Wheel of Fortune’s most prized tradition is the bonus round, where each episode’s winner is faced with one last puzzle and a mere 10 seconds to come away with an even bigger bundle of cash (or not). But fans want a word with host Ryan Seacrest about how he’s presenting the prizes after giving a puzzling amount of build-up to a player’s $40,000 win. On Friday, November 22’s episode, Brittany Brock, a kindergarten teacher from Chicago, Illinois, was the player to proceed to the coveted bonus round. By then she had won $17,300 in cash, a trip to Kauai, and selected “Living Thing” as her category. With the savvy additional letters of “DPBI” the two-word puzzle read as, “‘_ _ DDL_’ ‘P_PP_'”. Near-instantly, she correctly solved it as “Cuddly Puppy.” The broadcast cut to Seacrest and an excited Brock, and it was time to reveal how much she won from the prize wedge she picked. Seacrest opened the gold prize card and glanced at the figure. “And...” he told her with a surprised grin (below). After a few seconds he added, “Ready?” Broke clasped her hands over her mouth in anticipation as Seacrest then revealed she won an extra $40,000, the least one can win in the bonus round. “$40,000!” he exclaimed. This brought her to a grand total of $57,381 and she was overjoyed nonetheless, embraced her husband. On Social media, many fans celebrated the big win while left wondering why Seacrest presented the prize with such a prolonged rollout that it seemed like a bigger value and as if the confetti was about to overflow onto the Sony Pictures Studios parking lot. “Ryan acting like it’s $75,000 or $100,000 with the slow way he shows the amount,” one fan wrote when the game show shared the clip to YouTube. Over on the WoF Reddit, a fan dedicated a discussion thread to the moment titling it, “Bonus Reveal... lolz.” They continued, “I like Seacrest, but gotta admit, I’m not a fan of the dramatic 40K reveals lol.” “Agreed...” a second user wrote, arguing that a contestant in the future could be “disappointed” it’s not more. “The Mrs. and I commented on that last night. He presents it like it’s something more than the minimum prize amount! One of these days, the contestant is going to react disappointedly.” A third wrote, “He also contorts his body awkwardly and bounces around to just flip the card open. Then says ‘it was this much’ as if he can’t say the amount. Kind of weird. But the lack of higher amounts lately is noticed. I’m glad it’s been all cash so far. A lot of the cars prior were 30k, which is nice, but they were lowest prize.” “I agree, feels like he’s forcing it,” wrote a fourth. A fifth was even more critical, “I’m sorry I know a lot of people are going to get mad at me but I just don’t like him. There’s something about him, that I just don’t enjoy watching him in anything at all.” Meanwhile , Seacrest, of course, had huge shoes to fill replacing the legendary Pat Sajak alongside the iconic Vanna White after four decades for Season 42. His debut month was the strongest ratings month for WoF in the past three years, and viewers were already treated to a viral moment (via a round of sausage) . That said, there have been some other questionable moments according to fans. In September, Seacrest suffered what fans dubbed his “first blooper” , involving a prolonged reaction to rewarding a bonus round. Fans also called out the host for ruling against another player before the timer was up. There have also been a few on-screen “glitches,” and a minor spelling error in a Thanksgiving puzzle . Many fans also blamed a lack of experience on Seacrest’s mishandling of a contestant’s $1million wedge, which she instantly forfeited. Wheel of Fortune , Weeknights, Check your local listings More Headlines:Drew Lock likely to start at QB for the Giants against the Colts on SundayMAP Meeting Evolves into MedSpa Pro, Builds Momentum for Record-Breaking 2025
(The Center Square) – The Biden administration on Monday instituted a new round of restrictions targeting the export of advanced semiconductor chips and manufacturing equipment to China. This move by the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security builds on previous measures aimed at curbing China's ability to develop cutting-edge technologies, particularly artificial intelligence and military applications. The new export controls place 140 manufacturers and investment companies on the Entity List, a U.S. compilation of "foreign individuals, companies, and organizations deemed a national security concern." "The United States has taken significant steps to protect our technology from being used by our adversaries in ways that threaten our national security," National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said in a statement . The new controls will also block the sale of high-bandwidth memory, which is necessary for artificial intelligence. Semiconductors can be a strategic asset for AI systems, supercomputing, and other technologies for both civilian and military use. Sullivan continued, "As technology evolves, and our adversaries seek new ways to evade restrictions, we will continue to work with our allies and partners to proactively and aggressively safeguard our world-leading technologies and know-how so they aren't used to undermine our national security." According to a U.S. Government Accountability Office report, semiconductors, also known as computer chips, are typically smaller than a postage stamp and are composed of billions of components that can store, move and process data. Advanced semiconductors can be used for artificial intelligence, including in medical diagnosis and for military purposes, such as modeling nuclear explosions. The U.S. has been tightening down on the export controls on semiconductors to China since concerns over U.S. capacity to produce advanced semiconductors domestically when shortages began during the pandemic. This concern resulted in Congress enacting the CHIPS Act of 2022. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian responded. "This type of behavior seriously violates the laws of market economy and the principle of fair competition, disrupts international economic and trade order, destabilizes global industrial and supply chains, and will eventually harm the interests of all countries," Jian said. Beijing intends to take firm, resolute measures to defend the interests of Chinese companies, he added. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration Thea D. Rozman Kendler said, "The PRC's Military-Civil Fusion strategy presents a significant risk that advanced node semiconductors will be used in military applications that threaten the security of the United States, as well as the security of our allies and partners."
