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ATHLETICS Bendigo Region's rising stars were in great form across last weekend's Australian All Schools field and track championships at Mt Gravatt near Brisbane. or signup to continue reading An outstanding haul of two gold, four silver and a bronze was collected across the three-day meet which involved hundreds of students. Two Bendigo residential records were also broken on the track at the titles. Six schools in central and northern Victoria were represented in the Big V team. Gold was struck by Bendigo South East Secondary College's Jordyn Lewis in the under-14 pole vault final. The year 7 seven student who competes for South Bendigo in AV Shield League cleared a mark of 2.75m. It was a one-two result in the under-17 girls 2000m steeplechase as Girton Grammar's Abbey Reid charged to victory in 7:13.40. Silver went the way of Sarah Fitzpatrick from Sacred Heart College Kyneton in a season-best 7:17.98. Reid competes for Bendigo University, and Fitzpatrick with South Bendigo. Silver and bronze were won by Bendigo South East's Avery McDermid in the under-17 1500m and 800m. A great meet for the BSE Dragons' gun began with second placing in the 1500m in 3:52.53. The University Pride athlete then ran the 800m in 1:52.55 to claim bronze and also broke the Bendigo under-17 residential record. A great track season for BSE's Chelsea Tickell kept rolling as she adapted to the hot conditions and fast pace in the under-16 1500m final to be runner-up in 4:34.89. The South Bendigo athlete set a Bendigo under-16 residential record in a season-best time. Bloods' clubmate Kai Norton excelled in the under-16 hammer and javelin finals. The Weeroona College student marked a season-best of 54.58m to claim silver at javelin. Norton's best of 48.68m with the 4kg hammer earned fourth place. Sacred Heart Kyneton's Hailey Stubbs hurled the hammer to a mark of 46.96m to be fifth in the under-17 contest. A great competitor in various field disciplines, Stubbs represents Bendigo Harriers in Shield League. Girton Grammar's Kate Wilson achieved a season-best of 1.63m to be fifth in the under-16 high jump. Wilson is a member of the strong Eaglehawk Athletics Club. A season-best time of 8:14.76 by Marist College Bendigo's Charlise McQueen in the 2000m steeplechase earned fourth place in the under-15 category. McQueen will be a key player in Eaglehawk's quest to again be number one at next month's Victoria Country field and track championships at Lar Birpa in Bendigo. St Joseph's College Echuca's Scarlett Southern ran in the under-18 400m. A season-best of 58.12 earned third place in her heat. Now racing for Echuca Moama in AVSL, Southern ran the final in 58.53 to be fifth. Sacred Heart College's Tyler Fynch will be in Brisbane this Saturday to contest the 3000m for the under-15 boys class. Meanwhile, University's Michael Fanning "wiped out" the opposition as he won the 5000m leg in the latest round of the Parker Electrical-backed Tuesday Night Series for athletes at Lar Birpa in Flora Hill. A race of 12 1/2 laps drew eight starters in which Fanning powered away to take honours in a time of 16:58. Runner-up was Eaglehawk's Trevor Kelly, 19:47, as Bendigo Harriers' Thomas Hobson clocked 19:57 to be third. In the 3000m it was University's Mitch Fitzgerald who won a closely-fought first heat. Fitzgerald crossed the line in 10:58 as Daniel Ryan, racing on invitation basis, was next best in 11 minutes. Third placegetter was University's Lee McCullagh in 11:56. Fastest female and fourth overall was Vansessa Garry in 12:23 on another great night for University Pride. Heat two of the 3000m was led by invitation runners, David Stevens and Ryan Hon. Victory went to Stevens in 9:44 as Hon clocked 9:46. Third placegetter was University's Shaun White in 9:50. South Bendigo's Jake Hilson warmed up for this weekend's Zatopek 10 challenge by winning the first of the 1000m races in 2:33. Hilson will make his way to Lakeside Stadium this Saturday to team up with Bloods' clubmate Oliver Muggleton and Eaglehawk's Angus McKindlay and Fletch Watchman in the open 4 x 400m final. Runner-up in the first of Tuesday night's 1000m heats was University's Milanke Haasbroek in 3:28 as clubmate Lyla Edwards ran the 2 1/2 laps in 3:33 to be third. It was a Bendigo Little Athletics treble in heat two as Chloe Jackson led the way from Pippa Coleman and Airlie Intamanon. Another leg in the Tuesday Night Series will be run next week from 7pm at Lar Birpa in Flora Hill's Retreat Road. Meanwhile, round four in the Bendigo Athletics Club's distance series will be run on Thursday night at the Tom Flood Sports Centre in Barnard Street. Athletes will race 1000 metres as the BAC teams up with the Bendigo and District Cycling Club to continue the long-running tradition. It's a 10-leg series in which athletes vie to qualify for the George Flack final of 1000m to be run on February 27. Athletes to enter by 6.45pm on Thursday for a start about 7.30pm. DAILY Today's top stories curated by our news team. WEEKDAYS Grab a quick bite of today's latest news from around the region and the nation. WEEKLY The latest news, results & expert analysis. WEEKDAYS Catch up on the news of the day and unwind with great reading for your evening. WEEKLY Get the editor's insights: what's happening & why it matters. WEEKLY Love footy? We've got all the action covered. WEEKLY Every Saturday and Tuesday, explore destinations deals, tips & travel writing to transport you around the globe. WEEKLY Going out or staying in? Find out what's on. WEEKDAYS Sharp. Close to the ground. Digging deep. Your weekday morning newsletter on national affairs, politics and more. TWICE WEEKLY Your essential national news digest: all the big issues on Wednesday and great reading every Saturday. WEEKLY Get news, reviews and expert insights every Thursday from CarExpert, ACM's exclusive motoring partner. TWICE WEEKLY Get real, Australia! Let the ACM network's editors and journalists bring you news and views from all over. AS IT HAPPENS Be the first to know when news breaks. DAILY Your digital replica of Today's Paper. Ready to read from 5am! DAILY Test your skills with interactive crosswords, sudoku & trivia. Fresh daily!Saskatchewan’s fall legislative sitting ended Tuesday with political barbs traded across the aisle after Premier Scott Moe promised a better tone two weeks ago. The swipes began when Opposition NDP Leader Carla Beck told the assembly Moe should offer immediate affordability relief, including suspending the 15-cent-a-litre gas tax and scrapping the provincial sales tax on ready-to-eat grocery items and children’s clothing. In reply, Moe said there is no sales tax on groceries and that Beck should go speak to federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh. “What we see unfortunately from members opposite, Mr. Speaker, decade after decade, leader after leader is the same old questions, the same old tactics and the same old NDP,” Moe said. The remarks drew ire from Opposition members, with one saying the Saskatchewan Party deserves a lump of coal for Christmas. “The premier knows full well we don’t support the carbon tax, but what he doesn’t seem to understand is how much families in this province are struggling,” Beck said. The jostling continued. Upon questioning for not removing the PST from children’s clothing, Crown Investments Minister Jeremy Harrison told the house that New Democrats don’t know how to grow the economy. He also urged heckling Opposition member Nathaniel Teed to get up and speak. “I’d encourage the member for Saskatoon-Meewasin to get up and ask the next question if he has so much to say from his chair,” Harrison said. “What we are committed to — and what this session really has been focused on — is affordability.” In late November, Moe had promised better civility in the assembly and that government members would not send the Speaker harassing text messages. Earlier this year, former Speaker Randy Weekes accused government members of bullying him. Moe told reporters Tuesday he’s leaving it up to others to judge whether the tone has changed. “We are not the Opposition. We are the government of Saskatchewan,” Moe said. “We should conduct ourselves accordingly, and I would hope throughout this abbreviated session this fall that the people of Saskatchewan can be proud of the individuals.” Beck told reporters her party will remain tough on issues of affordability, health care, education, crime and homelessness. “Decorum is important, but that doesn’t mean that we should put on kid gloves when it comes to the very real issues that are facing Saskatchewan people,” she said. The Opposition introduced six emergency motions in the assembly this sitting, including ones that urged the province to suspend the fuel tax, remove the PST, launch a committee to fix health care and investigate high food prices in the province’s remote north. Each motion failed after they were rejected by government members. “We believe Saskatchewan people do need some affordability relief,” Beck said. “We will continue to push for the things that Saskatchewan people tell us are most important to them.” Moe said the province has introduced its own affordability measures and is also prepared to strike a task force with nurses and doctors to address health-care issues. His government passed legislation last week that provides broad income tax relief, saving an average family of four more than $3,400 over four years. Another bill keeps the carbon levy off home heating. Saskatchewan has not remitted carbon levies to the federal government in the past year, arguing it should be exempt after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a carve-out for heating oil. The federal government has said it reached a deal with Saskatchewan over the issue by securing 50 per cent of what was owed until the dispute is resolved. “This session was largely about setting the foundation for both enacting our platform but providing the change that Saskatchewan people have asked for, and we feel that we have done that,” Moe said. The legislative sitting is to resume in the spring with the provincial budget. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 10, 2024.
