WASHINGTON – Former Rep. Matt Gaetz said Friday that he will not be returning to Congress after withdrawing his name from consideration to be attorney general under President-elect Donald Trump amid growing allegations of sexual misconduct. “I’m still going to be in the fight, but it’s going to be from a new perch. I do not intend to join the 119th Congress,” Gaetz told conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, adding that he has “some other goals in life that I’m eager to pursue with my wife and my family.” Recommended Videos The announcement comes a day after Gaetz, a Florida Republican, stepped aside from the Cabinet nomination process amid growing fallout from federal and House Ethics investigations that cast doubt on his ability to be confirmed as the nation’s chief federal law enforcement officer. The 42-year-old has vehemently denied the allegations against him. Gaetz's nomination as attorney general had stunned many career lawyers inside the Justice Department, but reflected Trump's desire to place a loyalist in a department he has marked for retribution following the criminal cases against him. Hours after Gaetz withdrew, Trump nominated Pam Bondi, the former Florida attorney general, who would come to the job with years of legal work under her belt and that other trait Trump prizes above all: loyalty. It's unclear what's next for Gaetz, who is no longer a member of the House. He surprised colleagues by resigning from Congress the same day that Trump nominated him for attorney general. Some speculated he could still be sworn into office for another two-year term on Jan. 3, given that he had just won reelection earlier this month. But Gaetz, who has been in state and national politics for 14 years, said he's done with Congress. “I think that eight years is probably enough time in the United States Congress," he said.COP29 clinches $300 billion climate finance dealFor the first time in over two years, the Dallas Cowboys (5-7) will play a game inside AT&T Stadium with the retractable roof open. The roof will be opened for Monday night’s Week 14 home contest against the Cincinnati Bengals (4-8), Jon Machota of The Athletic revealed on social media hours before kickoff. Sunny, 69 degrees in Arlington, TX Roof open for Monday Night Football: Cowboys vs. Bengals pic.twitter.com/1YCZld0Hvl AT&T Stadium is one of five NFL stadiums with a retractable roof. Yet, it hasn’t been open for a Cowboys game since Oct. 30, 2022, a day game against the Chicago Bears (4-9). That was supposed to change when Dallas played on Monday Night Football in Week 11 versus the Houston Texans (8-5). But as the Cowboys were in the process of opening the roof about three hours before kickoff, a piece of sheet metal and some additional small debris fell onto the field . No one was injured. Cowboys going roof open for Week 14 vs. Bengals While assessing the situation, another piece of loose metal was seen stuck in a catwalk. It had to be bolted down before the game and the Cowboys decided to play with the roof closed. Team owner Jerry Jones said the wind gusts that started early afternoon in Arlington and got stronger throughout the day played a role in the piece of sheet metal falling. The Cowboys are 12-11 in their 16 years at AT&T Stadium when the roof and retractable end zone doors are open. They are 2-5 all time with the roof open and doors closed. Dallas is looking for its third consecutive win after a 3-7 start to the season. This article first appeared on 5 GOATs and was syndicated with permission.
