SANTA 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!WALTHAM, Mass. , Dec. 19, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Veralto (NYSE: VLTO ), a global leader in essential water and product quality solutions dedicated to Safeguarding the World's Most Vital ResourcesTM , announced today that its board of directors has approved a 22% increase to its quarterly cash dividend, and accordingly approved a quarterly cash dividend of $0.11 per share of its common stock, payable on January 31, 2025 to holders of record as of the close of business on December 31, 2024 . About Veralto With annual sales of $5 billion , Veralto is a global leader in essential technology solutions with a proven track record of solving some of the most complex challenges we face as a society. Our industry-leading companies with globally recognized brands are building on a long-established legacy of innovation and customer trust to create a safer, cleaner, more vibrant future. Headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts , our global team of 16,000 associates is committed to making an enduring positive impact on our world and united by a powerful purpose: Safeguarding the World's Most Vital ResourcesTM . SOURCE Veralto
Now is the perfect time to snap up a robot vacuum — not only will you save time and elevate your home cleaning routine, you will also get it for an unbeatable price. The Lefant M210 Pro Robot Vacuum Cleaner offers an impressive combination of powerful cleaning, advanced features, and affordability, all for $169.90 on Amazon Australia. It’s designed with a range of smart technologies and provides an effective and hassle-free cleaning experience that works for any home, especially those with pets or hard floors. Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today Whether you’re tackling stubborn pet hair, dust, or debris, this robot vacuum makes cleaning easier than ever. One of the best features of the Lefant M210 Pro is its versatile cleaning modes, which offer six different options to suit various cleaning needs. The Arranged Cleaning (Zig-zag Route) mode efficiently covers the entire floor with systematic cleaning paths, ensuring thorough coverage. Random Cleaning is perfect for quick, less structured cleanups, making it ideal for everyday messes. The Spot Cleaning mode targets high-traffic areas or concentrated messes, focusing on problem zones that need extra attention. Cleaning Along the Edge of the Wall is designed to clean along walls and corners, where dust and debris tend to accumulate. With the Schedule Cleaning option, users can set a cleaning schedule, allowing the vacuum to clean automatically while they’re away. Finally, the Manual Control Direction mode provides users with the flexibility to guide the robot in any direction manually, offering complete control over its movements. Users can adjust the cleaning mode and suction power directly via the Lefant Life App, making it incredibly easy to customise cleaning based on room size, mess type, and floor surface. Traditional robot vacuums often struggle with tangled hair and debris in their rotating brushes. The Lefant M210 Pro eliminates this issue with its brushless nozzle design, which not only simplifies maintenance but also improves suction efficiency. The powerful 2200Pa suction power, combined with two side brushes, ensures that hair, dust, and debris are effortlessly drawn into the large 500ml dustbin. The two layers of filtration also prevent secondary contamination, k eeping your home cleaner for longer. The M210 Pro is equipped with FreeMove 3.0 technology, which uses a built-in 6D anti-collision infrared sensor for precise navigation. The vacuum can detect obstacles in 720-degree omnidirectional angles, allowing it to avoid furniture, walls, and other barriers with ease. This innovative sensor system reduces the chances of wear and tear on the device and helps it navigate narrow spaces with precision, such as under beds and sofas. The M210 Pro can also detect stairs, preventing accidental falls, and is capable of climbing carpets for efficient cleaning across different surfaces. The Lefant M210 Pro is ideal for cleaning tight spaces under furniture and in corners. Its low-profile body ensures it can navigate underneath beds, sofas, and other low-clearance furniture, ensuring that no area is left untouched. Despite its compact size, the vacuum has a powerful motor and an impressive runtime of up to 120 minutes on a single charge, making it perfect for larger rooms or homes. For added convenience, the Lefant M210 Pro can be controlled via the Lefant Life App, which allows users to monitor cleaning paths, schedule cleanings, and adjust suction power. Shoppers on Amazon Australia’s website have given it a 4.3-star rating and are loving it. “Super simple, does the job, great for the price,” one person said. “It’s not too noisy and has a great coverage time that sweeps most of the debris around the house,” another shopper added. “Such a great vacuum,” someone else said. To purchase the vacuum, head to Amazon Australia’s website here.A stubborn Brentford performance saw the Bees successfully hold firm to deny a Brighton & Hove Albion side that failed to capitalize on a multitude of chances in an eventual 0-0 draw in the Premier League on Friday night. The first half was a thrilling spectacle for both Brighton and neutral fans as the Seagulls dominated the play, coming closest to scoring when Julio Enciso struck the post early on with one of his eight strikes in the opening 45 minutes, but it was actually Brentford who had the ball in the net when Yoane Wissa brilliantly finished off a breaking counter, only for the goal to swiftly be ruled out for offside. Brentford grew in confidence throughout the second half, threatening to break forward and break the deadlock as the game progressed, but, as was the story of the match, a lack of quality in the final moments saw both sides fail to take their chances as the game ended 0-0. The result means Brighton are 10th in the table with 26 points from 18 games, while Brentford are one place behind in 11th with 24 points, and rather worryingly for Thomas Frank , they are still yet to record an away win in the league this season. It was a typically commanding Brighton performance in terms of possession and their ability to get the ball to the edge of the area and in threatening positions, but in all too familiar fashion for the Seagulls in recent years, a lack of quality in shooting moments meant they failed to convert their chances. Joao Pedro looked a shell of his usual self when