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lol646m Donald Trump is returning to the world stage. So is his trollingPresident-elect Donald Trump has threatened to impose new tariffs on Chinese imports when he takes office, a move that could deepen a trade war he initiated six years ago. He has not provided many specifics, but China is already preparing for economic battle. "Six years of really intense, focused preparatory work has gotten the top leaders in Beijing ready to deal with whatever comes down the pike," said Even Pay, an analyst with research firm Trivium China. Here’s a look at how the showdown between the world’s two largest economies unfolded during Trump’s previous term and where it might head now. What happened during Trump's first term? Trump initiated a trade war in 2018 by imposing 25% tariffs on Chinese imports, including industrial machinery, cars, auto parts and television cameras. These goods accounted for about $50 billion of the $540 billion the United States spent on Chinese-made products that year. The goal was to spur U.S. manufacturing, reduce the trade imbalance and penalize China for what Trump deemed unfair trade practices. In 2018, China imported only $120 billion in U.S. goods. China retaliated with its own 25% tariffs on about $50 billion worth of U.S. goods. Despite trade talks over the next year, both nations continued to escalate tariffs. By 2020, tariffs covered $550 billion in Chinese goods and $185 billion in U.S. goods. Experts said the trade war failed to significantly reduce the U.S. trade deficit or boost U.S. exports. Instead, it weighed on economic growth and cost jobs in both the U.S. and China. In Trump’s final year, the two nations agreed to a truce, signing a trade deal that removed some tariffs and reduced others. China also pledged to purchase an additional $200 billion in U.S. goods and services - a commitment it did not meet. Did things cool off after President Biden took office? Not entirely. While the rhetoric from the White House became less combative, getting tough on China had become a political imperative for any president, and the trade war only intensified. Biden retained the Trump-era tariffs and introduced additional measures, including a 100% tax on Chinese electric car imports, a 50% tax on solar panels and a 25% tax on lithium-ion batteries and steel and aluminum products. He also continued Trump’s use of export bans to restrict China’s access to U.S. technology. Last week, the U.S. expanded its restrictions on semiconductor sales and related manufacturing equipment to China, adding 140 Chinese entities to a blacklist that limits their ability to trade with U.S. businesses on national security grounds. What might Trump do this time? For months, Trump has advocated raising tariffs on Chinese imports by 60% or more. Last month, he stated on social media that he would impose a 10% tariff, "above any additional tariffs," on all products from China. Trump’s motivations extend beyond trade or boosting U.S. manufacturing. He has also suggested using tariffs to pressure China - and Mexico - to take greater action in curbing the U.S. opioid crisis. Both countries are leading sources of fentanyl and its precursor chemicals. How is China preparing for more tariffs? China has already taken steps to mitigate potential damage. The country, which typically purchases corn, soybeans and sorghum from the U.S., has diversified its sources and increased stockpiles. Brazil has emerged as a significant beneficiary of this shift, potentially impacting U.S. farmers, who send about 77% of their sorghum exports to China. China is more vulnerable to tariffs than the U.S., largely because it exports much more than it imports. The current economic situation in China exacerbates its challenges. Growth has stalled amid a real estate downturn, mounting debt, rising youth unemployment and sluggish consumer spending. Larry Hu, chief China economist at Macquarie Group, estimated that a 60% tariff hike from the U.S. would slash Chinese exports by 8% and reduce GDP by 2%. If the U.S. broadens tariffs to include goods from other countries, it would amplify the impact on China, which has circumvented some tariffs by rerouting exports through third-party nations. How can China go on the offense? China’s most significant leverage lies in its dominance of crucial materials essential for U.S. products like semiconductors and missiles. After the latest round of U.S. tech restrictions, China retaliated by banning exports of rare elements like gallium, germanium and antimony, cutting off at least half the U.S. supply, according to U.S. Geological Survey data. This move was seen as a warning to the next administration of China’s ability to disrupt U.S. advancements in key strategic industries. China can also employ monetary policy as a weapon. During the last trade war, it allowed the yuan to depreciate against the U.S. dollar, making Chinese exports cheaper. The U.S. labeled China a currency manipulator, an accusation Beijing denied. After the U.S. began blacklisting Chinese companies under Trump, China launched its own blacklist of entities it considers threats to its national interests. This enables Beijing to swiftly sanction U.S. individuals and businesses in retaliation for trade restrictions. In September, China investigated PVH Corp., the parent company of Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, for allegedly boycotting Xinjiang cotton. The U.S. has accused China of genocide against Muslim ethnic groups in Xinjiang and prohibits the use of products tied to forced labor. On Monday, China launched an antitrust probe into Nvidia, a U.S. semiconductor giant whose value has surged amid the AI boom. The U.S. has barred Nvidia from selling certain advanced chips to China. If the trade war escalates, China could expand its list of targeted companies and create hurdles for U.S. businesses operating in China, such as banning staff, restricting sales or imposing burdensome compliance requirements. What are the downsides for China? China has the capability to harm the U.S. economy, but it must act cautiously. Ja-Ian Chong, an associate professor of political science at the National University of