gamedva NEW YORK — What a wonderful year 2024 has been for investors. U.S. stocks ripped higher and carried the S&P 500 to records as the economy kept growing and the Federal Reserve began cutting interest rates. The year featured many familiar winners, such as Big Tech, which got even bigger as their stock prices kept growing . But it wasn't just Apple, Nvidia and the like. Bitcoin , gold and other investments also drove higher. Here's a look at some of the numbers that defined the year. All are as of Dec. 20. 1998 Remember when President Bill Clinton got impeached or when baseball's Mark McGwire hit his 70th home run against the Montreal Expos? That was the last time the U.S. stock market closed out a second straight year with a leap of at least 20%, something the S&P 500 is on track to do again this year. The index has climbed 24.3% so far this year, not including dividends, following last year's spurt of 24.2%. 57 The number of all-time highs the S&P 500 has set so far this year. The first came early, on Jan. 19, when the index capped a two-year comeback from the swoon caused by high inflation and worries that high interest rates instituted by the Federal Reserve to combat it would create a recession. But the index was methodical through the rest of the year, setting a record in every month outside of April and August, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices. The latest came on Dec. 6. 3 The number of times the Federal Reserve has cut its main interest rate this year from a two-decade high, offering some relief to the economy. Expectations for those cuts, along with hopes for more in 2025, were a big reason the U.S. stock market has been so successful this year. The 1 percentage point of cuts, though, is still short of the 1.5 percentage points that many traders were forecasting for 2024 at the start of the year. The Fed disappointed investors in December when it said it may cut rates just two more times in 2025, fewer than it had earlier expected. 1,508 That’s how many points the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by the day after Election Day, as investors made bets on what Donald Trump’s return to the White House will mean for the economy and the world . The more widely followed S&P 500 soared 2.5% for its best day in nearly two years. Aside from bitcoin, stocks of banks and smaller winners were also perceived to be big winners. The bump has since diminished amid worries that Trump’s policies could also send inflation higher. $100,000 The level that bitcoin topped to set a record above $108,000 this past month. It's been climbing as interest rates come down, and it got a particularly big boost following Trump's election. He's turned around and become a fan of crypto, and he's named a former regulator who’s seen as friendly to digital currencies as the next chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, replacing someone who critics said was overly aggressive in his oversight. Bitcoin was below $17,000 just two years ago following the collapse of crypto exchange FTX. 26.7% Gold's rise for the year, as it also hit records and had as strong a run as U.S. stocks. Wars around the world have helped drive demand for investments seen as safe, such as gold. It's also benefited from the Fed's cut to interest rates. When bonds are paying less in interest, they pull away fewer potential buyers from gold, which pays investors nothing. $420 It's a favorite number of Elon Musk, and it's also a threshold that Tesla's stock price passed in December as it set a record. The number has a long history among marijuana devotees, and Musk famously said in 2018 that he had secured funding to take Tesla private at $420 per share . Tesla soared this year, up from less than $250 at the start, in part because of expectations that Musk's close relationship with Trump could benefit the company. $91.2 billion That's how much revenue Nvidia made in the nine months through Oct. 27, showing how the artificial-intelligence frenzy is creating mountains of cash. Nvidia's chips are driving much of the move into AI, and its revenue through the last nine months catapulted from less than $39 billion the year before. Such growth has boosted Nvidia's worth to more than $3 trillion in total. 74% GameStop’s gain on May 13 after Keith Gill, better known as “Roaring Kitty,” appeared online for the first time in three years to support the video game retailer’s stock, which he helped rocket to unimaginable heights during the “ meme stock craze ” in 2021. Several other meme stocks also jumped following his post in May on the social platform X, including AMC Entertainment. Gill later disclosed a sizeable stake in the online pet products retailer Chewy, but he sold all of his holdings by late October . 1.6%, 3.0% and 3.1% That's how much the U.S. economy grew, at annualized seasonally adjusted rates, in each of the three first quarters of this year. Such growth blew past what many pessimists were expecting when inflation was topping 9% in the summer of 2022. The fear was that the medicine prescribed by the Fed to beat high inflation — high interest rates — would create a recession. Households at the lower end of the income spectrum in particular are feeling pain now, as they contend with still-high prices. But the overall economy has remained remarkably resilient. 20.1% This is the vacancy rate for U.S. office buildings — an all-time high — through the first three quarters of 2024, according to data from Moody's. The fact the rate held steady for most of the year was something of a win for office building owners, given that it had marched up steadily from 16.8% in the fourth quarter of 2019. Demand for office space weakened as the pandemic led to the popularization of remote work. 3.73 million That's the total number of previously occupied homes sold nationally through the first 11 months of 2024. Sales would have to surge 20% year-over-year in December for 2024's home sales to match the 4.09 million existing homes sold in 2023, a nearly 30-year low. The U.S. housing market has been in a sales slump dating back to 2022, when mortgage rates began to climb from pandemic-era lows. A shortage of homes for sale and elevated mortgage rates have discouraged many would-be homebuyers.

