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Many people still opt to start claiming Social Security benefits at the earliest possible age of 62. The earlier you claim, the more checks you receive, however, it does reduce your monthly benefits by up to 30% . AOL and the Motley Fool had a look at how the monthly benefits stack up. The average Social Security take-home overall was $1,905.31 per month in 2023. However, this has now changed somewhat significantly thanks to cost of living adjustments (COLAs). Mariah Carey spotted holding hands with Anderson .Paak after dinner in Aspen Beyonce's net worth and how she made her fortune as singer and businesswoman The average benefit raised to $1,966.28 after benefits increased by 3.2% in 2024. Checks are then set to rise another 2.5% in 2025, which increases the average again to $2,015.44. However, those who claimed at 62 received far less. Their average monthly benefit in 2023 was just $1,298.26. The cost of living adjustments for 2025 brings it to $1,339.80. It comes after nearly 3 million Americans will receive full Social Security benefits under legislation passed by Congress and now headed to President Biden, who is now expected to sign it into law. Senators voted 76-20 for the Social Security Fairness Act. This would eliminate two federal policies that prevent nearly 3 million people with a public service pension, such as firefighters, postal workers and police officers from collecting their full Social Security benefits. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democractic politician from New York, said: "The Senate finally corrects a 50-year mistake." DAILY NEWSLETTER: Sign up here to get the latest news and updates from the Mirror US straight to your inbox with our FREE newsletter. Click here to follow the Mirror US on Google News to stay up to date with all the latest news, sports and entertainment stories.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security Cabinet has approved a ceasefire deal with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, clearing the way for the truce to take effect. The late-night vote came shortly before President Joe Biden was expected to announce details of the deal in Washington. Biden called the ceasefire in Lebanon "good news," but it’s not clear how the truce will affect the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. In the hours before Israel agreed to the ceasefire, residents of Beirut endured the most intense wave of Israeli strikes on the capital and its southern suburbs since the start of the 13-month war. Israel was apparently signaling it intended to pummel the country before any ceasefire takes hold. Hezbollah also fired rockets into Israel, triggering air raid sirens across the country’s north. Hezbollah began attacking Israel on Oct. 8, 2023, a day after Hamas’ attack on southern Israel, in support of the Palestinian militant group. That has set off more than a year of fighting escalated into all-out war in September with massive Israeli airstrikes across Lebanon and an Israeli ground invasion of the country’s south. It’s not clear how the ceasefire will affect the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, where more than 44,000 people have been killed and more than 104,000 wounded in the 13-month war between Israel and Hamas, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. ——— Here's the Latest: JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security Cabinet has approved a ceasefire deal with Hezbollah, clearing the way for the truce to take effect. Netanyahu’s office said the plan was approved by a 10-1 margin. The late-night vote came shortly before President Joe Biden was expected to announced details of the deal in Washington. Earlier, Netanyahu defended the ceasefire, saying Israel has inflicted heavy damage on Hezbollah and could now focus its efforts on Hamas militants in Gaza and his top security concern, Iran. Netanyahu vowed to strike Hezbollah hard if it violates the expected deal. WASHINGTON — Rep. Mike Waltz, President-elect Donald Trump’s designate to be national security adviser, credited Trump’s victory with helping bring the parties together toward a ceasefire in Lebanon. “Everyone is coming to the table because of President Trump,” he said in a post on X on Tuesday. “His resounding victory sent a clear message to the rest of the world that chaos won’t be tolerated. I’m glad to see concrete steps towards deescalation in the Middle East.” He added: “But let’s be clear: The Iran Regime is the root cause of the chaos & terror that has been unleashed across the region. We will not tolerate the status quo of their support for terrorism.” BEIRUT — Israeli jets targeted a building in a bustling commercial area of Beirut for the first time since the start of the 13-month war between Hezbollah and Israel. The strike on Hamra is around 400 meters (yards) from the country’s central bank. A separate strike hit the Mar Elias neighborhood in the country’s capital Tuesday. There was no immediate word on casualties from either strike, part of the biggest wave of attacks on the capital since the war started. Residents in central Beirut were seen fleeing after the Israeli army issued evacuation warnings for four targets in the city. Meanwhile, the Israeli army carried out airstrikes on at least 30 targets in Beirut’s southern suburbs Tuesday, including two strikes in the Jnah neighborhood near the Kuwaiti Embassy. Lebanon’s Health Ministry reported that 13 people were injured in the strikes on the southern suburbs. BEIRUT — Hezbollah has said it accepts the ceasefire proposal with Israel, but a senior official with the group said Tuesday that it had not seen the agreement in its final form. “After reviewing the agreement signed by the enemy government, we will see if there is a match between what we stated and what was agreed upon by the Lebanese officials,” Mahmoud Qamati, deputy chair of Hezbollah’s political council, told the Al Jazeera news network. “We want an end to the aggression, of course, but not at the expense of the sovereignty of the state.” of Lebanon, he said. “Any violation of sovereignty is refused.” Among the issues that may