( MENAFN - EIN Presswire) Environmental, Social And Governance (ESG) Rating Services Global market Report 2024 - Market Size, Trends, And Global Forecast 2024-2033 The Business Research Company's Early Year-End Sale! Get up to 30% off detailed market research reports-for a limited time only! LONDON, GREATER LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM, December 9, 2024 /EINPresswire / -- The Business Research Company 's Early Year-End Sale! Get up to 30% off detailed market research reports-limited time only! The ESG rating services market size has grown rapidly in recent years, and it is poised for further growth. But what could this growth look like and what is driving it? The ESG rating services market will grow from $9.98 billion in 2023 to $11.06 billion in 2024 at a compound annual growth rate CAGR of 10.9%. The growth in the historic period can be attributed to a rise in corporate transparency, a surge in sustainable development goals, a rise in public awareness, a rise in consumer preferences, and an increase in investor scrutiny. For a more detailed look at the market, access the sample report: What will be the size of the ESG rating services market in 2028 and what could this mean for the key players in the sector? The ESG rating services market size is expected to see rapid growth in the next few years, reaching $16.83 billion in 2028 at a compound annual growth rate CAGR of 11.1%. The growth in the forecast period is attributed to rising climate change policies, economic incentives for companies, emphasis on transparency in supply chains, growing sustainability-linked loans, and increasing reliance on environmental impact assessments. Major trends over the forecast period include the adoption of green technologies, innovation in ESG metrics, adoption of circular economy models, digital transformation initiatives, and real-time ESG monitoring. What makes climate change awareness such a dominant driver for the ESG rating services market? Climate change awareness is set to hugely propel market growth moving forward. As evidence of the impacts of climate change mounts, including extreme weather events and environmental degradation, focus on environmental sustainability and risk management has grown. This has in turn increased demand for ESG rating services as companies look for evaluations of their climate-related performance and resilience strategies. As an example, according to the UK Parliament's House of Commons Library, the percentage of the British population that is very or extremely concerned about climate change in 2022 rose sharply to 74%, up from 45% in 2021. For more in-depth analysis, access the full report: Who are the key players in ESG rating services market? There are numerous major companies in the ESG rating services market, including Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited, Ernst & Young Global Limited, KPMG International Limited, S&P Global Inc., Deutsche Börse AG, Thomson Reuters Corporation, LSEG Data & Analytics, Bureau Veritas, Moody's Corporation, and many others. What trends are emerging from these key industry players within the ESG rating services market? Companies are developing AI-enabled platforms to enhance the accuracy and efficiency of ESG assessments, streamline data analysis, and provide more actionable insights. These platforms deliver real-time assessments and insights on ESG factors by automating the analysis of vast data sets. For instance, ERM, a UK-based business consulting and services company, recently launched ESG Fusion, an AI-driven platform providing rapid, custom ESG ratings. What is the market segmentation for ESG rating services market? The market falls into several key segments, including – 1 By Type: Addressing Environmental, Social And Governance ESG Expectations, Preparing Environmental, Social And Governance ESG Reports, Assuring Environmental, Social And Governance ESG Data, Communicating Environmental, Social And Governance ESG Strategy, Other Types 2 By Organization Size: Large Enterprises, Small And Medium Enterprises SMEs 3 By Application: Financial Industry, Consumer And Retail, Industrial Manufacturing, Energy And Natural Resources, Real Estate, Other Applications Which region dominated the ESG rating services market in 2023 and which region is expected to grow the fastest? In 2023, North America was the largest region in the ESG rating services market. However, Asia-Pacific is expected to be the fastest-growing region in the forecast period. The Business Research Company has published over 15000+ reports in 27 industries, spanning 60+ geographies. The reports draw on 1,500,000 datasets, extensive secondary research, and exclusive insights from interviews with industry leaders. Contact us at: The Business Research Company Americas: +1 3156230293 Asia: +44 2071930708 Europe: +44 2071930708 Email us at ... Follow us on LinkedIn: Follow us on YouTube: Global Market Model: global-market-model Oliver Guirdham The Business Research Company +44 20 7193 0708 email us here Visit us on social media: Facebook X LinkedIn Legal Disclaimer: EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. 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By BILL BARROW, Associated Press PLAINS, Ga. (AP) — Newly married and sworn as a Naval officer, Jimmy Carter left his tiny hometown in 1946 hoping to climb the ranks and see the world. Less than a decade later, the death of his father and namesake, a merchant farmer and local politician who went by “Mr. Earl,” prompted the submariner and his wife, Rosalynn, to return to the rural life of Plains, Georgia, they thought they’d escaped. The lieutenant never would be an admiral. Instead, he became commander in chief. Years after his presidency ended in humbling defeat, he would add a Nobel Peace Prize, awarded not for his White House accomplishments but “for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development.” The life of James Earl Carter Jr., the 39th and longest-lived U.S. president, ended Sunday at the age of 100 where it began: Plains, the town of 600 that fueled his political rise, welcomed him after his fall and sustained him during 40 years of service that redefined what it means to be a former president. With the stubborn confidence of an engineer and an optimism rooted in his Baptist faith, Carter described his motivations in politics and beyond in the same way: an almost missionary zeal to solve problems and improve lives. Carter was raised amid racism, abject poverty and hard rural living — realities that shaped both his deliberate politics and emphasis on human rights. “He always felt a responsibility to help people,” said Jill Stuckey, a longtime friend of Carter’s in Plains. “And when he couldn’t make change wherever he was, he decided he had to go higher.” Defying expectations Carter’s path, a mix of happenstance and calculation , pitted moral imperatives against political pragmatism; and it defied typical labels of American politics, especially caricatures of one-term presidents as failures. “We shouldn’t judge presidents by how popular they are in their day. That’s a very narrow way of assessing them,” Carter biographer Jonathan Alter told the Associated Press. “We should judge them by how they changed the country and the world for the better. On that score, Jimmy Carter is not in the first rank of American presidents, but he stands up quite well.” Later in life, Carter conceded that many Americans, even those too young to remember his tenure, judged him ineffective for failing to contain inflation or interest rates, end the energy crisis or quickly bring home American hostages in Iran. He gained admirers instead for his work at The Carter Center — advocating globally for public health, human rights and democracy since 1982 — and the decades he and Rosalynn wore hardhats and swung hammers with Habitat for Humanity. Yet the common view that he was better after the Oval Office than in it annoyed Carter, and his allies relished him living long enough to see historians reassess his presidency. “He doesn’t quite fit in today’s terms” of a left-right, red-blue scoreboard, said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who visited the former president multiple times during his own White House bid. At various points in his political career, Carter labeled himself “progressive” or “conservative” — sometimes both at once. His most ambitious health care bill failed — perhaps one of his biggest legislative disappointments — because it didn’t go far enough to suit liberals. Republicans, especially after his 1980 defeat, cast him as a left-wing cartoon. It would be easiest to classify Carter as a centrist, Buttigieg said, “but there’s also something radical about the depth of his commitment to looking after those who are left out of society and out of the economy.” ‘Country come to town’ Indeed, Carter’s legacy is stitched with complexities, contradictions and evolutions — personal and political. The self-styled peacemaker was a war-trained Naval Academy graduate who promised Democratic challenger Ted Kennedy that he’d “kick his ass.” But he campaigned with a call to treat everyone