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Few presidents have come as far as fast in national politics as Jimmy Carter . In 1974, he was nearing the end of his single term as governor of Georgia when he told the world he wanted to be president. Two years later, he was the president-elect. Although his name recognition nationally was only 2% at the time of his announcement, Carter believed he could meet enough people personally to make a strong showing in the early presidential caucuses and primaries. He embarked on a 37-state tour, making more than 200 speeches before any of the other major candidates had announced. When voting began in Iowa and New Hampshire in the winter of 1976, Carter emerged the winner in both states. He rode that momentum all the way to the presidential nomination and held on to win a close contest in the general election. His career as a highly active former president lasted four full decades and ended only with his death Sunday in his hometown of Plains, Ga. He was 100 and had lived longer than any other U.S. president, battling cancer in both his brain and liver in his 90s. A life that bridged political eras James Earl Carter Jr. was the 39th U.S. president, elected as a Democrat displacing the incumbent Republican, Gerald Ford, in 1976. Carter would serve a single tumultuous term in the White House, beset by inflation, energy shortages, intraparty challenges and foreign crises. But he managed to win the nomination for a second term. He lost his bid for reelection to Republican Ronald Reagan in a landslide in 1980. Thereafter, he worked with Habitat for Humanity and traveled the globe as an indefatigable advocate for peace and human rights. He was given the U.N. Prize in the Field of Human Rights in 1998 and awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. Carter was the first president from the Deep South elected since the Civil War. He entered politics at a time when Democrats still dominated in his home state and region. He had begun his career as a naval officer in the submarine corps, but in 1953 he left the service to take over the family peanut business when his father died. He later served four years in Georgia's state legislature before making his first bid for governor in 1966. In that contest, he finished behind another Democrat, Lester Maddox, a populist figure known for brandishing a pickax handle to confront civil rights protesters outside his Atlanta restaurant. Carter shared much of the traditional white Southern cultural identity. But he was also noted for his support for integration and the Civil Rights Movement led by fellow Georgian Martin Luther King Jr. Four years after losing to Maddox, Carter was elected his successor and declared in his inaugural speech that "the time for racial discrimination is over." Time magazine would feature him on its cover four months later, making him a symbol of the "New South." And as his term as governor ended, he was all in on a presidential bid. But he did not burst onto the national stage so much as he crept up onto it, appearing before small groups in farming communities and elsewhere far from the big media centers. A meteoric rise to the White House Beyond his earnest image and rhetoric, Carter also had a savvy game plan based on the new presidential nominating rules that the Democratic Party had adopted in the early 1970s. Carter's team, led by campaign manager Hamilton Jordan, mastered this new road map, with Carter climbing from a strong showing in the still-new Iowa caucuses to a clean win in New Hampshire's primary. So though in January 1976 he was the first choice of only 4% of Democrats nationally, he won the first two events and leveraged that attention to capture the imagination of voters in other regions. Carter shut out segregationist champion George Wallace in the Southern primaries and also dominated in the industrial states of the North and Midwest. Democrats held 48 primaries or caucuses around the United States that year, and Carter won 30, with no other candidate winning more than five. Wherever he went, he was able to connect with rural voters and evangelicals wherever they were to be found — doing well in big cities but also in the sparsely populated parts of Ohio and Pennsylvania. While Carter's juggernaut lost momentum in the summer and fall, with Republican President Gerald Ford nearly closing the polling gap by Election Day, the Georgian held on to win 50% of the popular vote in November. By winning in his home state and everywhere else in the South (save only Virginia) while holding on to enough of the key population centers in the Northeast and Great Lakes regions, Carter was able to cobble together nearly 300 Electoral College votes without winning California, Illinois or Michigan. Troubles in office The surprisingly modest margin of Carter's victory over Ford augured more difficulties ahead. And as well as the Carter persona may have suited the national mood in 1976, it did not fit well in the Washington he found in 1977. All presidential candidates who "run against Washington" find it necessary to adjust their tactics if and when they are elected. But the former peanut farmer and his campaign staff known as the "Georgia mafia" never seemed to lose faith in the leverage they thought they had as outsiders. Almost immediately upon taking office, Carter encountered difficulties with various power centers in Congress. He and his tight circle of aides brought along from Georgia and the campaign were not attuned to congressional customs or prerogatives, and a variety of their agenda priorities ran afoul of their own party's preferences. A case in point was a "hit list" of Western water projects that the Carterites regarded as needless pork barrel spending. For a raft of Democratic senators and representatives facing reelection in thirsty states and districts, the list came as a declaration of war. Although Congress fought Carter to a draw on the projects, many of these Western seats would be lost to Republican challengers in 1978 and 1980. Carter did have signal successes in brokering a historic peace deal between Israel and Egypt and in securing Senate ratification of his treaties ceding the Panama Canal to Panama. He also managed to achieve significant reforms in regulations — especially those affecting energy production and transportation — that would eventually lower consumer prices. Carter had taken office amid historically high inflation and energy prices that had persisted since the Arab oil embargo of 1973. Carter appointed a new chair of the Federal Reserve, Paul Volcker, whose tight money policies eventually tamed inflation but also triggered a recession and the highest unemployment rates since the Great Depression. Along the way, there was more grief on the oil front as Iran's Islamic Revolution in 1979 caused not only a price spike but long lines at the pump — worse than in 1973. Carter and the Democrats paid a price, suffering more than the usual losses for the president's party in the 1978 midterm elections, which greatly reduced Democratic margins in both the House and the Senate. Yet the Iranian crisis had even worse consequences. The revolution saw the overthrow of the Shah, a longtime ally of the U.S., and the installation of a stern theocratic regime led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, a fierce critic of the United States. When Carter agreed to grant the Shah a visa to receive cancer treatments in the U.S., young followers of the ayatollah overran the U.S. Embassy in Tehran . Fifty-two Americans were taken hostage for 444 days. Carter's efforts to free them were unavailing. An airborne raid intended to free them ended in catastrophe in the Iranian desert, leaving eight U.S. service members dead after a collision of aircraft on the ground. Afghanistan becomes an issue Yet another blow was dealt to Carter's standing when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan to prop up its client regime there. Opposing that aggression was popular, but Carter's decision to retaliate by having the U.S. boycott the 1980 Olympics in Moscow was less so. Carter was able to use the hostage crisis to his advantage in suppressing the challenge to his nomination mounted by Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts. Carter refused to debate Kennedy and made the primaries a kind of referendum on the Iranian situation. Enough Democrats rallied to his side that Kennedy's bid, a favorite cause of liberal activists and organized labor, fell far short. Still, it contributed to the weakness of Carter's standing in the general election. And what had worked against a challenger from the Democratic left did not work when Carter faced one from the Republican right. Ronald Reagan was a former two-term governor of California who had sought the nomination twice before, and he did not begin 1980 as the consensus choice of his party. But he wove a complex set of issues into a fabric with broad appeal. He proposed sweeping tax cuts as a tonic for the economy, more spending on defense, a more aggressive foreign policy and, just as important, a return to