Election results: BlueKraft Digital Foundation CEO sees 'demographic shift and Ek hain toh..' as key takeawaysNatixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Glaukos Co. ( NYSE:GKOS – Free Report ) by 1.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 37,738 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 441 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Glaukos were worth $4,917,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GKOS. Values First Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Glaukos during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Glaukos by 68.8% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,192 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $141,000 after buying an additional 486 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Glaukos by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,445 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $188,000 after buying an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Glaukos during the 2nd quarter valued at $187,000. Finally, Procyon Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Glaukos during the 3rd quarter valued at $210,000. Institutional investors own 99.04% of the company’s stock. Glaukos Stock Performance Shares of NYSE:GKOS opened at $144.00 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -47.86 and a beta of 1.02. Glaukos Co. has a 12 month low of $59.22 and a 12 month high of $146.09. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $132.05 and its 200 day moving average is $123.31. The company has a current ratio of 5.54, a quick ratio of 4.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Glaukos from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Glaukos from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Piper Sandler set a $140.00 price target on shares of Glaukos in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Glaukos from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Glaukos from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.55. Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Glaukos Insiders Place Their Bets In other Glaukos news, Director Gilbert H. Kliman sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.67, for a total value of $392,010.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 32,336 shares in the company, valued at $4,225,345.12. This represents a 8.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink . Also, COO Joseph E. Gilliam sold 2,275 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.97, for a total transaction of $316,156.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 102,169 shares in the company, valued at $14,198,425.93. This represents a 2.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . Insiders own 6.40% of the company’s stock. About Glaukos ( Free Report ) Glaukos Corporation, an ophthalmic pharmaceutical and medical technology company, focuses on the development of novel therapies for the treatment of glaucoma, corneal disorders, and retinal diseases. It offers iStent and iStent inject W micro-bypass stents that enhance aqueous humor outflow inserted in cataract surgery to treat mild-to-moderate open-angle glaucoma. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding GKOS? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Glaukos Co. ( NYSE:GKOS – Free Report ). Receive News & Ratings for Glaukos Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Glaukos and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .
My first meeting with Aescape, the AI-powered massage robot, was benign enough — if a bit eerie. As if HAL had gotten a job in the Valley. I stepped into the austere spa room at Pause , a wellness center in Studio City, and a sturdy massage table commanded the space. It was deep-sea blue and plush, glowing from LED lights that lined its base. Its enormous, sculpted robot arms promised a unique spa experience. Yes, I was about to get a transformative butt massage by an AI-powered masseuse. Aescape sparked a media frenzy when it debuted in New York in August at a handful of Equinox gyms. This week, it arrives in Los Angeles. Aescape will open its robotic arms for business Friday at Pause. I got a sneak peek, however, the day before Thanksgiving. Upon arrival, I slipped into specialized compression wear that the Aescape company provided for optimal friction; no oil is required for this massage. After lying on the table belly down, my face nestled into a padded cradle, I selected my playlist on a touch screen (beach house to start, then relaxing piano music). I quickly forgot about the overhead depth sensors and surrounding robotics and drifted into calm. And although I longed for the intimacy of a human masseuse, I found it to be a surprisingly decent session. Here’s how things went. First, four high-resolution infrared sensors took a 3D scan of my body from above, mapping 1.2 million data points — every curve and asymmetric point on my frame, much to my chagrin — so Aescape could pinpoint where I was on the table and better target my specific body parts. Then its hulking robot arms reached up and around my torso, before beginning to massage me. Aescape has heated “hands,” which look like giant pads with touch points on their undersides. They’re modeled after the way a massage therapist uses their body parts as tools, kneading with the blade of the hand at one point, then pressing