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Robert Lewandowski equaled Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo’s UEFA Champions League Feat in Barcelona’s 3-0 win against Brest on Tuesday night. Lewandowski bagged a brace in the comfortable win for Barcelona against the French team. The former Bayern striker has become just the third player to score 100 goals in the UEFA Champions League, along with Ronaldo (140) and Messi (129). Lewandowski opened the scoring for Barcelona in the 10th minute before Dani Olmo made it 2-0 on 66 minutes. Then in the 92nd minute Lewandowski made it 3-0 for Hansi Flick’s men. After five games played, Barcelona are now in second place on 12 points in the Champions League standing. The Catalans are just one point behind leaders Inter Milan.
WASHINGTON (AP) — One year after the Jan. 6, 2021 , U.S. Capitol attack, Attorney General Merrick Garland said the Justice Department was committed to holding accountable all perpetrators “at any level” for “the assault on our democracy.” That bold declaration won't apply to at least one person: Donald Trump. Special counsel Jack Smith's move on Monday to abandon the federal election interference case against Trump means jurors will likely never decide whether the president-elect is criminally responsible for his attempts to cling to power after losing the 2020 campaign. The decision to walk away from the election charges and the separate classified documents case against Trump marks an abrupt end of the Justice Department’s unprecedented legal effort that once threatened his liberty but appears only to have galvanized his supporters. The abandonment of the cases accusing Trump of endangering American democracy and national security does away with the most serious legal threats he was facing as he returns to the White House. It was the culmination of a monthslong defense effort to delay the proceedings at every step and use the criminal allegations to Trump's political advantage, putting the final word in the hands of voters instead of jurors. “We always knew that the rich and powerful had an advantage, but I don’t think we would have ever believed that somebody could walk away from everything,” said Stephen Saltzburg, a George Washington University law professor and former Justice Department official. “If there ever was a Teflon defendant, that’s Donald Trump.” While prosecutors left the door open to the possibility that federal charges could be re-filed against Trump after he leaves office, that seems unlikely. Meanwhile, Trump's presidential victory has thrown into question the future of the two state criminal cases against him in New York and Georgia. Trump was supposed to be sentenced on Tuesday after his conviction on 34 felony counts in his New York hush money case , but it's possible the sentencing could be delayed until after Trump leaves office, and the defense is pushing to dismiss the case altogether. Smith's team stressed that their decision to abandon the federal cases was not a reflection of the merit of the charges, but an acknowledgement that they could not move forward under longstanding Justice Department policy that says sitting presidents cannot face criminal prosecution. Trump's presidential victory set “at odds two fundamental and compelling national interests: On the one hand, the Constitution’s requirement that the President must not be unduly encumbered in fulfilling his weighty responsibilities . . . and on the other hand, the Nation’s commitment to the rule of law,” prosecutors wrote in court papers. The move just weeks after Trump's victory over Vice President Kamala Harris underscores the immense personal stake Trump had in the campaign in which he turned his legal woes into a political rallying cry. Trump accused prosecutors of bringing the charges in a bid to keep him out of the White House, and he promised revenge on his perceived enemies if he won a second term. “If Donald J. Trump had lost an election, he may very well have spent the rest of his life in prison,” Vice President-elect JD Vance, wrote in a social media post on Monday. “These prosecutions were always political. Now it’s time to ensure what happened to President Trump never happens in this country again.” After the Jan. 6 attack by Trump supporters that left more than 100 police officers injured, Republican leader Mitch McConnell and several other Republicans who voted to acquit Trump during his Senate impeachment trial said it was up to the justice system to hold Trump accountable. The Jan. 6 case brought last year in Washington alleged an increasingly desperate criminal conspiracy to subvert the will of voters after Trump's 2020 loss, accusing Trump of using the angry mob of supporters that attacked the Capitol as “a tool” in his campaign to pressure then-Vice President Mike Pence and obstruct the certification of Democrat Joe Biden's victory. Hundreds of Jan. 6 rioters — many of whom have said they felt called to Washington by Trump — have pleaded guilty or been convicted by juries of federal charges at the same courthouse where Trump was supposed to stand trial last year. As the trial date neared, officials at the courthouse that sits within view of the Capitol were busy making plans for the crush of reporters expected to cover the historic case. But Trump's argument that he enjoyed absolute immunity from prosecution quickly tied up the case in appeals all the way up to the Supreme Court. The high court ruled in July that former presidents have broad immunity from prosecution , and sent the case back to the trial court to decide which allegations could move forward. But the case was dismissed before the trial court could get a chance to do so. The other indictment brought in Florida accused Trump of improperly storing at his Mar-a-Lago estate sensitive documents on nuclear capabilities, enlisting aides and lawyers to help him hide records demanded by investigators and cavalierly showing off a Pentagon “plan of attack” and classified map. But U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the case in July on grounds that Smith was illegally appointed . Smith appealed to the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, but abandoned that appeal on Monday. Smith's team said it would continue its fight in the appeals court to revive charges against Trump's two co-defendants because “no principle of temporary immunity applies to them.” In New York, jurors spent weeks last spring hearing evidence in a state case alleging a Trump scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election through a hush money payment to a porn actor who said the two had sex. New York prosecutors recently expressed openness to delaying sentencing until after Trump's second term, while Trump's lawyers are fighting to have the conviction dismissed altogether. In Georgia, a trial while Trump is in office seems unlikely in a state case charging him and more than a dozen others with conspiring to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state. The case has been on hold since an appeals court agreed to review whether to remove Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis over her romantic relationship with the special prosecutor she had hired to lead the case. Associated Press reporter Lisa Mascaro in Washington contributed.
