Waterford Whisky distillery closes as it fails to raise fresh funding
Gold Moves Lower, Rumble Shares JumpLAST WEEK SAW an abundance of media attention on the Dublin central constituency due to a nail-biting race for the final seat which came down to the wire. Now, post-election, as talks begin to form the new government, it is vital that the constituency, particularly the North Inner City, continues to receive adequate attention and the recognition that the solutions to its issues lie in structural reforms at a national level. The community is a proud community which is steeped in a rich history, but has not been without its challenges. In the 1980’s the community was deeply impacted by the heroin epidemic. The effects of that epidemic had an intergenerational impact, with many people in the community still navigating addiction and its complexities. Many continue to face long periods before gaining access to appropriate treatments, either for their substance use or for the mental health issues which often go hand in hand with them. If you take a walk around the community, you’ll see many people forced to navigate their illness in damp laneways and other hidden away corners of the community. Many families are still losing loved ones to overdoses. At ages much below the national life expectancy. There has been much talk of a health-led approach, but what’s needed now is a commitment to that which is enshrined in legislation through decriminalisation at a minimum, coupled with unprecedented investment in addiction and wrap-around services. For those who engage in offending behaviour which relates to their addiction, alternative sanctions to incarceration, such as restorative justice, need to be at the fore of the criminal justice response. Imprisonment of those who sell drugs, along with those who have a problematic relationship with them, into one institution is bound to reinforce the issue. Not only does it create an impenetrable market, but also causes an additional barrier in the form of a conviction, which can impact employment and other future opportunities. There’s still largely a system that punishes an individual for relatively low-level offences they may have committed during a tumultuous period in their life. This is something that must change if we are to break cycles in the community. Education has long been seen as the main escape from poverty. The idea was that by staying in school, studying hard, and performing well in exams, one could access the pathways to secure and well-paying employment. The reality is that many children in this community, face unimaginable barriers to the realisation of that truth. The idea that a child who is immersed in a dysfunctional environment daily, be that in their home or wider community, can perform as well as peers who come from less chaotic environment, with more social capital, in the same exams, is not realistic. The children in this community are amazingly resilient and ambitious, but the education system in its current form isn’t set up to see them succeed if they face any of the issues which impact so many in the community. We tend to celebrate if a child from the community gets a place on an access programme in Trinity or another prestigious third-level institution. But in reality, while this is great, we shouldn’t settle for this. An education system which is reformed to see children from the North Inner city get into Trinity as easily as any other student in the country should be our aim. As a result of these barriers, many young people in the community are at risk of leaving the education system early. The research tells us that this results in a massive risk factor in terms of them being groomed and exploited within the drug trade. Child criminal exploitation is still a massive issue in the community. It’s a problem which has received much and interventions, and services are reaching some young people and diverting them. But overall, if another feud started tomorrow, it’s hard to see any other outcome than a number of young people within the community easily being caught up in it. We have some pieces of legislation aimed at tackling the issue, like Fagin’s Law, but poverty is the common denominator in most of these cases, and until that is addressed at a structural level, these projects will continue to firefight and children will continue to be systematically frogmarched towards a prison cell or an early grave. None of this is to say that we haven’t had investment in the community. Overall, we have seen an increase in funding for both the youth sector and the youth justice strategy, for example, in successive budgets. This is much welcomed, and it’s inspiring to see that the state sees value in them. But these sectors were heavily hit during austerity, and the current funding is likely only getting them back to where they should have been many years ago. But we have