fortune gems 2 demo play free CIBC Asset Management Inc Acquires Shares of 1,875 Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc (NASDAQ:JAZZ)Did you know with an ad-lite subscription to Burnley Express, you get 70% fewer ads while viewing the news that matters to you. The line-up for Celebrity Cyclone has been confirmed for 2024. I’m a Celebrity is preparing for the final two days of this year’s season - and a winner will soon be crowned. Oti won the golden ticket straight through to the coveted challenge - a fan and participant favourite each year. However more places were up for grabs. Advertisement Advertisement A double elimination shocked fans and the campmates on Thursday (December 5) night - but how many of the remaining six stars survived tonight's (December 6) episode. Here’s all you need to know: Stay up-to-date with the latest UK news and culture with our free UK Today newsletter. It is one of the most iconic I’m a Celebrity challenges and a benchmark for the participants. However only a handful of stars can make it all the way to take on Celebrity Cyclone. Oti Mabuse won the golden ticket in the two part challenge spread across the episodes on Wednesday (December 4) and Thursday. After two trips to the Arcade of Agony, she won the major advantage. Advertisement Advertisement She was joined by Danny Jones, Coleen Rooney and Reverend Richard Coles. Two more celebs were sent home in yet another double elimination. The unlucky two were Alan Halsall and GK Barry. Their depatures come just before the final two episodes of I’m a Celebrity 2024 - as the top six became a top four. Find out who makes it to the final day in Saturday’s (December 7) episode. Friday’s episode started, as is tradition, with a recap of the events from the day prior, up to the double elimination of Maura and Barry. Alan had the pleasure of announcing the details of the latest Bush Tucker trial - with two celebs set to take part. Advertisement Advertisement Once again, it was up to the campmates to decide who would face the challenge. Coleen Rooney and Reverend Richard Coles volunteered. It was a trial called ‘Dreaded Dregs’ - a drinking themed challenge. They had a chance to win up to six stars, but some of the drinking games saw the two celebs facing off against each other. Starting with a game of spin the bottle, Coleen had to drink a ‘jungle drink’ - made from blended pig testicles. Who hasn’t downed one of these have a few pints? She successfully won the first star. The two celebs then went head to head, for a game of gruesome flip cup - with the celeb taking the longest having to face a forfeit. Advertisement Advertisement They got two stars for the game, but Coleen was the slowest and had to face the forfeit. Meaning she had to face the next one on her own. She had to face six shots, including blended camel teets and then horses anuses. Like a true trooper, Coleen managed to finish all of them. For the next game, it was a Bush Tucker twist on beer pong - and two stars were up for grabs. And they managed to win them both. A seventh star was then up for grabs, if Coleen and Richard could finish a dirty fishbowl drink together. If they managed it - drinks would be up for grabs for everyone back in camp that evening. Advertisement Advertisement Coleen struggled but Richard kept going and finished it all. Winning the final star - taking the total to seven: six for meals and one for drinks. After the challenge, each of the celebs were pulled out of camp for a surprise: to meet a family member or loved one for an emotional reunion. It was a piece of TV that was bound to touch the hearts of even the most curmudgeonly watchers. What do you think of the line-up for Celebrity Cyclone this year? Share your thoughts by emailing me: [email protected] .

