‘I didn’t realize the role rice played’: the ingenious crop cultivation of the Gullah Geechee peopleBy LISA MASCARO and FARNOUSH AMIRI WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for intelligence chief Tulsi Gabbard faced fresh scrutiny Monday on Capitol Hill about her proximity to Russian-ally Syria amid the sudden collapse of that country’s hardline Assad rule. Gabbard ignored shouted questions about her 2017 visit to war-torn Syria as she ducked into one of several private meetings with senators who are being asked to confirm Trump’s unusual nominees . Related Articles National Politics | Trump promises to end birthright citizenship: What is it and could he do it? National Politics | Trump has flip-flopped on abortion policy. His appointees may offer clues to what happens next National Politics | In promising to shake up Washington, Trump is in a class of his own National Politics | Election Day has long passed. In some states, legislatures are working to undermine the results National Politics | Trump taps his attorney Alina Habba to serve as counselor to the president But the Democrat-turned-Republican Army National Reserve lieutenant colonel delivered a statement in which she reiterated her support for Trump’s America First approach to national security and a more limited U.S. military footprint overseas. “I want to address the issue that’s in the headlines right now: I stand in full support and wholeheartedly agree with the statements that President Trump has made over these last few days with regards to the developments in Syria,” Gabbard said exiting a Senate meeting. The incoming president’s Cabinet and top administrative choices are dividing his Republican allies and drawing concern , if not full opposition, from Democrats and others. Not just Gabbard, but other Trump nominees including Pentagon pick Pete Hegseth, were back at the Capitol ahead of what is expected to be volatile confirmation hearings next year. The incoming president is working to put his team in place for an ambitious agenda of mass immigrant deportations, firing federal workers and rollbacks of U.S. support for Ukraine and NATO allies. “We’re going to sit down and visit, that’s what this is all about,” said Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., as he welcomed Gabbard into his office. Meanwhile, Defense Secretary pick Hegseth appeared to be picking up support from once-skeptical senators, the former Army National Guard major denying sexual misconduct allegations and pledging not to drink alcohol if he is confirmed. The president-elect’s choice to lead the FBI, Kash Patel , who has written extensively about locking up Trump’s foes and proposed dismantling the Federal Bureau of Investigation, launched his first visits with senators Monday. “I expect our Republican Senate is going to confirm all of President Trump’s nominees,” said Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., on social media. Despite widespread concern about the nominees’ qualifications and demeanors for the jobs that are among the highest positions in the U.S. government, Trump’s team is portraying the criticism against them as nothing more than political smears and innuendo. Showing that concern, nearly 100 former senior U.S. diplomats and intelligence and national security officials have urged Senate leaders to schedule closed-door hearings to allow for a full review of the government’s files on Gabbard. Trump’s allies have described the criticisms of Hegseth in particular as similar to those lodged against Brett Kavanaugh, the former president’s Supreme Court nominee who denied a sexual assault allegation and went on to be confirmed during Trump’s first term in office. Said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., about Hegseth: “Anonymous accusations are trying to destroy reputations again. We saw this with Kavanaugh. I won’t stand for it.” One widely watched Republican, Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa, herself a former Army National Guard lieutenant colonel and sexual assault survivor who had been criticized by Trump allies for her cool reception to Hegseth, appeared more open to him after their follow-up meeting Monday. “I appreciate Pete Hegseth’s responsiveness and respect for the process,” Ernst said in a statement. Ernst said that following “encouraging conversations,” he had committed to selecting a senior official who will “prioritize and strengthen my work to prevent sexual assault within the ranks. As I support Pete through this process, I look forward to a fair hearing based on truth, not anonymous sources.” Ernst also had praise for Patel — “He shares my passion for shaking up federal agencies” — and for Gabbard. Once a rising Democratic star, Gabbard, who represented Hawaii in Congress, arrived a decade ago in Washington, her surfboard in tow, a new generation of potential leaders. She ran unsuccessfully for president in 2020. But Gabbard abruptly left the party and briefly became an independent before joining with Trump’s 2024 campaign as one of his enthusiasts, in large part over his disdain for U.S. involvement overseas and opposition to helping Ukraine battle Russia. Her visit to Syria to meet with then-President Bashar Assad around the time of Trump’s first inauguration during the country’s bloody civil war stunned her former colleagues and the Washington national security establishment. The U.S. had severed diplomatic relations with Syria. Her visit was seen by some as legitimizing a brutal leader who was accused of war crimes. Gabbard has defended the trip, saying it’s important to open dialogue, but critics hear in her commentary echoes of Russia-fueled talking points. Assad fled to Moscow over the weekend after Islamist rebels overtook Syria in a surprise attack, ending his family’s five decades of rule. She said her own views have been shaped by “my multiple deployments and seeing firsthand the cost of war and the threat of Islamist terrorism.” Gabbard said, “It’s one of the many reasons why I appreciate President Trump’s leadership and his election, where he is fully committed, as he has said over and over, to bring about an end to wars.” Last week, the nearly 100 former officials, who served in both Democratic and Republican administrations, said in the letter to Senate leaders they were “alarmed” by the choice of Gabbard to oversee all 18 U.S. intelligence agencies. They said her past actions “call into question her ability to deliver unbiased intelligence briefings to the President, Congress, and to the entire national security apparatus.” The Office of the Director of National Intelligence was created after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to coordinate the nation’s intelligence agencies and act as the president’s main intelligence adviser. Associated Press writer Stephen Groves contributed to this report.
Thousands of Syrians gathered in Damascus’ main square and a historic mosque for the first Muslim Friday prayers since former President Bashar Assad was overthrown , a major symbolic moment for the country’s dramatic change of power. The rebels are now working to establish security and start a political transition after seizing the capital on Sunday. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken made an unannounced visit to Iraq on Friday, pressing ahead with efforts to unify Middle East nations in support of a peaceful political transition in Syria. It’s part of Blinken’s 12th trip to the Mideast since the Israel-Hamas war erupted last year in Gaza but his first after Assad was ousted. The U.S. is also making a renewed push for an ceasefire in Gaza, where the war has plunged more than 2 million Palestinians into a severe humanitarian crisis. Israel’s war against Hamas has killed over 44,800 Palestinians in Gaza, more than half of them women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not say how many were combatants. The Israeli military says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence. The October 2023 attack by Hamas in southern Israel that sparked the war killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed and around 250 others were taken hostage. Some 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, at least a third of whom are believed to be dead. Here's the latest: Dutch court rejects lawsuit from rights groups seeking to halt arms sales to Israel THE HAGUE, Netherlands — A Dutch court on Friday rejected a bid from human rights groups to block weapons exports to Israel and trading with the occupied territories, after finding there were sufficient checks already in place to comply with international law. The ten organizations told The Hague District Court last month that they thought the Netherlands was in violation of the 1948 Genocide Convention, drawn up following World War II, by continuing to sell weapons to Israel more than a year into the conflict in Gaza. “The government uses my own tax money, that I pay, to kill my own family. I’ve lost 18 members of my own family,” Ahmed Abofoul, a legal adviser for the pro-Palestinian organization Al-Haq, one of the groups involved in the lawsuit, told the court during a hearing in November . The court ruling said that “it is not up to the interim relief judge to order the state to reconsider government policy. That is primarily a political responsibility.” Lawyers for the government argued it wasn’t up to a judge to decide foreign policy for the Netherlands. The activist groups pointed to several emergency orders from another court, the International Court of Justice, as confirming the obligation to stop weapons sales. In January, the top U.N. court said it was plausible Palestinians were being deprived of some rights protected under the Genocide Convention. The coalition said it will review the court’s ruling and is considering an appeal. Israel attacks a hospital in northern Gaza, wounding 3 medical staff amid a night of ‘relentless’ bombardment CAIRO — Israeli attacks in and around a hospital in northern Gaza wounded three medical staff overnight into Friday and caused damage to the isolated medical facility, according to its director. Dr. Hossam Abu Safiya said Israeli quadcopter drones carrying explosives deliberately targeted the emergency and reception area of Kamal Adwan Hospital, where one doctor was wounded for a third time. Abu Safiya said “relentless” drone and artillery strikes throughout the night exploded “alarmingly close” to the hospital, heavily damaging nearby buildings and destroying most of the water tanks on the hospital’s roof and blowing out doors and windows. Kamal Adwan Hospital in the town of Beit Lahiya has been hit multiple times over the past two months since Israel launched a fierce military operation against Hamas in northern Gaza. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the strikes. “We demand international protection for the hospital and its staff,” Abu Safiya said in a statement released via the U.K.-based aid group Medical Aid for Palestinians, “as well as the entry of delegations with surgical expertise, medical supplies, and essential medications to ensure we can adequately serve the people we are treating.” Abu Safiya said there were 72 wounded patients at the hospital, one of the few medical facilities left in northern Gaza. He said he expected Israeli forces would allow a World Health Organization aid convoy to bring supplies to the hospital on Friday or Saturday, as well as a team of doctors from Indonesia. Israel has allowed almost no humanitarian or medical aid to enter the three besieged communities in northern Gaza — Beit Lahiya, Beit Hanoun and the urban Jabaliya refugee camp — and ordered tens of thousands to flee to nearby Gaza City. Israeli officials have said the three communities are mostly deserted, but the United Nations humanitarian office said Tuesday it believes around 65,000 to 75,000 people are still there, with little access to food, water, electricity or health care. Experts have warned that the north may be experiencing famine . Blinken makes unannounced stop in Iraq amid push to stabilize post-Assad Syria BAGHDAD — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken made an unannounced stop in Iraq on Friday on his latest visit to the Middle East aimed at stabilizing the situation in Syria to prevent further regional turmoil. Blinken met in Baghdad with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani as part of the hastily arranged trip, his 12th to the region since the Israel-Hamas war erupted last year but his first since the weekend ouster of Syrian strongman Bashar Assad. Blinken has already been to Jordan and Turkey on his current tour and will return to Jordan for urgent meetings on Saturday with Arab foreign ministers to try to unify support for an inclusive post-Assad transition that does not allow the Islamic State group to take advantage of the political vacuum in Syria and secures suspected chemical weapons stocks. In Baghdad, Blinken “will underscore U.S. commitment to the U.S.-Iraq strategic partnership and to Iraq’s security, stability, and sovereignty,” the State Department said. “He will also discuss regional security opportunities and challenges, as well as enduring U.S. support for engagement with all communities in Syria to establish an inclusive transition,” it said in a statement. His trip comes as the Biden administration winds down with just over a month left before President-elect Donald Trump takes office. Trump has been highly critical of Biden’s approach to the Middle East and skeptical of the U.S. military presence in both Iraq and Syria. The U.S. and Iraq agreed in September to wrap up U.S.-led military operations against the Islamic State in Iraq next year, although Assad’s ouster and the potential for the group taking advantage of a political vacuum in Syria could complicate the timing of the withdrawal, according to American officials. Bahrain says it is willing to provide support for Syria in international organizations DAMASCUS — The kingdom of Bahrain sent a message Friday to Ahmad al-Sharaa, formerly known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, the leader of the insurgency that toppled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. It said Bahrain is “fully prepared to consult with you continuously and to provide support in regional and international organizations to achieve what is in the interest of the brotherly Syrian people.” It added, “We look forward to Syria regaining its authentic role in the Arab League.” Bahrain is the current head of the Arab summit. Syria was readmitted to the Arab League last year after 12 years of ostracization. It is still unclear how the international community will deal officially with the new interim government in Syria. Israel’s defense minister asks troops to prepare to remain through the winter on Syria's Mount Hermon JERUSALEM - Israel’s defense minister told troops to prepare to remain through the winter months on the peak of Mount Hermon, Syria’s highest point, located in a swath of southern Syria that Israeli troops moved into after the fall of Damascus to insurgents. The comments by Defense Minister Israel Katz signaled that the military will extend its occupation of the zone along the border, which Israel says it seized to create a buffer zone. In a statement Friday, Katz said that holding the peak was of major importance for Israel’s security and that it would be necessary to build facilities there to sustain troops through the winter. The summit of Mount Hermon, the highest peak on the eastern Mediterranean coast at 2,814 meters (9,232 feet), gives a commanding view over the plains of southern Syria. It also positions Israeli troops about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the center of Damascus. The mount is divided between the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, Lebanon and Syria. Only the United States recognizes Israel’s control of the Golan Heights. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Israeli troops would remain in the zone until another force across the border in Syria could guarantee security. Israeli troops moved into the zone -– set as a demilitarized area inside Syrian territory under truce deals that ended the 1973 Mideast war -- after the regime of Bashar al-Assad fell last weekend. Blinken says there's ‘broad agreement’ between US and Turkey on Syria's future ANKARA, Turkey -- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday there was “broad agreement” between Turkey and the United States on what they would like to see in Syria following the ouster of President Bashar Assad. “There’s broad agreement on what we would like to see going forward, starting with the interim government in Syria, one that is inclusive and non-sectarian and one that protects the rights of minorities and women” and does not “pose any kind of threat to any of Syria’s neighbors,” Blinken said in joint statements with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan. The insurgent groups that toppled Assad in Syria have not made clear their policy or stance on Israel, whose military in recent days has bombed sites all over the country, saying it is trying to prevent weapons from falling into extremist hands. Blinken also said it was crucial to keep the Islamic State group under control. “We also discussed the imperative of continuing the efforts to keep ISIS down. Our countries worked very hard and gave a lot over many years to ensure the elimination of the territorial caliphate of ISIS to ensure that that threat doesn’t rear its head again,” Blinken said. The Turkish foreign minister said the two discussed ways of establishing prosperity in Syria and ending terrorism in the country. “Our priority is establishing stability in Syria as soon as possible, preventing terrorism from gaining ground, and ensuring that IS and the PKK aren’t dominant,” Fidan said, in a reference to the banned Kurdistan Workers Party. Blinken said: “We’re very focused on Syria, very focused on the opportunity that now is before us and before the Syrian people to move from out from under the shackles of Bashar al-Assad to a different and better future for the Syrian people, one that the Syrian people decide for themselves.” Blinken and Fidan said they had also discussed a ceasefire for Gaza. “We’ve seen in the last couple of weeks more encouraging signs that (a ceasefire) is possible,” Blinken said. Blinken, who is making his 12th trip to the Mideast since the Israel-Hamas war erupted last year but first since the weekend ouster of Assad, met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan late Thursday. The outgoing Biden administration is particularly concerned that a power vacuum in Syria could exacerbate already heightened tensions in the region, which is already wracked by multiple conflicts, and create conditions for the Islamic State group to regain territory and influence. Later Friday, Blinken is to return to Jordan for meetings on Saturday with Arab foreign ministers and senior officials from the European Union, the Arab League and the United Nations. Turkey to reopen its embassy in Syria ANKARA, Turkey -- Turkey has appointed a temporary charge d’affaires to reopen its embassy in Syria, Turkey’s state-run news agency reported. The Turkish Embassy in Damascus had suspended operations in 2012 due to the escalating security problems during the Syrian civil war and embassy staff and their families were recalled to Turkey. The Anadolu Agency said late Thursday that Turkey appointed Burhan Koroglu, its ambassador in Mauritania, to the post. 2 UN aid convoys violently attacked in Gaza, US food agency says UNITED NATIONS- – Two U.N. aid convoys were violently attacked in Gaza, making it virtually impossible for humanitarian agencies to operate without putting staff and civilians at risk, the U.N. food agency says. On Wednesday, a 70-truck convoy from Kerem Shalom was waiting for personnel to safeguard the food and other aid destined