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City Holding (NASDAQ:CHCO) Shares Purchased by Franklin Resources Inc.It was no different for Jimmy Carter in the early 1970s. It took meeting several presidential candidates and then encouragement from an esteemed elder statesman before the young governor, who had never met a president himself, saw himself as something bigger. He announced his White House bid on December 12 1974, amid fallout from the Vietnam War and the resignation of Richard Nixon. Then he leveraged his unknown, and politically untainted, status to become the 39th president. That whirlwind path has been a model, explicit and otherwise, for would-be contenders ever since. “Jimmy Carter’s example absolutely created a 50-year window of people saying, ‘Why not me?’” said Steve Schale, who worked on President Barack Obama’s campaigns and is a long-time supporter of President Joe Biden. Mr Carter’s journey to high office began in Plains, Georgia where he received end-of-life care decades after serving as president. David Axelrod, who helped to engineer Mr Obama’s four-year ascent from state senator to the Oval Office, said Mr Carter’s model is about more than how his grassroots strategy turned the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary into his springboard. “There was a moral stain on the country, and this was a guy of deep faith,” Mr Axelrod said. “He seemed like a fresh start, and I think he understood that he could offer something different that might be able to meet the moment.” Donna Brazile, who managed Democrat Al Gore’s 2000 presidential campaign, got her start on Mr Carter’s two national campaigns. “In 1976, it was just Jimmy Carter’s time,” she said. Of course, the seeds of his presidential run sprouted even before Mr Nixon won a second term and certainly before his resignation in August 1974. In Mr Carter’s telling, he did not run for governor in 1966, he lost, or in 1970 thinking about Washington. Even when he announced his presidential bid, neither he nor those closest to him were completely confident. “President of what?” his mother, Lillian, replied when he told her his plans. But soon after he became governor in 1971, Mr Carter’s team envisioned him as a national player. They were encouraged in part by the May 31 Time magazine cover depicting Mr Carter alongside the headline “Dixie Whistles a Different Tune”. Inside, a flattering profile framed Mr Carter as a model “New South” governor. In October 1971, Carter ally Dr Peter Bourne, an Atlanta physician who would become US drug tsar, sent his politician friend an unsolicited memo outlining how he could be elected president. On October 17, a wider circle of advisers sat with Mr Carter at the Governor’s Mansion to discuss it. Mr Carter, then 47, wore blue jeans and a T-shirt, according to biographer Jonathan Alter. The team, including Mr Carter’s wife Rosalynn, who died aged 96 in November 2023, began considering the idea seriously. “We never used the word ‘president’,” Mr Carter recalled upon his 90th birthday, “but just referred to national office”. Mr Carter invited high-profile Democrats and Washington players who were running or considering running in 1972, to one-on-one meetings at the mansion. He jumped at the chance to lead the Democratic National Committee’s national campaign that year. The position allowed him to travel the country helping candidates up and down the ballot. Along the way, he was among the Southern governors who angled to be George McGovern’s running mate. Mr Alter said Mr Carter was never seriously considered. Still, Mr Carter got to know, among others, former vice president Hubert Humphrey and senators Henry Jackson of Washington, Eugene McCarthy of Maine and Mr McGovern of South Dakota, the eventual nominee who lost a landslide to Mr Nixon. Mr Carter later explained he had previously defined the nation’s highest office by its occupants immortalised by monuments. “For the first time,” Mr Carter told The New York Times, “I started comparing my own experiences and knowledge of government with the candidates, not against ‘the presidency’ and not against Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. It made it a whole lot easier”. Adviser Hamilton Jordan crafted a detailed campaign plan calling for matching Mr Carter’s outsider, good-government credentials to voters’ general disillusionment, even before Watergate. But the team still spoke and wrote in code, as if the “higher office” were not obvious. It was reported during his campaign that Mr Carter told family members around Christmas 1972 that he would run in 1976. Mr Carter later wrote in a memoir that a visit from former secretary of state Dean Rusk in early 1973 affirmed his leanings. During another private confab in Atlanta, Mr Rusk told Mr Carter plainly: “Governor, I think you should run for president in 1976.” That, Mr Carter wrote, “removed our remaining doubts.” Mr Schale said the process is not always so involved. “These are intensely competitive people already,” he said of governors, senators and others in high office. “If you’re wired in that capacity, it’s hard to step away from it.” “Jimmy Carter showed us that you can go from a no-name to president in the span of 18 or 24 months,” said Jared Leopold, a top aide in Washington governor Jay Inslee’s unsuccessful bid for Democrats’ 2020 nomination. “For people deciding whether to get in, it’s a real inspiration,” Mr Leopold continued, “and that’s a real success of American democracy”.
