Georgia's prime minister had vowed to punish those participating in the anti-government protests that have engulfed the capital Tbilisi. On Wednesday, it seems, the crackdown began. Police launched multiple raids on opposition party offices, with one leader reportedly detained and beaten unconscious. In footage shared by the Coalition for Change party, its leader Nika Gvaramia can be seen arguing with officers. Tensions are high. All of a sudden, things turn violent and the politician disappears under a mass of masked men. We are unable to independently verify whether he was beaten or not. But he doesn't appear to be moving when his body is carried away by police. Outside the offices of Droa, another opposition party that was targeted by authorities, we saw dozens of masked police officers. Some formed a wall around the door to the building, as others carried out box after box of Droa's property, and loaded them onto a lorry. Activists say it's an attempt to silence them. If it is, it doesn't seem to have worked. "This is alarming of course. This is undemocratic. This is violent. But I did not expect anything else from this government," Droa executive secretary Giga Lemonjava told Sky News. "They're just a criminal gang. They do not have any political legitimacy. "We're not scared. We're going until the end. We won't give up our European future, our freedom." Protesters aren't giving up either. In a blaze of fireworks and fury, thousands once again filled the main avenue outside 's parliament on Wednesday for a seventh night in a row. Their anger was initially sparked by the government's suspension of last week, which demonstrators claim has stolen their future. The ruling Georgian Dream party, they say, is in fact a dream - a Kremlin plot to drag Georgia into Moscow's orbit. Each night, have been dispersed by a violent mixture of tear gas, water cannon, and rubber bullets. Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has repeatedly praised the police for their response, but others have raised the alarm. Lasha Uchava, a doctor at the National Institute for Endocrinology, says the water cannon has been mixed with pepper spray. Having seen its effect on demonstrators, he fears it could prove lethal. "Such dispersal measures should not be used repeatedly on the same group of people," Dr Uchava told Sky News. "When clothing becomes saturated in this mixture, the harmful effects on the respiratory system and the skin are prolonged. This can lead to severe problems, including fatal consequences in some cases." The protesters hope it'll be the other way around, of course - that the only consequences are for those cracking down.Security cameras captured video of a University of Mississippi student leaving his campus apartment twice on the morning he was last seen alive, University Police Department Capt. Jane Mahan testified Wednesday in the trial of the man accused of killing the student. Jimmy “Jay” Lee, 20, was a gay man well known in the LGBTQ+ community at Ole Miss and in Oxford, where the university is located. He vanished July 8, 2022. Sheldon “Timothy” Herrington Jr., 24, of Grenada, Mississippi, is charged with capital murder in Lee's death, and his trial began Tuesday in Oxford. Herrington has maintained his innocence. Police said cellphone history showed conversations between Herrington and Lee on the morning Lee disappeared. Jurors on Wednesday were shown video clips of Lee leaving his own apartment shortly after 4 a.m., wearing a robe and slippers. The clips showed him returning about 40 minutes later and leaving again just before 6 a.m. When he left the last time, he was looking at his cellphone. A friend of Lee, Khalid Fears, testified Tuesday that he had a video chat with Lee while Lee left the apartment around 6 a.m. that day. Lee said he was going back to see a man he had seen hours earlier, Fears testified. Mahan testified Wednesday about the timeline of the video clips showing Lee at the campus apartment. She said campus police started searching for Lee after his mother, Stephanie Lee, called later that day to request a welfare check on her son after he didn't respond to multiple messages. Jay Lee's apartment had an electronic key card, and Mahan testified that police contacted the campus housing department to put an alert on his card, which would automatically send police an email if the card were used. An assistant district attorney, Gwen Agho, asked Mahan if Lee ever returned to his apartment after he was recorded leaving that morning. “Not that I've ever been notified of, no,” Mahan said. Lee and Herrington saw each other twice during the hours before Lee disappeared, Agho said during opening arguments Tuesday. She said the men had sexual contact during their first meeting, and Lee was upset when he left Herrington’s apartment. Herrington invited Lee back — and before Lee arrived, Herrington searched online for how long it takes to strangle someone, Agho said. Herrington “was not openly in the LGBTQ community,” she said. A witness, Kizziah Carter, testified Wednesday that he was driving home from work at about 7:30 that morning and saw Herrington jogging along a road in Oxford. Carter said he knew Herrington and honked to greet him, and Carter flagged him down to ask for a ride. The road was near an apartment complex where Lee's car was found later in the day. Carter said he drove Herrington to Herrington's apartment in another complex. Surveillance video also recorded Herrington running from where Lee’s car was found, and he was later seen picking up a shovel and wheelbarrow at his parents’ house, authorities said. Lee’s body has not been found. In October, a judge declared him dead at the request of Lee’s parents. Lee’s active presence on social media fell silent after July 8, 2022, and no transactions have appeared on his credit card since then, prosecutors said. Herrington was arrested two weeks after Lee vanished, then released five months later on a $250,000 bond. A grand jury indicted him in March 2023. Herrington’s attorney, Kevin Horan, told jurors Tuesday that prosecutors have “zero” proof that Lee was killed or that any crime happened. Both Herrington and Lee had graduated from the University of Mississippi. Lee was pursuing a master’s degree. He was known for his creative expression through fashion and makeup and often performed in drag shows in Oxford, according to a support group called Justice for Jay Lee. Prosecutors have announced they do not intend to pursue the death penalty, meaning Herrington could get a life sentence if convicted. Mississippi law defines capital murder as a killing committed along with another felony — in this case, kidnapping.