AbCellera to Present at Upcoming Investor Conferences in December and January
After Trump's Project 2025 denials, he is tapping its authors and influencers for key roles
China’s new hobbies will be bad news for most retailers. A fad for biking, hiking, and other physical endeavours has helped companies like $10 billion Amer Sports AS.N tempt shoppers, and the maker of trail shoes and skis is growing sales despite a sluggish economy. But a yen for adventure won’t necessarily be a boon for other brands. Amer, known for its Arc’teryx, Salomon and Wilson brands, will report results for the three months to the end ofSeptember on Tuesday. Quarterly revenue from Greater China is forecast to top $280 million and account for around a fifth of the total, according to the average of analysts’ forecast collected by Visible Alpha. That puts the region’s sales growth on track to hit 40% this year – outpacing other markets. Since Amer’s New York listing in January, its shares have sprinted ahead 50% and now trade on 28 times earnings for the next 12 months, a premium to pure-play consumer stocks like LVMH LVMH.PA and Chinese liquor giant Kweichow Moutai 600519.SS, which both trade on 20 times. Other outdoorsy bets are also enjoying a good run. Sales of Lululemon LULU.O athletic apparel, Shimano 7309.T bike gear and Deckers Outdoor’s DECK.N Hoka sneakers are all climbing. Events such as marathons and even ultra marathons are increasingly common, and popular: only 15% of applicants for the Beijing Marathon nabbed a spot last year. The market for sports clothing and footwear could expand at a compound annual growth rate of 9% between 2022 and 2027, per Euromonitor research cited in Amer’s prospectus. To compare, luxury sales in the world’s second-largesteconomy areforecast to fall by a fifth or more this year, according to a recent Bain & Companyreport. However, overall consumer goods and services aren’t generally keeping up with niche outdoor brands. True, retail sales grew 4.8% year-on-year in October, the fastest pace since February. But government stimulus and incentives flattered the figures by temporarily boosting purchases of big-ticket items like cars and electronics, according to Tommy Wu, an economist at Commerzbank. E-commerce giants Alibaba 9988.HK and JD.com 9618.HK reported tepid earnings last week. Returning retail sales growthto pre-pandemic norms around 10% will be a slog. One reason is that many shoppers now value experiences more than material acquisitions against a gloomy economic outlook. This trend also explains recent phenomena such as so-called “special forces travel” – eschewing once-popular shopping destinations like Paris or Hong Kong for domestic tourist hotspots on a minimal budget – and the rise of camping and road trips. If that’s the trend, China’s big spenders could be more inclined to splurge on hostels and hiking poles thanLouis Vuitton handbags. Some might not buy anything at all: a recent rage for nocturnal cycling involvesstudents spendingthe equivalent of a few dollars each to borrow bikes. Investors can find consumer bright spots, but the retail sector isn’t out of the woods. Source: Reuters Breakingviews (Editing by Robyn Mak and Aditya Srivastav)None
Environmental groups sue over California support for polluting biofuelsSACRAMENTO, Calif. , Dec. 19, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Reviver ® is proud to support the Winter Fest SoCal Car Show and Toy Drive, bringing joy to children and families in need. This past weekend, the Winter Fest SoCal Car Show and Toy Drive in Pomona, California , brought together car enthusiasts from across Southern California to celebrate the holidays and of course, all things cars. Attendees celebrated the season by decking out their cars, motorcycles and trucks, and supporting a good cause. This year's Winter Fest supported the Community Family Guidance Center (CFGC). CFGC helps southeast Los Angeles County's under-served children and their families heal from trauma, abuse, emotional, behavioral and mental health issues through proven interventions and compassionate guidance. "We're proud to partner with our community and fellow auto enthusiasts to make the holidays brighter for those who need it most," said Reviver Founder and Chief Strategy Officer Neville Boston . "Together, we can help create joy and ensure that every child experiences the magic of the season." If you missed Winter Fest or are not local to Los Angeles County , there are still many ways to give back. Reviver is inviting the community to join in spreading holiday cheer wherever they are by supporting a local toy drive . ABOUT REVIVER ® Reviver ® is a technology company on a mission to modernize the driving experience. As developer of the world's first digital license plate platform, Reviver products transform the license plate into a connected vehicle platform, enabling consumers and commercial businesses to digitize vehicle registration renewals and experience a growing set of personalization, convenience, and safety features, all managed through a mobile or web app interface. Reviver's digital license plates are legal for sale in Arizona and California , along with Texas for commercial fleet vehicles. Ten additional states are in various stages of adoption. Founded in 2009, Reviver is headquartered in Northern California , and is the official patch partner of the Sacramento Kings and the official innovation partner of the Sacramento Kings and Golden 1 Center. To purchase an RPLATE click here . To learn more about the RPLATE, click here . View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/reviver-helps-drive-the-spirit-of-giving-this-holiday-season-302336678.html SOURCE Reviver