also had a recent feud and the added impact of a pandemic which has drastically increased the amount of funding needed if they are to reach everyone who needs to be reached. There are also several initiatives currently operating within the area which are focused on regeneration or community safety. There’s much good work being done through these initiatives, but they’re still by and large addressing symptoms as opposed to root causes. The community needs appropriate and ambitious investment in these projects, as well as ensuring they aren’t geographically limited to one part of the community. A recurring issue is that a particular estate might be impacted by a problem, especially if it’s one of the parts of the communities where there are high levels of dereliction or vacancy. Neglected people are often drawn to neglected places, so it’s easy to see why some spaces are impacted more than others. The response then usually involves that space being blocked off or regenerated in some way, which moves the issue to another area of the community but does little to actually resolve it in a sustainable way. If these new spaces fall outside the remit of certain schemes, it can create barriers in terms of feeding into structures or accessing funding for the necessary work to be carried out by community based projects. I would love to suggest that the views put forward in this piece contain a profound or unique insight to the issues of the north inner city. But in reality, they’re the things figures such as the late inner city activist, Fergus McCabe, were calling for many years ago, and they’re the things the next generation of community leaders will be calling for unless they’re addressed. If we want to see positive outcomes for the community, its residents need to benefit from the new, prosperous Republic they keep hearing so much about.MONACO — Canadians Alex Tessier, Sophie de Goede and Laetitia Royer have been named to World Rugby's Women’s 15s Dream Team of the Year. Canada sevens captain Olivia Apps, meanwhile, was selected to World Rugby's Women’s Sevens Dream Team. The women's 15s world all-star squad also featured six players from top-ranked England and three from No. 2 New Zealand. The other three came from the U.S., Ireland and France. Tessier was also a finalist for the World Rugby Women’s 15s Player of the Year award won by England fullback Ellie Kildunne. France's Pauline Bourdon Sansus and England's Alex Matthews were the other finalists. Tessier won her 50th cap in 2024 and, playing at inside centre alongside fly half Claire Gallagher, led the Canada women to a historic first-ever victory over New Zealand to win the 2024 Pacific Four Series in May. The 22-19 comeback victory lifted Canada into second place in the women’s world rankings, its highest position since November 2016. Tessier's strong kicking game was also key for Canada. The 31-year-old from Sainte-Clotilde-de-Horton, Que., scored 27 points in starting all six matches for Canada in 2024 to up her career total to 48 points (including five tries) in 54 appearances. Tessier plays professionally in England for the Exeter Chiefs. De Goede made the all-star team despite tearing her anterior cruciate ligament in training in June. A finalist for the Women's Player of the Year award in 2022, the Victoria back-rower plays in England for Saracens. Royer, from Loretteville, Que., is a second-row forward who plays in France for ASM Romagnat. Top-ranked South Africa dominated the men's 15s all-star squad with seven players represented. Ireland had four players with New Zealand three and Argentina one. --- World Rugby's 15s Dream Teams of the Year Women 1. Hope Rogers (U.S.); 2. Georgia Ponsonby (New Zealand); 3. Maud Muir (England); 4. Zoe Aldcroft (England); 5. Laetitia Royer (Canada) ; 6. Aoife Wafer (Ireland)' 7. Sophie de Goede (Canada) ; 8. Alex Matthews (England); 9. Pauline Bourdon Sansus (France); 10. Holly Aitchison (England); 11. Katelyn Vahaakolo (New Zealand); 12. Alex Tessier (Canada) ; 13. Sylvia Brunt (New Zealand); 14. Abby Dow (England); 15. Ellie Kildunne (England). Men 1. Ox Nche (South Africa); 2. Malcolm Marx (South Africa); 3. Tyrel Lomax (New Zealand); 4. Eben Etzebeth (South Africa); 5. Tadhg Beirne (Ireland); 6. Pablo Matera (Argentina); 7. Pieter-Steph du Toit (South Africa); 8. Caelan Doris (Ireland); 9. Jamison Gibson-Park (Ireland); 10. Damian McKenzie (New Zealand); 11. James Lowe (Ireland); 12. Damian de Allende (South Africa); 13. Jesse Kriel (South Africa); 14. Cheslin Kolbe (South Africa); 15. Will Jordan (New Zealand). World Rugby Sevens Dreams Team of the Year Women Olivia Apps (Canada) , Michaela Blyde (New Zealand), Kristi Kirshe (U.S.), Maddison Levi (Australia), Ilona Maher (U.S.), Jorja Miller (New Zealand), Séraphine Okemba (France). Men Selvyn Davids (South Africa), Antoine Dupont (France), Aaron Grandidier Nkanang (France), Terry