the traditional values of "faith, freedom, family, work and neighborhood." He also opposed abortion and busing for racial integration and favored school prayer — the three hottest buttons in social policy at the time. After a come-from-behind win in New Hampshire and a sweep of the Southern primaries, Reagan never looked back. His triumph at the Republican National Convention in Detroit set the tone for his campaign. The election looked close at Labor Day and even into October. But the single debate the two camps agreed to , held on Oct. 28, 1980, the week before the election, was a clear win for the challenger. Carter failed in his attempts to paint Reagan as an extremist. The Republican managed to be reassuring and upbeat even as he kept up his attacks on Carter's handling of the economy and on the rest of Carter's record. The polls broke sharply in the final days, and in November, Reagan captured nearly all the Southern states that Carter had carried four years earlier and won the 1980 presidential election with 489 Electoral College votes. Carter conceded before the polls had even closed on the West Coast. Reassessment in retrospect Historians have generally not rated Carter's presidency highly, and he left office with his Gallup poll approval rating in the low 30s. But there has been a steady upward trajectory in assessments of his presidency in recent years, and his Gallup approval rating has climbed back above 50% and has remained there among the public at large. This reflects the work of several Carter biographers and former aides and the natural comparison with the presidents who have followed him. In 2018, Stuart E. Eizenstat, Carter's chief domestic policy adviser, published President Carter: The White House Years , which historians have praised both as a primary source and as an assessment of Carter's term. In it, Eizenstat wrote that Carter "was not a great president, but he was a good and productive one. He delivered results, many of which were realized only after he left office. He was a man of almost unyielding principle. Yet his greatest virtue was at once his most serious fault for a president in an American democracy of divided powers." As far back as 2000, historian Douglas Brinkley wrote that in the first 20 years after Carter lost the presidency, he had become "renowned the world over as the epitome of the caring, compassionate, best sort of American statesman ... an exemplar of behavior for all national leaders in retirement." A new life out of office But the greatest factor in Carter's rising reputation was his own performance in his post-presidential career. He worked with Habitat for Humanity to rehabilitate homes for low-income families. He taught at Emory University and established his own nonprofit, the Carter Center . And over the ensuing decades, he published more than two dozen books and became an international advocate for peace, democratic reforms and humanitarian causes. As former president, Carter did not shy from controversy, particularly when it came to the Middle East, the region that gave him his greatest foreign policy achievement and also his most damaging setback as president. He opposed the Gulf War in 1991 and the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, and he angered many when he likened Israel's treatment of Palestinians to apartheid in South Africa. He also riled many Americans by suggesting that opposition to President Barack Obama was rooted in racism. More recently, he earned new admirers and detractors alike with his public disapproval of then-President Donald Trump.
Jimmy Carter RIPBy Will Graves, The Associated Press PITTSBURGH — Andrew McCutchen can sense the end of his baseball career coming. It’s not quite here yet. The five-time All-Star agreed to a $5 million, one-year deal on Monday to stay in Pittsburgh for the 2025 season, confident he can still be a difference-maker for a team trying to get back toward postseason contention. “I think the biggest thing for me is knowing I can still compete and can still be able to produce,” the 38-year-old said. “I still feel like there’s a way that I can be better and I know that it’s still in there.” When that hard-to-define “it” disappears, McCutchen will know it’s time to move on. The 2013 National League MVP realizes that day will come soon enough. It’s not here yet. For now, he’s eager for a 17th season in the big leagues, including 12 in his adopted hometown. McCutchen has made no secret of his desire to finish his career in Pittsburgh, which drafted him in 2005 and where he spent the first nine seasons of his career before returning in 2023. General manager Ben Cherington repeatedly said toward the end of last season the team wanted to find a way to keep the outfielder-turned-designated hitter who hit .232 with 20 home runs and 53 RBIs in 120 games last season. FILE - Pittsburgh Pirates' Andrew McCutchen watches his three-run home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Matt Freed, File) AP The man who signs the checks felt the same way. “It was important for me and for everyone within our organization that Andrew remain in a Pirates uniform. It is where he belongs,” Pirates chairman Bob Nutting said in a statement. “In my conversations with Andrew, he made clear his strong desire to help the team in every way he can, both on the field and in the clubhouse. I am glad he is back.” So is McCutchen, building a resume that could merit Hall of Fame consideration whenever he retires. He will enter 2025 with 2,127 hits and 319 home runs. He’s also in the top 10 in most major offensive categories for a franchise that’s been around for over 137 years and counting. While McCutchen allowed there are certain aspects of getting ready for the season he doesn’t quite enjoy — like finding a rental home for his wife Maria and their four children during a two-month stay in Bradenton, Florida, Pittsburgh’s spring-training home — the drive that made him one of the biggest stars in the game while leading the club to three straight playoff berths from 20013-15 remains vibrant. “I always wanted to be in a position to where I would be able to ... play for as long as I want or as long as my body would let me,” he said. McCutchen was shut down in September 2023 due to an Achilles injury and had dealt with hamstring issues last season, though that didn’t stop him from reaching the 20-homer plateau for the 10th time. He’s spent some of the offseason trying to get down to 190 pounds, about 10 pounds lighter than in 2024. “I do think that’s going to help me a lot and help my legs out a lot,” he said. “And learning when I need to turn it off and turn it on. If I can do that I do think it can keep me on the field and I can be in the lineup for 120-plus games, because I do feel like I can produce.” The Pirates are coming off a second straight 76-86 season and have a starting rotation that features NL Rookie of the Year Paul Skenes. McCutchen remains bullish on the near future, though Pittsburgh has been relatively quiet in terms of acquiring talent to supplement a lineup that finished near the bottom of the NL in runs, batting average and homers. The only significant acquisition so far has been trading for first baseman Spencer Horwitz. Yet McCutchen isn’t necessarily married to the idea that the Pirates need to splurge to contend. He was the centerpiece of Pittsburgh teams with modest payrolls a decade ago that reached the playoffs for three straight seasons from 2013-15. “There are things you can’t look on paper and see it,” he said. “You just go out there and do it. We got to do those small things, a lot of small things. It’s what I’m here for.” AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB More sports news ‘You couldn’t stop’ Rickey Henderson — but Tony La Russa remembers Hall of Famer more for his intangibles Pittsburgh Steelers miss on potential reunion with Pro Bowl wide receiver Penn State volleyball captures 8th national title behind ‘inspiration’ Katie Schumacher-Cawley Pittsburgh Steelers Injury Report: Five key players return to practice, star cornerback sits outTAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Baker Mayfield already has matched his career high for touchdown passes in a season, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have won three straight games to climb back to the top of the NFC South standings. The quarterback is trying to lead Tampa Bay to a fourth consecutive division title, and he thinks the Buccaneers (7-6) are going to have to play even better down the stretch not only to achieve their goal of earning a playoff berth but making a deep postseason run. “We will take wins. I don’t really care how it looks,” Mayfield said after a sloppy 28-13 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders lifted Tampa Bay back over .500 in its bid to overcome a stretch in which it lost five of six games. “But offensively, we will have to be a lot more consistent for us to be able to make this push that we want to do, and we know that,” Mayfield added. “There is a lot of ball left, and we have to continue to get better.” Mayfield threw for 295 yards