playing as the sole striker, with the Brazilian notably improved when Georginio Rutter came on and Pedro was pushed deeper, a sign to Fabian Hurzeler that if he wants attacking quality then Pedro may have to start behind the striker in future. As for Brentford, their worrying away form in the Premier League this season continues, with only Southampton failing to win on the road and picking up less points than the Bees on their travels. Outside of that, Frank can be encouraged by a defensively strong showing, while their second half attacking output was much improved as they pushed higher up the pitch, and ultimately, they were just a knee away from winning 1-0 with Wissa's offside goal. 14th min: Brighton & Hove Albion 0-0 Brentford (Yoane Wissa offside goal) © Imago Mads Roerslev slips a ball down the right side of the box for Wissa to chase, and the striker brilliantly fires into the top left corner to seemingly give Brentford the lead against the run of play. VAR checks the goal and quickly deems the forward to be marginally offside, with Wissa's knee just edging past the Brighton defenders, resulting in the goal being ruled out. Damsgaard was a shining light for a Brentford side that struggled to get forward on a regular basis against Brighton, with the attacking midfielder providing quality that very few on the pitch were able to muster throughout the match. Damsgaard made two key passes and created a big chance, while also successfully making four dribble attempts as he consistently terrorized the Brighton midfielders and defence. A number of Brighton attackers also deserve a mention, such as Brajan Gruda , Enciso and Kaoru Mitoma , but a lack of quality at the final moment mean the Seagulls failed to find the deserved winner. Possession: Brighton & Hove Albion 58%-42% Brentford Shots: Brighton & Hove Albion 24-8 Brentford Shots on target: Brighton & Hove Albion 7-3 Brentford Corners: Brighton & Hove Albion 5-3 Brentford Fouls: Brighton & Hove Albion 6-12 Brentford 8 - Julio Enciso attempted eight shots in the first half against Brentford; the most by a player in the opening 45 minutes of a Premier League game since Luis Suárez against Aston Villa in March 2013 (also 8). Barrage. pic.twitter.com/G8gvddPxgg Brighton's attention will now turn to a difficult run of fixtures that includes facing the likes of Aston Villa, Arsenal and Manchester United in their next four Premier League matches. Meanwhile, Brentford will also be preparing for a formidable test as they welcome Arsenal to the Brentford Community Stadium in the Premier League on New Year's Day.
Pakistan’s tax gap currently stands at Rs7tr, says FBR chief
Best Bets for NCAA Basketball Picks Against the Spread for Saturday, November 23Glitches happen, what next?
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jalen Hurts may sit out a potential NFC East clincher against Dallas because of the lingering effects of a . The Eagles could also just rest Hurts to play it safe -- even if he’s medically cleared ahead of Sunday’s game -- and protect their franchise QB from additional injury over the final two games. Eagles coach Nick Sirianni kept quiet this week on which QB will start Sunday, in large part, of course, because of the head injury suffered by Hurts in last week’s that forced him into the . The issue was complicated by backup Kenny Pickett’s rib injury suffered in relief of Hurts in his first real game competition in nearly a year. Tanner McKee, the third-string QB, could move into a backup role — or maybe even get the start against the Cowboys. Philadelphia's starting quarterback situation has surged past Saquon Barkley's season rushing record as the most intriguing talking point in the final two games. The Eagles (12-3) appear certain to win the division title — they're two games ahead of Washington (10-5) — and a No. 2 seed in the conference no matter the quarterback headed into the playoffs. Even with an unsettled QB spot, the Eagles are are still 7 1/2-point home favorites to beat division rival Dallas, per BetMGM Sportsbook. Sirianni appreciated that quarterback depth has been a strength for the Eagles. “We feel good about that room,” he said. So why risk Hurts against the Cowboys? There's little reason to make Hurts play only a week after absorbing a pair of blows to the head and the extra week off — maybe two if the finale against the Giants is truly meaningless — could add to his recovery time ahead of a home playoff game. The Eagles were burned in a similar situation last season when Hurts and star wide receiver A.J. Brown were in the final game against the Giants with little at stake. With both players hampered by unnecessary injuries, the Eagles were dumped the next week by Tampa Bay in the NFC wild-card playoff game. The Eagles have options if Hurts is inactive. Pickett was 14 of 24 for 143 yards in relief, throwing a touchdown pass to Brown and an interception. Pickett, a first-round pick out of Pitt in 2022, went 14-10 as a starter for the Steelers before he was traded to the Eagles in the offseason. McKee was the Eagles’ 2023 sixth-round pick out of Stanford. The 6-foot-6, 231-pound quarterback has yet to take a snap in a regular-season game. He's mostly used in practice on the scout team or in developmental periods — at best, he'll stay late after practice to get some reps in with the top receivers. “Every week, every opportunity, it's knowing it could be my shot, my chance,” McKee said. He could finally get that shot against Dallas. Rolling with Rush With the Cowboys out of playoff contention, the questions persist for coach Mike McCarthy about bypassing Cooper Rush for a look at Trey Lance before both QBs hit free agency. McCarthy’s answer hasn’t wavered: Rush gives Dallas the best chance to win. Rush is 4-3 since Dak Prescott’s season-ending hamstring tear after going 5-1 over two previous stints as an injury replacement. That’s 9-4 total. Half the losses came in both of Rush’s starts against Eagles – the last of five games filling in during the 2022 season and the first game this season. “The mindset is to win,” McCarthy said. “We’re going to Philadelphia to win the game.” Barkley watch Barkley leads the NFL with 1,838 yards rushing for the season through 15 games. He still needs two big outings in the final games of the season against Dallas and the New York Giants to top Dickerson and his 2,105 yards for the Los Angeles Rams in 1984. Barkley is 268 yards away from passing Dickerson for the season mark and 162 shy from becoming the ninth player in NFL history with 2,000 yards rushing in a season. He ran for only 66 yards