Eton Pharmaceuticals stock soars to all-time high of $11.12Samsung’s upcoming One UI 7 update will no longer support the DeX app on Windows. A footnote on Samsung’s UK site, spotted by , reveals the DeX PC app “will end support from One UI 7 version,” with Samsung encouraging users to use the Link to Windows feature instead to take advantage of similar functionality with Microsoft’s Phone Link app on Windows. The DeX app for Windows, not to be confused with the broader DeX platform that turns your phone into a PC, lets you mirror your phone screen to a PC and easily drag and drop files between the devices. It’s very similar to Microsoft’s Phone Link app, which Samsung and Microsoft have collaborated closely on in recent years, so it makes sense that Samsung is favoring Microsoft’s native Android linking app in Windows. The change will take place in One UI 7, which is expected to debut in beta form later this month. Samsung initially teased One UI 7 during its developer conference last month, promising to deliver a developer beta before the end of the year. We’re still waiting to hear about all the new features in One UI 7, after leaks earlier this year suggest a beta was originally supposed to launch a lot sooner. The upcoming redesign also appeared in a video on Samsung’s Spanish website last week, demonstrating smoother animations, a revamped Quick Panel, and a pill-shaped live activities feature that looks similar to Apple’s Dynamic Island. One UI 7 will also reportedly include a number of new AI-powered features.10 jili casino 。

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NEWS HIGHLIGHTS: The U.S. Department of Commerce has awarded TI up to $1.6 billion in CHIPS Act funding to support three new 300mm semiconductor wafer fabs under construction in Texas and Utah . TI also expects to receive an estimated $6 billion to $8 billion from the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Investment Tax Credit for qualified U.S. manufacturing investments. The company will also receive up to $10 million to support workforce development. LEHI, Utah and SHERMAN, Texas , Dec. 20, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Texas Instruments (TI) (Nasdaq: TXN) and the U.S. Department of Commerce today announced an award agreement of up to $1.6 billion in direct funding through the U.S. CHIPS and Science Act, following the preliminary memorandum of terms announced in August 2024 . The funding will help support three of TI's new 300mm wafer fabs currently under construction in Texas and Utah. Support from the CHIPS Act, including the 25% investment tax credit, will help TI provide a geopolitically dependable supply of essential analog and embedded processing semiconductors. "As the largest analog and embedded processing semiconductor manufacturer in the U.S., TI is uniquely positioned to provide dependable, low-cost 300mm semiconductor manufacturing capacity at scale," said Haviv Ilan, president and CEO of Texas Instruments. "The increasing number of electronic devices in our lives depend on our foundational chips, and we appreciate the support from the U.S. government to make the semiconductor ecosystem stronger and more resilient." The CHIPS Act direct funding will support TI's investments through 2029 for three large-scale 300mm wafer fabs in Sherman, Texas (SM1 and SM2), and Lehi, Utah (LFAB2). Together, these fabs will manufacture tens of millions of analog and embedded processing chips every day that are critical to a variety of end markets, including automotive, industrial, personal electronics, communications equipment and enterprise systems. Specifically, the CHIPS Act direct funding will be distributed upon completion of project milestones, supporting: Cleanroom construction and tool installations at SM1 in Sherman, Texas ; Shell construction of SM2, a second fab in Sherman, Texas ; and Cleanroom construction and tool installations at LFAB2, a second fab in Lehi, Utah . These connected, multi-fab sites in Texas and Utah will benefit from shared infrastructure, talent and technology sharing, and a strong network of existing suppliers and community partners. Combined, TI's three new fabs in Texas and Utah will create 2,000 company jobs, along with thousands of indirect jobs for construction, suppliers and supporting industries. TI is also investing in building its future workforce. As part of the CHIPS Act award agreement, TI will also receive up to $10 million for workplace development efforts in Texas and Utah . Consistent with TI's longstanding commitment to responsible, sustainable manufacturing and environmental stewardship, the company's 300mm wafer fabs will be entirely powered by renewable electricity. Additionally, TI is committed to reducing overall