Singapore, said punishing U.S. operations in China could deter foreign investment and accelerate efforts to relocate supply chains to other countries. This comes at a time when China is striving to attract more international business. Enforcing a full embargo on crucial materials would be difficult given the complexity of global supply chains and could alienate other trade partners, including Taiwan and South Korea. "Beijing has options, but these options are not cost-free," Chong said. "It comes down to how far China is willing to go."The New Jersey Devils hope the momentum they built leading up to the NHL's holiday break will carry over after the three days off, as the Metropolitan Division leaders start a two-day, home-and-home series with the third-place Carolina Hurricanes on Friday in Newark, N.J. Coach Sheldon Keefe's team has won five of its last six games, including the previous two by shutouts. Jacob Markstrom stopped a dozen shots in the Devils' 5-0 win over the visiting New York Rangers on Monday. That came just two days after he made 12 saves in a 3-0 home victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins. According to the league's record book, the Devils have posted three straight shutouts once, April 1-6, 1997. Jack Hughes scored two goals and added an assist in Monday's win. Timo Meier and Dawson Mercer each notched a goal and an assist, and Jesper Bratt and Luke Hughes both recorded a pair of assists. The Devils' offense has been on display during the last six games, with the team scoring 19 times in the five wins. However, the team's defense has been playing equally as strong. New Jersey has not allowed an opponent to put more than 20 shots on goal in seven games. That's the longest such streak since the NHL started tracking the stat beginning in the 1955-56 season. It's a streak Keefe didn't even know the league tracked when he talked to reporters after the win over the Rangers, but he said it is the result of a team showing the willingness to defend the middle of the rink and keeping the opposition from getting multiple attempts on scoring chances. "Whether it's having the puck well and managing it well or closing space when we don't have it, it's just a really tremendous buy-in and commitment from our guys," Keefe said. "Couldn't ask for more in that regard." That shot-on-goal streak may be in jeopardy Friday as the Devils face a Hurricanes team that averages 31.6 shots per game. Carolina wraps up a four-game road trip Friday. On Monday, it lost for the second time in three contests, falling 5-2 against the Nashville Predators. The Hurricanes trailed 4-0 less than three minutes into the third period before Jordan Staal and Sebastian Aho scored 40 seconds apart, but that was as close as the team would get. Coach Rod Brind'Amour told reporters afterward the Hurricanes' struggles of late are not due to a lack of effort. "We got to keep working it, trying to find the right combinations to spice things," he said. "We know a couple things that we know work, and then it's just finding the rest. But (Monday), we just as a group weren't hard enough to play against for the majority of the game, and we got what we deserved." The holiday break may have come at an opportune time for Martin Necas. The center continues to lead Carolina in scoring, with 44 points (14 goals, 30 assists) in 34 games. However, the 25-year-old Czech is mired in a season-long eight-game goal drought. He's gone the last four games without an assist, which is another season-long streak, and has posted only one in his last six. This article first appeared on Field Level Media and was syndicated with permission.

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Pallion Group Welds Resilience and Customer Experience Into Dynamic Gold and Jewellery Business With BoomiDALLAS (AP) — The Washington Nationals will have the No. 1 overall pick in the amateur draft next summer after winning the lottery in a drawing of ping-pong balls at the winter meetings Tuesday. Unlike last year, when the Nationals were ineligible after initially coming out with the top spot, they will get to make the first pick in July in Atlanta, the site of the All-Star Game. Washington was ineligible for a top-six pick last year because the collective bargaining agreement states a team that pays into the revenue-sharing plan cannot have a lottery selection in back-to-back years. The Nationals chose outfielder Dylan Crews with the No. 2 pick in 2023. The Los Angeles Angels have the second pick for next summer. Seattle, Colorado, St. Louis and Pittsburgh round out the top six. A weighted lottery among the 18 teams that failed to make the playoffs this season determined the order of picks for the third year in a row. The Nationals went in with a 10.2% chance, the fourth-best odds, for getting the No. 1 pick. Colorado and Miami, both 100-loss teams, had the best odds at 22.45%, ahead of the Angels at 17.96%. Miami instead ended up with the seventh pick. Seattle got the No. 3 overall pick after having a 0.53% chance to get the No. 1 pick, the second-worst odds among 16 eligible teams. The 121-loss Chicago White Sox, who had the most losses of any major league club since 1900, were not eligible for the draft lottery since they had one of the top six picks last year (No. 5) and is a team that pays into the revenue-sharing plan. The CBA also doesn’t allow teams that receive money in revenue sharing to have lottery picks three years in a row. That made the Athletics (69-93) ineligible for the lottery — they picked fourth last year after having the No. 6 selection in 2023. Chicago instead got the 10th pick, one spot ahead of Oakland — the highest possible positions for those two teams because of their recent lottery picks. AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB

Seahawks place running back Kenneth Walker III on injured reserveThe NBA got viewers for Christmas, even while going up against NFL games. The NBA's five-game Christmas lineup was the league's most-watched in five years, with the games averaging about 5.25 million viewers per game across ABC, ESPN and its platforms, the league said Thursday based on Nielsen's preliminary numbers. It's an 84% rise over the NBA's Christmas numbers from 2023. The Los Angeles Lakers’ 115-113 victory over the Golden State Warriors — a game pitting Olympic teammates LeBron James and Stephen Curry — averaged 7.76 million viewers and peaked with about 8.32 million viewers toward the end of the contest, the league said. Those numbers represent the most-watched NBA regular season game in five years. “I love the NFL,” James said in his televised postgame interview Wednesday night. “But Christmas is our day.” The NBA said all five Christmas games on its schedule — San Antonio at New York in Victor Wembanyama's holiday debut, Minnesota at Dallas, Philadelphia at Boston, Denver at Phoenix and Lakers-Warriors — saw year-over-year viewership increases. Wednesday's numbers pushed NBA viewership for the season across ESPN platforms to up 4% over last season. The league also saw more than 500 million video views on its social media platforms Wednesday, a new record. For the NBA, those are all good signs amid cries that NBA viewership is hurting. “Ratings are down a bit at beginning of the season. But cable television viewership is down double digits so far this year versus last year," NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said earlier this month. “You know, we’re almost at the inflection point where people are watching more programing on streaming than they are on traditional television. And it’s a reason why for our new television deals, which we enter into next year, every game is going to be available on a streaming service.” Part of that new package of television deals that the NBA is entering into next season also increases the number of regular season games broadcast on television from 15 to 75. AP NBA:Have you bought ( )? There are plenty of reasons to consider buying Enbridge stock, and now is a great time to consider buying. Prospective investors considering investing in Enbridge stock can take solace in the following three reasons why Enbridge stock belongs in any portfolio. Enbridge is best known for its pipeline business, and for good reason. The segment, which includes both natural gas and crude elements, is the largest and most complex pipeline system on the planet. That network hauls massive amounts each day. Approximately 5.8 million barrels of oil and 24.6 Bcf/d (billions of cubic feet per date) of gas. To put that insane amount another way, Enbridge transports nearly one-third of all North American-produced crude and one-fifth of the natural gas needs of the U.S. In other words, Enbridge is one of the most defensive options on the market. That alone is reason enough to buy Enbridge stock, but there’s still plenty more to note. Apart from its core pipeline business, Enbridge also boasts several other segments. This includes a natural gas utility and a growing renewable energy business. The business comprises 38 facilities located across North America and Europe. The sites include solar, wind, and hydro elements, which generate a stable revenue stream that is subject to the same regulated model that utilities follow. Enbridge has dropped more than $10 billion into the segment in the past two decades to build out a renewable net generating capacity of 3,481 megawatts. That’s enough to meet the power needs of nearly 1.3 million homes. Turning to the natural gas business, Enbridge’s gas utility serves seven million customers with over 100,000 km of service lines across North America. Both segments operate like utilities, generating recurring and stable revenue streams that allow the company to invest in growth initiatives and pay out a handsome . That level of diversification provides a solid reason for prospective investors to consider buying Enbridge stock. One of the main reasons why investors turn to Enbridge stock is its lucrative quarterly dividend. As of the time of writing, the yield on that dividend works out to an impressive 6.14%. Not only does that mean that Enbridge is one of the best-paying dividends on the market, but also that it can provide growth, too. That’s because investors who aren’t ready to draw on that income yet can choose to reinvest it until needed. This allows any eventual income to grow over time thanks to reinvested dividends. Speaking of income growth, another key point to note is that Enbridge has provided annual upticks to that dividend for three decades without fail. That fact alone makes Enbridge stock a must-have addition to any portfolio. There’s no shortage of great stocks on the market, but few can provide the growth and income-earning potential that Enbridge can. Additionally, Enbridge’s defensive appeal for longer-term investors shouldn’t be ignored. In my opinion, Enbridge stock is a must-have option that should be a core holding in any .

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Legit.ng journalist Esther Odili has over two years of experience covering political parties and movements PAY ATTENTION: Follow our WhatsApp channel to never miss out on the news that matters to you! Osun state - Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun state on Thursday, December 26, pardoned Segun Olowookere, who was sentenced to death by hanging for stealing a chicken and eggs in 2010. Osun gov pardons chicken thieves on death row In a statement released on Thursday, Adeleke gave the prerogative of mercy to 53 convicts , including Olowookere. Olowookere’s co-defendant, Sunday Morakinyo, was also granted a pardon by the governor. PAY ATTENTION: Follow us on Instagram - get the most important news directly in your favourite app! As reported by The Cable, Olowookere’s story went viral recently, and it sparked public outcry after an interview granted by his parents. The controversial matter swept the country in fear and confusion after a clinician and social entrepreneur , Dr Femi Olaleye, recounted how the young man (who was just 17 years old at the time) was arrested in 2010 for stealing chickens . Read also Full list: Gov Adeleke pardons prisoners sentenced to death in Osun to mark Christmas celebration Stealing chicken: The court's ruling But the Osun State High Court on Thursday, set the record straight regarding the viral reports of Olowookere, being sentenced to death for stealing a fowl. The court clarified that