live roulette lobby This Magnificent Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stock Has Crashed 12%. Here's Why That's Great News for InvestorsMaryam Nawaz Sharif is set to become the first woman chief minister of Punjab to visit China this month. The chief minister has formally received invitation from the ruling Communist Party of China. She has been invited for an official visit from Dec 8 to 15. She will be flanked by a delegation during the eight-day trip when she will visit major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangdong. The invitation expresses a desire to enhance mutual cooperation between China’s ruling party and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). It also emphasises the promotion of deep mutual ties and friendship between the neighbouring countries. During the visit, collaboration on matters related to information technology, healthcare, industry, smog, and climate change will be reviewed. There will also be discussions on business and trade relations between the private sectors of Punjab and China. During the visit, Maryam Nawaz Sharif will be briefed on China’s development model, governance system, and the promotion of bilateral cooperation. The Punjab CM will also meet prominent Chinese leaders and key government officials during the visit. Separately, Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz Sharif visited Combined Military Hospital (CMH) Rawalpindi to inquire health of injured security personnel during violence of political party. During her visit, Maryam Nawaz Sharif said “Rangers and police personnel are sons of the nation. We are proud of them, and will not spare the protesters who have mercilessly tortured them.” She added,” The personnel of Pakistan Army and security agencies are restoring peace in the country by sacrificing their lives. The corrupt political party should have been ashamed of attacking them.” She highlighted,” The Federal and Punjab governments are indebted to the injured security personnel, and we stand by them and their families.” Chief Minister personally visited each injured Rangers and police personnel undergoing treatment, and inquired about their well-being. She appreciated their high morale and sense of duty. The injured personnel told Chief Minister about the merciless violence of the protesters against them. They briefed,” Firing was carried out at close range, and violence was carried out with nailed sticks. The skull of one official and the bones of most of them were broken, while some others had their eyes affected.” Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif consoled the injured officials and encouraged them. She said, “Attacks on state institutions, property and security personnel are highly condemnable.” She added, “The miscreants and PTI members who injured the security personnel will be brought to justice, and severe exemplary punishment will be given to them.” The injured officials expressed their determination to recover and return to their duties soon.How Jimmy Carter rose from humble peanut farmer to the Oval Office and Nobel Peace Prize

