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http panaloko LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers’ signing of Blake Snell became official Saturday, adding the two-time Cy Young Award winner to front a starting rotation stocked with question marks. Snell, who will turn 32 next week, agreed to a five-year, $182 million contract that includes a $52 million signing bonus and $65 million in deferred salary. That deal was pending a physical which Snell passed. The 2018 American League Cy Young Award winner with the Tampa Bay Rays, Snell won the National League Cy Young in 2023 after going 14-9 with a 2.25 ERA for the San Diego Padres. He became a free agent last winter but stayed on the market well into March looking for a long-term deal that never materialized despite his Cy Young history. The Dodgers were involved with Snell at one point before he signed a two-year, $62 million contract with the San Francisco Giants that included an opt-out clause. He exercised that opt-out after going 5-3 with a 3.12 ERA in an injury-interrupted season with the Giants. He had 145 strikeouts and just 44 walks in 104 innings. But he made just 20 starts due to two trips to the injured list with a groin injury (likely related to his late signing affecting his preparation for the season). The 20 starts were his fewest in a full season since his rookie year in 2016 (19 starts). Snell goes to the front of a rotation that includes a number of players returning from injury and/or surgery. Shohei Ohtani is expected to return to pitching after undergoing his second Tommy John surgery in September 2023. But his return to the mound will be delayed by surgery on his non-throwing shoulder following the World Series. Yoshinobu Yamamoto finished the 2024 season healthy but missed three months with a rotator cuff strain. Neither he nor Ohtani will be asked to pitch on less than five days of rest and the Dodgers are planning to go with a six-man rotation in 2025. Tyler Glasnow’s 2024 season ended early with an elbow injury and his status for 2025 is uncertain. Tony Gonsolin will be returning from Tommy John surgery. Dustin May did not pitch in 2024 while recovering from his own elbow surgery and a torn esophagus. Emmet Sheehan is expected back at some point in 2025 after his Tommy John surgery. Clayton Kershaw is expected to re-sign at some point. But he underwent foot and knee surgeries in November and is not likely to be available for a full season. Walker Buehler and Jack Flaherty are free agents. The Dodgers will start the 2025 season early again with another trip to Asia. They are scheduled to open the regular season with two games against the Chicago Cubs on March 18 and 19 in Tokyo.

OTTAWA — Billionaire Elon Musk called Canada’s prime minister an “insufferable tool” on his social media platform today. Musk’s comments were in response to Justin Trudeau likening Kamala Harris’s defeat in the U.S. presidential election to an attack on women’s rights and progress. This afternoon, Trudeau met with provincial and territorial premiers to discuss Canada’s approach to negotiations with the U.S. Canada is facing a threat of a 25 per cent tariff hike from incoming president Donald Trump, who defeated Harris in the November election. Earlier this week, Trump taunted Trudeau on social media, referring to the prime minister as the governor of what he called the “Great State of Canada.” The post was an apparent reference to a joke Trump cracked at his dinner with Trudeau at his Mar-a-Lago estate nearly two weeks ago, where the president-elect teased that Canada could join the U.S. as its 51st state. Speaking on Tuesday night at an event hosted by the Equal Voice Foundation — an organization dedicated to improving gender representation in Canadian politics — Trudeau said there are regressive forces fighting against women’s progress. “It shouldn’t be that way. It wasn’t supposed to be that way. We were supposed to be on a steady, if difficult sometimes, march towards progress,” Trudeau said, adding he is a proud feminist and will always be an ally. “And yet, just a few weeks ago, the United States voted for a second time to not elect its first woman president. Everywhere, women’s rights and women’s progress is under attack. Overtly, and subtly.” In a post on X on Wednesday, Musk responded to a clip of Trudeau’s remarks, saying, “He’s such an insufferable tool. Won’t be in power for much longer.” This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 11, 2024. Nick Murray, The Canadian PressPETALING JAYA: The much-awaited results for the Putra Brand Awards (PBA) and Putra Aria Brand Awards (PABA) for 2024 have been finalised. Billed as the “People’s Choice Awards”, the awards organising chairman and senior adviser of the Association of Accredited Advertising Agents Malaysia (4As) Datuk Johnny Mun told StarBiz the board of governors met late October to endorse the results. “The research was conducted by Ipsos, which is a global leader in market research. We have a record number of participants in the research numbering over 20,000 unique respondents with well over 65,000 responses. “This makes the PABA and PBA the most robust research event in the country and probably in Asia covering over 60 digital media platforms. “There are some surprises in the awards this year with some perennial winners being replaced by newcomers,” he added. Mun said the survey covers multiple categories, allowing consumers to voice their opinions on their favourite brands in areas ranging from food and beverage to technology and personal care. He reiterated that this comprehensive approach provides a holistic view of consumer preferences and highlights brands that have successfully established strong connections with their audience. He said the award nights for PABA are on Jan 16 and for PBA on Jan 17. Mun said the venue has shifted back to the iconic Majestic Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, to match the pomp and importance of the events. Mun is also calling marketers to buy their tables to celebrate the 15th