BOSTON, Dec 27 (Reuters) - A former engineer at a semiconductor manufacturer pleaded not guilty on Friday to U.S. charges that he illegally procured technology for an Iranian firm that made a key component of a drone used in a January attack by Iran-backed militants in Jordan that killed three U.S. service members. Mahdi Sadeghi, who was fired by Analog Devices (ADI.O) , opens new tab after his Dec. 16 arrest , pleaded not guilty during a hearing in federal court in Boston to charges , opens new tab that he engaged in a scheme to violate U.S. export control and sanctions laws. He entered the plea nearly two weeks after the U.S. Department of Justice announced charges against the dual U.S.-Iranian citizen and the head of an Iranian navigation systems manufacturer, Mohammad Abedini, who was arrested in Italy. Prosecutors said Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was the primary customer of Abedini's company, San'at Danesh Rahpooyan Aflak Co, which made the navigation system used in its military drone program. Prosecutors say that system was used in an unmanned drone that struck a U.S. outpost in Jordan called Tower 22, near the Syrian border, in an attack that killed three Army Reserve soldiers from Georgia and injured 47 others. The White House has said the attack was facilitated by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella organization of hardline Iran-backed militant groups. Iran has denied involvement in the attack, and its foreign ministry was quoted in Iranian media on Saturday saying the arrests of Sadeghi and Abedini, an Iranian citizen, violated international law. Prosecutors said that in 2016, Sadeghi, a resident of Natick, Massachusetts, traveled to Iran to seek funding from a governmental organization for a fitness wearables company that he had co-founded. Through an affiliated Iranian company he established, Sadeghi began helping procure U.S.-origin electronic components on behalf of Abedini, who is also known as Mohammad Abedininajafabadi, prosecutors said. After taking a job at Massachusetts-based Analog Devices in 2019, Sadeghi helped a Switzerland front company for Abedini's Iranian firm enter into a contract with Analog Devices, and assisted Abedini in procuring U.S. technology, prosecutors said. The electronic components Abedini obtained included the same type used in the navigation system found in the drone, prosecutors said. Sadeghi has been detained since his arrest. U.S. Magistrate Judge Donald Cabell set a Jan. 2 hearing to potentially grant his release after a defense lawyer reported progress in talks with prosecutors on acceptable bail conditions. Sign up here. Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Rod Nickel Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. , opens new tab Thomson Reuters Nate Raymond reports on the federal judiciary and litigation. He can be reached at nate.raymond@thomsonreuters.com.Data continues to accumulate at an exponential rate. This presents challenges for all types of businesses and their Information Technology departments in particular. In turn, AI itself has led to a large increase in the amount of data storage that businesses require, with the amount of data expected to increase 122 percent by 2026. Consequently, storing, managing and tagging data to ensure quality for use in AI models is becoming more challenging. This is reflected in the Hitachi Vantara State of Data Infrastructure Survey . The report has found that every company in the study has adopted AI in some capacity in order to help to manage the data surge . The report surveyed 1,200 IT leaders and C-suite executives from large organizations in 15 markets. Of these companies, 76 percent have progressed beyond limited adoption of AI use cases, and 37 percent say AI is already critical to their business. In terms of how the technology has been absorbed, 70 percent of firms are implementing AI, testing, and improving as they go, and only 5 percent indicate they are using sandboxes to test their AI experiments before implementing them. The reason why so many firms are fast-tracking AI implementation as a top priority, 85 percent of executives expressed concern about losing competitive ground without rapid AI adoption. With the form of AI, 61 percent of large organizations are focused on developing general, larger LLMs rather than smaller specialized models. This is despite large-scale models being hungrier than regular models to train, consuming up to 100 times more power. The higher-risk strategy for implementing in ‘real time’ and without off-line evaluation is surprising. There is concern this approach risks poisoning AI models, destroying users’ trust in AI as a tool, and opening the door to new security vulnerabilities. In addition, this method of adoption has revealed gaps in data governance and flags problems relating to sustainability. If these problems can be adequately addressed, then data infrastructure and data management can play an important role in terms of overall data quality and the ability to drive positive AI outcomes. The survey notes a disconnect with proper data management, with only 38 percent of respondents saying that data is available when they need it the majority of the time. Even less (33 percent) say the majority of the outputs of their AI models are accurate, and three quarters (80 percent) say the majority of their data is unstructured, which poses greater risk as data volumes rise. In response, only a few companies are taking steps to improve their data quality: nearly half (47 percent) do not tag data for visualization, only 37 percent are enhancing training data quality to explain AI outputs, and more than a quarter (26percent) fail to review datasets for quality. Dr. Tim Sandle is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for science news.Tim specializes in science, technology, environmental, business, and health journalism. He is additionally a practising microbiologist; and an author. He is also interested in history, politics and current affairs.