remain is an Israeli demand to reserve the right to act should Hezbollah violate its obligations under the emerging deal. The deal seeks to push Hezbollah and Israeli troops out of southern Lebanon. JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that he would recommend his Cabinet adopt a United States-brokered ceasefire agreement with Lebanon’s Hezbollah, as Israeli warplanes struck across Lebanon, killing at least 23 people. The Israeli military also issued a flurry of evacuation warnings — a sign it was aiming to inflict punishment on Hezbollah down to the final moments before any ceasefire takes hold. For the first time in the conflict, Israeli ground troops reached parts of Lebanon’s Litani River, a focal point of the emerging deal. In a televised statement, Netanyahu said he would present the ceasefire to Cabinet ministers later on Tuesday, setting the stage for an end to nearly 14 months of fighting. Netanyahu said the vote was expected later Tuesday. It was not immediately clear when the ceasefire would go into effect, and the exact terms of the deal were not released. The deal does not affect Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, which shows no signs of ending. BEIRUT — Lebanon’s state media said Israeli strikes on Tuesday killed at least 10 people in Baalbek province the country’s east. At least three people were killed in the southern city of Tyre when Israel bombed a Palestinian refugee camp, said Mohammed Bikai, a representative of the Fatah group in the area. He said several more people were missing and at least three children were among the wounded. He said the sites struck inside the camp were “completely civilian places” and included a kitchen that was being used to cook food for displaced people. JERUSALEM — Dozens of Israeli protesters took to a major highway in Tel Aviv on Tuesday evening to call for the return of the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, as the country awaited news of a potential ceasefire in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah. Protesters chanted “We are all hostages,” and “Deal now!” waving signs with faces of some of the roughly 100 hostages believed to be still held in Gaza, at least a third of whom are thought to be dead. Most of the other hostages Hamas captured in the Oct. 7, 2023 attack were released during a ceasefire last year. The prospect of a ceasefire deal in Lebanon has raised desperation among the relatives of captives still held in Gaza, who once hoped that the release of hostages from Gaza would be included. Instead of a comprehensive deal, the ceasefire on the table is instead narrowly confined to Lebanon. Dozens of Israelis were also demonstrating against the expected cease-fire, gathering outside Israel’s military headquarters in central Tel Aviv. One of the protesters, Yair Ansbacher, says the deal is merely a return to the failed 2006 U.N. resolution that was meant to uproot Hezbollah from the area. “Of course that didn’t happen,” he says. “This agreement is not worth the paper it is written on.” FIUGGI, Italy — Foreign ministers from the world’s industrialized countries said Tuesday they strongly supported an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah and insisted that Israel comply with international law in its ongoing military operations in the region. At the end of their two-day summit, the ministers didn’t refer directly to the International Criminal Court and its recent arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister over crimes against humanity . Italy had put the ICC warrants on the official meeting agenda, even though the G7 was split on the issue. The U.S., Israel’s closest ally, isn’t a signatory to the court and has called the warrants “outrageous.” However, the EU’s chief diplomat Josep Borrell said all the other G7 countries were signatories and therefore obliged to respect the warrants. In the end, the final statement adopted by the ministers said Israel, in exercising its right to defend itself, “must fully comply with its obligations under international law in all circumstances, including international humanitarian law.” And it said all G7 members — Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States – “reiterate our commitment to international humanitarian law and will comply with our respective obligations.” It stressed that “there can be no equivalence between the terrorist group Hamas and the State of Israel.” The ICC warrants say there's reason to believe Netanyahu used “starvation as a method of warfare” by restricting humanitarian aid and intentionally targeted civilians in Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza — charges Israeli officials deny. BEIRUT — An Israeli strike on Tuesday levelled a residential building in the central Beirut district of Basta — the second time in recent days warplanes have hit the crowded area near the city’s downtown. At least seven people were killed and 37 wounded in Beirut, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry. It was not immediately clear if anyone in particular was targeted, though Israel says its airstrikes target Hezbollah officials and assets. The Israeli military spokesman issued a flurry of evacuation warnings for many areas, including areas in Beirut that have not been targeted throughout the war, like the capital’s commercial Hamra district, where many people displaced by the war have been staying. The warnings, coupled with fear that Israel was ratcheting up attacks in Lebanon during the final hours before a ceasefire is reached, sparked panic and sent residents fleeing in their cars to safer areas. In areas close to Hamra, families including women and children were seen running away toward the Mediterranean Sea’s beaches carrying their belongings. Traffic was completely gridlocked as people tried to get away, honking their car horns as Israeli drones buzzed loudly overhead. The Israeli military also issued warnings for 20 more buildings in Beirut’s suburbs to evacuate before they too were struck — a sign it was aiming to inflict punishment on Hezbollah in the final moments before any ceasefire takes hold. TEL AVIV, Israel — The independent civilian commission