instalment of the PBA and the third instalment of PABA to avoid disappointment. He added that for PABA, there are over 150 awards and for PBA over 160 awards. Both awards are organised by the 4As in collaboration with Star Media Group Bhd . The event is supported by the Malaysian Advertisers Association, Media Specialists Association and Malaysian Digital Association and is endorsed as Brand Champion Partner by Malaysia External Trade Development Corp or Matrade. The Star is the official news partner for the awards. The highlight for the PBA show would be the four special awards similar to last year. They are the Putra Most Enterprising Brand of the Year, Putra Malaysian Marketer of the Year, Putra Brand Personality Award and Putra Brand of the Year. There would also be the Putra Hall of Fame award, an accolade introduced in 2019 for brands that have won their respective categories for over 10 successive years. The Putra Most Enterprising Brand of the Year award reflects outstanding achievements in developing a brand that has made strong inroads into the international market via product or service innovation; is committed to comprehensive marketing and communications programmes and demonstrates a strong corporate social responsibility (CSR) commitment. The Putra Brand Personality Award celebrates an outstanding individual with creativity, perseverance and persuasion that have made significant contributions to nation building. The Putra Malaysian Marketer of the Year accolade recognises a company, team or individual exhibiting overall excellence in marketing, innovation and creativity in brand building, while challenging conventional strategies in the product sector. Lastly, the Putra Brand of the Year award is presented to the brand that best exemplifies continuous product innovation, commitment to brand building via communication and exhibits a strong sense of CSR.

Falcons visit Vikings as a struggling Cousins returns to old home to find a thriving DarnoldNEW YORK — The masked gunman who stalked and killed the leader of one of the largest U.S. health insurance companies outside a Manhattan hotel used ammunition emblazoned with the words "deny," "defend" and "depose," two law enforcement officials said Thursday. The words were written in permanent marker, according to one of the officials, who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity. With the gunman still at large, police also released photos of a person they said was wanted for questioning in connection with the shooting. UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, 50, died in a dawn ambush Wednesday as he walked to the company's annual investor conference at a Hilton hotel in Midtown. The reason behind the killing remained unknown, but investigators believe it was a targeted attack. This image shows a man wanted for questioning in connection to the investigation of the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel. The message left on the ammunition echoes the phrase "delay, deny, defend," which is commonly used by attorneys and insurance industry critics to describe tactics used to avoid paying claims. It refers to insurers delaying payment, denying a claim and then defending their actions. Health insurers like UnitedHealthcare have become frequent targets of criticism from doctors and patients for complicating access to care. Investigators recovered several 9 mm shell casings from outside the hotel and a cellphone from the alleyway through which the shooter fled. Inside a nearby trash can, they found a water bottle and protein bar wrapper that they say the gunman purchased from a nearby Starbucks minutes before the shooting. The city's medical examiner was looking for fingerprints. The killing and the shooter's movements in the minutes before and after were captured on some of the multitudes of security cameras present in that part of the city. The shooter fled on a bike and was last seen riding into Central Park. Bullets lie on the sidewalk Wednesday outside the Hilton Hotel in midtown Manhattan where Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, was shot and killed in New York. The hunt for the shooter brought New York City police to at least two hostels on Manhattan's Upper West Side on Thursday morning, based on a tip that the suspected shooter might have stayed at one of the residences, according to one of the law enforcement officials briefed on the investigation. The photos police released Thursday of a man wanted for questioning were taken in the lobby of the HI New York City hostel. "We are fully cooperating with the NYPD and, as this is an active investigation, can not comment at this time," said Danielle Brumfitt, a spokesperson for the hostel. Police received a flood of tips from members of the public, many of them unfounded. On Wednesday evening, police searched a Long Island Rail Road train after a commuter claimed to have spotted the shooter, but found no sign of the gunman. "We're following up on every single tip that comes in," said Carlos Nieves, a police spokesperson. "That little piece of information could be the missing piece of the puzzle that ties everything together." Investigators believe, judging from surveillance video and evidence collected from the scene, that the shooter had at least some prior firearms training and experience with guns and the weapon was equipped with a silencer, said one of the law enforcement officials who spoke with the AP. This still image from surveillance video shows the suspect, left, sought in the the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, center, Wednesday outside a Manhattan hotel. Security camera video showed the killer approach Thompson from behind, level his pistol and fire several shots, barely pausing to clear a gun jam while the health executive tumbled to the pavement. Cameras showed him fleeing the block across a pedestrian plaza before getting on the bicycle. Police issued several surveillance images of the man wearing a hooded jacket and a mask that concealed most of his face, which wouldn't have attracted