Women moved to the centre stage of the Maharashtra Assembly elections with the ruling Mahayuti trying to woo them with direct benefit transfer schemes. The Mahayuti had already implemented the much discussed Mukhyamantri Ladki Bahin Yojana (Chief Minister Beloved Sisters Scheme) after the alliance’s poor show in the Lok Sabha elections this year. It promised to increase the monthly dole from ₹1,500 at present to ₹2,100 on returning to power. The Ladki Bahin Yojana became a buzzword during campaigns as the ruling coalition parties appealed to women to elect their ‘real’ brothers from the Mahayuti and not the ‘step’ brothers from the Maha Vikas Aghadi. The appeal seems to have worked as indicated by the Lokniti-CSDS data which show that more than 80% of women had applied to avail the scheme ( Table 1 ). Similarly, more women than men seem to have preferred the Mahayuti in the election. The support to the ruling alliance is even higher among rural women and those who applied to avail the scheme ( Table 2 ). As per ECI data, this election also witnessed a large turnout of women voters and bridging of the gender gap. Earlier studies of the Lokniti indicate that so far women’s vote in Maharashtra, both in the LS as well as Assembly elections, has been influenced by the overall regional political dynamics and social identities such as caste and class rather than women voting essentially and independently as women. It is interesting to see whether the recent election has changed the pattern and whether a new constituency of women essentially as welfare beneficiaries is emerging in the State. With a limited increase in support among women (3% more than men), it may be too early to arrive at such a conclusion, and it might also be an exaggeration to say that the victory of the Mahayuti was shaped by women’s vote—although women surely seem to have contributed to that victory. (Rajeshwari Deshpande teaches at Savitribai Phule Pune University) Published - November 25, 2024 02:30 am IST Copy link Email Facebook Twitter Telegram LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024 / MaharashtraTimberwolves push back start time vs. Spurs because of issue with game court
President-elect Donald Trump will return to power next year with a raft of technological tools at his disposal that would help deliver his campaign promise of cracking down on immigration — among them, surveillance and artificial intelligence technology that the Biden administration already uses to help make crucial decisions in tracking, detaining and ultimately deporting immigrants lacking permanent legal status. While immigration officials have used the tech for years, an October letter from the Department of Homeland Security obtained exclusively by The Associated Press details how those tools — some of them powered by AI — help make life-altering decisions for immigrants, including whether they should be detained or surveilled. One algorithm, for example, ranks immigrants with a “Hurricane Score,” ranging from 1-5, to assess whether someone will “abscond” from the agency's supervision. The letter, sent by DHS Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer Eric Hysen to the immigrant rights group Just Futures Law, revealed that the score calculates the potential risk that an immigrant — with a pending case — will fail to check in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. The algorithm relies on several factors, he said, including an immigrant’s number of violations and length of time in the program, and whether the person has a travel document. Hysen wrote that ICE officers consider the score, among other information, when making decisions about an immigrant’s case. “The Hurricane Score does not make decisions on detention, deportation, or surveillance; instead, it is used to inform human decision-making,” Hysen wrote. Also included in the government’s tool kit is a mobile app called SmartLINK that uses facial matching and can track an immigrant’s specific location. Nearly 200,000 people without legal status who are in removal proceedings are enrolled in the Alternatives to Detention program, under which certain immigrants can live in the U.S. while their immigration cases are pending. In exchange, SmartLINK and GPS trackers used by ICE rigorously surveil them and their movements. The phone application draws on facial matching technology and geolocation data, which has been used before to find and arrest those using the app. Just Futures Law wrote to Hysen earlier this year, questioning the fairness of using an algorithm to assess whether someone is a flight risk and raising concerns over how much data SmartLINK collects. Such AI systems, which score or screen people, are used widely but remain largely unregulated even though some have been found to discriminate on race, gender or other protected traits. DHS said in an email that it is committed to ensuring that its use of AI is transparent and safeguards privacy and civil rights while avoiding biases. The agency said it is working to implement the Biden administration’s requirements on using AI , but Hysen said in his letter that security officials may waive those requirements for certain uses. Trump has publicly vowed to repeal Biden's AI policy when he returns to the White House in January. “DHS uses AI to assist our personnel in their work, but DHS does not use the outputs of AI systems as the sole basis for any law enforcement action or denial of benefits,” a spokesperson for DHS told the AP. Trump has not revealed how he plans to carry out his promised deportation of an estimated 11 million people living in the country illegally. Although he has proposed invoking wartime powers, as well as military involvement, the plan would face major logistical challenges — such as where to keep those who have been detained and how to find people spread across the country — that AI-powered surveillance tools could potentially address. Karoline Leavitt, a spokesperson for Trump, did not answer questions about how they plan to use DHS’ tech, but said in a statement that “President Trump will marshal every federal and state power necessary to institute the largest deportation operation” in American history. Over 100 civil society groups sent a letter on Friday urging the Office of Management and Budget to require DHS to comply with the Biden administration’s guidelines. OMB did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Just Futures Law’s executive director, Paromita Shah, said if immigrants are scored as flight risks, they are more likely to remain in detention, "limiting their ability to prepare a defense in their case in immigration court, which is already difficult enough as it