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Manchester United teammates Rasmus Hojlund and Amad Diallo exchanged words after the final whistle of a 2-1 victory on Thursday. And manager Ruben Amorin has no problem with it. “For me, it’s a very, very good sign,” Amorin said after his team beat Viktoria Plzen to stay unbeaten in the Europa League. Hojlund scored two goals and hoped for a centering pass from Diallo to go for a hat trick in the final minutes. The Denmark striker didn't get the pass, though. Viktoria had been pushing forward looking for an equalizer, which created space for United counters. On another break shortly afterward, Hojlund opted to keep the ball. The pair then had a heated post-game exchange. “We need to feel something,” Amorin said. “If we need to fight each other, it's like a family. When you don't care, you don't do nothing. When you care — you fight with your brother, with your mother, your father.” AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccerWorld is about to see off the biggest election year in history. Almost half of humanity was involved in election exercises across continents, ranging from large democracies like India , USA and Indonesia to island nations like Tuvalu with 11,000 population. Citizen voters, in over 70 countries, millions of them first timers, attempted to address their own situations at the voting booths. ET Year-end Special Reads What kept India's stock market investors on toes in 2024? India's car race: How far EVs went in 2024 Investing in 2025: Six wealth management trends to watch out for The last of the national elections came this Sunday in Chad in central Africa amidst an opposition boycott.Universal suffrage remains the spine that holds a dithering democratic fabric whose other ingredients are in constant debate. BR Ambedkar linked elections to political democracy, ushering conditions for equality and justice. But if elections are undermined by impurities, process glitches, fake narratives, boycotts, competing claims, street protests, violence or even abandoned midway, that could be the proverbial last nail. The Stockholm-based International IDEA (Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance), in its report 'Global State of Democracy 2024', points to a certain erosion of credibility of elections compared to five years back, owing to declining turnout and other pathological conditions. The experience in India's neighborhood as elsewhere has been mixed at best. Declining interest Elections continue to be democracy's beautiful action play, especially the view of ordinary folks queuing up to vote. The average turnout of voters in elections this year is estimated to be at 61%. During the 15 years from 2008 to 2023, there has been a disconcerting decline of about 10% in voting across the world. India, with its electoral list inching towards a billion, has successfully reversed the trend by hitting the 65%-mark third time in a row, starting from 2014. Women turned out at a higher rate again in 2024 like in 2019. The best part of this year's last two assembly elections in Jharkhand and Maharashtra is the record turnout. Not a family show Campaigns have made elections a spectacle, an ugly one off late. Electioneering is developing as a democracy malfunction with misinformation, racist references, outright abuse and misogyny becoming its part. Poll time divisive narratives from top leaders could leave unremedied scars and dent unity. Champions of unbridled freedom do not find a problem with campaign rhetoric even of the most repelling imagery; that's what democracy and rights are about, they would say. But hate speech amplified by social media and made potent by artificial intelligence, is becoming a bigger concern because it is seen yielding electoral victories. Reasonable restrictions, enforced by India's model code, have been of partial help. Top-notch campaigners and party bosses must take the responsibility, a point hammered by Election Commission of India in recent polls.It is surprising that elections of the 21st century still veer around identity: in US elections, the segments read as: coloured women, white workers, Hispanic, Asian, college goers or dropouts and in Indian context it is: OBC, SC, ST, minority and majority religion. Each one is a vote bank, the contesting candidate reduced to a mascot. For the USA that swears by individual worth, one commentary after November polls was that it is not ready for a woman president yet and a coloured one at that. 