Fluence Energy, Inc. Announces Convertible Notes Offering and Intention to Enter into Capped Call Transactions
Ian Schieffelin, Clemson topple Penn State to win Sunshine SlamABC propels Dutton’s disinformation dealersTweet Facebook Mail People living in central and southeastern parts of the country have been warned to brace for intense heat this weekend. Victorians, in particular, will feel the heat, with temperatures expected to hit up to 45 in some areas – the first time in four years. The extreme temperatures will bring severe heatwave conditions to both Victoria and South Australia. READ MORE: Woman sexually assaulted while walking at Melbourne's Flinders Street Station Victoria's first 45°C in four years could happen on Monday. (Weatherzone) Severe heatwave conditions are currently peaking over southwestern Western Australia , including the Perth Metropolitan Area, and are expected to gradually move eastward later in the week, reaching South Australia and Victoria by the weekend. "This weekend will see temperatures approaching five to 10 degrees above average throughout much of South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania and New South Wales," Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Miriam Bradbury said. "Monday will be the hottest day with temperatures up to 16 degrees above average." READ MORE: Truck driver wanted after motorcyclist hit on major Melbourne freeway Forecast wind and temperature at 5pm AEDT on Monday, December 16. (Weatherzone) Wildfires to cyclone bomb: Extreme weather hits the US View Gallery Adelaide will be the first to hit 40 degrees on Sunday, followed by Melbourne on Monday. If Melbourne reaches 40 degrees, it will mark the warmest December day since 2019. "Other parts of Victoria and New South Wales could be in the low to mid-40s, inland NSW could even reach the high 40s on Monday," Bradbury said. READ MORE: Why a 35-degree day can 'feel like' 40 degrees "Along with the heat, windy conditions and a lack of rain are likely to lead to a spike in fire danger for much of the southeast." Victoria will see a cool change on Monday night and Tuesday morning. DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP : Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. Available on the Apple App Store and Google Play .
Voice cloning is an emerging technology powered by artificial intelligence and it's raising alarms about its potential misuse. Earlier this year, New Hampshire voters experienced this firsthand when a deepfake mimicking President Joe Biden’s voice urged them to skip the polls ahead of the primary. The deepfake likely needed only several seconds of the president's voice to create the clone. According to multiple AI voice cloning models, about 10 seconds of an actual voice is all that is needed to recreate it. And that can easily come from a phone call or a video from social media. "A person's voice is really probably not that information-dense. It's not as unique as you may think," James Betker, a technical staff member at OpenAI, told Scripps News. Betker developed TortoiseTTS, an open-source voice cloning model. "It's actually very easy to model, very easy to learn, the distribution of all human voices from a fairly small amount of data," Betker added. How AI voice cloning works AI models have been trained on vast amounts of data, learning to recognize human speech. Programs analyze the data and train repeatedly, learning characteristics such as rhythm, stress, pitch and tone. "It can look at 10 seconds of someone speaking and it has stored enough information about how humans speak with that kind of prosody and pitch. Enough information about how people speak with their processing pitch and its weights that it can just continue on," Betker said. Imagine a trained AI model as a teacher, and the person cloning the voice to be a student. When a student asks to create a cloned voice, it starts off as white noise. The teacher scores how close the student is to sounding correct. The student tries again and again based on these scores until the student produces something close to what the teacher wants. While this explanation is extremely simplified, the concept of generating a cloned voice is based on bit-by-bit, based on probability distributions. "I think, at its core, it's pretty simple," Betker said. "I think the analogy of just continuing with what you're given will take you pretty far here." There are currently some AI models that claim to only need two seconds of samples. While the results are not convincing yet, Betker says future models will need even fewer voice samples to create a convincing clone.Dom Amore: How Steve Cohen, Juan Soto and the Mets have shifted the landscape for CT baseball fansAMMAN, Jordan — President Joe Biden on Tuesday announced Israel and Lebanon have reached a ceasefire agreement meant to pause fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah. The 14-month conflict has left more than 3,000 people dead. “Effective 4 a.m. tomorrow local time the fighting across the Lebanese-Israeli border will end. Will end,” Biden said from the White House. “This is designed to be a permanent cessation of hostilities. I applaud the courageous leaders of Lebanon and Israel end the violence.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier Tuesday he had recommended that this government approve the agreement. Though the deal does not involve the separate conflict in Gaza Strip, Biden administration officials said they hoped it would lead to an agreement to end fighting there, too. Even as the deal was finalized, Israeli warplanes launched a series of airstrikes across Lebanon, striking areas in the country’s southern and eastern regions, along with the suburbs of the capital — areas where Hezbollah holds sway. Several airstrikes also hit the heart of Beirut, killing at least 10 people, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry. In a televised address on Tuesday evening local time, Netanyahu said he would present the outline of the proposal to the government, pushing his ministers to accept the move despite reservations from far-right leaders who are integral members of his coalition. “The length of the ceasefire will depend on what happens in Lebanon,” Netanyahu said. He added that Israel would maintain freedom to act against violations. “If Hezbollah breaks the agreement and seeks to arm itself, we will attack,” he said. The agreement would not immediately affect the fighting in Gaza Strip with the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Netanyahu pushed his ministers to accept the agreement, arguing it would allow Israel to focus its attention on the threat from Iran, give Israeli troops an opportunity to replenish their stocks and isolate Hamas. The agreement will initiate a 60-day truce that would see both sides withdraw: Israeli troops out of south Lebanon to Israeli territory, and Hezbollah to areas north of the Litani River, some 18 miles north of the Lebanese-Israeli border. During the truce, a monitoring mechanism would be established that would ensure Hezbollah is not able to reconstitute itself or wage attacks on Israel from southern Lebanon. A U.S.