AP News Summary at 4:29 p.m. ESTMotorsport fans were given quite a scare when Shane Van Gisbergen was involved in a dramatic sprint car crash. This incident happened shortly before his anticipated full-time entrance into the NASCAR Cup Series with Trackhouse Racing. The crash shook the spectators at Baypark Speedway in Tauranga, New Zealand, during the second heat race on December 28. Van Gisbergen's car flipped after a collision with another vehicle, the first time he had ever experienced such a crash in his impressive racing career. The crash unfolded as Van Gisbergen, piloting the #97A United Truck Parts Sprintcar, collided with Ayrton Hodgson in the #28M car. It all happened quickly in Turn 1 when Van Gisbergen's car climbed over Hodgson's rear wheel, causing the car to take flight followed by several rolls. Remarkably, Van Gisbergen was unharmed, but the damage to the vehicle was severe enough to prevent him from rejoining the later 20-lap feature race, which proceeded without him and was ultimately won by another racer, James Dahm. Reflecting on the shocking moment, Van Gisbergen shared his thoughts on social media: "Well, that was my first flip ever. Unfortunately got collected by someone and took a bit of a ride. Thanks to the safety crew for doing an amazing job. "The United Truck Parts team are having at rebuilding the car and we should be racing tonight at Baypark again." Despite the crash, Van Gisbergen showed immense positivity, staying on at the speedway to meet with fans, sign autographs, and be present in a sport he so clearly loves. His team worked tirelessly to repair the car, although the extent of the damage meant a return to the track that night was unlikely. Shane Van Gisbergen is far more than just a local favorite from Auckland, New Zealand. With three Supercars titles under his belt and strong victories in the Bathurst 1000, he is a towering presence in the sport. His recent foray into the NASCAR scene made headlines when he clinched the win at the 2023 Grant Park 220 in Chicago, mirroring the achievements of NASCAR legend Johnny Rutherford from 1963. His career in NASCAR is expected to grow as he gears up to drive full-time for Trackhouse Racing in their No. 88 Chevrolet ZL1. The crash also highlights Van Gisbergen's dedication to a diverse range of motorsports, maintaining an active part in local dirt racing events when not competing internationally. The Australian racing community is eager to see how his experience on local tracks translates to a full-scale NASCAR career.
WATCH | ANC disciplinary committee upholds Zuma's expulsionSAN DIEGO , Dec. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- CreateAI Holdings Inc., formerly TuSimple Holdings Inc. (OTCMKTS: TSPH) ("CreateAI" or the "Company"), a global artificial intelligence technology company, today announced shareholder voting results for its annual meeting of stockholders held on December 20, 2024 (the "Annual Meeting"). As of October 28, 2024 , the record date for the Annual Meeting, there were a total of 232,618,399 shares of common stock outstanding and entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting, comprised of 208,618,399 shares of Class A Common Stock (each with one vote per share) and 24,000,000 shares of Class B Common Stock (each with ten votes per share). At the Annual Meeting, holders of 207,347,538 shares of common stock, representing 423,347,538 votes, entitled to vote at the meeting were represented in person or by proxy and, therefore, a quorum constituted of the majority of the voting power of the shares of common stock issued and outstanding and entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting was present. The following is a brief description of each matter voted upon at the 2024 Annual Meeting and the numbers of votes cast for, withheld, or against, the number of abstentions, and the number of broker non-votes with respect to each other, as applicable. 1. Election of six nominees to serve on the Board of Directors (the "Board") for a term which will expire at the 2025 annual meeting of stockholders, or, if Proposal Two is adopted, to hold office until the annual meeting of stockholders in accordance with the class of director to which each nominee will be assigned. The following six directors were elected by the votes as indicated below. For Withheld Broker Non-Votes Cheng Lu 208,949,915 164,765,019 1 49,632,604 Mo Chen 208,946,146 164,768,788 1 49,632,604 James Lu 209,109,928 164,605,006 1 49,632,604 Zhen Tao 209,158,316 164,556,618 1 49,632,604 Albert Schultz 348,895,019 1 24,819,915 49,632,604 Jianan Hao 209,021,652 164,693,282 1 49,632,604 The totals above include the 240,000,000 votes represented by the Class B shares of Common Stock. 12,000,000 shares of Class B Common Stock (representing 120,000,00 votes) were voted "FOR" and 12,000,000 shares of Class B Common stock (representing 120,000,00 votes) were voted "WITHHELD" for each of the Directors other than Albert Schultz . All shares of Class B Common Stock were voted "FOR" the election of Albert Schultz . Excluding the 240,000,000 votes from the 24,000,000 shares of Class B Common Stock from the totals above, the 183,347,538 shares of Class A Common Stock were voted as indicated below. For Withheld Broker Non-Votes Cheng Lu 88,949,915 44,765,019 49,632,604 Mo Chen 88,946,146 44,768,788 49,632,604 James Lu 89,109,928 44,605,006 49,632,604 Zhen Tao 89,158,316 44,556,618 49,632,604 Albert Schultz 108,895,019 24,819,915 49,632,604 Jianan Hao 89,021,652 44,693,282 49,632,604 2. Amendment to the Company's Restated Certificate of Incorporation to classify the Board of Directors into three classes, with directors in each class to serve staggered three-year terms. Pursuant to the Restated Certificate of Incorporation, Proposal Two must receive the affirmative vote of the holders of at least a majority of the voting power of all of the then-outstanding shares of the capital stock of the Company entitled to vote generally in the election of directors, voting together as a single class, since directors representing two-thirds (2/3) of the total number of authorized directors have already approved. The amendment was not approved 2 by the votes as indicated below: For Against 1 Abstain Broker Non-Votes 208,955,668 164,659,652 99,614 49,632,604 Because Proposal Two was not approved, the six directors elected pursuant to Proposal One will serve on the Board for a term which will expire at the 2025 annual meeting of stockholders. 3. Ratification of the appointment of UHY LLP as the Company's independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2024 . The selection was ratified by the votes as indicated below: For Against 1 Abstain Broker Non-Votes 255,504,371 155,923,768 11,919,399 - Note 1: Includes 120,000,000 votes of the 12,000,000 shares of Class B Common Stock held by White Marble LLC and White Marble International Limited (together, the "White Marble Entities") controlled by Dr. Xiaodi Hou . Note 2: The White Marble Entities have filed an action in the Delaware Court of Chancery seeking a declaratory judgment that the voting agreement between White Marble and Mo Chen is invalid and White Marble, not Mo Chen , controls the vote. White Marble LLC v. Chen , C.A. No. 2024-1208-PAF (Del. Ch.) On December 13, 2024 , the Court entered an order that allows the Company to hold the vote on Proposal Two, and ordered that if Proposal Two is not approved at the Annual Meeting but the Court determines in the Action that Mo Chen , not the White Marble Entities, control how the White Marble Entities' Shares are voted, then the White Marble Entities' shares shall be deemed to have been voted in favor of Proposal Two at the Annual Meeting and that such vote shall stand. The vote totals above include the votes of the shares held by the White Marble Entities as voted by the White Marble Entities. If the shares held by the White Marble entities reflected in the totals above are deemed to have been voted in favor of Proposal Two, the Proposal will have passed. Accordingly, if the Court rules in Mo Chen's favor, Proposal Two will be deemed to have passed and the Company would be permitted to amend its Certificate of Incorporation to implement Proposal Two and each of the directors elected pursuant to Proposal One will serve on the Board until the annual meeting of stockholders in accordance with the class of director to which each nominee is assigned. About CreateAI CreateAI (formerly TuSimple) is a global artificial intelligence company with offices in US, China , and Japan . The company is pioneering the future of digital entertainment content production, seamlessly blending cutting-edge generative AI technology with the creativity of world-class talent. Our mission is to redefine the boundaries of what's possible in digital storytelling by developing immersive, captivating, and visually stunning experiences that resonate with audiences on a global scale. Investor Relations Contact: ICR for CreateAI CreateAI.IR@icrinc.com View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/createai-announces-results-of-2024-annual-meeting-of-stockholders-302338618.html SOURCE CreateAI Holdings Inc
Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce says the climate protesters who formed a flotilla in Newcastle Harbour in an attempt to disrupt ships at the world’s largest coal port won’t accept the “financial consequences” of their worldview. Joyce made the remarks in a politics panel interview on Seven’s Sunrise, where he was joined by Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek who defended her climate record against the protester’s criticisms. Climate protesters in kayaks attempt to block access to Newcastle coal port. Credit: Getty Images Plibersek said she has approved ten times more renewable energy projects than coal projects. “I’m the first environment minister to stop a coal mine, because of the impact it could have had on water going on to the Great Barrier Reef,” she said. “What I would say about the protests is, of course, in Australia you have a right to peacefully and safely express your view. But if you’re breaking the law, if you’re endangering others, if you’re diverting police resources, then I think you need to face the consequences of that.” Joyce was more scathing in his assessment of the protests. “What these people are doing is going out in the harbour and saying ‘I want Australia to be poor’,” Joyce said. “They never suggest what pensions they want to remove or what schools they don’t want built. They don’t go out with that on their placard, they just go out and say ‘I want Australia to be poor because I have a selfish desire that I can inflict on you my worldview without accepting the consequences financially of what that means’.” Labor will harden its demands on the Greens to pass more than a dozen bills through parliament in the next four days in the belief that voters will blame the smaller party at the next election for blocking the government’s agenda. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is seeking to have the draft laws passed without a single deal with the Greens after months of argument over housing, the environment, university fees, school funding and other reforms. The approach reflects a crucial calculation that the Greens have lost ground in recent state and local government elections and are at risk of losing federal seats because voters think the party has moved too far to the left on economic policy and the Middle East. But in two significant retreats, Labor shelved a bill on Sunday that sought to crackdown on misinformation and did not put forward a long-awaited ban on gambling advertising after earlier saying it would unveil the package before the end of the year. Read more about the bills before the parliament in the final sitting week of the year here. In the wee hours Sunday at the United Nations climate talks, countries from around the world reached an agreement on how rich countries can cough up the funds to support poor countries in the face of climate change. It’s a far-from-perfect arrangement, with many parties still deeply unsatisfied but some hopeful that the deal will be a step in the right direction. An attendee reacts during a closing plenary session at the COP29 UN Climate Summit. Credit: AP Here’s how they got there: What was the finance deal agreed at climate talks? Rich countries have agreed to pool together at least $300 billion a year by 2035. It’s not near the full amount of $1.3 trillion that developing countries were asking for, and that experts said was needed. But delegations more optimistic about the agreement said this deal is headed in the right direction, with hopes that more money flows in the future. What will the money be spent on? The deal decided in Baku replaces a previous agreement from 15 years ago that charged rich nations $100 billion a year to help the developing world with climate finance. The new number has similar aims: it will go toward the developing world’s long laundry list of to-dos to prepare for a warming world and keep it from getting hotter. That includes paying for the transition to clean energy and away from fossil fuels. Countries need funds to build up the infrastructure needed to deploy technologies like wind and solar power on a large scale. Why was it so hard to get a deal? Election results around the world that herald a change in climate leadership, a few key players with motive to stall the talks and a disorganized host country all led to a final crunch that left few happy with a flawed compromise. Developing nations also faced some difficulties agreeing in the final hours. Meanwhile, activists ramped up the pressure: many urged negotiators to stay strong and asserted that no deal would be better than a bad deal. But ultimately the desire for a deal won out. AP Good morning and welcome to the national news blog from The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. My name is Josefine Ganko, I’ll be with you on the blog for the first half of the day. It’s Monday, November 25. Here’s what’s making headlines this morning.Get ready Bangkok as Grammy-nominated British singer-songwriter James Blunt is set to perform live for the first time in 13 years in Thailand. This highly anticipated concert will take place on Dec 1 at Idea Live, 5th floor, Bravo. The event marks a stop on Blunt's "The Who We Used To Be Tour" to celebrate his latest album and his illustrious two-decade career. Blunt shot to global stardom with his debut album Back To Bedlam (2004), which sold over 18 million copies worldwide. The album's breakout hit, You're Beautiful, topped charts in 18 countries and made him the first British artist in nearly a decade to lead the US Billboard Hot 100. With its heartfelt lyrics and captivating melody, the song continues to resonate with fans worldwide. Blunt's other notable hits include Goodbye My Lover, 1973 and Stay The Night. His soulful music and emotional performances have earned him five Grammy nominations, two BRIT Awards and two MTV Video Music Awards. The tour coincides with Blunt's latest album Who We Used To Be (2023), which reflects on themes of love, loss and nostalgia. The Bangkok concert promises a blend of chart-topping classics and fresh tracks, making it a can't-miss event for fans and new listeners alike. Known for his engaging live performances and charismatic banter, Blunt is expected to create an intimate and unforgettable experience. His last performance in Thailand in 2011 left a deep impression, and his long-awaited return is set to rekindle that connection. "James Blunt: The Who We Used To Be Tour Live In Bangkok 2024" will be held at Idea Live, 5th floor, Bravo. Tickets range from 2,050 baht to 4,550 baht and are available at ticketmelon.com. ODLive
Workhorse Group Inc. stock remains steady Thursday, still outperforms market
On Monday, Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek Saab announced the release of 223 more individuals arrested during protests about the July election, bringing the total number freed to 956. The announcement is part of a series of releases over recent weeks, aimed at easing growing political tensions in the country. Despite these efforts, rights groups have managed to verify only some of the releases, and there have been reports of at least three protesters dying in custody. The ongoing detentions have drawn criticism from international human rights organizations. The controversy stems from the dispute over the election results, with official sources claiming President Nicolas Maduro secured a third term. Meanwhile, opposition parties present conflicting evidence, suggesting a different candidate actually won, leaving the nation deeply divided. (With inputs from agencies.)
