WASHINGTON — A top White House official said Wednesday at least eight U.S. telecom firms and dozens of nations were impacted by a Chinese hacking campaign. Deputy national security adviser Anne Neuberger offered new details about the breadth of the sprawling Chinese hacking campaign that gave officials in Beijing access to private texts and phone conversations of an unknown number of Americans. FILE - The American and Chinese flags wave at Genting Snow Park ahead of the 2022 Winter Olympics, in Zhangjiakou, China, on Feb. 2, 2022. A top White House official on Wednesday said at least eight U.S. telecom firms and dozens of nations have been impacted by a Chinese hacking campaign. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato, File) Neuberger divulged the scope of the hack a day after the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issued guidance intended to help root out the hackers and prevent similar cyberespionage in the future. White House officials cautioned that the number of telecommunication firms and countries impacted could grow. The U.S. believes the hackers were able to gain access to communications of senior U.S. government officials and prominent political figures through the hack, Neuberger said. “We don’t believe any classified communications has been compromised,” Neuberger added during a call with reporters. She added that Biden was briefed on the findings and the White House “made it a priority for the federal government to do everything it can to get to the bottom this.” US officials recommend encrypted messaging apps amid "Salt Typhoon" cyberattack, attributed to China, targeting AT&T, Verizon, and others. The Chinese embassy in Washington rejected the accusations that it was responsible for the hack Tuesday after the U.S. federal authorities issued new guidance. “The U.S. needs to stop its own cyberattacks against other countries and refrain from using cyber security to smear and slander China,” embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu said. The embassy did not immediately respond to messages Wednesday. White House officials believe the hacking was regionally targeted and the focus was on very senior government officials. Federal authorities confirmed in October that hackers linked to China targeted the phones of then-presidential candidate Donald Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance, along with people associated with Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris. The number of countries impacted by the hack is currently believed to be in the “low, couple dozen,” according to a senior administration official. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity under rules set by the White House, said they believed the hacks started at least a year or two ago. The suggestions for telecom companies released Tuesday are largely technical in nature, urging encryption, centralization and consistent monitoring to deter cyber intrusions. If implemented, the security precautions could help disrupt the operation, dubbed Salt Typhoon, and make it harder for China or any other nation to mount a similar attack in the future, experts say. Trump's pick to head the Federal Bureau of Investigation Kash Patel was allegedly the target of cyberattack attempt by Iranian-backed hackers. Neuberger pointed to efforts made to beef up cybersecurity in the rail, aviation, energy and other sectors following the May 2021 ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline . “So, to prevent ongoing Salt Typhoon type intrusions by China, we believe we need to apply a similar minimum cybersecurity practice,” Neuberger said. The cyberattack by a gang of criminal hackers on the critical U.S. pipeline, which delivers about 45% of the fuel used along the Eastern Seaboard, sent ripple effects across the economy, highlighting cybersecurity vulnerabilities in the nation’s aging energy infrastructure. Colonial confirmed it paid $4.4 million to the gang of hackers who broke into its computer systems as it scrambled to get the nation's fuel pipeline back online. Picture this: You're on vacation in a city abroad, exploring museums, tasting the local cuisine, and people-watching at cafés. Everything is going perfectly until you get a series of alerts on your phone. Someone is making fraudulent charges using your credit card, sending you into a panic. How could this have happened? Cyberattacks targeting travelers are nothing new. But as travel has increased in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, so has the volume of hackers and cybercriminals preying upon tourists. Financial fraud is the most common form of cybercrime experienced by travelers, but surveillance via public Wi-Fi networks, social media hacking, and phishing scams are also common, according to a survey by ExpressVPN . Spokeo consulted cybersecurity sources and travel guides to determine some of the best ways to protect your phone while traveling, from using a VPN to managing secure passwords. Online attacks are not the only type of crime impacting travelers—physical theft of phones is also a threat. Phones have become such invaluable travel aids, housing our navigation tools, digital wallets, itineraries, and contacts, that having your phone stolen, lost, or compromised while abroad can be devastating. Meanwhile, traveling can make people uniquely vulnerable to both cyber and physical attacks due to common pitfalls like