Vikings staying on track and in control behind Sam Darnold's composure and confidence
Riverside County school district latest to be roiled by fight over trans athletesNew Zealand police begin arrests for gang symbol ban as new law takes effect
The Ethiopian Capital Markets Authority (ECMA) has adopted a new directive on recognition and supervision of self-regulatory organizations or SROs as part of its push to establish a regulated stock market in the country. The directive says SROs “play a valuable role in developing and enforcing standards of conducts for market participants, fostering fair competition and reducing regulatory burdens” on the ECMA. The 2021 Capital Market Proclamation empowers the Authority to institute procedures to recognize and delegate certain powers and duties to SROs. “We’re proud to announce that the Recognition and Supervision of Self-Regulatory Organizations Directive has officially been approved by the Ministry of Justice,” the Authority says. It is now registered under Directive Number 1031/2024. Regulator of the soon to be launched capital markets says “this groundbreaking directive sets the stage for entities recognized as SROs by the 2021 proclamation. It also applies to Securities Exchanges and Securities Depository and Clearing Companies in relation to their functions as SROs. “This milestone marks a crucial step in fostering a well-regulated, vibrant capital market ecosystem,” ECMA states. The directive outlines application procedures and specific regulation requirements that entities have to meet to get recognition as a Self-regulating organization. It also mandates SROs to admit only licensed capital market service providers as members, and have a “fair transparent procedure” for admitting new members. SRO will also prioritize protecting investors, promoting market integrity and reduction of systemic risks, and professionalism by developing and issuing rules and regulations that govern the behaviors and activities of its members and capital issuers. It also sets operating requirements for its members, enforces its rules on its members, conducts market surveillance and investigations, and other duties granted by the Capital Market Authority. This is the second directive that the Authority enacted in two weeks in preparation for the launching of Ethiopia’s securities exchange. Ethiopia’s Securities exchange is expected to launch its operations next month. It “will be the very first modernized securities exchange in our country’s history,” Mamo Mihretu, Governor of the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE), said during the recent Capital Market Summit. The summit held earlier in mid November saw authorities announce more steps towards establishing a regulated stock market in the country. Among them was the enactment of a directive governing initial public offerings (IPOs) and trading of shares and securities. ECMA Director General Hanna Tehelku said the directive has come into force as of Thursday Nov 14, 2024. The Central Bank is also closing on setting up a dedicated Central Securities Depository – a core infrastructure element needed for the recording and trading of securities such as equities and bonds. It is scheduled to be ready for operations next month. “And now... we are on the cusp of launching in just a matter of weeks a full-fledged stock market in the form of the Ethiopian Securities Exchange,” NBE Governor Mamo said. “This marks a truly momentous occasion and a genuine turning point in Ethiopia’s financial history.” The Exchange will transform Ethiopia’s primary bond market to secondary, creating a stock market ecosystem for trading of various types of shares and securities. Ethio Telecom’s $255 million IPO is scheduled to be the first to be traded on the exchange when it officially starts operating next month.
