Brussels, Belgium — EU rules requiring all new smartphones, tablets and cameras to use the same charger came into force on Saturday, in a change Brussels said will cut costs and waste. Manufacturers are now obliged to fit devices sold in the 27-nation bloc with a USB-C, the port chosen by the European Union as the common standard for charging electronic tools. “Starting today, all new mobile phones, tablets, digital cameras, headphones, speakers, keyboards and many other electronics sold in the EU will have to be equipped with a USB Type-C charging port,” the EU Parliament wrote on social media X. READ: How to fix smartphone charging The EU has said the single charger rule will simplify the life of Europeans and slash costs for consumers. By allowing consumers to purchase a new device without a new charger, it will also reduce the mountain of obsolete chargers, the bloc has argued. The law was first approved in 2022 following a tussle with US tech giant Apple. It allowed companies until December 28 this year to adapt. Makers of laptops will have extra time, from early 2026, to also follow suit. Most devices already use these cables, but Apple was more than a little reluctant. The firm said in 2021 that such regulation “stifles innovation”, but by September last year it had begun shipping phones with the new port. Makers of electronic consumer items in Europe had agreed on a single charging norm from dozens on the market a decade ago under a voluntary agreement with the European Commission. But Apple, the world’s biggest seller of smartphones, refused to abide by it and ditch its Lightning ports. Other manufacturers kept their alternative cables going, meaning there were about half a dozen types knocking around, creating a jumble of cables for consumers. USB-C ports can charge at up to 100 Watts, transfer data up to 40 gigabits per second, and can serve to hook up to external displays. At the time of its approval, the commission said the law was expected to save at least 200 million euros ($208 million) per year and cut more than a thousand tonnes of EU electronic waste every year. “It’s time for THE charger,” the European Commission wrote on X on Saturday. Subscribe to our daily newsletter By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy . “It means better-charging technology, reduced e-waste, and less fuss to find the chargers you need.”RESUMO DA LIVE DO UNAY CAMBUMA 1- O que Venâncio Mondlane está fazer, vai ficar na história do mundo. Como o primeiro homem civil do planeta a derrotar uma ditadura militarizada, sem estar presente no país, apenas utilizando telefone e internet. 2- Países do ocidente não ajudam Venâncio Mondlane porque não precisam dele, precisam de Nyusi e Chapo, para defender seus interesses, por isso não ajudam Venâncio Mondlane 3- Não se enganem com as nações unidas, estão todos corrompidos 4- Venâncio Mondlane não está apenas lutando com a FRELIMO, está também destruindo o colono preto em Moçambique. 5- Se Venâncio Mondlane destruí a FRELIMO, vai mostrar para a África que é possível destruí ditaduras em África 6-A união europeia, SADC, e outras instituições não ajudam Venâncio Mondlane porque ele é um lider libertador, eles querem líderes política para defenderam seus interesses. 7-As Manifestações só vão doer para a FRELIMO quando visitarem suas residências e edifícios. 8- Não existe verdade eleitoral, devemos arrancar o poder das mãos da FRELIMO. 9- Militarmente o VM7 não tem como vencer a FRELIMO, mas ele tem um poder que é mais forte do que qualquer arma do mundo, que é a união do povo. 10- Não precisamos de internacionais para banir a FRELIMO, nos mesmo podemos banir a FRELIMO, só precisamos colocar VM7 no poder. 11-A luta estava quase no fim, mas nós distraímos com politiquises. 12- Não existem homens catanas é tudo distração, o nosso foco deve ser a ponta vermelha. 11- A FRELIMO está varrer as ruas para fazer o mundo pensar que está tudo bem em Moçambique. 12- A FRELIMO é manipulador e rei da propaganda enganosa em Moçambique. 13- Para ir a ponta vermelha, não devemos ser 100, 1000 ou mesmo 5000. Devemos ser milhões e simultaneamente, outras visitam as televisões corrompidas pela FRELIMO, a CC, CNE, Tribunais e aeroportos, para que ninguém fuja do país. 14- Não vamos perder tempo com pessoas vestidas roupas da FRELIMO, devemos nos foca UNAY CAMBUMA LIVE SUMMARY 1- What Venâncio Mondlane is doing will go down in world history. As the first civilian man on the planet to defeat a militarized dictatorship, without being present in the country, just using the telephone and internet. 2- Western countries don’t help Venâncio Mondlane because they don’t need him, they need Nyusi and Chapo, to defend their interests, that’s why they don’t help Venâncio Mondlane. 3- Don’t be fooled by the united nations, they are all corrupt 4- Venâncio Mondlane is not only fighting with FRELIMO, he is also destroying the black settlers in Mozambique. 