In a notable update to the Files by Google app , Gemini, Google's advanced AI assistant, now boasts the ability to recognise when a PDF is open on your screen, enabling users to directly query the file's contents. According to The Verge, this feature is part of a broader rollout of context-aware capabilities in Gemini, designed to enhance the way users interact with their digital files. The functionality has begun rolling out to Gemini Advanced subscribers, The Verge reports. When users view a PDF within the Files by Google app, they can summon Gemini and tap a new button labelled "Ask about this PDF." This option allows users to pose specific questions about the PDF's contents, similar to how one would engage with a conversational AI like ChatGPT. This feature significantly improves how users interact with their files. For instance, you could open a PDF--be it a research paper, eBook, or report--and seamlessly ask Gemini, "What's the summary of this document?" or "Can you explain this section?" The assistant responds with a detailed summary or clarifications, much like having a personal assistant interpret the file for you. Google had first teased this functionality during its I/O developer conference in May 2024, and it is now becoming available to Gemini Advanced subscribers. While currently limited to this group, the feature is expected to expand to a broader audience in the future. Marketing Digital Marketing Masterclass by Pam Moore By - Pam Moore, Digital Transformation and Social Media Expert View Program Strategy Succession Planning Masterclass By - Nigel Penny, Global Strategy Advisor: NSP Strategy Facilitation Ltd. View Program Legal Complete Guide to AI Governance and Compliance By - Prince Patni, Software Developer (BI, Data Science) View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) Master in Python Language Quickly Using the ChatGPT Open AI By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Finance Financial Literacy for Non-Finance Executives By - CA Raja, Chartered Accountant | Financial Management Educator | Former AVP - Credit, SBI View Program Finance AI and Generative AI for Finance By - Hariom Tatsat, Vice President- Quantitative Analytics at Barclays View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) Generative AI for Dynamic Java Web Applications with ChatGPT By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Office Productivity Excel Essentials to Expert: Your Complete Guide By - Study At Home, Quality Education Anytime, Anywhere View Program Web Development Master RESTful APIs with Python and Django REST Framework: Web API Development By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Astrology Vastu Shastra Course By - Sachenkumar Rai, Vastu Shashtri View Program Office Productivity Microsoft Word Mastery: From Beginner to Expert By - CA Raj K Agrawal, Chartered Accountant View Program Data Analysis Learn Power BI with Microsoft Fabric: Complete Course By - Prince Patni, Software Developer (BI, Data Science) View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) AI for Everyone: Understanding and Applying the Basics on Artificial Intelligence By - Ritesh Vajariya, Generative AI Expert View Program Web Development Advanced C++ Mastery: OOPs and Template Techniques By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Marketing Modern Marketing Masterclass by Seth Godin By - Seth Godin, Former dot com Business Executive and Best Selling Author View Program Finance A2Z Of Money By - elearnmarkets, Financial Education by StockEdge View Program Web Development Mastering Full Stack Development: From Frontend to Backend Excellence By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Data Analysis Animated Visualizations with Flourish Studio: Beginner to Pro By - Prince Patni, Software Developer (BI, Data Science) View Program Entrepreneurship Crafting a Powerful Startup Value Proposition By - Dr. Anu Khanchandani, Startup Coach with more than 25 years of experience View Program Data Science SQL Server Bootcamp 2024: Transform from Beginner to Pro By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Web Development 12-Factor App Methodology: Principles and Guidelines By - Prince Patni, Software Developer (BI, Data Science) View Program Web Development Django & PostgreSQL Mastery: Build Professional Web Applications By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Data Science MySQL for Beginners: Learn Data Science and Analytics Skills By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Web Development Maximizing Developer Productivity: The Pomodoro Technique in Practice By - Prince Patni, Software Developer (BI, Data Science) View Program The PDF recognition capability is part of Google's efforts to make Gemini more context-aware across various media. Previously, Gemini allowed users to ask questions about web pages and YouTube videos. Now, it can interpret content displayed on a device's screen, opening up new possibilities for mobile users. Discover the stories of your interest Blockchain 5 Stories Cyber-safety 7 Stories Fintech 9 Stories E-comm 9 Stories ML 8 Stories Edtech 6 Stories For apps or files that do not yet support Gemini's context-aware functionality, the assistant can still help by capturing a screenshot of the screen and offering to answer questions based on it. For instance, while reading an article in a web browser or watching a YouTube video, users can tap on "Ask about this screen" to have Gemini analyse the content and respond. This interactive feature positions Gemini as more than just an assistant; it becomes a highly intuitive tool for navigating digital content across devices. To access this new functionality, users need a subscription to Gemini Advanced, Google's premium AI assistant service. While the feature is still being rolled out, it marks a significant advancement in how digital assistants can interpret and interact with content, streamlining information retrieval and daily tasks. Integrating AI-driven tools like these into widely used apps, such as Files by Google, reflects a growing trend of digital assistants becoming indispensable for productivity and content management. Whether reviewing a report, reading a PDF for work, or navigating complex information, Gemini's capabilities are designed to make the process faster, more efficient, and interactive.