Formula 1 expands grid to add General Motors' Cadillac brand and new American team for 2026 seasonPLAINS, Ga. (AP) — Newly married and sworn as a Naval officer, Jimmy Carter left his tiny hometown in 1946 hoping to climb the ranks and see the world. Less than a decade later, the death of his father and namesake, a merchant farmer and local politician who went by “Mr. Earl,” prompted the submariner and his wife, Rosalynn, to return to the rural life of Plains, Georgia, they thought they’d escaped. The lieutenant never would be an admiral. Instead, he became commander in chief. Years after his presidency ended in humbling defeat, he would add a Nobel Peace Prize, awarded not for his White House accomplishments but “for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development.” The life of James Earl Carter Jr., the 39th and longest-lived U.S. president, ended Sunday at the age of 100 where it began: Plains, the town of 600 that fueled his political rise, welcomed him after his fall and sustained him during 40 years of service that redefined what it means to be a former president. With the stubborn confidence of an engineer and an optimism rooted in his Baptist faith, Carter described his motivations in politics and beyond in the same way: an almost missionary zeal to solve problems and improve lives. Carter was raised amid racism, abject poverty and hard rural living — realities that shaped both his deliberate politics and emphasis on human rights. “He always felt a responsibility to help people,” said Jill Stuckey, a longtime friend of Carter's in Plains. “And when he couldn’t make change wherever he was, he decided he had to go higher.” Carter's path, a mix of happenstance and calculation , pitted moral imperatives against political pragmatism; and it defied typical labels of American politics, especially caricatures of one-term presidents as failures. “We shouldn’t judge presidents by how popular they are in their day. That's a very narrow way of assessing them," Carter biographer Jonathan Alter told the Associated Press. “We should judge them by how they changed the country and the world for the better. On that score, Jimmy Carter is not in the first rank of American presidents, but he stands up quite well.” Later in life, Carter conceded that many Americans, even those too young to remember his tenure, judged him ineffective for failing to contain inflation or interest rates, end the energy crisis or quickly bring home American hostages in Iran. He gained admirers instead for his work at The Carter Center — advocating globally for public health, human rights and democracy since 1982 — and the decades he and Rosalynn wore hardhats and swung hammers with Habitat for Humanity. Yet the common view that he was better after the Oval Office than in it annoyed Carter, and his allies relished him living long enough to see historians reassess his presidency. “He doesn’t quite fit in today’s terms” of a left-right, red-blue scoreboard, said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who visited the former president multiple times during his own White House bid. At various points in his political career, Carter labeled himself “progressive” or “conservative” — sometimes both at once. His most ambitious health care bill failed — perhaps one of his biggest legislative disappointments — because it didn’t go far enough to suit liberals. Republicans, especially after his 1980 defeat, cast him as a left-wing cartoon. It would be easiest to classify Carter as a centrist, Buttigieg said, “but there’s also something radical about the depth of his commitment to looking after those who are left out of society and out of the economy.” Indeed, Carter’s legacy is stitched with complexities, contradictions and evolutions — personal and political. The self-styled peacemaker was a war-trained Naval Academy graduate who promised Democratic challenger Ted Kennedy that he’d “kick his ass.” But he campaigned with a call to treat everyone with “respect and compassion and with love.” Carter vowed to restore America’s virtue after the shame of Vietnam and Watergate, and his technocratic, good-government approach didn't suit Republicans who tagged government itself as the problem. It also sometimes put Carter at odds with fellow Democrats. The result still was a notable legislative record, with wins on the environment, education, and mental health care. He dramatically expanded federally protected lands, began deregulating air travel, railroads and trucking, and he put human rights at the center of U.S. foreign policy. As a fiscal hawk, Carter added a relative pittance to the national debt, unlike successors from both parties. Carter nonetheless struggled to make his achievements resonate with the electorate he charmed in 1976. Quoting Bob Dylan and grinning enthusiastically, he had promised voters he would “never tell a lie.” Once in Washington, though, he led like a joyless engineer, insisting his ideas would become reality and he'd be rewarded politically if only he could convince enough people with facts and logic. This served him well at Camp David, where he brokered peace between Israel’s Menachem Begin and Epypt’s Anwar Sadat, an experience that later sparked the idea of The Carter Center in Atlanta. Carter's tenacity helped the center grow to a global force that monitored elections across five continents, enabled his freelance diplomacy and sent public health experts across the developing world. The center’s wins were personal for Carter, who hoped to outlive the last Guinea worm parasite, and nearly did. As president, though, the approach fell short when he urged consumers beleaguered by energy costs to turn down their thermostats. Or when he tried to be the nation’s cheerleader, beseeching Americans to overcome a collective “crisis of confidence.” Republican Ronald Reagan exploited Carter's lecturing tone with a belittling quip in their lone 1980 debate. “There you go again,” the former Hollywood actor said in response to a wonky answer from the sitting president. “The Great Communicator” outpaced Carter in all but six states. Carter later suggested he “tried to do too much, too soon” and mused that he was incompatible with Washington culture: media figures, lobbyists and Georgetown social elites who looked down on the Georgians and their inner circle as “country come to town.” Carter carefully navigated divides on race and class on his way to the Oval Office. Born Oct. 1, 1924 , Carter was raised in the mostly Black community of Archery, just outside Plains, by a progressive mother and white supremacist father. Their home had no running water or electricity but the future president still grew up with the relative advantages of a locally prominent, land-owning family in a system of Jim Crow segregation. He wrote of President Franklin Roosevelt’s towering presence and his family’s Democratic Party roots, but his father soured on FDR, and Jimmy Carter never campaigned or governed as a New Deal liberal. He offered himself as a small-town peanut farmer with an understated style, carrying his own luggage, bunking with supporters during his first presidential campaign and always using his nickname. And he began his political career in a whites-only Democratic Party. As private citizens, he and Rosalynn supported integration as early as the 1950s and believed it inevitable. Carter refused to join the White Citizens Council in Plains and spoke out in his Baptist church against denying Black people access to worship services. “This is not my house; this is not your house,” he said in a churchwide meeting, reminding fellow parishioners their sanctuary belonged to God. Yet as the appointed chairman of Sumter County schools he never pushed to