-led committee would oversee implementation of the withdrawal. Lebanese officials say some 5,000 soldiers from Lebanon’s army — which has remained neutral during the conflict — would then enter south Lebanon, along with U.N. peacekeeping forces. Lebanon’s caretaker government is set to meet Wednesday morning to discuss the proposal; it is widely expected to be approved. Despite the optimism, many elements of the ceasefire proposal — which came about after vigorous negotiations brokered by the U.S. and France — remain unclear. One of the larger sticking points is whether Israel would be able to continue striking Hezbollah throughout Lebanon if the group attempts to reestablish a presence south of the Litani River, or if it continues to wage attacks on Israel or smuggle weapons. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz told the U.N.’s Lebanon envoy Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert on Tuesday that Israel would act “forcefully” against any breach of the ceasefire agreement. “If you do not act, we will do it, forcefully,” Katz said in a statement. “Any house rebuilt in south Lebanon and used as a terrorist base will be destroyed, any rearming or terrorist organization will be attacked, any attempt at transferring arms will be foiled, and any threat against our forces or our citizens will be immediately eliminated.” Lebanese leaders have dismissed such an agreement as an unacceptable breach of Lebanon’s sovereignty. The ceasefire would officially be an agreement between Israel and Lebanon. It includes a Lebanese lawmaker who has been negotiating on Hezbollah’s behalf. But Hezbollah, a paramilitary faction and political party which is backed by Iran, is not officially a party to the agreement. Another question is the fate of Hezbollah’s weapons. Before the war, the group was considered one of the world’s premier paramilitary factions, with an arsenal more powerful than that of the Lebanese army. The ceasefire agreement, which is based on a U.N. resolution that established a ceasefire in the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel, has provisions that would force the group to surrender its arms. A ceasefire would end a 13-month conflict that began a day after Hamas attacked southern Israel, when Hezbollah initiated a rocket campaign in northern Israel in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. In the months of tit-for-tat strikes that followed, some 60,000 people from northern Israel and approximately 100,000 Lebanese from southern Lebanon were displaced. In September, Israel escalated its attacks, conducting thousands of airstrikes on Hezbollah-dominated parts of the country and starting an invasion that saw Israeli troops enter southern Lebanon for the first time since 2006. It also assassinated Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah . Since Oct. 8, 2023, more than 3,823 people have been killed in Lebanon and 15,859 injured, according to Lebanese government data, the majority of them in the last two months. More than 25% of those killed were women and children, according to the government data, which do not distinguish between civilians and combatants. Meanwhile, some 1.2 million people — almost a quarter of Lebanon’s population — have been displaced, with wide swaths of the country destroyed. The Israeli government said on Tuesday that 78 Israelis have been killed in attacks by Hezbollah and its allies, including 47 civilians. Even as senior Israeli ministers were meeting at Israeli military headquarters in Tel Aviv, Israeli warplanes launched some 180 airstrikes across the country, according to a statement from Israel’s military. It issued evacuation warnings for some cities. The military said it was targeting Hezbollah’s infrastructure, including the group’s financial arm. Among the targets were four neighborhoods of central Beirut with which had previously been spared from the fighting. One raid hit Hamra, a popular shopping district in the capital which in recent months has become a sanctuary for hundreds of thousands displaced from the Dahieh, the constellation of suburbs south of Beirut where many of Hezbollah’s offices are headquartered. The Dahieh too was pounded by an intense barrage of more than 20 airstrikes, leaving the area obscured by a curtain of smoke and rocking buildings in adjacent neighborhoods. “The hysterical Israeli aggression this evening on Beirut and various Lebanese regions, which specifically targets civilians, confirms once again that the Israeli enemy does not respect any law or consideration,” said Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati in a statement on Tuesday. He called on the international community “to act quickly to stop this aggression and implement an immediate ceasefire.” Meanwhile, Hezbollah continued its barrage against northern Israel, lobbing dozens of projectiles across the border. ©2024 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.Comerica Inc. stock outperforms competitors despite losses on the day
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Issa brothers closing in on £13bn New York listing By CITY & FINANCE REPORTER Updated: 21:52, 29 December 2024 e-mail 1 View comments The billionaire Issa brothers are eyeing a £13billion US listing for their petrol station empire, in a fresh snub for London. EG Group could make its market debut next year, in what means a huge payout for Zuber and Mohsin Issa. Banks have been lined up for a float, according to reports in Mergermarket and The Sunday Telegraph. The company could be valued at around £13billion – 13 times last year's annual profits of £1.1billion. Happy days: EG Group could make its market debut next year, in what means a huge payout for Zuber and Mohsin Issa RELATED ARTICLES Previous 1 Next Asda's woes continue as it becomes the only major... Asda hires former boss to revive its fortunes Share this article Share HOW THIS IS MONEY CAN HELP How to choose the best (and cheapest) stocks and shares Isa and the right DIY investing account The New York stock market is thought to be the preferred bourse because the US is EG Group's biggest market. The group operates 1,500 convenience stores on petrol forecourts including brands Cumberland Farms and Quik Stop. DIY INVESTING PLATFORMS AJ Bell AJ Bell Easy investing and ready-made portfolios Learn More Learn More Hargreaves Lansdown Hargreaves Lansdown Free fund dealing and investment ideas Learn More Learn More interactive investor interactive investor Flat-fee investing from £4.99 per month Learn More Learn More Saxo Saxo Get £200 back in trading fees Learn More Learn More Trading 212 Trading 212 Free dealing and no account fee Learn More Learn More Affiliate links: If you take out a product This is Money may earn a commission. These deals are chosen by our editorial team, as we think they are worth highlighting. This does not affect our editorial independence. Compare the best investing account for you Share or comment on this article: Issa brothers closing in on £13bn New York listing e-mail Add comment Some links in this article may be affiliate links. If you click on them we may earn a small commission. That helps us fund This Is Money, and keep it free to use. We do not write articles to promote products. We do not allow any commercial relationship to affect our editorial independence.
