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For Joan Chen playing a doting but slightly disregarded Taiwanese immigrant mother in Sean Wang ‘s Dìdi was a healing experience. Not only could she connect with the struggles that her character Chungsing goes through while raising her college-aged daughter and rebellious teenage son, the onscreen rift also helped her make amends with her daughters offscreen. “It was so cathartic to play Chungsing in this film and redemptive in a way because I think it gave me another chance almost to be a better mother,” Chen says. “And to do it better this time with my own younger daughter on set watching me, I felt like, ‘OK, Audrey. I’m talking to you. I’m trying to say, I’m sorry, and I love you.'” Throughout her nearly five-decade career, Chen has embodied more than the all-encompassing role of a supportive mommy dearest. From garnering China’s most prestigious award before she was 18 years old in pre-Maoist political drama Little Flowe r (1979), playing a femme fatale on Twin Peaks (1990) to garnering U.S. moviegoers attention for her harrowing performance as an ill-fated empress trapped in a loveless marriage in the Oscar award-winning The Last Emperor (1987). Her long-spanning career also led her to make moves behind the camera in films such as Autumn in New York and her critically acclaimed debut film, Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl . “Never for a moment throughout my teens and early twenties did I believe this could be a real career,” Chen says. “Looking back, I slowly fell in love with this profession because I did find self-expression in it. I have been a relatively shy person, not demonstrative of my feelings in front of people, so this became a venue for me. I was so lucky I was assigned to star in movies.” Here, with Deadline, Chen reflects on her career and the complexities of motherhood in her latest role in Dìdi . DEADLINE: First, I’d like to ask if there is a creative link anywhere in your parents’ or grandparents’ background. Were they creatives in any way? I know you fell into acting in an untraditional way, but have you traced back your origins? JOAN CHEN: There certainly is. My mother is very artistic, and I think her aspiration as a young child was to be an artist. She was a great singer. She played the grand piano, and she loved literature. Eventually, she followed in her own father’s footsteps and went into neuropharmacology. But all her life, I think what kept her happy was music. And then from my mother’s side and her mother’s side, there were great painters, and my brother is a great painter, and my mother also paints, so my brother and my mother are both a lot more talented than I am [laughs]. I fell into acting completely by accident, but they were my teachers. My brother taught me how to look at the world and how to actually see it. I remember he was painting cows. I only see black and white and maybe green grass. But he would see a myriad of colors in the green grass, and he would see the reflection from different things onto the hide of the cow. So, when I became a director, the way he taught me how to see was very important. DEADLINE: You were discovered in your hometown in China during rifle training. Can you take me back to when you decided that you were going to stick to being an actress instead of going back to school? CHEN: I was 14 years old. I don’t think any 14-year-olds wanted to go back to school [laughs]. When they picked me out of the rifle team, I was overjoyed. One reason is that I would now get to go to work instead of going to school. And there were little things that, for instance, once you get a job, you can now wear a watch, students could never wear a watch, and so I was like, “Oh my god, now I could have a watch. I can wear a watch.” It was just little things that really had nothing to do with acting at first. Then, when I started practicing my lines, there was one line that I would speak. I didn’t have many lines in there, but there was one line I had to speak, the script described: with tears beaming out of my eyes and my lips quivering, and I’m like, “How do I do that?” So that was the line I practiced. I remember it being in the hallway or in the office before we were shooting. I think it’s these things that intrigued me. It’s like how you do that, how you conjure true emotion from a written page to your heart, and these types of challenges made me interested, and then later on, love acting. DEADLINE: Was there any other path for you? Would you have perfected being a rifleist or perhaps being a musician or painter with your family background? CHEN: It was such a different era and culture. During the Cultural Revolution, our piano was taken. People would come and raid your house. My parents were considered the intellectual class as well as the bourgeoisie, so I didn’t have a choice. And most people, my brother’s age, as he’s older than me, and our friends were slightly older, were all being sent down to remote areas, so they left the city. One good thing about being an actress was that I didn’t have to graduate from high school and be assigned to a remote region, so my parents were happy about that. But never for a moment throughout my teens and early twenties did I believe this could be a real career. Looking back, I slowly fell in love with this profession because I did find self-expression in it. I have been a relatively shy person, not demonstrative of my feelings in front of people, so this became a venue for me. I was so lucky I was assigned to star in movies. DEADLINE: Getting into your role as Chungsing in Dìdi , she’s nuanced. She’s silently keeping everything together. She’s protecting her children from the brunt of the verbal sparring from the grandmother. She’s also a supportive mother. Are there things that you agree with regarding her parenting style? As well as things you necessarily don’t? CHEN: I think most kids see their parents as just somebody who provides what they need. It’ll take many years and maturity for them to reflect and understand that their parents are human beings with their own desires, needs, and emotional ups and downs. In the film, Chungsing’s children are teens, and I don’t think they would see things that way. It is, in a way, my own personal experience. So, when I read the script, I felt instantly empathy toward the character’s sympathy and empathy. I felt like this was a part of my own life, now finding its expression. My children and I weathered many storms, some much worse than what’s in the film, and I take it as my