49 jili 777 Jack in the Box ( NASDAQ:JACK – Get Free Report ) ‘s stock had its “hold” rating reissued by equities research analysts at TD Cowen in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $50.00 price objective on the restaurant operator’s stock. TD Cowen’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 5.26% from the stock’s previous close. Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on JACK. Bank of America boosted their target price on Jack in the Box from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Jack in the Box from $87.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Jack in the Box from $57.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Northcoast Research downgraded shares of Jack in the Box from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Wedbush cut their target price on Jack in the Box from $60.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Jack in the Box currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $60.38. Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Jack in the Box Jack in the Box Price Performance Insider Buying and Selling at Jack in the Box In other Jack in the Box news, CFO Brian M. Scott sold 696 shares of Jack in the Box stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.66, for a total value of $33,867.36. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 13,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $642,360.66. The trade was a 5.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website . 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders. Institutional Trading of Jack in the Box Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Jack in the Box by 261.5% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 557,667 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $28,408,000 after purchasing an additional 403,423 shares in the last quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Jack in the Box in the third quarter valued at about $11,802,000. Clearline Capital LP lifted its position in shares of Jack in the Box by 136.7% during the 2nd quarter. Clearline Capital LP now owns 250,426 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $12,757,000 after acquiring an additional 144,631 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Jack in the Box by 26.2% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 626,955 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $31,937,000 after acquiring an additional 130,214 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its holdings in shares of Jack in the Box by 296.5% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 135,146 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $6,884,000 after acquiring an additional 101,064 shares during the period. 99.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Jack in the Box Company Profile ( Get Free Report ) Jack in the Box Inc operates and franchises Jack in the Box and Del Taco quick-service restaurants in the United States. The company was founded in 1951 and is headquartered in San Diego, California. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Jack in the Box Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Jack in the Box and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .

Reasons for Victor Mancini’s ‘crazy’ cross-continental Rangers journey come into view

Taylor Swift Offers Blake Lively Advice Amid Co-Star’s ‘Smear Campaign’: ReportNEW YORK , Dec. 5, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Report on how AI is redefining market landscape - The global managed security services (MSS) market size is estimated to grow by USD 33.86 billion from 2024-2028, according to Technavio. The market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of about 13.87% during the forecast period. Increase in adoption of cloud-based services is driving market growth, with a trend towards incorporation of predictive analytics in managed security services. However, chances of failure during managed security services implementation poses a challenge. Key market players include Accenture Plc, AT and T Inc., Atos SE, Capgemini Service SAS, CrowdStrike Holdings Inc., Dell Technologies Inc., DXC Technology Co., F5 Inc., Fortra LLC, Furukawa Electric Co. Ltd., Infosys Ltd., International Business Machines Corp., Kroll LLC, Kudelski SA, Kyndryl Inc., Lumen Technologies Inc., Nippon Telegraph And Telephone Corp., Orange Cyberdefense SA, ProSOC Inc., and Singapore Telecommunications Ltd.. AI-Powered Market Evolution Insights. Our comprehensive market report ready with the latest trends, growth opportunities, and strategic analysis- View Free Sample Report PDF Key Market Trends Fueling Growth Managed Security Services (MSS) are becoming increasingly popular among businesses in various industries, including Healthcare, Manufacturing, Telecom and IT. Trends like Managed IPS, Firewall Management, Endpoint Security, and Threat Monitoring are key offerings in MSS. With the rise of new threats such as ransomware, vulnerability assessments, and detection and response are crucial. Healthcare facilities and medical devices face unique challenges, requiring patient privacy protection. IT security specialists provide operational services through in-house or cloud-based solutions. Cloud computing, Artificial Intelligence, and Machine Learning are transforming MSS, enabling better threat detection and response. SMEs and IT enterprises alike benefit from MSS, as they face similar cyber threats. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated digital transformation, increasing exposure and creating new risks. Industry 4.0 and Cloud technology bring new challenges, requiring skilled cybersecurity laborers to defend against malicious attackers. Engagement models vary, from fully managed to co-managed services. MSS providers offer Network Security, Data Security, Managed DDoS protection, and Cloud Security solutions. Defense and Government sectors also rely on MSS for cybersecurity. Predictive analytics is a data-driven approach that utilizes statistical algorithms, data mining, artificial intelligence, and machine learning to make informed predictions about future events. In the context of Managed Security Services (MSS), this technology is employed to detect and protect against advanced malware threats and potential cyberattacks. Vendors offering MSS with predictive analytics capabilities gather, correlate, and analyze data from various sources to provide real-time expert analysis of emerging threats. This early warning system enables enterprises to take proactive measures, ensuring a more secure network environment. Predictive analytics empowers MSS providers to anticipate and address potential threats before they cause significant damage. Insights on how AI is driving innovation, efficiency, and market growth- Request Sample! • Managed Security Services (MSS) have become essential for businesses in various industries, including Healthcare, Manufacturing, Telecom and IT, to protect their digital ecosystems from new and evolving threats. Challenges such as Managed IPS, Firewall Management, Endpoint Security, and Data breaches require specialized expertise. Healthcare facilities face unique challenges with medical devices and patient privacy. Threat Monitoring and Vulnerability Monitoring are crucial for early detection and response. Inhouse security solutions may not provide the necessary resources and skills to combat advanced cyber threats like Ransomware. Cloud-based security solutions offer flexibility and scalability. IT security specialists are in high demand, making outsourcing to MSS providers an attractive option. SMEs and IT enterprises alike benefit from MSS engagement models. Cloud computing, Artificial Intelligence, and Machine Learning are transforming MSS, providing enhanced threat detection and response capabilities. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated digital transformation, increasing exposure and the need for security. Malicious attackers target industries like Defense or Government, Telecom and IT, and Industry 4.0. MSS providers offer Operational services, including Managed DDoS protection and Cloud Security, ensuring Network and Data Security for businesses. • The implementation phase is a critical component of managed security services (MSS), but it also presents a significant challenge. Prospective clients may be hesitant to adopt MSS due to the risk of implementation failures. This complex process involves various tasks such as project management, vulnerability management, compliance, content management, event monitoring, access management, and managed devices. During the planning stage, Managed Security Service Providers (MSSPs) must carefully choose the required devices, determine their placement in the client's infrastructure, and ensure their proper configuration. A successful implementation is crucial to build trust and confidence in MSS offerings, making it essential for MSSPs to prioritize this phase and execute it flawlessly. Insights into how AI is reshaping industries and driving growth- Download a Sample Report This managed security services (mss) market report extensively covers market segmentation by 1.1 SMEs 1.2 Large enterprises 2.1 Cloud-based 2.2 On-premises 3.1 North America 3.2 Europe 3.3 APAC 3.4 South America 3.5 Middle East and Africa 1.1 SMEs- Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are rapidly adopting Managed Security Services (MSS) due to the escalating number of data breaches and cyberattacks from hackers. These attacks, such as Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) and ransomware, can significantly disrupt SMEs' IT infrastructure, resulting in severe business consequences. The complexities of cybersecurity and the prevalence of Internet of Things (IoT) devices further complicate matters for SMEs. Due to budget constraints, setting up an in-house IT security infrastructure is a challenge for SMEs. Consequently, they are turning to Managed Security Service Providers (MSSPs) to outsource their security needs. This arrangement not only saves SMEs on infrastructure and operational costs but also allows them to access advanced security solutions. The increasing demand for MSS among SMEs is encouraging vendors to invest more in improving their services, leading to market growth during the forecast period. Download complimentary Sample Report to gain insights into AI's impact on market dynamics, emerging trends, and future opportunities- including forecast (2024-2028) and historic data (2018 - 2022) Managed Security Services (MSS) are outsourced security solutions designed to protect organizations from various cyber threats. MSS providers offer a range of services including Managed Firewall, Intrusion Prevention Systems (Managed IPS), Endpoint Security, Threat Monitoring, and Vulnerability Monitoring. With the increasing number of data breaches, industries such as Healthcare, Manufacturing, Telecom and IT are turning to MSS to safeguard their systems and maintain compliance. MSS providers use both in-house and cloud-based security solutions to protect against malicious attackers, cyberattacks, DDoS attacks, and other Industry 4.0 risks. Healthcare facilities and medical devices are particularly vulnerable to cyber threats, putting patient privacy at risk. MSS providers offer expertise from IT security specialists to help organizations stay ahead of evolving threats and ensure data security. Cloud security and network security are critical components of MSS, as more organizations move their operations to the cloud. MSS providers use advanced technologies to monitor and mitigate threats in real-time, providing organizations with peace of mind and allowing them to focus on their core business. Managed Security Services (MSS) is a subset of IT security that provides organizations with expert threat monitoring, vulnerability assessment, and incident response services. MSS offerings include Managed Firewall, Intrusion Prevention Systems (Managed IPS), Endpoint Security, and Threat Monitoring. With the increasing number of data breaches, healthcare facilities and medical devices are under heightened scrutiny due to patient privacy concerns. MSS providers offer operational services to ensure patient data remains secure. New threats such as ransomware, cyberattacks, and DDoS attacks require skilled cybersecurity laborers to detect and respond effectively. MSS providers offer both in-house and cloud-based solutions to cater to various engagement models and industries like Healthcare, Manufacturing, Telecom and IT. The technology landscape is evolving with the adoption of cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and machine learning in DevOps environments. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the shift to digital ecosystems, making outsourcing MSS an attractive option for SMEs and IT enterprises. Defense and Government sectors also rely on MSS to protect against malicious attackers and secure Industry 4.0 and cloud technology networks. 1 Executive Summary 2 Market Landscape 3 Market Sizing 4 Historic Market Size 5 Five Forces Analysis 6 Market Segmentation End-user SMEs Large Enterprises Deployment Cloud-based On-premises Geography North America Europe APAC South America Middle East And Africa 7 Customer Landscape 8 Geographic Landscape 9 Drivers, Challenges, and Trends 10 Company Landscape 11 Company Analysis 12 Appendix Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media & Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: [email protected] Website: www.technavio.com/ SOURCE Technavio

Trump’s tariff threat a grim reminder of turbulent trade in first administrationDowning throws for 2 TDs, runs for another, Elon tops North Carolina A&T 31-21NECOCHEA: How much more do Idaho women have to suffer?Middle East latest: Defense minister acknowledges Israel killed Hamas leader

