TransMedics Appoints Gerardo Hernandez as Chief Financial Officer and Provides Updated 2024 Financial Outlook
Trump's picks for key positions in his second administrationOur community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info I'm A Celebrity fans agreed to 'make a pact' after McFly bandmate Danny Jones's succinct four-word reply to Dean amidst camp tensions. Dean McCullough, who was tasked with fetching water alongside Radio 1 colleague Melvin Odoom, grumbled about the chore, much to the annoyance of his campmates and viewers. Dean's outburst at his fellow celebrities over basic jobs didn't go down well, prompting Melvin to comment on his tendency to vanish, saying, "This is a lone man situation, he's very good at disappearing." Despite being coaxed into contributing, Dean complained after hauling just one pot back to camp: "That is no joke, the pot is so heavy. I hate doing the water guys I've said it, I'm just gonna have to hold my hands up, it's an awful job and I hate it, and I don't wanna do it anymore. Guys I can't, it's not for me." The camp was soon embroiled in a dispute as Dean faced criticism for not doing his fair share. He defended himself by claiming he had earned 35 stars from five Bushtucker trials, despite quitting two early. Amidst the ongoing squabble, camp leader Danny interjected with a straightforward directive: "Just get on with it mate," reports OK! Dean retorted "That's no way to lead a camp", while Melvin quipped, "Listen, your new name is Houdini because you like to disappear!" and Maura chimed in, urging him to maintain "positive energy." Danny's straightforward remark has won him admirers, with fans flocking to social media to comment on it. A fan remarked: "'I did this I did that' ok? Do you want a sticker and a lollipop orrr? It's a camp effort. Like Danny said, get on with it." Another supporter concurred: "YES DANNY, tell it like it is. Absolutely loving Melvin too" while another individual commented: "Pact to vote out Dean first. Everyone is opening up, having really humbling conversations or actively getting to know others, and all he do is sit around camp and whinge. Its beyond draining." Dean was even speculated to be seeking attention after missing out on a trial, with one voice contributing: "Dean not getting airtime from trials anymore so he'll get it from arguments instead." Another concurred with Danny's outspoken approach: "Danny saying what everyone is thinking, I love it." I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here! continues tomorrow at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX
College Football Playoff & Bowl Game TV Schedule 2024This is a category that has really changed in recent years. The early remasters back in the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 days often offered simply higher resolution textures with maybe a few slight enhancements here and there. But in 2024, full-fledged remakes, are mostly dominating the category. Rather than the subtle enhancements of earlier times, remakes are typically complete recreations of a classic game that update the entire experience to make it a familiar yet new experience. This category is typically hard to find enough nominees for, but this year, it was one of the tougher ones to trim down to seven entries. Let’s take a look at our nominees for the Best Remaster/Remake of 2024: Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster Back in 2006, Dead Rising felt like one of those games that was ahead of its time. It had its constraints due to existing technology at the time, but it pushed that technology to the limits, allowing players to carve through hordes of zombies with an arsenal of makeshift weapons. Destructoid’s Master of Gaming Zoey Handley jumped into the improved Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster when it was released earlier this year and praised developer Capcom’s ability to address the issues that plagued the original version nearly two decades ago while adding a fresh new set of pain with its graphical upgrades. Epic Mickey: Rebrushed In 2010, gamers were shocked to realize that Mickey wielding a paintbrush could actually make for a pretty fun experience. Despite being a platformer, the ability to use Mickey’s magic brush to actually shape and mold the world added some unique puzzle variability to the genre. The only major downside to Epic Mickey is that it was exclusive to the Nintendo Wii. Nearly a decade and a half later, Epic Mickey: Rebrushed has been released with enhanced graphics, new abilities, costumes, and interactions for Mickey, some gameplay tweaks, and, best of all, on most modern consoles and PC. Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth The second part of the remake of the arguably most popular RPG of all time, Final Fantasy 7 , was even bolder than part 1. While Final Fantasy 7 Remake modernized the original while adding some extra content and flair, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth completely overhauled the game, turning it into a massive, sprawling open world, allowing players to really explore the game world they came to love. Our very own Chris “The OG” Carter gave Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth a much deserving 9.5/10, heralding Square Enix’s ability to walk the line between seriousness and absurdity. Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth was my most anticipated game heading into the year, and it did not disappoint. The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered I will admit, that most of the titles on this list are seeing remasters or remakes after a decade or more since the original release, so it is a bit odd seeing The Last of Us 2 get remastered just four years post-release. But to be fair, in 2020 The Last of Us 2 received a staggering more than 320 Game of the Year awards and countless other accolades for its deep narrative and immersive gameplay. The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered touts mostly visual enhancements, including increased texture resolution, higher level-of-detail distances, improved shadow quality and animation sampling rates, and more. For those who play on the PlayStation 5, the survival action game also makes use of the DualSense controller’s haptic feedback and adaptive triggers, pushing the experience to the next level. Persona 3 Reload Once considered somewhat of a cult classic, the popularity of the Persona series has simply exploded in recent years with the release of Persona 5 . Heralded by some fans as the best in the series, Persona 3 got the remaster treatment earlier this year with updated graphics, additions to the soundtrack, some enhancements to the battle system, and more. Persona 3 Reload would also go on to add the game’s popular Episode Aegis: The Answer DLC which wraps up the story of Persona 3 and adds a plethora of end-game content for fans to enjoy for many hours. Silent Hill 2 Another entry on this list that got a pretty extensive remake treatment, is Silent Hill 2 . The incredibly unique and bizarre adventure through an eerie small town shrouded in a deep fog that spawns disturbing monstrosities has been modernized in every way. In fact, the only thing that has really gone unchanged in the updated Silent Hill 2 appears to be the story, as the third-person psychological horror game has received completely remade visuals and improved gameplay enhancements. Zoey Handley felt it ran a bit long and brought its own technical problems , and considered it a worthwhile new perspective on the original game. Sonic x Shadow Generations Depending on when you were born and started gaming probably dictates whether you picture Sonic as a 2D or 3D game. With Sonic x Shadow Generations , you get the best of both worlds. Technically a remaster of the 2011 Sonic Generations , Sonic x Shadow Generations also features a new game called Shadow Generations that features Shadow the Hedgehog as a playable character. It’s a good year for platformers, and Sonic X Shadow Generations only amplifies that feeling. With improved visuals, new stages, and a second campaign featuring Shadow, Sonic x Shadow Generations creatively walks the line between remaster and remak,e offering the best of both worlds.
Police deny sitting on evidence as Netflix doc brings renewed attention to JonBenet Ramsey’s killing
Columnist {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. I had no doubt Dennis Connors would share the feeling. He is a deeply respected upstate historian, curator emeritus for the Onondaga County Historical Association, but a part of him is always a Lackawanna guy. The steel industry brought his family to that lakefront community, where he grew up in a classic double across the street from the towering Our Lady of Victory Basilica. As a kid, Connors embraced the same point I hope to make this morning about light and wonder − and where so many of us, since our Western New York childhoods, have found it at Christmas. The Electric Tower, built in 1912, is framed by holiday lights in a nearby tree in downtown Buffalo on Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. Connors remembers nighttime Yuletide rides with his parents through downtown Buffalo, looking out at window displays and decorated streets and a magnificent landmark that in December always burned in reds and greens: The Electric Tower, skyline monument to the season. Dennis Connors, curator of history emeritus from the Onondaga Historical Association: A sensibility shaped by a Lackawanna childhood. Touching off our conversation was an email I received a few weeks ago from Jared Paventi, who works in public affairs for National Grid. The company, he told me, was formally relighting the Niagara Mohawk Building in Syracuse – which the late Ada Louise Huxtable, renowned critic of the New York Times, saw as one of the great examples of art deco in the nation. The connection to Buffalo lies in the hands of the designers. Deco was an exuberant and wildly eccentric style, intertwined with the breakout of electric-powered technology in the 1920s and '30s − which means this region, home to the hydroelectric pioneers of Niagara Falls, was often a treasury for the form. An international audience was treated to firsthand views of the Electric Tower, illuminated for the Yuletide, a skyline icon unique to Buffalo, on Sunday night. The soon-to-be-called-NiMo building went up in 1932 as headquarters for Niagara Hudson, which brought together many power companies under one roof. Electricity was transforming everyday life, and the designers sought to capture that feeling in Syracuse with an Oz-like explosion of stainless steel, aluminum, chrome, black glass and much more. Those features were made to be amplified by light. It was a philosophical statement involving Buffalo architects Lawrence Bley and Duane Lyman. For this landmark, they helped create rippling patterns of white light, soon extinguished due to of fear of World War II bombing raids. The Niagara Mohawk Building − regional headquarters of National Grid in Syracuse − at Christmas. Those