responsibility. They’ve been trying to teach me to be a better mother. Being an immigrant, having been raised very differently and coming from a different culture... that uncertainty that both the character and I felt about what’s best for my children is relatable. I don’t know how to raise them. Is their behavior the norm in the society, or is it my own children that are difficult? There are so many uncertainties. I’m sure motherhood for anyone in any culture is really not for the faint of heart, especially when you are a stranger to this land and trying to raise American children. It’s awfully difficult. Chungsing’s art and paintings are so important to her. She had the aspiration of becoming an artist and then having to be a single mother, not only raising two kids but also taking care of her mother-in-law. That’s a very difficult job. Sean [Wang] ‘s mom really did a marvelous job. She’s had the patience, the resilience, and the forbearance to carry out this job, even though she wasn’t sure. It was so cathartic to play Chungsing in this film and redemptive in a way because I think it gave me another chance almost to be a better mother, to do it better this time with my own younger daughter on set watching me, and I felt like, “OK, Audrey. I’m talking to you. I’m trying to say, ‘I’m sorry, and I love you.'” DEADLINE: So, one of your daughters is in the film industry? Or are they trying to break in? Have you had the talk with them in terms of what the industry entails? Whatever you’d like to share about them, I’m sure you don’t want to dox your children. CHEN: My younger daughter does want to be an actress. Right now, her strongest passion is for social justice. She’s still a student at NYU, so that’s her strongest passion right now. But she does love acting also. My older daughter is a writer. Playing Sean’s mom taught me something: to have a little patience so that they will fall into their destinies where they need to be, and I don’t have to worry too much about it. I think they are two great children, and oftentimes, we fear for them, like, “Oh my God. Is she ever going to be like this or that?” Having played this character helped that. Now I know that I have faith and they’re decent people and they will find their own destiny, and so it’s a learning process for me. DEADLINE: Sean gave you reference material to play this loosely biographical version of his mother. How did those tools help inform your performance? CHEN: It was interesting to learn about her mannerisms, tone of voice, beliefs, and faith. What I admire most about Sean’s mom is that she has very deep faith within her. I have learned that in trying to incorporate this into a character who is insecure, Her relationship with her children is fraught with so much misunderstanding, not only by the generational gap but also by the cultural chasm, yet she held faith and hope. So, I learned a great deal from that part. Throughout my interviews with her, I saw she had such a gentle touch and spoke gently. I had her record all my lines, just to get another point of view on the delivery, as I was curious about how someone that the character is based on would say these. And a lot of the dialogue came from her in real life. She was part of the scriptwriting. She was very helpful in creating the character of the mother. DEADLINE: We must get into your directorial work and your work as an actor between the U.S. and China. What has been your takeaway from the constant transition between nations these last three or so decades you’ve been in the business? CHEN: It’s very interesting. For one thing, even though the Chinese and U.S. culture is very different, the filmmaking process nowadays in China and in the U.S. is very similar. The filmmaking departments, from art, the DP, directors, and costuming, all do their work similarly. So, it’s not really hard to jump from one Chinese movie to a U.S. movie and vice versa. But the audience’s appetite is culturally different. I think the Chinese audience likes sentimental things more. And so, some films are not so well reviewed in the U.S. or are too sappy or sentimental and poorly reviewed. However, they are reviewed very well in China. People actually love these films, so tastes are different.. Not good or bad. It’s just different. If I direct a film, I’m not thinking about who the audience is or who do I [impress]. It’s just as I see it. There is only one subjective view, and you can’t consider this and that. I think filmmaking is a circus life, a production, and all the crews; we are all together. We build our tents and start performing. That type of lifestyle is very similar. It’s the same in China or the U.S.. I feel very fortunate to be able to constantly work in both or other countries. I just finished a Canadian film in Quebec, where half of my lines are in French. It’s a wonderful thing to make films with different cultures. It feels great. DEADLINE: How much of you is director Chen vs. actor Chen at this stage in your career? Are you still finding an eye for writing and creating films versus taking roles? Or are you just leaning back into acting? CHEN: I love acting, writing and directing. I think acting, if I see some merit in a character, if I could identify with one scene, like, “OK, this is one scene that I could sink my teeth into, and maybe the entire project is not ideal, it’s not the best, I could still go do it,” but I think for directing, I’d be like, “I really need to love it.” I need to feel 100% passion for it to go for it. There is this little difference. If I’m acting and don’t get a good part, I can’t wait for a whole year for a good part. You need to be constantly acting because that’s how you practice. And so when the good part does show up, you’re good at it. For directing, it’s not just a craft thing. The story has to drive me insane. I would have to tell it, or else I couldn’t live. That’s the difference, but I do love both. DEADLINE: I can’t stop thinking about Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl , your directorial debut film. Do you ever sit down and reflect on making that film and think about how relevant the themes of body autonomy and treating women as second-class citizens still resonate today nearly three decades later? CHEN: It’s very interesting. When it first came out, I think one critic mentioned it. I thought maybe that Hollywood experience may have driven me [to portray] the women being exploited in that way. Maybe it was subconsciously. Consciously, I was making a film about my generation’s loss of innocence. An entire