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JSW group in talks with Chinese biggies to charge up its EV DriveEthereum (ETH) Could Double in Price by Early 2025, Here's How It'll Get There'Sonic 3' and 'Mufasa' battle for No. 1 at the holiday box office Two family films are dominating the holiday box office, with “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” winning the three-day weekend over “Mufasa” by a blue hair. According to studio estimates Sunday, the Sonic movie earned $38 million, while “Mufasa” brought in $37.1 million from theaters in the U.S. and Canada. The R-rated horror “Nosferatu” placed third with an unexpectedly strong $21.2 million. Thanksgiving release holdovers “Wicked” and “Moana 2” rounded out the top five. Christmas Day had several big film openings, including the Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown,” the Nicole Kidman erotic drama “Babygirl” and the boxing drama “The Fire Inside.” Big Lots reaches deal to keep hundreds of US stores open The discount chain Big Lots has reached a deal that will keep hundreds of its stores open. Big Lots said it will be sold to Gordon Brothers Retail Partners, which specializes in distressed companies. Gordon Brothers will then transfer Big Lots’ stores to other retailers. Variety Wholesalers, which owns more than 400 U.S. discount stores, plans to acquire between 200 and 400 Big Lots stores and operate them under the Big Lots brand. Big Lots filed for bankruptcy protection in September, saying inflation and high interest rates had cut back on consumer demand for its furniture and other products. Charles Dolan, HBO and Cablevision founder, dies at 98 Charles F. Dolan, who founded some of the most prominent U.S. media companies including Home Box Office Inc. and Cablevision Systems Corp., has died at age 98. Newsday reports that a statement issued Saturday by his family says Dolan died of natural causes. Dolan’s legacy in cable broadcasting includes founding HBO in 1972, Cablevision in 1973 and the American Movie Classics television station in 1984. He also launched News 12 in New York City, the first U.S. 24-hour cable channel for local news. Dolan also held controlling stakes in companies that owned Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall, the New York Knicks and the New York Rangers. Trump asks Supreme Court to delay TikTok ban so he can weigh in after he takes office President-elect Donald Trump has asked the Supreme Court to pause the potential TikTok ban from going into effect until his administration can pursue a “political resolution” to the issue. Trump's request Friday came as TikTok and the Biden administration filed opposing briefs to the court. Oral arguments are scheduled for Jan. 10 on whether the law, which requires TikTok to divest from its China-based parent company or face a ban, unlawfully restricts speech in violation of the First Amendment. The brief said Trump opposes banning TikTok at this junction and “seeks the ability to resolve the issues at hand through political means once he takes office.” Stock market today: Wall Street slips as the 'Magnificent 7' weighs down the market NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are closing lower as Wall Street ends a holiday-shortened week on a down note. The S&P 500 fell 1.1% Friday and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 333 points, or 0.8%. The Nasdaq composite dropped 1.5%. The “Magnificent 7” stocks weighed on the market, led by declines in Nvidia, Tesla and Microsoft. Even with the loss, the S&P 500 had a modest gain for the week and is still headed for its second consecutive annual gain of more than 20%, the first time that has happened since 1997-1998. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.62%. 10 tips from experts to help you change your relationship with money in 2025 NEW YORK (AP) — As the calendar changes to 2025, you might be thinking about how to approach your relationship with money in the new year. Whether you’re saving to move out of your parents’ house or pay off student loan debt, financial resolutions can help you stay motivated. If you’re planning to make financial resolutions for the new year, experts recommend that you start by evaluating the state of your finances in 2024. Then, set specific goals and make sure they’re attainable for your lifestyle. Janet Yellen tells Congress US could hit debt limit in mid-January WASHINGTON (AP) — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says her agency will need to start taking “extraordinary measures,” or special accounting maneuvers intended to prevent the nation from hitting the debt ceiling, as early as January 14th, in a letter sent to congressional leaders Friday afternoon. The department has taken such action in the past. But once those measures run out the government risks defaulting on its debt unless lawmakers and the president agree to lift the limit on the U.S. government’s ability to borrow. An online