The health and wellness retailer will open the doors to its relocated store in High Street, Brentwood, on Wednesday (December 4). The new 1,173 sq ft store will have a fresh look and feel, with more of Holland & Barrett's latest ranges of health and wellness solutions, including leading brands and their new food range. The new store will also have a women's health coach to offer a deeper level of expertise and confidential support on hormone health. READ MORE: High Street, Romford opening for Habitat for Humanity shop ReStore Store manager Samantha Perry said: "This is an exciting new start for us all at Holland & Barrett Brentwood in our new prominent location. "Our teams have worked together to create a fresh, welcoming space for our customers and we hope you love the new store as much as we do. "Our expert colleagues have over 20 years of combined experience at H&B and have received additional training, enabling them to offer our customers personalised advice across health and wellness. "We look forward to welcoming our regular and new customers and supporting the community on their wellness journeys." Holland & Barrett Brentwood was previously located at Unit 17 in The Baytree Centre . The new high street store has been refurbished with sustainability in mind, such as being refitted using mild steel, a 100 per cent recyclable material, along with FSC certified wood. To celebrate the relocated store opening, there will be the chance to win wellness goodie bags on December 4 and 5, plus opportunities to sample H&B’s new food range on December 6 and 7 between 10am and 3pm. This latest opening is part of Holland & Barrett’s ongoing investment in its retail stores – including refits, relocations or opening new stores. Holland & Barrett has invested around £70 million in the transformation of its stores, technology and new product development including the opening and renovation of more than 200 stores in the UK. The store is located at 37 High Street, Brentwood, CM14 4AJ.
Alrena Dale, 61, had her six-figure student-loan balance wiped out after decades of payments. She's one of hundreds of borrowers who have received relief after new changes to the . Though Dale filed over five years ago, President Joe Biden's new bankruptcy guidance, which streamlined the information she needed to provide in order to qualify for relief, was a turning point in her case. In August 2023, Dale was finally relieved of her $155,000 balance, according to documents reviewed by Business Insider. "There were no words. I was excited. I cried," Dale, who'd attended an online business bachelor's and master's program but struggled to find employment in her field, told BI. She worked multiple minimum-wage jobs at a time to afford her student-loan payments alongside her monthly expenses. "I really honestly didn't believe it until I got my discharge papers." The reason it was so difficult for Dale and many other student-loan borrowers to seek relief in bankruptcy court before 2022 is that borrowers had to prove an "undue hardship" standard, in which they had to show that they cannot maintain a minimal standard of living, that their circumstances aren't likely to improve, and that they have made a good-faith effort to repay their debt. That standard was an . The Biden administration's guidance changed that by to meet undue hardship, and it allowed borrowers to complete a self-attestation form, allowing the bankruptcy process to move quicker and avoid investigations into their backgrounds. Some bankruptcy attorneys told BI that the new guidance has made student-loan bankruptcy much more achievable for borrowers, with some having seen quick success after decades of stagnancy. Still, they said many lawyers are reluctant to lean into the new process, and more outreach and education on navigating bankruptcy for student loans would help. Dale said the overwhelming emotion she now feels is relief. "Knowing that I don't have to go out and work a second job just to pay it back because they've removed it for me, I really can't thank them enough," Dale said. "I have no words because I'm just happy and grateful and thankful." 'It's given us so much hope' Bob and Tammy Branson, a bankruptcy attorney and senior paralegal, respectively, successfully represented Dale in her bankruptcy proceedings. Tammy said that over the past 25 years, it was nearly impossible to discharge their clients' student loans in bankruptcy — but after the new guidance, she said their law firm has successfully discharged over $1 million in student loans. "Now we're actually getting people not just to the point of treading water, but we're getting them out of the water," Bob said. Dustin Baker, a bankruptcy attorney in Iowa, has seen similar success with the new guidance. Baker told BI that before November 2022, he advised his clients that considering a student-loan discharge wasn't worth their effort because it was so difficult to achieve, and he didn't want to take his clients' money for litigation he wasn't confident would be successful. But once the guidance was announced, Baker said he's eliminated student debt for about a dozen of his clients, with a few more in the pipeline. He said his "biggest excitement" with the new process is the self-attestation form, which directly tells borrowers the questions they need to answer to get approved for a discharge, making communication between the borrower and the government easier. The Justice Department released new data in July on how the process was going since the new guidance was announced. It showed that from October 2023 to March 2024 — a 34% increase from the prior 6-month period. New data BI obtained from Sen. Elizabeth Warren in October showed that in fiscal year 2024, and 85% of borrowers who filed using the new guidance received a full or partial discharge. Baker said his experience incorporating the new guidance into his work was "very easy," and he added that members of the Justice Department gave attorneys in his area training sessions. However, Tammy and Bob said more education and outreach would be helpful because some lawyers are unsure if the new process is worth it. Still, it's clear the guidance works, and Tammy said she hopes that continues. "It's given us so much hope," she said. 