Stock market today: Wall Street drifts as bitcoin jumps to another record
PM Modi to inaugurate and launch projects worth over Rs 46,300 crore in Rajasthan todayAmar Maletira, Chief Executive Officer, to Participate in a Fireside Chat SAN ANTONIO, Nov. 25, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Rackspace Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: RXT) , a leading end-to-end, hybrid, multicloud, and AI solutions company, today announced that Amar Maletira, Rackspace Chief Executive Officer, and Mark Marino Rackspace Chief Financial Officer will participate in fireside chat with speaking on Wednesday, December 4, 2024, at 10:55 AM - 11:25 AM MT. To listen to the live webcast or access the replay following the webcast, please visit our IR website at the following link: https://ir.rackspace.com/news-and-events/events-and-presentations . About Rackspace Technology Rackspace Technology is a leading end-to-end, hybrid, multicloud, and AI solutions company. We can design, build, and operate our customers' cloud environments across all major technology platforms, irrespective of technology stack or deployment model. We partner with our customers at every stage of their cloud journey, enabling them to modernize applications, build new products, and adopt innovative technologies. IR Contact Sagar Hebbar Rackspace Technology Investor Relations [email protected] PR Contact Natalie Silva Rackspace Technology Corporate Communications [email protected]
Confluent director Matthew Miller sells $33.36m in stock
Affiliate links for the products on this page are from partners that compensate us (see our advertiser disclosure with our list of partners for more details). However, our opinions are our own. See how we rate tax products to write unbiased product reviews. If your circumstances have changed, you may end up owing taxes when you usually get a refund. Common reasons include underpaying quarterly taxes if you're self-employed or not updating your withholding as a W-2 employee. You may also owe if you collected unemployment benefits, which are taxable. Filing taxes is a task few people enjoy. But the frustration is worth it once you receive a refund . That is, unless, you owe money. While having a balance due on your tax return can be a surprise for some, it's nothing to panic over. There are multiple reasons why you may have underpaid taxes throughout the year, from shifting financial and personal circumstances to changing tax laws. But understanding why you ended up with balance due can help you avoid it in the future. Changes in income and withholding If you've transitioned into a new job in the past year, this can have tax implications. "Changing jobs midway through the year will affect your tax liability if your income changed between the two jobs," says Logan Allec, an accountant and owner of tax debt relief company Choice Tax Relief . If your new job pays more and moves you into a higher tax bracket, you'll naturally end up owing more come tax season. But Allec says that changing jobs can affect your expected refund for reasons other than the change in tax liability . "Let's say that halfway through the year, you go from a job making $25,000 per year to a job making $12,000 per year. Unless you prepare your Form W-4 in a specific way, that second job may not withhold any federal income tax from your paycheck because your $12,000 expected total annual earnings are less than your standard deduction," he explains. So while you paid your federal income taxes on the $12,500 you earned during the first half of the year, you didn't pay any on the $6,000 you made during the remainder of the year. This could cause you to owe money come tax time because you'll have to pay taxes on that $6,000 since none were withheld during the year. When calculating withholding, each employer only considers the income earned at that job. When you have multiple sources of income, however, combining those income sources may mean you may fall into a higher tax bracket than you might with a sole employer. Increasingly, many people are earning money from a side hustle in addition to their full-time jobs. These gigs don't typically withhold money for taxes like a traditional employer does, so you may need to make estimated quarterly payments to keep up with your tax liability. If you don't, you could owe at tax time. If your side hustle brought in more than $10,000 in 2023 and you received that income through an app like Venmo or PayPal, you should have received Form 1099-K from the payment platform at the beginning of tax season to fill out your 2024 tax return. For the 2024 tax year, payment processors have to issue 1099-Ks to anyone who received more than $5,000 in payments for goods and services, even if it was only one transaction. This is part of an IRS plan to phase in new reporting thresholds, which will eventually reach $600. Unemployment benefits are taxable , but most states don't automatically withhold your taxes. Benefit recipients can usually choose whether to pay taxes through withholding or by making estimated payments. If you received unemployment benefits in 2024, you should receive Form 1099-G by the end of January so you can report the amount on your