With Ontario’s deadline to implement accessibility standards a little over a month away, a disability rights activist is part of a group holding an online forum. A barrier-free Ontario was the purpose of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), unanimously passed by members of provincial parliament in 2005. With the province’s 20-year deadline for the implementation of accessibility standards looming on Jan. 1, 2025, AODA Alliance chair David Lepofsky will be part of the panel hosting the event from 2 to 4 p.m. today, and we will have the YouTube stream of the event of the public hearing. AODA Alliance will stage community public hearings. MPPs from the four Ontario political parties will receive deputations from people with disabilities in person and via video. Presenters will describe disability barriers they still face and the government’s role in the process. The event will stream live on the AODA Alliance YouTube channel at . Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our and . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google and apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our .ATLANTA (AP) — Jalen Johnson scored 28 points and the Atlanta Hawks closed out a four-game homestand, winning a third straight contest, 120-110 over the Miami Heat on Saturday. Trae Young added his 22nd double-double of the season, with 11 point and 15 assist, and De'Andre Hunter scored 26 points in his 14th consecutive game with at least 15 points coming off the bench. Tyler Herro scored 28 points and dished out 10 assists and Bam Adebayo added 17 points and 10 rebounds. It was the Heat's fourth game in a row without star Jimmy Butler , who sat out for what the team called “return to competition reconditioning.” Heat: Miami lost despite five players finishing with double-digit point totals. The Heat shot 44.4% from the field, but it wasn't enough to overcome a Hawks team that hit over half of its shots, 51.2% from the field. Hawks: Johnson has been on an offensive tear in his last two games. He finished two points shy of his single-game career high of 30 points, set in his last game, on Thursday against the Chicago Bulls. Hunter also finished just one point shy of his single-game career high of 27 points. After a close first half that featured nine lead changes, Atlanta seized control early in the second half. With five minutes to go in the third quarter, Atlanta’s Garrison Mathews and Hunter hit back-to-back 3s to give Atlanta an 81-72 lead, their biggest of the night, and forcing a Miami timeout. Young finished one assist shy of a franchise single-game record for assists against the Miami Heat, set by Mookie Blaylock in 1993. The Hawks begin a six-game road trip in Toronto on Sunday, while the Heat visits the Rockets on Sunday. AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBAPenn State rolls past Maryland, clinches berth in Big Ten title game
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico has been taking a bashing lately for allegedly serving as a conduit for Chinese parts and products into North America, and officials here are afraid a re-elected Donald Trump or politically struggling Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau could try to leave their country out of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement. Mexico’s ruling Morena party is so afraid of losing the trade deal that President Claudia Sheinbaum said Friday the government has gone on a campaign to get companies to replace Chinese parts with locally made ones.In a sharp rebuttal to claims that the low voter turnout in the 2024 presidential elections was the reason behind John Mahama’s victory, University of Ghana Political Science lecturer, Professor Ransford Gyampo, has dismissed such claims as “nonsensical” and a misguided attempt to deflect attention from the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) failure. Speaking on TV3’s Key Points program on Saturday, December 28, Gyampo expressed his frustration with the narrative pushed by some NPP figures, who have suggested that voter apathy was the primary factor behind the election results. “The idea that John Mahama won the 2024 elections because people did not go out to vote in my view is a nonsensical propagandistic attempt at covering up for incompetence and bad governance,” Gyampo said, rejecting the theory as an attempt to avoid accountability for the party’s shortcomings. The political analyst emphasized that blaming voter apathy without examining the root causes of it was disingenuous. “If you say that people did not go out to vote without interrogating why they did not go out to vote, then it means that you’re just being propagandistic and you are trying to mask your bad governance and incompetence,” Gyampo argued. According to Gyampo, the real reasons for the low voter turnout were far more complex than mere apathy. He pointed to a range of issues such as corruption, economic mismanagement, arrogance, and nepotism, which he believes led to widespread disenchantment with the NPP government. “People didn’t vote because they felt let down, because of corruption, arrogance, economic mismanagement, nepotistic governance,” he said, asserting that these factors significantly impacted the electorate’s decision to stay home on election day. Gyampo’s comments came in response to reports that the NPP had formed a committee to investigate why the party lost the election. The lecturer questioned the need for such an inquiry, pointing out that the reasons behind the defeat were already clear. “If they know apathy caused it, why are they setting up a committee to go into the reason why you lost?” he asked rhetorically. “Come to us, we will tell you all the factors that led to the monumental defeat of the NPP.” Gyampo’s candid assessment reflects a broader frustration with the party’s failure to confront its own shortcomings and take responsibility for the factors that contributed to its electoral defeat. His remarks underscore the need for a more honest and comprehensive examination of the government’s policies and actions in order to understand the true causes of the election outcome.Special Counsel Moves to Dismiss Election Interference Case Against Trump
SPOKANE — Luis Cortes, the lawyer who argued before the Supreme Court in 2019 to defend a visa program allowing undocumented immigrants to temporarily reside legally in the United States, is now urging recipients to prepare for a future without it. Cortes, an immigration attorney for Novo Legal Group LLC in Seattle, spoke at Gonzaga University last Wednesday about the uncertain future of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The people who came to the country through this program are colloquially called "dreamers." In preparation for President-elect Donald Trump, Cortes said he and Alejandra Perez, a Ph.D. student at the University of Washington, plan to hold weekly community meetings for support and resources across the state. At the local level, groups like Latinos en Spokane have also been preparing for these challenges. "We're lucky in Washington that we have a lot of privileges already, like driver's licenses are not contingent on DACA, professional licenses are not contingent on DACA, but we want to also make sure that we have pipelines to certain career paths," said Cortes, a DACA recipient. The Obama administration created the DACA Program in 2012 to provide renewable two-year permits allowing young people brought to the U.S. as children to work, study and be protected from deportation. In 2017, the Trump administration moved to rescind the program. In response, Cortes became the first undocumented attorney in 2019 to argue before the Supreme Court, defending DACA after filing a lawsuit on behalf of recipients nationwide. "When the Supreme Court took the case, there were two questions that they wanted answered. One was 'Is the DACA program legal?' And two, 'Can the Trump administration end the program the way that they ended it?' " Cortes said. The Supreme Court ruled that the Trump Administration had unlawfully ended the program and sent the case back to the Fifth Circuit Court, where it has since remained in limbo. Because the Court never addressed the core question of DACA's legality, however, the program is likely to face new challenges. As of Dec. 31, 2022, there are roughly 580,000 active DACA recipients across the country, with an estimated 13,530 living in Washington, one of the few states willing to offer resources and support for undocumented immigrants. Michael Baumgartner, the newly elected congressman from Spokane, spoke on immigration issues in Eastern Washington during his candidacy and seemed to favor a reform for some visa programs, including for guest workers, skilled workers and "well-educated, highly capable and talented folks" like conservative South African-born tech mogul Elon Musk — although didn't specify what visa programs this would include. When it comes to undocumented immigrants, however, he has said policies such as "Remain in Mexico" need to be reinstated and the sanctuary city experiment ended. Cortes said it's important for people in and outside of Washington to tap into pre-existing organizations like Rising Dreamers, Scholar Fund or United We Dream to understand how to organize — and not just post on social media. "Community organizing means showing up and being consistent about it, not just when it's convenient, but to actually be committed to it," Cortes said. "That's what has worked in the past, not just for dreamers, but for other civil rights movements." Jennyfer Mesa, executive director of Latinos en Spokane, said her group has been preparing, even before the results, and is working with other state agencies, such as leaders from the Washington Working Act, on planning, defense and political education. Some of their priorities include training on immigration rights, advocating for unemployment insurance for undocumented workers, strengthening legal and community defense, and protecting health insurance for immigrants. "We want to ramp up our efforts, on doing more information and going back to what we used to do, which is a lot of deportation defense, providing 'Know Your Rights' information," Mesa said. Latinos en Spokane got its start through advocacy work in 2016, right around Donald Trump's first presidency. The organization started off with volunteers, including Mesa, and others in the community who wanted to spread awareness on deportation defense and ICE arrests in Spokane. Officially established in 2017, it continued to address key issues, including racial profiling from U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents in 2019, who were stopping Greyhound bus passengers in Spokane to question them about their immigration status. The group's advocacy resulted in new laws in Spokane limiting Border Patrol's ability to search buses and access nonpublic city property, as well as the Keep Washington Working Act, which strengthened protections for immigrants across the state. "None of the rights that we have today were created just because they were given to us," Mesa said. "We had to fight for them, and that comes from everything from worker rights to housing rights to human rights to our health." United We Dream, a nonprofit immigrant advocacy organization, was marching and rallying for immigrant rights as early as 2008, around the beginning of Barack Obama's first presidency, as a way to unify immigrant youth across the country after Obama made many promises to the immigrant community. As time passed without significant progress on immigration reform — instead, millions even faced deportation under the Obama Administration — communities across the country protested. They organized marches, holding signs directed at Obama with messages like "Deporter-in-Chief" and "Let us be the change." With their push, in the summer of 2012, Obama announced an executive action for DACA, granting relief to thousands of undocumented families across the country. "It's really important to know that DACA was not a gift from Obama," Cortes said. "It was a political concession that was made after students got together and did the work. "They pushed and pushed and pushed until they got the executive branch of the U.S. government to continue." Mesa also said she doesn't expect ICE arrests and racial profiling to go anywhere, and that their advocacy work is going to be crucial at the local level, considering Idaho is only 20 minutes away without state policies protecting undocumented immigrants. "We have a lot of people who live and work within both parts of the state, and as soon as you are driving while Brown in Idaho, and you cross that border, as soon as you have an accent there, their police will call Border Patrol," Mesa said. "... I would advise immigrants and people who are at risk to not travel to those areas. It's very hostile, and Border Patrol is very present there." Idaho has 2,330 active DACA recipients and 35,000 undocumented immigrants. It doesn't have any state policies to protect the group, according to the Migration Policy Institute. In a news release this fall, Kootenai County Sheriff Robert Norris said "rewarding illegal aliens with a Driver's License will only encourage more illegal migration into Idaho." But Cortes said that, even with individuals and state officials' concerns throughout the state, Idaho's approach is more complex. He said that while state-level support remains uncertain, institutions and smaller communities can often step in to offer resources and assistance, such as with scholarships and community organizing through clubs. "We're hoping that catches on and that Idaho will continue to support its community despite what the federal government wants," Cortes said. Norris didn't respond to The Spokesman-Review's request for a comment. Mesa said Latinos en Spokane will continue leading free immigration clinics, both through its partnership with Gonzaga University and through its own legal department, Poder Legal. She said the group is also accredited by the Department of Justice, which allows it to provide legal immigration services without the need for an attorney. "That helps us with all of our cases," Mesa said. "The best way that we can support our community is through legal action." Cortes said while he continues to work on community organizing across the state, it's important to contact nearby nonprofits and schools — even if they don't have the resources — as a starting point to help you get connected to the right people. "And if you're a student, look at what student groups are doing work, and tap into other schools too," Cortes said. "So, for example, if students at Gonzaga are wanting to organize, and there's two or three people, look at what WSU is doing. Reach out to them and say, 'Hey, can we start a coalition between these two schools?' and try to build a community that way."
