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With technical prowess and considerable style, Marta danced around two sliding defenders, outwitted a goalkeeper and calmly scored as another player rushed forward in desperation to stop her. It was more Marta Magic. That goal last weekend helped propel the Orlando Pride into Saturday's National Women's Soccer League championship game against the Washington Spirit. Barbra Banda also scored in the Pride's 3-2 semifinal victory over the Kansas City Current . While Banda has had an incredible first season with the Pride, captain Marta has been the talisman that has helped lead the team in its remarkable turnaround this year. The last time the Pride were in the NWSL playoffs was in 2017 — Marta's first year with the club. But this season they nearly went undefeated, going 23 games without a loss to start the season before losing 2-0 to the Portland Thorns with just two regular-season games left. “I think because of the way that we did it, during this season, from beginning to now, it’s something very special that I’ve never had before with any other club that I’ve played for," Marta said. "Plus year by year, we see in America, strong competition. This is the best league in the world. And you never know what’s going to happen, and it’s hard to keep winning the games, being in the first place almost like the whole season. That’s why it’s really different and so special.” Marta’s goal was the latest gasp-inducing moment in a stellar career filled with them. Known by just her first name, the 38-year-old is a six-time FIFA world player of the year. "Let's see if tomorrow I can do something similar — or even better," Marta said on Friday. Her teammate Kylie Strom chimed in: “That was the greatest goal I've ever witnessed, hands down." Appropriate. Earlier this year, FIFA announced that the best goal in women's soccer each year would earn the Marta Award. In a lighthearted moment the day before the title match, Marta was asked if she thought it was possible she might give the award to herself. “You guys need to decide, because who votes for the best goal in the year? It’s you. It’s the people in the public. So it should be really interesting, like Marta’s Award goes to Marta!” she said with a laugh. Marta has played in six World Cups for Brazil and played this summer in her sixth Olympics, winning a silver medal after falling in the final to the United States . She previously said this would be her final year with the national team. But since then Brazil was named the host of the 2027 Women's World Cup. "I had a conversation with my coach, the national team coach, and I was really clear about playing in 2027. I told him it’s not my goal anymore,” she said. “But I’m always available to help the national team. And if they think I still can do something during this preparation for the World Cup, yeah, I would be happy to help them." Marta's club career started in Brazil when she was just 16. She has also played in Sweden and in the U.S. professional women's leagues that came before the NWSL. With nine regular-season goals, Marta has had one of her best seasons since she joined the Pride. “I can never pick a side, I never pick favorites — but I love to see this for Marta," U.S. coach Emma Hayes said. “Marta is someone we all like, admire and are grateful for. And that goal was just like prime Marta at her best. And so grateful for and thankful for her that she got the opportunity with another game with her team.” The Pride went 18-2-6 this season, clinching the NWSL Shield for the first trophy in club history. Orlando also set a record with 60 regular-season points to finish atop the standings. “We are sitting top of the table, but I think there still are a lot of doubters. I think there’s people out there who say, maybe this was a one-off season,” Strom said. “But we’re here to prove them all wrong. So I think we do carry a bit of that underdog mentality still with us.” The second-seeded Spirit advanced to the title match at Kansas City's CPKC Stadium last weekend on a penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw against defending champions Gotham FC. The Spirit's roster includes Trinity Rodman, a standout forward who formed the so-called “Triple Espresso” trio with Mallory Swanson and Sophia Smith for the United States at the Olympics. AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccerSir Keir Starmer will set out a “plan for change” with milestones set in key policy areas to achieve the targets laid out in Labour’s manifesto, Downing Street has said. The Prime Minister will this week kick off what he has called the “next phase” of Government , as he announces the markers for his “missions” that Number 10 say will allow the public to hold Sir Keir and his team to account on their promises and will be reached by the end of the Parliament. The milestones will run alongside public sector reform, Downing Street said. This will include a focus on reforming Whitehall, spearheaded by the as-yet-unannounced new chief civil servant the Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet ministers, so it is geared towards the delivery of Labour’s missions, according to Number 10. The same focus will also influence decisions for next year’s spending review, it has been suggested. Writing in The Sun on Sunday, the Prime Minister compared “focusing the machinery