attention on a frigid day. Authorities also used drones, helicopters and dogs in an intensive search, but the killer's whereabouts remained unknown. Thompson, a father of two sons who lived in suburban Minneapolis, was with UnitedHealthcare since 2004 and served as CEO for more than three years. The insurer's Minnetonka, Minnesota-based parent company, UnitedHealth Group Inc., was holding its annual meeting with investors in New York to update Wall Street on the company's direction and expectations for the coming year. The company ended the conference early in the wake of Thompson's death. UnitedHealthcare is the largest provider of Medicare Advantage plans in the U.S. and manages health insurance coverage for employers and state and federally funded Medicaid programs. In the U.S. healthcare system, even the simplest act, like booking an appointment with your primary care physician, may feel intimidating. As you wade through intake forms and insurance statements, and research out-of-network coverage , you might wonder, "When did U.S. health care get so confusing?" Short answer? It's complicated. The history of modern U.S. health care spans nearly a century, with social movements, legislation, and politics driving change. Take a trip back in time as Thatch highlights some of the most impactful legislation and policies that gave us the existing healthcare system, particularly how and when things got complicated. In the beginning, a common perception of American doctors was that they were kindly old men stepping right out of a Saturday Evening Post cover illustration to make house calls. If their patients couldn't afford their fee, they'd accept payment in chicken or goats. Health care was relatively affordable and accessible. Then it all fell apart during the Great Depression of the 1930s. That's when hospital administrators started looking for ways to guarantee payment. According to the American College of Healthcare Executives, this is when the earliest form of health insurance was born. Interestingly, doctors would have none of it at first. The earliest health plans covered hospitalization only. A new set of challenges from the Second World War required a new set of responses. During the Depression, there were far too many people and too few jobs. The war economy had the opposite effect. Suddenly, all able-bodied men were in the military, but somebody still had to build the weapons and provision the troops. Even with women entering the workforce in unprecedented numbers, there was simply too much to get done. The competition for skilled labor was brutal. A wage freeze starting in 1942 forced employers to find other means of recruiting and retaining workers. Building on the recently mandated workers' compensation plans, employers or their union counterparts started offering insurance to cover hospital and doctor visits. Of course, the wage freeze ended soon after the war. However, the tax code and the courts soon clarified that employer-sponsored health insurance was non-taxable. Medicare, a government-sponsored health plan for retirees 65 and older, debuted in 1965. Nowadays, Medicare is offered in Parts A, B, C, and D; each offering a different layer of coverage for older Americans. As of 2023, over a quarter of all U.S. adults are enrolled in Medicare. The structure of Medicare is not dissimilar to universal health care offered in other countries, although the policy covers everyone, not just people over a certain age. Medicaid was also signed into law with Medicare. Medicaid provides health care coverage for Americans with low incomes. Over 74 million Americans are enrolled in Medicaid today. The Obama administration was neither the first nor the last to champion new ways to provide health care coverage to a wider swath of Americans. The first attempts to harmonize U.S. healthcare delivery systems with those of other developed economies came just five years after Medicare and Medicaid. Two separate bills were introduced in 1970 alone. Both bills aimed to widen affordable health benefits for Americans, either by making people Medicare-eligible or providing free health benefits for all Americans. As is the case with many bills, both these died, even though there was bipartisan support. But the chairman of the relevant Senate panel had his own bill in mind, which got through the committee. It effectively said that all Americans were entitled to the kind of health benefits enjoyed by the United Auto Workers Union or AFL-CIO—for free. But shortly after Sen. Edward Kennedy began hearings on his bill in early 1971 , a competing proposal came from an unexpected source: Richard Nixon's White House. President Nixon's approach , in retrospect, had some commonalities with what Obamacare turned out to be. There was the employer mandate, for example, and an expansion of Medicaid. It favored healthcare delivery via health maintenance organizations, or HMOs, which was a novel idea at the time. HMOs, which offer managed care within a tight network of health care providers, descended from the prepaid health plans that flourished briefly in the 1910s and 1920s. They were first conceived in their current form around 1970 by Dr. Paul M. Ellwood, Jr. In 1973, a law was passed to require large companies to give their employees an HMO option as well as a traditional health insurance option. But that was always intended to be ancillary to Nixon's more ambitious proposal, which got even closer to what exists now after it wallowed in the swamp for a while. When Nixon reintroduced the proposal in 1974, it featured state-run health insurance plans as a substitute for Medicaid—not a far cry from the tax credit-fueled state-run exchanges of today. Of course, Nixon had other things to worry about in 1974: inflation, recession, a nation just beginning to heal from its first lost war—and his looming impeachment. His successor, Gerald Ford, tried to keep the proposal moving forward, but to no avail. But this raises a good question: If the Republican president and the Democratic Senate majority both see the same problem