Kennedy (Ireland), Nathan Lawson (Australia), Ponipate Loganimasi (Fiji), Matías Osadczuk (Argentina). This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 27, 2024. The Canadian PressIn today's world, the technological landscape is experiencing unprecedented transformation through innovative approaches to software development and data processing. A comprehensive new research study has emerged from Mohammed Naseer Khan , a technology researcher from the USA, that explores the revolutionary impact of distributed applications and real-time data processing on modern software systems The Digital Revolution Accelerates The landscape of software development is experiencing a dramatic shift as distributed systems and real-time processing capabilities evolve. Market projections indicate substantial growth, with the distributed systems market expected to reach $10.7 billion by 2025, growing at 16.4% annually. This surge reflects the increasing demand for high-performance computing solutions across industries. Breaking Down Traditional Barriers Modern software architecture is moving away from monolithic systems toward more flexible, distributed approaches. The adoption of microservices has reached a remarkable 77% among organizations, with 92% reporting successful implementations. This architectural transformation enables businesses to build more scalable and resilient applications while improving development efficiency. Real-Time Processing Emerges as Game-Changer The real-time analytics market is witnessing explosive growth, projected to reach $39.3 billion by 2025. This surge is driven by the need for instant data processing and decision-making capabilities. Organizations are increasingly leveraging these technologies to gain competitive advantages and deliver enhanced user experiences. Innovation Drives Healthcare Transformation The healthcare sector is witnessing remarkable advancements through distributed systems and real-time processing. Modern medical facilities can now process and analyze patient data instantaneously, leading to improved care outcomes. Real-time health monitoring systems have demonstrated the ability to reduce hospital readmission rates by up to 38% for patients with chronic conditions. Financial Services Evolution The financial sector is experiencing a technological renaissance with real-time processing capabilities. Modern trading systems can execute transactions in microseconds, while advanced fraud detection systems analyze patterns instantaneously. These innovations have enabled financial institutions to reduce credit default rates by up to 25% through real-time risk assessment models. Smart Cities and Sustainable Future The convergence of distributed systems and IoT technology is transforming urban management, with smart city initiatives achieving 30% energy savings in lighting systems. As IoT devices surge toward 75 billion by 2025, generating massive data volumes, cities stand poised for unprecedented technological advancement. Retail Revolution in Motion E-commerce platforms are leveraging distributed systems to handle massive transaction volumes during peak sales events. Real-time recommendation engines have demonstrated the ability to increase conversion rates by up to 320%, while advanced inventory management systems ensure optimal stock levels through instantaneous data processing. The Road Ahead The convergence of distributed systems and real-time processing is paving the way for unprecedented innovations. Edge computing is emerging as a crucial technology, with the market expected to reach $43.4 billion by 2027. The advent of 5G networks promises to reduce latency to as low as 1 millisecond, compared to 20-30 milliseconds for 4G networks, enabling even more sophisticated applications. Future-Ready Architecture The software development landscape is evolving toward more sophisticated distributed architectures. Service mesh implementation, AI-driven optimization, and event-driven architectures are becoming standard practices. These advancements are enabling organizations to build more resilient and scalable systems while maintaining high performance and reliability. In conclusion, the technological landscape's transformation is creating remarkable opportunities across sectors. Healthcare diagnostics, financial trading, smart cities, and retail solutions are being revolutionized by the combination of distributed systems and real-time processing. The integration of AI and machine learning with core technologies is driving extraordinary innovations. Mohammed Naseer Khan 's research shows these advancements are actively transforming business operations and customer experiences, not just theoretical concepts. His findings indicate a future where intelligent software systems will deliver unprecedented efficiency, fundamentally changing business operations and consumer-technology interactions.
