68 superph
AP Sports SummaryBrief at 5:23 p.m. EST
Chinese new energy vehicle companies plan to set up factories in Pakistan: ZafaruddinExtensive confidential documents in the lead-up to the collapse of Northern Ireland’s institutions in 2002 have been made available to the public as part of annual releases from the Irish National Archives. They reveal that the Irish Government wanted to appeal to the UK side against “manipulating” every scenario for favourable election results in Northern Ireland, in an effort to protect the peace process. In the years after the landmark 1998 Good Friday Agreement, a number of outstanding issues left the political environment fraught with tension and disagreement. Mr Trimble, who won a Nobel Peace Prize with SDLP leader John Hume for their work on the Agreement, was keen to gain wins for the UUP on policing, ceasefire audits and paramilitary disarmament – but also to present his party as firmer on these matters amid swipes from its Unionist rival, the DUP. These issues were at the front of his mind as he tried to steer his party into Assembly elections planned for May 2003 and continue in his role as the Executive’s first minister despite increasing political pressure. The documents reveal the extent to which the British and Irish Governments were trying to delicately resolve the contentious negotiations, conscious that moves seen as concessions to one group could provoke anger on the other side. In June 2002, representatives of the SDLP reported to Irish officials on a recent meeting between Mr Hume’s successor Mark Durkan and Prime Minister Tony Blair on policing and security. Mr Blair is said to have suggested that the SDLP and UUP were among those who both supported and took responsibility for the Good Friday Agreement. The confidential report of the meeting says that Mr Durkan, the deputy First Minister, was not sure that Mr Trimble had been correctly categorised. The Prime Minister asked if the SDLP could work more closely with the UUP ahead of the elections. Mr Durkan argued that Mr Trimble was not only not saleable to nationalists, but also not saleable to half of the UUP – to which Mr Blair and Northern Ireland Secretary John Reid are said to have laughed in agreement. The SDLP leader further warned that pursuing a “save David” campaign would ruin all they had worked for. Damien McAteer, an adviser for the SDLP, was recorded as briefing Irish officials on September 10 that it was his view that Mr Trimble was intent on collapsing the institutions in 2003 over expected fallout for Sinn Fein in the wake of the Colombia Three trial, where men linked to the party were charged with training Farc rebels – but predicted the UUP leader would be “in the toilet” by January, when an Ulster Unionist Council (UUC) meeting was due to take place. A week later in mid September, Mr Trimble assured Irish premier Bertie Ahern that the next UUC meeting to take place in two days’ time would be “okay but not great” and insisted he was not planning to play any “big game”. It was at that meeting that he made the bombshell announcement that the UUP would pull out of the Executive if the IRA had not disbanded by January 18. The move came as a surprise to the Irish officials who, along with their UK counterparts, did not see the deadline as realistic. Sinn Fein described the resolution as a “wreckers’ charter”. Doubts were raised that there would be any progress on substantive issues as parties would not be engaged in “pre-election skirmishing”. As that could lead to a UUP walkout and the resulting suspension of the institutions, the prospect of delaying the elections was raised while bringing forward the vote was ruled out. Therefore, the two Governments stressed the need to cooperate as a stabilising force to protect the Agreement – despite not being sure how that process would survive through the January 18 deadline. The Irish officials became worried that the British side did not share their view that Mr Trimble was not “salvageable” and that the fundamental dynamic in the UUP was now Agreement scepticism, the confidential documents state. In a meeting days after the UUC announcements, Mr Reid is recorded in the documents as saying that as infuriating as it was, Mr Trimble was at that moment the “most enlightened Unionist we have”. The Secretary said he would explore what the UUP leader needed to “survive” the period between January 18 and the election, believing a significant prize could avoid him being “massacred”. Such planning went out the window just weeks later, when hundreds of PSNI officers were involved in raids of several buildings – including Sinn Fein’s offices in Stormont. The resulting “Stormontgate” spy-ring scandal accelerated the collapse of powersharing, with the UUP pulling out of the institutions – and the Secretary of State suspending the Assembly and Executive on October 14. For his part, Irish officials were briefed that Mr Reid was said to be “gung ho” about the prospect of exercising direct rule – reportedly making no mention of the Irish Government in a meeting with Mr Trimble and Mr Durkan on that day. The Northern Ireland Secretary was given a new role and Paul Murphy was appointed as his successor. A note on speaking points for a meeting with Mr Murphy in April showed that the Irish side believed the May elections should go ahead: “At a certain stage the political process has to stand on its own feet. “The Governments cannot be manipulating and finessing every scenario to engineer the right result. “We have to start treating the parties and the people as mature and trusting that they have the discernment to make the right choices.” However, the elections planned for May did not materialise, instead delayed until November. Mr Trimble would go on to lose his Westminster seat – and stewardship of the UUP – in 2005. The November election saw the DUP emerge as the largest parties – but direct rule continued as Ian Paisley’s refused to share power with Sinn Fein, which Martin McGuinness’ colleagues. The parties eventually agreed to work together following further elections in 2007. – This article is based on documents in 2024/130/5, 2024/130/6, 2024/130/15
