Long COVID is snuffing out some patients' dreams of having children, sharpening the pain of loss, grief and medical neglect. When Melanie Broadley and her husband started going out in 2019, like many couples their age they decided to put "starting a family" on the shelf for a few years so they could focus on their careers. A postdoctoral researcher who studies diabetes and psychology, Broadley was 28 and in good health — she had plenty of time, she reasoned. Then, in 2022, she caught SARS-CoV-2 and developed long COVID, blowing up her life as she knew it and, for now at least, her hopes of having a baby. "I became totally disabled by long COVID," says Broadley, 34, who lives at her parents' house in Brisbane. On a good day she struggles with debilitating fatigue that worsens after any kind of physical or mental activity, an autonomic nervous system disorder called postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome ( POTS ), which causes her heart rate to spike when she stands up, cognitive dysfunction that means she can't read or write for more than 10 minutes at a time, and an immune disorder, called mast cell activation syndrome , that triggers allergic reactions. Even though she's been doing everything she can to recover, she's still too unwell to cope with a potential pregnancy. And it hurts. "I wasn't ever going to be a young mum but for at least the last three or four years it's definitely been something I've wanted," Broadley says. "When I'm watching a TV show about pregnancy or birth or miscarriage I become emotionally affected — it feels like my drive to have a child is almost biological, it's something I need to do ... So I really worry that if I don't have a kid, it's something I will regret and feel pain about for the rest of my life." For millions of people with long COVID around the world, the pandemic is not just a minor nuisance or a bad memory but a daily waking nightmare. The disabling chronic illness is taking a devastating toll on patients' health, stopping many from working, exercising, socialising and living independently. But long COVID is also snuffing out some patients' dreams of having children, and complicating pregnancy and parenthood for those who choose to conceive despite their symptoms and doubts about when or if they will recover. Partly it's because they are simply too sick to have a baby; some can barely care for themselves, let alone a tiny human. Others worry that pregnancy could worsen their condition and are hoping they'll get better in time to consider conceiving while they still can. But for many, getting good advice about fertility and reproductive health is a stressful, confusing experience that is frequently complicated by a lack of research — and lack of awareness and education among medical practitioners. And it's creating a huge well of uncertainty and sadness, deepening feelings of loss and grief that patients and their families have been nursing privately for years. "So many patients talk about how they've lost the ability to do the things that make them them ... or to contribute to society in ways that feel meaningful, to create," says Beth Pollack, a research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who studies long COVID, myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME/CFS) and other infection-associated chronic illnesses. "And for some patients, having a child is another thing that they mourn. But until we sufficiently ... fund comprehensive research that looks at all of the different ways these illnesses impact the body, unfortunately this significant loss will continue." Melanie Broadley recently saw a fertility specialist to talk about her options. Perhaps egg freezing was a possibility — if she could "stop the clock", she thought, she could take some pressure off her long COVID recovery. But her doctor's advice — that she was not well enough to go through several cycles of hormone injections and egg retrieval — took her by surprise. "He said, 'Let's just try to improve your overall health so you can try to fall pregnant naturally'," she says the specialist told her. "I felt slightly annoyed by that. All I've been doing for the last two-and-a-half years is trying to improve my health. The fact is, with long COVID you can be doing everything 'right' and still be completely disabled." She left the appointment feeling numb. "I just felt like I had no good options. I'm aging, and everyone's telling me that's a problem, but I'm sick, and everyone's telling me that's a problem, and I can't control either of those things," Broadley says. "I'm feeling like my only hope to have a child is spontaneous recovery from long COVID but I don't have a lot of faith in that happening." Even though she has seen some improvement in her symptoms lately, she's still stuck in bed for 20 hours a day, still taking 20 pills a day. "So I'm feeling quite deflated, and I'm starting to try to imagine my life without children." Though prevalence estimates vary , some researchers have calculated that at least 65 million people globally are suffering from long COVID, with an Australian study this year finding one in five people were still experiencing persistent symptoms like fatigue, cognitive dysfunction and sleep problems three months after testing positive to the virus. As with other infection-associated chronic illnesses, women — especially pre-menopausal women — are more likely to have long COVID than men, suggesting sex hormones and female immune responses may play a role. Other risk factors include infection severity, pre-existing health problems, genetics, the protective role of vaccination and reinfection . There is no cure and no approved treatments for long COVID, which scientists believe has several possible drivers : viral RNA or protein that lingers in certain tissues, inflammation and immune dysregulation , autoimmunity, blood clotting abnormalities , reactivation of latent viruses , organ damage and disrupted brain stem signalling . Instead, while they wait for the results of clinical trials, patients can only manage their symptoms with medication, supplements, rehabilitation therapies and pacing their activities — often a frustrating, expensive process of trial and error. As for how long COVID affects reproductive health, a literature review by Beth Pollack and her colleagues last year found there was a severe lack of research. Emerging evidence suggests long COVID can affect women's menstrual cycles, ovarian health and fertility, while studies of related and overlapping conditions like ME/CFS, POTS and connective tissue disorders show female patients experience higher rates of menstrual cycle changes, ovarian dysfunction, uterine fibroids and other issues. SARS-CoV-2 may also affect male fertility, with one small study finding men who were infected with the virus had temporarily lower sperm numbers and concentration and others highlighting the potential risk of erectile dysfunction. There's also scant research on pregnancy and long COVID, ME/CFS and POTS, which can make family planning even harder for patients — or at least those who are in a position to consider having a baby. What if pregnancy reduces your already low baseline — not an unreasonable question given up to 10 per cent of patients report that pregnancy triggered their ME/CFS or POTS . Could your illness affect your child's health? Will you fully recover from the stress and strain of labour? What about caring for a newborn, breastfeeding, sleep deprivation? In some studies roughly equal numbers of ME/CFS patients reported that their symptoms improved, stayed the same or got worse during pregnancy, with no clear reasons as to why. But the overall lack of data means there are no evidence-based guidelines , leaving patients, their partners and healthcare providers unable to make informed decisions. "Reproductive health issues are a common and very impactful part of these illnesses," Pollack says. For instance, many women report a significant worsening of their long COVID symptoms in the days before their period, and one small study found more than a third of female ME/CFS patients had endometriosis , which can affect fertility. "It is imperative that we study reproductive health, sex hormone fluctuations, menstrual cycles, reproductive phases and pregnancy within infection-associated chronic illnesses," Pollack says. "There are researchers in the field who very much want to study this and have submitted grant applications ... but it often comes down to who gets funding, what research is funded." In the interim, patients and their doctors are muddling through as best they can. "The question of 'what does long COVID mean for family planning?' has started coming through, especially from women in their 20s, 30s and 40s," says Naomi Whyler, a general medicine and infectious diseases physician at Clinic Nineteen, a long COVID clinic in Australia. She generally talks to patients who are considering having a baby about managing POTS, which can worsen during pregnancy, avoiding crashes with pacing and sleep hygiene, and coming off contraindicated medications well in advance of conceiving. "It can be really hard, especially for first-timers who haven't been through a pregnancy before, to understand what they should expect from pregnancy and then relate that to long COVID," Whyler says. But people with long COVID aren't just stumbling around in the dark with pregnancy. Some patients are running into trouble with common fertility procedures — and the medical practitioners who provide them. For as long as she can remember, Amanda, a white-collar professional who lives in Sydney, has wanted to be a mother. "Every big decision I've made has been about what's going to be best for having kids in the future," she says — which neighbourhoods she moved to, the jobs she applied for, how she'd use her annual leave allowance. "It's always been in the back of my mind that if I don't have a partner by age 34, then I'm just going to go ahead and have a child on my own." Amanda was diagnosed with long COVID, POTS, mast cell activation syndrome and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome — a connective tissue disorder — after she caught the virus in 2022, when she was 32. By the end of the year she'd deteriorated so much that she made an appointment with a fertility specialist, hoping to start the process of conceiving with donor sperm before she got any worse. "I was quite concerned about how pregnancy might affect my health and whether I'd be well enough to look after a baby, especially as a single mother," says Amanda, a pseudonym to protect her privacy. "Ultimately I decided it wouldn't be feasible — by that stage I was housebound so things weren't looking promising, at least for the foreseeable future." Instead, Amanda decided to freeze her eggs — maybe she'd recover enough to use them down the line. She fully expected that the hormone injections would