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Biden approves national security memo on China, Iran, North Korea and Russia ahead of Trump's returnLA Lakers star opens up on new role, reveals how tough Pistons ‘All-Star level’ player isApple's latest iPhones get the gift of more AI as holiday shopping season heats up
The Brooklyn Nets have been better than advertised this season as they currently hold a 10-14 record and sit eighth in the Eastern Conference standings. After trading away Mikal Bridges to the New York Knicks in the offseason, the Nets officially began a true rebuild. Even with their solid start, they are still expected to be sellers at the trade deadline in February as they look to receive more young talent and draft capital. Recent reports are now suggesting that the Nets are open to moving a surprising trio of players. “The Nets have received trade interest and opened exploratory conversations around forwards Cam Johnson and Dorian Finney-Smith and guard Dennis Schroder, sources said," ESPN's Shams Charania reported Tuesday. "The Warriors are among the teams that have expressed interest in those three players, sources said.” While the Golden State Warriors may be interested in all three players, they will have to compete with other teams to land the trio, especially Johnson, who has turned into one of the NBA’s hottest commodities in trade rumors this season. Johnson is averaging 18.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game while shooting 48.8% from the field and 43.4% from three this season. The 28-year-old is a three-point sharpshooter and has already gained a ton of interest from many teams around the league. Finney-Smith will be wanted by many teams thanks to his 3-and-D potential. The 31-year-old forward is averaging 10.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game this season while also shooting 46.5% from the field and 43.2% from three, which would be a career-high. Expect many teams to call Brooklyn for him due to his elite defensive play as well as his knockdown three-point shooting. The other player mentioned in the report is Schröder. The 31-year-old point guard is off to one of the best starts to a season of his 12-year career. He is averaging 18.6 points, 3.0 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game to go along with shooting 44.8% from the field and 38.5% from three. Schröder is a solid defender and reliable scorer who can work as a team’s starting or reserve point guard. With the Nets wanting to trade these players away, it is clear that their focus is on getting the highest draft pick possible in the loaded 2025 draft and also stocking up on as much young talent and draft capital as possible. More NBA: Cavaliers could add depth in trade for Nets' $80 million duo amid hot start
REGINA - Saskatchewan’s fall legislative sitting ended Tuesday with political barbs traded across the aisle after Premier Scott Moe promised a better tone two weeks ago. The swipes began when Opposition NDP Leader Carla Beck told the assembly Moe should offer immediate affordability relief, including suspending the 15-cent-a-litre gas tax and scrapping the provincial sales tax on ready-to-eat grocery items and children’s clothing. In reply, Moe said there is no sales tax on groceries and that Beck should go speak to federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh. “What we see unfortunately from members opposite, Mr. Speaker, decade after decade, leader after leader is the same old questions, the same old tactics and the same old NDP,” Moe said. The remarks drew ire from Opposition members, with one saying the Saskatchewan Party deserves a lump of coal for Christmas. “The premier knows full well we don’t support the carbon tax, but what he doesn’t seem to understand is how much families in this province are struggling,” Beck said. The jostling continued. Upon questioning for not removing the PST from children’s clothing, Crown Investments Minister Jeremy Harrison told the house that New Democrats don’t know how to grow the economy. He also urged heckling Opposition member Nathaniel Teed to get up and speak. “I’d encourage the member for Saskatoon-Meewasin to get up and ask the next question if he has so much to say from his chair,” Harrison said. “What we are committed to — and what this session really has been focused on — is affordability.” In late November, Moe had promised better civility in the assembly and that government members would not send the Speaker harassing text messages. Earlier this year, former Speaker Randy Weekes accused government members of bullying him. Moe told reporters Tuesday he’s leaving it up to others to judge whether the tone has changed. “We are not the Opposition. We are the government of Saskatchewan,” Moe said. “We should conduct ourselves accordingly, and I would hope throughout this abbreviated session this fall that the people of Saskatchewan can be proud of the individuals.” Beck told reporters her party will remain tough on issues of affordability, health care, education, crime and homelessness. “Decorum is important, but that doesn’t mean that we should put on kid gloves when it comes to the very real