Jets wide receiver Davante Adams sits out practice with a hip ailment, Aaron Rodgers a full goNone

Pregnant Charlotte Crosby ‘rushed to hospital’ days after home robbery attempt

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Winter Care for Seniors with Restricted Mobility

BOISE — Not everyone spent Christmas at home this year, but kids at the Ronald McDonald house still got presents from Santa. Leilani Gianchetta, 11, spent this Christmas with her mom at the Ronald McDonald House located at 139 E. Warm Springs Ave. in Boise. In August, Leilani was diagnosed with C3 glomerulopathy, a rare kidney disease that affects the small filters in kidneys and the immune system. There is no cure for C3 glomerulopathy. The Idaho Ronald McDonald House, which turned 50 this year, is a nonprofit organization that helps house families who have sick children who are frequently hospitalized at St. Luke’s. “We exist to provide comfort and resources to families with ill or injured children during times of medical need,” Idaho Ronald McDonald House Executive Director Nancee Bakken said. “We really wrap our arms around these families to make sure that they have the resources and the care that they need to focus on what matters the most, which is the health and well-being of their child.” Leilani and her mother, Audrey, came to the Ronald McDonald House on Dec. 16 and celebrated Christmas there while her three siblings and dad, Jeremy, were in Mountain Home. Leilani is the oldest of four kids, but her siblings — 8-year-old D’agnilli, 5-year-old Santino and 2-year-old Gietano — typically stay home while Leilani is at the Ronald McDonald House. To celebrate Christmas, the kids and Jeremy all came to the Ronald McDonald House on Dec. 21 and 22 — it’s certainly not the holiday the family had in mind, but they’re making the best of it, Audrey said. Leilani’s case of C3 glomerulopathy is a severe one, Audrey said, so she could be getting her first kidney transplant next year. Leilani Gianchetta, 11, relaxes with her mom Audrey and 2-year-old brother Gietano, in a sitting room at the Ronald McDonald House near downtown Boise. “She can only have two sets of kidneys,” Audrey said, holding back tears. “Essentially her diagnosis has a 10-year prognosis ... no matter how many transplants she gets, the disease will stay in her body, so it will eventually attack each transplant.” The Ronald McDonald House does make Christmas special, Audrey said. Kids write letters to Santa Claus and typically get what they ask for, thanks to employees’ hard work. This year, Leilani wanted an American Girl Doll, so the house special ordered one to come for Christmas, Audrey said. The house has fun activities and treats for kids to enjoy on most of the days leading up to Christmas, Audrey said, which helps families cope with visits to the hospital during the holidays. Leilani’s diagnosis turned the Gianchettas’ lives upside down. Leilani, who used to play softball and go to school every day, has had to give most things up. “Her immune system is so weak from her medications that she can’t go to school anymore,” Audrey said. Recently, Leilani got a port so doctors can give her medications without having to give her so many IV’s. According to Audrey, Leilani is constantly getting labs and blood work done at the hospital. One of her 15 daily medications costs over $1,000 every month after insurance, Audrey said. “Her dad (Jeremy) doesn’t get to come up with us very much ... he works two or three jobs at a time to pay for everything,” Audrey said. But Leilani says that being away from family is the worst part. The exterior of the Ronald McDonald House near downtown Boise, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. “It feels like you’re staying here forever,” she said. “It’s kind of difficult when you’re here, your best friend’s all the way over there and so is your family.” Her best friend, 9-year-old Colbie Markgraf, lives two doors down from Leilani’s family in Mountain Home. Colbie’s mom, Kyra Markgraf, comes by the Ronald McDonald House a couple of times a