I’ve known my friends for 20 years. We’ve weathered divorces, raising kids, changing jobs and the loss of parents. Yet every single year, without fail, they forget my birthday. Social media will occasionally save the day with a last-minute nudge, but most years, radio silence. Should I just accept my fate as The Forgotten One? S.H., Caringbah, NSW Credit: Illustration by Simon Letch Lots of people – some of them even over the age of 12 – are really into celebrating their birthdays. But not me: I see no pleasure in celebrating my rapid decline into decrepitude. I’m terrible at faking gratitude for crap gifts. I have intimacy issues when it comes to birthday hugs, kisses or direct eye contact. Cake makes me bloat. Balloons freak me out. And I’m sickened by all the trees that were slaughtered to make disposable birthday wrapping paper (some of it even decorated with green-leaf patterns in a cruelly ironic botanical twist). Personally, I’d be thrilled if friends forgot my birthday, as long as they were okay with me forgetting theirs – and anniversaries and the names of their kids. Look, I don’t know a thing about you. You may be unmemorable, unlikeable, unhygienic – but maybe this is the direction you need to take, too. Just become a birthday non-acknowledger and if friends ask why you forgot theirs, say, “Oh, I thought we weren’t doing that any more. Happy to start again. Mine first!” Otherwise, you’re going to have to force your friends to give you birthday love. Post a birthday countdown on social media, hourly. Share a Google calendar with nothing on it but your birthday. Host your own birthday party, bake your own cake, invite everyone around and then pretend it’s a big surprise. Although if you’re the only one whose birthday is being forgotten, and it happens consistently, maybe it’s time to find new friends. Ones who love birthdays. But maybe stick to over-12s. guru@goodweekend.com.au To read more from Good Weekend magazine, visit our page at The Sydney Morning Herald , The Age and Brisbane Times .ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Ethiopia and Somalia agreed on Wednesday to hold “technical talks” to resolve a dispute sparked by Ethiopia’s deal with Somalia's breakaway region of Somaliland, according to a statement following talks in Turkey. Read this article for free: Already have an account? To continue reading, please subscribe: * ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Ethiopia and Somalia agreed on Wednesday to hold “technical talks” to resolve a dispute sparked by Ethiopia’s deal with Somalia's breakaway region of Somaliland, according to a statement following talks in Turkey. Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Ethiopia and Somalia agreed on Wednesday to hold “technical talks” to resolve a dispute sparked by Ethiopia’s deal with Somalia’s breakaway region of Somaliland, according to a statement following talks in Turkey. Turkey has been mediating between the two east African countries as tensions between them have simmered since Ethiopia signed a memorandum of understanding with Somaliland in January to lease land along its coastline to establish a marine force base. In return, Ethiopia would recognize Somaliland’s independence, which Somalia says infringes on its sovereignty and territory. A joint declaration was reached after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met separately with Somali President Hassan Sheik Mohamud and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Wednesday. It says the sides agreed the talks, which would begin by February 2025 and conclude within four months, would respect Somalia’s territorial integrity while recognizing “potential benefits” of Ethiopia’s access to the sea. The declaration also says the sides would work to “finalize mutually advantageous commercial arrangements” to allow Ethiopia “to enjoy reliable, secure and sustainable access to and from the sea,” under Somalia sovereignity. Somaliland seceded from Somalia more than 30 years ago, but is not recognized by the African Union or the United Nations as an independent state. Somalia still considers Somaliland part of its territory. Over the years, Somaliland has built a stable political environment, contrasting sharply with Somalia’s ongoing struggles with insecurity amid deadly attacks by al-Qaida-linked militant group al-Shabab. In November, Somaliland held a presidential election that gave a boost for its push for international recognition. With a population estimated at over 120 million, Ethiopia is the most populous landlocked country in the world. Turkey has previously hosted two rounds of talks between the African nations’ foreign ministers but a third round, expected in September, was delayed, raising concerns of escalating tensions. Erdogan, flanked by Mohamud and Abiy, told reporters at a late night news conference in the Turkish capital, Ankara, that the sides have reached an “important stage” in efforts to solve their dispute. The joint declaration, Erdogan said, focuses “on the future and not the past.” “By overcoming some resentments and misunderstandings, we have taken the first step toward a new beginning based on peace and cooperation between Somalia and Ethiopia,” Erdogan continued. He also said he hoped Somalia would take steps to give Ethiopia sea access. 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. Abiy, the Ethiopian prime minister, insisted that “Ethiopia’s aspiration for secure access to the sea is a peaceful venture and one that would benefit all our neighbors.” “I believe that today’s constructive discussions will push us into a new year with this spirit of cooperation, friendship and the willingness to work together instead of against each other,” he said. Somalia’s president said the Horn of Africa is a “very fragile and very volatile region, which needs both Ethiopia and Somalia to work together” for the benefit of both. Turkey has forged close ties with Somalia, and recently also signed deals toward cooperation in defense and oil and gas exploration. It also has economic and trade ties with Ethiopia. A Somaliland opposition leader, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, who had been critical of the deal with Ethiopia, won the November election. He is to be inaugurated on Thursday. Advertisement Advertisement
SEATTLE (AP) — The Seattle Seahawks took a bumpy path to sole possession of first place in the NFC West. Sunday's 26-21 win over the Jets featured several special teams miscues, including a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by New York. On the flip side, the Seahawks got their second pick-6 in as many weeks and just enough production by Geno Smith and the offense. The Seahawks' uneven performance was characteristic of a season in which they started 3-0, then lost five of six before winning another three in a row to take command of their underachieving division. Seattle (7-5) leads Arizona by one game, with a matchup against the Cardinals looming next weekend. Zach Charbonnet gave Seattle its first lead of the day on an 8-yard touchdown run with 5:37 to go, and the Seahawks' defense capped another strong outing with a game-sealing stop on fourth down. After a sack by Leonard Williams gave the Jets a fourth-and-15 at the 34-yard line, Aaron Rodgers threw a desperation pass to Garrett Wilson that fell incomplete, giving Seattle the ball with 33 seconds left. Williams is on a tear. After losing out on NFC defensive player of the