
North Carolina GOP lawmakers enact a law eroding the incoming Democratic governor's powersA couple connected to the kidnapping and murder of a 13-year-old girl from Kalyan was in police custody for further investigation until two days ago. The incident has now sparked political tussles in Kalyan, with leaders trading accusations against one another. Mahesh Gaikwad, a former leader of Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena in Kalyan, has alleged that BJP’s ex-MLA Ganpat Gaikwad helped the accused secure bail. Mahesh claimed that the release of the accused emboldened them, leading to this heinous crime. He further stated in the media that he and the citizens of Kalyan would not remain silent until the accused received the death penalty or justice was served. He warned of a massive agitation if Chief Minister Eknath Shinde fails to act. Additionally, Mahesh demanded an increase in police presence in Kalyan East, which has a dense population, and accused the BJP of supporting the accused, claiming that their actions encouraged lawlessness. In response, Nana Suryavanshi, a BJP leader, denied any connection between the accused, Vishal Gawli, and the BJP. He clarified that Gawli is not a BJP worker and that joining the party requires a formal process, which Gawli had not completed. Nana also alleged that Mahesh Gaikwad’s name appeared on Gawli’s social media page, suggesting a potential link to the Shiv Sena leader. Nana stated, "We do not want to politicize this serious case." Furthermore, BJP leader Amarjeet Mishra announced ₹1 lakh in financial aid for the victim’s family. Police sources revealed that the medical examination of the main accused, Vishal Gawli, and his wife, Sakshi Gawli, was conducted at Central Hospital in Ulhasnagar on Friday. Statements from the accused were recorded during the examination. Authorities are also investigating a medical certificate that reportedly declared Vishal mentally ill. The police arrested Sakshi Gawli in Kalyan on Tuesday night, while Vishal was apprehended in Shegaon, Buldhana, on Wednesday. Sakshi, Vishal’s third wife, worked at a private bank. According to Senior Police Inspector Ashok Kadam, Vishal Gawli is a history-sheeter with four prior cases, including charges of sexual assault, outraging the modesty of women, and bodily offenses. The police initially registered an FIR under Section 137 (kidnapping) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). After the girl’s body was found, additional charges under BNS Section 103(1) (murder), 140(1), 65(2), 66, 238, and relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act were added to the case.
ArtMarie/E+ via Getty Images The remittance market accounts for more than 0.8% of the global GDP. In the United States alone, more than $79.15 billion were transferred in remittances in 2022 , and for countries such as Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, and no plans to initiate any such positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.
If you’re looking to spread a little Christmas cheer over the holidays, these white elephant gifts will bring plenty of smiles and laughs. While not the traditional heartfelt gifts of Christmas, a white elephant gift is meant to poke a little fun and create some giggles. These outlandish gifts often playfully tease about a quirky personality trait or hobby — giving you an opportunity to have a little fun for the holidays. So, no matter if you’re shopping for your co-worker, friend, or family, we’ve curated some of the top white elephant gifts you can snag on Amazon. These gag gifts are sure to cause some massive giggles and jabs in all the right places when these. big surprises are opened for Christmas. White Elephant gifts you can get at the last minute on Amazon Here are some of our favorite white elephant gifts to give for Christmas this year and even a few to keep on hand as a hearty joke throughout the year. Amazon Price: $14 Keep the tunes rolling with this vintage-style AirPods Pro cassette tape case cover that protects and hopefully prevents misplacing those earbuds over the holidays.. Amazon Price: $50 Create some magic this Christmas by giving an abstract art piece with this LEGO building set . Amazon Price: $14, instead of $15 This blast from the past toy answers those difficult life questions with a