week to keep Audrey and Leilani company. “We’re family,” Kyra said, tearing up a little. “Watching her life get turned upside down...that’s been really hard.” And watching the distance affect Colbie and Leilani’s friendship has been a difficult thing to navigate too, Kyra said. “I think (Leilani) feels like she’s losing her best friend,” Kyra said. “Colbie is in school, so she’s gone all day and doesn’t get home until 4 p.m., and by that time, it’s time to do homework, eat dinner...they don’t see each other much anymore.” That distance wears on Leilani, who said the Ronald McDonald House is amazing, but can get lonely. Still, she always has her mom by her side. “My mom is always with me whenever I go,” Leilani said, smiling. “She’s positive, she’s supportive, she’s the best.” Leilani Gianchetta, 11, discusses her time at the Ronald McDonald House, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. That support and love that Leilani says she feels is “because of God.” “All the positives and all the prayers have helped,” she said. Leilani was recently visited by the Make-A-Wish Foundation and is planning to wish for a trip to Hawaii. According to its impact report, the Idaho Ronald McDonald House served 1,879 families in 2023 and provided nearly 8,000 nights of lodging to families. Canyon County represents about 10% of the families this particular home serves — second only to Twin Falls County. Folks typically turn up after being referred to the house by a social worker, doctor, nurse or health care provider. The average length of stay for families is 12 days, Bakken said, but the house currently has a family that’s been staying there for 16 months. In 2023, there were over 14,000 volunteer hours put in to support families at the house. The Idaho house was established in 1988, initially with four rooms dedicated to housing folks with sick children in the St. Luke’s hospital next to it. The new Ronald McDonald House, built in 2020, sits just next to the old one and has 47 rooms for folks with sick children. Every service at the home is free of charge, Bakken said, but to stay at the house folks have to have a child who is being treated at the hospital. To stay for longer periods of time, folks have to live outside of Ada County.TV star Charlotte Crosby said she has tightened security around her home with 24-hour monitored CCTV and patrol dogs, days after masked thieves carrying a machete attempted to rob her home. The former Geordie Shore star, who is nearly eight months pregnant, thanked a security company “for all the hard work this week” after adding the protections to her home. “Trebling our security measures, worth every penny to feel safe again in my own home,” the 34-year-old said in a post to her Instagram story. “Scumbags are gunna get a big shock the next time they even step foot on any perimeter of my land.” It comes after her fiance, Jake Ankers, said on social media that a group of men carrying a machete entered their home on Thursday evening while they were in the house with their two-year-old daughter. The businessman said one of the four men “had a red balaclava on” and was carrying the weapon at the top of the stairs. Durham Constabulary were alerted at 7pm on Thursday to reports of an aggravated burglary in Houghton-le-Spring, a town in the Sunderland area. A spokeswoman for the force said: “Officers attended the area, however the suspects left the scene before their arrival. “Nobody was injured in the incident and no items are believed to have been taken.” She added that an investigation is under way and anyone with information is asked to contact police. After the incident, Crosby was admitted to hospital after experiencing “serious pains” in her stomach, but confirmed her baby is “all fine”. Ankers appeared with the reality star on BBC Three reality show Charlotte In Sunderland. Crosby is best known for appearing in the MTV reality series Geordie Shore and winning the 12th series of Celebrity Big Brother in 2013. She and Ankers got engaged in October 2023 after she gave birth to their first child in 2022.