week honors last week to teammate Coby Bryant despite 2 1/2 sacks and four quarterback hits, “Big Cat” had an even better game. Williams finished with two sacks, three tackles for loss, a 92-yard interception return for a touchdown that was the longest pick-6 in NFL history by a defensive lineman, and a blocked extra point. The touchdown was the first of Williams’ career. He became the first player since 1982 with multiple sacks, an interception return for a touchdown and a blocked kick in a game. Maybe this week the league will agree he was the NFC's best defender. The special teams could not have been much worse in the first half. The Seahawks fumbled three kickoffs, losing two, and allowed Kene Nwangwu's 99-yard kickoff return for a TD. Dee Williams fumbled on a kickoff in the first quarter to give New York the ball at the 27-yard line, and four plays later, Rodgers hit Isaiah Davis for a touchdown to give the Jets a 14-0 lead. Laviska Shenault Jr. muffed two kicks and fumbled at the Seattle 38-yard line in the second quarter. Seattle also had an extra point blocked. Smith led his third game-winning drive of the season and his 11th since he became Seattle’s starting quarterback in 2022. Facing the team that drafted him in 2013, Smith went 20 of 31 for 206 yards and a touchdown. For the first time in five weeks, he was not intercepted. The Seahawks trailed by 14 points on two occasions, but Smith brought Seattle back while avoiding the untimely picks that dogged him recently. He threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to A.J. Barner in the second quarter, and led the Seahawks on a go-ahead nine-play, 71-yard touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter. Coach Mike Macdonald and his staff have to address the problem with their kick returners, Shenault and Dee Williams. Two lost fumbles and several muffs could have easily cost Seattle the game. WR DK Metcalf left the game briefly with a knee issue but returned. ... P Michael Dickson was unavailable in the fourth quarter because of back spasms. 38 — The Seahawks decided to go for it on fourth-and-6 at their own 33-yard line with 9:34 left in the game. A primary reason was that Dickson was unavailable to punt because of back spasms. The Jets were flagged for having 12 men on the field after sending a punt returner out, which gave Seattle fourth-and-1 at the 38. The Seahawks got a first down after Jets cornerback Quantez Stiggers was flagged for pass interference on Metcalf, and eight players later, Charbonnet scored to put Seattle ahead. Without going for it on fourth down from their own 38, the Seahawks likely would’ve lost. The Seahawks will seek a season sweep of the Cardinals. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nflENGLEWOOD, Colo. — John Elway says any remorse over bypassing Josh Allen in the 2018 NFL draft is quickly dissipating with rookie Bo Nix's rapid rise, suggesting the Denver Broncos have finally found their next franchise quarterback. Elway said Nix, the sixth passer selected in April's draft, is an ideal fit in Denver with coach Sean Payton navigating his transition to the pros and Vance Joseph's defense serving as a pressure release valve for the former Oregon QB. "We've seen the progression of Bo in continuing to get better and better each week and Sean giving him more each week and trusting him more and more to where last week we saw his best game of the year," Elway said in a nod to Nix's first game with 300 yards and four touchdown throws in a rout of Atlanta. For that performance, Nix earned his second straight NFL Rookie of the Week honor along with the AFC Offensive Player of the Week award. "I think the sky's the limit," Elway said, "and that's just going to continue to get better and better." In a wide-ranging interview with The Associated Press, Elway also touted former coach Mike Shanahan's Hall of Fame credentials, spoke about the future of University of Colorado star and Heisman favorite Travis Hunter and discussed his ongoing bout with a chronic hand condition. Elway spent the last half of his decade as the Broncos' GM in a futile search for a worthy successor to Peyton Manning, a pursuit that continued as he transitioned into a two-year consultant role that ended after the 2022 season. "You have all these young quarterbacks and you look at the ones that make it and the ones that don't and it's so important to have the right system and a coach that really knows how to tutelage quarterbacks, and Sean's really good at that," Elway said. "I think the combination of Bo's maturity, having started 61 games in college, his athletic ability and his knowledge of the game has been such a tremendous help for him,'" Elway added. "But also Vance Joseph's done a heck of a job on the defensive side to where all that pressure's not being put on Bo and the offense to score all the time." Payton and his staff have methodically expanded Nix's repertoire and incorporated his speed into their blueprints. Elway lauded them for "what they're doing offensively and how they're breaking Bo into the NFL because it's a huge jump and I think patience is something that goes a long way in the NFL when it comes down to quarterbacks." Elway said he hopes to sit down with Nix at some point when things slow down for the rookie. Nix, whose six wins are one more than Elway had as a rookie, said he looks forward to meeting the man who won two Super Bowls during his Hall of Fame playing career and another from the front office. "He's a legend not only here for this organization, but for the entire NFL," Nix said, adding, "most guys, they would love to have a chat with John Elway, just pick his brain. It's just awesome that I'm even in that situation." Orange Crush linebacker Randy Gradishar joined Elway in the Pro Football Hall of Fame this year, something Elway called "way, way overdue." Elway suggested it's also long past time for the Hall to honor Shanahan, who won back-to-back Super Bowls in Denver with Elway at QB and whose footprint you see every weekend in the NFL because of his expansive coaching tree. Elway called University of Colorado stars Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders "both great athletes." He said he really hopes Sanders gets drafted by a team that will bring him along like the Broncos have done with Nix, and he sees Hunter being able to play both ways in the pros — but not full time. Elway said he thinks Hunter will be primarily a corner in the NFL but with significant contributions on offense: "He's great at both. He's got great instincts, and that's what you need at corner." It's been five years since Elway announced he was dealing with Dupuytren's contracture, a chronic condition that typically appears after age 40 and causes one or more fingers to permanently bend toward the palm. Elway's ring fingers on both hands were originally affected and he said now the middle finger on his right hand is starting to pull forward. So, he'll get another injection of a drug called Xiaflex, which is the only FDA-approved non-surgical treatment, one that he's endorsing in an awareness campaign for the chronic condition that affects 17 million Americans. The condition can make it difficult to do everyday tasks such as shaking hands or picking up a coffee mug. Elway said what bothered him most was "I couldn't pick up a football and I could not imagine not being able to put my hand around a football." Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox!