of government” to “turning an oil tanker” and said that “acceptance of managed decline” has “seeped into parts of Whitehall”. “The British people aren’t fools. They know a ruthless focus on priorities is essential,” he wrote. Labour’s missions, as laid out in their July election manifesto, focus on economic growth, energy security and cleaner energy, the NHS, childcare and education systems, as well as crime and criminal justice. Ahead of revealing the details, Sir Keir said in a statement: “This plan for change is the most ambitious yet honest programme for government in a generation. “Mission-led government does not mean picking milestones because they are easy or will happen anyway – it means relentlessly driving real improvements in the lives of working people. “We are already fixing the foundations and have kicked-started our first steps for change, stabilising the economy, setting up a new Border Security Command, and investing £22 billion in an NHS that is fit for the future. “Our plan for change is the next phase of delivering this Government’s mission. “Some may oppose what we are doing and no doubt there will be obstacles along the way, but this Government was elected on mandate of change and our plan reflects the priorities of working people. “Given the unprecedented challenges we have inherited we will not achieve this by simply doing more of the same, which is why investment comes alongside a programme of innovation and reform.” The so-called “missions” outlined in Labour’s election manifesto focused on five key policy areas: kickstart economic growth; make Britain a clean energy superpower; take back our streets; break down barriers to opportunity; and build an NHS fit for the future. The announcement comes after a first five months in office that has seen anger over Budget proposals and reports of tension in Number 10. Polling for The Observer newspaper by Opinium indicates that more than half of the public disapprove of the Prime Minister’s performance. According to the survey of approximately 2,000 adults, 54% of people disapprove of his performance, compared with 22% who approve, leaving him with a net rating of -32%.
Walmart is pulling back on some initiatives for diversity, equity and inclusion, known as DEI. NEW YORK - In June of 2020, as protesters spilled into the streets after the murder of George Floyd, Walmart’s chief executive officer, Doug McMillon, promised action. In a blog post, he said that “slavery, lynching, the concept of separate but equal... have morphed into a set of systems today that are all too often, unjust” and promised to address systemic racism by establishing a Centre for Racial Equity that would give out US$100 million (S$134.8 million) in grants over five years. He also pledged to make changes within the company and “actively shape our culture to be more inclusive.” Four and a half years later, Walmart is sending a different message, pulling back on some of those initiatives for diversity, equity and inclusion, known as DEI. As a result of the changes, the company will stop sharing data with the Human Rights Campaign, a non-profit that tracks corporate LGBTQ+ policies. Third-party merchants will no longer be able to sell some LGBTQ-themed items, such as chest binders, on Walmart.com that could be marketed to children. It will no longer use the terms DEI and Latinx in official communications. And Walmart will not renew the Centre for Racial Equity when the agreement expires in 2025. Mr Robby Starbuck, an anti-DEI activist and a social media influencer, declared the changes a victory on Nov 25. In a post on social media, Mr Starbuck said that he had told executives at the company that he was working on a story about “wokeness” at Walmart, but that instead the two sides had “productive conversations” to make changes “before Christmas when shoppers have very few large retail brands they can spend money with who aren’t pushing woke policies.” A spokesperson for Walmart confirmed the changes. Many companies are concerned about the threat of litigation targeting DEI programs after a 2023 Supreme Court decision striking down race-conscious college admissions. At NYU School of Law, the Meltzer Centre has been hosting a quarterly webinar for employers helping them to understand which DEI programs are legally safe. Diversity experts note that while companies worry about the social and cultural backlash they are facing, they also have to juggle concerns about their workforce. For Black workers, said Ms Adia Harvey Wingfield, a sociologist at Washington University, pulling back from diversity policies “reinforces the message that they don’t belong.” THE NEW YORK TIMES Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you. Read 3 articles and stand to win rewards Spin the wheel now
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Deion Sanders-to-Florida State Scenario Took a Major Turn on Saturday