Two of the ABC’s most well-known broadcasters, Patricia Karvelas and Michael Rowland, have signed off for the final time from their respective morning programs. ABC News Breakfast host Michael Rowland has signed off after 15 years in the role. Credit: ABC Rowland wrapped up nearly 15 years at ABC News Breakfast helm in an emotional final bulletin surrounded by his family and colleagues. “Thank you very much, It’s been wonderful,” said Rowland, in his last words on the show. “I have been genuinely touched and overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and affection from our viewers. One of my great achievements over the last 15 years has been building up this fantastic audience,” said Rowland. Meanwhile, Karvelas signed off after three years hosting ABC’s flagship morning radio show RN Breakfast. “You’ve been there with me throughout great change in our country and the world, and I want to thank you for it,” Karvelas said, thanking listeners and the Radio National team. Patricia Karvelas hosted RN Breakfast for three years. Credit: Scott McNaughton Karvelas reflected on her “uniquely Australian” story, growing up in a household where she didn’t speak English. “Because of a strong public education system and dedicated teachers and incredible family support, I got to grow up and host a national radio show where rigour and curiosity is at the centre of what we do,” she said. Karvelas wished the best of luck to her replacement Sally Sara. “I’ll be listening because I care about this show, and I care about journalism, and I care about telling the truth in a world where the truth is not to be contested.” Education Minister Jason Clare has rejected the idea the Coalition’s nuclear policy would cost less or be better for the environment, saying it had “the shelf life of a seafood milkshake”. Speaking on Seven’s Sunrise , Clare described the announcement as “the biggest hoax since Milli Vanilli.” “This is never going to happen,” he said. “Best-case scenario, it takes 30 years to turn a lightbulb on, we can’t wait that long.” Deputy Opposition Leader Sussan Ley was also asked by the program whether the policy would result in cheaper energy bills but said she wouldn’t “get ahead of that announcement”. “If the system costs less, you pay less,” she said. “If our system is substantially cheaper, and you will see that it is, then Australians will pay less, and right now, they’re paying more, they’re paying more in their electricity bills every single month.” Read more about the costings here. Nuclear power doesn’t stack up for Australian families or businesses, says Fortescue chairman Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest. “As our national science agency has shown, ‘firmed’ solar and wind are the cheapest new electricity options for all Australians,” he said in a statement. Billionaire businessman Andrew Forrest. Credit: Bloomberg “The cost of electricity generated on a grid dominated by firmed renewable energy in 2030 will be half what you would have to pay if it came from nuclear, CSIRO found.” Forrest, who is a big player in the non-fossil fuels energy market, said that without continued action on “low-cost, high-efficiency renewable energy”, Australians will be left with “pricier power and crumbling coal stations”. “We must never forget – Australia has the best renewable resources in the world,” he added. “Seizing these Australian opportunities must be our shared national goal.” AAP It wasn’t just the Coalition dodging questions this morning, with Labor frontbenchers Chris Bowen and Bill Shorten playing coy on the broken 2022 election promise that power bills would come down by $275 by 2023. Energy Minister Chris Bowen was asked if he regretted making the promise in 2022, but he was keen to redirect the question to discuss the cost of renewable energy. “I don’t regret obviously pointing out that renewables are the cheapest form of energy,” Bowen said. Energy Minister Chris Bowen. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen “I look forward to debating the competing plans before the Australian people at the next election.” Pushed to answer the question again, Bowen said we were dealing with “a different set of circumstances internationally” post-2022. “Australia’s increase in energy prices has been less than a lot of other comparable countries. We delivered billions of dollars of energy bill relief, which has been the appropriate thing to do, which has been opposed by the Liberal and National Party.” Asked about the promise on Nine’s Today , NDIS Minister Bill Shorten also opted to pivot to the Coalition’s nuclear plan. “We know that energy prices are part of the cost-of-living pressure on families. That’s why I think that the heroic assumptions of Peter Dutton promising some fanciful solution in 25 years time is just a crock,” Shorten said. “The idea we’re going to come from scratch and build a whole nuclear industry in Australia is, you know, just a fantasy”. Coalition frontbenchers have avoided promising energy bills will be cheaper if they win government, as Opposition Leader Peter Dutton prepares to reveal the costings of his signature nuclear policy later today. Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie and MP Barnaby Joyce were both asked if they would pledge power would be cheaper under the Coalition, but both dodged the question. McKenzie was asked on Nine’s Today , where she first said that the price was attached to the “cost of delivering something”. “And our plan is absolutely cheaper than Labor’s plan to get to 2050,” she said. Asked again if the Coalition would bring down power bills, McKenzie weaved again, saying prices would come down in the longer term. “By adding net zero nuclear to firm up the renewables that we’ve got in the grid as well is the way to actually get prices down over the long term,” she said. Joyce was asked the same question on ABC’s RN Breakfast. On the fifth iteration of the question, Joyce finally answered: “That is asking for a hypothetical question, which I could answer you, but I would not be telling the truth because I don’t have the facts before me.” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese took time out of his busy pre-Christmas schedule to join the farewell party for Sammy J on ABC Radio Melbourne this morning, but he wasted no time at all in using his appearance to go into political attack mode. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Credit: Kate Geraghty “It’s Friday the 13th, an auspicious day, I’ve got to say, for Peter Dutton to drop his nuclear nightmare policy out there,” Albanese said, bypassing the pleasantries and bonhomie in favour of dropping a bomb on the opposition leader. “Oh, so straight into it,” said Sammy J (aka Sam McMillan). “Have you had a sneak peek [at Dutton’s nuclear power plan]?” he asked. “I had a look at some of the fiction that’s out there,” the PM replied, claiming nuclear power would not lead to savings on the cost of household power but rather “increase bills by $1200′′. “The truth is that renewables are the cheapest form of new energy. Everyone knows that’s the case. The science tells us that that’s the case. The economists tell us that’s the case.” Energy Minister Chris Bowen says he doesn’t accept the Coalition’s claim that Labor’s energy policies will cost $594 billion, as the debate over whose plan will cost more gets underway. The Coalition will claim their nuclear energy policy will be $263 billion cheaper than Labor’s renewables plan, costing $331 billion. Joining ABC News Breakfast ahead of the release of Peter Dutton’s nuclear energy costing later today, Bowen said Coalition must have done some “mental gymnastics” to come up with those numbers. “We’ll go through the details today, I don’t believe they have released it to the ABC or the ALP, funnily enough,” Bowen said. The energy minister said they must have made some “very heroic assumptions” and “really stretched the truth” to come up with the “very dodgy figures”. Bowen said he “doesn’t accept” the $594 billion figure for renewables, an estimate modelled by consultancy Frontier Economics for the Coalition. “What they have also done is very clearly in the costings of their own policy rejected the CSIRO and AEMO’s work,” Bowen said. “What the Coalition is asking the Australian people to believe is this: That they can introduce the most expensive form of energy and it will end up being cheaper. It won’t pass the pub test. It won’t pass the sniff test because it is just a fantasy.” The nation’s top science agency has declared its independence after Opposition Leader Peter Dutton accused the CSIRO of bias in its findings that nuclear is the most expensive energy source. CSIRO’s GenCost report, released on Monday, found yet again that nuclear was at least 50 per cent more expensive than renewables, and it would take at least 15 years to build the first reactor in Australia. The opposition claims nuclear power is cheaper and quicker to build than this. Dutton responded to the news with an accusation that the CSIRO had ceded to political interference by Energy Minister Chris Bowen. “It just looks to me like there’s a heavy hand of Chris Bowen in all this,” Dutton said on Monday morning. CSIRO released a statement last night that declared: “We conduct our independent, rigorous research without fear or favour. We do not advocate, defend or debate the merits of government or opposition policies. To assert otherwise requires compelling evidence.” The statement went on to state it conducts research in the national interest: CSIRO conducts research in the national interest that will benefit the Australian community – from navigating the energy transition to adapting to a changing climate to safeguarding Australia from pathogens that threaten our health, biodiversity and food supply. These areas have a direct impact on the Australian community and naturally give rise to a range of views and opinions. For an organisation like CSIRO, this means we can be caught in the middle of debates. CSIRO can be trusted to deliver independent, non-partisan and high-quality research to help solve the challenges facing Australia and Australians.” Airports around the country are bracing for chaos as hundreds of Qantas engineers walk off the job. But the airline has assured customers there will be no impact on their travel plans on one of the busiest travel days of the year. Around 500 workers from three different unions began a 24-hour strike action at 3.30am this morning. It’s expected to impact major airports across the country, including Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide, and will end at 7.30am on Saturday. Friday marks the first day of the 6-week summer travel period when 13.5 million travellers pass through Australia’s domestic airports. It’s also the first day of school holidays in South Australia, Western Australia and Queensland. A Qantas aircraft at Melbourne, one of the airports affected by the industrial action. Credit: Luis Enrique Ascui The striking workers, responsible for the towing and marshalling of planes, are calling for a 5 per cent per year pay increase over 5 years after what they say is 3.5 years of frozen wages. Qantas says it has put forward a competitive package with 3 per cent per year over three years, with negotiations now at a stalemate. Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union National Secretary Steve Murphy says industrial action was the only way to get Qantas to the bargaining table. It’s been six weeks since the last strike. “Workers have no other choice. They will be taking industrial action to bring Qantas back to the bargaining table,” Murphy said. “Qantas is to blame if there’s any disruption to commuters over the holiday period. They have had six weeks to simply do what they said they would.” A Qantas spokesperson said a number of contingencies are in place to prevent delays. “Around 160 aircraft maintenance engineers are rostered on during Friday’s industrial action, and only members of the alliance unions can take industrial action,” said Qantas. The spokesperson noted there were no delays or cancellations during the previous strikes. Opposition Leader Peter Dutton will ask Australians to support hundreds of billions of dollars in new spending on nuclear energy, including a controversial move to use taxpayer subsidies to build the industry while promising to bring down household electricity bills. Dutton is expected to reveal more details of his plan on Friday with a pledge to build seven full-scale nuclear power stations , rather than smaller “modular” reactors, to deliver baseload electricity and lower the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions. Coalition MPs will be briefed on the plan in a party room meeting on Friday morning at 10am. A key part of the plan will be an assumption that coal-fired power stations will continue to operate while a Coalition government awards contracts to build the nuclear plants, even though energy companies are planning to stop using coal over the next two decades. Read the full story, including the results of exclusive polling, here.NEW YORK , Dec. 12, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Halper Sadeh LLC, an investor rights law firm, is investigating the following companies for potential violations of the federal securities laws and/or breaches of fiduciary duties to shareholders relating to: Cross Country Healthcare, Inc. (NASDAQ: CCRN)'s sale to Aya Healthcare for $18.61 per share in cash. If you are a Cross Country shareholder, click here to learn more about your legal rights and options . EnLink Midstream, LLC (NYSE: ENLC)'s sale to ONEOK, Inc. for 0.1412 shares of ONEOK common stock for each common unit of EnLink. If you are an EnLink shareholder, click here to learn more about your rights and options . Manitex International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MNTX)'s sale to Tadano Ltd. for $5.80 per share in cash. If you are a Manitex shareholder, click here to learn more about your legal rights and options . Halper Sadeh LLC may seek increased consideration for shareholders, additional disclosures and information concerning the proposed transaction, or other relief and benefits on behalf of shareholders. We would handle the action on a contingent fee basis, whereby you would not be responsible for out-of-pocket payment of our legal fees or expenses. Shareholders are encouraged to contact the firm free of charge to discuss their legal rights and options. Please call Daniel Sadeh or Zachary Halper at (212) 763-0060 or email sadeh@halpersadeh.com or zhalper@halpersadeh.com . Halper Sadeh LLC represents investors all over the world who have fallen victim to securities fraud and corporate misconduct. Our attorneys have been instrumental in implementing corporate reforms and recovering millions of dollars on behalf of defrauded investors. Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Contact Information: Halper Sadeh LLC Daniel Sadeh, Esq. Zachary Halper, Esq. (212) 763-0060 sadeh@halpersadeh.com zhalper@halpersadeh.com https://www.halpersadeh.com View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/shareholder-investigation-halper-sadeh-llc-investigates-ccrn-enlc-mntx-on-behalf-of-shareholders-302330624.html SOURCE Halper Sadeh LLP
It’s the holiday season, and locals may be looking for gifts that highlight what makes Las Vegas unique. Small business owners in the area have their own insight. Here are five Nevada entrepreneurs and makers — and their suggestions on what makes a good, locally made gift. Vegas-specific wearable art from Battle Born Pins Iconic Las Vegas signs may have been most famous when they were dozens of feet tall, but one locally born artist keeps the vintage icons alive through very, very small versions. Holly Vaughn runs Battle Born Pins with a mission to commemorate the mid-century modern designs and style that once loomed over Las Vegas streets. “So many things in Vegas are very fleeting, very ephemeral,” she said. “I wanted to have something that I knew I could keep, that would last forever.” It turns out others did, too. Since then, Vaughn has developed more than 100 designs of different signs, landmarks or iconography related to Las Vegas and Nevada. She said many people connect to the small items for what they represent of businesses that have long since been demolished or otherwise changed. “People tell me the most amazing stories,” she said. “They’ll message me on Instagram or email me and just thank me profusely — ‘Thank you for making this pin of the Stardust. My grandpa worked there, and we have nothing to remember that time by.’ That’s my favorite part, hearing great stories from the people who really built this city and make it what it is.” Vaughn’s pins are primarily sold online at LasVegasPins.com but can also be found in retailers around the Vegas valley. Her largest collection is sold at the Antique Alley Mall in the Arts District. Vaughn said she has a special gift package targeted for couples married in Vegas: a $32 “elopement box” with pins, a notepad, key chain and stickers. For other Vegas lovers, gift-givers can pick from several iconic signs — Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas, Vegas Vic and Vickie to name a few — or purchase one that’s dear to their loved one. Pins range from $10 to $12. T-shirts and trinkets at Tofu Tees Plenty of customers at Tofu Tees don’t believe 16-year-old Kumei Norwood when she tells them it’s her business. “Some people will be like, ‘Oh, do your parents own this and you’re working for them?’ No, it’s all my designs and everything,” Norwood said. “It’s a lot of different reactions — in person it’s a lot of positive reactions. Online it’s a little mixed.” Not only is she running the show — she’s been doing it for eight years. Norwood’s apparel business started with a T-shirt screen printed with an old note of hers, complete with the kid-like scrawl: “Why Are Peepl So Sensitiv?” Her designs focus on social issues, like T-shirts and stickers that declare “racism is trash” and “social issues are not trends.” Norwood said she also uses the store as a way to give back to the community. For instance, a donation box set outside the store will accept gifts to be distributed at The Solidarity Fridge, a mutual aid group in east Las Vegas, on Christmas Eve. Norwood’s business moved into Fergusons Downtown in 2021. A Las Vegas Academy student during part of the business’s open hours, Norwood’s mother runs the shop while she’s in school. Or, other entrepreneurs will host pop-up business hours, selling their products alongside Norwood’s. “I’ve always been surrounded by entrepreneurs ever since I was little,” she said. “We lived out in L.A. when I was 4 or 5-ish, and my mom always made jewelry for photoshoots and sets and stuff, so I was always surrounded by people who are making stuff. That really influenced me from a young age.” Norwood recommends that shoppers look for several small items to make up a larger gift. Tofu Tees is selling three different gift boxes made up of trinkets and other items: the “self-love” box for $18, the “Sensitiv” box for $20 and the “reproductive rights” box for $25. More than a six-pack at Mojave Brewing It’s easy to get a beer lover a six-pack and put it under the tree. But a growler and a gift certificate to their favorite brewery is a great way to get more out of a thoughtful present, according to advice from the owner of Henderson’s Mojave Brewing. John “Griff” Griffith said his business on Water Street is also brewing “Holiday Havoc,” a 5 percent alcohol by volume pastry stout, and the Wu Tang Clan-inspired “Ain’t Nothing To F—- With” imperial stout (with at 17 percent A.B.V. to match the name), both of which could pique the interest of hopheads. A growler costs $10 and the pour to fill it is $20, Griffith said. He also suggested gift cards — or gift poker chips at Mojave — as an alternative to gifting a six-pack. “They’re going on a little afternoon vacation or adventure, if you will, to find where that beer was made and what the place is like,” he said. “And there are so many cool, great breweries in the Las Vegas and Henderson areas.” The teacher-turned-brewer opened the tasting room in Water Street’s old Bank of America building in February 2020 and weeks later, pandemic shutdowns rattled his business. He attributed continued success to city leaders encouraging him to stay open to serve to-go beer and community members who turned the business’ parking lot into a social distanced “tailgate party” by enjoying their drinks in lawn chairs with friends. “People would come to the wall and yell at us what they wanted, and we’d fill a can or we’d fill a growler,” Griffith said. “The locals basically kept us open from that point forward.” A ‘blind date’ with Buttercup Books Bibliophile Kate Stowell has long participated in “blind date with a book” exchanges in her book club, and her new pop-up business takes the viral idea to one-day markets in Las Vegas. Stowell’s Buttercup Books sells pre-wrapped books – no title or author shown — with clues on the story and additional book-related items. She sells the books at Market in the Alley in the Arts District. “It takes some of that decision-making out of it,” she said. “It’s also kind of fun when you get a lot of goodies wrapped in with your book.” Stowell’s business name is inspired by her late daughter, Frances Buttercup. Nearly two years ago, Stowell went into pre-term labor and her daughter lived 12 days. Stowell said launching her book-reselling business has been a way to her to “put a piece of her out there.” A portion of sales is donated to March of Dimes, a nonprofit focused on ending preventable maternal health risks and death and preterm birth. Hardcover books are $25 and paperbacks are $20. Most are fiction, and Stowell collects books to wrap and sell through online sources and offering discounts on future purchases for customers who donate a book. Additional tchotchkes sold with the books could include highlighters, annotation tabs, bookmarks, dried flowers, teabags and other items. For gift-givers who want more control in their present, Stowell recommended giving bookworms personalized reading accessories like a reading log or monogrammed bookmark. Or, give a book by a beloved author and introduce the recipient to something you love. If in doubt, the mystery book gift can also be a bonding experience, she said. “There’s a lot of freedom in the idea that, ‘I didn’t really pick this book either,’” Stowell said with a laugh. Eclectic styles at Akin Cooperative Jen Taler started Market in the Alley in 2017 while developing the Fergusons Downtown space . She said it started with less than 20 vendors and about 200 shoppers and has since grown to as many as 900 vendors in the database and crowds as large as 4,000. The markets are now held in four locations on select weekend dates: UnCommons in southwest Las Vegas, The Village at Centennial Springs, the Arts District and The Green at Green Valley Ranch. Additionally, her retail shop Akin Cooperative in the Arts District is like a stationary Market in the Alley, where some makers also sell their wares. A self-described “maker of spaces” and a former Zappos buyer, Taler said her desire to create unique retail experiences comes from previous work experience in boutiques, working overseas in Australia and her family background. “I think that collaborative and people-person (focus), being in a diverse family unit spilled over to who I am in my day-to-day,” she said. Holiday shopping at Akin Cooperative or a Market in the Alley could give customers a wide selection of gift options, including some traditional ideas like handmade candles, jewelry and home goods. One unique option at the shop on Commerce Street is the KGB personal fire pit for $55. “You can have this beautiful flame if you want to keep warm,” Taler said. “But I have a 4-and-a-half-year-old, so we were making s’mores last night off of it.” Taler said her years in retail have given her the guiding questions for gift-giving. First and foremost, consider that person’s style and interests. “My curation is very eclectic in the style of stuff, and our city is very eclectic on what we make,” she said. “I think we can hit a lot of different styles with what’s in the store.”
