Report: Google Asks FTC to End Microsoft-OpenAI Cloud DealAmit Shah Inaugurates 10,000 New MPACS, Launches Vision for 2 Lakh Cooperatives to Empower Rural India

US to require passenger vehicles to sound alarms if rear passengers don’t fasten their seat beltsStock market today: Asian shares are mostly lower, with most world markets closed for Christmas BANGKOK (AP) — Shares are lower in Tokyo and Shanghai, two of only a handful of world markets open on Christmas day. Oil prices rose. On Tuesday, stocks closed higher on Wall Street in a shortened holiday session. Gains in Big Tech stocks helped the S&P 500 to a 1.1% gain, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.9%. The Nasdaq composite climbed 1.3%. American Airlines shook off an early loss and ended mostly higher after the airline briefly grounded flights nationwide due to a technical issue. Treasury yields held steady. The yield on the 10-year Treasury was little changed at 4.59% Japan to maximize nuclear power in clean-energy push as electricity demand grows TOKYO (AP) — A Japanese government panel has largely supported a draft energy policy calling for bolstering renewables up to half of Japanese electricity needs by 2040. It also recommends maximizing the use of nuclear power to accommodate the growing demand for power in the era of AI while meeting decarbonization targets. Cabinet is expected to formally approve the plan by March following a period of public consultation. The policy says nuclear energy should account for 20% of Japan’s energy supply in 2040, with renewables expanded to 40-50% and coal-fired power reduced to 30-40%. Biden will decide on US Steel acquisition after influential panel fails to reach consensus WASHINGTON (AP) — A powerful government panel has failed to reach consensus on the possible national security risks of a nearly $15 billion proposed deal for Nippon Steel of Japan to purchase U.S. Steel. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States on Monday sent its long-awaited report to President Joe Biden, a longtime opponent of the deal. Some federal agencies represented on the panel were skeptical that allowing a Japanese company to buy an American-owned steelmaker would create national security risks. That's according to a U.S. official familiar with the matter. Both Biden and President-elect Donald Trump opposed the merger and vowed to block it. Nippon Steel says it is confident the deal will go ahead. Nissan and Honda to attempt a merger that would create the world's No. 3 automaker TOKYO (AP) — Japanese automakers Nissan and Honda have announced plans to work toward a merger that would catapult them to a top position in an industry in the midst of tectonic shifts as it transitions away from its reliance on fossil fuels. The two companies said they signed an agreement on integrating their businesses on Monday. Smaller Nissan alliance member Mitsubishi Motors agreed to join the talks. News of a possible merger surfaced earlier this month. Japanese automakers face a strong challenge from their Chinese rivals and Tesla as they make inroads into markets at home and abroad. What a merger between Nissan and Honda means for the automakers and the industry BANGKOK (AP) — Japanese automakers Honda and Nissan will attempt to merge and create the world’s third-largest automaker by sales as the industry undergoes dramatic changes in its transition away from fossil fuels. The two companies said they had signed a memorandum of understanding on Monday and that smaller Nissan alliance member Mitsubishi Motors also had agreed to join the talks on integrating their businesses. Honda will initially lead the new management, retaining the principles and brands of each company. Following is a quick look at what a combined Honda and Nissan would mean for the companies, and for the auto industry. Survey: Small businesses are feeling more optimistic about the economy after the election A survey shows small business owners are feeling more optimistic about the economy following the election. The National Federation of Independent Businesses’ Small Business Optimism Index rose by eight points in November to 101.7, its highest reading since June 2021. The Uncertainty Index declined 12 points in November to 98, following October’s pre-election record high of 110. NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg said small business owners became more certain about future business conditions following the presidential election, breaking a nearly three-year streak of record high uncertainty. The survey also showed that more owners are also hoping 2025 will be a good time to grow. Heavy travel day starts with brief grounding of all American Airlines flights WASHINGTON (AP) — American Airlines briefly grounded flights nationwide due to a technical problem just as the Christmas travel season kicked into overdrive and winter weather threatened more potential problems for those planning to fly or drive. Government regulators cleared American flights to get airborne Tuesday about an hour after the Federal Aviation