55bmw casino app

Texas Christkindl Market brings holiday charm, German culture to ArlingtonTrump Criticizes Biden's Commutations, Vows To 'Vigorously Pursue The Death Pena...

By ZEKE MILLER, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team on Tuesday signed an agreement to allow the Justice Department to conduct background checks on his nominees and appointees after a weeks-long delay. The step lets Trump transition aides and future administration staffers obtain security clearances before Inauguration Day to access classified information about ongoing government programs, an essential step for a smooth transiton of power. It also allows those nominees who are up for Senate confirmation to face the background checks lawmakers want before voting on them. Teams of investigators have been standing by to process clearances for Trump aides and advisers. “This agreement with the Department of Justice will ensure President Trump and his team are ready on Day 1 to begin enacting the America First Agenda that an overwhelming majority of our nation supported on Election Day,” said Susie Wiles, Trump’s designate to be White House chief of staff. The announcement comes a week after the Trump transition team signed an agreement with the Biden White House to allow transition staff to coordinate with the existing federal workforce before taking office on Jan. 20. The White House agreement was supposed to have been signed by Oct. 1, according to the Presidential Transition Act, and the Biden White House had issued both public and private appeals for Trump’s team to sign on. Security clearances are required to access classified information, including on ongoing operations and threats to the nation, and the Biden White House and outside experts have emphasized to Trump’s team the importance of having cleared personnel before Inauguration Day so they could be fully briefed and ready to run the government. Republican Senators have also insisted on FBI background checks for Trump’s nominees before they face confirmation votes, as has been standard practice for decades. Lawmakers have been particularly interested in seeing the findings of reviews into Trump’s designated nominee for defense secretary, former Fox News host Pete Hegseth, and for Rep. Tulsi Gabbard to be director of national intelligence. “That’s why it’s so important that we have an FBI background check, a committee review of extensive questions and questionnaires, and a public hearing,” said. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine on Monday. John Thune, the incoming Senate Republican leader, said the Trump team “understands there’s going to have to be a thorough vetting of all these nominees.” AP congressional correspondent Lisa Mascaro contributed.

November 2024 was an exciting month for Canadian investors as the continued its upward momentum, rallying by 6.2% for the month and bringing its year-to-date gains to more than 22%. This surge provided opportunities to pick up some exceptional stocks with strong growth potential. Amid this market rally, I zeroed in on three top that align well with the Foolish Investing Philosophy and my long-term wealth-building strategy. These companies not only have strong but are also leaders in their industries, which could help them sustain growth in the years to come. In this article, I’ll walk you through the three TSX stocks I added to my portfolio in November and why I’m confident they’ll help me build long-term wealth. Celestica stock The first top stock I loaded up on last month was ( ). After rallying by 26.3% in November alone, CLS stock currently trades at $120.37 per share with an impressive 208% year-to-date gain, extending its to $13.9 billion. Celestica mainly generates its revenue by offering end-to-end solutions, including design, supply chain management, and assembly of complex electronic products for a wide range of industries. The ongoing strength in the company’s financials could be understood by the fact that its revenue has by 17.5% YoY (year over year) over the last four quarters combined. Similarly, its adjusted earnings during the same period have climbed by over 60% YoY to $3.57 per share. These latest strong results encouraged Celestica’s management to recently raise the full-year 2024 guidance and give a positive 2025 outlook. In addition, its continued investments in new technology brighten its long-term outlook. Waste Connections stock ( ) is another rallying TSX stock I bought last month. After rallying by 35.5% year to date, the shares of this Woodbridge-based firm currently trades at $268.12 per share with a market cap of $69.4 billion. Being a major player in the waste management industry, Waste Connections provides waste collection, recycling, and disposal services to residential, commercial, and industrial customers across North America. Even as many growth companies have struggled due to a slowdown in economic growth over the last few years, Waste Connections continues to deliver strong financial performance. To give you a little idea about that, the company’s revenue rose by 10.7% YoY in the last 12 months, helping it post even stronger 19.4% growth in its adjusted earnings. Moreover, its strong acquisition pipeline, sustainable margin expansion, and ongoing investments in resource recovery initiatives could help its growth in the long run. OpenText stock The third top TSX stock I added to my portfolio in November was ( ). Unlike Celestica and Waste Connections, shares of this Waterloo-based information management firm have dived by 24% so far in 2024 to currently trade at $40.51 per share with a market cap of $11.3 billion. These declines in OTEX stock could be attributed to the recent weakness in its earnings growth trajectory due to the divestiture of its Application Modernization and Connectivity business, which affected its revenue in the latest quarter. Nevertheless, OpenText’s long-term growth outlook might be largely unaffected by these short-term challenges, with its strong focus on innovation in areas like artificial intelligence and cloud-based solutions, making this top growth stock look to buy on the dip and hold for years to come.Trump threatens to impose sweeping new tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China on first day in office