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In a stunning electoral verdict, Jharkhand has broken its 24-year jinx of never returning an incumbent government to power. The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)-led INDIA alliance’s sweeping victory, securing a two-thirds majority despite the BJP’s highly polarised campaign, is inarguably an outcome of a strong social coalition powered by an array of welfare schemes. The scale of victory is also impressive—while the INDIA partners (JMM), the Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), and Left parties) delivered strong performances across the board, in the NDA camp only the BJP managed to stay afloat, emerging as the second-largest party while its allies All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) and Janata Dal (United) (JDU) failed to make an impact. The INDIA bloc is set to win 56 of 81 seats in the State, which is more than a two-thirds majority. JMM is set to win 34 seats, nine more than the 25 it won in 2019, and its ally Congress 16 seats, equal to what it won in 2019, while RJD won four, close to the six seats it won in 2019. Left parties have won two seats. JMM, riding on sympathy votes for Hemant Soren after his arrest and subsequent bail in the corruption case, has registered a rise, while other INDIA partners have by and large retained their seats. In the NDA bloc, while the BJP is set to win 21 seats, its allies AJSU, JDU, and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) LJP (Ram Vilas) have only one seat each. JMM’s strike rate is spectacular at nearly 75 per cent compared to BJP. While the saffron party as the lead party in the NDA contested 68 of 81 seats, JMM in the INDIA bloc contested only 43 seats. A reason for Sudesh Mahato-led AJSU’s poor show is the rise of the new entrant in Jharkhand politics, Jairam Mahato, who won the Dumri Assembly seat. Both Sudesh and Jairam come from the same Kudmi-Mahato community, which is the second-largest voting bloc after tribals in the State. Jairam’s Jharkhand Loktantrik Krantikari Morcha seems to have damaged NDA’s prospects in several seats. The Kurmis, accounting for nearly 14 per cent of votes, are key to victory in over 30 of the 81 Assembly seats in Jharkhand, particularly in the districts of Ranchi, Dhanbad, Hazaribagh, Jamshedpur, and Giridih. Also Read | BJP’s ‘poach and polarise’ strategy for Jharkhand The BJP-AJSU alliance had bagged 47 seats (BJP-42 and AJSU-05) in the 2014 Assembly election. In 2019, when they fought separately, they won 25 and two seats, respectively. When they united in 2024, hopes were high for recreating the 2014 scenario. However, they performed nowhere close, with the BJP winning only 21 seats and AJSU just one. The addition of JDU and LJP (Ram Vilas) also did not help BJP significantly. Despite an extremely divisive pitch of “Jamai Jihad and Zameen Jihad” centred on allegations of infiltration by Bangladeshi muslims and their acquisition of tribal lands and marriages with tribal women, the BJP could achieve a strike rate of below 30 per cent. Congress, which had proved a weak link in the INDIA bloc in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, performed well in Jharkhand, winning 16 of the 30 seats it contested. JMM’s steady ascent This election marks JMM’s consistent rise in Jharkhand. It won 18 seats in 2009, 19 in 2014, 30 in the 2019 State election, and now 33 Assembly seats. BJP, though down to 21 from the 25 seats it won in 2019, remains a significant force in the tribal State. But its performance will dampen spirits, as it has deployed a battery of tribal leaders this time, including many imports from parties like JMM and Congress. Prem Singh, a former teacher at Delhi University and former fellow of the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla, told Frontline , “The communal issue of infiltration of Bangladeshi Muslims in the State backfired on the BJP . This election result has made it clear that the BJP’s communal campaign has not yet spread to rural Jharkhand. It remains a city-centric party in the State.” Hemant Soren during a public meeting ahead of the Assembly election. The BJP’s aggressive campaign focusing on alleged Bangladeshi “infiltration” and attempts to woo tribal voters fell flat, managing only 21 seats despite contesting 68. | Photo Credit: The Hindu Singh noted that the BJP could not counter several ground factors: sympathy among tribal communities following Hemant Soren’s arrest, support from non-tribal women due to Maiya Samman Yojana, and the polarisation of Muslim minority votes in favour of the INDIA bloc. “It was said that the BJP tried to harm JMM and the INDIA bloc by providing resources to Jairam Mahto of Jharkhand Loktantrik Krantikari Morcha. But this strategy failed. The BJP also angered some of its old leaders and voters by fielding new faces picked from political families,” Singh observed. A look at Jharkhand’s electoral map shows that the BJP’s attempt to woo tribal votes by raising concerns about Bangladeshi infiltration has flopped, as it failed to win many seats in the Santhal Pargana region. Most of its victories came from its traditional strongholds in Palamu and North Chotanagpur. In Kolhan, where the BJP had high hopes riding on Champai Soren, results fell below expectations. Though Champai won his Saraikela seat, his son Babulal Soren is losing from Ghatshila. In the last Assembly election, the BJP failed to win any of the 14 Assembly seats in Kolhan. Overall, the BJP had won just two of the 28 tribal reserved seats in 2019, and this time too, its performance in these constituencies appears limited. Even former Union Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda’s wife, Meera Munda, was trailing from the Potka seat. Shibu Soren’s eldest daughter-in-law, Sita Soren, who had earlier lost the Dumka Lok Sabha seat as a BJP candidate, trailed by a huge margin in the Jamtara seat at the time of reporting. Former Chief Minister Madhu Koda’s wife, Geeta Kora, also trailed in Jagannathpur. A Lok Sabha MP from Congress, she had joined the BJP before the 2024 general election and lost from the Singhbhum Lok Sabha seat months ago before being fielded as an MLA candidate this time. Polarisation politics finds few takers Releasing the BJP’s Sankalp Patra (manifesto) on November 3 in Ranchi, Home Minister Amit Shah had promised to “identify and deport” every infiltrator and reclaim “land they usurped” from tribal people. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at an election rally in Chaibasa in Kolhan division on November 4, warned tribals that “they” (referring to Muslims) were snatching their bread, taking away their daughters, and usurping their land. This escalated the BJP’s ongoing campaign in the Santhal Pargana region, which claimed Muslims from Bangladesh were marrying tribal women and changing demographics. Clearly, this strategy has not worked. Siraj Dutta, a social activist and researcher associated with PUCL in Jharkhand, told Frontline , “The result is a clear rejection of the BJP’s deeply communal and divisive politics. The BJP ran an extremely hateful campaign against Muslims using the bogey of Bangladeshi infiltration. Several mainstream media outlets and digital news portals blindly pushed the BJP’s agenda. It did not resonate with Adivasis and other Jharkhandi communities, even in Santhal Pargana, as it simply doesn’t exist on the ground.” Dutta noted that contrary to the BJP’s communal agenda based on unfounded claims, INDIA bloc parties, led by JMM, focused on people’s issues and questions of Jharkhandi identity in their campaign. “Along with Adivasis, a large proportion of backward and Dalit Jharkhandi communities have also rejected BJP’s communal politics in favour of Hemant Soren’s welfare work. The consolidation of Adivasis against the BJP visible in this year’s Lok Sabha election intensified further. In the last five years, the BJP’s agenda of assimilating Adivasis into the Hindutva fold has faced stiff political resistance. The pro-corporate policies of the Modi government at the cost of Adivasi resources are also exposed,” he explained. In the 2024 Lok Sabha election, the BJP won nine of 14 Lok Sabha seats, and the NDA had led in more than 50 Assembly seats. They were hopeful of a better show this time, believing that with Hemant Soren out on bail, the sympathy factor would no longer work for JMM. Also Read | In Jharkhand, a contest between BJP’s anti-infiltration stance and JMM’s tribal identity politics BJP, which lost the 2019 Assembly election after appointing non-tribal Chief Minister Raghubar Das following its 2014 victory, attempted course correction by bringing back Jharkhand’s first tribal Chief Minister, Babulal Marandi. While Marandi won his Rajdhanwar seat in Giridih, he clearly hasn’t proved to be the BJP’s trump card in the State. The BJP pitched the Gogo Didi Yojana to counter the JMM-led alliance government’s Maiya Samman Yojana to attract female voters. However, voters seemingly preferred a delivered scheme over a promised one. The BJP’s manifesto promised to transfer Rs. 2,100 monthly to women’s bank accounts under their scheme after forming the government. Under the existing Maiyya Samman Yojana, Rs. 1,000 per month is credited to over 50 lakh women’s accounts in the State. Chief Minister Hemant Soren promised to increase this amount to Rs.2,500 monthly from December if his party returned to power. Women voters outnumbered men in 32 Assembly constituencies, with female turnout exceeding male turnout in more than 80 per cent of seats this time. One wonders if the caste-neutral women voters were the decisive factor in this outcome. CONTRIBUTE YOUR COMMENTS SHARE THIS STORY Copy link Email Facebook Twitter Telegram LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit
LOS ANGELES , Dec. 12, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Flaviar is honored to be the tech, online marketing, and fulfillment partner for Tesla Mezcal, a collaboration between Nosotros and Tesla, blending innovation and craftsmanship. This limited-edition mezcal will be available in highly limited quantities for purchase starting Thursday, December 12 , exclusively on https://teslamezcal.tesla.com/ . Tesla Mezcal's hand-blown glass bottle features a rich black finish inspired by Oaxaca's centuries'-old Barro Negro pottery-making tradition. The bottle was designed by Tesla's Director of Product Design, Javier Verdura , in honor of his Mexican roots and early life growing up in Mexico City . The design is emblematic of Mexico's Oaxacan culture, featuring a unique hand-molded form that honors ingenuity, family values and a love of food. Similarly, having grown up in Mexico City , a large part of Javier's identity shares those same values of hard work, family and a love for his heritage. 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With its leading consumer marketplaces, Flaviar.com and Caskers.com , it facilitates nearly a million orders annually through its network of retailers across the world. Wine-Searcher is the global leader in beverage alcohol product search, boasting nearly 19 million listings from more than 35,000 vendors across 126 countries and a database searched 300 million times each year. Flaviar For Business offers a comprehensive suite of data insights and advertising solutions along with Flaviar Checkout, powering compliant DtC sales and the exclusive app for processing alcohol payments for global e-commerce leader, Shopify. View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/just-in-time-for-the-holidays-tesla-mezcal-re-releases-a-limited-edition-collaboration-with-nosotros-mezcal-302330078.html SOURCE TeslaInnovation in education Students should grasp concept properly rather than simply regurgitate information during exams Pakistan’s higher education system is at a critical juncture and needs immediate and bold reforms to align with the demands of the modern world. For too long have outdated practices and an inability to keep pace with global trends left our graduates unprepared for the competitive, technology-driven landscape of the 21st century. The saying ‘you reap what you sow’ resonates deeply with our current predicament. If we fail to address the systemic flaws now, the consequences will resonate for generations to come. Rote learning has been a significant obstacle in our education system. A shift toward conceptual learning is not just beneficial but also necessary, helping students understand the principles behind what they learn and apply them across various disciplines. Whether studying basic sciences, social sciences, or computing, students should grasp the concept properly rather than simply regurgitate information during exams. Curriculum reform is key. Every course should emphasise understanding and application. For instance, a computing course should focus on developing solutions for real-world challenges, while a social science class could involve research projects addressing community issues. In an age dominated by artificial intelligence, big data, and advanced digital tools, our higher education system cannot afford to lag behind. The tools to make this transition are already available; what remains is the will to implement them effectively. Interactive learning platforms, virtual labs, and AI-powered tutoring systems can transform traditional classrooms into dynamic learning environments. For example, students studying engineering could use virtual simulations to design and test prototypes, while business students could analyse market trends using data analytics, big data and AI tools. Blended learning, which combines online and in-person instruction, offers the flexibility needed to accommodate diverse learning styles and geographical disparities. By adopting such models, Pakistan can make quality education accessible to all, particularly in underserved areas. Education must align with the global challenges and aspirations outlined in the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These goals emphasise the role of education in advancing sustainable development, and Pakistan’s higher education system has a crucial part to play in this vision. Incorporating SDGs into curricula equips students with the knowledge and skills to address real-world problems. A business course could include sustainable practices in entrepreneurship, while environmental sciences programmes might focus on renewable energy innovations. Technology enhances the potential impact of SDG-driven education. Students can develop apps promoting environmental awareness or analyse data to track progress on health or education initiatives. Such efforts not only prepare students for the workforce but also empower them to contribute meaningfully to society. The success of any educational reform hinges on the educators who implement it. Transitioning to a technology-integrated, outcome-based model requires a significant shift in teaching methods. Educators must embrace modern pedagogical tools while maintaining a student-centric approach. Professional development programmes are critical in this regard. These initiatives should focus on equipping educators with the skills needed to teach conceptually and incorporate technology into their methods. A gradual, supportive transition will ensure educators of all experience levels feel confident and valued during this change. Rather than framing this shift as a challenge, it should be viewed as an opportunity to enhance the teaching profession. Faculty members are not merely adapting to new tools, they are leading the way in shaping the next generation of thinkers and problem-solvers. The shift to outcome-based learning is central to making education more relevant and impactful. This approach ensures that every course provides students with practical, market-ready skills alongside theoretical knowledge. Each course should have clearly defined learning outcomes, with at least half of the content focused on real-world applications. For example, students in a business analytics programme could gain hands-on experience with industry-standard software, while those in basic sciences might work on research projects with tangible societal benefits. Every semester, students should have opportunities to engage in projects that enable them to apply their learning in professional settings. This not only enhances employability but also nurtures entrepreneurship and innovation. While national bodies such as the Higher Education Commission (HEC) have introduced initiatives to modernise education, the responsibility for change extends to individual institutions. Universities must take proactive steps to embed reforms into their structures and ensure these changes are fully realised at the ground level. Monitoring mechanisms, resource allocation, and institutional accountability are critical for ensuring the success of these reforms. Policies alone are insufficient; their implementation must be timely and robust to create tangible outcomes. The transformation of Pakistan’s higher education system is not just the duty of policymakers or institutions. It requires the active involvement of all stakeholders, including educators, students, parents, and industry leaders. Conceptual learning, technological integration, and the alignment of education with global goals are not lofty ideals but pragmatic necessities. They represent the foundation of a system that prepares students to navigate an unpredictable, fast-paced world. The transformation of Pakistan’s higher education system is an urgent necessity. The future of our society and economy hinges on how quickly we can adapt to conceptual and technology-driven education. By embracing change today, we pave the way for a brighter tomorrow where our students, educators, and institutions stand as pillars of innovation and progress. The choices we make now will shape a legacy of excellence and relevance for generations to come. The writer is an associate professor at Mohammad Ali Jinnah University, Karachi.
