kijiji muskoka

Free tax filing with IRS Direct File: What you need to knowNEW YORK (AP) — Brian Thompson led one of the biggest health insurers in the U.S. but was unknown to millions of people his decisions affected. Then Wednesday's targeted fatal shooting of the UnitedHealthcare CEO on a midtown Manhattan sidewalk thrust the executive and his business into the national spotlight. Thompson, who was 50, had worked at the giant UnitedHealth Group Inc for 20 years and run the insurance arm since 2021 after running its Medicare and retirement business. As CEO, Thompson led a firm that provides health coverage to more than 49 million Americans — more than the population of Spain. United is the largest provider of Medicare Advantage plans, the privately run versions of the U.S. government’s Medicare program for people age 65 and older. The company also sells individual insurance and administers health-insurance coverage for thousands of employers and state-and federally funded Medicaid programs. The business run by Thompson brought in $281 billion in revenue last year, making it the largest subsidiary of the Minnetonka, Minnesota-based UnitedHealth Group. His $10.2 million annual pay package, including salary, bonus and stock options awards, made him one of the company's highest-paid executives. The University of Iowa graduate began his career as a certified public accountant at PwC and had little name recognition beyond the health care industry. Even to investors who own its stock, the parent company's face belonged to CEO Andrew Witty, a knighted British triathlete who has testified before Congress. When Thompson did occasionally draw attention, it was because of his role in shaping the way Americans get health care. At an investor meeting last year, he outlined his company's shift to “value-based care,” paying doctors and other caregivers to keep patients healthy rather than focusing on treating them once sick. “Health care should be easier for people,” Thompson said at the time. “We are cognizant of the challenges. But navigating a future through value-based care unlocks a situation where the ... family doesn’t have to make the decisions on their own.” Thompson also drew attention in 2021 when the insurer, like its competitors, was widely criticized for a plan to start denying payment for what it deemed non-critical visits to hospital emergency rooms. “Patients are not medical experts and should not be expected to self-diagnose during what they believe is a medical emergency,” the chief executive of the American Hospital Association wrote in an open letter addressed to Thompson. “Threatening patients with a financial penalty for making the wrong decision could have a chilling effect on seeking emergency care.” United Healthcare responded by delaying rollout of the change. Thompson, who lived in a Minneapolis suburb and was the married father of two sons in high school, was set to speak at an investor meeting in a midtown New York hotel. He was on his own and about to enter the building when he was shot in the back by a masked assailant who fled on foot before pedaling an e-bike into Central Park a few blocks away, the New York Police Department said. Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said investigators were looking at Thompson's social media accounts and interviewing employees and family members. “Didn’t seem like he had any issues at all,” Kenny said. "He did not have a security detail.” AP reporters Michael R. Sisak and Steve Karnowski contributed to this report. Murphy reported from Indianapolis.

Three Lincoln County sheriff's deputies will be sworn in Monday morning during the Lincoln County commissioners weekly meeting. Those being sworn in are Dwayne Wilson, Wesley Throckmorton and Nathaniel Hutton. The regular weekly meeting will be at 9 a.m. at the Lincoln County Courthouse, 301 N. Jeffers St. in North Platte. The meeting can be watched at youtube.com/channel/UCHdGjLPMx3O-wSu3T3aMWlg . American Rescue Plan Act funds return to the commissioners agenda, with commissioners discussing what local nonprofits still have remaining balances and will consider authorizing the County Attorney’s office to send a letter to the Episcopal Church in regards to their unspent funds. Also returning to the agenda is the consideration of bids for four pickup trucks for the Sheriff's Office. The board had previously reviewed two bids from Bill Summers Ford, but took no action. Three reappointments to the Lincoln County Safety Committee are on the agenda. The board will consider the reappointment of Todd Herndon to a three-year term as the management representative to the committee and the reappointments of Penny Ball and Tammy White to two-year terms as employee representatives. Commissioners will consider the approval of the five-year Lincoln County Comprehensive Youth Service plan for years 2025-30 as well as the approval of the Lincoln County Community based Juvenile Services Aid grant. A resolution to establish and declare the intent of Lincoln County in regards to the International Port of the Plains, located in Hershey at 18610 U.S. Highway 30, will also be considered by the board. Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.Several beloved shows characters like Elmo are at the risk of being killed amidst plans of billionaire Elon Musk and tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy to reduce government waste out of the federal government. After his presidential win, Trump appointed Musk and Ramaswamy to co-lead the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The duo promised to conduct a thorough audit of the federal government and identify areas where taxpayer dollars might be saved. According to the New York Times, executives of the largest National Public Radio (NPR) radio stations released an analysis alerting the public broadcasting giants against potential future risks to their government financing. “While it's impossible to know what precisely will happen, it would be unwise to assume that events will play out as they have in the past,” the report stated, as per Daily Mail. In 2024, Congress allocated $535 million for public broadcasting. However, its finances would soon be depleted with DOGE taking over in January. According to both Ramaswamy and Musk, public media spending is one of the federal expenses that needs to be slashed. Critics, as per Daily Mail, would accuse anyone who tried to stop public broadcasting of trying to kill or terminate beloved characters like Sesame Street's Elmo. Also Read: Elon Musk's DOGE bombarded with insider tips on government waste. Here's what they revealed Here's what Musk and Ramaswamy have said Democrats were outraged when Mitt Romney , a former unsuccessful presidential candidate, announced during a debate that he would cut public television. In a 2012 debate with PBS moderator Jim Lehrer, Romney declared that he is going to cease giving PBS subsidies. “I like PBS, I like Big Bird, I actually like you too.” Musk has already made it clear that he opposes federal support for public media, especially for NPR, which has come under increasing fire for its left-leaning viewpoint. “Should your tax dollars really be paying for an organization run by people who think the truth is a ‘distraction’?” Musk posted on X. In a comparable manner, Ramaswamy condemned NPR for “functioning as state-funded media.” He released a video in August alleging that the group ignored journalists who tried to attain political equilibrium. “Let's turn off the spigot & see what happens. No one will be harmed,” he tweeted.