nostalgic shake or you can “ask again later.” Amazon Price: $10, instead of $13 We’re not “golfing” around with this gift that will keep that golf pro’s putting game sharp with golf clubs that double as pens, miniature golf balls and a golf course gift box. Amazon Price: $14, instead of $20 This retro gift is perfect for the music fan. They can rock out to their favorite tunes while these throwback record coasters , with vinyl record player holder, prevent a party mishap. Amazon Price: $10 Yes, there’s such a thing and that pickle-loving freak on your list will savor every bite of this pickle-flavored treat . Amazon Price: $14, instead of $45 This bestselling cookbook will be a hit with foodies “for shizzle.” Amazon Price: $40, instead of $50 Your friends will think this gift is “bananas” when they take calls and play music on this Bluetooth handset . Plus, this “appealing present” can be bought in a bunch of three . Amazon Price: $15 This addicting game will keep them busy during the holidays with the limitless ability to stack these fuzzies from head to toe. Amazon Price: $19 Any cat parent will adore this microwave heating pad in the shape of a cat to help knead out those sore muscles — minus the claws. Grinch Socks Amazon Price: $8 (20% off coupon available) There’s a Grinch in every family and you can surprise yours with these festive socks for Christmas. Amazon Price: $15 This is the perfect Christmas present for the person who can’t ever decide what they want to eat. With a quick roll of the dice , this gag gift will prevent arguments and hunger pains. Amazon Price: $20, instead of $25 This bicycle pizza cutter will cruise its way into the heart of every pizza lover and we “crust” you’ll love giving it as a Christmas gift this year too. Amazon Price $25 The ideal card game for a family member who has an opinion about everything. Amazon Price: $25 There’s an artist in all of us, and this Bob Ross Chia Pet will inspire anyone’s creative side this Christmas. Amazon Price: $14 For the person on your list that has it all and says they don’t want anything for Christmas. This gift is literally — nothing . Amazon Price: $20 He’s got a million of them and now he’ll have even more dad jokes on demand with the push of a button. Amazon Price: $19, instead of $23 Gift this kitchen helper to the family cook to ward off vampires all year long, with a simple twist at mealtime. Amazon Price: $25, instead of $28 The cookie monster in the family can indulge on their OREO obsession with this dunking kit that includes cookies, a mug, a cookie holder, tongs, and a napkin. Amazon Price: $15, instead of $35 There’s no “bats” about it, that wine-lover friend will appreciate the thought put into this batty gift. Amazon Price: $53, instead of $100 (5% off coupon available) This not-so-subtle eye massager may look futuristic, but its stress-reliving abilities will comfort the tired eyes of a friend. The Best Gift Guides of 2024 Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com . Dawn Magyar can be reached at dmagyar@njadvancemedia.com . Have a tip? Tell us at nj.com/tips .NoneKTTA stock touches 52-week low at $2.72 amid market challenges
Tech dominated the headlines this year, with the rise of AI being felt across the globe. There were also major outages, data breaches, and the biggest fine ever handed out to a technology company. In January, Hyundai unveiled the S-A2, an electric five-seat aircraft concept – essentially a flying taxi. The model was shown at the 2024 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. It's designed for short, faster urban trips and could hit the commercial market in 2028. Joining 2024's flying car trend is Chinese car maker XPeng. In November, the brand announced further updates to its battery-powered helicopter X2, hinting the product could land in Australia as soon as 2026. In April, half of the Australian population was impacted by a cyberattack on escript provider, MediSecure. At least 12.9 million Australians had their details compromised, making the hack bigger than the Optus and Medibank data breaches in 2022. The company found out about the hack in April but didn't notify the public until May. It was also unknown what data had been compromised, with at least 6.5 terabytes stolen – the equivalent of billions of pages of text. Medisecure was later placed