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NASA's stuck astronauts hit 6 months in space. Just 2 more to goGreg McLean put a lot of his childhood (and family) into blockbuster Territory

Two UC Santa Cruz faculty members, Richard (Ed) Green and Chris Benner, have been selected as awardees for the eighth annual Santa Cruz Works Titans Awards , which recognize outstanding individuals who have made significant contributions to the local tech and entrepreneurial community. Santa Cruz Works, a non-profit organization focused on connecting industry professionals and expanding local startups, will honor the awardees at a ceremony on January 15, 2024 at the Kuumbwa Jazz Center. Pioneering paleogenomics and forensic genomics Ed Green is a professor of biomolecular engineering at the Baskin School of Engineering, director of UCSC QB3 , and co-principal investigator of the UC Santa Cruz Paleogenomics Lab . Santa Cruz Works named Green a "visionary scientist and entrepreneur," recognizing his advancements in DNA technologies and his role in founding local startups and mentoring aspiring entrepreneurs. Green’s research has uncovered groundbreaking insights into human evolution, including the genetic exchange between early modern humans and Neanderthals. He was a key contributor in the Nobel-Prize winning Neanderthal Genome Project , collaborating with Nobel laureate Svate Pääblo to sequence and compare the genomes of Neanderthals, Denisovans, and modern humans. As the faculty director of UCSC QB3 , a nonprofit research and technology institute, Green supports researchers, graduate students, and postdocs to transform research into impactful startups and collaborate with industry partners. Green has also developed several successful startups of his own, contributing to the rich ecosystem of bioengineering entrepreneurship in Santa Cruz. Originally founded at UCSC, Dovetail Genomics, now part of Cantata Bio, enables researchers and clinicians to solve complex scientific problems through advanced genomic approaches. Another local company founded by Green, called Claret Biosciences, focuses on next-generation sequencing technologies to analyze degraded DNA for applications such as cancer research. Green developed a breakthrough method for sequencing DNA from rootless hair to identify human remains, a task once deemed impossible, leading to the resolution of numerous cold cases. He achieved this as co-founder and scientific advisor of Astrea Forensics, which uses new technologies to advance forensic DNA analysis and solve complex cases.. Advancing equity and economic opportunity Environmental Studies and Sociology Professor Chris Benner is the Dorothy E. Everett Chair in Global Information and Social Entrepreneurship, director of the Institute for Social Transformation, and director of the Everett Program for Technology and Social Change. The Santa Cruz Works Titans Awards recognized Benner for his “groundbreaking work champion[ing] equity and economic opportunity by reshaping narratives and policies to highlight collaboration and mutuality.” Specifically, the award recognizes the Solidarity Economics framework that Benner co-developed to challenge neoliberal norms and the application of Solidarity Economics to “transformative initiatives” like the Salinas Inclusive Economic Development Initiative , the state-wide Community Economic Mobilization Initiative , and California’s $600 million Jobs First program. Santa Cruz Works credits Benner’s contributions to these programs with “fostering justice, innovation, and impact.” Benner has taught at UC Santa Cruz since 2015. He originally received his Ph.D. in City and Regional Planning from UC Berkeley and went on to become a leading scholar of the relationships between technological change, regional development, and the transformation of work and employment. He approaches these issues with a special focus on equity and environmental justice, informed by his background in community-based advocacy and research. Benner has conducted extensive applied policy work related to workforce development, inclusive economic development, and strategies for promoting regional equity. He has also authored or co-authored eight books and more than 100 academic journal articles, chapters, and research reports. Journalists often seek his commentary on how to improve economic well-being, health, and sustainability in communities and how emergent technologies may impact “the future of work.”