federal tax return. If you haven't paid any income taxes on the benefits you received, you may owe money when you file. Withdrawals from traditional retirement accounts are typically taxable. How much you pay depends on your age and the distribution rules of the account. Many employer-sponsored retirement plans, including 401(k)s , will implement a mandatory 20% withholding on the amount distributed from the plan, plus an additional 10% penalty if it's an early withdrawal. Often the withholding amount is enough to cover taxes, but in some cases it's not, leading to additional tax owed when you file your annual return. Quick tip: Make sure you file your taxes on time, even if you're worried you can't pay the full amount you owe, as the penalty for late filing is 10 times the penalty for late payment. The IRS offers various payment plans, which may help you avoid additional interest charges and penalties. Changes in deductions and credits Congress greatly enhanced tax benefits for struggling households during the pandemic. These included several rounds of stimulus checks, an expanded Child Tax Credit providing advanced payments to families, and a $300 charitable deduction that could be claimed alongside the standard deduction. All of these benefits have since expired, which may have an impact on your tax liability if your income has stayed the same or gone up. If your income or marital status has changed since last tax season, you may no longer qualify for certain tax credits or deductions. The Earned Income Tax Credit , for example, is only available to non-parents earning between $18,591 (single filers) and $25,511 (married, joint filers) for tax year 2024, up from $17,640 to $24,210 for 2023. Be sure to review the current income limits for deductions and tax credits well ahead of tax season to avoid surprises. Life events and tax implications Combining — or dividing — financial assets can shake up your tax situation, leaving you owing money when you usually get a refund. If you get married or divorced, be sure you have chosen the correct filing status and accounted for the increase or decrease in income when updating your W-4. If you sold your home for a profit, you may qualify to exclude up to $250,000 of the gain if you're a single filer or $500,000 if you're married and filing jointly. In order to do so, you need to have owned the home and resided there for at least two of the last five years. If you don't pass the ownership and residence tests , you may have to pay taxes on the gain. If you sell investments in a non-retirement account and earn a profit, you could be on the hook for capital gains taxes . These investments include things like stocks, cryptocurrency, mutual funds, and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Any stock or crypto gains should be reported on your tax return. You'll be taxed on the difference between your basis (usually your purchase price, but sometimes that includes an adjustment) and the proceeds from the sale. The amount you're taxed will depend on how long you owned the investment before selling it and your total income for the year. While taxpayers usually have to pay capital gains taxes on profits received from investments, Allec says there are exceptions, like if you have capital losses that equal or exceed your capital gains for the year. "If this is the case, you'll owe no capital gains taxes on your stock or crypto you sold at a gain because your capital losses will have wiped them out," he says. Other factors If you're self-employed and have no other sources of withholding, you're responsible for paying your taxes through quarterly estimated tax payments . Your estimated quarterly payments for 2024 are due on April 15, June 17, September 16, and January 15, 2025. If you underpay your quarterly taxes — or fail to pay them — you could owe money at the end of the year and the IRS could charge you additional penalties and interest. But you're not just paying income taxes. An employer must pay half of your Social Security and Medicare taxes when you have a job. If you're self-employed, you have to foot the entire bill yourself. However, you can deduct the employer-equivalent portion of that when figuring your adjusted gross income. If you're self-employed, it's a good idea to work with an accountant. A knowledgeable accountant will determine how much you owe for your quarterly tax payments and can give you tips for lowering your tax bill. If you're sure you should be getting a refund rather than having a balance due, you may have made an error in your calculations. If you're using tax software , consider upgrading to get one-on-one help from a tax professional. Oftentimes they will personally review your return to double-check for mistakes. If you identify an error — such as forgetting to report some income or failing to claim a deduction you're eligible for — in a return you've already filed, you should promptly file an amended return to correct it. FAQs on owing taxes Yes, you can negotiate your tax debt with an Offer in Compromise (OIC) , in which the IRS requests more information about your financial situation to determine whether you qualify to settle your debt for less than you owe. The IRS offers