water consumption across its operations, endeavoring to achieve a 70% water reuse capability in Sherman, Texas , and Lehi , Utah. All of TI's new 300mm fabs are also designed to meet LEED Gold standards for structural efficiency and sustainability. Learn more: TI CHIPS Act press kit (includes images, video b-roll, fact sheet) TI Sherman, Texas , press kit TI Lehi, Utah , press kit Notice regarding forward-looking statements This release includes forward-looking statements intended to qualify for the safe harbor from liability established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements generally can be identified by phrases such as TI or its management "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "foresees," "forecasts," "estimates" or other words or phrases of similar import. Similarly, statements herein that describe TI's business strategy, outlook, objectives, plans, intentions or goals also are forward-looking statements. All such forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. See Item 1A of TI's most recent Form 10-K for a detailed discussion of risk factors that could cause results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements included in this release are made only as of the date of this release, and we undertake no obligation to update the forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances. If we do update any forward-looking statement, you should not infer that we will make additional updates with respect to that statement or any other forward-looking statement. About Texas Instruments Texas Instruments Incorporated (Nasdaq: TXN) is a global semiconductor company that designs, manufactures, and sells analog and embedded processing chips for markets such as industrial, automotive, personal electronics, communications equipment and enterprise systems. At our core, we have a passion to create a better world by making electronics more affordable through semiconductors. This passion is alive today as each generation of innovation builds upon the last to make our technology more reliable, more affordable and lower power, making it possible for semiconductors to go into electronics everywhere. Learn more at TI.com . View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/texas-instruments-announces-award-agreement-for-chips-and-science-act-funding-302337541.html SOURCE Texas Instruments

Rookie quarterback Michael Penix Jr. showed the poise in his first NFL start the Falcons will need to take advantage of their opportunity to end a six-year playoff drought. Powered by a big-play defense that produced two pick-6s, a solid starting debut by Penix and two rushing touchdowns by Bijan Robinson, the Falcons cruised past the hapless New York Giants 34-7 on Sunday. On Sunday night, the Falcons (8-7) received the assist they needed when Tampa Bay lost at Dallas . Because the Falcons swept the Buccaneers, they hold the tiebreaker advantage if they remain tied atop the division. The Falcons have games remaining at Washington on Sunday night and at home against Carolina to close the regular season. If Atlanta wins both games, it would win the division and have a home playoff game. The Falcons are assured of their best record since a 10-6 finish under coach Dan Quinn in 2017, their most recent playoff season. Quinn is in his first season as Washington's coach and has led the Commanders (10-5) to three straight wins, including Sunday's 36-33 victory over Philadelphia. Penix, the No. 8 overall pick in this year's NFL draft, was promoted after coach Raheem Morris benched Kirk Cousins. Penix completed 18 of 27 passes for 202 yards with one interception on a pass that should have been caught by tight end Kyle Pitts. Penix is not a dual-threat quarterback, but he showed the ability to escape pressure in the pocket that Cousins lacks following his 2023 Achilles tendon injury. The left-hander's superior arm strength also was immediately obvious. Robinson's production provided a safety net for the offense which helped make for a smooth transition to Penix. Robinson had scoring runs of 2 and 4 yards. Robinson has rushed for 10 touchdowns this season. He's the first Atlanta player with 10 more more rushing touchdowns since Devonta Freeman during the 2016 Super Bowl season. Robinson ran for 94 yards on 22 carries and had 103 yards from scrimmage. His 11th game this season with at least 100 yards from scrimmage are the most for the Falcons since Warrick Dunn's 11 in 2005. Morris said Robinson deserves to be considered with Philadelphia's Saquon Barkley in discussions regarding the league's top running backs. “Bijan has been outstanding all year in the things that he’s able to do," Morris said. “He’s special. If it wasn’t for this other guy out