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StoneX group chief governance officer sells $696,494 in stockThe cold-blooded murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson has produced some ugly reactions. Liberal politicians and commentators seized upon Thompson’s murder as an excuse to complain about insurance companies. But their outrage should be directed at the federal government, says Seamus Bruner on the most recent episode of The Drill Down. As an example of the ugly reaction, progressive Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) declared , “The visceral response from people across this country who feel cheated, ripped off, and threatened by the vile practices of their insurance companies should be a warning to everyone in the health care system.” Bruner, author of the book Controligarchs and Vice President of Research for the Government Accountability Institute (GAI), tells host Eric Eggers he finds such statements “despicable.” The real reason health insurance and health care are so expensive in the US, Bruner says, is because of the government. When you mandate that people have to buy something, it raises the price of that thing, he tells Eggers. The killing of Thompson, in cold blood in front of his New York hotel building, shocked Americans. Investigators identified the likely killer days before patrons and workers at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, recognized a stranger and called local police. The suspect, a 26-year-old Ivy League graduate from a wealthy family in Baltimore, drew strange fascination from some online, obsession over the good looks of the man charged with cold-blooded crime. Talk show host Jimmy Kimmel gleefully shared comments on his show from his staff who thought the alleged killer was “hot.” “It’s a weird and wild time we are living in,” host Eric Eggers agrees. But even those strange reactions are misdirected. “Luigi may have become the story,” Eggers says, “but the real story is your costs and tax dollars.” Health care costs more – and health insurers try to cover less – because the federal government has distorted the marketplace through Obamacare, Bruner says. And politicians such as Warren and Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT) should understand that, because they were part of the Congress that in 2009 passed the Affordable Care Act, known as “Obamacare.” The law was supposed to bring down the cost of health insurance by requiring every American to participate in it, but the law has in many ways made the problem worse. Various efforts to reform Obamacare have not been successful. Eggers notes that Obamacare changed the economics of health insurance, making everything more expensive. “Lots of people make lots of money off of the problems.” Bruner agrees. His research led him to the conclusion that the federal government is essentially in a business partnership with healthcare companies, particularly the pharmaceutical industry. And he notes that more than half of all annual spending on healthcare, $218 billion, comes from the federal government. So not only are Americans paying more in premiums, but they are paying a second time with their tax dollars. The hosts don’t take the insurance industry’s side, however. Eggers notes that UnitedHealthcare was hit with a lawsuit last year for using an artificial intelligence model that was shown to have a 90% error rate in its processes to prematurely kick elderly patients out of care facilities. Among health insurance companies, UHC has the highest claims denial rate in the country — 33 percent. But health insurance companies have enjoyed sharply better stock prices. Between 2019 and 2023, the S&P stock index rose 250 percent, but the stocks of healthcare companies rose nearly four times that percentage. Incoming President Donald Trump was asked on Meet the Press this week about what he would do about healthcare costs and why he didn’t try to repeal Obamacare in his first term. Trump said, “I had a decision to make. Do I make [Obamacare] as good as I can make it, or do I let it rot.” Time will tell if the new administration will try to reform the economic realities of health insurance in the U.S., but in the meantime, some have turned Thompson’s alleged killer, a 26-year-old Ivy League graduate Luigi Mangione, into a sex symbol. “Luigi may have become the story,” Eggers says, “but the real story is your costs and tax dollars.” For more from Peter Schweizer, subscribe to The Drill Down podcast.
The 13-year civil war in Syria has roared back into prominence with a surprise rebel offensive on Aleppo, one of Syria's largest cities and an ancient business hub. The push is among the rebels' strongest in years in a war whose destabilizing effects have rippled far beyond the country's borders . It was the first opposition attack on Aleppo since 2016, when a brutal air campaign by Russian warplanes helped Syrian President Bashar Assad retake the northwestern city. Intervention by Russia , Iran and Iranian-allied Hezbollah and other groups has allowed Assad to remain in power, within the 70% of Syria under his control. The surge in fighting has raised the prospect of another violent front reopening in the Middle East, at a time when U.S.-backed Israel is fighting Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, both Iranian-allied groups. Robert Ford, the last-serving U.S. ambassador to Syria, pointed to months of Israeli strikes on Syrian and Hezbollah targets in the area, and to Israel’s ceasefire with Hezbollah in Lebanon this week, as factors providing Syria’s rebels with the opportunity to advance. Here's a look at some of the key aspects of the new fighting: Assad has been at war with opposition forces seeking his overthrow for 13 years, a conflict that's killed an estimated half-million people. Some 6.8 million Syrians have fled the country, a refugee flow that helped change the political map in Europe by fueling anti-immigrant far-right movements. The roughly 30% of the country not under Assad is controlled by a range of opposition forces and foreign troops. The U.S. has about 900 troops in northeast Syria, far from Aleppo, to guard against a resurgence by the Islamic State. Both the U.S. and Israel conduct occasional strikes in Syria against government forces and Iran-allied militias. Turkey has forces in Syria as well, and has influence with the broad alliance of opposition forces storming Aleppo. Coming after years with few sizeable changes in territory between Syria's warring parties, the fighting “has the potential to be really quite, quite consequential and potentially game-changing,” if Syrian government forces prove unable to hold their ground, said Charles Lister, a longtime Syria analyst with the U.S.