Some decisions by the Goods & Services Tax (GST) Council at its meeting on Saturday triggered a meme fest over the weekend. It's decision to clarify tax rate applicable on various types of popcorn and sale of used or old cars have been at the centre of criticism. ET Year-end Special Reads Top 10 equity mutual funds of the year. Do you have any? How India flexed its global power muscles in 2024 2024 was the year India became the talk of America A look at the decisions: What tax rates does the clarification specify? Ready-to-eat popcorn, with salt & spices: 5% Popcorn sold in pre-packaged form under a label: 12% Caramelised popcorn or popcorn with added sugar: 18% Entrepreneurship Building Your Winning Startup Team: Key Strategies for Success By - Dr. Anu Khanchandani, Startup Coach with more than 25 years of experience View Program Web Development Intermediate Java Mastery: Method, Collections, and Beyond By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) AI and Analytics based Business Strategy By - Tanusree De, Managing Director- Accenture Technology Lead, Trustworthy AI Center of Excellence: ATCI View Program Marketing Digital Marketing Masterclass by Pam Moore By - Pam Moore, Digital Transformation and Social Media Expert View Program Office Productivity Excel Essentials to Expert: Your Complete Guide By - Study At Home, Quality Education Anytime, Anywhere View Program Web Development A Comprehensive ASP.NET Core MVC 6 Project Guide for 2024 By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Entrepreneurship Boosting Startup Revenue with 6 AI-Powered Sales Automation Techniques By - Dr. Anu Khanchandani, Startup Coach with more than 25 years of experience View Program Entrepreneurship Validating Your Startup Idea: Steps to Ensure Market Fit By - Dr. Anu Khanchandani, Startup Coach with more than 25 years of experience View Program Astrology Vastu Shastra Course By - Sachenkumar Rai, Vastu Shashtri View Program Web Development Advanced C++ Mastery: OOPs and Template Techniques By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Data Analysis Animated Visualizations with Flourish Studio: Beginner to Pro By - Prince Patni, Software Developer (BI, Data Science) View Program Marketing Performance Marketing for eCommerce Brands By - Zafer Mukeri, Founder- Inara Marketers View Program Design Microsoft Designer Guide: The Ultimate AI Design Tool By - Prince Patni, Software Developer (BI, Data Science) View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) Generative AI for Dynamic Java Web Applications with ChatGPT By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) Basics of Generative AI: Unveiling Tomorrows Innovations By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Data Science SQL Server Bootcamp 2024: Transform from Beginner to Pro By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Finance Value and Valuation Masterclass By - CA Himanshu Jain, Ex McKinsey, Moody's, and PwC, Co - founder, The WallStreet School View Program Data Analysis Learn Power BI with Microsoft Fabric: Complete Course By - Prince Patni, Software Developer (BI, Data Science) View Program Finance Crypto & NFT Mastery: From Basics to Advanced By - CA Raj K Agrawal, Chartered Accountant View Program Finance A2Z Of Finance: Finance Beginner Course By - elearnmarkets, Financial Education by StockEdge View Program Data Science MySQL for Beginners: Learn Data Science and Analytics Skills By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Artificial Intelligence(AI) AI for Everyone: Understanding and Applying the Basics on Artificial Intelligence By - Ritesh Vajariya, Generative AI Expert View Program Is there a change in rates? No. The GST Council has reiterated the tax rates that were applicable. Why are there three different rates? Products with salt and added sugar fall in different categories under the harmonised system of nomenclature. All products with added sugar are classified under a HSN group that faces 18% tax whereas salted and spices are classified differently and face a lower tax rate. Old & Used Cars Tax regime prior to GST Council meeting 1.Old and used, petrol, Liquefied petroleum gases (LPG) or compressed natural gas (CNG)-driven motor vehicles of engine capacity of 1200 cc or more and length of 4,000 mm or more: 18% 2. Old and used, diesel-driven motor vehicles of engine capacity of 1500 cc or more and of length of 4,000 mm: 18% 3. Old and used motor vehicles of engine capacity exceeding 1500 cc, popularly known as Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) including utility vehicles: 18% 4 All old and used vehicles other than these mentioned in S. No. 1 to S. No. 2: 12% 5. All old and used electric vehicles: 12% What did the union government propose-reduction in tax to 5% GST Council decided to make the tax rate uniform for all categories at 18%. Who are liable to pay GST on the sale of old and used vehicles? Only registered persons such as businesses involved in purchase and selling of old and used vehicles, etc, are liable to pay GST. Is GST applicable if an individual sells old and used car to another individual? No. GST is not applicable in this case. Is the GST payable on sale value of the old and used vehicle? GST is payable only on the value representing the margin of the supplier-the difference between consideration received for the supply of such goods and the depreciated value of such goods on the date of supply, where the registered person has claimed depreciation under Section 32 of the Income Tax Act, 1961. In cases where such margin is negative, no GST is payable. For example: Suppose a registered person is selling an old and used vehicle to any person at ₹10 lakh, where the purchase price of the vehicle by the registered person was ₹12 lakh, then he is not required to pay any GST. In cases where the purchase price of the vehicle was ₹20 lakh and the selling price is ₹22 lakh, GST will be payable on the margin of supplier, that is, ₹2 lakh. (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel )President-elect Donald Trump on Nov. 30 threatened to slap a 100% tariff on a group of nine nations — the so-called BRICS — if they try to replace the U.S. dollar with another currency. The BRICS countries include Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. Trump said he'll enact the tariffs if the countries either move to create a new rival currency to the dollar or back an alternative