Maryland vs. Saint Francis in women’s basketball | PHOTOSRoivios Initiates Landmark Study to Demonstrate Safety and Efficacy of an Innovative Renal Assist Device for Cardiac Surgery Patients With Kidney Disease NASSAU, Bahamas , Dec. 19, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Roivios , a pioneering clinical-stage medical device company dedicated to revolutionizing kidney health, proudly announces that its research and development arm, 3ive Labs, has secured approval for an Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) from the FDA. This approval paves the way for a pivotal trial of the JuxtaFlow Renal Assist Device (RAD), marking a transformative step forward in enhancing outcomes for cardiac surgery patients with renal insufficiency. The GRADIENT ( G roundbreaking R enal A ssist D evice I ntervening to EN hance cardio T horacic surgery outcomes) trial is designed to address the critical need for renal support among cardiac surgery patients undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). These patients often face increased risks of postoperative complications, such as worsening renal dysfunction, which can lead to extended ICU stays and increased mortality. "The GRADIENT Trial offers an invaluable opportunity to further explore renal support during cardiac surgery," said Dr. Evelio Rodriguez , a renowned heart surgeon at Ascension Saint Thomas in Nashville, TN , and the National Principal Investigator of the GRADIENT trial. "The JuxtaFlow device offers new hope for some of our most vulnerable patients." JuxtaFlow RAD is an innovative device designed to potentially improve kidney function during times of acute stress. By applying a gentle suction to the kidney's outlet, it aims to enhance blood filtration more efficiently. This groundbreaking approach was recognized with an FDA Breakthrough Device Designation in April. The GRADIENT study will be a prospective, multicenter, randomized, controlled, open-label trial that plans to enroll patients with renal insufficiency (eGFR 15-60 ml/min) undergoing elective or urgent cardiac surgery requiring CPB. The study seeks to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the JuxtaFlow RAD to sustain or enhance renal function during and following CPB surgery. "Achieving Breakthrough Device Designation was instrumental in securing IDE approval," noted John Erbey , Chief Executive Officer at Roivios. "This initiative is the culmination of a decade of technological and clinical advancements in addressing kidney disease management challenges. Our ongoing dialogue with the FDA is paving the way for more effective management, empowering patients to thrive. We are eager to commence IDE enrollment and explore the JuxtaFlow RAD's potential to improve surgical outcomes and enhance patient quality of life." For more information about Roivios and the JuxtaFlow Renal Assist Device, please visit Roivios.com . About JuxtaFlow RAD The JuxtaFlow RAD is a pioneering investigational device set to transform kidney support therapy. Acknowledging the harmful effects of fluid accumulation and pressure on the kidneys, Roivios has advanced beyond traditional blood filtration methods that can further stress the kidneys. By applying mild, controlled negative pressure within the kidney's collecting system, the device has the potential to maintain and improve filtration and support recovery. This novel approach holds promise for a compelling value proposition by preserving kidney function and expediting patient recovery, ultimately reducing hospital stays and associated costs. Equipped with a proprietary specialized catheters and pump, the device optimizes kidney function during critical recovery periods, such as post-surgery. Currently, the JuxtaFlow RAD is under investigation and is not available for sale in any geography. About Roivios Roivios is a clinical-stage medical device company committed to pioneering solutions for kidney health. Our lead product, the JuxtaFlow Renal Assist Device (RAD), is designed to preserve kidney function and offer a proactive approach to managing kidney disease. We aim to demonstrate improved renal outcomes, potentially reducing the need for dialysis, and lowering healthcare costs. Holding proprietary patents in key kidney technologies, we aim to revolutionize kidney disease management. With plans to extend its application beyond kidney disease to various medical settings, Roivios is preparing for a transformative U.S. launch, aiming to redefine kidney disease management and improve patient quality of life. Discover more at roivios.com . This release contains forward-looking statements subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ significantly. Media Contact : Kelly Krueger , Krueger PR, kelly@kruegerpr.com View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/fda-grants-ide-approval-for-the-pivotal-trial-of-the-juxtaflow-renal-assist-device-rad-302336698.html SOURCE Roivios, ltd