In a slice of Queens south of LaGuardia Airport, voters again re-elected a left-leaning congressmember known for touting her working-class bona fides. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez still points to her time waiting tables and preaches economic redistribution, and while voters flee from some of her party’s colleagues, she has yet to face a serious re-election threat. The conventional wisdom states that a figure like Ocasio-Cortez, who brings an activist energy and belongs to a left-leaning coalition of congressional Democrats, could only win in certain left strongholds. But in parts of her district where she handily won re-election this month, Republicans gained ground as voters swung to another candidate who commands superstar attention: President-elect Donald Trump. Gothamist went to East Elmhurst and North Corona, where voters overwhelmingly said they voted for Trump, to hear what drove them to the polls this year. They cited issues of public safety, the recent arrival of migrants and concerns about the rising cost of living, noting that they wanted a leader who they believed understood their concerns. As she stood in front of her small two-story home in North Corona, 65-year-old Ana Marte said she voted for Trump at the urging of her four adult children, who are all in their 40s. Marte said one of her daughters pressed her to vote against Kamala Harris, viewing her as an extension of the current administration. “They told me to vote for Trump because we need some change,” said Marte. Marte has lived in North Corona since about 2005. She’s originally from the Dominican Republic. In her election district, the smallest geographic unit the Board of Elections uses to assign voters, more than 60% of the voting age population is Latino, according to analysis of the voter rolls by John Mollenkopf, director of the Center for Urban Research at the CUNY Graduate Center. Overall, Trump performed 8 percentage points better with Latino voters in 2024 compared to 2020 , according to AP VoteCast data. Mollenkopf said the district had slightly higher levels of average home ownership than the city average, and slightly lower levels of college education. More than 35% of the voting age population was born outside the United States. “This is the current generation of Archie Bunker-like people,” said Mollenkopf, in a nod to the 1970’s era sitcom "All in the Family," set in a nearby Queens neighborhood and following a working-class family patriarch who struggles with racial and demographic shifts in his neighborhood. “Blue-collar, home-owning, solid citizens who basically register as Democrats but are alienated from the Democratic nominee,” Mollenkopf said. Harris narrowly beat Trump in this election district: She pulled 54% of the vote to his 46%, compared to a 68%-30% split citywide. The election district also saw a striking decline in overall turnout, with more than 20% fewer people voting in 2024 compared to 2020, according to the NYC Election Atlas created by CUNY’s Center for Urban Research. The most significant drop was among registered Democrats, with 282 fewer registered voters turning out this year compared to four years ago. By comparison, 109 more registered Republicans turned out, suggesting that Trump more successfully energized voters than Harris. Marte said the growing number of migrants arriving in the city made her feel less safe. She said she installed security cameras after people began sleeping in her backyard, and someone pounded on her front door at 2 a.m. “It’s a lot of problems in the streets,” Marte said. Marte said she hoped her vote for Trump would bring a sense of order to her neighborhood. Down ballot, Marte also voted for Ocasio-Cortez. Even though she’s not new to office, Marte saw Ocasio-Cortez as someone who could bring a fresh approach to the work. “We need somebody like, new, maybe they do something,” she said. “We need change.” Benito Cortez, 79, said he also voted for Ocasio-Cortez, but declined to say why. He also would not say if he voted for Trump, but echoed Marte’s concerns about feeling unsafe around his neighborhood. “Everything is bad here,” Cortez said as he leaned against a brick fence by his East Elmhurst driveway. “After 7 o’clock, you cannot go out, you know, they mug you,” he said. Cortez said he had never personally experienced a violent crime, but he knew others who had. He said his hope was that Trump would keep his promises when he took office related to immigration and the economy. “Let’s hope for the best,” he added. As he walked out of a pharmacy on 103rd Street in North Corona, Primitivo Collado wore a baseball cap with a logo for a retired U.S. Navy ship where he said his grandson used to work. Now his grandson is a police officer in Connecticut. “When we came to this country, we came to work,” said Collado, who said he left his home in the Dominican Republic at the age of 16. When he discussed his reasons for voting for Trump, he talked about his own job working at the Four Seasons and the work his children and grandchildren are now doing, an oblique criticism of people who have recently arrived in this country and are not working. Other voters in the neighborhood who did not want to share their full names shared similar frustrations. Several of them, including a 21-year-old college student who was returning home from a shopping trip with her mother and younger brother, said their votes for Trump were motivated by rising grocery costs. The student lamented that her money doesn't go far enough. This isn’t to say that Trump swept all of Ocasio-Cortez's district, despite gaining ground in Elmhurst and Corona. Harris still won the Bronx and Queens congressional district overall. Karim Abdullah, 47, said he voted for Harris. While parking his car after work as his 5-year-old son slept in the backseat, Abdullah said he had often