Marrakech Film Festival bestows Palestinian film ‘Happy Holidays’ with top awardThe Tax Foundation has released its annual State Tax Competitiveness Index, which compares each state on more than 150 variables in five areas of taxation: corporate taxes, individual income taxes, sales and excise taxes, property and wealth taxes, and unemployment insurance taxes. The authors said states landing near the bottom of the rankings tend to have several issues in common: complex, nonneutral taxes with comparatively high rates. They typically have high and progressive income tax rates; impose harmful gross receipts, capital stock, and bequest taxes; penalize capital investment through poorly designed corporate taxes; and have ill-structured sales tax bases that include a disproportionate share of business inputs. Illinois ranked 37th overall and near the bottom in the corporate, unemployment insurance and property tax categories. Senior Policy Analyst Andrey Yushkov said Illinois ranks 13th in individual taxes, but if the so-called “millionaires tax,” which was approved by voters in a non binding question on Election Day, is put into place, the state will slip in the rankings. “If this additional 3% surtax on millionaires is ultimately implemented and the constitution of the state is changed, then we’ll detrimentally affect the tax competitiveness in this particular category,” said Yushkov. According to the study, the top three tax-friendly states are Wyoming, South Dakota and Alaska. New York came in last place, followed by New Jersey and California. “The index rewards states for structurally sound, pro-growth tax policies, making it a useful tool for policymakers who want their states’ tax systems to be welcoming to business and human capital,” said Yushkov.
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Northwest Pipe Co Stock Hits 52-Week High at $57.09 Amid GrowthThe Chicago Cubs ran baseball's seventh-highest payroll in 2024, according to Spotrac . They also missed the playoffs for the fourth straight year. For now, the Cubs show no signs of moving up in either area. More news: Cubs Make Trade, Acquire Former First-Round Draft Pick From Angels ESPN's Jeff Passan, speaking on the Baseball Tonight podcast with colleague Buster Olney, reported Friday that the Cubs are not involved yet with the offseason's biggest free agents. "I've gotten no sign so far that the Chicago Cubs are going to be involved in any of the major free agents," Passan told Olney . "That may change. Let's remember last winter, when the price came down on Cody Bellinger, suddenly the Cubs are back in." Ironically, the only Bellinger news linked to the Cubs this winter was a recent report from Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic that the Cubs want to trade Bellinger but "they also note the difficulty the team likely will face pulling off such a move." More news : Cubs' New Front Office Hire Reveals Big Shift in Pitching Philosophy Bellinger is owed $27.5 million next year and holds a $25 million player option in his contract for 2026. The Cubs acquired catcher Matt Thaiss from the Los Angeles Angels for cash on Wednesday. In a recent interview with Buster Olney , Cubs GM Carter Hawkins confirmed he was in the market for catching and starting pitching help. More news: Cubs Looking to Trade $27.5 Million Star: Report Passan suggests the Cubs aren't lining up to sign Blake Snell, Corbin Burnes, or any of the other top-of-the-rotation arms on this winter's free agent market — but that might change as the offseason drags along. "Every winter, one guy who's out there in free agency doesn't get what he's wanting and lasts for a while," Passan said. "Perhaps the Cubs jump in there, but I don't anticipate right now that they're going to be involved in any of the major players." More news: Cubs GM Identifies Top Two Offseason Targets With Bellinger opting into the next year of his contract, the Cubs have most of the key players returning from a team that went 83-79 for the second straight year. Hawkins and president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer might not have that much work cut out for them to narrow the gap with the first-place Milwaukee Brewers. If their operating budget is slim, however, the Cubs' front office might have to get a bit more creative. More to come on this story from Newsweek Sports.