debate over foreign workers in tech shows tensions in Trump's political coalition WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — An online spat between factions of Donald Trump’s supporters over immigration and the tech industry has thrown internal divisions in the president-elect’s political movement into public display. The argument previews fissures and contradictory views his coalition could bring to the White House. The rift laid bare tensions between the newest flank of Trump’s movement — that is, wealthy members of the tech world who want more highly skilled workers in their industry — and people in Trump’s Make America Great Again base who championed his hardline immigration policies. A 9th telecoms firm has been hit by a massive Chinese espionage campaign, the White House says WASHINGTON (AP) — A top White House official says a ninth U.S. telecoms firm has been confirmed to have been hacked as part of a sprawling Chinese espionage campaign that gave officials in Beijing access to private texts and phone conversations of an unknown number of Americans. Administration officials said this month that at least eight telecommunications companies, as well as dozens of nations, had been affected by the Chinese hacking blitz known as Salt Typhoon. But Anne Neuberger, a deputy national security adviser, said Friday that a ninth victim had been identified after the administration released guidance to companies about how to hunt for Chinese culprits in their networks. Canadian Cabinet ministers meet with Trump's nominee for commerce secretary in bid to avoid tariffs TORONTO (AP) — Two top Canadian Cabinet ministers have met with President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for commerce secretary at Mar-a-Lago as Canada tries to avoid sweeping tariffs when Trump takes office. New Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc and Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly met with Howard Lutnick, Trump’s nominee for commerce secretary, as well as North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Trump’s pick to lead the Interior Department. The meeting was a follow up to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s meeting with Trump at Mar-a-Lago last month. Trump has threatened to impose sweeping tariffs if Canada does not stem what he calls a flow of migrants and fentanyl into the United States.
NEW YORK (AP) — Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, said it has donated $1 million to President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration fund. The donation comes just weeks after Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg met with Trump privately at Mar-a-Lago. A Meta spokesperson confirmed the offering Thursday. The news was first reported by The Wall Street Journal. Stephen Miller, who has been appointed deputy chief of staff for Trump’s second term, has said that Zuckerberg, like other business leaders, wants to support Trump’s economic plans. The tech CEO has been seeking to change his company’s perception on the right following a rocky relationship with Trump. Trump was kicked off Facebook following the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The company restored his account in early 2023. During the 2024 campaign, Zuckerberg did not endorse a candidate for president but has voiced a more positive stance toward Trump. Earlier this year, he praised Trump’s response to his first assassination attempt. Still, Trump had continued to attack Zuckerberg publicly during the campaign. In July, he posted a message on his own social network Truth Social threatening to send election fraudsters to prison in part by citing a nickname he used for the Meta CEO. “ZUCKERBUCKS, be careful!” Trump wrote. Corporations have traditionally made up a large share of donors to presidential inaugurals, with an exception in 2009, when then-President-elect Barack Obama refused to accept corporate donations. He reversed course for his second inaugural in 2013. Facebook did not donate to either Biden's 2021 inaugural or Trump’s 2017 inaugural. Google donated $285,000 each to Trump first inaugural and Biden’s inaugural, according to Federal Election Commission records. Inaugural committees are required to disclose the source of their fundraising, but not how they spend the money. Microsoft gave $1 million to Obama’s second inaugural, but only $500,000 to Trump in 2017 and Biden in 2021.PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jamal Mashburn Jr. scored 18 points as Temple beat Buffalo 91-71 on Sunday. Mashburn shot 6 for 10 (3 for 6 from 3-point range) and 3 of 4 from the free-throw line for the Owls (8-5). Zion Stanford scored 15 points while going 4 of 9 and 6 of 7 from the free-throw line. Quante Berry had 15 points and shot 7 of 8 from the field and 0 for 4 from the foul line. The Bulls (5-7) were led by Tyson Dunn, who posted 11 points and four assists. Anquan Boldin Jr. added 11 points and three steals for Buffalo. Noah Batchelor also had nine points and six rebounds. Temple took the lead with 5:38 remaining in the first half and never looked back. The score was 39-29 at halftime, with Shane Dezonie racking up seven points. Temple outscored Buffalo in the second half by 10 points, with Mashburn scoring a team-high 13 points after intermission. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .Intuitive Machines Stock Falls After Hours: Here's Why