Thane Cyber Fraud: 54-Year-Old Woman Duped Of ₹12 Lakh In Digital Arrest Scam After Fake Police Call; Case RegisteredCALHOUN COUNTY, Ga. and FORT WAYNE, Ind. , Dec. 6, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Calhoun County E911 has achieved a significant milestone in November as the first in the United States to implement Ryzyliant's revolutionary EDGETM platform, seamlessly integrated with INdigital's Next Generation Core Services (NGCS). This partnership marks a leap forward in delivering agile, reliable, and community-focused emergency response capabilities. This deployment is a groundbreaking achievement for Calhoun County , one of Georgia's smaller Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) with two positions. It is also INdigital's third live NGCS customer in Georgia , underscoring the company's growing presence and commitment to advancing public safety infrastructure across the state. As the NGCS provider for Calhoun County , INdigital ensured the seamless delivery of 911 calls and integrated Ryzyliant's EDGETM platform into the Emergency Services IP Network (ESInet). This integration, combined with Ryzyliant's hybrid cloud-hosted solution with local survivability, provides unmatched resilience, efficiency, and security. Ryzyliant's EDGETM platform simplifies emergency call handling with integrated features such as NG9-1-1 call taking, mapping, and computer-aided dispatch (CAD). Powered by INdigital's reliable NGCS circuits, the system ensures rapid response times and full compliance with evolving NG9-1-1 standards. "This partnership represents the future of public safety technology," said Eric Hartman , Vice President of INdigital. "By combining INdigital's robust NGCS infrastructure with Ryzyliant's cutting-edge EDGE platform, we're ensuring that every 911 call is delivered and answered with precision, no matter the circumstances." INdigital's local backup capabilities and proven expertise in NGCS projects were instrumental in this deployment. The company also provided database services and implemented Texty, enabling text-to-911 functionality for the county. These services ensure that Calhoun County E911 is prepared to respond to the community's needs with the most reliable tools available. "Delivering 9-1-1 calls is INdigital's mission, and with Ryzyliant's innovative platform, Calhoun County now has the tools to handle and respond to calls seamlessly," said Caleb Branch , Vice President of Market Management at INdigital. "This collaboration exemplifies our shared commitment to enhancing public safety operations nationwide." The successful implementation in Calhoun County highlights the synergy between INdigital and Ryzyliant, setting a new standard for NG9-1-1 solutions. As public safety agencies across the country transition to next-generation systems, this collaboration demonstrates how advanced technology and reliable infrastructure can work hand in hand to serve communities effectively. About INdigital INdigital specializes in delivering Next Generation 9-1-1 services, focusing on agile, reliable, and resilient core services tailored to individual PSAP needs. With a mission to ensure every 9-1-1 call is delivered, INdigital partners with agencies nationwide to support their unique public safety requirements. View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/calhoun-county-e911-becomes-first-to-launch-ryzyliants-solution-with-indigital-ngcs-support-302325294.html SOURCE INdigital

NEW YORK — The Jets (3-9) have suffered from a horrific season, but the hits keep coming. On Friday afternoon, Jets interim coach Jeff Ulbrich announced linebacker C.J. Mosley will be placed on injured reserve after being out the previous four weeks because of a herniated disk in his neck. With five games remaining, Mosley’s time with the Jets could be over. “A hard decision by a very (prideful) player, amazing player and leader,” Ulbrich said on Friday afternoon. “It was not an easy decision for him, but it is the best decision in our organization.” Mosley, 32, has been absent since the Jets’ Week 8 loss to the Patriots. The veteran linebacker injured his neck during pregame warmups ahead of the game and hasn’t played since. Before that, Mosley injured his big toe in Week 2 against the Titans and missed three games. With a new regime set to come in after coach Robert Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas were fired during the season, Mosley’s time with the organization is likely over. He is under contract next year but has a $12.8 million cap number. If the Jets release Mosley with a June 1 designation, they would save $4 million. In 2019, Mosley signed a five-year, $85 million deal with the Jets. However, he only played in two games that season due to a groin injury. He missed the entire 2020 season after opting out because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since 2021, Mosley has been the Jets’ defensive leader. He has registered 495 tackles and 3.5 sacks during that span. He was also a 2022 second-team All-Pro and a 2022 Pro Bowler during that time. In addition to Mosley being out against the Dolphins, cornerback Sauce Gardner (hamstring) and running back Breece Hall (knee) are doubtful to play. Ulbrich told reporters that right tackle Morgan Moses (knee, shoulder) and right guard Alijah Vera-Tucker (ankle) are “trending in the right direction.” Hall’s injury dates back to the Jets’ loss to the Colts in Week 11 after a hyperextension of his knee, which according to Ulbrich, was “not feeling right.” Gardner injured his hamstring against the Seahawks during the second half. With Hall likely not able to play Sunday, rookies Braelon Allen and Isaiah Davis will likely receive more carries against Miami. “Two rookies and Kene [Nwangwu], all three,” Ulbrich said about his running back unit against the Dolphins. “So, we hate to overuse a word, but we are fortunate in that way from the running back depth minus Breece, who from my opinion is one of the best running backs in this league. “We still have one of the best running back rooms in the NFL without