in the first game this season against Dallas. Dallas ranks 28th in the NFL in rushing defense, surrendering 135.9 yards per contest. Philadelphia, behind Barkley’s stellar play, tops the league at 187.9 yards per game on the ground. The Eagles have already have set a team record for yards rushing in a season with 2,818, and they are within four rushing touchdowns of tying the club’s single-season mark of 32, set in 2022. Barkley needs four more rushing touchdowns to tie LeSean McCoy’s Eagles record, set in 2011 and just 33 yards from scrimmage to break McCoy’s mark of 2,146 set in 2013. Seeing double digits Star Dallas edge rusher Micah Parsons needs half a sack to reach double digits in each of his first four seasons despite missing four games with a high ankle sprain, the first injury absence of his career. The 2021 AP Defensive Rookie of the Year would be the fifth player to reach 10 sacks in each of his first four seasons. The other four — Claude Humphrey, Reggie White, Derrick Thomas and Dwight Freeney - are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. ___ AP Pro Football Writer Schuyler Dixon contributed from Arlington, Texas. ___ AP NFL: Dan Gelston, The Associated Press
Looking to secure back-to-back wins, Coventry City will welcome Millwall to The Coventry Building Society Arena for a Championship battle on Sunday afternoon. The Sky Blues managed a handsome home success on Boxing Day at the expense of Plymouth Argyle, whilst the Lions lost out at the home of Norwich City. After a 4-1 away defeat at the base of Portsmouth on December 21 - when Callum Lang netted all four goals for Pompey - Coventry City returned to winning ways at their East Midlands base last time out, securing a four-goal battering of relegation-threatened Plymouth, who look destined for the drop. All of the Boxing Day damage was done during a pulsating opening 45 minutes at The CBS Arena, with a rare Josh Eccles brace - alongside strikes from Tatsuhiro Sakamoto and Ephron Mason-Clark - sealing another victory in the East Midlands at the start of Frank Lampard 's tenure. Ahead of their final second-tier fixture of the 2024 calendar year, Coventry are currently occupying 15th spot in the Championship standings , eight points behind Hull City in the highest of the relegation spots and 10 points back from Watford, who are guarding entry to the playoffs. Lampard's troops will need to improve their home form if they wish to have any chance of mounting an unlikely push for the top six during the second half of the 2024-25 term, with the Sky Blues mustering just five wins across 11 Championship matches at their base so far. The attacking antics of American marksman Haji Wright will be vital in Coventry's aims of pushing towards the upper echelons of the Championship rankings, with the towering forward netting seven goals across 15 league appearances before suffering a leg injury at the start of November. Since the departure of former head coach Neil Harris on December 14, Millwall have endured a mixed festive period under the leadership of an interim coaching team, securing a one-goal win over Blackburn Rovers on December 21 before losing out at Norwich on a misty Boxing Day. The Lions were put down in a frantic first period at the Canaries' East Anglian base, with strikes in the opening 40 minutes from Emiliano Marcondes and Oscar Schwartau securing the points for the hosts, although Romain Esse managed to bag a consolation for the visitors in the second half. Winning just one of their last eight second-tier matches as the final game of the 2024 schedule approaches on Sunday afternoon, Millwall are perched in 13th place in the Championship table , nine points ahead of the relegation zone and nine points behind Watford in the luxury of sixth spot. Rather unsurprisingly, the Lions have been poor on their second-tier travels so far during the 2024-25 campaign, with Sunday afternoon's visitors to The CBS Arena victorious in just one of 10 Championship away matches, with that solitary success coming back in October at Swansea City. Coventry are battling on through the festive calendar without the services of goalkeeper Ben Wilson , who is targeting a New Year return from a knee injury. The Sky Blues are also deeply missing the talents of Wright, with the club's leading marksman still recovering from a leg injury sustained a few months ago. Millwall's medical room is packed to the brim in comparison to Coventry's, including with youngster Aidomo Emakhu , who picked up a groin injury on Boxing Day. The 21-year-old joins a number of veterans of the Lions side on the treatment table, such as Dan McNamara (leg) and towering centre-back Jake Cooper (knee). On loan from Middlesbrough for the 2024-25 campaign, Josh Coburn 's progression at The Den has been severely curbed by a broken foot sustained at the start of the festive period. Coventry City possible starting lineup: Dovin; Van Ewijk, Thomas, Latibeaudiere, Bidwell; Eccles, Sheaf, Sakamoto, Rudoni, Mason-Clark; Bassette Millwall possible starting lineup: Jensen; Leonard, Tanganga, Wallace, Bryan; De Norre, Saville, Azeez, Esse, Watmore; Ivanovic After battering the Green Army at The CBS Arena on Boxing Day, Coventry will be confident of repeating the trick against a Millwall side who do not travel well. The Lions have suffered with a lack of direction under their interim management, and we believe that their final match of 2024 will end in an East Midlands defeat. For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here .By Vanessa G. Sánchez, KFF Health News (TNS) LOS ANGELES — President-elect Donald Trump’s promise of mass deportations and tougher immigration restrictions is deepening mistrust of the health care system among California’s immigrants and clouding the future for providers serving the state’s most impoverished residents. At the same time, immigrants living illegally in Southern California told KFF Health News they thought the economy would improve and their incomes might increase under Trump, and for some that outweighed concerns about health care. Community health workers say fear of deportation is already affecting participation in Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicaid program for low-income residents, which was expanded in phases to all immigrants regardless of residency status over the past several years. That could undercut the state’s progress in reducing the uninsured rate, which reached a record low of 6.4% last year. Immigrants lacking legal residency have long worried that participation in government programs could make them targets, and