Administration ordered a national ground stop, which prevented planes from taking off. American said in an email that the problem was caused by vendor technology in its flight operating system. Aviation analytics company Cirium said flights were delayed across American’s major hubs, with only 37% leaving on time. Nineteen flights were cancelled. Nordstrom to be acquired by Nordstrom family and a Mexican retail group in $6.25 billion deal Century-old department store Nordstrom has agreed to be acquired and taken private by Nordstrom family members and a Mexican retail group in a $6.25 billion deal. Nordstrom shareholders will receive $24.25 in cash for each share of Nordstrom common stock, representing a 42% premium on the company’s stock as of March 18. Nordstrom’s board of directors unanimously approved the the proposed transaction, while Erik and Pete Nordstrom — part of the Nordstrom family taking over the company — recused themselves from voting. Following the close of the transaction, the Nordstrom Family will have a majority ownership stake in the company. Stock market today: Wall Street rallies ahead of Christmas Stocks closed higher on Wall Street ahead of the Christmas holiday, led by gains in Big Tech stocks. The S&P 500 added 1.1% Tuesday. Trading closed early ahead of the holiday. Tech companies including Apple, Amazon and chip company Broadcom helped pull the market higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.9%, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 1.3%. American Airlines shook off an early loss and ended mostly higher after the airline briefly grounded flights nationwide due to a technical issue. Treasury yields held steady in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury was little changed at 4.59% An analyst looks ahead to how the US economy might fare under Trump WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump won a return to the White House in part by promising big changes in economic policy — more tax cuts, huge tariffs on imports, mass deportations of immigrants working in the United States illegally. In some ways, his victory marked a repudiation of President Joe Biden’s economic stewardship and a protest against inflation. It came despite low unemployment and steady growth under the Biden administration. What lies ahead for the economy under Trump? Paul Ashworth of Capital Economics spoke recently to The Associated Press. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

How to protect your communications through encryption

New Zealand medical software company Orion Health is to be taken over by a Canadian health technology company HEALWELL AI for about NZ$175 million. Orion was a pioneer local health technology company, which developed software for managing patient records in the 1990s and listed on the NZX in 2014. Chief executive Brad Porter said the deal would drive future growth. "There is so much potential with our combined capabilities to meet unmet health needs in ways that could be game-changing for the health of entire communities. When we link up data and insights with AI-assisted action we will see data saving lives on a scale not seen before." HEALWELL chair Hamed Shahbazi called the acquisition of Orion a "game changer". "Orion Health brings significant large enterprise customers, recurring revenues, strong operating margins and free cashflow conversion to HEALWELL while providing a significant new channel for the distribution of its best-in-class AI products and services." HEALWELL said it intended to divest the non-core Orion assets, with the takeover set to be finalised by April next year. It said Orion Health was expected to have revenue of more than NZ$122m next year with operating earnings of $24m. Checkered past Orion listed on the NZX in late 2014 in a blaze of publicity and optimism, with a debut share price 14 percent above the issue price making it instantly a billion dollar company. Like most technology companies it burnt through cash and posted hefty losses in its early years as it looked to develop products and markets. However, its $6 a shareprice plunged to $1 as the losses mounted and it needed to restructure, cut costs and staff. By 2018 it found a white knight in the form of a British company to give it a cash injection, but at the cost of losing its best performing operations. Founder Ian McCrae took the firm private in 2019, in part because of the high costs of being listed and also the [https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/464112/orion-develops-health-data-exchange-for-saudi-arabia mandatory reporting and disclosure rules]. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.Black plastic kitchen utensil risks were overstated. But you should still toss them, group saysTHE US Supreme Court dismissed an appeal by Nvidia, leaving it to face a lawsuit that accuses the company of misleading shareholders about its reliance on crypto-mining revenue in the run-up to a market crash. The dismissal came four weeks after several justices questioned whether the case presented the type of broad legal issue that would warrant a Supreme Court ruling. Nvidia, the world’s most valuable company, contended the shareholders’ lawsuit lacked enough specificity to go forward to the evidence-gathering stage of litigation. As is its usual practice, the court did not provide any explanation for dropping the case, saying only that it was being “dismissed as improvidently granted”. The move is a “big win for corporate accountability”, said Deepak Gupta, who represented the shareholders in the Nov 13 argument. “When corporations mislead shareholders, they undermine trust in our markets. Ensuring that investors can seek justice is essential to preserving fairness and transparency.” Nvidia was appealing a ruling from the San Francisco-based 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals. In letting the suit go forward in a federal district court in Oakland, California, the appeals court had reversed a trial judge’s decision tossing out the case. “We would have preferred a decision on the merits affirming the trial court’s dismissal of the case, but we are fully prepared to continue our defence,” Nvidia said. “Consistent and predictable standards in securities litigation are essential to protecting shareholders and ensuring a strong economy, and we remain committed to supporting them.” It’s the second securities fraud case the justices have scrapped in a term that is only two months old. The court last month dismissed an appeal by Meta Platforms, leaving it to face accusations of misleading shareholders about the data-harvesting scandal involving political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica. A ruling favouring Nvidia might have helped other companies win early dismissal of shareholder suits and avoid the expense of mounting a full-scale defence. The case centred on the protections Congress gave companies in the 1995 Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, which requires lawsuits to make key allegations “with particularity”. The Nvidia shareholders said that in 2017 and 2018 chief executive Jensen Huang hid the fact that record revenue growth was being driven by mining-related sales of the company’s flagship GeForce GPU product, rather than by sales for gaming. The chipmaker’s products have become key computer components used to complete the complex calculations to extract cryptocurrencies. The investors said crypto market volatility put the company in a precarious spot when the market crashed in 2018. The company said in November 2018 that it had missed its revenue projections, sending shares tumbling more than 28 per cent over two days. Huang at the time said a “crypto hangover” was to blame. The investors are led by a unit of Swedish institutional investor E Ohman J:or AB. Nvidia in 2020 agreed to pay US$5.5 million to settle related allegations by the Securities and Exchange Commission. BLOOMBERG

Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save A recent study that recommended toxic chemicals in black plastic products be immediately thrown away included a math error that significantly overstated the risks of contamination, but its authors are standing by their conclusions and warn against using such products. Published in the peer-reviewed journal Chemosphere , experts from the nonprofit Toxic-Free Future said they detected flame retardants and other toxic chemicals in 85% of 203 items made of black plastic including kitchen utensils , take-out containers, children's toys and hair accessories. In a blog post, Joe Schwarcz, director of McGill University's Office for Science and Society in Canada, explained that the Toxin-Free Future scientists miscalculated the lower end of what the EPA considered a health risk through a multiplication error. Instead of humans being potentially exposed to a dose of toxic chemicals in black plastic utensils near the minimum level that the EPA deems a health risk, it's actually about one-tenth of that. (Dreamstime/TNS) The study initially said the potential exposure to chemicals found in one of the kitchen utensils approached the minimum levels the Environmental Protection Agency deemed a health risk. People are also reading... Oregon State celebrates Murphy's arrival while Washington State loses coach, quarterback Two Albany residents killed in Linn County crash Corvallis looks to drum up millions for facilities project Albany shelter faces federal lawsuit as whistleblower faces homelessness Albany police say sex offender tried enrolling in high school Proposal for South Corvallis has a neighborhood on edge Oregon port contractor praises Hitler, uses slurs — and now officials face a quandary Oregon State men head to the beaches of Hawaii looking to keep momentum going Albany man suspected of stealing flatbed trailer, crashing into minivan Group wants to make Corvallis downtown more sophisticated Oregon State lands a quarterback in the transfer portal Brownsville swears in new councilors, conservative sweep complete New Corvallis playground welcomes children with disabilities Corvallis School District's