33 jili

33 jili MAHOMET — Minutes before she and two family members were fatally shot Wednesday night, a Mahomet woman described the man thought to be the killer in a social-media post. On a Twitter account where she shared occasional selfies, life updates and memes, Sara Mason, 26, posted about a man in a motorcycle helmet being outside her home the night of Wednesday, Dec. 18, less than 20 minutes before police were called to the scene. "Trying not to be scared suburban white woman about the dude waiting outside of my house for a .... While now? Wanting to speak to my brother while wearing a motorcycle helmet (drive in a car)," she posted at 9:22 p.m. Within a minute, she added, "He like left but will probably be back. Anyway." Mahomet police were called at 9:41 p.m. to the residence on Riverside Court, where they discovered Mason, who was pronounced dead at the scene; and her mother, 61-year-old Janis Mason, and brother, 23-year-old Caleb Mason, who both died a little later after being taken to Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana. It does not appear that Sara Mason recognized John R. Lyons, 24, the man police suspect in the triple homicide. Lyons fled to suburban Chicago, where he was killed in a confrontation with police in Berwyn. Champaign County court records indicate that in June, Lyons filed a lawsuit alleging Caleb Mason had harmed him in some way and requesting compensation in an amount between $15,000 and $50,000. Mahomet police Chief Mike Metzler said Lyons knew one of the victims. Police reports thus far have not included details about whether Lyons was wearing a motorcycle helmet. However, on Thursday, Dec. 19, far-right political pundit and streamer Nicholas Fuentes posted that an armed individual who arrived at his house late Wednesday night wearing a motorcycle helmet had "committed a triple homicide in southern Illinois." "Last night an armed killer made an attempt on my life at my home, which was recently doxed on this platform," Fuentes wrote. He said the killer broke into his neighbor's home in Berwyn, where police said Lyons broke in and killed two dogs while attempting to evade arrest. Fuentes posted multiple clips of footage from Ring security cameras that show a man in brown pants, a blue coat and a white motorcycle helmet who is carrying a firearm and crossbow. In the footage, the man gets out of a car while wearing a motorcycle helmet and appears to ring the doorbell and knock on the front door, then attempt to gain access through multiple entry points. The only audio in any of the clips is while the man is at the front door and apparently says "Yo, Nick." Timestamps on footage Fuentes posted indicate the events around his home in Berwyn beginning at 11:29 p.m., about one hour and 50 minutes after police were called to the home in Mahomet. About 10 minutes later, at 11:38 p.m., Berwyn police responded to a report of a man with a gun. "It is to the freedom of the people of Illinois that we are addressing this law," Gov. J.B. Pritzker said May 10, referring to the state's semiautomatic weapons ban, "their freedom to be at the Highland Park parade without getting shot and killed." Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email.Bucks Among Best Suitors for 2-Time Dunk Contest Champion

Heavy travel day off to a rough start after American Airlines briefly grounds all flightsThe JVP-led NPP government has failed to carry out its promise to import rice due to some flaws in the process of preparing tenders. It has asked for some more time to bring in the promised rice from India. Private traders have already imported 72,000 MT of rice. The state sector stands exposed for its inefficiency. Is it that the new government is not competent enough to carry out even a simple task like importing rice, which successive governments resorted to, as an ad hoc measure, to address the issue of escalating prices of rice, instead of taming the Millers’ Mafia? Why the incumbent administration has botched the process of tendering for rice imports defies comprehension. Has anyone scuttled the government’s import plan in support of the private sector importers, as alleged by the Opposition, and some consumer rights protection groups, which have called for a probe? It has been pointed out in Parliament that the government is taxing imported rice at the rate of Rs. 65 a kilo and boosting its revenue instead of making a serious effort to make rice available at affordable prices vis-à-vis market manipulations by the Millers’ Mafia. The Opposition has alleged that some powerful millers are also among the rice importers, and they are getting the best of both worlds. Close on the heels of the JVP-led NPP’s victory in the last presidential election, the owner of Araliya Rice, Dudley Sirisena, who is one of the wealthy millers blamed for manipulating rice/paddy markets and exploiting farmers and consumers alike, promised at a media briefing to ensure that there would be enough rice in the market at the then maximum retail prices stipulated by the Consumer Affairs Authority. The medium/small scale millers panicked and released all their rice stocks to the market, but the millers’ cartel did not do so and is now making the most of the artificially created rice scarcity to earn unconscionable profits. The government, in its wisdom, increased the maximum retail prices of rice by Rs. 10 and played into the hands of the rice hoarders. As a result, the price of nadu rice has increased from Rs. 230 much to the glee of the powerful millers! The price of this particular variety of rice, which is popular among a majority of Sri Lankans, was about Rs. 180 before the 21 September presidential election. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and other JVP/NPP stalwarts have gone on record as saying that the country has produced enough paddy, and the rice shortage is due to hoarding, but the government has baulked at taking on the hoarders and is trying band-aid remedies. The government has extended the deadline for rice imports until 10 Jan. 2025. The large-scale millers will ensure that more rice is imported before the commencement of the next harvesting period so that they can release some of their stocks, flood the rice market, bring down the prices of rice and exploit farmers by purchasing paddy at cheaper rates. Thereafter, they will hoard their paddy, causing the prices of rice to rise. They also leverage their influence derived from their financial prowess to delay bank loans for small/medium-scale millers so that the latter cannot begin purchasing paddy when harvesting commences. Previous governments did not care to put an end to the powerful millers’ sordid operations, and the people expected the incumbent administration to be different due to its rhetoric and numerous promises. That is why they voted overwhelmingly for it in last month’s general election, enabling it to secure a two-thirds majority in Parliament. But the millers’ cartel with political connections and huge slush funds, continues to call the shots. Have the people been taken for a ride again?

5. Mohamed Salah - The Liverpool forward has been a key player in the Reds' recent successes. Will he sign a new deal at Anfield or look for a new challenge in Spain or Italy?In conclusion, the expulsion of He Miao from the party and his removal from public office serve as a stark reminder of the consequences of unethical behavior and corruption in the financial sector. It underscores the importance of maintaining high ethical standards, transparency, and accountability in leadership roles to uphold the integrity and trustworthiness of financial institutions. Moving forward, it is crucial for all stakeholders in the banking industry to remain vigilant and committed to promoting a culture of integrity and ethical conduct to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.

One of the key factors contributing to the value "anchor" of non-real estate assets in the real estate market is the diversification benefits they offer. By investing in REITs, investors can gain exposure to a wide range of properties and property types, reducing the risk associated with investing in a single property. Additionally, non-real estate assets such as stocks and bonds often have more liquid markets, providing investors with greater flexibility in terms of buying and selling assets.Northern leaders have expressed displeasure over President Bola Tinubu’s declaration that there will be no reversal on the controversial tax reform bills. The leaders, comprising members of the National Assembly, the League of Northern Democrats, and the Northern Elders’ Forum, criticised the President’s firm position, describing it as unilateral and devoid of inclusive consultations. During his maiden media chat held on Monday in Lagos, the President acknowledged that the bills might not be embraced by everyone, but maintained that there was no turning back on them. He added that the tax reform bills were necessitated by the need to eliminate colonial-based assumptions in the nation’s tax environment. Speaking to Saturday PUNCH , the lawmaker representing Nasarawa South Senatorial District, Senator Mohammed Onawo, said the President must allow National Assembly members to perform their duties without undue interference from other arms of government. He emphasised the importance of adhering to due legislative procedures, noting that, as a former legislator, the President should respect the established process. Onawo stated, “If the President, who was once a legislator, is passing judgment on bills that are before the National Assembly, it is unfortunate. “Be it good or bad, the President should let the bills go through the normal legislative process and get the approval of the legislators. If they get approval, they will become law, but if they don’t, they die. “I don’t subscribe to a situation where a president introduces a bill to the National Assembly and doesn’t give the lawmakers a chance to go through it and says it’s here to stay. For a legislature as reputable as this one, I think that’s wrong.” He added, “Most of the people, even the legislators commenting on the bills, have not gone through the full content to know whether they’re good or bad. It’s just the summary that is being passed around. “There is no bill initiated by anyone that is totally bad. The right thing is for legislators to go