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G.I. Joe defined the term "action figure" all the way back in 1964. Since then, he’s been in TV shows, movies, and a few controversies. These stories originally aired on WAGA on November 29, 1983 and WWOR on February 9, 1989. G.I. Joe has been fighting battles in kids’ living rooms and bedrooms for 60 years now. Originally a masculine response to Barbie, the "Real American Hero" has now taken on a life of his own. "G.I. Joe" is not actually one character, but a line of action figures meant to represent a cross-service team of military servicemen and specialists. The initial line, launched in 1964, included Action Soldier, Action Sailor, Action Pilot, and Action Marine. One of the original G.I. Joe action figures (WTTG) Since then, the product line has expanded to include dozens of characters – including both heroes and enemies – featured in TV shows, movies, and video games. The name itself is derived from the usage of "G.I. Joe" as a term for the generic U.S. soldier, which itself was derived from the more general term "G.I." that dates back to World War I. After Mattel’s Barbie burst onto the toy scene in 1959, rival Hasbro was eager for a success of its own. But most experts at the time did not believe that boys would play with a doll. That’s when Stanley Weston, a Manhattan licensing agent, came up with the idea of a poseable toy soldier. He licensed the idea to Hasbro in 1963 for $100,000 – the equivalent of over $1,000,000 today. Don Levine, credited with helping invent G.I. Joe, with an original figure (right) and reissue (left). (WTTG) Hasbro was careful to avoid the word – or even the implication – that G.I. Joes were dolls. They even popularized a new term to help market it. "Definitely it's not a doll," explained Don Levine, the Hasbro vice president who created the original prototype figure. "It's an action figure." The giant U.S.S. Flagg aircraft carrier playset was coveted by countless boys in the 1980s. (Photo By John Prieto/The Denver Post, Sept. 24, 1987 via Getty Images) For years, G.I. Joe figures were 12 inches tall – roughly the same size as Barbie and Ken. The two product lines naturally crossed paths in homes with young boys and girls. When asked in 1996 what the difference was between G.I. Joe and Ken, Levine explained it was the fact that the G.I. Joe figures could be moved and posed using 19 individual joints. "Ken’s a doll," Levine chuckled. "The difference is that [G.I. Joe] is an articulated action figure and basically the first ever made in the USA. All of the other action figures we see on the counters today started from the original G.I. Joe." A G.I. Joe "COBRA" figure stands on display in the Hasbro showroom during the International Toy Fair, Monday, Feb. 12, 2007 in New York. (Photo by Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images) For the 1982 launch of the smaller toy figures and Marvel Comic series, which introduced the COBRA terrorist nemesis, Hasbro hired Marvel Productions to produce a series of animated TV commercials. That eventually grew into a miniseries and then a full TV series. Another TV series followed in 1989, along with feature-length films. That led some parents and watchdogs to criticize the use of violence to market children’s toys. "There is some research that says a child, by the time they’re age 18, has witnessed 18,000 murders on TV – most of them on Saturday morning," Stu Cohen of the North Dekalb Family and Children's Clinic told WAGA-TV in 1983. "G.I. Joe toys teach kids again that the only way to solve problems is through violence and that there’s always a winner, instead of both people being willing to compromise," one parent told KTBC-TV at a 1988 protest in Austin, Texas. File: Actor Dwayne Johnson visited Hasbro's American International Toy Fair Showroom at The Times Center to check out the new "G.I. Joe: Retaliation" movie toy line on February 13, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Hasbro) More recently, several live-action films were also produced, featuring big-name actors like Channing Tatum, Marlon Wayans, Dennis Quaid, Bruce Willis, and Dwayne Johnson. Hasbro still sells a line of 6-inch G.I. Joe toys that look a lot different from the classic 1964 versions but retain the multi-joint poseability of the originals. Elsewhere, a strong internet resale market exists for the hundreds of characters produced through the years. Next up for G.I. Joe could be a crossover movie with the Transformers toy line, supposedly confirmed by Paramount for release in 2025 or 2026, according to IGN . Information for this story came from the FOX Television Station broadcast archives, including a 1996 interview with Don Levine. Facts from Hasbro, Wikipedia, and IGN are were also included. If Barbie was a real person, she'd be approaching retirement. But she's still going strong. In this LiveNOW & Then full episode, we look back at Barbie's first appearances on TV and the character's impact on popular culture.

The University of NSW has signed an Australian-first deal with ChatGPT to roll out a special version of the technology on campus, as universities increasingly embrace AI and acknowledge bans are no longer viable despite fears of a “new wave” of cheating. The deal with ChatGPT would allow students, academics, and staff to use the tool securely, ensuring any information shared with the chatbot remained private and was not used to train AI models. UNSW students Matthew Kuk and Gemma Ahearne have found benefits in using AI to enhance their study. Credit: Rhett Wyman It comes after the University of Sydney overhauled its cheating policy to allow the use of AI in all assessments not held in exam-like conditions, in a sign institutions were conceding they could not control students’ use of the rapidly evolving technology. UNSW’s deal with ChatGPT – a chatbot widely used to answer questions, generate ideas and write content – will start with a pilot across about 500 staff and students with the view of rolling it out more widely. It is the first Australian university to introduce ChatGPT Edu – a tool specifically built for higher education – joining other institutions including Arizona State, Oxford and Columbia. UNSW has paid the US company behind the chatbot, OpenAI, to deploy the tool, but would not reveal how much. Third-year UNSW law and commerce student Matthew Kuk welcomed the move, saying it could make the technology more accessible by eliminating the need for students to pay for the premium version, ChatGPT4. He regularly uses it to summarise papers he doesn’t have time to read in full and to help understand difficult ideas. UNSW student Gemma Ahearne. Credit: Rhett Wyman “It has freed up so much more time in my studies now, so I’m able to spend more time on concepts that I would have just skipped over,” he said. Kuk said when ChatGPT was first rolled out, its use was stigmatised, and it was labelled by students a “cheat bot”. “In my experience, it’s quite the contrary,” he said. “It’s almost impossible to cheat well with ChatGPT. That’s because you’re probably going to fail if you use ChatGPT as your bible because it can’t critically think. “It’s only really good at explaining concepts and it’s really, really bad with numbers.” ChatGPT’s emergence about two years ago has upended universities’ cheating policies and caused widespread concern about a new and undetectable wave of cheating on campus. UNSW revealed it had seen an increase in cheating using AI tools such as ChatGPT, with 166 serious cases referred for investigation in 2023. But experts warned this would just be the tip of the iceberg because the available technology used to detect AI plagiarism only picked up the most unsophisticated cheaters. Students have also raised concerns that tools used by universities to detect AI cheating are rife with false positives and caused unnecessary stress. Unlike Sydney University, UNSW does not have a blanket rule on AI. Instead, teachers determine whether students can use AI in assessments on a subject-by-subject basis. UNSW Business School senior deputy dean Paul Andon said there were vast uses for the tool for both staff and students, including creating bespoke “AI tutors”, and it would help develop students into “AI natives”. Andon said the university had evolved its policies to reflect the realities of AI, conceding students could not be effectively stopped from accessing AI in non-supervised settings. “I actually think in many ways [AI access is] a good thing. It helps them in terms of their learning, it’s not something to shy away from,” he said, adding they also needed to be assessed in secure settings without access to AI. UNSW design student Gemma Ahearne said she started using AI widely this year and describes it as her “personal assistant”, helping her with brainstorming ideas, giving personalised feedback and summarising academic articles. “When we were initially told, ‘no you’re not allowed to use it’, it scared me away, but now I understand it a lot more,” she said. “The world is infused with AI. If you’re not using it you’re going to fall behind.” But she said students needed to actively reflect on their reliance and consider if they were starting with their own ideas or going straight to ChatGPT. “When you go into a job interview or exam, for example, you’re going to have to think for yourself,” Ahearne said. The higher education watchdog said institutions imposing strict bans on the use of generative AI did not constitute an effective long-term approach to managing integrity risks, and universities need to consider how to redesign teaching and assessments. UNSW vice chancellor Attila Brungs said the collaboration would be used to enhance research, teaching and the student experience. “From engineering to health, business and science, AI is revolutionising research and education by making learning more personalised, accessible, and impactful,” he said. Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter .NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks tiptoed to more records amid a mixed Tuesday of trading, tacking a touch more onto what’s already been a stellar year so far. The S&P 500 edged up by 2 points, or less than 0.1%, to set an all-time high for the 55th time this year. It’s climbed in 10 of the last 11 days and is on track for one of its best years since the turn of the millennium. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 76 points, or 0.2%, while the Nasdaq composite added 0.4% to its own record set a day earlier. AT&T rose 4.6% after it boosted its profit forecast for the year. It also announced a $10 billion plan to send cash to its investors by buying back its own stock, while saying it expects to authorize another $10 billion of repurchases in 2027. On the losing end of Wall Street was U.S. Steel, which fell 8%. President-elect Donald Trump reiterated on social media that he would not let Japan’s Nippon Steel take over the iconic Pennsylvania steelmaker. Nippon Steel announced plans last December to buy the Pittsburgh-based steel producer for $14.1 billion in cash, raising concerns about what the transaction could mean for unionized workers, supply chains and U.S. national security. Earlier this year, President Joe Biden also came out against the acquisition. Tesla sank 1.6% after a judge in Delaware reaffirmed a previous ruling that the electric car maker must revoke Elon Musk’s multibillion-dollar pay package. The judge denied a request by attorneys for Musk and Tesla’s corporate directors to vacate her ruling earlier this year requiring the company to rescind the unprecedented pay package. All told, the S&P 500 rose 2.73 points to 6,049.88. The Dow fell 76.47 to 44,705.53, and the Nasdaq composite gained 76.96 to 19,480.91. In the bond market, Treasury yields held relatively steady after a report showed U.S. employers were advertising slightly more job openings at the end of October than a month earlier. Continued strength there would raise optimism that the economy could remain out of a recession that many investors had earlier worried was inevitable. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.23% from 4.20% from late Monday. Yields have seesawed since Election Day amid worries that Trump’s preferences for lower tax rates and bigger tariffs could spur higher inflation along with economic growth. But traders are still confident the Federal Reserve will cut its main interest rate again at its next meeting in two weeks. They’re betting on a nearly three-in-four chance of that, according to data from CME Group. Lower rates can give the economy more juice, but they can also give inflation more fuel. The key report this week that could guide the Fed’s next move will arrive on Friday. It’s the monthly jobs report , which will show how many workers U.S. employers hired and fired during November. It could be difficult to parse given how much storms and strikes distorted figures in October. Based on trading in the options market, Friday’s jobs report appears to be the biggest potential market mover until the Fed announces its next decision on interest rates Dec. 18, according to strategists at Barclays Capital. In financial markets abroad, the value of South Korea’s currency fell 1.1% against the U.S. dollar following a frenetic night where President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law and then later said he’d lift it after lawmakers voted to reject military rule. Stocks of Korean companies that trade in the United States also fell, including a 1.6% drop for SK Telecom. Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped 1.9% to help lead global markets. Some analysts think Japanese stocks could end up benefiting from Trump’s threats to raise tariffs , including for goods coming from China . Trade relations between the U.S. and China took another step backward after China said it is banning exports to the U.S. of gallium, germanium, antimony and other key high-tech materials with potential military applications. The counterpunch came swiftly after the U.S. Commerce Department expanded the list of Chinese technology companies subject to export controls to include many that make equipment used to make computer chips, chipmaking tools and software. The 140 companies newly included in the so-called “entity list” are nearly all based in China. In China, stock indexes rose 1% in Hong Kong and 0.4% in Shanghai amid unconfirmed reports that Chinese leaders would meet next week to discuss planning for the coming year. Investors are hoping it may bring fresh stimulus to help spur growth in the world’s second-largest economy. In France, the CAC 40 rose 0.3% amid continued worries about politics in Paris , where the government is battling over the budget. AP Business Writers Yuri Kageyama and Matt Ott contributed.Israeli drone strikes hit Kamal Adwan Hospital on Tuesday, wounding three medical staff at one of the few hospitals still partially operating in the northernmost part of Gaza , the facility’s director said. Dr. Hossam Abu Safiya said the drones were dropping bombs, spraying shrapnel at the hospital. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. In Lebanon, a tenuous ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah has held despite Israeli forces carrying out several new drone and artillery strikes on Tuesday, killing a shepherd in the country's south. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed keep striking “with an iron fist” against perceived Hezbollah violations of the ceasefire. Hezbollah began launching rockets, drones and missiles into Israel last year in solidarity with Hamas militants who are fighting in the Gaza Strip. The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking around 250 people hostage . Israel’s blistering retaliatory offensive has killed at least 44,500 Palestinians , more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were combatants. Israel says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence. The war in Gaza has destroyed vast areas of the coastal enclave and displaced 90% of the population of 2.3 million, often multiple times . Here's the Latest: WASHINGTON — U.S. forces conducted a self-defense strike Tuesday in the vicinity of Mission Support Site Euphrates, a U.S. base in eastern Syria, against three truck-mounted multiple rocket launchers, a T-64 tank and mortars that Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said presented “a clear and imminent threat” to U.S. troops. The self-defense strike occurred after rockets and mortars were fired that landed in the vicinity of the base, Ryder said. The Pentagon is still assessing who was responsible for the attacks — that there are both Iranian-backed militias and Syrian military forces that operate in the area. Ryder said the attack was not connected to the offensive that is ongoing in Aleppo, where Syrian jihadi-led rebels taken over the country’s largest city. The U.S. has about 900 troops in Syria to conduct missions to counter the Islamic Stage group. CAIRO — Israeli drone strikes hit the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza on Tuesday, wounding three medical personnel, the facility’s director said. Dr. Hossam Abu Safiya said the drones were dropping bombs, spraying shrapnel at the hospital, located in the town of Beit Lahiya. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. In comments released by Gaza’s Health Ministry, Abu Safiya said one of the injured was in critical condition and was undergoing a complex surgery. “The situation has become extremely dangerous,” he said. “We are exhausted by the ongoing violence and atrocities.” Kamal Adwan Hospital has been struck multiple times over the past two months as Israeli forces have waged a fierce offensive in the area, saying they are rooting out Hamas militants who regrouped there. In October, Israeli forces raided the hospital, saying that militants were sheltering inside and arrested a number of people, including some staff. Hospital officials denied the claim. Abu Safiya was wounded in his thigh and back by an Israeli drone strike on the hospital last month. TEL AVIV, Israel — An Israeli court has ordered Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to take the stand next week in his long-running corruption trial, ending a long series of delays. Netanyahu’s lawyers had filed multiple requests to put off the testimony, arguing first that the war in Gaza prevented him from properly preparing for his testimony, and later that his security could not be guaranteed in the court chamber. In Tuesday’s decision, judges in the Jerusalem district court said that following a security assessment, his testimony will be moved to the Tel Aviv district court. Israeli media said the session would take place in an underground chamber. His testimony in the trial, which began in 2020, is expected to begin on Dec. 10 and to last at least several weeks. Netanyahu is charged with fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in three separate scandals involving powerful media moguls and wealthy associates. He denies wrongdoing. NABATIYEH, Lebanon — In destroyed areas of southern Lebanon, residents clearing away rubble on Tuesday said they didn’t trust Israel to abide by the week-old ceasefire with Hezbollah. “The Israelis are breaching the ceasefire whenever they can because they are not committed,” said Hussein Badreddin, a vegetable seller in the southern city of Nabatiyeh, which was pummeled by Israeli airstrikes over several weeks. “This means that they (can) breach any resolution at any time.” Since it began last Wednesday, the U.S.- and French-brokered 60-day ceasefire has been rattled by near daily Israeli strikes, although Israel has been vague about the purported Hezbollah violations that prompted them. Imad Yassin, a trader who owns a clothing shop in Nabatiyeh, said Israel was constantly breaching the ceasefire because Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to continue the displacement of residents of southern Lebanon. “The Israeli enemy was defeated and the truth is that he is trying to get revenge. Netanyahu is trying to displace us as citizens of southern Lebanon,” Yassin said. They spoke as bulldozers cleared streets strewn with rubble and debris from destroyed buildings. Electricians worked to fix power lines in an effort to restore electricity to the city. Both men were displaced by the war and returned to Nabatiyeh on Wednesday, the day the ceasefire went into effect. Yassin found his clothing shop had been destroyed. He said he would wait to see if the state will dispense compensation funds so that he can repair and reopen his business. GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Two separate Israeli airstrikes killed at least nine people in Gaza City on Tuesday, Palestinian medical authorities said. Six people, including two children, who were killed when an Israeli strike hit a school sheltering displaced people Tuesday afternoon in the Zaytoun neighborhood, according to the Health Ministry’s emergency services. A second strike hit a residential building in the Sabra neighborhood, killing at least three people, the services said. Israeli forces have almost completely isolated northernmost Gaza since early October, saying they’re fighting regrouped Hamas militants there. That has pushed some families south to Gaza City, while hundreds of thousands more live in the territory's center and south in squalid tent camps, where they rely on international aid. JERUSALEM — Israel's military confirmed it killed a senior member of Hezbollah responsible for coordinating with Syria's army on rearming and resupplying the Lebanese militant group. Syrian state media said a drone strike on Tuesday hit a car in a suburb of the capital Damascus, killing one person, without saying who was killed. Israel's military said he was Salman Nemer Jomaa, describing him as “Hezbollah’s representative to the Syrian military,” and that killing him “degrades both Hezbollah’s presence in Syria and Hezbollah’s ongoing force-building efforts.” Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets inside government-controlled parts of war-torn Syria in recent years. Israel rarely acknowledges its actions in Syria, but it has said that it targets bases of Iran-allied militant groups. Iran supports both Hezbollah and the Syrian government of President Bashar Assad, which is currently fighting to push back jihadi-led insurgents who seized the country’s largest city of Aleppo . TUBAS, West Bank — Israeli soldiers opened fire inside a hospital in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday during a raid to seize the bodies of alleged militants targeted in earlier airstrikes, a Palestinian doctor working at the hospital told The Associated Press. Soldiers entered the Turkish Hospital complex in Tubas after the bodies of two Palestinians killed and one wounded in airstrikes in the northern West Bank on Tuesday were brought there, said Dr. Mahmoud Ghanam, who works in the hospital’s emergency department. The troops briefly handcuffed and arrested Ghanam and another doctor. “The army entered in a brutal way, and they were shooting inside the emergency department,” said Ghanam. “They handcuffed us and took me and my colleague.” The military confirmed that its troops were operating around the hospital searching for those targeted in the airstrikes, which they said had hit a militant cell near the Palestinian town of Al-Aqaba in the Jordan Valley. It denied that troops had entered the hospital building or fired gunshots inside. The soldiers left after learning that the wounded man had been transferred to another hospital, Ghanam said. The soldiers wanted to take the bodies of the two men killed in the strike, but the hospital’s manager refused to hand over the bodies, Ghanam said. Israeli raids on hospitals in the West Bank are rare but have grown more common since the start of the Israel-Hamas war. In Gaza, Israeli troops have systematically besieged, raided and damaged many hospitals. About 800 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza ignited the war there. Israel has carried out near-daily military raids in the West Bank that it says are aimed at preventing attacks on Israelis — attacks which have also been on the rise. Israel captured the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians seek all three territories for an independent state. CAIRO — Palestinian officials say Fatah and Hamas are closing in on an agreement to appoint a committee of politically independent technocrats to administer the Gaza Strip after the war . It would effectively end Hamas’ rule and could help advance ceasefire talks with Israel. The rival factions have made several failed attempts to reconcile since Hamas seized power in Gaza in 2007. Israel has meanwhile ruled out any postwar role in Gaza for either Hamas or Fatah, which dominates the Western-backed Palestinian Authority . A Palestinian Authority official on Tuesday confirmed that a preliminary agreement had been reached following weeks of negotiations in Cairo. The official said the committee would have 12-15 members, most of them from Gaza. It would report to the Palestinian Authority, which is headquartered in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, and work with local and international parties to facilitate humanitarian assistance and reconstruction. A Hamas official said that Hamas and Fatah had agreed on the general terms but were still negotiating over some details and the individuals who would serve on the committee. The official said an agreement would be announced after a meeting of all Palestinian factions in Cairo, without providing a timeline. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media on the talks. There was no immediate comment from Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue the war until Hamas is dismantled and scores of hostages are returned. He says Israel will maintain open-ended security control over Gaza , with civilian affairs administered by local Palestinians unaffiliated with the Palestinian Authority or Hamas. No Palestinians have publicly volunteered for such a role, and Hamas has threatened anyone who cooperates with the Israeli military. The United States has called for a revitalized Palestinian Authority to govern both the West Bank and Gaza ahead of eventual statehood. The Israeli government is opposed to Palestinian statehood. Associated Press writers Samy Magdy in Cairo and Josef Federman in Jerusalem contributed. NUSEIRAT REFUGEE CAMP, Gaza Strip — Palestinians lined up for bags of flour distributed by the U.N. in central Gaza on Tuesday morning, some of them for the first time in months amid a drop in food aid entering the territory. The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA, gave out one 25-kilogram flour bag (55 pounds) to each family of 10 at a warehouse in the Nuseirat refugee camp, as well as further south in the city of Khan Younis. Jalal al-Shaer, among the dozens receiving flour at the Nuseirat warehouse, said the bag would last his family of 12 for only two or three days. “The situation for us is very difficult,” said another man in line, Hammad Moawad. “There is no flour, there is no food, prices are high ... We eat bread crumbs.” He said his family hadn’t received a flour allotment in five or six months. COGAT, the Israeli army body in charge of humanitarian affairs, said it facilitated entry of a shipment of 600 tons of flour on Sunday for the World Food Program. Still, the amount of aid Israel has allowed into Gaza since the beginning of October has been at nearly the lowest levels of the 15-month-old war. UNRWA’s senior emergency officer Louise Wateridge told The Associated Press that the flour bags being distributed Tuesday were not enough. “People are getting one bag of flour between an entire family and there is no certainty when they’ll receive the next food,” she said. Wateridge added that UNRWA has been struggling like other humanitarian agencies to provide much needed supplies across the Gaza Strip. The agency this week announced it was stopping delivering aid entering through the main crossing from Israel, Kerem Shalom, because its convoys were being robbed by gangs. UNRWA has blamed Israel in large part for the spread of lawlessness in Gaza. The International Criminal Court is seeking to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister over accusations of using “starvation as a method of warfare” by restricting humanitarian aid into Gaza. Israel rejects the allegations and says it has been working hard to improve entry of aid. JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the war isn't over against Hezbollah and vowed to use "an iron fist" against the Lebanese militant group for any perceived violations of a week-old ceasefire. “At the moment we are in a ceasefire, I note — a ceasefire, not the end of the war," Netanyahu said at the start of the government meeting Tuesday. He said the military would retaliate for “any violation — minor or major.” Netanyahu also thanked U.S. President-elect Donald Trump for his recent demands for Hamas to release the remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza. Trump posted on social media Monday that if the hostages are not freed before he takes office in January there would be “HELL TO PAY.” Netanyahu convened Tuesday's meeting in northern Israel, where around 45,000 Israelis had been displaced by the war as of last week, according to the prime minister’s office. Netanyahu said the government was focused on getting them back in their homes and rehabilitating the area. BERLIN — German authorities have arrested a Lebanese man accused of being a member of Hezbollah and working for groups controlled by the militant organization in Germany. Federal prosecutors said the suspect, identified only as Fadel R. in line with German privacy rules, was arrested in the Hannover region on Tuesday. The man is suspected of membership in a foreign terrorist organization and is not accused of direct involvement in any violence. Prosecutors said he joined Hezbollah in the summer of 2008 or earlier and took part in leadership training courses in Lebanon. From 2009, he allegedly had leadership duties in two groups controlled by Hezbollah in the Hannover area, organizing appearances by preachers close to the militants. According to prosecutors, he was briefly a correspondent for a Hezbollah media outlet in 2017 and was tasked with coordinating building work at a mosque. Germany is a staunch ally of Israel. It is also home to a Lebanese immigrant community of more than 100,000. BEIRUT — The Lebanese army is looking for more recruits as it beefs up its presence in southern Lebanon after the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire. Lebanon’s army is a respected national institution that kept to the sidelines during the nearly 14-month conflict. During an initial 60-day truce, thousands of Lebanese troops are supposed to deploy in southern Lebanon, where U.N. peacekeepers also have a presence. Hezbollah militants are to pull back from areas near the border as Israel withdraws its ground forces. The army said those interested in joining up have a one-month period to apply, starting Tuesday. The Lebanese army has about 80,000 troops, with around 5,000 of them deployed in the south. DAMASCUS, Syria — Syria’s state news agency says a drone strike hit a car in a suburb of the capital, Damascus, killing one person. The agency did not give further details or say who was killed. It said the attack occurred Tuesday on the road leading to the Damascus International Airport south of the city. The area is known to be home to members of Iran-backed militant groups. Israel is believed to have carried out a number of strikes in the area in recent months as it has battled Iran-backed Hezbollah in neighboring Lebanon. Israeli officials rarely acknowledge such strikes. JERUSALEM — Israel’s defense minister warned that if the shaky ceasefire with Hezbollah collapses, Israel will widen its strikes and target the Lebanese state itself. He spoke the day after Israel carried out a wave of airstrikes that killed nearly a dozen people. Those strikes came after the Lebanese militant group fired a volley of projectiles as a warning over what it said were previous Israeli violations. Speaking to troops on the northern border Tuesday, Defense Minister Israel Katz said any violations of the agreement would be met with “a maximum response and zero tolerance.” He said if the war resumes, Israel will widen its strikes beyond the areas where Hezbollah’s activities are concentrated, and “there will no longer be an exemption for the state of Lebanon.” During the 14-month conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, which came to an end last week with a ceasefire brokered by the United States and France, Israel largely refrained from striking critical infrastructure or the Lebanese armed forces, who kept to the sidelines . When Israeli strikes killed or wounded Lebanese soldiers, the Israeli military said it was accidental . The ceasefire agreement that took effect last week gives 60 days for Israel to withdraw its forces from Lebanon and for Hezbollah militants to relocate north of the Litani River. The buffer zone is to be patrolled by Lebanese armed forces and U.N. peacekeepers. Israel has carried out multiple strikes in recent days in response to what it says are violations by Hezbollah. Lebanon’s parliament speaker, Nabih Berri, accused Israel of violating the truce more than 50 times in recent days by launching airstrikes, demolishing homes near the border and violating Lebanon’s airspace. Berri, a Hezbollah ally, had helped mediate the ceasefire. JERUSALEM — Palestinian officials say an Israeli airstrike in the northern West Bank has killed two Palestinians. Israel’s military said it struck a militant cell near the town of Al-Aqaba, in the Jordan Valley. It did not immediately give more details. The Palestinian Health Ministry confirmed the two deaths and said a third person was moderately wounded. About 800 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza ignited the war there. Israel has carried out near-daily military raids in the West Bank that it says are aimed at preventing attacks on Israelis, which have also been on the rise. Israel captured the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians want all three territories for an independent state. BEIRUT — Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon made his first public appearance in Beirut since he was wounded in an attack involving exploding pagers in mid-September. Mojtaba Amani, who returned to Lebanon over the weekend after undergoing treatment in Iran, visited on Tuesday the scene south of Beirut where Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Sept. 27. Speaking about the airstrike that destroyed six buildings and killed Nasrallah and others, Amani said Israel should get for its act “the highest medal for sabotage, terrorism, blood and killing civilians.” Amani suffered serious injuries in his face and hands when a pager he was holding exploded in mid-September. The device was one of about 3,000 pagers that exploded simultaneously, killing and wounding many Hezbollah members. A day after the pager attack, a similar attack struck walkie-talkies. In total, the explosions killed at least 37 people and wounded more than 3,000, many of them civilians. Last month, a spokesperson for the office of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the pager attack was approved by Netanyahu.