reasonable payment plans to individuals who can't afford to pay their tax bill in full, including short-term (180 days or less) and long-term options. To avoid owing taxes next year, ensure that your W-4 is updated to reflect any changes in your life, such as marriage, divorce, or the birth or adoption of children. If you have income that isn't subject to withholding, such as a side gig, you should calculate estimated taxes and make quarterly payments to the IRS, and possibly your state. Real estate/mortgages Taxes Retirement planning Small business finances Banking BudgetingBy ROB GILLIES, Associated Press TORONTO (AP) — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told Donald Trump that Americans would also suffer if the president-elect follows through on a plan to impose sweeping tariffs on Canadian products , a Canadian minister who attended their recent dinner said Monday. Trump threatened to impose tariffs on products from Canada and Mexico if they don’t stop what he called the flow of drugs and migrants across their borders with the United States. He said on social media last week that he would impose a 25% tax on all products entering the U.S. from Canada and Mexico as one of his first executive orders. Canadian Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc, whose responsibilities include border security, attended a dinner with Trump and Trudeau at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club on Friday. Trudeau requested the meeting in a bid to avoid the tariffs by convincing Trump that the northern border is nothing like the U.S. southern border with Mexico . “The prime minister of course spoke about the importance of protecting the Canadian economy and Canadian workers from tariffs, but we also discussed with our American friends the negative impact that those tariffs could have on their economy, on affordability in the United States as well,” LeBlanc said in Parliament. If Trump makes good on his threat to slap 25% tariffs on everything imported from Mexico and Canada, the price increases that could follow will collide with his campaign promise to give American families a break from inflation. Economists say companies would have little choice but to pass along the added costs, dramatically raising prices for food, clothing, automobiles, alcohol and other goods. The Produce Distributors Association, a Washington trade group, said last week that tariffs will raise prices for fresh fruit and vegetables and hurt U.S. farmers when the countries retaliate. Canada is already examining possible retaliatory tariffs on certain items from the U.S. should Trump follow through on the threat. After his dinner with Trump, Trudeau returned home without assurances the president-elect will back away from threatened tariffs on all products from the major American trading partner. Trump called the talks “productive” but signaled no retreat from a pledge that Canada says unfairly lumps it in with Mexico over the flow of drugs and migrants into the United States. “The idea that we came back empty handed is completely false,” LeBlanc said. “We had a very productive discussion with Mr. Trump and his future Cabinet secretaries. ... The commitment from Mr. Trump to continue to work with us was far from empty handed.” Joining Trump and Trudeau at dinner were Howard Lutnick, Trump’s nominee for commerce secretary, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Trump’s pick to lead the Interior Department, and Mike Waltz, Trump’s choice to be his national security adviser. Canada’s ambassador to the U.S., Kirsten Hillman, told The Associated Press on Sunday that “the message that our border is so vastly different than the Mexican border was really understood.” Hillman, who sat at an adjacent table to Trudeau and Trump, said Canada is not the problem when it comes to drugs and migrants. On Monday, Mexico’s president rejected those comments. “Mexico must be respected, especially by its trading partners,” President Claudia Sheinbaum said. She said Canada had its own problems with fentanyl consumption and “could only wish they had the cultural riches Mexico has.” Flows of migrants and seizures of drugs at the two countries’ border are vastly different. U.S. customs agents seized 43 pounds of fentanyl at the Canadian border during the last fiscal year, compared with 21,100 pounds at the Mexican border. Most of the fentanyl reaching the U.S. — where it causes about 70,000 overdose deaths annually — is made by Mexican drug cartels using precursor chemicals smuggled from Asia. On immigration, the U.S. Border Patrol reported 1.53 million encounters with migrants at the southwest border with Mexico between October 2023 and September 2024. That compares to 23,721 encounters at the Canadian border during that time. Canada is the top export destination for 36 U.S. states. Nearly $3.6 billion Canadian (US$2.7 billion) worth of goods and services cross the border each day. About 60% of U.S. crude oil imports are from Canada, and 85% of U.S. electricity imports as well. Canada is also the largest foreign supplier of steel, aluminum and uranium to the U.S. and has 34 critical minerals and metals that the Pentagon is eager for and investing for national security.