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One in five elections between 2020-2024, was challenged by the defeated candidates. Even as votes were getting counted to decide the 47th Presidency in the United States, the world was worriedly recalling the riot at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. Donald Trump notched an emphatic victory, but a moot question is what if it was otherwise. Joe Biden exuded the ultimate grace of democracy when he asked supporters to "bring down the temperature". On the electoral system, Biden further said, "It is honest, it is fair, and it is transparent, and it can be trusted, win or lose."Disappointment over electoral outcomes can be provoking. But polity and politicians in India and everywhere have an urgent obligation not to fall into a trap that could erode public trust. It will be myopic to shift blame to voting equipment or a standard procedure after an electoral loss. Well Commissioned India The Constitution of India has imaginatively raised certain institutions to serve as guarantors for the country's democratic arrangement. The ECI is the critical one which gathers the franchise, counts and delivers the result that is convertible to legislative and executive leadership. Its conduct of 18 Lok Sabha and over 400 assembly elections has been rated highly by all stakeholders and by the wider world, irrespective of seasonal grievances. One sufficient pointer to performance is the negligible re-polling in only 40 out of 10.5 lakh polling stations in the last Lok Sabha polls. Smooth conduct of both parliamentary and assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, with high people's participation is another impressive statement.Election management bodies (EMBs) across countries are reforming and acquiring tech-backed efficiencies but voting and counting remain points of vulnerability. Safeguarding voters against lies, fakes and inducements is another ever expanding task. Unlike ECI, which has a staggering capacity for execution, others may require collaboration for ensuring electoral integrity. India clearly has a role to play. Last Defence The 2024 Economics Nobel recognises the role of democracy and its institutions like free and fair elections in upholding prosperity. Voting rights and correctness of representation have witnessed sizeable compromise in parts of the globe, but there have been elections this year, which immaculately embodied expression of people's will. The International IDEA underlines that India, and some other countries have "allowed the voters to have an effective voice". Good elections look like the last sure wall to not only prevent any democracy downslide, but also to enhance its promise. (The writer is former Director General, Election Commission of India) (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel )1 person killed in single-vehicle crash near Arnprior, Ont.
Sen. Joni Ernst to helm Senate DOGE Caucus, huddles with Ramaswamy to slash government
28 Products That’ll Help You Make Dinner Quick And Easy (Especially When You're *Extra* Tired)Manchester United teammates Rasmus Hojlund and Amad Diallo exchanged words after the final whistle of on Thursday. And manager Ruben Amorin has no problem with it. “For me, it’s a very, very good sign,” Amorin said after his team beat Viktoria Plzen to stay unbeaten in the Europa League. Hojlund scored two goals and hoped for a centering pass from Diallo to go for a hat trick in the final minutes. The Denmark striker didn't get the pass, though. Viktoria had been pushing forward looking for an equalizer, which created space for United counters. On another break shortly afterward, Hojlund opted to keep the ball. The pair then had a heated post-game exchange. “We need to feel something,” Amorin said. “If we need to fight each other, it's like a family. When you don't care, you don't do nothing. When you care — you fight with your brother, with your mother, your father.” AP soccer:
Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa on Dec. 5 released a report criticizing current workplace practices, particularly remote work. Ernst was appointed as the chair of the newly formed Senate Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Caucus, a caucus that collaborates with an advisory group led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to reduce government waste. According to the report, only 3% of the federal workforce teleworked daily before the COVID-19 pandemic. Ernst claims that now just 6% of federal employees work in-person full-time, while nearly one-third are entirely remote. She has reiterated this claim on Fox News. Various news outlets and Sean Hannity have also shared the 6% statistic. A VERIFY reader texted us asking if it’s true that only 6% of federal employees work in person full-time. Is it true only 6% of federal employees work in person full-time? Report by Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Survey published by the Federal News Network (FNN) American Federation of Remote Employees No, claims that only 6% of federal employees work in person full-time are false. Sen. Joni Ernst claims only 6% of federal employees report to an office, but an August report from the federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) contradicts this. According to an OMB report from August 2024, 10% of federal employees work fully remotely and 54% worked fully on-site because their jobs required in-person presence. There are 2.28 million federal government employees, OMB says. The remaining 46%, about 1.1 million employees, were telework-eligible, meaning they could work remotely