jili slot apk SANDY, Utah, Dec. 13, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mountain America Credit Union is proud to announce a recent donation of $14,600 to Operation Warm for the 2024 First Down program with Idaho State Athletics. Through the First Down program, the credit union pledged a donation to Operation Warm for every first down completed by the Idaho State University (ISU) football team during the 2024 season. A Media Snippet accompanying this announcement is available by clicking on this link. Mountain America presented a check to Michael Andrews, senior manager of partnerships at Operation Warm, on November 16, 2024. “A new coat does more than just keep a child warm,” said Andrews. “It boosts their confidence and helps them attend school regularly, ready to learn and succeed. We are grateful for Mountain America’s generous support.” With this donation, Mountain America has now contributed a total of $150,000 to Operation Warm through various programs and events across its multistate footprint. Operation Warm’s mission is to provide confidence, warmth, and hope to children in need through the gift of brand-new winter coats. Recently, Mountain America and Operation Warm partnered to provide 300 coats to preschoolers in Pocatello. In Idaho, 12.5% of individuals under age 18 live below the poverty line, making a warm coat a necessity in winter. The impact of a new coat extends beyond warmth, contributing to a child’s overall well-being and readiness to learn. “We are proud to support Operation Warm through our partnership with Idaho State Athletics, helping to provide new coats to children in need,” said Nathan Anderson, executive vice president and chief operating officer at Mountain America. “Seeing the smiles of the children directly impacted by this work is truly heartwarming and reinforces our dedication to this cause.” To learn more about Operation Warm, please visit operationwarm.org . To learn more about Mountain America’s community involvement, visit macu.com/newsroom . About Mountain America Credit Union With more than 1 million members and $20 billion in assets, Mountain America Credit Union helps its members define and achieve their financial dreams. Mountain America provides consumers and businesses with a variety of convenient, flexible products and services, as well as sound, timely advice. Members enjoy access to secure, cutting-edge mobile banking technology, over 100 branches across multiple states, and more than 50,000 surcharge-free ATMs. Mountain America—guiding you forward. Learn more at macu.com . Contact: publicrelations@macu.com , macu.com/newsroom

Syrians living in the UK have told of their delight at the collapse of the Assad regime - and how they can now finally dream of a return to their homeland. Razan Alsous, 42, and her husband Raghid Sandouk, 56, came to Britain with their three young children - one aged just 10-months - in 2012. A car bomb had exploded outside the Damascus office of Raghid, the lights went off and workers crawled on the floor in darkness to take cover amid the carnage. Within two days, they fled to the UK, where they set up a business in two years and integrated themselves into a welcoming community. Because they had UK visas at that time thanks to Raghid’s work in Syria , they were able to instantly leave as war raged. They have family still in Syria and now, after 12 years, can finally plan to see their loved ones and visit the place they once called home. “First of all, we just feel relieved,” Razan told the Mirror . “It’s unbelievable that mission impossible, to collapse the regime, has happened. “It’s been more than 50 years where you cannot speak out about - or even think bad about - the regime.” Yesterday (Fri) thousands took to the streets across Syria after Friday prayers to celebrate the end of the brutal Assad regime, which spanned 53 years back to 1971, when Hafez al-Assad became president under the Ba’ath Party following the 1970 Coup. Tens of thousands poured into Umayyad Square in Damascus on Friday, outside the Umayyad Mosque, singing songs cursing the Assads while families mingled with rebels. “We’re already talking now about visiting Syria and looking at what routes could be possible and if the border with Jordan is open,” Razan said. “It’s wonderful to even be able to think about visiting because we would love to go and see my family and introduce them to our children, and to see my home after what’s happened.” Razan explained how they “lost everything” in the war in Syria and soon found themselves settled in Sowerby Bridge, West Yorkshire. Despite Razan’s degree in pharmacy and her husband’s experience as an electronic engineer who ran his own company in Syria, they struggled to find work before setting up multi-award-winning cheese and dairy company Yorkshire Dama Cheese, with the name inspired by their two homes - Yorkshire and Damascus. “The welcome we’ve had in the UK has been brilliant,” she said. “So we have two homes. My children have been brought up here but also want to know where they are originally from.” They told of the fear in which they lived before leaving Damascus. People would be killed for being an ethnic minority or “investigated” if they had any links with the Western world , she said. “But you know that to be investigated is a one way track to prison - and then death,” Razan said. “My uncle, who still lives there, said the lockdown has been lifted and that life seems maybe 60% back to normal. I’m not expecting life to be rosy, that’s not realistic, but at the same time we should be optimistic. We need now to focus on rebuilding Syria and widen our vision, and think of the benefits for everyone.” Amr Shayah, 38, a married father of Hisham, six, said he was unable to capture his emotional state such was the relief at the demise of the Assad regime. “If I had to choose one word, it would be ‘dream’ - a happy dream that my family and I are finally living,” said Amr, who lives in Greenwich, south east London, but is originally