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Rivian Automotive ( RIVN 4.85% ) has made a name for itself in the increasingly crowded electric vehicle (EV) field with its limited vehicle lineup. The company has focused on producing just a fully electric pickup truck, an SUV, and a commercial delivery van. That focus may have much to do with why Rivian shares are marching higher today. Rivian's R1T is one of just a few electric pickup truck offerings. Tesla has entered the market with its unique Cybertruck, but the R1T's biggest competition is arguably Ford 's F-150 Lightning. And it's news about the Ford EV that may have had Rivian stock jumping by nearly 10% Friday morning. At 1:55 p.m. ET, Rivian shares still held on to a gain of 4.5%. The move has helped Rivian stock log an increase of more than 20% in the last month. Rivian's gaining momentum Last month, Rivian told investors it expects to deliver between 50,500 and 52,000 EVs this year. That would only slightly surpass 2023 deliveries. But the company also recently provided encouraging news related to its future capital position. And it is preparing to start production of its next-generation R2 platform next year as well. That has bolstered the stock recently, and yesterday it got another boost when Ford released its November vehicle sales update. That's because sales of Ford's F-150 Lightning plunged by 17% last month year over year. Ford has been throttling production plans for its fully electric models and leaning more on its internal combustion lineup as well as hybrid electric models. That's less competition for Rivian and its R1T truck. And yesterday's November update from Ford was a data point supporting that scenario. Rivian was already gaining momentum from announcements last month about plans for a $5.8 billion investment from Volkswagen Group and the potential for up to $6.6 billion in additional financing via a U.S. Department of Energy loan. With a bolstered balance sheet and less competition from Ford's electric pickup, Rivian is set up for a potentially promising 2025.The year in review: Influential people who died in 2024Police deny sitting on evidence as Netflix doc brings renewed attention to JonBenet Ramsey's killingPolice deny sitting on evidence as Netflix doc brings renewed attention to JonBenet Ramsey's killing
LAS VEGAS – The industry’s top competitors officially kicked off this year’s Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (NFR) at the prestigious Road to the Gold Buckle event, hosted by South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa in partnership with the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). The nation’s finest bull riders, barrel racers, team ropers, bareback riders, steer wrestlers, saddle bronc riders and tie-down ropers arrived in their best evening wear alongside their families and loved ones to walk the grand gold carpet. Following the gold carpet, competitors and their families gathered for the PRCA Welcome Reception and Back Number Ceremony, where each athlete was presented with the number they will wear throughout the championship. Those in attendance honored the participants and celebrated the start of the highly anticipated rodeo championship. For more information about upcoming events at South Point Hotel, Casino and Spa, visit southpointcasino.com . ### About South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa Featuring more than 2,100 guestrooms, South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa overlooks the famous Las Vegas Strip and the serenity of the surrounding mountainscape. Each oversized guest room features state-of-the-art LED televisions as well as WiFi with high-speed internet connections. Guests visiting South Point Hotel will experience affordable luxury through a casino offering top-of-the-line gaming technology, over 2,200 slot and video poker machines, more than 60 table games and a separate race and sports book area, 11 restaurants, including the award-winning Michael’s Gourmet Room, world-class Costa Del Sur Spa and Salon, a 400-seat showroom featuring headliner entertainment, a 700-seat Bingo room, a 16-screen Cinemark movie complex, a state-of-the-art 64-lane bowling center, a 52,000-square foot Conference Center and an 80,000-square foot Exhibit Hall. South Point Hotel is also home to the Tournament Bowling Plaza, a multi-million dollar professional bowling tournament facility. In addition, South Point Hotel has the finest equestrian event facility in the country. The 240,000 square feet of event space features three climate-controlled arenas, vet clinic, feed store, more than 1,200 climate-controlled stalls and plays host to some of the country’s most unique events. South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa is at 9777 Las Vegas Blvd. South, Las Vegas, NV 89183. “Official Hotel and Casino of Las Vegas Motor Speedway” and