is.” SmartLINK, part of the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program, is run by BI Inc., a subsidiary of the private prison company The GEO Group. The GEO Group also contracts with ICE to run detention centers. ICE is tight-lipped about how it uses SmartLINK’s location feature to find and arrest immigrants. Still, public records show that during Trump’s first term in 2018, Manassas, Virginia-based employees of BI Inc. relayed immigrants’ GPS locations to federal authorities, who then arrested over 40 people. In a report last year to address privacy issues and concerns, DHS said that the mobile app includes security features that “prohibit access to information on the participant’s mobile device, with the exception of location data points when the app is open.” But the report notes that there remains a risk that data collected from people "may be misused for unauthorized persistent monitoring.” Such information could also be stored in other ICE and DHS databases and used for other DHS mission purposes, the report said. On investor calls earlier this month, private prison companies were clear-eyed about the opportunities ahead. The GEO Group’s executive chairman George Christopher Zoley said that he expects the incoming Trump administration to “take a much more aggressive approach regarding border security as well as interior enforcement and to request additional funding from Congress to achieve these goals.” “In GEO’s ISAP program, we can scale up from the present 182,500 participants to several hundreds of thousands, or even millions of participants,” Zoley said. That same day, the head of another private prison company told investors he would be watching closely to see how the new administration may change immigrant monitoring programs. “It’s an opportunity for multiple vendors to engage ICE about the program going forward and think about creative and innovative solutions to not only get better outcomes, but also scale up the program as necessary,” Damon Hininger, CEO of the private prison company CoreCivic Inc. said on an earnings call. GEO did not respond to requests for comment. In a statement, CoreCivic said that it has played “a valued but limited role in America’s immigration system” for both Democrats and Republicans for over 40 years.21.0 EH/s and 967 MW 1,2 under management in mining with path to ~35 EH/s MIAMI, Dec. 05, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Hut 8 Corp. (Nasdaq | TSX: HUT) (“Hut 8” or the “Company”), a leading, vertically integrated operator of large-scale energy infrastructure and one of North America’s largest Bitcoin miners, today released its operations update for November 2024. “We achieved net increases in deployed self-mining hashrate and efficiency in November by bringing inefficient miners offline in preparation for our initial fleet upgrade and completing the development of our R&D facility at Salt Creek,” said Asher Genoot, CEO of Hut 8. “These measures partially offset the impact of rising network difficulty on Bitcoin production, and we expect further performance gains in Q1 2025 as our initial fleet upgrade is expected to drive an improvement in average fleet efficiency to 19.9 joules per terahash.” “We remain intently focused on growing our proprietary operations and have advanced the buildout of our Vega site on schedule for energization in Q2 2025. Accounting for our fleet upgrade and assuming we fully exercise our purchase option for the miners we expect to host at the Vega site, we have a path to approximately 24 exahash per second of self-mining hashrate with an average fleet efficiency of 15.7 joules per terahash as early as Q2 2025. In parallel, we continue to progress AI data center development opportunities across our development pipeline.” Highlights Operating Metrics Energy Infrastructure Platform 3 Upcoming Conferences & Events: Notes : About Hut 8 Hut 8 Corp. is an energy infrastructure operator and Bitcoin miner with self-mining, hosting, managed services, and traditional data center operations across North America. Headquartered in Miami, Florida, Hut 8 Corp. has a portfolio comprising twenty sites: ten Bitcoin mining, hosting, and Managed Services sites in Alberta, New York, and Texas, five high performance computing data centers in British Columbia and Ontario, four power generation assets in Ontario, and one non-operational site in Alberta. For more information, visit www.hut8.com and follow us on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @Hut8Corp. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward–Looking Information This press release includes “forward-looking information” and “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Canadian securities laws and United States securities laws, respectively (collectively, “forward-looking information”). All information, other than statements of historical facts, included in this press release that address activities, events or developments that Hut 8 expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future, including such things as future business strategy, competitive strengths, goals, expansion and growth of the business, operations, plans and other such matters is forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is often identified by the words “may”, “would”, “could”, “should”, “will”, “intend”, “plan”, “anticipate”, “allow”, “believe”, “estimate”, “expect”, “predict”, “can”, “might”, “potential”, “predict”, “is designed to”, “likely” or similar expressions. Specifically, such forward-looking information included in this press release includes statements relating to the Company’s planned initial fleet upgrade and the expected resulting performance gains, including expected improvement in average fleet efficiency, its focus on growing its proprietary operations, its buildout and energization of the Vega site, including the expected timing and resulting performance gains, its continuing progress with respect to AI data center development opportunities across its development pipeline and the impact of Ionic’s termination of the managed services agreement. Statements containing forward-looking information are not historical facts, but instead represent management’s expectations, estimates and projections regarding future events based on certain material factors and assumptions at the time the statement was made. While considered reasonable by Hut 8 as of the date of this press release, such statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to, security and cybersecurity threats and hacks; malicious actors or botnet obtaining control of processing power on the Bitcoin network; further development and acceptance of the Bitcoin network; changes to