Editas Medicine Downgraded: Analyst Sees Limited Near-Term Catalysts

Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has completed all 24 investigations in the Adani-Hindenburg case and is set to submit its final report soon. Earlier the market regulator had informed the Supreme Court that it had completed 22 of the 24 investigations. One of the two remaining investigations related to trading pre and post-Hindenburg report was to ascertain whether some entities’ short positions were unusual when the report was released. In this regards, SEBI has issued a show-cause notice to Hindenburg Research. SEBI’s investigation found that the disclaimer by the short seller on holding positions in the Adani group stock “only through non-Indian traded securities was misleading since it concealed the complete extent of its financial interest in companies which were the subject of its research report due to Hindenburg’s direct stake in profits from positions taken by the FPI in the future of AEL on the Indian stock exchange.” Hindenburg has dismissed SEBI’s findings as “nonsense” The second pending investigation was related to an allegation of violation of minimum public shareholding by Adani group companies listed on the bourses. SEBI investigated six listed Adani group entities and found that four companies, including Adani Power and Adani Energy, had violated the public shareholding norms by categorising some of the promoter held shares as public. Adani group companies have denied the findings of the SEBI investigations as per disclosures made by the companies to the stock exchanges. While the market regulator is yet to issue its final order in the matter, determination of whether there has been a violation or not in all 24 investigations related to the allegations made in the Hindenburg report. Market experts said that SEBI should release its findings quickly after completing the due process of hearing all parties. “There is a perception that SEBI is not doing enough in the Adani case. Now we have a new set of allegations from the US investigating agencies which needs to be investigated as well,” said a proxy advisory firm. CommentsIs Enron back? If it’s a joke, some former employees aren’t laughing