Lyle Menendez's Wife Speaks Out on 'Cheating Scandal'Google’s blowout earnings report in April, which sparked the biggest rally in Alphabet shares since 2015 and pushed its market cap past $2 trillion for the first time, tempered fear that the company was falling behind in artificial intelligence. As executives enthusiastically talked about the results with Google’s employees at an all-hands meeting the following week, it was clear that Wall Street viewed things differently than the company’s workforce. “We’ve noticed a significant decline in morale , increased distrust and a disconnect between leadership and the workforce,” one employee wrote in a comment that was read by executives at the meeting. “How does leadership plan to address these concerns and regain the trust, morale and cohesion that have been foundational to our company’s success?” The comment was highly rated on an internal forum. “Despite the company’s stellar performance and record earnings, many Googlers have not received meaningful compensation increases” another top-rated employee question read. That meeting set the stage for what would be a year of contrasting takes from the company’s vocal workforce. As Google faced some of the most intense pressure its experienced since going public two decades ago, so too did CEO Sundar Pichai , who took the helm in 2015. Pichai oversaw a steady stream of revenue growth this year in key areas like search ads and cloud. The company rolled out groundbreaking technologies, rounded out its AI strategy despite a slew of embarrassing product incidents and saw its stock price rise more than 40% as of Thursday’s close, ahead of the S&P 500 but trailing rivals Meta and Amazon. Over the course of 2024, many staffers questioned Pichai’s vision following product mishaps in the first half of the year as well as internal shake-ups and layoffs, according to conversations with more than a dozen employees, audio recordings and internal correspondence. As the second half of the year progressed and Google rolled out a number of eye-catching AI products, Pichai’s standing improved, though some skepticism remains, sources told CNBC. The AI race pressure cooker After the introduction of ChatGPT in late 2022, the tech industry saw an influx of AI products from Microsoft, with its Copilot AI assistant, and Meta, which placed its Meta AI chatbot in the search functions of its apps, as well as from hot startups like OpenAI and Perplexity. The popularity of those tools has eaten into Google’s grip on U.S. search. The company’s share of the search advertising market is expected to dip below 50% in 2025, which would be the first time falling below that mark in more than a decade, according to research firm eMarketer. Google responded to the pressures from new AI tools with offerings of its own. The company in 2024 rebranded its family of AI models as Gemini and released a number of products that were well received. But in its scramble to play catch-up, the company also released a pair of AI products that initially proved embarrassing. In February, Google launched Imagen 2, which turned user prompts into AI-generated images. Immediately after it was introduced, the product came under scrutiny for historical inaccuracies discovered by users. Notably, when one user asked it to show a German soldier in 1943, the tool depicted a racially diverse set of soldiers wearing German military uniforms of the era. The company pulled the feature , and Pichai told employees the company had “offended our users and shown bias,” according to a memo. Google said it would take a few weeks to relaunch Imagen 2, but it ended up being six months before it was revived as Imagen 3 in August. “We definitely messed up on the image generation,” Google co-founder Sergey Brin told a small crowd at a hacker house in March, in a video posted to YouTube . “It was mostly due to just not thorough testing.” The launch of AI Overview in May caused a similar reaction. That product showed users AI summaries atop Google’s traditional search results. Pichai hyped the product, calling it the biggest change to search in 25 years. Once again, users were quick to find problems . When asked “How many rocks should I eat each day,” the tool said , “According to UC Berkeley geologists, people should eat at least one small rock a day.” AI Overview also listed the vitamins and digestive benefits of rocks. Google responded by saying it would add more guardrails to AI Overview for health-related queries but said the mistakes weren’t hallucinations, and were rather just rare edge cases. Search Vice President Liz Reid told employees at an all-hands meeting in June that AI Overview’s launch shouldn’t discourage them from taking risks. “We should act with urgency,” Reid said. “When we find new problems, we should do the extensive testing but we won’t always find everything and that just means that we respond.” Beyond its AI blunders, Google also saw its greatest regulatory challenges to date in 2024. In August, a federal judge ruled that the company illegally holds a monopoly in the search market. The Justice Department in November asked that Google be forced to divest its Chrome internet browser unit as a remedy for the ruling The DOJ’s request represents the agency’s most aggressive attempt to break up a tech company since its antitrust case against Microsoft , which reached a settlement in 2001. The remedies are expected to be decided next summer, and Google has said it will appeal, likely dragging out the situation a couple more years, but the company faces more antitrust hurdles. In a separate case, the DOJ accused the company of illegally dominating online ad technology. That trial closed in September and awaits a judge ruling. In October, a U.S. judge issued a permanent injunction that will force Google to offer alternatives to its Google Play app store for Android phones. After the ruling in October, Google won a temporary pause on the ruling, meaning it won’t have to open up Android to more app stores yet. A search for vision Amid the external pressure, Google notched some notable victories particularly toward the end of 2024, leading to a more positive sentiment from people within and outside the company. Google successfully launched its most powerful suite of new Gemini models that underpin all of the company’s AI products, including its lightweight model Gemini Flash, which has been popular among developers. YouTube’s combined ad and subscription revenue over the past four quarters surpassed $50 billion. In the third quarter, Google saw the fastest-growing cloud business across the big tech players, up 35% over last year, with operating margins of 17%. The company has also seen double-digit revenue growth for each of the past four quarters and launched Trillium , its powerful sixth generation Tensor Processing Units, or TPUs, which were also found to have powered Apple’s AI models. Despite the blunders, AI Overview reached nearly 1 billion monthly users by the end of October. Demand for AI software has also driven consistent growth for the company’s cloud infrastructure. And Google launched an impressive video generation product, Veo 2, this month as well as an updated AI note-taking product, NotebookLM. Beyond AI, Google in December announced Willow , a chip the company calls its biggest step in the march toward commercially viable quantum computing. The Waymo self-driving car unit was also a bright spot , expanding its robotaxi service to three cities and laying the groundwork for even more expansion in 2025. The company has delivered 4 million fully autonomous rides this year, with plans to commercially launch in Austin, Texas, and Atlanta next year. But as Pichai approaches a decade running Google and starts his sixth year as CEO of parent Alphabet, questions remain about his ability to guide the company into the future. Internally, employees routinely criticize leadership on the company’s Memegen messaging board, and some have aired their grievances publicly. “Google does not have one single visionary leader,” a Google software engineer wrote in a LinkedIn post earlier this year that received more than 8,500 reactions. “Not a one. From the C-suite to the SVPs to the VPs, they are all profoundly boring and glassy-eyed.” In October, Google announced it would shake up the leadership of its ads and search division. The company replaced longtime search boss Prabhakar Raghavan with Nick Fox, a deputy of Raghavan’s and a career Google employee. Raghavan was given the title of “chief scientist,” but internally, he is now listed as an “IC,” or individual contributor. Google also shifted the team working on its Gemini AI app to the Google DeepMind division, under AI head Demis Hassabis. Employees praised Pichai’s leadership shuffle, but some complained that the moves should’ve happened sooner. Notably, some employees were perturbed when Raghavan addressed employees at an all-hands meeting in April, when he urged them to move faster , according to several people who spoke with CNBC. Raghavan noted that the staffers working to fix the failed Imagen 2 tool had increased their workloads from 100 hours a week to 120 hours to correct it in a timely manner. Pichai has made efforts to get Google back to its nimble startup-like culture. When addressing employees, Pichai often name-checked co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page to remind them of Google’s scrappy roots. He’s flattened the company, removing 10% of middle management, according to audio of a December all-hands meeting. And in the spring, Pichai greenlit a hackathon, allowing employees to build using Google products that have yet to be announced. Pichai has also personally joined meetings