Bitcoin mining difficulty; loss or destruction of private keys; increases in fees for recording transactions in the Blockchain; erroneous transactions; reliance on a limited number of key employees; reliance on third party mining pool service providers; regulatory changes; classification and tax changes; momentum pricing risk; fraud and failure related to digital asset exchanges; difficulty in obtaining banking services and financing; difficulty in obtaining insurance, permits and licenses; internet and power disruptions; geopolitical events; uncertainty in the development of cryptographic and algorithmic protocols; uncertainty about the acceptance or widespread use of digital assets; failure to anticipate technology innovations; the COVID19 pandemic, climate change; currency risk; lending risk and recovery of potential losses; litigation risk; business integration risk; changes in market demand; changes in network and infrastructure; system interruption; changes in leasing arrangements; failure to achieve intended benefits of power purchase agreements; potential for interrupted delivery, or suspension of the delivery, of energy to mining sites and other risks related to the digital asset mining and data center business. For a complete list of the factors that could affect Hut 8, please see the “Risk Factors” section of Hut 8’s Transition Report on Form 10-K, available under the Company’s EDGAR profile at www.sec.gov , and Hut 8’s other continuous disclosure documents which are available under the Company’s SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.ca and EDGAR profile at www.sec.gov . Hut 8 Corp. Investor Relations Sue Ennis ir@hut8.com Hut 8 Corp. Media Relations media@hut8.com A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/c9236ca1-6918-4b97-b9aa-530c73b90a67
Dow tops 45K for first time — but Wall Street slips as tech stocks slumpNone
LeBron James, the Los Angeles Lakers star, decided to leave social media earlier this month. The four-time NBA champion, who turns 40 years old next month, said he was getting fed up with all of the hate on the app. James, who has X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram accounts, is one of the most followed athletes in the world. He's usually pretty open with his fans on social media and is often posting to his accounts. While some prominent athletes and celebrities have people running their accounts, it seems like LeBron is usually the one behind most of his posts. So, it's sad to see that LeBron is choosing to leave social media - for now, anyway - but he'll probably be back at some point. LeBron is known for speaking his mind, one way or another. LeBron/IG Over the years, LeBron James has made it pretty clear where he stands politically. In fact, prior to the 2024 election, LeBron made his thoughts very clear. LeBron made it clear that he thought a vote for Kamala Harris was a vote for women, morality, etc. He was sending a clear message that he was siding with Kamala Harris voters over those who chose to vote for Donald Trump. “So having a daughter, having a wife, mother, things of that nature that she believes in when it comes to women’s rights and when it comes to the future of my kids and where I see where our country should be, I feel like that endorsement is only right,” James told reporters in the locker room about his endorsement earlier this month. “’And come on, I mean, you guys know me. I damn sure wasn’t going the other way.” LeBron is a dad to three - Bronny, Bryce and Zhuri. He made it clear that he felt it wasn't even a choice. “What are we even talking about here??,” he wrote on X. “When I think about my kids and my family and how they will grow up, the choice is clear to me. VOTE KAMALA HARRIS!!!” Of course, LeBron was not joined by the majority of Americans, as Donald Trump topped Kamala Harris, winning 312 Electoral College votes. Gina Ferazzi/Getty Images The Lakers, 10-6 on the season, are scheduled to return to the floor on Tuesday against the Phoenix Suns. Tipoff is set for 10 p.m. E.T. on TNT.Arteta wanted his team to prove their European credentials following some underwhelming displays away from home, and the Gunners manager got exactly what he asked for. Goals from Gabriel Martinelli, Kai Havertz, Gabriel Magalhaes, Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard got their continental campaign back on track in style following the 1-0 defeat at Inter Milan last time out. A memorable victory also ended Sporting’s unbeaten start to the season, a streak of 17 wins and one draw, the vast majority of which prompted Manchester United to prise away head coach Ruben Amorim. The Gunners had failed to win or score in their two away games in the competition so far this season, but they made a blistering start in the Portuguese capital and took the lead after only seven minutes. Declan Rice fed overlapping full-back Jurrien Timber, who curled a low cross in behind the home defence for Martinelli to finish at the far post. Arsenal doubled their lead in the 20th minute thanks to a glorious ball over the top from Thomas Partey. Saka escaped the clutches of his marker Maximiliano Araujo to beat the offside trap and poke the ball past advancing goalkeeper Franco Israel for Havertz to tap home. It was a scintillating first-half display which completely overshadowed the presence of Viktor Gyokeres in Sporting’s attack. The prolific Sweden striker, formerly of Coventry, has been turning the heads of Europe’s top clubs with his 24 goals in 17 games this season – including a hat-trick against Manchester City earlier this month. But the only time he got a sniff of a run at goal after an optimistic long ball, he was marshalled out of harm’s way by Gabriel. David Raya was forced into one save, tipping a fierce Geovany Quenda drive over the crossbar. But Arsenal added a third on the stroke of half-time, Gabriel charging in to head Rice’s corner into the back of the net. To rub salt in the wound, the Brazilian defender mimicked Gyokeres’ hands-over-his-face goal celebration. That may have wound Sporting up as they came out after the interval meaning business, and they pulled one back after Raya tipped Hidemasa Morita’s shot behind, with Goncalo Inacio netting at the near post from the corner. Former Tottenham winger Marcus Edwards fired over, as did Gyokeres, with Arsenal temporarily on the back foot. But when Martin Odegaard’s darting run into the area was halted by Ousmane Diomande’s foul, Saka tucked away the penalty. Substitute Trossard added the fifth with eight minutes remaining, heading in the rebound after Mikel Merino’s shot was saved, and Gyokeres’ miserable night was summed up when his late shot crashed back off the post.
