8 po An ISKCON priest identified as Suddhdas Sewa was brutally beaten up in Maharashtra’s Palghar district following allegations of inappropriate behaviour and sending obscene messages to a woman. The priest was thrashed at the ISKCON temple in Vasai on Friday, December 13 by family members of the woman working at the same temple. The woman accused the priest of sending lewd messages to her. In response, the woman’s family took matters into their own hands, leading to a violent confrontation. The footage of the chaotic scene that surfaced on social media shows the family members accompanied by some women vandalising a hall where the priest was present, slapping, punching him and beating him with slippers. Other people associated with the priests were also attacked during the incident. They are seen pleading for forgiveness with folded hands. In Maharashtra's Palghar, an ISKCON priest Suddhdas Sewa was thrashed after he allegedly sent obscene message to a woman working at ISKCON's Vasai. The priest was thrashed by the family members of the woman a few days ago. pic.twitter.com/TvPgfrAGVa According to the reports, after the physical escalation, the priest was handed over to the police by the family members. The incident has ignited discussion with many people condemning the violent response, while others are calling for accountability regarding the priest’s alleged misconduct. Critics raise concerns about how grievances are managed at institutions.Baker Hughes Co. stock underperforms Tuesday when compared to competitors

Canada didn’t live up to its values on immigration in recent years, Carney says4kodiak/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images This monthly article series reports industry metrics in the consumer discretionary sector. It is also a top-down analysis of sector ETFs like Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF ( XLY ) and iShares US Consumer Quantitative Risk & Value (QRV) provides you with risk indicators and data-driven, time-tested strategies. Get started with a two-week free trial now. Fred Piard, PhD. is a quantitative analyst and IT professional with over 30 years of experience working in technology. He is the author of three books and has been investing in data-driven systematic strategies since 2010. Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of AMZN either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — The Mustangs spent three decades pushing to be back in a power conference. This season — and Saturday’s win over Virginia — showed why. No. 13 SMU (10-1, 7-0) dominated in its final road contest against the Cavaliers (5-6, 3-4) 33-7 to clinch a spot in the ACC title game on Dec. 7. Between a lights-out defensive performance, which included shutting out Virginia for the first 55 minutes of play, and another impressive showing from quarterback Kevin Jennings, the Mustangs cruised to victory to become the first team in the conference to secure their trip to Charlotte. Here are five thoughts from the win. Mustangs continue to make history in first ACC season Each week during this historic season, SMU has seemingly achieved more feats many thought were impossible during their first year in the ACC. After tearing through their first six conference opponents, SMU’s win Saturday made it the first team to make the conference title game in its first season after moving from a Group of Five conference to a power conference. The Mustangs’ dominant win against Virginia was their 16th straight against a conference opponent and 10th consecutive on the road — both among the longest active streaks in FBS. The Mustangs were picked to finish seventh in the ACC’s preseason poll, majorly exceeding expectations with their season that now has them on the brink of their first College Football Playoff appearance. SMU defense led by Isaiah Smith and Jared Harrison-Hunte stifles UVA offense SMU’s defense has been its most consistent facet this season, but after a weaker performance against Boston College last week, the group was seeking a bounce-back game. That’s exactly what the Mustangs got from Scott Symons’ group, which was 4:16 away from posting its first shutout of the season. The Cavaliers finished with just 173 total yards and 65 on the ground. Last week against Boston College, the Mustang defense allowed 180 rushing yards and three touchdowns. SMU was successful in getting to Virginia quarterback Anthony Colandrea, finishing with nine sacks. Defensive linemen Isaiah Smith and Jared Harrison-Hunte led the team with two each. Kori Roberson had 1.5 sacks. Virginia made just three red zone trips. It missed a 41-yard field goal in the first half and could not convert a fourth-down attempt in the second half after intercepting Jennings. With under five minutes to play, Virginia finally found the end zone as Colandrea hit Malachi Fields for the four-yard touchdown. Kevin Jennings earns spot to compete on conference’s biggest stage Jennings didn’t even begin the season as an ACC starter, but over the course of the last 12 weeks, he’s proven to be one of the conference’s top quarterbacks. Against Virginia, Jennings was outstanding again, leading the Mustangs with a career-high 323 yards on 25-of-33 passing (76%) and three total touchdowns (two passing, one rushing). He had a stretch in the first half where he completed 12 straight passes, including a third-down conversion where he dodged multiple sacks before finding Roderick Daniels Jr. for the completion. Jennings did have two turnovers in the second half, an interception and a fumble. Nevertheless, a matchup with either Heisman candidate Cam Ward from Miami or Clemson’s Cade Klubnik in the ACC championship will be an intriguing one. All wide receivers get involved in Jennings’ career day Jennings has lost two of his top receiving targets over the past few weeks with both tight end RJ Maryand and wide receiver Jake Bailey going down with season-ending injuries. But Saturday’s win showed the depth of the Mustang pass catchers with six different players recording multiple receptions and combining for 323 total yards. Jordan Hudson led the group in receptions for the second consecutive week. After recording a career-high seven catches for 99 yards and a touchdown against Boston College, Hudson had six for 56 yards and a 17-yard touchdown reception in the first half against Virginia. SMU’s leading receiver in yardage, however, was Moochie Dixon, who took four catches 89 yards with a long of 53 yards. Daniels added another five for 58 yards. Tight end Matthew Hibner had SMU’s final 16-yard touchdown with 1:42 remaining. The receivers stepped up, as Virginia limited SMU’s running backs, which combined for 111 yards on 35 carries. Mustangs to close out regular season at Ford Stadium SMU will get a chance to enjoy senior day next week without worrying about its ACC title game chances. Having already clinched their spot, SMU will play its final regular-season game at Ford Stadium against Cal with a chance to become the first since the 1992 Florida State Seminoles to finish its inaugural campaign in a power conference unbeaten. SMU has more to play for beyond the ACC title game. While it looks like the Mustangs will need to win the ACC championship to earn a spot in the College Football Playoff, at-large bids are still at play. Finishing 8-0 in conference play would be key to helping the Mustangs’ chances at one of those seven spots — or a better bowl selection should they miss out on the playoff. They will also await their ACC championship opponent. Miami can secure their title game berth with a win over Syracuse next week, but Clemson would earn the spot if Miami loses. ©2024 The Dallas Morning News. Visit dallasnews.com . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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Stocks wavered on Wall Street in afternoon trading Thursday, as gains in tech companies and retailers helped temper losses elsewhere in the market. The S&P 500 was down less than 0.1% after drifting between small gains and losses. The benchmark index is coming off a three-day winning streak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 6 points, or less than 0.1%, as of 1:52 p.m. Eastern time. The Nasdaq composite was down less than 0.1%. Trading volume was lighter than usual as U.S. markets reopened after the Christmas holiday. Chip company Broadcom rose 2.9%, Micron Technology was up 1% and Adobe gained 0.8%. While tech stocks overall were in the green, some heavyweights were a drag on the market. Semiconductor giant Nvidia, whose enormous valuation gives it an outsize influence on indexes, slipped 0.1%. Meta Platforms fell 0.7%, Amazon was down 0.6%, and Netflix gave up 1.1%. Tesla was among the biggest decliners in the S&P 500, down 1.9%. Health care stocks helped lift the market. CVS Health rose 1.7% and Walgreens Boots Alliance rose 3% for the biggest gain among S&P 500 stocks. Several retailers also gained ground. Target rose 2.8%, Best Buy was up 2.2% and Dollar Tree gained 2.7%. Retailers are hoping for a solid sales this holiday season, and the day after Christmas traditionally ranks among the top 10 biggest shopping days of the year, as consumers go online or rush to stores to cash in gift cards and raid bargain bins. U.S.-listed shares in Honda and Nissan rose 4% and 16%, respectively. The Japanese automakers announced earlier this week that the two companies are in talks to combine. Traders got a labor market update. U.S. applications for unemployment benefits held steady last week , though continuing claims rose to the highest level in three years, the Labor Department reported. Treasury yields turned mostly lower in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.57% from 4.59% late Tuesday. Major European markets were closed, as well as Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia. Trading was expected to be subdued this week with a thin slate of economic data on the calendar. Still, U.S. markets have historically gotten a boost at year’s end despite lower trading volumes. The last five trading days of each year, plus the first two in the new year, have brought an average gain of 1.3% since 1950. So far this month, the U.S. stock market has lost some of its gains since President-elect Donald Trump’s win on Election Day, which raised hopes for faster economic growth and more lax regulations that would boost corporate profits. Worries have risen that Trump’s preference for tariffs and other policies could lead to higher inflation , a bigger U.S. government debt and difficulties for global trade. Even so, the U.S. market remains on pace to deliver strong returns for 2024. The benchmark S&P 500 is up roughly 26% so far this year and remains near its most recent all-time high it set earlier this month — its latest of 57 record highs this year. Wall Street has several economic reports to look forward to next week, including updates on pending home sales and home prices, a report on U.S. construction spending and snapshots of manufacturing activity. AP Business Writers Elaine Kurtenbach and Matt Ott contributed.City U21s chief 'really disappointed' by Boro defeatThe new, 12-team College Football Playoff brings with it a promise to be bigger, more exciting, more lucrative. Perfect or 100% fair? Well, nobody ever believed that. The first expanded playoff bracket unveiled Sunday left a presumably deserving Alabama team on the sideline in favor of an SMU squad that finished with a better record after playing a schedule that was not as difficult. It ranked undefeated Oregon first but set up a possible rematch against Ohio State, the team that came closest to beating the Ducks this year. It treated underdog Boise State like a favorite and banged-up Georgia like a world beater at No. 2. It gave Ohio State home-field advantage against Tennessee for reasons it would take a supercomputer to figure out. It gave the sport the multiweek tournament it has longed for, but also ensured there will be plenty to grouse about between now and when the trophy is handed out on Jan. 20 after what will easily be the longest college football season in history. All of it, thankfully, will be sorted out on the field starting with first-round games on campuses Dec. 20 and 21, then over three succeeding rounds that will wind their way through traditional bowl sites. Maybe Oregon coach Dan Lanning, whose undefeated Ducks are the favorite to win it all, put it best when he offered: "Winning a national championship is not supposed to be easy.” Neither, it turns out, is figuring out who should play for it. The Big Ten will lead the way with four teams in the tournament, followed by the SEC with three and the ACC with two. The lasting memory from the inaugural bracket will involve the decision that handed the ACC that second bid. Alabama of the SEC didn't play Saturday. SMU of the ACC did. The Mustangs fell behind by three touchdowns to Clemson before coming back to tie. But they ultimately lost 34-31 on a 56-yard field goal as time expired. “We were on pins and needles,” SMU coach Rhett Lashley said. “Until we saw the name ‘SMU’ up there, we were hanging on the edge. We're really, really happy and thankful to the committee for rewarding our guys for their total body of work." The Mustangs only had two losses, compared to three for the Crimson Tide. Even though SMU's schedule wasn't nearly as tough, the committee was impressed by the way the Mustangs came back against Clemson. “We just felt, in this particular case, SMU had the nod above Alabama,” said Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel, the chairman of the selection committee. “But it’s no disrespect to Alabama’s strength of schedule. We looked at the entire body of work for both teams.” Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne was gracious, up to a point. “Disappointed with the outcome and felt we were one of the 12 best teams in the country,” he said on social media. He acknowledged — despite all of Alabama’s losses coming against conference opponents this season — that the Tide’s push to schedule more games against teams from other major conferences in order to improve its strength of schedule did not pay off this time. “That is not good for college football," Byrne said. Georgia, the SEC champion, was seeded second; Boise State, the Mountain West champion, earned the third seed; and Big 12 titlist Arizona State got the fourth seed and the fourth and final first-round bye. All will play in quarterfinals at bowl games on Dec. 31-Jan. 1. Clemson stole a bid and the 12th seed with its crazy win over SMU, the result that ultimately cost Alabama a spot in the field. The Tigers moved to No. 16 in the rankings, but got in as the fifth-best conference winner. The conference commissioners' idea to give conference champions preferable treatment in this first iteration of the 12-team playoff could be up for reconsideration after this season. The committee actually ranked Boise State, the Mountain West Champion, at No. 9 and Big 12 champion Arizona State at No. 12, but both get to skip the first round. Another CFP guideline: There’s no reseeding of teams after each round, which means no break for Oregon. The top-seeded Ducks will face the winner of Tennessee-Ohio State in the Rose Bowl. Oregon beat Ohio State 32-31 earlier this year in one of the season’s best games. No. 12 Clemson at No. 5 Texas, Dec. 21. Clemson is riding high after the SMU upset, while Texas is 0-2 against Georgia and 11-0 vs. everyone else this season. The winner faces ... Arizona State in the Peach Bowl. Huh? No. 11 SMU at No. 6 Penn State, Dec. 21. The biggest knock against the Mustangs was that they didn't play any big boys with that 60th-ranked strength of schedule. Well, now they get to. The winner faces ... Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl. Yes, SMU vs. Boise was the quarterfinal we all expected. No. 10 Indiana at No. 7 Notre Dame, Dec. 20. Hoosiers coach Curt Cignetti thought his team deserved a home game. Well, not quite but close. The winner faces ... Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. The Bulldogs got the No. 2 seed despite a throwing-arm injury to QB Carson Beck. But what else was the committee supposed to do? No. 9 Tennessee at No. 8 Ohio State , Dec. 21. The Buckeyes (losses to Oregon, Michigan) got home field over the Volunteers (losses to Arkansas, Georgia) in a matchup of programs with two of the biggest stadiums in football. The winner faces ... Oregon in the Rose Bowl. Feels like that matchup should come in the semifinals or later. 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-footballST. LOUIS (AP) — Robbie Avila's 19 points helped Saint Louis defeat winless Chicago State 85-62 on Sunday. Avila also had seven rebounds for the Billikens (6-3). Gibson Jimerson added 18 points and seven rebounds. Kalu Anya had 14 points. The Cougars (0-11) were led in scoring by Noble Crawford, who finished with 18 points. Jalen Forrest added 13 points and seven rebounds. Troy McCoy finished with 11 points. Saint Louis took the lead with 13:38 remaining in the first half and never looked back. Avila led their team in scoring with 12 points in the first half to help put them up 41-33 at the break. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .

Happy holidays from Bad Bunny , who announced Thursday he will release a new album Jan. 5. “Debí Tirar Más Fotos,” which translates to “I should have taken more photos,” is his sixth studio album and follows in his tradition of releasing new music on unexpected dates. His debut album, 2018’s “X 100PRE," arrived around Christmas and 2020's “El Último Tour del Mundo” near Thanksgiving. The January release date is just before “Día de Reyes,” or Three Kings Day, and is a Sunday — unlike the industry's standard Friday release date. The Puerto Rican musician announced the news on Instagram in a short video featuring filmmaker Jacobo Morales. He also released a new single, “PIToRRO DE COCO.” A day before, Bad Bunny teased a 17-track list on social media, with each song titled “BOMBA,” perhaps in reference to the Puerto Rican musical style and dance. “Debí Tirar Más Fotos” follows 2023's “Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana” (“Nobody Knows What Will Happen Tomorrow”), which was met with mixed reviews. On that album, Bad Bunny's reggaeton offerings were limited, returning instead to the Latin trap of “X 100PRE” in songs like “MONACO” and “GRACIAS POR NADA.” The announcement caps a busy year for El Conejo Malo. Bad Bunny made headlines after he threw his support behind Vice President Kamala Harris shortly after a comedian at Donald Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally made crude jokes about Latinos and called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage.” He also canvassed North America on his “Most Wanted Tour,” which made The Associated Press' list of the best concerts of the year.The San Francisco 49ers will hold their lone full practice of a shortened week on Tuesday evening as they prepare for Thursday night's pivotal NFC West clash against the Los Angeles Rams. However, the team will be without one of its emerging offensive contributors. Head coach Kyle Shanahan confirmed that rookie running back Isaac Guerendo will not practice due to the foot sprain sustained during Sunday's 38-13 victory over the Chicago Bears . While his absence from practice raises concerns, it doesn't necessarily rule him out for the Week 15 matchup. On Monday, Shanahan emphasized that the 49ers are prepared to wait until game day before deciding on Guerendo's status. A day later, the coach noted that nothing had changed on that front. "Same as what I told you guys yesterday," Shanahan said. The other players sidelined from practice are offensive lineman Ben Bartch, who will be placed on injured reserve this week after suffering a high-ankle sprain, tackle Trent Williams (ankle), and defensive end Nick Bosa (hip, oblique). Linebacker Dee Winters (ankle), safety Malik Mustapha (chest, shoulder), linebacker Dre Greenlaw (Achilles), linebacker Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles (knee), and defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos (knee) will be limited participants. This article first appeared on 49ers Webzone and was syndicated with permission.

In the history of presidential pardons, the absolution granted to Hunter Biden by President Joe Biden stands alone. This clemency will register as one of the shameful culminating acts of a good man, and father, now inelegantly exiting the West Wing. The crimes committed by Hunter Biden, the youngest son of Joe Biden, are far from the most heinous ever to elicit the mercy of a U.S. president. Presidents have extended pardons to war criminals. And it’s not historically rare for a president to pardon someone who shares a direct family bloodline — though this is the first time a president has bestowed the extraordinary forgiveness to a direct progeny. What makes the president’s pardon historically consequential is that it’s a pardon Joe Biden said on several occasions he wouldn’t offer. He didn’t equivocate. So now we’re left to question whether Joe Biden simply changed his mind or deliberately misled the American public in the heat of an election campaign from which he had yet to withdraw. When President Biden told the American public he would accept the will of the jury, which convicted Hunter Biden on gun charges earlier this year, he was clear. He vowed to respect the rule of law as our best leaders do. “I’m extremely proud of my son Hunter,” Joe Biden said after the conviction. “He has overcome an addiction. He is one of the brightest, most decent men I know. I abide by the jury decision. I will do that, and I will not pardon him.” Jurors found Hunter Biden guilty in June of lying to a federally licensed gun dealer, making a false claim on the application by saying he was not a drug user and illegally possessing a gun for 11 days. At the time of this pardon, he had yet to be sentenced. Before the pardon, Hunter Biden was also scheduled to face a judge to be sentenced on a felony tax-evasion guilty plea. The false equivalencies have begun in earnest. Shortly after Joe Biden’s grant of clemency was announced Sunday, President-elect Donald Trump wrote the following post on the Truth Social platform: “Does the pardon given by Joe to Hunter include the J-6 (January 6th) hostages, who have now been imprisoned for years?” Trump wrote. “Such an abuse and miscarriage of justice!” A spokesperson for the Trump transition team offered additional perspective in defense of Trump, who was found guilty of 34 felony charges related to a hush-money payment to a porn actress in the 2016 campaign. The cases involving Trump and Hunter Biden bear no comparison, but that hasn’t prevented either side from arguing that they are victims of a politicized Department of Justice. “The failed witch hunts against President Trump have proved that the Democrat-controlled DOJ and other radical prosecutors are guilty of weaponizing the justice system,” Trump’s incoming White House Communications Director Steven Cheung said in a statement to Fox News. “That system of justice must be fixed, and due process must be restored for all Americans, which is exactly what President Trump will do as he returns to the White House with an overwhelming mandate from the American people,” Cheung said. It’s a false equivalency. Trump and a group of his supporters attempted to overturn a fair and free election. He branded the Jan. 6 protesters (and associated insurrectionists) as patriots and now may soon use his sweeping constitutional powers to grant them the same courtesy that Joe Biden granted his son. At least Trump has previously said he would consider pardons on a case-by-case basis. Even the sad spectacle of Trump potentially pardoning those who stormed the Capitol won’t completely eclipse one of the final acts of Joe Biden as U.S. president. He chose his son over country. He did so despite his stated intent that he wouldn’t. Morris is the opinion editor for the Minneapolis Star Tribune . Get local news delivered to your inbox!A Newport primary school was visited by a special gritter. Econ Engineering, manufacturer of winter maintenance and highways vehicles, brought festive joy to Rogerstone Primary School with their iconic gritter, Goldie. Goldie was dressed in a giant Christmas jumper and hat, crafted to spread cheer as she embarks on a 900-mile school tour. At her final stop at Rogerstone Primary School, Goldie educated the children on the role Econ's gritters play in maintaining safe roads from their Cardiff depot. The children also took part in a competition to design their own jumper for Goldie. Goldie, built to commemorate Econ's 50th anniversary in 2019, is equipped with the latest gritting technology. She has travelled the country, not only training gritter drivers but also inspiring young minds about road safety and winter maintenance through school visits. Jonathan Lupton, managing director at Econ, said: "At Econ, we have a long history of supporting community projects so were delighted to partner with the talented volunteers at the Ripon Community Poppy Project to spread some extra joy this Christmas. "Our gritter vehicles and their drivers are the unsung heroes of winter, so it’s been fantastic to celebrate our mission to keep the nation’s roads safe and moving by giving Goldie the Gritter her first jumper and hat to wear ahead of our busy winter season." The 32ft by 28ft creation took 35 volunteers from the Ripon Community Poppy Project 4,500 hours over the last 12 months to create, using 1,130 balls of wool.

