US crypto industry eyes possible day-one Trump executive ordersAndrew Bennett obituary

(Updates for morning trade) By Bharath Rajeswaran Dec 30 (Reuters) - India's benchmark indexes fell marginally at the start of the week, dragged by information technology and auto stocks, in thin volume trade ahead of the end of 2024. The Nifty 50 shed 0.16% to 23,775.1 points as of 9:56 a.m. IST, while the BSE Sensex was down 0.14% to 78,585.56. Seven of the 13 major sectors fell. The broader, more domestically focussed smallcaps and midcaps were little changed. "Persistent concerns such as sustained foreign institutional investor outflows, diminishing expectations of U.S. rate cuts in 2025 and a lack of major domestic triggers amid the year-end are weighing on market sentiment," said Mandar Bhojane, research analyst at Choice Broking. India's benchmark indexes rose about 1% last week after dropping about 5% in the prior week, their worst fall in 30 months, as the Federal Reserve's projection of fewer rate cuts in 2025 lowered the appeal of emerging market assets. Asian shares edged lower on Monday as high Treasury yields challenged lofty Wall Street equity valuations while underpinning the U.S. dollar near multi-month peaks. Information technology companies, which earn a significant share of their revenue from the U.S., shed 0.7% on the day, amid sustained foreign outflows due to elevated Treasury yields. Auto shares lost 0.5% ahead of the monthly sales data due later in the week. Among individual stocks, JSW Energy climbed 6.6% after the power producer announced a definitive agreement to acquire renewable power company O2 Power Midco Holdings. Vodafone Idea rose 2.6% after telecom department dispensed with the requirement of submitting bank guarantees for spectrum acquired through auctions. Electric two-wheeler maker Ola Electric Mobility lost 3% following the resignations of two senior executives. Choice Broking's Bhojane expects the market to remain subdued in the near term as investors await triggers such as monthly auto sales data and the December quarter earnings. (Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H K and Mrigank Dhaniwala)VOA Turkish: Relatives of prisoners in Lebanon detained over Syria demand their release

Biden's broken promise on pardoning his son Hunter is raising new questions about his legacy WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s decision to go back on his word and pardon his son Hunter wasn't all that surprising to those who are familiar with the president's devotion to his family. But by choosing to put his family first, the 82-year-old president has raised new questions about his legacy. Biden has held himself up as placing his respect for the American judicial system and rule of law over his own personal concerns. It was part of an effort to draw a deliberate contrast with Republican Donald Trump. Now, both his broken promise and his act of clemency are a political lightning rod. Some Democrats are frustrated over Joe Biden reversing course and pardoning his son Hunter ATLANTA (AP) — Already reeling from their November defeat at the polls, Democrats now are grappling with President Joe Biden's pardoning of his son for a federal felony conviction — after the party spent years slamming Donald Trump as a threat to democracy who operates above the law. The White House on Monday struggled to defend the pardon, claiming the prosecution was politically motivated — a page out of Trump's playbook. That explanation did not satisfy some Democrats who are angry that Biden’s reversal could make it harder to take on Trump. Hezbollah fires into Israel-held area after multiple Israeli strikes in Lebanon since truce began JERUSALEM (AP) — Hezbollah fired into a disputed border zone held by Israel after multiple Israeli strikes inside Lebanon since a ceasefire took hold last week. The militant group said the volley, its first during the truce, was a warning shot in response to what it called repeated Israeli violations. Israeli leaders threatened to retaliate, further straining the fragile U.S.- and French-brokered ceasefire. Israeli strikes in recent days, including a string of hits on Monday, have killed at least four people in Lebanon. U.S. officials said the ceasefire was largely holding. Key players in Syria's long-running civil war, reignited by a shock rebel offensive BEIRUT (AP) — Syria’s civil war has exploded back onto the world stage after insurgents poured out of their main bastion in northwestern Syria and seized large parts of nearby Aleppo, Syria’s largest city, and dozens of nearby towns and villages.. The insurgents offensive triggered the heaviest clashes in the country since a March 2020 cease-fire brokered by Turkey and Russia, who back rival sides in the conflict. Five countries have military presence in Syria including the U.S. that has troops deployed in the country’s east, Turkey that controls parts of northern Syria, Israel that has presence in the Golan Heights and Russia and Iran that have been a main backer of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Great Lakes region gets yet more snow after a weekend of snarled Thanksgiving travel Some storm-weary residents of the Great Lakes region saw additional snow and faced the prospect of even more accumulations this week. Lake-effect snow continued to fall on parts of western New York that were already blanketed with a foot or more over the past four days. Lake-effect snow warnings were in effect through Tuesday night in parts of Ohio, New York and Pennsylvania. Snow showers fell in western Michigan overnight, and heavier, persistent snow of up to a foot was expected to follow Monday. Stock market today: Rising tech stocks pull Wall Street to another record NEW YORK (AP) — Technology stocks pulled Wall Street to another record amid mixed trading. The S&P 500 rose 0.2% Monday after closing November at an all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3%, and the Nasdaq composite gained 1%. Super Micro Computer, a stock that’s been on an AI-driven roller coaster, soared