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WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Tonga’s Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni abruptly resigned in parliament on Monday ahead of a planned no-confidence vote in his leadership, capping a period of fraught relations between his government and Tonga’s king. Sovaleni, who took office in 2021, did not specify a reason for his departure but his resignation halted the no-confidence motion expected on Monday. It was not immediately clear who would succeed him. His resignation comes less than a year before a national election in Tonga, a South Pacific island nation of 105,000 people, and it highlighted the occasional tensions between Tonga’s monarchy and elected lawmakers in a still-young democracy after reforms that transferred powers from the royal family and nobles to regular citizens in 2010. A statement on the Tongan Parliament Facebook page said Sovaleni, 54, quit “for the good of the country and moving Tonga forward.” Video from Tonga’s parliament on Monday showed the leader making brief and emotional remarks in Tongan before the no-confidence vote was scheduled to take place. Sovaleni’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. His leadership had survived a previous no-confidence vote in September 2023. Get the latest breaking news as it happens. By clicking Sign up, you agree to our privacy policy . In recent months, Sovaleni's tenure was marked by difficult relations with Tonga's head of state, King Tupou VI. Although the sovereign’s predecessor ceded power voluntarily in the 2010 democratic reforms, Tupou VI retains powers to dissolve parliament, appoint judges and veto laws. The king at times made his dissatisfaction with Sovaleni apparent, including by withdrawing confidence in him as defense minister in February. Some lawmakers at first decried the king's pressure on Sovaleni and his foreign minister as unconstitutional, but both eventually resigned their posts in April — although Sovaleni remained prime minister. A month earlier, Sovaleni had been photographed at a traditional ceremony of apology to the king, but neither side publicly addressed the event. When Tonga hosted the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders’ Meeting in August, the king was traveling abroad and did not attend the conference — a significant event for the small Pacific nation — which analysts said was a snub to Sovaleni and his government. Speaking to Radio New Zealand on Monday, Sovaleni did not signal a particular reason for his departure. Asked whether his decision was prompted by disagreements with the king, Sovaleni said that “differences in views” were normal. “I’m not sure whether that’s the reason,” he said, according to RNZ, adding that he still did not know why he and Tonga's foreign minister had lost the king’s confidence earlier this year. “But we still provide respect to his majesty,” Sovaleni told RNZ. “Whatever we do, we always consider that relationship. So maybe you can ask someone else.” His successor will be selected by Tonga’s 26 lawmakers in a vote. The parliament is made up of 17 lawmakers elected by the public and nine who are nobles, elected by a group of hereditary chiefs. Sovaleni entered parliament in 2014 and had been a minister since 2019. He led Tonga as the tourism-dependent country struggled to rebound from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, growing threats from climate change and a catastrophic 2022 volcanic eruption and tsunami, which battered beachfront resorts, homes and businesses around Tonga's 171 islands. A former senior public servant who also worked in the private sector before entering politics, Sovaleni is the son of a former Tongan deputy prime minister. He attended high school in New Zealand and studied at the University of Oxford and the University of the South Pacific, attaining master’s degrees in computer science and business.Stephon Gilmore still not practicing for VikingsBy MICHELLE L. PRICE WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — An online spat between factions of Donald Trump’s supporters over immigration and the tech industry has thrown internal divisions in his political movement into public display, previewing the fissures and contradictory views his coalition could bring to the White House. The rift laid bare the tensions between the newest flank of Trump’s movement — wealthy members of the tech world including billionaire Elon Musk and fellow entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and their call for more highly skilled