NEW YORK (AP) — Technology stocks pulled Wall Street to another record amid a mixed Monday of trading. The S&P 500 rose 0.2% from its all-time high set on Friday to post a record for the 54th time this year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 128 points, or 0.3%, while the Nasdaq composite gained 1%.Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) Launches AWS Amplify AI Kit for Bedrock, Enabling Developers to Build AI-Powered Web AppsThe Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball team has gotten off to a fast start this season in more ways than one. The No. 16 Bearcats have raced to a 5-0 record while outscoring their opponents by more than 31 points per game, with just one team (Northern Kentucky) coming within 16 points. Cincinnati is averaging a robust 87 points per game with one of the more efficient offenses in college basketball. Cincinnati will look to continue that hot streak when it plays host to Alabama State in nonconference action Wednesday evening. Cincinnati has punished opposing defenses in a variety of ways this season. Despite being the No. 14 offense in the nation in Ken Pomeroy's efficiency ratings, the Bearcats aren't among the nation's leaders in pace. Still, they take advantage of those opportunities when they are there. "Us playing fast is something we want to do," Cincinnati forward Dillon Mitchell said. "When I was being recruited here, that was something Coach (Wes) Miller wanted to do. "There could be games where we're not making shots or something is off, but one thing is we're gonna push the ball, play hard and play fast. That's something he preaches. We'll be in shape and get rebounds." Mitchell is fresh off a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds in Cincinnati's 81-58 road win at Georgia Tech Saturday. He is one of four Bearcats to average double figures in scoring this season. That balance was on display once again against the Yellow Jackets, with Connor Hickman and Jizzle James also scoring 14 points each and Simas Lukosius contributing 12 points. In that game, Cincinnati sank 51.6 percent of its shots while regularly getting out into transition with 16 fastbreak points, while winning the rebounding battle 36-29. "Any time you get a road win over a quality, Power 4 team, you're gonna feel good about it," Miller said. "I was pleased with our effort." Lukosius is scoring 16.6 points per game, while James is at 14.0 points, followed by Mitchell at 12.4, while he also grabs a team-best 8.6 rebounds. Alabama State (3-3) has a tough task ahead, especially when considering its 97-78 loss at Akron Sunday, which ended a three-game winning streak. The Hornets allowed the Zips to shoot 46.4 percent from the field and were 53-32 in the rebounding battle. Alabama State gave up a season high in points, after playing the likes of LSU and UNLV earlier this season. Akron standout Nate Johnson lit up Alabama State for 25 points, as the game got away from the Hornets in the second half to keep them winless in true road games. Alabama leading scorers CJ Hines and TJ Madlock still got theirs against Akron, scoring 19 and 17 points, respectively. They were joined in double figures by reserve Tyler Mack (18 points), but recent history says they'll need more help to keep up with the Bearcats. Hines leads the Hornets with 15.7 points per game, while Madlock contributes 14.5 points. In previous Akron Basketball Classic wins last week against Omaha and Lamar, Alabama State featured at least four double-digit scorers in each game. --Field Level MediaDubai [UAE], December 15 (ANI/WAM): The Board of Directors of the Dubai Women Establishment (DWE) discussed during its fourth meeting for 2024 the initiatives and projects that the establishment intends to implement during the first half of 2025, as part of the establishment's strategic plan 2023-2027, which focuses on enhancing the professional and leadership capabilities of female employees in the public, private and semi-government sectors, and contributing to supporting the economic growth of the Emirate of Dubai and the UAE in general. During the meeting, the Board of Directors reviewed the topics on the agenda, which included a number of executive and leadership programmes included in the work plan for the upcoming period, as well as the most prominent projects and initiatives that were implemented during the current year, which were crowned by the successful organization of the "Global Women's Forum Dubai 2024", which was held on 26th and 27th November under the theme "The Power of Influence" under the patronage and attendance of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. Also Read | Anura Kumara Dissanayake's India Trip: In First Foreign Visit After Assuming Office, Sri Lankan President Lands in Delhi, Will Hold Bilateral With PM Narendra Modi (Watch Video). On the occasion of the fourth meeting of the Board of Directors of the Establishment this year, Her Highness Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of the Dubai Women Establishment, wife of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Court, stressed the Establishment's keenness to continue its efforts in cooperation with strategic partners to achieve its mission of advancing the professional and functional capabilities of Emirati women and enhancing their participation in leadership positions in the public, private and semi-governmental sectors, in