desegregate, thinking it impractical after the Supreme Court’s 1954 Brown v. Board decision. And while presidential candidate Carter would hail the 1965 Voting Rights Act, signed by fellow Democrat Lyndon Johnson when Carter was a state senator, there is no record of Carter publicly supporting it at the time. Carter overcame a ballot-stuffing opponent to win his legislative seat, then lost the 1966 governor's race to an arch-segregationist. He won four years later by avoiding explicit mentions of race and campaigning to the right of his rival, who he mocked as “Cufflinks Carl” — the insult of an ascendant politician who never saw himself as part the establishment. Carter’s rural and small-town coalition in 1970 would match any victorious Republican electoral map in 2024. Once elected, though, Carter shocked his white conservative supporters — and landed on the cover of Time magazine — by declaring that “the time for racial discrimination is over.” Before making the jump to Washington, Carter befriended the family of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., whom he’d never sought out as he eyed the governor’s office. Carter lamented his foot-dragging on school integration as a “mistake.” But he also met, conspicuously, with Alabama's segregationist Gov. George Wallace to accept his primary rival's endorsement ahead of the 1976 Democratic convention. “He very shrewdly took advantage of his own Southerness,” said Amber Roessner, a University of Tennessee professor and expert on Carter’s campaigns. A coalition of Black voters and white moderate Democrats ultimately made Carter the last Democratic presidential nominee to sweep the Deep South. Then, just as he did in Georgia, he used his power in office to appoint more non-whites than all his predecessors had, combined. He once acknowledged “the secret shame” of white Americans who didn’t fight segregation. But he also told Alter that doing more would have sacrificed his political viability – and thus everything he accomplished in office and after. King's daughter, Bernice King, described Carter as wisely “strategic” in winning higher offices to enact change. “He was a leader of conscience,” she said in an interview. Rosalynn Carter, who died on Nov. 19 at the age of 96, was identified by both husband and wife as the “more political” of the pair; she sat in on Cabinet meetings and urged him to postpone certain priorities, like pressing the Senate to relinquish control of the Panama Canal. “Let that go until the second term,” she would sometimes say. The president, recalled her former aide Kathy Cade, retorted that he was “going to do what’s right” even if “it might cut short the time I have.” Rosalynn held firm, Cade said: “She’d remind him you have to win to govern.” Carter also was the first president to appoint multiple women as Cabinet officers. Yet by his own telling, his career sprouted from chauvinism in the Carters' early marriage: He did not consult Rosalynn when deciding to move back to Plains in 1953 or before launching his state Senate bid a decade later. Many years later, he called it “inconceivable” that he didn’t confer with the woman he described as his “full partner,” at home, in government and at The Carter Center. “We developed a partnership when we were working in the farm supply business, and it continued when Jimmy got involved in politics,” Rosalynn Carter told AP in 2021. So deep was their trust that when Carter remained tethered to the White House in 1980 as 52 Americans were held hostage in Tehran, it was Rosalynn who campaigned on her husband’s behalf. “I just loved it,” she said, despite the bitterness of defeat. Fair or not, the label of a disastrous presidency had leading Democrats keep their distance, at least publicly, for many years, but Carter managed to remain relevant, writing books and weighing in on societal challenges. He lamented widening wealth gaps and the influence of money in politics. He voted for democratic socialist Bernie Sanders over Hillary Clinton in 2016, and later declared that America had devolved from fully functioning democracy to “oligarchy.” Yet looking ahead to 2020, with Sanders running again, Carter warned Democrats not to “move to a very liberal program,” lest they help re-elect President Donald Trump. Carter scolded the Republican for his serial lies and threats to democracy, and chided the U.S. establishment for misunderstanding Trump’s populist appeal. He delighted in yearly convocations with Emory University freshmen, often asking them to guess how much he’d raised in his two general election campaigns. “Zero,” he’d gesture with a smile, explaining the public financing system candidates now avoid so they can raise billions. Carter still remained quite practical in partnering with wealthy corporations and foundations to advance Carter Center programs. Carter recognized that economic woes and the Iran crisis doomed his presidency, but offered no apologies for appointing Paul Volcker as the Federal Reserve chairman whose interest rate hikes would not curb inflation until Reagan's presidency. He was proud of getting all the hostages home without starting a shooting war, even though Tehran would not free them until Reagan's Inauguration Day. “Carter didn’t look at it” as a failure, Alter emphasized. “He said, ‘They came home safely.’ And that’s what he wanted.” Well into their 90s, the Carters greeted visitors at Plains’ Maranatha Baptist Church, where he taught Sunday School and where he will have his last funeral before being buried on family property alongside Rosalynn . Carter, who made the congregation’s collection plates in his woodworking shop, still garnered headlines there, calling for women’s rights within religious institutions, many of which, he said, “subjugate” women in church and society. Carter was not one to dwell on regrets. “I am at peace with the accomplishments, regret the unrealized goals and utilize my former political position to enhance everything we do,” he wrote around his 90th birthday. The politician who had supposedly hated Washington politics also enjoyed hosting Democratic presidential contenders as public pilgrimages to Plains became advantageous again. Carter sat with Buttigieg for the final time March 1, 2020, hours before the Indiana mayor ended his campaign and endorsed eventual winner Joe Biden. “He asked me how I thought the campaign was going,” Buttigieg said, recalling that Carter flashed his signature grin and nodded along as the young candidate, born a year after Carter left office, “put the best face” on the walloping he endured the day before in South Carolina. Never breaking his smile, the 95-year-old host fired back, “I think you ought to drop out.” “So matter of fact,” Buttigieg said with a laugh. “It was somehow encouraging.” Carter had lived enough, won plenty and lost enough to take the long view. “He talked a lot about coming from nowhere,” Buttigieg said, not just to attain the presidency but to leverage “all of the instruments you have in life” and “make the world more peaceful.” In his farewell address as president, Carter said as much to the country that had embraced and rejected him. “The struggle for human rights overrides all differences of color, nation or language,” he declared. “Those who hunger for freedom, who thirst for human dignity and who suffer for the sake of justice — they are the patriots of this cause.” Carter pledged to remain engaged with and for them as he returned “home to the South where I was born and raised,” home to Plains, where that young lieutenant had indeed become “a fellow citizen of the world.” —- Bill Barrow, based in Atlanta, has covered national politics including multiple presidential campaigns for the AP since 2012.