these reports were "mischievous and misleading" and that Segun was actually convicted of armed robbery , not just stealing a fowl. According to the court, Segun and his accomplice, Morakinyo Sunday, were arrested in April 2010 for a series of armed robberies, including one at a poultry farm in Oyan town, Osun state. Weapons were recovered from the suspects, and they confessed to their crimes. After a full trial, they were found guilty and convicted of armed robbery. Read related articles on the theft case in Osun here: Nigerian lawyers react as court sentences man to death for stealing fowl: "The law is clear" How Osun court sentenced man to death Read also Osun man sentenced to death for stealing fowl: Court finally breaks silence Sanwo-Olu grants 104 Inmates state pardon Legit.ng earlier reported that Justice Jide Falola of the Osun State High Court 2014 convicted and sentenced Olowookere Segun and Morakinyo Sunday to death for stealing fowl. Ten years after the sentencing, Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun state granted a governorship pardon to the convicted thieve. The governor has also ordered a probe into the sentencing, as several facts about the situation now emerged. PAY ATTENTION: Сheck out news that is picked exactly for YOU ➡️ find the “Recommended for you” block on the home page and enjoy! Source: Legit.ng

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Kerala CM Vijayan, LoP Satheesan condole demise of Manmohan SinghWEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — First it was Canada , then the Panama Canal . Now, Donald Trump again wants Greenland . The president-elect is renewing unsuccessful calls he made during his first term for the U.S. to buy Greenland from Denmark, adding to the list of allied countries with which he’s picking fights even before taking office on Jan. 20. In a Sunday announcement naming his ambassador to Denmark, Trump wrote that, “For purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity.” Trump again having designs on Greenland comes after the president-elect suggested over the weekend that the U.S. could retake control of the Panama Canal if something isn’t done to ease rising shipping costs required for using the waterway linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. He’s also been suggesting that Canada become the 51st U.S. state and referred to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as “governor” of the “Great State of Canada.” Stephen Farnsworth, a political science professor at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia, said Trump tweaking friendly countries harkens back to an aggressive style he used during his days in business. “You ask something unreasonable and it’s more likely you can get something less unreasonable,” said Farnsworth, who is also author of the book “Presidential Communication and Character.” Greenland, the world’s largest island, sits between the Atlantic and Arctic oceans. It is 80% covered by an ice sheet and is home to a large U.S. military base. It gained home rule from Denmark in 1979 and its head of government, Múte Bourup Egede, suggested that Trump’s latest calls for U.S. control would be as meaningless as those made in his first term. “Greenland is ours. We are not for sale and will never be for sale,” he said in a statement. “We must not lose our years-long fight for freedom.” The Danish Prime Minister’s Office said in its own statement that the government is “looking forward to welcoming the new American ambassador. And the Government is looking forward to working with the new administration.” “In a complex security political situation as the one we currently experience, transatlantic cooperation is crucial,” the statement said. It noted that it had no comment on Greenland except for it “not being for sale, but open for cooperation.” Trump canceled a 2019 visit to Denmark after his offer to buy Greenland was rejected by Copenhagen, and ultimately came to nothing . He also suggested Sunday that the U.S. is getting “ripped off” at the Panama Canal. “If the principles, both moral and legal, of this magnanimous gesture of giving are not followed, then we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to the United States of America, in full, quickly and without question,” he said. Panama President José Raúl Mulino responded in a video that “every square meter of the canal belongs to Panama and will continue to,” but Trump fired back on his social media site, “We’ll see about that!” The president-elect also posted a picture of a U.S. flag planted in the canal zone under the phrase, “Welcome to the United States Canal!” The United States built the canal in the early 1900s but relinquished control to Panama on Dec. 31, 1999, under a treaty signed in 1977 by President Jimmy Carter . The canal depends on reservoirs that were hit by 2023 droughts that forced it to substantially reduce the number of daily slots for crossing ships. With fewer ships, administrators also increased the fees that shippers are charged to reserve slots to use the canal. The Greenland and Panama flareups followed Trump recently posting that “Canadians want Canada to become the 51st State” and offering an image of himself superimposed on a mountaintop surveying surrounding territory next to a Canadian flag. Trudeau suggested that Trump was joking about annexing his country, but the pair met recently at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida to discuss Trump’s threats to impose a 25% tariff on all Canadian goods. “Canada is not going to become part of the United States, but Trump’s comments are more about leveraging what he says to get concessions from Canada by putting Canada off balance, particularly given the precarious current political environment in Canada,” Farnsworth said. “Maybe claim a win on trade concessions, a tighter border or other things.” He said the situation is similar with Greenland. “What Trump wants is a win,” Farnsworth said. “And even if the American flag doesn’t raise over Greenland, Europeans may be more willing to say yes to something else because of the pressure.” __ Associated Press writers Gary Fields in Washington and Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.