implementation of the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, may God protect him. Her Highness said, "In these efforts and initiatives that support women, we draw inspiration from the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, may God protect him, and his directives to provide all the elements to enable women to succeed and enhance their role in the comprehensive and sustainable development process." Also Read | Cyclone Chido Update: 14 Killed in French Territory of Mayotte As Storm Causes Severe Damage, French Minister Bruno Retailleau Set To Visit Island. Her Highness Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum added that the Global Women's Forum Dubai 2024, with its excellent preparation, arrangement and organisation, the precise selection and diversity of topics discussed over two days, the level of participation and the remarkable success it achieved, has set high standards of excellence that will constitute a new starting point for the Dubai Women Establishment to achieve its mission of advancing the professional and leadership skills of Emirati women and effectively contributing to achieving the objectives of the "Dubai Social Agenda 33" and "Dubai Economic Agenda D33" through high-level training and implementation projects and programmes. The meeting was chaired by Her Excellency Mona Ghanem Al Marri, Chairperson of the Board of Directors and Managing Director of Dubai Women Establishment, with the participation of Board members Huda Al Hashimi, Assistant Minister of Cabinet Affairs for Strategic Affairs; Moza Saeed Al Marri, Executive Director of the Executive Affairs Sector at the Roads and Transport Authority in Dubai; Khawla Rashid Al Muhairi, Executive Vice President of Strategy and Government Communications at Dubai Electricity and Water Authority; Huda Essa Buhumaid, Chief Marketing Officer at Dubai Holding; and Fahima Abdul Razak. Al Bastaki, former CEO of Business Development Sector in the local financial markets, and Naima Ahli, CEO of the Dubai Women Establishment. Her Excellency Mona Al Marri said that the year 2024 was full of initiatives, training and leadership programmes that were launched within the framework of the vision and directives of Her Highness Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairperson of the Foundation, and Her Highness's keenness to generalise the benefit of these programmes to include female employees of government departments in Dubai, semi-government institutions and the private sector. Her Excellency pointed out that these programmes were implemented in cooperation with local and international institutions within the framework of the Foundation's keenness to strengthen its influential partnerships in the women's file and to effectively contribute to the country's efforts to find Emirati female leaders who effectively contribute to advancing the development process towards a sustainable economy and a more prosperous society. She added that the Foundation's work plan for the upcoming period includes executive and leadership programmes, conducting new studies on working women, proposing new policies to enhance their presence in the labour market, and joint initiatives with relevant government entities in Dubai to contribute to achieving the "Dubai Quality of Life Strategy 2033", which aims to ensure that all segments of the city's society, including citizens, residents and visitors, enjoy the comprehensive concept of integrated quality of life, make Dubai a global leader in quality of life, and consolidate its position as a preferred place to live and work worldwide, and a preferred destination for visitors from all over the world. During the meeting, the Board of Directors reviewed the projects and achievements of the past period, most notably the Global Women's Forum - Dubai 2024, which witnessed the organisation of more than 130 sessions and workshops that addressed many topics related to the role of women in society, the economy, innovation, technology, artificial intelligence, innovation, sustainability, gender balance, and their active participation in building advanced and prosperous societies around the world. The Foundation's initiatives during the current year included organising the second session of the "Women in Global Boards of Directors" programme, the Mental Health Programme, and the Dubai Women's Dialogues. The Council reviewed a presentation of the most important initiatives implemented by the Dubai Ladies Club for members and visitors during the second half of 2024, which enhance its position as a destination for healthy and happy women. (ANI/WAM) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
