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A thrill ride manufacturer that has designed a 1,000-foot-tall roller coaster that would shatter all height and speed records is looking for a theme park willing and able to build the towering behemoth. The once-impossible dream of a 1,000-foot-tall coaster is now feasible and in top-secret development by an unnamed ridemaker, according to Dennis Speigel, an industry expert with International Theme Park Services. “The project is still under heavy wraps with the final international location yet to be announced,” Speigel wrote on the ITPS website. “But the progress is quite well along and so far is nothing short of breathtaking in every sense of the meaning.” The 1,000-footer would be twice as tall as any coaster ever built and smash a new record for world’s tallest coaster, about to be set in 2025. Six Flags announced in November that its 456-foot-tall Kingda Ka coaster in New Jersey would be removed and replaced by a new record-breaking launch coaster in 2026. The 2005 Kingda Ka held the title of world’s tallest coaster for two decades. The 415-foot-tall Superman: Escape from Krypton at Six Flags Magic Mountain now reigns as the tallest operating coaster in the world while the 420-foot-tall Top Thrill 2 coaster at Ohio’s Cedar Point remains closed for repairs. Falcon’s Flight will become the world’s tallest coaster at a skyscraping 640 feet when the new ride debuts in 2025 at Six Flags Quiddiya in Saudi Arabia. Speigel got a sneak preview of the 1,000-foot-tall coaster by the as-yet-unidentified ride manufacturer that swore him to secrecy. Technological advancements in computer- and AI-assisted design have made the pipe dream of a 1,000-foot-tall coaster a real possiblity, according to Speigel. “It’s only a matter of time and financial investment before this aspiration becomes a reality,” Speigel wrote on the ITPS website. The record-setting coaster will need to be built on a swath of land large enough to accommodate the amount of track needed for the launch and run out on either side of the 1,000-foot precipice. The structural engineering team behind the project has designed a coaster that can withstand immense vertical and lateral forces, according to Speigel. He added that an “ingenious” braking system will help control the incredible speeds of the coaster that will likely require riders to wear safety goggles. ___________ ©#YR@ MediaNews Group, Inc. Visit at mercurynews.com . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.SMU had no problems handling the jump to the ACC. Now the No. 8 Mustangs (11-1, 8-0, No. 8 CFP) look to complete an unbeaten run through the ACC in their inaugural season when they face perennial conference power Clemson on Saturday night at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. The 18th-ranked Tigers (9-3, 7-1, No. 17 CFP) will play in a record 10th ACC championship game in 16 seasons under coach Dabo Swinney. The Mustangs moved to the ACC after capturing the American Athletic Conference championship in 2023. They have won 17 straight regular-season conference games, going back to 2022. “We wanted to be at this level. We wanted to play on this stage,” SMU coach Rhett Lashlee said. “We want to be playing in the championship game. ... We have ultimate respect for Clemson, but this is a stage we want to be on.” Clemson looked as if it might miss out on its second straight title game, but Syracuse stunned then-No. 6 Miami to give the Tigers a spot. They have been dominant once they get there, winning eight of their previous nine ACC title game appearances, the lone loss coming to Georgia Tech in 2009. “I’m proud of the consistency. Uncommon consistency,” Swinney said. “I know we’re supposedly a bad program now, and we’re doom and gloom. It’s all downhill, and everything’s terrible. But I think we’ve been in this game two of the last three years.” If the Mustangs win they likely will wrap up a first-round bye in the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff. Clemson, which comes in as a 2 1/2-point underdog according to BetMGM Sportsbook, needs a win to qualify for the playoff and likely assure the ACC gets two teams in. Swinney said if the Tigers win the national title he’ll invite Syracuse coach Fran Brown to Clemson to ride with him in the championship parade. “If that happens, like let’s dream big, hey, why not? Fran Brown, he’s going to be riding in the car with me, convertible, through downtown Clemson,” Swinney said. SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings will be playing in his second straight conference championship game. Jennings was pressed into his first career start last year in the AAC after Preston Stone broke his leg in the regular-season finale. He responded by leading the Mustangs to a 26-14 win, accounting for 266 yards from scrimmage along with a touchdown pass. Jennings began this season behind Stone on the depth chart but took over as the starter in Week 4 and has gone 9-0 since with the Mustangs averaging 40.8 points per game. Jennings has thrown for 2,746 yards with 19 touchdowns and seven interceptions and is the team’s second-leading rusher with 344 yards and four TDs. “I’m a lot more confident now for sure,” Jennings said. Clemson enters the title game coming off a 17-14 loss to rival South Carolina last week. Linebacker Wade Woodaz said players have put that behind them. “We’ve got another opportunity and we’ve got to be grateful for that,” Woodaz said. “Sitting here and dwelling on the loss to South Carolina isn’t going to help us Saturday. Yes, we have to learn from it, got to look at our mistakes and where we messed up. But in the end, we have another shot and we’ve got to take full advantage of it.” Brashard Smith, SMU’s featured running back, was a receiver before transferring to SMU this season. He has 1,157 yards and 14 touchdowns rushing, and also has 29 catches for 269 yards and three more scores. In the regular-season finale against California, he had 134 total yards (68 rushing and 66 receiving) with two touchdowns. “He’s a matchup problem. He’s a good player and defensively you’ve got to account for him,” Lashlee said of Smith. “He’s an all-purpose player.” SMU lost two of its top receivers to season-ending injuries midway through its conference schedule: tight end RJ Maryland — the son of former No. 1 overall NFL draft pick Russell Maryland — and receiver Jake Bailey. Michigan transfer Matthew Hibner took over as the starting tight end and has 15 catches for 230 yards and three touchdowns the last five games after only two catches for 31 yards the first seven. When Bailey got hurt, the Mustangs moved Roderick Daniels Jr. back to receiver from running back, and he has caught 15 passes the last three games. The Tigers were one of the country’s most dynamic offenses for a six-game stretch — all victories — early September through October. Clemson averaged better than 48 points a game during that run. That average has dropped to less than 27 points a game in the last five contests.fidel sport betting 。

