One story I never tire of telling is how Channel 6 assured Philadelphia would have a Thanksgiving Day Parade, even as retailers who originally sponsored it faded from the local scene. I mention Channel 6’s place in Philadelphia Thanksgiving history annually because it marks one of the all-time greatest rescues of a local tradition by a local media giant. Thursday, that tradition continues as “The 6 ABC Dunkin’ Thanksgiving Day Parade,” begins its 105th annual march — 39th under Channel 6’s aegis — at 8:30 p.m. featuring its usual assortment of balloons, marching bands, celebrity performances and floats. Dunkin’, as in Dunkin’ Donuts, has been Channel 6’s primary partner for 14 years. Channel 6 news folk Rick Williams, Cecily Tynan, Adam Joseph, Karen Rogers and Alicia Vitarelli will serves as hosts of event: Williams and Tynan from the main Benjamin Franklin Parkway broadcasting booth, the others from the parade route which starts about 16th and the Parkway and leads to the Art Museum. Headlined guests include “Abbott Elementary’s “ Lisa Ann Walter, “Wheel of Fortune’s” Ryan Seacrest and Vanna White, “Live!’s” Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos, ubiquitous TV host and panelist Carson Kressley, and “Good Morning America” weather anchor Sam Champion. Pop music acts appearing at the parade include my lifelong favorite Darlene Love, Matteo Boccelli, The Sugarhill Gang, Kathy Sledge, The Sharpe Family Singers, CeCe Peniston, The Funky Bunch, Wé Ani, and the former Ladies of Chic. Performers from Ensemble Arts Philly touring shows are featured as well as the Walnut Street Theatre’s current production of “Elf,” the Philadelphia Orchestra, just back from a tour of China, Eddie Bruce and the “No Name Pops,” and the Philadelphia Ballet, now doing their annual rendition of “The Nutcracker.” Of course, some creatures known as Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, and Santa Claus make dramatic appearances. Until Al Blackstone was asked to choreograph a production of “Anastasia,” a full-fledged musical based on 1997 animated version, he didn’t realize how much dancing the show required. “I thought it needed a ballet scene and some period dances,” he said. “Once I began working on it, I realized everything in ‘Anastasia’ is a dance,” said Blackstone, who, at the time we spoke was heading to the final rehearsal of “Anastasia” at New Hope’s Bucks County Playhouse, where it will run through Sunday, Jan. 5. “There is so much music to work, and it’s by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, so you know it’s fabulous, but more than that, (director) Eric Rosen’s concept is the music of a memory, so dance serves to illustrate the moment and where the characters are. “It gives us liberty to invent as the show moves from Imperial Russia to Paris, to which the Russian nobility flees following the Revolution.” Russian sequences can range from folk dances to formal ballet. The Paris the refugees inhabit is one of class. Blackstone says his personal experience helped in conceiving the movement for both settings. He had worked on a production of “An American in Paris,” which though set in a later period, provided a sense of the sophisticated Parisian milieu. His grandfather had emigrated to New York from St. Petersburg, Russia, at the time of the Revolution. “I was aware of the different stations and scenarios in the characters’ lives,” Blackstone says. “There’s a lot of range because some of the emigrants are members of the aristocracy while others are from the working class. “There turns out to be so much to explore in this show, I’d like to do it a third time.” Asked whether it is more difficult to work with a vehicle that was originally an animated cartoon, Blackstone said it presents some challenges. “We ask ourselves how we deal with such a situation, dealing with what it is before us but finding an effective way to make to bring out the dramatic reality of a situation, the human reality of it.” Blackstone came to prominence as one of the choreographers on “So You Think You Can Dance,” for which he received two Emmy nominations and earned one 2020 Emmy. “So You Think You Can Dance” was all about dance. It wasn’t concerned with celebrity or the process that led to the performed dance. “The language of dance was the priority, so the show became a great place to exercise creativity,” Blackstone said. “An atmosphere was created in which anything seemed possible.” Blackstone knows a lot about performing. His parents owned a dance school near Point Pleasant, N.J. “They just closed it after 45 years. Besides all of the training, my mother would take us out of school on Wednesday afternoons, so we could go to Broadway and see all of the musicals. That, as much as anything, made me want to be involved with the theater. “I remember the first show I saw was “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamboat.’ It excited me so much, I wrote a letter to everyone in the cast. In time, I saw how dance is an integral part of storytelling.” Now in his 40s, Blackstone says dance and music remain a huge part of his life. “I don’t know how to do everything. I don’t want to do everything. I know who I am and what I’m programmed to do. And, of course, I’m still learning. “The music that interests me the most is the Great American Songbook, the wonderful songs by George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Irving Berlin and their contemporaries. Musicals are often composed with that style of music, which is why I enjoy working on them so much.” Being so used to whole series streaming at once, it is difficult to deal with waiting a full week for a new episode of a show. Peacock’s “The Day of the Jackal” is worth it. Eddie Redmayne plays a highly paid, highly talented professional assassin. Watching him set up the first kill of the series is engrossing as both actor and the situation are fraught with tension. The Jackal is the bad guy, but Redmayne’s charm and talent, and his character’s skill and poise make you root for him despite the international political mayhem he causes with each precise kill. The series is smart enough to let us see various aspects of The Jackal — as a family man, as a lover of nature — that enhance our like for him. Also, his main adversary, an MI 6 agent played by Lashana Lynch, is heavy-handed in her tactics and never becomes as likable as Redmayne, let alone becoming someone to root for. New episodes appear on Peacock every Thursday. You can binge-watch those that have aired already. Throughout