King Charles plans trip to India in 'hugely encouraging' boost to monarch's cancer recovery
By Wayne Cole SYDNEY (Reuters) - Asian shares edged lower on Monday as high Treasury yields challenged lofty Wall Street equity valuations while underpinning the U.S. dollar near multi-month peaks. Volumes were light with the New Year holiday looming and a rather bare data diary this week. China has the PMI factory surveys out on Tuesday, while the U.S. ISM survey for December is due on Friday. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dipped 0.2%, but is still 16% higher for the year. Japan's Nikkei eased 0.2%, but is sitting on gains of 20% for 2024. South Korea's main index has not been so fortunate, having run into a storm of political uncertainty in recent weeks, and is saddled with losses of more than 9% for the year. It was last off 0.35%. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures were both off 0.1%. Wall Street suffered a broad-based sell off on Friday with no obvious trigger, though volumes were just two-thirds of the daily average. .[.N] The S&P 500 is still up 25% for the year and the Nasdaq 31%, which is stretching valuations when compared to the risk-free return of Treasuries. Investors are counting on earnings per share growth of just over 10% in 2025, versus a 12.47% expected rise in 2024, according to LSEG data. Yet yields on 10-year Treasuries are near eight-month highs at 4.631% and ending the year around 75 basis points above where they started it, even though the Fed delivered 100 basis points of cuts to cash rates. "The continued rise in bond yields, driven by the reassessment of less restrictive monetary policy expectations, creates some concern," said Quasar Elizundia, a research strategist at broker Pepperstone. "The possibility that the Fed may keep restrictive monetary policy for longer than expected could temper corporate earnings growth expectations for 2025, which could in turn influence investment decisions." Bond investors may also be wary of burgeoning supply as President-elect Donald Trump is promising tax cuts with few concrete proposals for restraining the budget deficit. Trump is expected to release at least 25 executive orders when he takes office on Jan. 20, covering a range of issues from immigration to energy and crypto policy. Widening interest rate differentials have kept the U.S. dollar in demand, giving it gains of 6.5% for the year on a basket of major currencies. The euro has lost more than 5% on the dollar so far in 2024 to last stand at $1.0429, not far from its recent two-year trough of $1.0344. The dollar held near a five-month top on the yen at 157.71, with only the risk of Japanese intervention preventing another test of the 160.00 barrier. The strength of the dollar has been something of a burden for gold prices, though the metal is still 28% higher for the year so far at $2,624 an ounce. [GOL/] Oil has had a tougher year as concerns about demand, particularly from China, kept a lid on prices and forced OPEC+ to repeatedly extend a deal to limit supplies. [O/R] Brent fell 37 cents to $73.80 a barrel, while U.S. crude lost 17 cents to $70.43 per barrel. (Reporting by Wayne Cole; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)NoneA 20-year-old man was rescued from icy water following an ATV accident, but authorities later found the body of his 18-year-old co-rider, Minnesota deputies say. The Cass County Sheriff’s Office said the two men were riding an ATV the evening of Monday, Dec. 9, when it fell through the ice on Blackwater Lake. Authorities used “911 mapping technology” to determine the location of the ATV riders, the sheriff’s office said. The first responders found the 20-year-old, who was pulled from the water. The 20-year-old was treated for “exposure and hypothermia” and flown to a St. Cloud hospital, according to a news release. It wasn’t until the following afternoon when the body of the 18-year-old was discovered, the sheriff’s office said. His body was taken to the Ramsey County Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy. He was identified by Valley News Live and Bring Me The News as Blake Herman , of Longville. According to his obituary , Herman had an “infectious” zest for life and “brought joy and light to everyone fortunate enough to know him.” “Blake was a bright young man with a kind heart and an infectious smile,” family members said in a GoFundMe. “He touched the lives of everyone he met, and his loss leaves a hole that can never be filled.” Longville is about a 180-mile drive northwest from Minneapolis.
