakers committed to sustaining and improving public schools; they want to supplant and replace them with vouchers and other diversions of public dollars to private entities. This politicization of public education has not helped students in Georgia, but it has raised the profiles and vote counts for politicians including President-elect Donald Trump, who maintains schools now teach students “to hate their own country.” As board chair of the America First Policy Institute, Linda McMahon, Trump’s pick for education secretary, endorsed a more patriotic and positive approach to U.S. history. Among his spurious education claims on the campaign trail, Trump said public schools were providing gender-transition surgery to students, which some voters apparently believed despite the reality that schools can’t even give kids aspirin without parental permission. Yet, Trump said, “Your kid goes to school and comes home a few days later with an operation.” In the next four years, we can expect similar political theater and hyperbole to steal the spotlight from pressing concerns. At a time when the workplace favors STEM graduates, the Georgia Legislature devoted more committee hearings to keeping transgender girls off school sports teams than keeping skilled math teachers in classrooms. No real evidence was ever offered at the hearings two years ago that transgender athletes in Georgia endangered the competitive balance in high school sports. Legislators relied on rare instances in other states to make their argument that Georgia needed to impose a preemptive ban. On the other hand, we know for certain from Milestones scores that 56 percent of students in Georgia test below proficient in algebra, a course that is linked to whether students attend and graduate from college. Algebra is also the gateway to higher level math courses that lead to higher earning potential. A year ago, the Program for International Student Assessment scores showed only 7 percent of American 15-year-olds were capable of math at advanced levels. The Legislature also prioritized granting parents greater veto power over their children’s school reading lists, another solution in search of a problem. Many of the books under siege aren’t even on class reading lists; they are simply in the libraries. And those books aren’t being checked out in droves. In fact, many teachers have ceased to assign books to students, asking them instead to peruse excerpts, passages and poems. Why? Because kids are losing the reading muscle; they have no desire to get lost in a book when the wilds of TikTok await them. Even college professors at elite campuses complain their students rebel at lengthy reading lists and easily give up when a book becomes taxing or complex. The real issue facing Georgia and other states is not what kids read, but whether they read at all and if there are any effective ways to stem the dramatic decline among America’s youth in reading for pleasure. If not, we have to figure out how children who now spend hours each day watching videos can become competent writers and spellers without reading. (Some futurists argue artificial intelligence will do all their writing and spelling for them.) Elected officials understand there’s political gain in lashing out at schools as liberal boot camps. Their exaggerations and falsehoods have eroded public trust in schools, although Colorado voters this month rejected enshrining “a right to school choice” in their state constitution, Kentuckians nixed a ballot initiative that would have enabled tax credit scholarships, education savings accounts or vouchers and Nebraskans repealed a $10 million school voucher program approved by their legislature. I hope school leaders and teachers in Georgia can be heartened by the support they receive in their own communities and ignore the looming political pantomime. An Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll in January found about three-quarters of Georgians expressed some confidence in the state’s K-12 public schools. The public’s faith in the federal government is not as enduring, according to the Pew Research Center. While 77 percent of Americans in 1964 said they trusted the federal government to do what is right just about always or most of the time, the percentage declined in the past 16 years, dropping to 22 percent this year.None
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Barcelona lost at home for the first time this season when the Liga leader was stunned by Las Palmas 2-1 on Saturday. Sandro Ramirez and Fábio Silva scored for the Canary Islands club on either side of Raphinha’s equalizer to give Las Palmas its first win at Barcelona in more than 50 years. Barcelona played superbly in the first three months under new coach Hansi Flick and was flying high after convincing victories over Real Madrid in the domestic competition and Bayern Munich in the Champions League. It had won all eight of its home games. But it has gone three rounds of La Liga without a win. Before Las Palmas, it fell at Real Sociedad 1-0 and drew at Celta Vigo 2-2 after squandering a two-goal lead in the final minutes. The dropped points mean Madrid, despite its own troubles , especially in the Champions League, can move ahead of Barcelona in La Liga. It trails Barcelona by four points with two games in hand. “I don’t care about scoring, I care about winning,” Raphinha said after his standout performance was unable to end Barcelona's slump. “We have to take a hard look at what we are doing wrong. We have slipped in our form and are letting games get away form us. We have our next game on Tuesday (at Mallorca), and we need to turn this around so we can win the league.” Atletico Madrid was only two points behind Barcelona in second place — and with the same number of games played — after Antoine Griezmann scored a gem of a goal in a 5-0 demolition of last-placed Valladolid. Las Palmas savored its first victory at Barcelona since the 1971-72 season and just its third victory at the Catalan club