generation for ten years were being sent down [ writer’s note: Chinese youths were coerced to leave their hometowns to work in rural areas for labor]. DEADLINE: It’s so surprising to me that it’s not available on streaming. How do we help you with that? Who do we, as an audience, get it in the hands of one of these services? CHEN: As a matter of fact, I was once approached by Criterion, and now a couple of other people are approaching me to bring it to a platform. The funny thing is I couldn’t find my cut negative. [The company] has since folded, so I’m like, where would that be? How do I restore it now? Back then, it was like, OK, I made the film, and it was shown and that’s done [laugh]. And I didn’t keep a good record of all the material because I was wearing so many hats on the film. I was producing, directing, and writing it, and I was the one who actually carried the prints around. And so now, good question. I do want to bring it to a good platform. But first, I need to find where my negative is. If worse comes to worse, and I don’t find my cut negative, then it’s expensive to restore the print itself. We’re going to try, though. I appreciate your question. [This interview has been edited for length and clarity]Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. ( NASDAQ:GOOGL – Free Report ) by 85.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,920 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 11,300 shares during the period. Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Alphabet were worth $318,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GOOGL. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Alphabet by 70.6% during the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 101,230 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $15,279,000 after purchasing an additional 41,880 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Alphabet by 3.6% during the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 31,171 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $4,705,000 after buying an additional 1,072 shares during the period. City of London Investment Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Alphabet by 70.5% in the first quarter. City of London Investment Management Co. Ltd. now owns 185,415 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $27,961,000 after acquiring an additional 76,650 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Alphabet by 0.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 497,874,324 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $75,144,172,000 after acquiring an additional 4,064,073 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TIAA Trust National Association grew its holdings in Alphabet by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 1,093,974 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $165,113,000 after acquiring an additional 37,798 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.03% of the company’s stock. Alphabet Stock Performance Shares of GOOGL stock opened at $164.76 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $167.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $170.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 1.95. The stock has a market cap of $2.02 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.03. Alphabet Inc. has a 1 year low of $127.90 and a 1 year high of $191.75. Alphabet Dividend Announcement The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Alphabet’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.61%. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on GOOGL shares. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $206.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Alphabet from $182.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Alphabet from $206.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Alphabet from $204.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Pivotal Research boosted their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have issued a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Alphabet currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.90. Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Alphabet Insider Transactions at Alphabet In other Alphabet news, CEO Sundar Pichai sold 22,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.68, for a total value of $3,570,300.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,137,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $339,160,251.80. This represents a 1.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link . Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 682 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.44, for a total transaction of $109,420.08. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 32,017 shares in the company, valued at $5,136,807.48. This represents a 2.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . Insiders sold a total of 206,795 shares of company stock valued at $34,673,866 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 11.55% of the company’s stock. About Alphabet ( Free Report ) Alphabet Inc offers various products and platforms in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia-Pacific, Canada, and Latin America. It operates through Google Services, Google Cloud, and Other Bets segments. The Google Services segment provides products and services, including ads, Android, Chrome, devices, Gmail, Google Drive, Google Maps, Google Photos, Google Play, Search, and YouTube. Recommended Stories Five stocks we like better than Alphabet Stock Ratings and Recommendations: Understanding Analyst Ratings Vertiv’s Cool Tech Makes Its Stock Red-Hot How to Effectively Use the MarketBeat Ratings Screener MarketBeat Week in Review – 11/18 – 11/22 How to Invest in Small Cap Stocks 2 Finance Stocks With Competitive Advantages You Can’t Ignore Receive News & Ratings for Alphabet Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Alphabet and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — New York Jets kicker Greg Zuerlein will be activated from injured reserve and will play against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. Interim coach Jeff Ulbrich announced Friday that Zuerlein is returning after missing seven games with a knee injury to his left, non-kicking leg. He had been shaky before the injury, but the Jets have since been unsettled at the position, with Riley Patterson, Spencer Shrader and Anders Carlson all filling in. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.