of inquiry into the October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel has found Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directly responsible for the failures leading up to the attack, alongside former defense ministers, the army chief and the heads of the security services. The civil commission presented its findings today after a four-month probe in which it heard some 120 witnesses. It was set up by relatives of victims of the Hamas attack, in response to the absence of any state probe. The commission determined that the Israeli government, its army and security services “failed in their primary mission of protecting the citizens of Israel.” It said Netanyahu was responsible for ignoring “repeated warnings” ahead of Oct. 7, 2023 for what it described as his appeasing approach over the years toward Hamas, and for “undermining all decision-making centers, including the cabinet and the National Security Council, in a way that prevented any serious discussion” on security issues. The commission further determined that the military and defense leaders bear blame for ignoring warnings from within the army, and for reducing the army’s presence along the Gaza border while relying excessively on technological means. On the day of the Hamas attack, the report says, the army’s response was both slow and lacking. The civil commission called for the immediate establishment of a state commission of inquiry into the Oct. 7 attack. Netanyahu has opposed launching a state commission of inquiry, arguing that such an investigation should begin only once the war is over. JERUSALEM -- The Israeli military says its ground troops have reached parts of Lebanon’s Litani River — a focal point of the emerging ceasefire. In a statement Tuesday, the army said it had reached the Wadi Slouqi area in southern Lebanon and clashed with Hezbollah forces. Under a proposed ceasefire, Hezbollah would be required to move its forces north of the Litani, which in some places is some 30 kilometers (20 miles) north of the Israeli border. The military says the clashes with Hezbollah took place on the eastern end of the Litani, just a few kilometers (miles) from the border. It is one of the deepest places Israeli forces have reached in a nearly two-month ground operation. The military says soldiers destroyed rocket launchers and missiles and engaged in “close-quarters combat” with Hezbollah forces. The announcement came hours before Israel’s security Cabinet is expected to approve a ceasefire that would end nearly 14 months of fighting. BEIRUT — Israeli jets Tuesday struck at least six buildings in Beirut’s southern suburbs Tuesday, including one that slammed near the country’s only airport. Large plumes of smoke could be seen around the airport near the Mediterranean coast, which has continued to function despite its location beside the densely populated suburbs where many of Hezbollah’s operations are based. The strikes come hours before Israel’s cabinet was scheduled to meet to discuss a proposal to end the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. The proposal calls for an initial two-month ceasefire during which Israeli forces would withdraw from Lebanon and Hezbollah would end its armed presence along the southern border south of the Litani River. There were no immediate reports of casualties from Tuesday’s airstrikes. FIUGGI, Italy — EU top diplomat Josep Borrell, whose term ends Dec. 1, said he proposed to the G7 and Arab ministers who joined in talks on Monday that the U.N. Security Council take up a resolution specifically demanding humanitarian assistance reach Palestinians in Gaza, saying deliveries have been completely impeded. “The two-state solution will come later. Everything will come later. But we are talking about weeks or days,” for desperate Palestinians, he said. “Hunger has been used as an arm against people who are completely abandoned.” It was a reference to the main accusation levelled by the International Criminal Court in its arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister. Borrell said the signatories to the court, including six of the seven G7 members, are obliged under international law to respect and implement the court’s decisions. Host Italy put the ICC warrants on the G7 agenda at the last minute, but there was no consensus on the wording of how the G7 would respond given the U.S., Israel’s closest ally, has called the warrants “outrageous.” Italy, too, has said it respects the court but expressed concern that the warrants were politically motivated and ill-advised given Netanyahu is necessary for any deal to end the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon. “Like it or not, the International Criminal Court is a court as powerful as any national court,” Borrell said. “And if the Europeans don’t support International Criminal Court then there would not be any hope for justice,” he said. Borrell, whose term ends Dec. 1, said he proposed to the G7 and Arab ministers who joined in talks on Monday that the U.N. Security Council take up a resolution specifically demanding humanitarian assistance reach Palestinians in Gaza, saying deliveries have been completely impeded. “The two-state solution will come later. Everything will come later. But we are talking about weeks or days,” for desperate Palestinians, he said. “Hunger has been used as an arm against people who are completely abandoned.” It was a reference to the main accusation levelled by the International Criminal Court in its arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister. Borrell said the signatories to the court, including six of the seven G7 members, are obliged under international law to respect and implement the court’s decisions. Host Italy put the ICC warrants on the G7 agenda at the last minute, but there was no consensus on the wording of how the G7 would respond given the U.S., Israel’s closest ally, has called the warrants “outrageous.” Italy, too, has said it respects the court but expressed concern that the warrants were politically motivated and ill-advised given Netanyahu is necessary for any deal to end the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon. “Like it or not, the International Criminal Court is a court as powerful as any national court,” Borrell said. “And if the Europeans don’t support International Criminal Court then there would not be any hope for justice,” he said. (edited)