sponsor of the October 2025 Las Vegas NASCAR cup race, South Point 400. For more information or for room reservations, call 702-796-7111 or visit the South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa website. Connect with South Point on Facebook , Twitter , YouTube , and Instagram . South Point Hotel Media Contact Kylie Staudenmaier | Terri Maruca Kirvin Doak Communications southpointpr@kirvindoak.com Lynne Ravenscraft, Director of Marketing RavenscraftL@southpointcasino.com RelatedBy Stephanie Lai and Hadriana Lowenkron, Bloomberg News Donald Trump says he is selecting venture capitalist David Sacks of Craft Ventures LLC to serve as his artificial intelligence and crypto czar, a newly created position that underscores the president-elect’s intent to boost two rapidly developing industries. “David will guide policy for the Administration in Artificial Intelligence and Cryptocurrency, two areas critical to the future of American competitiveness. David will focus on making America the clear global leader in both areas,” Trump said Thursday in a post on his Truth Social network. Trump said that Sacks would also lead the Presidential Council of Advisors for Science and Technology. Related Articles In Sacks, Trump is tapping one of his most prominent Silicon Valley supporters and fundraisers for a prime position in his administration. Sacks played a key role in bolstering Trump’s fundraising among technology industry donors, including co-hosting an event at his San Francisco home in June, with tickets at $300,000 a head. He is also closely associated with Vice President-elect JD Vance, the investor-turned-Ohio senator. Sacks is a venture capitalist and part of Silicon Valley’s “PayPal Mafia.” He first made his name in the technology industry during a stint as the chief operating officer of PayPal, the payments company whose founders in the late 1990s included billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk and investor Peter Thiel. After it was sold to eBay, Sacks turned to Hollywood, where he produced the 2005 satire Thank You for Smoking. Back in Silicon Valley, he founded workplace communications company Yammer, which was bought by Microsoft Corp. in 2012 for $1.2 billion. He founded his own venture capital firm, Craft Ventures, in 2017 and has invested in Musk-owned businesses, including SpaceX. Sacks said on a recent episode of his All-In podcast that a “key man” clause in the agreements of his venture firm’s legal documents would likely prevent him from taking a full-time position, but he might consider an advisory role in the new administration. A Craft spokeswoman said Sacks would not be leaving Craft. In his post, Trump said Sacks “will safeguard Free Speech online, and steer us away from Big Tech bias and censorship.” Protecting free speech is a keen interest of Sacks. He regularly speaks about “woke” interests that try to muzzle unpopular opinions and positions. The new post is expected to help spearhead the crypto industry deregulation Trump promised on the campaign trail. The role is expected to provide cryptocurrency advocates a direct line to the White House and serve as a liaison between Trump, Congress and the federal agencies that interface with digital assets, including the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Trump heavily campaigned on supporting crypto, after previously disparaging digital assets during his first White House term, saying their “value is highly volatile and based on thin air.” The president-elect on Thursday said Sacks would “work on a legal framework so the Crypto industry has the clarity it has been asking for, and can thrive in the U.S.” During the campaign, Trump spoke at a Bitcoin conference, accepted crypto campaign donations and met with executives from Bitcoin mining companies and crypto exchanges multiple times. Trump’s desire to give priority to the digital asset industry is also reflected in his close allies and cabinet selections, including his Commerce secretary pick, Howard Lutnick, and Treasury secretary nominee Scott Bessent. On the AI front, Sacks would help Trump put his imprint on an emerging technology whose popular use has exploded in recent years. Sacks is poised to be at the front lines in determining how the federal government both adopts AI and regulates its use as advances in the technology and adoption by consumers pose a wide array of benefits as well as risks touching on national security, privacy, jobs and other areas. The president-elect has expressed both awe at the power of AI technology as well as concern over the potential harms from its use. During his first term, he signed executive orders that sought to maintain US leadership in the field and directed the federal government to prioritize AI in research and development spending. As AI has become more mainstream in recent years and with Congress slow to