into administration. "The investigation indicated that 6.5TB of data stored on the server was likely exfiltrated by a malicious third-party actor, however the encrypted server could not be examined to ascertain the information specifically accessed," administrators said. The CrowdStrike outage was one of the biggest global IT outages of 2024. The glitch, which was caused by a faulty software update, occurred on July 19, and affected computers running Microsoft Windows. The issue caused many Windows users to get locked into BSOD (blue screen of death) cycles, with the same problem hitting the likes of self-service checkouts at supermarkets, airport check-in screens, ordering terminals at fast food restaurants, and media broadcasting systems. The glitch led to thousands of flight cancellations in Australia and across the world. The "blue screen of death" even impacted checkouts at major supermarkets Coles and Woolworths. Then-home affairs minister Clare O'Neil described the incident as a "very serious incident for the Australian economy," but praised the swift response of businesses and the government. The new Sydney Metro trains took their first passengers on August 19. The driverless trains marked a new era of public transport for the city, with the M1 metro extending travel from Chatswood to Sydenham. The Metro carried more than 1.4 million passengers across the line in its first week, with an average of 210,000 metro trips per day. Technology giant Nvidia suffered an astounding $415 billion loss in a single day, on September 5. The AI chipmaking giant was briefly the world's most valuable company after last year topping $4.9 trillion in value — the highest for any public company. But the share price plummeted shaving a remarkable $415 billion off the company's value, outpacing the previous record of $356 billion, which was set by Meta in 2022. Kids suffered after the Sony PlayStation Network experienced a global outage – going down on the second day of the spring school holidays. Downdetector had over a thousand reports from Australian users who said they had a problem. Australia was named the world's most AI-addicted country. Australia made more than 38 million searches using ChatGPT and Gemini, at a rate of 1.42 searches per person. Elon Musk offered a sneak peak of Tesla's Optimus robot. Musk unveiled a prototype at a Tesla conference dubbed "We, Robot". "Optimus is your personal R2D2 / C3PO, but better," Tesla spruiked. "It will also transform physical labor in industrial settings." Musk has promised the technology would be able to "teach, walk your dog, or baby sit your kids". Kim Kardashian even embraced the futuristic technology and shared a video of her Tesla Optimus bot to Musk's platform, X. "Meet my new friend," she wrote . A world-first AI program, ResQvision , was developed to aid patrols at Australian beaches this summer. The AI technology distinguishes between waders, swimmers who are OK, and swimmers who are in distress. Surf lifesaver Alex Piatek and his friends Bryan Pakulski and Julian Kovacek came up with the idea after witnessing a man almost drown. "As a volunteer lifesaver myself, my passion for preventing these tragedies led to the invention of ResQvision," Piatek said. "Ready for a summer rollout, this technology has the potential to significantly improve beach safety not just in Australia, but globally." On October 29, Google's AI Overview search results rolled out in Australia. The technology provides AI-generated answers, sourced from multiple websites, when a query is typed into Google. Google Overview differs from ChatGPT as it attributes where the information has been sourced from. On November 11, Russia fined Google more than $20,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 - more money than what exists in the entire global economy. Google owes the Kremlin more than 2 undecillion rubles — a 2 followed by 36 zeroes — after refusing to pay fines that are now accruing for blocking pro-Russian channels on YouTube. Throughout the same month, millions of disgruntled X users began flocking to Bluesky . The social media platform grew from Twitter before billionaire Elon Musk took over in 2022 and rebranded it as X. The platform bears resemblance to X and even features a "discover" feed as well as a chronological feed for accounts that users follow.
