super. ace U.S. stock indexes drifted lower following some potentially discouraging data on the economy. The S&P 500 fell 0.5% Thursday, its third loss in the last four days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5%, and the Nasdaq composite dropped 0.7% from its record set the day before. A report earlier in the morning said more U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits last week than forecast. A separate update showed that inflation at the wholesale level was hotter last month than economists expected. Adobe sank after issuing weaker-than-expected financial forecasts. Treasury yields rose in the bond market. On Thursday: The S&P 500 fell 32.94 points, or 0.5%, to 6,051.25. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 234.44 points, or 0.5%, to 43,914.12. The Nasdaq composite fell 132.05 points, or 0.7%, to 19,902.84. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 33.08 points, or 1.4%, to 2,361.08. For the week: The S&P 500 is down 39.02 points, or 0.6%. The Dow is down 728.40 points, or 1.6%. The Nasdaq is up 43.07 points, or 0.2%. The Russell 2000 is down 47.91 points, or 2%. For the year: The S&P 500 is up 1,281.42 points, or 26.9%. The Dow is up 6,224.58 points, or 16.5%. The Nasdaq is up 4,891.49 points, or 32.6%. The Russell 2000 is up 334.01 points, or 16.5%.

At each Cabinet meeting, two public questions can be submitted in advance for the leader and Cabinet to answer. The Cabinet, the council's main decision-making body, consists of 10 councillors who oversee areas such as transport, health, and housing. Follow-up questions can also be asked during the meetings. Cabinet member for Organisation, Innovation and Co-operation, Cllr Nathan Sudworth, said: "We’ve introduced public questions at our Cabinet meetings as another opportunity for people to take part in local democracy." He added that this initiative ensures accountability for decisions made for Warrington and its communities. Residents can question current projects or priorities, or seek the Cabinet's views on local issues. Cllr Sudworth encouraged residents to put forward their questions. The next Cabinet meetings are scheduled for Monday, January 13, 2025, and Monday, February 10, 2025. Questions must be submitted by 9am, seven working days before the meeting, to democraticandmemberservices@warrington.gov.uk. The council meeting committee calendar is available on the council's committee management system. Questions for the Cabinet must be submitted in writing or electronically to the Democratic Services Manager by the deadline. Each meeting can accommodate only two questions. A five-minute time limit is in place for each question, which includes asking the question, the response, and a supplementary question and answer. Supplementary questions must relate to the answer given and have a 30-second time limit. If more than two valid questions are received for one meeting, the earliest submissions will be considered. Questions not considered can be resubmitted for future meetings. This initiative is part of the council's efforts to ensure transparency and accountability, allowing residents to have a say in the decisions that impact their communities. For more information, residents can visit the council's committee management system online.Their ages vary. But a conspicuous handful of filmmaking lions in winter, or let’s say late autumn, have given us new reasons to be grateful for their work over the decades — even for the work that didn’t quite work. Which, yes, sounds like ingratitude. But do we even want more conventional or better-behaved work from talents such as Francis Ford Coppola? Even if we’re talking about ? If Clint Eastwood’s gave audiences a less morally complicated courtroom drama, would that have mattered, given Warner Bros.’ butt-headed decision to plop it in less than three dozen movie theaters in the U.S.? Coppola is 85. Eastwood is 94. Paul Schrader, whose latest film “Oh, Canada” arrives this week and is well worth seeking out, is a mere 78. Based on the 2021 Russell Banks novel “Foregone,” “Oh, Canada” is the story of a documentary filmmaker, played by Richard Gere, being interviewed near the end of his cancer-shrouded final days. In the Montreal home he shares with his wife and creative partner, played by Uma Thurman, he consents to the interview by two former students of his. Gere’s character, Leonard Fife, has no little contempt for these two, whom he calls “Mr. and Mrs. Ken Burns of Canada” with subtle disdain. As we learn over the artful dodges and layers of past and present, events imagined and/or real, Fife treats the interview as a final confession from a guarded and deceptive soul. He’s also a hero to everyone in the room, famous for his anti-Vietnam war political