A group of international human rights organizations warned this Friday about the risk of impunity in cases against Guatemalan military officers for massacres committed during the civil war (1960–1996). Their concern stems from the suspension of certain trials against military officers for crimes against humanity in appeals courts and changes in the human rights prosecutor’s office ordered by the controversial Attorney General Consuelo Porras. These actions represent “a significant setback,” the NGOs stated in a joint communiqué, including the U.S.-based WOLA, the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL), Impunity Watch, and the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights. They recalled that on November 28, an appeals court suspended the trial of retired General Benedicto Lucas García, 92, for the extermination of Indigenous people. This occurred just as a tribunal was about to issue a verdict. had been brought to trial for his responsibility in the massacre of over 1,200 Indigenous people between 1978 and 1982, during the presidency of his brother, Romeo Lucas García, who died in Venezuela in 2006. Earlier in November, another appeals court suspended the start of a trial against eight retired military officers, including Lucas García, accused of forced disappearances. The case involves the discovery of more than 500 skeletal remains at a former military base. These remains were exhumed between 2012 and 2015 at a base now home to the Regional Training Center for Peacekeeping Operations for UN missions in Cobán (north). NGOs have described the site as “the largest clandestine cemetery in Latin America.” Adding to the judicial decisions, Porras ordered the dismissal of three prosecutors and the transfer of 11 assistant prosecutors who were “investigating cases related to the armed conflict.” The Guatemalan Attorney General is sanctioned by the United States and the European Union, which have labeled her as “corrupt” and “anti-democratic.” In 2023, Porras led an offensive to prevent social democrat Bernardo Arévalo from assuming power. “These decisions not only jeopardize the victims’ right to justice but also weaken the rule of law and democracy in the country,” the NGOs stated. The civil war left an estimated 200,000 people dead or missing, according to a UN-sponsored commission, with most of the victims attributed to the military, who accused Indigenous people of collaborating with the leftist guerrillas.
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Rosenblatt polled its analysts, including Steve Frankel, gathering their top picks for the first half of 2025. The stocks reflect key themes across its research universe, including the Age of Artificial Intelligence and the build-out of next-generation broadband. Steve Frankel maintained a Buy rating on Advanced Micro Devices, Inc AMD with a price target of $250. Also Read: Nvidia Secures EU Approval For Run:ai Deal, US Probes China Export Breach AMD is one of Rosenblatt’s top picks for the first half of 2025 on momentum in CPU and GPU share gains into 2025 and a broader non-AI recovery exiting 2025. The difference entering 2025 is that the Street acknowledges this dynamic, which has legs for double-digit market share in GPU compute and AI inference at the edge, being a secular opportunity on Xilinx incumbency and chiplet prowess. AMD’s EPYC processors will likely continue increasing the company’s revenue share in server and Data Center CPUs as the business proposition is significant, the analyst said. AMD’s MI350 in 2025 and MI400 in 2026 GPUs will drive additional revenues and increased market share on hyperscale adoption, chiplet scale, and AI moving to the edge, he added. The price target reflects a 25-times P/E multiple to Frankel’s $10.00 fiscal 2026 adjusted EPS. This multiple is in line with the analyst’s AI compute group average of 25 times. Frankel reiterated a Buy rating on Micron Technology, Inc MU with a price target of $250. Micron is one of Rosenblatt’s top picks for the first half of 2025, as he liked the big opportunity for DRAM content deployment in AI platforms going forward. In particular, the analyst liked Micron’s HBM opportunity, where the trade ratios are 3-to-1 to DDR5 and moving to 4-to-1 with the move to HBM4, a structural shift Frankel did not witness in any other memory cycle. Industry HBM supply continues to be an issue to watch as supply does not catch up to demand well into calendar 2025. For Micron, Frankel’s viewpoint on HBM is more related to the overall implications of DRAM bit supply, with HBM3E garnering a 3-to-1 trade ratio and HBM4 a 