'I would've had to work another job' The new bankruptcy process for student-loan borrowers still isn't perfect. Igor Roitburg, a former attorney and senior managing director at Stretto — a bankruptcy services and technology firm — told BI that the timeline for borrowers to receive a bankruptcy decision can still widely vary and that uncertainty is a roadblock for some borrowers and attorneys to participate. "For them to invest time and effort into a new process that they're uncertain about if they don't see results for months and months and months, makes it hard for them to commit to the process and offer it as a global service to all their clients," Roitburg said. Dale said she saw no other option but to file for bankruptcy, regardless of whether it would be successful. Once the new guidance was released, the self-attestation form allowed Dale to prove that her financial circumstances were unlikely to improve, qualifying her for relief. She now works at a call center and said she can't afford to retire yet. If she had the opportunity to do things differently, she might have considered going to a trade school to avoid the student-debt burden. "I'm just making the best of what I have to work with right now," she said, adding that if she didn't see success through bankruptcy, "I would've had to work another job just to pay the student loans." Read the original article on
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republicans made claims about illegal voting by noncitizens a centerpiece of their 2024 campaign messaging and plan to push legislation in the new Congress requiring voters to provide proof of U.S. citizenship. Yet there's one place with a GOP supermajority where linking voting to citizenship appears to be a nonstarter: Kansas. That's because the state has been there, done that, and all but a few Republicans would prefer not to go there again. Kansas imposed a proof-of-citizenship requirement over a decade ago that grew into one of the biggest political fiascos in the state in recent memory. The law, passed by the state Legislature in 2011 and implemented two years later, ended up blocking the voter registrations of more than 31,000 U.S. citizens who were otherwise eligible to vote. That was 12% of everyone seeking to register in Kansas for the first time. Federal courts ultimately declared the law an unconstitutional burden on voting rights, and it hasn't been enforced since 2018. Kansas provides a cautionary tale about how pursuing an election concern that in fact is extremely rare risks disenfranchising a far greater number of people who are legally entitled to vote. The state’s top elections official, Secretary of State Scott Schwab, championed the idea as a legislator and now says states and the federal government shouldn't touch it. “Kansas did that 10 years ago,” said Schwab, a Republican. “It didn’t work out so well.” Steven Fish, a 45-year-old warehouse worker in eastern Kansas, said he understands the motivation behind the law. In his thinking, the state was like a store owner who fears getting robbed and installs locks. But in 2014, after the birth of his now 11-year-old son inspired him to be “a little more responsible” and follow politics, he didn’t have an acceptable copy of his birth certificate to get registered to vote in Kansas. “The locks didn’t work,” said Fish, one of nine Kansas residents who sued the state over the law. “You caught a bunch of people who didn’t do anything wrong.” Kansas' experience appeared to receive little if any attention outside the state as Republicans elsewhere pursued proof-of-citizenship requirements this year. Arizona enacted a requirement this year, applying it to voting for state and local elections but not for Congress or president. The Republican-led U.S. House passed a proof-of-citizenship requirement in the summer and plans to bring back similar legislation after the GOP won control of the Senate in November. In Ohio, the Republican secretary of state revised the form that poll workers use for voter eligibility challenges to require those not born in the U.S. to show naturalization papers to cast a regular ballot. A federal judge declined to block the practice days before the election. Also, sizable majorities of voters in Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina and the presidential swing states of North Carolina and Wisconsin were inspired to amend their state constitutions' provisions on voting even though the changes were only symbolic. Provisions that previously declared that all U.S. citizens could vote now say that only U.S. citizens can vote — a meaningless distinction with no practical effect on who is eligible. To be clear, voters already must attest to being U.S. citizens when they register to vote and noncitizens can face fines, prison and deportation if they lie and are caught. “There is nothing unconstitutional about ensuring that only American citizens can vote in American elections,” U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, of Texas, the leading sponsor of the congressional proposal, said in an email statement to The Associated Press. After Kansas residents challenged their state's law, both a federal judge and federal appeals court concluded that it violated a law limiting states to collecting only the minimum information needed to determine whether someone is eligible to vote. That's an issue Congress could resolve. The courts ruled that with “scant” evidence of an actual problem, Kansas couldn't justify a law that kept hundreds of eligible citizens from registering for every noncitizen who was improperly registered. A federal judge concluded that the state’s evidence showed that only 39 noncitizens had registered to vote from 1999 through 2012 — an average of just three a year. In 2013, then-Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, a Republican who had built a national reputation advocating tough immigration laws, described the possibility of voting by immigrants living in the U.S. illegally as a serious threat. He was elected attorney general in 2022 and still strongly backs the idea, arguing that federal court rulings in the Kansas case “almost certainly got it wrong.” Kobach also said a key issue in the legal challenge — people being unable to fix problems with their registrations within a 90-day window — has probably been solved. “The technological challenge of how quickly can you verify someone’s citizenship is getting easier,” Kobach said. “As time goes on, it will get even easier.” The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the Kansas case in 2020. But in August, it split 5-4 in allowing Arizona to continue enforcing its law for voting in state and local elections while a legal challenge goes forward. Seeing the possibility of a different Supreme Court decision in the future, U.S. Rep.