This month marks the 75th anniversary of the adoption by the Constituent Assembly of the draft Constitution of India, on November 26, 1949. The Union government has announced that it intends to commemorate this momentous occasion with a special joint sitting of Parliament. There are bound to be several self-congratulatory speeches, from all sides of our fractious political divide. But the speech that should haunt us all is that of the principal draftsman of the Constitution, B.R. Ambedkar, on the eve of the Constitution’s adoption. On November 25, 1949, in his magisterial summation of the work of the Drafting Committee he chaired, and before commending its work to the Assembly, he pointedly observed: “however good a Constitution may be, it is sure to turn out bad because those who are called to work it, happen to be a bad lot. However bad a Constitution may be, it may turn out to be good if those who are called to work it, happen to be a good lot.” The working of the Constitution, Dr. Ambedkar pointed out, depended on how the people and the political parties applied it. The drafters had made provision for relatively easy amendment, so as to permit the document to keep up with the needs of the times. But the rest depended on the way successive generations of its custodians chose to implement it. The lacunae that B.R. Ambedkar identified Dr. Ambedkar highlighted the fact that “there is complete absence of two things in Indian society” — equality and fraternity. “On the 26th of January 1950,” he declared, “we are going to enter into a life of contradictions. In politics we will have equality and in social and economic life we will have inequality. In politics we will be recognizing the principle of one man one vote and one vote one value. In our social and economic life, we shall, by reason of our social and economic structure, continue to deny the principle of one man one value. How long shall we continue to live this life of contradictions? How long shall we continue to deny equality in our social and economic life?” In calling for a social and not merely political democracy to emerge from the Constitution, Dr. Ambedkar stressed the absence of fraternity as the second major ingredient that was missing in India. “Fraternity means a sense of common brotherhood of all Indians — of Indians being one people. It is the principle which gives unity and solidarity to social life.” But thanks to the caste system — the entire structure of caste, he averred, was ‘anti-national’ — religious divisions and the absence of a common sense of nationhood among some Indians, fraternity had not yet been achieved. But it was indispensable, since liberty, equality and fraternity were all intertwined and could not flourish independently of one another. “Without equality,” he pointed out, “liberty would produce the supremacy of the few over the many. Equality without liberty would kill individual initiative. Without fraternity, liberty would produce the supremacy of the few over the many. Without fraternity, liberty and equality could not become a natural course of things. It would require a constable to enforce them.” What has changed Today, 75 years later, it is well worth asking what progress we have made to achieve the aims of the Constitution’s drafters, and in particular to fill the lacunae that Dr. Ambedkar identified. Equality has advanced, no doubt, with the abolition of untouchability being accompanied by the world’s oldest and farthest-reaching affirmative action programme, in the form of reservations, initially for Scheduled Castes and then for the Other Backward Classes (OBC). These reservations, which were initially intended to be temporary, have now been entrenched in our system and may be said to be politically unchallengeable. But the task of promoting social and economic equality, which Dr. Ambedkar pointed to, is far from complete. The clamour for further opportunities for those who believe that Indian society continues to deny them the equality of outcomes that the numbers warrant, continues to roil our politics. The escalating demand for a caste census is bound to have further implications for the evolution of India’s constitutional practice. As for fraternity, the mobilisation of votes in our contentious democracy in the name of caste, creed, region and language have ensured that the social and psychological sense of oneness that Dr. Ambedkar spoke about, is still, at best, a work in progress. But there is no doubt that the sense of nationhood that he felt had not yet come into existence has now become embedded across the country. One only needs to look at the crowds at a cricket match involving the Indian team, or the national outrage and mourning after an international conflict such as the Kargil war (1999) or the Galwan incident (2020), to be aware that there is a strong sense of nationhood despite the persistence of local or sectarian identities. Yet, by reifying caste reservations, India has promoted equality but arguably undermined fraternity. Fraternity had a special place in Dr. Ambedkar’s vision; the word was, in many ways, his distinctive contribution to India’s constitutional discourse. It also had an economic dimension, with the implicit idea that the assets of the better-off would be used to uplift the untouchables and other unfortunates. Fraternity would both result from and lead to the erosion of social and caste hierarchies. But, as the sociologist Dipankar Gupta has argued, the extension of reservations to the OBCs saw caste as ‘an important political resource to be plumbed in perpetuity’. Professor Gupta avers that this ‘is not in the spirit of enlarging fraternity, as the Ambedkar proposals are’; while Dr. Ambedkar’s ultimate aim was the annihilation of caste from Indian society, for Mandal, caste was not to be “removed”, but to be “represented”.’ It entrenched caste rather than eliminating it from public life. Highs and worrying lows This debate may well go on. Still, we can be grateful that the ascent to power of the very elements of Indian politics who had initially rejected the Constitution has not resulted in its abandonment. There is a certain irony to a Bharatiya Janata Party government celebrating a document that its forebears in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the Jana Sangh had found “un-Indian” and devoid of soul. That soul has evolved over 75 years and 106 amendments, and the Constitution still thrives. But the hollowing out of many of the institutions created by the Constitution, the diminishing of Parliament, pressures on the judiciary and the undermining of the democratic spirit — leading to the V-Dem Institute labelling India as an “electoral autocracy”, policed by the “constable” Dr. Ambedkar warned against — mean that much still remains to be done by its custodians. “Independence,” Dr. Ambedkar said in concluding his memorable speech, “is no doubt a matter of joy. But let us not forget that this independence has thrown on us great responsibilities. By independence, we have lost the excuse of blaming the British for anything going wrong. If hereafter things go wrong, we will have nobody to blame except ourselves.” Seventy-five years later, let us vow to the reduce the number of things we need to blame ourselves for — and let the Constitution show us the way. Shashi Tharoor is a fourth-term Indian National Congress Member of the Lok Sabha for Thiruvananthapuram, and the award-winning author of 26 books, including ‘The Battle of Belonging: On Nationalism, Patriotism and What it Means to be Indian’ (2021). He is a member of the Congress Working Committee. Published - November 26, 2024 01:00 am IST Copy link Email Facebook Twitter Telegram LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit constitution / parliament / Parliament proceedings / India / history / politics / political parties / Reservation / unrest, conflicts and war / Bharatiya Janata Party / Independence Day

