Election 2024: Greens are better for farmers than Independents, Clare candidate saysSANTA CLARA, Calif. — At this point the past two seasons, the San Francisco 49ers were fighting for playoff positioning rather than their playoff lives. After snapping a three-game losing streak with a lopsided win last week against Chicago, the Niners head into a Thursday night division showdown against the Los Angeles Rams hoping to play with the same kind of desperation in a game they almost certainly need to win to get to the postseason. "I think just across the board as a team, everybody had just a bit more of sense of urgency and I think we executed and played together as a team, and we didn't let off," quarterback Brock Purdy said. "Really liked that. But, that was last week so now it's on to this week and how can we do that again?" After getting outscored by 53 points in losses at Green Bay and Buffalo, the 49ers (6-7) played their most complete game of the season to keep their playoff hopes alive. While some credited a feeling of desperation or speeches from players such as Purdy and Deommodore Lenoir for the turnaround, linebacker Fred Warner said it was more about execution than anything else. "We didn't go out there in Green Bay, we didn't go out there in Buffalo saying, 'Let's just hope that we win.' Trust me, I felt desperate as hell going into both those games," he said. "It just didn't work out. ... It didn't happen because last week we decided we wanted to. This was weeks in the making." Whatever the reason, the results were obvious to anyone watching, including the Rams (7-6), who had their own signature performance to boost their playoff chances. Los Angeles held off Buffalo 44-42 to remain one game behind Seattle in the NFC West race and a game ahead of the 49ers and Arizona in the tightly packed division. Coach Sean McVay knows his team will need a similar performance to beat San Francisco and earn a season sweep. "I saw they certainly had a very dominant performance," he said. "If there's anything that you do know, it's a week-to-week league. Humility is only a week away. They have excellent coaches, excellent personnel and really good schemes. No matter what's really happened in terms of the trajectory of the injuries, they're going to be ready to go." Puka Nacua is in dominant form with 33 catches for 458 yards and three TDs in the Rams' past four games, highlighted by a 162-yard performance last week against Buffalo in which he also scored his first rushing TD. Nacua was injured for these clubs' first meeting this season — but last year, he broke the NFL's single-game rookie receptions record with 15 in his first game against San Francisco, and he set the NFL rookie season records for catches and yards receiving during his visit to Santa Clara last January. "He's a tough football player," 49ers defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen said. "Some guys are just competitive. He's got size, he doesn't go down easy. Some things you can't measure and he's just got it." The least productive four-game stretch of Deebo Samuel's career sent the frustrated wide receiver for the San Francisco 49ers to social media. In a now-deleted post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Samuel said the reason he gained only 97 yards from scrimmage the past four games was not that he was struggling but that he wasn't getting the ball. His teammates and coaches believe he will get back to his All-Pro form soon. "I want to get Deebo the ball every play if I could," Purdy said. "I want to have him break all the records as best as possible. I want Deebo to do Deebo things." The Rams defense got shredded twice in the past three weeks by Saquon Barkley's Eagles and Josh Allen's Bills, dropping the unit to 27th in total defense. LA's vaunted young pass rush led by rookie Jared Verse has no sacks in its past two games and just three in the past four games. Considering Purdy drove the Niners to 425 yards in the teams' first meeting this season without Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle or Samuel, the Rams' offense might need yet another prolific game to overcome its defense's weaknesses. With Nick Bosa sidelined the past three games, the 49ers have had to generate pass rushes from different sources. They had a season-high seven sacks last week with Yetur Gross-Matos getting three and Leonard Floyd two. The 32-year-old Floyd has 5 1/2 sacks in his past four games. "Leonard's just an Energizer bunny," Shanahan said. "It's crazy with him being one of the older guys and stuff and how many different teams he's been to, but I've played against him enough and felt that." Bosa has a chance to return this week and is listed as questionable. AP Sports Writer Greg Beacham in Los Angeles contributed to this report Get local news delivered to your inbox!Saturday's Scores
‘Give me’: Aussie-first item lands at KFC
If any film has the power to change the world, it’s “Wicked.” When I saw it on stage, I thought it was an above-average show that would best be remembered for turning Gen Z-ers onto theater. And seeing young girls in the lobby dressed as princesses and witches was as uplifting as hearing “Defying Gravity.” But the movie version stirred me even more by doubling down on the show’s anti-bullying theme and the consequences of shutting out those who don’t look like us, messages that resonate more than ever. Plenty of people have already experienced the magic. It made $162.5 million in its opening weekend, setting it up to be the most successful film ever based on a Broadway production. It’s bound to be a contender during awards season. One of the reasons for its popularity is that it’s a companion piece to the beloved “The Wizard of Oz,” one in which we discover that Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West (Cynthia Erivo) isn’t all wicked and Glinda the Good Witch (Ariana Grande) isn’t all good. For others, that plot line is a major turn off. They’d rather face down flying monkeys than sit through a musical. But I urge skeptics to suffer through the sappy songs and focus on the moments that remind you of times you’ve felt like an outsider. Sandy Lor, a 29-year-old social influencer based in the Twin Cities, had never seen the musical when she attended a special preview before the Nov. 22 release. The initial draw for her was Grande and director Jon M. Chu, who previously helmed 2018′s “Crazy Rich Asians,” one of the best rom-coms of the last decade. Lor didn’t expect to get so emotional during the scene in which the green-faced Elphaba is ridiculed at a party for wearing a crooked, black hat and doing a dance that may remind you of Elaine Benes’ herky-jerky moves on “Seinfeld.” But the heart-wrenching moment turns to pure joy when she is joined on the floor by her college roommate Glinda, transforming them from bitter rivals to tight friends. “I’ve been in Elphaba’s shoes before,” said Lor, who uses the name @sandysprosium when offering fashion and lifestyle tips online. “Her walking onto the dance floor was like me walking into the lunch area in high school and not knowing where to sit because I didn’t have a clique. That scene shows that it takes just one person to be on your side to make a big change. I didn’t know a movie could move me this much.” The bond between the two future witches is a huge part of both the film and the musical. The crowd I saw it with erupted into applause when the original version’s pair, Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth, made unexpected screen cameos. But I had completely forgotten about the dark sub-plot in which there’s a campaign to domesticate Oz’s talking animals by caging them and slowly robbing them of their ability to speak. Chu emphasizes that story line in the film by adding some sympathetic characters, including a bear nanny who nurses Elphaba through her childhood, and a cub that grows up to be the Cowardly Lion. One of the film’s more harrowing moments is when Dr. Dillamond (voiced by Peter Dinklage) is arrested for the “crime” of being a brilliant goat. “When he’s taken away, Elphaba asks, ‘What are we going to do?”' said Dan McNeil, executive director at Peacemaker Minnesota, a Roseville-based, non-profit group committed to fighting harassment in schools. “I hope that’s a question everyone asks when they see bullying going on.” The film also has a direct correlation to debates around the world about immigration, assimilating — or rejecting — other cultures. That theme was one of the reasons Chu, whose parents were born in Taiwan and China, jumped at the chance to direct “Wicked.” ‘‘’The Wizard of Oz’ had such an influence on my own family — an immigrant family that came to America with these dreams,’’ Chu told the New York Times. ‘’We’re going through such a changing period in our culture, and this hit it so on the nose — that change is difficult, that the Yellow Brick Road may not be the path for all of us.” McNeil thinks the film might inspire conversations with friends and family during the holiday season. At the very least, it may make those already standing up against discrimination feel like they’ve got reinforcements. But can a movie, even a blockbuster, really bring us closer together? It can’t hurt. “It takes schools, political leadership, corporate leadership, but also cultural influences like movies and music,” McNeil said. “Every little bit helps.”