lights weren't truly restored until 2000, when NiMo brought in the late international lighting master Howard Brandston – the guy who lighted the Statue of Liberty – to illuminate the building in a stop-in-your-tracks array of color. An image of the Electric Tower, more than 60 years ago, at Christmas. Brandston’s system “started experiencing problems” two years ago, Paventi told me. A deco monument abruptly went dark. National Grid, which took over the building decades ago, hired a group of design specialists to update and reignite a vast system of LED lights, all centered around a stunning deco sculpture called “The Spirit of Light.” The result reaffirms what Brandston told me decades ago, when I wrote for the Post-Standard in Syracuse. “You have no idea how special this building is.” With respect, I gently told him: I think I do. That story – with Christmas at the heart of it – begins in Buffalo, with a building architect Mike Chadwick of Iskalo Development affectionately calls a "wedding cake rocketship." My central Yuletide memories involve that “Electric Tower,” though when I was a kid we knew it as the Electric Building − because that is the way my dad and his co-workers described it. My father spent his career moving coal along the waterfront for Niagara Mohawk. He started at the now-shuttered Huntley station in Tonawanda and then became a coal handler at Dunkirk's now-long-closed steam station. Every year, not long before Christmas, we would head to Buffalo, where the first stop was always the tower. My father would go into the deco lobby to pick up his savings, and then we would hit Sears and Roebuck on Main Street and Jefferson Avenue − my parents somehow trying to shop, without us seeing − before going downtown to find Santa Claus at the department stores. The spiritual highlight, each December, was when night fell and Yuletide lights snapped on atop the Electric Tower. This was long before the tower, owned now by Iskalo, became the centerpiece of New Year's Eve celebrations. I was a little kid. I had no idea it had been designed in 1912 by Esenwein & Johnson, who were inspired by a similar landmark at the Pan-American Exposition and by an ancient lighthouse in Alexandria. M&T Bank's gold dome branch, left, the Hiker statue, center, and the Electric Tower are lit up by lights in downtown Buffalo on Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. I didn’t know the original lighting was a design statement by W. D'Arcy Ryan, a global pioneer in outdoor illumination – both at Niagara Falls and the Manhattan skyline. And I didn’t know a guy named Paul Schoellkopf, as president of Niagara Hudson in the early 1930s, brought in Bley and Lyman to do extensive deco work in Buffalo, Niagara Falls and Syracuse. In this regard, Michael Kless speaks for much of Buffalo. He is chief engineer at the Electric Tower, the Washington Street landmark owned by Iskalo Development. That means he has 14 floors worth of equipment and wiring to deal with every day, creating a building that to an engineer almost becomes a living thing. Yet this is no ordinary They were "maybe the leading deco firm in the city,” said architectural historian Martin Wachadlo – though he gave a respectful nod to John J. Wade, architect of City Hall. Wachadlo noted Bley and Lyman created a 1930s pamphlet about deco style, available in the research library of the Buffalo History Museum, in which they wrote: “The public’s attention is attracted to a building at night, it is true, by brilliant illumination, but where a number of buildings are equally striving for attention that building which exhibits an ingenious and imaginative use of light will finally win the attention of the public. Cars drive by the Electric Tower in downtown Buffalo on Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. “Such a building,” they wrote, “will fix itself in the mind of the public more strongly and will be remembered long after the others have been forgotten.” Certainly they saw proof in the Electric Tower, graceful beaux arts neoclassical design elevated by what Ryan did with lights at night. Bley and Lyman put their deco principles to work in a smaller but striking Niagara Hudson building, in Niagara Falls. Yet the dizzying apex of their deco vision was part of what became known as the Niagara Mohawk Building in Syracuse. Melvin King was listed as supervising architect. Still, as Chuck LaChiusa’s Buffalo Architecture and History site asserts, Bley and Lyman were “listed as consulting architects but they had designed other structures for the company ... and it is thought that the design came out their office.” The building was a vessel for the entire idea of how power could transform the world, and the design took that notion, as Dennis Connors said, “to the nth degree.” The Niagara Mohawk building, burning pure white in Syracuse. “It was kind of this unique and specific aspect of upstate New York, this idea of electricity and power and so much starting with the Falls, and it all fits right into the whole stream of art deco,” he said. In their 1930s essay, Bley and Lyman reflected on how deco architects could utilize the way light and shadow play with intensity "upon different materials,” as well as “command (of) not only color but movement.” All of it is evident, today, in the NiMo Building. Paventi said it's coincidence that the relighting happened during the holidays, but the building's shifting array of colors included reds and greens of the season when my son and I stopped by a few days ago. How beautiful is it? At 