NoneUCF, LSU face off with improved focus in mind
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Dec. 19, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — , an environmental services company specializing in methane abatement operations, took numerous steps in 2024 to accelerate the Company’s profitability and commercial momentum. Specifically, Zefiro’s success over the past twelve months can be attributed to its execution of the Company’s strategy to expand its commercial footprint in critical marketplaces across North America and generate industry-leading, via an expanding, nationwide orphaned oil and gas well plugging operation. By actively advancing numerous strategic initiatives and bolstering its internal infrastructure throughout 2024, Zefiro is poised to remain at the forefront of the environmental services industry and reach yet another slate of notable accomplishments in the year ahead. The Company’s 2024 highlights include: Zefiro Founder and Chief Executive Officer Talal Debs commented, “From our plugging crews completing projects across the country to our expert team of carbon market specialists connecting with customers throughout the world, we have strived to invest in the resources needed to position each of our dedicated team members for success. The string of new milestones that we have been able to achieve over the past twelve months is directly linked to our senior management team’s commitment to that process, and I am incredibly proud that the progress that our team has earned in 2024 will guide our positive commercial momentum well into the future.” Zefiro Chief Financial Officer Mohit Gupta commented, “2024 has been a transformative year for Zefiro, and our ability to garner sustainable, increasing returns for our investors is a direct result of the unwavering dedication and expertise of our entire team. Through consistent execution of our comprehensive, client service-oriented strategy, we have established our position as a market leader, forged a consistent pipeline of project opportunities, and helped more communities safeguard public health.” Zefiro is an environmental services company, specializing in methane abatement. Zefiro strives to be a key commercial force towards Active Sustainability. Leveraging decades of operational expertise, Zefiro is building a new toolkit to clean up air, land, and water sources directly impacted by methane leaks. The Company has built a fully integrated ground operation driven by an innovative monetization solution for the emerging methane abatement marketplace. As an originator of high-quality U.S.-based methane offsets, Zefiro aims to generate long-term economic, environmental, and social returns. On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Company, “Talal Debs” Talal Debs, Founder & CEO Zefiro Investor Relations 1 (800) 274-ZEFI (274-9334) Rich Myers – Profile Advisors (New York) +1 (347) 774-1125 This news release contains “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information is often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as “seeks”, “believes”, “plans”, “expects”, “intends”, “estimates”, “anticipates” and statements that an event or result “may”, “will”, “should”, “could” or “might” occur or be achieved and other similar expressions. In particular, this news release contains forward-looking information including statements regarding: the Company’s intention to reduce emissions from end-of-life oil and gas wells and eliminate methane gas; the Company’s partnerships with industry operators, state agencies, and federal governments; the Company’s expectations for continued increases in revenues and EBITDA growth as a result of these partnerships; the Company’s intentions to build out its presence in the United States; the anticipated federal funding for orphaned well site plugging, remediation and restoring activities; the Company’s expectations to become a growing environmental services company; the Company’s ability to provide institutional and retail investors alike with the opportunity to join the Active Sustainability movement; the Company’s ability to generate long-term economic, environmental, and social returns; and other statements regarding the Company’s business and the industry in which the Company operates. The forward-looking information reflects management’s current expectations based on information currently available and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause outcomes to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking information. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed timeframes or at all. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, but are not limited to: (i) adverse general market and economic conditions; (ii) changes to and price and volume volatility in the carbon market; (iii) changes to the regulatory landscape and global policies applicable to the Company’s business; (iv) failure to obtain all necessary regulatory approvals; and (v) other risk factors set forth in its Prospectus dated April 8, 2024 under the heading “Risk Factors”. The Company operates in a rapidly evolving environment where technologies are in the early stage of adoption. New risk factors emerge from time to time, and it is impossible for the Company’s management to predict all risk factors, nor can the Company assess the impact of all factors on Company’s business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ from those contained in any forward-looking information. Forward-looking information in this news release is based on the opinions and assumptions of management considered reasonable as of the date hereof, including, but not limited to, the assumption that general business and economic conditions will not change in a materially adverse manner. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information. The forward-looking information included in this news release is made as of the date of this news release and the Company expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. Disclosures relating to investor relations firms retained by Zefiro Methane Corp. can be found under the Company’s profile on SEDAR+ at . A photo accompanying this announcement is available at
WASHINGTON (AP) — As a former and potentially future president, Donald Trump hailed what would become Project 2025 as a road map for “exactly what our movement will do” with another crack at the White House. As the blueprint for a hard-right turn in America became a liability during the 2024 campaign, Trump pulled an about-face . He denied knowing anything about the “ridiculous and abysmal” plans written in part by his first-term aides and allies. Now, after being elected the 47th president on Nov. 5, Trump is stocking his second administration with key players in the detailed effort he temporarily shunned. Most notably, Trump has tapped Russell Vought for an encore as director of the Office of Management and Budget; Tom Homan, his former immigration chief, as “border czar;” and immigration hardliner Stephen Miller as deputy chief of policy . Those moves have accelerated criticisms from Democrats who warn that Trump's election hands government reins to movement conservatives who spent years envisioning how to concentrate power in the West Wing and impose a starkly rightward shift across the U.S. government and society. Trump and his aides maintain that he won a mandate to overhaul Washington. But they maintain the specifics are his alone. “President Trump never had anything to do with Project 2025,” said Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt in a statement. “All of President Trumps' Cabinet nominees and appointments are whole-heartedly committed to President Trump's agenda, not the agenda of outside groups.” Here is a look at what some of Trump's choices portend for his second presidency. As budget chief, Vought envisions a sweeping, powerful perch The Office of Management and Budget director, a role Vought held under Trump previously and requires Senate confirmation, prepares a president's proposed budget and is generally responsible for implementing the administration's agenda across agencies. The job is influential but Vought made clear as author of a Project 2025 chapter on presidential authority that he wants the post to wield more direct power. “The Director must view his job as the best, most comprehensive approximation of the President’s mind,” Vought wrote. The OMB, he wrote, “is a President’s air-traffic control system” and should be “involved in all aspects of the White House policy process,” becoming “powerful enough to override implementing agencies’ bureaucracies.” Trump did not go into such details when naming Vought but implicitly endorsed aggressive action. Vought, the president-elect said, “knows exactly how to dismantle the Deep State” — Trump’s catch-all for federal bureaucracy — and would help “restore fiscal sanity.” In June, speaking on former Trump aide Steve Bannon’s “War Room” podcast, Vought relished the potential tension: “We’re not going to save our country without a little confrontation.” Vought could help Musk and Trump remake government's role and scope The strategy of further concentrating federal authority in the presidency permeates Project 2025's and Trump's campaign proposals. Vought's vision is especially striking when paired with Trump's proposals to dramatically expand the president's control over federal workers and government purse strings — ideas intertwined with the president-elect tapping mega-billionaire Elon Musk and venture capitalist Vivek Ramaswamy to lead a “Department of Government Efficiency.” Trump in his first term sought to remake the federal civil service by reclassifying tens of thousands of federal civil service workers — who have job protection through changes in administration — as political appointees, making them easier to fire and replace with loyalists. Currently, only about 4,000 of the federal government's roughly 2 million workers are political appointees. President Joe Biden rescinded Trump's changes. Trump can now reinstate them. Meanwhile, Musk's and Ramaswamy's sweeping “efficiency” mandates from Trump could turn on an old, defunct constitutional theory that the president — not Congress — is