unless they chose to go into the office. Only 10% of employees were in fully remote roles, because they lacked a physical office to report to. According to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) , telework policies vary by federal agency and an arrangement is usually made between the employee and management on how often an employee can work remotely. Ernst’s 6% figure came from a survey conducted by the Federal News Network (FNN), which publishes news and analysis impacting federal employees, not official data. The study relied on self-reported and self-selected responses from 6,338 people who said they were federal employees. After Ernst’s report citing FNN’s study was released, the article was updated with an editor’s note explaining the data’s limitations and including OMB’s actual figures. “Editor’s Note: This story was updated on Dec. 6 to clarify that the survey was a non-scientific survey of respondents who self-reported that they are current federal employees, and who were self-selected. The story was also updated to include the latest OMB data on the actual amount of telework and onsite work being performed governmentwide. This Federal Report covers initial analysis of Federal News Network’s April 2024 return-to-office survey of federal employees. The story includes results for several of the survey’s questions, but not all of them,” the FNN article says at the top. The survey aimed to “gauge [federal employees] perspectives on recent return-to-office changes at their agencies,” the FNN article says. “Of the survey respondents, about 30% said they work entirely remotely, 6% work entirely in-person and 64% were working on a hybrid schedule — a mix of in-person work and telework. The breakdown of telework versus onsite work for survey respondents differs significantly from the actual breakdown for the federal workforce overall,” the FNN article says. Elon Musk has also claimed “the number of government workers who show up in person and do 40 hours of work a week is closer to 1%.” The OMB report disproves that as well. The report says that, excluding those required to work remotely, 79.4% of working hours were spent in-person. For workers in hybrid roles – those splitting time between the office and remote settings – 61.2% of working hours were spent in-person. The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) criticized the inaccurate telework statistics being recently shared, accusing “members of President-elect Trump’s transition team” of using misleading data to justify privatizing federal jobs. “Exaggerating the number of federal employees who telework and portraying those who do as failing to show up for work is a deliberate attempt to demean the federal workforce and justify the wholesale privatization of public-sector jobs,” the AFGE says. VERIFY reached out to Ernst’s office for comment, but did not hear back at the time of publication. No evidence that Elon Musk’s Starlink technology was used to interfere with the election No, the Department of Government Efficiency is not a new government agency No, Voice of America is not a new government organization The VERIFY team works to separate fact from fiction so that you can understand what is true and false. Please consider subscribing to our daily newsletter , text alerts and our YouTube channel . You can also follow us on Snapchat , Instagram , Facebook and TikTok . Learn More » YouTube Snapchat Instagram Facebook TikTok Text: 202-410-8808
A senior Republican lawmaker urged President-elect Donald Trump’s intervention to avoid a House leadership battle, saying he should reach out to GOP members who haven’t committed to reelecting Mike Johnson as speaker. With the speakership vote scheduled for Jan. 3 and Trump about to take office, the tiny Republican majority in the House is raising the specter of a factional fight among Republicans like the one that led to Kevin McCarthy’s removal as speaker last year. “We have five Republicans that won’t commit to voting for Mike Johnson — and he can only lose one or two votes,” House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer said on Fox News’ "Sunday Morning Futures." “It’s a terrible challenge.” Johnson has faced ire from some ultraconservative lawmakers after backing a temporary spending deal that didn’t include Trump’s initial demand for lifting the U.S. debt ceiling. While Trump hasn’t taken a public stand on the speaker’s future, no declared challenger to Johnson has emerged. “I strongly encourage Donald Trump to get on the phone with those five or six members who won’t commit to voting for Mike Johnson, because all this is going to do is delay us,” including on the certification of Trump’s election victory and his early agenda as president, Comer said. New York Representative Mike Lawler warned ultraconservative Republicans against moving to topple Johnson. “The fact is that these folks are playing with fire,” Lawler said on ABC’s "This Week." “And if they think they’re somehow going to get a more conservative speaker, they’re kidding themselves.” Republicans