5- If Venâncio Mondlane destroyed FRELIMO, he will show Africa that it is possible to destroy dictatorships in Africa 6-The European Union, SADC, and other institutions do not help Venâncio Mondlane because he is a liberating leader, they want political leaders to defend their interests. 7-The Demonstrations will only hurt FRELIMO when they visit their homes and buildings. 8- There is no electoral truth, we must wrest power from the hands of FRELIMO. 9- Militarily, VM7 cannot defeat FRELIMO, but it has a power that is stronger than any weapon in the world, which is the unity of the people. 10- We don’t need internationals to ban FRELIMO, we can ban FRELIMO ourselves, we just need to put VM7 in power. 11-The fight was almost over, but we distracted it with politics. 12- There are no machete men, it’s all a distraction, our focus should be on the red tip. 11- FRELIMO is sweeping the streets to make the world think that everything is fine in Mozambique. 12- FRELIMO is a manipulator and king of false propaganda in Mozambique. 13- To go to the red tip, we must not be 100, 1000 or even 5000. We must be millions and simultaneously, others visit the televisions corrupted by FRELIMO, the CC, CNE, Courts and airports, so that no one flees the country. 14- Let’s not waste time with people dressed in FRELIMO clothes, we should focusSilver prices to rise amid increasing industrial demand: Safe Haven Hub
Mighty DPP invades once mighty MCP bedroom
Martinez had gone eight matches since last finding the back of the net against Venezia on November 3 but after Alessandro Bastoni opened the scoring in the 54th minute, the Argentina international struck in Sardinia. The Inter captain took his tally against Cagliari to 10 goals in as many games after 71 minutes before Hakan Calhanoglu capped an excellent night for the visitors from the penalty spot a few moments later. This moment >>> #ForzaInter #CagliariInter pic.twitter.com/aZwbAZvRVI — Inter ⭐⭐ (@Inter_en) December 28, 2024 Inter’s fifth-successive league victory led to them temporarily leapfrogging Atalanta, who reclaimed top spot but saw their lead cut to a single point following a 1-1 draw at Lazio. Gian Piero Gasperini’s side were grateful for a point in the end after falling behind to Fisayo Dele-Bashiru’s first-half strike, only drawing level with two minutes remaining thanks to Marco Brescianini. Lautaro Valenti’s last-gasp strike condemned rock-bottom Monza to a 10th defeat in 18 matches as Parma edged a 2-1 victory, while Genoa defeated Empoli by the same scoreline.
Torn PCL could sideline Packers' Alexander longerUS attorney general tried to block Gerry Adams fundraising in 1995 over IRA weapons fears, unearthed records reveal
Lewandowski scores his 100th Champions League goal. He is the 3rd player to reach the milestone
Lewandowski scores his 100th Champions League goal. He is the 3rd player to reach the milestone BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Robert Lewandowski converted a first-half penalty kick to become the third player to score 100 goals or more in the Champions League, behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Canadian Press Nov 26, 2024 3:02 PM Share by Email Share on Facebook Share on X Share on LinkedIn Print Share via Text Message Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski celebrates his side's third goal during a Champions League phase soccer Matchday 5 between Barcelona and Brest at the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort) BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Robert Lewandowski converted a first-half penalty kick to become the third player to score 100 goals or more in the Champions League, behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Lewandowski calmly sent a low shot into the net from the spot in the 10th minute to give Barcelona a 1-0 lead against Brest. He scored his 101st goal from inside the area in second-half stoppage time to seal the Catalan's club 3-0 victory. Lewandowski trails the 129 goals of Messi and the 140 of Ronaldo, according to UEFA. Lewandowski needed 125 games to reach his milestone — two more games than Messi and 12 fewer than Ronaldo, who also scored once in the qualifying round. “I'm delighted, it's a nice number,” Lewandowski said. “In the past I didn’t think I could score more than 100 goals in the Champions League." It was Lewandowski's sixth and seventh Champions League goals this season. It's the ninth season in which the Poland striker has scored six or more goals. The 36-year-old Lewandowski is having a standout campaign, having scored 22 goals for Barcelona in 19 appearances. He is the Spanish league’s scoring leader with 15 goals from 14 matches. ___ AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer The Associated Press See a typo/mistake? Have a story/tip? This has been shared 0 times 0 Shares Share by Email Share on Facebook Share on X Share on LinkedIn Print Share via Text Message Get your daily Victoria news briefing Email Sign Up More Soccer Lewandowski joins Ronaldo and