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The Lincoln Police Department received fake reports of two Lincoln high schools experiencing a shooting incident Friday afternoon. LPD spokesperson Erika Thomas said Lincoln East and Lincoln North Star high schools, along with five other Nebraska schools, received fake calls about school shootings. Police are investigating these calls and whether they are potentially related to other fake calls that occurred last month when someone reported eight different fires that did not occur. Thomas said the calls about Lincoln East came in at about 1 p.m., and the call referencing North Star came in at around 2:30 p.m., both through a veterans crisis hotline. People are also reading... The hotline was also used to report the fake fires across Lincoln. Lincoln East Principal Casey Fries said in an email to families that "any time there is a mention of school violence, it can cause concern. We take all reports seriously and investigate them thoroughly." LPD student resource officers at both schools were made aware of the situation and were able to debunk the claims quickly. Classes remained uninterrupted as officials verified the reports. Police believe the call that mentioned the shooting at Lincoln East was done through an international IP address. In November, one of the fake fire calls was made about Lincoln Southeast High School. These calls have been commonly referred to as "swatting" calls. LPD says such calls are dangerous and potentially take resources away from other real emergencies occurring in Lincoln. LPS and LPD encouraged families from both schools to continue to report any threats of violence to school officials or law enforcement. Immigration office layoffs; Andi Jackson's journey Top Journal Star photos for November 2024 Rachel Mulcahy of Lincoln unveils a roll of about 300 signatures supporting the group Justice in Action during a rally in front of the Hall of Justice on Thursday. The scroll was later delivered to the office of Lancaster County Attorney Pat Condon. Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola "bowls" the football after a touchdown during the fourth quarter of the game against Wisconsin on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, at Memorial Stadium. Norfolk Catholic head coach Jeff Bellar is doused with water byhis players as the clock hits zero as the Knights celebrate their win over the Bishop Neumann Cavilers in the Class C-2 championship game Tuesday at Memorial Stadium. Taylor Woods looks through 3D glasses held by her cousin, Jalyn Wurm, during a sensory night for the annual Zoo Lights event on Monday at Lincoln Children's Zoo. Nebraska players carry the Freedom Trophy after defeating Wisconsin, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, at Memorial Stadium. Millard South's Daxton Williams (0) smiles as he hugs his youth football coach Eric Kuhl after winning the Class A state football championship game against Omaha Westside on Monday, Nov. 25, 2024, at Memorial Stadium. Millard South won 27-10. Wahoo's Kip Brigham (32) is lifted up by Jake Scanlon (53) after scoring a touchdown in the second quarter of the Class C-1 championship game Tuesday at Memorial Stadium. The sun sets as the lights come on at the Nebraska Christmas Lights Show at Star City Shores on Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024. Nebraska's Rebekah Allick (5) celebrates a kill during the second set of the match against Wisconsin on Saturday at the Devaney Sports Center. Justice Jeffrey J. Funke (right) is sworn into office by retired Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Hon. Michael Heavican during a Supreme Court investiture ceremony in the Capitol rotunda on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024, at the Capitol. Wahoo players try to douse head coach Chad Fox with Gatorade after winning the Class C-1 championship game Tuesday at Memorial Stadium. Nebraska's Brice Turner celebrates on the field after winning the game against Wisconsin on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, at Memorial Stadium. Nebraska's Heinrich Haarberg (left) celebrates his touchdown with Dylan Raiola during the first quarter on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, at Memorial Stadium. Bennington's Aidan Smith (17) recovers a fumble by Omaha Skutt's Dylan VanDyke (12) during the third quarter of the Class B state football championship on Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024, at Memorial Stadium. Lincoln firefighter Andrew Brenner sprays water from the top of a ladder truck on to the roof of a former Village Inn at 29th and O streets Wednesday morning. Sandy Creek's Jacob Petr (top) and Sandy Creek's Wes Biltoft (bottom) attempt to stop Stanton's Becker Pohlman as he dives toward the pylon for a two point conversion in the second quarter of the Class D-1 championship game Monday at Memorial Stadium. Creighton's Steven Ashworth (1) attempts to save a ball from going out of bounds against Nebraska on Friday at CHI Health Center Omaha. Luca Gustafson, 6, rides to school Tuesday with the bike bus at Riley Elementary School. Each Tuesday, students can bike to school with adult chaperones along a specific route. Lincoln Fire Fighters Association member Andy Evans works to assemble a headboard during a bed-building day hosted by Sleep in Heavenly Peace on Saturday at Hampton Enterprises. Volunteers helped build 20 beds for children in need. Wahoo's Braylon Iversen celebrates with Warrior players after they defeated Auburn in a Class C-1 state semifinal game Friday in Wahoo. Second-time mother giraffe Allie nuzzles her new calf in the giraffe experience enclosure on Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, at the Lincoln Children's Zoo. Nebraska celebrates during the first set of the match against Minnesota on Thursday at the Devaney Sports Center. Covered by a canopy of changing leaves, a car cruises along A street in a neighborhood north of Downtown Lincoln on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. Mild temperatures continue into the mid weeks of November. Wednesday calls for a chance of rain showers before noon with gusty winds. Most days this week are expected to be accompanied by mostly sunny skies and consistent breezes. Iris Gonnerman, 8 (from right), her brother Oliver, 6, and cousin Noreen Milana, 9, wave flags while watching Veterans Parade outside the state Capitol on Sunday. Nebraska's Connor Essegian scores against Bethune-Cookma on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024, at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Norris' Anna Jelinek (left) lifts the the Class B championship trophy alongside Rya Borer on Saturday at the Devaney Sports Center. Lincoln Lutheran players embrace one another as threy celebrate defeating Thayer Central in four sets to win the Class C-2 championship match Saturday at the Devaney Sports Center. Superior players celebrate their three set win over EMF during the Class D-1 championship match Saturday at the Devaney Sports Center. Reflected in a ceiling beam, Leyton takes on Shelton in the first set of the Class D-2 championship match Saturday at the Devaney Sports Center. Omaha Skutt's Nicole Ott (left) and Addison West react after a point in the second set during a Class B semifinal match Friday at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Hasan Khalil, owner of Golden Scissors, trims the beard of Vitaliy Martynyuk on Friday at his barbershop in Lincoln. Southwest fans Kylea Stritt (from left), Peg Rice, and Stacey Wilson cheer on their team as the "horsemen" during a Class D-1 first-round match Thursday at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Millard West players dogpile on the floor after defeating Lincoln Southwest in five set match during a Class A first-round match Wednesday at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Lincoln Southwest's Shelby Harding dives to save the ball from hitting the ground in the first set during a Class A first-round match Wednesday at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Second