him.” Thomas nominated for Payton award All 32 teams announced their nominees for this year’s Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award on Thursday. For the third consecutive season, defensive tackle Solomon Thomas was the Jets’ nominee. The award will be handed out during the NFL Honors ceremony on Feb. 6 in New Orleans. “It’s a huge honor,” Thomas said on Thursday. “I think it’s one of the highest honors in the league and the highest honor from the team and your community for the work that you do, it means the world. I truly believe we are here to make a difference and influence other people and make an impact. “I think as NFL players and professional athletes, we have a platform that’s given to us like no other. We have to use this platform to take advantage of it. It is something that has been instilled in me from my peers, my veterans in my family, my loved ones, and my girlfriend. To take advantage of that and be recognized for it, it means the world. You never do it for the recognition, you never do it for the award, you do it to impact and to change lives. But to be recognized means a lot.” Thomas is a co-founder of The Defensive Line, which is dedicated to his sister, Ella Elizabeth Thomas, who died by suicide at 24 years old. The mission of Thomas’ charity is to end youth suicide and raise awareness about mental health. In addition, Thomas works with organizations such as the Clinton Global Initiative, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and the Crisis Text Line. Last month, Thomas partnered with the Interfaith Food Pantry Network to host a Thanksgiving event supporting needy families. He helped provide 5,600 meals to Morris County residents in New Jersey facing hunger. Thomas also donated $8,000 to the Interfaith Food Network. “I really just wish the NFL would let all 32 guys win. Every individual does a different job and it is amazing. All of these guys impact the community in a tremendous way. They give back in a tremendous way whether it’s money donations, time, their foundations, just their effort putting a smile on people’s faces, giving people hope, there’s so many guys that make a big difference. I wish every guy can come out winning because they all deserve a trophy and they all deserve to win.” Nwangwu wins special teams honor In his first game with the Jets, Kene Nwangwu was honored after his terrific play against the Seahawks. Nwangwu was named the AFC Special Teams Player of the Week for Week 13. After being called up from the practice squad Saturday and signed to the active roster Monday, Nwangwu registered a 99-yard kick-return touchdown and forced a fumble during the Jets’ 26-21 loss to the Seahawks. “It felt good making a play,” Nwangwu said. “Getting that award, I think they usually give it out to for explosive plays and consistent plays, so that felt good.” The Vikings initially selected Nwangwu out of Iowa State in the fourth round in 2021. He led the league with two return touchdowns as a rookie. Nwangwu’s four return touchdowns are the second most among active NFL players. The Vikings waived Nwangwu last August and he was signed to the Jets practice squad in September after failing a physical with the Saints. “Guy shows up and does everything that we ask him to do, he has a smile on his face all the time,” Jets special teams coach Brant Boyer said about Nwangwu. “When a veteran player is put on the practice squad like that, I think that’s a really good lesson for, and I told the guys this, that I think it’s a really good lesson for any young player, or any veteran player for that matter. The guy did nothing but keep his head down, and keep working, and good things happen to people like that, and you know, he wasn’t over there sulking about his lack of playing time, he wasn’t sulking about not being on the active roster, he was working his butt off, and then when you get your opportunity, you make the most of it. And he certainly did, and that’s a credit to the kid and the way he prepares, and we’re happy to have him for sure.” ©2024 New York Daily News. Visit nydailynews.com . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.BEIRUT: Israel and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah are set to implement a ceasefire on Wednesday (Nov 27) as part of a United States-proposed deal for a 60-day truce to end more than a year of hostilities. The text of the deal has not been published and Reuters has not seen a draft. Israel's security cabinet has approved the deal and it will be put to the whole cabinet for review. Lebanon and Hezbollah have agreed to the proposal and the Lebanese cabinet will meet on Wednesday to formalise its approval. The deal, negotiated by US mediator Amos Hochstein, is five pages long and includes 13 sections, according to a senior Lebanese political source with direct knowledge of the deal. Here is a summary of its key provisions. HALT TO HOSTILITIES The halt to hostilities is set to begin 12 hours after an anticipated announcement on Tuesday night, with both sides expected to cease fire by Wednesday morning, two senior Lebanese political sources with direct knowledge of the deal said. One of them said Israel was expected to "stop carrying out any military operations against Lebanese territory, including against civilian and military targets, and Lebanese state institutions, through land, sea and air". All armed groups in Lebanon - meaning Hezbollah and its allies - would halt operations against Israel, the source said. ISRAELI TROOPS WITHDRAW Two Israeli officials said the Israeli military would withdraw from southern Lebanon within 60 days. Lebanon had earlier pushed for Israeli troops to withdraw as quickly as possible within the truce period, Lebanese officials told Reuters. They now expect Israeli troops to withdraw within the first month, the senior Lebanese political source said. HEZBOLLAH PULLS NORTH, LEBANESE ARMY DEPLOYS Hezbollah fighters will leave their positions in southern Lebanon to move north of the Litani River, which runs about 30km north of the border with Israel. Their withdrawal