WILMINGTON, Del.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov 26, 2024-- Incyte (Nasdaq:INCY) announced today that it will now present at Citi’s 2024 Global Healthcare Conference on Tuesday, December 3, 2024 at 8:00 a.m. The presentation will be webcast live and can be accessed at Investor.Incyte.com and will be available for replay for 30 days. About Incyte A global biopharmaceutical company on a mission to Solve On. , Incyte follows the science to find solutions for patients with unmet medical needs. Through the discovery, development and commercialization of proprietary therapeutics, Incyte has established a portfolio of first-in-class medicines for patients and a strong pipeline of products in Oncology and Inflammation & Autoimmunity. Headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, Incyte has operations in North America, Europe and Asia. For additional information on Incyte, please visit Incyte.com or follow us on social media: LinkedIn , X , Instagram , Facebook , YouTube . View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241126113474/en/ CONTACT: Incyte Media media@incyte.comInvestors ir@incyte.com KEYWORD: DELAWARE UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA INDUSTRY KEYWORD: BIOTECHNOLOGY PHARMACEUTICAL HEALTH ONCOLOGY SOURCE: Incyte Copyright Business Wire 2024. PUB: 11/26/2024 04:10 PM/DISC: 11/26/2024 04:10 PM http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241126113474/en

ALTOONA — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds was honored Thursday by the Iowa Taxpayers Association, an advocacy group for conservative tax policy. Reynolds was honored with the organization’s Linda S. Weindruch Award, which the group says “recognizes outstanding accomplishments and contributions in promoting and protecting the principles and policies of fair business taxation.” The Iowa Taxpayers Association honored Reynolds “for her leadership, which resulted in historic tax cuts for the citizens and employers of Iowa, improving the overall tax climate in Iowa.” Since Reynolds became governor in 2017, with all-Republican control of the Iowa Legislature, the state’s income tax structure has been reduced from nine brackets with a top rate of 8.9 percent to a single 3.8 percent rate for most state taxpayers. Iowa’s corporate income tax rate also has been simplified and lowered, and Reynolds and legislators have attempted to also address property taxes — rates set at the local level. “Fundamentally, the story of Iowa’s transformation was less about implementing clever policies and was more about unleashing the energy and creativity in Iowans and in our communities,” Reynolds said Thursday while accepting the honor at the Iowa Taxpayer Association’s annual symposium. “It was truly the triumph of simplicity over complexity, growth over spending, and bottom-up energy over top-down management.” Iowa will receive an $8.4 million federal grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce, via the 2021 federal infrastructure bill, to implement the state’s Digital Equity Plan. The plans are designed to help “empower individuals and communities with the tools and skills necessary to benefit from meaningful access to affordable, reliable, high-speed internet service,” according to a news release from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. With the $8.4 million grant, Iowa will work with public libraries to expand a Wi-Fi hot spot checkout program, develop a virtual cybersecurity training program, and fund a program that helps incarcerated individuals access educational opportunities, including digital skills and cybersecurity training. “Quality, affordable high-speed internet allows families and businesses to thrive in our modern economy. Thanks to President Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure law, the Department of Commerce is connecting everyone across the country to quality, affordable high-speed internet and providing the resources they need to make the most of that internet connection,” U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said in the news release. “We look forward to working with the awardees to ensure all residents have the tools and skills to take advantage of quality, affordable high-speed internet — whether it’s for work, education, health care or any other essential service.” Get the latest Iowa politics and government coverage each morning in the On Iowa Politics newsletter.

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Brock Harding recorded a double-double scoring 20 points and distributing 10 assists and Owen Freeman scored 17 points and Iowa beat South Carolina Upstate 110-77 on Tuesday night. Harding shot 9 of 13, Freeman 8 of 12 and the Hawkeyes overall shot 60.6% (43 of 71) including 46.2% (12 of 26) from 3-point range. Reserve Drew Thewell scored 15 points shooting 6 of 9, Josh Dix scored 14 points shooting 5 of 7 and reserve Riley Mulvey scored 11 making all four of his shot attempts. Backup Josh Koch posted an unlikely double-double, distributing 14 assists and collecting 10 rebounds for Iowa (6-1) which reached triple-digits for the first time this season. Brit Harris scored 20 points, reserves Carmelo Adkins 14 and Isaiah Skinner 10, and Breylin Garcia 10 for the Spartans (2-7) who are averaging 81 points per contest. The Hawkeyes built a 14-0 lead within the the first three-and-a-half minutes and stayed ahead by double digits the rest of the way. Iowa led 55-28 at halftime. Less than nine minutes in, however, Seydou Traore seemed to suffer an apparent ankle injury and was in obvious pain. He was helped off the court and did not return.Words on ammo in CEO shooting echo common phrase on insurer tactics: Delay, deny, defend A message left at the scene of an insurance executive’s fatal shooting echoes a phrase commonly used to describe insurer tactics to avoid paying claims. The words “deny,” “defend” and “depose” were written on the ammunition used to kill UnitedHealthcare's CEO. That's according to two officials who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Thursday. The words are similar to the phrase “delay, deny, defend.” That's how attorneys describe insurers denying services and payment, and the title of a 2010 book critical of the industry. Police haven’t officially commented on the words. But Thompson’s shooting and the messages on the ammunition have sparked outrage on social media and elsewhere, reflecting frustration Americans have over the cost and complexity of getting care. Bitcoin has surpassed the $100,000 mark as the post-election rally continues. What's next? NEW YORK (AP) — Bitcoin has topped the $100,000 mark, extending a rally in the world’s most popular cryptocurrency sparked by the election of Donald Trump. The milestone comes just hours after the president-elect signaled a lighter regulatory approach to the crypto industry with his choice of crypto advocate Paul Atkins to be the next chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Bitcoin has soared to unprecedented heights since Trump won the election Nov. 5. The cryptocurrency has climbed dramatically from $69,374 on Election Day and rose to more than $103,000 before falling back below $100,000 by Thursday afternoon. US judge rejects Boeing's plea deal in a conspiracy case stemming from fatal plane crashes DALLAS (AP) — A federal judge has rejected a deal that would have let Boeing to plead guilty to a felony conspiracy charge and pay a fine for misleading U.S. regulators about the 737 Max jetliner before two of the planes crashed