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Nissan and Honda to attempt a merger that would create the world's No. 3 automaker TOKYO (AP) — Japanese automakers Nissan and Honda have announced plans to work toward a merger that would catapult them to a top position in an industry in the midst of tectonic shifts as it transitions away from its reliance on fossil fuels. The two companies said they signed an agreement on integrating their businesses on Monday. Smaller Nissan alliance member Mitsubishi Motors agreed to join the talks. News of a possible merger surfaced earlier this month. Japanese automakers face a strong challenge from their Chinese rivals and Tesla as they make inroads into markets at home and abroad. What a merger between Nissan and Honda means for the automakers and the industry BANGKOK (AP) — Japanese automakers Honda and Nissan will attempt to merge and create the world’s third-largest automaker by sales as the industry undergoes dramatic changes in its transition away from fossil fuels. The two companies said they had signed a memorandum of understanding on Monday and that smaller Nissan alliance member Mitsubishi Motors also had agreed to join the talks on integrating their businesses. Honda will initially lead the new management, retaining the principles and brands of each company. Following is a quick look at what a combined Honda and Nissan would mean for the companies, and for the auto industry. Nordstrom to be acquired by Nordstrom family and a Mexican retail group in $6.25 billion deal Century-old department store Nordstrom has agreed to be acquired and taken private by Nordstrom family members and a Mexican retail group in a $6.25 billion deal. Nordstrom shareholders will receive $24.25 in cash for each share of Nordstrom common stock, representing a 42% premium on the company’s stock as of March 18. Nordstrom’s board of directors unanimously approved the the proposed transaction, while Erik and Pete Nordstrom — part of the Nordstrom family taking over the company — recused themselves from voting. Following the close of the transaction, the Nordstrom Family will have a majority ownership stake in the company. An analyst looks ahead to how the US economy might fare under Trump WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump won a return to the White House in part by promising big changes in economic policy — more tax cuts, huge tariffs on imports, mass deportations of immigrants working in the United States illegally. In some ways, his victory marked a repudiation of President Joe Biden’s economic stewardship and a protest against inflation. It came despite low unemployment and steady growth under the Biden administration. What lies ahead for the economy under Trump? Paul Ashworth of Capital Economics spoke recently to The Associated Press. The interview has been edited for length and clarity. American consumers feeling less confident in December, Conference Board says American consumers are feeling less confident in December, a business research group says. The Conference Board said Monday that its consumer confidence index fell back in December to 104.7 from 112.8 in November. Consumers had been feeling increasingly confident in recent months. The consumer confidence index measures both Americans’ assessment of current economic conditions and their outlook for the next six months. The measure of Americans’ short-term expectations for income, business and the job market tumbled more than a dozen points to 81.1. The Conference Board says a reading under 80 can signal a potential recession in the near future. Stock market today: Wall Street rises at the start of a holiday-shortened week Stocks closed higher on Wall Street at the start of a holiday-shortened week. The S&P 500 rose 0.7% Monday. Several big technology companies helped support the gains, including chip companies Nvidia and Broadcom. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.2%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 1%. Honda's U.S.-listed shares rose sharply after the company said it was in talks about a combination with Nissan in a deal that could also include Mitsubishi Motors. Eli Lilly rose after announcing that regulators approved Zepbound as the first prescription medicine for adults with sleep apnea. Treasury yields rose in the bond market. The internet is rife with fake reviews. Will AI make it worse? Researchers and watchdog groups say the emergence of generative artificial intelligence tools that allow people to efficiently produce detailed and novel online reviews has put merchants, service providers and consumers in uncharted territory. Phony reviews have long plagued many popular consumer websites, such as Amazon and Yelp. But AI-infused text generation tools enable fraudsters to produce reviews faster and in greater volume, according to tech industry experts. The deceptive practice is illegal in the U.S. and becomes a bigger problem for consumers during the holiday shopping season, when many people rely on reviews to buy gifts. A tech company and watchdog group that uses software to detect fake reviews says AI-generated reviews have multiplied. Romanian lawmakers narrowly approve new pro-European coalition during period of political turmoil BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Romanian lawmakers have voted narrowly in favor of a new pro-European coalition government led by incumbent Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu. The move on Monday could usher in an end to a protracted political crisis in the European Union country following the annulment of a presidential election. Parliament approved the new administration in a 240-143 vote in the 466-seat legislature. The new coalition is made up of the