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Artificial intelligence. Abortion. Guns. Marijuana. Minimum wages. Name a hot topic, and chances are good there’s a new law about it taking effect in 2025 in one state or another. Many of the laws launching in January are a result of legislation passed this year. Others stem from ballot measures approved by voters. Some face legal challenges. Here’s a look at some of the most notable laws taking effect in various states: California, home to Hollywood and some of the largest technology companies, is seeking to rein in the artificial intelligence industry and put some parameters around social media stars. New laws seek to prevent the use of digital replicas of Hollywood actors and performers without permission and to allow the estates of dead performers to sue over unauthorized AI use. Parents who profit from social media posts featuring their children will be required to set aside some earnings for their young influencers. A new law also allows children to sue their parents for failing to do so. New social media restrictions in several states face court challenges. A Florida law bans children under 14 from having social media accounts and requires parental consent for 14- and 15-year-olds. But enforcement has been delayed due to a lawsuit filed by two associations for online companies, with a hearing scheduled for late February. A new Tennessee law also requires parental consent for minors to open accounts on social media. NetChoice, an industry group for online businesses, is challenging the law. Another new state law requires porn websites to verify that visitors are at least 18 years old. But the Free Speech Coalition, a trade association for the adult entertainment industry, has filed a challenge. Several new California measures aimed at combating political deep fakes are also being challenged, including one requiring large social media platforms to remove deceptive content related to elections and another allowing any individual to sue for damages over the use of AI to create fabricated images or videos in political ads. In a first nationally, California will start enforcing a law prohibiting school districts from adopting policies that require staff to notify parents whose children change their gender identification at school. The law was a priority for Democratic lawmakers who wanted to halt such policies, which were passed by several districts. Many states have passed laws limiting or protecting abortion rights since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a nationwide right to the procedure in 2022. One of the latest comes in the Democratic-led state of Delaware. A law there will require the state employee health plan and Medicaid plans for lower-income residents to cover abortions with no deductible, co-payment or other cost-sharing requirement. A new Minnesota law prohibits guns with “binary triggers” that allow for more-rapid firing by causing a weapon to fire one round when the trigger is pulled and another when it is released. In Delaware, a law adds colleges and universities to a list of school zones where guns are prohibited, with exceptions for those working in their official capacity such as law officers and commissioned security guards. Kentucky is becoming the latest state to let people use marijuana for medical purposes. To apply for a state medical cannabis card, people must get written certification from a medical provider of a qualifying condition, such as cancer, multiple sclerosis, chronic pain, epilepsy, chronic nausea or post-traumatic stress disorder. Nearly four-fifths of U.S. states have now legalized medical marijuana. Minimum wage workers in more than 20 states are due to receive raises in January. The highest minimum wages will be in Washington, California and Connecticut, all of which will top $16 an hour after modest increases. The largest increases are scheduled in Delaware, where the minimum wage will rise by $1.75 to $15 an hour, and in Nebraska, where a ballot measure approved by voters in 2022 will add $1.50 to the current minimum of $12 an hour. Twenty other states still follow the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. In Oregon, using drugs on public transit will be considered a misdemeanor crime of interfering with public transportation. While the measure worked its way through the Legislature, multiple transportation officials said drug use on buses and trains, and at transit stops and stations, was making passengers and drivers feel less safe. In Missouri, law enforcement officers have spent