for central Gaza when there were reported attacks by Israeli forces in the nearby humanitarian zone, the U.N. World Food Program said Thursday. More than 50 people are now estimated to have died in the attacks, including civilians and local security personnel who had been expected to ensure the convoy’s safety, WFP said. The Rome-based agency said the convoy was forced to proceed from Kerem Shalom to central Gaza without any security arrangements, using the Philadelphi corridor, an Israeli-controlled route that had been recently approved and successfully utilized twice. On the way, WFP said, conflict and insecurity led to a loss of communication with the convoy for more than 12 hours. ”Eventually, the trucks were found but all food and aid supplies were looted,” the U.N. agency said. In a second incident, Israeli soldiers approached a WFP convoy moving out of the Kissufim crossing into central Gaza, fired warning shots, conducted extensive security checks, and temporarily detained drivers and staff, the agency said. “As the trucks were delayed, four out of the five trucks were lost to violent armed looting,” WFP said. UN chief urges Israel to stop attacks on Syria UNITED NATIONS – The United Nations chief has a message for Israel: Stop the attacks on Syria. Secretary-General António Guterres is particularly concerned about several hundred Israeli airstrikes on several Syrian locations and stresses “the urgent need to de-escalate violence on all fronts throughout the country," U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters Thursday. The Israeli military said Tuesday it carried out more than 350 strikes in Syria over the previous 48 hours, hitting “most of the strategic weapons stockpiles” in the country to stop them from falling into the hands of extremists. Israel also acknowledged pushing into a buffer zone inside Syria following last week’s overthrow of President Bashar Assad. The buffer zone was established after Israel seized the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1973 war. Dujarric said Guterres condemns all actions violating the 1974 ceasefire agreement between the two countries that remain in force. And the U.N. chief calls on the parties to uphold the agreement and end “all unauthorized presence in the area of separation” and refrain from any action undermining the ceasefire and stability in the Golan Heights, the spokesman said.WRITE OF CENTER A new “Golden Age.” Can you feel it? It’s hard not to be excited and optimistic about the incoming Trump administration. The southern border is about to be closed. Is there anyone better suited than Tom Homan to lead this effort? He was born for this job. He will not only close it but also initiate the deportation of criminals, stop child trafficking and halt the free flow of fentanyl. Those who enter our country legally will do so because they embrace the American Dream and our culture, not because they seek free room and board. Our economy is set to receive a significant boost. Treasury Secretary-elect Scott Bessent is a highly successful hedge fund manager. He has announced his 3x3x3 plan: increase GDP growth to 3%, reduce the budget deficit to 3% of GDP from 7%, and raise domestic oil production by 3 million barrels per day. Lower gas prices are on the way. The Trump tax cuts will be made permanent and President-elect Trump has promised to eliminate three regulations for every new one added. Combined with the new Department of Government Efficiency led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, we could be on the brink of unprecedented economic prosperity. It’s time to rely on our brightest citizens to solve our problems, not unelected government bureaucrats. As President Trump has said, it’s time to protect our geniuses and loosen up restrictions so entrepreneurs can innovate. The FBI and the Department of Justice will return to investigating real crimes and prosecuting those who genuinely need to go to jail. Read Kash Patel’s book “Government Gangsters” and tell me justice isn’t on the way. No more targeting innocent parents who want a say in their children’s education, and no more targeting individuals praying outside abortion clinics. The Department of Education will be overhauled or shut down. More power can be given to the states and parents, allowing parents to choose where to send their kids to school without government influence. We spend the second most money per pupil in the world but rank 35th out of 37 major economies in early childhood education, 31st in math, and 18th in science. A competitive system will tackle these issues, leading to the decline of weaker schools. We are a sick nation, and RFK Jr. is the right medicine. We spend three times more per capita on healthcare than Europe. 74% of adults are overweight or obese, and 50% of our children are obese, compared to just 3% in Japan; 77% of young adults are unfit for military service. I trust RFK will address these challenges and “Make America Healthy Again.” I’m excited that Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, who Dr. Fauci canceled for his anti-lockdown stance during Covid, will head the National Institutes of Health. A true warrior will lead the Department of Defense. In sports terms, I consider Pete Hegseth a players’ coach. DEI policies will vanish and the focus will return to creating the strongest fighting force on the planet. We’ll update our procurement systems and concentrate on advanced technologies instead of enriching defense lobbyists and outdated defense industries. Leaders around the globe have taken notice that things are about to change: America is back. The invitation from Macron for the Notre Dame opening, Justin Trudeau flying in to meet with President- elect Trump about closing the Northern border, and Mexico’s President showing a conciliatory tone after meeting with the president- elect — all signal a shift. Discussions with Benjamin Netanyahu about a hostage swap in Gaza and preventing Iran’s nuclear capability add to the momentum. The world understands that President- elect Trump is already in charge and not to be trifled with. Imagine a world where we’re not spending billions as we inch toward a Third World War in Ukraine, where the Middle East isn’t a tinderbox, and where the Abraham Accords again take center stage. Picture a crippled Iran with no nuclear capabilities and no funds to support terrorism. I believe we’re on the verge of a golden age. If President-elect Trump and his team execute their plans effectively, the Republican Party could remain in power for years. But this isn’t about power; it’s about Making America Great Again. Michael Wheeler is the current Kendall County Republican Party chairman.
Nine signs of dementia to watch out in older relatives this ChristmasEarth just experienced its second-warmest November on record — second only to 2023 — making it all but certain that 2024 will end as the hottest year ever measured, according to a report Monday by European climate service Copernicus. Last year was the hottest on record due to human-caused climate change coupled with the effects of an El Nino. But after this summer registered as the hottest on record — Phoenix sweltered through 113 consecutive days with a high temperature of at least 100 degrees Fahrenheit — scientists anticipated 2024 would set a new annual record as well. In November, global temperatures averaged 14.10C (57.38F). Last year's global average temperature was 14.98C (59F). FILE - People are silhouetted against the sky at sunset Nov. 12 as they run in a park in Shawnee, Kan. Jennifer Francis, a climate scientist at the Woodwell Climate Research Center in Cape Cod, who wasn't involved in the report, said the big story about November is that "like 2023, it beat out previous Novembers by a large margin." This also likely will be the first calendar year in which the average temperature was more than 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial times, the report said. The 2015 Paris Agreement said human-caused warming should be limited to 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit), and ideally below 1.5. In the following years, the world's top scientist said limiting to 1.5 was crucial to stave off the worst impacts of climate change, such as increasing destructive and frequent extreme weather events. Scientists say the main cause of climate change is the burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas. That "does not mean that the Paris Agreement has been breached, but it does mean ambitious climate action is more urgent than ever," said Copernicus Deputy Director Samantha Burgess. A young family visiting Washington cools off from the warm weather in a fountain Nov. 6 at the base of the Washington Monument. Francis said the new records are "terrible news for people and ecosystems." "The pace of warming is so fast that plants and animals cannot adapt as they always have during previous changes in the Earth's climate. More species will go extinct, which disrupts natural food webs they're a part of. Agriculture will suffer as pollinators decline and pests flourish," she said, also warning that coastal communities will be vulnerable to sea-level rise. Heat waves over the oceans and a loss of reflective sea ice and snow cover probably contributed to the temperature increase this year, experts said. Copernicus said the extent of Antarctic sea ice in November was 10% below average, a record. Oceans absorb about 90% of the heat trapped by greenhouse gases, later releasing heat and water vapor back into the atmosphere. Last year's record heat was caused partly by an El Nino — a temporary natural warming of parts of the central Pacific that alters weather worldwide. People walk Nov. 27 on an autumn-colored ginkgo tree-lined avenue in Tokyo. But that ended this year and a cooling effect that often follows, called La Nina, failed to materialize, leaving the scientific community "a little perplexed by what's going on here ... why temperatures are