Inventus Mining (CVE:IVS) Trading Down 21.1% – Should You Sell?India News | .BANIHAL/BHADERWAH DEL41 JK-SNOW-CRICKET Snow Strands Hundreds of Commuters in J&K's Banihal; for Some It's Cricket All Right
Kari England hopes she’ll get a few hours of shut-eye on Friday night, but the owner of Toad Hall Toys knows she’ll be lucky if that’s the case. Read this article for free: Already have an account? To continue reading, please subscribe: * Kari England hopes she’ll get a few hours of shut-eye on Friday night, but the owner of Toad Hall Toys knows she’ll be lucky if that’s the case. Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? Kari England hopes she’ll get a few hours of shut-eye on Friday night, but the owner of Toad Hall Toys knows she’ll be lucky if that’s the case. England has to adjust the point-of-sale system at the popular toy and hobby store after it closes Friday and before it opens Saturday. She has to manually change the tax status of more than 400 items — one by one — to remove the GST. It’s to meet requirements by the federal government as it ushers in its plan to lift the GST on a slew of items for the holiday shopping seasons as of Saturday. “It’s another layer of complexity added onto the busiest time of the year, added onto other problems like the Canada Post strike,” England said. “It feels like every corner has an added degree of difficulty.” MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Toad Hall Toys sells a number of products, including toys and games that are exempt, and others such as hobby items that aren’t. The shop is especially affected by the lifting of the five per cent levy for a two-month period. England’s worries don’t end with the transition to the GST exemption or a sleepless Friday night. She’s anxious about sales that will have taken place before the exemption kicks in that are potentially returned during the exemption period, and vice-versa, when her tax codes are still changed for the holiday. “They’re asking me to do this at a time where I don’t have time, and get it completely right on the arbitrary rules (the federal government) has set up,” England said. Saturday will also be one of the two busiest shopping days of the year for Toad Hall Toys. “The pressure’s on,” England said. At Cobra Collectibles, co-owner and manager Kailyn Gregorash, said Wednesday they’re in a pickle as they try to figure out what to do. “We’ve been talking with our accountant to try and figure out what the correct course of action is,” she said. “I think a lot of people are confused and not really sure what to do or how to go about things.” Cobra Collectibles specializes in vintage toys from the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s, along with video games, comic books and other retro products. Gregorash said it’s “a little overwhelming,” especially during their holiday prep. “They’re asking me to do this at a time where I don’t have time, and get it completely right on the arbitrary rules (the federal government) has set up.” “It’s going to be interesting,” Gregorash said. “There’s just not a lot of communication, and it’s hard to figure out what we’re supposed to be doing. It’s hard to figure out qualifying goods.” Gregorash said they will likely include the GST into item pricing and then sort out what they owe to the Canada Revenue Agency later. “It’s not going to be fair for us,” she said. “Our customers are going come in expecting not to be charged (the GST). We don’t want anyone being hurt by that.” Peter Fehr has similar concerns. The owner of Love Local Manitoba, a company that began as an event and now has an online store and storefront at St. Vital mall that sells 600 Manitoba-made products, said the so-called holiday isn’t one at all. “It’s complicated... it’s learning new systems and becoming a tax expert overnight,” Fehr said, adding that all the work they have to do now to change their systems will have to be done again in February when the GST holiday ends. Fehr’s almost certain they won’t get the settings completely right in such a short time frame, and worries it could lead to negative customer interactions. He’s also uneasy about the possible long-term implications. “What happens if we get audited in the spring and we didn’t get it right and we have big penalties to pay?” Fehr said. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS The Canadian Federation of Independent Business is lobbying the federal government to forgive any errors that are made in good faith. “This affects small businesses the most, who don’t have massive tech departments, administrative departments,” said provincial director Brianna Solberg. “They are the ones that have to spend hours changing over their inventory themselves.” Solberg said many small businesses are scrambling ahead of Saturday. “To put it simply, it’s been a complete nightmare,” Solberg said. A recent survey of CFIB members showed that just four per cent think sales will increase because of the tax break. CFIB has also called on Ottawa to consider giving affected businesses a minimum of $1,000 credit in their GST account to cover administrative costs. The Canada Revenue Agency has said it will take a practical approach to compliance by targeting businesses that “willfully and egregiously refuse to comply with the temporary measures.” “Businesses who make reasonable efforts to comply with the legislation will not be the focus of our compliance actions,” a spokesperson said Wednesday. The federal government announced the tax break in late November, saying it would help reduce costs for Canadians. Ottawa suggests an average household savings of around $100 for a family that spends $2,000 on qualifying goods. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Richard Forbes, lead economist at the Conference Board of Canada, said its preliminary data suggests an average savings of $164 during the two-month window, although that number takes into account the Harmonized Sales Tax in certain provinces. That average will be lower in Manitoba. Forbes said businesses will have a tangible uptick in sales during the tax holiday, but it won’t lead to a significant difference overall. “We will probably see a lot of consumers purchase things in that period and not after or before, so it’s just front-loading purchases in December and January rather than March,” he said. scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. Scott Billeck is a general assignment reporter for the . A Creative Communications graduate from Red River College, Scott has more than a decade’s worth of experience covering hockey, football and global pandemics. He joined the Free Press in 2024. . Every piece of reporting Scott produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the ‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about , and . Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider . Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.Silo Pharma stock hits 52-week low at $0.83 amid market challengesRiz Story had sued the band claiming they stole parts of his song Yes vocalist Jon Davison has addressed the accusations made in a lawsuit by former bandmate Riz Story, calling them “blatant lies.” Story sued the band last week claiming the prog-rock legends stole parts of his song ‘Reunion’ from his 2014 film A Winter Rose for their own track ‘Dare To Know’. Story alleged that the melody was first conceived of when he and Davison were in a band with late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins back in the ’90s. He also claimed they were founding members of a band called Anyone. While Davison has confirmed that they were in a band with Hawkins, they were not founding members of Anyone. Instead, they were in a band called Blash Meth, and he left before it became Anyone years later. “Any suggestion that I might have heard this generic melody when we were younger, let alone thought it was worthy of Yes, is utterly absurd,” he wrote. In the statement, Davison continued: “For the record I did not write ‘Dare To Know.’ As anyone who studies the Yes albums will know meticulous care is taken on every song to correctly credit the songwriters. On The Quest, I have credits on 6 of 11 songs, hardly the “nearly every other song” that is incorrectly stated in their claim to try and support their fiction. “Nor did I ever hear the “musical composition” supposedly called ‘Reunion’ or see the indie film A Winter Rose . Riz sent me a 2min trailer for A Winter Rose , and out of politeness I congratulated him, but had no interest in seeing the film. Frankly I was turned off by Riz’s ‘filmmaking’ after his first release was borderline pornographic in nature. I’m not even sure if A Winter Rose had a theatrical release after the premiere, which I most certainly did not attend. Davison implied that Story filed the lawsuit because he felt rejected after “hoping to work with Yes, and, I’m sorry to say, failing.” He also argued that the melody isn’t original. “As I’m sure many have now heard, this generic melody is common and predictable with origins in traditional music dating as far back as the Renaissance era,” he said. “Numerous examples have been made, it is almost identical to the opening guitar riff in Santana’s ‘Black Magic Woman’ or to traditional descending melodies such as Tommaso Giordani’s ‘Caro Mio Ben’ from 1782. The list is endless. Put simply, this is a basic sequence that can be found in hundreds of compositions, and contrary to their analysis by Dr Lustig, we believe confirms how the similarity has occurred by chance alone.” Story’s lawyer responded by saying that his client “looks forward” to his day in court. “It is unfortunate that Yes continues to respond to Riz Story’s compelling copyright infringement lawsuit with ad hominem attacks. The latest is a long diatribe by Jon Davison that is equal parts easily disprovable fiction and self-incriminating admissions,” he wrote. In other news, former Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman has been playing his final solo tour in the United States , stating when it was announced that it is time “to call it a day”. Related Topics Prog Rock Yes
CLEVLEAND (AP) — Shane Bieber's comeback with Cleveland has double meaning. And deeper meaning. The former Cy Young winner re-signed with the Guardians on Wednesday, a reunion that seemed unlikely when he became a free agent following last season. However, the 29-year-old Bieber decided to stick with the AL Central champions after making just two starts in 2024 before undergoing Tommy John surgery. There were other offers. None of them matched what he already had in Cleveland. “It's the relationships,” Bieber said on a Zoom call. "The development staff. The coaching staff. My teammates. Having continuity and familiarity in those realms I feel like can prove beneficial not only to me but my family and everybody really involved. "That was big for me to feel confident in my rehab where I’m at right now. Nobody knows me as well as Cleveland does and vice versa, so I’m happy to be continuing with them." Bieber agreed last week to a one-year, $14 million contract . The deal includes a $16 million player option for 2026. Not long ago, it seemed as if Bieber, who is 62-32 with a 3.22 ERA in 132 starts over seven seasons for Cleveland, was determined to continue his career elsewhere. He had turned down previous long-term offers in the past from the Guardians, and it was expected he would sign with another contender, likely on the West Coast. But the California native has a special connection with the Guardians, who selected him in the fourth round of the 2016 draft. And while a setback, the injury and surgery helped Bieber realize that he was already in the perfect place. “I had plenty of great meetings and beneficial and progressive meetings with other ball clubs,” he said. "Everybody handled everything first class all the way, and I’ve got great things to say about plenty of other organizations. “Ultimately, Cleveland made the call and I was happy to receive it and come to terms and so I’m happy with where I’m at. My family’s ecstatic. It was very clearly the right decision for not only myself, my family, and we’re excited to continue it.” Bieber, who