and have competing but not irreconcilable proposals to address it, why wasn't there some kind of compromise? What major issue divided the two parties? It was a matter of funding. The Democrats wanted to pay for universal health coverage through the U.S. Treasury's general fund, acknowledging that Congress would have to raise taxes to pay for it. The Republicans wanted it to pay for itself by charging participants insurance premiums, which would be, in effect, a new tax. The next significant legislation came from President Reagan, who signed the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, or COBRA, in 1985. COBRA enabled laid-off workers to hold onto their health insurance—providing that they pay 100% of the premium, which had been wholly or at least in part subsidized by their erstwhile employer. While COBRA offers continued coverage, its high expense doesn't offer much relief for the unemployed. A 2006 Commonwealth Fund survey found that only 9% of people eligible for COBRA coverage actually signed up for it. The COBRA law had a section, though, that was only tangentially related. The Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act, or EMTALA, which was incorporated into COBRA, required all emergency medical facilities that take Medicare—that is, all of them—to treat patients irrespective of their insurance status or ability to pay. As Forbes staff writer Avik Roy wrote during the Obamacare debate, EMTALA has come to overshadow the rest of the COBRA law in its influence on American health care policy. More on that soon. It wasn't until the 1990s that Washington saw another serious attempt at healthcare reform. Bill Clinton's first order of business as president was to establish a new health care plan. For the first time, the First Lady took on the role of heavy-lifting policy advisor to the president and became the White House point person on universal health care. Hillary Clinton's proposal mandated : The Clintons' plan centralized decision-making in Washington, with a "National Health Board" overseeing quality assurance, training physicians, guaranteeing abortion coverage, and running both long-term care facilities and rural health systems. The insurance lobbyists had a field day with that. The famous "Harry and Louise" ads portrayed a generic American couple having tense conversations in their breakfast nook about how the federal government would come between them and their doctor. By the 1994 midterms, any chance of universal health care in America had died. In this case, it wasn't funding but the debate between big and small governments that killed the Clinton reform. It would be another generation before the U.S. saw universal health care take the stage. Fast-forward to 2010. It was clear that employer-sponsored plans were vestiges of another time. They made sense when people stayed with the same company for their entire careers, but as job-hopping and layoffs became more prevalent, plans tied to the job became obsolete. Thus the Affordable Care Act, or ACA, was proposed by Barack Obama's White House and squeaked by Congress and the Supreme Court with the narrowest of margins. The ACA introduced an individual mandate requiring everyone to have health insurance regardless of job status. It set up an array of government-sponsored online exchanges where individuals could buy coverage . It also provided advance premium tax credits to defray the cost to consumers. But it didn't ignore hat most people were already getting health insurance through work, and a significant proportion didn't want to change . So the ACA also required employers with 50 or more full-time equivalent employees to provide health coverage to at least 95% of them. The law, nicknamed Obamacare by supporters and detractors, set a minimum baseline of coverage and affordability. The penalty for an employer that offers inadequate or unaffordable coverage can never be greater than the penalty for not offering coverage at all. The model for Obamacare was the health care reform package that went into effect in Massachusetts in 2006. The initial proposal was made by then-Governor Mitt Romney, a Republican who now serves as a senator from Utah. Despite an onslaught of court challenges, Obamacare remains the law of the land. For a while, Republican congressional candidates ran on a "repeal-and-replace" platform plank, but even when they were in the majority, there was little legislative action to do either. Still, Obamacare is not the last word in American health care reform. Since then, there have been two important improvements to Health Reimbursement Arrangements, through which companies pay employees back for out-of-pocket medical-related expenses. HRAs had been evolving informally since at least the 1960s but were first addressed by the Internal Revenue Service in 2002. Not much more happened on that front until Obama's lame-duck period. In December 2016, he signed the bipartisan 21st Century Cures Act, which was mainly a funding bill supporting the National Institutes of Health as it addressed the opioid crisis. But, just like the right to free emergency room treatment was nested in the larger COBRA law, the legal framework of Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Arrangements was tucked away in a corner of the Cures Act. QSEHRAs, offered only by companies with fewer than 50 full-time employees, allow firms to let their employees pick their insurance coverage off the Obamacare exchanges. The firms pay the employees back for some or all of the cost of those premiums. The employees then become ineligible for the premium tax credit provided by the ACA, but a well-constructed QSEHRA will meet or exceed the value of that subsidy. That brings this timeline to one last innovation, which expands QSEHRA-like treatment to companies with more than 50 employees or aspiring to have them. Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangements , or ICHRAs, were established by a 2019 IRS rule . ICHRAs allow firms of any size to offer employees tax-free contributions to cover up to 100% of their individual health insurance premiums as well as other eligible medical expenses. Instead of offering insurance policies directly, companies advise employees to shop on a government-sponsored exchange and select the best plan that suits their needs. Employer reimbursement rather than an advance premium tax credit reduces premiums. And because these plans are already ACA-compliant, there's no risk to the employer that they won't meet coverage or affordability standards. The U.S. is never going back to the mid-20th century model of lifetime employment at one company. Now, with remote employees and gig workers characterizing the workforce, the portability of an ICHRA provides some consistency for those who expect to be independent contractors for their entire careers. Simultaneously, allows bootstrap-phase startups to offer the dignity of health coverage to their Day One associates. The U.S. health care system can feel clunky and confusing to navigate. It is also regressive and penalizes startups and small businesses. For a country founded by entrepreneurs, it's sad that corporations like Google pay less for health care per employee than a small coffee shop in Florida. In many ways, ICHRA democratizes procuring health care coverage. In the same way that large employers enjoy the benefits of better rates, ICHRA plan quality and prices improve as the ICHRA risk pool grows. Moving away from the traditional employer model will change the incentive structure of the healthcare industry. Insurers will be able to compete and differentiate on the merits of their product. They will be incentivized to build products for people, not one-size-fits-all solutions for employers. This story was produced by Thatch and reviewed and distributed by Stacker Media. Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Republican senators pushed back on Sunday against criticism from Democrats that Tulsi Gabbard , Donald Trump's pick to lead U.S. intelligence services , is “compromised” by her comments supportive of Russia and secret meetings , as a congresswoman, with Syria’s president, a close ally of the Kremlin and Iran. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat and veteran of combat missions in Iraq, said she had concerns about Tulsi Gabbard, Trump's choice to be director of national intelligence . “I think she’s compromised," Duckworth said on CNN’s “State of the Union," citing Gabbard's 2017 trip to Syria, where she held talks with Syrian President Bashar Assad. Gabbard was a Democratic House member from Hawaii at the time. “The U.S. intelligence community has identified her as having troubling relationships with America’s foes. And so my worry is that she couldn’t pass a background check,” Duckworth said. Gabbard, who said last month she is joining the Republican Party, has served in the Army National Guard for more than two decades. She was deployed to Iraq and Kuwait and, according to the Hawaii National Guard, received a Combat Medical Badge in 2005 for “participation in combat operations under enemy hostile fire in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom III." Duckworth's comments drew immediate backlash from Republicans. “For her to say ridiculous and outright dangerous words like that is wrong," Sen. Markwayne Mullin, a Republican from Oklahoma, said on CNN, challenging Duckworth to retract her words. “That’s the most dangerous thing she could say — is that a United States lieutenant colonel in the United States Army is compromised and is an asset of Russia.” In recent days, other Democrats have accused Gabbard without evidence of being a “Russian asset.” Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, has claimed, without offering details, that Gabbard is in Russian President Vladimir “Putin’s pocket.” Mullin and others say the criticism from Democrats is rooted in the fact that Gabbard left their party and has become a Trump ally. Democrats say they worry that Gabbard's selection as national intelligence chief endangers ties with allies and gives Russia a win. Rep. Adam Schiff, a California Democrat just elected to the Senate, said he would not describe Gabbard as a Russian asset, but said she had “very questionable judgment.” “The problem is if our foreign allies don’t trust the head of our intelligence agencies, they’ll stop sharing information with us,” Schiff said on NBC's “Meet the Press.” Gabbard in 2022 endorsed one of Russia’s justifications for invading Ukraine : the existence of dozens of U.S.-funded biolabs working on some of the world’s nastiest pathogens. The labs are part of an international effort to control outbreaks and stop bioweapons, but Moscow claimed Ukraine was using them to create deadly bioweapons. Gabbard said she just voiced concerns about protecting the labs. Gabbard also has suggested that Russia had legitimate security concerns in deciding to invade Ukraine, given its desire to join NATO. Republican Sen. Eric Schmitt of Missouri said he thought it was “totally ridiculous” that Gabbard was being cast as a Russian asset for having different political views. “It’s insulting. It’s a slur, quite frankly. There’s no evidence that she’s a asset of another country,” he said on NBC. Sen. James Lankford, another Oklahoma Republican, acknowledged having “lots of questions” for Gabbard as the Senate considers her nomination to lead the intelligence services. Lankford said on NBC that he wants to ask Gabbard about her meeting with Assad and some of her past comments about Russia. “We want to know what the purpose was and what the direction for that was. As a member of Congress, we want to get a chance to talk about past comments that she’s made and get them into full context,” Lankford said.TORONTO, Dec. 05, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Xtract One Technologies Inc. XTRA XTRAF 0PL ("Xtract One" or the "Company") a leading technology-driven threat detection and security solution that prioritizes the patron access experience by leveraging AI, today announced fiscal first quarter results for the three months ended October 31, 2024. All