STEVENSON, Wash. (AP) — Two Oregon men were found dead in a Washington state forest after they failed to return from a trip to look for Sasquatch, authorities said Saturday. The 59-year-old and 37-year-old appear to have died from exposure, the Skamania County Sheriff’s Office said via Facebook. The weather and the men’s lack of preparedness led the office to draw that conclusion, it said. Sasquatch is a folkloric beast thought by some to roam the forests, particularly in the Pacific Northwest. The two men were found in a heavily wooded area of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, which is about 150 miles (240 kilometers) northeast of Portland. A family member reported them missing around 1 a.m. on Christmas Day after they failed to return from a Christmas Eve outing. Sixty volunteer search-and-rescue personnel helped in the three-day search, including canine, drone and ground teams. The Coast Guard used infrared technology to search from the air. Authorities used camera recordings to locate the vehicle used by the pair off Oklahoma Road near Willard, which is on the southern border of the national forest. To remove this article -Here's what the owners have planned for 2025 Share this: Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to print (Opens in new window) Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Report an error Policies and Standards Contact Us Most Popular Dear Abby: My wife is acting like we’re still young, and it gets on my nerves Dear Abby: My wife is acting like we're still young, and it gets on my nerves Asking Eric: I’m just being a dad, but that’s not how my friends make it sound Asking Eric: I'm just being a dad, but that's not how my friends make it sound Motor vehicle thefts have risen in the Bay Area. Which is the most stolen vehicle? Motor vehicle thefts have risen in the Bay Area. Which is the most stolen vehicle? Transgender player on San Jose State women’s volleyball team can play at Mountain West tournament, judge rules Transgender player on San Jose State women's volleyball team can play at Mountain West tournament, judge rules Vote now: Bay Area News Group boys athlete of the week Vote now: Bay Area News Group boys athlete of the week Bay Area rain: Final totals show which areas got the most and least in the wettest storm of 2024 Bay Area rain: Final totals show which areas got the most and least in the wettest storm of 2024 Trump’s mass deportation threats in his first term fizzled. Here’s how they may play out this time. Trump's mass deportation threats in his first term fizzled. Here's how they may play out this time. Miss Manners: The bride ignored my rules as mother of the flower girl Miss Manners: The bride ignored my rules as mother of the flower girl Miss Manners: I don’t know what the waiter saw, but I was embarrassed Miss Manners: I don't know what the waiter saw, but I was embarrassed Harriette Cole: My roommate is so happy about the election, and I want to move out Harriette Cole: My roommate is so happy about the election, and I want to move out Trending Nationally Parachute ‘D.B. Cooper’ hijacker used in 1971 may have been found Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths here in Florida. Here’s why Health providers dropping Medicare Advantage could affect coverage for 60,000 Minnesotans Transgender player on San Jose State women’s volleyball team can play at Mountain West tournament, judge rules Say hello to prison: Boston man convicted of attacking woman for not saying ‘good morning’
Drexel secures 83-71 win over Chicago StateArticle content BERLIN — Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk caused uproar after backing Germany’s far-right party in a major newspaper ahead of key parliamentary elections in the Western European country, leading to the resignation of the paper’s opinion editor in protest. Recommended Videos Germany is to vote in an early election on Feb. 23 after Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-party governing coalition collapsed last month in a dispute over how to revitalize the country’s stagnant economy. Musk’s guest opinion piece for Welt am Sonntag — a sister publication of POLITICO owned by the Axel Springer Group — published in German over the weekend, was the second time this month he supported the Alternative for Germany, or AfD. “The Alternative for Germany (AfD) is the last spark of hope for this country,” Musk wrote in his translated commentary. He went on to say the far-right party “can lead the country into a future where economic prosperity, cultural integrity and technological innovation are not just wishes, but reality.” The Tesla Motors CEO also wrote that his investment in Germany gave him the right to comment on the country’s condition. The AfD is polling strongly, but its candidate for the top job, Alice Weidel, has no realistic chance of becoming chancellor because other parties refuse to work with the far-right party. An ally