act, President Joe Biden has sought to fill that void. Biden signed an executive order in 2023 that establishes security and privacy protections and requires developers to safety-test new models, casting the sweeping regulatory order as necessary to safeguard consumers. A number of technology giants have also agreed to adopt a set of voluntary safeguards which call for them to test AI systems for discriminatory tendencies or security flaws and to share those results. Trump has vowed to repeal Biden’s order. The Republican Party’s 2024 platform dismissed Biden’s executive order as one that “hinders AI Innovation, and imposes Radical Leftwing ideas on the development of this technology.” Sacks can be expected to work closely with Musk, the world’s richest person and one of the president-elect’s most prominent supporters. Musk is also a player in the AI space with his company xAI and a chatbot named Grok — efforts which pit him against Silicon Valley’s giants — and he stands to wield significant influence within the incoming administration. The appointment won’t require Sacks to divest or publicly disclose his assets. Like Musk, Sacks will be a special government employee. He can serve a maximum of 130 days per year, with or without compensation. However, conflict of interest rules apply to special government employees, meaning Sacks will have to recuse himself from matters that could impact his holdings. Sacks’s Craft Ventures is known more for enterprise software investing than for crypto, but it has made a few crypto investments, including BitGo and Bitwise. Still, Sacks has firm opinions on the sector. Speaking last month on All-In, Sacks praised a bill on crypto regulation that had passed in the U.S. House but not the Senate earlier this year. The Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act would regulate certain types of digital assets as a commodity, regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. “The crypto industry basically wants a really clear line for knowing when they’re a commodity and they want commodities to be governed, like all other commodities, by the CFTC,” he said on the November podcast. He also disparaged some of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s positions on crypto under its chair, Gary Gensler. “The days of Gensler terrifying crypto companies,” he said. “Those days are about to be over.” Earlier this week, Trump nominated crypto advocate Paul Atkins to lead the SEC. With assistance from Zoe Ma, Bill Allison, Sarah McBride, Anne VanderMey and stacy-marie ishmael. ©2024 Bloomberg L.P. Visit bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Better Artificial Intelligence Stock: Palantir vs. NvidiaJD.com Inc. (JD) Stock Is A Risky Bet In The Current Market, Here’s Why
Adewale 0-2 0-0 0, Klaczek 0-5 4-4 4, Briggs 4-9 6-6 17, Marshall 3-7 9-10 17, Strand 1-4 2-2 5, Neely 6-14 0-0 12, Matulu 1-1 0-0 2, Lindsey 4-5 0-0 8, Taylor 1-4 0-0 3, Adnan 0-2 0-0 0, Reddish 0-1 0-0 0, Topuz 0-2 0-0 0, Giralt 0-0 0-2 0. Totals 20-56 21-24 68. Fielder 3-6 3-3 10, Sorber 6-9 1-1 14, Epps 4-7 0-0 8, Mack 6-8 1-1 16, Peavy 9-14 3-3 24, Burks 5-6 0-0 11, Mulready 1-3 0-0 2, Ca.Williams 4-6 1-1 9, Cu.Williams 2-3 0-0 4, McKenna 1-1 0-0 2, Montgomery 0-1 0-0 0, Asadallah 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 41-65 9-9 100. Halftime_Georgetown 49-35. 3-Point Goals_Albany (NY) 7-22 (Briggs 3-5, Marshall 2-3, Strand 1-3, Taylor 1-3, Adnan 0-1, Reddish 0-1, Topuz 0-1, Klaczek 0-2, Neely 0-3), Georgetown 9-22 (Mack 3-4, Peavy 3-6, Burks 1-2, Fielder 1-2, Sorber 1-2, Montgomery 0-1, Cu.Williams 0-1, Epps 0-2, Mulready 0-2). Rebounds_Albany (NY) 21 (Neely 5), Georgetown 33 (Sorber 13). Assists_Albany (NY) 6 (Marshall, Neely 2), Georgetown 26 (Peavy 8). Total Fouls_Albany (NY) 14, Georgetown 17.
Qatar tribune Minister of Finance HE Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari held a pivotal meeting with London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) CEO David Schwimmer during his official visit to the United Kingdom. The meeting underscored the robust relationship between Qatar and the United Kingdom, particularly in the realms of finance and economics. Both leaders explored avenues to deepen collaboration and enhance partnerships that align with their mutual goals of driving sustainable economic growth and innovation. Discussions revolved around key areas of interest, including advancements in financial technology (fintech), strategies for bolstering market liquidity, and measures to promote bilateral investments. The parties also examined the potential for joint initiatives that leverage LSEG’s global expertise in financial infrastructure and Qatar’s strategic position as a regional economic hub. This engagement reflects Qatar’s proactive diplomacy in expanding its global economic footprint and solidifying its role as a bridge between regional and