Man Utd legend’s dream start to new role; captains of relegation battlers spark controversy - PL wrap - Fox SportsThe warnings are increasing. Infectious disease researchers, virologists, veterinarians, and occupational health specialists around the world are sounding alarms. The stories of wild birds, mammals, poultry, cattle, and other farm animals with "bird flu" (H5N1) keep coming. The real infection numbers are greater than official reports, but no one knows by how much. Meanwhile, decision-makers and other authorities seem intent on repeating the same mistakes made with COVID-19 and SARS. Now, it has spread to people. Stories of dairy and poultry workers in the U.S., with largely "mild" infections so far, seemed distant — until news broke about a case in Canada. In early November, a B.C. teen made international news fighting for their life with a mutated version of the virus. They're still in intensive care, unable to contribute information about a possible source of their infection. At her Nov. 26 update , B.C.'s public health officer (PHO) Dr. Bonnie Henry tried to reassure the public with news that an “extensive public health investigation” revealed no known source. The only possibility found before closing the investigation was two dead geese infected with a virus version that may be related to the sick teen’s. While not having to deal with a specific source might make life easier for public health leaders, it’s not at all clear how that’s good news for the rest of us. It’s a lot harder to protect yourself when you don’t know where the infections are coming from. Why worry? In B.C., the perfect storm is brewing. The wild bird migratory season is happening along the Pacific flyway. With them — like the geese that may be behind the teen's infection — comes H5N1. In the Fraser Valley, so far, 64 operations have had poultry flocks infected with H5N1 since October, and scientists have found an “unprecedented amount of environmental contamination” of area wetlands with avian flu — where it may survive for months . Worse, the mutations found in the virus that infected the teenager show it’s adapting to humans and is more likely to affect the lungs - possibly explaining why the teen became so sick. This all is happening in the midst of respiratory viral season — on top of COVID-19 that just won’t go away, no matter how determined we are to ignore it. Sluggish and opaque responses to H5N1 outbreaks in the US are provoking international concern. The highly-respected American virologist David O’Connor says, “It seems that the United States is addicted to gambling with H5N1. But if you gamble long enough, the virus may hit a jackpot.” "A jackpot for the virus would fuel a pandemic", Tulio de Oliveira, South Africa’s director of the Center for Epidemic Response and Innovation, wrote in the New York Times , despairing at the lack of timely and complete sharing of information about the virus' evolution. His warning provides a frustrating echo of the un-learned lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic raised by the 2022 international Lancet Commission . Amongst other lessons, it highlighted "the lack of timely, accurate, and systematic data on infections, deaths, viral variants, health system responses, and indirect health consequences". Canadian authorities seem to be making the same gamble, unwilling to learn from their own past mistakes, or the collective wisdom of everyone from occupational health and safety experts to scientists, engineers, historians, and front-line healthcare workers. Based on initial symptoms alone, H5N1 can’t be distinguished from more familiar influenza strains, COVID-19 or the common cold. In the case of the infected BC teen, even asking about their poultry farm exposure would not have raised any alarms at their first ER visit. BC got lucky, and no H5N1 transmission occurred. The question is what happens next time? Researchers using ferrets to study an H5N1 strain isolated from a dairy farm worker found it could be transmitted via the air , as well as by direct contact and on contaminated cages and bedding material. Like the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19, the seasonal flu virus and many other disease-causing microbes , H5N1 can travel in tiny aerosol particles. They float in the air like smoke for hours, travelling significant distances, riding on air currents, and sneaking through the gaps around medical masks. Through the simple act of breathing, those infected with H5N1 risk unknowingly exposing everyone in that B.C. ER waiting room, and possibly dozens of healthcare workers. Even if we didn’t have the evidence of those ferret studies, the need for a precautionary approach is clear — especially when we have non-invasive, cost-effective tools like air cleaners and N95 respirators that dramatically reduce risk of spread. Public health leaders gambled against airborne transmission in COVID, and in SARS before that - and lost both times. We cannot afford to get this wrong yet again. Beyond the harm done to individuals, every new human infection produces billions of copies of the virus. With a high mutation rate, this allows nature’s evolutionary engine to roll the dice over and over — each one giving the virus another chance to hit the pandemic jackpot. For us, the only way to win is not to play. The good news is that with a precautionary approach, it not only can be done, but it has been done. Many people are familiar with the outbreaks that occurred when SARS arrived in Toronto in 2003 — far fewer know of Vancouver’s “outbreak that didn’t happen.” When a patient returning from Hong Kong arrived at the Vancouver General Hospital ER on March 7, 2003, the emergency team applied the precautionary principle. They placed the patient in respiratory isolation, before any laboratory confirmation. In contrast, Toronto hospitals were late to initiate airborne precautions to prevent the short- and long-range spread of the SARS virus in shared air - an error that led to many more people getting infected, and more deaths. The SARS Commission was crystal clear about the lessons public health leaders needed to learn from B.C.’s success and Ontario’s failure, presciently writing... "If the Commission has one single take-home message it is the precautionary principle that (health and) safety comes first: that reasonable efforts to reduce risk need not await scientific proof... Until this precautionary principle is fully recognized, mandated and enforced in our health care system, nurses and doctors and other health workers will continue to be at risk from new infections like SARS." Justice Campbell’s inquiry into the mismanagement of SARS-CoV-1 laid out the information we needed to do better when SARS-CoV-2 came along . He explicitly specified that “...the precautionary principle that reasonable action to reduce