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Marcus Banks scored 28 points and Anthony Valentine hit the game-winning layup with 24 seconds remaining in double overtime as UMBC knocked off American 96-93 on Sunday night. Banks also added nine rebounds for the Retrievers (8-7). Bryce Johnson scored 19 points, shooting 8 of 12 from the field and 3 for 3 from the line. Josh Odunowo shot 7 of 12 from the field and 4 of 6 from the free-throw line to finish with 18 points. The Eagles (6-7) were led in scoring by Matt Rogers, who finished with 33 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and two blocks. American also got 17 points from Matt Mayock. Geoff Sprouse also put up 15 points and five assists. Banks put up 14 points in the first half for UMBC, who led 41-40 at the break. UMBC was outscored by one point in the second half and the teams finished regulation tied 79-79. Johnson scored four points to lead UMBC in double. UMBC's next game is Saturday against Binghamton on the road, and American visits Navy on Thursday. ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by and data from . The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — A machinists strike. Another safety problem involving its troubled top-selling airliner. A plunging stock price. 2024 was already a dispiriting year for Boeing, the American aviation giant. But when one of the company's jets crash-landed in South Korea on Sunday, killing all but two of the 181 people on board, it brought to a close an especially unfortunate year for Boeing. The cause of the crash remains under investigation, and aviation experts were quick to distinguish Sunday's incident from the company’s earlier safety problems. Alan Price, a former chief pilot at Delta Air Lines who is now a consultant, said it would be inappropriate to link the incident Sunday to two fatal crashes involving Boeing’s troubled 737 Max jetliner in 2018 and 2019. In January this year, a door plug blew off a 737 Max while it was in flight, raising more questions about the plane. The Boeing 737-800 that crash-landed in Korea, Price noted, is “a very proven airplane. "It’s different from the Max ...It’s a very safe airplane.’’ For decades, Boeing has maintained a role as one of the giants of American manufacturing. But the the past year's repeated troubles have been damaging. The company's stock price is down more than 30% in 2024. The company's reputation for safety was especially tarnished by the 737 Max crashes, which occurred off the coast of Indonesia and in Ethiopia less than five months apart in 2018 and 2019 and left a combined 346 people dead. In the five years since then, Boeing has lost more than $23 billion. And it has fallen behind its European rival, Airbus, in selling and delivering new planes. Last fall, 33,000 Boeing machinists went on strike, crippling the production of the 737 Max, the company's bestseller, the 777 airliner and 767 cargo plane. The walkout lasted seven weeks, until members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers agreed to an offer that included 38% pay raises over four years. In January, a door plug blew off a 737 Max during an Alaska Airlines flight. Federal regulators responded by imposing limits on Boeing aircraft production that they said would remain in place until they felt confident about manufacturing safety at the company. In July, Boeing agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud for deceiving the Federal Aviation Administration regulators who approved the 737 Max. Acting on Boeing’s incomplete disclosures, the FAA approved minimal, computer-based training instead of more intensive training in flight simulators. Simulator training would have increased the cost for airlines to operate the Max and might have pushed some to buy planes from Airbus instead. (Prosecutors said they lacked evidence to argue that Boeing’s deception had played a role in the crashes.) But the plea deal was rejected this month by a federal judge in Texas, Reed O’Connor , who decided that diversity, inclusion and equity or DEI policies in the government and at Boeing could result in race being a factor in choosing an official to oversee Boeing’s compliance with the agreement. Boeing has sought to change its culture. Under intense pressure over safety issues, David Calhoun departed as CEO in August. Since January, 70,000 Boeing employees have participated in meetings to discuss ways to improve safety.Joseph Fourre, creator of the ‘No Thanks, I’m Good’ Campaign, is fighting to bring more awareness to the dangers of drug use. After in April of 2023, he created this campaign to try and get the message out that social use is not safe use. “The more that we can educate people about the dangers of fentanyl and recreational drugs, I think the better chance we have of saving lives and reducing the numbers of deaths that are occurring in our community,” said Fourre. “We have to get the word out there that we’re in a fentanyl crisis, there is so much fentanyl out on the street and it’s being mixed with so many different kinds of drugs that unsuspected recreational or social users are consuming drugs that are containing fentanyl, and they don’t know about it.” Fourre says Manitoba is on pace to set a record for substance use deaths in a year, with the office of the Chief Medical Officer releasing statistics that show 323 deaths in the first seven months of 2024 – while the total number for 2023 was 445. “We need to come up with a four-pillar plan that really addresses the issue of what’s happening in our communities, and I really believe that needs to include treatment, we definitely need treatment, we need law enforcement we need to start getting tougher on fentanyl dealers, we need harm reduction, but we also need awareness and prevention,” said Fourre. Fourre is calling for the government to come up with a more balanced approach that is not solely based on addiction, but also on prevention. Through his No Thanks I’m Good Campaign he has shared his son’s story at schools and has seen firsthand how educating the youth can make a difference. “There was this young 14-year-old boy who came up to me after the presentation and he had tears in his eyes and he said I’m sorry for your loss but thank you for trying to save our lives and bringing us this information, because we didn’t know.” Fourre says he hopes the No Thanks I’m Good campaign will help save lives in honour of his son Harlan and will be hosting the second annual fentanyl awareness day walk on September 13 next year.