with “respect and compassion and with love.” Carter vowed to restore America’s virtue after the shame of Vietnam and Watergate, and his technocratic, good-government approach didn’t suit Republicans who tagged government itself as the problem. It also sometimes put Carter at odds with fellow Democrats. The result still was a notable legislative record, with wins on the environment, education, and mental health care. He dramatically expanded federally protected lands, began deregulating air travel, railroads and trucking, and he put human rights at the center of U.S. foreign policy. As a fiscal hawk, Carter added a relative pittance to the national debt, unlike successors from both parties. Carter nonetheless struggled to make his achievements resonate with the electorate he charmed in 1976. Quoting Bob Dylan and grinning enthusiastically, he had promised voters he would “never tell a lie.” Once in Washington, though, he led like a joyless engineer, insisting his ideas would become reality and he’d be rewarded politically if only he could convince enough people with facts and logic. This served him well at Camp David, where he brokered peace between Israel’s Menachem Begin and Epypt’s Anwar Sadat, an experience that later sparked the idea of The Carter Center in Atlanta. Carter’s tenacity helped the center grow to a global force that monitored elections across five continents, enabled his freelance diplomacy and sent public health experts across the developing world. The center’s wins were personal for Carter, who hoped to outlive the last Guinea worm parasite, and nearly did. As president, though, the approach fell short when he urged consumers beleaguered by energy costs to turn down their thermostats. Or when he tried to be the nation’s cheerleader, beseeching Americans to overcome a collective “crisis of confidence.” Republican Ronald Reagan exploited Carter’s lecturing tone with a belittling quip in their lone 1980 debate. “There you go again,” the former Hollywood actor said in response to a wonky answer from the sitting president. “The Great Communicator” outpaced Carter in all but six states. Carter later suggested he “tried to do too much, too soon” and mused that he was incompatible with Washington culture: media figures, lobbyists and Georgetown social elites who looked down on the Georgians and their inner circle as “country come to town.” A ‘leader of conscience’ on race and class Carter carefully navigated divides on race and class on his way to the Oval Office. Born Oct. 1, 1924 , Carter was raised in the mostly Black community of Archery, just outside Plains, by a progressive mother and white supremacist father. Their home had no running water or electricity but the future president still grew up with the relative advantages of a locally prominent, land-owning family in a system of Jim Crow segregation. He wrote of President Franklin Roosevelt’s towering presence and his family’s Democratic Party roots, but his father soured on FDR, and Jimmy Carter never campaigned or governed as a New Deal liberal. He offered himself as a small-town peanut farmer with an understated style, carrying his own luggage, bunking with supporters during his first presidential campaign and always using his nickname. And he began his political career in a whites-only Democratic Party. As private citizens, he and Rosalynn supported integration as early as the 1950s and believed it inevitable. Carter refused to join the White Citizens Council in Plains and spoke out in his Baptist church against denying Black people access to worship services. “This is not my house; this is not your house,” he said in a churchwide meeting, reminding fellow parishioners their sanctuary belonged to God. Yet as the appointed chairman of Sumter County schools he never pushed to desegregate, thinking it impractical after the Supreme Court’s 1954 Brown v. Board decision. And while presidential candidate Carter would hail the 1965 Voting Rights Act, signed by fellow Democrat Lyndon Johnson when Carter was a state senator, there is no record of Carter publicly supporting it at the time. Carter overcame a ballot-stuffing opponent to win his legislative seat, then lost the 1966 governor’s race to an arch-segregationist. He won four years later by avoiding explicit mentions of race and campaigning to the right of his rival, who he mocked as “Cufflinks Carl” — the insult of an ascendant politician who never saw himself as part the establishment. Carter’s rural and small-town coalition in 1970 would match any victorious Republican electoral map in 2024. Once elected, though, Carter shocked his white conservative supporters — and landed on the cover of Time magazine — by declaring that “the time for racial discrimination is over.” Before making the jump to Washington, Carter befriended the family of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., whom he’d never sought out as he eyed the governor’s office. Carter lamented his foot-dragging on school integration as a “mistake.” But he also met, conspicuously, with Alabama’s segregationist Gov. George Wallace to accept his primary rival’s endorsement ahead of the 1976 Democratic convention. “He very shrewdly took advantage of his own Southerness,” said Amber Roessner, a University of Tennessee professor and expert on Carter’s campaigns. A coalition of Black voters and white moderate Democrats ultimately made Carter the last Democratic presidential nominee to sweep the Deep South. Then, just as he did in Georgia, he used his power in office to appoint more non-whites than all his predecessors had, combined. He once acknowledged “the secret shame” of white Americans who didn’t fight segregation. But he also told Alter that doing more would have sacrificed his political viability – and thus everything he accomplished in office and after. King’s daughter, Bernice King, described Carter as wisely “strategic” in winning higher offices to enact change. “He was a leader of conscience,” she said in an interview. Rosalynn was Carter’s closest advisor Rosalynn Carter, who died on Nov. 19 at the age of 96, was identified by both husband and wife as the “more political” of the pair; she sat in on Cabinet meetings and urged him to postpone certain priorities, like pressing the Senate to relinquish control of the Panama Canal. “Let that go until the second term,” she would sometimes say. The president, recalled her former aide Kathy Cade, retorted that he was “going to do what’s right” even if “it might cut short the time I have.” Rosalynn held firm, Cade said: “She’d remind him you have to win to govern.” Carter also was the first president to appoint multiple women as Cabinet officers. Yet by his own telling, his career sprouted from chauvinism in the Carters’ early marriage: He did not consult Rosalynn when deciding to move back to Plains in 1953 or before launching his state Senate bid a decade later. Many years later, he called it “inconceivable” that he didn’t confer with the woman he described as his “full partner,” at home, in government and at The Carter Center. “We developed a partnership when we were working in the farm supply business, and it continued when Jimmy got involved in politics,” Rosalynn Carter told AP in 2021. So deep was their trust that when Carter remained tethered to the White House in 1980 as 52 Americans were held hostage in Tehran, it was Rosalynn who campaigned on her husband’s behalf. “I just loved it,” she said, despite the bitterness of defeat. Reevaluating his legacy Fair or not, the label of a disastrous presidency had leading Democrats keep their distance, at least publicly, for many years, but Carter managed to remain relevant, writing books and weighing in on societal challenges. He lamented widening wealth gaps and the influence of money in politics. He voted for democratic socialist Bernie Sanders over Hillary Clinton in 2016, and later declared that America had devolved from fully functioning democracy to “oligarchy.” Yet looking ahead to 2020, with Sanders running again, Carter warned Democrats not to “move to a very liberal program,” lest they help re-elect President Donald Trump. Carter scolded the Republican for his serial lies and threats to democracy, and chided the U.S. establishment for misunderstanding Trump’s populist appeal. He delighted in yearly convocations with Emory University freshmen, often asking them to guess how much he’d raised in his two general election campaigns. “Zero,” he’d gesture with a smile, explaining the public financing system candidates now avoid so they can raise billions. Carter still remained quite practical in partnering with wealthy corporations and foundations to advance Carter Center programs. Carter recognized that economic woes and the Iran crisis doomed his presidency, but offered no apologies for appointing Paul Volcker as the Federal Reserve chairman whose interest rate hikes would not curb inflation until Reagan’s presidency. He was proud of getting all the hostages home without starting a shooting war, even though Tehran would not free them until Reagan’s Inauguration Day. “Carter didn’t look at it” as a failure, Alter emphasized. “He said, ‘They came home safely.’ And that’s what he wanted.” Well into their 90s, the Carters greeted visitors at Plains’ Maranatha Baptist Church, where he taught Sunday School and where he will have his last funeral before being buried on family property alongside Rosalynn . Carter, who made the congregation’s collection plates in his woodworking shop, still garnered headlines there, calling for women’s rights within religious institutions, many of which, he said, “subjugate” women in church and society. Carter was not one to dwell on regrets. “I am at peace with the accomplishments, regret the unrealized goals and utilize my former political position to enhance everything we do,” he wrote around his 90th birthday. Pilgrimages to Plains The politician who had supposedly hated Washington politics also enjoyed hosting Democratic presidential contenders as public pilgrimages to Plains became advantageous again. Carter sat with Buttigieg for the final time March 1, 2020, hours before the Indiana mayor ended his campaign and endorsed eventual winner Joe Biden. “He asked me how I thought the campaign was going,” Buttigieg said, recalling that Carter flashed his signature grin and nodded along as the young candidate, born a year after Carter left office, “put the best face” on the walloping he endured the day before in South Carolina. Never breaking his smile, the 95-year-old host fired back, “I think you ought to drop out.” “So matter of fact,” Buttigieg said with a laugh. “It was somehow encouraging.” Carter had lived enough, won plenty and lost enough to take the long view. “He talked a lot about coming from nowhere,” Buttigieg said, not just to attain the presidency but to leverage “all of the instruments you have in life” and “make the world more peaceful.” In his farewell address as president, Carter said as much to the country that had embraced and rejected him. “The struggle for human rights overrides all differences of color, nation or language,” he declared. “Those who hunger for freedom, who thirst for human dignity and who suffer for the sake of justice — they are the patriots of this cause.” Carter pledged to remain engaged with and for them as he returned “home to the South where I was born and raised,” home to Plains, where that young lieutenant had indeed become “a fellow citizen of the world.” —- Bill Barrow, based in Atlanta, has covered national politics including multiple presidential campaigns for the AP since 2012.Calandra Turkey Challenge donates 800 birds to Rome Rescue MissionRivian, known for its innovative electric vehicles, is preparing to roll out an AI-powered voice assistant in 2025. During a recent in Venice, California, Rivian’s chief software officer Wassym Bensaid detailed the company’s vision for elevating voice control in the R1T and R1S, setting the stage for a new era of in-car controls. Bensaid shared that Rivian’s voice assistant aims to go beyond basic commands. The system will use artificial intelligence to process multiple instructions simultaneously and understand the intent behind commands. “It will redefine how you interact with your car,” Bensaid said, emphasizing that Rivian’s approach prioritizes intuitive functionality over the limitations of current systems. Voice-to-text messaging will be among the assistant’s first capabilities. While many cars already offer this feature, Bensaid said that current options often fall short, citing issues like missed texts and inconsistent emoji support. Rivian’s solution promises to deliver a smoother, more reliable experience, addressing customer frustrations with older systems. “Please be patient with us,” Bensaid urged, noting that while the feature has been in development for two years, Rivian’s high standards have delayed its release. Rivian isn’t the only automaker exploring advanced voice tech. Mercedes-Benz’s MBUX system is rolling out a beta program to integrate ChatGPT. Other cars equipped with Android Auto or Google integration already benefit from Google Assistant, but Google’s more advanced Gemini AI is expected to be added to Android Auto at some point in the future. Rivian’s goal is to surpass these competitors by delivering a seamless, immersive experience that sets a new industry standard. “It’s not that we don’t want to have the feature; we will have it and it will be better than anything we have today in the industry,” Bensaid said. In addition to the voice assistant, Rivian plans to introduce native YouTube integration and Google Cast support by the end of 2024 through over-the-air updates. Rivian’s technological expertise will likely find its way into Volkswagen models at some point as well. Last month, Volkswagen announced a into Rivian to leverage the company’s software and electrical architecture technologies. In-car voice commands have lagged behind the AI-powered tech we’ve quickly grown accustomed to with our phones, but Rivian may be changing that. Bensaid told reporters that he wants a driver to be able to control anything through a voice command that they could control through the touchscreen—all with natural language. If the company can pull off the feat, they’ll be setting a high standard for the rest of the industry to rise to. But what do you think? Do you use your voice assistant in your car? If not, would you use it if you could talk to it in natural language?
New Technology Breakfasts Day One: Lighting And Lasers - Live DesignNEW YORK, Dec. 09, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Solomon Partners , a leading financial advisory firm and independent affiliate of Natixis, is pleased to announce the appointment of Arik Rashkes as a Partner and Group Head. Arik will be responsible for leading and building out a broader coverage effort within the Financial Institutions sector. With the addition of the Financial Institutions Group, Solomon now operates 12 industry groups with over 30 discreet sub-segments. “Launching a Financial Institutions Group aligns with our mission to expand and serve clients across a diverse set of industries,” said Marc Cooper, CEO of Solomon Partners. “We are honored to have Arik, a highly respected expert in the financial services field, join us to lead this new initiative.” Mr. Rashkes brings over 25 years of experience to Solomon Partners. He joins from Houlihan Lokey, where he served as Co-Head of US Financial Services and Head of Insurance. In these roles, he advised numerous Fortune 500 and international companies, mid-caps, entrepreneurs, and private equity investors. His previous experience includes positions at Blackstone Advisory Partners, where he focused on M&A transactions in the insurance sector, and Deutsche Bank in the Financial Institutions Group, where he executed multinational and cross-border transactions for insurance companies. He began his career at Citi in 1999. “Arik epitomizes the strengths Solomon Partners is known for,” added Marc Cooper. “He is among the foremost experts in the insurance industry, an exceptionally talented banker, and a true trusted advisor. His impressive track record of orchestrating complex transactions across the insurance sector speaks for itself.” Mr. Rashkes commented, “There is a tremendous opportunity to build a first-class Financial Institutions Group at Solomon, and I am excited to lead this effort.” Mr. Rashkes earned a BA in Business Administration from the Arison School of Business at Reichman University in Israel and an MBA from Columbia Business School. About Solomon Partners Founded in 1989, Solomon Partners is a leading financial advisory firm with a legacy as one of the oldest independent investment banks. Our difference is unmatched industry knowledge in the sectors we cover, creating superior value with unrivaled wisdom for our clients. We advise clients on mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, restructurings, recapitalizations, capital markets solutions and activism defense across a range of verticals. These include Business Services, Consumer Retail, Distribution, Financial Institutions, FinTech, Financial Sponsors, Healthcare, Grocery, Pharmacy & Restaurants, Industrials, Infrastructure, Power & Renewables, Media and Technology. Solomon Partners is an independently operated affiliate of Natixis, part of Groupe BPCE. For further information, visit solomonpartners.com . A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/c76ea22e-5df8-421e-82b0-aecdb89e6d21
Stony Brook wins 72-55 against Rider