or rolling with the heel of the palm, the elbow or forearm. I’d selected gentle intensity, so Aescape kneaded slowly and deliberately around my scapula at first, then applied light rolling pressure along my spine, mid-back. It didn’t feel exactly like a human hand; but surprisingly, I wasn’t creeped out, either. Instead, the experience mirrored that of a sophisticated massage chair in horizontal — not as effective as an actual person but still providing much-needed relief in key areas. The Aescape massage is totally customizable. You dictate the kind you want — I chose “total back and glutes,” but “upper and mid-back focus” and “lower back, glutes and hamstrings focus” were also offerings. You can also use the touch screen to control the intensity of your massage as it’s underway, increasing or decreasing the pressure, or pausing altogether. Aescape is the brainchild of Eric Litman, a self-described serial entrepreneur who suffered from neck pain due to a bulging disc and needed daily massages, even while traveling internationally. That’s a headache to schedule, especially when there’s a shortage of massage therapists in the U.S., according to the International Spa Assn . As a solution, Litman imagined a “fully automated, customizable massage experience,” with the goal of “bringing personalized wellness robotics to the masses,” as the Aescape company describes its mission . Litman founded the robotics company in 2017 and by November 2023, it had $85 million in funding from technology, wellness and hospitality backers. “The intent was to build a product that addressed the needs of people like myself who struggled with getting the specific massages that their body needed — whether that’s because of a lack of therapist availability, a lack of consistency among therapists or just the desire for a very personalized experience,” Litman said in an interview. “So what we’ve built is something that caters remarkably well to all three of those needs. It’s accessible in many ways: It’s easily booked, it’s usable by people who wouldn’t otherwise be comfortable getting a massage [by a human] and it puts you in control, allowing you to get the specific massage you want at that moment in time.” Then there’s this — for better or worse, AI masseuses don’t need breaks to rest their hands. They’re the ideal employees. “It can operate 24 hours a day,” Litman said. “So it can be available at 11 at night, hours when you’re unlikely to find a masseuse available.” The Aescape company plans to roll out tables at spas, hotels and fitness centers as well as at corporations, for office workers, nationwide. In addition to its New York and L.A. locations, Aescape tables are now operating in Miami, Baltimore, Nashville, Atlantic City, N.J., and Orlando, Fla. One will debut at the Ritz-Carlton Bacara in Santa Barbara on Dec. 16. Users can find nearby Aescape tables and book sessions on an app . Software engineers offer frequent updates to the Aescape tables on the types of massages available or the music you can listen to. A holiday playlist was added just this week, for instance. However, Aescape is not cheap: $60 for half an hour, $120 for an hour. It’s also not as intelligent as I’d hoped. Aescape knows where your body parts are located in space, so as to target the areas you’ve selected for your massage. But the feature allowing it to intuit areas of tension that need massaging hasn’t been rolled out yet, Litman says. However, it is getting smarter, he adds. “It will continue to learn from all the massages that we give, across all our tables,” Litman says, “and allow for people to get a much more customized, precise massage experience.” As a massage junkie, I prefer the warmth and responsiveness of human touch. Even so, Aescape gave me a pretty decent massage. I had run stairs the day before for exercise and my glutes were sore. The robot masseuse kneaded my butt in just the right spots and even relieved shoulder tightness from hours of typing at my desk. And as a bonus, it didn’t interrupt my massage with chitchat.WASHINGTON (AP) — President said Tuesday he was “stupid” not to put his own name on pandemic relief checks in 2021, noting that had and likely got credit for helping people out through this simple, effective act of branding. Biden did the second-guessing as he delivered a speech at the Brookings Institution defending his economic record and challenging Trump to preserve Democratic policy ideas when he returns to the White House next month. As Biden focused on his legacy with his term ending, he suggested Trump should keep the Democrats’ momentum going and ignore the policies of his allies. The president laid out favorable recent economic data but acknowledged his rare public regret that he had not been more self-promotional in advertising the financial support provided by his administration as the country emerged from the pandemic. “I signed the American Rescue Plan, the most significant economic recovery package in our history, and also learned something from Donald Trump,” Biden said at the Washington-based think tank. “He signed checks for people for 7,400 bucks ... and I didn’t. Stupid.” The decision by the former reality TV star and real estate developer to add his name to the checks sent by the U.S. Treasury to millions of Americans struggling during the coronavirus marked the first time a president’s name appeared on any IRS payments. Biden and Vice President , who , largely failed to convince the American public of the strength of the economy. The addition of 16 million jobs, funding for infrastructure, new factories and investments in renewable energy were not enough to overcome public exhaustion over inflation, which spiked in 2022 and left many households coping with elevated grocery, gasoline and housing costs. More than 6 in 10 voters in November’s election described the economy as “poor” or “not so good,” according to AP VoteCast, an extensive survey of the electorate. who felt the economy was in bad shape, paving the way for a second term as president after his 2020 loss to Biden. Biden used his speech to argue that Trump was inheriting a strong economy that is the envy of the world. The inflation rate fell without a recession that many economists had viewed as inevitable, while the and applications to start new businesses are at record levels. Biden called the numbers under his watch “a new set of benchmarks to measure against the next four years.” “President-elect Trump is receiving the strongest economy in modern history,” said Biden, who warned that Trump’s planned tax cuts could lead to massive deficits or deep spending cuts. He also said that Trump’s promise of broad tariffs on foreign imports would be a mistake, part of a broader push Tuesday by the administration to warn against Trump’s threatened action. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen also issued a word of caution about them at a summit of The Wall Street Journal’s CEO Council. “I think the imposition of broad based tariffs, at least of the type that have been discussed, almost all economists agree this would raise prices on American consumers,” she said. Biden was also critical of Trump allies who have pushed , a policy blueprint from the Heritage Foundation that calls for a complete overhaul of the federal government. Trump has disavowed participation in it, though parts were written by his allies and on economics, immigration, education policy and civil rights. “I pray to God the president-elect throws away Project 2025,” Biden said. “I think it would be an economic disaster.”
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NoneNEW YORK , Dec. 10, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Why: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, continues to investigate potential securities claims on behalf of shareholders of Light & Wonder, Inc. (NASDAQ: LNW) resulting from allegations that Light & Wonder may have issued materially misleading business information to the investing public. So What: If you purchased Light & Wonder securities you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement. The Rosen Law Firm is preparing a class action seeking recovery of investor losses. What to do next: To join the prospective class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=29678 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email case@rosenlegal.com for information on the class action. What is this about: On September 24, 2024 , the Las Vegas Review-Journal published an article entitled "Slot manufacturer scores major win against Las Vegas -based rival." The article stated that "Aristocrat Technologies Inc.'s request for a preliminary injunction in its trade-secret and copyright infringement lawsuit against Light & Wonder" had been granted, and that the "order prohibits [Light & Wonder] from the 'continued or planned sale, leasing, or other commercialization of Dragon Train,' which Aristocrat claims uses intellectual property developed for its Dragon Link and Lightning Link games." On this news, Light & Wonder's common stock fell 19.49% on September 24, 2024 . Why Rosen Law: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources, or any meaningful peer recognition. Many of these firms do not actually litigate securities class actions. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company at the time. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs' Bar. Many of the firm's attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers. Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm , on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm/ . Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Contact Information: Laurence Rosen, Esq. Phillip Kim, Esq. The Rosen Law Firm, P.A. 275 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor New York, NY 10016 Tel: (212) 686-1060 Toll Free: (866) 767-3653 Fax: (212) 202-3827 case@rosenlegal.com www.rosenlegal.com View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/rosen-law-firm-encourages-light--wonder-inc-investors-to-inquire-about-securities-class-action-investigation--lnw-302327948.html SOURCE THE ROSEN LAW FIRM, P. A. Stay Informed: Subscribe to Our Newsletter Today
