Just oblivious to chappli kabab and qehwa getting cold on side table of his workshop, Zafar Ali, an electrician in Pabbi town of Nowshera district, was busy in repairing geysers, gas heaters and electric rods to deliver these appliances to owners as per deadline. As the day dawns, Zafar Ali rushes to his electric workshop on his motorbike every morning no matter the weather is cold or foggy in winters or it is scorching heat of summer, with tester and pliers in hand and diagnosing faults in these appliances with the help of his two assistants. Busy like a honey bee the whole day and commonly known as ‘Ustad’, after having years’ long skill and experience in repairing multiple home appliances, Zafar not only runs his own workshop but also help out other mechanics in tracing faults in appliances running their shops. “After completing DAE in electronics from Government Technical Institute Peshawar, I setup a small workshop in a room of my house for repairing electric appliances a few years back,” Zafar informed. “But, now I have a modern workshop in Pabbi where five other people are also employed.” “By gradually expanding my business, now I have started houses electrification that makes me earn more profit as I charge around Rs 50,000 for one 10 marla house electric wiring. However, these charges vary in urban and rural areas,” he said. “I am satisfied with my business and even refused foreign visas offered by construction companies,” he said and suggested to promote vocational education to enable our youth to establish their businesses and earn respectful living locally instead of going abroad and work in inhumane conditions. Zafar is an example for our migrants proceeding abroad illegally even at the risk of their lives as well as for the governments who must revisit their policies and focus this sector for preparing technical hands who can earn respectable living indigenously. As the Federal Government has significantly improved the vocational education system in recent years, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa still lags behind due to poor investment, outdated curriculum and insufficient faculty to meet modern day labor market needs. “Poor investment, outdated syllabus and lackluster patronage to vocational education and professional training contributed to increase in unemployment, illiteracy and poverty,” remarked Professor Dr Naeem ur Rehman, former Chairman Economics Department University of Peshawar. He claimed that although slightly yet unemployment rate in country was increasing and according to 2017 national population census, major portion of our population is youth for whom hundreds of thousands jobs would be required in next decade or two. He emphasized to specially focusing vocational education and creating more jobs and small business opportunities within the country to save country from brain drain. “When our youth visit GULF for employment, they spend normally eight months to two years to get LTV, HTV driving licenses and operational expertise for operating different machines. He claimed that more than 11 million Pakistanis proceeded to over 50 countries till December 2019 to get employment after fulfilling official procedures and many among them would also be experts of their fields. “This trend would ultimately create dearth of experienced hands to execute important projects within the country.” He said CPEC alone has the potential to generate 1.2 million direct jobs for youth and “we need to divert financial resources towards strengthening technical educational institutes to tap this potential.” Meanwhile, PML-N MPA Sobia Shahid claimed that Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has launched series of programs to promote technical and vocational education and empower youth. “These programs include2,000 Internships for young engineers, youth transformation programs for 20 under developed districts countrywide, innovation fund and Top Talent Scholarships Program, free laptop scheme besides sending 600 students to China for technical education.” She was however critical of the lackluster approach and poor investment of the PTI government in technical education as it failed to implement a uniformed education system and fulfill financial requirements of technical and vocational training institutes. Engr Sajjad Khan, Managing Director Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority KP said massive finances were required to construct technical educational institutes and strengthening existing ones in Torghar, Kolai Palas and seven districts of merged areas. He stressed special focus on infrastructure development, equipment, furniture, purchase of buses for students and solarization of technical educational institutions in the province. “TEVTA KPK had signed agreements with 32 reputable private organizations to promote technical education for self-employment and thousands students of KP students were provided two-year professional educational training in nine different paramedical technologies,” he informed. Abdul Karim Khan, Special Assistant to KP Chief Minister for Industries, Commerce, Vocational and Technical Education also mentioned to the government’s measures for promoting vocational education and starting education emergency program worth Rs 3.1 billion to arrest unemployment.Automakers are opening their wallets for President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration. On Monday, Ford and General Motors each pledged $1 million , with Ford also offering a fleet of vehicles for the event. Not long after, Toyota announced its own $1 million donation. The businesses’ donations appear to be a tactical show of support for the incoming president, who repeatedly has been vocal about imposing tariffs on goods coming from Canada, Mexico, and China. Those tariffs, which may add up to 25% on vehicles , could have big consequences for automakers, and are therefore top of mind going into the new year. The biggest consequences may impact the producers of the most affordable cars . According to data from Edmund’s, about a third of vehicles sold in the U.S. for under $30,000 are built in Mexico. Therefore, hefty new tariffs could majorly decrease profits for car companies, who have already been struggling against inflation, high interest rates, supply issues, as well as competition from China. Trump’s tariffs could also change free-trade negotiations laid out in the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) which the president-elect enacted in 2020, replacing the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Currently, USMCA requires 75% of a vehicle’s parts be made in the U.S., Mexico, or Canada in order to be free from tariffs. It’s not just automakers who seem ready to cozy up to the incoming president with legal, yet potentially influential, donations. Major tech companies have recently pledged their own million-dollar donations. Both Meta and Amazon donated $1 million, just before OpenAI CEO Sam Altman pledged to do the same. In a statement, first reported by Fox News, Altman said, “President Trump will lead our country into the age of AI, and I am eager to support his efforts to ensure America stays ahead.” In the past, Altman has donated to Democratic candidates. The notable switch seems to showcase that some business leaders, even those who aren’t looking forward to Trump’s second term, may find it easier to appear to work with the administration. | “It’s just a recognition that there’s not much to be gained in outspoken opposition, but perhaps there is something to be gained by being very clear about your support and hope that Trump does well,” Margaret O’Mara, a Silicon Valley historian at the University of Washington, told NPR this month. Trump, who has a well-documented history of responding well to favors or offerings that may help his agenda, bragged about the uptick in donations to his inauguration in a December 19 Truth Social post: “EVERYBODY WANTS TO BE MY FRIEND!!!” The upcoming inauguration is expected to break the previous record of $106.7 million in donations set in 2017, the first time Trump took office.
