VICTORIA - British Columbia Premier David Eby says Canada's premiers and the federal government have hatched a game plan over possible U.S. tariffs, where Conservative premiers lobby their Republican counterparts and left-leaning leaders court the Democrats, while the federal government focuses on president-elect Donald Trump. Read this article for free: Already have an account? To continue reading, please subscribe: * VICTORIA - British Columbia Premier David Eby says Canada's premiers and the federal government have hatched a game plan over possible U.S. tariffs, where Conservative premiers lobby their Republican counterparts and left-leaning leaders court the Democrats, while the federal government focuses on president-elect Donald Trump. Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? VICTORIA – British Columbia Premier David Eby says Canada’s premiers and the federal government have hatched a game plan over possible U.S. tariffs, where Conservative premiers lobby their Republican counterparts and left-leaning leaders court the Democrats, while the federal government focuses on president-elect Donald Trump. Eby says the premiers and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau talked about using their political diversity and connections to approach politicians and business leaders in the United States, as talks over Trump’s proposed 25 per cent tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico ramp up. He says it has been discussed that Conservative premiers Danielle Smith in Alberta, Doug Ford in Ontario and Nova Scotia’s Tim Houston are well-placed to lobby their contacts with Republican governors and business leaders. In a year-end interview, Eby says as a New Democrat leader he will likely have more in common speaking with Democrat governors and business leaders from the West Coast states. He says Canada’s diversity of representation, ranging from the right and left sides of the political spectrum, can bring leverage and advantages in tariff talks. Eby also says — if it is deemed helpful — he is prepared to appear on American’s right-leaning Fox News TV network as did premiers Ford and Smith. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 5, 2024. Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version said Tim Houston’s first name was John. Advertisement AdvertisementInvesting in assets can put you in a better position by the time you’re ready to retire. While stocks and real estate have received plenty of attention over the years, gold remains a reliable investment that has been around for thousands of years. It’s an essential resource for many industries, is a medium of exchange and serves as a safe-haven asset during geopolitical unrest or periods of market volatility. Gold is a hedge against inflation and can thrive during economic uncertainty. That last advantage is a key distinction that separates it from stocks and real estate. However, physical gold doesn’t produce yield like dividend stocks or cash flow like investment properties. Fortunately, it’s still possible to use precious metals to generate retirement income. This guide will explain several ways to use gold for retirement income. Open a gold IRA A gold individual retirement account — or gold IRA — allows you to accumulate physical precious metals in a tax-advantaged account. You won’t have to worry about gold storage, as the IRA’s custodian will handle it. You can then cash out on your gold holdings when you need to cover living expenses. The IRS sets limits for how much you can contribute to an IRA, whether it’s a conventional or gold IRA. If you make the maximum contribution to a gold IRA, you can’t contribute to another IRA. The maximum contribution for traditional and Roth IRAs is currently capped at $7,000 per year for those age 49 and younger. The IRS raises this limit periodically, but you can make catch-up contributions if you are 50 years or older. Catch-up contributions allow you to invest an additional $1,000 into your IRA each year. Anyone can open a Roth IRA, but your modified adjusted gross income must be below $146,000 to contribute the full amount. Investors who earn too much for a Roth IRA can use the backdoor method to fund it. This involves moving funds from a traditional IRA — which doesn’t have income restrictions — to a Roth IRA. Some gold IRA providers give you the flexibility to set up traditional and Roth IRAs. Learn more by reading our guide to the best gold IRA companies . Invest in gold stocks and gold ETFs Gold stocks are easier to buy and manage than physical gold. You also wouldn’t need a separate IRA just for gold investments. However, gold stocks can underperform the precious metal due to several factors. For instance, Newmont Corp. — the world’s largest gold mining company — has only seen its stock gain 13% over the past five years, failing to keep pace with gold prices , which have gained more than 70% during the same period. Varying financial performances and opportunities result in gold stocks having different results than physical gold. Investors have to trust that a company will make good business decisions instead of leaning exclusively on the long-term reliability of gold. However, gold stocks have an edge with liquidity, especially if you want to receive dividends. For example, Newmont has a dividend yield above 2%, and it’s not the only gold stock that offers a good dividend. Some people prefer to avoid the complexities of converting physical gold into cash and opt for dividends and stocks instead. Some gold exchange-traded funds also produce yield, which help generate income in retirement. These gold ETFs hold baskets of gold mining companies, whereas some gold ETFs are backed by physical gold and do not pay dividends. Similar to gold stocks, gold ETFs have also lagged the gains of physical gold. For example, while the VanEck Gold Miners ETF has a dividend that yields around 1.34%, it gained 41.55% over the past five years compared to the 70% return for physical gold. Buy physical gold and exchange it when necessary It takes more time to buy physical gold than buying a stock, including finding a reputable and trustworthy gold dealer . Physical gold isn’t as liquid, and you are responsible for storage (and optional gold insurance , as well). However, a key advantage of physical gold is that you claim full ownership of the asset. While gold ETFs and IRAs give you