graders Eli Gonzalez (left) and Shrutoshome Datta look at drawings that first and second grade students made at the Monster Jam Art Show on Wednesday at Elliott Elementary School. The elementary school students made drawings of monsters to be turned into different types of art by Lincoln High School students. Norris players celebrate a point against Lincoln Pius X in a Class B state volleyball tournament match, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, at Pinnacle Bank Arena. U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer (right) talks with supporters, including Darlene Starman of Lincoln, at her campaign office on Tuesday in Lincoln. A cutout of Jesus watches over voters on Tuesday at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Lincoln. Abigail Webb votes on Tuesday at F Street Community Center. Nebraska's Rollie Worster (24) shoots a layup while defended by Texas Rio Grande Valley's Marshal Destremau (left) and Trey Miller (right) on Nov. 4 at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Nebraska's Allison Weidner (left) autographs a poster for Freeman Public Schools student Godwil Muthiani, 12 (center), after the game against UNO on Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Muthiani's sign says, "#3 Allison Weinder is the GOAT! Sorry I'm only 12." Nebraska Head Coach Matt Rhule speaks to an official after a targeting call on Nebraska during the first quarter of the game against UCLA on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, at Memorial Stadium. The call was overturned after review. Nebraska's Dante Dowdell scores against UCLA in the fourth quarter on Saturday at Memorial Stadium. Cadet Elena Burgwald (left) and Cadet Mason Beck look up as a B-1B Lancer flies over Memorial Stadium before the UCLA game against Nebraska on Saturday. UCLA's K.J. Wallace (7) defends Nebraska's Jacory Barney (17) as he makes a diving 40-yard catch in the second quarter on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, at Memorial Stadium. Lincoln Southeast quarterback Tre Bollen (left) and Tate Sandman react after losing a Class A football playoff game against Millard North on Friday, Nov. 1, 2024, at Seacrest Field. Millard North won 10-3. After the field clears, Norris' Jarrett Behrends (17) kicks his helmet after the Titans fell to Waverly 16-17 in a Class B football playoff game on Friday, Nov. 1, 2024, at Waverly High School. A line of people waiting to vote has been normal at the Lancaster County Election Commission Office at 601 N. 46th St., as it was Friday afternoon. The office will be open 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to allow voters to cast an early ballot. If they wait until Election Day, they will need to go to their precinct or drop off their ballots at one of five drop boxes across the city. For more stories about about Tuesday's election, go to Journalstar.com . Reach the writer at 402-473-7254 or avargas@journalstar.com . On Twitter @Alex_Vargas1994 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Public Safety Reporter {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.The United States offered a $10 million reward on Tuesday for information leading to the arrest of a Chinese man and co-conspirators wanted for hacking computer firewalls. Guan Tianfeng, 30, is believed to be living in China's Sichuan Province, according to the State Department. An indictment charging Guan with conspiracy to commit computer fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud was unsealed on Tuesday. The Treasury Department said it had imposed on the company Guan worked for, Sichuan Silence Information Technology Co Ltd. Guan and co-conspirators at Sichuan Silence allegedly took advantage of a vulnerability in firewalls sold by UK-based cybersecurity company Sophos Ltd, according to the indictment. "The and his co-conspirators exploited a vulnerability in tens of thousands of network security devices, infecting them with malware designed to steal information from victims around the world," Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in a statement. Some 81,000 devices were simultaneously attacked worldwide in April 2020, the indictment said, with the aim of stealing data, including usernames and passwords, while also attempting to infect the computers with ransomware. More than 23,000 firewalls were in the United States, of which 36 were protecting "critical infrastructure companies' systems," the Treasury said. "The zero-day vulnerability Guan Tianfeng and his co-conspirators found and exploited affected firewalls owned by businesses across the United States," FBI agent Herbert Stapleton said. "If Sophos had not rapidly identified the and deployed a comprehensive response, the damage could have been far more severe." According to the indictment, Sichuan Silence sold its services and the data it obtained through hacking to Chinese businesses and to government entities, including the Ministry of Public Security. © 2024 AFP

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump used his image as a successful New York businessman to become a celebrity, a reality television star and eventually the president. Now he will get to revel in one of the most visible symbols of success in the city when he rings the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday as he's also named Time Magazine's Person of the Year. Trump is expected to be on Wall Street to mark the ceremonial start of the day's trading, according to four people with knowledge of his plans. He will also be announced Thursday as Time's 2024 Person of the Year , according to a person familiar with the selection. The people who confirmed the stock exchange appearance and Time award were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. It will be a notable moment of twin recognitions for Trump, a born-and-bred New Yorker who at times has treated the stock market as a measure of public approval and has long-prized signifiers of his success in New York's business world and his appearances on the covers of magazines — especially Time. Trump was named the magazine's Person of the Year in 2016, when he was first elected to the White House. He had already been listed as a finalist for this year's award alongside Vice President Kamala Harris, X owner Elon Musk, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Kate, the Princess of Wales. Time declined to confirm the selection ahead of Thursday morning's announcement. “Time does not comment on its annual choice for Person of the Year prior to publication,” a spokesperson for the magazine said Wednesday. The ringing of the bell is a powerful symbol of U.S. capitalism — and a good New York photo opportunity at that. Despite his decades as a New York businessman, Trump has never done it before. It was unclear whether Trump, a Republican, would meet with New York's embattled mayor, Democrat Eric Adams , who has warmed to Trump and has not ruled out changing his political party. Adams has been charged with federal corruption crimes and accused of selling influence to foreign nationals; he has denied wrongdoing. Trump himself was once a symbol of New York, but he gave up living full-time in his namesake Trump Tower in Manhattan and moved to Florida after leaving the White House. CNN first reported Wednesday Trump’s visit to the stock exchange and Politico reported that Trump was expected to be unveiled as Time's Person of the Year. The stock exchange regularly invites celebrities and business leaders to participate in the ceremonial opening and closing of trading. During Trump’s first term, his wife, Melania Trump, rang the bell to promote her “Be Best” initiative on children’s well-being. Last year, Time CEO Jessica Sibley rang the opening bell to unveil the magazine's 2023 Person of the Year: Taylor Swift . After the Nov. 5 election, the S&P 500 rallied 2.5% for its best day in nearly two years. The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 1,508 points, or 3.6%, while the Nasdaq composite jumped 3%. All three indexes topped records they had set in recent weeks. The U.S. stock market has