Bitcoin has surpassed the $100,000 mark as the post-election rally continues. What's next?Specialty Board Certification Error Causes Headaches for Doctors MedPage Today story. Some doctors had a sleepless night when the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology's (ABPN) online certification program locked them out earlier than the expected deadline -- leading some to believe they would lose their board certification. Physicians were working on their quizzes to maintain board certification late on the evening of Saturday, Dec. 14, when the online tool shut down -- ahead of the expected deadline of 11:59 p.m. Central Time on Sunday, Dec. 15. "I almost had a heart attack thinking that I would no longer be board certified," one physician told MedPage Today. "I was laying in bed at 4 a.m. with chest pain. I thought I was either going to have a heart attack or a panic attack." By the morning of Dec. 15, some physicians had taken to social media channels, posting that... ABC News
Arteta wanted his team to prove their European credentials following some underwhelming displays away from home, and the Gunners manager got exactly what he asked for. Goals from Gabriel Martinelli, Kai Havertz, Gabriel Magalhaes, Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard got their continental campaign back on track in style following the 1-0 defeat at Inter Milan last time out. A memorable victory also ended Sporting’s unbeaten start to the season, a streak of 17 wins and one draw, the vast majority of which prompted Manchester United to prise away head coach Ruben Amorim. The Gunners had failed to win or score in their two away games in the competition so far this season, but they made a blistering start in the Portuguese capital and took the lead after only seven minutes. Declan Rice fed overlapping full-back Jurrien Timber, who curled a low cross in behind the home defence for Martinelli to finish at the far post. Arsenal doubled their lead in the 20th minute thanks to a glorious ball over the top from Thomas Partey. Saka escaped the clutches of his marker Maximiliano Araujo to beat the offside trap and poke the ball past advancing goalkeeper Franco Israel for Havertz to tap home. It was a scintillating first-half display which completely overshadowed the presence of Viktor Gyokeres in Sporting’s attack. The prolific Sweden striker, formerly of Coventry, has been turning the heads of Europe’s top clubs with his 24 goals in 17 games this season – including a hat-trick against Manchester City earlier this month. But the only time he got a sniff of a run at goal after an optimistic long ball, he was marshalled out of harm’s way by Gabriel. David Raya was forced into one save, tipping a fierce Geovany Quenda drive over the crossbar. But Arsenal added a third on the stroke of half-time, Gabriel charging in to head Rice’s corner into the back of the net. To rub salt in the wound, the Brazilian defender mimicked Gyokeres’ hands-over-his-face goal celebration. That may have wound Sporting up as they came out after the interval meaning business, and they pulled one back after Raya tipped Hidemasa Morita’s shot behind, with Goncalo Inacio netting at the near post from the corner. Former Tottenham winger Marcus Edwards fired over, as did Gyokeres, with Arsenal temporarily on the back foot. But when Martin Odegaard’s darting run into the area was halted by Ousmane Diomande’s foul, Saka tucked away the penalty. Substitute Trossard added the fifth with eight minutes remaining, heading in the rebound after Mikel Merino’s shot was saved, and Gyokeres’ miserable night was summed up when his late shot crashed back off the post.Significant milestones in life and career of Jimmy CarterRevolutionary Shift! Game Pass Unlocks Monster Hunter Wilds
An Israeli drone strike on a hospital compound in northern Gaza on Thursday killed a 16-year-old boy in a wheelchair and wounded at least 12 other people, including medical staff, the Gaza Health Ministry and the hospital director said. Kamal Adwan Hospital is one of the few hospitals still partially operating in the northernmost part of Gaza , where Israeli forces are pressing an offensive that has almost completely sealed off the area from humanitarian aid for two months. Earlier Thursday, the human rights group Amnesty International accused Israel of committing genocide in the Gaza Strip during its war with Hamas, saying it has sought to deliberately destroy Palestinians by mounting deadly attacks, demolishing vital infrastructure and preventing the delivery of food, medicine and other aid. Israel says it goes to great lengths to avoid harming civilians as it battles Hamas. Israel's war against Hamas has destroyed vast areas of Gaza and displaced 90% of the population of 2.3 million, often multiple times. The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel in October 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking around 250 people hostage . Israel’s blistering retaliatory offensive has killed at least 44,500 Palestinians , more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were combatants. Israel says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence. Here's the Latest: WASHINGTON -- Three U.S. service members were being evaluated for potential traumatic brain injuries following an attack near a base in eastern Syria this week, Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said Thursday. Ryder said U.S. Central Command is still evaluating who was behind the attack near Mission Support Site Euphrates, which prompted the U.S. to conduct counter strikes on Tuesday. At the time, the Pentagon said rockets and mortars had landed in the vicinity of the base. The U.S. has about 900 troops in Syria to conduct missions to counter the Islamic Stage group. By Lolita Baldor BEIRUT — Hezbollah chief Naim Kassem said in a televised speech on Friday that the Lebanese militant group will provide financial assistance to families whose homes were completely destroyed during the recent war with Israel. In addition to being an armed group, Hezbollah is also a political party and provides extensive social services. In his second speech since the ceasefire that ended the war between Hezbollah and Israel on Nov. 27, Kassem reiterated that the U.N. Resolution 1701 “is not a new agreement,” adding that it stipulates that “Israel must withdraw from all Lebanese territories.” “The agreement is limited to the area south of the Litani River and nothing else,” Kassem said. He also accused Israel of committing over 60 violations of the ceasefire . Seated against the backdrop of a banner reading “reconstruction campaign,” Kassem announced that Hezbollah, with support from Iran, will provide financial aid to families whose homes were completely destroyed during the war. Those in Beirut and its southern suburbs will receive $14,000, while families outside