can count on 219 House seats, Lawler said, and need 218 votes to elect a speaker without Democratic support. GOP congressman Thomas Massie of Kentucky has said he won’t support Johnson. Lawler called the infighting that led to the October 2023 House vote to oust McCarthy as speaker “the single stupidest thing I’ve ever seen in politics.” “With that said, removing Mike Johnson would equally be as stupid,” he said. Trump’s decisive election victory in November and his sway over House Republicans means he could wield his power to try to install someone else as speaker, though he hasn’t taken a public stand on Johnson’s future. “We can’t get anything done unless we have a speaker, including certifying President Trump’s election on Jan. 6,” Lawler said. “So to waste time over a nonsensical intramural food fight is a joke.” ©2024 Bloomberg L.P. Visit bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.Rotary International has distributed 6 lakh sanitary pads within 24 hours in Chandigarh. The event saw the presence of distinguished guests, including DG RTN Rajpal Singh as the chief guest, director school education Harshuhinder Pal Singh Brar , and general secretary of Chandigarh Gurdwara Asthapan Committee Sector 22-D Gurjot Singh, as special guests. In his address, Rajpal Singh commended the club for its commitment to social welfare and praised its efforts in achieving this milestone. Rotary Club Chandigarh central president, SP Ojha, announced that the record was set after meticulous planning and execution over the last three months. Judge for India Book of Records, Kiranjit Kaur, emphasised the importance of creating awareness alongside distribution. “It’s vital to educate women about the proper use of sanitary pads and their benefits,” she remarked. The event witnessed active participation from members of Rotary Club Chandigarh, Rotary India District 3080, and Rotaract clubs in Chandigarh. Their collective efforts were instrumental in achieving this historic milestone.
‘I wouldn’t be where I am without bumiputera rights’: Malaysia’s young Malays talk race and privilegeBoth Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing ( TSM -0.70% ) and ASML ( ASML -0.32% ) play critical roles in the semiconductor industry. Taiwan Semiconductor, or TSMC for short, is the world's leading semiconductor contract manufacturer. Given the cost to build manufacturing facilities (called fabs or foundries), the high capacity utilization needed for foundries to run profitably, and the technological expertise needed, most semiconductor companies prefer to just design chips and hire a third party to manufacture them. This is where TSMC fits in. ASML, meanwhile, makes the equipment that companies like TSMC use to manufacture semiconductors. While it has competitors, it is considered to have a near monopoly on extreme ultraviolet ( EUV) lithography, which are highly complex machines used to create advanced chips. This year, TSMC's stock has been the clear winner, up more than 90% as of this writing. ASML's stock, meanwhile, has fallen about 5% in 2024. Let's look at which stock could be set to outperform in 2025. Both stocks are riding the chip boom TSMC has been a big beneficiary of the overall proliferation of chips as well as the artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure boom. The company's technological expertise has vaulted it to the forefront of advanced chip manufacturing. As such, the biggest chipmakers in the world, including Apple , Nvidia , and Broadcom , rely on it to manufacture their most advanced chips. Surprisingly, the AI chip boom has not helped all chip manufacturers, as TSMC's biggest rivals, Intel and Samsung , have struggled. This has allowed the company not only to gain share, but also to exert strong pricing power. In turn, this led to a strong gross margin for TSMC. TSMC saw strong growth this year, including seeing its third-quarter revenue jump 36% year over year to $23.5 billion. Meanwhile, its gross margin improved by 460 basis points sequentially to 57.8%, which helped lead to a 50% year-over-year increase in its earnings per American depositary receipt (ADR). 2025 is also setting up to be another good year for the company. According to Morgan Stanley , the company is set to nicely increase prices in 2025. Meanwhile, given the demand for AI and other chips, TSMC has been expanding to try to help companies like Nvidia keep up with demand. It also just announced its new fab in Japan had started mass chip production. TSMC's expansion should presumably help ASML, as it is one of its big three customers along with Samsung and Intel for its newer technology. But the company has called 2024 a transition year as it moves to its next-generation high-NA EUV technology. This transition appears to have slowed some orders. TSMC, meanwhile, has also balked at the high price of the new ASML machines (prices range from $350 million to $380 million per machine), but it is now expected to receive a machine by year-end. However, it has said it doesn't need the technology for producing