the real gatekeeper of federal spending. In his “Agenda 47,” Trump endorsed so-called “impoundment,” which holds that when lawmakers pass appropriations bills, they simply set a spending ceiling, but not a floor. The president, the theory holds, can simply decide not to spend money on anything he deems unnecessary. Vought did not venture into impoundment in his Project 2025 chapter. But, he wrote, “The President should use every possible tool to propose and impose fiscal discipline on the federal government. Anything short of that would constitute abject failure.” Trump's choice immediately sparked backlash. “Russ Vought is a far-right ideologue who has tried to break the law to give President Trump unilateral authority he does not possess to override the spending decisions of Congress (and) who has and will again fight to give Trump the ability to summarily fire tens of thousands of civil servants,” said Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, a Democrat and outgoing Senate Appropriations chairwoman. Reps. Jamie Raskin of Maryland and Melanie Stansbury of New Mexico, leading Democrats on the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, said Vought wants to “dismantle the expert federal workforce” to the detriment of Americans who depend on everything from veterans' health care to Social Security benefits. “Pain itself is the agenda,” they said. Homan and Miller reflect Trump's and Project 2025's immigration overl ap Trump’s protests about Project 2025 always glossed over overlaps in the two agendas . Both want to reimpose Trump-era immigration limits. Project 2025 includes a litany of detailed proposals for various U.S. immigration statutes, executive branch rules and agreements with other countries — reducing the number of refugees, work visa recipients and asylum seekers, for example. Miller is one of Trump's longest-serving advisers and architect of his immigration ideas, including his promise of the largest deportation force in U.S. history. As deputy policy chief, which is not subject to Senate confirmation, Miller would remain in Trump's West Wing inner circle. “America is for Americans and Americans only,” Miller said at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally on Oct. 27. “America First Legal,” Miller’s organization founded as an ideological counter to the American Civil Liberties Union, was listed as an advisory group to Project 2025 until Miller asked that the name be removed because of negative attention. Homan, a Project 2025 named contributor, was an acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement director during Trump’s first presidency, playing a key role in what became known as Trump's “family separation policy.” Previewing Trump 2.0 earlier this year, Homan said: “No one’s off the table. If you’re here illegally, you better be looking over your shoulder.” Project 2025 contributors slated for CIA and Federal Communications chiefs John Ratcliffe, Trump's pick to lead the CIA , was previously one of Trump's directors of national intelligence. He is a Project 2025 contributor. The document's chapter on U.S. intelligence was written by Dustin Carmack, Ratcliffe's chief of staff in the first Trump administration. Reflecting Ratcliffe's and Trump's approach, Carmack declared the intelligence establishment too cautious. Ratcliffe, like the chapter attributed to Carmack, is hawkish toward China. Throughout the Project 2025 document, Beijing is framed as a U.S. adversary that cannot be trusted. Brendan Carr, the senior Republican on the Federal Communications Commission, wrote Project 2025's FCC chapter and is now Trump's pick to chair the panel. Carr wrote that the FCC chairman “is empowered with significant authority that is not shared” with other FCC members. He called for the FCC to address “threats to individual liberty posed by corporations that are abusing dominant positions in the market,” specifically “Big Tech and its attempts to drive diverse political viewpoints from the digital town square.” He called for more stringent transparency rules for social media platforms like Facebook and YouTube and “empower consumers to choose their own content filters and fact checkers, if any.” Carr and Ratcliffe would require Senate confirmation for their posts. ___ Bill Barrow, The Associated Press
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Patrick Mahomes threw for 269 yards and three touchdowns , Spencer Shrader kicked a 31-yard field goal as time expired and the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Carolina Panthers 30-27 on Sunday to reach double-digit wins for the 10th straight season. Noah Gray caught two TD passes as the Chiefs (10-1) bounced back from last week’s 30-21 loss at Buffalo and won at the buzzer yet again in a season of narrow escapes. DeAndre Hopkins also had a touchdown catch for the two-time defending Super Bowl champions, who scored on their first five possessions. Bryce Young finished 21 of 35 for 262 yards and a touchdown for the Panthers (3-8), who had their two-game winning streak snapped. David Moore had six receptions for 80 yards and a touchdown. Trailing 27-19, Young completed a fourth-down pass to Adam Thielen to move the chains, then went