While my election-related columns about politics and the economy generated the most reader responses in recent weeks, I found the reaction to my column on direct primary care most interesting. In these arrangements, patients pay doctors directly, like in the old days, rather than through insurance. The topic tapped a vein of nostalgia with readers who remembered what health care was like 50 years ago, before the rise of interlinked networks of care systems and nationwide insurers. For others, the concept — in which patients essentially become members of a doctor’s practice and pay a flat monthly fee of around $70 to $90 — just seems practical. “We only need health insurance for major medical procedures. Health care would be much less expensive without it,” reader Mary O’Connor wrote. She then offered a plan for getting more people to use direct primary care physicians. “I suggest we start with public employees,” she wrote. “Take away their health insurance except for major medical procedures and give them an increase in pay. They can use this for doctor appointments. Doctors will lower their charges if they don’t have to wait for an insurance company to pay them.” Dr. Darrell Krieger, a physician in Crystal, wrote to point out a problem. “What is left unsaid in the article is the issue that primary care physicians are decreasing in number at an alarming rate, with no one to replace them, making access for patients increasingly difficult, particularly as older physicians such as myself retire,” he wrote. “This is a nationwide problem that is recognized within the medical field but gets little attention in the media,” he added. Though I didn’t mention it in the column, I talked with Dr. Laura Slings and her husband Steve, who runs the back office in her practice, about the broader numbers at stake. When she was working at one of the large health systems, Dr. Slings had more than 2,000 patients in her practice. She’s aiming for about 500 at her independent clinic. “If all these doctors leave the system and open direct primary care ... that’s going to contribute to the shortage, right?” Dr. Slings said. “It actually is a potential solution to the primary care crisis because so many primary care docs cannot continue to sustain what’s being asked of them right now. They’re retiring early. They’re burning out.” How, and whether, all this works out will take years, I suspect. My colleague Karen Tolkkinen last week wrote about the most acute shortage of doctors in Minnesota: dentists outside the metro area . Separately, several readers asked about something I left out of my Oct. 16 column on ninja gyms: whether kids are more prone to getting injured in them than a playground or school gym. Kids are kids, of course, and they’re out flinging themselves around in these places. At Ninjas United, the Maple Grove gym I visited, the padding is everywhere and there are coaches and spotters all around. “You’ll see we have some $800 mats called cloud mats and they’re phenomenal,” co-owner Chris Voigt said. His wife, Jen, who runs the gym, said she notices teenagers are more prone to sprains or strains because they need to warm up. “But they still remember being a kid when they didn’t need to warm up,” she said. “So some are a little more relaxed in their warm-ups, when they should be a little more focused during that.” This past week, several readers reacted to my column about the dramatic, ignominious end of Bremer Bank , the longtime St. Paul institution that sold to Indiana-based Old National, by noting that the bank’s beginning was just as dramatic. Before starting the bank and the charitable foundation that owned it, Otto Bremer and his brother Adolf in 1911 took over the Schmidt Brewing Co. from its founder, Jacob Schmidt. They built it into one of the nation’s largest by 1920, when prohibition started. Through the 1920s, Otto started to purchase banks and, as the Depression started, “pledged every asset he owned” to keep them shored up. That included his stocks in “eastern banks,” according to the Star Tribune’s obit of him in 1951. “The eastern stocks were lost by sale when additional margins in a declining market could not be furnished,” the obituary said. Finally, a good news update to a column I wrote at the start of the year urging Minnesota regulators to allow taller buildings with a single staircase. On Oct. 31, the technical advisory group responsible for updating the state’s building code unanimously approved a proposal that will allow single-stair residential buildings up to four stories. “This approval makes Minnesota the first among the new wave of states around the country moving in this direction to actually adopt a code change statewide,” said Cody Fischer, president of Footprint Development in Minneapolis.None

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Accessing your Google Drive files on a computer typically requires opening a web browser — a process that can feel cumbersome, especially when you're juggling multiple tasks. However, if you frequently need to access your Google Drive files, you can integrate the service into Windows File Explorer. With this setup, your Google Drive files appear right alongside your local files, enabling seamless file management without any extra steps. You can drag and drop files between folders, rename documents, organize your workspace, or even delete items — all directly from File Explorer. This approach saves time and enhances productivity, making it easier to organize your Google Drive files and stay focused on your tasks. One of the standout benefits of this integration is offline access. By syncing Google Drive files or folders, you can continue working on important documents even when you're offline. Once you reconnect to the internet, any changes you've made automatically sync to the cloud, ensuring your workflow remains uninterrupted. Whether you're aiming for better organization, faster access, or improved file management, integrating Google Drive with File Explorer is simple. Below, we'll walk you through the steps to get started. Adding Google Drive to File Explorer is quick and easy, whether you're using Windows 10 or 11. All you need to do is download and set up the Google Drive app on your PC. Here's how to do it: Once the setup is complete, Google Drive will appear in File Explorer as a new drive and will be pinned to the Quick Access panel. You can then access, download, and manage your cloud files directly from the File Explorer. Note that the Google Drive app needs to run in the background for this to work. If you close the app on your PC , Google Drive will disappear from File Explorer, and you'll need to reopen the app to restore access. By default, the Google Drive app streams your files in File Explorer, meaning they don't take up storage space on your PC . However, this also means you need an internet connection to view these files. That said, if you want to access specific Google Drive files and folders offline, it's easy to do. Simply right-click on the Google Drive file or folder you want to make