Ian Schieffelin, Clemson topple Penn State to win Sunshine Slam
HARRISBURG — The next step toward faster permits in Pennsylvania starts with a simpler application process. So says Gov. Josh Shapiro, who traveled to Hazle Township in Luzerne County last week to sign an executive order launching the Pennsylvania Permit Fast Track Program, intended to improve efficiency for complex development projects in the commonwealth. The press conference was held at the site of a newly completed warehouse developed by NorthPoint Development, a primary player in the Hazelnut Project, a 1,300-acre technology campus in Hazle Township that will house tech infrastructure. “This new development will help PA continue to stay at the front of the pack when it comes to attracting jobs to the area,” said NorthPoint Vice President Brian Stahl. The governor’s office hopes to shake off Pennsylvania’s reputation for red tape and slow starts. The Fast Track program should reduce the time it takes for projects, like the one in Hazle Township, to get off the ground and create jobs along the way. The program tasks the Office of Transportation and Opportunity – another Shapiro administration creation via executive order – with overseeing complex high-impact economic development and infrastructure projects. Other work already underway includes the Bellwether District in Philadelphia and the Martinsburg Community Digester. For initiatives within the program, the office serves as a shepherd, facilitating the connections, applications and studies required to move a project forward. Key to the program is a public-facing dashboard that shows progress on the work being done, providing increased transparency for stakeholders affected by ongoing development projects. “Today’s executive order strengthens that critical partnership between private developers and permitting agencies, fostering a streamlined, transparent, and effective process,” Stahl said. “This collaboration accelerates investments, creates meaningful jobs, generates vital tax revenue, and further strengthens the economy for all Pennsylvanians.” Hazleton’s Republican mayor, Jeff Cusat, spoke about the common ground he shares with the Democratic governor. “Under my leadership, we’ve made critical updates to our code department, issuing thousands of permits and business licenses,” he said. “I’m glad to see the state also taking action to speed up their permitting processes.” “It takes everyone working together to get a project like this over the finish line and the township has worked incredibly hard to make this a successful public-private partnership,” said Dr. Anthony Grigoli, chairman of the Township Supervisors Board for Hazle Township. If the program can build upon the successes of earlier phases of the administration’s economic plan, which have dramatically slashed wait times in licensing and permitting processes across industries, officials believe the state can draw new business that may have been otherwise deterred by red tape. Brian Kirshner, who leads the Office of Transportation and Opportunity, hopes to see the state perform more competitively. “Speed and service are what companies care about,” he said.THE car’s glovebox is opened and hidden switches are flicked, then a magnet is placed next to the steering wheel, causing the front seats to rise upwards. The movement reveals a secret storage hole beneath, which stretches under the footwell. 7 Border Force regional boss David Smith with a haul of drugs found in a family car Credit: Darren Fletcher 7 Border Force invited The Sun's Thea Jacobs behind the scenes at the Port of Dover to see the daily battles its staff face to keep our streets safe Credit: Darren Fletcher But this modified family car is not something from a James Bond film, but a smuggler’s vehicle, crafted to transport millions of pounds-worth of Class A drugs across the English Channel for sale on our streets. It is a sight all too familiar to Britain’s Border Force staff, who are encountering increasingly sophisticated ways of hiding drugs, cash, illegal cigarettes, guns and even people. Border Force invited The Sun behind the scenes at the Port of Dover to see for ourselves the daily battles its staff face to keep our streets safe. The agency’s South East Regional Director David Smith said: “We’re always broadening our techniques to make sure we stay one step ahead of the smugglers. READ MORE ON DRUG CRIME LOTTO LOUT Lottery winner who blew £100,000 scooped from a scratchcard is now facing jail SPINELESS Psychedelic drugs or back pain... what drove suspect to assassinate CEO? “Over the years, trends change and we’re always adapting to make sure we can find everything possible. Some of the concealments that are used to bring in illegal items are very technical.” Street value of millions But thanks to its specialists at ports across the UK, Border Force is finding more contraband than ever. The first six months of 2024 saw 92 per cent more illegal drugs intercepted, with 22,719 seizures, than in the same period in 2023. This included 19 tonnes of cocaine and 412kg of ketamine , and the force has intercepted the largest batch of pink cocaine — a drug cocktail that can contain ketamine, ecstasy, meth and crack — headed for the UK. Most read in The Sun FAIR CARNAGE Horror as Birmingham fairground ride 'collapses' with several people injured STAYING POSITIVE Max George to undergo major heart surgery after terrifying health scare ALL CHANGE Another Rangers executive quits club just a week after key role at club's AGM NEWBORN JOY Huge Scots DJ becomes dad as he reveals baby boy in emotional social media post Officers found 100kg of the new party drug hidden in a vehicle alongside 40kg of ketamine and 30kg of MDMA , or ecstasy, as it is known in tablet form. David said: “Pink cocaine can be made from various drugs, like MDMA, ecstasy and ketamine, but we’re now seeing it being mixed with some very nasty drugs including [synthetic opioids] fentanyl and nitazenes. Moment police raid sick drugs smuggler's home after thug ‘used kids as mules’ “While it looks like a manufactured pill, you won’t know what you are getting.” The substance, which is hugely popular in drug hotspots such as Ibiza, is still relatively rare in the UK. Another smugglers’ vehicle discovered by the team was a white van with a hidden compartment under its wooden floor, which could only be opened by placing a magnet in a certain position. We’re always broadening our techniques to stay one step ahead of the smugglers. Some of the concealments that are used to bring in illegal items are very technical Border Force's David Smith It was big enough to hide Class A drugs worth several million pounds. The force also seized a gas canister which sounded as if it contained liquid, and released gas when the valve was opened, but had a hollow section that could fit up to 20kg of narcotics. It was found when officers noticed wear and tear where it wasn’t expected. It is not unusual to find a mixture of drugs destined for different British gangs once they arrive on UK soil. David said: “Transporters of drugs are a bit like taxi services for gangs. “Some organised crime groups don’t have a method of transportation, and