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Should AI be used to resurrect extinct species like the Neanderthal? | Mohammad HosseiniWater is a scarce commodity in the Philippines despite its abundant water resources. The growing demand and continuing resource-intensive economic development make it more unavailable and inaccessible. Thus, the escalating demand, resulting in water-related challenges, such as supply and access to safe and sustainable water, pose significant economic challenges. To help secure the future of the country’s water resources, the University of the Philippines Los Banos-Integrated Natural Resources and Environment Management (UPLB-Inrem) and the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCAARRD) have partnered to conduct a pioneering project aimed at institutionalizing Payment for Water Ecosystem Service (P-WES) in the country. The project, “Advocating the Institutionalization of Payment for Water Ecosystem Service in the Philippines,” comes at a critical time when the growing demand for water-related environmental services is facing increasing pressure due to diminishing natural resources and inadequate funding for environmental protection. Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) is an economic tool that has emerged to promote conservation and management of natural resources by compensating those who provide essential ecosystem services. Despite recognition of the importance of PES, the Philippines has yet to establish a comprehensive policy framework that embraces and institutionalizes the adoption of PES. The project seeks to address the gap by engaging local and national stakeholders in establishing and institutionalizing a framework for compensating providers of essential water-related ecosystem services. The initiative not only aims to raise awareness about the significance of P-WES but also to provide a platform for stakeholders to enhance the proposed National Payment for Water Ecosystem Service policy. The project aims to raise awareness about the significance of P-WES in the country and its local-level initiatives; provide P-WES and PES Outcome for Sustainable Water Provision projects’ stakeholders platform to improve the proposed National P-WES policy draft. Likewise, it aims to implement a parallel effort to institutionalize P-WES at the provincial level; and institutionalize the implementation of P-WES as a natural resource conservation strategy through legislation. During the project’s inception meeting on June 20, Project Leader Asa Jose Sajise of UPLB discussed the increasing demand for environmental services, particularly the water ecosystem services and the development of national P-WES policy to address pressing water-related environmental and socioeconomic issues. Sajise highlighted the development of an initial Theory of Change. It hopes to guide the project in assessing the previous PES experiences and arrangements, identifying different P-WES initiatives in the Philippines and co-developing a draft national protocol on its implementation, in collaboration with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-River Basin Control Office and DENR-Forest Management Bureau. The inception meeting had key resource persons, including Dr. Margaret Calderon, Professor 12 at UPLB, and Dieldre Harder, S&T Consultant at the United States Agency for International Development Philippines Safe Water project. With a project duration of 18 months, DOST-PCAARRD and UPLB hope the project serves as a valuable resource for revising existing policies or developing new ones that support the effective implementation of PES.

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Poser 3-8 3-4 11, Okpomo 2-6 0-1 4, Badru 4-9 0-0 10, McComb 1-9 2-2 4, Sunderland 3-9 0-0 6, Hamelin 2-5 2-2 7, Middleton 2-6 3-3 7, O'Neill 0-0 0-0 0, Saunders 0-0 0-0 0, Siewruk 0-1 0-0 0, Pissis 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-53 10-12 49. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.Integrated Electrical Solutions NJ Brings Expert Electrical Services to North Jersey

As science continues its evolution, discoveries and technologies can act like a master key that open doors leading to novel advancements. Artificial intelligence is one such key, making innovations possible by solving complex problems, automating tasks and enabling research that would have been impossible, or very time-consuming, without it. Mohammad Hosseini But do we want to do research on all topics, and shall we try the AI master key on every door? To explore this question, let’s consider the use of AI by genomics experts as an example. In recent years, genomics experts have added unbelievable depth to what we know about the world and ourselves. For example, genetics researchers have revealed facts about when certain animals and plants were domesticated. In another example, researchers used DNA from 30,000-year-old permafrost to create fertile samples of a plant called narrow-leafed campion. Importantly, genetic engineering has facilitated extraordinary advances