Prospera Financial Services Inc Increases Stock Position in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)Murray – Britain’s greatest ever player – retired after this summer’s Olympics at the age of 37 after finally admitting defeat in his battle against his body. Many in the game expected the Scot would one day return to tennis and become a coach, particularly due to his love of the sport, hard work and his tactical acumen. He never liked retirement anyway. 🙌 pic.twitter.com/Ga4UlV2kQW — Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole) November 23, 2024 But it came with some degree of shock on Saturday afternoon when a social media post from Djokovic, playing on Murray’s light-hearted tweet upon his departure, read: “He never liked retirement anyway”. The attached video announced Murray, who he lost to in two Slam finals but beat in four Australian showpieces, would coach him over the winter and through January’s Open in Melbourne. “We played each other since we were boys, 25 years of pushing each other to our limits. We had some of the most epic battles in in our sport. They called us gamechangers, risk-takers, history-makers,” Djokovic said. “I thought our story may be over. Turns out it has one final chapter. It’s time for one of my toughest opponents to step into my corner. Welcome aboard, coach Andy Murray.” Murray, who beat Djokovic to win the US Open in 2012 and Wimbledon in 2013, says he wants to help the 24-time grand slam champion achieve his goals. “I’m going to be joining Novak’s team in the off-season, helping him to prepare for the Australian Open, he said. “I’m really excited for it and looking forward to spending time on the same side of the net as Novak for a change, helping him to achieve his goals.” Djokovic, a week younger than his new coach, added: “I am excited to have one of my greatest rivals on the same side of the net, as my coach. “Looking forward to the start of the season and competing in Australia alongside Andy with whom I have shared many exceptional moments on the Australian soil.” Djokovic beat Murray in the 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2016 Australian Open finals as well as the French Open final in 2016. It was after he unseated Djokovic at the top of the rankings in 2016 that Murray suffered the hip injury which ultimately derailed his career. Since his retirement, Murray has been playing golf with the same dedication he pursued his tennis but will now return to his natural habitat. Djokovic, who split with coach Goran Ivanisevic earlier this year, hopes that adding Murray to his team will help him get back to the top of the game after he went through a calendar year without winning a grand slam for the first time since 2017. Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz have developed a stranglehold at the top of the men’s game and Djokovic, who has seen Murray, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal all retire in recent years, is still hoping to move clear of the record 24 grand slams he shares with Margaret Court.
SADO, Japan (AP) — Japan will hold a memorial ceremony on Sunday near the Sado Island Gold Mines , which were listed this summer as a UNESCO World Heritage site after the country moved past years of historical disputes with South Korea and reluctantly acknowledged the mines' dark history. At these mines, hundreds of Koreans were forced to labor under abusive and brutal conditions during World War II, historians say. The Japanese government said Sunday’s ceremony will pay tribute to “all workers” who died at the mines, but without spelling out who they are — part of what critics call a persistent policy of whitewashing Japan's history of sexual and labor exploitation before and during the war. The ceremony, which was supposed to further mend their wounds, renewed tensions between the two sides. On Saturday, South Korea's government said it will boycott the memorial service due to unspecified disagreements with Tokyo over the event. There was no immediate response from Japanese officials. Ahead of the ceremony on Sunday, The Associated Press explains the Sado mines, their history and the controversy. The 16th century mines on the island of Sado, about the size of the Pacific island of Guam, off the western coast of Niigata prefecture, operated for nearly 400 years beginning in 1601 and were once the world’s largest gold producer. They closed in 1989. During the Edo period, from 1600 to 1868, the mines supplied gold currency to the ruling Tokugawa Shogunate. Today, the site has been developed as a tourist facility and hiking site where visitors can learn about the changes in mining technology and production methods while looking at the remains of mine shafts and ore dressing facilities. Critics say the Japanese government only highlights the glory of the mines and covers up its use of Korean victims of forced labor and their ordeals. The mines were registered as a cultural heritage site in July after Japan agreed to include an exhibit on the conditions of Korean forced laborers and to hold a memorial service after repeated protests from the South Korean government. At the July meeting of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, the Japanese delegate said Tokyo had installed new exhibition material to explain the “severe conditions of (the Korean laborers’) work and to remember their hardship.” Japan also acknowledged that Koreans were made to do more dangerous tasks in the mine shaft, which caused some to die. Those who survived also developed lung diseases and other health problems. Many of them were given meager food rations and nearly no days off and were caught by police if they escaped, historians say. But the Japanese government has refused to admit they were “forced labor.” South Korea had earlier opposed the listing of the site for UNESCO World Heritage on the grounds that the Korean forced laborers used at the mines were missing from the exhibition. South Korea eventually supported the listing after consultations with Japan and Tokyo’s pledge to improve the historical background in the exhibit and to hold a memorial that also includes Koreans. Historians say Japan used hundreds of thousands of Korean laborers, including those forcibly brought from the Korean Peninsula, at Japanese mines and factories to make up for labor shortages because most working-age Japanese men had been sent to battlefronts across Asia and the Pacific. About 1,500 Koreans were forced to work at the Sado mines, according to Yasuto Takeuchi, an expert on Japan’s wartime history, citing wartime Japanese documents. The South Korean government has said it expects Japan to keep its pledge to be truthful to history and to show both sides of the Sado mines. “The controversy surrounding the Sado mines exhibit underscores a deeper problem” of Japan’s failure to face up to its wartime responsibility and its growing “denialism” of its wartime atrocities, Takeuchi said. All workers who died at the Sado mines will be honored. That includes hundreds of Korean laborers who worked there during Japan’s 1910-1945 colonization of the Korean Peninsula. Officials say the ceremony is organized by a group of local Japanese politicians, business owners and other volunteers who campaigned for the Sado mines to win the UNESCO status, but preparations were handled by local government officials, who did not disclose details, including guests and programs, until the last minute. Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya announced the ceremony on Friday, but he declined to comment on “diplomatic exchanges.” Officials at Sado city and the Foreign Ministry said about 100 people, including officials from Japan’s local and central government, as well as South Korean Foreign Ministry officials and the relatives of Korean wartime laborers, have been invited. Attendants are expected to observe a moment of silence for the victims who died at the mines due to accidents and other causes. The ceremony dredged up long-standing frustrations in South Korea, where the Foreign Ministry said in a statement it was impossible to settle the disagreements between both governments before the planned event on Sunday, without specifying what those disagreements were. The cancelation came a day after Japan said it will send a parliamentary vice minister, Akiko Ikuina, who in 2022 visited Tokyo's controversial Yasukuni Shrine, which honors Japan's 2.5 million war dead including convicted war criminals and is seen by Japan's neighbors as a symbol of its wartime militarism. Some South Koreans had criticized the Seoul government throwing its support behind an event without securing a clear Japanese commitment to highlight the plight of Korean laborers. There were also complaints over South Korea agreeing to pay for the travel expenses of Korean victims’ family members who were invited to attend the ceremony. Critics say Japan’s government has long been reluctant to discuss wartime atrocities. That includes what historians describe as the sexual abuse and enslavement of women across Asia, many of them Koreans who were deceived into providing sex to Japanese soldiers at frontline brothels and euphemistically called “comfort women,” and the Koreans who were mobilized and forced to work in Japan, especially in the final years of World War II. Korean compensation demands for Japanese atrocities during its brutal colonial rule have strained relations between the two Asian neighbors, most recently after a 2018 South Korean Supreme Court ruling ordered Japanese companies to pay damages over their wartime forced labor. Japan’s government has maintained that all wartime compensation issues between the two countries were resolved under the 1965 normalization treaty. Ties between Tokyo and Seoul have improved recently after Washington said their disputes over the historical issues were hampering crucial security cooperation as China’s threat grows in the region. Japan's whitewashing of wartime atrocities has risen since the 2010s, particularly under the past government of revisionist leader Shinzo Abe . For instance, Japan says the terms “sex slavery” and “forced labor” are inaccurate and insists on the use of highly euphemistic terms such as “comfort women” and “civilian workers” instead. South Korea’s conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol announced in March 2023 that his country would use a local corporate fund to compensate forced labor victims without demanding Japanese contributions. Japan’s then-Prime Minister Fumio Kishida later expressed sympathy for their suffering during a Seoul visit. Security, business and other ties between the sides have since rapidly resumed. Takeuchi said listing Japan’s modern industrial historical sites as a UNESCO World Heritage is a government push to increase tourism. The government, he said, wants “to commercialize sites like the Sado mines by beautifying and justifying their history for Japan’s convenience.”
NEW YORK, Nov. 26, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Attorney Advertising -- Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC, a nationally recognized law firm, notifies investors that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Wolfspeed, Inc. ("Wolfspeed" or "the Company") WOLF and certain of its officers. Class Definition This lawsuit seeks to recover damages against Defendants for alleged violations of the federal securities laws on behalf of all persons and entities that purchased or otherwise acquired Wolfspeed securities between August 16, 2023 and November 06, 2024 inclusive (the "Class Period"). Such investors are encouraged to join this case by visiting the firm's site: bgandg.com/WOLF . Case Details The Complaint alleges that on November 6, 2024, Wolfspeed announced its financial results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2025, revealing that the actual performance of the Mohawk Valley facility was far below expectations, and that the 20% utilization of the facility would lead to revenue 30% to 50% lower than the previously projected $100 million. The Complaint adds that the company attributed the shortfall and lowered guidance to slower-than-expected demand, citing that EV customers were adjusting their launch timelines as the market navigated a transition period. Following this announcement, Wolfspeed's stock price reportedly dropped by more than 39%. What's Next? A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to review a copy of the Complaint, you can visit the firm's site: bgandg.com/WOLF . or you may contact Peretz Bronstein, Esq. or his Client Relations Manager, Nathan Miller, of Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC at 332-239-2660 . If you suffered a loss in Wolfspeed you have until January 17, 2025, to request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as lead plaintiff. There is No Cost to You We represent investors in class actions on a contingency fee basis. That means we will ask the court to reimburse us for out-of-pocket expenses and attorneys' fees, usually a percentage of the total recovery, only if we are successful. Why Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC is a nationally recognized firm that represents investors in securities fraud class actions and shareholder derivative suits. Our firm has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors nationwide. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes. Contact Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC Peretz Bronstein or Nathan Miller 332-239-2660 | info@bgandg.com © 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. ( NYSE:MSM – Free Report ) by 204.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,935 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 6,673 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in MSC Industrial Direct were worth $855,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MSM. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 85.1% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,733,228 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $216,772,000 after purchasing an additional 1,256,706 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in MSC Industrial Direct during the 1st quarter worth about $16,571,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in MSC Industrial Direct by 804.5% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 173,653 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $13,772,000 after acquiring an additional 154,454 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in MSC Industrial Direct by 1,715.2% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 143,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $11,373,000 after acquiring an additional 135,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in MSC Industrial Direct by 458.4% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 119,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,493,000 after purchasing an additional 98,265 shares during the period. 79.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Insider Transactions at MSC Industrial Direct In related news, Director Philip Peller sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.07, for a total transaction of $80,163.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,044 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $360,199.08. This represents a 18.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link . Also, CEO Erik Gershwind sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.36, for a total value of $4,518,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,402,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $126,761,435.64. This represents a 3.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . Company insiders own 18.80% of the company’s stock. MSC Industrial Direct Stock Up 1.6 % MSC Industrial Direct ( NYSE:MSM – Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.05). MSC Industrial Direct had a net margin of 6.77% and a return on equity of 19.35%. The business had revenue of $952.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $959.74 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.64 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. will post 3.65 earnings per share for the current year. MSC Industrial Direct Increases Dividend The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.98%. This is an increase from MSC Industrial Direct’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. MSC Industrial Direct’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.24%. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MSM. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of MSC Industrial Direct from $87.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $90.20. Read Our Latest Report on MSM MSC Industrial Direct Profile ( Free Report ) MSC Industrial Direct Co, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, distributes metalworking and maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) products and services in the United States, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company's MRO products include cutting tools, measuring instruments, tooling components, metalworking products, fasteners, flat stock products, raw materials, abrasives, machinery hand and power tools, safety and janitorial supplies, plumbing supplies, materials handling products, power transmission components, and electrical supplies. Featured Articles Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MSM? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. ( NYSE:MSM – Free Report ). Receive News & Ratings for MSC Industrial Direct Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for MSC Industrial Direct and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .Cementless Total Knee Arthroplasty Market is Estimated to Grow at a CAGR of 21.8% During 2024-2031 | DePuy Synthes, GROUP FH ORTHO, Smith & Nephew, Stryker, Zimmer Biomet, B. 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“I don’t know if Darragh O’Brien took the whole thing of needing to build houses quicker, sooner seriously,” Róisín Garvey says. Traversing the constituency of Clare on the campaign trail, the Green Party deputy leader is her usual outspoken self, pointing to the failures of the outgoing coalition, of which she is a member. Garvey is probably the best prospect of a gain for the party in the more rural constituency of Clare, with a four-year Seanad term increasing her profile nationally and locally. Driving through the Clare countryside out towards Ennistymon, Garvey acknowledges the failures within government — particularly on housing. She says that, while the coalition has overseen increased housebuilding which has been a win, the increased level of homelessness must be seen as a failure of government. Excuses such as population increases and the war in Ukraine can be made, she says, but the State did adapt well to finding homes for Ukrainian refugees. In particular, she questions outgoing Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien and his role in the crisis. When asked if O’Brien failed in his job, Garvey walks it back slightly saying that he didn’t because “he built loads of houses”. “I don’t think he’s failed. I’m not sure his priorities are the same as my priorities.” In particular, she highlights cost-rental as an issue, with it being pushed on a national level, but the development of it in Clare is yet to start. She hits out at council chief executives who “aren’t answerable to anybody”. It’s a cold afternoon in Ennis as Garvey pounds the pavement in Willsgrove, knocking on doors with her team of canvassers. Hailing from Inagh, a village nestled between Ennis and Ennistymon, Garvey comes from a political family, with her father Flan having served as a Fianna Fáil councillor until 2009. She did not make it over the line in 2020, amid a green wave that washed 12 Green TDs into the Dáil. But, after four years in the Seanad and two seats now empty with the departure of both Michael McNamara and Joe Carey, her prospects are certainly not bad. “The only negativity I really get is online and I think two doors out of the whole campaign so far have verbally attacked me and abused me,” Garvey says. “It’s not bad, considering.” On the doors, an issue that continually crops up is housing, with one woman, Angela Connaughton, raising the lack of suitable accommodation for people looking to downsize. Connaughton says her family members would prefer to move to a smaller apartment from their four-bedroom house, but that there simply isn’t accommodation available to them. The canvass comes in the hours after the first RTÉ leaders’ debate, with one voter asking Garvey how she thought it went. “Shouty,” Garvey replies, saying she believed her party leader — Roderic O’Gorman — performed well in the clashes, but that he was “very polite”. Garvey does single out one party leader for criticism however, saying that Independent Ireland’s Michael Collins just “makes stuff up”. “I’d argue with anybody based on facts, but when they just start making up stuff,” Garvey says, adding that the Greens have “put more money in farmers’ pockets than the Independents ever have”. Garvey says she believes Collins is “living in denial” about climate change. “I think his head is in the sand, sure the farmland is saturated,” she adds. Garvey says farmers all over the country are struggling, while accusing Independents of only offering farmers more of the same. What are their solutions, apart from bashing the Greens that are coming up with actual solutions? As the team of canvassers wander up the road further, Garvey turns into a house where John Gannon opens the door, revealing that she is the first caller so far in the campaign. Garvey sounds thrilled, before asking Gannon if he’d give her a number one vote off the back of her visit. “Well you might get something,” he tells her. “Well, I’ll take it,” Garvey responds, before explaining how her father had once opted to climb Croagh Patrick for a vote in a local election. He points to the cost of living as a key issue for him in the election, while later on up the road Siobhan King raises the lack of affordable housing being built in the local area. She points out that there isn’t an equitable split between the amount of social houses being built and the amount of affordable houses being delivered, saying that her two children will face difficulties affording a home. Health is also brought up by King, with the ongoing issues at University Hospital Limerick raised as a major concern. She says that while her daughter is training to be a nurse, she wouldn’t step foot in UHL. It’s one issue shared by Garvey, with the senator describing how she spent four nights on a trolley in the hospital previously, saying that it was “hell”. “UHL is the most famous hospital for nightmares,” Garvey says, as she pressed for further investment in primary care centres in Clare — with just one established in Ennis. As the canvass ends, Garvey is back in her car on route to Ennistymon where she is scheduled to speak to students about the importance of voting. As the afternoon wears on, Garvey pulls in to the Ennistymon Community School, built atop a hill in the town, and hops out to speak to students. Gathering all the students in the main hall of the school, Garvey climbs up on a table to address the students — before quickly stepping back down after a glare from the principal. She urges the students to get out and use their voice come polling day. “When you don’t vote, somebody else gets to decide for you... I don’t care who you vote for, you can hate me for all you want, you don’t have to vote for me. “But if you have a vote, I beg you to go out and use it.”Fofana 2-3 1-2 5, Jones 4-6 8-8 17, Lewis 2-3 2-2 6, Fuller 2-8 6-6 10, Washington 3-7 3-5 9, Adams 8-12 3-3 19, Martindale 1-2 3-4 6, Brinson 3-3 3-4 9, Beard 1-4 0-0 2, Barbee 1-2 0-0 2, Cain 0-1 4-4 4, Thibiant 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 27-52 33-38 89. Pickett 1-4 0-0 3, Addo-Ankrah 1-6 0-0 3, Craig 3-7 0-0 8, Lee 2-6 2-2 8, Shogbonyo 6-11 1-1 15, Lopez-Sanvicente 3-4 3-6 10, Akins 2-9 2-5 7, Mani 0-5 0-0 0, Bowen 0-1 4-4 4, Carney 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 19-56 12-18 60. Halftime_CS Northridge 48-33. 3-Point Goals_CS Northridge 2-14 (Jones 1-1, Martindale 1-2, Barbee 0-1, Cain 0-1, Thibiant 0-1, Beard 0-2, Washington 0-2, Fuller 0-4), Denver 10-30 (Lee 2-2, Shogbonyo 2-4, Craig 2-5, Lopez-Sanvicente 1-1, Pickett 1-3, Addo-Ankrah 1-5, Akins 1-5, Bowen 0-1, Carney 0-2, Mani 0-2). Fouled Out_Lee, Akins. Rebounds_CS Northridge 40 (Adams 11), Denver 18 (Lopez-Sanvicente 5). Assists_CS Northridge 9 (Beard 4), Denver 10 (Lopez-Sanvicente 3). Total Fouls_CS Northridge 19, Denver 29. A_109 (7,321).
