Paul McCartney on how it's 'very emotional' harmonise with John Lennon again on stage
NoneI grew up in eastern Oregon, in the middle of nowhere, so I did welding and many other mechanical things. I was a jet engine mechanic in the Air Force and spent my primary career in technology. I worked for a handful of Silicon Valley companies as a director of technical marketing. One day, I was getting my haircut in Searcy, Arkansas. These old guys were talking about the missile silos that were around Arkansas. I had never heard about these places that housed nuclear missiles, so I started researching. Probably 20% of my interest was in the doomsday prepper aspect or the idea of preparing to survive in the case of a catastrophe. I'm not a full doomsday prepper, but I like the idea of being prepared for the unknown, including having food storage and some survival skills. If you talk to the hardcore preppers, which I'm not, missile silos are not that great, depending on what you think is the worst-case scenario. If it's a Walking-Dead-style apocalypse, you don't want to be in a missile silo because then you're trapped inside. Another 30% of my interest was in the modern archaeology aspect of owning something like this. I really wanted to dig it up and see what was in there. Initially, I intended to make it a house for my family. Lastly, I was interested in owning a missile silo because it's just kick ass. The place has 7,000-pound doors. Its three floors are made out of a steel structure nicknamed "the birdcage." It's on eight springs and actually hangs from the ceiling. And the reason is if it gets hit by a bomb, it allows the structure to shake to try to preserve the equipment and the people inside. Thanks to the rattle space or the gap between the floors and walls, I can put my back against the wall and push the structure to get it to move. I found my missile silo, called Titan II, online. I started talking to the previous owner in January of 2010, and by August, I owned it. Titan II was denuclearized after the US and Russia signed a 1979 treaty to limit each country's nuclear weapons. The US disarmed Titan II as part of that negotiation, called the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks II or SALT II. They had to destroy the silo in very specific ways. They actually had to blow up the top of the structure and fill it in. So it was an underground structure, but completely buried. I bought the nine-acre site in Vilonia, Arkansas, for $90,000, which was about a $30,000 premium over the land's value alone. There were three main components. There's the silo itself, a 57-foot diameter structure or basically a 15-story building, which sits underground at 150 feet deep. Then there's a long tunnel connecting the silo to the center area that's 35 feet underground. The last part of it is the launch control center, which goes as deep as 50 feet underground. Some people look at an old house and think, "There's no way I want to rebuild that." I liked the challenge. I knew we could build a pretty cool place. It just took a whole lot more money and time than I anticipated. I finally got money and time together in October 2010. I rented a large bulldozer and an excavator, and then we started digging. The whole facility was full of water. We could see water pouring out on top of us, so we had to figure out how to open the front door of the control center without dying. When the door popped open, a huge wave came over us. It was scary. There were other challenges. The place had asbestos and methane gas at the top of the control center, where the crew quarters were. I recorded videos of the whole process, and you can actually hear my voice change because of the methane in the air. I had much more time than I did money. It's not that I didn't have the money to do it, but when you get the money, how do you prioritize using it? Do you throw it in a hole in the ground or spend it on a vacation for your family? Or upgrade the current home you live in? I had to make many of those decisions over the 10-year renovation period. After spending $800,000, we're probably netting $80,000 a year in revenue from the place now that I rent it out on Airbnb. People ask what the hardest part about doing this was, and it has nothing to do with the work. It's the mental side. You're spending money on a hole in the ground, and you have nothing to show for it. It ended well for me, but the average person shouldn't do it. It's not a great way to spend time or money. We still live on the property, but we never moved in full-time. We'd spend some nights as a family there, either for fun or as a shelter from big tornadoes. There are no walls and doors, so there's no real primary bedroom. The top floor has a king bed, a large, open shower, and a free-standing bathtub. The middle floor has two queen beds that we can move to make more space. Then, the kitchen and the living room are on the bottom floor, which also doubles as a dance floor and can turn into a club. We host anything on the property, including meetings. If it's semi-legal and people want to do it there and pay for it, we're fine with it. The first booking we got was in November 2020. It was a couple coming for their honeymoon, but they got a little too intoxicated at their wedding to make the trip. They sent their best man instead. Our initial rate was $275 per night with a $75 cleaning fee. Since then, we've raised prices a few times, so now we're in the $400-$700 range for a one-night stay, depending on whether it's a weekday or a weekend. COVID was obviously still going on when we started to list it, and I marketed the silo as the ultimate social distancing. There was this YouTube couple, Kara and Nate, with like 3 million subscribers, who came to stay in 2021. They were travel influencers who started doing van life during the pandemic. I would say 70% of our bookings for the next year came through the video they made about their stay. Today, I would've paid an influencer couple like that $5,000 