Presidential nominees who will require Senate confirmation for diplomatic positions that have historically flown under the radar may soon find themselves thrust into the spotlight. With President-elect Donald Trump floating aggressive desires to acquire foreign territories like the Panama Canal, Greenland, and Canada, ambassador confirmations could emerge as unexpected points of tension with senators. HIGH INTEREST RATES COULD BEDEVIL TRUMP AS DEBT RISES The new Congress convenes Jan. 3, and with it the new 53-47 Republican Senate majority. Committees in the upper chamber could begin holding confirmation hearings for the dozens of Cabinet and lower-level nominees that senators are tasked with considering as soon as the following week. In Truth Social posts on Christmas Day , Trump again spoke of his territorial wish list that included purchasing Greenland from Denmark, annexing Canada as the 51st state, and retaking control of the Panama Canal. Trump will need a simple majority to confirm the loyalists he's tapped for ambassadorships that would play a crucial role in carrying out his foreign policy agenda. While it's not entirely clear the level of sincerity in Trump's push to expand America's territorial control, the incoming president is seeking to flex U.S. dominance in the weeks before retaking office. He extended a lengthy Merry Christmas to “the wonderful soldiers of China, who are lovingly, but illegally, operating the Panama Canal,” to “Governor Justin Trudeau of Canada,” and to “the people of Greenland, which is needed by the United States for National Security purposes.” TRUMP CABINET PICKS: WHO'S BEEN TAPPED TO SERVE IN THE PRESIDENT-ELECT'S ADMINISTRATION U.S. ambassador to Panama Trump named Miami-Dade County Commissioner Kevin Marino Cabrera on Christmas Day to be his ambassador to Panama. Cabrera was the Trump 2020 campaign’s state director for Florida , a member of the Miami-Dade International Trade Consortium, and helped lead the effort to rename a South Florida street “President Donald J. Trump Avenue.” Trump said Cabrera would “do a FANTASTIC job representing our Nation’s interests in Panama!” “I am pleased to announce that Kevin Marino Cabrera will serve as the United States Ambassador to the Republic of Panama, a Country that is ripping us off on the Panama Canal, far beyond their wildest dreams,” Trump posted. “Few understand Latin American politics as well as Kevin.” Trump has accused China and the Panama Canal of price-gouging U.S. vessels that use the 50-mile-long manmade waterway connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through Central America. China, Trump said, is “always making certain that the United States puts in Billions of Dollars in ‘repair’ money, but will have absolutely nothing to say about ‘anything.’” At a political event over the weekend, Trump foreshadowed he might “demand that the Panama Canal be returned to the United States of America.” ANTI-VAX PHILANTHROPY AND LEGAL FEES: HOW RFK JR. MAKES HIS MILLIONS But the canal is controlled by Panama — not China. It was under full American control from the early 1900s after the U.S. helped build the global trade route until partial control in 1977. Now, Trump is threatening to upend a Jimmy Carter-era agreement that handed remaining U.S. control to Panama in 1999 unless U.S. ships see reduced fees. While China does not control the canal — a point made by Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino — the Asian adversary has expanded its footprint in the region with nearby ports. Still, more than half of the 13,000 to 14,000 ships that traverse the canal annually are coming from or going to U.S. ports. In an ensuing tit-for-tat, Mulino said the canal wasn’t for sale . He stated, in part, that “every square meter of the Panama Canal and its adjacent area belong to PANAMA, and will continue to be. The sovereignty and independence of our country are not negotiable.” Trump shot back in another post: “We’ll see about that!” U.S. ambassador to Canada Trump has tapped Michigan Republican Party Chair Pete Hoekstra to serve as the ambassador to Canada. Hoekstra is a former congressman, a Netherlands native, and was ambassador to the Netherlands under Trump’s first term. WHICH JAN. 6 DEFENDERS COULD SEE PARDONS Trump credited Hoekstra as a “great help to our Campaign” for winning battleground Michigan . Trump had a rocky relationship his first go-around with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and strained U.S.-Canada relations when he scrapped the North American Free Trade Agreement and imposed tariffs. Trump has countered his “America First” decisions were better for U.S. taxpayers and the economy. As he prepares to retake the White House, Trump has increasingly mocked Trudeau as “Governor Justin Trudeau of the Great State of Canada.” The incoming president posted Christmas Day that if “Canada was to become our 51st State, their Taxes would be cut by more than 60%, their businesses would immediately double in size, and they would be militarily protected like no other Country anywhere in the World.” While his annexation suggestions appear to be an extension of his love for trolling the embattled Canadian leader , Trump has vowed to slap America’s neighbor to the north with 25% tariffs on imported Canadian goods upon taking office unless border security and illegal drugs are better addressed at the U.S.-Canada border. U.S. ambassador to Denmark Trump has nominated Ken Howery, a co-founder of PayPal and San Francisco -based venture capital firm Founders Fund, to be ambassador to Denmark. Howery was ambassador to Sweden during Trump’s first term. As a self-ruling territory of Denmark, Greenland has found itself back in the crosshairs of Trump’s desire to purchase the Arctic island home to little more than 50,000 residents. Commercial and national security interests have fueled Trump’s endeavor as another way for the U.S. to counter Russian and Chinese influence in the Arctic. PETE HEGSETH PENTAGON PICK IS CONTROVERSIAL, BUT HIS RESUME IS MORE THAN JUST FOX NEWS HOST “For purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity,” Trump said in Howery’s nomination announcement. Trump’s longtime — but perhaps half-hearted — bid to purchase Greenland was rebuffed in his first term. Greenland reiterated this week that the island nation was not on the market. “Greenland is ours,” Greenland Prime Minister Múte Egede said. “We are not for sale and will never be for sale. We must not lose our long struggle for freedom.” The office of Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen echoed Greenland’s sentiment but with softened rhetoric. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER Denmark is "looking forward to welcoming the new American Ambassador [and] looking forward to working with the new administration,” Frederiksen said , adding that Greenland is "not for sale" but that they are "open for cooperation” in the region. "In a complex security political situation as the one we currently experience, transatlantic cooperation is crucial," Frederiksen said.Liverpool punish rivals’ errors with dominant win over Leicester to stretch leadHow Did Dr. Manmohan Singh’s MNREGA Transform Rural India?