exposure to gold and better liquidity, buying the physical asset gives you the most control. Some people value having control over the asset instead of trusting a custodian, gold miner or fund manager. Luckily, physical gold commands a lot of value without taking up much space. A kilogram of gold is smaller than most iPhones, and an ounce of gold is about half the size of an iPhone. It’s easy to hide and move gold around if needed, but it’s still good to find professional storage and get it insured in case something happens. Physical gold should continue to gain value due to inflation. Then, you can sell your gold bars and coins when you need extra retirement funds. Should gold be a part of your retirement strategy? Putting all of your eggs in one basket is very risky, and that’s why many experts recommend diversifying your portfolio. Gold can be a valuable part of the mix, as its returns aren’t correlated to the stock market. The prices of precious metals can hold steady or gain value when stocks and real estate enter corrections. And while expert opinions on gold vary, many agree that investors shouldn’t allocate more than 5-10% of their portfolio to the precious metal. This amount of exposure provides a good buffer against inflation while allowing you to allocate funds to other asset classes. IRAs are attractive options for gold investors who want to capitalize on tax benefits while growing their portfolios. Conventional IRAs reduce your present taxable income, while Roth IRAs shield you from taxes on your distributions and capital gains. While those types of accounts can hold gold-backed equities like stocks and ETFs, only gold IRAs can hold precious metals. Investors should assess their long-term goals and financial situations before accumulating gold.FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Drake Maye’s arrival in New England coincided with a wholesale reset for the Patriots franchise following the departure of coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Mac Jones this past offseason. In his eight starts since assuming the reins from veteran Jacoby Brissett, the rookie quarterback has provided encouraging examples of what the Patriots’ revamped front office saw in selecting him third overall in the draft last April. While the Patriots enter their bye week with a 3-10 record and just 2-6 with Maye as the starter, both the coaching staff and his teammates feel they have a quarterback they can build around going forward. “I’m just trying to take it one day at a time, one game at a time,” Maye said this week. “I’m trying to learn from negative experiences or negative plays, learn from turnovers, learn from sacks that I take and see if I can get the ball out and do something better. That’s probably the biggest thing. "Hopefully, the work that we’re putting in and the product that we’re putting out can lead to some positive plays and some positive wins down the road.” Maye is coming off his best statistical performance of the season, completing a season best 80% of his passes (24 of 30) for a season-high 238 yards and a touchdown in New England’s 25-24 loss to Indianapolis. He also had a 41-yard run, showing off a running ability that has him averaging 9.1 yards per carry – best among quarterbacks who have played at least nine games. Maye did have one interception off a tipped ball, but showed his best command of offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt’s scheme to date, spreading the ball around to six different players and consistently getting the Patriots into the red zone. The rub is that the Patriots were just 2 of 6 once they got there, including four trips inside the 10-yard line that yielded only one TD. Lackluster play in the red zone has been a hindrance for a unit that ranks 30th in the NFL in scoring touchdowns inside the 20. Maye said it will be one of his main focal points over the final four games. “It’s tough to go out like that,” Maye said. “You can’t win games going four drives in the red zone that end in field goals. We’ve got to focus in on that. I think that’s been an emphasis of improvement for this offense. We know you have to score touchdowns to win in this league.” Though coach Jerod Mayo agrees there is room for improvement for Maye, he also pointed out that the pieces around him need to do a better job supporting him as well. He pointed specifically to the offensive line, singling out rookie left guard Layden Robinson and rookie tackle Caedan Wallace, as well as fellow lineman and 2022 first-round pick Cole Strange, who is working his way back from a knee injury. “You need a guy like Layden Robinson to show what he can do. We need a guy like Cole Strange before the end of the season to see what he can do,” Mayo said. “You can use Caedan in that same bucket. We need to see what the receivers can do and what they’re going to look like going forward, and that’s the hard part for me. You want to win right now, but at the same time, I think it would be a disservice to go to the end of the season and not know exactly what we have.” That’s not lost on Robinson, who wants to play better for his quarterback who he said has grown exponentially as a leader since earning the starting job. “He always has that confidence about him and you know how he takes control of the huddle,” Robinson said. “He gets in there, and he’s like, ‘All right, let’s go to work,’ basically. We rally behind him.” Results aside, Van Pelt said there are no regrets about initially waiting to elevate Maye to the starting job. “Absolutely not. I think we had the plan going into place, and I think that it’s showing now that that was a good decision for us,” Van Pelt said. “Would he be as developed had he started the first game? Maybe. Could’ve gone the other way as well. I stated in the spring, this is a marathon, it’s not a sprint. "This is about a career, franchise quarterback, and we’re trying to develop him in the right way. And I feel like we did it that way.” AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nflNone