in Philly, he’d get a lot more recognition across the league. But that guy is having a special year, and Bijan’s not far behind him.” With kicker Younghoe Koo on injured reserve and watching from the sideline, Riley Patterson was wide left on his first field-goal attempt from 43 yards. Patterson rebounded to make attempts from 52 and 37 yards. Jessie Bates III and Matthew Judon each had a pick-6 to highlight a day of big plays for the defense. Arnold Ebiketie had his fifth sack of the season and added a fumble recovery. Kaden Ellis added a strip-sack. He also has five sacks this season, including sacks in four consecutive games. It is the longest streak for Atlanta since Patrick Kerney had sacks in five straight games in 2001. There was some thought that a change at quarterback could be good news for Pitts, who often seemed to be missing in action with Cousins running the offense. After all, a tight end often is a natural target for quick passes from a rookie making his first start. Instead, Pitts had a poor start to the Penix era when he bobbled his first pass from the left-hander, creating an interception by cornerback Cor’Dale Flott. Pitts caught a 7-yard pass on his only other target. For the season, Pitts has 41 catches for 543 yards and three touchdowns. There will be much interest in this week's injury report after WR Drake London (hamstring) was hurt in the second half. Morris provided an optimistic postgame outlook on London. CB Antonio Hamilton (quad) did not return after leaving the game in the first half. 8: Bates has four interceptions and four forced fumbles. His combined eight forced turnovers lead the NFL. The game against Jayden Daniels and the Commanders is a reminder Penix was only the fourth of six quarterbacks selected in the first round of the NFL draft. Daniels, from LSU, was the No. 2 overall pick behind Caleb Williams by Chicago. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nflUS confirms billions in chips funds to Samsung, Texas Instruments

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US BILLIONAIRE Elon Musk, owner of social media platform X, has criticised Australia’s proposed law to ban social media for children under 16 and fine social media platforms of up to A$49.5 million (S$43 million) for companies for systemic breaches. Australia’s centre-left government on Thursday introduced the bill in parliament. It plans to try an age-verification system to enforce a social media age cut-off, some of the toughest controls imposed by any country to date. “Seems like a backdoor way to control access to the Internet by all Australians,” Musk, who views himself as a champion of free speech, said in a reply late on Thursday to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s post on X about the bill. Several countries have already vowed to curb social media use by children through legislation, but Australia’s policy could become one of the most stringent with no exemption for parental consent and pre-existing accounts. France last year proposed a ban on social media for those under 15 but allowed parental consent, while the US has for decades required technology companies to seek parental consent to access the data of children under 13. Musk has previously clashed with Australia’s centre-left Labor government over its social media policies and had called it “fascists” over its misinformation law. In April, X went to an Australian court to challenge a cyber regulator’s order for the removal of some posts about the stabbing of a bishop in Sydney, prompting Albanese to call Musk an “arrogant billionaire”. REUTERSPLAINS, Ga. (AP) — Newly married and sworn as a Naval officer, Jimmy Carter left his tiny hometown in 1946 hoping to climb the ranks and see the world. Less than a decade later, the death of his father and namesake, a merchant farmer and local politician who went by “Mr. Earl,” prompted the submariner and his wife, Rosalynn, to return to the rural life of Plains, Georgia, they thought they’d escaped. The lieutenant never would be an admiral. Instead, he became commander in chief. Years after his presidency ended in humbling defeat, he would add a Nobel Peace Prize, awarded not for his White House accomplishments but “for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development.” The life of James Earl Carter Jr., the 39th and longest-lived U.S. president, ended Sunday at the age of 100 where it began: Plains, the town of 600 that fueled his political rise, welcomed him after his fall and sustained him during 40 years of service that redefined what it means to be a former president. With the stubborn confidence of an engineer and an optimism rooted in his Baptist faith, Carter described his motivations in politics and beyond