65, I felt the kind of awe I felt at 5, beneath the Electric Tower. The effect was so spectacular that many motorists, overwhelmed, pulled over, parked their cars and tried to somehow capture what they were feeling, with their phones. Erie Bouelvard entrance to a Bley and Lyman masterpiece, the NiMo building in Syracuse. The enduring love and passion of Buffalo fans – dogged, raucous loyalty that's now part of the international football persona of this city – helps explain why these championship Bills still live in greater Buffalo, six decades later. It left me thinking of the dreams of Bley and Lyman, how Bley died in 1940 and Lyman in 1966, though their hope − in Buffalo and beyond − was to do something that would be "remembered long after." Standing there last week, I thought: They pulled it off. We talk a lot, with good reason, about the scholarly legacy of great architects. But the real gift of a truly stunning building is something more elemental, the power to raise a child’s eyes toward the sky and to cause that kid to realize – in a sudden communion of light and structure, with a spark of genius – the daily presence of unexpected, soul-lifting beauty. In Buffalo, looking up, I call that Christmas. Sean Kirst is a columnist with The Buffalo News. Email him at skirst@buffnews.com . 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Everything seemed to be going right for Christopher Polvoorde’s 2024 outing at the Baja 1000. The Optima Batteries driver had partnered with Red Bull’s Bryce Menzies — one of Baja’s most formidable competitors, and a driver that Polvoorde adored growing up. The 24-year-old racer had qualified the Menzies truck on pole position, five full seconds ahead of the next-fastest car. “Favorites” would be an understatement. But then, early on race day morning: Disaster. At race mile 27 of 864, the Polvoorde/Menzies trophy truck ground to a halt. A power steering failure ended their day before it even had a chance to begin. But for a first-time attendee of the iconic off-road race, the misfortune of the driver I’d flown to Ensenada, Mexico to shadow turned out to give me a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience the real Baja 1000. In 1962, Honda wanted to put its upcoming CL72 Scrambler motorcycle through its paces. In an era before motocross, sporty off-road aficionados took part in scrambles , a rough-and-tumble form of racing that involved a few laps around a dirt circuit that might feature a jump or two. To ensure its newest two-wheeler was scramble ready, Honda needed to subject the bike to a worthy trial. So, Jack McCormack and Walt Fulton of Honda America went to the most qualified person they knew: Bud Ekins. The California-based Ekins had become a legend in the off-road racing world; sweetening the deal, he was also a Honda dealer. If anyone would know a great route for the Scrambler, it would be Ekins. Ekins suggested Federal Highway 1, a 950-mile sliver of roughly defined road in Baja California stretching from Tijuana to La Paz. Only some of the route was paved; a majority of it would require the CL72 Scrambler — and its rider — to conquer mountain passes, rock-strewn outcrops, dry lake beds, dunes of silt, and more sand than any single person would need in a lifetime. If the bike could come out on the other side unscathed, then it’d be a guaranteed hit amongst the off-road racing crowd. Ekins’ brother Dave joined Billy Robertson Jr., the son of a Southern California Honda dealer, for the near thousand-mile journey. On March 22, 1962, the men kicked off what would become a 39-hour, 56-minute ride into the history books. Enthusiast press was mesmerized. Honda received so much publicity for that early run that Meyers Manx announced that one of its buggies would take on the challenge, followed by countless other speed seekers. Before long, it became clear that Baja was popular, and that the race needed official sanctioning if it were to continue. Starting off as the Mexican 1000 in 1967, the event was transformed into the Baja 1000 after being scooped up by the Mexican government, which soon hired the SCORE International sanctioning body run by legend Mickey Thompson in 1973. Over the years, the course has changed, varying in both overall distance and in style. So too have the vehicles. This year, there were almost 50 different classes of vehicle ranging motorcycles fielded by riders of 60 years of age, to stock Volkswagen buggies, to production pickup trucks. But the top-level class at the Baja 1000 is known as Trophy Truck (TT) Unlimited, which is basically an open-production, off-road class of pickup truck racing that allows for a huge amount of regulatory freedom, so long as you meet some basic safety standards. This is where we meet our protagonist, 24-year-old Christopher Polvoorde. Despite being born in the self-described “racing mecca” of Southern California, Polvoorde didn’t grow up in a racing family — which is a rarity in the racing world. “Most of these families are in their third, fourth, fifth generation,” Polvoorde told PlanetF1.com. “We’re literally fresh as can be.” He got his start in off-road go-karting back in 2012, quickly progressing up the ranks to his first professional racing championship in 2019, the Lucas Oil Midwest Short Course League, before getting interested in desert racing. “I’m a very outdoorsy person. I’m always outside, so I think the Baja fits my personality,” he said. “But I’m also a very, like, Type-2 fun person, where I go and hike a mountain and then nearly die. Then I come home, and I’m like ‘Oh, that was fun!’ “That’s my mentality. I think Baja fits perfectly — spending eight hours in a car where half of the time, it’s like, ‘Why am I doing this?'” His passion for racing stemmed from a kart his father received in exchange for space to rent. Polvoorde started out toying around in the backyard before deciding to test his mettle against other kids his age. It didn’t go well. In his first races, Polvoorde was a regular at the very rear of the field — but that simply inspired him to put his head down and train hard to see if he couldn’t improve. With self-discipline and assistance from his family, Polvoorde found that winning wasn’t quite as hard as it looked. At the Baja 1000, as with at almost every other race Polvoorde contests, his family was out in full force to support him. His parents turn up to support their son, shadowing his races in a helicopter piloted by his brother-in-law, who by day is a sheriff’s deputy that follows high-profile police chases from the air. “I think [my racing] became a family affair because I’m so young,” he said. “I grew up with them coming to the track with me — and when I started to make it a career, they were forced to chaperone me, basically. “Now I’ve gotten to a point where I can be on my own, but they like to be part of it.” Speaking to Polvoorde in the middle of the desert, I could understand the appeal. Their son was preparing to conquer hundreds of miles of desert at an event where spectators are known to assemble ‘booby traps’ in hopes of seeing a competitor go hurtling into the air. Having a birds’ eye view from the helicopter would not only allow them to spectate at every turn, but to be instantly available in the event of an emergency. At mile 27 of 864, Christopher Polvoorde’s trophy truck came to a halt. But first, let’s back up. The night before the race, I was invited to something I came to affectionately call the “Menzies compound.” The 37-year-old Bryce Menzies is an icon of the off-road racing world, and his Red Bull sponsorship has launched him to stratospheric heights. To support his career in off-road racing, his family acquired a former hotel in Baja California to serve as base camp; after all, pre-running for the 1000 often kicks off over a month in advance of the actual race, with drivers and riders trying to familiarize themselves with the ever-changing conditions of the course. Having a local headquarters seemed smart. But I didn’t quite realize quite how impressive the whole affair was. Yes, the Menzies family had acquired a hotel, complete with a full-service kitchen, bar, and lounge area. But they’d also erected a state-of-the-art garage and brought in a fleet of chase trucks bedded down with all the supplies a person could need out in the desert. I had spoken to Polvoorde about the extreme logistics involved in organizing an event; he told me that he usually has around 120 people in Baja to support him, with around 30 chase trucks, two helicopters, and two small planes to facilitate travel and repairs. The sheer size of the operation, though, didn’t quite sink in until I arrived at the compound, where the Menzies/Polvoorde teams would be combing over route details, chase truck locations, and pit crew responsibilities before a hearty meal and an early bedtime. There, a fleet of heavy-duty pickup trucks lined the plaza inside the compound, while each member of the crew flipped through a massive ring binder filled with detailed maps, truck information, emergency protocol, and so much more. Chase trucks would be stationed at roughly 30 locations around the course, and many would be driving from one station to the next in order to maximize efficiency. After the debrief, I had a chance to head to the Menzies’ garage, where I laid eyes on the state-of-the-art trophy truck tucked safely away before its big day in the desert. An Optima engineer walked me around the truck, pointing out its slate of dashboard screens, its emergency equipment, and its powerful suspension. It was like what I’d expect to happen if a Formula 1 team took over operations at Baja. In that squeaky-clean garage, it was easy to imagine Menzies and Polvoorde cruising comfortably to a win. That didn’t happen. On race day morning, I joined the Optima crew at the ceremonial start line in Ensenada to wave Polvoorde off on his second Trophy Truck outing at the Baja 1000. We dipped across the street during the gap between car releases to climb into a chase truck of our very own. We had a few hours’ drive ahead of us to make it to the first pit stop, and it was essential to get on the road as quickly as possible. We flipped on the Starlink transponder in the truck and tuned into the official Baja 1000 livestream on YouTube, but we’d barely made a dent into our drive when we spotted something strange: Polvoorde’s truck had come to a stop. At long-distance off-road races like the 1000, it’s next to impossible to have your finger on the pulse of every happening the same way you can in closed-course racing. All we could tell was that the truck had suddenly just stopped . We continued a few more minutes in the chase trucks before finding somewhere to pull over ourselves. If the damage was minor, we could easily head on our way. If it was terminal, we could turn back to Ensenada. We didn’t know — and the race crew itself seemed just as perplexed over the radio. We waited, anxiously, as the nearest chase truck rushed out to the scene — but after an hour, the problem was determined to be fatal. Polvoorde retired from the 2024 Baja 1000 before completing 30 miles. 