activism, and for the Frederick Wiseman-like inflection of his own films’ interview techniques. The real-life filmmaker name-checked in “Oh, Canada” is documentarian Errol Morris, whose straight-to-the-lens framing of interview subjects was made possible by his Interrotron device. In Schrader’s adaptation, Fife doesn’t want the nominal director (Michael Imperioli, a nicely finessed embodiment of a second-rate talent with first-rate airs) in his eyeline. Rather, as he struggles with hazy, self-incriminating memories of affairs, marriages, one-offs with a friend’s wife and a tense, brief reunion with the son he never knew, Fife wants only his wife, Emma — his former Goddard College student — in this metaphoric confessional. Schrader and his editor Benjamin Rodriguez Jr. treat the memories as on-screen flashbacks spanning from 1968 to 2023. At times, Gere and Thurman appear as their decades-young selves, without any attempt to de-age them, digitally or otherwise. (Thank god, I kind of hate that stuff in any circumstance.) In other sequences from Fife’s past, Jacob Elordi portrays Fife, with sly and convincing behavioral details linking his performance to Gere’s persona. We hear frequent voiceovers spoken by Gere about having ruined his life by age 24, at least spiritually or morally. Banks’ novel is no less devoted to a dying man’s addled but ardent attempt to come clean and own up to what has terrified him the most in the mess and joy of living: Honesty. Love. Commitment. There are elements of “Oh, Canada” that soften Banks’ conception of Fife, from the parentage of Fife’s abandoned son to the specific qualities of Gere’s performance. It has been 44 years since Gere teamed with Schrader on “American Gigolo,” a movie made by a very different filmmaker with very different preoccupations of hetero male hollowness. It’s also clearly the same director at work, I think. And Gere remains a unique camera object, with a stunning mastery of filling a close-up with an unblinking stillness conveying feelings easier left behind. The musical score is pretty watery, and with Schrader you always get a few lines of tortured rhetoric interrupting the good stuff. In the end, “Oh, Canada” has an extraordinarily simple idea at its core: That of a man with a movie camera, most of his life, now on the other side of the lens. Not easy. “I can’t tell the truth unless that camera’s on!” he barks at one point. I don’t think the line from the novel made it into Schrader’s script, but it too sums up this lion-in-winter feeling of truth without triumphal Hollywood catharsis. The interview, Banks wrote, is one’s man’s “last chance to stop lying.” It’s also a “final prayer,” dramatized by the Calvinist-to-the-bone filmmaker who made sure to include that phrase in his latest devotion to final prayers and missions of redemption. No MPA rating (some language and sexual material) Running time: 1:34 How to watch: Opens in theaters Dec. 13, running 1in Chicago Dec. 13-19 at the Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 N. State St.;Caleb Williams' heroics still not enough to overcome Bears' failures in overtime collapse against the Vikings

Canaan Inc. Signs Agreement with AGM Group Holdings Inc.

Shahnaz Husain Have you ever thought about giving your face a workout, just like you do for your body? While the human face is a thing of beauty, maintaining taut, smooth skin often becomes a source of stress as we age. Face exercises – which you can easily perform from the comfort of your home – can lift and tone the face, reduce signs of ageing, prevent sagging and wrinkles, and generally improve facial appearance. It relaxes, tones and gives a natural boost to the skin, while simultaneously resetting your facial muscles. Face exercises, also known as “face yoga,” are the latest wellness trend to take social media by storm. The face-sculpting workouts involve repetitive movements and massages targeting different muscles of the face. When your facial muscles are put to use with face yoga, they feel toned and give the sensation of a natural facelift, if practised regularly. The idea is to stretch the 57 face and neck muscles to tone, firm and boost circulation, for a youthful appearance. Puff Your Cheeks —-The chipmunk cheek squeeze is a facial exercise that can help slim the face. To do this exercise, Inhale through the mouth to make them larger and rounder by filling them with air. and distend the breath from cheek to cheek, then release. Tilt your head back, push your chin forward, suck in your cheeks, and hold for 8-10 second Open your mouth wide, keep your teeth covering your lips and lift your cheeks. Hold for 10 seconds, then return to normal. Aim to repeat 50 times. How does it work? This simple practice will increase blood