talked to his friends and neighbors about the election. He said Trump did a better job of stirring up voters’ anxieties, especially as it relation to migrants. “If I say, ‘Oh, this person is bad,'” said Abdullah, “if I keep telling you that 10 times over and over again. Then you're going to believe that.” Abdullah said he struggled to understand how people of color could support Trump. “When you're supporting somebody who say, ‘I don't like your kind of skin’ or his people around him don't like people of color or Hispanic or have a problem with somebody being Muslim,” said Abdullah, who said he was originally from West Africa. He said he even struggled to relate to frustrations he heard over the arrival of migrants, especially coming from other New Yorkers from immigrant families. “I'm like, but you were children of immigrants. Why do you have a problem with migrants?” said Abdullah. “And they just don't have an answer.” Shortly after the election, Ocasio-Cortez asked her 8.5 million Instagram followers why some supporters might vote for a split ticket. She has published dozens of the responses from voters, who voiced concerns about immigration policy, the economy, the war in Gaza and more. Other elected officials have made similar outreach efforts. Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani of Queens – who is also running to unseat Adams as mayor – did his own outreach to voters in two areas that swung for Trump: along Fordham Road in the Bronx and along Hillside Avenue in Queens. He turned that outreach into a video he shared on social media. “The beauty of speaking to voters directly is that you can break through so much of the noise, and you can in fact hear it directly from them as to what motivated them,” Mamdani told Gothamist. He said working-class New Yorkers' perspectives were missing from much of the coverage of Trump’s success in the city. “You cannot go to someone that is struggling to afford the price of eggs and tell them this is an incredible economy and we have record low levels of unemployment,” said Mamdani. “Because those statistics have not translated into all that much for so many of these New Yorkers’ lives.” Speaking to WNYC on Friday, Ocasio-Cortez said politicians should listen to their constituents’ concerns about issues like immigration, but shouldn’t get defensive. “Yeah, having an undocumented population is a problem. But undocumented people are not a problem. It’s the fact that they’re undocumented,” Ocasio-Cortez said. She characterized deploying the U.S. military against immigrant populations, as Trump has vowed to do, as a violent waste of resources. “We can solve this problem by giving people work papers and allow us to uphold the longstanding tradition of the United States, which is people coming here, oftentimes with nothing but the shirt on their backs, being able to work their way to support their families,” she added. “It’s really only recently, in recent decades, that we have made it so hard, and so onerous, for people to make an honest living and for small businesses to hire immigrants who want to support their families.” Update: This story has been updated with comments from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) -- President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday announced that he has nominated Paul Atkins, a former commissioner of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), to be the agency's chairman. Atkins, the CEO & founder of Patomak Global Partners, a risk management consultancy, served as an SEC commissioner from 2002-2008 under President George W. Bush. The SEC has five commissioners, one of whom is designated as chairman by the president. The president nominates all five commissioners, and their appointments must be approved by the Senate. Founded in 1934 at the height of the Great Depression, the SEC's mission is to protect investors, maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets, and facilitate capital formation. "Paul is a proven leader for common sense regulations. He believes in the promise of robust, innovative capital markets that are responsive to the needs of Investors, & that provide capital to make our Economy the best in the World," Trump said in a post on his social media platform Truth Social. "He also recognizes that digital assets & other innovations are crucial to Making America Greater than Ever Before," Trump noted. Also on Wednesday, Trump nominated Jared Isaacman, CEO of Shift4 who has led two private spaceflights, as the next administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and Daniel P. Driscoll, a U.S. Army veteran and venture capitalist, to serve as the secretary of the Army. Both positions would need Senate approval. Trump also picked his ex-aide Peter Navarro to serve as senior counselor for trade and manufacturing in his next administration, and appointed David A. Warrington to serve as Assistant to the President and Counsel to the President.skynesher This is a follow-up article to an earlier coverage of Topicus ( TSXV: TOI:CA ) ( OTCPK:TOITF ) with a recommended "buy" rating. The stock has been relatively stable since that publication (in May) and currently trades around the price at publication of that article, after experiencing Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of TOITF either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.