Suchir Balaji, a former OpenAI engineer and whistleblower who helped train the artificial intelligence systems behind ChatGPT and later said he believed those practices violated copyright law, has died, according to his parents and San Francisco officials. He was 26. Balaji worked at OpenAI for nearly four years before quitting in August. He was well-regarded by colleagues at the San Francisco company, where a co-founder this week called him one of OpenAI's strongest contributors who was essential to developing some of its products. “We are devastated to learn of this incredibly sad news and our hearts go out to Suchir’s loved ones during this difficult time,” said a statement from OpenAI. Balaji was found dead in his San Francisco apartment on Nov. 26 in what police said “appeared to be a suicide. No evidence of foul play was found during the initial investigation.” The city's chief medical examiner's office confirmed the manner of death to be suicide. His parents Poornima Ramarao and Balaji Ramamurthy said they are still seeking answers, describing their son as a “happy, smart and brave young man” who loved to hike and recently returned from a trip with friends. Balaji grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and first arrived at the fledgling AI research lab for a 2018 summer internship while studying computer science at the University of California, Berkeley. He returned a few years later to work at OpenAI, where one of his first projects, called WebGPT, helped pave the way for ChatGPT. “Suchir’s contributions to this project were essential, and it wouldn’t have succeeded without him,” said OpenAI co-founder John Schulman in a social media post memorializing Balaji. Schulman, who recruited Balaji to his team, said what made him such an exceptional engineer and scientist was his attention to detail and ability to notice subtle bugs or logical errors. “He had a knack for finding simple solutions and writing elegant code that worked,” Schulman wrote. “He’d think through the details of things carefully and rigorously.” Balaji later shifted to organizing the huge datasets of online writings and other media used to train GPT-4, the fourth generation of OpenAI's flagship large language model and a basis for the company's famous chatbot. It was that work that eventually caused Balaji to question the technology he helped build, especially after newspapers, novelists and others began suing OpenAI and other AI companies for copyright infringement. He first raised his concerns with The New York Times, which reported them in an October profile of Balaji . He later told The Associated Press he would “try to testify” in the strongest copyright infringement cases and considered a lawsuit brought by The New York Times last year to be the “most serious.” Times lawyers named him in a Nov. 18 court filing as someone who might have “unique and relevant documents” supporting allegations of OpenAI's willful copyright infringement. His records were also sought by lawyers in a separate case brought by book authors including the comedian Sarah Silverman, according to a court filing. “It doesn’t feel right to be training on people’s data and then competing with them in the marketplace,” Balaji told the AP in late October. “I don’t think you should be able to do that. I don’t think you are able to do that legally.” He told the AP that he gradually grew more disillusioned with OpenAI, especially after the internal turmoil that led its board of directors to fire and then rehire CEO Sam Altman last year. Balaji said he was broadly concerned about how its commercial products were rolling out, including their propensity for spouting false information known as hallucinations. But of the “bag of issues” he was concerned about, he said he was focusing on copyright as the one it was “actually possible to do something about.” He acknowledged that it was an unpopular opinion within the AI research community, which is accustomed to pulling data from the internet, but said “they will have to change and it’s a matter of time.” He had not been deposed and it’s unclear to what extent his revelations will be admitted as evidence in any legal cases after his death. He also published a personal blog post with his opinions about the topic. Schulman, who resigned from OpenAI in August, said he and Balaji coincidentally left on the same day and celebrated with fellow colleagues that night with dinner and drinks at a San Francisco bar. Another of Balaji’s mentors, co-founder and chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, had left OpenAI several months earlier , which Balaji saw as another impetus to leave. Schulman said Balaji had told him earlier this year of his plans to leave OpenAI and that Balaji didn't think that better-than-human AI known as artificial general intelligence “was right around the corner, like the rest of the company seemed to believe.” The younger engineer expressed interest in getting a doctorate and exploring “some more off-the-beaten path ideas about how to build intelligence,” Schulman said. Balaji's family said a memorial is being planned for later this month at the India Community Center in Milpitas, California, not far from his hometown of Cupertino. —————- EDITOR’S NOTE — This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988. —————-- The Associated Press and OpenAI have a licensing and technology agreement allowing OpenAI access to part of the AP’s text archives.ChatGPT explores ads as it works toward 1 billion users
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Ricky Ponting and Sunil Gavaskar shared their thoughts on Virat Kohli being fined 20% of his match fee for engaging in a physical altercation with Sam Konstas on Day 1 of the IND vs AUS Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on December 26. Virat Kohli barged into the debutant and the two players engaged in a heated conversation, subsequently. Reacting to Virat Kohli's penalty by the ICC after he was found to have Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct, Sunil Gavaskar felt that it was 'like a slap of the wrist'. Ricky Ponting, who had earlier stated that it was Virat Kohli who instigated the whole thing, shared that the fine was not harsh enough. Virat Kohli, Sam Konstas Engage in Heated Argument After Indian Star Shoulder Charges 19-Year-Old During IND vs AUS Boxing Day Test at MCG (Watch Video) . 🗣️ "It's a slap on the wrist" - Sunil Gavaskar 🗣️ "I personally don't think that the fine was harsh enough" - Ricky Ponting A discussion on Virat Kohli's penalty for making contact with Sam Konstas #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/kMyQSDB1Af — 7Cricket (@7Cricket) December 26, 2024 (SocialLY brings you all the latest breaking news, viral trends and information from social media world, including Twitter (X), Instagram and Youtube. The above post is embeded directly from the user's social media account and LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body. The views and facts appearing in the social media post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY, also LatestLY does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.)
