ILLUSTRATION BY RUTHMACAPAGAL Preparing and seasoning her every day meal with ready-to-mix flavorings have become a common practice for 24-year-old Maica Aquinde these days. “It’s a good way to stretch the budget, especially when cooking at home and you want to get the feel, the taste of eating out,” she says, particularly citing the preparation of stir-fried dishes, as well as stews. She explains that a well-seasoned meal makes her feel like she is eating at one of her favorite restaurants, a practice that can increasingly become expensive if done regularly. Spice mixes and seasonings can also bring out the “soul” of a dish, she says, making a bland meal soothing to the “heart.” Aquinde is but one of the many Filipinos that have turned to diskarte or resourcefulness during a year of fluctuating inflation that has nevertheless remained a constant drag to the pockets. The latest Sari IQ report by Philippine startup Packworks emphasizes that Filipinos are getting madiskarte or resourceful this year, based on buying trends seen in sari-sari stores, the colloquial term for small neighborhood stores. In its report, which drew data from Packworks’ network of over 300,000 sari-sari stores, sales of seasoning mix items this year soared by 80 percent compared with the previous year. Purchases of recipe mix sales also surged by 72 percent, the report says. Additionally, it says that seasoning mix was sold in 69 percent more sari-sari stores, while recipe mix saw an even greater reach as it was purchased at 79 percent more of these small neighborhood retail stores. Commenting on the data, Packworks says these trends reflect the resourcefulness of Filipino households, which are stretching their budgets by buying cost-effective additives to enhance cheaper ingredients sourced from wet markets. “The resilience of Filipinos shines through in the way they adapt their purchasing habits to make ends meet,” Packworks chief data officer Andoy Montiel says in a statement. “These insights highlight not only the shifting preferences of sari-sari store customers but also their enduring ingenuity in navigating economic challenges,” he adds. As prices continue to rise, many Filipinos find ways to make their money go further, the company adds. Inflation, as measured by the consumer price index, picked up to 2.5 percent year-on year in November following the onslaught of powerful typhoons hit food supply. Year-to-date, inflation averaged 3.2 percent, as food inflation accelerated to 3.4 percent during the month. The same Packworks report also shows that sari-sari stores in Region V recorded the highest sales growth this year, with transactions of over P616 million in gross merchandise value (GMV). “The sales growth in Bicol can be attributed to the increase in the number of sari-sari stores in our network in the region,” Montiel says. “Additionally, we’ve observed that rural, agriculture-based regions like Bicol remain more dependent on sari-sari stores than modern trade stores such as groceries.” Other regions that topped this year’s list are Region IV-A with P1.9 billion, Region III with P1.02 billion, Region II with P979 million, Ilocos Region, Region I with P811 million, Region VII with P695 million. Packworks unveiled these insights during its first-ever Sari-Sari Store Innovation Summit in Taguig City. The event brought together key figures and decision-makers from some of the country’s most prominent fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) brands, distributors and policymakers to delve into how technology and collaboration can address the challenges faced by sari-sari stores, from digitalization to economic empowerment. Former Department of Trade annd Industry (DTI) Undersecretary Ed Sunico, the keynote speaker, highlights the role of sari-sari stores in the country. “Sari-sari stores remain the fastest-growing channel compared to modern trade per year-on-year, serving as an indispensable part of the sales ecosystem in the Philippines. Despite this, many stores are still operating informally, do not have access to government support and financing, and are behind in technology adoption,” Sunico says. He notes that public-private partnerships are essential to empowering the sector, citing the DTI’s “Tindahan Mo, e-Level Up Mo!” program, launched in collaboration with organizations like Packworks to support and digitalize micro, small and medium enterprises. The event also featured a panel on leveraging data and technology to transform the retail supply chain. Moderated by Packworks chief marketing officer Ibba Bernardo, the panel included industry leaders like Miko David, president of David & Golyat; Jojo Malolos, CEO of Paymongo; Richard Sanchez, sales director of Unilever RFM (Selecta) and Jill Que, sales director of Alaska Milk Corp. Subscribe to our daily newsletter By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy . “Together with our partners, we are committed to providing sari-sari stores with business success that they would not have achieved without technology. As we build our network of stores, let’s imagine a future for them beyond digitization,” says Packworks CEO Bing Tan.Veteran first baseman Carlos Santana, who began his major league career in Cleveland in 2010 and returned for a second stint in 2019, signed a one-year contract with the Guardians on Monday. A 15-year major league veteran, Santana previously spent 10 seasons with the organization (2010-17, 2019-20) and hit .251 with 273 doubles, 216 home runs and 710 RBIs in 1,334 games. During his time in Cleveland, Santana was an All-Star and Silver Slugger in 2019, when he achieved career highs in batting average (.281) and RBIs (93) along with a career-high-tying 34 home runs. The 38-year-old Dominican Republic native ranks in the top 10 in Cleveland franchise history in three offensive categories: walks (second, 881); home runs (sixth); and extra-base hits (eighth, 503). In 2024 with the Minnesota Twins, Santana became the oldest position player in MLB history win a Gold Glove Award for the first time. He also led the team with 23 home runs, 65 walks and 71 RBIs in 150 games. Along with Cleveland and Minnesota, the well-traveled vet has also played for the Philadelphia Phillies (2018), Kansas City Royals (2021-22), Seattle Mariners (2022), Pittsburgh Pirates (2023) and Milwaukee Brewers (2023). Altogether, he has hit .242 with 393 doubles, 324 home runs, 1,278 walks and 1,082 RBIs in 2,080 games. This article first appeared on Field Level Media and was syndicated with permission.