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A tax purported to make GP visits cost more and a barrier to entering the housing market have been removed by a state government fulfilling more of its election promises. Login or signup to continue reading The Liberal National government scrapped a "patient's tax" during the final Queensland parliament sitting on Thursday, a move it vowed to do after it won the October 26 election. The payroll tax was set to be imposed on general practitioners, which the government claimed would make visiting a doctor more expensive, end bulk billing in Queensland, and make it harder to get an appointment. It became a key feature of the election after a text message "mediscare" campaign from both the former Labor government and LNP. By the end of the campaign, both sides had committed to scrapping the tax set to come into place at the end of the financial year following a delay. A NSW tribunal ruled in 2021 that tenant GPs were subject to payroll tax as they were employees not contractors, sparking changes nationally. The former Labor government struck an amnesty in 2023 meaning practices did not have to pay the tax until June 2025 or for the previous five years so the businesses could adjust before it came into effect. Now, the proposed tax has been scrapped, which the LNP hails as a measure that will relieve pressure during the cost-of-living crisis. "By axing Labor's Patient's Tax we are protecting bulk billing for Queenslanders and easing pressure on our Emergency Departments and easing cost of living for families," Treasurer David Janetzki said. The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners Queensland branch welcomed the move to change the payroll tax for doctors. "This will come as a big relief for practice owners, GPs and our patients who value the relationship they have with their GP highly – there is no substitute for the quality care you get from a specialist GP," chair Dr Cath Hester said. The government also removed stamp duty on new builds and land for eligible first-home buyers, another item on the LNP's post-election win to-do list. Removing stamp duty on a new house and land package could mean a saving of $37,000 in Brisbane's north. "Scrapping first home buyer stamp duty on new builds provides real savings and puts the Great Australian Dream back within reach," Mr Janetzki said. It comes as the government's centrepiece "adult crime, adult time" laws passed on Thursday, meaning kids as young as 10 will face life sentences on serious charges like murder. Queensland Parliament will sit again in February. Australian Associated Press DAILY Today's top stories curated by our news team. Also includes evening update. 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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!MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico has been taking a bashing lately for allegedly serving as a conduit for Chinese parts and products into North America, and officials here are afraid a re-elected Donald Trump or politically struggling Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau could try to leave their country out of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement. Mexico’s ruling Morena party is so afraid of losing the trade deal that President Claudia Sheinbaum said Friday the government has gone on a campaign to get companies to replace Chinese parts with locally made ones. “We have a plan with the aim of substituting these imports that come from China, and producing the majority of them in Mexico, either with Mexican companies or primarily North American companies,” Sheinbaum said. While Sheinbaum claimed Mexico had been working on that effort since t he 2021 global supply chain crisis — when factories around the world were stalled by a lack of parts and particularly computer chips from Asia — it appears to be an uphill battle. Even the United States has faced big challenges in moving chip production back home despite billions in subsidies and incentives. Mexico gained tens of thousands of jobs when U.S. and foreign automakers moved their plants to Mexico under the free trade pact to take advantage of much lower wages. But the idea that Chinese parts — or even whole cars — could be piggybacking on that arrangement to further hollow out the U.S. auto industry has enraged some people north of the border. So Mexico is scrambling with private companies to get them to move parts production here. “Next year, God willing, we are going to start making microchips in Mexico,” Mexican Economy Secretary Marcelo Ebrard said on Thursday. “Of course they're not yet the most advanced chips, but we are going to start producing them here.” Mexico's nationalistic ruling party, which is normally very resistant to being seen as bending to U.S. demands , is scrambling in other ways, too. The ruling party is in the process of eliminating a half-dozen independent regulatory and oversight agencies that were established by former presidents. That includes the anti-monopoly, transparency and energy regulatory bodies. Together with reforms that will make all judges stand for election in Mexico, that has sparked concern in the U.S. and Canada. Countries are required under the agreement to have some independent agencies, in part to protect foreign investors. For example, they could prevent a government from approving a monopoly for a state-owned company that could force competitors out of the market. So ruling-party legislators are actually re-writing the proposed laws to exactly mimic the minimum accepted requirements under the trade accord. “What is being done is to create a reform so that its almost exactly equal to what exists in the United States, so we can clear that up,” Ebrard said. It's all part of a very legalistic defense of the trade accord, signed in 2018 and approved in 2019. Mexico hopes the rules of the agreement would prevent the U.S. or Canada from simply walking away when the trade pact comes up for review in 2026. Experts agree, saying that totally abandoning the accord is