issues that are facing Saskatchewan people,” she said. The Opposition introduced six emergency motions in the assembly this sitting, including ones that urged the province to suspend the fuel tax, remove the PST, launch a committee to fix health care and investigate high food prices in the province’s remote north. Each motion failed after they were rejected by government members. “We believe Saskatchewan people do need some affordability relief,” Beck said. “We will continue to push for the things that Saskatchewan people tell us are most important to them.” Moe said the province has introduced its own affordability measures and is also prepared to strike a task force with nurses and doctors to address health-care issues. His government passed legislation last week that provides broad income tax relief, saving an average family of four more than $3,400 over four years. Another bill keeps the carbon levy off home heating. Saskatchewan has not remitted carbon levies to the federal government in the past year, arguing it should be exempt after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a carve-out for heating oil. The federal government has said it reached a deal with Saskatchewan over the issue by securing 50 per cent of what was owed until the dispute is resolved. “This session was largely about setting the foundation for both enacting our platform but providing the change that Saskatchewan people have asked for, and we feel that we have done that,” Moe said. The legislative sitting is to resume in the spring with the provincial budget. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 10, 2024.US bankers cautious on crypto despite expected regulatory easingAn impeachment complaint was filed against Philippines Vice President Sara Duterte by civil society groups, deepening a political crisis over her feud with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Duterte engaged in “culpable violations of the Constitution, graft and corruption, bribery, betrayal of public trust, and other high crimes,” according to a statement from Akbayan, a progressive political alliance. A spokesperson for Duterte said the matter has been relayed to her. “The Vice President has reduced public office to a platform for violent rhetoric, personal enrichment, elitist entitlement and a shield for impunity,” Teresita Quintos Deles, one of the complainants, said in the statement. “Her actions desecrate our institutions, and her continued grip on power insults every Filipino who stands for good governance and the rule of law.” The complaint was filed at the House of Representatives just three days after Marcos said he would oppose any impeachment effort as a potential distraction that could slow reforms, calling his dispute with his deputy a “storm in a teacup.” The filing is expected to undergo hearings by a house committee, a majority of which must vote for it to be taken up by the entire chamber. The complaint will then need backing from at least one-third of all house members for a Senate trial to proceed. Marcos’s allies control the House of Representatives but a conviction at the Senate may prove challenging, as an impeachment proceeding could alienate Duterte’s supporters ahead of the midterm elections in May. Just two years after they won election on a joint ticket, Duterte’s relationship with Marcos has completely fractured, and she claimed late last month that — in the event of her death — she had arranged for the killing of the president, his wife and his cousin, the house speaker. She subsequently said her livestreamed remarks had been taken out of context, but her father, ex-President Rodrigo Duterte, has previously publicly bragged of directing a “death squad” to kill criminals. Indeed, Rodrigo Duterte last week asked for the military to correct what he saw was “fractured governance,” remarks that some interpreted as a call for the army to intervene, even as he said he wasn’t calling for a coup. The police last week also filed a complaint against Sara Duterte and her security detail over allegations of assault and coercion following an incident involving the transfer of her chief of staff to a government hospital from the House of Representatives, where the staffer was detained. Monday’s complaint, by a group that included civil society leaders and former government officials, and which was endorsed by Congressman Perci Cendaña from Akbayan, said Duterte violated her constitutional oath and engaged in gross misconduct. That included her alleged misuse of confidential funds provided to the office of the vice president, along with sundry alleged misdeeds at other times in her career, including when she was mayor of Davao City and head of the education department. The complaint also cited Sara Duterte’s alleged “meltdown” when she apparently contracted an assassin to kill Marcos and house Speaker Martin Romualdez, according to the statement. Her claims showed “the depths and/or extent of her mental incapacity, her depravity, and lack of mental fitness to continue holding the office.” News of the impeachment effort came late in the trading day in the Philippines, where the benchmark stock index rose 2 percent.