Robbie Avila scores 19 to lead Saint Louis over winless Chicago State 85-62fan favourites surprised their followers on Sunday afternoon when they made a “major announcement” about their next career move. While their co-stars have jumped straight back into renovating and has released a collection of furniture and homewares, the best mates have decided to launch their own line of merchandise. Ricky and Haydn revealed on Instagram they had “finally” created a selling versions of the iconic colourful hats they wore on the show, known as the ‘OG 90s Balzac Hats’. They explained that they had purchased the entire stock after wearing them on and encouraged their followers to own “a piece of the legend”. “We’ve got some massive news. Guys, you’ve been asking the question, ‘Where do you get the hats from? How can I get a hat? How can I look like Ricky and Haydn?’,” Ricky said during an Instagram Live. “It’s coming, website is launching tonight. Merch is on!” Haydn added. The boys went on to say that the cap will be “the best Christmas present ever” for your mum, dad, children, dog or “your budgie named Barry”, but they only have a select number up for grabs. “There is limited numbers so first in best dressed. There’s not one hat that’s the same, they’re all individual hats. Everyone gets their own hat,” Ricky added. Each cap is available for $49.99, with free shipping available for the first week to say “thanks for being a part of the legend from day one”. Fans from all over Australia took to the comments to share their excitement over the news, with one person writing: “Bought mine as soon as they came out can’t wait till they get here super stoked!” “My 10 yr old will be stoked! This is all he wanted for Xmas!” another added, followed by a third who said, “Got my hat ordered legends, keen to be a fun factory member”. “Awesome boys! Woohoo - my 10 year old’s going to lose his mind on Christmas Day,” someone else shared, while a different user replied, “Grandkids are going to be ecstatic for this! Got them one each for Chrissy... Little Ripper!”. “Just ordered mine can't wait for when it gets delivered! You guys should be really proud of yourselves and one another for all the hard work you both have put into this. I can't wait to see what other cool and outgoing designs of clothes that you guys create in the future!” another remarked. Ricky and Haydn announced immediately after the launch that they had sold out of hats, however, they would be dropping a second batch for fans to buy. The boys have also teased on their website that they have more merchandise in the works besides their signature headwear. “We’re not stopping with hats. We’ve got a whole lineup of limited-edition gear coming your way - think headbands, party shirts, jackets, and a whole lot more,” they wrote. “Bold, fun, and designed to keep up with your legendary lifestyle. Get ready to level up your style.” The website also features Ricky and Haydn’s Spotify playlist, which they describe as “the ultimate soundtrack for your wild adventures”, and a promo code to buy the Pit Viper sunglasses they wore on

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In a significant move, President Joe Biden is set to block the acquisition of U.S. Steel by Japan's Nippon Steel, citing national security concerns. The $15 billion deal is under scrutiny by a U.S. national security panel, which must report to Biden by December 22 or 23, Bloomberg News has revealed. The planned acquisition has faced backlash since its announcement, with both Biden and former president Donald Trump expressing intentions to oppose it. Concerns center on the potential impact on critical infrastructure sectors like transportation and agriculture. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States has emphasized these risks. Despite the resistance, Nippon Steel is striving to push the deal forward by promising not to move production capacities outside the U.S. and offering significant financial bonuses to employees. However, tensions remain high, with both companies prepared to engage in legal battles if the deal is obstructed. (With inputs from agencies.)

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Freya Cox, the vegan baker who appeared on season 12 of the Great British Bake Off , has launched a range of vegan baking box kits called Freyas . Read more: Deliciously Ella Announces Long-Awaited US Launch The Freyas range include Choc Chip Marble Cookies, Lemon Drizzle Loaf, Sticky Toffee Pudding, and Choc Chip Brookie (a combination of cookies and brownies). In promotional posts on her Instagram, Cox described the cookies as “crispy on the edges but soft inside and filled with loads of chocolate.” The lemon drizzle kit creates “a fluffy loaf with a moist, light sponge, soaked in a tangy lemon glaze.” The sticky toffee pudding produces “Soft fluffy sponge, packed full of chewy dates and drenched in sticky toffee sauce...true heaven.” The brookies “use proper melted chocolate so they really are THAT good.” Read more: From Lindt to Nomo: Vegan Christmas Chocolates For 2024 A post shared by @wearefreyas The kits are designed to make vegan baking as easy as possible while delivering top quality results. “I want to be the vegan Betty Crocker,” Cox said in an Instagram post. “They are my all time favourite recipes and I know you’re going to love them.” Building a vegan business and brand After delighting audiences on Bake Off in 2021 at the first vegan contestant, Cox published Simple Vegan Baking , an award-winning recipe book. She has amassed a large following on social media, where she regularly posts baking recipes. The Freyas box kit range has been a “dream” since leaving Bake Off , Cox has said. Each box costs £11.99, or a bundle of all four costs £39.99. Read more: Vegan Athlete Group Unveils High Protein Meal Plan( MENAFN - EIN Presswire) RCM Sun Knowledge launches AI-powered Smart Decision platform to enhance billing accuracy, efficiency, and compliance for 30+ specialties. NEW YORK, NY, UNITED STATES, December 25, 2024 /EINPresswire / -- Sun Knowledge Inc., a leading healthcare solutions provider, is proud to announce its ongoing work on a cutting-edge Smart Decision Platform (SDP) for providing expedited billing support for HME, cardiology, DME, and 28 other specialties. This advanced AI-powered software is set to revolutionize the billing process, ensuring greater accuracy, efficiency, and compliance. The following features form the design of the SDP Smart Decision Support System: > Helps users input data with high accuracy and maintain good documentation > It uses rigid checks and balances to get claims passed with minimal rejections or denials > Achieves a highly reduced Accounts Receivable (AR) bucket Smart Process Automation Modules: > Improves the accuracy of data while also reducing the TAT > Improves workflows to enhance efficiency in operations Intuitive System Prompts and Guides: > Provides real-time support to users, thus helping them perform their work better. Sun Knowledge emphasizes data security and compliance. All the data used to create and refine these modules is taken from public sources and is always in line with data privacy laws. "We are committed to harnessing the latest advances in AI to create innovative solutions that address the pain points of medical billing problem. Our Sun Knowledge Digital Platform will empower organizations to achieve unmatched accuracy, efficiency, and compliance in their billing processes," said Ronnie Hastings, the spokesperson of Sun Knowledge. This initiative speaks to the commitment Sun Knowledge makes to lead the charge of healthcare innovation, delivering solutions that change the face of how billing and revenue cycle management are handled. About Sun Knowledge Inc. Sun Knowledge Inc. stands as a leading healthcare solutions provider, offering a comprehensive suite of services tailored to the diverse needs of healthcare organizations across the United States. Partnering with over 200 clients – including health systems, medical centers, ancillary care organizations, multi-specialty and single-specialty groups – Sun Knowledge effectively bridges the gap by serving both payers and providers. Renowned for its expertise in end-to-end Revenue Cycle Management (RCM), the company specializes in key areas such as Prior Authorization , Accounts Receivable Management as well as Virtual Assistance , Virtual Scribe and Customer Support Care among others. By leveraging cutting-edge technology, AI and software platforms, Sun Knowledge delivers enhanced efficiency, streamlined workflows and significant reductions in administrative burdens in record time. Committed to excellence, Sun Knowledge empowers healthcare providers to focus on their core mission - delivering exceptional patient care – while maximizing their operational efficiency and enhancing financial outcomes. Ronnie Hastings Sun Knowledge Inc +1 646-661-7853 ... Visit us on social media: Facebook X LinkedIn Instagram YouTube Legal Disclaimer: EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. 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Timberwolves didn’t turn to small ball to close last game, and those lineups don’t seem to be on the horizonKorea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology developed a smart monitoring system that applies digital sensing technology to maintain and manage small- and medium-sized aging bridges. In general, maintenance monitoring technology is applied to long-span bridges such as cable-stayed bridges and suspension bridges. This monitoring system consumes a lot of resources for design and installation, and the system configuration itself is complex, so there are limits to its application for maintenance of small- and medium-sized bridges. Currently, the most actively used bridge monitoring system is operated based on measurement and sensing. Due to the nature of the signal, the analog method is vulnerable to electrical noise, so there is a high possibility of data quality deterioration, and there are limitations in effectively processing various types of signals collected from sensors. Additionally, because analog sensors require 1:1 wiring between the sensor and the receiver, the configuration complexity and installation cost increase dramatically as the system grows. The digital sensing technique adopted by KICT to overcome the limitations and problems of analog sensors has a low possibility of data quality deterioration due to noise. It also has excellent data transmission speed and processing ability, making up for the shortcomings of analog sensing. In addition, by using the BUS communication serial connection method, multiple sensor data can be integrated and transmitted through a single wire. This method is widely used in various applications due to its simplicity and economic efficiency. Furthermore, it has the advantage of complementing and replacing analog sensing in terms of simplification of system configuration. In the case of Vietnam, which co-participated in the study, various transportation infrastructure, including bridges, are being built along with economic growth, but effective maintenance techniques are more required. Although overseas manpower and technology are being introduced to perform facility maintenance, only a few applications are being made to long-span bridges and due to a limited maintenance budget and lack of technology and professional manpower. Safety monitoring for general of small- and medium-sized bridges has not been implemented, so it is necessary to introduce efficient monitoring techniques suited to local conditions. The research team led by Dr. Dong-woo, Seo, at the Department of Structural Engineering Research of KICT, developed a monitoring system that can be efficiently applied to small- and medium-sized aging bridges through digital sensing techniques, and verified the performance of the system by demonstrating it on site with a research team at UTC in Vietnam. The measurement performance and local applicability of the based smart monitoring system were confirmed. In particular, the smart monitoring technique developed by KICT can accurately calculate the vertical displacement of the target bridge with simple sensor placement and coordinate input. This is provided to the user in real time through a GUI ( ), and simple operations are required to operate the system and produce results. As a result of local verification in Vietnam, the bridge vertical displacement and actual measured deflection results showed an accuracy of more than 95%. Dr. Seo said, "The biggest advantage of the developed digital smart monitoring technique is user-friendliness. Easy to use and economical monitoring technique through a simple system installment method using digital sensors and a GUI-based data analysis system."

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j love j Several union ministers, CMs to join world leaders in Davos for WEF meetScreen Time CrisisShares of Tesla ( TSLA -4.95% ) declined by 42% in the first few months of 2024. As of this writing, it's now up by a whopping 86% year to date, and it recently surpassed its all-time high from 2021. Why the stunning turnaround? CEO Elon Musk put his cash and influence behind Donald Trump's election campaign, which may have helped him bring the victory home. As a result, investors are speculating that Tesla will benefit from the incoming administration's policies, which is why most of the gain in its stock for 2024 occurred after Election Day on Nov. 5. With the year drawing to a close, the company is almost due to report its fourth-quarter production and delivery numbers for its electric vehicles (EVs). Those figures should be announced on Jan. 2, and they have the potential to move Tesla's stock. So, should investors buy it beforehand? Tesla's EV deliveries are on track to decline in 2024 The stock might be having a great year, but its core business isn't. The company delivered 1.29 million EVs during the first three quarters of 2024, which was a 2.3% drop from the same period last year. That puts Tesla's deliveries on track for their first annual decline since the company launched its flagship Model S in 2011. That's a problem, because EV sales still account for 79% of the company's total revenue. I f this part of its business isn't performing, it becomes very hard to justify further upside in its stock (more on this later). As recently as last year, Musk forecast a 50% annual increase in EV production as far as the eye can see, but that production push can't happen if sales aren't keeping up. The company faces a number of challenges. EV demand appears to be softening in general, with legacy automakers like Ford and General Motors slashing billions of dollars from their planned investments into this segment over the last couple of years. Just four months ago, Ford scrapped its new electric sport utility vehicle entirely, after investing $1.9 billion in developing it. It will focus on hybrids instead, which are more familiar to drivers of old-school gas cars and also sell at a cheaper price point. Competition from low-cost EV manufacturers in countries like China have also hurt Tesla. BYD , for example, sells a $10,000 model in China, and it plans to launch it in Europe in 2025. Tesla has a large presence in both of those markets, and it simply can't compete at that price point. That is unlikely to change, because Musk recently canceled his plans to produce a low-cost EV. Deliveries aren't the main thing driving Tesla stock You might be wondering why Tesla stock is soaring in light of all of the issues I highlighted above. Investors are more focused on the company's full self-driving (FSD) software, which could transform its economics. In fact, the reason Musk scrapped the low-cost EV is because he wants to focus on Tesla's new autonomous robotaxi, which is called the Cybercab. It should enter mass production in 2026, and it won't come with pedals or even a steering wheel because it will run entirely on Tesla's FSD software. The company plans to operate an autonomous ride-hailing network where Cybercabs can earn revenue around the clock by hauling passengers. Consumers will be able to buy them for personal use, or they can use them to operate their own autonomous ride-hailing fleet. FSD is already available in beta mode for owners of Tesla's passenger EVs, but it isn't actually approved for unsupervised use anywhere in the U.S. just yet. Investors are betting the incoming Trump administration will operate a much more easygoing regulatory regime, which could potentially fast-track FSD approval. Top Wall Street technology analyst Dan Ives predicts FSD represents a $1 trillion opportunity for Tesla. Similarly, Cathie Wood 's Ark Invest believes the company will generate $1.2 trillion in annual revenue by 2029, with 63% coming from FSD and the Cybercab. That's why Tesla stock rocketed higher after the election -- the sooner FSD is approved, the quicker the company can unlock that value. Tesla stock is extremely expensive right now Before investors jump in to buy the stock before Jan. 2, they need to consider its valuation. Based on the company's trailing-12-month earnings per share of $3.65, the stock trades at a price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) of 125.That makes it one of the priciest large-cap tech stocks in the U.S. -- it's more than twice as expensive as Nvidia ! TSLA PE ratio ; data by YCharts. The Nasdaq-100 technology index trades at a P/E of just 33.9, and considering it's home to most of Tesla's big-tech peers, it really puts the company's sky-high valuation into perspective. As I highlighted earlier, Tesla's deliveries are on track to shrink in 2024 once the final numbers for the year are officially reported on Jan. 2. Without growth, its stock has no justifiable reason to trade at such a lofty level. Musk believes deliveries could increase by as much as 30% in 2025. However, it's unclear where that growth will come from, since there is no low-cost EV on the way, and the Cybercab won't enter mass production until 2026. As a result, it's extremely unlikely the Jan. 2 report will contain anything that will make Tesla seem attractive at the current price, so investors who don't own it already might want to sit on the sidelines until we see a meaningful correction.

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Subscribe to our newsletter Privacy Policy Success! Your account was created and you’re signed in. Please visit My Account to verify and manage your account. An account was already registered with this email. Please check your inbox for an authentication link. Support Hyperallergic We’re funded by readers like you! If you value our reviews and news reporting, we need your support more than ever. Please join us as a member today. Already a member? Sign in here. Support Hyperallergic’s independent arts journalism for as little as $8 per month. Become a Member Scrawlspace is such a provocative title for an exhibition that before I saw it I assumed it had to be good. In some ways it is — deeply inquisitive where too many contemporary art exhibitions are merely declarative and well researched rather than organized willy nilly — but the premises of this show are in some instances cliché and a bit contradictory. Scrawlspace was conceived by Emily Alesandrini when she and her co-curator, Lucia Olubunmi R. Momoh, were both earning their master’s degrees at Tulane University. The term combines two words to suggest an area for writing that gives access to hidden parts of our spaces of habitation. Theirs is a straightforward curatorial proposition, as they explain in their brochure essay. The featured artists “examine the historically charged relationships Black Americans have maintained with writing, reading, and language, revealing new possibilities for and beyond words.” Certainly, in a show where the hypotheses are so exacting, these words matter, and they articulate a worthwhile goal. But this emphasis on “new possibilities” for language shows up in too many press releases and exhibition essays. Modernism got drunk on the idea of estrangement in order to make things new, and writers treat contemporary art’s hangover by drinking the same whiskey. Exhibitions can have other objectives: exploration; reminding viewers of forgotten things; sensitizing us to what may be ignored; fashioning something that sustains us. Alesandrini and Momoh also root the work in a particularly Black quest for freedom. Again from their essay: “Black artists have located room for resistance in writing—scrawlspaces, through which liberation can be felt and fostered.” They surmise from their research that the term originates in some lost or undocumented communication between cultural theorist Fred Moten and poet Harryette Mullen discussing the work of the Black feminist scholar Hortense Spillers in an essay examining oppressive language systems. So, the ideal of emancipation is entwined with the term. However, why is Blackness, which is a political designation, a cultural locale, and, most fundamentally, a state of being, confined to being an emblem of resistance and liberatory strategies? This association is asserted so frequently and widely in the contemporary art scene that it goes unquestioned. Yes, Blackness enables the country’s most self-serving PR statements — the Preamble to the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence — to approach being true. But as much as being Black should not be restricted to the trope of the magical negro , it should similarly not be constrained to the role of the poet warrior figure. Some Black people just want to make good food and watch their children grow. Get the latest art news, reviews and opinions from Hyperallergic. Daily Weekly Opportunities Nevertheless, in some ways it makes sense that this exhibition is caught up in this confinement/liberty incongruity, given that writing is itself contradictory. To “write” means to compose a coherent text that is intended to be read and understood by others. Yet it also means to merely make marks — letters, words, or other symbols on a legible surface with an implement. It is about both making sense and making traces or imprints that may mean nothing for those other than the writer, and sometimes, it is coded and can be read only by a select group. Shinique Smith’s “Firedog” (2006) uses the latter tactic. This work of ink, spray paint, and collage on paper depicts the sweep and rhythmic calligraphy of graffiti. Whether this is a document of actual graffiti inscribed somewhere or just an example of the highly stylized ligatures and curlicues of the writing is unclear. But I imagine someone who grew up tagging, as Smith did, recognizing things here that I cannot. I do recognize the text in Lukaza Branfman-Verissimo’s “collective survival part one: won’t you celebrate with me” (2022). On a sandwich board with black lettering overlaid by multicolored chessboard motif on one side and many-hued letters interrupted by a black background on the other, the spaces typically present between words are gone, so it’s challenging and fun to read, in the way that Christopher Wool’s paintings can be. But when I decipher it I’m brought back to the beauty and bravery of Lucille Clifton’s lyric poem : “won’t you celebrate with me / what i have shaped into / a kind of life? i had no model.” The words are interspersed with the patterned motif in such a way that they together read as a kind of linguistic/design mosaic that might be its own dialect or idiolect. Despite the ponderous premise, in the show there are other moments like these that are celebratory, carefree, even spendthrift. Glenn Ligon’s “Study for Negro Sunshine #150” (2023) manipulates the close relationship between written and uttered words, showing how the phrase “negro sunshine” repeated starts to clump up in the space of the frame and lose hold of its sense. You know what this is like if you’ve said a word or phrase over and over again until it dissolves into an audio mist in which meaning is barely recognizable. This combination of oil stick, coal dust, and gesso on paper glints subtly as if the devolution from one state to the other were throwing off sparks in the transition. I also find myself appreciating Renee Gladman’s ink, acrylic, and pastel compositions on paper because the writing is so small that it’s illegible. It reminds me of how people sometimes whisper to themselves, intoning a koan, or a poem or affirmation. In her “Space Question Vector” (2021) I imagine that she is murmuring the location of these celestial bodies or the secrets of orbital patterns. Sometimes the gesture of having written is enough to indicate serious engagement, serious thought. By contrast, some works are so archly intellectual that they leave me cold, such as Jamilah Sabur’s paintings, in which neon letters and words are attached to a field of color that contains one smaller photographic image. And there are artists who I’ve been thrilled to encounter in the past, but whose art in this show is not as enthralling. This is the case with Kameelah Janan Rasheed’s pieces, such as “Each Sentence Is a Sponge” (2023), which, the caption tells me, has to do with the religious ecstatic experience of speaking in tongues or automatic writing. The problem is that the scribbles don’t come together as a coherent (that word again) story or documentation of an event. I don’t mind being trapped in an artist’s mind, but I need a bit of cheese to tempt me there. Making a case that the work means a certain thing when this thing isn’t in evidence ironically gets at the alchemy of language, but the artist doesn’t do that. As writers and readers, we are always conjuring things into existence that were not there a moment ago. Now I think of Audre Lorde’s poem “Coal ,” and her explanation of the difference between kinds of writing: I believe that Alesandrini and Momoh were after this ragged edge of language, where it falls apart into characters and forms hinting that something else was there, something impelling the act of writing. By exploring how this inflects Black experience in this nation, the show at its best creates a kind of portal to elsewhere. Scrawlspace continues at the 8th Floor gallery (17 West 17th Street, Chelsea, Manhattan) through December 7 . The exhibition was curated by Emily Alesandrini and Lucia Olubunmi R. Momoh. We hope you enjoyed this article! Before you keep reading, please consider supporting Hyperallergic ’s journalism during a time when independent, critical reporting is increasingly scarce. Unlike many in the art world, we are not beholden to large corporations or billionaires. Our journalism is funded by readers like you , ensuring integrity and independence in our coverage. We strive to offer trustworthy perspectives on everything from art history to contemporary art. We spotlight artist-led social movements, uncover overlooked stories, and challenge established norms to make art more inclusive and accessible. With your support, we can continue to provide global coverage without the elitism often found in art journalism. If you can, please join us as a member today . Millions rely on Hyperallergic for free, reliable information. By becoming a member, you help keep our journalism free, independent, and accessible to all. Thank you for reading. Share Copied to clipboard Mail Bluesky Threads LinkedIn FacebookNone