will not be public, the senior Lebanese political source said. He said the group's military facilities "will be dismantled" but it was not immediately clear whether the group would take them apart itself, or whether the fighters would take their weapons with them as they withdrew. The Lebanese army would deploy troops to south of the Litani to have around 5,000 soldiers there, including at 33 posts along the border with Israel, a Lebanese security source told Reuters. "The deployment is the first challenge - then how to deal with the locals that want to return home", given the risks of unexploded ordnance, the source said. More than 1.2 million people have been displaced by Israeli strikes in Lebanon, many of them from south Lebanon. Hezbollah sees the return of the displaced to their homes as a priority, Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah told Reuters. Tens of thousands displaced from northern Israel are also expected to return home. MONITORING MECHANISM One of the sticking points in the final days leading to the ceasefire's conclusion was how it would be monitored, Lebanon's deputy speaker of parliament Elias Bou Saab told Reuters. A pre-existing tripartite mechanism between the United Nations peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon (UNIFIL), the Lebanese army and the Israeli army would be expanded to include the US and France, with the US chairing the group, Bou Saab said. Israel would be expected to flag possible breaches to the monitoring mechanism, and France and the US together would determine whether a violation had taken place, an Israeli official and a Western diplomat told Reuters. UNILATERAL ISRAELI STRIKES Israeli officials have insisted that the Israeli army would continue to strike Hezbollah if it identified threats to its security, including transfers of weapons and military equipment to the group. An Israeli official told Reuters that US envoy Amos Hochstein, who negotiated the agreement, had given assurances directly to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel could carry out such strikes on Lebanon. Netanyahu said in a televised address after the security cabinet met that Israel would strike Hezbollah if it violated the deal. The official said Israel would use drones to monitor movements on the ground in Lebanon. Lebanese officials say that provision is not in the deal that it agreed, and that it would oppose any violations of its sovereignty.Beneficiaries of the incoming administration’s looser regulation and business-friendly stance put forth strong showings this week. Stocks gained while Bitcoin crushed doubters and the dollar extended gains into an eighth week, the currency’s longest run of the year. Blue chips and small caps led Friday’s equities advance as this year’s big tech winners struggled to gain ground. The S&P 500 rose 0.3% while an equal-weighted version of the gauge — where Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. has the same influence as Nvidia Corp. — climbed 0.8%, on track for an all-time closing high. Listen and follow The Big Take daily podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1% while an index of bank stocks climbed to the highest in more than two years, the Russell 2000 jumped 1.8%. The small-cap index jumped 4.5% for the week while the biggest technology stocks, like Nvidia, Alphabet Inc. and Facebook-parent company Meta Platforms Inc., lagged. Fundstrat’s Thomas Lee sees room for more gains in small-caps and cyclicals given President-elect’s plans for deregulation and general “animal spirits.” He also sees a “Trump put” keeping the broader market buoyant. That faith that the head of the US government won’t let the economy falter is helping bolster stocks, at least for the moment. “When sentiment reaches a ‘bullish extreme’ is when we see equities priced to ‘perfection,’” according to Lee. “By several measures, we are not there at that point yet.” To Bank of America Corp. strategists the Nasdaq 100, which has rallied more than 4% this month, is approaching a level versus the S&P 500 that could trigger the unwinding of the trade favoring US equities. The tech-heavy gauge ended Friday up 0.2% with a 1.9% weekly gain. Meanwhile, data on Friday showed S&P Global flash November composite output index for service providers and manufacturers advanced to 55.3 — the highest level since April 2022. The yield on the 10-year Treasury dropped around one basis point to 4.42%. “The US flash PMIs for November were bullish in aggregate thanks to strength in services,” according to Vital Knowledge’s Adam Crisafulli, who said the details suggested a goldilocks scenario, “with favorable growth developments and cooling price pressures.” The dollar registered its longest streak of weekly wins since September 2023. A Bloomberg gauge of the currency’s strength has risen around 2.6% so far this month, adding to October’s gains of nearly 3%. “The US dollar’s run can continue,” said Peter McLean, head of multi-asset portfolio solutions at Stonehage Fleming. “We also have those geopolitical tensions, which are escalating at the moment. It’s natural for investors to seek refuge in the dollar.” Bouts of volatility, driven by escalations in the war in Ukraine earlier in the week, eased Friday. The ongoing conflict helped to push WTI crude above $71 a barrel while gold traded at over $2,700 an ounce, and had its best week since March 2023. The rally in Bitcoin set a fresh high Friday as the world’s biggest cryptocurrency races toward $100,000. The latest developments included Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler’s decision to step down in January. His tenure was marked by a flurry of crypto enforcement actions, which the industry expects will peter out under Trump. In Europe, S&P Global’s composite Purchasing Managers’ Index for the euro area dipped back beneath a level that indicates contraction in November. The region’s sovereign bonds rallied while the euro dropped to a two-year low. Asian equities are on pace for their first back-to-back monthly losses this year amid dollar strength and lingering concerns over the Chinese economy. Still, the region’s more favorable valuations versus the US market are aiding recovery in some assets. Elsewhere in Asia, Adani Group companies advanced after a $27 billion rout on Thursday following a US indictment against Gautam Adani over allegations of bribery. The company denied the allegations. Corporate Highlights: Some of the main moves in markets: Stocks Currencies Cryptocurrencies Bonds Commodities This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation. With assistance from Margaryta Kirakosian, Andre Janse van Vuuren and Sujata Rao. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.