4-to-1 trade ratio, creating a favorable supply and demand dynamic. Frankel noted Micron as an HBM share gainer in HBM3E and HBM4 varietals and as the segment moves from 8-Hi to 12-Hi and 16-Hi configurations, where power efficiency (a Micron structural advantage) becomes increasingly important. Frankel found using P/E to value Micron reasonable, given its proven consistent profitability through cross-memory cycles, aggressive share buybacks, and a cycle driven by AI workload dynamics correlating to DRAM content. The price target reflects a mid-teens P/E multiple on the analyst’s $18 fiscal 2026 adjusted EPS. Price Actions: At last check on Monday, AMD stock was up 4.70% at $124.82. MU is down 0.78%. Also Read: Broadcom Expects Decade-Long AI Chip Boom as Big Tech Invest Billions Photo via Shutterstock © 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Jensen Huang, the chief executive of Nvidia, is the 10th-richest person in the United States, worth $US127 billion ($198.6 billion). In theory, when he dies, his estate should pay 40 per cent of his net worth to the government in taxes. But Huang, 61, is not only an engineering genius and Silicon Valley icon whose company, the world’s second-most valuable, makes the chips that power much artificial intelligence. He is also the beneficiary of a series of tax dodges that will enable him to pass on much of his fortune tax-free, according to securities and tax filings reviewed by The New York Times . His family’s savings are on pace to be roughly $US8 billion ($12.5 billion). This likely ranks among the largest tax dodges in the United States. Nvidia’s Jensen Huang at the Dreamforce conference in San Francisco. Credit: Bloomberg The types of strategies Huang has deployed to shield his wealth have become ubiquitous among the ultrawealthy. It is just one sign of how the estate tax – imposed on a sliver of the country’s multimillionaires – has been eviscerated. Revenue from the tax has barely changed since 2000, even as the wealth of the richest Americans has roughly quadrupled. If the estate tax had kept pace, it would have raised around $US120 billion ($187 billion) last year. Instead, it brought in about a quarter of that. The story of Huang’s tax avoidance is a case study of how the ultrarich bend the US tax system for their benefit. His strategies were not explicitly authorised by Congress. Instead, they were cooked up by creative lawyers who have exploited a combination of obscure federal regulations, narrow findings by courts, and rulings that the IRS issues in individual cases that then served as models for future tax shelters. ‘Don’t expect anyone in Congress to stop this’ “You have an army of well-trained, brilliant people who sit there all day long, charging $US1,000 an hour, thinking up ways to beat this tax,” said Jack Bogdanski, a professor at Lewis & Clark Law School and the author of a widely cited treatise on the estate tax. “Don’t expect anyone in Congress to stop this.” The richest Americans can pass down approximately $US200 billion ($312 billion) each year without paying estate tax on it, thanks to the use of complex trusts and other avoidance strategies, estimated Daniel Hemel, a tax law professor at New York University. Enforcement of the rules governing the estate tax has eased in part because the IRS has been decimated by years of budget cuts. In the early 1990s, the agency audited more than 20 per cent of all estate tax returns. By 2020, the rate had fallen to about 3 per cent. Newly elected Senate majority leader John Thune. Credit: AP The trend is likely to accelerate with Republicans controlling both the White House and Capitol Hill. They are already slashing funding for law enforcement by the IRS. The incoming Senate majority leader, John Thune, and other congressional Republicans for years have been trying to kill the estate tax, branding it as a penalty on family farms and small businesses. Yet, Huang’s multibillion-dollar manoeuvre – detailed in the fine print of his filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and his foundation’s disclosures to the IRS - shows the extent to which the estate tax has already been hollowed out. An Nvidia spokesperson, Stephanie Matthew, declined to discuss details of the Huangs’ tax strategies. The United States adopted the modern estate tax in 1916. In recent decades, congressional Republicans have successfully watered it down, cutting the rate and increasing the amount that is exempt from the tax. Today, a married couple can pass on about $US27 million ($42 million) tax-free; anything more than that is generally supposed to be