historically tended to rise regardless of which party wins the White House, with Democrats scoring bigger average gains since 1945. But Republican control could mean big shifts in the winning and losing industries underneath the surface, and investors are adding to bets built earlier on what the higher tariffs, lower tax rates and lighter regulation that Trump favors will mean. Trump has long courted the business community based on his own status as a wealthy real estate developer who gained additional fame as the star of the TV show “The Apprentice” in which competitors tried to impress him with their business skills. He won the election in part by tapping into Americans' deep anxieties about an economy that seemed unable to meet the needs of the middle class. The larger business community has applauded his promises to reduce corporate taxes and cut regulations. But there are also concerns about his stated plans to impose broad tariffs and possibly target companies that he sees as not aligning with his own political interests. Trump spends the bulk of his time at his Florida home but was in New York for weeks this spring during his hush money trial there. He was convicted, but his lawyers are pushing for the case to be thrown out in light of his election. While he spent hours in a Manhattan courthouse every day during his criminal trial, Trump took his presidential campaign to the streets of the heavily Democratic city, holding a rally in the Bronx and popping up at settings for working-class New Yorkers: a bodega, a construction site and a firehouse. Trump returned to the city in September to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at his Manhattan tower and again in the final stretch of the presidential campaign when he held a rally at Madison Square Garden that drew immediate blowback as speakers made rude and racist insults and incendiary remarks . At the stock exchange, the ringing of the bell has been a tradition since the 1800s. The first guest to do it was a 10-year-old boy named Leonard Ross, in 1956, who won a quiz show answering questions about the stock market. Many times, companies listing on the exchange would ring the bell at 9:30 a.m. to commemorate their initial offerings as trading began. But the appearances have become an important marker of culture and politics -- something that Trump hopes to seize as he’s promised historic levels of economic growth. The anti-apartheid advocate and South African President Nelson Mandela rang the bell, as has Hollywood star Sylvester Stallone with his castmates from the film “The Expendables.” So, too, have the actors Robert Downey Jr. and Jeremy Renner for an “Avengers” movie and the Olympians Michael Phelps and Natalie Coughlin. In 1985, Ronald Reagan became the first sitting U.S. president to ring the bell. “With tax reform and budget control, our economy will be free to expand to its full potential, driving the bears back into permanent hibernation,” Reagan said at the time. “We’re going to turn the bull loose.” The crowd of traders on the floor chanted, “Ronnie! Ronnie! Ronnie!” The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed in 1985 and 1986, but it suffered a decline in October 1987 in an event known as “Black Monday.” Long reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Josh Boak in Washington contributed to this report.

AP Business SummaryBrief at 4:20 p.m. EST

Stock market today: Wall Street gets back to climbing, and the Nasdaq tops 20,000Planetarium Labs Launches Immortal Rising 2 Path of Ascension Play 2 Airdrop Pre-Registration at YGG Play SummitNone

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump used his image as a successful New York businessman to become a celebrity, a reality television star and eventually the president. Now he will get to revel in one of the most visible symbols of success in the city when he rings the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday as he's also named Time Magazine's Person of the Year. Trump is expected to be on Wall Street to mark the ceremonial start of the day's trading, according to four people with knowledge of his plans. He will also be announced Thursday as Time's 2024 Person of the Year , according to a person familiar with the selection. The people who confirmed the stock exchange appearance and Time award were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. It will be a notable moment of twin recognitions for Trump, a born-and-bred New Yorker who at times has treated the stock market as a measure of public approval and has long-prized signifiers of his success in New York's business world and his appearances on the covers of magazines — especially Time. Trump was named the magazine's Person of the Year in 2016, when he was first elected to the White House. He had already been listed as a finalist for this year's award alongside Vice President Kamala Harris, X owner Elon Musk, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Kate, the Princess of Wales. Time declined to confirm the selection ahead of Thursday morning's announcement. “Time does not comment on its annual choice for Person of the Year prior to publication,” a spokesperson for the magazine said Wednesday. The ringing of the bell is a powerful symbol of U.S. capitalism — and a good New York photo opportunity at that. Despite his decades as a New York businessman, Trump has never done it before. It was unclear whether Trump, a Republican, would meet with New York's embattled mayor, Democrat Eric Adams , who has warmed to Trump and has not ruled out changing his political party. Adams has been charged with federal corruption crimes and accused of selling influence to foreign nationals; he has denied wrongdoing. Trump himself was once a symbol of New York, but he gave up living full-time in his namesake Trump Tower in Manhattan and moved to Florida after leaving the White House. CNN first reported Wednesday Trump’s visit to the stock exchange and Politico reported that Trump was expected to be unveiled as Time's Person of the Year. The stock exchange regularly invites celebrities and business leaders to participate in the ceremonial opening and closing of trading. During Trump’s first term, his wife, Melania Trump, rang the bell to promote her “Be Best” initiative on children’s well-being. Last year, Time CEO Jessica Sibley rang the opening bell to unveil the magazine's 2023 Person of the Year: Taylor Swift . After the Nov. 5 election, the S&P 500 rallied 2.5% for its best day in nearly two years. The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 1,508 points, or 3.6%, while the Nasdaq composite jumped 3%. All three indexes topped records they had set in recent weeks. The U.S. stock market has historically tended to rise regardless of which party wins the White House, with Democrats scoring bigger average gains since 1945. But Republican control could mean big shifts in the winning and losing industries underneath the surface, and investors are adding to bets built earlier on what the higher tariffs, lower tax rates and lighter regulation that Trump favors will mean. Trump has long courted the business community based on his own status as a wealthy real estate developer who gained additional fame as the star of the TV show “The Apprentice” in which competitors tried to impress him with their business skills. He won the election in part by tapping into Americans' deep anxieties about an economy that seemed unable to meet the needs of the middle class. The larger business community has applauded his promises to reduce corporate taxes and cut regulations. But there are also concerns about his stated plans to impose broad tariffs and possibly target companies that he sees as not aligning with his own political interests. Trump spends the bulk of his time at his Florida home but was in New York for weeks this spring during his hush money trial there. He was convicted, but his lawyers are pushing for the case to be thrown out in light of his election. While he spent hours in a Manhattan courthouse every day during his criminal trial, Trump took his presidential campaign