panaloko.vom NEW YORK (AP) — Bitcoin topped $100,000 for the first time this week as a massive rally in the world's most popular cryptocurrency, largely accelerated by the election of Donald Trump, rolls on. The cryptocurrency officially to rose six figures Wednesday night, just hours after the president-elect said he intends to nominate cryptocurrency advocate Paul Atkins to be the next chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Bitcoin has soared since Trump won the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 5. The asset climbed from $69,374 on Election Day, hitting as high as $103,713 Wednesday, according to CoinDesk. And the latest all-time high arrives just two years after bitcoin dropped below $17,000 following the collapse of crypto exchange FTX . Bitcoin fell back below the $100,000 by Thursday afternoon, sitting above $99,000 by 4 p.m. ET. Even amid a massive rally that has more than doubled the value of bitcoin this year, some experts continue to warn of investment risks around the asset, which has quite a volatile history. Here’s what you need to know. Back up. What is cryptocurrency again? Cryptocurrency has been around for a while now. But chances are you’ve heard about it more and more over the last few years. In basic terms, cryptocurrency is digital money. This kind of currency is designed to work through an online network without a central authority — meaning it’s typically not backed by any government or banking institution — and transactions get recorded with technology called a blockchain. Bitcoin is the largest and oldest cryptocurrency, although other assets like ethereum, XRP, tether and dogecoin have also gained popularity over the years. Some investors see cryptocurrency as a “digital alternative” to traditional money, but most daily financial transactions are still conducted using fiat currencies such as the dollar. Also, bitcoin can be very volatile, with its price reliant on larger market conditions. Why is bitcoin soaring? A lot of the recent action has to do with the outcome of the U.S. presidential election. Trump, who was once a crypto skeptic, has pledged to make the U.S. “the crypto capital of the planet” and create a “strategic reserve” of bitcoin. His campaign accepted donations in cryptocurrency and he courted fans at a bitcoin conference in July. He also launched World Liberty Financial, a new venture with family members to trade cryptocurrencies. On Thursday morning, hours after bitcoin surpassed the $100,000 mark, Trump congratulated “BITCOINERS” on his social media platform Truth Social. He also appeared to take credit for the recent rally, writing, “YOU’RE WELCOME!!!” Top crypto players welcomed Trump’s election victory last month, in hopes that he would be able to push through legislative and regulatory changes that they’ve long lobbied for — which, generally speaking, aim for an increased sense of legitimacy without too much red tape. And the industry has made sizeable investments along the way. Back in August, Public Citizen, a left-leaning consumer rights advocacy nonprofit, reported finding that crypto-sector corporations spent more than $119 million in 2024 to back pro-crypto candidates across federal elections. Trump made his latest pro-crypto move when he announced his plans Wednesday to nominate Atkins to chair the SEC. Atkins was an SEC commissioner during the presidency of George W. Bush. In the years since leaving the agency, Atkins has made the case against too much market regulation. He joined the Token Alliance, a cryptocurrency advocacy organization, in 2017. Under current chair Gary Gensler, who will step down when Trump takes office, the SEC has cracked down on the crypto industry — penalizing a number of companies for violating securities laws. Gensler has also faced ample criticism from industry players in the process. One crypto-friendly move the SEC did make under Gensler was the approval in January of spot bitcoin ETFs, or exchange trade funds, which allow investors to have a stake in bitcoin without directly buying it. The spot ETFs were the dominant driver of bitcoin's price before Trump's win — but, like much of the crypto’s recent momentum, saw record inflows postelection. What does bitcoin hitting the $100k mark mean? Could it keep climbing? Bitcoin surpassing the coveted $100,000 mark has left much of the crypto world buzzing. “What we’re seeing isn’t just a rally — it’s a fundamental transformation of bitcoin’s place in the financial system,” Nathan McCauley, CEO and co-founder of crypto custodian Anchorage Digital, said in a statement — while pointing to the growth of who's entering the market, particularly with rising institutional adoption. Still, others note that the new heights of bitcoin's price don't necessarily mean the asset is going mainstream. The $100,000 level is “merely a psychological factor and ultimately just a number,” Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at British investment company AJ Bell, wrote in a Thursday commentary . That being said, bitcoin could keep climbing to more and more all-time highs, particularly if Trump makes good on his promises for more crypto-friendly regulation once in office. If Trump actually makes a bitcoin reserve, for example, supply changes could also propel the price forward. “It is hard to overstate the magnitude of the change in Washington’s attitude towards crypto post-election,” Matt Hougan, chief investment officer at Bitwise Asset Management, said via email Thursday, reiterating that prices could keep rising if trends persist. “There is a lot more demand than there is supply, and that’s usually a pretty good recipe for success.” Still, as with everything in the volatile cryptoverse, the future is never promised. Worldwide regulatory uncertainties and environmental concerns around bitcoin “mining" — the creation of new bitcoin, which consumes a lot of energy — are among factors that analysts like Coatsworth note could hamper future growth. And, as still a relatively young