None
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration has responded to reported drone sightings over New Jersey and other states with assurances that there’s no evidence of “malicious intent,” with a National Security Council official signaling that federal entities think the brouhaha has been much ado about nothing — even as top Democrats demand answers. Thousands of tips about mysterious flying objects over the Garden State and neighboring states had produced about 100 credible leads as of Saturday, administration officials told reporters on a briefing call. The officials repeatedly stressed that multiple federal departments and agencies had not detected any evidence of criminal intent, public safety risks or national security implications. In fact, the NSC official poured cold water on many of the phoned-in tips and myriad social media anecdotes of drones as large as school buses buzzing around and hovering over New Jersey residential areas. “We have not been able to corroborate the reported visual sightings using sophisticated electronic detection technologies provided by federal authorities. And, upon review of available imagery, it appears that many of the reported sightings are actually manned aircraft, operating lawfully,” the NSC official told Roll Call. “At this time, we do not have indication based on the investigation thus far that these reported sightings pose a national security or public safety threat or have a foreign nexus,” the official said via email. “The Department of Homeland Security and the FBI are actively investigating these sightings and working closely with state and local law enforcement to provide resources, using numerous detection methods, to better understand their origin and intentions.” The official referred to “many” of the sightings as manned aircraft mistaken for remotely piloted drones. But that would suggest that drones could be included among the remaining sightings. The Biden administration has yet to explain why those aircraft are in the air and who is operating them. Administration officials have also not yet explained how they have ruled out possible criminal intent, public safety risks and national security implications when they remain stumped about the operators of the aircraft. Asked to explain the metric used to draw such conclusions, the NSC official did not respond to a follow-up email. “To date, we have no intelligence or observations that would indicate that they were aligned with a foreign actor or that they had malicious intent,” a Defense Department official told reporters on the weekend call. “But I’ve just got to simply tell you, we don’t know. We have not been able to locate or identify the operators or the points of origin.” Meanwhile, a senior administration official echoed the NSC official in suggesting that citizen-tipsters have been mistaken about what they are seeing. “At this point, we have not identified any basis for believing that ... these drones, that there’s any criminal activity involved, that there’s any national security threat, that there’s any particular public safety threat, or that there’s a malicious foreign actor involved in these drones,” the senior administration official said. “That said, as you’ve heard from all of the experts on this call, all of the departments and agencies are taking this incredibly seriously and investigating every possible lead and working to try to understand what these sightings are,” the official added. The situation has put the Biden administration in yet another tricky political spot. The New York-New Jersey metro area is heavily represented by Democrats, who have been hearing from concerned, panicked and angry constituents about the mysterious activities they say are happening above them. Social media is rife with conspiracy theories, some accusing the administration of withholding information about exactly what is happening. Among the region’s Democrats pressing the administration for more information is Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer of New York. In a Sunday letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Schumer pushed for the department to deploy more “drone-specific radar” systems, infrared cameras and other detection equipment. “In addition, these sightings have exposed the federal government’s limitations when it comes to the authorities for protecting against the illicit use of UAS,” Schumer wrote, using an acronym for unmanned aircraft systems. “State and local law enforcement agencies currently lack the explicit authorities to assist DHS in deploying technology to detect drone signals. These local agencies are responsible for keeping our citizens safe at the local level, and they must be part of a coordinated response.” Trump weighs in The confusing situation has again made clear the differing approaches of President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump. Biden administration officials have repeatedly cited analyses and reviews of flight data and other information. Throughout his term, the president has leaned on experts and by-the-book government processes. Trump, who often ridicules experts as know-nothing, is more inclined to