Exela Technologies Inc. stock underperforms Friday when compared to competitorsWASHINGTON (AP) — Matt Gaetz withdrew Thursday as President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for attorney general amid continued fallout over a federal sex trafficking investigation that cast doubt on his ability to be confirmed as the nation's chief federal law enforcement officer. The announcement caps a turbulent eight-day period in which Trump sought to capitalize on his decisive election win to force Senate Republicans to accept provocative selections like Gaetz, who had been investigated by the Justice Department before being tapped last week to lead it. The decision could heighten scrutiny on other controversial Trump nominees, including Pentagon pick Pete Hegseth , who faces sexual assault allegations that he denies. “While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition,” Gaetz, a Florida Republican who one day earlier met with senators in an effort to win their support, said in a statement. “There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle, thus I’ll be withdrawing my name from consideration to serve as Attorney General. Trump’s DOJ must be in place and ready on Day 1," he added. Trump, in a social media post, said: “I greatly appreciate the recent efforts of Matt Gaetz in seeking approval to be Attorney General. He was doing very well but, at the same time, did not want to be a distraction for the Administration, for which he has much respect. Matt has a wonderful future, and I look forward to watching all of the great things he will do!” He did not immediately announce a new selection. Last week, he named personal lawyers Todd Blanche, Emil Bove and D. John Sauer to senior roles in the department. Another possible contender, Matthew Whitaker, was announced Wednesday as the U.S. ambassador to NATO. The withdrawal, just a week after the pick was announced, averts what was shaping up to be a pitched confirmation fight that would have tested how far Senate Republicans were willing to go to support Trump’s Cabinet picks. The selection of the fierce Trump ally over well-regarded veteran lawyers whose names had circulated as possible contenders stirred concern for the Justice Department's independence at a time when Trump has openly threatened to seek retribution against political adversaries. It underscored the premium Trump places on personal loyalty and reflected the president-elect's desire to have a disruptor lead a Justice Department that for years investigated and ultimately indicted him. In the Senate, deeply skeptical lawmakers sought more information about Justice Department and congressional investigations into sex trafficking allegations involving underage girls, which Gaetz has denied. Meanwhile, Justice Department lawyers were taken aback by the pick of a partisan lawmaker with limited legal experience who has echoed Trump's claims of a weaponized criminal justice system. As Gaetz sought to lock down Senate support, concern over the sex trafficking allegations showed no signs of abating. In recent days, an attorney for two women said his clients told House Ethics Committee investigators that Gaetz paid them for sex on multiple occasions beginning in 2017, when Gaetz was a Florida congressman. One of the women testified she saw Gaetz having sex with a 17-year-old at a party in Florida in 2017, according to the attorney, Joel Leppard. Leppard has said that his client testified she didn’t think Gaetz knew the girl was underage, stopped their relationship when he found out and did not resume it until after she turned 18. The age of consent in Florida is 18. "They’re grateful for the opportunity to move forward with their lives,” Leppard said Thursday of his clients. “They’re hoping that this brings final closure for all the parties involved.” Gaetz has vehemently denied any wrongdoing. The Justice Department’s investigation ended last year with no charges against him. Gaetz’s political future is uncertain. He had abruptly resigned his congressional seat upon being selected as attorney general, a move seen as a way to shut down the ethics investigation into sexual misconduct allegations. He did win reelection in November for the new Congress, which convenes Jan. 3, 2025, but he said in his resignation letter last week that he did not intend to take the oath of office. There are plans for a special election in Florida for his seat. Republicans on the House Ethics Committee declined this week to release the panel's findings, over objections from Democrats in a split vote. But the committee did agree to finish its work and is scheduled to meet again Dec. 5 to discuss the matter. As word of Gaetz's decision spread across the Capitol, Republican senators seemed divided. Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin, who served with Gaetz in the House, called it a “positive move." Maine Sen. Susan Collins said Gaetz “put country first and I am pleased with his decision.” Others said they had hoped Gaetz could have overhauled the department. Florida Sen. Rick Scott, a close ally of Trump, said he was “disappointed. I like Matt and I think he would have changed the way DOJ is run.” Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul said he hopes Trump will pick someone “equally as tenacious and equally as committed to rooting out and eliminating bias and politicization at the DOJ.” Gaetz is not the only Trump pick facing congressional scrutiny over past allegations. A detailed investigative police report made public Wednesday shows that a woman told police that she was sexually assaulted in 2017 by Hegseth, the former Fox News host now tapped to lead the Pentagon, after he took her phone, blocked the door to a California hotel room and refused to let her leave. “The matter was fully investigated and I was completely cleared,” Hegseth told reporters Thursday at the Capitol, where he was meeting with senators to build support for his nomination. Associated Press writers Michelle L. Price, Lisa Mascaro, Mary Clare Jalonick and Adriana Gomez Licon contributed to this report.

NoneRIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index started the week with a 0.28 percent increase, or 33.28 points, to reach 11,892.75 points on Sunday. The total trading turnover of the benchmark index was SR3.5 billion ($942.7 million), as 140 of the listed stocks advanced, while 86 retreated. The MSCI Tadawul Index increased by 4.26 points, or 0.29 percent, to close at 1,494.56. The Kingdom’s parallel market Nomu also increased, gaining 166.10 points, or 0.54 percent, to close at 31,052.81 points. This comes as 42 of the listed stocks advanced while as many as 34 retreated. The index’s top performer, Buruj Cooperative Insurance Co., saw a 9.96 percent increase in its share price to close at SR20.10. Other top performers included Arriyadh Development Co., which saw a 9.34 percent increase to SR34.55, while Wataniya Insurance Co.’s share price rose 8 percent to SR23.22. The Mediterranean and Gulf Insurance and Reinsurance Co. also recorded a positive trajectory, with share prices rising 7.66 percent to reach SR26.70. Retal Urban Development Co. also witnessed positive gains, with 6.16 percent reaching SR16.20. Al-Baha Investment and Development Co. saw the steepest decline on TASI, with its share price slipping 4 percent to SR0.48. Saudi Cable Co. followed with a 2.94 percent decline to SR99.20. Almarai Co. also saw a drop of 2.46 percent to settle at SR55.50. Saudi Industrial Development Co.’s share also fell by 2.41 percent to settle at SR28.40, and Anaam International Holding Group’s decreased by 2.31 percent to sit at SR1.27. In Nomu, Miral Dental Clinics Co. was the best performer, with its share price rising by 7.47 percent to reach SR112.20. Among the gainers, United Mining Industries Co. saw its share price rise by 6.08 percent, reaching SR41.90, while Aqaseem Factory for Chemicals and Plastics Co. recorded a 5.65 percent increase, standing at SR8.41. Meyar Co. also fared well, with a 5.58 percent increase, and Arabian Plastic Industrial Co. rose by 4.65 percent. Alhasoob Co. shed the most in Nomu, with its share price dropping by 8.68 percent to reach SR61. Arabian Food and Dairy Factories Co. experienced a 7.71 percent decline in share prices, closing at SR85, while Bena Steel Industries Co. dropped 7.61 percent to settle at SR38.25. Lana Medical Co. and Arabian United Float Glass Co. were also among the top decliners, with Lana Medical Co. falling 4.07 and Arabian United Float Glass Co. declining 3.80 percent.