ALTOONA, Pa. — After UnitedHealthcare’s CEO was gunned down on a New York sidewalk, police searched for the masked gunman with dogs, drones and scuba divers. Officers used the city's muscular surveillance system. Investigators analyzed DNA samples, fingerprints and internet addresses. Police went door-to-door looking for witnesses. When an arrest came five days later, those sprawling investigative efforts shared credit with an alert civilian's instincts. A Pennsylvania McDonald's customer noticed another patron who resembled the man in the oblique security-camera photos that New York police had publicized. Deputy Commissioner of Operations Kaz Daughtry speaks during a press conference regarding the arrest of suspect Luigi Mangione, Monday, Dec. 9, 2024, in Hollidaysburg, Pa., in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey) Luigi Nicholas Mangione, a 26-year-old Ivy League graduate from a prominent Maryland real estate family, was arrested Monday in the killing of Brian Thompson, who headed one of the United States’ largest medical insurance companies. He remained jailed in Pennsylvania, where he was initially charged with possession of an unlicensed firearm, forgery and providing false identification to police. By late evening, prosecutors in Manhattan had added a charge of murder, according to an online court docket. He's expected to be extradited to New York eventually. It’s unclear whether Mangione has an attorney who can comment on the allegations. Asked at Monday's arraignment whether he needed a public defender, Mangione asked whether he could “answer that at a future date.” Mangione was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, after the McDonald's customer recognized him and notified an employee, authorities said. Police in Altoona, about 233 miles (375 kilometers) west of New York City, were soon summoned. This booking photo released Monday, Dec. 9, 2024, by the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections shows Luigi Mangione, a suspect in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. (Pennsylvania Department of Corrections via AP) They arrived to find Mangione sitting at a table in the back of the restaurant, wearing a blue medical mask and looking at a laptop, according to a Pennsylvania police criminal complaint. He initially gave them a fake ID, but when an officer asked Mangione whether he’d been to New York recently, he “became quiet and started to shake,” the complaint says. When he pulled his mask down at officers' request, “we knew that was our guy,” rookie Officer Tyler Frye said at a news conference in Hollidaysburg. New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a Manhattan news conference that Mangione was carrying a gun like the one used to kill Thompson and the same fake ID the shooter had used to check into a New York hostel, along with a passport and other fraudulent IDs. NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said Mangione also had a three-page, handwritten document that shows “some ill will toward corporate America." An NYPD police officer and K-9 dog search around a lake in Central Park, Monday, Dec. 9, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura) A law enforcement official who wasn’t authorized to discuss the investigation publicly and spoke with The Associated Press on condition of anonymity said the document included a line in which Mangione claimed to have acted alone. “To the Feds, I’ll keep this short, because I do respect what you do for our country. To save you a lengthy investigation, I state plainly that I wasn’t working with anyone,” the document said, according to the official. It also had a line that said, “I do apologize for any strife or traumas but it had to be done. Frankly, these parasites simply had it coming.” Pennsylvania prosecutor Peter Weeks said in court that Mangione was found with a passport and $10,000 in cash — $2,000 of it in foreign currency. Mangione disputed the amount. Thompson, 50, was killed last Wednesday as he walked alone to a midtown Manhattan hotel for an investor conference. Police quickly came to see the shooting as a targeted attack by a gunman who appeared to wait for Thompson, came up behind him and fired a 9 mm pistol. Investigators have said “delay,” “deny” and “depose” were written on ammunition found near Thompson’s body. The words mimic a phrase used to criticize the insurance industry. A poster issued by the Federal Bureau of Investigation shows a wanted unknown suspect. (FBI via AP) From surveillance video, New York investigators gathered that the shooter fled by bike into Central Park, emerged, then took a taxi to a northern Manhattan bus terminal. Once in Pennsylvania, he went from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, “trying to stay low-profile” by avoiding cameras, Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens said. A grandson of a wealthy, self-made real estate developer and philanthropist, Mangione is a cousin of a current Maryland state legislator. Mangione was valedictorian at his elite Baltimore prep school, where his 2016 graduation speech lauded his classmates’ “incredible courage to explore the unknown and try new things.” He went on to earn undergraduate and graduate degrees in computer science in 2020 from the University of Pennsylvania, a spokesperson said. “Our family is shocked and devastated by Luigi’s arrest,” Mangione’s family said in a statement posted