oversharing on social media and letting your guard down when it comes to taking risks online. Luckily, there are numerous precautions travelers can take to safeguard against cyberattacks and phone theft. Hackers can—and do—target public Wi-Fi networks at cafés and hotels to gain access to your personal information or install malware onto your device, particularly on unsecured networks. Travelers are especially vulnerable to these types of cybersecurity breaches because they are often more reliant on public Wi-Fi than they would be in their home countries where they have more robust phone plans. This reliance on public, unsecured networks means travelers are more likely to use those networks to perform sensitive tasks like financial transfers, meaning hackers can easily gain access to banking information or other passwords. One easy way to safeguard yourself against these breaches is to use a virtual private network, or VPN, while traveling. VPNs are apps that encrypt your data and hide your location, preventing hackers from accessing personal information. An added bonus is that VPNs allow you to access websites that may be blocked or unavailable in the country you are visiting. To use a VPN, simply download a VPN app on your phone or computer, create an account, choose a server, and connect. If your phone falls into the wrong hands, there's a good chance you won't be getting it back. Out of those 91,000 phones stolen in London in 2022, only 1,915 (or about 2%) were recovered. The good news is that you can take precautions to make the loss of your phone less devastating by backing up your data before you travel. With backed-up data, you can acquire a new device and still access your photos, contacts, messages, and passwords. Moreover, if you have "Find My Device" or "Find My Phone" enabled, you can remotely wipe your stolen phone's data so the thief cannot access it. It's safest to back up your data to a hard drive and not just the cloud. That way, if you have to wipe your device, you don't accidentally erase the backup, too. In order for the previous tip on this list to work, "Find My Phone" must be turned on in advance, but remotely wiping your device isn't the only thing this feature allows you to do. The "Find My Phone" feature enables you to track your device, as long as it's turned on and not in airplane mode. This is particularly helpful if you misplaced your phone or left it somewhere since it can help you retrace your steps. While this feature won't show you the live location of a phone that has been turned off, it will show the phone's last known location. With "Find My Phone," you can also remotely lock your phone or enable "Lost Mode," which locks down the phone, suspends any in-phone payment methods, and displays contact information for returning the phone to you. If your phone was stolen, experts caution against taking matters into your own hands by chasing down the thief, since this could land you in a potentially dangerous situation and is unlikely to result in getting your phone back. Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly.CHICAGO (AP) — The Seattle Seahawks placed running back Kenneth Walker III on injured reserve prior to their game against the Chicago Bears on Thursday because of an ankle injury. Walker hurt his ankle in last week's loss to Minnesota and left that game after sitting out the previous two because of a calf problem. He also missed two weeks in September with an oblique issue. Walker has run for 573 yards and seven touchdowns on 153 carries. A second-round draft pick by Seattle in 2022, he has 2,528 yards rushing and 24 TDs in his career. Walker could, in theory, return if the Seahawks win two playoff games, though their postseason hopes were slim entering the game against Chicago. Seattle (8-7) trailed the NFC West-leading Los Angeles Rams (9-6) by one game with two to play. The Seahawks' best path to the postseason was to win the final two regular-season games and have Los Angeles lose to Arizona on Saturday. Seattle visits the Rams to close the regular season. With Walker out, Seattle signed rookie running back George Holani off the practice squad. ___ AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL5jili 。

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Venezuela’s oil exports jumped last month on higher sales to its mainstay Asia customers, and approached 1 million barrels per day (bpd), a level not seen since early 2020, according to ship monitoring data. Under U.S. sanctions since 2019, Venezuela’s exports of crude and refined products have been highly volatile. Lack of investment and frequent fires and outages at the South American country’s aging oil infrastructure put a ceiling on production and sales. State oil company PDVSA PDVSA.UL, its joint ventures and other state companies last month shipped an average of 974,033 bpd of crude and fuel, mostly to China. It was the second consecutive month of increase, according to Reuters analysis of tanker movements. November’s total represented a 10% increase from a revised average of almost 885,000 bpd in October, and stood 57% above the same month a year ago, the data showed. Sales to Asia, home to the country’s largest buyers, jumped to some 613,000 bpd from 526,000 in October. Shipments to the United States by producer Chevron CVX.N under a license granted by Washington fell to 238,000 bpd from 280,000 bpd the previous month, while exports