"Moana 2" Director Dana Ledoux Miller Explained The Meaning Of THAT New Tattoo At The End Of The MovieNASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Genesis Bryant scored 27 points, Kendall Bostic secured her third double-double this season with 12 points and 11 rebounds and No. 19 Illinois beat Maryland Eastern Shore 75-55 on Tuesday in the Music City Classic. Illinois (6-0) moved to 6-0 for the second time under third-year coach Shauna Green. Illinois scored the opening nine points of the game and took a double-digit lead for good with 2:11 left in the first quarter when Makira Cook made a 3-pointer to begin 13-2 run. UMES scored 13 straight points midway through the second quarter to get as close as 32-22, but Cook answered with a basket to end Illinois' three-minute drought. Bryant finished the first half with 14 points and Cook added 13 to help Illinois build a 43-26 lead. The pair combined to make seven of Illinois’ 14 field goals. UMES was 9 of 36 (25%), including 0 of 7 from 3-point range at halftime. Illinois also got 15 points from Cook and a career-high 11 rebounds from Brynn Shoup-Hill. Bryant, who reached double figures in the first quarter, scored 20-plus for the first time this season. Zamara Haynes led UMES (4-3) with 20 points and Mahogany Lester added 14. Illinois stays in Nashville to play No. 14 Kentucky on Wednesday. UMES travels to Piscataway, New Jersey, to face Georgia Southern in the Battle on the Banks on Friday. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball

Browns' Myles Garrett makes history with 2 sacks, but another loss leaves him frustratedMIAMI — Jimmy Butler took some time away from basketball for a different game Thursday evening. The Heat superstar and his coffee brand, Bigface, partnered with Bacardi to debut the Miami Rum Room Domino Club one-night popup at Byblos in Miami Beach. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.

How to Watch Top 25 Women’s College Basketball Games – Monday, December 30

I’m A Celeb fans call episode ‘most emotional ever’ and a ‘hard watch’ as campmates and viewers break down in tears

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Genesis Bryant scored 27 points, Kendall Bostic secured her third double-double this season with 12 points and 11 rebounds and No. 19 Illinois beat Maryland Eastern Shore 75-55 on Tuesday in the Music City Classic. Illinois (6-0) moved to 6-0 for the second time under third-year coach Shauna Green. Illinois scored the opening nine points of the game and took a double-digit lead for good with 2:11 left in the first quarter when Makira Cook made a 3-pointer to begin 13-2 run. UMES scored 13 straight points midway through the second quarter to get as close as 32-22, but Cook answered with a basket to end Illinois' three-minute drought. Bryant finished the first half with 14 points and Cook added 13 to help Illinois build a 43-26 lead. The pair combined to make seven of Illinois’ 14 field goals. UMES was 9 of 36 (25%), including 0 of 7 from 3-point range at halftime. Illinois also got 15 points from Cook and a career-high 11 rebounds from Brynn Shoup-Hill. Bryant, who reached double figures in the first quarter, scored 20-plus for the first time this season. Zamara Haynes led UMES (4-3) with 20 points and Mahogany Lester added 14. Illinois stays in Nashville to play No. 14 Kentucky on Wednesday. UMES travels to Piscataway, New Jersey, to face Georgia Southern in the Battle on the Banks on Friday. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball

CLEVELAND (AP) — Myles Garrett was in no mood to celebrate his birthday or making history. Garrett recorded two sacks to become the first NFL player with 14 sacks in four straight seasons, but the Cleveland Browns couldn't do anything on offense during a 20-3 loss to the Miami Dolphins on Sunday. Garrett turned 29 and turned in another stellar performance in this dreadful season for the Browns (3-13), who had hoped to take another step after making the playoffs a year ago. But nothing has gone right in Cleveland, and now the team is facing another offseason of change. Garrett has 14 sacks this season and 102 1/2 in his eight-year career. He's making the case for a second consecutive NFL defensive player of the year honor. But there isn't any award that will ease the pain of his fourth double-digit loss season. “At the end of the day, we play for wins,” Garrett said. “The individual stuff is great. It's nice, you want to be remembered for all of the above. But cities remember you for wins and bringing championships back home. “That's always been my intention. So, I want to get back on track, want to get back to winning, whether it's the last one or whatever's in store next season.” Garrett recently made it clear that he does not want to be part of another rebuild in Cleveland, saying he wanted to see the team's plans to improve the roster. His comments opened the possibility that he could ask for a trade if he isn't satisfied with the Browns' outlook. After the Browns dropped their fifth in a row to finish 2-6 at home, Garrett said he never considered that it might be his last game in Cleveland. “I don't think about that kind of stuff,” he said. “My mission is to go out there and try to help this team win as a leader, as a brother, as a teammate. That's what I solely focus on. I'm not looking into the future. Next thing on my mind is recovery, looking at film, how can we improve going to the Ravens and try to play spoiler for them.” Garrett hasn't given up. For the second week in a row, he displayed extraordinary effort while chasing a scrambling quarterback without getting a sack. He won't quit. “He's the best pass rusher in the game,” Browns guard Joel Bitonio said. “You could ask all the players, all the coaches. He's probably the guy they fear going up against the most. He's dynamic. He's a special player. He's doing his thing. I hope we can get some stuff around him so he can win some games around here.” Garrett twice went into the medical tent during the game. He slowly walked to his locker to get dressed before turning on some music that brought a little life into an otherwise somber Cleveland locker room. Garrett laughed when asked if he's pushing himself to the end. “I'm just old,” he said. “I'm 29. I'm not going to be dragging myself through the finish line. I'll be fine by Friday, Saturday and be ready to go. I always am." AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