in the treatment of complicated conditions, such as sickle-cell anemia. Thanks to AI, we are witnessing a dramatic increase in the pace and scalability of genomic exploration. But given the risks and possible consequences of AI use in science, should we rush headlong into using AI in all kinds of projects? One relevant example is research on Neanderthals, our closest relatives, who lived about 40,000 years ago. Neanderthals have been studied for several years now through genetic investigation of their fossils and their DNA. Genetic engineering can potentially use ancient DNA and genome editing methods to re-create a Neanderthal or aspects of a Neanderthal’s genetics and physiology. To do this, scientists could start by figuring out the DNA sequence of a Neanderthal by comparing it with the DNA of modern humans, because they are closely related. Then, scientists could use the gene-editing tool known as CRISPR to swap out parts of human DNA with Neanderthal DNA. This process would require a lot of trial and error and might not succeed soon. But based on what we know about genetics, if something is possible, AI can help make it happen faster, cheaper and with less effort. Scientists are excited about these developments because they could facilitate new discoveries and open up many research opportunities in genetic research. With or without AI, research on Neanderthals will proceed. But the extraordinary power of AI could give the final push to these discoveries and facilitate this kind of resurrection. At that point, the scientific community must develop norms and guidelines about how to treat these resurrected beings with dispositions very similar to humans. We would need to carefully consider their rights and well-being almost in the same way as when humans are involved and not as research subjects or artifacts of scientific curiosity. These ethical issues are discussed in more detail in a new paper published in the journal Nature Machine Intelligence. A more holistic question to consider is: Should we prioritize the use of resource-intensive AI, researchers’ time and public funds to resurrect extinct beings? Or should we invest these resources into conserving species that are critically endangered today to prevent biodiversity from more degradation? Hosseini is an assistant professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. He wrote this for The Chicago Tribune . Get opinion pieces, letters and editorials sent directly to your inbox weekly!Blushing Diljit Dosanjh turns face away from audience after getting hugs from fan during concert. Watch

AMMAN, Jordan — President Joe Biden on Tuesday announced Israel and Lebanon have reached a ceasefire agreement meant to pause fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah. The 14-month conflict has left more than 3,000 people dead. “Effective 4 a.m. tomorrow local time the fighting across the Lebanese-Israeli border will end. Will end,” Biden said from the White House. “This is designed to be a permanent cessation of hostilities. I applaud the courageous leaders of Lebanon and Israel end the violence.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier Tuesday he had recommended that this government approve the agreement. Though the deal does not involve the separate conflict in Gaza Strip, Biden administration officials said they hoped it would lead to an agreement to end fighting there, too. Even as the deal was finalized, Israeli warplanes launched a series of airstrikes across Lebanon, striking areas in the country’s southern and eastern regions, along with the suburbs of the capital — areas where Hezbollah holds sway. Several airstrikes also hit the heart of Beirut, killing at least 10 people, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry. In a televised address on Tuesday evening local time, Netanyahu said he would present the outline of the proposal to the government, pushing his ministers to accept the move despite reservations from far-right leaders who are integral members of his coalition. “The length of the ceasefire will depend on what happens in Lebanon,” Netanyahu said. He added that Israel would maintain freedom to act against violations. “If Hezbollah breaks the agreement and seeks to arm itself, we will attack,” he said. The agreement would not immediately affect the fighting in Gaza Strip with the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Netanyahu pushed his ministers to accept the agreement, arguing it would allow Israel to focus its attention on the threat from Iran, give Israeli troops an opportunity to replenish their stocks and isolate Hamas. The agreement will initiate a 60-day truce that would see both sides withdraw: Israeli troops out of south Lebanon to Israeli territory, and Hezbollah to areas north of the Litani River, some 18 miles north of the Lebanese-Israeli border. During the truce, a monitoring mechanism would be established that would ensure Hezbollah is not able to reconstitute itself or wage attacks on Israel from southern Lebanon. A U.S.