with Google’s Labs team and enabled them to move quickly on products like NotebookLM, one of the company’s hit AI products in 2024. After Brin’s hacker house appearance in March, some employees internally joked he should retake the helm, nostalgic for what they perceived as a visionary leader devoid of corporate speak. Brin co-founded Google with Page in 1998, but he stepped down as president of Alphabet in 2019. Brin, who remains a board member and a principal shareholder with a stake worth more than $140 billion, began appearing more frequently on campus starting in 2023, as part of an effort to help ramp up Google’s position in the hypercompetitive AI market. Employees, particularly working in AI and DeepMind said they’ve seen Brin walking around the company’s Mountain View, California, headquarters throughout the year and have been able to ask him questions for projects they’re pursuing. Despite Brin’s reemergence, several employees told CNBC they’re doubtful he could adequately run what has become an increasingly larger and complex corporation. Employees said that although Pichai didn’t strike them as particularly visionary or as a wartime leader, it’s hard to find someone better suited for the job, given all the complexities of Alphabet. The key quandary remains: move too early and risk widespread criticism; move too late and risk missing the boat. Culture clashes Through the year, morale inside Google wavered. Efforts to cut costs across the company in order to invest more in AI resulted in some teams feeling bifurcated and created yet another challenge for Pichai. Within the company’s AI and DeepMind divisions, morale is mostly high, according to employees, boosted by hefty investments. Elsewhere, the vibes have been marred by cost cuts, bureaucracy and declining trust in leadership, employees said. DeepMind and AI teams have held off-sites, team-building activities, and have much bigger travel and recruiting budgets, people familiar with the matter said. In the spring, the company moved employees out of an eight-story office on San Francisco’s waterfront Embarcadero street and replaced them with AI and AI adjacent teams. A meme posted internally in November summed it up. The meme featured a photo of the cast of “Wicked” actors, where one, labeled “execs” looked longingly at one fellow actor labeled “Gemini” while ignoring the other beside her, which was labeled as “users.” A Google spokesperson contested the idea that AI workers are receiving favorable treatment and said higher travel and recruiting budgets are not exclusive to AI teams or DeepMind. “Most Googlers, regardless of team, continue to feel positively about our mission and the company’s future, and are proud to work here,” the spokesperson said. A few employees say they’re no longer incentivized by the prospects of landing a promotion, which have become harder to achieve, and rather by the hope of avoiding layoffs. Despite slashing 12,000 jobs, or roughly 6% of its workforce, in 2023, Google has continued eliminating roles this year. In her first public statements as Google’s CFO, Anat Ashkenazi, told Wall Street in October that one of her top priorities would be to drive more “cost efficiencies” across the company in order to invest more in AI. “I think any organization can always push a little further and I’ll be looking at additional opportunities,” Ashkenazi said. That month, Google posted a job listing for a “Central Reorg Support Team Partner.” The responsibilities of that fixed-term contract position would include consulting with local HR teams and noted the need for the support staff’s “ability to operate with empathy and diffuse/de-escalate challenging conversations/situations.” “Hire the smartest people so they can tell us what to do,” one employee wrote on the internal forum in meme-style font atop the images of Brin and Page. “Hire a reorg consultant so they can tell us how to layoff the smartest people,” another said. Google ultimately took the job listing down. Touting its AI technology to clients, Pichai’s leadership team has been aggressively pursuing federal government contracts, which has caused a heightened strain in some areas within the outspoken workforce since the beginning of the year. Google terminated more than 50 employees after a series of protests against Project Nimbus, a $1.2 billion joint contract with Amazon that provides the Israeli government and military with cloud computing and AI services. Executives repeatedly said the contract didn’t violate any of the company’s “AI principles.” However, documents and reports show the company’s agreement allowed for giving Israel AI tools that included image categorization, object tracking, as well as provisions for state-owned weapons manufacturers. Earlier this month, a New York Times report found that four months prior to signing on to Nimbus, officials at the company worried that signing the deal would harm its reputation and that “Google Cloud services could be used for, or linked to, the facilitation of human rights violations.” In an all-hands meeting in April, a highly rated question asked why employees who did not participate in the protests were also fired, which was reported and cited in a National Labor Relations Board complaint from affected employees. Chris Rackow, Google’s security chief, took the stage at the all-hands and rebutted those claims. “This was a very clear case of employees disrupting and occupying work spaces, and making other employees feel unsafe,” a Google spokesperson told CNBC, adding that the company “carefully confirmed” that every person terminated was involved in the protests. “By any standard, their behavior was completely unacceptable.” That round of job eliminations underscored Google’s clampdown on internal discussions related to hot-button topics, including politics and geopolitical conflict s, which was encouraged by executives several years prior. One internal meme that got more than 2,000 likes , compared Google to Star Wars’ Anakin Skywalker. The meme shows an image of a smiling childhood Skywalker, framed by one of the company’s original, colorful employee badges. The meme progresses Skywalker’s age in two later versions of the badge. The final badge shows Darth Vader working for “Google,” spelled out in the font of IBM’s logo.
BEND, OREGON (AP) — Eliza Wilson is a little nervous as she draws the microphone close, but she is determined to share her life story. “My father was a disabled veteran,” she says. “I first experienced homelessness when I was 5 years old.” Wilson, who’s 36, leads programs focused on unhoused youth. On a recent Saturday, she is addressing a citizen assembly, a grassroots gathering seeking solutions to tough local challenges. Her audience consists of 30 ordinary Oregonians. They are acupuncturists and elk hunters; house cleaners and retired riverboat pilots. None are public policy experts. All the same, these participants have been asked to recommend new strategies for combating youth homelessness — a major problem in this affluent Oregon city and the surrounding rural areas of Deschutes County. This unusual experiment in small-D democracy is underwritten by more than $250,000 in grants from backers such as the Rockefeller Foundation and Omidyar Network. As a key early presenter, Wilson wins rapt attention, clicking through data-rich slides and sharing her story of crisis and recovery. That’s how citizen assemblies should work, says Kevin O’Neil, an innovation specialist at the Rockefeller Foundation. His research shows Americans are frustrated with what they perceive as aloofness and gridlock within civic institutions. “People want to be directly involved in decision-making,” O’Neil says. “They recognize the value of expertise, but they don’t want to delegate decision-making to experts.” Assemblies can help “overcome polarization and strengthen societal cohesion,” says Claudia Chwalisz, founder of DemocracyNext . Her nonprofit, launched in Paris in 2022, champions such assemblies worldwide, hoping they can “create the democratic spaces for everyday people to grapple with the complexity of policy issues, listen to one another, and find common ground.” At least, that’s the theory. To succeed, citizen assemblies can’t settle for a few days of harmonious dialogue among well-intentioned strangers. They need to inspire policy changes or new programs from government and other civic institutions. In Europe, such wins abound. In the United States, results are spottier. The most fruitful U.S. effort to date was a 2021 people’s assembly in Washington State that produced 148 ideas — including more solar canopies and food composting — to combat climate change. More often, progress is challenging. An assembly in 2022 in Petaluma, California, spun up ideas to repurpose a long-time county fairground site. Two years later, the fair still operates under short-term leases; its long-term destiny remains in limbo. In Colorado’s Montrose County , enacting an assembly’s bold ideas for improving rural day care has been “more of a marathon than a sprint,” says organizer Morgan Lasher. Can central Oregon do better? It may take years to know, but evidence so far shows both the assembly system’s opportunities and the challenges. Bend’s local economy is strong, with a jobless rate of just 4.2% and median household income of more than $80,000. As housing costs have skyrocketed, though, the spectacle of people living in tent and trailer encampments has become more common. A January count found more than 1,800 people were homeless in Deschutes County, up from 913 in 2020. In 2023, DemocracyNext and Healthy Democracy , a Portland, Oregon, nonprofit, connected with Bend officials interested in bringing