the Eagles season, the post-game commentator I look most forward to hearing is former Eagle wide receiver Jason Avant, whether he’s conversing with Rob Ellis on WIP (94.1 FM) or Don Bell on Channel 3. Avant is candid and knowledgeable in a way that illuminates the game he’s s discussing, the plays he’s dissecting, and the players he’s praising or questioning. He brings a polished expert’s perspective to whatever he’s saying while being a sharp, observant, and fair critic of the game he, Ellis, or Bell is taking apart. That Rob Ellis and Don Bell, in their individual ways, rank among the best sportscasters in the market, is a head start to their success working with Avant. Ellis is always rational and, while stating opinions firmly, he listens to callers, explains his views calmly, and introduces ideas you haven’t heard all day on earlier programs. Bell is playful, the guy who applies a good-natured point of view to his reporting and is the life of the broadcasting party while remaining prepared and able to get down to business. Bell also has a worthy pre-game partner in Channel 3’s Pat Gallen, who seems nonchalant in approach but knows his topic thoroughly. Another who’s impressed recently is Channel 29 sportscaster Breland Moore. I enjoyed her take on the Eagles-Commanders game of Nov. 14. I also noticed that see chose as her “player to watch” in terms of being significant to the game at hand was a defender, Eagles safety Reed Blankenship, who came through with a timely interception of a Jayden Daniels pass.
The immigration debate in our country has been dominated by huge corporations who want more (and cheaper) workers and by liberal advocacy organizations who want America to take in as many people from developing nations as possible, partly for humanitarian reasons and partly to drive up the voter rolls for the Democrats. These dueling interests have dominated for decades and led to a permissive system with a large influx of new immigrants, both legal and illegal. In response, conservative voices have pushed back on what they see as overly open immigration policies. Lost in this policy debate is what we should really be focused on: what’s good for America. Big businesses want to bring in as many new workers as they can. Expanding the workforce allows workers less leverage on wages and benefits. This system may lead to greater economic output overall, but there is a strong case to be made that it harms American workers, especially those at the bottom of the labor pool, where an influx of unskilled workers has caused wage stagnation. America’s current H1B skilled visa system is a complete giveaway to corporate America, primarily big tech. We bring in skilled foreigners only when a company sponsors them. The system then keeps many of these workers in a legal limbo, often for decades. That whole time they are... https://t.co/RwzFk2kwLz — Neil Patel (@NeilPatelTDC) December 27, 2024 Liberal activists want to take in as many immigrants as they can, and you don’t have to be a cynic to see the political angle of this policy. An influx of new immigrants has already turned California from a decidedly red state to a strongly blue state, although recent trends show this strategy may be backfiring . In recent years, the permissiveness on immigration has advanced from advocating for more legal immigration to openly favoring illegal immigration. We are now at a point where the majority of Democrats who ran in the party’s last presidential primary raised their hands in favor of completely decriminalizing illegal border crossings. The standard Republican response has been to focus on skilled immigrants. The line you hear most often is to “staple an H-1B visa to every science and technology degree” earned by foreign graduates in American universities to keep these new workers in our country. The final camp in the immigration debate believes our country has had an overly permissive immigration system for too long. This camp wants to both shut down our borders and curtail or stop legal immigration until we get things under control. All of these camps have it wrong on immigration, especially when it comes to skilled immigration. There is a better way. Somewhere in the world today are the next generation’s brightest young scientists. A bunch of them are in America, but many are in other countries, especially India and China. It’s in America’s interest to bring as many of these people as possible into our country. Other countries know this. They have a name for it: “brain drain.” This brain drain — the loss of a country’s best and brightest to places like America — is one of the biggest policy challenges for poor countries around the world. For the sake of America’s future prosperity and status as the world’s most innovative and prosperous country, America should be working on policies to promote it. When a worker comes to America on a temporary H-1B visa, they are tied to the American company that sponsors them. Because of the huge backlog we currently have for these temporary immigrants to gain permanent status in America, these highly skilled workers can stay tethered to an American employer for decades. During this time, they can’t change jobs, their spouses often can’t work and their children can be subject to deportation as soon as they turn 18. The end result of this system is an unfair competition for jobs between American workers and this indentured class of highly skilled immigrants. A big company will always prefer to hire an essentially indentured immigrant who can’t afford to push for better pay or benefits. This current system is ripe for abuse by bad actors like Disney or AT&T Inc., who have been caught recruiting temporary H-1B workers to replace Americans, or by Indian consulting firms that have entire business models built to take advantage of temporary, indentured foreign tech workers. The answer to this problem is not to stop bringing skilled workers to America. If they don’t come to the United States, they can go to Canada or New Zealand, where there are policies in place to actively recruit them . Given the improving conditions in their home countries, these immigrants are also increasingly deciding to forego the American dream and just stay home. (RELATED: America Doesn’t Need More Nerds And Foreigners To Start Winning Again) The real answer is to scrap our broken system. We should better identify and recruit the world’s most talented people. But when we find them, we should bring them here with all the same rights we give to Americans. Doing this will prevent American workers from having to compete with workers with fewer rights. Most importantly, an immigration system that better targets talent and then allows that talent to come to America with the same rights as American workers would incentivize the best to keep coming here, keep inventing here, keep starting companies here and keep the American dream alive.Column: Every state should be ready to protect workers under Trump