Implements INDATA SaaS on a Front-to-Back Office Basis delivered via iPM Private Cloud GREENWICH, Conn. , Dec. 12, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- INDATA , a leading industry provider of cloud-native, SaaS-based solutions for buyside firms, today announced that Paradigm Capital Management (PCM) is live with INDATA's Software-as-a-Service for Front, Middle and Back Office . With a three-decade history of small-cap investing, Paradigm Capital Management, based in Albany, NY employs a disciplined, bottom-up approach with an emphasis on fundamental analysis and extensive management contact. Paradigm manages $1.8 billion in AUM and offers a range of products including institutional separately managed accounts, proprietary mutual funds, and private wealth via hedge funds and LP's. Paradigm is using the INDATA system for a range of functions including trade order management (OMS), Portfolio Accounting , Performance and Reporting, including managed services for streamlined reconciliation. "We are very pleased to have Paradigm Capital Management as a client. We look forward to partnering with Paradigm on their ongoing needs," commented David Csiki , President of INDATA. About INDATA ® INDATA is a leading specialized provider of SaaS (Software-as-a-Service), technology and managed outsourcing services for buyside firms, including trade order management (OMS), portfolio management, compliance, portfolio accounting and front-to-back office. INDATA iPM Portfolio Architect AITM is the industry's first portfolio construction, modeling, rebalancing and reporting tool based on AI, and Machine Learning. INDATA's iPM – Intelligent Portfolio Management® technology platform allows end users to efficiently collaborate in real-time across the enterprise and contains the best of class functionality demanded by sophisticated institutional investors, wealth managers, and hedge funds. The company's mission is to provide clients with cutting edge technology products and services to increase trading and operational efficiency while reducing risk and administrative overhead. INDATA provides software and services to a variety of buyside clients including asset managers, registered investment advisors, banks and wealth management firms, pension funds and hedge funds. Assets under management range from under $1 billion to more than $100 billion across a variety of asset classes globally. For more information, visit www.indataipm.com Media Contact: David Csiki , dave@indataipm.com View original content: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/paradigm-capital-management-live-with-indata-302330839.html SOURCE INDATAWade Taylor IV racked up 19 points that included eight in the final 3:22 of the game as No. 22 Texas A&M outlasted Texas Tech 72-67 on Sunday afternoon in the USLBM Coast-to-Coast Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas. Texas A&M (8-2) led by as many as 11 points in the first half and by three at halftime before the Red Raiders surged to the front early in the second half. Down 52-49, the Aggies produced an 11-0 surge capped by a jumper by Zhuric Phelps to take a 60-52 advantage with 5:02 to play The Aggies' margin was just two points when Taylor went hard to the hole on back-to-back possessions for layups that pushed the lead to 64-58. A 3-pointer by Tech's Chance McMillian cut lead to three but Taylor, Henry Coleman III and Solomon Washington converted free throws over the final 27 seconds to provide the deciding points for A&M. Jace Carter added 16 points and Phelps had 12 for the Aggies, who have won four straight games. McMillian's 23 points were a game high, while Kevin Overton added 17 and Darrion Williams had 11 for Texas Tech (7-2), which had a three-game winning streak snapped. The Aggies ruled the game's first five minutes, blitzing to a 13-2 lead thanks to eight early points from Taylor and a stifling defense that forced Tech into four turnovers. The Red Raiders responded with an 8-2 run capped by a jumper by Federiko Federiko to close the gap to five points at the 10:57 mark. Texas Tech continued to battle back, clawing to within 26-24 with 5:16 left in the first half thanks to a 9-0 run. Texas A&M boosted the margin to as many as six points after Manny Obaseki hit a layup with 2:23 remaining before McMillian canned a pair of free throws with 41 seconds to play to pull to within 34-31 at the break. Overton led all scorers with 14 points before halftime while Carter paced the Aggies with 13. The Red Raiders pulled even on Federiko's jumper 46 seconds into the second half, went in front on a jumper by Elijah Hawkins with 18:22 to play and pushed their advantage to five points on another Hawkins jumper at the 16:30 mark of the half. The Aggies swung back, tying the contest at 49 when Washington sank a 3-pointer with 10:48 left, setting the stage for the furious finish. --Field Level Media
Longest-lived US president was always happy to speak his mindBy BILL BARROW, Associated Press PLAINS, Ga. (AP) — Newly married and sworn as a Naval officer, Jimmy Carter left his tiny hometown in 1946 hoping to climb the ranks and see the world. Less than a decade later, the death of his father and namesake, a merchant farmer and local politician who went by “Mr. Earl,” prompted the submariner and his wife, Rosalynn, to return to the rural life of Plains, Georgia, they thought they’d escaped. The lieutenant never would be an admiral. Instead, he became commander in chief. Years after his presidency ended in humbling defeat, he would add a Nobel Peace Prize, awarded not for his White House accomplishments but “for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development.” The life of James Earl Carter Jr., the 39th and longest-lived U.S. president, ended Sunday at the age of 100 where it began: Plains, the town of 600 that fueled his political rise, welcomed him after his fall and sustained him during 40 years of service that redefined what it means to be a former president. With the stubborn confidence of an engineer and an optimism rooted in his Baptist faith, Carter described his motivations in politics and beyond in the same way: an almost missionary zeal to solve problems and improve lives. Carter was raised amid racism, abject poverty and hard rural living — realities that shaped both his deliberate politics and emphasis on human rights. “He always felt a responsibility to help people,” said Jill Stuckey, a longtime friend of Carter’s in Plains. “And when he couldn’t make change wherever he was, he decided he had to go higher.” Carter’s path, a mix of happenstance and calculation , pitted moral imperatives against political pragmatism; and it defied typical labels of American politics, especially caricatures of one-term presidents as failures. “We shouldn’t judge presidents by how popular they are in their day. That’s a very narrow way of assessing them,” Carter biographer Jonathan Alter told the Associated Press. “We should judge them by how they changed the country and the world for the better. On that score, Jimmy Carter is not in the first rank of American presidents, but he stands up quite well.” Later in life, Carter conceded that many Americans, even those too young to remember his tenure, judged him ineffective for failing to contain inflation or interest rates, end the energy crisis or quickly bring home American hostages in Iran. He gained admirers instead for his work at The Carter Center — advocating globally for public health, human rights and democracy since 1982 — and the decades he and Rosalynn wore hardhats and swung hammers with Habitat for Humanity. Yet the common view that he was better after the Oval Office than in it annoyed Carter, and his allies relished him living long enough to see historians reassess his presidency. “He doesn’t quite fit in today’s terms” of a left-right, red-blue scoreboard, said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who visited the former president multiple times during his own White House bid. At various points in his political career, Carter labeled himself “progressive” or “conservative” — sometimes both at once. His most ambitious health care bill failed — perhaps one of his biggest legislative disappointments — because it didn’t go far enough to suit liberals. Republicans, especially after his 1980 defeat, cast him as a left-wing cartoon. It would be easiest to classify Carter as a centrist, Buttigieg said, “but there’s also something radical about the depth of his commitment to looking after those who are left out of society and out of the economy.” Indeed, Carter’s legacy is stitched with complexities, contradictions and evolutions — personal and political. The self-styled peacemaker was a war-trained Naval Academy graduate who promised Democratic challenger Ted Kennedy that he’d “kick his ass.” But he campaigned with a call to treat everyone with “respect and compassion and with love.” Carter vowed to restore America’s virtue after the shame of Vietnam and Watergate, and his technocratic, good-government approach didn’t suit Republicans who tagged government itself as the problem. It also sometimes put Carter at odds with fellow Democrats. The result still was a notable legislative record, with wins on the environment, education, and mental health care. He dramatically expanded federally protected lands, began deregulating air travel, railroads and trucking, and he put human rights at the center of U.S. foreign policy. As a fiscal hawk, Carter added a relative pittance to the national debt, unlike successors from both parties. Carter nonetheless struggled to make his achievements resonate with the electorate he charmed in 1976. Quoting Bob Dylan and grinning enthusiastically, he had promised voters he would “never tell a lie.” Once in Washington, though, he led like a joyless engineer, insisting his ideas would become reality and he’d be rewarded