the assembly idea to central Oregon. Josh Burgess, an Air Force veteran, who moved to Bend and became the proverbial “advance man” for DemocracyNext. Operating in a county evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans, Burgess built rapport with both liberal and conservative members on the Deschutes County Board of Commissioners. “It took four or five meetings to get there,” Burgess recalls. Organizers decided to focus on homelessness among ages 14 to 24, where opportunities for progress seemed greatest. To pick citizens for the assembly, organizers contacted 12,000 county residents before selecting just 30. Everything was balanced by age, race, gender, and geography – a slow, costly requirement. Even so, advocates such as Michelle Barsa of Omidyar Network says assemblies’ big edge comes from using “an actual representative sample of the community, not just the people who always show up at town-hall meetings and yell into a microphone for three minutes.” At the northern edge of Oregon State’s Bend campus, a few hundred yards from the Deschutes River, is the McGrath Family atrium, a sunlight-drenched space with panoramic woodland views. It feels almost like a spa. As the Bend assembly gets started, black tablecloths at a huge, U-shaped table convey gravity. Name tags identify attendees as “Noelle,” “Dave,” “Alex.” The first few hours go slowly, but everything perks up after lunch. Eliza Wilson takes command, introducing herself as director of runaway and homeless youth services at J Bar J , a social-services organization. Her voice is unfailingly steady, but emotions race fast across her face: hope, frustration, empathy, resolve, and more. “Teens get really good at hiding their homelessness,” Wilson explains. “We don’t share family business outside of the family. I was really fortunate that a high-school counselor pointed me, at age 15, to the first youth shelter that had just opened in Bend. I stayed there for three years, until I graduated from high school. I finally got on my feet at age 21.” As Wilson finishes, questions stream in. “Are there any programs advocating for children to get back to their parents?” one woman wants to know. “Is there open communication between you guys and the school district?” a man asks. Wilson and other presenters respond with a road map of what exists today. They point out how homeless youth are in a precarious but not hopeless situation, counting on allies for a couch to sleep on. Less than 20 percent live outside in encampments. Practically everyone in the audience takes notes. The next day, assembly members strike up conversations with young adults who were once homeless. Chronic problems — and glimmers of ideas about how to address them — tumble forth. Flaws in the foster parent system. The risk of sexual abuse. The unique challenges that LGBTQ youth face. Attendees — who shared their thoughts with the Chronicle on the condition they be identified only by their first name — regarded those conversations as eye-opening breakthroughs in their hunt for policy recommendations. “I’m coming away with a whole different point of view,” Ken told me. He had arrived believing that poor parenting and drug abuse led to homelessness, and that affected families should personally address such challenges. Now, he said, he was interested in broader solutions. Several local officials stopped by to watch the assembly proceedings. Phil Chang, a Deschutes County commissioner, said the broad-based assembly creates “social license for us to do things that the community wants.” Conservative county commissioner Tony DeBone worries that Oregon’s rollback of drug-offense laws has worsened social problems; he also believes that an economic upturn would do the most good. Still, he says, he’s willing to see what the assembly can offer. Ultimately, the assembly’s effectiveness will depend on whether its recommendations can overcome bureaucratic inertia, says Tammy Baney, executive director of the Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council . Proposed changes in police interactions with homeless youth could be acted on within a month or two if local law enforcement is receptive, she says. Improving Oregon’s gridlocked foster-care system might be much harder. “It all depends on how much political will there is,” Baney says. George Anders is editor-at-large at the Chronicle of Philanthropy, where you can read the full article . This article was provided to The Associated Press by the Chronicle of Philanthropy as part of a partnership to cover philanthropy and nonprofits supported by the Lilly Endowment. The Chronicle is solely responsible for the content. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy .Trump offers a public show of support for Pete Hegseth, his embattled nominee to lead the PentagonRepublican senators slam spy chiefs operating ‘in the shadows’ for ‘politicized’ COVID origins probe
Were Hunter Biden’s Prosecutions a Result of Political Pressure? A Look at the FactsBristol Motor Speedway team members, with help from their mischievous mascots Bump and Run, unveiled the official MLB Speedway Classic countdown clock that is clicking down the days, hours and minutes until the ceremonial first pitch is thrown out on August, 2, 2025 and play gets started in the historic Major League Baseball game featuring the Cincinnati Reds and Atlanta Braves at BMS. For social media enthusiasts, baseball fans and ticketholders who would like to grab a selfie with the new clock, The MLB Speedway Classic Countdown Clock is located at BMS Entrance 1 just off Volunteer Parkway next to the It’s Bristol Baby! monument. Sports fans will need to hustle on over to MLB.com/SpeedwayClassic if they want to be a part of the historic national regular season game between the Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds that will be played at iconic Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday, August 2, 2025 at 7 p.m. (ET). The game at The World’s Fastest Half-Mile will be the first American or National League game ever played in the Volunteer state. Tennessee becomes the fifth different state across the United States to host an MLB game for the first time since 2016. General public tickets for the MLB Speedway Classic presented by BuildSubmarines.com are available for purchase by visiting MLB.com/SpeedwayClassic. A maximum of eight tickets are allowed per order and all ticket sales will be conducted online. All tickets will be delivered digitally and available on mobile devices through the MLB Ballpark app and the Ticketmaster app. *** The NAPA AUTO PARTS Atlantic City Indoor Race is more than just a race, it’s an event. This January 31 and February 1, the connection between the racing and the after party, will be stronger than ever. Thanks to support from The West at Caesars Atlantic City (formerly Wild Wild West) and the Atlantic City Sports Commission, the TQ Midget winner’s share on both Friday and Saturday night will be increased by $1,500. “The Atlantic City races are special, everytime I walk into the arena on race weekend I get goosebumps, the building has so much history and over the past 20 years we have made history of our own,” stated event promoter Len Sammons. The Atlantic City Indoor Races, are held annually the last weekend in January, inside famous Boardwalk Hall, located right on the inconic boardwalk and steps away from the casinos and resorts that have made the town famous. In 2025, the ‘Race Hard, Play Hard’ post-event parties will help to raise the stakes for the winner of Friday and Saturday night’s TQ Midget A-Main. Should a driver sweep the weekend, the winner’s will exceed $10,000. “Starting in 2025, the race winner of Friday and Saturday night will not only go on stage at The West, but they will both be presented with a $1,500 bonus check as well.” The lively hub of nightlife during race weekend is only a two minute walk away at Caesars Atlantic City. The West at Caesars features live music, casino gaming, beer pong, sports betting, bull riding, arcade games, and much more. Tickets for the event are on sale now via Ticketmaster and the Boardwalk Hall box office.In addition to the high-speed TQ Midgets—purpose-built race cars powered by 750cc motorcycle engines—three support divisions will also race: Slingshots, Champ Karts and Dirt 600 Micro Sprints. Family-Friendly Pricing: Tickets start at just $20 for adults, with general admission for children available for only $5 on the day of the event. Premium front-row seating and reserved seats are also available for an additional fee. Pricing excludes facility and ticketing fees. Fans can enjoy an exclusive pre-race FanFest on the arena floor, where lower-level reserved ticket holders can walk the track and meet their favorite drivers before Saturday night’s race. The 2005 Indoor Auto Racing Series opens with a two-day show inside Allentown, PA’s PPL Center on Friday and Saturday, January 4th and 5th. The stars will then head to Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ. The series will conclude its season on a clay oval at the CURE Insurance Arena in Trenton, NJ, on February 21 and 22. For more information about the Indoor Auto Racing Series, including hotel deals at nearby casinos and hotels, racer rules, and entry forms, visit IndoorAutoRacing.com. *** Driving 101, which operates the NASCAR Racing Experience, the leader in authentic NASCAR driving experiences, is thrilled to unveil its highly anticipated 2025 schedule. Race fans across the country can now plan their NASCAR dream experience with the release of dates at 17 premier speedways nationwide, including iconic tracks like Daytona International Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway, and