from Aleppo. Starting with what happened in Aleppo as the first city being fully freed from the Assad regime, I have been living in a dream I don’t want to wake up from. Up to this moment, I still can’t believe this - that Syria finally being free - is a reality. It’s an incredibly emotional moment.” He said he remembers the “martyrs who sacrificed their blood, souls and lives” since the outbreak of war in 2011. Large scale pro-democracy protests broke out in 2011 over the rule of dictator Bashar al-Assad, as part of the wider Arab Spring uprisings in the region. “The situation under Assad’s regime was terrible,” said Amr. "Electricity was available for only two hours a day, but now it’s 18 to 20 hours daily. People feel relieved that their living conditions are improving, and that’s just one example. It’s a step forward toward a better future - a return to aspects of normal life that Syrians haven’t experienced since 2011.” He says he would “love” to return to Syria but has to consider his refugee status in the UK and whether he would be allowed back in should he go. Amr arrived in the UK in 2022 and is married to personal trainer Aya. Amr came on a student visa, gaining a Masters degree in human rights and is now a case worker for Revoke, a grassroots organisation which advocates for young, displaced people. “Deep inside me, I long to return and help rebuild my country and city,” he said. My wife and I can’t wait to go back and see my beloved city, but to make an affirmative decision to return, we need to wait and think logically, and think about everything thoroughly and wisely.” His son has been at school for two years and he and Aya work full time and have integrated themselves into British society in Greenwich. "To my wife and I, the fall of the Assad regime wasn’t even on our calendar,” he added. “Now that it has happened, it has upended the family’s plans for the future. We didn’t think Syria would be free - but now it is. “What I am certain of is that I can see myself in Syria again in the future, alongside my family and loved ones, helping to rebuild and continuing the fight for freedom and liberty. We are stepping into a new reality, one that will undoubtedly come with challenges and obstacles. Still, I firmly believe that my peers and I have a major role to play in Syria’s future, and we want to be part of it - a new future where Syrians are in charge of their own country, united by our shared aspirations." Jamal Ahmed, 33, who lives in Nottingham, can barely recall visiting Syria as a child. His parents fled in the 1970s when dictator Hafez al-Assad took power. Jamal’s family was politically opposed to Hafez and was forced to flee to Saudi Arabia because of the threat of being arrested and killed back home. Jamal grew up in exile before living in Turkey, from where he arrived to the UK in 2019 to study a Masters degree in public health at Nottingham University, and he now works as a commissioning officer for adult social care and health for Nottingham Council. He told the Mirror: “It’s hard to put into words what I felt when I heard the news that Assad’s regime was no more. It was like Eid, like the biggest celebration you can imagine. That night, no one in my family could sleep. We stayed up, glued to the news, laughing, crying, and embracing this impossible feeling of joy. “It was surreal—too good to be true, almost as though we were afraid that if we blinked, the news might vanish, and we’d wake up from the dream. Happiness flooded me, yes, but it was not pure or simple. Beneath the joy, there was a gnawing ache of homesickness, a longing for a home I had never really known." He described his “tangled” relationship with Syria having not lived there, but how it has “always been my home in my heart”. “I was born and raised in a different country, yet Syria defined me—through my name, my passport, my identity. But it was also the place I never felt safe enough to visit, let alone live in. For Syrians like me, who grew up in exile, this moment is even more bittersweet. “It’s the hope that the people of Syria can finally live without fear, without the shadow of oppression. But at the same time, it’s a reminder of everything we’ve lost a long time ago - family, memories, a sense of belonging. I have no family left in Syria now. Some fled like I did; others were lost to the war. The idea of going back feels impossible... “Syria might be free of Assad, but I don’t think it’s safe to live in - not yet. And for me, it’s more complicated. I’ve built a life here in the UK, a life that wasn’t easy to create. Uprooting that and returning to a country I’ve never truly known would mean starting over again - this time, in a land where I have no family, no roots, only the faint echoes of a history I never lived. “I would love to visit my country and learn more about where I come from. I've grown to be foreign to my land, so visiting Syria is something that I am planning to do, but not stay there." He described the life he has built for himself in Nottingham, where he works and has best friends that feel like family, and where he has a sense of stability and of home and belonging. “The UK gave me what Syria, even after the overthrow of Assad, cannot yet offer: the freedom to dream, to feel secure, and to live without fear. Thinking about returning to Syria now feels like trying to reconcile two worlds—one I’ve been forced to imagine and one I’ve actually lived in. “I built my life on the understanding that there was no future for me in Syria. I made choices, big and small, with that reality in mind. Now, for the first time in over 13 years, I find myself contemplating something I had buried long ago."Chance of direct attack by Russia ‘remote’, says UK armed forces chiefAP Business SummaryBrief at 6:08 p.m. EST