the last 16 months issuing warnings to motorists that handheld cellphone use is illegal. Starting with the new year, penalties will kick in: a $150 fine for the first violation, progressing to $500 for third and subsequent offenses and up to 15 years in prison if a driver using a cellphone causes an injury or death. But police must notice a primary violation, such as speeding or weaving across lanes, to cite motorists for violating the cellphone law. Montana is the only state that hasn’t banned texting while driving, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Tenants in Arizona will no longer have to pay tax on their monthly rent, thanks to the repeal of a law that had allowed cities and towns to impose such taxes. While a victory for renters, the new law is a financial loss for governments. An analysis by Arizona’s nonpartisan Joint Legislative Budget Committee estimated that $230 million would be lost in municipal tax revenue during the first full fiscal year of implementation. Meanwhile Alabama will offer tax credits to businesses that help employees with child care costs. Kansas is eliminating its 2% sales tax on groceries. It also is cutting individual income taxes by dropping the top tax rate, increasing a credit for child-care expenses and exempting all Social Security income from taxes, among other things. Taxpayers are expected to save about $320 million a year going forward. An Oklahoma law expands voting privileges to people who have been convicted of felonies but had their sentences discharged or commuted, including commutations for crimes that have been reclassified from felonies to misdemeanors. Former state Sen. George Young, an Oklahoma City Democrat, carried the bill in the Senate. “I think it’s very important [for] people who have gone through trials and tribulations in their life, that we have a system that brings them back and allows them to participate as contributing citizens,” Young said. Lieb writes for the Associated Press. AP writers Trân Nguyễn in Sacramento; Kate Payne in Tallahassee, Fl a. ; Jonathan Mattise in Nashville; Randall Chase in Dover, Del . ; Steve Karnowski in Minneapolis; Bruce Schreiner in Frankfort, K y. ; Claire Rush in Portland, Ore . ; Summer Ballentine in Jefferson City, M o. ; Gabriel Sandoval in Phoenix; Kim Chandler in Montgomery, Ala . ; John Hanna in Topeka, Kan . ; and Sean Murphy in Oklahoma City contributed to this report .Franklin Resources Inc. Buys 11,583 Shares of Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE:JWN)
Unlike scores of people who scrambled for the blockbuster drugs Ozempic and Wegovy to lose weight in recent years, Danielle Griffin had no trouble getting them. The 38-year-old information technology worker from New Mexico had a prescription. Her pharmacy had the drugs in stock. And her health insurance covered all but $25 to $50 of the monthly cost. For Griffin, the hardest part of using the new drugs wasn’t access. It was finding out that the much-hyped medications didn’t really work for her. “I have been on Wegovy for a year and a half and have only lost 13 pounds,” said Griffin, who watches her diet, drinks plenty of water and exercises regularly. “I’ve done everything right with no success. It’s discouraging.” In clinical trials, most participants taking Wegovy or Mounjaro to treat obesity lost an average of 15% to 22% of their body weight — up to 50 pounds or more in many cases. But roughly 10% to 15% of patients in those trials were “nonresponders” who lost less than 5% of their body weight. Now that millions of people have used the drugs, several obesity experts told The Associated Press that perhaps 20% of patients — as many as 1 in 5 — may not respond well to the medications. It's a little-known consequence of the obesity drug boom, according to doctors who caution eager patients not to expect one-size-fits-all results. “It's all about explaining that different people have different responses,” said Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford, an obesity expert at Massachusetts General Hospital The drugs are known as GLP-1 receptor agonists because they mimic a hormone in the body known as glucagon-like peptide 1. Genetics, hormones and variability in how the brain regulates energy can all influence weight — and a person's response to the drugs, Stanford said. Medical conditions such as sleep apnea can prevent weight loss, as can certain common medications, such as antidepressants, steroids and contraceptives. “This is a disease that stems from the brain,” said Stanford. “The dysfunction may not be the same” from patient to patient. Despite such cautions, patients are often upset when they start getting the weekly injections but the numbers on the scale barely budge. “It can be devastating,” said Dr. Katherine Saunders, an obesity expert at Weill Cornell Medicine and co-founder of the obesity treatment company FlyteHealth. “With such high expectations, there’s so much room for disappointment.” That was the case for Griffin, who has battled obesity since childhood