Messi in Champions League 100-goal club. Haaland nets 2 but City draws Nov 26, 2024 2:58 PM Gabriel mimics Gyokeres in cheeky goal celebration in Arsenal win over Sporting in Champions League Nov 26, 2024 2:56 PM Bayern Munich fans protest against PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi Nov 26, 2024 2:26 PMBy JILL COLVIN and STEPHEN GROVES WASHINGTON (AP) — After several weeks working mostly behind closed doors, Vice President-elect JD Vance returned to Capitol Hill this week in a new, more visible role: Helping Donald Trump try to get his most contentious Cabinet picks to confirmation in the Senate, where Vance has served for the last two years. Vance arrived at the Capitol on Wednesday with former Rep. Matt Gaetz and spent the morning sitting in on meetings between Trump’s choice for attorney general and key Republicans, including members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The effort was for naught: Gaetz announced a day later that he was withdrawing his name amid scrutiny over sex trafficking allegations and the reality that he was unlikely to be confirmed. Thursday morning Vance was back, this time accompanying Pete Hegseth, the “Fox & Friends Weekend” host whom Trump has tapped to be the next secretary of defense. Hegseth also has faced allegations of sexual assault that he denies. Vance is expected to accompany other nominees for meetings in coming weeks as he tries to leverage the two years he has spent in the Senate to help push through Trump’s picks. Vice President-elect JD Vance, still a Republican senator from Ohio, walks from a private meeting with President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be attorney general, former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be attorney general, former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., center, and Vice President-elect JD Vance, left, walk out of a meeting with Republican Senate Judiciary Committee members, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis) FILE – Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, departs the chamber at the Capitol in Washington, March 15, 2023. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File) FILE – Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, center speaks during a Senate Banking Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File) FILE – Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, right, speaks with Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, before testifying at a hearing, March 9, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf, File) FILE – Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, arrives for a classified briefing on China, at the Capitol in Washington, Feb. 15, 2023. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File) FILE – Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, arrives for a vote on Capitol Hill, Sept. 12, 2023 in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File) FILE – Sen. JD Vance R-Ohio speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Feb. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File) Vice President-elect JD Vance, still a Republican senator from Ohio, walks from a private meeting with President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be attorney general, former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) The role of introducing nominees around Capitol Hill is an unusual one for a vice president-elect. Usually the job goes to a former senator who has close relationships on the Hill, or a more junior aide. But this time the role fits Vance, said Marc Short, who served as Trump’s first director of legislative affairs as well as chief of staff to Trump’s first vice president, Mike Pence, who spent more than a decade in Congress and led the former president’s transition ahead of his first term. ”JD probably has a lot of current allies in the Senate and so it makes sense to have him utilized in that capacity,” Short said. Unlike the first Trump transition, which played out before cameras at Trump Tower in New York and at the president-elect’s golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, this one has largely happened behind closed doors in Palm Beach, Florida. There, a small group of officials and aides meet daily at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort to run through possible contenders and interview job candidates. The group includes Elon Musk, the billionaire who has spent so much time at the club that Trump has joked he can’t get rid of him. Vance has been a constant presence, even as he’s kept a lower profile. The Ohio senator has spent much of the last two weeks in Palm Beach, according to people familiar with his plans, playing an active role in the transition, on which he serves as honorary chair. Vance has been staying at a cottage on the property of the gilded club, where rooms are adorned with cherubs, oriental rugs and intricate golden inlays. It’s a world away from the