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y777 Why Miami’s Pop-Tarts Bowl appearance is important even after missing College Football PlayoffBy MICHAEL R. SISAK and JENNIFER PELTZ NEW YORK (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump’s lawyers urged a judge again Friday to throw out his hush money conviction, balking at the prosecution’s suggestion of preserving the verdict by treating the case the way some courts do when a defendant dies. They called the idea “absurd.” Related Articles National Politics | Trump wants to turn the clock on daylight saving time National Politics | Ruling by a conservative Supreme Court could help blue states resist Trump policies National Politics | A nonprofit leader, a social worker: Here are the stories of the people on Biden’s clemency list National Politics | Nancy Pelosi hospitalized after she ‘sustained an injury’ on official trip to Luxembourg National Politics | Veteran Daniel Penny, acquitted in NYC subway chokehold, will join Trump’s suite at football game The Manhattan district attorney’s office is asking Judge Juan M. Merchan to “pretend as if one of the assassination attempts against President Trump had been successful,” Trump’s lawyers wrote in a blistering 23-page response. In court papers made public Tuesday, District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office proposed an array of options for keeping the historic conviction on the books after Trump’s lawyers filed paperwork earlier this month asking for the case to be dismissed. They include freezing the case until Trump leaves office in 2029, agreeing that any future sentence won’t include jail time, or closing the case by noting he was convicted but that he wasn’t sentenced and his appeal wasn’t resolved because of presidential immunity. Trump lawyers Todd Blanche and Emil Bove reiterated Friday their position that the only acceptable option is overturning his conviction and dismissing his indictment, writing that anything less will interfere with the transition process and his ability to lead the country. The Manhattan district attorney’s office declined comment. It’s unclear how soon Merchan will decide. He could grant Trump’s request for dismissal, go with one of the prosecution’s suggestions, wait until a federal appeals court rules on Trump’s parallel effort to get the case moved out of state court, or choose some other option. In their response Friday, Blanche and Bove ripped each of the prosecution’s suggestions. Halting the case until Trump leaves office would force the incoming president to govern while facing the “ongoing threat” that he’ll be sentenced to imprisonment, fines or other punishment as soon as his term ends, Blanche and Bove wrote. Trump, a Republican, takes office Jan. 20. “To be clear, President Trump will never deviate from the public interest in response to these thuggish tactics,” the defense lawyers wrote. “However, the threat itself is unconstitutional.” The prosecution’s suggestion that Merchan could mitigate those concerns by promising not to sentence Trump to jail time on presidential immunity grounds is also a non-starter, Blanche and Bove wrote. The immunity statute requires dropping the case, not merely limiting sentencing options, they argued. Blanche and Bove, both of whom Trump has tabbed for high-ranking Justice Department positions, expressed outrage at the prosecution’s novel suggestion that Merchan borrow from Alabama and other states and treat the case as if Trump had died. Blanche and Bove accused prosecutors of ignoring New York precedent and attempting to “fabricate” a solution “based on an extremely troubling and irresponsible analogy between President Trump” who survived assassination attempts in Pennsylvania in July and Florida in September “and a hypothetical dead defendant.” Such an option normally comes into play when a defendant dies after being convicted but before appeals are exhausted. It is unclear whether it is viable under New York law, but prosecutors suggested that Merchan could innovate in what’s already a unique case. “This remedy would prevent defendant from being burdened during his presidency by an ongoing criminal proceeding,” prosecutors wrote in their filing this week. But at the same time, it wouldn’t “precipitously discard” the “meaningful fact that defendant was indicted and found guilty by a jury of his peers.” Prosecutors acknowledged that “presidential immunity requires accommodation” during Trump’s impending return to the White House but argued that his election to a second term should not upend the jury’s verdict, which came when he was out of office. Longstanding Justice Department policy says sitting presidents cannot face criminal prosecution . Other world leaders don’t enjoy the same protection. For example, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is on trial on corruption charges even as he leads that nation’s wars in Lebanon and Gaza . Trump has been fighting for months to reverse his May 30 conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records . Prosecutors said he fudged the documents to conceal a $130,000 payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels to suppress her claim that they had sex a decade earlier, which Trump denies. In their filing Friday, Trump’s lawyers citing a social media post in which Sen. John Fetterman used profane language to criticize Trump’s hush money prosecution. The Pennsylvania Democrat suggested that Trump deserved a pardon, comparing his case to that of President Joe Biden’s pardoned son Hunter Biden, who had been convicted of tax and gun charges . “Weaponizing the judiciary for blatant, partisan gain diminishes the collective faith in our institutions and sows further division,” Fetterman wrote Wednesday on Truth Social. Trump’s hush money conviction was in state court, meaning a presidential pardon — issued by Biden or himself when he takes office — would not apply to the case. Presidential pardons only apply to federal crimes. Since the election, special counsel Jack Smith has ended his two federal cases , which pertained to Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss and allegations that he hoarded classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate. A separate state election interference case in Fulton County, Georgia, is largely on hold. Trump denies wrongdoing in all. Trump had been scheduled for sentencing in the hush money case in late November. But following Trump’s Nov. 5 election victory, Merchan halted proceedings and indefinitely postponed the former and future president’s sentencing so the defense and prosecution could weigh in on the future of the case. Merchan also delayed a decision on Trump’s prior bid to dismiss the case on immunity grounds. A dismissal would erase Trump’s conviction, sparing him the cloud of a criminal record and possible prison sentence. Trump is the first former president to be convicted of a crime and the first convicted criminal to be elected to the office.Class AA state volleyball tournament roundup: Harrisburg rolls into semifinals with sweep of Aberdeen Central

NoneElon Musk ’s brain implant company Neuralink announced on Tuesday that it is launching a study to test its implant for a new use: allowing a person to control a robotic arm using just their thoughts. “We’re excited to announce the approval and launch of a new feasibility trial to extend BCI control using the N1 implant to an investigational assistive robotic arm,” Neuralink said in a post on Musk’s social media platform X . A BCI, or brain-computer interface , is a system that allows a person to directly control outside devices with their brain waves. It works by reading and decoding intended movement signals from neurons. Neuralink’s BCI involves a coin-sized device dubbed N1 that is surgically implanted in the brain by a robot. The company is currently evaluating the safety of its BCI , as well as its ability to control a computer in individuals with paralysis. Moving a computer or prosthetic arm is not a new feat for BCIs. In 2008 , a team led by Andrew Schwartz at the University of Pittsburgh showed that a monkey could control a robotic arm to feed itself using signals from its brain. After that, researchers moved on to human volunteers. In a 2012 study published in the journal Nature , two people paralyzed due to stroke were able to guide a robotic arm to reach and grasp objects simply by thinking about it. One was able to serve herself coffee for the first time in 14 years. In another study from 2016 , a man with a BCI regained a sense of touch using a robotic arm. The BCIs used in those studies were clunky setups that required running a cable from the research participants’ head to a computer that decodes brain signals. By contrast, Neuralink’s system is wireless. On social media earlier this year , Neuralink demonstrated that its BCI can be used to control a computer cursor. In a video on X , study participant Noland Arbaugh was shown using the Neuralink device to play chess and other games on a computer. Arbaugh, who became a quadriplegic after a swimming accident in 2016, spoke with WIRED earlier this year about how the implant has given him a sense of independence. Arbaugh underwent brain surgery in January to receive the Neuralink implant, but a few weeks later, the device started to malfunction . The implant has 64 thin, flexible wire threads that penetrate the brain tissue. Each thread contains 16 electrodes that collect neural signals. In a blog post from May, Neuralink said several threads had retracted from Arbaugh’s brain, causing him to temporarily lose cursor control. Neuralink was able to restore Arbaugh’s control by modifying its brain recording algorithm to be more sensitive and changing how it translates neural signals into cursor movements. Neuralink’s second participant, Alex, received the implant in July. In a company update issued prior to the surgery, Neuralink executives said they took steps to reduce the likelihood of thread retraction, including reducing brain motion during the surgery and reducing the gap between the implant and the surface of the brain. The new robotic arm study, according to the Neuralink post on X, “will enable cross-enrolling participants from the ongoing PRIME Study.” No additional details about the robotic arm study are available yet on Neuralink’s website or clinicaltrials.gov , an online repository of medical studies involving human participants. “We congratulate Neuralink on receiving approval for their feasibility trial,” says Marcus Gerhardt, CEO and co-founder Blackrock Neurotech, the company that manufactures the Utah array , the brain implant used in previous studies of mind-controlled robotic limbs. “Every advancement in neurotechnology moves us closer to empowering individuals with neurological disorders.” Brian Dekleva, a research scientist at the Rehab Neural Engineering Labs at the University of Pittsburgh, says the biggest challenge in achieving BCI control of an assistive robotic arm is the need for calibration. “The more complicated the control, the more degrees of freedom you add, the longer the calibration is going to take in general,” he says. “People don't want to sit and do a half hour calibration at the beginning of each day so that they can use their device.” If that limitation can be overcome, BCIs that control robotic arms could allow people with paralysis to carry out simple daily tasks without assistance.

Christmas Books for Little Kids by various authors and illustrators c.2024, various publishers $14.99 to $18.99 various page counts You’d better watch out. And you know why: pretty soon, you’re going to have a visitor come down your chimney or through a window or door of your house and leave you presents, if you’ve been good. No doubt, you’re excited for that, and for the twinkly lights and the holiday music. Christmas can’t some soon enough, so why not spend your time waiting by reading these great books... For any kid who’s asked for a new pet from Santa, “A Stray Dog for Christmas: How Suzy was Adopted” by Jack Jokinen, illustrated by Wendy Tan (Sourcebooks Kids, $14.99) is the book to read. It’s the story of a puppy without a name who was accidentally locked in a house. There are people who live there. Will they like her? Will they be her friend? Will they give her a name, once and for all, of her very own? Animal-loving kids ages three to six will want to find out! Be sure to check out the afterword, too, and meet the real Suzy. You can’t go wrong with a classic Christmas tale, and “’Twas the Night Before Christmas,” adapted by the Poem by Clement C. Moore, illustrated by Jane Chapman (Sourcebooks Kids, $18.99) is that, with a twist. Here, Pa, and Ma in her kerchief are bears, as is Santa, whose sleigh is pulled by eight kinds of dogs sporting antlers on their heads. As the story unfolds, other animals join the tale and it’s adorable on steroids. Kids ages five to eight who love Christmas won’t want you to put this book away with the decorations. They’ll want to have it read to them year ‘round. Children who are familiar with the “Chicka Chicka Boom Boom” books will be happy to see “Chicka Chicka Ho Ho Ho” by William Boniface, illustrated by Julien Chung (Beach Lane Books / Simon & Schuster, $18.99) on the top of their Christmas book TBR pile. Here, A talks to B, and B convinces C to meet in the Christmas tree, which starts a tale of decorations and presents and “oh, no!” Kids ages two and three, those who are just learning their alphabet, will have fun with this picture book, and the shiny illustrations inside are very appealing. Older children (ages four and five) will love that the story reads so much like a jazzy, be-bop rhyme that they might even be tempted to make up a tune to go with it. And if these, and your personal favorite childhood Christmas books, aren’t enough for your youngster, be sure to check with your favorite bookseller or librarian and ask for new favorites and new traditions. Anyone at the bookstore or library can steer you toward even more picture books – literally, there are dozens of new ones for small children released ever year – and they’ll be happy to show you what’s new in holiday books for older kids and teens, and books for you, too. As for the above titles, though... you’d better watch out for them.Five9's chief accounting officer Leena Mansharamani sells $55,632 in stock

TikTok's future in the U.S. appeared uncertain on Friday after a federal appeals court rejected a legal challenge to a law that requires the social media platform to cut ties with its China-based parent company or be banned by mid-January. A panel of three judges on The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled unanimously that the law withstood constitutional scrutiny, rebuffing arguments from the two companies that the statute violated their rights and the rights of TikTok users in the U.S. The government has said it wants ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, to divest its stakes. But if it doesn't and the platform goes away, it would have a seismic impact on the lives of content creators who rely on the platform for income as well as users who use it for entertainment and connection. Here are some details on the ruling and what could happen next: In their lawsuit, TikTok and ByteDance, which is also a plaintiff in the case, had challenged the law on various fronts, arguing in part that the statute ran afoul of the First Amendment and was an unconstitutional bill of attainder that unfairly targeted the two companies. But the court sided with attorneys for the Justice Department who said that the government was attempting to address national security concerns and the way in which it chose to do so did not violate the constitution. The Justice Department has argued in court that TikTok poses a national security risk due to its connections to China. Officials say that Chinese authorities can compel ByteDance to hand over information on TikTok's U.S. patrons or use the platform to spread, or suppress, information. However, the U.S. hasn't publicly provided examples of that happening. The appeals court ruling, written by Judge Douglas Ginsburg, said the law was “carefully crafted to deal only with control by a foreign adversary." The judges also rejected the claim that the statute was an unlawful bill of attainder or a taking of property in violation of the Fifth Amendment. Furthermore, Ginsburg wrote the law did not violate the First Amendment because the government is not looking to “suppress content or require a certain mix of content” on TikTok. TikTok and ByteDance are expected to appeal the case to the Supreme Court, but it's unclear whether the court will take up the case. TikTok indicated in a statement on Friday the two companies are preparing to take their case to high court, saying the Supreme Court has “an established historical record of protecting Americans’ right to free speech." "We expect they will do just that on this important constitutional issue,” a company spokesperson said. Alan Morrison, a professor at The George Washington University Law School, said he expects the Supreme Court to take up the case because of the novelty of the issues raised in the lawsuit. If that happens, attorneys for the two companies still have to convince the court to grant them an emergency stay that will prevent the government from enforcing the Jan. 19 divestiture deadline stipulated in the law, Morrison said. Such a move could drag out the process until the Justices make a ruling. Tiffany Cianci, a TikTok content creator who has supported the platform, said she was not shocked about the outcome of the court's ruling on Friday because lower courts typically defer to the executive branch on these types of cases. She believes the company will have a stronger case at the Supreme Court. “I believe that the next stages are more likely to produce a victory for TikTokers and for TikTok as a whole,” Cianci said. Another wild card is President-elect Donald Trump, who tried to ban TikTok during his first term but said during the recent presidential campaign that he is now against such action . The Trump transition team has not offered details on how Trump plans to carry out his pledge to “save TikTok." But spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in a statement last month that he plans to “deliver” on his campaign promises. After Trump takes office on Jan. 20th, it would fall on his Justice Department to enforce the law and punish any potential violators. Penalties would apply to any app stores that would violate a prohibition on TikTok and to internet hosting services which would be barred from supporting it. Some have speculated that Trump could ask his Justice Department to abstain from enforcing the law. But tech companies like Apple and Google, which offer TikTok's app on their app stores, would then have to trust that the administration would not come after them for any violations. Craig Singleton, senior director of the China program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said enforcement discretion — or executive orders — can not override existing law, leaving Trump with “limited room for unilateral action." There are other things Trump could potentially do. It's possible he could invoke provisions of the law that allow the president to determine whether a sale or a similar transaction frees TikTok from “foreign adversary” control. Another option is to urge Congress to repeal the law. But that too would require support from congressional Republicans who have overwhelmingly supported the prospect of getting TikTok out of the hands of a Chinese company. In a statement issued Friday, Republican Rep. John Moolenaar of Michigan, chairman of the House Select Committee on China, said he was “optimistic that President Trump will facilitate an American takeover of TikTok” and allow its continued use in the United States. ByteDance has said it won't sell TikTok . And even if it wanted to, a sale of the proprietary algorithm that powers TikTok is likely to get blocked under Chinese export controls that the country issued in 2020. That means if TikTok is sold without the algorithm, its likely that the buyer would only purchase a shell of the platform that doesn't contain the technology that made the app a cultural powerhouse. Still, some investors, including Trump’s former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and billionaire Frank McCourt, have expressed interest in buying it. This week, a spokesperson for McCourt’s Project Liberty initiative, which aims to protect online privacy, said participants in their bid have made informal commitments of more than $20 billion in capital. The spokesperson did not disclose the identity of the participants.Week in review

NYC ad agency titans Omnicom and Interpublic to form $30 billion marketing powerhouse Omnicom is buying Interpublic Group in a stock-for-stock deal that will create an advertising powerhouse with combined annual revenue of almost $26 billion. The companies have had a hand in iconic marketing campaigns like “Got Milk” for the California Milk Processor Board, “Priceless” for Mastercard, “Because I’m Worth It” for L’Oreal and “Think Different” for Apple. The combined company will be worth more than $30 billion. Shares of Interpublic jumped more than 15% before the opening bell Monday, while Omnicom’s stock fell more than 2%. How should the opioid settlements be spent? Those hit hardest often don’t have a say People with substance use disorder are not getting a direct say on how most opioid settlement money is used. Some advocates say keeping them out of the process is a major reason money is going to law enforcement efforts instead of other programs more likely to prevent overdose deaths. Companies have agreed to pay more about $50 billion over time to resolve lawsuits filed by governments. Most of the money is required to be used to fight the crisis. Figuring out exactly to do with it is up to state and local governments that have used a variety of structures to make those decisions. The Onion's bid to buy Infowars goes before judge as Alex Jones tries stopping sale The Onion's bid to buy conspiracy theorist Alex Jones' Infowars is scheduled to return to a Texas courtroom. A federal judge in Houston is set to hold a hearing Monday on whether a bankruptcy auction was run properly as Jones alleges collusion and fraud. The Onion satirical news outlet was named the winning bidder last month over a company affiliated with Jones. The auction was held to help pay nearly $1.5 billion in defamation judgments that Jones was ordered to pay families of victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. The families won lawsuits against Jones for calling the shooting a hoax. It's his job to keep American's planes running on time FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — It's the job of American Airlines' chief operating officer to make sure the carrier's flights take off on time and fly safely during one of the busiest travel periods of the year. David Seymour oversees flight and airport operations for American, which expects to make about 6,500 flights a day between now and New Year’s Day. A West Point graduate and former U.S. Army infantry officer, Seymour has held a variety of operations-related jobs and was promoted to his current post in 2020. He spoke with The Associated Press recently about managing huge passenger numbers during the holidays and preventing people from getting on a plane before their boarding group is called. Stock market today: Nvidia drags Wall Street from its records as oil and gold rise NEW YORK (AP) — A slide for market superstar Nvidia helped pull U.S. stock indexes down from their records. The S&P 500 fell 0.6% Monday, coming off its 57th all-time high of the year so far. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5%, and the Nasdaq composite dropped 0.6% from its own record. Nvidia was the market's heaviest weight after China said it's probing the chip giant for potential antitrust violations. Stocks in Hong Kong jumped after top Chinese leaders agreed on a “moderately loose” monetary policy. Prices for oil and gold rose following the ouster of Syrian leader Bashar Assad. Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour ends by shattering own record, grossing an estimated $2.2B, Pollstar says NEW YORK (AP) — Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour brought in approximately $2.2 billion in its nearly two-year run, making it the highest-grossing tour of all time for a second year in a row. That's according to Pollstar estimates from data collected across 149 shows and provided to The Associated Press on Monday. Last year, Swift’s landmark Eras Tour became the first to cross the billion-dollar mark. In North America, Swift’s tour earned an estimated $1.04 billion. Globally, that number jumps to an estimated $2.2 billion. Pollstar data is pulled from box office reports, venue capacity estimates, historical Pollstar venue ticket sales data, and other undefined research, collected from November 2022 to December 2024. Cyprus and the US double down on a joint effort to combat financial crimes with more training NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus and the U.S. say they’re doubling down on a joint effort to crack down on illicit finance with additional training of Cypriot law enforcement authorities to identify, investigate and prosecute financial crimes. According to a joint statement issued Monday, an “ambitious” plan for next year will involve 21 weeks of training for different Cypriot law enforcement agencies on financial investigative and forensic accounting techniques, as well as the use of technology in investigations. The plan adds to a U.S. initiative launched 20 months ago following a pledge by Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides to clean up the island nation’s sullied reputation as a money laundering and sanctions evasion hub. Mexican soldiers will get a pay raise after elimination of oversight agencies, president says MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico's president says much of the money gained by eliminating independent oversight and regulatory agencies will go to the army to fund a rise in soldiers’ pay. The announcement by President Claudia Sheinbaum on Monday is the latest in a a series of strange funding sources to pay for the country's increasingly influential military. Mexico's Congress last week approved charging every cruise ship passenger a $42 immigration fee with much of that money also going to the armed forces. The military has been given powers to build and run everything from railways, airports and airlines in Mexico. And some of those projects appear to be losing money. Nvidia's stock dips after China opens probe of the AI chip company for violating anti-monopoly laws Shares of Nvidia have slipped after China said it is investigating the high-flying U.S. microchip company over suspected violations of Chinese anti-monopoly laws. In a brief press release with few details, Chinese regulators appear to be looking into Nvidia’s $6.9 billion 2019 acquisition of network and data transmission company Mellanox. Nvidia shares dipped 2.7% in early trading Monday, falling below $139 each. Considered a bellwether for artificial intelligence demand, Nvidia has led the AI sector to become one of the stock market’s biggest companies, as tech giants spend heavily on the company’s chips and data centers needed to train and operate their AI systems. Meta shareholders seek sanctions for Sandberg, Zients for deleting Cambridge Analytica emails WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Attorneys for Meta shareholders are asking a Delaware judge to sanction former Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg and fellow Facebook board member and current White House chief of staff Jeff Zients for deleting emails related to the Cambridge Analytica privacy scandal. The plaintiffs say Sandberg and Zients used personal email accounts to communicate about key issues relating to their 2018 shareholder lawsuit alleging that Facebook official failed for years to protect the privacy of user data. The plaintiffs say the former board members were either “reckless or intentional” in destroying documents, even after being told to preserve records for litigation purposes. A defense attorney argued Monday that there was no intent or “grand scheme” to destroy relevant documents.Yext Announces Third Quarter Fiscal 2025 Results

After drubbing, San Jose Sharks look for response in South FloridaIn keeping with a long-standing Thanksgiving tradition, President Joe Biden recently pardoned a pair of turkeys . During a ceremony at the White House, the birds — named Peach and Blossom — were spared from the dinner table and given a new lease on life. While it was an act of pure political pageantry, it highlights the president’s expansive pardon powers — which could be used liberally during his final two months in office. Historically, presidents have issued numerous pardons during their lame duck periods, including quite a few that have raised eyebrows. Here is what to know about presidential pardons. Presidential pardon power Article II of the Constitution enables the president to grant clemency for any federal crime, according to a Congressional Research Service (CRS) report. This authority is rooted in an old English law that permits monarchs to bestow mercy on criminals. “The president’s power to pardon is astronomical,” Taylor Stoermer, a historian at Johns Hopkins University, told McClatchy News. “The Constitution doesn’t even require an explanation. The only real limits are that it doesn’t apply to state crimes or impeachment cases.” “So the president can grant full pardons, commute sentences, or even offer amnesty, on an individual basis or for an entire class of people,” Stoermer said. How often do presidents grant clemency? Most presidents have issued numerous acts of clemency throughout their terms in office, according to historians. For example, Donald Trump, during his first term, granted 143 pardons and 94 commutations, according to the Pew Research Center. During Barack Obama’s eight years in office, he issued 212 pardons and 1,715 commutations. Among the commutations granted by both men were multiple that concerned low-level drug offenses , such as possession of marijuana. However, these acts of clemency have not typically been distributed evenly throughout a president’s tenure. Since 1945, every president — with the exception of Lyndon Johnson — granted clemency at a higher rate during the last four months of their terms, according to CRS. For example, Obama granted an average of 296 acts of clemency per month during his final four months in office, compared with an average of eight per month before that. Similarly, Trump issued an average of 50 per month during the last four months compared with an average of one per month before that. “Trump certainly kept to that pattern, and I would not be surprised if Biden does as well,” Thomas Balcerski, a presidential historian at Eastern Connecticut State University, told McClatchy News. Additionally, these 11th hour acts of mercy tend to be the most controversial ones. “Most save the big, bold pardons for the end of their terms,” Stoermer said. “And because exactly why you’d think: No voters to answer to.” Controversial acts of clemency Throughout history, presidents have issued a fair number of pardons, commutations and acts of amnesty that have received widespread scrutiny. “The most famous, of course, is Gerald Ford’s pardoning of Richard Nixon,” Vernon Burton, an emeritus history professor at Clemson University, told McClatchy News. In September 1974, following the Watergate scandal and Nixon’s resignation, Ford issued a full pardon for any crimes Nixon “committed or may have committed” against the United States. Jimmy Carter also took flak for pardoning “all of the Vietnam War draft dodgers,” Burton said. “That was huge.” This pardon, issued on Carter’s first day in office in 1977, applied to roughly 100,000 military-age men who avoided going to war , according to Politico. “Then there’s George H.W. Bush pardoning key players in Iran-Contra,” Stoermer said. With less than one month until he left office, Bush pardoned six people , including a former secretary of defense, wrapped up in the illegal arms scandal. More recently, Obama reduced the sentence of Oscar Lopez Rivera, a Puerto Rican activist whose political organization was responsible for dozens of robberies and bombings in the U.S. And Trump preemptively pardoned adviser Steven Bannon, who was charged with bilking donors out of money they gave toward the construction of a border wall. “These kinds of moves show how the pardon power can get tangled up in political strategy or personal connections—and that’s what makes it fascinating (or infuriating) to watch,” Stoermer said. Have presidents pardoned family members? Given that Biden’s son Hunter Biden has been convicted of felony offenses , some have wondered whether he will issue a pardon before he leaves office. “Would he pardon Hunter Biden? That’d be quite something,” Balcerski said. “There is some precedent.” On his last day in office, President Bill Clinton issued a pardon for his half-brother Roger Clinton, who had pleaded guilty to a cocaine distribution charge. “That was slightly less impactful because Roger Clinton had already served the time,” Stoermer said. “So that was mostly about clearing his record than dodging accountability.” Joe Biden, though, has said he has no plans to grant clemency to his son. Could Trump break the mold? Trump could break with long-standing tradition of issuing controversial pardons at the end of his term, historians said. The president-elect has vowed to pardon some of the people convicted of participating in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot on his first day in office. “I am inclined to pardon many of them ,” he wrote on social media in March, according to ABC News. Throughout the country, about 1,500 people have been charged in connection with the riot, including about 547 who were charged with “assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers or employees.” “It wouldn’t be surprising to see an unprecedented wave of pardons right out of the gate, particularly for January 6 rioters,” Stoermer said. “That would take the use of the pardon power into completely uncharted territory.” “Of course, there is a precedent: Carter’s first-day pardon of draft evaders of the Vietnam era,” Stoermer said. “That applied to hundreds of thousands of people. But that’s not quite the same as a coup.” Do Ukrainians still support the war against Russia? New poll finds ‘decisive shift’ Trump could impose tariffs without Congress, experts say. Here’s how it could work How are vacancies in Congress filled? What to know as Trump picks members for Cabinet