won the AL Cy Young in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, threw only 12 innings last season before lingering issues with his elbow forced him to have surgery. He is expected to join Cleveland's rotation at some point in 2025. He's throwing three days a week at 90 feet and encouraged by his progress. As for when he'll take the mound in a game, that's currently unknown. “I’m pushing, pushing, pushing.” he said. “I feel great. I haven’t skipped a beat. When I ask for a (return) date, they don’t even give me a date. So there’s a long way to go.” A two-time All-Star, Bieber burst onto the national stage in 2019 when he was named MVP of the midsummer event in Cleveland. He has the highest strikeout ratio per nine innings (10.2) and third-highest winning percentage (.660) in the franchise's 124-year history. Bieber is one of just three Cleveland pitchers to start five season openers, joining Stan Coveleski (1917-21) and Corey Kluber (2015-19). While Bieber had some elbow issues in the past, he didn't appear to be struggling before being shut down. He struck out 11 in six scoreless innings against Oakland on March 28, and followed that up with six more shutout innings at Seattle on April 2. Days later, and with his season officially over, Bieber became emotional during a news conference at Progressive Field. He knew that in the short-term his life would be different and baseball, as he had always known it, would be on the backburner. Bieber said it took a while before he “digested” his new reality. He coped by immersing himself in his recovery, and Bieber found joy in watching his teammates storm through an unexpected season to a division title. Although it may not have been the same because he wasn't contributing on the field the way he always had, the hardships may have given Bieber something he needed. “It’s provided a lot of perspective,” he said. “It was a hard season this year for me and my family, but it was a great one. We’re expecting a baby and it was a season full of growth and I’m very excited to continue that into 2025.” ___ AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB Tom Withers, The Associated Press
The teacher used a visual aid — a hand across his own perspiring forehead during a timeout — to illustrate his point. “We gotta slow it down.” The only thing slowing Mark Sausville these days is scar tissue in his left knee, which kept him from fully flexing his leg as he got up and down from his seat on the Schenectady boys’ basketball bench at Shenendehowa on Tuesday night. Otherwise, his animated, rapid-fire, meticulous lessons on the court echoed back to his first stint as the Patriots’ head coach, during which the team won its second state championship in four years in 2001. Another echo: Sausville’s hoarse voice after a 73-50 loss to Shen on Tuesday. “I’ll keep coaching like a maniac, like I always have, until I drop, I guess,” he said with a chuckle. If Sausville represents a reverberation from the Schenectady High glory years, he also offers a clarion call for his current team, which he took over after the school announced this summer that John Miller was giving up the job. Having served as the Scotia-Glenville head coach from 2017 until last season, he is in his 33rd year as a special ed teacher in the Schenectady City School District, and takes over a team that has lost two games by big margins to start 2024-25. Within a month or so, “I guarantee we’re going to be a much better basketball team.” If the Patriots do get much better, here’s another guarantee: It’ll be in large part because of Sausville’s embrace of the teaching aspect of coaching. “I want to see kids get better,” he said. “When I’m teaching them and they look me in the eye, I absolutely love it. It’s a thrill, as a teacher, that you can’t replace. “I just love seeing the lights go on in their eyes, like, ‘Holy cow, I get it.’ And I get that with basketball, too.” At 62 and coming off a knee replacement this summer that may need to be revisited in a year, Sausville does have some physical limitation. He may get up and down the sideline OK during games, but in practice, he can’t demonstrate certain points like he used to, like how to draw a charge or close out on shooters. “Basketball takes my mind off the pain a little bit; it’s not horse racing,” he said with a grin. Of course, any success the Patriots have this season will to some degree fall in lockstep with the level of talent Sausville has to work with. Senior Andre Jackson, who scored 18 points against Shenendehowa, is a strong finisher at the rim, and keep an eye on sophomore guard Jose Maduro Nunez. At the start of the second half, he used an ankle-breaking crossover dribble to open up space to hit a 3-pointer. “He’s very confident. But sophomores make sophomore decisions, and, as a coach, you’ve got to live with some of them,” Sausville said. “But we get great leadership from Dre [Jackson]. I’m thrilled to be coaching a guy like him, because he’s such a leader, and he just plays so hard. But they all played hard for me tonight, and I’m not going to ask for anything more than that.” Naturally, none of his players were born when Sausville’s Schenectady team won the 2001 state championship. Despite that, he said they are aware of the state titles won by the Patriots — Sausville also was Gary DiNola’s assistant on the 1998 team — mostly because of the buzz surrounding Sausville’s return to the job he held for 12 seasons through 2009-10. “They’ve been reminded enough, and all these articles in the paper aren’t hurting that fact,” Sausville said. “But they realize. They talk about how the crowd and the gym used to be packed back in the day, and how much fun that must’ve been.” “And I introduced them to who Walt Przybylo was when we started and the legacy of that, and I think it’s important,” he added, referring to Pat Riley’s legendary head coach in the 1960s. Sausville didn’t merely step into a vacuum at Schenectady High left behind when Miller stepped down. There were plenty of forces at work to lead him back into the Patriots coaching job, including