overall. The other visits by the modest side that wears all yellow uniforms to Barcelona have ended in 34 defeats and three draws. “We are thrilled because we have made history,” Sandro said. “When you start the season you think that these games are usually going to end in wins for the bigger side, but if there is one thing we believe in is our capacity to work hard all week to get results like this.” Barcelona's Lamine Yamal returned from a right ankle injury that sidelined him for three weeks. Yamal appeared as a halftime substitute and Jasper Cillessen saved his best shot. The Las Palmas goalkeeper also palmed a Raphinha free kick over his bar in the final minutes. Sandro, a former Barcelona youth player, capped a fine five-pass buildup by Las Palmas from its own box as it masterfully undid Barcelona’s high pressure in the 49th minute. Raphinha had already hit the crossbar in the first half before he equalized in the 61st. The Brazil forward took a short pass from Pedri just outside the area, skirted across the edge and drilled a shot between two defenders. But Barcelona was caught pushing forward for a second goal when Silva controlled a ball from Javi Muñoz and sent in a shot bouncing past Iñaki Peña in the 67th. The unexpected loss dampened Barcelona’s celebration of its 125th anniversary, which included the debut of its new mascot “Cat,” a large, yellow feline wearing its team kit. Barcelona lost left back Alejandro Balde early in the game when he couldn’t continue after he crashed into Sandro at full speed. Balde appeared to hurt his upper chest or neck area when he ran into Sandro’s shoulder. He was carried off on a stretcher and replaced by Gerard Martín. Griezmann scored one of the goals of the season when the forward exchanged a quick one-two with Julián Alvarez and used a sleek touch of the inside of his boot to roll the ball with him as he spun before dinking it over the Valladolid goalkeeper. That was the visitor's fourth goal. Shortly after, Valladolid fans stood up and applauded when Griezmann was substituted. “That is what every players wants, to make people enjoy what we do. So I appreciate their warmth,” Griezmann said. Atletico also got goals from Alvarez, Clement Lenglet, Rodrigo de Paul, and Alexander Sorloth. Espanyol beat Celta 3-1 to end a streak of four losses in the league and relieve pressure on coach Manolo González. Alaves also drew with Leganes 1-1 at home. AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccerThe federal tax credit for electric vehicle purchases has far outlived its purpose and now stands as a glaring example of government overreach and economic inequity. Originally introduced in 2008 to stimulate a fledgling market, and then renewed and expanded in 2022 as part of the Inflation Reduction Act, this credit remains what it has been from the start: an ineffective subsidy primarily benefiting the wealthy. Congress should end it. On the fiscal side, we face a $2-trillion budget deficit, and it’s growing. According to the Treasury, the credits for electric vehicles in the Inflation Reduction Act, which can be up to $7,500 on certain new EVs and up to $4,000 on certain previously owned EVs, represent $112 billion in lost revenue. But based on the last few years, there are reasons to believe the cost will be much higher. In addition, the EV credits are part of an industrial policy package of energy tax credits, mandates and “buy American” requirements under the IRA that will cost more than $1 trillion over 10 years, deepening the deficit hole we find ourselves in. Beyond the price tag that burdens taxpayers, the credit is unfair to the vast majority, who — being less well off than EV purchasers — drive relatively affordable gasoline-powered vehicles and do not reap any financial benefit from the credit. Studies repeatedly show that most of these credits go to higher-income individuals , making the credit a tax cut for the rich. For instance, the Congressional Research Service study noted: “For vehicles purchased in 2021, taxpayers with adjusted gross income (AGI) greater than $100,000 represented 22% of all filers and received 84% of the credit benefits.” The IRA tax credit’s income limit ($150,000 for single filers, $300,000 for joint filers) and refundability may tilt some benefits to low-income taxpayers. However, EVs have higher purchase prices than comparable gas vehicles, even with tax credits, and installing home charging equipment is easier for homeowners, who tend to have higher incomes, versus renters. As a result, EV tax credits will probably remain a higher-income taxpayer boondoggle. In fact, a recent study by five economists finds “that 75% of the EV subsidies claimed under the IRA have gone to consumers who would have bought an electric vehicle anyway.” According to their calculation, each car sold due to the incentive (roughly 25% of the total number of vehicles sold) came at a cost to taxpayers of $32,000 . The credit’s inability to attract those who would prefer to purchase a gas vehicle is a clear sign of its failure, which explains the need to impose even more authoritarian measures like EV-related mandates. Making matters worse is the fact that in recent months, the sales of EVs have stalled. Despite the taxpayers’ help, sales remain stuck at 7% of the market, strongly suggesting that while tax credits may change the timing of electric vehicle purchases, they are not increasing the demand. To those who believe that the cost and disparity in our tax code are worthwhile because we must fight climate change, I have news for you. First, the environmental benefits of the credit are unclear. EVs are not emission-free when considering the carbon footprint of battery production and electricity generation. Also, EVs primarily replace the purchase of newer gas vehicles, which pollute less than the older vehicles that remain on the road. Combined with the fact that many tax-credit recipients would have purchased an EV anyway, it’s unlikely that there’s much environmental