JetBlue Airways Corp. stock outperforms competitors on strong trading daySocial media users are misrepresenting a Vermont Supreme Court ruling, claiming that it gives schools permission to vaccinate children even if their parents do not consent. Read this article for free: Already have an account? To continue reading, please subscribe: * Social media users are misrepresenting a Vermont Supreme Court ruling, claiming that it gives schools permission to vaccinate children even if their parents do not consent. Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? Social media users are misrepresenting a Vermont Supreme Court ruling, claiming that it gives schools permission to vaccinate children even if their parents do not consent. The ruling addressed a lawsuit filed by Dario and Shujen Politella against Windham Southeast School District and state officials over the mistaken vaccination of their child against COVID-19 in 2021, when he was 6 years old. A lower court had dismissed the original complaint, as well as an amended version. An appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court was filed on Nov. 19. But the ruling by Vermont’s high court is not as far-reaching as some online have claimed. In reality, it concluded that anyone protected under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act, or PREP, Act is immune to state lawsuits. Here’s a closer look at the facts. CLAIM: The Vermont Supreme Court ruled that schools can vaccinate children against their parents’ wishes. THE FACTS: The claim stems from a July 26 ruling by the Vermont Supreme Court, which found that anyone protected by the PREP Act is immune to state lawsuits, including the officials named in the Politella’s suit. The ruling does not authorize schools to vaccinate children at their discretion. According to the lawsuit, the Politella’s son — referred to as L.P. — was given one dose of the Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination clinic held at Academy School in Brattleboro even though his father, Dario, told the school’s assistant principal a few days before that his son was not to receive a vaccination. In what officials described as a mistake, L.P. was removed from class and had a “handwritten label” put on his shirt with the name and date of birth of another student, L.K., who had already been vaccinated that day. L.P. was then vaccinated. Ultimately, the Vermont Supreme Court ruled that officials involved in the case could not be sued. “We conclude that the PREP Act immunizes every defendant in this case and this fact alone is enough to dismiss the case,” the Vermont Supreme Court’s ruling reads. “We conclude that when the federal PREP Act immunizes a defendant, the PREP Act bars all state-law claims against that defendant as a matter of law.” The PREP Act, enacted by Congress in 2005, authorizes the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services to issue a declaration in the event of a public health emergency providing immunity from liability for activities related to medical countermeasures, such as the administration of a vaccine, except in cases of “willful misconduct” that result in “death or serious physical injury.” A declaration against COVID-19 was issued on March 17, 2020. It is set to expire on Dec. 31. Federals suits claiming willful misconduct are filed in Washington. Social media users described the Vermont Supreme Court’s ruling as having consequences beyond what it actually says. “The Vermont Supreme Court has ruled that schools can force-vaccinate children for Covid against the wishes of their parents,” reads one X post that had been liked and shared approximately 16,600 times as of Tuesday. “The high court ruled on a case involving a 6-year-old boy who was forced to take a Covid mRNA injection by his school. However, his family had explicitly stated that they didn’t want their child to receive the ‘vaccines.’” Other users alleged that the ruling gives schools permission to give students any vaccine without parental consent, not just ones for COVID-19. Rod Smolla, president of the Vermont Law and Graduate School and an expert on constitutional law, told The Associated Press that the ruling “merely holds that the federal statute at issue, the PREP Act, preempts state lawsuits in cases in which officials mistakenly administer a vaccination without consent.” “Nothing in the Vermont Supreme Court opinion states that school officials can vaccinate a child against the instructions of the parent,” he wrote in an email. Asked whether the claims spreading online have any merit, Ronald Ferrara, an attorney representing the Politellas, told the AP that although the ruling doesn’t say schools can vaccinate students regardless of parental consent, officials could interpret it to mean that they could get away with doing so under the PREP Act, at least when it comes to COVID-19 vaccines. He explained that the U.S. Supreme Court appeal seeks to clarify whether the Vermont Supreme Court interpreted the PREP Act beyond what Congress intended. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. “The Politella’s fundamental liberty interest to decide whether their son should receive elective medical treatment was denied by agents of the State and School,” he wrote in an email to the AP. “The Vermont Court misconstrues the scope of PREP Act immunity (which is conditioned upon informed consent for medical treatments unapproved by FDA), to cover this denial of rights and its underlying battery.” Ferrara added that he was not aware of the claims spreading online, but that he “can understand how lay people may conflate the court’s mistaken grant of immunity for misconduct as tantamount to blessing such misconduct.” John Klar, who also represents the Politellas, went a step further, telling the AP that the Vermont Supreme Court ruling means that “as a matter of law” schools can get away with vaccinating students without parental consent and that parents can only sue on the federal level if death or serious bodily injury results. — Find AP Fact Checks here: https://apnews.com/APFactCheck. Advertisement AdvertisementBaltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson, the reigning NFL Most Valuable Player, leads fan balloting for the 2025 NFL Pro Bowl Games after one week of voting, the league announced on Monday. Ravens superstar Jackson set the overall pace with 44,681 votes followed by teammate Derrick Henry, the running back leader, in second overall at 40,729 votes. Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley was third overall at 40,602, only 127 votes behind Henry in the rusher's race, with Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen fourth overall on 36,574 and Detroit running back Jahmyr Gibbs fifth on 35,637. The Detroit Lions lead all clubs in total votes received, followed by the Ravens, the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, the Minnesota Vikings and Pittsburgh Steelers. The NFL's revamped all-star event will be staged in Orlando, Florida, for the second consecutive year. In all, 88 players will gather on February 2 in skills competitions and a flag football showdown with coaches Peyton and Eli Manning. While other vote totals were not revealed, Washington rookie Jayden Daniels was the top NFC quarterback in the fan voting and top receivers were Minnesota's Justin Jefferson in the NFC and Cincinnati's Ja'Marr Chase in the AFC. NFL fans can vote as often as they wish through December 23 with selections decided by a consensus of ballots by players, coaches and fans with each group counting for one-third of every player's final total. NFL players and coaches will cast votes on December 27. js/rcw
By ROB GILLIES, Associated Press TORONTO (AP) — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told Donald Trump that Americans would also suffer if the president-elect follows through on a plan to impose sweeping tariffs on Canadian products , a Canadian minister who attended their recent dinner said Monday. Trump threatened to impose tariffs on products from Canada and Mexico if they don’t stop what he called the flow of drugs and migrants across their borders with the United States. He said on social media last week that he would impose a 25% tax on all products entering the U.S. from Canada and Mexico as one of his first executive orders. Canadian Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc, whose responsibilities include border security, attended a dinner with Trump and Trudeau at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club on Friday. Trudeau requested the meeting in a bid to avoid the tariffs by convincing Trump that the northern border is nothing like the U.S. southern border with Mexico . “The prime minister of course spoke about the importance of protecting the Canadian economy and Canadian workers from tariffs, but we also discussed with our American friends the negative impact that those tariffs could have on their economy, on affordability in the United States as well,” LeBlanc said in Parliament. If Trump makes good on his threat to slap 25% tariffs on everything imported from Mexico and Canada, the price increases that could follow will collide with his campaign promise to give American families a break from inflation. Economists say companies would have little choice but to pass along the added costs, dramatically raising prices for food, clothing, automobiles, alcohol and other goods. The Produce Distributors Association, a Washington trade group, said last week that tariffs will raise prices for fresh fruit and vegetables and hurt U.S. farmers when the countries retaliate. Canada is already examining possible retaliatory tariffs on certain items from the U.S. should Trump follow through on the threat. After his dinner with Trump, Trudeau returned home without assurances the president-elect will back away from threatened tariffs on all products from the major American trading partner. Trump called the talks “productive” but signaled no retreat from a pledge that Canada says unfairly lumps it in with Mexico over the flow of drugs and migrants into the United States. “The idea that we came back empty handed is completely false,” LeBlanc said. “We had a very productive discussion with Mr. Trump and his future Cabinet secretaries. ... The commitment from Mr. Trump to continue to work with us was far from empty handed.” Joining Trump and Trudeau at dinner were Howard Lutnick, Trump’s nominee for commerce secretary, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Trump’s pick to lead the Interior Department, and Mike Waltz, Trump’s choice to be his national security adviser. Canada’s ambassador to the U.S., Kirsten Hillman, told The Associated Press on Sunday that “the message that our border is so vastly different than the Mexican border was really understood.” Hillman, who sat at an adjacent table to Trudeau and Trump, said Canada is not the problem when it comes to drugs and migrants. On Monday, Mexico’s president rejected those comments. “Mexico must be respected, especially by its trading partners,” President Claudia Sheinbaum said. She said Canada had its own problems with fentanyl consumption and “could only wish they had the cultural riches Mexico has.” Flows of migrants and seizures of drugs at the two countries’ border are vastly different. U.S. customs agents seized 43 pounds of fentanyl at the Canadian border during the last fiscal year, compared with 21,100 pounds at the Mexican border. Most of the fentanyl reaching the U.S. — where it causes about 70,000 overdose deaths annually — is made by Mexican drug cartels using precursor chemicals smuggled from Asia. On immigration, the U.S. Border Patrol reported 1.53 million encounters with migrants at the southwest border with Mexico between October 2023 and September 2024. That compares to 23,721 encounters at the Canadian border during that time. Canada is the top export destination for 36 U.S. states. Nearly $3.6 billion Canadian (US$2.7 billion) worth of goods and services cross the border each day. About 60% of U.S. crude oil imports are from Canada, and 85% of U.S. electricity imports as well. Canada is also the largest foreign supplier of steel, aluminum and uranium to the U.S. and has 34 critical minerals and metals that the Pentagon is eager for and investing for national security.Emmy Russell Is Pregnant! Loretta Lynn's Granddaughter and “American Idol” Finalist Is Expecting First BabyASPI Investors Have Opportunity to Lead ASP Isotopes Inc. Securities Fraud Lawsuit