Calvert Hall football coach Josh Ward has stepped down after four years leading the Cardinals, the school announced Friday.As excitement builds toward the November firearm deer season, hunters should remember safety is most important. Make sure to always follow the four primary rules of firearm safety. • Treat every firearm as if it is loaded. • Always point the muzzle of your firearm in a safe direction. • Be sure of your target, what is in front of it, and what is beyond it. • Keep your finger outside of the trigger guard until you are ready to fire. “Following these four rules, along with wearing the required hunter orange, helps us reach our goal of zero hunting incidents,” Nebraska Hunter Education Coordinator Kyle Gaston said. Hunters are required to wear at least 400 square inches of hunter orange material displayed on their head, chest and back during the nine-day November firearm deer season, regardless of hunting with a firearm or archery equipment. Hunting from a tree stand has become a preferred method for many big game hunters. “Hunting from an elevated stand provides many benefits to hunters, including better view of surroundings, concealment from wildlife, and a safer backstop when shooting at a downward angle,” Gaston said. “However, we always need to put safety first by remembering the ABCD of tree stand safety.” • Always remove and inspect all your equipment before using. • Buckle your harness securely. • Connect your harness before your feet leave the ground. • Destination – share your stand location with others before each hunt. Another safety concern for hunters is the risk of wildfire. Recent dry, windy and low humidity conditions have resulted in an elevated potential for wildfires. According to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Drought Monitor, 89% of the state is experiencing moderate to extreme drought conditions. Driving vehicles or parking on dry, tall grass is a primary threat. Grass can ignite within seconds of contacting a hot surface, such as a vehicle’s exhaust/catalytic converter systems. Hunters should take these precautions: • Restrict driving to established roads and trails. • Avoid parking vehicles in tall vegetation. • Dispose of cigarettes and other flammable objects appropriately. • Make sure no chains are dragging from your vehicle. • Carry a fire extinguisher in the vehicle. The firearm deer season is through Nov. 24. Hunters should remember permission is required to access private land, whether to hunt or to track wounded deer. Visit OutdoorNebraska.gov to learn more about hunter education and to read the 2024 Big Game Guide for deer regulations. If you witness a game violation, call Nebraska Wildlife Crimestoppers toll-free at 800-742-7627 or visit OutdoorNebraska.gov/conservation/wildlife-management/wildlife-crime-stoppers .The USS Zumwalt is at a Mississippi shipyard where workers have installed missile tubes that replace twin turrets from a gun system that was never activated because it was too expensive. Once the system is complete, the Zumwalt will provide a platform for conducting fast, precision strikes from greater distances, adding to the usefulness of the warship. “It was a costly blunder. But the Navy could take victory from the jaws of defeat here, and get some utility out of (the ships) by making them into a hypersonic platform,” said Bryan Clark, a defence analyst at the Hudson Institute. The US has had several types of hypersonic weapons in development for the past two decades, but recent tests by both Russia and China have added pressure to the US military to hasten their production. Hypersonic weapons travel beyond Mach 5, five times the speed of sound, with added manoeuvrability making them harder to shoot down. Last year, The Washington Post newspaper reported that among the documents leaked by former Massachusetts Air National Guard member Jack Teixeira was a defence department briefing that confirmed China had recently tested an intermediate-range hypersonic weapon called the DF-27. While the Pentagon had previously acknowledged the weapon’s development, it had not recognised its testing. One of the US programmes in development and planned for the Zumwalt is the Conventional Prompt Strike. It would launch like a ballistic missile and then release a hypersonic glide vehicle that would travel at speeds seven to eight times faster than the speed of sound before hitting the target. The weapon system is being developed jointly by the Navy and Army. Each of the three Zumwalt-class destroyers would be equipped with four missile tubes, each with three of the missiles for a total of 12 hypersonic weapons per ship. In choosing the Zumwalt, the Navy is attempting to add to the usefulness of a 7.5 billion US dollars (£5.9 billion) warship that is considered by critics to be an expensive mistake despite serving as a test platform for multiple innovations. The Zumwalt was envisioned as providing land-attack capability with an advanced gun system with rocket-assisted projectiles to open the way for Marines to charge ashore. But the system featuring 155mm guns hidden in stealthy turrets was cancelled because each of the rocket-assisted projectiles cost up to one million dollars (£790,000). Despite the stain on their reputation, the three Zumwalt-class destroyers: Zumwalt, Michael Monsoor and Lyndon B Johnson; remain the Navy’s most advanced surface warships in terms of new technologies. Those innovations include electric propulsion, an angular shape to minimise radar signature, an unconventional wave-piercing hull, automated fire and damage control and a composite deckhouse that hides radar and other sensors. The US is accelerating development because hypersonics have been identified as vital to US national security with “survivable and lethal capabilities”, said James Weber, principal director for hypersonics in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Critical Technologies. “Fielding new capabilities that are based on hypersonic technologies is a priority for the defence department to sustain and strengthen our integrated deterrence, and to build enduring advantages,” he said.

Four Golden Knights projected to make Team CanadaU.S. stock futures opened little changed on Tuesday night as traders await the release of the Federal Reserve's favorite inflation gauge. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 20 points, or 0.04%. Meanwhile, S&P 500 futures also inched 0.04% higher, while Nasdaq-100 futures fell 0.03%. Philadelphia news 24/7: Watch NBC10 free wherever you are In other corporate news, several companies released their quarterly results. Dell Technologies tumbled 10% in extended trading as the company issued a disappointing forecast for the current quarter. Looking toward Wednesday, the personal consumption expenditures price index (PCE) is set for release at 10:00 a.m. ET. Economists polled by Dow Jones expect a year-over-year increase of 2.8% for the core reading , which excludes food and energy. Investors will look through the data for indications on how the Fed may proceed on its rate policy at its upcoming December meeting. Indeed, the Fed issued the meetings from its November meeting on Tuesday. While central bank officials said they anticipate more interest rate cuts coming down the pike, they said the pace of cuts would happen "gradually." "I think they'll cut again [in December]," Stephen Stanley, Santander U.S. Capital Markets chief U.S. economist, told CNBC's " Power Lunch ." "I think they feel like they're still pretty far away from neutral, so they feel like they still have some distance to go and they'd like to get another notch in their belt on that." Other key inflation data out on Wednesday include personal income and consumer spending for October. That's also scheduled to be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. It's also a shortened trading week in the U.S., with the market dark for the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday and then set to close early Friday. Trading volume is anticipated to remain light. Even still, stocks finished in the green across the three major averages on Tuesday. Both the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average reached fresh intraday and closing highs. Small-cap benchmark takes a breather but remains on track for big November gains It was a less-than-stellar session for the Russell 2000 , as it clipped a six-day winning run on Tuesday. The small-cap index lagged the three major averages, slumping about 0.7%, while the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose to fresh record closes. Nevertheless, the Russell 2000 is enjoying a strong November, as investors have snapped up cyclical stocks since Donald Trump won a second term in the White House earlier this month. The Russell is on track for a 10.4% jump month to date, besting the 5.5% gain the S&P 500 is carrying this month. The small-cap benchmark has also topped the Nasdaq Composite 's nearly 6% advance in November and the Dow's 7.4% jump. — Darla Mercado, Chris Hayes Dell Technologies, Workday among the names making moves in overnight trading Some stocks are making big moves in extended trading: Read here for the full list. — Sean Conlon Stock futures are little changed Stock futures opened little changed on Tuesday evening. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 20 points, or 0.04%. S&P 500 futures likewise moved 0.04% higher, while Nasdaq-100 futures fell 0.03%. — Sean Conlon