Eight years and $10 billion later, GM has decided to on its grand robotaxi experiment. The automaker’s CEO, Mary Barra, made the surprise announcement late on Tuesday, arguing that a shared autonomous mobility service was never really in its “core business.” and had too many regulatory hurdles to overcome to make it a viable revenue stream. Instead, GM would pivot to “privately owned” driverless cars — because, after all, that’s what the people really wanted. “Customers like to drive,” Barra said in a call with investors. “And there’s times they don’t like to drive.” If some of this sounds familiar, Ford essentially made the same decision two years ago when it , the autonomous driving startup it had financed since 2017. It cited as one of its reasons — often described as Level 3 or Level 3-plus — will have more near-term payoffs. Automakers are tapping out of the robotaxi business Automakers are tapping out of the robotaxi business. With all the , the auto industry has decided to cut its losses on autonomous mobility. Only one transformational, prohibitively expensive, once-in-a-generation shift at a time. “I think this is more a recognition that autonomous vehicle technology is going to take a decade or more to provide driverless rides at a national scale,” said Phil Koopman, an AV expert from Carnegie Mellon University. “GM decided that they would rather make money selling private cars while waiting for the technology to mature than continue to invest billions of dollars standing up robotaxi businesses city by city.” To be sure, there’s been a lot of technological progress. Not too long ago, Cruise had across San Francisco. The company even said it was of winning government approval to deploy its in a bid to move even more people. But Cruise moved too aggressively, and it paid the price. The company had 5 million miles of real-world testing under its belt, but the embarrassing incidents were starting to pile up. Its driverless vehicles were blocking traffic or in San Francisco. The city’s fire chief said that the vehicles were “not ready for prime time,” citing over six dozen incidents in which robotaxis interfered with fire trucks. “GM decided that they would rather make money selling private cars while waiting for the technology to mature” Behind the scenes, Cruise was also a mess. The company’s first CEO, Dan Ammann, after sparring with Barra over the future direction of the company. Barra thought GM should be using Cruise’s technology to power everything from luxury self-driving Cadillacs to commercial vans, . Ammann wanted to get the robotaxi service right before spreading resources to other parts of the company. He also wanted to take Cruise public so it could use its public stock to lure in top talent. Barra wanted to keep it in-house, so GM could eventually reap the rewards. Meanwhile, Cruise was continuing to rack up huge losses. The robotaxi subsidiary lost a staggering $3.48 billion in 2023. Kyle Vogt, Cruise cofounder and Amman’s successor as CEO, was under mounting pressure to expand the service and bring in more money to help cover the losses. Plus, he was directly competing with Alphabet’s Waymo, which had more vehicles and seemingly better technology. And Google’s parent company was more willing to spend billions of dollars, without any near-term profits, to win the robotaxi race. With the screws tightening, Vogt publicly drew a line in the sand: Cruise would bring in . Instead, Cruise never made it to the end of 2024. It all culminated in an incident on October 7th, 2023, when a Cruise vehicle in San Francisco struck and dragged a pedestrian over 20 feet, seriously injuring her. The victim was initially struck by a hit-and-run driver, . Cruise disclosed to regulators that its vehicle had struck a pedestrian but about the accident. As a result, the California DMV suspended the company’s permit to operate self-driving cars in the state, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration the Securities and Exchange Commission launched separate investigations. Cruise later agreed to a . But more importantly, the incident damaged Cruise’s effort to . San Francisco residents were already annoyed by the frequency with which the company’s cars were blocking their intersections and bumping into their emergency vehicles. Urbanists and supporters of car-free transportation were peeved at the suggestion that robot cars, and not fewer cars altogether, were what was needed to improve street safety. And regulators didn’t like being misled about a dangerous incident. The incident damaged Cruise’s effort to win the public’s trust But even in the aftermath of the pedestrian-dragging event, GM still stuck with Cruise. It wasn’t until the automaker realized it going to have to take a that Cruise was ultimately cut loose. “Total ownership by a century old manufacturing giant controlled by stock buyback-seeking value investors was never going to be successful,” Ray Wert, former communications director at Cruise, . Ex-CEO Vogt was even more succinct: “In case it was unclear before, it is clear now: GM are a bunch of dummies.,” . With Cruise out of the picture, aiming to prove that robotaxis can work in the real