Washington Nationals win lottery for No. 1 pick in next amateur baseball draft, Angels No. 2MONTRÉAL, Dec. 02, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bombardier Inc. ("Bombardier”) today confirmed that it has reached an agreement to settle its lawsuit against Honeywell International Inc. ("Honeywell”) that it initially filed in 2016 before the Superior Court of Québec . The settlement resolves the lawsuit and the pending request for appeal before the Supreme Court of Canada. The terms of the settlement agreement are confidential to both parties. About Bombardier At Bombardier (BBD-B.TO), we design, build, modify and maintain the world's best-performing aircraft for the world's most discerning people and businesses, governments and militaries. That means not simply exceeding standards, but understanding customers well enough to anticipate their unspoken needs. For them, we are committed to pioneering the future of aviation-innovating to make flying more reliable, efficient and sustainable. And we are passionate about delivering unrivaled craftsmanship and care, giving our customers greater confidence and the elevated experience they deserve and expect. Because people who shape the world will always need the most productive and responsible ways to move through it. Bombardier customers operate a fleet of approximately 5,000 aircraft, supported by a vast network of Bombardier team members worldwide and 10 service facilities across six countries. Bombardier's performance-leading jets are proudly manufactured in aerostructure, assembly and completion facilities in Canada, the United States and Mexico. In 2024, Bombardier was honoured with the prestigious "Red Dot: Best of the Best” award for Brands and Communication Design. For Information For corporate news and information, including Bombardier's Environmental, Social and Governance report, as well as the company's plans to cover all its flight operations with a Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) blend utilizing the Book and Claim system visit bombardier.com. Learn more about Bombardier's industry-leading products and customer service network at businessaircraft.bombardier.com. Follow us on X (Twitter) @Bombardier. Media Contacts Vice President, Financial Planning and Investor Relations Bombardier +1 514 240-9649 Senior Director, Communications Bombardier +1 514 855-7167 Certain statements in this announcement are forward-looking statements based on current expectations, which may involve, but are not limited to: the coming into effect of the settlement agreement and the satisfaction and timing of conditions in connection therewith; and the effect of the settlement on the parties to the lawsuit and their business relationship. By their nature, forward-looking statements require the Company to make assumptions and are subject to important known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause the actual effects or results in future periods to differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. Please also refer to the note on "Forward-Looking Statements” and the section titled "Risks and Uncertainties” contained in Bombardier's published quarterly financial report for the period ended September 30, 2024 and annual financial report for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023.Liverpool recover from conceding early goal to go seven points clear

Harry Potter’s iconic “Invisibility Cloak” could perhaps be within our sight. Chinese scientists have devised a camouflage material that adjusts its molecular composition to blend into the background, potentially rendering the wearer imperceptible to the naked eye. They detailed this cutting-edge cloaking technology in a study published last month in the journal Science Advances. “Applying this technology to clothing could make an individual effectively ‘invisible’,” head researcher Wang Dongsheng of China’s University of Electronic Science and Technology told China Science Daily in an interview last week, the South China Morning Post reported. The material’s disappearing act is facilitated by a process called self-adaptive photochromism, or SAP, in which the molecules rearrange when exposed to certain wavelengths of light. This causes the substance to change color and effectively become unseeable, the Independent reported. Think of it as the synthetic version of a chameleon or octopus’ natura l cloaking mechanism. Instead of hair-trigger color-changing cells like in a cephalopod, SAP materials consist of organic dyes and molecules called donor-acceptor Stenhouse adducts, which transform their chemical and structural makeup when exposed to light. Initially appearing black in the dark, this solution spontaneously shifts pigment “upon triggering by transmitted and reflected light in the background,” the scientists write. To assess its efficacy, researchers placed a translucent container of the SAP solution in boxes of different colors including red, green, yellow, and black. They found that the substance adjusted its hue accordingly. In a second test, the chameleonic material was placed in an environment with red, green, or yellow plant clusters in the background, prompting it to melt into its surroundings within a minute. SAP materials are more effective and convenient than manmade invisibility systems that rely on external power sources and intricate electronics to work. Not to mention that these techs’ complexity and heavy price tags limit their potential for widespread use. By contrast, scientists can simply use SAP as a spray-on coating. Researchers added polycaprolactone — a biodegradable polyester — to the substance to develop chemicals that can be squirted onto various surfaces, effectively transferring this cloaking power to solids with the push of a button. Researchers foresee the technology having a range of applications, ranging from architecture to the military and even “anti-counterfeiting technology,” researchers write. Scientists hope to expand SAP’s color palate to incorporate purple and blue, which aren’t included in the current iteration. “By adding more photochromic molecules or adjusting its composition, we aim to achieve finer distinctions in color and faster changing speed,” Dr. Wang declared.NEW YORK (AP) — What a wonderful year 2024 has been for investors. U.S. stocks ripped higher and carried the S&P 500 to records as the economy kept growing and the Federal Reserve began cutting interest rates. The year featured many familiar winners, such as Big Tech, which got even bigger as their stock prices kept