current high-end chips, and it looks like it won't use the machines for mass production until at least 2030. Intel has been the company most receptive to ASML's new technology, being the first to get a new high-NA EUV technology machine, but its foundry business has struggled. Revenue fell for the segment last quarter, while losses have been mounting. The company is now in a bit of disarray following the retirement of its CEO in early December and reports it is looking to spin off its foundry business. As one of its big three customers, ASML could be affected. Nearly half of ASML's revenue in 2024, meanwhile, has come from China. This is despite the fact that the company is prohibited from selling its newer chipmaking technology to the country. This is a big shift from recent years, as China was just 9% of its revenue in the fourth quarter of 2022. This could be the result of Chinese companies rushing to get equipment on fears that export bans could expand to even older technology. While all this has led to some uncertainty surrounding ASML, the company is still basically a monopoly for high-end semiconductor equipment, and as chip production continues to grow, it should eventually benefit. Valuation and verdict From a valuation standpoint, TSMC is the cheaper stock trading at a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of around 22, while ASML's forward P/E currently sits at 29. TSMC has also been growing its revenue more quickly, up 36% last quarter versus 12% growth for ASML. TSM PE Ratio (Forward 1y) data by YCharts While TSMC is the cheaper stock growing more quickly, I wouldn't count ASML out. The semiconductor equipment business can be a bit lumpy, but this is a company with a virtual monopoly on high-end chipmaking machines in a market that is seeing continued increasing demand for advanced AI chips. Over the long term, it is set to be a winner. That said, for next year, TSMC edges it out as my pick. Fortunately, investors don't have to pick one or the other and can feel comfortable buying both for 2025.
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Stocks on the Edge. Are Big Gains Looming?Homeland Security shares new details of mysterious drone flights over New Jersey, lawmaker says A New Jersey lawmaker from part of the state where several mysterious drones have been spotted in recent week says the devices appear to avoid detection by traditional methods. Assemblywoman Dawn Fantasia was among state officials who met Wednesday with representatives from the Department of Homeland Security. She says lawmakers were told the drones have dodged detection by helicopters and radio. Fantasia says DHS described the devices as up to 6 feet in diameter and sometimes traveling with their lights off. The Morris County Republican made the comments in a post on X shortly after she and several other state and local lawmakers met with state police and Homeland Security officials. Donald Trump will ring the New York Stock Exchange bell as he's named Time's Person of the Year NEW YORK (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump is expected to ring the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange for the first time and be named Time magazine's Person of the Year. Thursday's events will be a notable moment of twin recognitions for Trump, a born-and-bred New Yorker who has long seen praise from the business world and media as a sign of success. Four people with knowledge of his plans told The Associated Press that Trump was expected to be on Wall Street on Thursday to mark the ceremonial start of the day's trading, while a person familiar with the selection confirmed that Trump had been selected as Time's Person of the Year. Rape allegation against Jay-Z won’t impact NFL's relationship with music mogul, Goodell says IRVING, Texas (AP) — NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says a rape allegation against rapper Jay-Z won’t impact the NFL's relationship with the music mogul. Jay-Z's company Roc Nation has produced some of the NFL’s entertainment presentations including the Super Bowl halftime show. A woman who previously sued Sean “Diddy” Combs alleging she was raped at an awards show after-party in 2000 amended the lawsuit Sunday to include an allegation that Jay-Z was also at the party and participated in the sexual assault. Jay-Z says the rape allegation made against him is part of an extortion attempt. The NFL teamed up with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation in 2019 for events and social activism. The league and the entertainment company extended their partnership a few months ago. Ohio politician proposes make flag planting a felony after fight in Michigan rivalry game An Ohio politician has seen enough flag planting. Republican state Rep. Josh Williams said Wednesday on social media he's introducing a bill to make flag planting in sports a felony in the state. His proposal comes after the Nov. 30 fight at the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry football game when the Wolverines beat the Buckeyes 13-10 and