asset with a history of volatility, longer-term adoption has yet to be seen through. Is it too late to invest? What are the risks? Today’s excitement around bitcoin may make many who aren’t already in the space want to get in on the action. For those in a position to invest, Hougan says it's not too late — noting that bitcoin is still early in its development and most institutional investors “still have zero exposure.” At the same time, Hougan and others maintain that it's important to tread cautiously and not bite off more than you can chew. Experts continue to stress caution around getting carried away with crypto “FOMO,” or the fear of missing out, especially for small-pocketed investors. “A lot of people have got rich from the cryptocurrency soaring in value this year, but this high-risk asset isn’t suitable for everyone,” Coatsworth noted Thursday. “It’s volatile, unpredictable and is driven by speculation, none of which makes for a sleep-at-night investment.” In short, history shows you can lose money in crypto as quickly as you’ve made it. Long-term price behavior relies on larger market conditions. Trading continues at all hours, every day. Coatsworth points to recent research from the Bank for International Settlements, a Switzerland-based global organization of central banks, which found that about three-quarters of retail buyers on crypto exchange apps likely lost money on their bitcoin investments between 2015 and 2022. At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, bitcoin stood at just over $5,000. Its price climbed to nearly $69,000 by November 2021, during high demand for technology assets, but later crashed during an aggressive series of rate hikes by the Federal Reserve. And the late-2022 collapse of FTX significantly undermined confidence in crypto overall, with bitcoin falling below $17,000. Investors began returning in large numbers as inflation started to cool — and gains skyrocketed on the anticipation and then early success of spot ETFs, and again, now the post-election frenzy. But lighter regulation from the coming Trump administration could also mean less guardrails. _____ This story has been corrected to refer to Anchorage Digital as a crypto custodian, not a crypto asset manager. Wyatte Grantham-philips, The Associated PressOssoff says DeJoy’s Postal Service leadership continues to disappoint

Santa kicks off holiday shopping season in Crown PointDec 13 (Reuters) - Generative artificial intelligence startup Liquid AI said on Friday that it had closed a $250 million early-stage funding round led by chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices (AMD.O) , opens new tab , which is also its strategic partner. Consumer GenAI, which captured global attention in 2022 with the launch of OpenAI's ChatGPT, is at the center of the rapidly growing AI sector. This year also saw investors funnelling billions of dollars into GenAI startups. Liquid AI develops Liquid Foundation Models (LFMs), which it claims are smaller, more efficient AI models for enterprise use, compared to traditional cloud-based offerings from OpenAI, AWS and Google Cloud. The strategic partnership with AMD will help the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based startup to optimize LFMs with AMD's graphic, central and neural processing units. The funding will also help Liquid AI scale infrastructure and develop tailored LFMs for industries such as consumer electronics, biotechnology, telecommunications, financial services and e-commerce. Sign up here. Reporting by Rishi Kant in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. , opens new tabMooresville, NC, Nov. 27, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fundamental Global Inc. (Nasdaq: FGF) (the "Company” or "Fundamental Global"), formerly known as FG Financial Group, Inc., today announced that it has declared a quarterly cash dividend on its 8.00% Cumulative Preferred Stock, Series A (the "Preferred Stock”), for the period commencing on September 15, 2024, and ending on December 14, 2024. In accordance with the terms of the Preferred Stock, the board of directors of the Company declared a Preferred Stock cash dividend of $0.50 per share for the period commencing on September 15, 2024, and ending on Decemeber 14, 2024. The dividend is payable on December 15, 2024, to holders of record on December 1, 2024. The Preferred Stock is currently listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market and trades under the ticker symbol "FGFPP”. Fundamental Global Inc. Fundamental Global Inc. (Nasdaq: FGF, FGFPP) and its subsidiaries engage in diverse business activities including reinsurance, asset management, merchant banking, and managed services. The FG ® logo and Fundamental Global ® are registered trademarks of Fundamental Global LLC. This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act”), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act”). These statements are therefore entitled to the protection of the safe harbor provisions of these laws. These statements may be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "anticipate,” "believe,” "budget,” "can,” "contemplate,” "continue,” "could,” "envision,” "estimate,” "expect,” "evaluate,” "forecast,” "goal,” "guidance,” "indicate,” "intend,” "likely,” "may,” "might,” "outlook,” "plan,” "possibly,” "potential,” "predict,” "probable,” "probably,” "pro-forma,” "project,” "seek,” "should,” "target,” "view,” "will,” "would,” "will be,” "will continue,” "will likely result” or the negative thereof or other variations thereon or comparable terminology. In particular, discussions and statements regarding the Company's future business plans and initiatives are forward-looking in nature. We have based these forward-looking statements on our current expectations, assumptions, estimates, and projections. While we believe these to be reasonable, such forward-looking statements are only predictions and involve a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control. These and other