international financial markets. Copy 06/12/2024 10It would be fair to say that as voters in last month’s presidential election were giving Republicans control of all three branches of the federal government, they were tacitly rejecting the left-leaning cultural values that California politicians constantly espouse. Republican Donald Trump’s campaign effectively weaponized Vice President Kamala Harris’ California roots in sweeping the battleground states, most notably in an ad featuring a video clip of her advocating sex-change surgery for transexual prison inmates. “Kamala is for they/them. Trump is for you,” the spot concludes. Post-election analysts, including the New York Times, have cited it as the single most effective ad of the campaign. Furthermore, the results also imply that the Harris campaign’s focus on abortion rights, another favorite theme of Gov. Gavin Newsom and other California political figures, didn’t help her. Voters in states that opted for Trump, including neighboring Nevada and Arizona, were primarily driven by economic issues, specifically inflation in living costs during the administration of Harris and President Joe Biden. Whether the administration was actually responsible for inflation is debatable, but also beside the point. When voters are dissatisfied with the status quo, for whatever reason, they often take it out on the party in power at the moment. Harris easily defeated Trump in California, as expected, to claim its 54 electoral votes, but the state was not immune to the issues that brought her downfall elsewhere, particularly the cost of living. California’s families must cope with arguably the highest prices for the necessities of life of any state — such things as housing, gasoline and electric power. Even commodities which should be less expensive in California, such as food, are costly because producing, packaging and selling them reflect the high expenses of suppliers. The cost of living is the major factor in California’s having the nation’s highest rate of functional poverty, 15.4%, as calculated by the Census Bureau. Using a similar methodology, the Public Policy Institute of California calculates that in 2023, 31.1% of Californians are living either in or near poverty. In the aftermath of the election, the Democrats who dominate all branches of state government have suddenly discovered that the cost of living is a burning issue that should be addressed. As the Legislature reconvened this week for its biennial session, its leaders said doing something about living costs will be a high priority. “Our constituents don’t feel the state of California is working for them,” Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas told colleagues as the session began. “That’s their lived experience in this moment. Our task this session is urgent and clear. We must chart a new path forward, and it begins by focusing on affordability. Related Articles Opinion Columnists | The draconian penalties that Hunter Biden escaped affect people whose fathers can’t save them Opinion Columnists | How California ranks as the most active political state Opinion Columnists | Donald Trump must replace Pete Hegseth with Ron DeSantis Opinion Columnists | Larry Elder: Biden breaks his promise and pardons his son Opinion Columnists | California’s unaccountable homeless industrial complex “California will always be America’s destination for dreams and opportunities,” he added. “But we need to consider every bill through the lens of Californians who are anxious about affordability. Specifically, we must focus on building more housing and lowering energy costs.” However there’s not a lot that Newsom and legislators can do to materially affect the cost of living. If anything, prices for one vital commodity, gasoline, will likely see a big jump because Newsom’s Air Resources Board has just ordered changes in fuel to lower greenhouse emissions. Republicans have been urging Newsom to set aside the decision, but he has defended it as a necessary element of California’s campaign to reduce hydrocarbon use. Moreover, electric power costs are increasing sharply as utilities bury power transmission lines to reduce their role in wildfires. California’s politicos are talking a good game about inflation, but whether they can and will deliver remains very uncertain. Dan Walters is a CalMatters columnist.By Vanessa G. Sánchez, KFF Health News (TNS) LOS ANGELES — President-elect Donald Trump’s promise of mass deportations and tougher immigration restrictions is deepening mistrust of the health care system among California’s immigrants and clouding the future for providers serving the state’s most impoverished residents. At the same time, immigrants living illegally in Southern California told KFF Health News they thought the economy would improve and their incomes might increase under Trump, and for some that outweighed