have side effects but they flipped her long COVID symptoms into "a different stratosphere", she says. The retrieval procedure was another challenge. Her medical team weren't familiar with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, which makes her joints prone to dislocation, nor were they aware that anaesthesia can cause complications in people with POTS. She put her requests for extra care in writing and went into surgery feeling optimistic. But she woke up in a chair, her head lolled to one side and her shoulder and several ribs partially dislocated, feeling cold, weak and dizzy. "I'm still in a neck brace, 24/7, all these months later." At least the surgery was a success; 16 eggs were collected, which was a huge relief. "But my health definitely took a big knock during that procedure and I've deteriorated quite a lot since then — I've been bed bound since May," Amanda says. Now 35, she's in a kind of limbo, wedged between the uncertainty of whether she'll recover from long COVID and the "ticking clock" of her fertility. "Hopefully there will be more research and eventually better treatments for long COVID and I just hope it will be at a time when it's still viable for me to have a child," she says. "But now I'm just hoping to recover enough that I can meet someone who maybe already has children. That feels like a more realistic goal." Laura Allen is familiar with stories like these — of people with long COVID struggling to find medical practitioners who are educated about their illness and willing to help. Patients in their 30s sometimes reach out for advice on conception and pregnancy and ask "questions we can't answer", says Allen, telehealth manager at Emerge Australia, a support and advocacy organisation for people with ME/CFS and long COVID. But there are few places to refer them to; she isn't aware of any "well informed" obstetric and gynaecology care in Australia. "It's usually the person who lives with the illness who's educating the doctors," she says. It doesn't have to be this way. For decades before long COVID became a serious global health issue people with ME/CFS suffered from a lack of research into their illness and a lack of awareness and education among clinicians — Emerge Australia has described it as " systemic neglect ", a disability access issue. Governments need to take the problem more seriously, Allen says: they need to allocate more funding for clinical guidelines and, crucially, research into effective treatments so that patients can claw back some quality of life, enough energy and support to study or work or raise a family. "I think everyone has the right to have a child," she says. "This is impacting people at age 35 but we've got children coming through who are really sick too. We're looking at a generation who are going to grow up disabled who will eventually hit that age where, potentially, they've lost the right to have kids because ... they've never been given the right research, the right treatments, the right management." There's lots of research starting to happen overseas, Allen adds: "Why isn't that happening in Australia? We aren't a third-world country. We have money. We have capacity. It should be put into health." For Beth Pollack, the long COVID "knowledge gap" is reflective of the research gap — it always takes a while for research to filter through to medical front lines. "But I think it's very important to do [medical education] while we wait for more answers, because there's a lot we do know," she says. For instance, clinicians need to know how to diagnose long COVID and ME/CFS in the first place, she says, how to help patients manage their symptoms and, crucially, to screen for other conditions that commonly co-occur — especially reproductive health conditions. "It's important to screen so we can try to reduce diagnostic delays," Pollack says. "For decades patients have seen specialist after specialist and collected new diagnoses one by one — almost like Pokemon — as they continue to get sicker and sicker." What to do with all this suffering, this grief? Because the mental health consequences of chronic illness — of prolonged sickness, medical neglect, feelings of hopelessness — are serious. Australia's parliamentary inquiry into long COVID heard from dozens of patients, many of them parents, who were deeply frustrated that they were unable to live the life they wanted. "I am 36 and have two small children who I am barely able to parent any longer," said Angela O'Connor, a neuroscientist who couldn't work because of long COVID. "I feel like a crushed shell of a human being who will only become more of a burden to her family and the health system as I age." Father of two Daniel Moore's grief strikes in profound and quiet ways. "My biggest grief from ME is not being able to be the dad I want to be," Moore, 43, wrote on Twitter in 2022. A former social worker who lives in north-east England, Moore has struggled with unrelenting exhaustion, post-exertional malaise and cognitive dysfunction since he developed ME/CFS in 2018, two decades after he recovered from a seven-year bout of the illness as a teenager. His symptoms mean he must "micromanage" his energy and limit his activities; he misses going for walks and playing video games with his children and is constantly trying to find ways to relate to them that won't make him worse. "To lose that ability to go on adventures with them, that was the biggest thing," he says. "All of a sudden my world got smaller, but their world got smaller as well." Sometimes Facebook surfaces old photos of him and his family out and about in the world, before he got sick, catching him off guard. "It's quite painful, because I've had seven years out of my kids' life where I've not been able to do those things, and that also impacts my wife, because we've not been able to do things as a family together," says Moore, who co-hosts a podcast about living and coping with ME/CFS . But this grief, he adds — and the myriad ways long COVID and ME/CFS are splintering patients' lives — too often goes unacknowledged in the broader community. "There's so much focus on the medical side of things, the lack of treatment ... but I don't think there's a lot of conversation about the social side, the relational side — how we live our lives, basically, and people seeing the impact of that." Or the strategies patients are using to get by. Hayley Grant only realised that she might want children after she developed long COVID in 2022. A former primary school teacher who lives in Canberra, Grant, 33, knows she's not well enough right now — managing her heart issues and other symptoms is her priority. It's a major reason she isn't allowing her desire to grow. "I would love a family of my own one day but I don't want to hold onto that idea too tightly as there are a lot of 'ifs' and 'buts' in regards to my health and recovery," she says. "I don't want to have to grieve another thing that long COVID has taken." But this is not just a story of loss and despair. For all the lives up-ended by long COVID and ME/CFS, there are also glimmers of hope — of patients who have the means deciding that they're more comfortable taking a risk than giving up on their dreams. Some have been able to have children only because they have good support from friends, family and doctors who go the extra mile for them. That's not to say it's an easy ride. In the first few months after she developed long COVID in March 2020, Ashleigh Batchelor had serious doubts she was going to survive, let alone that she'd be able to conceive and give birth to a second child. Then 33, Batchelor, who lives in Scotland, struggled with crushing fatigue, POTS, nerve pain that felt like electricity running through her body, breathlessness, muscle tremors and eyesight changes. Unable to work, she lost her job training healthcare workers how to use surgical devices, her car, her health insurance, her fitness, her social life and her sense of self. But she was determined to have another baby, to give her young daughter a sibling. "I think I just got really stubborn," Batchelor, now 37, says. "I was like, long COVID has taken too much, you're not taking this — I will do this." She knew she was rolling the dice, in a way; she was aware her symptoms might improve or get worse with pregnancy. But her GP was supportive of her plans and her family promised to rally for her if she and her husband couldn't cope. "Also, being a mum has always been written into my identity," she says. "I always just knew I wanted a family." Things did get rough. Her pregnancy followed a similar trajectory to her first but all her symptoms were "amplified" and at times her pain and fatigue were overwhelming. And although she received excellent care from some healthcare workers, there were also stressful interactions with others: the obstetrician who tried to derail her plan to have an elective c-section, the midwife who made "dismissive" and "belittling" remarks about long COVID and Batchelor's concerns for her unborn baby's health. But finally, in August 2022, her son arrived — a little miracle. On Instagram she posted a photo of him on her chest, moments after he was delivered, with a triumphant caption: "UP YOURS LONG COVID." Along the way Batchelor created a Facebook page to help other women with long COVID navigate pregnancy and ask questions that often get lost in mainstream patient communities. "Because there are no textbook answers, and doctors don't always have the answers, the only option we have at the moment is to hear from people with lived experience who are happy to share," she says. It would make a big difference, she adds, if long COVID advocacy organisations included basic information about pregnancy in their educational resources: "Even if it's just case studies, ultimately with the line, 'It's a gamble — you just have to weigh up whether that gamble is right for you'." Still today Batchelor struggles with her long COVID symptoms — a weight she says she's better able to carry because she has the "patience and support" of her husband, Graham, who reassures her constantly that they're a team. She can do more than she could when she first got sick but her life is much smaller, much less active. Long COVID also affects her parenting. She can't just walk her kids to the park, for instance, because it drains her energy. "I'm actually even reluctant to take them to the park, or to soft plays, because there's lots of running around and they might fall off this or that," she says. "Even just the sensory overload of soft plays with kids screaming... it's a lot." But she has no regrets. "If anything, my kids have been my purpose, they've been the reason I keep going," she says. "Not to get too deep, but there have been points during long COVID where I've felt suicidal and ... you absolutely do not give that even a moment's thought because you have these two amazing children." Those nine months carrying her son, she adds, are her proudest achievement. "Screw sporting accomplishments, degrees, education, jobs, money earned, climbs to the top of Kilimanjaro — none of that. It's getting through pregnancy with long COVID. It was the most difficult and most rewarding thing I've ever done." Credits Words: Hayley Gleeson Illustrations: Gabrielle Flood ABCVisa Inc. ( NYSE:V – Get Free Report ) shares were down 0.2% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $319.46 and last traded at $320.10. Approximately 621,909 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average daily volume of 6,943,806 shares. The stock had previously closed at $320.65. Analysts Set New Price Targets V has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Visa from $311.00 to $322.