Colorado Avalanche (12-9, in the Central Division) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (10-7-2, in the Atlantic Division) Tampa, Florida; Monday, 7 p.m. EST BOTTOM LINE: The Colorado Avalanche are looking to extend a three-game win streak with a victory against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Tampa Bay has a 10-7-2 record overall and a 6-2-1 record in home games. The Lightning have scored 68 total goals (3.6 per game) to rank 10th in NHL play. Colorado is 12-9 overall and 6-3-0 on the road. The Avalanche have an 8-5-0 record in games they have fewer penalties than their opponent. The teams play Monday for the second time this season. The Lightning won 5-2 in the previous matchup. Anthony Cirelli led the Lightning with two goals. TOP PERFORMERS: Nikita Kucherov has 11 goals and 17 assists for the Lightning. Emil Martinsen Lilleberg has scored goals over the past 10 games. Nathan MacKinnon has scored seven goals with 28 assists for the Avalanche. Sam Malinski has over the last 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Lightning: 4-4-2, averaging 3.4 goals, six assists, 3.4 penalties and 9.3 penalty minutes while giving up 2.8 goals per game. Avalanche: 7-3-0, averaging 3.5 goals, 6.2 assists, 2.9 penalties and 5.8 penalty minutes while giving up 2.6 goals per game. INJURIES: Lightning: None listed. Avalanche: None listed. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .
The Greens will wave through two Labor housing bills, ending a lengthy stand-off after attempting to pressure the Albanese government to dig deeper for the housing crisis. What we know: The Greens will vote for Labor's Help to Buy scheme, which will allow up to 40,000 first home buyers to co-purchase homes with the government ( ABC ); The minor party will also vote for the Build to Rent legislation, which offers a tax incentive for apartment complexes designed for renters, and commits at least 10% of the dwellings to affordable housing; Greens leader Adam Bandt said: “There comes a point where you’ve pushed as far as you can. We tried hard to get Labor to shift on soaring rents and negative gearing, but we couldn’t get there this time” ( The Conversation ); The Greens had made a final effort to negotiate on the bill to secure more money for social housing, but Labor rebuffed the offer; Housing Minister Clare O’Neil welcomed the shift but said it “did not excuse” the Greens’ lengthy delay; It comes as the Better Renting group sounds the alarm on rental conditions, finding that 59% of renters feared retaliation and failed to report issues with their homes as a result in the last 12 months alone ( SBS ); Meanwhile experts warn that governments are ignoring the role of shrinking households in exacerbating the housing crisis, which are also contributing to social isolation ( The Saturday Paper ). The federal government has responded to the Senate inquiry into missing and murdered First Nations women and children, as the NT coroner hands down a report into the deaths of four Aboriginal women. What we know: Three months after the release of the inquiry, Minister for Indigenous Australians Malarndirri McCarthy vowed the findings would “inform a range of work currently under way to address the horrific rates of violence against First Nations women and children” ( NIT ); She specified that the inquiry findings would guide the inaugural National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Family Safety Plan to be launched next year ( ABC ); McCarthy also vowed to write to the Australian Press Council on clear guidance for coverage, with the report highlighting “disproportionately little media coverage ... given to missing and murdered First Nations women and children”; She also referenced the $4.4bn announced in September to tackle gender-based violence and other initiatives, including $194m set aside to support the safety of First Nations women and children; At the time the package was met with scepticism by frustrated peak bodies across the sector, who claimed the funding has, in reality, gone backwards ( The Saturday Paper ); Greens senator Dorinda Cox, who established the inquiry, said she was “somewhat disappointed” that the government only addressed two of the 10 recommendations, with no mention of the inquiry’s call to review police practices; Nationally, First Nations women are seven times more likely to be homicide victims than non-Indigenous women, and 33 times more likely to be hospitalised due to family and domestic violence; It comes as NT Coroner Elisabeth Armitage handed down her findings into the inquest of four Aboriginal women who were killed due to domestic violence ( NITV ); Armitage made 35 recommendations, including better funding for frontline services, changes to the way police follow up domestic violence reports and targeted training for police and health workers. The Albanese government is set to establish a new university watchdog to crack down on excessive salaries for vice-chancellors.In the coming days Federal Education Minister Jason Clare will announce a national expert university governance council ( The Australian $). The body will set independent rules for executive remuneration, and also crack down on systemic wage theft from academics and lecturers. “It will focus on making sure universities demonstrate and maintain a rigorous and transparent process for developing remuneration policies and settings for senior university staff,’’ a spokesperson for Clare said. It follows a report by the National Tertiary Education Union last week that revealed 306 senior academic leaders are paid more than state premiers, amid widespread wage theft issues for lower-level staff. Australian vice-chancellors are among the world’s highest paid, pocketing an average of $1.048m across 37 universities last year. Stolen wages for university staff has risen to $388m, while staff are increasingly employed under tenuous conditions, with casual or fixed-term contracts now the dominant form of employment ( The Saturday Paper ). A Senate inquiry into the Albanese government’s proposed ban on children using social media has been flooded with 15,000 submissions in just one day. Most submissions are reportedly variants of a template response, with Senate inquiries more typically receiving tens or hundreds of submissions ( ABC ). The surge of responses may also be linked to an Elon Musk X post about the bill that was viewed by millions of X users. Musk suggested the bill seemed “like a backdoor way to control access to the internet by all Australians”. His company made a formal submission claiming the bill would have a negative impact on the rights of children and breaches international human rights treaties ( The Guardian ). Other respondents included Google, who urged that the legislation should be delayed until the government’s trial of age-assurance technology is completed. Facebook owner Meta backed Google’s call for a delay, warning