concerns about health care. Community health workers say fear of deportation is already affecting participation in Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicaid program for low-income residents, which was expanded in phases to all immigrants regardless of residency status over the past several years. That could undercut the state’s progress in reducing the uninsured rate, which reached a record low of 6.4% last year. Immigrants lacking legal residency have long worried that participation in government programs could make them targets, and Trump’s election has compounded those concerns, community advocates say. The incoming Trump administration is also expected to target Medicaid with funding cuts and enrollment restrictions , which activists worry could threaten the Medi-Cal expansion and kneecap efforts to extend health insurance subsidies under Covered California to all immigrants. “The fear alone has so many consequences to the health of our communities,” said Mar Velez , director of policy with the Latino Coalition for a Healthy California. “This is, as they say, not their first rodeo. They understand how the system works. I think this machine is going to be, unfortunately, a lot more harmful to our communities.” Alongside such worries, though, is a strain of optimism that Trump might be a boon to the economy, according to interviews with immigrants in Los Angeles whom health care workers were soliciting to sign up for Medi-Cal. Selvin, 39, who, like others interviewed for this article, asked to be identified by only his first name because he’s living here without legal permission, said that even though he believes Trump dislikes people like him, he thinks the new administration could help boost his hours at the food processing facility where he works packing noodles. “I do see how he could improve the economy. From that perspective, I think it’s good that he won.” He became eligible for Medi-Cal this year but decided not to enroll, worrying it could jeopardize his chances of changing his immigration status. “I’ve thought about it,” Selvin said, but “I feel like it could end up hurting me. I won’t deny that, obviously, I’d like to benefit — get my teeth fixed, a physical checkup.” But fear holds him back, he said, and he hasn’t seen a doctor in nine years. It’s not Trump’s mass deportation plan in particular that’s scaring him off, though. “If I’m not committing any crimes or getting a DUI, I think I won’t get deported,” Selvin said. Petrona, 55, came from El Salvador seeking asylum and enrolled in Medi-Cal last year. She said that if her health insurance benefits were cut, she wouldn’t be able to afford her visits to the dentist. A street food vendor, she hears often about Trump’s deportation plan, but she said it will be the criminals the new president pushes out. “I’ve heard people say he’s going to get rid of everyone who’s stealing.” Although she’s afraid she could be deported, she’s also hopeful about Trump. “He says he’s going to give a lot of work to Hispanics because Latinos are the ones who work the hardest,” she said. “That’s good, more work for us, the ones who came here to work.” Newly elected Republican Assembly member Jeff Gonzalez, who flipped a seat long held by Democrats in the Latino-heavy desert region in the southeastern part of the state, said his constituents were anxious to see a new economic direction. “They’re just really kind of fed up with the status quo in California,” Gonzalez said. “People on the ground are saying, ‘I’m hopeful,’ because now we have a different perspective. We have a businessperson who is looking at the very things that we are looking at, which is the price of eggs, the price of gas, the safety.” Related Articles National Politics | Mexico tests cellphone app allowing migrants to send alert if they are about to be detained in US National Politics | Trump wants mass deportations. For the agents removing immigrants, it’s a painstaking process National Politics | Immigration agency deports highest numbers since 2014, aided by more flights National Politics | Advocates train immigrants to ‘prepare to stay’ in the US under Trump National Politics | Immigration drives US population growth to highest rate in 23 years as residents pass 340 million Gonzalez said he’s not going to comment about potential Medicaid cuts, because Trump has not made any official announcement. Unlike most in his party, Gonzalez said he supports the extension of health care services to all residents regardless of immigration status . Health care providers said they are facing a twin challenge of hesitancy among those they are supposed to serve and the threat of major cuts to Medicaid, the federal program that provides over 60% of the funding for Medi-Cal. Health providers and policy researchers say a loss in federal contributions could lead the state to roll back or downsize some programs, including