important factors may cause our actual results, performance, or achievements to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements, and may impact our ability to implement and execute on our future business plans and initiatives. Management cautions that the forward-looking statements in this release are not guarantees of future performance, and we cannot assume that such statements will be realized or the forward-looking events and circumstances will occur. Factors that might cause such a difference include, without limitation: risks associated with our inability to identify and realize business opportunities, and the undertaking of any new such opportunities; our lack of operating history or established reputation in the reinsurance industry; our inability to obtain or maintain the necessary approvals to operate reinsurance subsidiaries; risks associated with operating in the reinsurance industry, including inadequately priced insured risks, credit risk associated with brokers we may do business with, and inadequate retrocessional coverage; our inability to execute on our equity holdings and asset management strategy, including our strategy to invest in the risk capital of special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs); our ability to maintain and expand our revenue streams including our digital cinema products and installation services; potential interruptions of supplier relationships or higher prices charged by suppliers; our ability to successfully compete and introduce enhancements and new features that achieve market acceptance and that keep pace with technological developments; our ability to maintain our d reputation and retain or replace significant customers; the potential impact of a challenging global economic environment or a downturn in the markets; the effects of economic, public health, and political conditions that impact business and consumer confidence and spending, including rising interest rates, periods of heightened inflation and market instability; potential loss of value of equity holdings; risk of becoming an investment company; fluctuations in our short-term results as we implement our business strategies; risks of being unable to attract and retain qualified management and personnel to implement and execute on our business and growth strategy; failure of our information technology systems, data breaches and cyber-attacks; our ability to establish and maintain an effective system of internal controls;; the requirements of being a public company and losing our status as a smaller reporting company or becoming an accelerated filer; any potential conflicts of interest or different interests between us and our stockholders; potential conflicts of interest between us and our directors and executive officers; risks associated with our related party transactions and equity holdings; and risks associated with our investments in SPACs, including the failure of any such SPAC to complete its initial business combination. Our expectations and future plans and initiatives may not be realized. If one of these risks or uncertainties materializes, or if our underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those expected, estimated or projected. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements are made only as of the date hereof and do not necessarily reflect our outlook at any other point in time. We do not undertake and specifically decline any obligation to update any such statements or to publicly announce the results of any revisions to any such statements to reflect new information, future events or developments. Investor Contact: [email protected]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Carmelo Pacheco's 18 points helped Mount St. Mary's defeat Howard 79-75 on Saturday. Pacheco shot 6 for 8 from beyond the arc for the Mountaineers (5-2). Dallas Hobbs shot 5 of 16 from the field, including 1 for 8 from 3-point range, and went 6 for 7 from the line to add 17 points. Terrell Ard Jr. had 16 points and shot 4 of 6 from the field and 8 of 8 from the free-throw line. Anwar Gill finished with 18 points for the Bison (3-5). Blake Harper added 15 points, seven rebounds and two steals for Howard. Joshua Strong also had 12 points. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .

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The United States duked out a rather tepid 0-0 game against England at Wembley in front of 78,346 fans. The U.S. women’s national team looked like a team of players mostly out of season and preparing to hunker down for some time off. There were flashes of excitement; after all, this is a roster minus quite a few usual starters, and it’s always nice to see a first cap, as Ally Sentnor earned hers on Saturday. Advertisement There was also no denying the atmosphere. The sight of Geri Horner — “Ginger Spice” — in the Wembley VIP box and Michele Kang on punditry duty was evidence of the irresistible intrigue surrounding this fixture. But it was 10 minutes before kick-off, as the Wembley Stadium announcer promised “something never been seen,” that the USA’s arrival in England felt fiercest. Lights dimmed and a technicolor EDM-concert-meets-Super-Bowl-Sunday strobe light and fireworks show followed, culminating in plumes of red smoke for the players to walk out under. It was pre-match pageantry appropriate for the billing, though the first-half display made hard work for the crowd. Optimistic chants of ‘ USA! USA!’ were met duly by English boos, as was the arrival of midfielder Korbin Albert in the 72nd minute. A better second-half performance from both sides inspired a more Wembley-appropriate atmosphere from the 78,000-plus in attendance. As for what happened on the pitch, Steph Yang, Meg Linehan and Charlotte Harpur analyze the key points. No Triple Espresso, some problems? The USWNT was without its usual starting front three of Mallory Swanson, Trinity Rodman, and Sophia Smith. Head coach Emma Hayes started Alyssa Thompson, Lynn Williams, and Emma