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National Alliance on Mental Illness Lorain County is closing 2024 with a list of accomplishments and a bright look ahead at 2025 with various projects. As a nonprofit supporting and advocating for mental illness, NAMI supports Lorain County residents and families of residents who may be struggling, said Greg Klima, executive director of NAMI Lorain County, in a news release. “What a year 2024 has been here at NAMI Lorain County,” Klima said. “I hope you have felt the excitement and experienced at least one of the many varied programs we have initiated to bring NAMI’s amazing message of hope and support to as many members of the Lorain County community as possible,” he said. Among its many accomplishments in 2024, NAMI: offered Signature Programs Familia-de-Familia and Bases y Fundamentos de NAMI for the first time; presented “Ending the Silence” in schools for the first time; started a Bereavement Support Group; and hosted an all-day Alternative Pathways to Wellness event. NAMI Lorain County also launched a mental health podcast and created a mental health book club, among many other feats, Klima said. “We did all of this while presenting a larger number of educational signature programs than ever before and continuing our Community Connection social and wellness events, which bring together people living with mental health conditions and the people who support them for socialization and fun,” he said. In 2025, NAMI Lorain County will focus on young adult/youth services and FaithNet and aims to hire a young adult services coordinator before the end of the year to focus on a variety of programs, Klima said. Programs include establishing NAMI on Campus: High School clubs and NAMI on Campus college clubs to support youth facing mental health issues, he said. FaithNet is a program focused on assembling faith leaders on a quarterly basis to learn about current mental health topics and to learn from each other about ministering to family members or congregants living with mental health conditions, Klima said. “We know that achieving these new plans while maintaining our current programming is an ambitious goal,” he said. “Every program that NAMI Lorain County offers to the residents of Lorain County is provided free of charge. “We need your help to get it done.” Individuals can contribute to NAMI Lorain County in a number of ways, including becoming a volunteer or donating financially, Klima said. “This can help make mental health matters a priority in other public policy decisions,” he said. “Help us change lives and build a supportive community of people who understand that mental health is physical health.” The mission of NAMI Lorain County is to improve the quality of life for individuals living with mental illness by providing them, their families and the public with education, support groups and advocacy in the public arena. And the vision of NAMI Lorain County is a world where all people affected by mental illness live healthy, fulfilling lives supported by a community that cares. For more information, call 440-240-8477 or visit nami-lc.org .
Joseph Yammin, leading the National Democratic Congress (NDC) initiative Operation Recover All Looted Assets , has intercepted what he claims to be government-supplied fertilizers hidden at the residence of Eric Kwaku Kusi, the Adansi North District Chief Executive (DCE) in Fomena, Ashanti Region. Kusi confirmed that the fertilizers were brought to his house by the Member of Parliament (MP) for Fomena, Andrew Asiamah, who also serves as the Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament. According to Kusi, Asiamah explained that the fertilizers, which were delivered just days before the 2024 elections, had arrived too late for campaign purposes. Asiamah reportedly asked Kusi to temporarily store them until after the elections, with plans to distribute them to farmers afterward. Osman Nabali, the NDC’s Ashanti Regional Youth Organizer, stated that intelligence led to the interception of over 10,000 bags of fertilizers last week in properties in Sokoban and Danyame residential areas. Nabali condemned the hoarding of the fertilizers, which were intended by the outgoing government to assist farmers and reduce food production costs. In a phone interview on December 23, Asiamah confirmed ownership of the fertilizers but declined to provide further details regarding the circumstances. Nabali, however, raised concerns about the legitimacy of the storage location, questioning whether the house belonged to Asiamah or another individual associated with him. The fertilizers, purchased by the government to aid agricultural production, were found days before the elections. Nabali accused those involved in hoarding the supplies of intending to sell them at inflated prices, thereby undermining the incoming administration’s agricultural policies. He criticized the move as a deliberate attempt to sabotage the new government by depriving farmers of much-needed resources. “This undermines the efforts to support our farmers and ensure affordable food for Ghanaians,” Nabali said. “Instead of helping farmers, individuals are prioritizing personal gain.” He called for immediate investigations and swift action from authorities, urging the incoming administration to hold those responsible accountable and safeguard public resources. Nabali emphasized that such actions not only harm the agricultural sector but also go against the national interest.