deep for the veteran receiver, who drew a pass-interference penalty on Chamarri Conner. That set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Chuba Hubbard. Young's initial 2-point conversion toss to Moore drew a flag on Trent McDuffie, and Hubbard ran for 2 on the next play to tie the game with 1:46 left. Mahomes ran for 33 yards on the ensuing drive and was sprung by a downfield block from Justin Watson to reach field goal range. Then he connected with Kareem Hunt for 10 yards to make it a chip shot for Shrader. Mahomes finished with 60 yards rushing. The Chiefs wasted no time setting the tone as Samaje Perine returned the opening kickoff 56 yards and Mahomes found Gray for a 35-yard touchdown strike on the third play of scrimmage for a 7-0 lead. Gray went nine games without a TD catch before hauling in two last week against Buffalo. His 11-yard score late in the second quarter gave him two more against the Panthers . The Panthers moved the ball well but struggled in the red zone, resulting in field goals of 30, 32, 29 and 33 yards for Eddy Pineiro, the most accurate kicker in NFL history. Running back Jonathan Brooks made his NFL debut for Carolina, but was limited to 7 yards on two carries. Eight of the Chiefs' wins have come by a one-score margin, and this was their second straight victory decided on the last play. They beat Denver two weeks ago by blocking a would-be game-winning field goal. Kansas City's Travis Kelce had six catches for 62 yards and moved into third place in career yards receiving by a tight end. He ranks behind only Tony Gonzalez and Jason Witten. However, Kelce failed to find the end zone for the ninth time in 11 games this season. Panthers: Rookie TE Ja'Tavion Sanders was taken to the hospital with a neck injury after landing awkwardly on his head after making a catch near the end of the second quarter. Chiefs: Host Las Vegas on Friday. Panthers: Host Tampa Bay next Sunday. ___ AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFLAs concerns about AI security, risk, and compliance continue to escalate, practical solutions remain elusive. While NIST released on July 26, 2024, most organizations are just beginning to digest and implement its guidance, with the formation of internal AI Councils as a first step in AI governance. So as AI adoption and risk increases, it’s time to understand why sweating the small and not-so-small stuff matters and where we go from here. Recently, I attended the annual member conference of the , a non-profit organization focused on improving cybersecurity defense for enterprises, universities, government agencies, and other organizations. From the discussions, it is clear that today, the critical focus for CISOs, CIOs, CDOs, and CTOs centers on protecting proprietary AI models from attack and protecting proprietary data from being ingested by public AI models. While a smaller number of organizations are concerned about the former problem, those in this category realize that they must protect against prompt injection attacks that cause models to drift, hallucinate, or completely fail. In the early days of AI deployment, there was no well-known incident equivalent to the 2013 Target breach that represented how an attack might play out. Most of the evidence is academic at this point in time. However, executives who have deployed their own models have begun to focus on how to protect their integrity, given it will be only a matter of time before a major attack becomes public information, resulting in brand damage and potentially greater harm. The latter issue, data protection, touches every company. How do you ensure that your core IP, code, customer data, etc., isn’t intentionally or accidentally exfiltrated into a public LLM model? It’s become ultra-important for CISOs to monitor LLM interactions, track protected source code in cloud repositories (repos), and prevent unauthorized AI indexing of intellectual property and other private data. From the data observed at the recent conference and talking with other industry security executives, it is clear that only a minority of organizations have deployed solutions to protect their enterprises against AI dangers. In general, it appears that there are three mindsets at this point in time: No matter your beliefs, protecting your organization’s internal data has to be at the top of the CISO checklist. For those with proprietary AI models, preventing malicious attacks, data leaks, or model contamination (both accidental and intentional) are critical tasks. Time is short to deliberate further on activating these cyber protections. As , it’s time to advance these organizational efforts in 2025. CISOs are and should be concerned about several AI-related areas in their cybersecurity pursuits. One is the monitoring of employee’s AI use. While many organizations can now track which Large Language Models (LLMs) employees are accessing, can your teams monitor the actual prompt content? For many, that’s a significant blind spot. Additionally, does your enterprise flat-out restrict or permit public LLM access? That’s an additional hand-wringing dilemma shared by technology executives. Even if there is a prohibition on corporate networks and assets, will employees