
In the realm of online shopping, the annual shopping extravaganza known as "Double 12" is fast approaching. Unlike its more famous counterpart, "Double 11" or Singles' Day, the Double 12 shopping festival takes place on December 12th and offers consumers another opportunity to snag great deals and discounts on a wide range of products. This year, major e-commerce platforms have wasted no time in unveiling their strategies and promotions for the upcoming event, signaling a potential boom in year-end market consumption.LPGA, USGA to require players to be assigned female at birth or transition before puberty
NEW YORK (AP) — Brian Thompson led one of the biggest health insurers in the U.S. but was unknown to millions of people his decisions affected. Then Wednesday's targeted fatal shooting of the UnitedHealthcare CEO on a midtown Manhattan sidewalk thrust the executive and his business into the national spotlight. Thompson, who was 50, had worked at the giant UnitedHealth Group Inc for 20 years and run the insurance arm since 2021 after running its Medicare and retirement business. As CEO, Thompson led a firm that provides health coverage to more than 49 million Americans — more than the population of Spain. United is the largest provider of Medicare Advantage plans, the privately run versions of the U.S. government’s Medicare program for people age 65 and older. The company also sells individual insurance and administers health-insurance coverage for thousands of employers and state-and federally funded Medicaid programs. The business run by Thompson brought in $281 billion in revenue last year, making it the largest subsidiary of the Minnetonka, Minnesota-based UnitedHealth Group. His $10.2 million annual pay package, including salary, bonus and stock options awards, made him one of the company's highest-paid executives. The University of Iowa graduate began his career as a certified public accountant at PwC and had little name recognition beyond the health care industry. Even to investors who own its stock, the parent company's face belonged to CEO Andrew Witty, a knighted British triathlete who has testified before Congress. When Thompson did occasionally draw attention, it was because of his role in shaping the way Americans get health care. At an investor meeting last year, he outlined his company's shift to “value-based care,” paying doctors and other caregivers to keep patients healthy rather than focusing on treating them once sick. “Health care should be easier for people,” Thompson said at the time. “We are cognizant of the challenges. But navigating a future through value-based care unlocks a situation where the ... family doesn’t have to make the decisions on their own.” Thompson also drew attention in 2021 when the insurer, like its competitors, was widely criticized for a plan to start denying payment for what it deemed non-critical visits to hospital emergency rooms. “Patients are not medical experts and should not be expected to self-diagnose during what they believe is a medical emergency,” the chief executive of the American Hospital Association wrote in an open letter addressed to Thompson. “Threatening patients with a financial penalty for making the wrong decision could have a chilling effect on seeking emergency care.” United Healthcare responded by delaying rollout of the change. Thompson, who lived in a Minneapolis suburb and was the married father of two sons in high school, was set to speak at an investor meeting in a midtown New York hotel. He was on his own and about to enter the building when he was shot in the back by a masked assailant who fled on foot before pedaling an e-bike into Central Park a few blocks away, the New York Police Department said. Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said investigators were looking at Thompson's social media accounts and interviewing employees and family members. “Didn’t seem like he had any issues at all,” Kenny said. "He did not have a security detail.” AP reporters Michael R. Sisak and Steve Karnowski contributed to this report. Murphy reported from Indianapolis. Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email.
Title: Safety Concerns Over Windshields of Electric Cars Lead to Bans in Multiple RegionsAs we stand on the cusp of a new era of digital technology, Vivo's comprehensive showcase of 6G and AI technologies serves as a testament to the brand's commitment to pushing boundaries, challenging norms, and shaping the future of connectivity. By embracing innovation, collaboration, and forward thinking, Vivo is paving the way for a new ecosystem of digital possibilities, where technology is not just a tool, but a gateway to new experiences, new connections, and new horizons.