to stay for that kind of exposure. With them, it was just a coincidence. I once intentionally locked a woman in there for 10 days straight. In 2021, an author named Lynne Peeples called me and said, "I'm doing a book on circadian rhythm, and I need a place that has absolutely no indication of time whatsoever." She wanted to see what would happen to her sleep cycle. Before her arrival, I had to ensure everything that told the time was covered; even the Netflix account couldn't show the time. We've had acrobats down there for a charity event. We've had bands perform. We've had birthday parties and even some swingers. I'm a pretty open guy. Just treat each other and the place well. The only thing we haven't had yet is a wedding. And a lot of the reason for that is because of the stairs. It's five flights down, and typically, everybody's got at least one older relative in attendance. It's been a pretty terrible investment, any way you look at it, but it's become more than that. It's now part of my identity. Read the original article onChina concluded the much-awaited annual Central Economic Work Conference (CEWC) on Dec 12, outlining the government’s main economic objectives and policy plans for 2025, which are largely in line with our CEWC preview and Politburo meeting. As usual, key growth and policy targets were not announced at CEWC but will be released at the National People’s Congress (NPC) meeting next March. The CEWC recognized the growth headwinds from domestic demand weakness and external uncertainties, although the potential higher US tariffs was not cited explicitly. Therefore, the CEWC prioritized “stabilizing growth” as the central task and emphasized boosting domestic demand with more proactive macro policies, with “reviving household consumption” listed as a top task. In particular, the government highlighted its comprehensive goals of achieving stable growth, stable employment and “reasonable rebound” of inflation, the latter of which is a direct response to the lingering deflation pressure and an important anchor for market expectation and policy setting. Overall speaking, the CEWC set a much more supportive macro policy tone to stabilize growth, while more details are still set to be revealed later. More specifics expected throughout 2025-26 Our baseline forecast assumes that a plan of higher US tariffs may be released in Q1 2025 and implemented in stages starting from Q3 2025. Therefore, after the March NPC unveils next year’s overall policy stimulus package, we think the government may also ramp up additional policy support in stages throughout the rest of 2025 and in 2026, as macro situations develop, higher tariffs are announced and their impact is felt. Some of the proposed policy targets and measures in the CEWC may be revised in the NPC meeting. The CEWC emphasized more expectation management, better policy coordination and stronger local incentives. Some market participants and policy advisors may expect China to set 2025’s growth target at “around 5 percent” again to anchor market expectations, which we think is very challenging to achieve. We see China’s GDP growth slowing to around 4 percent in 2025, as headwinds from the lingering property downturn and potential higher US tariffs may be partly offset by stronger policy support. ‘More proactive’ fiscal policy The CEWC called for “more proactive” fiscal policy, a tone similar to that in 2020 when China expanded overall fiscal support notably. It indicates a broadly stronger fiscal expansion in 2025. The CEWC explicitly called for higher headline fiscal deficit, more issuance of ultra-long special treasury bonds (CGB) and special local government bonds (LGB), and improving fiscal spending structure (to support social welfare and consumption), with a key focus to scale up fiscal subsidies for trade-in program of consumer goods and equipment upgrading. The government also mentioned rolling out policy measures to boost childbirth, which we think may include the establishment of a subsidy scheme for families with young children. Our baseline forecast assumes 2 percentage point of GDP expansion in augmented fiscal deficit (AFD) in 2025 and another 1 percentage point AFD expansion in 2026. The former in 2025 includes a higher headline budget deficit of close to 4 percent of GDP (3.5-4 percent), larger ultra-long special CGB issuance of RMB 2 trillion, another RMB 500-1000 billion issuance of special CGB for capital injections to banks, and more special LGB issuance of RMB 4.5-5 trillion to support local debt swap and home inventory destocking. Overall speaking, total issuance of government bonds may increase by over RMB 3.5 trillion in 2025 from 2024. Easier monetary policy with additional rate cuts As highlighted in the Politburo meeting and we had expected, the CEWC vowed to take a “moderately easy” monetary policy stance, which is an explicit shift from the “prudent” tone that China had set during 2011-2024. The tone for 2025 is the same as that in 2008-2010, when China eased monetary policy aggressively to revive the economy after the global financial crisis. It indicates more convincing monetary policy easing ahead, although monetary policy room in 2025-2026 is much more limited than 15 years ago. The government explicitly called for cutting (reserve requirement ratio) RRR and policy rates, maintaining ample liquidity, stabilizing financial market and housing market, and guiding prices to recovery appropriately. Our baseline forecast expects the PBoC to cut policy rate by 30-40 basic points in 2025 and another 20-30 basic points in 2026, which could help lead to more cuts in LPR and mortgage rates. We think the PBoC may also use various facilities (including more outright REPO of government bonds) to maintain ample liquidity and support faster total social financing credit growth in 2025. Boosting consumption a top priority The CEWC prioritized “boosting consumption” as the first key policy task, and called for implementing a special action plan