The man who ended Nadal's career helps the Netherlands beat Germany to reach the Davis Cup finalA former prominent Vancouver stock promoter residing in California has been sentenced to four months in jail and one year of supervised release for committing securities fraud through companies he directed in the U.S. In a federal court in Boston, Mass., on Wednesday, Avtar Singh Dhillon learned his fate from Judge Allison D. Burroughs after to wilful failure to disclose stock sales, aiding and abetting the sale of unregistered securities and conspiracy to not disclose touting compensation. Authorities had determined Dhillon and his corporate lawyer Daniel Martinez concealed ownership of shares for Boston-based Arch Therapeutics and New Jersey-based OncoSec Medical Inc. — two “fledgling” biotechnology companies Dhillon was chairman of the board for, between March 2011 and April 2020. Specifically, the U.S Attorney’s Office stated, Martinez made “misleading representations” directly and indirectly to stockbrokers in order to make it appear as if the shares held by Dhillon’s nominees were eligible for unrestricted sale to retail investors. Dhillon then clandestinely sold the shares for $2.1 million, profiting $1.5 million while Martinez gained just under $200,000. As such, Dhillon was ordered to repay $1.5 million as part of his guilty plea. Dhillon also participated in a securities conspiracy involving the non-disclosure of what the U.S. Attorney’s Office called , a subsidiary of Dhillon’s B.C.-based investment firm Emerald Health Sciences. Dhillon and the subsidiary (EHP) already settled fraud allegations in separate civil proceedings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) while Martinez pleaded guilty to criminal fraud in October 2023 and was sentenced to one year of supervised release. Dhillon faced the prospect of up to 63 months in prison; however, his recommended sentence was lowered to 18 months after pleading guilty and testifying against his former business associates in a contemporaneous civil complaint launched by the SEC, in August 2021. Assistant U.S. Attorney James Drabick noted Dhillon lied to the SEC twice under oath thus “digging his hole deeper.” Drabick said Dhillon and Martinez “were not equal partners” and “to be sure, Dhillon directed Martinez to take certain actions at certain times throughout the course of their criminal activity” and Martinez also never lied under oath. Drabick said Dhillon’s guilty plea and consideration for his two young children played a role in lowering the sentencing recommendation. But Burroughs was much more lenient on Wednesday after hearing from Dhillon, who resides in a US$12-million, 9,300-square-foot, yacht-lined waterfront home in Long Beach, Calif. “Avtar Singh Dhillon stands humbly before this Court, having reflected deeply on his conduct, anguished by the hurt to which he has exposed his daughter, son, and wife, and full of genuine remorse for the pain he has caused to his family, friends, and colleagues,” Dhillon wrote to the court in a pre-sentencing memorandum wherein he requested no prison time, no fine and two years of probation. Dhillon stated how he was not a U.S. citizen, unlike his wife Diljit Bains, and that “this case may ultimately have immigration consequences.” Bains stated in a letter to the court her husband’s crimes were contrary to the values she perceived himself to live by: “honesty, compassion, ambition, integrity, hard work, and the desire to make a positive impact on the world.” Bains hails from a prolific farming family, the daughter of the late “Peach King” Didar Bains, who has operations in B.C. Dhillon submitted, via his lawyer George W. Vien, that he wished to “rebuild and repair the relationships in his life, including within his family.” Dhillon, 63, touted a rags-to-riches type story, telling the court how he was disadvantaged as an immigrant child from Punjab growing up in Canada due to discrimination and bullying as well as a father troubled by alcohol-fuelled violence. But Dhillon overcame those disadvantages, working “in far-away fields under inhumane conditions” but ultimately graduating with a medical degree at the University of B.C. in 1988. However, after a short stint practising medicine, he turned to investment work in the 1990s and moved to the U.S. in 2001 before marrying Bains in 2004. Dhillon’s corporate work occurred largely in the medical and biotechnology fields after graduating from medical school. He once claimed, after an initial career as a medical doctor, to have raised more than $1 billion from investors. Dhillon is the past chairman of the Cannabis Canada Council and is a former member of the securities practice advisory committee to the B.C. Securities Commission. The commission has taken no regulatory action against him, to date. But south of the border, Dhillon had been subject to an intensive, widespread investigation from the SEC and Federal Bureau of Investigation for his part in an unprecedented and widespread $1-billion stock fraud scheme orchestrated, in part, from Vancouver, between 2011 and 2019, according to the authorities. In August 2021, the SEC filed a civil complaint against Dhillon, who only to finally admit to his part in the scheme and agree to testify against his associates, allowing him to avoid further criminal charges of obstruction. Dhillon testified in the civil trial that involved seven other B.C. residents since found liable of committing fraud. Some are facing criminal fraud charges in the U.S. Chief among them is former Vancouver lawyer and . to conceal shares for so-called “control groups” of individuals who secretly obtained vast amounts of shares of otherwise low-value public companies they secretly controlled. Dhillon testified in 2023 how he raised money for another of his companies OncoSec Biomedical from B.C. residents Paul Sexton, Mike Veldhuis — who face criminal fraud charges — as well as another former prominent Vancouver stock promoter David Sidoo. Sidoo is allegedly part of a separate control group led by former to what the U.S. Attorney’s Office called a “sprawling ‘pump-and-dump’ scheme involving the shares of numerous U.S.-based issuers that preyed on ordinary, retail investors.” The SEC charged Sidoo with civil fraud offences in April 2022, nearly two years after he was sentenced to jail for criminal wire fraud for his participation in the U.S. college admissions and bribery scandal. Sidoo’s own case involves other companies not associated with Dhillon. through B.C. company American Helium, which sold shares in U.S. markets. The allegations against Sidoo remain unproven as his trial is adjourned for the U.S. Attorney’s Office to clear up criminal cases of alleged co-conspirators (one of them being Bauer). Sidoo continues to reside in a home valued at about $35 million on Belmont Avenue in Vancouver’s West Point Grey neighbourhood near UBC; he has not been pursued by Canadian authorities. in monetary orders stemming from the SEC fraud complaint, albeit some are currently appealing the amounts and Sharp never responded to the SEC claiming he was not properly served. The residents are also contesting . Sharp has since been banned by the B.C. Securities Commission and owes the SEC US$52.9 million. As for Dhillon, , representing the net profits gained as a result of his fraud through OncoSec. He is also to pay US$1.3 million in interest. Of the US$10.4 million, US$1.5 million will be offset from his criminal sentence. Dhillon is also permanently banned from participating in penny stock trading (defined as any equity or security below a price of $5) and related business activity with public companies and stockbrokers in the U.S., although he is still free to conduct business in Canada. Dhillon also directed Vancouver-based medical marijuana company Emerald Health Therapeutics in the Lower Mainland before running afoul with the SEC in 2021. The company operated out of Richmond, where Dhillon leased land to it, according to company filings. Therapeutics was controlled by Emerald Health Sciences, whose shareholders include companies alleged to be controlled by Sharp, Sexton, Taylor and Delta resident Jackson Friesen (also facing criminal charges). One of Therapeutics’ co-founders is Dhillon’s nephew Yadvinder Singh Kallu, a U.S.