NEW YORK — Stoli Group USA, the owner of the namesake vodka , has filed for bankruptcy as it struggled to contend with slowing demand for spirits, a major cyberattack that has snarled its operations and several years of fighting Russia in court. The company in its bankruptcy filing said it is “experiencing financial difficulties” and lists between $50 million and $100 million in liabilities. Stoli vodka and Kentucky Owl bourbon will continue to be available on store shelves while the company navigates the Chapter 11 process, which only pertains to its U.S. business. Until 2022, Stoli was sold as Stolichnaya in the United States, which loosely translates to “capital city” in Russian. The company shortened its title following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and boycotts against Russian-branded vodkas . Stoli Group’s founder, Russian-born billionaire Yuri Shefler, was exiled from that nation in 2000 because of his opposition to President Vladimir Putin. Intel announced on December 2 that CEO Pat Gelsinger has resigned after a difficult stint at the company. The once-dominant chipmaker’s stock cratered as it missed the AI boom and was surpassed by most of its rivals. The liquor has long been marketed as a Russian vodka, but its production facilities have been in Latvia for several decades. Stoli Group is a unit of Luxembourg-based SPI Group, which owns other spirit and wine brands. “The Stoli Group has been targeted by the Russian Federation since it was formed nearly 25 years ago,” said Stoli Group CEO Chris Caldwell in a statement. “Earlier this year the company and our owner were both named by the Russian state as ‘extremist groups working against Russia’s interests.’” Its ongoing legal battle with the Russia government has forced Stoli to “spend dozens of millions of dollars on this long-term court battle across the globe with the Russian authorities,” according to its court filing. Caldwell also said that Stoli’s global operations has been a “victim of a malicious cyber attack” that has forced the company to operate “entirely manually while the systems are rebuilt.” A slowdown in demand for alcohol has crushed several company’s bottom lines following the pandemic when people were stuck at home and stocked up. Stoli’s filings said that it has seen a “decline and softening of demand for alcohol and spirits products post-Covid and especially beginning in 2023 and continuing into 2024.” Stoli Group USA, maker of Stoli vodka, has filed for bankruptcy due to slowing demand for spirits, a major cyberattack, and ongoing legal battles with Russia. The-CNN-WireTM & © 2024 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved. Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly.
The Pennsylvania Institute of Technology in Media announced the gift last week of nearly $4 million from The Walter R. Garrison Foundation, the largest capital gift in the school’s history. This contribution will enhance the college’s educational facilities and further its mission to provide outstanding learning experiences in alignment with Walter R. Garrison’s legacy of dedication to education and innovation, officials said in a press release. The funds will be utilized through two major initiatives first establishing the Walter R. Garrison College of Nursing with $2.2 million being used to convert existing spaces into a cutting-edge facility for a new registered nursing program. This program, along with the pre-nursing and practical nursing programs, will form the newly designated Walter R. Garrison College of Nursing, with that new name taking effect on Jan. 1. The second initiative is modernizing the school’s main entry space into the “Walter R. Garrison Gateway to Success.” $1.68 million will be used to make the entrance accessible area for congregation and collaboration, thus reflecting Garrison’s vision of opportunity. School officials note the college’s history spans 71 years, and over the decades, students have embarked on rewarding careers, making a positive impact on their lives and their families. Graduates excel in fields such as nursing, health care management, cannabis studies, and diagnostic medical sonography, as well as many other in-demand careers. In the early 1950s Garrison recognized the need for engineers in aircraft and civil/architectural fields which was the basis of the school. Two campuses in Upper Darby hosted classes in mathematics, stress analysis, and technical subjects. By 1976, the Pennsylvania Department of Education had approved P.I.T. to award specialized associate’s degrees, leading to a move in 1982 to the spacious 14-acre Rose Valley-Media campus. The Middle States Commission on Higher Education accredited P.I.T. in 1983, and in 2021, approval was granted to offer Bachelor degree programs. “This gift is a testament to Walter R. Garrison’s enduring commitment to education,” said P.I.T. President Matt Meyers. “It empowers P.I.T. to continue his legacy by expanding and enhancing our programs, ultimately enriching the lives of our students and broader community.” Barton Winokur, Chairman of The Walter R. Garrison Foundation, said, “Walter believed strongly in the potential of education to transform lives. This gift aims to perpetuate his vision, ensuring that P.I.T. continues to cultivate talent and prepare students for impactful careers. We are honored to support such a vital institution and its mission.” Garrison’s statue, which can be seen on campus, honors his lasting impact to the school. Additionally, foundation representative, Walter Strine, a local businessman and philanthropist, has joined the P.I.T. board to foster the ongoing collaboration to sustain an educational environment that embodies Garrison’s vision, as reinforced by the foundation’s strategic support.