workers in their industry — and people in Trump’s Make America Great Again base who championed his hardline immigration policies. The debate touched off this week when Laura Loomer , a right-wing provocateur with a history of racist and conspiratorial comments, criticized Trump’s selection of Sriram Krishnan as an adviser on artificial intelligence policy in his coming administration. Krishnan favors the ability to bring more skilled immigrants into the U.S. Loomer declared the stance to be “not America First policy” and said the tech executives who have aligned themselves with Trump were doing so to enrich themselves. Much of the debate played out on the social media network X, which Musk owns. Loomer’s comments sparked a back-and-forth with venture capitalist and former PayPal executive David Sacks , whom Trump has tapped to be the “White House A.I. & Crypto Czar.” Musk and Ramaswamy, whom Trump has tasked with finding ways to cut the federal government , weighed in, defending the tech industry’s need to bring in foreign workers. It bloomed into a larger debate with more figures from the hard-right weighing in about the need to hire U.S. workers, whether values in American culture can produce the best engineers, free speech on the internet, the newfound influence tech figures have in Trump’s world and what his political movement stands for. Trump has not yet weighed in on the rift, and his presidential transition team did not respond to a message seeking comment. Musk, the world’s richest man who has grown remarkably close to the president-elect , was a central figure in the debate, not only for his stature in Trump’s movement but his stance on the tech industry’s hiring of foreign workers. Technology companies say H-1B visas for skilled workers, used by software engineers and others in the tech industry, are critical for hard-to-fill positions. But critics have said they undercut U.S. citizens who could take those jobs. Some on the right have called for the program to be eliminated, not expanded. Born in South Africa, Musk was once on an a H-1B visa himself and defended the industry’s need to bring in foreign workers. “There is a permanent shortage of excellent engineering talent,” he said in a post. “It is the fundamental limiting factor in Silicon Valley.” Related Articles National Politics | Should the U.S. increase immigration levels for highly skilled workers? National Politics | Trump threat to immigrant health care tempered by economic hopes National Politics | In states that ban abortion, social safety net programs often fail families National Politics | Court rules Georgia lawmakers can subpoena Fani Willis for information related to her Trump case National Politics | New 2025 laws hit hot topics from AI in movies to rapid-fire guns Trump’s own positions over the years have reflected the divide in his movement. His tough immigration policies, including his pledge for a mass deportation, were central to his winning presidential campaign. He has focused on immigrants who come into the U.S. illegally but he has also sought curbs on legal immigration , including family-based visas. As a presidential candidate in 2016, Trump called the H-1B visa program “very bad” and “unfair” for U.S. workers. After he became president, Trump in 2017 issued a “Buy American and Hire American” executive order , which directed Cabinet members to suggest changes to ensure H-1B visas were awarded to the highest-paid or most-skilled applicants to protect American workers. Trump’s businesses, however, have hired foreign workers, including waiters and cooks at his Mar-a-Lago club , and his social media company behind his Truth Social app has used the the H-1B program for highly skilled workers. During his 2024 campaign for president, as he made immigration his signature issue, Trump said immigrants in the country illegally are “poisoning the blood of our country” and promised to carry out the largest deportation operation in U.S. history. But in a sharp departure from his usual alarmist message around immigration generally, Trump told a podcast this year that he wants to give automatic green cards to foreign students who graduate from U.S. colleges. “I think you should get automatically, as part of your diploma, a green card to be able to stay in this country,” he told the “All-In” podcast with people from the venture capital and technology world. Those comments came on the cusp of Trump’s budding alliance with tech industry figures, but he did not make the idea a regular part of his campaign message or detail any plans to pursue such changes.

