Snowflake students complain after uni rowing club ranks members’ abilities by comparing them to williesRegina O’Brien will start a new job in January. That means Eagle County will have a new clerk and recorder. O’Brien will step down from the elected seat as of Jan. 4 to accept a new position as assistant to the county manager. Chief Deputy Clerk and Recorder Stacy Jones will take on O’Brien’s duties until the Eagle County Board of Commissioners appoints a replacement. That person will serve until voters elect someone to the position in 2026. O’Brien has served in the clerk’s office for the past 11 years. She was appointed to the top job in 2016 and reelected in 2018 and 2022. O’Brien said her job as clerk has been “fantastic. It’s been meaningful, challenging ... I’ve never been bored a single day.” Still, she said she didn’t think that job was where her career would end. Throughout her career with Eagle County, O’Brien found herself interested in the operations of other departments and divisions. During director meetings, she said she enjoyed learning about the successes and challenges facing those departments, from the airport to information technology. Still, she added, anything besides her elected position had to be the right thing, and she didn’t want to leave Eagle County. When the assistant to the county manager’s job came up, she saw her chance. “I read the job description and thought, ‘These are my strengths,'” she said. “The job was still with Eagle County, so I threw my name into the ring.” County Manager Jeff Shroll has known O’Brien for several years, and said hiring her was a “no-brainer.” Shroll noted that “you will have a difficult time finding a nicer human being in Eagle County.” And, he added, O’Brien has also proven she can assemble “an amazing team with top-notch people.” That goes beyond the election team, Shroll added, pointing to the motor vehicle team, a job he called “really complicated.” That’s going to be important in this new role, which will mostly involve a lot of work building relationships outside the county, particularly with the county’s municipal partners. “People should feel pretty confident they’re in good hands,” Shroll said, adding that O’Brien is a “great listener and problem-solver.” While O’Brien is looking forward to getting started, she said the timing of the job opening was critical in her decision to seek the position. If the job had been offered a year ago, she wouldn’t have considered it, she said. Eagle County is nearly a year away from the next coordinated election, and four years away from the next presidential election. This way, the next person in the clerk and recorder’s job will have plenty of time to understand the job, she said. And, since she’ll still be in the building, she’ll be available to answer whatever questions might come up. “It was the right time for me to grow and stretch,” she said.
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As Man City spiral, Liverpool open historic lead in title raceLearn more about NORAD's efforts to track the big guy, play Santa themed games and see videos about the history of program online at www.noradsanta.org . How long has NORAD been tracking Santa? NORAD's predecessor, the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD), began tracking Santa in 1955. NORAD replaced CONAD in 1958 and took over the mission of tracking Santa's flight around the world, and they have been tracking Santa every year since! Why does NORAD track Santa? Twenty four hours a day, 365 days a year, NORAD tracks airplanes, missiles, space launches and anything else that flies in or around the North American continent, while also completing some other very important missions. While the tradition of tracking Santa began purely by accident, NORAD continues to track Santa. We're the only organization that has the technology, the qualifications, and the people to do it. And, we love it! NORAD is honored to be Santa's official tracker! When will Santa arrive at my house? NORAD tracks Santa, but only Santa knows his route, which means we cannot predict where and when he will arrive at your house. We do, however, know from history that it appears he arrives only when children are asleep! In most countries, it seems Santa arrives between 9:00 p.m. and midnight on December 24th. If children are still awake when Santa arrives, he moves on to other houses. He returns later, but only when the children are asleep! What route does Santa travel? Santa usually starts at the International Date Line in the Pacific Ocean and travels west. So, historically, Santa visits the South Pacific first, then New Zealand and Australia. After that, he shoots up to Japan, over to Asia, across to Africa, then onto Western Europe, Canada, the United States, Mexico and Central and South America. Keep in mind, Santa's route can be affected by weather, so it's really unpredictable. NORAD coordinates with Santa's Elf Launch Staff to confirm his launch time, but from that point on, Santa calls the shots. We just track him! Does Santa visit everyone? Indeed! Santa visits all homes where children believe in him. How can Santa travel the world within 24 hours? NORAD intelligence reports indicate that Santa does not experience time the way we do. His trip seems to take 24 hours to us, but to Santa it might last days, weeks or even months. Santa would not want to rush the important job of delivering presents to children and spreading joy to everyone, so the only logical conclusion is that Santa somehow functions within his own time-space continuum.