through the bills, identify contentious areas, and amend those that do not represent the public’s opinion or will not benefit the general public. “Even laws as old as 100 years can be amended; so, I don’t see any reason why anyone will claim it’s good or bad without reviewing the content. “We will look at the bills, and if any part is contentious or doesn’t benefit the people we represent, we will bring our opinions together, and at the end of the day, those with popular opinion will ensure the bills pass.” Also commenting on the issue, Senator Ibrahim Gobir, who represented Sokoto East in the 9th Assembly, accused Tinubu of playing “politics of tribalism” with the tax reform bills. According to him, the President cannot unilaterally implement the bills without legislative approval. He criticised the proposed allocation of value-added tax revenue, saying, “If the parliament agrees with the bills, that’s fine, but if they do not agree, what can he do? Will he do it without the legislature? Related News Exercise patience with Tinubu, UK APC urges Nigerians Tinubu mourns ex-Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh Businessman urges FG to sanitise Customs “The bills are not only about the North; they are about Nigeria. You cannot be the president of only the Yoruba; he is the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. All Nigerians, not just Yoruba people, voted for him. Why should he be a regional president when this bill will benefit only Lagos, Rivers, and Ogun states? “Section 77 of the bill is the main issue. Consumers in Nigeria are not only Yoruba or Lagosians; they are all over the nation. When I drink Pepsi here in Abuja, I have to pay VAT to Lagos – why? If that is the case, then for any food item brought from the North, the VAT on it should be paid to the North. “How can you give the impression that one section of the country is better than the other? What about the people from the Niger Delta who produce the oil that everyone is stealing?” When asked if the legislators would review the bills before passing them, Gobir said, “We are not going to review them; we are going to dump them unless they correct all the abnormalities in the bills.” On its part, the Northern Elders’ Forum said Tinubu’s declaration that the “tax reform bills are here to stay” undermined the principle of democracy. The spokesman for the NEF, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, in an interview with Saturday PUNCH , cautioned Tinubu against causing a crisis between the executive and legislative arms of government. He said, “President Tinubu’s declaration raises concerns. The potential for bypassing the legislative process, inherent in his strong assertion, undermines the principles of democratic governance. “By pre-emptively declaring the bills’ passage, the President risks alienating lawmakers and potentially creating unnecessary political friction.” Commenting on Tinubu’s declaration, the League of Northern Democrats cautioned the President against rigidity on issues affecting the general welfare of citizens. Speaking on behalf of the group, a former spokesman for the ex-Vice President Namadi Sambo and a pioneer member of the LND, Umar Sani, said, “We know that the country requires tax reform. One of the reasons for tax reform is to fight corruption. “Corruption is very high because people don’t pay taxes. If people pay taxes, the rate of corruption will be lower because you know the larger part of the money you steal will go to the government. “But there are areas we want the government to review, like the inheritance tax, which is against religion, and some other incidentals. There are areas we agree with the bills, and we have given suggestions on areas we don’t agree with. In summary, our position is not against the bills. “The President has offended the sensibilities of many Nigerians, particularly those of our leaders, with his declaration, and it shows the level of independence of our National Assembly. The President should not be rigid in decision-making.” The PUNCH reported that on September 3, 2024, Tinubu transmitted four tax reform bills to the National Assembly for consideration, following the recommendations of the Taiwo Oyedele-led Presidential Committee on Fiscal and Tax Reforms. The bills include the Nigeria Tax Bill 2024, which aims to provide the fiscal framework for taxation in the country, and the Tax Administration Bill, which will provide a clear and concise legal framework for all taxes in the country and reduce disputes. Others are the Nigeria Revenue Service Establishment Bill, expected to repeal the Federal Inland Revenue Service Act and establish the Nigeria Revenue Service, as well as the Joint Revenue Board Establishment Bill, which will create a tax tribunal and a tax ombudsman.The fire quickly spread and engulfed a significant portion of the mountain, causing extensive damage to the natural environment and wildlife. Local firefighters worked tirelessly to contain the blaze and prevent it from spreading further, but the damage had already been done. The once lush and vibrant mountain now lay charred and desolate, a stark reminder of the consequences of irresponsible actions.