leftist Social Democratic Party, the center-right National Liberal Party, the small ethnic Hungarian UDMR party and national minorities. President Klaus Iohannis swore in the new government on Monday night. Government regulators close investigation into Ford Focus recalls Government safety regulators are closing an investigation into two previous recalls of the Ford Focus after determining that Ford Motor Co. has satisfied its concerns. Ford recalled around 1.5 million Ford Focus sedans from the 2012-2018 model years in 2018 because they could lose power. The issue was a malfunctioning canister purge valve and software that didn’t adequately detect when it was stuck open. Ford fixed the software in two separate recalls, but after cars continued to stall, the government opened an inquiry last year. Earlier this fall, Ford offered to replace the canister purge valve on all of the vehicles, satisfying regulators' concerns. AI will eavesdrop on world's wildest places to track and help protect endangered wildlife PUERTO JIMÉNEZ, Costa Rica (AP) — A biologist hid 350 audio monitors across Costa Rica’s tropical rainforests to spy on endangered spider monkeys in order to help protect them. But she had to go back to collect the data and feed those sounds into artificial intelligence systems that can recognize monkey calls. Now tech giant Microsoft's philanthropic arm is hoping to supercharge AI-assisted wildlife research with new solar-powered devices that can capture sounds, images and other wilderness data for a year or more without human intervention. Researchers say more AI wildlife surveillance is urgently needed to monitor the health of species at risk of extinction.
It was always one of the many problems inherent in the provincial NDP’s so-called gas tax holiday: eventually the tax has to be reinstated. Read this article for free: Already have an account? To continue reading, please subscribe: * It was always one of the many problems inherent in the provincial NDP’s so-called gas tax holiday: eventually the tax has to be reinstated. Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? Opinion It was always one of the many problems inherent in the provincial NDP’s so-called gas tax holiday: eventually the tax has to be reinstated. That’s what the government did this week by announcing the tax will be charged again at the pumps, effective Jan. 1. In an attempt to find a compromise, or to try to save face, Premier Wab Kinew decided to knock 1.5 cents off the tax, bringing it down to 12.5-cents-per-litre from the 14 cents it was prior to the temporary cut. Manitobans will again be paying a gas tax when they fuel their cars. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press files) Manitobans likely won’t notice the 1.5-cent “savings,” but they will notice gas prices going up by 12.5 cents a litre next week. The Kinew government said it brought in the tax holiday to reduce inflation growth and to help Manitobans with “affordability.” In reality, it did very little to reduce inflation. The consumer price index was already coming down across Canada, owing to high interest rates set by the Bank of Canada and the easing of global supply chain disruptions that began during the COVID-19 pandemic. Whatever small inflationary benefits were gained during the gas tax holiday throughout 2024 will only be reversed come Jan. 1 when the 12.5-cent fuel price spike will put upward pressure on Manitoba’s consumer price index. Meanwhile, most of those in need of financial support when inflation was high did not benefit from the gas tax holiday, since most low-income people don’t own vehicles. The people who benefited the most were those who drive gas-guzzlers. The biggest downside to the gas tax holiday was the hit to the public treasury. It was grossly irresponsible to cut taxes when the government is posting massive deficits and struggling to find resources to fund front-line services in health care, education, justice, child welfare and other areas. The Kinew government had to borrow the estimated $340 million it lost in revenue from the gas tax cut in 2024. That liability will be added to government’s ballooning provincial debt. The province will continue to borrow to pay for the 1.5-cent-per-litre gas tax cut, which represents a loss of about $28 million a year. That will also be tacked on to the province’s net debt, which future generations will have to repay. The Kinew government revealed it is on track to post one of the province’s largest-ever deficits in 2024-25 at $1.3 billion, $513 million higher than projected in the 2024 budget. Worse, the NDP has provided no specifics on how it plans to balance the budget. It continues to claim it will eliminate the deficit during its first term in office, yet has shown no evidence of how it hopes to achieve that. Cutting taxes by any amount under those fiscal circumstances is bad governance. There continue to be long wait lists and staff shortages in health care and pressures in other front-line services that will require additional resources to solve. Where will the money come from to fund the demand for those services? To make matters worse, the NDP is also freezing Manitoba Hydro rates effective Jan. 1, robbing the Crown utility of much-needed revenues to reduce crushing debt loads and to pay for expensive upgrades. The rate freeze will also have a negative impact on the deficit, since the finances of Crown corporations are included in the province’s bottom line. Finance Minister Adrien Sala says the combined gas tax cut and Hydro rate freeze will make life more affordable for Manitobans. Perhaps. But it will also result in a deterioration of public services, a weakening of Hydro’s financial position and a larger provincial deficit and debt. The same Manitobans who will enjoy more “affordability” will be paying more in servicing charges on the provincial debt, will be waiting longer in emergency rooms to see a doctor and will spend more time on wait lists to get surgery or access diagnostic tests. It doesn’t seem like a reasonable or smart trade-off. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. The province could hire a lot of doctors and nurses for $28 million a year. The gas tax holiday was a political gimmick from the moment it was announced by the NDP during the 2023 provincial election campaign. The party didn’t need to adopt such careless promises to win the election. The former Progressive Conservative government imploded long before the election and was headed to the opposition benches whether or not the NDP promised to cut taxes. What Manitobans want more than anything right now is for government to fix the province’s broken health-care system so patients can access medical services in a timely manner and have access to a family doctor. Cutting taxes and freezing Hydro rates does nothing to contribute to that priority. tom.brodbeck@freepress.mb.ca Tom Brodbeck is a columnist with the and has over 30 years experience in print media. He joined the in 2019. Born and raised in Montreal, Tom graduated from the University of Manitoba in 1993 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and commerce. . Tom provides commentary and analysis on political and related issues at the municipal, provincial and federal level. His columns are built on research and coverage of local events. The ’s editing team reviews Tom’s columns before they are posted online or published in print – part of the ’s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about , and . Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider . Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support. Tom Brodbeck is a columnist with the and has over 30 years experience in print media. He joined the in 2019. Born and raised in Montreal, Tom graduated from the University of Manitoba in 1993 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and commerce. . Tom provides commentary and analysis on political and related issues at the municipal, provincial and federal level. His columns are built on research and coverage of local events. The ’s editing team reviews Tom’s columns before they are posted online or published in print – part of the ’s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about , and . Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider . Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support. Advertisement Advertisement
AP News Summary at 2:44 p.m. ESTPresident-elect Trump wants to again rename North America’s tallest peakNone
Attorneys want the US Supreme Court to say Mississippi’s felony voting ban is cruel and unusual
( MENAFN - GetNews) exhibition name: TOKYO AUTO SALON EXHIBITION Exhibition location: Japan – Chiba – 2 Chome-1 Nakase, Mihama Ward, Chiba, 261-8550 Japan – Makuhari Messe International convention Center, Chiba Exhibition time: 2025-1-10 ~ 1-12 Holding cycle: Every Year Exhibition area: 72,000 square meters Exhibition Introduct TOKYO AUTO SALON (TASA) 2025, Show Time: Jan 10~Jan 12, 2025, Show Venue: Japan – Chiba – 2 Chome-1 Nakase, Mihama Ward, Chiba, 261-8550 Japan – Chiba Makuhari Messe International Convention & Exhibition Center, Organizer: TOKYO AUTO SALON ASSOSIATION (TASA), the organizer: once a year, exhibition area: 72,000 square meters, exhibitors: 23,073 visitors, the number of exhibitors and exhibitors brand reached 1120. TOKYO AUTO SALON (Tokyo Tuning Car Show) is an exhibition specializing in the tuning car and auto parts industry. It aims to provide a platform for the tuning car and automobile accessory industry to communicate and display, and to promote the technological innovation and development of the industry. The exhibits at TOKYO AUTO SALON include a wide range of tuning cars and auto parts for different types and purposes, such as tuning cars, wheels, braking systems, exhaust systems, chassis reinforcement, interior trims, and so on. Exhibitors and visitors from different countries and regions can learn about the latest product and technology developments and explore business cooperation opportunities. Scope of Exhibits Vehicles: complete cars, motorcycles, sports cars and automotive products, etc. Accessories: car accessories, sports car products, motorcycle accessories, tires, wheels, air conditioning, car audio, lighting, anti-theft, electronic equipment, automotive electronics and technology Service equipment: automotive maintenance and beauty products, automotive tools and equipment, repair products, etc. Exhibitors at the fair include companies and organizations related to tuning cars and car accessories, such as car tuning factories, car accessory manufacturers, car wheel manufacturers, braking system manufacturers and so on. Car tuning enthusiasts and professionals from all over the world can visit the exhibition. The exhibition is usually held in January every year at the Makuhari Messe in Tokyo. In addition to the exhibition, the TOKYO AUTO SALON Exhibition also organizes a series of professional forums and events, such as seminars on car tuning trends, tuning car demonstrations, and new car accessory launches, with the aim of promoting innovation and development in the car tuning and car accessory industry. The exhibition attracts the attention and participation of car tuning enthusiasts and professionals from all over the world, making it an important event not to be missed by the tuning car and auto accessory industry. MENAFN16122024003238003268ID1108999846 Legal Disclaimer: MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.