By BARBARA ORTUTAY, AP Technology Writer Nearly half of American teenagers say they are online “constantly” despite concerns about the effects of social media and smartphones on their mental health, according to a new report published Thursday by the Pew Research Center. As in past years, YouTube was the single most popular platform teenagers used — 90% said they watched videos on the site, down slightly from 95% in 2022. Nearly three-quarters said they visit YouTube every day. There was a slight downward trend in several popular apps teens used. For instance, 63% of teens said they used TikTok, down from 67% and Snapchat slipped to 55% from 59%. This small decline could be due to pandemic-era restrictions easing up and kids having more time to see friends in person, but it’s not enough to be truly meaningful . X saw the biggest decline among teenage users. Only 17% of teenagers said they use X, down from 23% in 2022, the year Elon Musk bought the platform. Reddit held steady at 14%. About 6% of teenagers said they use Threads, Meta’s answer to X that launched in 2023. The report comes as countries around the world are grappling with how to handle the effects of social media on young people’s well-being. Australia recently passed a law banning kids under 16 from social networks, though it’s unclear how it will be able to enforce the age limit — and whether it will come with unintended consequences such as isolating vulnerable kids from their peers. Related Articles National News | American released from Syrian prison is flown out of the country, a US official says National News | How to protect your communications through encryption National News | Companies tighten security after a health care CEO’s killing leads to a surge of threats National News | Military service academies see drop in reported sexual assaults after alarming surge National News | Unidentified drones spotted flying at locations across NYC, including LaGuardia Airport Meta’s messaging service WhatsApp was a rare exception in that it saw the number of teenage users increase, to 23% from 17% in 2022. Pew also asked kids how often they use various online platforms. Small but significant numbers said they are on them “almost constantly.” For YouTube, 15% reported constant use, for TikTok, 16% and for Snapchat, 13%. As in previous surveys, girls were more likely to use TikTok almost constantly while boys gravitated to YouTube. There was no meaningful gender difference in the use of Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook. Roughly a quarter of Black and Hispanic teens said they visit TikTok almost constantly, compared with just 8% of white teenagers. The report was based on a survey of 1,391 U.S. teens ages 13 to 17 conducted from Sept. 18 to Oct. 10, 2024.

The holiday shopping season has started fast, especially online, and those automated chatbots are working overtime. Artificial intelligence is increasingly finding its way into decisions that once were purely human, like whether or not to buy a sweater. This year, more than ever, smart computer programs are stepping between customers and their shopping. These programs make recommendations based on purchase history, browsing behavior and demographics. They also sharpen the results from online product searches, adjust prices based on competitive factors, and improve product placement or promotions. AI-powered customer service can answer questions and take orders. AI can even enable apparel shoppers to virtually “try on” clothes to see if they’ll fit. This integration of AI with routine tasks of our everyday lives isn’t new, but its ubiquity is growing. Merchants say their embrace of AI creates more efficient and personal shopping experiences. If Santa can tell when you’ve been bad or good, as the Christmas carol goes, imagine what a computer analyzing every keystroke can surmise about you and your holiday shopping list. Some AI applications rival science fiction. A recent survey of 2,000 adults under age 40 showed that 13% of young men and 9% of young women are open to friendships with AI-generated companions, and 1 in 4 young people say they believe AI partners could eventually replace real-life romance. The Institute for Family Studies, a conservative think tank that conducted the poll, concludes, “Robots aren’t just coming for your jobs but for your relationships, too.” In the U.S., this incursion is largely unregulated, which could be risky based on how AI is being used. The European Union has developed a sensible AI regulatory framework that rates the risk from “minimal” to “unacceptable.” Most AI related to holiday shopping falls into the catch-all category of “limited” risk, meaning the systems could be used to deceive people in relatively small ways. For example, the EU requires that chatbot programs conversing in text or voice make it clear that human users are interacting with AI, not other humans. The EU framework is still being sorted out, but at least the Europeans have one. In the U.S., Congress so far has failed to pass legislation, and the only national standards to date stemmed from an executive order that outgoing President Joe Biden imposed in 2023. With ex-President Donald Trump returning to the White House, Biden’s order is probably headed for the trash, and it’s unclear what AI guardrails a Trump administration might want, if any. ... During the run-up to Election Day, both Republicans and Democrats used AI to target messages and generate memes. Fortunately, the worst fears of a lifelike fake message or video disrupting the election never materialized. Advocates in the AI industry have pushed for rules of the road to help the technology gain acceptance and head off problems. The Europeans have provided a reasonable starting point. Now it’s up to the ruling GOP to recognize that imposing regulations on the AI free-for-all stands to promote innovation and ensure that these powerful tools are used in a manner that serves the public. Get local news delivered to your inbox!Tired of Night Sweats? Uncover the Cause and Cool Down With Our 4 Tips5 top tech gifts for the holidaysTrump names Andrew Ferguson as head of Federal Trade Commission to replace Lina Khan

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