The Conservatives criticised the International Criminal Court for issuing a warrant against Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu. British courts would be required to decide whether to enforce an international arrest warrant should Benjamin Netanyahu enter the UK, according to the Government. Foreign Office minister Hamish Falconer was repeatedly urged by MPs to give a definitive answer on the UK’s likely action after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant for the Israeli prime minister and his former defence minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes in Gaza. Mr Falconer said there is a domestic legal process to be followed through the courts that “determines whether or not to endorse an arrest warrant” by the ICC, adding this has “never been tested” as the UK has yet to be visited by an ICC indictee. Shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel claimed the “only beneficiaries” of the ICC’s decision are “Hamas and their terrorist sponsors Iran” and said the Conservatives believe the warrants have “no basis in international law”. In reply to Labour MP Sarah Owen (Luton North), Mr Falconer told the Commons: “I’d like to just be clear that what I have said this afternoon is not that the Government will uphold arrest warrants. “What I have been clear about this afternoon is that due process will be followed. These are questions for independent courts in the UK, and it is independent courts that would review the arrest warrants if that situation were to arise.” Responding to an urgent question on the ICC’s decision, Mr Falconer earlier said: “In line with this Government’s stated commitment to the rule of law, we respect the independence of the ICC. We will comply with our international obligations. “There is a domestic legal process through our independent courts that determines whether or not to endorse an arrest warrant by the ICC, in accordance with the ICC Act of 2001. “This process has never been tested because the UK has never been visited by an ICC indictee. If there were to be such a visit to the UK, there would be a court process and due process would be followed in relation to those issues. “There is no moral equivalence between Israel, a democracy, and Hamas and Lebanese Hezbollah, two terrorist organisations. This Government has been clear, Israel has a right to defend itself in accordance with international law, that right is not under question, and the court’s approval of the warrants last week do not change that.” For the Conservatives, Dame Priti said: “In charging Israeli leaders alongside Hamas, the ICC appears to be drawing a moral equivalence between Israel’s war of self-defence and Hamas terrorism. We utterly reject any moral equivalence. “The only beneficiaries of this decision are Hamas and their terrorist sponsors Iran, who are now celebrating this propaganda coup as a great victory for Hamas and Hezbollah. Since the ICC decision, we have had dither from ministers and confused messaging and no clarity. So I’m grateful to the minister today for his remarks. “And as to the issue of warrants, we have raised serious concerns over process, jurisdiction and the position on complementarity principle, and believe the warrants of Mr Netanyahu and Gallant have no basis in international law.” Conservative MP Sir Bernard Jenkin (Harwich and North Essex) asked: “Can we be absolutely clear about what the Government is saying, because it seems that the Government is not saying there would be an automatic arrest should Benjamin Netanyahu arrive in this country but that there would be due process? “And could he confirm that customarily international law does not permit the arrest or the delivering of the serving prime minister of a non-state party to the ICC? “So he’s committing to due process but he’s not committing to arrest. Am I correct in understanding that?” Mr Falconer replied: “There’s domestic legal process through our independent courts, we cannot prejudge that process. “I note that the shadow attorney general has written to the Attorney General on questions of detail in relation to some of the points you allude to and the Attorney General tells me he’ll be writing back on those more detailed points.” Labour MP Abtisam Mohamed (Sheffield Central) asked the minister to “review all diplomatic, economic and political relations with Israel” to ensure the UK is “not complicit with the atrocities taking place in Gaza, the West Bank and in Lebanon”. Independent MP Iqbal Mohamed (Dewsbury and Batley) said: “The ICC arrest warrants are welcome but in themselves will not bring an end to Israeli war crimes and ethnic cleansing and the killing of innocent men, women and children.” Several MPs, including Labour’s Melanie Ward (Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy), also repeated calls for the Government to sanction Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich and national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. Mr Falconer told MPs: “I recognise the two that I’ve been pressed on the most this afternoon are of intense political interest. But despite their intense political interest, were we to prejudge sanctions and trail them in this House before we made them, we would reduce their impact. “The same is true of the hundreds of sanctions that we have done on Russia over the years and the same in every forum.”

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NEW YORK (AP) — A slide for market superstar Nvidia on Monday knocked Wall Street off its big rally and helped drag U.S. stock indexes down from their records. The S&P 500 fell 0.6%, coming off its 57th all-time high of the year so far. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 240 points, or 0.5%, and the Nasdaq composite pulled back 0.6% from its own record. Nvidia’s fall of 2.5% was by far the heaviest weight on the S&P 500 after China said it’s investigating the company over suspected violations of Chinese anti-monopoly laws. Nvidia has skyrocketed to become one of Wall Street’s most valuable companies because its chips are driving much of the world’s move into artificial-intelligence technology. That gives its stock’s movements more sway on the S&P 500 than nearly every other. Nvidia’s drop overshadowed gains in Hong Kong and for Chinese stocks trading in the United States on hopes that China will deliver more stimulus for the world’s second-largest economy. Roughly three in seven of the stocks in the S&P 500 also rose. The week’s highlight for Wall Street will arrive midweek when the latest updates on inflation arrive. Economists expect Wednesday’s report to show the inflation that U.S. consumers are feeling remained stuck at close to the same level last month. A separate report on Thursday, meanwhile, could show an acceleration in inflation at the wholesale level. They’re the last big pieces of data the Federal Reserve will get before its meeting next week on interest rates. The widespread expectation is still that the central bank will cut its main interest rate for the third time this year. The Fed has been easing its main interest rate from a two-decade high since September to offer more help for the slowing job market, after bringing inflation nearly all the way down to its 2% target. Lower interest rates can ease the brakes off the economy, but they can also offer more fuel for inflation. Expectations for a series of cuts from the Fed have been a major reason the S&P 500 has set so many all-time highs this year. “Investors should enjoy this rally while it lasts—there’s little on the horizon to disrupt the momentum through year-end,” according to Mark Hackett, chief of investment research at Nationwide, though he warns stocks could stumble soon because of how overheated they’ve gotten. On Wall Street, Interpublic Group rose 3.6% after rival Omnicom said it would buy the marketing and communications firm in an all-stock deal. The pair had a combined revenue of $25.6 billion last year. Omnicom, meanwhile, sank 10.2%. Macy’s climbed 1.8% after an activist investor, Barington Capital Group, called on the retailer to buy back at least $2 billion of its own stock over the next three years and make other moves to help boost its stock price. Super Micro Computer rose 0.5% after saying it got an extension that will keep its stock listed on the Nasdaq through Feb. 25, as it works to file its delayed annual report and other required financial statements. Earlier this month, the maker of servers used in artificial-intelligence technology said an investigation found no evidence of misconduct by its management or by the company’s board following the resignation of its public auditor . All told, the S&P 500 fell 37.42 points to 6,052.85. The Dow dipped 240.59 to 4,401.93, and the Nasdaq composite lost 123.08 to 19,736.69. In the oil market, a barrel of benchmark U.S. crude rallied 1.7% to settle at $68.37 following the overthrow of Syrian leader Bashar Assad, who sought asylum in Moscow after rebels. Brent crude, the international standard, added 1.4% to $72.14 per barrel. The price of gold also rose 1% to $2,685.80 per ounce amid the uncertainty created by the end of the Assad family’s 50 years of iron rule. In stock markets abroad, the Hang Seng jumped 2.8% in Hong Kong after top Chinese leaders agreed on a “moderately loose” monetary policy for the world’s second-largest economy. That’s a shift away from a more cautious, “prudent” stance for the first time in 10 years. A major planning meeting later this week could also bring more stimulus for the Chinese economy. U.S.-listed stocks of several Chinese companies climbed, including a 12.4% jump for electric-vehicle company Nio and a 7.4% rise for Alibaba Group. Stocks in Shanghai, though, were roughly flat. In Seoul, South Korea’s Kospi slumped 2.8% as the fallout continues from President Yoon Suk Yeol ’s brief declaration of martial law last week in the midst of a budget dispute. In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.19% from 4.15% late Friday. AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.

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One day, when actor and comedian Rosie O'Donnell was in her 50s, her body ached and her arms felt sore, but she pushed through the pain, not realizing she was having a massive heart attack. She had surgery to put in a stent that saved her life. Shortly after her 2012 heart attack, O'Donnell shared her experience on her blog. During her 2015 television standup special, she spoke about how the experience changed her life. The segment included a heart attack acronym the comedian coined: HEPPP (hot, exhausted, pain, pale, puke). O'Donnell's candidness about her heart attack helped spread awareness about how it can present differently in women. She's one of countless celebrities over the years who have opened up about their health conditions, including breast cancer, HIV, depression, heart disease and stroke. When celebrities reveal and discuss their health issues, the impact can be far-reaching. It not only helps to educate the public, but it also can reduce stigma and inspire others. "Health disclosures by celebrities do matter, and we know this from decades of research across a lot of different health conditions and public figures," said Dr. Jessica Gall Myrick, a professor of health communication at Pennsylvania State University in University Park. "They absolutely do influence people." Some of the earliest celebrity health disclosures happened in the 1970s and 1980s with U.S. presidents and first ladies. When first lady Betty Ford was diagnosed with breast cancer just weeks after Gerald Ford became president in 1974, she spoke openly about her diagnosis, inviting photographers into the White House and helping make talk of cancer less taboo. In 1987, first lady Nancy Reagan used her breast cancer diagnosis as a chance to advocate for women to get mammograms. Her disclosure came two years after President Ronald Reagan's colon cancer diagnosis, about which the couple was equally as vocal. "Individuals throughout the country have been calling cancer physicians and information services in record numbers," the Los Angeles Times reported after Nancy Reagan's widely publicized surgery. The public showed a similar interest years earlier following Betty Ford's mastectomy. Another major milestone in celebrity health disclosures came in 1991, when 32-year-old NBA superstar Earvin "Magic" Johnson revealed he had tested positive for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. "Life is going to go on for me, and I'm going to be a happy man," Johnson assured fans during a news conference. He immediately retired, only to return to the Los Angeles Lakers in 1996. His disclosure, along with his work as an advocate for safe sex, helped shatter stigmas around HIV and AIDS. Calls to testing centers increased significantly in the days and weeks after Johnson's announcement. "That celebrity disclosure really helped people see there was a wider susceptibly to HIV," Gall Myrick said. "People were more likely to say, 'I need to think about my own risks.' It was very powerful." When it comes to heart and stroke health, President Dwight Eisenhower helped make heart attacks less frightening and mysterious. During a news conference in 1955, millions of Americans learned from the president's doctors about his heart condition, his treatment, and concrete steps they could take to reduce their own heart attack risk. Other notable figures have shared their health experiences over the years. Soap opera legend Susan Lucci , who was diagnosed with heart disease in 2018, has advocated for women's heart health. Basketball great Kareem Abdul Jabbar talks about his irregular heartbeat, known as atrial fibrillation, and advocates for regular health screenings. Lawyer, author and television personality Star Jones continues to speak about heart disease risk after having lifesaving heart surgery in 2010. Longtime TV and radio personality Dick Clark brought stroke and aphasia into the national spotlight when he returned to hosting "New Year's Rockin' Eve" in Times Square just a year after his 2004 stroke and continued until his death in 2012. And actor and comedian Jamie Foxx recently revealed he had a stroke last year. "Celebrity disclosures represent teachable moments," said Dr. Seth M. Noar, director of the Communicating for Health Impact Lab at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. "Searches for different health conditions often spike in the wake of these types of announcements. They cause people to think about these health issues, learn more about them, and in some cases change their behaviors." Celebrities have also highlighted the importance of CPR and the use of an automated external defibrillator, or AED, to restore a person's heartbeat if they experience cardiac arrest. Interest in CPR and AEDs spiked in 2023 after Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest during an NFL game broadcast on national TV. Views of the American Heart Association's hands-only CPR pages jumped more than 600% in the days following Hamlin's cardiac arrest. Three months later, around 3 million people had watched the AHA's CPR video. Family members of celebrities who have died from a heart issue have also spread awareness. After actor John Ritter died of an undiagnosed aortic dissection in 2003, his wife, actor Amy Yasbeck, started the Ritter Foundation to raise awareness about the condition and help others avoid a misdiagnosis. A literature review published in Systematic Reviews in 2017 found that people are conditioned to react positively to celebrity advice. Research also has found that people often follow advice from celebrities who match how they perceive – or how they want to perceive – themselves. The most effective celebrity disclosures are frequently the ones that tell a compelling story and include clear steps people can take to apply lessons the celebrity learned to their own health situation, Gall Myrick said. "People are more likely to take action when they feel confident and capable." Research has shown that celebrity disclosures often impact calls to hotlines and page views on health-related websites, and they can spark behavioral and even policy changes. Anecdotally, Gall Myrick said, people ask their doctor more questions about health conditions and request medical screenings. Celebrities can have a big impact because people tend to have parasocial relationships with them, Gall Myrick said. These are one-sided relationships in which a person feels an emotional connection with another person, often a celebrity. People may feel as if they know the basketball player they've watched on the court for years, or the Hollywood actor they've followed, she said. They want to comfort them after a health disclosure. Social media has only increased this feeling of familiarity, as celebrities regularly share mundane – but fascinating – details of their daily lives, like what they eat for breakfast, their favorite socks, or the meditation they do before bed. "We spend a lifetime being exposed to celebrities through the media, and over time, you get to know these public figures," Gall Myrick said. "Some feel like friendships." A study published in the journal Science Communication in 2020 compared reactions to actor Tom Hanks, who had COVID-19 early in the pandemic, and an average person with COVID-19. Researchers found that participants identified more with Hanks when it came to estimating their own susceptibility to COVID-19. The participants also felt more emotional about the virus that causes COVID-19 when thinking about it in relation to Hanks versus an average person. When a celebrity reveals a health condition, it's a surprise that may feel personal, especially if they are well-liked and the health issue is dramatic and sudden. "We feel like we know them, and the emotional response is what can then push people out of their routine," Gall Myrick said. Noar said a celebrity health story is often a more interesting and powerful way to learn about a health condition than just the facts, which can feel overwhelming. People are drawn to the slew of media coverage that typically follows a celebrity disclosure, he said. "Some of these high-visibility public figures' stories are now woven into some of these illnesses," Noar said. For example, Angelina Jolie is often linked to the BRCA1 gene mutation after the actor shared she had a preventive double mastectomy because of her elevated breast cancer risk and had her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed because of her increased risk for ovarian cancer. "It's a narrative, a story that humanizes the condition in a way that very informational communication really doesn't," Noar said. "People remember it, and it can potentially be a touch point." After a disclosure, patients may bring up a celebrity's story during a doctor's appointment and connect it to their own care. Today's multiplatform digital culture only amplifies celebrity messages. "You're seeing everyday people react to these events, and that can have a ripple effect too," Gall Myrick said. "We know from research that seeing messages more than once can be impactful. Often it's not just one billboard or one commercial that impacts behavior; it's the drip drip drip over time." Still, there's a cautionary tale to be told around the impact of celebrity health news, especially if the celebrity has died. An unclear cause of death may lead to speculation. Gall Myrick said that guesswork could potentially end up hurting rather than helping if patients were to act on misinformation or a lack of information. "Maybe the death was atypical or it needs more context," she said. "That's where advocacy groups and public health organizations come in. They need to be prepared for announcements or disclosures about celebrity deaths, and to fill in some of those gaps." American Heart Association News covers heart and brain health. Not all views expressed in this story reflect the official position of the American Heart Association. Copyright is owned or held by the American Heart Association, Inc., and all rights are reserved. Sign up here to get the latest health & fitness updates in your inbox every week!ph777 app 。

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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Colin Smalls scored 23 points as American held off the University of Albany 81-77 at the Puerto Rico Classico tournament on Sunday. Read this article for free: Already have an account? To continue reading, please subscribe: * SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Colin Smalls scored 23 points as American held off the University of Albany 81-77 at the Puerto Rico Classico tournament on Sunday. Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Colin Smalls scored 23 points as American held off the University of Albany 81-77 at the Puerto Rico Classico tournament on Sunday. Smalls went 8 of 11 from the field (5 for 7 from 3-point range) for the Eagles (3-4). Elijah Stephens scored 20 points while shooting 7 of 10 from the field and 6 for 9 from the line and added five rebounds and six assists. Matt Mayock shot 6 for 8, including 3 for 4 from beyond the arc to finish with 17 points. Justin Neely led the Great Danes (5-2) in scoring, finishing with 20 points and seven rebounds. Byron Joshua added 17 points and six rebounds for Albany (NY). Kheni Briggs also recorded 14 points. The Great Danes ended a five-game winning streak with the loss. American went into halftime ahead of Albany (NY) 39-30. Smalls put up 12 points in the half. American used an 8-0 run in the second half to build a 19-point lead at 65-46 with 10:27 left in the half before finishing off the win. NEXT UP American plays Saturday against UPR-Mayaguez, and Albany (NY) visits Georgetown on Saturday. ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar. Advertisement

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With technical prowess and considerable style, Marta danced around two sliding defenders, outwitted a goalkeeper and calmly scored as another player rushed forward in desperation to stop her. It was more Marta Magic. That goal last weekend helped propel the Orlando Pride into Saturday's National Women's Soccer League championship game against the Washington Spirit. Barbra Banda also scored in the Pride's 3-2 semifinal victory over the Kansas City Current . While Banda has had an incredible first season with the Pride, captain Marta has been the talisman that has helped lead the team in its remarkable turnaround this year. The last time the Pride were in the NWSL playoffs was in 2017 — Marta's first year with the club. But this season they nearly went undefeated, going 23 games without a loss to start the season before losing 2-0 to the Portland Thorns with just two regular-season games left. “I think because of the way that we did it, during this season, from beginning to now, it’s something very special that I’ve never had before with any other club that I’ve played for," Marta said. "Plus year by year, we see in America, strong competition. This is the best league in the world. And you never know what’s going to happen, and it’s hard to keep winning the games, being in the first place almost like the whole season. That’s why it’s really different and so special.” Marta’s goal was the latest gasp-inducing moment in a stellar career filled with them. Known by just her first name, the 38-year-old is a six-time FIFA world player of the year. "Let's see if tomorrow I can do something similar — or even better," Marta said on Friday. Her teammate Kylie Strom chimed in: “That was the greatest goal I've ever witnessed, hands down." Appropriate. Earlier this year, FIFA announced that the best goal in women's soccer each year would earn the Marta Award. In a lighthearted moment the day before the title match, Marta was asked if she thought it was possible she might give the award to herself. “You guys need to decide, because who votes for the best goal in the year? It’s you. It’s the people in the public. So it should be really interesting, like Marta’s Award goes to Marta!” she said with a laugh. Marta has played in six World Cups for Brazil and played this summer in her sixth Olympics, winning a silver medal after falling in the final to the United States . She previously said this would be her final year with the national team. But since then Brazil was named the host of the 2027 Women's World Cup. "I had a conversation with my coach, the national team coach, and I was really clear about playing in 2027. I told him it’s not my goal anymore,” she said. “But I’m always available to help the national team. And if they think I still can do something during this preparation for the World Cup, yeah, I would be happy to help them." Marta's club career started in Brazil when she was just 16. She has also played in Sweden and in the U.S. professional women's leagues that came before the NWSL. With nine regular-season goals, Marta has had one of her best seasons since she joined the Pride. “I can never pick a side, I never pick favorites — but I love to see this for Marta," U.S. coach Emma Hayes said. “Marta is someone we all like, admire and are grateful for. And that goal was just like prime Marta at her best. And so grateful for and thankful for her that she got the opportunity with another game with her team.” The Pride went 18-2-6 this season, clinching the NWSL Shield for the first trophy in club history. Orlando also set a record with 60 regular-season points to finish atop the standings. “We are sitting top of the table, but I think there still are a lot of doubters. I think there’s people out there who say, maybe this was a one-off season,” Strom said. “But we’re here to prove them all wrong. So I think we do carry a bit of that underdog mentality still with us.” The second-seeded Spirit advanced to the title match at Kansas City's CPKC Stadium last weekend on a penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw against defending champions Gotham FC. The Spirit's roster includes Trinity Rodman, a standout forward who formed the so-called “Triple Espresso” trio with Mallory Swanson and Sophia Smith for the United States at the Olympics. ___ AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccerRITTNER: Troy and the Telegraph — Part TwoBoosting volunteer numbers key to addressing hunger in Virginia, Youngkin says