famously hardscrabble upbringing that Vance documented in the memoir that made him famous, “Hillbilly Elegy.” His young children have also joined him at Mar-a-Lago, at times. Vance was photographed in shorts and a polo shirt playing with his kids on the seawall of the property with a large palm frond, a U.S. Secret Service robotic security dog in the distance. On the rare days when he is not in Palm Beach, Vance has been joining the sessions remotely via Zoom. Though he has taken a break from TV interviews after months of constant appearances, Vance has been active in the meetings, which began immediately after the election and include interviews and as well as presentations on candidates’ pluses and minuses. Among those interviewed: Contenders to replace FBI Director Christopher Wray , as Vance wrote in a since-deleted social media post. Defending himself from criticism that he’d missed a Senate vote in which one of President Joe Biden’s judicial nominees was confirmed, Vance wrote that he was meeting at the time “with President Trump to interview multiple positions for our government, including for FBI Director.” “I tend to think it’s more important to get an FBI director who will dismantle the deep state than it is for Republicans to lose a vote 49-46 rather than 49-45,” Vance added on X. “But that’s just me.” While Vance did not come in to the transition with a list of people he wanted to see in specific roles, he and his friend, Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., who is also a member of the transition team, were eager to see former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. find roles in the administration. Trump ended up selecting Gabbard as the next director of national intelligence , a powerful position that sits atop the nation’s spy agencies and acts as the president’s top intelligence adviser. And he chose Kennedy to lead the Department of Health and Human Services , a massive agency that oversees everything from drug and food safety to Medicare and Medicaid. Vance was also a big booster of Tom Homan, the former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, who will serve as Trump’s “border czar.” In another sign of Vance’s influence, James Braid, a top aide to the senator, is expected to serve as Trump’s legislative affairs director. Allies say it’s too early to discuss what portfolio Vance might take on in the White House. While he gravitates to issues like trade, immigration and tech policy, Vance sees his role as doing whatever Trump needs. Vance was spotted days after the election giving his son’s Boy Scout troop a tour of the Capitol and was there the day of leadership elections. He returned in earnest this week, first with Gaetz — arguably Trump’s most divisive pick — and then Hegseth, who has was been accused of sexually assaulting a woman in 2017, according to an investigative report made public this week. Hegseth told police at the time that the encounter had been consensual and denied any wrongdoing. Vance hosted Hegseth in his Senate office as GOP senators, including those who sit on the Senate Armed Services Committee, filtered in to meet with the nominee for defense secretary. While a president’s nominees usually visit individual senators’ offices, meeting them on their own turf, the freshman senator — who is accompanied everywhere by a large Secret Service detail that makes moving around more unwieldy — instead brought Gaetz to a room in the Capitol on Wednesday and Hegseth to his office on Thursday. Senators came to them. Vance made it to votes Wednesday and Thursday, but missed others on Thursday afternoon. Vance is expected to continue to leverage his relationships in the Senate after Trump takes office. But many Republicans there have longer relationships with Trump himself. Sen. Kevin Cramer, a North Dakota Republican, said that Trump was often the first person to call him back when he was trying to reach high-level White House officials during Trump’s first term. “He has the most active Rolodex of just about anybody I’ve ever known,” Cramer said, adding that Vance would make a good addition. “They’ll divide names up by who has the most persuasion here,” Cramer said, but added, “Whoever his liaison is will not work as hard at it as he will.” Cramer was complimentary of the Ohio senator, saying he was “pleasant” and ” interesting” to be around. ′′He doesn’t have the long relationships,” he said. “But we all like people that have done what we’ve done. I mean, that’s sort of a natural kinship, just probably not as personally tied.” Under the Constitution, Vance will also have a role presiding over the Senate and breaking tie votes. But he’s not likely to be needed for that as often as was Kamala Harris, who broke a record number of ties for Democrats as vice president, since Republicans will have a bigger cushion in the chamber next year. Colvin reported from New York. Associated Press writer Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report.