available and select Offline access > Available offline. This will allow Google Drive to create a copy of the file or folder on your PC, ensuring it's accessible even without an internet connection. If you'd prefer to have all your Google Drive files stored locally without setting up offline access for each one, you can configure the app to mirror your files. This will ensure that all your files and folders are saved on your PC. Here's how to do it: Google Drive will now download all your files on the PC, making them available for use at any time.An unexpected find on a family camping trip last week has reunited a young boy with a prized possession he lost seven months ago. Neil Keene was camping with his young children and his brother's family at a popular campground near the Gloucester River on when something caught his eye in the water. "We were maybe 400 metres upstream of where the campground is and the kids were jumping in the water. My brother was helping them in at one end and I was further downstream to catch them," the Lake Macquarie man told Yahoo News. "I was waiting there when I saw this strap kind of just floating underneath the water." The said whatever was in the river "didn't look natural" and it was clearly covered in mud and growth from the river. "I grabbed it and pulled it out and it was this camera... it was so exciting," he said. It took a great deal of effort for Neil to figure out , unable to access the photos initially. "It was crusty and the locking mechanism wouldn't budge... I had to wait until I was home and use WD40," Neil said. To his delight, there was an SD card inside and he was able to recover the photos — all of which portrayed a wholesome family holiday. He jumped on in hopes of finding the owner and within hours, he got a message. "It was only a couple of hours before the woman whose son Curtis owned the camera got in touch... they're from the Gold Coast... they'd actually been travelling around Australia for a couple of years and Gloucester River was one of their last stops on their trip back in April," he said. Curtis's mum Carly explained to Neil the family were devastated when he lost his camera and they waded through the river trying to find it. 🧐 🛫 🐕 The camera is now on its way back to its rightful owner and and surprise for Curtis, who desperately wants his camera back. "I've sent it back with a little note from our family to theirs and I put $10 in with the camera case... it's Christmas after all," he said. "I have twin girls who are eight and this is their first camping trip... our second will be hard to live up to," he said. "Social media often gets a bad reputation, deservedly a lot of the time, but it can be used for good. This is evidence of that."

Optimistic about India-US ties under Trump 2.0 despite tariff challenges: Former US envoySouth Korea’s President Yoon, embattled conservativeUSWNT goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher caps memorable international career with winResults of a non-binding vote on the proposed Grassy Mountain coal mine in Crowsnest Pass were announced Monday, with more than 71 per cent of voters supporting the project. About 54 per cent of eligible voters participated in the plebiscite, which was held to gauge community sentiment specifically on metallurgical coal mining by Northback Holdings Corp. The ballot posed the question, “Do you support the development and operations of the metallurgical coal mine at Grassy Mountain?” An advance poll was conducted on Nov. 19, followed by the primary voting day on Monday. The results showed 71.7 per cent of voters in favour of the project, while 28.3 per cent opposed it. Crowsnest Pass Mayor Blair Painter expressed satisfaction with the strong voter turnout and called the result a “real strong message” from the community. “I’m very pleased that we had over 53 per cent of the eligible voters turn out to vote on this subject,” Painter told Shootin’ the Breeze. “This sends a very strong message to our council that our community is in favour of ethical metallurgical coal mining in our area.” Painter emphasized the importance of understanding community preferences regarding a project that could affect housing, infrastructure and employment in the region. “We are the community that this mine primarily will draw from. Therefore, it is important that we need to know where our community stands and they have told us,” he said. However, he acknowledged that the municipal council’s role is limited to advocacy and that the ultimate decision on the proposed mine is not in their hands. “We are not the decision-maker on this project; we are only one of the stakeholders,” he noted, adding that council will move forward and continue to advocate. The Grassy Mountain coal mine project has been the subject of significant debate. On Sept. 10, Crowsnest Pass council passed a motion to conduct a non-binding vote, seeking input from residents on their support for the development and operations of the proposed mine. Since then, a long-standing debate has grown heated at times regarding the consequences of mining. Supporters have cited its potential to drive economic growth and create jobs, while critics have voiced concerns over environmental risks, such as selenium contamination and air quality issues due to dust generation. Painter acknowledged these concerns, stating, “Clean water is very important. We get that. Now you must also remember that the area of this mine site, Grassy Mountain, is not pristine mountaintops. It’s previously mined land with no reclamation.” He added that mining operations have made strides in addressing environmental concerns, citing global investments in clean-water technology by other mining companies. “Our mining neighbours to the west of us, Glencore, is spending billions of dollars on clean water technology. They are leaders globally in clean water,” he said. The mayor clarified that council’s next steps would involve internal deliberations, with no influence over the regulatory process or the mining company’s decisions. “We cannot control what they are going to do. They’re bound by the rules and regulations of our country. We cannot influence that,” he said. Northback Holdings, the company behind the Grassy Mountain project, welcomed the vote’s outcome, calling it a step forward for “responsible resource development.” In a statement issued on social media, the company expressed gratitude for the community’s support and reiterated its commitment to balancing economic growth with environmental stewardship. “Exciting news from Crowsnest Pass! Residents have voted in favour of the Grassy Mountain project! Thank you for your overwhelming support for responsible resource development and economic growth,” the company said. “Together, we’re creating well-paying jobs and a brighter future for the region. At Northback, we are committed to modern mining practices that protect the environment while revitalizing the local economy. Let’s move forward together!” Northback representatives were unavailable to comment on the voting results.