to the streets of the heavily Democratic city, holding a rally in the Bronx and popping up at settings for working-class New Yorkers: a bodega, a construction site and a firehouse. Trump returned to the city in September to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at his Manhattan tower and again in the final stretch of the presidential campaign when he held a rally at Madison Square Garden that drew immediate blowback as speakers made rude and racist insults and incendiary remarks . At the stock exchange, the ringing of the bell has been a tradition since the 1800s. The first guest to do it was a 10-year-old boy named Leonard Ross, in 1956, who won a quiz show answering questions about the stock market. Many times, companies listing on the exchange would ring the bell at 9:30 a.m. to commemorate their initial offerings as trading began. But the appearances have become an important marker of culture and politics -- something that Trump hopes to seize as he’s promised historic levels of economic growth. The anti-apartheid advocate and South African President Nelson Mandela rang the bell, as has Hollywood star Sylvester Stallone with his castmates from the film “The Expendables.” So, too, have the actors Robert Downey Jr. and Jeremy Renner for an “Avengers” movie and the Olympians Michael Phelps and Natalie Coughlin. In 1985, Ronald Reagan became the first sitting U.S. president to ring the bell. “With tax reform and budget control, our economy will be free to expand to its full potential, driving the bears back into permanent hibernation,” Reagan said at the time. “We’re going to turn the bull loose.” The crowd of traders on the floor chanted, “Ronnie! Ronnie! Ronnie!” The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed in 1985 and 1986, but it suffered a decline in October 1987 in an event known as “Black Monday.” Long reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Josh Boak in Washington contributed to this report.TORONTO — When Geoffrey Hinton strode across the Stockholm Concert Hall stage Tuesday to receive his Nobel Prize for physics from King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, he was beaming. It has taken decades for many beyond the science community to realize the British Canadian computer scientist's life's work was so significant it eventually formed the foundation of artificial intelligence. But on Tuesday, as he accepted the Nobel diploma and its accompanying gold medal with co-laureate John Hopfield, there was no question about the importance of Hinton's discoveries nor how he has shaped history. Instead, there was only pride for the affable 77-year-old, often called the godfather of AI — and that pride stretched from Stockholm to Toronto. A crowd of about 100 students and colleagues at the University of Toronto, where Hinton is a professor emeritus, gathered at the school's downtown campus to watch the Nobel ceremony. Two other watch parties took over the school's Mississauga and Scarborough campuses. Any mention of physics or a sighting of Hinton, clad in a dark suit and white bow tie, generated rousing applause at the Toronto gathering. When the man of the hour headed to retrieve his accolade from the King, a few former students and colleagues wiped tears from their eyes. "There is, at least for me, this sense that Prof. Hinton created the whole ecosystem here, where there are thousands of people who are working on his ideas," Michael Guerzhoy, one of Hinton's former students who went on to teach a course Hinton had once led at the university, said before the ceremony began. The idea that earned Hinton the Nobel dates back to the 1980s, when he was working at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh and AI was far from the buzzy technology it is today. It was then that Hinton developed the Boltzmann machine, which learns from examples, rather than instructions, and when trained, can recognize familiar characteristics in information, even if it has not seen that data before. "It was a lot of fun doing the research but it was slightly annoying that many people — in fact, most people in the field of AI — said that neural networks would never work," Hinton recalled during a press conference on the October day he was named as a Nobel laureate. "They were very confident that these things were just a waste of time and we would never be able to learn complicated things like, for example, understanding natural language using neural networks — and they were wrong." Neural networks are computational models that resemble the human brain's structure and functions. When Nobel physics committee chair Ellen Moons presented Hinton to receive his award, she said these networks are good at sorting and interpreting large amounts of data and self-improve based on the accuracy of the results they generate. "Today, artificial neural networks are powerful tools in research fields spanning physics, chemistry and medicine, as well as in daily life," she said. John DiMarco wasn't surprised that Hinton's work paved the way for such possibilities, but the IT director for U of T's computer science department was taken aback that Hinton's Nobel came in the unlikely physics category. DiMarco met Hinton roughly 35 years ago in a job interview and quickly took note of his proclivity for humour and the quirks in how his mind works. "He is quite insightful and he goes straight to the core of things," DiMarco said. "He would sometimes come out of his office and share some new idea. We didn't always understand what he was sharing, but he was very excited about it." Many of those ideas required lots of computing power the school's systems didn't have, so DiMarco's team patched together a solution with graphics processing units from video game consoles. DiMarco brought one of Hinton's GPUs to the watch party, which was also attended by Joseph Jay Williams, the director of U of T's Intelligent Adaptive Interventions Lab. Williams took one of Hinton's classes and said the Nobel winner "changed the course of my life" by encouraging him to go to grad school, which then led him to win the XPRIZE Digital Learning Challenge, a global competition aimed at rewarding people who modernize learning tools and processes. Other notable mentees and alumni of Hinton's classes include OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever and Cohere co-founders Nick Frosst and Aidan Gomez. With his Nobel win and so many esteemed protege, Williams said Hinton has become a "reluctant celebrity" who is hounded for photos every time he's on campus. Hinton, however, has taken a much more humble approach to his recent win, which he learned of on a trip to California. He initially thought the call from the academy that gives out the Nobel was "a spoof," but later realized it had to be real because it was placed from Sweden and the speaker had a "strong Swedish accent." The award the academy gave him comes with 11 million Swedish kronor (about $1.4 million) from a bequest arranged by Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel. Hinton and Hopfield will split the money, with some of Hinton's share going to Water First, an Ontario organization working to boost Indigenous access to water, and another unnamed charity supporting neurodiverse young adults. Hinton has said he doesn't plan to do much more "frontier research." "I believe I'm going to spend my time advocating for people to work on safety," he said in October. Last year, Hinton left a role he held at Google to more freely speak about the dangers of AI, which he has said include bias and discrimination, fake news, joblessness, lethal autonomous weapons and even the end of humanity. At a Stockholm press conference over the weekend, he said he doesn’t regret the work he did to lay the foundations of artificial intelligence, but wishes he thought of safety sooner. “In the same circumstances, I would do the same again,” he said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 10, 2024. Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press‘I love you... goodbye:’ What will happen when this companion robot suddenly dies?