and 346 people died. U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor in Texas said that diversity, inclusion and equity or DEI policies in the government and at Boeing could result in race being a factor in picking an official to oversee Boeing’s compliance with the agreement. His ruling on Thursday creates uncertainty around the criminal prosecution of the aerospace giant. The judge gave Boeing and the Justice Department 30 days to tell him how they plan to proceed. McKinsey subsidiary will pay $122M for scheme to bribe South African officials, US says WASHINGTON (AP) — An African subsidiary of the consulting firm McKinsey & Company Inc. will pay a criminal penalty of more than $122 million to resolve a U.S. Justice Department investigation into a yearslong scheme to bribe South African government officials. The Justice Department says the scheme involved bribes to officials with South Africa’s state-owned and state-controlled custodian of ports, rails, and pipelines, as well as its state-controlled energy company. It netted McKinsey Africa and its parent company $85 million in profits between 2012 and 2016, officials said. McKinsey said in a statement that it “welcomes the resolution of these matters and the closure of this regretful situation.” EPA hails 'revitalized' enforcement efforts as Biden administration heads to exit WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency says it concluded more than 1,850 civil cases this year, a 3.4% increase over 2023, and charged 121 criminal defendants, a 17.6% increase over the previous year. The agency also issued $1.7 billion in financial penalties, more than double last year's total. Thursday's report was the final one account of Biden-era enforcement actions before President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January. Enforcement efforts included first-ever criminal charges for a California man accused of smuggling climate-damaging air coolants into the United States. Engine maker Cummins Inc. paid more than $2 billion in fines and penalties after it was found to use illegal software to skirt diesel emissions tests. Work-life balance isn't working for women. Why? NEW YORK (AP) — About half of working women reported feeling stressed “a lot of the day,” compared to about 4 in 10 men, according to a Gallup report published Wednesday. The report suggests that competing demands of work and home comprise part of the problem: working women who are parents or guardians are more likely than men who are parents to say they have declined or delayed a promotion at work because of personal or family obligations, and mothers are more likely than fathers to “strongly agree” that they are the default responders for unexpected child care issues. But changing workplace culture and prioritizing well-being can improve the problem, according to Karen Guggenheim, creator of the World Happiness Summit. From outsider to the Oval Office, bitcoin surges as a new administration embraces crypto NEW YORK (AP) — Bitcoin burst on the scene after trust had withered in the financial system and Washington’s ability to protect people from it. Now, it’s Washington’s embrace of bitcoin that’s sending it to records. Bitcoin briefly surged above $103,000 after President-elect Donald Trump said he will nominate Paul Atkins, who's seen as friendly to crypto, to be the Securities and Exchange Commission's next chair. The crypto industry, meanwhile, did its part to bring politicians friendly to digital currencies into Washington. It's a twist from bitcoin's early days, when it was lauded as a kind of electronic cash that wouldn’t be beholden to any government or financial institution. Stock market today: Wall Street edges back from its records as bitcoin briefly pops above $100,000 NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks edged back from their records as Wall Street counted down to a big jobs report that’s coming on Friday. The S&P 500 fell 0.2% Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.6%, and the Nasdaq composite sank 0.2% from its own all-time high. The crypto market had more action, and bitcoin briefly burst to a record above $103,000 before falling back toward $99,000. It's climbed dramatically since Election Day on hopes President-elect Donald Trump will be more friendly to crypto. Airline stocks were strong, while Treasury yields held relatively steady in the bond market. Key members of OPEC+ alliance are putting off production increases amid slack crude prices FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Eight members of the OPEC+ alliance of oil exporting countries have decided to put off increasing oil production as they face weaker than expected demand and competing production from non-allied countries — factors that could keep oil prices stagnant into next year. The OPEC+ members decided at an online meeting to postpone by three months production increases that had been scheduled to take effect Jan. 1. The plan had been to start gradually restoring 2.2 million barrels per day over the course of 2025. That process will now be pushed back to April 1, 2025 and production increases will gradually take place over 18 months until October 2026. Eli Lilly invests $3B to expand Wisconsin factory to help meet demand for Mounjaro, Zepbound Eli Lilly is spending another $3 billion to bulk up manufacturing as the drugmaker seeks to stoke production of some blockbuster drugs and future products. Lilly said Thursday it will expand a Kenosha County, Wisconsin, factory it bought early this year. The investment will help meet growing demand for injectable products like its diabetes and obesity drugs, Mounjaro and Zepbound. Those drugs brought in a combined $4.4 billion in sales for Lilly in this year’s third quarter. The drugmaker plans to start construction of the expansion next year.AP Trending SummaryBrief at 2:21 p.m. EST

Washington state Gov.-elect Bob Ferguson on Thursday named a veteran budget writer and policy analyst to serve as his director of the Office of Financial Management. K.D. Chapman-See, the agency’s current legislative affairs liaison, will be the point person helping Ferguson fashion his first state spending plan in the shadow of a potential multi-billion dollar budget deficit. Also Thursday, Ferguson started his search for new leaders of nine state agencies, including the departments of transportation, corrections, social and health services and ecology. Current directors of most of those agencies have already announced plans to step down or retire. With Chapman-See, Ferguson tapped a skilled and respected analyst with experience in the executive and legislative branches of Washington state government. Before joining Gov. Jay Inslee’s budget office, she worked more than a decade in the state House of Representatives as a policy director and as a senior analyst for operating budget and tax policy for the House Democratic Caucus, according to Ferguson’s transition team. “K.D. brings tremendous talent and expertise to this critical position in state government,” Ferguson said in a statement. “She understands the budget challenges facing the state, and I look forward to