-elect Derek Schmidt says states and Congress should pursue proof-of-citizenship requirements. Schmidt was the Kansas attorney general when his state's law was challenged. "If the same matter arose now and was litigated, the facts would be different," he said in an interview. But voting rights advocates dismiss the idea that a legal challenge would turn out differently. Mark Johnson, one of the attorneys who fought the Kansas law, said opponents now have a template for a successful court fight. “We know the people we can call," Johnson said. “We know that we’ve got the expert witnesses. We know how to try things like this.” He predicted "a flurry — a landslide — of litigation against this.” Initially, the Kansas requirement's impacts seemed to fall most heavily on politically unaffiliated and young voters. As of fall 2013, 57% of the voters blocked from registering were unaffiliated and 40% were under 30. But Fish was in his mid-30s, and six of the nine residents who sued over the Kansas law were 35 or older. Three even produced citizenship documents and still didn’t get registered, according to court documents. “There wasn’t a single one of us that was actually an illegal or had misinterpreted or misrepresented any information or had done anything wrong,” Fish said. He was supposed to produce his birth certificate when he sought to register in 2014 while renewing his Kansas driver's license at an office in a strip mall in Lawrence. A clerk wouldn't accept the copy Fish had of his birth certificate. He still doesn't know where to find the original, having been born on an Air Force base in Illinois that closed in the 1990s. Several of the people joining Fish in the lawsuit were veterans, all born in the U.S., and Fish said he was stunned that they could be prevented from registering. Liz Azore, a senior adviser to the nonpartisan Voting Rights Lab, said millions of Americans haven't traveled outside the U.S. and don't have passports that might act as proof of citizenship, or don't have ready access to their birth certificates. She and other voting rights advocates are skeptical that there are administrative fixes that will make a proof-of-citizenship law run more smoothly today than it did in Kansas a decade ago. “It’s going to cover a lot of people from all walks of life,” Avore said. “It’s going to be disenfranchising large swaths of the country.” Associated Press writer Julie Carr Smyth in Columbus, Ohio, contributed to this report.Police had to use pepper spray to break up the players, who threw punches and shoves in the melee that overshadowed the rivalry game. Ohio State police said in a statement “multiple officers representing Ohio and Michigan deployed pepper spray.” Ohio State police will investigate the fight, according to the statement. After the Ohio State players confronted their bitter rivals at midfield, defensive end Jack Sawyer grabbed the top of the Wolverines' flag and ripped it off the pole as the brawl moved toward the Michigan bench. Eventually, police officers rushed into the ugly scene. Ohio State coach Ryan Day said he understood the actions of his players. “There are some prideful guys on our team who weren't going to sit back and let that happen,” Day said. The two Ohio State players made available after the game brushed off questions about it. Michigan running back Kalel Mullings, who rushed for 116 yards and a touchdown, didn't like how the Buckeyes players involved themselves in the Wolverines' postgame celebration. He called it “classless.” “For such a great game, you hate to see stuff like that after the game," he said in an on-field interview with Fox Sports. “It’s just bad for the sport, bad for college football. But at the end of the day, you know some people got to — they got to learn how to lose, man. ... We had 60 minutes, we had four quarters, to do all that fighting.” Michigan coach Sherrone Moore said everybody needs to do better. “So much emotions on both sides," he said. "Rivalry games get heated, especially this one. It’s the biggest one in the country, so we got to handle that better.” Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here . AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
A battle for election transparency is being waged across Pennsylvania’s court system. Against a backdrop of the “stop the steal” movement and persistent accusations of a broken electoral system, an unlikely alliance of GOP lawyers and grassroots democracy advocates is pushing to open elections to greater public scrutiny. Their goal: to allow anyone to review the millions of ballots cast by mail and in person, as long as voters cannot be identified. “It’s transparency. It’s election integrity,” Thomas Breth, a Butler County lawyer who has done extensive work for Republican causes and is involved in several ongoing appellate cases, told TribLive. “It gives the public confidence to know elections are being conducted competently and fairly.” Susannah Goodman, the director of election security with Common Cause, a nonpartisan pro-democracy group, said her organization supports publication of cast-vote records and ballot images “In general, we really support transparency and the ability to observe and follow along with post-election audits,” she said. On Tuesday, the Commonwealth Court ruled in favor of two Allegheny County residents who sought to obtain digital copies of mail-in ballots cast in the 2020 general election. The county elections office had denied the request, finding that the images are considered “contents of ballot boxes” and therefore not viewable under Pennsylvania’s election code. Commonwealth Court, however, took the opposite view, basing its rationale on the same election code. The court cited a section of the code that reads: “All official mail-in ballots, files, applications for ballots, and envelopes on which the executed declarations appear, and all information and lists are designated and declared to be public records and shall be safely kept for a period of two years, except that no proof of identification shall be made public ...” The state objects Fighting against full transparency is Pennsylvania’s top elections official, Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt. In a friend-of-the-court brief in the Allegheny County case, the state’s Office of General Counsel argued that completed mail-in and absentee ballots should not be subject to the state’s Right-to-Know law. Commonwealth Court, the state’s lawyers argued, got it wrong in ruling that the ballots are subject to review. “The impact of that decision causes a real threat that mail-in and absentee voters in smaller precincts