unlikely. Gabriela Siller, director of economic analysis of the financial group Banco Base notes that if a country is dissatisfied with the trade agreement during the periodic reviews, like in 2026, there is a clause in the pact that says they can ask for a review each year to work out a solution, and keep doing that for a decade while the agreement remains in force. “That is, they wouldn't be able to get out until 2036,” Siller said. “I think they will play hardball with Mexico in the 2026 review.” Like any marriage, when the pact no longer works for one party, it may still drag on for years but it’s death by a thousand cuts. C.J. Mahoney. who served as deputy U.S. trade representative in Trump's first administration, said in a talk for the Texas-based Baker Institute in September that the United States probably wouldn't end the trade agreement. But with growingly vocal critics of the pact it could hold up renewing it for years. “The costs of not renewing immediately are actually quite relatively low,” Mahoney said. “I think the inclination to just kick the can down the road will be pretty strong.” Because many companies won't make big investments in production facilities without certainty, that could be a serious if not fatal blow to the pact. How much does Mexico actually buy from China? Mexican officials say they have fewer imports of Chinese parts and products than the United States does. But given the enormous size difference between the two countries' economies, it is a true but weak argument. In July, the U.S. imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum shipped from Mexico that were made elsewhere, in an attempt to stop China from avoiding import taxes by routing goods through Mexico. It includes a 25% tariff on steel not melted or poured in Mexico and a 10% tariff on aluminum. Sen. Sherrod Brown, an Ohio Democrat, has called for stopping Mexican steel imports, saying “the alarming rise in Chinese steel and aluminum coming into the country through Mexico ... is unsustainable and a threat to American jobs, as well as our economy and national security." In the end, Mexico may be forced to crack down on Chinese imports, but it won't be easy. “Reducing the dependence on Chinese imports is not going to be achieved in the short or medium term," said José María Ramos, a professor of public administration at the Colegio de la Frontera Norte in Tijuana.It’s that time of the year again when Delhi and its neighbouring regions brace for an annual apocalypse. Temperatures are dropping, and as the wind slows, pollutants already present in the atmosphere will settle closer to the ground. We won’t be able to breathe. All we can do is hope and pray for divine intervention — for the gods of wind and rain to show mercy. Because, let’s face it, despite all these years, we’ve done next to nothing to combat pollution effectively. The Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) was supposed to be an emergency alert system to tackle pollution spikes with immediate measures. But what do we actually do? Wait until the situation becomes unbearable, and then take half-hearted actions, that are too little, too late. Now we’re hearing that the government will play god, using cloud seeding to create artificial rain and wash away the pollutants. But we know this: moisture traps pollutants, often worsening the problem. So, let’s cut to the chase. How do we reclaim the benefits of pollution control? First, a quick recap of what’s been done so far. This story starts in the 1990s, when the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) released its report, ‘Slow Murder’, proposing an action plan. The main culprits behind pollution (and this shouldn’t surprise anyone) were vehicles, poor fuel quality and lax emission standards. In the late 1990s, the Supreme Court intervened, mandating cleaner fuel, stricter emission standards (the foundation of Bharat Stage 1, 2, 3, 4, and now 6 norms), and a boost in public transport. In 1998, the apex court ordered 11,000 buses to hit Delhi’s roads. Over 16 years later, the city hasn’t even achieved half that number. But let’s park that discussion for now. Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) emerged as a leapfrog solution — a stopgap while petrol and diesel quality took another decade to improve. CNG brought immediate relief and was a game-changer at the time. Anyone who lived in Delhi in the early 2000s can tell you how controversial this decision was. But it worked. Now, as we stand on the cusp of the electric vehicle revolution, the shift to CNG offers vital lessons. The tech challenge Back then, no country had adopted CNG for vehicles at the scale Delhi proposed. Affordability was another issue. Policies had to guide technological innovation — designing safety standards and bus prototypes, for instance. Financial incentives helped phase out old buses and auto-rick-shaws in favour of CNG models. The implementation challenge This wasn’t about rolling out a few CNG buses. The court ordered a complete transition within two to three years. Coordination and swift decision-making were crucial. Today, Delhi boasts an ambitious e-bus plan. But it’s crawling along, failing to match the explosive rise in private vehicle ownership. In 2023, the number of private vehicles registered in Delhi doubled compared to the previous year. Despite rising petrol and diesel prices eating into household budgets, the surge in