Becoming a creator to make money on the web
Qatar tribune dpa Kiev Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has taken stock of Russia’s attacks against his country over the past seven days, counting hundreds of drones, bombs and missiles largely targeting energy infrastructure. “In total, Russia has used more than 370 attack drones, around 280 guided glide bombs and 80 missiles of various types against Ukraine this week,” Zelensky wrote on Facebook. “Even on Christmas night, the terrorists carried out a massive airstrike.” The Russian military’s attacks were primarily directed against energy infrastructure in Ukraine, Zelensky noted, adding that residential buildings were also attacked and damaged, apparently at random, with several people being killed. According to the UK’s Ministry of Defence, Russia is using a modified tactic in its missile and drone attacks on Ukraine. Russia has now most likely decided to allow more time to pass between attacks in order to build up stocks, the ministry wrote on X, and hopes that fewer but larger waves of attacks can inflict more damage than more frequent, smaller attacks. With these combined mass attacks, the Russian military aims to overwhelm the Ukrainian air defence. Copy 30/12/2024 10
Russia Claims Strike on Ukrainian Fuel Depot; Ukraine Claims Destruction of Russian Equipment, Mutually Reporting Gains
Moreover, the reliance on membership fees for income can create a conflict of interest within professional associations. If these organizations become financially dependent on membership fees, they may prioritize attracting new members over maintaining high standards of professionalism and ethics. This could lead to a situation where the association focuses more on profitability than on serving the best interests of its members and the profession as a whole.KENNESAW, Ga. (AP) — Adrian Wooley and Simeon Cottle each scored 32 points and Kennesaw State beat Brewton-Parker 112-77 on Sunday. Wooley added eight rebounds and eight assists for the Owls (8-5). Cottle went 11 of 16 from the field (8 for 13 from 3-point range) to add 32 points. Braedan Lue went 5 of 8 from the field (2 for 3 from 3-point range) to finish with 14 points. Dre Burroughs finished with 25 points for the Barons. Brewton-Parker got 20 points and seven rebounds from Tommy J Tisdale III. Kennesaw State took the lead with 15:42 left in the first half and did not give it up. The score was 57-31 at halftime, with Cottle racking up 16 points. Kennesaw State extended its lead to 83-38 during the second half, fueled by a 10-0 scoring run. Wooley scored a team-high 19 points in the second half as their team closed out the win. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .
Low-temperature burns, also known as thermal injuries, can occur when the skin is exposed to temperatures slightly above normal body temperature for a prolonged period. Hot water bottles, which are commonly used to provide warmth during cold nights or alleviate muscle pain, can pose a risk of low-temperature burns if not used correctly.
Two particular signings that Arsenal were heavily linked with, but ultimately failed to secure, have dominated headlines and sparked discussions among the football community. The first was the pursuit of a creative midfielder to bolster the team's attacking options and provide additional firepower in the final third. Despite numerous reports linking Arsenal with top talents in the transfer market, no significant progress was made, and the club ended up empty-handed in this crucial area.
NASA’s upcoming Artemis II mission is slated to return astronauts to the Moon no sooner than April 2026. Astronauts were last on the Moon in 1972 during the Apollo 17 mission . Artemis II will utilize NASA’s Space Launch System , which is an extremely powerful rocket that will enable human space exploration beyond Earth’s atmosphere. The crew of four will travel in an Orion spacecraft , which the agency launched around the Moon and successfully returned during the Artemis I mission . But before Artemis II, NASA will send two missions to scout the surface of the lunar south pole for resources that could sustain human space travel and enable new scientific discoveries. Planetary geologists like me are interested in data from Lunar Trailblazer, one of these two scouting missions. The data from this mission will help us understand how water forms and behaves on rocky planets and moons. Starting with scientific exploration PRIME-1 , or the Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment, will be mounted on a lunar lander. It’s scheduled for launch in January 2025. Aboard the lander are two instruments: The Regolith and Ice Drill for Exploring New Terrain , TRIDENT, and the Mass Spectrometer for Observing Lunar Operations , MSOLO. TRIDENT will dig down up to 3 feet (1 meter) and extract samples of lunar soil, and MSOLO will evaluate the soil’s chemical composition and water content. Joining the lunar mining experiment is Lunar Trailblazer, a satellite launching on the same Falcon 9 rocket . Think of this setup as a multimillion-dollar satellite Uber pool , or a rideshare where multiple missions share a rocket and minimize fuel usage while escaping Earth’s gravitational pull. Bethany Ehlmann, a planetary scientist , is the principal investigator of Lunar Trailblazer and is leading an operating team of scientists and students from Caltech’s campus . Trailblazer is a NASA Small, Innovative Mission for PLanetary Exploration, or SIMPLEx . These missions intend to provide practical operations experience at a lower cost. Each SIMPLEx mission is capped at a budget of US$55 million – Trailblazer is slightly over budget at $80 million. Even over budget, this mission will cost around a quarter of a typical robotic mission from NASA’s Discovery Program . Discovery Program missions typically cost around $300 million, with a maximum budget of $500 million. Building small but mighty satellites Decades of research and development into small satellites , or SmallSats , opened the possibility for Trailblazer. SmallSats take highly specific measurements and complement data sourced from other instruments. Multiple SmallSats working together in a constellation can take various measurements simultaneously for a high-resolution view of the Earth’s or Moon’s surface. SIMPLEx missions can use these SmallSats. Because they’re small and more affordable, they allow researchers to study questions that come with a higher technical risk . Lunar Trailblazer, for example, uses commercial off-the-shelf parts to keep the cost down. These low-cost, high-risk experimental missions may help geologists further understand the origin of the solar system, as well as what it’s made of and how it has changed over time. Lunar Trailblazer will focus specifically on mapping the Moon. A brief timeline of water discoveries on the Moon Scientists have long been fascinated by the surface of our closest celestial neighbor, the Moon. As early as the mid-17th century, astronomers mischaracterized ancient volcanic eruptions as lunar mare , derived from the Latin word for “seas.” Nearly two centuries later, astronomer William Pickering’s calculations suggested that the Moon had no atmosphere. This led him to conclude the Moon could not have water on its surface, as that water would vaporize. However, in the 1990s, NASA’s Clementine mission detected water on the Moon. Clementine was the first mission to completely map the surface of the Moon, including the lunar poles. This data detected the presence of ice within permanently shadowed regions on the Moon in low resolution. Scientists’ first water detection prompted further exploration. NASA launched the Lunar Prospector in 1998 and the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter in 2009. The India Space Research Organization launched its Chandrayaan-1 mission with the Moon Mineralogy Mapper , M3, instrument in 2008. M3, although not designed to detected liquid water, unexpectedly did find it in sunlit areas on the Moon. These missions collectively provided maps showing how hydrous minerals – minerals containing water molecules in their chemical makeup – and ice water are distributed on the lunar surface, particularly in the cold, dark, permanently shadowed regions. Novel mission, novel science But how does the temperature and physical state of water on the Moon change from variations in sunlight and crater shadows? Lunar Trailblazer will host two instruments , the Lunar Thermal Mapper , LTM, and an evolution of the M3 instrument, the High-resolution Volatiles and Minerals Moon Mapper , HVM3. The LTM instrument will map surface temperature, while the HVM3 will measure how lunar rocks absorb light. These measurements will allow it to detect and distinguish between water in liquid and ice forms. In tandem, these instruments will provide thermal and chemical measurements of hydrous lunar rock. They’ll measure water during various times of the lunar day , which is about 29.5 Earth days, to try to show how the chemical composition of water varies depending on the time of day and where it is on the Moon. These results will tell researchers what phase – solid or liquid – the water is found in. Scientific significance and what’s next There are three leading theories for where lunar water came from. It could be water that’s been stored inside the Moon since its formation, in its mantle layer . Some geologic processes may have allowed it to slowly escape to the surface over time. Or, the water may have arrived on asteroids and comets that collided with the lunar surface. It may even have been created by interactions with the solar wind , which is a stream of particles that comes from the Sun. Lunar Trailblazer may shed light on these theories and help researchers make progress on several other big science questions, including how water behaves on rocky bodies like the Moon and whether future astronauts will be able to use it.
In conclusion, Russia's presence in the Middle East is facing a series of challenges that threaten to erode its influence and diminish its role in the region. The crises in Syria and Libya, strained relations with key regional players, and economic constraints have all contributed to Moscow's declining position, highlighting the fragility of its ambitions in the Middle East. As the situation continues to evolve, Russia will need to reassess its policies and strategies in the region to adapt to changing dynamics and preserve its interests in this vital geopolitical theater.