Article content If Game 1 of the second season of the PWHL is any indication, buckle up for even more physicality than the league provided in Year 1. Recommended Videos Toronto squeaked out a 3-1 win in a very physical season opener over Boston, but needed a power-play goal with just over a minute and a half remaining to push things in their favour. Hannah Miller was camped netside with Toronto on the power play and Hillary Knight in the penalty box after a dangerous boarding penalty left Renata Fast slow to get up. Miller was Janey on the Spot as a Daryl Watts rebound bounced directly to her and she made no mistake hitting the wide open net. Emma Maltais sealed it with an empty netter seconds later. Boston struck first in the game on the power play. With Maggie Connors off for a tripping minor, Boston’s big line of Knight, Alina Muller and Hannah Bilka converted very quickly with Knight taking a pass in the slot from Megan Keller and ripping one past Toronto goaltender Kristin Campbell on her low glove side. Toronto gave up just six power-play goals all of last season for an almost 92% success rate on the kill. Playing in Coca-Cola Coliseum, their new home which provides almost triple the number of seats they had at the Mattamy Athletic Centre last season, the Sceptres were cheered on by a near sellout crowd of 8,089. Boston’s physical play gave that crowd plenty of chances to get vocal. Four different Sceptres during the game – Noemi Neubauerova, Emma Maltais, Izzy Daniel and in the dying minutes Fast – all went down hard in the game and either stayed down or waited for a whistle before making their way to the bench. After the game, head coach Troy Ryan said he had checked on all his banged up players and none looked like they had sustained anything that would hold them back going forward. Fast, in fact, was back on the ice for the power play and wound up assisting on Miller’s game winner. Next up for Toronto is a road trip to Ottawa where they will take on the Charge on Tuesday night with a 7 p.m. puck drop. mganter@postmedia.com

SMU is accustomed to road-like environment it’ll face in ACC championship game vs. ClemsonAuthored by Lawrence Wilson via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), The 2024 presidential election may be remembered as the moment Americans abandoned the issues that defined the post-Cold War era and formed new political coalitions based on class, some experts say. President-elect Donald Trump solidified his hold on the working class in his second electoral victory, even as voters with higher incomes and education levels moved to the left. Whether those shifts will be permanent depends largely on how both parties respond to the emerging politics of class, according to analysts. Some believe Democrats can recapture their historic working-class base by listening to the voters who have been drifting away from their party for a decade and crafting a new liberal vision based more on class than on race, gender, or social issues. Republicans, on the other hand, might keep this new party configuration together if they deliver on the promises that won the majority while forming a governing philosophy based on Trump’s America First agenda without alienating traditional Republicans of the Reagan-Bush era. Here’s what happened in 2024 and what it means for both parties. The composition of the major political parties has been shifting since 2012, but that shift reached a tipping point in 2024. The movement was seen most clearly in working-class voters, who supported Trump in even greater numbers than in 2016 and 2020. Analysts commonly use education and income levels as indicators of class identity. By both measures, working-class voters across racial lines shifted right. College graduates favored Republican candidates in every election from 1988 through 2004. That began to change in 2008 when President Barack Obama earned 50 percent of the college vote . The shift accelerated in 2016 when Democrats gained 55 percent of the vote among college graduates and held a majority for the next two elections. In 2024, 53 percent of voters with a Bachelor’s degree voted for Harris, as did 59 percent of those holding an advanced degree, exit polls showed. Over the same period, voters who never attended college, a traditional mainstay of the Democratic coalition, increasingly voted Republican. In 2016, 46 percent of voters having a high school education or less voted Republican, which was consistent with the two previous election cycles. By 2024, the number of Republican voters who never attended college had risen to 63 percent, the polls revealed. A similar migration occurred in terms of income. In 2012, 60 percent of voters with household incomes less than $50,000 voted Democrat. By 2024, that number had dropped below half. At the same time, a majority of voters from households earning more than $100,000 per year favored the Democratic candidate for the first time since the data was tracked in 1988 . The Republican share from this group in 2024 was 46 percent, the lowest ever. Minorities’ support for Democratic candidates has been strong since the 1970s, reaching a high point in 2008 with the election of Obama. Since then, however, the dropoff has been significant, especially among black and Hispanic men. Support for Democrats by black voters fell from a high of 95 percent in 2008 to 85 percent in 2024. The drop was greatest among black men, 77 percent of whom voted for the Democratic candidate in 2024, the same percentage as in 1972. Black women, the most reliable Democratic voters, voted 91 percent for Vice President Kamala Harris, 5 percent lower than for Obama in 2008. Hispanic support for the Democrats hovered around 65 percent for over 40 years. In 2024, the level dropped by 13 percentage points. The decline was more pronounced among Hispanic men. Just 43 percent of them voted Democratic this year, a lower percentage than that of white women. Asian voters supported the Democratic candidate by 73 percent in 2012. That number dropped steadily over the next three cycles, reaching 54 percent in 2024. Muslim voters, 74 percent of whom had supported Democrats in 2016 and 69 percent in 2020, all but abandoned the party in 2024, according to exit polling conducted by the Council on American-Islamic Relations. That was due largely to the Biden administration’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war. Only 20 percent of Muslim voters chose Harris. In Michigan, home to the nation’s highest concentration of Muslim Americans, the number was 14 percent. Shifts in the electorate by class and race in 2024 were significant enough to create movement, if not a landslide, in regional voting patterns. The Blue Wall of industrial states, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin, had been solidly Democratic in presidential elections from 1992 until 2016, when Trump won all three. Though President Joe Biden rebuilt that wall in 2020, Trump again carried those states again in 2024. Trump also eroded Democratic support in traditional party strongholds like New York, New Jersey, and California . While Harris carried all three by a comfortable margin, she gained a smaller share of the vote than either Biden in 2020 or Hillary Clinton in 2016. In Wayne County, Michigan, home to Detroit, Harris drew about 38,000 fewer votes than Biden did in 2020. In Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, Harris received about 36,000 fewer votes than Biden had. In Queens County, New York, the deficit was nearly 165,000, and in Los Angeles County, California, it was 621,000. “Harris, in Democratic strongholds in Michigan and Pennsylvania, simply underperformed Biden’s vote totals,” Ken Kollman, a professor of political science at the University of Michigan, told The Epoch Times. Though Harris still won those counties by a large margin, the erosion of support in traditionally strong democratic areas fueled Trump’s victory, according to Kollman. According to William Galston, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, the upshot of these shifts is that class has again become a powerful force in electoral politics. “We are witnessing the emergence of a new politics of class,” Galston said in a Nov. 12 panel hosted by the Brookings Institution. “Class, defined as educational attainment, dominates the scene in the United States and throughout the industrialized world.” This new reality undercuts assumptions that have informed both parties for decades, and experts say both will need to make adjustments before the next election. Self-reflective statements by Democrats in the wake of the election have centered on the need to listen to voters. “ The country wanted change, and the vice president’s campaign decided they would not offer that ,” longtime Democratic strategist James Carville said in a PBS interview on Nov. 13. Doris Kearns Goodwin, the historian and Democratic commentator, focused on the need to reengage the people who have given the party its strength for generations. “The most important thing that the Democrats have to take away from this loss is that they lost the working class base, and that’s been the foundation of the Democratic Party ever since FDR,” Goodwin said in a Fox News interview on Nov. 8. “I think the working class felt invisible. They felt forgotten.” David Schultz, a political science professor at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota, told The Epoch Times that Democrats should talk to real working-class people. “More importantly, go out and listen to them,” he said. A likely takeaway from those conversations, Schultz said, could be that identity politics seems less important to working-class voters than basic questions of economic survival. “ Hispanics, at the end of the day, are saying, ‘We want jobs. We’re not thrilled about illegal immigration, and we want higher wages. ’” Schultz said, noting that this does not conform to the general perception of “Hispanic issues.” Gabriel Sanchez, a professor of political science at the University of New Mexico, reached a similar conclusion. “ Overwhelmingly, the economy is what Latino men have actually been talking about for three election cycles in a row ,” Sanchez said in the Nov. 12 panel discussion. That may be, in part, because Hispanics are a diverse group comprising a mix of national origins and cultures. As a result, “they do not have nearly as strong a sense of linked fate,” Aaron Dusso, a professor of political science at Indiana University Indianapolis, told The Epoch Times, referring to the sense of common identity and interests that characterizes some demographic groups. The sense of linked fate is more pronounced among black Americans, according to Dusso. Yet an increasing share of black men voted Republican in the 2024 presidential election—for a fourth consecutive time. And that was despite direct appeals to black men from both Obama and his wife, Michelle Obama, to vote for Harris based on their identity. One explanation for that shift may be that younger blacks seem less concerned with the civil rights issues of a previous generation and more concerned with economic opportunity. Lorenzo Sewell, a Detroit-area pastor who spoke at the Republican National Convention, said his decision to support Trump was rooted in disappointment with the economic results of Democratic leadership for the black community. Noting that many are routinely forced to choose between paying rent, repairing their car, or paying child support, Sewell told the Epoch Times, “We’ve had Democrats running this city for 56 years. I’m not saying Democrats are wrong. I’m just asking, ‘Where’s the change?’” Harris campaigned heavily on a promise to protect access to abortion as a civil right. Democrats had success with that issue on several state ballot initiatives after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. Yet in the presidential contest, Harris drew the smallest share of the women’s vote, 53 percent, since 2004. Trump, with 45 percent, received the highest share of the women’s vote by any Republican since President George H.W. Bush. “It’s a clear indication to me that, ultimately, the Dobbs decision is not going to have a political effect,” Dusso said. Read the rest here...

Global Product Prototyping Market Expected To Surge To USD 63.90 Billion By 2034 With A CAGR Of 11.5% TMRA pair of new celebrities are in the Jungle Junkyard on I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here - but it won't be as grim as first feared. The ITV show is in full swing with ten famous faces taking on the gruelling Australian jungle, including WAG Coleen Rooney, N-Dubz singer Tulisa and TikTok sensation GK Barry on its lineup. However, two new campers entered the jungle and didn't get the welcome they expected. Tonight’s episode saw Love Island star Maura Higgins and Reverend Richard Coles dumped into the rundown Jungle Junkyard but an unexpected twist revealed that it was kitted with hidden luxuries. As the stars entered the jungle, they complained about their rough living situation. But Ant and Dec beamed in on the intercom and told them "All is not what it seems." Maura Higgins and Reverend Richard Coles looked closer at their surroundings and realised that the junkyard had a luxurious double bed, a hidden large sofa, a large bathtub with bubbles, bath salts and hot water, a gas cooker and a hidden fridge door stocked with fruit smoothies and a fruit platter. The hosts finally laid the law for the junkyard. Over the next few days, Maura and Richard must keep their living situation a secret and successfully convince their fellow campmates that they are slumming it. If they are successful, they will win food at the Jungle Junkyard buffet. Maura said: "I’m a great liar" while Richard quipped: "I’m gonna learn fast." In true I’m A Celeb fashion, the first challenge came straight away. The new campers had to swindle the main camp into sacrificing one of their beds, in order to win three portions of food. GK and Coleen were the first victims as they were tasked with bringing dirty dishes to the junkyard for Maura and Richard to clean up. The late arrivals committed to their roles and showed GK and Coleen around the junkyard, pretending that they were having a terrible time. Their crocodile tears paid off as the main campers reported back to the other celebrities that the junkyard is "like a jail" and Dean later agreed to sacrifice his bed for the newcomers. The duo have kicked off to a victorious start, but will they claim the ultimate crown? Despite entering as a late arrival, Maura is already one of the favourites to win, with Grosvenor Sport putting her odds at 7/4. Simon Kew, spokesperson for Grosvenor Sport said: "In 2019, Higgins made a splashy late entry on Love Island and looks to shake things up again as a last-minute bombshell addition to the jungle!" I’m A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! returns tomorrow at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX.