the bill would be “inconsistent and ineffective” without more consultation, as the government rushes to pass the legislation this week before parliament rises for the year. Internal analysis by the Reserve Bank of Australia has found that Donald Trump’s plan for an “extreme” trade war between the US and China would drive down Australian share prices and push the dollar lower. The research, released under freedom of information laws, found that Chinese economic growth would slow due to the sharp rise in tariffs, in turn delivering “relatively strong negative implications for Australia given the strength of export trade links” ( AFR $). “In the extreme scenario, weaker export demand, and slower growth would be disinflationary, putting downward pressure on policy rate expectations, government bond yields and the Australian dollar,” the RBA analysis said. It comes as Trump’s victory emboldens Gina Rinehart in her plan to cultivate a right-wing network with sympathy for her own political objectives ( The Saturday Paper ). NSW Police Minister Yasmin Catley criticises kayakers who blockaded coal ships at the Port of Newcastle over the weekend. As it happens, “all over red rover” is also the official climate forecast if those coal ships keep hauling for many years longer ( ABC ). The machine resembles a jet fighter (or a massive helmet), with a transparent canopy that opens from the back. Once you settle into the central seat, sensors monitor your vitals to ensure the perfect wash temperature. There's even an AI system that analyses if you're feeling calm or excited, then projects custom visuals on the inside of the transparent cover to help the person feel refreshed. The whole wash and dry process takes 15 minutes ( Techspot ).
Salesforce.com: Fiscal Q3 Earnings SnapshotA judge has once again rejected Musk’s multi-billion-dollar Tesla pay package. Now what?
Debate over foreign workers in tech shows tensions in Trump coalitionWEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — An online spat between factions of Donald Trump's supporters over immigration and the tech industry has thrown internal divisions in his political movement into public display, previewing the fissures and contradictory views his coalition could bring to the White House. The rift laid bare the tensions between the newest flank of Trump's movement — wealthy members of the tech world including billionaire Elon Musk and fellow entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and their call for more highly skilled workers in their industry — and people in Trump's Make America Great Again base who championed his hardline immigration policies. The debate touched off this week when Laura Loomer , a right-wing provocateur with a history of racist and conspiratorial comments, criticized Trump’s selection of Sriram Krishnan as an adviser on artificial intelligence policy in his coming administration. Krishnan favors the ability to bring more skilled immigrants into the U.S. Loomer declared the stance to be “not America First policy” and said the tech executives who have aligned themselves with Trump were doing so to enrich themselves. Much of the debate played out on the social media network X, which Musk owns. Loomer's comments sparked a back-and-forth with venture capitalist and former PayPal executive David Sacks , whom Trump has tapped to be the “White House A.I. & Crypto Czar." Musk and Ramaswamy, whom Trump has tasked with finding ways to cut the federal government , weighed in, defending the tech industry's need to bring in foreign workers. It bloomed into a larger debate with more figures from the hard-right weighing in about the need to hire U.S. workers, whether values in American culture can produce the best engineers, free speech on the internet, the newfound influence tech figures have in Trump's world and what his political movement stands for. Trump has not yet weighed in on the rift. His presidential transition team did not respond to questions about positions on visas for highly skilled workers or the debate between his supporters online. Instead, his team instead sent a link to a post on X by longtime adviser and immigration hard-liner Stephen Miller that was a transcript of a speech Trump gave in 2020 at Mount Rushmore in which he praised figures and moments from American history. Musk, the world's richest man who has grown remarkably close to the president-elect , was a central figure in the debate, not only for his stature in Trump's movement but his stance on the tech industry's hiring of foreign workers. Technology companies say H-1B visas for skilled workers, used by software engineers and others in the tech industry, are critical for hard-to-fill positions. But critics have said they undercut U.S. citizens who could take those jobs. Some on the right have called for the program to be eliminated, not expanded. Born in South Africa, Musk was once on an a H-1B visa himself and defended the industry's need to bring in foreign workers. “There is a permanent shortage of excellent engineering talent," he said in a post. “It is the fundamental limiting factor in Silicon Valley.” Trump's own positions over the years have reflected the divide in his movement. His tough immigration policies, including his pledge for a mass deportation, were central to his winning presidential campaign. He has focused on immigrants who come into the U.S. illegally but he has also sought curbs on legal immigration , including family-based visas. As a presidential candidate in 2016, Trump called the H-1B visa program “very bad” and “unfair” for U.S. workers. After he became president, Trump in 2017 issued a “Buy American and Hire American” executive order , which directed Cabinet members to suggest changes to ensure H-1B visas were awarded to the highest-paid or most-skilled applicants to protect American workers. Trump's businesses, however, have hired foreign workers, including waiters and cooks at his Mar-a-Lago club , and his social media company behind his Truth Social app has used the the H-1B program for highly skilled workers. During his 2024 campaign for president, as he made immigration his signature issue, Trump said immigrants in the country illegally are “poisoning the blood of our country" and promised to carry out the largest deportation operation in U.S. history. But in a sharp departure from his usual alarmist message around immigration generally, Trump told a podcast this year that he wants to give automatic green cards to foreign students who graduate from U.S. colleges. “I think you should get automatically, as part of your diploma, a green card to be able to stay in this country," he told the “All-In" podcast with people from the venture capital and technology world. Those comments came on the cusp of Trump's budding alliance with tech industry figures, but he did not make the idea a regular part of his campaign message or detail any plans to pursue such changes.