The Minnesota Vikings came out on top in an NFC North battle with the Packers which ended much closer than it should have. The Vikings were leading 27-10 with 7 minutes left in the game but they ended up squeaking out a 27-25 victory to move to 14-2 on the season. A Whole Lot Of Nothing The Minnesota Vikings defense forced a fumble on Green Bay’s first offensive drive. The Vikings offense settled for a punt that pinned the Packers deep in their territory. On the following drive, the Minnesota defense forced a 3-and-out, and the Packers punted. The Vikings were moving the ball on their next until a couple of incompletions stalled the drive. They chose to send out Will Reichard for a 57-yard field goal attempt. Unfortunately, he was just short as he hit the crossbar and missed. The Flood Gates Began To Open Green Bay’s following drive had them moving down the field with a vengeance. There was a questionable low block call on Harrison Smith to extend the drive. The Packers settled for a field goal after a goal-line stand by the Minnesota Vikings. The Packers led 3-0 with 2 minutes left in the 1st quarter. Aaron Jones got things going in the run game for the Vikings on their next offensive drive. Sam Darnold found Jordan Addison for a few completions. However, Jalen Nailor got wide-open for a 31-yard TD pass from Darnold. Reichard made the extra point and the Minnesota Vikings led 7-3 with just under 12 minutes left in the half. Minnesota Vikings Get Close To Another Touchdown But Settle for a Field Goal Darnold got big completions to Hockenson and Nailor. There was also a big pass interference call on Keisean Nixon that extended the Minnesota Vikings drive. Reichard nailed a short field goal attempt after Darnold overthrew Jefferson in the endzone. The Vikings led 10-3 with just over 2 minutes left in the first half. Packers Start Moving The Ball But Stall, Packers’ Penalty Helps Vikings Make a Field Goal The Packers were moving the ball against the Vikings until an illegal formation penalty against a Packers WR stalled the drive. The Minnesota Vikings got a huge completion from Darnold to Hockenson. Sam Darnold took a big sack that moved the Vikings out of field goal range. The Packers got an offsides penalty so the Vikings got another chance at a field goal after Reichard missed the 55-yard field goal attempt. The Packers took a timeout to try to ice Reichard but then he made the 50-yard attempt. The Vikings led 13-3 going into halftime. The Vikings’ Offense Starts the Second Half With a Quick TD Drive, and Green Bay Forces the First Turnover Darnold got completions to Nailor and Jefferson. The drive was capped off with a beautiful pass from Darnold to Addison in the endzone. The Minnesota Vikings led 20-3 with just under 10 minutes left in the 3rd quarter. The Vikings defense made a stand and forced a 3-and-out by the Packers. Packers’ punter Whelan was only able to get a 29-yard punt to MIN-30. The pass protection failed Darnold on the next drive as he got hit hard and threw an INT to Carrington Valentine. The offense was able to take advantage of the turnover as Josh Jacobs ran it into the endzone. The Minnesota Vikings still led 20-10 with just over 5 minutes left in the 3rd quarter. Vikings’ Offense Recovers From INT As Cam Akers Takes a Screen Pass To the House Darnold completed longer passes to Aaron Jones, Justin Jefferson, and Addison. Jones had a couple of bigger runs before the Vikings ran a screen to Cam Akers for a TD. After a successful extra point attempt by Reichard, the Vikings led 27-10 with 51 seconds left in the 3rd quarter. The Packers Move The Ball Until An Illegal Formation Penalty Stalls the Drive The Packers were able to convert on a third-down attempt and were moving down the field. The Minnesota Vikings defense came up big again and forced the Packers to punt. The Vikings started their next offensive drive hot when Darnold completed a 37-yard pass to Jefferson. However, their drive ultimately stalled out after a run for loss by Ty Chandler and an incomplete pass from Darnold that was intended for Jefferson. The Minnesota Vikings settled for another field goal attempt, this one being from 43 yards out. Unfortunately, Reichard missed just enough to hit the left upright and the ball bounced away from the uprights. The Packers Take Advantage Of Missed Field Goal, Get Their Second TD Of Game The Packers started their next drive at their 33-yard line. After a sack by Blake Cashman, it looked like the Minnesota Vikings were ready to close out the game and have an easy double-digit victory. However, that could not be further from the truth as Jordan Love completed consecutive passes to Bo Melton and Tyler Kraft. This moved them down to the 19-yard line and Josh Jacobs ran it into the endzone for a touchdown. Fortunately for the Vikings, there was an offensive holding penalty called against the Packers and the points were taken