taxed at a 40 pr cent rate. Can you dig it? In 2012, Huang and his wife, Lori, took one of their first steps to shield their fortune from the estate tax. They set up a financial vehicle known as an irrevocable trust and moved 584,000 Nvidia shares into it, according to a securities disclosure Huang filed. The shares were worth about $US7 million ($11 million) at the time, but they would eventually generate tax savings many times greater. The Huangs were taking advantage of a precedent set nearly two decades earlier, in 1995, when the IRS blessed a transaction that tax professionals affectionately nicknamed “I Dig It.” (The moniker was a play on the name of the type of financial vehicle involved: an intentionally defective grantor trust.) One of the beauties of I Dig It was that it had the potential to largely circumvent not only the estate tax but also the federal gift tax. That tax applies to assets that multimillionaires give to their heirs while they’re alive and essentially serves as a backstop to the estate tax; otherwise, rich people could give away all their money before they die in order to avoid the estate tax. In Huang’s case, the details in securities filings are limited. But multiple experts, said it was almost certainly a classic I Dig It gift, loan and sale transaction. The $US7 million of shares Huang moved into his trust in 2012 are today worth more than $US3 billion ($4.7 billion). If those shares were directly passed on to Huang’s heirs, they would be taxed at 40 per cent – or well over $US1 billion. Instead, the tax bill will probably be no more than a few hundred thousand dollars. The Huangs soon took another big step toward reducing their estate tax bill. In 2016, they set up several vehicles known as “grantor-retained annuity trusts” or GRATs, securities filings show. They put just over 3 million Nvidia shares into their four new GRATs. The shares were worth about $US100 million ($156 million). If their value rose, the increase would be a tax-free windfall for their two adult children, who both work at Nvidia. That is precisely what happened. The shares are now worth more than $US15 billion ($23.4 billion), according to data from securities filings compiled by Equilar, a data firm. That means the Huang family is poised to avoid roughly $US6 billion ($9.4 billion) in estate taxes. If the Huangs’ trusts sell their shares, that will generate a hefty capital gains tax bill – more than $US4 billion ($6.2 billion), based on Nvidia’s current stock price. The Huangs can pay that bill on behalf of the trusts without it counting as a taxable gift to their heirs. Tax strategy Starting in 2007, Huang deployed another technique that would further reduce his family’s estate taxes. This strategy involved taking advantage of his and his wife’s charitable foundation. Huang has given the Jen Hsun & Lori Huang Foundation shares of Nvidia worth about $US330 million ($516 million) at the time of the donations. Such donations are tax-deductible, meaning they reduced the Huangs’ income tax bills in the years that the gifts took place. Foundations are required to make annual donations to charities equal to at least 5 per cent of their total assets. But the Huangs’ foundation is satisfying that requirement by giving heavily to what is known as a donor-advised fund. Such funds are pools of money that the donor controls. There are limitations on how the money can be spent. Buying cars or vacation homes or the like is off-limits. But a fund could, say, invest money in a business run by the donor’s friend or donate enough money to name a building at a university that the donor’s children hope to attend. There is a gaping loophole in the tax laws: Donor-advised funds are not required to actually give any money to charitable organisations. When the donor dies, control of the fund can pass to his heirs – without incurring any estate taxes. In recent years, 84 per cent of the Huang Foundation’s donations have gone to its donor-advised fund, named GeForce, an apparent nod to the name of an Nvidia video game chip. The Nvidia shares the Huangs have donated are today worth about $US2 billion ($3.1 billion). The fund is not required to disclose how its money is spent, though the foundation has said the assets will be used for charitable purposes. Matthew said those causes included higher education and public health. But there is another benefit. Based on Nvidia’s current stock price, the donations to the fund have reduced Huang’s eventual estate tax bill by about $US800 million ($1.2 billion). This article originally appeared in The New York Times . The Business Briefing newsletter delivers major stories, exclusive coverage and expert opinion. Sign up to get it every weekday morning .UCLA coach DeShaun Foster says performance coach apologized to team after penaltyDaily Dose of Social Media: Sabalenka shares off-season routine as Sharapova and Venus Williams dazzle at Fashion Awards