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OTTAWA - The dismissal of a class-action lawsuit over rules governing the cross-border live bee trade is casting a spotlight on political division within Canada's beekeeping community. Read this article for free: Already have an account? As we navigate through unprecedented times, our journalists are working harder than ever to bring you the latest local updates to keep you safe and informed. Now, more than ever, we need your support. Starting at $14.99 plus taxes every four weeks you can access your Brandon Sun online and full access to all content as it appears on our website. or call circulation directly at (204) 727-0527. Your pledge helps to ensure we provide the news that matters most to your community! OTTAWA - The dismissal of a class-action lawsuit over rules governing the cross-border live bee trade is casting a spotlight on political division within Canada's beekeeping community. Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? OTTAWA – The dismissal of a class-action lawsuit over rules governing the cross-border live bee trade is casting a spotlight on political division within Canada’s beekeeping community. A federal judge has ruled against awarding commercial beekeepers damages from a decades-old partial ban on shipping live honeybees across the Canada-U.S. border, which is in place out of concerns that could bring in aggressive pests and diseases. Beekeepers from Western Canada involved in the suit claim the government’s risk assessments that inform the tight restrictions are hurting their businesses and are blown out of proportion. The dismissal of a class action lawsuit over rules governing the cross-border live bee trade is casting a spotlight on political division within Canada's beekeeping community. A beekeeper tends to her hives near Bowmanville, Ontario on Thursday July 10, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Doug Ives Michael Paradis of Paradis Honey Ltd., a seven-generation family beekeeping business based in Girouxville, Alta., and one of the representative plaintiffs in the case, said he’s disappointed with the ruling, saying it puts beekeepers in a “dangerous position” since the industry is already in crisis mode. “Canada does not have enough bees and cannot replenish its own stock at all,” he said. “It’s going to mean a lot more hardship for the industry if we cannot get access to the U.S. bees.” Beekeepers were slammed during the COVID-19 pandemic, when fewer airline flights made it harder to import bees and they suffered a nightmare year of winter losses in 2022. Manitoba commercial beekeeper Brent Ash, one of the witnesses in the case, said the ruling will hamper the industry, and makes it especially tough for apiaries in colder parts of the country like the Prairies, where most of Canada’s beekeepers are located. “Climate makes the regional divide difficult to keep those bugs alive over the course of the winter,” he said, noting honeybees are not native to North America. But Steve Moore, president of the Ontario Beekeepers’ Association, said his group worries about the risks of accidentally bringing in antibiotic resistant mites, the import of Africanized honeybees commonly known as killer bees, and a small hive beetle that’s capable of damaging colonies. “In Ontario here, we feel quite strongly that we don’t want to take the risk of it becoming even more challenging if some of these new and emerging threats come into the country in packages,” he said. But he empathizes with the plaintiffs. “When we go into our apiaries, we get stung by our bees. When we come home, we might be stung by a low honey price, stung by rising cost of production or stung by high overwintering losses, with the threat of new and emerging pathogens. So, we’re all facing the same challenges and it’s a challenging time to be a beekeeper,” he said. Even though a ban on U.S. live bee imports expired in 2006, Ottawa has not issued permits for the live worker bee boxes to be brought over the border since. The plaintiffs argued Ottawa owes them duty of care — and hundreds of millions in damages. The judge disagreed. “There is no duty of care owed and no negligence,” Justice Cecily Strickland wrote in a lengthy ruling, adding the plaintiffs failed to establish that Ottawa hurt their businesses. The case has a long history, dating back to a court filing from 2012, and was only certified as a class action in 2017. The problem is even older. Headlines from the 1980s screamed about fears that deadly infectious mites from U.S. states could level Canadian bee populations. Risks to bee health have only compounded since then. A 2003 risk assessment by the regulator found that importing queen bees was less risky, since they are easier to inspect. So, Canada allows imports of queen bees and their worker-bee attendants from the U.S., Chile, Australia, New Zealand, Denmark, Italy and Malta. “Bee packages carry a higher risk of disease introduction because they are shipped with the contents of their hive, which may include mites, parasites and bacteria,” said a statement from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency that welcomed the judge’s ruling. Canada does, however, also allow imports of worker bee packages from Italy, Chile, Australia and New Zealand, which sent Canada some 69,364 kgs of packaged bees in 2023, according to statistics from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. But importing from these countries also dramatically drives up import costs due to transportation. One of the plaintiffs, John Gibeau, wrote to CFIA a decade ago complaining that importing more than 1,200 packages for $170,000 would have cost half that if he could have purchased them from California instead. Gibeau said he wasn’t ready to comment since he hasn’t yet digested the ruling. Paradis said the larger issue for him than cost, though, is the quality of the bee stock and the timing of when shipments arrive. “We are looking at bees in the U.S. that are spring bees — young, invigorated bees,” he said, adding that gives them longer lifespans in Canada. While he was disappointed, Paradis said one of the main reasons for the lawsuit was to “bring CFIA to the table and to actually have some discussions” on the import ban, something he said has only happened recently. Canada’s honeybee pollination is estimated to contribute $3.18 billion directly to the economy, but that rises to $7 billion a year when canola pollination is factored in. Canada has some 794,341 beehives. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 7, 2024. Advertisement Advertisement

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Offtake for a minimum of 32,000 tonnes of NOVONIX’s high-performance synthetic graphite material to be supplied to PowerCo from 2027-2031 BRISBANE, Australia, Nov. 24, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NOVONIX Limited (NASDAQ: NVX, ASX: NVX) (“NOVONIX” or the “Company”), a leading battery materials and technology company, and PowerCo SE (“PowerCo”), today announced the signing of a binding offtake agreement for a minimum of 32,000 tonnes of high-performance synthetic graphite material. The material will be supplied to PowerCo over a five-year term starting in 2027. Established by Volkswagen in 2022, PowerCo is committed to ramp-up global battery cell production. PowerCo oversees international factory operations, advances in cell technology, and vertical integration of the battery value chain. PowerCo has identified three gigafactory locations – Salzgitter in Germany, Valencia in Spain, and St. Thomas in Canada - with a combined capacity of up to 200 GWh/year. NOVONIX and PowerCo previously announced the signing of a non-exclusive Testing and Development Agreement in March 2024. NOVONIX’s Riverside facility is poised to become the first large-scale production site dedicated to high-performance synthetic graphite for the battery sector in North America and is slated to begin commercial production in 2025, with plans to grow output to 20,000 tonnes per annum (“tpa”) to meet current customer commitments. Previously, the Company announced the U.S. Department of Energy (“DOE”) Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains (“MESC”) awarded the Company a US$100 million grant and was selected for a US$103 million investment tax credit towards the funding of the Riverside facility. The Company is also progressing plans to build a second production facility, in the southeastern United States, that will have an initial capacity of 30,000 tpa and plans to expand that facility to 75,000 tpa. NOVONIX remains in discussions with the DOE Loan Program Office (“LPO”) for an Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Program loan to support the construction of this new production facility. NOVONIX’s current plans call for total production to increase to at least 150,000 tpa of synthetic graphite material to accommodate anticipated customer demand. Key Deal Terms Offtake commitment is for a minimum of 32,000 tonnes over the five-year term of the agreement. Products will be priced under a pricing structure that has been agreed between the parties. The start of commercial supply is targeted to commence in 2027, subject to NOVONIX achieving agreed upon milestones regarding final mass production qualification and satisfying certain compliance criteria. NOVONIX must also secure financing commitments for the production facilities that will supply PowerCo product. If these milestones or requirements have not been satisfied, then PowerCo may terminate the agreement. This announcement has been authorized for release by NOVONIX Chairman, Admiral Robert J. Natter, USN Ret. About NOVONIX NOVONIX is a leading battery technology company revolutionizing the global lithium-ion battery industry with innovative, sustainable technologies, high-performance materials, and more efficient production methods. The Company manufactures industry-leading battery cell testing equipment, is growing its high-performance synthetic graphite material manufacturing operations, and has developed a patented all-dry, zero-waste cathode synthesis process. Through advanced R&D capabilities, proprietary technology, and strategic partnerships, NOVONIX has gained a prominent position in the electric vehicle and energy storage systems battery industry and is powering a cleaner energy future. To learn more, visit us at www.novonixgroup.com or on LinkedIn and X . For NOVONIX Limited Scott Espenshade, ir@novonixgroup.com (investors) Stephanie Reid, media@novonixgroup.com (media) Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This communication contains forward-looking statements about the Company and the industry in which we operate. Forward-looking statements can generally be identified by use of words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “contemplate,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “target,” “will,” or “would,” or other similar expressions. Examples of forward-looking statements in this communication include, among others, statements we make regarding meeting our target production capacity and scaling of production at our Riverside facility, our plans to build a new production facility and achieve initial and total production capacities, our efforts to finance this new production facility with a loan from the LPO, our estimate of future anticipated North American graphite demand and our plan to be a significant supplier of high-performance synthetic graphite to the North American market. We have based such statements on our current expectations and projections about future events and trends that we believe may affect our financial condition, results of operations, business strategy and financial needs. Such forward-looking statements involve and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others, the timely deployment and scaling of our furnace technology, our ability to meet the technical specifications and demand of our existing and future customers, including PowerCo, the accuracy of our estimates regarding market size, expenses, future revenue, capital requirements, needs and access for additional financing, the availability and impact and our compliance with the applicable terms of government support, including the DOE MESC grant and, if obtained, the LPO loan, our ability to obtain patent rights effective to protect our technologies and processes and successfully defend any challenges to such rights and prevent others from commercializing such technologies and processes, and regulatory developments in the United States, Australia and other jurisdictions. These and other factors that could affect our business and results are included in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), including the Company’s most recent annual report on Form 20-F. Copies of these filings may be obtained by visiting our Investor Relations website at www.novonixgroup.com or the SEC's website at www.sec.gov . Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance or outcomes, and actual performance and outcomes may differ materially from those made in or suggested by the forward-looking statements contained in this communication. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statement in this communication is based only on information currently available to us and speaks only as of the date on which it is made. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as required by law.Celebrities can spark change when they speak up about their health

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Article content Outgoing Edmonton Police Chief Dale McFee is disputing claims from the head of the police union that the service is top heavy and spending too much on civilian employees. In an editorial for the Edmonton Police Association’s December newsletter, association president Curtis Hoople took issue with what he described as “excessive” spending on civilian and executive positions. The editorial is framed as a “whisper to whoever is hiring (Edmonton Police Commission) or considering taking the reins as our new chief.” “The EPS is a larger organization that has seen immense growth in recent years,” Hoople wrote. “Unfortunately, this growth has been disproportionate for police members (sworn officers) versus civilian employees.” “We believe the EPS is ‘top’ heavy, and there is room for finding better ways to reduce excessive and costly executive positions while transferring this budget to frontline staffing and equipment,” he added. “Civilian staff is essential but should not be used to supplement a police function or role.” The rest of the editorial deals with other workplace issues — including pressures on patrol units leading to more officers taking leave — and does not elaborate on the basis for the “top heavy” claims (though the police service’s 2023 annual report does show a slight decline in the ratio of sworn officers to civilian employees, from 70:30 in 2021 to 68:32 last year.) Hoople declined to comment. McFee disagreed with Hoople’s claims, calling them “not accurate.” During a year-end interview, McFeee said while there are more civilians on the EPS leadership team than under previous chiefs — there are currently three sworn deputy chiefs and three civilians, compared to three deputy chiefs and one civilian chief administrative officer under Chief Rod Knecht — the ratio of civilian to sworn is about the same. He said the number of frontline officers is at a five-year high, and defended the even split in EPS leadership. “If you bring diversity of thought, experience, education backgrounds to those thought processes at the leadership table, you start to think differently,” he said. “And I actually think the combination of the two (civilian and sworn) has made us a pretty effective police service that’s leading in a lot more things than we’re following.” In an email, EPS spokeswoman Cheryl Sheppard said 2.13 per cent of EPS’s 3,227 full-time employees are civilian managers, including the three civilians in the EPS leadership group — chief administrative officer Justin Krikler, chief operations officer/chief of staff Enyinnah Okere and chief information and technology officer Ron Anderson. Sworn officers made up 65.5 per cent of employees and the ratio of sworn to civilian staff “has not changed significantly” over the past few years and is below the Canadian average of 67.6 per cent, Sheppard said. In all, sworn and civilian managers make up about 6.79 per cent of the workforce, which Sheppard said has remained consistent. Sheppard said EPS is exploring adding civilian specialists to provide support and free up officers for frontline roles, including assisting with the rollout and maintenance of body-worn cameras . She also pointed to the “civilianization” of the emergency communications branch, freeing up sworn officers to respond to calls, as well as new “wellness” initiatives for officers. “As we just witnessed in early December, the police budget is a public discussion that is highly scrutinized, with many accountability systems in place,” Sheppard said. The back-and-forth comes after several years of at-times-tense debates about police funding. City Coun. Aaron Paquette earlier this year claimed the police budget is a “black box.” The comment came in response to Coun. Keren Tang’s motion asking the police commission to release EPS’s high-level audit plan to better understand the relationship between police funding and performance. The police commission refused the request. McFee announced this month he is leaving the chief’s role to become deputy minister of executive council, the senior civil servant in the Alberta government. jwakefield@postmedia.com x.com/jonnywakefield @jonnywakefield.bsky.social Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don’t miss the news you need to know — add EdmontonJournal.com and EdmontonSun.com to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters . You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribers gain unlimited access to The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. The Edmonton Journal | The Edmonton Sun

Abortion has become slightly more common despite bans or deep restrictions in most Republican-controlled states, and the legal and political fights over its future are not over yet. It's now been two and a half years since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and opened the door for states to implement bans. The policies and their impact have been in flux ever since the ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. Here's a look at data on where things stand: Overturning Roe and enforcing abortion bans has changed how woman obtain abortions in the U.S. But one thing it hasn't done is put a dent in the number of abortions being obtained. There have been slightly more monthly abortions across the country recently than there were in the months leading up to the June 2022 ruling, even as the number in states with bans dropped to near zero. “Abortion bans don’t actually prevent abortions from happening,” said Ushma Upadhyay, a public health social scientist at the University of California San Francisco. But, she said, they do change care. For women in some states, there are major obstacles to getting abortions — and advocates say that low-income, minority and immigrant women are least likely to be able to get them when they want. For those living in states with bans, the ways to access abortion are through travel or abortion pills. As the bans swept in, abortion pills became a bigger part of the equation. They were involved in about half the abortions before Dobbs. More recently, it’s been closer to two-thirds of them, according to research by the Guttmacher Institute. The uptick of that kind of abortion, usually involving a combination of two drugs, was underway before the ruling. But now, it's become more common for pill prescriptions to be made by telehealth. By the summer of 2024, about 1 in 10 abortions was via pills prescribed via telehealth to patients in states where abortion is banned. As a result, the pills are now at the center of battles over abortion access. This month, Texas sued a New York doctor for prescribing pills to a Texas woman via telemedicine. There's also an effort by Idaho, Kansas and Missouri to roll back their federal approvals and treat them as “controlled dangerous substances,” and a push for the federal government to start enforcing a 19th-century federal law to ban mailing them. Clinics have closed or halted abortions in states with bans. But a network of efforts to get women seeking abortions to places where they're legal has strengthened and travel for abortion is now common. The Guttmacher Institute found that more than twice as many Texas residents obtained abortion in 2023 in New Mexico as New Mexico residents did. And as many Texans received them in Kansas as Kansans. Abortion funds, which benefitted from “rage giving” in 2022, have helped pay the costs for many abortion-seekers. But some funds have had to cap how much they can give . Since the downfall of Roe, the actions of lawmakers and courts have kept shifting where abortion is legal and under what conditions. Here's where it stands now: Florida, the nation’s third most-populous state, began enforcing a ban on abortions after the first six weeks of pregnancy on May 1. That immediately changed the state from one that was a refuge for other Southerners seeking abortion to an exporter of people looking for them. There were about 30% fewer abortions there in May compared with the average for the first three months of the year. And in June, there were 35% fewer. While the ban is not unique, the impact is especially large. The average driving time from Florida to a facility in North Carolina where abortion is available for the first 12 weeks of pregnancy is more than nine hours, according to data maintained by Caitlin Myers, a Middlebury College economics professor. The bans have meant clinics closed or stopped offering abortions in some states. But some states where abortion remains legal until viability – generally considered to be sometime past 21 weeks of pregnancy , though there’s no fixed time for it – have seen clinics open and expand . Illinois, Kansas and New Mexico are among the states with new clinics. There were 799 publicly identifiable abortion providers in the U.S. in May 2022, the month before the Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade. And by this November, it was 792, according to a tally by Myers, who is collecting data on abortion providers. But Myers says some hospitals that always provided some abortions have begun advertising it. So they’re now in the count of clinics – even though they might provide few of them. How hospitals handle pregnancy complications , especially those that threaten the lives of the women, has emerged as a major issue since Roe was overturned. President Joe Biden's administration says hospitals must offer abortions when they're needed to prevent organ loss, hemorrhage or deadly infections, even in states with bans. Texas is challenging the administration’s policy and the U.S. Supreme Court this year declined to take it up after the Biden administration sued Idaho. More than 100 pregnant women seeking help in emergency rooms and were turned away or left unstable since 2022, The Associated Press found in an analysis of federal hospital investigative records. Among the complaints were a woman who miscarried in the lobby restroom of Texas emergency room after staff refused to see her and a woman who gave birth in a car after a North Carolina hospital couldn't offer an ultrasound. The baby later died. “It is increasingly less safe to be pregnant and seeking emergency care in an emergency department,” Dara Kass, an emergency medicine doctor and former U.S. Health and Human Services official told the AP earlier this year. Since Roe was overturned, there have been 18 reproductive rights-related statewide ballot questions. Abortion rights advocates have prevailed on 14 of them and lost on four. In the 2024 election , they amended the constitutions in five states to add the right to abortion. Such measures failed in three states: In Florida, where it required 60% support; in Nebraska, which had competing abortion ballot measures; and in South Dakota, where most national abortion rights groups did support the measure. AP VoteCast data found that more than three-fifths of voters in 2024 supported abortion being legal in all or most cases – a slight uptick from 2020. The support came even as voters supported Republicans to control the White House and both houses of Congress. Associated Press writers Linley Sanders, Amanda Seitz and Laura Ungar contributed to this article.As technology progresses, so does the demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). As such, the tools that enable developers to build powerful models have to keep up with the growing demand. TensorFlow and PyTorch are, quite frankly, the most spoken frameworks in machine learning, and both are really powerful and flexible. While both frameworks are incredibly robust and versatile, deciding which one to use for your project can significantly influence the development process and outcomes. Understanding TensorFlow and PyTorch Google -developed TensorFlow is over five years old and relatively young. Still a favorite among the audiences because of its high degree of scalability and production readiness. It is an open-source framework designed to simplify the deployment of machine learning models across different platforms, including mobile and web. Therefore, TensorFlow allows flexibility, has great community support, and offers tools such as TensorFlow Lite and TensorFlow.js, which are popular among researchers and enterprises. Facebook developed and introduced PyTorch for the first time in 2016. In recent times, it has become very popular among researchers because of its dynamic computational graph, which more closely resembles a common Pythonic, intuitive experience, thereby making it quite user-friendly for experimentation and prototyping. Most importantly, the adoption of PyTorch within the academic community resulted in phenomenal numbers of cutting-edge research papers published using this tool. TensorFlow had a steep learning curve at first because it had a static computational graph. Users would first define the graph, and then they could execute it. But in TensorFlow 2.0, eager execution is the default mode, making it much more intuitive compared to PyTorch. PyTorch, with its dynamic computational graph, feels more natural for Python developers. That makes it easy for them to learn, and if they were to debug, they could do so using all the standard Python tools. TensorFlow, with its static computation graph, is less flexible but excels in production environments where stability and optimization are critical. The dynamic computation graph within PyTorch is again its biggest convenience feature, providing more flexibility to users for modifying and debugging the operation on the fly. Researchers love this because they can experiment with new architectures. TensorFlow shines when it comes to deploying models in production. Its suite of tools contains TensorFlow Serving for high-scale model serving, TensorFlow Lite for deploying models to mobile formats, and TensorFlow.js for browser-based models. While PyTorch may be on the way to development with TorchServe and ONNX (Open Neural Network Exchange) for model deployment, the level of production tools is, however, not as advanced as that of TensorFlow. TensorFlow is much wider in its community and ecosystem because it launched earlier than most other advanced tools and was keenly interested in enterprises. Its successful documentation included pre-trained models with support from Keras and many other such tools, which built strong support for developers. In contrast, PyTorch, despite a smaller ecosystem, is highly favored in the research community. It powers many state-of-the-art research projects, leading to the quick adoption of new ideas. Generally, TensorFlow is reputed for its very high efficiency in distributed training while being very effective in large-scale deployment. Among other advantages are TPU (Tensor Processing Unit) accelerations, which add highly in favor of its construction for developing complex models. PyTorch worked in the district with GPU acceleration support. However, there is no support for TPU, which would limit the scale at which this technology can be applied to some conditions. Which Framework Should You Choose? Your choice between TensorFlow and PyTorch eventually depends on whether it is developing research-centric or rapid prototyping projects. For building research-heavy projects and prototyping, PyTorch is the best option because of its user-friendliness and flexibility. For projects focused on scalability and production readiness, TensorFlow’s extensive tools and deployment options provide a competitive edge. Conclusions Both TensorFlow and PyTorch are outstanding frameworks that serve different purposes. TensorFlow is known for its maturity and extensive ecosystem, making it the preferred choice for production-level applications. On the other hand, PyTorch's dynamic nature is ideal for research and experimentation. To decide which framework is best suited for your needs, consider your project requirements, skill level, and deployment goals. Regardless of your choice, both frameworks offer a solid foundation for creating innovative and impactful AI solutions.

The opinion editor at Die Welt has resigned after the conservative German newspaper printed an article from Elon Musk justifying his support for the hard-Right AfD. Eva Marie Kogel said she handed in her resignation after the newspaper went to print on Friday. In his article, said Germany’s traditional parties had failed by delivering economic stagnation, social unrest and erosion of national identity. Mr Musk, who was born in South Africa and became a US citizen in 2002, said Germany had become “comfortable with mediocrity” and incited cultural tensions by opening its borders to a large number of migrants. In a series of posts on X in the run up to Christmas, Mr Musk toted his support for AfD, which he deemed the “only hope for Germany”, and questioned the party’s categorisation of far Right. The Tesla founder’s endorsement of AfD in December prompted , the German chancellor, to quip that Germany’s free speech allowed multi-billionaires to say things that were incorrect and did not contain good political advice. Writing in Die Welt, Mr Musk said: “The AfD can save Germany from becoming a shadow of its former self,” adding that the party could spur economic prosperity, cultural integrity and technological innovation. The Tesla founder said he believed he had the right to speak openly about his political beliefs because he has made significant investments in the nation’s industrial and technological industries. Tesla has built a gigafactory in Brandenburg, the first such site for the electric carmaker in Europe. In the article, Mr Musk sounded the alarm over Germany’s decision to open its borders to a large number of migrants, which he said was done with humanitarian intentions but had led to a breakdown in social cohesion. “The AfD is committed to a controlled immigration policy that prioritises integration and the preservation of German culture and security,” he wrote, adding: “This is not about xenophobia, but about ensuring that Germany does not lose its identity in the pursuit of globalisation. “A nation must preserve its core values and cultural heritage in order to remain strong and united.” The incoming head of the inaugural US (Doge) also expressed admiration for AfD’s drive to deregulate the market, reduce bureaucracy and lower taxes. He described Germany’s decision to phase out nuclear power to rely on fossil fuels and renewable energy as “costly” and “naive”, claiming the nation does not have sufficient battery storage to ensure stability of electricity supply, and endorsed AfD’s drive to encourage critical thinking in education rather than indoctrination. Mr Musk took issue with the AfD being branded as “far Right”, instead deeming the party advocates of political realism without the political correctness. Pointing to Alice Weidel, the party’s leader, who has a same-sex partner from Sri Lanka, he said: “Does that sound like Hitler to you?”, adding: “To those who condemn the AfD as extremist, I say: Don’t be fooled by the label attached to it.” The article was commissioned by Mathias Döpfner, the head of the newspaper publisher Axel Springer, and was met with outrage from the newspaper’s editorial committee, according to Der Spiegel newspaper. The article was published with a rebuttal by Jan Philipp Burgard, Die Welt’s editor-in-chief, who stated that while Mr Musk’s diagnosis of Germany’s ills may be correct, his judgment that only AfD could save Germany was “fatally wrong”. Mr Burgard called attention to AfD’s desire for rapprochement with Russia, with the party calling for a restoration of trade and lifting of sanctions on Moscow. He also warned of AfD’s intention to appease Beijing and leave the European Union, deeming the latter a “catastrophe”. “The AfD is not just Alice Weidel, but also ,” Mr Burgard wrote, before scalding the infamous leader of AfD’s regional branch in Thuringia for his repeated use of banned Nazi slogans and salutes. The editor-in-chief pointed out that a court ruling allows Höcke to be described as an extremist. The history teacher turned politician has previously dismissed Berlin’s Holocaust memorial as a “monument of shame” and has called for a “thousand year future” for Germany. While Mr Burgard conceded that “Germany is indeed struggling with out-of-control immigration”, he discredits the AfD’s remigration plans as “unrealistic”.