Rachel Christian | (TNS) Bankrate.com Just because retirement planning involves some guesswork doesn’t mean it has to be a total mystery. Related Articles Business | The year in money: inflation eased, optimism ticked upward Business | Nearly half of US teens are online ‘constantly,’ Pew report finds Business | How to protect your communications through encryption Business | About 2.6 million Stanley cups recalled after malfunctions caused burns. Is your mug included? Business | Musk says US is demanding he pay penalty over disclosures of his Twitter stock purchases Whether you’ve been saving since your first job or you’re getting a late start, you can leverage expert-recommended strategies to gauge your progress on the road to retirement. And if you’re not quite on track, don’t sweat it — the experts we spoke to offered actionable tips to help you close the gap. You might have a general idea of how much money you need to save for retirement . A few quick calculations can give you an estimate, but to truly appreciate where you stand, you’ll need to dive into the numbers. Here’s how to get started. A good rule of thumb to estimate your retirement savings goal is the Rule of 25 . Simply multiply your desired annual retirement income by 25. The result is roughly how much you’ll need to save before hitting retirement. For example, if you plan to spend $50,000 a year, you’ll need about $1.25 million to make it a reality. The Rule of 25 is based on the idea that withdrawing 4% annually from your retirement savings should last you about 30 years. While it’s not an exact science by any means — health care costs and lifestyle changes can skew the numbers, for example — the Rule of 25 can be a good starting point to figure out how much you need to save. Fidelity Investments, a behemoth in the retirement planning space, offers savings guidelines to help you determine if you’re on track . —By age 30: Save 1x your annual salary —By age 40: Save 3x your annual salary —By age 50: Save 6x your annual salary —By age 60: Save 8x your annual salary —By age 67: Save 10x your annual salary For example, if you earn $60,000 annually, you should aim for $600,000 in savings by age 67. But like the Rule of 25, Fidelity’s guidelines offer a 10,000-foot look at retirement goals, and they’re not customized to your situation. Maybe you earned a low salary in your 20s, but you’re working hard in your 30s to make up for it. Use these estimates as a benchmark — but don’t get discouraged if you’re lagging behind. Now it’s time to zoom in a little. To get a clearer snapshot of your progress, use an online retirement calculator. These tools factor in your age, current savings, income and lifestyle goals to estimate whether you’re on track. You’ll get a more refined estimate without crunching the numbers yourself. Bankrate’s retirement calculator even lets you input different rates of return on your investments and accounts for estimated annual salary increases. Having a general savings goal is nice, but to avoid falling short in retirement, you’ll need more than a ballpark figure. Experts recommend creating a retirement budget to get an up-close-and-personal look at how much you’ll really need once you leave the workforce. First, estimate how much you’ll spend per month in retirement. While some costs will increase, like health care, others will likely decrease, like dining out and commuting. “Estimating expenses can be challenging for some people, so as a starting point, I often use your net take-home pay,” says Jeff DeLarme, a certified financial planner and president of DeLarme Wealth Management. For example, if you receive a direct deposit of $2,500 every two weeks from work, use $5,000 as your estimated monthly spending in retirement. “Assuming this was enough to pay the bills while working, we can use $5,000 a month as a starting budget to plan for,” says DeLarme. Next, map out your sources of income in retirement. Social Security is the largest income stream for most retirees, but don’t neglect other inflows, such as: —Workplace retirement accounts, like 401(k)s —Personal retirement accounts, like a traditional or Roth IRA —Pensions —Annuities —Selling your home or business —Rental income —Inheritance “If there’s a gap between your expected expenses and income, you’ll have a good idea of how much you need to save,” says Mike Hunsberger, a certified financial planner and owner of Next Mission Financial Planning. From there, you can adjust your savings and investment strategy accordingly. For something as important (and complex) as retirement planning, it pays to speak with a professional. Financial advisers can analyze your savings, investments and retirement goals to create a personalized plan. Advisers use special planning software that account for more variables than an online calculator, giving you a much more precise, granular look at your financial life in retirement. Many financial advisers can also help you optimize your tax strategy, which can potentially save you thousands of dollars over time. Make sure the adviser you hire is a fiduciary , meaning they’re legally obligated to prioritize your interests over their own. A fiduciary won’t push investments to earn a commission or recommend products that aren’t aligned with your needs. A certified financial planner is one of the most well-recognized designations for fiduciaries. You can use Bankrate’s adviser matching tool to find a certified financial planner in your area in minutes. Maybe you did the math and realized you’re not quite where you need to be. Don’t panic if you’re behind schedule. Here are five strategies experts recommend to help you catch up on your retirement savings . Cutting expenses now frees up more cash to invest in your retirement accounts. Evaluate your budget and identify areas where you can cut costs, like dining out, streaming subscriptions or shopping. Don’t rule out bigger lifestyle changes either, especially if retirement is rapidly approaching. Housing is the biggest monthly expense for most people. Getting creative here can help amplify the amount you can sock away, says Joseph Boughan, a certified financial planner and managing member at Parkmount Financial Partners. It can also reduce your expenses in retirement, so you may not need to save as much as before. “Downsizing can be a great way to cut expenses,” says Boughan. “This can even free up cash if you don’t end up needing all that money for a new home.” Moving somewhere with lower property taxes or income taxes can also help bring your retirement plan back in line. And if you’re a renter, making tough short-term decisions, like taking on a roommate or moving to a lower cost-of-living area, can free up hundreds of dollars a month for your retirement. “Everyone’s plan is unique, so exploring all the options is important,” Boughan says. Joe Conroy, a certified financial planner and owner of Harford Retirement Planners, recommends taking a “retirement test drive” as you near your target date. “Start to live on what income you think you can afford in retirement and stash all the extra income into savings and investments,” says Conroy. “If you can make it through each month, you’re ready for retirement. If you run short, then adjust your plan accordingly.” Working a little longer can be a game-changer for your retirement nest egg. Not only does it give you more time to save, it also gives your investments room to grow. “Working longer or even just part time for a few years early in retirement is one of the best ways to reduce the amount of money you need to save,” says Hunsberger. Postponing retirement can also boost your Social Security benefits . “You can claim as early as 62, but your benefits will be reduced significantly,” says Hunsberger. Meanwhile, each year you delay claiming Social Security benefits beyond your full retirement age , your monthly check will increase by 8%, though this benefit maxes out at age 70. So waiting can really pay off. It may seem obvious, but if you’re behind on retirement savings, you’ll need to boost your contributions as much as possible. Here are a few ways to make saving for retirement easier: —Increase your contribution rate: Allocate a larger portion of your paycheck to a workplace retirement plan. Even bumping up your contributions by 1% or 2% can make a huge difference down the road. —Take advantage of your employer match: Don’t leave free money on the table. Many employers will chip in between 3 and 5% depending on your plan, so make sure you’re contributing enough to take advantage of the benefit. —Use “unexpected” money to catch up: If you get a raise or bonus at work, funnel part of it directly into your 401(k). And if you get a refund at tax time, siphon some of it off to beef up your IRA. If you’ve been investing in low-risk, low-return investments, you may not be keeping up with inflation, let alone growing your nest egg. Reallocating part of your portfolio to stocks or low-cost growth exchange-traded funds (ETFs) is one way to get your money working harder. Higher-risk investments like stocks carry more volatility but also offer higher potential returns. Work with a financial adviser or use a robo-adviser to strike the right balance between growth and your personal risk tolerance. Contribution limits for 401(k) plans and IRAs are higher for people over 50. For 2025, employees aged 50 and up who participate in most 401(k) plans or the federal government’s Thrift Savings Plan can save up to $31,000 annually, including a $7,500 catch-up contribution . But thanks to SECURE 2.0 , a sweeping retirement law, a new higher catch-up contribution limit of $11,250 applies for employees ages 60 to 63. So, if you’re in this age group, you can squirrel away a whopping $34,750 a year during the final stretch of your career. Of course, you’ll need a big salary (think six figures) in order to take full advantage of such massive contribution limits. But if you can afford it, these catch-up allowances can put your plan back on track, especially if you struggled to save much early in your career. There’s no GPS to gauge your progress on the road to retirement. If you’ve veered off course or aren’t sure where to start, begin by getting a quick estimate of how much you’ll need before mapping out a retirement budget. And if you’re behind, don’t panic — adjusting your spending, boosting your contributions and speaking with a financial adviser can help you catch up. ©2024 Bankrate.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian police raided several bars and nightclubs across Moscow on Saturday as part of the government’s crackdown on “LGBTQ+ propaganda,” state media reported. Smartphones, laptops and video cameras were seized, while clubgoers had their documents inspected by officers, Russia’s Tass news agency said, citing sources in law enforcement. The raids come exactly a year since Russia’s Supreme Court ruled that the “LGBTQ+ movement” should be banned as an “extremist organization." Its decision followed a decades-long crackdown on LGBTQ+ rights in Russia, where President Vladimir Putin has touted “traditional family values” as a cornerstone of his quarter-century in power. Footage shared on social media appeared to show partygoers being ordered by police to lie on the floor as officers moved through Moscow’s Arma nightclub. The capital’s Mono bar was also targeted, Russian media reported. In a post on Telegram on Saturday, the club’s management didn't directly reference an incident with law enforcement, but wrote, “Friends, we’re so sorry that what happened, happened. They didn’t find anything forbidden. We live in such times, but life must go on.” Police also detained the head of the “Men Travel” tour agency on Saturday under anti-LGBT laws, Tass reported. The news agency said that the 48-year-old was suspected of preparing a trip for “the supporters of nontraditional sexual values” to visit Egypt over Russia’s New Year's holidays. The raids mirror the concerns of Russian activists who warned that Moscow’s designation of the “LGBTQ+ movement” as “extremist” — despite it not being an official entity — could see Russian authorities crack down at will on groups or individuals. Other recent laws have also served to put pressure on those that the Russian government believes aren't in line with the country’s “traditional values.” On Nov. 23, Putin signed into law a bill banning the adoption of Russian children by citizens of countries where gender-affirming care is legal. The Kremlin leader also approved legislation that outlaws the spread of material that encourages people not to have children .Cleary’s bizarre diet secret stuns fans