world. (Amazon’s Zoox and Hyundai’s Motional are also still in the game, albeit far behind Waymo.) Tesla is also pursuing its own , which it claims will launch in 2026. Meanwhile, GM will tackle a new risky experiment: . GM knows how to sell cars to people, and the company already has a hands-free highway driving feature called Super Cruise. Why not just leverage Cruise’s fully autonomous technology to make Super Cruise even better? GM may have to develop a partially autonomous system that covers “95 percent” of driving scenarios, but it still thinks that people want a fully autonomous car of their own — on their own terms. “I think the application of what the customer wants in a privately owned vehicle is very different,” Barra said on Tuesday. “But I also think... there’s a lot of commonality [with Cruise’s technology]. How it seamlessly moves back and forth, I think is something different in a personal autonomous vehicle.” “I think the application of what the customer wants in a privately owned vehicle is very different” Driver-assistance technologies, especially so-called Level 3 systems, carry their own risks. There have been studies that show that the handoff between a partially automated system and a human driver can be especially fraught. When people have been disconnected from driving for a longer period of time, they may overreact when suddenly taking control in an emergency situation. They may overcorrect steering, brake too hard, or be unable to respond correctly because they haven’t been paying attention. And those actions can create a domino effect that has the potential to be dangerous — perhaps even fatal. The safety implications are enormous, as are the liability concerns. GM may eventually decide that robotaxis aren’t such a bad bet after all. /ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Cornerback Taron Johnson is still agitated over the dud the Buffalo Bills defense produced in giving up season worsts in points and yards, while melting down on third down in a loss to the Los Angeles Rams last weekend. There’s no better time or opportunity to show how much better they are than this Sunday. That’s when the Bills (10-3) travel to play the NFC-leading Detroit Lions (12-1), who just happen to lead the NFL in scoring and feature the same dynamic style of offense as the Rams. “I think our mindset is just going to be attack,” Johnson said after practice Wednesday. “We can’t wait to play Sunday just to prove people wrong and prove to ourselves that how we played wasn’t who we are.” The Bills acknowledge having several excuses to lean on for — riding a little too high after a division-clinching win, a cross-country trip and facing a more driven opponent in the thick of a playoff race. What’s unacceptable is the hesitancy their usually reliable defensive backs showed in coverage and the lack of pressure applied by their defensive front. The bright side is the substandard performance potentially serving as a late-season reminder of this not being the time to let their foot off the gas. “A lot of teams have scars on their way to having a darn good season. And we’re having a darn good season,” coach Sean McDermott said. “So what has to be in front of us this week is the opportunity that’s in front of us, quite frankly, to challenge that team,” he added, referring to Detroit. “You better bring your heart, you better bring your guts, you better put it on the line.” With a little bit of added fire, the Bills are going back to the basics on defense following an outing in which very little went right. The defense was off-balance from the start in being unable to stop the run, before eventually being picked apart in the passing game while allowing the Rams to score on each of their first six drives (not including a kneel-down to close the first half) in building a 38-21 lead. The most frustrating part was Buffalo’s inability to get off the field while allowing the Rams to convert 11 of 15 third-down chances. LA’s 73.3% third-down conversion rate was the third highest against Buffalo — and worst since Miami converted 75% of its chances in 1986 — since the stat was introduced to NFL gamebooks in 1973. “The recipe to lose a football game is what we did (Sunday) and it starts with me, first and foremost,” defensive coordinator Bobby Babich said Monday. “Move on and let it not happen again. Let it be a learning lesson. Failure is the best teacher.” The challenge is preparing for an exceptionally balanced Lions offense that ranks fourth in the NFL in both rushing and passing, and averaging 32.1 points per outing. The objective, McDermott said, is to not overcorrect but stick to the fundamentals that led to Buffalo winning seven straight before losing to Los Angeles. He placed an emphasis on winning at the line of scrimmage and forcing takeaways, something Buffalo failed to do last weekend for the first time this season. A little more urgency, would help, too. “It is a mentality. It is an attitude, and if you want to play good defense, that’s where it starts,” McDermott said. “There’s not a lot of shortcuts or ways around it. It’s got to be a mentality.” The message resonated even on offense, where quarterback while becoming the NFL’s first player to throw three touchdown passes and rush for three more scores. “It was a case of you saw a team that’s fighting for their lives to try to make the playoffs in the Los Angeles Rams, and they came out ready to play. And maybe we didn’t have that type of urgency,” Allen said. “It forces us to know that we’ve got to be better. We know that.” NOTES: LB Baylon Spector (calf) and DE Dawuane Smoot (wrist) returned to practice Wednesday, opening their 21-day windows to be activated off IR. ... Starting CB Rasul Douglas did not practice and could miss time after hurting his knee on Sunday. ... Buffalo has until this weekend to determine whether to activate OL Tylan Grable (groin) off IR. ___ AP NFL:
