Man's 'secret' Mars bar causes online storm that led manufacturers to issue him £2 voucher
With a new year comes an opportunity to address the future. I would like to pose some questions about what may happen in 2025. Few predictions since I am a born pessimist. The most significant question about 2025 that is on the minds of most is how the second Trump administration will fare. Same questions for our divided Congress. Even though it is four years away, will we begin to see national candidates start to test the Iowa waters? Then there are questions that are Iowa-centric. One question on the minds of Iowans is whether Gov. Kim Reynolds will run again in 2026. I have watched politicians for many years now. Running for office is a grueling exercise and the only thing more grueling may be serving. Mathematically, about half of your constituents think everything you do is wrong. Plus, you sacrifice your privacy. I saw Gov. Reynolds at the Iowa State Fair in August along with a bevy of children and grandchildren. She passed by me like any other fairgoer and I didn’t see anyone stop her to shake her hand. That was a rare day for someone who is a staple of Iowa politics. I give my fellow Iowans credit for allowing her the room to have a private life. I wouldn’t blame her for hanging it up, but I don’t think anyone has that answer yet. Iowa has a new Lieutenant Governor, Chris Cournoyer. Cournoyer is in her 50s and already has had an interesting and diverse career. I look forward to seeing what she does in the new office. I don’t think it will be limited to ribbon cuttings, even though that is an important way to find out what’s going on in the state. State Auditor Rob Sand has said he will make up his mind soon about what office he wants to run for in 2026 as a Democrat candidate. Will he choose a third term as auditor or will he run for governor? I will predict that we will see candidates emerge from the Democrat side of the aisle pretty soon, especially should Gov. Reynolds decide not to run for a third term. We have battle-seasoned Congressional candidates, including Christina Bohanon and Rita Hart over on the eastern side of the state, along with Ryan Melton from the 4th District. Will they care to run for a state office? A new, even more Republican, General Assembly will convene in January. One issue legislators plan to tackle is property tax relief. High property taxes are a perpetual concern of Iowans and their elected representatives. I am no expert on city finances, but I don’t know that there is room for much reduction in local government costs. City and school taxes mainly pay for public safety and students. Will the state pick up part of the local tax bill? Or try to pass additional laws limiting the amounts local governments can collect? Maybe there will be an effort to allocate these costs differently. This will not be an easy discussion. U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst is up for re-election in 2026. Will she run? I don’t think any prognosticator seriously believes this is her last term. Who will be her Democrat challenger? Will she be primaried? All open questions. Turning to even more local matters, 2025 is a city and school board election year. Sioux Citians love to complain about city services and their city officials, but not too many of them run for this paid job that comes with health benefits. Will incumbents Dan Moore, Matthew O’Kane and Alex Watters run again? If they do, will there be serious challengers able to raise the financial and shoe leather resources needed to unseat any of the incumbents? There have been one-term council members over the years, but more recently we have been willing to re-elect our council incumbents when they choose to run again. Only Mr. O’Kane is a first termer this time. We also will elect three school board members. The departure of Paul Gausman as superintendent has not ended controversy with the school board. Will the three current members up for re-election — Jan George, Dan Greenwell and Bob Michaelson — run again, or will their tenure end because they envisioned the good old days when citizens and board members thought what the administration did was satisfactory? If so, who will step up and run? Finally, turning away from politics. Will the Warming Shelter meet funding and operational goals and remain open? Calls for the assistance of first responders from the shelter this year are only half of what they were last year, reflecting operational and training changes. And, lastly, will there be twice as many churches participating in the 2025 Tour of Steeples that raised money for the Warming Shelter and Food Bank after the success of the initial tour this year? All questions to ponder as the year turns. Suzan Stewart is a retired corporate attorney. During the 40 years she has lived in Sioux City, she has been involved in a variety of local and state volunteer activities, including serving as chair of the Woodbury County Republican Party. She and her husband, Dr. Bob Stewart, are the parents of four children and have six grandchildren. (tncms-asset)dd578574-ab0c-5ef6-bc29-c715a4dcce8d[0](/tncms-asset)
Title: Multiple Individuals Experience Discomfort and Sent to Hospital in Zhengzhou Bath Center - Official StatementMusk says US is demanding he pay penalty over disclosures of his Twitter stock purchases DETROIT (AP) — Elon Musk says the Securities and Exchange Commission wants him to pay a penalty or face charges involving what he disclosed — or failed to disclose — about his purchases of Twitter stock before he bought the social media platform in 2022. In a letter, Musk’s lawyer Alex Spiro tells the outgoing SEC chairman, Gary Gensler, that the commission’s demand for a monetary payment is a “misguided scheme” that won’t intimidate Musk. The letter also alleges that the commission reopened an investigation this week into Neuralink, Musk’s computer-to-human brain interface company. The SEC has not released the letter. Nor would it comment on it or confirm whether it has issued such a demand to Musk. Senate begins final push to expand Social Security benefits for millions of people WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate is pushing toward a vote on legislation that would provide full Social Security benefits to millions of people. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer began the process on Thursday for a final vote on the bill, known as the Social Security Fairness Act. It would eliminate policies that currently limit Social Security payouts for roughly 2.8 million people. The legislation has passed the House. The bill would add more strain on the Social Security Trust funds, which are already estimated to be unable to pay out full benefits beginning in 2035. The measure would add an estimated $195 billion to federal deficits over 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Trump offers support for dockworkers union by saying ports shouldn't install more automated systems WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump is offering his support for the dockworkers union before their contract expires next month at Eastern and Gulf Coast ports. He posted on social media Thursday that he met with union leaders and that any further “automation” of the ports would harm workers. He wrote that the “amount of money saved is nowhere near the distress, hurt, and harm it causes for American Workers.” The International Longshoremen’s Association has until Jan. 15 to negotiate a new contract with the U.S. Maritime Alliance, which represents ports and shipping companies. The Maritime Alliance says the technology will improve worker safety and strengthen our supply chains, among other things. IRS recovers $4.7 billion in back taxes and braces for cuts with Trump and GOP in power WASHINGTON (AP) — IRS leadership on Thursday announced that the agency has recovered $4.7 billion in back taxes and proceeds from a variety of crimes. The announcement comes under the backdrop of a promised reckoning from Republicans who will hold a majority over both chambers of the next Congress and have long called for rescinding the tens of billions of dollars in funding provided to the agency by Democrats. IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel said improvements made to the agency will help the incoming administration and new Republican majority congress achieve its goals of administering an extension of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. OpenAI's Altman will donate $1 million to Trump's inaugural fund LOS ANGELES (AP) — OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is planning to make a $1 million personal donation to President-Elect Donald Trump’s inauguration fund, joining a number of tech companies and executives who are working to improve their relationships the incoming administration. A spokesperson for OpenAI confirmed the move on Friday. The announcement comes one day after Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, said it donated $1 million to the same fund. Amazon also said it plans to donate $1 million. China signals it's prepared to double down on support for the economy as Trump tariffs loom BANGKOK (AP) — Chinese leaders met this week to plot economic policy for the coming year and sketched out plans to raise government spending and relax Beijing's monetary policy. Analysts said the broad-brush plans from the annual Central Economic Work Conference were more of a recap of current policy than ambitious new initiatives at a time when the outlook is clouded by the President-elect Donald Trump's threats to sharply raise tariffs once he takes office. The ruling Communist Party did commit to raising China's deficit and to doing more to encourage consumer spending by bringing wage increases in line with the pace of economic growth. Here's a look at China's main priorities and their potential implications. Stock market today: Wall Street slips at the end of a bumpy week Stocks slipped as Wall Street closes out a rare bumpy week. The S&P 500 was down less than 0.1% in afternoon trading Friday and headed for a weekly loss. The benchmark index hit its latest in a string of records a week ago. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 25 points. The Nasdaq composite was down less than 0.1%. Broadcom surged after the semiconductor company beat Wall Street’s profit targets and gave a glowing forecast, highlighting its artificial intelligence products. Treasury yields edged higher in the bond market. European markets were mostly lower and Asian markets mostly fell. Next Week: Retail sales, Fed policy update, existing home sales The Commerce Department releases its monthly snapshot of U.S. retail sales Tuesday. Federal Reserve officials wrap up a two-day meeting and issue an interest rate policy update Wednesday. The National Association of Realtors issues its latest update on U.S. home sales Thursday. African Union chairperson candidates advocate for permanent UN Security Council seats NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Three African leaders seeking to head the African Union have detailed their plans for regional security amid conflicts and political coups while strongly advocating for inter-Africa trade. The race for chairperson debate was held Friday in Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa. Kenya’s Raila Odinga, Djibouti’s Mahamoud Ali Youssouf and Madagascar’s Richard Randriamandrato are seeking to be elected as chairperson for the 55-member state African Union. They had a two-hour debate Friday in which they all advocated for two permanent seats for African countries at the U.N. Security Council to effectively represent the continent with the youngest population. The three are seeking to convince most African countries before the February election to succeed the African Union Chairperson Moussa Faki. From a 10-year-old to a Muppet to a president-elect, NYSE bell-ringers range from famous to obscure The first guest invited to ring the bell at the New York Stock Exchange in 1956 wasn’t a company executive, a politician or a celebrity. It was a 10-year-old boy, Leonard Ross, who received the honor by winning a television quiz show. Since then, business titans, political giants and global film stars have all been among those ringing the opening bell at the NYSE. Ronald Reagan rang the bell as president in 1985. Billionaire businessman and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Hollywood star Robert Downey Jr. have also rung the bell. The even list includes famous Muppets: Miss Piggy was once a bell ringer.However, the arrival of the cold front is not all bad news. Along with the cooler temperatures, the front is also expected to bring clear skies and reduced humidity levels. This will provide relief for many residents who have been enduring muggy and oppressive weather in recent days.
White House says 'early indications' point to Russia in Azerbaijan Airlines plane crashIn line with China's ongoing efforts to promote opening up and global cooperation, the meeting underscored the importance of fostering a more open and facilitative environment for foreign investment. By reaffirming commitment to opening up, the government aims to attract more international capital and expertise to drive innovation and economic growth.
Liam Payne's ex-girlfriend announces engagement weeks after One Direction star's death