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Courtesy of Larie Pidgeon A family member of Hannah Kobayashi, the missing 30-year-old who has not been heard from in almost a month , says the search for her is "not over" — after authorities said almost immediately after apparently disappearing. “Knowing Hannah crossed the border does not provide the answers I need, nor does it ease the heartbreak I feel,” Larie Pidgeon tells PEOPLE about her niece. “That said, my heart is still broken, and my worry for Hannah has not lessened," Pidgeon continues. "It has been 21 days since I last heard from her—21 days of silence, of fear, and of questioning what could have led to this.” “I will not stop until I know my niece is safe and doing this on her own accord and in a good mental state,” Pidgeon adds. At a news conference on Monday, Dec. 2, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) announced surveillance footage from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection “clearly shows Kobayashi crossing the United States border on foot into Mexico.” Related: According to Police Chief Jim McDonnell, Kobayashi entered Tijuana, Mexico, on Nov. 12 just after noon local time. She was on foot and used the San Ysidro point of entry tunnel. “She was alone, with her luggage and appeared unharmed,” McDonnell said. Pidgeon, who has been acting as a spokesperson for the Kobayashi family, maintains to PEOPLE that her niece never mentioned any plans about traveling to Mexico. “No one in her life knew she intended to go there,” Pidgeon says. She goes on to say of Kobayashi that “what alarms me even more is her , her social media, and her world—this is not who she is. And I can’t shake the last messages she sent friends and family, which I’ve replayed in my mind a thousand times, trying to make sense of it but still cannot.” LAPD Last month, Kobayashi was traveling from her home in Maui to N.Y.C. with a layover in L.A. Pidgeon that her niece had landed a job photographing a DJ and had drawn up an hour-by-hour detailed schedule. Kobayashi made her flight from Maui to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on Nov. 8 but did not get on her connecting plane bound for N.Y.C. Pidgeon told PEOPLE that on Nov. 11, Kobayashi’s relatives began receiving text messages from the missing woman saying “I think someone’s trying to steal my identity. I’m really scared.” Pidgeon described the messages as cryptic and uncharacteristic of her niece. "Hannah speaks in emojis,” she said at the time, adding, “Usually there’s a heart or flower or a fairy. That’s how she speaks. And these messages didn't have a single emoji.” The LAPD determined that, based on further investigation, Kobayashi “knowingly departed” LAX and went to Union Station. There, authorities said, she used her passport to purchase a bus ticket for a destination in the vicinity of the Mexican border. McConnell, the police chief, told reporters that the investigation found no proof that Kobayashi was "being trafficked or is the victim of foul play.” Following the police update on Monday, Pidgeon tells PEOPLE that she had not seen the video footage of Kobayashi crossing into Mexico but trusts authorities’ due diligence that it was her niece. She thanked authorities for their hard work and dedication to the search, echoing a . Related: “I love Hannah with all my heart, and that love is what drives me to keep searching for her,” Pidgeon says. “Everything I’ve done, every plea I’ve made, every step I’ve taken—it’s all been out of love. I will not stop until I can confirm, face-to-face, that she is safe and making these decisions of her own accord.” The Kobayashi family has been dealing with another recent death: Ryan Kobayashi, Hannah’s father, was on Nov. 24 after traveling to California to help in the search for his daughter. The L.A. County medical examiner said Ryan, 58, . “This has been the most painful and confusing time of my life,” Pidgeon says. “I’ve felt heartbreak, frustration, and hope all at once.” Pidgeon also expressed gratitude to those who also helped in the efforts to find Kobayashi. “To everyone who has supported me—whether by searching, sharing her story, or simply praying for her—I cannot thank you enough,” she says. “Your kindness reminds me that even in the darkest moments, there are good people in this world.” Read the original article on