👉 Baja 1000: How innovative WiFi solutions are turning off-road racing into Formula 1 👉 Baja 1000: Five F1 drivers to tackle motorsport’s most dangerous race With Christopher Poolverde out of the race, the Optima team and I turned back to Ensenada with heavier hearts than we’d had that morning. We’d have some lunch, we decided, and rally that evening to watch the motorcycles finish their race. Then we’d talk about plans for an early departure the following morning. But that didn’t mean we tuned out. Instead, the Optima crew had the livestream of the Baja 1000 turned on as we drove back, and I was able to experience a different side to Baja — one I likely wouldn’t have noticed had I been invested in a single team. I learned about the Ironman competitors, the class entirely dedicated to drivers and riders who contest the full event alone. Nothing but manpower and machine, a particularly arduous task for the bike riders who will travel hundreds of miles with nothing but what they could carry on their back. I learned about the rider of the 279X, David Hunter, who crossed the Baja 1000 finish line with a Starlink WiFi panel strapped to his helmet. Why? Because he’d also strapped his cell phone to his chest, with his mom on Facetime, so that she could keep tabs on her son and ensure his safety. I learned of David Guerrant, who Ironmanned an old Triumph motorcycle, carrying with him nothing but a dream, a backpack, and only the most rudimentary safety equipment possible. I learned that Terrible Herbst Motorsport had mastered the art of the “double stack,” bringing both its trophy trucks into a pit for tire changes back-to-back — a massively arduous task for the sparse crews working with tires that could equal their body weight. I learned of 17-year-old Eva Star, who finished all four of SCORE International’s off-road events in the UTV class this year, and of Kristen and Wayne Matlock, a married couple who have regularly competed against one another in big events like the Baja. I watched drivers control the throttle via a wire with one hand, steering their trophy truck at high speed with the other. I watched flips and crashes. I saw co-drivers dig trophy trucks out of the silt, and moto riders careening through a lightless desert, balancing precariously on two wheels. I saw the way multi-million dollar operations unfurl with military precision, transforming hotels into a hub for race operations, deploying fleets of specially-designed chase trucks to strategic positions all around the course, spending hours every day for weeks learning the nuance of the changing desert. I also saw the homebuilt operations: The wives and children serving as a pit crew for their father; the friends working long hours just to achieve the goal they’d been dreaming about; the competitors who turned up with next to nothing, relying on the goodwill of the locals to see them through. The whole of the human condition was on display at the Baja 1000, and it was truly stunning to witness. Late on Saturday night, I joined the disheartened Optima Batteries crew at the bar of our hotel for a drink before we set off to the ceremonial finish line; the motorcycles were sure to be crossing the finish line at any moment, and if we couldn’t see the Optima trophy truck take the finish, we could at least cheer on the championship winners. Not long after, Christopher Poolvorde arrived in the bar. It had been hours since his trophy truck broke down, but he was still decked out in his race suit. He made his way from table to table, shaking hands and swapping platitudes with the people who had joined him for a desert adventure cut far too short. His disappointment didn’t stop him from making his way over to me, taking a moment to thank me for coming and to hope I’d had a good time, despite the early end. I had. He’d been up in his room trying to film a quick video for Instagram to sum up the experience, but he found himself coming up short. “I keep trying to come up with something to say, but it all sounds kind of ridiculous,” he told me. We quickly debriefed on the day. Per Polvoorde, a minor $50 part in the drivetrain had failed, but it was enough to bring their race to a sudden halt. There would have been no way to make repairs on the course. The failure was terminal. But Polvoorde somehow managed to be upbeat. “The big thing is that no one got hurt,” he said, relaying how his trophy truck nearly veered into an easy-up tent full of fans during the drivetrain failure. “I’m here in one piece, and aside from that part, the truck’s fine.” Not long after, Polvoorde disappeared back into the bowels of the hotel, where he finally filmed and posted a quick video for social media. I joined the Optima crew at the ceremonial finish, watching moto riders celebrate a job well done in the sprinkling rain. I’d gone into the Baja 1000 week with a strong sense of the story I wanted to tell — one about a young competitor teaming up with driver he idolized as a child, about the grit and determination it takes to ignore your better sense and careen through the desert at full speed in pursuit of glory. However, when only one person can win a race, a motorsport story is more likely to center around frustration, disappointment, and arrested desire. At an event like the Baja 1000, where hundreds of miles of unpredictable desert separate you from the finish line, the stakes are even higher. But a ‘win’ doesn’t have to mean a victory — certainly not at Baja. A win can be the simple act of finishing, or of turning up in the first place. A win can look like David Hunter, giving his mom the Facetime call of a lifetime. Or it can look like Christopher Polvoorde taking time to thank each and every member of his crew, to be grateful for the safety of the spectators, before finding the words to share with his fans. Full disclosure: Optima Batteries paid for my travel, lodging, and meals so that I could attend the Baja 1000. All opinions, thoughts, and perceptions are my own. Read next: World Destructors’ Championship: The complete F1 2024 crash damage standings