risk, like the use of a fitted N95 respirator, need not await scientific certainty.” Backed by decades of rigorous science and real-world experience in occupational health and safety (OHS), and very specific directions in the Canadian national standard ( CAN/CSA-Z94.4 ), there is simply no ambiguity about how to handle novel respiratory diseases with any potential to transmit via aerosols. This SARS lesson was unfortunately ignored. Thus the 2022 Lancet Commission's number two COVID-19 pandemic lesson was the... "costly delays in acknowledging the crucial airborne exposure pathway of SARS-CoV-2 ... and in implementing appropriate measures at national and global levels to slow the spread of the virus." In late 2022, almost two years into the pandemic, the retiring Chief Scientist of the World Health Organization publicly regretted the WHO's failure to accept and act on airborne transmission early on as their biggest mistake that has cost an enormous number of lives . We cannot make the same error again with H5N1. At her last update, it was a relief to hear BC PHO, Dr. Henry, confirm that the B.C. teenager with H5N1 has been on airborne precautions in the ICU. Unfortunately, both Vancouver Island Health Authority and Vancouver Coastal Health Authority put out clinical guidance stating that "droplet" precautions are sufficient when assessing and testing suspected bird flu patients. They are not, given that once the teen’s suspected H5N1 infection was confirmed, 60 healthcare workers had potentially already been exposed. Luckily for them and for us, this time, no one got infected. The August 2024 BC CDC version of Management of Specific Diseases, Interim H5N1 Avian Influenza Outbreak still defines “exposures of concern” as “within 2 meters to a bird, animal or other human with confirmed avian influenza A virus infection.” This fails to acknowledge that H5N1 can be spread much further through aerosol transmission, and will miss people who have been exposed. It also is counter to the precautionary principle. The path forward We do not know how rapidly H5N1 will evolve and spread — but there is a realistic possibility an H5N1 pandemic could be as bad as the COVID pandemic, or even worse. We might get lucky — but to rely on that happening is a gamble, not a strategy. No one discipline can claim to have all the answers to dealing with infectious diseases. Public health and infection control policies must be rewritten to adopt the practical, proactive, evidence-informed approaches used by OHS experts. We also need the deep understanding of engineering controls, like fresh and filtered air, along with the “societal memory” of historians and those who study human behaviour, and the lived experience of those harmed by past failures. Scientific understanding may not be able to perfectly predict the future, but it’s better than waiting until there are bodies to count before we act. So what does the precautionary principle (aka “ better safe than sorry ”) tell us we should be doing differently? First and foremost, those present in environments where there is a risk of H5N1 — especially in healthcare, or working with animals — must immediately be provided with the N95 respirators required to comply with basic health and safety standards, along with the training and policies needed to maximise their effectiveness. This is no more negotiable than protections against asbestos or toxic chemicals. The effective exemption of hospitals from workplace health and safety requirements cannot be permitted to continue. Secondly, public education and policies about transmission and contact tracing must be based on the physical realities of aerosol behaviour. There is no magic two-meter (or six foot, or 1-3 foot) boundary beyond which infectious particles somehow refuse to travel. A “potential exposure” is anyone who shared air with an infected person, who may or may not have symptoms. While the story of how those mistaken assumptions came about is entertaining, they are decades out of date - and lacked scientific justification in the first place. Thirdly, as Florence Nightingale recognized over a century and a half ago , places where diseases may be transmitted need clean air. Whether it’s SARS-CoV-2, H5N1, or something new a decade from now, if a pathogen can’t get to you, it can’t make you sick. While new technologies are being rolled out, we have effective options ready to go today, ones that are well-understood by the engineering experts who design and oversee their installation. Air filtration units — portable and fixed — provide a rapid way to remove contaminants and improve air quality in crowded spaces like hospitals, schools, other workplaces and indoor public spaces. Upgrades and new-build ventilation systems take longer to implement, but provide built-in filtration and fresh air delivery for the life of the building. Updates to legislation — an “Indoor Clean Air Act” as the one promised in New Brunswick — can help ensure the benefits are for everyone, not just the wealthy few. As a bonus, they can also remove other contaminants like wildfire smoke, dust and pollen. The best time to upgrade ventilation may have been years ago — but the second-best time is today. The history of major infectious disease outbreaks in Canada is one of missed opportunity after missed opportunity, betting against the house in nature’s casino. With growing awareness of the danger from H5N1 — and the damage already being done by long COVID — decision makers face a clear moral, scientific, and legal requirement to face the reality of airborne disease transmission, and act immediately. Enough is enough. Lyne Filiatrault, MDCM, FRCP EM (retired) Canadian Aerosol Transmission Coalition member [email protected] Heather Hanwell, PhD MPH MSc Chair and Treasurer, Ontario School Safety [email protected] Mark Ungrin, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute University of Calgary Co-chair, Legal Committee, Canadian COVID Society [email protected] Dorothy Wigmore, MSc Occupational hygienist Canadian Aerosol Transmission Coalition [email protected]
Power couple: green energy, gas giant bet on renewables