on social media late Monday by his cousin, Maryland lawmaker Nino Mangione. “We offer our prayers to the family of Brian Thompson and we ask people to pray for all involved.” An NYPD police officer and K-9 dog search around a lake in Central Park, Monday, Dec. 9, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura) Luigi Nicholas Mangione worked for a time for the car-buying website TrueCar and left in 2023, CEO Jantoon Reigersman said by email. From January to June 2022, Mangione lived at Surfbreak, a “co-living” space at the edge of Honolulu tourist mecca Waikiki. Like other residents of the shared penthouse catering to remote workers, Mangione underwent a background check, said Josiah Ryan, a spokesperson for owner and founder R.J. Martin. “Luigi was just widely considered to be a great guy. There were no complaints,” Ryan said. "There was no sign that might point to these alleged crimes they’re saying he committed.” At Surfbreak, Martin learned Mangione had severe back pain from childhood that interfered with many aspects of his life, from surfing to romance, Ryan said. “He went surfing with R.J. once but it didn’t work out because of his back," Ryan said, but noted that Mangione and Martin often went together to a rock-climbing gym. NYPD officers in diving suits search a lake in Central Park, Monday, Dec. 9, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura) Mangione left Surfbreak to get surgery on the mainland, Ryan said, then later returned to Honolulu and rented an apartment. Martin stopped hearing from Mangione six months to a year ago. Although the gunman obscured his face during the shooting, he left a trail of evidence in New York, including a backpack he ditched in Central Park, a cellphone found in a pedestrian plaza, a water bottle and a protein bar wrapper. In the days after the shooting, the NYPD collected hundreds of hours of surveillance video and released multiple clips and still images in hopes of enlisting the public’s eyes to help find a suspect. “This combination of old-school detective work and new-age technology is what led to this result today,” Tisch said at the New York news conference. ___ Scolforo reported from Altoona and Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania. Contributing were Associated Press writers Cedar Attanasio and Jennifer Peltz in New York; Michael Rubinkam and Maryclaire Dale in Pennsylvania; Lea Skene in Baltimore and Jennifer Sinco Kelleher in Honolulu. Get local news delivered to your inbox!There is a fierce debate in the United States and among its allies about the impacts of export controls, and nowhere is that debate more heated than in the semiconductor equipment manufacturing industry. Too often, however, this debate occurs without any grounding in real-world data or relevant historical Chinese policy context. This paper seeks to provide some of that grounding through a combination of Chinese policy document analysis and new financial and market share data for leading semiconductor equipment firms in China, the United States, Japan, and the Netherlands. What follows are a set of 10 key judgments based on the author’s analysis. 1. China’s ambitions for eliminating dependence on foreign semiconductor manufacturing equipment started long before America’s expanded usage of technology export controls. The first and most important argument among critics of U.S. export controls is that they weaken U.S. technology leadership by incentivizing China to eliminate U.S. technology from its semiconductor supply chain. However, reducing dependence on foreign semiconductor and semiconductor manufacturing equipment suppliers was official Chinese policy before the Trump administration’s April 2018 export controls restricting sales of U.S.-designed chips to ZTE, a Chinese telecommunications firm, launched the new era of semiconductor export controls. “ The Roadmap of Major Technical Domains for Made in China 2025 ,” which was published in September 2015 and covered semiconductors and other sectors, included goals such as “replacement of imports with Chinese-made products basically achieved in key industries” by 2025. It set specific targets and deadlines for the degree of market share that Chinese companies were supposed to reach and by what date. Targets for the semiconductor manufacturing equipment sector include the following: As the Made in China 2025 technical document roadmap stated , “meeting domestic market demand, improving the self-sufficiency rate of integrated circuit products, meeting national security needs, and occupying the strategic product market have always been the greatest demand and driving force for the development of the integrated circuit industry.” Even earlier policies, though less well resourced, sought to dramatically reduce use of foreign semiconductors and semiconductor manufacturing equipment. For example, the 2006 “Medium Long Range Plan for the Development of Science and Technology” explicitly called for self-sufficiency in semiconductor technologies and initiated so-called “mega projects” to drive toward that goal. For more than a decade, China’s government has provided lavish subsidies in the form of tax breaks, free land, government grants, and equity infusions to a number of Chinese semiconductor equipment companies. Naura, one of China’s leading domestic semiconductor manufacturing equipment companies received $1.3 billion in state support in 2021, even before the imposition of the Biden administration’s export controls. AMEC, another leading Chinese semiconductor equipment company, received a similar equity investment from the “Big Fund” in 2015. Simply put, China’s goal of semiconductor equipment industry localization and robust policy support predated any modern effort to impose meaningful export controls on China’s chip fabrication capabilities. 