The Earth's Corr: Traffic gridlock here to stay unless funding and mindsets shiftTrump Cabinet picks, appointees targeted by bomb threats and swatting attacksCopy link Copied Copy link Copied Subscribe to gift this article Gift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe. Already a subscriber? Login Australian shares are poised to rise, though futures could fade as selling gathered momentum in New York. Disappointments from Dell and HP – which each were more than 12 per cent lower, and CrowdStrike dragged tech stocks. All seven of the magnificent seven slid, paced by Nvidia. Though the group was paring its earlier losses in mid-afternoon trading. Copy link Copied Copy link Copied Subscribe to gift this article Gift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe. Already a subscriber? Login Introducing your Newsfeed Follow the topics, people and companies that matter to you. Latest In Equity markets Fetching latest articles Most Viewed In Markets
ATHENS, Ohio (AP) — Jackson Paveletzke scored 23 points as Ohio beat Morehead State 88-76 on Saturday night. Paveletzke also contributed eight rebounds for the Bobcats (4-5). Elmore James scored 16 points, shooting 6 for 8, including 2 for 4 from beyond the arc. AJ Clayton went 5 of 10 from the field (2 for 7 from 3-point range) to finish with 14 points. The Eagles (3-6) were led in scoring by Tyler Brelsford, who finished with 16 points, six rebounds and five assists. Jalen Breazeale added 13 points for Morehead State. Kade Ruegsegger also had 12 points, six rebounds and three steals. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .4 reasons to add this unique BC lodge to your bucket list
That pink-and-green movie about the two witches subsumed social media and the box office during the last weeks of 2024. So much so it could be easy to forget that "Wicked" is, in many ways, the apotheosis of a year in which the movie musical genre returned from the celluloid grave. The is-it or isn't-it quandary Early in 2024, the movie version of the musical adaptation of Tina Fey's "Mean Girls" was released. It was both loved and loathed and much discussion was had about the studio's marketing of the movie, in which the trailers gave no indication that this newest "Mean Girls" was indeed a musical. That was despite recent precedent for the box-office triumph of a movie musical. "Despite the success of movies such as 'Wonka' and 'The Greatest Showman,' studios seemed nervous to advertise the musical elements of their song-and-dance extravaganzas," said Ryan Faughnder at the Los Angeles Times . As 2024 ticked on, the is-it-or-is-it-not musical releases swelled: the Joker sequel, "Joker 2: Folie à Deux;" the Timothée Chalamet -led Bob Dylan biopic "A Complete Unknown;" the award-grabbing drug cartel caper "Emilia Pérez." By year's end, "Moana 2," the prequel to "The Lion King," "Mufasa," and the blockbuster "Wicked" all showed their hand, not pretending one bit they were anything but musicals. As Faughnder said, "If anyone went into 'Wicked' not knowing it was a musical, that's on them." Why song-and-dance right now? Production on movies, obviously, begins long before a film's release. Trying to pin the filmmaker's intent on the current societal or political moment is folly. Still, movies resonate with the time of their birth into the cinematic world, whether the artists aim them to or not. During a fraught economic and political present, when it "seems like we've been fractured beyond repair," the musical can bring a "utopian message of hope and resilience," said Desirée J. Garcia, an associate professor at Dartmouth College and author of "The Movie Musical," to the Los Angeles Times . The genre lends itself to finales of "coming together" and surmounting "division and conflict." Many of the movie musicals of 2024 are intricate; they embrace darkness, as the movie musicals of Old Hollywood did not. Where once there was froth, there are now suds, yes, but also shadows. The "stars of this new cycle" deserve praise because the characters they play are "vastly more complex (and confused) than those of the old musicals," said Peter Bart at Deadline . "Gene Kelly in 'Singing in the Rain' and Fred Astaire in 'Top Hat' were essentially airheads." Movie trends can evaporate as quickly as they appear, so the movie musical boom could soon disintegrate. It is near-certain this vanishing will not occur in 2025. Come next November, the second installment of "Wicked," called "Wicked: For Good," will be released, another likely box-office victory.