Abortion has become slightly more common despite bans or deep restrictions in most Republican-controlled states, and the legal and political fights over its future are not over. It’s now been two and a half years since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade and opened the door for states to implement bans. The policies and their impact have been in flux ever since the ruling in Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. Here’s a look at data on where things stand: Abortions are slightly more common now than before Dobbs Overturning Roe and enforcing abortion bans has changed how woman obtain abortions in the U.S. But one thing it hasn’t done is put a dent in the number of abortions being obtained. There have been slightly more abortions each month across the country recently than there were in the months leading up to the June 2022 ruling, even as the number in states with bans dropped to near zero. “Abortion bans don’t actually prevent abortions from happening,” said Ushma Upadhyay, a public health social scientist at UC San Francisco. But, she said, they do change care. For women in some states, there are major obstacles to getting abortions — and advocates say that low-income, minority and immigrant women are least likely to be able to get them when they want. For those living in states with bans, the ways to access abortion are through travel or abortion pills. Pills become a bigger part of equation — and the legal questions As the bans swept in, abortion pills became a bigger part of the equation. They were involved in about half the abortions before Dobbs. More recently, it’s been closer to two-thirds of them, according to research by the Guttmacher Institute. The uptick of that kind of abortion, usually involving a combination of two drugs, was underway before the ruling. But now, it’s become more common for pill prescriptions to be made by telehealth. By the summer of 2024, about 1 in 10 abortions was via pills prescribed via telehealth to patients in states where abortion is banned. As a result, the pills are now at the center of battles over abortion access. This month, Texas sued a New York doctor for prescribing pills to a Texas woman via telemedicine. There’s also an effort by Idaho, Kansas and Missouri to roll back their federal approvals and treat them as “controlled dangerous substances,” and a push for the federal government to start enforcing a 19th century federal law to ban mailing them. Travel for abortion has increased Clinics have closed or halted abortions in states with bans. But a network of efforts to get women seeking abortions to places where they’re legal has strengthened and travel for abortion is now common. The Guttmacher Institute found that more than twice as many Texas residents obtained abortion in 2023 in New Mexico as New Mexico residents did. And as many Texans received them in Kansas as Kansans. Abortion funds, which benefited from “rage giving” in 2022, have helped pay the costs for many abortion-seekers. But some funds have had to cap how much they can give. The abortion map has been in flux Since the downfall of Roe, the actions of lawmakers and courts have kept shifting where abortion is legal and under what conditions. Florida, the nation’s second most-populous state, began enforcing a ban on abortions after the first six weeks of pregnancy on May 1. That immediately changed the state from one that was a refuge for other Southerners seeking abortion to an exporter of people looking for them. There were about 30% fewer abortions there in May compared with the average for the first three months of the year. And in June, there were 35% fewer. While the ban is not unique, the impact is especially large. The average driving time from Florida to a facility in North Carolina where abortion is available for the first 12 weeks of pregnancy is more than nine hours, according to data maintained by Caitlin Myers, a Middlebury College economics professor. The bans have meant clinics closed or stopped offering abortions in some states. But some states where abortion remains legal until viability — generally considered to be sometime past 21 weeks of pregnancy, though there’s no fixed time for it — have seen clinics open and expand. Illinois, Kansas and New Mexico are among the states with new clinics. There were 799 publicly identifiable abortion providers in the U.S. in May 2022, the month before the Supreme Court reversed Roe vs. Wade. And by this November, it was 792, according to a tally by Myers, who is collecting data on abortion providers. But Myers says some hospitals that always provided some abortions have begun advertising it. So they’re now in the count of clinics — even though they might provide few of them. Lack of access to abortions during emergencies is threatening some patients’ lives How hospitals handle pregnancy complications, especially those that threaten the lives of the women, has emerged as a major issue since Roe was overturned. President Biden’s administration says hospitals must offer abortions when they’re needed to prevent organ loss, hemorrhage or deadly infections, even in states with bans. Texas is challenging the administration’s policy and the U.S. Supreme Court this year declined to take it up after the Biden administration sued Idaho. More than 100 pregnant women seeking help in emergency rooms were turned away or left unstable since 2022, the Associated Press found in an analysis of federal hospital investigative records. Among the complaints were a woman who miscarried in the lobby restroom of Texas emergency room after staff refused to see her and a woman who gave birth in a car after a North Carolina hospital couldn’t offer an ultrasound. The baby later died. “It is increasingly less safe to be pregnant and seeking emergency care in an emergency department,” Dara Kass, an emergency medicine doctor and former U.S. Health and Human Services official told the AP earlier this year. Abortion rights are popular with voters Since Roe was overturned, there have been 18 reproductive rights-related statewide ballot questions. Abortion rights advocates have prevailed on 14 of them and lost on four. In the 2024 election, they amended the constitutions in five states to add the right to abortion. Such measures failed in three states: In Florida, where it required 60% support; in Nebraska, which had competing abortion ballot measures; and in South Dakota, where most national abortion rights groups did support the measure. AP VoteCast data found that more than three-fifths of voters in 2024 supported abortion being legal in all or most cases — a slight uptick from 2020. The support came even as voters supported Republicans to control the White House and both houses of Congress. Mulvihill and Vineys write for the Associated Press. AP writers Linley Sanders, Amanda Seitz and Laura Ungar contributed to this report.