DETROIT – If President-elect Donald Trump makes good on his threat to kill federal tax credits for electric vehicle purchases, it's likely that fewer buyers will choose EVs. Yet tax credits or not, auto companies show no intention of retreating from a steady transition away from gas-burning cars and trucks, especially given the enormous investment they have already made: Since 2021, the industry has spent at least $160 billion on planning, designing and building electric vehicles, according to the Center for Auto Research. Recommended Videos In campaigning for the presidency, Trump condemned the federal tax for EV buyers — up to $7,500 per vehicle — as part of a “green new scam” that would devastate the auto industry. His transition team is reportedly working on plans to abolish the tax credits and to roll back the more stringent fuel-economy rules that were pushed through by the Biden administration. It is far from clear, though, that the Trump administration could actually rescind the credits. Trump's argument — one that most economists dispute — is that a rapid U.S. shift toward electric vehicles would lead to most EVs being made in China and would swell prices for America’s auto buyers. He has said he would redirect federal revenue recaptured from a canceled tax credit to build roads, bridges and dams. Ending the credits, which were a key provision of President Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act, almost certainly would reduce EV sales, which have been growing in the United States this year, though not nearly as fast as automakers had expected. The slowing growth has forced nearly all auto companies to scale back EV production and delay construction of battery factories that are no longer needed to handle a more gradual transition. Jonathan Chariff, an executive at Midway Ford in Miami, one of the company's top EV-selling dealers, said he thinks ending the tax credits would severely hurt sales. The credits reduce monthly payments, he noted, making an EV closer in price to a gasoline counterpart. “It becomes more affordable,” he said. “Otherwise, those individuals won't be able to afford the payments.” Chariff calculated that the $7,500 credit could shrink a buyer's monthly payment by between $200 and $250, allowing many to afford an EV. On average, electric vehicles sell for about $57,000, compared with around $48,000 for a gasoline vehicle, according to Cox Automotive. (Though they cost more up front, EVs generally are cheaper to operate because maintenance costs are lower, and in most cases electricity is much cheaper than gasoline.) To qualify for the credits, EVs must be built in North America. EVs that contain battery parts or minerals from China or any other nation that is deemed an economic or security threat to the United States qualify for only half the federal credit. Because of that restriction, most of the 75 EV models on sale in the U.S. are not eligible for the full credit. All EVs, though, can receive the full credit toward a lease — a benefit that Trump likely will target. Some plug-in gas-electric hybrids qualify for the credits, too. Asked about the president-elect's opposition to EV tax credits, Trump's transition team would say only that he has “a mandate to implement the promises he made on the campaign trail.” Elon Musk, a close adviser to Trump and co-leader of a commission that intends to identify ways to vastly shrink the federal government, appears to be aligned with the president-elect in canceling the tax credits. Musk, the billionaire CEO of Tesla who spent an estimated $200 million to help elect Trump, has said that ending the credits would hurt his rival companies more than it would Tesla, the U.S. sales leader in EVs by far. “I think it would be devastating for our competitors and would hurt Tesla slightly,” he said. Even so, it might prove difficult for Trump to rescind the credits without help from the new Republican-led Congress, many of whose members represent districts where the EV credit is popular. Trump has floated the idea of using a constitutional theory by which a president could decide whether or not to spend money Congress has appropriated. The president-elect has promoted the concept of “impoundment,” under which congressional appropriations set a ceiling — but not a floor — for spending federal money. John Helveston, an assistant professor at George Washington University who studies electric vehicles and policies, said that in his view, the impoundment theory wouldn't apply in this circumstance because the EV tax credits affect government revenue and are not an appropriation. In any case, Helveston said he doubts Trump could persuade Republican lawmakers to remove the credits from the Inflation Reduction Act because so many congressional districts benefit from the tax breaks. “Cutting the EV tax credit makes it harder for the battery factory in their town to sell their product,” he noted. A 1974 federal law bars a president from substituting his own view of spending programs, said David Rapallo, associate law professor at Georgetown University. If Trump cancelled the tax credits, Rapallo said, it would be challenged in court. Research by J.D. Power shows that once people know about the tax credits, they're far more likely to consider an electric vehicle. In the meantime, federal subsides, not only for buyer tax credits but also for converting factories to EV production, are helping General Motors, Ford and Stellantis make the enormously expensive transition away from gasoline vehicles. It's also helping Detroit's Big Three compete with foreign rivals, notably Chinese automakers that received government subsidies and had a head start in developing EVs, said Sam Fiorani, a vice president at the consultancy AutoForecast Solutions. At present, Ford and GM, while profitable overall, are losing money on EVs, unlike Tesla, though both expect their electric-vehicle operations to generate positive earnings in the coming years as costs ease and more vehicles are sold. Eliminating the federal tax credits, Fiorani suggested, would “hurt the Detroit Three in the long run as they become less competitive against global players making the technological leaps” for electric vehicles, GM, Ford and Stellantis all declined to comment, though their executives have said in the past that they will continue to develop EVs while still selling gasoline vehicles and hybrids. The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a trade group that represents most automakers, has written to Trump in support of the tax credits, arguing that they help ensure that the U.S. “continues to lead in manufacturing critical to our national and economic security.” Hyundai, the Korean automaker, which has spent more than $7 billion on an EV factory in Georgia, could also suffer. The company sped up construction of the huge plant near Savannah and is now building EVs in the United States to try to capitalize on the tax credits for buyers. In the end, most automakers say their ambitious plans for transitioning to electric vehicles won't change regardless of policy changes in Washington. “We plan for the long term, so political considerations aren’t a factor in how we approach product development or capital investments,” said David Christ, vice president of Toyota North America, which is building a battery factory in North Carolina. ____ AP writers Fatima Hussein in Washington and Jeff Amy in Atlanta contributed to this report.