-based Middle East Institute. Risks include if Islamic State fighters see it as an opening, Lister said. Ford said the fighting in Aleppo would become more broadly destabilizing if it drew Russia and Turkey — each with its own interests to protect in Syria — into direct heavy fighting against each other. The U.S. and U.N. have long designated the opposition force leading the attack at Aleppo — Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, known by its initials HTS — as a terrorist organization. Abu Mohammed al-Golani emerged as the leader of al-Qaida's Syria branch in 2011, in the first months of Syria's war. It was an unwelcome intervention to many in Syria's opposition, who hoped to keep the fight against Assad's brutal rule untainted by violent extremism. Golani and his group early on claimed responsibility for deadly bombings, pledged to attack Western forces, confiscated property from religious minorities and sent religious police to enforce modest dress by women. Golani and HTS have sought to remake themselves in recent years, focusing on promoting civilian government in their territory as well as military action, researcher Aaron Zelin noted. His group broke ties with al-Qaida in 2016. Golani cracked down on some extremist groups in his territory, and increasingly portrays himself as a protector of other religions. That includes last year allowing the first Christian Mass in the city of Idlib in years. By 2018, the Trump administration acknowledged it was no longer directly targeting Golani, Zelin said. But HTS has allowed some wanted armed groups to continue to operate on its territory, and shot at U.S. special forces at least as recently as 2022, he said. At the crossroads of trade routes and empires for thousands of years, Aleppo is one of the centers of commerce and culture in the Middle East. Aleppo was home to 2.3 million people before the war. Rebels seized the east side of the city in 2012, and it became the proudest symbol of the advance of armed opposition factions. In 2016, government forces backed by Russian airstrikes laid siege to the city. Russian shells, missiles and crude barrel bombs — fuel canisters or other containers loaded with explosives and metal — methodically leveled neighborhoods. Starving and under siege, rebels surrendered Aleppo that year. The Russian military's entry was the turning point in the war, allowing Assad to stay on in the territory he held. This year, Israeli airstrikes in Aleppo have hit Hezbollah weapons depots and Syrian forces, among other targets, according to an independent monitoring group. Israel rarely acknowledges strikes at Aleppo and other government-held areas of Syria.Syrian government forces have lost control of Daraa city, a war monitor said, in another stunning blow for President Bashar al-Assad's rule after rebels wrested other key cities from his grip. Daraa was dubbed "the cradle of the revolution" early in Syria's civil war, after activists accused the government of detaining and torturing a group of boys for scribbling anti-Assad graffiti on their school walls in 2011. While Aleppo and Hama, the two other main cities taken from government control in recent days, fell to an Islamist-led rebel alliance, Daraa fell to local armed groups, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. "Local factions have taken control of more areas in Daraa province, including Daraa city... they now control more than 90 percent of the province, as regime forces successively pulled out," the Britain-based Observatory said late Friday, which relies on a network of sources around Syria. Daraa province borders Jordan. Despite a truce brokered by Assad ally Russia, it has been plagued by unrest in recent years, with frequent attacks, clashes and assassinations. Syria's civil war, which began with Assad's crackdown on democracy protests, has killed more than 500,000 people and forced more than half the population to flee their homes. Never in the war had Assad's forces lost control of so many key cities in such a short space of time. Since a rebel alliance led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham launched its offensive on November 27, the government has lost second city Aleppo and subsequently Hama in central Syria. The rebels were on Friday at the gates of Homs, Syria's third city, as the government pulled out its troops from Deir Ezzor in the east to redeploy towards to the centre. In an interview published on Friday, the leader of HTS, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, said the aim of the offensive was to overthrow Assad. "When we talk about objectives, the goal of the revolution remains the overthrow of this regime. It is our right to use all available means to achieve that goal," Jolani told CNN. HTS is rooted in the Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda. Proscribed as a terrorist organisation by Western governments, it has sought to soften its image in recent years. According to Fabrice Balanche, a lecturer at France's Lumiere Lyon 2 university, HTS now controls 20,000 square kilometres (more than 7,700 square miles) of territory, nearly seven times as much as it did before the offensive started. As the army and its Iran-backed militia allies pulled out of Deir Ezzor in eastern Syria, Kurdish-led forces said they crossed the Euphrates and took control of the territory that had been vacated. The Observatory said government troops and their allies withdrew "suddenly" from the east and headed towards the oasis town of Palmyra on the desert road to Homs. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, who are backed by the United States, expressed readiness for dialogue with both Turkey and the rebels, saying the offensive heralded a "new" political reality for Syria. The rebels launched their offensive the same day a ceasefire took effect in neighbouring Lebanon in the war between Israel and Hezbollah. The Lebanese militant group has been an important Assad ally, alongside Russia and Iran. Turkey, which has backed the opposition, said it would hold talks with Russia and Iran in Qatar this weekend. Ahead of the talks, the top diplomats of Iran, Iraq and Syria met in Baghdad, where Syria's Bassam al-Sabbagh accused the government's enemies of seeking to "redraw the political map". Iran's Abbas Araghchi pledged to provide Assad's government with "whatever (support) is needed". In Homs, scene of some of the war's deadliest violence, tens of thousands of members of Assad's Alawite minority were fleeing, fearing the rebels' advance, residents and the Britain-based Observatory said. Syrians who were forced out of the country years ago by the initial crackdown on the revolt were glued to their phones as they watched current developments unfold. "We've been dreaming of this for more than a decade," said Yazan, a 39-year-old former activist who now lives in France. Asked whether he was worried about HTS's Islamist agenda, he said: "It doesn't matter to me who is conducting this. The devil himself could be behind it. What people care about is who is going to liberate the country." On the other side of the sectarian divide, Haidar, 37, who lives in an Alawite-majority neighbourhood, told AFP by telephone that "fear is the umbrella that covers Homs now". The army shelled