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AP News Summary at 6:46 p.m. ESTRodgers says he'll enjoy the rest of the Jets' season and 'let the future take care of itself'Donald Trump is “100% serious’’ about wanting to acquire Greenland and the Panama Canal as US territory, according to sources close to the president-elect — adding he looked into Greenland in his first term. Over the weekend, Trump, 78, publicly floated the idea of US “ownership and control of Greenland” and taking back the Panama Canal because of its “ridiculous fees” for American ships. Trump also has been referring to Canada for weeks as a prospective “state” with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as its “governor,” although that’s just a taunt, sources said. But he’s not kidding when it comes to Greenland and the canal as part of his America-first strategy to counter China and Russia, sources said. “The president is 100% serious,” a source close to Trump confirmed. White House and Treasury Department officials in Trump’s first administration even went so far as to closely study how to negotiate and fund a takeover of Greenland, the world’s largest island, two first-term Trump sources told The Post. A practical game-plan for negotiations to win over semi-autonomous Greenland’s 56,000 mostly Inuit residents was developed during Trump’s final year in office, sources said. The move came after a more thinly crafted concept was floated and shot down by Danish and Greenlandic officials in 2019. Greenland has its own goverment but is part of Denmark. The basic idea at the end of Trump’s first term was — and likely still is — to first win over the relatively poor residents of Greenland, who would then have their decision ratified by Copenhagen ahead of a handover, sources said. That transfer of power would likely come in the form of a compact of free association similar to US relations with the nominally independent Pacific island nations of Palau, the Marshall Island and Micronesia. “What we were trying to find at the end of the first Trump term was a three-way win-win-win deal,” former Treasury Department official Thomas Dans told The Post. “We were moving quickly on these things up until the final days. Our hope was the Biden administration would pick up on this,” Dans said. “We were poised to do something.” Dans, who has a family history with Greenland dating to his grandfather’s deployment there during World War II, said, “What was missing in the first [consideration of acquiring Greenland in 2019] was a real understanding of just the Greenlanders’ position within the Kingdom of Denmark. “They’ve already been granted in Denmark’s 2009 Greenland Self-Government Act a recognition of their right to self-determination and defined path to independence,” Dans said, meaning that the residents hold the key to any change in status. “It’s almost like an indenture of old, where the Greenlanders remain reliant on an economic subsidy that Denmark sends them and essentially have to bootstrap their way to a new future. They’re asset-rich and cash-poor — kind of frozen in place,” Dans said. Financing the early stages of an acquisition would not necessarily require congressional approval, though Trump’s Republican allies will control both chambers of Congress next year. “Treasury has a lot of authorities that it can bring to act on things like this,” said Dans, who has played an important role in soft diplomacy, including bringing one of Greenland’s top social media influencers to Trump’s election-night watch party in West Palm Beach. “This is President Trump’s decision. I think from what he said yesterday, he understands the importance.” Another first-term Trump official who worked on planning said, “It’s not a wild thing,” noting, “We purchased Alaska [from Russia in 1867 for $7.2 million]. “People are acting like its a crazy thing, and it’s not at all,” said the former official, who noted that buying Alaska was at the time mockingly regarded as “Seward’s Folly,” in reference to then-Secretary of State William Seward, before the 49th state’s strategic position and energy resources became apparent. “Everything’s for sale for the right price,” the source said. “[Trump] is definitely not trolling,” said a different source. “[He] is signaling the serious [nature] and the gravity of what it means to have an ambitious America and what it means to have leadership on stage. “In my conversations with incoming and former national security officials, this is a direct message to China,” that source added. Trump noted his concern about the Panama Canal falling into the “wrong hands” — particularly China’s — in his weekend commentary. He also mentioned “national security” considerations involving the large Arctic island of Greenland, which is militarily important for radar and abuts shipping lanes in the North Atlantic. The United States invaded Panama in 1989 and toppled its authoritarian leader Manuel Noriega in part over concern about the US-built canal, which America