bang for the buck. The cost of the government picking winners compounds this problem. There is little reason to believe that the technological path that government officials happen to prefer is the optimum one — and the danger is that tax credits are creating market distortions that crowd out better solutions. By artificially propping up EV manufacturers and steering consumers toward one specific technology, other — perhaps better — technologies can be thwarted. Hybrids, plug-in hybrids, hydrogen fuel cell cars, alternative fuels or other emerging innovations are penalized despite their important role in addressing environmental and energy challenges. Each deserves equal footing to determine which can deliver more effective environmental benefits, lower costs or both. Yet, instead of fostering open competition and letting the best solutions reveal themselves or allowing different technologies to serve different customer needs, the tax credit creates winners and losers based on political priorities. Finally, the tax credits were initially sold by congressional sponsors as a means “to help get these products over the initial stage of production ... to the mass production stage, where economies of scale will drive costs down and the credit will no longer be necessary.” We’ve already passed that stage. While still small, the EV market has matured and no longer needs these crutches. Even Elon Musk, the chief executive of Tesla Motors — the leader in U.S. EV sales with 2 out of 3 cars sold and the biggest beneficiary of the credits — says that it should end. Writing in the Wall Street Journal, Toyota’s Jack Hollis also called for the end of expensive and inefficient tax credits. It’s high time this policy goes away. The federal EV tax credit is an inefficient, regressive program that benefits the wealthy at the expense of average Americans. Eliminating it would restore fairness, reduce government interference in the market and, through genuine competition, better allow resources to go toward initiatives that enable as many people as possible to purchase cleaner vehicles. There are far more effective ways to design policies to address climate change. The best is to unleash capital to fund as many green and innovative projects as possible by reducing taxes on capital gains and renewing the ability to immediately deduct 100% of capital investments. Projects like solar farms, wind turbines and grid infrastructure require massive upfront capital investments. Without full expensing, these costs must be depreciated over many years, reducing the present value of tax benefits. In addition, better cash flows in the early years make it easier to secure financing. There is also a timing issue. The clean energy transition requires rapid deployment of new technologies. Full expensing encourages companies to accelerate investments rather than delay them. The federal government also should lift the permitting barriers that bureaucrats have erected that make building and innovating harder than they should be. Subsidizing high-end car buyers is a poor strategy for achieving meaningful environmental progress. But we know how to do better. Veronique de Rugy is a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.
Democrats look to governors to lead them to promised landAP News Summary at 3:39 p.m. ESTIn the aftermath of Election Day, Democrat strategist James Carville is looking for answers as to what went wrong with Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign. the Harris campaign spent nearly $1.5 billion since it began on July 21. On Wednesday, Carville gave his thoughts on the “Politics War Room” podcast where he told co-host Al Hunt that there’s a spending problem in that needs to be addressed. “The resistance is going to have trouble raising money,” Carville admitted, “These are burnt.” “The damage that the 2024 campaign has done, the damage this decade has done to the Democratic brand is almost unfathomable,” he said. Carville followed up with what needs to happen next now that so much money has been spent. “One word: audit.” Although Carville shot down the idea of running for chair of the Democrat National Committee, he was vehement Democrats need to figure out where all of funding went in just a few months’ time. “Do you have any idea where that money went? Does anybody have any idea where that money went?” he asked Hunt. To give Carville credit, Harris most definitely did have a spending problem based on the available information. The campaign found itself after the fact with purchases like from nail artist Tahvya Krok. If Carville seems angry and disappointed now, an audit probably won’t help as more idiotic purchases would surely come to light. Although there’s plenty of merit to Carville’s criticisms, he’s still missing the point about the Democrats’ main problem: the message. When you spend the election cycle – and arguably the past eight years – telling half the country they are evil racists, Nazis, and a through their support of a man who is supposedly America’s Adolf Hitler, they probably won’t vote for you. Granted, money is always an issue in campaigns – having enough of it, the origin of it, who it is going to – but Carville is mistaken if he thinks better spending habits are going to win Democrats the White House in 2028. Unfathomable damage was not exclusively caused by spending problems. It’s a problem with the message. , Harris underperformed with black voters, voters, and young voters compared to President Joe Biden in 2020. Democrats don’t need to lean further into identity politics in focusing on what a voter cares about because of skin color or sex, but they do need to focus on what these voters actually want. That is, what their principles are. Democrats need to shift their principles to more closely align with that of the voters. If Carville really wants his party to change, they need a new message. We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. .
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