In Palm Beach, an unexpected lunchtime encounter between Todd Blanche, President-elect Donald Trump’s choice for Deputy Attorney General, and CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins has ignited political intrigue. The two were spotted having a lengthy talk while eating together at a well-known location. Because of their disparate roles in the media and professional contacts, the meeting immediately attracted notice from observers and sparked rumors. Elon Musk, a close aide of Trump and owner of X (formerly Twitter), commented under the post with a thinking emoji. Blanche’s Role in Trump’s Legal Defense As a seasoned lawyer, Blanche was essential in Trump's defense during Stormy Daniels' hush money trial. Blanche served as Trump's principal lawyer and assisted in navigating the case that led to the former president's conviction for allegedly fabricating financial documents. His influence inside Trump's inner circle was further cemented when he was appointed Deputy Attorney General in the upcoming administration due to his significant position on the president-elect's legal team. Collins and Trump: A Vocal Critic Kaitlan Collins, a CNN anchor, has long been a vocal critic of Trump through her coverage on the network. She frequently directly contradicts Trump's opinions in her reporting and interviews, especially when it comes to matters pertaining to the former president's legal concerns. Blanche was questioned by Collins earlier this year after Trump's conviction in the hush money case. She asked him about the trial's processes and Trump's choice to not testify during that interview. Blanche justified the legal approach by pointing out that the jurisdiction and timing of the allegations made it impossible to get a fair trial. The meeting's goal is still unknown, thus commentators and the general public are left to speculate as to whether the discussion was personal, professional, or something else completely. Blanche and Collins have refrained from commenting about their meeting. Get Latest News Live on Times Now along with Breaking News and Top Headlines from US News, World and around the world.Black Friday could not have come soon enough for some CE and appliance retailers as they look to reignite tepid demand from value and discount minded shoppers. Several appliance retailers who are surviving on replacement appliance business, are looking to Black Friday revenue to bolster sales ahead of what could be a “poor” holiday sales period” said a Deloitte analyst. getting a good deal appears to be the order of the day with big brands such as Samsung, Sony, LG Electronics moving to strip share away from mass retailers with major deals offered if consumers buy direct from their own e commerce portals. Last week LG Electronics who have grown their direct sell sales this year, was out spruiking Black Friday deals on their web site for TV’s and appliances. A 65-inch LG OLED evo C4 4K Smart TV which was selling for $4,299 is now being offered at 50% discount, while a Samsung Frame TV was reduced from $4,999 to $3,460. “These are deals that won’t go through a high street retailer, and if you couple the direct sell by major brands with what Amazon are selling and you have a clear picture of how much business retailers are losing in store traffic” said a Harvey Norman franchisee. Brands such as Lenovo who are offering 58% off PC’s and HP who are offering 50% off notebooks are offering direct sell Black Friday deals in an effort to avoid having to give retailers a 40+ margin. LG Electronics splash banners spruiking Black Friday Deals Samsung, splash banners spruiking Black Friday Deals Retailers claim that are consumers are continuing to pull back on discretionary purchases of consumer electronics such as smartphones and appliance, instead they are sticking with older model devices. Another issue facing retailers and brands selling direct is that Google has been accused of “de-indexing” publishers web pages in the lead-up to Black Friday, amid concerns the search visibility of some e-commerce publishers who have revenue generating deals with big retailers will be greatly diminished. “It hasn’t happened in Australia yet but is tipped to hit before Black Friday one source told The Australian. “It’s a big power move by Google.” said one impacted organisation. By de-indexing news sites, the media outlets lose the passive income as fewer readers are engaging in e-commerce on their sites. An Australian spokesman for Google said they were unaware of the allegations levelled against the company according to News Corp who sells sponsorship deals to e commerce sites and brands such as LG Electronics. Black Friday, which falls on November 29 this year, has become the busiest shopping day in Australia in recent years, making it more lucrative for some retailers than the week before Christmas. US media has already reported titles such as Forbes, Wall Street Journal, CNN, Fortune, and Time affiliate businesses had seen their search visibility fall dramatically, thus compromising their capacity to capitalise on their e-commerce deals with retailers and brands selling direct who have sponsorship deals with media Companies as opposed from buying direct from Google. Some observers claim that the coming Black Friday weekend is facing the real possibility of being less important after severing retailers started spruiking Black Friday in the second week of November. In the US this has already had an effect on some big retailers with Target stock being taken down 21% because of the effect of early Black Friday deals. “Consumers tell us their budgets remain stretched and they’re shopping carefully as they work to overcome the cumulative impact of multiple years of price inflation,” Target Chief Executive Brian Cornell told analysts last week. Several retailers including Big W, Walmart and Target have extended their one-day seasonal Black Friday discount offers into a sales event lasting weeks in a bid to tempt consumers to keep spending, as data suggests that their spree which has driven economic growth is beginning to falter. This is not unique to Australia, in the USA where Black Friday originated and inflation is lower than in Australia the practise is starting to have an impact on Black Friday sales. “We’re seeing this drag-out of incentives to try to widen the window within which retailers can draw in more consumers,” said Gregory Daco, chief economist at adviser EY Parthenon. “The likely reality in this holiday season is that we see fairly subdued sales because volumes are growing, but at a moderate pace — and [retailers have] much less pricing power.” Retailers were “incentivising via discounts and different forms of promotions” for those at the lower end of the income spectrum while also “trying to grab higher-income individuals to make purchases during this wider window”, he said.