persuasive encouragement from people deeply rooted in the program. He initially took an assistant’s job at Scotia-Glenville because his son, Alex, was playing there, and eventually moved up to the head coaching job there after having helped the Tartans win a state championship when he was an assistant under Jim Giammattei. “I was having fun at Scotia,” Sausville said. “We weren’t winning as much as I’d like. The kids were playing hard for me. I loved the Foothills [Council] coaching group and made some good friends, but Schenectady’s my home. I’m born and raised there, and I love the fast-paced game a little more and love coaching that get-up-and-grit, and that’s what we had tonight.” “I was texting him. I met Mark a couple years ago, and said, ‘It’s so great to have you on the sideline, and I can’t wait to sit down and shoot the breeze about the old times,’” Shenendehowa head coach Paul Yattaw said. “I’m so intrigued, because I wasn’t in the area at the time. I’ve been here my whole life except for the six or seven years when he went through that run. “To see him back at his old stomping grounds is great, and I think he’s going to do wonderful things with that program. “I’m just glad we got them early in the year.” On Friday, Sausville will work a game as the home coach at the Pat Riley Center for the first time since his return, against Niskayuna. “It’ll be fun. It’ll be special to be coaching the Schenectady team there again,” he said. “I was there [with Scotia] when Alex played, so I’ve been back, but when you’re coaching your home team, it’ll be special. “I have so much support from people, like yourself and the newspapers, and just people in general coming up saying, ‘We’re so glad you’re back.’” He never left, as a schoolteacher. He never left the coaching profession, from a teaching standpoint. On Tuesday, the Patriots regained possession when a Shenendehowa player kicked a Schenectady pass out of bounds, and the ball came straight to Sausville’s hands. Instead of reflexively tossing the ball to the ref, Sausville reflexively held onto it to show his player the proper way to have made that pass.
What is Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s net worth?
Meet the Press NOW — December 4
WASHINGTON (AP) — FBI Director Christopher Wray told bureau workers Wednesday that he plans to resign at the end of President Joe Biden's term in January, an announcement that came a week and a half after President-elect Donald Trump said he would nominate loyalist Kash Patel for the job. Wray said at a town hall meeting that he would be stepping down “after weeks of careful thought,” roughly three years short of the completion of a 10-year term during which he tried to keep the FBI out of politics even as the bureau found itself entangled in a string of explosive investigations, including two that led to separate indictments of Trump last year as well as inquiries into Biden and his son. “My goal is to keep the focus on our mission — the indispensable work you’re doing on behalf of the American people every day,” Wray told agency employees. “In my view, this is the best way to avoid dragging the bureau deeper into the fray, while reinforcing the values and principles that are so important to how we do our work.” The intended resignation was not unexpected considering that Trump had settled on Patel to be director and had repeatedly aired his ire at Wray, whom he appointed during his first term. But his departure is nonetheless a reflection of how Trump's norm-breaking style has reshaped Washington, with the president-elect yet again flouting tradition by moving to replace an FBI director well before his term was up and Wray resigning to avert a collision with the incoming administration. “It should go without saying, but I’ll say it anyway — this is not easy for me," Wray said. “I love this place, I love our mission, and I love our people — but my focus is, and always has been, on us and doing what’s right for the FBI.” Wray received a standing ovation following his remarks before a standing-room-only crowd at FBI headquarters and some in the audience cried, according to an FBI official who was not authorized to discuss the private gathering by name and spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press. Trump applauded the news on social media, calling it “a great day for America as it will end the Weaponization of what has become known as the United States Department of Injustice" and saying that Patel's confirmation will begin “the process of Making the FBI Great Again.” If confirmed by the Senate, Patel would herald a radical leadership transformation at the nation's premier federal law enforcement agency. He has advocated shutting down the FBI's Washington headquarters and called for ridding the federal government of “conspirators," raising alarms that he might seek to wield the FBI's significant investigative powers as an instrument of retribution against Trump's perceived enemies. Patel said in a statement Wednesday that he was looking forward to "a smooth transition. I will be ready to serve the American people on day one.” It's extremely rare for FBI directors to be ousted from their jobs before the completion of their 10-year terms, a length meant to insulate the agency from the political influence of changing administrations. But Trump has done it twice, placing Wray in the job in 2017 after firing Director James Comey amid an investigation into ties between Russia and the Republican president’s campaign. Despite having appointed Wray, Trump had telegraphed his anger with the FBI director on multiple occasions throughout the years, including as recently as the past week. In an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” that aired Sunday, Trump said, “I can’t say I’m thrilled with him. He invaded my home,” a reference to the FBI search of his Florida property , Mar-a-Lago, two years ago for classified documents from Trump’s first term as president. That search, and the recovery of boxes of sensitive government records, paved the way for one of two federal indictments against Trump. The