for it. As expected, the government vowed explicitly to expand the scale and coverage of trade-in subsidies of consumer goods. We continue to expect the size of trade-in program may more than double to over RMB 300 billion in 2025 from RMB 150 billion in 2024, with expanded coverage for consumer electronics and some general consumption coupons, on top of auto and home appliances in 2024. As we anticipated before, the CEWC planned to “properly” increase pension payout levels for retired employees and urban-rural households, and increase the subsidy standard for household health insurance. These measures could gradually help underpin household confidence and unleash consumption potential in the long run, although the scale of additional fiscal spending may be not big in 2025. In addition, despite no mention from the CEWC, we think the government may create childcare / childbirth subsidies for families with young children, which could reach up to RMB 200 billion or more per year. Stabilizing housing market a top task The CEWC continue to emphasize stabilizing the housing market as a top policy task, with more forceful implementation of urban village renovation, unlocking the full potential of fundamental and upgrading housing demand, reasonable control of new land supply, and more progress of home inventory destocking.If the planned 1 million units of urban village renovation could be completed rapidly in one year (2025) with the help of government subsidies predominately, it could contribute to over 12 percent of annual residential sales and facilitate more progress in inventory destocking. In the coming year, we think the government will also urge banks to increase support for the white-list scheme to ensure home deliveries of stalled projects. That said, policy execution is the key. We think it may still take some time for the government to adjust policy design and address the bottleneck restrictions for the destocking program, especially in setting clear guidelines about purchase price and enhancing incentives of local governments and developers. More innovation and support for private sector, less rat-race, more opening-up The CEWC vowed to push forward more structure reforms, as the government had outlined in the third plenum of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. Some key areas are highlighted in the CEWC, such as: boosting high quality growth with stronger support for innovation, enacting legislation on facilitating the development of the private sector, implementing a special action plan to crack down the misconduct in the law enforcement related to the corporate sector, and enhancing local government’s fiscal capacity. In addition, the CEWC called for rectifying “rat-race” style competition and standardizing related behaviors of local governments and corporates, partly echoing the recent criticism of China’s over-capacity issue. Despite the risk of higher US tariffs and more restrictions, the CEWC reiterated China’s determination to further open up its domestic market and integrate with the global supply chain. The CEWC reiterated maintaining a largely stable RMB exchange rate at its “equilibrium level”, while we think 5 plus percent RMB deprecation against the US dollar could be allowed to partly absorb the external shock from potential higher US tariffs. We think the government will likely closely manage the magnitude and pace of RMB depreciation, and we do not envisage the active use of currency depreciation as a macro policy tool. Source: chinadaily.com.cn
Brokers say these ASX dividend stocks are buys right nowIgor Shesterkin became the NHL's highest-paid goaltender when he and the New York Rangers agreed to an eight-year, $92 million extension on Friday, according to multiple reports . The announcement caps a busy day for the slumping Rangers, who earlier traded captain Jacob Trouba and his $8 million cap hit to the Anaheim Ducks . Shesterkin's new contract, which kicks in next season, was first reported by NHL Network's Kevin Weekes . Shesterkin's $11.5 million cap hit moves him past Carey Price ($10.5 million), who's on the injured list. The previous top pay among active goalies is Florida Panthers 2024 Stanley Cup winner Sergei Bobrovsky, who averages $10 million. Shesterkin, who reportedly earlier turned down an eight-year, $88 million deal, won the Vezina Trophy in 2021-22 in his first full season as a No. 1 goaltender. The 28-year-old ranks second in overall wins the last three-plus seasons (117) and took New York to the top regular-season record and the Eastern Conference final last season. All things Rangers: Latest New York Rangers news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more. Though his numbers are down this season, the Rangers rely on him a lot. He has faced the third-most shots in the league and has played fewer games than the leaders. Shesterkin is in the final year of a four-year, $22.67 million contract. He's the latest goalie to get a significant raise this season. The Boston Bruins' Jeremy Swayman received an eight-year, $66 million contract before the season. Dallas Stars goalie Jake Oettinger got the same figure in his extension, and Ottawa Senators goalie Linus Ullmark, acquired from the Bruins during the summer, has matched their $8.5 million cap hit.Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info Alesha Dixon has reportedly called it quits with her long-term beau Azuka Ononye . The Britain's Got Talent judge, who is 46 years old, has been sharing with her inner circle that her romance with Azuka, the doting dad to their two daughters aged 11 and six, has fizzled out. The stunning brunette hasn't been snapped with Azuka since March, and word has it she's been saying they're now 'more like friends' as their spark seems to have dimmed. Lately, Alesha's been concealing her wedding hand in photos, despite never officially marrying Azuka, whom she often referred to as her 'husband'. A source said to The Sun : "Alesha's been quietly telling people close to her that she believes their relationship is over and they're going to separate." They added, "She and Azuka have been together almost two decades but their relationship has become more like a friendship." The source also noted, "They're devoted parents to their girls, who are 11 and six, and want to focus on keeping their relationship as amicable as possible for their sake," reports the Mirror . It's been nearly six months since Alesha last posted a pic with Azuka on her Instagram feed. The couple originally hit it off when Azuka was a backup dancer on Alesha's tour. Alesha kept him on his toes for about a year before their relationship blossomed. The turning point came when Alesha broke her foot and Azuka demonstrated his caring nature by sleeping on the floor to take care of her. The couple now share two adorable daughters, Azura Sienna and Anaya Safiya. Earlier this month, Alesha spoke exclusively to OK! about her job as a judge on Britain's Got Talent, which is currently in the audition stage, and her family life with Azuka and their children. “I like to just hang out with my family on down days. I’ll have a nice glass of red wine and watch a good show,” she said. “Or I like to dance and go out to party, it depends what mood I’m in. But generally, anything that involves music and the people I love most is what I do to take time for myself.” She also revealed how they both encourage their children. “I remember, growing up, my mum always told me to do whatever makes me happy and to follow my passions. My dad was very nervous about me stepping into the creative industries and would have preferred me to be an accountant or a lawyer — in his opinion, a more sensible job. I understand where that fear comes from, but I think this generation now, how we talk to our kids, is almost like, you can do anything." She continued: “When our children sit down and play a computer game, for example, we’re the kind of parents who say, ‘You know, you can create the computer games that you play,’ and try to open their minds up to think outside the box. It’s about telling your kids, ‘You can be anything — you’re capable of anything.’” OK! has contacted Alesha's representatives for a comment on this story.
Ukraine's Zelenskyy heads to Paris with possible Trump talks in mind, sources sayThe AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! Get the poll delivered straight to your inbox with AP Top 25 Poll Alerts. Sign up here . GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Princely Umanmielen’s return to the Swamp ended with a police escort . Umanmielen, who spent three years at Florida before transferring to Ole Miss, left the stadium with a number of officers surrounding him. And the defensive end still tried to get at heckling fans. It started when Umanmielen left the sideline in the waning seconds of a 24-17 loss to the Gators . He was walking toward the visiting locker room when at least one fan yelled at him from a ramp that leads into the stadium. Umanmielen clearly didn’t like what he heard and started jogging up the ramp. Officers followed and escorted Umanmielen toward the team’s waiting busses, but more fans were in the path and shouted at him again. Umanmielen turned and started to dart toward them before officers stepped in and stopped him again. It was the latest bit of oddness for Umanmielen, who wore an orange, Gators ski mask through Ole Miss’ practice facility late in the week. He finished the game with seven tackles, including a sack. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here . AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-footballJeopardy! fans are all saying the same thing about Colin Jost. The NBC game show’s viewers have been furious over the past few weeks. They are tired of the “insanely easy” clues and “Gen Z slang” they don’t understand. Even an entire Taylor Swift round with cheeky puns couldn’t win them over. The new host of Pop Culture Jeopardy! is now in the hot seat. Jeopardy! host gives a drug warning after contestants are stumped on answer Jeopardy fans rage they 'expect better' from Ken Jennings after harsh ruling Colin Jost recently made his debut as the host of the new Amazon Prime Video spinoff. When the Saturday Night Live actor was first revealed as the new presenter, many were ecstatic as they took to X. One said: “Colin Jost is the perfect host for Pop Culture Jeopardy.” Another responded: “I’ve never been more excited for a show.” Someone else added: “If you told me a year ago i’d be excitedly waiting for a Jeopardy spin off i would not have believed you until you said Colin Jost was hosting then I would have fully believed you.” During the first episode, which aired on December 4, fans were taking note of Jost’s hosting abilities. They all reacted with the same consensus. A user questioned: “Did Colin Jost want do Pop Culture Jeopardy or did they make him do it?” Another joked: “Colin Jost is charming me because his energy is ‘man who wants to blow his brains out.’” The new series differentiates itself with a team-based game that tests contestants on every pop culture trend from The Avengers to Zendaya . While there were some that criticized the spinoff, most liked the fresh new host and style of the show. DON'T MISS: Wheel of Fortune player wins big as fans exclaim after massive blunder on show [LATEST] Jeopardy! fans can't watch contestant lose all money in nail-biting moment [REACTION] 'Steve Martin lookalike' and Jeopardy contestant leaves viewers 'in shambles' [INSIGHT] “I am so excited to burn through this,” one commented. A viewer admitted: “Omg pop culture jeopardy is my new freaking favorite LIKE was this show made for ME?!” Someone even admitted that they will start watching the original show again if Jost takes over for Ken Jennings. “Making him host of regular Jeopardy & I’d be tuning in every week, just as I did with Alex Trebek,” they declared. Amazon Prime Video will be releasing three new episodes of Pop Culture Jeopardy! every Wednesday.