of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, the technology billionaire challenged in his opinion piece the party’s public image. “The portrayal of the AfD as right-wing extremist is clearly false, considering that Alice Weidel, the party’s leader, has a same-sex partner from Sri Lanka! Does that sound like Hitler to you? Please!” My opinion piece in Weld https://t.co/J56Oof6tO4 Musk’s commentary has led to a debate in German media over the boundaries of free speech, with the paper’s own opinion editor announcing her resignation, pointedly on Musk’s social media platform, X. “I always enjoyed leading the opinion section of WELT and WAMS. Today an article by Elon Musk appeared in Welt am Sonntag. I handed in my resignation yesterday after it went to print,” Eva Marie Kogel wrote. A critical article by the future editor-in-chief of the Welt group, Jan Philipp Burgard, accompanied Musk’s opinion piece. “Musk’s diagnosis is correct, but his therapeutic approach, that only the AfD can save Germany, is fatally wrong,” Burgard wrote. Responding to a request for comment from the German Press Agency, dpa, the current editor-in-chief of the Welt group, Ulf Poschardt, and Burgard — who is due to take over on Jan. 1 — said in a joint statement that the discussion over Musk’s piece was “very insightful. Democracy and journalism thrive on freedom of expression.” “This will continue to determine the compass of the “world” in the future. We will develop “Die Welt” even more decisively as a forum for such debates,” they wrote to dpa.
New government in Maharashtra to be formed on Dec 5: BJP leaderThe decisive vote that could determine the fate of a state-proposed school curriculum under scrutiny for its heavy focus on Christianity will likely depend on a State Board of Education appointee who will only serve for one meeting and whom Gov. Greg Abbott favored over the Democrat voters elected to fill the seat next year. The seat for State Board of Education’s District 13, which covers parts of North Texas, was vacated earlier this year by Aicha Davis, a Democrat who successfully ran to serve in the Texas House. Tiffany Clark was the only candidate to run for the District 13 seat. She received more than 416,000 votes in the general election. Instead of appointing Clark to temporarily fill the vacant seat until her term officially starts in January, Abbott looked past her and instead appointed Leslie Recine, a Republican who will likely serve as the deciding vote on whether the controversial curriculum receives approval on Friday. Abbott appointed Recine four days before the general election when it was already clear that Clark, who ran unopposed, would win the race. A narrow 8-7 majority of the board signaled Tuesday that they would vote for the curriculum, with Recine on the prevailing side. Clark said she would have voted against the materials if she had been chosen to serve on the board for this week’s meetings. “I think that would have been the swing vote that was needed,” Clark told The Texas Tribune. “It would have been 8-7 in the other way.” Clark expressed disappointment and frustration with the governor’s decision to appoint Recine. She criticized Abbott’s choice to have Recine serve on the board for only one meeting, when the board was scheduled to vote on the curriculum, despite the governor having plenty of time to fill the position in the months prior. Davis resigned on Aug. 1. Clark said she believes Abbott chose Recine so she would vote in favor of the curriculum. “I just wish the state leaders wouldn’t play politics with our kids,” Clark said. Abbott’s office did not respond to a request for comment. Recine declined to speak with the Tribune on Tuesday. The State Board of Education will officially decide Friday whether it will approve Bluebonnet Learning, the curriculum proposed by the Texas Education Agency. The materials comprise a cross-disciplinary approach that uses reading and language arts lessons to advance or cement concepts in other disciplines, such as history and social studies. Critics, which include religious studies scholars, argue the curriculum’s lessons allude to Christianity more than any other religion, which could lead to the bullying and isolation of non-Christian students, undermine church-state separation and grant the state far-reaching control over how children learn about religion. They also questioned the accuracy of some lessons. Meanwhile, some parents, educators and historians raised concerns about how the lessons address America’s history of slavery and racism. Clark said she would have voted against the curriculum because she believes it forces Christianity “upon the masses” and ignores children’s family culture, values and beliefs. “There’s no way that I could be like, ‘my Baptist religion and Christian values are more important than your beliefs,’” Clark said. “I can’t see myself supporting that narrative in that context.” State leaders, including Abbott, have largely