it’s usually passed to a third party who sorts it. It means that we can find products for multiple gangs in one vehicle.” In the first six months of this year Border Force also made 18,000 seizures of herbal cannabis, equalling 41 tonnes. David has been working for Border Force for more than three decades and has seen a big change in the volume of party drugs trafficked to the UK. He said: “We used to see a lot more Class B drugs but now the quantity of Class A coming in has massively increased. “In the first six months of this year we have seized 19 tonnes of cocaine, which would have a street value of £425million. Getting these drugs in is big business for gangs. “The 92 per cent increase we’ve seen compared to last year in the first six months is thanks to the dedicated officers. We have the most highly skilled officers anywhere in the world, and we work 24/7 to keep the UK safe.” Vehicles which are chosen to be searched are selected with the help of technology, plus trained officers who can “read” the drivers’ and passengers’ behaviour — and a spot of four-legged assistance. Transporters of drugs are a bit like taxi services for gangs David Among those working a shift when The Sun visited was two-year-old cocker spaniel Glenn, who demonstrated how quickly the dogs in the Dover team — other cocker spaniels, some springer spaniels and a Labrador — can find drugs. 7 Border Force’s Glenn the dog sniffs out illegal substances Credit: Darren Fletcher 7 Fuel tanks were cut open to reveal a stash of pink cocaine Credit: Darren Fletcher It took him just seconds to identify a car boot as storing illegal substances, which he did simply by sitting down and looking at his handler. But while the dogs are not always able to sniff out the contraband, a non-indication from them does not mean a search won’t take place. The searches can be intelligence-led from tip-offs from Europol, Interpol or domestic police, and are also carried out when officers spot abnormalities and when drivers are spotted behaving strangely. The Border Force agents are determined that nothing they come across will put them off their pursuit of the smugglers, no matter how bizarre it might seem. And it doesn’t matter how disgusting the circumstances are either. Hidden in manure In a bid to avoid a search, some gangs cover their drugs in manure or grease, hoping it will hide the drugs’ smell from the dogs. We were also shown a video which demonstrated how 225kg of methamphetamines, known on the streets as meth, had been placed inside an industrial magnet and welded shut. Another showed how 16kg of cocaine had been concealed in a hidden section of a Hyundai’s boot which could only be opened using a certain set of switches. It is not just the gangs’ contraband that is targeted by the Border Force staff. They often seize their means of smuggling too, even when no drugs have been found. David said: “Sometimes we detect vehicles that have been adapted for transporting drugs or money around the UK that are destined for county lines gangs. The volume of drugs we’ve detected here and across the country this year shows that we are very good at what we do David “We often have vehicles brought to us from elsewhere in the UK to search and find the concealments within them. “This is because our officers are some of the most highly trained in the world, and finding these compartments can be really tricky. “The volume of drugs we’ve detected here and across the country this year shows that we are very good at what we do. “We just want to stop the bad guys.” Seema Malhotra, Minister for Migration and Citizenship, said: “Party drugs like pink cocaine are illegal and highly dangerous. “Border Force are working around the clock to seize illegal drugs and help to keep our streets and our communities safer this Christmas party season. “Thanks to their expertise and vigilance, they are successfully intercepting these dangerous substances at our borders with increasing success. Read more on the Scottish Sun WARMING UP Scots set for 21C swing as temperature rise to bring an end to sub zero freeze HOT BUY Shoppers race to Primark for fleecy £14 hoodie will keep you cosy on frosty days “Young people must be in no doubt about the harmful effects of the synthetic substances found in party drugs, which can often be a deadly concoction of chemicals that can have devastating consequences, ruining theirs and their loved ones’ lives. “My message to people going out over the festive people is to stay safe, and to the evil criminals lining their pockets — you will be caught and will face the full force of the law.” 7 100kg of methamphetamine was found inside an industrial magnet Credit: Supplied 7 A rotating number plate on a drug smuggler’s vehicle Credit: Darren Fletcher 7 Border Force seized the illegal gear Credit: Darren Fletcher
ENGLEWOOD, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 9, 2024-- Liberty Broadband Corporation (Nasdaq: LBRDA, LBRDK, LBRDP) today announced that its Board of Directors declared the regular quarterly cash dividend payable to holders of its Series A Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock (the “Preferred Stock”) (Nasdaq: LBRDP). The per share amount of the quarterly cash dividend will be $0.43750001, payable in cash on January 15, 2025 to holders of record of the Preferred Stock at the close of business on December 31, 2024 (the “Record Date”). About Liberty Broadband Corporation Liberty Broadband Corporation (Nasdaq: LBRDA, LBRDK, LBRDP) operates and owns interests in a broad range of communications businesses. Liberty Broadband’s principal assets consist of its interest in Charter Communications and its subsidiary GCI. GCI is Alaska’s largest communications provider, providing data, wireless, video, voice and managed services to consumer and business customers throughout Alaska and nationwide. GCI has delivered services over the past 40 years to some of the most remote communities and in some of the most challenging conditions in North America. View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241209914110/en/ CONTACT: Liberty Broadband Corporation Shane Kleinstein, 720-875-5432 KEYWORD: COLORADO UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA INDUSTRY KEYWORD: DATA MANAGEMENT CONSUMER ELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY TELECOMMUNICATIONS MOBILE/WIRELESS INTERNET CARRIERS AND SERVICES SOURCE: Liberty Broadband Corporation Copyright Business Wire 2024. PUB: 12/09/2024 04:15 PM/DISC: 12/09/2024 04:13 PM http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241209914110/enNone
NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump was on the verge of backing a 16-week federal abortion ban earlier this year when aides staged an intervention. According to Time magazine's cover story on his selection as its 2024 Person of the Year, Trump's aides first raised concerns in mid-March that the abortion cutoff being pushed by some allies would be stricter than existing law in numerous states. It was seen as a potential political liability amid ongoing fallout over the overturning of Roe v. Wade by a conservative majority on the Supreme Court that includes three justices nominated by Trump in his first term. Trump political director James Blair went to work assembling a slide deck — eventually titled “How a national abortion ban will cost Trump the election" — that argued a 16-week ban would hurt the Republican candidate in the battleground states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, the magazine reported. “After flipping through Blair’s presentation" on a flight to a rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in April, Trump dropped the idea, according to the report. "So we leave it to the states, right?" Trump was quoted as saying. He soon released a video articulating that position. At the time, Trump’s campaign denied that he was considering supporting the 16-week ban, calling it “fake news” and saying Trump planned to “negotiate a deal” on abortion if elected to the White House. Here are other highlights from the story and the president-elect's 65-minute interview with the magazine: Trump reaffirmed his plans to pardon most of those convicted for their actions during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. “It’s going to start in the first hour,” he said of the pardons. “Maybe the first nine minutes.” Trump said he would look at individuals on a “case-by-case" basis, but that “a vast majority of them should not be in jail.” More than 1,500 people have been charged with federal crimes stemming from the riot that left more than 100 police officers injured and sent lawmakers running into hiding as they met to certify Democrat Joe Biden’s 2020 victory . More than 1,000 defendants have pleaded guilty or been convicted at trial of charges, including misdemeanor trespassing offenses, assaulting police officers and seditious conspiracy. Trump insisted he has the authority to use the military to assist with his promised mass deportations , even though, as his interviewers noted, the Posse Comitatus Act prohibits the use of the military in domestic law enforcement. “It doesn’t stop the military if it’s an invasion of our country, and I consider it an invasion of our country," he said. “I’ll only do what the law allows, but I will go up to the maximum level of what the law allows. And I think in many cases, the sheriffs and law enforcement is going to need help." Trump did not deny that camps would be needed to hold detained migrants as they are processed for deportation. “Whatever it takes to get them out. I don’t care," he said. “I hope we’re not going to need too many because I want to get them out and I don’t want them sitting in camp for the next 20 years.” Trump told Time he does not plan to restore the policy of separating children from their families to deter border crossings, but he did not rule it out. The practice led to thousands of children being separated from their parents and was condemned around the globe as inhumane. “I don’t believe we’ll have to because we will send the whole family back,” he said. “I would much rather deport them together, yes, than separate.” Trump dismissed the idea that Elon Musk will face conflicts of interest as he takes the helm of the Department of Government Efficiency , an advisory group that Trump has selected him to lead. The panel is supposed to find waste and cut regulations, including many that could affect Musk's wide-ranging interests , which include electric cars, rockets and telecommunications. “I don’t think so," Trump said. “I think that Elon puts the country long before his company. ... He considers this to be his most important project." Trump lowered expectations about his ability to drive down grocery prices. “I’d like to bring them down. It’s hard to bring things down once they’re up. You know, it’s very hard. But I think that they will,” he said. Trump said he is planning “a virtual closure" of the "Department of Education in Washington.” “You’re going to need some people just to make sure they’re teaching English in the schools," he said. “But we want to move education back to the states.” Yet Trump has proposed exerting enormous influence over schools. He has threatened to cut funding for schools with vaccine mandates while forcing them to “teach students to love their country" and promote “the nuclear family,” including “the roles of mothers and fathers” and the “things that make men and women different and unique.” Asked to clarify whether he was committed to preventing the Food and Drug Administration from stripping access to abortion pills , Trump replied, “It’s always been my commitment.” But Trump has offered numerous conflicting stances on the issue, including to Time. Earlier in the interview, he was asked whether he would promise that his FDA would not do anything to limit access to medication abortion or abortion pills. "We’re going to take a look at all of that,” he said, before calling the prospect “very unlikely.” “Look, I’ve stated it very clearly and I just stated it again very clearly. I think it would be highly unlikely. I can’t imagine, but with, you know, we’re looking at everything, but highly unlikely. I guess I could say probably as close to ruling it out as possible, but I don’t want to. I don’t want to do anything now.” Pressed on whether he would abandon Ukraine in its efforts to stave off Russia's invasion , Trump said he would use U.S. support for Kyiv as leverage against Moscow in negotiating an end to the war. “I want to reach an agreement,” he said, “and the only way you’re going to reach an agreement is not to abandon.” Trump would not commit to supporting a two-state solution, with a Palestinian state alongside Israel, as he had previously. “I support whatever solution we can do to get peace," he said. "There are other ideas other than two state, but I support whatever, whatever is necessary to get not just peace, a lasting peace. It can’t go on where every five years you end up in tragedy. There are other alternatives.” Asked whether he trusted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu , he told Time: “I don’t trust anybody.” Trump would not rule out the possibility of war with Iran during his second term. “Anything can happen. It’s a very volatile situation," he said. Asked if he has spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin since the Nov. 5 election, Trump continued to play coy: "I can’t tell you. It’s just inappropriate.” Trump insisted that his bid to install Matt Gaetz as attorney general ”wasn’t blocked. I had the votes (in the Senate) if I needed them, but I had to work very hard.” When the scope of resistance to the former Republican congressman from Florida became clear, Trump said, “I talked to him, and I said, ‘You know, Matt, I don’t think this is worth the fight.'" Gaetz pulled out amid scrutiny over sex trafficking allegations, and Trump tapped former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi for the Cabinet post. Trump, who has named anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, did not rule out the possibility of eliminating some childhood vaccinations even though they have been proved safe in extensive studies and real world use in hundreds of millions of people over decades and are considered among the most effective public health measures in modern history. Pressed on whether “getting rid of some vaccinations” — neither Trump nor the interviewers specified which ones — might be part of the plan to improve the health of the country, Trump responded: “It could if I think it’s dangerous, if I think they are not beneficial, but I don’t think it’s going to be very controversial in the end.” “I think there could be, yeah," Trump said of the prospect of others in his family continuing in his footsteps. He pointed to daughter-in-law Lara Trump , who served as co-chair of the Republican National Committee and is now being talked about as a potential replacement for Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, whom Trump has chosen for secretary of state. Trump said the former and soon-to-be first lady Melania Trump will be joining him at the White House during second term and will "be active, when she needs to be.” “Oh yes,” he said. “She’s very beloved by the people, Melania. And they like the fact that she’s not out there in your face all the time for many reasons.”NEW YORK (AP) — Shohei Ohtani won his third Most Valuable Player Award and first in the National League, and Aaron Judge earned his second American League honor on Thursday. Ohtani was a unanimous MVP for the third time, receiving all 30 first-place votes and 420 points in voting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor was second with 263 points and Arizona second baseman Ketel Marte third with 229. Judge was a unanimous pick for the first time. Kansas City shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. got all 30 second-place votes for 270 points, and Yankees outfielder Juan Soto was third with 21 third-place votes and 229 points. Judge had discussed the MVP award with Philadelphia’s Bryce Harper, the NL winner in 2015 and ’21. “I was telling him, `Man, I’m going to try to catch up to you with these MVPs here, man,’” Judge recalled. “He’d say, hopefully, he could stay a couple ahead of me, which I think he’ll do.” Ohtani was unanimously voted the AL MVP in 2021 and 2023 as a two-way star for the Los Angeles Angels and finished second to Judge in 2022 voting . He didn’t pitch in 2024 following elbow surgery and signed a record $700 million, 10-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers last December. He was the first player to twice become an unanimous MVP. He combined with Atlanta outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. in 2023 for the first year both MVPs were unanimous. Ohtani hit .310, stole 59 bases and led the NL with 54 homers and 130 RBIs exclusively as a designated hitter, becoming the first player with 50 or more homers and 50 or more stolen bases in a season. He helped the Dodgers to the World Series title , playing the final three games with a torn labrum in his left shoulder . Ohtani became the first primary DH to win an MVP. He joined Frank Robinson for Cincinnati in 1961 and Baltimore in 1966 as the only players to win the MVP award in both leagues. Ohtani is the 12th player with three or more MVPs, joining Barry Bonds (seven) and Jimmie Foxx, Joe DiMaggio, Stan Musial, Roy Campanella, Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle, Mike Schmidt, Alex Rodriguez, Albert Pujols and Mike Trout (three each). Balloting was conducted before the postseason. Judge led the major leagues with 58 homers, 144 RBIs and 133 walks while hitting .322. Witt topped the big leagues with a .332 average, hitting 32 homers with 31 stolen bases and 109 RBIs. Soto batted .288 with 41 homers and 109 RBIs. When Judge won his first MVP award in 2022, he received 28 first-place votes while Ohtani got the other two. When Judge won his first MVP award in 2022, he received 28 first-place votes while Ohtani got the other two. He is the Yankees' 22nd MVP winner, four more than any other team. Judge was hitting .207 with six homers and 18 RBIs through April, then batted .352 with 52 homers and 126 RBIs in 127 games. “March and April were not my friend this year.” Judge said. “Just keep putting in the work and things are going to change. You can’t mope. You can’t feel sorry for yourself. Especially in New York, nobody’s going to feel sorry for you. So you just got to go out there and put up the numbers?” Balloting was conducted before the postseason. AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB
NoneJimmy Carter has been one of the classic examples of Democratic politics in the US history book for decades, but one feather is now going to be added to the cap of the former US President. Carter, who served as president from 1977 to 1981, by running as a Democrat, ruled with an iron fist during his tenure. He passed away at the age of 100, the Carter Centre , an organization founded by him, has confirmed. ET Year-end Special Reads What kept India's stock market investors on toes in 2024? India's car race: How far EVs went in 2024 Investing in 2025: Six wealth management trends to watch out for Reuters Former US President Jimmy Carter Has Jimmy Carter set a new record? With the death of Jimmy Carter, he sets the record for living longer than any president in American history. He had just celebrated his 100th birthday a couple of months before, and has been a pivotal example of ruling the country smoothly through a epic period of economic and diplomatic crisis. Even though he had to leave the White House with a dent on his legacy, based on his low approval ratings, he bounced back into the political forefront, when he ended up winning the Nobel Peace Prize for his humanitarian work. Carter to remain an idol of humanitarian work? The record of being the oldest President to have lived may not be broken in the coming years now, and his new record is going to stay safe, along with a refresher course for the new generation of Americans about the former President. He will always be remembered in history as one of the champions of human rights, claim reports. Artificial Intelligence(AI) Java Programming with ChatGPT: Learn using Generative AI By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) Basics of Generative AI: Unveiling Tomorrows Innovations By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) Generative AI for Dynamic Java Web Applications with ChatGPT By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) Mastering C++ Fundamentals with Generative AI: A Hands-On By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) Master in Python Language Quickly Using the ChatGPT Open AI By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Marketing Performance Marketing for eCommerce Brands By - Zafer Mukeri, Founder- Inara Marketers View Program Office Productivity Zero to Hero in Microsoft Excel: Complete Excel guide 2024 By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Finance A2Z Of Money By - elearnmarkets, Financial Education by StockEdge View Program Marketing Modern Marketing Masterclass by Seth Godin By - Seth Godin, Former dot com Business Executive and Best Selling Author View Program Astrology Vastu Shastra Course By - Sachenkumar Rai, Vastu Shashtri View Program Strategy Succession Planning Masterclass By - Nigel Penny, Global Strategy Advisor: NSP Strategy Facilitation Ltd. View Program Data Science SQL for Data Science along with Data