will need to sacrifice their right to cast a secret ballot in exchange for choosing to vote in a certain manner,” the state wrote. In the 2024 primary, the secretary argued that in smaller precincts, anyone looking to identify a voter could do so in more than 1,400 instances. “Disclosure of this information, then, not only violates these voters’ constitutionally guaranteed right of secrecy, but also could certainly chill citizens from exercising their right to vote in this manner in the future,” they wrote. The secretary further argued that it is “unreasonable” that the Legislature sought to treat mail-in ballots “somehow less deserving of secrecy” than those cast in person. The Pennsylvania Department of State did not make anyone available for an interview . Goodman of Common Cause agrees that ballot secrecy is paramount. “We really need to have the secret ballot so people aren’t bullied, harassed, threatened with job loss or coerced,” she said. “It means people really vote their conscience.” Goodman believes there are ways to ensure anonymity, including redacting identifying information or combining smaller precincts into larger ones. “A remedy has to be engineered so you can publish them and not be able to trace them back to the voter.” As for whether ballots are subject to open-records laws, the American Civil Liberties Union says they are. Marian Schneider, an ACLU attorney who has a case on mail-in ballots pending with Commonwealth Court, said the state election code makes it clear they are public records. Once the ballots are taken out of their outer envelopes, Schneider said, there’s no way to track them back to the voter. “Those secrecy concerns can be addressed,” she said. Schneider believes the reason the Legislature treated mail-in ballots differently in the election code is because there is already public scrutiny of in-person voting, including through the use of judges of elections and poll workers. “There are procedural safeguards there to prevent any shenanigans,” Schneider said. The ACLU believes all ballots should be made public. “There need to be other procedural safeguards to ensure the integrity of the election,” Schneider said. “The answer to people who express skepticism or distrust in elections is not less transparency. It’s more transparency.” Wanting scrutiny, she said, isn’t about believing anything nefarious is happening. “There are valid reasons to check on the work.” Transparency elsewhere According to The Elections Transparency Project, Humboldt County, California, began digitally scanning ballots for public review in June 2008. Following the 2008 presidential election, it found “significant errors” that led to the results — and voting equipment — being decertified. Since then, according to its website, a group of citizen volunteers works with the county elections department to scan the ballots and make them publicly accessible. As they are audited, each ballot is imprinted with a unique number that allows it to be matched with an individual ballot “so that anyone can count the votes cast.” Scanning the ballots, the website says, is more practical than providing public access to thousands or millions of ballots. “We believe it has helped the citizens of Humboldt County maintain high confidence that the elections office results accurately reflect the cast ballots,” the website says. And in Boise, Idaho, the elections office this year for the first time is publishing all 271,186 ballots cast in the general election on an interactive website using the Ballot Verifier program. According to its website, the program “ensures transparency and accountability in the voting process.” Users can view cast ballots, sort them by precinct, contest or candidate. In Pennsylvania, according to Common Cause, there have not yet been efforts like those to scan all ballots and put them online to allow public scrutiny. But the outcome of the current slate of cases at — or being considered by — the state Supreme Court could change that. The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court has ruled in at least two cases that scanned images of mail-in ballots are public records, and a third case on that same issue is pending. One of those cases, out of Erie County, is pending acceptance by the state Supreme Court. That court also has agreed to hear a case on whether the reports from in-person voting machines are public record. Another case, addressing whether digital images of cast, in-person ballots are public, was accepted by the court but is currently on hold. Jessica Goughnour, the office manager for the Westmoreland County elections department, said taking such a step to scan every ballot and put it online seems unnecessary. “We’re very transparent in our county,” she said. “Our numbers would match without ever seeing a ballot.” Moving forward Breth, the lawyer involved in several of the appellate cases, said a growing number of states are opening their ballots to public scrutiny. “It doesn’t in any way jeopardize the privacy of the ballot,” Breth said. He called that argument “a red herring.” By allowing ballots to be scrutinized, Breth said, it also allows scholars and politicians to see data and trends at a granular level. “It has a wide variety of uses. All of this, with today’s technology, ought to be available to the public.” Breth said he believes there’s bipartisan support for transparency. “It gives the public confidence,” he said. “The public can make their own minds up.” Schmidt, Breth said, is wrong on the issue. “Saying ‘just trust us’ isn’t how we operate as a society or as a country,” Breth said. Goodman, of Common Cause, said she is not at all surprised there is bipartisan support for increased ballot transparency. She said it started in 2004 when Democrat John Kerry lost to Republican George W. Bush and Democrats questioned the election results, pushing for audits and paper ballots. The same thing happened in 2020, she added, only that time it was Republicans with concerns. “There’s always going to be some way to cast doubt on an election outcome. Transparency is a value that takes hold across the board,” Goodman said. “The point of paper ballot audits and transparency is to convince the losers they lost so we can move forward.”The Need for Rural Development Initiatives India, a country with a significant rural population, relies heavily on sustainable rural development for holistic progress. Recognizing this, Indian companies have stepped up with impactful rural development initiatives , addressing challenges like education, healthcare, livelihood, and infrastructure. Let’s explore the top 10 rural development initiatives by Indian companies in 2025 , which are transforming the landscape of rural India. 