Return of starter from extended absence highlights Miami Dolphins' otherwise murky final injury reportPAY ATTENTION: Follow our WhatsApp channel to never miss out on the news that matters to you! Tech billionaire Elon Musk spent at least $270 million to help Donald Trump win the US presidency, according to new federal filings, making him the country's biggest political donor. SpaceX and Tesla CEO Musk, the world's richest person, was an ardent supporter of Trump's White House campaign -- funneling money into door knocking operations and speaking at his rallies. His financial backing, which has earned him a cost-cutting advisory role in Trump's incoming government, surpassed spending by any single political donor since at least 2010, according to data from nonprofit OpenSecrets. The Washington Post reported that Musk spent more this election cycle than Trump backer Tim Mellon, who gave nearly $200 million and was previously the Republican's top donor. Musk donated $238 million to America PAC, a political action committee that he founded to support Trump, filings late Thursday with the Federal Election Commission showed. An additional $20 million went to the RBG PAC, a group that used advertising to soften Trump's hardline reputation on the key voter issue of abortion. Read also TikTok loses appeal of US law ordering sale from Chinese owner PAY ATTENTION : Standing out in social media world? Easy! "Mastering Storytelling for Social Media" workshop by Legit.ng. Join Us Live! Musk has been an ever-present sidekick for Trump since his election victory in November, inviting him to watch a rocket launch in Texas by his SpaceX company. Trump has selected the South African-born tycoon and fellow ally Vivek Ramaswamy to head the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, through which the pair have promised to deliver billions of dollars of cuts in federal spending. However, with Musk's businesses all having varying degrees of interactions with US and foreign governments, his new position also raises concerns about conflict of interest. The president-elect has nominated several people close to Musk for roles in his administration, including investor David Sacks as the so-called AI and crypto czar. Meanwhile, billionaire astronaut Jared Isaacman, who has collaborated with Musk's SpaceX, was named the head of US space agency NASA. PAY ATTENTION: Сheck out news that is picked exactly for YOU ➡️ find the “Recommended for you” block on the home page and enjoy! Source: AFP

By ALEXANDRA OLSON and CATHY BUSSEWITZ NEW YORK (AP) — Walmart’s sweeping rollback of its diversity policies is the strongest indication yet of a profound shift taking hold at U.S. companies that are revaluating the legal and political risks associated with bold programs to bolster historically underrepresented groups in business. The changes announced by the world’s biggest retailer followed a string of legal victories by conservative groups that have filed an onslaught of lawsuits challenging corporate and federal programs aimed at elevating minority and women-owned businesses and employees. The risk associated with some of programs crystalized with the election of former President Donald Trump, whose administration is certain to make dismantling diversity, equity and inclusion programs a priority. Trump’s incoming deputy chief of policy will be his former adviser Stephen Miller , who leads a group called America First Legal that has aggressively challenged corporate DEI policies. “There has been a lot of reassessment of risk looking at programs that could be deemed to constitute reverse discrimination,” said Allan Schweyer, principal researcher the Human Capital Center at the Conference Board. “This is another domino to fall and it is a rather large domino,” he added. Among other changes, Walmart said it will no longer give priority treatment to suppliers owned by women or minorities. The company also will not renew a five-year commitment for a racial equity center set up in 2020 after the police killing of George Floyd. And it pulled out of a prominent gay rights index . Schweyer said the biggest trigger for companies making such changes is simply a reassessment of their legal risk exposure, which began after U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in June 2023 that ended affirmative action in college admissions. Since then, conservative groups using similar arguments have secured court victories against various diversity programs, especially those that steer contracts to minority or women-owned businesses. Most recently, the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty won a victory in a case against the U.S. Department of Transportation over its use of a program that gives priority to minority-owned businesses when it awards contracts. Companies are seeing a big legal risk in continuing with DEI efforts, said Dan Lennington, a deputy counsel at the institute. His organization says it has identified more than 60 programs in the federal government that it considers discriminatory, he said. “We have a legal landscape within the entire federal government, all three branches — the U.S. Supreme Court, the Congress and the President — are all now firmly pointed in the direction towards equality of individuals and individualized treatment of all Americans, instead of diversity, equity and inclusion treating people as members of racial groups,” Lennington said. The Trump administration is also likely to take direct aim at DEI initiatives through executive orders and other policies that affect private companies, especially federal contractors. “The impact of the election on DEI policies is huge. It can’t be overstated,” said Jason Schwartz, co-chair of the Labor & Employment Practice Group at law firm Gibson Dunn. With Miller returning to the White House, rolling back DEI initiatives is likely to be a priority, Schwartz said. “Companies are trying to strike the right balance to make clear they’ve got an inclusive workplace where everyone is welcome, and they want to get the best talent, while at