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I n a new study, an experimental obesity drug from Novo Nordisk called CagriSema allowed people to lose more than 20% of their body weight, on average, a result that caused the Danish company’s stock price to fall by as much as 29%. Yes, fall. For anyone not closely following the heated race for obesity drug dominance (there must be a few of you left?), it might look like we’re living in the upside-down. After all, if these same data were unveiled just three years ago, the market reaction would have been wildly different. The stock might have gone up and headlines would have heralded an advance in the fight against obesity. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.
Zelensky demands response from allies as Putin threatens West with new missile
Kansas once required voters to prove citizenship. That didn't work out so wellAs Hope Sampson brought her day’s hunt to a close, she wound her way down a steep grassy hill. Sampson and Mattie Budine, her hunting partner, hadn’t seen a single deer all day. But when they reached the bottom of the hill, a spooked doe leapt through the short bunch grass and settled 60 yards away. With calm and practiced grace, Sampson dropped her backpack and raised her rifle while resting the barrel on her pack. She was calm and took slow breaths as she aimed at the whitetail that stood broadside in front of her. Her chance at a shot came during a weekend of hunting put together by the . The pair were 10 miles west of Philipsburg when Sampson encountered the deer. As she stared down the scope of her .308 rifle, she was taking part in a shrinking American culture — one which continues to be the foundation of wildlife conservation today. The club’s hunting mentorship program aims to educate students about ethical hunting. Sampson didn’t shoot the doe they saw midday, and she knew she wasn’t going to even before she dropped her pack. Part of hunting ethically is practice, making sure the real shot is accurate and effective. “It’s a really hard concept for some people to understand how you can love and respect a species or even an individual animal so much and still be able to take its life,” Sampson said. “It’s something you can’t understand until you’ve done it.” The pair wasn’t dead set on harvesting a deer on that early Saturday in November. It served as a dry run for the real deal — Sampson’s mentorship hunt the following weekend. To hunt or not to hunt Across the United States, the number of hunters is decreasing, according to U.S. Fish and Wildlife data. Montana, traditionally a hot spot for elk, deer and bird hunting, is seeing a different shift. From 2012 to 2022 there was a 7% decrease in resident hunters in the state, while the number of nonresident hunters increased 44%. Hunters and anglers contribute heavily to conserving wildlife and fisheries through excise taxes and license sales. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the population of hunters nationwide has decreased by around 2% of the U.S. population since 1991. “I think we are all trying to see if that is a trend that extends on,” Libby Metcalf, the associate dean of the Franke College of Forestry and Conservation, said. “It could be a full stop reversal of declining trends, or it could be just a random blip.” The next Fish and Wildlife survey in 2027 may help determine whether declining hunters is a serious concern. “To be clear, that’s not where we are at in Montana,” said Greg Lemon, the division administrator for communication and education at Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. While Montana isn’t suffering from revenue or overall hunter loss because of the increase of out-of-state hunters, the Backcountry Hunters and Anglers Club continues to teach ethical and sustainable practices in its chapters across the nation. Last year, license sales in Montana made up 59% of the Fish, Wildlife & Parks budget, totaling over $92 million. These funds also come from the 1937 Pittman Robertson Act, which established a tax on firearms, ammunition and archery equipment. The FWP received $29 million from these taxes, making up 18% of the budget. Dove fields Growing up in Pennsylvania, dove hunting with her father was one of Sampson’s favorite pastimes, often retrieving the doves he shot. But sometimes the doves were still alive, and Sampson would bring them back for her father to kill. “Eventually we got to this point where I would bring it back and my dad would be like ‘No, you have to do this, you have to kill this animal,’ and so it was kind of this natural progression,” Sampson said. Handling the doves helped Sampson develop a love of the animals. “When you get up close, they’ve got this beautiful pink sheen on their breast and the sweetest, loving, little beady eyes,” Sampson said. “I have such an appreciation and love for that species, and the individual dove, but I also know it means so much for me to take that animal’s life, and then it fuels me.” Sampson wasn’t always excited to hunt, though, and she recognizes hunting isn’t something everyone understands. In the years since those childhood trips, she found herself drifting away from hunting. “Hunting is not something you can be pressured into liking, you really have to come to it yourself,” Sampson said, “I initially hated