BOSTON , Dec. 13, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Below is the November 2024 Monthly Update for the Liberty All-Star Growth Fund, Inc. (NYSE: ASG ). Liberty All-Star Growth Fund, Inc. Ticker: ASG Monthly Update, November 2024 Investment Approach: Fund Style: All-Cap Growth Fund Strategy: Combines three growth style investment managers, each with a distinct capitalization focus (small-, mid- and large-cap) selected and continuously monitored by the Fund's Investment Advisor. Investment Managers: Weatherbie Capital, LLC Small-Cap Growth Congress Asset Management Company, LLP Mid-Cap Growth Westfield Capital Management Company, L.P. Large-Cap Growth New Holdings: Block, Inc. GE Vernova, Inc. GoDaddy, Inc. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. VSE Corp. Holdings Liquidated: AbbVie, Inc. Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. ASML Holding N.V. The net asset value (NAV) of a closed-end fund is the market value of the underlying investments (i.e., stocks and bonds) in the Fund's portfolio, minus liabilities, divided by the total number of Fund shares outstanding. However, the Fund also has a market price; the value at which it trades on an exchange. If the market price is above the NAV the Fund is trading at a premium. If the market price is below the NAV the Fund is trading at a discount. Performance returns for the Fund are total returns, which includes dividends, and are net of management fees and other Fund expenses. Returns are calculated assuming that a shareholder reinvested all distributions. Past performance cannot predict future investment results. Performance will fluctuate with changes in market conditions. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data shown. Performance information shown does not reflect the deduction of taxes that shareholders would pay on Fund distributions or the sale of Fund shares. Shareholders must be willing to tolerate significant fluctuations in the value of their investment. An investment in the Fund involves risk, including loss of principal. Sources of distributions to shareholders may include ordinary dividends, long-term capital gains and return of capital. The final determination of the source of all distributions in 2024 for tax reporting purposes will be made after year end. The actual amounts and sources of the amounts for tax reporting purposes will depend upon the Fund's investment experience during its fiscal year and may be subject to changes based on tax regulations. Based on current estimates a portion of the distributions consist of a return of capital. These estimates may not match the final tax characterization (for the full year's distributions) contained in shareholder 1099-DIV forms after the end of the year. All data is as of November 30, 2024 unless otherwise noted. Liberty All-Star® Growth Fund, Inc. 1-800-241-1850 www.all-starfunds.com [email protected] SOURCE Liberty All-Star Growth Fund, Inc.US stock indices pushed to fresh records Tuesday, shrugging off tariff threats from President-elect Donald Trump while European equities retreated. Trump, who doesn't take office until January 20, made his threat in social media posts Monday night, announcing huge import tariffs against neighbors Canada and Mexico and also rival China if they do not stop illegal immigration and drug smuggling. Both the Dow and S&P 500 notched all-time highs, with investors regarding the incoming president's words as a bargaining chip. "In theory, higher tariffs should not be good news for stocks. But, you know, I think the market's chosen to think of (it) as a negotiating tactic," said Steve Sosnick of Interactive Brokers. "You have bullish sentiment," said LBBW's Karl Haeling. "People are tending to look at things as positively as possible." But General Motors, which imports autos from Mexico to the United States, slumped 9.0 percent, while rival Ford dropped 2.6 percent. Overseas bourses were also buffeted by the news. European stocks followed losses in Asia, despite Trump excluding Europe as an immediate target for tariffs. "These are his first direct comments on tariffs and tariff levels since becoming president-elect, and they have roiled markets," said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB trading group, ahead of the Wall Street open. "It is early days, and there are plenty of opportunities for Trump to direct his attention to Europe down the line," Brooks added. The US dollar rallied against its Canadian equivalent, China's yuan and Mexico's peso, which hit its lowest level since August 2022. In other economic news, the Conference Board's consumer confidence index rose to 111.7 this month, up from 109.6 in October, boosted by greater optimism surrounding the labor market. "November's increase was mainly driven by more positive consumer assessments of the present situation, particularly regarding the labor market," said Dana Peterson, chief economist at The Conference Board. Pantheon Macroeconomics chief US economist