information is in Canadian dollars unless otherwise indicated. First Quarter Highlights Quarterly revenue of $3.6 million for the three months ended October 31, 2024 versus $3.1 million in the prior-year period. Gross margin of 64% for the first quarter of fiscal 2025 versus 67% in the prior year period. Total contract value of new bookings 1 was $4.2 million for the three months ending October 31, 2024 as compared to $9.6 million for the same period last year. The total contract value of new bookings in the prior-year period also included $5 million from a large global entertainment organization. Contractual backlog was $14.0 million at the end of the first quarter as compared to $9.5 million in the prior-year period, excluding an additional $12.9 million of agreements pending installation 1 versus approximately $10.6 million at the end of the first quarter of fiscal 2024. "As expected, first quarter revenue, while up year-over-year, was a little lighter in new bookings than recent periods reflecting order timing, as we focused on bringing Xtract One Gateway to market and actively engaged in business development initiatives to build our pipeline for the remainder of fiscal 2025," stated Peter Evans, Chief Executive Officer of Xtract One. "We continue to win customers outside of our core sports and live entertainment markets, welcoming new clients in the Education, Healthcare, and Manufacturing sectors, which made up 67% of the total contract value of new bookings this quarter. Demand remains strong as evidenced by our growing sales pipeline, and we've been pleased with the initial response of our newly announced Xtract One Gateway, particularly in high-traffic facilities like schools, convention centers, and commercial properties where we offer a highly differentiated solution. We expect to see revenue accelerate as the year progresses and continue to make progress on our path to profitability." Financial Results for the Three Month Period Ended October 31, 2024 Consolidated revenue was $3.6 million for the three months ended October 31, 2024 as compared to $3.1 million for the same period last year, reflecting new business contract wins and a greater number of installations. Gross profit was $2.3 million, or a margin of 64%, in the fiscal 2025 first quarter versus $2.1 million, or 67% of sales, in the prior-year period. Comprehensive loss was $2.7 million for the three month period ended October 31, 2024 as compared to $2.7 million for the same period in fiscal 2024. This reflects higher revenue and gross profit, largely offset by an increase in operating expenses. This press release should be read in conjunction with the Company's Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Interim Financial Statements, prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS") and the Company's Management's Discussion and Analysis for the three month periods ended October 31, 2024 and 2023, which can be found on the Company's website and under the Company's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca . Conference Call Details Xtract One will host a conference call to discuss its results tomorrow, December 6, 2024 at 10:00 am EST. Peter Evans, Xtract One CEO and Director, and Karen Hersh, CFO and Corporate Secretary, will provide an overview of the interim financial results along with management's outlook for the business, followed by a question-and-answer period. The webcast and presentation will be accessible on the company's website. The webcast can be accessed here and the telephone number for the conference call is 844-481-3016 (412-317-1881 for international callers). About Xtract One Technologies Xtract One Technologies is a leading technology-driven threat detection and security solution leveraging AI to provide seamless and secure patron access control experiences. The Company makes unobtrusive threat detection systems that enable facility building operators to prioritize and deliver "Walk-right-In" experiences while providing unprecedented safety. Xtract One's innovative portfolio of AI-powered Gateway solutions excels at allowing facilities to discreetly screen and identify weapons and other threats at points of entry and exit without disrupting the flow of traffic. With solutions built to serve the unique market needs for schools, hospitals, arenas, stadiums, manufacturing, distribution, and other customers, Xtract One is recognized as a market leader delivering the highest security in combination with the best individual experience. For more information, visit www.xtractone.com or connect on Facebook , Twitter , and LinkedIn . For further information, please contact: Xtract One Inquiries: info@xtractone.com , http://www.xtractone.com Media Contact: Kristen Aikey, JMG Public Relations, 212-206-1645, kristen@jmgpr.com Investor Relations: Chris Witty, Darrow Associates, 646-438-9385, cwitty@darrowir.com 1 Supplementary Financial Measures: The Company utilizes specific supplementary financial measures in this earnings release to allow for a better evaluation of the operating performance of the Company's business and facilitates meaningful comparison of results in the current period with those in prior periods and future periods. Supplementary financial measures do not have any standardized meaning prescribed under IFRS and therefore may not be comparable to measures presented by other companies. Supplementary financial measures presented in this earnings release include ‘Agreements pending installation' and ‘Total contract value of new bookings.' Agreements pending installation reflects total value of signed contracts awarded to the Company that has not been installed at the customer site. ‘Total contract value of new bookings' is comprised of all new contracts signed and awarded to the Company, regardless of the performance obligations outstanding as of the end of the reporting period. Total contract value is the aggregate value of sales commitments from customers as at the end of the reporting period without consideration of the Company's completion of the associated