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By Keith Laing | Bloomberg California Governor Gavin Newsom is promising to step in with a state electric-car tax credit if US President-elect Donald Trump repeals a federal subsidy after he takes office next year. Newsom, a prominent Democrat and frequent critic of Republican politics, said in a statement Monday that he will propose rebooting a program California phased out in 2023 to provide EV buyers relief in lieu of a $7,500 tax credit targeted by Trump. Trump has long criticized President Joe Biden administration’s efforts to subsidize electric vehicles in a bid to boost adoption of cleaner cars. His transition team is now looking to slash fuel-efficiency requirements for new cars and light trucks as part of plans to unwind Biden policies the president-elect has blasted as an “EV mandate,” Bloomberg News reported last week. California clashed with Trump frequently on auto emission regulations during the incoming president’s first term, and the state’s leaders have made clear they are now girding for another fight. Newsom already has sought to shield the state’s policies on issues including reproductive rights, climate and immigration from potential threats under a Trump administration. California, as well as states including Oregon and Colorado, currently are exempt from rules that preempt them from enacting their own emissions standards for new vehicles. More than a dozen states representing more than a third of the US auto market now have formally opted to follow California’s rules. Trump in his first term targeted California’s right to set tougher gas mileage rules than the federal government. He is expected to make another attempt to roll back the California carve out under the 1970 Clean Air Act after taking office in January. Tesla said last week it’s reached a “conditional” settlement in its 2020 lawsuit accusing Irvine-based Rivian Automotive of poaching employees to steal electric-vehicle trade secrets. Tesla didn’t disclose specifics about the agreement in a court filing, but told a California state judge that it expects to seek dismissal of the case by Dec. 24 upon satisfactory completion of the terms. Rivian declined to comment. A lawyer for Tesla didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The dispute kicked off more than four years ago when Elon Musk’s electric-vehicle maker accused Rivian of an “alarming pattern” of poaching its employees and stealing trade secrets. Some workers were “caught red-handed” misappropriating core technology for its next-generation batteries, Tesla later said. Rivian has denied wrongdoing and criticized the lawsuit as an effort to suppress competition in the EV market. Rivian and a group of its employees who defected from Tesla lost bids to get the lawsuit thrown out and a trial was set for March. —Malathi Nayak at Bloomberg contributed to this report. Related Articles

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The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) announced that health insurance coverage in Nigeria increased by 40% over the past year, growing from 16.7 million to 19.2 million enrollees. This accomplishment, the agency noted, surpassed the presidential target for health insurance coverage in 2024. During an end-of-year briefing on Wednesday in Abuja, NHIA Director-General, Dr. Kelechi Ohiri, shared the agency’s progress and future plans, including a target to increase coverage by an additional 20% in 2025. “For nearly three decades, Nigeria’s health insurance coverage stagnated at just seven per cent, focusing primarily on formal sector employees while neglecting the vulnerable and informal sectors. With the passage of the National Health Insurance Act 2022, we are committed to ensuring financial protection for all Nigerians, particularly the poor and vulnerable,” Dr. Ohiri stated. He further explained that the health insurance coverage growth from 16.7 million to 19.2 million enrollees was made possible through collaboration with private insurers, State Health Insurance Agencies, and Health Maintenance Organisations. Dr. Ohiri acknowledged the challenges posed by Nigeria’s fragmented health insurance system, which includes 83 private insurers and 37 state health insurance agencies. Despite these challenges, he stressed the need to rebuild public trust, ensure regulatory compliance, and increase awareness to encourage more Nigerians to enrol in health insurance. “Trust is key. Nigerians must be confident that they will receive the promised care when they are insured,” he added. The NHIA has increased capitation rates by 60% and professional fees by 40% to align with rising medical costs while conducting actuarial studies to ensure that premiums reflect industry best practices. Looking ahead, Dr. Ohiri reaffirmed the agency’s goal of achieving a 20% increase in enrollment by utilising advanced technology to streamline operations. This includes expanding access to comprehensive emergency obstetric and newborn care services in over 100 facilities nationwide and collaborating with the National Pension Commission to provide health insurance for retirees. “Our vision is to create a system where every Nigerian has access to quality healthcare irrespective of socio-economic status,” Dr. Ohiri stated. “We are not just building a scheme; we are building an authority that redefines healthcare delivery in Nigeria. Every reform we implement revolves around the patient’s needs.”

NEW YORK (AP) — New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu underwent a procedure last week on her right thumb to stabilize the ulnar collateral ligament, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity Monday because they weren't authorized to speak publicly about it. The procedure was done Friday by Dr. Steven S. Shin. The Liberty star has begun rehab and is expected to return to on-court activities in about four weeks. Ionescu turned 27 on Friday and posted a picture on social media on Sunday sitting near flowers with a cast on her right, shooting hand. “Getting my thumb fixed was quite the bday present,” part of the caption read. ESPN was first to report the procedure. Ionescu sustained the injury during the WNBA Finals and it wasn't known she was hurt until after the Liberty won the title. She went 1 for 19 in the deciding Game 5 against Minnesota but found other ways to help the team win, with eight assists and seven rebounds. It has been a busy year for the former Oregon great. She got married, helped New York win its first WNBA championship and earned an Olympic gold medal. AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball

First dog-friendly cruise scheduled for 2025. Organizers hope it turns into a recurring event.

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Facepalm: Microsoft introduced the Windows Insider testing program as a way to improve the platform by collecting distributed feedback. Since 2014, millions of Insiders have been "testing" new Windows features. Yet, despite their input, every major upgrade still brings fresh headaches and compatibility issues to the operating system. Microsoft has acknowledged yet another issue in Windows 11, version 24H2. According to the company's official dashboard for known issues, some Ubisoft games are experiencing significant problems after users install the latest Windows update. The affected titles may become unresponsive or even display a "black screen" before crashing. The impacted games include Assassin's Creed Valhalla, Assassin's Creed Origins, Assassin's Creed Odyssey, Star Wars Outlaws, and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora. Ubisoft has released a temporary fix for Star Wars Outlaws, but the patch may introduce additional performance issues. Microsoft has yet to explain why so many Ubisoft games are encountering these problems. To prevent further disruption, Microsoft has blocked the installation of Windows 11 24H2 on systems with the affected games. The company is advising users to avoid manually upgrading their systems until the issue is resolved. Meanwhile, Microsoft and Ubisoft are collaborating to develop a permanent fix. Frustrated users have taken to social media to voice their dissatisfaction with both Ubisoft and the "very, very broken" 24H2 release of Windows 11. Gamers have been grappling with these issues for weeks, attempting to troubleshoot on their own by checking the Uplay launcher, updating GPU drivers, installing Visual C++ Redistributable packages, and trying various other fixes. Despite the efforts, nothing has worked. Understandably, users who recently purchased brand-new gaming systems or hardware components are particularly frustrated. For now, Microsoft has only suggested a few "workarounds" for unresponsive games, such as forcibly closing the application through task manager. Another (unofficial) option is downgrading the operating system to version 23H2, though some users report experiencing game crashes on that version as well. Beyond gaming-related problems, Windows 11 24H2 is displaying broader instability and incompatibility issues with various hardware and software. Shortly after the upgrade began rolling out last month, owners of WD SSDs reported bugs and BSOD crashes caused by poorly managed I/O caching operations. The Windows Insider program, which aims to transform "technically able" users into effective OS beta testers, appears to be struggling to meet its goals at this point.KP IGP bars police from politics