in the same way: an almost missionary zeal to solve problems and improve lives. Carter was raised amid racism, abject poverty and hard rural living — realities that shaped both his deliberate politics and emphasis on human rights. “He always felt a responsibility to help people,” said Jill Stuckey, a longtime friend of Carter's in Plains. “And when he couldn’t make change wherever he was, he decided he had to go higher.” Carter's path, a mix of happenstance and calculation , pitted moral imperatives against political pragmatism; and it defied typical labels of American politics, especially caricatures of one-term presidents as failures. “We shouldn’t judge presidents by how popular they are in their day. That's a very narrow way of assessing them," Carter biographer Jonathan Alter told the Associated Press. “We should judge them by how they changed the country and the world for the better. On that score, Jimmy Carter is not in the first rank of American presidents, but he stands up quite well.” Later in life, Carter conceded that many Americans, even those too young to remember his tenure, judged him ineffective for failing to contain inflation or interest rates, end the energy crisis or quickly bring home American hostages in Iran. He gained admirers instead for his work at The Carter Center — advocating globally for public health, human rights and democracy since 1982 — and the decades he and Rosalynn wore hardhats and swung hammers with Habitat for Humanity. Yet the common view that he was better after the Oval Office than in it annoyed Carter, and his allies relished him living long enough to see historians reassess his presidency. “He doesn’t quite fit in today’s terms” of a left-right, red-blue scoreboard, said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who visited the former president multiple times during his own White House bid. At various points in his political career, Carter labeled himself “progressive” or “conservative” — sometimes both at once. His most ambitious health care bill failed — perhaps one of his biggest legislative disappointments — because it didn’t go far enough to suit liberals. Republicans, especially after his 1980 defeat, cast him as a left-wing cartoon. It would be easiest to classify Carter as a centrist, Buttigieg said, “but there’s also something radical about the depth of his commitment to looking after those who are left out of society and out of the economy.” Indeed, Carter’s legacy is stitched with complexities, contradictions and evolutions — personal and political. The self-styled peacemaker was a war-trained Naval Academy graduate who promised Democratic challenger Ted Kennedy that he’d “kick his ass.” But he campaigned with a call to treat everyone with “respect and compassion and with love.” Carter vowed to restore America’s virtue after the shame of Vietnam and Watergate, and his technocratic, good-government approach didn't suit Republicans who tagged government itself as the problem. It also sometimes put Carter at odds with fellow Democrats. The result still was a notable legislative record, with wins on the environment, education, and mental health care. He dramatically expanded federally protected lands, began deregulating air travel, railroads and trucking, and he put human rights at the center of U.S. foreign policy. As a fiscal hawk, Carter added a relative pittance to the national debt, unlike successors from both parties. Carter nonetheless struggled to make his achievements resonate with the electorate he charmed in 1976. Quoting Bob Dylan and grinning enthusiastically, he had promised voters he would “never tell a lie.” Once in Washington, though, he led like a joyless engineer, insisting his ideas would become reality and he'd be rewarded politically if only he could convince enough people with facts and logic. This served him well at Camp David, where he brokered peace between Israel’s Menachem Begin and Epypt’s Anwar Sadat, an experience that later sparked the idea of The Carter Center in Atlanta. Carter's tenacity helped the center grow to a global force that monitored elections across five continents, enabled his freelance diplomacy and sent public health experts across the developing world. The center’s wins were personal for Carter, who hoped to outlive the last Guinea worm parasite, and nearly did. As president, though, the approach fell short when he urged consumers beleaguered by energy costs to turn down their thermostats. Or when he tried to be the nation’s cheerleader, beseeching Americans to overcome a collective “crisis of confidence.” Republican Ronald Reagan exploited Carter's lecturing tone with a belittling quip in their lone 1980 debate. “There you go again,” the former Hollywood actor said