Tech cooperation to continue under Trump govt: Huang
I’m A Celeb viewers slam GK Barry and brand her ‘lazy’ after spotting issue
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No. 5 UCLA snaps No. 1 South Carolina's 43-game win streak$93k EV ute back after dud first reveal
TOM HARRIS: The SNP is chronically addicted to spending on the bloated public sector - as services get ever worse. But without seismic reform, this tartan gravy train is doomed to hit the buffersSocial media users are misrepresenting a report released Thursday by the Justice Department inspector general's office, falsely claiming that it's proof the FBI orchestrated the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. The watchdog report examined a number of areas, including whether major intelligence failures preceded the riot and whether the FBI in some way provoked the violence. Claims spreading online focus on the report's finding that 26 FBI informants were in Washington for election-related protests on Jan. 6, including three who had been tasked with traveling to the city to report on others who were potentially planning to attend the events. Although 17 of those informants either entered the Capitol or a restricted area around the building during the riot, none of the 26 total informants were authorized to do so by the bureau, according to the report. Nor were they authorized to otherwise break the law or encourage others to do so. Here's a closer look at the facts. CLAIM: A December 2024 report released by the Department of Justice's Office of the Inspector General is proof that the Jan. 6 Capitol riot was a setup by the FBI. THE FACTS: That's false. The report found that no undercover FBI employees were at the riot on Jan. 6 and that none of the bureau's informants were authorized to participate. Informants, also known as confidential human sources, work with the FBI to provide information, but are not on the bureau’s payroll. Undercover agents are employed by the FBI. According to the report, 26 informants were in Washington on Jan. 6 in connection with the day's events. FBI field offices only informed the Washington Field Office or FBI headquarters of five informants that were to be in the field on Jan. 6. Of the total 26 informants, four entered the Capitol during the riot and an additional 13 entered a restricted area around the Capitol. But none were authorized to do so by the FBI, nor were they given permission to break other laws or encourage others to do the same. The remaining nine informants did not engage in any illegal activities. None of the 17 informants who entered the Capitol or surrounding restricted area have been prosecuted, the report says. A footnote states that after reviewing a draft of the report, the U.S. attorney's office in Washington said that it “generally has not charged those individuals whose only crime on January 6, 2021 was to enter restricted grounds surrounding the Capitol, which has resulted in the Office declining to charge hundreds of individuals; and we have treated the CHSs consistent with this approach.” The assistant special agent in charge of the Washington Field Office's counterterrorism division told the inspector general's office that he “denied a request from an FBI office to have an undercover employee engage in investigative activity on January 6.” He, along with then-Washington Field Office Assistant Director in Charge Steven D'Antuono, said that FBI policy prohibits undercover employees at First Amendment-protected events without investigative authority. Many social media users drew false conclusions from the report's findings. “JANUARY 6th WAS A SETUP!" reads one X post that had received more than 11,400 likes and shares as of Friday. “New inspector general report shows that 26 FBI/DOJ confidential sources were in the crowd on January 6th, and some of them went into the Capitol and restricted areas. Is it a coincidence that Wray put in his resignation notice yesterday? TREASON!” The mention of Wray's resignation refers to FBI Director Christopher Wray's announcement Wednesday that he plans to resign at the end of President Joe Biden's term in January. Other users highlighted the fact that there were 26 FBI informants in Washington on Jan. 6, but omitted key information about the findings of the report. These claims echo a fringe conspiracy theory advanced by some Republicans in Congress that the FBI played a role in instigating the events of Jan. 6, 2021, when rioters determined to overturn Republican Donald Trump's 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden stormed the Capitol in a violent clash with police. The report knocks that theory down. Wray called such theories “ludicrous” at a congressional hearing last year. Asked for comment on the false claims spreading online, Stephanie Logan, a spokesperson for the inspector general’s office, pointed The Associated Press to a press release about the report. In addition to its findings about the the FBI's involvement on Jan. 6, the report said that the FBI, in an action its now-deputy director described as a “basic step that was missed,” failed to canvass informants across all 56 of its field offices for any relevant intelligence ahead of time. That was a step, the report concluded, “that could have helped the FBI and its law enforcement partners with their preparations in advance of January 6.” However, it did credit the bureau for preparing for the possibility of violence and for trying to identify known “domestic terrorism subjects” who planned to come to Washington that day. The FBI said in a letter responding to the report that it accepts the inspection general’s recommendation “regarding potential process improvements for future events.” — Find AP Fact Checks here: https://apnews.com/APFactCheck . By Melissa Goldin, The Associated Press
Air Academy High School Assistant Principal Liz Walhof has been named the 2025 High School Assistant Principal of the Year by the Colorado Association of School Executives. This award honors school administrators who demonstrate exemplary leadership and a deep commitment to education and are selected from a competitive pool of nominees across Colorado. Walhof has served in her current role for the past six years and was praised by the association for the value she puts on relationships with her teachers and students. "I love that I've invested in students enough to be a trusted adult for them," Walhof said. "Many cross the halls to hug me, ask for advice, or share their fears and celebrations." Walhof was also recognized for her work helping students use their skills beyond the classroom. She's worked with the world language department chair to transition from grammar-based instruction to proficiency-based learning so students would be more likely to be able to utilize languages outside of the classroom. This approach helped credit-deficient students get back on track after COVID-19 interruptions. "She goes above and beyond to ensure that every student feels valued and affirmed. She always has a warm embrace of kindness for both staff and students and inspires all to create a culture of care at Air Academy High School,” D-20 Superintendent Jinger Haberer said in a press release. “People are the heart of our success in D-20, and Liz exemplifies this mark of excellence in our district.” Walhof began her educational career in Douglas County School District in 2000, where she worked for 15 years as a Spanish teacher, education technology coach, professional development coordinator and director of educational innovation. In 2015, Walhof moved to Lewis-Palmer School District 38, where she served as director of technology and professional learning until 2018.