private cars chokes not only the roads but also every investment in infrastructure, technology and cleaner fuel. Meanwhile, countless old vehicles still spew pollutants unchecked. The math is simple: even if new vehicles are cleaner, their sheer numbers negate any benefits. The second culprit: dirty fuels From kitchen stoves to factories and thermal power plants, the fuels we burn — primarily biomass or coal — are the second major source of pollution. The Supreme Court banned the dirtiest fuel, petcoke, while Delhi government prohibited coal usage, later extending the ban across the National Capital Region. Thermal power plants were supposed to clean up or shut down. Yet, progress here has been sluggish. The CNG shift taught us that bans only work when people have alternatives. When diesel buses were scrapped, CNG supplies had to be reliable and affordable. Similarly, fiscal policies ensured that clean fuel remained cheaper than its dirtier counterpart. Now, while coal is banned, the high cost of natural gas is driving industries to the brink of non-competitiveness. This is a recipe for failure. The way forward There’s so much more to say, and I promise to keep speaking up about this. But here’s the crux: clean air requires year-round effort. It demands collective action on a massive scale. Let’s stop waiting for miracles. It’s time to act — and act decisively. Follow us on: Facebook , Twitter , Google News , Instagram Join our official telegram channel ( @nationalherald ) and stay updated with the latest headlinesTokyo Musical: ‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’
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It will be the Apaches vs. Bulldogs on Saturday with a football title at stake. Tyler Junior College, ranked No. 7 in the nation, and No. 6 Navarro College meet for the Southwest Junior College Football Conference championship at Christus Trinity Mother Frances Rose Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Earl Campbell Field. The winner of the SWJCFC earns a berth in the C.H.A.M.P.S. Heart of Texas Bowl, which is scheduled for Dec. 7 at Ernest Hawkins Field at Memorial Stadium on the campus of East Texas A&M University in Commerce. The Apaches (7-3) have won 11 league championships, but none in almost a quarter of a century. TJC won the 2000 SWJCFC championship with a 23-21 win over Northeastern Oklahoma A&M in the Red River Bowl held at Pennington Field in Bedford. The Apaches last played for the title in 2021, falling to New Mexico Military Institute, 45-10, in Roswell, New Mexico. The Bulldogs (7-2) have captured 12 conference titles, the last in 2019, a 36-35 win over NMMI in Corsicana. Current Navarro Coach Ryan Taylor, a former TJC All-America center, led Cisco College to the 2020 crown. (The season was played in the spring of 2021 due to COVID-19). Navarro played for the title last season, falling to Kilgore College, 48-39, in Kilgore. The last time the two met in the championship was in 2011, a 33-29 win by Navarro in Corsicana. The last time the championship game was held in Tyler was in 2003 (NEO won over TJC, 37-34). TJC advanced to the championship with a 28-17 win over Kilgore College last week in the semifinals. In six games, quarterback Tre Guerra, a sophomore from Keller, has connected on 54 of 85 passing attempts for 618 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions. Lonnie Johnson has been a favorite target of Guerra. The big tight end who graduated from Keller Timber Creek, a rival squad of Guerra’s Keller High team, has 18 receptions on the season for 213 yards and three touchdowns (2 against KC last week). Bernock Iya (6-2, sophomore, Azle) is not only a key defensive back, but the speedster is a threat on kickoff and punt returns. William Cornelson (6-2, 240, sophomore, linebacker, Austin/Cedar Park Vista Ridge High School) leads the Apaches with 114 tackles (7.5 sacks) followed by Darion White (6-2, 215, sophomore, linebacker, Waco/La Vega High School) with 113 tackles (5.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles). Both are among the nation’s leaders. Jayden Madkins (6-2, 290, sophomore, defensive lineman, Houston/Alvin Shadow Creek) leads the big guys up front. He has four sacks. Navarro advanced to the championship with a 28-21 win over Cisco last week in Corsicana. Bulldog quarterback Mason Shorb completed 19-of-31 passes for 259 yards and three touchdowns against Wrangler and backup QB Ryan Shackleton was 3-of-4 for 41 yards and a TD. Cisco gave the Dawgs all they wanted and more, and Navarro’s defense had to put the game away in the second half, breaking free from a 21-21 tie at halftime. Shawn Brown caught three passes for 71 yards and two touchdowns, including a 56-yarder, and Braylon Finney had three receptions for 28 yards and a TD. Malachai Jackson caught four passes for 74 yards. Navarro has won three-straight over the Apaches since TJC won 69-57 on Sept. 11, 2021. On Nov. 2, Navarro scored a 49-24 win over TJC in Corsicana. The Bulldogs lead the all-times series with Tyler, 49-41. SMOKE SIGNALS: Tyelar Rohman, TJC assistant athletic director, said, “Fans are encouraged to wear black and participate in another Black Out to show their support as the team takes the field in their signature black uniforms.” ... Ticket prices are: general admission ($8), reserved seatbacks ($12), TJC students (Free with ID) and other students ($3 with valid student ID).