Babies at the NICU at the Bridgeport Campus of Yale New Haven Children's Hospital were dressed for the holiday today. In a post on social media, Bridgeport Hospital showed the newest bundles of joy tucked into some stockings, an apt look for Christmas Eve. In the social post, the hospital wrote, "The NICU staff knows this can be a hard time for families who aren't able to take their babies home, so they try to make it extra special for all." The hospital also said they babies got a visit from Santa in addition to their festive holiday "outfits."Today's fortune: Dec. 25, 2024
By ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — President-elect Donald Trump promised on Tuesday to “vigorously pursue” capital punishment after President Joe Biden commuted the sentences of most people on federal death row partly to stop Trump from pushing forward their executions. Trump criticized Biden’s decision on Monday to change the sentences of 37 of the 40 condemned people to life in prison without parole, arguing that it was senseless and insulted the families of their victims. Biden said converting their punishments to life imprisonment was consistent with the moratorium imposed on federal executions in cases other than terrorism and hate-motivated mass murder. “Joe Biden just commuted the Death Sentence on 37 of the worst killers in our Country,” he wrote on his social media site. “When you hear the acts of each, you won’t believe that he did this. Makes no sense. Relatives and friends are further devastated. They can’t believe this is happening!” Presidents historically have no involvement in dictating or recommending the punishments that federal prosecutors seek for defendants in criminal cases, though Trump has long sought more direct control over the Justice Department’s operations. The president-elect wrote that he would direct the department to pursue the death penalty “as soon as I am inaugurated,” but was vague on what specific actions he may take and said they would be in cases of “violent rapists, murderers, and monsters.” He highlighted the cases of two men who were on federal death row for slaying a woman and a girl, had admitted to killing more and had their sentences commuted by Biden. On the campaign trail, Trump often called for expanding the federal death penalty — including for those who kill police officers, those convicted of drug and human trafficking, and migrants who kill U.S. citizens. “Trump has been fairly consistent in wanting to sort of say that he thinks the death penalty is an important tool and he wants to use it,” said Douglas Berman, an expert on sentencing at Ohio State University’s law school. “But whether practically any of that can happen, either under existing law or other laws, is a heavy lift.” Berman said Trump’s statement at this point seems to be just a response to Biden’s commutation. “I’m inclined to think it’s still in sort of more the rhetoric phase. Just, ‘don’t worry. The new sheriff is coming. I like the death penalty,’” he said. Most Americans have historically supported the death penalty for people convicted of murder, according to decades of annual polling by Gallup, but support has declined over the past few decades. About half of Americans were in favor in an October poll, while roughly 7 in 10 Americans backed capital punishment for murderers in 2007. Before Biden’s commutation, there were 40 federal death row inmates compared with more than 2,000 who have been sentenced to death by states. “The reality is all of these crimes are typically handled by the states,” Berman said. A question is whether the Trump administration would try to take over some state murder cases, such as those related to drug trafficking or smuggling. He could also attempt to take cases from states that have abolished the death penalty. Berman said Trump’s statement, along with some recent actions by states, may present an effort to get the Supreme Court to reconsider a precedent that considers the death penalty disproportionate punishment for rape. “That would literally take decades to unfold. It’s not something that is going to happen overnight,” Berman said. Before one of Trump’s rallies on Aug. 20, his prepared remarks released to the media said he would announce he would ask for the death penalty for child rapists and child traffickers. But Trump never delivered the line. One of the men Trump highlighted on Tuesday was ex-Marine Jorge Avila Torrez, who was sentenced to death for killing a sailor in Virginia and later pleaded guilty to the fatal stabbing of an 8-year-old and a 9-year-old girl in a suburban Chicago park several years before. Related Articles The other man, Thomas Steven Sanders, was sentenced to death for the kidnapping and slaying of a 12-year-old girl in Louisiana, days after shooting the girl’s mother in a wildlife park in Arizona. Court records show he admitted to both killings. Some families of victims expressed