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Party City to close its stores as company files for bankruptcy LOS ANGELES (AP) — Party City announced that it's going to “wind down” its retail and wholesale operations as it prepares to shutter nearly 700 stores nationwide. The company said Saturday it has also filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection "to maximize value for the benefit of the company’s stakeholders.” The New Jersey-based retailer said it will keep more than 95% of its 12,000 employees to help with the process of closing down. Customers have flocked to Party City for Halloween costumes, favors for children’s birthday parties and decorations for New Year’s Eve celebrations for nearly 40 years. It has faced growing competition from Walmart and Target and from occasion-based pop-up stores such as Spirit Halloween. A million taxpayers will soon receive up to $1,400 from the IRS. Who are they and why now? Approximately 1 million taxpayers will automatically receive special payments of up to $1,400 from the IRS in the coming weeks. The money will be directly deposited into eligible people’s bank accounts or sent in the mail by a paper check. Most people shouldn't get their hopes up about receiving the cash. The IRS says it’s distributing about $2.4 billion to taxpayers who failed to claim a Recovery Rebate Credit on their 2021 tax returns after missing one of the COVID stimulus payments or receiving less than the full amount. The IRS says most taxpayers eligible for the federal stimulus payments received them. Bluesky finds with growth comes growing pains — and bots Bluesky has seen its user base soar since the U.S. presidential election, boosted by people seeking refuge from Elon Musk’s X, or wanting an alternative to Meta’s Threads and its algorithms. The platform grew out of the company then known as Twitter and was eventually intended to replace it. While this is still very much a pie in the sky, Bluesky’s growth trajectory could make it a serious competitor to other social platforms. With growth, though, comes growing pains. It’s not just human users who’ve been flocking to Bluesky but also bots, including those designed to create partisan division or direct users to junk websites. 'Sonic 3' bests 'Mufasa: The Lion King' at the box office NEW YORK (AP) — In the holiday season battle of big-budget family movies, Paramount Pictures’ “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” sped past the Walt Disney Co.’s “Mufasa: The Lion King” to take the top spot at the box office. The results came just ahead of the lucrative Christmas corridor in theaters. According to studio estimates, “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” debuted with $62 million in ticket sales over the weekend. “Mufasa,” however, was humbled in its opening weekend, coming in notably shy of expectations. It returned just $35 million in domestic ticket sales. Amazon and Starbucks workers are on strike. Trump might have something to do with it Amazon delivery drivers and Starbucks baristas are on strike in a handful of U.S. cities as they seek to exert pressure on the two major companies to recognize them as unionized employees or to meet demands for an inaugural labor contract. Strikes during busy periods like the holidays can help unions exercise leverage during negotiations or garner support from sympathetic consumers. One expert says he thinks workers at both companies are “desperate” to make progress before President-elect Donald Trump can appoint a Republican majority to the National Labor Relations Board. Workers at Starbucks, Amazon and some other prominent consumer brands are fighting for their first contracts after several locations voted to unionize. Farmers are still reeling months after Hurricane Helene ravaged crops across the South LYONS, Ga. (AP) — Farmers in Georgia are still reeling more than two months after Hurricane Helene blew away cotton, destroyed ripened squash and cucumbers and uprooted pecan trees and timber. Agribusinesses in other Southern states saw costly damage as well. The University of Georgia estimates the September storm inflicted $5.5 billion in direct losses and indirect costs in Georgia alone. In rural Toombs County, Chris Hopkins just finished harvesting his ravaged cotton crop and figures he lost half of it, costing him about $430,000. Poultry grower Jeffrey Pridgen in Georgia's Coffee County had four of his 12 chicken houses destroyed and others badly damaged. Farmers say more government disaster assistance is needed. Ex-OpenAI engineer who raised legal concerns about the technology he helped build has died Suchir Balaji, a former OpenAI engineer and whistleblower who helped train the artificial intelligence systems behind ChatGPT and later said he believed those practices violated copyright law, has died, according to his parents and San Francisco officials. He was 26. He was well-regarded by colleagues at the San Francisco company, where a co-founder this week called him one of OpenAI’s strongest contributors who was essential to developing some of its products. But he grew disillusioned with the company and told The Associated Press this fall he would “try to testify” in copyright infringement cases against it. Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge shows price pressures eased last month WASHINGTON (AP) — An inflation gauge that is closely watched by the Federal Reserve barely rose last month in a sign that price pressures cooled after two months of sharp gains. Prices rose just 0.1% from October to November. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, prices also ticked up just 0.1%, after two months of outsize 0.3% gains. The milder inflation figures arrived two days after Federal Reserve officials, led by Chair Jerome Powell, rocked financial markets by revealing that they now expect to cut their key interest rate just two times in 2025, down from four in their previous estimate. Albania to close TikTok for a year blaming it for promoting violence among children TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Albania’s prime minister says the government will shut down video service TikTok for one year, blaming it for inciting violence and bullying, especially among children. Albanian authorities held 1,300 meetings with teachers and parents following the stabbing death of a teenager in mid-November by another teenager following a quarrel that started on TikTok. Prime Minister Edi Rama, speaking at a meeting with teachers and parents, said TikTok “would be fully closed for all. ... There will be no TikTok in the Republic of Albania.” Rama says the ban will begin sometime next year. Albanian children comprise the largest group of TikTok users in the country, according to domestic researchers. Stock market today: Wall Street rises to turn a dismal week into just a bad one NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks rose to turn what would have been one of the market’s worst weeks of the year into just a pretty bad one. The S&P 500 rallied 1.1% Friday to shave its loss for the week down to 2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped nearly 500 points, and the Nasdaq composite gained 1%. A report said a measure of inflation the Federal Reserve likes to use was slightly lower last month than expected. It’s an encouraging signal after the Fed shocked markets Wednesday by saying worries about inflation could keep it from cutting interest rates in 2025 as much as earlier thought.

Biden's broken promise on pardoning his son Hunter is raising new questions about his legacy WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s decision to go back on his word and pardon his son Hunter wasn't all that surprising to those who are familiar with the president's devotion to his family. But by choosing to put his family first, the 82-year-old president has raised new questions about his legacy. Biden has held himself up as placing his respect for the American judicial system and rule of law over his own personal concerns. It was part of an effort to draw a deliberate contrast with Republican Donald Trump. Now, both his broken promise and his act of clemency are a political lightning rod. Some Democrats are frustrated over Joe Biden reversing course and pardoning his son Hunter ATLANTA (AP) — Already reeling from their November defeat at the polls, Democrats now are grappling with President Joe Biden's pardoning of his son for a federal felony conviction — after the party spent years slamming Donald Trump as a threat to democracy who operates above the law. The White House on Monday struggled to defend the pardon, claiming the prosecution was politically motivated — a page out of Trump's playbook. That explanation did not satisfy some Democrats who are angry that Biden’s reversal could make it harder to take on Trump. Hezbollah fires into Israel-held area after multiple Israeli strikes in Lebanon since truce began JERUSALEM (AP) — Hezbollah fired into a disputed border zone held by Israel after multiple Israeli strikes inside Lebanon since a ceasefire took hold last week. The militant group said the volley, its first during the truce, was a warning shot in response to what it called repeated Israeli violations. Israeli leaders threatened to retaliate, further straining the fragile U.S.- and French-brokered ceasefire. Israeli strikes in recent days, including a string of hits on Monday, have killed at least four people in Lebanon. U.S. officials said the ceasefire was largely holding. Key players in Syria's long-running civil war, reignited by a shock rebel offensive BEIRUT (AP) — Syria’s long civil war has reclaimed global attention after insurgents seized most of its largest city and dozens of nearby towns and villages. The stunning advance on Aleppo by rebel forces came as several key players in the conflict have been distracted or weakened. That triggered the heaviest clashes since a 2020 ceasefire brought relative calm to the country’s north. Russian and Syrian forces have carried out dozens of airstrikes to try to limit the insurgents’ advances, inflicting heavy casualties. Syria’s civil war started in 2011 after an uprising against President Bashar Assad’s rule. Delaware judge reaffirms ruling that invalidated massive Tesla pay package for Elon Musk DOVER, Del. (AP) — A Delaware judge has reaffirmed her ruling that Tesla must revoke Elon Musk’s multibillion-dollar