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NoneQatar tribune Agencies In a working class neighborhood of Bucharest, pensioners like Ana Sandu wait for the afternoon to buy food when prices are lower, as inflation dampens hopes of a better life in the EU state heading into key elections. Traditionally loyal to the Social Democrats, the 65-year-old Sandu has little faith that any government will offer a remedy. She hinted at favoring far-right contender Calin Georgescu in a presidential runoff vote on December 8. Living on a monthly pension of about $400, suffering from diabetes and with a husband suffering from Parkinson’s disease, Sandu depends on money sent by her son working abroad. Romania is one of Europe’s poorest countries and she spends more than 300 lei ($60) just on medicine and at least $150 on electricity, water and other utilities. “I don’t even think about buying meat. I buy vegetables,” she said. “I come to the bazaar in the afternoon because it’s cheaper,” she said showing a bag of grapes that cost just 6 lei ($1). While Romania’s inflation has fallen from 10 percent last year, it remains high with consumer prices at an annual rate of 5.1 percent in October, according to the EU statistics office. Far-right politicians are banking on voter anger about the economy amid the political uncertainty after Georgescu’s shock win in the first-round of the presidential election. Romania is bracing for a legislative election on Sunday plus the run-off vote between Georgescu, an admirer of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and a pro-European centrist contender. Romania’s constitutional court could still cancel the December 8 vote. “All these elections are very important for the future and for solving one of the key economic problems of Romania these days, that is inflation,” Cristian Valeriu Paun, professor of international finance at the University of Economic Studies in Bucharest, told AFP. He said inflation was deeply linked to Romania’s excessive deficit. The debt to GDP ratio is close to 55 percent now and worsening day by day. There are solutions like clamping down the limitation of tax evasion and the acceleration of reforms as well as market liberalization and privatization of state-owned companies, he said. “Unfortunately, all these logical solutions need more time than Romania has and a very determined government and parliament that could implement them with determination.” Radu Burnete, executive director at the Concordia confederation of private companies in Romania, said Romania’s budget deficit must be dealt with “urgently” but added “no candidate spoke openly about this elephant in the room”. For Burnete, Georgescu’s first-round win was driven by economic woes and factors ranging from the poor quality of public services, to the weak bureaucracy and poor management of state-owned companies. “As frustration mounted and mainstream candidates failed to convince, a new face became appealing to a large segment of the population, despite the complete lack of economic sense in their political platform,” he said. He said Romania’s future lies in the EU and NATO but it must also better handle its economy. “Romania urgently needs reforms that require political will and commitment to navigate the current economic challenges,” he told AFP. Back in the market, Adrian Dragnea, married with a three-year-old son, also wanted a better life. “We are not on the edge of survival but certainly this is not what we want out of life,” he said. The 39-year-old said he understood that Romania’s economic problems would not be solved overnight. “We will go through a rough patch ... People expect everything will be rosy in one day but that’s a long-term thing,” he said. “It’s certainly not easy to see others living from one day to the next in a precarious situation, but you can’t really help other than going to the polls and hoping for better.” Copy 03/12/2024 10
AUSTIN, Texas , Dec. 2, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Subsplash , the industry leader in engagement technology for churches, announced today its acquisition of Pulpit AI , the artificial intelligence company for pastors and churches. "At Subsplash, we're committed to supporting church communities by making it easier to share the truth of Jesus," said Tim Turner , CEO of Subsplash. "Pulpit AI allows us to provide hundreds of thousands of forward-looking church leaders with tools that multiply their content creation efforts—helping deepen discipleship within their communities!" This acquisition marks an exciting step forward in Subsplash's mission of equipping every church to engage more people through technology by transforming sermons into dynamic, discoverable content that reaches people every day of the week—anywhere, anytime. Pastors and church leaders can leverage the Subsplash Platform—mobile apps, online giving, live streaming, websites, media delivery, events management, communication tools, and more—now paired with the power of AI making it simple to upload sermons and automatically create a suite of content—from video clips for social media to study guides for small groups, sermon recaps, weekly newsletters, and more. "The Church should be at the forefront of innovation and creativity," said Turner. "We can't wait to see how this acquisition helps amplify the gospel message and, by the grace of Jesus, we'll never stop innovating for His Church." With Subsplash & Pulpit AI's advanced tools, pastors can save valuable time while broadening the reach and impact of their messages. By enabling church leaders to repurpose their sermons quickly and