working with her to deliver efficient, effective government.” Those budget challenges will be significant as Ferguson begins his term. State tax revenues are not keeping pace with the rising costs of current and promised programs. Inslee and his budget director, Pat Sullivan, have warned the gap is around $12 billion over the next four-plus fiscal years and directed state agencies to identify potential cuts . Some ideas for what to trim may wind up in Inslee’s proposed budget for the 2025-27 biennium. So too may some ideas for raising additional revenue. The budget proposal is due out in mid-December and will be a template for Ferguson and state lawmakers when they craft final budgets in the 2025 legislative session. While Ferguson has not commented publicly about the state’s budget situation, Democratic legislators have said they expect to consider spending reductions and new revenue sources to erase the shortfall. Chapman-See will assume her new role on Jan. 15 and be part of Ferguson’s executive leadership team . She will succeed Sullivan, a former state lawmaker who was appointed director of the Office of Financial Management in July when David Schumacher, Inslee’s longtime budget director, departed. “I am deeply grateful to Pat Sullivan for his leadership during this challenging time as he develops Governor Inslee’s final budget,” Ferguson said. “He is an outstanding public servant who puts the needs of Washingtonians first.” Other agencies where Ferguson said he intends to hire new leaders include the Department of Children, Youth and Families, Department of Enterprise Services, the Health Care Authority, and Governor’s Office of Indian Affairs. Directors of all but transportation and enterprise services had previously said they would be leaving. Enterprise services manages state buildings and vehicle fleets, among other responsibilities. Secretary of Transportation Roger Millar told the Washington State Standard in a recent interview that he hoped to stay on in the new administration. He informed Department of Transportation employees Thursday afternoon that his last day will be Jan. 15. “Leading this agency has been a true highlight of my life personally and professionally,” he wrote in an email. “Because of you WSDOT is one of the most innovative, effective and consequential departments of transportation in the world.” In the release, Ferguson said he is evaluating the leadership of other cabinet agencies and will provide an update next week. Those interested in applying for a leadership position or serving on a board or commission can do so online through a newly launched web portal . The Washington State Standard is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news outlet that provides original reporting, analysis and commentary on Washington state government and politics. We seek to keep you informed about Washington’s most pressing issues, the decisions elected leaders are making, how they are spending tax dollars and who is influencing public policy. We’re part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.Chicopee police hoping to tap AI for enhanced crime responseArticle content It’s fair to say the federal Liberals’ 2020 ban on “assault-style” weapons has been a complete flop. It was launched after the April 2020 Nova Scotia mass shooting during which Gabriel Wortman, masquerading as a Mountie, killed 22 people. All of Wortman’s five guns had been acquired illegally. One illegally in Canada, three others smuggled from the United States, while the fifth was taken from the hands of a policewoman Wortman murdered during his rampage. Because all of his guns were illegal, the Liberals, of course, convinced themselves the best way to reduce gun crime would be to ban hundreds of thousands of legally held firearms, just as the best way to prevent bank robberies is to ban legal withdrawals from bank accounts. However, it’s not the illogic of that 2020 ban and corresponding mass confiscation that make them a flop. It’s this one simple fact: In the nearly five years since the Liberals announced the largest seizure of personal property in Canadian history, not a single banned gun has been collected. Not one. If legally owned rifles are such a threat to public safety, how come all the guns that were in place before the ban are still in the same hands today? The ban and confiscation have so far cost taxpayers more than $70 million without even one gun being collected by the government. So what is the Trudeau government’s solution to its expensive failure? Maintaining the same illogic as the original ban, the Liberals are expanding the confiscation. Banning even more guns. Throwing good money after bad. On Thursday, Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc and Public Services Minister Jean-Yves Duclos (Trudeau’s Quebec lieutenant) announced that hundreds of additional models of long guns will now be banned. Although few details were revealed, at least 100,000 more individual guns in the hands of law-abiding Canadians are likely to be made illegal. The ministers claimed the purpose for this expansion is to make Canada’s communities safer. However, the only possible explanation is that this is a wholly cynical attempt to revive Liberal fortunes in Toronto and Montreal, just like the two-month GST holiday is not about saving families money, but rather about regaining popularity for a woefully unpopular government. The Leblanc-Duclos announcement could have been made at any time, but it was made on the eve of the 35th anniversary of the École Polytechnique shootings in Montreal, and only a week after feminist and gun-control groups scolded the government for not moving faster on a 2023 law that would make firearms licence revocations easier. Also, Minister Duclos was there because he is the senior Quebec political minister and the ban has always been most popular in Quebec. Wednesday, the Leger polling group released its latest federal results showing that Trudeau and his party have shed another two percentage points since its GST holiday announcement. If a signature new initiative (GST holiday) fails to bolster your support, dig down in your bag for an old favourite: targeting law-abiding gunowners for the failure your government’s criminal justice reforms. Thursday’s order-in-council extending the five-year-old ban is about nothing but rebuilding Liberal fortunes in Toronto and Montreal, pure and simple. It is highly unlikely any confiscations will occur before the next federal election. Public safety is a charade. Surely, in the backrooms, away from cameras and microphones, where cabinet ministers can be frank, even the Liberals must know the problem is not legal gun, but illegal ones. In October, when Trudeau boasted about the two-year anniversary of his parallel handgun freeze and claimed it had made Canadian streets safer, police unions, police chiefs and others bristled. They know that handgun violence is up as much as 60 per cent since the freeze and that 85 to 90 per cent of criminal handguns are smuggled into Canada from the States. Expect Thursday’s enhanced ban to do no more to control crime than the Liberals’ other efforts.