For the environment, this failed temperature drop could have far-reaching consequences. As temperatures remain warmer than expected following snow events, it can impact ecosystems, wildlife, and overall ecological balance. Species that depend on specific temperature ranges for survival may face challenges adapting to the unanticipated warmer conditions. Additionally, prolonged warmer temperatures could also exacerbate issues such as melting glaciers, changing precipitation patterns, and altering habitats.Heat pumps are much more efficient than oil furnaces or gas boilers. They produce double or triple the heat per unit of energy. They cost more to purchase and install, but the savings allow them to pay for themselves after a few years. Most residential heat pumps are air source units, which means their performance is dependent on the temperature of the air outside. That means they must be optimized for the environment they operate in. There are heat pumps on the market today that provide heat just fine in sub-zero weather, but they may not be quite as good at making cold air in the summer when it is hot outside. By the same token, some heat pumps do a great job of cooling in the summer but struggle to make heat in the winter. Geothermal heat pumps solve that dilemma. The temperature of the Earth 50 to 200 feet below the surface remains quite constant all year long. That means a heat pump designed to operate at that temperature can work as efficiently as possible in all seasons. Call it Heat Pump 2.0 . As efficient as air source heat pumps are, ground source heat pumps are even more so. There is one problem. Getting a company to come to your house to drill a few holes in the Earth so you can send water down one pipe to be warmed or cooled by the Earth and then pipe it back to the surface is expensive. Google tried this with its Dandelion spinoff but the high cost made it a tough sell in the residential market. The added efficiency was a good thing, but the upfront investment was too much for most homeowners. But what if instead of drilling hundreds of holes for hundreds of homes, you drilled just a few and distributed the constant-temperature water to residences and commercial buildings just like the gas company in many cities distributes its gas? Better yet, what if the gas company, instead of fighting the idea, decided to install the pipes to distribute the water from those geothermal wells, thereby having a new product to offer its existing customers? That’s exactly what has happened in the Metro West city of Framingham, Massachusetts. In June, Eversource, the local gas and electric utility company, completed a geothermal system in Framingham that provides heating and cooling for an entire neighborhood, including public housing residents, by tapping low temperature thermal heat from underground wells. It is the first geothermal system ever built by a gas utility, but more than that, it serves as a demonstration project that could chart a new course for methane (natural gas) distribution companies to transitioning away from gas while preserving jobs. The job of installing and maintaining pipes is what utility companies do. They have the right equipment and the knowledge to do it well. Why not put that expertise to work to help communities lower their emissions while keeping the current workforce fully employed? On December 3, 2024, Massachusetts governor Maura Healey signed legislation allowing gas utilities to move beyond pilot projects by granting them permission to provide geothermal heating and cooling as an alternative to gas throughout their service areas. Seven other states have recently passed similar legislation, and countries across central Asia could soon build similar projects, according to Inside Climate News . “It’s taking root across the country, across the world,” Zayneb Magavi, 51, the executive director of HEET , a Boston nonprofit working to develop neighborhood-scale geothermal heating and cooling systems, said recently. “We have a once in many lifetimes opportunity to transform an industry, to build a better energy system and a more sustainable world. We just need to be brave enough to listen to the other side.” In 2016, Magavi, who is a physicist, and other activists attended a meeting with people from Eversource, including Bill Akley, who was president of gas operations for the company at that time. He assumed he was in for an earful. “My expectations were, it’s going to be a list of demands and a lot of poking at all the things we’re doing wrong,” he said recently. Prior to the meeting, the activists had “categorically attacked” the entire gas industry by calling out locations of hundreds of gas leaks across the city of Cambridge. The odds of the meeting being successful were slight. Magavi was focused primarily on how to address climate change by getting people to stop burning fossil fuels entirely. A climate