Sears, with Thompson and Sears part of the younger and more inexperienced player pool that is getting a rollout in this info-gathering era between major tournaments. The inexperience of the front three starting against England, either in terms of playing time or time spent playing together, showed in the way the forwards weren’t able to convert their entries into the final third into better chances on goal. The best U.S. chances in the first half were outside looks, including ones from Thompson, Casey Krueger and Sam Coffey. Understanding that the purpose of these games is to season younger players and evaluate the next generation of starters, it was good to see both Sears and Thompson play the wings. Watching Thompson navigate frequent one-v-one duels with the older and somewhat more tired-looking England fullback Lucy Bronze posits a fun problem for the near future: where to put Thompson amidst the dominance of her preferred starting wingers. As for Sears, she was less robust than Thompson in her duels but was still a handful, either pulling wide herself or cutting inside off of Emily Fox coming from deep. Advertisement Yazmeen Ryan substituted on for Sears at the start of the second half, and Ally Sentnor got her first senior appearance, coming on in the 88th minute for Lindsey Horan. Both players, especially Ryan, have patiently improved their stock in NWSL while searching for a place on this team. Ryan was asked to play both forward and midfield, eventually dropping deeper underneath Horan. Jaedyn Shaw also came on, replacing Williams in the 73rd minute, and took advantage of her ability to navigate the space between forward and midfield. All of these players are part of a bigger question for Hayes, who has a delightful problem in perhaps having too many attacking options. Do you ask all these players to try to add to their toolboxes and risk playing them in second-best positions, or do you resign yourself to just having a really, really, ridiculously good bench? — Steph Yang Whither Horan? Called-back goal notwithstanding, Horan’s presence in the game was marred by a lot of time on the ground. It’s natural for a central player as involved as Horan to get targeted, but she also toppled over a few times seemingly disproportionate to the actual force applied. Without trying to read too much into it, that’s commonly a symptom of a player who’s a little bit out of ideas. To be fair, Horan was trying to enable some unfamiliar players, but she knows Williams well enough and that connection wasn’t there either, nor was Horan a good outlet for Coffey or Rose Lavelle. The weight of her through balls was lacking and shifting her higher in the second half didn’t really pull England’s defense out of shape. We got a glimpse Shaw playing that role deeper in the midfield while Horan pushed high; Shaw was a good companion to Lavelle, pushed higher on the right. Lavelle and Krueger kept trying to aim for Horan’s head in front of goal — not necessarily the worst plan based on history, but one which wasn’t close to working on the night. Advertisement With a better central target for their efforts — perhaps Sentnor, given more time to settle in, or Shaw, pushed higher into the 9 again after Horan’s substitution — there was definitely more the U.S. could have found in front of the goal. — Steph Yang Earps keeps England’s No. 1 conversation alive For a friendly, it does not get much bigger than England versus the U.S. in front of 78,346 fans. Such occasions are where England goalkeeper Mary Earps thrives. She has a presence that commands authority and soaks up the pressure. Head coach Sarina Wiegman chose Hannah Hampton for the previous big Wembley occasion against Germany in October, hinting to Earps that there was uncertainty surrounding her No. 1. Following her move from Manchester United to Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2023, it took Earps some time to settle into France’s domestic league. Everything was new: coach, training, routines, culture and language. Earps, however, has since settled at the club and it showed on the pitch for her country. With a commanding save, she denied Thompson in the fifth minute and later parried William’s shot wide to stop Hayes’ side again. She made other shots look comfortable thanks to her positioning while she was dextrous with her feet, at one point skilfully rounding Shaw far outside her box. Earps’ biggest strengths are her communication and organization of her defense. Wiegman will be pleased with her performance but it gives the England manager an ongoing selection headache looking ahead to the 2025 European Championships. — Charlotte Harpur How much can the USWNT take away from the game? This friendly won’t make the list of instant classics by any stretch and largely reflects where the USWNT is following the conclusion of one cycle and the start of another. It feels like a very long time until the 2027 World Cup, and even 2026’s World Cup qualifiers. Advertisement Younger players like Thompson, Sears and Ryan experienced the Wembley atmosphere, and hopefully got the exact level of development Hayes was hoping for out of a big game environment — with Ryan in particular impressing in the second half. Naomi Girma looks as solid as ever, and Alyssa Naeher edged one cap closer to the end of her international career without needing to make any major stops. Hayes, meanwhile, managed to sneak a senior team debut in, with Sentnor coming in for Horan in the final moments of the second half. The late waves of pressure from the U.S. was encouraging but remained unfruitful. In the end, Hayes didn’t have to show too many cards at Wembley. A stalemate against England feels like a perfectly acceptable result for November 2024. — Meg Linehan What next for USWNT? Tuesday, Dec. 3 : Netherlands (Bingoal Stadium, Hague, Netherlands), friendly, 2:45 pm ET Recommended reading (Top photo: Alex Broadway/USSF/Getty Images)

'The snow will be magical': Annual Santa's Parade of Lights in Orléans back this Saturday