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The schedule includes: Virginia vs. St. John's - 7 p.m. ET Creighton vs. Nebraska - 8 p.m. ET Tennessee vs. Baylor - 9:30 p.m. ET Arizona vs. Duke - 10:30 p.m. ET Duke is 3-1 but is playing its first game away from home while Arizona is 2-0 and remains in the friendly confines of the McKale Center for this one. Arizona is a slim 1.5-point favorite with the total at 161 points at DraftKings. Claim $1,000 deposit bonus from Underdog Fantasy Each game houses plenty of college football player props and for each one, bettors must choose Higher or Lower on the total set by Underdog. This includes points, rebounds, assists, stat combinations and more. From there, make between 2 and 8 selections to put into an entry, with the payouts increasing with each added selection. For entries of three selections or more, a 'flex' option is available that will pay out a portion of winnings even if one of your selections falls short. 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You must be over 21 to play. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-522-4700. 1-800 GAMBLER.Speaker schedules opposition motions after Tories opt against own non-confidence voteBy ROB GILLIES, Associated Press TORONTO (AP) — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told Donald Trump that Americans would also suffer if the president-elect follows through on a plan to impose sweeping tariffs on Canadian products , a Canadian minister who attended their recent dinner said Monday. Trump threatened to impose tariffs on products from Canada and Mexico if they don’t stop what he called the flow of drugs and migrants across their borders with the United States. He said on social media last week that he would impose a 25% tax on all products entering the U.S. from Canada and Mexico as one of his first executive orders. Canadian Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc, whose responsibilities include border security, attended a dinner with Trump and Trudeau at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club on Friday. Trudeau requested the meeting in a bid to avoid the tariffs by convincing Trump that the northern border is nothing like the U.S. southern border with Mexico . “The prime minister of course spoke about the importance of protecting the Canadian economy and Canadian workers from tariffs, but we also discussed with our American friends the negative impact that those tariffs could have on their economy, on affordability in the United States as well,” LeBlanc said in Parliament. If Trump makes good on his threat to slap 25% tariffs on everything imported from Mexico and Canada, the price increases that could follow will collide with his campaign promise to give American families a break from inflation. Economists say companies would have little choice but to pass along the added costs, dramatically raising prices for food, clothing, automobiles, alcohol and other goods. The Produce Distributors Association, a Washington trade group, said last week that tariffs will raise prices for fresh fruit and vegetables and hurt U.S. farmers when the countries retaliate. Canada is already examining possible retaliatory tariffs on certain items from the U.S. should Trump follow through on the threat. After his dinner with Trump, Trudeau returned home without assurances the president-elect will back away from threatened tariffs on all products from the major American trading partner. Trump called the talks “productive” but signaled no retreat from a pledge that Canada says unfairly lumps it in with Mexico over the flow of drugs and migrants into the United States. “The idea that we came back empty handed is completely false,” LeBlanc said. “We had a very productive discussion with Mr. Trump and his future Cabinet secretaries. ... The commitment from Mr. Trump to continue to work with us was far from empty handed.” Joining Trump and Trudeau at dinner were Howard Lutnick, Trump’s nominee for commerce secretary, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Trump’s pick to lead the Interior Department, and Mike Waltz, Trump’s choice to be his national security adviser. Canada’s ambassador to the U.S., Kirsten Hillman, told The Associated Press on Sunday that “the message that our border is so vastly different than the Mexican border was really understood.” Hillman, who sat at an adjacent table to Trudeau and Trump, said Canada is not the problem when it comes to drugs and migrants. On Monday, Mexico’s president rejected those comments. “Mexico must be respected, especially by its trading partners,” President Claudia Sheinbaum said. She said Canada had its own problems with fentanyl consumption and “could only wish they had the cultural riches Mexico has.” Flows of migrants and seizures of drugs at the two countries’ border are vastly different. U.S. customs agents seized 43 pounds of fentanyl at the Canadian border during the last fiscal year, compared with 21,100 pounds at the Mexican border. Most of the fentanyl reaching the U.S. — where it causes about 70,000 overdose deaths annually — is made by Mexican drug cartels using precursor chemicals smuggled from Asia. On immigration, the U.S. Border Patrol reported 1.53 million encounters with migrants at the southwest border with Mexico between October 2023 and September 2024. That compares to 23,721 encounters at the Canadian border during that time. Canada is the top export destination for 36 U.S. states. Nearly $3.6 billion Canadian (US$2.7 billion) worth of goods and services cross the border each day. About 60% of U.S. crude oil imports are from Canada, and 85% of U.S. electricity imports as well. Canada is also the largest foreign supplier of steel, aluminum and uranium to the U.S. and has 34 critical minerals and metals that the Pentagon is eager for and investing for national security.Israeli air strikes on Yemen airport ‘were metres from WHO chief’