Trump’s election has compounded those concerns, community advocates say. The incoming Trump administration is also expected to target Medicaid with funding cuts and enrollment restrictions , which activists worry could threaten the Medi-Cal expansion and kneecap efforts to extend health insurance subsidies under Covered California to all immigrants. “The fear alone has so many consequences to the health of our communities,” said Mar Velez , director of policy with the Latino Coalition for a Healthy California. “This is, as they say, not their first rodeo. They understand how the system works. I think this machine is going to be, unfortunately, a lot more harmful to our communities.” Alongside such worries, though, is a strain of optimism that Trump might be a boon to the economy, according to interviews with immigrants in Los Angeles whom health care workers were soliciting to sign up for Medi-Cal. Since Election Day, community health worker Yanet Martinez said, people are more reluctant to hear her pitch for subsidized health insurance or cancer prevention screenings. “They think I’m going to share their information to deport them,” Martinez said. (Vanessa G. Sánchez/KFF Health News/TNS) Clinics and community health workers encourage immigrants to enroll for health coverage through Medi-Cal and Covered California. But workers have noticed that fear of deportation has chilled participation. (Vanessa G. Sánchez/KFF Health News/TNS) Community health workers like Yanet Martinez encourage people to enroll for health benefits. But many California immigrants fear that using subsidized services could hurt their chances of obtaining legal residency. (Vanessa G. Sánchez/KFF Health News/TNS) Since Election Day, community health worker Yanet Martinez said, people are more reluctant to hear her pitch for subsidized health insurance or cancer prevention screenings. “They think I’m going to share their information to deport them,” Martinez said. (Vanessa G. Sánchez/KFF Health News/TNS) Selvin, 39, who, like others interviewed for this article, asked to be identified by only his first name because he’s living here without legal permission, said that even though he believes Trump dislikes people like him, he thinks the new administration could help boost his hours at the food processing facility where he works packing noodles. “I do see how he could improve the economy. From that perspective, I think it’s good that he won.” He became eligible for Medi-Cal this year but decided not to enroll, worrying it could jeopardize his chances of changing his immigration status. “I’ve thought about it,” Selvin said, but “I feel like it could end up hurting me. I won’t deny that, obviously, I’d like to benefit — get my teeth fixed, a physical checkup.” But fear holds him back, he said, and he hasn’t seen a doctor in nine years. It’s not Trump’s mass deportation plan in particular that’s scaring him off, though. “If I’m not committing any crimes or getting a DUI, I think I won’t get deported,” Selvin said. Petrona, 55, came from El Salvador seeking asylum and enrolled in Medi-Cal last year. She said that if her health insurance benefits were cut, she wouldn’t be able to afford her visits to the dentist. A street food vendor, she hears often about Trump’s deportation plan, but she said it will be the criminals the new president pushes out. “I’ve heard people say he’s going to get rid of everyone who’s stealing.” Although she’s afraid she could be deported, she’s also hopeful about Trump. “He says he’s going to give a lot of work to Hispanics because Latinos are the ones who work the hardest,” she said. “That’s good, more work for us, the ones who came here to work.” Newly elected Republican Assembly member Jeff Gonzalez, who flipped a seat long held by Democrats in the Latino-heavy desert region in the southeastern part of the state, said his constituents were anxious to see a new economic direction. “They’re just really kind of fed up with the status quo in California,” Gonzalez said. “People on the ground are saying, ‘I’m hopeful,’ because now we have a different perspective. We have a businessperson who is looking at the very things that we are looking at, which is the price of eggs, the price of gas, the safety.” Gonzalez said he’s not going to comment about potential Medicaid cuts, because Trump has not made any official announcement. Unlike most in his party, Gonzalez said he supports the extension of health care services to all residents regardless of immigration status . Health care providers said they are facing a twin challenge of hesitancy among those they are supposed to serve and the threat of major cuts to Medicaid, the federal program that provides over 60% of the funding for Medi-Cal. Health providers and policy researchers say a loss in federal contributions could lead the state to roll back or downsize some programs, including the expansion to cover those without legal authorization. California and Oregon are the only states that offer comprehensive health insurance to all income-eligible immigrants regardless of status. About 1.5 million people without authorization have enrolled in California, at a cost of over $6 billion a year to state taxpayers. “Everyone wants to put these types of services on the chopping block, which is really unfair,” said state Sen. Lena Gonzalez, a Democrat and chair of the California Latino Legislative Caucus. “We will do everything we can to ensure that we prioritize this.” Sen. Gonzalez said it will be challenging to expand programs such as Covered California, the state’s health insurance marketplace, for which immigrants lacking permanent legal status are not eligible. A big concern for immigrants and their advocates is that Trump could reinstate changes to the public charge policy, which can deny green cards or visas based on the use of government benefits. “President Trump’s mass deportation plan will end the financial drain posed by illegal immigrants on our healthcare system, and ensure that our country can care for American citizens who rely on Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security,” Trump spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said in a statement to KFF Health News. During his first term, in 2019, Trump broadened the policy to include the use of Medicaid, as well as housing and nutrition subsidies. The Biden administration rescinded the change in 2021. KFF, a health information nonprofit that includes KFF Health News, found immigrants use less health care than people born in the United States. And about 1 in 4 likely undocumented immigrant adults