and three touchdowns against the Raiders. He also turned the ball over three times in the first half to help Las Vegas stay close until the fourth quarter. This is the third straight season the Bucs have needed a strong stretch run to pull out of a midseason tailspin and give themselves a chance to get back to the postseason. Mayfield has thrown for 28 TDs to match the total he threw in resurrecting a stalled career with Tampa Bay a year ago. The Bucs, 7-1 in December/January games dating to last season, are the only NFC team that made the playoffs each of the past four seasons. “We’ve got four weeks to play. We’re happy to be playing meaningful football in December. We understand what that means,” coach Todd Bowles said. “We have to go out every week and try to squeeze out these games, but it feels good.” What’s working The improvement of the running game has been a big part of the team’s success. The Bucs rushed for 152 yards against the Raiders, giving them 100-plus on the ground in 10 of 13 games. They reached that number in nine of 34 games over the previous two regular seasons. Rachaad White scored the team’s 14th rushing touchdown. That’s one more than the Bucs had combined in 2022 (five) and 2023 (eight). What needs help While the offensive line opened gaping holes for the running game against Las Vegas, it failed to provide adequate pass protection for Mayfield. The Raiders had four sacks and eight quarterback hits. Mayfield was intercepted twice and lost a fumble that led to Las Vegas’ only touchdown. Stock up Rookie WR Jalen McMillan had four receptions for 59 yards and two TDs — all season highs — against the Raiders. He’s the first Tampa Bay rookie with multiple TDs receiving in a game since O.J. Howard in 2017. Stock down Rookie punter Jack Browning didn’t distinguish himself in his Bucs debut. After hitting a 49-yarder that was returned 16 yards on his first punt, he had a 39-yarder returned 14 yards and a 40-yarder that Raiders punt returner Ameer Abdullah was able to fair catch at the Las Vegas 20. “It’s a work in progress,” Bowles said of how Browning, the third punter the Bucs have used this season, looked. “I’m going to brush it off to rookie jitters and we’ll go from there.” Injuries S Antoine Winfield Jr (knee) and RB Bucky Irving (back) were lost during the first half against the Raiders. Bowles said Monday that Winfield may be sidelined a couple of weeks, meaning he could miss road games against the Los Angeles Chargers and Dallas Cowboys. Irving’s status will be determined later in the week. Key numbers 19, 371⁄2. LB Lavonte David continues to impress in his 13th season. He had a sack, quarterback hit and fumble recovery against Las Vegas. The fumble recovery was the 19th of his career, most among players since he entered the NFL in 2012. He has 371⁄2 career sacks, including four this season. Next up Visit the Chargers, the only opponent the Bucs will face over the remaining four games that has a winning record. NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
ERIE, Pa. , Dec. 12, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- At its regular meeting held Dec. 10, 2024, the Board of Directors of Erie Indemnity Company (NASDAQ: ERIE ) set the management fee rate charged to Erie Insurance Exchange, approved an increase in shareholder dividends and declared the regular quarterly dividend. Erie Indemnity Company has paid regular shareholder dividends since 1933. The Board agreed to maintain the current management fee rate paid to Erie Indemnity Company by Erie Insurance Exchange at 25 percent, effective Jan. 1, 2025 . The management fee rate was 25 percent for the period Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2024 . The Board has the authority under the agreement with the subscribers (policyholders) at Erie Insurance Exchange to set the management fee rate at its discretion; however, the maximum fee rate permissible by the agreement is 25 percent. This action was taken based on various factors including consideration and review of the relative financial positions of Erie Insurance Exchange and Erie Indemnity Company. The Board also agreed to increase the regular quarterly cash dividend from $1.275 to $1.365 on each Class A share and from $191.25 to $204.75 on each Class B share. This represents a 7.1 percent increase in the payout per share over the current dividend rate. The next quarterly dividend is payable Jan. 22, 2025 , to shareholders of record as of Jan. 7, 2025 , with a dividend ex-date of Jan. 7, 2025 . About Erie Insurance According to A.M. Best Company, Erie Insurance Group, based in Erie, Pennsylvania , is the 12th largest homeowners insurer, 13th largest automobile insurer and 13th largest commercial lines insurer in the United States based on direct premiums written. Founded in 1925, Erie Insurance is a Fortune 500 company and the 17th largest property/casualty insurer in the United States based on total lines net premium written. Rated A+ (Superior) by A.M. Best, ERIE has more than 7 million policies in force and operates in 12 states and the District of Columbia . News releases and more information are available on ERIE's website at www.erieinsurance.com . "Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements contained herein that are not historical fact are forward-looking statements and, as such, are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events and results to differ, perhaps materially, from those discussed herein. Forward-looking statements relate to future trends, events or results and include, without limitation, statements and assumptions on which such statements are based that are related to our plans, strategies, objectives, expectations, intentions, and adequacy of resources. Examples of forward-looking statements are discussions relating to premium and investment income, expenses, operating results, and compliance with contractual and regulatory requirements. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in such forward-looking statements. Among the risks and uncertainties, in addition to those set forth in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, that could cause actual results and future events to differ from those set forth or contemplated in the forward-looking statements include the following: dependence upon our relationship with the Erie Insurance Exchange ("Exchange") and the management fee under the agreement with the subscribers at the Exchange; dependence upon our relationship with the Exchange and the growth of the Exchange, including: general business and economic conditions; factors affecting insurance industry competition, including technological innovations; dependence upon the independent agency system; and ability to maintain our brand, including our reputation for customer service; dependence upon our relationship with the Exchange and the financial condition of the Exchange, including: the Exchange's ability to maintain acceptable financial strength ratings; factors affecting the quality and liquidity of the Exchange's investment portfolio; changes in government regulation of the insurance industry; litigation and regulatory actions; emergence of significant unexpected events, including pandemics and economic or social inflation; emerging claims and coverage issues in the industry; and severe weather conditions or other catastrophic losses, including terrorism; costs of providing policy issuance and renewal services to the subscribers at the Exchange under the subscriber's agreement; ability to attract and retain talented management and employees; ability to ensure system availability and effectively manage technology initiatives; difficulties with technology or data security breaches, including cyber attacks; ability to maintain uninterrupted business operations; compliance with complex and evolving laws and regulations and outcome of pending and potential litigation; factors affecting the quality and liquidity of our investment portfolio; and ability to meet liquidity needs and access capital. A forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made and reflects our analysis only as of that date. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, changes in assumptions, or otherwise. View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/erie-indemnity-approves-management-fee-rate-and-dividend-increase-declares-regular-dividends-302330726.html SOURCE Erie Indemnity CompanyWASHINGTON - Jimmy Carter held a unique place in US politics: he was the oldest former president and a Nobel peace laureate, but his one term in office was forever tainted by his inability to end the 1979 Iran hostage crisis. Carter, who died Sunday at the age of 100, arguably wielded his greatest influence not during his 1977-1981 term in the White House, but in the decades following, when he served as a global mediator, rights activist and elder statesman. The Southern Democrat, who left 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in January 1981 after a crushing election loss to Ronald Reagan, was perceived as naive and weak in the dog-eat-dog world of Washington politics. Even within his own party, the Georgia native with the broad toothy grin -- a "born-again" Christian who taught Sunday school well into his 90s -- was something of a persona non grata for a long time. But as the years passed, a more nuanced image of Carter emerged, one that took in his post-presidential activities and reassessed his achievements, like the brokering of a peace deal between Israel and Egypt. He placed a commitment to human rights and social justice at the core of his tenure as the 39th president of the United States. That dedication later served as the cornerstone of The Carter Center, which he founded in 1982 to pursue his vision of world diplomacy, earning broad international praise. Carter represented a new generation of Southern men who were more tolerant and progressive on issues of race. The former president -- who had been both a naval officer and a peanut farmer -- heartily embraced his roots. "I am a Southerner and an American," said Carter, a virtual unknown on the national political scene when he launched his presidential campaign ahead of the 1976 election. - From farm to White House - James Earl Carter Jr. -- the full name he rarely used -- was born on October 1, 1924 in the small farm town of Plains, Georgia, south of Atlanta -- the same town where he lived out his golden years. After seven years in the navy, where he worked on the nuclear submarine program and rose to the rank of lieutenant, he returned home to run the family peanut farm. But eventually, politics came calling. He served in Georgia's state senate and took over as governor in 1971. Only a few years later, his unlikely White House bid began. Carter arrived in Washington in January 1977, sworn in to head a country needing a strong leader to dispel the gloom left over from the Vietnam War, the Watergate scandal and a deep recession. For the first time since 1968, the Democrats controlled the White House and Congress, so hopes were high as Carter took office. - 'Extraordinarily difficult' - He enjoyed a strong first two years, with high approval ratings. A shining moment of his term in office was the historic 1978 Camp David Accords signed by Israel's Menachem Begin and Egypt's Anwar Sadat, which ultimately led to a peace treaty the following year. Carter also established diplomatic relations with China following the rapprochement initiated by then-president Richard Nixon, and endorsed solar energy, even installing solar panels on the White House. But his administration hit numerous snags, the most serious being the Iran hostage crisis and the disastrous failed attempt to rescue the 52 captive Americans in 1980. His handling of the renewed oil crisis in 1979-1980 was also sharply criticized. Images of cars lined up at gas stations were long associated with his presidency. In the wake of Carter's defeat at the polls, the Democratic Party weathered a political storm -- 12 years of Republican presidents in Reagan and George H.W. Bush. Even now, few Democrats claim to be picking up Carter's mantle. In a biography published in 2010, historian Julian Zelizer, a professor at Princeton University, said Carter had fallen victim to "an extraordinarily difficult set of circumstances that would have challenged any president." - 'Best ex-president' - But Carter bounced back in perhaps the most spectacular reinvention of any US leader and was often called America's "best ex-president." Carter founded his eponymous center in Atlanta and emerged as a prominent international mediator, tackling some of the most intransigent global dilemmas -- including North Korea and Bosnia in the 1990s. He monitored dozens of elections around the world, from Haiti to East Timor, and went to Cuba in 2002 for a historic meeting with then longtime communist leader Fidel Castro to prod him on human rights. Carter won a host of awards including the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize and the highest US civilian award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He won three Grammys for best spoken-word album, a category that included audiobooks. Carter maintained a busy schedule into his 90s. He and wife Rosalynn helped build houses for the charity Habitat for Humanity for decades. Rosalynn died in November 2023 at age 96. The couple had three sons and a daughter. In August 2015, Carter revealed he had cancer on his brain and was undergoing radiation treatment. At the time of his diagnosis, Carter said that while the presidency was the "pinnacle" of his political career, "life since the White House has been personally more gratifying." During a church service in November 2019 in Plains, Carter looked back -- with serenity, and a touch of humor -- at his battle with cancer. "I assumed, naturally, that I was going to die very quickly," he said. "I obviously prayed about it. I didn't ask God to let me live, but I asked God to give me a proper attitude toward death." "And I found that I was absolutely and completely at ease with death."Trump has flip-flopped on abortion policy. His appointees may offer clues to what happens next
ERIE, Pa. , Dec. 12, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- At its regular meeting held Dec. 10, 2024, the Board of Directors of Erie Indemnity Company ERIE set the management fee rate charged to Erie Insurance Exchange, approved an increase in shareholder dividends and declared the regular quarterly dividend. Erie Indemnity Company has paid regular shareholder dividends since 1933. The Board agreed to maintain the current management fee rate paid to Erie Indemnity Company by Erie Insurance Exchange at 25 percent, effective Jan. 1, 2025 . The management fee rate was 25 percent for the period Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2024 . The Board has the authority under the agreement with the subscribers (policyholders) at Erie Insurance Exchange to set the management fee rate at its discretion; however, the maximum fee rate permissible by the agreement is 25 percent. This action was taken based on various factors including consideration and review of the relative financial positions of Erie Insurance Exchange and Erie Indemnity Company. The Board also agreed to increase the regular quarterly cash dividend from $1.275 to $1.365 on each Class A share and from $191.25 to $204.75 on each Class B share. This represents a 7.1 percent increase in the payout per share over the current dividend rate. The next quarterly dividend is payable Jan. 22, 2025 , to shareholders of record as of Jan. 7, 2025 , with a dividend ex-date of Jan. 7, 2025 . About Erie Insurance According to A.M. Best Company, Erie Insurance Group, based in Erie, Pennsylvania , is the 12th largest homeowners insurer, 13th largest automobile insurer and 13th largest commercial lines insurer in the United States based on direct premiums written. Founded in 1925, Erie Insurance is a Fortune 500 company and the 17th largest property/casualty insurer in the United States based on total lines net premium written. Rated A+ (Superior) by A.M. Best, ERIE has more than 7 million policies in force and operates in 12 states and the District of Columbia . News releases and more information are available on ERIE's website at www.erieinsurance.com. "Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements contained herein that are not historical fact are forward-looking statements and, as such, are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events and results to differ, perhaps materially, from those discussed herein. Forward-looking statements relate to future trends, events or results and include, without limitation, statements and assumptions on which such statements are based that are related to our plans, strategies, objectives, expectations, intentions, and adequacy of resources. Examples of forward-looking statements are discussions relating to premium and investment income, expenses, operating results, and compliance with contractual and regulatory requirements. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in such forward-looking statements. Among the risks and uncertainties, in addition to those set forth in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, that could cause actual results and future events to differ from those set forth or contemplated in the forward-looking statements include the following: dependence upon our relationship with the Erie Insurance Exchange ("Exchange") and the management fee under the agreement with the subscribers at the Exchange; dependence upon our relationship with the Exchange and the growth of the Exchange, including: general business and economic conditions; factors affecting insurance industry competition, including technological innovations; dependence upon the independent agency system; and ability to maintain our brand, including our reputation for customer service; dependence upon our relationship with the Exchange and the financial condition of the Exchange, including: the Exchange's ability to maintain acceptable financial strength ratings; factors affecting the quality and liquidity of the Exchange's investment portfolio; changes in government regulation of the insurance industry; litigation and regulatory actions; emergence of significant unexpected events, including pandemics and economic or social inflation; emerging claims and coverage issues in the industry; and severe weather conditions or other catastrophic losses, including terrorism; costs of providing policy issuance and renewal services to the subscribers at the Exchange under the subscriber's agreement; ability to attract and retain talented management and employees; ability to ensure system availability and effectively manage technology initiatives; difficulties with technology or data security breaches, including cyber attacks; ability to maintain uninterrupted business operations; compliance with complex and evolving laws and regulations and outcome of pending and potential litigation; factors affecting the quality and liquidity of our investment portfolio; and ability to meet liquidity needs and access capital. A forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made and reflects our analysis only as of that date. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, changes in assumptions, or otherwise. View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/erie-indemnity-approves-management-fee-rate-and-dividend-increase-declares-regular-dividends-302330726.html SOURCE Erie Indemnity Company © 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Wireless LAN Controller Market to Observe Prominent CAGR of 7.80% by 2031, Size, Share, Trends, Demand, Growth, Challenges and Competitive Outlook:: The Game May Be Set in Springfield, but the Production Team Is in Bristol Although the real-life game will be in Dallas and the animated game will be in Springfield, nearly all production operations for tonight’s will be located at ESPN’s home campus in Bristol, CT. We not only have to tell the story of the football game but envision what that looks like if it were in universe,” says . “Creative calls from our directing and production staff make that happen.” ESPN Studio Operations team will essentially serve as the “live game unit” for tonight’s broadcast, with all virtual cameras cut in Bristol. The majority of the crew producing the altcast, including the front bench and replay team, will be located in Bristol. Live data tracking sent from onsite servers is used by gaming PCs to render the virtual environment. Essentially, data feeds are sent from the stadium, and ESPN’s Studio Operations team puts everything together in Bristol — the only exception being the natural audio, which is mixed at the site before being sent to Bristol. ESPN will send live natural audio down its transmission paths to be tracked as well as adding “sounds of the game” from ’ universe. “For our team,” says , “this is an incredible and exciting production to be a part of. Creative storytelling and innovation are core values of our company; it’s part of the ESPN culture of success. Having the opportunity to be scheduled for this unique production challenges our talented team to think about and deliver the most effective way to present this vision, along with an open space for calculated creative risks.” A crew of more than 40 will contribute to tonight’s broadcast: announcers, graphics, production, directing staff, technical operators, edit team, full media replay team, and support staff. Included as well is the four-person Beyond Sports team, who traveled in from Netherlands this week. “Time is always our greatest challenge when producing these broadcasts, says , a veteran of multiple ESPN animated broadcasts. “The amount of work that goes into creating storylines, animating the environment and characters, roll-ins, specialty game animations, plus testing and rehearsals, is time-consuming, and a relatively small group is charged with these productions. That being said, it’s our fourth animated broadcast, and we’ve learned a great deal, which has allowed us to skip the ‘learning’ stages of certain areas.” Inside the control room, Nelson’s front bench and the rest of the production team must have a very different mindset from that for a traditional game production. Although the action on the field is certainly critical, integrating humor and fun into the broadcast is equally important. “One of the fun challenges for our team is stepping away from their experience of a traditional broadcast and getting their minds into the universe,” says McMeekin. “While it may seem logical on a traditional broadcast to show a replay of what just happened during the game, it may make more sense during to show Bart’s or Homer’s antics from the sidelines of Atoms Stadium.” , , and will be on hand in Bristol, calling the action from voiceover booths. They will wear Oculus Quest or Meta Quest Pro headsets, transported into the immersive graphic representation of the stadium, field, and players. ESPN is also deploying the Meta headsets for hand and facial tracking, which will allow the trio themselves to be animated within the broadcast. “[By having them wear] the headset,” McMeekin explains, “we will actually be able to see them in the virtual world, to the point where they can go on to the field and be amongst the players. That is super exciting.” ESPN has adjusted the workflow for announcers calling the action. Instead of being in a studio (as was the case for and ), ESPN isolates Kimes, Orlovsky, and Carter in new voiceover booths in Bristol. “The VO booths allow us to prevent talent from passing into each other’s ‘virtual space’ without having to redesign our larger studios with pipe and drape,” says Menard. “The VO booths allow more-accurate ‘game call’ audio, talkback, and talent-preferred IFB mixing.” A bonus is that the technology-management staff has connectivity directly to the broadcast router, internet, multiviewers, etc. to provide a custom setup for talent and Beyond Sports support staff. “The use of our new VO booths is a great example of work smarter not harder,” says Menard. “We are better able to grasp the needs of a production like this and think more creatively and efficiently about how to fit it into our working plant. We continue to provide an improved product every time we take on one of these unique broadcasts.” One major workflow challenge is how to deal with talent’s calling a game broadcast that can be delayed up to a minute by the animation rendering. To resolve it, ESPN will offer both a live version and a delayed version of the broadcast for announcers to call the game. The Studio Operations team works hand in hand with ESPN Creative Studio and the production staff to execute their vision. This includes coordinating with the onsite team on things like transmission-path layout and backup audio needs. “The creative energy in the early planning meetings and prep days set the tone for this production,” notes McMeekin. “There has been a great mix of big ideas, realistic needs, and an overall positive vibe for how the production will look on Monday night.” One prime example of the collaboration between the Studio Ops and Creative Studio teams is inclusion of a submix room for -related sound design. The operator, , who created the sound design for this production, has an A1 background,” McMeekin explains. “We were able to work with his team and have him available for this production This creates an incredible opportunity to both develop the sound design and have creative freedom to incorporate it into the production.” marks the fourth chapter in ESPN’s animated-altcast odyssey, following in the footsteps of in September 2023 and a pair of altcasts in March 2023 and 2024. ESPN ops leaders have consciously strived to maintain continuity on these broadcasts, creating a stable of experienced operators for whatever the future might bring in terms of future cartooncasts. “Every time we get to do one of these broadcasts,” says Menard, “it is a new adventure. We have become a very cohesive team as the crew has largely stayed the same over the years. Seeing new animations come to life in the sports world is so much fun. Seeing the broadcast we prepared for as a team hit air is what this business is all about.” Of course, is just the first of ESPN’s animated-broadcast efforts this month. The Studio Operations team in Bristol will be back at it two weeks later for the Mickey and Minnie–themed NBA altcast on Christmas Day. “A trait of our team is that we get better after each of these productions,” says McMeekin. “We learn so much and are great at identifying efficiencies and implementing them for the next production. Having the productions about two weeks apart allows this group to carry over the creative momentum from and immediately apply their takeaways to .” For the first time in its short animated-broadcast history, ESPN’s Bristol crew will be able leave in place the specialized infrastructure necessary to produce such a show. With two animated broadcasts this month, ESPN is able to explore the new workflows required for live animated broadcasts without a full lift-and-shift of its infrastructure in Bristol. “Hopefully,” says Menard, “ will be the most technology-efficient endeavor we’ve participated in.”