French President Emmanuel Macron began his latest search for a prime minister on Friday as the center-left Socialists signaled they were open to joining a broad government coalition, sparking tensions inside an increasingly fragile leftwing bloc. Macron this week rejected demands to resign to resolve France's political crisis, saying conservative prime minister Michel Barnier had been driven from office by the far right and extreme left's "anti-republican front". "We came to say we want left-wing policies with a left-wing prime minister and that this is the message that he (Macron) now needs to understand after he picked Michel Barnier," Socialist Party chairman Olivier Faure said after meeting the president. In a sign of shifting political tides, Faure said he was ready to back a broader government as "everyone could see" the current political gridlock was harming France, but added that he could not work with another rightwing prime minister "under any circumstance". Seeking a way out of the political paralysis that followed snap elections this summer, Macron's allies tried for months to drive a wedge through the leftwing alliance known as the New Popular Front (NFP), urging the socialists to cut ties with the more radical France Unbowed (LFI). LFI's firebrand leader Jean-Luc Melenchon slammed Faure for talking to the president, saying in a social media post: "Nothing of what he's doing is in our name or the name of the NFP." In a prime time address on Thursday, Macron said he would announce a new prime minister in the coming days to replace Barnier, who was ousted in a no-confidence vote by lawmakers angered by his belt-tightening 2025 budget bill. But it remains to be seen how Macron can cobble together enough support in parliament to pass the budget, or install a prime minister with any sort of longevity. France's budget deficit has spiralled upwards this year, worrying financial markets, but the failure to agree a plan to rein it in has seen French borrowing costs jump higher still. The Socialists, a moderate leftist grouping with 66 seats in the National Assembly, voted to topple Barnier this week, but could emerge as crucial kingmakers. If Macron can win their backing, a new prime minister would likely have the numbers to stave off no-confidence motions from Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally and other parts of the left. Faure said that Macron should also seek to bring in the Greens and Communists. Macron, who sparked France's festering political crisis in June by calling the snap election that delivered a hung parliament, was defiant in his address to nation on Thursday. "I'm well aware that some want to pin the blame on me for this situation, it's much more comfortable," he said. But he said he would "never bear the responsibilities" of lawmakers who decided to bring down the government just days before Christmas. Their sole motivation, he added, was the 2027 presidential election, "to prepare for it and to precipitate it." The next government would pursue a 2025 budget bill early in the new year, he said, so that "the French people don't pay the bill for this no-confidence motion."ATHENS, Ga. — Nobody would have blamed the UMass football team if it rolled into Sanford Stadium and played an uninspired brand of football against No. 8 Georgia given its tumultuous week – headlined by the firing of head coach Don Brown. But the Minutemen did the complete opposite, coming out of the gate with a physical 10-play (nine rushes), 75-yard drive ending in a CJ Hester touchdown run to put the visiting six-touchdown underdogs ahead 7-0. UMass continued to play physically on offense and found itself down only 10 points midway through the third quarter, before the Bulldogs turned it on and pulled away for a 59-21 win on Saturday afternoon. The loss dropped the Minutemen to 2-9 on the season, and put a bow on game one of two under interim head coach Shane Montgomery. “This was a tough task today, coming in and playing a team like this Week 11 when you’re a little bit banged up,” Montgomery said. “But I really am proud of the team. We gave ourselves a chance in the first half to stay in the game which was huge. At some point they start to wear you down a bit on both sides of the line... We competed really well today and I’m proud of the guys.” After Hester’s 1-yard score on UMass’ opening possession – a drive supported by a 38-yard Ahmad Haston scamper – Georgia star quarterback Carson Beck ripped off a trio of unanswered touchdown passes. Oscar Delp, Cash Jones and Dominic Lovett were the beneficiaries to help the Bulldogs jump out in front 21-7 with