defended the curriculum. “The materials will ... allow our students to better understand the connection of history, art, community, literature, and religion on pivotal events like the signing of the U.S. Constitution, the Civil Rights Movement, and the American Revolution,” Abbott said in a statement earlier this year. Clark spent more than a decade working in a K-12 setting, both as a science teacher and a school counselor in the Dallas area. She spent six years as a DeSoto school board trustee and taught education at the University of North Texas at Dallas as an adjunct professor. Clark currently works for Communities in Schools of the Dallas Region, an organization that helps provide support services, including mental health, to schools. Recine currently serves as a political coordinator for a consulting agency, according to her LinkedIn account. A news release announcing her appointment also notes that she serves as a member of the Arlington Woman’s Club, the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution and the legislative committee chair of the Daughters of The Republic of Texas. She is also the daughter of two long-time educators.
Musk isn't helping Trump out of the goodness of his own heart. Brandon Bell/Pool/AP A news clip making the rounds Sunday morning had CNN’s Dana Bash talking with Chris Sununu, New Hampshire’s Republican governor, about Elon Musk’s potential conflicts of interest. Here, after all, we have a hecto-billionaire with massive federal contracts via SpaceX—and whose carmaker, Tesla, likely wouldn’t have survived without generous state and federal subsidies—serving as an advisor to an incoming president on how the government should be spending its money , or not. Sununu told Bash he liked that Musk is an “outsider”—an interesting choice of words—who is “not looking for anything.” When she challenged that notion, he responded, “The guy is worth $450 billion” and therefore is “so rich he’s removed from the potential financial influence.” “I don’t think he’s doing it for the money,” Sununu said. “He’s doing it for the bigger project and the bigger vision of America.” The exchange is worth a listen: BASH: One of the concerns is that Elon Musk has billions tied up in govt contracts. You don't see a conflict of interest?CHRIS SUNUNU: Everyone has a conflict of interestBASH: But that's a pretty big oneSUNUNU: He's so rich he's removed from the potential financial influence What this tells me is that Sununu doesn’t understand the mentality of excessive wealth and he probably shouldn’t be on the air talking about it. He’s correct, in one sense, that Musk is not doing it for the money. I mean, the guy could probably afford to buy Greenland. But “the greater project and the bigger vision”? That’s the sort of nonsense Col. Potter from the old TV series M.A.S.H. would have called “horse hockey”— among other things . Musk is doing this for the power —the opportunity to dominate his peers. Let’s not forget that joining forces with Trump put Musk’s wealth, at least on paper, on a very steep upward trajectory. I haven’t done the math, but I’m pretty sure he’s now the richest person who has ever lived on our planet. He doesn’t need money to buy stuff. He needs it to nourish his narcissism. I interviewed quite a few super-rich folks, and people in their close orbits, while researching my 2021 book , Jackpot , and we talked a lot about these kinds of matters. It became clear that, once a person attains a certain level of wealth, any further accumulation of assets is like a game. It’s all about score-keeping and social comparisons—and also maintaining one’s dynastic position by creating trusts to circumvent gift and estate taxes and pushing to maintain stupid loopholes like the discounted tax rate on carried interest, which even one private equity guy admitted to me was “bullshit,” though he was part of a group that made an annual pilgrimage to DC to lobby for it. Here’s a abridged snippet from one of my interviews with Richard Watts, an attorney in Southern California who serves as a consigliere for some of America’s wealthiest families. Here he was talking about a conference he’d just spoken at—an annual shindig hosted by Mitt Romney and attended by loads of Fortune 500 CEOs and billionaires with names you’d know, in addition to former presidents and senators and other power players. “I’m very well off, so I certainly don’t need to be working and doing all that stuff, and I’ve got a beautiful home down by the ocean. But when I spend the weekend with people that probably have a minimum net worth of $500 million, at some point I just have to leave, because you can feel in the discussion the measure is how big you are... In those situations it’s always about what spectacular thing have you done, invented, created: What do you do? “Well, I own 35 mobile home parks free and clear, and we built them, and we’re going green with all of them. And it’s really been a great, wonderful thing.” And