It’s time to put AI to work for the employee
Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy start ‘brainstorming’ with Congress to cut government spendingThe Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested a suspected fraudster, Osang Otukpa, for allegedly defrauding 139 Australians to the tune of eight million Australian dollars. The EFCC Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, disclosed this in a statement on Friday in Abuja. He said the suspect was picked up in a stakeout at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, after arriving from the United States on December 6. Oyewale said: “Otukpa goes by five aliases namely: Ford Thompson, Oscar Donald Tyler, Michael Haye, Jose Vitto and Kristin Davidson. “He scammed his victims by luring them on social media to invest in his rogue cryptocurrency investment platform, Liquid Asset Group (LAG). “The proceeds of the alleged crimes were routed to his bank accounts through a global cryptocurrency exchange platform.” He said the suspect would be arraigned in court at the end of the investigations. Opinions Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs. As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake. If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause. Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development. Donate NowCaptain Fred Braman, USN (Ret), Chronicles Epic Sailing Adventures In Still Too Old Not To Go
House rejects Democratic efforts to force release of Matt Gaetz ethics report
Mind the Gap: Six Tips to Assess Your Healthcare Coverage Before the New YearThe governments of The Bahamas and the neighboring Turks and Caicos Islands say they are opposed to any effort by the incoming Trump administration to turn their sun-swept countries into dumping grounds for migrants from other countries. Both countries issued statements on Thursday after NBC News reported that the Trump administration was preparing a list of countries to where it might ship migrants as President-elect Donald Trump seeks to make good on his promise for massively deportations from the United States. The migrants would be sent to the countries if rejected by their home countries. The news report specifically mentioned Panama, Grenada and the Turks and Caicos Islands, a British dependency at the southern tip of The Bahamas, which was also named. “The Bahamas simply does not have the resources to accommodate such a request,” the office of Bahamas Prime Minister Philip Davis said in a statement. “The prime minister’s priorities remain focused on addressing the concerns of The Bahamian people.” The Miami Herald has reached out to the Trump transition team but had not heard back by publication. The statement from Davis’ office, however, indicates that there may have been initial discussions although no details were provided. The idea of accepting deportation flights from the U.S. was presented to his government, the statement said, “but was reviewed and firmly rejected by the prime minister.” “There has been no further engagement or discussions with the Trump transition team or any other entity regarding this matter,” Davis’ office said, adding that the government’s position will not change. Under the proposed plan, as indicated by The Bahamas’ statement, migrants put on deportation flights and sent to the countries would be from other nations. It’s a policy that the current administration has tried to also pursue. Recently, for example, Suriname, the Dutch-speaking nation at the tip of South America that is a member of the 15-Caribbean Community regional bloc known as CARICOM, agreed to accept refugees from Afghanistan after it was approached by the Biden administration. But such agreements are rare in a region that has long struggled to manage undocumented migrants from Haiti, Cuba and Venezuela, countries in crisis, as well as neighboring islands whose economies have been troubled. Suriname, The Bahamas and Grenada are all full members of CARICOM, while the Turks and Caicos holds associate members status. Each has their own migration policy. The Bahamas, for example, rejects migrants of Haitian descent who were born within its borders, but under Bahamian law were not considered citizens because the country doesn’t recognize automatic birthright citizenship. As a regional bloc, Caribbean nations as a whole have been highly critical of the U.S.’s deportation policies, accusing numerous administrations in Washington through the years of contributing to increased crime in their small nations by dumping deportees who became criminals while in the U.S. “Our government remains committed to maintaining strong diplomatic relations with the United States and our other international partners,” Arlington Musgrove, the minister of immigration