In the summer of 2015, three Syrian girls who had narrowly survived an airstrike some weeks earlier stood before Tulsi Gabbard with horrific burns all over their bodies. Gabbard, then a US congresswoman on a visit to the Syria-Turkey border as part of her duties for the foreign affairs committee, had a question for them. “How do you know it was Bashar al-Assad or Russia that bombed you, and not Isis?’” she asked, according to Mouaz Moustafa, a Syrian activist who was translating her conversation with the girls. It was a revealing insight into Gabbard’s conspiratorial views of the conflict, and it shocked Moustafa to silence. He knew, as even the young children did, that Isis did not have jets to launch airstrikes. It was such an absurd question that he chose not to translate it because he didn’t want to upset the girls, the eldest of whom was 12. “From that point on, I’m sorry to say I was inaccurate in my translations of anything she said,” Moustafa told . “It was more like: How do I get these girls away from this devil?” Even before Gabbard left the Democratic Party, ingratiated herself with Donald Trump and secured his nomination to become director of National Intelligence, she was known as a prolific peddler of Russian propaganda. In almost every foreign conflict in which Russia had a hand, Gabbard backed Moscow and railed against the US. Her past promotion of Kremlin propaganda has provoked on both sides of the aisle to her nomination. Her journey from anti-war Democrat to Moscow-friendly Maga warrior began in Syria. The devastating conflict was sparked by pro-democracy uprisings in 2011, which were brutally crushed by the Assad regime. It descended into a complex web of factions that drew extremist Islamists from around the world and global powers into the fray. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a UK-based monitoring group with a network of sources on the ground, . It said at least 162,390 civilians had died in that same time, with the Syrian government and its allies responsible for 139,609 of those deaths. But Gabbard, a veteran of the Iraq War, viewed it all as a “ ” fueled by the West and aimed at removing the dictator from power. She saw Assad – and Russia, when it entered the conflict – as legitimate defenders of the state against an extremist uprising. In 2015, when Russia entered the Syrian war on the side of the dictator Assad, Gabbard expressed support for the move, even as the civilian toll from Moscow’s devastating airstrikes . “Al-Qaeda attacked us on 9/11 and must be defeated. Obama won’t bomb them in Syria. Putin did. #neverforget911,” she wrote on Twitter. It was precisely because of her support for Assad and Russia’s war that Moustafa was keen for her to attend the congressional delegation to southern Turkey to meet the victims of the conflict. “From experience, everyone that we bring over to the border, and they see the victims, they always come back with a realistic view of what’s happening and who is behind the mass displacement and killing and atrocities and so on, and so that was the objective,” he said. “What was shocking was her lack of empathy. She’ll sacrifice the facts, even when it came to little girls in front of her telling her they got bombed by a plane – it didn’t matter.” Charles Lister, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute who testified twice on Syria to the House Foreign Affairs Committee when Gabbard was a member, spent years debunking her various conspiracy theories about the war. “Her consistent denial of the Syrian regime’s crimes is so wildly fringe that her potential appointment as DNI is genuinely alarming,” he told . Lister said her views “appear to be driven by a strange fusion of America First isolationism and a belief in the value of autocratic and secular leaders in confronting extremism.” They included a suggestion that Syrian rebels chemical weapons attack against their supporters to provoke Western intervention against Assad — something the US intelligence agencies she will soon lead had concluded was false. She declined to call Assad a war criminal , despite masses of evidence, and used a video of Syrian government bombings to in the war. “Her descriptions of the crisis in Syria read like they were composed in Assad’s personal office, or in Tehran or Moscow – not Washington,” Lister added. Gabbard was not swayed by meeting the victims of Assad’s airstrikes in 2015. In fact, two years later, she went to Damascus to meet the Syrian president in person and came away even more convinced of her opinions. The congresswoman said her visit to meet Assad – the first by a sitting US lawmaker since the conflict began – was aimed at bringing an end to the war. “I felt it’s important that if we profess to truly care about the Syrian people, about their suffering, then we’ve got to be able to meet with anyone that we need to if there is a possibility that we could achieve peace,” she told CNN at the time. Gabbard was forced to defend her embrace of Assad and other dictators during her 2020 run for the Democratic presidential nomination. During the Democratic primary debate, she clashed with Kamala Harris, who accused her of being “an apologist for an individual – Assad – who has murdered the people of his country like cockroaches.” “She has embraced and been an apologist for him in a way that she refuses to call him a war criminal. I can only take what she says and her opinion so seriously and so I’m prepared to move on,” added Harris, who would subsequently drop out of the race and later be selected as Joe Biden’s running mate. When Russia invaded Ukraine, Gabbard again found herself defending Russian aggression. “This war and suffering could have easily been avoided if Biden Admin/Nato had simply acknowledged Russia’s legitimate security concerns,” she posted on Twitter in 2022. Gabbard appeared to fall for various conspiracy theories about the conflict that were promoted by Russia, as she had done in Syria. One of those conspiracy theories was a Russian claim about the existence of in Ukraine that were supposedly producing deadly pathogens. She later walked back on those remarks, suggesting that there might have been some “miscommunication and misunderstanding.” Gabbard’s frequent echoing of Kremlin talking points has earned her praise in Russian state media. Indeed, an article published on 15 November in the Russian-state controlled outlet RIA Novosti went so far as to Gabbard a “superwoman.” The possibility that Trump would tap someone with Gabbard’s history to be America’s top intelligence official shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone who followed the president-elect’s first four years in the White House. During his 2018 summit with President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, the then-president was asked if he believed the US intelligence community’s assessment, which stated that Russia had interfered in the 2016 presidential election on his behalf. That assessment was based on analysis of what was determined to have been state-sponsored campaigns of fake social media posts and ersatz news sites to spread false stories about his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, as well as cyberattacks targeting the Democratic National Committee and prominent operatives associated with the Clinton campaign. But Trump, who’d just spent several hours in a closed-door meeting with Putin, stunned the assembled press and the entire world by declaring that he trusted the Russian leader’s word over that of his own advisers. "President Putin says it’s not Russia. I don’t see any reason why it would be," he replied. Trump would go on to repeatedly clash with his own intelligence appointees during the remainder of his term. He sacked his first DNI, former Indiana senator Dan Coats, after Coats repeatedly declined to back away from the government’s assessment of what Russia had done during the 2016 presidential race. Larry Pfeiffer, the director of George Mason University’s Hayden Center for Intelligence, Policy, and International Security, said Gabbard’s apparent susceptibility to foreign disinformation and her affinity for strongmen will give pause to American allies with whom the US routinely shares intelligence on common threats. Intelligence services, he explained, are notoriously territorial and tight-lipped on sources and methods – particularly when it comes to so-called human intelligence, or Humint, which refers to information collected by and from spies and sources within hostile governments. Pfeiffer said foreign allies are likely already concerned about how a second