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Wade Taylor IV scored 15 points and Pharrel Payne and Henry Coleman III each added 10 as No. 22 Texas A&M beat Wake Forest 57-44 on Tuesday night. Hunter Sallis led Wake Forest with a game-high 19 points, and Davin Cosby added 11 points. Texas A&M (7-2) shot 39% from the floor (19 of 49) and Wake Forest (7-3) shot 28% (17 of 60) from the floor. The Aggies led 47-42 lead with 6:46 remaining when Taylor stole the ball and Coleman finished the possession with a dunk to give the Aggies to an insurmountable seven-point lead. Wake Forest also led by seven points a little more than seven minutes into the game before falling behind by halftime. Texas A&M's Andersson Garcia grabbed a game-high 16 rebounds. Takeaways Texas A&M: The usually-hustling Aggies appeared a bit lethargic after playing three games in the previous week, including an 81-77 victory over Rutgers on Saturday, in the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas. Texas A&M, which won its third consecutive game, took comfort in playing its first home game in 13 days. Wake Forest: The Demon Deacons were unable to carry over the momentum from a 57-51 victory over Minnesota on Friday in the third-place game of the ESPN Events Invitational in Kissimmee, Florida. Sallis got back on track, however, after finishing 1 of 11 from the floor against Minnesota. Texas A&M guard Zhuric Phelps (1) swings on the rim after dunking the ball against Wake Forest during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024, in College Station, Texas. Credit: AP/Sam Craft Key moment Taylor banked a 3-pointer with 25 seconds remaining in the first half to lift the Aggies to a 29-26 lead at the break. Key stat The Aggies made 14 of 17 of their free throws for 82%, 14% better than their average entering the game. Up next The Aggies face Texas Tech on Sunday in Fort Worth’s Dickies Arena in a neutral-site match between the old Southwest Conference and Big 12 foes. The Demon Deacons host Boston College on Saturday in their ACC opener.Signing with Dodgers was really easy decision for 2-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell

VALPARAISO, Ind. (AP) — Tyler Schmidt came off the bench to score 19 points to lead Valparaiso to an 81-53 victory over Eastern Illinois on Sunday. Schmidt added three steals for the Beacons (3-2). Justus McNair scored 16 points while going 5 of 8 (4 for 6 from 3-point range). Darius DeAveiro had nine points and shot 3 for 11, including 3 for 9 from beyond the arc. Nakyel Shelton led the Panthers (1-5) in scoring, finishing with 20 points. Kooper Jacobi added 13 points and nine rebounds for Eastern Illinois. Zion Fruster had six points. Valparaiso took the lead with 5:07 remaining in the first half and did not relinquish it. The score was 35-29 at halftime, with Schmidt racking up 14 points. Valparaiso extended its lead to 66-38 during the second half, fueled by an 18-2 scoring run. McNair scored a team-high 11 points in the second half as their team closed out the win. NEXT UP Both teams play Northern Illinois next, Valparaiso at home on Wednesday and Eastern Illinois at home on Friday. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .SPRINGFIELD — In the days after former President Donald Trump was reelected, Illinois Democrats raised alarms about the ramifications of his second term and said they would consider whether the state needs to strengthen any of its progressive laws on reproductive rights and other issues that might be threatened by an unfriendly White House. But the Democratic-led Illinois General Assembly adjourned its final session of the year without taking any meaningful steps in that direction, with some lawmakers saying more time is needed to consider what might be done. Republicans countered by accusing Democrats of considering legislation based only on assumptions about potential actions by the Trump administration. During their five-day fall veto session — legislators left town a day early in the first week — lawmakers did pass a measure to phase out a subminimum wage for people with disabilities, and moved forward on another aimed at making it easier for the state’s child welfare system to have a child’s family member serve as their legal guardian. Some bigger issues were pushed into next year, among them legislation adjusting the state’s pension system and a proposal to consolidate the Chicago area’s transit agencies. Following a lame duck session scheduled for Jan. 2-7, a new General Assembly will be seated on Jan. 8, and after that Gov. JB Pritzker and lawmakers will also need to confront a projected budget shortfall of nearly $3.2 billion for next year’s state budget. Pritzker last week announced he was part of an initiative called Governors Safeguarding Democracy with Colorado Gov. Jared Polis to leverage states’ rights against threats following Trump’s reelection. But Pritzker didn’t go the route of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who directly asked his state’s general assembly to address Trump’s election in a special legislative session next month. Illinois’ Democratic lawmakers said figuring out exactly what to do will take some time, and that the just-completed session simply provided an opportunity to get discussions started. “So many people that we legislators represent, including ourselves, have so much anxiety about changes to come due to the incoming administration and we don’t know immediately what we can do in the state legislative arena, but we are already listening, talking about it and planning for it,” said Rep. Lindsey LaPointe, a Democrat from Chicago’s Northwest Side. “Those are complicated issues and once we start putting stuff on paper and talking about it publicly, we have to get it right.” Some of the issues being explored are in the areas of environmental protections, immigration and health care access, along with abortion, LGBTQ+ and workers’ rights. State Rep. Bob Morgan, a Democrat from Deerfield, believes he and his colleagues will be working on issues that address “preemptive, proactive protections” for Illinoisans. Morgan, who has a special interest in gun safety issues following a deadly mass shooting in his district at the 2022 Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, questioned