Record numbers of basketball fans filled arenas to watch the rookie seasons of Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese unfold. Simone Biles captivated the world at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Coco Gauff made women’s tennis history. It was all part of a pivotal year for women in sports, financially and culturally, and after a steady rise in popularity and reach in recent years, the women’s game is more valuable than ever. “(Clark) just moved the needle of the global movement of women in sports,” said softball great and Olympic gold medalist Jennie Finch, “and what a thrill it’s been to be able to see her rise.” The consulting firm Deloitte estimated in November 2023 that women’s sports would generate more than $1 billion in global revenue this year for the first time ever, which the company said is up about 300% from its last estimate in 2021. Skyrocketing viewership and corporate sponsorships were major factors. The WNBA in July signed a historic 11-year media rights deal with Disney, Amazon Prime and NBC valued at about $200 million — a jump from about $60 million currently. Players hope higher salaries and a greater share of revenue could be on the horizon as parity, star power and competition in the WNBA continue to grow. The WNBA had its most-watched regular season in 24 years and best attendance in 22 seasons, and commissioner Cathy Engelbert said in a recent state-of-the-league address that players are getting a lot more marketing deals, turning them into household names. That includes Las Vegas star A’ja Wilson, who had one of the most dominant seasons in WNBA history, and Clark, who set numerous rookie records. The decisive Game 5 of the WNBA finals between the New York Liberty and the Minnesota Lynx drew an average of 2.2 million viewers, peaking at 3.3 million, which made it the most-watched WNBA game in 25 years. “We’ve been growing in popularity, endorsements, media rights, all of those things,” said Amira Rose Davis, a sports historian and assistant professor at the University of Texas at Austin. “This period is one of rapid acceleration,” Davis continued, “where all that growth seems to switch into overdrive, where the deals are getting bigger, where the visibility is stretching out.” Clark, the sharp-shooting Indiana guard became a phenomenon when she played at Iowa, capitalized on a foundation laid by hoops stars such as Diana Taurasi, Candace Parker and Wilson, and turbocharged the visibility of women’s basketball. Ticket sales to Indiana Fever games were up 182% in 2024 from the previous season. The Fever also shattered the attendance record of 13,398 set by the Liberty in 1998 with around 16,084 tickets sold per game. And games featuring Clark and her on-court rival Reese of the Chicago Sky prompted social media debates about basketball, race and culture. “Something that I always tried to do with me was rise and elevate the game,” said Finch, now an adviser for the Athletes Unlimited Softball League. “And that’s what (Clark)’s doing and her teammates. And just to be able to watch her do it and how humbly she does it, and the impact of not only domestic women’s basketball, but women’s athletics globally. It’s a dream.” While many point to the WNBA as a blueprint for success in women’s sports, accomplishments in 2024 went far beyond one league or athlete. Gauff, the 20-year-old tennis superstar, was the world’s highest-paid female athlete this year with $30.4 million in earnings, according to Sportico rankings. Gauff could not defend her 2023 U.S. Open title, but ended her 2024 season with a WTA finals title and a $4.8 million check — the biggest payout ever for a women’s tennis event, per Sportico. The Olympics neared complete gender parity for the first time among the more than 11,000 men and women who competed in Paris this summer. More than 34 million people across all NBC platforms in the U.S. watched Biles exorcise the demons of her surprising exit from the Tokyo games three years earlier. The 27-year-old shared a message of resilience and redemption as she added four gold medals to her resume. Nearly everything she did in Paris made headlines — a clap back at social media trolls, a revelation about her mental health, a moment of triumph. Her TikTok showing Team USA’s gold medals from team competition has more than 139 million views. “She became a symbol,” Davis said. “Whether you wanted to symbolize her as persevering, or talking about mental health or refusal, the politics of refusal. Or (whether) you wanted to symbolize her as being a quitter — being everything that you’re bemoaning about the country. Either way, both projections elevated her even more.” And as Gauff and Biles soared, other women’s leagues leveraged that visibility. The Pro Women’s Hockey League brought in 392,259 fans during its inaugural regular season, highlighted by a women’s hockey record crowd of 21,105 at the home arena of the NHL’s Canadiens for a Montreal-Toronto matchup. The league also reached sponsorship deals with Scotiabank, Air Canada and Hyundai. The PWHL’s strong first season showed its organizers and players that there’s an appetite for women’s sports, so much so that there are hopes to expand from six to eight teams in 2025. “For many of us that have been in the game for so long, it’s emotional to think about where the game’s come from, where we’ve come to,” said Jayna Hefford, the league’s senior vice president of hockey operations. “We spend a lot of time reading research and all these things that suggest the time is now and that the fandom is there. And to be able to live that and feel it in real time was pretty special.” Keith Stein and Justine Siegal want to capitalize on the women’s sports landscape too. Siegal, a former baseball player and coach, partnered with Stein, a lawyer and businessman, to create the Women’s Pro Baseball League, which last month announced plans to launch in 2026 as a six-team circuit for female players. It will be the first pro league for women since the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League dissolved in 1954. “Leagues like the WNBA and (National) Women’s Soccer League have done a lot of the heavy lifting,” Stein said, “and they’re part responsible for the moment we’re having right now where women’s sport is a phenomenon. “I think there’s, in some ways, a lot more momentum behind the development of professional women’s sports leagues than for men’s.” Get local news delivered to your inbox!