to Europe increased to 85,000 bpd from 31,000 bpd. The incoming government of President-elect Donald Trump is expected to revise U.S. policies towards Venezuela, which could lead to license amendments or renegotiations with the administration of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. The export increase happened despite a large explosion and fire at one of PDVSA’s main natural gas centers, which hit output of products, including methanol. Venezuela’s exports of oil byproducts and petrochemicals, including methanol and petroleum coke, declined to 330,500 metric tons in November, from 362,000 tons in October, according to the data. The OPEC country also increased exports to its political ally Cuba to 38,000 bpd from 28,000 bpd the previous month. Venezuela imported 87,000 bpd of heavy naphtha and gasoline blend stock last month through U.S.-authorized swap agreements with U.S. and European partners, slightly above the 81,000 bpd of October. Source: Reuters (Reporting by Marianna Parraga in Houston and Caracas newsroom, editing by Ed Osmond)

How the stock market defied expectations again this year, by the numbers NEW YORK (AP) — 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 benchmark index posted its first back-to-back annual gains of more than 20% since 1998. 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 and gold surged and “Roaring Kitty” reappeared to briefly reignite the meme stock craze. Stock market today: Stocks drift higher as US markets reopen after a holiday pause Stocks are drifting higher on Wall Street in light trading as U.S. markets reopen following the Christmas holiday. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite were up by less than 0.1% in midday trading Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.1%. Gains in technology companies overall and retailers helped boost the market, despite a pullback by some heavyweight Big Tech stocks. The Labor Department reported that U.S. applications for unemployment benefits held steady last week, though continuing claims rose to the highest level in three years. Treasury yields rose. U.S. markets have historically gotten a boost at year’s end despite lower trading volumes. Israel strikes Houthi rebels in Yemen's capital while the WHO chief says he was meters away JERUSALEM (AP) — A new round of Israeli airstrikes in Yemen have targeted the Houthi rebel-held capital of Sanaa and multiple ports. The World Health Organization’s director-general said the bombardment on Thursday took place just “meters away” as he was about to board a flight in Sanaa. He says a crew member was hurt. The strikes followed several days of Houthi attacks and launches setting off sirens in Israel. Israel's military says it attacked infrastructure used by the Houthis at the international airport in Sanaa, power stations and ports. The Israeli military didn't immediate respond to questions about the WHO chief's statement. Holiday shoppers increased spending by 3.8% despite higher prices New data shows holiday sales rose this year even as Americans wrestled with still high prices in many grocery necessities and other financial worries. According to Mastercard SpendingPulse, holiday sales from the beginning of November through Christmas Eve climbed 3.8%, a faster pace than the 3.1% increase from a year earlier. The measure tracks all kinds of payments including cash and debit cards. This year, retailers were even more under the gun to get shoppers in to buy early and in bulk since there were five fewer days between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Mastercard SpendingPulse says the last five days of the season accounted for 10% of the spending. Sales of clothing, electronics and Jewelry rose. Finland stops Russia-linked vessel over damaged undersea power cable in Baltic Sea FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Finnish police say authorities detained a ship linked to neighboring Russia as they investigate whether it damaged a Baltic Sea power cable and several data cables. It was the latest incident involving disruption of key infrastructure. Police and border guards boarded the Eagle S and took control as they investigate damage to the Estlink-2 undersea power cable. The cable brings electricity from Finland to Estonia across the Baltic Sea. The cable went down on Wednesday. The incident follows damage to two data cables and the Nord Stream gas pipelines. Both have been termed sabotage. Russian ship that sank in the Mediterranean was attacked, owner says MOSCOW (AP) — The Russian operator of a cargo ship that sank in the Mediterranean Sea between Spain and Algeria says it has been hit by a series of explosions in an act of sabotage. Oboronlogistica is a state-controlled company that operated the Ursa Major freighter. The company said the vessel was wrecked by three powerful explosions just above the water line in what it described as a “terrorist attack” that caused it to sink on Monday. The company said in a statement carried by Russia’s state RIA Novosti news agency on Thursday that the explosions left a hole in the ship’s starboard and filled the engine room with acrid smoke. That hampered the crew’s attempts to access it. Undersea power cable linking Finland and Estonia hit by outage, prompting investigation FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Finland’s prime minister says authorities are investigating an interruption in a