Spectral Capital and FYNTRA Group Announced a Strategic Partnership to Pioneer Quantum Wallet TechnologyRhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) Receives Buy Rating from Canaccord Genuity GroupStock market today: Wall Street hits records despite tariff talkAdani's green plans may face a funding squeeze

Everything old was new again at this year’s Cairo Film Festival . Filling out a super-sized 45 th edition, the Egyptian event introduced a new section dedicated to heritage titles, showcasing 10 gems of world cinema, among them titles like “The Lonely Wife” and “The Color of Pomegranates” to mark the centenaries of film greats Satyajit Ray and Sergei Parajanov, as well as 4K restorations of “The Godfather Part II,” “The Thief of Baghdad” and “Cleopatra,” among several more. As part of a bolstered Cairo Classics program, the festival also premiered 14 milestones of Egyptian cinema freshly remastered and reintroduced to an eager public. And as the Cairo Film Festival charts a new course under president Hussein Fahmy and artistic director Essam Zakarea, this restorative vocation will stay a cornerstone of their wider mission. “Egyptian cinema is one of the oldest in the world, but we have a problem with our archive,” Zakarea tells Variety . “We’re losing historic films every month and every day, because the majority of classic Egyptian cinema has not yet been digitized. So we’ve taken it on ourselves to help change that.” The festival soft-launched the Cairo Classics section in 2022 by debuting restorations of classics “Diary of a Country Prosecutor” from Tawfik Saleh and “A Song on the Passage” from Ali Abdel Khalek. The new section proved an immediate success, encouraging Fahmy, who took his festival post after six decades as one of Egyptian cinema’s leading matinee idols. “The idea appealed to everyone,” says Fahmy. “It was a revelation for every spectator, so I thought, why don’t we restore even more titles?” As a board member of Egypt’s Holding Company for Cultural and Cinematic Investment, Fahmy discovered a library of nearly 1,400 heritage titles that could benefit from a technological touch-up. And with both public and private supports at his disposal – and with the help of Egyptian Media Production City’s Audio-Visual Heritage Restoration Center – the festival president went about repairing, cleaning up and the subtitling some awfully damaged prints. “Each restoration takes about E£100,000 [$2,014],” says Fahmy. “And the subtitles cost about E£20,000 [$402], so the cost really isn’t that much. [And by] subtitling these films, we can then offer them much wider exposure and distribution, so the project is really appealing both for me, and for the whole company.” Among the first batch of titles readied and premiered at this year’s festival are four midcentury standouts from filmmaker Salah Abou Seif, among them “Cairo 30” and “The Thug,” as well as “Palace Walk” and “Palace of Desire” from director Hassan El-Imam – with nearly all of them based on the works of Nobel laureate Naguib Mahfouz. While the screenings proved particularly successful in the suburban satellite cinemas where the Cairo Film Festival has sought to spread out, the festival president even heard echoes from further afield. “After our opening screenings I received many demands from foreign countries,” says Fahmy. “We’re getting emails from everywhere, asking us to repair other damaged films in our local lab.” “We try to look at our cinema as a living art,” adds Zakarea. “We don’t distinguish between old and new, because art doesn’t have a limited lifetime. It doesn’t get old – on the contrary, these classics seem to get younger and more powerful by the passage of time.”Keir Starmer may not be the best storyteller but he will be ultimately judged on his government's deliverySocial Security 2025: There's Good and Bad News Coming for High-Earning Workers - The Motley Fool

A history of the Panama Canal — and why Trump can’t take it back on his own

WASHINGTON — Donald Trump threatened the United States’s closest neighbours with big tariffs this week, in a move that has reminded many of the unpredictable tactics the president-elect deployed during his first tenure in the White House. Trump said Monday he would use an executive order to impose 25 per cent tariffs on all goods coming from Canada and Mexico until the two countries stop drugs and migrants from illegally crossing the U.S. border. The announcement, made on Truth Social, brought swift responses from officials and industry in both countries who are bracing for chaos during Trump’s second tenure. He has long used the threat of import taxes to pressure other countries to do his bidding, saying this summer that “the most beautiful word in the dictionary is ‘tariff.'” It’s unlikely the move would violate the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement, which was negotiated during the first Trump administration. Laura Dawson, an expert on Canada-U. S. relations and the executive director of the Future Borders Coalition, said the president can impose tariffs under his national security powers. This type of duty has a time limit and can only be made permanent through Congressional approval, but for Trump, national security powers are like a “get out of jail free card,” Dawson said. “This is exactly what happened in the last Trump administration,” Dawson said. “Everyone said, ‘Well, that is ridiculous. Canada is the U.S.’s best security partner. What do you mean our steel and aluminum imports are somehow a source of insecurity?'” But within the global trade system, she said, no country challenges another’s right to define their own national security imperatives. Trump’s first administration demonstrated how vulnerable Canada is to America’s whims when the former president scrapped the North American Free Trade Agreement. The U.S. is Canada’s closest neighbour and largest trading partner. More than 77 per cent of Canadian exports go to the U.S. Negotiation of CUSMA, commonly dubbed “the new NAFTA,” was a key test for Ottawa following Trump’s first victory. The trilateral agreement is up for review in 2026 and experts suspect this week’s tariff announcement is a negotiating tactic. Scott Bessent, Trump’s pick for treasury secretary, said in a recent op-ed that tariffs are “a useful tool for achieving the president’s foreign policy objectives.” “Whether it is getting allies to spend more on their own defence, opening foreign markets to U.S. exports, securing co-operation on ending illegal immigration and interdicting fentanyl trafficking, or deterring military aggression, tariffs can play a central role.” During the initial CUSMA negotiations in 2018, Trump floated the idea of a 25 per cent tariff on the Canadian auto sector — something that would have been crippling for the industry on both sides of the border. It was never implemented. At the time, he did use his national security powers to impose a 25 per cent tariff on steel and 10 per cent tariff on aluminum imports, casting fear of an all-out trade war that would threaten the global economy. The day after announcing those levies, Trump posted on social media “trade wars are good, and easy to win.” Former U.S. trade representative Robert Lighthizer recounted in his book that the duties sent an “unmistakable signal that business as usual was over.” “The Trump administration was willing to ruffle diplomatic feathers to advance its trade agenda.” It led to a legendary clash between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Trump at the G7 in Quebec. Trudeau said Canada would impose retaliatory measures, saying the argument that tariffs on steel and aluminum were a matter of national security was “kind of insulting.” Trump took to social media, where, in a flurry of posts he called Trudeau “very