AP Business SummaryBrief at 10:21 a.m. EST

Watch: Fireballs seen over southern U.S. identified as satellite remains

Real vs. fake: Can you spot AI-generated images?

Wanted to have darshan of Bhagwan Ram, impressed by temple built here: Mauritius Foreign Minister Dhananjay RamfulSeven wonders within the National Palace Museum, Taipei, Taiwan The world’s biggest collection of Chinese cultural objects spans a wide range of art forms and thousands of years of history, and every exhibit is a wonder. See npm.gov.tw 1 Get lost in the landscapes There’s much to admire in the museum’s painting collection, with many in long-scroll form. Credit: Alamy Ready for a refreshing change from swooning saints and gloomy portraiture? Delicate Chinese landscape paintings favour impressionistic, dreamlike scenery in which clouds, rivers and waterfalls are often merely suggested by unpainted spaces. There’s much to admire in the museum’s painting collection but, in particular, seek out Qian Gu’s Visual Travelogue of a Journey Through the Waterways , a series of 32 elegant paintings depicting delicate orchids, bamboo, mountains, humpbacked bridges and villages with grey-tiled houses. Wonderful. 2 Immerse yourself in minimalism In Chinese art, spontaneous brushstrokes are never reworked since, in the Daoist tradition, striving for artistic perfection only brings frustration. But in Picking Lotuses the brush strokes of Tang Yin (1470-1523) are so masterful that his minimalist, lightest of ink wash could hardly be bettered. Mist shimmers over a lotus pond on which ladies boat. Willow branches trail. Some lotus leaves are lush, others on the edge of decay. Simple, but magnificent. 3 Take time to study the detail The ivory pagoda. Credit: Alamy Head to Gallery 106 to inspect a masterpiece that, like many others, you might otherwise rush past, thus missing out on the incredible mastery revealed by up-close inspection. Look for the moveable, hollow ivory balls nestled one inside the other and each carved with minute reliefs of Chinese figures, landscapes and pavilions. The ornament dates only from the 19th century, but the intricacy of the ivory carving is astounding – indeed, you’d swear impossible, if not for the evidence of your eyes. 4 Be wowed... by a cabbage The treasured jadeite cabbage. Credit: Adobe Stock Get to Gallery 302 on the third floor first thing if you want to avoid the crowds that gather to see a public favourite, considered one of the great treasures of Chinese civilisation: a carving in jadeite of a Chinese cabbage in miniature. The Qing Dynasty carving has a marvellous luminosity, uses the rock’s natural colour changes from white to green to great effect, and features two carved insects (a locust and katydid) amid the leaves. 5 Admire the ancient bronzes A bronze from the 15th century. Credit: Alamy It’s easy to overlook the bronzes in Gallery 305 given their lack of colour and seemingly lumpen appearance. But don’t sail on by: some items date from as far back as the Shang Dynasty in the 12th century BC. One such magnificent example is a cauldron with a mottled green patina, very early script in its interior, and rim and legs patterned with animal and floral motifs. Hard to believe it’s more than 3000 years old. 6 Pick your way through the porcelain Millennia of porcelain on display – some bowls are so delicate as to be translucent. Credit: Adobe Stock Everyone will have their favourites in the porcelain gallery, where millennia of styles are showcased, and many items are imperial quality. Some bowls are so delicate as to be translucent, and some glazes (such as the blue-green glazes on Northern Song porcelain from the 11th century) have superb lustre. Seek out the porcelain pillow in the shape of a sleeping child in Gallery 205, which has an ethereal white glaze and an air of marvellous tranquillity. 7 Get shopping The National Palace Museum – the largest collection of Chinese art. And excellent museum shops. Credit: Adobe Stock The museum has excellent shops, even if you only want to take home a reproduction of a scroll painting on a coaster, fridge magnet, cosmetic bag or mug. Mostly, though, you’ll find quality reproductions of porcelains and paintings (and even the Jadeite Cabbage) rather than kitsch. Some cost thousands of dollars, but you get what you pay for. Particularly lovely – and suitably sized for your suitcase – are the glazed tea bowls, and scrolls that can be rolled up into a cardboard tube.