deer hunting, because it’s really boring because you get up and wait in a tree stand and wait for the deer to come.” As a senior studying environmental science and geography, she has come to realize that hunting in Montana is different from in Pennsylvania. Instead of sitting in a tree for long hours, Sampson found herself using a spot and stalk method — a different hunting technique used in Montana’s fields and forests. Several of her friends at the university were into hunting as well, and she realized that for many folks in Montana, it is a way of life. “I started coming back to it on my own terms,” Sampson said. Part of those terms is a greater responsibility to the hunt. Growing up hunting with her dad, she didn’t plan as much, and it wasn’t always her own experience. She wanted to feel the weight of that responsibility by taking the time to build up her confidence to shoot, stalk and plan the hunt herself. Sampson also wanted more experience in the field. The weekend before her practice hunt with Budine, she went out with friends just to spend time outdoors, and not necessarily to kill a deer. “It just reminded me exactly of the way I grew to love being outside,” Sampson said. “It’s in a way that’s not super intense. I’m not really stressed about anything, I’m just outside looking for clues.” Different fields, same game Her roommate and mentor, Budine, knew exactly how Sampson felt. Just a few years earlier, Budine had been the observer and mentee. Budine, a senior, grew up in Massachusetts in a nonhunting family and now studies wildlife biology. She also runs the university’s Wildlife Society chapter. Her mentor, Nicole Bealer, helped her to get her first buck. Since then, she has stayed involved in the university’s hunting and angling club and its close-knit community. “I think it brings a lot of people together and shares good values,” Budine said. Another mentee of Bealer’s is the current club president. Claire Mcatee is from Clemson, South Carolina, and studies wildlife biology. Like Sampson, Mcatee gained experience through dove hunting with her father and sister. She watched popular hunting media like Meateater, and it made her want to become more hardcore in her hunting. “I can grow up and be rich and famous and all that’s great, but I really just want to be a badass,” Mcatee said. As a freshman in the club, Mcatee helped pack out a bull elk shot by a mentor-mentee duo. Snow and sleet, rough terrain, and the weight of the large elk on their backs made the experience tough. “It was an absolute shit experience, physically, mentally, emotionally — it sucked,” Mcatee said, “I got back in the car at the trailhead, and I was like, ‘that was so much fun’ like the perfect example of type-two fun.” The day after, she and Bealer went out again and Mcatee shot her first whitetail doe. From then on, Mcatee knew she wanted more. “To me, this is the most badass thing I can do,” Mcatee said. Now, as president of UM’s chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, Mcatee reviews mentee applications, coordinates with mentors on who will take who out and helps run a range day to get students familiar with their rifles. “The goal of the program has always been to identify the barriers that keep people from learning to hunt or continue to hunt, and breaking down those barriers, so there’s no excuse,” Mcatee said. Where it all started One of those barriers is creating an open space for people to learn to hunt and socialize with other hunters. This is largely what James Goerz sought to create when he started the program 10 years ago. After getting out of the Marines in 2010, he chose to study wildlife biology at UM. Often hunting with friends from his wildlife biology courses, Goerz found himself frequently taking out many folks inexperienced in the sport. “It was just friends teaching friends,” Goerz said. Ten years after it started, it still has the same spirit. Aspiring hunters are paired with more experienced peers and alumni who guide them in their quest to fill their hunting tag. Nonshooting observers — who aren’t sure if they are ready to hunt but want to join in the experience — are also sometimes assigned to the pairs. Goerz views hunting as an important education tool for teaching students about public lands and wildlife. “It gives you a hands-on perspective on what it means to manage a resource,” Goerz said. Goerz hopes to share a part of Montana culture with students in the short few years they spend at UM. He jokes about “brainwashing them, but in a good way,” and teaching interested students the ethical responsibility hunters have to the resource and the land. “When they go back to Massachusetts or to Texas or to California, I’d like them to take that part of Montana with them,” Goerz said. The big picture The R3 movement is perhaps the biggest example of efforts to increase hunting participation. It focuses on recruitment, retention and reactivation of hunters. While trends have shifted over the last four years — with a spike in outdoor recreation during the COVID-19 pandemic — people with a stake in hunting still worry about its longevity. “When hunting was declining it was kind of paired with the out migration of rural areas to more urban centers, so we can think of demographic shifts as one of factors that may have led to a