case, and another one charging him with plotting to overturn the 2020 election, have both been dismissed by the Justice Department special counsel that brought them in light of Trump's November victory. Attorney General Merrick Garland praised Wray for having “served our country honorably and with integrity for decades.” He said: “Under Director Wray’s principled leadership, the FBI has worked to fulfill the Justice Department’s mission to keep our country safe, protect civil rights, and uphold the rule of law.” Natalie Bara, the president of the FBI Agents Association, said in a statement that Wray had led the FBI “through challenging times with a steady focus on doing the work that keeps our country safe. ” Throughout his seven years on the job, the self-professed "low-key, understated" Wray brought a workmanlike approach to the job, repeatedly preaching a “keep calm and tackle hard” mantra to bureau personnel despite a steady drumbeat of attacks from Trump and his supporters. He also sought to avoid public conflict when possible with the Trump White House, distancing himself and his leadership team from the FBI's Russia investigation over errors that took place before he took office and announcing dozens of corrective actions meant to prevent the recurrence of the surveillance abuses that plagued the inquiry. But there were other instances when he memorably broke from Trump — he did not agree, for instance, with Trump’s characterization of the Russia investigation as a “witch hunt." He made known his displeasure when the White House blessed the declassification of materials related to the surveillance of a former Trump campaign aide and contradicted a Trump talking point by stating that Ukraine had not interfered in the 2016 election. He repeatedly sought to keep the focus on the FBI's day-to-day work, using the bulk of his resignation announcement to praise the bureau's efforts in countering everything from violent crime and cyberattacks to Chinese espionage and terrorism. Yet as he leaves office at a time of heightened threats , much of the public focus has been on the politically sensitive investigations of his tenure. Besides the inquiries into Trump, the FBI in recent years also investigated Biden's handling of classified information as well as Biden's son Hunter for tax and gun violations. Hunter Biden was pardoned by his father last week. A particular flashpoint came in August 2022, when FBI agents searched Mar-a-Lago — an action officials defended as necessary given the boxes of documents that were being concealed at the Palm Beach property and the evidence of obstruction that the Justice Department said had been gathered. Trump railed against the FBI over that search and has kept up his criticism ever since. Trump was angered by Wray's comment at a congressional hearing that there was “some question about whether or not it’s a bullet or shrapnel” that struck Trump's ear during an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania in July. The FBI later stated unequivocally that it was indeed a bullet. Before being named FBI director, Wray worked at a prestigious law firm, King & Spalding, where he represented former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie during the “Bridgegate” scandal. He also led the Justice Department’s criminal division for a period during President George W. Bush’s administration.MTL Cannabis Corp. Announces Availability of Annual General and Special Meeting MaterialsGENEVA (AP) — Soccer’s biggest ever global club tournament is coming to the United States next year and the 32-team group stage will be drawn Thursday. European powers Real Madrid and Manchester City, Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami, recently crowned South American champion Botafogo and top clubs from Asia, Africa and Oceania are among the teams who are in the draw for FIFA’s revamped Club World Cup. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings. Get updates and player profiles ahead of Friday's high school games, plus a recap Saturday with stories, photos, video Frequency: Seasonal Twice a week
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NoneMichael Zagorsek Sells 60,796 Shares of SoundHound AI, Inc. (NASDAQ:SOUN) Stock
SoundHound AI, Inc. ( NASDAQ:SOUN – Get Free Report ) COO Michael Zagorsek sold 60,796 shares of SoundHound AI stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.30, for a total transaction of $1,234,158.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 1,412,526 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,674,277.80. This represents a 4.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink . Michael Zagorsek also recently made the following trade(s): SoundHound AI Stock Performance SoundHound AI stock opened at $23.95 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.58, a current ratio of 2.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a market capitalization of $8.86 billion, a PE ratio of -66.53 and a beta of 3.03. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $6.80. SoundHound AI, Inc. has a twelve month low of $1.62 and a twelve month high of $24.98. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In SOUN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays restated a “neutral” rating and set a $7.00 price target on shares of SoundHound AI in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. HC Wainwright boosted their price target on shares of SoundHound AI from $8.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Wedbush boosted their price target on shares of SoundHound AI from $10.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $7.00 price objective on shares of SoundHound AI in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $9.50 price objective on shares of SoundHound AI in a report on Monday, September 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $12.07. Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on SoundHound AI Hedge Funds Weigh In On SoundHound AI Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of SoundHound AI by 0.