Atria Investments Inc raised its holdings in Alight, Inc. ( NYSE:ALIT – Free Report ) by 36.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 33,144 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 8,782 shares during the quarter. Atria Investments Inc’s holdings in Alight were worth $245,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ingalls & Snyder LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alight by 20.9% in the 2nd quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC now owns 12,919 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 2,235 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank grew its position in Alight by 16.2% during the second quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 16,434 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,000 after buying an additional 2,289 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Alight by 65.3% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,498 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 2,961 shares in the last quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. increased its holdings in Alight by 7.4% in the second quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 57,750 shares of the company’s stock valued at $426,000 after buying an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. lifted its position in shares of Alight by 19.2% during the 2nd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 30,034 shares of the company’s stock valued at $222,000 after acquiring an additional 4,839 shares during the period. 96.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. KeyCorp upped their price target on Alight from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Alight from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on Alight from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of Alight from $9.00 to $11.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Alight from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $8.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alight has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $10.95. Alight Price Performance Alight stock opened at $7.98 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.33 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.63 and a beta of 0.87. Alight, Inc. has a 12-month low of $6.15 and a 12-month high of $10.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $7.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $7.35. Alight ( NYSE:ALIT – Get Free Report ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09. The firm had revenue of $555.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $538.39 million. Alight had a negative net margin of 7.95% and a positive return on equity of 5.61%. Alight’s revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.07 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Alight, Inc. will post 0.47 earnings per share for the current year. Alight Dividend Announcement The firm also recently disclosed a — dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $0.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Insider Activity at Alight In other news, insider Gregory A. George sold 84,929 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.60, for a total transaction of $645,460.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 223,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,697,285.20. The trade was a 27.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link . Also, Director William P. Foley II sold 5,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.25, for a total value of $41,250,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 883,323 shares in the company, valued at $7,287,414.75. This trade represents a 84.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . Insiders own 5.33% of the company’s stock. Alight Profile ( Free Report ) Alight, Inc provides cloud-based integrated digital human capital and business solutions worldwide. The company operates through two segments, Employer Solutions and Professional Services. The Employer Solutions segment offers employee wellbeing, integrated benefits administration, healthcare navigation, financial wellbeing, leave of absence management, retiree healthcare and payroll; and operates AI-led capabilities software. Recommended Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ALIT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Alight, Inc. ( NYSE:ALIT – Free Report ). Receive News & Ratings for Alight Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Alight and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .Paid non-client promotion: Affiliate links for the products on this page are from partners that compensate us (see our advertiser disclosure with our list of partners for more details). However, our opinions are our own. See how we rate investing products to write unbiased product reviews. I have a 401(k) from an old job, so I asked a financial planner what to do with the funds. Since I'm self-employed, he suggested I put the funds in a traditional IRA or a Roth 401(k). If I had another employer, I could also roll the funds into a 401(k) through my employer. I'm spending quality time before the end of the year combing through my finances to find anything that needs to change or improve. I want to close out 2023 by fixing any lingering money mistakes or to-do list items that I should have taken care of months or years ago. When I was looking through my current retirement fund, I remembered that I had an old 401(k) from a job I was laid off from in 2015. I haven't thought about the money inside that account in years. It's hardly growing, and I haven't contributed to it since I lost that job. Unsure of what to do with the money inside that old 401(k), I chatted with certified financial planner Faron Daugs for advice. Here are three suggestions he shared for anyone who has old retirement funds from previous jobs. Compare Today's Banking Offers 1. Roll your old 401(k) into your current employer's plan While this option doesn't apply to me because I'm self-employed, one route that Daugs suggested is