Senate Bill to Authorize $25.4B in FY25 Funds for NASA
Pratik Gandhi’s formula for success is simple: “I am not competing with anybody. I need to constantly push myself and my boundaries to create my place, and continue to be as fearless as I have been,” says the 44-year-old actor. Letting go of a thriving corporate job to try to make a career in acting was the biggest trial by fire in his life, he says. “It wasn’t easy to discard a full-time job to become a full-time actor. It took me a while to make this decision. It wasn’t that I liked one profession over the other, I loved both. But there came a point in 2016 when I had to decide on one or the other, because I was losing out on opportunities in my job, as well as in Gujarati films. Hindi was not even on my radar,” he shares, adding, “My family told me to do whatever makes me happy.” Pratik, who won acclaim for his performance in Rahul Dholakia’s action thriller Agni, which brings to life the struggles and strife of firefighters, confesses that he was ashamed of how little he knew about them. “We never pay attention to their life. As an engineer, I set up cement plants and interacted with various people, but I never had any insights into their lives. The film gave me that perspective,” he says. The actor broke new ground in his career with his raw and real portrayal of stock broker Harshad Mehta in Hansal Mehra’s Scam 1992. 2024 is a landmark year for him. Besides completing a decade in the industry, he came up with three back-to-back hits - the rom-com Do Aur Do Pyaar, Madgaon Express and Agni. His recent body of work proves his versatility as a performer. “It has been a phenomenal experience for me because I was striving to make every character different from the other. Post Scam 1992, I was perceived as a serious actor, and I am glad people have accepted me in different worlds and genres.” Asserting that surviving in the film industry is a constantly evolving process, he says, “You can’t bank on the success of one project. You have to keep reinventing yourself and look for new opportunities. There is no standard route. Your craft has to be compelling enough that people have reasons to watch and cast you. I credit the audience for being accepting of new actors and talent. It is the makers who need to let go of their fears, because the viewer is discerning enough.” Has his success made it easier to navigate the slippery slope of Bollywood? “The struggle will always be there, it never ends. But yes, success helps bring in some kind of star factor, though not power,” he says. “People come with expectations, and it is those expectations one needs to keep working on. You need a strong core.” Pratik and Hansal Mehta come together once again for the screen adaptation of historian Ramachandra Guha’s books Gandhi Before India and Gandhi: The Years that Changed the World. Stepping into the shoes of Bapu can be a daunting task, but Pratik says he was struck by his humanness. “It is amazing how Gandhiji himself has chronicled his strengths and weaknesses. He didn’t want you to celebrate him, he just emphasised that he was as ordinary as anyone else,” he says.(Excerpted from Men and Memories by JR Jayewardene) One of my treasured possessions has been my correspondence with Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister and maker of modern India. These were a collection of letters exchanged between us between 1940 and 1947. In July 1971, in response to an appeal published in the newspapers by Mrs Indira Gandhi, I forwarded photostat copies of the correspondence to her. I also sent her a letter explaining the spirit and framework of the correspondence. The collection of letters is reproduced here, as a token of my treasured recollections of one of the most remarkable leaders I was privileged to know. AN APPEAL To persons having letters, photographs, movie films, voice recordings of Jawaharlal Nehru The Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund has undertaken the publication of the Selected Works of Jawaharlal Nehru and the preparation of an archival/documentary film on him. In order to make these two works the most important and authentic source of material for future historians and research scholars, I appeal to all those possessing letters written by Jawaharlal Nehru, his photographs, film shots and recordings of his speeches to send them to us and thus assist in this work of national importance. The donors will be supplied copies of the originals. In the alternative, copies will be made for our purpose and the originals returned to the donors. Due acknowledgment will be made if the material is used in the Selected Works or in the Film. All communications may be addressed to the Administrative Secretary, Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund, Teen Murti House, New Delhi-11 (Signed) Indira Gandhi 23rd July, 1971 Dear Mrs Gandhi, I read in the newspapers your appeal to those possessing letters written by Jawaharlal Nehru