Milan's Via MonteNapoleone usurps New York's Fifth Avenue as world's most upscale shopping streetROSEVILLE, Minn. (AP) — Republicans will start the year with at least a temporary majority in the Minnesota House after a Democrat decided not to appeal a that he failed to establish residency in the suburban district he was elected to represent. That means Republicans will have a slim 67-66 majority in the House when the Legislature begins Jan. 14. That may not last long because has already scheduled a Jan. 28 special election in the Democratic-leaning district that Curtis Johnson won by 30 points in November. “While I disagree with the conclusions reached by the District Court, I recognize that whatever the decision on appeal the ultimate decision belongs to the Legislature, where it appears there is no viable pathway for me being allowed to retain my seat,” Johnson said in a statement Friday. “Rather than dragging this out further, I have decided to resign now, so that a special election can be held as soon as possible.” Ramsey County Judge Leonardo Castro ruled last week that Johnson didn’t live in the Roseville-area district for the required six months ahead of the election and is therefore ineligible to serve. Johnson's Republican challenger, Paul Wikstrom, presented surveillance video and photos in court to show Johnson did not reside in the apartment he claimed as his residence. The St. Paul Pioneer Press that the lack of utility hookups and regular activity at the apartment reinforced that conclusion. Republican Rep. Lisa Demuth, who is in line to become House speaker with the GOP in control, said she is pleased the judge's decision will stand. Previously, leaders of both parties had been working out a power-sharing agreement given that the chamber was expected to be divided equally 67-67. “This confirms that Republicans will have an organizational majority on day one, and we look forward to ensuring that a valid candidate represents District 40B in the upcoming legislative session,” Demuth said in a statement. Although Democrats argue that Republicans would need to have at least 68 seats to control the House. The Democrats' narrow one-vote control of the Senate — combined with Walz's veto power — will be able to stop Republicans from being able to pass laws, but the GOP could still push its agenda. Republicans will have working control of committees to advance bills to the floor, which could force Democrats from swing districts to face tough decisions on bills. And Republicans could try to launch investigations they have been seeking for a long time into and problems it has had limiting fraud. Demuth also questioned whether Walz has the power to set the special election so quickly even before the Legislature certifies the vacancy. If that argument prevails that would extend Republican control of the House longer, but the secretary of state's office that Walz's order setting the special election is proper. Whenever the election happens, Democrats are confident they will win the seat, current House speaker Rep. Melissa Hortman said. “A prompt special election will allow the voters of District 40B to ensure that they will be represented in the Minnesota House for the bulk of the session,” Hortman said in a written statement. “We expect the district will again vote to elect a Democrat by overwhelming margins.” A pending court challenge in a could also affect the balance of power in the House, but it appears Democrats will likely prevail in that dispute. Incumbent Democratic Rep. Brad Tabke, of Shakopee, was declared the winner by 14 votes over Republican Aaron Paul despite 20 missing ballots that were accepted but never counted and then apparently thrown away. At a hearing, his attorneys presented six of those affected voters who testified that they supported Tabke, which would be enough to preserve his win. A judge is expected to decide within the next few weeks how to proceed.