1. Tata Group – Tata Affirmative Action Programme (TAAP) The Tata Group’s TAAP focuses on promoting inclusive growth in rural areas. By providing education, healthcare, and skill development programs, the initiative empowers underprivileged communities. Key Highlights: Scholarships for rural students Mobile healthcare units Livelihood enhancement projects This program has impacted over 2 million lives in rural India by 2025. 2. Reliance Foundation – Bharat India Jodo Reliance Foundation’s Bharat India Jodo initiative integrates digital technology with rural development. It focuses on agriculture, education, and healthcare to uplift rural communities. Key Highlights: Free telemedicine consultations Digital literacy campaigns Farmer support programs via JioKrishi platform This initiative has reached over 10,000 villages, enhancing productivity and quality of life. 3. Mahindra & Mahindra – Project Hariyali Mahindra’s Project Hariyali is a reforestation and water conservation initiative aimed at addressing environmental challenges in rural areas. Key Highlights: Planted over 5 million trees Created check dams for water conservation Trained farmers in sustainable practices Project Hariyali has positively impacted agriculture in drought-prone regions. 4. Infosys Foundation – Rural Education Enhancement Infosys Foundation’s rural education initiatives focus on bridging the digital divide by setting up smart classrooms and training teachers. Key Highlights: 1,000+ schools equipped with digital learning tools Scholarships for rural students pursuing higher education Teacher training programs By 2025, this initiative has benefited over 500,000 rural children. 5. ITC Limited – e-Choupal ITC’s e-Choupal is a revolutionary initiative connecting rural farmers with global markets through technology. It empowers farmers by providing them with real-time information and access to better opportunities. Key Highlights: 6,000+ e-Choupal centers across India Enhanced market access for 4 million farmers Training in sustainable agricultural practices This initiative has significantly improved rural incomes and productivity. 6. Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) – Project Shakti HUL’s Project Shakti empowers rural women by training them as entrepreneurs to sell FMCG products within their communities. Key Highlights: Over 150,000 women entrepreneurs created Financial independence for rural women Improved access to essential goods in remote areas Project Shakti is a benchmark for sustainable rural development. 7. Wipro Foundation – Mission Earth Wipro’s Mission Earth focuses on climate resilience and sustainable livelihoods in rural areas. Key Highlights: Renewable energy solutions in villages Training in climate-resilient agriculture Restoration of natural water bodies This initiative has transformed over 1,200 villages by 2025. 8. Amul – Rural Dairy Development Program Amul’s Rural Dairy Development Program empowers farmers through cooperative models, providing them with better prices and opportunities. Key Highlights: Milk collection centers in 10,000+ villages Training in modern dairy techniques Increased income for 3 million rural households This program has been pivotal in improving rural livelihoods. 9. Adani Foundation – Udaan The Adani Foundation’s Udaan initiative focuses on rural infrastructure, education, and healthcare. Key Highlights: Building rural schools and health centers Scholarships for meritorious rural students Infrastructure for clean water and sanitation By 2025, Udaan has transformed the lives of over 2 million people in rural India. 10. JSW Foundation – Janam Se Janani Tak JSW Foundation’s initiative focuses on maternal and child health in rural areas, addressing malnutrition and promoting healthcare awareness. Key Highlights: Nutrition programs for women and children Free health camps in rural regions Mobile healthcare units for remote villages This program has reduced maternal and child mortality rates significantly. Why Rural Development Initiatives Matter The impact of these rural development initiatives is undeniable. They: Enhance livelihoods through skill training and job creation Improve access to education and healthcare Address environmental challenges and promote sustainability By fostering inclusive growth, Indian companies are contributing to the nation’s overall development. Future of Rural Development Initiatives The role of technology and innovation will continue to expand in rural development. Programs focusing on digital literacy, sustainable farming, and renewable energy are likely to dominate the future landscape. Collaborations between corporations, NGOs, and government bodies will amplify these efforts, ensuring a brighter future for rural India. Learn More : For a deeper understanding of CSR activities in India, explore this comprehensive resource on CSR initiatives in India . By implementing these top rural development initiatives , Indian companies are not only driving social change but also ensuring sustainable growth for the nation. Let us know which of these initiatives inspires you the most!
PM warns of strict action against inflated electricity bills
Michigan, Ohio State fight broken up with police pepper spray after Wolverines stun Buckeyes 13-10Great Osobor scored 12 points, grabbed six rebounds and had three assists in 18 minutes of playing time as Washington wrapped up nonconference action with a 90-53 rout of NJIT on Sunday afternoon in Seattle. Zoom Diallo came off the bench to contribute 12 points and a game-high five assists for the Huskies (9-4), and Wilhelm Breidenbach, who missed Monday's 79-70 upset loss to Seattle U., added 10 points and five rebounds. Sebastian Robinson led the Highlanders (2-12) with 16 points, Tim Moore Jr. scored 14 and Ari Fulton added 11. NJIT, which suffered its third consecutive defeat and dropped to 0-9 on the road, played without leading scorer Tariq Francis (18.6 ppg) because of an ankle injury. The Huskies shot 34 of 61 from the field (55.7 percent) and were 10 of 24 from 3-point range. NJIT was 19 of 51 (37.3 percent) and just 3 of 17 from distance. Washington forced 13 turnovers while committing just five, leading to a 17-4 edge in points off miscues. The Huskies also had sizable advantages in points off the bench (47-4), in the paint (42-24) and in fastbreak scoring (17-0). The Huskies led 46-26 at the half as Osobor, Breidenbach and Mekhi