Wounded Bangladesh protesters receive robotic helping handWASHINGTON (AP) — The United States is expected to announce that it will send $1.25 billion in military assistance to Ukraine, U.S. officials said Friday, as the Biden administration pushes to get as much aid to Kyiv as possible before leaving office on Jan. 20. The large package of aid includes a significant amount of munitions, including for the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems and the HAWK air defense system. It also will provide Stinger missiles and 155 mm- and 105 mm artillery rounds, officials said. The officials, who said they expect the announcement to be made on Monday, spoke on condition of anonymity to provide details not yet made public. The new aid comes as Russia has launched a barrage of attacks against Ukraine’s power facilities in recent days, although Ukraine has said it intercepted a significant number of the missiles and drones. Russian and Ukrainian forces are also still in a bitter battle around the Russian border region of Kursk, where Moscow has sent thousands of North Korean troops to help reclaim territory taken by Ukraine. Earlier this month, senior defense officials acknowledged that that the Defense Department may not be able to send all of the remaining $5.6 billion in Pentagon weapons and equipment stocks passed by Congress for Ukraine before President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in. Trump has talked about getting some type of negotiated settlement between Ukraine and Russia, and spoken about his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin . Many U.S. and European leaders are concerned that it might result in a poor deal for Ukraine and they worry that he won't provide Ukraine with all the weapons funding approved by Congress. The aid in the new package is in presidential drawdown authority, which allows the Pentagon to take weapons off the shelves and send them quickly to Ukraine. This latest assistance would reduce the remaining amount to about $4.35 billion. Officials have said they hope that an influx of aid will help strengthen Ukraine’s hand, should Zelenskyy decide it’s time to negotiate. One senior defense official said that while the U.S. will continue to provide weapons to Ukraine until Jan. 20, there may well be funds remaining that will be available for the incoming Trump administration to spend. According to the Pentagon, there is also about $1.2 billion remaining in longer-term funding through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which is used to pay for weapons contracts that would not be delivered for a year or more. Officials have said the administration anticipates releasing all of that money before the end of the calendar year. If the new package is included, the U.S. has provided more than $64 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since Russia invaded in February 2022.
Robinson won't appear at Trump's North Carolina rally after report on online posts, AP sources say
NoneTORONTO—Canadian neurosurgeons in partnership with Elon Musk’s Neuralink have regulatory approval to recruit six patients with paralysis willing to have a thousand electrode contacts in their brains. The trial, called CAN-PRIME, has started recruiting patients for a study that will test the safety and efficacy of a device that allows people to move cursors with their minds, a surgeon leading the trial said. Neuralink announced regulator Health Canada’s approval this week. Neuralink has implanted two such devices in patients in the United States. Directors at Neuralink reached out to Toronto-based University Health Network neurosurgeon Andres Lozano a year ago, he told Reuters. He figures his experience with other forms of brain implants played a role. “Myself and our entire team jumped at the possibility of participating in this trial,” Lozano said. The trial will use a two-ton robot to implant 64 electrodes, each with 16 contacts, into the hand-motor areas of patients’ brains. The idea is that the electrodes will transmit activity in those areas so that by thinking about movement, the patient can make connected devices move. To be eligible, individuals must have severe quadriplegia due to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or a spinal cord injury. They would have the surgery in Toronto and use the technology at home, said Lozano, who added he hopes to start in the new year. As the sponsor, Neuralink designed the electrodes and implantation system and will be decoding signals from the electrodes, while the doctors will be responsible for patient selection, surgery safety and health monitoring. “The surgery obviously is a necessary crucial step, but we will not be analyzing the data or doing anything with the data. That'll be up to the company to do that,” Lozano said. Any procedure has risks and there is the possibility of complications, Lozano said. These include brain bleeds, infections, broken wires or wires that stop transmitting. In May Neuralink disclosed that wires had pulled out of position in its first patient—a problem sources told Reuters the company had known about for years. Neuralink did not respond to a request for comment. Health Canada confirmed it had issued an authorization on Nov. 15 but did not provide the study protocols. This intervention is likely years away from being available to the general public, said Brad Wouters, executive vice president of science and research at University Health Network. But Musk “has demonstrated the ability to move quickly,” he said. This technology focuses on reading brain activity. But there is a possibility of “writing,” too, Lozano said—of transmitting information so that, for example, visually impaired people can “see.” But safeguards need to be in place so the technology is not abused, he added. “There’s this issue, also, of whether the systems could be hacked and someone could insert thoughts into you or read your thoughts,” Lozano said, adding this is theoretical but “we have to put in the proper safeguards to ensure that this is done safely and properly.”