in response to a wonky answer from the sitting president. “The Great Communicator” outpaced Carter in all but six states. Carter later suggested he “tried to do too much, too soon” and mused that he was incompatible with Washington culture: media figures, lobbyists and Georgetown social elites who looked down on the Georgians and their inner circle as “country come to town.” Carter carefully navigated divides on race and class on his way to the Oval Office. Born Oct. 1, 1924 , Carter was raised in the mostly Black community of Archery, just outside Plains, by a progressive mother and white supremacist father. Their home had no running water or electricity but the future president still grew up with the relative advantages of a locally prominent, land-owning family in a system of Jim Crow segregation. He wrote of President Franklin Roosevelt’s towering presence and his family’s Democratic Party roots, but his father soured on FDR, and Jimmy Carter never campaigned or governed as a New Deal liberal. He offered himself as a small-town peanut farmer with an understated style, carrying his own luggage, bunking with supporters during his first presidential campaign and always using his nickname. And he began his political career in a whites-only Democratic Party. As private citizens, he and Rosalynn supported integration as early as the 1950s and believed it inevitable. Carter refused to join the White Citizens Council in Plains and spoke out in his Baptist church against denying Black people access to worship services. “This is not my house; this is not your house,” he said in a churchwide meeting, reminding fellow parishioners their sanctuary belonged to God. Yet as the appointed chairman of Sumter County schools he never pushed to desegregate, thinking it impractical after the Supreme Court’s 1954 Brown v. Board decision. And while presidential candidate Carter would hail the 1965 Voting Rights Act, signed by fellow Democrat Lyndon Johnson when Carter was a state senator, there is no record of Carter publicly supporting it at the time. Carter overcame a ballot-stuffing opponent to win his legislative seat, then lost the 1966 governor's race to an arch-segregationist. He won four years later by avoiding explicit mentions of race and campaigning to the right of his rival, who he mocked as “Cufflinks Carl” — the insult of an ascendant politician who never saw himself as part the establishment. Carter’s rural and small-town coalition in 1970 would match any victorious Republican electoral map in 2024. Once elected, though, Carter shocked his white conservative supporters — and landed on the cover of Time magazine — by declaring that “the time for racial discrimination is over.” Before making the jump to Washington, Carter befriended the family of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., whom he’d never sought out as he eyed the governor’s office. Carter lamented his foot-dragging on school integration as a “mistake.” But he also met, conspicuously, with Alabama's segregationist Gov. George Wallace to accept his primary rival's endorsement ahead of the 1976 Democratic convention. “He very shrewdly took advantage of his own Southerness,” said Amber Roessner, a University of Tennessee professor and expert on Carter’s campaigns. A coalition of Black voters and white moderate Democrats ultimately made Carter the last Democratic presidential nominee to sweep the Deep South. Then, just as he did in Georgia, he used his power in office to appoint more non-whites than all his predecessors had, combined. He once acknowledged “the secret shame” of white Americans who didn’t fight segregation. But he also told Alter that doing more would have sacrificed his political viability – and thus everything he accomplished in office and after. King's daughter, Bernice King, described Carter as wisely “strategic” in winning higher offices to enact change. “He was a leader of conscience,” she said in an interview. Rosalynn Carter, who died on Nov. 19 at the age of 96, was identified by both husband and wife as the “more political” of the pair; she sat in on Cabinet meetings and urged him to postpone certain priorities, like pressing the Senate to relinquish control of the Panama Canal. “Let that go until the second term,” she would sometimes say. The president, recalled her former aide Kathy Cade, retorted that he was “going to do what’s right” even if “it might cut short the time I have.” Rosalynn held firm, Cade said: “She’d remind him you have to win to govern.” Carter also was the first president to appoint multiple women as Cabinet officers. Yet by his own telling, his career sprouted from chauvinism in the Carters' early marriage: He did not consult Rosalynn when deciding to move back