whether President Joe Biden’s Office of Gun Violence Prevention would be on the chopping block and how that would affect Illinois. “When we start talking about policy to keep people safe, it really puts the pressure on states like Illinois to really figure out what can we do to reduce gun violence, and the opportunity to rely on the federal government will no longer be there,” Morgan said. Morgan was a main sponsor of Illinois’ sweeping gun ban that took effect in January 2023, but earlier this month was ruled unconstitutional by a federal judge who was appointed to the bench during Trump’s first term. House Republican leader Tony McCombie, who has been critical of the Democratic call for a legislative response to Trump’s approaching presidency, said Thursday she was against having a lame duck session if the Democrats don’t intend to pass any meaningful measures. “We do not need more time for out-of-touch Democrats to dream up harmful legislation,” said McCombie, of Savanna. “We need bipartisan legislation that focuses on the issues Illinois families care about most.” Republican Rep. Charlie Meier said Democrats shouldn’t be changing laws or passing laws “just because America’s doing what America does” by electing a new president. “They’re going to try to think what he might do before he even does it to create another law on the Illinois citizens that we may not need,” said Meier, of Okawville. “We are a state that has written so many laws, so many rules, that we are about the worst in unemployment in the country.” Among the measures lawmakers did move to Pritzker’s desk during the brief session was a heavily debated bill to phase out subminimum wage for disabled workers over the next five years. Federal law allows some employers to pay disabled workers less than minimum wage. In Illinois, some disabled workers are paid less than a dollar an hour, according to the bill’s advocates. Erin Compton, a student who identified as having an intellectual disability, testified in favor of the bill in committee, saying she has held several jobs including in research and as a ticket scanner for the Cubs. “Some people say that having a job isn’t for me, because I’m not smart enough or good enough to work, but I was given opportunities to work in the community and have to have a fair wage,” Compton said. Pritzker praised the legislation, calling it an “unprecedented, crucial leap forward” for disabled people to earn a fair wage. “Far too often, people with disabilities still endure barriers to employment and discrimination in the workplace,” he said in a statement. “Many are paid subminimum wages that devalue their contributions and diminish their likelihood to secure meaningful work and participate in other life-enhancing activities.” While the bill passed with bipartisan support, opponents including Republican Sen. Chapin Rose of Mahomet warned it could lead to a loss of opportunities for some disabled people. Another measure that has bipartisan support provides additional incentives for relatives of children in the care of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services to maintain a home for the youths as an alternative to the children being placed in foster care with nonfamily members. It passed with no opposition in the Senate on Thursday after passing 113-0 in the House last spring. But because of an amendment that was attached to the bill by the Senate, it has to go back to the House for what will likely be the bill’s final vote. The legislation requires DCFS to seek federal funding to start a “kinship navigator program” to assist relatives who are caregivers with the agency and increase financial support to those relatives. According to the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, which pushed for the measure, more than 10,000 children in DCFS care live with relatives, but over 60% of these caregivers are denied the foster care benefits necessary to care for a youth being placed in their household because state law requires them to meet complex standards that were put in place decades ago. “Current licensing procedures create unnecessary roadblocks to financial assistance for relatives serving as caregivers,” Sen. Mattie Hunter, a Chicago Democrat who was a chief sponsor of the measure, said in a statement. “Research shows children are better off when they can maintain connections to their families and traditions. We need to provide these families with the support they need to make this possible.” The veto session was also an opportunity for lobbyists, unions and other advocates to make last-minute pushes to get their bill proposals on lawmakers’ agendas. On the second day of the veto session, thousands descended on the state Capitol for a rally highlighting their concerns over changes made to Illinois’ beleaguered pension system 13 years ago. Workers hired after Jan. 1, 2011, were placed into a “Tier 2” system that offered reduced benefits compared with other employees hired before that date. The overall goal of creating the Tier 2 plan was to shrink a pension debt that now runs to about $141 billion. But benefits paid out under the Tier 2 system at some point won’t equal to what Social Security would provide to those employees, a violation of a federal “safe harbor” law. This would require Illinois to pay large sums in Social Security taxes instead of operating its own pension system which, while still costly, allows the state more flexibility. At the rally, proponents cheered and bellowed chants calling for equality in the state’s pension system. “We are union people. We believe people doing the same job, a fair day’s work, deserve a fair day’s pay, whether that’s in your paycheck, your benefits or your retirement security in a pension,” Pat Devaney, secretary-treasurer of the Illinois AFL-CIO, said to the crowd. “So what happened over the years? Politicians, state governments, local governments came up with schemes to underfund the pensions, take pension holidays, use other gimmicks to cause stress in the system.” The state’s perennial pension problems are among several budgetary matters that will likely be taken up in the coming months by the legislature, along with how to deal with a $730 million fiscal cliff for Chicago-area public transit once