growing . But it wasn’t just Apple, Nvidia and the like. Bitcoin , gold and other investments also drove higher. Here’s a look at some of the numbers that defined the year. All are as of Dec. 20. Remember when President Bill Clinton got impeached or when baseball’s Mark McGwire hit his 70th home run against the Montreal Expos? That was the last time the U.S. stock market closed out a second straight year with a leap of at least 20%, something the S&P 500 is on track to do again this year. The index has climbed 24.3% so far this year, not including dividends, following last year’s spurt of 24.2%. The number of all-time highs the S&P 500 has set so far this year. The first came early, on Jan. 19, when the index capped a two-year comeback from the swoon caused by high inflation and worries that high interest rates instituted by the Federal Reserve to combat it would create a recession. But the index was methodical through the rest of the year, setting a record in every month outside of April and August, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices. The latest came on Dec. 6. The number of times the Federal Reserve has cut its main interest rate this year from a two-decade high, offering some relief to the economy. Expectations for those cuts, along with hopes for more in 2025, were a big reason the U.S. stock market has been so successful this year. The 1 percentage point of cuts, though, is still short of the 1.5 percentage points that many traders were forecasting for 2024 at the start of the year. The Fed disappointed investors in December when it said it may cut rates just two more times in 2025, fewer than it had earlier expected. That’s how many points the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by the day after Election Day, as investors made bets on what Donald Trump’s return to the White House will mean for the economy and the world . The more widely followed S&P 500 soared 2.5% for its best day in nearly two years. Aside from bitcoin, stocks of banks and smaller winners were also perceived to be big winners. The bump has since diminished amid worries that Trump’s policies could also send inflation higher. The level that bitcoin topped to set a record above $108,000 this past month. It’s been climbing as interest rates come down, and it got a particularly big boost following Trump’s election. He’s turned around and become a fan of crypto, and he’s named a former regulator who’s seen as friendly to digital currencies as the next chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, replacing someone who critics said was overly aggressive in his oversight. Bitcoin was below $17,000 just two years ago following the collapse of crypto exchange FTX. Gold’s rise for the year, as it also hit records and had as strong a run as U.S. stocks. Wars around the world have helped drive demand for investments seen as safe, such as gold. It’s also benefited from the Fed’s cut to interest rates. When bonds are paying less in interest, they pull away fewer potential buyers from gold, which pays investors nothing. It’s a favorite number of Elon Musk, and it’s also a threshold that Tesla’s stock price passed in December as it set a record. The number has a long history among marijuana devotees, and Musk famously said in 2018 that he had secured funding to take Tesla private at $420 per share . Tesla soared this year, up from less than $250 at the start, in part because of expectations that Musk’s close relationship with Trump could benefit the company. That’s how much revenue Nvidia made in the nine months through Oct. 27, showing how the artificial-intelligence frenzy is creating mountains of cash. Nvidia’s chips are driving much of the move into AI, and its revenue through the last nine months catapulted from less than $39 billion the year before. Such growth has boosted Nvidia’s worth to more than $3 trillion in total. GameStop’s gain on May 13 after Keith Gill, better known as “Roaring Kitty,” appeared online for the first time in three years to support the video game retailer’s stock, which he helped rocket to unimaginable heights during the “ meme stock craze ” in 2021. Several other meme stocks also jumped following his post in May on the social platform X, including AMC Entertainment. Gill later disclosed a sizeable stake in the online pet products retailer Chewy, but he sold all of his holdings by late October . That’s how much the U.S. economy grew, at annualized seasonally adjusted rates, in each of the three first quarters of this year. Such growth blew past what many pessimists were expecting when inflation was topping 9% in the summer of 2022. The fear was that the medicine prescribed by the Fed to beat high inflation — high interest rates — would create a recession. Households at the lower end of the income spectrum in particular are feeling pain now, as they contend with still-high prices. But the overall economy has remained remarkably resilient. This is the vacancy rate for U.S. office buildings — an all-time high — through the first three quarters of 2024, according to data from Moody’s. The fact the rate held steady for most of the year was something of a win for office building owners, given that it had marched up steadily from 16.8% in the fourth quarter of 2019. Demand for office space weakened as the pandemic led to the popularization of remote work. That’s the total number of previously occupied homes sold nationally through the first 11 months of 2024. Sales would have to surge 20% year-over-year in December for 2024’s home sales to match the 4.09 million existing homes sold in 2023, a nearly 30-year low. The U.S. housing market has been in a sales slump dating back to 2022, when mortgage rates began to climb from pandemic-era lows. A shortage of homes for sale and elevated mortgage rates have discouraged many would-be homebuyers.Native American patients are sent to collections for debts the government owes