Bridge Defense Announces Strategic Investment in Federated ITI n November 2020, shortly after Donald Trump’s defeat in the US presidential election, Barack Obama observed that America risked entering “an epistemological crisis”. The prospect of Mr Trump’s return to the White House in January validates his predecessor’s premonition. Mr Obama was talking about media fragmentation and polarisation: different segments of society existing in discrete information spaces; arguments no longer drawn from a common reservoir of facts; no shared reality, no foundation of truth. “Then by definition the marketplace of ideas doesn’t work,” he said. “And by definition our democracy doesn’t work.” It isn’t only American democracy that is imperilled. Chaos and malicious falsehood in the information arena have disrupted politics in every country where governments are chosen in free elections. Political discourse has coarsened and consensus unravelled wherever constitutional frameworks and informally recognised codes of decency once maintained healthy pluralism. Mr Trump’s return to office next month is alarming not just because he obviously despises the rule of law but because that contempt did not disqualify him in the eyes of millions of US citizens. The nature of that support is complex. It is inseparable from dissatisfaction with the incumbent administration, which in turn has economic and cultural dimensions. But no account of the crisis in western democracy is complete without recognition of the role played by digital media. Elon Musk , the world’s richest man and owner of the social media platform X, put his resources to use for Mr Trump’s campaign. Mr Musk also takes an interest in UK politics, denigrating the prime minister and boosting radical rightwing figures. Hateful rhetoric and disinformation flow without impediment on X. The distorting effect of poorly regulated digital channels on politics is well documented. In 2018, Facebook (now Meta ) admitted that its platform had been an “enabling environment” in the build-up to genocidal attacks on Myanmar’s Rohingya minority two years earlier. Meta’s policies and algorithms have changed since then, but the underlying commercial incentives to maximise user engagement at all costs still promote radicalisation and militate against responsible curation of the information space. The tech giants that shape the contours of political discourse – whether by accident of the business model or megalomaniac design – cannot be trusted to police themselves. They are more powerful than many national governments. There are two types of riposte to the demand for action to curtail that force. One highlights the sheer difficulty of any one government imposing constraints on an industry that sprawls across multiple jurisdictions. The other raises principled objections to the idea of regulating information. The latter concern asserts that any political intervention to police a boundary between good and bad facts, safe and unsafe, tends towards censorship even if the intent is liberal. The aspiration to regulate media, in that view, is inherently anti-freedom. Wariness of any state involvement in deciding what can be published is a healthy instinct. But there is no jurisdiction that ignores the dissemination of material deemed dangerous to the public. The most liberal regimes ban extreme pornography and incitements to violence or terrorism, for example. Mr Musk declares himself to be a “free speech absolutist”, but his X platform is not a neutral marketplace . He is permissive of far-right voices and quick to denounce “cancel culture” on the left, but criticism of his own views is less tolerated. Censoriousness and bullying of dissenters are ugly traits that can be discerned at both ends of the political spectrum. That is mostly a problem of uncivil behaviour, which should not be conflated with threats of violence, racist propaganda and disinformation. Much of the worst material is spread by authoritarian states with the goal of poisoning information wells, sowing distrust and exacerbating polarisation to make free societies ungovernable. Democratic politicians have a duty to counter deliberate sabotage. The globalised scale of the problem is grounds for urgency about the task of regulation, not a reason to flinch from it. Britain’s Online Safety Act , which was passed into law last year, is a good start . But it is also a convoluted piece of legislation, reflecting its erratic evolution under different Conservative prime ministers. Many of its provisions are still to be refined by consultations and guidance to be published next year. But it does demonstrate that MPs have the power to make digital companies responsible for harmful content published on their platforms. Designing those safeguards in ways that are practical and respectful of rights to free expression, but nonetheless effective, is not easy. It requires courage in resisting a powerful tech lobby. That will be more effectively done in coordination with other jurisdictions. Since Mr Trump is not a reliable ally for this challenge, Britain’s likely partners for dialogue are members of the EU. Over the past decades, the digital information space has come to mean many things. It is an arena where ideas can, and should, be freely exchanged. It is also a commercial environment that generates innovations, but where behemoth companies dominate. It is a resource that can be shared and harnessed for good, but also monopolised and polluted. There are powerful voices with partisan vested interests lobbying against any political action that might tip the balance in favour of fair and safe usage, arguing from a position of free-speech fundamentalism. That is a category error. It is true that authoritarian regimes like to police the internet as much as they do every other aspect of civil society, but the possibility of censorship does not mean every effort of regulation deserves that label. Digital platforms have become an intrinsic part of the information infrastructure of democracies. To consider them immune from regulation would be an act of irresponsibility akin to neglecting the contamination of water supplies or refusing to apply highway codes to prohibit dangerous driving. These debates are not just academic. The case for a better regulated digital realm has to be made with growing urgency. The alternative will be to see Mr Obama’s forebodings about a broken marketplace of ideas that inhibits functional democracy realised with ever more sinister effect.