effectively, Subsplash aims to enhance engagement with each sermon created, connecting congregations with meaningful content throughout the week. About Subsplash Subsplash is the industry leader in Fintech and mobile SaaS with an award-winning digital engagement platform used by over 20,000 leading churches and ministries around the world. Subsplash is passionate about helping mission-minded organizations engage their audiences through centralized, easy-to-manage systems. As the creators of the Ultimate Engagement PlatformTM, they're dedicated to delivering delight to millions of people through custom mobile apps, websites, live streaming, media hosting delivery, online giving, events management, communication tools, and more. View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/subsplash-acquires-pulpit-ai-an-innovative-platform-leveraging-ai-to-help-streamline-content-creation--boost-sermon-engagement-for-churches-302320167.html SOURCE Subsplash
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CINCINNATI (AP) — The Cincinnati Bengals have found all manner of ways to lose close games this season. Sunday's 44-38 loss to AFC North rival Pittsburgh can be blamed on a defense that missed tackles and allowed 520 yards of offense, and three turnovers by Joe Burrow. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.None
Most Americans are concerned about what may happen to Social Security when its retirement trust fund crosses a projected 2033 depletion date, according to a new Bankrate survey . Nearly three-quarters, 73%, of non-retired adults and 71% retired adults say they worry they won’t receive their benefits if the trust fund runs out. The October survey included 2,492 individuals. Those worries loom large for older Americans who are not yet retired, according to the results. That includes 81% of working baby boomers and 82% of Gen Xers who are worried they may not receive their benefits at retirement age if the trust fund is depleted. “Once someone’s actually staring at the prospect of the end of their full-time employment, the seriousness of the need to fund that part of their life comes into full view,” said Mark Hamrick, senior economic analyst at Bankrate. Still, a majority of millennials and Gen Zers surveyed, at 69% and 62%, respectively, are similarly concerned. Social Security relies on trust funds to supplement its monthly benefit payments that currently reach more than 72.5 million beneficiaries, including Supplemental Security Income beneficiaries. While payroll taxes provide a steady stream of revenue into the program, the trust funds help to supplement benefit checks. Social Security’s actuaries project the fund the program relies on to pay retirement benefits will be depleted in 2033. At that time, an estimated 79% of those benefits will still be payable. What financial advisors are telling clients now Financial advisors say they frequently field questions from clients on Social Security’s future. And they often tell their clients it’s still best to wait to claim benefits, if possible. Retirees can claim Social Security retirement benefits as early as age 62, though they take a permanent lifetime reduction. By waiting until full retirement age — generally from 66 to 67, depending on date of birth — individuals receive 100% of the benefits they’ve earned. By delaying from full retirement age to as late as age 70, retirees stand to get an 8% annual boost to their benefits. When talking with clients, George Gagliardi, a certified financial planner and founder of Coromandel Wealth Strategies in Lexington, Massachusetts, said he tells them Washington lawmakers are unlikely to leave Social Security’s solvency unaddressed by the trust fund depletion deadline. But even if that does happen, it still makes sense to delay claiming Social Security benefits until 70, if possible, unless there is a critical situation where it makes sense to claim early, he said. “My bottom line on the whole thing is, you don’t know how long you’re going to live,” Gagliardi said. “But basically, you want to bet on longevity.” Experts say retirees need to be mindful of longevity risk — the potential that you will outlive your savings. Social Security is “inflation indexed longevity insurance,” said CFP David Haas, owner of Cereus Financial Advisors in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey. Every year, benefits are automatically adjusted for inflation , a feature that would be difficult to match when purchasing an insurance product like an annuity. “You really can’t get that from anywhere else,” Haas said. While more than a quarter — 28% — of non-retired adults overall expect to be “very” reliant on Social Security in retirement, older individuals expect to be more dependent on the program, according to Bankrate. The survey found 69% of non-retired baby boomers and 56% of non-retired Gen Xers expect to rely on the program. To avoid relying on Social Security for the bulk of your income in retirement, you need to save earlier and for longer, Haas said. “You need to compound your savings over a longer period, and then you’ll be flexible,” Haas said. To be sure, shoring up a long-term nest egg is not a top-ranked concern for many Americans now as many face cost-of-living challenges. A separate election Bankrate survey found the top three economic concerns now are inflation, health care costs and housing affordability.33 Best Thanksgiving Mac and Cheese Recipes for Thanksgiving