With ‘Ahsoka’ Moving to the UK, Lucasfilm Has No Shows Set to Shoot in LAHe’s one of the most famous corporate leaders in the world, delivering products embraced by billions. But it’s the haters that companies like Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta worry about. In an era when online anger and social tensions are increasingly directed at the businesses consumers count on, Meta last year spent $24.4 million on guards, alarms and other measures to keep Zuckerberg and the company’s former chief operating officer safe. Some high-profile CEOs surround themselves with security. But the fatal shooting this week of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson while he walked alone on a New York City sidewalk has put a spotlight on the widely varied approaches companies take in protecting their leaders against threats. Thompson had no personal security and appeared unaware of the shooter lurking before he was gunned down. And today’s political, economic and technological climate is only going to make the job of evaluating threats against executives and taking action to protect them even more difficult, experts say. “We are better today at collecting signals. I’m not sure we’re any better at making sense of the signals we collect,” says Fred Burton of Ontic, a provider of threat management software for companies. After Thompson’s shooting, Burton said, “I’ve been on the phone all day with some organizations asking for consultation, saying, ’Am I doing enough?” Since the killing, some health insurers have taken steps to safeguard their executives and rank-and-file workers. Medica, a Minnesota-based nonprofit health care firm, said Friday it is temporarily closing its six offices for security reasons and will have its employees work from home. “Although we have received no specific threats related to our campuses, our office buildings will be temporarily closed out of an abundance of caution,” the company said in a statement. A Medica spokesman said the company had also removed biographical information about its executives from its website as a precaution. UnitedHealth Group, parent of the insurer Thompson led, removed photos of its top executives from its website hours after the shooting, later removing their names and biographies. But well before the attack, some of the biggest U.S. companies, particularly those in the tech sector, were spending heavily on personal and residential security for their top executives. Meta, whose businesses include Facebook and Instagram, reported the highest spending on personal security for top executives last year, filings culled by research firm Equilar show. Zuckerberg “is synonymous with Meta and, as a result, negative sentiment regarding our company is directly associated with, and often transferred to, Mr. Zuckerberg,” the Menlo Park, California, company explained earlier this year in an annual shareholder disclosure. At Apple, the world’s largest tech company by stock valuation, CEO Tim Cook was tormented by a stalker who sent him sexually provocative emails and even showed up outside his Silicon Valley home at one point before the company’s security team successfully took legal action against her in 2022. Cook is regularly accompanied by security personnel when he appears in public. Still, the company’s $820,000 allotted last year to protect top executives is a fraction of what other tech giants spent for CEO security. Just over a quarter of the companies in the Fortune 500 reported spending money to protect their CEOs and other top executives. Of those that did, the median payment for personal security doubled over the last three years to about $98,000. In many companies, investor meetings like the one UnitedHealthcare’s Thompson was walking to when he was shot are viewed as very risky because details on the location and who will be speaking are highly publicized. “It gives people an opportunity to arrive well in advance and take a look at the room, take a look at how people would probably come and go out of a location,” said Dave Komendat, president of DSKomendat Risk Management Services, which is based in the greater Seattle area. Some firms respond by beefing up security. For example, tech companies routinely require everyone attending a major event, such as Apple’s annual unveiling of the next iPhone or a shareholder meeting, to go through airport-style security checkpoints before entering. Others forgo in-person meetings with shareholders. Government health insurance provider Centene Corp. joined that group Thursday, citing the UnitedHealthcare executive’s death in announcing that its upcoming Investor Day will be held online, rather than in-person as originally planned. “But there are also company cultures that really frown on that and want their leaders to be accessible to people, accessible to shareholders, employees,” Komendat said. Depending on the company, such an approach may make sense. Many top executives are little known to the public, operating in industries and locations that make them far less prone to public exposure and to threats. “Determining the need for and appropriate level of an executive-level protection program is specific to each organization,” says David Johnston, vice president of asset protection and retail operations at the National Retail Federation. “These safeguards should also include the constant monitoring of potential threats and the ability to adapt to maintain the appropriate level of security and safety.” Some organizations have a protective intelligence group that uses digital tools such as machine learning or artificial intelligence to comb through online comments to detect threats not only on social media platforms such as X but also on the dark web, says Komendat. They look for what’s being said about the company, its employees and its leadership to uncover risks. “There are always threats directed towards senior leaders at companies. Many of them are not credible,” Komendat said. “The question always is trying to determine what is a real threat versus what is someone just venting with no intent to take any additional action.” Burton, a former special agent with the U.S. Diplomatic Security Service, points out that despite the current climate, there is little in the way of organized groups that target companies. Today, one of the primary worries are loners whose rantings online are fed by others who are like-minded. It’s up to corporate security analysts to zero in on such dialogue and decide whether or not it represents a real threat. And CEOs aren’t the only targets of disgruntled customers. In the U.S., there were 525 workplace fatalities due to assault in 2022, according to the National Safety Council. Industries including healthcare, education and service providers are more prone to violence than others, and taxi drivers are more than 20 times more likely to be murdered on the job than other workers, the group said. But the ambush of UnitedHealthcare’s Thompson this week is bound to get some CEOs second-guessing. “What invariably happen at moments like this in time is you will get additional ears listening” to security professionals seeking money to beef up executive protection, Burton says. “Because I can guarantee you there’s not a CEO in America who’s not aware of this incident.” ___ Associated Press writers Anne D’Innocenzio and Haleluya Hadero in New York and Jim Salter in St. Louis contributed. He’s one of the most famous corporate leaders in the Chipotle is raising its U.S. prices to offset inflation and The U.S. government on Friday ordered testing of the nation's A 7.0 magnitude earthquake shook a large area of Northern