Is Enron back? If it’s a joke, some former employees aren’t laughingPedestrians and boda boda riders have been named as the leading victims of road crashes in the country, with the number of fatalities continuing to rise during the festive season, raising concerns about their safety. According to a report by the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA), over 4,282 people were killed in road crashes by November 2024, a notable increase compared to the same period. As per the report, the majority of the fatalities recorded for this year are pedestrians and boda boda riders. Those highly affected were 1600 pedestrians killed, followed by 900 motorcyclists. Speaking with the media in Mombasa during a launch of road safety awareness campaign to promote the safety of road users during the December festivities, NTSA Deputy General Manager Coast Region John Parteroi said that they started the journey by December 10, 2024 to caution road users to be vigilant as they use the road. He said the campaign targeted drivers, pedestrians, and motorcyclists, of which drivers of passenger service vehicles signed a declaration to drive safely, slow down, and observe all the traffic regulations. Parteroi said that the campaign is aimed at educating road users on road safety, sensitising motorists to be careful, and following traffic rules during these festive seasons where there is a reported increase in the number of road crashes. He noted that in a joint partnership with the National Police Service (NPS), Bloomberg Philanthropies for Global Road Safety (BIGRS) and Mombasa County Government, the campaign has targeted pedestrians and motorcyclists to be on the lookout while on their day-to-day activities. He urged pedestrians to use the few available footbridges instead of opting to cross the road, leading to deaths. The Kilifi-Malindi road near the Kijipwa area was listed as a high-risk highway with motorists speeding, causing crashes. Boda bodas were also mentioned for contributing highly to pedestrians’ deaths due to traffic misbehaviour that results in hit-and-run accidents. Perteroi said riders can help the authorities bring sanity to the road by following traffic rules, avoiding drunk driving and reckless behaviour, and wearing reflector jackets and helmets when riding at night to avoid not being seen by motorists. He added that NTSA has technological devices that can capture drivers speeding on major roads. “Following traffic rules is critical in promoting road safety; we are here to educate motorists and sensitize them on the importance of adhering to traffic regulations to save lives,” he said. He noted that NTSA will keep on reminding motorists to adhere to traffic measures when it comes to day-to-day ferrying of passengers by not carrying excess. He said passenger service vehicles are only allowed to carry passengers from 9 to 14 for a matatu or minibus. He added Uber, Bolt, and taxi business operators are also designated to carry passengers. He added that private motorists are not supposed to carry passengers for commercial purposes since it is only designated to vehicles that belong to licensed transport Sacco. Coordinator for Bloomberg’s Philanthropies Vipul Patel underscored the need for continued sensitisation on road safety. He highlighted the global challenge of speed management and the need for a sustained and multidisciplinary response. Patel noted that speeding is a major key risk factor in road safety since it increases the risk of a crash and the severity of the injuries sustained when a crash occurs. He said that it is important to engage pedestrians and motorists on the importance of observing road safety and the consequences of not adhering to traffic rules. “We want to remind our people that speeding kills. Many families have been left without their caregivers due to road crashes. Let us all spread the word to our loved ones to observe traffic rules when using the road,” he said.State lawmakers return to Concord Wednesday to be sworn in and elect new leaders. Republican Sen. Sharon Carson of Londonderry is all but guaranteed to win election as the next president of the New Hampshire Senate, where Republicans will hold a 16-8 majority in the next session. But who will be the next speaker of the 400-member New Hampshire House is a little more up in the air. Incumbent House Speaker Sherman Packard, a Republican who has represented Londonderry in the legislature since 1990, is seeking a third term leading the House. House Democratic leader Alexis Simpson of Exeter is also running. But Packard also faces a challenger from a fellow Republican: Rep. Kim Rice, of Hudson. Rice is returning to the State House after stepping away from the Legislature in 2022. At the time, Rice held the title of House Speaker Pro Tempore, the third ranking job in the Legislature, which Packard had given her. But Rice’s relationship with Packard, and with Majority Leader Jason Osborne, frayed after she opposed a controversial parental rights bill backed by most Republicans in 2022. After leaving the Legislature, Rice played a prominent role in the presidential campaign of former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley. Rice isn’t commenting on her efforts to win election as speaker, but she and her allies have been reaching out to lawmakers in both parties looking for support. Rice faces an uphill battle, and her fortunes will hinge on whether she can build a bipartisan coalition. That’s been the recipe in the past when Republican-led legislatures have chosen speakers who weren’t the first choice of the Republican caucus. After this year’s elections, Republicans hold a 42-seat advantage in the House. So for Rice, success will require persuading some Republicans to break with Packard and getting House Democrats to back her as a bloc. It could be a tall order: Packard isn’t much of a lightning rod within the House. And it's far from clear if the House still contains many of the kind Republicans Rice needs — moderates game to buck the will of the rest of the caucus — in real numbers. The other votes lawmakers are slated to take Wednesday, for Secretary of State and treasurer, will be far more straightforward. Secretary of State David Scanlan, who has held his job since 2022, is seeking his third term. Treasurer Monica Mezzepelle is also seeking reelection. Both are running unopposed.