The Saskatchewan NDP says hospitals in Saskatoon continue to deal with dangerously high patient numbers and unsustainably low staffing levels. According to NDP health critic Vicki Mowat, St. Paul’s Hospital has been at or above 200 per cent capacity multiple times since the beginning of October. Royal University Hospital, meanwhile, has been at 300 per cent capacity or higher on several occasions. “Earlier this week, frontline health-care workers at the St. Paul’s Hospital told us the horror of what is happening inside the emergency room,” Mowat told media on Friday near the hospital on Saskatoon’s west side. “Every bed was full, so the triage area was turned into a makeshift treatment area ... There are three nurses per shift in triage, taking care of 115 patients per day. That isn’t safe for patients or for frontline workers.” The NDP says are unsafe and that workers “are being pushed to their breaking point.” According to the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses (SUN) in October, the emergency room at RUH ran out of oxygen and stretchers during a particular shift. Fifty patients were admitted during that shift with no available beds, and more than a dozen beds had to be set up in hallways. SUN says there was only one nurse for every 14 patients at the hospital. The Saskatchewan Party has recently said it will continue to work to reduce wait times by hiring more staff. The last provincial budget promised $584 million to deal with bottlenecks in the system, along with plans to use nurse practitioners. Premier Scott Moe has said his health-care plan, launched two years ago, has hired more staff to provide relief to the system. Last fall, the provincial government — acknowledging spiralling patient numbers, tight spaces and staffing shortages — launched hospital capacity pressure in Saskatoon and Regina. During the recent provincial election campaign, Moe highlighted some of his party’s recent announcements, including a pledge to provide women with cervical self-screening kits as an alternative to the current testing regime, and touted programs and plans that include efforts to recruit health-care professionals. The Sask. Party’s action plan has recruited around 1,400 nurses over the past 18 months, Moe said recently. He has also noted the establishment of an urgent care centre in Regina and work to build a similar facility in Saskatoon in partnership with Ahtahkakoop Cree Developments. Mowat on Friday said “talking points” from Moe and the Sask. Party haven’t improved patient care. “They’ve done nothing to stop 4,000 frontline health-care workers from leaving the profession in Saskatchewan in 2023 alone,” she said. “The people I’m talking to on the front lines are ready for change — they want public health care they can rely on.”None
Johnson 3-8 6-8 12, Kidd 5-6 0-0 10, Blackmon 2-8 2-2 7, Cleveland 4-11 3-4 11, Pack 7-14 2-3 20, Djobet 3-3 3-4 10, Staton-McCray 1-4 0-0 2, Ugochukwu 1-1 0-0 2, Bethea 0-2 0-0 0, Johnson-Arigu 0-1 0-0 0, Swartz 0-0 0-0 0, Basa-Ama 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-58 16-21 74. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.
Forthright and fearless, the Nobel Prize winner took pot-shots at former prime minister Tony Blair and ex-US president George W Bush among others. His death came after repeated bouts of illness in which images of the increasingly frail former president failed to erase memories of his fierce spirit. Democrat James Earl “Jimmy” Carter Jr swept to power in 1977 with his Trust Me campaign helping to beat Republican president Gerald Ford. Serving as 39th US president from 1977 to 1981, he sought to make government “competent and compassionate” but was ousted by the unstoppable Hollywood appeal of a certain Ronald Reagan. A skilled sportsman, Mr Carter left his home of Plains, Georgia, to join the US Navy, returning later to run his family’s peanut business. A stint in the Georgia senate lit the touchpaper on his political career and he rose to the top of the Democratic movement. But he will also be remembered for a bizarre encounter with a deeply disgruntled opponent. The president was enjoying a relaxing fishing trip near his home town in 1979 when his craft was attacked by a furious swamp rabbit which reportedly swam up to the boat hissing wildly. The press had a field day, with one paper bearing the headline President Attacked By Rabbit. Away from encounters with belligerent bunnies, Mr Carter’s willingness to address politically uncomfortable topics did not diminish with age. He recently said that he would be willing to travel to North Korea for peace talks on behalf of US President Donald Trump. He also famously mounted a ferocious and personal attack on Tony Blair over the Iraq war, weeks before the prime minister left office in June 2007. Mr Carter, who had already denounced George W Bush’s presidency as “the worst in history”, used an interview on BBC radio to condemn Mr Blair for his tight relations with Mr Bush, particularly concerning the Iraq War. Asked how he would characterise Mr Blair’s relationship with Mr Bush, Mr Carter replied: “Abominable. Loyal, blind, apparently subservient. “I think that the almost undeviating support by Great Britain for the ill-advised policies of President Bush in Iraq have been a major tragedy for the world.” Mr Carter was also voluble over the Rhodesia crisis, which was about to end during his presidency. His support for Robert Mugabe at the time generated widespread criticism. He was said to have ignored the warnings of many prominent Zimbabweans, black and white, about what sort of leader Mugabe would be. This was seen by Mr Carter’s critics as “deserving a prominent place among the outrages of the Carter years”. Mr Carter has since said he and his administration had spent more effort and worry on Rhodesia than on the Middle East. He admitted he had supported two revolutionaries in Mugabe and Joshua Nkomo, and with hindsight said later that Mugabe had been “a good leader gone bad”, having at first been “a very enlightened president”. One US commentator wrote: “History will not look kindly on those in the West who insisted on bringing the avowed Marxist Mugabe into the government. “In particular, the Jimmy Carter foreign policy... bears some responsibility for the fate of a small African country with scant connection to American national interests.” In recent years Mr Carter developed a reputation as an international peace negotiator. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his commitment to finding peaceful solutions to international conflicts, his work with human rights and democracy initiatives, and his promotion of economic and social programmes. Mr Carter was dispatched to North Korea in August 2008 to secure the release of US citizen Aijalon Mahli Gomes, who had been sentenced to eight years of hard labour after being found guilty of illegally entering North Korea. He successfully secured the release of Mr Gomes. In 2010 he returned to the White House to greet President Barack Obama and discuss international affairs amid rising tensions on the Korean peninsula. Proving politics runs in the family, in 2013 his grandson Jason, a state senator, announced his bid to become governor in Georgia, where his famous grandfather governed before becoming president. He eventually lost to incumbent Republican Nathan Deal. Fears that Mr Carter’s health was deteriorating were sparked in 2015 when he cut short an election observation visit in Guyana because he was “not feeling well”. It would have been Mr Carter’s 39th trip to personally observe an international election. Three months later, on August 12, he revealed he had cancer which had been diagnosed after he underwent surgery to remove a small mass in his liver. Mr Obama was among the well-wishers hoping for Mr Carter’s full recovery after it was confirmed the cancer had spread widely. Melanoma had been found in his brain and liver, and Mr Carter underwent immunotherapy and radiation therapy, before announcing in March the following year that he no longer needed any treatment. In 2017, Mr Carter was taken to hospital as a precaution, after he became dehydrated at a home-building project in Canada. He was admitted to hospital on multiple occasions in 2019 having had a series of falls, suffering a brain bleed and a broken pelvis, as well as a stint to be treated for a urinary tract infection. Mr Carter spent much of the coronavirus pandemic largely at his home in Georgia, and did not attend Joe Biden’s presidential inauguration in 2021, but extended his “best wishes”. Former first lady Rosalynn Carter, the closest adviser to Mr Carter during his term as US president, died in November 2023. She had been living with dementia and suffering many months of declining health. “Rosalynn was my equal partner in everything I ever accomplished,” Mr Carter said in a statement following her death. “She gave me wise guidance and encouragement when I needed it. As long as Rosalynn was in the world, I always knew somebody loved and supported me.”Bear Lake Memorial Hospital held a Grand Opening, including a ribbon cutting and open-house tours of their new BLMH Bear Lake Clinic in Garden City, UT on December 3, 2024. At the event, we heard from Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Cordell Passey; BLMH CEO, Arel Hunt; and Garden City Mayor, Mike Leonhardt. Mayor Leonhardt graciously welcomed the new clinic, saying, “Our community needs this facility. We need this in our community. And here it is.” Hunt emphasized cultivating the caring culture of BLMH into the Garden City area, saying, "We believe that there are no state lines or county lines, we believe in taking care of our patients.” The open house tours allowed patrons to view the building’s beautiful architecture, practical layout and features. These features include X-Ray, a fully stocked physical therapy gym, spacious exam rooms, and open sunlit waiting room. In addition to the open house tours, the clinic featured demonstrations from Da Vinci and Velys, both of which brought demonstration surgical robots and showcased the technology currently in use at Bear Lake Memorial Hospital. The BLMH Bear Lake Clinic (located 288 S. Paradise Parkway in Garden City, UT) features Urgent Care, Family Care, Obstetrics, Specialty Care and Physical Therapy. Providing those services are BLMH doctors Houston Reynolds, MD; Benjamin Bosen, DO; Kristina Meissner, DO; Benjamin Olson, DO; and Brian Retherford, MD. The clinic’s Urgent Care hours are Mon-Fri 8 AM-6 PM & Sat 10 AM-4 PM. Or call (435) 255-1630 to make an appointment for family or specialty care. Hunt described the new clinic as “A beacon of hope, a place of healing, an opportunity to show compassion.” BLMH would like to recognize all of the county commissioners, mayors and everyone who attended and supported us throughout the construction process.