after saying an investigation found no evidence of misconduct by its management or the company’s board. Retailers were mixed coming off Black Friday and heading into what’s expected to be the best Cyber Monday on record. Treasury yields held relatively steady in the bond market. A top Fed official leans toward December rate cut but says it depends on economic data WASHINGTON (AP) — A top Federal Reserve official says he is leaning toward supporting an interest rate cut when the Fed meets in two weeks but that evidence of persistent inflation before then could cause him to change that view. Speaking at George Washington University, Christopher Waller, a key member of the Fed’s Board of Governors, said he was confident that inflation is headed lower and that the central bank will likely keep reducing its key rate, which affects many consumer and business loans. But he noted that there’s a risk that inflation “may be getting stuck above” the Fed’s 2% target, which would support an argument for keeping the Fed’s rate unchanged this month. More than 3 million travelers screened at US airports in a single day. That's a record Travelers heading home after the Thanksgiving holiday are setting a record. The Transportation Security Administration says that it screened nearly 3.1 million travelers on Sunday, breaking the previous record by about 74,000. That mark was set on July 7, also a Sunday after a holiday, July Fourth. Hundreds of thousands of travelers were delayed or had their flights canceled. FlightAware says more 6,800 flights were delayed on Sunday, with the highest numbers at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport and Chicago’s O’Hare Airport. Panic among spectators at soccer game kills at least 56 in the West African nation of Guinea CONAKRY, Guinea (AP) — Officials and witnesses say chaos erupted at a soccer game in Guinea after fans protested a referee’s call and thousands of panicked spectators tried to flee the stadium, leaving at least 56 people dead in the West African nation. Local news website Media Guinea reported that security forces used tear gas. A journalist covering the game for a local sports website tells The Associated Press many of the dead were crushed as they tried to escape through the stadium gates. The world’s latest sports crowd disaster unfurled Sunday in the second-largest city in the military-run nation. Information there is sparse and government-controlled at the best of times. It was not immediately clear how much the death toll could grow.

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WASHINGTON, Dec 29 (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said the extension of the debt ceiling will "go down as one of the dumbest political decisions made in years," referring to a 2023 budget deal struck by then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and President Joe Biden. Under that deal, Congress suspended the debt ceiling until Jan. 1, 2025. The U.S. Treasury will be able to pay its bills for several more months, but Congress will have to address the issue at some point next year. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said, "The extension of the Debt Ceiling by a previous Speaker of the House, a good man and a friend of mine ... will go down as one of the dumbest political decisions made in years." He added, "The Democrats must be forced to take a vote on this treacherous issue NOW, during the Biden Administration, and not in June. They should be blamed for this potential disaster, not the Republicans!" Sign up here. Reporting by Jasper WardEditing by Don Durfee Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. , opens new tabDALLAS (AP) — Luka Doncic is returning to the Dallas lineup Monday night against the Portland Trail Blazers after missing the Mavericks’ two previous games with a left heel contusion. Doncic won last season’s scoring title with a career-best 33.9 points per game and is fifth in the NBA this season averaging 28.9, and seventh in assists, averaging 8.2. He had triple-doubles in three of his last four games, including his most recent appearance last Sunday with 45 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds in a 143-133 win at Golden State. The defending Western Conference champions are 18-10, fourth in the West, and have won 13 of their last 16 games following their only losing streak of the season, a four-game skid from Nov. 8-14. ___ AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nbaAP News Summary at 4:30 p.m. EST

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Longtime Republican U.S. Rep. Kay Granger of Texas is having "unforeseen health challenges” that have worsened in the final months of her more than two decades in Congress, a statement from her office said Monday. Granger, 81, has not cast a vote in Washington since July. In a statement provided by her office, Granger said she has been “navigating some unforeseen health challenges over the past year" but did not specify or elaborate. “However, since early September, my health challenges have progressed making frequent travel to Washington both difficult and unpredictable,” the statement said. Granger’s office did not immediately respond to questions emailed Monday about her condition or why they did not publicly disclose her health status earlier. Messages left with Granger's family also were not immediately returned. Granger announced in 2023 that she would not seek reelection, saying at the time that it was time for a new generation of leaders to step up. Granger also announced in March that she would step down as chair of the powerful House Appropriations Committee. First elected to Texas' 12th Congressional District in 1996, Granger was the first Republican woman elected to represent the state in the U.S. House. Before that, she was the mayor of Fort Worth. Her seat will be filled in January by Republican Craig Goldman , a former Texas House member, who was elected to the district that includes parts of Fort Worth, western Tarrant County and most of neighboring Parker County.