Burt, the huge crocodile that rose to fame with a cameo in the movie “Crocodile Dundee” and continued to impress visitors with his fiery temper and commanding presence, has died. Burt died over the weekend, the Crocosaurus Cove reptile aquarium in Darwin, Australia , said. He was at least 90 years old. “Known for his independent nature, Burt was a confirmed bachelor — an attitude he made clear during his earlier years at a crocodile farm,” Crocosaurus Cove wrote in social media posts. “He wasn’t just a crocodile, he was a force of nature and a reminder of the power and majesty of these incredible creatures. While his personality could be challenging, it was also what made him so memorable and beloved by those who worked with him and the thousands who visited him over the years,” the aquarium wrote. A saltwater crocodile , Burt was estimated to be more than 5 meters (16 feet) long. He was captured in the 1980s in the Reynolds River and became one of the most well-known crocodiles in the world, according to Crocosaurus Cove. The 1986 movie stars Paul Hogan as the rugged crocodile hunter Mick Dundee. In the movie, American Sue Charlton (Linda Kozlowski) goes to fill her canteen in a watering hole when she is attacked by a crocodile, before being saved by Dundee. Burt is briefly shown lunging out of the water. But the creature shown in more detail as Dundee saves the day is apparently something else. The Internet Movie Database says the movie goofed by depicting an American alligator, which has a blunter snout. The Australian aquarium where Burt had lived since 2008 features a “Cage of Death” which it says is the nation's only crocodile dive. It said it planned to honor Burt's legacy with a commemorative sign “celebrating his extraordinary life and the stories and interactions he shared throughout his time at the park.” Nick Perry, The Associated PressA stroke changed a teacher’s life. How a new electrical device is helping her move
Special teams bungles dominate NFL, with Commanders and Cowboys leading the wayA stroke changed a teacher’s life. How a new electrical device is helping her moveEDITORIAL: Doug Ford's push to modernize transit, ease congestion will be his legacy
Curtis Jones fired Liverpool seven points clear at the top of the Premier League as the title favourites survived a scare in their 3-1 win against struggling Leicester. Arne Slot's side were shocked by Jordan Ayew's early strike at Anfield, but the leaders recovered their composure to equalise just before the interval through Cody Gakpo. England midfielder Jones marked his 100th top-flight appearance with the second goal soon after half-time. Mohamed Salah's 19th goal this term wrapped up Liverpool's 11th win in their last 13 games in all competitions. Liverpool's comeback lifted them seven points clear of second-placed Chelsea, who were beaten 2-1 by Fulham earlier in the day. The rampant Reds, who hold a game in hand on Chelsea, have been beaten just once in 17 league matches this season. They have won 22 of their 26 games in all competitions in a remarkable run since Slot arrived from Feyenoord in the close-season to replace Jurgen Klopp. Klopp led Liverpool to their last Premier League title in 2020 and Slot has them perfectly positioned to emulate that feat in the second half of the season. Also through to the League Cup semi-finals and top of the Champions League, Liverpool, who travel to West Ham for their last match of the year on Sunday, will go into 2025 in contention of an unprecedented quadruple. Third-bottom Leicester are one point from safety after a third consecutive defeat. Salah nearly gave Liverpool the perfect start as his close-range effort smacked the post. But on a night when Anfield was surrounded by a murky mist, Liverpool's defence was lost in the fog in the sixth minute. Meanwhile, Fulham scored twice in the final 10 minutes to end Chelsea's 12-game unbeaten run in all competitions with a stunning 2-1 Premier League win at Stamford Bridge. Substitutes Harry Wilson and Rodrigo Muniz shocked the Blues to secure Fulham's first away win at their west London rivals since 1979. Defeat leaves second-placed Chelsea still four points adrift of leaders Liverpool, who have two games in hand over their nearest challengers, starting with the visit of Leicester later on Thursday. Victory lifts Fulham up to eighth, level on points with champions Manchester City, and within just one point of fifth-placed Newcastle to further their European ambitions for next season. "It is a privilege to give our fans this happiness," said Fulham boss Marco Silva. "Second half the reaction was top. It is not a coincidence that we are the team in the Premier League that has got the most goals from players off the bench." Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has insisted in recent weeks that his young side are not yet cut out for a title challenge despite their fine form. Silva's men have now taken points from Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea this month and the Portuguese's changes turned the tide in the visitors' favour. (AFP)( MENAFN - GlobeNewsWire - Nasdaq) VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Dec. 23, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- DMG Blockchain Solutions Inc. (TSX-V: DMGI) (OTCQB: DMGGF) (FRANKFURT: 6AX) ("DMG" or the "Company"), a vertically integrated blockchain and data center technology company, announces the issuance of US Patent No. 12,067,572 for Cryptographic Taint Tracking. This patent, issued by the US Patent and Trademark Office, is a continuation of the previously issued U.S. Patent No. 11,257,089. The original patent laid the foundation for a method to detect and track tainted cryptographic wallets, supporting efforts to combat money laundering and fraud. This new patent builds on the innovative technology behind Blockseer's wallet risk scoring method, which reinforces DMG's clean-block mining initiative and its use in mining pools. The patented methods enable real-time identification and monitoring of wallets linked to nefarious activities, enhancing compliance and supporting law enforcement in their mission to safeguard blockchain networks. Key Features of Cryptographic Taint Tracking (Patent 12,067,572): DMG's CEO, Sheldon Bennett commented,“By advancing a novel methodology to detect and prevent suspicious activity in real-time, we're enhancing the trust and safety of the blockchain. This is a notable step forward to enable custody providers and exchanges to ensure regulatory compliance. As we look forward with our Systemic Trust custody subsidiary and Terra Pool as the key enabling elements of our carbon neutral Bitcoin ecosystem, compliance technology, such as what is being enabled by our patent, is core to ensuring that bad actors are prevented from tainting our ecosystem.” Grant of Stock Options and RSUs In addition, DMG announces the granting of stock options and RSUs to employees and directors of the company. A total of 424,680 stock options ("Options") and 2,050,000 restricted stock units ("RSUs") have been granted. The Options are exercisable over five years at a price of $0.38 per share, with vesting in 25% increments on the six-, 12-, 18-, and 24-month anniversaries of the grant date. The RSUs vest in one year; these grants are designed to create an incentive structure that aligns longer-term performance with the Company's growth. About Systemic Trust Company Ltd. Systemic Trust Company is a special purpose trust company incorporated under the Loan and Trust Corporations Act (Alberta). When STC receives its registration and regulatory approval for operations, it will operate as a standalone, independently capitalized, prudently managed trust company and Qualified Custodian offering digital asset custody services for institutional clients. About Terra Pool Terra Pool is the world's first carbon neutral Bitcoin mining pool, designed to reward miners with carbon neutral bitcoin. It plays a crucial role in advancing a carbon neutral Bitcoin ecosystem. When integrated with DMG's subsidiary, Systemic Trust, a digital asset custodian, financial institutions and content creators will gain the ability to send Bitcoin in a carbon neutral and regulatory-compliant manner. About DMG Blockchain Solutions Inc. DMG is a publicly traded and vertically integrated blockchain and data center technology company that manages, operates and develops end-to-end digital solutions to monetize the digital asset and artificial intelligence compute ecosystems. DMG's sustainable businesses are segmented into two business lines under the Core and Core+ strategies and unified through DMG's vertical integration. For more information on DMG Blockchain Solutions visit: Follow @dmgblockchain on X, LinkedIn, Facebook and subscribe to DMG's YouTube channel. For further information, please contact: On behalf of the Board of Directors, Sheldon Bennett, CEO & Director Tel: +1 (778) 300-5406 Email: ... Web: For Investor Relations: ... For Media Inquiries: Chantelle Borrelli Head of Communications ... Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information This news release contains forward-looking information or statements based on current expectations. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release include statements regarding DMG's strategies and plans, the development of Systemic Trust, improving fleet efficiency and continuing to execute on Core+ software initiatives, onboarding of new clients to Terra Pool, the opportunity and plans to monetize bitcoin transactions, the continued investment in Bitcoin network software infrastructure and applications, developing and executing on the Company's products and services, increasing self-mining, efforts to improve the operation of its mining fleet, the launch of products and services, events, courses of action, and the potential of the Company's technology and operations, among others, are all forward-looking information. Future changes in the Bitcoin network-wide mining difficulty rate or Bitcoin hashrate may materially affect the future performance of DMG's production of bitcoin, and future operating results could also be materially affected by the price of bitcoin and an increase in hashrate mining difficulty. Forward-looking statements consist of statements that are not purely historical, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations, or intentions regarding the future. Such information can generally be identified by the use of forwarding-looking wording such as "may", "expect", "estimate", "anticipate", "intend", "believe" and "continue" or the negative thereof or similar variations. The reader is cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of any forward-looking information may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted, as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, including but not limited to, market and other conditions, volatility in the trading price of the common shares of the Company, business, economic and capital market conditions; the ability to manage operating expenses, which may adversely affect the Company's financial condition; the ability to remain competitive as other better financed competitors develop and release competitive products; regulatory uncertainties; access to equipment; market conditions and the demand and pricing for products; the demand and pricing of bitcoin; security threats, including a loss/theft of DMG's bitcoin; DMG's relationships with its customers, distributors and business partners; the inability to add more power to DMG's facilities; DMG's ability to successfully define, design and release new products in a timely manner that meet customers' needs; the ability to attract, retain and motivate qualified personnel; competition in the industry; the impact of technology changes on the