to Plains in 1953 or before launching his state Senate bid a decade later. Many years later, he called it “inconceivable” that he didn’t confer with the woman he described as his “full partner,” at home, in government and at The Carter Center. “We developed a partnership when we were working in the farm supply business, and it continued when Jimmy got involved in politics,” Rosalynn Carter told AP in 2021. So deep was their trust that when Carter remained tethered to the White House in 1980 as 52 Americans were held hostage in Tehran, it was Rosalynn who campaigned on her husband’s behalf. “I just loved it,” she said, despite the bitterness of defeat. Fair or not, the label of a disastrous presidency had leading Democrats keep their distance, at least publicly, for many years, but Carter managed to remain relevant, writing books and weighing in on societal challenges. He lamented widening wealth gaps and the influence of money in politics. He voted for democratic socialist Bernie Sanders over Hillary Clinton in 2016, and later declared that America had devolved from fully functioning democracy to “oligarchy.” Yet looking ahead to 2020, with Sanders running again, Carter warned Democrats not to “move to a very liberal program,” lest they help re-elect President Donald Trump. Carter scolded the Republican for his serial lies and threats to democracy, and chided the U.S. establishment for misunderstanding Trump’s populist appeal. He delighted in yearly convocations with Emory University freshmen, often asking them to guess how much he’d raised in his two general election campaigns. “Zero,” he’d gesture with a smile, explaining the public financing system candidates now avoid so they can raise billions. Carter still remained quite practical in partnering with wealthy corporations and foundations to advance Carter Center programs. Carter recognized that economic woes and the Iran crisis doomed his presidency, but offered no apologies for appointing Paul Volcker as the Federal Reserve chairman whose interest rate hikes would not curb inflation until Reagan's presidency. He was proud of getting all the hostages home without starting a shooting war, even though Tehran would not free them until Reagan's Inauguration Day. “Carter didn’t look at it” as a failure, Alter emphasized. “He said, ‘They came home safely.’ And that’s what he wanted.” Well into their 90s, the Carters greeted visitors at Plains’ Maranatha Baptist Church, where he taught Sunday School and where he will have his last funeral before being buried on family property alongside Rosalynn . Carter, who made the congregation’s collection plates in his woodworking shop, still garnered headlines there, calling for women’s rights within religious institutions, many of which, he said, “subjugate” women in church and society. Carter was not one to dwell on regrets. “I am at peace with the accomplishments, regret the unrealized goals and utilize my former political position to enhance everything we do,” he wrote around his 90th birthday. The politician who had supposedly hated Washington politics also enjoyed hosting Democratic presidential contenders as public pilgrimages to Plains became advantageous again. Carter sat with Buttigieg for the final time March 1, 2020, hours before the Indiana mayor ended his campaign and endorsed eventual winner Joe Biden. “He asked me how I thought the campaign was going,” Buttigieg said, recalling that Carter flashed his signature grin and nodded along as the young candidate, born a year after Carter left office, “put the best face” on the walloping he endured the day before in South Carolina. Never breaking his smile, the 95-year-old host fired back, “I think you ought to drop out.” “So matter of fact,” Buttigieg said with a laugh. “It was somehow encouraging.” Carter had lived enough, won plenty and lost enough to take the long view. “He talked a lot about coming from nowhere,” Buttigieg said, not just to attain the presidency but to leverage “all of the instruments you have in life” and “make the world more peaceful.” In his farewell address as president, Carter said as much to the country that had embraced and rejected him. “The struggle for human rights overrides all differences of color, nation or language,” he declared. “Those who hunger for freedom, who thirst for human dignity and who suffer for the sake of justice — they are the patriots of this cause.” Carter pledged to remain engaged with and for them as he returned “home to the South where I was born and raised,” home to Plains, where that young lieutenant had indeed become “a fellow citizen of the world.” —- Bill Barrow, based in Atlanta, has covered national politics including multiple presidential campaigns for the AP since 2012.