- who was sentenced to nine years in a New York federal prison in 1999 after being caught running drugs and cash in Los Angeles for a transnational organized crime network. Kallu was able to obtain Health Canada medical marijuana growing licences for Therapeutics along with his brother Kris Kallu, on their parents’ property in Richmond. Meanwhile, Dhillon touted the company’s on his Richmond farm property. Therapeutics has since been absorbed by Skye Bioscience Inc., a company now being investigated by California law firms, including , for alleged securities fraud after being sued by a whistle-blowing employee. Two years prior to the Skye takeover, the Kallu property associated with Therapeutics was raided by Delta police in October 2020 under and is now subject to a civil forfeiture claim by the provincial government after police asserted an illegal marijuana grow-op was taking place under the guise of a medical marijuana company. Police have linked the grow-op to organized crime, including the Hells Angels. Notably, Sharp; Courtney Vasseur now . Evidence tendered by the SEC purports to show text messages from Sharp to an associate cautioning the associate to the risk of leaving evidence of money laundering for the Hells Angels: "On aug 12 u wrote a draft for grand yachts against cash. Cld u pls explain to me how this is legitimate payment? My concern is money laundering: hells angels gives us cash, we give them a draft to buy a boat. Later, boat is seized, polic investigate, find out charterhouse paid for it; visit us and ask why. What will u say?" With respect to Dhillon’s family, it is his nephew Kris Kallu who is suing Dhillon and Emerald Health Sciences, claiming the firm was a “sham” to serve as a “conduit for undisclosed payments” for chosen shareholders. Kris Kallu claims he was Therapeutics' co-founder and cultivator, using his blueberry farming skills, however a falling out took place in 2018 over share compensation. It was the September 2021 indictments against Dhillon and Sharp that also led Kris Kallu to use a 2019 Emerald securities registry to email shareholders about the proceedings. As a result, Emerald .
NoneThe San Francisco 49ers traveled to Green Bay, Wisconsin, in Week 12, to face off against the Green Bay Packers. San Francisco has been quite streaky throughout the season, currently holding a 5-5 record, coming off a Week 11 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. While they have dealt with ample injuries to key players like Brock Purdy and Christian McCaffrey, there have been a couple of consistent contributors, like George Kittle and Kyle Juszczyk, who have held down the fort. Before Kittle and Juszczyk took the field in Week 12, their wives, Claire Kittle and Kristin Juszczyk, took to social media to show off their custom game day outfits. They were wearing matching red snow suits, each with their husband's name and number embellished on the outfit. They were also both wearing snow boots and a pair of black sunglasses. View the original article to see embedded media. Some fans commented on the matching outfits, seemingly loving the look from the 49ers' stars' wives. "I love it," said Christian McCaffrey's wife, Olivia Culpo. "Now this is iconic," said another fan with a fire emoji. "These are so cute!!" mentioned another fan with two fire emojis. "Lucky suits! Let's go!!" commented one fan. "These are amazing on all fronts! Love it!" said one fan. "Amazing! Perfect cold weather outfit!!!" said another fan with a fire emoji. Kyle Terada-Imagn Images The 49ers entered Week 12 as 4.5-point underdogs, per CBS Sports . The money line for the game was set at Green Bay went into the matchup with a 7-3 record, having won five of its last six games. The Packers have only lost to teams above .500: the Minnesota Vikings, Philadelphia Eagles and Detroit Lions. Related: Brittany Mahomes Shows Off Outfit For Chiefs-Panthers Game Related: Fans React to Gracie Hunt's Outfit for Chiefs-Panthers Game
Hennessy Advisors, Inc. Announces Listing Transfer for the Hennessy Stance ESG ETF (STNC) to The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC
Shares of ACON S2 Acquisition Corp. ( OTCMKTS:STWOU – Get Free Report ) rose 8.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $8.58 and last traded at $8.48. Approximately 6,700 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 57% from the average daily volume of 15,569 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.84. ACON S2 Acquisition Stock Up 8.2 % The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $8.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $8.48. ACON S2 Acquisition Company Profile ( Get Free Report ) ACON S2 Acquisition Corp. does not have significant operations. It intends to effect a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, recapitalization, reorganization, or similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities. The company was incorporated in 2020 and is based in Washington, District of Columbia. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for ACON S2 Acquisition Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for ACON S2 Acquisition and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .Johnson 0-1 0-0 0, Lampkin 7-13 3-3 17, Deck 5-7 2-3 13, Hardaway 3-5 2-4 9, Wooten 9-13 3-6 23, Talley 3-5 0-0 7, Brackens 0-0 0-0 0, Brannon 0-0 0-0 0, McGrew 0-2 0-0 0, Moore 0-1 0-0 0, Price 0-1 0-0 0, Totals 27-48 10-16 69 Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Known across the globe as the stuck astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams hit the six-month mark in space Thursday with two more to go. The pair rocketed into orbit on June 5 , the first to ride Boeing's new Starliner crew capsule on what was supposed to be a weeklong test flight. They arrived at the International Space Station the next day, only after overcoming a cascade of thruster failures and helium leaks . NASA deemed the capsule too risky for a return flight, so it will be February before their long and trying mission comes to a close. While NASA managers bristle at calling them stuck or stranded, the two retired Navy captains shrug off the description of their plight. They insist they're fine and accepting of their fate. Wilmore views it as a detour of sorts: "We're just on a different path." NASA astronauts Suni Williams, left, and Butch Wilmore stand together for a photo June 5 as they head to the launch pad at Space Launch Complex 41 in Cape Canaveral, Fla., for their liftoff on the Boeing Starliner capsule to the International Space Station. "I like everything about being up here," Williams told students Wednesday from an elementary school named for her in Needham, Massachusetts, her hometown. "Just living in space is super fun." Both astronauts lived up there before, so they quickly became full-fledged members of the crew, helping with science experiments and chores like fixing a broken toilet, vacuuming the air vents and watering the plants. Williams took over as station commander in September. "Mindset does go a long way," Wilmore said in response to a question from Nashville first graders in October. He's from Mount Juliet, Tennessee. "I don't look at these situations in life as being downers." Boeing flew its Starliner capsule home empty in September, and NASA moved Wilmore and Williams to a SpaceX flight not due back until late February. Two other astronauts were bumped to make room and to keep to a six-month schedule for crew rotations. Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts Butch Wilmore, left, and Suni Williams pose for a portrait June 13 inside the vestibule between the forward port on the International Space Station's Harmony module and Boeing's Starliner spacecraft. Like other station crews, Wilmore and Williams trained for spacewalks and any unexpected situations that might arise. "When the crews go up, they know they could be there for up to a year," NASA Associate Administrator Jim Free said. NASA astronaut Frank Rubio found that out the hard way when the Russian Space Agency had to rush up a replacement capsule for him and two cosmonauts in 2023, pushing their six-month mission to just past a year. Boeing said this week that input from Wilmore and Williams was "invaluable" in the ongoing inquiry of what went wrong. The company said it is preparing for Starliner's next flight but declined to comment on when it might launch again. NASA also has high praise for the pair. "Whether it was luck or whether it was selection, they were great folks to have for this mission," NASA's chief health and medical officer, Dr. JD Polk, said during an interview with The Associated Press. NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, both Expedition 71 flight engineers, make pizza Sept. 9 aboard the International Space Station's galley located inside the Unity module. Items are attached to the galley using tape and Velcro to keep them from flying away in the microgravity environment. On top of everything else, Williams, 59, had to deal with "rumors," as she calls them, of serious weight loss. She insists her weight is the same as it was on launch day, which Polk confirms. During Wednesday's student chat, Williams said she didn't have much of an appetite when she first arrived in space. But now she's "super hungry" and eating three meals a day plus snacks, while logging the required two hours of daily exercise. Williams, a distance runner, uses the space station treadmill to support races in her home state. She competed in Cape Cod's 7-mile Falmouth Road Race in August. She ran the 2007 Boston Marathon up there as well. She has a New England Patriots shirt with her for game days, as well as a Red Sox spring training shirt. "Hopefully I'll be home before that happens — but you never know," she said in November. Husband Michael Williams, a retired federal marshal and former Navy aviator, is caring for their dogs back home in Houston. As for Wilmore, 61, he's missing his younger daughter's senior year in high school and his older daughter's theater productions in college. The astronauts in the video seemed to be in good spirits with one stating, “It’s gonna be delicious.” (Scripps News) "We can't deny that being unexpectedly separated, especially during the holidays when the entire family gets together, brings increased yearnings to share the time and events together," his wife, Deanna Wilmore, told the AP in a text this week. Her husband "has it worse than us" since he's confined to the space station and can only connect via video for short periods. "We are certainly looking forward to February!!" she wrote. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, with a crew of two astronauts, lifts off from launch pad 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara) A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, with a crew of two astronauts, lifts off from launch pad 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara) NASA astronaut Nick Hague, left, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, left, gives a thumbs up as they leave the Operations and Checkout Building on their way to Launch Complex 40 for a mission to the International Space Station Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024 at Cape Canaveral, Fla., (AP Photo/John Raoux) NASA astronaut Nick Hague, right, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov leave the Operations and Checkout building for a trip to the launch pad 40 Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara) NASA astronaut Nick Hague, right, talks to his family members as Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov looks on after leaving the Operations and Checkout building for a trip to the launch pad 40 Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. Two astronauts are beginning a mission to the International Space Station. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara) In this image from video provided by NASA, Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, left, and astronaut Nick Hague travel inside a SpaceX capsule en route to the International Space Station after launching from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (NASA via AP) A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, with a crew of two astronauts, lifts off from launch pad 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara) A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, with a crew of two astronauts, lifts off from launch pad 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara) A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with a crew of two lifts off from launch pad 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024 at Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux) The Falcon 9's first stage booster returns to Landing Zone 1 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024 at Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux) A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with a crew of two lifts off from launch pad 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024 at Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux) Get local news delivered to your inbox!Texans add Pro Bowl wide receiver Diontae Johnson after devastating injury to Tank DellConor McGregor launches furious rant with three-word vow after losing assault case
State, national officials remember Jimmy Carter
NASA's stuck astronauts hit 6 months in space. Just 2 more to goNothing's guaranteed, but Bucs need to win out to give themselves best shot to make the playoffsFormer Chicago Alderman Daniel Solis returned to the Everett McKinley U.S. Courthouse Monday. Solis is facing one federal count of bribery under a deferred prosecution agreement. The ex-alderman began cooperating with federal investigators in 2016. Separately Monday, former Chicago Alderman Daniel Solis, former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and Madigan codefendant Michael McClain enter the federal court building in Chicago Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. U.S. government attorney Diane MacArthur first introduced a recording of Madigan and Solis nearly two years before the alderman started cooperating with the government. The recording involved a conversation with Chinese developer, See Wong, who wanted to build a hotel on a parcel of land in Chicago’s Chinatown neighborhood. The land was owned by the state of Illinois at the time, but Solis said a zoning change would be required from the city in order for a hotel to be built. At Madigan’s request, Solis said he