No. 7 Tennessee dispatches UT Martin to remain undefeatedTownsquare Capital LLC Purchases Shares of 4,257 Terex Co. (NYSE:TEX)
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks fell broadly on Friday as Wall Street closed out a holiday-shortened week on a down note. The losses were made worse by sharp declines for the Big Tech stocks known as the “Magnificent 7”, which can heavily influence the direction of the market because of their large size. The S&P 500 fell 66.75 points, or 1.1%, to 5,970.84. Roughly 90% of stocks in the benchmark index lost ground, but it managed to hold onto a modest gain of 0.7% for the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 333.59 points, or 0.8%, to 42,992.21. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite fell 298.33 points, or 1.5%, to 19,722.03. Semiconductor giant Nvidia slumped 2.1%. Microsoft declined 1.7%. Each has a market value above $3 trillion, giving the companies outsized sway on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq. A wide range of retailers also fell. Amazon fell 1.5% and Best Buy slipped 1.5%. The sector is being closely watched for clues on how it performed during the holiday shopping season. Energy stocks held up better than the rest of the market, with a loss of less than 0.1% as crude oil prices rose. “There’s just some uncertainty over this relief rally we’ve witnessed since last week,” said Adam Turnquist, chief technical strategist for LPL Financial. The S&P 500 gained nearly 3% over a 3-day stretch before breaking for the Christmas holiday. On Thursday, the index posted a small decline. Despite Friday's drop, the market is moving closer to another standout annual finish . The S&P 500 is on track for a gain of around 25% in 2024. That would mark a second consecutive yearly gain of more than 20%, the first time that has happened since 1997-1998. The gains have been driven partly by upbeat economic data showing that consumers continued spending and the labor market remained strong. Inflation, while still high, has also been steadily easing. A report on Friday showed that sales and inventory estimates for the wholesales trade industry fell 0.2% in November, following a slight gain in October. That weaker-than-expected report follows an update on the labor market Thursday that showed unemployment benefits held steady last week. The stream of upbeat economic data and easing inflation helped prompt a reversal in the Federal Reserve's interest rate policy this year. Expectations for interest rate cuts also helped drive market gains. The central bank recently delivered its third cut to interest rates in 2024. Even though inflation has come closer to the central bank's target of 2%, it remains stubbornly above that mark and worries about it heating up again have tempered the forecast for more interest rate cuts. Inflation concerns have added to uncertainties heading into 2025, which include the labor market’s path ahead and shifting economic policies under incoming President Donald Trump. Worries have risen that Trump’s preference for tariffs and other policies could lead to higher inflation , a bigger U.S. government debt and difficulties for global trade. Amedisys rose 4.7% after the home health care and hospice services provider agreed to extend the deadline for its sale to UnitedHealth Group. The Justice Department had sued to block the $3.3 billion deal, citing concerns the combination would hinder access to home health and hospice services in the U.S. The move to extend the deadline comes ahead of an expected shift in regulatory policy under Trump. The incoming administration is expected to have a more permissive approach to dealmaking and is less likely to raise antitrust concerns. In Asia, Japan’s benchmark index surged as the yen remained weak against the dollar. Stocks in South Korea fell after the main opposition party voted to impeach the country’s acting leader. Markets in Europe gained ground. Bond yields held relatively steady. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.62% from 4.59% late Thursday. The yield on the two-year Treasury remained at 4.33% from late Thursday. Wall Street will have more economic updates to look forward to next week, including reports on pending home sales and home prices. There will also be reports on U.S. construction spending and snapshots of manufacturing activity.NoneUruguay's voters choose their next president in a close runoff with low stakes but much suspense