BALTIMORE (AP) — Azmar Abdullah's 21 points off of the bench led Boston University to a 69-62 victory against Howard on Sunday. Read this article for free: Already have an account? To continue reading, please subscribe: * BALTIMORE (AP) — Azmar Abdullah's 21 points off of the bench led Boston University to a 69-62 victory against Howard on Sunday. Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? BALTIMORE (AP) — Azmar Abdullah’s 21 points off of the bench led Boston University to a 69-62 victory against Howard on Sunday. Abdullah went 7 of 9 from the field (5 for 7 from 3-point range) for the Terriers (3-4). Kyrone Alexander added 10 points while going 2 of 9 from the floor, including 2 for 5 from 3-point range, and 4 for 4 from the line while they also had seven rebounds. Ben Palacios went 3 of 5 from the field (3 for 4 from 3-point range) to finish with nine points. Marcus Dockery finished with 17 points and two steals for the Bison (3-3). Blake Harper added 14 points, seven rebounds and three steals for Howard. Anwar Gill had 10 points and two steals. An 11-0 run in the first half gave Boston University a five-point lead. The teams entered the break with Boston University ahead 26-21, while Michael McNair led their club in scoring with eight points. Abdullah’s 18-point second half helped Boston University close out the seven-point victory. NEXT UP Boston University takes on Sacred Heart at home on Sunday, and Howard visits UMBC on Monday. ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar. AdvertisementWorld News | Union Minister Piyush Goyal to Attend India-Norway Business Roundtable in Mumbai TomorrowRecap: New Windows AI features at the heart of Microsoft's Copilot+ PCs debuted exclusively on laptops equipped with Qualcomm's Arm-based Snapdragon X processors a few months ago. While the latest x86 chips from Intel and AMD also have integrated NPUs and carry the Copilot+ label, they have yet to receive any OS-level generative AI functionality. Windows 11 Insiders using CPUs from recent lineups such as Intel Core Ultra 200 and AMD Ryzen AI 300 can finally begin testing Copilot+ features like Recall and image generation. The GenAI features were previously exclusive to Snapdragon X chips. Dev channel participants can get started by updating to build 26120.2510. Other users can join the Microsoft Insider Program by registering on the website , then navigating to Settings > Windows Update > Windows Insider Program > Get Started and selecting Dev Channel before rebooting. Using new GenAI features might require installing the latest AMD and Intel NPU drivers, available on TechSpot or each manufacturer's website. Recall, likely the most essential yet controversial Copilot+ feature, "remembers" user activity by periodically taking screencaps and reading on-screen text. The functionality aims to help users retrieve information, but serious security concerns led Microsoft to delay it and later reintroduce Recall on an opt-in basis. Activating the feature allows users to open previously accessed files or programs through natural language text prompts if they've forgotten the locations or file names. Recall also contains a function called Click to Do, through which users can copy, summarize, or rewrite selected text using prompts. Additionally, Copilot allows the Paint and Photos apps to generate images from text prompts. Photos can also use prompts to restyle existing pictures. Snapdragon X PCs have gradually received Windows Insider builds with new GenAI features over the last few months. Paint recently received automatic fill-and-erase functionality, and Photos can upscale pictures using super-resolution upscaling. It remains unclear when this and other functionality will expand to x86 Copilot+ systems. The exclusivity period stems from Qualcomm's early cooperation with Microsoft on the Copilot+ initiative, which aimed to use the introduction of onboard GenAI to boost Arm Windows adoption. Snapdragon X CPUs were the first to meet Microsoft's Copilot+ standards by including NPUs capable of at least 40 TOPs, but similarly-specced x86 processors from Intel's Core 200V series and AMD's Ryzen AI 300 lineups soon followed. Bringing GenAI to the standard version of Windows 11 could broaden its reach, but customer enthusiasm for the technology has yet to solidify. Recent sales charts suggest that AI PC adoption is driven primarily by more extended battery life and typical upgrade cycles.

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‘Top of the class’: Blues hail Jagga best player in stacked draftFingerMotion Announces Closing of $5.0 Million Registered Direct OfferingSo Long, Vegas: Adele Gives a Tearful Goodbye at Final Residency Show, Says She Doesn’t Know What’s NextWaltham, Mass., Dec. 23, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nano Dimension Ltd. (Nasdaq: NNDM) (“Nano Dimension” or the “Company”), a supplier of Additive Manufacturing solutions, today shared its response to a December 20, 2024 lawsuit filed by Desktop Metal, Inc. (NYSE: DM) (“Desktop Metal”) against the Company in the Delaware Court of Chancery alleging Nano Dimension has failed to use its reasonable best efforts to obtain regulatory approval in connection with the merger agreement between the parties dated July 2, 2024 (the “Merger Agreement”). The Company believes the lawsuit is without merit and inconsistent with the terms of the Merger Agreement, particularly with respect to the Company’s right to work through the review process that is under way with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States ("CFIUS"). The Company believes the lawsuit is nothing more than an effort by Desktop Metal to prevent the Company from exercising its rights under the Merger Agreement and to impose deadlines and obligations that are inconsistent with that agreement. The Company intends to vigorously defend itself and preserve its rights under the Merger Agreement. About Nano Dimension Ltd. Nano Dimension (Nasdaq: NNDM) offers a variety of Digital Manufacturing technologies serving customers across vertical target markets such as aerospace and defense, advanced automotive, high-tech industrial, specialty medical technology, and R&D and academia. With its suite of digital manufacturing technologies, Nano Dimension is enabling its customers with prototyping and high-mix-low-volume production, along with IP security, design-for-manufacturing capabilities, and more sustainable means of fabrication. For more information, please visit https://www.nano-di.com/ Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. For example, Nano is using forward-looking statements in this press release when it discusses (i) its beliefs regarding the merits of the lawsuit filed by Desktop Metal, (ii) its beliefs regarding the lawsuit with respect to Nano’s rights under the Merger Agreement and (iii) its intention to vigorously defend itself against the lawsuit and preserve its rights under the Merger Agreement. Such forward-looking statements include statements regarding Nano’s future intentions, strategic plan, events or developments that Nano intends, expects, projects, believes or anticipates will or may occur in the future. Such statements are based on management’s beliefs and assumptions made based on information currently available to management. When used in this communication, the words “outlook,” “guidance,” “expects,” “believes,” “anticipates,” “should,” “estimates,” “may,” “will,” “intends,” “projects,” “could,” “would,” “estimate,” “potential,” “continue,” “plan,” “target,” or the negative of these words or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, though not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause the Company’s actual results and performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Accordingly, we caution you that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, assumptions, estimates and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Because such statements deal with future events and are based on the current expectations of Nano, they are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Factors and risks that may cause Nano’s actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, (i) the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstance that could give rise to the termination of the proposed transaction; (ii) the satisfaction of the closing conditions of the proposed transaction; and (iii) other risks related to the completion of the proposed transaction and actions related thereto. Except as otherwise required by law, Nano undertakes no obligation to publicly release any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. References and links to websites have been provided as a convenience, and the information contained on such websites is not incorporated by reference into this communication. Nano is not responsible for the contents of third-party websites. Nano Dimension Contacts Investors: Julien Lederman, VP Corporate Development | ir@nano-di.com Media: Kal Goldberg / Bryan Locke / Kelsey Markovich | NanoDimension@fgsglobal.com

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has assured Nigerians that 2025 will usher in a new wave of progress and opportunities for the country. Speaking during a nationwide presidential media chat, Tinubu expressed gratitude to Nigerians for their patience and support while reaffirming his commitment to steering the nation toward prosperity. The President highlighted the successes of his administration’s reforms, stating that they are strategically designed to position Nigeria on a path of sustainable growth. “We are nearly 18 months into this tenure, and I assure you that things will work out well for Nigeria again,” Tinubu declared. ALSO READ: Gombe ACReSAL trains 500 on rainwater harvesting He also disclosed that in the past three months, his administration has refrained from collecting funds from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), emphasising that his policies have already started generating sufficient revenue. Responding to a question from media personality Ruben Abati about his Christmas message to Nigerians, Tinubu reiterated his optimism for the coming year. “As we celebrate Christmas, I want to assure every Nigerian that 2025 will be a promising year. I seek your continued patience and support as we build a better future together,” he said. Tinubu’s message is a rallying call for unity and faith in the administration’s efforts to rebuild and strengthen the nation, promising Nigerians that brighter days lie ahead. NIGERIAN TRIBUNELike a cherubic newborn, green hydrogen has held a global fascination. But scratch the surface, it is evident that its time is a long way away. The Government of India has approved financial support to 8 companies for setting up 1.5 GW of electrolyser capacity and to 10 companies for producing 4,12,000 tonnes of green hydrogen. This is against a vision of reaching 5 million tonnes (mt) of green hydrogen production by 2030. The economic rationale of providing financial handouts to companies getting into nascent fields is that the initial support would make them stand on their own legs over a reasonable period of time. But by all accounts, green hydrogen producers would not be competitive on their own for a very long time and would need to be perpetually supported. “Producing renewable hydrogen today is generally one-and-a-half to six times more costly than unabated fossil-based production,” notes the International Energy Agency in its recent Global Hydrogen Review, 2024. Last week, the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and the Indian think-tank, Centre for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP), released a study titled ‘Budgeting for Net Zero’, which delved into the various segments of green energy, such as renewable energy and storage. On green hydrogen, it said, “Our results suggest that GH2 will not become cost-competitive with hydrogen from natural gas (“grey” hydrogen, the benchmark) until after 2050.” Perfecting your rooftop solar’s efficiency More thermal power planned Carbon credits: Payback in greenback Compressed biogas: Far short of the 5,000-plant mark, but getting there? Splicing solar, micro-hydropower It observed that the government’s subsidies covered only about 5 per cent of the ‘cost gap’, which “will be exhausted before 2030.” To get to the 2030 target of 5 mt, the government would need to spend close to a percentage of the national GDP to keep subsidising green hydrogen to make it competitive with ‘grey hydrogen’ and still “further support would be required until cost parity is reached after 2050”. All this reminds one of what Dr Fatih Biron, the Executive Director of IEA, said at an energy conference in Goa in July 2023 (and reported in this paper): “Green hydrogen is not something for today, not something for tomorrow and maybe not something even for the day after tomorrow.” IEA’s Global Hydrogen Review 2024 has a fund of data points that substantiates Birol’s view. First, it looks at the green hydrogen production scenario and then at electrolyser manufacturing. Indeed, installed electrolyser capacity, which was 1.4 GW at the end of 2023, could reach 5 GW in 2024 but 70 per cent of this will come from China. If you count all the announced projects for green hydrogen production (like India’s 4,12,000 tonnes), it adds up an equivalent of 520 GW of electrolyser use by 2030; only 4 per cent is either under construction or reached ‘final investment decision’, says IEA, adding tellingly that “progress is being made, albeit far more slowly than was expected a few years ago”. As for electrolyser manufacturing, annual production capacity doubled to 25 GW in 2023 — 60 per cent in China. Global product pipeline to 2030 adds up to 165 GW/year — less than a third have reached ‘final investment decision’. (Renewable energy minister Pralhad Joshi said in July that India would have 100 GW of electrolyser capacity by 2030; NITI Aayog expects 20 GW.) “Producing renewable hydrogen today is generally one-and-a-half to six times more costly than unabated fossil-based production,” notes IEA. Further, 40 per cent of the planned green hydrogen projects are in water-stressed regions — feed-water for electrolyser will only add to the stress. Looking at all these, clearly the time for green hydrogen is yet to come. Someday, technology will hammer costs down — the best bet for it is electrolysers using sunlight and sea water. Until such time, pursuit of green hydrogen will be chasing a chimera. The Budgeting for Net Zero study, in the making of which many institutions and experts participated, calls upon the government to “re-evaluate the current target, which was set in 2020 when the prevailing assumptions for cost reduction GH2 were more optimistic”. It suggests a “revised timeline” to develop a green hydrogen industry in India “but at a realistic level of ambition”. Comments

BLUE WHALE GROWTH: Fund's prediction... a fall in share prices of US big tech By JEFF PRESTRIDGE Updated: 16:51 EST, 28 December 2024 e-mail View comments Investment fund Blue Whale Growth has made a lot of money for investors since its launch more than seven years ago – and manager Stephen Yiu is determined to keep the impressive track record going. The £1.2 billion fund, backed by billionaire Peter Hargreaves, has delivered a total return of 162 per cent since launching in September 2017 – equivalent to an annual return of more than 14 per cent, net of fees. Yet Yiu is not resting on his laurels. His aspiration is to deliver annual returns of 15 per cent, although not in a straight line. Though running a tight portfolio, comprising just 26 global stocks and one which remains fully invested at all times, Yiu is not frightened to make big calls. Unlike some global fund managers, Blue Whale Growth is light on the 'magnificent seven' US stocks – big drivers of the US stock market in recent years – and big on 'idiosyncratic' companies which he believes have businesses capable of withstanding any economic slowdown or sharp market corrections. Currently, the fund only holds shares in magnificent seven stocks Nvidia (8 per cent), Meta (3 per cent) and Microsoft (1.5 per cent). 'We do not own Alphabet, Amazon, Apple or Tesla,' says Yiu. 'In effect, we are overweight in Nvidia and short on the other magnificent six.' This time last year, the respective holdings in Nvidia, Meta and Microsoft were 9, 4 and 8 per cent. Yiu's view is that the 'narrative could change' next year for the magnificent seven – chipmaker Nvidia excepted – as revenues are eroded by vast expenditure on artificial intelligence (AI). This, he says, could lead to corrections in their share prices and a 'year of reckoning' for funds that track the Standard & Poor's 500 Index, of which the big technology stocks are a key component. RELATED ARTICLES Previous 1 Next ALLIANCE WITAN: Merger gives investment trust coveted place... Will the UK stock market be the one to back in 2025? Shares... Share this article Share HOW THIS IS MONEY CAN HELP How to choose the best (and cheapest) stocks and shares Isa and the right DIY investing account Unlike active funds such as Blue Whale Growth, such tracker or passive funds cannot reduce their exposure to the big tech giants ahead of any sell-off. 'They must hold the S&P 500,' he says. 'Maybe, next year, we could see a rejuvenation of investor interest in active funds generally.' Blue Whale Growth has exposure to the AI theme beyond the magnificent seven. It has key holdings in US companies Broadcom (its biggest holding) and Vertiv. 'Broadcom,' says Yiu, 'could be the new Nvidia in terms of outperforming the rest of the market.' Yet Yiu also has big stakes in companies that he describes as 'idiosyncratic' – businesses that should grow irrespective of the prevailing economic conditions. Among them is US-listed sports betting and gaming company Flutter which Yiu says is on a 'great journey' as more American states legalise sports gambling. 'American consumers like their sport and their gambling,' he adds. Other idiosyncratic holdings include German company Sartorius and US-listed Danaher, both making waves in bioprocessing. There is also US tobacco stock Philip Morris which has diversified into nicotine pouches and smoke-free alternatives to conventional cigarettes. Blue Whale Growth's success means, provided the fund finishes the year above £1billion, it will rebate one per cent of its annual management charge to investors. Most investors in this fund pay an annual management charge of 0.75 per cent, so the rebate will drop this fee to 0.7425 per cent. It will be cut by another one per cent if – 'when' (Yiu's word) – the fund gets to £2 billion. While three-quarters of the fund's assets are exposed to US-listed shares, only 40 per cent of the revenues generated by all the holdings are from the US. DIY INVESTING PLATFORMS AJ Bell AJ Bell Easy investing and ready-made portfolios Learn More Learn More Hargreaves Lansdown Hargreaves Lansdown Free fund dealing and investment ideas Learn More Learn More interactive investor interactive investor Flat-fee investing from £4.99 per month Learn More Learn More Saxo Saxo Get £200 back in trading fees Learn More Learn More Trading 212 Trading 212 Free dealing and no account fee Learn More Learn More Affiliate links: If you take out a product This is Money may earn a commission. These deals are chosen by our editorial team, as we think they are worth highlighting. This does not affect our editorial independence. Compare the best investing account for you Share or comment on this article: BLUE WHALE GROWTH: Fund's prediction... a fall in share prices of US big tech e-mail Add comment Some links in this article may be affiliate links. If you click on them we may earn a small commission. That helps us fund This Is Money, and keep it free to use. We do not write articles to promote products. We do not allow any commercial relationship to affect our editorial independence.The demands of achieving both one-day shipping and a satisfying orgasm collide in Halina Reijn’s “Babygirl,” a kinky and darkly comic erotic thriller about sex in the Amazon era. Nicole Kidman stars as Romy Mathis, the chief executive of Tensile, a robotics business that pioneered automotive warehouses. In the movie’s opening credits, a maze of conveyor belts and bots shuttle boxes this way and that without a human in sight. Romy, too, is a little robotic. She intensely presides over the company. Her eyes are glued to her phone. She gets Botox injections, practices corporate-speak presentations (“Look up, smile and never show your weakness”) and maintains a floor-through New York apartment, along with a mansion in the suburbs that she shares with her theater-director husband ( Antonio Banderas ) and two teenage daughters (Esther McGregor and Vaughan Reilly). But the veneer of control is only that in “Babygirl,” a sometimes campy, frequently entertaining modern update to the erotically charged movies of the 1990s, like “Basic Instinct” and “9 1⁄2 Weeks.” Reijn, the Danish director of “Bodies Bodies Bodies” has critically made her film from a more female point of view, resulting in ever-shifting gender and power dynamics that make “Babygirl” seldom predictable — even if the film is never quite as daring as it seems to thinks it is. RELATED COVERAGE The snubs and surprises in the 2025 Golden Globe nominations List of Golden Globe nominees ‘Emilia Pérez’ leads Golden Globe nominations with 10, followed by ‘The Brutalist’ and ‘Conclave’ The opening moments of “Babygirl,” which A24 releases Wednesday, are of Kidman in close-up and apparent climax. But moments after she and her husband finish and say “I love you,” she retreats down the hall to writhe on the floor while watching cheap, transgressive internet pornography. The breathy soundtrack, by the composer Cristobal Tapia de Veer, heaves and puffs along with the film’s main character. One day while walking into the office, Romy is taken by a scene on the street. A violent dog gets loose but a young man, with remarkable calmness, calls to the dog and settles it. She seems infatuated. The young man turns out to be Samuel (Harris Dickinson), one of the interns just starting at Tensile. When they meet inside the building, his manner with her is disarmingly frank. Samuel arranges for a brief meeting with Romy, during which he tells her, point blank, “I think you like to be told what to do.” She doesn’t disagree. Some of the same dynamic seen on the sidewalk, of animalistic urges and submission to them, ensues between Samuel and Romy. A great deal of the pleasure in “Babygirl” comes in watching Kidman, who so indelibly depicted uncompromised female desire in Stanley Kubrick’s “Eyes Wide Shut,” again wade into the mysteries of sexual hunger. “Babygirl,” which Reijn also wrote, is sometimes a bit much. (In one scene, Samuel feeds Romy saucers of milk while George Michael’s “Father Figure” blares.) But its two lead actors are never anything but completely magnetic. Kidman deftly portrays Romy as a woman falling helplessly into an affair; she both knows what she’s doing and doesn’t. Dickinson exudes a disarming intensity; his chemistry with Kidman, despite their quickly forgotten age gap, is visceral. As their affair evolves, Samuel’s sense of control expands and he begins to threaten a call to HR. That he could destroy her doesn’t necessarily make Romy any less interested in seeing him, though there are some delicious post-#MeToo ironies in their clandestine CEO-intern relationship. Also in the mix is Romy’s executive assistant, Esme (Sophie Wilde, also very good), who’s eager for her own promotion. Where “Babygirl” heads from here, I won’t say. But the movie is less interested in workplace politics than it is in acknowledging authentic desires, even if they’re a little ludicrous. There’s genuine tenderness in their meetings, no matter the games that are played. Late in the film, Samuel describes it as “two children playing.” As a kind of erotic parable of control, “Babygirl” is also, either fittingly or ironically, shot in the very New York headquarters of its distributor, A24. For a studio that’s sometimes been accused of having a “house style,” here’s a movie that goes one step further by literally moving in. What about that automation stuff earlier? Well, our collective submission to digital overloads might have been a compelling jumping-off point for the film, but along the way, not every thread gets unraveled in the easily distracted “Babygirl.” Saucers of milk will do that. “Babygirl,” an A24 release, is rated R by the Motion Picture Association for “strong sexual content, nudity and language.” Running time: 114 minutes. Three stars out of four.

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Napier man killed in fall from car remembered as loving father and beloved teammateThe Black Friday fun might have come to an end, but the deals keep on flowing. New Cyber Monday deals are upon us and they're about more than big-screen TVs and game consoles. This deal is very much for those of us who love the outdoors, with Amazon selling the Solo Stove Bonfire 2.0 for just $196. Solo Stove is responsible for some of the best firepits around, and Amazon's Cyber Monday sale saves you $149 off the original asking price. Act soon, as there's no telling when this deal will come to an end. The good news is that this is a deal that doesn't ask you to jump through any hoops. There are no coupons to clip or discount codes to enter and all you have to do is place your order before it's too late. Hey, did you know? CNET Deals texts are free, easy and save you money. You definitely won't want to miss out. This firepit comes in at 19.5 inches and features a removable ash pan to make it super easy to clean. The whole thing is portable as well, while the stainless steel construction adds a touch of shiny class to your yard. Solo Stove says that this firepit is designed to be ideal for up to six people and because it's smokeless you won't find yourself coughing up soot after your outdoor fun. Why this deal matters It's easy to think that Black Friday and Cyber Monday are all about tech, but it's important to remember that isn't the case. This deal is a prime example of a discount that helps you spend more time with your family and friends, and outside to boot. And who doesn't like saving money?

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Make changes 'proactively'MUMBAI: Mumbai owes its megacity status to its port; there’s even a theory that its name draws from ‘Bom Bahia’ or ‘beautiful bay’. And yet, this hallmark in the city’s history has been out of bounds to its people. Security concerns and stringent regulations mean that all but a very few are barred. But the winds of change are blowing at last. From Saturday to Friday, The Heritage Project, in collaboration with the Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT), will take around 1,500 people, in batches, on a tour of the port. Here, visitors will view the vast expanse where ships not only dock but undergo various phases of their lifecycle, getting a glimpse into an institution that has shaped the maritime and trade landscape of the city and the country, at large. The first stop will be the dry docks. “This is where ships are built and repaired. Currently, three ships – a cruise ship and two coast guard ships are under maintenance,” said R D Tripathi, CEO of Mumbai Port Sustainability Foundation (MPSF), the sustainability arm of the MbPT. Smaller ships continue to be built at the Mumbai port, and even some ship-breaking takes place here, although the Alang ship breaking yard in Gujarat is where most ships are dismantled, Tripathi said. Next up are the cruise landing spots, from where many a first-time visitor sets foot in Mumbai. “The terminal for international cruises is near the Green Gate. There is a newer terminal, currently under construction, which will be opened in six months. It will be able to handle 5,000 passengers per ship at a time,” said Tripathi, adding that two floors of this terminal will be open to the public during these tours. But the Mumbai port is all about cargo. According to the MbPT website, 2,014 cargo vessels docked here during FY2023-24. This involved handling a record 67.26 million tonnes of cargo. During this time, only 118 cruise ships docked at the port, 27 of them international and 91 domestic. Critical raw materials needed to build and run the city are offloaded at the Mumbai port. “Liquid bulk, which is petroleum, gasoline and other chemicals, arrive in tankers. They are unloaded and stored at the Jawahar Dweep Oil Terminal and Pir Pau. They are then transported through pipelines to factories and refineries in Mumbai and beyond,” he explained. “Fertilisers and cement are also received. Service offshore vessels are frequent visitors, arriving to stock up on fuel and manpower for offshore drilling vessels.” While the port’s cargo handling is on the rise, a milestone decision was taken in the 1970s, Tripathi says, with an air of mystery. “In its current form, the port has been in development since the 1600s. It was only when the (colonial) British government realised the need for regulation and structure that they notified the MbPT in 1873,” said Tripathi, taking a dive into history. “The 1950s saw the start of containerisation – where goods were not shipped in gunny bags or individually as ‘break bulk’ but in containers. By then, Mumbai had come into its own. So, by the ’70s, the port decided to stop handling containers. It continues to handle other types of cargo.” Tripathi said the decision was meant to prevent the city from being burdened by trucks carrying containers, which would weigh heavily on traffic and the city’s streets. Similarly, to reduce pollution, the MbPT stopped handling coal. The Nava Sheva port, now the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust in Navi Mumbai, is the landing spot for most goods. Apart from incoming cargo, Tripathi said the Mumbai port also handles cargo that is exported, in particular, cars, heavy machinery and steel. Those who sign up for the tours will also visit other functional spaces, such as warehouses, godowns, ship berths and watch towers, alongside a war memorial, and a memorial commemorating firefighters who lost their lives in the ship 1944 explosion at the dockyard. The tour ends with a visit to a traditional vessel from the Netherlands currently stationed here, the three-masted clipper, Stad Amsterdam. The tour, however, is all sold out. But, as Tripathi and The Heritage Project say, this is only the first step in a phased opening of a key to Mumbai’s history. More to come!