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They are investigating whether his short-lived martial law decree earlier this month amounted to rebellion. The Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials, which is leading a joint investigation with police and military authorities into the power grab that lasted only a few hours, confirmed it requested the warrant on Monday. Investigators plan to question Mr Yoon on charges of abuse of authority and orchestrating a rebellion. Mr Yoon has dodged several requests by the joint investigation team and public prosecutors to appear for questioning and has also blocked searches of his offices. It is not clear whether the court will grant the warrant or whether Mr Yoon can be compelled to appear for questioning. Under the country’s laws, locations potentially linked to military secrets cannot be seized or searched without the consent of the person in charge and it is unlikely Mr Yoon will voluntarily leave his residence if he faces detainment. Mr Yoon’s presidential powers were suspended after the National Assembly voted to impeach him on December 14 over his imposition of martial law that lasted only hours but has triggered weeks of political turmoil, halted high-level diplomacy and rattled financial markets. His fate lies with the Constitutional Court, which has begun deliberations on whether to uphold the impeachment and formally remove Mr Yoon from office or reinstate him. Mr Yoon has defended the martial law decree as a necessary act of governance, describing it as a warning against the liberal opposition Democratic Party, which has been bogging down his agenda with its majority in the parliament. Parliament voted last week to also impeach Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who had assumed the role of acting president after Mr Yoon’s powers were suspended, over his reluctance to fill three Constitutional Court vacancies ahead of the court’s review of Mr Yoon’s case. The country’s new interim leader is Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok, who is also finance minister.Jim Cramer Says Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (WBD)’s Performance Is Impacted By The Change In The Presidential Administration And Its Improving Balance Sheet
WASHINGTON (AP) — A machinists strike. Another safety problem involving its troubled top-selling airliner. A plunging stock price. 2024 was already a dispiriting year for Boeing, the American aviation giant. But when one of the company's jets crash-landed in South Korea on Sunday, killing all but two of the 181 people on board, it brought to a close an especially unfortunate year for Boeing. The cause of the crash remains under investigation, and aviation experts were quick to distinguish Sunday's incident from the company’s earlier safety problems. Alan Price, a former chief pilot at Delta Air Lines who is now a consultant, said it would be inappropriate to link the incident Sunday to two fatal crashes involving Boeing’s troubled 737 Max jetliner in 2018 and 2019. In January this year, a door plug blew off a 737 Max while it was in flight, raising more questions about the plane. The Boeing 737-800 that crash-landed in Korea, Price noted, is “a very proven airplane. "It’s different from the Max ...It’s a very safe airplane.’’ For decades, Boeing has maintained a role as one of the giants of American manufacturing. But the the past year's repeated troubles have been damaging. The company's stock price is down more than 30% in 2024. The company's reputation for safety was especially tarnished by the 737 Max crashes, which occurred off the coast of Indonesia and in Ethiopia less than five months apart in 2018 and 2019 and left a combined 346 people dead. In the five years since then, Boeing has lost more than $23 billion. And it has fallen behind its European rival, Airbus, in selling and delivering new planes. Last fall, 33,000 Boeing machinists went on strike, crippling the production of the 737 Max, the company's bestseller, the 777 airliner and 767 cargo plane. The walkout lasted seven weeks, until members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers agreed to an offer that included 38% pay raises over four years. In January, a door plug blew off a 737 Max during an Alaska Airlines flight. Federal regulators responded by imposing limits on Boeing aircraft production that they said would remain in place until they felt confident about manufacturing safety at the company. In July, Boeing agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud for deceiving the Federal Aviation Administration regulators who approved the 737 Max. Acting on Boeing’s incomplete disclosures, the FAA approved minimal, computer-based training instead of more intensive training in flight simulators. Simulator training would have increased the cost for airlines to operate the Max and might have pushed some to buy planes from Airbus instead. (Prosecutors said they lacked evidence to argue that Boeing’s deception had played a role in the crashes.) But the plea deal was rejected this month by a federal judge in Texas, Reed O’Connor , who decided that diversity, inclusion and equity or DEI policies in the government and at Boeing could result in race being a factor in choosing an official to oversee Boeing’s compliance with the agreement. Boeing has sought to change its culture. Under intense pressure over safety issues, David Calhoun departed as CEO in August. Since January, 70,000 Boeing employees have participated in meetings to discuss ways to improve safety.