then attempted to plant their flag at midfield. A fight ensued and police had to use pepper spray to disperse the players. Former Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield famously planted a flag in the middle of the field at Ohio State after the Sooners beat the Buckeyes in 2017. Gastineau confronts Favre in documentary for his 'dive' on Strahan's record-breaking sack Former New York Jets star Mark Gastineau confronted Brett Favre last year at a memorabilia show and angrily accused the Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback of deliberately going down on a record-breaking sack. The tense exchange is shown in the new ESPN 30 for 30 documentary “The New York Sack Exchange." It chronicles the Jets’ fearsome foursome defensive line of the 1980s that included Gastineau. Gastineau set an NFL record with 22 sacks in 1984, but Pro Football Hall of Famer Michael Strahan broke the mark when he sacked Favre in 2002 in a game between the Giants and Packers. Many have accused Favre of purposely taking the sack so Strahan could set the single-season record with 22 1/2. What happens next with Alex Jones' Infowars? No certainty yet after sale to The Onion is rejected Lawyers in the Alex Jones bankruptcy case are now in discussions on what could happen next after a federal judge in Texas rejected the auction sale of Jones’ Infowars to The Onion satirical news outlet. The next steps remained unclear Wednesday as the judge ordered the trustee who oversaw the auction to come up with a new plan. Judge Christopher Lopez in Houston rejected the bid late Tuesday, saying there was too much confusion about The Onion’s bid. The bankruptcy case was in the wake of the nearly $1.5 billion that courts have ordered Jones to pay for calling the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut a hoax. Sandy Hook families had backed The Onion’s bid. NFL and Nike extend their partnership with a 10-year deal, will focus on growing the sport globally IRVING, Texas (AP) — The NFL’s desire to become a global powerhouse is no secret. Nike is committed to helping the league continue expanding its worldwide reach. The league and the apparel giant announced Wednesday a 10-year partnership extension. The NFL and Nike will focus on working together to grow the game’s global reach, increase participation, develop new talent, and expand the football fan base. Nike, the world’s largest supplier of athletic shoes and apparel, has been the NFL’s exclusive provider of uniforms and sideline, practice and base layer apparel for all 32 NFL teams for 12 years. George Kresge Jr., who wowed talk show audiences as the The Amazing Kreskin, dies at age 89 NEW YORK (AP) — George Joseph Kresge Jr., otherwise known to TV watchers as the mesmerizing entertainer and mentalist The Amazing Kreskin, has died at age 89. Kreskin’s friend and former road manager, Ryan Galway, says he died Tuesday at his home in Caldwell, New Jersey. Kreskin launched his television career in the 1960s and remained popular for decades, appearing with everyone from Merv Griffin to Johnny Carson to Jimmy Fallon. Fans would welcome, if not entirely figure out, his favorite mind tricks — whether correctly guessing a playing card chosen at random, or, most famously, divining where his paycheck had been planted among the audience. He also hosted a show in the 1970s, gave live performances and wrote numerous books. Albertsons sues Kroger for failing to win approval of their proposed supermarket merger Kroger and Albertsons’ plan for the largest U.S. supermarket merger in history has crumbled. The two companies have accused each other of not doing enough to push their proposed alliance through, and Albertsons pulled out of the $24.6 billion deal on Wednesday. The bitter breakup came the day after a federal judge in Oregon and a state judge in Washington issued injunctions to block the merger, saying that combining the two grocery chains could reduce competition and harm consumers. Albertsons is now suing Kroger, seeking a $600 million termination fee, as well as billions of dollars in legal fees and lost shareholder value. Kroger says the legal claims are “baseless.” Keynote Selena Gomez spotlights prioritizing mental health during Academy Women's Luncheon LOS ANGELES (AP) — While surveying a room packed with Hollywood’s most influential figures, “Emilia Pérez” star Selena Gomez took center stage at the Academy Women’s Luncheon to spotlight a critical issue: Prioritizing mental health and supporting underserved communities often left behind in the conversation. The singer-actor has been public about her mental health struggles, revealing she had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Gomez was the keynote speaker Tuesday at the event held at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures with attendees including Ariana Grande, Olivia Wilde, Amy Adams, Pamela Anderson, Rita Wilson, Ava DuVernay and Awkwafina.Conor McGregor must pay $250K to woman who says he raped her, civil jury rules
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