The ( ) share price has been a bit of an underperformer again in 2024. Since the start of the year, the giant's shares have fallen 2.5%. And unless there's a late year surge, it seems very likely that the company's shares are going to fall well short of the performance of the ASX 200 index, which is up almost 11% year to date. But that's 2024, what about next year? Let's see what could happen. CSL share price outlook in 2025 As long as Donald Trump doesn't make any material changes that negatively impact drugmakers in the United States, then it is looking like 2025 could be a good year for CSL's shares. That's because all the major brokers agree that its shares are undervalued and in the buy zone right now. This is being driven by the market's expectation that the company's key plasma therapies business is going to underpin double-digit earnings growth each year for the next few years. So, with the CSL share price trading on lower than normal multiples, they believe there's plenty of upside ahead for investors. For example, speaking about the investment opportunity here, Bell Potter recently said: CSL presents an attractive buying opportunity as we anticipate the start of a margin recovery phase for CSL, driving above-market earnings growth over the next few years. CSL trades at a 12-month forward PE of ~28x, representing a discount to its 10-year average of ~31x. Furthermore, the company will continue to deleverage the balance sheet over the next few years. Given the company's proven quality and growth prospects, we believe significant upside remains. Bell Potter has a buy rating and $345.00 price target on the company's shares. This implies potential upside of 23% for investors from current levels. What else? Elsewhere, Morgans currently has an add rating and $330.75 price target, which offers 18% upside for investors. It was pleased with its performance in FY 2024. It said: FY24 results were broadly in line, with double-digit underlying top and bottom line growth and strong OCF. Strong plasma collections drove Behring sales (+15%), while Seqirus was soft (+4%) on reduced immunisation rates, albeit above market, and Vifor grew modestly given follow-on products in some EU markets. We retain our Add rating. Over at Citi, its analysts have a buy rating and $345.00 price target and then UBS has a buy rating and $340.00 price target. Overall, while 2024 may have been disappointing for this market darling, the signs are positive for 2025.KORE Announces NYSE Acceptance of Plan to Regain Listing ComplianceRockfire Resources (LON:ROCK) Trading Down 8.9% – Should You Sell?
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — First it was Canada , then the Panama Canal . Now, Donald Trump again wants Greenland . The president-elect is renewing unsuccessful calls he made during his first term for the U.S. to buy Greenland from Denmark, adding to the list of allied countries with which he's picking fights even before taking office on Jan. 20. In a Sunday announcement naming his ambassador to Denmark, Trump wrote that, “For purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity." Trump again having designs on Greenland comes after the president-elect suggested over the weekend that the U.S. could retake control of the Panama Canal if something isn't done to ease rising shipping costs required for using the waterway linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. He's also been suggesting that Canada become the 51st U.S. state and referred to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as “governor” of the “Great State of Canada.” Stephen Farnsworth, a political science professor at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia, said Trump tweaking friendly countries harkens back to an aggressive style he used during his days in business. “You ask something unreasonable and it’s more likely you can get something less unreasonable,” said Farnsworth, who is also author of the book “Presidential Communication and Character.” Greenland, the world’s largest island, sits between the Atlantic and Arctic oceans. It is 80% covered by an ice sheet and is home to a large U.S. military base. It gained home rule from Denmark in 1979 and its head of government, Múte Bourup Egede, suggested that Trump’s latest calls for U.S. control would be as meaningless as those made in his first term. “Greenland is ours. We are not for sale and will never be for sale,” he said in a statement. “We must not lose our years-long fight for freedom.” The Danish Prime Minister’s Office said in its own statement that the government is “looking forward to welcoming the new American ambassador. And the Government is looking forward to working with the new administration.” “In a complex security political situation as the one we currently experience, transatlantic cooperation is crucial,” the statement said. It noted that it had no comment on Greenland except for it “not being for sale, but open for cooperation.” Trump canceled a 2019 visit to Denmark after his offer to buy Greenland was rejected by Copenhagen, and ultimately came to nothing . He also suggested Sunday that the U.S. is getting “ripped off” at the Panama Canal. “If the principles, both moral and legal, of this magnanimous gesture of giving are not followed, then we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to the United States of America, in full, quickly and without question,” he said. Panama President José Raúl Mulino responded in a video that “every square meter of the canal belongs to Panama and will continue to,” but Trump fired back on his social media site, “We’ll see about that!” The president-elect also posted a picture of a U.S. flag planted in the canal zone under the phrase, “Welcome to the United States Canal!” The United States built the canal in the early 1900s but relinquished control to Panama on Dec. 31, 1999, under a treaty signed in 1977 by President Jimmy Carter . The canal depends on reservoirs that were hit by 2023 droughts that forced it to substantially reduce the number of daily slots for crossing ships. With fewer ships, administrators also increased the fees that shippers are charged to reserve slots to use the canal. The Greenland and Panama flareups followed Trump recently posting that “Canadians want Canada to become the 51st State" and offering an image of himself superimposed on a mountaintop surveying surrounding territory next to a Canadian flag. Trudeau suggested that Trump was joking about annexing his country, but the pair met recently at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Florida to discuss Trump's threats to impose a 25% tariff on all Canadian goods. “Canada is not going to become part of the United States, but Trump’s comments are more about leveraging what he says to get concessions from Canada by putting Canada off balance, particularly given the precarious current political environment in Canada,” Farnsworth said. “Maybe claim a win on trade concessions, a tighter border or other things.” He said the situation is similar with Greenland. “What Trump wants is a win," Farnsworth said. "And even if the American flag doesn’t raise over Greenland, Europeans may be more willing to say yes to something else because of the pressure.” Associated Press writers Gary Fields in Washington and Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.PERHAM — Katie Hennagir’s great-grandfather would be proud of her. Her business, Bay Window Quilt Shop, has grown over the years and now makes use of his entire 7,000-some square foot building in downtown Perham. Her great-grandfather on her mother’s side, Fred Bauck Jr., built the building in the very early 1900s, Katie said. “It was the general store for our community. It hosted the first doctor and the first dentist upstairs. It had a hat shop, and a hitching post out front for the horses.” ADVERTISEMENT Katie’s grandfather, George Bauck, opened Bauck Paint and Supply in the building, and that part of the operation is owned by Katie’s husband, Jace. He also is the master of the shop’s longarm quilting machines, and serves as director at the Perham High School Area Learning Center. Over the years, most of the building was divided up and rented out to outside businesses, A Red Owl grocery store occupied much of the main floor until around 1988, when it moved out to consolidate with another local grocery store. In 1989, Katie’s mom, Sarah, started a crafts shop in the building. “I was 10,” Katie said. “I wanted to work as soon as she’d let me.” Katie is now 45. She and Jace have three children – Jack, 16, Izzy, 14, and Lola, 10, and Katie hasn’t lost that enthusiasm for the business she grew up with. “It took us 100-some years to