President Joe Biden's decision to pardon his son, Hunter, is throwing a bomb in his party's post-election soul-searching. Democrats are still sifting through the rubble of their loss to President-elect Donald Trump last month, with some in the party blaming a reputation -- justified or not -- as elitists out of touch with everyday voters' concerns while cozying up to other wealthy and well-connected allies. Now, after months of vows that he wouldn't do so and arguing the justice system treated Trump appropriately, Biden is scrapping his son's supposedly politicized convictions on tax and gun charges, sparking a warning the move fortifies perceptions that the party doesn't keep its word and is playing by its own set of rules. "This literally reinforces the very challenge that Democrats confronted in the election, which is elites talking to elites convincing each other that they're right. Well, you can't get any more elite than this," said Chris Kofinis, a Democratic strategist and former aide to Sen. Joe Manchin, I-W.Va. "It's not the question of pardoning the son. What about everybody else's son?" Kofinis added. "If you're going to take this kind of a dramatic action that's going to benefit a single person in your family, you have a responsibility to go out there and say why. But you can't say the reason why is because the justice system is rigged, because you just spent the last four years saying it wasn't rigged. So, it's not rigged for Trump, but it's rigged for your son?" Hunter Biden had been convicted on federal gun charges after lying about his drug use on an application for a firearm and had pleaded guilty to nine tax-related charges, including three felonies. MORE: How President Biden came to the decision to pardon his son Hunter The president's announcement Sunday evening marked a bombshell at the tail end of a holiday weekend. In it, Biden insisted that his son had been "treated differently" after "several of my political opponents in Congress instigated them to attack me and oppose my election." The pardon is also particularly broad, covering all "offenses against the United States which he has committed or may have committed or taken part in" from Jan. 1, 2014, through Dec. 1, 2024, beyond the gun and tax charges. Republicans swiftly cried foul at the move, lambasting it as a manipulation of justice, particularly after Biden for months said he wouldn't use his power to intervene in his son's legal troubles. "Joe Biden has lied from start to finish," House Oversight Chair James Comer, R-Ky., wrote in a post on X . "It's unfortunate that, rather than come clean about their decades of wrongdoing, President Biden and his family continue to do everything they can to avoid accountability." "Tonight's pardon is wrong. It proves to the American people that there is a two-tier system of justice," added Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, who will be the No. 2 Senate Republican in the next Congress. Democratic lawmakers were tighter-lipped over the pardon late Sunday but were more vocal in their opposition by Monday afternoon. "Democrats should have been for reforming and curtailing pardon power from Day 1 of the Biden Presidency. As a father, I empathize with President Biden, but we must be the party of reform whether it's about the archaic pardon power, opposing super PACs or broad war powers," Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., said on X . "President Biden's decision to pardon his son was wrong. A president's family and allies shouldn't get special treatment. This was an improper use of power, it erodes trust in our government, and it emboldens others to bend justice to suit their interests," Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich, added . Now, some party operatives warned to ABC News, Democrats risked being seen as executing the same behavior they'd been warning against from Trump ahead of his inauguration, making their campaign rhetoric about the justice system's integrity apply to only one side of the political divide. "It is somewhat toying with [voters]," one Democratic pollster said. "The takeaway, to the extent that there are any left, for the average, independent voter is, is that, both sides are just playing games with each other. They don't mean any of this rhetoric." The White House Monday sought to play damage control, laying blame at the feet of Republicans who will have unified control of Washington starting later next month and have hammered away at Hunter Biden's legal travails and business ties for years. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters that Biden issued the pardon in part "because they didn't seem like his political opponents would let go of it." "They would continue to go after his son. That's what he believed," she added, declining to speculate on the political fallout of the move. "Two things could be true. You can believe in the department of justice system, and you could also believe that the process was affected politically," she insisted. MORE: Washington DC reacts to President Biden pardoning son Hunter in shock decision The pardon controversy is coming as some Democrats partly blame Biden's decision to run for reelection in the first place as a reason for Harris' defeat. While many Democrats expressed empathy for Biden's position as a father, they suggested it marked another reason to put the president in the rearview mirror as the party puts together a new playbook for the future -- a separation that, some hoped, could minimize any long-term fallout. "I think the party is already going to move on from him so deeply and so completely that I don't know that this severs that connection between Biden and the future the Democratic Party any more or any less than it already would have been. If anything, it may quicken it," one senior Democratic strategist said. "I think it's politically stupid," the person said. "It makes us look bad, and it makes us look like we don't have the moral high ground, and we either need to own that, or we need to own that we need to stop being so preachy. I think it's bad politics, but it's not clear to me what exactly the repercussions will be." Still, that doesn't mean Democrats who are skeptical of any long-term implications are pleased with the move. Nearly every Democrat who spoke to ABC News worried that Biden's pardon kicked the door open for Trump to protect people they predicted will be unworthy of pardons. And to fend off any prolonged fallout amid a broader makeover, even theoretical, some suggested that a robust denouncement from party leaders could go a long way. "It's not going to eliminate it, because Biden is the president of the United States," the Democratic pollster said. "But if Democrats ever hope to reinvent themselves in a post-Biden future, they're going to need to start by denouncing Biden now when it's hard, not in the future, when it'll be easier."A day to donateLAPD believes missing Maui woman in Mexico; no foul play suspected

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Honeywell International Inc has cut its annual guidance due to a partnership with Bombardier aircraft, which is expected to increase investment costs. The company's adjusted earnings per share for Q4 and FY 2024 have been lowered, with Q4 adjusted EPS now expected to be between $2.26 and $2.36, down from a prior forecast of $2.73 to $2.83. Sales guidance for Q4 and FY 2024 have also been reduced. Despite the short-term impact, Honeywell believes the partnership will lead to long-term value creation for its shareholders. Investin.com -- Honeywell International Inc (NASDAQ:HON) cut its annual guidance on Monday after the jet engine maker struck an investment-heavy partnership with Bombardier aircraft that is expected to keep a lid on its bottom line. Honeywell International Inc (NASDAQ:HON) fell 3% in afterhours following the news. Under the collaboration, Honeywell said ti would provide "advanced technology for current and future Bombardier (OTC:BDRBF) aircraft in avionics, propulsion and satellite communications technologies." The agreement is expected to dent adjusted earnings per share by $0.47 and sales by $0.4 billion, the company said as it lowered guidance for Q4 and FY 2024. The company said it now sees Q4 adjusted earnings per share in a range of $2.26 of $2.36, down from a prior forecast for adjusted EPS of $2.73 to $2.83. Sales for Q4 were cut to a range of $9.8B to $10.0B from $10.2B to $10.4B. For the full-year, adjusted EPS was expected in a range of $9.68 to $9.78, down from a prior forecast of $10.15 to $10.25. Sales guidance for Q4 was cut to a range of $38.2B to $38.4B from $38.6B to $38.8B. "While the commercial agreement impacts near-term Honeywell financials, the company is confident it will lead to long-term value creation for Honeywell shareowners," Honeywell said. Related Articles Honeywell cuts guidance as Bombardier partnership to lift investment costs Janux shares surge on promising JANX007 prostate cancer trial UBS starts coverage on gov service providers stock amid spending uncertainty

Independent financial advisory firm founded by Elliott Vaughn associates with leading hybrid RIA group IHT Wealth Management WESTCHESTER, Ill. , Dec. 4, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Elliott Vaughn , CFP®, a financial advisor and former partner at Prairie Sky Financial Group, announced the launch of Harbor Wealth Group, a new firm built on his years of experience and commitment to building multi-generational client wealth for years to come. Harbor Wealth is affiliated with IHT Wealth Management (IHT), the Chicago -based super-OSJ focused on developing goals-based financial strategies for clients. "The wealth management industry's continuous evolution has resulted in significant innovations in technology and investment solutions that I want to deliver to my clients," said Mr. Vaughn. "As a steward of their financial security and well-being, I formed Harbor Wealth to enhance my service to clients and better position them for long-term success." Harbor Wealth is based in Westchester, Illinois , and focuses on serving clients' holistic needs at the intersection of financial and tax planning. The firm will work with each client's professionals, including accountants and estate attorneys, to ensure the careful coordination of financial, tax, and estate planning to seek the best possible outcomes. Mr. Vaughn added, "By creating Harbor Wealth, we will be able to continue building on our proactive financial and tax planning approach to wealth management while tapping into IHT's scale to stay on the leading edge of a quickly evolving industry." A next-generation advisor for the future With nearly a decade of industry experience, Mr. Vaughn's career is defined by a commitment to providing value to his clients. As a CFP®, he adheres to the highest ethical standards and fiduciary duty, putting the interests of his clients first. Mr. Vaughn is dedicated to building strong multi-generational client relationships and delivering tangible results. His proactive approach to reviewing client allocations and setting clear expectations helps ensure a confident and informed investment journey. Before founding Harbor Wealth, Mr. Vaughn was a partner with Prairie Sky Financial Group, where he built an impressive practice. He is a Roosevelt University graduate with a degree in mathematics. President of IHT Wealth Management, Matt Hilding said, "It's a pleasure to welcome Elliott and his team at Harbor Wealth to IHT. As an independent hybrid RIA, IHT provides access to multiple custodians and broker-dealers. IHT advisors fully own their practices and have the freedom to best serve their clients. This will be an ideal situation for Harbor Wealth, and we look forward to working together to empower one another's growth for many years to come." About Harbor Wealth Group Harbor Wealth Group is an independent wealth management firm located in Westchester, Illinois , that focuses on creating multi-generational wealth for clients by providing them with personalized financial and tax planning services. For more information, please visit www.theharborwealth.com . About IHT Wealth Management IHT Wealth Management is an independent wealth management firm and Office of Supervisory Jurisdiction (OSJ) specializing in financial planning, legacy and retirement planning, investment management and insurance and risk management. The firm seeks to provide both advisors and investors with the freedom to pursue their goals while always adhering to uncompromising standards of integrity, honesty and trust. For more information, please visit www.ihtwealthmanagement.com . Media Contact Donald Cutler Haven Tower Group 424-317-4864 [email protected] SOURCE Harbor Wealth GroupThe largest intergenerational wealth transfer in US history is about to take place — though the vast majority of Americans are unlikely to inherit much money at all. About $US105 trillion ($164 trillion) is projected to be passed down from older generations over the next quarter century, according to research firm Cerulli Associates, an amount roughly equal to global gross domestic product in 2023. Rising stock markets and home prices, as well as inflation, have fattened the estates that members of the baby boom generation are expected to leave their heirs. Credit: Glenn Hunt Rising stock markets and home prices, as well as inflation, have fattened the estates that members of the baby boom generation, born between 1946 and 1964, are expected to leave their heirs. The latest inheritance projection by Cerulli is 45 per cent higher than the 25-year forecast the firm made only three years ago. US gifts and inheritances are expected to total $US2.5 trillion next year alone. “About 80 per cent of the wealth held today is going to be in motion,” Chayce Horton, the lead author of the Cerulli report, said in an interview. “The ratio of wealth expected to be changing hands in the next 25 years is significant, and much greater than what we even saw a decade ago.” Yet even as the assets of millions of ageing Americans are passed on, the share of the US population that will benefit from inherited money has remained static, a sign of how accumulating family wealth has become more concentrated among the most affluent households. At the same time, money passed down from one generation to another accounts for a growing share of the overall wealth of heirs, rising relative to income from work or investments. Inherited money represented about a quarter of the net worth of households that received it, a Bloomberg analysis of the Federal Reserve’s 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances found, up from roughly 10 per cent in the late 1990s. “We’re becoming less of an economy that promotes entrepreneurship and production and more of an economy focused on inheritance and dynasty,” said Chuck Collins, Director of the Program on Inequality and the Common Good at the Institute for Policy Studies. Collins, whose great-grandfather founded the hot dog and lunchmeat maker Oscar Mayer, gave up his inheritance when he was in his twenties. He is now a member of the Patriotic Millionaires, a nonprofit group of affluent Americans that pushes for the wealthy to pay higher tax rates. Receiving any funds from a deceased family member remains the exception in the US, not the rule. Just one in five American households have received a substantial gift, trust or inheritance in recent decades, according to Bloomberg’s analysis. Inherited wealth is expected to become increasingly concentrated among the most affluent, according to Cerulli. The firm estimates that more than half of the wealth transferred between generations through 2048 will come from households with at least $US5 million in investible assets. Only about 2 per cent of US households meet that threshold. The share of the US population that will benefit from inherited money has remained static, a sign of how accumulating family wealth has become more concentrated among the most affluent households. Credit: Bloomberg The figures lend support to an idea that has long had currency among economists but that has been difficult to confirm — that the share of overall wealth derived from inheritance is far higher than it appears. A 2017 paper argued that inherited money had accounted for more than half of total wealth in the US and Europe since the 1990s, and that “self-reported inheritance flows are implausibly low.” “Inheritance is still the most important factor in terms of wealth concentration,” said Kaushik Basu, professor of economics at Cornell University and former chief economist at the World Bank. The trillions of dollars set to be passed on in coming years could create more social mobility for younger generations, even though its greater concentration among the wealthiest Americans is likely to create more obstacles for lower-income households and exacerbate inequality. “Markets may still flourish, and overall economic growth may continue, but the polarisation between the born-poor and born-rich will become more acute,” Basu said. He added that many of the economic advantages of family wealth are conferred indirectly, through access to education and other opportunities. As more members of the massive baby boom generation die, the annual rate at which wealth is being passed on is expected to increase until the end of the decade. Millennials, born between 1981 and 1996, are expected to inherit more than $US45 trillion by 2048, including some $US3.9 trillion that year alone. Generation X, sandwiched between the baby boomers and millennials, will see their annual inheritance levels peak in 2038 at just shy of $US2 trillion, according to Cerulli. ‘Markets may still flourish, and overall economic growth may continue, but the polarisation between the born-poor and born-rich will become more acute.’ Wealth isn’t only cascading down to younger generations, it also is moving sideways. Before reaching younger heirs, inheritances are often transferred to surviving spouses and partners. Since women tend to outlive men, they are expected to receive a large share of the fortunes being passed on. “A significant amount of the wealth that is held today is believed to be controlled by men,” said Cerulli’s Horton. As those men die, “we expect that wealth to be much more equitably distributed on a gender basis.” Cerulli estimates that women will inherit nearly half of the total projected value of inheritances over the next 25 years. US tax policy has made it easier for wealthy heirs to hang on to more of the money they inherit. President-elect Donald Trump wants to extend part of his 2017 tax-cut package that doubled the estate-tax exemption from $US5.49 million to $US11.18 million. For many older Americans, money handed down from previous generations has shaped their own planning. Alan Jewett, a 75-year-old retiree in Delaware, and his wife received an inheritance of nearly $US3 million from her childless aunts in 2014, after the couple had already put both their children through college and bought a home. “Having money changes the way you look at things in the sense that it gives you and your family a feeling of security,” Jewett said. He and his wife gave part of the inheritance to their kids and set up an irrevocable trust for their three young grandchildren. Some heirs say they have used inherited money to prepare for their own health and elder-care expenses. Lee Robin Gebhardt, a 63-year-old wine seller living in Putnam County, New York, said she invested a $US150,000 retirement account that she received from her father, who died in 2020, in her long-term care. Gebhardt, who plans to work for at least another two years, has enough money put away to last her until she’s 110. “That will take some pressure off my children,” she said. Other relatively wealthy baby boomers have decided to pass on some of their wealth while they’re still able to see its effects for themselves. “I’ve seen an increasing focus on ‘giving while living,’ where people provide for their family’s needs during their lifetime,” said Jared Jones, senior advisor at Omega Wealth Management. “There’s definitely a big focus on not waiting until one passes away to help and witness the benefits of the wealth from the family.” Bloomberg The Business Briefing newsletter delivers major stories, exclusive coverage and expert opinion. Sign up to get it every weekday morning .

Police Trust Fund inaugurates construction of police station in Kogi communityEmerson Electric Co. stock underperforms Thursday when compared to competitors

CWTI Provides Revised Update on Canada Postal Strike Delay Mailing of the Company’s 2024 Annual General Meeting MaterialsChelsea defender Marc Cucurella changed his cleats just 12 minutes into the game after his slips contributed to both of Tottenham's early goals in the teams' London derby in the Premier League on Sunday. The Spain international ceded possession by slipping on the turf at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the fifth and 11th minutes — and from the ensuing attacks, Spurs scored through Dominic Solanke and Dejan Kulusevski. Immediately after Kulusevski's shot hit the net to make it 2-0, Cucurella sprinted to the sideline while shrugging his shoulders and pointed to his cleats. He took them off and threw them away in disgust before putting on new ones. It seemed to work. Within six minutes, he provided the pass that led to Jadon Sancho scoring for Chelsea to make it 2-1. Chelsea went on to win 4-3 — and Cucurella posted a photo on social media after the match, showing the first cleats he wore nestled in a bin. “It almost slipped away,” Cucurella wrote on Instagram Stories, “but proud of the amazing team effort to turn things around.” AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccerRead the original article on

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Alvopetro Energy Ltd. ( OTCMKTS:ALVOF – Get Free Report ) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, December 17th, NASDAQ Dividends reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of 0.09 per share on Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 10.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Alvopetro Energy Stock Performance OTCMKTS ALVOF opened at $3.60 on Friday. Alvopetro Energy has a 52-week low of $2.85 and a 52-week high of $5.09. The company has a fifty day moving average of $3.45 and a 200-day moving average of $3.55. The company has a market capitalization of $131.43 million, a P/E ratio of 9.23 and a beta of 0.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a current ratio of 2.10. About Alvopetro Energy ( Get Free Report ) Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Alvopetro Energy Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Alvopetro Energy and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .

Stock market today: Wall Street slips as technology stocks drag on the market NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks slipped as Wall Street closes out a holiday-shortened week. The S&P 500 fell 1.6% Friday and the the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 475 points, or 1.1%. The Nasdaq composite is down 2%. Technology stocks were the biggest drag on the market. The S&P 500 is still headed for its second consecutive annual gain of more than 20%, the first time that has happened since 1997-1998. In Asia, Japan’s benchmark index surged as the yen remained weak against the dollar. Stocks in South Korea fell after the main opposition party voted to impeach the country’s acting leader. 10 tips from experts to help you change your relationship with money in 2025 NEW YORK (AP) — As the calendar changes to 2025, you might be thinking about how to approach your relationship with money in the new year. Whether you’re saving to move out of your parents’ house or pay off student loan debt, financial resolutions can help you stay motivated. If you’re planning to make financial resolutions for the new year, experts recommend that you start by evaluating the state of your finances in 2024. Then, set specific goals and make sure they’re attainable for your lifestyle. An online debate over foreign workers in tech shows tensions in Trump's political coalition WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — An online spat between factions of Donald Trump’s supporters over immigration and the tech industry has thrown internal divisions in the president-elect’s political movement into public display. The argument previews fissures and contradictory views his coalition could bring to the White House. The rift laid bare tensions between the newest flank of Trump’s movement — that is, wealthy members of the tech world who want more highly skilled workers in their industry — and people in Trump’s Make America Great Again base who championed his hardline immigration policies. A 9th telecoms firm has been hit by a massive Chinese espionage campaign, the White House says WASHINGTON (AP) — A top White House official says a ninth U.S. telecoms firm has been confirmed to have been hacked as part of a sprawling Chinese espionage campaign that gave officials in Beijing access to private texts and phone conversations of an unknown number of Americans. Administration officials said this month that at least eight telecommunications companies, as well as dozens of nations, had been affected by the Chinese hacking blitz known as Salt Typhoon. But Anne Neuberger, a deputy national security adviser, said Friday that a ninth victim had been identified after the administration released guidance to companies about how to hunt for Chinese culprits in their networks. Most Americans blame insurance profits and denials alongside the killer in UHC CEO death, poll finds WASHINGTON (AP) — Most Americans believe health insurance profits and coverage denials share responsibility for the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO — although not as much as the person who pulled the trigger. So says a new poll from NORC at the University of Chicago. It finds that about 8 in 10 Americans say that the person who committed the killing has “a great deal” or “a moderate amount” of responsibility for the Dec. 4 shooting of Brian Thompson. Still, some see suspect Luigi Mangione as a heroic figure. About 7 in 10 adults say coverage denials or health insurance profits also bear at least “a moderate amount” of responsibility for Thompson’s death. Another jackpot surpasses $1 billion. Is this the new normal? Remember this moment because it probably won’t last: A U.S. lottery jackpot is projected to soar above $1 billion, and that's still a big deal. Friday’s Mega Millions drawing is worth an estimated $1.15 billion. The prize has evoked headlines across the country, despite the nation's top 10 jackpots already having boasted billion-dollar payouts. Jonathan Cohen is the author of the book “For a Dollar and a Dream: State Lotteries in Modern America.” He says he expects jackpots to continue to grow in size. Larger payouts attract more media attention, increase ticket sales and bring in new players. How the stock market defied expectations again this year, by the numbers NEW YORK (AP) — What a wonderful year 2024 has been for investors. U.S. stocks ripped higher and carried the S&P 500 to records as the economy kept growing and the Federal Reserve began cutting interest rates. The benchmark index posted its first back-to-back annual gains of more than 20% since 1998. The year featured many familiar winners, such as Big Tech, which got even bigger as their stock prices kept growing. But it wasn’t just Apple, Nvidia and the like. Bitcoin and gold surged and “Roaring Kitty” reappeared to briefly reignite the meme stock craze. Richard Parsons, prominent executive who led Time Warner and Citigroup, dies at 76 NEW YORK (AP) — Richard Parsons, one of corporate America’s most prominent Black executives who held top posts at Time Warner and Citigroup, has died. He was 76. Parsons died Thursday at his Manhattan home. He was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2015 and cited “unanticipated complications” from the disease for cutting back on work a few years later. Financial services company Lazard confirmed his death. Parsons was a longtime member of the company's board. His friend Ronald Lauder told The New York Times that the cause of death was cancer. Parsons stepped down Dec. 3 from the boards of Lazard and Lauder’s company, Estée Lauder, citing health reasons. He had been on Estée Lauder’s board for 25 years. Israel strikes Houthi rebels in Yemen's capital while the WHO chief says he was meters away JERUSALEM (AP) — A new round of Israeli airstrikes in Yemen has targeted the Houthi rebel-held capital of Sanaa and multiple ports. The World Health Organization’s director-general said Thursday's bombardment took place just “meters away” as he was about to board a flight in Sanaa. He says a crew member was hurt. The strikes followed several days of Houthi attacks and launches setting off sirens in Israel. Israel's military says it attacked infrastructure used by the Houthis at the airport in Sanaa, power stations and ports. The Israeli military later said it wasn’t aware that the WHO chief was at the location in Yemen. At least three people were reported killed and dozens injured in the Sanaa airport strike. Holiday shoppers increased spending by 3.8% despite higher prices New data shows holiday sales rose this year even as Americans wrestled with still high prices in many grocery necessities and other financial worries. According to Mastercard SpendingPulse, holiday sales from the beginning of November through Christmas Eve climbed 3.8%, a faster pace than the 3.1% increase from a year earlier. The measure tracks all kinds of payments including cash and debit cards. This year, retailers were even more under the gun to get shoppers in to buy early and in bulk since there were five fewer days between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Mastercard SpendingPulse says the last five days of the season accounted for 10% of the spending. Sales of clothing, electronics and Jewelry rose.Berlin: Tech billionaire Elon Musk caused uproar after backing Germany’s far-right party in a major newspaper ahead of key parliamentary elections in the Western European country, leading to the resignation of Welt am Sonntag’ s opinion editor in protest. Germany is to vote in an early election on February 23 after Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-party governing coalition collapsed last month in a dispute over how to revitalise the country’s stagnant economy. Elon Musk has involved himself deeply in US politics - now he’s turned his attention to Germany. Credit: AP Musk’s guest opinion piece for Welt am Sonntag — a sister publication of POLITICO owned by the Axel Springer Group — published in German over the weekend, was the second time this month he supported the Alternative for Germany, or AfD . “The Alternative for Germany (AfD) is the last spark of hope for this country,” Musk wrote in his translated commentary. He went on to say the far-right party “can lead the country into a future where economic prosperity, cultural integrity and technological innovation are not just wishes, but reality”. The Tesla Motors chief executive also wrote that his investment in Germany gave him the right to comment on the country’s condition. The AfD is polling strongly, but its candidate for the top job, Alice Weidel, has no realistic chance of becoming chancellor because other parties refuse to work with the far-right party. An ally of US President-elect Donald Trump, the technology billionaire challenged in his opinion piece the party’s public image. “The portrayal of the AfD as right-wing extremist is clearly false, considering that Alice Weidel, the party’s leader, has a same-sex partner from Sri Lanka! Does that sound like Hitler to you? Please!” Musk’s commentary has led to a debate in German media over the boundaries of free speech, with the paper’s own opinion editor announcing her resignation, pointedly on Musk’s social media platform, X. “I always enjoyed leading the opinion section of WELT and WAMS. Today an article by Elon Musk appeared in Welt am Sonntag . I handed in my resignation yesterday after it went to print,” Eva Marie Kogel wrote. Eva Marie Kogel, the editor who quit in protest after her paper ran an Elon Musk opinion piece. Credit: Martin U. K. Lengemann The newspaper was also attacked by politicians and other media for offering Musk, an outsider, a platform to express his views, in favour of the AfD. Candidate for chancellor, Friedrich Merz, of the Christian Democratic Union, said on Sunday that Musk’s comments were “intrusive and presumptuous”. He was speaking to the newspapers of the German Funke Media Group. Supporters of the far-right Alternative for Germany political party hold a placard that reads: “Germany First!” at an AfD campaign rally in Thuringia. Credit: Getty Images Co-leader of the Social Democratic Party, Saskia Esken said that “Anyone who tries to influence our election from outside, who supports an anti-democratic, misanthropic party like the AfD, whether the influence is organised by the state from Russia or by the concentrated financial and media power of Elon Musk and his billionaire friends on the Springer board, must expect our tough resistance,” according to the ARD national public TV network. “In Elon Musk’s world, democracy and workers’ rights are obstacles to more profit,” Esken told Reuters. “We say quite clearly: Our democracy is defensible and it cannot be bought.” Musk’s opinion piece in the Welt am Sonntag was accompanied by a critical article by the future editor-in-chief of the Welt group, Jan Philipp Burgard. “Musk’s diagnosis is correct, but his therapeutic approach, that only the AfD can save Germany, is fatally wrong,” Burgard wrote. A general view of The Reichstag, which houses the German lower House of Parliament or Bundestag. Snap elections are scheduled for February 23. Credit: Getty Images Responding to a request for comment from the German Press Agency, dpa, the current editor-in-chief of the Welt group, Ulf Poschardt, and Burgard — who is due to take over on January 1 — said in a joint statement that the discussion over Musk’s piece was “very insightful. Democracy and journalism thrive on freedom of expression.” “This will continue to determine the compass of the “world” in the future. We will develop “ Die Welt ” even more decisively as a forum for such debates,” they wrote to dpa. AP, Reuters Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for the weekly What in the World newsletter here .

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Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Amazon.com, Inc. ( NASDAQ:AMZN ) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 8,769 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock, valued at approximately $1,634,000. Amazon.com accounts for about 1.3% of Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest position. A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Semus Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Amazon.com by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 17,920 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $3,339,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Bell Investment Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Amazon.com by 1.5% during the third quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 3,359 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $626,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in shares of Amazon.com by 1.8% in the second quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 3,076 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $594,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. O Connor Financial Group LLC increased its position in Amazon.com by 2.2% during the third quarter. O Connor Financial Group LLC now owns 2,536 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $473,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, Cherrydale Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Amazon.com by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cherrydale Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,492 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $1,396,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. 72.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. Amazon.com Stock Performance Amazon.com stock opened at $223.75 on Friday. Amazon.com, Inc. has a 1 year low of $144.05 and a 1 year high of $233.00. The company’s 50-day moving average is $209.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $192.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a market cap of $2.35 trillion, a PE ratio of 47.91, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.16. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Several research firms have recently issued reports on AMZN. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Amazon.com from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price target on Amazon.com from $221.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Amazon.com in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Amazon.com from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on Amazon.com from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, forty-one have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.00. Get Our Latest Analysis on Amazon.com Insider Transactions at Amazon.com In other Amazon.com news, Director Daniel P. Huttenlocher sold 1,237 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.06, for a total value of $246,237.22. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 24,912 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,958,982.72. This represents a 4.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website . Also, Director Jonathan Rubinstein sold 4,351 shares of Amazon.com stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.85, for a total transaction of $1,000,077.35. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 88,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,273,459.55. This represents a 4.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . Insiders have sold 6,032,344 shares of company stock worth $1,253,456,822 in the last three months. Insiders own 10.80% of the company’s stock. About Amazon.com ( Free Report ) Amazon.com, Inc engages in the retail sale of consumer products, advertising, and subscriptions service through online and physical stores in North America and internationally. The company operates through three segments: North America, International, and Amazon Web Services (AWS). It also manufactures and sells electronic devices, including Kindle, Fire tablets, Fire TVs, Echo, Ring, Blink, and eero; and develops and produces media content. Read More Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AMZN? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Amazon.com, Inc. ( NASDAQ:AMZN – Free Report ). Receive News & Ratings for Amazon.com Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Amazon.com and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .This is an excerpt from The Buzzer, which is CBC Sports' daily email newsletter. Stay up to speed on what's happening in sports by subscribing here . On Wednesday night, Canada will announce its full roster for the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off, the new "best on best" hockey tournament that will serve as an appetizer for the NHL's return to the Olympics a year later. For those who need a refresher, the 4 Nations Face-Off was created earlier this year by the NHL and the NHL Players' Association. It's scheduled for Feb. 12-20 in Montreal and Boston, replacing this season's All-Star Game. Canada, the United States, Sweden and Finland will play each other once, and the teams with the two best records after the round robin will square off in a one-game final. Ideally, the 4 Nations Face-Off would probably be a 6 Nations Face-Off including Russia and the Czech Republic — the only other countries with enough NHLers to form a team. (Unlike the Olympics, players from other leagues aren't allowed in this event because the NHL and NHLPA are running it without the cooperation of the IIHF, hockey's world governing body.) But Russia remains suspended from international play because of its war with Ukraine, and the NHL and NHLPA had no interest in undermining the IIHF-issued ban — even though, technically, they can do whatever they want with their own event. The Czechs became collateral damage because a five-team tournament doesn't make sense. The rosters Canada, the U.S., Sweden and Finland each named the first six players on their team back in June. Canada chose forwards Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, Connor McDavid, Brad Marchand and Brayden Point and defenceman Cale Makar; the Americans picked forwards Jack Eichel, Auston Matthews and Matthew Tkachuk and defencemen Adam Fox, Quinn Hughes and Charlie McAvoy; Sweden selected forwards Filip Forsberg, William Nylander and Mika Zibanejad and defencemen Gustav Forsling, Victor Hedman and Erik Karlsson; Finland went with forwards Sebastian Aho, Aleksander Barkov and Mikko Rantanen, defencemen Miro Heiskanen and Esa Lindell and goalie Juuse Saros. The remainder of each team's 23-man roster was due on Monday, and they'll all be unveiled Wednesday. Sweden and Finland announce theirs at 2 p.m. ET, followed by Canada and the U.S. at 6:30 p.m. ET. Tough calls The guy calling the shots for Canada is Don Sweeney, the general manager of the Boston Bruins. Sweeney is Canada's GM for the 4 Nations Face-Off and will be an assistant GM for the 2026 Olympics under Doug Armstrong of the St. Louis Blues. The Tampa Bay Lightning's Jon Cooper is Canada's head coach for both events. Sweeney and his staff are blessed with a bounty of Canadian talent to choose from, but that also makes for some tough decisions. At forward, it's probably safe to assume they picked NHL goals leader Sam Reinhart of Florida, top-five assist man Mitch Marner of Toronto and Winnipeg's Mark Scheifele, who's averaging better than a point per game for one of the league's top teams. The pundits also seem pretty convinced that Philly winger Travis Konecny, coming off back-to-back 30-goal seasons, will make it along with Vegas' Mark Stone, who's currently injured (again) but is among the best two-way players in the sport when healthy. It would also be tough to pass up Chicago's Connor Bedard. He's scored only five times in 25 games this season, but the 19-year-old is as talented as they come and could be a full-fledged superstar by the time the Olympics roll around. So it might be wise to get him some top international experience here. HOCKEY NORTH | Reacting to the biggest moments of PWHL's opening weekend: Are Alex Carpenter and Sarah Fillier the best duo in the PWHL? 5 hours ago Duration 5:10 Host Anastasia Bucsis is joined by PWHL insider Karissa Donkin as they react to the biggest moments from the opening weekend of the 2nd season. After that, it gets murkier. For instance, what do you do with 34-year-old Steven Stamkos, who reached 40 goals for the seventh time last season with Tampa Bay but has just seven in his first 25 games with Nashville? And what about Edmonton's Zach Hyman, who potted 54 goals last season on McDavid's wing but has cratered to just three in 20 games this season? On defence, it makes sense to pair Makar with his Colorado blue-line mate Devon Toews. Ditto for Alex Pietrangelo and Shea Theodore, who play together in Vegas. Winnipeg's Josh Morrissey and New Jersey's Dougie Hamilton are the two highest-scoring Canadian defencemen other than Makar this season, while Edmonton's Evan Bouchard had that distinction last year. Los Angeles veteran Drew Doughty is out with a broken ankle but could be back in time for the 4 Nations. That brings us to the goalies — the soft underbelly of this team and a big source of anxiety for Canadian fans who pine for the days of Martin Brodeur, Carey Price and even Roberto Luongo. You can argue this team is so stacked that it doesn't need a top-notch tender to win the tournament. But that doesn't mean it'll be fun to white-knuckle it with whoever emerges from the less-than-stellar options including Washington's Logan Thompson, St. Louis' Jordan Binnington, Vegas' Adin Hill and Detroit's Cam Talbot. Binnington and Hill have backstopped their teams to Stanley Cups, but they both have a save percentage below .900 this season. Thompson (.911) could be the front-runner for the No. 1 job as he's a sparkling 10-1-1 for the surprising Capitals, but a hot-hand approach seems like the best bet here.After 10 months, 3 Game Awards, and the downfall of global productivity, roguelike hit Balatro reaches a new all-time Steam peak

Arizona 'moving in the right direction' with 2025 recruiting class ahead of early signing dayCam Carter scored LSU's first eight points and finished with a game-high 23 and LSU raced to a 37-8 lead on its way to a 110-45 victory against outmanned Mississippi Valley State on Sunday in Baton Rouge, La. Vyctorius Miller added 20 points and Jordan Sears and Daimion Collins scored 15 each for the Tigers (11-2), who led 55-13 at halftime. It was their final game before opening Southeastern Conference play against visiting Vanderbilt on Saturday. LSU, which defeated Mississippi Valley 106-60 last season, shot 65.7 percent (46 of 70) from the floor. The Delta Devils (2-11) had no player score in double figures. The closest was Alvin Stredic with eight points. Mississippi Valley State remained winless against Division I opponents and have an average margin of defeat of 44.2 points heading into their Southwestern Athletic Conference opener at Alabama State on Jan. 4. Stredic's field goal tied the score at two before Carter made a tie-breaking 3-pointer to give LSU the lead for good. Carter made another 3-pointer during a 7-0 run that increased the lead to 12-4. Another field goal by Stredic ended that run before Carter and Sears each made a 3-pointer and the Tigers pushed the lead to 20-6. Stredic made another field goal, giving him six of his team's first eight points, before Carter made a 3-pointer and another basket to help fuel a 17-0 run that enabled LSU to build the 37-8 bulge. Johnathan Pace made a field goal to stop the run, but Sears and Curtis Givens III each made a 3-pointer to complete a 10-0 run that expanded the lead to 47-10. Jair Horton answered with the Delta Devils' only 3-pointer of the half before Miller and Sears each scored four points and the Tigers led by 42 at the break. Carter (16 points) and Sears (10) combined to score twice as many points as Mississippi Valley State in the half. Carter made 6-of-10 3-pointers and Sears made 4 of 8. --Field Level MediaDollar gains amid escalating geopolitical tensions