staying high," said Jonathan Overpeck, a climate scientist at the University of Michigan. One explanation is that an El Nino releases more heat to the atmosphere because of warmer ocean waters, then "we're not getting the cooling effect that often in decades gone by helps bring the temperature back down," Overpeck said. "So it does look like this could be contributing to the acceleration of global warming. But this year, he said, "is such a big jump following yet another jump, and that's a scary thing." It's no secret that a warming world will drive food prices higher, a phenomenon increasingly known as " heatflation ." What's less known, but a growing area of interest among economists and scientists alike, is the role individual extreme weather events — blistering temperatures in Texas , a destructive tornado in Iowa — may have on what U.S. consumers pay at the supermarket. At first glance, the answer might seem logical: A drought or flood that impacts agricultural production will, eventually, drive up prices. But it's not that simple, because what consumers pay for groceries isn't only reflective of crop yields or herd sizes, but the whole supply chain. As Grist reports, that's where it gets interesting: Economists are beginning to see a growing trend that suggests weather forecasts play a part in sticker shock. Sometimes the mere prediction of an extreme event — like the record-breaking temperatures, hurricanes, and wildfires forecasters are bracing for this summer — can prompt a spike in prices. It isn't the forecast itself to blame, but concerns about what the weather to come might mean for the entire supply chain, as food manufacturers manage their risks and the expected future value of their goods, said Seungki Lee, an agricultural economist at Ohio State University. "When it comes to the climate risk on food prices, people typically look at the production side. But over the last two years, we learned that extreme weather can raise food prices, [cause] transportation disruptions, as well as production disruptions," said Lee. How much we pay for the food we buy is determined by retailers, who consider the producer's price, labor costs, and other factors. Any increases in what producers charge is typically passed on to consumers because grocery stores operate on thin profit margins. And if manufacturers expect to pay more for commodities like beef or specialty crops like avocados in the future, they may boost prices now to cover those anticipated increases. "The whole discussion about the climate risks on the food supply chain is based on probabilities," Lee said. "It is possible that we do not see extreme temperatures this summer, or even later this year. We may realize there was no significant weather shock hitting the supply chain, but unfortunately that will not be the end of the story." Supply chain disruptions and labor shortages are among the reasons food prices have climbed 25 percent since 2020 . Climate change may be contributing as well. A study published earlier this year found " heatflation " could push them up by as much as 3 percentage points per year worldwide in just over a decade and by about 2 percentage points in North America. Simultaneous disasters in major crop and cattle producing regions around the world — known as multi-breadbasket failure — are among the primary forces driving these costs. Crop shortages in these regions may also squeeze prices, which can create volatility in the global market and bump up consumer costs. Historically, a single, localized heat wave or storm typically wouldn't disrupt the supply chain enough to prompt price hikes. But a warming world might be changing that dynamic as extreme weather events intensify and simultaneous occurrences of them become the norm. How much this adds to consumers' grocery bills will vary, and depends upon whether these climate-fueled disasters hit what Lee calls "supply chain chokepoints" like vital shipping channels during harvest seasons. "As the weather is getting more and more volatile because of climate change, we are seeing this issue more frequently," he said. "So what that means is the supply chain is getting more likely to be jeopardized by these types of risks that we have never seen before." An ongoing drought that plagued the Mississippi River system from the fall of 2022 until February provides an excellent example of this. The Mississippi River basin, which covers 31 states, is a linchpin of America's agricultural supply chain. It produces 92 percent of the nation's agricultural exports, 78 percent of the world's feed grains and soybeans , and most of the country's livestock. Vessels navigating its roughly 2,350 miles of channels carry 589 million tons of cargo annually . Transportation barriers created by low water, seen above, hampered the ability of crop-producing states in the Corn Belt to send commodities like corn and soybeans, primarily used for cattle feed, to livestock producers in the South. Thus emerged a high demand, low supply situation as shipping and commodity prices shot up , with economists expecting consumers to absorb those costs . Past research showing that retail prices increase alongside commodity prices suggests that the drought probably contributed to higher overall food costs last year — and because droughts have a lingering impact on production even after they end, it may be fueling stubbornly high grocery prices today. But although it seems clear that the drought contributed to higher prices, particularly for meat and dairy products, just how much remains to be gauged. One reason for that is a lack of research analyzing the relationship between this particular weather event and the consumer market. Another is it's often difficult to tease out which of several possible factors, including global trade, war, and export bans , influence specific examples of sticker shock. While droughts definitely prompt decreases in agricultural production, Metin Çakır, an economist at the University of Minnesota, says whether that is felt by consumers depends on myriad factors. "This would mean higher raw ingredient costs for foods sold in groceries, and part of those higher costs will be passed onto consumers via higher prices. However, will consumer prices actually increase? The answer depends on many other supply and demand factors that might be happening at the same time as the impact of the drought," said Çakır. In a forthcoming analysis previewed by Grist, Çakır examined the relationship between an enduring drought in California, which produces a third of the nation's vegetables and nearly two-thirds of its fruits and nuts , and costs of produce purchased at large grocery retailers nationwide. While the event raised consumer vegetable prices to a statistically significant degree, they didn't increase as much as Çakır expected. This capricious consumer cost effect is due largely to the resiliency of America's food system . Public safety nets like crop insurance and other federal programs have played a large part in mitigating the impacts of adverse weather and bolstering the food supply chain against climate change and other shocks. By ensuring farmers and producers don't bear the brunt of those losses, these programs reduce the costs passed on to consumers. Advanced agricultural technology, modern infrastructure, substantial storage, and efficient transport links also help ensure retail price stability. A 2024 study of the role climate change played on the U.S. wheat market from 1950 to 2018 found that although the impact of weather shocks on price variability has increased with the frequency of extreme weather, adaptive mechanisms, like a well-developed production and distribution infrastructure with sufficient storage capacity, have minimized the impact on consumers. Still, the paper warns that such systems may collapse when faced with "unprecedented levels of weather variability." Last year was the world's warmest on record , creating an onslaught of challenges for crop and livestock producers nationwide. And this year is primed to be even more brutal , with the transition from El Niño — an atmospheric phenomenon that warms ocean temperatures — to La Niña , its counterpart that cools them. This cyclical change in global weather patterns is another potential threat for crop yields and source of supply chain pressures that economists and scientists are keeping an eye on. They will be particularly focused on the Midwest and stretches of the Corn Belt, two regions prone to drought as an El Niño cycle gives way to a La Niña, according to Weston Anderson, an assistant research scientist at the University of Maryland and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Those growing regions for corn and soybeans are what he'll be watching closely as La Niña develops. It's something Jennifer Ifft, an agricultural economist at Kansas State University, is also thinking about. "If you have a very severe drought in the Corn Belt ... that's going to be the biggest deal, because that's gonna raise the cost of production for cattle, hogs, poultry," said Ifft. "So that would probably have the largest inflationary impacts." As of January , U.S. beef herd inventory was at its lowest in 73 years, which multiple reports noted is due to the persisting drought that began in 2020 . Americans, the majority of whom are already spending more on groceries than last year, are poised to soon see "record" beef prices at the supermarket. Food prices are also expected to rise another 2.2 percent in 2024 , according to the USDA's Economic Research Service. In a world enmeshed in extremes, our already-fragile food supply chain could be the next system teetering on the edge of collapse because of human-caused climate change. And costlier groceries linked to impending risk is the first of many warning signs that it is already splintering. This story was produced by Grist and reviewed and distributed by Stacker Media. Get the daily forecast and severe weather alerts in your inbox!
Apple: Why I'm Not Selling No Matter What You Say
Canadian activist accuses Hong Kong of meddling, but is proud of reward for arrest“Wicked” was , allegedly due to its LGBTQ cast, but could the blockbuster musical ever be fully banned in the United States? Filmmaker Adam McKay “wouldn’t be surprised” if the film was pulled in the next few years because of where America is headed politically. The “Don’t Look Up” director shared his “Wicked” thoughts on X on Tuesday, writing: “On a pure storytelling level ‘Wicked Part 1’ is right up there as one of the most radical big studio Hollywood movies ever made. I know ‘Part 2’ swings back to the center a bit but ‘Part 1’ is nakedly about radicalization in the face of careerism, fascism, propaganda.” He continued, “What’s really striking about ‘Wicked Part 1’ is that it’s coming out NOW when America has never been more right wing and propagandized. And yes, I know the theatrical production and the book are much older so part of the timing is a coincidence but still...” While replying to another X user surprised about his take on the film, , “I think you’ll be shocked. If America keeps going on the track it is I wouldn’t be surprised to see the movie banned in 3-5 years.” McKay is no stranger to political films. His most recent movie, 2021’s “Don’t Look Up,” was a timely apocalyptic thriller about how the world would respond (poorly) to a cataclysmic meteor. Prior to that, he directed “Vice,” a political satire about former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, and “The Big Short,” about the 2007 U.S. housing market crash. He likened “Wicked” to other “radical big studio” films like “The Bridge on the River Kwai,” “The Sound of Music,” “The Searchers,” “Citizen Kane” and “The Hunger Games.” Of the 2012 Jennifer Lawrence movie, he wrote: “That’s a big one. It’s incredibly left wing.” He continued that “Wicked” is “VERY radical. My daughter told me the book is wild and worth a read,” McKay added of the 1995 novel “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West,” which inspired the Broadway musical. “Wicked” is expected to be a best picture nominee at the Oscars, and it recently picked up Golden Globe nods for best musical/comedy and acting nominations for Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. McKay raved about Grande’s performance as Glinda, writing: “Also Ariana Grande is incredible. It’s as good a performance as you’ll find in any genre.” Sign up for . For the latest news, follow us on , , and .NEW YORK (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump’s lawyers urged a judge again Friday to throw out his hush money conviction, balking at the prosecution’s suggestion of preserving the verdict by treating the case the way some courts do when a defendant dies. They called the idea “absurd.” The Manhattan district attorney’s office is asking Judge Juan M. Merchan to “pretend as if one of the assassination attempts against President Trump had been successful,” Trump’s lawyers wrote in a blistering 23-page response. In court papers made public Tuesday, District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office proposed an array of options for keeping the historic conviction on the books after Trump’s lawyers filed paperwork earlier this month asking for the case to be dismissed. They include freezing the case until Trump leaves office in 2029, agreeing that any future sentence won’t include jail time, or closing the case by noting he was convicted but that he wasn’t sentenced and his appeal wasn’t resolved because of presidential immunity. Trump lawyers Todd Blanche and Emil Bove reiterated Friday their position that the only acceptable option is overturning his conviction and dismissing his indictment, writing that anything less will interfere with the transition process and his ability to lead the country. RELATED COVERAGE President-elect Donald Trump’s lawyers urge judge to toss his hush money conviction President-elect Donald Trump’s lawyers urge judge to toss his hush money conviction The Manhattan district attorney’s office declined comment. It’s unclear how soon Merchan will decide. He could grant Trump’s request for dismissal, go with one of the prosecution’s suggestions, wait until a federal appeals court rules on Trump’s parallel effort to get the case moved out of state court, or choose some other option. In their response Friday, Blanche and Bove ripped each of the prosecution’s suggestions. Halting the case until Trump leaves office would force the incoming president to govern while facing the “ongoing threat” that he’ll be sentenced to imprisonment, fines or other punishment as soon as his term ends, Blanche and Bove wrote. Trump, a Republican, takes office Jan. 20. “To be clear, President Trump will never deviate from the public interest in response to these thuggish tactics,” the defense lawyers wrote. “However, the threat itself is unconstitutional.” The prosecution’s suggestion that Merchan could mitigate those concerns by promising not to sentence Trump to jail time on presidential immunity grounds is also a non-starter, Blanche and Bove wrote. The immunity statute requires dropping the case, not merely limiting sentencing options, they argued. Blanche and Bove, both of whom Trump has tabbed for high-ranking Justice Department positions, expressed outrage at the prosecution’s novel suggestion that Merchan borrow from Alabama and other states and treat the case as if Trump had died. Blanche and Bove accused prosecutors of ignoring New York precedent and attempting to “fabricate” a solution “based on an extremely troubling and irresponsible analogy between President Trump” who survived assassination attempts in Pennsylvania in July and Florida in September “and a hypothetical dead defendant.” Such an option normally comes into play when a defendant dies after being convicted but before appeals are exhausted. It is unclear whether it is viable under New York law, but prosecutors suggested that Merchan could innovate in what’s already a unique case. “This remedy would prevent defendant from being burdened during his presidency by an ongoing criminal proceeding,” prosecutors wrote in their filing this week. But at the same time, it wouldn’t “precipitously discard” the “meaningful fact that defendant was indicted and found guilty by a jury of his peers.” Prosecutors acknowledged that “presidential immunity requires accommodation” during Trump’s impending return to the White House but argued that his election to a second term should not upend the jury’s verdict, which came when he was out of office. Longstanding Justice Department policy says sitting presidents cannot face criminal prosecution . Other world leaders don’t enjoy the same protection. For example, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is on trial on corruption charges even as he leads that nation’s wars in Lebanon and Gaza . Trump has been fighting for months to reverse his May 30 conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records . Prosecutors said he fudged the documents to conceal a $130,000 payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels to suppress her claim that they had sex a decade earlier, which Trump denies. In their filing Friday, Trump’s lawyers citing a social media post in which Sen. John Fetterman used profane language to criticize Trump’s hush money prosecution. The Pennsylvania Democrat suggested that Trump deserved a pardon, comparing his case to that of President Joe Biden’s pardoned son Hunter Biden, who had been convicted of tax and gun charges . “Weaponizing the judiciary for blatant, partisan gain diminishes the collective faith in our institutions and sows further division,” Fetterman wrote Wednesday on Truth Social. Trump’s hush money conviction was in state court, meaning a presidential pardon — issued by Biden or himself when he takes office — would not apply to the case. Presidential pardons only apply to federal crimes. Since the election, special counsel Jack Smith has ended his two federal cases , which pertained to Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss and allegations that he hoarded classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate. A separate state election interference case in Fulton County, Georgia, is largely on hold. Trump denies wrongdoing in all. Trump had been scheduled for sentencing in the hush money case in late November. But following Trump’s Nov. 5 election victory, Merchan halted proceedings and indefinitely postponed the former and future president’s sentencing so the defense and prosecution could weigh in on the future of the case. Merchan also delayed a decision on Trump’s prior bid to dismiss the case on immunity grounds. A dismissal would erase Trump’s conviction, sparing him the cloud of a criminal record and possible prison sentence. Trump is the first former president to be convicted of a crime and the first convicted criminal to be elected to the office.
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Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (NYSEARCA:VTI) Sees Strong Trading Volume – What’s Next?Invisible hand fuelling violence in Manipur, says former chief justice of Manipur HC
As a former deputy state underwater archaeologist, Mark Wilde-Ramsing can’t help but look down. While rowing around North Carolina’s Eagles Island, at the tip of the Gullah Geechee corridor, he noticed signs of human-made structures, visible at low tide. Though he’d retired, he was still active in the field and knew his former agency hadn’t recorded the structures – which meant he had come across something previously undocumented. The next step was figuring out exactly what he’d found. Wilde-Ramsing knew the area had once been full of rice fields. His neighbor, Joni “Osku” Backstrom, was an assistant professor in the department of environmental sciences at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington whose specialty was shallow-water sonar, and he had the skills and technology to explore the area. Using a sonar device, the duo detected 45 wooden structures in the river, and the remote sensing tool allowed Backstrom and Wilde-Ramsing to acoustically map the canal beds. “The side-scan sonar system that Mark and I put together and put on these vessels has been really important in finding these artifacts because if you went diving, you wouldn’t be able to see anything,” Backstrom said. “That’s really the advantage of this custom, shallow sonar system and being able to go up through these known rice canals and irrigation areas.” Spanning 2,000 acres (809 hectares) of the northern end of Eagles Island, the 45 irrigation devices were developed by enslaved people, who would later come to be known as the Gullah Geechee. The devices were used to control water flow for the rice fields in conjunction with earthen dams and levees, Wilde-Ramsing said. Their existence provides further evidence of the engineering and technological skills that Gullah Geechee people used for rice cultivation, beginning in the late 1700s at the latest. Backstrom and Wilde-Ramsing documented their findings in a study published earlier this year. “The use of the island for this endeavor prior to the Civil War, in large part rested on the shoulders of transplanted and enslaved Africans and their descendant Gullah Geechee tradition,” the study reads. The team’s discoveries, which came after two years of research in and around Eagles Island, have helped further shed light on the ingenious, skilled work of the Gullah Geechee people. Though Gullah Geechee people have been studied for centuries, Backstrom and Wilde-Ramsing’s research is the first to focus on their irrigation systems. The research couldn’t come soon enough: Eagles Island is environmentally vulnerable, both because of climate change and ongoing development. The duo registered their sites with the state, making development more difficult as a means to ensure the protection of cultural artifacts. “The whole area was originally swamp. It was cleared mostly in the post-colonial, early 1800s period for tidal rights cultivation because that area was freshwater,” Wilde-Ramsing said. “They were able to actually use, regulate, introduce the water and drain it with the tides instead of having these big ponds and using the traditional way.” The work the Gullah Geechee people did would have been exhaustive. Wilde-Ramsing says it required removing the cypress forests, then building dams and levees. Growing rice necessitated the use of water, so they created long wooden boxes, or “trunks”, with gates on either side, that allowed them to let the water in by opening the gates. The area, Wilde-Ramsing said, is desolate, difficult swamp terrain, which makes it good for rice cultivation, but hot, buggy and humid – “really not a nice place to work in the summer”. Everyone got around via boat, and most of the boat drivers were enslaved Africans. The enslaved populations throughout the Gullah Geechee corridor – which spans the coasts of North Carolina to upper Florida – were isolated in such a way that they developed and maintained a culture different from that of most plantations. “Originally, they were sought out as slaves from coastal regions of west Africa, an area that had similar environs to those along the southern Atlantic seaboard centering on Georgia and the Carolinas, where rice agriculture was a mainstay of the economy,” the study reads. “Traditional knowledge and skills, as well as the ability to tolerate humid, mosquito-infested conditions, made this group critical to the success of rice cultivation in the Americas.” Eagles Island has a long history of slavery: formerly known as Cranes Island, it was featured on John Ogilby’s 1672 map of Carolina, and around 1737, King George II granted much of the “ ” opposite Wilmington to Richard Eagles, an attorney and plantation owner from Bristol, England, for whom the island is named. The Eagles plantation was one of many on the island. Via Wilmington, a port city founded in 1739 that developed in large part , Eagles Island was used for shipping cotton, shipbuilding and rice cultivation. That rice cultivation made Wilmington wealthy, at the expense of the enslaved Gullah Geechee, who received no wages for their labor. “I didn’t quite realize the role that rice played. It rivaled cotton during the 1840s and 50s,” Backstrom said. “It was all over Europe and the US and it was all run by African Americans. A lot of it was developed based on their skills. I’m just happy that it’s coming to light and they’re getting their – I won’t say new – but recognition that this was an amazing thing, amazing work.” Even though Wilde-Ramsing and Backstrom’s discovery likely won’t permanently stop either development or climate change, not least because the island is owned by multiple private entities, the existence of historic, cultural artifacts can ensure that the Gullah Geechee structures are at least documented instead of simply being razed and forgotten. The researchers have been in communication with East Carolina University’s maritime program, and the school plans to send a contingent to the site to study some of the characteristic types. People from the school will be able to work on noting the various structures, trying to figure out how they operated and taking samples. Backstrom said that they’ve also been in contact with researchers at George Mason University in Fairfax county, Virginia, including a professor who had ancestors in Wilmington. In terms of further discovery, a mix of approaches best suits the complicated terrain. “We’re thinking about using drone imagery,” Backstrom said. “We have some preliminary drone footage, which gives us access to these areas at dead low tide, areas that we had a lot of difficulty with, even with a very small vessel.” The area is remote, full of tight nooks and crannies. It’s “particularly challenging because of the tides and the timing”, he said. The different combinations of drone imagery and sonar mean the researchers aren’t limited by turbidity in the water. Backstrom hopes to go to west Africa, specifically to Senegal or the Senegambia region, where many Gullah Geechee people were from, to learn about the history of rice farming, including the roles women and children played. Children, for instance, tasted the water to ensure too much saltwater wasn’t being let in, and women helped in the actual , using skills from their home countries that were passed down throughout generations. The methods that the researchers used for Eagles Island can be transferred elsewhere, and Wilde-Ramsing and Backstrom will apply their discovery techniques to finding other such sites in the area. They anticipate finding others around Cape Fear, a nearby , and in places farther south in the Gullah Geechee corridor. “South Carolina was kind of the center of rice cultivation compared to here, so we’re hoping to link up with the Gullah Geechee researchers, [maybe] down in South Carolina or even Georgia,” Backstrom said. Their work will continue to expand knowledge around historic Gullah Geechee practices for generations to come.
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According to Fortune's 2024 list of the 100 best companies to work for in Europe, these ones made the top 10. Why did employees rate them so highly? When it comes to professional work, Europe is recognised for having one of the most favourable approaches globally. European countries consistently rank among the best for work-life balance, were some of the first to trial the four-day workweek, and offer some of the highest average salaries in the world, along with other employee benefits. But which companies on the continent are the best to work for? Fortune and Great Place To Work have published the "Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For Europe" list, which was compiled by analysing more than 1.3 million survey responses from over 2 million employees across Europe. The companies that topped the list had employees who were both more motivated to work and more comfortable with their company's way of working. For instance, according to a blog by Great Place To Work, their market study found that, in high-ranking companies, nearly 90 per cent of workers reported that they put in extra effort to get the job done, compared to only 59 per cent at a typical European workplace. They also found that camaraderie was a driving factor, with workers being 108 per cent more likely to give extra effort if they felt a sense of cooperation with their colleagues. Moreover, 86 per cent of employees at these top workplaces expressed plans to stay long-term, compared to just 60 per cent at other workplaces, which was particularly relevant among those who felt their work was meaningful and provided them with a sense of purpose. Also the report found that innovation rates were 66 per cent higher at the top workplaces and were mainly driven by continuous training and development opportunities the companies were providing. Here’s a look at the 10 best companies to work for in Europe according to the latest Fortune listing. Work-life balance was also a key factor behind the higher rankings of companies and one of the aspects that workers valued most. A high percentage of workers, about 85 per cent, who work at one of the best companies, said they were encouraged to maintain a balance between their work and personal lives, with 92 per cent reporting that they were able to take time off when necessary. Fairness in the workplace also played a significant role and contributed to the higher rankings of some companies. Employees at those companies reported that promotions were fair (78 per cent), they received a fair share of company profits (70 per cent), and their managers did not play favourites among their staff (81 per cent). This sense of fairness was also linked to employees' willingness to adopt artificial intelligence (AI) tools in their work. Only around one in three respondents (34 per cent) from the whole European study said they were excited to use AI to improve their work; the report also found that those who believed their companies were fair were 29 per cent more likely to be excited to use AI tools. While European workers are still reluctant to adopt AI, the technology sector in general is not a dominant force in Europe when it comes to jobs. This contrasts with the US, where tech companies like Nvidia, Microsoft, and Google are among the best and have emerged as early winners in the AI boom. In Europe, however, many of the leading companies are from more traditional industries such as fossil fuels, automotive, and finance, as shown in the recent Fortune 500 list. Topping the list, Europe’s biggest company was German car manufacturer Volkswagen, followed by two oil and gas companies, Britain’s Shell and France’s TotalEnergies. According to Fortune, while only 15 companies in this year’s list are from the tech sector, legacy businesses are also opening the door to innovation by adopting automation technologies. For instance, Volkswagen announced earlier this year the integration of AI chatbot ChatGPT into the voice assistant in some of its vehicles. Additionally, the fossil fuel company Shell has also embraced the use of AI in its operations, like using AI-based technology in deep-sea exploration and production, with the aim of improving operational efficiency, speeding up processes, and increasing production.Two decades after lifelong friends Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie starred in the genre-defining reality series The Simple Life , the pair have reunited onscreen in a miniseries anniversary special, Paris & Nicole: The Encore (now streaming on Peacock ). The three-part series showcases the besties taking a walk down memory lane: They travel back to Arkansas to visit their old Simple Life stomping grounds, reminisce about filming the show, and, in an effort to commemorate one of the quirkiest yet most beloved elements of their friendship, make an opera performance — you read that correctly — out of their popular, one-word song: “Sanasa.” Hilton and Richie’s close-knit friendship is front and center throughout the special, much like it was in The Simple Life , which aired its first episode on Fox in December of 2023. The most heartfelt moment between them comes in the third episode, just before they take the stage at the Saban Theater in Beverly Hills to perform “The Sanasapera” before a packed house. In an interaction that happens so quickly you could miss it, Richie and Hilton, strapped into harnesses as they prepare to be lifted into the air for their grand entrance, clasp hands. “I love you,” Richie tells Hilton with a look of sincerity on her face. “This is fun.” Hilton replies, “Celebrating 20 years boo.” They embrace and stare at each other in adoration. “I’ll never forget that moment. That was really special,” Hilton tells Rolling Stone . “It was very emotional. We both looked at each other and knew how much we love each other and just how excited we were. We put so much work into putting together this whole opera, and then we were just floating in the air, looking down and being like, ‘Oh my god, look what we just created together.’” In the show, the crowd cheers as Hilton and Richie are raised nearly 1,000 feet into the air. A live chorus below them sings their famous tune, “Sanasa,” as they slowly descend from the rafters. Editor’s picks The 100 Best TV Episodes of All Time The 250 Greatest Guitarists of All Time The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time “There were hundreds of fans in that room who had flown in from all over the world and they were all so excited to see us together for the first time. What an entrance, us just floating down. That was so epic,” Hilton says. “It was just a flow of emotions and happiness. We were feeling so proud of what we had put together.” Before reality television grew into the entertainment juggernaut it is today — before the Kardashians, the first Real Housewives franchise, or the rise of The Bachelor and its ilk — Hilton and Richie played an integral role in shaping how viewers would come to think about unscripted TV. Without many other examples to look to, these young women depicted their real-life shenanigans (with a little help from producers, of course) for an audience that didn’t just laugh at them but with them. “I’m really proud that we are the OGs, the blueprint, and the pioneers who helped create this whole new genre,” Hilton says today, speaking by Zoom from Los Angeles along with Richie. “It makes me proud that people see us as the mothers of this.” The Simple Life has had a surprisingly lasting impact. Not only are millennials who grew up watching the series are fans all these years later, but Richie says younger people have discovered the fun and joy of The Simple Life on TikTok. She learned about its resurgence thanks to her own kids, who are teenagers. “My kids were watching clips and their friends were watching clips. That was definitely a big part of the reason why I was excited to do this reunion,” Richie says. “Just as a way to celebrate this really great show that we did 20 years ago. It’s really nice to see a whole new generation laugh and giggle and have a good time.” Related Content Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie Take the 'Simple Life' to the Opera in New Reunion Special Trailer Five Takeaways From ‘Girls Gone Wild’ Doc on Controversial Creator Joe Francis Peacock's Early Black Friday Deal Gets You 75% Off a Year of Streaming 'Girls Gone Wild' Docuseries Examines, Interviews Man Behind Soft-Core Porn Empire After years fielding offers to come back together onscreen, Richie says she and Hilton simply felt the timing was right for this project. “We’ve said no to all the offers that have come up to do any version of The Simple Life again or to do a 10-year reunion,” she says. “We didn’t necessarily talk about why but we both just decided that this was the moment where we felt like we wanted to do this.” She notes that 20 years ago, she and Hilton were not in control of the show’s creative direction, but The Encore allowed them to come back on their own terms. “When we decided to come back we said to each other, ‘What would that look like? What would that feel like?’ We just really built it from the ground up,” Richie says. “On Season One of The Simple Life , we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. We didn’t know what city we were going to, we didn’t know what state, it was just surprise after surprise for 30 days. I think that’s the biggest difference.” While Hilton and Richie are all smiles in their nostalgic Peacock special, their friendship has had its ups and downs since The Simple Life aired. Over the years, they’ve both addressed a rift in their relationship following the reality series, and during their Sanasa opera, the duo perform an interpretive dance that symbolizes the media tearing them apart. Like so many women who were in the spotlight in the 2000s, Hilton and Richie struggled with incessant negative attention in the media, which they say portrayed them unfairly and played a role in their personal conflict. “The media back in the 2000s was just so toxic and so vicious. They always loved to create feuds between people and pit women against each other,” Hilton says. “That’s just how the media was back then, and we couldn’t use our own voices, because there was no social media. There was no way for us to ever really speak out. The media was basically controlling all the storylines that were happening back then. So we just wanted to do a nod to that in the opera.” Paris & Nicole: The Encore isn’t Hilton’s first foray back into reality television since The Simple Life . Back in 2021, Hilton launched her own unscripted series on Peacock titled Paris in Love , in which she takes viewers inside the planning of her wedding to Carter Reum. The show’s second season, which started streaming in November 2023, highlights Hilton’s family dynamics as she navigates the birth of her first son, Phoenix. Richie on the other hand has mostly stayed out of the realm of reality TV until now. As far as whether or not the duo would follow The Encore with another joint project, Richie says anything is possible. “I would give this experience a 20 out of 10. We had the best time and who knows what the future will bring,” she says. “We shall see.”LAS VEGAS (AP) — Dedan Thomas Jr. scored 15 points as UNLV beat UC Riverside 66-53 on Saturday. Thomas had five rebounds and five assists for the Rebels (6-5). Jeremiah Cherry scored 12 points and added three blocks. Jailen Bedford and Jaden Henley both added nine points. The Highlanders (8-5) were led by Barrington Hargress, who posted 17 points and two steals. Nate Pickens added 10 points and six rebounds for UC Riverside. Parker Strauss finished with six points. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .
Vanguard S&P Mid-Cap 400 Value ETF ( NYSEARCA:IVOV – Get Free Report ) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Thursday . 46,106 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 178% from the previous session’s volume of 16,596 shares.The stock last traded at $96.17 and had previously closed at $96.23. Vanguard S&P Mid-Cap 400 Value ETF Price Performance The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $99.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $94.42. The company has a market cap of $935.48 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.72 and a beta of 1.07. Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vanguard S&P Mid-Cap 400 Value ETF A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Vanguard S&P Mid-Cap 400 Value ETF during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vanguard S&P Mid-Cap 400 Value ETF during the second quarter worth about $39,000. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vanguard S&P Mid-Cap 400 Value ETF in the third quarter worth about $57,000. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in Vanguard S&P Mid-Cap 400 Value ETF in the third quarter valued at about $61,000. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new stake in Vanguard S&P Mid-Cap 400 Value ETF during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $79,000. Vanguard S&P Mid-Cap 400 Value ETF Company Profile The Vanguard S&P Mid-Cap 400 Value ETF (IVOV) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the S&P Mid Cap 400 Value index. The fund tracks an index of value-style securities from the Committee-selected S&P mid-cap 400. IVOV was launched on Sep 9, 2010 and is managed by Vanguard. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Vanguard S&P Mid-Cap 400 Value ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Vanguard S&P Mid-Cap 400 Value ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .SES AI Co. ( NYSE:SES – Get Free Report )’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $0.71, but opened at $1.02. SES AI shares last traded at $1.56, with a volume of 70,695,989 shares. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of SES AI in a report on Thursday, September 5th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $1.00 price objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $1.50 price target on shares of SES AI in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on SES AI SES AI Trading Up 68.3 % SES AI ( NYSE:SES – Get Free Report ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported ($0.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by ($0.04). During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.04) EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that SES AI Co. will post -0.23 EPS for the current fiscal year. Insider Activity In related news, CFO Jing Nealis sold 150,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.02, for a total value of $153,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 1,935,322 shares in the company, valued at $1,974,028.44. The trade was a 7.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website . Also, major shareholder General Motors Holdings Llc sold 13,332,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $0.20, for a total transaction of $2,666,400.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 9,843,622 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,968,724.40. This represents a 57.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . Insiders sold a total of 15,182,037 shares of company stock valued at $3,859,540 in the last quarter. 15.07% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders. Hedge Funds Weigh In On SES AI Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SES. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in SES AI by 204.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 182,977 shares of the company’s stock worth $117,000 after purchasing an additional 122,803 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of SES AI by 281.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 171,860 shares of the company’s stock worth $109,000 after buying an additional 126,763 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of SES AI by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,094,624 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,980,000 after buying an additional 83,607 shares in the last quarter. Anson Funds Management LP acquired a new stake in SES AI in the 3rd quarter valued at $108,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in SES AI in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 29.78% of the company’s stock. SES AI Company Profile ( Get Free Report ) SES AI Corporation engages in the development and production of high-performance Lithium-metal rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles, electric vehicle take-off and landing, and other applications. The company was founded in 2012 and is headquartered in Woburn, Massachusetts. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for SES AI Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for SES AI and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .The No. 1 UCLA women’s basketball team digs deeper into its first season of Big Ten Conference play Sunday against Nebraska and continues Wednesday with No. 23 Michigan. The preparation, however, has been underway for much longer. “The work done in the dark always gets revealed in the light,” head coach Cori Close told reporters. “And we’re about to step into a lot of bright lights. It will be truly the things that will be behind the scenes that lead to us doing really, really well when the bright lights come on.” Close disclosed after Dec. 20’s 70-41 win over Creighton that the coaching staff and players are now watching film from up to 11 games on Big Ten opponents as opposed to the six or seven games that they watched for Pac-12 opponents prior to changing conferences. Playing each conference opponent once has doubled the workload for scouting, which has garnered heightened emphasis for the No. 1 Bruins (12-0 overall, 1-0 Big Ten) “We have a video team that’s not only double the people looking at analytics and we have multiple people doing video breakdown before it ever gets to an assistant coach,” Close said. “The toughest, more together team wins. But you can’t execute that unless you’re extremely prepared.” It’s unclear if 6-foot-7 center Lauren Betts will be a part of UCLA’s preparation this week. Betts, who is averaging a double-double this season, hasn’t played in a game since defeating Long Beach State 102-51 on Dec. 14 and is day to day with a leg injury sustained in that game. “Teams that are smaller than us – I get it, we have a huge advantage,” she told reporters after a 69-37 victory over Cal Poly . “What cannot be allowed is taking our players out at the legs. That’s the reason that Lauren Betts is out today is because of a play that was like that.” Sunday will mark the Bruins’ first game since Dec. 20 and the Cornhuskers (10-2, 1-0), who are receiving votes in the AP Top 25 poll, will feature a more competitive size matchup with eight players who are over 6 feet tall. It’ll be Nebraska’s second straight game against an unbeaten opponent after the Huskers lost to then-No. 17 Georgia Tech on Dec. 21. Forward/center Alexis Markowski recorded her fifth double-double of the season and 45th of her career by logging 20 points and 10 rebounds in the game. Michigan heads to No. 4 USC on Sunday before Wednesday’s game at UCLA. The Wolverines had their first conference game Dec. 8 when they beat Northwestern and have three freshmen averaging double figures in scoring in Syla Swords (15.3 ppg), Olivia Olson (15.7 ppg) and Mila Holloway (10.8 ppg). The Bruins have a deep, versatile roster to rely on even if Betts isn’t healthy enough to play Sunday. Freshman Elina Aarnisalo leads the team in total minutes played with 310 and in assists with 5.3 per game. UCLA shares the ball well, with seven players averaging eight points or better per game. The Bruins are the top team in the Big Ten in assists with 20.6 per game. Related Articles “This is one of the most exciting parts of the season – getting into conference play knowing that every single night we go out there we’re going to have a really good competitor on the other side,” Rice said. “That’s what we train for and we’re looking forward to that.” When: 2 p.m. Sunday Where: Pauley Pavilion TV/radio: Big Ten Plus/UCLA Digital Radio When: 2 p.m. Wednesday Where: Pauley Pavilion TV/radio: Big Ten Network/UCLA Digital Radio
Albania's prime minister has announced the government intends to block access to TikTok for one year after the killing of a schoolboy last month raised fears about the influence of social media on children. Speaking on Saturday Edi Rama declared the proposed ban would start in January. TikTok said it is seeking urgent clarifications from the Albanian government about the proposed ban. The social media platform told the BBC it had found no evidence the person who allegedly stabbed the 14-year-old boy, or the victim himself, had TikTok accounts. During a meeting in Albania's capital Tirana with teachers, parents and psychologists Rama branded TikTok as "the thug of the neighbourhood". "We are going to close it for a year and we are going to start rolling out programs that will serve the education of students and help parents follow their children's journey," Rama said. The blocking of TikTok comes less than a month after the 14-year-old student was killed and another injured in a fight near a school in southern Tirana which had its roots in a confrontation on social media. The killing sparked a debate in Albania among parents, psychologists and educational institutions about the impact of social networks on young people. "In China, TikTok promotes how students can take courses, how to protect nature, how to keep traditions, but on the TikTok outside China we see only scum and mud. Why do we need this?", Rama said. TikTok is already banned in India, which was one of the app's largest markets before it was outlawed in June 2020. It is also blocked in Iran, Nepal, Afghanistan and Somalia. TikTok is also fighting against a law passed by the US Congress which would ban the app from 19 January unless it is sold by ByteDance - its Chinese parent company. T as to why it should not be banned or sold with a hearing scheduled for 10 January - just days before the 19 January deadline imposed by Congress. The US government is taking action against the app because of what it says are its links to the Chinese state - links which TikTok and ByteDance have denied. Several European countries including France, Germany and Belgium have enforced restrictions on social media use for children. In November by voting to ban children under the age of 16 from using social media. That particular ban will take at least a year to implement. UK Technology Secretary for under-16s is "on the table" but added that he wanted to see more evidence first.Former President Bill Clinton was discharged from the hospital Tuesday, after he was admitted with a fever Monday afternoon, a spokesman said. "President Clinton was discharged earlier today after being treated for the flu. He and his family are deeply grateful for the exceptional care provided by the team at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital and are touched by the kind messages and well wishes he received," Clinton aide Angel Ureña wrote on X. "He sends his warmest wishes for a happy and healthy holiday season to all." Clinton, 78, was initially admitted with a fever for testing and observation, Ureña said. It's unclear how high the former president's fever was, or what other symptoms he exhibited. Clinton was previously hospitalized in Southern California in 2021 for an infection that reached his blood, but was released after six days. He underwent a possibly lifesaving quadruple coronary bypass surgery in September 2004. In February 2010 , he was hospitalized to open a clogged heart artery after suffering chest pains. Two stents were placed inside the artery as part of a medical procedure that is common for people with severe heart disease. Bill Clinton Kathryn Watson is a politics reporter for CBS News Digital, based in Washington, D.C.
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