NoneFake news witnessed surge during PTI march, reveals report
Share pledging, where corporate insiders uses shares as collateral for personal loans, has been at the heart of several high-profile corporate scandals in recent years. One of the most notorious cases was the . From 1999 to 2002, the U.S.-based telecom company inflated profits to maintain its stock price. The scandal was largely driven by the on his pledged shares. A similar scenario unfolded in China when Leshi Internet Information and Technology and its founder, Jia Yueting, committed from 2007 to 2016. Yueting had pledged 97 per cent of his shares to secure funding for his U.S.-backed company, Faraday Future. To look deeper at this issue, , since Chinese controlling shareholders predominately pledge their shares. Our research found a trouble connection between share pledging by controlling shareholders and the likelihood of corporate misconduct. Our research found that when controlling shareholders engage in pledging, it increases the probability of corporate misconduct. This relationship held true across various types of misconduct and persisted regardless of the severity of penalties imposed. Share pledging Corporate insiders frequently pledge their shares as collateral to secure loans for personal investments and other private benefits. In the U.S., , and the average pledging ratio reached 37 per cent in 2012. A notable example is Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, who . The trend like Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore and the United Kingdom. In western Europe, pledging is common in a number of countries, including Austria, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Portugal and Spain, and among others. In developing markets like India and Taiwan, between 35 and 50 per cent of publicly listed firms have controlling shareholders who pledge shares. In China, 66 per cent of controlling shareholders pledged their shares between 2003 and 2017, with from RMB$26.22 billion (Chinese Yuan) in 2003 to RMB$2.9 trillion in 2017. , which typically hold at least 50 per cent of voting shares, have significant power over firms. Minority shareholders, on the other hand, receive poor legal protection under concentrated corporate ownership. Concentrated ownership is , particularly in East Asia where . Impacts of deregulation A pivotal shift occurred on May 24, 2013, when the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges, along with the China Securities Depository and Clearing Corporation, through the stock exchange trading system. Before this, share pledging was limited to banks and trusts operating in the over-the-counter market. by offering lower interest rates, fewer restrictions on loan usage and faster approvals. While the deregulation did not target misconduct by securities firms, it created a unique environment for analyzing the causal link between share pledging by controlling shareholders and corporate misconduct. This is what our research looked at. We found that firms located in Chinese provinces with more securities firms (treatment firms) were expected to have greater access to share pledging compared to firms in provinces with fewer securities firms (control firms). Our results confirmed that firms with pledging controlling shareholders were more likely to engage in misconduct following the 2013 deregulation. Prior to 2013, treated and control firms showed no significant differences. However, from 2015 onward, firms in provinces with more securities firms demonstrate an increased likelihood of misconduct compared to firms in provinces with fewer securities firms. This relationship was primarily driven by factors such as financial constraints, stock price inflation, avoidance of margin calls (demands from a broker to fund one’s margin account), and expropriation under weak corporate governance. Factors like political connections, share repurchases and increased bank monitoring didn’t contribute to the link between share pledging and corporate misconduct. Building better financial systems Although our study is based on data from China, its findings offer critical insights for countries beyond its borders. The findings are particularly relevant for countries in Asia, western Europe, and Latin America . The study’s conclusions also hold significance for North America, where financial institutions like pension funds and mutual funds invest portions of their portfolios in emerging markets. For instance, the and . The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board reported that was invested in China in March 2024. These institutions should consider governance risks associated with share pledging when developing their investment strategies. For regulators, our study underscores the importance of monitoring the growing influence of share pledging and its potential to exacerbate corporate misconduct. Weak governance structures can allow controlling shareholders to exploit the system, and strengthened oversight and tailored regulations are needed to alleviate these risks. Institutional and retail investors can likewise benefit from the study’s findings, using them to make investment decisions from the perspective of corporate governance. As markets become increasingly integrated, the importance of assessing governance risks associated with share pledging grows. Our research serves as a vital resource for policymakers and regulators who want to maintain ethical, robust financial systems. To remove this article -Altice USA, Inc. ( NYSE:ATUS – Get Free Report )’s stock price was down 3.6% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $2.40 and last traded at $2.41. Approximately 247,415 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 93% from the average daily volume of 3,478,171 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.50. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In ATUS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Altice USA from $2.50 to $3.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Altice USA from $6.00 to $3.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $2.30. Get Our Latest Stock Report on ATUS Altice USA Stock Down 1.6 % Altice USA ( NYSE:ATUS – Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.09) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.04 by ($0.13). Altice USA had a negative net margin of 1.85% and a negative return on equity of 1.54%. The business had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.15 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Altice USA, Inc. will post -0.