said they have avoided applying for assistance with health care, food, and housing because of immigration-related fears, according to a 2023 survey . Another uncertainty is the fate of the Affordable Care Act, which was opened in November to immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children and are protected by the Deferred Action Childhood Arrivals program. If DACA eligibility for the act’s plans, or even the act itself, were to be reversed under Trump, that would leave roughly 40,000 California DACA recipients, and about 100,000 nationwide , without access to subsidized health insurance. On Dec. 9, a federal court in North Dakota issued an order blocking DACA recipients from accessing Affordable Care Act health plans in 19 states that had challenged the Biden administration’s rule. Clinics and community health workers are encouraging people to continue enrolling in health benefits. But amid the push to spread the message, the chilling effects are already apparent up and down the state. “¿Ya tiene Medi-Cal?” community health worker Yanet Martinez said, asking residents whether they had Medi-Cal as she walked down Pico Boulevard recently in a Los Angeles neighborhood with many Salvadorans. “¡Nosotros podemos ayudarle a solicitar Medi-Cal! ¡Todo gratuito!” she shouted, offering help to sign up, free of charge. “Gracias, pero no,” said one young woman, responding with a no thanks. She shrugged her shoulders and averted her eyes under a cap that covered her from the late-morning sun. Since Election Day, Martinez said, people have been more reluctant to hear her pitch for subsidized health insurance or cancer prevention screenings. “They think I’m going to share their information to deport them,” she said. “They don’t want anything to do with it.” This article was produced by KFF Health News , which publishes California Healthline , an editorially independent service of the California Health Care Foundation . ©2024 KFF Health News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.FiscalNote Announces Update to Board of DirectorsDec 19 (Reuters) - Walmart (WMT.N) , opens new tab said it is likely to miss its 2025 and 2030 targets for reducing planet-warming emissions due to challenges related to energy policy, infrastructure and availability of cost-effective low-carbon technologies. The U.S.-based retailer had pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from its operations by 35% in 2025 and 65% in 2030, compared to levels in 2015. Neither of these targets appeared to be in reach and its progress was delayed, the company said in an update published on its website on Wednesday. Despite having a smaller carbon footprint per unit of sales compared to more polluting manufacturers and food processors, Walmart is facing some difficulties in reducing emissions due to the opening of more stores and shipment of goods. Walmart has cited three drivers of the emissions rise in 2023: pollution from aging refrigeration equipment, fuel emissions from transportation and expansion of renewable energy slowing relative to its business growth. Sign up here. Reporting by Pooja Menon in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. , opens new tab
Trump threat to immigrant health care tempered by economic hopes“The Taiwan issue has always been so complicated that it’s never been an isolated issue and has always been a part of the US policy towards China,” according to Zhiqun Zhu, director of the China Institute at Bucknell University in Pennsylvania. “It’s really difficult, almost impossible, to isolate the Taiwan issue from other strategic, military and economic issues,” said Zhu, a political scientist. While Beijing has repeatedly described Taiwan as “the most core” of its core interests, it is not so for the US, “though it’s important”, Zhu explained at a recent discussion hosted by the Institute for China-America Studies, a Washington-based think tank.
FiscalNote Announces Update to Board of Directors
Sydneysiders are expected to swelter through their hottest day of the summer so far on Friday, with the mercury likely to soar past 40C in some areas. The capital is forecast to reach a maximum temperature of 38C and could see possible severe thunderstorms in the afternoon, according to the Bureau of Meteorology. Temperatures are likely to be even higher in the city’s west, reaching a high of 41C in Penrith. Other parts of the state are also looking at a scorcher, with a top of 42C forecast for Singleton, Maitland, and Cessnock and 40C in Newcastle and Tamworth. Residents are being advised to take precautions such as staying indoors and remaining hydrated. Residents in several parts of NSW are expected to swelter through temperatures near 40C on Friday. Source: Supplied. The blistering conditions prompted the NSW Rural Fire Service to enforce a total fire ban for the greater Sydney and Hunter regions for Friday. An extreme fire danger has been declared for those regions due to “forecast hot and windy conditions”, the Rural Fire Service said on Thursday. A fire ban will also be in place for the North Western and Northern Slopes regions of NSW. Sydney can expect a welcome reprieve from the heat by Friday evening, with temperatures to cool with an expected maximum of 26C on Saturday. Residents elsewhere in NSW and the ACT are likely to see cooler maximums, with Wollongong to peak at 35C and Canberra at 29C. Ongoing bushfires in Victoria are yet to be contained, while the risk of fires in NSW has been elevated for Friday. Picture: NewsWire / Diego Fedele Temperatures in Victoria have dropped significantly after the blistering heat of the past several days, with Melbourne likely to hit a top of 22C. The cooler change has done little to quell the bushfires still raging in the state’s southwest, with the blaze near Grampians National Park having now torn through 74,000 hectares of land. Maximum temperatures in Brisbane are forecast to reach 33C and a cooler 22C in Adelaide. Originally published as Sydney to swelter through hottest day this summer Environment Don't miss out on the headlines from Environment. Followed categories will be added to My News. More related stories Environment ‘Size of Singapore’: Massive bushfire warning More residents have been told it is too late for them to flee as raging bushfires grow to “the size of Singapore”. Read more Breaking News ‘Extreme’: Total fire ban for Sydney A total fire ban will be enforced in Sydney and other parts of NSW on Friday with temperatures expected to top 40C during the hottest day of summer yet. Read moreWhat's Going On With My Size Shares Friday?