Rising tech stocks pull Wall Street to another recordTHE cost of a family Christmas dinner has jumped by an inflation-busting 6.5 per cent, figures show. Rising prices of turkey and the trimmings have pushed up the average festive feast to £32.57 for a family of four. 4 The cost of a family Christmas dinner has jumped by 6.5 per cent Credit: Alamy 4 The average frozen turkey is 8.5 per cent more expensive than last year at £13.08 Credit: Getty Spuds saw the biggest annual rise on the Yuletide table — a stonking 16.2 per cent higher than last year, and now making up £1.65 of the total. Cauliflower is 14.6 per cent more expensive at £1.18. Parsnips are up 12.7 per cent at 71p, and carrots are up 11.4 per cent at 49p. The average frozen turkey is 8.5 per cent more expensive than last year at £13.08, according to market research analysts Kantar. READ MORE ON INFLATION RATE IT UK inflation rate rises to 2.3% in October - what it means for your money Some items rose in price less dramatically, with Christmas puddings up 4.4 per cent at £3.32, gravy granules up the same to £2.14 and Brussels sprouts up 1.1 per cent to 89p. And revellers can raise a glass to toast the fact that sparkling wine remained the same price at an average £6.40 of the total. Vegetable prices have been affected by wet weather earlier this year. And potato farmers in particular have been hard hit by rising energy costs as spuds are kept refrigerated once harvested. Most read in Money PIZZA THE ACTION US chain famed for legendary kids parties to launch first Scots branch ROYAL REIGN Exactly how much of Scotland is owned by Royals shown in new interactive map BYE BYE Cineworld to close SIX more locations - see the full list CASH IN Thousands of State Pensioners in Scotland can claim new benefit over £100 Shoppers hoping for bargains are expected to cash in on last-minute supermarket promotions — with big chains expected to rake in a record £13billion over the festive period. Fraser McKevitt, of Kantar, said: “Monday December 23 is likely to be the single busiest day for the supermarkets this year, although there are clear signs that shoppers are already stocking up their cupboards. “Sales of assorted sweet biscuits and biscuits for cheese both doubled in November compared with the month before, while eight per cent of us bought a Christmas pudding.” I'm a skincare pro, don't chuck your Christmas dinner leftovers, use them for skincare 4 Sparkling wine has remained the same price at an average £6.40 Credit: Alamy 4 How much Xmas dinner foods have gone up by
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Met Museum Unveils Design for New Modern and Contemporary Art WingBOSTON — Boston will have four vending machines and eight indoor kiosks distributing life-saving Narcan and other harm reduction supplies in another step toward preventing overdose deaths, Mayor Michelle Wu and the Boston Public Health Commission announced. “Unfortunately, many people living with substance use disorder don’t use harm reduction tools, like naloxone and clean syringes, due to stigma, lack of access or unawareness,” said Public Health Commissioner Bisola Ojikutu. “These vending machines and kiosks are a low-cost, compassionate way to destigmatize harm reduction and expand access throughout our city.” Naloxone, known by the brand name Narcan, is a medication used to rapidly reverse opioid overdoses. Other harm reductions supplies intended to keep people safe and alive include safe clean injection kits and fentanyl test strips. The kiosks and public health vending machines are part of an “evidence-based strategy” of expanding access to naloxone to combat the city’s opioid crisis, the Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC) said. The commission cited a 33% decrease in overdose deaths to 68 deaths in Boston in the first four months of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023, noting “promising results” of the strategy. BPHC was using about $7.5 million to expand access to naloxone and other resources as of October 2024. Within the framework of Boston’s federally-funded $2.7 million Overdose Data to Action program, BPHC said they will set up the four public health vending machines at existing harm reduction, homeless services, and medical program facilities. The state purchased a total of 14 of the vending machines. In addition to the naloxone and harm reduction supplies, the organizations at each site may choose to stock the machines with public health necessities like pregnancy tests, socks and PPE, city officials said. The machines will be at BPHC Recovery Services in the Finland Building, Southampton shelter, EnVision Hotel, and North End Waterfront Community Health Center’s Charlestown public housing location. “This work reflects our continued commitment to community health care by increasing access to life saving supplies, inviting individuals into care, and reducing stigmatizing experiences for the Charlestown community,” said David Perry, Director of Substance Use Disorders at North End Waterfront Health, stating they are “proud to partner with BPHC on this initiative.” The naloxone kiosks, funded by Carelon and the Massachusetts Behavioral Health Partnership, will likewise go up at eight locations strategically aimed to reach of populations with higher overdose rates, the commission said. The indoor kiosk locations include Bridge Over Troubled Waters, Harvard Street Neighborhood Health Center, Recovery on the Harbor, SPOKE Gallery, Suffolk County Jail and House of Correction, The Phoenix, and Woods Mullen Women’s Shelter. The kiosks, repurposed from old newspaper stands, will also offer connections to support resources like the phone number for the Massachusetts Behavioral Health Help Line, BPHC said, which offers “free clinical assessments, crisis support, and referrals to treatment for substance use and mental health disorders.” Similar to Boston, Massachusetts saw a significant 23% drop in overdose deaths in the past year, totaling 2,032 drug overdose deaths in the 12-month period that ended June 30, 2024. In the U.S., overdose deaths decrease about 14% in the same period. --------- ©2024 MediaNews Group, Inc. Visit at bostonherald.com . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Pyxus Releases Fiscal Year 2024 Sustainability ReportThe government is considering increasing taxation as early as April 2026 to help cover its planned boost in defense spending, sources close to the matter said Wednesday. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's government has already decided to raise revenue from corporate, income and tobacco taxes to help fund its plan to nearly double the nation's defense budget to 2 percent of gross domestic product. But the government has yet to finalize a timeline for the plan, having only said the additional taxation will come at an appropriate time in fiscal 2024 or later. It is looking to begin a scheme to impose additional corporate tax and raise the tobacco tax in stages, both starting from April 2026, while also considering introducing a new tax item linked to income, starting January 2027, the sources said. Under the government's goal of doubling Japan's defense budget to 2 percent or more of GDP over the five years through fiscal 2027, it has decided to allocate 43 trillion yen ($284 billion) in defense-related spending during the period. It aims to boost its annual tax revenue by 1 trillion yen through the tax plans to cover the heftier defense budget. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner, the Komeito party, plan to stipulate when the additional taxation will be implemented in their tax reform plans for fiscal 2025. As part of measures to ease inflation pain, the LDP and Komeito agreed with the Democratic Party for the People to raise the tax-free income threshold from the current 1.03 million yen starting from next year. The three parties will aim to eventually lift the ceiling to 1.78 million yen as demanded by the small opposition party. The plan is also expected to encourage part-time employees to work longer hours, helping address labor shortages in the retail and other sectors. The ruling coalition needs the opposition's support to pass budgets and bills in parliament after losing its majority in the House of Representatives in the general election late October. Separately, the ruling and opposition parties agreed in principle on a draft legal revision requiring lawmakers to disclose the use of public funds allocated for research and other activities and return what is left to state coffers. Each lawmaker receives 1 million yen a month, and the envisioned revision is part of political reforms to restore voter trust hurt by a slush fund scandal involving the LDP.
HALIFAX — A Nova Scotia charity is serving at least 600 free traditional dinners over Christmas Eve and Christmas Day to spread a little bit of holiday cheer. The Souls Harbour Rescue Mission is offering a sit-down turkey dinner with all the fixings for people who need “food or friends” at mission locations across the province. It’s the first time the group is serving the meals over the holidays since it started providing community service in 2010. Michelle Porter, the CEO, says the charity has been raising funds for Christmas festivities since November and estimates the cost for events during the holiday season is around $1 million. Meals will differ slightly at mission locations across the province, but Porter says all plates will have turkey, potatoes, cranberry, gravy and some vegetables. People who attend will also get a Christmas stocking that includes a mini hygiene set and a few treats like chocolate, gloves and socks. About 400 people will eat today in Lower Sackville, Bridgewater, Truro and Sydney Mines, while Porter estimates 200 people will share a meal together in Halifax on Christmas Day. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 24, 2024. The Canadian PressTrump names billionaire investment banker Warren Stephens as his envoy to BritainLabour leader holds exploratory coalition talks with Fianna Fail and Fine Gael
Can ordinary citizens solve our toughest problems?Nova Scotia charity serving 600 free turkey dinners for Christmas
BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP) — Bethlehem marked another somber Christmas Eve on Tuesday in the traditional birthplace of Jesus under the shadow of war in Gaza . The excitement and cheer that typically descends on the West Bank during Christmas week were nowhere to be found. The festive lights and giant tree that normally decorate Manger Square were missing, as were the throngs of foreign tourists that usually fill the square. Palestinian scouts marched silently through the streets, a departure from their usual raucous brass marching band. Security forces arranged barriers near the Church of the Nativity, built atop the spot where Jesus is believed to have been born. The cancellation of Christmas festivities is a severe blow to the town's economy. Tourism accounts for an estimated 70% of Bethlehem’s income — almost all from the Christmas season. Salman said unemployment is hovering around 50% — higher than the 30% unemployment across the rest of the West Bank, according to the Palestinian Finance Ministry. Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the top Roman Catholic cleric in the Holy Land, noted the shuttered shops and empty streets and expressed hope that next year would be better. “This has to be the last Christmas that is so sad,” he told hundreds of people gathered in Manger Square, where normally tens of thousands would congregate. Pizzaballa held a special pre-Christmas Mass in the Church of the Holy Family in Gaza City. Several Palestinian Christians told the Associated Press that they have been displaced in the church since the war began in October of last year with barely enough food and water. “We hope by next year at the same day we’d be able to celebrate Christmas at our homes and go to Bethlehem,” said Najla Tarazi, a displaced woman. “We hope to celebrate in Jerusalem ... and for the war to end. This is the most important thing for us and the most important demand we have these days because the situation is really hard. We don’t feel happy.” Bethlehem is an important center in the history of Christianity, but Christians make up only a small percentage of the roughly 14 million people spread across the Holy Land. There are about 182,000 in Israel, 50,000 in the West Bank and Jerusalem and 1,300 in Gaza, according to the U.S. State Department. The number of visitors to the town plunged from a pre-COVID high of around 2 million per year in 2019 to fewer than 100,000 in 2024, said Jiries Qumsiyeh, the spokesperson for the Palestinian Tourism Ministry. After nightfall, the golden walls of the Church of the Nativity were illuminated as a few dozen people quietly milled about. A young boy stood holding a pile of balloons for sale, but gave up because there were no customers to buy them. The war in Gaza has deterred tourists and has prompted a surge of violence in the West Bank , with more than 800 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire and dozens of Israelis killed in militant attacks. Palestinian officials do not provide a breakdown of how many of the deceased are civilians and how many are fighters. Since the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack that sparked the war , access to and from Bethlehem and other towns in the West Bank has been difficult, with long lines of motorists waiting to pass through Israeli military checkpoints. The restrictions have prevented some 150,000 Palestinians from leaving the territory to work in Israel, causing the economy there to contract by 25%. In the Oct. 7 assault on southern Israel, Hamas-led militants killed about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and took more than 250 Israeli hostages. Israeli officials believe that around 100 hostages remain in captivity in the Gaza Strip. Elsewhere, Christmas celebrations were also subdued. Scores of Syrian Christians protested Tuesday in Damascus, demanding protection after the burning of a Christmas tree in Hama the day before. Videos and images shared on social media showed the large, decorated tree burning at a roundabout in Suqalabiyah, a town in the Hama countryside. It remains unclear who was responsible for setting the tree on fire. In a video that circulated on social media, a representative of Syria’s new leadership, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, could be seen visiting the site and addressing the community. He said: “This act was committed by people who are not Syrian, and they will be punished beyond your expectations.” German celebrations were darkened by a car attack on a Christmas market on Friday that left five people dead and 200 people injured. President Frank-Walter Steinmeier rewrote his annual recorded Christmas Day speech to address the attack. He plans to acknowledge that “there is grief, pain, horror and incomprehension over what took place in Magdeburg,” while urging Germans to “stand together,” according to an early copy of the speech. A snowstorm in the Balkans stranded drivers and downed power lines, but some saw the beauty in it. “I’m actually glad its falling, especially because of Christmas,” said Mirsad Jasarevic in Zenica, Bosnia. “We did not have snow for Christmas for 17 years here, and now is the time for wonderful white Christmas.” American Airlines briefly grounded flights across the U.S. on Tuesday due to a technical problem just as the Christmas travel season kicked into overdrive. Winter weather threatened more potential problems for those planning to fly or drive. Meanwhile, the flight-tracking site FlightAware reported that 1,447 flights entering or leaving the U.S., or serving domestic destinations, were delayed Tuesday, with 28 flights canceled. In the port of Barcelona, Spain, volunteers from the faith-based ministry Stella Maris visited seven ships docked there on Christmas Eve to deliver Nativity scenes and the local specialty of turrón (nougat candy) to seafarers. The volunteers met seafarers from India, the Philippines, Turkey and elsewhere, said Ricard Rodríguez-Martos, a Catholic deacon and former merchant marine captain who leads Stella Maris in this major Mediterranean harbor. Associated Press writers Wafaa Shurafa in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City and Giovanna Dell’Orto in Minneapolis contributed to this report.