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The Christmas tradition has become nearly global in scope: Children from around the world track Santa Claus as he sweeps across the earth, delivering presents and defying time. Each year, at least 100,000 kids call into the North American Aerospace Defense Command to inquire about Santa’s location. Millions more follow online in nine languages, from English to Japanese. On any other night, NORAD is scanning the heavens for potential threats, such as last year’s Chinese spy balloon. But on Christmas Eve, volunteers in Colorado Springs are fielding questions like, “When is Santa coming to my house?” and, “Am I on the naughty or nice list?” “There are screams and giggles and laughter,” said Bob Sommers, 63, a civilian contractor and NORAD volunteer. Sommers often says on the call that everyone must be asleep before Santa arrives, prompting parents to say, “Do you hear what he said? We got to go to bed early.” NORAD’s annual tracking of Santa has endured since the Cold War, predating ugly sweater parties and Mariah Carey classics. Here’s how it began and why the phones keep ringing. It started with a child’s accidental phone call in 1955. The Colorado Springs newspaper printed a Sears advertisement that encouraged children to call Santa, listing a phone number. A boy called. But he reached the Continental Air Defense Command, now NORAD, a joint U.S. and Canadian effort to spot potential enemy attacks. Tensions were growing with the Soviet Union, along with anxieties about nuclear war. Air Force Col Harry W Shoup picked up an emergency-only “red phone” and was greeted by a tiny voice that began to recite a Christmas wish list. “He went on a little bit, and he takes a breath, then says, ‘Hey, you’re not Santa,’” Shoup told The Associated Press in 1999. Realizing an explanation would be lost on the youngster, Shoup summoned a deep, jolly voice and replied, “Ho, ho, ho! Yes, I am Santa Claus. Have you been a good boy?” Shoup said he learned from the boy’s mother that Sears mistakenly printed the top-secret number. He hung up, but the phone soon rang again with a young girl reciting her Christmas list. Fifty calls a day followed, he said. In the pre-digital age, the agency used a 60-by-80 foot (18-by-24 meter) plexiglass map of North America to track unidentified objects. A staff member jokingly drew Santa and his sleigh over the North Pole. The tradition was born. “Note to the kiddies,” began an AP story from Colorado Springs on Dec 23, 1955. “Santa Claus Friday was assured safe passage into the United States by the Continental Air Defense Command.” In a likely reference to the Soviets, the article noted that Santa was guarded against possible attack from “those who do not believe in Christmas.” Some grinchy journalists have nitpicked Shoup’s story, questioning whether a misprint or a misdial prompted the boy’s call. In 2014, tech news site Gizmodo cited an International News Service story from Dec 1, 1955, about a child’s call to Shoup. Published in the Pasadena Independent, the article said the child reversed two digits in the Sears number. “When a childish voice asked COC commander Col Harry Shoup, if there was a Santa Claus at the North Pole, he answered much more roughly than he should — considering the season: ‘There may be a guy called Santa Claus at the North Pole, but he’s not the one I worry about coming from that direction,’” Shoup said in the brief piece. In 2015, The Atlantic magazine doubted the flood of calls to the secret line, while noting that Shoup had a flair for public relations. Phone calls aside, Shoup was indeed media savvy. In 1986, he told the Scripps Howard News Service that he recognized an opportunity when a staff member drew Santa on the glass map in 1955. A lieutenant colonel promised to have it erased. But Shoup said, “You leave it right there,” and summoned public affairs. Shoup wanted to boost morale for the troops and public alike. “Why, it made the military look good — like we’re not all a bunch of snobs who don’t care about Santa Claus,” he said. Shoup died in 2009. His children told the StoryCorps podcast in 2014 that it was a misprinted Sears ad that prompted the phone calls. “And later in life he got letters from all over the world,” said Terri Van Keuren, a daughter. “People saying ‘Thank you, Colonel, for having, you know, this sense of humor.’” NORAD’s tradition is one of the few modern additions to the centuries-old Santa story that have endured, according to Gerry Bowler, a Canadian historian who spoke to the AP in 2010. Ad campaigns or movies try to “kidnap” Santa for commercial purposes, said Bowler, who wrote “Santa Claus: A Biography.” NORAD, by contrast, takes an essential element of Santa’s story and views it through a technological lens. In a recent interview with the AP, Air Force Lt Gen Case Cunningham explained that NORAD radars in Alaska and Canada — known as the northern warning system — are the first to detect Santa. He leaves the North Pole and typically heads for the international dateline in the Pacific Ocean. From there he moves west, following the night. “That’s when the satellite systems we use to track and identify targets of interest every single day start to kick in,” Cunningham said. “A probably little-known fact is that Rudolph’s nose that glows red emanates a lot of heat. And so those satellites track (Santa) through that heat source.” NORAD has an app and website, www.noradsanta.org, that will track Santa on Christmas Eve from 4 a.m. to midnight, Mountain Standard Time. People can call 1-877-HI-NORAD to ask live operators about Santa’s location from 6 a.m. to midnight, mountain time.