He has your nudes. She got the message by text from a girl she barely knew: Your friend, he has your photos on his phone. How could that be, the 16-year-old Toronto high school student remembers thinking. The boy with the photos was a close friend, someone she trusted. And besides, she thought, she had never sent a nude to anyone. “I was like, ‘What? That’s not possible,’” the girl said. Her mind drifted to the worst-case scenario — “Has someone taken photos of me while I was asleep?” In late January of this year, a group of teens between the ages of 15 and 17 went to Toronto police to report what they thought was a crime. A boy they knew had made naked pictures of all of them — his classmates, friends and girls he only knew through social media. Using artificial intelligence tools, he put their faces onto someone else’s naked body, creating explicit “deepfake” porn of them without their consent, essentially out of thin air. To the girls and their parents, the act should have been illegal. However, in a move that illustrates a growing dilemma facing investigators and lawmakers tasked with handling the exploding world of AI technology, Toronto police disagreed. The girls gave statements at the station. Nearly a month later, investigators called them back to explain the situation in a PowerPoint presentation, saying there were gaps in legislation to address the deepfake images and insufficient evidence to prove the photos were distributed. There would be no charges. The legalities surrounding AI-generated deepfakes are murky in Canadian law, particularly in Ontario. Are deepfakes illegal to possess? Are they child pornography if depicting a minor? Is your image legally yours if it’s been attached to someone else’s body? What’s known as deepfake porn involves superimposing a person’s face on someone else’s naked body in a realistic way. In the past, creating fakes would require the use of Photoshop and a relatively high degree of skill — but developments in AI have made it so anyone can generate convincing nude photos with just a few clicks. “Nowadays, you don’t need any tech skills at all,” said Kaitlynn Mendes, a sociologist at Western University who researches “technology-facilitated gender-based violence,” which includes deepfakes. Modern AI tools are so good that users can even create convincing videos without much effort. You can to watch him go about your mundane tasks. You can as he walks out to his adoring fans. Or, you can create realistic porn featuring . Deepfake porn involving minors falls into a “grey area” of Canada’s laws around consent, revenge porn and child exploitation, said Suzie Dunn, an assistant law professor at Dalhousie University whose research centres on deepfakes. Although deepfake porn isn’t clearly defined as illegal in the Criminal Code, the provision for child pornography could apply, Dunn said. It considers material child pornography, “whether or not it was made by electronic or mechanical means.” There is also a provision that makes it an offence to share explicit images of another person without their consent. However, on a plain reading of the law, Dunn said that only includes authentic nude images of someone. Regulations often lag behind technological advances, Toronto police spokesperson Stephanie Sayer said in a statement. In the girls’ situation, investigators from the Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) unit worked closely with a specialized ICE Crown attorney, Sayer said, “dedicating extensive time to the investigation and to explaining the legal challenges that can arise in prosecuting such cases.” The Star interviewed five female high school students who were portrayed in explicit deepfakes and has agreed not to name them — nor their parents — because they are minors, as is the boy they accuse of creating the images. As they tell it, the girls learned about the photos one weekend in late January. During a co-ed slumber party, a separate group of teens came across the nude pictures while scrolling on the boy’s cellphone. They were looking for the selfies they had previously taken on his device. One of them video-recorded the photos as evidence and, with help from her friends, managed to identify every girl depicted in the images. They contacted each one immediately. I didn’t know how to tell my mom. What was I supposed to say? As the girls’ phones blew up with texts and calls, gossip about their faked nudes spread like wildfire, and the boy accused of making them started shifting the blame. “I just started panicking,” said one girl, who was 15 and halfway through her Grade 10 year at the time. “I didn’t know how to tell my mom. What was I supposed to say?” Unlike the others, who were either friends or acquaintances of the boy, this teen had never spoken to him. “I had zero connection,” she said. Another girl said a bikini picture she posted to Instagram was turned into a nude that looked “disgustingly real.” After, she wished she never saw it. “Looking at the picture makes me uncomfortable.” For the 16-year-old who confronted the boy, her former friend, the most upsetting realization was that he manipulated selfies of her face that she had sent him when she was as young as 13. “The images he got were from the girls’ Instagrams. But then the images he used for me were (non-explicit) images I had sent him on Snapchat,” she said. The day she learned about the images, she asked two male friends to accompany her to the boy’s house to confront him. When they arrived, a police car was out front, and an officer was inside — “Someone else had already called the police,” the girl said. The boy’s father let her in, but not her friends. She said the officer and the boy’s parents had no idea multiple girls were involved. The parents made their son apologize despite the boy denying he was responsible. The cop allegedly told the girl: “You don’t need to worry, the pictures have been wiped,” she recalled. The experience was “super surreal,” she said. “I was crying in his living room on his couch, begging him to tell me the truth.” That weekend, she and about 12 other girls went to police. They feared the boy shared the doctored photos or posted them online. “Are these everywhere?” the 16-year-old remembers thinking. “Do people have these?” The ordeal left some girls feeling humiliated and violated, causing their mental health and school work to suffer at a time when most were writing exams. “It was hard to focus because of all the chatter,” one said. Are these everywhere? ... Do people have these? Another, the boy’s former friend, stayed in her room for days after learning about the pictures and skipped out on dance class. “I didn’t want to be surrounded by mirrors after seeing ‘myself’ like that,” she said. There were various layers to the girls’ case that made it unclear if deepfake images would be considered illegal. According to them and their parents who listened to the police presentation, a key question was: did the boy share the deepfakes with anyone else? When the investigator told them there was no proof of distribution and the boy made the photos for “private use,” some of the girls said the accused had shown the pictures to a few other boys they knew. (It’s unclear if police interviewed the boys. According to the girls, investigators told them the boys came forward only after they were asked to, and that they could have been pressured into saying what the girls wanted police to hear.) Dunn suggested that police would have wrestled with whether or not the so-called private use exception would apply. In general, the law protects minors who create explicit photos of themselves or their partner for private use, but do not share them with anyone else. I didn’t want to be surrounded by mirrors after seeing ‘myself’ like that In the context of deepfakes, Dunn said an analogy would be if a teen boy cut out a picture of a young girl and placed it onto the face of a Playboy magazine photograph. Whether the private use exception to deepfake porn would hold up in court, to Dunn’s knowledge, it “has never been tested.” Using AI models to produce sexual material is a “very different” scenario, she added, noting companies that own the AI applications could store images in their databases. Would that be captured under “private use,” Dunn questioned, even if the person who made the photos didn’t show them to anyone? To one parent, the girls’ situation felt like a “test case” — an opportunity for investigators to apply the criminal code and set an example for other police jurisdictions dealing with similar matters. Toronto criminal defence lawyer William Jaksa has represented two clients who were subject to police investigations into AI-generated child pornography, one of whom had his charges dropped because there was no reasonable prospect of conviction. After learning from the Star about the case involving the girls, Jaksa commended Toronto police for what sounded like a thorough investigation, saying they took the extra step of consulting a Crown attorney before making a decision. “They could have very easily just laid the charges and let the Crown sort it out later,” he said. “But the reputational damage will have already been done to the kid, and that will always appear somewhere on his Toronto police record.” Mendes, the sociologist at Western, noted that not everyone wants charges laid in situations like this, especially if the accused is a classmate or peer. “Often, people just want the images taken down.” She also said many victims wouldn’t necessarily end up using the law as a resource because it’s expensive, time-consuming and complicated. Regardless, she and Dunn agreed criminal law should cover deepfakes to establish what is and isn’t acceptable. “It’s people understanding their rights, even if they don’t pursue a criminal or a civil case,” said Mendes, who is also Canada’s research chair in inequality and gender. “That sets an important message to society that, ‘Hey, this isn’t cool.’” A week or two after the girls went to police, they returned to the station individually to give full statements. Then, in mid-February, they were called back for a presentation on why police would not lay charges. The outcome left the girls feeling dismissed, disappointed and angry. One mother said it was yet another reminder of why women and girls often don’t report when they’re sexually assaulted, abused, or, in this case, the subject of non-consensual explicit material. “These girls are thinking, ‘We’ve done the right thing in reporting it, and nothing is going to happen,’” she said. Another parent felt as though police “minimized” the harm caused to her daughter when being interviewed by police. She said the detective told the teen that the images were not actually of her — to which her daughter replied: “Yeah, but everyone thinks they are me,” she said. Later, during the presentation, the parent said the general attitude from police in the room was “easy, breezy, casual. ‘You guys will move on from this.’” While Sayer said she couldn’t speak to specifics about the case, she emphasized the care investigators put into ensuring victims feel safe and supported — such as by offering the support of a victim services worker. “While gaps in the law can make it difficult to lay charges in some circumstances, this in no way diminishes the trauma experienced by victims,” she said. The five female students who spoke to the Star attended two high schools under the Toronto District School Board (TDSB). At one school, the girls said they were grateful for the swift support, including exemptions from exams and access to counselling services. At the other school, where the accused also attended, the students and their parents expressed disappointment with the response, suggesting administration prioritized the school’s reputation and legal concerns over their safety. During a meeting with the principal about the incident, one girl said she felt as if she was being told: “Why don’t you think of his feelings instead?” The boy was suspended, the teens and parents said, but only after mounting pressure, and the school was going to allow him to return. In the end, they said the boy chose not to come back and later transferred to a new school. In a statement, TDSB spokesperson Ryan Bird said the school “took immediate steps to address the very serious allegations” on the day officials became aware of them. He declined to elaborate on what those steps were, citing “privacy reasons.” “Understanding how difficult this must be for the impacted students, the administration checked in with them and their families on a number of occasions and offered a number of supports,” the statement said. Bird said the school board initially opened an investigation into the matter but halted its inquiry at the request of Toronto police while they carried out their own probe. When police closed their investigation, the board followed suit. The only positive outcome the students and their families said they saw from the school was new language added to its student code of conduct: that students must not possess or be responsible for “the creation or distribution of inappropriate or illegal images,” including pornographic images generated by AI. Nationally, experts and observers have sounded the alarm that Canada needs to better protect victims of deepfakes, especially as the issue is expected to worsen. When , the world’s biggest pop star, , there was outrage and legal threats. The pictures were removed from X, and lawmakers everywhere started paying attention. The Toronto case is a far less public example. Ontario and the territories are the only regions in Canada without intimate image laws that either address deepfakes explicitly or provide protections against “altered” or “fake” photos — which experts said could be applied to deepfakes. (Quebec was .) Other legislation, such as the recently introduced Online Harms Act, takes aim at social media companies for sharing and amplifying harmful content on their platforms. The federal bill requires them to remove material that sexually victimizes a child if intimate content is posted without their consent, including deepfakes. There are additional civil options to address deepfakes, too, including laws related to defamation, privacy and copyright. Though pursuing criminal charges isn’t as promising of an avenue for victims, there have been at least two known cases in Canada where a person was convicted of child pornography for making deepfakes. In April 2023, for using AI to make synthetic videos of child pornography. Earlier this year, of creating and possessing child porn, including an image of a teen girl that he manipulated into a deepfake nude. Police seized 150 photos of children that they suspected the pastor planned to run through the “nudify” application. In both cases, the photos had been shared with the girls themselves or distributed on a larger network — elements that couldn’t be proven in the Toronto case. In interviews with the five girls, a recurring theme emerged: they don’t want other young women to experience what they did. While the gossip at school has subsided, the emotional and psychological toll lingers. Some have turned to therapy to help them cope. “Until recently, I would think about it constantly,” said the teen who described her deepfake as hyper-realistic. She previously loved posting on social media but no longer feels she can enjoy it as much. It can “make you so vulnerable to anybody on the internet.” At school, she said students are taught to be careful online because of adults with nefarious intentions. But, the teen asked, how come no one ever talks about people their own age? “People following your account already can be the predator. Not some grown man on a fake account.”He has your nudes. She got the message by text from a girl she barely knew: Your friend, he has your photos on his phone. How could that be, the 16-year-old Toronto high school student remembers thinking. The boy with the photos was a close friend, someone she trusted. And besides, she thought, she had never sent a nude to anyone. “I was like, ‘What? That’s not possible,’” the girl said. Her mind drifted to the worst-case scenario — “Has someone taken photos of me while I was asleep?” In late January of this year, a group of teens between the ages of 15 and 17 went to Toronto police to report what they thought was a crime. A boy they knew had made naked pictures of all of them — his classmates, friends and girls he only knew through social media. Using artificial intelligence tools, he put their faces onto someone else’s naked body, creating explicit “deepfake” porn of them without their consent, essentially out of thin air. To the girls and their parents, the act should have been illegal. However, in a move that illustrates a growing dilemma facing investigators and lawmakers tasked with handling the exploding world of AI technology, Toronto police disagreed. The girls gave statements at the station. Nearly a month later, investigators called them back to explain the situation in a PowerPoint presentation, saying there were gaps in legislation to address the deepfake images and insufficient evidence to prove the photos were distributed. There would be no charges. The legalities surrounding AI-generated deepfakes are murky in Canadian law, particularly in Ontario. Are deepfakes illegal to possess? Are they child pornography if depicting a minor? Is your image legally yours if it’s been attached to someone else’s body? What’s known as deepfake porn involves superimposing a person’s face on someone else’s naked body in a realistic way. In the past, creating fakes would require the use of Photoshop and a relatively high degree of skill — but developments in AI have made it so anyone can generate convincing nude photos with just a few clicks. “Nowadays, you don’t need any tech skills at all,” said Kaitlynn Mendes, a sociologist at Western University who researches “technology-facilitated gender-based violence,” which includes deepfakes. Modern AI tools are so good that users can even create convincing videos without much effort. You can to watch him go about your mundane tasks. You can as he walks out to his adoring fans. Or, you can create realistic porn featuring . Deepfake porn involving minors falls into a “grey area” of Canada’s laws around consent, revenge porn and child exploitation, said Suzie Dunn, an assistant law professor at Dalhousie University whose research centres on deepfakes. Although deepfake porn isn’t clearly defined as illegal in the Criminal Code, the provision for child pornography could apply, Dunn said. It considers material child pornography, “whether or not it was made by electronic or mechanical means.” There is also a provision that makes it an offence to share explicit images of another person without their consent. However, on a plain reading of the law, Dunn said that only includes authentic nude images of someone. Regulations often lag behind technological advances, Toronto police spokesperson Stephanie Sayer said in a statement. In the girls’ situation, investigators from the Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) unit worked closely with a specialized ICE Crown attorney, Sayer said, “dedicating extensive time to the investigation and to explaining the legal challenges that can arise in prosecuting such cases.” The Star interviewed five female high school students who were portrayed in explicit deepfakes and has agreed not to name them — nor their parents — because they are minors, as is the boy they accuse of creating the images. As they tell it, the girls learned about the photos one weekend in late January. During a co-ed slumber party, a separate group of teens came across the nude pictures while scrolling on the boy’s cellphone. They were looking for the selfies they had previously taken on his device. One of them video-recorded the photos as evidence and, with help from her friends, managed to identify every girl depicted in the images. They contacted each one immediately. I didn’t know how to tell my mom. What was I supposed to say? As the girls’ phones blew up with texts and calls, gossip about their faked nudes spread like wildfire, and the boy accused of making them started shifting the blame. “I just started panicking,” said one girl, who was 15 and halfway through her Grade 10 year at the time. “I didn’t know how to tell my mom. What was I supposed to say?” Unlike the others, who were either friends or acquaintances of the boy, this teen had never spoken to him. “I had zero connection,” she said. Another girl said a bikini picture she posted to Instagram was turned into a nude that looked “disgustingly real.” After, she wished she never saw it. “Looking at the picture makes me uncomfortable.” For the 16-year-old who confronted the boy, her former friend, the most upsetting realization was that he manipulated selfies of her face that she had sent him when she was as young as 13. “The images he got were from the girls’ Instagrams. But then the images he used for me were (non-explicit) images I had sent him on Snapchat,” she said. The day she learned about the images, she asked two male friends to accompany her to the boy’s house to confront him. When they arrived, a police car was out front, and an officer was inside — “Someone else had already called the police,” the girl said. The boy’s father let her in, but not her friends. She said the officer and the boy’s parents had no idea multiple girls were involved. The parents made their son apologize despite the boy denying he was responsible. The cop allegedly told the girl: “You don’t need to worry, the pictures have been wiped,” she recalled. The experience was “super surreal,” she said. “I was crying in his living room on his couch, begging him to tell me the truth.” That weekend, she and about 12 other girls went to police. They feared the boy shared the doctored photos or posted them online. “Are these everywhere?” the 16-year-old remembers thinking. “Do people have these?” The ordeal left some girls feeling humiliated and violated, causing their mental health and school work to suffer at a time when most were writing exams. “It was hard to focus because of all the chatter,” one said. Are these everywhere? ... Do people have these? Another, the boy’s former friend, stayed in her room for days after learning about the pictures and skipped out on dance class. “I didn’t want to be surrounded by mirrors after seeing ‘myself’ like that,” she said. There were various layers to the girls’ case that made it unclear if deepfake images would be considered illegal. According to them and their parents who listened to the police presentation, a key question was: did the boy share the deepfakes with anyone else? When the investigator told them there was no proof of distribution and the boy made the photos for “private use,” some of the girls said the accused had shown the pictures to a few other boys they knew. (It’s unclear if police interviewed the boys. According to the girls, investigators told them the boys came forward only after they were asked to, and that they could have been pressured into saying what the girls wanted police to hear.) Dunn suggested that police would have wrestled with whether or not the so-called private use exception would apply. In general, the law protects minors who create explicit photos of themselves or their partner for private use, but do not share them with anyone else. I didn’t want to be surrounded by mirrors after seeing ‘myself’ like that In the context of deepfakes, Dunn said an analogy would be if a teen boy cut out a picture of a young girl and placed it onto the face of a Playboy magazine photograph. Whether the private use exception to deepfake porn would hold up in court, to Dunn’s knowledge, it “has never been tested.” Using AI models to produce sexual material is a “very different” scenario, she added, noting companies that own the AI applications could store images in their databases. Would that be captured under “private use,” Dunn questioned, even if the person who made the photos didn’t show them to anyone? To one parent, the girls’ situation felt like a “test case” — an opportunity for investigators to apply the criminal code and set an example for other police jurisdictions dealing with similar matters. Toronto criminal defence lawyer William Jaksa has represented two clients who were subject to police investigations into AI-generated child pornography, one of whom had his charges dropped because there was no reasonable prospect of conviction. After learning from the Star about the case involving the girls, Jaksa commended Toronto police for what sounded like a thorough investigation, saying they took the extra step of consulting a Crown attorney before making a decision. “They could have very easily just laid the charges and let the Crown sort it out later,” he said. “But the reputational damage will have already been done to the kid, and that will always appear somewhere on his Toronto police record.” Mendes, the sociologist at Western, noted that not everyone wants charges laid in situations like this, especially if the accused is a classmate or peer. “Often, people just want the images taken down.” She also said many victims wouldn’t necessarily end up using the law as a resource because it’s expensive, time-consuming and complicated. Regardless, she and Dunn agreed criminal law should cover deepfakes to establish what is and isn’t acceptable. “It’s people understanding their rights, even if they don’t pursue a criminal or a civil case,” said Mendes, who is also Canada’s research chair in inequality and gender. “That sets an important message to society that, ‘Hey, this isn’t cool.’” A week or two after the girls went to police, they returned to the station individually to give full statements. Then, in mid-February, they were called back for a presentation on why police would not lay charges. The outcome left the girls feeling dismissed, disappointed and angry. One mother said it was yet another reminder of why women and girls often don’t report when they’re sexually assaulted, abused, or, in this case, the subject of non-consensual explicit material. “These girls are thinking, ‘We’ve done the right thing in reporting it, and nothing is going to happen,’” she said. Another parent felt as though police “minimized” the harm caused to her daughter when being interviewed by police. She said the detective told the teen that the images were not actually of her — to which her daughter replied: “Yeah, but everyone thinks they are me,” she said. Later, during the presentation, the parent said the general attitude from police in the room was “easy, breezy, casual. ‘You guys will move on from this.’” While Sayer said she couldn’t speak to specifics about the case, she emphasized the care investigators put into ensuring victims feel safe and supported — such as by offering the support of a victim services worker. “While gaps in the law can make it difficult to lay charges in some circumstances, this in no way diminishes the trauma experienced by victims,” she said. The five female students who spoke to the Star attended two high schools under the Toronto District School Board (TDSB). At one school, the girls said they were grateful for the swift support, including exemptions from exams and access to counselling services. At the other school, where the accused also attended, the students and their parents expressed disappointment with the response, suggesting administration prioritized the school’s reputation and legal concerns over their safety. During a meeting with the principal about the incident, one girl said she felt as if she was being told: “Why don’t you think of his feelings instead?” The boy was suspended, the teens and parents said, but only after mounting pressure, and the school was going to allow him to return. In the end, they said the boy chose not to come back and later transferred to a new school. In a statement, TDSB spokesperson Ryan Bird said the school “took immediate steps to address the very serious allegations” on the day officials became aware of them. He declined to elaborate on what those steps were, citing “privacy reasons.” “Understanding how difficult this must be for the impacted students, the administration checked in with them and their families on a number of occasions and offered a number of supports,” the statement said. Bird said the school board initially opened an investigation into the matter but halted its inquiry at the request of Toronto police while they carried out their own probe. When police closed their investigation, the board followed suit. The only positive outcome the students and their families said they saw from the school was new language added to its student code of conduct: that students must not possess or be responsible for “the creation or distribution of inappropriate or illegal images,” including pornographic images generated by AI. Nationally, experts and observers have sounded the alarm that Canada needs to better protect victims of deepfakes, especially as the issue is expected to worsen. When , the world’s biggest pop star, , there was outrage and legal threats. The pictures were removed from X, and lawmakers everywhere started paying attention. The Toronto case is a far less public example. Ontario and the territories are the only regions in Canada without intimate image laws that either address deepfakes explicitly or provide protections against “altered” or “fake” photos — which experts said could be applied to deepfakes. (Quebec was .) Other legislation, such as the recently introduced Online Harms Act, takes aim at social media companies for sharing and amplifying harmful content on their platforms. The federal bill requires them to remove material that sexually victimizes a child if intimate content is posted without their consent, including deepfakes. There are additional civil options to address deepfakes, too, including laws related to defamation, privacy and copyright. Though pursuing criminal charges isn’t as promising of an avenue for victims, there have been at least two known cases in Canada where a person was convicted of child pornography for making deepfakes. In April 2023, for using AI to make synthetic videos of child pornography. Earlier this year, of creating and possessing child porn, including an image of a teen girl that he manipulated into a deepfake nude. Police seized 150 photos of children that they suspected the pastor planned to run through the “nudify” application. In both cases, the photos had been shared with the girls themselves or distributed on a larger network — elements that couldn’t be proven in the Toronto case. In interviews with the five girls, a recurring theme emerged: they don’t want other young women to experience what they did. While the gossip at school has subsided, the emotional and psychological toll lingers. Some have turned to therapy to help them cope. “Until recently, I would think about it constantly,” said the teen who described her deepfake as hyper-realistic. She previously loved posting on social media but no longer feels she can enjoy it as much. It can “make you so vulnerable to anybody on the internet.” At school, she said students are taught to be careful online because of adults with nefarious intentions. But, the teen asked, how come no one ever talks about people their own age? “People following your account already can be the predator. Not some grown man on a fake account.”

Trump base splits over Musk and Ramaswamy’s support for foreign worker visasMohave County Historical Society | Plans in motion to preserve Mohave County’s historic jail

It’s safe to assume the 2024 season hasn’t gone according to plan for second-year Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson. The former No. 4 overall pick has had some up-and-down results on the field, and he was even benched in favor of 39-year-old journeyman Joe Flacco for five games throughout the season. Richardson got some more bad news on Saturday as the NFL fined him $22,511 for an unnecessary roughness penalty in last week’s 24-6 loss to the Detroit Lions in which he lowered his helmet and plowed into Lions defensive back Brian Branch. The play occurred in the third quarter on Richardson’s 17-yard run. Branch came up from the secondary to tackle Richardson, who lowered his head and ran over Branch en route to picking up a few extra yards. The NFL fined #Colts QB Anthony Richardson $22,511 for unnecessary roughness (use of the helmet) — lowering his head into #Lions DB Brian Branch last week. pic.twitter.com/mJF5NuqiM7 Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images A flag was not thrown on the play and Richardson wasn’t penalized for it during the game. Branch has been on the receiving end of a few unnecessary roughness calls of his own this season, and he’s developed a reputation for being one of Detroit’s hardest-hitting defenders. Richardson finished the game with 172 yards passing, 61 yards rushing and zero touchdowns. He was the Colts’ leading rusher, ahead of Jonathan Taylor, who mustered just 35 yards on 11 carries.