Lululemon Athletica Inc.’s chief executive is confident his company is well on its way to addressing some of the concerns customers and analysts had earlier in the year about a lack of newness in the brand’s product assortment. After reorganizing the retailer’s product team and introducing a new reporting structure, Calvin McDonald said Lululemon is on track to reach historical levels of newness by the first quarter of its fiscal 2025. “I feel good about the quality and quantity of newness the teams have planned and I believe we are well positioned for spring,” he said on a Thursday call with analysts. Newness — how fresh a brand’s products and styles appear to consumers — is one of the key ways retailers draw in customers. To give the impression of newness, apparel companies often experiment with colours, prints, patterns and silhouettes. Some also partner with celebrities or other brands to launch product lines that attract shoppers. Lululemon’s efforts to boost newness have so far focused on new detailing applied to some of its Define jackets and the release of its velvet Scuba hoodies, satin running tights and shorts and waffle knit apparel. “The guest is responding very well to that,” McDonald said. In August, he conceded that Lululemon’s womenswear division had struggled with “reduced newness,” which impacted conversion rates _ typically the percentage of people who visit a store and make a purchase before leaving. Lululemon’s product assortment this year has focused largely on its staples — yoga pants, scuba hoodies and sports bras — while the company also saw continued success with its belt bags. However, there were some missteps. When Lululemon outfitted Team Canada at the Olympic Games in Paris, the uniform was criticized for resembling uncooked bacon or looking like it had been blood-spattered. Lululemon also paused sales of its Breezethrough product line of tights and other activewear in June. Many of the line’s pieces featured a long V-shaped waistband in the front and Y-shaped seam in the back that some consumers complained was unattractive and produced a “whale tail” look. Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData, said in a note to investors that he feels many of the newness issues “have largely been corrected.” “Across the third quarter the women’s range felt fresh and interesting and there was more than enough to grab the attention of shoppers,” he said, adding it had improved the company’s conversation rate and average basket size, a measure of how much consumers spend. “In our view, Lululemon deserves praise for the quick course correction.” Some of that correction was reflected in Lululemon’s third-quarter results, which were released Thursday and showed the brand earned US$351.9 million in its latest quarter as its revenue rose nine per cent. The Vancouver-based retailer, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, said its third-quarter net income compared with US$248.7 million a year prior. Its diluted earnings per share for the period ended Oct. 27 amounted to US$2.87 compared with US$1.96. Lululemon’s third-quarter revenue totalled US$2.4 billion, compared with US$2.2 billion a year ago. McDonald said the results “exceeded our expectations” and reflected strength the company has seen in its shorts, skirts and leggings in seasonal colours. Saunders felt it was a “solid quarter,” in part because Lululemon’s comparable sales increased by four per cent overall and its international revenue increased by “a stellar” 33 per cent in overall terms. McDonald said that the company will enter Italy next year using a company-owned model, but will also expand to Denmark, Belgium, Turkey and the Czech Republic under a franchise model. In the latest quarter, however, there was weakness in the Americas, where Lululemon’s comparable sales fell by two per cent. “There is much more competition in the US market and our data clearly show that even relatively loyal Lululemon consumers are shopping around more widely,” Saunders said. “This problem isn’t going to disappear over time, if anything it is going to intensify.” Shoppers, he said, had become “more constrained and pickier” because of inflation and high interest rates. “While most Lululemon shoppers are far from being hard-pressed, they are still impacted by inflation and have modestly reduced the volume of things they buy,” Saunders said. He felt Lululemon should respond by leaning into categories like menswear, which Lululemon has increasingly been expanding through new styles and even partnerships with NHL teams. In more recent months, the company also introduced a range of Disney apparel. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 5, 2024.