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,197,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,540,000 after buying an additional 42,869 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in SoundHound AI by 9.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,193,599 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,529,000 after purchasing an additional 602,311 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in SoundHound AI by 7.9% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,582,206 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,033,000 after purchasing an additional 189,109 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of SoundHound AI by 92.7% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 997,543 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,940,000 after buying an additional 479,912 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Carnegie Investment Counsel bought a new position in SoundHound AI during the third quarter valued at approximately $4,193,000. 19.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. About SoundHound AI ( Get Free Report ) SoundHound AI, Inc develops independent voice artificial intelligence (AI) solutions that enables businesses across automotive, TV, and IoT, and to customer service industries to deliver high-quality conversational experiences to their customers. Its products include Houndify platform that offers a suite of Houndify tools to help brands build conversational voice assistants, such as Application Programming Interfaces (API) for text and voice queries, support for custom commands, extensive library of content domains, inclusive software development kit platforms, collaboration capabilities, diagnostic tools, and built-in analytics; SoundHound Chat AI that integrates with knowledge domains, pulling real-time data like weather, sports, stocks, flight status, and restaurants; and SoundHound Smart Answering is built to offer customer establishments custom AI-powered voice assistant. Read More Receive News & Ratings for SoundHound AI Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for SoundHound AI and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .Wabtec stock rises Tuesday, outperforms market
Beth Dooley | (TNS) The Minnesota Star Tribune The holidays loom large. Parties, gift-shopping, school programs, recitals, family gatherings — there’s really no time to cook. Related Articles Restaurants, Food and Drink | Roasted orange delivers big flavor in this smoky chicken traybake Restaurants, Food and Drink | Let it flow, let it flow, let it flow: Elizabeth City’s Hot Cocoa Crawl is happening now Restaurants, Food and Drink | Review: New Chinese restaurant in Virginia Beach elevates the dining experience Restaurants, Food and Drink | Winter can be a time of culinary abundance. Experts share tips on eating nutritiously Restaurants, Food and Drink | Recipe: How to make Peanut Butter Dog Biscuits your pup will love But there is! Here are three quick and easy recipes you can hustle to the table in 30 minutes or less. Relax, take a deep breath and know that dinner is served. Serves 4. Making grilled cheese for more than one can be tricky. Here, the sheet pan does the work; the sandwiches are ready all at once. Try our suggested fillings or just enjoy them plain in all their gooey deliciousness. From Beth Dooley. Directions Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper. Spread the butter to the edge of 4 slices of bread. Place the slices butter-side down on the sheet pan. Top with the sliced cheese and add a layer of the filling, then top with the remaining slices of bread. Put the pan in the oven and cook until the butter is thoroughly melted and bottom slices are turning golden and the cheese is melting, about 8 to 10 to minutes. Flip the sandwiches. Continue cooking until the top layer of bread begins to turn golden and the cheese is melted. Turn the oven to broil and toast the top layer, watching closely, this goes quickly, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Flip the bread and toast the other side, about 15 to 20 seconds or so. Remove, cut and serve. Quick Skillet Chicken with Lemon, Tahini and Warm Spices will come together quickly and can be served on a bed of greens or pasta. (Ashley Moyna Schwickert/For the Minnesota Star Tribune) Serves 4 to 6. A simple marinade of pantry staples — lemon, tahini, olive oil and a little honey — keeps the chicken moist and becomes the sauce for finishing the dish. Serve on a bed of dark greens or cooked rice. From Beth Dooley. Directions In a large bowl, whisk together the lemon, tahini, honey and olive oil. Measure out 1⁄2 of the mixture into a separate bowl. This is to sauce the chicken after it’s cooked. If it seems too thick, whisk in a little water. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and pound with the flat edge of a knife to even out the width a bit. Put the chicken into the bowl of marinade and turn to coat. Film a heavy skillet with more oil and set over high heat. When the oil begins to ripple, add the chicken, reduce the heat to medium and cook, flipping after about 5 to 7 minutes, and continuing, until cooked through, about 10 to 15 minutes. (The chicken should reach 165 on an instant-read thermometer when done.) Remove the chicken from the skillet, set on a cutting board to rest for about 10 minutes. Slice the meat in long strokes against the grain. Serve on a bed of greens or rice, garnished with a drizzle of sauce, chopped herbs and a few thinly sliced lemons. Pass additional sauce on the side. One-Pot Pasta with Sausage, Tomato and Spinach is a quick but hearty meal for busy, chilly nights. (Ashley Moyna Schwickert/For the Minnesota Star Tribune) Serves 4 to 6. You only need one pot for this simple pasta. The sausage adds the seasoning, the onions turn sweetly golden, cherry tomatoes burst into a luscious sauce. A squeeze of lemon at the end livens things up. From Beth Dooley. Directions Film a large heavy pot or Dutch oven with the oil and set over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until it turns limp and