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Over the last few weeks, fans have been treated to a couple of "snow globe" games. While it's fun to watch these games, games with heavy precipitation or wind can be devastating for the weekly fantasy value of receivers and non-rushing quarterbacks. Keeping an eye on games that may have inclement weather is crucial for fantasy managers. Before we get into the Week 15 forecasts, here's a reminder that if you have any questions about sports weather or how the weather could impact play (and potentially your fantasy, DFS, and sports betting decisions), don't hesitate to reach out to RotoGrinders' meteorologist Kevin Roth on Twitter ( @KevinRothWx ) or check out the hourly NFL weather forecasts on RotoGrinders. To take your game to the next level, subscribe to RotoGrinders' exclusive WeatherEdge tool and see how different weather conditions have impacted historical scoring. Note: If a game isn't mentioned below, it's because it doesn't have 10+-mph winds, a 20+-percent chance of precipitation, or extreme temperatures in the forecast. WEEK 15 FANTASY FOOTBALL RANKINGS QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/ST | Kickers Week 15 NFL weather forecast and updates Los Angeles Rams at San Francisco 49ers Per Kevin Roth: "Scattered light rain showers are possible, but it doesn’t look like a total washout." Cincinnati Bengals at Tennessee Titans Per Kevin Roth: "Off and on showers could play a minor role here. Will need to be closer to kickoff to get a better feel for rain timing." Week 15 FANTASY FOOTBALL ROSTER MANAGEMENT Lessons Learned | Stock Watch | Sleepers | Busts | Start 'Em, Sit 'Em | Usage Report | Flex Finder Kansas City Chiefs at Cleveland Browns Per Kevin Roth: " A bit of rain, a bit of wind, but not a ton of either. Scattered showers look fairly likely, winds winds sustained around 15mph gusting to 25mph. Neither is a huge issue, but the combination of some wind and some rain is a slight bump down to the passing attack of both teams." Baltimore Ravens at New York Giants No matter which way you look at it, this game is going to get ugly. The Ravens are favored by two touchdowns, and there is a 40 percent chance of rain in this one. If there is rainfall throughout the game, expect the Ravens and Giants to lean on their rushing attacks to a higher degree. Dallas Cowboys at Carolina Panthers After spending four of their last five games in Jerry's World, the Cowboys will be traveling to Carolina to play in the elements. There's a chance for showers during this NFC matchup with forecasts currently setting the probability at 40 percent. This could change, so check back for updates as the game draws closer. Pittsburgh Steelers at Philadelphia Eagles The battle for Pennsylvania could involve some precipitation; current forecasts set the chance of rain at 50 percent. The Steelers and Eagles are already two of the most run-heavy teams in the NFL, so they would have no problem turning to Najee Harris and Saquon Barkley in this one. Don't be surprised if the rain turns this into a gritty matchup revolving around each team's rushing attack and defense. Green Bay Packers at Seattle Seahawks Unsurprisingly, it could be rainy in Seattle this weekend. The Seahawks will host the Packers on Sunday Night Football and Kevin Roth expects there to be off-and-on rain throughout the game. While it may be raining, Roth expects the rain to be light.The standard Lorem Ipsum passage, used since the 1500s "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. 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BOZEMAN, Mont. (AP) — Tommy Mellott threw for 300 yards and four touchdowns and top-seeded Montana State tied a school record with its 13th straight win, dominating Tennessee-Martin 49-17 on Saturday in the second round of the FCS playoffs. Scottre Humphrey ran for 102 yards and a touchdown, one of three rushing touchdowns for the Bobcats (13-0), who are home next weekend against the winner of Saturday’s late game between Lehigh and eighth-seeded Idaho. MSU, which has scored at least 30 points in every game this season, won 13 games in 1975-76. Mellott threw for 178 yards and three touchdowns in the first half and the Bobcats rolled to a 28-10 lead. Mellott had touchdown passes of 24 yards to Hunter Provience and 12 yards to Taco Dowler in the first quarter and 39 yards to Ty McCullouch in the second. McCullouch also had a 6-yard touchdown run. The pass to McCullouch ended a six-play, 73-yard drive that took just 53 seconds, and came immediately after Trevonte Rucker took a pass from Kinkead Dent 78 yards to the end zone that made it 21-10. The Bobcats only allowed only 10 total points in the first half of home games in the regular season. Humphrey had a 36-yard TD run and Mellott hit Dowler for a 29-yard score in the third quarter Adam Jones contributed a 30-yard scoring run in the fourth. Mellott finished 22-of-25 passing and the Bobcats had 501 total yards. Dent threw for 167 yards and two touchdowns, both to Rucker, who had six receptions for 107 yards. The Skyhawks (9-6) finished with 264 yards. ___ AP college football: and . Sign up for the AP’s college football newsletter:

Why GTA 6's Second Trailer Hasn't Been Announced, According to Ex-Rockstar Dev - IGN Daily Fix In today's Daily Fix:It's been more than a year since the first official trailer for Grand Theft Auto 6, and we've seen practically zilch from that game since. That hasn't stopped GTA fans from creating insane theories, however, but according to one ex-Rockstar dev, that's all part of the plan. Apparently Rockstar knows how rabid of a fanbase they have, and they enjoy seeing their fans keep the discussion going without Rockstar having to lift so much as a finger. In related news, a former Sony exec admitted that PlayStation's timed exclusivity with the GTA 3 Trilogy was because they were scared of Xbox. In other news, Hazelight Studios' new game has reportedly leaked, and Ubisoft is looking to structure a possible buyout without the Guillemot family losing control.

Parades, fireworks and visits with Santa are on the agenda for cities across Johnson County in December. The Cleburne Railroaders will host Breakfast with Santa from 10 a.m. to noon Dec. 14 at La Moderna Field, 1906 Brazzle Blvd. Tickets are $5 each and include breakfast. Drinks are available for purchase. Get photos with Santa and pick your seats for the 2025 season. Experience the magic of a hometown holiday until Jan. 5 at Hulen Park and throughout historic Downtown Cleburne during Whistle Stop Christmas. One of Cleburne’s most beloved holiday traditions is Saturday’s lighted parade and festivities at Hulen Park. There will be food and gift vendors, children’s train rides ($3 per rider) and a Live Nativity Scene presented by First Baptist Church from 5-9 p.m. The parade staging is between Hillsboro and Main Street south of Westhill Drive and north of Country Club Road. The parade will begin at South Main and First streets, proceed to Third and Caddo, then head north to North Caddo and Brown. It will turn left and travel behind the Layland Museum, then head south on North Main to South Main and Westhill. Entries will then return to the start. Prizes will be presented for Best Mounted Entry, Best Illuminated, Best Christmas Theme and Favorite Vehicle. Before and after the parade, enjoy the festivities at Hulen Park from 5-9 p.m. featuring food and gift vendors, a Live Nativity Scene presented by First Baptist Church of Cleburne, Children’s Train Rides for $3 per rider and after the parade pictures with Santa and Mrs. Claus for $3 with your personal device. The train rides, sponsored by Grandview Bank, will also be offered from 6-9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays through Dec. 21, and the million-light display will remain up in Hulen Park and downtown Cleburne through Jan. 5. The schedule of events are subject to change or cancel for inclement weather. Bring your family to celebrate the magic and share a memorable Christmas experience at #WhistleStopCleburne. For information, visit visitcleburne.com/wschristmas or call the Cleburne Chamber office at 817-645-2455. Other Cleburne festivities The Cleburne Kiwanis Club and Camp Fire Heart of Texas are teaming up again for the Pancake Breakfast with Santa and Santa House. The event runs from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. Saturday at Cleburne High School. The breakfast includes pancakes, bacon and sausage. There will be a Christmas market and other vendors. Also stop by for a picture with Santa Claus. The cost is $7 for ages 12 and up, $3 for children under 12. Tickets can be purchased at the door. At Santa House, Camp Fire members and volunteers will help children shop for Christmas for their family and friends. The gifts are homemade and affordable. Cowboy Christmas on the Trail returns for the fourth year running Dec. 14-15 to the Chisholm Trail Outdoor Museum. Performances are scheduled for 3 p.m., 5 p.m., 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. each of those days. Tickets cost $10 for adults, $8 for children, seniors and military. CTOM invites you to experience a ride on a covered wagon through different scenes and listen to the Legends of Texas re-enact life’s during Christmas on the Trail. Food trucks, vendors, shopping, Cowboy Claus and more. Following the tour, which takes about an hour, participants gather at Winter Wonderland in CTOM’s Star Pavilion. In addition to a fireplace serenade from Cowboy Claus, food trucks will be on hand as will hand-selected vendors selling a variety of items including ornaments and other Christmas decorations. From Dec. 18-21, the Chisholm Trail Museum invites visitors to walk or drive through and look at lights and decorations at the museum. The museum is open from 4-10 p.m. daily. Enjoy free hot chocolate, cider, giveaways, a s’mores station and more. For more information, visit chisholmtrailoutdoormuseum.com . The Hearts of Gold Circle with King’s Daughters and Sons will host its annual Christmas House from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday at a new location, Bird’s Nest on the Square, 214 E. Chambers St. The circle uses the funds to provide shoes, coats, medication, eye glasses and school supplies, to name a few items, for the children in the Cleburne schools. The circle also helps with electric bills, water bills and groceries when necessary. The needs are determined with the help of school counselors. The circle will personalize ornaments and other purchases with names, years, etc. The event features a bake sale, raffle, silent auction and pictures with Santa. Also new this year is the Candy Cane Lane. Christmas House brings people from all over the county together for a good cause. For more information, visit the Kings Daughters Hearts of Gold Circle Facebook page. Come have Donuts with Santa and make crafts together on Dec. 14 at Cleburne State Park, 5800 Park Road 21. The event, which is hosted by Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6872, begins at 9 a.m. at Cedar Lodge. Attendees will also make crafts and more. This event is free with park admission of $6 per person 13 and older. It is a good idea to make reservations online ahead of time because of capacity limits. For information, visit tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/cleburne . There are numerous opportunities to celebrate the holidays with your family, whether it be Christmas caroling at a church or shopping at a Holiday Market. Here’s a look at some of the other events happening in Cleburne during Whistle Stop Christmas. Buffalo Creek Fellowship hosts the eighth annual Trail of Campfires on from 5-9:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Johnson County Sheriff’s Posse Grounds, 1315 S. Main St. in Cleburne. The free community event is a guided tour of the life of Jesus along a trail of campfires. Activities include refreshments, live Christmas music, Christmas hay rides, animal petting zoo and Christmas photo opportunities. Take a guided tour by Mary of the life of Jesus Christ. The event is held indoors and outdoors, rain or shine. Dress warmly. For information, call 817-357-9843 or visit buffalocreekfellowship.faith. Cleburne Bible Church hosts “Follow the Star: A Live Christmas Experience” from 6-9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at 930 N. Nolan River Road. It will take you on a journey back through the birth, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ in a live outdoor presentation. Follow the journey of Christ through nine stops, finishing with a Christmas carol sing-a-long with coffee, hot chocolate and cookies. For information, visit cleburnebible.org . Save Old Cleburne is hosting a Holiday Market from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at JN Long Cultural Arts Center, 408 W. Heard St. in Cleburne. Vendor booths of 8-foot by 8-foot are available for $40 each. The Grinch will be there as well. Enjoy Sip N Shop Wine with holiday shopping from 4-8 p.m. Dec. 12 at Songbird Live, 210 E. Henderson St. The City of Cleburne presents “Holiday Hoopla” at 5 p.m. Dec. 14 at Hulen Park, 337 W. Westhill Drive in Cleburne. Activities include Yuletide Ride (a children’s bike parade), holiday activities with the Cleburne Parks and Recreation Department, crafts, reindeer, story time with the Cleburne Public Library, holiday photo opportunities, cookies and more. Downtown Cleburne presents “Shop the Block” from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Dec. 21. Sip, Shop & Stroll downtown Cleburne shops for some Christmas shopping offering special promotions, refreshments and more. Grab your mom, daughters, girlfriends and come down and shop Historic Downtown. Alvarado An enchanting evening is promised when the city of Alvarado presents its “Magical Old Town Christmas” event on Friday. The extravaganza is from 6-9 p.m. in the festive Town Square in Old Town Alvarado. Horse-drawn carriage rides, delicious foods and hot cocoa to keep participants warm are just a few of the delights. “And the highlight of the night will be Alvarado Projects and Event Committee’s annual Christmas parade,” Events Manager Jules Vincent-Rosen said. “It’s always just brimming with festive floats as our joyful carolers fill the night with holiday cheer.” Alvarado’s 2024 Citizen of the Year will serve as the grand marshal for the parade. “We will be doing something different this year by kicking off the parade from Reunion Drive and proceeding to the historic Town Square,” APEC Treasurer Jameye Jones said. Santa’s elves will be on hand for crafts and treats, a Christmas market will feature local artisans, and a petting zoo will showcase the North Pole’s finest furry friends. Kids (and the young-at-heart) will be able to send letters to Santa — just before getting to meet him in person. For information, email communications@cityofalvaarado.org . Burleson Burleson has numerous opportunities to celebrate this holiday season. The first event is Breakfast with Santa from 7-11 a.m. Saturday at Russell Farm Art Center, 405 W. CR 714. Guests will enjoy a pancake breakfast, making holiday crafts, and of course, visiting Santa himself. Don’t forget to bring your camera to capture all the fun. Space is limited and you will need to choose your start time. Each time slot is 30 minutes and the earliest available is 7 a.m. Cost is $5 or children ages 3-12, $7 for ages 13 and up and free for children under 2. Families are also invited to get into the Christmas spirit at Russell Farm Art Center with Christmas lights, hot beverages and music from 6-8 p.m. Dec. 11-14. Celebrate a country Christmas with from 3-6 p.m. Dec. 14 at the farm. The festivities include pictures with a donkey wearing antlers, Christmas craft stations, a Children’s Entrepreneur Market, and additional Christmas-related activities. Make sure to bring your camera to capture all the holiday fun! Christmas at the Library is from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday at Burleson Public Library, 248 S.W. Johnson Ave. Enjoy refreshments, a holiday scavenger hunt, gift and craft stations and more. Santa needs helpers everywhere, and the Burleson Recreation Center is happy to help. From 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, parents can drop off their children, ages 6-12, for the afternoon while they get some shopping done. Games, activities and crafts are planned. Lunch is not provided. Cost is $20 for BRiCk members and $25 for nonmembers. The Burleson Rotary Club hosts the annual lighted Christmas parade on Saturday, followed by the city’s tree lighting and drone show. The parade begins at 6 p.m., followed by the tree lighting and drone show at 8 p.m. Singers and dancers entertain the crowd while Santa breaks away from the parade and makes his way to the city stage. The Mayor Vera Calvin Plaza will dazzle with Christmas splendor when the 34-foot-tall Christmas tree, covered with more than 20,000 lights, is turned on by Santa and his helpers. The tree features an interactive Santa’s cabin at the base, creating a perfect backdrop for festive photos. Make sure to stay and watch the spectacular drone show, featuring magical Christmas displays set to holiday music. Come to Mayor Vera Calvin Plaza for a special Holiday Farmers Market from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Dec. 14 at Mayor Vera Calvin Plaza, 141 W. Renfro St. There will be strolling characters in the Plaza, horse carriage rides, pictures with Santa, a holiday bounce house and over 80 vendors to shop. You can also fill Santa’s cabin with Toys for Tots: Bring a new, unwrapped toy to drop off with U.S. Marines on-site. Catch the Grinch strolling around to take free photos with him. Thanks to the Old Town Business Association, you can take free horse-drawn carriage rides during the day and enjoy the festive atmosphere in Old Town this December. Rides are provided by T&T Ranch & Carriages. Join the Burleson Senior Center for their holiday craft fair from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dec. 14 at 216 S.W. Johnson Ave. Local vendors will be showcasing their sewn creations, art, jewelry and other handmade items. Buy one-of-a-kind handmade Christmas gifts and stocking stuffers. Local vendors will be showcasing their sewn creations, art, jewelry and other handmade items. Be sure to bring some cash, as not all vendors take cards. Godley The city of Godley and Godley Chamber of Commerce hosts Holiday in the Park from 5-9 p.m. Friday. The evening begins with the lighted parade at 5 p.m. To enter, email michelle.clore@godleytx.gov . Enjoy holiday vendors, ornament decorating, cookie decorating, a trackless train with station and conductor, the Sugar Rush Slide, tree lighting, photos with Santa, music, food and fun to get the holiday season started in Godley. Grandview Grandview’s Christmas festivities will be held Dec. 14. The Grandview Christmas Parade of Lights begins at 6 p.m. in conjunction with other activities and celebrations sponsored by the Greater Grandview Chamber of Commerce and the City of Grandview (and EDC Type B Board). All groups, clubs, organizations, businesses, churches, neighborhoods and more are invited to light up the night with a parade entry. Prizes will be given for best theme ideas, best use of lights and best creative ideas. Parade judges will be hidden in plain sight along the parade route looking for winners. Parade entry is $10 and is due by Monday to ensure placement in the route and judging. Every entry must have a Christmas theme of some type and be lighted in some way. There will be one Santa as provided by the Grandview chamber (more than one Santa is confusing for children). No other parade entries may have a Santa. Parade Prizes for the following categories: • Best Christmas Theme • Best Lighting • Most Creative After the parade, festivities will be held from 6:30-8 p.m. at Firefly Stage, 301 E. Criner St. Enjoy live music, pictures with Santa, a hot chocolate bar, games and crafts. For information, visit gvtxchamber.com Joshua Joshua’s Christmas on Main returns from 3-7:30 p.m. Saturday. Enjoy local vendors, a parade and fre pictures with Santa in downtown Joshua. The Guys provide live entertainment. The theme for the parade is “Christmas Movies Come to Life.” Staging begins at 5 p.m. at Joshua Methodist Church and the parade kicks off at 6 p.m. Entry is $10 or an unwrapped toy valued at $10. Donations go to Kaleigh’s Sleigh, which returns to NorthPointe Church on Dec. 14. Volunteers will unload toys from 5-8 p.m. Dec. 12 and set up from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 13. Shopping day is Dec. 14, which morning and afternoon shifts available. Keene A longtime Keene ISD school board president is the grand marshal and another resident who does multiple good deeds is parade marshal for the 28th annual Keene Christmas Light Parade at 6:30 p.m. Saturday in Keene. The parade will be followed by a fireworks show. The parade and fireworks are presented by the Keene Business Development Corporation Type B board, the Keene Economic Development Corporation Type B board and Oliver Technologies, Pinnacle Bank, and many community partners. Anything with wheels, feet, or hooves, adorned with Christmas lights and is consistent with the theme, “The Reason We Celebrate This Season,” is welcome to participate. Parade staging is at the Leiske-Pultar Gymnasium parking lot at Old Betsy Road and Magnolia Street on the campus of Southwestern Adventist University. Clem Hobbs, who served on the Keene ISD school board for 20 years, including eight as president during construction of the high school, is Grand Marshal. Hobbs received the Pioneer Award in October presented by the Keene Chamber of Commerce as a resident who has contributed positively to Keene. Nathalie “Nathy” Regmund is Parade Marshal. As a volunteer, she is manager of the food pantry located outside the Keene Adventist Church. Daily she keeps the pantry stocked with food supplies that are free to area residents. Parade entry fee is $10 per float and can be paid on site at the registration booth. The fireworks show will immediately follow the parade. The show will be presented west of the Duck Pond at Callicott Student Park. According to organizers, the best place to watch the fireworks is from the Leiske-Pultar parking lot or the embankment along Old Betsy Road between Magnolia and Campus Drive. Parade entrants who want to be judged and be eligible for prizes should be in position at 5 p.m. in the Leiske-Pultar parking lot. Judging begins at 5:15 p.m. All entrants should enter the gymnasium parking lot on Magnolia Street. The parade starts at the Leiske-Pultar parking lot and goes west on Magnolia to Old Betsy Road, south on Old Betsy to Hillcrest, east on Hillcrest to Mockingbird, south on Mockingbird to Fourth, west on Fourth to Old Betsy, and north on Old Betsy back to the Leiske-Pultar parking lot. First-place trophies will be awarded in the following categories: • Best lighted vehicle • Best lighted float • Best animal entry • Best business entry • Best children’s entry • Best Pathfinder club • Best Adventurer club • Best antique entry • Most unique entry One entry will be awarded Best Overall and will receive a trophy. The parade is organized by the Keene Chamber of Commerce. Other sponsors are KTH Transportation, Texas Health Huguley Hospital, Texas Adventist Conference, Southwestern Adventist University, Cleburne Ford, Hopps Automotive, United Cooperative Services, Bob’s Rural Garbage Service, Crest Water, Edward Jones Office of David Sykes, Gillin Realty, Hewlett Office Systems, Keene Pharmacy, Town Hall Estates, and Putnam Service/Lennox. In the event of cancellation due to inclement weather, the parade will be at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 15. For parade entry information, call the chamber office at 817-556-2995. (c)2024 the Clinton Herald (Clinton, Iowa) Visit the Clinton Herald (Clinton, Iowa) at clintonherald.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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IDT’s income from operations +38% to $23.6 million; Adjusted EBITDA * +31% to a record $29.1 million GAAP EPS increased to $0.68 from $0.30; Non-GAAP EPS * increased to $0.71 from $0.32 NEWARK, NJ, Dec. 04, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- IDT Corporation (NYSE: IDT), a global provider of fintech, cloud communications, and traditional communications solutions, today reported results for its first quarter fiscal year 2025, the three months ended October 31, 2024. FIRST QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS (Throughout this release, unless otherwise noted, results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2025 (1Q25) are compared to the first quarter of fiscal year 2024 (1Q24). All earnings per share (EPS) and other ‘per share’ results are per diluted share.) Key Businesses / Segments NRS Recurring revenue ** : +29% to $28.9 million; Income from operations: +21% to $6.6 million; Adjusted EBITDA: +22% to $7.6 million; BOSS Money / Fintech BOSS Money revenue: +39% to $33.7 million; Fintech segment revenue : +40% to $37.1 million; Fintech segment income from operations: increased to $3.2 million compared to a loss of $(1.4) million; Fintech segment Adjusted EBITDA: increased to $4.0 million compared to a loss of $(690) thousand; net2phone Subscription revenue ** : +13% to $21.0 million; Income from operations: increased to $1.0 million compared to breakeven; Adjusted EBITDA: +77% to $2.5 million; Traditional Communications Revenue: decreased (4)% to $220.5 million; Income from operations: +2% to $15.7 million; Adjusted EBITDA: decreased (1)% to $17.8 million; IDT Consolidated Revenue : +3% to $309.6 million, driven by revenue growth at NRS, BOSS Money, net2phone, and the IDT Digital Payments business within Traditional Communications; Gross profit (GP) / margin : GP +15% to $107.6 million; GP margin +360 bps to 34.8%; Income from operations: +38% to $23.6 million; Net income attributable to IDT: +125% to $17.2 million; GAAP EPS: Increased to $0.68 from $0.30; Non-GAAP EPS : Increased to $0.71from $0.32; Adjusted EBITDA: +31% to $29.1 million; Repurchased 37,714 shares of IDT Class B common stock in market transactions for $1.3 million. REMARKS BY SHMUEL JONAS, CEO “Building on our momentum from fiscal 2024, IDT delivered strong financial results in the first quarter of fiscal 2025, including record levels of gross profit, gross profit margin and Adjusted EBITDA. Consolidated revenue has now increased sequentially for three consecutive quarters. NRS along with our Fintech segment powered by BOSS Money, and net2phone each achieved robust increases in revenue, gross profit, and Adjusted EBITDA. “At NRS, we are focused on providing solutions to address the needs of our independent retailer market while heavily investing to develop new products and services to broaden our addressable market. In Q1, we continued to achieve increased adoption rates on our payment processing offerings and SaaS feature plans. We look forward to continuing this momentum through the remainder of the fiscal year. “BOSS Money’s Q1 results reflected our decision to enhance margins, particularly within our retail channel. As a result, BOSS Money’s gross margin expanded significantly and transaction growth slowed somewhat. The enhanced margins boosted Fintech’s Q1 income from operations by $4.6 million year-over-year, and in November, following the quarter close, transaction growth rebounded led by D2C. “net2phone increased seats served to over four hundred thousand, driving a 13% increase in subscription revenue, despite the negative FX impact to its Latin American operations from the strong US dollar. net2phone’s financial discipline also contributed to healthy increases in income from operations and Adjusted EBITDA. “In the Traditional Communications segment, our ongoing efforts to streamline these business units and improve their economics continue to pay off. In Q1, the year over year revenue decrease was 4%, while income from operations increased by 2%." 1Q25 RESULTS BY SEGMENT National Retail Solutions (NRS) NRS Take-Aways / Updates: NRS added approximately 1,000 net active terminals during Q1, a decrease in net adds compared to recent quarters. The decrease primarily reflects elevated (and expected, as noted in IDT’s 4Q24 earnings release) - seasonal churn. In addition, NRS added approximately 1,400 net payment processing accounts during the quarter. The 51% increase in Merchant Services & Other revenue was driven by the growth in payment processing accounts, and higher merchant services revenue per account, driven in part by the increased percentage of retail transactions paid with a credit or debit card. The 30% increase in SaaS Fees revenue reflects the growth of net active terminals and migration of retailers to premium SaaS plans. Fintech Fintech Take-Aways: BOSS Money revenue increased 39% driven primarily by successful cross-marketing initiatives within the larger BOSS ecosystem and, to a lesser extent, by expansion of the retail agent network. The increase in BOSS Money transactions reflected a 41% increase in digital transactions and a 29% increase in retail transactions. Across both channels, and particularly in the retail channel, BOSS Money focused during Q1 on expanding gross margin per transaction, which contributed to a 45% increase in the Fintech segment’s gross profit even as year-over-year transaction growth at Retail slowed. The strong increases in Fintech’s income from operations and Adjusted EBITDA were driven by BOSS Money revenue growth, higher margin on BOSS Money transactions and improved operating leverage as the business continues to scale. net2phone net2phone Take-Aways: Seats served increased by 11% year over year powered by continued expansion in key markets led by the U.S., Brazil, and Mexico. CCaaS seats served increased by 19% year-over year. Subscription revenue increased by 13% year-over-year driven both by the growth in seats served and in the subscription revenue-per-seat * * , as net2phone’s higher revenue-per-seat CCaaS offering continues to grow as a percentage of total seats served. These factors overcame the negative FX impact of a strengthened US dollar versus local currencies in net2phone’s key Latin American markets. Excluding the translation FX impact, subscription revenue increased by 16% year-over-year. Operating margin * * increased to +5% from break even in 1Q24, and Adjusted EBITDA margin * * increased to 12% from 7%. Traditional Communications Take-Aways: The year-over-year increase in IDT Digital Payments’ revenue largely reflects improved unit pricing economics. IDT Global continues to mitigate the impacts of the ongoing industry-wide declines in paid-minute voice through a traffic mix shift to higher margin routes and operational efficiencies. For the second consecutive quarter, both income from operations and Adjusted EBITDA for Traditional Communications increased, driven by both improved pricing at IDT Digital Payments and decreases in SG&A and Technology & Development expense, following significant cost cutting and streamlining initiatives undertaken during FY 2024. OTHER FINANCIAL RESULTS Consolidated results for all periods presented include corporate overhead. In 1Q25, Corporate G&A expense was $2.9 million compared to $2.8 million in 1Q24. As of October 31, 2024, IDT held $180.4 million in cash, cash equivalents, debt securities, and current equity investments, a decrease from $193.0 million at July 31, 2024. The decrease predominantly reflects the timing of payments made by IDT to cover anticipated BOSS Money disbursement prefunding. Also at July 31, 2024, current assets totaled $431.7 million and current liabilities totaled $269.8 million. The Company had no outstanding debt at the quarter end. Net cash provided by operating activities decreased to $0.2 million in 1Q25 from $14.9 million in 1Q24. Exclusive of changes in customer funds deposits at IDT’s Fintech segment, net cash provided by operating activities was negative $(2.6) million in 1Q25 and positive $17.9 million in 1Q24. Capital expenditures increased to $5.3 million in 1Q25 from $4.3 million in 1Q24. IDT EARNINGS ANNOUNCEMENT INFORMATION This release is available for download in the “Investors & Media” section of the IDT Corporation website ( https://www.idt.net/investors-and-media ) and has been filed on a current report (Form 8-K) with the SEC. IDT will host an earnings conference call beginning at 5:30 PM Eastern today with management’s discussion of results followed by Q&A with investors. To listen to the call and participate in the Q&A, dial 1-888-506-0062 (toll-free from the US) or 1-973-528-0011 (international) and provide the following access code: 335618. A replay of the conference call will be available approximately three hours after the call concludes through December 18, 2024. To access the call replay, dial 1-877-481-4010 (toll-free from the US) or 1-919-882-2331 (international) and provide this replay passcode: 51571. The replay will also be accessible via streaming audio at the IDT investor relations website . NOTES * Adjusted EBITDA and Non-GAAP EPS are Non-GAAP financial measures intended to provide useful information that supplements IDT’s or the relevant segment’s results in accordance with GAAP. Please refer to the Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures later in this release for an explanation of these terms and their respective reconciliations to the most directly comparable GAAP measures. * * See ‘Explanation of Key Performance Metrics’ at the end of this release. ABOUT IDT CORPORATION IDT Corporation (NYSE: IDT) is a global provider of fintech and communications solutions through a portfolio of synergistic businesses: National Retail Solutions (NRS), through its point-of-sale (POS) platform, enables independent retailers to operate more effectively while providing advertisers and marketers with unprecedented reach into underserved consumer markets; BOSS Money facilitates innovative international remittances and fintech payments solutions; net2phone provides enterprises and organizations with intelligently integrated cloud communications and contact center services across channels and devices; IDT Digital Payments and the BOSS Revolution calling service make sharing prepaid products and services and speaking with friends and family around the world convenient and reliable; and, IDT Global and IDT Express enable communications services to provision and manage international voice and SMS messaging. All statements above that are not purely about historical facts, including, but not limited to, those in which we use the words “believe,” “anticipate,” “expect,” “plan,” “intend,” “estimate,” “target” and similar expressions, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. While these forward-looking statements represent our current judgment of what may happen in the future, actual results may differ materially from the results expressed or implied by these statements due to numerous important factors. Our filings with the SEC provide detailed information on such statements and risks and should be consulted along with this release. To the extent permitted under applicable law, IDT assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements. CONTACT IDT Corporation Investor Relations Bill Ulrey william.ulrey@idt.net 973-438-3838 IDT CORPORATION CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS IDT CORPORATION CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME (Unaudited) IDT CORPORATION CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (Unaudited) * Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures for the First Quarter Fiscal 202 5 and 202 4 In addition to disclosing financial results that are determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (GAAP), IDT also disclosed for 1Q25, 4Q24, and 1Q24, Adjusted EBITDA, and for 1Q25 and 1Q24, non-GAAP earnings per diluted share (Non-GAAP EPS). Adjusted EBITDA and Non-GAAP EPS are non-GAAP financial measures intended to provide useful information that supplements IDT’s or the relevant segment’s results in accordance with GAAP. The following explains these terms and their respective reconciliations to the most directly comparable GAAP measures Generally, a non-GAAP measure is a numerical measure of a company’s performance, financial position, or cash flows that either excludes or includes amounts that are not normally excluded or included in the most directly comparable measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP. IDT’s measure of Non-GAAP EPS is calculated by dividing non-GAAP net income by the diluted weighted-average shares. IDT’s measure of non-GAAP net income starts with net income attributable to IDT in accordance with GAAP and adds severance expense, stock-based compensation, and other operating expenses, and deducts other operating gains. These additions and subtractions are non-cash and/or non-routine items in the relevant fiscal 2025 and fiscal 2024 periods. Management believes that IDT’s Adjusted EBITDA and Non-GAAP EPS are measures which provide useful information to both management and investors by excluding certain expenses and non-routine gains and losses that may not be indicative of IDT’s or the relevant segment’s core operating results. Management uses Adjusted EBITDA, among other measures, as a relevant indicator of core operational strengths in its financial and operational decision making. In addition, management uses Adjusted EBITDA and Non-GAAP EPS to evaluate operating performance in relation to IDT’s competitors. Disclosure of these financial measures may be useful to investors in evaluating performance and allows for greater transparency to the underlying supplemental information used by management in its financial and operational decision-making. In addition, IDT has historically reported similar financial measures and believes such measures are commonly used by readers of financial information in assessing performance, therefore the inclusion of comparative numbers provides consistency in financial reporting. Management refers to Adjusted EBITDA, as well as the GAAP measures income (loss) from operations and net income, on a segment and/or consolidated level to facilitate internal and external comparisons to the segments’ and IDT's historical operating results, in making operating decisions, for budget and planning purposes, and to form the basis upon which management is compensated. While depreciation and amortization are considered operating costs under GAAP, these expenses primarily represent the non-cash current period allocation of costs associated with long-lived assets acquired or capitalized in prior periods. IDT’s Adjusted EBITDA, which is exclusive of depreciation and amortization, is a useful indicator of its current performance. Severance expense is excluded from the calculation of Adjusted EBITDA and Non-GAAP EPS. Severance expense is reflective of decisions made by management in each period regarding the aspects of IDT’s and its segments’ businesses to be focused on in light of changing market realities and other factors. While there may be similar charges in other periods, the nature and magnitude of these charges can fluctuate markedly and do not reflect the performance of IDT’s core and continuing operations. Other operating gains (expense), net, which is a component of income (loss) from operations, is excluded from the calculation of Adjusted EBITDA and Non-GAAP EPS. Other operating gains (expense), net includes, among other items, legal fees net of insurance claims related to Straight Path Communications Inc.’s stockholders’ class action and gain from the write-off of a contingent consideration liability. From time-to-time, IDT may have gains or incur costs related to non-routine legal, tax, and other matters, however, these various items generally do not occur each quarter. IDT believes the gain and losses from these non-routine matters are not components of IDT’s or the relevant segment’s core operating results. Stock-based compensation recognized by IDT and other companies may not be comparable because of the variety of types of awards as well as the various valuation methodologies and subjective assumptions that are permitted under GAAP. Stock-based compensation is excluded from IDT’s calculation of Non-GAAP EPS because management believes this allows investors to make more meaningful comparisons of the operating results per share of IDT’s core business with the results of other companies. However, stock-based compensation will continue to be a significant expense for IDT for the foreseeable future and an important part of employees’ compensation that impacts their performance. Adjusted EBITDA and Non-GAAP EPS should be considered in addition to, not as a substitute for, or superior to, income (loss) from operations, cash flow from operating activities, net income, basic and diluted earnings per share or other measures of liquidity and financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP. In addition, IDT’s measurements of Adjusted EBITDA and Non-GAAP EPS may not be comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies. Following are reconciliations of Adjusted EBITDA and Non-GAAP EPS to the most directly comparable GAAP measure, which are, (a) for Adjusted EBITDA, income (loss) from operations for IDT’s reportable segments and net income for IDT on a consolidated basis, and (b) for Non-GAAP EPS, diluted earnings per share. IDT Corporation Reconciliation of Net Income to Adjusted EBITDA (unaudited) in millions. Figures may not foot or cross-foot due to rounding to millions IDT Corporation Reconciliation of Net Income to Adjusted EBITDA (unaudited) in millions. Figures may not foot or cross-foot due to rounding to millions IDT Corporation Reconciliation of Earnings per share to Non-GAAP EPS (unaudited) in millions, except per share data. Figures may not foot due to rounding to millions. * * Explanation of Key Performance Metrics NRS’ recurring revenue is calculated by subtracting NRS’ revenue from POS terminal sales from its revenue in accordance with GAAP. NRS’ Monthly Average Recurring Revenue per Terminal is calculated by dividing NRS’ recurring revenue by the average number of active POS terminals during the period. The average number of active POS terminals is calculated by adding the beginning and ending number of active POS terminals during the period and dividing by two. NRS’ recurring revenue divided by the average number of active POS terminals is divided by three when the period is a fiscal quarter. Recurring revenue and Monthly Average Recurring Revenue per Terminal are useful for comparisons of NRS’ revenue and revenue per customer to prior periods and to competitors and others in the market, as well as for forecasting future revenue from the customer base. BOSS Money’s Average Revenue per Transaction is calculated by dividing BOSS Money’s revenue in accordance with GAAP by the number of transactions during the period. Average Revenue per Transaction is useful for comparisons of BOSS Money’s revenue per transaction to prior periods and to competitors and others in the market, as well as for forecasting future revenue based on transaction trends. net2phone’s subscription revenue is calculated by subtracting net2phone’s equipment revenue and revenue generated by a legacy SIP trunking offering in Brazil from its revenue in accordance with GAAP. net2phone’s cloud communications and contact center offerings are priced on a per-seat basis, with customers paying based on the number of users in their organization. The number of seats served and subscription revenue trends and comparisons between periods are used in the analysis of net2phone’s revenues and direct cost of revenues and are strong indications of the top-line growth and performance of the business. net2phone’s subscription revenue per seat is calculated by dividing net2phone’s subscription revenue, as defined in the preceding paragraph, by the average number of seats served during the period. The average number of seats served is calculated by adding the beginning and ending number of seats served and dividing by two. Subscription revenue per seat is the amount of revenue generated by each seat sold during the period. It provides a basis for pricing seat-based services, as well as for comparing performance in past periods and projecting future revenue, and for comparing the value of each seat served to competitors. net2phone’s operating margin is calculated by dividing GAAP income from operations by GAAP revenue for the period indicated. Operating margin measures the percentage that each dollar of revenue contributes to profitability. Operating margin is useful for evaluating current period profitability relative to sales, for comparisons to prior period performance, for forecasting future income from operations levels based on projected levels of sales, and for comparing net2phone’s relative profitability to its competitors and peers. net2phone’s Adjusted EBITDA margin is calculated by dividing net2phone’s Adjusted EBITDA, a Non-GAAP measure, by net2phone’s GAAP revenue for the comparable quarter or period. Adjusted EBITDA margin measures the percentage that each dollar of revenue contributes to profitability before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, and other adjustments as described in the Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures. net2phone’s Adjusted EBITDA margin is useful for evaluating current period profitability relative to sales, for comparisons to prior period performance, for forecasting future Adjusted EBITDA levels based on projected levels of sales, and for comparing net2phone’s relative profitability to its competitors and peers. # # #