currency to replace the greenback as the world's reserve medium of exchange. "We require a commitment from these Countries that they will neither create a new BRICS Currency, nor back any other Currency to replace the mighty U.S. Dollar or, they will face 100% Tariffs, and should expect to say goodbye to selling into the wonderful U.S. Economy," Trump said on Truth Social. Trump's move comes after he recently threatened to impose 25% tariffs on all products from Canada and Mexico entering the U.S., along with an additional 10% tax on goods from China, in what he says would force the countries to do more to halt the flow of unauthorized migrants and illicit drugs into the U.S. Why do BRICS countries want an alternative currency? The BRICS — named after the original five members (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) — was formed in 2009 to advance the interests of emerging economies and to make them less dependent on the U.S. dollar, which is by far the most commonly used currency in global commerce. The primacy of the dollar in international trade gives the U.S. a number of advantages, including lower borrowing costs for the federal government and enormous geopolitical influence around the world. In October, Russian President Vladimir Putin called for a new international payments system at a BRICS summit, saying "the dollar is being used as a weapon," the Associated Press reported . In 2023, meanwhile, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva proposed creating a new, common currency in South America to reduce its reliance on the dollar in international trade. Would a BRICS currency threaten the dollar? Creating a competing new currency would be difficult given how widely used the dollar is to conduct business around the world. Despite the existence of the euro and growing importance of China's renminbi, the dollar remains the world's main reserve currency, representing roughly 58% of the world's foreign exchange reserves, according to the IMF . Also, critical commodities like oil and gold are still mostly bought and sold using dollars. "Economically, it's not a major issue because the idea of the BRICS countries being able to put together an alternative as a reserve currency for the U.S. dollar is not plausible in the short or intermediate term," said Mark Weinstock, a global trade expert and professor of economics at Pace University. In other words, BRICS nations would struggle to create a viable currency given the relative strength and stability of the U.S. economy and the faith that global investors and trading partners have in U.S. government debt. And while the group's members have some interests in common, unifying behind a single currency would be politically fraught and technically complex. "Fundamentally, if you are going to create your own form of money, that desirability is commensurate with the economic strength and integrity of the issuer. BRICS countries don't have the type of institutions that inspire global confidence to convince people that it is a satisfactory alternative to the dollar," Weinstock said. Some BRICS members are already downplaying the push to get a new currency off the ground. After Trump's tariff threat last weekend, South Africa's government on Monday issued a statement on social media saying there are no plans to create a BRICS currency. "Recent misreporting has led to the incorrect narrative that BRICS is planning to create a new currency," South Africa's Department of International Relations and Cooperation said. "This is not the case. The discussions within BRICS focus on trading among member countries using their own national currencies." What would stiff tariffs on BRICS goods mean for U.S. consumers? While economists largely agree that a 100% tariff on goods imported to the U.S. from BRICS nations is a long shot, if it came to pass the move would not benefit U.S. consumers, they say. Such levies would drive up the cost of goods from BRICS member nations, potentially fueling inflation and leading to higher prices for consumers . "Like any tariffs, this would mean higher prices for consumers," Weinstock said. "That's always the impact of the tariff." Among the leading products the U.S. gets from BRICS countries are coffee from Brazil, electronics and clothes from China, and minerals from South Africa, according to trade data. Why are some economists criticizing Trump for threatening the BRICS? Some experts criticized Trump's threat to punish the BRICS, saying it makes the U.S. look weak. "It isn't a good look, as it indirectly elevates the stature of a non-threat and suggests a lack of confidence in the dollar," Brad Setser, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and former Treasury Department economist, wrote on X. Trump's threat could actually accelerate a move away from the dollar by other countries, according to Setser, who said that an effort to effectively coerce countries to use the dollar "is actually a long-run threat to the dollar's global role." "It makes the use of the dollar appear to be a favor to the U.S.," he added. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Megan Cerullo is a New York-based reporter for CBS MoneyWatch covering small business, workplace, health care, consumer spending and personal finance topics. She regularly appears on CBS News 24/7 to discuss her reporting.OTTAWA — Two senior members of the federal cabinet were in Florida Friday pushing Canada's new $1.3 billion border plan with members of Donald Trump's transition team, a day after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau himself appeared to finally push back at the president-elect over his social media posts about turning Canada into the 51st state. Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc and Foreign Affair Minister Melanie Joly shared few details of their meetings in Palm Beach, simply saying in a statement the U.S. officials they met with took notes and agreed to relay messages to Trump. "Minister LeBlanc and Minister Joly had a positive, productive meeting at Mar-a-Lago with Howard Lutnick and Doug Burgum, as a followup to the dinner between the prime minister and President Trump last month," wrote Jean-Sébastien Comeau, a spokesman for LeBlanc. Lutnick is Trump's nominee for commerce secretary, and Burgum is the former governor of North Dakota and current nominee for secretary of the interior. When announcing Lutnick as his commerce pick Trump said the chief executive of the financial firm Cantor Fitzgerald would be in charge of the Trump "tariff and trade agenda." "Both Ministers outlined the measures in Canada’s Border Plan and reiterated the shared commitment to strengthen border security as well as combat the harm caused by fentanyl to save Canadian and American lives." He added the ministers agreed to continue the discussions in the coming weeks. Joly is also expected to meet in Florida with senator Lindsay Graham Friday evening. This trip comes less than four weeks before Trump is sworn in again as president. He has threatened to impose a new 25 per cent import tariff on Canada and Mexico the same day over concerns about a trade imbalance, as well as illegal drugs and migration issues at the borders. The broad strokes of Canada's new border plan were made public Dec. 17, including a new aerial intelligence task force to provide round-the-clock surveillance of the border, and improved efforts using technology and canine teams to seek out drugs in shipments leaving Canada. Comeau said earlier Friday morning the ministers would also emphasize the negative impacts of Trump's threatened tariffs on both Canada and the U.S. Comeau said the ministers were to build on the discussions that took place last month when Trudeau and LeBlanc met Trump at Mar-a-Lago just days after Trump first made his tariff threat. It was at that dinner on Nov. 29 when Trump first raised the notion of Canada becoming the 51st state, a comment LeBlanc has repeatedly since insisted was just a joke. But Trump has continued the quip repeatedly in various social media posts, including in his Christmas Day message when he said Canadians would pay lower taxes and have better military protection if they became Americans. He has taken to calling Trudeau "governor" instead of prime minister. It isn't clear if LeBlanc raised the issue with Trump's team in Palm Beach Friday. Trudeau had not directly responded to any of the jabs, but on Thursday posted a link to a six-minute long video on YouTube from 2010 in which American journalist Tom Brokaw "explains Canada to Americans." "Some information about Canada for Americans" was all he wrote in the post. The video, which originally aired during the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, explains similarities between the two countries, including their founding based on immigration, their trading relationship and the actions of the Canadian Army in World War 2 and other modern conflicts. "In the long history of sovereign neighbours there has never been a relationship as close, productive and peaceful as the U.S. and Canada," Brokaw says in the video. Former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney, who is at the centre of some of Trudeau's recent domestic political troubles, also called out Trump's antics on X Thursday, calling it "casual disrespect" and "carrying the 'joke' too far." "Time to call it out, stand up for Canada, and build a true North American partnership," said Carney, who Trudeau was courting to join his cabinet before Chrystia Freeland resigned as finance minister last week. Freeland's sudden departure, three days after Trudeau informed her he would be firing her as finance minister in favour of Carney, left Trudeau's leadership even more bruised than it already was. Despite the expectation Carney would assume the role, he did not and has not made any statements about it. LeBlanc was sworn in as finance minister instead the same day Freeland quit. More than two dozen Liberal MPs have publicly called on Trudeau to resign as leader, and Trudeau is said to be taking the holidays to think about his next steps. He is currently vacationing in British Columbia. He did not make a public statement about the meeting as of publication. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 27, 2024. Alessia Passafiume, The Canadian Press
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LAS VEGAS (AP) — Formula 1 on Monday at last said it will expand its grid in 2026 to make room for an American team that is partnered with General Motors. “As the pinnacle of motorsports, F1 demands boundary-pushing innovation and excellence. It’s an honor for General Motors and Cadillac to join the world’s premier racing series, and we’re committed to competing with passion and integrity to elevate the sport for race fans around the world," GM President Mark Reuss said. "This is a global stage for us to demonstrate GM’s engineering expertise and technology leadership at an entirely new level.” The approval ends years of wrangling that launched a U.S. Justice Department investigation into why Colorado-based Liberty Media, the commercial rights holder of F1, would not approve the team initially started by Michael Andretti. Andretti in September stepped aside from leading his namesake organization, so the 11th team will be called Cadillac F1 and be run by new Andretti Global majority owners Dan Towriss and Mark Walter. The team will use Ferrari engines its first two years until GM has a Cadillac engine built for competition in time for the 2028 season. Towriss is the the CEO and president of Group 1001 and entered motorsports via Andretti's IndyCar team when he signed on financial savings platform Gainbridge as a sponsor. Towriss is now a major part of the motorsports scene with ownership stakes in both Spire Motorsports' NASCAR team and Wayne Taylor Racing's sports car team. Walter is the chief executive of financial services firm Guggenheim Partners and the controlling owner of both the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers and Premier League club Chelsea. “We’re excited to partner with General Motors in bringing a dynamic presence to Formula 1," Towriss said. "Together, we’re assembling a world-class team that will embody American innovation and deliver unforgettable moments to race fans around the world.’’ Mario Andretti, the 1978 F1 world champion, will have an ambassador role with Cadillac F1. But his son, Michael, will have no official position with the organization now that he has scaled back his involvement with Andretti Global. The approval has been in works for weeks but was held until after last weekend's Las Vegas Grand Prix to not overshadow the showcase event of the Liberty Media portfolio. Max Verstappen won his fourth consecutive championship in Saturday night's race, the third and final stop in the United States for the top motorsports series in the world. Grid expansion in F1 is both infrequent and often unsuccessful. Four teams were granted entries in 2010 that should have pushed the grid to 13 teams and 26 cars for the first time since 1995. One team never made it to the grid and the other three had vanished by 2017. There is only one American team on the current F1 grid — owned by California businessman Gene Haas — but it is not particularly competitive and does not field American drivers. Andretti’s dream was to field a truly American team with American drivers. The fight to add this team has been going on for three-plus years and F1 initially denied the application despite approval from F1 sanctioning body FIA . The existing 10 teams, who have no voice in the matter, also largely opposed expansion because of the dilution in prize money and the billions of dollars they’ve already invested in the series. Andretti in 2020 tried and failed to buy the existing Sauber team. From there, he applied for grid expansion and partnered with GM, the top-selling manufacturer in the United States. The inclusion of GM was championed by the FIA and president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, who said Michael Andretti’s application was the only one of seven applicants to meet all required criteria to expand F1’s current grid. “General Motors is a huge global brand and powerhouse in the OEM world and is working with impressive partners," Ben Sulayem said Monday. "I am fully supportive of the efforts made by the FIA, Formula 1, GM and the team to maintain dialogue and work towards this outcome of an agreement in principle to progress this application." Despite the FIA's acceptance of Andretti and General Motors from the start, F1 wasn't interested in Andretti — but did want GM. At one point, F1 asked GM to find another team to partner with besides Andretti. GM refused and F1 said it would revisit the Andretti application if and when Cadillac had an engine ready to compete. “Formula 1 has maintained a dialogue with General Motors, and its partners at TWG Global, regarding the viability of an entry following the commercial assessment and decision made by Formula 1 in January 2024,” F1 said in a statement. “Over the course of this year, they have achieved operational milestones and made clear their commitment to brand the 11th team GM/Cadillac, and that GM will enter as an engine supplier at a later time. Formula 1 is therefore pleased to move forward with this application process." Yet another major shift in the debate over grid expansion occurred earlier this month with the announced resignation of Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei, who was largely believed to be one of the biggest opponents of the Andretti entry. “With Formula 1’s continued growth plans in the US, we have always believed that welcoming an impressive US brand like GM/Cadillac to the grid and GM as a future power unit supplier could bring additional value and interest to the sport," Maffei said. "We credit the leadership of General Motors and their partners with significant progress in their readiness to enter Formula 1." AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
The Reform UK leader pushed back against reports suggesting that legal action would be the next step, saying he would make a decision in the next couple of days about his response if there is no apology for the “crazy conspiracy theory”. Mr Farage also said the party has “opened up our systems” to media outlets, including The Daily Telegraph and The Financial Times, in the interests of “full transparency to verify that our numbers are correct”. His remarks came after Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch accused Mr Farage of “fakery” in response to Reform claiming they had surpassed the Tories in signed-up members. Mrs Badenoch said Reform’s counter was “coded to tick up automatically”. A digital counter on the Reform website showed a membership tally before lunchtime on Boxing Day ticking past the 131,680 figure declared by the Conservative Party during its leadership election earlier this year. Mr Farage, on whether he was threatening legal action or not, told the PA news agency: “I haven’t threatened anything. I’ve just said that unless I get an apology, I will take some action. “I haven’t said whether it’s legal or anything.” He added: “All I’ve said is I want an apology. If I don’t get an apology, I will take action. “I will decide in the next couple of days what that is. So I’ve not specified what it is.” Mr Farage, on the move to make membership data available to media organisations, said: “We feel our arguments are fully validated. “She (Mrs Badenoch) has put out this crazy conspiracy theory and she needs to apologise.” The accusations of fraud and dishonesty made against me yesterday were disgraceful. Today we opened up our systems to The Telegraph, Spectator, Sky News & FT in the interests of full transparency to verify that our data is correct. I am now demanding @KemiBadenoch apologises. — Nigel Farage MP (@Nigel_Farage) December 27, 2024 On why Mrs Badenoch had reacted as she did, Mr Farage said: “I would imagine she was at home without anybody advising her and was just angry.” Mr Farage, in a statement issued on social media site X, also said: “The accusations of fraud and dishonesty made against me yesterday were disgraceful. “Today we opened up our systems to The Telegraph, Spectator, Sky News and FT in the interests of full transparency to verify that our data is correct. “I am now demanding Kemi Badenoch apologises.” A Conservative Party source claimed Mr Farage was “rattled” that his Boxing Day “publicity stunt is facing serious questions”. They added: “Like most normal people around the UK, Kemi is enjoying Christmas with her family and looking forward to taking on the challenges of renewing the Conservative Party in the New Year.” Mrs Badenoch, in a series of messages posted on X on Thursday, said: “Farage doesn’t understand the digital age. This kind of fakery gets found out pretty quickly, although not before many are fooled.” There were 131,680 Conservative members eligible to vote during the party’s leadership election to replace Rishi Sunak in the autumn. Mrs Badenoch claimed in her thread that “the Conservative Party has gained thousands of new members since the leadership election”. Elsewhere, Mr Farage described Elon Musk as a “bloody hero” and said he believes the US billionaire can help attract younger voters to Reform. Tech entrepreneur Mr Musk met Mr Farage earlier this month at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, amid rumours of a possible donation to either Mr Farage or Reform. Mr Farage told The Daily Telegraph newspaper: “The shades, the bomber jacket, the whole vibe. Elon makes us cool – Elon is a huge help to us with the young generation, and that will be the case going on and, frankly, that’s only just starting. “Reform only wins the next election if it gets the youth vote. The youth vote is the key. Of course, you need voters of all ages, but if you get a wave of youth enthusiasm you can change everything. “And I think we’re beginning to get into that zone – we were anyway, but Elon makes the whole task much, much easier. And the idea that politics can be cool, politics can be fun, politics can be real – Elon helps us with that mission enormously.”Jannik Sinner leads Italy back to the Davis Cup semifinals and a rematch against Australia
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Buffalo approves 60-day moratorium on permits for some short-term rentalsSANTA BARBARA, Calif. , Nov. 25, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Traccom Inc. (Pink Open Market Symbol: TRCC) is pleased to announce that on November 13, 2024 , it acquired all of the capital stock of Vulcain, Inc. ("Vulcain"). As a result of the acquisition, Vulcain has become a wholly owned and main operating subsidiary of Traccom effective immediately. Upon completion of the transaction on November 13, 2024 , Vulcain shareholders were issued 117,813,680 shares of common stock of Traccom in exchange for the acquisition of 100% of the capital stock of Vulcain. This represents 95% of the fully diluted shares of Traccom after the issuance thereof. With the transaction, Vulcain added three members to the Traccom board of directors, with Greg Duffell as CEO, President and CFO, Peter Stockmann as President of the Americas, and replaced Traccom's management. This marks a significant milestone for Vulcain. The company will broaden its market presence in the growing opportunity for Artificial Intelligence (AI) based data solutions. "Trading as a public entity on the Pink Open Market is an important step for Vulcain as we continue to evolve and expand our reach within the Causal AI and Knowledge Management sector," said Greg Duffell , CEO of Traccom. "This transaction will provide us with greater access to capital, enhance our visibility in the marketplace, and allow more investors to participate in our growth story." Becoming a publicly traded company will allow Vulcain to enhance their visibility. This reflects the company's commitment to increasing shareholder value and advancing its corporate growth strategy in Causal AI and Knowledge Management space. Former Traccom CEO and continuing Board member, Harry Steck stated, "For Traccom's shareholders, this transaction provides the opportunity to be invested in one of today's most exciting industries with an impressive technology and management team." Vulcain has commercialized casual AI solutions across various industries including leading US brands in the Consumer-Packaged Goods (CPG) sector to generate annual recurring revenues (ARR) for the company. Vulcain is planning a next phase of expansion into Insurance, Healthcare, Financial Services and other industries. Vulcain uses causal machine learning algorithms and human domain experts to provide high quality causal features necessary for an accurate AI solution. Vulcain's Causal AI Platform includes causal reasoning models to provide predictive outcomes that identify and explain event risks and opportunities for businesses. Vulcain will continue to focus on bringing human domain knowledge into AI solutions and driving value for organizations seeking to unleash the knowledge from their vast amounts of data, content and domain expertise. Key Highlights: About Traccom, Inc. The company is at the intersection of human and artificial intelligence, leading the charge to AI 3.0 with high value feature solutions for business. Vulcain's Causal AI platform is used for harmonizing, testing, and validating data for extracting and commercializing knowledge. The Vulcain platform combines hundreds of millions of AI ready data sets and human domain knowledge to provide a ready to use solution that can be customized, scaled and adapted for customer use-cases and human intervention. With a commitment to human-AI, excellence, sustainability, and customer-centric solutions, the company believes that it is poised for long-term growth and success in the global AI marketplace. For more information about the company and its wholly owned subsidiary Vulcain, Inc., visit www.vulcain.ai . Forward-Looking Statements This press release may include ''forward-looking statements.'' All statements pertaining to our future financial and/or operating results, future events, or future developments may constitute forward-looking statements. The statements may be identified by words such as "expect," "look forward to," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "believe," "seek," "estimate," "will," "project," or words of similar meaning. Such statements are based on the current expectations and certain assumptions of our management, of which many are beyond our control. These are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and factors. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize or should underlying expectations not occur or assumptions prove incorrect, actual results, performance, or our achievements may (negatively or positively) vary materially from those described explicitly or implicitly in the relevant forward-looking statement. We neither intend, nor assume any obligation, to update or revise these forward-looking statements in light of developments which differ from those anticipated. You are urged to carefully review and consider any cautionary statements and the Company's other disclosures filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of the document in which they are contained. Contact: shareholders@vulcain.ai View original content: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/traccom-inc-pink-open-market-symbol-trcc-completes-acquisition-of-vulcain-inc-302315225.html SOURCE Traccom IncUp 119% this year, can BrainChip shares soar again in 2025?