power cable under the Baltic Sea between his country and Estonia. Petteri Orpo said on X that power transmission through the Estlink-2 cable suffered an outage Wednesday. Authorities have been on edge about undersea infrastructure in the Baltic after two international data cables were severed in November and the Nord Stream gas pipelines between Russia and Germany were blown up in September 2022. Japan to maximize nuclear power in clean-energy push as electricity demand grows TOKYO (AP) — A Japanese government panel has largely supported a draft energy policy calling for bolstering renewables up to half of Japanese electricity needs by 2040. It also recommends maximizing the use of nuclear power to accommodate the growing demand for power in the era of AI while meeting decarbonization targets. Cabinet is expected to formally approve the plan by March following a period of public consultation. The policy says nuclear energy should account for 20% of Japan’s energy supply in 2040, with renewables expanded to 40-50% and coal-fired power reduced to 30-40%. Working Well: Returning to the office can disrupt life. Here are some tips to navigate the changes NEW YORK (AP) — Thousands of workers are facing an unsettling reality heading into 2025. After years of working from the comfort of home, they're being told it’s time to return to the office full-time for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic. That can bring a host of challenges, including losing time with family. Workers at Amazon, AT&T and other companies have been called back to the office five days a week. Experts have advice to share about how to navigate the changes when an employer calls you back to the office. Workers can convey what they need, seek flexibility and if all else fails, consider other options. US applications for unemployment benefits hold steady, but continuing claims rise to 3-year high WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits held steady last week, though continuing claims rose to the highest level in three years. The US Labor Department reported Thursday that jobless claim applications ticked down by 1,000 to 219,000 for the week of Dec. 21. That’s fewer than the 223,000 analysts forecast. Continuing claims, the total number of Americans collecting jobless benefits, climbed by 46,000 to 1.91 million for the week of Dec. 14. That’s more than analysts projected and the most since the week of Nov. 13, 2021. Weekly applications for jobless benefits are considered representative of U.S. layoffs.

I’m a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! star Tulisa Contostavlos , 36, has reportedly gone AWOL from the Australian hotel she’s been put up in. N-Dubz singer Tulisa was the third person to be evicted from the jungle, leaving the show on Tuesday. Fans immediately assumed that something was not right after she skipped out on doing a post-show interview , and wiped her Instagram of all content from the show. After crossing the red bridge, the musician joined cast and crew in a JW Marriott Hotel nearby - but disappeared from the luxury lodgings. “Tulisa and the two friends who came to Australia with her disappeared after she came out. No one saw her in the hotel and she wasn’t talking to anyone,” an insider told The Sun . “Her mates were talking among themselves and were worried as no one could pin her down. They were chatting back and forth in their group chats and no one could raise her. It was total radio silence.” A second source also came forwards, adding: “Not having Tulisa at the hotel with the other stars has been odd, and people don’t know whether or not she’ll be back to film the reunion. Naturally everyone just wants her to be all right and ITV and her campmates are being supportive.” Tulisa has briefly touched on her unexpected actions after leaving the ITV show, and admitted on Instagram that she was taking a moment for herself. In a short video, she explained: "I can get overwhelmed quite easily and started to feel overwhelmed. I realised I needed to take time for myself, and to chill, it's all a little bit much at the moment.” The star then explained why she had deleted her social posts and said her page - which was run by pals while she was in camp - is not how she would have done things. "I'm just going to archive all my stuff to do with the jungle and then, when the time is right and I've had time to process, I'm going to make my own reels of my best bits that I really like," she said. "Because remember, I haven't been doing my Instagrams. The way it's being posted and all the random stuff is not how I would do my Insta - I would have one or two really good reels relating to the jungle and bringing my time together there." However, it has now been claimed that Tulisa had a massive row with her friend, Michelle McKenna, who came to greet her in the jungle once Tulisa was evicted. According to a source, Tulisa feels as though her friend 'took liberties' by flying to Australia to greet her. Speaking to Mail Online , they claimed: "They were only in Australia because of Tulisa. It felt like they were revelling in the situation and taking liberties on her kindness. Michelle and Daniel were there, on a trip funded by ITV and only because of Tulisa. They were there because of her and she trusted them with her social media." "When she got out of the jungle and saw what had been put on there, she was upset and it prompted a huge row. You can't help but think that seeing her friends living it up like that while she was roughing it in the jungle must have really annoyed her," the source added. * Follow Mirror Celebs on Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .35 Magic Potions Disguised As Beauty Products, No Big Deal