off of the board. Unfortunately for the Vikings, the Packers continued moving the ball down the field and found the endzone. This time it was Emanuel Wilson who found paydirt for the Packers. They chose to go for two and their attempt was successful due to the pass from Love to Romeo Doubs. The Minnesota Vikings still led at this point but it was only 27-18 with just over 6 minutes left in the contest. Packers Continue Their Comeback Efforts, But Come Up Short Green Bay’s next drive started well enough for the Minnesota Vikings in that Dallas Turner was able to corral Love for a sack. Love had a couple of connections to Doubs before ultimately connecting with Malik Heath for a touchdown. They were successful on the point after attempt and the score was 27-25 with the Minnesota Vikings hanging on by a thread. The Vikings successfully ran out the clock with a couple of passes, a run by Akers, a pass to Akers, and Darnold knelt the ball three times to get the clock to hit triple zeroes. Final Thoughts The Minnesota Vikings came out on top and the Vikings and Lions will be playing for the NFC North crown in next week’s matchup. They will be playing at Ford Field on either the 4th or 5th of January. The 272 game of the regular season will determine the No. 1 seed in the NFC. This article first appeared on Total Apex Sports and was syndicated with permission.GLASGOW :Tottenham Hotspur's Dejan Kulusevski cancelled out Hamza Igamane's early second-half opener for Rangers in a thrilling 1-1 Europa League draw at Ibrox stadium on Thursday. After a first half where the hosts looked the more threatening side, Igamane finally broke the deadlock and sent home fans into raptures with a first-time effort after a fine cross from James Tavernier two minutes after the break. As Rangers pushed hard to extend their lead, substitute Kulusevski grabbed an equaliser for the visitors, striking low into the far corner and past keeper Jack Butland in the 75th minute. "I think Rangers played very well. We struggled a bit. 1-1, it is what it is. We didn't play well enough to win the game," Kulusevski told TNT Sports. "It's always important to score but we've got to start winning games. We haven't won in a couple of weeks. Everybody needs to do a little bit more than we're doing right now." Cyriel Dessers almost found the winner for Rangers in the 85th minute but goalkeeper Fraser Forster saved his shot in a remarkable performance for the London side who avoided a third consecutive loss in all competitions. The stalemate leaves both sides on 11 points but with Rangers one place ahead of Spurs in eighth on goal difference. LAZIO TOP STANDINGS Lazio remained leaders after a commanding 3-1 away win over Ajax courtesy of goals from Loum Tchaouna, Fisayo Dele-Bashiru and Pedro. The Serie A side, undefeated in their last six Europa League games, are on 16 points, level with Athletic Bilbao but with a better goal difference. Bertrand Traore had equalised for Ajax early in the second half, after Tchaouna's early opener, but the hosts could not prevent their second defeat of the tournament, dropping to 11th on 10 points. Olympique Lyonnais rallied from a goal down to claim a 3-2 home win over Eintracht Frankfurt as goals from Rayan Cherki, Malick Fofana and Ernest Nuamah helped the hosts to climb to fourth in the standings. Frankfurt's Ansgar Knauff had opened the scoring for the visitors and Omar Marmoush scored a late consolation goal, leaving the Bundesliga side fifth in the standings. Real Sociedad cruised to a 3-0 home win over Dynamo Kyiv with a first-half double from captain Mikel Oyarzabal, who also missed a penalty, and a Sheraldo Becker strike. The victory put the Basques 12th on 10 points. Porto overcame Midtjylland 2-0 at home, while Anderlecht are third in the table after a 2-1 win at Slavia Prague.President-elect Donald Trump’s lawyers urge judge to toss his hush money convictionEdison International stock underperforms Tuesday when compared to competitors
NoneSEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A jetliner skidded off a runway, slammed into a concrete fence and burst into flames Sunday in South Korea after its landing gear apparently failed to deploy. All but two of the 181 people aboard were killed in one of the country’s , officials said. The Boeing 737-800 operated by Jeju Air plane arrived from Bangkok and crashed while attempting to land in the town of Muan, about 290 kilometers (180 miles) south of Seoul. Footage of the crash aired by South Korean television showed the plane skidding across the airstrip at high speed, evidently with its landing gear still closed, and slamming into the wall, triggering an explosion and generating plumes of thick, black smoke. The crash killed 179 people, the South Korean fire agency said. Emergency workers pulled two crew members to safety. They were conscious and did not appear to have any life-threatening injuries, health officials said. The chief of the Muan fire