dishonest and weak.” Canada and other countries brought their own duties against the U.S. in response. They targeted products for political, rather than economic, reasons. Canada hit yogurt with a 10 per cent duty. Most of the product impacted came from one plant in Wisconsin, the home state of then-Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan. The European Union, Mexico and Canada all targeted U.S. whiskey products with tariffs, in a clear signal to then Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and his home state of Kentucky’s bourbon industry. Ultimately, Canada and Mexico were able to negotiate exemptions. Carlo Dade, the director of trade and trade infrastructure at the Canada West Foundation, said Trump is returning to the White House with more experience and a plan. But he suspects Americans will not like the blow to their bank accounts. Trump’s new across-the-board tariff strategy would not only disrupt global supply chains, it would also cause a major shakeup to the American economy. It’s unclear if Trump will go through with them, or for how long, after campaigning on making life more affordable and increasing the energy market. “I think it will be short-term,” Dade said. “The U.S. can only inflict damage on itself for so long.” This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 26, 2024. — With files from The Associated Press Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian PressRookie Bucky Irving relishes opportunity to help Buccaneers any way he can against skidding Raiders TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Bucky Irving isn’t choosy. Fred Goodall, The Associated Press Dec 5, 2024 3:29 PM Dec 5, 2024 3:35 PM Share by Email Share on Facebook Share on X Share on LinkedIn Print Share via Text Message Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield runs against the Carolina Panthers during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Jacob Kupferman) TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Bucky Irving isn’t choosy. The rookie running back relishes any opportunity he gets to contribute to the success of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who have rebounded from a tough stretch to climb back into a tie for first place in the NFC South. Irving leads NFL rookies in rushing with 732 yards, averaging 5.5 yards per carry while sharing the workload with starter Rachaad White and third-stringer Sean Tucker, who have combined to ease some of the burden on quarterback Baker Mayfield. A fourth-round draft pick out of Oregon, Irving is coming off rushing for a season-best 152 yards and a touchdown in last week’s 26-23 overtime win over the Carolina Panthers. He had another 33 yards receiving, giving him a rookie-leading 1,017 total yards from scrimmage through 12 games. The Bucs (6-6) on Sunday host the Las Vegas Raiders (2-10), who have an outstanding newcomer of their own with Brock Bowers on the verge of breaking the league's record for catches by a rookie tight end. Bowers leads all players, regardless of position, with 84 receptions. He's fourth with 884 yards receiving and second behind Irving among rookies with 895 total yards from scrimmage. “I don’t really like taking all the credit. It’s those guys up front,” Irving said, deferring to Tampa Bay’s improved offensive line. “I think I have to do something special for those guys for Christmas because they’re getting the job done.” The Bucs are eighth in the NFL in rushing at 137.2 yards per game. They’ve gained 100-plus yards on the ground in nine of 12 games after only doing it nine times in 34 games over the past two seasons. Irving, whose ability to make defenders miss and accelerate in the open field, has provided a spark to an offense that sputtered without injured wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin during a four-game losing streak. It doesn’t seem to bother the rookie that he still sits behind White on the depth chart. The starter had a 38-yard run in overtime to set up the winning field goal last week. Coach Todd Bowles continues to stress that the Bucs, tied with Atlanta for the NFC South lead, need both Irving and White to be successful. “In our room, all our success is one,” said Irving, who in the past two weeks became the first rookie since Miles Sanders in 2019 to string together consecutive games with 150-plus yards from scrimmage. “If I’m having success,’’ Irving added, “everybody in the room is having success.” Bracing for a challenge Tampa Bay’s porous secondary figures to be tested by Bowers, the first tight end to lead the league in catches after Week 13 since Todd Christenson in 1986. The first-round draft pick out of Georgia needs three receptions to break Sam LaPorta’s season record (86 in 2023) for catches by a tight end. He’s 116 yards away from joining Mike Ditka (1,076 in 1961) and Kyle Pitts (1,026 in 2021) as the only rookie tight ends to finish with 1,000-plus yards receiving. “I thought he was one of the best tight ends coming out in a long time – not just this draft, but in a long time,” Bowles said. “He’s living up to expectations. He can play wideout, he can play tight end, he can do some fullback, he can run jet sweeps,” the Bucs coach added. “They do a lot of things with him and he’s a very talented guy.” Getting ready for Baker The last time the Raiders went against Mayfield was two seasons ago when he came off a plane to play for the Los Angeles Rams. Despite having minimal time with the playbook and just one brief practice, Mayfield rallied the Rams to a 17-16 victory on a 23-yard touchdown pass with 10 seconds left. Raiders coach Antonio Pierce was the team’s linebackers coach at the time. “He plays the game kind of like Brett Favre, who I played against in (the) league,” Pierce said. “He’s very fiery. He’ll do whatever it takes to make a play. The play’s never dead with him. You’ve got to keep your eyes on him and then stay in coverage, so that’ll be a challenge.” Return to action Raiders quarterback Aidan O’Connell didn’t look as though he had missed nearly six weeks because of a broken thumb when he almost led Las Vegas to a victory at Kansas City last week. He completed 23 of 35 passes for 340 yards and two touchdowns in the Raiders’ 19-17 loss to the Chiefs. But O’Connell had a hard time looking at the positives given how close the Raiders came to beating the two-time defending Super Bowl champions. “Definitely some good plays, but it just stinks more than anything,” O’Connell said. “It was just a really hard loss. Even sometimes when you have a game right after, it’s easier to move on. But we had a longer week this week and so kind of really got to sit in it and it’s no fun.” ___ AP Sports Writer Mark Anderson in Las Vegas contributed to this report. ___ NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl Fred Goodall, The Associated Press See a typo/mistake? Have a story/tip? This has been shared 0 times 0 Shares Share by Email Share on Facebook Share on X Share on LinkedIn Print Share via Text Message Get your daily Victoria news briefing Email Sign Up More Football (NFL) Surging Eagles host improving Bryce Young, Panthers Dec 5, 2024 4:02 PM The Bears look for an interim coach bump when they visit the struggling 49ers Dec 5, 2024 3:56 PM NFL Inactive Report Dec 5, 2024 3:53 PM