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $317.00 price objective on shares of Visa in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Visa from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup upped their price target on Visa from $319.00 to $326.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Visa from $318.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $328.41. Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Visa Visa Trading Down 0.7 % Visa ( NYSE:V – Get Free Report ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The credit-card processor reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.58 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $9.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.49 billion. Visa had a net margin of 54.96% and a return on equity of 53.16%. The business’s revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.33 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Visa Inc. will post 11.23 EPS for the current fiscal year. Visa Increases Dividend The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were given a dividend of $0.59 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. This is a positive change from Visa’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Visa’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.25%. Insider Buying and Selling In other news, insider Paul D. Fabara sold 2,171 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.97, for a total value of $668,602.87. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 17,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,510,815.18. The trade was a 10.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink . 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders. Institutional Investors Weigh In On Visa A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Adero Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Visa by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Adero Partners LLC now owns 3,489 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $916,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. WBI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Visa during the second quarter valued at about $882,000. TFB Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Visa by 8.4% in the 2nd quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 4,793 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock valued at $1,258,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Visa by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 9,230 shares of the credit-card processor’s stock worth $2,423,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Visa during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $63,000. 82.15% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Visa Company Profile ( Get Free Report ) Visa Inc operates as a payment technology company in the United States and internationally. The company operates VisaNet, a transaction processing network that enables authorization, clearing, and settlement of payment transactions. It also offers credit, debit, and prepaid card products; tap to pay, tokenization, and click to pay services; Visa Direct, a solution that facilitates the delivery of funds to eligible cards, deposit accounts, and digital wallets; Visa B2B Connect, a multilateral business-to-business cross-border payments network; Visa Cross-Border Solution, a cross-border consumer payments solution; and Visa DPS that provides a range of value-added services, including fraud mitigation, dispute management, data analytics, campaign management, a suite of digital solutions, and contact center services. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Visa Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Visa and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .
Jubo Dal, Swechchhasebak Dal, and Chhatra Dal will march towards the Indian High Commission in Dhaka today. It will begin from the party's Nayapaltan central office at 10:00am, said a joint press release yesterday. The march, aimed at submitting a memorandum, is being organised in protest the attack on Assistant High Commission of Bangladesh in Agartala, desecration of the national flag in Kolkata, and an alleged conspiracy to incite communal unrest. In the release, leaders of the three organisations of BNP called on leaders and activists to join the demonstration. The organisations planned the programme a day ahead of Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri's visit to Dhaka tomorrow. There will be foreign office consultations led by foreign secretaries of the two countries. It will be the first top diplomatic contact with Bangladesh since the ouster of Sheikh Hasina in August. The meeting also comes at a time when ties between Dhaka and Delhi are under considerable strain over various issues, including allegations of attacks on minorities in Bangladesh. Meanwhile, Indian Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) on Friday announced that activists from over 200 social and cultural organisations will march towards the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi on Tuesday. The demonstration, coinciding with International Human Rights Day, will be held to protest against "alleged atrocities" on minority communities, including Hindus, in Bangladesh. Rajnish Jindal, co-in-charge of the RSS Delhi unit's media and communications department, shared details at a press conference where he said the march will include representatives of various social, cultural, and religious groups under the banner of "Civil Society of Delhi". He added that a memorandum would be submitted to the Bangladesh High Commission and international organisations such as the UN, UNHRC, WHO, Amnesty International, and ADB, urging immediate intervention to halt the "violence". Former Indian high commissioner to Bangladesh Veena Sikri and ex-director general of the Intelligence Bureau Rajiv Jain also spoke at the event, expressing grave concern over the situation. "This is the worst situation for Hindus and other minority communities in Bangladesh since the Liberation War of 1971," Veena claimed. In another development, hoteliers in Barak valley of the north eastern state of Assam have announced that they would not host any Bangladesh national till alleged attacks on Hindus and other minorities in that country stop, PTI reported from Guwahati. This was announced by Barak Valley Hotel and Restaurant Association President Babul Rai on Friday. Barak Valley comprises three districts of Cachar, Sribhumi (formerly Karimganj) and Hailakandi and shares a 129km-long border with Bangladesh's Sylhet region. A PTI report from Washington said a protest march is being organised by "HinduAction" near the White House tomorrow while another protest would be held by Hindu community leaders in Chicago today.UConn announced a two-year contract extension for head football coach Jim Mora on Saturday, just before the team took the field for the Fenway Bowl against North Carolina. Mora’s contract extension will run through 2028 and will pay him $10 million through the remaining four years, with the opportunity to earn more in incentives. The 63-year-old coach is set to make $1.7 million next season, $1.9 million in 2026 and $2.3 and $2.4 million in 2027 and 2028, respectively. UConn then went out and thrashed North Carolina, 27-14, in a game that wasn’t as close as the score indicated. “I am forever grateful. I’m grateful to (athletic director) David (Benedict) and (school president) Radenka (Maric) and the Board of Trustees, but this is about what the (UConn players) did today,” Mora said when asked about the extension in the postgame press conference. In a statement released by UConn ahead of the game, Mora said: “I’d like to thank David Benedict, Radenka Maric and the University of Connecticut leadership for their trust in me and their commitment to our football program. When I first got here, I talked about where we wanted this program to go and we have shown great progress but we still have plenty of work to do. The commitment and dedication from the university and the athletic department has me excited about the future for our football team.” “Three years ago, I tasked Jim Mora with the challenge of leading our football team back to success and through his experience, energy and leadership he has done just that,” UConn athletic director David Benedict said in a statement. “He has taken our program to post season bowl games twice and just guided our team to one of the best seasons in UConn football history, building a momentum to keep this program moving forward. I look forward to his leadership of our football team in the years ahead.” Mora is coming off one of the most successful seasons in UConn football history, having led the team to an 8-4 record and an appearance in the Fenway Bowl. It’s the Huskies’ second bowl appearance in three years. UConn’s eight wins is the most for the program since 2010, and the Huskies had their first winning season since that year, too. A win Saturday would give UConn nine wins for just the third time in program history, with the last two such seasons coming in 2003 and 2007. UConn quarterbacks coach Brad Robbins is heading to Tulsa as an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, according to a report from CBS Sports. Robbins was part of a coaching staff that helped the offense produce its most prolific attack since the 2009 season and fifth-most in program history (32.3 points per game). Robbins worked at FCS Tennessee Tech and Division II North Greenville before joining Jim Mora’s staff in spring 2023. Get local news delivered to your inbox!Former President Jimmy Carter has died at the age of 100. The 39th president of the United States was a Georgia peanut farmer who sought to restore trust in government when he assumed the presidency in 1977 and then built a reputation for tireless work as a humanitarian. He earned a Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. Carter died Sunday, coming up on two years after entering hospice care, at his home in Plains, Georgia. At age 