the guy’s 40 years old, and that’s a true story... Now, if you’re Jamie Dimon, everybody kind of wants to see what you’re thinking and you know, “Hey, that’s a good guy. I want to be around him.” And then if it’s the governor of Maine, or let’s say it’s Mitt or it’s Paul Ryan, these are really interesting people. And the interesting thing is they kind of don’t want to have that discussion, but everyone has it with them. So, it’s like, “Hey Paul, since you’ve been out of the Speaker of the House, what is it you’re doing this year?” “Oh my god, I’m on the board of Fox News.” (And of course Murdoch was there lecturing as well.) And it’s just this feeling that the only measure in the room—I don’t mean that they always stay this way, I’m just saying when they group together—it’s about who’s got the biggest boat, and I can say that in a lot of different ways that are nasty, but the biggest boat is pretty quickly identified. One month prior to the election, Elon Musk’s estimated net worth was about $263 billion . Now, at year’s end, it is $437 billion . The “biggest boat” has been identified. It’s Elon and it ain’t even close and Musk would like to keep it that way and his relationship with Trump helps him do that. So Sununu can spare us the “greater project” nonsense. This is a dick-measuring contest, no more, no less.Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Twilio Inc. ( NYSE:TWLO – Free Report ) by 41.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 65,168 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 18,960 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Twilio were worth $4,250,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. KBC Group NV raised its stake in Twilio by 67.4% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 22,705 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,481,000 after buying an additional 9,140 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Twilio by 167.1% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 14,612 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $953,000 after purchasing an additional 9,141 shares during the period. Affinity Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Twilio during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $434,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Twilio in the third quarter valued at $2,168,000. Finally, Palo Alto Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Twilio during the third quarter valued at approximately $757,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.27% of the company’s stock. Insiders Place Their Bets In other Twilio news, CEO Khozema Shipchandler sold 11,073 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.03, for a total value of $720,077.19. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 278,134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,087,054.02. This represents a 3.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website . Also, insider Dana Wagner sold 4,174 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.02, for a total value of $271,393.48. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 152,563 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,919,646.26. The trade was a 2.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . Over the last quarter, insiders sold 49,946 shares of company stock worth $3,354,771. 4.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In Get Our Latest Analysis on Twilio Twilio Trading Up 1.7 % NYSE:TWLO opened at $104.63 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $80.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -40.71, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 5.06 and a current ratio of 5.06. Twilio Inc. has a 1 year low of $52.51 and a 1 year high of $108.44. Twilio Company Profile ( Free Report ) Twilio Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides customer engagement platform solutions in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, Twilio Communications and Twilio Segment. The company provides various application programming interfaces and software solutions for communications between customers and end users, including messaging, voice, email, flex, marketing campaigns, and user identity and authentication. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding TWLO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Twilio Inc. ( NYSE:TWLO – Free Report ). 