just under nine minutes remaining in the first half. With the Bulldogs faithful reaching a deafening volume, true freshman quarterback AJ Hairston stepped behind center as calm as ever. Hairston started the drive with two completions – one to Jakobie Keeney-James and another to Sterling Galban – and scrambled for 10 yards to pick up a key fourth-and-5. UMass’ ground game, which dominated the first half, took over from there, and Jalen John punched in a 3-yard touchdown to put the Minutemen back within one score, 21-14. Beck responded by carving up the UMass secondary once again, and the senior slung his fourth touchdown of the opening two quarters 34 yards to Arian Smith. Georgia doubled up (28-14) the Minutemen at halftime. “When you’re going against a team like that, they’re gonna get their yards on offense,” Montgomery said. “The biggest thing was, the second half, we slowed them down, we didn’t give up as many big plays or quick touchdowns. We were able to move the ball on offense, which helped keep our defense off the field.” Article continues after... Cross|Word Flipart Typeshift SpellTower Really Bad Chess Georgia kicker Peyton Woodring drove through a 53-yard field goal on the Bulldogs’ first drive of the third quarter, and once again Hairston and UMass had an answer. On a second-and-10 from the Minutemen 25-yard line, the freshman from Florida avoided a Georgia pass rusher, stepped up in the pocket and let fly a deep ball toward Keeney-James down the right sideline. Battling with two defenders, Keeney-James elevated to come down with it, broke free and raced into the end zone for six. The 75-yard highlight-reel touchdown made it 31-21 and would be UMass’ last. Hairston finished with 121 yards, the one score and no interceptions on 7-for-16 passing. Haston completed the only pass he threw for four yards and added 50 yards on the ground. Keeney-James hauled in three catches for 101 yards and the touchdown – the sixth time the senior receiver has had 75 yards or more this season. The two freshman quarterbacks handled the hostile environment about as well as Montgomery could’ve hoped. “It was a heck of a play; a great throw and a great catch,” Montgomery said of Keeney-James’ touchdown, his fifth of the year. “We kind of went to a dead count where we were gonna see what they were in, and the corner was off to start with. When we checked the play the corner came up and pressed. I saw the ball thrown, and I saw about three bodies go up for it – one of ours and two of theirs... Great job of staying in bounds. That was a huge play.” UMass rushed for a whopping 226 yards, its second-highest total of 2024, against a Georgia defense that surrenders only 114 yards per game on the ground. It was the most rushing yards Georgia has allowed in a game since 2018. “We did not tackle well but it was more than just tackling. I don’t think our guys were ready to play or as energized to play as their guys were,” Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said. “Their guys wanted it more than us. It’s very rare that I can say that. They were playing harder, they were moving us, they were playing physical. It was a want-to and desire. That was the biggest part of it.” John put together his best performance of the season, rushing for 107 yards on nine attempts (11.9 yards per carry), while Hester recorded 74 yards rushing. Each back found paydirt in the first half. Brandon Campbell had seven yards on three carries and tight end Dominick Mazotti executed a sneak play to perfection to pick up a fourth-and-1 with a 3-yard rush. The Minutemen offensive line put together its best outing this fall, giving up just one sack all game and creating consistent push up front in the run game. “I was really proud of the way that we ran the football today against a great defense, one of the best in the country,” Montgomery said. “The big thing about their defense is they don’t give up a lot of big plays. And we did have some chunk plays today that I wasn’t sure we were even gonna get. But we did a great job of creating some of those.” Bulldogs true freshman Nate Frazier (136 rushing yards) then scored three consecutive touchdowns on the ground and Chris Cole rumbled in from 38 yards out after recovering a Hairston fumble. In the blink of an eye UMass was down 59-21. A victory on Saturday was never expected, but UMass left Athens pleased with its effort given the circumstances: playing the winner of two of the last three national championships in their building without Don Brown. UMass (2-9) returns to Amherst to host UConn for senior day at McGuirk Alumni Stadium next Saturday at noon.