station, Lee Jeong-hyeon, told a televised briefing that the plane was completely destroyed, with only the tail assembly still recognizable in the wreckage. Officials were investigating the cause of the crash, including whether the aircraft was struck by birds, Lee said. The control tower issued a warning about birds to the plane shortly before it intended to land and gave the crew permission to land in a different area, Transport Ministry officials said. The crew sent out a distress signal shortly before the crash, officials said. Investigators retrieved the jet's flight data and cockpit voice recorders, said senior Transport Ministry official Joo Jong-wan. He said it may take months to complete the probe into the crash. The runway will be closed until Jan. 1, the ministry said. Video of the crash indicated that the pilots did not deploy flaps or slats to slow the aircraft, suggesting a possible hydraulic failure, and they did not manually lower the landing gear, suggesting they did not have time, said John Cox, a retired airline pilot and CEO of Safety Operating Systems in St. Petersburg, Florida. Despite that, the jetliner was under control and traveling in a straight line, and damage and injuries likely would have been minimized if not for a barrier being so close to the runway, Cox said. “It’s all in one piece. Everything is coming along fine until it hits that wall, at which point it disintegrates into a catastrophe,” he said. Another aviation expert said videos showed the aircraft had used up much of the runway before touching down. With little braking ability, the aircraft skidded atop its engine cowlings, said Ross “Rusty” Aimer, CEO of Aero Consulting Experts. “It's basically like skidding on ice,” he said. The Boeing 737-800 is a "proven airplane" that belongs to a different class of aircraft than the jetliner that was linked to fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019, added Alan Price, a former chief pilot at Delta Air Lines and now a consultant. More than 4,500 of the planes are in service around the world, according to the aviation analytics company Cirium. One of the survivors was being treated for fractures to his ribs, shoulder blade and upper spine, said Ju Woong, director of the Ewha Womans University Seoul Hospital. Ju said the man, whose name was not released, told doctors he “woke up to find (himself) rescued.” Details on the other survivor were not immediately available. The passengers were predominantly South Korean and included two people from Thailand. Officials identified 88 of them in the hours after the crash, the fire agency said. Thailand’s prime minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, expressed condolences to the families of those aboard the plane in a post on X. Paetongtarn said she ordered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to provide assistance. Boonchuay Duangmanee, the father of a Thai passenger, told The Associated Press that his daughter, Jongluk, had been working in a factory in South Korea for several years and returned to Thailand to visit her family. "I never thought that this would be the last time we would see each other forever,” he said. Kerati Kijmanawat, the director of Thailand's airports, confirmed in a statement that Jeju Air flight 7C 2216 departed from Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport with no reports of anything abnormal aboard the aircraft or on the runway. Jeju Air in a statement expressed its “deep apology” over the crash and said it will do its “utmost to manage the aftermath of the accident.” In a televised news conference, the company's president, Kim E-bae, bowed deeply with other senior company officials as he apologized to bereaved families and said he feels “full responsibility” for the crash. He said the company had not identified any mechanical problems with the aircraft following regular checkups and that he would wait for the results of government investigations. Family members wailed as officials announced the names of some victims at a lounge in the Muan airport. Boeing said in a statement on X that it was in contact with Jeju Air and was ready to support the company in dealing with the crash. The crash happened as South Korea is embroiled in a political crisis triggered by President Yoon Suk Yeol’s . South Korean lawmakers on Friday and suspended his duties, leading Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok to take over. Choi, who traveled to the site in Muan, called for officials to use all available resources to identify the dead as soon as possible. The government declared Muan a special disaster zone and designated a weeklong national mourning period. Yoon’s office said his chief secretary, Chung Jin-suk, presided over an emergency meeting between senior presidential staff to discuss the crash and reported the details to Choi. Yoon expressed condolences to the victims in a Facebook post. In Rome’s St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis said he joined in “prayer for the survivors and the dead.” U.S. President Joe Biden said the United States was ready to offer “any necessary assistance.” The Muan crash is one of the deadliest disasters in South Korea’s aviation history. The last time South Korea suffered a large-scale air disaster was in 1997, when a Korean Airlines plane crashed in Guam, killing 228 people on board. In 2013, in San Francisco, killing three and injuring about 200. Sunday’s accident was also one of the worst landing disasters since a July 2007 crash that killed all 187 people on board and 12 others on the ground when an Airbus A320 slid off a slick airstrip in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and hit a nearby building, according to data compiled by the Flight Safety Foundation, a nonprofit group aimed at improving air safety. In 2010, 158 people died when an Air India Express aircraft overshot a runway in Mangalore, India, and plummeted into a gorge before erupting into flames, according to the safety foundation. Associated Press journalists David Sharp in Portland, Maine; Paul Wiseman in Washington; Bobby Caina Calvan in New York; Chalida Ekvitthayavechnukul and Jintamas Saksornchai in Bangkok; Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo; and Giada Zampano in Rome contributed to this report.By Jim Salter St. Louis, Dec 13 (AP) Fourteen North Korean nationals have been indicted in a scheme using information technology workers with false identities to contract with US companies — workers who then funneled their wages to North Korea for development of ballistic missiles and other weapons, the head of the FBI office in St. Louis has said. The scheme involving thousands of IT workers generated more than USD88 million for the North Korean government, Ashley T Johnson, special agent in charge of the St. Louis FBI office, said at a news conference on Thursday. In addition to their wages, the workers stole sensitive information from companies or threatened to leak information in exchange for extortion payments, Johnson said. Victims included defrauded companies and people whose identities were stolen from across the US, including Missouri, Johnson said. The indictments were filed Wednesday in US District Court in St. Louis. All 14 people face wire fraud, money laundering, identity theft and other charges. Most of those accused are believed to be in North Korea. Johnson acknowledged that bringing them to justice will be difficult. To help, the US Department of State is offering a USD5 million reward for information leading to any of the suspects. Federal authorities said the scheme worked like this: North Korea dispatched thousands of IT workers to get hired and work remotely or as freelancers for US companies. The IT workers involved in the scheme sometimes used stolen identities. In other instances, they paid Americans to use their home Wi-Fi connections, or to pose in on-camera job interviews as the IT workers. Johnson said the FBI is going after those “domestic enablers,” too. “This is just the tip of the iceberg,” Johnson said. “If your company has hired fully remote IT workers, more likely than not, you have hired or at least interviewed a North Korean national working on behalf of the North Korean government,” Johnson said. The Justice Department in recent years has sought to expose and disrupt a broad variety of criminal schemes aimed at bolstering the North Korean regime, including its nuclear weapons program. In 2021, the Justice Department charged three North Korean computer programmers and members of the government's military intelligence agency in a broad range of global hacks that officials say were carried out at the behest of the regime. Law enforcement officials said at the time that the prosecution highlighted the profit-driven motive behind North Korea's criminal hacking, a contrast from other adversarial nations like Russia, China and Iran that are generally more interested in espionage, intellectual property theft or even disrupting democracy. In May 2022, the State Department, Department of the Treasury, and the FBI issued an advisory warning of attempts by North Koreans “to obtain employment while posing as non-North Korean nationals.” The advisory noted that in recent years, the regime of Kim Jong Un “has placed increased focus on education and training” in IT-related subjects. In October 2023, the FBI in St. Louis announced the seizure of USD1.5 million and 17 domain names as part of the investigation. The indictments announced Tuesday were the first stemming from the investigation. Johnson urged companies to thoroughly vet IT workers hired to work remotely. “One of the ways to help minimize your risk is to insist current and future IT workers appear on camera as often as possible if they are fully remote,” she said. Officials didn't name the companies that unknowingly hired North Korean workers. (AP) IJT (This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)