Toll Brothers Announces Cash DividendOpinion editor’s note: Strib Voices publishes a mix of commentary online and in print each day. To contribute, click here . ••• Dick Beardsley, the legendary Minnesota marathon runner, had knee surgery in early September, the day before I left Minneapolis for Detroit Lakes to run a popular 10K race that bears his name. That’s how I met Amy Stearns, a relentless Detroit Lakes booster, Beardsley race organizer and someone gifted at persuading people to do slightly uncomfortable stuff without planning. Five minutes after I showed up at the pre-race pasta feed in Washington Ballpark Field — where nearly 200 runners had paid $10 to carbo-load and hear Beardsley sing and play his guitar — Stearns, whom I had never met in person, told me I would be filling in for the famous no-show. “Speak a few words. Talk about the rebranding of the Minnesota Star Tribune. Tell them why you drove 200 miles to run six miles,” she said. Beardsley was the primary reason I made the drive. I was just as disappointed as the rest of the crowd. But Stearns’ assignment was quite easy, especially after she informed me that she’s a fan of the Strib. Besides, I know my tribe. Runners run when no one chases. We embrace pain. We celebrate when fatigue renders a beautiful face unrecognizable. The mere act of running is the currency that unites. That was my premise to a crowd of unfamiliar people, who returned the group hug. The next morning, as I raced around picturesque Detroit Lakes, two observations stood out. The first was a boy around 10 whom I spotted near the halfway mark. I don’t care how old I get; I don’t enjoy being beat by a child. After I caught up to the boy, he and I became instant race-support partners when he informed me he needed to vomit. I encouraged him to move to the side of the road so as not to spew on others. He slowed but never stopped. After he regained his composure, we finished the race together, strategically picking off people along the route. He finished a step ahead of me. I’ll be aiming for him next year. The other observation was the lack of political yard signage along the route. Even though we were in the thick of a contentious political season, no lawn that I noticed was used as a showcase to support or demonize. In fact, during my visit, people were more interested in talking about the Detroit Lakes trolls that have garnered some national and international attention. President-elect Donald Trump overwhelmingly carried Becker County, of which Detroit Lakes sits as the county seat. Incumbent U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar easily retained her seat, even though her Republican challenger Royce White trounced her in Becker County. As for the single statewide ballot question, the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund renewal won more than 70% of the votes cast in Becker County. Why does that matter? On this beautiful September weekend, a Minnesota community was open, welcoming, vibrant and fun for visitors and residents alike. Political differences didn’t serve as a moat or electric fence as they sometimes seem to do. In an email Stearns sent me in August after reading in my inaugural Strib column that I had registered for the Beardsley race, she wrote: “In Detroit Lakes, we firmly believe in casting a wide net and rising above any political divides. We understand that we all have chosen to live in this gorgeous lake area and that we need to pull together to make our small town the BEST place to live. “Yes, of course, our neighbors don’t always vote the way [we do], but we also know that they love a cold beverage, great conversation, delicious food, and a sunset pontoon cruise. These things are universal.” Stearns and her husband have offered me a standing invitation back to their place for dinner, disproving the maxim that Minnesota Nice stops at the entrance to one’s home. The important state and local conversations that Stearns references are the same ones we at the Minnesota Star Tribune are committed to embracing. In the coming year, we on the opinion staff intend to keep a much closer eye on state government. We will consistently examine and reflect on how the actions of elected officials affect us all. We’ll also remain vigilantly mindful of overarching issues that bind us as one state — as opposed to a collection of red, blue or purple counties. We‘ll continue to expand our Strib Voices roster, composed of recognized and emerging important voices from around Minnesota. This will allow us to continue to position ourselves as the state’s water cooler, regardless of the part of Minnesota you call home. We are also continuing to grow and calibrate our Editorial Board to focus more tightly on the Minnesota ecosystem. Our primary aim is to provide actionable commentary based on Star Tribune investigations and familiarity with the institutions and agencies that guide policy. In the coming year, we pledge to relentlessly use our commentary to continue to earn and retain your trust. In a season of thankfulness, we’re grateful we have a place in your home.