the expansion to cover those without legal authorization. California and Oregon are the only states that offer comprehensive health insurance to all income-eligible immigrants regardless of status. About 1.5 million people without authorization have enrolled in California, at a cost of over $6 billion a year to state taxpayers. “Everyone wants to put these types of services on the chopping block, which is really unfair,” said state Sen. Lena Gonzalez, a Democrat and chair of the California Latino Legislative Caucus. “We will do everything we can to ensure that we prioritize this.” Sen. Gonzalez said it will be challenging to expand programs such as Covered California, the state’s health insurance marketplace, for which immigrants lacking permanent legal status are not eligible. A big concern for immigrants and their advocates is that Trump could reinstate changes to the public charge policy, which can deny green cards or visas based on the use of government benefits. “President Trump’s mass deportation plan will end the financial drain posed by illegal immigrants on our healthcare system, and ensure that our country can care for American citizens who rely on Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security,” Trump spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said in a statement to KFF Health News. During his first term, in 2019, Trump broadened the policy to include the use of Medicaid, as well as housing and nutrition subsidies. The Biden administration rescinded the change in 2021. KFF, a health information nonprofit that includes KFF Health News, found immigrants use less health care than people born in the United States. And about 1 in 4 likely undocumented immigrant adults said they have avoided applying for assistance with health care, food, and housing because of immigration-related fears, according to a 2023 survey . Another uncertainty is the fate of the Affordable Care Act, which was opened in November to immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children and are protected by the Deferred Action Childhood Arrivals program. If DACA eligibility for the act’s plans, or even the act itself, were to be reversed under Trump, that would leave roughly 40,000 California DACA recipients, and about 100,000 nationwide , without access to subsidized health insurance. On Dec. 9, a federal court in North Dakota issued an order blocking DACA recipients from accessing Affordable Care Act health plans in 19 states that had challenged the Biden administration’s rule. Clinics and community health workers are encouraging people to continue enrolling in health benefits. But amid the push to spread the message, the chilling effects are already apparent up and down the state. “¿Ya tiene Medi-Cal?” community health worker Yanet Martinez said, asking residents whether they had Medi-Cal as she walked down Pico Boulevard recently in a Los Angeles neighborhood with many Salvadorans. “¡Nosotros podemos ayudarle a solicitar Medi-Cal! ¡Todo gratuito!” she shouted, offering help to sign up, free of charge. “Gracias, pero no,” said one young woman, responding with a no thanks. She shrugged her shoulders and averted her eyes under a cap that covered her from the late-morning sun. Since Election Day, Martinez said, people have been more reluctant to hear her pitch for subsidized health insurance or cancer prevention screenings. “They think I’m going to share their information to deport them,” she said. “They don’t want anything to do with it.” This article was produced by KFF Health News , which publishes California Healthline , an editorially independent service of the California Health Care Foundation . ©2024 KFF Health News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Hopes for a Santa Claus rally on Wall Street fell Friday as tech stocks slid lower, while a weaker yen lifted Japanese equities. US indices slid lower at the opening bell, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite losing two percent during morning trading. Shares in Tesla were down over three percent in late morning trading while those in AI chipmaker NVIDIA shed around two percent. Wall Street stocks have historically performed well around the year-end holidays in what is popularly known as a Santa Claus rally. A Christmas Eve jump in equities got the Santa rally off to a flying start and indices barely budged in Thursday trading. Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare also pointed to an increase in 10-year US Treasury bond yields to around 4.6 percent, which he noted is an increase of nearly 0.9 percentage points since the US Federal Reserve made its first interest rate cut in September. "The Fed doesn't hold sway over longer-dated maturities like it does over shorter-dated securities, so the bump in rates at the back end of the curve is being watched with an anxious eye as a possible harbinger of a pickup in inflation and/or the budget deficit," O'Hare said. Wall Street stocks took a knock earlier this month when the Fed indicated it would likely cut interest rates less than it had previously expected to. That was in part because of uncertainty tied to the stated intention of incoming president Donald Trump to raise tariffs, which could boost inflation that is already proving sticky. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei index closed up nearly two percent, with the yen's recent weakness proving a boon for major exporters. The yen hit 158.08 per US dollar on Thursday evening -- its lowest in almost six months -- following comments made by Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda that failed to give a clear signal on a possible interest rate increase next month. Recent data has showed Japan's inflation rose for a second month in December, while industrial production declined less than expected in November and retail sales came in higher than estimated last month. Japan's government also on Friday approved a record budget for the next fiscal year, ramping up spending on social welfare for its ageing population and on defence to tackle regional threats. In Seoul, the stock market closed down one percent after the won plunged to a nearly 16-year low of 1,487.03 against the dollar on Friday morning. South Korea is struggling to emerge from political turbulence in the wake of President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law declaration this month, which prompted his impeachment. Acting President Han Duck-soo was also impeached Friday in a vote that prompted governing party lawmakers to protest with angry chants and raised fists. South Korea's business outlook for January fell in the Bank of Korea's composite sentiment index, the biggest month-on-month slide since April 2020, according to data based on almost 3,300 firms released Friday. In Europe, Frankfurt's DAX index rose after German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier dissolved parliament on Friday and confirmed the expected date for the early general election, emphasising the need for "political stability" in Europe's largest economy. - Key figures around 1630 GMT - New York - Dow: DOWN 0.8 percent at 42,987.31 New York - S&P 500: DOWN 1.2 percent at 5,967.31 New York - Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 1.7 percent at 19,676.01 London - FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent at 8,149.78 (close) Paris - CAC 40: UP 1.0 percent at 7,355.37 (close) Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.7 percent at 19,984.32 (close) Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.8 percent at 40,281.16 points (close) Seoul - Kospi: DOWN 1.0 percent at 2,404.77 (close) Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.1 percent at 20,116.93 (close) Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.1 percent at 3,400.14 (close) Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0431 from $1.0424 on Thursday Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2589 from $1.2526 Dollar/yen: DOWN at 157.53 yen from 158.00 yen Euro/pound: DOWN at 82.85 pence from 83.19 pence West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.2 percent at $70.42 per barrel Brent North Sea Crude: UP 1.1 percent at $73.62 per barrel burs-rl/rlp
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Nigeria gets Japan’s $108m for emergencfood security“Saturday Night Live” alum Kyle Mooney’s directorial debut, “Y2K,” makes for a fascinating test case of Gen Z’s appetite for all things 2000s. His comedic sensibility, honed through throwback TV parodies on “SNL,” is at once broad and hyper-specific. In the nostalgic “Y2K,” he hits the big signposts that will delight the younger generation craving the simpler times of a pre-9/11 world, but he also gets granular with late ’90s music, fashion and culture in a way that one could only understand if they actually lived through it. Zoomers just won’t pick up everything he’s putting down, and that may work against this otherwise exuberant and somewhat messy teen horror-comedy. Mooney and co-writer Evan Winter fuse the “let’s throw a big party” plot formula to “The Terminator” for their “Y2K” script, but it also feels like they just wrote down everything they could remember from the late ’90s and threw it at the wall: Enron, the “Macarena,” PalmPilots, Limp Bizkit, the swing revival. Some are quite obvious and on-the-nose, others more arcane. Add in some well-worn movie tropes, a list of outrageous horror movie kills and a “TRL”-friendly soundtrack and that’s essentially the movie. Jaedan Martell, one of horror’s preeminent sad boys ( “It,” “The Lodge,” etc.), plays Eli, a dorky kid who loves his ebullient best friend, Danny (Julian Dennison), and has a crush on Laura ( Rachel Zegler ), whom he hopes to kiss at the big turn-of-the-millennium