Back trouble and brain fog bothered suspect in UnitedHealthcare CEO killing, his posts show Social media posts from Luigi Mangione show the man suspected of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson underwent successful back surgery last year that alleviated debilitating chronic pain. He repeatedly posted on Reddit about his recovery and offered words of encouragement for other people with similar conditions. But notably absent from the posts are explicit concerns about corporate greed within the health insurance industry. Those appear to have surfaced only later: in the handwritten manifesto recovered this week by police. Despite recent revelations about a potential motive, Mangione’s descent into rage and violence remains largely a mystery. Watchdog finds FBI intelligence missteps before Jan. 6 riot, but no undercover agents were present WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI should have done more to collect intelligence before the Capitol riot even though the bureau did prepare for the possibility of violence on Jan. 6, 2021, according to a watchdog report. It also says no undercover FBI employees were present that day and none of the bureau’s informants was authorized to participate. The report Thursday from the Justice Department inspector general’s office knocks down a fringe conspiracy theory advanced by some Republicans in Congress that the FBI played a role in instigating the events of Jan. 6, when rioters determined to overturn Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss stormed the building in a violent clash with police. Biden commutes roughly 1,500 sentences and pardons 39 people in biggest single-day act of clemency WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is commuting the sentences of roughly 1,500 people who were released from prison and placed on home confinement during the coronavirus pandemic and pardoning 39 Americans convicted of nonviolent crimes. The White House says it’s the largest single-day act of clemency in modern history. The clemency follows a broad pardon for his son Hunter, who was prosecuted for gun and tax crimes. Biden is under pressure from advocacy groups to pardon broad swaths of people before the Trump administration takes over in January. He’s also weighing whether to issue preemptive pardons to those who investigated Donald Trump’s effort to overturn the 2020 election and are facing possible retribution when he takes office. Drone operators worry that anxiety over mystery sightings will lead to new restrictions The popularity of drones has exploded in recent years, as small unmanned aircraft have become cheap enough for many hobbyists to buy. Recent reported sightings of drones flying over New Jersey at night have raised concerns about safety and privacy. The federal government has rules for drones and those who operate them. There are no-fly zones around airports, military installations, nuclear plants, and sports stadiums during games. Rogue drones have even been known to disrupt air travel. The Federal Aviation Authority is responsible for the regulations governing their use, and Congress has written some requirements into law. Pressure on a veteran and senator shows what's next for those who oppose Trump WASHINGTON (AP) — Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst is an Iraq War veteran and sexual assault survivor who has advocated for years to improve how the military handles claims of sexual misconduct. But she now finds herself in the position of seriously considering Pete Hegseth to serve as defense secretary. Hegseth once said women should not serve in combat and has been accused of sexual assault. The Republican senator is facing an aggressive pressure campaign from President-elect Donald Trump’s allies, complete with threats of primary challengers. It serves a warning to Ernst's colleagues who may have qualms about Trump’s other controversial picks for his Cabinet. Trump extends unprecedented invites to China's Xi and other world leaders for his inauguration WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump has invited Chinese President Xi Jinping and other world leaders to his inauguration next month. It's an unorthodox move that would fold U.S. allies and adversaries into a very American political tradition. Incoming White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed during a Thursday morning appearance on “Fox & Friends” that Trump had invited Xi and other world leaders for his Jan. 20 swearing in. Trump on Thursday said he’s been “thinking about inviting certain people to the inauguration” without referring to any specific individuals. No head of state has previously made an official visit to the U.S. for the inauguration. Israeli strike in Gaza kills 25 people as US makes new push for a ceasefire DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Palestinian medics said an Israeli airstrike hit a refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, killing at least 25 Palestinians and wounding dozens more. The strike Thursday evening came just hours after President Joe Biden’s national security adviser was in Jerusalem and raised hopes about a ceasefire deal to end the war in Gaza. Officials at two hospitals in the Gaza Strip, al-Awda Hospital in the north and al-Aqsa Hospital in central Gaza, reported they received a combined total of 25 bodies. Health officials said Israel struck on a multistory house in the urban Nuseirat refugee camp. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the strike. Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — The U.S. Justice Department and the city of Louisville have reached an agreement to reform the city’s police force after an investigation prompted by the fatal police shooting of Breonna Taylor. That is according to an announcement on Thursday. The consent decree, which must be approved by a judge, follows a federal investigation that found Louisville police have engaged in a pattern of violating constitutional rights and discrimination against the Black community. Working Well: When holidays present rude customers, taking breaks and the high road preserve peace NEW YORK (AP) — The December holidays are supposed to be a time of joyful celebration. But the season can be especially grueling for the millions of people who work in retail stores, staff airline counters and field complaints coming into call centers. Instead of compassion or good cheer, service sector workers often encounter rude behavior from frazzled shoppers, irate customers demanding instant satisfaction and travelers fuming about flight delays and cancellations. And they must do their jobs to the mind-numbing soundtrack of nonstop Christmas music. To preserve their peace of mind and defuse tension, veteran workers take breaks and try not to take a difficult person's anger personally. Bill Belichick 'always wanted' to give college coaching a try. Now he will at North Carolina New North Carolina football coach Bill Belichick said he had long been interested in coaching in the college ranks. But it had never worked out until now, as he takes over the Tar Heels program. Belichick led the New England Patriots to six Super Bowl titles during a 24-year run there that ended last year. Belichick's five-year deal pays him $10 million in base and supplemental salary per year. It is guaranteed only for the first three years, including for buyout purposes. There is also up to $3.5 million in annual bonuses.LONDON — Olivia Hussey, the actor who starred as a teenage Juliet in the 1968 film "Romeo and Juliet," died, her family said on social media Saturday. She was 73. Hussey died Friday "peacefully at home surrounded by her loved ones," a statement posted to her Instagram account said. Hussey was 15 when director Franco Zeffirelli cast her in his adaptation of the William Shakespeare tragedy after spotting her onstage in the play "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie," which also starred Vanessa Redgrave. "Romeo and Juliet" won two Oscars and Hussey won a Golden Globe for best new actress for her part as Juliet, opposite British actor Leonard Whiting, who was 16 at the time. "Romeo and Juliet" movie director Franco Zeffirelli, left, and actors Olivia Hussey, center, and Leonard Whiting are seen Sept. 25, 1968, in Paris after the Parisian premiere of the film. Decades later Hussey and Whiting brought a lawsuit against Paramount Pictures alleging sexual abuse, sexual harassment and fraud over nude scenes in the film. They alleged they were initially told they would wear flesh-colored undergarments in a bedroom scene, but on the day of the shoot Zeffirelli told the pair they would wear only body makeup and the camera would be positioned in a way that would not show nudity. They alleged they were filmed in the nude without their knowledge. The case was dismissed by a Los Angeles County judge in 2023, who found their depiction could not be considered child pornography and the pair filed their claim too late. Leonard Whiting, left, and Olivia Hussey arrive April 26, 2018, at the screening of "The Producers" at the 2018 TCM Classic Film Festival Opening Night at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles. Whiting was among those who paid tribute to Hussey on Saturday. "Rest now my beautiful Juliet no injustices can hurt you now," he wrote. "And the world will remember your beauty inside and out forever." Hussey was born April 17, 1951, in Bueno Aires, Argentina, and moved to London as a child. She studied at the Italia Conti Academy drama school. She also starred as Mary, the mother of Jesus, in the 1977 television series "Jesus of Nazareth," as well as the 1978 adaptation of Agatha Christie's "Death on the Nile" and horror movies "Black Christmas" and "Psycho IV: The Beginning." She is survived by her husband, David Glen Eisley, her three children and a grandson. Glynis Johns, a Tony Award-winning stage and screen star who played the mother opposite Julie Andrews in the classic movie “Mary Poppins” and introduced the world to the bittersweet standard-to-be “Send in the Clowns” by Stephen Sondheim, died, Thursday, Jan. 4, 2023. She was 100. Adan Canto, the Mexican singer and actor best known for his roles in “X-Men: Days of Future Past” and “Agent Game” as well as the TV series “The Cleaning Lady,” “Narcos,” and “Designated Survivor,” died Monday, Jan. 8, 2024, after a private battle with appendiceal cancer. He was 42. Bud Harrelson, the scrappy and sure-handed shortstop who fought Pete Rose on the field during a playoff game and helped the New York Mets win an astonishing championship, died Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024. He was 79. The Mets said that Harrelson died at a hospice house in East Northport, New York after a long battle with Alzheimer's. Golden State Warriors assistant coach Dejan Milojević, a mentor to two-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic and a former star player in his native Serbia, died Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024, after suffering a heart attack, the team announced. He was 46. Jack Burke Jr., the oldest living Masters champion who staged the greatest comeback ever at Augusta National for one of his two majors, died Friday, Jan. 19, 2024, in Houston. He was 100. Mary Weiss, the lead singer of the 1960s pop group the Shangri-Las, whose hits included “The Leader of the Pack,” died Friday, Jan. 19, 2024, in Palm Springs, Calif. She was 75. Norman Jewison, a three-time Oscar nominee who in 1999 received an Academy Award for lifetime achievement, died “peacefully” Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024, according to publicist Jeff Sanderson. He was 97. Charles Osgood, who anchored “CBS Sunday Morning” for more than two decades, hosted the long-running radio program “The Osgood File” and was referred to as CBS News’ poet-in-residence, died Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024. He was 91. Melanie, a singer-songwriter behind 1970s hits including “Brand New Key,” died Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024. She was 76. Born Melanie Safka, the singer rose through the New York folk scene and was one of only three solo women to perform at Woodstock. Her hits included “Lay Down” and “Look What They've Done to My Song Ma.” Chita Rivera, the dynamic dancer, singer and actress who garnered 10 Tony nominations, winning twice, in a long Broadway career that forged a path for Latina artists, died Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2024. She was 91. Carl Weathers, a former NFL linebacker who became a Hollywood action movie and comedy star, playing nemesis-turned-ally Apollo Creed in the “Rocky” movies, facing-off against Arnold Schwarzenegger in “Predator” and teaching golf in “Happy Gilmore,” died Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024. He was 76. Wayne Kramer, the co-founder of the protopunk Detroit band the MC5 that thrashed out such hardcore anthems as “Kick Out the Jams” and influenced everyone from the Clash to Rage Against the Machine, died Friday, Feb. 2, 2024. at Cedars-Sinai hospital in Los Angeles, according to Jason Heath, a close friend and executive director of Kramer's charity, Jail Guitar Doors. Heath said the cause of death was pancreatic cancer. He was 75. Actor Ian Lavender, who played a hapless Home Guard soldier in the classic British sitcom “Dad’s Army,” died Monday, Feb. 5, 2024. He was 77. Country music singer-songwriter Toby Keith, whose pro-American anthems were both beloved and criticized, died Monday, Feb. 5, 2024. He was 62. Henry Fambrough, the last surviving original member of the iconic R&B group The Spinners, whose hits included “It’s a Shame,” “Could It Be I’m Falling In Love,” and “The Rubberband Man,” died Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024, of natural causes, according to a statement from his spokeswoman. He was 85. Bob Edwards, right, the news anchor many Americans woke up to as founding host of National Public Radio's “Morning Edition” for nearly a quarter-century, died Saturday, Feb. 10, 20243. He was 76. He's shown here with sports announcer Red Barber. Don Gullett, a former major league pitcher and coach who played for four consecutive World Series champions in the 1970s, died Feb. 14. He was 73. He finished his playing career with a 109-50 record playing for the Cincinnati Reds and New York Yankees. Lefty Driesell, the coach whose folksy drawl belied a fiery on-court demeanor that put Maryland on the college basketball map and enabled him to rebuild several struggling programs, died Feb. 17, 2024, at age 92. Germany players celebrate after Andreas Brehme, left on ground, scores the winning goal in the World Cup soccer final match against Argentina, in the Olympic Stadium, in Rome, July 8, 1990. Andreas Brehme, who scored the only goal as West Germany beat Argentina to win the 1990 World Cup final, died Feb. 20, 2024. He was 63. Despite the effort of Denver Broncos defensive back Steve Foley (43), Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Golden Richards hauls in a touchdown pass during NFL football's Super Bowl 12 in New Orleans on Jan 15, 1978. Richards died Friday, Feb. 23, 2024, of congestive heart failure at his home in Murray, Utah. He was 73. Richards' nephew Lance Richards confirmed his death in a post on his Facebook page. Comedian Richard Lewis attends an NBA basketball game in Los Angeles on Dec. 25, 2012. Lewis, an acclaimed comedian known for exploring his neuroses in frantic, stream-of-consciousness diatribes while dressed in all-black, leading to his nickname “The Prince of Pain,” died Feb. 27, 2024. He was 76. He died at his home in Los Angeles on Tuesday night after suffering a heart attack, according to his publicist Jeff Abraham. Former Soviet Prime Minister Nikolai Ryzhkov attends a session of the Federation Council, Russian parliament's upper house, in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, June 25, 2014. Ryzhkov, former Soviet prime minister who presided over failed efforts to shore up the crumbling economy in the final years before the collapse of the USSR, died Feb. 28, 2024, at age 94. Brian Mulroney, the former prime minister of Canada, listens during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the Canada-U.S.-Mexico relationship, Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2018, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Mulroney died at the age of 84 on Feb. 29, 2024. Akira Toriyama is pictured in 1982. Toriyama, the creator of one of Japan's best-selling “Dragon Ball” and other popular anime who influenced Japanese comics, died March 1, 2024. He was 68. Iris Apfel, a textile expert, interior designer and fashion celebrity known for her eccentric style, died March 1, 2024, at 102. Andy Russell, the standout linebacker who was an integral part of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ evolution from perennial losers to champions, died Feb. 29, 2024. He was 82. Russell won two Super Bowls during a 12-year NFL career between 1963-76 that was briefly interrupted by a stint in the military. Russell played in 168 consecutive games and spent 10 years as a team captain. He was named to the Pro Bowl seven times. Russell remained active in the Pittsburgh community after retiring, writing several books and launching the Andy Russell Charitable Foundation. Pittsburgh Pirates' Ed Ott slides across home late out of reach of Orioles catcher Rick Dempsey to score the winning run in the ninth inning of Game 2 of the World Series at Baltimore, Oct. 11, 1979. Ott, a former major league catcher and coach who helped the Pittsburgh Pirates win the 1979 World Series, died March 3, 2024. He was 72. He batted .259 with 33 homers and 195 RBIs in 567 major league games. Ott and Steve Nicosia were the main catchers when the Pirates won it all in 1979. In a photo supplied by ESPN, Chris Mortensen appears on the set of Sunday NFL Countdown at ESPN's studios in Bristol, Conn., on Sept. 22, 2019. Mortensen, the award-winning journalist who covered the NFL for close to four decades, including 32 as a senior analyst at ESPN, died March 3, 2024. He was 72. Mortensen announced in 2016 that he he had been diagnosed with throat cancer. Even while undergoing treatment, he was the first to confirm the retirement of Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning. Mortensen announced his retirement after the NFL draft last year so that he could “focus on my health, family and faith.” Singer Steve Lawrence, left, and his wife Eydie Gorme arrive at a black-tie gala called honoring Frank Sinatra in Las Vegas on May 30, 1998. Lawrence, a singer and top stage act who as a solo performer and in tandem with his wife Gorme kept Tin Pan Alley alive during the rock era, died Wednesday, March 6, 2024 at age 88. Gorme died on Aug. 10, 2013. Martin Luther King III, right, the son of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., walks with his daughter Yolanda, and Naomi Barber King, left, the wife of Rev. King's brother, A.D., through an exhibition devoted to the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to King at the Martin Luther King Jr. Historical Site, Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2014, in Atlanta. Civil rights activist Naomi Barber King died Thursday, March 7, 2024, in Atlanta, according to family members. She was 92. A Texas man who spent decades using an iron lung after contracting polio as a child died March 11, 2024, at the age of 78. Paul Alexander's longtime friend Daniel Spinks says Alexander died Monday at a Dallas hospital. Spinks called his friend one of the "bright stars of the world.” Friends of Alexander, who graduated from law school and had a career as an attorney, say he was a man who had a great joy for life. Alexander was a child when he began using an iron lung, a cylinder that encased his body as the air pressure in the chamber forced air in and out of his lungs. Astronaut Thomas P. Stafford stands near the NASA Motor Vessel Retriever during training Aug. 23, 1965, in the Gulf of Mexico. Stafford, who commanded a dress rehearsal flight for the 1969 moon landing and the first U.S.-Soviet space linkup, died March 18, 2024, at 93. New York Rangers' Chris Simon celebrates his second-period goal against the New York Islanders, Thursday, Feb. 26, 2004, at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, N.Y. Former NHL enforcer Chris Simon has died. He was 52. Simon died March 18, 2024, according to a spokesperson for the NHL Players' Association. M. Emmet Walsh arrives at the 2014 Film Independent Spirit Awards, March 1, 2014, in Santa Monica, Calif. Walsh, the character actor who brought his unmistakable face and unsettling presence to films including “Blood Simple” and “Blade Runner,” died March 19, 2024, at age 88, his manager said Wednesday. "Babar" author Laurent de Brunhoff, who revived his father's popular picture book series about an elephant-king, has died at 98 after being in hospice care for two weeks. De Brunhoff was a Paris native who moved to the U.S. in the 1980s. He died March 22, 2024, at his home in Key West, Florida. Just 12 years old when his father, Jean de Brunhoff, died of tuberculosis, Laurent drew upon his own gifts as a painter and storyteller and as an adult released dozens of books about the elephant who reigns over Celesteville, among them "Babar at the Circus" and "Babar's Yoga for Elephants." Longtime Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos has died at the age of 94. His family announced in a statement that Angelos, who had been ill for several years, died March 23, 2024. Angelos was owner of an Orioles team that endured long losing stretches and shrewd proprietor of a law firm that won high-profile cases against industry titans such as tobacco giant Philip Morris. Angelos’ death came as his son, John, was in the process of selling the Orioles to a group headed by Carlyle Group Inc. co-founder David Rubenstein. Peter Angelos purchased the team for $173 million in 1993, at the time the highest for a sports franchise. His public role diminished significantly in his final years. Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore, left, and his running mate, vice presidential candidate Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, wave to supporters Oct. 25, 2000, at a campaign rally in Jackson, Tenn. Lieberman died March 27, 2024. He was 82 and died Wednesday of complications from a fall. Lieberman nearly won the vice presidency on Democrat Al Gore's ticket in the disputed 2000 White House race. Eight years later, he came close to joining the GOP ticket as John McCain’s running mate. The Democrat-turned-independent stepped down from the Senate in January 2013 after 24 years. His independent streak often irked Senate Democrats he aligned with. Yet his support for gay rights, civil rights, abortion rights and environmental causes at times won him the praise of many liberals over the years. Louis Gossett Jr., the first Black man to win a supporting actor Oscar and an Emmy winner for his role in the seminal TV miniseries “Roots,” died March 28, 2024. He was 87. Gossett always thought of his early career as a reverse Cinderella story, with success finding him from an early age and propelling him forward, toward his Academy Award for “An Officer and a Gentleman.” He also was a star on Broadway, replacing Billy Daniels in “Golden Boy” with Sammy Davis Jr. in 1964 and recently played an obstinate patriarch in the 2023 remake of “The Color Purple.” Former cast members of SCTV, from left, Dave Thomas, Joe Flaherty, Catherine O'Hara, Andrea Martin, foreground, Harold Ramis, Eugene Levy and Martin Short, pose at the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival on March 6, 1999, in Aspen, Colo. Flaherty, a founding member of the Canadian sketch series “SCTV,” died Monday, April 1, 2024 at age 82. John Sinclair talks at the John Sinclair Foundation Café and Coffeeshop, Dec. 26, 2018, in Detroit. Sinclair, a poet, music producer and counterculture figure whose lengthy prison sentence after a series of small-time pot busts inspired a John Lennon song and a star-studded 1971 concert to free him, has died at age 82. Sinclair died Tuesday, April 2, 2024 at Detroit Receiving Hospital of congestive heart failure following an illness, his publicist Matt Lee said. Boston Red Sox president Larry Lucchino, right, tips his cap to fans as majority owner John Henry holds the 2013 World Series championship trophy during a parade in celebration of the baseball team's win, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2013, in Boston. Larry Lucchino, the force behind baseball’s retro ballpark revolution and the transformation of the Boston Red Sox from cursed losers to World Series champions, has died. He was 78. Lucchino had suffered from cancer. The Triple-A Worcester Red Sox, his last project in a career that also included three major league baseball franchises and one in the NFL, confirmed his death on Tuesday, April 2, 2024. Playwright Christopher Durang appears on stage with producers to accept the award for best play for "Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike" at the 67th Annual Tony Awards, on June 9, 2013 in New York. Also on stage are actors, background from left, Shalita Grant, Kristine Nielsen and Billy Magnussen. Durang died Tuesday, April 2, 2024, at his home in Pipersville, Pennsylvania, of complications from logopenic primary progressive aphasia. He was 75. In this Oct. 16, 1969 file photo, New York Mets catcher Jerry Grote, right, embraces pitcher Jerry Koosman as Ed Charles, left, joins the celebration after the Mets defeated the Baltimore Orioles in the Game 5 to win the baseball World Series at New York's Shea Stadium. Grote, the catcher who helped transform the New York Mets from a perennial loser into the 1969 World Series champion, died Sunday, April 7, 2024. He was 81. In this July 8, 2003 photo, Lori, left, and George Schappell, conjoined twins, are photographed in their Reading, Pa., apartment. Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died April 7, 2024, at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. They were 62. The University of Edinburgh says Nobel prize-winning physicist Peter Higgs, who proposed the existence of a sub-atomic particle that came to be known as the Higgs boson, died April 8, 2024, at 94. Higgs predicted the existence of the particle in 1964. But it would be almost 50 years before the its existence could be confirmed at a particle collider in Switzerland called the Large Hadron Collider. Higgs’ work helps scientists understand of the most fundamental riddles of the universe: how the Big Bang created something out of nothing 13.7 billion years ago. Higgs won the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work, alongside Francois Englert of Belgium. A retired U.S. Army colonel who was awarded the Medal of Honor for heroism during the Korean War died April 8, 2024, at age 97. A funeral home says that Ralph Puckett Jr. died Monday at his home in Columbus, Georgia. President Joe Biden presented Puckett with the Medal of Honor in 2021, more than seven decades after Puckett was seriously wounded leading an outnumbered company of Army Rangers in battle. Puckett refused a medical discharge and served as an Army officer for another 20 years before retiring in 1971. Puckett received the U.S. military's highest honor from President Joe Biden on May 21, 2021, following a policy change that lifted a requirement for medals to be given within five years of a valorous act. O.J. Simpson, left, grimaces June 15, 1995, in a Los Angeles courtroom as he famously tries on one of the leather gloves prosecutors say he wore the night his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman were murdered. Simpson, t he decorated football star who was acquitted of charges he killed his former wife and her friend but wound up in prison years later in an unrelated case, died April 10, 2024. He was 76. His family made an announcement Thursday in a statement on Simpson's X account. Simpson said last year that he was battling prostate cancer. Simpson’s gridiron legacy was forever overshadowed by the 1994 knife slayings of Brown Simpson and Goldman. A criminal court jury found him not guilty of murder, but a separate civil trial jury found him liable. Simpson's nine-year prison stint in Nevada was for the armed robbery of two sports memorabilia dealers. Francis Coppola and wife, Eleanor, pose July 16, 1991, in Los Angeles. Eleanor Coppola, who documented the making of some of her husband Francis Ford Coppola’s iconic films, including the infamously tortured production of “Apocalypse Now,” and who raised a family of filmmakers, has died. She was 87. Coppola died April 12, 2024, at home in Rutherford, California, her family announced in a statement. Eleanor, who grew in Orange County, California, met Francis while working as an assistant art director on his directorial debut, the Roger Corman-produced 1963 horror film “Dementia 13.” Their first-born, Gian-Carlo, quickly became a regular presence in his father’s films, as did their subsequent children, Roman, and Sofia. After acting in their father’s films and growing up on sets, all would go into the movies. Robert MacNeil, seen in February 1978, who created the even-handed, no-frills PBS newscast “The MacNeil-Lehrer NewsHour” in the 1970s and co-anchored the show for with his late partner, Jim Lehrer, for two decades, died April 12, 2024, at age 93. Artist Faith Ringgold poses for a portrait in front of a painted self-portrait during a press preview of her exhibition, "American People, Black Light: Faith Ringgold's Paintings of the 1960s" at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, June 19, 2013. Ringgold, an award-winning author and artist who broke down barriers for Black female artists and became famous for her richly colored and detailed quilts combining painting, textiles and storytelling, died Friday, April 12, 2024, at her home in Englewood, N.J. She was 93. Alabama coach Bear Bryant, left, talks with his former star quarterback Steve Sloan, right, after practice in Miami for the Orange Bowl game New Years' night against Nebraska, Dec. 29, 1968. Former college coach and administrator Sloan, who played quarterback and served as athletic director at Alabama. has passed away. He was 79. Sloan died Sunday, April 14, 2024, after three months of memory care at Orlando Health Dr. P. Phillips Hospital, according to an obituary from former Alabama sports information director Wayne Atcheson. Oakland A's pitcher Ken Holtzman poses for a photo in March 1975. Holtzman, who pitched two no-hitters for the Chicago Cubs and helped the Oakland Athletics win three straight World Series championships in the 1970s, died April 14, 2024. He finished with a career record of 174-150 over 15 season with four teams and was the winningest Jewish pitcher in baseball history. Carl Erskine, center, pictured with teammate Duke Snider, left, and manager Charley Dressen in 1952, after beating the Yankees 6-5 in Game 5 of the World Series at Yankee Stadium in New York, Oct. 5, 1952. Erskine, who pitched two no-hitters for the Brooklyn Dodgers and was a 20-game winner in 1953 when he struck out a then-record 14 in the World Series, has died. Among the last survivors from the celebrated Brooklyn teams of the 1950s, Erskine spent his entire major league career with the Dodgers. He helped them win five National League pennants from 1948-59. Erskine won Game 3 of the 1953 World Series, beating the Yankees 3-2. He appeared in five World Series, with the Dodgers beating the Yankees in 1955 for their only championship in Brooklyn. Erksine died April 16 in his hometown of Anderson, Indiana, according to a hospital official. He was 97. St. Louis Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog lets umpire John Shulock, right, know how he feels about Shulock's call on the tag attempt on Kansas City Royals Jim Sundberg by Cardinals catcher Tom Nieto, second from left, in the second inning of Game 5 of the 1985 World Series in St. Louis. Herzog, the gruff and ingenious Hall of Fame manager who guided the St. Louis Cardinals to three pennants and a World Series title and perfected an intricate, nail-biting strategy known as “Whiteyball,” has died. Herzog, affectionately nicknamed “The White Rat,” was a manager for 18 seasons, compiling an overall record of 1,281 wins and 1,125 losses. He was named Manager of the Year in 1985. Under Herzog, the Cardinals won pennants in 1982, 1985 and 1987 and won the World Series in 1982, when they edged the Milwaukee Brewers in seven games. He died April 15, 2024, and was 92. Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla., gestures as he answers questions regarding the ongoing security hearing on Capitol Hill, June 18, 2002, in Washington. Graham, who chaired the Intelligence Committee following the 2001 terrorist attacks and opposed the Iraq invasion, died April 16, 2024. He was 87. His family announced the death Tuesday in a statement posted on X by his daughter Gwen Graham. Graham served three terms in the Senate and two terms as Florida's governor. He made an unsuccessful bid for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination, emphasizing his opposition to the Iraq invasion. But that bid was delayed by heart surgery in January 2003, and he was never able to gain enough traction with voters to catch up. He didn’t seek re-election in 2004 and was replaced by Republican Mel Martinez. Guitar legend and Allman Brothers Band co-founder Dickey Betts died April 18, 2024, at age 80. The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer wrote the band's biggest hit, “Ramblin’ Man.” Manager David Spero told The Associated Press that Betts died early Thursday at his home in Osprey, Florida. He says Betts had been battling cancer for more than a year and had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Betts shared lead guitar duties with Duane Allman in the original Allman Brothers Band to help give the group its distinctive sound and create a new genre: Southern rock. Acts ranging from Lynyrd Skynyrd to Kid Rock were influenced by the Allmans’ music, which combined blues, country, R&B and jazz with ’60s rock. Contemporary Christian singer Mandisa, who appeared on “American Idol” and won a Grammy for her 2013 album “Overcomer,” died April 18, 2024. She was 47. Mandisa gained stardom after finishing ninth on “American Idol” in 2006. In 2014, she won a Grammy for best contemporary Christian music album for “Overcomer,” her fifth album. She spoke openly about her struggles with depression, releasing a memoir that detailed her experiences with severe depression, weight-related challenges, the coronavirus pandemic and her faith. David Pryor, a former Arkansas governor and U.S. senator who was one of the state’s most beloved and active political figures, died April 20, 2024, at the age of 89. His son, former two-term Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor, says the Democrat died Saturday of natural causes in Little Rock surrounded by family. David Pryor was considered one of the Democratic party’s giants in Arkansas and remained active in public life after he left office, including serving on the University of Arkansas’s Board of Trustees. Roman Gabriel was known for his big size and big arm. He was the first Filipino-American quarterback in the NFL. And he still holds the Los Angeles Rams record for touchdown passes. Gabriel died April 20, 2024, at age 83. His son posted the news on social media. He says Gabriel died at home of natural causes. Gabriel starred at North Carolina State and was the No. 2 pick by the Rams in the 1962 draft. The Oakland Raider of the rival AFL made him the No. 1 pick. Gabriel signed with the Rams and later played with the Philadelphia Eagles. Andrew Davis, an acclaimed British conductor who was music director of the Lyric Opera of Chicago and orchestras on three continents, died April 20, 2024. He was 80. Davis died Saturday at Rusk Institute in Chicago from leukemia. That is according to his manager, Jonathan Brill of Opus 3 Artists. Davis had been managing the disease for 1 1/2 to 2 years but it became acute shortly after his 80th birthday on Feb. 2. Davis was music director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra from 1975-88, Britain’s Glyndebourne Festival from 1988-2000, chief conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra from 1989-2000, then was music director of the Lyric Opera from 2000-21. Former hostage Terry Anderson waves to the crowd as he rides in a parade in Lorain, Ohio, June 22, 1992. Anderson, the globe-trotting Associated Press correspondent who became one of America’s longest-held hostages, died April 21, 2024. Anderson was snatched from a street in war-torn Lebanon in 1985 and held for nearly seven years. Anderson, who was tortured and chained to a wall, wrote about his experiences in the best-selling memoir, “Den of Lions.” After returning to the United States in 1991, Anderson gave public speeches, taught journalism and, at various times, operated a blues bar, Cajun restaurant, horse ranch and gourmet restaurant. He also struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder. British army veteran Bill Gladden, who survived a glider landing on D-Day and a bullet that tore through his ankle a few days later, wanted to return to France for the 80th anniversary of the invasion so he could honor the men who didn’t come home. It was not to be. Gladden, one of the dwindling number of veterans who took part in the landings that kicked off the campaign to liberate Western Europe from the Nazis during World War II, died April 24, his family said. He was 100. With fewer and fewer veterans taking part each year, the ceremony may be one of the last big events marking the assault that began on June 6, 1944. Duane Eddy, a pioneering guitar hero whose reverberating electric sound on instrumentals such as “Rebel Rouser,” “Forty Miles of Bad Road" and “Cannonball” helped put the twang in early rock ‘n’ roll and influenced George Harrison, Bruce Springsteen and countless other musicians, died April 30 at age 86. With his raucous rhythms, and backing hollers and hand claps, Eddy sold more than 100 million records worldwide, and mastered a distinctive sound based on the premise that a guitar’s bass strings sounded better on tape than the high ones. Author Paul Auster has died at age 77. Auster was a prolific, prize-winning man of letters and filmmaker known for such inventive narratives and meta-narratives as “The New York Trilogy” and “4 3 2 1." Auster’s death on April 30 was confirmed by his literary representatives. Auster completed more than 30 books, translated into dozens of languages. He never achieved major commercial success in the U.S., but he was widely admired overseas for his cosmopolitan worldview and erudite and introspective style. Auster’s novels were a mix of history, politics, genre experiments, existential quests and self-conscious references to writers and writing. Co-pilots Dick Rutan, right, and Jeana Yeager, no relationship to test pilot Chuck Yeager, pose for a photo after a test flight over the Mojave Desert, Dec. 19, 1985. Rutan, a decorated Vietnam War pilot, who along with copilot Yeager completed one of the greatest milestones in aviation history: the first round-the-world flight with no stops or refueling, died late Friday, May 3, 2024. He was 85. Music producer Steve Albini, seen in his Chicago studio in 2014, produced albums by Nirvana, the Pixies and PJ Harvey. Albini died at 61. Brian Fox, an engineer at Albini’s studio, Electrical Audio, says Albini died after a heart attack May 7. In addition to his work on canonized rock albums such as Nirvana‘s “In Utero,” the Pixies’ breakthrough “Surfer Rosa,” and PJ Harvey’s “Rid of Me,” Albini was the frontman of the underground bands Big Black and Shellac. He dismissed the term “producer” and requested he be credited with “Recorded by Steve Albini." San Francisco 49ers Hall of Fame football player Jimmy Johnson, left, is honored by owner Jed York before a 2011 game between against the St. Louis Rams in San Francisco. Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive back Jimmy Johnson, a three-time All-Pro and member of the All-Decade Team of the 1970s, has died. He was 86. Johnson's family told the Pro Football Hall of Fame that he died May 8. Johnson was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1994. He played his entire 16-year pro career with San Francisco. He played in 213 games, more than any other 49ers player at the time of his retirement. San Diego Padres third baseman Sean Burroughs fires a throw to first from his knees but is unable to get Los Angeles Dodgers' D. J. Houlton at first during the third inning of a baseball game June 22, 2005, in San Diego. Burroughs, a two-time Little League World Series champion who won an Olympic gold medal and went on to a major league career that was interrupted by substance abuse, has died. He was 43. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s online records said Burroughs died Thursday, May 9, 2024, with the cause of death deferred. Producer Roger Corman poses in his Los Angeles office, May 8, 2013. Corman, the Oscar-winning “King of the Bs” who helped turn out such low-budget classics as “Little Shop of Horrors” and “Attack of the Crab Monsters” and gave many of Hollywood's most famous actors and directors an early break, died Thursday, May 9, 2024. He was 98. A.J. Smith, a longtime NFL executive who was the winningest general manager in Chargers history, has died. He was 75. His son, Atlanta assistant general manager Kyle Smith, announced in a statement released by the Falcons that his father died May 12. Kyle Smith said his father had been battling prostate cancer for seven years. The Chargers won five division titles during Smith’s 10 seasons as GM. The franchise’s 98 wins, including the playoffs, were the sixth most in the league from 2003-12. Saxophone player David Sanborn performs during his concert at the Stravinski hall at the "Colours of Music night" during the 34th Montreux Jazz Festival in Montreux, Switzerland on July 10, 2000. Sanborn, the Grammy-winning saxophonist who played lively solos on such hits as David Bowie's “Young Americans” and James Taylor's “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)” and enjoyed his own highly successful recording career as a leading performer of contemporary jazz, died Sunday, May 12, 2024, at age 78. Nobel laureate Alice Munro has died. The Canadian literary giant who became one of the world’s most esteemed contemporary authors and one of history’s most honored short story writers was 92. Munro achieved stature rare for an art form traditionally placed beneath the novel. She was the first lifelong Canadian to win the Nobel and the first recipient cited exclusively for short fiction. Munro was little known beyond Canada until her late 30s but became one of the few short story writers to enjoy ongoing commercial success. A spokesperson for publisher Penguin Random House Canada said Munro died May 13 at home in Port Hope, Ontario. Dabney Coleman, the mustachioed character actor who specialized in smarmy villains like the chauvinist boss in “9 to 5” and the nasty TV director in “Tootsie,” died May 16. He was 92. For two decades Coleman labored in movies and TV shows as a talented but largely unnoticed performer. That changed abruptly in 1976 when he was cast as the incorrigibly corrupt mayor of the hamlet of Fernwood in “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman,” a satirical soap opera. He won a Golden Globe for “The Slap Maxwell Story” and an Emmy Award for best supporting actor in Peter Levin’s 1987 small screen legal drama “Sworn to Silence.” Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi listens to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, not in photo, during a joint news conference following their meeting at the Presidential palace in Ankara, Turkey, Jan. 24, 2024. Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi, foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and others were found dead at the site of a helicopter crash site, state media reported Monday, May 20, 2024. Jim Otto, the Hall of Fame center known as Mr. Raider for his durability through a litany of injuries, died May 19. He was 86. The cause of death was not immediately known. Otto joined the Raiders for their inaugural season in the American Football League in 1960 and was a fixture on the team for the next 15 years. He never missed a game because of injuries and competed in 210 consecutive regular-season games and 308 straight total contests despite undergoing nine operations on his knees during his playing career. His right leg was amputated in 2007. Ivan F. Boesky, the flamboyant stock trader whose cooperation with the government cracked open one of the largest insider trading scandals on Wall Street, has died at the age of 87. A representative at the Marianne Boesky Gallery, owned by his daughter, confirmed his death. The son of a Detroit delicatessen owner, Boesky was once considered one of the richest and most influential risk-takers on Wall Street. He had parlayed $700,000 from his late mother-in-law’s estate into a fortune estimated at more than $200 million. Once implicated in insider trading, Boesky cooperated with a brash young U.S. attorney named Rudolph Giuliani, uncovering a scandal that blemished some of the most respected U.S. investment brokerages. Boesky died May 20. Jan. A.P. Kaczmarek poses with the Oscar for best original score for his work on "Finding Neverland" during the 77th Academy Awards, Feb. 27, 2005, in Los Angeles. Polish composer Kaczmarek, who won a 2005 Oscar for the movie “Finding Neverland,” has died on Tuesday, May 21, 2024, at age 71. Kaczmarek’s death was announced by Poland’s Music Foundation. Train bassist and founding member Charlie Colin has died at 58. Colin’s sister confirmed the musician's death Wednesday to The Associated Press. Variety reported Colin slipped and fell in the shower while house-sitting for a friend in Brussels. Train formed in San Francisco in the early ’90s. Colin played on Train's first three records, 1998’s self-titled album, 2001’s “Drops of Jupiter” and 2003’s “My Private Nation.” The track “Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me)” hit No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also earned two Grammys. Colin left the band in 2003. He also worked with the Newport Beach Film Festival. Colin died May 22. Documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock, an Oscar nominee whose most famous works skewered America’s food industry and who notably ate only at McDonald’s for a month to illustrate the dangers of a fast-food diet, has died of cancer. He was 53. Spurlock made a splash in 2004 with his groundbreaking film “Super Size Me,” and returned in 2019 with “Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken!” — a sober look at an industry that processes 9 billion animals a year in America. Spurlock was a gonzo-like filmmaker who leaned into the bizarre and ridiculous. His stylistic touches included zippy graphics and amusing music. Spurlock died May 23. Richard M. Sherman, one half of the prolific, award-winning pair of brothers who helped form millions of childhoods by penning classic Disney tunes, has died. He was 95. Sherman, along with his late brother Robert, wrote hundreds of songs together, including songs for “Mary Poppins,” “The Jungle Book” and “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” — as well as the most-played tune on Earth, “It’s a Small World (After All).” The Walt Disney Co. announced that Sherman died Saturday due to age-related illness. The brothers won two Academy Awards for Walt Disney’s 1964 smash “Mary Poppins.” Robert Sherman died May 25 in London in 2012. Basketball Hall of Fame legend Bill Walton laughs during a practice session for the NBA All-Star basketball game in Cleveland, Feb. 19, 2022. Walton, who starred for John Wooden's UCLA Bruins before becoming a Basketball Hall of Famer and one of the biggest stars of basketball broadcasting, died Monday, May 27, 2024, the league announced on behalf of his family. He was 71. “The Godfather” producer Albert S. Ruddy died May 25 at 94. The Canadian-born producer and writer won Oscars for “The Godfather” and “Million Dollar Baby,” developed the raucous prison-sports comedy “The Longest Yard” and helped create the hit sitcom “Hogan’s Heroes." A spokesperson says Ruddy died Saturday at the UCLA Medical Center. Ruddy produced more than 30 movies and was on hand for the very top and the very bottom. “The Godfather” and “Million Dollar Baby” were box office hits and winners of best picture Oscars. But Ruddy also helped give us “Cannonball Run II” and “Megaforce,” nominees for Golden Raspberry awards for worst movie of the year. Larry Allen, one of the most dominant offensive linemen in the NFL during a 12-year career spent mostly with the Dallas Cowboys, died June 2. He was 52. The Cowboys say Allen died suddenly on Sunday while on vacation with his family in Mexico. Allen was named an All-Pro six consecutive years from 1996-2001 and was inducted into the Pro Football of Hall of Fame in 2013. He said few words but let his blocking do the talking. Allen once bench-pressed 700 pounds and had the speed to chase down opposing running backs. Bob Hope and Janis Paige hug during the annual Christmas show in Saigon, Vietnam, Dec. 25, 1964. Paige, a popular actor in Hollywood and in Broadway musicals and comedies who danced with Fred Astaire, toured with Bob Hope and continued to perform into her 80s, died Sunday, June 2, 2024, of natural causes at her Los Angeles home, longtime friend Stuart Lampert said Monday, June 3. Parnelli Jones, the 1963 Indianapolis 500 winner, died June 4 at Torrance Memorial Medical Center after a battle with Parkinson’s disease, his son said. Jones was 90. At the time of his death, Jones was the oldest living winner of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.” Rufus Parnell Jones was born in Texarkana, Arkansas, in 1933 but moved to Torrance as a young child and never left. It was there that he became “Parnelli” because his given name of Rufus was too well known for him to compete without locals knowing that he wasn’t old enough to race. Boston Celtics' John Havlicek (17) is defended by Philadelphia 76ers' Chet Walker (25) during the first half of an NBA basketball playoff game April 14, 1968, in Boston. Walker, a seven-time All-Star forward who helped Wilt Chamberlain and the 76ers win the 1967 NBA title, died June 8. He was 84. The National Basketball Players Association confirmed Walker's death, according to NBA.com . The 76ers, Chicago Bulls and National Basketball Retired Players Association also extended their condolences on social media on Saturday, June 8, 2024. The Rev. James Lawson Jr. speaks Sept. 17, 2015, in Murfreesboro, Tenn. Lawson Jr., an apostle of nonviolent protest who schooled activists to withstand brutal reactions from white authorities as the Civil Rights Movement gained traction, has died, his family said Monday. He was 95. His family said Lawson died on Sunday after a short illness in Los Angeles, where he spent decades working as a pastor, labor movement organizer and university professor. Lawson was a close adviser to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who called him “the leading theorist and strategist of nonviolence in the world.” Lawson met King in 1957, after spending three years in India soaking up knowledge about Mohandas K. Gandhi’s independence movement. King would travel to India himself two years later, but at the time, he had only read about Gandhi in books. Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Jerry West, representing the 1960 USA Olympic Team, is seen Aug. 13, 2010, during the enshrinement news conference at the Hall of Fame Museum in Springfield, Mass. Jerry West, who was selected to the Basketball Hall of Fame three times in a storied career as a player and executive, and whose silhouette is considered to be the basis of the NBA logo, died June 12, the Los Angeles Clippers announced. He was 86. West, nicknamed “Mr. Clutch” for his late-game exploits as a player, was an NBA champion who went into the Hall of Fame as a player in 1980 and again as a member of the gold medal-winning 1960 U.S. Olympic Team in 2010. He will be enshrined for a third time later this year as a contributor, and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver called West “one of the greatest executives in sports history.” Actor and director Ron Simons, seen Jan. 23, 2011, during the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, died June 12. Simons turned into a formidable screen and stage producer, winning four Tony Awards and having several films selected at the Sundance Film Festival. He won Tonys for producing “Porgy and Bess,” “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder,” “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike,” and “Jitney.” He also co-produced “Hughie,” with Forest Whitaker, “The Gin Game,” starring Cicely Tyson and James Earl Jones, “Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations,” an all-Black production of “A Streetcar Named Desire,” the revival of "for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf" and the original work “Thoughts of a Colored Man.” He was in the films “27 Dresses” and “Mystery Team,” as well as on the small screen in “The Resident,” “Law & Order,” “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” and “Law & Order: SVU.” Bob Schul of West Milton, Ohio, hits the tape Oct. 18, 1964, to win the 5,000 meter run at the Olympic Games in Tokyo. Schul, the only American distance runner to win the 5,000 meters at the Olympics, died June 16. He was 86. His death was announced by Miami University in Ohio , where Schul shined on the track and was inducted into the school’s hall of fame in 1973. Schul predicted gold leading into the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and followed through with his promise. On a rainy day in Japan, he finished the final lap in a blistering 54.8 seconds to sprint to the win. His white shorts were covered in mud at the finish. He was inducted into the USA Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1991. He also helped write a book called “In the Long Run.” San Francisco Giants superstar Willie Mays poses for a photo during baseball spring training in 1972. Mays, the electrifying “Say Hey Kid” whose singular combination of talent, drive and exuberance made him one of baseball’s greatest and most beloved players, died June 18. He was 93. The center fielder, who began his professional career in the Negro Leagues in 1948, had been baseball’s oldest living Hall of Famer. He was voted into the Hall in 1979, his first year of eligibility, and in 1999 followed only Babe Ruth on The Sporting News’ list of the game’s top stars. The Giants retired his uniform number, 24, and set their AT&T Park in San Francisco on Willie Mays Plaza. Mays died two days before a game between the Giants and St. Louis Cardinals to honor the Negro Leagues at Rickwood Field in Birmingham , Alabama. Over 23 major league seasons, virtually all with the New York/San Francisco Giants but also including one in the Negro Leagues, Mays batted .301, hit 660 home runs, totaled 3,293 hits, scored more than 2,000 runs and won 12 Gold Gloves. He was Rookie of the Year in 1951, twice was named the Most Valuable Player and finished in the top 10 for the MVP 10 other times. His lightning sprint and over-the-shoulder grab of an apparent extra base hit in the 1954 World Series remains the most celebrated defensive play in baseball history. For millions in the 1950s and ’60s and after, the smiling ballplayer with the friendly, high-pitched voice was a signature athlete and showman during an era when baseball was still the signature pastime. Awarded the Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama in 2015, Mays left his fans with countless memories. But a single feat served to capture his magic — one so untoppable it was simply called “The Catch.” Actor Donald Sutherland appears Oct. 13, 2017, at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Beverly Hills, Calif. Sutherland, the Canadian actor whose wry, arrestingly off-kilter screen presence spanned more than half a century of films from “M.A.S.H.” to “The Hunger Games,” died June 20. He was 88. Kiefer Sutherland said on X he believed his father was one of the most important actors in the history of film: “Never daunted by a role, good, bad or ugly. He loved what he did and did what he loved, and one can never ask for more than that.” The tall and gaunt Sutherland, who flashed a grin that could be sweet or diabolical, was known for offbeat characters like Hawkeye Pierce in Robert Altman's "M.A.S.H.," the hippie tank commander in "Kelly's Heroes" and the stoned professor in "Animal House." Before transitioning into a long career as a respected character actor, Sutherland epitomized the unpredictable, antiestablishment cinema of the 1970s. He never stopped working, appearing in nearly 200 films and series. Over the decades, Sutherland showed his range in more buttoned-down — but still eccentric — roles in Robert Redford's "Ordinary People" and Oliver Stone's "JFK." More, recently, he starred in the “Hunger Games” films. A memoir, “Made Up, But Still True,” is due out in November. Actor Bill Cobbs, a cast member in "Get Low," arrives July 27, 2010, at the premiere of the film in Beverly Hills, Calif. Cobbs, the veteran character actor who became a ubiquitous and sage screen presence as an older man, died June 25. He was 90. A Cleveland native, Cobbs acted in such films as “The Hudsucker Proxy,” “The Bodyguard” and “Night at the Museum.” He made his first big-screen appearance in a fleeting role in 1974's “The Taking of Pelham One Two Three." He became a lifelong actor with some 200 film and TV credits. The lion share of those came in his 50s, 60s, and 70s, as filmmakers and TV producers turned to him again and again to imbue small but pivotal parts with a wizened and worn soulfulness. Cobbs appeared on television shows including “The Sopranos," “The West Wing,” “Sesame Street” and “Good Times.” He was Whitney Houston's manager in “The Bodyguard” (1992), the mystical clock man of the Coen brothers' “The Hudsucker Proxy” (1994) and the doctor of John Sayles' “Sunshine State” (2002). He played the coach in “Air Bud” (1997), the security guard in “Night at the Museum” (2006) and the father on “The Gregory Hines Show." Cobbs rarely got the kinds of major parts that stand out and win awards. Instead, Cobbs was a familiar and memorable everyman who left an impression on audiences, regardless of screen time. He won a Daytime Emmy Award for outstanding limited performance in a daytime program for the series “Dino Dana” in 2020. Independent gubernatorial candidate Kinky Friedman speaks with the media Nov. 7, 2009, at his campaign headquarters in Austin, Texas. The singer, songwriter, satirist and novelist, who led the alt-country band Texas Jewboys, toured with Bob Dylan, sang with Willie Nelson, and dabbled in politics with campaigns for Texas governor and other statewide offices, died June 27. He was 79 and had suffered from Parkinson's disease. Often called “The Kinkster" and sporting sideburns, a thick mustache and cowboy hat, Friedman earned a cult following and reputation as a provocateur throughout his career across musical and literary genres. In the 1970s, his satirical country band Kinky Friedman and the Texas Jewboys wrote songs with titles such as “They Ain't Makin' Jews Like Jesus Anymore” and “Get Your Biscuits in the Oven and Your Buns in Bed.” Friedman joined part of Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue tour in 1976. By the 1980s, Friedman was writing crime novels that often included a version of himself, and he wrote a column for Texas Monthly magazine in the 2000s. Friedman's run at politics brought his brand of irreverence to the serious world of public policy. In 2006, Friedman ran for governor as an independent in a five-way race that included incumbent Republican Rick Perry. Friedman launched his campaign against the backdrop of the Alamo. Martin Mull participates in "The Cool Kids" panel during the Fox Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour on Aug. 2, 2018, at The Beverly Hilton hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. Mull, whose droll, esoteric comedy and acting made him a hip sensation in the 1970s and later a beloved guest star on sitcoms including “Roseanne” and “Arrested Development,” died June 28. He was 80. Mull, who was also a guitarist and painter, came to national fame with a recurring role on the Norman Lear-created satirical soap opera “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman,” and the starring role in its spinoff, “Fernwood Tonight." His first foray into show business was as a songwriter, penning the 1970 semi-hit “A Girl Named Johnny Cash” for singer Jane Morgan. He would combine music and comedy in an act that he brought to hip Hollywood clubs in the 1970s. Mull often played slightly sleazy, somewhat slimy and often smarmy characters as he did as Teri Garr's boss and Michael Keaton's foe in 1983's “Mr. Mom.” He played Colonel Mustard in the 1985 movie adaptation of the board game “Clue,” which, like many things Mull appeared in, has become a cult classic. The 1980s also brought what many thought was his best work, “A History of White People in America,” a mockumentary that first aired on Cinemax. Mull co-created the show and starred as a “60 Minutes” style investigative reporter investigating all things milquetoast and mundane. Willard was again a co-star. In the 1990s he was best known for his recurring role on several seasons on “Roseanne,” in which he played a warmer, less sleazy boss to the title character, an openly gay man whose partner was played by Willard, who died in 2020 . Mull would later play private eye Gene Parmesan on “Arrested Development,” a cult-classic character on a cult-classic show, and would be nominated for an Emmy, his first, in 2016 for a guest run on “Veep.” Screenwriter Robert Towne poses at The Regency Hotel, March 7, 2006, in New York. Towne, the Oscar-winning screenplay writer of "Shampoo," "The Last Detail" and other acclaimed films whose work on "Chinatown" became a model of the art form and helped define the jaded allure of his native Los Angeles, died Monday, July 1, 2024, surrounded by family at his home in Los Angeles, said publicist Carri McClure. She declined to comment on any cause of death. Vic Seixas of the United States backhands a volley from Denmark's Jurgen Ulrich in the first round of men's singles match at Wimbledon, England, June 27, 1967. Vic Seixas, a Wimbledon winner and tennis Hall of Famer who was the oldest living Grand Slam champion, has died July 5 at the age of 100. The International Tennis Hall of Fame announced Seixas’ death on Saturday July 6, 2024, based on confirmation from his daughter Tori. In this June 30, 2020, file photo, Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., speaks to reporters following a GOP policy meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington. Former Sen. Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma died July 9. He was 89. The family says in a statement that the Republican had a stroke during the July Fourth holiday and died Tuesday morning. Inhofe was a powerful fixture in state politics for decades. He doubted that climate change was caused by human activity, calling the theory “the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people.” As Oklahoma’s senior U.S. senator, he was a staunch supporter of the state’s military installations. He was elected to a fifth Senate term in 2020 and stepped down in early 2023. The Oak Ridge Boys, from left, Joe Bonsall, Richard Sterban, Duane Allen and William Lee Golden hold their awards for Top Vocal Group and Best Album of the Year for "Ya'll Come Back Saloon", during the 14th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards in Los Angeles, Calif., May 3, 1979. Bonsall died on July 9, 2024, from complications of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis in Hendersonville, Tenn. He was 76. A Philadelphia native and resident of Hendersonville, Tennessee, Bonsall joined the Oak Ridge Boys in 1973, which originally formed in the 1940s. He saw the band through its golden period in the '80s and beyond, which included their signature 1981 song “Elvira.” The hit marked a massive crossover moment for the group, reaching No. 1 on the country chart and No. 5 on Billboard’s all-genre Hot 100. The group is also known for such hits as 1982’s “Bobbie Sue." Shelley Duvall poses for photographers at the 30th Cannes Film Festival in France, May 27, 1977. Duvall, whose wide-eyed, winsome presence was a mainstay in the films of Robert Altman and who co-starred in Stanley Kubrick's “The Shining,” died July 11. She was 75. Dr. Ruth Westheimer holds a copy of her book "Sex for Dummies" at the International Frankfurt Book Fair 'Frankfurter Buchmesse' in Frankfurt, Germany, Thursday, Oct. 11, 2007. Westheimer, the sex therapist who became a pop icon, media star and best-selling author through her frank talk about once-taboo bedroom topics, died on July 12, 2024. She was 96. Richard Simmons sits for a portrait in Los Angeles, June 23, 1982. Simmons, a fitness guru who urged the overweight to exercise and eat better, died July 13 at the age of 76. Simmons was a court jester of physical fitness who built a mini-empire in his trademark tank tops and short shorts by urging the overweight to exercise and eat better. Simmons was a former 268-pound teen who shared his hard-won weight loss tips as the host of the Emmy-winning daytime “Richard Simmons Show" and the “Sweatin' to the Oldies” line of exercise videos, which became a cultural phenomenon. Former NFL receiver Jacoby Jones died July 14 at age 40. Jones' 108-yard kickoff return in 2013 remains the longest touchdown in Super Bowl history. The Houston Texans were Jones’ team for the first five seasons of his career. They announced his death on Sunday. In a statement released by the NFL Players Association, his family said he died at his home in New Orleans. A cause of death was not given. Jones played from 2007-15 for the Texans, Baltimore Ravens, San Diego Chargers and Pittsburgh Steelers. He made several huge plays for the Ravens during their most recent Super Bowl title season, including that kick return. The "Beverly Hills, 90210" star whose life and career were roiled by tabloid stories, Shannen Doherty died July 13 at 53. Doherty's publicist said the actor died Saturday following years with breast cancer. Catapulted to fame as Brenda in “Beverly Hills, 90210,” she worked in big-screen films including "Mallrats" and "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back" and in TV movies including "A Burning Passion: The Margaret Mitchell Story," in which she played the "Gone with the Wind" author. Doherty co-starred with Holly Marie Combs and Alyssa Milano in the series “Charmed” from 1998-2001; appeared in the “90210” sequel series seven years later and competed on “Dancing with the Stars” in 2010. Actor James Sikking poses for a photograph at the Los Angeles gala celebrating the 20th anniversary of the National Organization for Women, Dec. 1, 1986. Sikking, who starred as a hardened police lieutenant on “Hill Street Blues” and as the titular character's kindhearted dad on “Doogie Howser, M.D.,” died July 13 of complications from dementia, his publicist Cynthia Snyder said in a statement. He was 90. Pat Williams chats with media before the 2004 NBA draft in Orlando, Fla. Williams, a co-founder of the Orlando Magic and someone who spent more than a half-century working within the NBA, died July 17 from complications related to viral pneumonia. The team announced the death Wednesday. Williams was 84. He started his NBA career as business manager of the Philadelphia 76ers in 1968, then had stints as general manager of the Chicago Bulls, the Atlanta Hawks and the 76ers — helping that franchise win a title in 1983. Williams was later involved in starting the process of bringing an NBA team to Orlando. The league’s board of governors granted an expansion franchise in 1987, and the team began play in 1989. Lou Dobbs speaks Feb. 24, 2017, at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Oxon Hill, Md. Dobbs, the conservative political pundit and veteran cable TV host who was a founding anchor for CNN and later was a nightly presence on Fox Business Network for more than a decade, died July 18. He was 78. His death was announced in a post on his official X account, which called him a “fighter till the very end – fighting for what mattered to him the most, God, his family and the country.” He hosted “Lou Dobbs Tonight” on Fox from 2011 to 2021, following two separate stints at CNN. No cause of death was given. Bob Newhart, center, poses with members of the cast and crew of the "Bob Newhart Show," from top left, Marcia Wallace, Bill Daily, Jack Riley, and, Suzanne Pleshette, foreground left, and Dick Martin at TV Land's 35th anniversary tribute to "The Bob Newhart Show" on Sept. 5, 2007, in Beverly Hills, Calif. Newhart has died at age 94. Jerry Digney, Newhart’s publicist, says the actor died July 18 in Los Angeles after a series of short illnesses. The accountant-turned-comedian gained fame with a smash album and became one of the most popular TV stars of his time. Newhart was a Chicago psychologist in “The Bob Newhart Show” in the 1970s and a Vermont innkeeper on “Newhart” in the 1980s. Both shows featured a low-key Newhart surrounded by eccentric characters. The second had a twist ending in its final show — the whole series was revealed to have been a dream by the psychologist he played in the other show. Cheng Pei-pei, a Chinese-born martial arts film actor who starred in Ang Lee’s “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” died July 17 at age 78. Her family says Cheng, who had been diagnosed with a rare illness with symptoms similar to Parkinson’s disease, passed away Wednesday at home surrounded by her loved ones. The Shanghai-born film star became a household name in Hong Kong, once dubbed the Hollywood of the Far East, for her performances in martial arts movies in the 1960s. She played Jade Fox, who uses poisoned needles, in “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” which was released in 2000, grossed $128 million in North America and won four Oscars. Abdul “Duke” Fakir holds his life time achievement award backstage at the 51st Annual Grammy Awards on Feb. 8, 2009, in Los Angeles. The last surviving original member of the Four Tops died July 22. Abdul “Duke” Fakir was 88. He was a charter member of the Motown group along with lead singer Levi Stubbs, Renaldo “Obie" Benson and Lawrence Payton. Between 1964 and 1967, the Tops had 11 top 20 hits and two No. 1′s: “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)” and the operatic classic “Reach Out I’ll Be There.” Other songs, often stories of romantic pain and longing, included “Baby I Need Your Loving,” “Standing in the Shadows of Love,” “Bernadette” and “Just Ask the Lonely.” Sculptress Elizabeth Catlett, left, then-Washington D.C. Mayor Sharon Pratt Dixon, center, and then-curator, division of community life, Smithsonian institution Bernice Johnson Reagon chat during the reception at the Candace awards on June 25, 1991 in New York. Reagon, a musician and scholar who used her rich, powerful contralto voice in the service of the American Civil Rights Movement and human rights struggles around the world, died on July 16, 2024, according to her daughter's social media post. She was 81. John Mayall, the British blues musician whose influential band the Bluesbreakers was a training ground for Eric Clapton, Mick Fleetwood and many other superstars, died July 22. He was 90. He is credited with helping develop the English take on urban, Chicago-style rhythm and blues that played an important role in the blues revival of the late 1960s. A statement on Mayall's official Instagram page says he died Monday at his home in California. Though Mayall never approached the fame of some of his illustrious alumni, he was still performing in his late 80s, pounding out his version of Chicago blues. Erica Ash, an actor and comedian skilled in sketch comedy who starred in the parody series “Mad TV” and “Real Husbands of Hollywood,” has died. She was 46. Her publicist and a statement by her mother, Diann, says Ash died July 28 in Los Angeles of cancer. Ash impersonated Michelle Obama and Condoleeza Rice on “Mad TV,” a Fox sketch series, and was a key performer on the Rosie O’Donnell-created series “The Big Gay Sketch Show.” Her other credits included “Scary Movie V,” “Uncle Drew” and the LeBron James-produced basketball dramedy “Survivor’s Remorse.” On the BET series “Real Husbands of Hollywood,” Ash played the ex-wife of Kevin Hart’s character. Jack Russell, the lead singer of the bluesy '80s metal band Great White whose hits included “Once Bitten Twice Shy” and “Rock Me” and was fronting his band the night 100 people died in a 2003 nightclub fire in Rhode Island, died Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024. He was 63. Juan “Chi Chi” Rodriguez, a Hall of Fame golfer whose antics on the greens and inspiring life story made him among the sport’s most popular players during a long professional career, died Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024. Susan Wojcicki, the former YouTube chief executive officer and longtime Google executive, died Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, after suffering with non small cell lung cancer for the past two years. She was 56. Frank Selvy, an All-America guard at Furman who scored an NCAA Division I-record 100 points in a game and later played nine NBA seasons, died Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024. He was 91. Wallace “Wally” Amos, the creator of the cookie empire that took his name and made it famous and who went on to become a children’s literacy advocate, died Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024, from complications with dementia. He was 88. Gena Rowlands, hailed as one of the greatest actors to ever practice the craft and a guiding light in independent cinema as a star in groundbreaking movies by her director husband, John Cassavetes, and who later charmed audiences in her son's tear-jerker “The Notebook,” died Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024. She was 94. Peter Marshall, the actor and singer turned game show host who played straight man to the stars for 16 years on “The Hollywood Squares,” died. Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024 He was 98. Alain Delon, the internationally acclaimed French actor who embodied both the bad guy and the policeman and made hearts throb around the world, died Sunday, Aug. 18, 2024. He was 88. Phil Donahue, whose pioneering daytime talk show launched an indelible television genre that brought success to Oprah Winfrey, Montel Williams, Ellen DeGeneres and many others, died Sunday, Aug. 18, 2024, after a long illness. He was 88. Al Attles, a Hall of Famer who coached the 1975 NBA champion Warriors and spent more than six decades with the organization as a player, general manager and most recently team ambassador, died Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024. He was 87. John Amos, who starred as the family patriarch on the hit 1970s sitcom “Good Times” and earned an Emmy nomination for his role in the seminal 1977 miniseries “Roots,” died Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024. He was 84. James Darren, a teen idol who helped ignite the 1960s surfing craze as a charismatic beach boy paired off with Sandra Dee in the hit film “Gidget,” died Monday, Sept. 2, 2024. He was 88. James Earl Jones, who overcame racial prejudice and a severe stutter to become a celebrated icon of stage and screen has died. He was 93. His agent, Barry McPherson, confirmed Jones died Sept. 9 at home. Jones was a pioneering actor who eventually lent his deep, commanding voice to CNN, “The Lion King” and Darth Vader. Working deep into his 80s, he won two Emmys, a Golden Globe, two Tony Awards, a Grammy, the National Medal of Arts, the Kennedy Center Honors and was given an honorary Oscar and a special Tony for lifetime achievement. In 2022, a Broadway theater was renamed in his honor. Frankie Beverly, who with his band Maze inspired generations of fans with his smooth, soulful voice and lasting anthems including “Before I Let Go,” has died. He was 77. His family said in a post on the band’s website and social media accounts that Beverly died Sept. 10. In the post, which asked for privacy, the family said “he lived his life with a pure soul, as one would say, and for us, no one did it better.” The post did not say his cause of death or where he died. Beverly, whose songs include “Joy and Pain,” “Love is the Key,” and “Southern Girl,” finished his farewell “I Wanna Thank You Tour” in his hometown of Philadelphia in July. Joe Schmidt, the Hall of Fame linebacker who helped the Detroit Lions win NFL championships in 1953 and 1957 and later coached the team, has died. He was 92. The Lions said family informed the team Schmidt died Sept. 11. A cause of death was not provided. One of pro football’s first great middle linebackers, Schmidt played his entire NFL career with the Lions from 1953-65. An eight-time All-Pro, he was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1973 and the college football version in 2000. Born in Pittsburgh, Schmidt played college football in his hometown at Pitt. Chad McQueen, an actor known for his performances in the “Karate Kid” movies and the son of the late actor and racer Steve McQueen, died Sep. 11. His lawyer confirmed his death at age 63. McQueen's family shared a statement on social media saying he lived a life “filled with love and dedication.” McQueen was a professional race car driver, like his father, and competed in the famed 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 24 Hours of Daytona races. He is survived by his wife Jeanie and three children, Chase, Madison and Steven, who is an actor best known for “The Vampire Diaries.” Tito Jackson, one of the brothers who made up the beloved pop group the Jackson 5, died at age 70 on Sept. 15. Jackson was the third of nine children, including global superstars Michael and Janet. The Jackson 5 included brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Michael. They signed with Berry Gordy’s Motown empire in the 1960s. The group was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1997 and produced several No. 1 hits in the 1970s, including “ABC,” “I Want You Back” and “I’ll Be There.” John David “JD” Souther has died. He was a prolific songwriter and musician whose collaborations with the Eagles and Linda Ronstadt helped shape the country-rock sound that took root in Southern California in the 1970s. Souther joined in on some of the Eagles’ biggest hits, such as “Best of My Love,” “New Kid in Town,” and “Heartache Tonight." The Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee also collaborated with James Taylor, Bob Seger, Bonnie Raitt and many more. His biggest hit as a solo artist was “You’re Only Lonely.” He was about to tour with Karla Bonoff. Souther died Sept. 17 at his home in New Mexico, at 78. In this photo, JD Souther and Alison Krauss attend the Songwriters Hall of Fame 44th annual induction and awards gala on Thursday, June 13, 2013 in New York. Sen. Dan Evans stands with his three sons, from left, Mark, Bruce and Dan Jr., after he won the election for Washington's senate seat in Seattle, Nov. 8, 1983. Evans, a former Washington state governor and a U.S. Senator, died Sept. 20. The popular Republican was 98. He served as governor from 1965 to 1977, and he was the keynote speaker at the 1968 National Republican Convention. In 1983, Evans was appointed to served out the term of Democratic Sen. Henry “Scoop” Jackson after he died in office. Evans opted not to stand for