and hoped to shed 70 pounds using Wegovy. The drug helped reduce her appetite and lowered her risk of diabetes, but she saw little change in weight. “It’s an emotional roller coaster,” she said. “You want it to work like it does for everybody else.” The medications are typically prescribed along with eating behavior and lifestyle changes. It’s usually clear within weeks whether someone will respond to the drugs, said Dr. Jody Dushay, an endocrine specialist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Weight loss typically begins right away and continues as the dosage increases. For some patients, that just doesn't happen. For others, side effects such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea force them to halt the medications, Dushay said. In such situations, patients who were counting on the new drugs to pare pounds may think they’re out of options. “I tell them: It's not game over,” Dushay said. Trying a different version of the new class of drugs may help. Griffin, who didn't respond well to Wegovy, has started using Zepbound, which targets an additional hormone pathway in the body. After three months of using the drug, she has lost 7 pounds. “I'm hoping it's slow and steady,” she said. Other people respond well to older drugs, the experts said. Changing diet, exercise, sleep and stress habits can also have profound effects. Figuring out what works typically requires a doctor trained to treat obesity, Saunders noted. “Obesity is such a complex disease that really needs to be treated very comprehensively,” she said. “If what we’re prescribing doesn’t work, we always have a backup plan.” ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Jonel Aleccia, The Associated Press
Bronx nonprofits say the city is months late in reimbursing them for millions of dollars in contracted services, straining their financial outlook and ability to provide critical social services. While this issue is not new, leaders of organizations say this year has been worse than ever. BronxWorks — which provides youth programming, meals, homeless shelters and more — is currently owed $9 million in unreimbursed services and recently had to use a line of credit to cover payroll, chief financial officer Gordon Miller told the Bronx Times. Bronx Defenders, a provider of legal assistance and holisti c support for Bronxites in the criminal justice system, is waiting on $1 million, according to Executive Director Juval Scott. The Mayor’s Office of Contract Services (MOCS), however, told the Bronx Times that the city is dedicated to helping nonprofits “navigate the invoicing challenges” and assisting them in getting paid. Despite the city’s pledge, organizations say that late payments, which have been a persistent problem, are now even worse. The city contracts with social service providers for billions each year, but slow payments are leaving many scrambling, forcing some to cover expenses through borrowing — and footing the bill for high interest costs. Small nonprofits are especially affected — even waiting on $10,000 can have a drastic impact on their bottom line, said June Jimenez, interim executive director of the Bronx Community Foundation, which supports the borough’s nonprofit sector. Lack of consequences Past attempts to improve the city contract process resulted in temporary gains. Shortly after Mayor Eric Adams was elected, he and Comptroller Brad Lander announced a Task Force on Nonprofit Contracting, culminating in a February 2022 report with recommendations for improving the “onerous and slow” process. That spring, the mayor touted his “Clear the Backlog” initiative, which freed up over $4 billion in contractual dollars owed to nonprofits. But any past progress is now “stalled” — and the city is again unacceptably late in payments to many nonprofits doing critical work, said Council Members Althea Stevens and Justin Brannan in a recent op-ed . Stevens, who represents the southwest Bronx, and Brannan, who represents Brooklyn neighborhoods including Bay Ridge and Coney Island, said the current contract process creates no incentive for prompt repayment, as it has no set timeframes or deadlines — a fact that has apparently not changed since the same concern was raised in the 2022 task force report. “[T]he city is behaving like a disengaged, deadbeat parent,” wrote Stevens and Brannan, who are working together on legislation requiring the city to pay interest on late payments. Stevens told the Bronx Times that “Clear the Backlog” was proof that the administration knows how to resolve the issue but has not consistently made it a priority — leaving nonprofits “essentially floating the city.” “If the city doesn’t have consequences, they don’t have incentive to pay these people,” she said. In a statement to the Bronx Times, MOCS affirmed the administration’s commitment to keeping critical service organizations going, noting that the nonprofits also have many employees. “The Adams administration has made it clear that supporting the workers that provide vital services to New