pay package. The judge on Monday also rejected an equally unprecedented and massive fee request by plaintiff attorneys. The rulings came in a lawsuit filed by a Tesla stockholder who challenged Musk’s 2018 compensation package that carried a potential value of $56 billion. The judge ruled in January that Musk engineered the landmark pay package in sham negotiations with directors who were not independent. Tesla shareholders then voted for a second time to ratify Musk’s 2018 pay package, but the judge refused to revisit her initial ruling. Woman driving drunk who killed bride still in her wedding dress sentenced to 25 years in prison A woman who admitted to drinking and who was driving well over twice the speed limit when she smashed into a golf cart killing a bride who had just got married at a South Carolina beach has been sentenced to 25 years in prison. Jamie Lee Komoroski pleaded guilty Monday to reckless homicide and three felony driving under the influence charges. Police said the 27-year-old drank at several bars on April 28, 2023, and was driving 65 mph on a narrow Folly Beach road when she slammed into a golf cart leaving a wedding. The bride, 34-year-old Samantha Miller, died still wearing her wedding dress. Florida woman sentenced to life for zipping boyfriend into suitcase, suffocating him A 47-year-oldFlorida woman has been sentenced to life in prison for zipping her boyfriend into a suitcase and leaving him to die of suffocation amid a history of domestic and alcohol abuse. Circuit Judge Michael Kraynick imposed the sentence Monday in Orlando on Sarah Boone for the 2020 killing of 42-year-old Jorge Torres. A jury deliberated only 90 minutes Oct. 25 before convicting Boone of the second-degree murder of Jorge Torres after a 10-day trial. Boone had insisted she was herself a victim of domestic violence at the hands of Torres and had pleaded not guilty. Already buried under snow, Great Lakes region expected to see more stormy weather this week Some storm-weary residents of the Great Lakes region have seen continued snowfall and are facing the prospect of even more accumulations this week. Lake-effect snow continues to fall on parts of western New York that were already blanketed with a foot or more over the past four days. Lake-effect snow warnings are in effect through Tuesday night in parts of Ohio, New York and Pennsylvania. Snow fell in western Michigan overnight, and heavier, persistent snow of up to a foot was expected to follow into Monday. Meanwhile, Alaska's capital got more than a foot of snow over the weekend. The National Weather Service says the wintry weather is stronger than Juneau usually sees this time of year. Cyber Monday shoppers expected to set a record on the year's biggest day for online shopping Consumers in the U.S. are scouring the internet for online deals as they look to make the most of the post-Thanksgiving shopping marathon on Cyber Monday. The National Retail Federation coined the term for the Monday after Black Friday in 2005. Even though e-commerce is now part and parcel of many people’s regular routine, Cyber Monday continues to be the biggest online shopping day of the year, thanks to steady discounts and a fair amount of hype. Several major retails actually started their Cyber Monday promotions over the weekend. Consumer spending for the online shopping days between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday provides an indication of how much shoppers are willing to spend for the holidays.Schooled like Mourinho: Amorim’s path from pioneering Lisbon university

Times News Network Ludhiana: A local court has sentenced a man to life imprisonment for murder . However, it did not consider it to be the rarest of rare case for imposition of capital punishment. The prosecution had pleaded for maximum punishment for the convict on the grounds that he had committed a heinous offence. Pronouncing the quantum of sentence after convicting Dharminder Kumar for the murder of Udhaybhan Rao , the court of additional sessions judge Manila Chugh, said, “The guilt of convict Dharminder Kumar having been established, now the punitive dilemma begins. Life imprisonment for murder is a rule and capital sentence is an exception.” On Oct 20, 2020, Salem Tabri police station booked Dharminder Kumar, 33, of Bihar, under Section 302 (murder) of the IPC. The complainant, Rajesh Kumar of UP, lived in the city with his uncle Udaybhan Rao in a rented accommodation at Jassian Road. On Oct 19, 2020, at 8.30am, the complainant left for work. He said that his uncle was in the room at the time. However, when he returned in the evening, he was not there. He said that he tried to look for him but failed as he was not answering calls either. The next morning, he found his uncle’s body lying in a pool of blood at a vacant plot behind a school. Police later presented chargesheet against the accused after completing investigation. We also published the following articles recently Three sentenced to life imprisionment for murder Three individuals, Dhaniram Gautam, Maniram Gautam, and Manju Gautam, were sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering Rahul alias Anuj in Kanpur. The crime occurred on November 26, 