Ardal O'Hanlon has given new Death In Paradise lead Don Gilet a heads-up about the demanding nature of the role, revealing that he often worked 12-hour days, six days a week. While discussing his upcoming stand-up tour, Ardal reflected on his stint as DI Jack Mooney from 2017 to 2020 in the popular BBC series, confessing it was far from a walk in the park and that he envied guest stars who could come and go as they pleased from the tropical set in Guadeloupe. The production team even sat him down for a 'talk of doom' to brace him for the intense filming schedule under the sweltering sun. Looking back, the 59 year old actor and comedian said: "God, that was tough. Like, people don't believe you when you tell them how tough it was. "I was so grateful for that part and everything else. And I look back on it now as a really great experience, kind of life changing experience, I would say, because it's not just that you're playing a lead in a popular BBC primetime drama. It's more of a lifestyle thing." He added: "It was such a radical change of scenery for me going from a country where I hardly ever leave the house, to kind of living outdoors for six months of the year, for four summers, but it was gruelling because you have a huge workload. "And, of course, I'm not complaining about the work, but you have so much to prepare every day, so you don't have much downtime at all, you don't have the chance to enjoy the attractions out there. I used to be so jealous of the guest actors! The suspects and the victim, you know, there'd be five or six guest actors every couple of weeks, and they would come over and they'd have such an amazing time." "Like, they'd be there for a week or two, maybe in for two or three days, the rest of the time they're sitting by the pool, drinking cocktails and me working me arse off, 12 hours a day, six days a week! So I was very jealous of them.", reports the Mirror . "You just have to prepare so much every day, and you have to think quick on your feet. There was so many reasons for leaving it, I'd done four summers. That takes its toll at home as well. I knew the writing was on the wall, but my family stopped coming out to visit me, that was really the decider." He explained: "They kind of tell you that at the beginning, like they said, 'You know, you might last two years or three years, but you know, you probably won't last four! Nothing prepares you for it. I remember the producer came to visit me and we spent a day together. This is maybe a month before I went out there. And he was basically trying to go, 'You know, you can still get out of this, if you want! ' Do you know what I mean, he was kind of almost... he was really painting a very bleak picture saying, 'You know, like, it's gonna be tough.' You know, there's hurricanes to deal with. There's people going crazy because, like, people go stir crazy in that environment, you know, you're always dealing with something, like there's creatures that want to kill you." The former Father Ted actor Ardal O'Hanlon was discussing his experiences to promote his upcoming 2025 stand-up tour titled Not Himself. On the theme of the show, he added: "I suppose it's loosely around that whole idea of identity. I do a lot of stand up in in the UK, and what I've noticed in recent years is comedy is a very diverse sort of platform now, and most people that you come across are talking about their identity, whether it's race or gender or social class or sexual orientation or whatever. In Northern Ireland religion will come into the mix as well, religious background." "So it's a really big thing in comedy now and I suppose in the past, my approach was always like... I was a kind of a joke man, I would like to think of it as being a craftsman, where I was just trying to come up with perfect jokes, maybe with a slightly surreal twist or whatever." "And I suppose in more recent years, I've just been, I suppose, inspired by all those comedians that I work with, I suppose reflecting a little bit more on who I am, where I'm coming from, my upbringing and my relationship with with world around me, with technology, for example, that's a big part of my show, how our identities are shaped by the technology we use." Ardal was replaced on Death In Paradise by Ralf Little who played DI Neville Parker for 5 years. The new lead Don Gilet will join the show in the upcoming Christmas special as new lead DI Mervin Wilson. Death in Paradise remains one the UK's most watched returning drama across all broadcasters and streamers, with the 2024 series watched by over 8 million viewers."Salt Lake City, Dec. 03, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Intermountain Health has named Ryan Smith as its next chief digital and information officer (CDIO), following an extensive national search. He will begin his new role in early 2025. Intermountain's search for a CDIO included a thorough recruiting process that involved internal and external partners who vetted candidates throughout the United States. Smith is a seasoned leader with deep roots in healthcare technology and an impressive portfolio of experience with Intermountain. He served in several senior leadership roles across the enterprise for nearly 20 years. He then held executive roles with Health Catalyst and served as senior vice president of technology and chief information officer at Banner Health. Following those positions, Smith returned to Intermountain as chief information officer (CIO) from 2020 to 2022 before joining Graphite Health as its chief operating officer. Ryan now serves as Graphite's interim president and chief executive officer, advancing the nonprofit organization's endeavor to make healthcare data more universal, accessible, and scalable. "This opportunity is deeply meaningful to me," said Smith. "I'm excited for the opportunity to make healthcare an easier, safer experience for patients, members, and caregivers alike." "I'm confident that Ryan is the right leader to help Intermountain successfully navigate both opportunities and obstacles as a model health system in the complex world of healthcare that lies ahead," said Rob Allen Intermountain Health president and CEO. "He will lead DTS to support our mission, vision, and strategy to simplify, expand proactive care, and improve the healthcare experience for our caregivers, patients, members, and communities." As Intermountain's CDIO, Ryan will report directly to Dan Liljenquist, chief strategy officer. He will also serve as a member of the Enterprise Leadership Team. Smith will lead Intermountain's Digital Technology Services (DTS), including DTS Operations, Digital Services, Data Services, Clinical Informatics, Information Security, and Information Technology. Leaders of each team will report directly to Smith and will continue to serve on the DTS Leadership Team. ### Attachment Ryan Smith © 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.(The Center Square) – Eleven states, led by Texas, have sued the three largest institutional investors in the world for allegedly conspiring to buy coal company stocks to control the market, reduce competition and violate federal and state antitrust laws. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas Tyler Division and demands a trial by jury. It names as defendants BlackRock, Inc., State Street Corporation, and Vanguard Group, Inc., which combined manage more than $26 trillion in assets. The companies were sued for “acquiring substantial stockholdings in every significant publicly held coal producer in the United States” in order to gain “power to control the policies of the coal companies,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said. According to the 109-page brief , defendants own 30.43% of Peabody Energy, 34.19% of Arch Resources, 10.85% of NACCO Industries, 28.97% of CONSOL Energy, 29.7% of Alpha Metallurgical Resources, 24.94% of Vistra Energy, 8.3% of Hallador Energy, 31.62% of Warrior Met Coal and 32.87% of Black Hills Corporation. Under the Biden administration, in the past four years, “America’s coal producers have been responding not to the price signals of the free market, but to the commands of Larry Fink, BlackRock’s chairman and CEO, and his fellow asset managers,” the brief states. “As demand for the electricity Americans need to heat their homes and power their businesses has gone up, the supply of the coal used to generate that electricity has been artificially depressed – and the price has skyrocketed. Defendants have reaped the rewards of higher returns, higher fees, and higher profits, while American consumers have paid the price in higher utility bills and higher costs.” Consumer costs went up because the companies “weaponized” their shares to push through a so-called green energy agenda, including reducing coal output by more than half by 2030, the lawsuit alleges. In response, publicly traded coal producers reduced output and energy prices skyrocketed. The companies advanced their policies primarily through two programs, the Climate Action 100 and Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative, signaling “their mutual intent to reduce the output of thermal coal, which predictably increased the cost of electricity for Americans” nationwide, Paxton said. The firms also allegedly deceived thousands of investors “who elected to invest in non-ESG funds to maximize their profits,” Paxton said. “Yet these funds pursued ESG strategies notwithstanding the defendants’ representations to the contrary.” While they allegedly directly restrained competition among the companies whose shares they acquired, “their war on competition has consequences for the entire industry,” the brief states. “Texas will not tolerate the illegal weaponization of the financial industry in service of a destructive, politicized ‘environmental’ agenda. BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street formed a cartel to rig the coal market, artificially reduce the energy supply, and raise prices,” Paxton said. “Their conspiracy has harmed American energy production and hurt consumers. This is a stunning violation of state and federal law.” The lawsuit alleges the companies’ actions violated the Clayton Act, which prohibits any acquisition of stock where “the effect of such acquisition may be substantially to lessen competition;” and the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890, 15 U.S.C. § 1 in a conspiracy to restrain trade. It also alleges the companies violated state antitrust laws of Texas, Montana and West Virginia; Blackrock also allegedly violated the Texas Business and Commerce Code by committing “false, deceptive, or misleading acts.” It asks the court to rule that the companies violated the federal and state statutes, provide injunctive and equitable relief and prohibit them from engaging in such acts. It requests that civil fines be paid, including requiring Blackrock to pay $10,000 per violation. Joining Paxton in the lawsuit are the attorneys general of Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, West Virginia and Wyoming. The Buzbee Law Firm and Cooper & Kirk are serving as outside counsel. The companies have yet to issue a statement on the lawsuit. The lawsuit follows one filed by 25 states led by Texas against the Biden administration asking the court to halt a federal ESG policy that could negatively impact the retirement savings of 152 million Americans. It also comes after Texas has listed hundreds of companies and publicly traded investment funds, including Blackrock, on its divestment list for advancing ESG and anti-oil and natural gas policies.