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stock indexes got back to climbing on Wednesday after the latest update on inflation appeared to clear the way for more help for the economy from the Federal Reserve . The S&P 500 rose 0.8% to break its first two-day losing streak in nearly a month and finished just short of its all-time high. Big Tech stocks led the way, which drove the Nasdaq composite up 1.8% to top the 20,000 level for the first time. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, meanwhile, lagged the market with a dip of 99 points, or 0.2%. Stocks got a boost as expectations built that Wednesday’s inflation data will allow the Fed to deliver another cut to interest rates at its meeting next week. Traders are betting on a nearly 99% probability of that, according to data from CME Group, up from 89% a day before. If they’re correct, it would be a third straight cut by the Fed after it began lowering rates in September from a two-decade high. It’s hoping to support a slowing job market after getting inflation nearly all the way down to its 2% target. Lower rates would give a boost to the economy and to prices for investments, but they could also provide more fuel for inflation. “The data have given the Fed the ‘all clear’ for next week, and today’s inflation data keep a January cut in active discussion,” according to Ellen Zentner, chief economic strategist for Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. Expectations for a series of cuts to rates by the Fed have been one of the main reasons the S&P 500 has set an all-time high 57 times this year , with the latest coming last week. The biggest boosts for the index on Wednesday came from Nvidia and other Big Tech stocks. Their massive growth has made them Wall Street’s biggest stars for years, though other kinds of stocks have recently been catching up somewhat amid hopes for the broader U.S. economy. Tesla jumped 5.9% to finish above $420 at $424.77. It’s a level that Elon Musk made famous in a 2018 tweet when he said he had secured funding to take Tesla private at $420 per share . Stitch Fix soared 44.3% after the company that sends clothes to your door reported a smaller loss for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It also gave financial forecasts for the current quarter that were better than expected, including for revenue. GE Vernova rallied 5% for one of the biggest gains in the S&P 500. The energy company that spun out of General Electric said it would pay a 25 cent dividend every three months, and it approved a plan to send up to another $6 billion to its shareholders by buying back its own stock. On the losing end of Wall Street, Dave & Buster’s Entertainment tumbled 20.1% after reporting a worse loss for the latest quarter than expected. It also said CEO Chris Morris has resigned, and the board has been working with an executive-search firm for the last few months to find its next permanent leader. Albertsons fell 1.5% after filing a lawsuit against Kroger, saying it didn’t do enough for their proposed $24.6 billion merger agreement to win regulatory clearance. Albertsons said it’s seeking billions of dollars in damages from Kroger, whose stock rose 1%. A day earlier, judges in separate cases in Oregon and Washington nixed the supermarket giants’ merger. The grocers contended a combination could have helped them compete with big retailers like Walmart, Costco and Amazon, but critics said it would hurt competition. After terminating the merger agreement with Kroger, Albertsons said it plans to boost its dividend 25% and increased the size of its program to buy back its own stock. Macy’s slipped 0.8% after cutting some of its financial forecasts for the full year of 2024, including for how much profit it expects to make off each $1 of revenue. All told, the S&P 500 rose 49.28 points to 6,084.19. The Dow dipped 99.27 to 44,148.56, and the Nasdaq composite rallied 347.65 to 20,034.89. In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.27% from 4.23% late Tuesday. The two-year Treasury yield, which more closely tracks expectations for the Fed, edged up to 4.15% from 4.14%. In stock markets abroad, indexes rose across much of Europe and Asia. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was an outlier and slipped 0.8% as Chinese leaders convened an annual planning meeting in Beijing that is expected to set economic policies and growth targets for the coming year. South Korea’s Kospi rose 1%, up for a second straight day as it climbs back following last week’s political turmoil where its president briefly declared martial law. AP Writers Matt Ott and Zimo Zhong contributed.

Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Dr Major Singh, member, Agricultural Scientist Recruitment Board, New Delhi, has said that he had conducted trials with 13 varieties of soybean in north-eastern India and found that soybean is a very suitable crop for this region. It has a lot of potential. He also stressed on the development of varieties suitable for natural and organic farming. He asked scientists to make short videos and upload them on social media to promote soybean and its other products. He also talked about benefits of the soybean-onion crop pattern of Maharashtra. Dr. Singh was addressing as the chief guest the 38th foundation day function of the Indian Institute of Soybean Research (IISR) here on Wednesday. On this occasion former director Dr. VS Bhatia was a guest of honour. While presenting the report of the achievements of the Institute, director Dr KH Singh informed that last year, 4 soybean varieties were developed for the whole of India through All India Coordinated Research Project on Soybean, which includes NRC 197, NRC 149 developed by Indian Institute of Soybean Research, Indore, JS 23-03 and JS 23-09 developed by Jawaharlal Nehru Agricultural University, Jabalpur and RSC 11-42 developed by Indira Gandhi Agricultural University Raipur. SOPA director Dr. DN Pathak praised the GIS map prepared by the institute for increasing soybean acreage and advised to present it to the policy makers and the government. The director of Indian Institute of Oilseeds Research, Hyderabad, Dr RK Mathur praised the institute's social media channels and Adarsh Gram Memdi. He emphasised on expanding the reach-out of the ABI centre to its beneficiaries and also advised to promote intercropping systems of soybean with other crops. During the foundation day celebrations, progressive soybean farmers who achieved maximum production in the demonstrations organised during Kharif 2024 under various projects implemented by the institute for the promotion of advanced production technology of soybean were awarded. Chief guest honored the employees who did excellent work in the institute. For the best work during the year 2023-24, Dr. Rakesh Kumar Verma in the category of scientists, Priyanka Sawan in the administrative category, while Phulki Bai and Rumli Bai in the supporting skilled staff category were given special awards. Along with this, Dr Gyanesh Kumar Satpute received the team work award for outstanding achievements by the Estate section of the institute, while Priyanka Sawan received the award for 100 per cent budget utilisation in administrative work.SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) on Wednesday reported fiscal fourth-quarter profit of $1.68 billion. The San Jose, California-based company said it had net income of $3.79 per share. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, were $4.81 per share. The results exceeded Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of 13 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $4.66 per share. The software maker posted revenue of $5.61 billion in the period, also beating Street forecasts. Ten analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $5.54 billion. For the year, the company reported profit of $5.56 billion, or $12.36 per share. Revenue was reported as $21.51 billion. For the current quarter ending in February, Adobe expects its per-share earnings to range from $4.95 to $5. The company said it expects revenue in the range of $5.63 billion to $5.68 billion for the fiscal first quarter. Adobe expects full-year earnings in the range of $20.20 to $20.50 per share, with revenue ranging from $23.3 billion to $23.55 billion. Adobe shares have decreased 8% since the beginning of the year. In the final minutes of trading on Wednesday, shares hit $548.84, a decline of 12% in the last 12 months. This story was generated by Automated Insights ( http://automatedinsights.com/ap ) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on ADBE at https://www.zacks.com/ap/ADBE

Published 4:15 pm Friday, November 22, 2024 By Ernest Bowker Briarfield Academy's Ryder Jones (5), Jack Woodall and Calvin Barnes (56) celebrate with the MAIS Class 1A football championship trophy after beating Wilkinson County Christian Academy 32-18 for the state title on Friday. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post) Wilkinson County Christian Academy's Deshun Smith tackles Briarfield Academy quarterback Brock Johnson (12) during the MAIS Class 1A championship game Friday in Jackson. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post) Briarfield Academy offensive lineman Calvin Barnes (56) and his teammates run a play in the MAIS Class 1A championship game Friday against WCCA. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post) Briarfield Academy cheerleaders root on their Rebels before the start of the MAIS Class 1A football championship game against Wilkinson County Christian Academy. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post) Briarfield Academy's Hayden Smith (1) and WCCA's Deshun Smith (21) fight for a pass in the end zone during the MAIS Class 1A football championship game. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post) Briarfield Academy football assistant coach Derrick Watson talks to Trecin Baker (9) on the sideline during the MAIS Class 1A football championship game against WCCA. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post) Briarfield Academy cheerleaders stand at attention for the National Anthem before the start of the MAIS Class 1A football championship game against Wilkinson County Christian Academy. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post) Wilkinson County Christian Academy defensive back Charles Grezaffi (12) tackles Briarfield Academy's Jack Woodall during the MAIS Class 1A championship game Friday in Jackson. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post) Wilkinson County Christian Academy's Dax Doyle sacks Briarfield Academy quarterback Brock Johnson during the MAIS Class 1A championship game Friday in Jackson. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post) Briarfield Academy football player Boone Sanderson (35) celebrates with a team manager after the Rebels beat Wilkinson County Christian Academy 32-18 to win the MAIS Class 1A championship on Friday. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post) Briarfield Academy football head coach Beau Travis puts a gold state champion's medallion around the neck of Jack Martin after the Rebels beat Wilkinson County Christian Academy 32-18 on Friday to win the MAIS Class 1A title. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post) Briarfield Academy football players and cheerleaders pose for a photo with the championship trophy and banner after beating Wilkinson County Christian Academy 32-18 on Friday to win the MAIS Class 1A title. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post) JACKSON — Briarfield Academy has had to scratch, claw and grind for most of what it’s gotten this football season. The thing it wanted most was no exception. The Rebels got off to a slow start, then had a two-score lead evaporate in the second half before pulling away late to beat Wilkinson County Christian Academy 32-18 in the MAIS Class 1A championship game on Friday. It’s Briarfield’s (12-1) fourth MAIS eight-man football championship in eight years, and first since 2020. “It feels incredible. Incredible. I’ve never felt a feeling like this. I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy in my life,” said senior running back Ryder Jones, who had 125 total yards. “To get a two-score lead, and then they almost make a comeback, we get multiple penalties over and over, to go out and perform like that and put in some heart, it’s incredible. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.” After a scoreless first quarter, Briarfield found the end zone three times in the second to take a 20-6 halftime lead. Jack Woodall broke off a 77-yard touchdown run, and Trecin Baker and Brock Johnson also scored. WCCA (9-4) came out of the halftme break on fire, though. It recovered an onside kick to start the third quarter, as well as a fumble on Briarfield’s first play, and cashed in both opportunities. Jacob Sessions threw touchdown passes of 23 yards to Easton Buteaux and 25 yards to Charles Grezaffi to pull the Rams to within 20-18 with 4:04 left in the third quarter. WCCA’s two-point conversion attempts failed both times, as did another following its first touchdown in the second quarter. Briarfield coach Beau Travis said he knew that could be a factor after his Rebels beat WCCA 30-28 in the regular-season finale a month ago. “We kept them out and I think we got all but two. We knew the two-points were big because last time we won by two points. Hats off to our boys,” Travis said. As it turned out, Briarfield did the rest of the scoring. The Rebels answered WCCA’s comeback with a scoring drive of their own, capped by a 10-yard TD pass from Johnson to Hayden Smith that made it 26-18 with 1:09 left in the third quarter. In the fourth, after a WCCA drive inside the 10 ended on downs, the Rebels delivered the kill shot. On third-and-17 from their own 30, Smith got behind the secondary and Johnson hit him with a deep pass down the middle. Smith took it for a 70-yard touchdown and a 32-18 lead with 3:12 to go. “That play has worked almost every time we have run it this year,” Travis said. “You set them up by throwing screens, throwing screens, throwing screens, they look for the screen and you slip him out. You lull them to sleep and then hit them over the top.” Johnson finished 4-of-13 passing for the Rebels, for 149 yards and two touchdowns. He also had one rushing touchdown. Smith caught two passes for 80 yards and two TDs, and Woodall had 91 rushing yards and one TD. Briarfield’s defense was the real star, though. It had five sacks, forced two turnovers, and got key stops when it needed to. Although Sessions passed for 158 yards and three touchdowns, WCCA had two red zone drives end with no points. The last was midway through the fourth quarter, when an injury to Sessions was followed by a fumbled snap, two pre-snap penalties, and finally a sack. Jones had two of Briarfield’s sacks and 10 total tackles. Jack Martin led the Rebels with 12 tackles and one forced fumble. “That’s the way it’s been all year. We’ve always been a second half team. We always come back in the second half. It’s what we do, and what we do best,” Jones said. “When they started closing that gap it downed us a lot. A lot of guys started hanging their heads and I was trying to tell them to keep fighting and play with some heart, and eventually we did and we made some stuff happen.” Ernest Bowker is The Vicksburg Post's sports editor. He has been a member of The Vicksburg Post's sports staff since 1998, making him one of the longest-tenured reporters in the paper's 140-year history. The New Jersey native is a graduate of LSU. In his career, he has won more than 50 awards from the Mississippi Press Association and Associated Press for his coverage of local sports in Vicksburg.