facilitated the meeting on Aug. 8, 2014, at Madigan’s law firm, Madigan and Getzendanner, about the land along Wentworth Avenue between Archer Avenue and Cermak Road. Madigan’s law partner, Bud Getzendanner, discussed how successful the firm had been in working with hotels to make sure they were not taxed more than necessary. ”A large component of your expense for hotels is real estate taxes,” Getzendanner said during the recorded meeting. Getzendanner said the firm charged 12.5% of the tax savings obtained. Madigan told Wong and an interpreter about the quality of service his firm provided. “We don’t take a second seat to anybody,” Madigan said. The developer then asked for a picture with Madigan and Solis. Solis told the group that Wong would benefit from working with Madigan. “If he works with the Speaker, he will get anything he needs for that hotel,” Solis said on the recording. Solis testified that he meant the city would provide the zoning change the developer needed from the city if the developer hired Madigan’s law firm. Solis said the zoning change was approved, but the proposed hotel was never built. MacArthur asked Solis about the bribery charge he is still facing, which Solis said involved the redevelopment of a property in Chicago from a restaurant to a residential building in 2015. Solis said two problems prevented the project from moving forward: labor unions’ perceived lack of representation in the development and residents' concerns in the ward. The former alderman admitted that he solicited a campaign contribution from the developer or from one or more of the developer’s vendors while the project’s zoning change was still under consideration. Solis said he believed the developer was on board and that he would be getting donations from the developers’ vendors. The zoning change was approved by the city council, Solis said. He testified he solicited and accepted campaign contributions from other developers who had matters pending before the city council’s zoning committee. Solis then testified about about a variety of things like massages that turned sexual, trips to Las Vegas, tickets to professional sporting events, no-paperwork six-figure loans he'd paid back. He even admitted to an extramarital affair he had with an interpreter. Solis said he was separated from his wife for about five years and their house went into foreclosure. He also confessed that he lied to a collection agency by saying he was out of work. MacArthur asked Solis about his sister, Patti Solis Doyle, who worked on campaigns for former Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, former President Bill Clinton and former U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton, D-New York. Solis Doyle also managed Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign in 2008. Solis said his sister was involved in a hotel project in which the developer offered her $100,000. Solis said his sister offered to split the sum with her brother. As chairman of the city’s zoning committee, Solis said he told his sister he could not accept money regarding a hotel development. Solis said his sister told him there would be another way she could compensate him. The former alderman said he did receive funds from his sister for referring her to his friend Brian Hynes’ state vendor assistance program. Monday afternoon, Solis testified that FBI agents visited his home on June 1, 2016, and played audio and video recordings. After considering an attorney, Solis said he decided to cooperate with the FBI a few days later and agreed to let investigators tap his phone. Solis also said he told an attorney friend that he was cooperating with the FBI in regard to an investigation of an organization he was involved in. Solis said he made recordings for several investigations he was involved in as part of his deferred prosecution agreement. He began communicating with Madigan after receiving a voicemail message on June 12, 2017. Solis said he discussed the Chinatown land deal, his interest in getting a state board appointment, and referring clients to Madigan’s law firm while cooperating with the government from June 2016 to December 2017. Solis admitted that he was not really interested in a state board appointment, but he raised the issue with Madigan at the direction of law enforcement. Solis said he began communicating with Madigan codefendant Michael McClain about the Chinatown parcel in the fall of 2017. He said he had to continue to perform his duties as an alderman while cooperating with the FBI because of “the farce” that he was involved in. Solis discussed a 2017 redevelopment project that required a zoning change involving a Union West development in Chicago’s West Loop. MacArthur played a recording, dated June 12, 2017, of Madigan asking Solis about the development. During the call, Solis told the speaker he would try to arrange an introduction for Madigan with the developers. In a subsequent call, Solis promised to arrange a meeting and said, “I think these guys get it, the quid pro quo and how it works.” When MacArthur asked Solis why he said that, Solis said he didn’t know and said it was “dumb.” MacArthur asked Solis if he used the words “quid pro quo” at the direction of law enforcement. “No,” Solis said. Union West developer Andrew Cretal agreed to meet with Madigan and told Solis, “confidentially,” that his company was working with Goldman Sachs as an equity partner and that he would “circle back” with Solis. MacArthur played a recording of Madigan privately telling Solis not to use the words, “quid quo pro.” The conversation immediately preceded the meeting Cretal and the Union West group had at Madigan's and Getzendanner’s law office. During the meeting, Madigan repeated to Cretal’s group what he had said to See Wong. “We don’t take a second seat to anybody,” Madigan said. Solis said he met with Madigan again privately after the meeting with the intention of discussing the Chinatown parcel. Solis said he had been having frequent meetings about the land with potential developers. During the recording, Solis said that nothing could really happen until the state transferred the land. Connie Mixon, professor of Political Science and director of the Urban Studies Program at Elmhurst University, served as an expert witness at the corruption trial of longtime Chicago Democrat Ed Burke, who served on the city council from 1969 to 2023. A jury convicted Burke in December 2023 on 18 counts of racketeering, bribery, attempted extortion and conspiracy to commit extortion and using interstate commerce to facilitate an unlawful activity. Mixon said that Solis also testified as a cooperating witness during Burke’s trial. “It seemed as if, in the sentencing for the Burke trial, the judge did take a bit of exception to the fact that Solis, who also had potential criminal charges, was essentially getting away without any sort of repercussions,” Mixon told The Center Square. Mixon described Solis as a damaged witness. “He’s absolutely damaged, but as much as he’s damaged, you have the words on the wiretap. Having the defendants’ words played in the courtroom, they are really the witness against themselves when you have those wiretaps,” Mixon explained. Before the jury was seated Monday morning, prosecutors said they would provide the court with revised jury instructions by Dec. 3. Judge John Robert Blakey said he could deny admittance of new materials after that date if he deemed them to be untimely. Madigan and McClain are charged with 23 counts of bribery, racketeering and official misconduct. The trial is scheduled to resume Tuesday morning in Chicago.