UVALDE, Texas (AP) — A Texas judge on Thursday refused to throw out criminal charges accusing the former Uvalde schools police chief of putting children at risk during the slow response to the 2022 Robb Elementary School shooting, while a lawyer for his co-defendant said they want to move the upcoming trial out of the small town where the massacre occurred. At a court hearing in Uvalde, Judge Sid Harle rejected Pete Arredondo's claim that was he improperly charged and that only the shooter was responsible for putting the victims in danger. Nineteen children and two teachers were killed in the shooting on May 24, 2022. Harle also set an Oct. 20, 2025, trial date. An attorney for Arredondo's co-defendant, former Uvalde schools police officer Adrian Gonzales, said he will ask for the trial to be moved out of Uvalde because his client cannot get a fair trial there. Uvalde County is mostly rural with fewer than 25,000 residents about 85 miles (140 kilometers) west of San Antonio. “Everybody knows everybody,” in Uvalde, Gonzales attorney Nico LaHood said. Both former officers attended the hearing. Nearly 400 law enforcement agents rushed to the school but waited more than 70 minutes to confront and kill the gunman in a fourth-grade classroom. Arredondo and Gonzales are the only two officers facing charges — a fact that has raised complaints from some victims' families. Both men have pleaded not guilty to multiple counts of abandoning or endangering a child, each of which carry punishment of up to two years in jail. Gonzales has not asked the judge to dismiss his charges. A federal investigation of the shooting identified Arredondo as the incident commander in charge, although he has argued that state police should have set up a command post outside the school and taken control. Gonzales was among the first officers to arrive on the scene. He was accused of abandoning his training and not confronting the shooter, even after hearing gunshots as he stood in a hallway. Arredondo has said he was scapegoated for the halting police response. The indictment alleges he did not follow his active shooter training and made critical decisions that slowed the police response while the gunman was “hunting” his victims. It alleges that instead of confronting the gunman immediately, Arredondo caused delays by telling officers to evacuate a hallway to wait for a SWAT team, evacuating students from other areas of the building first, and trying to negotiate with the shooter while victims inside the classroom were wounded and dying. Arredondo’s attorneys say the danger that day was not caused by him, but by the shooter. They argued Arredondo was blamed for trying to save the lives of the other children in the building, and have warned that prosecuting him would open many future law enforcement actions to similar charges. “Arredondo did nothing to put those children in the path of a gunman,” said Arredondo attorney Matthew Hefti. Uvalde County prosecutors told the judge Arredondo acted recklessly. “The state has alleged he is absolutely aware of the danger of the children,” said assistant district attorney Bill Turner. Jesse Rizo, the uncle of 9-year-old Jacklyn Cazares who was killed in the shooting, was one of several family members of victims at the hearing. “To me, it’s hurtful and painful to hear Arredondo’s attorneys try to persuade the judge to get the charges dismissed,” Rizo said. He called the wait for a trial exhausting and questioned whether moving the trial would help the defense. “The longer it takes, the longer the agony,” Rizo said. “I think what’s happened in Uvalde ... you’ll probably get a better chance at conviction if it’s moved. To hold their own accountable is going to be very difficult.” The massacre at Robb Elementary was one of the worst school shootings in U.S. history, and the law enforcement response has been widely condemned as a massive failure. Nearly 150 U.S. Border Patrol agents, 91 state police officers, as well and school and city police rushed to the campus. While terrified students and teachers called 911 from inside classrooms, dozens of officers stood in the hallway trying to figure out what to do. More than an hour later, a team of officers breached the classroom and killed the gunman. Within days of the shooting, the focus of the slow response turned on Arredondo, who was described by other responding agencies as the incident commander in charge. Multiple federal and state investigations have laid bare cascading problems in law enforcement training, communication, leadership and technology, and questioned whether officers prioritized their own lives over those of children and teachers. Several victims or their families have filed multiple state and federal lawsuits. Associated Press reporter Jim Vertuno in Austin, Texas, contributed. Lathan is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
CLEVLEAND — Shane Bieber's comeback with Cleveland has double meaning. The former Cy Young winner re-signed with the Guardians on Wednesday, a reunion that seemed unlikely when he became a free agent. However, the 29-year-old Bieber decided to stay with the AL Central champions after making just two starts in 2024 before undergoing Tommy John surgery. Bieber agreed last week to a one-year, $14 million contract. The deal includes a $16 million player option for 2026. It seemed like a long shot that Bieber, who is 62-32 with a 3.22 ERA in 132 starts, would return to Cleveland. He had turned down long-term offers in the past from the club, and it was expected he would sign with another contender, likely one on the West Coast. But the California native has a special connection with the Guardians, who selected him in the fourth round of the 2016 draft. Bieber, who won the AL Cy Young in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, threw only 12 innings last season before lingering issues with his elbow forced him to have surgery. He is expected to join Cleveland's rotation at some point in 2025. A two-time All-Star, Bieber was named MVP of the midsummer event in 2019 when it was held in Cleveland. He has the highest strikeout ratio per nine innings (10.2) and third-highest winning percentage (.660) in the franchise's 124-year history. Bieber is one of just three Cleveland pitchers to start five season openers, joining Stan Coveleski (1917-21) and Corey Kluber (2015-19). While Bieber had some elbow issues in the past, he didn't show any issues before being shut down. He struck out 11 in six scoreless innings against Oakland on March 28, and followed that up with six more shutout innings at Seattle on April 2. DALLAS — Pitchers again dominated the big league phase of the Rule 5 draft at the winter meetings, comprising 11 of the 15 unprotected players who were picked Wednesday. The 121-loss Chicago White Sox had the first pick and selected 24-year-old right-hander Shane Smith from the Milwaukee Brewers organization. Smith was an undrafted free agent out of Wake Forest when he was signed by Milwaukee in July 2021. The 6-foot-4, 235-pounder has gone 13-7 with a 2.69 ERA and 203 strikeouts over 157 innings in 19 starts and 54 relief appearances over three minor league seasons. There were 14 teams who made picks in the major league portion of the Rule 5 draft of players left off 40-man rosters after several minor league seasons. Only Atlanta made two selections, after making none since 2017. Atlanta chose right-hander Anderson Pilar from the Miami Marlins with the 11th pick, and then took infielder Christian