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Insiders Place Their Bets In other Altice USA news, Director Alt S.A.R.L. Next sold 805,227 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.50, for a total value of $19,728,061.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 38,055,771 shares in the company, valued at approximately $932,366,389.50. This represents a 2.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link . In the last three months, insiders have sold 15,299,331 shares of company stock valued at $374,833,610. Company insiders own 52.90% of the company’s stock. Hedge Funds Weigh In On Altice USA Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aristeia Capital L.L.C. purchased a new position in Altice USA in the second quarter valued at $657,000. Wolverine Trading LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Altice USA during the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. King Street Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Altice USA in the 2nd quarter valued at about $5,100,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in Altice USA by 487.3% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 880,985 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,167,000 after purchasing an additional 730,985 shares during the period. Finally, Algert Global LLC boosted its position in Altice USA by 101.3% during the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 639,005 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,572,000 after purchasing an additional 321,618 shares in the last quarter. 54.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. About Altice USA ( Get Free Report ) Altice USA, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides broadband communications and video services in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. It offers broadband, video, telephony, and mobile services to residential and business customers. The company's video services include delivery of broadcast stations and cable networks; over the top services; video-on-demand, high-definition channels, digital video recorder, and pay-per-view services; and platforms for video programming through mobile applications. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Altice USA Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Altice USA and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .Ashley Young could find himself playing against son Tyler Young in the FA Cup after Everton's draw. The Toffees will host Peterborough in the third round which could be a family affair. The League One side will head to Goodison Park after successful negotiating the first and second rounds. Everton will be firm favourites with Ashley eyeing a match up with his son. Tyler, who is 18, is 21 years his father's junior and has just begun his career at London Road. Ashley, despite nearing his 40th birthday, has started 11 times for the Toffees in the Premier League and is buzzing about the prospect of an all-Young affair. He tweeted: "WOW.......... Dreams Might Come True. #FaCup #GoosebumpsMoment #YoungVsYoung". Ashley already boasts an FA Cup win over his CV, which came during his Manchester United days. With the Red Devils he was also a Premier League winner but is playing out the final days of his career on Merseyside, eyeing more FA Cup success with the Toffees. The winger, who has 39 caps for England, has been keeping a watchful eye on his son's career whilst playing. Tyler made an impressive impact during his debut in the club's 2-0 EFL Trophy victory over Stevenage at the Weston Homes Stadium just weeks ago. He came on for the final 30 minutes and caught the eye with a composed and energetic performance. Tyler's route to Peterborough began over the summer after a brief trial at the club, which came after he was released from Arsenal's academy, where he had spent the majority of his youth career. After Tyler appeared for the League One outfit his father took to social media and said: "Proud doesn’t even begin to explain this moment for you. Congrats on your debut Son and hopefully many many more to come." Everton have largely avoided any cup giant killings in recent years. Millwall were the last lower league outfit to beat the Toffees, doing so back in 2019. Peterborough meanwhile have made it beyond the third round of the FA Cup five times in the last two decades. Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. Sky has slashed the price of its Sky Sports, Sky Stream, Sky TV and Netflix bundle in an unbeatable new deal that saves £240 and includes 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.
Lifestance Health group director Robert Bessler sells $565,500 in stockAfter starting 2-0 in its inaugural Atlantic Coast Conference schedule, SMU looks to make the month even more special on Sunday, hosting Longwood in Dallas, Texas. The Mustangs seek a seven-game win streak in their final nonconference test before welcoming No. 4 Duke to Dallas on Jan. 4. In recent victories over Alabama State, Virginia, LSU, and Boston College, SMU (10-2) averaged 85.3 points per game, allowed just 66.0 ppg, and climbed to No. 30 in the NET rankings. "We're a different team right now than we were earlier in the season," SMU head coach Andy Enfield said at the beginning of December, his words ringing even truer as the season progresses. "They'd never been under pressure together until recently, so they're starting to learn and figure things out." Longwood (11-3) enters its third consecutive road game, having won five of its last six overall. That includes a major 82-67 win at North Carolina Central on Dec. 20. It was only the sixth nonconference home loss for NCC since 2016, and Longwood head coach Griff Aldrich saw it as a result of his team's growing cohesiveness. "We got great contributions from so many players," Aldrich said. "We have been working to play more and more connected, and this team has really taken positive steps this week." The Mustangs' Matt Cross is among the biggest threats to Longwood's defense, which allows just 66.6 points per game. A 6-foot-7 forward, Cross had 36 points over SMU's last two wins, including a 16-point, 16-rebound double-double against LSU. What Cross does with the ball in his hands is impressive -- he is averaging 13.5 ppg in December -- but it is also what he does off the ball that increases his value. "He's extremely tough," Enfield said after Cross' performance against LSU. "His wall up in transition, where (Corey) Chest came down, was going to dunk the ball, and he stood there and took the contact. ...That's a big-time basketball play." Longwood is paced by Michael Christmas, a veteran forward in his fourth year in the program. A hard-nosed wing who can score at all three