the same time trying not to alienate various parts of their employees and customer base who might feel one way or the other. It’s a virtually impossible dilemma,” Schwartz said. A recent survey by Pew Research Center showed that workers are divided on the merits of DEI policies. While still broadly popular, the share of workers who said focusing on workplace diversity was mostly a good thing fell to 52% in the November survey, compared to 56% in a similar survey in February 2023. Rachel Minkin, a research associated at Pew called it a small but significant shift in short amount of time. There will be more companies pulling back from their DEI policies, but it likely won’t be a retreat across the board, said David Glasgow, executive director of the Meltzer Center for Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging at New York University. “There are vastly more companies that are sticking with DEI,” Glasgow said. “The only reason you don’t hear about it is most of them are doing it by stealth. They’re putting their heads down and doing DEI work and hoping not to attract attention.” Glasgow advises organizations to stick to their own core values, because attitudes toward the topic can change quickly in the span of four years. “It’s going to leave them looking a little bit weak if there’s a kind of flip-flopping, depending on whichever direction the political winds are blowing,” he said. One reason DEI programs exist is because without those programs, companies may be vulnerable to lawsuits for traditional discrimination. “Really think carefully about the risks in all directions on this topic,” Glasgow said. Walmart confirmed will no longer consider race and gender as a litmus test to improve diversity when it offers supplier contracts. Last fiscal year, Walmart said it spent more than $13 billion on minority, women or veteran-owned good and service suppliers. It was unclear how its relationships with such business would change going forward. Organizations that that have partnered with Walmart on its diversity initiatives offered a cautious response. The Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, a non-profit that last year named Walmart one of America’s top corporation for women-owned enterprises, said it was still evaluating the impact of Walmart’s announcement. Pamela Prince-Eason, the president and CEO of the organization, said she hoped Walmart’s need to cater to its diverse customer base will continue to drive contracts to women-owned suppliers even if the company no longer has explicit dollar goals. “I suspect Walmart will continue to have one of the most inclusive supply chains in the World,” Prince-Eason wrote. “Any retailer’s ability to serve the communities they operate in will continue to value understanding their customers, (many of which are women), in order to better provide products and services desired and no one understands customers better than Walmart.” Related Articles National News | Man found guilty of holding down teen while he was raped at a youth center in 1998 National News | What Black Friday’s history tells us about holiday shopping in 2024 National News | New rule allows HIV-positive organ transplants National News | Walmart becomes latest – and biggest – company to roll back its DEI policies National News | Eggs are available — but pricier — as the holiday baking season begins Walmart’s announcement came after the company spoke directly with conservative political commentator and activist Robby Starbuck, who has been going after corporate DEI policies, calling out individual companies on the social media platform X. Several of those companies have subsequently announced that they are pulling back their initiatives, including Ford , Harley-Davidson, Lowe’s and Tractor Supply . Walmart confirmed to The Associated Press that it will better monitor its third-party marketplace items to make sure they don’t feature sexual and transgender products aimed at minors. The company also will stop participating in the Human Rights Campaign’s annual benchmark index that measures workplace inclusion for LGBTQ+ employees. A Walmart spokesperson added that some of the changes were already in progress and not as a result of conversations that it had with Starbuck. RaShawn “Shawnie” Hawkins, senior director of the HRC Foundation’s Workplace Equality Program, said companies that “abandon” their commitments workplace inclusion policies “are shirking their responsibility to their employees, consumers, and shareholders.” She said the buying power of LGBTQ customers is powerful and noted that the index will have record participation of more than 1,400 companies in 2025.‘I did the best I could’: Tim Walz reflects on presidential loss in first Minnesota interview

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Top Picks for Women's Wallets: A Blend of Style and FunctionalityAP Business SummaryBrief at 3:42 p.m. ESTShares of EQTEC plc ( LON:EQT – Get Free Report ) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as GBX 0.45 ($0.01) and last traded at GBX 0.46 ($0.01), with a volume of 1508898 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at GBX 0.48 ($0.01). EQTEC Price Performance The stock has a market capitalization of £1.20 million, a PE ratio of -2.73 and a beta of 2.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 2.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 37.66. The stock’s 50-day moving average is GBX 0.63 and its 200 day moving average is GBX 0.96. EQTEC Company Profile ( Get Free Report ) EQTEC plc licenses and sells its proprietary advanced gasification technology that generates green energy from municipal, agricultural and industrial waste, biomass, and plastics in the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom, European Union, and the United States. The company operates in two segments, Technology Sales and Power Generation. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for EQTEC Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for EQTEC and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .

23,227 Shares in Redfin Co. (NASDAQ:RDFN) Acquired by Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.

WINCHESTER — The high school selection committee is inching closer to making a recommendation, but the question of where 8th-graders at Winchester School will graduate from in 2029 remains unanswered. At its meeting Thursday night, the Winchester School Board approved sending a mailer to residents and scheduled two more public forums for 2025 about the high school selection process. Winchester closed its high school in 2005 and has paid tuition for the town’s students to attend Keene High School since then. But the Keene School District announced in March that it would not renew its tuition agreement with Winchester after it expires in June 2027. As it stands, Winchester students will be able to attend Keene High until the tuition agreement ends. But the current agreement leaves uncertain whether those students will be able to graduate from Keene High or if they will have to finish their education elsewhere. Winchester School Board Chair Karen Jerome previously said legal counsel for the Keene and Winchester districts have been in communication since April to add an addendum to the tuition agreement, with the most recent revision being sent to Winchester on Oct. 29. The school board reviewed the addendum at its Nov. 7 meeting, Winchester Superintendent David Ryan said, and sent it back to the Keene Board of Education for a review. “We believe that it’s at a point that we’ve all walked away from the table with a compromise and that it’s in the best interest of all of our students,” he said. “We expect that by December 11, those contents should be public information.” Keene Board of Education Chair George Downing confirmed Friday morning that there is an item from the Winchester School District slated for discussion during its Tuesday meeting, but due to its contents it will be during its non-public session. Meanwhile, Winchester's high school selection committee has been researching alternatives to Keene High since this summer. The options include Hinsdale High, Monadnock Regional in Swanzey or Pioneer Valley Regional in Northfield, Mass. Lindseigh Picard, chair of the high school selection committee, gave a presentation to the Winchester School Board Thursday night about the process to date. Picard said the committee is on track to provide a recommendation at the Jan. 6 school board meeting. “We’ve found some common threads in the surveys from the high school open house night,” she said, referencing the event in November. “ People really want a school with access to trade and career technical education, they want advanced academics, small class sizes and sports.” Picard said additional discussion with the committee that has not been included in the data presented was the importance of developing a relationship with the school that is chosen for the next tuition agreement. “We hope our community is engaged at a decision-making level with whichever school district we opt to be part of,” she said. “We’d like Winchester to have a seat at the table.” Voters will ultimately get to weigh in at the annual district meeting in March about which school the district will pursue a tuition agreement negotiation with. Picard also noted feedback she’s received from the community about the uncertainty of whether Winchester students who enroll at Keene High before the tuition agreement ends will have to change schools at the beginning of the 2028-29 academic year. “People are really concerned about what is going on with our current 8th-graders,” she said. “A lot of questions have come about at the committee level that we don’t have any information about. We know you might not either, but that is definitely sparking a lot of concern.” Picard said some discussion has been ongoing in community Facebook groups in other towns about the tuition agreement, and asked for permission from the board to create a mailer to disseminate more information outside of social media. “We have people in our greater community who may not be participating in the Facebook pages,” Picard said. The board unanimously approved the mailer, and Picard said the committee will send a preview of it to the board by Tuesday. The mailer could be sent out as early as the week of Dec. 16. The board also approved scheduling two more public forums, one on Jan. 23 and the other on March 6, about the anchor school process during its meeting Thursday evening. “We’re going to need other meetings where the stakeholders can come talk to us, and share concerns and questions [people] may still have,” Jerome said. The Winchester School Board will meet again on Jan. 2 at 6 p.m. in the Winchester School library.