2. There is not a simple relationship between export controls and China’s rate of technological progress. China’s greatest progress came in sectors with no export controls. A September 2024 analysis by Bernstein Research , an equity research firm, included a review of China’s semiconductor self-sufficiency goals from the 2015 roadmap and found that “China has made impressive progress and likely will beat the ‘Made in China 2025’ targets for integrated circuit (IC) Design and Manufacturing, but may miss the goals for IC equipment and Materials.” As the Bernstein analysis shows, the rate of China’s progress toward self-sufficiency is best predicted by the market and technological complexities of each semiconductor market segment, not by the extent to which export controls were applied. It is certainly not the case that the segments in which China has made the most progress—or even devoted the most resources—are the areas in which the United States has applied export controls most forcefully. That there is not a simple relationship between export controls and China’s technological progress should be obvious given that China has made rapid progress in other technological domains—such as solar cells and electric vehicles (EVs)—where the United States applied no export controls and in some cases actively supported the rise of a Chinese supply chain. The United States applied no export controls in the case of the equipment used to manufacture silicon solar cells, yet today China dominates both production of solar cells and production of the equipment used to make them. This equipment is in many ways similar to (though less sophisticated than) the equipment used to make and process silicon wafers for semiconductors. In fact, one Chinese company, Naura, is a domestic leader in both manufacturing equipment for both solar cells and semiconductors. The biggest difference in Chinese outcomes between those two industries is not the presence or absence of export controls but the far greater technological complexity of producing semiconductor manufacturing equipment. The EV maker Tesla made a major push into Chinese manufacturing in late 2018, launching deep partnerships with many local Chinese suppliers, such as battery-maker CATL. As a November 2024 commentary in a major Chinese state-run newspaper stated : "Tesla’s rapid growth in sales, fueled by its technological and branding advantages and backed by China’s massive consumer market, has driven the rapid development of upstream and downstream supply chains. Today, the localization rate of parts for Tesla’s Shanghai Gigafactory exceeds 95%, with more than 60 suppliers integrated into Tesla’s global supply chain." The Chinese EV supply chain, which Tesla helped dramatically increase in both scale and technological sophistication, is now also supplying Tesla’s competitors . Defections of Tesla-trained skilled employees are also a challenge. An April 2024 New York Times report claimed that most of Tesla’s early Chinese employees now work at competing Chinese firms. In a January Tesla earnings call, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said “The Chinese car companies are the most competitive car companies in the world. . . . Frankly, I think if there are not trade barriers established, they will pretty much demolish most other companies in the world.” The point here is not to suggest with unwarranted certainty that export controls would have definitively prevented China’s rise in the solar and EV industries. Rather, it is to caution the reader against relying too heavily on cursory anecdotal evidence to reach conclusions about when export controls do or do not work and what the counterfactual outcome would have been if export controls were or were not applied. Much depends upon the state of the global market landscape, the complexity of the controlled technology, the current technological sophistication of the targeted country, the design of the export control regulations, and the robustness of the controls’ implementation and enforcement. Only a detailed analysis can hope to reach anything approaching insight. 3. Semiconductor export controls—as implemented thus far—have in different ways and at different times both helped and hindered Chinese firms. Just as foreign firms have supported Chinese competitor growth in solar cells and EVs in the absence of export controls, so have they done in semiconductor manufacturing. The major semiconductor manufacturing equipment providers all have major service businesses, where, among other things, they train customer companies on how to get the most out of their equipment. Prior to the October 2022 changes in U.S. export controls, this could include assisting with the facility planning, installation, repairs, and operational troubleshooting of equipment as part of advanced chip manufacturing operations. Industry sources told CSIS that this sometimes included contract research and development (R&D) of advanced node semiconductor process technology on behalf of or in partnership with Chinese clients. At least as of November 2024, this is still legal in the case of providing support to Chinese legacy chip manufacturing operations. By contrast, earlier U.S. export controls meaningfully reversed progress in some segments of the Chinese semiconductor sector, such as NAND memory manufacturing and smartphone chip design , though the durability of those setbacks, even if temporary, will depend on many factors. More recent export controls have also made life harder in many ways for Chinese semiconductor equipment firms, who can no longer legally obtain U.S. subcomponents or technical expertise. Thus, it is simply wrong to say that export controls always, in isolation, accelerate Chinese technological indigenization and that making it easier for U.S. firms to export will always slow Chinese indigenization. At the same time, it is unambiguously the case that the United States’ use of semiconductor export controls, beginning with ZTE in April 2018, made a massive impression on both political and corporate leaders in China. Speeches at the time by Chinese leadership, including General Secretary Xi Jinping , indicate that ZTE was viewed as a turning point and justified China’s aggressive pursuit of “self-reliance” in science and technology. Pony Ma, the chairman of Tencent, one of