The Reform UK leader pushed back against reports suggesting that legal action would be the next step, saying he would make a decision in the next couple of days about his response if there is no apology for the “crazy conspiracy theory”. Mr Farage also said the party has “opened up our systems” to media outlets, including The Daily Telegraph and The Financial Times, in the interests of “full transparency to verify that our numbers are correct”. His remarks came after Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch accused Mr Farage of “fakery” in response to Reform claiming they had surpassed the Tories in signed-up members. Mrs Badenoch said Reform’s counter was “coded to tick up automatically”. A digital counter on the Reform website showed a membership tally before lunchtime on Boxing Day ticking past the 131,680 figure declared by the Conservative Party during its leadership election earlier this year. Mr Farage, on whether he was threatening legal action or not, told the PA news agency: “I haven’t threatened anything. I’ve just said that unless I get an apology, I will take some action. “I haven’t said whether it’s legal or anything.” He added: “All I’ve said is I want an apology. If I don’t get an apology, I will take action. “I will decide in the next couple of days what that is. So I’ve not specified what it is.” Mr Farage, on the move to make membership data available to media organisations, said: “We feel our arguments are fully validated. “She (Mrs Badenoch) has put out this crazy conspiracy theory and she needs to apologise.” The accusations of fraud and dishonesty made against me yesterday were disgraceful. Today we opened up our systems to The Telegraph, Spectator, Sky News & FT in the interests of full transparency to verify that our data is correct. I am now demanding @KemiBadenoch apologises. — Nigel Farage MP (@Nigel_Farage) December 27, 2024 On why Mrs Badenoch had reacted as she did, Mr Farage said: “I would imagine she was at home without anybody advising her and was just angry.” Mr Farage, in a statement issued on social media site X, also said: “The accusations of fraud and dishonesty made against me yesterday were disgraceful. “Today we opened up our systems to The Telegraph, Spectator, Sky News and FT in the interests of full transparency to verify that our data is correct. “I am now demanding Kemi Badenoch apologises.” A Conservative Party source claimed Mr Farage was “rattled” that his Boxing Day “publicity stunt is facing serious questions”. They added: “Like most normal people around the UK, Kemi is enjoying Christmas with her family and looking forward to taking on the challenges of renewing the Conservative Party in the New Year.” Mrs Badenoch, in a series of messages posted on X on Thursday, said: “Farage doesn’t understand the digital age. This kind of fakery gets found out pretty quickly, although not before many are fooled.” There were 131,680 Conservative members eligible to vote during the party’s leadership election to replace Rishi Sunak in the autumn. Mrs Badenoch claimed in her thread that “the Conservative Party has gained thousands of new members since the leadership election”. Elsewhere, Mr Farage described Elon Musk as a “bloody hero” and said he believes the US billionaire can help attract younger voters to Reform. Tech entrepreneur Mr Musk met Mr Farage earlier this month at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, amid rumours of a possible donation to either Mr Farage or Reform. Mr Farage told The Daily Telegraph newspaper: “The shades, the bomber jacket, the whole vibe. Elon makes us cool – Elon is a huge help to us with the young generation, and that will be the case going on and, frankly, that’s only just starting. “Reform only wins the next election if it gets the youth vote. The youth vote is the key. Of course, you need voters of all ages, but if you get a wave of youth enthusiasm you can change everything. “And I think we’re beginning to get into that zone – we were anyway, but Elon makes the whole task much, much easier. And the idea that politics can be cool, politics can be fun, politics can be real – Elon helps us with that mission enormously.”