the advancing rebels as Syrian and Russian aircraft struck from the skies. At least 20 civilians, including five children, were killed in the bombardment, the war monitor added. At least 826 people, mostly combatants but also including 111 civilians, have been killed since the offensive began last week, according to the Observatory's figures, while the United Nations said the violence has displaced 280,000 people. Many of the scenes witnessed in recent days would have been unimaginable earlier in the war. In Hama, an AFP photographer saw residents set fire to a giant poster of Assad on the facade of city hall. "Our joy is indescribable, and we wish this for every honourable Syrian to experience these happy moments that we have been deprived of since birth," said Hama resident Ghiath Suleiman. Online footage verified by AFP showed residents toppling a statue of Assad's father Hafez, under whose brutal rule the army carried out a massacre in the city in the 1980s. Aron Lund, a fellow of the Century International think tank, called the loss of Hama "a massive, massive blow to the Syrian government". Should Assad lose Homs, it wouldn't mean the end of his rule, Lund said, but "with no secure route from Damascus to the coast, I'd say it's over as a credible state entity". bur-ser/rsc
Kuwait reaffirms full solidarity with Palestinian cause
Macom technology director sells $233,375 in common stock
The cold-blooded murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson has produced some ugly reactions. Liberal politicians and commentators seized upon Thompson’s murder as an excuse to complain about insurance companies. But their outrage should be directed at the federal government, says Seamus Bruner on the most recent episode of The Drill Down. As an example of the ugly reaction, progressive Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) declared , “The visceral response from people across this country who feel cheated, ripped off, and threatened by the vile practices of their insurance companies should be a warning to everyone in the health care system.” Bruner, author of the book Controligarchs and Vice President of Research for the Government Accountability Institute (GAI), tells host Eric Eggers he finds such statements “despicable.” The real reason health insurance and health care are so expensive in the US, Bruner says, is because of the government. When you mandate that people have to buy something, it raises the price of that thing, he tells Eggers. The killing of Thompson, in cold blood in front of his New York hotel building, shocked Americans. Investigators identified the likely killer days before patrons and workers at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, recognized a stranger and called local police. The suspect, a 26-year-old Ivy League graduate from a wealthy family in Baltimore, drew strange fascination from some online, obsession over the good looks of the man charged with cold-blooded crime. Talk show host Jimmy Kimmel gleefully shared comments on his show from his staff who thought the alleged killer was “hot.” “It’s a weird and wild time we are living in,” host Eric Eggers agrees. But even those strange reactions are misdirected. “Luigi may have become the story,” Eggers says, “but the real story is your costs and tax dollars.” Health care costs more – and health insurers try to cover less – because the federal government has distorted the marketplace through Obamacare, Bruner says. And politicians such as Warren and Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT) should understand that, because they were part of the Congress that in 2009 passed the Affordable Care Act, known as “Obamacare.” The law was supposed to bring down the cost of health insurance by requiring every American to participate in it, but the law has in many ways made the problem worse. Various efforts to reform Obamacare have not been successful. Eggers notes that Obamacare changed the economics of health insurance, making everything more expensive. “Lots of people make lots of money off of the problems.” Bruner agrees. His research led him to the conclusion that the federal government is essentially in a business partnership with healthcare companies, particularly the pharmaceutical industry. And he notes that more than half of all annual spending on healthcare, $218 billion, comes from the federal government. So not only are Americans paying more in premiums, but they are paying a second time with their tax dollars. The hosts don’t take the insurance industry’s side, however. Eggers notes that UnitedHealthcare was hit with a lawsuit last year for using an artificial intelligence model that was shown to have a 90% error rate in its processes to prematurely kick elderly patients out of care facilities. Among health insurance companies, UHC has the highest claims denial rate in the country — 33 percent. But health insurance companies have enjoyed sharply better stock prices. Between 2019 and 2023, the S&P stock index rose 250 percent, but the stocks of healthcare companies rose nearly four times that percentage. Incoming President Donald Trump was asked on Meet the Press this week about what he would do about healthcare costs and why he didn’t try to repeal Obamacare in his first term. Trump said, “I had a decision to make. Do I make [Obamacare] as good as I can make it, or do I let it rot.” Time will tell if the new administration will try to reform the economic realities of health insurance in the U.S., but in the meantime, some have turned Thompson’s alleged killer, a 26-year-old Ivy League graduate Luigi Mangione, into a sex symbol. “Luigi may have become the story,” Eggers says, “but the real story is your costs and tax dollars.” For more from Peter Schweizer, subscribe to The Drill Down podcast.
Here’s a roundup of state college football games played on Saturday, Dec. 1. James Rinello had one rushing touchdown and threw a touchdown pass to lead the host Blue Jays (10-1) over the Wolverines (9-2) in an NCAA Division III second-round game. Rinello capped a 12-play, 73-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run in the first quarter and completed a 6-yard touchdown pass to EJ Talarico in the fourth quarter for a 17-0 lead. Grove City rallied over the final 5 1/2 minutes, recovering a blocked punt for a touchdown with 3:42 left, but came up short. The Blue Jays extended their winning streak to eight games and advance to face DePauw, a 45-20 winner over Maryville, in next Saturday’s third-round game. SyRus McGowan had two rushing touchdowns and threw a touchdown pass to lead the host Sea Gulls (11-0) over the Monarchs (10-2) in an NCAA Division III second-round game. McGowan went 8-for-16 for 99 yards and completed a 10-yard touchdown pass to Micah Brubaker. McGowan also had 15 carries for 63 yards and two touchdown runs of 3 and 2 yards. Salisbury will face Randolph-Macon, a 38-22 over Washington & Jefferson, in next Saturday’s third-round game.Akor will grab his Super Eagles chance – Utaka