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Seahorse Freight Association celebrated journalistic excellence in the transport and logistics sector at its annual awards ceremony on Monday, and announced plans for a new mentoring scheme, as well as a training partnership with the British International Freight Association (BIFA). Over 150 guests gathered in central London to applaud winners in 11 categories rewarding excellence in journalism across the supply chain industry. At the event in central London, Seahorse launched a new Mentoring Scheme offering young and aspiring journalists pastoral support to help them fulfil their career ambitions, guide them through a difficult patch, or assist them to resolve a problem at work. The scheme is self-service, allowing mentees to enter and leave as they wish, providing some simple guidelines are followed. The mentors will be volunteers. “As well as recognising excellence in journalism in our sector, a key focus for Seahorse is the support and career development of young media professionals entering into our industry,” said Emma Murray, Chair of Seahorse and Chief Executive Officer, Meantime Communications. “We want to help the industry to attract the very best, and ensure career ambitions are fulfilled and talented professionals stay with the industry. “With this in mind, we have been working to launch initiatives to support and mentor newcomers joining us.” As well as the mentorship scheme, Seahorse is announcing a partnership with the British International Freight Association to launch a new educational initiative designed specifically for journalists and other staff working with the media that are newcomers to the freight and logistics sector. The course, titled “Freight & Customs Fundamentals for Media Executives,” aims to bridge the knowledge gap and provide incoming staff with an understanding of the complexities of international trade, freight management and customs procedures. This year’s Seahorse Journalism Awards received entries from across the globe for categories, including; Multimedia, Maritime, Air Cargo, Overland, Technology, Supply Chain, and new category Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Journalist of the Year. There were also awards for Journalist of the Year, News Journalist of the Year, Feature Journalist of the Year, and Rising Star of the Year. The Personality of the Year Award was handed to Gavin Allwright, Secretary General of the International Windship Association for his dedication to renewable energy innovation in the maritime sector. Peter Edwards, co-founder of Heavy Lift and Project Forwarding International Magazine, was given the Lifetime Achievement Award recognising a varied career in the industry stretching back to 1959. Portcare’s Maria Udy, who sadly passed away after a battle with cancer was recognised with a special award for her dedication to Seahorse and to working with the freight community. “The Seahorse Awards, not only acknowledge talent and creativity, but also to pay tribute to the vital role that journalism plays in the freight and logistics sector,” said Murray. “They are more than a recognition of individual achievement; they symbolize the collective effort of all those who strive to improve communication.” The Seahorse Awards, were, once again, judged by a gender-balanced panel comprised of 24 industry professionals from a diverse range of backgrounds. The Seahorse Awards are supported by headline sponsor AAL Shipping, with categories sponsored by the TT Club, Lloyd’s Register, DNV, The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA), Davies Turner, PSA International, Global K9 Protection Group, Meantime Communications, Port of London Authority, and Glasgow Prestwick Airport. The Seahorse Freight Association is a not-for-profit organisation, which was founded in 1962 to bring companies in the supply chain, logistics, and transport industry together with the media who report on them and the Public Relations and marketing professionals who work in the sector. Source: Seahorse Freight AssociationNEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump used his image as a successful New York businessman to become a celebrity, a reality television star and eventually the president. Now he will get to revel in one of the most visible symbols of success in the city when he rings the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday as he's also named Time Magazine's Person of the Year. Trump is expected to be on Wall Street to mark the ceremonial start of the day's trading, according to four people with knowledge of his plans. He will also be announced Thursday as Time's 2024 Person of the Year , according to a person familiar with the selection. The people who confirmed the stock exchange appearance and Time award were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. It will be a notable moment of twin recognitions for Trump, a born-and-bred New Yorker who at times has treated the stock market as a measure of public approval and has long-prized signifiers of his success in New York's business world and his appearances on the covers