Study: Maryland women must save $364,337 more than men for comfortable retirement

Heat star Jimmy Butler seen serving up cocktails made with his coffee. How to order one in Miami.Raising tuition fees to £9,535 a year passes the cost of national insurance hikes to students and 'won’t touch the sides' of a £100m shortfall, the Senedd heard. Opposition politicians quizzed Wales’ higher education minister after she announced fees for undergraduates will rise by £285 or three per cent to the same level as in England from August 2025. Vikki Howells, who was appointed in September, confirmed tuition fee loans will also rise to up to £9,535, with student support increasing by 1.6 per cent in the 2025/26 academic year. Ms Howells announced an extra £20m for Medr, a public body which was established this year to oversee all post-16 education and research in Wales. During education questions in the Senedd on December 4, Conservative Tom Giffard asked how much the UK Government’s national insurance increase will cost Welsh universities. Estimating the cost at about £20m, Ms Howells said: “The announcement I’ve made today to raise the tuition fee cap in Wales to £9,535 is estimated to cover those costs to universities.” Mr Giffard replied: “What you’ve done minister is offset the cost of a Labour UK policy by increasing tuition fees for students to pay for it.... “Before that announcement about employers’ national insurance, universities estimated that they run a deficit, cumulatively, of about £100m and yet nothing that has happened so far will address that blackhole.” The shadow education secretary said: “Taking those two policies in combination, it’s a zero-sum game ... the thing that students and universities have in common is that they were promised greater support ... and only received greater bills.” He pressed the minister about emergency funding, raising concerns about three years of cuts leaving Welsh universities worse off than counterparts in the UK. He said: “This crisis is real, the university funding crisis is very, very real and it’s immediate – so what are you going to do about it?” Ms Howells said an analysis of higher education fees and funding across the UK found Wales offers the most generous student maintenance support.