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Is Netanyahu now a fugitive? ICC arrest warrants over Gaza are turning point for IsraelNEW YORK, Dec. 10, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cellectis CLLS (the "Company"), a clinical-stage biotechnology company using its pioneering gene-editing platform to develop life-saving cell and gene therapies, today announced that it has drawn down the final tranche of €5 million ("Tranche C") under the credit facility agreement for up to €40 million entered into with the European Investment Bank (the "EIB) on December 28, 2022 (the "Finance Contract"). With the drawdown of Tranche C, the Company has drawn down the full €40 million available under the Finance Contract. Tranche C is expected to be disbursed by the EIB by December 18, 2024. The Company plans to use the proceeds of Tranche C towards the development of its pipeline of allogeneic CAR T-cell product candidates: UCART22 and UCART20x22. As a condition to the disbursement of Tranche C the Company issued 611,426 warrants to the benefit of the EIB, in accordance with the terms of the 14 th resolution of the shareholders' meeting held on June 28, 2024 and articles L. 228-91 and seq. of the French Commercial Code (the "Tranche C Warrants"). Each Tranche C Warrant allows the EIB to subscribe for one ordinary share of the Company, at a price of €1.70, corresponding to 99% of the volume-weighted average price of the Company's ordinary shares over the last 3 trading days preceding the decision of the board of directors of the Company to issue the Tranche C Warrants. The total number of shares issuable upon exercise of the Tranche C Warrants represent circa 0.6% of the Company's outstanding share capital as at their issuance date. Tranche C will mature six years from its disbursement date and will accrue interest at a rate of 6% per annum capitalized annually and payable at maturity. The other terms of the Tranche C Warrants and prepayment events of Tranche C under the Finance Contract are as set forth in the Company's press release of April 4, 2023 and Form 6-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on such date. About Cellectis Cellectis is a clinical-stage biotechnology company using its pioneering gene-editing platform to develop life-saving cell and gene therapies. Cellectis utilizes an allogeneic approach for CAR-T immunotherapies in oncology, pioneering the concept of off-the-shelf and ready-to-use gene-edited CAR T-cells to treat cancer patients, and a platform to make therapeutic gene editing in hemopoietic stem cells for various diseases. As a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company with 25 years of experience and expertise in gene editing, Cellectis is developing life-changing product candidates utilizing TALEN ® , its gene editing technology, and PulseAgile, its pioneering electroporation system to harness the power of the immune system in order to treat diseases with unmet medical needs. Cellectis' headquarters are in Paris, France, with locations in New York, New York and Raleigh, North Carolina. Cellectis is listed on the Nasdaq Global Market CLLS and on Euronext Growth ALCLS . To find out more, visit our website: www.cellectis.com Follow Cellectis on social networks @cellectis on LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter) TALEN® is a registered trademark owned by Cellectis. Cautionary Statement This press release contains "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as "expect," "plan," and "will," or the negative of these and similar expressions. These forward-looking statements, which are based on our management's current expectations and assumptions and on information currently available to management. Forward-looking statements include statements about the date of disbursement of the Tranche C and the use of the proceeds of amounts received under the Finance Contract. These forward-looking statements