52, Carter was sworn in as president on Jan. 20, 1977, after defeating President Gerald R. Ford in the 1976 general election. Carter left office on Jan. 20, 1981, following his 1980 general election loss to Ronald Reagan. Here's the latest: United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Sunday praised Carter for his significant contributions to international peace through the Camp David Accords, the SALT II Treaty and the Panama Canal treaties. “President Carter’s commitment to international peace and human rights also found full expression after he left the presidency,” Guterres said in a statement. "He played a key role in conflict mediation, election monitoring, the promotion of democracy, and disease prevention and eradication. These and other efforts earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 and helped advance the work of the United Nations. “President Carter will be remembered for his solidarity with the vulnerable, his abiding grace, and his unrelenting faith in the common good and our common humanity,” Guterres said. King Charles III joined leaders from around the world in issuing their condolences and sharing their reflections on the former president. “It was with great sadness that I learned of the death of former President Carter," the king said in a public statement. “He was a committed public servant, and devoted his life to promoting peace and human rights. His dedication and humility served as an inspiration to many, and I remember with great fondness his visit to the United Kingdom in 1977." President Joe Biden broke from his family vacation in the U.S. Virgin Islands to remember Carter, recalling his predecessor as a role model and friend. America and the world lost a “remarkable leader” with Carter’s death, Biden said, adding that he had spoken to several of the former president's children and was working with them to formalize memorial arrangements in Washington. Speaking for roughly 10 minutes, Biden remembered Carter as a humanitarian and statesman, someone he couldn't imagine walking past a person in need without trying to help them. He represented “the most fundamental human values we can never let slip away,” Biden said. The president repeatedly praised Carter's “simple decency” and his values, saying some will see him as a man of honesty and humility from a bygone era. “I don’t believe it’s a bygone era. I see a man not only of our time, but for all times,” Biden said. “To know his core, you need to know he never stopped being a Sunday school teacher at that Baptist church in Plains, Georgia.” Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi said on X that Carter's significant role in achieving the peace agreement between Egypt and Israel "will remain etched in the annals of history.” He went on to say Carter's “humanitarian work exemplifies a lofty standard of love, peace, and brotherhood.” Carter will be remembered as “one of the world’s most prominent leaders in service to humanity,” el-Sissi said. President Joe Biden will speak about Carter Sunday evening. The president will make his address from a hotel in St. Croix, from the U.S. Virgin Islands, where he is on a holiday vacation with his family. Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter had one of the great love stories and political partnerships in U.S. presidential history. The former president sometimes called his wife, who died Nov. 19. 2023, “Rosie,” which is a good way to remember how her name actually is pronounced. It is “ROSE-uh-lyn,” not, repeat NOT, “RAHZ-uh-lyn.” They were married more than 77 years but their relationship went back even further. Jimmy’s mother, “Miss Lillian,” delivered Eleanor Rosalynn Smith at the Smith home in Plains on Aug. 18, 1927. The nurse brought her eldest child back a few days later to visit, meaning the longest-married presidential couple met as preschooler and newborn. She became his trusted campaign aide and White House adviser, surprising Washington by sitting in on Cabinet meetings. Then they traveled the world together as co-founders of The Carter Center. Most of the nation saw the former president for the last time at Rosalynn Carter’s funeral. Jason Carter is now the chairman of The Carter Center’s board of governors. He said his grandparents “never changed who they were” even after reaching the White House and becoming global humanitarians. He says their four years in Washington were just one period of putting their values into action and that the center his grandparents founded in Atlanta is a lasting “extension of their belief in human rights as a fundamental global force.” Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter traveled the world advocating for democracy and fighting disease, but Jason Carter said they weren’t motivated by pity, or arrogance that a former American president had all the answers — they ventured to remote places because they could “recognize these people.” They too were from “a 600-person village” and understood that even the poorest people “have the power ... the ability ... the knowledge and the expertise to change their own community.” As reaction poured in from around the world, President Joe Biden mourned Carter’s death, saying the world lost an “extraordinary leader, statesman and humanitarian” and he lost a dear friend. Biden cited Carter’s compassion and moral clarity, his work to eradicate disease, forge peace, advance civil and human rights, promote free and fair elections, house the homeless and advocacy for the disadvantaged as an example for others. Biden said he is ordering a state funeral for Carter in Washington. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is remembering Carter as a man steeped “in devotion to public service and peace.” The California Democrat said in a statement Sunday that Carter was committed to “honoring the spark of divinity within every person,” something she said manifested in “teaching Sunday school in his beloved Marantha Baptist Church, brokering the landmark Camp David Accords to pave the way to peace or building homes with Habitat for Humanity.” Pelosi also said Carter led “perhaps the most impactful post-presidency in history.” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer noted in a post on X the special contribution Carter made by brokering the Camp David Accords between Israel and Egypt and through his work with the Carter Center. “Motivated by his strong faith and values, President Carter redefined the post-presidency with a remarkable commitment to social justice and human rights at home and abroad,” Starmer said. To commemorate Carter’s death, officials with the Empire State Building said in a post on social media that the iconic New York City landmark would be lit in red, white and blue on Sunday night, “to honor the life and legacy” of the late former president. In a statement issued Sunday, former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama said Carter’s beloved Maranatha Baptist Church “will be a little quieter on Sunday,s” but added that the late former president “will never be far away -- buried alongside Rosalynn next to a willow tree down the road, his memory calling all of us to heed our better angels.” Noting the “hundreds of tourists from around the world crammed into the pews” to see the former president teach Sunday school, as he did “for most of his adult life,” the Obamas listed Carter’s accomplishments as president. But they made special note of the Sunday school lessons, saying they were catalysts for people making a pilgrimage to the church. “Many people in that church on Sunday morning were there, at least in part, because of something more fundamental: President Carter’s decency.” The longest-lived American president died Sunday, more than a year after entering hospice care , at his home in the small town of Plains, Georgia, where he and his wife, Rosalynn, who died at 96 in November 2023 , spent most of their lives. “Our founder, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, passed away this afternoon in Plains, Georgia,” The Carter Center said in posting about his death on the social media platform X. It added in a statement that he died peacefully, surrounded by his family. In his 1975 book “Why Not The Best,” Carter said of himself: “I am a Southerner and an American, I am a farmer, an engineer, a father and husband, a Christian, a politician and former governor, a planner, a businessman, a nuclear physicist, a naval officer, a canoeist, and among other things a lover of Bob Dylan’s songs and Dylan Thomas’s poetry.” A moderate Democrat, Carter entered the 1976 presidential race as a little-known Georgia governor with a broad smile, outspoken Baptist mores and technocratic plans reflecting his education as an engineer. After he left office and returned home to his tiny hometown of Plains in southwest Georgia, Carter regularly taught Sunday School lessons at Maranatha Baptist Church until his mobility declined. Those sessions drew visitors from around the world. Former Vice President Al Gore praised Jimmy Carter for living “a life full of purpose, commitment and kindness” and for being a “lifelong role model for the entire environmental movement.” Carter, who left the White House in 1981 after a landslide defeat to Ronald Reagan. concentrated on conflict resolution, defending democracy and fighting disease in the developing world. Gore, who lost the 2000 presidential election to George W. Bush, remains a leading advocate for action to fight climate change. Both won Nobel Peace Prizes. Gore said that “it is a testament to his unyielding determination to help build a more just and peaceful world” that Carter is often “remembered equally for the work he did as President as he is for his leadership over the 42 years after he left office.” During Gore’s time in the White House, President Bill Clinton had an uneasy relationship with Carter. But Gore said he is “grateful” for “many years of friendship and collaboration” with Carter. Former President Bill Clinton and his wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, remember Carter as a man who lived to serve others. “Hillary and I mourn the passing of President Jimmy Carter and give thanks for his long, good life. Guided by his faith, President Carter lived to serve others — until the very end." The statement recalled Carter's many achievements and priorities, including efforts “to protect our natural resources in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, make energy conservation a national priority, return the Panama Canal to Panama, and secure peace between Egypt and Israel at Camp David." After he left office, the Clinton statement said, Carter continued efforts in "supporting honest elections, advancing peace, combating disease, and promoting democracy; to his and Rosalynn’s devotion and hard work at Habitat for Humanity — he worked tirelessly for a better, fairer world,” the statement said.