November 23, 2024 (SINJAH) – The Sudanese army announced on Saturday it had retaken the strategic city of Sinjah, the capital of Sennar state, from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) after fierce fighting. Thousands of residents celebrated the liberation of Sinjah, which had been under RSF control since June. Similar celebrations erupted in Al Hawata, a city in Gedaref state where many had sought refuge from the fighting. The army released a video on social media showing its troops inside the headquarters of the 17th Infantry Division in Sinjah. “The armed forces and other regular forces are inside the 17th Infantry Division headquarters in Sinjah,” the army said in a statement. “We are on the path to completely cleansing the homeland of the terrorist RSF militia.” Military sources told Sudan Tribune that the army had secured all entry and exit points to Sinjah after intense battles involving drones and artillery strikes. Following the capture of Sinjah, the army advanced towards areas east of the city, including Al Dali, Al Mazmoum, and Abu Hajar. The army’s recapture of Sinjah comes after a concerted effort to mobilize forces from Al Dinder, Al Suki, Sennar, and Blue Nile. Troops slowly advanced towards the city, retaking towns and villages along the way. The army congratulated the Sudanese people on the liberation of Sinjah and the 17th Infantry Division. “We dedicate this victory to our people who have suffered killing, displacement, oppression, looting, and all kinds of atrocities from the militia of the Hemeti family,” the army said, referring to RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, also known as Hemetti. Government spokesman and Information Minister Khalid Al-Awais said in a statement that the recapture of Sinjah reflects the resilience of the Sudanese people and their armed forces. “This steadfastness confirms that the people and their forces are on a date with achieving more victories that will restore security and stability to the country,” he said. Al-Awais added that a “moment of justice and accountability is coming” for those who committed crimes during the conflict. The army’s capture of Sinjah follows its successful operation in October to cut off RSF supply lines by taking control of the Moya Mountains, where the RSF had established a key base.
NoneA masked gunman fatally shot Brian Thompson , the CEO of UnitedHealthcare — one of the nation’s largest health insurers — outside a Manhattan hotel where the company was holding its investor conference on Wednesday, Dec. 4. Police are still searching for the gunman. A day after the shooting, a TikTok went viral claiming UnitedHealthcare posted a LinkedIn job listing for a new CEO within 24 hours of Thompson’s death. The job listing that appears in the video advertises a full-time, remote position based in Minnetonka, Minnesota, with an annual salary range of $300,000 to $450,000. Another viral TikTok claimed the company also posted the same job listing on Indeed. Many commenters on the viral TikToks questioned whether UnitedHealthcare actually posted a job listing for a new CEO directly following the fatal shooting. THE QUESTION Did UnitedHealthcare post a job listing for a new CEO the day after Brian Thompson’s death? THE SOURCES UnitedHealthcare UnitedHealth Group’s 2024 proxy statement Independent VERIFY searches of job openings on UnitedHealthcare’s LinkedIn , Indeed and official careers website Peter Deragon , a managing director at Stanton Chase in Los Angeles Liz Ryan , the CEO and founder of Human Workplace, a career coaching and consulting firm THE ANSWER No, UnitedHealthcare did not post a job listing for a new CEO the day after Brian Thompson’s death. Sign up for the VERIFY Fast Facts newsletter here . WHAT WE FOUND UnitedHealthcare did not post a job listing for a new CEO shortly the day after Brian Thompson was fatally shot in New York on Dec. 4, like two viral TikToks claimed. UnitedHealthcare is the largest subsidiary of the Minnetonka, Minnesota-based UnitedHealth Group. Thompson worked at UnitedHealth Group for 20 years. In April 2021, he was named UnitedHealthcare’s CEO after running the company’s Medicare and retirement business. On Dec. 6, VERIFY searched the most recent job listings posted on UnitedHealthcare’s LinkedIn and Indeed profiles and found that the company had not posted an ad for a new CEO within hours of Thompson’s death. We also found that the job was not listed on UnitedHealth Group’s official careers website . The salary range that appears in the viral TikTok’s fake job listing is also significantly lower than Thompson’s actual salary. In 2023, Thompson’s annual pay package, including salary, bonus and stock options awards, was $10.2 million, making him one of the company’s highest-paid executives, according to UnitedHealth Group’s 2024 proxy statement . Peter Deragon, a managing director at Stanton Chase, a global executive search and leadership consulting firm, says most companies don’t hire their CEOs through LinkedIn, Indeed or other online job boards. “Most C-suite executives don’t ‘hunt’ for a job in the traditional sense of the word. They aren’t found scouring job boards or parsing over the latest employment listings,” Deragon wrote in a blog post from January 2023. “Instead, C-suite professionals willing to shift between employers enter a different process. They position themselves favorably and are ‘courted’ by companies in need of quality leadership,” he added. Liz Ryan, the CEO and founder of Human Workplace, a career coaching and consulting firm, agrees. “Higher-level executives don’t get new jobs by filling out online applications and uploading their resumes,” Ryan wrote in November 2023. “They don’t job hunt that way because they’d never get hired if they did.” VERIFY reached out to UnitedHealthcare for comment but did not hear back by the time of publication. The Associated Press contributed to this report .
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