Syria's Assad toppled, flees to Russia after rebels advanceCINCINNATI — The Denver Broncos needed one win in their final three games to reach the playoffs for the first time since winning the Super Bowl in 2015. They are running out of chances. The Broncos (9-7) fell short in an attempt to secure a postseason berth Saturday, falling 30-24 in overtime to the Cincinnati Bengals. After two straight losses, Denver needs a win in its final regular-season game, next week at home against the two-time Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. “It’s been like this for two weeks,” Broncos quarterback Bo Nix said. “Just need to put everything in it to go win the game.” The Broncos (still control their own destiny. Win next week and they're in with no outside help needed. “Just get back in Monday, start the week over again and beat Kansas City,” Broncos defensive end Zach Allen said. “Obviously, we could have got it done two games ago. We should have got it done tonight. We'll be fine.” The Broncos will face a Chiefs team that already clinched the No. 1 overall seed in the AFC and will likely rest their starters, especially with Patrick Mahomes nursing a high ankle sprain. Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins (5) is tackled by Denver Broncos cornerback Riley Moss (21) after a touchdown during overtime of an NFL football game in Cincinnati, Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024. Credit: AP/Carolyn Kaster Denver lost 16-14 to the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium on Nov. 10. The Broncos were 5-5 after that loss. “Need to turn the page and get ready for a really good team coming in the last game of the season,” Broncos head coach Sean Payton said. “This is what we do it for, meaningful games. There's nothing worse than playing games the last part of the season where there's nothing at stake.” The Broncos could have taken the importance out of next week's game with a win over the Bengals. Nix tossed three game-tying touchdown passes in the second half, two to Marvin Mims Jr. who made a leaping grab between two defenders for a 24-yard TD to tie the score at 24 with eight seconds left. Denver Broncos wide receiver Marvin Mims Jr. (19) celebrates a touchdown with Denver Broncos tight end Lucas Krull (85) against the Cincinnati Bengals during the second half of an NFL football game in Cincinnati, Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024. Credit: AP/Carolyn Kaster The Broncos considered going for two points on the conversion, but Payton opted to kick the extra point and send the game into OT. Nix held up two fingers after Mims' score. “I definitely want the ball with a chance to win the game, but we had a chance to do that in overtime,” Nix said. Denver could have nailed down a playoff berth with a tie, but punted twice in overtime, once after the Bengals missed a chance to win the game when Cade York's 33-yard field goal attempt hit the upright. Joe Burrow tossed a 3-yard TD pass to Tee Higgins to win the game with 1:10 left to keep the Bengals' playoff hopes alive. “We've got to turn ourselves into winners," Broncos right tackle Michael McGlinchey said. "We've got to make sure when we control the outcome of certain things, we need to finish. Cincinnati's a great football team. They played like their life was on the line today.”
Saquon Barkley is the NFL's version of Shohei Ohtani: AnalysisLopetegui came into the game under pressure following some poor displays from the Hammers in recent weeks but they earned a hard-fought victory to end the Magpies’ three-game winning spell. Despite a promising opening from the hosts, Tomas Soucek headed West Ham in front before Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s first goal for the club after the break wrapped up victory. Lopetegui was pleased with his side’s display following a “tough match”. He said: “I am happy for the three points and am very happy against a good team like Newcastle, who have good players and a fantastic coach. “I think today was a tough match and we were able to compete as a team. “I think we deserved to win. Today they had many moments in the first half, but I think the second half we deserved to win and we are happy because you have to do these kind of matches against this type of team if you want to overcome them.” Newcastle started brightly and had plenty of chances in the first half especially, but the visitors responded after the break by retaining possession well. The win eases the pressure on Lopetegui, whose West Ham side face Arsenal on Saturday, and he believes the victory is an important feeling for his players. He said: “I think the only thing that is under our control is to play football, to improve, to defend well, to convince the players we are able to do better. “Today we did, but I think the only thing we can do is to do the things that are under our control, not today but every day. “So we had to keep with this mentality, but above all let me say we are happy for the players because they need this kind of feeling as a team to believe that we are able to do well as a team, to put the best for each player of the team.” Newcastle boss Eddie Howe admitted defeat was a missed opportunity for his side. The Magpies missed a series of chances in the first half, including efforts from Joe Willock and Sean Longstaff, before Alexander Isak blasted a chance off target. Anthony Gordon also rolled an effort just wide of the post after the break and Isak headed wide of goal. Three points could have seen Newcastle move into the top six and Howe admitted his side need to learn from the match. “Yes, massive because the league is so tight that a couple of wins and the whole picture looks very different,” Howe said. “We’ll kick ourselves tonight because we knew the opportunity we had, a home game, Monday night, a great moment for us potentially in our season, so we have to learn from that and come back stronger.”