Insurgents reach gates of Syria’s capital, threatening to upend decades of Assad rule BEIRUT (AP) — A Syrian opposition war monitor and a pro-government media outlet say government forces have withdrawn from much of the central city of Homs. The pro-government Sham FM reported that government forces took positions outside Syria’s third-largest city, without elaborating. Rami Abdurrahman who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said Syrian troops and members of different security agencies have withdrawn from the city, adding that rebels have entered parts of it. Losing Homs is a potentially crippling blow for Syria’s embattled leader, Bashar Assad. An archbishop's knock formally restores Notre Dame to life as winds howl and heads of state look on PARIS (AP) — France’s iconic Notre Dame Cathedral has formally reopened its doors for the first time since a devastating fire nearly destroyed the 861-year-old landmark in 2019. The five-year restoration is widely seen as a boost for French President Emmanuel Macron, who championed the ambitious timeline, and brings a welcome respite from his domestic political woes. World leaders, dignitaries, and worshippers gathered on Saturday evening for the celebrations under the cathedral's soaring arches. The celebration was attended by 1,500 dignitaries, including President-elect Donald Trump, Britain’s Prince William, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. For Catholics, Notre Dame’s rector said the cathedral “carries the enveloping presence of the Virgin Mary, a maternal and embracing presence.′′ Trump is welcomed by Macron to Paris with presidential pomp and joined by Zelenskyy for their talks PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron has welcomed Donald Trump to Paris with a full dose of presidential pomp. And they held a hastily arranged meeting with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy on a day that's mixing pageantry with attention to pressing global problems. The president-elect's visit to France is part of a global a celebration of the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral five years after a devastating fire. Macron and other European leaders are trying to win Trump’s favor and persuade him to maintain support for Ukraine in its defense against Russia’s invasion. Trump isn't back in office but he's already pushing his agenda and negotiating with world leaders NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump is making threats, traveling abroad, and negotiating with world leaders. He has more than a month-and-a-half to go before he’s sworn in for a second term. But the president-elect is already moving aggressively to not only fill his Cabinet and outline policy goals, but also to try to achieve his priorities. In recent days, Trump has threatened to impose a 25% tariff on goods from Canada and Mexico, two of the country’s largest trading partners. That led to emergency calls and a visit. And he's warned of “ALL HELL TO PAY” if Hamas doesn't release the hostages still being held captive in Gaza. South Korea's president avoids an impeachment attempt over short-lived martial law SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s embattled President Yoon Suk Yeol has avoided an opposition-led attempt to impeach him over his short-lived imposition of martial law. Most of Yoon's ruling party lawmakers boycotted a parliamentary vote Saturday to deny a two-thirds majority needed to suspend his presidential powers. The scrapping of the motion is expected to intensify protests calling for Yoon’s ouster and deepen political chaos in South Korea. A survey suggests a majority of South Koreans support the president’s impeachment. Yoon’s martial law declaration drew criticism from his own ruling conservative People Power Party. But the party also apparently fears losing the presidency to liberals. Days after gunman killed UnitedHealthcare's CEO, police push to ID him and FBI offers reward NEW YORK (AP) — Nearly four days after the shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, police still do not know the gunman’s name or whereabouts or have a motive for the killing. But they have made some progress in their investigation into Wednesday's killing of the leader of the largest U.S. health insurer, including that the gunman likely left New York City on a bus soon after fleeing the scene. The also found that the gunman left something behind: a backpack that was discovered in Central Park. Police are working with the FBI, which on Friday night announced a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction. UnitedHealthcare CEO's shooting opens a door for many to vent frustrations over insurance The fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare's CEO has opened the door for many people to vent their frustrations and anger over the insurance industry. The feelings of exasperation, anger, resentment, and helplessness toward insurers aren’t new. But the shooting and the headlines around it have unleashed a new wave of patients sharing such sentiments and personal stories of interactions with insurance companies. Conversations at dinner tables, office water coolers, social gatherings and on social media have pivoted to the topic. Many say they hope the new amplified voices can bring about change for companies often accused of valuing profits over people. 2 Pearl Harbor survivors, ages 104 and 102, return to Hawaii to honor those killed in 1941 attack PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (AP) — The bombing of Pearl Harbor 83 years ago launched the United States into World War II. Two survivors returned to the Hawaii military base on Saturday for a remembrance ceremony on the attack's anniversary. Both are over 100 years old. They joined active-duty troops, veterans and members of the public for an observance hosted by the Navy and the National Park Service. A third survivor was planning to join them but had to cancel due to health issues. The bombing killed more than 2,300 U.S. servicemen. An explosion destroys an apartment block in a Dutch city, killing at least 3 and injuring others THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — An explosion and fire has rocked a neighborhood in the Dutch city of The Hague, killing three people and injuring other people and destroying several apartments. The cause of the disaster is unclear. Emergency authorities said four people were rescued from the rubble and taken to the hospital. The mayor said rescuers were no longer looking for survivors but for eventual bodies, but could not specify how many people might still be unaccounted for. Residents of the northeastern neighborhood of Mariahoeve in The Hague heard a huge bang and screams before dawn. Dutch authorities have deployed a specialized urban search and rescue team to find victims. How 'Mufasa' rose with Aaron Pierre and Blue Ivy's voices along with new Lin-Manuel Miranda music SAN DIEGO (AP) — When Aaron Pierre was cast as Mufasa, the weight of following in the late James Earl Jones’ legendary footsteps was enough to rattle any actor. But instead of letting the pressure roar too loudly, he harnessed his nerves to breathe fresh life into his young lion character. Pierre found parallels between himself and his character while filming his leading role in “Mufasa: The Lion King,” which opens in theaters Dec. 20. He took the reigns as the new voice of Mufasa after Jones played the iconic King Mufasa in both the 1994 and 2019 versions of Disney’s “The Lion King.” The prequel offers a fresh exploration into Mufasa’s origin story.Darragh brought gusts of close to 100mph, but the future threat may lie elsewhere

Shares of ASP Isotopes Inc. ($ASPI) were down over 15% in mid-day trading on Wednesday, tracking a third straight day of losses following short seller Fuzzy Panda’s accusations of fraud and failed technology. The advanced materials company responded saying that the report includes “speculative conjecture” and claims that are “inaccurate or filled with innuendo” in an attempt to mislead investors. ASP Isotopes also revealed that it is in the process of commissioning three isotope enrichment facilities in South Africa, rebutting Fuzzy Panda’s allegations of failed technology. The first facility will enrich Carbon-14 for use in healthcare and agrochemicals, while the second will enrich Silicon-28, which the company believes will enable faster, more efficient semiconductors for use in artificial intelligence and quantum computing. The third facility is scheduled to enrich Ytterbium-176, a critically important raw material used in the production of radio-oncology therapies like Novarits’ Pluvicto. “Hopefully it will start producing products in the first half of next year,” CEO Paul Mann said in an interview Wednesday morning. Majority of the retail investors polled on Stocktwits believe the dip in ASI Isotope’s stock is a great buying opportunity. However, some users on the platform are hoping for a more robust response from the company beyond the press release that doesn’t address Fuzzy Panda’s specific accusations. Another user thinks that the report doesn’t necessarily need a strong response. On Tuesday, Fuzzy Panda accused ASP Isotopes of relying on AVLIS technology, which it claimed was deemed commercially unviable after 1990s U.S. Department of Energy trials. The short seller also alleged links to individuals involved in microcap fraud and “paid stock promotion in Uranium” while noting some of ASP’s South African subsidiaries were untraceable at their registered addresses. On Stocktwits, the stock saw a 706% surge in message volume and a 6.77% rise in watchers in the past 24 hours, making it the most active materials stock during the period. While ASP Isotope’s stock has tumbled nearly 45% in the last three trading sessions, the stock is still up 198% so far this year. For updates and corrections email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.< Read also: Analog Devices Stock Dips As Wall Street Remains Cautious Despite Earnings Beat: Retail Divided

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HAMISH MCRAE: There's method in the Bitcoin madness By HAMISH MCRAE Updated: 21:53 GMT, 7 December 2024 e-mail View comments It is madness that bitcoin should break through the $100,000 barrier, as it did briefly on Thursday. But as Polonius observes in Hamlet: 'Though this be madness, yet there is method in't.' The madness is easy to chart. This is an asset that is intrinsically worthless. It's just a line of computer code that generates no income and is backed by nothing. It is hard to identify any real investment that results from it: no houses are built, no companies launched, no medicines discovered. But it has extrinsic value in that people are prepared to buy, trade, and hold it. A year ago they put the value at $44,000. Two years ago it was $17,000. Go back another year to 2021 and it was $50,000. Five years ago it was $7,500. So it's all over the place. You can have a debate about why people should want to hold it, but it gets nowhere. Why should an anonymous buyer pay $142 million for a 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Coupe, as someone did two years ago? That was the highest price ever paid for a classic car. Or $6.2 million for a banana duct-taped to a wall at an auction in New York last month? Bitcoin is like every other asset. It is worth what a purchaser will pay for it at a particular moment of time. It's as simple as that. Warning: The Bitcoin boom does carries a message that this is a time for caution The 'method' – what this surge in the price of Bitcoin tells us about global markets – is more complicated. The recent surge has been fuelled by hopes that the Trump administration will lead to a friendly regulatory system for crypto-currencies, for the price has shot up by nearly 50 per cent since the election. This is likely to broaden the range of holders. But behind the surge is strong performance of financial assets more generally. To pick just a few, US equities are close to all-time peaks, the German DAX index is there too, and here in the UK the Halifax house price index shows prices are up 4.9 per cent on the year and are reaching a new record. There are laggards, of course, and the poor old FTSE100 index is one of them. But it is up 8 per cent this year, so even unloved investment sectors have been pulled up by their more fashionable cousins. There are lots of reasons why asset prices should be so strong. We had a decade of central banks printing industrial quantities of money under their quantitative easing programmes. That had to go somewhere. With generative artificial intelligence, we have a technological revolution that looks like bringing huge improvements to the efficiency of service industries and the quality of their output. RELATED ARTICLES Previous 1 Next Bitcoin tipped to rocket to $120,000 early next year after... Bitcoin tops $100,000 for the first time as Trump fuels... Share this article Share HOW THIS IS MONEY CAN HELP How to choose the best (and cheapest) stocks and shares Isa and the right DIY investing account There are likely to be even more expansionary economic policies in the US, and there is the prospect of further cuts in interest rates next year if inflation keeps falling. The global policy-makers, notably in the US, have created a financial boom. There is, however, a fine line between a boom and a bubble. So where are we now? It is hard to feel comfortable about what has happened to the price of bitcoin. If the most speculative assets are soaring, that shouts bubble. And even the most doughty supporters of cryptocurrencies would have to acknowledge they are towards the speculative scale. US equities are towards the top end of their historical values. But they are not yet at extreme levels, so that says boom rather than bubble. We know, too, that booms generally carry on much longer than people expect, then end more suddenly. My guess is there will be some big event that will signal the bull market for assets has gone over the top. We haven't had that yet. Bitcoin topping $100,000 is a warning that markets have become frothy, but cryptocurrencies are not important enough to rock the global boat. We could have a crypto-crash without a wider collapse in mainstream assets, notably equities. Indeed there may be no sudden collapse in global share prices – just a topping out and gradual drift downwards before eventual recovery. We cannot realistically follow Polonius's advice: 'Neither a borrower nor a lender be.' But the Bitcoin boom does carries a message that this is a time for caution. 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We do not write articles to promote products. We do not allow any commercial relationship to affect our editorial independence.WASHINGTON (AP) — Rep. Jerry Nadler announced Wednesday that he will be stepping down as the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee next year, avoiding an intra-party fight over a prominent position as the party prepares to confront a second Trump presidency. Nadler's decision to relinquish control of the powerful committee came a day after fellow Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin announced his bid for the job and quickly amassed support from colleagues. “I am also proud that, under my leadership, some of our caucus’s most talented rising stars have been given a platform to demonstrate their leadership and their abilities,” Nadler wrote in the letter to Democrats that was obtained by The Associated Press. “That includes Jamie Raskin, who in just a few terms in Congress has already proven himself to be an exceptional leader and spokesperson for our party’s values.” The 77-year-old chose to step aside as the Democratic party undergoes an internal reckoning over their losses in the election, which swept Republicans into a trifecta of power in Washington. Many Democrats are eager for generational change and a new approach as President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House. The decision by Nadler, who is serving his 17th term in Congress, reflects that generational shift. Before he made his decision Wednesday morning, Nadler spent time speaking with staff about what his next step should be. He also made a call to Raskin, which was described as cordial by a person familiar with the conversation who was not authorized to discuss it publicly. “Jerry Nadler is an extraordinary lawyer, patriot and public servant,” Raskin posted on X. “His dogged defense of civil rights and civil liberties is a great inspiration to our people.” He added, “I am honored and humbled to have his support in the battles ahead.” Farnoush Amiri, The Associated Press