Among the 500,000 objects in the collection of the Powerhouse museum, its new trust president nominates a shopping arcade sign as his favourite. Business leader, and former Labor roads minister, David Borger, has the job of delivering the largest cultural infrastructure project in Australia since the Sydney Opera House. Powerhouse president, David Borger, says there is a lot riding on the opening of the Parramatta museum. Credit: James Brickwood All of that will be during an election campaign year, smack bang in the middle of one of the most marginal seats in NSW. “I’d be derelict in my duty if I didn’t feel pressure because there’s a lot riding on the opening of this museum,” Borger says. The electric neon sign to which he shares an emotional attachment once belonged to a mall he’d take his mum. Representative of the 1980s commercial retail development in Parramatta CBD – much of it flattened in a local building boom – it will be hung in one of the museum’s opening exhibitions showcasing the psychology of the shopping mall. “Mum had a mental illness,” Borger says. “She would be in Cumberland Hospital every three years, and we would come for a cup of tea in the Parramall cafe. “Now that sign from that little old shopping centre is going to be a part of something bigger. It’s remnant of a place that’s probably changed more than Dubai.” Born and bred nearby to Parramatta, Borger has been a longtime critic of the lop-sided distribution of cultural investment to city museums and galleries. He was, therefore, an obvious choice to step into the shoes of former Coalition arts minister Peter Collins to lead the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences trust from January 1. The trust has oversight of a $300 million revamp of the shuttered Ultimo campus, as well as the museum’s new $915 million Parramatta headquarters, the region’s first state-run cultural institution due to open in 2026. On the Parramatta riverside, more than 70 per cent of its 1300 pieces of exterior structure of the building are in place. Inside the concierge room of the Powerhouse where visitors will be welcomed. Credit: James Brickwood Installation of doors in the largest of the presentation spaces is underway where visitors will marvel at large objects showcasing the history of air travel and space exploration and First Nations stargazing. Visitors will spill out to a northern terrace. The museum will serve a region home to one-eighth of NSW’s population, one in five of whom are under 15 years, and half born outside Australia. For many, it will be the first time they step into a museum. “We’ve got to be a bit unpretentious here,” Borger says. “We don’t want to be too stuffy and conservative; we have to be welcoming. We have to deliver a great experience when someone walks in the door for the first time, something that knocks their socks off.” Suzette Meade, who led protests against the demolition of the historic villa, Willow Grove, which made way for the Powerhouse, questions spending on authors, chefs and photographers appointed as museum associates alongside professional curators and conservators. She is looking for the trust, led by Borger, to focus on delivering what was promised to the families of western Sydney – a museum of science and technology to rival the Smithsonian, as well as celebrating Parramatta’s rich cultural heritage. Borger is promising dedicated family exhibitions, with the interests of families and children embedded in all its offerings. He is “unapologetic” about finding new ways to present the collection. Nor should the public mind, he says, if weddings share presentation floor space. All but one of the seven Parramatta display spaces will be available for commercial hire. “The hope is that there’s some great experiences here and some revenue generating opportunities that can go to help with the operational costs. Loading “We need to make sure that people come back for multiple visits, that they feel a connection to the museum because quite frankly a lot of people haven’t felt close to their museums for a long time. They’ve lived so far away from them, it’s been hard to get to them.” Borger’s first challenge is meeting the government’s $75 million goal for private donations for building costs. Some $53 million has been raised for capital works over three years, $27 million short of its target. The museum is without a campaign director. Borger says there was a pipeline of prospective donors to the museum with “real weight” and was confident of “closing the gap”. Should he fall short, the bill will be picked up by taxpayers. To rumours of overruns in fitout and program, Borger concedes budgets can move. “I’m confident we will deliver an amazing series of exhibitions within the money that has been given to us,” he said, adding: “I think some people frankly don’t believe western Sydney could host a tier-one cultural institution. There’s some who still don’t. We’re going to prove them wrong.” Find out the next TV, streaming series and movies to add to your must-sees. Get The Watchlist delivered every Thursday . Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. License this article City life Tourism Australian culture For subscribers Linda Morris is an arts writer at The Sydney Morning Herald Connect via Twitter , Facebook or email . 