Samuel Tombs added in a note that the increase in consumer confidence overall "likely was driven by euphoria among Republicans." "The index also jumped in late 2016, when Mr. Trump was elected for the first time," he said. Federal Reserve meeting minutes showed policy makers expect inflation to keep cooling, signaling a gradual approach to interest rate cuts if price increases ease further and the job market remains strong. - Key figures around 2150 GMT - New York - Dow: UP 0.3 percent at 44,860.31 (close) New York - S&P 500: UP 0.6 percent at 6,021.63 (close) New York - Nasdaq: UP 0.6 percent at 19,174.30 (close) London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.4 percent at 8,258.61 (close) Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.9 percent at 7,194.51 (close) Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.6 percent at 19,295.98 (close) Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.9 percent at 38,442.00 (close) Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: FLAT at 19,159.20 (close) Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 3,259.76 (close) Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0482 from $1.0495 on Monday Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2567 from $1.2568 Dollar/yen: DOWN at 153.06 yen from 154.23 yen Euro/pound: DOWN at 83.41 pence from 83.51 pence Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.3 percent at $72.81 per barrel West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.3 percent at $68.77 per barrel bur-jmb/st

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An online debate over foreign workers in tech shows tensions in Trump’s political coalitionMcGregor must pay $250K to woman who says he raped her, civil jury rulesPORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A businessman with no experience in public office is taking over as mayor of Oregon’s biggest city as it embraces an entirely new system of government — one that’s so different, the City Council chambers had to be completely renovated. Portland voters last month elected Keith Wilson, a trucking company executive and founder of a nonprofit working to increase homeless shelter capacity. He ran on an ambitious pledge to end unsheltered homelessness within a year and will be sworn in Thursday alongside a council expanded from five seats to 12. Portland is contending with homelessness, public drug use and a rising cost of living. Wilson, a Portland native, plans to reach his goal of ending unsheltered homelessness by increasing the number of nighttime walk-in emergency shelters in facilities such as churches and community centers. His message appeared to have resonated in a city where surveys conducted over the past few years have shown that residents view homelessness as a top issue. He ran against three outgoing City Council members. The mayoral race , which featured 19 candidates, was thrown open when Mayor Ted Wheeler decided against seeking reelection after holding the city’s top post since 2017. Wheeler rose to national prominence in 2020 as nightly protests erupted on Portland streets and around the country in response to the police killing of George Floyd . RELATED COVERAGE LeBron James returns to score 18 in Lakers’ win vs Grizzlies after missing 2 games with foot injury Can ordinary citizens solve our toughest problems? John Collins scores 20 points, Jazz snap 5-game skid with 141-99 victory over the Trail Blazers The field of candidates in council races was crowded as well, with nearly 100 running for the new seats that were elected by voters in individual districts rather than citywide. The 130-year-old City Hall was renovated for $8.3 million to accommodate the increase in members. The new dais can now seat 12 people; floor layouts were changed to create more office space; and technology, seismic and accessibility updates were added throughout the building. “Remodeling council chambers is a once-in-a-generation activity,” Maty Sauter, director of Portland’s Bureau of Fleet and Facilities, told the outgoing City Council as it held its last meeting on Wednesday in the new chambers. “We’ve been able to reuse this 1895 facility and make it modern, contemporary and useful.” It’s going to take time for the new government to figure out which of the many changes are working, said Chris Shortell, associate professor of political science at Portland State University. In another first for City Hall, Wilson and the incoming Council members were elected under Portland’s new system of ranked-choice voting . A candidate would win if they were the first choice of more than 50% of voters in the first round. Otherwise, a second round would eliminate the candidate with the fewest votes and their supporters’ votes go to their next choice. The process would repeat until someone emerges with a majority of votes. Some 34% of voters ranked Wilson as their first choice, according to final results. The new City Council will hold its first meeting in January.