Yorkers, particularly our most vulnerable residents is a top priority.” The office pointed to measures aimed at protecting vulnerable New Yorkers — while acknowledging challenges in the contract process. “MOCS continues to collaborate with the City’s contracting agencies to ensure that procurement professionals and our nonprofits receive the necessary information, resources, and personalized support to successfully navigate the invoicing challenges.” But Stevens said local nonprofits are not receiving enough help. The task force should be reconvened, she said, because many social service organizations are worried about even making payroll in December — putting thousands of New Yorkers at risk for a terrible holiday season without the services they rely on. Stevens predicted that until change comes to the contract process, more nonprofits may suffer the same fate as Sheltering Arms, which shuttered and filed for bankruptcy in 2023 after years of budget cuts and delayed city payments. “It’s not their fault. This is not okay,” she said. ‘It’s unsustainable’ Many New York City nonprofits are increasingly dissatisfied when contracting with the city. In a recent survey by the Human Services Council of New York, a coalition of nonprofit organizations, half of its 70 respondents called the contract process “the worst it has ever been.” Raye Barbieri, CEO of the Kingsbridge Heights Community Center, agreed. “This year seems to be particularly horrible for everybody across the board.” The center was founded in 1974 and has a food justice arm, a rape crisis center, early childhood programming and more. The Human Services Council survey found that 90% of respondents were waiting on payments totaling $365 million — and nearly one-third were delayed by more than six months. Additionally, the survey found that 48% of respondents had to use loans or lines of credit to cover the late funds, saddling them with a total of $6 million in interest that cannot be reimbursed. A major contributor to the delays lies with PASSPort, the city’s system for contract management, which was upgraded this year to include invoicing and payment capabilities, said Miller at BronxWorks. Problems with implementing the new functionality appear to have made the existing backlog problem even worse, he said. The public version of PASSPort can be found here . The city defended the technology, saying in a statement that “MOCS is diligently working around the clock to evaluate the PASSPort system and implement upgrades that enhance in-system payment processes. This is to guarantee that payments to our valued nonprofit contracting partners are not interrupted.” But Miller said payments have indeed been severely interrupted — and that BronxWorks is paying the price. While he said he has seen recent signs that the backlog is slowly clearing and the city granted two partial advances on their contract, those funds dried up, leaving BronxWorks no choice but to use a line of credit to make payroll. For now, the organization is getting by, he said. “We’re still continuing our excellent service and working with our clients.” But even if every problem with PASSPort was fixed tomorrow, “You gotta play catch up.” Barbieri said her organization has not yet needed to use its available line of credit, thanks only to scrimping and saving, and she could not give a dollar amount for which the Kingsbridge Heights Community Center is owed. But she said there is much anxiety around the delays, especially for their largest contracts with the Department of Education. Barbieri said nonprofits are treated unfairly compared to other entities that contract with the city. Despite — or perhaps because of — the essential nature of their work, they have little choice but to keep going while waiting on their funds. “There’s no other category of vendor in New York City that would ever be expected to or asked to provide services, programming or supplies before a contract is registered and in place,” she said. There’s no construction company that’s going to say, ‘Sure, we’ll start working without a contract.’” ‘It’s unsustainable’ Scott at Bronx Defenders also expressed frustration at not being able to begin any steps of the reimbursement process. The organization has been unable to submit invoices in PASSPort for the past six months due to technical problems, she said. The late payments are bringing down staff morale, adding another layer of stress to their already challenging workload — which in turn trickles down to clients, said Scott. Within Bronx Defenders, the sectors waiting on the most money are legal services for immigrant families and residents facing eviction, areas that already struggle to meet demand, said Scott. The late payments “seriously jeopardize” the organization’s ability to continue services, she said. As with BronxWorks, the city also gave the Bronx Defenders a partial advance on their contract, which got them through for a time. But now, with the advance running out, Scott said she desperately wants to avoid taking out a loan. “It’s unsustainable,” she said. “It’s not a good way to manage.” Scott said while the late payments seem mainly due to technical and administrative problems, they have a real “punitive effect” on nonprofit organizations. If the Bronx Defenders takes away funds for other services to cover loan interest, “The people that benefit from this are the banks.” Barbieri said while nonprofits are resilient, the sector needs to be treated with greater priority. Until reform comes, her organization will continue its work — such as providing holiday food packages for over 500 residents last week — even if running on fumes. “We’re gonna deliver services because that’s our mission,” she said. “A construction company can say ‘full work stoppage.’ We can’t do that.” Reach Emily Swanson at eswanson@schnepsmedia.com or (646) 717-0015. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimesUnlike scores of people who for the blockbuster drugs Ozempic and Wegovy to lose weight in recent years, Danielle Griffin had no trouble getting them. The 38-year-old information technology worker from New Mexico had a prescription. Her pharmacy had the drugs in stock. And her covered all but $25 to $50 of the monthly cost. For Griffin, the hardest part of using the new drugs wasn’t access. It was finding out that the didn’t really work for her. “I have been on Wegovy for a year and a half and have only lost 13 pounds,” said Griffin, who watches her diet, drinks plenty of water and exercises regularly. “I’ve done everything right with no success. It’s discouraging.” In clinical trials, most participants taking Wegovy or Mounjaro to treat obesity lost an average of 15% to 22% of their body weight — up to 50 pounds or more in many cases. But roughly 10% to 15% of patients in those trials were “nonresponders” who lost less than 5% of their body weight. Now that millions of people have used the drugs, several obesity experts told The Associated Press that perhaps 20% of patients — as many as 1 in 5 — may not respond well to the medications. It’s a little-known consequence of the obesity drug boom, according to doctors who caution eager patients not to expect one-size-fits-all results. “It’s all about explaining that different people have different responses,” said Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford, an obesity expert at Massachusetts General Hospital The drugs are known as GLP-1 receptor agonists because they mimic a hormone in the body known as glucagon-like peptide 1. Genetics, hormones and variability in how the brain regulates energy can all influence weight — and a person’s response to the drugs, Stanford said. Medical conditions such as sleep apnea can prevent weight loss, as can certain common medications, such as antidepressants, steroids and contraceptives. “This is a disease that stems from the brain,” said Stanford. “The dysfunction may not be the same” from patient to patient. Despite such cautions, patients are often upset when they start getting the weekly injections but the numbers on the scale barely budge. “It can be devastating,” said Dr. Katherine Saunders, an obesity expert at Weill Cornell Medicine and co-founder of the obesity treatment company FlyteHealth. “With such high expectations, there’s so much room for disappointment.” That was the case for Griffin, who has battled obesity since childhood and hoped to shed 70 pounds using Wegovy. The drug helped reduce her appetite and lowered her risk of diabetes, but she saw little change in weight. “It’s an emotional roller coaster,” she said. “You want it to work like it does for everybody else.” The medications are along with eating behavior and lifestyle changes. It’s usually clear within weeks whether someone will respond to the drugs, said Dr. Jody Dushay, an endocrine specialist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Weight loss typically begins right away and continues as the dosage increases. For some patients, that just doesn’t happen. For others, side effects such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea force them to halt the medications, Dushay said. In such situations, patients who were counting on the new drugs to pare pounds may think they’re out of options. “I tell them: It’s not game over,” Dushay said. Trying a different version of the new class of drugs may help. Griffin, who didn’t respond well to Wegovy, has started using Zepbound, which targets an additional hormone pathway in the body. After three months of using the drug, she has lost 7 pounds. “I’m hoping it’s slow and steady,” she said. Other people respond well to older drugs, the experts said. Changing diet, exercise, sleep and stress habits can also have profound effects. Figuring out what works typically requires a doctor trained to treat obesity, Saunders noted. “Obesity is such a complex disease that really needs to be treated very comprehensively,” she said. “If what we’re prescribing doesn’t work, we always have a backup plan.” ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Jonel Aleccia, The Associated Press