Trump administration will handle intelligence, given the president-elect’s record. He also predicted that Gabbard’s confirmation as DNI would cause even more problems among skittish partners. “I think they wouldn’t feel like they’ve got an American confidant that they can deal with on a mature level,” he said. “I can guarantee you that the foreign intelligence services of Europe, including the Brits, are all having little side conversations right now about ... what is this going to mean, and how are we going to operate, and what are we going to do now.” The former US intelligence veteran also said Gabbard’s record of spreading foreign talking points calls into question whether she will be able to carry out the DNI’s important responsibility of briefing the president on threats to the nation. He told : “Somebody like Tulsi Gabbard, you look at her long history of statements that seem to come out of the Kremlin’s notebook, her propensity to be influenced by their viewpoint – [it] raises questions as to whether she has the ability to present the intel community’s perspective as it is, or is she going to be one who’s going to want to discount it, influence it, color and change it, or ignore it and just present her own view? “I think it also raises questions of judgement. You know, here’s an individual who seems very prone to misinformation, prone to conspiracy theory. That should worry anybody who’s worried about America’s national security,” he added. Trump’s selection of the ex-Hawaii congresswoman could be a problem for the senators tasked with confirming her, on several different levels. For one, the position is unique among cabinet agencies in that there are strict requirements for who can serve in the director’s role. The text of the 2004 law which established the ODNI in the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks on New York and Washington and the intelligence community’s failures leading up to the US invasion of Iraq, specifically states that any person who serves in the DNI job “shall have extensive national security expertise.” The first person to serve as DNI, John Negroponte, was a widely respected foreign service veteran who had served as US ambassador to Iraq, Mexico, Honduras and the Philippines, as the country’s ambassador to the United Nations, and as a deputy national security adviser during the Reagan administration. The next three people to hold the office were flag-rank military officers with significant intelligence experience. Pfeiffer, a US intelligence veteran of three decades’ standing who once ran the White House Situation Room and served as chief of staff to then-CIA director General Michael Hayden, told that Gabbard’s experience in the House and her military service, while admirable, do not match the standards envisioned by the authors of the 2004 law which established the office. “That’s national security experience ... but she was a freaking military cop ... operating at a largely tactical level, not that strategic, long-term national security perspective that one would expect,” he said. Gabbard may have left the Syrian conflict behind, but Moustafa still works with its victims every day. And he believes the connection between her views on Syria and Ukraine is clear. “What happened in Syria is what allowed the Russians to feel that they could do the very same in Ukraine,” he said. “And what she is doing with Ukraine shows that it goes beyond her maybe misunderstanding one conflict. She is, hook, line and sinker, a Russian puppet.”As someone who has tried practically all of the most loved beauty brands on the market, up until last week, REFY was one I hadn't got round to testing yet. Despite what seemed like a social media takeover upon its initial 2020 release, I didn't know much about the brand until recently when I finally took the time to see what it's all about. Founded by Jess Hunt and Jenna Meek, REFY is vegan and cruelty-free, boasting a 'simplified' approach to makeup. Reasonably priced at the lower-end of the premium market, the brand's catalogue is not overly saturated and the packaging is sleek and minimalistic. After putting it to the test, I found that some products in particular are absolutely worth the money, and have now become a part of my everyday routine. Here's my top four favourites. READ MORE: Estée Lauder's six-piece skincare kit is now 51% off at Debenhams and it makes a 'perfect present' READ MORE: LookFantastic's 'massive' Sol De Janeiro set saves you £48 on bestsellers ahead of Black Friday REFY Face Setter - £22 As a die-hard Charlotte Tilbury setting spray fan, this one really had to be something special in order to replace it. Although it's £10 cheaper, you only get 50ml, whereas I'm used to the 100ml Tilbury size. I wore a full face of makeup for ten hours and my makeup looked perfect, as if I had just applied it (I only needed one powder touch up midday thanks to having oily skin). The mist is super fine so doesn't feel heavy when you apply it, and the thing I love the most is that it doesn't change the finish of your makeup - it just feels hydrated and refreshed. You have to remember to shake it well before use, or it doesn't have the same effect. But all in all, this has become my new favourite setting spray, as not only did it keep my makeup looking as fresh as when I first applied it, but it felt like nothing on the skin. REFY Brow Pencil - £16 I, like most people, find eyebrows to be the most difficult makeup step to master and it can take up so much time each morning. The REFY brow pencil has a super thin and precise tip which means you can draw on little hair-like strokes easily. I chose the shade medium (which is actually quite dark), as I have dark hair and fair skin. I find it isn't too warm or too cool toned which can be hard to find in other brow pencils, but the best part had to be how fast it was to apply. Also, it doesn't smudge (although that might be thanks to the setting spray), which gives you peace of mind throughout the day. This has since become my new go-to pencil, and beat out my usual favourite: the Too Faced Superfine Brow Detailer Ultra Slim Brow Pencil (currently on offer for £19.20 at Boots). REFY Brow Sculpt - £18 With brows being the brand's speciality, I had to also give the clear brow gel a go. The brow sculpt is unique because it not only has the regular brush applicator, but also two other attached tools to create different effects. The comb allows you to slick down the brows, achieving a laminated effect (that seriously doesn't budge all day), or you can just lightly brush the hairs through to keep them tamed but still looking natural. The only thing I would say is that it takes a couple of practises to get the laminated effect looking perfect. It's also important to do that step before applying any face makeup as it will take it off in the process - but there is a 'how to use' video available here. REFY Cream Blush - £16 Cream blushes are amazing for those who find powder products settle into their fine lines. They also allow you to create a more natural blush effect as opposed to powders, which sit on top of the skin. I tried the shade Malaya, and although it did seem lighter in real life compared to the online image, I was able to build it up until it was intense enough for my liking. Therefore it should work for anyone, as you can either keep it super natural, or build up the colour. It didn't feel greasy at all, or take off any makeup underneath, I was also impressed with the colour options with lots of shades to suit deeper skin tones. It reminded me of the Trinny London Flush Blush (£22), and while it's not unique, it performs just as good as the more expensive alternatives and lasts all day without fading.Airline staffer arrested for sexual assault
Cementless Total Knee Arthroplasty Market is Estimated to Grow at a CAGR of 21.8% During 2024-2031 | DePuy Synthes, GROUP FH ORTHO, Smith & Nephew, Stryker, Zimmer Biomet, B. Braun Melsungen AG