buses are vexing parents Group wants to make Corvallis downtown more sophisticated But in an update to the study, the authors say they made an error in their calculations and the real levels were "an order of magnitude lower" than the EPA's thresholds. The error was discovered by Joe Schwarcz, director of McGill University's Office for Science and Society in Canada. In a blog post, Schwarcz explained that the Toxin-Free Future scientists miscalculated the lower end of what the EPA considered a health risk through a multiplication error. Instead of humans being potentially exposed to a dose of toxic chemicals in black plastic utensils near the minimum level that the EPA deems a health risk, it's actually about one-tenth of that. Though Schwarcz said the risks outlined in the study aren't enough for him to discard his black plastic kitchen items if he had them, he agreed with the authors that flame retardants shouldn't be in these products in the first place. "The math error does not impact the study's findings, conclusions or recommendations," said Megan Liu, a co-author of the study who is the science and policy manager for Toxic-Free Future . She added that any traces of flame retardants or toxic chemicals in cooking utensils should be concerning for the public. Flame retardants are getting into commonly used items because black-colored products are being made from recycled electronic waste, such as discarded television sets and computers, that frequently contain the additives. When they're heated, the flame retardants and other toxic chemicals can migrate out. If you're wondering whether your old black plastic spoon or other utensils are a part of this group, Liu shared some more guidance. It's nearly impossible to know whether a black plastic product is contaminated. That's because these products that include recycled e-waste don't disclose a detailed list of all ingredients and contaminants in the product. Liu said it's also unclear how many types of flame retardants are in these black plastic products. Some of the products that researchers tested in this recent study "had up to nine different harmful chemicals and harmful flame retardants in them," she said. Anytime you're looking for the type of recycled plastic a product is made of you're going to look for a number within the chasing arrows (that form a triangle) logo. Recycling symbols are numbered 1 to 7 and we commonly associate the numbers with what we can toss in our blue recycling bins. The 1 through 7 numbers stand for, respectively, polyethylene terephthalate, high-density polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), low-density polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene or Styrofoam, and miscellaneous plastics (including polycarbonate, polylactide, acrylic, acrylonitrile butadiene, styrene, fiberglass and nylon). The study found higher levels of toxic flame retardants in polystyrene plastic, which is labeled with the number 6, said Liu. Microplastics are everywhere, but are they harming us? MIKE STOBBEAssociated Press There isn't a definitive timeline of when recycled electronic-waste started to be incorporated into black plastic products specifically, but e-waste started to get recycled in the early 2000s, Liu said. The way computers, cellphones, stereos, printers and copiers were being disposed of previously was to simply add them to a landfill without reusing salvageable parts. But as the National Conference of State Legislatures notes, electronics production required a significant amount of resources that could be recovered through recycling. Recovering resources such as metals, plastics and glass through recycling used a fraction of the energy needed to mine new materials. However, the study pointed out that flame retardants and other chemical contaminates have been detected in and near e-waste recycling facilities, in indoor air and dust at formal e-waste recycling facilities in Canada, China, Spain and the U.S. It also noted contamination in soil samples surrounding e-waste recycling sites in China and Vietnam. The safest nontoxic material options for kitchen utensil are wood and stainless steel. Single-use plastics revolutionized the medical industry. Now, they're raising concerns about sustainability. Single-use plastics revolutionized the medical industry. Now, they're raising concerns about sustainability. The 20th century brought airplanes, radio, television, the internet, and plastic. Lots of plastic. That plastic is now showing up on shorelines, forming islands in oceans, and generating mountains of translucent trash on land. Around 700 species of animals in the sea have been found to interact with plastic daily. Companies across every industry face pressure to reduce the amount of plastic they produce. Seventy-two percent of the world's largest have made voluntary commitments to reduce their plastic waste, according to a Duke University analysis. One industry, in particular, has greatly benefited from advancements in single-use plastic technology: the medical industry. Only in recent