AP Trending SummaryBrief at 5:34 p.m. ESTNorfolk Southern Corp. stock outperforms competitors despite losses on the daySAINT PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Kendall Blue and Nolan Minessale had 22 points each in St. Thomas' 88-81 victory over Montana on Saturday. Miles Barnstable had 17 points for the Tommies (7-4). Malik Moore led the Grizzlies (6-4) with 30 points. Money Williams added 14 points, six rebounds and four assists for Montana. Jensen Bradtke had 11 points. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .AP Business SummaryBrief at 3:50 p.m. EST

Dow ends at fresh record as oil prices pull back on ceasefire hopesAcademic Integrity and the Future of Education The use of Artificial Intelligence is revolutionary, defining new pathways in various aspects of the modern era including education. AI provides opportunities like efficient tools of learning and digital grading systems, but at the same time, it carries crucial challenges, specifically in maintaining academic integrity. It is concerning in the current age that AI platforms ease the content generation process and facilitate students in submission of plagiarized assignments. Like other countries, the use of AI has become popular in academic institutions in Pakistan as it offers multiple tools that help students in their studies, ranging from searching data to complex problem-solving. Though, the ability of AI to generate text like humans is the most debatable aspect of AI in the education sector. Various tools such as Perplexity, Open AI’s Chat GPT and GPT4 can write content including essays, and data reports, even users can generate research papers by putting minimal effort. This resulted in significant ease for students to produce and submit class assignments that are not written by them. This situation is blurring the line between AI content and original work. The consequences of this culture are influencing not only students but also academic and social values. Plagiarism is not a new matter in academia but this dawn of AI has aggravated this issue. Students under different pressures, such as meeting deadlines, and securing high grades may be attracted to use of AI websites and generating content in less time. Such short-cut behaviour is not only against ethics but also undermines the central principle of education, that encompasses critical thinking, learning skills, and originality. There are other factors contributing to this culture of plagiarized work submissions. The modern education system has become highly competitive and may pressurize students to get high grades. The specific pressure may result in students finding more convenient ways, including Artificial Intelligence tools. Another factor may be that students are unaware of the severity of plagiarism and its consequences if they are caught. This lack of awareness can be due to insufficient education on academic honesty. Moreover, AI plugins are plug-and-play tools and easily accessible and students can generate content on any topic by using these tools. Students are further encouraged to take the risk of submitting plagiarized assignments because AI-generated content is very sophisticated and it becomes difficult for teachers to differentiate between human-generated and AI-generated text. To cope with the increasingly rising submission of plagiarized assignments, different tools have been invented to trace AI-generated content. Various tools, such as Copyleaks AI detector and, the AI detector of Turnitin, can be integrated with universities’ LMS systems to detect AI-generated content as soon as students upload assignments on LMS. These tools are designed to check similarity text against available sources and can generate AI plagiarism reports. Universities in Pakistan need to install AI detectors in teachers’ LMS accounts, so they can easily check the originality of assignments. The majority of faculty in Pakistani universities don’t have access to plagiarism-detecting software, resulting in the marking of plagiarized assignments. Besides technical aspects, the trust between teachers and students is very important. This trust is eroded when students make it a continuous practice to submit plagiarized content. In this case, teachers will require more time to check plagiarism than concentrating on their role as instructors and mentors. This will result in an ineffective learning environment in the classroom and may weaken student-teacher relationships. The use of AI-generated content in universities also reflects a social issue related to basic ethical standards. If there is no policy to stop students from submitting AI-generated content, it may set a pattern that may range beyond academic to professional life. The future requires humans who are critical thinkers, creative problem solvers, and effective communicators. Students are not learning these important skills because of their