election in 1988, citing the “tediousness" of the Senate. He later served as a regent at the University of Washington, where the Daniel J. Evans School of Public Policy and Governance bears his name. Eugene “Mercury” Morris, who starred for the unbeaten 1972 Miami Dolphins as part of a star-studded backfield and helped the team win two Super Bowl titles, died Sept. 21. He was 77. The team on Sunday confirmed the death of Morris, a three-time Pro Bowl selection. In a statement, his family said his “talent and passion left an indelible mark on the sport.” Morris was the starting halfback and one of three go-to runners that Dolphins coach Don Shula utilized in Miami’s back-to-back title seasons of 1972 and 1973, alongside Pro Football Hall of Famer Larry Csonka and Jim Kiick. Morris led the Dolphins in rushing touchdowns in both of those seasons. John Ashton, the veteran character actor who memorably played the gruff but lovable police detective John Taggart in the “Beverly Hills Cop” films, died Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. He was 76. Maggie Smith, who won an Oscar for 1969 film “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie” and won new fans in the 21st century as the dowager Countess of Grantham in “Downton Abbey” and Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter films, died Sept. 27 at 89. Smith's publicist announced the news Friday. She was frequently rated the preeminent British female performer of a generation that included Vanessa Redgrave and Judi Dench. “Jean Brodie” brought her the Academy Award for best actress in 1969. Smith added a supporting actress Oscar for “California Suite” in 1978. Kris Kristofferson, a Rhodes scholar with a deft writing style and rough charisma who became a country music superstar and an A-list Hollywood actor, died Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. He was 88. Drake Hogestyn, the “Days of Our Lives” star who appeared on the show for 38 years, died Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. He was 70. Ron Ely, the tall, musclebound actor who played the title character in the 1960s NBC series “Tarzan,” died Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024, at age 86. Dikembe Mutombo, a Basketball Hall of Famer who was one of the best defensive players in NBA history and a longtime global ambassador for the game, died Monday, Sept. 30, 2024, from brain cancer, the league announced. He was 58. Frank Fritz, left, part of a two-man team who drove around the U.S. looking for antiques and collectibles to buy and resell on the reality show “American Pickers,” died Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. He was 60. He's shown here with co-host Mike Wolfe at the A+E Networks 2015 Upfront in New York on April 30, 2015. Pete Rose, baseball’s career hits leader and fallen idol who undermined his historic achievements and Hall of Fame dreams by gambling on the game he loved and once embodied, died Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. He was 83. Cissy Houston, the mother of Whitney Houston and a two-time Grammy winner who performed alongside superstar musicians like Elvis Presley and Aretha Franklin, died Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in her New Jersey home. She was 91. Ethel Kennedy, the wife of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, who raised their 11 children after he was assassinated and remained dedicated to social causes and the family’s legacy for decades thereafter, died on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, her family said. She was 96. Former One Direction singer Liam Payne, 31, whose chart-topping British boy band generated a global following of swooning fans, was found dead Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, after falling from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, local officials said. He was 31. Mitzi Gaynor, among the last survivors of the so-called golden age of the Hollywood musical, died of natural causes in Los Angeles on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024. She was 93. Fernando Valenzuela, the Mexican-born phenom for the Los Angeles Dodgers who inspired “Fernandomania” while winning the NL Cy Young Award and Rookie of the Year in 1981, died Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024. He was 63. Jack Jones, a Grammy-winning crooner known for “The Love Boat” television show theme song, died, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024. He was 86. Phil Lesh, a founding member of the Grateful Dead, died Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, at age 84. Teri Garr, the quirky comedy actor who rose from background dancer in Elvis Presley movies to co-star of such favorites as "Young Frankenstein" and "Tootsie," died Tuesday, Oct 29, 2024. She was 79. Quincy Jones, the multitalented music titan whose vast legacy ranged from producing Michael Jackson’s historic “Thriller” album to writing prize-winning film and television scores and collaborating with Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles and hundreds of other recording artists, died Sunday, Nov 3, 2024. He was 91 Bobby Allison, founder of racing’s “Alabama Gang” and a NASCAR Hall of Famer, died Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024. He was 86. Song Jae-lim, a South Korean actor known for his roles in K-dramas “Moon Embracing the Sun” and “Queen Woo,” was found dead at his home in capital Seoul, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. He was 39. British actor Timothy West, who played the classic Shakespeare roles of King Lear and Macbeth and who in recent years along with his wife, Prunella Scales, enchanted millions of people with their boating exploits on Britain's waterways, died Tuesday, Nov 12, 2024. He was 90. Bela Karolyi, the charismatic if polarizing gymnastics coach who turned young women into champions and the United States into an international power in the sport, died Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. He was 82. Arthur Frommer, whose "Europe on 5 Dollars a Day" guidebooks revolutionized leisure travel by convincing average Americans to take budget vacations abroad, died Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. He was 95. Former Chicago Bulls forward Bob Love, a three-time All-Star who spent 11 years in the NBA, died Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. He was 81. Chuck Woolery, the affable, smooth-talking game show host of “Wheel of Fortune,” “Love Connection” and “Scrabble” who later became a right-wing podcaster, skewering liberals and accusing the government of lying about COVID-19, died Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. He was 83. Barbara Taylor Bradford, a British journalist who became a publishing sensation in her 40s with the saga "A Woman of Substance" and wrote more than a dozen other novels that sold tens of millions of copies, died Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. She was 91. Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson, the brash speedster who shattered stolen base records and redefined baseball's leadoff position, died Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. He was 65. Greg Gumbel, left, watches as then-Connecticut head coach Jim Calhoun talks to Butler head coach Brad Stevens, right, prior to taping a television interview April 3, 2011, for that year's men's NCAA Final Four college basketball championship game in Houston. Gumbel's family announced Dec. 27 that the longtime CBS sportscaster died from cancer at the age of 78. Sign up to get the most recent local obituaries delivered to your inbox.
Olivia Hussey, star of the 1968 film 'Romeo and Juliet,' dies at 73None
Afraid of losing the US-Canada trade pact, Mexico alters its laws and removes Chinese partsWASHINGTON (AP) — Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin has a broken left fibula and is expected to miss 4 to 6 weeks.
Celtics Big Man to Miss Tonight’s Game vs. WizardsThe NDA on Saturday won the Maharashtra Assembly election with more than 280 seats, while the Opposition bloc INDIA retained in Jharkhand with more than 50 seats. In Jharkhand, the JMM-Congress coalition won 56 of the 81 Assembly seats, while the BJP-led alliance had 24 seats. In Maharashtra, the ruling Mahayuti alliance, consisting of the BJP, Ajit Pawar’s NCP faction, and Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena, won 236 of the 288 Assembly seats, while the Maha Vikas Aghadi secured 48 seats. Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the development and good governance after NDA’s victory in Maharashtra. He also thanked the people of Jharkhand for their support and congratulated JMM-Congress for their victory. Addressing BJP workers at party headquarters in Delhi, PM Modi said: “It is the victory of development, good governance and social justice in Maharashtra, and it is the defeat of negative politics and dynastic politics.” Speaking from the @BJP4India HQ. https://t.co/1hrCOzSc43 Union Home Minister Amit Shah expressed gratitude to the people of Maharashtra for the “historic victory” of the Mahayuti alliance in the state polls and said that by giving such a huge mandate to the NDA, people have shut shops of “fake well-wishers of the Constitution”. As the JMM-led alliance gained victory in the Jharkhand Assembly elections, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi extended his heartfelt gratitude to the people of Jharkhand and congratulated Chief Minister Hemant Soren for the victory. In a post on X in Hindi, Gandhi said: “Heartfelt thanks to the people of Jharkhand for giving a huge mandate to India. Hearty congratulations and best wishes to Chief Minister Hemant Soren ji, all the workers of Congress and JMM for this victory. This victory of the alliance in the state is a victory of the protection of water, forest and land along with the Constitution. The results of Maharashtra are unexpected and we will analyse them in detail. Thanks to all the voter brothers and sisters of the state for their support and to all the workers for their hard work.” In her debut, Priyanka Gandhi won the Wayanad Lok Sabha seats in the byelection with a bigger margin than her brother and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. She fills the vacancy left by Rahul when he choose Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh. Taking to X, she said: “I am overwhelmed with gratitude for the trust you have placed in me. I will make sure that over time, you truly feel this victory has been your victory and the person you chose to represent you understands your hopes and dreams and fights for you as one of your own. I look forward to being your voice in Parliament!” In a press conference in Ranchi, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren said: “In some places, vote counting has concluded and in some places, the counting is still going on. We can see that the INDIA alliance is performing really well. I thank the voters of the state, including women, men, youth, farmers and people of various castes and religion for casting their votes.” After a sweeping victory in Maharashtra, Eknath Shinde, Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar have held a press conference in Mumbai. “The people of Maharashtra have prioritised development and delivered a decisive mandate to the Mahayuti alliance. We express our gratitude to the citizens of Maharashtra,” stated Ajit Pawar. Devendra Fadnavis stated that the alliance acknowledges the support of the people of Maharashtra. “This victory heightens our responsibilities. We are committed to fulfilling the expectations placed upon us.” Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who significantly contributed to his party Shiv Sena’s strong showing in the Assembly elections, secured victory in his Kopri-Pachpakhadi constituency in Thane by a notable margin of 120,000 votes. Assam Chief Minister and BJP co-in-charge for the elections, Himanta Biswa Sarma, extended his congratulations to Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren and his team for achieving an “impressive victory” in the 2024 Assembly elections. Addressing the media from Matoshree, Uddhav Thackeray raised questions about the rationale behind the public’s support for Mahayuti, stating, “Why have the people voted for Mahayuti? Soybean farmers are in distress, industries are migrating to Gujarat, women’s safety is still an issue, inflation is burdening households, and crop loan waivers remain absent. This isn’t just a wave...it’s a ‘tsunami’.” On Mahayuti’s victory in the Maharashtra Assembly elections, Madhya Pradesh Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya voiced his support for Fadnavis as the chief ministerial candidate for the neighboring state. Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis clarified that there is no conflict over the chief minister’s position, emphasising that leaders within Mahayuti will collectively decide on the matter, considering the coalition’s anticipated landslide victory. Explaining the reason behind the Maha Vikas Aghadi defeat in the Assembly polls, CPI (Marxist) leader Ashok Dhawale noted that the overconfidence of the MVA following the Lok Sabha results, delayed finalising seat-sharing arrangements, and internal conflicts have led to the defeat of the alliance. In contrast, the BJP and its allies effectively utilised communal polarisation and financial resources, he said. Congress says Jharkhand rejected politics of polarisation, Maharashtra result surprising Congress says Jharkhand rejected politics of polarisation, Maharashtra result surprising Former Jharkhand CM Champai Soren trails from Seraikela seat NDA ahead in Maharashtra, Jharkhand, say exit polls Centre issues notice to Wikipedia on complaints of bias, inaccuracies India condemns Canada’s allegations against Amit Shah, calls it baseless S Jaishankar says LAC patrolling agreement with China doesn’t mean everything is resolved Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked * Comment * Name * Email * Website Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.Nagpur gears up for a dazzling New Year bashDrones for commercial and recreational use have grown rapidly in popularity, despite restrictions on who can operate them and where they can be flown. No-fly zones are enforced around airports, military installations, nuclear plants, certain landmarks including the Statue of Liberty, and sports stadiums during games. Not everybody follows the rules. Sightings at airports have shut down flights in a few instances. Reported sightings of what appear to be drones flying over New Jersey at night in recent weeks have created anxiety among some residents, in part because it is not clear who is operating them or why. Some state and local officials have called for stricter rules to govern drones. After receiving reports of drone activity last month near Morris County, New Jersey, the Federal Aviation Administration issued temporary bans on drone flights over a golf course in Bedminster , New Jersey, that is owned by President-elect Donald Trump, and over Picatinny Arsenal Military Base . The FAA says the bans are in response to requests from “federal security partners.” The FAA is responsible for the regulations governing their use , and Congress has written some requirements into law. With a 2018 law, the Preventing Emerging Threats Act, Congress gave certain agencies in the Homeland Security and Justice departments authority to counter threats from unmanned aircraft to protect the safety of certain facilities. New drones must be outfitted with equipment allowing law enforcement to identify the operator, and Congress gave the agencies the power to detect and take down unmanned aircraft that they consider dangerous. The law spells out where the counter-drone measures can be used, including “national special security events” such as presidential inaugurations and other large gatherings of people. To get a “remote pilot certificate,” you must be at least 16 years old, be proficient in English, pass an aeronautics exam, and not suffer from a ”mental condition that would interfere with the safe operation of a small unmanned aircraft system.” Yes, but the FAA imposes restrictions on nighttime operations. Most drones are not allowed to fly at night unless they are equipped with anti-collision lights that are visible for at least 3 miles (4.8 kilometers). Over the past decade, pilots have reported hundreds of close calls between drones and airplanes including airline jets. In some cases, airplane pilots have had to take evasive action to avoid collisions. Drones buzzing over a runway caused flights to be stopped at London’s Gatwick Airport during the Christmas travel rush in 2018 and again in May 2023 . Police dismissed the idea of shooting down the drones, fearing that stray bullets could kill someone. Advances in drone technology have made it harder for law enforcement to find rogue drone operators — bigger drones in particular have more range and power. Some state and local officials in New Jersey are calling for stronger restrictions because of the recent sightings, and that has the drone industry worried. Scott Shtofman, director of government affairs at the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International, said putting more limits on drones could have a “chilling effect” on “a growing economic engine for the United States.” “We would definitely oppose anything that is blindly pushing for new regulation of what are right now legal drone operations,” he said. AirSight, a company that sells software against “drone threats,” says more than 20 states have enacted laws against privacy invasion by drones, including Peeping Toms. Will Austin, president of Warren County Community College in New Jersey, and founder of its drone program, says it's up to users to reduce public concern about the machines. He said operators must explain why they are flying when confronted by people worried about privacy or safety. “It's a brand new technology that's not really understood real well, so it will raise fear and anxiety in a lot of people,” Austin said. “We want to be good professional aviators and alleviate that.” Associated Press reporter Rebecca Santana in Washington, D.C., contributed.
BRUSSELS, Belgium: NATO chief Mark Rutte held talks with US President-elect Donald Trump in Florida on the “global security issues facing the alliance”, a spokeswoman said Saturday. The meeting took place on Friday in Palm Beach, NATO’s Farah Dakhlallah said in a statement. In his first term Trump aggressively pushed Europe to step up defence spending and questioned the fairness of the NATO transatlantic alliance. The former Dutch prime minister had said he wanted to meet Trump two days after Trump was elected on November 5 and discuss the threat of increasingly warming ties between North Korea and Russia. Trump’s thumping victory to return to the US presidency has set nerves jangling in Europe that he could pull the plug on vital Washington military aid for Ukraine. NATO allies say keeping Kyiv in the fight against Moscow is key to both European and American security. “What we see more and more is that North Korea, Iran, China and of course Russia are working together, working together against Ukraine,” Rutte said recently at a European leaders’ meeting in Budapest. “At the same time, Russia has to pay for this, and one of the things they are doing is delivering technology to North Korea”, which he warned was threatening to the “mainland of the US (and) continental Europe”. “I look forward to sitting down with Donald Trump to discuss how we can face these threats collectively,” Rutte said.
