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By MARY CLARE JALONICK and MATT BROWN WASHINGTON (AP) — Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Defense Department, said he had a “wonderful conversation” with Maine Sen. Susan Collins on Wednesday as he pushed to win enough votes for confirmation. He said he will not back down after allegations of excessive drinking and sexual misconduct. Related Articles National Politics | Donald Trump will ring the New York Stock Exchange bell. It’ll be a first for him National Politics | The Trump and Biden teams insist they’re working hand in glove on foreign crises National Politics | ‘You don’t know what’s next.’ International students scramble ahead of Trump inauguration National Politics | Trump is threatening to raise tariffs again. Here’s how China plans to fight back National Politics | Trump won’t be able to save the struggling US beef industry Collins said after the hourlong meeting that she questioned Hegseth about the allegations amid reports of drinking and the revelation that he made a settlement payment after being accused of a sexual assault that he denies. She said she had a “good, substantive” discussion with Hegseth and “covered a wide range of topics,” including sexual assault in the military, Ukraine and NATO. But she said she would wait until a hearing, and notably a background check, to make a decision. “I asked virtually every question under the sun,” Collins told reporters as she left her office after the meeting. “I pressed him both on his position on military issues as well as the allegations against him, so I don’t think there was anything that we did not cover.” The meeting with Collins was closely watched as she is seen as more likely than most of her Republican Senate colleagues to vote against some of Trump’s Cabinet picks. She and Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a fellow moderate Republican, did not shy from opposing Trump in his first term when they wanted to do so and sometimes supported President Joe Biden’s nominees for the judicial and executive branches. And Hegseth, an infantry combat veteran and former “Fox & Friends” weekend host, is working to gain as many votes as he can as some senators have expressed concerns about his personal history and lack of management experience. “I’m certainly not going to assume anything about where the senator stands,” Hegseth said as he left Collins’ office. “This is a process that we respect and appreciate. And we hope, in time, overall, when we get through that committee and to the floor that we can earn her support.” Hegseth met with Murkowski on Tuesday. He has also been meeting repeatedly with Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, a military veteran who has said she is a survivor of sexual assault and has spent time in the Senate working on improving how attacks are reported and prosecuted within the ranks. On Monday, Ernst said after a meeting with him that he had committed to selecting a senior official to prioritize those goals. Republicans will have a 53-49 majority next year, meaning Trump cannot lose more than three votes on any of his nominees. It is so far unclear whether Hegseth will have enough support, but Trump has stepped up his pressure on senators in the last week. “Pete is a WINNER, and there is nothing that can be done to change that!!!” Trump posted on his social media platform last week.

Manchin, Sinema prevent Democrats from locking in majority on labor board through 2026Lasertec Co. ( OTCMKTS:LSRCF – Get Free Report )’s stock price traded down 0.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $95.20 and last traded at $96.67. 632 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 5% from the average session volume of 603 shares. The stock had previously closed at $96.90. Lasertec Stock Down 0.2 % The firm has a fifty day moving average of $123.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $167.49. Lasertec Company Profile ( Get Free Report ) Lasertec Corporation engages in the designing, manufacturing, and sale of inspection and measurement equipment in Japan and internationally. The company offers semiconductor related products, which includes mask related systems for extreme ultraviolet and deep ultraviolet solutions, and wafers inspection and review systems; and FPD photomask inspection systems. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Lasertec Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Lasertec and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .

New Delhi, Dec 29: The Centre has implemented several initiatives in 2024 aimed at enhancing the welfare of pensioners, streamlining grievance redressal, and promoting digitisation in pension processes, according to the Department of Pension & Pensioners’ Welfare (DoPPW) year-end review released on Sunday. The largest-ever campaign for improving pensioners’ welfare was conducted during the year in India from November 1 to 30, 2024 in 800 cities across the nation with 1,950 camps and 1,100 Nodal Officers, generating 1.30 crore Digital Life Certificates (DLCs). As many as 39.18 lakh DLCs representing more than 30 percent were generated using face authentication technology, a 200 times increase over the DLC 2.0 Campaign. This proved particularly beneficial for elderly pensioners with faded fingerprints, differently abled individuals facing mobility challenges, and pensioners living in rural and remote areas. Pensioners aged 80 and above submitted 8 lakh DLCs. Among the banks, 11 lakh DLCs were generated by the State Bank of India, 7.5 lakh DLCs generated by IPPB, and 2.75 lakh DLCs were generated by PNB. The review further states that the 100-day action plan of the Department of Pension and Pensioners Welfare was successfully implemented during the year. Under this action plan, the month-long campaign for effective redressal of family pensioners’ grievances redressed 1,737 family pensioners’ grievances. Instructions were also issued for enhancement of the maximum limit of retirement gratuity and death gratuity for central government employees from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 25 lakh on reaching the Dearness Allowance rates to 50 per cent. The review also highlights that over 1.06 lakh grievances from pensioners across 90 Ministries and Departments were resolved which included 21,860 family pension cases and 9,818 super senior pensioner cases. The average grievance resolution time has been reduced from 36 days (2018) to 26 days (2024). Only 0.54 per cent of grievances remain pending for more than six months. Monthly reports on grievances, ranking Ministries/Departments based on their performance in grievance redressal, were introduced during the year. The new features include tracking grievances based on their source (online, postal, or call centre) and average disposal time for resolution. Besides, a new Single Unified Pension Application Form 6-A was launched by merging 9 pension forms into an integrated single pension form 6A under CCS (Pension) Rules 2021. As many as 3,200 pensioners submitted their pension forms on Bhavishya using Form 6A which has simplified the process and added to the convenience of pensioners.None

Luigi Nicholas Mangione, the suspect in the fatal shooting of a healthcare executive in New York City, apparently was living a charmed life: the grandson of a wealthy real estate developer, valedictorian of his elite Baltimore prep school and with degrees from one of the nation's top private universities. Friends at an exclusive co-living space at the edge of touristy Waikiki in Hawaii where the 26-year-old Mangione once lived widely considered him a “great guy,” and pictures on his social media accounts show a fit, smiling, handsome young man on beaches and at parties.NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stock indexes are drifting lower Tuesday in the runup to the highlight of the week for the market, the latest update on inflation that’s coming on Wednesday. The S&P 500 dipped by 0.2% in late trading, a day after pulling back from its latest all-time high . The index is on track for its first back-to-back losses in more than three weeks, as momentum slows following a big rally that has it on track for one of its best years of the millennium . The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down by 7 points, or less than 0.1%, with roughly an hour remaining in trading, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.3%. Tech titan Oracle dragged on the market and sank 7.8% after reporting growth for the latest quarter that fell just short of analysts’ expectations. It was one of the heaviest weights on the S&P 500, even though CEO Safra Catz said the company saw record demand related to artificial-intelligence technology for its cloud infrastructure business, which trains generative AI models. AI has been a big source of growth that’s helped many companies’ stock prices skyrocket. Oracle’s stock had already leaped nearly 81% for the year coming into Tuesday, which raised the bar of expectations for its profit report. C3.ai fell 2.1% despite reporting a smaller loss for the latest quarter than analysts expected. The AI software company increased its forecast for how big a loss it expects to take this fiscal year from its operations. In the bond market, Treasury yields ticked higher ahead of Wednesday’s report on the inflation that U.S. consumers are feeling. Economists expect it to show roughly similar increases as the month before. That and a report on Thursday about inflation at the wholesale level will be the final big pieces of data the Federal Reserve will get before its meeting next week, where many investors expect the year’s third cut to interest rates . The Fed has been easing its main interest rate from a two-decade high since September to lift the slowing jobs market, after bringing inflation nearly down to its 2% target. Lower rates would help give support to the economy, but they could also provide more fuel for inflation. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.22% from 4.20% late Monday. Even though the Fed has been cutting its main interest rate, mortgage rates have been more stubborn and have been volatile since the autumn. That has hampered the housing industry, and homebuilder Toll Brothers’ stock fell 5.2% even though it beat analysts’ expectations for profit and revenue in the latest quarter. CEO Douglas Yearley Jr. said the luxury builder has been seeing strong demand since the start of its fiscal year six weeks ago, an encouraging signal as it approaches the beginning of the spring selling season in mid-January Elsewhere on Wall Street, Alaska Air Group soared 13.6% after raising its forecast for profit in the current quarter. The airline said demand for flying around the holidays has been stronger than expected. It also approved a plan to buy back up to $1 billion of its stock, along with new service from Seattle to Tokyo and Seoul . Boeing climbed 5.2% after saying it's resuming production of its bestselling plane , the 737 Max, for the first time since 33,000 workers began a seven-week strike that ended in early November. Vail Resorts rose 2.7% after the ski resort operator reported a narrower first-quarter loss than expected in what is traditionally its worst quarter. In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed in China after the world’s second-largest economy said its exports rose by less than expected in November. Stocks rose 0.6% in Shanghai but fell 0.5% in Hong Kong. AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.