Cairo from the Cleveland Guardians with the 15th and final pick in the MLB portion. The 26-year-old Pilar was original signed by Colorado as a minor league free agent in 2015 and has pitched in 213 minor league games that included 17 starts. He is 28-20 with a 2.86 ERA. Teams pay $100,000 to take a player in the major league portion. The players must stay on the big league roster all of next season or clear waivers and be offered back to their original organization for $50,000. Six of the 10 players selected during the Rule 5 draft last December — five of them right-handed pitchers — remained last season with organization that selected them. Two of the four position players taken Wednesday by other teams came from the Detroit Tigers organization: catcher Liam Hicks and third baseman Gage Workman. Miami drafted second after Colorado passed making a selection, and took Hicks. Workman was taken by the Chicago Cubs with the 10th pick. Baltimore lost two right-handed pitchers on back-to-back picks, Juan Nunez to San Diego with the 12th pick before Connor Thomas went to Milwaukee. DALLAS — Tom Hamilton, who has called Cleveland games on the radio for 35 seasons, won the Hall of Fame’s Ford C. Frick Award for excellence in broadcasting on Wednesday. Hamilton, 70, joined the team's broadcast in 1990, when he was with Herb Score in the booth and part of the coverage of their World Series appearances in 1995 and 1997. Hamilton became the voice of the franchise when Score retired after that second World Series. Hamilton will be honored during the Hall of Fame’s induction weekend from July 25-28 in Cooperstown, New York. He was selected the hall's Frick Award 16-member committee as the 49th winner. There were 10 finalists on this year's ballot, whose main contributions came as local and national voices and whose careers began after, or extended into, the Wild Card era. The other nine were Skip Caray, Rene Cardenas, Gary Cohen, Jacques Doucet, Ernie Johnson Sr., Mike Krukow, Duane Kuiper, Dave Sims and John Sterling. DALLAS — The Texas Rangers acquired slugging corner infielder Jake Burger from the Miami Marlins on Wednesday in a trade for three minor league players. Burger hit .250 with 29 home runs and 76 RBIs in 137 games for the Marlins last season, with 150 strikeouts in 535 at-bats with 31 walks. He started 59 games at third base and made 50 starts at first. Five days of service time short of being eligible for salary arbitration this offseason, he will be eligible next winter and can become a free agent after the 2028 World Series. Miami got infielders Max Acosta and Echedry Vargas and left-handed pitcher Brayan Mendoza. The acquisition of Burger comes about a month after the Rangers hired former Marlins manager Skip Schumaker as a senior adviser for baseball operations. Luis Urueta, Miami's bench coach the past two seasons, also was added recently to manager Bruce Bochy's on-field coaching staff for 2025. BRIEFLY WHITE SOX: Mike Tauchman is switching sides in Chicago. The White Sox announced a $1.95 million, one-year contract for the outfielder. Tauchman, 34, grew up in Palatine, Illinois, about 35 miles northwest of Chicago, and played college ball for Bradley in Peoria, Illinois. He spent the previous two seasons with the Cubs. TRADE: All-Star left-hander Garrett Crochet was acquired by the Boston Red Sox from the Chicago White Sox for four prospects. Catcher Kyle Teel, infielder Chase Meidroth, right-hander Wikelman Gonzalez and outfielder Braden Montgomery are headed to Chicago. Get local news delivered to your inbox!JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s attorney general has ordered police to open an investigation into Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s wife on suspicion of harassing political opponents and a witness in the Israeli leader’s corruption trial. Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara made the announcement in a terse message late Thursday, saying the investigation would focus on the findings of a recent report by the “Uvda” investigative program into Sara Netanyahu. The program uncovered a trove of WhatsApp messages in which Mrs. Netanyahu appears to instruct a former aide to organize protests against political opponents and to intimidate Hadas Klein, a key witness in the trial. The announcement did not mention Mrs. Netanyahu by name, and the Justice Ministry declined further comment. But in a video released earlier Thursday, Netanyahu listed what he said were the many kind and charitable acts by his wife and blasted the Uvda report as “lies.” “My opponents on the left and in the media found a new-old target. They mercilessly attack my wife, Sara,” he said. He called the program ”false propaganda, nasty propaganda that brings up lies from the darkness.” It was the latest in a long line of legal troubles for the Netanyahus — highlighted by the prime minister's ongoing corruption trial . The pair have also had a rocky relationship with the Israeli media. Netanyahu is charged with fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in a series of cases alleging he exchanged favors with powerful media moguls and wealthy associates. Netanyahu denies the charges and says he is the victim of a “witch hunt” by overzealous prosecutors, police and the media. The report obtained correspondence between Sara Netanyahu and Hanni Bleiweiss, a former aide to the prime minister who died of cancer last year. The messages indicated that Sara Netanyahu, through Bleiweiss, encouraged police to crack down violently on anti-government protesters and ordered Bleiweiss to organize protests against her husband's critics. She also told Bleiweiss to get activists in Netanyahu's Likud party to publish attacks on Klein. Klein is an aide to billionaire Hollywood mogul Arnon Milchan and has testified in the corruption case about her role in delivering tens of thousands of dollars worth of champagne, cigars and gifts to Netanyahu for her boss. According to the report, Bleiweiss also was instructed to organize demonstrations outside the homes of the lead prosecutor in the corruption case, Liat Ben-Ari, and then Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, who had issued the indictments, and protests and social media campaigns smearing political opponents. According to the report, Bleiweiss was a loyal aid to Netanyahu for decades. But while she was ill, it said Sara Netanyahu mistreated her, prompting her to share the messages with a reporter shortly before her death. Sara Netanyahu has been accused of abusive behavior toward her personal staff before. This, together with accusations of excessive spending and using public money for her own extravagant personal tastes, has earned her an image as being out of touch with everyday Israelis. In 2019, she was fined for misusing state funds. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who oversees police and has repeatedly said the attorney general, Baharav-Miara should be fired over a series of grievances against her, said the latest announcement was another reason for her to be dismissed. “Someone who politically persecutes government ministers and their families cannot continue to serve as the attorney general,” he said. And Justice Minister Yariv Levin, another Netanyahu ally and critic of Baharav-Miara, accused her of focusing on “television gossip.” “Selective enforcement is a crime!” he said in a statement. AP correspondents Eleanor H. Reich in New York and Isaac Scharf in Jerusalem contributed reporting.