Gold Stocks: Making the Most of Declining Junior MinersA s I write, there’s a window on my laptop screen that is providing a live view of a stampede. It’s logging the numbers of people joining the social network Bluesky . At the moment, the number of registered users is 20.5 million. By the time you read this there will be more than 30 million of them, judging by the rate that people are currently joining. The proximate cause of it is the role that Elon Musk, owner of X (née Twitter), played in the election of Donald Trump, when a significant proportion of the platform’s 200 million-plus users realised that they’d been had – that they had, in effect, been useful idiots for Musk on his path to the centre of political power. There had been an “Xodus” once before – in October 2022, when Musk took over Twitter – as people fled to a new, open-source network called Mastodon , but it was on a much smaller scale. At its peak in November 2022 it had 2.5 million users, but that number has dropped to just under 1 million now. The stampede to Bluesky is on an altogether bigger scale. The puzzle, in a way, is why it took so long for the penny to drop; after all, many X users have been hostile to Musk for quite a while. The answer, in a nutshell, was network effects. They may not have liked the platform, but that’s where everyone was. “Twitter was the place people in my business had to be,” wrote the Nobel laureate and economist Paul Krugman. “What I used Twitter for was to learn from and interact with people possessing real expertise, sometimes in areas I know pretty well, sometimes in areas I don’t, like international relations and climate policy.” But now Krugman is on Bluesky because, he says, it has suddenly “reached critical mass, in the sense that most of the people I want to hear from are now posting there. The raw number of users is still far smaller than X’s, but as far as I can tell, Bluesky is now the place to find smart, useful analysis.” I stopped using Twitter when Musk bought it, tried Mastodon (and was unimpressed) and only recently joined Bluesky. At the moment, it feels eerily like Twitter in its very early days, when the platform enabled one to plug straight into the thought-streams of people one admired. “For now,” as web veteran Ian Bogost put it last week, “Bluesky invokes the feeling of carefree earnestness that once – really and truly – blanketed the internet as a whole.” It does. What’s distinctive about it? Four things. Unlike Mastodon, it’s as easy as Twitter to use. There’s no overall algorithmic curation – you can “roll your own feed”, as someone put it – decide who you want to hear from. Every user is entitled to “free speech” but nobody gets “free reach” via a profit-driven algorithm. And finally, it runs on an open technical protocol that’s accessible to anyone; the underlying philosophy is that social networking is too important for any one company to control it. So anyone with the requisite technical smarts could set up their own network using the protocol. This doesn’t mean that network effects lose their power, but it could be that the momentum of the stampede away from X, plus the power of an open protocol, means that we are seeing the beginning of the “splintering of social media ”. If this has the effect of eroding the monopolistic grip on people’s attention currently enjoyed by Meta, X, LinkedIn and TikTok, then it’ll be a welcome development. At least people will then be freer to choose their favourite hypnotist. But it won’t solve the bigger problem – which is what social media is doing to us and to our societies. The technology is at worst toxic and at best disabling for a democracy’s public sphere. Humans are a social species, but – as Robin Dunbar pointed out aeons ago – there’s a cognitive limit (about 150) to the number of people with whom one can maintain stable social relationships, and it mostly boils down to around 15 souls with whom one has meaningful exchanges. As a species, we didn’t evolve to be constantly talking to everyone. Addiction to social media, though – as Ian Bogost points out – means that we have to pay attention to the multitudes that turn up in our algorithmically curated feeds. Bluesky may make those feeds more congenial, but it won’t change the fact that we are still reduced to communicating in channels with a bandwidth not much wider than that of smoke signals. Here’s where we went wrong Voters to Elites: Do You See Me Now? Interesting New York Times column by David Brooks. It’s a conservative’s apologia pro vita sua . What Decca did next Jessica Mitford’s Escape from Fascism. A nice essay by Noah McCormack in the New Republic on Mitford’s book Hons and Rebels . Things to come What the future looks like from here. Dave Karpf’s perceptive and realistic list of the consequences of Trump’s victory.

Significant economic progress made in last nine months: MarriyumSenior Provincial Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, while addressing a press conference regarding climate change and anti-smog initiatives, congratulated Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his team for the significant economic progress, made in the last nine months. She noted a remarkable reduction in inflation, with the rate dropping from 35pc to 4.9pc, which positively impacted people’s lives. Additionally, interest rates had also decreased. She recalled that under the PML-N government, the country had always progressed, with successful public relief projects underway. The Punjab chief minister had assigned targets to the deputy commissioners and police for monitoring essential commodities. She asserted that no other administration had matched public relief measures of the PML-N government. Regarding smog, Marriyum Aurangzeb highlighted the exemplary work led by CM Maryam Nawaz over the past eight to nine months, including a 10-year multi-sectoral anti-smog plan introduced by the Punjab government. Measures such as demolishing 1,094 brick-kilns, monitoring through drone technology, and closing of 219 industrial units have been undertaken to combat smog. Industrial units have been provided with financial and technical support to adopt eco-friendly systems, including interest-free loans for 80 units. Moreover, for the first time, 10,784 vehicles in Lahore have been clamped for emitting excessive smoke. The senior minister said farmers received 1,000 super seeders on a 60pc subsidy to promote environmentally friendly agriculture. Factories on Diwan Road, Gujranwala, have been equipped with smoke control devices, while 39 out of 56 rice mills in Kasur have installed dry scrubbers. The senior minister also announced provision of gas analysers to private workshops, subsidized at 80pc, as part of the government’s private sector initiatives. Marriyum said that Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would now oversee transport monitoring, with dedicated squads ensuring compliance. The government departments had been directed to repair all smoke-emitting vehicles by January 30, or they will face action. Fifteen air quality monitors have been installed in Lahore, with a target of 60. As part of the eco-friendly transition, 400 electric buses will be introduced in Lahore, with 27 buses arriving by January, and plans for 52 lakh motorbikes to be shifted to electric. Marriyum Aurangzeb expressed gratitude to the media, stakeholders, and industries for their cooperation in helping reduce smog. She noted a 38pc reduction in smog compared to last year, but warned of potential increases due to upcoming fog following forecast rains. Efforts to enhance fuel quality through newly established labs and regular industrial inspections are underway. The Punjab government has initiated discussions on school bus services, carpooling, and better transport management with school administrations and traffic police. Annual planning for the smog season, involving all stakeholders, is in progress. Transparency in vehicle certifications is being ensured through QR codes, and plans are in place to relocate industries from central Lahore to designated zones with proper facilities. Marriyum Aurangzeb concluded by stating that these environmental challenges require collective efforts, and significant improvements in air quality management are expected in the coming weeks.