performance obligations outlined in each contract. CAUTIONARY DISCLAIMER STATEMENT : This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements are often identified by terms such as "will", "may", "should", "anticipates", "expects", "believes", and similar expressions or the negative of these words or other comparable terminology. All statements other than statements of historical fact, included in this release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations include but are not limited to the risks detailed from time to time in the continuous disclosure filings made by the Company with securities regulations. The reader is cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of any forward-looking information may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted, as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and the Company will update or revise publicly any of the included forward-looking statements only as expressly required by applicable law. No securities exchange or commission has reviewed or accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Unaudited Interim Statements of Loss and Comprehensive Loss for the Three Months Ended October 31, 2024 and 2023 The following table is extracted from the Company's unaudited condensed consolidated interim financial statements and presented in Canadian dollars to demonstrate the Statements of Loss and Comprehensive loss for the three months ended October 31, 2024 and 2023: Three months ended October 31, 2024 2023 Revenue $ 3,627,837 $ 3,116,353 Cost of revenue 1,313,430 1,031,942 Gross profit $ 2,314,407 $ 2,084,411 Operating expenses Selling and marketing $ 1,663,159 $ 1,507,657 General and administration 1,864,192 1,647,816 Research and development 1,799,611 1,726,191 Total operating expenses $ 5,326,962 $ 4,881,664 Loss before the undernoted (3,012,555 ) (2,797,253 ) Other income Interest and other income 74,919 96,040 Net loss for the period $ (2,937,636 ) $ (2,701,213 ) Other comprehensive income for the period Currency translation differences for foreign operations 282,819 - Comprehensive loss for the period $ (2,654,817 ) $ (2,701,213 ) Weighted average number of shares 218,397,852 198,354,825 Basic and diluted loss per share $ (0.01 ) $ (0.01 ) Unaudited Interim Statements of Financial Position as at October 31, 2024 and July 31, 2024 The following table is extracted from the Company's unaudited condensed consolidated interim financial statements and presented in Canadian dollars to demonstrate the Company's financial position as at October 31, 2024 and July 31, 2024: October 31, 2024 July 31, 2024 Assets Current assets Cash and cash equivalents $ 6,119,805 $ 8,628,521 Receivables 3,693,439 3,862,199 Prepaid expenses and deposits 957,697 949,012 Current portion of deferred cost of revenue 371,299 371,309 Inventory 3,985,644 3,688,246 15,127,884 17,499,287 Property and equipment 2,154,875 2,135,956 Intangible assets 4,890,908 4,465,755 Non-current portion of deferred cost of revenue 405,027 496,868 Right of use assets 1,117,504 344,304 Total assets $ 23,696,198 $ 24,942,170 Liabilities Current liabilities Accounts payable and accrued liabilities $ 3,868,761 $ 3,991,292 Current portion of deferred revenue 3,987,315 3,443,524 Current portion of lease liability 171,312 190,400 8,027,388 7,625,216 Non-Current liabilities Non-current portion of deferred revenue 2,903,270 3,155,579 Non-current portion of lease liability 1,021,537 190,526 $ 11,952,195 $ 10,971,321 Shareholders' equity Share capital $ 144,379,881 $ 144,372,452 Contributed surplus 16,584,492 16,163,950 Accumulated deficit (149,503,189 ) (146,565,553 ) Accumulated other comprehensive income 282,819 - $ 11,744,003 $ 13,970,849 Total liabilities and shareholders' equity $ 23,696,198 $ 24,942,170 Unaudited Interim Statements of Cash Flows for the Three Months Ended October 31, 2024 and 2023 The following table is extracted from the Company's unaudited condensed consolidated interim financial statements and presented in Canadian dollars to demonstrate the Company's cash flows for the three month periods ended October 31, 2024 and 2023: Three months ended October 31, 2024 2023 Cash flow used in operating activities Loss for the period $ (2,937,636 ) $ (2,701,213 ) Adjustment for: Share-based compensation 423,225 276,416 Depreciation 347,318 286,845 Amortization 207,808 201,475 Finance cost 10,663 6,547 (1,948,622 ) (1,929,930 ) Changes in non-cash working capital Receivables 196,478 (774,373 ) Prepaid expenses and deposits (6,457 ) 498,348 Inventory (416,490 ) (680,192 ) Deferred cost of revenue 91,851 13,752 Accounts payable and accrued liabilities (130,246 ) (90,958 ) Deferred revenue 258,663 (32,146 ) Cash used in operating activities (1,954,823 ) (2,995,499 ) Cash flow used in investing activities Internally developed intangible assets (445,912 ) - Acquisition of right of use asset (5,028 ) - Cash used in investing activities (450,940 ) - Cash flow used in financing activities Proceeds on issue of share capital 4,745 53,587 Lease payments (78,920 ) (95,356 ) Cash used in financing activities (74,175 ) (41,769 ) Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents (28,778 ) - Net decrease in cash for the period $ (2,508,716 ) $ (3,037,268 ) Cash beginning of the period 8,628,521 8,327,449 Cash end of the period $ 6,119,805 $ 5,290,181 © 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