China’s largest technology firms, said in May 2018, “The recent ZTE incident made us see clearly that no matter how advanced our mobile payment is, without mobile devices, without microchips and operating systems, we can’t compete competently.” The evidence goes beyond talk to specific actions. China made significant changes to its semiconductor policy in the years following ZTE, and China’s central government directed local governments to “do everything in their power” to promote the semiconductor sector. Some Chinese companies also took drastic measures to respond after ZTE. For example, Nikkei Asia reported that Yangtze Memory Technologies Corporation (YMTC)—one of China’s most advanced semiconductor manufacturers—began a full-blown de-Americanization campaign in 2019 involving the full-time work of more than 800 staff (both YMTC and its suppliers). This included the establishment of multiple new major partnerships with domestic Chinese equipment producers. Of note, at the time when YMTC began this de-Americanization initiative, no significant U.S. export controls applied to the company. YMTC began their work based on fear of future controls, not the reality of current ones. Combined, this provides strong evidence that the export controls did increase the desire of both the Chinese government and Chinese companies to increase the capabilities of local semiconductor equipment providers, but that is not the same thing as saying that export controls caused accelerated indigenization, which depends upon more than just desire. 4. The Biden administration’s 2022 export controls strengthened a policy approach to semiconductor equipment controls that began in 2019 during the first Trump administration. As with chip export controls, the first Trump administration launched the U.S. government’s modern approach to semiconductor manufacturing equipment export controls. According to reporting by Reuters , the U.S. government successfully persuaded the Dutch government in July 2019 to cancel the export license of EUV lithography equipment to SMIC, China’s most advanced logic chip foundry. In December 2020, SMIC was added to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Entity List, prohibiting the company from buying certain kinds of U.S. equipment, specifically, “items uniquely required for production of semiconductors at advanced technology nodes (10 nanometers and below, including extreme ultraviolet technology).” In October 2022, the Biden administration significantly expanded U.S. export controls on semiconductor manufacturing equipment, including not only Entity List and end-use restrictions but also some country-wide export controls that applied to China as a whole (including a use of the U.S. persons rule). Just as importantly, the Biden administration made some of these controls more multilateral in nature, engaging Japan and the Netherlands to overhaul their export control policies for advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment. Even though these controls did not entirely align with U.S. controls, this was important to ensure that Dutch and Japanese companies did not provide China with alternative sources for the items that the United States was no longer willing to sell. 5. Chinese semiconductor equipment firms started very small but have grown rapidly. However, this rapid growth occurred both before and after export controls and took place during a period of massive Chinese equipment demand growth. China’s domestic semiconductor manufacturing equipment industry has long been both small and technologically inferior to the global state of the art. To understand the growth trajectory of the Chinese semiconductor manufacturing equipment sector, CSIS gathered market data on how China’s global semiconductor manufacturing equipment market share has changed over time across both supply and demand (see Table 1).The picture shows arrive in Fiji

Styrene Butadiene (SB) Latex Market to Grow by USD 1.50 Billion (2024-2028), Demand from APAC and Europe Boosts Growth, AI Impact on Market Trends - TechnavioA group of pro-Palestinian protestors targeted The Great Synagogue in Sydney on Wednesday evening as members of the Jewish community were holed up inside. The synagogue was hosting an event to mark 100 years of the Israel Institute of Technology (Technion), with esteemed professors, artists and political thinkers headlining the occasion. Outside, the protest group Stop the War of Palestine led chants of ‘from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’ and held up a slogan calling for the eradication of the state of Israel. Sky News reported that when police arrived on the scene, the Synagogue was in lockdown with those inside unable to leave, according to a senior source involved in the situation. NSW Police said that two men – one aged 37 and another aged 50 – “not associated with the event” were seen carrying a flag. “The man – aged 37 – was approached by police for breach of peace and issued a move on direction, which he complied,” authorities said in a statement. “The second man ­– aged 50 – allegedly failed to comply with the move on direction, and issued an infringement notice for failure to comply.” Rabbi Yossi Friedman was inside the synagogue to lead the prayers for Israel, the IDF and the hostages still held in Gaza. “We gathered in peace to celebrate the amazing achievements of Israel (and the Technion in particular) in tech and innovation,” he posted on Instagram. “Achievements, I add, that have benefitted not only israel but the entire world! Inside the very iPhones of those protestors is technology that has come out of the Technion. Yet those protestors are ignorant of this and choose to ignore it. They only know of hate and come to disrupt and scream. When will the world (and our government) WAKE UP and see??” The group of protestors, which was apparently “supported by staff and students” from UTS and Sydney University, claimed it was only protesting against Technion, despite gathering outside the home of Sydney’s oldest congregation and a significant religious site.