New Year’s Eve party after he finds out she’s broken up with her college boyfriend (Mason Gooding). But in a bit of revisionist history, the Y2K bug is real — so real, in fact, that every electronic device and appliance bands together into freakish robotic monsters in order to kill the teens, enslave the parents and achieve the “singularity.” Despite the deep wealth of period culture on display, “Y2K” doesn’t necessarily feel lived-in — it’s a bit too wink-wink, nudge-nudge with it and feels forced, especially with the wall-to-wall needle drops. There are fun nods to era-specific tribes and trends, with quick references to the swing kids, ravers and rap-rock skater types, but where Mooney and Winter’s approach excels is in the deep cuts for the real ’90s-heads out there, like Daniel Zolghadri’s character as CJ, a socially conscious hip-hop kid wearing baggy khakis and a bucket hat, talking about his rap group, Prophets of Intelligence, and scolding his peers for their “corporate” music taste. Mooney is also a standout as Garrett, a burnout video-store clerk with dreads, who represents jam-band stinky hippie culture, and he nails every note-perfect inflection. But references like this will likely sail right over the heads of a zoomer audience — you simply had to be there in order to get it. Most of the audience at the film’s Los Angeles premiere didn’t react to even broader pop-cultural nods, such as several Limp Bizkit jokes (singer Fred Durst plays himself in a slightly larger-than-cameo role). The surface pleasures of “Y2K” are outlandishly fun, but plot-wise, the film is structurally unsound. While it cribs bits and pieces from too familiar genres, it’s too loose in how scenes flow into each other or how the story progresses from A to B. Although Durst is a welcome sight, it’s still entirely random how he shows up, and the final resolution is sketchy at best. What’s interesting about Mooney’s vision is that he’s packaged contemporary technological anxiety into a memory piece. Fear about artificial intelligence taking over humanity is a modern concern, but it wasn’t what we were worried about with the Y2K bug. Still, there’s also something kind of profound in contemplating 2000, even if it is refracted through this movie’s silly lens. In the 24 years since, it’s been decades of terrorism, war, political instability, a widening wealth gap and rapid advancements that have rewired our culture, our brains and how we relate to each other. Perhaps 2000 was, indeed, a fundamental switch, one that Mooney has zeroed in on through his imperfect but amusing “Y2K.” Ultimately, the project is a success, because he made this millennial — who was 16 in 1999 — profoundly nostalgic for what seems like a more innocent time. Katie Walsh is a Tribune News Service film critic.
Dozens of people suspected of criminal offences being investigated over Post Office Horizon scandal By REBECCA CAMBER CHIEF CRIME CORRESPONDENT FOR THE DAILY MAIL Published: 23:12, 11 December 2024 | Updated: 23:14, 11 December 2024 e-mail 26 View comments Dozens of people suspected of criminal offences in the Post Office Horizon scandal are being investigated in the largest police inquiry in history. About 100 officers from forces across the country have been drafted in to investigate one of Britain’s most widespread miscarriages of justice. More than 900 sub-postmasters were wrongly prosecuted between 1999 and 2015 after faulty Horizon accounting software made it look as though money was missing from their accounts. But in total there were potentially more than 3,000 victims in the scandal through Post Office criminal and private prosecutions, civil claims and contract withdrawals. Many are still awaiting compensation. Now police are investigating potential charges of perjury and perverting the course of justice linked to the wrongful prosecutions of sub-postmasters and the wider presentation of the Horizon IT system as robust. Dozens of people suspected of criminal offences in the Post Office Horizon scandal are being investigated in the largest police inquiry in history (stock image) Detectives are looking at dozens of ‘persons of interest’ including those at senior levels within the Post Office and Fujitsu who were responsible for the software, as well as others in the legal profession involved in the wrongful prosecutions. No charges will be made until after the ongoing public inquiry publishes its report. Yesterday Met commander Stephen Clayman said he was determined to put suspects on trial as soon as possible in 2027. He said: ‘I cannot make promises this will be a fast process. However, I speak on behalf of our whole team when I say we will approach it with independence, precision and integrity.’ Share or comment on this article: Dozens of people suspected of criminal offences being investigated over Post Office Horizon scandal e-mail Add comment