Analytics and Data Visualization By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) AI and Analytics based Business Strategy By - Tanusree De, Managing Director- Accenture Technology Lead, Trustworthy AI Center of Excellence: ATCI View Program Web Development A Comprehensive ASP.NET Core MVC 6 Project Guide for 2024 By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Marketing Digital Marketing Masterclass by Pam Moore By - Pam Moore, Digital Transformation and Social Media Expert View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) AI-Powered Python Mastery with Tabnine: Boost Your Coding Skills By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Office Productivity Mastering Microsoft Office: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and 365 By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Marketing Digital marketing - Wordpress Website Development By - Shraddha Somani, Digital Marketing Trainer, Consultant, Strategiest and Subject Matter expert View Program Office Productivity Mastering Google Sheets: Unleash the Power of Excel and Advance Analysis By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Web Development Mastering Full Stack Development: From Frontend to Backend Excellence By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Finance Financial Literacy i.e Lets Crack the Billionaire Code By - CA Rahul Gupta, CA with 10+ years of experience and Accounting Educator View Program Data Science SQL Server Bootcamp 2024: Transform from Beginner to Pro By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program FAQs: Is Jimmy Carter dead ? Yes, Jimmy Carter has passed away at the age of 100, the Carter Centre has confirmed. (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel )
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(AP) — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau returned home Saturday after his meeting with Donald Trump without assurances the president-elect will back away from threatened tariffs on all products from the major American trading partner. Trump called the talks “productive” but signaled no retreat from a pledge that Canada says unfairly lumps it in with Mexico over the flow of drugs and migrants into the United States. After the leaders’ hastily arranged dinner Friday night at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, Trudeau spoke of “an excellent conversation" and said in a post later Saturday on X, accompanied by a photo of the two men seated a table and smiling, that he looked forward to “the work we can do together, again.” Trump said earlier on Truth Social that they discussed “many important topics that will require both Countries to work together to address.” For issues in need of such cooperation, Trump cited fentanyl and the “Drug Crisis that has decimated so many lives as a result of Illegal Immigration," fair trade deals "that do not jeopardize American Workers” and the U.S. trade deficit with its ally to the north. Trump asserted that the prime minister had made “a commitment to work with us to end this terrible devastation” of American families from fentanyl from China reaching the United States through its neighbors. The U.S., he said, “will no longer sit idly by as our Citizens become victims to the scourge of this Drug Epidemic.” The Republican president-elect has threatened to impose a 25% tax on all products entering the U.S. from Canada and Mexico as one of his first executive orders when he takes office in January. U.S. customs agents seized 43 pounds of fentanyl at the Canadian border last fiscal year, compared with 21,100 pounds at the Mexican border. On immigration, the U.S. Border Patrol made 56,530 arrests at the Mexican border in October alone and 23,721 arrests at the Canadian border between October 2023 and September 2024 — and Canadian officials say they are ready to make new investments in border security. Trudeau called Trump after the Republican's social media posts about the tariffs last Monday and they agreed to meet, according to a official familiar with the matter who was not authorized to publicly discuss detail of the private talks. The official said other countries are calling Canadian officials to hear how about how the meeting was arranged and to ask for advice. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, after speaking with Trump on the telephone, said Thursday she was confident a tariff war with Washington would be averted. At the dinner that was said to last three hours, Trump said he and Trudeau also discussed energy, trade and the Arctic. A second official cited defense, Ukraine, NATO, China, the Mideast, pipelines and the Group of Seven meeting in Canada next year as other issues that arose. Trudeau's office said in a statement that the leaders “shared a productive wide-ranging discussion” centering on “collaboration and strengthening our relationship,” adding, "As Canada’s closest friend and ally, the United States is our key partner, and we are committed to working together in the interests of Canadians and Americans.” Trump, during his first term as president, once called Trudeau “weak” and “dishonest,” but it was the prime minister who was the first G7 leader to visit Trump since the Nov. 5 election. "Tariffs are a crucial issue for Canada and a bold move was in order. Perhaps it was a risk, but a risk worth taking,” Daniel Béland, a political science professor at McGill University in Montreal. Trudeau had said before leaving from Friday that Trump was elected because he promised to bring down the cost of groceries but now was talking about adding 25% to the cost of all kinds of products, including potatoes from Prince Edward Island in Atlantic Canada. “It is important to understand that Donald Trump, when he makes statements like that, he plans on carrying them out. There’s no question about it,” Trudeau said. “Our responsibility is to point out that he would not just be harming Canadians, who work so well with the United States, but he would actually be raising prices for Americans citizens as well and hurting American industry and business,” he added. The threatened tariffs could essentially blow up the North American trade pact that Trump’s team negotiated during his first term. Trudeau noted they were able to successfully renegotiate the deal, which he calls a “win win” for both countries. When Trump imposed higher tariffs as president, other countries responded with retaliatory tariffs of their own. Canada, for instance, announced billions of new duties in 2018 against the U.S. in a response to new taxes on Canadian steel and aluminum. Canada is the top export destination for 36 U.S. states. Nearly $3.6 billion Canadian (US $2.7 billion) worth of goods and services cross the border each day. About 60% of U.S. crude oil imports are from Canada, and 85% of U.S. electricity imports are from Canada. Canada is also the largest foreign supplier of steel, aluminum and uranium to the U.S. and has 34 critical minerals and metals that the Pentagon is eager for and investing in for national security. Canada is one of the most trade-dependent countries in the world, and 77% of Canada’s exports go to the U.S. ___ Gillies reported from Toronto.