decline in hunters,” Metcalf said. Metcalf studies recreation trends, oftentimes women in hunting, and barriers of entry to folks who want to hunt. She points to studies across the last 20 years that depict a cultural shift in how people engage in the outdoors, largely due to technology, but with a multitude of factors influencing them. “Between the demographics, between some of this technology, between a loss of connection to some of these rural areas, I think this created this great shift away from outdoor based activities in general,” Metcalf said. Mcatee also has anxieties about hunting’s future. “I’m worried about losing the culture associated with hunting, being down to earth, being willing to be uncomfortable and sacrifice, to feed yourself and your family,” Mcatee said. Mcatee thinks some people are unhappy with R3 because they think there are already too many hunters. But she thinks hunting culture is deeply important to American culture, and that could disappear as more people choose indoor activities. “A lot of hunting is through mentorship, so if you don’t continue the mentorship and there’s a gap, then what are we gonna do?” Mcatee said. Back on the hunt A week after their hunt near Philipsburg, Sampson and Budine were out again, looking to fill their tags. This time, Sampson was with her mentor, Nicole Bealer, and an observer. Budine was out with Mcatee and Montana State University’s Backcountry Hunters and Angler’s president Elliott Drewery. Walking down a closed road in the predawn light, Budine, Mcatee and Drewery found a trio of deer. The hunters knew they were in luck. The deer advanced over the ridge, out of sight. Budine moved down the road and set up the shot. Drewery sat next to her to help advise. Even though she could’ve made the shot, it didn’t feel safe. The buck was standing on the ridgeline. If Budine missed the shot, the bullet would go off over the ridge, and could hit other hunters or animals. They could get a better shot if they were patient. Their game of cat and mouse lasted for nearly two hours, stalking the deer through deadfall of tree limbs and branches. Finally, a clean shot in the dense woods presented itself. Drewery extended his arm against a tree, and Budine shouldered her rifle, resting it on his arm. Budine’s shot rang out over the ridge. The 80-yard shot was perfect. Budine had ensured a quick, humane death for the deer. The trio soon went to work on gutting the deer. They decided they would take out the organs and drag it out whole. They moved fast. As blood pooled in the body cavity, Budine reached in and pulled out the heart. She could see where her bullet pierced the organ. After washing their hands off, they tied the antlers to a stick and dragged the buck half a mile to Drewery’s car. As Budine arrived back to the cabin with her deer on the roof of Drewery’s Subaru Crosstrek, Sampson and Bealer were still out in the field. Just as they were ready to take a break, they discovered a fresh set of tracks. Excited, they followed the prints to a small buck and several does. For the next four hours they moved carefully and slowly, leery of spooking the deer. They crawled on their stomachs through the fresh snow to get closer. The terrain was rough. Dense trees and deadfall made it difficult for the hunters to get a clear sight line to the deer. A clean shot was something Sampson knew she wanted above all else, something she felt responsible for. On top of the difficult terrain, the recent snow and below freezing temperatures made the experience all the more intense. Sampson’s pants were so wet they began to freeze in the cold air. Finally, the deer bedded down. But to Sampson’s frustration, her intended target — the large buck — chose to lie behind a tree. Sampson had to wait for nearly an hour for the buck to move from behind the tree before she could take the shot. As the minutes dragged on, Sampson grew restless, uncomfortable from laying in the snow. “(Sampson), do you even want to shoot a deer today?” Bealer jokingly asked. But Sampson wasn’t ready to give up. The larger buck finally stood up from behind the tree. It was time for Sampson to put months of preparation to the test. She stared down the scope and gave herself one last moment to double-check the shot. But the buck moved farther into the dense woods, making a clean shot uncertain. Sampson felt defeated. Almost as quickly as she lost that opportunity, however, another deer popped up just 20 yards down slope — the original one the pair had been tracking. Sampson quickly readjusted her position and scoped in. Bealer yelled for the buck’s attention. The deer turned to look. Sampson took the shot. The buck fell. Her season was complete. The responsibility toward the hunt and the ethical shot Sampson wanted to make had been fulfilled. “It was such a gratifying experience. I didn’t know how happy I would feel,” Sampson said. Sampson isn’t sure where she’ll go after graduating or what job she’ll be able to get. But she knows she wants to continue hunting. During her time in the club, she heard mentors like Mcatee talk about how “it’s just easier to not hunt than it is to hunt.” Sampson understands that notion, but she’s found herself already trying to get back out to the field, no matter where she ends up in the future. Like so many hunters who had come before, Sampson was choosing the hard route.