of magazines — especially Time. Trump was named the magazine's Person of the Year in 2016, when he was first elected to the White House. He had already been listed as a finalist for this year's award alongside Vice President Kamala Harris, X owner Elon Musk, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Kate, the Princess of Wales. Time declined to confirm the selection ahead of Thursday morning's announcement. “Time does not comment on its annual choice for Person of the Year prior to publication,” a spokesperson for the magazine said Wednesday. The ringing of the bell is a powerful symbol of U.S. capitalism — and a good New York photo opportunity at that. Despite his decades as a New York businessman, Trump has never done it before. It was unclear whether Trump, a Republican, would meet with New York's embattled mayor, Democrat Eric Adams , who has warmed to Trump and has not ruled out changing his political party. Adams has been charged with federal corruption crimes and accused of selling influence to foreign nationals; he has denied wrongdoing. Trump himself was once a symbol of New York, but he gave up living full-time in his namesake Trump Tower in Manhattan and moved to Florida after leaving the White House. CNN first reported Wednesday Trump’s visit to the stock exchange and Politico reported that Trump was expected to be unveiled as Time's Person of the Year. The stock exchange regularly invites celebrities and business leaders to participate in the ceremonial opening and closing of trading. During Trump’s first term, his wife, Melania Trump, rang the bell to promote her “Be Best” initiative on children’s well-being. Last year, Time CEO Jessica Sibley rang the opening bell to unveil the magazine's 2023 Person of the Year: Taylor Swift . After the Nov. 5 election, the S&P 500 rallied 2.5% for its best day in nearly two years. The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 1,508 points, or 3.6%, while the Nasdaq composite jumped 3%. All three indexes topped records they had set in recent weeks. The U.S. stock market has historically tended to rise regardless of which party wins the White House, with Democrats scoring bigger average gains since 1945. But Republican control could mean big shifts in the winning and losing industries underneath the surface, and investors are adding to bets built earlier on what the higher tariffs, lower tax rates and lighter regulation that Trump favors will mean. Trump has long courted the business community based on his own status as a wealthy real estate developer who gained additional fame as the star of the TV show “The Apprentice” in which competitors tried to impress him with their business skills. He won the election in part by tapping into Americans' deep anxieties about an economy that seemed unable to meet the needs of the middle class. The larger business community has applauded his promises to reduce corporate taxes and cut regulations. But there are also concerns about his stated plans to impose broad tariffs and possibly target companies that he sees as not aligning with his own political interests. Trump spends the bulk of his time at his Florida home but was in New York for weeks this spring during his hush money trial there. He was convicted, but his lawyers are pushing for the case to be thrown out in light of his election. While he spent hours in a Manhattan courthouse every day during his criminal trial, Trump took his presidential campaign to the streets of the heavily Democratic city, holding a rally in the Bronx and popping up at settings for working-class New Yorkers: a bodega, a construction site and a firehouse. Trump returned to the city in September to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at his Manhattan tower and again in the final stretch of the presidential campaign when he held a rally at Madison Square Garden that drew immediate blowback as speakers made rude and racist insults and incendiary remarks . At the stock exchange, the ringing of the bell has been a tradition since the 1800s. The first guest to do it was a 10-year-old boy named Leonard Ross, in 1956, who won a quiz show answering questions about the stock market. Many times, companies listing on the exchange would ring the bell at 9:30 a.m. to commemorate their initial offerings as trading began. But the appearances have become an important marker of culture and politics -- something that Trump hopes to seize as he’s promised historic levels of economic growth. The anti-apartheid advocate and South African President Nelson Mandela rang the bell, as has Hollywood star Sylvester Stallone with his castmates from the film “The Expendables.” So, too, have the actors Robert Downey Jr. and Jeremy Renner for an “Avengers” movie and the Olympians Michael Phelps and Natalie Coughlin. In 1985, Ronald Reagan became the first sitting U.S. president to ring the bell. “With tax reform and budget control, our economy will be free to expand to its full potential, driving the bears back into permanent hibernation,” Reagan said at the time. “We’re going to turn the bull loose.” The crowd of traders on the floor chanted, “Ronnie! Ronnie! Ronnie!” The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed in 1985 and 1986, but it suffered a decline in October 1987 in an event known as “Black Monday.” Long reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Josh Boak in Washington contributed to this report.