to make them available to the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund. I have in my possession a few letters written to me during the period 1940-1947, photostat copies of which I am enclosing, together with copies of my own letters to which they were replies. If they are necessary I can send the originals. The circumstances in which some of the letters were written arose as a result of my attending the Ramgarh Session of the Indian National Congress held in March 1940, which was the last Congress Session held before India became independent. Early in 1940, Dudley Senanayake and I joined the Ceylon National Congress and were elected Joint Secretaries. We were determined to revitalize that body and stir our leaders to action against the British. As a first step we thought we should meet the leaders of the Indian National Congress, discuss with them the reorganization of the Ceylon National Congress on the lines of the Indian one, and seek to make it the focus of a mass movement against British rule. Collaboration with the Indian Freedom Movement was also one of our objectives. Hence the visit to Ramgarh, which was the first occasion on which the Ceylon Congress had sent delegates to a Session of the Indian Congress. We lived in the Congress Camp for almost a week and our tent was next to that of the Burmese delegation led by the late Aung San. Unfortunately, the open-air sessions fixed for the 19, 20, and 21 March was abandoned owing to the torrential rain that fell on the first day. Our temporary quarters provided us little shelter. Your father visited us and the other guests on several occasions and expressed great concern at the inconvenience we had to undergo. He invited the Burmese and Ceylonese delegates to stay with him a few days at Allahabad before returning home. We (J.E. Amaratunge later an M.P. and I) stayed at Anand Bhawan for three days, on the 26th, 27th and 28th March as the guests of your father and Mrs Pandit. You were not in India then. It was as a result of the discussions I had with your father that I began writing to him. Another meeting was in August 1942, when the Congress adopted the “Quit India” Resolution at Bombay. I met your father at the residence of Mrs Huthee Singh. I refer to this meeting in my letter dated 29.6.45. Unfortunately, the British Government did not permit an unbroken and intelligent exchange of letters; yet we were able to discuss the War and its effect on the British Empire, especially in relation to India and Ceylon; India-Ceylon relations after Independence which we thought would be achieved by India as a result of the War; and the Communists in our organizations. I was very keen that a “Summit Meeting” of Indian and Ceylon leaders should be held: this was agreed to on both sides, but as the correspondence shows external events prevented such a meeting. On our side we modeled the Ceylon Congress on the lines of the Indian Congress. We held Sessions in the villages, adopted “Independence” as our goal; boycotted the Soulbury Commission and began preparations for a direct action campaign against British Rule. The War ended and Independence came within sight. In Ceylon we merged the Congress in the United National Party and formed the first free government, in which Dudley and I were Ministers. The entire Asian political scene changed and new relationships and problems arose. I thought that these introductory remarks would explain more fully the letters we exchanged. I am now in the Opposition as its Leader and I must say I am not too unhappy. We cooperated fully with the government during the difficult days of April and we are grateful to you for the quick response to the Prime Minister’s request for help. With best wishes, Yours sincerely (Signed) J.R. Jayewardene Hon’ble Mrs Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister of India, New Delhi, India J.R. Jayewardene Braemar 66, Ward Place, Colombo 20th July 1940 Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru “Anand Bhawan” Allahabad Dear Mr Nehru, I should really have written to you some months ago, but various reasons have hindered my doing so. I hope you received the Handbook of the Ceylon National Congress and the other pamphlets I sent you. I enclose a few copies of photographs taken by Mr Amaratunga during the Ramgarh Session. We often think of our visit to India and wish we can come again. Events are moving with such rapidity in the World today that a slave India and Ceylon may be free tomorrow, without a struggle. The possibility of India passing into the hands of an armed invader is remote. The jealousy of the great powers alone will prevent this. What of Ceylon? If nothing else happens, is it possible that she may be bartered away by a peace treaty? This is a question that is troubling many of us in Ceylon. Some of us – the number is increasing – think that our future lies with India, and we are endeavouring to arrange for the sending of a representative deputation