politically if only he could convince enough people with facts and logic. This served him well at Camp David, where he brokered peace between Israel’s Menachem Begin and Epypt’s Anwar Sadat, an experience that later sparked the idea of The Carter Center in Atlanta. Carter’s tenacity helped the center grow to a global force that monitored elections across five continents, enabled his freelance diplomacy and sent public health experts across the developing world. The center’s wins were personal for Carter, who hoped to outlive the last Guinea worm parasite, and nearly did. As president, though, the approach fell short when he urged consumers beleaguered by energy costs to turn down their thermostats. Or when he tried to be the nation’s cheerleader, beseeching Americans to overcome a collective “crisis of confidence.” Republican Ronald Reagan exploited Carter’s lecturing tone with a belittling quip in their lone 1980 debate. “There you go again,” the former Hollywood actor said in response to a wonky answer from the sitting president. “The Great Communicator” outpaced Carter in all but six states. Carter later suggested he “tried to do too much, too soon” and mused that he was incompatible with Washington culture: media figures, lobbyists and Georgetown social elites who looked down on the Georgians and their inner circle as “country come to town.” Carter carefully navigated divides on race and class on his way to the Oval Office. Born Oct. 1, 1924 , Carter was raised in the mostly Black community of Archery, just outside Plains, by a progressive mother and white supremacist father. Their home had no running water or electricity but the future president still grew up with the relative advantages of a locally prominent, land-owning family in a system of Jim Crow segregation. He wrote of President Franklin Roosevelt’s towering presence and his family’s Democratic Party roots, but his father soured on FDR, and Jimmy Carter never campaigned or governed as a New Deal liberal. He offered himself as a small-town peanut farmer with an understated style, carrying his own luggage, bunking with supporters during his first presidential campaign and always using his nickname. And he began his political career in a whites-only Democratic Party. As private citizens, he and Rosalynn supported integration as early as the 1950s and believed it inevitable. Carter refused to join the White Citizens Council in Plains and spoke out in his Baptist church against denying Black people access to worship services. “This is not my house; this is not your house,” he said in a churchwide meeting, reminding fellow parishioners their sanctuary belonged to God. Yet as the appointed chairman of Sumter County schools he never pushed to desegregate, thinking it impractical after the Supreme Court’s 1954 Brown v. Board decision. And while presidential candidate Carter would hail the 1965 Voting Rights Act, signed by fellow Democrat Lyndon Johnson when Carter was a state senator, there is no record of Carter publicly supporting it at the time. Carter overcame a ballot-stuffing opponent to win his legislative seat, then lost the 1966 governor’s race to an arch-segregationist. He won four years later by avoiding explicit mentions of race and campaigning to the right of his rival, who he mocked as “Cufflinks Carl” — the insult of an ascendant politician who never saw himself as part the establishment. Carter’s rural and small-town coalition in 1970 would match any victorious Republican electoral map in 2024. Once elected, though, Carter shocked his white conservative supporters — and landed on the cover of Time magazine — by declaring that “the time for racial discrimination is over.” Before making the jump to Washington, Carter befriended the family of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., whom he’d never sought out as he eyed the governor’s office. Carter lamented his foot-dragging on school integration as a “mistake.” But he also met, conspicuously, with Alabama’s segregationist Gov. George Wallace to accept his primary rival’s endorsement ahead of the 1976 Democratic convention. “He very shrewdly took advantage of his own Southerness,” said Amber Roessner, a University of Tennessee professor and expert on Carter’s campaigns. A coalition of Black voters and white moderate Democrats ultimately made Carter the last Democratic presidential nominee to sweep the Deep South. Then, just as he did in Georgia, he used his power in office to appoint more non-whites than all his predecessors had, combined. He once acknowledged “the secret shame” of white Americans who didn’t fight segregation. But he also told Alter that doing more would have sacrificed his political viability – and thus everything he accomplished in office and after. King’s daughter, Bernice King, described Carter as wisely “strategic” in winning higher offices to enact change. “He was a leader of conscience,” she said in an interview. Rosalynn Carter, who died on Nov. 19 at the age of 96, was identified by both husband and wife as the “more political” of the pair; she sat in on Cabinet meetings and urged him to postpone certain priorities, like pressing the Senate to relinquish control of the Panama Canal. “Let that go until the second term,” she would sometimes say. The president, recalled her former aide Kathy Cade, retorted that he was “going to do what’s right” even if “it might cut short the time I have.” Rosalynn held firm, Cade said: “She’d remind him you have to win to govern.” Carter also was the first president to appoint multiple women as Cabinet officers. Yet by his own telling, his career sprouted from chauvinism in the Carters’ early marriage: He did not consult Rosalynn when deciding to move back to Plains in 1953 or before launching his state Senate bid a decade later. Many years later, he called it “inconceivable” that he didn’t confer with the woman he described as his “full partner,” at home, in government and at The Carter Center. “We developed a partnership when we were working in the farm supply business, and it continued when Jimmy got involved in politics,” Rosalynn Carter told AP in 2021. So deep was their trust that when Carter remained tethered to the White House in 1980 as 52 Americans were held hostage in Tehran, it was Rosalynn who campaigned on her husband’s behalf. “I just loved it,” she said, despite the bitterness of defeat. Fair or not, the label of a disastrous presidency had leading Democrats keep their distance, at least publicly, for many years, but Carter managed to remain relevant, writing books and weighing in on societal challenges. He lamented widening wealth gaps and the influence of money in politics. He voted for democratic socialist Bernie Sanders over Hillary Clinton in 2016, and later declared that America had devolved from fully functioning democracy to “oligarchy.” Yet looking ahead to 2020, with Sanders running again, Carter warned Democrats not to “move to a very liberal program,” lest they help re-elect President Donald Trump. Carter scolded the Republican for his serial lies and threats to democracy, and chided the U.S. establishment for misunderstanding Trump’s populist appeal. He delighted in yearly convocations with Emory University freshmen, often asking them to guess how much he’d raised in his two general election campaigns. “Zero,” he’d gesture with a smile, explaining the public financing system candidates now avoid so they can raise billions. Carter still remained quite practical in partnering with wealthy corporations and foundations to advance Carter Center programs. Carter recognized that economic woes and the Iran crisis doomed his presidency, but offered no apologies for appointing Paul Volcker as the Federal Reserve chairman whose interest rate hikes would not curb inflation until Reagan’s presidency. He was proud of getting all the hostages home without starting a shooting war, even though Tehran would not free them until Reagan’s Inauguration Day. “Carter didn’t look at it” as a failure, Alter emphasized. “He said, ‘They came home safely.’ And that’s what he wanted.” Well into their 90s, the Carters greeted visitors at Plains’ Maranatha Baptist Church, where he taught Sunday School and where he will have his last funeral before being buried on family property alongside Rosalynn . Carter, who made the congregation’s collection plates in his woodworking shop, still garnered headlines there, calling for women’s rights within religious institutions, many of which, he said, “subjugate” women in church and society. Carter was not one to dwell on regrets. “I am at peace with the accomplishments, regret the unrealized goals and utilize my former political position to enhance everything we do,” he wrote around his 90th birthday. The politician who had supposedly hated Washington politics also enjoyed hosting Democratic presidential contenders as public pilgrimages to Plains became advantageous again. Carter sat with Buttigieg for the final time March 1, 2020, hours before the Indiana mayor ended his campaign and endorsed eventual winner Joe Biden. “He asked me how I thought the campaign was going,” Buttigieg said, recalling that Carter flashed his signature grin and nodded along as the young candidate, born a year after Carter left office, “put the best face” on the walloping he endured the day before in South Carolina. Never breaking his smile, the 95-year-old host fired back, “I think you ought to drop out.” “So matter of fact,” Buttigieg said with a laugh. “It was somehow encouraging.” Carter had lived enough, won plenty and lost enough to take the long view. “He talked a lot about coming from nowhere,” Buttigieg said, not just to attain the presidency but to leverage “all of the instruments you have in life” and “make the world more peaceful.” In his farewell address as president, Carter said as much to the country that had embraced and rejected him. “The struggle for human rights overrides all differences of color, nation or language,” he declared. “Those who hunger for freedom, who thirst for human dignity and who suffer for the sake of justice — they are the patriots of this cause.” Carter pledged to remain engaged with and for them as he returned “home to the South where I was born and raised,” home to Plains, where that young lieutenant had indeed become “a fellow citizen of the world.” —- Bill Barrow, based in Atlanta, has covered national politics including multiple presidential campaigns for the AP since 2012.Forte scores 21, South Dakota beats Western Illinois 89-66