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https://arab.news/n4cm5 RIYADH: Investment strategies must be compatible with sustainable development goals to ensure economically viable and environmentally responsible global growth, a top official said at the World Investment Conference. Speaking on the first day of the Riyad-based event, James Zhan, chair of the WIC executive board, said reforming the global financial system should be a priority alongside helping to deliver social and environmental reform. The 28th WIC is being held from Nov. 25 to 27, and will see global stakeholders gather to explore investment trends and how best to foster sustainable development. During a panel discussion titled “Impact Maximization: Leveraging Trade and Investment for Growth and Development,” Zhan said: “We need to embed investment strategies into the SDG implementation plans. We need to transform these international investment regimes into a kind of SDG promotion instrument.” The SDGs are a set of 17 global objectives established by the UN to address pressing social, economic, and environmental challenges, aiming to achieve a sustainable and equitable future by 2030. Zhan also called for transforming international investment: “We need to be practicing incentives for investment on the ground.” Ibrahim Al-Mubarak, assistant minister of investment and CEO of the Saudi Investment Promotion Authority, outlined the Kingdom’s focused approach to investment. “Our investment strategy focuses on quality, FDI. That’s a very big word. So, what I like to call it is smart capital,” he said. Al-Mubarak also emphasized Saudi Arabia’s reform journey under Vision 2030, saying: “Since the launch of Vision 2030, we have set a very ambitious reform agenda. That reform agenda comes in various ways, be it in the reform of existing laws, launching new laws, removing subsidies.” These reforms aim to bolster the Kingdom’s investment environment, which has already been recognized as the 16th most competitive economy globally, according to the IMD’s World Competitiveness Index. Al-Mubarak highlighted the significance of comprehensive and consistent regulatory reforms in enhancing investment appeal. One measure of this is the success of Saudi Arabia’s Regional Headquarters Program, which came into effect in January and encouraged multinational companies to set up regional offices in Riyadh. “We already have exceeded our target by having 550 regional headquarters companies here. Our location, our infrastructure, our youth are enabling us to achieve those (goals), but they have to be clubbed with positive, unified, consistent regulatory reform agenda,” Al-Mubarak said. The assistant minister highlighted that attracting investments requires groundwork, adding: “The promotion piece of investment is one thing, but the attraction is a much tougher one because it requires a lot more reforms and work on the ground, on the infrastructure, on the policies, on the procedures.” Chairman of the Berlin Global Dialogue and Professor of Economics at the European School of Management and Technology Lars-Hendrik Roller called for a broader perspective on global investments. “The world is changing, and now I think we need to look eye level (at) Africa and other continents as well,” he said. He also cautioned about the interplay of foreign policy and national security with economic agendas, adding: “What is now overarching more and more (is) foreign policy and economic policy, national security issues. And I think we have to be very careful with that.” Roller pointed out the distorting effects of subsidies on global markets and stressed the urgency of private investments in the green economy, saying: “We’re not going to solve the climate crisis unless we generate a lot more private investment in the green economy.”
Morrisons customers have blasted the shop chain after facing delays with their Christmas orders and deliveries. The company acknowledged "systems issues" that disrupted deliveries, with reports of ongoing problems today. In efforts to make amends, Morrisons offered a 10 percent discount to all More Card holders, yet numerous shoppers reported not receiving this at checkout. Several unhappy customers reached out to the group on X, stating the discount was missing and they were still having issues buying what they needed for the big day. One customer recounted their experience at the Liverpool Belle Vale store, where they couldn't get the 10 percent discount and were "told by staff that there was nothing they could do". Another shopper did receive the 10 percent off but found they had earned no points, despite doing a large shop with a bill of over £220. In response to the angry patrons on X, Morrisons has been encouraging people to get in touch via direct message with their email and More Card details for further assistance. Other shared their experience of how incomplete orders have left them scrambling for their essential Christmas dinner items. One customer shared their disappointment: "You let me down massively yesterday [December 23] by telling me five mins before my collection time that my preordered food order wouldn’t have a turkey, potatoes and few other things. Had to run around seeing what I could get from other shops." Another frustrated shopper expressed their frustration at the inadequate substitution that was offered for a crucial Christmas dinner item. They stated: "We just went to collect (click and collect) our turkey - ordered weeks ago and it’s not available got substituted with a chicken. "Absolutely rubbish - did our big shop yesterday wanted to use all the vouchers we’d saved and couldn’t - not shopping with you again." Another customer recounted their stressful experience trying to hastily arrange their festive meal at the eleventh hour: "Dreadful service for Christmas order today. "Had to buy a free range replacement turkey, parsnips, mozzarella sticks and prawns as you did not have my order available. Have used this service for many years but won’t be using Morrisons again." Another person said they had been forced to cancel their online order given they "couldn't add anything to my basket, it was all saying out of stock and no alternatives". They braved the Christmas rush and did their shop in store but were unable to get the 10 percent discount. One individual who did their shopping yesterday morning (December 23) claimed they were left "seriously out of pocket" as they could not use their More Card. They didn't think much of the 10 percent discount either, saying: "This whole 10 percent off thing seems to seriously miss the mark to be honest, for folk like me who can't / won't be able to return to redo the whole shop today." In a statement on December 24, Morrisons said: "Today the Morrisons store experience is back to normal, but all More Card customers will still get 10 percent off their whole shop instore throughout the day. Click and Collect and Home Deliveries are working as normal. We are determined not to let a single customer down this Christmas." The supermarket has also advised that any customer who missed out on their 10 percent discount can return to the store with their receipt to have the discount applied.After Iranian arrest tied to U.S. military murders, town advances sanctuary policies