rolling your old 401(k) plan into the 401(k) plan offered by your current employer. People change jobs all the time, so Daugs often sees people who have multiple 401(k) plans with money in each of them. While you could keep these 401(k) plans separate, Daugs said there are small benefits that could come from merging these plans. "Combining your 401(k) plans into one can help you consolidate funds and potentially stop paying extra fees that could be associated with managing two separate 401(k) plans," he said. 2. Roll your old 401(k) into a traditional IRA or Roth 401(k) at an outside custodian If your current employer doesn't offer a retirement contribution plan or you want to take your money out of a 401(k) and put it in a different type of retirement fund, Daugs recommended rolling the money directly into a traditional IRA or Roth 401(k) . A traditional IRA is a retirement account where the money in the account is generally pre-tax and grows tax-deferred. A Roth 401(k) is similar to a Roth IRA and a 401(k), where you make post-tax contributions and earnings inside the account grow tax-free. There are a few benefits of going this route. First, Daugs said that if you had money in an old 401(k) and wanted to use that cash to buy an individual stock that you feel has long-term growth potential, you can do that within a traditional IRA or Roth IRA plan. He said that this isn't something you can generally do under a 401(k) umbrella. If you roll the money over, which means directly transferring it from your 401(k) into an IRA, you're able to keep the money tax-deferred and avoid early withdrawal penalties. Daugs also said going this route means you won't get taxed on any distributions from your old 401(k) plan. However, Daugs said that if the money you put into your old 401(k) was pre-tax money, you want to be sure to roll that into a traditional IRA. "If the money originally contributed was a Roth 401(k) contribution, you roll it to a Roth IRA. If you convert the IRA to a Roth later on, and you roll that money from an IRA into a Roth IRA, you would get taxed on the amount converted, but would not have to pay a penalty for moving it out of a 401(k)." "The benefit of doing a conversion is that going forward, all of the money inside of that IRA or Roth IRA grows tax-free," he said. "So someone in their 20s or 30s doing this can benefit 20 to 30 years down the road to have a tax-free bucket of money to eventually tap into." This is worth considering when you're doing your financial planning, Daugs said, because that money in a 401(k) is often pre-tax. "That means the money in your 401(k) will grow tax-deferred, and when it comes time to take the money out when you're retired, you will pay taxes on the distribution," he said. 3. Use the money for another investment — but watch out for hefty fees If you already have a well-funded retirement account and want to use the idle money in an old 401(k) for a different type of investment outside of a retirement plan, Daugs said you can withdraw the money, but likely at a cost. "You will have to pay income tax on the money you take out of your 401(k) as well as a penalty for withdrawing the money before retirement age of 591⁄2," he said. Instead, he recommended that if you want to use the 401(k) money to invest in the best CDs with higher-than-usual interest rates, you can do so by rolling the money into an IRA that's at a bank that offers those types of investments. Don't know where to start? Consider a financial advisor. Finding a financial advisor doesn't have to be hard. SmartAsset's free tool matches you with up to three fiduciary financial advisors who serve your area in minutes. Each advisor has been vetted by SmartAsset and is held to a fiduciary standard to act in your best interests. Start your search now. This story was originally published in October 2023.Stock market today: Wall Street slips as technology stocks drag on the market
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A 93-year-old former Catholic priest sentenced to life in prison earlier this month for raping a teenage boy has died, Louisiana authorities and his lawyer confirmed Friday. Less than two weeks after being sentenced to spend the rest of his life behind bars, Lawrence Hecker died of natural causes at 3 a.m. Thursday at the Elayn Hunt Correctional Center, according to Ken Pastorick, Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections communications director. Hecker had pleaded guilty to charges including first-degree rape and aggravated kidnapping shortly before jury selection for his long-delayed trial had been scheduled to begin earlier this month, with other victims prepared to testify against him. The survivor of the assault to which Hecker pleaded guilty had said that Hecker raped him after offering to ahead of tryouts for a school team in the mid-1970s. “The only prayer I can come up with I hope he spends eternity in hell after God’s judgment of him,” the survivor said in a written statement provided by his attorney, Richard Trahant. “Now after his death I feel vindicated and free,” he said. The Associated Press does not identify those who say they have been sexually assaulted. Hecker’s trial had been delayed for months partly because of questions around his mental competency. Hecker had suffered from dementia, his lawyer Bobby Hjortsberg said. Hecker had been ordained as an archdiocesan priest in 1958 and remained in this position even after facing an undisputed complaint of child molestation in the late 1980s, according to . Hecker left the ministry in 2002. Hecker’s conviction occurred amid a against the Catholic church in New Orleans, many resurfacing from decades ago. The fallout has left the Archdiocese of New Orleans embroiled in bankruptcy negotiations. ___ Brook is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Brook on the social platform X: @jack_brook96 ___ This story has been updated to clarify that Hecker died at the Elayn Hunt Correctional Center. Authorities had previously stated he died at a Baton Rouge hospital.Avalanche play the Lightning on 3-game win streak
Japan gov't mulls raising tax-free income threshold from January 2026