Under fire from congressional Republicans about one of the darkest moments of Joe Biden’s presidency, Secretary of State Antony Blinken defended the administration’s handling of the disastrous U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, saying Democrats struggled to make the best of a bad pullout deal struck by Donald Trump. Blinken testified Wednesday before the Republican-led House Foreign Affairs Committee, facing questions and angry criticism from lawmakers for the final time in office. The top U.S. diplomat was expected to leave for the Middle East in the afternoon, but the back-and-forth with members, specifically Republicans who admonished the chaotic withdrawal as his defining legacy, delayed his departure. RELATED STORY | House GOP report blames Biden-Harris for chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan Blinken said much of the blame for the sudden collapse of Afghanistan's U.S.-allied government and the chaotic August 2021 evacuation of Americans that followed rested with a withdrawal deal President Trump had reached with the Taliban in 2020 before leaving office. “To the extent President Biden faced a choice, it was between ending the war or escalating it,” Blinken told lawmakers. “Had he not followed through on his predecessor’s commitment, attacks on our forces and allies would have resumed and the Taliban’s assault on the country’s major cities would have commenced.” But McCaul and other Republican lawmakers portrayed Blinken and the Biden administration as ill-prepared and disengaged as the disaster grew, and intent on minimizing mounting evidence that the Taliban would complete a takeover of the country before the last U.S. troops departed. “This catastrophic event was the beginning of a failed foreign policy that lit the world on fire,” McCaul, a Texas Republican, said. He urged Blinken to take “accountability for the disastrous withdrawal.” It was clear “it was going to be a disaster,” said Florida Republican Rep. Brian Mast, who will take over as chairman of the committee in the next Congress. RELATED STORY | Where asylum seekers stand, 2 years after the war in Afghanistan The hearing came at the end of Blinken's diplomatic service under Biden, with six weeks left before Trump takes office, and at the end of McCaul's time leading the Foreign Affairs committee. It served as a capstone to nearly four years of animosity between the two over the end of America's longest war. “For my part, I’ve been determined to learn the lessons from this experience, not only to learn them, but to act on them,” Blinken said. He added, “We’ve made the State Department stronger and better able to respond to crises than it was when we found it, or it was during the Afghan evacuation.” There was little new ground broken on the U.S. withdrawal, after years of blame-trading between Republicans and Democrats. Blinken pointed Wednesday to the planned 2026 release of a government-appointed Afghanistan war commission's review as the best prospect of an independent full report on the disastrous events of the summer of 2021. The 20-year U.S. military occupation of Afghanistan succeeded in routing the al-Qaida militants responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, whom Afghanistan's fundamentalist Taliban militants had allowed a home. But as the U.S. began its pullout, as set by Trump's deal and carried out by Biden, Taliban fighters routed the U.S.-allied government and military, capturing control of the country within months. An extremist group's bombing at the Kabul airport killed 13 U.S. service members and nearly 200 Afghans as Americans, Afghan allies and others thronged the airport in hopes of seats on the last U.S. military-run flights out. Blinken testified Wednesday that all of the “hundreds” of Americans and dual citizens stranded by the sudden scramble from Afghanistan have now been able to leave, if they have chosen. RELATED STORY | Biden review of chaotic Afghan withdrawal blames Trump He opened his appearance before the committee by turning to families of U.S. forces killed in the withdrawal and expressing condolences. Protesters repeatedly interrupted his comments, crying out “scum” and “genocide,” before security cleared the room of them. Blinken denied Republican charges that he and others ignored warnings from lower-ranking administration officials that the U.S. withdrawal would go badly wrong, and that the U.S. had to move faster on getting out Americans and the Afghans who had worked for and allied with them. “We anticipated that Kabul would remain in the hands of the Afghan government” through the end of the year, Blinken said. “This unfolded more quickly than we anticipated including in the intelligence community.” “Waiting until the last minute is not executing a plan,” McCaul said. Blinken's testimony came months after House Republicans issued a scathing report on their investigation into the withdrawal, blaming the disastrous end on Biden’s administration. They played down Trump's role in the failures even though he had signed the withdrawal deal with the Taliban. Previous investigations and analyses by a government-appointed special investigator for Afghanistan and some private policy groups have pointed to a systemic failure spanning the last four presidential administrations and concluded that Biden and Trump share the heaviest blame.