find a way around these restrictions if they believe that they provide a shortcut to getting their work done? This can create the problem of Shadow AI, which organizations should avoid. Second, enterprises face concerns over data protection. AI usage may bring the risk of sensitive data exfiltration through AI interactions. Thus, CISOs must emphasize the need for a balance between accessibility and security and oversee the growing demand for logging and tracking capabilities. For example, a concern that security executives frequently discuss is the monitoring of source code movement into public repos or LLMs where it should never flow. Several notorious instances have been made public where developers foolishly or accidentally used public resources to troubleshoot or look for advice on how to fix their code. These have led to the exposure of core IP, API keys, and other sensitive data. So, how do you prevent your source code from being put into a public GitHub or GitLab repo or input to ChatGPT? While employee training is a must to avoid these behaviors, in some cases it goes directly against the desires of the development team to maximize productivity and meet schedule deadlines. I’ve talked to development executives who have encouraged the use of public tools and repos for their employees who are “stuck.” As one recently told me, it can create a time and quality advantage to upload code segments into public repos, so long as it is just a small enough segment that IP leakage is avoided. But how does one measure the risk of “small enough”? These are the types of situations that are driving a considerable thrust around next-generation data exfiltration, protection, and prevention. While the foundations of AI security threats exist, the current landscape is driven more by preventative concerns than actual incidents. We’ve heard rumors of model contamination or poisoning, even though documented research shows potential vulnerabilities (e.g., training image recognition models to misidentify objects). Anecdotal evidence shows that even LLM firewall providers haven’t encountered attacks in recent months. Sure, we hear about , but we’ve yet to hear much about an AI-generated attack in which an organization’s model was contaminated or poisoned. At this time, organizations need to focus on developing balanced, practical security measures rather than overly restrictive protocols. These will start with existing controls and be augmented with new AI-specific ones. As regulations continue to evolve, businesses need to implement new reasonable security measures while maintaining the productivity benefits of AI tools. The challenge lies in finding the balance between protection and practicality. CISOs should be taking essential small steps to protect against any data breach event and any accidental (or malicious) AI-related incidents. The first should be to have a clear, common-sense policy around your data usage, with internal limits for access. Your enterprise should have a policy around an LLM that’s no different than current policies for putting information into the cloud or web today. Continuous training is essential. Create an audit trail of employees’ interactions with a specific LLM. Find out what questions employees ask via LLM prompts and what data they might ingest. Track these efforts internally for further exploration. Choose to adopt a private instance explicitly built for the organization’s needs without compromising data privacy. Your enterprise needs to decide if your employees will access public LLMs or a dedicated, isolated version of an AI model trained solely on an organization’s data. This private instance will help ensure that sensitive information remains confidential and is not shared with other users or the broader AI platform. This customized internal AI system effectively controls the company’s data and model usage. After all these are implemented, CISOs can look at protecting their AI models once they are in place. With bigger use cases to come, that may be the subject of a forthcoming column here. Beyond focusing on the items discussed above, some CISOs foresee futuristic doomsday-type scenarios to be wary of. For example, what if a tech hacker disliked a particular hedge fund manager and launched a coordinated strike against all of the AI models their firm used to trade? That manipulation of financial trading platforms might cause the company and its investors to lose a great deal of money. Or imagine a bad actor that goes after the self-driving algorithms of automobiles, leading to physical harm. While we all hope these are in the realm of negative speculation at best, it’s not unreasonable to fathom that these types of attacks are possible in the future. And before you say that these models wouldn’t be accessible from the outside world, there is always the risk of an insider threat. Rogue employees exist, and you never know what a disgruntled employee on the opposite of the political spectrum could do. We hope we won’t have to contend with these extreme cases of model contamination for a very long time, if ever. However, security executives and their AI Councils must focus on preventing these risks, however small, from materializing.