golden, about 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the sausage, breaking apart with a spatula until it crumbles, about 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and the stock, scraping up the bottom of the pan to release browned bits that stick to the bottom. Bring to a boil. Add the pasta, stirring well and continue boiling for about 4 to 5 minutes. Turn the heat down to a brisk simmer, stirring to keep the pasta from sticking to the bottom of the pot. If the sauce becomes too thick and the pasta begins to stick, stir in water, about 1⁄4 cup at a time. Simmer until the sauce is mostly absorbed and the pasta is tender, about 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in the spinach, then stir in the cheese. Add lemon juice to taste. Serve garnished with the chopped parsley. Beth Dooley is the author of “The Perennial Kitchen.” Find her at bethdooleyskitchen.com. ©2024 The Minnesota Star Tribune. Visit at startribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.FBI Director Wray says he intends to resign before Trump takes office in January
MALIBU, Calif. (AP) — The wildfire alert came in the middle of the night as some college students in Southern California were cramming for final exams and others were woken up in their dorms. But rather than run away from the impending blaze, some 3,000 students at Pepperdine University headed toward two buildings at the heart of the 830-acre (336 hectare) campus in coastal Malibu, California, to shelter in place. The protocol at the Christian university with picturesque views of the Pacific Ocean may seem to defy logic to those accustomed to scenes elsewhere in wildfire-prone California of thousands of residents evacuating fire zones in lengthy caravans of cars. For years, the university nestled in the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains has had a special protocol due to its unique terrain and design that calls for students to be brought to a library and campus center where they can get food and water and have their basic needs met, said Michael Friel, a Pepperdine spokesperson. The school began preparing students and community members on what to do in case of a wildfire during new student orientation at the beginning of the academic year. When the fire broke out Monday night, school officials started communicating with students around 11 p.m. and activated the shelter-in-place protocol about two hours later, spreading the word through text messages, email, social media and by going door to door. “A lot of our students were woken up by a knock on the door, and we made sure they were aware of the conditions and we were able to get them out of harm’s way,” Friel said. The Franklin Fire quickly moved south, jumping over the famous Pacific Coast Highway and stretching to the coast, where large homes line the beach. Thousands of Southern California residents were under evacuation orders and warnings Tuesday with more than 8,100 homes and other structures under threat. County fire officials estimated that more than 3.5 square miles (9 square kilometers) of trees and dry brush had burned amid dangerous conditions fanned by dry, gusty Santa Ana winds that were expected to last into Wednesday. The cause of the fire was not immediately known. Ryan Song, a resident assistant at Pepperdine University, said he noticed the power went out at his dorm late Monday. When he looked out the window, he saw a huge pink glow. “I thought, ‘This is too bright,’ and it got bigger and bigger,” the 20-year-old junior said. “I immediately went outside and saw that it was a real fire.” Song and the other assistants went door to door to get students out. Most were calm and followed instructions, he said; a few who were scared rushed to their cars to get off campus. Song said he spent the next few hours racing back and forth in the dark between his dorm and the main campus to ensure no one was left behind. Pepperdine University officials said the campus was designed in the 1960s with fire safety in mind due to the region's experience with wildfires. Buildings were clustered together and covered in stucco while roadways were constructed to make it easy for firefighters to get in, said Phil Phillips, the school's executive vice president. During the 1990s, campus officials worked with Los Angeles County fire authorities to develop a safety plan, and authorities said the safest option for students would be to remain on campus. The school is diligent about brush clearance and has a plan to reduce smoke in shelter-in-place locations by taping shut doors and using air filters, he said. The nearby stretch of the Pacific Coast Highway can also become congested during an emergency, Phillips said, such as during the deadly Woolsey Fire in 2018. “What you don't want is to be stuck,” said Phillips, who has been at the campus for three decades — including as a student — and said he has been through seven fires. “Protecting our students, providing for their safety is a moral obligation for us, so we take it really, really seriously.” On Tuesday, heavy smoke from the Franklin Fire, burning northeast of the school, billowed over the campus 29 miles (47 kilometers) west of Los Angeles, and classes were cancelled and final exams postponed. Firefighters had not contained any part of the blaze as of Tuesday afternoon. The campus was singed but no injuries were reported, and only one structure possibly was minimally damaged thanks to firefighters' hard work and collaboration from students, faculty and others on campus, Friel said. Jim Gash, the college's president, said the campus was no longer threatened on Tuesday afternoon. “I am grateful that through prayer, preparation, and cooperation, our Pepperdine community safely navigated the challenges encountered over the last 12 hours," Gash said in a statement. “Our prayers continue to go out to the Malibu community.” ___ Taxin reported from Santa Ana, Calif. Associated Press writer Julie Watson in San Diego contributed to this report. Copyright 2024 The Associated Press . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