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Chimezie's late layup lifts Boston University past Maine 59-56'Democracy and freedom': Jimmy Carter's human rights efforts in Latin AmericaLIVERPOOL, England (AP): The Premier League table is starting to have a 1979 kind of feel to it — with Liverpool at the top of the standings and Nottingham Forest in second place as the closest challenger. Liverpool padded its lead with a 5-0 rout of West Ham on Sunday while upstart Nottingham Forest climbed into second place by beating Everton 2-0 to continue its surprising push for a Champions League place. Forest was runner-up behind Liverpool in the English top tier in 1979 – the same year it won the first of two straight European Cups under Brian Clough – but hasn’t finished that high in the domestic first division since then. The club’s long-suffering fans finally have reason to believe that the good times are back under Nuno Espirito Santo. Although the Portuguese manager was the first to point out that his team may not stay in second place for very long. “It doesn’t mean anything,” Nuno said of his team’s position. “We haven’t achieved anything yet.” Forest could find themselves back in fourth place by January 1 as they are only one point above Arsenal and two ahead of Chelsea, with both London clubs having a game in hand. Liverpool could prove a lot harder to overtake, though, as Arne Slot’s team only seems to be growing stronger and stronger. The performance at West Ham was one of their most impressive yet, with five different players getting on the scoresheet — including Mohamed Salah, who netted the team’s third for his league-leading 17th of the season. Salah also had an assist to take his tally to 52 goal contributions in all competitions for the calendar year 2024 — 29 goals and 23 assists. Salah was asked after the match if he would soon have good news for fans about his future beyond the end of this season, when his contract expires. The Egyptian told Sky Sports: “No, we are far away from that.” “The only thing on my mind is I want Liverpool to win the league, and I want to be part of that,” Salah said. “I will do my best for the team to win the trophy. There are a few other teams catching up with us,nd we need to stay focused and humble and go again.” Liverpool are nine points ahead of Arsenal and 10 above Chelsea, with all three teams having played 18 games. Manchester City are 14 points back, having played 19 games, after beating Leicester 2-0 away. Guardiola marks milestone with win In his 500th game in charge of Man City, Pep Guardiola had some reasons to smile again. City marked Guardiola’s milestone with a win and a goal from Erling Haaland – things that the Spaniard used to take for granted but have been increasingly rare of late for the struggling four-time defending Premier League champions. Savinho also netted his first goal for the club in a much-needed win although the team still looked far from the juggernaut that has dominated English football for much of the Spaniard’s reign. Leicester had several chances for an equaliser before Savinho set up Haaland for the second in the 74th as City ended a five-game winless run in all competitions. “Just relief, that is the word to express how all of us feel,” Guardiola said. “It was not the ideal performance, but hopefully, the victories will give our mood a better position. Hopefully in the new year we can bounce back a bit from a bad moment.” Other results : Tottenham 2-2 Wolves; Fulham 2-2 Bournemouth; Crystal Palace 2-1 Southampton.