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Adani Enterprises Ltd , the flagship company of the ports-to-energy conglomerate helmed by billionaire Gautam Adani, is likely to see consolidated revenue grow at a CAGR of 17.5 per cent and net earnings by 45.8 per cent over 2023-24 fiscal year (FY24) and FY27, a report said. AEL is one of India's largest listed incubators which has conceived, grown, matured and demerged many successful businesses, including ports company Adani Ports & SEZ, city gas distributor Adani Total Gas , power transmission company Adani Energy Solutions , renewable energy firm Adani Green Energy, Adani Power , and commodities firm Adani Wilmar . The company is incubating airports, manufacturing solar modules and wind turbines, green hydrogen, road construction, data centre, and copper. "Adani Enterprises Ltd (AEL), the incubator of many successful industry-leading businesses, is ambitiously diversifying into green hydrogen and its ecosystem to drive future growth," Ventura Securities said in the report. "Despite stock volatility following US Department of Justice (US-DOJ) notice (over bribery allegations) in November 2024, AEL has demonstrated resilience, supported by robust fundamentals and operational strength in FY25 (April 2024 to March 2025)." It has received a letter of award for electrolyser manufacturing facility for 101.5 megawatt per annum under SIGHT scheme from SECI. 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The scheme is part of the National Green Hydrogen Mission, which has an outlay of Rs 19,744 crore up to 2029-30. Cumulative capacity of 300 MW per annum has been awarded. AEL's Navi Mumbai International Airport welcomed the first aircraft. While the Chennai data centre uptime continues 100 per cent, Noida and Hyderabad Phase I data centre has crossed 95 per cent completion. Road projects in West Bengal and Telangana have received provisional commercial operations date and Ganga Expressway construction has crossed the half-way mark. "Over FY24-27E, AEL's consolidated revenue, EBITDA , and net earnings are expected to grow at a CAGR of 17.5 per cent, 37.5 per cent, and 45.8 per cent, reaching Rs 1,56,343 crore, Rs 28,563 crore, and Rs 9,245 crore, respectively," the report said. EBITDA and net margins are projected to expand by 647 bps to 18.3 per cent and 255 bps to 5.9 per cent, respectively. "Strong growth in airports and solar/wind turbine businesses and revenue contribution from copper are expected to enhance financial performance and profit margins. As a result, return ratios -- Return on Equity (RoE) and Return on Invested capital (RoIC) -- are expected to improve by 563 bps to 14.5 per cent and 99 bps to 11.3 per cent, respectively," it said. AEL is targeting Rs 6.5-7 lakh crore in capex over the next decade for its expansion into airports, data centres, copper and green hydrogen and its ecosystem. This is expected to be primarily funded through debt, leading to an increase in net debt-to-equity and net debt-to-EBITDA from 1.2x/1.7x in FY24 to 1.8x/2.2x by FY27E. As part of fundraise, the company raised Rs 4,200 crore earlier this year through a QIP with strong participation from both international and domestic investors and Rs 800 crore through its first-ever public issuance of NCDs, marking the first such public issuance by a non-NBFC private corporate in the last decade. Additionally, the airport business secured Rs 1,950 crore, and the road business raised Rs 1,124 crore, both through NCD issuances. Ventura put an equity value of Rs 1.87 lakh crore for the airports business housed in AEL, Rs 52,056 crore for road, Rs 29,855 crore for coal and Rs 11,003 crore for data centre business. Green hydrogen and clean energy business is valued at Rs 1.86 lakh crore while copper is valued at Rs 27,442 crore and FMCG at Rs 47,775 crore. AEL's strategic approach to business incubation and its diversified portfolio continue to drive its growth and reinforce its status as a pivotal player in India's economic development, it added. 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Michigan upsets Ohio State, 13-10, for Wolverines’ fourth straight win in the bitter rivalryFormer President Jimmy Carter died on Sunday at the age of 100. Foreign and business leaders celebrated Carter's humanitarian work. President-elect Donald Trump said the world owed Carter "a debt of gratitude." Former President died on Sunday at the age of 100. World leaders responded with an outpouring of support, celebrating . The Georgia peanut farmer turned politician served as president from 1977 to 1981. But he is perhaps most known for his humanitarian work after leaving the White House. Carter championed human rights and pushed for peace in various corners of the world. In 1982, he founded to focus on such issues. In 2002, Carter received a for his efforts to promote peace and human rights. Carter also played an active role with Habitat for Humanity until the end of his life. "My father was a hero, not only to me but to everyone who believes in peace, human rights, and unselfish love," Carter's son, Chip, said in a via The Carter Center on Sunday. President Joe Biden said on Sunday that he would order a state funeral in Washington for Carter. "Today, America and the world lost an extraordinary leader, statesman, and humanitarian," Biden said in a . "With his compassion and moral clarity, he worked to eradicate disease, forge peace, advance civil rights and human rights, promote free and fair