Biden says the US believes journalist Austin Tice is alive after disappearing in Syria in 2012Biden says the US believes journalist Austin Tice is alive after disappearing in Syria in 2012

A Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey conducted from Dec. 12 to 18 found that 65 percent of Filipinos expect a “happy” Christmas this year, a decline from 73 percent over the past two years. The survey results, released on Tuesday, Dec. 24, also revealed that 10 percent of Filipinos expect a “sad” Christmas, an increase from 6 percent in 2023. Meanwhile, 26 percent anticipate a holiday that is neither happy nor sad. SWS said the expectation of a happy Christmas was highest in Mindanao at 73 percent, followed by the Visayas at 71 percent, Balance Luzon at 59 percent, and Metro Manila at 58 percent. Compared to 2023, expectations dropped by 14 points in Metro Manila (from 72 percent), 11 points in Balance Luzon (from 70 percent), and seven points in the Visayas (from 78 percent). In Mindanao, however, the figure remained unchanged at 74 percent. Filipinos grateful for health, family, life In response to the open-ended question, “As Christmas and the end of the year approaches, may I know what one or two things are you most thankful for in your life right now?” SWS said the December 2024 survey found that 47 percent of Filipinos are most thankful for good health, 25 percent for family, and 24 percent for being alive. Other common responses included job/career/income (7 percent), God (7 percent), food to eat (6 percent), coping with daily hardships (5 percent), all the blessings (4 percent), peace and safety (3 percent), happy life (3 percent), and prosperity (3 percent). Smaller percentages mentioned surviving an illness or surgery, having no worries or problems, education, financial support, and love life/spouse (1 percent each). Less than 1 percent cited house, friendship/good relationships, material things, and motorcycle/vehicle, while 2 percent did not provide an answer. SWS said good health, family, and being alive were also the most common answers in December 2023. The Fourth Quarter 2024 Social Weather Survey was conducted through face-to-face interviews with 2,160 adults aged 18 years and above nationwide: 1,080 in Balance Luzon (Luzon outside Metro Manila), and 360 each in Metro Manila, the Visayas, and Mindanao. The sampling error margins are ±2 percent for national percentages, ±3 percent in Balance Luzon, and ±5 percent for Metro Manila, the Visayas, and Mindanao.

Former Kentucky WR Dane Key set for transfer to NebraskaFirefighters to demand inflation-beating pay rise of up to 5 percent to 'make up lost ground'WASHINGTON — Celebrities, cultural icons and a few surprise guests are gathering for the annual Kennedy Center Honors celebration Sunday evening in Washington. This year's recipients of the lifetime achievement award for artistic accomplishment are director Francis Ford Coppola, the Grateful Dead , jazz trumpeter Arturo Sandoval , and singer-songwriter Bonnie Raitt. In addition, the venerable Harlem theater The Apollo , which has launched generations of Black artists, is being recognized. There will be personalized tributes with performances and testimonials from fellow artists during the gala at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Medallions were presented during the traditional Saturday night ceremony at the State Department. The tribute performances are often kept secret from the recipients themselves, most notably in 2018 when Cyndi Lauper flat out lied to her longtime friend Cher about being unable to attend. Lauper appeared on stage to perform Cher's hit, “If I Could Turn Back Time.” Several of the latest honorees have themselves participated in past tributes to friends and colleagues at the Kennedy Center. Coppola spoke during fellow director Martin Scorsese’s induction in 2007. Sandoval performed in the tribute to his mentor, jazz trumpet legend Dizzy Gillespie. Raitt has taken part in tributes to Buddy Guy and Mavis Staples. Raitt even attended the Kennedy Center Honors in the 1970s when her father, Broadway performer John Raitt, was taking part in a tribute to composer Richard Rogers. The tribute to the Grateful Dead is expected to double as a memorial to the band's founding bass player Phil Lesh , who died in October at age 84. This could also be the last Kennedy Center Honors ceremony without political intrigue for a while. During Republican Donald Trump's first four years in office, Kennedy Center officials were forced to walk a public tightrope between the tradition of the president attending the ceremony and the open antipathy toward Trump from multiple honorees. In 2017, recipient Norman Lear threatened to boycott his own ceremony if Trump attended. Trump, who takes office in January, skipped the ceremony for the entirety of his first term. Democratic President Joe Biden is scheduled to host a reception for the honorees at the White House and plans to attend the Kennedy Center ceremony afterward. The show will air on CBS on Dec. 22.