reliance on AI tools. This will affect their efficiency and overall work environment. The constant use of AI in academia resulted in important concerns regarding technological ethics. It is a need of the time for universities to devise clear guidelines and policies to protect societal values regarding authenticity. Academic policymakers need to indulge themselves in the formulation of policies to balance the use of AI with academic integrity. Academic institutions and faculty can adopt several strategies to address the issue of plagiarized assignments. Workshops or seminars regarding academic honesty and the effects of plagiarism are necessary, where students can be educated about the importance of originality. In-class assignments, discussions, and oral presentations should be part of the semester rundown to evaluate students in real time. This approach will also help teachers in maintaining academic integrity. Teachers may design assignment questions in a way that can encourage students towards brainstorming and creativity. Such assignments may include project-based learning, feedback methods, and peer reviews that focus on authenticity and efforts more than meeting the deadline. As Artificial Intelligence is evolving with each passing day, it is important to go ahead of the curve regarding the detection and prevention of plagiarized content. The plan of OpenAI to add watermarks in AI-generated content will definitely enhance the detection strategies. This option will attach statistical designs behind the choice of words and punctuation, and this will make it more convenient to identify AI-generated content. Still, continuous development in algorithms regarding AI content is needed to tackle the pace of complexity of AI-generated content. The use of AI in academia may demand broader reforms in how we see teaching and learning. This may include skills that cannot be automated easily, like critical thinking, empathy, and creativity. With these skills, teachers can make students ready for a future where AI is expected to dominate. Overall, the culture of producing and submitting AI-generated assignments is a complex matter and we all are in the midst of a change with less preparation. By focusing on the importance of emerging technologies, education, and relevant policies, teachers can ensure that academic institutions maintain their position as places where integrity, authenticity, and creativity prevail. The writer is a faculty member at the Department of Media & Communication Studies, GC University, Lahore. He can be contacted at [email protected] Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Δ document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() );The Miami Dolphins are in the middle of climbing themselves back into the AFC playoff picture, rattling off three straight wins to get to 5-6. The Dolphins aren't the only team fighting to stay alive, as the 7-5 Denver Broncos are just ahead, owning the seventh seed. Could the Broncos get help this season from a former Dolphins star? Bleacher Report believes that Denver should sign former All-Pro corner Xavien Howard to aid their playoff push. Xavien Howard remains the top cornerback who doesn't have a team right now. If he's healthy, he would be able to come in and give them a better chance at not missing a beat if Patrick Surtain II or Moss did go down. Howard hasn't played this season, but most recently had a free agent visit with the Cincinnati Bengals a few weeks ago. He was solid last season, with 45 tackles and 12 passes defended in 13 games before a foot injury prematurely ended his campaign. He's 31 years old but proved last year that he can still play. It would create quite the headline for the four-time Pro Bowler to make his return to the league on a playoff team that's currently one seed ahead of his former squad.FRISCO, Texas (AP) — Wesley Celichowski's 22 points helped Air Force defeat Stony Brook 69-61 on Saturday. Read this article for free: Already have an account? To continue reading, please subscribe: * FRISCO, Texas (AP) — Wesley Celichowski's 22 points helped Air Force defeat Stony Brook 69-61 on Saturday. Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? FRISCO, Texas (AP) — Wesley Celichowski’s 22 points helped Air Force defeat Stony Brook 69-61 on Saturday. Celichowski shot 6 of 10 from the field, including 2 for 4 from 3-point range, and went 8 for 8 from the line for the Falcons (3-7). Ethan Taylor scored 17 points while going 6 of 11 (3 for 6 from 3-point range) and added eight rebounds, six assists, and three steals. Caleb Walker shot 6 of 6 from the field and 2 of 4 from the free-throw line to finish with 14 points. The Seawolves (2-7) were led by CJ Luster II, who recorded 27 points. Stony Brook also got 13 points from Collin O’Connor. Andre Snoddy finished with 11 points. ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar. Advertisement