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Vikings staying on track and in control behind Sam Darnold's composure and confidenceNEW YORK — There's a Christmas Day basketball game at Walt Disney World, featuring Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and Wemby. An animated game, anyway. The real game takes place at Madison Square Garden, where Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs face the New York Knicks in a game televised on ABC and ESPN and streamed on Disney+ and ESPN+. The special alt-cast, the first animated presentation of an NBA game, will be shown on ESPN2 and also stream on Disney+ and ESPN+. Madison Square Garden is a staple of the NBA's Christmas schedule. Now it merges with a bigger home of the holidays, because the "Dunk the Halls" game will be staged at Disney, on a court set up right smack in the middle of where countless families have posed for vacation photos. Why that location? Because it was Mickey Mouse's Christmas wish. "Basketball courts often have the ability to make a normal environment look special, but in Disney it can only turn out incredible," Wembanyama said in an ESPN video promoting his Christmas debut. The story — this is Disney, after all — begins with Mickey penning a letter to Santa Claus, asking if he and his pals can host a basketball game. They'll not only get to watch one with NBA players, but some of them will even get to play. Goofy and Donald Duck will sub in for a couple Knicks players, while Mickey and Minnie Mouse will come on to play for the Spurs. "It looks to me like Goofy and Jalen Brunson have a really good pick-and-roll at the elite level," said Phil Orlins, an ESPN vice president of production. Walt Disney World hosted real NBA games in 2020, when the league set up there to complete its season that had been suspended by the COVID-19 pandemic. Those games were played at the ESPN Wide World of Sports. The setting for the Christmas game will be Main Street USA, at the entrance of the Magic Kingdom. Viewers will recognize Cinderella's castle behind one baseline and the train station at the other end, and perhaps some shops they have visited in between. Previous alternate animated broadcasts included an NFL game taking place in Andy's room from "Toy Story;" the "NHL Big City Greens Classic" during a game between the Washington Capitals and New York Rangers; and earlier this month, another NFL matchup between the Cincinnati Bengals and Dallas Cowboys also taking place at Springfield's Atoms Stadium as part of "The Simpsons Funday Football." Unlike basketball, the players are helmeted in those sports. So, this telecast required an extra level of detail and cooperation with players and teams to create accurate appearances of their faces and hairstyles. "So, this is a level of detail that we've never gone, that we've never done on any other broadcast," said David Sparrgrove, the senior director of creative animation for ESPN. Wembanyama, the 7-foot-3 phenom from France who was last season's NBA Rookie of the Year, looks huge even among most NBA players. The creators of the alternate telecast had to design how he'd look not only among his teammates and rivals, but among mice, ducks and chipmunks. "Like, Victor Wembanyama, seeing him in person is insane. It's like seeing an alien descend on a basketball court, and I think we kind of captured that in his animated character," said Drew Carter, who will again handle play-by-play duties, as he had in the previous animated telecasts, and will get an assist from sideline reporter Daisy Duck. Wembanyama's presence is one reason the Spurs-Knicks matchup, the leadoff to the NBA's five-game Christmas slate, was the obvious choice to do the animated telecast. The noon EST start means it will begin in the early evening in France and should draw well there. Also, it comes after ABC televises the "Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Parade" for the previous two hours, providing more time to hype the broadcast. Recognizing that some viewers who then switch over to the animated game may be Disney experts but NBA novices, there will be 10 educational explainers to help with basketball lingo and rules. Beyond Sports' visualization technology and Sony's Hawk-Eye tracking allow the animated players to make the same movements and plays made moments earlier by the real ones at MSG. Carter and analyst Monica McNutt will be animated in the style of the telecast, donning VR headsets to experience the game from Main Street, USA. Other animated faces recognizable to some viewers include NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, who will judge a halftime dunk contest among Mickey and his friends, and Santa himself, who will operate ESPN's "SkyCam" during the game. The players are curious how the production — and themselves — will look. "It's going to be so crazy to see the game animated," Spurs veteran Chris Paul said. "I think what's dope about it is it will give kids another opportunity to watch a game and to see us, basically, as characters." Get local news delivered to your inbox!