anger with Biden’s decision, but the president had faced pressure from advocacy groups urging him to make it more difficult for Trump to increase the use of capital punishment for federal inmates. The ACLU and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops were some of the groups that applauded the decision. Biden left three federal inmates to face execution. They are Dylann Roof, who carried out the 2015 racist slayings of nine Black members of Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina; 2013 Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev ; and Robert Bowers, who fatally shot 11 congregants at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life Synagogue in 2018 , the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S history. Associated Press writers Jill Colvin, Michelle L. Price and Eric Tucker contributed to this report.Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. (“K” LINE) has been selected again as an Asia Pacific Index component of the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI), one of the leading global indices for ESG investing, for the 14th consecutive year since 2011. DJSI, the index provided by S&P Dow Jones Indices, measures the performance of companies in terms of economic, environmental and social criteria, through a corporate sustainability assessment, and only includes companies with remarkable performance. Among those indices, Asia Pacific Index for 2024 selects 161 companies in the Asia-Pacific developed region (including 78 Japanese companies) as components, as a result of sustainability assessment of about 600 largest companies in the region. Launched in 1999, DSJI is one of the first global sustainability benchmarks for investors which integrate sustainability consideration into their portfolios. Our corporate principle is to help make the lives of people more affluent, as a logistics company rooted in the shipping industry, and we view environmental and social challenges, such as climate change, as our growth opportunities, and aim to earn the trust of all stakeholders by creating both social and economic value. Moving forward, we will continue to enhance our corporate value while contributing to the preservation of the global environment and the realization of a sustainable society through active engagement in sustainability efforts. Source: Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha
The Lakers own the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference with a 10-6 record, but some glaring issues are actively holding the team back from their ultimate goal of winning a title. The franchise sports one of the best duos in the world, with future Hall-of-Famers LeBron James and Anthony Davis carrying much of the load each night despite a lack of depth. Davis has been playing at an MVP level, averaging 30.1 points and 11.1 rebounds while James has contributed 23.6 points and 9.1 assists on a career-best 42.3% shooting clip from three-point range. Even with both James and Davis playing some of the best basketball of their careers, the Lakers have managed to drop key games against the NBA’s best competition. Los Angeles has suffered defeat to several elite teams like the Denver Nuggets, Phoenix Suns, Cleveland Cavaliers, and most recently to the blossoming Orlando Magic Thursday night. A player who had a massive hand in pulling out the thrilling 119-188 victory for Orlando, and who will surely be on the Lakers’ radar until the trade deadline is the 23-year-old defensive prodigy Jalen Suggs. The Lakers deflating first home loss of the season to the Magic could perhaps be blamed on their lackluster defense which carries a 117.9 defensive rating, sitting at No. 27 in the league. This is an area where Suggs, a member of the NBA's All-Defensive Second Team from a season ago, would help tremendously. Suggs scored 23 points to go along with two steals and two blocks against Los Angeles on Thursday, flashing serious two-way potential against a franchise that may be interested in acquiring the disruptive guard. The gritty guard is averaging 14.7 points and 3.6 assists paired with a 105 defensive rating per 100 possessions, up from his 110 rating during the 2023-24 season where he finished top-ten in Defensive Player of the Year voting. The addition of Suggs would help to make Davis’ life easier as a generational defensive talent. The team would be able to deploy one of the best perimeter defenders in the entire league while Davis protects the rim while largely enhancing the production they receive nightly from the point guard position overall. In exchange for Suggs, Orlando could seek somewhat of a haul in return. This could include players that could affect winning in the present like D’Angelo Russell or Jarred Vanderbilt once he returns from injury and draft compensation. More NBA: Warriors predicted to acquire undervalued $78 million center from Raptors via trade