-led committee would oversee implementation of the withdrawal. Lebanese officials say some 5,000 soldiers from Lebanon’s army — which has remained neutral during the conflict — would then enter south Lebanon, along with U.N. peacekeeping forces. Lebanon’s caretaker government is set to meet Wednesday morning to discuss the proposal; it is widely expected to be approved. Despite the optimism, many elements of the ceasefire proposal — which came about after vigorous negotiations brokered by the U.S. and France — remain unclear. One of the larger sticking points is whether Israel would be able to continue striking Hezbollah throughout Lebanon if the group attempts to reestablish a presence south of the Litani River, or if it continues to wage attacks on Israel or smuggle weapons. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz told the U.N.’s Lebanon envoy Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert on Tuesday that Israel would act “forcefully” against any breach of the ceasefire agreement. “If you do not act, we will do it, forcefully,” Katz said in a statement. “Any house rebuilt in south Lebanon and used as a terrorist base will be destroyed, any rearming or terrorist organization will be attacked, any attempt at transferring arms will be foiled, and any threat against our forces or our citizens will be immediately eliminated.” Lebanese leaders have dismissed such an agreement as an unacceptable breach of Lebanon’s sovereignty. The ceasefire would officially be an agreement between Israel and Lebanon. It includes a Lebanese lawmaker who has been negotiating on Hezbollah’s behalf. But Hezbollah, a paramilitary faction and political party which is backed by Iran, is not officially a party to the agreement. Another question is the fate of Hezbollah’s weapons. Before the war, the group was considered one of the world’s premier paramilitary factions, with an arsenal more powerful than that of the Lebanese army. The ceasefire agreement, which is based on a U.N. resolution that established a ceasefire in the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel, has provisions that would force the group to surrender its arms. A ceasefire would end a 13-month conflict that began a day after Hamas attacked southern Israel, when Hezbollah initiated a rocket campaign in northern Israel in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. In the months of tit-for-tat strikes that followed, some 60,000 people from northern Israel and approximately 100,000 Lebanese from southern Lebanon were displaced. In September, Israel escalated its attacks, conducting thousands of airstrikes on Hezbollah-dominated parts of the country and starting an invasion that saw Israeli troops enter southern Lebanon for the first time since 2006. It also assassinated Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah . Since Oct. 8, 2023, more than 3,823 people have been killed in Lebanon and 15,859 injured, according to Lebanese government data, the majority of them in the last two months. More than 25% of those killed were women and children, according to the government data, which do not distinguish between civilians and combatants. Meanwhile, some 1.2 million people — almost a quarter of Lebanon’s population — have been displaced, with wide swaths of the country destroyed. The Israeli government said on Tuesday that 78 Israelis have been killed in attacks by Hezbollah and its allies, including 47 civilians. Even as senior Israeli ministers were meeting at Israeli military headquarters in Tel Aviv, Israeli warplanes launched some 180 airstrikes across the country, according to a statement from Israel’s military. It issued evacuation warnings for some cities. The military said it was targeting Hezbollah’s infrastructure, including the group’s financial arm. Among the targets were four neighborhoods of central Beirut with which had previously been spared from the fighting. One raid hit Hamra, a popular shopping district in the capital which in recent months has become a sanctuary for hundreds of thousands displaced from the Dahieh, the constellation of suburbs south of Beirut where many of Hezbollah’s offices are headquartered. The Dahieh too was pounded by an intense barrage of more than 20 airstrikes, leaving the area obscured by a curtain of smoke and rocking buildings in adjacent neighborhoods. “The hysterical Israeli aggression this evening on Beirut and various Lebanese regions, which specifically targets civilians, confirms once again that the Israeli enemy does not respect any law or consideration,” said Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati in a statement on Tuesday. He called on the international community “to act quickly to stop this aggression and implement an immediate ceasefire.” Meanwhile, Hezbollah continued its barrage against northern Israel, lobbing dozens of projectiles across the border. ©2024 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.Analysis: Texans must get on track before playoffs after lopsided loss to RavensMembership of UK's anti-immigration Reform party surpasses Conservatives