products and industry; failure to develop new and innovative products; the ability to successfully maintain and enforce our intellectual property rights and defend third-party claims of infringement of their intellectual property rights; the impact of intellectual property litigation that could materially and adversely affect the business; the ability to manage working capital; and the dependence on key personnel. DMG may not actually achieve its plans, projections, or expectations. Such statements and information are based on numerous assumptions regarding present and future business strategies and the environment in which the Company will operate in the future, including the demand for its products, the ability to successfully develop software, that there will be no regulation or law that will prevent the Company from operating its business, anticipated costs, the ability to secure sufficient capital to complete its business plans, the ability to achieve goals and the price of bitcoin. Given these risks, uncertainties, and assumptions, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The securities of DMG are considered highly speculative due to the nature of DMG's business. For further information concerning these and other risks and uncertainties, refer to the Company's filings on In addition, DMG's past financial performance may not be a reliable indicator of future performance. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include, failure to obtain regulatory approval, the continued availability of capital and financing, equipment failures, lack of supply of equipment, power and infrastructure, failure to obtain any permits required to operate the business, the impact of technology changes on the industry, the impact of viruses and diseases on the Company's ability to operate, secure equipment, and hire personnel, competition, security threats including stolen bitcoin from DMG or its customers, consumer sentiment towards DMG's products, services and blockchain technology generally, failure to develop new and innovative products, litigation, adverse weather or climate events, increase in operating costs, increase in equipment and labor costs, equipment failures, decrease in the price of Bitcoin, failure of counterparties to perform their contractual obligations, government regulations, loss of key employees and consultants, and general economic, market or business conditions. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release. Except as required by law, the Company disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Additionally, the Company undertakes no obligation to comment on the expectations of or statements made by third parties in respect of the matters discussed above. MENAFN23122024004107003653ID1109025556 Legal Disclaimer: MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. 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Universal Pictures has announced on X that Christopher Nolan’s next film is The Odyssey , based on the classic Greek mythic story and will be filmed with “new IMAX film technology”. What exactly this is has not been officially confirmed but most are speculating that this refers to the new film cameras that IMAX has publicly said it’s been working on for the last few years. Details of these new cameras were first revealed as far back as March 2024, in a live panel session at the NAB 2024 conference, which is freely available to watch on YouTube . In the video, Bruce Markoe, the head of post-production at IMAX, revealed that the cameras are essentially a 21 st -century update of the eight IMAX film cameras, which are now 25 years old. Lighter and Quieter The headline feature is that the cameras will be 30% quieter and will be lighter thanks to a carbon fiber construction. This is primarily good news for the shoulders of Hoyte van Hoytema, Nolan’s cinematographer since 2014’s Interstellar , who is often seen balancing the larger IMAX camera on this back. Lighter, quieter IMAX film cameras will enable directors to increase the number of shots they can use them for. Last summer’s blockbuster Oppenheimer had about 75 minutes of its three-hour runtime in the full-frame IMAX film 1.43:1 format, around the same as his previous film, Tenet , so there’s every chance that The Odyssey will see that increased. The quieter operation could also help with the widespread complaints from some that certain scenes in Nolan’s films are inaudible. This has been explained to be due to the noisiness of the current IMAX cameras combined with Nolan’s reluctance to use automatic dialogue replacement (ADR). Analogue Innards In A Digital Shell Other camera improvements include a new hi-res five-inch full-color display and brighter digital and optical viewfinders and for the first time the ability for output to be monitored on-set over Wi-Fi on external devices such as tablets. Markoe also revealed that the camera displays will also show frame lines for the native 1.43:1 IMAX film format and also IMAX 1.90:1 (used for all IMAX digital screens) and standard 2.40:1. Of course other aspect ratios are available and the display can be set up lines for whatever ratio is preferred. The new cameras promise even greater film exposure stability and greater reliability. Marko said that internally the film camera movement is unchanged from the original design. IMAX realized that there was nothing they could improve on, which is impressive since they were designed 25 years ago. High Demand For IMAX In the video, Markoe also reveals the fascinating statistic that despite only 1.5% of theatres worldwide showing Interstellar in IMAX, it brought in 20% of the film’s revenue. This would only have increased following the recent highly successful 10 th -anniversary re-release of Interstellar . As you’ll know if you tried to get a ticket to see the film in its IMAX 15/70 glory, the appetite for seeing films in full 1.43:1 aspect ratio is huge. However, there are only 30 theaters worldwide that can show IMAX 1.43 (as these require an IMAX 15/70 film camera or an IMAX dual-laser projection system combined with a 1.43:1 screen) and the IMAX presentation even boasts that people take flights just to be