Democrat Derek Tran declared victory over incumbent Republican Rep. Michelle Steel on Tuesday in the 45th Congressional District, even though there are still votes to be counted. Tran held a 581-vote lead over Steel in the latest count, a margin too large for her to overcome to win the seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, he said. “Mathematically, it looks like it would be pretty hard for her to be able to take the lead and we feel confident and comfortable declaring victory,” Tran told LAist A phone call from LAist to Steel’s spokesperson went unreturned. The Associated Press has yet to call the race. The district straddles Orange and L.A. counties and includes the cities of Garden Grove, Cerritos, and La Brea. Tran’s campaign estimated 1,690 votes remain to be counted in the race. That includes vote-by-mail ballots in which the signature on the ballot did not match the signature on file with the Registrar of Voters. Each side has access to the contact information for each of those ballots and is frantically trying to contact the voters whose names show up on their list of supporters. “We are attempting to contact them five and six times to urge them to cure their ballot,” said Orrin Evans, a spokesperson for the Tran campaign. The votes that remain to be counted also include conditional and provisional ballots. “Every vote should be heard,” Evans said. Steel would need to win 68% of remaining ballots to make up her deficit, according to the statement from the Tran campaign. Tran’s victory would mean Republicans still control the House of Representatives but by a slimmer margin. Counting Tran, Democrats would hold 213 to Republicans 218. Two races have yet to be called — one in California and another in Iowa. Steel led Tran by 4.2 percentage points the day after the election. But her lead steadily eroded as vote counting continued. Tran pulled ahead of Steel by 36 votes on Nov. 16 and has led ever since. “It's been living on pins and needles,” Tran said Tuesday. “My faith in our democracy and how our voting system is set up has never been stronger.” The first-time candidate said his mother is “very excited and ready for us to start the next chapter.” Tran, a lawyer, army veteran and son of Vietnamese refugees, would become the first Vietnamese American to represent the district, which includes Little Saigon. “I am honored to be in this position,” he said, adding he will represent his community “in a way they’ll be proud of.” “It's not just the Vietnamese community that I am going to be representing," Tran said. "It's everybody in California’s 45th District and I will do so honorably and with character.” Tran acknowledged he’ll be a member of the minority party facing a Republican majority led by President-elect Donald Trump. “I am ready to tackle and take on anything that’s extreme,” he said. He also said he’d be willing to work across the aisle: “Whether it's working with an independent, a Republican, a fellow Democrat, I just want to get things done for the American people.” “It's very clear from my constituents that they want me to focus on inflation — making sure that working families can afford the groceries,” he added. In anticipation of a win, Tran attended freshman orientation for new members of the House of Representative in Washington, D.C. last week. He said he was presented with a whirlwind of information, and experience he said was almost like “drinking from a fire hose.”This review takes a close look the final flight of the agency’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, which was the first aircraft to fly on another world. Engineers from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California and AeroVironment are completing a detailed assessment of the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter’s final flight on Jan. 18, 2024, which will be published in the next few weeks as a NASA technical report. Designed as a technology demonstration to perform up to five experimental test flights over 30 days, Ingenuity was the first aircraft on another world. It operated for almost three years, performed 72 flights, and flew more than 30 times farther than planned while accumulating over two hours of flight time. The investigation concludes that the inability of Ingenuity’s navigation system to provide accurate data during the flight likely caused a chain of events that ended the mission. The report’s findings are expected to benefit future Mars helicopters, as well as other aircraft destined to operate on other worlds. was planned as a brief vertical hop to assess Ingenuity’s flight systems and photograph the area. Data from the flight shows Ingenuity climbing to 40 feet (12 meters), hovering, and capturing images. It initiated its descent at 19 seconds, and by 32 seconds the helicopter was back on the surface and had halted communications. The following day, the mission reestablished communications, and images that came down six days after the flight revealed Ingenuity