and border services for the Turks and Caicos said. “However, we are steadfast in our commitment to protecting the interests of the Turks and Caicos Islands and upholding the integrity of our immigration system.” The archipelago of some 40,000 residents is currently wrestling with both an unprecedented increase in drugs and gun-related homicides in Providenciales, the popular tourism hotspot, and irregular migration flows from neighboring Haiti. The escalating crime has already lead to 43 homicides this year with police sometimes reporting multiple murders taking place in one day on Providenciales. Meanwhile, undocumented Haitians continue to wash ashore. In 2023, the territory interdicted 4,016 Haitians during 32 separate police and partner operations, according to statistics from the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force provided to the Herald. Though the numbers this year have been on the decline, more than 800 irregular migrants from Haiti have already been interdicted and returned. The Turks and Caicos, Musgrove said, will not allow external policies to undermine or dictate its national security, he said, noting that they were already struggling to deal with an increase in irregular migration from Haiti as the country plunges deeper into turmoil. “Turks and Caicos, like all nations, has the sovereign right to determine who may reside within its borders. The unilateral imposition of third-country deportation policies, such as those reportedly under consideration by the incoming Trump administration, is fundamentally at odds with international norms and legal standards,” Musgrove. “We are deeply concerned about any suggestion of displacing individuals to countries with which they have no connection. Such policies disregard the cultural, social, and economic implications for receiving countries and the humanitarian impact on the individuals affected.” ©2024 Miami Herald. Visit miamiherald.com . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.Stars arrive at the 2024 Royal Variety Performance after Queen pulls out
The Broncos still control their playoff destiny after a deflating loss. However, their path to clinching a spot goes through two more elite quarterbacks in Joe Burrow and Patrick Mahomes. A victory over the Bengals on Saturday or the Chiefs in Week 18 sends the Broncos to their first NFL postseason since 2015. How likely is that outcome? Denver’s playoff odds, per NFL.com , dropped from 91% before the Chargers defeat to 76% entering Week 17. The Broncos (9-6) also received zero help Sunday from their AFC playoff-hopeful counterparts. —The Dolphins (7-8) beat the 49ers, 29-17 —The Bengals (7-8) topped the Browns, 24-6 —The Colts (7-8) escaped the Titans, 38-30 All three teams and Denver remain in contention for the No. 7 playoff seed. The Chargers (9-6) own a tiebreaker over Denver after they swept the Broncos this season. Los Angeles also closes the regular season against AFC bottom dwellers New England and Las Vegas. “Each week we play there’s always pressure. I guarantee you none of our players said there’s going to be more pressure,” coach Sean Payton said on his Monday teleconference call with local media. “There’s going to be a sense of urgency always. There’s a lot of different scenarios. I think the focal point always is on the game you’re playing. That’s the one thing that you can control. I look forward to having a good week. ... There will be a number of things you learn from this game — and then you move on.” Woody Paige: Many stockings hung with care; will Broncos get a lump of coal? Now, the surest Broncos path to clinching is a Week 17 road victory over the Bengals. But Cincinnati is currently a 3-point betting favorite ( per FanDuel ). The Bengals enter with three straight victories. Quarterback Joe Burrow set an NFL record last week with seven consecutive games throwing for at least 250 yards and three touchdowns. That breaks a 2007 mark set by ex-Patriots quarterback Tom Brady during their historic 16-0 undefeated regular season. Meanwhile, the Broncos have allowed 30-plus points twice over their last three outings. Their offense has still not produced a 100-yard rusher in a game. Rookie quarterback Bo Nix has masked some of those issues with multiple touchdown passes in four of his last five starts. Their opportunistic defense has also registered 12 turnovers over that span. But the margin for error keeps shrinking with playoff football on the horizon. “The good thing is my role is going to be pretty simple because everybody in that locker room wants to already play next week,” Nix told reporters on Thursday at SoFi Stadium after the Chargers loss. “I think at this point, we're all competitively frustrated and I think we're excited for this opportunity.”