be the only renters in our own building,” she said. When Katie came back from college, she helped her mom start a website, “and we started taking over parts of the building as we grew,” Katie said. “We grew as the (quilting) hobby grew. The hobby was not as popular in 1989 or even in 1999 as it is now.” ADVERTISEMENT Quilting has become so popular in part because it’s satisfying to create a new quilt. “So many people say they love this hobby because you get something out of it in the end,” Katie said. It’s also popular because it’s a social hobby. “It’s something you do with others,” she said. “There is community in the hobby.” Bay Window Quilt Shop serves people from all over the area. “We draw from an hour (travel) radius every day we’re open, because quilt people travel,” she said. Of course, it helps that the quilt shop is a fun place to be, with its retail spaces full of colorful fabrics and patterns, both traditional and whimsical – and customers love its rooms and connecting areas with their nooks, crannies and closets. “The joys of an over-100-year-old building,” Katie said with a laugh. “But I would never change it.” The shop has a character all its own, that customers appreciate and that couldn’t be duplicated in a big box store. The shop is also fun because Katie has the space to carry extra inventory, and she uses it. “I go all-in on everything,” Katie said with a grin. “We have way more baby (designs) than most shops.” ADVERTISEMENT Another example is quilting material, which is usually cotton or flannel, and Bay Window has “a ton of flannel,” she said. “We have almost 700 bolts of just flannel cloth. It’s unique to us – a lot of shops don’t have the space and just leave it out. We make room for it, it’s just soft.” One area in the shop has sewing machines for sale, another has finished quilts for sale, and there’s a large space for quilting classes. The shop now carries yarn as well, since a lot of quilters also like to knit. “My mom’s motto always was ‘if three different customers ask for it, we’ll put it in – there’s a demand for it,’” Katie said. Katie started stocking yarn two years ago and hasn’t regretted it. “We’ve also jumped back into crafts again,” she said. “We’ve come full circle to when mom opened the store in 1989. She sold crafts, not quilts.” Katie doesn’t just sell quilting material, she is a talented quilt designer in her own right, with patterns sold at her shop and sold nationwide through Timeless Treasures Fabrics, a wholesale fabric supplier in New York City. “One of the things that sets my business apart, in high school I started designing my own patterns for our shop,” she said. “Most shops don’t have their own designers.” She has created fabric designs for the past 17 years. “It’s sort of like being a freelancer,” she said. “I give them my design ideas, and they manufacture them – I just get royalties.” ADVERTISEMENT Designing quilts is kind of like working a puzzle – you need an artistic vision and a good head for numbers. “There’s a lot of math, but I like math,” she said with a smile. “I write out all the instructions and test it before we put it in print.” All quilt fabric comes in collections, she explained. “It’s all coordinated by design, color, style, season, whether flannel or cotton, decor, color schemes, trends,” she said. There is a turnaround of between six and eight months from the time one of her designs is sold and the time it shows up in quilt stores, she said. The quilting business is “very event-driven,” Katie said. Bay Window recently held a quilting luncheon at the Perham golf course. “I do a trunk show presentation,” she said. “Holiday-themed quilts we’ve made for them to view.” Those quilts are kept on display for six or eight months, until the shop is done selling all products associated with them. Then those quilts are put up for sale in a room in the back of the shop. It’s a nice selection, considering that the shop is geared towards hobbyists who like to make their own quilts, not necessarily towards people looking to buy finished quilts. Katie’s love of family and history are behind some of the quirks at Bay Window Quilt Shop. The paint is worn off the middle of the wooden steps leading to the downstairs level. Customers may wonder about it as they use those stairs, but she keeps it that way because her grandfather was the last one to paint those steps, and she hasn't had the heart to paint over it. “I wonder how long it will be before they’re painted again?” she said. The paint store itself reminds her of her grandfather, who started that business. Quilt customers are sometimes surprised to find she knows her way around paint products. “I can mix paint,” she said. “I can mix paint to match your quilt if you want.” ADVERTISEMENT Her mom retired from Bay Window in 2020. “We worked together for 20 years. It was awesome," Katie said. “We worked side by side.” Both her parents — Sarah and Ed Hayden — waited to retire until Katie and Jace’s youngest child, Lola, was in kindergarten, she said. “My girls definitely help,” she said. “Will they take over (the business)? Maybe someday. I just hope it stays in the family.” In addition to owning and operating Bay Window Quilt Shop, Katie Hennagir is the executive director of the nonprofit Perham Center for the Arts. It’s located in the beautiful brick St. Stanislaus Church, which was built in 1922 with gorgeous stained-glass windows, a striking copper steeple and sweeping architectural lines. When the church closed in 2009, the community wanted to preserve the historic church, so the St. Stanislaus parishioners and the new nonprofit came together to make it happen in 2011. Katie was not part of the original group that set up the nonprofit, but now serves as executive director, in part to help bring in grant revenue. ADVERTISEMENT There’s a lot going on at the historic building. It is available as a venue for weddings and other events, and Katie said “there’s a Christmas concert we want to do by candlelight, which will be incredible.” Art classes “have really taken off,” at the art center, particularly a paint-your-own-pottery class. Leaf River Pottery brings pottery to the class, people paint their own pottery, and Leaf River fires the pottery and then gives back the finished work. There are pottery wheels and a pottery kiln in the basement of the art center, and members who pay a $15 monthly fee can put them to use as members of the Clay Club. “That’s just kicking off,” Katie said in mid-October. “Last month was our first month, so we’re excited about that.” Two volunteers oversee the group meetings, something Katie appreciates. “I help with the organization, but I need others to take and run with it,” she said. There are also dance classes held upstairs, where all but a few of the original pews have been removed to provide an open space for activities. “So I‘m busy, but it’s a good busy,” Katie said. “I’m super proud to be from Perham, there’s a lot of pride in being a fourth-generation business owner. The community is so supportive.” As a business owner and community volunteer, Katie said “I can see first-hand from both ends how collaborative our community is. Perham is special that way – we have got that in spades.”
Travelodge boss says Labour’s Budget has made creating part-time jobs more expensiveStock market 12-23-24: Wall Street rises at the start of a holiday-shortened week
NEW YORK (AP) — New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu underwent a procedure last week on her right thumb to stabilize the ulnar collateral ligament, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity Monday because they weren't authorized to speak publicly about it. The procedure was done Friday by Dr. Steven S. Shin. The Liberty star has begun rehab and is expected to return to on-court activities in about four weeks. Ionescu turned 27 on Friday and posted a picture on social media on Sunday sitting near flowers with a cast on her right, shooting hand. “Getting my thumb fixed was quite the bday present,” part of the caption read. ESPN was first to report the procedure. Ionescu sustained the injury during the WNBA Finals and it wasn't known she was hurt until after the Liberty won the title. She went 1 for 19 in the deciding Game 5 against Minnesota but found other ways to help the team win, with eight assists and seven rebounds. It has been a busy year for the former Oregon great. She got married, helped New York win its first WNBA championship and earned an Olympic gold medal. AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketballTrump again calls to buy Greenland after eyeing Canada and the Panama Canal
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