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On a dark and snowy Christmas evening at the mountaintop cabin in the woods, you are enjoying the holiday vacation. After putting the children to bed, you decide it’s time to read. The holidays have been filled with so much glitter and joy that you want to immerse yourself in something much darker. Thankfully, you have brought some of the best Christmas horror books to read. You smile as you skim some of the titles, appreciating the author’s “punny” sense of humour despite the theme of the novels. However, once you begin to read, the cabin transforms into a vortex that pulls you into a different dimension of your imagination. The part that sends chills down your spine and makes the hair on your arms stand up straight. No, Dorothy, you are not in Kansas anymore, and there is no Wonderful Wizard of Oz to send you back home. Here in this place, there are only the Ghosts of Christmas Past and the Silent Screams of Christmas on a cold winter night at the cabin. If those books are not enough to get the wine flowing and your heart pumping two times faster, here are some of the best Christmas horror books available now. Long before Santa was a holly jolly fellow, creatures like Krampus, witches and other Yuletide monsters watched over children. It was a time when Christmas was dark, and misbehaving was almost unheard of. After all, you did not want to get a Krampus card. It was worse than being on the naughty list because horrible things happened to those who did not listen. Belanger takes a deep dive into the traditions of yesteryears in his 2023 novel, “The Fright Before Christmas,” which is horrifying because most of the Folklore is true. Imagine Christmas being something that you feared rather than celebrated. Reading this novel in a remote cabin in the woods might be more realistic than you expected, but it certainly enhances the drama. Deckker’s Silent Night: A. em freezes Christmas Horror follows Mia and her friends on vacation in a cabin that turns out to be anything but festive. Together, they must put aside their differences to confront the, leaving them with no way to escape. If Krampus and snow-driven demons are not enough to add a bit of coldness to your bones this holiday season, UnHoly Night, Humbug and many other Christmas horror novels are yet to be published. They will be coming out in December, just in time for the holidays, and will likely go on sale for Boxing Day. Image by from Writing has always been her passion and a voice for those who cannot speak. She considers herself fortunate to write every day and says her mantra is, "I drink coffee, write, and I know about people and technology." Her writing is diverse and can be found online on websites like LifeHack, You Have a Calling, Medium, TechCrunch and, She Knows.

By ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump promised on Tuesday to “vigorously pursue” capital punishment after President Joe Biden commuted the sentences of most people on federal death row partly to stop Trump from pushing forward their executions. Related Articles National Politics | Elon Musk’s preschool is the next step in his anti-woke education dreams National Politics | Trump’s picks for top health jobs not just team of rivals but ‘team of opponents’ National Politics | Biden will decide on US Steel acquisition after influential panel fails to reach consensus National Politics | Biden vetoes once-bipartisan effort to add 66 federal judgeships, citing ‘hurried’ House action National Politics | A history of the Panama Canal — and why Trump can’t take it back on his own Trump criticized Biden’s decision on Monday to change the sentences of 37 of the 40 condemned people to life in prison without parole, arguing that it was senseless and insulted the families of their victims. Biden said converting their punishments to life imprisonment was consistent with the moratorium imposed on federal executions in cases other than terrorism and hate-motivated mass murder. “Joe Biden just commuted the Death Sentence on 37 of the worst killers in our Country,” he wrote on his social media site. “When you hear the acts of each, you won’t believe that he did this. Makes no sense. Relatives and friends are further devastated. They can’t believe this is happening!” Presidents historically have no involvement in dictating or recommending the punishments that federal prosecutors seek for defendants in criminal cases, though Trump has long sought more direct control over the Justice Department’s operations. The president-elect wrote that he would direct the department to pursue the death penalty “as soon as I am inaugurated,” but was vague on what specific actions he may take and said they would be in cases of “violent rapists, murderers, and monsters.” He highlighted the cases of two men who were on federal death row for slaying a woman and a girl, had admitted to killing more and had their sentences commuted by Biden. On the campaign trail, Trump often called for expanding the federal death penalty — including for those who kill police officers, those convicted of drug and human trafficking, and migrants who kill U.S. citizens. “Trump has been fairly consistent in wanting to sort of say that he thinks the death penalty is an important tool and he wants to use it,” said Douglas Berman, an expert on sentencing at Ohio State University’s law school. “But whether practically any of that can happen, either under existing law or other laws, is a heavy lift.” Berman said Trump’s statement at this point seems to be just a response to Biden’s commutation. “I’m inclined to think it’s still in sort of more the rhetoric phase. Just, ‘don’t worry. The new sheriff is coming. I like the death penalty,’” he said. Most Americans have historically supported the death penalty for people convicted of murder, according to decades of annual polling by Gallup, but support has declined over the past few decades. About half of Americans were in favor in an October poll, while roughly 7 in 10 Americans backed capital punishment for murderers in 2007. Before Biden’s commutation, there were 40 federal death row inmates compared with more than 2,000 who have been sentenced to death by states. “The reality is all of these crimes are typically handled by the states,” Berman said. A question is whether the Trump administration would try to take over some state murder cases, such as those related to drug trafficking or smuggling. He could also attempt to take cases from states that have abolished the death penalty. Berman said Trump’s statement, along with some recent actions by states, may present an effort to get the Supreme Court to reconsider a precedent that considers the death penalty disproportionate punishment for rape. “That would literally take decades to unfold. It’s not something that is going to happen overnight,” Berman said. Before one of Trump’s rallies on Aug. 20, his prepared remarks released to the media said he would announce he would ask for the death penalty for child rapists and child traffickers. But Trump never delivered the line. One of the men Trump highlighted on Tuesday was ex-Marine Jorge Avila Torrez, who was sentenced to death for killing a sailor in Virginia and later pleaded guilty to the fatal stabbing of an 8-year-old and a 9-year-old girl in a suburban Chicago park several years before. The other man, Thomas Steven Sanders, was sentenced to death for the kidnapping and slaying of a 12-year-old girl in Louisiana, days after shooting the girl’s mother in a wildlife park in Arizona. Court records show he admitted to both killings. Some families of victims expressed anger with Biden’s decision, but the president had faced pressure from advocacy groups urging him to make it more difficult for Trump to increase the use of capital punishment for federal inmates. The ACLU and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops were some of the groups that applauded the decision. Biden left three federal inmates to face execution. They are Dylann Roof, who carried out the 2015 racist slayings of nine Black members of Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina; 2013 Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev ; and Robert Bowers, who fatally shot 11 congregants at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life Synagogue in 2018 , the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S history. Associated Press writers Jill Colvin, Michelle L. Price and Eric Tucker contributed to this report.