from Ceylon to meet the Indian leaders. Would it be possible for the Indian Congress to meet a deputation from the Ceylon National Congress some time this year? Federation or closer union between a free India and a free Ceylon would certainly be a subject we wish discussed. Do you think it would be possible to arrange such a conference? The best time for our men would be in September. We would like to meet you, the President of the Congress, Mr Gandhi and any others that you wish us to meet. If such a conference could be arranged please let me know when and where it can take place. With my best wishes for India’s struggle for freedom. Yours truly, (Signed) J.R. Jayewardene By Air Mail Sakina Mansion Carmichael Road, Bombay, August 1, 1940 J.R. Jayewardene Esqr. Braemar 66, Ward Place Colombo (Ceylon) Dear Mr Jayewardene, Your letter of the 20th July unfortunately missed me in Allahabad and had to follow me to Poona, where I received it only two or three days ago. The Handbook and pamphlets that you sent me reached me and I was grateful for them. I read them with interest. The photographs have not reached me yet, but they might be awaiting my return in Allahabad. I entirely agree with you that the pace of events in the world is very rapid and is likely to lead to big consequences in India and Ceylon. Indeed for the last two or three months we have given the most earnest attention to not only the present situation but the possible developments in the near future. This has led to a consideration of certain basic matters which did not arise merely in our struggle for freedom. To some extent there has been a reorientation of our policy, though this does not affect the present. This has resulted in Gandhiji dissociating himself, to some extent, with certain policies of the Congress. This does not mean of course that there is any separation between the Indian National Congress and Gandhiji. But it does mean that he is not prepared to take the responsibility for the decisions of the Indian National Congress and to that extent he wants a free hand. What the immediate future will bring, no one can say. But it is clear that the present position cannot continue. Personally I am quite convinced that whatever the result of the War may be, the British Empire cannot survive it, nor can such spread-out empires exist in the future. It is too much to hope that a real World Federation of free nations will emerge out of this terrible conflict. But one must presume that the day of small nations is past and only large federations or compact empire states will survive. India is a big enough country, to stand by itself even in such a world. But it will take some years to arrive at that stage, and in any event I see no reason why India should not join a larger federation if that is conducive to her own good as well as the advancement of the world. I do not see India remaining part of a fundamentally British Federation, though it is conceivable that we might be members of a Federation which includes Britain as well as non-British countries. In the event of the defeat of Britain in the War, it is exceedingly unlikely that any British Federation will emerge. What might then happen is some Federation with its centre in America. Personally I should like India to be closely associated in a future order with China, Burma and Ceylon, as well as other countries which fit in. Our relations with China have become very close during the last year or two, and I am sure that the leaders of China look upon this possibility with favour. Ceylon is too small a political and economic unit to stand by itself in the future world. I quite agree with you that there might be danger ahead for Ceylon under these circumstances. It will, therefore, be highly desirable to discuss the future relations of India and Ceylon, so that our minds may be clear and we should know what we aiming at. Your proposal, therefore, is a welcome one. I have today discussed this matter with our Congress President, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, and he told me to convey to you that he welcomed the idea very much and he and his colleagues would gladly meet a deputation from the Ceylon National Congress to discuss this matter. It is a little difficult to fix any definite date for this at present. It would not be desirable to delay such a discussion too much. At the same time the present situation is so complex and many new developments are so likely to take place within the next few weeks, that the future is uncertain. Still, provisionally, some time in the latter half of September or early in October might be suitable. If Gandhiji’s presence is necessary, and we think that his presence is certainly desirable, we have to meet at Wardha. If you let me know the dates that suit you we shall keep them in mind. With all good wishes, Yours sincerely, (Signed) Jawaharlal Nehru Braemar 66, Ward Place Colombo 15th August, 1940 Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, “Anand