The Darnold-Jefferson connection is thriving for the surging VikingsA 25-year-old Lincoln man was sentenced to 20 to 32 years in prison Thursday for robbing a convenience store with a gun concealed in a Hostess pastry box. Izaiah Bartu pleaded no contest to robbery and attempted possession of a firearm by a prohibited person for the incident early Feb. 27. Lincoln police said that just before 12:10 a.m. they were called to the Kwik Shop near 27th and W streets about a man who had come into the store with a Hostess box over his right hand, walked up to the counter and told the clerk to open the register, tapping on the box as if there was a gun inside. Izaiah Bartu Bartu took off with $132, according to court records. Police found Bartu nearby with a gun in his backpack, with a distinctive bandana, like the one in the store security video, and 4.1 grams of methamphetamine in his sock. People are also reading... He was on probation in Seward County at the time on a drug case that arose while he was on parole for an assault charge. At Bartu's sentencing Thursday, Lancaster County District Judge Kevin McManaman said: "Safety of the community is really important in a case like this, I believe. This is really a very dangerous set of circumstances that occurred." PHOTOS: The top images of 2024 Elise Mertens, of Belgium, serves against Naomi Osaka, of Japan, at the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament, on March 11, 2024, in Indian Wells, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill) Fans interfere with a foul ball caught by Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder Mookie Betts during the first inning in Game 4 of the baseball World Series against the New York Yankees, on Oct. 29, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis) An adult periodical cicada sheds its nymphal skin on May 11, 2024, in Cincinnati. There are two large compound eyes, which are used to visually perceive the world around them, and three small, jewel-like, simple eyes called ocelli at center. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is surrounded by U.S. Secret Service agents after an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Butler, Pa., July 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) Cairo Consort prepares for a race in the paddock at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., before the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby horse race on May 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson) Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump prepares to walk on stage for a campaign rally at Macomb Community College in Warren, Mich., on Nov. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) Pope Francis gestures during an annual gathering of pro-family organizations at the Auditorium della Conciliazione, in Rome, on May 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) Models wait backstage for a show to start during China Fashion Week in Beijing on March 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan) Emerald miner Janeth Paez stands inside the tunnel of an informal mine near the town of Coscuez, Colombia, on Feb. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara) Assistants react as members of "Castellers de Vilafranca" try to form a "Castell" or human tower, during the 29th Human Tower Competition in Tarragona, Spain, on Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti) Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump attends the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, on July 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) With tears streaming down her face, a supporter of Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris applauds as Harris delivers a concession speech on Nov. 6, 2024, after losing the 2024 presidential election, on the campus of Howard University in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) Passengers in the back of a taxi film themselves as they leave the Eiffel Tower, decorated with the Olympic rings ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics, in Paris, on July 17, 2024. (AP Photo/David Goldman) Paralympic athlete Santos Araujo, of Brazil, celebrates after winning the men's 200 m Freestyle - S2 final, during the 2024 Paralympics in Paris, France, on Sept. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti) Supporters of Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump hold signs as Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris passes by on her bus en route to a campaign stop at the Primanti Bros. restaurant in Pittsburgh, on Aug. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) Emergency personnel carry a 4-year-old girl who was rescued from her collapsed house after heavy rains in Petropolis, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, on March 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado) The faithful carry an 18th century wooden statue of Christ before the start of a procession the in Procida Island, Italy, on March 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) A worker inspects the permanent foundations being constructed on the coral reef for a judging tower to be used during the Olympic Games surf competition in Teahupo'o, Tahiti, French Polynesia, on Jan. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole) Female Israeli soldiers pose for a photo in southern Israel, on the border of the Gaza Strip, on Feb. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov) Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce kisses Taylor Swift after the NFL Super Bowl 58 football game against the San Francisco 49ers on Feb. 11, 2024, in Las Vegas. The Chiefs won 25-22. (AP Photo/John Locher) An American flag is mounted on a fence at a farm on U.S. Highway 20 during a blizzard near Galva, Iowa, on Jan. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris looks at a monitor backstage just before taking the stage for her final campaign rally on Nov. 4, 2024, the day before Election Day, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) A race fan holds a drink as he walks on the grounds of Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., before the 150th running of the Kentucky Oaks horse race on May 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel) Natasha Ducre surveys the kitchen of her devastated home, which lost most of its roof during the passage of Hurricane Milton, in Palmetto, Fla., on Oct. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) People gather at the Republique plaza in Paris after the second round of the legislative election, on July 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte) Students beat a policeman with sticks during a protest over a controversial quota system for government job applicants in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on July 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Anik Rahman) Revelers lie in a pool of squashed tomatoes during the annual "Tomatina" tomato fight fiesta, in the village of Bunol near Valencia, Spain, on Aug. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz) In this photo taken with a long exposure, Israeli shelling hits an area in southern Lebanon, as seen from northern Israel, on Sept. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa) Orthodox nuns wait to take part in a procession marking 250 years since the remains of Saint Dimitrie Bassarabov, patron saint of the Romanian capital, were brought to Romania, in Bucharest, on July 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) Members of the Al-Rabaya family break their fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan outside their home, which was destroyed by an Israeli airstrike, in Rafah, Gaza Strip, on March 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair) A horse looks out the window from its stable ahead of the 156th running of the Belmont Stakes horse race at Saratoga Race Course, in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., on June 6, 2024. 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(AP Photo/Matias Delacroix) Jewish ultra-Orthodox men dressed in costumes celebrate the Jewish festival of Purim in Bnei Brak, Israel, on March 24, 2024. The holiday commemorates the Jews' salvation from genocide in ancient Persia, as recounted in the Book of Esther. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty) Druze clergymen attend the funeral of some of the 12 children and teens killed in a rocket strike by the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah at a soccer field at the village of Majdal Shams, in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, on July 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa) People take cover next to a public bomb shelter as a siren sounds a warning of incoming rockets fired from Lebanon, in Safed, northern Israel, on Sept. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit) Monuwara Begum and another woman return from a polling station across the Brahmaputra river on the eve of the second phase of India's national election in Sandahkhaiti, a floating island village in the Brahmaputra River in Assam, India, on April 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath) The container ship Dali rests against the wreckage of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge on the Patapsco River, on March 27, 2024, as seen from Pasadena, Md. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) A girl waits in the family home of the late Ousmane Sylla, who died by suicide inside one of Italy's migrant detention centers, ahead of his body's arrival in Conakry, Guinea, on April 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu) Members of the Abu Sinjar family mourn their relatives killed in an Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, at their house in Rafah, southern Gaza, on Jan. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair) Yulia Navalnaya, center, widow of Alexey Navalny, stands in a queue with other voters at a polling station near the Russian embassy in Berlin on March 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi) Alicia Keys performs during halftime of the NFL Super Bowl 58 football game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs on Feb. 11, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) People walk through a part of the Amazon River that shows signs of drought in Santa Sofia, on the outskirts of Leticia, Colombia, on Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia) A fisherman casts his fishing line into the Mediterranean Sea from a rocky area along the coastline in Beirut, Lebanon, on July 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar) People mourn over the flagged-covered coffin of Israeli soldier Sgt. Amitai Alon, killed by a Hezbollah drone attack, during his funeral near Ramot Naftali, Israel, on Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa) Israeli students watch a virtual tour of the concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz-Birkenau at the Testimony House, a Holocaust museum in Nir Galim, Israel, on the eve of Israel's annual Holocaust Remembrance Day, May 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty) A young man watches the ball after diving while playing soccer on a dusty field in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, on Feb. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe) A voter fills out a ballot during general elections in Nkandla, Kwazulu Natal, South Africa, on May 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti) A resident wades through a flooded street following heavy rains from typhoon Toraji in Ilagan City, Isabela province, northern Philippines, on Nov. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Noel Celis) Erin Young holds her adopted daughter Gianna Young, as she prays the "Patriotic Rosary" for the consecration of the nation and Donald Trump around a bonfire at their home in Sunbury, Ohio, the night before the U.S. election, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. The conservative Catholic family lives their anti-abortion beliefs through adoption, foster-parenting and raising their children to believe in the sanctity of life. They're also committed to teaching their children about political candidates they see as aligned with their beliefs. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) In this photo taken with a long exposure, people look at the northern lights, or Aurora Borealis, in the night sky on May 10, 2024, in Estacada, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane) A girl plays a jump rope game at a school housing residents displaced by gang violence in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on May 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa) People fish next to drainage that flows into the Paraguay River in Asuncion, Paraguay, on Jan. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz) A mother coaxes her daughter into trying a spoonful of rice at a school turned into a makeshift shelter for people displaced by gang violence, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on May 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa) A man sits inside a concrete pipe meant for municipal use after his shelter was swept away by the flooding Bagmati River in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) A cosplayer dressed as Deadpool attends a Comic-Con convention in Panama City on Sept. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix) Athletes compete during the men's 10km marathon swimming competition at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France, on Aug. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) Kenya Wildlife Service rangers and capture team pull a sedated black rhino from the water in Nairobi National Park, Kenya, on Jan. 16, 2024, as part of a rhino relocation project to move 21 of the critically endangered beasts hundreds of miles to a new home. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga) A pod of Beluga whales swim through the Churchill River near Churchill, Manitoba, Canada, on Aug. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel) A person carrying a handgun and a sign depicting Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump stands outside the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on July 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) Atmaram, who goes by one name and was found living on the street a day earlier, eats breakfast at Saint Hardyal Educational and Orphans Welfare Society, a home for the aged and unwanted, on April 12, 2024, in New Delhi, India. (AP Photo/David Goldman) People help Liudmila, 85, board a bus after their evacuation from Vovchansk, Ukraine, on May 12, 2024. Her husband was killed in their house during a Russian airstrike on the city. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka) Prisoners reach out from their cell for bread at lunchtime at the Juan de la Vega prison in Emboscada, Paraguay, on July 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd) Members of the water safety team move into the impact zone on a jet ski to rescue a surfer under a rainbow during a training day ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics surfing competition in Teahupo'o, Tahiti, on July 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull) Children play with the ropes of a ship docked on a beach in Parika, Guyana, on June 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa) A supporter of Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump waits for the start of his campaign rally in Doral, Fla., on July 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) Lava flows from a volcanic eruption that started on the Reykjanes Peninsula in Iceland, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Marco di Marco) Muslim pilgrims circumambulate the Kaaba, the cubic building at the Grand Mosque, during the annual Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on June 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool) Two men in Russian Cossack uniforms pose for a selfie with the Historical Museum in the background after visiting the mausoleum of the Soviet founder Vladimir Lenin, marking the 154th anniversary of his birth, in Moscow's Red Square, on April 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko) A fisherman carries his catch of the day to market in Manta, Ecuador, on Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa) Ama Pipe, from Britain, center, receives the baton from teammate Lina Nielsen in a women's 4 X 400 meters relay heat during the World Athletics Indoor Championships at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland, on March 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue) Ultra-Orthodox Jews look at part of an intercepted ballistic missile that fell in the desert near the city of Arad, Israel, on April 28, 2024. (AP Photo/ Ohad Zwigenberg) Margarita Salazar, 82, wipes sweat from her forehead in her home during an extreme heat wave in Veracruz, Mexico, on June 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez) People drive along a road littered with fallen power lines after the passing of Hurricane Rafael in San Antonio de los Banos, Cuba, on Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa) Palestinian activist Khairi Hanoon walks with the Palestinian flag on a damaged road following an Israeli army raid in Tulkarem, West Bank, on Sept. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed) A polar bear and a cub search for scraps in a large pile of bowhead whale bones left from the village's subsistence hunting at the end of an unused airstrip near the village of Kaktovik, Alaska, on Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson) Vero Almarche, right, hugs her neighbor Maria Munoz, who was born in the house where they are photographed and which was destroyed by flooding in Masanasa, Valencia, Spain, on Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti) Wearing a device that measures his energy consumption, Israel Amputee Football Team player Ben Maman, left, fights for the ball with a young soccer player from a local team during a practice session in Ramat Gan, Israel, on April 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa) Reach the writer at 402-473-7237 or lpilger@journalstar.com . On Twitter @LJSpilger Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Courts reporter {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.A federal appeals court panel on Friday unanimously upheld a law that could lead to a ban on TikTok in a few short months, handing a resounding defeat to the popular social media platform as it fights for its survival in the U.S. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit denied TikTok's petition to overturn the law — which requires TikTok to break ties with its China-based parent company ByteDance or be banned by mid-January — and rebuffed the company's challenge of the statute, which it argued had ran afoul of the First Amendment. “The First Amendment exists to protect free speech in the United States,” said the court's opinion, which was written by Judge Douglas Ginsburg. “Here the Government acted solely to protect that freedom from a foreign adversary nation and to limit that adversary’s ability to gather data on people in the United States.” TikTok and ByteDance — another plaintiff in the lawsuit — are expected to appeal to the Supreme Court, though its unclear whether the court will take up the case. “The Supreme Court has an established historical record of protecting Americans’ right to free speech, and we expect they will do just that on this important constitutional issue," TikTok spokesperson Michael Hughes said in a statement. “Unfortunately, the TikTok ban was conceived and pushed through based upon inaccurate, flawed and hypothetical information, resulting in outright censorship of the American people,” Hughes said. Unless stopped, he argued the statute “will silence the voices of over 170 million Americans here in the US and around the world on January 19th, 2025.” Though the case is squarely in the court system, its also possible the two companies might be thrown some sort of a lifeline by President-elect Donald Trump, who tried to ban TikTok during his first term but said during the presidential campaign that he is now against such action . The law, signed by President Joe Biden in April, was the culmination of a years-long saga in Washington over the short-form video-sharing app, which the government sees as a national security threat due to its connections to China. “Today’s decision is an important step in blocking the Chinese government from weaponizing TikTok to collect sensitive information about millions of Americans, to covertly manipulate the content delivered to American audiences, and to undermine our national security,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement Friday. The U.S. has said it’s concerned about TikTok collecting vast swaths of user data, including sensitive information on viewing habits , that could fall into the hands of the Chinese government through coercion. Officials have also warned the proprietary algorithm that fuels what users see on the app is vulnerable to manipulation by Chinese authorities, who can use it to shape content on the platform in a way that’s difficult to detect — a concern mirrored by the European Union on Friday as it scrutinizes the video-sharing app’s role in the Romanian elections. TikTok, which sued the government over the law in May, has long denied it could be used by Beijing to spy on or manipulate Americans. Its attorneys have accurately pointed out that the U.S. hasn’t provided evidence to show that the company handed over user data to the Chinese government, or manipulated content for Beijing’s benefit in the U.S. They have also argued the law is predicated on future risks, which the Department of Justice has emphasized pointing in part to unspecified action it claims the two companies have taken in the past due to demands from the Chinese government. Friday’s ruling came after the appeals court panel, composed of two Republican and one Democrat appointed judges, heard oral arguments in September. In the hearing, which lasted more than two hours, the panel appeared to grapple with how TikTok’s foreign ownership affects its rights under the Constitution and how far the government could go to curtail potential influence from abroad on a foreign-owned platform. On Friday, all three of them denied TikTok’s petition. In the court's ruling, Ginsburg, a Republican appointee, rejected TikTok's main legal arguments against the law, including that the statute was an unlawful bill of attainder or a taking of property in violation of the Fifth Amendment. He also said the law did not violate the First Amendment because the government is not looking to "suppress content or require a certain mix of content” on TikTok. “Content on the platform could in principle remain unchanged after divestiture, and people in the United States would remain free to read and share as much PRC propaganda (or any other content) as they desire on TikTok or any other platform of their choosing,” Ginsburg wrote, using the abbreviation for the People’s Republic of China. Judge Sri Srinivasan, the chief judge on the court, issued a concurring opinion. TikTok’s lawsuit was consolidated with a second legal challenge brought by several content creators - for which the company is covering legal costs - as well as a third one filed on behalf of conservative creators who work with a nonprofit called BASED Politics Inc. Other organizations, including the Knight First Amendment Institute, had also filed amicus briefs supporting TikTok. “This is a deeply misguided ruling that reads important First Amendment precedents too narrowly and gives the government sweeping power to restrict Americans’ access to information, ideas, and media from abroad,” said Jameel Jaffer, the executive director of the organization. “We hope that the appeals court’s ruling won’t be the last word.” Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, lawmakers who had pushed for the legislation celebrated the court's ruling. "I am optimistic that President Trump will facilitate an American takeover of TikTok to allow its continued use in the United States and I look forward to welcoming the app in America under new ownership,” said Republican Rep. John Moolenaar of Michigan, chairman of the House Select Committee on China. Democratic Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, who co-authored the law, said “it's time for ByteDance to accept” the law. To assuage concerns about the company’s owners, TikTok says it has invested more than $2 billion to bolster protections around U.S. user data. The company has also argued the government’s broader concerns could have been resolved in a draft agreement it provided the Biden administration more than two years ago during talks between the two sides. It has blamed the government for walking away from further negotiations on the agreement, which the Justice Department argues is insufficient. Attorneys for the two companies have claimed it’s impossible to divest the platform commercially and technologically. They also say any sale of TikTok without the coveted algorithm - the platform’s secret sauce that Chinese authorities would likely block under any divesture plan - would turn the U.S. version of TikTok into an island disconnected from other global content. Still, some investors, including Trump’s former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and billionaire Frank McCourt, have expressed interest in purchasing the platform. Both men said earlier this year that they were launching a consortium to purchase TikTok’s U.S. business. This week, a spokesperson for McCourt’s Project Liberty initiative, which aims to protect online privacy, said unnamed participants in their bid have made informal commitments of more than $20 billion in capital.