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Was the UnitedHealthcare CEO Murder Terrorism? | OpinionStock market today: Tech stocks and AI pull Wall Street to more records
AP Business SummaryBrief at 2:02 p.m. ESTWASHINGTON, D.C. — Elon Musk, bouncing between meetings on Capitol Hill with his young son on his shoulders, and Vivek Ramaswamy spoke with large groups of lawmakers on Thursday about a significant effort to slash government spending once President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January. “It’s a new thing and this is a new day in Washington, a new day in America,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said of the incoming Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, before entering a meeting with Musk, Ramaswamy and top Republican congressional leaders. Johnson said the “brainstorming session” was “the beginning of a journey” and wouldn’t produce detailed plans this week. Musk declined to answer reporters’ questions as he smiled and walked quickly ahead of the speaker with his 4-year-old son. But the pair of wealthy business leaders who Trump named to run the new unofficial agency have offered some public hints about where they might target their efforts — particularly in firing or pressuring government workers to quit, reversing regulations and eliminating areas of funding. What does DOGE mean for Maryland? Their plans could have an outsized impact in Maryland . With about 160,000 civilian federal jobs, the state is home to the headquarters of the Social Security Administration, the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Census Bureau and more. It also relies heavily on federal funding that pads about a third of the state budget — which is already strapped for cash in the coming years — and provides aid to local organizations. A DOGE social media account on X, which Musk owns, has specifically singled out funding at the National Institutes of Health. Headquartered in Bethesda, the national medical research agency makes major investments in health research across the state, with Maryland as one of its major beneficiaries. A post from DOGE last week claimed NIH spent $1.8 billion “studying racism” in 2024 through grants with names like “examining anti-racist healing in nature.” A Baltimore Sun review of the data referenced in the post indicates the $1.8 billion were actually funds from the 1992 through 2025 fiscal years. Maryland institutions have received the fifth-most amount of those funds, primarily because of research conducted at Johns Hopkins University, which was also the fifth-largest individual recipient of funds in the country. The Johns Hopkins grants, at least for the category referenced by DOGE, have focused on researching health disparities, including in areas like cancer, suicide, pediatrics and reproductive health. U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat and member of the Appropriations Committee that would have more authority to determine government spending than the unofficial DOGE, said he would defend the kind of funding that’s been identified so far. “Everyone agrees government should work more efficiently. But by targeting science, MAGA Republicans are ultimately going after efforts to develop life-saving cures for diseases like cancer and Alzheimer’s and threatening public health,” Van Hollen said in a statement. “Our nation’s research should remain grounded in science, not driven by politics, which is why I will always fight to protect the integrity of our public health agencies as well as the people who drive them forward.” A Johns Hopkins spokesperson did not return a request for comment Thursday. U.S. Rep. Kweisi Mfume, a Democrat whose Baltimore-based district includes the campus, also did not immediately return a request for comment. Who’s joining the DOGE caucus? Maryland’s mostly Democratic federal delegation has not joined or publicly supported DOGE as a few other congressional Democrats have. U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican, has been named the chair of a new DOGE subcommittee on the House Oversight Committee when the next session begins in January. U.S. Rep. Jared Moskowitz, of Florida, became the first Democrat to join the caucus. In a hearing Thursday about the assassination attempts against Trump this year, Moskowitz said he joined because he wants to reform the Department of Homeland Security, including removing from its control the U.S. Secret Service that came under fire after Trump was shot in July. Those kinds of changes will be easier said than done, he noted. “Everyone wants to protect their sacred cow,” Moskowitz said during the hearing. ‘A lot of change’ coming to Washington, speaker says While Johnson claimed there was “an enormous amount of waste, fraud and abuse in the government,” efforts to identify and eliminate federal spending is far from new, and spending has ultimately increased under both Republican and Democratic administrations. Musk has said he plans to reduce the $6.8 trillion budget by $2 trillion, a figure that would require drastic cuts. And though entitlement programs like Medicare and Social Security are major cost-drivers, Greene told reporters after one of the meetings Thursday that “no one wants to hurt Americans in that category.” The closed-door meetings included both small and large groups of House members and senators. Republicans will control both chambers once the next session of Congress begins Jan. 3 and before Trump takes office Jan. 20. “You’re going to see a lot of change around here in Washington and the way things are run,” Johnson said. ©2024 Baltimore Sun. Visit baltimoresun.com . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Shares of Bank of America (BAC) fell over 1% on Monday after the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued a cease-and-desist order against the lender for failing to timely file suspicious activity reports and correct a previously identified deficiency related to its customer due diligence processes. The OCC said the order also identifies deficiencies in the lender's BSA compliance program's internal controls, governance, independent testing, and training components. The bank has neither admitted nor denied the findings of the OCC. However, a Bank of America representative told Bloomberg in an emailed statement that the bank has been working closely with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency over the past year to improve its anti-money-laundering and sanctions programs. “The work we’ve done so far positions us well to implement the requirements of the consent order.” The OCC order requires the lender to take comprehensive corrective actions to enhance its BSA/anti-money laundering (AML) and sanctions compliance programs. This includes hiring an independent consultant to assess these programs and conduct look-back reviews to ensure all suspicious activity was appropriately reported. Following the announcement by OCC, retail sentiment on Stocktwits dipped into the ‘bearish’ territory (44/100) from ‘neutral’ a day ago. Most retail chatter on Stocktwits indicated a negative bias toward the stock. Earlier this month, Morgan Stanley downgraded the shares of Bank of America to ‘Equal Weight’ from ‘Overweight’ while raising its price target to $55 from $48, according to The Fly. The brokerage expects a more balanced risk-reward and prefers money centers with a higher skew to capital markets. Meanwhile, shares of BAC have gained over 28% since the beginning of the year. For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com. At different times, inflation may be high or low, but, except in those rare periods of deflation, it’s always with us. During your working years, when you may receive boosts in your salary, you at least have the potential to keep up with inflation — but what happens when you retire? As a retiree, what can you do to cope with the rising cost of living? Here are a few suggestions: During your retirement years, you may want to move your portfolio toward a somewhat more conservative approach by owning investments that offer significant protection of principal. However, these same investments offer little in the way of growth, which means they are susceptible to inflation. Consequently, you’ll also need to own a reasonable amount in growth-oriented investments, such as stocks and stock-based securities. Of course, these investments will fluctuate in value as the financial markets move up and down, but by owning some more conservative investments, you can reduce the overall impact of market volatility on your portfolio. You might want to consider treasury inflation-protected securities, which are indexed to the Consumer Price Index, so the principal increases with inflation (and decreases with deflation). Another inflation-adjusted Treasury security is the I bond, which differs from treasury inflation-protected securities in that the principal doesn’t change but the interest rate does, every six months, based on a combination of a fixed interest rate and the inflation rate. Like all investments, though, treasury inflation-protected securities and I bonds have various features and risks of which you should be aware before investing. You can start collecting Social Security benefits at 62, but your monthly checks will be much bigger if you wait until your full retirement age, likely between 66 and 67. You would receive the maximum amount if you waited until 70 before collecting. Of course, if you need the money to help support your retirement, you may not be able to afford to wait, but if you can, your bigger checks can be a big help against inflation. During your working years, it’s a good idea to have an emergency fund containing several months’ worth of living expenses in liquid, low-risk accounts. And when you’re retired, you might want to have up to a year’s worth of expenses in such a fund. But be careful about holding too much cash, as it will lose purchasing power each year due to inflation. Instead, when keeping cash, seek the “Goldilocks” solution — not too little, not too much, but just the right amount. If you like what you do, you might want to consider working a few years longer than you had originally intended. Not only will you be bringing in more income, but you could also continue to contribute to retirement accounts, including your IRA and 401(k). Even if you don’t want to continue working full-time, you could do some part-time work or consulting. Any earned income you bring in can help in your fight against inflation. You can’t control the cost of living, but by making some of the moves described above, you can help yourself mount a defense against the effects of inflation during your retirement years.