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Amazon and Starbucks workers are on strike. Trump might have something to do with it Amazon delivery drivers and Starbucks baristas are on strike in a handful of U.S. cities as they seek to exert pressure on the two major companies to recognize them as unionized employees or to meet demands for an inaugural labor contract. Strikes during busy periods like the holidays can help unions exercise leverage during negotiations or garner support from sympathetic consumers. One expert says he thinks workers at both companies are “desperate” to make progress before President-elect Donald Trump can appoint a Republican majority to the National Labor Relations Board. Workers at Starbucks, Amazon and some other prominent consumer brands are fighting for their first contracts after several locations voted to unionize. Bluesky finds with growth comes growing pains — and bots Bluesky has seen its user base soar since the U.S. presidential election, boosted by people seeking refuge from Elon Musk’s X, or wanting an alternative to Meta’s Threads and its algorithms. The platform grew out of the company then known as Twitter and was eventually intended to replace it. While this is still very much a pie in the sky, Bluesky’s growth trajectory could make it a serious competitor to other social platforms. With growth, though, comes growing pains. It’s not just human users who’ve been flocking to Bluesky but also bots, including those designed to create partisan division or direct users to junk websites. Farmers are still reeling months after Hurricane Helene ravaged crops across the South LYONS, Ga. (AP) — Farmers in Georgia are still reeling more than two months after Hurricane Helene blew away cotton, destroyed ripened squash and cucumbers and uprooted pecan trees and timber. Agribusinesses in other Southern states saw costly damage as well. The University of Georgia estimates the September storm inflicted $5.5 billion in direct losses and indirect costs in Georgia alone. In rural Toombs County, Chris Hopkins just finished harvesting his ravaged cotton crop and figures he lost half of it, costing him about $430,000. Poultry grower Jeffrey Pridgen in Georgia's Coffee County had four of his 12 chicken houses destroyed and others badly damaged. Farmers say more government disaster assistance is needed. Ex-OpenAI engineer who raised legal concerns about the technology he helped build has died 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. 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. But he grew disillusioned with the company and told The Associated Press this fall he would “try to testify” in copyright infringement cases against it. Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge shows price pressures eased last month WASHINGTON (AP) — An inflation gauge that is closely watched by the Federal Reserve barely rose last month in a sign that price pressures cooled after two months of sharp gains. Prices rose just 0.1% from October to November. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, prices also ticked up just 0.1%, after two months of outsize 0.3% gains. The milder inflation figures arrived two days after Federal Reserve officials, led by Chair Jerome Powell, rocked financial markets by revealing that they now expect to cut their key interest rate just two times in 2025, down from four in their previous estimate. Albania to close TikTok for a year blaming it for promoting violence among children TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Albania’s prime minister says the government will shut down video service TikTok for one year, blaming it for inciting violence and bullying, especially among children. Albanian authorities held 1,300 meetings with teachers and parents following the stabbing death of a teenager in mid-November by another teenager following a quarrel that started on TikTok. Prime Minister Edi Rama, speaking at a meeting with teachers and parents, said TikTok “would be fully closed for all. ... There will be no TikTok in the Republic of Albania.” Rama says the ban will begin sometime next year. Albanian children comprise the largest group of TikTok users in the country, according to domestic researchers. Stock market today: Wall Street rises to turn a dismal week into just a bad one NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks rose to turn what would have been one of the market’s worst weeks of the year into just a pretty bad one. The S&P 500 rallied 1.1% Friday to shave its loss for the week down to 2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped nearly 500 points, and the Nasdaq composite gained 1%. A report said a measure of inflation the Federal Reserve likes to use was slightly lower last month than expected. It’s an encouraging signal after the Fed shocked markets Wednesday by saying worries about inflation could keep it from cutting interest rates in 2025 as much as earlier thought. Starbucks workers begin strikes that could spread to hundreds of US stores by Christmas Eve Workers at U.S. Starbucks stores have begun a five-day strike to protest a lack of progress in contract negotiations with the company. The strikes began in Los Angeles, Chicago and Seattle and could spread to hundreds of stores across the country by Christmas Eve. Workers at 535 of the 10,000 company-owned Starbucks stores in the U.S. have voted to unionize. The Starbucks Workers United union accuses the Seattle-based coffeehouse chain of failing to honor a commitment made in February to reach a labor agreement this year. Starbucks says the union prematurely left the bargaining table this week. It said Friday there's been no significant impact to store operations. It's beginning to look like another record for holiday travel Drivers and airline passengers without reindeer and sleighs better make a dash for it: it’s beginning to look like another record for holiday travel in the U.S. The auto club AAA predicts that more than 119 million people will travel at least 50 miles from home between Saturday and New Year’s Day. The two weekends on either side of Christmas are tempting a lot of people to head out earlier. U.S. airlines expect to have their busiest days to be Friday and Sunday this week and next Thursday, Friday and Sunday. A government shutdown that could start as soon as Saturday was not expected to immediately affect flights and airport operations. Amazon workers are striking at multiple facilities. Here's what you should know Amazon workers affiliated with the Teamsters union are on strike for a second day at seven of the company’s delivery hubs just days before Christmas. At midnight on Saturday, the Teamsters say workers at a prominent unionized warehouse in New York will also join. The union has not indicated how many employees were participating in the walkout or when it will end. The Teamsters say the workers were continuing their strike on Friday after Amazon ignored a Sunday deadline the union had set for contract negotiations. The company says it doesn’t expect the strikes taking place in Southern California, San Francisco, New York City, Atlanta, and Skokie, Illinois, to impact holiday shipments.HMC pioneers bone reconstruction and restoration procedures in Qatar to save two limbs from amputationIsraeli leaders back Trump’s pledge on hostagesgba 777 online casino 。

I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here viewers have demanded Richard Coles and Loose Women star GK Barry work together again after the show. The pair have bonded during their time in the jungle and fans of the show are sure they would make a fantastic double act when they are back in the real world. @ImaCelebriTea posted an image of the pair and insisted: "Put them on Celebrity Gogglebox the moment they leave because their stories are unbelievable!! #ImaCeleb #imacelebrity2024 #ImaCelebrity." @xxncisaddictxx commented: "Can't deny GK and Richard are an hilarious duo #imacelebrity #ImACeleb."@RoslynMoore96 pleaded: "Can GK Barry have Reverend Richard on her podcast please and thank you #ImACeleb #imacelebrity." @Peter_H_Todd thought the duo would work well with fellow campmate Maura Higgins writing: "For me, @ITV needs to sign the rights for a new era of Generation Game & sign GK Barry / Maura and Rev. Richard as hosts. Those three would be absolutely perfect as game show hosts." Meanwhile @TVpsychologist pondered: "The relationship between GK Barry and Rev Richard is just a joy. Under any other circumstances they would never even meet, let alone connect so brilliantly. We all have the capacity for this, we just need the opportunities #ImACelebrity." One of their funniest moments on the latest edition of the show (December 3) came when GK confessed she used to be a goth and showed off the pose she had used for her social media sites. This led Richard to hilariously ask what was the difference between a goth and an emu - confusing the bird with the emo subculture. He also later appeared to forget the words to his own hit song as the campmates performed karaoke in the Jungle Arms. As the group all sang along to his band The Communards' number one smash hit Don't Leave Me This Way he seemed to be uncertain of the lyrics. Richard has become a fan favourite and is creeping up on Danny Jones and Coleen Rooney in the betting. Coleen is currently the second favourite to win at 13/8, while McFly's Danny Jones remains the favourite at 11/8, according to betting giants Ladbrokes. However Richard is now at 4/1 to take home the crown. He is the only other contestant with a price shorter than 20/1. DJ Melvin Odoom became the latest celebrity eliminated on tonight's show leaving just eight contestants to battle it out to win. I'm a Celebrity ...Get Me Out Of Here is on iTV and ITVX nightly at 9pm.THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Alyssa Naher made two critical saves in her final match for the United States, Lynn Williams scored the go-ahead goal in the 71st minute and the Americans beat the Netherlands, 2-1, in an exhibition match on Tuesday. The U.S., which won its fifth Olympic gold medal in France this summer, closed its 2024 schedule on a 20-game unbeaten streak. The Americans were coming off a scoreless draw with England in another exhibition on Saturday at Wembley Stadium . Naeher announced two weeks ago that the European matches would be her last . The 36-year-old goalkeeper played in 115 games for the U.S., with 111 starts, 89 wins and 69 shutouts. Naeher is the only U.S. keeper with shutouts in both a World Cup and an Olympic final. She was in goal when the United States defeated the Netherlands, 2-0, in the 2019 Women’s World Cup final. The Netherlands took the lead on center back Veerle Buurman’s header off a corner kick in the 15th minute. Naeher prevented a second goal when she punched away Dominique Janssen’s shot in the 38th. The United States drew even at the end of the first half on an own goal that deflected off Buurman and past Dutch goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar. Naeher slid to stop Danielle van de Donk’s shot in the 69th minute before Williams scored her fourth goal of the year and 21st of her career. Lily Yohannes came in as a substitute in the second half. Yohannes, who has dual citizenship, opted to play for the United States over the Netherlands last month. She plays professionally for the Dutch club Ajax. The U.S. finished the year without the trio of Mallory Swanson, Trinity Rodman and Sophia Smith, who were left off the roster for the final two matches to rest and heal nagging injuries. The U.S. is unbeaten in 15 matches under coach Emma Hayes, who took over in May. More to come on this story.

Prosecutors play undercover recordings of Madigan at former speaker’s corruption trial

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Former President Jimmy Carter has died at the age of 100. The 39th president of the United States was a Georgia peanut farmer who sought to restore trust in government when he assumed the presidency in 1977 and then built a reputation for tireless work as a humanitarian. He earned a Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. He died Sunday, more than a year after entering hospice care, at his home in Plains, Georgia. At age 52, Carter was sworn in as president on Jan. 20, 1977, after defeating President Gerald R. Ford in the 1976 general election. Carter left office on Jan. 20, 1981, following his 1980 general election loss to Ronald Reagan. Here's the latest: The longest-lived American president died Sunday, more than a year after entering hospice care , at his home in the small town of Plains, Georgia, where he and his wife, Rosalynn, who died at 96 in November 2023 , spent most of their lives. “Our founder, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, passed away this afternoon in Plains, Georgia,” The Carter Center said in posting about his death on the social media platform X. It added in a statement that he died peacefully, surrounded by his family. In his 1975 book “Why Not The Best,” Carter said of himself: “I am a Southerner and an American, I am a farmer, an engineer, a father and husband, a Christian, a politician and former governor, a planner, a businessman, a nuclear physicist, a naval officer, a canoeist, and among other things a lover of Bob Dylan’s songs and Dylan Thomas’s poetry.” A moderate Democrat, Carter entered the 1976 presidential race as a little-known Georgia governor with a broad smile, outspoken Baptist mores and technocratic plans reflecting his education as an engineer. After he left office and returned home to his tiny hometown of Plains in southwest Georgia, Carter regularly taught Sunday School lessons at Maranatha Baptist Church until his mobility declined. Those sessions drew visitors from around the world.(The Center Square) – Prosecutors introduced secretly recorded audio and video along with a troubled star witness at the public corruption trial of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan. Former Chicago Alderman Daniel Solis returned to the Everett McKinley U.S. Courthouse Monday. Solis is facing one federal count of bribery under a deferred prosecution agreement. The ex-alderman began cooperating with federal investigators in 2016. Separately Monday, former Chicago Alderman Daniel Solis, former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and Madigan codefendant Michael McClain enter the federal court building in Chicago Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. U.S. government attorney Diane MacArthur first introduced a recording of Madigan and Solis nearly two years before the alderman started cooperating with the government. The recording involved a conversation with Chinese developer, See Wong, who wanted to build a hotel on a parcel of land in Chicago’s Chinatown neighborhood. The land was owned by the state of Illinois at the time, but Solis said a zoning change would be required from the city in order for a hotel to be built. At Madigan’s request, Solis said he facilitated the meeting on Aug. 8, 2014, at Madigan’s law firm, Madigan and Getzendanner, about the land along Wentworth Avenue between Archer Avenue and Cermak Road. Madigan’s law partner, Bud Getzendanner, discussed how successful the firm had been in working with hotels to make sure they were not taxed more than necessary. ”A large component of your expense for hotels is real estate taxes,” Getzendanner said during the recorded meeting. Getzendanner said the firm charged 12.5% of the tax savings obtained. Madigan told Wong and an interpreter about the quality of service his firm provided. “We don’t take a second seat to anybody,” Madigan said. The developer then asked for a picture with Madigan and Solis. Solis told the group that Wong would benefit from working with Madigan. “If he works with the Speaker, he will get anything he needs for that hotel,” Solis said on the recording. Solis testified that he meant the city would provide the zoning change the developer needed from the city if the developer hired Madigan’s law firm. Solis said the zoning change was approved, but the proposed hotel was never built. MacArthur asked Solis about the bribery charge he is still facing, which Solis said involved the redevelopment of a property in Chicago from a restaurant to a residential building in 2015. Solis said two problems prevented the project from moving forward: labor unions’ perceived lack of representation in the development and residents' concerns in the ward. The former alderman admitted that he solicited a campaign contribution from the developer or from one or more of the developer’s vendors while the project’s zoning change was still under consideration. Solis said he believed the developer was on board and that he would be getting donations from the developers’ vendors. The zoning change was approved by the city council, Solis said. He testified he solicited and accepted campaign contributions from other developers who had matters pending before the city council’s zoning committee. Solis then testified about about a variety of things like massages that turned sexual, trips to Las Vegas, tickets to professional sporting events, no-paperwork six-figure loans he'd paid back. He even admitted to an extramarital affair he had with an interpreter. Solis said he was separated from his wife for about five years and their house went into foreclosure. He also confessed that he lied to a collection agency by saying he was out of work. MacArthur asked Solis about his sister, Patti Solis Doyle, who worked on campaigns for former Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, former President Bill Clinton and former U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton, D-New York. Solis Doyle also managed Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign in 2008. Solis said his sister was involved in a hotel project in which the developer offered her $100,000. Solis said his sister offered to split the sum with her brother. As chairman of the city’s zoning committee, Solis said he told his sister he could not accept money regarding a hotel development. Solis said his sister told him there would be another way she could compensate him. The former alderman said he did receive funds from his sister for referring her to his friend Brian Hynes’ state vendor assistance program. Monday afternoon, Solis testified that FBI agents visited his home on June 1, 2016, and played audio and video recordings. After considering an attorney, Solis said he decided to cooperate with the FBI a few days later and agreed to let investigators tap his phone. Solis also said he told an attorney friend that he was cooperating with the FBI in regard to an investigation of an organization he was involved in. More from this section Solis said he made recordings for several investigations he was involved in as part of his deferred prosecution agreement. He began communicating with Madigan after receiving a voicemail message on June 12, 2017. Solis said he discussed the Chinatown land deal, his interest in getting a state board appointment, and referring clients to Madigan’s law firm while cooperating with the government from June 2016 to December 2017. Solis admitted that he was not really interested in a state board appointment, but he raised the issue with Madigan at the direction of law enforcement. Solis said he began communicating with Madigan codefendant Michael McClain about the Chinatown parcel in the fall of 2017. He said he had to continue to perform his duties as an alderman while cooperating with the FBI because of “the farce” that he was involved in. Solis discussed a 2017 redevelopment project that required a zoning change involving a Union West development in Chicago’s West Loop. MacArthur played a recording, dated June 12, 2017, of Madigan asking Solis about the development. During the call, Solis told the speaker he would try to arrange an introduction for Madigan with the developers. In a subsequent call, Solis promised to arrange a meeting and said, “I think these guys get it, the quid pro quo and how it works.” When MacArthur asked Solis why he said that, Solis said he didn’t know and said it was “dumb.” MacArthur asked Solis if he used the words “quid pro quo” at the direction of law enforcement. “No,” Solis said. Union West developer Andrew Cretal agreed to meet with Madigan and told Solis, “confidentially,” that his company was working with Goldman Sachs as an equity partner and that he would “circle back” with Solis. MacArthur played a recording of Madigan privately telling Solis not to use the words, “quid quo pro.” The conversation immediately preceded the meeting Cretal and the Union West group had at Madigan's and Getzendanner’s law office. During the meeting, Madigan repeated to Cretal’s group what he had said to See Wong. “We don’t take a second seat to anybody,” Madigan said. Solis said he met with Madigan again privately after the meeting with the intention of discussing the Chinatown parcel. Solis said he had been having frequent meetings about the land with potential developers. During the recording, Solis said that nothing could really happen until the state transferred the land. Connie Mixon, professor of Political Science and director of the Urban Studies Program at Elmhurst University, served as an expert witness at the corruption trial of longtime Chicago Democrat Ed Burke, who served on the city council from 1969 to 2023. A jury convicted Burke in December 2023 on 18 counts of racketeering, bribery, attempted extortion and conspiracy to commit extortion and using interstate commerce to facilitate an unlawful activity. Mixon said that Solis also testified as a cooperating witness during Burke’s trial. “It seemed as if, in the sentencing for the Burke trial, the judge did take a bit of exception to the fact that Solis, who also had potential criminal charges, was essentially getting away without any sort of repercussions,” Mixon told The Center Square. Mixon described Solis as a damaged witness. “He’s absolutely damaged, but as much as he’s damaged, you have the words on the wiretap. Having the defendants’ words played in the courtroom, they are really the witness against themselves when you have those wiretaps,” Mixon explained. Before the jury was seated Monday morning, prosecutors said they would provide the court with revised jury instructions by Dec. 3. Judge John Robert Blakey said he could deny admittance of new materials after that date if he deemed them to be untimely. Madigan and McClain are charged with 23 counts of bribery, racketeering and official misconduct. The trial is scheduled to resume Tuesday morning in Chicago.

The NFL has come down hard on Tennessee Titans rookie safety Julius Wood. Wood has been suspended for six games for violating the league's performance-enhancing substance policy. More news: 49ers Sign Former Jets RB to Replace Christian McCaffrey, Jordan Mason The NFL suspended #Titans safety Julius Wood for the next six games for violating the NFL's policy on performance-enhancing substances. Considering there are only five games left in the season, Wood will miss the rest of the 2024 season and will miss the first week of the 2025 season. It has not been revealed which PED Woods was flagged for, but he will now miss the remainder of the season. Wood was signed as an undrafted free agent to the Dallas Cowboys practice squad after going undrafted out of East Carolina. He was waived by the Cowboys toward the tail end of preseason, and picked up by the Titans a day after. Wood began his collegiate career with Blinn in 2019, where he secured 36 tackles (1.5 for loss) and two fumble recoveries through nine games. Following his rookie season with Blinn, he appeared in only three games, securing 19 tackles. Wood transferred from Blinn to East Carolina in 2021. He would make his debut in the 2021 season, appearing in 12 games. He secured 16 total tackles, one tackle for loss, and three passes defended. Wood would emerge even more in 2022 as a junior, playing in 13 games, and securing 87 total tackles, two tackles for loss, two interceptions, four passes defended, and three forced fumbles. Wood would end his collegiate career with 12 games played, 86 total tackles, three tackles for loss, two interceptions, and one pass defended. Despite not being drafted, Wood was signed by the Cowboys and found his way to the Titans. Now, the young rookie will have to serve a suspension before he can take the field again. As a member of the Titans, Wood appeared in nine games, securing two total tackles. The Titans are currently 3-9 on the season and are all but guaranteed not to make the postseason. There were high hopes for the team following the 2023 season, which ended in a 6-11 record. More news: Jets' Aaron Rodgers Defends Azeez Al-Shaair, Calls Suspension 'Ridiculous' The Titans chose to move on from longtime head coach Mike Vrabel and hired former Cleveland Browns offensive coordinator Brian Callahan as the team's new head coach. However, Callahan has had a tough debut season, as the team is once again under .500. After the Titans traded DeAndre Hopkins to the Chiefs, many believed the team would be even bigger sellers at the trade deadline. That wasn't the case, but Tennessee is set to entire 2025 with another unsuccessful record and a suspended rookie safety. For more on the Titans, head to Newsweek Sports .Isro to launch 24 experiments to space with PSLV Spadex missionUSWNT edges Netherlands in goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher’s final match

For a tech-driven Pakistan Pakistan remains mired in what can only be described as a ‘Baby Boomer Syndrome’ As the modern world accelerates towards a future purely dominated by technology, digitisation, and innovation, Pakistan finds itself at a major crossroads. The US recently elected JD Vance as its vice-president, marking the arrival of millennial leadership in the White House. D D Eisenhower took the same step in 1952, bringing young and energetic Richard Nixon to the White House as VP – which ultimately brought John F Kennedy into the limelight in 1960. The progressive, innovative era of the US started with the ‘We will go to the moon’’ speech by JFK at Rice University. The current transition in the White House symbolises a shift away from Baby Boomer-dominated leadership, with even the Democratic Party expected to follow suit with younger candidates soon for the 2028 run. Pakistan, however, remains mired in what can only be described as a ‘Baby Boomer Syndrome’, with leadership from the same generation persisting since 1985. For nearly four decades, Pakistan has been governed by individuals disconnected from the demands of a rapidly changing world. The time has come for a fresh, energetic, dynamic and versatile approach that embraces younger leaders with modern education and a forward-looking mindset – someone like Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who represents the millennial generation. Pakistan’s economic struggles are well documented. The solutions lie not in traditional remedies but in bold, innovative action. Globally, the tech sector has emerged as the most transformative force of the 21st century. India boasts over 100 unicorns, startups valued at over $1 billion, making it a hub of innovation. The UAE, with Dubai at the forefront, has established itself as a regional leader in blockchain, fintech, and artificial intelligence. Pakistan, on the other hand, has significant IT talent but has so far lagged in capitalising on its potential. Despite producing world-class engineers and programmers, Pakistan’s IT exports remain a modest $2.6 billion annually, far below what its talent pool could achieve. A balanced approach focusing on digital tax reforms, technology, and export diversification could provide sustainable solutions. Tax reform remains a critical priority. With an informal economy comprising over 35 per cent of GDP, Pakistan’s tax base is narrow and inefficient. Digitising tax collection, broadening the tax base, and addressing chronic evasion and corruption could significantly boost state revenues. This, in turn, could fund investments in critical sectors like technology and infrastructure. Similarly, Pakistan’s energy sector is a significant drag on the economy, costing billions annually due to inefficiencies and theft. Investing in renewable energy and privatising loss-making state-owned enterprises would create fiscal space for more productive ventures. Pakistan’s most significant opportunities lie in the digital economy. The global IT sector is booming, and Pakistan has the potential to emerge as a major player. The country already ranks among the top five in the world for freelance services, with young entrepreneurs leveraging platforms like Upwork and Fiverr. However, these efforts are fragmented and lack the government support needed to scale up. Establishing tech hubs modelled on Dubai’s success could transform Pakistan into a regional leader in technology and innovation. Tech innovation is not just a choice but a necessity. A genius like Warren Buffet, known for his financial acumen, initially overlooked technology. However, he later recognised its importance and invested in Apple, now one of the world’s most valuable companies. Giants like Nvidia, Microsoft, and Amazon – members of the ‘Magnificent Seven’ – were once small startups but have grown into trillion-dollar entities, shaping the global economy. Pakistan must foster an environment that allows its tech startups to grow similarly, moving beyond survival to becoming global leaders. Dubai’s rise as a tech hub offers a blueprint for Pakistan. Over the last two decades, Dubai has invested heavily in creating a startup-friendly ecosystem, attracting global talent, and fostering public-private partnerships. Pakistan could replicate this model by developing Special Economic Zones (SEZs) focused on technology. These zones could offer tax incentives, simplified regulations, and access to venture capital, creating an environment where startups can thrive. Collaboration with the UAE could further accelerate this process, establishing a regional tech corridor. Leadership will be key to this transformation. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, with his broader political acumen at a young age, and being Western-educated, is uniquely positioned to lead Pakistan into the technological future. Unlike Baby Boomer leaders who rely on outdated methods, Bilawal’s understanding of technology and global trends could drive investments in the tech sector and encourage innovation. He could champion initiatives like a national startup fund, tech education programmes, and policies that attract international investors. Pakistan’s reliance on traditional industries like agriculture and textiles has limited its growth potential. While these sectors remain important, they cannot drive the kind of economic expansion needed to compete globally. Moving beyond textiles, which account for over 60 per cent of exports, Pakistan must focus on sectors like IT services, engineering, and pharmaceuticals. Startups like Airlift and Bykea have already demonstrated the potential of the local market. However, they face significant challenges, including limited access to venture capital and inadequate infrastructure. Addressing these issues could pave the way for a thriving startup ecosystem, turning Pakistan into a hub for innovation and entrepreneurship. India’s success provides valuable lessons. The country’s robust tech ecosystem was built on policies that encouraged entrepreneurship, offered tax breaks for startups, and simplified regulations. By replicating these strategies and tailoring them to local needs, Pakistan could foster a similar environment. Pakistan’s young, digitally savvy population – over 60 per cent of the population is under 30 – represents a demographic dividend waiting to be tapped. However, this requires investment in digital literacy, infrastructure, and skills training. Tourism and cultural exports also offer significant revenue potential. Pakistan’s rich heritage and natural beauty remain underutilised assets. Simplifying visa processes and promoting eco-tourism could attract millions of international visitors. Similarly, exporting Pakistani films, dramas, and music could generate revenue while enhancing the country’s global image. Our trade policy also requires a strategic overhaul. Pakistan must actively negotiate trade agreements with ASEAN, the EU, and African markets to diversify its export destinations. Import substitution policies, focusing on local production of high-demand items like electronics and pharmaceuticals, could reduce reliance on imports and strengthen the domestic economy. Green bonds to fund renewable energy projects and the promotion of cultural exports can also generate revenue while positioning Pakistan as a forward-thinking nation. Pakistan’s economic recovery demands more than incremental changes; it requires bold, innovative action. Younger leaders with modern perspectives, like Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, have the vision needed to embrace technology, foster entrepreneurship, and create a dynamic, future-ready economy. The world is rapidly moving toward a new era defined by quantum computing, artificial intelligence, and blockchain. Pakistan cannot afford to be left behind. The time has come to pass the torch to a new generation of leaders who can guide the country into this new era, ensuring prosperity and growth for decades to come. The writer serves as a senior analyst at e& money, a leading global technology and telecommunications company headquartered in Dubai, UAE. He can be reached at: Sufghan@hotmail.com