years have businesses and academics in the field begun to talk about minimizing their impact on our environment like beverage manufacturers and other consumer goods-producing businesses. Medical Technology Schools analyzed academic studies published in the National Library of Medicine , the American Medical Association , and news reports to shed light on the medical community's use of plastics through history, their environmental problems, and proposed solutions to reduce their impact. And the impact can be significant. A single hospital patient generates nearly 34 pounds of waste a day —as much as a quarter of it is plastic. The COVID-19 pandemic only worsened the problem. Plastic medical waste booms during COVID-19 The pandemic pushed hospital capacity to the brink and led to a massive increase in personal protective equipment and medical supply usage. Medical-grade masks and other protective equipment like face shields, made mostly of nonrenewable plastics, were in high demand. In 2020, the World Health Organization estimated that the international need for PPE manufacturing would boost 40% to address the public health crisis. Hospitals needed an estimated 89 million masks, 76 million gloves, and 1.6 million goggles every month of the pandemic. To date, nearly 677 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered, each requiring their own plastic syringe, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Global consulting firm Frost & Sullivan estimated that the U.S. would produce a year's worth of medical waste in just two months due to the pandemic. The World Economic Forum warned that the COVID-19 crisis threatened to " stall and even reverse progress " to reduce large plastic waste. It's a challenge researchers acknowledge today as they search for solutions. Convenience gives way to cleanliness Plastics introduced an era of ultraconvenience to the world. It makes our clothes. It's made bike helmets and airbags possible. And it's a cheap material to produce, meaning it's cheap for consumers too. Almost as importantly, it's durable and incredibly easy to make into complex shapes—a trait that helped plastics invented in the mid-20th century quickly replace more expensive metal and wooden goods. That adoption extended to the medical field, where the single-use nature of plastics represented a move toward more hygienic tools for physicians and hospitals. But it wasn't plastic's sanitary qualities that the industry first latched onto. Like so many other technical advancements, convenience and cost were the initial driving factors. That they were more conducive to creating a sterile environment for patients was a benefit that health care began to tout closer to the end of the 20th century. PVC, or polyvinyl chloride, replaced glass bottles previously used to hold IV solution and replaced rubber tubing used throughout hospital settings. Plastic has also become the go-to material for making syringes and catheters. Plastic products are generally made from chemicals derived from the oil and natural gas refining process. Chemists use those byproducts to create synthetic materials with malleable and durable chemical structures. The low cost of these materials has helped medical device-makers support better health outcomes for communities across the U.S. since the 1900s. No longer was health care priced at rates only the elite could afford—it was accessible to a much larger swath of the public. In the last decade, the U.S., in particular, has emerged as a massive market for medical plastics. The country generally accounts for nearly half of the global market for medical devices. Plastic's durability is not only a benefit but a detriment to the environment, as the material can take many years to deteriorate when it enters landfills or trashes oceans. Estimates vary widely, but scientists ballpark that depending on the kind of plastic and the environment in which it decomposes, it could take dozens to thousands of years to break down entirely. Waste could pile higher, faster in the coming years COVID-19, which remains a burden for health care systems, isn't the only force raising the stakes for a health care industry pressured to reduce reliance on plastics or find ways to reuse them. Global annual production of plastic has doubled in the last two decades , according to the Environmental Protection Agency. As the U.S. looks toward the future, its aging population is another factor that could exacerbate the rate at which medical plastics end up in landfills. People require more medical care as they age, and aging baby boomers are expected to place increased demand on the medical device industry. At the same time, governments are under pressure to lower health care costs, which have become unaffordable even for those insured . Organizations work to implement environmentally conscious plastic waste management As recently as 2021, researchers lamented a lack of data on efforts to recycle medical plastics. Around 350 hospitals participate in Practice Greenhealth's Environmental Excellence Awards . Practice Greenhealth is an organization working to help hospitals increase their sustainability. It's one of the few sources of hospital sustainability data, and its roster of participating hospitals represents a small fraction of the more than 6,000 hospitals operating in the U.S. To meet the need to reduce plastic waste generation, some hospitals are moving away from using plastic in certain applications. Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center replaced health care workers' disposable plastic isolation gowns with reusable cloth gowns at its hospitals in the last decade, saving money and preventing literal tons of medical waste. It also implemented a process for sterilizing and incinerating the boxes that hold used needles, allowing them to be reassembled and reused in a health care setting. Recycling plastic medical waste is complicated by the potential for contamination and the need to separate contaminated and noncontaminated waste; once separated, they can be broken down with heat or treated with chemicals and reprocessed. However, using chemical methods to break down and dispose of plastics has drawbacks. Over 200 nongovernmental organizations signed a letter in 2023 urging the Biden administration to end federal support for methods like these, arguing they generate toxic pollutants. The Vinyl Council of Australia is working with hospitals to recover used materials made of PVC . The materials are broken down into tiny pieces, washed and heated at high temperatures, and remade into things used outside medical settings. In the U.S. and Europe, there's the Healthcare Plastics Recycling Council, a coalition of companies working in the health care device space that includes DuPont, Johnson & Johnson, and Medtronic. In 2021, the HPRC, advised by professionals at Kaiser Permanente and other health systems, rolled out a medical waste recycling pilot project with hopes of scaling it across more hospitals. Story editing by Ashleigh Graf. Copy editing by Paris Close. Photo selection by Clarese Moller. This story originally appeared on Medical Technology Schools and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio. Sign up here to get the latest health & fitness updates in your inbox every week!Union of Investment Companies Releases the 20th Issue of The Investor Magazine for December 2024

Dishing on the Gophers: Who blocks Penn State’s Abdul Carter? Minnesota’s No. 1 in the pass game, moreLOS ANGELES , Dec. 20, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP ("GPM") announces that investors with substantial losses have opportunity to lead the securities fraud class action lawsuit against ASML Holding N.V. ("ASML" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: ASML ). Class Period: January 24, 2024 – October 15, 2024 Lead Plaintiff Deadline: January 13, 2025 If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff of the ASML lawsuit, you can submit your contact information at www.glancylaw.com/cases/asml-holding-nv/ . You can also contact Charles H. Linehan , of GPM at 310-201-9150, Toll-Free at 888-773-9224, or via email at [email protected] to learn more about your rights. The complaint filed alleges that, throughout the Class Period, Defendants failed to disclose to investors that: (1) the issues being faced by suppliers, like ASML, in the semiconductor industry were much more severe than Defendants had indicated to investors; (2) the pace of recovery of sales in the semiconductor industry was much slower than Defendants had publicly acknowledged; (3) Defendants had created the false impression that they possessed reliable information pertaining to customer demand and anticipated growth, while also downplaying risk from macroeconomic and industry fluctuations, as well as stronger regulations restricting the export of semiconductor technology, including the products that ASML sells; and (4) as a result, Defendants' positive statements about the Company's business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times. Follow us for updates on LinkedIn , Twitter , or Facebook . To be a member of the class action you need not take any action at this time; you may retain counsel of your choice or take no action and remain an absent member of the class action. If you wish to learn more about this class action, or if you have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights or interests with respect to the pending class action lawsuit, please contact Charles Linehan, Esquire , of GPM, 1925 Century Park East, Suite 2100, Los Angeles, California 90067 at 310-201-9150, Toll-Free at 888-773-9224, by email to [email protected] , or visit our website at www.glancylaw.com . If you inquire by email please include your mailing address, telephone number and number of shares purchased. This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules. Contacts Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP , Los Angeles Charles Linehan , 310-201-9150 or 888-773-9224 [email protected] www.glancylaw.com SOURCE Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP