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THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. , Dec. 10, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) today announced that its Board of Directors declared a $2.38 per share dividend for the first quarter of 2025. The dividend will be paid on March 7, 2025 , to all stockholders of record as of the close of business on February 14, 2025 . About Amgen Amgen discovers, develops, manufactures and delivers innovative medicines to help millions of patients in their fight against some of the world's toughest diseases. More than 40 years ago, Amgen helped to establish the biotechnology industry and remains on the cutting-edge of innovation, using technology and human genetic data to push beyond what's known today. Amgen is advancing a broad and deep pipeline that builds on its existing portfolio of medicines to treat cancer, heart disease, osteoporosis, inflammatory diseases and rare diseases. In 2024, Amgen was named one of the "World's Most Innovative Companies" by Fast Company and one of "America's Best Large Employers" by Forbes, among other external recognitions . Amgen is one of the 30 companies that comprise the Dow Jones Industrial Average ® , and it is also part of the Nasdaq-100 Index ® , which includes the largest and most innovative non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market based on market capitalization. For more information, visit Amgen.com and follow Amgen on X , LinkedIn , Instagram , TikTok , YouTube and Threads . Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains forward-looking statements that are based on the current expectations and beliefs of Amgen. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements, including any statements on the outcome, benefits and synergies of collaborations, or potential collaborations, with any other company (including BeiGene, Ltd. or Kyowa Kirin Co., Ltd.), the performance of Otezla® (apremilast) (including anticipated Otezla sales growth and the timing of non-GAAP EPS accretion), our acquisitions of Teneobio, Inc., ChemoCentryx, Inc., or Horizon Therapeutics plc (including the prospective performance and outlook of Horizon's business, performance and opportunities, any potential strategic benefits, synergies or opportunities expected as a result of such acquisition, and any projected impacts from the Horizon acquisition on our acquisition-related expenses going forward), as well as estimates of revenues, operating margins, capital expenditures, cash, other financial metrics, expected legal, arbitration, political, regulatory or clinical results or practices, customer and prescriber patterns or practices, reimbursement activities and outcomes, effects of pandemics or other widespread health problems on our business, outcomes, progress, and other such estimates and results. Forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties, including those discussed below and more fully described in the Securities and Exchange Commission reports filed by Amgen, including our most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequent periodic reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K. Unless otherwise noted, Amgen is providing this information as of the date of this news release and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this document as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed and actual results may differ materially from those we project. Our results may be affected by our ability to successfully market both new and existing products domestically and internationally, clinical and regulatory developments involving current and future products, sales growth of recently launched products, competition from other products including biosimilars, difficulties or delays in manufacturing our products and global economic conditions. In addition, sales of our products are affected by pricing pressure, political and public scrutiny and reimbursement policies imposed by third-party payers, including governments, private insurance plans and managed care providers and may be affected by regulatory, clinical and guideline developments and domestic and international trends toward managed care and healthcare cost containment. Furthermore, our research, testing, pricing, marketing and other operations are subject to extensive regulation by domestic and foreign government regulatory authorities. We or others could identify safety, side effects or manufacturing problems with our products, including our devices, after they are on the market. Our business may be impacted by government investigations, litigation and product liability claims. In addition, our business may be impacted by the adoption of new tax legislation or exposure to additional tax liabilities. If we fail to meet the compliance obligations in the corporate integrity agreement between us and the U.S. government, we could become subject to significant sanctions. Further, while we routinely obtain patents for our products and technology, the protection offered by our patents and patent applications may be challenged, invalidated or circumvented by our competitors, or we may fail to prevail in present and future intellectual property litigation. We perform a substantial amount of our commercial manufacturing activities at a few key facilities, including in Puerto Rico , and also depend on third parties for a portion of our manufacturing activities, and limits on supply may constrain sales of certain of our current products and product candidate development. An outbreak of disease or similar public health threat, such as COVID-19, and the public and governmental effort to mitigate against the spread of such disease, could have a significant adverse effect on the supply of materials for our manufacturing activities, the distribution of our products, the commercialization of our product candidates, and our clinical trial operations, and any such events may have a material adverse effect on our product development, product sales, business and results of operations. We rely on collaborations with third parties for the development of some of our product candidates and for the commercialization and sales of some of our commercial products. In addition, we compete with other companies with respect to many of our marketed products as well as for the discovery and development of new products. Discovery or identification of new product candidates or development of new indications for existing products cannot be guaranteed and movement from concept to product is uncertain; consequently, there can be no guarantee that any particular product candidate or development of a new indication for an existing product will be successful and become a commercial product. Further, some raw materials, medical devices and component parts for our products are supplied by sole third-party suppliers. Certain of our distributors, customers and payers have substantial purchasing leverage in their dealings with us. The discovery of significant problems with a product similar to one of our products that implicate an entire class of products could have a material adverse effect on sales of the affected products and on our business and results of operations. Our efforts to collaborate with or acquire other companies, products or technology, and to integrate the operations of companies or to support the products or technology we have acquired, may not be successful. There can be no guarantee that we will be able to realize any of the strategic benefits, synergies or opportunities arising from the Horizon acquisition, and such benefits, synergies or opportunities may take longer to realize than expected. We may not be able to successfully integrate Horizon, and such integration may take longer, be more difficult or cost more than expected. A breakdown, cyberattack or information security breach of our information technology systems could compromise the confidentiality, integrity and availability of our systems and our data. Our stock price is volatile and may be affected by a number of events. Our business and operations may be negatively affected by the failure, or perceived failure, of achieving our environmental, social and governance objectives. The effects of global climate change and related natural disasters could negatively affect our business and operations. Global economic conditions may magnify certain risks that affect our business. Our business performance could affect or limit the ability of our Board of Directors to declare a dividend or our ability to pay a dividend or repurchase our common stock. We may not be able to access the capital and credit markets on terms that are favorable to us, or at all. CONTACT: Amgen, Thousand Oaks Elissa Snook , 609-251-1407 (media) Justin Claeys , 805-313-9775 (investors) View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/amgen-announces-2025-first-quarter-dividend-302328180.html SOURCE AmgenSoda taxes don't just affect sales: They help change people's minds December 10, 2024 University of California - Berkeley The city of Berkeley's first-in-the-nation soda tax a decade ago, along with more recent Bay Area tax increases on sugar-sweetened drinks, have not only led to reduced sales. They are also associated with significant changes in social norms and attitudes about the healthfulness of sweet drinks. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIN Email It wasn't that long ago when cigarettes and soda were go-to convenience store vices, glamorized in movies and marketed toward, well, everyone. Then, lawmakers and voters raised taxes on cigarettes, and millions of dollars went into public education campaigns about smoking's harms. Decades of news coverage chronicled how addictive and dangerous cigarettes were and the enormous steps companies took to hide the risks and hook more users. The result: a radical shift in social norms that made it less acceptable to smoke and pushed cigarette use to historic lows, especially among minors. New UC Berkeley research suggests sugar-sweetened beverages may be on a similar path. The city of Berkeley's first-in-the-nation soda tax a decade ago, along with more recent Bay Area tax increases on sugar-sweetened drinks, have not only led to reduced sales. They are also associated with significant changes in social norms and attitudes about the healthfulness of sweet drinks, said Kristine A. Madsen, a professor at UC Berkeley's School of Public Health and senior author of a paper published Nov. 25 in the journal BMC Public Health. Over the span of just a few years, taxes coupled with significant media attention significantly affected the public's overall perceptions of sugar-sweetened beverages, which include sodas, some juices and sports drinks. Such a shift in the informal rules surrounding how people think and act could have major implications for public health efforts more broadly, Madsen said. "Social norms are really powerful. The significant shift we saw in how people are thinking about sugary drinks demonstrates what else we could do," Madsen said. "We could reimagine a healthier food system. It starts with people thinking, 'Why drink so much soda?' But what if we also said, 'Why isn't most of the food in our grocery stores food that makes us healthy?'" Madsen and colleagues from UC San Francisco and UC Davis analyzed surveys from 9,128 people living in lower-income neighborhoods in Berkeley, Oakland, San Francisco and Richmond. Using data from 2016 to 2019 and 2021, they studied year-to-year trends in people's perception of sugar-sweetened beverages. They wanted to understand how the four taxes in the Bay Area might have affected social norms surrounding sugary beverages -- the unwritten and often unspoken rules that influence the food and drinks we buy, the clothes we wear and our habits at the dinner table. Although social norms aren't visible, they are incredibly powerful forces on our actions and behaviors; just ask anyone who has bought something after an influencer promoted it on TikTok or Instagram. Researchers asked questions about how often people thought their neighbors drank sodas, sports drinks and fruity beverages. Participants also rated how healthy several drinks were, which conveyed their own attitudes about the beverages. The researchers found a 28% decline in the social acceptability of drinking sugar-sweetened beverages. In Oakland, positive perceptions of peers' consumption of sports drinks declined after the tax increase, relative to other cities. Similarly, in San Francisco, attitudes about the healthfulness of sugar-sweetened fruit drinks also declined. In other words, people believed their neighbors weren't drinking as many sugar-sweetened beverages, which affected their own interest in consuming soda, juices and sports drinks. "What it means when social norms change is that people say, 'Gosh, I guess we don't drink soda. That's just not what we do. Not as much. Not all the time,'" Madsen said. "And that's an amazing shift in mindsets." The research is the latest from UC Berkeley that examines how consumption patterns have changed in the decade since Berkeley implemented the nation's first soda tax. A 2016 study found a decrease in soda consumption and an increase in people turning to water. Research in 2019 documented a sharp decline in people turning to sugar-sweetened drinks. And earlier this year, Berkeley researchers documented that sugar-sweetened beverage purchases declined dramatically and steadily across five major American cities after taxes were put in place. The penny-per-ounce tax on beverages, which is levied on distributors of sugary drinks -- who ultimately pass that cost of doing business on to consumers -- is an important means of communicating about health with the public, Madsen said. Researchers tallied more than 700 media stories about the taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages during the study period. That level of messaging was likely a major force in driving public awareness and norms. It's also something Madsen said future public health interventions must consider. It was part of the progress made in cutting cigarette smoking and seems to be working with sugary drinks. And it's those interventions that can lead to individual action. "If we change our behaviors, the environment follows," Madsen said. "While policy really matters and is incredibly important, we as individuals have to advocate for a healthier food system." Story Source: Materials provided by University of California - Berkeley . Original written by Jason Pohl. Note: Content may be edited for style and length. Journal Reference : Cite This Page :
Charley Hull has never been afraid to court controversy in her golf career, and now she’s weighed in with an explosive political view. Fresh from ranting about slow play at The ANNIKA last week, Hull has now thrown her support behind US President-elect Donald Trump . Englishwoman Hull is currently competing in the CME Group Tour Championship, where she is five-under through two rounds. That leaves her tied for ninth, and she’ll head into Saturday’s third round five shots off leader Angel Yin. But it was after her opening 73 at Tiburon Golf Club that Hull made some eye-catching comments about Trump’s recent election win. Asked about the apparent ‘Trump dance’ she performed on the fairway on her way to a second-place finish at The ANNIKA, the 28-year-old pulled no punches with her answer. “I love Trump. I think he’s brilliant,” she replied, seemingly confirming the jig was a show of public backing. “I like how he just says things, he doesn’t care what people think and he’s straight to the point.” Hull wasn’t done there though, then taking a shot at the current British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer . “I wish he (Trump) was head of the UK,” she continued. “I just like him as a person. He’s a little better than our Prime Minister.” It isn’t the first time that Hull has voiced her admiration for one of the world’s most divisive characters. The world No.11 has previously spoken of her love for the Turnberry course in Scotland that Trump owns, and this year expressed her disappointment the venue was overlooked for the AIG Women’s Open that took place at St Andrew’s. Previously asked if she would like to play a round with the 78-year-old, whose previous playing partners have included icons like Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy , Hull didn’t hesitate. “That would be cool. I think he’s a legend,” she said. But she’s hardly the only high-profile golfer to have backed the MAGA movement. In the build-up to the election, two-time US Open winner Bryson DeChambeau hosted Trump on his YouTube Channel and even joined him on stage during his victory speech after he defeated Kamala Harris . McIlroy has also implied that Trump’s return to power could pave the way for long-awaited merger between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour . American Ryder Cup star Sam Burns responded to the election win with a social media picture of himself wearing a ‘Make America Great Again’ cap, adding the caption: “Deer hunting is great again.” Trump has never made any secret of his love of golf, despite accusations he’s made false claims about his ability and actual handicap. He even challenged current US President Joe Biden to a round this year during a live television debate.
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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Two Department of Homeland Security agents in Utah sold drugs that were previously seized as evidence through an informant in an illegal scheme that brought in up to $300,000, according to court documents. Read this article for free: Already have an account? To continue reading, please subscribe: * SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Two Department of Homeland Security agents in Utah sold drugs that were previously seized as evidence through an informant in an illegal scheme that brought in up to $300,000, according to court documents. Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Two Department of Homeland Security agents in Utah sold drugs that were previously seized as evidence through an informant in an illegal scheme that brought in up to $300,000, according to court documents. The agents sold an illicit synthetic drug commonly known as “bath salts” to a confidential informant once or twice a week beginning last spring through early December, according to an FBI affidavit filed in the case. The transactions typically involved one ounce (28 grams) of the drug for $5,000 that would then be sold by the informant at a higher cost. The informant, who has a lengthy criminal history, had been recruited while in prison by federal agents to work for them upon his release. But in addition to conducting legitimate controlled buys from suspected drug dealers, the informant said he was compelled by the agents to engage in illegal sales, the affidavit said. Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent David Cole was arrested in Salt Lake on Friday and charged in U.S. District Court with a single count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance. He was ordered to be detained during an initial court appearance on Monday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Dustin Pead. A second Homeland Security special agent — identified in court documents only as “Person A” — also sold drugs to the informant, according to the court documents. But it was not immediately clear if that agent also could face charges. Cole’s attorney, Alexander Ramos, declined to directly address the criminal allegations and said he was still trying to gather information about the case. “Dave has many years of service to his community as an outstanding agent with HSI and holds a great reputation among the federal law enforcement community,” Ramos said. He added that he looked forward to responding to the allegations in court. Ingestion of synthetic bath salts, also known as Alpha-PVP or cathinone, can lead to bizarre behavior such as paranoia and extreme strength, according to authorities who say it’s similar to methamphetamine, cocaine or ecstasy. They are unrelated to actual bathing products. During searches of the agents’ homes, government vehicles, work cubicles and a safety deposit box, investigators seized more than $67,000 in cash, an unspecified quantity of apparent “bath salts” and other evidence, the affidavit said. “Based on an average of one or two drug buys per week, involving 25 grams of bath salts and the amount of $5,000 each buy, it is estimated that Cole and Person A have profited approximately $150,000 to $300,000 in illegal proceeds,” FBI Special Agent Tristan Hall said in a court affidavit. The investigation began after the informant’s defense attorney contacted the U.S. Attorney in Utah in October to report that Cole and the second agent had required him to engage in potentially unlawful acts. The informant then cooperated with the FBI “for monetary value and out of fear for his personal safety,” the affidavit said. The informant said Cole and the second agent got the drugs that they sold to him from evidence seized in a prior Homeland Security investigation, according to the affidavit. The second agent “appears to have evidence custodian duties,” according to the affidavit, which said officials were still verifying the informant’s allegations. Other details offered by the informant were confirmed through surveillance and other sources, the affidavit said. If found guilty, Cole could face up to 10 years or more in prison, according to court documents. In a motion seeking his detention, federal prosecutors said they had serious concerns that Cole might try to obstruct the case by interfering with witnesses, harming himself or fleeing. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. FBI spokesperson Sandra Barker declined to comment on the case or whether anyone else was being investigated. Cole and the second agent had their Homeland Security investigation credentials suspended but have not been fired, according to the affidavit. The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to emails seeking comment Tuesday. An arraignment for Cole is scheduled on Dec. 20 in Salt Lake City. ___ Brown reported from Billings, Montana. Advertisement Advertisementand are probably not the first games that come to mind when thnking of official crossovers, but Bethesda has decided to bring the Doom Slayer's equipment and more to its latest sci-fi RPG with a surprise add-on. Celebrating the 31st anniversary of the franchise, a unique crossover mission named At Hell's Gate is now available for download from official Creations lineup. Presented by Bethesda Game Studios and developed by well-known community group Kinggath Creations (Sim Settlements), this comes in as a new downloadable quest that adds a slice of into . "A band of mercenaries has narrowly escaped an encounter with something that can only be described as beyond evil," says the Creation page's description. "Investigate this mysterious happening and prevent a vile force from invading your universe." For 's 31st anniversary, Hell has come to the Settled Systems in a free brand-new DOOM-themed mini-quest by Kinggath Creations! 🔥 Includes: ⚔️ DOOM Slayer's armor ⚔️ Iconic weapons ⚔️ Plushie collection The Creation page for the "At Hell's Gate" , or it can be downloaded straight from the in-game Creations menu on both Xbox consoles and PC. Players can start the quest by visiting any SSNN broadcast pillar in a major city (New Atlantis, Cydonia, Akila City, or Neon) across the galaxy after downloading it. By completing this quest, that involves some lore-friendly encounters, players will receive the iconic Praetor Suit from the new games, the legendary Super Shotgun for decimating foes, as well as the handy Crucible Blade for slicing up any opponents, from hell or otherwise. At the same time, the Industrial Workbench can be used to craft six plushies from Doom for decorating player homes, outposts, and ships.
Anti-NATO protesters gathered again in Montreal on Saturday to demand Canada withdraw from the alliance, a day after a demonstration organized by different groups resulted in arrests, burned cars and shattered windows. Politicians in the prime minister's cabinet, opposition parties as well as Quebec leaders have called the violence during Friday's anti-NATO demonstration acts of antisemitism, but protesters deny the claim, saying they demonstrated against the "complicity" of NATO member countries in a war that has killed thousands of Palestinians. Police spokesperson Veronique Dubuc said three people were arrested following a demonstration that began late afternoon Friday.She said police arrested a 22-year-old woman for obstructing police work and assaulting a police officer, as well as two men, 22 and 28, both for obstructing police work. All three were released and will appear in court at a later date. Police said that during the march, smoke bombs were deployed, metal barriers were thrown into the street and windows of businesses and at the convention centre where NATO delegates have been meeting were smashed. Friday's protest was organized by the groups Divest for Palestine and the Convergence of Anti-Capitalist Struggles. Benoit Allard, a member of Divest for Palestine, said he and several other protesters were injured by police and at least four protesters had to go to hospital. He said the purpose of the protest was to demonstrate against what he called NATO's "complicity with Israel's military while it's conducting its genocide in Gaza, war crimes in Lebanon, Syria" and that "it's enforcing illegal occupation of Palestinian territories." On Saturday afternoon Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called Friday's scenes "appalling." "Acts of antisemitism, intimidation, and violence must be condemned wherever we see them," he said on X. "There must be consequences, and rioters held accountable." Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre on X accused the prime minister of being "too busy to condemn a violent Hamas takeover of our streets." He then followed up with a lengthy statement saying Trudeau has transformed Canada into "a playground for foreign interference." Speaking to reporters at the Halifax International Security Forum on Saturday morning, Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly and Defence Minister Bill Blair said the actions of the protesters were unacceptable. "What we saw was not peaceful protest. What we saw was actually violence, hate and antisemitism, and this has no place on our streets," Joly said. "Those behaviours are unacceptable and we can condemn them, and in particular the hatred and antisemitism that was on display, in the strongest possible terms," said Blair. Quebec Premier Francois Legault also described the scenes as antisemitic. "Burning cars and smashing windows is not about sending a message, it's about causing chaos. Such acts have no place in a peaceful society like Quebec," he wrote. However, Allard rejected accusations of antisemitism. He said the protests were against the actions of the state of Israel and not Jewish people, adding that earlier this week the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. On Thursday, the court said in a news release that there were reasonable grounds to believe Netanyahu committed "the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts." About 80 people attended Saturday's anti-NATO protest in downtown Montreal organized by Le Mouvement Quebecois pour la Paix, holding signs that read "Canada out of NATO" and chanting "solidarity with Palestine." Several in attendance held Communist Party of Canada flags while others held Palestinian flags. Jad Kabbanji, president of Le Mouvement Quebecois pour la Paix, said Canada should refuse to meet NATO military spending targets. He also said that despite calling itself a defensive alliance, NATO has destabilized multiple regions across the globe and created military conflicts, notably in the Middle East and eastern Europe. Kabbanji said Israel's military campaign in Gaza would not be possible without the arms provided by NATO members like the United States, and that a policy of increasingly accepting countries that were formerly part of the Soviet Union "pushed Russia to invade Ukraine." Greg Beaune, the groups vice-president, said the group condemns Russia's invasion of Ukraine but added NATO has helped provoke conflict in the region. Group member Rana El Gharbie said she does not support violent protest but added that Canadians are becoming increasingly frustrated by Canada's support for Israel and "lack of action" in protecting Palestinians. Delegates from NATO member states and partner countries are in Montreal this weekend to discuss issues including support for Ukraine, climate change and the future of the alliance. With files from Sammy Hudes in Toronto. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 23, 2024.
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College Football Playoff & Bowl Game TV Schedule 2024President-elect wants to turn the lights out on daylight saving time. In a post on his social media site Friday, Trump said his party would try to end the practice when he returns to office. “The Republican Party will use its best efforts to eliminate Daylight Saving Time, which has a small but strong constituency, but shouldn’t! Daylight Saving Time is inconvenient, and very costly to our Nation,” he wrote. Setting clocks forward one hour in the spring and back an hour in the fall is intended to maximize daylight during summer months, but has long been subject to scrutiny. Daylight saving time was first adopted as a wartime measure in 1942. Lawmakers have occasionally proposed getting rid of the time change altogether. The most prominent recent attempt, a now-stalled bipartisan bill named the , had proposed making daylight saving time permanent. The measure was , whom Trump has tapped to helm the State Department. “Changing the clock twice a year is outdated and unnecessary,” Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida said as the Senate voted in favor of the measure. Health experts have said that lawmakers have it backward and that standard time should be made permanent. , including the American Medical Association and American Academy of Sleep Medicine, have said that it’s time to do away with time switches and that sticking with standard time aligns better with the sun — and human biology. do not observe daylight saving time. For those that do, the date that clocks are changed varies, creating a complicated tapestry of changing time differences. Arizona and Hawaii don't change their clocks at all.
‘Get Britain working’ plan to tackle long-term sickness riseGet ready for a college football bowl season like you’ve never seen. It’s the first year of the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff to determine the national champion, with first-round games kicking off Friday, December 20. In the new format, the top four conference champions (Oregon, Georgia, Arizona State and Boise State) receive a first-round bye and automatic entry into the quarterfinals. The remaining eight teams play in the four-game first round, with matchups held at the home stadiums of the higher-ranked participants. The “New Year’s Six” bowls serve as the quarterfinals and semifinals, with the national championship decided Monday, January 20, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Of course, there’s still plenty of college football postseason action through early January that doesn’t involve the national championship chase. The parade of bowl games begins Saturday, December 14, with the Cricket Celebration Bowl in Atlanta. A great tradition continues in Landover, Maryland, as the Navy Midshipmen take on the Army Black Knights Saturday on CBS at 3/2c. Later on Saturday, the Heisman Trophy is presented to the season’s most outstanding player in a ceremony on ESPN at 8/7c. Finalists are Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel, Colorado WR/CB Travis Hunter, Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty (pictured above) and Miami QB Cam Ward. Here’s your complete lineup of College Football Playoff games and other bowl matchups: All times Eastern/Central. Friday, December 20 No. 10 Indiana at No. 7 Notre Dame, ABC/ESPN, 8/7c Saturday, December 21 No. 11 SMU at No. 6 Penn State, noon/11a c, TNT/Max No. 12 Clemson at No. 5 Texas, 4/3c, TNT/Max No. 9 Tennessee at No. 8 Ohio State, 8/7c, ABC/ESPN Tuesday, December 31 Vrbo Fiesta Bowl (Glendale, Arizona): TBA vs. No. 3 Boise State, (ESPN) Wednesday, Jan. 1 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl (Atlanta): TBA vs. No. 4 Arizona State, 1/noon c, ESPN Rose Bowl (Pasadena, California): TBA vs. No. 1 Oregon, 5/4c, ESPN Allstate Sugar Bowl (New Orleans): TBA vs. No. 2 Georgia, 8:45/7:45c, ESPN Thursday, January 9 Capital One Orange Bowl (Miami, Florida): TBA vs. TBA, 7:30/6:30c, ESPN Friday, January 10 Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic (Arlington, Texas): TBA vs. TBA, 7:30/6:30c, ESPN Monday, January 20 National Championship (Atlanta): TBA vs. TBA, 7:30/6:30c, ESPN Saturday, December 14 Cricket Celebration Bowl (Atlanta): Jackson State vs. South Carolina State, noon/11a c, ABC IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl (Montgomery, Alabama): South Alabama vs. Western Michigan, 9/8c, ESPN Tuesday, December 17 Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl (Frisco, Texas): Memphis vs. West Virginia, 9/8c, ESPN Wednesday, December 18 Boca Raton Bowl (Boca Raton, Florida): Western Kentucky vs. James Madison, 5:30/4:30c, ESPN Art of Sport LA Bowl (Inglewood, California): Cal vs. UNLV, 9/8c, ESPN Thursday, December 19 R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl (New Orleans): Georgia Southern vs. Sam Houston, 7/6c, ESPN2 Friday, December 20 StaffDNA Cure Bowl (Orlando, Florida): Ohio vs. Jacksonville State, noon/11a c, ESPN Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl (Tampa, Florida): 3:30/2:30c, ESPN Monday, December 23 Myrtle Beach Bowl (Conway, South Carolina): Coastal Carolina vs. UTSA, 11a/10a c, ESPN Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (Boise, Idaho): Northern Illinois vs. Fresno State, 2:30/1:30c, ESPN Tuesday, December 24 Hawai’i Bowl (Honolulu): South Florida vs. San José State, 8/7c, ESPN Thursday, December 26 GameAbove Sports Bowl (Detroit): Pittsburgh vs. Toledo, 2/1xc, ESPN Rate Bowl (Phoenix): Rutgers vs. Kansas State, 5:30/4:30c, ESPN 68 Ventures Bowl (Mobile, Alabama): Arkansas State vs. Bowling Green, 9/8c, ESPN Friday, December 27 Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl (Fort Worth, Texas): Oklahoma vs. Navy, noon/11a c, ESPN Birmingham Bowl (Birmingham, Alabama): Georgia Tech vs. Vanderbilt, 3:30/2:30c, ESPN AutoZone Liberty Bowl (Memphis, Tennessee): Texas Tech vs. Arkansas, 7/6c, ESPN DirecTV Holiday Bowl (San Diego): Syracuse vs. Washington State, 8/7c, Fox SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl (Las Vegas): Texas A&M vs. USC, 10:30/9:30c, ESPN Saturday, December 28 Wasabi Fenway Bowl (Boston): UConn vs. North Carolina, 11a/10a c, ESPN Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl (Bronx, New York): Boston College vs. Nebraska, Noon/11a c, ABC Isleta New Mexico Bowl (Albuquerque, New Mexico): Louisiana vs. TCU, 2:15/1:15c, ESPN Pop-Tarts Bowl (Orlando, Florida): Iowa State vs. Miami, 3:30/2:30c, ABC Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl (Tucson, Arizona): Miami (Ohio) vs. Colorado State, 4:30/3:30c, The CW Go Bowling Military Bowl (Annapolis, Maryland): East Carolina vs. NC State, 5:45/4:45c, ESPN Valero Alamo Bowl (San Antonio): BYU vs. Colorado, 7:30/6:30c, ABC Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl (Shreveport, Louisiana): Marshall vs. Army, 9:15/8:15c, ESPN Monday, December 30 TransPerfect Music City Bowl (Nashville, Tennessee): Iowa vs. Missouri, 2:30/1:30c, ESPN Tuesday, December 31 ReliaQuest Bowl (Tampa, Florida): Alabama vs. Michigan, noon/11a c, ESPN Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl (El Paso, Texas): Louisville vs. Washington, 2/1c, CBS Cheez-It Citrus Bowl (Orlando, Florida): South Carolina vs. Illinois, 3/2c, ABC Kinder’s Texas Bowl (Houston): Baylor vs. LSU, 3:30/2:30c, ESPN Thursday, January 2 TaxSlayer Gator Bowl (Jacksonville, Florida): Duke vs. Ole Miss, 7:30/6:30c, ESPN Friday, January 3 SERVPRO First Responder Bowl (Dallas): North Texas vs. Texas State, 4/3c, ESPN Duke’s Mayo Bowl (Charlotte, North Carolina): Minnesota vs. Virginia Tech, 7:30/6:30c, ESPN Saturday, January 4 Bahamas Bowl (Nassau, Bahamas): Buffalo vs. Liberty, 11a/10a c, ESPN2 More Headlines:
National security officials meet with US telecom execs to share intel on Chinese cyber espionage campaign, White House says
High rate of violenceSenedd agrees 16% budget increase ahead of expansionAs America’s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan came to a close, thousands of courageous men and women who risked their lives fighting for years to protect our country and our way of life began coming home and transitioning into civilian life. For so many of them, that transition left a gaping hole. Just a few weeks earlier, they had been a critical part of operations vital to national security. Decisions they made under fire had life and death implications for their brothers and sisters fighting to their left and right in the heat of battle. These were missions they carried out to keep their families and all Americans safe without any expectation of recognition or thanks. Arriving back home, their days seem empty in comparison. For many, the most important decision they now must make may be which of 12 brands of cereal on the grocery shelf they will choose or what to wear to work the next day. Ordinary daily life is a shock. Something is missing. That something is having a purpose. America is more divided than we have been since the Civil War, and political violence is on the rise. Politicians and media celebrities work to dehumanize the other side, and social media platforms fan the flames to drive clicks, views and revenue. We have been sorted into echo chambers where we seldom encounter other Americans who don’t think like us, act like us or look like us. Trust has been significantly eroded to be replaced by fear — not because of some horrific crime we have committed against one another, but because of perceptions we have of other Americans as our politics has become more and more partisan. Veterans can play a strong role in creating the trust America needs. Veterans are one of the most trusted institutions in America. According to a 2024 Gallup poll, 61 percent of Americans trust the military “a great deal or quite a lot,” compared to Congress coming in at a staggeringly low 9 percent. Veterans hold a special place in American society. They are trusted on both the left and the right of the political divide in America; and therein lies the opportunity. Our brave men and women coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan need a new hill to climb, and there is no greater hill to climb right now than to help unite the country across our political divide. Our veterans fought to defend American democracy overseas, and now we need them to do one more tour and fight for it again here at home. Veterans can be our greatest asset in this historically divisive time. I am one of those veterans who returned home from the wars with a gaping hole inside me, aching for purpose and meaning. As a result, I founded More Perfect Union, an organization and movement that could tap into the lessons we had learned downrange in combat to help unite the country that we all love and fought so hard to protect. Many of those lessons we learned while serving are still applicable to this new mission. In highly fragile regions, we were tasked with building trust among warring tribes in a village to prevent the infiltration of violent extremist organizations like al-Qaida and ISIS. We formed those bonds of trust using classic counterinsurgency tactics and hard-won lessons learned from two decades of asymmetric warfare. We learned how to map out communities to understand the real power dynamics within a community and across rival factions. We learned how to earn the trust of power brokers within each of those factions. We brought them together around a common project for the greater good of the community and region These projects were varied, like a large-scale farming cooperative, building a school ,or repairing basic infrastructure like roads and bridges to ensure trade routes stay open and communities maintain access to markets. Through these tactics, we were able to form strong bonds of trust among these warring factions to keep out extremist groups looking to exploit the weaknesses of isolation and division. As veterans come home from foreign wars, we are returning to a situation that seems shockingly all too familiar. We see two rival factions separated and exploited by the most extreme voices in our society. It’s time to use our battle-tested lessons here at home — restoring unity and hope to prevent those extreme voices from tearing us apart. In the wake of a particularly contentious election, veterans can help turn down the temperature in communities across the country — reminding all of us that we are not Republicans and we are not Democrats. We are Americans. We have one more mission to ask of our veterans. They can help us find a new patriotism in this important moment. They can help us remember that there is so much more that unites us than divides us. Veterans can help us find common ground, and then lead us beyond that to higher ground.
SANTA CLARA, Calif., Nov. 25, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Agora, Inc. (NASDAQ: API) (the “Company”), a pioneer and leader in real-time engagement technology, today announced its unaudited financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2024. “Recently, we launched our Conversational AI SDK in collaboration with OpenAI’s Realtime API to allow developers to bring voice-driven AI experiences to any app. We believe multimodal AI agents that can interact with human through natural voice will gain widespread adoption across many use cases such as customer support, education and wellness, and Agora is well positioned to become a key infrastructure provider for real-time conversational AI,” said Tony Zhao, founder, chairman and CEO of Agora. “To support this vision, we recently made some structural changes, aligning our organization to fully leverage the accelerating conversational AI opportunities, and operate in a faster, leaner, and more responsive fashion. These changes will help us build the next generation real-time engagement technology for the Generative AI era and strengthen our position as the leader in real-time engagement space.” Third Quarter 2024 Highlights Third Quarter 2024 Financial Results Revenues Total revenues were $31.6 million in the third quarter of 2024, a decrease of 9.8% from $35.0 million in the same period last year. Revenues of Agora were $15.7 million in the third quarter of 2024, an increase of 2.6% from $15.3 million in the same period last year, primarily due to our business expansion and usage growth in sectors such as live shopping. Revenues of Shengwang were RMB112.9 million ($15.9 million) in the third quarter of 2024, a decrease of 20.0% from RMB141.2 million ($19.7 million) in the same period last year, primarily due to a decrease in revenues of RMB 17.5 million ($2.4 million) due to the end-of-sale of certain products and reduced usage from customers in certain sectors such as social and entertainment as a result of challenging macroeconomic and regulatory environment. Cost of Revenues Cost of revenues was $10.5 million in the third quarter of 2024, a decrease of 16.4% from $12.6 million in the same period last year, primarily due to the end-of-sale of certain products and the decrease in bandwidth usage and costs, which was offset partially by severance expenses for customer support teams of $0.3 million. Gross Profit and Gross Margin Gross profit was $21.0 million in the third quarter of 2024, a decrease of 6.1% from $22.4 million in the same period last year. Gross margin was 66.7% in the third quarter of 2024, an increase of 2.7% from 64.0% in the same period last year, mainly due to the end-of-sale of certain low-margin products, which was offset partially by higher severance expenses in the third quarter of 2024. Operating Expenses Operating expenses were $45.9 million in the third quarter of 2024, an increase of 24.3% from $36.9 million in the same period last year, primarily due to the increase in restructuring and severance expenses in the third quarter of 2024, which included share-based compensation of $11.4 million as a result of the cancellation of certain employees’ equity awards and immediate recognition of relevant remaining unrecognized compensation expenses, as well as severance expenses of $4.4 million. Loss from Operations Loss from operations was $24.7 million in the third quarter of 2024, compared to $13.9 million in the same period last year. Interest Income Interest income was $3.9 million in the third quarter of 2024, compared to $4.9 million in the same period last year, primarily due to the decrease in the average balance of cash, cash equivalents, bank deposits and financial products issued by banks and the decrease in average interest rate realized. Losses from equity in affiliates Losses from equity in affiliates were $4.2 million in the third quarter of 2024, primarily due to an impairment loss on an investment in certain private company of $4.1 million. Net Loss Net loss was $24.2 million in the third quarter of 2024, compared to $22.5 million in the same period last year. Net Loss per American Depositary Share attributable to ordinary shareholders Net loss per American Depositary Share (“ADS”)1 attributable to ordinary shareholders was $0.26 in the third quarter of 2024, compared to $0.23 in the same period last year. 1 One ADS represents four Class A ordinary shares. Share Repurchase Program During the three months ended September 30, 2024, the Company repurchased approximately 6.8 million of its Class A ordinary shares (equivalent to approximately 1.7 million ADSs) for approximately US$3.9 million under its share repurchase program, representing 1.9% of its US$200 million share repurchase program. As of September 30, 2024, the Company had repurchased approximately 129.4 million of its Class A ordinary shares (equivalent to approximately 32.3 million ADSs) for approximately US$113.7 million under its share repurchase program, representing 57% of its US$200 million share repurchase program. As of September 30, 2024, the Company had 368.3 million ordinary shares (equivalent to approximately 92.1 million ADSs) outstanding, compared to 449.8 million ordinary shares (equivalent to approximately 112.5 million ADSs) outstanding as of January 31, 2022 before the share repurchase program commenced. The current share repurchase program will expire at the end of February 2025. Executive Leadership Update Today the Company announced that Chief Security Officer Roger Hale will be leaving the Company, effective immediately. Mr. Hale has served in this role for the past 2.5 years, during which he made significant contributions to enhancing the Company’s security, compliance, and data protection protocols. Mr. Hale will work closely with senior leadership to ensure a smooth transition of his responsibilities. Moving forward, Patrick Ferriter and Robbin Liu will assume responsibility for security and compliance, reflecting the Company’s commitment to maintaining a strong and effective security framework. Mr. Hale will continue to provide strategic advice as an advisor to the Company. “We are grateful for Roger’s dedication and expertise over the past two and a half years. His leadership has been invaluable in strengthening our security & compliance foundation,” said Tony Zhao, founder, chairman and CEO of Agora. “Security and compliance remain top priorities for Agora, and we will continue to uphold the highest standards to protect our customers and stakeholders.” Financial Outlook Based on currently available information, the Company expects total revenues for the fourth quarter of 2024 to be between $34 million and $36 million, compared to $31.6 million in the third quarter of 2024, and $33.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2023 if revenues from certain end-of-sale low-margin products were excluded. The Company also expects significant improvement in net income / (loss) in the fourth quarter. This outlook reflects the Company's current and preliminary views on the market and operational conditions, which are subject to change. Earnings Call The Company will host a conference call to discuss the financial results at 5 p.m. Pacific Time / 8 p.m. Eastern Time on November 25, 2024. Details for the conference call are as follows: Event title: Agora, Inc. 3Q 2024 Financial Results The call will be available at https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/wie28zvr Investors who want to hear the call should log on at least 15 minutes prior to the broadcast. Participants may register for the call with the link below. https://register.vevent.com/register/BIf58a0b6f500c4362b1a8c64f9fa4cea8 Please visit the Company’s investor relations website at https://investor.agora.io on November 25, 2024 to view the earnings release and accompanying slides prior to the conference call. Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures The Company has provided in this press release financial information that has not been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”). The Company uses these non-GAAP financial measures internally in analyzing its financial results and believe that the use of these non-GAAP financial measures is useful to investors as an additional tool to evaluate ongoing operating results and trends and in comparing its financial results with other companies in its industry, many of which present similar non-GAAP financial measures. Besides free cash flow (as defined below), each of these non-GAAP financial measures represents the corresponding GAAP financial measure before share-based compensation expenses, acquisition related expenses, amortization expenses of acquired intangible assets, income tax related to acquired intangible assets and impairment of goodwill. The Company believes that such non-GAAP financial measures help identify underlying trends in its business that could otherwise be distorted by the effects of such share-based compensation expenses, acquisition related expenses, amortization expenses of acquired intangible assets, income tax related to acquired intangible assets and impairment of goodwill that it includes in its cost of revenues, total operating expenses and net income (loss). The Company believes that all such non-GAAP financial measures also provide useful information about its operating results, enhance the overall understanding of its past performance and future prospects and allow for greater visibility with respect to key metrics used by its management in its financial and operational decision-making. Non-GAAP financial measures are not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for comparable GAAP financial measures and should be read only in conjunction with the Company’s consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP. A reconciliation of its historical non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures has been provided in the tables captioned “Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Measures” included at the end of this press release, and investors are encouraged to review the reconciliation. Definitions of the Company’s non-GAAP financial measures included in this press release are presented below. Non-GAAP Net Income (Loss) Non-GAAP net income (loss) is defined as net income (loss) adjusted to exclude share-based compensation expenses, acquisition related expenses, amortization expenses of acquired intangible assets, income tax related to acquired intangible assets and impairment of goodwill. Free Cash Flow Free cash flow is defined as net cash provided by operating activities less purchases of property and equipment (excluding the acquisition of land use right and the payment for the headquarters project). The Company considers free cash flow to be a liquidity measure that provides useful information to management and investors regarding net cash provided by operating activities and cash used for investments in property and equipment required to maintain and grow the business. Operating Metrics The Company also uses other operating metrics included in this press release and defined below to assess the performance of its business. Active Customers An active customer at the end of any period is defined as an organization or individual developer from which the Company generated more than $100 of revenue during the preceding 12 months. Customers are counted based on unique customer account identifiers. Generally, one software application uses the same customer account identifier throughout its life cycle while one account may be used for multiple applications. Dollar-Based Net Retention Rate Dollar-Based Net Retention Rate is calculated for a trailing 12-month period by first identifying all customers in the prior 12-month period, and then calculating the quotient from dividing the revenue generated from such customers in the trailing 12-month period by the revenue generated from the same group of customers in the prior 12-month period. As the vast majority of revenue generated from Agora’s customers is denominated in U.S. dollars, while the vast majority of revenue generated from Shengwang’s customers is denominated in Renminbi, Dollar-Based Net Retention Rate is calculated in U.S. dollars for Agora and in Renminbi for Shengwang, which has substantially removed the impact of foreign currency translations. Shengwang excluded the revenues from certain end-of-sale products, Easemob’s CEC business and K12 academic tutoring sector. The Company believes Dollar-Based Net Retention Rate facilitates operating performance comparisons on a period-to-period basis. Safe Harbor Statements This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical or current fact included in this press release are forward-looking statements, including but not limited to statements regarding the Company’s financial outlook, beliefs and expectations. Forward-looking statements include statements containing words such as “expect,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “project,” “will” and similar expressions intended to identify forward-looking statements. Among other things, the Financial Outlook in this announcement contain forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on the Company’s current expectations and involve risks and uncertainties. The Company’s actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of these risks and uncertainties, which include, without limitation, risks related to the growth of the RTE-PaaS market; the Company’s ability to manage its growth and expand its operations; the continued impact of COVID-19 on global markets and the Company’s business, operations and customers; the Company’s ability to attract new developers and convert them into customers; the Company’s ability to retain existing customers and expand their usage of its platform and products; the Company’s ability to drive popularity of existing use cases and enable new use cases, including through quality enhancements and introduction of new products, features and functionalities; the Company’s fluctuating operating results; competition; the effect of broader technological and market trends on the Company’s business and prospects; general economic conditions and their impact on customer and end-user demand; and other risks and uncertainties included elsewhere in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), including, without limitation, the final prospectus related to the IPO filed with the SEC on June 26, 2020. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement, and the Company undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof. About Agora, Inc. Agora, Inc. is the Cayman Islands holding company of two independent divisions, under Agora brand and Shengwang brand, respectively, whose businesses are conducted through separate entities. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Agora is a pioneer and global leader in Real-Time Engagement Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), providing developers with simple, flexible, and powerful application programming interfaces, or APIs, to embed real-time voice, video, interactive live-streaming, chat, whiteboard, and artificial intelligence capabilities into their applications. Headquartered in Shanghai, China, Shengwang is a pioneer and leading Real-Time Engagement PaaS provider in the China market. For more information on Agora, please visit: www.agora.io For more information on Shengwang, please visit: www.shengwang.cn Agora, Inc. Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (Unaudited, in US$ thousands) Agora, Inc. Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss (Unaudited, in US$ thousands, except share and per ADS amounts) Agora, Inc. Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (Unaudited, in US$ thousands) Agora, Inc. Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Measures (Unaudited, in US$ thousands, except share and per ADS amounts) Investor Contact: investor@agora.io Media Contact: press@agora.ioWashington state Gov.-elect Bob Ferguson on Thursday named a veteran budget writer and policy analyst to serve as his director of the Office of Financial Management. K.D. Chapman-See, the agency’s current legislative affairs liaison, will be the point person helping Ferguson fashion his first state spending plan in the shadow of a potential multi-billion dollar budget deficit. Also Thursday, Ferguson started his search for new leaders of nine state agencies, including the departments of transportation, corrections, social and health services and ecology. Current directors of most of those agencies have already announced plans to step down or retire. With Chapman-See, Ferguson tapped a skilled and respected analyst with experience in the executive and legislative branches of Washington state government. Before joining Gov. Jay Inslee’s budget office, she worked more than a decade in the state House of Representatives as a policy director and as a senior analyst for operating budget and tax policy for the House Democratic Caucus, according to Ferguson’s transition team. “K.D. brings tremendous talent and expertise to this critical position in state government,” Ferguson said in a statement. “She understands the budget challenges facing the state, and I look forward to working with her to deliver efficient, effective government.” Those budget challenges will be significant as Ferguson begins his term. State tax revenues are not keeping pace with the rising costs of current and promised programs. Inslee and his budget director, Pat Sullivan, have warned the gap is around $12 billion over the next four-plus fiscal years and directed state agencies to identify potential cuts. Some ideas for what to trim may wind up in Inslee’s proposed budget for the 2025-27 biennium. So too may some ideas for raising additional revenue. The budget proposal is due out in mid-December and will be a template for Ferguson and state lawmakers when they craft final budgets in the 2025 legislative session. While Ferguson has not commented publicly about the state’s budget situation, Democratic legislators have said they expect to consider spending reductions and new revenue sources to erase the shortfall. Chapman-See will assume her new role on Jan. 15 and be part of Ferguson’s executive leadership team. She will succeed Sullivan, a former state lawmaker who was appointed director of the Office of Financial Management in July when David Schumacher, Inslee’s longtime budget director, departed. “I am deeply grateful to Pat Sullivan for his leadership during this challenging time as he develops Governor Inslee’s final budget,” Ferguson said. “He is an outstanding public servant who puts the needs of Washingtonians first.” Other agencies where Ferguson said he intends to hire new leaders include the Department of Children, Youth and Families, Department of Enterprise Services, the Health Care Authority, and Governor’s Office of Indian Affairs. Directors of all but transportation and enterprise services had previously said they would be leaving. Enterprise services manages state buildings and vehicle fleets, among other responsibilities. Secretary of Transportation Roger Millar told the Washington State Standard in a recent interview that he hoped to stay on in the new administration. He informed Department of Transportation employees Thursday afternoon that his last day will be Jan. 15. “Leading this agency has been a true highlight of my life personally and professionally,” he wrote in an email. “Because of you WSDOT is one of the most innovative, effective and consequential departments of transportation in the world.” In the release, Ferguson said he is evaluating the leadership of other cabinet agencies and will provide an update next week. Those interested in applying for a leadership position or serving on a board or commission can do so online through a newly launched web portal.
NoneSave Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Got it Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size In mere months – March, to be exact – cult comedian Kate Berlant will complete her first-ever trip to Australia to perform. What she’ll perform when she gets here, though, she’s not yet sure. At this stage, she doesn’t even have the title. “What is the show?” Berlant deadpans, looking skyward as though contemplating a philosophical quandary she has no literal answer to. “That’s a really good question ... I mean, it’s just standup. I’m really just going to be doing standup.” Anyone familiar with Berlant’s comedy – her taped special Cinnamon in the Wind , for example; or her decade-long partnership with outlandish foil John Early (including their sketch special Would It Kill You To Laugh? ); even her podcast POOG (a play on GOOP) with fellow comedian Jacqueline Novak, and its spin-off Berlant & Novak – would understand that “just standup” is a loaded concept with Berlant. Although well-recognised from her acting work – she’s starred in films including Don’t Worry Darling , Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Dream Scenario , and on TV in A League of Their Own , The Other Two and Search Party – her cerebral comedy, an act of onstage pomposity that folds the form in on itself with absurdist, and delightfully silly, abandon (“intellectual vaudeville”, a critic once branded it), has made Berlant a beatified icon of alt-comedy. If the fact she hasn’t got her new show sorted four months out from her booked dates fills you with secondhand anxiety, fear not: this is how Berlant works, working bits out on stage with the improvisational acuity of a surgeon. Since February, she’s been regularly taking the stage at Largo’s in Los Angeles, her hometown club, to riff on “themes of contemporary alienation”, with the goal of putting together a new hour. “Relying so much on improvisation is terrifying and oftentimes I’ve been doing standup and thought, wow, it would be so nice to just know what you’re gonna say every night,” says Berlant of her process. “But so much of standup is about hiding the work, hiding the fact that you’ve said this thing a million times, and I’ve always struggled with that because it’s just hard to keep up that performance in a way that feels authentic.” Advertisement It’s a dry autumn afternoon in Los Angeles when we speak over Zoom, and the twilight sun splashes through Berlant’s bedroom window (not to mention her incredible curls) like Cheezel dust. She’s spent the day dealing with a sudden and, at 37, completely unexpected allergic reaction to tomatoes and nightshade. “If I sound a little weird it’s because my mouth is inflamed,” she offers apologetically. And yet, she’s eager to discuss her return to standup because for the past couple of years she’s been focused entirely on her play, Kate . Berlant ended Kate in February after a string of sold-out runs across New York, Los Angeles and London. A one-woman show about a flailing actor’s desperate bid to be taken seriously, the conceit went deep. Shows reportedly featured Berlant herself mingling in crowded foyers before doors opened, holding a sign saying “Ignore me”. It premiered off-Broadway in September 2022, and earned rave reviews for its metatextual skewering of artistic self-indulgence. The Guardian labelled it the “one-woman show to end all one-woman shows”. Berlant says it was her biggest success yet. Which begs the question: why did she end it? Why is she not just bringing Kate to Australia? “Again, a really good question,” Berlant jokes. “It’s not that I’ll never do it again, but I do think it’s healthy to step away from things. I think things ripen and they absolutely rot. It just felt to me like it was time to do something else, just for my own brain.” “I just wanted to step away from it for a second”: Berlant during the opening night performance of her acclaimed play Kate in Pasadena in January. Credit: Getty Images She very well could have kept Kate going, Berlant concedes. But her hope is that, as the show operates in a separate universe to her standup, she can revive it a year from now, or two years from now, or even five years from now, and the material will organically grow with her. In the meantime, she’s been in discussions with her director, Bo Burnham, to potentially film and release it. “But that’s something for down the line. Because the show is extremely meta, it’s not just a show you throw a camera in front of,” says Berlant. “I just wanted to step away from it for a second and get back to what I really love doing the most, which is standup.” Advertisement When I speak to Berlant, it’s the week after Donald Trump’s crushing win in the US election – a desolate new landscape in America made real. “It’s scary, it’s dark, it’s intensely depressing, and kind of just surreal. It’s such a bizarre time to be alive,” Berlant says, staring into the camera, eyes like saucers to underscore the understatement. “It’s a really bizarre, rather depressing time.” Is that mood already affecting her new standup? “I’m reacting to it maybe in, like, a subtextual way, but not directly,” says Berlant. “No, certainly the show I’ll be doing will not be about me wrestling with, like, how to live in America under Trump. Like, I would sooner die.” It’s for the best. Because if there’s a through line to Berlant’s work, it’s that her performances have always been about the act of performing. Onstage, whether in a scripted play or in a standup set, she’s Kate, but she’s also “Kate”. The persona she’s made her own is of the self-serious artist desperate for attention, for fame, to be noticed as special. A piss take of the narcissism inherent in showbiz, it’s also a well-wrought personification of today’s wider condition, where social media has given everyone main character syndrome. “It just turns out that way with everything I do. My comedy is often about comedy and my performance is usually about performance, and so inevitably with my standup it’s hard for me to ignore how bizarre standup is when I’m doing standup, and it’s hard for me to not kind of call out how inherently strange the dynamic is and how strange it is as a form,” says Berlant. ‘Performing is inherently embarrassing and, I would say, something to be avoided if you can.’ “The idea of a person standing there and just talking about what’s on their mind, it denies that standup is such a highly constructed persona and performance, down to the shoes you wear. I’ve always looked at the conditions of performance as being really bizarre and also funny. And also just the fact that performance is, of course, a naked plea for attention and adoration. I can’t pretend that that’s not what’s going on in the room, you know?” The focus on performance is never far from Berlant; she’s been thinking about it forever (she even has degrees in the cultural anthropology of comedy and performance studies from New York University). A child actor, she scored her first onscreen gig at 15, playing Student #2 in an episode of Lizzie McGuire , and believed it would set her on a path to screen stardom (it didn’t). There was enough self-awareness in her failure to fuel another mode of expression: when she started doing comedy at 17, she quickly found that her standup landed on a self-referential conceit. Advertisement “I would end up kind of talking about standup in the standup. Which sounds awful,” Berlant laughs. “But, I mean, just talking about the encounter between performer and audience, and how performing is inherently embarrassing and, I would say, something to be avoided if you can.” She’d experienced something similar to that indescribable ick in her upbringing, too, as the only child of two artists – her father Tony Berlant is a prominent US sculptor; her mother Helen Mendez performed in experimental theatre before becoming a set designer. In an episode of Netflix’s The Characters , she portrayed an insufferable Marina Abramović type, lampooning the pretentious art world egos she’d witnessed growing up. “The self-importance of the art world, like the self-importance of Hollywood, there’s almost nothing to comment on because it’s so in plain sight,” Berlant says. “From an early age, I think I was aware of performance as not just being something people do on stage, but just as a child watching adults perform: perform being smart, perform being interesting, perform the performance of being an artist. “I mean, if you call yourself an ‘artist’ ...” she glances into the camera with an are you serious? stare. “That’s quite a part to play.” Berlant with her comedy partner John Early at this year’s Creative Arts Emmys, where their sketch special was nominated. Credit: Getty Images Is she never not aware of the performance? Like, even in this interview: me, playing the role of the politely probing interviewer, trying to dig at some defining childhood trauma; she, the subject, playing at being revealing, as if she’s never considered these stories before. “Yeah, it’s hard to separate, I think I’m always aware of it,” says Berlant. “But what I really find funny are people who don’t know that we can see them performing. We live in a world now where everyone’s a performer, even people who aren’t performers are used to performing for social media. So there’s been a huge breakdown in those terms and in their definitions.” Advertisement Complicating Berlant’s obsession with the artifice of authenticity in comedy and theatre is a sincere love of live performance. In a world where standup careers can thrive exclusively through crowd-work clips on TikTok, she still craves the sacredness of the club. Loading “When I started standup, the only way to get good or build a career was to perform, do shows, as many shows as you could do. Even just, like, spiritually, I feel so lucky that was how I came up,” she says. “So I do think that in today’s world, it’s still very exciting when people show up physically to see a show. I think that’s something that will persist, but it is feeling more and more rarefied and less valued.” It’s why Berlant is excited for the set she’ll be bringing to Australia, whatever shape it ends up taking. After her journey with Kate , a return to the spontaneous possibilities of her standup has been calling. “There’s something that feels good about just being like, okay, this is where I am right now in my life, this is how I’m reacting to it, and not being too precious about it or spending years crafting it. I think that’s what makes it feel alive, for me and the audience.” Kate Berlant will be performing at Melbourne Recital Hall on March 7 and at Sydney Opera House as part of All About Women on March 9. To read more from Spectrum , visit our page here .