Mason each scored seven points. Osobor scored the game's first five points and Mason made a 3-pointer to give the Huskies an 8-2 lead. A jumper by Mason extended the lead to 26-16 with 8:30 left in the first half. The Huskies continued to pull away, with Jase Butler capping an 8-0 run with a 3-pointer to make it 42-22 with 2:29 remaining before the intermission. A 9-0 run gave Washington its first 30-point lead of the day at 60-30 with 15:24 still to play. The Huskies led by as many as 40 on Luis Kortright's fastbreak layup at the 7:09 mark. Mason, Kortright, Christian King and KC Ibekwe all scored nine points for Washington. Washington resumes Big Ten Conference play Thursday when Maryland makes a trip to the West Coast. The Highlanders have one more nonconference game before opening America East play Jan. 9. --Field Level MediaFrom a General Election which saw the political landscape change in the UK to shocking murder trials, a slump in tourism and a string of well-known high-street companies going bust, it has certainly been an eventful year. As we tick down the months you might think we've had the biggest headlines already, but November was no different and the news kept coming thick an fast. Here we've taken a look at the highs and the lows of the 11 month of the year. November's news was undoubtedly dominated by the in . The sudden closure came months after bosses at the theme park announced that they were planning to upgrade Flambards with new rides aimed at young people after the retirement of several of its older rides. But that will never materialise as Flambards, which first opened in 1976, said it has faced “numerous challenges to continue bringing joy to families and visitors across the region”. A teenager died, and six others were taken to hospital after a two-vehicle collision at the crossroads between St Tudy and St Breward, near the B3266 on Friday, November 1. There were with a bridge following the death of a woman earlier this month, the third death in six months. Callum Tindal-Draper, 22, from Gunnislake, South East Cornwall, was while serving with the foreign volunteer platoon in the country’s war against Russia. Meanwhile, again agreed to per cent from April. A controversial proposal to build a 400-lodge luxury resort on more than 170 acres of agricultural land on the outskirts of was been approved despite a huge amount of opposition. was given approval by a Cornwall Council strategic planning committee to build the Green Ridge Resort on land near Colan and Quintrell Downs. Some 250 of the properties will be for sale as holiday homes. The announced that work on its new rooftop bar would start this month. Also in the regeneration world was the which reopened as a foodie quarter following a £4m regeneration investment. , 43, who spent the past seven years battling the marine authorities for the right to anchor his own boat on foreshore he owns at a Cornish quay in Point near , was found guilty of “carrying out a marine licensable activity without a licence” and faced paying £20,000 costs. Anger was growing in an area where a developer proposed to build what would be the biggest solar farm in Cornwall. Residents of the Carland Cross area said they feared that if permission was granted for the 210-acre solar park it would severely affect food production, local businesses and the beauty of a rolling green valley. Shane Jenkin, now 45, gouged ’s eyes out during a 12-hour attack at her home in in 2011, while her two children were at the property. In November, Tina feared he could be released as he was up for parole. the UK, with pictures taken in showing huge waves crashing over the promenade. Farmers from all over Cornwall travelled to London last week to take part in a protest in Westminster against . Since 1984, agricultural property relief (APR) has allowed small family farms to be exempt from IHT, but from April 2026, those with agricultural assets worth more than £1 million will be liable to the tax at 20 per cent – half the usual rate. The tax is a cause of concern for countless family farms in Cornwall, many of which have been farmed by the same family for generations. All . The historic vote on Friday, with 330 in favour to 275 against, followed five hours of discussion during which MPs shared personal stories. Cornwall’s MPs—Labour’s Anna Gelderd, Noah Law, Perran Moon, and Jayne Kirkham, and Ben Maguire and Andrew George—all voted to approve the contentious Bill.
Jimmy Carter, the United States’ longest-lived president, was never afraid of speaking his mind. Forthright and fearless, the Nobel Prize winner took pot-shots at former prime minister Tony Blair and ex-US president George W Bush among others. His death came after repeated bouts of illness in which images of the increasingly frail former president failed to erase memories of his fierce spirit. Democrat James Earl “Jimmy” Carter Jr swept to power in 1977 with his Trust Me campaign helping to beat Republican president Gerald Ford. Serving as 39th US president from 1977 to 1981, he sought to make government “competent and compassionate” but was ousted by the unstoppable Hollywood appeal of a certain Ronald Reagan. A skilled sportsman, Mr Carter left his home of Plains, Georgia, to join the US Navy, returning later to run his family’s peanut business. A stint in the Georgia senate lit the touchpaper on his political career and he rose to the top of the Democratic movement. But he will also be remembered for a bizarre encounter with a deeply disgruntled opponent. The president was enjoying a relaxing fishing trip near his home town in 1979 when his craft was attacked by a furious swamp rabbit which reportedly swam up to the boat hissing wildly. The press had a field day, with one paper bearing the headline President Attacked By Rabbit. Away from encounters with belligerent bunnies, Mr Carter’s willingness to address politically uncomfortable topics did not diminish with age. He recently said that he would be willing to travel to North Korea for peace talks on behalf of US President Donald Trump. He also famously mounted a ferocious and personal attack on Tony Blair over the Iraq war, weeks before the prime minister left office in June 2007. Mr Carter, who had already denounced George W Bush’s presidency as “the worst in history”, used an interview on BBC radio to condemn Mr Blair for his tight relations with Mr Bush, particularly concerning the Iraq War. Asked how he would characterise Mr Blair’s relationship with Mr Bush, Mr Carter replied: “Abominable. Loyal, blind, apparently subservient. “I think that