Wireless Earphone Market Detailed In New Research Report 2024 12-03-2024 10:19 PM CET | IT, New Media & Software Press release from: SkyQuest Technology Wireless Earphone Wireless Earphone Market Scope: Wireless Earphone Market size was valued at USD 4.6 billion in 2019 and is poised to grow from USD 4.89 billion in 2023 to USD 8.39 billion by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 6.2% in the forecast period (2024-2031). The study of the global Wireless Earphone Market is presented in the report, which is a thoroughly researched presentation of the data. The analysis delves into some of the key facets of the global Wireless Earphone Market and shows how drivers like pricing, competition, market dynamics, regional growth, gross margin, and consumption will affect the market's performance. A thorough analysis of the competitive landscape and in-depth company profiles of the top players in the Wireless Earphone Market are included in the study. It provides a summary of precise market data, including production, revenue, market value, volume, market share, and growth rate. Request for Sample Copy of this Global Wireless Earphone Market: https://www.skyquestt.com/sample-request/wireless-earphone-market The best investment markers are insights into the most prominent market trends, which help potential participants make decisions even easier. The research aims to discover the numerous growth chances that readers may take into consideration and take advantage of using all the necessary information. The market growth over the coming years can be predicted with greater accuracy by carefully examining the important growth-influencing aspects including pricing, production, profit margins, and value chain analyses. Wireless Earphone Market Segments: Technology Bluetooth, Infrared (IR), Radiofrequency (RF), Kleer Price-Point Economic, Premium, Ultra-Premium Headphone Type Over-ear, On-ear, In-ear Distribution Channel Supermarket/Hypermarket, Independent Retail Stores, E-commerce, Others Category Branded, Private Label Application Entertainment, Gaming, Fitness, Virtual Reality, Others Device Application Smartphones, Laptops, Desktop, Others End User Commercial, Consumer, Others Functionality With Microphone, Without Microphone End User Generation Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers Ingress Protection Protection from solid objects, Protection from water, Combined Major Players Covered in Global Wireless Earphone Market Report: • Apple Inc.• Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.• Xiaomi Corporation• Sony Corporation• Bose Corporation• Jabra• Jaybird• Sennheiser Electronic GmbH & Co. KG• Anker Innovations Limited• Shure Incorporated• Beats Electronics LLC• Skullcandy, Inc.• Plantronics, Inc.• Harman International Industries, Inc.• Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.• LG Electronics Inc.• Bragi GmbH• Klipsch Group, Inc.• Philips Electronics Ltd.• Panasonic Corporation View report summary and Table of Contents (TOC): https://www.skyquestt.com/report/wireless-earphone-market Report Inclusions: Market Overview: A product/services overview and the size of the global Wireless Earphone Market are included. It provides a summary of the report's segmental analysis. Here, the focus is on the product/service type, application, and regional segments. Revenue and sales market estimates are also included in this chapter. Competition: This section includes information on market conditions and trends, analyzes manufacturers, and provides data on average prices paid by players, revenue and revenue shares of individual market players, sales and sales shares of individual players. Company Profiles: This part of the research provides in-depth, analytical information on the financial and business strategy data of some of the top players in the global Wireless Earphone Market. This chapter of the report also covers a number of other specifics, such as product/service descriptions, portfolios, regional reach, and revenue splits. Region-wise Sales Analysis: This portion of the study provides market data along with regional revenue, sales, and market share analysis. Additionally, it offers estimates for each examined regional market's sales and sales growth rate, pricing scheme, revenue, and other factors. North America (United States, Canada, and Mexico) Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia, and Italy) Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India, and Southeast Asia) South America (Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, etc.) The Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria, and South Africa) The research study can answer the following Key questions: (1) What is the estimated size of the global Wireless Earphone Market at the end of the forecast period? (2) Is the segment-leading the global Wireless Earphone Market anticipated to retain its leadership? (3) Which regions demonstrate the maximum growth potential? (4) Does any player dominate the global Wireless Earphone Market? (5) What are the main drivers and restraints in the global Wireless Earphone Market? Want to customize this report? Ask here : https://www.skyquestt.com/speak-with-analyst/wireless-earphone-market Table of Contents Chapter 1 Industry Overview 1.1 Definition 1.2 Assumptions 1.3 Research Scope 1.4 Market Analysis by Regions 1.5 Market Size Analysis from 2024 to 2031 11.6 COVID-19 Outbreak: Wireless Earphone Market Industry Impact Chapter 2 Competition by Types, Applications, and Top Regions and Countries 2.1 Market (Volume and Value) by Type 2.3 Market (Volume and Value) by Regions Chapter 3 Production Market Analysis 3.1 Worldwide Production Market Analysis 3.2 Regional Production Market Analysis Chapter 4 Wireless Earphone Market Sales, Consumption, Export, Import by Regions Chapter 5 North America Market Analysis Chapter 6 East Asia Market Analysis Chapter 7 Europe Market Analysis Chapter 8 South Asia Market Analysis Chapter 9 Southeast Asia Market Analysis Chapter 10 Middle East Market Analysis Chapter 11 Africa Market Analysis Chapter 12 Oceania Market Analysis Chapter 13 Latin America Market Analysis Chapter 14 Company Profiles and Key Figures in Wireless Earphone Market Business Chapter 15 Market Forecast (2024-2031) Chapter 16 Conclusions About Us: SkyQuest is an IP focused Research and Investment Bank and Accelerator of Technology and assets. We provide access to technologies, markets and finance across sectors viz. Life Sciences, CleanTech, AgriTech, NanoTech and Information & Communication Technology. We work closely with innovators, inventors, innovation seekers, entrepreneurs, companies and investors alike in leveraging external sources of R&D. Moreover, we help them in optimizing the economic potential of their intellectual assets. Our experiences with innovation management and commercialization has expanded our reach across North America, Europe, ASEAN and Asia Pacific. Contact: Mr. Jagraj Singh Skyquest Technology 1 Apache Way, Westford, Massachusetts 01886 USA (!) 351-333-4748 Visit Our Website: https://www.skyquestt.com/ This release was published on openPR.( MENAFN - EIN Presswire) A2P Messaging Global market Report 2024 - Market Size, Trends, And Global Forecast 2024-2033 The Business Research Company's Early Year-End Sale! Get up to 30% off detailed market research reports-for a limited time only! LONDON, GREATER LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM, December 18, 2024 /EINPresswire / -- The Business Research Company's Early Year-End Sale! Get up to 30% off detailed market research reports-limited time only! In recent years, the A2P messaging market size has witnessed steady growth , and it's anticipated to ascend from $69.96 billion in 2023 to $72.68 billion in 2024, translating to a compound annual growth rate CAGR of 3.9%. Factors such as increased internet penetration, rising smartphone usage, evolution in business communication, integration of SMS in services, and necessities for security and authentication contribute to this historic growth. Looking ahead, the upward trajectory is projected to maintain momentum, with the A2P messaging market size swelling to $88.53 billion by 2028. Over this forecast period, the CAGR is expected to notch up to 5.1%, driven by IoT communication, extensive adoption in banking and financial services, increased use in healthcare and for appointment reminders, adoption of chatbots and AI, and industry-specific integration. This comprehensive sample report will provide more insights: One key growth driver echoing across the A2P messaging market spectrum is the increasing penetration of smartphones. A smartphone, a portable electronic device that connects users to the internet and cellular networks, facilitates A2P messaging to help users receive messages from a business application for marketing or customer service purposes, primarily through an automated process. For example, as of February 2023, Uswitch Limited reveals that in 2022, the UK had 71.8 million mobile connections, a 3.8% rise compared to 2021. Moreover, it's forecasted that by 2025, 95% of the UK population will own a smartphone, fueling the expansion of the A2P messaging market. Many prominent players operate within the A2P messaging market. These include China Mobile Limited, AT&T Inc., Orange S.A., Twilio Inc., Sinch AB, Tata Communications Limited, Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories Inc., Syniverse Technologies LLC, Infobip Ltd., MessageBird B.V., and many more. Striding forward, key trends projected to cast an impact on the market include compliance with regulatory standards, interactive messaging experiences, vertical-specific messaging solutions, API integration and platform diversification, and omnichannel messaging strategies. The full report contains more detailed information: The A2P messaging market report dissects the market into several segments: 1 By Component: Platform, A2P Service 2 By SMS Traffic: National Traffic, Multi-Country 3 By Deployment Mode: On-Premises, Cloud 4 By Application: Authentication Services, Promotional and Marketing Services, Customer Relationship Management Services, Pushed Content Services, Interactive Messages, Other Applications 5 By End Users: Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance, Retail and Ecommerce, E-Governance, Hyperlocal Businesses, Healthcare, Travel and Hospitality, Other End Users Shedding light on regional aspects, in 2023, North America emerged as the largest player in the A2P messaging market. However, the forecast period predicts Asia-Pacific to outpace other regions with the fastest growth rate. The market report encompasses regions including Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East, Africa. Browse Through More Similar Reports By The Business Research Company: Telecom Analytics Global Market Report 2024 Telecom Service Assurance Global Market Report 2024 Telecom Global Market Report 2024 About The Business Research Company Learn More About The Business Research Company. With over 15000+ reports from 27 industries covering 60+ geographies, The Business Research Company has built a reputation for offering comprehensive, data-rich research and insights. Armed with 1,500,000 datasets, the optimistic contribution of in-depth secondary research, and unique insights from industry leaders, you can get the information you need to stay ahead in the game. Contact us at The Business Research Company: Americas +1 3156230293 Asia +44 2071930708 Europe +44 2071930708 Email us at .... Follow us on: LinkedIn: YouTube: Global Market Model: global-market-model ). Oliver Guirdham The Business Research Company +44 20 7193 0708 email us here Visit us on social media: Facebook X LinkedIn Legal Disclaimer: EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above. MENAFN17122024003118003196ID1109004612 Legal Disclaimer: MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.

Hyperconnected employees experiencing ‘dark side’ of digital workHUMANS have already reached the Moon – and Mars seems like the obvious next step. But how will we get there? There are several mega-rockets already being developed that could take us to the red planet in our lifetimes. Nasa nuclear rocket Mars is far away – around 140 millions from Earth on average. That means getting there is not only time-consuming, but very expensive in terms of fuel. Nasa hopes that one way of bringing the time and cost down is using nuclear propulsion. "Nasa’s goal is to minimize the time the crew travels between Earth and Mars to as close to two years as is practical," Nasa said in 2021. Read more on Nasa "Space nuclear propulsion systems could enable shorter total mission times and provide enhanced flexibility and efficiency for mission designers." In 2023, Nasa revealed that it had teamed up with Darpa (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) on building such a rocket. And it said that this would allow for speedy trips to Mars and back. "Nasa will work with our long-term partner, Darpa, to develop and demonstrate advanced nuclear thermal propulsion technology as soon as 2027," said Nasa boss Bill Nelson. Most read in Science "With the help of this new technology, astronauts could journey to and from deep space faster than ever – a major capability to prepare for crewed missions to Mars." One early concept of a a Nasa rocket looked a bit like a Star Wars X-wing. And Nasa says that nuclear thermal rockets could be three times more efficient than regular chemical propulsion. Elon Musk's SpaceX Starship Billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk hasn't exactly been quiet about his dreams of shipping humans to Mars. It's no secret that Musk wants to set up a colony on the red planet, turning humans into an interplanetary species. And his company SpaceX has built a rocket called Starship that aims to do just that. Here's what you need to know about the Red Planet... Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun It is named after the Roman god of war The landmass of Mars is very similar to Earth but due to the difference in gravity you could jump three times higher there than you can here Mars is mountainous and hosts the tallest mountain known in the Solar System called Olympus Mons, which is three times higher than Everest Mars is considered to be the second most habitable planet after Earth It takes the planet 687 Earth days to orbit the Sun So far, there has been 39 missions to Mars but only 16 of these have been successful "SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket – collectively referred to as Starship – represent a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond," SpaceX explains. The company says that Starship will enter the Martian atmosphere at 7.5km a second. And its heat shield will allow it to safely land on Mars without being destroyed in the process. Starship is currently going through testing phases, with its seventh flight-test set to take place in early 2025. Musk hopes that the Starship spacecraft can be re-filled with fuel while in low-Earth orbit. That means it can launch into space, and then fuel up once again before a trip to Mars. Nasa SLS Nasa has nuclear dreams – but in the meantime, the space agency needs a more conventional rocket for daring crewed missions. Enter the SLS, or Space Launch System, which is the main launch vehicle for Nasa's Artemis programme. Artemis is a series of missions that will ultimately return humans to the surface of the Moon. The only SLS launch to take place so far was an uncrewed test in November 2022. Nasa is due to use the SLS again in April 2026 as part the crewed Artemis II flight. But the eventual plan is for SLS to carry humans to Mars too. "The SLS rocket is designed to be evolvable, which makes it possible to increase its capability to fly more types of missions," Nasa explained. "Including human missions to the Moon and Mars and robotic scientific missions to the Moon, Mars, and the outer planets." READ MORE SUN STORIES Nasa added: "The final SLS configuration, Block 2, will provide 9.4 million lbs. of launch thrust, compared to the Block 1’s8.8 million lbs. and will be the workhorse vehicle for sending cargo to the Moon, Mars, and other deep space destinations. "SLS Block 2 will be designed to lift up to 46 t (101,000 lbs.) to deep space."

A voting machine firm suing Fox News now wants to probe Murdoch family trust fightFeed Software Market Overall Study Report 2024-2031

HarborOne Bancorp, Inc. ( NASDAQ:HONE – Get Free Report ) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, December 18th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of 0.08 per share by the financial services provider on Tuesday, January 14th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. HarborOne Bancorp has increased its dividend by an average of 35.7% annually over the last three years. HarborOne Bancorp has a dividend payout ratio of 36.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect HarborOne Bancorp to earn $0.87 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.32 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 36.8%. HarborOne Bancorp Stock Performance Shares of HONE stock opened at $11.99 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $12.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.39. HarborOne Bancorp has a 12 month low of $9.15 and a 12 month high of $14.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $528.18 million, a PE ratio of 42.82 and a beta of 0.75. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In Several analysts have recently commented on HONE shares. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on HarborOne Bancorp from $15.00 to $13.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com raised HarborOne Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 2nd. Get Our Latest Research Report on HarborOne Bancorp HarborOne Bancorp Company Profile ( Get Free Report ) HarborOne Bancorp, Inc operates as the holding company for HarborOne Bank that provides financial services to individuals, families, small and mid-size businesses, and municipalities. The company operates in two segments, HarborOne Bank and HarborOne Mortgage. Its primary deposit products include checking, money market, savings, and term certificate of deposit accounts; and primary lending products comprise commercial real estate, commercial, residential mortgages, home equity, and consumer loans. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for HarborOne Bancorp Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for HarborOne Bancorp and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .

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ph777 register Title: Woman Suspects Being Secretly Filmed, Man Says "If I Didn't Smash Your Phone"Since taking office, President Trump has been a vocal proponent of NATO member nations meeting the agreed-upon defense spending targets of 2% of GDP. Despite some countries making progress towards this goal, many continue to fall short, relying heavily on the United States to shoulder a disproportionate share of the alliance's collective defense costs.

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Manchester United, one of the most successful and prestigious football clubs in the world, has a legacy of high expectations and a culture of excellence. However, in recent years, the club has struggled to maintain its competitive edge and reclaim its former glory. One of the areas where Manchester United has faltered is in dealing with underperforming players. Too often, the club has been criticized for being too lenient or indecisive when it comes to addressing players who are not meeting expectations.Foodies left ‘horrified’ and say Aldi has gone ‘too far’ with new ‘vile’ £1.30 Christmas sauce – but what do you think?

Ma's appearance in Hangzhou and his insights on the AI era underscore his commitment to driving positive change through technology and innovation. As one of the most influential voices in the tech industry, Ma's words serve as a reminder of the transformative power of AI and the responsibility we all share in harnessing it for the greater good.Napoli, under the guidance of Luciano Spalletti, have also been impressive this season, sitting just one point behind Inter in third place. The Partenopei have been solid at the back, conceding just 12 goals in 15 games, the fewest in the league. With the talismanic Lorenzo Insigne leading the charge up front, Napoli look like genuine title contenders this season.Seriki Adinoyi in Jos A non-governmental organisation, Charis Healthcare and Community Support Initiative has stated the ongoing farmer-herder crisis in Plateau State and the sit-at-home observed in South-East states have significantly impacted the mental health of women in the affected areas. Chief Executive Officer of the organization, Praise Mwuese-Ter made this assertion in Jos during a roundtable discussion to review three research findings presented by a German organisation before stakeholders. She explained that the three research reports focused on the impact of these crises on market women in particular, calling for solutions to address the challenges they face. Mwuese-Ter revealed that the women were suffering from heightened anxiety and mental health distress, stemming not only from the crises but also from the loss of loved ones during the COVID-19 pandemic. She said: “Some of the research was done in Plateau as well, and they focused on issues affecting women and society at large, including insurgency, political activities, farmer-herder clashes, and others. “We’ve found that many things have impacted women, so this roundtable is aimed at reviewing the findings of the research.” The NGO revealed that women had been severely impacted, both psychologically and economically, due to the farmer-herder crisis, COVID-19, the sit-at-home order by agitators in the South-East, and the Abuja market crisis affecting market women. “We’ve identified factors such as the socio-economic impact of these crises on women and how these events have affected their families and children, who women typically care for. We’re presenting those findings today,” Mwuese-Ter added. She also mentioned that many women experienced severe mental health distress due to heightened anxiety, which was exacerbated by the loss of loved ones. She recounted a particular case during the COVID-19 lockdown, where a woman had purchased poison to kill herself and her children due to hunger and despair. “During the COVID-19 pandemic, we received a distress call from a woman who had bought poison to kill herself and her children. They were hungry, and because of the lockdown, they could not access food. “She had been feeding the children salt water for two days and had decided to end their lives before Charis intervened,” She explained. During the roundtable, a consultant ophthalmologist and senior lecturer at Bingham University, Dr. Mercy Adejoh, discussed other challenges faced by women, including gender-based violence, economic challenges, workplace discrimination, and being relegated to the background compared to their male counterparts. She also expressed concern about the abuse of underage girls, who are often used as house helps and subjected to maltreatment, as well as the rise in rape cases leading to unwanted pregnancies. Director of the Ministry of Women Affairs in Plateau State, Sunday Donbin highlighted the state government’s efforts, including empowerment programmes and a significant increase in budgetary allocation to the Women Affairs Ministry

Content creator Andrew "Big Boom AJ" Befumo didn't let an injury stop him from performing in a match against AEW wrestler Q.T. Marshall at AEW Full Gear in New Jersey on Saturday night. According to Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select, Befumo suffered a broken foot before his match with Marshall but kept it quiet and still worked the match, where he got a victory alongside his 11-year-old son, Big Justice, and viral sensation The Rizzler. Sapp noted that Befumo was seen walking on crutches after the event, and it was initially believed that he suffered the injury during the match. According to ESPN's Arda Orcal , Befumo previously worked as an independent professional wrestler under the name "the American Powerchild Eric Justice." When asked during the Full Gear post-show media scrum if he would wrestle again, Befumo said, "I love it here [in AEW]. I loved every minute of this. If I'm welcomed back, I'm going to be back, and I'm going to bring the Boom!" The Costco Guys have over 2.3 million followers on TikTok. Their appearance on AEW Dynamite has garnered 10.8 million views on social media.The UN nuclear watchdog's board of governors passed a resolution chiding Iran's poor cooperation with the agency after hours of heated exchanges, diplomats told AFP late on Thursday, a move Tehran called "politically motivated". The censure motion brought by Britain, France, Germany and the United States at the International Atomic Energy Agency's 35-nation board follows a similar one in June. But it comes as tensions run high over Iran's atomic programme, with critics fearing that Tehran is attempting to develop a nuclear weapon -- a claim the Islamic Republic has repeatedly denied. The resolution -- which China, Russia and Burkina Faso voted against -- was carried by 19 votes in favour, with 12 abstentions and Venezuela not participating, two diplomats told AFP. Ahead of the vote on Thursday night, the United States and its European allies sought to rally support for their resolution by denouncing Iran. In its national statement to the board, Washington said that Tehran's nuclear activities are "deeply troubling". London, Paris and Berlin in a joint statement drew attention to the "threat" Iran's nuclear programme posed "to international security", stressing that it now had enough highly enriched uranium for four nuclear weapons. In a first reaction after the vote, Iran's ambassador to the IAEA, Mohsen Naziri Asl, told AFP that the resolution was "politically motivated", citing its "low support" compared to previous censures. The confidential resolution seen by AFP says it is "essential and urgent" for Iran to "act to fulfil its legal obligations". The text also calls on Tehran to provide "technically credible explanations" for the presence of uranium particles found at two undeclared locations in Iran. Moreover, Western powers are asking for a "comprehensive report" to be issued by the IAEA on Iran's nuclear efforts "at the latest" by spring 2025. Since 2021, Tehran has significantly decreased its cooperation with the agency by deactivating surveillance devices to monitor the nuclear programme and barring UN inspectors. At the same time, Iran has rapidly ramped up its nuclear activities, including by increasing its stockpiles of enriched uranium. That has heightened fears that Tehran might be seeking to develop a nuclear weapon, which it denies. The resolution comes just as IAEA head Rafael Grossi returned from a trip to Tehran last week, where he appeared to have made headway. During the visit, Iran agreed to an IAEA demand to cap its sensitive stock of near weapons-grade uranium enriched up to 60 percent purity. "This is a concrete step in the right direction," Grossi told reporters Wednesday, saying it was "the first time" Iran had made such a commitment since it started breaking away from its obligations under the nuclear deal. The landmark 2015 deal -- which curbed Iran's nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief -- fell apart three years later after the unilateral withdrawal by the United States under then-president Donald Trump. In retaliation, Tehran began gradually rolling back some of its commitments by increasing its uranium stockpiles and enriching beyond the 3.67 percent purity -- enough for nuclear power stations -- permitted under the deal. Although symbolic in nature at this stage, the censure motion is designed to raise diplomatic pressure on Iran. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Thursday the censure "will disrupt" interactions with the agency, but stressed Tehran would remain keen to cooperate. Earlier, Araghchi had warned of a "proportionate" response by Iran if the board passes the resolution. According to Heloise Fayet, a researcher at the French Institute of International Relations, the resolution has the potential to "harm Rafael Grossi's efforts". "But Western powers are frustrated by the lack of effectiveness of his diplomatic manoeuvres and are looking for firmer solutions," she told AFP. On Wednesday, Grossi said he could "not exclude" that Iran's commitment to cap enrichment might falter "as a result of further developments". Foreign policy expert Rahman Ghahremanpour said Tehran might retaliate to the new censure by "increasing the enrichment levels". But he does not expect any drastic "strategic measures" as Iran does not want to "aggravate tensions" before Trump returns to the White House. pdm-anb-kym/giv

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