The Boston Red Sox continued to rebuild their pitching staff, acquiring left-hander Jovani Morán on Tuesday from the Minnesota Twins in exchange for catcher and infielder Mickey Gasper. The 27-year-old Morán appeared in 79 games as a reliever for the Twins from 2021 to 2023, posting a 4.15 ERA, striking out 112 with 52 walks and holding opponents to a .208 batting average. He missed all of last season recovering from Tommy John surgery. He originally was chosen in the seventh round of the 2015 draft. In Gasper, the Twins are getting a 29-year-old who made his major league debut last season and appeared in 13 games with Boston. The switch-hitter was selected by the New York Yankees in the 27th round of the 2018 draft. He was picked by Boston in the minor league portion of the 2023 Rule 5 Draft. The Red Sox and Twins both currently have 39 players on their 40-man rosters. AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlbBars close as huge pipe burst in Manchester hits water supplies across the city centreNEW YORK, Dec. 08, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Leading securities law firm Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP announces that a lawsuit has been filed against Symbotic Inc. (NASDAQ: SYM) and certain of the Company’s senior executives for potential violations of the federal securities laws. If you invested in Symbotic, you are encouraged to obtain additional information by visiting https://www.bfalaw.com/cases-investigations/symbotic-inc . Investors have until February 3, 2025, to ask the Court to be appointed to lead the case. The complaint asserts claims under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 on behalf of investors in Symbotic securities. The case is pending in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts and is captioned Decker v. Symbotic Inc., et al. , No. 24-cv-12976. What is the Symbotic Class Action Lawsuit About? Symbotic Inc. develops and operates robotics systems to automate and optimize warehouse and supply chain operations for major retailers and distributors. During the relevant period, the company represented that its financial statements were accurate and that its internal controls over financial reporting were effective. In contrast with these representations, on November 27, 2024, Symbotic announced a delay in filing its Form 10-K for its fiscal year 2024 due to identified errors in revenue recognition and announced material weaknesses in its internal controls over financial reporting. Symbotic revealed that it discovered issues related to premature expense recognition and unbillable cost overruns, which affected system revenue recognition in multiple quarters of its fiscal year 2024. The company estimated a $30–$40 million reduction in system revenue, gross profit, and adjusted EBITDA for its fiscal year 2024 and reduced its revenue outlook for the first quarter of fiscal 2025 to $480–$500 million, from $495–$515 million, and adjusted EBITDA of $12–16 million, from $27–$31 million. This news caused the price of the company’s stock to decline over 35% during the course of trading on November 27, 2024. Click here if you suffered losses: https://www.bfalaw.com/cases-investigations/symbotic-inc . What Can You Do? If you invested in Symbotic you may have legal options and are encouraged to submit your information to the firm. All representation is on a contingency fee basis, there is no cost to you. Shareholders are not responsible for any court costs or expenses of litigation. The firm will seek court approval for any potential fees and expenses. Submit your information by visiting: https://www.bfalaw.com/cases-investigations/symbotic-inc Or contact: Ross Shikowitz ross@bfalaw.com 212-789-3619 Why Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP? Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP is a leading international law firm representing plaintiffs in securities class actions and shareholder litigation. It was named among the Top 5 plaintiff law firms by ISS SCAS in 2023 and its attorneys have been named Titans of the Plaintiffs’ Bar by Law360 and SuperLawyers by Thompson Reuters. Among its recent notable successes, BFA recovered over $900 million in value from Tesla, Inc.’s Board of Directors (pending court approval), as well as $420 million from Teva Pharmaceutical Ind. Ltd. For more information about BFA and its attorneys, please visit https://www.bfalaw.com . https://www.bfalaw.com/cases-investigations/symbotic-inc Attorney advertising. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.