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A few questions about veggiesRex Ridgeway said he’s volunteered at his granddaughter Joselyn’s schools since she attended kindergarten at El Dorado Elementary in the San Francisco Unified School District. When Joselyn graduates from Lincoln High School in the spring, Ridgeway will wrap up his terms as Lincoln’s parent-teacher association president, debate-team coach and chess coach, marking the end of an era in which Ridgeway has been a fixture within SFUSD as a volunteer, community organizer and education advocate. He chaired SFUSD’s Citizen Bond Oversight Committee and currently serves as executive vice president of the the California State PTA’s second district, its San Francisco chapter. Ridgeway has also served on the Student Success Fund advisory council, Lincoln High School site council and SFUSD’s recent math-policy focus group, which is charged with helping the district reimplement eighth-grade algebra. Ridgeway was one of a group of advocates who sued the school district to reintroduce the subject in middle school and then went on to lead a citywide campaign to place the matter on the March 2024 ballot, which passed. Needless to say, it has been a busy 13 years for the retired stockbroker. “When I started [volunteering at El Dorado], it was fun,” Ridgeway told The Examiner. “I had a lot of fun with the kids.” He said the PTA group then was “mostly moms,” and he was “one of the few if not only grandparents and certainly [only] African American.” Ridgeway said he felt compelled when his granddaughter entered kindergarten because he “had the time,” having just retired, but he was quickly discouraged by the lack of participation from other families. He said he recognizes it isn’t easy to devote time to volunteering, then or now, but that the consequences of not doing so can put students at a disadvantage. “Immediately, I saw that parents did not know what goes on in their kids’ classrooms, school sites and at the school district,” he said. “And then I found that the biggest challenge was keeping the Board of Education informed and, at the same time, held accountable to the decisions they were making.” Ridgeway pointed to SFUSD’s decision to stop offering eighth-grade algebra , which he said outraged many parents since it was implemented in 2014. His granddaughter was affected by the now-reversed policy and had to double up on algebra and geometry courses in ninth grade to qualify for more advanced courses later. “She’s always been good at math, so why should I let the school district mess over her academic career?” Ridgeway said. SFUSD officials said the policy set out to level the playing field and increase state-administered math-aptitude test scores among its Black and Latino students. Instead, Ridgeway said, underrepresented student populations were victims of the policy. He called getting the course back into middle schools one of his proudest moments. Ridgeway and his fellow organizers had the support of the majority of The City’s Board of Supervisors. Prop. G was placed on the March 2024 ballot , giving voters the chance to weigh in on whether algebra should be offered in eighth grade. It was approved by more than 80% of voters. “I take great satisfaction in that we’re righting a wrong for parents who maybe don’t even know that [the policy] ever existed, or that if you don’t take algebra I in the eighth grade, you can’t get into calculus later on,” he said. But much of Ridgeway’s work as a volunteer over the years has been focused on increasing both transparency from the district and participation from students’ families. As previous chair of the district’s Citizen Bond Oversight Committee, a state-mandated volunteer oversight group, Ridgeway helped put SFUSD’s bond spending under a microscope. He was recognized as CBOC Member of the Year in 2022 by the California Association of Bond Oversight Committees. The San Francisco Democratic Party named him The City’s 2024 “education hero.” Ridgeway was nominated for the award, which recognizes a resident education advocate or volunteer, by local party Chair Nancy Tung. “In years past, the party has honored retiring legislators, political figures, and elected officials,” Tung told The Examiner. “This year, I felt like we should be shining a light on the everyday people who have been working to make San Francisco a better place, [including in] education.” The gala committee selected Ridgeway “because of his steadfast commitment to public education and the betterment of it,” Tung said. But even as his granddaughter is set to graduate from high school, Ridgeway said there’s still work to do. The Student Success Fund Advisory Council is where his biggest challenge currently lies, Ridgeway said. With the recent passage of Proposition J, The City will now create an Our Children, Our Families initiative to track spending from the Student Success Fund, which provides grants to schools to implement academic excellence or social- and emotional-wellness programs. Nearly $20 million in Student Success Fund grants was available for schools to apply to earlier this year, but “approximately one-half of the schools [that qualify] did not apply,” leaving $11 million available, Ridgeway said. Those funds could support tutoring services, mental-wellness hubs and various other initiatives to benefit students, but many schools are missing the window of opportunity before applications close in 2026. The conduit between the Department of Children, Youth and their Families — The City department that administers Student Success Fund grants — and individual schools is the school site councils, state-mandated group s tasked with identifying student needs and areas of improvement at individual schools. “Every single [SFUSD] school has one, they are required by law,” Ridgeway said. He said Lincoln High School, where he serves on the school site council, is a “picture-perfect” example of what one should look like. “We have 12 members on the council, and four of them are kids,” he said. “I wish all of them could be like that. A lot of these schools in the Bayview and the Mission, they don’t have robust school site councils like Lincoln. But those [councils] are calling the shots.” The district’s new superintendent, Maria Su — who previously led DCYF — has been an engaging partner in his mission to publicize the Student Success Fund grant-application process, Ridgeway said. “There’s a tight tie there,” he said. “That’s going to help us make sure that other schools going forward get their money.” Ridgeway’s years of experience volunteering with SFUSD undoubtedly rubbed off on Joselyn, who was appointed by Mayor London Breed to The City’s Youth Commission. She has said she plans on studying business and finance in college. Ridgeway said he doesn’t plan to fully stop volunteering once Joselyn graduates. He said he hopes Su and the Board of Education are able to fix the district’s operating budget and focus on special education, “with the end goal of making SFUSD a place where parents believe that their kids will get a great education.” “Let’s do it,” he said. “The clock only ticks in one direction. There’s no going back.”