federal pandemic aid dries up in early 2026 and whether to set aside more state funding for Chicago’s public school system. Other unresolved issues include gun safety measures that Democrats haven’t been able to bring over the finish line. Legislation often referred to as “Karina’s Bill,” named after Chicago resident Karina Gonzalez, who, along with her 15-year-old daughter, was shot and killed by her husband last year, would require police to remove guns from people who have orders of protection against them, clarifying when and how authorities can confiscate such firearms. As it stands, firearms aren’t always taken from people in those situations even if the firearm owner’s identification card is revoked. Illinois lawmakers could weigh a proposal to create a statewide office to help under-resourced public defenders. One of the proposal’s goals is to address the lack of public defense resources in rural areas, many of which don’t even have a public defender’s office. The measure also seeks to address disparities in the resources allotted to county prosecutors and public defenders. For example, Cook County’s 2024 budget provided about $102 million for its public defender’s office, and about $205 million for its state’s attorney’s office. Other unresolved issues range from whether to allow all dispensaries to sell medical cannabis to legalizing medical aid in dying, often referred to as physician-assisted suicide or medically assisted death. This proposal would give mentally competent, terminally ill adults the right to choose to end their lives by allowing these patients the right to access life-ending prescription medication. Gov. JB Pritzker, Sen. Dick Durbin and others speak about U.S. EPA grants on Nov. 15. Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter.

LAGOS LIGA AND THAT FAAN AIRPORT POSITION DOCUMENTVALPARAISO, Ind. (AP) — Tyler Schmidt came off the bench to score 19 points to lead Valparaiso to an 81-53 victory over Eastern Illinois on Sunday. Schmidt added three steals for the Beacons (3-2). Justus McNair scored 16 points while going 5 of 8 (4 for 6 from 3-point range). Darius DeAveiro had nine points and shot 3 for 11, including 3 for 9 from beyond the arc. Nakyel Shelton led the Panthers (1-5) in scoring, finishing with 20 points. Kooper Jacobi added 13 points and nine rebounds for Eastern Illinois. Zion Fruster had six points. Valparaiso took the lead with 5:07 remaining in the first half and did not relinquish it. The score was 35-29 at halftime, with Schmidt racking up 14 points. Valparaiso extended its lead to 66-38 during the second half, fueled by an 18-2 scoring run. McNair scored a team-high 11 points in the second half as their team closed out the win. NEXT UP Both teams play Northern Illinois next, Valparaiso at home on Wednesday and Eastern Illinois at home on Friday. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .Schmidt scores 19 off the bench, Valparaiso downs Eastern Illinois 81-53

NoneBritain, NATO must stay ahead in 'new AI arms race', says UK minister'Why do we need to rush?' California's Lake County may have the nation's slowest elections department

Home Franchise Concepts' Leading Window Covering Brand Promotes and Expands Roles for Veteran Team Members to Drive Collaboration, Growth and Innovation IRVINE, Calif. , Dec. 5, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Budget Blinds, a leader in window coverings, today announced significant changes to its executive leadership team, positioning the company for continued success and industry disruption. Effective immediately, the brand has promoted Tracy Christman to Chief Operating Officer; and expanded roles for Amy Campbell to Vice President of Marketing, Product Design & Strategy; and Nicholas (Nick) Petropoulos as Director of Information Technologies. As part of Home Franchise Concepts' family of brands, these executive changes reflect the leading franchise platform's commitment to setting industry standards and laying the groundwork for building exponential future growth opportunities. Home Franchise Concepts, a subsidiary of JM Family Enterprises, places an emphasis on strategic leadership development to continue positioning its brands as industry front-runners. Budget Blinds' restructuring aligns with its strategic vision to become the most revered brand in the window coverings industry, while pursuing its primary objectives of operational excellence and innovative customer experience. "We're on the verge of transformational changes that will redefine Budget Blinds' presence in the industry," said Heather Nykolaychuk , President of Budget Blinds. "Earlier this year, we introduced a new business model for our franchisees to enhance brand reinvestment and elevated our strategic planning process to incorporate input from key stakeholders, including our franchisees, fostering greater buy-in and alignment to our long-range plan. As such, with their combined experience and expertise, we are confident that as Tracy, Amy and Nick take on their new or expanding roles, they will ignite our bold new direction, benefiting our associates, franchisees, vendor partners and customers." Additional details on Budget Blinds' leaders and their expanded roles are outlined below: These organizational changes, coupled with the brand's proactive engagement of key stakeholders, position Budget Blinds for improved performance and sustainable growth. The brand is confident that this new structure will foster collaboration and drive innovation, ensuring Budget Blinds remains the leader in window coverings while Home Franchise Concepts continues to reinvest in the brand for future growth. Budget Blinds looks forward to providing enhanced franchisee support, more efficient operations and the development of products and services that truly resonate with our consumers. "We strive to be regarded with deep respect and admiration by all who work and partner with us, through championing high-standards of child-safety, product quality and exceptional experiences rooted in trust and brand reputation," continued Nykolaychuk. "We're excited for the bright future we have ahead, and look forward to the lasting impact Tracy, Amy and Nick will bestow on the Budget Blinds legacy." With Budget Blinds contributing to the