circulation to your cheeks, promoting a healthy glow. It will strengthen the cheek muscles This facial exercise relaxes the muscles around the lips and cheeks and also brightens up the face. These quick and easy movements will strengthen the cheek muscles and prevent them from looking hollow. Do this face exercise regularly for lifted and plump cheeks. Smiler —— Pout and then smile as fast as you can. This exercise can enhance blood circulation and strengthen jaw muscles. Keep up the smile wide, hold it for about 15 seconds and then release it. Continue this process about 10 times at once. Bring the lips together and push them outward as if you are about to kiss and then smile broadly. Practice this regularly 10-15 times in one sitting Facial yoga can be extremely beneficial for those who want glowing, youthful skin. Face yoga is a natural, alternative option that uses a variety of massage and exercises to target your face, neck, and shoulders. This beauty trend has grown in popularity in the past few years with various face yoga methods making an appearance on our social media feeds. Face yoga relaxes, tones and gives a natural boost to the skin, while simultaneously resetting your facial muscle. When you regularly do facial exercises, the blood circulation increases to that area and that tightens your skin and brings a glow to your face. When your facial muscles are put to use with face yoga, it stretches the 57 face and neck muscles to tone, firm and boost circulation, for a youthful appearance. Make A Fish Face—- This pose stretches the neck region and helps tone the jawline and chin. Fish Face exercise is the easiest and the best way to ensure a firmer looking skin. Fill your mouth up with as much air as possible. Puff up your cheeks to accommodate more air. Now, shift the air from one side to the other with as much speed as possible. Practise this for a couple of minutes every day to achieve glowing skin and fuller cheeks. Alternatively Softly close your lips and then draw your cheeks inwards as much as possible, making a ‘fish face’ look. Try smiling while holding this posture for about 15 seconds and then withdraw. Repeat this exercise for about next five minutes For wrinkle-free facial skin, try this yoga “asana” along with Pranayama. Stand straight and place feet and legs wide apart. Cover face with palms and breathe deeply and quickly for 10 counts. Then while continuing breathing, rub the face with the fingers, starting from the chin and going to the forehead. Include the area around the eyes. This helps to make the skin smooth, firm and radiant. Forehead: Did you know that frowning is an exercise for the forehead? Frown as much as possible, pulling the eyebrows towards one another. Then lift the eyebrows as far as possible. While doing this, open your eyes as much as you can. Relax them and repeat 5 times. Anti-ageing Facial Yoga For Forehead: Place both hands on the forehead facing inwards and spread all of the fingers out between the eyebrows and hairline. Now Gently sweep the fingers outwards across the forehead, applying light pressure to tighten the skin. Relax and repeat 10 times. Eyes: This not only benefits the skin around the eyes, but the eyes itself. They have much relevance nowadays, for people who are glued to computer and television screens for long periods. Keeping your head still, move only the eyes up and down ten times. Then move them from one side to the other ten times. Then, roll the eyes, first clockwise and then anticlockwise, for a total of ten times. Widen your eyes as big as you can for your best surprised face. Hold this expression as long as you can-even until your eyes start to water! After, relax your face and repeat. Look upwards and raise your eyebrows at the same time. Then gently close your eyelids, while still looking up. Since our eyelids have the tendency to droop with age, this stretching exercise can help keep them firm. Neck: Sitting straight, tilt the head back and look at the ceiling. Keeping the mouth closed, do a chewing movement, while still looking up. Repeat the chewing movement 15 to 20 times. Then pucker lips and stretch the lips forward, as if you are trying to kiss the ceiling. Do this 10 times. Relax and repeat 5 to 6 times. Still sitting upright and tilting the head back, with mouth closed, move the lower lip over the upper lip as far as possible. Hold it for a count of 5. Relax and repeat 5 times. Sit upright and open the mouth wide open, drop the lower jaw and push it forward, holding it for a count of 10. Come back to the starting position and repeat it 5 times. I will advise you to do facial yoga consistently for 20-30 minutes, seven times a week, changes may start to be noticeable in four to six weeks (The author is a beauty expert)