the capital will receive $12,000, covering annual rent and compensation for furniture, he said. For partially damaged homes, specialized committees will assess the damages, Kassem said. Commenting on Syria and the stunning offensive by jihadi insurgents in recent days, Kassem said Hezbollah “will stand alongside Syria to stop the aggression.” “The aggression against Syria is sponsored by America and Israel,” Kassem said. He did not specify whether Hezbollah would send fighters to Syria to join forces with the Syrian army. WASHINGTON — The Biden administration says it believes accusations by Amnesty International that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza are “unfounded” although it says human rights groups play a “vital role” in speaking to the consequences of the conflict. Deputy State Department spokesman Vedant Patel declined to comment Thursday about specifics in the report, saying he would “let Amnesty International speak to the details about it.” But, he said the administration continues to disagree with its conclusion, as it has with previous similar reports from other organizations. “As you’ve heard us say previously, we disagree with the conclusions of such a report,” Patel told reporters in Washington. “We have said previously and continue to find that the allegations of genocide are unfounded. But there continues to be a vital role that civil society organizations like Amnesty International and human rights groups and NGOs play in providing information and analysis as it relates to Gaza and what’s going on.” At the same time, he said the administration’s concern about the situation in Gaza also remains unchanged and urged Israel to do more to improve humanitarian conditions in Gaza. “We continue to stress at every turn that there is a moral and strategic priority for Israel to comply with international humanitarian law and that is something we’re going to continue to raise with partners in the region and directly with Israel,” Patel said. CAIRO — An Israeli drone strike on a hospital compound in northern Gaza killed a 16-year-old boy in a wheelchair and wounded at least 12 other people, including medical staff, the Gaza Health Ministry and the hospital director said. Dr. Hossam Abu Safiya said an Israeli drone deliberately targeted patients and staff at the entrance to the reception and emergency area of Kamal Adwan Hospital, killing Mahmoud Abu al-Aish, a patient being taken in a wheelchair to the radiology department. Abu Safiya spoke in a video he posted on social media, standing inside the hospital as doctors operated on a wounded man behind him, calling it, “The injured treating the injured.” Abu Safiya was wounded in his thigh and back by an Israeli drone strike on the hospital last month. Israel says it goes to great lengths to avoid harming civilians as it battles Hamas. Kamal Adwan Hospital has been struck multiple times over the past two months since Israel launched a fierce military operation in northern Gaza against Hamas militants. In October, Israeli forces raided the hospital, saying that militants were sheltering inside and arrested a number of people, including some staff. Hospital officials denied the claim. The United Nations humanitarian office estimates up to 75,000 people remain in the northern towns of Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahiya and the Jabaliya refugee camp. The area has been almost completely sealed off from humanitarian aid for two months and experts have warned that a famine may have set in . A medical relief team from the U.N. World Health Organization was able to reach Kamal Adwan Hospital on Monday, delivering 10,000 liters of fuel (2,640 gallons), blood supplies, essential medical items and food. The U.N. press office also said DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Palestinian mothers in Gaza are struggling to secure baby formula for their newborn children and are forced to resort to alternatives that aren't the best options for infants. The Health Ministry in Gaza reported Thursday a shortage in baby formula amid a lack of aid entering the besieged territory and high prices due to scarcity. If found in the market, one box of baby formula could cost up to $50, according to an Associated Press journalist. Ahmed al-Farra, director of the child and maternity department at Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis, said in the video statement posted by the Health Ministry that Israeli forces have been denying the entry of baby formula to the Gaza Strip for around three months. He explained that some women in Gaza can’t breastfeed their babies due to their own malnutrition or illness and must resort to giving infants starch or dissolved herbs instead, which pose a health risk. One mother said in a video posted by the Health Ministry that she was feeding her baby crushed biscuits, ground rice, and Cerelac brand baby formula if available. Medical professionals often recommend waiting to feed a child solid foods until at least the age of six months. The amount of aid entering Gaza plunged in October, and hunger is widespread across the territory, even in central Gaza where aid groups have more access. Humanitarian organizations say Israeli restrictions, ongoing fighting and the breakdown of law and order make it difficult to deliver assistance. Israel has said it is working to increase the flow of aid. JERUSALEM — Israeli rights groups are calling on the government to stop the “forcible transfer” of Palestinians out of northern Gaza and for the displaced to be allowed to return home. A joint letter from five well-known groups says “this forcible transfer is being undertaken through direct attacks on the civilian population, threats of such attacks, and the creation of inhumane living conditions.” The letter was issued by Gisha, Adalah, HaMoked, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel and Physicians for Human Rights – Israel, groups based in Israel that advocate for Palestinian rights. Tens of thousands have fled Gaza’s northernmost governorate since Israel launched a military operation there in early October against Hamas militants. The United Nations humanitarian office estimates up to 75,000 people remain in the northern towns of Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahiya and the Jabaliya refugee camp. The area has been almost completely sealed off from humanitarian aid for two months and experts have warned that a famine may have set in . Israel has ordered repeated mass evacuations since the start of the war. Around 90% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million people have fled, often several times . Hundreds of thousands are packed into sprawling tent camps along the coast, an Israeli-declared humanitarian zone where Israel has also carried out repeated strikes against what it says are militant targets. Moshe Yaalon, a