success of Home Franchise Concepts, the parent company plans to execute even more innovative strategies and remain ambitious in implementing new tactics to generate additional awareness and support for its family of brands. With new shifts in leadership, Home Franchise Concepts is focused on ongoing operational and technology improvements and is dedicated to enhancing the support for its family of brands. To learn more about Home Franchise Concepts and franchise development opportunities, visit homefranchiseconcepts.com . For more information specific to Budget Blinds, please visit budgetblinds.com . About Budget Blinds Budget Blinds ® is the largest window covering franchise in North America, offering custom blinds, shutters, shades, drapery, and more for residential and commercial consumers in more than 10,000 communities in the U.S. and Canada. Budget Blinds' over 900 business owners, and 1,500 locations, have dressed more than 25 million windows since the brand's founding in 1992. Budget Blinds is part of the Home Franchise Concepts family of home improvement goods and services brands. About Home Franchise Concepts Home Franchise Concepts® , is one of the world's largest franchising systems in the home improvement goods and services space, among the world's largest franchise businesses and a recognized leader in franchisee-franchisor relationships. Home Franchise Concepts' brands including AdvantaClean® , Aussie Pet Mobile®, Bath Tune-Up® , Budget Blinds® , Concrete Craft® , Kitchen Tune-Up®, Lightspeed RestorationTM , PremierGarage® , The Tailored Closet®, and Two Maids® are supported by more than 2,600 franchise territories in the U.S., and Canada . For information on franchise opportunities, please visit http://homefranchiseconcepts.com/ . About JM Family Enterprises JM Family Enterprises, Inc. was founded by automotive legend, Jim Moran in 1968. It is a privately held company with more than $20 billion in revenue and more than 5,000 associates. Rooted in automotive and united in its strong culture and core values, JM Family is in the business of helping other businesses succeed. As a long-term partner, it is invested in its companies, associates and its communities. Driven by exceptional performance, current subsidiaries are in the automotive, financial services, franchising and specialty distribution industries. Its family of companies includes: Southeast Toyota Distributors , JM&A Group , World Omni Financial Corp. (dba Southeast Toyota Finance ), JM Lexus , Home Franchise Concepts ®, Futura Title & Escrow and Rollease Acmeda . Interact with JM Family on Facebook , Instagram and LinkedIn . Contact: Margo Williams mwilliams@fish-consulting.com View original content: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/budget-blinds-announces-strategic-changes-to-executive-leadership-team-302324283.html SOURCE Home Franchise ConceptsPresident-elect Donald Trump’s pick for Secretary of Energy, Colorado’s Chris Wright, views the world divided between the haves and have-nots — with a specific eye toward access to energy, arguing that, instead of a “climate” agenda, America should focus on ensuring a wide array of cheap, abundant and sustainable energy sources that include geothermal, nuclear, oil and gas. He argued that this approach is the antidote to what he described as an “energy crisis,” in which a minority of the world’s population has access to abundant energy, while the rest lives in “energy poverty.” The approach, which he outlined in several articles for Colorado Politics and The Denver Gazette, will likely serve as a philosophical guidepost as he takes on the department that handles U.S. energy diplomacy, administers the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which Trump has said he wants to replenish, and runs grant and loan programs to advance energy technologies, such as the Loan Programs Office. Wright, who grew up in Colorado, founded Liberty Energy in 2011. The company, which specializes in well completion services and is valued at $2.8 billion, has become one of North America’s leading hydraulic fracturing companies. Wright launched his career in energy by founding Pinnacle Technologies in 1992, a company specializing in hydraulic fracturing diagnostics, according to a profile on Liberty Energy’s website. Pinnacle played a pivotal role in advancing shale gas production by introducing technologies that improved resource extraction. Wright also served as chairman of Stroud Energy until its sale in 2006. As Trump’s energy chief, Wright is expected to prioritize domestic energy production, support the oil and gas industry, and advance the policies of the newly established National Energy Council, led by North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum. Wright describes himself as “a tech nerd turned entrepreneur” who believes that more fossil fuel production can lift people out of poverty around the globe. “His practical, all-of-the-above approach to advancing clean, affordable, and reliable energy solutions will be instrumental in shaping the future of our nation’s energy policy,” said Debbie Brown, president of the Colorado Business Roundtable. “His deep expertise and passion for the role of energy in enhancing human life will undoubtedly bring valuable perspective to this critical position.” “As an entrepreneur, innovator, philanthropist, environmentalist, and business leader, Chris brings a wealth of experience and insight to tackling out country’s most pressing energy challenges,” Brown added. Wright’s detractors insist that his vision for the nation’s energy future is a danger to the planet, calling him a “climate-denying Big Oil executive.” “We all depend on clean water, clean air and a sustainable climate to thrive in. Chris Wright is the antithesis to this vision,” Garrett Royer, the Sierra Club Colorado’s acting chapter director, said in a statement to The Denver Gazette. “His industry is harming Colorado and now his nomination poses a massive threat to national energy policy that endangers the future of our planet.” “Under the Trump administration, cronyism and corporate profit will be put before the interests of people and they will try to slow the inevitable transition to cheaper, renewable, and better sources of energy,” Royer