Mayor-elect Daniel Lurie names a philanthropist and five key City Hall staffers
UK leader Starmer heads to Gulf to talk trade, MideastCINCINNATI — Sean Payton was in the midst of discussing on Saturday night when he made and immediately reiterated a point, almost in passing. “No. 5 is a good player,” Payton said, referring to Bengals receiver Tee Higgins. “A real good player.” Higgins didn’t catch his first pass until a third-down conversion in the second quarter, but from then on and the rest of Denver’s secondary all the way through his 31-yard toe-tap and walk-off overtime touchdown on back-to-back plays. Higgins authored the first three-touchdown game of his career and, in the process, helped keep Cincinnati’s season alive. Whenever the Bengals’ season ends — the Broncos and clinch the final AFC playoff spot — Higgins is in for a massive payday. He’ll either sign a lucrative extension to continue his career with Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase as one of the most formidable trios in football or he’ll get a chance to be a No. 1 target elsewhere. Payton, of course, is well aware of Higgins’ impending free agency. He also knows the Broncos need to upgrade their offensive skill talent around rookie quarterback Bo Nix going into the future. In fact, if Payton and the Broncos take one thing from Saturday’s loss, it’s likely to be just that. Whether Denver makes a big run at a top-of-the-market free agent like Higgins or works more in the middle tiers of free agency and the draft, the Bengals’ offensive weaponry most certainly made an impression. Burrow and Chase are a separate conversation entirely. Not many teams have a quarterback like Burrow or a receiver like Chase, let alone that pairing. Good luck replicating that. What stands out about the Bengals, though, is the way all of the other parts work together. Chase commands outsized attention, but everybody else can hurt defenses, too. Higgins, sure, but also slot man Andrei Iosivas. And tight end Mike Gesicki. And running back Chase Brown. On Saturday night, Higgins went for 11 catches on 12 targets for 131 yards and the trio of touchdowns. Gesicki had 10 catches on 12 targets for 86 yards. Iosivas added three catches on four targets for 59. Each of his catches went for at least 16 yards and he also had a 50-yard touchdown wiped off the board by an illegal shift. Brown had 24 touches (20 carries and four catches) for 91 total yards, including a critical 11-yard reception on a fourth-and-2 in the fourth quarter. Denver’s going to have salary cap room to spend this offseason despite having to account for the final $32 million of Russell Wilson’s money on its 2025 books. From 2026 onward, the books are clean. If the Broncos want to try to spend big Higgins or another receiver — other potential free agents include Chris Godwin coming off an ankle injury, Amari Cooper, Stefon Diggs and DeAndre Hopkins — they can. They will also be looking to the draft to add young talent. Payton multiple times has referenced Detroit’s 2023 draft haul, which netted them a pair of “Joker” players in running back Jahmyr Gibbs (No. 12 overall) and tight end Sam LaPorta (No. 34 overall) in the same class. Those are positions Payton exploited matchups with year after year after year in New Orleans with a variety of body types and skill sets. The Broncos don’t have a true difference-maker at either spot. Of course, Denver’s going to have other needs that require attention and the skill group isn’t fully barren. Courtland Sutton is on the verge of his first 1,000-yard receiving season since 2019 and has created a tough call for the Broncos on whether to extend him, let him play on a $20.2 million cap number in 2025 or move on. They’ve got a handful of young skill players that look like pieces to the puzzle, too, in second-year receiver Marvin Mims Jr., rookie receiver Devaughn Vele and running back Audric Estime. Still, the Broncos have their starting offensive line all under contract for 2025. The core of their defense is set, too, with D.J. Jones the biggest impending free agent. Payton and general manager George Paton inside out and they’ve done that. Whether Denver tries to lure Higgins himself or finds other routes, the next step in the roster build is to outfit Nix with not only more surrounding talent but more balance. A glimpse of Burrow’s brilliance also doubled as a testament to Pat Surtain II’s dominance. Chase finished with nine catches on 15 targets for 102 yards. According to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats, here’s how that production broke out. Against Surtain, Chase ran 43 routes and had three catches (six targets) for 27 yards. Against everybody else, Chase ran 13 routes and had six catches (nine targets) for 75. That means Burrow only targeted Chase’s 14% of the time when Surtain was in coverage. Burrow, though, looked Chase’s way on 69% of the routes he ran against anybody else. That’s identifying matchups and coverage at an elite level. It also speaks to the respect even the very best in football have for Surtain. A terrific chess match all around, despite the bitter ending for Surtain and the Broncos. Two things, actually. Two throws Nix will want back in overtime that could have flipped the outcome. He missed Troy Franklin up the left side on third-and-6 on Denver’s first drive and then got caught between Adam Trautman and Franklin on third-and-8 on the second drive. Either would have been a substantial gain and both came in situations when the Broncos only needed a field goal. The first one was a continuation of a confounding trend. The rookie pair just hasn’t been able to get on the same page down the field despite playing two years together in college. The second one stung just even more. The Bengals had used both of their overtime timeouts. Nix climbed in the pocket with 2:33 left but his throw was wide of Trautman and short of Franklin. Had Trautman caught it, he might have been tackled short of a first down anyway. Franklin easily had first-down depth. A completion takes the clock to the two-minute warning. Then three kneeldowns and ball game. Tie at 24 and on to the playoffs. Alas. Zach Allen authored one of the most dominating outings of the NFL season from a defensive lineman. He finished with 3.5 sacks and eight pressures (per Next Gen Stats), but even that undersells it some. Allen had a hand in getting Burrow to the ground a whopping seven times on the day. Second quarter: Full sack. Third quarter: Full sack and half sack each wiped off the board by defensive penalties, then a half sack. Fourth quarter: Half sack. Overtime: Half sack and a full sack on back-to-back plays to force a punt on the Bengals’ opening drive. Allen’s now up to 8.5 sacks this season, blowing past his previous career high of 5.5. He and Jonathon Cooper (9.5) each have a chance against Kansas City to join Nik Bonitto (11.5) with double-digit sacks. Denver’s balance has been impressive on the rush front. Dondrea Tillman logged his fifth sack Saturday, giving the Broncos six players with at least five. That’s the most players with five-plus sacks in a season in team history and tied for second-most in NFL history, trailing only the 1986 Chicago Bears.WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump picked Scott Bessent to serve as Treasury secretary Friday, tapping a billionaire hedge fund manager to lead an economic agenda that is expected to be built around raising tariffs and cutting taxes. Bessent, the founder of the investment firm Key Square Capital Management, has emerged as a central economic adviser to Trump over the past year. He has called for rolling back government subsidies, deregulating the economy and raising domestic energy production. Unlike many on Wall Street, Bessent, 62, has also defended the use of tariffs, which are Trump’s favorite economic tool. “Scott is widely respected as one of the World’s foremost International Investors and Geopolitical and Economic Strategists,” Trump said in a statement posted on social media. “Scott’s story is that of the American Dream.” “Together, we will Make America Rich Again, Prosperous Again, Affordable Again, and most importantly, Great Again,” Trump said. Although Bessent’s policy ideas are in lockstep with conservative economic principles, one aspect of his background could draw questions from Republicans. He rose to prominence in the finance world as a protégé of George Soros, a billionaire Democratic donor and longtime villain of the right wing, and served for years as his top money manager. Related Story: The selection came after intensive deliberation by Trump and his advisers, who debated for weeks about who should win the most prominent economic job in his administration. Bessent and Howard Lutnick, the CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, tussled over the job before Lutnick was picked to be commerce secretary this week. Trump also considered tapping Kevin Warsh, a former Federal Reserve Board governor, and Marc Rowan, the CEO of Apollo Global Management, for the role. If confirmed by the Senate, Bessent would take over a department with vast responsibilities that is at the core of the federal government. The Treasury Department issues debt to fund the government’s operations and pay its bills, including paying Social Security and veterans benefits. But the most visible parts of Bessent’s job will be shepherding the administration’s tax plans through Congress, leading economic negotiations with China and overseeing the nation’s sanctions program. — This article originally appeared in . By Alan Rappeport and Maggie Haberman c.2024 The New York Times Company