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Nick Dorn's 21 points helped Elon defeat Navy 69-63 on Saturday night. Dorn shot 6 of 15 from the field, including 6 for 13 from 3-point range, and went 3 for 4 from the line for the Phoenix (4-3). TK Simpkins scored 20 points while shooting 6 for 14 (4 for 7 from 3-point range) and 4 of 4 from the free-throw line and added six rebounds. TJ Simpkins had 15 points and shot 4 of 11 from the field, including 0 for 3 from 3-point range, and went 7 for 10 from the line. The Midshipmen (3-5) were led by Austin Benigni, who recorded 18 points. Sam Krist added 12 points and two steals for Navy. Cam Cole also recorded 11 points. ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by and data from . The Associated Press1 2 Purulia/Jhargram: Odisha tigress Zeenat stayed put in the same forest in Purulia 's Bandwan on Wednesday, the fourth day in a row. A day after it killed a few goats that had entered the forest, officials initiated the process of compensating villagers. According to sources, up to Rs 20,000 is likely to be paid for every lost goat. The tigress killed four goats, wounded five and one went missing. The forest department placed two more trap cages with bait at different locations, taking the total number of cages to five. A nearby village has been separated from the forest through nylon net fencing. The area is also being scanned with the help of live feeds being generated by smart cameras with night vision technology. The tigress brought from Maharashtra's Tadoba to Similipal left Odisha on Dec 8 night to enter Jharkhand. It kept walking and entered Bengal on Dec 20 morning at Belpahari and then, moved to Purulia.
‘Retaliatory’ attacks from Afghanistan repulsed "There are reports of heavy losses on Afghan side which may increase," say sources Pakistani soldiers stand guard near the Afghan border in Ghulam Khan, a village in KP's North Waziristan. — AFP/File ISLAMABAD: Security forces killed over 15 Khwarij and Afghan Taliban while responding to their unprovoked firing after multiple foiled attempts of infiltration into Pakistan early Saturday, sources said. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1700472799616-0'); }); The sources said that 20 to 25 Khwarij, while using the border posts of Afghan Taliban, made attempts to enter Pakistan’s territory from two places in Kurram and North Waziristan on the night of December 27 and 28. Pakistan security forces personnel took timely action and foiled both attempts of infiltration. However, Khwarij made another attempt to enter Pakistan while using border posts of Afghan Taliban but they could not succeed in their design. On that, both Afghan Taliban and Khwarij started unprovoked firing with heavy weapons on Pakistani posts which was responded effectively. “There are reports of heavy losses on the Afghan side which may increase,” the sources. According to credible reports, as a result of effective response from Pakistani forces, 15 Khwarij and Afghan Taliban were killed and many others were injured. The Afghan Taliban also fled leaving their posts due to heavy firing. No loss of lives was reported on the Pakistan side and only three Jawans were injured. The security sources said that Pakistan time and again had requested the Afghan interim government that it should not allow Khwarij to use its soil against the neighbour. However, instead of taking required action, the Afghan Taliban have been facilitating Khwarij to continue their activities inside Pakistan. The sources said that Fitna-Al-Khwarij exists in Afghanistan with full freedom and is continuing anti-Pakistan activities. “Pakistani security forces are fully capable of giving effective response to any aggression against the country,” the security sources said. Local residents have started migrating to safer places owing to the ongoing firing from the Afghanistan side in the border areas of Kurram district. According to sources, firing continued from the Afghan side in the border areas of Borki, Kharlachi and Maqbal in Kurram district in which an FC official, identified as Lance Naik Ainullah, has been martyred. They said that seven other FC men were injured due to cross-border firing from Afghanistan. However, they added, the Pakistani forces launched a strong retaliatory operation against the attackers. The local residents from border areas have begun to evacuate to safer places. This year, residents of border villages have been forced to leave their homes three times due to attacks originating from Afghanistan. Meanwhile, the Taliban Ministry of Defence said in a post on social media platform X, “Several points beyond the hypothetical line, serving as centers and hideouts for malicious elements and their supporters who organised and coordinated attacks in Afghanistan, were targeted in retaliation from the southeastern direction of the country.” The statement did not specifically referred to Pakistan, instead saying the strikes took place “beyond the hypothetical line” — a term used by Afghan authorities to refer to the long disputed border with Pakistan.ASU course aims to empower students to think critically about AIUS to transform white elephant destroyers by fitting hypersonic weapons