elections, house the homeless, and always advocate for the least among us," Biden added. "He saved, lifted, and changed the lives of people all across the globe." Biden said that the love Carter shared with his late wife, , was "the definition of partnership" and that their leadership was "the definition of patriotism." President-elect Donald Trump wrote on that Carter's presidency "came at a pivotal time for our country and he did everything in his power to improve the lives of all Americans. For that, we all owe him a debt of gratitude." "While I strongly disagreed with him philosophically and politically, I also realized that he truly loved and respected our Country, and all it stands for," Trump said in a . Trump had earlier criticized Carter's decision to hand over control of the Panama Canal to Panama, saying in a Truth Social Post on December 21 that his predecessor had " ." The president-elect recently accused Panama of charging US vessels "exorbitant prices" and threatened to retake control of the canal. Former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama said in a on Sunday that Carter had "the longest and most impactful post-presidency in American history." "Elected in the shadow of Watergate, Jimmy Carter promised voters that he would always tell the truth," the Obamas said. "And he did — advocating for the public good, consequences be damned. He believed some things were more important than reelection — things like integrity, respect, and compassion," the statement added. President Carter taught all of us what it means to live a life of grace, dignity, justice, and service. Michelle and I send our thoughts and prayers to the Carter family, and everyone who loved and learned from this remarkable man. — Barack Obama (@BarackObama) Former President George W. Bush said in his that Carter was a "man of deeply held convictions" who "set an example of service that will inspire Americans for generations." "President Carter dignified the office. And his efforts to leave behind a better world didn't end with the presidency," Bush said. Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Sunday that Carter had " ." "I will always be proud to have presented the Medal of Freedom to him and Rosalynn in 1999, and to have worked with him in the years after he left the White House," Bill Clinton said. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote on X that Carter led an "extraordinary life" that touched countless people's lives through his vision and generosity. As we remember President Carter's extraordinary life, we also honor the countless lives he touched through his vision and generosity. My thoughts are with the Carter family and all those mourning this incredible man. May his memory be a blessing and an enduring reminder of what... — Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) Sen. Bernie Sanders on X that Carter would be remembered as a "decent, honest and down-to-earth man" for both his time as president and his later humanitarian work. "He will be sorely missed," Sanders wrote. US Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg shared a tribute to the former president on X, writing that Carter's "leadership, intellect, and moral example ennobled our country, during and ever since his presidency." President and Mrs. Carter were also extraordinarily gracious and kind to Chasten and me, receiving us warmly at their home and making us feel like friends even as we sat amazed by their presence and grace. — Pete Buttigieg (@PeteButtigieg) Carter's passing also saw tributes pouring in from foreign leaders such as Ukrainian President , British Prime Minister , and Canadian Prime Minister . "He was a leader who served during a time when Ukraine was not yet independent, yet his heart stood firmly with us in our ongoing fight for freedom," Zelenskyy said of Carter in his X post. "We deeply appreciate his steadfast commitment to Christian faith and democratic values, as well as his unwavering support for Ukraine in the face of Russia's unprovoked aggression," he added. Very sorry to hear of President Carter’s passing. I pay tribute to his decades of selfless public service. My thoughts are with his family and friends at this time. — Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) "Jimmy Carter's legacy is one of compassion, kindness, empathy, and hard work. He served others both at home and around the world his entire life — and he loved doing it," Trudeau wrote on X. "He was always thoughtful and generous with his advice to me." Also on X, shared a photo of the former president wearing a tool belt in front of a construction site with the message: "Today, we honor President Carter's lifetime of service and his commitment to leaving the world better than he found it. May he rest in peace." Today, we honor President Carter’s lifetime of service and his commitment to leaving the world better than he found it. May he rest in peace. — Tim Cook (@tim_cook) said in her