SAN ANTONIO − Tonight’s game between Colorado and BYU in the Alamo Bowl might be the most attractive college football bowl game that is not part of the College Football Playoff. Count the reasons: It’s a prime-time Saturday night game on ABC. It features the reigning Heisman Trophy winner from Colorado, Travis Hunter . It also features flamboyant Colorado coach Deion Sanders and his son Shedeur, who might be the top quarterback selected in the NFL draft in April. This will be their last game together in college − the Buffaloes (9-3) vs. the Cougars (10-2), two Big 12 Conference teams on opposite sides of the Rocky Mountains who haven’t played each other since the Freedom Bowl in 1988. Shedeur Sanders, Colorado’s quarterback, ranks first nationally in completion percentage (74.2%) and will face a BYU defense that finished the regular season tied for first nationally in passes intercepted (20). Like Shedeur, Hunter also will play the game under a massive insurance policy to protect him in case he’s injured. Because he plays on offense and defense, Hunter’s injury risk is essentially doubled, adding to the drama tonight after so many other top NFL prospects opted not to play in bowl games to avoid any injury risk that could hurt their future earnings. Will this bowl game be worth it for Hunter and Shedeur Sanders? We’re about to find out. Follow along here for live updates, highlights and news: BYU vs. Colorado odds, line The Colorado Buffaloes are favorites to defeat the BYU Cougars in Saturday’s college football matchup, according to the BetMGM college football odds . Looking to wager? Check out the top college football betting apps in 2024 offering the top NCAA football betting promos and bonuses in 2024 . When is the BYU-Colorado game in the Alamo Bowl? Kickoff is at 7:30 ET Saturday from the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. How to watch the Alamo Bowl game with BYU vs. Colorado The game will be broadcast on ABC. Dave Pasch, Dusty Dvoracek and Taylor McGregor will call the game. How to stream the BYU-Colorado game The Cougars-Buffaloes game can be streamed on Fubo.
The Stock Market Rally Isn’t Just Big Tech Anymore. Why Investors Still Should Be Cautious. - Barron's
While My Gaze Was Elsewhere
Shares of Micron Technology, Inc. ( NASDAQ:MU – Get Free Report ) fell 0.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $88.10 and last traded at $89.15. 4,495,905 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 21,926,012 shares. The stock had previously closed at $89.28. Specifically, EVP April S. Arnzen sold 4,890 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.21, for a total value of $416,676.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 181,223 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,442,011.83. The trade was a 2.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website . Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Micron Technology from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Micron Technology from $150.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Micron Technology in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Micron Technology from an “outperform” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $140.00 to $67.00 in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Micron Technology from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twenty-three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $135.24. Micron Technology Trading Down 1.3 % The company has a current ratio of 2.64, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $101.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $107.22. The company has a market cap of $98.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 130.34 and a beta of 1.16. Micron Technology ( NASDAQ:MU – Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 18th. The semiconductor manufacturer reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $8.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.71 billion. Micron Technology had a net margin of 3.10% and a return on equity of 1.58%. Micron Technology’s revenue for the quarter was up 84.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.95) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Micron Technology, Inc. will post 8.31 EPS for the current fiscal year. Micron Technology Announces Dividend The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.115 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 30th. This represents a $0.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Micron Technology’s payout ratio is 13.26%. Institutional Trading of Micron Technology A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MU. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Micron Technology in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Davis Capital Management acquired a new stake in Micron Technology in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in Micron Technology by 1,096.3% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 323 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares during the period. DT Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in Micron Technology by 261.1% in the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 325 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stone House Investment Management LLC raised its position in Micron Technology by 602.2% during the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 323 shares of the semiconductor manufacturer’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the period. 80.84% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. About Micron Technology ( Get Free Report ) Micron Technology, Inc designs, develops, manufactures, and sells memory and storage products worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Compute and Networking Business Unit, Mobile Business Unit, Embedded Business Unit, and Storage Business Unit. It provides memory and storage technologies comprising dynamic random access memory semiconductor devices with low latency that provide high-speed data retrieval; non-volatile and re-writeable semiconductor storage devices; and non-volatile re-writable semiconductor memory devices that provide fast read speeds under the Micron and Crucial brands, as well as through private labels. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Micron Technology Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Micron Technology and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .
Toby Carvery to hike prices to cover staff costsAuthored by George Citroner via The Epoch Times, Americans are dying from cold weather at more than twice the rate they did two decades ago. A total of 40,079 deaths were recorded from 1999 to 2022, with cold temperatures as either an underlying or contributing cause of death, according to a research letter published Dec. 19 in JAMA Network . The authors of the letter, affiliated with Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, used data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to analyze death certificates. The letter highlights a long-term trend of increase in the rate of cold-related deaths, more than doubling from 0.44 per 100,000 people in 1999 to 0.92 per 100,000 people in 2022. Cold-related deaths were highest among U.S. adults aged 75 years and older. Older people are more susceptible to cold weather due to their limited ability to regulate their body temperature and a greater prevalence of chronic health conditions. While the elderly experience the most deaths overall, the middle-aged group is seeing the fastest rate of increase in cold-related fatalities. Men were more likely to die from cold-related causes than women. These findings are “striking” because these deaths are preventable, Michael Liu, a doctor of medicine student at Harvard Medical School and the study’s first author, told The Epoch Times. Data from the research letter also indicated that while American Indian, Alaska Native, and black people were more likely to die from cold-related deaths each year than any other racial or ethnic groups, Hispanic and white populations saw the most significant increases in the annual mortality rate attributed to cold weather. “There is also increasing evidence that social risk factors that predispose to cold-related deaths are rising in the U.S., including higher rates of social isolation and unsheltered homelessness,” Liu added. Liu noted that although he and his team cannot accurately predict trends going forward, “it is possible that deaths due to cold may increase over time.” “There is evidence that climate change has been associated with more extreme winter weather events,” he said. Another factor that may contribute to increasing deaths from cold in the United States over time is the aging population. “This population has a more limited thermoregulation capacity and a greater burden of underlying health conditions,” Liu said. Structural risk factors like not having sufficient home insulation or heating may also be contributing to cold-related deaths. American Indian, Alaska Native, and black populations, are particularly at risk due to living in homes with inadequate home insulation or heating. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, from July 2021 to May 2023, 36.4 percent of households facing energy insecurity were black. Additionally, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reports that winter months have seen death rates 8 to 12 percent higher than those in non-winter months across the United States for several years. Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times or ZeroHedge.