the almost undeviating support by Great Britain for the ill-advised policies of President Bush in Iraq have been a major tragedy for the world.” Mr Carter was also voluble over the Rhodesia crisis, which was about to end during his presidency. His support for Robert Mugabe at the time generated widespread criticism. He was said to have ignored the warnings of many prominent Zimbabweans, black and white, about what sort of leader Mugabe would be. This was seen by Mr Carter’s critics as “deserving a prominent place among the outrages of the Carter years”. Mr Carter has since said he and his administration had spent more effort and worry on Rhodesia than on the Middle East. He admitted he had supported two revolutionaries in Mugabe and Joshua Nkomo, and with hindsight said later that Mugabe had been “a good leader gone bad”, having at first been “a very enlightened president”. One US commentator wrote: “History will not look kindly on those in the West who insisted on bringing the avowed Marxist Mugabe into the government. “In particular, the Jimmy Carter foreign policy... bears some responsibility for the fate of a small African country with scant connection to American national interests.” In recent years Mr Carter developed a reputation as an international peace negotiator. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his commitment to finding peaceful solutions to international conflicts, his work with human rights and democracy initiatives, and his promotion of economic and social programmes. Mr Carter was dispatched to North Korea in August 2008 to secure the release of US citizen Aijalon Mahli Gomes, who had been sentenced to eight years of hard labour after being found guilty of illegally entering North Korea. He successfully secured the release of Mr Gomes. In 2010 he returned to the White House to greet President Barack Obama and discuss international affairs amid rising tensions on the Korean peninsula. Proving politics runs in the family, in 2013 his grandson Jason, a state senator, announced his bid to become governor in Georgia, where his famous grandfather governed before becoming president. He eventually lost to incumbent Republican Nathan Deal. Fears that Mr Carter’s health was deteriorating were sparked in 2015 when he cut short an election observation visit in Guyana because he was “not feeling well”. It would have been Mr Carter’s 39th trip to personally observe an international election. Three months later, on August 12, he revealed he had cancer which had been diagnosed after he underwent surgery to remove a small mass in his liver. Mr Obama was among the well-wishers hoping for Mr Carter’s full recovery after it was confirmed the cancer had spread widely. Melanoma had been found in his brain and liver, and Mr Carter underwent immunotherapy and radiation therapy, before announcing in March the following year that he no longer needed any treatment. In 2017, Mr Carter was taken to hospital as a precaution, after he became dehydrated at a home-building project in Canada. He was admitted to hospital on multiple occasions in 2019 having had a series of falls, suffering a brain bleed and a broken pelvis, as well as a stint to be treated for a urinary tract infection. Mr Carter spent much of the coronavirus pandemic largely at his home in Georgia, and did not attend Joe Biden’s presidential inauguration in 2021, but extended his “best wishes”. Former first lady Rosalynn Carter, the closest adviser to Mr Carter during his term as US president, died in November 2023. She had been living with dementia and suffering many months of declining health. “Rosalynn was my equal partner in everything I ever accomplished,” Mr Carter said in a statement following her death. “She gave me wise guidance and encouragement when I needed it. As long as Rosalynn was in the world, I always knew somebody loved and supported me.”Google to launch ‘Google Wallet’ in Egypt on January
OpenAI's For-Profit Transition, Trump's AI Advisor, And Google's Code Red: This Week In AICentral Connecticut's defense makes 7 interceptions to earn NEC's bid to FCS playoffs
Limited again, 49ers QB Brock Purdy still fighting sore shoulderSubscribe Search Search Sort by Relevance Title Date Subscribe ALBAWABA - Unbound Academy, a new school in the United States, features no human teachers, only artificial intelligence (AI) educators. Also Read UAE: artificial intelligence jobs are the most in-demand in the market Unbound Academy AI school in the US The Arizona School Boards Association, a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization that cultivates excellence in locally governed school districts, issued a permission for a new online school under the name: Unbound Academy. Unbound Academy is a fully interactive, AI-powered school that continuously adjust to students’ individual learning paces and styles. The teaching system consists of two hours per day -2hr Learning- entirely directed by artificial intelligence (AI). While students learn math, reading, and science, the AI system will analyze their answers, the time they spend on tasks, and their emotional cues to improve the content and educational information presented to them. (Shutterstock) Students will be able to use programs developed by IXL, the largest educational technology company in North America, and Khan Academy, an American non-profit educational organization created in 2006 by Sal Khan. Also Read Google introduces a new artificial intelligence model Gemini How AI operates in Unbound Academy While students learn math, reading, and science, the AI system will analyze their answers, the time they spend on tasks, and their emotional cues to improve the content and educational information presented to them. This detailed method will better result for each student, according to the school’s website. Notably, Unbound Academy previously established a private school in Texas that runs the 2hr Learning model. The academy plans to open similar branches in Arkansas and Utah. Reema Tuqan is a passionate writer, translator, and content creator. With a background of social media, content creation and music, Reema writes Business Articles for Al Bawaba. Subscribe Sign up to our newsletter for exclusive updates and enhanced content Subscribe Now Subscribe Sign up to get Al Bawaba's exclusive celeb scoops and entertainment news Subscribe to our newsletter for exclusive updates and enhanced content Subscribe
Luke Kromenhoek throws 3 TD passes as Florida St. ends six-game skid vs. Charleston Southern
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