are made in light of information currently available to us and are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including with respect to the numerous risks associated with market conditions, and our ability to satisfy the conditions precedent under the Finance Contract. Furthermore, many other important factors, including those described in our Annual Report on Form 20-F as amended and in our annual financial report (including the management report) for the year ended December 31, 2023 and subsequent filings Cellectis makes with the Securities Exchange Commission from time to time, which are available on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov , as well as other known and unknown risks and uncertainties may adversely affect such forward-looking statements and cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements publicly, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future. For further information on Cellectis, please contact: Media contacts: Pascalyne Wilson, Director, Communications, + 33 (0)7 76 99 14 33, media@cellectis.com Patricia Sosa Navarro, Chief of Staff to the CEO, +33 (0)7 76 77 46 93 Investor Relations contact: Arthur Stril, Interim Chief Financial Officer, investors@cellectis.com Attachment 20241128_Cellectis_BEI_Tranche C_ENGLISH_PR-MBT © 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.AMGEN ANNOUNCES 2025 FIRST QUARTER DIVIDEND
As the Biden administration winds down, the US Food and Drug Administration has submitted a proposed rule that could significantly lower the amount of nicotine in tobacco products and potentially prompt more people to quit smoking. The FDA has been signaling its intentions to limit nicotine levels at least since 2018 , during the first Trump administration. In 2022, President Joe Biden’s FDA commissioner, Dr. Robert Califf, took it a step further and announced that the agency was developing a rule that would require tobacco companies to significantly reduce the amount of nicotine in traditional cigarettes. The next regulatory step, which the FDA took Tuesday by submitting the proposal to the Office of Management and Budget , would not mean overnight change. But if the government did set a limit on nicotine levels, experts say, it could significantly improve public health. “A proposed product standard to establish a maximum nicotine level to reduce the addictiveness of cigarettes and certain combusted tobacco products, when finalized, would be among the most impactful population-level actions in the history of US tobacco product regulation,” the FDA said in a statement Wednesday. The number of people who smoke has been declining for more than a decade, but smoking is still the leading cause of preventable death, disease and disability in the country, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 16 million Americans are living with a smoking-related disease. As of 2021, about 28.3 million US adults were considered current smokers, the CDC says. Surveys show that most want to quit, but nicotine is highly addictive, changing the brain in ways that make people want to smoke more. Half of smokers say they’ve tried to quit in the past year, but fewer than 1 in 10 were successful. Studies show that when the nicotine content of cigarettes is reduced, people smoke less and make more attempts to quit. Cigarettes with lower nicotine levels seem to be effective in alleviating withdrawal, research shows. When the FDA announced its initial plans to reduce nicotine in 2022, it estimated that reducing nicotine levels could keep more than 33 million people from becoming regular smokers, that about 5 million additional smokers would quit within a year, and that 134 million years of life would be gained. In the draft proposal from 2018, which the FDA has since refined, it cited a 2013 survey that found that reducing the total nicotine content of cigarettes to 0.5 milligrams per rod would minimize addictiveness, but it also said that questions remain with respect to the precise level of nicotine in cigarettes. The agency’s proposal was met with high praise Wednesday. “Once finalized, this rule could be a game-changer in our nation’s efforts to eliminate tobacco use,” said Harold Wimmer, president and CEO of the American Lung Association. “Making tobacco products non-addictive would dramatically reduce the number of young people who become hooked when they are experimenting. To fully address the toll of tobacco on our nation’s health and across all communities, it is critical to reduce