As Breckenridge heads into 2025, it is gearing up for a year with an anticipated $157.4 million in expenditures, a $23 million deficit in cash flow and minimal revenue growth. In 2025, the town anticipates having a net revenue of $137.5 million. While the town is spending more than it is bringing in, its finance department said the town remains in a strong financial position. Finance director Dave Byrd said the town is coming into a year where it has the opportunity to tackle a number of projects and this is driving expenses. “We’ve got Project Runway kicking off ... we also have major infrastructure projects in our capital fund, and it was kind of a year where both things are really happening at the same time, and we’re in very good condition financially to weather these investments, but it led to a negative cash flow for 2025,” Byrd said. Project Runway will bring a new 140-150 unit neighborhood to the Airport Road area geared toward the local workforce. Breckenridge plans to put around $8.6 million toward kicking off the project in 2025, which is anticipated to take 2-3 years. Due to upcoming construction on the site, the 2024-25 ski season will likely be Airport Road’s last year housing free skier parking , since the development will be on top of where the parking lot is currently located. While officials are eyeing the McCain property as free skier parking’s new home, no plans have been solidified. The town is going into a year where it plans to knock numerous public works projects off its list, totaling a $13.3 million price tag. The heftiest price tag, accounting for nearly half the overall price tag at $6.6 million, belongs to a culvert bridge and roadway rebuild on Broken Lance Drive. Breckenridge will also be putting $3 million of its capital fund budget to roadway resurfacing and $2 million toward Fiber 9600 infrastructure . It will also be spending $1.5 million on a skate park expansion. In a staff memo for an Oct. 22 meeting, it outlined staff anticipating “minimal revenue growth while personnel and operating costs continue to rise.” Byrd said what the town has been able to collect in taxes has plateaued in the last couple years. “We had our COVID Boom, and that kind of hit its peak in 2022 and now things have kind of leveled off, right,” Byrd said. Breckenridge reaped the rewards of a stark influx in visitation to mountain towns during the COVID-19 pandemic and had record-high tax collections. In 2021 the town collected an unprecedented $11 million in real estate transfer taxes. Collections from the tax have since dropped down to $6 million annually and it is anticipated to remain that way for the next five years. Similarly, Breckenridge’s accommodations tax for lodging jumped 50% from 2020 to 2021 yet saw declines in 2023 and 2024 and expects to see another in 2025. The town’s finance department predicts it will collect around $300,000 less in accommodations tax from 2024 to 2025. Additionally, it is assuming reductions in revenue from its marijuana, facilities and childcare funds. Senior accountant Tracey Lambert explained to council at an Oct. 8 budget retreat a 4.5% merit increase, given to personnel on the anniversary of their start date with the town, will drive up Breckenridge’s 2025 expenditures. Healthcare costs for personnel are expected to rise $200,000 based on staffing levels and the town plans to add 7.5 new employees to its payroll. Town Council members were particularly keen on supporting budget increases to programs geared toward housing affordability and sustainability. In 2024, Breckenridge saw significant demands in its programs geared toward housing affordability, warranting mid-year appropriations, and had taken those considerations into their 2025 proposed budget. During a July Breckenridge Town Council meeting, housing manager Laurie Best informed council the town had spent 85% of its Housing Helps Budget , a program which incentives residents to deed restrict their homes to ensure there’s affordable housing stock for the workforce, by the end of June. With $2.13 of the $2.5 million budget being spent by the last week of June, council approved $600,000 in appropriations at an Aug. 27 meeting. For 2025, the town is budgeting around $3 million for the program. Breckenridge staff members proposed a budget increase to expand its electric bike program at an Oct. 22 meeting, which council unanimously approved. In the proposed budget, it details a $478,000 spend on the program, which is up from around $360,000 in 2024. Council showed no hesitation toward approving the increase, with council member Todd Rankin noting he “loved the program” and council member Dick Carleton adding he was once hesitant about the launch of the program but now sees its value. Mobility staff members reported to council the program saw a near 52% increase in usage year over year. The budget increase they sought approval for would up bikes in the program from 125 to 170 and the number of bike hubs from 26 to 30. Breckenridge Town Council unanimously approved the 2025 budget during a Tuesday, Oct. 22 meeting.
DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Niger’s ruling junta suspended the BBC for three months over the broadcaster’s coverage of an extremist attack that allegedly killed dozens of Nigerien soldiers and civilians, authorities said Thursday. “BBC broadcasts false information aimed at destabilizing social calm and undermining the troops’ morale,” communications minister Raliou Sidi Mohamed said in letters to radio stations that rebroadcast BBC content. Mohamed asked the stations to suspend BBC’s programs “with immediate effect.” The BBC said it had no comment on the suspension. Popular BBC programs, including those in Hausa — the most-spoken language in Niger — are broadcast in the Central African country through local radio partners to reach a large audience across the region. The British broadcaster had reported on its website in Hausa on Wednesday that gunmen had killed more than 90 Nigerien soldiers and more than 40 civilians in two villages near the border with Burkina Faso. The French broadcaster Radio France International, also known as RFI, also reported on the attack, calling it a jihadi attack and citing the same death toll. Niger’s authorities denied that an attack happened in the area in a statement read on state television and said it would file a complain against RFI for “incitement to genocide.” Niger, along with its neighbors Burkina Faso and Mali, has for over a decade battled an insurgency fought by jihadi groups, including some allied with al-Qaida and the Islamic State group. Following military coups in all three nations in recent years, the ruling juntas have expelled French forces and turned to Russia’s mercenary units for security assistance. But the has worsened since the juntas took power, analysts say, with a record number of attacks and civilians killed both by Islamic militants and government forces. Meanwhile, the ruling juntas have . Earlier this year, Malian authorities from reporting on the activities of political parties and associations. Burkina Faso radio stations for their coverage of a mass killing of civilians carried out by the country’s armed forces. In August 2023, Niger banned French broadcasters France 24 and RFI, a month after its military rulers took power in a coup. “Generally speaking, the three juntas censor the media as soon as the security situation in the country is addressed in an unpleasant manner or when abuses are revealed,” Sadibou Marong, head of the sub-Saharan Africa office of Reporters Without Borders, told The Associated Press in September. “Finding reliable and neutral information on government activities has become extremely complex, as has covering security situation in these countries,” Marong added.