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting has admitted that a fateful Labour decision helped Bashar Al-Assad maintain power and go on to kill hundreds of thousands of his own people. Streeting made the admission on BBC ’s Question Time in response to criticism by Piers Morgan of the country’s failure to commit to military intervention in 2013 after the coalition government led by David Cameron sought the support of the House of Commons to do so. The motion was strongly opposed by Labour, led by Ed Miliband , and Streeting admitted: “With hindsight, I think we can say, looking back on the events of 2013, that the hesitation of this country and the United States created a vacuum that Russia moved into and kept Assad in power for much longer.” The west had been spurred into taking military action after the Syrian dictator used chemical weapons on his own people, something that US president Barack Obama had previously warned would be a red line that would force him to commit troops. Prime Minister David Cameron sought the support of the house to partner with the US in taking action against Assad but lost the vote 285-272 after significant opposition from the Labour party led by Ed Miliband. Speaking at the time, Miliband expressed his desire for the UK to learn from the lessons of intervention in Iraq. He said: “People are deeply concerned about the chemical weapons attacks in Syria, but they want us to learn the lessons of Iraq. “They don't want a rush to war. They want things done in the right way, working with the international community.” He added: “Britain doesn't need reckless and impulsive leadership, it needs calm and measured leadership.” Many believe that action could have removed Assad from power 11 years earlier than the rebels who forced him from Damascus this weekend. Britain’s failure to act led to impotence amongst western allies, with neither the US or France going through with their intention to take military action. Instead, supported by Russian airstrikes and Iranian backed fighters , Assad was able to maintain his iron grip on the country which saw thousands locked up without charge and hundreds of thousands killed as a result of action by his forces. The war led to a refugee crisis across Europe as thousands sought refuge from the country placing significant burden on many countries with an already stressed asylum system. The influx of refugees escaping war and persecution caused a political reckoning in the years to come, with over a million Syrians arriving in Europe in 2015, causing a migration crisis which saw division domestically and between EU allies. Russia ’s prolonged involvement in Ukraine and Iran’s proxy-conflict with Israel saw the support Assad relied upon drain away. Rebel advances, helped in large part by Turkey, saw the capitulation of the Syrian army in recent weeks culminating in the fall of Damascus, forcing Assad and his family to flee to Moscow.FORESTVILLE, Calif. (AP) — A major storm moving through Northern California on Thursday toppled trees and dropped heavy snow and record rain after damaging homes, killing two people and knocking out power to hundreds of thousands in the Pacific Northwest. Forecasters warned that the risk of flash flooding and rockslides would continue, and scores of flights were canceled at San Francisco's airport. In Washington, more than 320,000 people — most of them in the Seattle area — were still without power as crews worked to clear streets of electrical lines, fallen branches and debris. Utility officials said the outages, which began Tuesday, could last into Saturday. Meanwhile on the East Coast, where rare wildfires have raged, New York and New Jersey welcomed much-needed rain that could ease the fire danger for the rest of the year. The National Weather Service extended a flood watch into Saturday for areas north of San Francisco as the region was inundated by the strongest atmospheric river — a long plume of moisture that forms over an ocean and flows through the sky over land — this season. The system roared ashore Tuesday as a “bomb cyclone,” unleashing fierce winds . Communities in Washington opened warming centers offering free internet and device charging. A number of medical clinics closed because of power outages. “I’ve been here since the mid-’80s. I haven’t seen anything like this,” said Trish Bloor, who serves on the city of Issaquah’s Human Resources Commission, as she surveyed damaged homes. Up to 16 inches (about 41 centimeters) of rain was forecast in southwestern Oregon and California's northern counties through Friday. The Sonoma County Airport, in the wine country north of San Francisco, received 6.92 inches (17.5 centimeters) Wednesday, breaking a record dating to 1998. In nearby Forestville, one person was hurt when a tree fell on a house. Small landslides were reported across the North Bay region, including one on State Route 281 on Wednesday that caused a car crash, according to Marc Chenard, a weather service meteorologist. Rain slowed somewhat, but “persistent heavy rain will enter the picture again by Friday morning,” the weather service's San Francisco office said on the social platform X. “We are not done!” Dangerous flash flooding, rockslides