Business People: Flint Hills exec Holli VanOverbeke to lead Dakota Chamber board

I wanted to write in concerning not using rugs and towels at animal shelters. I have to wonder what sort of “shelter” is being offered to dogs and cats where it gets so cold and wet that the cloth can freeze. Not to mention the possibility of the poor animal freezing to death! Are they saying these indoor animals are being kept outside? Or are their facilities not being properly heated and dry? This is shocking to me! I hope they can explain themselves. — Frank, the letter was referring to feral cats and other outdoor animals. Shelter cats and dogs usually have a better situation than those that are born wild or mistreated by their owners. In my opinion, no animal should be kept outside in the winter if they have owners with a warm house. Sadly, there are too many abandoned cats and dogs that have no one to look after them, making their existence difficult and their lives short. Straw is the best solution to helping these animals stay warm, provided that there is plenty of straw to snuggle in for warmth inside of some type of enclosure. There are a variety of such houses for animals online, and most aren’t expensive. — I often use paper-towel rolls and toilet-paper rolls to keep artificial flower stems together. I also cut them lengthwise to put on gift-wrapping paper rolls. If the paper roll is too thin to keep a cardboard roll on, then I use a rubber band to secure the roll. Your readers have given me so much I can use. I thank you and thank them, too. — Jackie, I like your cardboard roll ideas. Lately, I’ve received several letters stating that readers use the cardboard roll in paper towels and toilet paper to start a fire in their fireplace. Some also use a toilet roll of cardboard to gather a number of loose cords together. Others use a paper-towel roll to wrap tree lights around when putting them into storage. All of these are great ideas, as well. — Our glass pie plates wouldn’t get clean, so my husband had the successful idea to use a ceramic cooktop cleaner! The pie plates are sparkling now! — My mom was never really happy with any gift I gave her. Since she relied on Social Security, money was tight, so I started to give her a goody box. I usually used an empty paper box and filled it with toiletries and products that I knew she used. I also included postage stamps and gift cards for car washes. She would love her goody box and looked forward to it every year. One year, my aunt was visiting from the old country at Christmas, so I made up a smaller box for her. I found out that she loved a certain brand of canned corn, so I included six cans. She was over the moon! It was also easy for me, as I would add things to the box all year long, making it easier on my time and budget. — Send a money-saving or time-saving hint to . Get local news delivered to your inbox!The recent appointment of David Sacks as the “White House A.I. and Crypto Czar” by President-elect Donald Trump has sparked a new chapter in the ongoing rivalry between billionaire Elon Musk and Sam Altman , head of OpenAI. What Happened : On Friday, Musk took a swipe at Altman after the OpenAI chief congratulated Sacks on his new role. Sacks, a venture capitalist and podcaster, has a history of collaboration with Musk, having worked with him at PayPal and invested in several of Musk’s ventures, including SpaceX , X (formerly known as Twitter), and xAI . His appointment is seen as a testament to Musk’s influence in the incoming administration. Altman has previously accused Musk of using his political influence to disadvantage competitors and promote his own businesses. Musk’s response to Altman’s congratulatory message to Sacks was a simple laughing emoji on X, further stoking their rivalry. 😂 Despite launching his own AI chat platform, Glue, Sacks asserts that his new role does not present a conflict of interest. His venture capital firm, Craft Ventures , has stated that his advisory role does not necessitate his departure from Craft. Also Read: Musk Goes To Court To Block OpenAI’s For-Profit Transition Trump announced Sacks’ appointment on his Truth Social account, lauding his knowledge, business acumen, intelligence, and pragmatism in the realms of AI and cryptocurrency. Why It Matters : The appointment of Sacks, a long-time ally of Musk, to a key role in the Trump administration could potentially tilt the balance of power in the AI and crypto sectors. This development is likely to intensify the rivalry between Musk and Altman, as both continue to vie for influence in these rapidly evolving fields. Read Next Elon Musk Is Feuding With Sam Altman In A Major Lawsuit Over OpenAI — And One Appears To Already Have The Upper Hand This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. © 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.Pandi, Bulacan Mayor Enrico Roque —Photo from the Municipality of Pandi FB page PANDI, BULACAN — A Caloocan City court has suspended for 30 days the trial of Pandi, Bulacan Mayor Enrico Roque, municipal councilor Jonjon Roxas and driver Roel Raymundo who are facing two counts of rape pending the results of a reinvestigation being conducted by the city prosecutor’s office. Judge Rowena Alejandra of the Caloocan City Regional Trial Court Branch 121 handed down the order on Monday as she granted the motion of the accused to quash the arrest warrant against them, leading to their release. READ: Pandi, Bulacan mayor, 2 others nabbed for rape At the same time, she directed the prosecutor’s office to submit its reinvestigation findings within 30 days. In her order, Alejandra sided with the accused who had claimed that their constitutional rights, including their right to due process, were violated. They said they were not informed of the facts and circumstances of the charges against them, adding that they were not properly notified of the proceedings. The accused also denied being residents of Caloocan City, which they said invalidated the serving of subpoenas against them. Roque reiterated that he has no house in Caloocan as he denied the alleged rape victim’s claim that she was abused in his supposed house on Langit Road, Bagong Silang, in the city. In her order, the judge noted the lack of evidence proving that subpoenas were served to the accused at their known addresses. “It shows that accused-movants were not duly notified of the proceedings. The records [are] bereft of any evidence showing even an attempt to have the subpoena dated April 29, 2019, served to the known address of the accused-movants as supplied by the private complainant,” Alejandra said. “This is evidenced by the absence of any return or transmittal. In the absence of such proof, this court finds the accused-movants were not given an opportunity to be heard.” Prosecutors had filed two counts of rape against the three men who, according to the victim, raped her on April 6, 2019, when she was still a minor. She filed a complaint with the police four days later. Roque said the accusation was politically motivated and meant to tarnish his reputation as he was running for a third term next year. He also denied the complainant was a minor, calling her complaint “purely lies and a made-up story.” Subscribe to our daily newsletter By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy . Upon his release from the Northern Police District detention facility, Roque returned to Pandi where he was met by supporters at the municipal hall grounds.None