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Idaho Legislature reveals committee chairpersons for upcoming legislative sessionFijiana 7s needs shake-up The performance of the Fijiana 7s needs a shake-up. When Saiasi Fuli was in charge, the Fijiana 7s showed some brilliance, but then the girls faltered as the season progressed. I remember vividly the Fijiana 7s beating Australia 14-12 at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in what was the biggest upset of the Games. The Fijiana 7s lost to the Black Ferns 22-17 in extra time and went on to beat Great Britain 21-12 to finish third in the Olympics meet. However, in the last Olympic Games in Paris, the Fijiana 7s lost all their games. They lost 17-14 to Canada, 40-12 to China and 38-7 to the Black Ferns. Brazil added salt to our wounds with a 28-22 win. We finished 12th in Paris after losing 21-15 to South Africa. Fuli stepped down and in came Ratu Timoci Volavola, but the performance has worsened. In Dubai, the Fijiana 7s lost to Ireland 30-12, Australia 42-7 and China 15-14. The side lost again to China 24-7 in the nineth place semi-final and then to Spain 22-5, finishing last in Dubai. In Cape Town, the Fijiana 7s got thrashed by the USA 31-0. In their second pool match, the Fijiana 7s got beaten by Great Britain 22-5. The team managed to win their match against Brazil 22-19 but lost to China again 14-12. I urge FRU to carry out a SWOT analysis on the dismal performance of the Fijiana 7s. We need to get things right! RAJNESH ISHWAR LINGAM, Nadawa, Nasinu. Respect for Fiji The British Lions, Italy, Scotland, Japan and many others have all played international rugby test matches against Fiji in Fiji. And it is heartening to note that Scotland will be playing Fiji in Fiji in July, 2025. However, it is sad and disappointing that two of the world’s rugby superpowers and our closest neighbours in New Zealand and Australia who normally consider ourselves as members of their Pacific family have never considered Fiji as good enough to agree to play test rugby against us in Fiji. This is despite the fact that they have been playing against Fiji for over 100 years and some of these matches played in their own countries. The most recent is the Fiji/New Zealand rugby match played in the US last June supposedly to improve the sport in the biggest economy in the world. What a joke! And Fiji and the interest of Fijians? They obviously were considered even with Fijian Government’s involvement but not considered to be that important to have the test match in Fiji. As always with world rugby involved, we in Fiji are kept in the dark and we should accept whatever they decide supposedly for our interest without any question. Now that we’re in the 21st century, we in Fiji demand that New Zealand and Australia in particular should give Fiji the recognition and respect that it deserves by playing rugby test matches against Fiji in Fiji. The Fiji Government should include this as an agenda item in their next high level dealings with their Governments. Fiji should also as a matter of priority directly approach the South African Government to request rugby test matches between the two countries in their respective countries. I believe Fiji can expect a greater appreciation and respect from them compared to the type of treatment we have been getting from our immediate neighbours. SAVERIO BALEIKANACEA, Delainavesi, Lami Newfound freedom It would appear to me that since the last election when Fijians found their freedoms after 16 long years of “oppression”, personal prejudice and personal opinions by those in power is the basis of all new laws. I believe the elite and those who are in positions of influence have taken this newfound freedom to mean they can make laws based on their personal prejudices and opinions. We are already seeing this not just by what politicians are saying but by village chiefs as well. We are seeing this arrogance almost daily at the highest levels. Isn’t this new found freedom just great? I have always maintained; the people of Fiji are truly blessed. May I add, no one else in the world is as blessed as Fijians. JAN NISSAR, Hiroshima, Japan Nothing has changed! During the FFP’s governing era, most of the current government ministers and senior government officials including some prominent legal eagles, vehemently decried the hosting of conferences, seminars, symposiums, conventions, meetings, etc, at lavish resorts and hotels. However, nothing seems to have changed over the past two years. Recently, the 26th Attorney-General’s Conference was held at the 5-Star Sheraton Fiji Golf & Beach Resort at Denarau. Was it a necessity to have it at such a venue? A school hall somewhere in Suva or Nadi could’ve been pre-arranged/organised as it’s the school holidays or even a tent erected at the Albert Park precinct and pay for your own meals and drinks. Imagine the thousands of dollars that could be saved and better utilised elsewhere. Sa sega tu mada mehn ! We have four-legged banded iguanas living in the forests on some of our maritime islands including the invasive iguana on Taveuni.Subsequently, we do have 2-legged chameleons (a lizard which has the ability to change colours to suit the environment) walking the corridors of power. Shame. ANTHONY SAHAI, Levuka, Ovalau Diabetes issue Diabetes has been the subject of the Government and NGOs’ attention in awareness programs to curb the current trend which has put Fiji as one of the highest recorded populations in the world which suffer from this disease. Other than awareness, one sure way to convince people to change their lifestyle is to compel them to become aware of the level of sugar in their blood and this can only be achieved through regular blood tests with glucometers. If Government assists registered diabetes patients and makes these glucometers and its test strips more affordable then this would be a step in the right direction to compel sufferers to change their lifestyle to avoid the extreme results of amputations and untimely demise. Food for thought for Government. EMOSI BALEI, Suva Stop it! The FICAC Commissioner has stressed that it is illegal for civil servants and government entities to ask for Christmas donations and food. Despite her stern warning, I believe one organisation here in the West has sent out an email to