that Carter was her hero. The philanthropist said she knew Carter best as a "global health advocate" who took on "diseases that impact the world's poorest people, like Guinea worm disease." "When President Carter left office, there were more than 3.5 million cases of this painful, debilitating disease around the world each year. This year, thanks in no small part to the work of the Carter Center, that number was down to single digits," French Gates wrote. "One of my favorite teachings says: 'To know that even one life has breathed easier because you lived, this is to have succeeded.' We honor President Carter by remembering that because of him, life is healthier, better, and safer not just for one life, but for millions," she continued. Read the original article on
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Why Reforming The H-1B Visa Program Is Critical For America’S FutureNotable quotes by Jimmy Carter
The World Bank raised on Thursday its forecast for China’s economic growth in 2024 and 2025, but warned that subdued household and business confidence, along with headwinds in the property sector, would keep weighing it down next year. The world’s second-biggest economy has struggled this year, mainly due to a property crisis and tepid domestic demand. An expected hike in U.S. tariffs on its goods when U.S. President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January may also hit growth. “Addressing challenges in the property sector, strengthening social safety nets, and improving local government finances will be essential to unlocking a sustained recovery,” Mara Warwick, the World Bank’s country director for China, said. “It is important to balance short-term support to growth with long-term structural reforms,” she added in a statement. Thanks to the effect of recent policy easing and near-term export strength, the World Bank sees China’s gross domestic product growth at 4.9% this year, up from its June forecast of 4.8%. Beijing set a growth target of “around 5%” this year, a goal it says it is confident of achieving. Although growth for 2025 is also expected to fall to 4.5%, that is still higher than the World Bank’s earlier forecast of 4.1%. Slower household income growth and the negative wealth effect from lower home prices are expected to weigh on consumption into 2025, the Bank added. To revive growth, Chinese authorities have agreed to issue a record 3 trillion yuan ($411 billion) in special treasury bonds next year, Reuters reported this week. The figures will not be officially unveiled until the annual meeting of China’s parliament, the National People’s Congress, in March 2025, and could still change before then. While the housing regulator will continue efforts to stem further declines in China’s real estate market next year, the World Bank said a turnaround in the sector was not anticipated until late 2025. China’s middle class has expanded significantly since the 2010s, encompassing 32% of the population in 2021, but World Bank estimates suggest about 55% remain “economically insecure”, underscoring the need to generate opportunities. Source: Reuters
President-elect Donald Trump will return to power next year with a raft of technological tools at his disposal that would help deliver his campaign promise of cracking down on immigration — among them, surveillance and artificial intelligence technology that the Biden administration already uses to help make crucial decisions in tracking, detaining and ultimately deporting immigrants lacking permanent legal status. While immigration officials have used the tech for years, an October letter from the Department of Homeland Security obtained exclusively by The Associated Press details how those tools — some of them powered by AI — help make decisions over whether an immigrant should be detained or surveilled. One algorithm, for example, ranks immigrants with a “Hurricane Score,” ranging from 1-5, to assess whether someone will “abscond” from the agency's supervision. The letter, sent by DHS Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer Eric Hysen to the immigrant rights group Just Futures Law, revealed that the score calculates the potential risk that an immigrant — with a pending case — will fail to check in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. The algorithm relies on several factors, he said, including an immigrant’s number of violations and length of time in the program, and whether the person has a travel document. Hysen wrote that ICE officers consider the score, among other information, when making decisions about an immigrant’s case. “The Hurricane Score does not make decisions on detention, deportation, or surveillance; instead, it is used to inform human decision-making,” Hysen wrote. Also included in the government’s tool kit is a mobile app called SmartLINK that uses facial matching and can track an immigrant’s specific location. Nearly 200,000 people without legal status who are in