2021, when the accused, in an inebriated state, killed Rahul by hitting his head with a brick. The sentencing followed eyewitness testimony and forensic evidence. History-sheeter sentenced to life in jail for 2007 double murder Sultanpur police ensured the conviction of history-sheeter Amit Singh in a 2007 double murder case. Singh, involved in the murders of Harphool and Krishna Kumar Singh over political rivalry, was sentenced to life imprisonment and fined Rs 28,000. Effective prosecution and substantial evidence secured this result under 'Operation Conviction'. Nashik man sentenced to 4 years in prison for attempted murder A 40-year-old man was convicted for attempted murder due to an affair with the complainant's wife. The district and sessions court sentenced him to four years' rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 25,000. The crime occurred in May 2010, involving an attempted poisoning and attack with a sharp weapon. Other accused were acquitted due to lack of evidence.

Trump names billionaire investment banker Warren Stephens as his envoy to BritainArizona’s 2025 Hunt recommendations are availible online

OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC reduced its position in Bruker Co. ( NASDAQ:BRKR – Free Report ) by 25.5% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,640 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,246 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Bruker were worth $251,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in Bruker by 127.8% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,389,537 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $88,666,000 after acquiring an additional 779,549 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Bruker in the 2nd quarter worth about $36,472,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Bruker by 123.6% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 555,468 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $35,444,000 after purchasing an additional 307,021 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Bruker by 78.3% during the second quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 593,091 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $37,845,000 after purchasing an additional 260,363 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Europe London LLP grew its stake in Bruker by 262.9% in the second quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP now owns 333,997 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $21,312,000 after purchasing an additional 241,959 shares in the last quarter. 79.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Insider Buying and Selling at Bruker In other news, CEO Frank H. Laukien bought 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $50.14 per share, for a total transaction of $5,014,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 38,439,563 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,927,359,688.82. This trade represents a 0.26 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink . 28.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders. Bruker Price Performance Bruker ( NASDAQ:BRKR – Get Free Report ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The medical research company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61 by ($0.01). Bruker had a net margin of 9.41% and a return on equity of 21.52%. The business had revenue of $864.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $866.46 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.74 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Bruker Co. will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current year. Bruker Dividend Announcement The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $0.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.35%. Bruker’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.62%. Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of research analysts have commented on BRKR shares. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Bruker from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Wolfe Research cut Bruker from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Bruker from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Bruker from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Bruker from $75.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bruker currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.36. Get Our Latest Report on Bruker About Bruker ( Free Report ) Bruker Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and distributes scientific instruments, and analytical and diagnostic solutions in the United States, Europe, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Bruker Scientific Instruments (BSI) BioSpin, BSI CALID, BSI Nano, and Bruker Energy & Supercon Technologies. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BRKR? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Bruker Co. ( NASDAQ:BRKR – Free Report ). Receive News & Ratings for Bruker Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Bruker and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .

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