former top Israeli general and defense minister, said last week that Israel was engaged in “ethnic cleansing” and other war crimes in northern Gaza. Amnesty International on Wednesday said Israel was committing genocide in Gaza . Israel has adamantly denied the allegations, saying it goes to great lengths to avoid harming civilians as it battles Hamas, which ignited the war with its Oct. 7, 2023 attack into Israel. CAIRO — Amnesty International accused Israel of committing genocide in the Gaza Strip during its war with Hamas, saying it has sought to deliberately destroy Palestinians by mounting deadly attacks, demolishing vital infrastructure and preventing the delivery of food, medicine and other aid. The human rights group released a report Thursday in the Middle East that said such actions could not be justified by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack into Israel, which ignited the war, or the presence of militants in civilian areas. Amnesty said the United States and other allies of Israel could be complicit in genocide, and called on them to halt arms shipments. “Our damning findings must serve as a wake-up call to the international community: this is genocide. It must stop now,” Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International, said in the report. Israel, which was founded in the aftermath of the Holocaust, has adamantly rejected genocide allegations against it as an antisemitic “blood libel.” It is challenging such allegations at the International Court of Justice , and it has rejected the International Criminal Court’s accusations that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister committed war crimes in Gaza. “The deplorable and fanatical organization Amnesty International has once again produced a fabricated report that is entirely false and based on lies,” Israel’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Israel accused Hamas , which has vowed to annihilate Israel, of carrying out a genocidal massacre in the attack that triggered the war, and said it is defending itself in accordance with international law.ver since last year's , where and defeated and Iowa, the rivalry between these has been a major talking point. This rivalry has carried over to the professional level in the . By rivalry, I don't mean in a , but rather that they will likely be for years to come, pushing each other to become even better players. Of course, there will be and more meaningful comparisons as their careers progress. For now, both are in the , but their approaches are different. to , making appearances at , games, , concerts, and charity events without making a big deal about it. Reese, on the other hand, tries to let everyone know what she's up to, mainly through , which releases new episodes every Thursday, and by being very active on social media like and . Reese's Skims Post Sparks Buzz Last night, shared an featuring , a brand owned by . Reese posted a , seemingly inviting reactions from admirers - or maybe someone special. Let's not forget, she's and she has been commenting a lot on her podcast about what she would like his . This boldness is a trademark of Reese, who is not afraid of . It's commendable, especially considering that Reese often in her "rivalry" with , which inevitably attracts more criticism. But that's not all. She also posted showing her determination after missing the playoffs - a disappointment that left her , especially given her incredible winning record at LSU. Seeing than she did in the likely added to her motivation. relentlessly for the season. But first, she'll be competing in , an innovative six-team, six-player, . The league's inaugural season will debut in Miami this January. Unrivaled Teams Are Set Unrivaled, co-founded by , announced its rosters today, a big step ahead of its inaugural season, which . Unrivaled features six teams consisting of , with two rosters still holding open wild-card spots. Reese's team and lineup is as follows, and includes a teammate of Caitlin Clark's.Podcast: Vikings are 9-2 after Bears take them into overtime at Soldier Field
WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) — Max Green's 16 points helped Holy Cross defeat Regis (MA) 82-46 on Sunday. Green also had nine rebounds and six assists for the Crusaders (8-5). Aidan Richard scored 13 points, going 4 of 6 (3 for 5 from 3-point range). Declan Ryan went 6 of 8 from the field to finish with 12 points. Jamir Harvey finished with 11 points, seven rebounds and four steals for the Pride. Aamyr Sullivan added nine points and five assists for Regis (MA). Dan Grasso finished with six points. Holy Cross took the lead with 19:46 left in the first half and did not relinquish it. The score was 36-20 at halftime, with Richard racking up 10 points. Holy Cross extended its lead to 82-43 during the second half, fueled by a 15-2 scoring run. Green scored a team-high 11 points in the second half as their team closed out the win. Holy Cross hosts Loyola (MD) in its next matchup on Thursday. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .Arsenal make Mikel Arteta proud after smashing Sporting Lisbon
Timberwolves push back start time vs. Spurs because of issue with game courtWASHINGTON — Jimmy Carter lived longer than any other U.S. president in history and was the first of any of them to turn 100 years old. Carter served as the 39th President of the United States from 1977 to 1981. With his passing , the person that's now the oldest living president — current or former — resides in the White House. President Joe Biden turned 82 last month, further cementing his status as the oldest serving U.S. president. But it's a record that Donald Trump could break in a few years. President-elect Trump will become the oldest person ever sworn into office on Jan. 20, 2025. That's a milestone previously held by Biden when he was sworn in at age 78 back in 2021. On Inauguration Day , Trump will be six months from his 79th birthday. When Biden's presidency ends on Jan. 20, 2025, he will be 82 years and 2 months (or 30,012 days) old. Trump would break that record of being the oldest U.S. president toward the end of his second term on Aug. 15, 2028. We're a ways away from any other living U.S. president even coming close to Carter's record. Biden wouldn't celebrate his 100th birthday until Nov. 20, 2042. After Biden and Trump, the next oldest living presidents are George W. Bush (78), Bill Clinton (78) and Barack Obama (63). Bill Clinton, the 42nd U.S. President, is 78 years old (Aug. 19, 1946) George W. Bush, the 43rd U.S. President, is 78 years old (July 6, 1946) Barack Obama, the 44th U.S. President, is 63 years old (Aug. 4, 1961) Donald Trump, the 45th and soon-to-be 47th U.S. President, is 78 years old (June 14, 1946)
BBC Strictly fans issue the same complaint as Sugababes perform liveCorteva Inc. stock falls Thursday, underperforms market