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phlove jili 。

Trump says he can't guarantee tariffs won't raise prices, won't rule out revenge prosecutionsPacific Specialist Healthcare (PSH) Hospitals will partner with Sugar Cane Growers Fund (SCGF) to provide healthcare access to over 10,500 sugarcane farmers at a reduced rate promoting access to quality and efficient healthcare services. This followed initial talks between PSH Group of Hospitals’ founder and chief executive officer, Parvish Kumar, and SCGF chairperson Ahmed Bhamji and Fund CEO Raj Sharma over the weekend. Mr Bhamji and Mr Sharma toured PSH’s Nadi hospital and were impressed with the latest technology available for medical treatment and cleanliness of the entire hospital. Mr Bhamji said during the SCGF Loyalty Programme launch that the Fund had brought about many policy flexibilities for the growers’ needs and introduced attractive packages. “We continuously looked at the best ways to sustain the Fund and as such when I joined the board early this year, we looked at the risk and return of the Fund,” Mr Bhamji said. “We considered that the industry has over 10,500 productive growers that have economies of scale and buying powers collectively.” He said sugarcane farmers should have the ability to get the best offers and this programme would reward the productive sugarcane growers of Fiji. Meanwhile, Mr Sharma said the programme would enhance the livelihood of the sugarcane farmers. “By partnering with PSH, the farmers and the Fund are honoured to have Mr Kumar and his hospital onboard and to be part of this programme. The Fund met with Mr Kumar to discuss how we can advance this healthcare initiative for cane farmers across Fiji.” Mr Sharma said the assistance including healthcare access would be made available in Labasa for cane farmers there. “Discussions were also centred on how Mr Kumar and his team would assist in an outreach programme to cane farmers on wellness and healthcare aligned along the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals in respect to healthcare. Mr Kumar said he was honoured to look after the farming community of Fiji. “The sugarcane industry at one time was the backbone of the country and is still a major part of Fiji’s economy and we are happy to support this community as we also work towards supporting other communities through discussion.” Mr Kumar, who comes from a sugarcane farming background, said he is well aware of the difficulties farmers face in accessing major healthcare. “That is the reason why I had no hesitation in joining the Fund in this loyalty programme as sugarcane farmers will now be able to get faster and cost-effective medical services at my hospitals,” Mr Kumar said. Feedback: charles.chambers@fijisun.com.fj

Why Emmanuel Acho blames ego for the 49ers' downfall

Lions actually have some competition for most injured starters in NFL | Sporting NewsLiverpool boss Arne Slot fires warning to players over Premier League title advantageGlobal stocks mostly rose Tuesday, with US and German indices posting records, as markets weighed Chinese stimulus hopes, political tensions in France and the US interest-rate outlook. Germany's blue-chip DAX stock index jumped above 20,000 points for the first time and Paris rebounded even as France braced for new political turmoil. In New York, both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq narrowly rose to finish at records, while the Dow pulled back. Oil prices jumped more than two percent following reports that crude exporters were near an agreement to extend production limits. A closely-watched labor market report showed an increase in US job openings in October, but also a decline in new job postings during the month, a less upbeat sign. Samuel Tombs, chief US economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said the data overall provides "good grounds" for the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates again this month. Still, the choppiness of Tuesday's trading session in New York points to reticence among US investors following a series of post-election records that many pundits believe have left stocks overvalued. "There wasn't a lot of conviction behind the upside moves," said Briefing.com . "The overall vibe in the market was more negative." Stocks in Paris edged higher even as France headed into a new political crisis as opposition lawmakers vowed to topple the minority government of Prime Minister Michel Barnier in a no-confidence vote after just three months in office. Germany's DAX, meanwhile, scored a fresh milestone, defying multiple headwinds battering Europe's biggest economy. The German economy, hit hard by a manufacturing slowdown and weak demand for its exports, has struggled in 2024. Yet the DAX has advanced in large part because companies in the index do heavy business abroad. In addition, the euro's recent weakness has boosted Germany's export-oriented companies, while easing interest rates both in the eurozone and the United States have also helped sentiment. Investors greeted a Bloomberg report that China's top leaders, including President Xi Jinping, would hold a two-day economic work conference next week to outline their targets and stimulus plans for next year. The report followed manufacturing activity data on Monday that suggested China's economic struggles may be coming to an end, but investors are looking for Beijing to step up support for the economy. The news helped push Hong Kong and Shanghai stock markets higher despite Washington announcing new export restrictions taking aim at Beijing's ability to make advanced semiconductors. The moves step up existing US efforts to tighten curbs on exports of state-of-the-art AI chips to China. Beijing hit back by saying it would restrict exports to the United States of some key components in making semiconductors. Oil prices jumped ahead of a meeting Thursday of members of the OPEC oil cartel and its allies "The forecast is that they will announce an extension until the end of the first quarter of 2025, and this should help put a floor under prices," said Trade Nation analyst David Morrison. More from this section New York - Dow: DOWN 0.2 percent at 44,705.53 (close) New York - S&P 500: UP 0.1 percent at 6,049.88 (close) New York - Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.4 percent at 19,480.91 (close) London - FTSE 100: UP 0.6 percent at 8,359.41 (close) Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.3 percent at 7,255.42 (close) Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.4 percent at 20,016.75 (close) Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.9 percent at 39,248.86 (close) Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 1.0 percent at 19,746.32 (close) Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.4 percent at 3,378.81 (close) Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0511 from $1.0498 on Monday Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2673 from $1.2655 Dollar/yen: DOWN at 149.53 yen from 149.60 yen Euro/pound: DOWN at 82.94 from 82.95 pence Brent North Sea Crude: UP 2.5 percent at $73.62 per barrel West Texas Intermediate: UP 2.7 percent at $69.94 per barrel burs-jmb/dw

76ers' Paul George to Miss Extended Time With Severe Bone Bruise Injury

Washington — Tech leaders and companies are shelling out big bucks to President-elect Donald Trump's inaugural fund, as they prepare for the next four years of a Trump White House. Amazon, run by billionaire Jeff Bezos, intends to donate $1 million to the president-elect's inaugural fund and will stream the ceremony on Prime, amounting to another $1 million in-kind donation, according to a source familiar with the donations. The Wall Street Journal first reported Amazon's plans. Mark Zuckerberg's Meta , the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, also plans to send $1 million to Trump's inaugural fund. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman plans to make a $1 million personal donation to Trump's inaugural fund, according to an OpenAI spokesperson. Fox News Digital first reported Altman's intended donation. "President Trump will lead our country into the age of AI, and I am eager to support his efforts to ensure America stays ahead," Altman said in a statement. Elon Musk , the world's richest man and CEO of X, Tesla and SpaceX, has become a regular presence by Trump's side at Mar-a-Lago, and spent $277 million to help get Trump elected. CBS News has also reached out to Reddit, as well as major corporations who have donated to inaugural funds in the past, including Walmart, Home Depot and Target, for information about their plans. According to a source at Google, the company donated $285,000 to Biden's inaugural fund four years ago. Google has not announced plans, so far, to donate to Trump's. The Information , a tech news site, and The Wall Street Journal reported that Sundar Pichai, Google's CEO, had plans to meet with Trump. Tech company CEOs have been going to see Trump at Mar-a-Lago after years of watching his tone and stance change, or at least soften, after in-person meetings. Trump told CNBC in a Thursday interview that Bezos would visit him "next week." Bezos also owns the Washington Post, which declined to endorse a candidate in this year's presidential election, breaking with the paper's past precedent. "Presidential endorsements do nothing to tip the scales of an election," Bezos wrote at the time. Trump's relationship with social media and tech companies has, in the past, been tenuous if not downright hostile. During Trump's first term in the White House, he frequently blasted Bezos and Amazon, accusing the company of "doing great damage" to retailers and hurting "towns, cities and states throughout the U.S." He's insisted that Amazon should pay more for U.S. Postal Service deliveries. But Trump has dialed back his public hostility toward the company, and Bezos — who previously said Trump's treatment of Hillary Clinton in 2016 and refusal to accept the election results in 2020 "erodes our democracy around the edges" — has softened, too. Speaking at a New York Times DealBook Summit recently, Bezos said he's "very optimistic" about a second Trump term. "What I've seen so far is he is calmer than he was the first time and more settled," Bezos said. "You've probably grown in the last eight years. He has, too." Both X (which was called Twitter at the time) and Facebook prohibited Trump from posting to their platforms after hundreds of Trump supporters assaulted the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and Trump did little to try to stop them. Musk reinstated Trump's X account in November 2022 after taking over the company, although Trump has largely posted to his own social media platform, Truth Social. Facebook and Instagram restored Trump's accounts in early 2023. Tech CEOs weren't so eager to donate to Trump's first inaugural committee after his 2016 victory. For Trump's 2017 inauguration , which raised an eye-popping $107 million, his biggest donors were largely affiliated with sports teams, casinos, venture capital firms and banks. His most generous donor, at $5 million, was the late Las Vegas Sands founder Sheldon Adelson, who died in 2021. But, other than GoDaddy.com founder Bob Parsons, the leaders of big-name tech companies weren't giving $1 million to Trump the first time around. Trump's inaugural committee, officially known as the Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee, Inc., is a nonprofit 501(c)(4) entity that's responsible for planning inaugural events, and can accept limitless donations. Trump allies former Sen. Kelly Loeffler and investor Steve Witkoff are the committee's co-chairs. When he announced his inaugural committee and co-chairs, Trump said the committee will "honor" the "magnificent victory" he and his team had to kick off his administration. Inaugural committees add the pomp and circumstance to an inauguration, but not at taxpayers' expense. They also offer a way for donors to curry favor with an incoming administration. Donors who give $1 million to Trump's inaugural committee can expect not only tickets but face-time with the incoming president and vice president, as well as Cabinet officials. A president-elect's inaugural committee is different from the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, established by Congress, which is underwritten by taxpayers. The congressional committee, composed of members of both parties, plans and carries out the swearing-in ceremony, as well as an inaugural luncheon for the president and vice president at the Capitol. The presidential committee is responsible for all events other than those taking place at the Capitol. Only about $3.7 million was appropriated for the committee for the 2025 inauguration, according to the Congressional Research Service , but taxpayers will be spending more than that. The conservative National Taxpayers Union Foundation estimated that the 2021 inauguration, not counting the security lockdown following the Jan. 6 Capitol assault, cost at least $73 million. Libby Cathey contributed to this report.

FG FT Reb JAMES MADISON Min M-A M-A O-T A PF PTS Ricks 27 4-8 0-0 0-3 0 2 9 Hutchins-Everett 21 1-4 3-3 1-6 0 1 5 Brown 34 4-12 3-3 1-3 4 4 13 Freeman 30 3-9 0-0 0-2 0 3 7 Smith 29 2-6 2-2 3-9 3 2 6 Lindsay 28 6-11 0-0 0-0 2 1 17 Anderson 19 3-4 0-0 0-1 1 4 7 Williams 9 1-2 0-0 1-1 0 4 3 Taylor 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 Totals 200 24-56 8-8 6-25 10 22 67 Percentages: FG .429, FT 1.000.PM to go live over govt record

US crude stock rises, defying forecasts and indicating weaker demand

Zoom, Agilent, Woodward, and more set to report earnings MondayGlobal Environmental, Social And Governance ESG Investment Analytics Market Set For 18% Growth, Reaching $3.3 Billion

Players have mixed feelings about being on the road on ChristmasNone

NoneBy Anna Helhoski, NerdWallet The battle to get here was certainly an uphill one, but people are generally feeling better about the economy and their finances than they once did. On top of that, the economy has been easing into an ideal, Goldilocks-like position — not running too hot or cooling too quickly. Throughout 2024, consumer sentiment data showed people were fairly positive about the economy and their own finances, even if there’s remaining frustration over elevated prices compared to four years ago. Looking ahead, households are feeling more optimistic about their personal finances in the next year, as the share of those expecting to be in a better financial situation a year from now hit its highest level since February 2020. Combine positive personal vibes with a strong economic picture and it looks like 2024 wasn’t so bad for consumers, after all. But that doesn’t mean there weren’t bumps in the road or potential roadblocks ahead. To cap off the year, NerdWallet writers reflect on the top trends in personal finance and the economy this year — and what they think might be ahead in 2025. Elizabeth Renter, NerdWallet’s economist What happened: In 2024, U.S. consumers have proven resilient following a period of high inflation and ongoing high interest rates. Wage growth has been strong, owing in part to rising productivity. This has driven robust spending throughout the year, which has kept the economy growing at a healthy pace. The labor market has remained steady, though cooler than 2023, and price growth continues to moderate towards the Federal Reserve’s 2% inflation goal. What’s ahead: Barring significant changes to economic policy and significant shocks, the U.S. economy is expected to grow at a moderate rate in the coming year. Inflation will continue to moderate and the labor market will remain relatively healthy, all due in part to continued slow and deliberate rate cuts from the Fed. However, there are risks to this path. Higher tariffs and tighter immigration policies are likely, but the extent of these changes are yet unclear. The potential policy scenarios are many, and the economic outcomes complex. Increased tariffs are generally inflationary, and stricter immigration policies could impact the labor supply and economic growth. Consumers and small business owners with their eyes to the new year should focus on the things within their control. Margarette Burnette, consumer banking and savings writer What happened: High-yield savings accounts and certificates of deposit offered elevated rates in 2024, rewarding savers with strong returns. Following the Federal Reserve rate cuts in the second half of the year, high-yield accounts had modest rate decreases, but they continued to outperform traditional savings accounts and CDs. What’s ahead: We’re watching for further Federal Reserve rate cuts, which could lead to more decreases in savings rates. Sara Rathner, credit cards writer What happened: Credit card debt levels hit record highs, with consumers turning to credit cards to pay for necessities. While the economy is doing well, many individuals have struggled to make ends meet, as incomes haven’t kept up with certain costs. What’s ahead: We may see some policy and regulation changes with the incoming administration that could affect folks when it comes to credit cards, debt and consumer protections. Ryan Brady, small business writer What happened : New businesses continued to blossom in 2024 as business applications remained well above pre-pandemic levels. Confidence in the future state of the U.S. economy also spiked after the presidential election, but that optimism was tempered by concerns over rising costs and labor quality. What’s ahead: All eyes are on the incoming administration as small-business owners brace for turbulence resulting from potential tariffs, tax policy changes and dismantled government regulations. We’re also watching the possibility of interest rate cuts in 2025 and small-business owners’ growing reliance on new technologies, such as AI. Holden Lewis, mortgages writer What happened: Home buyers struggled with elevated mortgage rates, rising house prices and a shortage of homes for sale. On top of that, a new rule required buyers to negotiate their agents’ commissions. What’s ahead: The Federal Reserve is expected to cut short-term interest rates, but mortgage rates might not necessarily fall by a similar amount. Buyers will probably have more properties to choose from, and the greater supply should keep prices from rising a lot. Interest rates on home equity loans and lines of credit should fall, making it less expensive to borrow to fix up homes — either to sell, or to make the home more comfortable and efficient. Sam Taube, investing writer What happened: The stock market had a great year. The S&P 500 is up more than 25% due to falling interest rates, fading recession fears, AI hype, and the possibility of lighter taxes and regulations under the new administration. Cryptocurrency also saw big gains in 2024; the price of Bitcoin crossed the $100,000 mark for the first time in December. What’s ahead: A lot depends on how fast the Fed reduces rates in 2025. Another key unknown is Trump’s second term. Regulatory rollbacks, such as those he has proposed for the banking industry, could juice stock prices — but they also could create systemic risks in the economy. His proposed tariffs could also hurt economic growth (and therefore stock prices). Finally, it remains to be seen whether trendy AI stocks, such as NVIDIA, can continue their momentum into next year. It’s the same story with crypto: How long will this bull market last? Caitlin Constantine, assistant assigning editor, insurance What happened: Many people saw their home and auto insurance premiums skyrocket in 2024. In some states, homeowners are finding it harder to even find policies in the first place. Meanwhile, life insurance rates have started to decrease post-pandemic. We also saw more insurers offering online-only policies that don’t require a medical exam. What’s ahead: Auto and home insurance costs will likely continue to rise, although auto premiums may not rise as dramatically as they have over the past few years. And if you’re in the market for life insurance, expect to see competitive life insurance quotes and more customizable policies. Eliza Haverstock, student loans writer What happened: Borrowers received historic student loan relief, but lawsuits derailed an income-driven repayment plan used by 8 million whose payments are indefinitely paused. Uncertainty will carry into 2025 as a result of the presidential administration change. What’s ahead: Trump has pledged to overhaul higher education and rein in student loan relief. The fate of the SAVE repayment plan, student loan forgiveness options, FAFSA processing and more remain in the balance. Meghan Coyle, assistant assigning editor, travel What happened: People are willing to pay more for big and small luxuries while traveling, and airlines and hotels are taking note. Many airlines raised checked bag fees early in 2024, credit card issuers and airlines invested in renovated airport lounges, and major hotel companies continued to add luxury properties and brands to their loyalty programs. What’s ahead: Southwest will say goodbye to its open seating policy and introduce new extra-legroom seats, a major departure for the airline. Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines will unveil a unified loyalty program in 2025. Spirit Airlines may attempt to merge with another airline again after its 2024 bankruptcy filing and two failed mergers under President Biden’s administration. Travelers will find that they’ll have to pay a premium to enjoy most of the upgrades airlines and hotels are making. Laura McMullen, assistant assigning editor, personal finance What happened: This year, dynamic pricing expanded beyond concerts and travel to online retailers and even fast-food restaurants. This practice of prices changing based on real-time supply and demand received plenty of backlash from consumers and prompted the Federal Trade Commission to investigate how companies use consumers’ data to set prices. What’s ahead: Beyond an expansion of dynamic pricing — perhaps with added oversight — expect subscription models to become more prevalent and demand for sustainable products to grow. Shannon Bradley, autos writer What happened: New-car prices held steady in 2024 but remained high after a few years of sharp increases — the average new car now sells for about $48,000, and for the first time ever the price gap between new and used cars surpassed $20,000 (average used-car prices are now slightly more than $25,000). Overall, the car market returned to being in the buyer’s favor, as new-car inventories reached pre-pandemic levels, manufacturer incentives began making a comeback and auto loan interest rates started to decline. What’s ahead: The future of the car market is uncertain and depends on policies implemented by the incoming administration. Questions surround the impact of possible tariffs on car prices, whether auto loan rates will continue to drop, and if federal tax credits will still be available for electric vehicle buyers. Jackie Veling, personal loans writer What happened: Buy now, pay later continued to be a popular payment choice for U.S. shoppers, even while facing headwinds, like an interpretive ruling from the CFPB (which determined BNPL should be regulated the same as credit cards) and Apple’s discontinuation of its popular Apple Pay Later product. Large players like Affirm, Klarna and Afterpay continued to offer interest-free, pay-in-four plans at most major retailers, along with long-term plans for larger purchases. What’s ahead: Though more regulation had been widely anticipated in 2025, the change in administration suggests the CFPB will play a less active role in regulating BNPL products. For this reason, and its continued strength in the market, BNPL will likely keep growing. Taryn Phaneuf, news writer What happened: Easing inflation was a bright spot in 2024. In June, the consumer price index fell below 3% for the first time in three years. Consumers saw prices level off or decline for many goods, including for groceries, gas and new and used vehicles. But prices haven’t fallen far enough or broadly enough to relieve the pinch many households feel. What’s ahead: The new and higher tariffs proposed by the Trump administration could reignite inflation on a wide range of goods. Taryn Phaneuf, news writer What happened: Rent prices remain high, but annual rent inflation slowed significantly compared to recent years, staying around 3.5% for much of 2024, according to Zillow, a real estate website that tracks rents. A wave of newly constructed rental units on the market seems to be helping ease competition among renters and forcing landlords to offer better incentives for signing a lease. What’s ahead: If it continues, a softening rental market could work in renters’ favor. But construction is one of several industries that could see a shortage of workers if the Trump administration follows through on its promise to deport undocumented immigrants. A shortage of workers would mean fewer houses and apartments could be built. Anna Helhoski, news writer What happened: After a contentious presidential campaign, former President Donald Trump declared victory over Vice President Kamala Harris. While on the campaign trail, Trump promised to lower inflation, cut taxes, enact tariffs, weaken the power of the Federal Reserve, deport undocumented immigrants and more. Many economists have said Trump’s proposals, if enacted, would likely be inflationary. In Congress, Republicans earned enough seats to control both houses. What’s ahead: It’s unclear which campaign promises Trump will fulfill on his own and with the support of the new Congress. He has promised a slew of “day one” actions that could lead to higher prices, including across-the-board tariffs and mass deportations. Most recently, Trump pledged to enact 20% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, as well as an additional 10% tariff on China. He has also promised to extend or make permanent the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act; many of its provisions expire by the end of 2025. Anna Helhoski, news writer What happened: Fiscal year 2023-2024’s funding saga finally came to an end in March, then six months later, the battle to fund the fiscal year 2024-2025 began. The Biden Administration waged its own war against junk fees . Antitrust enforcers pushed back against tech giants like Amazon, Apple, Google, and Meta; prevented the Kroger-Albertsons merger; nixed the Jet Blue-Spirit Airlines merger; and moved to ban noncompete agreements. The Supreme Court rejected a challenge to the constitutionality of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, as well as a challenge to abortion pill access. SCOTUS also overruled its landmark Chevron case, which means every federal regulatory agency’s power to set and enforce its own rules are now weaker. What’s ahead: The election’s red sweep means the GOP will control the executive and legislative branches of government. They’ll face the threat of at least one more potential government shutdown; a debt ceiling drama comeback; and the beginning of the debate over extending or making permanent provisions of the expiring 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Anna Helhoski writes for NerdWallet. Email: anna@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @AnnaHelhoski. The article What Trended in Personal Finance in 2024? originally appeared on NerdWallet .0 plus 。

Alector Announces Results from AL002 INVOKE-2 Phase 2 Trial in Individuals with Early Alzheimer’s Disease and Provides Business Update

Donald Trump took to his Truth Social platform on Monday to react to the move by special counsel Jack Smith to " dismiss the federal charges against him for interfering in the 2020 presidential election. These charges could theoretically be brought again after Trump leaves office if the political will exists at the time. But for now, Trump appears home free on the federal front — and he celebrated with a rage-filled post accusing Smith baselessly of a political witch hunt, and baselessly accusing him of orchestrating various other state cases against him as well. "These cases, like all of the other cases I have been forced to go through, are empty and lawless, and should never have been brought," he wrote. "Over $100 Million Dollars of Taxpayer Dollars has been wasted in the Democrat Party’s fight against their Political Opponent, ME. Nothing like this has ever happened in our Country before." "They have also used State Prosecutors and District Attorneys, such as Fani Willis and her lover, Nathan Wade (who had absolutely zero experience in cases such as this, but was paid MILLIONS, enough for them to take numerous trips and cruises around the globe!), Letitia James , who inappropriately, unethically, and probably illegally, campaigned on 'GETTING TRUMP' in order to win Political Office, and Alvin Bragg, who himself never wanted to bring this case against me, but was forced to do so by the Justice Department and the Democrat Party." ALSO READ: The America-attacking Trump is coming for our military — and then he's coming for us "It was a political hijacking, and a low point in the History of our Country that such a thing could have happened, and yet, I persevered, against all odds, and WON," he added. "MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!" The classified documents case, also brought by Smith, will also remain dismissed, as the government no longer will appeal the lower court decision throwing it out; they may continue to do so for Trump's co-defendants in that case, Walt Nauta and Carlos de Oliveira, but Trump's Justice Department can dismiss those as well after he takes office. All of this leaves the Manhattan criminal case, where Trump was already convicted, but where prosecutors now want sentencing postponed until after his presidency .