removal proceedings are enrolled in the Alternatives to Detention program, under which certain immigrants can live in the U.S. while their immigration cases are pending. In exchange, SmartLINK and GPS trackers used by ICE rigorously surveil them and their movements. The phone application draws on facial matching technology and geolocation data, which has been used before to find and arrest those using the app. Just Futures Law wrote to Hysen earlier this year, questioning the fairness of using an algorithm to assess whether someone is a flight risk and raising concerns over how much data SmartLINK collects. Such AI systems, which score or screen people, are used widely but remain largely unregulated even though some have been found to discriminate on race, gender or other protected traits. DHS said in an email that it is committed to ensuring that its use of AI is transparent and safeguards privacy and civil rights while avoiding biases. The agency said it is working to implement the Biden administration’s requirements on using AI , but Hysen said in his letter that security officials may waive those requirements for certain uses. Trump has publicly vowed to repeal Biden's AI policy when he returns to the White House in January. “DHS uses AI to assist our personnel in their work, but DHS does not use the outputs of AI systems as the sole basis for any law enforcement action or denial of benefits,” a spokesperson for DHS told the AP. Trump has not revealed how he plans to carry out his promised deportation of an estimated 11 million people living in the country illegally. Although he has proposed invoking wartime powers, as well as military involvement, the plan would face major logistical challenges — such as where to keep those who have been detained and how to find people spread across the country — that AI-powered surveillance tools could potentially address. Karoline Leavitt, a spokesperson for Trump, did not answer questions about how the incoming administration plans to use DHS’ tech, but said in a statement that “President Trump will marshal every federal and state power necessary to institute the largest deportation operation” in American history. Over 100 civil society groups sent a letter on Friday urging the Office of Management and Budget to require DHS to comply with the Biden administration’s guidelines. OMB did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Just Futures Law’s executive director, Paromita Shah, said if immigrants are scored as flight risks, they are more likely to remain in detention, "limiting their ability to prepare a defense in their case in immigration court, which is already difficult enough as it is.” SmartLINK, part of the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program, is run by BI Inc., a subsidiary of the private prison company The GEO Group. The GEO Group also contracts with ICE to run detention centers. ICE is tight-lipped about how it uses SmartLINK’s location feature to find and arrest immigrants. Still, public records show that during Trump’s first term in 2018, Manassas, Virginia-based employees of BI Inc. relayed immigrants’ GPS locations to federal authorities, who then arrested over 40 people. In a report last year to address privacy issues and concerns, DHS said that the mobile app includes security features that “prohibit access to information on the participant’s mobile device, with the exception of location data points when the app is open.” But the report notes that there remains a risk that data collected from people "may be misused for unauthorized persistent monitoring.” Such information could also be stored in other ICE and DHS databases and used for other DHS mission purposes, the report said. On investor calls earlier this month, private prison companies were clear-eyed about the opportunities ahead. The GEO Group’s executive chairman George Christopher Zoley said that he expects the incoming Trump administration to “take a much more aggressive approach regarding border security as well as interior enforcement and to request additional funding from Congress to achieve these goals.” “In GEO’s ISAP program, we can scale up from the present 182,500 participants to several hundreds of thousands, or even millions of participants,” Zoley said. That same day, the head of another private prison company told investors he would be watching closely to see how the new administration may change immigrant monitoring programs. “It’s an opportunity for multiple vendors to engage ICE about the program going forward and think about creative and innovative solutions to not only get better outcomes, but also scale up the program as necessary,” Damon Hininger, CEO of the private prison company CoreCivic Inc. said on an earnings call. GEO did not respond to requests for comment. In a statement, CoreCivic said that it has played “a valued but limited role in America’s immigration system” for both Democrats and Republicans for over 40 years.