Boston police arrest 2 on drones encroaching on Logan Airport

The deputy spokesman, Brotherhood of the Cross and Star (BCS), Archbishop Emmanuel Ekuri, Tuesday, attributed the current global crises to the failure of people to worship and focus on the teachings of the spiritual head of the universe, Olumba Olumba Obu. Archbishop Ekuri made this statement in Lokoja, Kogi state capital while addressing a world press conference to announce the commencement of the 2024 celebration of the divine manifestation of the sole spiritual head of the universe, Leader Olumba Olumba Obu. He said the current challenges faced by human race today, such as numerous conflicts, natural disasters, and diseases, can be solved through the teachings of Leader Olumba Olumba Obu. He pointed out that unless world leaders embrace all the divine precepts of the Brotherhood of Man-where all forms of discrimination cease to exist, and all people worship the Living God as taught by Leader Obu-humanity will continue to wallow in spiritual darkness. “Look at the world today, events happening now has clearly shown that the sure path to prosperity and salvation lies in the core values and basic principles taught by Leader Olumba Olumba Obu. “Across the world, ethnic, religious, and politically motivated wars have led to the unimaginable loss of lives. People now take lives with ease, without the fear of God who created it. “Today’s society is full of crime and brutality. There is no peace in the world, even nature is not at peace with man. Natural disasters that claim lives and destroy property on an unimaginable scale have become a daily occurrence, yet man refuses to ask why all these things are happening. Immorality has reached its peak, as man continues to hold on to sinful and godless ways. “Satanism is rampant. Many people worship God Almighty in vain because they teach false doctrines, the traditions of men, and some have even introduced idol worship into the house of God,” he said. The deputy spokesman who stated that the only way for humanity to attain peace is to embrace the Brotherhood of Man, as taught by Leader Olumba Olumba Obu, added that the Brotherhood of the Cross and Star is the ideal instrument for mankind to regain its spiritual, moral, and social freedom as beings created to serve God’s purpose.

Florida State continues torrid star with rout of UMass