able to see movies in that format. So while the new cameras are great news it’s somewhat disappointing that there is no indication that IMAX is looking to increase this number. I also hold out hope that there will be more to this new technology than the cameras. In the presentation, there are hints that Kodak might be introducing some new type of film stock in 2025. As the large format film photographer Tyler Sheilds, says on the panel, the future of cinema needs to be “daring, bold and interesting.” In Oppenheimer Nolan broke new ground by getting Kodak to create black and white IMAX film for the first time which had not been done before, so with The Odyssey , I would expect to see him pushing technical boundaries once again.A new study from Northwestern Medicine reveals a troubling rise in severe maternal health issues and birth complications in Illinois from 2016 to 2023, closely linked to increases in chronic health conditions affecting pregnancy, such as high blood pressure, gestational diabetes, mental health disorders and especially obesity, which saw the largest increase in annual rates. The study highlights significant racial and socioeconomic disparities, finding that non-Hispanic Black mothers faced more than double the rate of severe complications compared to non-Hispanic white mothers, and that living in high-poverty neighborhoods elevated maternal health risks across all racial groups. "Despite significant recent statewide quality-improvement efforts, these birth outcomes are worsening for all ages, reflecting the worsening pre-pregnancy health of the reproductive-age population in Illinois," said corresponding author Dr. Mugdha Mokashi, a resident physician in obstetrics and gynecology at the McGaw Medical Center at Northwestern. The findings reflect national trends demonstrating the increasing prevalence of conditions such as obesity, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and gestational diabetes among pregnant people of all ages, she added. The study provides the most updated data on maternal morbidity and delivery complications within the state of Illinois. The findings were published Nov. 21 in the journal O & G Open . "Our findings underscore the role of social determinants of health—such as race and income—in driving disparities in maternal health, suggesting that efforts to reduce maternal morbidity need to address both racial inequalities and economic hardship ," said study co-author Dr. Lynn Yee, associate professor of obstetrics and pulmonology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and a Northwestern Medicine maternal fetal medicine physician. Breaking down of the findings In the study cohort of 988,480 births at 127 Illinois hospitals between January 2016 to June 2023, the overall rate of severe maternal morbidity rose from 1.4% in 2016 to 2% in 2023. Vaginal birth complications increased 22.4%, and cesarean birth complications increased 48.9%. Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and anemia—both of which increased over the study period—were significant risk factors for severe maternal morbidity and birth complications. The largest increase by far was in annual rates of obesity from 2016 to the first six months of 2023 (7.8% to 22.3%). Additionally, there were increases in gestational diabetes (4.2% to 5.5%), depression (2.5% to 6.6%), anxiety (3.1% to 10.4%) and other chronic comorbidities (4.7% to 7.4%). Non-Hispanic Black patients had more than double the severe maternal morbidity rate (2.6%) compared to non-Hispanic white patients (1.1%). Health counseling before pregnancy is important Maternal health affects almost everyone, and those thinking about pregnancy should be sure to check in with their health care provider to screen for any chronic conditions they may have before getting pregnant, the study authors said. "Pre-conception counseling is such an important way to make sure that all of your health conditions are optimized prior to pregnancy," Mokashi said. "There are many important policy and public health initiatives in Illinois that people may be interested in learning more about." 'It's not just because the people getting pregnant are older' While not the original aim of the study, the scientists did additional analysis that found the increased prevalence of maternal health issues and birth complications is not simply because the people getting pregnant are older. The findings reflected an increase in hospital coding for hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, gestational diabetes , anemia, depression, serious mental illness and other chronic conditions , especially obesity, even among those giving birth who are younger than 30. "In brief, even young pregnant patients have more medical conditions and complications in pregnancy," Mokashi said. What can be done? Policies for poverty alleviation—such as the proposed refundable child tax credit in Illinois, House Bill 4917, if passed—have demonstrated improvement in maternal health , the study authors said. Perinatal quality initiatives in California have reduced postpartum hemorrhage-related morbidity. Similarly, the Illinois Perinatal Quality Collaborative is working to reduce cesarean births and address racial disparities through Promoting Vaginal Birth and Birth Equity initiatives. Increasing access to doula support and patient navigator programs could also be useful supports, Mokashi said. In 2024, the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services adjusted reimbursement for doula services. At Northwestern, research on patient-navigator programs have shown promise in reducing care disparities for low-income minoritized patients postpartum. And at the federal level, passage of the 13 bills comprising the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act re-introduced in 2023 would provide critical funding support to increase data collection and quality initiatives for prevention of maternal morbidity . More information: Mugdha Mokashi et al, Trends in Severe Maternal Morbidity, Obstetric Comorbidities, and Birth Complications in Illinois, O&G Open (2024). DOI: 10.1097/og9.0000000000000046
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