various clients requesting for contributions to fund their Christmas festivities. Did they not get the memo? Or did this organisation in question simply chose to disregard FICAC’s firm directive? I strongly urge FICAC to follow up on this specific instance and possibly take action for their lack of adherence and to ensure compliance with the rule. This shameful practice of begging the public for funding must stop. Go source your own dalo, chicken and vuaka. NISHANT SINGH, Lautoka . Ultimate thievery With an unbelievable quizzical state of theft in the country, one of my mates has shared the ultimate thievery act. Upon returning home from a busy Saturday CBD, one realises that his underwear is gone. Not from the clothes line. The one which he had worn to town. MOHAMMED IMRAZ JANIF, Natabua, Lautoka Mice will play! This week, LTA enforcement officers and police were out around Lautoka City advocating the road safety message with their pens. However, they were not seen around in the evening and late hours of the night. Habitual mindset of illegal drivers, drive around any how. A truck driver double parked on the road to buy booze saying who are you? Meanwhile, a private car loaded seven passengers and made a U-turn before driving off. By the looks of it, when the cat is away, the mice have the field. Thank you LTA and police, don’t give up. Old habits die hard, eh Nishant Singh! NAVNEET RAM (TD), Lautoka Arriving on time Colin Deoki wants the PM to ask his parliamentary colleagues why they arrive late at official speaking engagements (FT 11/12). I can tell him why. It’s a lack of respect for ordinary people and an arrogance of power and an inflated sense of self-importance. I remember the same thing used to happen routinely at Fiji Football organised soccer tournaments. And it was for the same reason. RAJEND NAIDU, Sydney, Australia Rip off! I received an envelope from our friends from abroad with some contents worth $36 together with freight costs. I paid $10.95 to customs and $5.80 to the post office to retrieve the envelope. Being an unemployed senior citizen, the total charge was a rip off in accordance with the envelope. The relevant ministry should seriously consider such costs which vulnerable citizens have to bear. DAVID SUSHIL LAL, Malolo St, Lautoka Multiple coups? Violence against children costs $460m — study (FT 11/12). Is there any study on the cost of the violence and setbacks of our multiple coups? That would make an interesting and illuminating study and warn us not to go down that path ever again if we want our country and its people to progress. RAJEND NAIDU, Sydney, Australia Harmful scenario! I thank Conan Hatch for joining the club, so to speak! And a very special thank you to The Fiji Times for giving his letter the headline — Discipline crisis — for that is exactly what we have on our hands; and it should be on our consciences, too. I received a letter the other day which made the salient point concerning this issue, that today, in the main, the world’s governments mostly comprise younger people — young men and women who have little or no experience — whereas, in days gone by the people we voted into office on our behalf were older: people with experience who had no need to make a mark on society. Today’s authority has been passed to young people who have yet to make their mark and so come up with harebrained schemes without giving thought to the consequences. I recently read Descartes’ Error – Emotion, Reason and the Human Brain, by Antonio R. Damasio: Professor of Psychology, Philosophy and Neurology at the USC — adjunct professor at the Salk Institute — winner of many awards. I confess it is not an easy read, but well worth the effort. He has this to say . . . Early in development, punishment and reward are delivered by parents and other elders and peers, who actually embody the social conventions and ethics of the culture to which (they) belong. In Germany and the Soviet Union during the 1930s and 1940s . . .in Cambodia during the Pol Pot regime . . . a sick culture prevailed upon a presumably normal machinery of reason, with disastrous consequences. Adding that he fears sizeable sectors of society are gradually becoming tragically similar. He states further . . . If the proposed solution to individual and social suffering bypasses the causes of individual and social conflict, it is not likely to work for very long. It may treat a symptom, but it does nothing to the roots of the disease. Damasio stresses: One of the most distinctive human traits is the ability to learn to be guided by future prospects rather than by immediate outcomes, something we begin to acquire in childhood. If we are permitted to acquire it, that is! Most pertinently he claims . . . Lack of reward can constitute punishment and be unpleasant, just as lack of punishment can constitute reward and be quite pleasurable. I have written many times on the loss of a parent’s right to discipline their child and I commend all of those who, few though they may be, have the sense to see the harm we are doing to our children. SUE CAUTY, Pacific Harbour Blood shortage Recently, an elderly relative was admitted to the Acute Surgical Ward at the CWM Hospital in Suva due to a sickness which required her needing a blood transfusion. My concern here is when a patient needs blood, the blood bank will not release blood to the patient until donors are found and donate to the patient due to the existing low levels of blood at the blood bank. To my knowledge, this has been an ongoing problem for many years. A possible solution is if the Army, Navy and Police, etc., were able to donate a pint of blood each. That would lead to a significant boost to the blood bank at the hospitals around the country. Is there sufficient storage space at the major hospitals? In saying that I would like to say a big vinaka vakalevu to the donors who came forward and donated upon our request. Not forgetting the hard-working doctors, nurses and auxiliary staff at the Acute Surgical Ward and the hospital in general. Much respect to you all. Lastly, could the Health Minister please look into this matter which will benefit our people who are in dire need. DEREK FONG TOY, Navua.Kelly Services stock hits 52-week low at $14.19

Professor Yang Qingqing's Monograph "Chinese Opera Costume Patterns" Published