The Las Vegas Grand Prix is back for a second year, and so is Brad Pitt . The 60-year-old actor was spotted in Sin City not to watch the event but to continue filming his upcoming movie F1 , in which he’ll play veteran race car driver Sonny Hayes, Daily Mail reported . Pitt, a well-known Formula One fan, attended the event in Nevada last year where he appeared to be doing field research for the role. This time around, he was shooting a scene on a hotel balcony with his co-star Kerry Condon who will star as Kate. Damson Idris, Javier Bardem, Tobias Menzies, Sarah Niles, Kim Bodnia, and Samson Kayo have also joined the cast. The highly anticipated movie is set to premiere next summer in June 2025. The flick is being directed by Joseph Kosinski and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, the same duo who worked on the remake of the navy drama Top Gun: Maverick . Seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton is also serving as a consultant for the movie. “Filmed yesterday, and it’s coming out next year,” Bruckheimer told Entertainment Tonight during the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix . “It’ll be very exciting, we have Brad Pitt racing, we did some background filming and we’ll be back here next year.” Last month, Pitt attended the Mexico City Grand Prix to film additional scenes for the movie. Not only did he show up to the event, but he could be seen exiting a car on the Hermanos Rodríguez racetrack wearing the suit and helmet of the fictional APX GP team, the British publication reported. Filming began at Silverstone back in July 2023 when Pitt hit the track at the British Grand Prix . The motion picture has made it a point to shoot scenes in real-time during several international F1 races including the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. In order to capture all the high-speed racing action, Oscar-winning cinematographer Claudio Miranda teamed up with Sony to develop custom cameras that could be mounted onto the cars. Apple Studios released a teaser trailer for the film just before this year’s British Grand Prix. In the movie, Pitt’s character retires from the sport after suffering a crash but is thrusted back into action when he’s recruited by F1 team owner (Bardem) to mentor the rookie phenom Joshua Pearce (Idris). “I’m a little giddy right now, I’ve got to say,” Pitt told Sky Sports while at Silverstone. “It’s the best time of my life...The vibe is amazing, but just to get to be a part of it in this way, and get to tell our story...All the teams have opened their doors for us. Everyone has just been really, really amazing, that we can do this. And it’s going to be really good.”The Ministry of Health (MOH) will not subsidise the cost of the shingles vaccine because of its high price. A check by The Straits Times found that the price of the two doses of the Shingrix vaccine, which are administered two to six months apart, ranges from $720 to $950, inclusive of goods and services tax and any consultation fees. “At the price proposed by the manufacturer, the vaccine is not considered cost-effective for the prevention of shingles at the population level,” MOH said on Nov 12 in response to a parliamentary question. Mr Christopher de Souza (Holland-Bukit Timah GRC) had asked in Parliament in November whether MOH planned to include the vaccine in the National Adult Immunisation Schedule, “such that it will be eligible for subsidies, especially for vulnerable seniors”. Produced by British pharmaceutical company GSK, Shingrix was approved for use here in 2021. It provides over 90 per cent protection against shingles, although its effectiveness may be lower for older people and those with weakened immune systems. Protection lasts at least seven years, and possibly longer, as the vaccine is relatively new, having been first approved for use in the US in October 2017. Social isolation makes teenage girls' brains age faster Only people who had chicken pox are at risk of getting shingles, as it is caused by the same varicella-zoster virus, which remains dormant but may flare up later in life. Shingles causes a painful and itchy rash, usually on one side of the body or face. For the majority of patients, the blisters scab in a week, and clear up totally within four weeks. However, up to one in five people might suffer from complications, the most common being long-term nerve pain, known as postherpetic neuralgia. Other complications include pneumonia, encephalitis or inflammation of the brain, and hearing loss. The risk of complications is higher in older people. The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention says that one in three adults will get shingles in their lifetime. In Singapore, an estimated 30,000 people suffer from the illness each year. People can get shingles more than once. The treatment focuses on pain relief. Antivirals, if taken within the first 72 hours, are most effective. They may help reduce some symptoms if taken within the first five days, but they do not entirely prevent nerve pain. The best protection against shingles is to get vaccinated. Although MOH will not subsidise the cost of the shingles vaccine, there are other vaccines for seniors that it does subsidise. These include the annual influenza vaccine, and two doses of the pneumococcal vaccine to protect against conditions like pneumonia, meningitis and infection of the blood.