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Hajj and Umrah are not merely rituals but profound spiritual journeys designed to bring Muslims closer to Allah. These acts of worship are intended to purify the soul, strengthen faith, and instill humility. However, in recent years, the essence of these pilgrimages has been overshadowed by the growing preference for luxury and comfort in holy Makkah/Medina cities. Many pilgrims opt for premium packages, five-star accommodations, and lavish services, often prioritizing material comfort over the spiritual essence of these sacred acts. This trend reflects a shift in focus from the simplicity and austerity that are central to Islamic teachings toward a more commercialized and materialistic approach to worship. Traditionally, Hajj and Umrah were opportunities to disconnect from worldly desires, embrace humility, and reflect on one’s relationship with the Creator. Pilgrims would endure hardships as a reminder of the sacrifices made by Prophet Ibrahim (AS) and his family. Today, the emphasis on luxury detracts from the spiritual essence of these acts of worship. The rise of premium packages and luxury services in Hajj and Umrah has turned these sacred journeys into lucrative industries. Tour operators compete to offer extravagant packages, including stays in five-star hotels near the Haram, private transportation, gourmet dining, and personalized services. While these amenities provide convenience, they often create a divide between wealthy pilgrims and those who undertake the journey with limited resources. This commercialization has transformed Hajj and Umrah into experiences that cater more to comfort and status than spiritual enrichment. One of the most significant consequences of this shift is the loss of spiritual focus. Pilgrims staying in opulent hotels may find themselves engrossed in comfort, socializing, or sightseeing, leaving little room for introspection and prayer. The simplicity and humility that define the pilgrimage are overshadowed by indulgence and a desire to showcase affluence. This focus on luxury undermines the core purpose of Hajj and Umrah: to seek Allah’s forgiveness, strengthen faith, and develop a sense of equality and unity among Muslims. Islam emphasizes modesty and discourages extravagance. The Prophet Muhammad (SAW) himself performed Hajj and Umrah in a state of simplicity, teaching Muslims the value of humility and detachment from worldly possessions. Opting for luxury during pilgrimage contradicts these principles and raises ethical concerns. It creates an environment where social status becomes apparent, detracting from the sense of unity and equality that Hajj and Umrah aim to foster. To address this issue, it is crucial to encourage pilgrims to prioritize the spiritual objectives of Hajj and Umrah over material comfort. Educational programs and awareness campaigns can emphasize the importance of simplicity, humility, and introspection. Religious scholars and Haj/Umrah guides can play a vital role in promoting the true essence of these sacred journeys, guiding pilgrims to focus on worship and self-purification. In conclusion, the increasing preference for luxury and comfort in Hajj and Umrah reflects a broader trend of materialism and spiritual neglect in modern society. By reconnecting with the core values of these sacred acts, Muslims can ensure that their pilgrimages to Makkah/Medina remain profound spiritual experiences rather than mere indulgent trips.Marrakech Film Festival bestows Palestinian film ‘Happy Holidays’ with top award
EuroDry Ltd. (NASDAQ:EDRY) Short Interest Up 928.6% in December
Syria's De Facto Leader Wants To Maintain 'Respectful' Ties With Iran, RussiaPHILADELPHIA (AP) — Philadelphia 76ers forward Paul George has a bone bruise on his left knee and will miss two games, the team said Thursday. The 76ers said George did not suffer any structural damage when he injured the same knee that he hyperextended during the preseason in Wednesday night's loss at Memphis. The game marked the first time this season the All-Star trio of George, Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey started a game together.Published 06:52 IST, December 30th 2024 The life of James Earl Carter Jr., the 39th and longest-lived U.S. president, ended Sunday at the age of 100. PLAINS, Ga. : Newly married and sworn as a Naval officer, Jimmy Carter left his tiny hometown in 1946 hoping to climb the ranks and see the world. Less than a decade later, the death of his father and namesake, a merchant farmer and local politician who went by “Mr. Earl,” prompted the submariner and his wife, Rosalynn, to return to the rural life of Plains, Georgia, they thought they’d escaped. The lieutenant never would be an admiral. Instead, he became commander in chief. Years after his presidency ended in humbling defeat, he would add a Nobel Peace Prize, awarded not for his White House accomplishments but “for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development.” The life of James Earl Carter Jr., the 39th and longest-lived U.S. president, ended Sunday at the age of 100 where it began: Plains, the town of 600 that fueled his political rise, welcomed him after his fall and sustained him during 40 years of service that redefined what it means to be a former president. With the stubborn confidence of an engineer and an optimism rooted in his Baptist faith, Carter described his motivations in politics and beyond in the same way: an almost missionary zeal to solve problems and improve lives. Carter was raised amid racism, abject poverty and hard rural living — realities that shaped both his deliberate politics and emphasis on human rights. “He always felt a responsibility to help people,” said Jill Stuckey, a longtime friend of Carter’s in Plains. “And when he couldn’t make change wherever he was, he decided he had to go higher.” Defying expectations Carter’s path, a mix of happenstance and calculation, pitted moral imperatives against political pragmatism; and it defied typical labels of American politics, especially caricatures of one-term presidents as failures. “We shouldn’t judge presidents by how popular they are in their day. That’s a very narrow way of assessing them,” Carter biographer Jonathan Alter told the Associated Press. “We should judge them by how they changed the country and the world for the better. On that score, Jimmy Carter is not in the first rank of American presidents, but he stands up quite well.” Later in life, Carter conceded that many Americans, even those too young to remember his tenure, judged him ineffective for failing to contain inflation or interest rates, end the energy crisis or quickly bring home American hostages in Iran. He gained admirers instead for his work at The Carter Center — advocating globally for public health, human rights and democracy since 1982 — and the decades he and Rosalynn wore hardhats and swung hammers with Habitat for Humanity. Yet the common view that he was better after the Oval Office than in it annoyed Carter, and his allies relished him living long enough to see historians reassess his presidency. “He doesn’t quite fit in today’s terms” of a left-right, red-blue scoreboard, said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who visited the former president multiple times during his own White House bid. At various points in his political career, Carter labeled himself “progressive” or “conservative” — sometimes both at once. His most ambitious health care bill failed — perhaps one of his biggest legislative disappointments — because it didn’t go far enough to suit liberals. Republicans, especially after his 1980 defeat, cast him as a left-wing cartoon. It would be easiest to classify Carter as a centrist, Buttigieg said, “but there’s also something radical about the depth of his commitment to looking after those who are left out of society and out of the economy.” ‘Country come to town’ Indeed, Carter’s legacy is stitched with complexities, contradictions and evolutions — personal and political. The self-styled peacemaker was a war-trained Naval Academy graduate who promised Democratic challenger Ted Kennedy that he’d “kick his ass.” But he campaigned with a call to treat everyone with “respect and compassion and with love.” Carter vowed to restore America’s virtue after the shame of Vietnam and Watergate, and his technocratic, good-government approach didn’t suit Republicans who tagged government itself as the problem. It also sometimes put Carter at odds with fellow Democrats. The result still was a notable legislative record, with wins on the environment, education, and mental health care. He dramatically expanded federally protected lands, began deregulating air travel, railroads and trucking, and he put human rights at the center of U.S. foreign policy. As a fiscal hawk, Carter added a relative pittance to the national debt, unlike successors from both parties. Carter nonetheless struggled to make his achievements resonate with the electorate he charmed in 1976. Quoting Bob Dylan and grinning enthusiastically, he had promised voters he would “never tell a lie.” Once in Washington, though, he led like a joyless engineer, insisting his ideas would become reality and he’d be rewarded politically if only he could convince enough people with facts and logic. This served him well at Camp David, where he brokered peace between Israel’s Menachem Begin and Epypt’s Anwar Sadat, an experience that later sparked the idea of The Carter Center in Atlanta. Carter’s tenacity helped the center grow to a global force that monitored elections across five continents, enabled his freelance diplomacy and sent public health experts across the developing world. The center’s wins were personal for Carter, who hoped to outlive the last Guinea worm parasite, and nearly did. As president, though, the approach fell short when he urged consumers beleaguered by energy costs to turn down their