AP Trending SummaryBrief at 4:52 p.m. ESTUS lawmakers concluded a two-year investigation Monday into the Covid-19 outbreak that killed 1.1 million Americans -- backing the theory that the virus likely leaked from a Chinese laboratory. A 520-page report from the Republican-controlled House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic looked at the federal and state-level response, as well as the pandemic's origins and vaccination efforts. "This work will help the United States, and the world, predict the next pandemic, prepare for the next pandemic, protect ourselves from the next pandemic, and hopefully prevent the next pandemic," panel chairman Brad Wenstrup said in a letter to Congress. US federal agencies, the World Health Organization and scientists across the planet have arrived at different conclusions about the most likely origin of Covid-19, and no consensus has emerged. Most believe it to have spread from animals in China, but a US intelligence analysis said last year that the virus may have been genetically engineered and escaped from a virology lab in the Chinese city of Wuhan, where human cases first emerged. The congressional panel was persuaded by the lab leak theory after meeting 25 times, conducting more than 30 transcribed interviews and reviewing more than one million pages of documents. The investigation included two days of interviews behind closed doors with Anthony Fauci, the government scientist who became the nation's most trusted expert in the chaotic early days of the 2020 outbreak. Fauci's clashes with former and incoming president Donald Trump over the response sparked fury on the right, and he now lives with security protection following death threats against his family. Republicans accuse the 83-year-old immunologist of helping to set off the worst pandemic in a century by approving funding passed on to Chinese scientists they accuse of manufacturing the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus that causes Covid-19. Among its headline conclusions, the report said the National Institutes of Health had indeed funded contentious "gain-of-function" research -- which seeks to enhance viruses as a way of finding ways to combat them -- at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Fauci angrily denied covering up the origins of Covid-19 before the panel in June, arguing that it would be "molecularly impossible" for the bat viruses studied at the lab to be turned into the virus that caused the pandemic. But the panel's report said SARS-CoV-2 "likely emerged because of a laboratory or research related accident." The probe found that lockdowns "did more harm than good" and that mask mandates were "ineffective at controlling the spread of Covid-19," contradicting other research showing that masking in public does reduce transmission rates. Social distancing guidelines also came under criticism, although travel restrictions were deemed to have saved lives. Investigators found that Trump's Operation Warp Speed -- the publicly-funded project to develop Covid vaccines -- was a "tremendous success" but that school closures would have an "enduring impact" on US children. ft/jgc
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Frontline, Golden Ocean, Hafnia set to report earnings WednesdayArteta wanted his team to prove their European credentials following some underwhelming displays away from home, and the Gunners manager got exactly what he asked for. Goals from Gabriel Martinelli, Kai Havertz, Gabriel Magalhaes, Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard got their continental campaign back on track in style following the 1-0 defeat at Inter Milan last time out. A memorable victory also ended Sporting’s unbeaten start to the season, a streak of 17 wins and one draw, the vast majority of which prompted Manchester United to prise away head coach Ruben Amorim. The Gunners had failed to win or score in their two away games in the competition so far this season, but they made a blistering start in the Portuguese capital and took the lead after only seven minutes. Declan Rice fed overlapping full-back Jurrien Timber, who curled a low cross in behind the home defence for Martinelli to finish at the far post. Arsenal doubled their lead in the 20th minute thanks to a glorious ball over the top from Thomas Partey. Saka escaped the clutches of his marker Maximiliano Araujo to beat the offside trap and poke the ball past advancing goalkeeper Franco Israel for Havertz to tap home. It was a scintillating first-half display which completely overshadowed the presence of Viktor Gyokeres in Sporting’s attack. The prolific Sweden striker, formerly of Coventry, has been turning the heads of Europe’s top clubs with his 24 goals in 17 games this season – including a hat-trick against Manchester City earlier this month. But the only time he got a sniff of a run at goal after an optimistic long ball, he was marshalled out of harm’s way by Gabriel. David Raya was forced into one save, tipping a fierce Geovany Quenda drive over the crossbar. But Arsenal added a third on the stroke of half-time, Gabriel charging in to head Rice’s corner into the back of the net. To rub salt in the wound, the Brazilian defender mimicked Gyokeres’ hands-over-his-face goal celebration. That may have wound Sporting up as they came out after the interval meaning business, and they pulled one back after Raya tipped Hidemasa Morita’s shot behind, with Goncalo Inacio netting at the near post from the corner. Former Tottenham winger Marcus Edwards fired over, as did Gyokeres, with Arsenal temporarily on the back foot. But when Martin Odegaard’s darting run into the area was halted by Ousmane Diomande’s foul, Saka tucked away the penalty. Substitute Trossard added the fifth with eight minutes remaining, heading in the rebound after Mikel Merino’s shot was saved, and Gyokeres’ miserable night was summed up when his late shot crashed back off the post.Canopy Growth and Acreage Provide Update on Closing TimelineSaudi Arabia's network of spending and influence detailed before getting 2034 World Cup from FIFA
No. 22 Xavier unbeaten but looking for more effort vs. South Carolina