said. Meanwhile, industry and business leaders said Wright’s nomination is a big step forward in energy policy. According to Wright, some in wealthy countries want to secure their safety and lifestyles at the expense of people in energy-poor developing countries. In a series of articles published by the Gazette newspapers since 2021, Wright outlined his beliefs about energy policy and climate change. “Roughly 1 billion, or 15 percent of the world’s population, live highly energized, wealthy, modern lifestyles recognizable to Coloradans. More than twice that many people — one third of the global population — cook their daily meals burning wood and dung and have either no electricity or only modest, intermittent access to electricity,” Wright wrote in 2021 . “I can think of no starker illustration of the immense inequality in today’s world. This cannot stand.” In another article, Wright said critics are missing the forest for the trees. “The energy transition isn’t failing for lack of earnest effort. It is failing because energy is hard, and 3 billion people living in energy poverty are desperate for reliable and scalable energy sources,” Wright wrote in March 2022 in The Denver Gazette. “Meanwhile, 1 billion energy-rich people are resistant to diminishing their standard of living with higher cost and an increasingly unreliable energy diet.” According to the World Health Organization, around 2.1 billion people worldwide burn solid fuels like wood, crop residue and animal dung in developing countries, including Indonesia, Africa and India. About 3.2 million of them die every year from diseases such as ischemic heart disease, stroke, lower respiratory infections, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and lung cancer. “Energy poverty strikes me as a far more urgent issue for both environmental progress and bettering human lives,” Wright said in 2020. “The poorest third of humanity suffers from energy poverty, which brings both lethal health consequences and drives significant deforestation. In addition to three million deaths from indoor air pollution, energy poverty also limits access to clean water, education, and modern medical care.” Wright said virtually everyone consumes oil and gas daily, even the desperately poor who are only indirect consumers via their food, clothes and housing. “Nobody knows where the oil and gas was produced that filled their gas tank, heated their home, powered the hospital, or provided the plastics in their smartphones, kids’ toys or their hearing aid,” Wright said. In another article, he said: “High energy and food price inflation is the cruelest form of tax on the poor.” He also decried what he described as policies that have begun to “hamstring and squander the enormous benefits of the shale revolution.” “The same misinformed anti-hydrocarbon crusade that impoverished Europe and made it heavily dependent on Russia is now sweeping the U.S.,” he said. “California and New England had already adopted European-style energy policies driving up electricity prices, reducing grid reliability, and driving manufacturing and other energy-intensive, blue-collar jobs out of their states. Colorado is not far behind.” Slowing or stopping production of oil and gas in the U.S. will do nothing to improve environmental impacts but would pose larger problems for both local pollution and greenhouse gas emissions if production is moved to nations like Nigeria, Iraq, Russia or China, he said. “In contrast, surging U.S. natural gas production has been the single-largest driving factor in the U.S. reducing our GHG emissions over the last decade — far more than any other nation,” Wright said. “In fact, U.S. GHG emissions have dropped by more than the next five leading nations combined.” Critics pointed to Wright’s lack of experience in government as a disqualification for the position. “It is not surprising, but still appalling that Trump’s pick for Secretary of Energy is a climate-denying Big Oil executive,” Tiernan Sittenfeld, senior vice president for government affairs for the League of Conservation Voters, said in a statement to The Denver Gazette. “With no experience in government, Wright will be primed to continue Trump’s and Project 2025’s extreme agenda of prioritizing Big Polluters over our families, communities, consumers, and the environment.” Critics of the climate crisis paradigm have argued that countries, such as those in Africa, parts of South Asia, and Southeast Asia, face significant energy deficits, and transitioning to renewable energy sources alone may not meet their growing energy demands. The Colorado Sierra Club characterized Wright and his beliefs as climate conspiracies and decried his nomination as energy chief. “The oil and gas industry is a top contributor to severe air quality along the Front Range. These corporations drill under water resources and communities, spraying dangerous chemicals underground and creating harmful wastewater,” Royer said. “While some of our communities literally burned in wildfires, costing lives, billions of taxpayer dollars, and increasing insurance rates, Chris Wright pushed dangerous climate conspiracies.” Business and industry offered the opposite opinion on Wright, seeing him as a compassionate and environmentally-aware business leader and philanthropist. Wright founded the Bettering Human Lives Foundation , a nonprofit organization that “aims increase access to clean cooking fuels by directly supporting local innovators and entrepreneurs to start and grow their businesses.” The group seeks to provide families with a pathway out of “poverty through access to modern energy that betters human lives.” “We at Colorado Concern have had the good fortune to work alongside Chris Wright for several years and we have benefited greatly from his insights and wisdom around energy policy,” Dave Davia, president and CEO of Colorado Concern , said in a statement. “Chris has a passion for the issues and a keen sense of the impacts that policy conversations around energy can have both domestically and globally and I am confident that this perspective will be invaluable as he takes on his new role at the Department of energy.” The Associated Press contributed to this report.New 2025 laws hit hot topics from AI in movies to rapid-fire guns