150,000 mangrove trees planted in Pyapon, Bogale
Foot Locker, Inc. ( NYSE:FL – Get Free Report )’s share price traded up 3.3% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $22.61 and last traded at $22.51. 220,118 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 93% from the average session volume of 3,353,975 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.79. Analyst Ratings Changes FL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Foot Locker from $34.00 to $29.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Foot Locker from $27.00 to $22.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Foot Locker from $27.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Guggenheim decreased their price target on Foot Locker from $34.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Foot Locker from $25.00 to $22.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.18. Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Foot Locker Foot Locker Trading Down 0.1 % Foot Locker ( NYSE:FL – Get Free Report ) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The athletic footwear retailer reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.07). Foot Locker had a positive return on equity of 2.91% and a negative net margin of 5.24%. The business had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.30 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Foot Locker, Inc. will post 1.23 EPS for the current fiscal year. Institutional Investors Weigh In On Foot Locker A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Foot Locker in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $10,005,000. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its position in Foot Locker by 43.3% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 897,904 shares of the athletic footwear retailer’s stock worth $23,202,000 after purchasing an additional 271,297 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its position in Foot Locker by 10.3% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,135,474 shares of the athletic footwear retailer’s stock worth $29,341,000 after purchasing an additional 106,402 shares during the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in Foot Locker in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,636,000. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. increased its position in shares of Foot Locker by 477.2% during the 3rd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 117,602 shares of the athletic footwear retailer’s stock valued at $3,039,000 after purchasing an additional 97,226 shares during the last quarter. About Foot Locker ( Get Free Report ) Foot Locker, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates as a footwear and apparel retailer in North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Asia, and the Middle East. Its brand portfolio includes Foot Locker, a brand comprising sneakers and apparel; Kids Foot Locker, which offers athletic footwear, apparel, and accessories for children; and Champs Sports that operates as a mall-based specialty athletic footwear and apparel retailer. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Foot Locker Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Foot Locker and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .Buy or gift a Babbel subscription for 78% off to learn a new language - new low price
United States Gets Wet and Stormy Weather Warning, Check Your City Before Your Plan For Travel During New Year Eve Holiday
Sportswatch Daily ListingsESPN — Toledo vs. Pittsburgh at Ford Field (Detroit, MI) ESPN — Kansas State vs. Rutgers at Chase Field (Phoenix, AZ) ESPN — Bowling Green vs. Arkansas State at Hancock Whitney Stadium (Mobile, AL) NHLN — Sweden U20 at Slovakia U20 NHLN — Germany U20 at USA U20 NHLN — Switzerland U20 at Czech Republic U20 NHLN — Canada U20 at Finland U20 NBA TV — Oklahoma City at Indiana NBA TV — Utah at Portland USA — Premier League: Everton vs. Manchester City CBSSN — League One: Blackpool vs. Wrexham USA — Premier League: Aston Villa vs. Newcastle United USA — Premier League: Manchester United vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers CBSSN — Scottish Premiership: Rangers F.C. vs. St. Mirren USA — Premier League: Leicester City vs. Liverpool TENNIS — Mixed Coverage: Center Court Live The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive TV listings provided by LiveSportsOnTV .