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Trudeau's comments on Kamala Harris 'not helpful,' premiers say, as Musk blasts PMThe 50-year-old will be officially handing the reins over to Thomas Tuchel in January after overseeing a largely positive UEFA Nations League campaign as Gareth Southgate 's immediate successor. Carsley masterminded five wins from his six matches in charge of the Three Lions, including the 5-0 demolition of the Republic of Ireland that confirmed England's promotion back to League A. The one blot on Carsley's England notebook was a 2-1 home loss to Greece in October, although Tuchel had already signed his contract two days before that, and Carsley is now set to return to managing the Under-21s. The Irishman's pleasing work in the Wembley chair has led to suggestions that he could step away from his FA role in favour of taking on a club position, having never had a permanent manager's job in the English Football League. © Imago However, The Sun claims that Carsley is happy to bide his time and wait for the England job to become available again when Tuchel's time comes to an end, which as things stand will be after the 2026 World Cup. The former Chelsea and Bayern Munich boss only signed an 18-month contract with the FA, and it remains to be seen whether a disappointing World Cup campaign in two years' time could extinguish his chances of an extension. Should Tuchel not stick around for any longer, the report claims that Carsley would be an 'automatic candidate' for the permanent position if he stays with the Under-21s rather than trying his hand at club management. As such, it will supposedly take an 'unbelievable offer' to tempt Carsley into the world of the EFL, and his friends have said that he feels he would be more well-equipped to take the reins permanently in 2026. Carsley led England's Under-21s to the European Championship title in 2023, and the 50-year-old handed debuts to no fewer than eight players in Lewis Hall , Noni Madueke , Morgan Gibbs-White , Angel Gomes , Tino Livramento , Taylor Harwood-Bellis , Morgan Rogers and Curtis Jones in the Nations League. © Imago Even though Carsley has never had a permanent job as a club manager, he has often stepped into a caretaker role when necessary, as was the case when Southgate vacated his position in the summer. The 50-year-old's first taste of the touchline came with Coventry City in 2013, where he won three of his five matches in charge before also overseeing 10 Brentford games in 2015, earning five victories. After managing Manchester City's Under-18s and Birmingham City's Under-21s, Carsley was caretaker boss of the latter's first team for three games in 2017, although one of those results was a heavy 6-1 defeat at Hull City. Tuchel will soon find out who his first England game will be against, as the draw for the UEFA World Cup 2026 qualifying cycle will be held on December 13.

The Vancouver Canucks return to a home schedule Friday on a high. Despite missing key players in Thatcher Demko , J.T. Miller and Filip Hronek , the team went 4-1-1 in six road games over the past two weeks. That’s an impressive run. But was it all just lucky? NEXT GAME Tuesday Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Vancouver Canucks 7 p.m., Rogers Arena , TV: ESP N Pacific, Radio: Sportsnet 650 If you look at some basic shot metrics, there’s a case for, yes, definitely. For instance, MoneyPuck.com has the Canucks being not just outshot over a 10-game average, but the quality of those shots tilt heavily toward their opposition. If you look purely at the public numbers, the Canucks have been, at best, playing coin-flip hockey. Sometimes you just get lucky — and you wouldn’t be wrong to claim that is all the Canucks have been of late. But there are caveats. The picture is not as clear as you might think. Let’s take a look at all the numbers and try to understand where the Canucks stand 24 games into the season. According to Natural Stat Trick, the Canucks’ defence has been the league’s stingiest so far, if you believe their expected goals model — they’ve yielded just 39.8 total this season. The Canucks are just incredibly tough to break down defensively because they command the slot very well. The numbers reflect this. Rick Tocchet ’s teams are known for being hard-edged defensively. Sure, there are moments of madness from the likes of Tyler Myers or Vincent Desharnais, for example, but zooming out to the big picture tells the truth: they’re just not giving up many good chances, night in, night out. Quinn Hughes is eating tons and tons of minutes. He’s playing great in those minutes, racking up point totals rarely seen from a blueliner. And that offensive production isn’t empty, either — it’s leading to utter two-way dominance. When Hughes in on the ice at five-on-five, the Canucks are giving up just 0.75 shot attempts per minute. That’s one of the best rates in the league. He’s 19:30 playing time at five-on-five per game. In other words, for a full third of the game every night, the ice tilted heavily toward the offensive end of the ice for the Canucks. That is a big factor in why they still look to be playing well overall, because they’re so rarely defending. As is well-documented by now, the Canucks have given up the first goal of the game a disturbing number of times. Out of the 24 games played so far by the Canucks, 14 times they have fallen behind first. They’ve ended the first period trailing 10 times. Five of those games they went on to win. That they have won half of the games where they were trailing after 20 stands out. Most teams lose most of their games if they are trailing after just one period. It’s just very difficult to do night after night. The Canucks need to start scoring first. What they’ve been doing so far is just not sustainable. The Canucks newly assembled first line is producing, and they are dominating play. The success that Jake DeBrusk, Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser are having is not a mirage. The Canucks are taking 63.6 per cent, nearly two-thirds, of the total shot attempts when this trio is on the ice. When your first line is dominating like this, that’s a winning formula. And playing at home, where you can control the matchups, means the Pettersson line stands an even better chance of dominating. Pettersson said Thursday it’s still a bit of a mystery to him why his team has struggled to play better at home — but it is difficult to fathom his line as they are playing right now, suddenly struggling because they’re now playing at home. If the Canucks’ performance at home is going to match the play on the road, it’s really going to come down to how he and Hughes play, above all else. pjohnston@postmedia.com