shoot from the hip. “Mystery Drone sightings all over the Country. Can this really be happening without our government’s knowledge,” Trump wrote Friday on social media . “I don’t think so! Let the public know, and now. Otherwise, shoot them down!!!” At a press conference Monday in Florida, Trump contended that “the government knows what is happening” and “our president knows.” “Look, our military knows where they took off from. If it’s a garage, they can go right into that garage. They know where it came from and where it went,” he said. “And, for some reason, they don’t want to comment. And I think they’d be better off saying what it is.” Trump said he doubts the drones are being operated by a foreign government, but declined to disclose whether he had received an intelligence briefing on the situation. Presidents-elect have long been able to access the same intelligence as sitting commanders in chief to ensure a smooth transition between leaders. The drone drama has created rare agreement between Trump and some congressional Democrats. “We should be doing some very smart intelligence analysis and take them out of the skies, especially if they’re flying over airports or military bases,” Sen. Richard J. Blumenthal, D-Conn., a member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, told Fox News last week. “They should be shot down, if necessary, because they’re flying over sensitive areas.” ©2024 CQ-Roll Call, Inc., All Rights Reserved. Visit cqrollcall.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Connecticut couple has been charged in Minnesota with being part of a shoplifting ring suspected of stealing around $1 million in goods across the country from the upscale athletic wear retailer Lululemon. Jadion Anthony Richards, 44, and Akwele Nickeisha Lawes-Richards, 45, both of Danbury, Connecticut, were charged this month with one felony count of organized retail theft. Both went free last week after posting bail bonds of $100,000 for him and $30,000 for her, court records show. They're due back in Ramsey County District Court in St. Paul on Dec. 16. According to the criminal complaints, a Lululemon investigator had been tracking the pair even before police first confronted them on Nov. 14 at a store in suburban Roseville. The investigator told police the couple were responsible for hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses across the country, the complaints said. They would steal items and make fraudulent returns, it said. Police found suitcases containing more than $50,000 worth of Lululemon clothing when they searched the couple's hotel room in Bloomington, the complaint said. According to the investigator, they were also suspected in thefts from Lululemon stores in Colorado, Utah, New York and Connecticut, the complaint said. Within Minnesota, they were also accused of thefts at stores in Minneapolis and the suburbs of Woodbury, Edina and Minnetonka. The investigator said the two were part of a group that would usually travel to a city and hit Lululemon stores there for two days, return to the East Coast to exchange the items without receipts for new items, take back the new items with the return receipts for credit card refunds, then head back out to commit more thefts, the complaint said. In at least some of the thefts, it said, Richards would enter the store first and buy one or two cheap items. He'd then return to the sales floor where, with help from Lawes-Richards, they would remove a security sensor from another item and put it on one of the items he had just purchased. Lawes-Richards and another woman would then conceal leggings under their clothing. They would then leave together. When the security sensors at the door went off, he would offer staff the bag with the items he had bought, while the women would keep walking out, fooling the staff into thinking it was his sensor that had set off the alarm, the complaint said. Richards' attorney declined comment. Lawes-Richards' public defender did not immediately return a call seeking comment Monday. “This outcome continues to underscore our ongoing collaboration with law enforcement and our investments in advanced technology, team training and investigative capabilities to combat retail crime and hold offenders accountable,” Tristen Shields, Lululemon's vice president of asset protection, said in a statement. "We remain dedicated to continuing these efforts to address and prevent this industrywide issue.” The two are being prosecuted under a state law enacted last year that seeks to crack down on organized retail theft. One of its chief authors, Sen. Ron Latz, of St. Louis Park, said 34 states already had organized retail crime laws on their books. “I am glad to see it is working as intended to bring down criminal operations," Latz said in a statement. "This type of theft harms retailers in myriad ways, including lost economic activity, job loss, and threats to worker safety when crime goes unaddressed. It also harms consumers through rising costs and compromised products being resold online.” Two Minnesota women were also charged under the new law in August. They were accused of targeting a Lululemon store in Minneapolis.