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina lawmakers on Wednesday enacted a law over the governor’s veto that would diminish the powers afforded to his successor and other other Democratic statewide winners in the Nov. 5 elections. In a 72-46 vote, the Republican-dominated House overrode Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto voted to do the same. Like during the Senate vote, opponents to the power-shifting bill sat in the gallery and disrupted the chambers’ floor proceedings. More than 150 people gathered on the third floor — more than the House gallery could seat. They chanted “shame” as the override vote completed and continued to yell as they were escorted out. After warning disruptors they would face arrest if they didn’t quiet down and leave the building, General Assembly police arrested one woman who refused to leave, said police Chief Martin Brock, adding that she would face charges of trespassing, resisting arrest and violating building rules. Many provisions within the 132-page law seek to diminish powers afforded to Gov.-elect Josh Stein, incoming attorney general Jeff Jackson, the next Democratic lieutenant governor and the schools superintendent. They all take office early next month. One of the most significant changes shifts the power to appoint State Board of Elections members from the governor to the state auditor, who will be a Republican next year. For decades, the governor has selected its five members, with the governor’s party usually taking three seats. The enacted law transfers that power to the state auditor starting in spring. This, in turn, means Republicans will likely hold majorities on the state board and the county election boards. The legislation also weakens the governor’s authority to fill vacancies on the state Court of Appeals and Supreme Court and prevents the attorney general from taking legal positions contrary to the General Assembly in litigation challenging a law’s validity. Several post-election deadlines will move up under the law after Republican complaints that counties took too long to count provisional and absentee ballots, especially in light of . The veto override took place in the final days of a lame-duck General Assembly session where Republicans hold exactly the number of seats necessary to override vetoes without help from Democrats. That won’t be the case much longer — barring a successful election protest that would flip a race’s result — after Democrats picked up one more House seat in the general elections. Despite ultimately succeeding in their override, House Republicans had some difficulty staying unified. Some GOP lawmakers from western North Carolina — where Hurricane Helene caused historic flooding — initially voted against the measure last month. But all three — Reps. Mike Clampitt, Karl Gillespie and Mark Pless — ended up voting to override the veto. Part of the criticism levied against the bill centered on the $252 million of Helene recovery funds attached to it, most of which can’t be spent until the General Assembly acts again. , Cooper called the bill a sham in which Republicans used Helene and “disaster relief” in its title to mask unconstitutional political power grabs — a message repeated by House Democrats and Stein. “It is despicable for the Republicans in the General Assembly to use folks’ incredible need for aid to cloak their political pettiness,” Stein said in a statement after Wednesday’s vote. Other opponents to the bill said at a Wednesday news conference that GOP lawmakers weren’t serving western North Carolinians and instead were undermining democracy. “Western North Carolina is not a toy to be played with. It is not an opportunity to exploit. It is not a place to be so violently disrespected,” said Sam Stites, a Transylvania County staff member from advocacy group Just Economics of Western North Carolina. Republicans point out they had already allocated more than $900 million to Helene relief since October, with plans for more funding next session. Caldwell County Republican Rep. Destin Hall, who is expected to be the House speaker next year, further defended the bill’s executive power shifts as the legislature’s constitutional right. “This body is entirely committed to helping folks in this state with storm relief,” Hall said. “So, in my opinion, what’s happened is political football has been made out of this bill.” It’s likely the new law will soon be mired in litigation — just like eight years ago, after Republicans passed laws weakening Cooper’s powers just before he took office. “Of course it’s going to go to court,” outgoing House Speaker Tim Moore, a congressman-elect, told reporters after the vote. “That’s just the way it is.” The House also secured for the November 2026 statewide ballot a proposed constitutional amendment to require all North Carolina voters show photo identification before voting. The constitution currently only specifies that it’s required for in-person voting. ID exceptions are afforded now and would continue with the amendment, and laws separate from the state constitution already direct voters to provide a photo ID copy when voting by mail.