Glory to grit: the Rio and the RitzBowser scores 16, Furman takes down South Carolina State 68-64
Swiss Re AG ( OTCMKTS:SSREY – Get Free Report ) saw a large decrease in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 24,200 shares, a decrease of 56.9% from the November 30th total of 56,200 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 54,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.4 days. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In A number of analysts have commented on SSREY shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Swiss Re from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Berenberg Bank upgraded Swiss Re to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Citigroup upgraded Swiss Re to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Swiss Re from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Swiss Re from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy”. Get Our Latest Report on Swiss Re Swiss Re Trading Down 0.5 % About Swiss Re ( Get Free Report ) Swiss Re AG, together with its subsidiaries, provides wholesale reinsurance, insurance, other insurance-based forms of risk transfer, and other insurance-related services worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Property & Casualty Reinsurance, Life & Health Reinsurance, and Corporate Solutions. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Swiss Re Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Swiss Re and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .Invisible farmers
College football team backs out of bowl appearance after losing over two dozen players to transfers READ MORE: Donald Trump slams President Biden for never going to Army-Navy By JAKE FENNER Published: 19:56, 14 December 2024 | Updated: 20:01, 14 December 2024 e-mail View comments College football players opting out of bowl games has become a common ordeal as athletes try to stay healthy for the NFL Draft. But an entire team has decided to forgo its bowl appearance this year after losing too many players. The Marshall Thundering Herd football team has notified officials that they will be backing out of the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl this season, according to Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger . DailyMail.com After winning the Sun Belt Conference championship, the 10-3 Thundering Herd will no longer be set to play the No.22 ranked Army Black Knights (11-2). This news comes days after head coach Charles Huff decided to leave the team to take the job at Southern Mississippi . Not only has the coach departed, but over 25 players from Marshall have decided to enter the transfer portal - with some of them following Huff. Three of the team's quarterbacks, Marshall's leading rusher from the season prior, three of their top-seven leading receivers, and their star linebacker are among the names that are leaving the team. Marshall University's football team will be backing out of their Independence Bowl appearance Coach Charles Huff departed the school for Southern Miss and over two dozen players have put their names into the transfer portal - including multiple offensive and defensive starters Read More Donald Trump set to watch Army-Navy with Defense pick Pete Hegseth, Ron DeSantis and Daniel Penny The NCAA Transfer Portal officially opened this past Monday and will remain open until December 28. Players need to leave their current schools with plenty of time in order to enroll in their new institutions in time for the spring semester. More than 2,800 FBS scholarship players put their names into the portal last season, according to On3 Sports. Not all of those players found new schools, as some withdrew from the portal while others went pro. Now, the NCAA is in the tough position of trying to find a new team to replace Marshall. Teams are considered 'bowl eligible' when they reach a record of 6-6. But this season, all of the teams with that record had been assigned bowl berths. Now, the NCAA has to determine its replacement through a ranking of NCAA Academic Progress Report scores of teams that went 5-7 this season. Share or comment on this article: College football team backs out of bowl appearance after losing over two dozen players to transfers e-mail Add commentMahakumbh boosting local economy besides being a spiritual event
Steve Bannon held his microphone out to the crowd. “Should (Mike) Johnson be speaker of the House?” he asked. “Nooo,” came the reply, as Bannon, the longtime ally of Republican President-elect Donald Trump, spoke at a Dec. 19 “AmericaFest” rally of Turning Point USA, a right-wing advocacy organization. Bannon, who said at the event that Johnson “has got to go,” spoke in Phoenix as the U.S. House debated an end-of-session spending package. Congress ultimately passed a Johnson-endorsed, stopgap funding bill signed by Democratic President Joe Biden on Dec. 21 to avert a government shutdown ahead of the holidays. But Bannon’s remarks foretold likely challenges to Johnson. As the opening of the new Congress approaches on Friday, Johnson’s leadership is being questioned by, among others, Maryland Rep. Andy Harris, who heads the House Freedom Caucus, and Pennsylvania Rep. Scott Perry, who previously led the hard-line conservative group. Neither will commit to backing the Louisiana Republican. The speaker will help determine whether Trump can succeed on an agenda that includes policy shifts on taxes, voting and border policy. Underlying the GOP’s turmoil is how closely it should work with Democrats, if at all, particularly on spending issues. “The political class is infected with a malignant cancer. That cancer is bipartisanship, right?” Bannon told the crowd. Johnson, he said, “doesn’t have what we call the right stuff, right? That combination of guts and moxie and savvy and toughness.” Bannon, who previously served four months in prison for defying a congressional subpoena, is awaiting trial in a case alleging he was part of a scheme to dupe donors who contributed to help build a wall on the Mexican border. Other Republicans have also questioned Johnson’s leadership. Sen. Rand Paul, the Kentucky Republican, recently floated a proposal to elect billionaire Elon Musk, a Trump adviser and ally, as speaker. The speaker is not required to be an elected House member. The election will occur after the new Congress assumes office on Jan. 3. “Nothing would disrupt the swamp more than electing Elon Musk,” Paul posted on X. “Think about it ... nothing’s impossible. (not to mention the joy at seeing the collective establishment, aka ‘uniparty,’ lose their ever-lovin’ minds).” As Congress raced to avoid a shutdown before Christmas, Musk was instrumental in sinking an earlier spending proposal by House Republicans — Democrats also backed it — to head off a government shutdown. The package contained about $100 billion in disaster aid, including a federal commitment long sought by Maryland lawmakers to pay the full cost of replacing the Francis Scott Key Bridge following its March collapse. Musk, citing a pay increase for Congress among other objections, attacked the bill on X, his social media platform, calling it “dead.” Johnson, who has supported Trump, then pitched the alternative that was ultimately approved. He needed a deal acceptable not only to most Republicans but also to Democrats, whose votes were required because the GOP majority was so slim. The final package included the Key Bridge funding commitment but neither the pay raise nor a Trump proposal to suspend the debt ceiling — the amount the government can borrow. The party was similarly divided in 2023 when its far-right voting bloc expressed dissatisfaction with former Speaker Kevin McCarthy of California, saying he had not forcefully resisted the Democratic agenda. Johnson, who replaced McCarthy, said at the time that he would emphasize bringing up individual spending bills instead of putting funding measures into a large package as executive branch spending authority is about to run out. — Jeff Barker / Baltimore SunSAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 12, 2024-- Ambient.ai, the AI-powered computer vision intelligence (CVI) company transforming the physical security industry, has introduced a major evolution in its platform: Ambient Intelligence. By integrating cutting-edge natural language processing (NLP) and computer vision models, Ambient.ai delivers human-level understanding, capable of comprehending scenes captured by security cameras even better than humans at scale. The platform’s powerful contextual understanding enables security teams to minimize nuisance alerts and focus on the critical threats that matter. This breakthrough marks a pivotal step toward autonomous security operations, pushing the boundaries of threat detection and response. With Ambient.ai, incidents are not only detected but prevented. Contextual intelligence for incident prevention “From the beginning, our vision at Ambient.ai has been to create a contextually intelligent system, capable of preventing incidents from happening,” said Shikhar Shrestha, CEO and co-founder of Ambient.ai. “With Ambient Intelligence, we’re now realizing that vision — empowering security teams to instantly pinpoint the two or three incidents that truly matter across hundreds of cameras.” Ambient Intelligence enables security teams to shift from reactive monitoring to proactive threat assessment. By understanding the context of each event, the system categorizes incidents by severity — from low-risk activities like writing on a whiteboard to high-severity threats like break-ins or vandalism. “With recent advancements in our vision models, the signal-to-noise ratio has dramatically shifted in favor of the signal,” said Vikesh Khanna, CTO and co-founder of Ambient.ai. “This is not an incremental improvement — it’s a transformative change in our ability to use context and detect highly specific behaviors. Security teams have long sought a proactive solution to ensure the safety of their people, places, and assets — and I believe we have just taken a giant leap in that direction with Ambient Intelligence.” Pioneering autonomous physical security operations Ambient.ai’s latest innovations signal a new era for the physical security industry. The company's advanced NLP and computer vision models now automate security operations with a level of contextual understanding that was previously unattainable. By enabling AI to take on a more proactive role, security teams can focus on tasks requiring human intuition while relying on Ambient Intelligence to identify and assess the most significant security events. This evolution offers unmatched precision in detecting and responding to threats, creating a future where autonomous security operations become the standard. Learn more about the impact Ambient.ai can have on your physical security operations. About Ambient.ai Founded in 2017 by CEO Shikhar Shrestha and CTO Vikesh Khanna, Ambient.ai is a unified, AI-powered physical security platform that helps enterprise organizations reduce risk, improve security operational efficiency, and gain critical insights. Trailblazing enterprises and multiple Fortune 500 organizations across a variety of industries leverage Ambient.ai to unify their security infrastructure and significantly enhance their security posture. For more information, please visit ambient.ai. View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241212444624/en/ CONTACT: Name: Atul Ashok Email:atul.ashok@ambient.ai KEYWORD: CALIFORNIA UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA INDUSTRY KEYWORD: SECURITY IOT (INTERNET OF THINGS) TECHNOLOGY AUDIO/VIDEO SOFTWARE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE HARDWARE SOURCE: Ambient.ai Copyright Business Wire 2024. PUB: 12/12/2024 05:36 PM/DISC: 12/12/2024 05:35 PM http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241212444624/en