Live Music Market size is set to grow by USD 35.56 billion from 2024-2028, growing demand for live music experiences to boost the market growth, Technavio
By ROB GILLIES, Associated Press TORONTO (AP) — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told Donald Trump that Americans would also suffer if the president-elect follows through on a plan to impose sweeping tariffs on Canadian products , a Canadian minister who attended their recent dinner said Monday. Trump threatened to impose tariffs on products from Canada and Mexico if they don’t stop what he called the flow of drugs and migrants across their borders with the United States. He said on social media last week that he would impose a 25% tax on all products entering the U.S. from Canada and Mexico as one of his first executive orders. Canadian Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc, whose responsibilities include border security, attended a dinner with Trump and Trudeau at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club on Friday. Trudeau requested the meeting in a bid to avoid the tariffs by convincing Trump that the northern border is nothing like the U.S. southern border with Mexico . “The prime minister of course spoke about the importance of protecting the Canadian economy and Canadian workers from tariffs, but we also discussed with our American friends the negative impact that those tariffs could have on their economy, on affordability in the United States as well,” LeBlanc said in Parliament. If Trump makes good on his threat to slap 25% tariffs on everything imported from Mexico and Canada, the price increases that could follow will collide with his campaign promise to give American families a break from inflation. Economists say companies would have little choice but to pass along the added costs, dramatically raising prices for food, clothing, automobiles, alcohol and other goods. The Produce Distributors Association, a Washington trade group, said last week that tariffs will raise prices for fresh fruit and vegetables and hurt U.S. farmers when the countries retaliate. Canada is already examining possible retaliatory tariffs on certain items from the U.S. should Trump follow through on the threat. After his dinner with Trump, Trudeau returned home without assurances the president-elect will back away from threatened tariffs on all products from the major American trading partner. Trump called the talks “productive” but signaled no retreat from a pledge that Canada says unfairly lumps it in with Mexico over the flow of drugs and migrants into the United States. “The idea that we came back empty handed is completely false,” LeBlanc said. “We had a very productive discussion with Mr. Trump and his future Cabinet secretaries. ... The commitment from Mr. Trump to continue to work with us was far from empty handed.” Joining Trump and Trudeau at dinner were Howard Lutnick, Trump’s nominee for commerce secretary, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Trump’s pick to lead the Interior Department, and Mike Waltz, Trump’s choice to be his national security adviser. Canada’s ambassador to the U.S., Kirsten Hillman, told The Associated Press on Sunday that “the message that our border is so vastly different than the Mexican border was really understood.” Hillman, who sat at an adjacent table to Trudeau and Trump, said Canada is not the problem when it comes to drugs and migrants. On Monday, Mexico’s president rejected those comments. “Mexico must be respected, especially by its trading partners,” President Claudia Sheinbaum said. She said Canada had its own problems with fentanyl consumption and “could only wish they had the cultural riches Mexico has.” Flows of migrants and seizures of drugs at the two countries’ border are vastly different. U.S. customs agents seized 43 pounds of fentanyl at the Canadian border during the last fiscal year, compared with 21,100 pounds at the Mexican border. Most of the fentanyl reaching the U.S. — where it causes about 70,000 overdose deaths annually — is made by Mexican drug cartels using precursor chemicals smuggled from Asia. On immigration, the U.S. Border Patrol reported 1.53 million encounters with migrants at the southwest border with Mexico between October 2023 and September 2024. That compares to 23,721 encounters at the Canadian border during that time. Canada is the top export destination for 36 U.S. states. Nearly $3.6 billion Canadian (US$2.7 billion) worth of goods and services cross the border each day. About 60% of U.S. crude oil imports are from Canada, and 85% of U.S. electricity imports as well. Canada is also the largest foreign supplier of steel, aluminum and uranium to the U.S. and has 34 critical minerals and metals that the Pentagon is eager for and investing for national security.Skobalj shot 6 of 8 from the field, including 4 for 6 from 3-point range, and went 3 for 3 from the line for the Flames (4-2). Jordan Mason scored 18 points, going 5 of 8 from the floor, including 1 for 3 from 3-point range, and 7 for 8 from the line. Tyem Freeman had 13 points and went 4 of 5 from the field (3 for 4 from 3-point range). The Explorers (4-2) were led in scoring by Deuce Jones, who finished with 21 points, four assists and two steals. Daeshon Shepherd added 15 points, two steals and two blocks for La Salle. Andres Marrero also had 15 points. UIC led 48-39 at halftime, with Skobalj racking up 13 points. UIC pulled away with a 7-0 run in the second half to extend its lead to 22 points. Ahmad Henderson II led the way with a team-high 10 second-half points for UIC. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .Canada is already examining tariffs on certain US items following Trump's tariff threat