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The centerpiece of the $884 billion National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) -- which was green-lit by the Republican-led House of Representatives but still needs Senate approval -- is a 14.5 percent pay increase for junior enlisted service members and 4.5 percent for other personnel. But talks over the 1,800-page-plus text were complicated by a last-minute Republican intervention to prevent the military's health program from covering gender-affirming care for children of service members if it results in "sterilization." "Citizens don't want their tax dollars to go to this, and underaged people often regret these surgeries later in life," Nebraska Republican Don Bacon told CNN. "It's a bad hill to die on for Democrats." Gender-affirming health care for children is just one of multiple fronts in the so-called "culture wars" that polarize US politics and divide the country, with Republicans using the issue as a cudgel against Democrats in November's elections. The funding block angered progressives, and prompted the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee to come out against the legislation. "As I said a few days ago, blanketly denying health care to people who need it -- just because of a biased notion against transgender people -- is wrong," Adam Smith, who represents a district in Washington state, said in a statement. "The inclusion of this harmful provision puts the lives of children at risk and may force thousands of service members to make the choice of continuing their military service or leaving to ensure their child can get the health care they need." Smith slammed House Speaker Mike Johnson for pandering to "the most extreme elements of his party" by including the transgender provision. The must-pass NDAA -- a bill that Congress has sent to the president's desk without fail every year since 1961 -- cleared the chamber in a 281-140 vote and now moves to the Senate, with final passage expected next week. The topline figure is one percent above last year's total and, with funding from other sources, brings the total defense budget to just under $900 billion. Some foreign policy hawks on the Republican side of the Senate wanted $25 billion more for the Pentagon but they are still expected to support the bill. "The safety and security of the American people is our top priority, and this year's NDAA ensures our military has the resources and the capabilities needed to remain the most powerful fighting force on the planet," Johnson told reporters. ft/mlmJuan Soto gets free luxury suite and up to 4 premium tickets for home games in $765M Mets deal

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NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stock indexes got back to climbing on Wednesday after the latest update on inflation appeared to clear the way for more help for the economy from the Federal Reserve . The S&P 500 rose 0.8% to break its first two-day losing streak in nearly a month and finished just short of its all-time high. Big Tech stocks led the way, which drove the Nasdaq composite up 1.8% to top the 20,000 level for the first time. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, meanwhile, lagged the market with a dip of 99 points, or 0.2%. Stocks got a boost as expectations built that Wednesday’s inflation data will allow the Fed to deliver another cut to interest rates at its meeting next week. Traders are betting on a nearly 99% probability of that, according to data from CME Group, up from 89% a day before. If they’re correct, it would be a third straight cut by the Fed after it began lowering rates in September from a two-decade high. It’s hoping to support a slowing job market after getting inflation nearly all the way down to its 2% target. Lower rates would give a boost to the economy and to prices for investments, but they could also provide more fuel for inflation. “The data have given the Fed the ‘all clear’ for next week, and today’s inflation data keep a January cut in active discussion,” according to Ellen Zentner, chief economic strategist for Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. Expectations for a series of cuts to rates by the Fed have been one of the main reasons the S&P 500 has set an all-time high 57 times this year , with the latest coming last week. The biggest boosts for the index on Wednesday came from Nvidia and other Big Tech stocks. Their massive growth has made them Wall Street’s biggest stars for years, though other kinds of stocks have recently been catching up somewhat amid hopes for the broader U.S. economy. Tesla jumped 5.9% to finish above $420 at $424.77. It’s a level that Elon Musk made famous in a 2018 tweet when he said he had secured funding to take Tesla private at $420 per share . Stitch Fix soared 44.3% after the company that sends clothes to your door reported a smaller loss for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It also gave financial forecasts for the current quarter that were better than expected, including for revenue. GE Vernova rallied 5% for one of the biggest gains in the S&P 500. The energy company that spun out of General Electric said it would pay a 25 cent dividend every three months, and it approved a plan to send up to another $6 billion to its shareholders by buying back its own stock. On the losing end of Wall Street, Dave & Buster’s Entertainment tumbled 20.1% after reporting a worse loss for the latest quarter than expected. It also said CEO Chris Morris has resigned, and the board has been working with an executive-search firm for the last few months to find its next permanent leader. Albertsons fell 1.5% after filing a lawsuit against Kroger, saying it didn’t do enough for their proposed $24.6 billion merger agreement to win regulatory clearance. Albertsons said it’s seeking billions of dollars in damages from Kroger, whose stock rose 1%. A day earlier, judges in separate cases in Oregon and Washington nixed the supermarket giants’ merger. The grocers contended a combination could have helped them compete with big retailers like Walmart, Costco and Amazon, but critics said it would hurt competition. After terminating the merger agreement with Kroger, Albertsons said it plans to boost its dividend 25% and increased the size of its program to buy back its own stock. Macy’s slipped 0.8% after cutting some of its financial forecasts for the full year of 2024, including for how much profit it expects to make off each $1 of revenue. All told, the S&P 500 rose 49.28 points to 6,084.19. The Dow dipped 99.27 to 44,148.56, and the Nasdaq composite rallied 347.65 to 20,034.89. In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.27% from 4.23% late Tuesday. The two-year Treasury yield, which more closely tracks expectations for the Fed, edged up to 4.15% from 4.14%. In stock markets abroad, indexes rose across much of Europe and Asia. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was an outlier and slipped 0.8% as Chinese leaders convened an annual planning meeting in Beijing that is expected to set economic policies and growth targets for the coming year. South Korea’s Kospi rose 1%, up for a second straight day as it climbs back following last week’s political turmoil where its president briefly declared martial law. AP Writers Matt Ott and Zimo Zhong contributed.