BEIJING , Dec. 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- At the end of 2024, we take a look back at the Chinese economy's performance this year. China's domestic GDP grew by 5.3 percent year-on-year in the first quarter, 4.7 percent in the second quarter and 4.6 percent in the third quarter this year, with an average growth rate of 4.8 percent in the first three quarters. Since September, as a package of incremental policies continues to yield its effects, China's economy maintains an upward trend. Overall, we are fully confident in achieving our economic growth goal this year. The country's economic performance has been hard-won. Externally, transformations around the world unseen in a century are unfolding at a greater pace, with global economic growth remaining sluggish, and the complexity, severity and uncertainty of the external environment on the rise. At home, domestic demand is insufficient, social expectations remain weak and there are difficulties associated with structural adjustments. The situation is severe and complex, and the task is difficult and weighty. However, under the strong leadership of the Communist Party of China Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, Chinese localities and government agencies are more confident and are taking solid steps to deliver outcomes. The results underscore that "fundamentals of the Chinese economy, and favorable conditions such as a vast market, strong economic resilience and great potential remain unchanged." Huge market, vast space Markets are the scarcest resource. The modernization achieved by 1.4 billion Chinese people has resulted in the addition of a new super-large market larger than those of all developed countries combined. The new development paradigm will enable China to fully unlock its market potential and create greater demand for other countries. With a new car rolling off production line on November 14 , China's annual production of new energy vehicles (NEVs) surpassed the 10 million milestone, becoming the first country in the world to do so. Behind the number is China's robust supply and demand. In the first 10 months, China's production and sales of NEVs grew by 33 percent and 33.9 percent year-on-year, respectively. China continues to take the lead in the electrification and intelligence transformation of the automotive industry, which is attributed to the supply, policy support and demand advantage in the ultra-large market. Markets bring valuable business opportunities. Take cars for example. By the end of June, China had 345 million cars, but the country's car ownership level per 1,000 residents is less than half of that in developed countries. Additionally, China's NEV ownership is only 24.72 million, which means continuous demand in the future. Markets breed competition advantages. China's vast market contributes to the formation of "economy of scale" and "economy of scope," which generates greater profits for enterprises and reduces innovations costs, and also helps provide a large number of application scenarios and boost the large-scale application of innovations. China leads the world in batteries, motors and electronic control technologies, while its intelligent cockpits and intelligent driving are internationally advanced. Thanks to the benign interactions between supply and demand, the industrialization of new technologies and new products is speeding up. Strong resilience, solid basis Resilience strengthens self-belief. China has come to where it is today after overcoming all kinds of difficulties and challenges. Foreign trade is an important barometer in this regard. In the first 10 months of the year, China's foreign goods trade rose by 5.2 percent year-on-year to reach a new high compared with the same period historically. The improvement in the quality and efficiency of the country's foreign trade against the backdrop of shrinking external demand reflects China's economic resilience. This resilience originates from China's solid manufacturing basis and industrial chain advantages. "We could not do what we do without them," Apple CEO Tim Cook said of Chinese suppliers during his third visit to the Chinese mainland this year, as over 80 percent of Apple's 200 major suppliers have set up factories in China . China has the world's most comprehensive industrial categories and a well-rounded industrial system, with the scale of manufacturing industry ranking top for 14 consecutive years. The high-end, intelligent and green development of the manufacturing sector continues to strengthen the stability of the country's industrial and supply chain. In the first three quarters, the manufacturing industry contributed 32.2 percent to the country's economic growth, up 11.2 percentage points. China moved up to 11th place in the ranking of the world's most innovative economies. The basis is solid, and risks and challenges are not to be feared. Resilience also comes from excellent policy adjustments. The nation has been strengthening counter-cyclical adjustments, accelerating the implementation of major national strategies and the development of securities capabilities in key areas while supporting large-scale equipment upgrades and trade-in policies for consumer goods with robust measures, boosting the stabilization of the property market and galvanizing the capital market. The government has also put forward a package of measures to dissolve local government debt risks. This year, a series of existing policies continue to produce effects and incremental policies are being effectively implemented, jointly helping the economy stabilize. Vast potential, strong momentum China's economy has vast potential and many advantages and favorable conditions for sustaining long-term development momentum. China has been the world's second-largest economy for many years, but still has vast development potential in terms of per capita and structure. China's per capita GDP remains relatively low, and the country's amount of infrastructure per capita is only 20-30 percent of that of developed countries. In 2023, China's urbanization rate, which measures the ratio of permanent urban residents relative to the total population, reached 66.2 percent by the end of 2023. Estimates show that each percentage point increase in the urbanization rate could drive 1 trillion yuan ( $137.55 billion ) in investment. Currently, both China's fiscal deficit ratio and government debt ratio are low, and the country's policy toolbox remains well-stocked. The potential also lies in elementary resources. China's human resources in science and technology ranked first in the country and the average length of education received by new entrants into the workforce has increased to 14 years, turning the demographic dividend into a talent dividend. In addition, overall sufficient social capitals, vast room for the highly efficient use of land and the vast unleashing of the potential of digital elements provide solid foundational support. This potential also comes from the huge market. The country's population of over 1.4 billion and middle-income population of over 400 million support a large-scale, diverse and huge domestic market. Accelerating the building of a unified national market will improve overall economic operation efficiency and continuously unleash the potential of domestic demand. Overall, China is a country with vast territory, a large population and unbalanced and uncoordinated development. This is a shortcoming, but also represents potential and a driving force for future development. Sparking vitality and building synergy through reform is essential to continuously unleashing development potential. From implementing regulations for fair competition reviews, accelerating the legislative process of the law on the promotion of the private economy and formulating normal communication mechanisms between governments and enterprises, to releasing a new national negative list for foreign investment and removing all market access restrictions for foreign investors in the manufacturing sector, China's reforms in key fields continue to deepen this year and high-level opening-up advances in an in-depth way. The third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China adopted the Resolution of the CPC Central Committee on Further Deepening Reform Comprehensively to Advance Chinese Modernization. Driven by reform of the economic system, China is correspondingly boosting reform in other fields, and the internal development momentum and vitality will continue to strengthen. Reviewing allows a clear understanding of the situation and better moving forward. While some major economies experience low growth rates and high inflation this year, China is expected to achieve its economic growth target of around 5 percent, and continue to contribute around 30 percent to world economic growth. This stable performance underlines the fact that China's economy will continue to remain on a positive trajectory over the long run. The story was originally published on the front page of the People's Daily on December 8, 2024 View original content: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/global-times-peoples-daily-article-says-favorable-conditions-for-chinas-economic-development-remain-unchanged-302325568.html SOURCE Global Times