Bhawan,” Allahabad, India Dear Pandit Nehru, The members of the Ceylon Congress to whom I have shown your letter, welcome its contents and are grateful to you for your interest in Ceylon. We have discussed various dates and find that the first week in November is most convenient for our visit. I am sorry that this date is a few weeks later than the dates you suggested. Certain private family matters and meetings of the State Council which is now discussing the Budget, make the first week in November most suitable for our visit. Our deputation will consist of G.C.S. Corea, the President of the Congress, D.S. Senanayake, Minister of Agriculture, and a few others. We would wish wish to meet Gandhiji also, if it is possible to arrange such a meeting. As soon as I hear from you, I shall see that an official letter is sent by the President of the Ceylon Congress to the President of the Indian Congress confirming these arrangements. Our discussions should not, I think, be restricted to any particular issues, but should, as you suggest, cover the future relations between India and Ceylon. Much as I wish to find out, and discuss with you, the exact position of the Communist Party in the Indian Congress, and also Gandhiji’s separation from the Congress and his intention to form a different organisation as reported in our papers, I think I should not intrude on your busy hours, but reserve that for discussion during our visit to India. With best wishes, Yours truly, (Signed) J.R. Jayewardene
This holiday season, many of our favorite celebrities celebrated in style. Whether they were home for the holidays, out partying, or cheering on their favorite football teams, some of these A-listers were in full holiday spirit. As the spirit of Christmas is still in the air, we've rounded up some of our favorite photos from the holidays — from cutesy, to lavish, to stylish. John Legend and Chrissy Teigen Singer John Legend and his wife, model Chrissy Teigen spent the holidays and London. In a photo shared to her Instagram page, the husband and wife duo are joined by their four children — Luna, Miles, Esti, and Wren — who are all dressed in adorable matching green and red plaid pajamas. The family's white stockings are hung upon a noir fireplace, and filled with candies and other goodies, and there are oodles of gifts under the tree. Needless to say, the kids sure had an adventurous Christmas. A post shared by chrissy teigen (@chrissyteigen) Miley Cyrus and Maxx Morando Grammy-winning singer Miley Cyrus spent Christmas with her musician boyfriend, Maxx Morando, as evidenced by a photo shared to social media. In the picture, Cyrus and Morando are joined by a loved one, as well as an adorable golden retriever. Behind them is a tree, with several gifts — including a PlayStation 5 and some Apple gear. With a new year underway, the "Flowers" hitmaker is looking forward to a prosperous 2025, as she is gearing up to release a new album. Miley Cyrus and her boyfriend Maxx Morando at Christmas 🎄 pic.twitter.com/aCZqonZCFJ — MileyUpdates | Fan Account (@MileyUpdates) December 26, 2024 "In everything I do I like to go ALL the way," Cyrus wrote on X (formerly Twitter) in December 2024. "Give it ALL I've got. ALL for it to come to an end, move on and start anew. At times it can be a heartbreaking process but I've always known the pieces to come back together and create something beautiful." Selena Gomez Though it's not entirely clear how Only Murders in the Building actress Selena Gomez spent her Christmas, she appears to have crossed off a bucket list item. In a photo shared to her story on Christmas Day, the "Look at Her Now" hitmaker posed for a selfie with How I Met Your Mother actor Josh Radnor. We imagine she and her fiancé music producer Benny Blanco kept some of their more intimate holiday moments private, however, if the gifts where on par with Blanco's epic marquise cut diamond ring proposal, we know they spent their holidays in luxury. Livvy Dunne LSU gymnast and mega-influencer Livvy Dunne spent Christmas in her hometown of New Jersey. In a photo shared to her Instagram Story on Christmas Day, Dunne is dressed in cozy pajamas and cuddled up with her golden retriever dog Roux. In another photo, she shared some of the gifts she received during Christmas, including a Lana Del Rey vinyl record, a portrait of Squidward from Spongebob Squarepants, and a bag containing David Yurman jewelry. What more could a new college grad ask for? Britney Spears It was a special Christmas for Britney Spears . This year, she reunited with her son Jayden. The "Gimme More" hitmaker took to Instagram to share a video featuring herself embracing Jayden. According to her post, this was her first time seeing her sons in two years. "Tears of joy and literally in shock everyday koo koo crazy so in love and blessed!!!," Spears wrote in the post's caption. "I'm speechless thank you Jesus!!!" A post shared by XILA MARIA RIVER RED (@britneyspears) Al Roker Today show anchor Al Roker spent Christmas Day with his family, who joined him for a photo wearing matching elf hats. And that's what was happening in his neck of the woods. A post shared by Al Roker (@alroker) Gwyneth Paltrow Gwyneth Paltrow enjoyed Christmas with her mother, Blythe Danner . The two ladies of cinema were joined by her daughter Apple and son Moses, whom she shares with Coldplay lead vocalist Chris Martin. A post shared by Gwyneth Paltrow (@gwynethpaltrow) LeBron and Savannah James The James family kept it cozy this Christmas. In a photo shared to Instagram, Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James is seen with his wife Savannah, and their three children — Bronny, Bryce, and Zhuri, as they are all dressed in matching red pajamas. A post shared by 👑 (@kingjames)
By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH, Associated Press For Makenzie Gilkison, spelling is such a struggle that a word like rhinoceros might come out as “rineanswsaurs” or sarcastic as “srkastik.” The 14-year-old from suburban Indianapolis can sound out words, but her dyslexia makes the process so draining that she often struggles with comprehension. “I just assumed I was stupid,” she recalled of her early grade school years. But assistive technology powered by artificial intelligence has helped her keep up with classmates. Last year, Makenzie was named to the National Junior Honor Society. She credits a customized AI-powered chatbot, a word prediction program and other tools that can read for her. “I would have just probably given up if I didn’t have them,” she said. Artificial intelligence holds the promise of helping countless other students with a range of visual, speech, language and hearing impairments to execute tasks that come easily to others. Schools everywhere have been wrestling with how and where to incorporate AI , but many are fast-tracking applications for students with disabilities. Getting the latest technology into the hands of students with disabilities is a priority for the U.S. Education Department, which has told schools they must consider whether students need tools like text-to-speech and alternative communication devices. New rules from the Department of Justice also will require schools and other government entities to make apps and online content accessible to those with disabilities. There is concern about how to ensure students using it — including those with disabilities — are still learning. Students can use artificial intelligence to summarize jumbled thoughts into an outline, summarize complicated passages, or even translate Shakespeare into common English. And computer-generated voices that can read passages for visually impaired and dyslexic students are becoming less robotic and more natural. “I’m seeing that a lot of students are kind of exploring on their own, almost feeling like they’ve found a cheat code in a video game,” said Alexis Reid, an educational therapist in the Boston area who works with students with learning disabilities. But in her view, it is far from cheating : “We’re meeting students where they are.” Ben Snyder, a 14-year-old freshman from Larchmont, New York, who was recently diagnosed with a learning disability, has been increasingly using AI to help with homework. “Sometimes in math, my teachers will explain a problem to me, but it just makes absolutely no sense,” he said. “So if I plug that problem into AI, it’ll give me multiple different ways of explaining how to do that.” He likes a program called Question AI. Earlier in the day, he asked the program to help him write an outline for a book report — a task he completed in 15 minutes that otherwise would have taken him an hour and a half because of his struggles with writing and organization. But he does think using AI to write the whole report crosses a line. “That’s just cheating,” Ben said. Schools have been trying to balance the technology’s benefits against the risk that it will do too much. If a special education plan sets reading growth as a goal, the student needs to improve that skill. AI can’t do it for them, said Mary Lawson, general counsel at the Council of the Great City Schools. But the technology can help level the playing field for students with disabilities, said Paul Sanft, director of a Minnesota-based center where families can try out different assistive technology tools and borrow devices. “There are definitely going to be people who use some of these tools in nefarious ways. That’s always going to happen,” Sanft said. “But I don’t think that’s the biggest concern with people with disabilities, who are just trying to do something that they couldn’t do before.” Another risk is that AI will track students into less rigorous courses of study. And, because it is so good at identifying patterns , AI might be able to figure out a student has a disability. Having that disclosed by AI and not the student or their family could create ethical