controlled until President Jimmy Carter returned the Canal Zone to Panama in 1979. The canal connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans is governed by the Republic of Panama, and a Neutrality Treaty between the US and Panama assures that the canal remains neutral for all countries with no discriminatory tolls. The US does still have the right, under the treaty, to exert military force if it deems the canal to be under threat of no longer being neutral. Yleem Poblete, an assistant secretary of state during Trump’s first term, hailed the president-elect’s head-turning commentary as part of a “welcome change” in renewing America’s focus on the Western Hemisphere. “His recent comments reflect a clear understanding of the threats and opportunities in the broader Americas and his vision to project US. leadership to usher in a new era of American greatness and hemispheric security and prosperity,” Poblete said. The State Department has expressed concern over China collaborating with Russia to gain more access to the Arctic for natural resources and geopolitical expansion. There’s some historical precedent for the theorized transfer of Greenland to the US: Denmark in 1917 sold the US Virgin Islands to America for $25 million. A source close to Trump’s nerve center in Palm Beach said the president-elect “is of the belief that empires that don’t grow start to fail. “He is a student of history, and this is one of the schools of thought,” the source said. “He really favors past presidents who were expansionist on the continent.” Although Trump’s interest in the territorial acquisitions is serious, if neither Denmark nor Panama will part with their land, it’s possible the US proposals will morph into what amounts to a bargaining tactic that could reduce canal fees or allow for a greater US military role in Greenland, sources noted. “I don’t think he’s going to start conquering land, but sometimes you push the limit crazy far to end up where you actually hope to get,” the Palm Beach source said. Trump’s foreign policy goals almost immediately got cold responses from the leaders of Greenland and Panama, throwing cold water on his ideas. Panama’s president, José Raúl Mulino, posted a video declaring, “Every square meter of the canal belongs to Panama and will continue to.” Greenland’s Prime Minister Mute Egede wrote online, “Greenland is ours. We are not for sale and will never be for sale. We must not lose our long struggle for freedom.”
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AP News Summary at 6:46 p.m. ESTRestoration of caretaker system to be proposedNEW YORK , Dec. 24, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of common stock of Enphase Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: ENPH) between April 25, 2023 and October 22, 2024 , both dates inclusive (the "Class Period"), of the important February 11, 2025 lead plaintiff deadline. So what: If you purchased Enphase securities during the Class Period you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement. What to do next: To join the Enphase class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=25593 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email case@rosenlegal.com for information on the class action. A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than February 11, 2025 . A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. Why Rosen Law: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources, or any meaningful peer recognition. Many of these firms do not actually litigate securities class actions, but are merely middlemen that refer clients or partner with law firms that actually litigate the cases. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company at the time. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs' Bar. Many of the firm's attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers. Details of the case: According to the lawsuit, defendants throughout the Class Period made materially false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts, about Enphase's business and operations. Specifically, defendants systematically overstated Enphase's ability to maintain its pricing levels and market share for microinverter products in Europe in the face of competition from low-cost, Chinese alternatives. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages. To join the Enphase class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=25593 https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=28116 call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email case@rosenlegal.com for information on the class action. No Class Has Been Certified. Until a class is certified, you are not represented by counsel unless you retain one. You may select counsel of your choice. You may also remain an absent class member and do nothing at this point. An investor's ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff. Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm or on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm . Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Contact Information: Laurence Rosen, Esq. Phillip Kim, Esq. The Rosen Law Firm, P.A. 275 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor New York, NY 10016 Tel: (212) 686-1060 Toll Free: (866) 767-3653 Fax: (212) 202-3827 case@rosenlegal.com www.rosenlegal.com View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/enph-investors-have-opportunity-to-lead-enphase-energy-inc-securities-fraud-lawsuit-302338939.html SOURCE THE ROSEN LAW FIRM, P. A.