law Massachusetts passed in 2021 effectively required as much by 2050. However, no one knew how to get homes off gas without laying off an entire industry of workers or leaving low-income ratepayers on the hook for maintaining a dwindling system of underground pipes. At the meeting in 2016, she said, “‘I have three children and I am worried about their future. I want to do something to help protect their future, because I feel it’s unethical for us not to act.” She told ICN there was a moment of uncomfortable silence before Akley looked at her and said, “Well, I have three kids too.” That, as it turns out, became the common ground the group needed to forge an alliance. Eversource ended up working with the groups who came to that meeting to find and plug the biggest gas leaks in Cambridge. In the summer of 2017, Magavi frequently worked alongside gas company work crews. Seeing them go down into trenches to address leaks from pipes, some of which dated back as far as the 1800s, made an impression. “I grew to have a lot of respect for them and a lot of appreciation for the risk they take to keep us safe,” she said. At one point, HEET and the utility company jointly developed a plan to address the biggest leaks and were preparing to make their case to state regulators for approval. To get it across the finish line with the Department of Public Utilities, the two groups intended to present the plan together. “There were these repeated moments where generosity was met with reciprocity and it built trust,” Magavi said. She is now a guest lecturer for Harvard University’s sustainability leadership program and Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management. When HEET decided to propose the idea of building a geothermal system in Framingham, that trust became an essential factor. When it was proposed to Akley and other gas company executives in late 2017, there were lots of questions but few blank stares. At the time, HEET and other advocacy groups were also meeting with state policymakers to redefine what it means to be a gas utility in Massachusetts. They were seeking a change in rules that would give gas utilities, which were only allowed to offer gas service, permission to offer thermal heat as an alternative. “The three of them were so smart, so impressive ... you kind of got sucked into their enthusiasm,” state Sen. Cynthia Stone Creem said of her first meeting with Magavi, Marilyn Ray Smith from the climate advocacy group Gas Leaks Allies (now Gas Transition Allies), and Audrey Schulman, the co-founder of HEET. “Even though it was like, ‘What are they talking about?’” She quickly got up to speed on networked geothermal heating and cooling and filed a bill in 2019 that would allow gas utilities to offer this service. When it didn’t pass, she kept trying. That’s the bill that Governor Healey signed to put the geothermal measures into law at a ceremony earlier this month. Utilities mark their infrastructure where it passes beneath city streets with color-coded spray paint — red for electric lines, blue for water mains, yellow for gas pipes. For networked geothermal, the color is purple. It’s a selection Magavi advocated for because the water that runs through these single-pipe systems is neither red hot nor ice cold, but somewhere in between. Magavi also liked it because it suggests an energy system that is nonpartisan. More than 20 geothermal pilot projects are currently being proposed nationwide, including two underway in Massachusetts by National Grid. Nikki Bruno, vice president for clean technologies at Eversource Energy, said the company is still assessing costs both for its initial project in Framingham and for the potential buildout of future systems. One of the biggest costs for the initial project was retrofitting and weatherizing the older buildings that already had other types of heating systems and poor insulation. She said the company plans to file requests with state regulators to build additional geothermal systems but will likely focus on new construction to avoid those extra costs. One exception will be an expansion of the Framingham geothermal system, pending state approval, thanks to a $7.8 million construction grant from the U.S. Department of Energy awarded to HEET, Eversource, and the city of Framingham on December 11, 2024. “It’s a beautiful development of the relationship over the years, and this feels like a continued upward path,” Bruno said of HEET’s leading role in the grant application. “We started talking about methane leaks on our gas distribution system, and now here we are together on a grant application to build what will be the first-in-the-nation utility expansion on a geothermal network.” For Magavi, there is no slowing down. Next month she plans to fly to Pakistan where she will meet with gas utility executives interested in building networked geothermal heating and cooling systems