A is in hospital with life-threatening injuries after trying to squeeze between two trucks on a freeway. or signup to continue reading The 24-year-old Werribee man was riding on Melbourne's West Gate Freeway, near the Williamstown Road exit, in Spotswood when he collided with the trucks at 4.30pm on December 12. One of the truck drivers stopped after the crash but police are searching for the other driver, who they said left the scene, and was last spotted driving west on the freeway. "Investigators would like to speak to the driver of the truck and are appealing for anyone with dash cam vision, or who witnessed the collision, to contact police," Victoria Police said. Witnesses told police the motorcyclist was 'lane filtering' between the trucks when they collided. Lane filtering is where a motorcycle rider moves between cars in stopped or slow-moving traffic at 30 kilometres per hour or less. It is legal in Victoria. The motorcycle rider was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries. The collision caused major traffic disruptions in the area for several hours, police said. Anna Houlahan reports on crime and social issues affecting regional and remote Australia in her role as national crime reporter at Australian Community Media (ACM). She was ACM’s Trainee of the Year in 2023 and, aside from reporting on crime, has travelled the country as a journalist for Explore Travel Magazine. Reach out with news or updates to anna.houlahan@austcommunitymedia.com.au Anna Houlahan reports on crime and social issues affecting regional and remote Australia in her role as national crime reporter at Australian Community Media (ACM). She was ACM’s Trainee of the Year in 2023 and, aside from reporting on crime, has travelled the country as a journalist for Explore Travel Magazine. Reach out with news or updates to anna.houlahan@austcommunitymedia.com.au DAILY Today's top stories curated by our news team. WEEKDAYS Grab a quick bite of today's latest news from around the region and the nation. WEEKLY The latest news, results & expert analysis. WEEKDAYS Catch up on the news of the day and unwind with great reading for your evening. WEEKLY Get the editor's insights: what's happening & why it matters. WEEKLY Love footy? We've got all the action covered. WEEKLY Every Saturday and Tuesday, explore destinations deals, tips & travel writing to transport you around the globe. WEEKLY Going out or staying in? Find out what's on. WEEKDAYS Sharp. Close to the ground. Digging deep. Your weekday morning newsletter on national affairs, politics and more. TWICE WEEKLY Your essential national news digest: all the big issues on Wednesday and great reading every Saturday. WEEKLY Get news, reviews and expert insights every Thursday from CarExpert, ACM's exclusive motoring partner. TWICE WEEKLY Get real, Australia! Let the ACM network's editors and journalists bring you news and views from all over. AS IT HAPPENS Be the first to know when news breaks. DAILY Your digital replica of Today's Paper. Ready to read from 5am! DAILY Test your skills with interactive crosswords, sudoku & trivia. Fresh daily! Advertisement AdvertisementIndia News | Assam Rifles Destroys 354 Acres of Illicit Poppy Cultivation in 2024
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Nebraska offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen has no shortage of memories of the Iowa football program. An Iowa native born in Davenport, Holgorsen’s days as a Hawkeye fan are long in the past — but he remembers what it’s like to coach against them. An experience that Holgorsen first underwent as a young Texas Tech assistant in 2001 will be reprised again this weekend. “Twenty-some years later, it’s the same scheme, the same coach, the same everything; this is crazy,” Holgorsen said of Iowa. “It’s going to take another good effort and more improvement to be able to go to Iowa and play in that atmosphere against a good football team.” Nebraska’s recent surge on offense will have the Huskers feeling confident about their upcoming matchup. While Nebraska may not have equaled its recent 44-point outburst against Wisconsin during a loss to USC two weeks prior, foundational improvements were there from the start in Holgorsen’s eyes. Despite scoring 13 points on offense against the Trojans, the Husker offense “just felt better” in that game, Holgorsen said, leading to a “very motivated team” during the week’s practice efforts. And when NU hit the field on Saturday, improvements were there. After struggling to finish drives against USC, Nebraska scored five touchdowns in its seven red zone attempts against Wisconsin. Nebraska threw the ball well, protected its quarterback and found a "difference-maker" in running back Emmett Johnson. “We ran the ball better; that’s the second week in a row I thought the O-line has played well,” Holgorsen said. “Dylan (Raiola) hasn’t been hit a whole lot, he feels good, he’s getting better and processing things well. We’re throwing it and catching it better and our receivers are in the right spots.” It’s been no easy task to drive those improvements in a short amount of time. Holgorsen has only been in Lincoln for a little over three weeks, having first been summoned by head coach Matt Rhule to evaluate the team’s offense before taking over control of it. Midseason coordinator changes may not be rare, but hiring a new face from outside the program is, and Holgorsen admits it made for a “rough” first week on the job. After all, none of the Husker coaches Holgorsen was joining and players he was beginning to coach knew exactly how the situation would play out. Instead, they had to go through it together. “I started getting into the offensive room and those coaches were looking at me crazy like, ‘What are you doing here?’ It’s just true, so we had to sit down and talk and start feeling things out and start working together,” Holgorsen said. “Give those assistant coaches a lot of credit because they didn’t bat an eye. I thought we were smart with how we handled it — I could’ve came in here and changed specific things and that wouldn’t have been the right thing to do for the coaches and the players. I was the one that had to learn.” A desire to challenge himself was one reason Holgorsen said he took the Nebraska job, something which showed up in the new offensive language he needed to familiarize himself with. Having come up as a young coach in the Air Raid offense, Holgorsen exclusively learned, mastered and taught those principles in the years since. It had been 35 years since he last had to learn a new offensive language, Holgorsen estimated. Flash cards with terminology from the Nebraska offense and help from other assistants have helped smooth over that process. Holgorsen may not have been able to stamp his identity all over the offense yet, but he has been able to tweak things, including the very playbook Nebraska operates from. Rhule’s original concepts of a pro-style offense have been added to, transformed and adjusted over the years, with current coaches Marcus Satterfield, Glenn Thomas and Donovan Raiola all bringing different principles and focuses to the playbook. “There’s just all kinds of ideas, so that playbook got pretty big,” Holgorsen said. “I was just like, ‘Look, there’s only one sheet and whatever’s on the sheet is what’s going to get called.’” Trimming down the number of plays Nebraska practices is one such adjustment Holgorsen has made, a process that is collaborative among the Husker coaching staff. Holgorsen also said Nebraska was “probably playing people in too many different spots,” something he’s looked to change so players can focus on their individual roles with more accuracy. “We’ve done a good job of coming together and coming up with a plan of what makes sense to our players,” Holgorsen said. “If it don’t make sense to me, it ain’t gonna make sense to them.” Those changes, and the potential Nebraska showed on offense last week, have excited Husker fans about what the future of a Holgorsen-led offense will look like. However, nothing is guaranteed yet. Holgorsen said that when taking the job he told Rhule he’d get the team ready for USC, Wisconsin and Iowa before figuring out what the future holds. “I don’t want to talk about it, and I don’t want to know what’s next,” Holgorsen. What Holgorsen does know is that he’s enjoying the opportunity in front of him. In part because of the responsibilities he had as a head coach compared to being an offensive coordinator, Holgorsen said he had “more fun on Saturday than I’ve had in a long time” overseeing the Husker offense. As Holgorsen continues furthering improvements within the Nebraska offense, the only guarantee Husker fans have is that he’ll be on the sidelines Friday. It’s currently “the plan” that he will continue as Nebraska’s playcaller during its bowl game, Holgorsen said. “My plan’s to focus on Iowa, try to beat Iowa and see what happens after that.” Get local news delivered to your inbox!
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