Punjab Kings Squad for IPL 2025: Yash Thakur Sold to PBKS for INR 1.6 Crore at Indian Premier League AuctionBengaluru: A 39-year-old software engineer fell prey to a trading fraud and lost Rs 1.2 crore between Sept and Nov this year. The mistake he made was responding to a WhatsApp message from fraudsters. They offered free online training about the stock market in return for voting for their firm in an ‘amateur stock market competition'. Later, they added him to a Telegram group where they convinced him to invest money in trading stocks, assuring him of high returns. After he paid over Rs 1.2 crore, the fraudsters blocked his account and went incommunicado. Rajesh (name changed), a resident of TC Palya, in his complaint to East CEN Crime police, stated that he received messages on WhatsApp from the numbers +91 7085735092 and +972542963985 in Sept. The messages were about online training and knowledge sharing in the stock market. He was offered free training in exchange for a favour: He needed to vote for them, which would help in ‘The First Indian Amateur Stock Master Competition', which they claimed would end in Aug 2025. Eager to gain some knowledge about stock market investment, he agreed to be part of their online training. He started voting every day after training. A few days later, he was redirected to Telegram user IDs, @surendrakumarDubey_JK and @Rachel003wilson, where a group was created for them with 60 participants. A fraudster introduced himself as Surendra Kumara Dubey and claimed to be a trading leader who could provide training on how to trade, when to trade, and which broker to use. The fraudster misused the name of an online brokerage platform to cheat the victim. Following the advice of the fraudsters, Rajesh opened a D-mat account using a link provided by them. He started with an initial investment of Rs 10,000, which doubled within a week. In the groups, most members (some of them being imposters working for the fraudsters) were sending messages about their investments and sharing screenshots with details about their profits. The fraudsters would clear the doubts raised by group members. As Rajesh started increasing his investment, the profit increased to Rs 1.4 crore. One day, he tried to withdraw Rs 85,036 to check its credibility, and he received the money successfully. After a few days, he attempted to withdraw Rs 20 lakh, but he couldn't, and the following day, his account was blocked. The fraudsters deleted the group on Dec 8 and went incommunicado. A case has been registered under the Information Technology Act and Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Section 318 (cheating). Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India . Don't miss daily games like Crossword , Sudoku , and Mini Crossword .
Garrett’s comments about his future add wrinkle to Browns’ worst season since 0-16 in 2017US security officials have warned that millions of people's personal information could be at risk after a yearslong hacking campaign originating in China. The US government started investigating the hack in the summer after Microsoft — which named the hack the Salt Typhoon — sounded alarms about anomalies. Speaking to reporters on Saturday, White House Deputy national security advisor Anne Neuberger said that while data belonging to millions of Americans was likely compromised, the hack targeted senior US officials. "We believe the calls they recorded and took was really more focused on very senior political individuals," she said. A report from the Congressional Research Office said Chinese hackers may have sought access to presidential candidates' communications. "With that access, they could potentially retrieve unencrypted communication (e.g., voice calls and text messages)," the report says. A senior NSA official said in October that hackers from China accessed information from AT&T, Verizon, and Lumen Technologies, according to NBC. Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner told The Washington Post that the hack is the "worst telecom hack in our nation's history by far." "This is an ongoing effort by China to infiltrate telecom systems around the world, to exfiltrate huge amounts of data," Warner told the outlet. The New York Times reported that hackers from China went undetected inside for over a year and obtained a nearly complete list of phone numbers that the Justice Department monitors in its "lawful intercept" system. The lawful intercept system is what allows law enforcement, through a court order, to wiretap or "bug" phone calls. The FBI warned that all US citizens should use a cellphone that automatically updates its operating system and use encryption and multifactor authentication for email and social media accounts. Neuberger said in an earlier press call on Wednesday that the government does not believe any of the targeted telecom companies have "fully removed" the Chinese hackers from their networks, and communications are still at risk. Senior White House officials on the call said the hack has been ongoing for "likely one to two years." "President Biden has been briefed multiple times on this compromise," Neuberger told reporters. She added that the White House "has made it a priority for the federal government to do everything it can to get to the bottom of this." Neuberger said that are meeting three times a week to discuss the hack. The Senate Commerce Subcommittee will hold a hearing on December 11 to discuss security threats to communications networks and review best practices for providers to mitigate consumer risks. The committee will focus on the Salt Typhoon attacks in the hearing. Read the original article on