Advisors Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of iShares Fallen Angels USD Bond ETF ( NASDAQ:FALN – Free Report ) by 47.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,269 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,932 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in iShares Fallen Angels USD Bond ETF were worth $117,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Mather Group LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of iShares Fallen Angels USD Bond ETF by 27.0% during the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 8,991,241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $245,821,000 after acquiring an additional 1,913,910 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in iShares Fallen Angels USD Bond ETF by 182.5% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 768,476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,641,000 after purchasing an additional 496,455 shares during the last quarter. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in iShares Fallen Angels USD Bond ETF by 39.8% in the third quarter. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,294,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,389,000 after buying an additional 368,400 shares in the last quarter. Toews Corp ADV bought a new stake in iShares Fallen Angels USD Bond ETF during the second quarter worth about $6,927,000. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of iShares Fallen Angels USD Bond ETF by 53.0% during the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 602,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,473,000 after buying an additional 208,699 shares in the last quarter. iShares Fallen Angels USD Bond ETF Trading Up 0.4 % NASDAQ:FALN opened at $27.32 on Friday. iShares Fallen Angels USD Bond ETF has a 1 year low of $25.70 and a 1 year high of $27.43. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $27.11 and a 200-day moving average of $26.82. iShares Fallen Angels USD Bond ETF Increases Dividend iShares Fallen Angels USD Bond ETF Profile ( Free Report ) The iShares Fallen Angels USD Bond ETF (FALN) is an exchange-traded fund that mostly invests in high yield fixed income. The fund tracks a market value weighted index of bonds that were rated investment grade at issuance, but later downgraded to sub-investment grade. FALN was launched on Jun 14, 2016 and is managed by BlackRock. See Also Five stocks we like better than iShares Fallen Angels USD Bond ETF Energy and Oil Stocks Explained The Latest 13F Filings Are In: See Where Big Money Is Flowing Market Cap Calculator: How to Calculate Market Cap 3 Penny Stocks Ready to Break Out in 2025 What Investors Need to Know About Upcoming IPOs FMC, Mosaic, Nutrien: Top Agricultural Stocks With Big Potential Receive News & Ratings for iShares Fallen Angels USD Bond ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares Fallen Angels USD Bond ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .WWE Network Shutting Down for Good

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5 ways to tell if you’re on track for retirement — and 5 things to do if you need to catch up, according to expertsFACT FOCUS: Inspector general’s Jan. 6 report misrepresented as proof of FBI setupIsraeli drone strikes hit Kamal Adwan Hospital on Tuesday, wounding three medical staff at one of the few hospitals still partially operating in the northernmost part of Gaza , the facility’s director said. Dr. Hossam Abu Safiya said the drones were dropping bombs, spraying shrapnel at the hospital. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. In Lebanon, a tenuous ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah has held despite Israeli forces carrying out several new drone and artillery strikes on Tuesday, killing a shepherd in the country's south. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed keep striking “with an iron fist” against perceived Hezbollah violations of the ceasefire. Hezbollah began launching rockets, drones and missiles into Israel last year in solidarity with Hamas militants who are fighting in the Gaza Strip. The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking around 250 people hostage . Israel’s blistering retaliatory offensive has killed at least 44,500 Palestinians , more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were combatants. Israel says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence. The war in Gaza has destroyed vast areas of the coastal enclave and displaced 90% of the population of 2.3 million, often multiple times . Here's the Latest: US forces in eastern Syria conduct a self-defense strike, Pentagon says WASHINGTON — U.S. forces conducted a self-defense strike Tuesday in the vicinity of Mission Support Site Euphrates, a U.S. base in eastern Syria, against three truck-mounted multiple rocket launchers, a T-64 tank and mortars that Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said presented “a clear and imminent threat” to U.S. troops. The self-defense strike occurred after rockets and mortars were fired that landed in the vicinity of the base, Ryder said. The Pentagon is still assessing who was responsible for the attacks — that there are both Iranian-backed militias and Syrian military forces that operate in the area. Ryder said the attack was not connected to the offensive that is ongoing in Aleppo, where Syrian jihadi-led rebels taken over the country’s largest city. The U.S. has about 900 troops in Syria to conduct missions to counter the Islamic Stage group. Israeli drone strikes hit a hospital in northern Gaza, wounding 3 medical staff CAIRO — Israeli drone strikes hit the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza on Tuesday, wounding three medical personnel, the facility’s director said. Dr. Hossam Abu Safiya said the drones were dropping bombs, spraying shrapnel at the hospital, located in the town of Beit Lahiya. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. In comments released by Gaza’s Health Ministry, Abu Safiya said one of the injured was in critical condition and was undergoing a complex surgery. “The situation has become extremely dangerous,” he said. “We are exhausted by the ongoing violence and atrocities.” Kamal Adwan Hospital has been struck multiple times over the past two months as Israeli forces have waged a fierce offensive in the area, saying they are rooting out Hamas militants who regrouped there. In October, Israeli forces raided the hospital, saying that militants were sheltering inside and arrested a number of people, including some staff. Hospital officials denied the claim. Abu Safiya was wounded in his thigh and back by an Israeli drone strike on the hospital last month. Israeli court orders Netanyahu to take the stand in his long-running corruption trial TEL AVIV, Israel — An Israeli court has ordered Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to take the stand next week in his long-running corruption trial, ending a long series of delays. Netanyahu’s lawyers had filed multiple requests to put off the testimony, arguing first that the war in Gaza prevented him from properly preparing for his testimony, and later that his security could not be guaranteed in the court chamber. In Tuesday’s decision, judges in the Jerusalem district court said that following a security assessment, his testimony will be moved to the Tel Aviv district court. Israeli media said the session would take place in an underground chamber. His testimony in the trial, which began in 2020, is expected to begin on Dec. 10 and to last at least several weeks. Netanyahu is charged with fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in three separate scandals involving powerful media moguls and wealthy associates. He denies wrongdoing. Lebanese civilians who came back to war-damaged towns are skeptical that Israel will abide by the ceasefire NABATIYEH, Lebanon — In destroyed areas of southern Lebanon, residents clearing away rubble on Tuesday said they didn’t trust Israel to abide by the week-old ceasefire with Hezbollah. “The Israelis are breaching the ceasefire whenever they can because they are not committed,” said Hussein Badreddin, a vegetable seller in the southern city of Nabatiyeh, which was pummeled by Israeli airstrikes over several weeks. “This means that they (can) breach any resolution at any time.” Since it began last Wednesday, the U.S.- and French-brokered 60-day ceasefire has been rattled by near daily Israeli strikes, although Israel has been vague about the purported Hezbollah violations that prompted them. Imad Yassin, a trader who owns a clothing shop in Nabatiyeh, said Israel was constantly breaching the ceasefire because Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to continue the displacement of residents of southern Lebanon. “The Israeli enemy was defeated and the truth is that he is trying to get revenge. Netanyahu is trying to displace us as citizens of southern Lebanon,” Yassin said. They spoke as bulldozers cleared streets strewn with rubble and debris from destroyed buildings. Electricians worked to fix power lines in an effort to restore electricity to the city. Both men were displaced by the war and returned to Nabatiyeh on Wednesday, the day the ceasefire went into effect. Yassin found his clothing shop had been destroyed. He said he would wait to see if the state will dispense compensation funds so that he can repair and reopen his business. Israeli strikes kill at least 9 people in Gaza City GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Two separate Israeli airstrikes killed at least nine people in Gaza City on Tuesday, Palestinian medical authorities said. Six people, including two children, who were killed when an Israeli strike hit a school sheltering displaced people Tuesday afternoon in the Zaytoun neighborhood, according to the Health Ministry’s emergency services. A second strike hit a residential building in the Sabra neighborhood, killing at least three people, the services said. Israeli forces have almost completely isolated northernmost Gaza since early October, saying they’re fighting regrouped Hamas militants there. That has pushed some families south to Gaza City, while hundreds of thousands more live in the territory's center and south in squalid tent camps, where they rely on international aid. Israel says it killed a Hezbollah representative to the Syrian military JERUSALEM — Israel's military confirmed it killed a senior member of Hezbollah responsible for coordinating with Syria's army on rearming and resupplying the Lebanese militant group. Syrian state media said a drone strike on Tuesday hit a car in a suburb of the capital Damascus, killing one person, without saying who was killed. Israel's military said he was Salman Nemer Jomaa, describing him as “Hezbollah’s representative to the Syrian military,” and that killing him “degrades both Hezbollah’s presence in Syria and Hezbollah’s ongoing force-building efforts.” Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets inside government-controlled parts of war-torn Syria in recent years. Israel rarely acknowledges its actions in Syria, but it has said that it targets bases of Iran-allied militant groups. Iran supports both Hezbollah and the Syrian government of President Bashar Assad, which is currently fighting to push back jihadi-led insurgents who seized the country’s largest city of Aleppo . Israeli soldiers open fire inside a West Bank hospital while searching for militants' bodies, doctor says TUBAS, West Bank — Israeli soldiers opened fire inside a hospital in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday during a raid to seize the bodies of alleged militants targeted in earlier airstrikes, a Palestinian doctor working at the hospital told The Associated Press. Soldiers entered the Turkish Hospital complex in Tubas after the bodies of two Palestinians killed and one wounded in airstrikes in the northern West Bank on Tuesday were brought there, said Dr. Mahmoud Ghanam, who works in the hospital’s emergency department. The troops briefly handcuffed and arrested Ghanam and another doctor. “The army entered in a brutal way, and they were shooting inside the emergency department,” said Ghanam. “They handcuffed us and took me and my colleague.” The military confirmed that its troops were operating around the hospital searching for those targeted in the airstrikes, which they said had hit a militant cell near the Palestinian town of Al-Aqaba in the Jordan Valley. It denied that troops had entered the hospital building or fired gunshots inside. The soldiers left after learning that the wounded man had been transferred to another hospital, Ghanam said. The soldiers wanted to take the bodies of the two men killed in the strike, but the hospital’s manager refused to hand over the bodies, Ghanam said. Israeli raids on hospitals in the West Bank are rare but have grown more common since the start of the Israel-Hamas war. In Gaza, Israeli troops have systematically besieged, raided and damaged many hospitals. About 800 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza ignited the war there. Israel has carried out near-daily military raids in the West Bank that it says are aimed at preventing attacks on Israelis — attacks which have also been on the rise. Israel captured the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians seek all three territories for an independent state. Hamas and Fatah are near an agreement on who will oversee postwar Gaza CAIRO — Palestinian officials say Fatah and Hamas are closing in on an agreement to appoint a committee of politically independent technocrats to administer the Gaza Strip after the war . It would effectively end Hamas’ rule and could help advance ceasefire talks with Israel. The rival factions have made several failed attempts to reconcile since Hamas seized power in Gaza in 2007. Israel has meanwhile ruled out any postwar role in Gaza for either Hamas or Fatah, which dominates the Western-backed Palestinian Authority . A Palestinian Authority official on Tuesday confirmed that a preliminary agreement had been reached following weeks of negotiations in Cairo. The official said the committee would have 12-15 members, most of them from Gaza. It would report to the Palestinian Authority, which is headquartered in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, and work with local and international parties to facilitate humanitarian assistance and reconstruction. A Hamas official said that Hamas and Fatah had agreed on the general terms but were still negotiating over some details and the individuals who would serve on the committee. The official said an agreement would be announced after a meeting of all Palestinian factions in Cairo, without providing a timeline. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media on the talks. There was no immediate comment from Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue the war until Hamas is dismantled and scores of hostages are returned. He says Israel will maintain open-ended security control over Gaza , with civilian affairs administered by local Palestinians unaffiliated with the Palestinian Authority or Hamas. No Palestinians have publicly volunteered for such a role, and Hamas has threatened anyone who cooperates with the Israeli military. The United States has called for a revitalized Palestinian Authority to govern both the West Bank and Gaza ahead of eventual statehood. The Israeli government is opposed to Palestinian statehood. Associated Press writers Samy Magdy in Cairo and Josef Federman in Jerusalem contributed. Palestinians get food aid in central Gaza, some for the first time in months NUSEIRAT REFUGEE CAMP, Gaza Strip — Palestinians lined up for bags of flour distributed by the U.N. in central Gaza on Tuesday morning, some of them for the first time in months amid a drop in food aid entering the territory. The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA, gave out one 25-kilogram flour bag (55 pounds) to each family of 10 at a warehouse in the Nuseirat refugee camp, as well as further south in the city of Khan Younis. Jalal al-Shaer, among the dozens receiving flour at the Nuseirat warehouse, said the bag would last his family of 12 for only two or three days. “The situation for us is very difficult,” said another man in line, Hammad Moawad. “There is no flour, there is no food, prices are high ... We eat bread crumbs.” He said his family hadn’t received a flour allotment in five or six months. COGAT, the Israeli army body in charge of humanitarian affairs, said it facilitated entry of a shipment of 600 tons of flour on Sunday for the World Food Program. Still, the amount of aid Israel has allowed into Gaza since the beginning of October has been at nearly the lowest levels of the 15-month-old war. UNRWA’s senior emergency officer Louise Wateridge told The Associated Press that the flour bags being distributed Tuesday were not enough. “People are getting one bag of flour between an entire family and there is no certainty when they’ll receive the next food,” she said. Wateridge added that UNRWA has been struggling like other humanitarian agencies to provide much needed supplies across the Gaza Strip. The agency this week announced it was stopping delivering aid entering through the main crossing from Israel, Kerem Shalom, because its convoys were being robbed by gangs. UNRWA has blamed Israel in large part for the spread of lawlessness in Gaza. The International Criminal Court is seeking to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister over accusations of using “starvation as a method of warfare” by restricting humanitarian aid into Gaza. Israel rejects the allegations and says it has been working hard to improve entry of aid. Netanyahu vows an ‘iron fist’ against Hezbollah if they break the ceasefire, and thanks Trump for tough talk on Gaza hostages JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the war isn't over against Hezbollah and vowed to use "an iron fist" against the Lebanese militant group for any perceived violations of a week-old ceasefire. “At the moment we are in a ceasefire, I note — a ceasefire, not the end of the war," Netanyahu said at the start of the government meeting Tuesday. He said the military would retaliate for “any violation — minor or major.” Netanyahu also thanked U.S. President-elect Donald Trump for his recent demands for Hamas to release the remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza. Trump posted on social media Monday that if the hostages are not freed before he takes office in January there would be “HELL TO PAY.” Netanyahu convened Tuesday's meeting in northern Israel, where around 45,000 Israelis had been displaced by the war as of last week, according to the prime minister’s office. Netanyahu said the government was focused on getting them back in their homes and rehabilitating the area. Germany arrests a Lebanese man accused of being a member of Hezbollah BERLIN — German authorities have arrested a Lebanese man accused of being a member of Hezbollah and working for groups controlled by the militant organization in Germany. Federal prosecutors said the suspect, identified only as Fadel R. in line with German privacy rules, was arrested in the Hannover region on Tuesday. The man is suspected of membership in a foreign terrorist organization and is not accused of direct involvement in any violence. Prosecutors said he joined Hezbollah in the summer of 2008 or earlier and took part in leadership training courses in Lebanon. From 2009, he allegedly had leadership duties in two groups controlled by Hezbollah in the Hannover area, organizing appearances by preachers close to the militants. According to prosecutors, he was briefly a correspondent for a Hezbollah media outlet in 2017 and was tasked with coordinating building work at a mosque. Germany is a staunch ally of Israel. It is also home to a Lebanese immigrant community of more than 100,000. Lebanese army launches recruitment drive to bolster presence in the south BEIRUT — The Lebanese army is looking for more recruits as it beefs up its presence in southern Lebanon after the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire. Lebanon’s army is a respected national institution that kept to the sidelines during the nearly 14-month conflict. During an initial 60-day truce, thousands of Lebanese troops are supposed to deploy in southern Lebanon, where U.N. peacekeepers also have a presence. Hezbollah militants are to pull back from areas near the border as Israel withdraws its ground forces. The army said those interested in joining up have a one-month period to apply, starting Tuesday. The Lebanese army has about 80,000 troops, with around 5,000 of them deployed in the south. Drone strike hits car in Damascus, Syrian news agency says DAMASCUS, Syria — Syria’s state news agency says a drone strike hit a car in a suburb of the capital, Damascus, killing one person. The agency did not give further details or say who was killed. It said the attack occurred Tuesday on the road leading to the Damascus International Airport south of the city. The area is known to be home to members of Iran-backed militant groups. Israel is believed to have carried out a number of strikes in the area in recent months as it has battled Iran-backed Hezbollah in neighboring Lebanon. Israeli officials rarely acknowledge such strikes. Israel warns the Lebanese state over ceasefire JERUSALEM — Israel’s defense minister warned that if the shaky ceasefire with Hezbollah collapses, Israel will widen its strikes and target the Lebanese state itself. He spoke the day after Israel carried out a wave of airstrikes that killed nearly a dozen people. Those strikes came after the Lebanese militant group fired a volley of projectiles as a warning over what it said were previous Israeli violations. Speaking to troops on the northern border Tuesday, Defense Minister Israel Katz said any violations of the agreement would be met with “a maximum response and zero tolerance.” He said if the war resumes, Israel will widen its strikes beyond the areas where Hezbollah’s activities are concentrated, and “there will no longer be an exemption for the state of Lebanon.” During the 14-month conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, which came to an end last week with a ceasefire brokered by the United States and France, Israel largely refrained from striking critical infrastructure or the Lebanese armed forces, who kept to the sidelines . When Israeli strikes killed or wounded Lebanese soldiers, the Israeli military said it was accidental . The ceasefire agreement that took effect last week gives 60 days for Israel to withdraw its forces from Lebanon and for Hezbollah militants to relocate north of the Litani River. The buffer zone is to be patrolled by Lebanese armed forces and U.N. peacekeepers. Israel has carried out multiple strikes in recent days in response to what it says are violations by Hezbollah. Lebanon’s parliament speaker, Nabih Berri, accused Israel of violating the truce more than 50 times in recent days by launching airstrikes, demolishing homes near the border and violating Lebanon’s airspace. Berri, a Hezbollah ally, had helped mediate the ceasefire. Israeli airstrike in northern West Bank kills two Palestinians JERUSALEM — Palestinian officials say an Israeli airstrike in the northern West Bank has killed two Palestinians. Israel’s military said it struck a militant cell near the town of Al-Aqaba, in the Jordan Valley. It did not immediately give more details. The Palestinian Health Ministry confirmed the two deaths and said a third person was moderately wounded. About 800 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza ignited the war there. Israel has carried out near-daily military raids in the West Bank that it says are aimed at preventing attacks on Israelis, which have also been on the rise. Israel captured the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians want all three territories for an independent state. Iran's ambassador to Lebanon reappears after pager attack BEIRUT — Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon made his first public appearance in Beirut since he was wounded in an attack involving exploding pagers in mid-September. Mojtaba Amani, who returned to Lebanon over the weekend after undergoing treatment in Iran, visited on Tuesday the scene south of Beirut where Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Sept. 27. Speaking about the airstrike that destroyed six buildings and killed Nasrallah and others, Amani said Israel should get for its act “the highest medal for sabotage, terrorism, blood and killing civilians.” Amani suffered serious injuries in his face and hands when a pager he was holding exploded in mid-September. The device was one of about 3,000 pagers that exploded simultaneously, killing and wounding many Hezbollah members. A day after the pager attack, a similar attack struck walkie-talkies. In total, the explosions killed at least 37 people and wounded more than 3,000, many of them civilians. Last month, a spokesperson for the office of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the pager attack was approved by Netanyahu.

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