Fiji Police urge safety and security for upcoming Tuckers Ice Cream GamesOnline vs. In-Store: Where to Score the Best Black Friday Dealsarely a day passes without colleges scolded in the headlines over s or and or and . Schools have become scapegoats for both good and bad reasons. Prominent commentators and populist political leaders from both the far left and far right now target higher education as a common enemy. In fact the current fight over the vs charges of elitism which would not characterize other fields such as sports or entertainment have torn open a seam on the right between Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk in favor of selectivity and merit on one side and Laura Loomer and Matt Goetz on the other. Ramaswamy declared that American culture has “venerated mediocrity over excellence" launching what is termed a within the MAGA movement. Both extremes have arrived on shared areas of concern that include admissions criteria; tolerance of thought on campus; institutional voice; faculty bias in research and education; personal safety; academic integrity; donor influence; curriculum focus; government funding; financial viability, and administrative efficiency. Increasingly, universities, especially selective universities, have been labelled as elitist, self-interested, out-of-touch with societal needs, and lacking accountability. What is new is the convergence of a of elements of the MAGA movement on the right and todays’ self-styled progressives on the left. Together, they find common cause in the skepticism of societal pillars from Wall Street financiers to college educators and politicians. These critiques have corroded public opinion on the value of U.S. higher education, just as the rest of the world treasures the real contributions to the economy, quality of life, scientific knowledge, and cultural enrichment provided by American colleges. The shows a steady decline of confidence in all pillars of society from public officials and the media to clergy and colleges. At the , fully 97% of the college presidents expressed concern over the loss to public confidence in higher education. This summer, the Pew Foundation researchers found roughly half the American public surveyed believe it’s to have a four-year college degree today to obtain a well-paying job than it was 20 years ago even as facts show the opposite is true: a significant wage gap still favors those with . Similarly, a Gallup survey this summer showed a large drop in overall US confidence in higher education from almost 60% in 2015 to almost half that. Now Americans are roughly among those who have a great deal or quite a lot of confidence (36%), some confidence (32%), or little or no confidence (32%) in higher education. In taking a closer look at the Gallup survey, three issues have risen to the top in the public mind: the political climate on our campuses, questions about whether a traditional liberal arts education best prepares our graduates for success in this tech-fueled world and the cost of higher education as represented by a sticker price that is rapidly approaching $100K per year. Increasingly, people across the political spectrum question whether a traditional liberal arts education, as delivered to most undergraduates by the Ivy and other leading institutions, is the best training for leadership in today’s workplace. Indeed, the elite schools do not have a stranglehold on certain sectors. In a study of 628 U.S.-born tech founders from 287 different universities, did not come from Ivy-plus schools. What mattered most in explaining the success of founders was that they graduated from a college. The success of dropouts like Microsoft’s Bill Gates, Apple’s Steve Jobs, and Facebook/Alphabet’s Marc Zuckerberg were exceptions to such findings. Paradoxically, the drop in American public confidence in the liberal arts comes just as the prestige of US universities around the world is at an all-time high and the number of international students studying in the US has climbed to a a year. And innovation for the public good is alive and well at America’s at the leading institutions. Over a third of US research universities have spinning out anywhere from 30 to 80 new business a year employing millions of US workers and serving as a source of economic development to communities around the nation. Higher education is the most globally competitive of all US sectors. The US is home to the by far (36). Research by the National Bureau of Economic Research has shown from Ivy League schools in particular. While less than half of one percent of Americans attend the eight Ivy League colleges, Chicago, Duke, MIT, and Stanford (known as Ivy Plus schools), these universities contributed more than 10% of Fortune 500 CEOs, a quarter of U.S. Senators, half of all Rhodes scholars, and three-fourths of Supreme Court justices appointed in the last half century. Roughly 22% of all , selected by judges from around the world, were affiliated with Ivy Leagues schools. This scholarship has contributed mightily to the advance of science and industry. The renowned corporate research labs of General Electric (Menlo Park), AT&T (Bell Labs), Xerox (Palo Alto Research Center) have largely disappeared with diminished research even at major chemical and pharmaceutical companies. Most of the great advances in material sciences, agricultural science, drug development, public health, environmental safety, and computer science and the internet originate in the university