and debris flows were possible, especially where hillsides were loosened by recent wildfires, officials warned. Scott Rowe, a hydrologist with the weather service in Sacramento, said that so far the ground has been able to absorb the rain in California's Butte and Tehama counties, where the Park Fire burned over the summer. “It’s not necessarily how much rain falls; it’s how fast the rain falls,” Rowe said. Northern Mendocino and southern Humboldt counties received between 4 and 8 inches (10 and 20 centimeters) of rain in the last 48 hours, and similar amounts were expected over the next 48 hours, forecasters said. Wind gusts could top 50 mph (80 kph). The storm system, which first hit the Pacific Northwest on Tuesday, reached the status of “ bomb cyclone ,” which occurs when a cyclone intensifies rapidly. A winter storm watch was in place for the northern Sierra Nevada above 3,500 feet (1,066 meters), with 15 inches (38 centimeters) of snow possible over two days. Wind gusts could top 75 mph (121 kph) in mountain areas, forecasters said. Sugar Bowl Resort, north of Lake Tahoe near Donner Summit, picked up a foot (30 centimeters) of snow overnight, marketing manager Maggie Eshbaugh said Thursday. She said the resort will welcome skiers and boarders on Friday, the earliest opening date in 20 years. “And then we’re going to get another whopping of another foot or so on Saturday, so this is fantastic,” she said. Another popular resort, Palisades Tahoe, is also opening Friday, five days ahead of schedule, according to its website. The storm already dumped more than a foot of snow along the Cascades in Oregon by Wednesday night, according to the weather service. Forecasters warned of blizzard and whiteout conditions and nearly impossible travel at pass level. Falling trees struck homes and littered roads across western Washington, killing at least two people. A woman in Lynnwood was killed when a large tree fell on a homeless encampment, and another in Bellevue died when a tree fell on a home. More than a dozen schools closed in the Seattle area Wednesday, and some opted to extend the closures through Thursday. In Enumclaw, east of Seattle, residents were cleaning up after their town clocked the highest winds in the state Tuesday night: 74 mph (119 kph). Resident Sophie Keene said the powerful gusts caused transformers to blow out around town. “Things were exploding, like, everywhere,” Keene told the Seattle Times. “Like the transformers over by the park. One blew big, it looked like fireworks just going off.” Ben Gibbard, lead singer of the indie rock bands Death Cab for Cutie and Postal Service, drove from his Seattle neighborhood Thursday morning to the woods of Tiger Mountain for his regular weekday run, but there were too many trees blocking the trail. “We didn’t get hit that hard in the city,” he said. “I just didn’t assume it would be this kind of situation out here. Obviously you feel the most for people who had their homes partially destroyed by this.” In California, there were reports of more than 20,000 power outages on Thursday. Only 50 vehicles per hour were allowed through part of northbound Interstate 5 from 10 miles (16 kilometers) north of Redding to 21 miles (34 kilometers) south of Yreka due to snow, according to California's Department of Transportation. Transportation officials also shut down a two-mile (3.2 kilometer) stretch of the famed Avenue of the Giants, a scenic drive named for its towering coast redwoods, due to flooding. About 150 flights were delayed and another two dozen were canceled early Thursday at San Francisco International Airport after hundreds of delays and dozens of cancelations the previous day, according to tracking service FlightAware. Parched areas of the Northeast got a much-needed shot of precipitation Thursday, providing a bit of respite in a region plagued by wildfires and dwindling water supplies. More than 2 inches (5 centimeters) of rain was expected by Saturday morning in areas north of New York City, with snow mixed in at higher elevations. “Any rainfall is going to be significant at this point,” said Brian Ciemnecki, a weather service meteorologist in New York City, where the first drought warning in 22 years was issued this week. “Is it going to break the drought? No, we’re going to need more rain than that.” Har reported from San Francisco, and Weber from Los Angeles. Associated Press writers Hallie Golden and Gene Johnson in Seattle; Martha Bellisle in Issaquah, Washington; Sarah Brumfield in Washington, D.C.; and Michael Hill in Albany, New York, contributed.There are split views on whether the department of basic education (DBE) should publish the 2024 matric results when they are released in two weeks. Amid a legal battle, the department has been fined R5 million for its intention to publish the results. Last month, the Information Regulator (IR) issued an enforcement notice aimed at preventing the publication of the results in local newspapers, raising concerns about breaching the Protection of Personal Information Act (Popia). Preventing publication of matric results in newspapers The matter will be heard on 7 January, just days before the results’ release on 14 January. Yesterday, DBE spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga said Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube had had engagements with the chair of the IR to find a resolution to the matter that does not include adversarial court proceedings. ALSO READ: Don’t daze through December: How to prepare for your future while waiting for your matric results He said the department was confident that the engagements would produce a workable compromise. “When the Popia Act came into effect on 1 July, 2020, the department was equally affected by it, just like any other organisation that handles personal information,” he said. “The decision was taken to also afford the department time to interrogate the Act and put in place measures to comply with it.” Hope engagements produce workable compromise Mhlanga said AfriForum and Maroela Media previously took the department to court and a court order instructed them to release the results to newspapers that wanted to publish them. “The department did so. The department would be in contempt of court if it doesn’t release the results to newspaper houses. It is bound by a court order of January 2022,” he said. ALSO READ: Afriforum to take on Information Regulator over matric results Mhlanga said the fine imposed by the regulator was noted, but “we believe it was issued in error because the regulator assumed that the department had not responded to the enforcement notice”. He said the department had filed court papers and all due process were followed. President of Education International Dr Mugwena Maluleke said the regulator knew about the court order allowing the department to publish exam numbers which do not expose details like IDs and names. ‘Respect court’s judgment’ “So, the regulator should respect the court’s judgment,” he said. However, political analyst Dr Benjamin Rapanyane disagreed, saying anything that would be in violation of law should not be entertained. “The education department is aware of the Popia regulations and therefore should not plan in violation of it,” he said. ALSO READ: Class of 2024: Matric results, re-markings and rewrites — everything you need to know Governing Body Foundation CEO Dr Anthea Cereseto said: “It is problematic because results are personal and there is private information so the regulator is right to insist that the department follows the law.” She questioned whether those who volunteered for the results to be published at the beginning of the year could withdraw their consent at the end, if they felt differently about their decision. “It’s got to be voluntary. To what extent was it voluntary when students filled out that form at the beginning of the year? The exam number comprises the centre which already reveals information about the school and the pupil. The candidate’s number is also in alphabetical order according to the school records so it would be identified,” she said. ‘It’s got to be voluntary’ Wonderboom High School principal Marius Lazer said most parents and pupils at his school wanted the results be published. “Only the pupils’ examination numbers are published, which means that candidates’ identities are not revealed,” he said. NOW READ: Education dept says Sheriff served Regulator matric results appeal day before deadline
By MARY CLARE JALONICK and MATT BROWN WASHINGTON (AP) — Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Defense Department, said he had a “wonderful conversation” with Maine Sen. Susan Collins on Wednesday as he pushed to win enough votes for confirmation. He said he will not back down after allegations of excessive drinking and sexual misconduct. Related Articles National Politics | Donald Trump will ring the New York Stock Exchange bell. It’ll be a first for him National Politics | The Trump and Biden teams insist they’re working hand in glove on foreign crises National Politics | ‘You don’t know what’s next.’ International students scramble ahead of Trump inauguration National Politics | Trump is threatening to raise tariffs again. Here’s how China plans to fight back National Politics | Trump won’t be able to save the struggling US beef industry Collins said after the hourlong meeting that she questioned Hegseth about the allegations amid reports of drinking and the revelation that he made a settlement payment after being accused of a sexual assault that he denies. She said she had a “good, substantive” discussion with Hegseth and “covered a wide range of topics,” including sexual assault in the military, Ukraine and NATO. But she said she would wait until a hearing, and notably a background check, to make a decision. “I asked virtually every question under the sun,” Collins told reporters as she left her office after the meeting. “I pressed him both on his position on military issues as well as the allegations against him, so I don’t think there was anything that we did not cover.” The meeting with Collins was closely watched as she is seen as more likely than most of her Republican Senate colleagues to vote against some of Trump’s Cabinet picks. She and Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a fellow moderate Republican, did not shy from opposing Trump in his first term when they wanted to do so and sometimes supported President Joe Biden’s nominees for the judicial and executive branches. And Hegseth, an infantry combat veteran and former “Fox & Friends” weekend host, is working to gain as many votes as he can as