levels, Christmas is Longwood's only returner who started at least 30 games on last year's NCAA Tournament team. He is averaging a team-high 11.9 points per game. "(He) loves this university, loves this town and community," Aldrich said of Christmas. "He opted to come back here to really invest in the program." --Field Level MediaThe warnings are increasing. Infectious disease researchers, virologists, veterinarians, and occupational health specialists around the world are sounding alarms. The stories of wild birds, mammals, poultry, cattle, and other farm animals with "bird flu" (H5N1) keep coming. The real infection numbers are greater than official reports, but no one knows by how much. Meanwhile, decision-makers and other authorities seem intent on repeating the same mistakes made with COVID-19 and SARS. Now, it has spread to people. Stories of dairy and poultry workers in the U.S., with largely "mild" infections so far, seemed distant — until news broke about a case in Canada. In early November, a B.C. teen made international news fighting for their life with a mutated version of the virus. They're still in intensive care, unable to contribute information about a possible source of their infection. At her Nov. 26 update , B.C.'s public health officer (PHO) Dr. Bonnie Henry tried to reassure the public with news that an “extensive public health investigation” revealed no known source. The only possibility found before closing the investigation was two dead geese infected with a virus version that may be related to the sick teen’s. While not having to deal with a specific source might make life easier for public health leaders, it’s not at all clear how that’s good news for the rest of us. It’s a lot harder to protect yourself when you don’t know where the infections are coming from. Why worry? In B.C., the perfect storm is brewing. The wild bird migratory season is happening along the Pacific flyway. With them — like the geese that may be behind the teen's infection — comes H5N1. In the Fraser Valley, so far, 64 operations have had poultry flocks infected with H5N1 since October, and scientists have found an “unprecedented amount of environmental contamination” of area wetlands with avian flu — where it may survive for months . Worse, the mutations found in the virus that infected the teenager show it’s adapting to humans and is more likely to affect the lungs - possibly explaining why the teen became so sick. This all is happening in the midst of respiratory viral season — on top of COVID-19 that just won’t go away, no matter how determined we are to ignore it. Sluggish and opaque responses to H5N1 outbreaks in the US are provoking international concern. The highly-respected American virologist David O’Connor says, “It seems that the United States is addicted to gambling with H5N1. But if you gamble long enough, the virus may hit a jackpot.” "A jackpot for the virus would fuel a pandemic", Tulio de Oliveira, South Africa’s director of the Center for Epidemic Response and Innovation, wrote in the New York Times , despairing at the lack of timely and complete sharing of information about the virus' evolution. His warning provides a frustrating echo of the un-learned lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic raised by the 2022 international Lancet Commission . Amongst other lessons, it highlighted "the lack of timely, accurate, and systematic data on infections, deaths, viral variants, health system responses, and indirect health consequences". Canadian authorities seem to be making the same gamble, unwilling to learn from their own past mistakes, or the collective wisdom of everyone from occupational health and safety experts to scientists, engineers, historians, and front-line healthcare workers. Based on initial symptoms alone, H5N1 can’t be distinguished from more familiar influenza strains, COVID-19 or the common cold. In the case of the infected BC teen, even asking about their poultry farm exposure would not have raised any alarms at their first ER visit. BC got lucky, and no H5N1 transmission occurred. The question is what happens next time? Researchers using ferrets to study an H5N1 strain isolated from a dairy farm worker found it could be transmitted via the air , as well as by direct contact and on contaminated cages and bedding material. Like the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19, the seasonal flu virus and many other disease-causing microbes , H5N1 can travel in tiny aerosol particles. They float in the air like smoke for hours, travelling significant distances, riding on air currents, and sneaking through the gaps around medical masks. Through the simple act of breathing, those infected with H5N1 risk unknowingly exposing everyone in that B.C. ER waiting room, and possibly dozens of healthcare workers. Even if we didn’t have the evidence of those ferret studies, the need for a precautionary approach is clear — especially when we have non-invasive, cost-effective tools like air cleaners and N95 respirators that dramatically reduce risk of spread. Public health leaders gambled against airborne transmission in COVID, and in SARS before that - and lost both times. We cannot afford to get this wrong yet again. Beyond the harm done to individuals, every new human infection produces billions of copies of the virus. With a high mutation rate, this allows nature’s evolutionary engine to roll the dice over and over — each one giving the virus another chance to hit the pandemic jackpot. For us, the only way to win is not to play. The good news is that with a precautionary approach, it not only can be done, but it has been done. Many people are familiar with the outbreaks that occurred when SARS arrived in Toronto in 2003 — far fewer know of Vancouver’s “outbreak that didn’t happen.” When a patient returning from Hong Kong arrived at the Vancouver General Hospital ER on March 7, 2003, the emergency team applied the precautionary principle. They placed the patient in respiratory isolation, before any laboratory confirmation. In contrast, Toronto hospitals were late to initiate airborne precautions to prevent the short- and long-range spread of the SARS virus in shared air - an error that led to many more people getting infected, and more deaths. The SARS Commission was crystal clear about the lessons public health leaders needed to learn from B.C.’s success and Ontario’s failure, presciently writing... "If the Commission has one single take-home message it is the precautionary principle that (health and) safety comes first: that reasonable efforts to reduce risk need not await scientific proof... Until this precautionary principle is fully recognized, mandated