world. It must be noted, however, that the value of higher education should be appreciated for more than winning awards and creating wealth but also for quality of life. A decade ago, former Duke President Richard Brodhead co-chaired the Commission on the Humanities and Social Sciences for the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. In summarizing their findings, stated, that value of higher education is not to be measured merely by income earned by colleges graduates. “Its value is that it supplies enrichment to personal lives, equips students to be thoughtful and constructive social contributors, and prepares them to participate fully and creatively in the dynamic, ever-changing world that awaits them after college. It's easy to see why people might get anxious about something so difficult to calculate, and might want a straighter line to the payoff. But the fruits of such education can only be reckoned over long time-horizons, as they enable people to rise to challenges and seize opportunities they could not foresee at first. The lives of successful people almost never involve continuing to do what they prepared for. As their lives unfold, they find that by drawing on their preparation in unexpected ways, they're able to do things they hadn't intended or imagined.” Probably no issue about American higher education has received as much attention over a sustained period of time than its cost. And while some of the increase in the sticker price of leading universities can be explained by investments in need-based financial aid even the costs net of financial aid have risen between 1 and 2 percent above any reasonable measure of inflation for decades. Studies show levels of student debt rising at alarming rates. And while much of the focus has been on undergraduates, levels of student loan debt among those receiving master’s degrees is a more severe issue. Concerns about student loan debt are exacerbated by the fact that six-year graduation rates for undergraduates across all of higher education are less than 60%. So, too many students find themselves in the worst possible situation – a boatload of debt and no degree to show for it. In speaking about cost, the political right characterizes elite higher ed institutions as inefficient organizations choking on administrative bloat. The political left laments their high cost saying that the sticker price alone turns off prospective students from low socio-economic backgrounds. Both sides note the explosive growth in endowment values and want endowments to be tapped to reduce costs. The Ivy Plus institutions counter by noting their impressive investments in financial aid, the fact that they have six-year graduation rates in excess of 95% and the inherently high cost of the bundle of educational experiences that today’s students and their families expect. At these schools with strong endowments, roughly has their tuition bill covered by financial aid. Indeed, the more selective schools not only offer a challenging curriculum delivered through small classes with abundant academic support, but also house and feed students, offer them primary health care, undergraduate research and entrepreneurial activities, intramural and varsity athletics, artistic and performance opportunities, study abroad and much more. The cost of delivering all this is in excess of $100K per student per year at many institutions. These expenditures not only enrich the student experience but also enhance their local economies. American universities employ over adding $ annually to the GDP and their technology transfers have contributed over to the nation’s GOP in the last twenty years. Still, criticisms of the cost of American higher education have merit. Indeed, too many institutions have lost sight of the fact that their core missions are teaching, learning and discovery and those elements of their core mission should be prioritized in their budget decisions. have been shown to have soared disproportionately, in fact geometrically, compared to faculty staffing costs which only increased arithmetically, alongside only modest student enrollment increases. Academic leaders must also demand that administrative and support functions operate as efficiently as possible with new programs funded through internal reallocation. Many of these critiques are based in legitimate concerns and point to areas where the leading institutions of higher education can do better. However, they often overstate their case and present outlier examples. For example, published a countering the suggestion that liberal bias plays a meaningful role in tenure decisions. Indeed, their study concluded that professors were more likely to be dismissed for liberal thought. And it is incorrect to still label higher education a self-perpetuating caste system. Looking at roughly a century of data, as an example of elite universities, its student profile has shifted from 100% males to roughly 50/50; 27% of Mayflower/Social Register “Colonial” lineage to less than 6%; less than 2% underrepresented minorities to over 10% ; 0.4% Asian to 19%; 24% from elite prep schools to 4%. Plus, the report card on the impact of upward wealth mobility of these prestigious schools is much more encouraging that the critics from the left and the right acknowledge. Researchers from the National Bureau of Economic Research studied at each college in the United States using data for over 30 million college students from 1999-2013 and found the students from low-income families and high-income families, had comparable incomes, when matched by the school they attended. Thus, the school had an uplifting impact on the wealth of low-income students. Furthermore, this research found, “The colleges that channel the most children from low- or middle-income families to the top 1% are almost exclusively highly selective institutions, such as UC–Berkeley and the Ivy Plus colleges. No college offers an upper-tail (top 1%) success rate comparable to elite private universities – at which 13% of students from the bottom quintile reach the top 1% – while also offering high levels of access to low-income students.” Interestingly, the critics of elite schools, indirectly but selectively cite from this research cherry picking around the upward mobility case for elite educational institutions. Similarly looking at Yale’s current first year class, benefit from some form of financial aid, thanks to the healthy endowments, 88% with zero debt and the who do have debt, owe less than $15,000, hardly a crushing burden. Thanks to a half billion dollars raised from alumni during their recent capital campaign, leaders were able to declare that "The Class of 2028 is the most socioeconomically diverse class in Dartmouth's history," with roughly 20% students from low income families receiving Pell Grants, over half of the class receiving financial aid, and no parental financial contributions for families earning less than $125,000 a year roughly 22% of the class. Despite such facts, Columnist David Brooks wrote in The Atlantic a piece entitled “How The Ivy League Broke America” where he echoes himself in a series of similar pieces he wrote in the New York Times such as one titled and , both which said elites were leaving others behind. His newest piece in this month’s concluded strangely that “a large mass of voters has shoved a big middle finger in the elites’ faces by voting for Donald Trump.” Of course, Brooks misses the irony that if this anti-Ivy League resentment drove voters, then is drove them to vote for the GOP ticket of two Ivy Leaguer grads, Donald Trump from Penn and J.D. Vance from Yale, and not the Democratic ticket of state school grads. Brooks joins a chorus of others who say that the meritocracy overrated. He cites Yale Law professor Daniel Markovits, the author of charging that applicants whose families come from the top 1 percent of wage earners were 77 times more likely to attend an Ivy League-level school than students from families making below $30,000 a year. Brooks adds that elite schools generally admit more students from the top 1 percent than the bottom 60. Then he joins Markovits in pronouncing the academic gap between the rich and the poor larger than the academic gap between white and Black students in the final days of Jim Crow. Brooks’s remedies include circumvention of new court barriers to affirmative action diversity goals, reducing the reliance upon standardized testing, emphasizing more humanistic qualities, substituting AI for analytic rigor, improving the colleges’ marketing of their own value, and that “we should aim to shrink the cultural significance of school in American society.” Missing from this list is any concern for the spreading caution of overexercising voice under the cloak of “institutional neutrality.” These practices the actual selective practices of the University of Chicago and similar schools which purported to limit presidents from showing the same periodic moral responsibility, patriotic duties, and institutional voice of other pillars of American society. Should Ivy Plus leaders even care about public support? After all, they are highly successful, highly selective institutions that are the envy of the world. Our answer is that these leaders should care about the erosion of public trust – a lot. To ignore this growing public distrust is to not only invite more public shaming by government officials as we saw in the House hearings this past year but potentially court more governmental actions such as endowment taxes, bans on DEI programs at public universities and similar interventions. Although the Ivy Plus institutions seem secure at the moment, one already sees the impacts of the loss of public trust across much of American higher education, significant reductions over the last 25 years in per-capita, inflation-adjusted state appropriations, the expansion of students wanting three-year, no-frills, degrees, employers seeking micro-credentialling rather than a bachelor’s degree, on-line course sharing among institutions to lower costs and ultimately lower enrollments. Certainly, higher education must address the ideological orthodoxy of political correctness which has diverted tolerance for original thought. Towards that end, we see newly emerging efforts to promote dialogue around difficult societal issues on a number of campuses. Similarly, universities do not do a great job with administrative efficiency with mushrooming overhead along with programs and departments that live on in perpetuity. Higher education has long been the target of satire from the Marx Brothers to Rodney Dangerfield’s “Back to School.” All institutions need constructive feedback to respond to changing societal needs, but the ideologically driven attacks on schools have lost their grounding, not to mention their humor, and risk promoting an age of ignorance.Shohei Ohtani to become a father for the 1st time in 2025
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