BEIRUT — Israel's military launched airstrikes across Lebanon on Monday, unleashing explosions throughout the country and killing at least 31 while Israeli leaders appeared to be closing in on a negotiated ceasefire with the Hezbollah militant group. Israeli strikes hit commercial and residential buildings in Beirut as well as in the port city of Tyre. Military officials said they targeted areas known as Hezbollah strongholds. They issued evacuation orders for Beirut's southern suburbs, and strikes landed across the city, including meters from a Lebanese police base and the city's largest public park. The barrage came as officials indicated they were nearing agreement on a ceasefire, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 's Security Cabinet prepared to discuss an offer on the table. Bulldozers remove the rubble of a destroyed building Monday that was hit in an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon. Foreign ministers from the world’s leading industrialized nations also expressed cautious optimism Monday about possible progress on a ceasefire. “Knock on wood,” Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said as he opened the Group of Seven meeting outside Rome. “We are perhaps close to a ceasefire in Lebanon," he said. "Let's hope it's true and that there's no backing down at the last-minute.” A ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon was foremost on the agenda of the G7 meeting in Fiuggi, outside Rome, that gathered ministers from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, in the last G7 encounter of the Biden administration. For the first time, the G7 ministers were joined by their counterparts from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, as well as the Secretary General of the Arab League. Thick smoke, flames and debris erupt Monday from an Israeli airstrike that targeted a building in Tayouneh, Beirut, Lebanon. Meanwhile, massive explosions lit up Lebanon's skies with flashes of orange, sending towering plumes of smoke into the air as Israeli airstrikes pounded Beirut's southern suburbs Monday. The blasts damaged buildings and left shattered glass and debris scattered across nearby streets. Some of the strikes landed close to central Beirut and near Christian neighborhoods and other targets where Israel issued evacuation warnings, including in Tyre and Nabatiyeh province. Israeli airstrikes also hit the northeast Baalbek-Hermel region without warning. Lebanon's Health Ministry said Monday that 26 people were killed in southern Lebanon, four in the eastern Baalbek-Hermel province and one in Choueifat, a neighborhood in Beirut's southern suburbs that was not subjected to evacuation warnings on Monday. The deaths brought the total toll to 3,768 killed in Lebanon throughout 13 months of war between Israel and Hezbollah and nearly two months since Israel launched its ground invasion. Many of those killed since the start of the war between Israel and Hezbollah have been civilians, and health officials said some of the recovered bodies were so severely damaged that DNA testing would be required to confirm their identities. Israel claims to have killed more than 2,000 Hezbollah members. Lebanon's Health Ministry says the war has displaced 1.2 million people. Destroyed buildings stand Monday in the area of a village in southern Lebanon as seen from northern Israel. Israeli ground forces invaded southern Lebanon in early October, meeting heavy resistance in a narrow strip of land along the border. The military previously exchanged attacks across the border with Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militant group that began firing rockets into Israel the day after the war in Gaza began last year. Lebanese politicians have decried the ongoing airstrikes and said they are impeding ceasefire negotiations. The country's deputy parliament speaker accused Israel of ramping up its bombardment to pressure Lebanon to make concessions in indirect ceasefire negotiations with Hezbollah. Elias Bousaab, an ally of the militant group, said Monday that the pressure has increased because "we are close to the hour that is decisive regarding reaching a ceasefire." Israeli officials voiced similar optimism Monday about prospects for a ceasefire. Mike Herzog, the country's ambassador to Washington, earlier in the day told Israeli Army Radio that several points had yet to be finalized. Though any deal would require agreement from the government, Herzog said Israel and Hezbollah were "close to a deal." "It can happen within days," he said. Israeli officials have said the sides are close to an agreement that would include withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon and a pullback of Hezbollah fighters from the Israeli border. But several sticking points remain. A member of the Israeli security forces inspects an impact site Sunday after a rocket fired from Lebanon hit an area in Rinatya, outskirts of Tel Aviv, Israel. After previous hopes for a ceasefire were dashed, U.S. officials cautioned that negotiations were not yet complete and noted that there could be last-minute hitches that either delay or destroy an agreement. "Nothing is done until everything is done," White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Monday. The proposal under discussion to end the fighting calls for an initial two-month ceasefire during which Israeli forces would withdraw from Lebanon and Hezbollah would end its armed presence along the southern border south of the Litani River. The withdrawals would be accompanied by an influx of thousands more Lebanese army troops, who have been largely sidelined in the war, to patrol the border area along with an existing U.N. peacekeeping force. Western diplomats and Israeli officials said Israel demands the right to strike in Lebanon if it believes Hezbollah is violating the terms. The Lebanese government says such an arrangement would authorize violations of the country's sovereignty. On paper, being more sustainable and eco-friendly while shopping sounds great—so why don't more people do it? There is growing consumer consciousness about the environmental impact of where people choose to shop and the sustainability of the products they buy. According to McKinsey, over 60% of individuals surveyed in 2020 said they would be willing to pay more for a product that is packaged in an eco-friendly way. Since 2019, products marketed as being environmentally sustainable have seen a 28% growth in revenue compared to 20% for products with no such marketing, a 2023 McKinsey and NielsenIQ report found. Much of this is thanks to the preferences and attitudes of Gen Z, who, on average, care more than their older counterparts about being informed shoppers. The younger generation also has more social justice and environmental awareness altogether. Shoppers are willing to spend around 9.7% more on a product they know is sourced or manufactured sustainably, with 46% saying they would do so explicitly because they want to reduce their environmental footprint, according to a 2024 PwC report. Sustainable practices consumers look for from companies include production methods, packaging, and water conservation. But despite the growing consciousness around being more environmentally responsible, consumer actions don't always align with their values. In psychology, this is defined as the "say-do gap": the phenomenon wherein people openly express concern and intention around an issue, but fail to take tangible action to make a change. According to the Harvard Business Review in 2019, most consumers (65%) say they want to buy from brands that promote sustainability, but only 1 in 4 follow through. So why don't people actually shop sustainably, despite how much they express a preference for eco-friendly products—and how can we close the gap? The RealReal examined reports from the Harvard Business Review and other sources to explore why some shoppers want to buy sustainably but struggle to follow through. This lack of action isn't due to a lack of caring—in many cases, it's hard to know how to be a sustainable consumer and other factors are often outside of shoppers' control. But the more people shop sustainably, the easier and more accessible that market will be for everyone—making it much easier for folks to buy aligned with their values. There are many obstacles preventing shoppers from upholding eco-friendly habits as much as they may want to—but not all of these barriers are necessarily real, or accurately understood. Shopping sustainably simply isn't convenient or accessible for many. Those who live in apartment buildings are 50% less likely to recycle , according to Ipsos. Reasons for this can vary from lack of space to buildings being excluded altogether because of recycling contamination issues. Many believe that sustainable products are too expensive or of a lower quality. The former is often true, which does create a hurdle for many: The manufacturing processes and materials for sustainable products are pricey. For instance, organic cotton requires an intensive production process free of certain chemicals or pesticides; by definition, true eco-friendly products can't be mass-produced, further upping their price tag. Using recycled materials for packaging, or obtaining an eco certification, can also be expensive. However, although the narrative of eco-friendly products being more expensive is true, there is often more of an effort to use better quality materials that last longer than their noneco-friendly counterparts. This could end up saving consumers money in the long run: By paying more upfront, they can get more wear out of sustainable fashion, for instance. There is also undeniable political rhetoric surrounding eco-friendly products—however, despite many Conservative politicians decrying sustainable products, members of all generations are increasingly choosing to prioritize shopping sustainably regardless of their political affiliation, according to research from NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business . This finding shows a trend toward seeing sustainability as a nonpartisan subject everyone can benefit from, no matter where they lie on the political spectrum. Some might think eco-friendly clothing, in particular, is not fashion-forward; after all, many of the top clothing retailers in the world partake in fast fashion. However, brands are increasingly being recognized as 'cool' and 'trendy' for supporting environmentally ethical practices, particularly as younger generations prioritize sustainability, as noted before. Many increasingly popular online stores are taking advantage of this paradigm shift by offering secondhand shopping options that are not only fashionable, but also more affordable, like ThredUp or Poshmark. Additionally, many legacy large-name brands are hopping on the sustainability movement and are gaining appreciation from loyal customers. Amazon's Climate Pledge Friendly program partners with third-party certification bodies to make it easier for shoppers to identify eco-friendly products as they browse the website. H&M's newly launched H&M Rewear program debuts a resale platform that allows the resale of all clothing brands—not just their own. Similarly, Patagonia's Worn Wear program allows shoppers to trade in and buy used gear and clothing. The federal government is also working to close this gap. The Environmental Protection Agency's Safer Choice program is attempting to make sustainable shopping easier for consumers and companies alike. It includes a directory of certified products, a list of safer chemicals to look out for on labels, a "Safer Choice" label that products can earn to denote they are eco-friendly, and resources for manufacturers looking to adopt more sustainable practices. Most of all, though, the biggest way shoppers can shift toward sustainable shopping is through their behaviors and attitudes amongst their peers and communities. Studies show that humans largely care what others think of their actions; the more shoppers make environmentally conscious shopping the norm, the more others will follow suit. From an economic perspective, the more consumers shop eco-friendly, the more affordable and accessible these products will become, too: Sustainable products are currently more expensive because they are not in high demand. Once demand rises, production rates and prices can lower, making these products more accessible for all. Story editing by Carren Jao. Additional editing by Kelly Glass. Copy editing by Kristen Wegrzyn. This story originally appeared on The RealReal and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio. Get local news delivered to your inbox!
Mark Few likes No. 3 Gonzaga's toughness after win over future Pac-12 'partner' SDSUNone
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden kicked off his final holiday season at the White House on Monday by issuing the traditional reprieve to two turkeys who will bypass the Thanksgiving table to live out their days in southern Minnesota. Biden welcomed 2,500 guests to the South Lawn under sunny skies as he cracked jokes about the fates of “Peach” and “Blossom” and sounded wistful tones about the last weeks of his presidency after a half-century in Washington power circles. “It’s been the honor of my life. I’m forever grateful,” Biden said, taking note of his impending departure on Jan. 20, 2025. That's when power will transfer to Republican President-elect Donald Trump, the man Biden defeated four years ago and was battling again until he was pressured to bow out of the race amid concerns about his age and viability. Biden is 82. Until Inauguration Day, the president and first lady Jill Biden will continue a busy run of festivities that will double as their long goodbye. The White House schedule in December is replete with holiday parties for various constituencies, from West Wing staff to members of Congress and the White House press corps. Biden relished the brief ceremony with the pardoned turkeys, named for the official flower of the president's home state of Delaware. “The peach pie in my state is one of my favorites,” he said during remarks that were occasionally interrupted by Peach gobbling atop the table to Biden's right. “Peach is making a last-minute plea,” Biden said at one point, drawing laughter from an overflow crowd that included Cabinet members, White House staff and their families, and students from 4H programs and Future Farmers of America chapters. Biden introduced Peach as a bird who “lives by the motto, ‘Keep calm and gobble on.’” Blossom, the president said, has a different motto: “No fowl play. Just Minnesota nice.” Peach and Blossom came from the farm of John Zimmerman, near the southern Minnesota city of Northfield. Zimmerman, who has raised about 4 million turkeys, is president of the National Turkey Federation, the group that has gifted U.S. presidents Thanksgiving turkeys since the Truman administration after World War II. President Harry Truman, however, preferred to eat the birds. Official pardon ceremonies did not become an annual White House tradition until the administration of President George H.W. Bush in 1989. With their presidential reprieve, Peach and Blossom will live out their days at Farmamerica, an agriculture interpretative center near Waseca in southern Minnesota. The center's aim is to promote agriculture and educate future farmers and others about agriculture in America. Separately Monday, first lady Jill Biden received the official White House Christmas tree that will be decorated and put on display in the Blue Room. The 18.5 foot (5.64 meters) Fraser fir came from a farm in an area of western North Carolina that recently was devastated by Hurricane Helene . Cartner’s Christmas Tree Farm lost thousands of trees in the storm “but this one remained standing and they named it ‘Tremendous’ for the extraordinary hope that it represents,” Jill Biden said at the event. The Bidens also traveled to New York City on Monday for an evening “Friendsgiving” event at a Coast Guard station on Staten Island. Biden began his valedictory calendar Friday night with a gala for hundreds of his friends, supporters and staff members who gathered in a pavilion erected on the South Lawn, with a view out to the Lincoln Memorial. Cabinet secretaries, Democratic donors and his longest-serving staff members came together to hear from the president and pay tribute, with no evidence that Biden was effectively forced from the Democratic ticket this summer and watched Vice President Kamala Harris suffer defeat on Nov. 5. “I’m so proud that we’ve done all of this with a deep belief in the core values of America,” said Biden, sporting a tuxedo for the black-tie event. Setting aside his criticisms of Trump as a fundamental threat to democracy, Biden added his characteristic national cheerleading: “I fully believe that America is better positioned to lead the world today than at any point in my 50 years of public service.” The first lady toasted her husband with a nod to his 2020 campaign promise to “restore the soul of the nation,” in Trump’s aftermath. With the results on Election Day, however, Biden’s four years now become sandwiched in the middle of an era dominated by Trump's presence on the national stage and in the White House. Even as the first couple avoided the context surrounding the president's coming exit, those political realities were nonetheless apparent, as younger Democrats like Maryland Gov. Wes Moore , Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Biden's Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg not only raised their glasses to the president but held forth with many attendees who could remain in the party's power circles in the 2028 election cycle and beyond. ___ Associated Press writer Steve Karnowski in Minneapolis contributed to this report.