AFN special chiefs assembly to focus on child welfare, policing, economics
Ex-OpenAI engineer who raised legal concerns about the technology he helped build has diedOn December 25, India celebrated the birth centenary of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. As army chief and chairman, chiefs of staff committee, I had the good fortune to work with him closely, particularly during the Kargil War. A statesman par excellence, Vajpayee ji was genteel, soft spoken and a great listener. He was a persuasive leader; never dictatorial in our conversations and discussions. During the Kargil War, as chairman of the cabinet committee for security, he directed that the Indian armed forces would not cross the Line of Control or the international border. Once he spoke about this restriction on us in public, I advised him immediately not to do so. I reasoned with him that if we were unable to fully succeed in our mission in Kargil, I would need his permission to cross the LoC/border somewhere else. He realised the implications and asked national security adviser Brajesh Mishra to announce on a TV channel that “not crossing the LoC holds good today, we can’t say about that for tomorrow”. In the second week of July 1999, Vajpayee ji called me to his office and said that Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had asked for a ceasefire so that his army could withdraw from 10% of the intruded area which they still occupied. I promptly disagreed in the first instance. I argued that we were now achieving rapid successes and could cross into Pakistan-occupied Kashmir territory within a few days. Vajpayee ji, Mishra and I had three meetings that day. Finally, Vajpayee ji convinced me that geo-politically and keeping in view the domestic socio-political circumstances (including the necessity to hold elections), that was the best option and in national interest. In the third week of July, after the ceasefire and our permission to withdraw, Pakistan army continued to hold three posts close to our side of the LoC. By now, the election commission had given the notice for the parliamentary elections. Most ministers were more focused on election issues than the war. I sought Vajpayee ji’s permission to get the posts vacated by force. He promptly gave the go-ahead. Our troops attacked the Pakistani posts and we fully succeeded in our mission. Vajpayee ji had great respect and empathy for soldiers. After the Kargil War, whatever suggestions I made to him for the welfare of soldiers were accepted readily. Besides enhanced compensation, he sanctioned and laid the foundation stone of the Vijayee Veer Awas for Veer Naris in Dwarka, New Delhi. In August 2000, as we were walking together in the South Block corridors, I mentioned to him that in the earlier days, the Prime Minister usually had a meal with the army chief at Army House. He looked at me and asked, “Kya aap hamen bula rahe hain? Agar aisa hai to hum zaroor aayenge (Are you inviting me over? In that case, I shall certainly come).” For us, it was a great honour to host him, his daughter Namita and his son-in-law Ranjan Bhattacharya for dinner. A few other guests included raksha mantri George Fernandes, Mishra and his wife Pushpa, air chief marshal AY Tipnis and his wife Molina and army vice-chief Lt Gen Chandra Shekhar and his wife Aruna. The navy chief was abroad that day. The meal was prepared at home and thoroughly relished by him. There was no jostling of security men or official photographers around us in the house. On September 30, 2000, the day I retired, my wife and I were invited to the Prime Minister’s residence for the farewell dinner. It was also our 32nd wedding anniversary. At the dining table, sitting next to Vajpayee ji, my wife requested him to sign on the menu card, specially printed for the occasion. Obligingly, he wrote ‘To remember Kargil Conflict’ and signed it. vedmalik@gmail.com The writer is a Panchkula-based former chief of army staff.December’s twinkling lights are here, a time of joy and togetherness. For some, however, the holiday season is overshadowed by loneliness. Has OpenAI timed its new companion feature to a week before Christmas? With tech companies offering an ever growing number of virtual companionships, ChatGPT released a new phone number for calls and messages this week. The tech ecosystem has long identified an overarching feeling of loneliness, responding in multiple virtual solutions broadly termed AI companions . These virtual connections come in different shapes and sizes, with a slightly different focus. Replika is a well-known AI-powered chatbot aiming to provide an ‘empathetic friend’, with over 10 million subscribers creating their personalized companion. Character.ai is a role-playing app enabling users to chat with fictional characters built by them or by others. This concept isn’t new, of course, with prior generations materializing in computer games such as The Sims and Second Life or the famous different Japanese versions of a robotic girlfriend . "Resilience", Kintsugi art, Naoko Fukumaru. // Being alone is not the same as feeling lonely. A true ... [+] relationship make the incomplete, complete, just like Kintsugi. | Each of my stories includes an original artwork. Clicking on them will take you to their websites. I am grateful for all the collaborators, sharing their work. Large Language Models and advanced AI capabilities have made virtual companions more realistic and much more personal. With no judgment or personal needs, AI companions mirror individuals’ self, substituting a relationship with an actual other – for a relationship with a projected self, trained on non-transparent content and value system. So far, however, it has not seemed to cure loneliness. Critics of these advanced innovations have argued that these chatbots hamper our ability to truly empathize with others, while they have been infamously linked to tragic incidences encouraging violence to self or others, especially in vulnerable young people. A loneliness epidemic A new article published in JAMA demonstrated that a third of 50- to 80-year-olds American felt a lack of companionship in 2024. The study compiled six years of data from the University of Michigan’s National Poll, demonstrating a return to pre-pandemic levels, after a notable increase in feelings loneliness and social isolations during COVID-19. Loneliness was more common among individuals who perceived their physical or mental health as fair or poor. Bitcoin Suddenly Surges Back To $100,000 On Huge $20 Trillion Price Prediction FBI Warns Gmail, Outlook, Apple Mail Users—Check 3 Things To Stop Attacks Usyk Vs. Fury 2 Results: Full Fight Card Results, Updates, Reactions This staggering number, a third of older adults, matches previous studies demonstrating a U -shaped curve of loneliness, peaking in young adulthood, dipping in midlife, and resurfacing in older years. Northwestern’s researchers recently showed this pattern is global. Rates are so high, in fact, that the US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy coined ‘an epidemic of loneliness and isolation’, dedicating an advisory report to this public health concern. Indeed, loneliness has been linked not only to our mental health but to our physical one as well, with a 29% increased risk of heart disease, 32% higher risk for stroke, and 60% for premature death. The report, synthesizing multiple studies, also demonstrated that lack of social connections is as dangerous as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. The impact of loneliness extends to our cognitive health as well, as evidenced in studies such as a recent meta-analysis of data from over 600 thousand individuals, revealing a significant association between loneliness and dementia, even when other contributing factors were accounted for. Tackling the loneliness epidemic requires more than just advanced technology. Real-life social networks and social interactions are rapidly decreasing. Tracking almost two decades, studies showed the average time individuals spend with friends decreased from 30 hours a month in 2003 to just 10 hours 17 years later. In individuals 15- to 24-year-olds, time with friends has reduced by nearly 70%, with COVID-19 further exacerbating the trend. I find that relationships with AI-powered chatbots, at the end of the day, are only an extended relationship with oneself. A true relationship requires giving our attention to another living soul.