LANDOVER, Md. (AP) — Allowing two kickoff return touchdowns and missing an extra point all in the final few minutes added up to the Washington Commanders losing a third consecutive game in excruciating fashion. The underlying reason for this slide continuing was a problem long before that. An offense led by dynamic rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels that was among the NFL's best for a long stretch of the season put up just nine points and 169 yards for the first three-plus quarters against Dallas before falling behind 20-9 and teeing off on the Cowboys' conservative defense. “We just couldn’t really get it going,” said receiver Terry McLaurin , whose lengthy touchdown with 21 seconds left masked that he had just three catches for 16 yards through three quarters. “We’ve got to find a way to start faster and sustain drives, and that’s everybody: the whole coaching staff and the offensive players just going out there and figuring out ways that we can stay on the field.” This is not a new problem for Washington, which had a season-low 242 yards in a Nov. 10 home loss to Pittsburgh and 264 yards four days later in a defeat at Philadelphia. Since returning from a rib injury that knocked him out of a game last month, Daniels has completed just under 61% of his passes, after 75.6% over his first seven professional starts. Daniels and coach Dan Quinn have insisted this isn't about injury. The coaching staff blamed a lack of adequate practice time, but a full week of it before facing the Cowboys did not solve the problem. It is now fair to wonder if opponents have seen enough film of offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury's system to figure it out. “I think teams and coordinators are going to see what other teams have success against us and try to figure out how they could incorporate that into their scheme," Daniels said after going 12 of 22 for 80 yards passing through three quarters in the Dallas game. "We’ve been in third and longer a lot these past couple games, so that’s kind of where you get into the exotic pressures and stuff like that. We’ve just got to be better on first and second downs and stay ahead of the chains.” Daniels has a point there, and it predates this losing streak. The Commanders have converted just 36% of third-down opportunities (27 for 75) over their past seven games after 52% (31 for 60) in their first five. That challenge doesn't get any easier with Tennessee coming to town Sunday. The Titans, despite being 3-8, have the second-best third-down defense in the league at 31.6%. What’s working The defense kept the Commanders in the game against Dallas, allowing just 10 points until the fourth quarter and 20 total before kickoff return touchdowns piled on to the other side of the scoreboard. Even Cooper Rush's 22-yard touchdown pass to Luke Schoonmaker with five minutes left came after a turnover that gave the Cowboys the ball at the Washington 44. The defense spending more than 35 minutes on the field certainly contributed to fatigue as play wore on. What needs help The running game that contributed to a 7-2 start has taken a hit, in part because of injuries to top back Brian Robinson Jr. The Commanders got 145 yards on the ground because Daniels had 74 on seven carries, but running backs combined for just 57. Daniels could not say how much the rushing attack stalling has contributed to the offense going stagnant. “You’ve got to be able to run the ball, keep the defense honest,” he said. "We got to execute the plays that are called in, and we didn’t do a good job of doing that.” Stock up Linebacker Frankie Luvu keeps making the case to be first-year general manager Adam Peters' best free agent signing. He and fellow offseason addition Bobby Wagner tied for a team-high eight tackles, and Luvu also knocked down three passes against Dallas. Stock down Kicker Austin Seibert going wide left on the point-after attempt that would have tied the score with 21 seconds left was his third miss of the game. He also was short on a 51-yard field goal attempt and wide left on an earlier extra point. Seibert, signed a week into the season after Cade York struggled in the opener, made 25 of 27 field goal tries and was 22 of 22 on extra points before injuring his right hip and missing the previous two games. He brushed off his health and the low snap from Tyler Ott while taking responsibility for not connecting. “I made the decision to play, and here we are,” Seibert said. “I just wasn’t striking it well. But it means a lot to me to be here with these guys, so I just want to put my best foot moving forward.” Injuries Robinson's sprained ankle and fellow running back Austin Ekeler's concussion from a late kickoff return that led to him being hospitalized for further evaluation are two major immediate concerns. Quinn said Monday that Ekeler and starting right tackle Andrew Wylie are in concussion protocol. It's unclear if Robinson will be available against Tennessee, which could mean Chris Rodriguez Jr. getting elevated from the practice squad to split carries with Jeremy McNichols. The Commanders still have not gotten cornerback Marshon Lattimore into a game since acquiring him at the trade deadline from New Orleans. Lattimore is trying to return from a hamstring injury, and the secondary could use him against Calvin Ridley, who's coming off a 93-yard performance at Houston. Key number 17 — Handoffs to a running back against Dallas, a significant decrease from much of the season before this losing streak. Next steps Don't overlook the Titans with the late bye week coming immediately afterward. The Commanders opened as more than a touchdown favorite, but after the results over the weekend, BetMGM Sportsbook had it as 5 1/2 points Monday. ___ AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl Stephen Whyno, The Associated PressDave Portnoy gives surprise view of Caitlin Clark's 'white privilege' remarks and compares her to Simone Biles READ MORE: Megyn Kelly slams Caitlin Clark for 'apologizing' for being white By LEOCCIANO CALLAO Published: 21:58 GMT, 13 December 2024 | Updated: 22:00 GMT, 13 December 2024 e-mail 10 shares 3 View comments While Dave Portnoy disagreed with Caitlin Clark 's comment about white privilege, the Barstool Sports chief had a unique take on the WNBA star's acknowledgment. Earlier this week, the Indiana Fever rookie sensation was named Time Magazine's 'Athlete of the Year' in honor of her impact on and off the basketball court. With another prize added to her trophy case amid her soaring popularity, Clark noted how she deserved the honor. However, she also acknowledged being a benefactor of white privilege while highlighting the issues the WNBA is facing in its young history. 'I want to say I've earned every single thing, but as a white person, there is privilege,' Clark told Time. 'A lot of those players in the league that have been really good have been black players,' she continued. 'This league has kind of been built on them. 'The more we can appreciate that, highlight that, talk about that, and then continue to have brands and companies invest in those players that have made this league incredible. I think it's very important. I have to continue to try to change that. The more we can elevate black women, that's going to be a beautiful thing.' Dave Portnoy claimed that Caitlin Clark should not have commented on her white privilege The WNBA star made the remarks after being named Time Magazine's Athlete of the Year Portnoy compared Clark to black athletes such as Simone Biles and Serena Williams Read More Caitlin Clark's fiercest critic Sheryl Swoopes aims another dig at WNBA star after TIME award On Friday, Portnoy joined Stuart Varney on Fox Business' Varney & Co. and was asked about Clark's statement upon receiving the award. In his response, Portnoy drew parallels between Clark and African-American sports icons. 'She was put in a tough spot,' Portnoy said. 'She said she deserves it. It has nothing to do with white privilege, but she's in a league, and she's had to deal with any time she's been successful over the past year, two years, everyone's tearing her down, saying, 'Oh, it's only because you're white.' 'That's garbage. You don't hear people talk about it – Was Tiger Woods white privilege? Was Simone Biles white privilege? Was Serena Williams white privilege?' 'What she has similar with all athletes, black, white, indifferent, she's the most unique talent we have seen in this sport,' he continued. 'That's why everyone loves her. It has nothing to do with the color of her skin. She, in a lot of ways, I think, doesn't want to be the center of this controversy, but every time you mention her name, it's brought up. 'And I think this was just her trying to appease both sides. I personally wish she didn't say it, but I certainly understand why she would and maybe I would in those shoes too.' Clark won the award after boosting the WNBA's popularity. Upon her arrival, the sharpshooter inspired a spike in the league's viewership and attendance numbers. Her performances warranted the following as she racked up unpresented number and broke standing records . Before turning pro, Clark built a wide following with the Iowa Hawkeyes, where she led the team to back-to-back title games, despite losing both. She became the first overall pick in the WNBA Draft and helped the Indiana Fever to their first playoff appearance since 2016. Clark secured the Rookie of the Year honor while finishing fourth in MVP voting. While her debut season was widely celebrated due to her skill, it did not come without challenges as she regularly became the center of heated culture wars fanned by the media. Nonetheless, the WNBA is a benefactor for Clark's ability to draw an audience. Following their first-round exit, courtesy of the Connecticut Sun, Clark and the Fever will open their season against Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky on May 17. Simone Biles Caitlin Clark WNBA Share or comment on this article: Dave Portnoy gives surprise view of Caitlin Clark's 'white privilege' remarks and compares her to Simone Biles e-mail 10 shares Add comment

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Welcome back to Kotaku ’s Weekend Guide, the post-Game Awards edition! If you missed out on last night’s pretty-darn-good awards show , we have a wrap- up of everything cool we saw, and a summary of all the awards won . But if you’re also looking for some great game recommendations to fill your weekend with, we most certainly have you covered here. This weekend we’ve got a GOTY nominee, some wild fun multiplayer shenanigans, and a super-fun 2D platformer. Let’s dig in! Play it on: PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, Windows (Steam Deck YMMV) Current goal: Reach the Mad Mall The first time I saw Antonblast I thought it was Pizza Tower . The second time I saw Antonblast I thought it was Pizza Tower . And the third time I saw Antonblast I thought it was Pizza Tower , too. I have now played Antonblast and can confirm that while it shares similar Wario Land vibes and ‘90s DNA with last year’s crowd-pleasing, lightning-quick 2D platformer , Antonblast is definitely its own thing. It’s more challenging, even faster, and shares some familiar tropes from the slippy-slidy obstacle course racing of Crash Bandicoot , including stampeding through boxes, hitting a cache of explosives, and dying. The idea is to breeze through levels as quickly as possible, smashing through all kinds of colorful junk littering each stage, and survive the gauntlet of hazards and boss fights placed in your path. It’s loud, chunky, and occasionally gives me a headache with all of the screenshake. It’s also a firehose of satisfying arcade action and chaotic animations. I keep going back for more. — Ethan Gach Play it on: PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Windows (Steam Deck YMMV) Current goal: Start over! Back in 2015, I had worked my way pretty far into The Witcher 3 , only to find that I was capital-L Lost. I didn’t know what was going on. Barely understood the universe, and that’s to say nothing of my sloppy knowledge of the mechanics. So I restarted the game from the beginning with the intention of going through it nice and slow and, look at that, it became one of my favorite games of the 2010s. Now, on the cusp of 2025, I find myself in a similar situation with GOTY-nominated RPG Metaphor: ReFantazio . Whether it was my diving in while in a, um...high state of mind or simply that the game is so heavy—a little too heavy, in my opinion—on the fantasy political lore, I’m a bit too lost at this point to grasp what’s going on. But I do know that this game has had me intrigued since I decided to temporarily shelve it in favor of Forbidden West and I knew I was going to have to revisit it. So my goal for this weekend is to get a fresh start! I’m really excited to start unpacking Metaphor’s themes of, well, metaphors. I’m particularly intrigued by how the game plays with the ways fiction serves as important inspiration, offering a way to envision a better world. And I’m a sucker for anything with turn-based combat. The game is also visually delightful, so if I still struggle to keep up with the plot, well at least I’ve got something pretty to look at. — Claire Jackson Play it on: PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Windows (Steam Deck YMMV) Current goal: Turn my brain off I don’t know if it’s just the state of the world or if it’s seasonal depression or what, but I have been feeling really out of it lately. It didn’t feel great to be stuck at home while a lot of folks I know were gathered in Los Angeles for The Game Awards, and with my usual Marvel Rivals teammates MIA, I didn’t even play the games I’d normally play because it just felt bad to solo queue. This weekend, I’m gonna try to fight my inclination to avoid the game and instead play the Not- Overwatch until I pass out. I have to travel next week for the holidays, so getting started on something really involved right now wouldn’t be the best play. Instead, I’m gonna flank randos with Star-Lord’s ultimate until I get a clip. — Kenneth Shepard Play it on: Current goal: Level up my battle pass some more! And so, another weekend in which I’m planning to play more Fortnite is upon us. I’m starting to worry that people reading these every week might assume it’s the only game I play. It’s not! At this point in my life, though, I have to admit that Epic’s free-to-play battle royale is one of my most played games, likely beating out Skyrim, Half-Life 2, and even Halo . The number of hours I’ve put into Fortnite is probably starting to get close to surpassing the time I’ve spent with GTA Online . Scary to think about. Anyway, every few months Fortnite gets some new mode or event and I spend a few bucks to buy a skin or whatever and have a ton of fun playing it with my wife. Yeah, I know gamers playing the same four games and nothing else are slowly eroding the industry and destroying everything, but it’s not my fault that no other game lets me kill Goku while dressed as Spider-Man with Grogu on my back. Come on Ca ll of Duty , are you even trying? — Zack Zwiezen And that wraps our picks for this week! Happy gaming!

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BOISE — Armando Gonzalez knows it sounds crazy. But winning state championships has never been the No. 1 goal of his program. Yet, the Rigby head coach just racked up his fourth state title in just his eighth season at the helm following a 41-21 win over Eagle Saturday in the Class 6A State Final at Albertsons Stadium. "We take care of our conference, beating our rival Madison and winning in the playoffs in the first round. And once we do that, I tell the kids, 'We're playing with house money. We're at the roulette table with house money and let's just go have fun and see if we're good enough,'" Gonzalez told the Post Register. "They don't have to look at the scoreboard and they can just enjoy the moment. It's like their playing sixth-grade football again. That's what we've bought into and that's why we've been succesful over the last six, seven years." The Trojans (11-1) have now equaled rival Highland for the most succesful run in Class 6A history. They join the Rams as the only team in classification history to win four state titles in six years. Highland did it from 1997 to 2002. Rigby hadn't won a single state championship prior to Gonzalez's arrival from Southern California in 2017. “It’s never been about state championships,” said Gonzalez, who also hoisted up the trophy in 2019, 21, 22. “Randy Waite, the previous coach, did an excellent job elevating the level of play and commitment level of these kids, so that they knew what it took to play consistently at a high level against good quality teams.” Led by the dynamic running back duo of Jerzey Duenes and Amani Morel, the Trojans did so again Saturday night against Eagle. Just a week earlier, the Mustangs had stunned Coeur d'Alene, which handed Rigby its only loss (24-14) in the season opener all the way back on Aug. 23. But thanks to a ground attack that racked up 335 of their 425 yards of total offense, the Trojans avoided the upset themselves. They piled up 107 rushing yards alone in a fourth quarter that began with a weather delay and them down 21-20. The Mustangs had just taken the lead on a 1-yard touchdown run by Noah Burnham, who finished the game with 140 yards on the ground, with 20 seconds remaining in the third quarter. With lightning in the area, both teams were sent to the locker room, though. A 35-minute delay ensued before play was resumed. And when it did, Rigby took command. Just three plays after the delay ended, Parker Graham hauled in a 25-yard touchdown pass from Jacob Flowers as the Trojans regained the lead for good at 28-21 with 11 minutes and 23 seconds remaining. But just to be sure, Morel scored on a 30-yard run with 6:20 to go. Duenes then put the final nail in the coffin with a 20-yard touchdown run with just a little more than a minute left in regulation. “Right after warm up, we hit it with the tempo,” Duenes said. “As fast as we can go. As we talked about in there, Coach G (Gonzalez) said we are built for this.” Duenes led the way with 190 yards and the score. Morel, who transferred in from nearby Skyline where he was a first-team all-state running back a year ago, had 116 and a pair of touchdowns, including a 3-yard run at the beginning of the second quarter to give Rigby a 20-14 lead. “The longer this game went, the more it was going to tilt in our favor,” Gonzalez said. “This is what we do all year long. These kids work so hard to get us to this point. No one has any idea what goes on behind the scenes. They just see all the state championship appearances and trophies.” The Trojans jumped out to a 13-0 lead midway through the first quarter. They scored on the game's opening drive of the game after Flowers hit Kasyn Thomas in the back of the endzone for a 4-yard touchdown pass. Tayden Outhenthapanya followed that up by blocking an Eagle punt and Quinn Bennett scooped it up for a 5-yard touchdown return to give Rigby a double-digit lead less than seven minutes into the game. But the Mustangs (9-3) responded with a 21-7 run that gave them the lead not once, but twice. Austin Ramsey dropped a 27-yard dime to Gavin Crawford at the 5:02 mark of the second quarter before Aaron Zrno popped off for a 92-yard kickoff return to give them their first lead of the game at 14-13 on the opening play of the second half. However, the Trojans outscored them 28-7 the rest of the way, including a 21-0 fourth-quarter run that left no doubt on who the best team in the state was this year − state championship aspirations or not. "Coach G makes sure there's a brotherhood and then we all love each other," Duenes said. "We do it for each other. "It's always for those boys out there."Three PTI Supporters Killed Amid Islamabad Protests Demanding Imran Khan’s Release