SCOTTS VALLEY — With the final certification of the Santa Cruz County election Tuesday, the race for three openings on the Scotts Valley City Council has been decided with newcomers Steve Clarke and Krista Jett winning a seat and incumbent Donna Lind keeping her place behind the dais. “I’m humbled and very appreciative of the support I’ve received,” said Lind. “I’ve been contacted by several local residents who’ve expressed their appreciation for my service and that I’m continuing to serve. The community support I’ve felt is one of the things that inspired me to continue to serve.” According to the vote final count Tuesday, Lind received the most support with 3,583 votes tallied in her favor or about 22% of the total. Retired Santa Cruz police Deputy Chief Steve Clark received 3,013 votes or about 19% of the total. Nurse Krista Jett received 2,907 votes or about 18% of the total vote count. Among those who didn’t win a seat on the City Council is food sales representative Corky Roberson, who received 1,920 votes or about 12% of the total. Engineer John Lewis received nearly 10% of the total or 1,597 votes. “It was exciting to see seven candidates run for City Council,” said Lind. “Having served with the city of Scotts Valley for the past 56 years, I know how rare it is to have this number of candidates run for City Council. It was also wonderful to see two of our young residents run for council.” Startup founder Mercedes Molloy received about 10% of the total vote count or 1,675 votes and UC Santa Cruz student Dustin Lopez received 1,317 votes or about 8% of the total. To see the election results, visit votescount.santacruz.gov .Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP ("GPM") reminds investors of the upcoming February 3, 2025 deadline to file a lead plaintiff motion in the class action filed on behalf of investors who purchased or otherwise acquired ASP Isotopes Inc. ("ASP Isotopes" or the "Company") ASPI securities between October 30, 2024 and November 26, 2024 , inclusive (the "Class Period"). If you suffered a loss on your ASP Isotopes investments or would like to inquire about potentially pursuing claims to recover your loss under the federal securities laws, you can submit your contact information at www.glancylaw.com/cases/ASP-Isotopes-Inc/ . You can also contact Charles H. Linehan, of GPM at 310-201-9150, Toll-Free at 888-773-9224, or via email at shareholders@glancylaw.com to learn more about your rights. On November 26, 2024, Fuzzy Panda Research published a report which alleged that ASP Isotopes is "using old, disregarded laser enrichment technology to masquerade as a new, cutting-edge Uranium enrichment." The report quoted a former employee of Klydon (the company ASP Isotopes purchased its "proprietary" technology from) as stating scientists "did not think it would work on Uranium." The report revealed a series of experts interviewed stated the Company's reported cost estimates and timeline for building its HALEU uranium facilities was misleading to the point of being "delusional." The report further alleged the Company had significantly overstated the significance of its agreement with TerraPower, which was only a "non-binding" memorandum of understanding entered into to "put pressure on [TerraPower's] real suppliers." The report quoted a former TerraPower executive as stating that ASP Isotopes was "missing the manufacturing; They are missing the processes as well; They still have to develop the HALEU...the most important part." Finally, the report revealed that the Company's subsidiary, Quantum Leap Energy, which operates its nuclear fuels segment and to which the Company assigned the TerraPower memoranda of understanding, was completely absent from its registered South African address. The report revealed there were "zero signs" of their presence and "security guards and neighboring business about them all told us they had never heard of the companies." On this news, the Company's stock price fell $1.80 or 23.53%, to close at $5.85 per share on November 26, 2024, on unusually heavy trading volume. The stock continued to fall on the subsequent trading date, falling $0.83 or 14.19%, to close at $5.02 per share on November 27, 2024, on unusually heavy trading volume. The complaint filed in this class action alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts about the Company's business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, Defendants failed to disclose to investors: (1) the Company overstated the potential effectiveness of its enrichment technology; (2) the Company overstated the development potential of its high assay low-enriched uranium facility; (3) the Company overstated the Company's nuclear fuels operating segment results; and (4) that, as a result of the foregoing, Defendants' positive statements about the Company's business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis. Follow us for updates on LinkedIn , Twitter , or Facebook . If you purchased or otherwise acquired ASP Isotopes securities during the Class Period, you may move the Court no later than February 3, 2025 to request appointment as lead plaintiff in this putative class action lawsuit. 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 shareholders@glancylaw.com , 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. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241206366261/en/ © 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