AHF Honors and Remembers Jimmy Carter as Human Rights ChampionPresident-elect Donald Trump will return to power next year with a raft of technological tools at his disposal that would help deliver his campaign promise of cracking down on immigration — among them, surveillance and artificial intelligence technology that the Biden administration already uses to help make crucial decisions in tracking, detaining and ultimately deporting immigrants lacking permanent legal status. While immigration officials have used the tech for years, an October letter from the Department of Homeland Security obtained exclusively by The Associated Press details how those tools — some of them powered by AI — help make life-altering decisions for immigrants, including whether they should be detained or surveilled. One algorithm, for example, ranks immigrants with a “Hurricane Score,” ranging from 1-5, to assess whether someone will “abscond” from the agency's supervision. The letter, sent by DHS Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer Eric Hysen to the immigrant rights group Just Futures Law, revealed that the score calculates the potential risk that an immigrant — with a pending case — will fail to check in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. The algorithm relies on several factors, he said, including an immigrant’s number of violations and length of time in the program, and whether the person has a travel document. Hysen wrote that ICE officers consider the score, among other information, when making decisions about an immigrant’s case. “The Hurricane Score does not make decisions on detention, deportation, or surveillance; instead, it is used to inform human decision-making,” Hysen wrote. Also included in the government’s tool kit is a mobile app called SmartLINK that uses facial matching and can track an immigrant’s specific location. Nearly 200,000 people without legal status who are in removal proceedings are enrolled in the Alternatives to Detention program, under which certain immigrants can live in the U.S. while their immigration cases are pending. In exchange, SmartLINK and GPS trackers used by ICE rigorously surveil them and their movements. The phone application draws on facial matching technology and geolocation data, which has been used before to find and arrest those using the app. Just Futures Law wrote to Hysen earlier this year, questioning the fairness of using an algorithm to assess whether someone is a flight risk and raising concerns over how much data SmartLINK collects. Such AI systems, which score or screen people, are used widely but remain largely unregulated even though some have been found to discriminate on race, gender or other protected traits. DHS said in an email that it is committed to ensuring that its use of AI is transparent and safeguards privacy and civil rights while avoiding biases. The agency said it is working to implement the Biden administration’s requirements on using AI , but Hysen said in his letter that security officials may waive those requirements for certain uses. Trump has publicly vowed to repeal Biden's AI policy when he returns to the White House in January. “DHS uses AI to assist our personnel in their work, but DHS does not use the outputs of AI systems as the sole basis for any law enforcement action or denial of benefits,” a spokesperson for DHS told the AP. Trump has not revealed how he plans to carry out his promised deportation of an estimated 11 million people living in the country illegally. Although he has proposed invoking wartime powers, as well as military involvement, the plan would face major logistical challenges — such as where to keep those who have been detained and how to find people spread across the country — that AI-powered surveillance tools could potentially address. Karoline Leavitt, a spokesperson for Trump, did not answer questions about how they plan to use DHS’ tech, but said in a statement that “President Trump will marshal every federal and state power necessary to institute the largest deportation operation” in American history. Over 100 civil society groups sent a letter on Friday urging the Office of Management and Budget to require DHS to comply with the Biden administration’s guidelines. OMB did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Just Futures Law’s executive director, Paromita Shah, said if immigrants are scored as flight risks, they are more likely to remain in detention, "limiting their ability to prepare a defense in their case in immigration court, which is already difficult enough as it is.” SmartLINK, part of the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program, is run by BI Inc., a subsidiary of the private prison company The GEO Group. The GEO Group also contracts with ICE to run detention centers. ICE is tight-lipped about how it uses SmartLINK’s location feature to find and arrest immigrants. Still, public records show that during Trump’s first term in 2018, Manassas, Virginia-based employees of BI Inc. relayed immigrants’ GPS locations to federal authorities, who then arrested over 40 people. In a report last year to address privacy issues and concerns, DHS said that the mobile app includes security features that “prohibit access to information on the participant’s mobile device, with the exception of location data points when the app is open.” But the report notes that there remains a risk that data collected from people "may be misused for unauthorized persistent monitoring.” Such information could also be stored in other ICE and DHS databases and used for other DHS mission purposes, the report said. On investor calls earlier this month, private prison companies were clear-eyed about the opportunities ahead. The GEO Group’s executive chairman George Christopher Zoley said that he expects the incoming Trump administration to “take a much more aggressive approach regarding border security as well as interior enforcement and to request additional funding from Congress to achieve these goals.” “In GEO’s ISAP program, we can scale up from the present 182,500 participants to several hundreds of thousands, or even millions of participants,” Zoley said. That same day, the head of another private prison company told investors he would be watching closely to see how the new administration may change immigrant monitoring programs. “It’s an opportunity for multiple vendors to engage ICE about the program going forward and think about creative and innovative solutions to not only get better outcomes, but also scale up the program as necessary,” Damon Hininger, CEO of the private prison company CoreCivic Inc. said on an earnings call. GEO did not respond to requests for comment. In a statement, CoreCivic said that it has played “a valued but limited role in America’s immigration system” for both Democrats and Republicans for over 40 years.