thermostats. Or when he tried to be the nation’s cheerleader, beseeching Americans to overcome a collective “crisis of confidence.” Republican Ronald Reagan exploited Carter’s lecturing tone with a belittling quip in their lone 1980 debate. “There you go again,” the former Hollywood actor said in response to a wonky answer from the sitting president. “The Great Communicator” outpaced Carter in all but six states. Carter later suggested he “tried to do too much, too soon” and mused that he was incompatible with Washington culture: media figures, lobbyists and Georgetown social elites who looked down on the Georgians and their inner circle as “country come to town.” A ‘leader of conscience’ on race and class Carter carefully navigated divides on race and class on his way to the Oval Office. Born Oct. 1, 1924, Carter was raised in the mostly Black community of Archery, just outside Plains, by a progressive mother and white supremacist father. Their home had no running water or electricity but the future president still grew up with the relative advantages of a locally prominent, land-owning family in a system of Jim Crow segregation. He wrote of President Franklin Roosevelt’s towering presence and his family’s Democratic Party roots, but his father soured on FDR, and Jimmy Carter never campaigned or governed as a New Deal liberal. He offered himself as a small-town peanut farmer with an understated style, carrying his own luggage, bunking with supporters during his first presidential campaign and always using his nickname. And he began his political career in a whites-only Democratic Party. As private citizens, he and Rosalynn supported integration as early as the 1950s and believed it inevitable. Carter refused to join the White Citizens Council in Plains and spoke out in his Baptist church against denying Black people access to worship services. “This is not my house; this is not your house,” he said in a churchwide meeting, reminding fellow parishioners their sanctuary belonged to God. Yet as the appointed chairman of Sumter County schools he never pushed to desegregate, thinking it impractical after the Supreme Court’s 1954 Brown v. Board decision. And while presidential candidate Carter would hail the 1965 Voting Rights Act, signed by fellow Democrat Lyndon Johnson when Carter was a state senator, there is no record of Carter publicly supporting it at the time. Carter overcame a ballot-stuffing opponent to win his legislative seat, then lost the 1966 governor’s race to an arch-segregationist. He won four years later by avoiding explicit mentions of race and campaigning to the right of his rival, who he mocked as “Cufflinks Carl” — the insult of an ascendant politician who never saw himself as part the establishment. Carter’s rural and small-town coalition in 1970 would match any victorious Republican electoral map in 2024. Once elected, though, Carter shocked his white conservative supporters — and landed on the cover of Time magazine — by declaring that “the time for racial discrimination is over.” Before making the jump to Washington, Carter befriended the family of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., whom he’d never sought out as he eyed the governor’s office. Carter lamented his foot-dragging on school integration as a “mistake.” But he also met, conspicuously, with Alabama’s segregationist Gov. George Wallace to accept his primary rival’s endorsement ahead of the 1976 Democratic convention. “He very shrewdly took advantage of his own Southerness,” said Amber Roessner, a University of Tennessee professor and expert on Carter’s campaigns. A coalition of Black voters and white moderate Democrats ultimately made Carter the last Democratic presidential nominee to sweep the Deep South. Then, just as he did in Georgia, he used his power in office to appoint more non-whites than all his predecessors had, combined. He once acknowledged “the secret shame” of white Americans who didn’t fight segregation. But he also told Alter that doing more would have sacrificed his political viability – and thus everything he accomplished in office and after. King’s daughter, Bernice King, described Carter as wisely “strategic” in winning higher offices to enact change. “He was a leader of conscience,” she said in an interview. Rosalynn was Carter’s closest advisor Rosalynn Carter, who died on Nov. 19 at the age of 96, was identified by both husband and wife as the “more political” of the pair; she sat in on Cabinet meetings and urged him to postpone certain priorities, like pressing the Senate to relinquish control of the Panama Canal. “Let that go until the second term,” she would sometimes say. The president, recalled her former aide Kathy Cade, retorted that he was “going to do what’s right” even if “it might cut short the time I have.” Rosalynn held firm, Cade said: “She’d remind him you have to win to govern.” Carter also was the first president to appoint multiple women as Cabinet officers. Yet by his own telling, his career sprouted from chauvinism in the Carters’ early marriage: He did not consult Rosalynn when deciding to move back to Plains in 1953 or before launching his state Senate bid a decade later. Many years later, he called it “inconceivable” that he didn’t confer with the woman he described as his “full partner,” at home, in government and at The Carter Center. “We developed a partnership when we were working in the farm supply business, and it continued when Jimmy got involved in politics,” Rosalynn Carter told AP in 2021. So deep was their trust that when Carter remained tethered to the White House in 1980 as 52 Americans were held hostage in Tehran, it was Rosalynn who campaigned on her husband’s behalf. “I just loved it,” she said, despite the bitterness of defeat. Reevaluating his legacy Fair or not, the label of a disastrous presidency had leading Democrats keep their distance, at least publicly, for many years, but Carter managed to remain relevant, writing books and weighing in on societal challenges. He lamented widening wealth gaps and the influence of money in politics. He voted for democratic socialist Bernie Sanders over Hillary Clinton in 2016, and later declared that America had devolved from fully functioning democracy to “oligarchy.” Yet looking ahead to 2020, with Sanders running again, Carter warned Democrats not to “move to a very liberal program,” lest they help re-elect President Donald Trump. Carter scolded the Republican for his serial lies and threats to democracy, and chided the U.S. establishment for misunderstanding Trump’s populist appeal. He delighted in yearly convocations with Emory University freshmen, often asking them to guess how much he’d raised in his two general election campaigns. “Zero,” he’d gesture with a smile, explaining the public financing system candidates now avoid so they can raise billions. Carter still remained quite practical in partnering with wealthy corporations and foundations to advance Carter Center programs. Carter recognized that economic woes and the Iran crisis doomed his presidency, but offered no apologies for appointing Paul Volcker as the Federal Reserve chairman whose interest rate hikes would not curb inflation until Reagan’s presidency. He was proud of getting all the hostages home without starting a shooting war, even though Tehran would not free them until Reagan’s Inauguration Day. “Carter didn’t look at it” as a failure, Alter emphasized. “He said, ‘They came home safely.’ And that’s what he wanted.” Well into their 90s, the Carters greeted visitors at Plains’ Maranatha Baptist Church, where he taught Sunday School and where he will have his last funeral before being buried on family property alongside Rosalynn. Carter, who made the congregation’s collection plates in his woodworking shop, still garnered headlines there, calling for women’s rights within religious institutions, many of which, he said, “subjugate” women in church and society. Carter was not one to dwell on regrets. “I am at peace with the accomplishments, regret the unrealized goals and utilize my former political position to enhance everything we do,” he wrote around his 90th birthday. Pilgrimages to Plains The politician who had supposedly hated Washington politics also enjoyed hosting Democratic presidential contenders as public pilgrimages to Plains became advantageous again. Carter sat with Buttigieg for the final time March 1, 2020, hours before the Indiana mayor ended his campaign and endorsed eventual winner Joe Biden. “He asked me how I thought the campaign was going,” Buttigieg said, recalling that Carter flashed his signature grin and nodded along as the young candidate, born a year after Carter left office, “put the best face” on the walloping he endured the day before in South Carolina. Never breaking his smile, the 95-year-old host fired back, “I think you ought to drop out.” “So matter of fact,” Buttigieg said with a laugh. “It was somehow encouraging.” Carter had lived enough, won plenty and lost enough to take the long view. “He talked a lot about coming from nowhere,” Buttigieg said, not just to attain the presidency but to leverage “all of the instruments you have in life” and “make the world more peaceful.” In his farewell address as president, Carter said as much to the country that had embraced and rejected him. “The struggle for human rights overrides all differences of color, nation or language,” he declared. “Those who hunger for freedom, who thirst for human dignity and who suffer for the sake of justice — they are the patriots of this cause.” Carter pledged to remain engaged with and for them as he returned “home to the South where I was born and raised,” home to Plains, where that young lieutenant had indeed become “a fellow citizen of the world.” (This story is not edited by Republic and is published from a syndicated feed) Updated 06:52 IST, December 30th 2024
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