Kaduna gov unveils 10 roads to improve connectivityChristmas presents donated by the people in the were distributed to young children in state hospitals on Tuesday. The presents were collected around a Christmas tree on Castille Square in the past few days. The prime minister and his wife Lydia Abela were among those who distributed them on Christmas Eve at Mater Dei Hospital and Sir Anthony Mamo Oncology Centre. They were accompanied by Health Minister Jo Etienne Abela. The prime minister also met the directors of Puttinu Cares and thanked them for their work for sick children. He promised them the country's support. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.

The 2025 COLA was announced by the Social Security Administration in early October, and we're a little more than a month away before it officially kicks in. While it's a smaller increase than some may have wanted to see, there's more changes to dive into that affect other benefits. Below, we'll get into the specifics that you should know about. The administration said the 72.5 million recipients of Social Security benefits will see a 2.5% cost-of-living adjustment in their checks for 2025, starting in January. The annual adjustment will bring an increase in monthly beneficiary payments for those receiving Social Security benefits, including retirement, survivors, Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplement Security Income. The administration uses COLA to adjust each year's benefits for Social Security beneficiaries. The 2.5% increase in 2025 is smaller than 2024's 3.2% boost and 2023's 8.7% jump and is an indication that inflation is cooling . Beneficiaries should receive a new COLA notice in December this year with details of the adjustment. If you've signed up for a My Social Security account , you'll find the notice in the Message Center when you log in. For more, here's our essential Social Security cheat sheet , and don't miss the Social Security payment schedule and how to apply for Social Security Disability Insurance . What is the Social Security COLA? The Social Security Administration determines COLA using the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers , which is a measure of the average change in prices for consumer goods and services, released monthly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics . The administration uses COLA to adjust each year's benefits that are paid to Social Security beneficiaries and Supplemental Security Income recipients. Announced in October, the COLA goes into effect in January of the following year. Which government benefits make adjustments using COLA? Social Security isn't the only government benefit that is affected by the COLA. Social Security Disability Insurance , Supplemental Security Income , Medicare and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (including food stamps and other programs) all use COLA to account for inflation when setting benefits. A 2.5% COLA was predicted, but experts are unimpressed We've been following expert predictions in the lead-up to the official COLA announcement, and those predictions were spot on. The Senior Citizens League , a nonpartisan advocacy group for older adults, had predicted a COLA Increase of 2.5% last month , and that's exactly where the official COLA landed. The Senior Citizens League has been predicting a COLA of 2.5% to 2.7% since the beginning of the year and points out that seniors are disappointed that the CPI-W fails to measure inflation as they experience it . The league said in a recent survey of 3,000 older Americans, 72% reported that changing the COLA calculation to an index that better reflects seniors' changing costs should be a top priority for Congress. "Our research shows that 67% of seniors depend on Social Security for more than half their income and that 62 percent worry their retirement income won't even cover essentials like groceries and medical bills." TSCL Executive Director Shannon Benton said in a statement regarding the latest COLA announcement. Several factors can affect the amount of money you get in your monthly check, but the 2.5% increase will go to the 72.5 million Americans receiving Social Security and Supplemental Security Income. A COLA increase of 2.5% will raise the average monthly benefit by about $48 a month. The 2025 COLA is lower than 2024's 3.2%, and much lower than 2023's 8.70% increase. COLA Increases 2020 - 2025 For more, find out what to do if you never received your Social Security check and how to determine your Social Security benefits with this free tool .