Shares of Navitas Semiconductor Corp . ( NVTS 17.45% ) rallied 22.3% on Thursday, as of 3:00 p.m. ET. Navitas is a small-cap chip designer that specializes in power-efficient designs for electric vehicles, electric infrastructure, and artificial intelligence (AI) data centers. With the severe slowdown in EV and electrical infrastructure spending this year, Navitas' stock had been hurt. However, some new product announcements on Thursday caused shares to bounce back big. New products for CES On Thursday, Navitas put out a press release listing all the new chipsets it would debut at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) that takes place in Las Vegas every January. CES is a big industry event where virtually all tech companies show off their latest and greatest gadgets. The list of new Navitas products includes various chipsets made of gallium nitride (GaN) and silicon carbide (SiC), which are novel materials with high conductivity and heat dissipation qualities. Thus, these expensive materials generate lots of savings in power- and heat-intensive applications like electric vehicles, infrastructure, and power-hungry AI data centers. It's a bit difficult to know exactly which product might have generated such enthusiasm for the stock today, but the release did highlight a few products specifically geared toward AI data centers. Artificial intelligence stocks, especially off-the-radar small-caps that serve AI, have risen a lot in the past few days, so Navitas appears to be lumped in with that cohort of speculative AI bets. Think twice before chasing While today's rally was nice, recent buying in smaller AI stocks seems like speculation, which could be dangerous. Navitas only reported $21.6 million in revenue last quarter with a $29 million operating loss, and actually guided for revenues to be down sequentially in the fourth quarter. While these new products may turn the ship around, investors should wait to see an actual upturn in results before chasing this rally.
Undefeated bantamweight Umar Nurmagomedov isn’t surprised by Merab Dvalishvili’s latest dismissal of him after UFC Macau. Umar Nurmagomedov seemed to secure No. 1 contender status after defeating Cory Sandhagen earlier this year. But, since Merab Dvalishvili claimed the bantamweight throne, he remains on the outside looking in, in the eyes of the current titleholder. Dvalishvili watched as his former rival, Petr Yan, defeated Deiveson Figueiredo by unanimous decision in the UFC Macau main event. After defeating Figueiredo, Yan made his case for the No. 1 contender spot and called out Dvalishvili for a rematch. Nurmagomedov, who hasn’t competed since the Sandhagen win, isn’t happy with Dvalishvili and has repeatedly accused him of ducking a fight. Umar, the cousin of UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov , is looking to bring another championship home to Dagestan. Despite Nurmagomedov making a strong case for getting the next bantamweight title shot, Dvalishvili’s dismissals of him continued after UFC Macau. Dvalishvili offered Yan a title shot in a recent social media post, including a specific date for the fight to potentially get booked. It didn’t take long for Nurmagomedov to issue a series of responses to Dvalishvili’s latest shunning. READ MORE: Encouraging update on UFC Macau fighter’s health after head-kick KO left her on a stretcher Umar Nurmagomedov scolds Merab Dvalishvili for Petr Yan title shot offer In a series of posts on X , Nurmagomedov reacted to Dvalishvili’s generous offer to Yan. “No one is surprised,” Nurmagomedov posted on X . “Someone, please tell him that it looks terrible. Umar can beat him, that’s why he’s avoiding him. “If I were him, I wouldn’t want to fight me either. He’s right to be afraid.” As of this writing, Dvalishvili nor Yan have responded to Nurmagomedov’s comments. Just weeks ago, Dvalishvili accused Nurmagomedov of being dishonest with fans over ongoing fight discussions. READ MORE: Jamahal Hill set to face former champ in light heavyweight return at UFC 311 Merab Dvalishvili continues to brush aside Umar Nurmagomedov after winning the UFC belt This isn’t the first time Dvalishvil has dismissed Nurmagomedov’s case for a bantamweight title shot. Leading up to UFC 306, Dvalishvili downplayed Nurmagomedov’s win streak, accusing the Dagestani of getting a title shot push just because of his last name . Dvalishvili has flip-flopped on who he should face for his first bantamweight title defense. Just weeks after beating Sean O’Malley at UFC 306, Dvalishvili seemed open to offering O’Malley an immediate rematch . Nurmagomedov’s stock soared with his victory over the former interim bantamweight title challenger Sandhagen in Abu Dhabi. Before defeating Sandhagen, Nurmagomedov defeated the likes of Raoni Barcelos, Bekzat Almakhan, and Brian Kelleher. Dvalishvili won the bantamweight title after recent wins over former UFC champions Henry Cejudo and José Aldo. He hasn’t lost a UFC fight since a 2018 defeat to Ricky Simon. The UFC brass is insistent on Nurmagomedov getting a title shot after his most recent victory. But, Dvalishvili’s latest antics might add more drama to the bantamweight title picture. READ MORE: ‘Speaking facts’... Petr Yan backed by UFC fans after cold response to question about Sean O’Malley