US stocks fell on Monday as tech sector risks and upcoming inflation data worried investors. Nvidia shares dropped 3% on China's probe into its 2020 acquisition of Mellanox. Investors await inflation data to gauge the potential for more Fed interest rate cuts. US stocks retreated from record highs on Monday as investors assessed a potential risk in the technology sector and prepared for new inflation data. Tech stocks led Monday's session lower, with Nvidia shares one of the biggest losers. The chipmaker's stock fell about 3% after China launched a probe into the company, investigating whether the company potentially violated anti-monpoly rules in its 2020 acquisition of chip design company Mellanox. Nvidia originally received approval from Chinese regulators to complete the deal in 2020, but regulators are now investigating whether Nvidia violated the deal's conditions. "The move comes shortly after the Biden Administration clamped down on the types of products the company can export to China to limit the country's ability to expand its military technology, causing some observers to question if the lawsuit is retaliatory or a pre-emptive move in anticipation of new tariffs," José Torres, senior economist at Interactive Brokers said on Monday. Investors are also awaiting key inflation data later this week, which should help determine whether the Federal Reserve will pursue further interest rate cuts. The November consumer price index will be released Wednesday morning and is expected to show a slight uptick from October. Economists expect the year-over-year CPI to rise to 2.7% compared to 2.6% in October. Bank of America economists expect month-over-month Core CPI to be 0.2%, and said anything above that level could be consequential for interest rates. "We are looking for a 0.2% m/m print. If that proves correct, we think it will greenlight a Fed cut in December. That said, recent Fed speak suggests it will be a live meeting and cuts beyond December aren't a guarantee," Bank of America said in a Monday note. Markets are currently pricing in an 86% chance of a 25 basis point interest rate cut from the Fed next week, according to the CME FedWatch tool. Here's where US indexes stood at the 4:00 p.m. closing bell on Monday: S&P 500 : 6,052.85, down 0.61% Dow Jones Industrial Average : 44,401.93, down 0.54% (-240.59 points) Nasdaq composite : 19,736.69, down 0.62% Here's what else happened today: These are the big economic pitfalls facing the incoming Trump presidency, according to Neil Dutta. Gen Xers are struggling to save for retirement as they take care of both their kids and parents. These are the 10 best performing stocks that debuted in 2024. A longtime stock market bear is rethinking his view after this year's strong rally. Warren Buffett's favorite stock market valuation indicator has 2 big flaws, according to Morgan Stanley. Luigi Mangione was named as a person of interest in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and arrested. In commodities, bonds, and crypto: West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 1.41% to $68.15 a barrel. Brent crude , the international benchmark, was higher by 1.14% to $71.93 a barrel. Gold increased 0.77% to $2,680.20 an ounce. The 10-year Treasury yield increased 3 basis points to 4.202%. Bitcoin fell 4.78% to $96,357.
Rachel Lindsay was seen spending a lot of time this weekend with what may be a new male companion who has ties to a major A-list artist ... TMZ has learned. Witnesses tell us the former "Bachelorette" star and Willie Jones, who collaborated on Beyonce 's Cowboy Carter album, were spotted together on Friday at iHeart’s Jingle Ball in Los Angeles. We're told the two enjoyed each other's company in the Patrón Lounge suite, where they sat closely, chatting, and laughing throughout the night. Our witnesses say when T-Pain hit the stage, the pair got up to dance. The two continued to spend time together over the weekend. On Sunday, they were spotted shopping at the Melrose Trading Post, where a store called Blk Rchvs posted a photo of them on social media. In the snap, Willie is seen with his arm around Rachel, fueling even more questions about their status. While it’s unclear whether the two are romantically involved, one witness told us Rachel appeared "the happiest she's been in a long time." Willie is also known for his 2012 appearance on "The X Factor" at the age of 17. Rachel is still navigating a nasty divorce from her ex-husband, Bryan Abasolo . The two, who met on "The Bachelor" in 2017 and married in 2019, separated in December 2023 after four years of marriage. We reached out to Rachel's camp for comment ... so far, no word back.Chiefs keep winning despite an O-line problem that has wreaked havoc with their offenseJohnson scores 33 as Tennessee Tech knocks off NAIA-member Milligan 95-75