had sustained severe damage to its rotor blades. “When running an accident investigation from 100 million miles away, you don’t have any black boxes or eyewitnesses,” said Ingenuity’s first pilot, Håvard Grip of JPL. “While multiple scenarios are viable with the available data, we have one we believe is most likely: Lack of surface texture gave the navigation system too little information to work with.” The helicopter’s vision navigation system was designed to track visual features on the surface using a downward-looking camera over well-textured (pebbly) but flat terrain. This limited tracking capability was more than sufficient for carrying out Ingenuity’s first five flights, but by Flight 72 the helicopter was in a region of Jezero Crater filled with steep, relatively featureless sand ripples. One of the navigation system’s main requirements was to provide velocity estimates that would enable the helicopter to land within a small envelope of vertical and horizontal velocities. Data sent down during Flight 72 shows that, around 20 seconds after takeoff, the navigation system couldn’t find enough surface features to track. Photographs taken after the flight indicate the navigation errors created high horizontal velocities at touchdown. In the most likely scenario, the hard impact on the sand ripple’s slope caused Ingenuity to pitch and roll. The rapid attitude change resulted in loads on the fast-rotating rotor blades beyond their design limits, snapping all four of them off at their weakest point — about a third of the way from the tip. The damaged blades caused excessive vibration in the rotor system, ripping the remainder of one blade from its root and generating an excessive power demand that resulted in loss of communications. This short animation depicts a NASA concept for a proposed follow-on to the agency’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter called Mars Chopper, which remains in early conceptual and design stages. In addition to scouting, such a helicopter could carry science instruments to study terrain rovers can’t reach. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech This short animation depicts a NASA concept for a proposed follow-on to the agency’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter called Mars Chopper, which remains in early conceptual and design stages. In addition to scouting, such a helicopter could carry science instruments to study terrain rovers can’t reach. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech Although Flight 72 permanently grounded Ingenuity, the helicopter still beams weather and avionics test data to the Perseverance rover about once a week. The weather information could benefit future explorers of the Red Planet. The avionics data is already proving useful to engineers working on future designs of aircraft and other vehicles for the Red Planet. “Because Ingenuity was designed to be affordable while demanding huge amounts of computer power, we became the first mission to fly commercial off-the-shelf cellphone processors in deep space,” said Teddy Tzanetos, Ingenuity’s project manager. “We’re now approaching four years of continuous operations, suggesting that not everything needs to be bigger, heavier, and radiation-hardened to work in the harsh Martian environment.” Inspired by Ingenuity’s longevity, NASA engineers have been testing smaller, lighter avionics that could be used in vehicle designs for the Mars Sample Return campaign. The data is also helping engineers as they research what a future Mars helicopter could look like — and do. During a Wednesday, Dec. 11, briefing at the American Geophysical Union’s annual meeting in Washington, Tzanetos shared details on the Mars Chopper rotorcraft, a concept that he and other Ingenuity alumni are researching. As designed, Chopper is approximately 20 times heavier than Ingenuity, could fly several pounds of science equipment, and autonomously explore remote Martian locations while traveling up to 2 miles (3 kilometers) in a day. (Ingenuity’s longest flight was 2,310 feet, or 704 meters.) “Ingenuity has given us the confidence and data to envision the future of flight at Mars,” said Tzanetos. The Ingenuity Mars Helicopter was built by JPL, which also manages the project for NASA Headquarters. It is supported by NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley and NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, provided significant flight performance analysis and technical assistance during Ingenuity’s development. AeroVironment, Qualcomm, and SolAero also provided design assistance and major vehicle components. Lockheed Space designed and manufactured the Mars Helicopter Delivery System. At NASA Headquarters, Dave Lavery is the program executive for the Ingenuity Mars helicopter. For more information about Ingenuity: AstrobiologyAustralia’s House of Representatives passes bill that would ban young children from social media

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