in that country. The trip is part of an initiative organized by the International Finance Corp, a member of the World Bank Group that lends to private companies. The IFC seeks to help finance the construction of such systems on a massive scale—enough to heat and cool the equivalent of tens of thousands of homes—in each of seven countries across the Middle East and Central Asia. The IFC project stemmed in part from the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent interest in developing energy alternatives to gas. Magavi is an adviser on the project. “It is clean, it is renewable, so it is a friend to the environment, but also it is a friend to the wallet of the consumer,” Hela Cheikhrouhou, the IFC’s regional vice president for the Middle East, Central Asia, Turkey, Afghanistan and Pakistan, said, referring to the low operating costs of geothermal systems once they are built. Cheikhrouhou also pointed out that building geothermal networks is labor intensive. “That creates a lot of jobs in geographies where economic demographics are growing,” she said. “So if you want people to have good jobs, this is also a good solution.” CleanTechnica's Comment Policy LinkedIn WhatsApp Facebook Bluesky Email Reddit

The success of Mao Geping's IPO debut reflects the increasing recognition and demand for high-quality domestic beauty products among Chinese consumers. With a focus on using natural ingredients and innovative formulations, Mao Geping has captured the attention of beauty enthusiasts looking for effective and affordable skincare and makeup products.The trailer also showcases stunning visuals and dynamic action sequences that promise to deliver an immersive and exciting experience for fans of the long-running series. The animation quality is top-notch, capturing the essence of the characters and bringing them to life in a way that will leave viewers in awe.Help wanted: Cartwright school district needs more teachers

Eyewitnesses described scenes of chaos and despair as families tried to flee the violence, only to be met with gunfire and destruction at every turn. The death toll continued to rise as emergency services struggled to reach the affected area and provide assistance to the wounded.

LA sees drop in unsheltered homelessness amid 18% increase nationwideTitle: Strengthening Marketing of Personal Pension Business by Commercial Banks

Will the Price of Gold Keep Hitting Record Highs?Construction is underway on a unique housing development build in Gananoque that uses onsite robotics and is aimed at addressing the affordable housing crisis through innovation and technology. Developed and funded by Horizon Legacy Group as part of the Marco Polo 100 Digital Build Challenge, this project will deliver 26 stacked townhouse units using advanced robotics, automation, and 3D printing technologies integrated with traditional construction methods. The initiative focuses on reducing construction costs to $100 per square foot, providing a model for affordable and sustainable housing. The project has received unanimous approval from the Gananoque planning committee and council, The development features bachelor, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom units, designed to meet diverse housing needs. Horizon Legacy Group will act as the designer, developer, construction manager, owner, and operator of the project. With energy-efficient R-30 insulated wall assemblies and all-electric systems, the buildings are designed to reduce energy intensity by 20 per cent and greenhouse gas emissions by 67 per cent, meeting and exceeding Ontario Building Code standards. Proponents say the use of robotics is expected to streamline construction processes, consolidating three trades into one and helping to combat labour shortages. The robotic systems are designed to operate outdoors in Canadian climates, integrating software, hardware, and materials to meet structural and safety requirements. Mayor John Beddows and Leeds-Grenville-Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes MPP Steve Clark recently took a site tour. [caption id="attachment_2878035" align="alignnone" width="1000"] Gananoque Mayor John Beddows, second from left, and Leeds-Grenville-Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes MPP Steve Clark, at right, recently took a site tour of the Horizon Legacy housing development project in Gananoque.[/caption] “They’re trailblazing using robotics in home construction, to complete projects faster and at less cost,” said Clark. Beddows also praised the project, saying this is a living experiment that refines and improves the approach to address the challenges of input costs and skilled trade shortages. This project is scheduled to be completed by Fall 2025. Keith Dempsey is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of the Brockville Recorder and Times. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.