Charlotte Motor Speedway. The 2025 schedule kicks off in January and runs through December, offering fans more opportunities than ever before to take the wheel of a real NASCAR race car. Whether fans are looking to fulfill a lifelong racing dream or searching for the perfect gift for the adrenaline junkie in their life, this experience puts fans in the driver’s seat to feel the thrill of NASCAR firsthand. With 17 locations on the calendar, NASCAR Racing Experience continues to expand its reach, giving fans coast to coast the opportunity to drive on the same tracks where NASCAR legends have raced. Spots are limited at each speedway, so early booking is highly encouraged. For the full 2025 schedule, pricing, and booking details, visit www.NASCARRacingExperience.com. About NASCAR Racing Experience: NASCAR Racing Experience is the leading experiential racing company in North America, offering the most realistic racing programs available to motorsports fans nationwide. There’s no lead car to follow and drivers race without an instructor alongside. The drivers compete in real NASCAR race cars driven by NASCAR drivers including Joey Logano, Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin, Michael McDowell, Ty Gibbs and Corey Lajoie, among others. Reservations can be made at www.NASCARRacingExperience.com. Gift Cards are available for any amount and never expire. The customer service department is available seven days a week. NASCAR Racing Experience programs are conducted at 17 race tracks across the United States and offer a vast array of corporate outings and motorsports themed events. For more information call 704-886-2400 or visit www.NASCARRacingExperience.com *** Following a successful meeting with its race teams, the USAC East Coast Sprint Cars are poised to continue bringing the excitement and thrills of non-wing sprint car competition to race tracks in the Northeastern United States for the 2025 season...and beyond. A solid turnout of competitors and their car owners and crews were in place for a recent meeting that focused on the series structure and rules, and now the focus of attention shifts to off-season motorsports shows and the building of a 2025 season schedule. “We’re very close to completing the 2025 season schedule,” said USAC East Coast Sprint Cars President Ed Aikin. “We’re anticipating somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 races for the season, and based on what we heard at our first competitor meeting, we’re expecting a solid field of cars to follow the series next season. Our race teams gave us some great feedback at the competitor meeting, and cars are already being prepared for racing. It’s good to see this level of excitement before the first green flag flies for 2025!” The series schedule is expected to be released prior to the Motorsports 2025 event in Oaks, PA on January 24th and 25th, where the USAC East Coast Sprint Cars will have a booth and display as one of a few scheduled motorsports show appearances for the USAC East Coast Sprint Cars in the off-season. “Motorsports is always one of the biggest gatherings for race fans and racers during the winter months, and we’re happy to be able to be a part of it,” stated Aikin. “We’re also going to be a part of the annual Racing Xtravaganza show in York, PA and may make some other appearances in the region during the off-season months.” The series has retained the services of motorsports announcer and PR person “Cowboy” Paul Szmal for the 2025 season. “I had a chance to call some USAC non-wing shows when I lived in the Midwest and I was hooked,” said Szmal. “I’m looking forward to calling the action in 2025 for the series, as well as introducing fans to the drivers in a way that they’ll be more than just a person wearing a firesuit and helmet.” The USAC East Coast Sprint Cars official web site (http://usaceastcoastsprintcars.myracepass.com) will continue to serve as a source of information for fans and racers alike. For further information on the USAC East Coast Sprint Cars for 2025, please contact Paul Szmal at (315) 759-0176 or via email at drwho941@yahoo.com *** The 2025 Kubota High Limit Racing schedule has been finalized with 61 events planned at 36 unique facilities across 20 states for the second-year national sprint car series. The 2025 campaign is once again headlined by a trio of six-figure paydays between the Joker’s Jackpot at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio on July 16-17, the 71st Gold Cup Race of Champions at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, California on August 21-23, and the Skagit Nationals at Skagit Speedway in Burlington, Washington on August 28-30. Pennsylvania’s Port Royal Speedway, AKA “The Speed Palace,” will remain a staple on the Kubota High Limit Racing calendar with the Bob Weikert Memorial expanding to a three-day event on May 23-25 and the 58th edition of the famed Tuscarora 50 continuing on September 4-6. New in 2025 – in fitting fashion – Kubota High Limit Racing will shift the season-opening event to “The Entertainment Capital of the World,” bringing Sprint Cars back to The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on NASCAR weekend. The Nevada 1/2-mile will host races on Thursday, March 13 and Saturday, March 15, culminating in a $25,000-to-win finale.Trump offers a public show of support for Pete Hegseth, his embattled nominee to lead the Pentagon
In the ‘00s, The Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan looked at the disruptive nature of early social media platform MySpace and saw the death of the record label. It didn’t exactly work out that way — not with MySpace, not with Facebook, not with TikTok. In fact, the major music companies became adept at using these platforms to break artists and perpetuate their market power; if there’s a breakout song on TikTok, labels rush into an old-fashioned bidding war. While social media certainly disrupted the music business, it didn’t uproot the traditional record label model. There have been numerous other game-changers over the years that failed — on their own, at least — to radically alter how major labels do business, including independent distribution. After TuneCore launched in 2006, major labels continued to sign artists and own their intellectual property, albeit to broader “360” deals that incorporated more than recorded music rights. Nor did the advent of streaming by itself reshape the structure of major record labels. The artists with the most streaming success are involved with major labels in one way or another, be it a traditional record contract, a joint venture or, in rare cases like Taylor Swift , a distribution deal. Corgan may have misjudged social media’s sole impact on record labels, but he wasn’t entirely wrong about its ultimate influence. When combined, social media, independent distribution and streaming form a potent combination that has changed the balance of power and induced major labels to change how they promote music around the world. This dynamic isn’t exactly new, but it was never clearer than in 2024. This year, major labels have increasingly embraced the role of being service providers to those parties who prefer to remain independent and retain ownership of their intellectual property. A few years ago, Universal Music Group (UMG) was pouring money into superstar acquisitions such as Bob Dylan ’s and Sting ’s song catalogs. More recently, the company has been focusing on its artist services model. In the last three months alone, UMG acquired indie label group [PIAS] and agreed to acquire Downtown Music Holdings for $775 million, though the proposed deal has encountered opposition from the independent music community and will need to pass regulatory scrutiny before being finalized. The company also purchased Outdustry — which has an artist- and label-services arm that focuses on China, India and other high-growth emerging markets — and bought a stake in Chord Music Partners, giving UMG distribution and publishing administration duties for the more than 60,000 songs in the investment vehicle’s catalog. In fact, 2024 played out much like UMG CEO Lucian Grainge said it would. His January memo predicted the company would continue to expand globally and offer labels outside of mature markets a “full suite of artist services” while “acquiring local labels, catalogs and artist services businesses.” To be fair, UMG was already on that path: In 2022, it acquired m-theory’s artist services company and installed its founders, JT Myers and Nat Pastor , as co-CEOs of Virgin Music Group to expand Virgin’s independent music division globally. Warner Music Group (WMG) appears to have sensed the shifting landscape, too, as there has been a noticeable shift in messaging during Robert Kyncl ’s tenure as the company’s CEO. In the Stephen Cooper era, WMG was the music community’s leading investor in Web3 startups. In contrast, Kyncl has chosen to focus on expanding WMG’s footprint globally. WMG briefly signaled its interest in acquiring Believe in March and April after the French company announced a CEO-led effort to take the company private . Notably, Believe has a global label services business and a presence in developing markets that take advantage of the “glocalization” of local markets and global streaming platforms’ ability to help music travel across borders. WMG ultimately passed on pursuing Believe, but Kyncl has followed his peers’ interest in emerging markets, purchasing stakes in Indian companies Divo and Global Music Junction. The service model isn’t an entirely original approach. Grainge wrote that UMG is “creating the blueprint for the labels of the future,” but UMG is doing what major music companies have always done: following trends and buying independent companies that established a particular market. Sony Music already bought into the service model with The Orchard and AWAL, the latter purchased in 2022 for $430 million. Independents such as Believe, OneRPM and Symphonic Distribution have become established players by combining distribution and artist services, while investors have poured money into independents such as Create Music Group — which this year raised $165 million at a $1 billion valuation — and gamma, which is backed by $1 billion. But the well-established blueprint was never more of a hot commodity than in 2024. In the music business, nothing signifies the relevance of a business model like the major labels’ desire to buy it and integrate it into their systems — especially when the largest music companies feel they have no choice. The holy trinity of social media, independent distribution and global streaming platforms has given artists an alternative to the much-derided major label record contract. Artists who want to own their intellectual property and have more creative control have never had more of the tools necessary to be independent. That includes financing options, such as advances from well-funded independents or royalty advances from a new breed of financial services companies. When there’s no need for radio promotion and shelf space at brick-and-mortar retailers, the independent model looks a lot more attractive — not only for artists but for the major labels that have become increasingly keen on buying into it. Ironically, the major labels’ acceptance of the independents’ business model means the music business is becoming less independent. Trade groups such as the Association of Independent Music and IMPALA quickly spoke out against UMG’s agreement to purchase Downtown, just as they did with Sony Music’s purchase of AWAL. U.K. regulators ultimately concluded that AWAL was a “relatively small player” and that the deal did not substantially reduce competition. Time will tell if competition watchdogs feel the same about UMG’s much larger purchase of Downtown. In any case, the independents have proved that artist and label services businesses are a good fit for the modern music business. The next step was always going to be consolidation.For as long as I can recall during my 54 years on this planet, holidays at our family farm have always included my mom serving eggnog during the holidays from small “milk glass” special cups with a colorful etching reading the words “eggnog.” Her set dates back to the 1950s when the vintage glassware was produced by Hazel-Atlas Company, founded in 1902 in Washington, Pennsylvania. Originally, this company specialized in making the small, flat “milk glass” containers for products such as lotions, “cold cream,” salves and ointments. Toasting our holiday cheers and greetings with these cups always rates a smile. The lyrics for the song “Jingle Bells” are featured on the backside of each cup. Decades later in the 1990s, our good family friend Irene Jakubowski of Valparaiso gifted us with her similar themed Hazel-Atlas Company “milk glass” holiday set of cups and a matching small punch bowl. Her set features the etching of the words “Tom & Jerry,” the latter being another popular eggnog-based drink that is served warm (as opposed to room temp or chilled) and was dreamed up by British writer and journalist Pierce Egan around 1820. My recent fascination for the history of eggnog was inspired by my Christmas morning reading from the 2024 “Little Blue Book” of Advent devotions and reflections provided by our priest. These handy palm-size booklets also include “black cover” editions in the spring for Lenten devotions, and both are printed and published by the Diocese of Saginaw, as based on the writings and research of the late Bishop Ken Untener who died in 2004. Today, his writings and publications are continued by editor Erin Looby Carlson with illustrations by MaryBeth O’Connor and graphic designs by Cathy Gerkin, with editorial support by Jenny Cromie. Page 18 in this season’s booklet carries the heading “An Egg-cellent idea” and features this fun and informative passage: “If you’ve been to the grocery store recently or have attended a holiday gathering, you’ve probably noticed the eggnog has arrived for the season. But where did this holiday staple (originally made with raw eggs) originate? It is believed to have come from a medieval British drink called ‘posset,’ which called for hot milk and spices and was curdled with ale or wine. It was used to toast to health, happiness, and wealth. Centuries later, the drink continued to evolve, and monks are credited with adding their own twist — the whipped eggs we have today. By the 17th century, the drink had become associated with Christmas in England. It also was known as ‘egg flip’ and often served with a portion of wine. In America, rum (grog) was substituted for wine. President George Washington and wife Martha often added whiskey and sherry to the rum mixture and is said to have served it to guests at their estate Mount Vernon. A best-selling brand of ‘rompope’ (the Latin American term for eggnog) was first made in the Convent of Santa Clara in Puebla, Mexico, and features a picture of the nuns on the bottle.” It’s not only our founding father President Washington and wife Martha who sipped eggnog throughout the year and not just at Christmastime. Eggnog is a rich and indulgent drink that has been traditionally enjoyed by upper-class society dating back to the days of British aristocracy of the late 1700s and throughout the 1800s. Because nobility and aristocrats often owned country estates with unlimited access to coveted products like eggs, cream and milk, eggnog ingredients were easily available any day of the year. The same tastes and traditions of wealthy society families continued in the Thirteen Colonies and, later, along the East Coast in Newport, the Hamptons and other landscapes of the privileged and “old money set.” Playwright and Yale graduate A.R. Gurney, who was born in an upper-class and very socially connected family, includes an eggnog reference in his 1988 play “Love Letters” when lead character Andrew Makepeace Ladd III writes to his college co-ed date Melissa Gardner sharing details and plans for her weekend visit to his college campus. “Here’s the schedule, starting with lunch at Calhoun around noon,” Andrew writes. “Then drive out to the game. Then there’s a Sea-Breeze Cocktail party at the Fence Club afterwards, and an Eggnog brunch at Saint Anthony’s the next day. I’ll reserve a room for you at the Taft or the Duncan, probably the Taft, since the Duncan is a pretty seedy joint.” Melissa’s written reply reads: “Then make it the Duncan. I hear the Taft is loaded with parents, all milling around the lobby, keeping tabs on who goes up in the elevators. Can’t WAIT till the 16th.” Portraits of President George Washington and first lady Martha were featured on a 1930s postcard designating the Washington Headquarters in Morristown, New Jersey. George and Martha liked their own recipe for eggnog to toast the holidays and everyday occasions. (Boston Public Library Collection/provided) As for George and Martha, they definitely loved to entertain with assorted spirits and libations, not only at their own home Mount Vernon, but also while president and first lady before the White House we know today, when the president and first lady still lived for the first three months on Pearl Street in New York City in 1789. White House records indicate the first couple spent $321.25 on alcohol in their first few months in office, the equivalent of more than $3,585 in today’s dollars. George was fond of ordering his Jamaican rum by “the hogshead cask,” which was close to 80 gallons. He also favored Madeira wine, ordered to be stocked up with 27 gallons at all times, and 252 gallons of the wine ordered at Christmastime for $1.60 a gallon. To be fair, written records reveal George requested the large wine order for serving his entire Army Commission for the holiday. Historian Stephen Decatur Jr., a leading expert on the Washington household, discovered the servants of the Washington household were allowed “unrestricted access to as much cider from the cellars as desired,” as batches were “milled for $5 a barrel by the Huguenot patriot Elias Boudinot from his Bergen County New Jersey farm.” Martha’s holiday menu favorites included chowders, cured ham, roast chicken, yams, goose, bread pudding, cherry and pumpkin pies and roast beef. The specialty items Martha favored included chestnuts, capers, anchovies, crab meat, almonds, assorted Cheshire cheeses, sugar tarts and rum fruit punch or imported Canary Island wine. Even though Martha Washington burned much of her personal correspondence with George after his death on Dec. 14, 1799, a recipe for the family eggnog dated around the time of the president’s death remained with other menus and records. Columnist Philip Potempa has published four cookbooks and is the director of marketing at Theatre at the Center. He can be reached at pmpotempa@powershealth.org or mail your questions: From the Farm, PO Box 68, San Pierre, Ind. 46374. George and Martha Washington Eggnog Makes 2 gallons 1 quart milk 1 quart cream 1 dozen eggs 1 dozen tablespoons of sugar 1 pint cognac 1 pint rye or Irish whiskey 3/4 pint Jamaica rum 1/4 pint sherry Directions: Separate yolks and whites of eggs. Add sugar to beaten yolks and mix well. Add liquor mixture drop by drop at first, slowly beating, then add milk. Beat cream until stiff and fold into mixture. Beat egg whites until stiff and fold slowly into mixture, tasting frequently.
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