nicotine levels to non-addictive levels in all commercial tobacco products, including e-cigarettes.” Not all smokers would quit if nicotine levels were limited, experts say, nor would all smoking-related diseases disappear, since tobacco products contain other chemicals that can be harmful for health. “Certainly, there would be individuals who would benefit from substantially lower nicotine levels and find it easier to quit,” said Dr. Rose Marie Robertson, a cardiologist and chief science officer at the American Heart Association. “It’s really hard to quit. I’ve seen patients over many years who have gotten the wake-up call with a heart attack or a stroke and really want to improve their health and reduce their risk, but it’s just very, very hard to do.” There won’t be any immediate changes to tobacco products. The Office of Management and Budget’s approval process can take months. There will also be a public comment period, and the tobacco industry often sues the government to stop new regulations. It’s also unclear what the FDA will do with such a proposal under President-elect Donald Trump. During his first term, the agency signaled that it wanted to limit nicotine, but the tobacco industry donated heavily to Republicans ahead of this year’s elections, and Trump’s pick for chief of staff worked as a tobacco lobbyist . Robertson says her association wants this last-minute FDA effort to work. “We’re hopeful, but we’ll be there if it doesn’t move forward, and we’ll continue to be there,” she said. CNN’s Deidre McPhillips contributed to this report.PHILADELPHIA — A.J. Brown usually doesn’t talk until Friday, but he knew that wasn’t going to fly ahead of the Eagles’ Week 15 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Not after injured teammate Brandon Graham said the receiver had a problem with quarterback Jalen Hurts. Not when the Eagles are 11-2 and riding a nine-game winning streak that so many fear could be derailed by an unexpected controversy.Lawyer says ex-Temple basketball standout Hysier Miller met with NCAA for hours amid gambling probe
A 27-year-old man who was criminally charged in the death of a St. Francis teacher has two prior drunk driving offenses on his record. Troy Vaillancourt, appeared in Milwaukee County Court on Wednesday. According to a criminal complaint, Vaillancourt told police that the night before the crash he had three beers while watching the Packers game, then stayed up late drinking several glasses of wine, and 3⁄4 of a bottle of bourbon. Vaillancourt slept for about two hours then went to work. RELATED: -Family and friends remember Greenfield woman killed after car crash Watch: Oak Creek man accused of another OWI, charged in death of St. Francis teacher When Vaillancourt left work in St. Francis, he collided with Engman's car around 3 p.m. "It was just senseless," Cory Hicks told TMJ4 News. Hicks says he was outside with his dog last Friday afternoon when he noticed a car rush by him. "I saw him come off of Allerton Avenue and he passed me. He had to be doing like 45. I was like, 'Wow he's kind of going too fast.' A second after he passed me I heard the crash," Hicks said. Friday's crash sent 48-year-old Michelle Engman to the hospital. The beloved wife, mother to two children, and teacher in the St. Francis Public School District later died. "He was trying to help as much as he could, but I don’t think there was anything he could do," Hicks recalled. Vaillancourt stayed at the scene knowing with his previous OWI cases, he would likely be arrested. Court records show Vaillancourt has two OWI offenses within the last five years. Police say Vaillancourt showed signs that he was impaired following last week's crash. "My adrenaline was going so I wasn’t paying attention. I was trying to make sure he didn't leave," Hicks stated. Authorities say Vaillancourt performed poorly during field sobriety tests and blew a 0.16 on a preliminary breath test. Vaillancourt's family declined to comment. During a conversation on Tuesday, Engman's husband Adam did not show any hate toward Vaillancourt. "It can't be undone, but one thing that she [Michelle] taught me was when you don't know where to go from here you always have to turn to love," Adam said. Vaillancourt's cash bond was set at $60,000. If convicted Vaillancourt could face a $100,000 fine, 40 years in prison or both. It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device. Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more. Report a typo or error // Submit a news tip