El Salvador's Congress on Monday approved a bill promoted by President Nayib Bukele to roll back a ban on the mining of gold and other metals, dismaying environmentalists. The small Central American nation became the world's first country to outlaw metal mining in 2017, warning of the harmful effects of the chemicals used, like cyanide and mercury. The move by Bukele's predecessor, former left-wing rebel Salvador Sanchez Ceren, reflected a growing rejection of mining by rural communities in the region. But last month, Bukele, who is popular at home for his crackdown on street gangs, signaled that he wanted to change course. The bill to bring back metal mining was approved by 57 deputies out of a total of 60, said Ernesto Castro, head of the legislature -- which is dominated by the ruling party -- as environmental campaigners protested nearby. Critics fear that mining will pollute the Lempa River, which runs through a potential mining zone proposed by Bukele and supplies water to 70 percent of the inhabitants of the capital and surrounding areas. "This wretched mining will punish the people, it will contaminate our waters and rivers and that's an attack on life," activist Vidalina Morales told reporters. Bukele said last month that El Salvador, a country of 6.6 million people, had "potentially" the largest gold deposits per square kilometer in the world. "God placed a gigantic treasure underneath our feet," he wrote on social media, arguing that the mining ban was "absurd." "If we make responsible use of our natural resources, we can change the economy of El Salvador overnight," he said. The new law stipulates that the state will be the only entity authorized to search for, extract and process mined metals. However, the government may do so through companies in which it is a shareholder. The bill prohibits the use of mercury in mining operations, which may not be carried out in protected natural areas or places with important water sources. A survey by Central American University published on Monday revealed that 59 percent of respondents do not consider El Salvador "an appropriate country for metal mining." Since El Salvador dollarized its remittances-reliant economy in 2001, it has registered average annual growth of 2.1 percent. Twenty-seven percent of Salvadorans live in poverty, according to the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, and 70 percent of the workforce operates in the informal sector. Elsewhere in the region, Costa Rica and Honduras have banned open-pit mining, and Panama declared a moratorium on new mining concessions last year after mass protests over plans for a huge copper mine. ob/fj/dr/jgcNiagara County Sheriff's deputies decided not to charge a woman briefly taken into custody and handcuffed in the Niagara County Department of Social Services building in Lockport following a disturbance on Tuesday. Deputies reported that the woman began yelling obscenities in the lobby of the building about 12:30 p.m. Tuesday when she was unable to meet with a social worker. The woman was asked by deputies to leave the building but she refused. According to a report, two deputies then lifted the woman out of her chair and escorted her toward the exit. As she left, she made a gesture “as if to lunge at me” said the reporting deputy while reportedly saying, “You’re lucky I don’t smack you right in the face.” The woman also threw two bins from a table by the metal detector onto the ground. The woman was “assisted” to the ground and handcuffed in the lobby while more law enforcement arrived on the scene. Ultimately, deputies determined that the woman would not be charged, with disorderly conduct but could not come back to the building unless she called ahead and made an appointment.

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X Factor star unrecognisable seven years after rising to fameBEAR, DE — Delaware State Police are investigating an alleged strong-arm robbery that occurred Monday evening at a popular Wawa store in Bear. The incident was reported on December 2, 2024, at approximately 5:41 p.m., at the Wawa located at 1605 Pulaski Highway. According to the preliminary investigation, an unidentified male suspect approached a customer who had just completed a transaction at the store’s ATM. As the victim attempted to leave with the money, the suspect reportedly tried to seize it, leading to a physical confrontation. The altercation escalated when the suspect pursued the victim toward the front of the store, where another struggle occurred. The suspect eventually obtained an undisclosed amount of cash and fled the scene on foot toward Salem Church Road. Authorities confirmed that the victim was not injured during the incident. The suspect is described as a white male wearing light-colored clothing. At this time, surveillance footage and images of the individual have not been made available to the public. The Delaware State Police Troop 2 Robbery Unit is leading the investigation. Detectives are urging anyone with information about the incident to contact Detective J. Dempsey at (302) 365-8472. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through Delaware Crime Stoppers at 1-800-847-3333. Authorities emphasize that the details surrounding this case remain under investigation and may evolve as new information comes to light. All individuals implicated in the case are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. For the latest news on everything happening in Chester County and the surrounding area, be sure to follow MyChesCo on Google News and MSN .

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