dilemmas, said Luis Pérez, the disability and digital inclusion lead at CAST, formerly the Center for Applied Specialized Technology. Schools are using the technology to help students who struggle academically, even if they do not qualify for special education services. In Iowa, a new law requires students deemed not proficient — about a quarter of them — to get an individualized reading plan. As part of that effort, the state’s education department spent $3 million on an AI-driven personalized tutoring program. When students struggle, a digital avatar intervenes. More AI tools are coming soon. The U.S. National Science Foundation is funding AI research and development. One firm is developing tools to help children with speech and language difficulties. Called the National AI Institute for Exceptional Education, it is headquartered at the University of Buffalo, which did pioneering work on handwriting recognition that helped the U.S. Postal Service save hundreds of millions of dollars by automating processing. “We are able to solve the postal application with very high accuracy. When it comes to children’s handwriting, we fail very badly,” said Venu Govindaraju, the director of the institute. He sees it as an area that needs more work, along with speech-to-text technology, which isn’t as good at understanding children’s voices, particularly if there is a speech impediment. Sorting through the sheer number of programs developed by education technology companies can be a time-consuming challenge for schools. Richard Culatta, CEO of the International Society for Technology in Education, said the nonprofit launched an effort this fall to make it easier for districts to vet what they are buying and ensure it is accessible. Makenzie wishes some of the tools were easier to use. Sometimes a feature will inexplicably be turned off, and she will be without it for a week while the tech team investigates. The challenges can be so cumbersome that some students resist the technology entirely. But Makenzie’s mother, Nadine Gilkison, who works as a technology integration supervisor at Franklin Township Community School Corporation in Indiana, said she sees more promise than downside. In September, her district rolled out chatbots to help special education students in high school. She said teachers, who sometimes struggled to provide students the help they needed, became emotional when they heard about the program. Until now, students were reliant on someone to help them, unable to move ahead on their own. “Now we don’t need to wait anymore,” she said. The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
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Stocks slipped in afternoon trading Friday as Wall Street closes out a rare bumpy week. The S&P 500 dropped by less than 0.1% and is on track for a loss for the week after three straight weekly gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 25 points, or 0.1% to 43,884 as of 2:11 p.m. Eastern time. The Nasdaq rose less than 0.1% and is hovering around its record. Broadcom surged 22.1% for the biggest gain in the S&P 500 after the semiconductor company beat Wall Street’s profit targets and gave a glowing forecast, highlighting its artificial intelligence products. The company also raised its dividend. The company's big gain helped cushion the market's broader fall. Pricey stock values for technology companies like Broadcom give the sector more weight in pushing the market higher or lower. Artificial intelligence technology has been a focal point for the technology sector and the overall stock market over the last year. Tech companies, and Wall Street, expect demand for AI to continue driving growth for semiconductor and other technology companies. Even so, some big tech stocks were in the red Friday. Nvidia slid 2.4%, Meta Platforms dropped 2% and Netflix was down 1%. Furniture and housewares company RH, formerly known as Restoration Hardware, surged 13.8% after raising its forecast for revenue growth for the year. Wall Street's rally stalled this week amid mixed economic reports and ahead of the Federal Reserve's last meeting of the year. The central bank will meet next week and is widely expected to cut interest rates for a third time since September. Expectations of a series of rate cuts has driven the S&P 500 to 57 all-time highs so far this year . The Fed has been lowering its benchmark interest rate following an aggressive rate hiking policy that was meant to tame inflation. It raised rates from near-zero in early 2022 to a two-decade high by the middle of 2023. Inflation eased under pressure from higher interest rates, nearly to the central bank's 2% target. The economy, including consumer spending and employment, held strong despite the squeeze from inflation and high borrowing costs. A slowing job market, though, has helped push a long-awaited reversal of the Fed's policy. Inflation rates have been warming up slightly over the last few months. A report on consumer prices this week showed an increase to 2.7% in November from 2.6% in October. The Fed's preferred measure of inflation, the personal consumption expenditures index, will be released next week. Wall Street expects it to show a 2.5% rise in November, up from 2.3% in October. The economy, though, remains solid heading into 2025 as consumers continue spending and employment remains healthy, said Gregory Daco, chief economist at EY. “Still, the outlook is clouded by unusually high uncertainty surrounding regulatory, immigration, trade and tax policy,” he said. Treasury yields edged higher. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.39% from 4.34% late Thursday. European markets slipped. Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.1%. Britain’s economy unexpectedly shrank by 0.1% month-on-month in October, following a 0.1% decline in September, according to data from the Office for National Statistics. Asian markets closed mostly lower.Ranil’s ascent in the UNP to become PM after the Premadasa assassination
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Large fossil fuel companies would have to pay fees to help New York fight the effects of climate change under a bill signed Thursday by Gov. Kathy Hochul. The new law requires companies responsible for substantial greenhouse gas emissions to pay into a state fund for infrastructure projects meant to repair or avoid future damage from climate change. Lawmakers approved the bill earlier this year to force big oil and gas companies to contribute to the cost of repairs after extreme weather events and resiliency projects such as coastal wetland restoration and upgrades to roads, bridges and water drainage systems. “The Climate Change Superfund Act is now law, and New York has fired a shot that will be heard round the world: the companies most responsible for the climate crisis will be held accountable,” said state Sen. Liz Krueger, a Democrat who sponsored the bill. “The planet’s largest climate polluters bear a unique responsibility for creating the climate crisis, and they must pay their fair share to help regular New Yorkers deal with the consequences,” Krueger said. The biggest emitters of greenhouse gases between 2000 and 2018 would be subjected to the fines. The law won’t start penalizing companies immediately. Instead, the state must come up with rules on how to identify responsible parties, notify companies of the fines and create a system to determine which infrastructure projects will be paid for by the fund. Legal challenges are expected. “This type of legislation represents nothing more than a punitive new fee on American energy, and we are evaluating our options moving forward,” the American Petroleum Institute, the oil industry’s top lobbying group, said in a statement. New York’s governor signed the measure months after Vermont put a similar law in place.Massive Chinese espionage scheme hit 9th telecom firm, US says
Injuries not slowing down Cavaliers, who face dinged-up Nuggets
David J. Neal | (TNS) Miami Herald Stanley — whose cups have become almost as popular as the National Hockey League’s Stanley Cup — recalled 2.6 million travel mugs because their burn count got too high. As explained in the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recall notice, “These mugs’ lid threads can shrink when exposed to heat and torque, causing the lid to detach during use, posing a burn hazard.” According to what Stanley told the CPSC, the lids on recalled travel mugs have detached 16 times in the United States and 91 times worldwide, causing two burn injuries in the United States and 38 worldwide. Of those 38, 11 “required medical attention.” Related Articles National News | Companies tighten security after a health care CEO’s killing leads to a surge of threats National News | Military service academies see drop in reported sexual assaults after alarming surge National News | Unidentified drones spotted flying at locations across NYC, including LaGuardia Airport National News | Woman who falsely accused Duke lacrosse players of rape in 2006 publicly admits she lied National News | Musk says US is demanding he pay penalty over disclosures of his Twitter stock purchases This involves the Switchback model, ID No. 20-01437 in the 12-ounce size and Nos. 20-01436 and 20-02211 in the 16-ounce size; and the Trigger Action model, ID Nos. 20-02033, 20-02779 and 20-02825 in the 12-ounce size; Nos. 20-02030, 20-02745 and 20-02957 in the 16-ounce size; and 20-02034 and 20-02746 in the 20-ounce size. Stanley wants customers to contact the company to receive a free replacement lid by either going to the website to enter your product identification number and place of purchase (if you remember) or calling (866) 792-5445, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Eastern time. ©2024 Miami Herald. Visit at miamiherald.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.PM asks Kabul to choose between TTP and Pakistan