some senators have expressed concerns about his personal history and lack of management experience. “I’m certainly not going to assume anything about where the senator stands,” Hegseth said as he left Collins’ office. “This is a process that we respect and appreciate. And we hope, in time, overall, when we get through that committee and to the floor that we can earn her support.” Hegseth met with Murkowski on Tuesday. He has also been meeting repeatedly with Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, a military veteran who has said she is a survivor of sexual assault and has spent time in the Senate working on improving how attacks are reported and prosecuted within the ranks. On Monday, Ernst said after a meeting with him that he had committed to selecting a senior official to prioritize those goals. Republicans will have a 53-49 majority next year, meaning Trump cannot lose more than three votes on any of his nominees. It is so far unclear whether Hegseth will have enough support, but Trump has stepped up his pressure on senators in the last week. “Pete is a WINNER, and there is nothing that can be done to change that!!!” Trump posted on his social media platform last week.DURHAM, N.H. (AP) — Kinkead Dent threw for 246 yards and ran for another 56 yards and a touchdown as UT Martin rolled to a 41-10 win over New Hampshire in an FCS first-round game on Saturday. The Skyhawks (9-4) advance to face unbeaten and top-seeded Montana State (12-0) in the second round. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.
Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in RBC Bearings Incorporated ( NYSE:RBC – Free Report ) by 7.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 27,157 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,770 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc. owned about 0.09% of RBC Bearings worth $8,130,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC. Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its holdings in shares of RBC Bearings by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 2,116 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $633,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in RBC Bearings by 1.4% in the second quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 4,534 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,223,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in RBC Bearings by 416.7% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 93 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in RBC Bearings by 23.2% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 440 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $132,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RiverPark Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of RBC Bearings by 9.6% in the 2nd quarter. RiverPark Advisors LLC now owns 993 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Insider Activity In other news, CEO Michael J. Hartnett sold 19,283 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.42, for a total value of $5,580,885.86. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 317,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $91,981,727.88. This represents a 5.72 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink . In the last three months, insiders sold 34,127 shares of company stock worth $9,839,707. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders. Analysts Set New Price Targets View Our Latest Research Report on RBC Bearings RBC Bearings Stock Performance RBC Bearings stock opened at $335.11 on Friday. RBC Bearings Incorporated has a 12-month low of $240.36 and a 12-month high of $343.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 3.48 and a quick ratio of 1.28. The company has a market capitalization of $10.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 1.51. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $301.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $290.28. RBC Bearings ( NYSE:RBC – Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.01). RBC Bearings had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 14.06%. The business had revenue of $397.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $403.89 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.07 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that RBC Bearings Incorporated will post 8.94 EPS for the current fiscal year. RBC Bearings Company Profile ( Free Report ) RBC Bearings Incorporated manufactures and markets engineered precision bearings, components, and systems in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, Aerospace/Defense and Industrial. The company produces plain bearings with self-lubricating or metal-to-metal designs, including rod end bearings, spherical plain bearings, and journal bearings; roller bearings, such as tapered roller bearings, needle roller bearings, and needle bearing track rollers and cam followers, which are anti-friction products that are used in industrial applications and military aircraft platforms; and ball bearings include high precision aerospace, airframe control, thin section, and industrial ball bearings that utilize high precision ball elements to reduce friction in high-speed applications. 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