Yes, Biltmore Estate is open, and it's as Christmassy as ever

Airports and highways are expected to be jam-packed week, a holiday period likely to end with for air travel in the United States. AAA predicts that nearly 80 million Americans will between Tuesday and next Monday, most of them by car. However, travelers could be impacted by ongoing weather challenges and those flying to their destinations could be grounded by delays brought on by airline staffing shortages and . Here's the latest: U.S. airlines are preparing for a Thanksgiving holiday rush, and so are the U.S. Postal Service, United Parcel Service and FedEx. Shipping companies will deliver about 2.2 billion packages to homes and businesses across the U.S. from Thanksgiving to Dec. 31, said Satish Jindel, a shipping and logistics expert and president of ShipMatrix. That’s down from 2.3 billion packages last year. Because the shopping period is a week shorter than in 2023, consumers are shopping further ahead of Black Friday and more purchases are taking place in physical stores, he said. The number of holiday package shipments grew 27% in 2020 and by more than 3% the following year during the pandemic. The numbers have been falling since then, with a projected decline of about 6% this holiday season. Looking to de-stress while waiting for your flight? Many airports have a fleet of — designated fidos and puppers that are eager to receive pets and snuggles from weary travelers. Rules and schedules vary from airport to airport, but the group uses online crowdsourcing to share the locations of therapy dogs across its various social media accounts. Today, Gracie, a toy Australian shepherd, and Budge, an English bulldog, wandered the concourses at Denver International Airport, and an American Staffordshire Terrier named Hugo greeted travelers at Punta Gorda Airport in Florida. Some airports even feature other therapy pals. includes a Flemish Giant rabbit and a hypoallergenic pig. “We cannot live on the wages that we are being paid,” ABM cabin cleaner Priscilla Hoyle said at a rally earlier Monday. “I can honestly say it’s hard every single day with my children, working a full-time job but having to look my kids in the eyes and sit there and say, ‘I don’t know if we’re going to have a home today.’” Timothy Lowe II, a wheelchair attendant, said he has to figure out where to spend the night because he doesn’t make enough for a deposit on a home. “We just want to be able to have everything that’s a necessity paid for by the job that hired us to do a great job so they can make billions,” he said. ABM said it is “committed to addressing concerns swiftly” and that there are avenues for employees to communicate issues, including a national hotline and a “general open door policy for managers at our worksite.” Employees of ABM and Prospect Airport Services cast ballots Friday to authorize the work stoppage at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, a hub for American Airlines. They described living paycheck to paycheck while performing jobs that keep planes running on schedule. Most of them earn $12.50 to $19 an hour, union officials said. Rev. Glencie Rhedrick of Charlotte Clergy Coalition for Justice said those workers should make $22 to $25 an hour. The strike is expected to last 24 hours. Several hundred workers participated in the work stoppage. Forty-four fights have been canceled today and nearly 1,900 were delayed by midday on the East Coast, . According to the organization’s cheekily named , San Francisco International Airport is having the most hiccups right now, with 53 delays and three cancellations between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. EST. While that might sound like a lot of delays, they might not be so bad compared to last Friday when the airport suffered 671 delays and 69 cancellations. In an apparent effort to reduce the headaches caused by airport line cutting, has rolled out boarding technology that alerts gate agents with an audible sound if a passenger tries to scan a ticket ahead of their assigned group. This new software won’t accept a boarding pass before the group it’s assigned to is called, so customers who get to the gate prematurely will be asked to go back and wait their turn. As of Wednesday, the airline announced, the technology is now being used in more than 100 U.S. airports that American flies out of. The official expansion arrives after successful — Albuquerque International Sunport, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and Tucson International Airport. ▶ Read more about in the best of times. Now add in the high-level anxiety that seems to be baked into every and it’s clear travelers could use some help calming frazzled nerves. Here are a few ways to make your holiday journey a little less stressful: 1. Make a checklist of what you need to do and what you need to bring 2. Carry your comfort with you — think noise-canceling headphones, cozy clothes, snacks and extra medication 3. Stay hydrated 4. Keep up to date on delays, gate changes and cancellations with your airline’s app ▶ Read more tips Thanksgiving Day takes place late this year, with the fourth Thursday of November falling on Nov. 28. That shortens the traditional shopping season and changes the rhythm of holiday travel. With more time before , people tend to spread out their outbound travel over more days, but everyone returns at the same time, said Andrew Watterson, the chief operating officer of . “A late Thanksgiving leads to a big crush at the end,” Watterson said. “The Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday after Thanksgiving are usually very busy with Thanksgiving this late.” Airlines did a relatively good job of handling holiday crowds last year, when the weather was mild in most of the country. Fewer than 400 U.S. flights were canceled during Thanksgiving week in 2023 — about one out of every 450 flights. So far in 2024, airlines have canceled about 1.3% of all flights. Drivers should know that Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons will be the worst times to travel by car, but it should be smooth sailing on freeways come Thanksgiving Day, according to transportation analytics company INRIX. On the return home, the best travel times for motorists are before 1 p.m. on Sunday, and before 8 a.m. or after 7 p.m. on Monday, the company said. In metropolitan areas like Boston, Los Angeles, New York, Seattle and Washington, “traffic is expected to be more than double what it typically is on a normal day,” INRIX transportation analyst Bob Pishue said. Federal Aviation Administration Administrator Mike Whitaker said last week that he expects his agency to use special measures at some facilities to deal with an ongoing shortage of air traffic controllers. In the past, those facilities have included and Florida. “If we are short on staff, we will slow traffic as needed to keep the system safe,” Whitaker said. The FAA has long struggled with a shortage of controllers that airline officials expect will last for years, despite the agency’s lofty hiring goals. 5. Auto club and insurance company AAA predicts that nearly 80 million Americans will venture at least 50 miles from home between Tuesday and next Monday. Most of them will travel by car. 6. Drivers should get a slight break on . The nationwide average price for gasoline was $3.06 a gallon on Sunday, down from $3.27 at this time last year. 7. The Transportation Security Administration expects 18.3 million people at U.S. airports during the same seven-day stretch. That would be 6% more than during the corresponding days last year but fit a pattern set throughout 2024. 8. The TSA predicts that 3 million people will pass through checkpoints on Sunday; more than that could break the record of 3.01 million set on the Sunday after the July Fourth holiday. Tuesday and Wednesday are expected to be the next busiest air travel days of Thanksgiving week. ▶ Read more about Workers who clean airplanes, remove trash and help with wheelchairs at Charlotte’s airport, one of the nation’s busiest, went on strike Monday to demand higher wages. The Service Employees International Union announced the strike in a statement early Monday, saying the workers would demand “an end to poverty wages and respect on the job during the holiday travel season.” The strike was expected to last 24 hours, said union spokesperson Sean Keady. Employees of ABM and Prospect Airport Services to authorize the work stoppage at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, a hub for American Airlines. The two companies contract with American, one of the world’s biggest carriers, to provide services such as cleaning airplane interiors, removing trash and escorting passengers in wheelchairs. ▶ Read more about Parts of the Midwest and East Coast can expect to see heavy rain into Thanksgiving, and there’s potential for snow in Northeastern states. A storm last week brought rain to New York and New Jersey, where wildfires have raged in recent weeks, and heavy snow to northeastern Pennsylvania. The precipitation was expected to help ease after an exceptionally dry fall. in northeastern Pennsylvania, including the Pocono Mountains. Higher elevations reported up to 17 inches (43 centimeters), with lesser accumulations in valley cities including Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. Around 35,000 customers in 10 counties were still without power, down from 80,000 a day ago. In the Catskills region of New York, nearly 10,000 people remained without power Sunday morning, two days after a storm dumped heavy snow on parts of the region. Precipitation in West Virginia helped put a dent in the state’s worst drought in at least two decades and boosted ski resorts as they prepare to open in the weeks ahead. ▶ Read more about Two people died after a rapidly intensifying “ ” hit the West Coast last Tuesday, bringing that toppled trees and power lines and damaged homes and cars. Hundreds of thousands lost electricity in Washington state before powerful gusts and record rains moved into Northern California. Forecasters said the risk of flooding and mudslides remained as the region will get more rain starting Sunday. But the latest storm won’t be as intense as last week’s , a long plume of moisture that forms over an ocean and flows over land. “However, there’s still threats, smaller threats, and not as significant in terms of magnitude, that are still going to exist across the West Coast for the next two or three days,” weather service forecaster Rich Otto said. As the rain moves east throughout the week, Otto said, there’s a potential for heavy snowfall at higher elevations of the Sierra Nevada, as well as portions of Utah and Colorado. California’s Mammoth Mountain, which received 2 feet (0.6 meters) of fresh snow in the recent storm, could get another 4 feet (1.2 meters) before the newest system clears out Wednesday, the resort said. Another round of wintry weather could complicate travel leading up to the Thanksgiving holiday, according to forecasts across the U.S., while California and Washington state continue to recover from storm damage and power outages. In California, where two people were found dead in floodwaters on Saturday, authorities braced for more rain while grappling with flooding and small landslides from a . Here’s a look at some of the regional forecasts: 9. Sierra Nevada: The National Weather Service office issued a winter storm warning through Tuesday, with heavy snow expected at higher elevations and wind gusts potentially reaching 55 mph (88 kph). Total snowfall of roughly 4 feet (1.2 meters) was forecast, with the heaviest accumulations expected Monday and Tuesday. 10. Midwest and Great Lakes: The Midwest and Great Lakes regions will see rain and snow Monday and the East Coast will be the most impacted on Thanksgiving and Black Friday, forecasters said. 11. East Coast: A low pressure system is forecast to bring rain to the Southeast early Thursday before heading to the Northeast. Areas from Boston to New York could see rain and breezy conditions, with snowfall possible in parts of northern New Hampshire, northern Maine and the Adirondacks. If the system tracks further inland, there could be less snow and more rain in the mountains, forecasters said. ▶ Read more about

NoneMIAMI, Nov. 25, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- InspireMD, Inc. (Nasdaq: NSPR), developer of the CGuardTM Embolic Prevention Stent System (EPS) for the prevention of stroke, today announced the appointment of accomplished medical technology executive Scott R. Ward to its Board of Directors. Mr. Ward most recently served as Chief Executive Officer and President of Cardiovascular Systems, Inc. prior to its acquisition by Abbott (NYSE: ABT) in April 2023. Paul Stuka, Chairman of the Board of InspireMD, stated, “We are extremely fortunate to add Scott to what I consider to be a world-class Board of Directors. With his extensive operational experience and track record in the cardiovascular space, his insights will be invaluable as the Company rapidly approaches potential U.S. approval of CGuard Prime, the most significant value inflection point in its history. I look forward to Scott’s contributions and believe he will have an immediate impact.” Marvin Slosman, Chief Executive Officer of InspireMD and Board member, commented, “The addition of Scott to our Board adds tremendous experience in the cardiovascular field, with a track record of growth and innovation as an executive, a board member and investor. His experience and legacy in the space will help guide us through our next stages of advancing our novel carotid platform as part of a comprehensive approach to catalyzing on the market shift toward a stent first standard while also guiding our pipeline of innovation, including our CAS, TCAR and Neuro focus.” “I am very excited to join the InspireMD Board at such a transformational time for the company,” added Mr. Ward. “With an impressive body of data demonstrating the superior short- and long-term patient outcomes of its novel CGuard Prime carotid stent system, I believe that CGuard, when approved in the U.S., will quickly become a new standard-of-care for carotid intervention and stroke prevention. I look forward to working with my fellow Board members and the InspireMD leadership team to achieve this goal.” Mr. Ward has over 40 years of experience in the healthcare industry, including nearly 30 years at Medtronic, Inc. where he served in various leadership roles including as Senior Vice President and President of the CardioVascular, Neurological and Diabetes businesses. Mr. Ward is the Founder of Raymond Holdings, a firm with activities in venture capital, strategy and transactional advisory services for medical technology and life science companies. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Genetics and Cell Biology, his Master of Science in Toxicology, and his Master of Business Administration, all from the University of Minnesota. About InspireMD, Inc. InspireMD seeks to utilize its proprietary MicroNet ® technology to make its products the industry standard for carotid stenting by providing outstanding acute results and durable, stroke-free long-term outcomes. InspireMD’s common stock is quoted on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol NSPR. We routinely post information that may be important to investors on our website. For more information, please visit www.inspiremd.com . Forward-looking Statements This press release contains “forward-looking statements.” Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding InspireMD or its management team’s expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future. Such statements may be preceded by the words “intends,” “may,” “will,” “plans,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “projects,” “predicts,” “estimates,” “aims,” “believes,” “hopes,” “potential”, “scheduled” or similar words. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding InspireMD or its management team’s or directors’ expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding future events, future financial performance, strategies, expectations, competitive environment and regulation, including potential U.S. commercial launch.. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, are based on certain assumptions and are subject to various known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the company’s control, and cannot be predicted or quantified and consequently; actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, risks and uncertainties associated with our history of recurring losses and negative cash flows from operating activities, significant future commitments and the uncertainty regarding the adequacy of our liquidity to pursue our complete business objectives, and substantial doubt regarding our ability to continue as a going concern; our need to raise additional capital to meet our business requirements in the future and such capital raising may be costly or difficult to obtain and could dilute our stockholders’ ownership interests; market acceptance of our products; an inability to secure and maintain regulatory approvals for the sale of our products; negative clinical trial results or lengthy product delays in key markets; our ability to maintain compliance with the Nasdaq listing standards; our ability to generate revenues from our products and obtain and maintain regulatory approvals for our products; our ability to adequately protect our intellectual property; our dependence on a single manufacturing facility and our ability to comply with stringent manufacturing quality standards and to increase production as necessary; the risk that the data collected from our current and planned clinical trials may not be sufficient to demonstrate that our technology is an attractive alternative to other procedures and products; intense competition in our industry, with competitors having substantially greater financial, technological, research and development, regulatory and clinical, manufacturing, marketing and sales, distribution and personnel resources than we do; entry of new competitors and products and potential technological obsolescence of our products; inability to carry out research, development and commercialization plans; loss of a key customer or supplier; technical problems with our research and products and potential product liability claims; product malfunctions; price increases for supplies and components; insufficient or inadequate reimbursement by governmental and other third-party payers for our products; our efforts to successfully obtain and maintain intellectual property protection covering our products, which may not be successful; adverse federal, state and local government regulation, in the United States, Europe or Israel and other foreign jurisdictions; the fact that we conduct business in multiple foreign jurisdictions, exposing us to foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations, logistical and communications challenges, burdens and costs of compliance with foreign laws and political and economic instability in each jurisdiction; the escalation of hostilities in Israel, which could impair our ability to manufacture our products; and current or future unfavorable economic and market conditions and adverse developments with respect to financial institutions and associated liquidity risk. More detailed information about the Company and the risk factors that may affect the realization of forward-looking statements is set forth in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K and its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Investors and security holders are urged to read these documents free of charge on the SEC’s web site at http://www.sec.gov. The Company assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise its forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Investor Contacts: Craig Shore Chief Financial Officer InspireMD, Inc. 888-776-6804 craigs@inspiremd.com Chuck Padala, Managing Director LifeSci Advisors 646-627-8390 chuck@lifesciadvisors.com investor-relations@inspiremd.comNoneNo. 8 Kentucky flying high ahead of Western Kentucky meeting

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The largest intergenerational wealth transfer in US history is about to take place — though the vast majority of Americans are unlikely to inherit much money at all. About $US105 trillion ($164 trillion) is projected to be passed down from older generations over the next quarter century, according to research firm Cerulli Associates, an amount roughly equal to global gross domestic product in 2023. Rising stock markets and home prices, as well as inflation, have fattened the estates that members of the baby boom generation are expected to leave their heirs. Credit: Glenn Hunt Rising stock markets and home prices, as well as inflation, have fattened the estates that members of the baby boom generation, born between 1946 and 1964, are expected to leave their heirs. The latest inheritance projection by Cerulli is 45 per cent higher than the 25-year forecast the firm made only three years ago. US gifts and inheritances are expected to total $US2.5 trillion next year alone. “About 80 per cent of the wealth held today is going to be in motion,” Chayce Horton, the lead author of the Cerulli report, said in an interview. “The ratio of wealth expected to be changing hands in the next 25 years is significant, and much greater than what we even saw a decade ago.” Yet even as the assets of millions of ageing Americans are passed on, the share of the US population that will benefit from inherited money has remained static, a sign of how accumulating family wealth has become more concentrated among the most affluent households. At the same time, money passed down from one generation to another accounts for a growing share of the overall wealth of heirs, rising relative to income from work or investments. Inherited money represented about a quarter of the net worth of households that received it, a Bloomberg analysis of the Federal Reserve’s 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances found, up from roughly 10 per cent in the late 1990s. “We’re becoming less of an economy that promotes entrepreneurship and production and more of an economy focused on inheritance and dynasty,” said Chuck Collins, Director of the Program on Inequality and the Common Good at the Institute for Policy Studies. Collins, whose great-grandfather founded the hot dog and lunchmeat maker Oscar Mayer, gave up his inheritance when he was in his twenties. He is now a member of the Patriotic Millionaires, a nonprofit group of affluent Americans that pushes for the wealthy to pay higher tax rates. Receiving any funds from a deceased family member remains the exception in the US, not the rule. Just one in five American households have received a substantial gift, trust or inheritance in recent decades, according to Bloomberg’s analysis. Inherited wealth is expected to become increasingly concentrated among the most affluent, according to Cerulli. The firm estimates that more than half of the wealth transferred between generations through 2048 will come from households with at least $US5 million in investible assets. Only about 2 per cent of US households meet that threshold. The share of the US population that will benefit from inherited money has remained static, a sign of how accumulating family wealth has become more concentrated among the most affluent households. Credit: Bloomberg The figures lend support to an idea that has long had currency among economists but that has been difficult to confirm — that the share of overall wealth derived from inheritance is far higher than it appears. A 2017 paper argued that inherited money had accounted for more than half of total wealth in the US and Europe since the 1990s, and that “self-reported inheritance flows are implausibly low.” “Inheritance is still the most important factor in terms of wealth concentration,” said Kaushik Basu, professor of economics at Cornell University and former chief economist at the World Bank. The trillions of dollars set to be passed on in coming years could create more social mobility for younger generations, even though its greater concentration among the wealthiest Americans is likely to create more obstacles for lower-income households and exacerbate inequality. “Markets may still flourish, and overall economic growth may continue, but the polarisation between the born-poor and born-rich will become more acute,” Basu said. He added that many of the economic advantages of family wealth are conferred indirectly, through access to education and other opportunities. As more members of the massive baby boom generation die, the annual rate at which wealth is being passed on is expected to increase until the end of the decade. Millennials, born between 1981 and 1996, are expected to inherit more than $US45 trillion by 2048, including some $US3.9 trillion that year alone. Generation X, sandwiched between the baby boomers and millennials, will see their annual inheritance levels peak in 2038 at just shy of $US2 trillion, according to Cerulli. ‘Markets may still flourish, and overall economic growth may continue, but the polarisation between the born-poor and born-rich will become more acute.’ Wealth isn’t only cascading down to younger generations, it also is moving sideways. Before reaching younger heirs, inheritances are often transferred to surviving spouses and partners. Since women tend to outlive men, they are expected to receive a large share of the fortunes being passed on. “A significant amount of the wealth that is held today is believed to be controlled by men,” said Cerulli’s Horton. As those men die, “we expect that wealth to be much more equitably distributed on a gender basis.” Cerulli estimates that women will inherit nearly half of the total projected value of inheritances over the next 25 years. US tax policy has made it easier for wealthy heirs to hang on to more of the money they inherit. President-elect Donald Trump wants to extend part of his 2017 tax-cut package that doubled the estate-tax exemption from $US5.49 million to $US11.18 million. For many older Americans, money handed down from previous generations has shaped their own planning. Alan Jewett, a 75-year-old retiree in Delaware, and his wife received an inheritance of nearly $US3 million from her childless aunts in 2014, after the couple had already put both their children through college and bought a home. “Having money changes the way you look at things in the sense that it gives you and your family a feeling of security,” Jewett said. He and his wife gave part of the inheritance to their kids and set up an irrevocable trust for their three young grandchildren. Some heirs say they have used inherited money to prepare for their own health and elder-care expenses. Lee Robin Gebhardt, a 63-year-old wine seller living in Putnam County, New York, said she invested a $US150,000 retirement account that she received from her father, who died in 2020, in her long-term care. Gebhardt, who plans to work for at least another two years, has enough money put away to last her until she’s 110. “That will take some pressure off my children,” she said. Other relatively wealthy baby boomers have decided to pass on some of their wealth while they’re still able to see its effects for themselves. “I’ve seen an increasing focus on ‘giving while living,’ where people provide for their family’s needs during their lifetime,” said Jared Jones, senior advisor at Omega Wealth Management. “There’s definitely a big focus on not waiting until one passes away to help and witness the benefits of the wealth from the family.” Bloomberg The Business Briefing newsletter delivers major stories, exclusive coverage and expert opinion. Sign up to get it every weekday morning .None

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Doreese Severe was 55 years old when the thought first occurred to her, “I wonder if Santa has a Christmas stocking. And if so, who fills it?” After having the thought, a melody and words came to mind, and it wasn’t long before she had a brand-new Christmas carol to share with her family. That was in 2013. It took a couple years of work, but in 2015, Severe published “Who Fills Santa’s Stocking? Christmas Carol & Story,” complete with sheet music for piano and guitar, a reader’s theater and a little history about the mysterious stocking filler. The upbeat song depicts a storyteller and a group of children, discussing who fills Santa’s eight-foot-long stocking, and what items he would find inside. In a 2015 interview with The Herald Journal about her new carol, Severe said she hoped to record “Who Fills Santa’s Stocking” professionally by the next Christmas. That dream went unfulfilled and mostly forgotten, until Nov. 2023, when Severe was introduced to Daniel Blomberg of Blomberg Music Productions in Provo. Through a series of events Severe has called miracles, Blomberg agreed to produce “Who Fills Santa’s Stocking.” Randel McGee filled the role of the storyteller in the carol, with two of Blomberg’s children and four of Severe’s grandchildren filling the roles of the children listening to the story. The group traveled to Provo to record on Mar. 25, 2024. After nine years of waiting, Severe had her professional recording. Severe published her journey to fulfilling her dream in the booklet, “13 Miracles of a Christmas Wish: In God’s Own Due Time,” which is available in print at The Book Table in Logan or on Etsy at SantasStockingGiver , along with a digital or CD copy of “Who Fills Santa’s Stocking,” or the full Christmas program with sheet music and reader’s theater. Severe became emotional talking about how it feels to complete her goal. “It’s overwhelming,” Severe said. “It’s something that’s so dear and just happened to me so quickly. To hear my song, it’s just joy.” She said it was especially joyful to go through the experience with some of her grandchildren and to hear their voices in the song. Eleven-year-old Jack and his eight-year-old sister Taylor said they like singing and had fun recording their parts of “Who Fills Santa’s Stocking.” “When we got there, we got to see all the different instruments and the recording stuff that they used,” Jack said. “When we recorded, they were super nice.” “It was fun to sing, and I liked it,” Taylor said. Severe said in the weeks after they recorded, the kids would sometimes randomly burst into song, singing the upbeat melody around the house. She said she thinks the song is a unique concept that will bring a smile to people’s faces. And it isn’t just a pre-Christmas song. Severe said the thought has occurred to her that Santa is so busy filling stockings and dropping off presents, that he doesn’t have time to open his own stocking Christmas day. “He gets home and walks through the living room, and sure enough, there’s his stocking,” Severe described. “He smiles, and he goes and drops into bed. Then the day after Christmas is when he gets up and goes to see what he got that year.” After waiting nine years to accomplish her last goal, Severe said she wants to be more careful with her new one – but she does have one. “My next goal is to put it in a cute storybook form,” Severe said. “But I’m not going to say by next year. You can look for that in another nine years.” Severe lives in Smithfield with her husband. They have five children and 15 grandchildren. She is a housewife, which she described as a very busy full-time career, and has enjoyed teaching piano. While “Who Fills Santa’s Stocking” is her first song, it isn’t the first time she has taken a creative idea and put it on paper. Years before coming up with her Christmas carol, Severe created a visual program to teach children to read. Near the end of “13 Miracles of a Christmas Wish,” Severe writes that our talents are what add enrichment and joy to our lives. She encourages everyone not to hide their talents.Simon Harris swaps politics for dad duties as he gets in Christmas spiritTheir plan seemed foolproof at first, as they confidently presented the fabricated documents to the customs officials. However, suspicions were raised when the declared values of the goods raised eyebrows among the seasoned customs officers. Sensing that something was amiss, the officials decided to conduct a thorough inspection of the luggage.

In conclusion, the accelerating growth of the HarmonyOS ecosystem in Fujian, coupled with the availability of nearly 350 native applications, is reshaping the digital landscape of the province. Businesses, individuals, and government entities in Fujian are all benefiting from the advanced capabilities of HarmonyOS, driving innovation, growth, and efficiency in the digital age. As Fujian continues on its path towards digital transformation, the HarmonyOS ecosystem will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of the province.

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Rams don't dominate, but they're rolling toward the playoffs with superb complementary football

As one of the major players in East Asia, China has always attached great importance to its relationship with South Korea. The recent developments in the bilateral ties between China and South Korea have once again brought the issue into the spotlight. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has reiterated that China's position on China-South Korea relations is consistent and that it respects South Korea's internal affairs.As the investigation continues, the nation waits with bated breath for more information to come to light. The shocking nature of this crime has rocked the foundations of society and raised concerns about the safety and security of our communities. It serves as a sobering reminder of the fragility of life and the potential dangers that lurk beneath the surface.