Jihadist rebels took control of Hama, Syria , in another critical blow for the government of President Bashar Assad. After November's surprise blitz in Idlib, Syria, anti-government forces took Syria's second-largest city, Aleppo, almost without a fight. Assad's Syrian Arab Army withdrew south to Hama to consolidate its defensive lines, seemingly stabilizing the front around the strategic city. The forces of Hayat Tahrir al Sham, an outgrowth of al Qaeda, surprised the world once again by launching a renewed offensive against Hama. The offensive broke through SAA defensive lines around Hama in a pincer movement , leading to its withdrawal from the city Thursday. "During the past hours, with the intensification of confrontations between our soldiers and terrorist groups and the rise of a number of martyrs among our forces, these groups were able to penetrate several axes in the city and enter it, despite suffering heavy losses in their ranks," the general command of the army and armed forces of the SAA said in a statement . "In order to preserve the lives of civilians in Hama and not to involve them in battles inside the cities, the military units stationed there redeployed and repositioned themselves outside the city," they added. The statement maintained that the SAA will work to reclaim the areas. Videos published on social media showed HTS forces being greeted by supporters upon entering the city. One of their first moves was to open the prisons to free political prisoners. Videos show hundreds of inmates being greeted by supporters. Footage of clashes shows armored columns of HTS-led forces speeding through SAA lines, leading to a flight of SAA soldiers. In one video, panicked SAA vehicles are intercepted by HTS tanks and other armored fighting vehicles, being driven off the road or run over. The loss of Hama is a massive blow to the Assad government, with the city possessing great strategic and symbolic value. On a strategic level, the city was the government's last major population center before Homs, a hub that connects the M5 motorway to the capital and Syria's access to the Mediterranean Sea. If Homs is taken, Syria will effectively be split in two. The coastline is also the regime's heartland, possessing the greatest share of Alawites and Christians — Assad's biggest supporters. On a symbolic level, Hama was the sight of the brutal crushing of an Islamist uprising by the Muslim Brotherhood in 1982 by Assad's father, Hafez al Assad. In the nearly monthlong siege, the SAA surrounded and bombarded the city into submission, killing an estimated 10,000 to 40,000 people. The legacy of the incident played prominently in the 2011 protests and ensuing civil war, feeding a feeling of resentment among the rebels. It also served as a byword for government brutality, with older Syrians warning that Bashar Assad would "do Hama again" if the youth protested. More directly, Muslim Brotherhood survivors served as direct inspirations for many Islamist movements that have taken up arms in the country's civil war. Disciples of one prominent Syrian Muslim Brotherhood member, Abul-Abbas al Shami, went on to found the Ahrar al Sham Islamic Movement, a powerful militant group that helped take Hama on Thursday. In his first video statement announcing the taking of Hama, HTS Emir Abu Mohammad al Julani referenced the 1982 uprising. "I have good news for you, my brothers, that your brothers, the Mujahideen revolutionaries, have begun to enter the city of Hama to cleanse that wound that has continued in Syria for 40 years," he said. Keeping with his rebrand toward moderation, he said it was a conquest "free of revenge" and a "conquest entirely of mercy and love." In a decree Monday, Julani, who once served as head of Syria's al Qaeda affiliate, declared , “In the future Syria, we believe that diversity is our strength, not a weakness.” Shortly after the fall of Hama, the Syrian Arab News Agency reported that Damascus's air defenses had shot down several enemy drones — the first-ever drone attack by rebels against the capital. The situation is worse for Bashar Assad than at any time since September 2015. Its savior at that time, Russia, is assisting with some air assets and missile strikes but is largely distracted by its war in Ukraine. Bashar Assad's main hope is Iran and its proxy militias, which are reeling from recent fighting against Israel. Hezbollah and some Iraqi Shiite militias have reportedly been deployed to Syria in recent days but are largely defensive in posture. A Hezbollah fighter and Iraqi militia commanders speaking with the Washington Post said they are waiting for orders for their next move. Iran sent thousands of proxy fighters to assist Bashar Assad in the early years of the country's civil war, but such forces may not be enough to save the SAA. Footage from recent fighting shows massive quantities of Syrian tanks, equipment, and armored vehicles seemingly abandoned. Bashar Assad's recent decree granting a 50% raise in base salaries for SAA military personnel may not be sufficient. The Iranian government is now floating the prospect of a direct military intervention. “If the Syrian government wants us to deploy troops in Syria, we’ll consider their request,” Iran Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in an interview with the United Kingdom-based newspaper Al Araby Al Jadeed. The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps is already heavily embedded in Syria, with Israel killing many top commanders in strikes within the country. The Iraqi government, closely linked with Iran, is also floating the possibility of an intervention. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER Bashar Assad received the public backing of the most prestigious group in the Muslim world of the Iranian-led Axis of Resistance — the Houthis. Houthi Spokesman Mohammed al Bukhaiti said in a Tuesday statement that Bashar Assad was the only Arab head of state who hadn't abandoned the Palestinian and Lebanese cause and that the offensive's "ultimate goal" was to "cut off the resistance’s supply route in service of Israel." Hezbollah also reiterated its support, with newly inaugurated Secretary-General Naim Qassem saying in a Thursday speech that the group would "stand with Syria to thwart this aggression." He denounced HTS and its allies as "tools of Israel and America."Hands down, it is one of the cutest chargers we’ve ever seen. The 30W Ugreen Uno is on sale for 30 percent off ahead of Black Friday , bringing the price down to $18.19 at Amazon. Looking like a little robot, the Ugreen Uno features a USB-C port and delivers up to 30W of power, which is more than enough for most tablets and smartphones, and even the MacBook Air. 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