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Thailand’s Jeeno Thitikul sank a six-foot birdie putt on the final hole to win the $US4 million ($A6 million) top prize at the LPGA’s season-ending Tour Championship. An eagle-birdie finish for the second day in a row by the 21-year-old Thai star completed a seven-under par 65 final round to leave her on 22-under 266 after 72 holes at Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, Florida. TGL Golf League | Watch LIVE & exclusive on FOX SPORTS, available on Kayo. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1 . Limited time offer. “I don’t know what happened to me on 17 and 18,” Jeeno said. “I really needed a birdie on 17 to give me a good chance but having an eagle, it was more than I can ask for. “Hitting really good second shot on 18 and to hole the putt it’s like, all the hard work that I’ve done has just paid off.” Three birdies and a 10-foot eagle putt on 17 over the last six holes gave Jeeno a one-stroke victory over American Angel Yin with New Zealand’s Lydia Ko a distant third on 271 after a closing 63. Hannah Green was the best placed Australian, finishing tied 19th at 10 under, ahead of Grace Kim (-8) and Minjee Lee (-7). Jeeno took home the largest top prize in women’s golf history by withstanding pressure for Yin down the back nine. “It’s just another opportunity that’s going through my life one time in my career,” Jeeno said. “It’s not a life or death. I just told myself if I win it’s going to be really good but if not it’s one tournament I give it 100%.” Together with a season-long $1 million bonus for her play on single specific holes throughout the season, Jeeno took home $5 million this week and has plans for her huge haul. “Definitely spend it,” Jeeno said. “That’s an honest answer for sure. Definitely going to spend it for a little while but saving it for my parents as well because I told them I’ve been shopping a lot.” The top 60 players in the season points chase qualified for the $11 million showdown. Seventh-ranked Jeeno captured her fourth career LPGA title after the 2022 JTBC Classic, 2022 Northwest Arkansas Championship and this year’s Dow Championship pairs event with China’s Yin Ruoning, who was fourth on 272. Top-ranked Nelly Korda, who captured the LPGA Player of the Year Award, shared fifth on 273 with South Korean An Na-rin. US star Korda won seven times this year. Yin received $1 million for her runner-up finish. “A lot of good golf, high energy,” Yin said. “My game is good going into next year. Lots of positives. I’m hitting it good. To play well here means a lot to me.” Jeeno, who began the day tied for the lead with Yin, opened with birdies at the first and third holes and answered a bogey at four with a birdie at the seventh. Yin, who fired a bogey-free 66, birdied the fourth and par-3 eighth to stay level with Jeeno at the turn, then birdied 10 and the par-3 12th. Jeeno birdied 13 and the par-5 14th but Yin also birdied 14 to stay in front and stretched the lead to two with a birdie at the par-3 16th only for Jeeno’s eagle-birdie finish to seize the victory.
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President Joe Biden had long pledged that he would not pardon his son Hunter, who was set to be sentenced this month for gun and tax convictions. But on Sunday, the president did it anyway. The sweeping pardon covers not only Hunter Biden’s convictions in two cases in Delaware and California but also any other “offenses against the United States which he has committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from January 1, 2014 through December 1, 2024.” Biden is hardly the first president to deploy his pardon powers to benefit those close to him. But it was still a surprising reversal for a man who pledged to restore norms and respect for the rule of law. What’s a pardon anyway? The U.S. Constitution says that a president has the power to grant clemency, which includes both pardons and commutations. A pardon forgives federal criminal offenses; a commutation reduces penalties but isn’t as sweeping. The power has its roots in English law — the king could grant mercy to anyone. The U.S. Supreme Court has found the presidential pardon authority to be very broad. And presidents use the power a lot: Donald Trump granted 237 acts of clemency during his four years in office, and Barack Obama granted clemency 1,927 times in his eight years. Presidents have forgiven drug offenses, fraud convictions and Vietnam-era draft dodgers, among many other things. But a president can only grant pardons for federal offenses, not state ones. Impeachment convictions also aren’t pardonable. What are the crimes Hunter Biden was accused of committing? Hunter Biden was convicted in June of lying on a federal form when he purchased a gun in 2018 and swore that he wasn’t a drug user. Just months later, he pleaded guilty to charges accusing him of a scheme to avoid paying at least $1.4 million in taxes. Prosecutors alleged he lived lavishly while flouting the tax law, spending his cash on things like strippers and luxury hotels. Both cases stemmed from a period in Hunter Biden’s life in which he struggled with drug and alcohol abuse before becoming sober in 2019. After the gun trial aired salacious and unflattering details about Hunter Biden’s life, the president’s son said he agreed to plead guilty to the tax charges to spare his family another embarrassing criminal trial. The tax trial was also expected to showcase details about Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings, which Republicans have seized on to try to paint the Biden family as corrupt. Hunter Biden was supposed to be sentenced this month in the two cases by judges in California and Delaware who were nominated to the bench by Trump. Special counsel David Weiss’ office had not said whether prosecutors had planned to seek prison time. The tax charges carried up to 17 years behind bars, and the gun charges were punishable by up to 25 years in prison, though federal sentencing guidelines were expected to call for far less time and it was possible the younger Biden would have avoided prison time. Didn’t Biden say he wouldn’t pardon his son? Yes. Hunter Biden has been under federal investigation since 2020. He reached a deal with federal prosecutors and was supposed to plead guilty last year to misdemeanor tax offenses and would have avoided prosecution in the gun case as long as he stayed out of trouble for two years. But the plea hearing quickly unraveled when the judge raised concerns about unusual aspects of the deal. He was subsequently indicted in the two cases, and he’s claimed that he was singled out because he is the president’s son. The president told reporters earlier this summer that he would not pardon his son. “I’m extremely proud of my son Hunter. He has overcome an addiction. He is one of the brightest, most decent men I know,” he said. “I abide by the jury decision. I will do that, and I will not pardon him.” Why did Biden break his promise? In his statement Sunday, Biden said that his son had been “selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted.” Biden has been concerned — as Hunter Biden was — about his political adversaries. Also, the president is no longer running for office. He made his no-pardon pledge before he dropped out of the presidential race in June. In his statement, the president said it was clear that his son was treated differently from other defendants in similar predicaments. The plea deal unraveled and Biden’s political opponents took credit for pressuring the process, he said. “No reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter’s cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son — and that is wrong,” the president said. “There has been an effort to break Hunter — who has been 5 1⁄2 years sober, even in the face of unrelenting attacks and selective prosecution. In trying to break Hunter, they’ve tried to break me — and there’s no reason to believe it will stop here. Enough is enough.” Have other presidents pardoned their family members or friends? Yes. In his final weeks in office, Trump pardoned Charles Kushner, the father of his son-in law, Jared Kushner. He also pardoned multiple allies convicted in special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. President Bill Clinton pardoned his half-brother Roger Clinton in 2001 after he had completed a prison term for drug charges. Clinton also pardoned his former business partner Susan McDougal, who had been sentenced to two years in prison for her role in the Whitewater real estate deal. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox!EA Sports FC Empires is a new mobile soccer game that includes club creation and development, building a guild with other players, and more. Developer EA has announced a new FC title, EA Sports FC Empires , that has just launched on mobile devices. The game serves as a standalone experience separate from EA Sports FC and aims to be a more social, strategy-focused title for soccer lovers. Compared to the EA Sports FC mainline titles, Empires will be a more focused experience and include features such as building a club from the ground up, managing your roster of players, testing out your Squad against other players, and participating in events and activities across the globe. Build a club from the ground up in EA Sports FC Empires In EA Sports FC Empires, you can create your soccer club and customize all aspects, including building important facilities such as training pitches, stadiums, club stores, and more. Players can upgrade these locations to encourage their club’s growth. Of course, the list of players you sign to be on your squad is also essential. In FC Empires, you can manage up to three teams in your club. Furthermore, you can scout for new players, coach your team, alter the lineup and formation to suit your desired playstyle, train your players, and upgrade their talents and traits. A huge lineup of real soccer players & clubs EA Sports FC Empires will have over 4,000 real-life soccer players at launch, a massive variety to help you curate the best lineup for your club. However, the devs have since confirmed that the game will not include any women players and that “there are currently no immediate plans for women’s leagues to be introduced into the game.” However, they further noted that “these plans may change in future.” In addition to the game’s roster of players, Empires will also have 98 authentic clubs from across the biggest Leagues in the world, including the following: Related: Premier League Bundesliga LALIGA EA SPORTS Serie A Made in Italy Ligue 1 McDonald’s Form a Guild with other players EA Sports FC Empires will also include various events and activities for your squads to participate in, all of which will help you gain resources to help strengthen your club. There will be a Guild feature so that you can even team up with your friends. Once you have created a Guild, you can contest areas of the game’s world map by facing off against others. Your Guild’s reputation will be on the line; a win boosts your influence, while a loss could damage it. The aim is to create a Guild to then become the world’s best and most popular soccer club across the whole game. EA Sports FC Empires is now available to play on mobile via early access in Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand and can be downloaded for Android and iOS devices.