BOSTON — Jim Montgomery found a new job just five days after the Boston Bruins fired him when the St. Louis Blues brought him in to be their next coach. It was a quick turnaround for the 55-year-old, and Charlie Coyle was happy to see his former coach land on his feet. “You always want the best for someone you worked with, who we got along with, who was part of us for two-and-a-half years,” Coyle said Monday. “That’s the best-case scenario is to see a guy who’s kind of down and out because, not him, it’s all of us, right? He’s out, he leaves the team. So to see a guy get right back on his feet, five-year deal, that’s awesome. I’m so happy for him. We want him to be here, but things work out a certain way and that’s the best-case scenario for him. “I’m sure there’s still some feelings. But I’m sure he’s pumped to get right back in it and get a long-term deal like that for him and his family. That’s huge. I’m so happy for him.” Several players, including David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand and Charlie McAvoy, expressed guilt over Montgomery losing his job after a poor start. General manager Don Sweeney said the decision to fire Montgomery was due to the Bruins not performing up to their expectations. Montgomery told reporters on Monday in his first press conference as the Blues coach that he had heard from those in the Bruins’ organization when the news became official. Interim coach Joe Sacco was one who reached out to wish his former co-worker well. “I texted Monty yesterday and wished him congratulations,” Sacco said. “I think I said the other day he’s gonna land on his feet and obviously he did very quickly. So I’m very happy for him and his family, especially the fact that that’s basically their home. It’s a great opportunity.” Montgomery is in his second stint with St. Louis after being an assistant for the organization from 2020-22. He revealed his family is still in Boston but they’ll wait until summer to move move so his children’s school year and extracurricular activities don’t get interrupted. The Blues were 9-12-1 through their first 22 games of the season. Because Montgomery has worked with several players during his first stint in St. Louis, he believes it gives him a “tremendous head start” in getting the team back on track. “Crazy. Crazy,” Montgomery told reporters of his emotions returning to St. Louis days after losing his job. “There’s no other word for it. A lot of emotions. I’m a firm believer that when one door closes, another one opens if you do the right thing.” When Montgomery saw Blues GM Doug Armstrong was calling him, he thought it was a call to just catch up, not a business one. “It was very exciting. But I was in the mindset, I thought this was a social call of like, ‘Hey, I’ve been there, keep your head up, take a breath, enjoy the family,’” Montgomery said. “Once it turned to business, the engine and my blood starting pumping.” Armstrong, Montgomery said, was “very persuasive.” “The best line that put his hooks into me was, ‘When something delicious falls on my plate, I eat,’” he said. “So, I don’t know, I guess I was a T-bone that day.” Montgomery takes over for Drew Bannister, who was in the midst of his first full season as coach after being named the interim in December 2023. Armstrong said Montgomery is the “full package” and has “all the attributes” to be in St. Louis long-term.
Minutes after the University of North Carolina announced it had hired Bill Belichick as its next head football coach, the Tar Heels’ Instagram account posted a photo of the legendary NFL coach — at no more than 3 years old — sitting in the UNC bleachers. “Welcome home, Coach,” the post reads, dredging up the memory of when the young Belichick shadowed his father, Steve, who was a UNC assistant from 1953 to 1955. As news of his hiring spread around the NFL world, the reaction ranged from excitement at seeing him back on the sideline to disbelief. The most decorated coach in NFL history after earning six Super Bowl rings with the New England Patriots, and two more as the defensive coordinator with the New York Giants, Belichick is officially making his next challenge college football after agreeing to a five-year deal with UNC. “I will have to see him on the sideline to believe that’s happening,” Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury joked Thursday. “We’ll see how the NFL job search goes and all that. I will have to see him on the sideline coaching in Chapel Hill to believe that’s happening." While Belichick’s knowledge of the sport, and his success, are unquestioned, there has been debate among those who have played for the 72-year-old coach during his 40-plus years in football about how well his style will translate to the college game. Some of his former players believe his skill set will work at any level. That list apparently includes Tom Brady, the quarterback during all six of Belichick’s Super Bowl wins with New England. “Congrats, coach. The Tar Heel way is about to become a thing,” Brady posted on Instagram on Thursday, referencing “The Patriot Way” that he popularized in New England. Some cautioned that the players he brings into the UNC program should prepare to have their limits tested like never before. “I think he’s going to do good,” said Patriots receiver Kendrick Bourne, who played under Belichick during his final three years in New England. “Bill does a good job of developing players, developing young men. I think it will be a challenge for the young man. He’s a tough coach, which we all know. But I think it will be good for certain players that have the right mindset.” Bourne's advice? Always stay locked in mentally. “Just stay tough,” Bourne said. “Have a gritty mindset because it’s not going to be easy, but in the end, it’s going to be worth it." Though some have questioned why the Tar Heels would even consider hiring Belichick after parting ways with 73-year-old Mack Brown this season, current Patriots coach Jerod Mayo said good coaching is ageless. “To me, it doesn’t matter if you’re a young man or a 10-year vet in the league, he’s a great teacher,” said Mayo, who played eight seasons under Belichick, winning a Super Bowl during the 2014 season, and then succeeded him as head coach after last season. "I wish him nothing but the best. It doesn’t really matter what level, I think he’ll be successful.” NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders is a relative newcomer to the college game himself. He spent three seasons at Jackson State before going to Colorado in 2023. In a message posted to the X social media platform, he welcomed Belichick as a competitor. “Coach Bill Belichick is a coaches coach to all us Coaches along with my man coach (Nick) Saban,” Sanders posted. “They’re game changers and they know how to move people forward. I know this is a great thing for College Football & for North Carolina. God bless u Coach, if you’re happy I am 2.” But former Patriots defensive back Je’Rod Cherry wonders how well Belichick’s old-school coaching style will be received in an era in which in-your-face methods don't always fly as well as they did when Belichick began his career. “You can’t coach hard anymore,” Cherry said during an appearance on ESPN GameNight. “You can’t yell at guys, curse at guys and that’s what he does. You are going to have to find guys who are going to accept that brand of coaching and will accept someone constantly getting on them." New York Jets safety Jalen Mills, who played for Belichick with the Patriots from 2021 to 2023, said he was surprised by the news. “I thought he definitely was going to try to wait it out until after the season and come back to the NFL,” Mills said. "But I think it’s gonna be a good thing for him because now you get a guy who has won and, of course, he’s going to try to turn that program around. But he also gets to connect with the younger generation and kind of modify and adjust to this younger generation of football on top of what he already knows. So I think that’ll just help him as far as coaching. And then, of course, he’ll give those guys, those young guys, structure as far as what the NFL looks like, too.” Just how much the Belichick on the college sidelines will resemble the one in the cutoff hooded sweatshirt who patrolled NFL sidelines is unclear. Belichick hinted they will be one and the same. During an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” on ESPN prior to agreeing to the UNC job, Belichick laid out what his approach at the college level would be. “The program would be a pipeline to the NFL for the players than have the ability to play in the NFL,” Belichick said. “It would be a professional program — training, nutrition, scheme, coaching, techniques — that would transfer to the NFL. It would be an NFL program at a college level.”Fine Gael's Jennifer Carroll McNeill the first TD elected in the country... 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The company filed a settlement agreement with the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission reached with intervenors on its 2023 rate case MINNEAPOLIS , Nov. 25, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, CenterPoint Energy filed a settlement agreement with the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (Commission) for its rate case submitted in November 2023 , to adjust natural gas distribution service rates in 2024 and 2025. The company reached a settlement agreement with all intervening parties including: Minnesota Department of Commerce, Minnesota Office of Attorney General – Residential Utilities Division, Citizens Utility Board of Minnesota , International Union of Operating Engineers Local 49, LIUNA of Minnesota and North Dakota , and Suburban Rate Authority. If approved by the Commission, CenterPoint's rate adjustment will enable the company to: Continue to maintain the safety, resiliency and integrity of its natural gas distribution system to benefit the company's more than 920,000 customers in over 260 local Minnesota communities. Continue to support the advancement of low- and zero-carbon technologies, including recovering certain costs for the company's innovation plan approved in July 2024 by the Commission under Minnesota's Natural Gas Innovation Act for investments in innovative technologies and low- and zero-carbon energy resources. Conduct infrastructure projects to replace or upgrade existing pipelines, provide safe and reliable service, comply with federal pipeline regulations and relocate facilities to enable projects by government agencies such as roads, bridges, drainage and other infrastructure. Accommodate the increased investments to operate, maintain and deliver natural gas through the company's distribution system. "From the outset, we were determined to use a collaborative approach with state agencies and all intervenors to reach a settlement agreement that worked for all parties. This agreement prioritizes the safety, reliability and resiliency of the energy system for the benefit of our customers and communities throughout Minnesota ," said Brad Steber , CenterPoint's Vice President of Minnesota Gas. "The agreement meaningfully plans for current and anticipated near-term future investments to continue to serve our customers' needs for readily available energy resources. These proposed investments will enhance our ability to deliver energy when customers need it most to help them withstand the coldest days of winter and to keep them safe and warm." The Commission will review and decide upon the filed settlement agreement. A decision is expected in 2025. Meaningful investments in the company's natural gas system A rate case is a forward-looking proposal to plan for the continued needs of customers for energy service. CenterPoint plans to continue to make investments in the safety and resiliency of the company's natural gas distribution system to benefit its customers including: Replacing natural gas lines using modern construction methods and materials. Relocating natural gas meters inside residential customer's homes to outside for improved access in case of an emergency and for enhanced customer safety. Deploying smart natural gas meters for residential customers, which have enhanced safety and communications features. Using methane detection vehicles that have a higher level of detection capability to monitor methane emissions and more efficiently conduct leak detection operations, allowing for faster mitigation and repair of natural gas leaks. Leveraging vacuum-like technology, also known as cross-compression, during repair, replacement and inspection of a natural gas line to help prevent natural gas from going into the air. Instead, the natural gas is temporarily stored or placed in another segment of natural gas line. Rate adjustment proposal As identified in the proposed settlement agreement, CenterPoint is requesting adjustments to the delivery charge, or the cost to deliver natural gas. The delivery charge accounts for approximately 50% of a typical residential customer's monthly bill. The remaining approximately 50% of a customer's bill is the cost of natural gas which is passed through at cost. CenterPoint does not profit from the overall cost of natural gas. The requested increase is approximately 4.7% or $60.8 million for 2024 and approximately 3.1% or $42.7 million for 2025. The requested increase will add $2.70 to the average residential customer's monthly bill in 2024 and an additional $1.27 to an average residential customer's monthly bill in 2025. While the rate case is under consideration, interim rates are in effect. Interim rates started with the January 2024 billing cycle and added approximately $4 per month to the average residential bill. It is anticipated that interim rates for 2025 would begin with the January 2025 billing cycle and be approximately $2 more per month for an average residential customer's bill as the Commission reviews the settlement agreement. Interim rates are applied as an equal percentage across all customer types. After final rates have been approved by the Commission, and if interim rates are set higher than final approved rates, CenterPoint will calculate a refund to customers for the difference in interim rates and final rates. The refund will be based on actual customer usage while interim rates were in effect, including interest, and will be issued as a credit on a monthly bill. CenterPoint offers various programs, tools and tips to help customers manage their bills and save energy. The company encourages those facing hardship to call CenterPoint to find out about payment arrangements and be referred to resources that may be available. To learn more, call 800-245-2377 between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. , Monday-Friday or visit CenterPointEnergy.com/PaymentAssistance . More details about the rate case can be found at CenterPointEnergy.com/RateCase . About CenterPoint Energy, Inc. As the only investor-owned electric and gas utility based in Texas , CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE: CNP ) is an energy delivery company with electric transmission and distribution, power generation and natural gas distribution operations that serve more than 7 million metered customers in Indiana , Louisiana , Minnesota , Mississippi , Ohio and Texas . With approximately 9,000 employees, CenterPoint Energy and its predecessor companies have been in business for more than 150 years. For more information, visit CenterPointEnergy.com . Forward-looking statements This news release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When used in this news release, the words "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "goal," "intend," "may," "objective," "plan," "potential," "predict," "projection," "should," "target," "will" or other similar words are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based upon assumptions of management which are believed to be reasonable at the time made and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Actual events and results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Any statements in this news release regarding future events, such as approval by the Commission of the settlement agreement and timing thereof, the anticipated benefits of the rate adjustment, investments in the company's natural gas system and the anticipated benefits thereof, the amount and expected impact to customer's bills, and any other statements that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. Each forward-looking statement contained in this news release speaks only as of the date of this release. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the provided forward-looking information include risks and uncertainties relating to: (1) CenterPoint Energy's business strategies and strategic initiatives; (2) financial market conditions; (3) general economic conditions; (4) the timing and impact of future regulatory and legislative decisions; and (5) other factors, risks and uncertainties discussed in CenterPoint Energy's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 and CenterPoint's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2024 , June 30, 2024 , and September 30, 2024 and other reports CenterPoint Energy or its subsidiaries may file from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. For more information, contact Communications [email protected] SOURCE CenterPoint Energy, IncI was talking by phone last week with California’s new senator-elect, Adam Schiff, as he plowed through papers in a temporary basement office of the Capitol in his transition from House member to Congress’s upper chamber — famously, or formerly, “the greatest deliberative body in the world.” More on his feelings about that in a bit. First, as we began our conversation — this was a day before his clownish former House colleague Matt Gaetz dropped out from consideration as attorney general — we had a laugh about the often-ludicrous qualities of so many of the names put forward by the president-elect for his cabinet. “When he was president before” — and before Schiff led an impeachment prosecution against him in the Senate trial — “I had a meeting with him in the Oval Office. And I said, ‘You know, we should work together on infrastructure,’ and I also brought up the high cost of prescription drugs ... He was affable, and personable, and I think the first thing he said to me was, ‘You know, you do a really good job.’ And I think he meant, on TV. Because it echoed something that Jared Kushner told me during his deposition” for the impeachment. “During one of the recesses he came up to me and said, ‘You do a really good job on TV.’ Trump had just attacked me for the very first time, on Twitter. ‘Sleazy Adam Schiff spends too much time on TV,’ and blah blah blah. And I said, ‘Well, apparently your father-in-law doesn’t think so.’ And his response was, ‘Oh, yes he does, and that’s why.’ ... He’s obviously picked a lot of his cabinet by watching them on Fox. And he also watches his adversaries on Fox.” I asked Schiff if he would be able to work with Trump during his second term. “Well, I think he sees political value in attacking me. It’s why I was such a constant feature in his rallies. Even up to the very end, his closing argument was about me — ‘He’s the enemy from within.’ All I can do is do my job. Try to get stuff done in defending our democracy, our rights and freedoms. He can call me whatever he wants. I’m not going to lose focus on core responsibilities.” Back to the difference between being a congressman and a senator. Schiff and the 11 other new incoming senators — six Democrats, six Republicans — just spent the last week in official orientations about how the upper house works. After 20 years in the House, he was at least a bit familiar. But some things are different. “It’s been a combination of briefings from Senate officers and the sergeant at arms — including with our spouses; they wanted us all to get to know each other — about your Washington office, and your district office, and personal security. We would take a meal break and have lunch together. Social interaction is very important. We had other sessions with veteran senators of both parties about things to do, and things not. A main thing seems to be: Don’t just work together and not socialize. Invite people out to dinner. Don’t judge a book by its cover — guys who you know from TV” may be different in real life. I asked about the “greatest deliberative body” idea: “It really seems like a different culture in the Senate,” Schiff said. “There’s a recognition that you can’t get anything done unless you can find a partner on the other side of the aisle. It’s a small place and you can get to know each other well. There is a group of folks in the Senate who don’t want to get anything done. But apart from that group, there’s lots of opportunities to collaborate and deliver and so I’m very excited about it. It’s very entrepreneurial.” “I was worried,” he continued. “I’d been hearing that the character of the Senate was changing — that a number of the bomb throwers in the House had come over — but the climate is very different. There’s a real willingness to say, ‘Hey, we may disagree on this and that, but I know you’re interested in housing, or rural hospitals, so let’s work together.’” Although I didn’t want to get too deep into the weeds on the inevitable question of what’s next for Democrats after they lost the White House, still don’t have the House and lost the Senate, I was still curious about how California’s new senator could work with a guy who rails against him: “This president, given his track record, is going to abuse his office. But my first priority is to get things done. Playing defense is secondary.” Larry Wilson is on the Southern California News Group editorial board. lwilson@scng.com.