and enforced in our health care system, nurses and doctors and other health workers will continue to be at risk from new infections like SARS." Justice Campbell’s inquiry into the mismanagement of SARS-CoV-1 laid out the information we needed to do better when SARS-CoV-2 came along . He explicitly specified that “...the precautionary principle that reasonable action to reduce risk, like the use of a fitted N95 respirator, need not await scientific certainty.” Backed by decades of rigorous science and real-world experience in occupational health and safety (OHS), and very specific directions in the Canadian national standard ( CAN/CSA-Z94.4 ), there is simply no ambiguity about how to handle novel respiratory diseases with any potential to transmit via aerosols. This SARS lesson was unfortunately ignored. Thus the 2022 Lancet Commission's number two COVID-19 pandemic lesson was the... "costly delays in acknowledging the crucial airborne exposure pathway of SARS-CoV-2 ... and in implementing appropriate measures at national and global levels to slow the spread of the virus." In late 2022, almost two years into the pandemic, the retiring Chief Scientist of the World Health Organization publicly regretted the WHO's failure to accept and act on airborne transmission early on as their biggest mistake that has cost an enormous number of lives . We cannot make the same error again with H5N1. At her last update, it was a relief to hear BC PHO, Dr. Henry, confirm that the B.C. teenager with H5N1 has been on airborne precautions in the ICU. Unfortunately, both Vancouver Island Health Authority and Vancouver Coastal Health Authority put out clinical guidance stating that "droplet" precautions are sufficient when assessing and testing suspected bird flu patients. They are not, given that once the teen’s suspected H5N1 infection was confirmed, 60 healthcare workers had potentially already been exposed. Luckily for them and for us, this time, no one got infected. The August 2024 BC CDC version of Management of Specific Diseases, Interim H5N1 Avian Influenza Outbreak still defines “exposures of concern” as “within 2 meters to a bird, animal or other human with confirmed avian influenza A virus infection.” This fails to acknowledge that H5N1 can be spread much further through aerosol transmission, and will miss people who have been exposed. It also is counter to the precautionary principle. The path forward We do not know how rapidly H5N1 will evolve and spread — but there is a realistic possibility an H5N1 pandemic could be as bad as the COVID pandemic, or even worse. We might get lucky — but to rely on that happening is a gamble, not a strategy. No one discipline can claim to have all the answers to dealing with infectious diseases. Public health and infection control policies must be rewritten to adopt the practical, proactive, evidence-informed approaches used by OHS experts. We also need the deep understanding of engineering controls, like fresh and filtered air, along with the “societal memory” of historians and those who study human behaviour, and the lived experience of those harmed by past failures. Scientific understanding may not be able to perfectly predict the future, but it’s better than waiting until there are bodies to count before we act. So what does the precautionary principle (aka “ better safe than sorry ”) tell us we should be doing differently? First and foremost, those present in environments where there is a risk of H5N1 — especially in healthcare, or working with animals — must immediately be provided with the N95 respirators required to comply with basic health and safety standards, along with the training and policies needed to maximise their effectiveness. This is no more negotiable than protections against asbestos or toxic chemicals. The effective exemption of hospitals from workplace health and safety requirements cannot be permitted to continue. Secondly, public education and policies about transmission and contact tracing must be based on the physical realities of aerosol behaviour. There is no magic two-meter (or six foot, or 1-3 foot) boundary beyond which infectious particles somehow refuse to travel. A “potential exposure” is anyone who shared air with an infected person, who may or may not have symptoms. While the story of how those mistaken assumptions came about is entertaining, they are decades out of date - and lacked scientific justification in the first place. Thirdly, as Florence Nightingale recognized over a century and a half ago , places where diseases may be transmitted need clean air. Whether it’s SARS-CoV-2, H5N1, or something new a decade from now, if a pathogen can’t get to you, it can’t make you sick. While new technologies are being rolled out, we have effective options ready to go today, ones that are well-understood by the engineering experts who design and oversee their installation. Air filtration units — portable and fixed — provide a rapid way to remove contaminants and improve air quality in crowded spaces like hospitals, schools, other workplaces and indoor public spaces. Upgrades and new-build ventilation systems take longer to implement, but provide built-in filtration and fresh air delivery for the life of the building. Updates to legislation — an “Indoor Clean Air Act” as the one promised in New Brunswick — can help ensure the benefits are for everyone, not just the wealthy few. As a bonus, they can also remove other contaminants like wildfire smoke, dust and pollen. The best time to upgrade ventilation may have been years ago — but the second-best time is today. The history of major infectious disease outbreaks in Canada is one of missed opportunity after missed opportunity, betting against the house in nature’s casino. With growing awareness of the danger from H5N1 — and the damage already being done by long COVID — decision makers face a clear moral, scientific, and legal requirement to face the reality of airborne disease transmission, and act immediately. Enough is enough. Lyne Filiatrault, MDCM, FRCP EM (retired) Canadian Aerosol Transmission Coalition member [email protected] Heather Hanwell, PhD MPH MSc Chair and Treasurer, Ontario School Safety [email protected] Mark Ungrin, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute University of Calgary Co-chair, Legal Committee, Canadian COVID Society [email protected] Dorothy Wigmore, MSc Occupational hygienist Canadian Aerosol Transmission Coalition [email protected]
How Golgi stress affects T-cells' tumor-fighting ability
Elon Musk plans to expand Colossus AI supercomputer tenfold - Financial Times
Indian rupee on gentle one-way path down, to breach 85/$ in 6 months