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Check out a TikTok of the drink holder in action. Promising review : "I bought this to use on a cruise. I had such an easy time carrying my drinks around. So many people asked where I purchased it from." — Jasmine Get it from Amazon for $9.99 (available in multipacks). 4. A portable safe you can wrap around an umbrella, picnic table leg, or chair so you can stow away your phone, keys, wallet, and other small valuables without worrying about them being lost or stolen. Reviewers use this guy at water parks, the beach, all-inclusive resorts, and even in Airbnbs. PS : SafeGo is a small biz. Promising review : "Bought it for an overseas trip and it worked great. We used it both in a hotel room when the room safe was out of order and on the beach. I look forward to using it on outings this summer and I think it will be a very useful addition to my travel staples. I packed in my luggage full of toiletries and sunscreen so it didn't feel like it took up a ton of space and I could carry it in my purse/tote without it feeling too bulky. That said, you can fit a lot into it." — laurel Get it from Amazon for $39.95+ (available in six colors). 5. And the Ring Thing — a waterproof jewelry holder you can use when you're enjoying a day at the beach, zip lining, bungee jumping, or doing whatever other bucket list adventure you had in mind. Simply slip your ring in here and you won't have to worry about losing it at the bottom of a tote bag or denting/scratching it during any activities. The Ring Thing comes from BringThings, Inc., a woman-owned company dedicated to making "stylish, functional products." They donate a portion of each sale to A portion of each sale to anti-human trafficking non-profits. Promising review : "I take my wedding ring off at night when I go to bed. When I’m at home, I put it in a ring dish. But, whenever I am traveling, I’m always afraid that I might forget it or it might get knocked onto the floor, and I won’t be able to find it. So this works perfectly for me. Since it has a clip on it, I attach it inside my bathroom bag, and the problem is solved. My rings are safe and secure and won’t be forgotten. " — CG Get it from Amazon for $19.95 (available in 14 colors). 6. A thermal phone case to help protect your tech from the elements if you'll be out in the sun or next to a body of water. It can not only prevent your phone from overheating, but it extends the life of your battery, too! The pouch comes in two different sizes. The medium fits iPhone minis 10–15, 11–15 Pro, and the Galaxy22, while the large fits iPhone Plus/+/Max/11 and Galaxy Plus/Ultra. Promising review : "Works like a charm. Put your phone in the case and leave it in your car on a hot day, and it works great. Large size fits my phone, and it’s charging case. A little pricey but a good product." — AllyBe Get it from Amazon for $39.99+ (available in two sizes and seven styles). 7. Water-friendly Tevas *so* dang comfortable and lightweight, reviewers say they work beautifully for flat feet ~and~ super-high arches as well as swollen pregnant feet and even those with tendinitis. Promising review: "These are so comfortable!! I bought them for my trip to Hawaii. I have plantar fasciitis and need good arch support, or the pain is unbearable. These are super lightweight. The foam made them perfect for going in and out of water and hiking. I live in Washington state and left in January, so I wore socks with them for the travel. The only downside is that I did get a blister from them. Probably my fault for not wearing them a bit before heading out on a trip where I walked a LOT every day!!" — Regina Randall Get them from Amazon for $40 (available in women's sizes 5–13 and in 26 colors). 8. Or some Birkenstock ultra-lightweight EVA slides with the same ~superior~ level of comfort as the brand's iconic leather options. Promising reviews : "I have arthritis in both feet. These sandals are so comfortable! This is my second pair. They are just as comfortable (possibly more) than my leather Birkenstocks." — CoolCarol "This is my third pair of EVA Arizona sandals — I love them! They are great for summer and way more comfy than the usual flip-flops. Perfect for travel and hanging poolside." — GottaLuvLabs Get them from DSW for $49.96 (available in women's sizes 5–10.5 and in eight colors). 9. A trusty stick of Megababe's Thigh Rescue because enjoying the breeze for a few hours in a pair of shorts or a skirt shouldn't result in a days-long angry red rash. Megababe is a woman-owned small business from entrepreneur, body acceptance advocate, and influencer Katie Sturino. Promising review: "I bought this for my wedding, and the reviews didn’t lie or steer me wrong! This worked like a charm, and I even bought the puff and powder for other areas I didn’t want to put this on. You do have to make sure that you get the whole area, if you miss the smallest section you’ll notice. But 10/10 would recommend ." — Sierra Pruitt Get it from Amazon for $13.97 . 10. A packable floppy hat that way, your scalp doesn't suffer any third-degree burns while you're hanging out by your resort's pool. The wide brim will also keep your schnoz in the safe zone because, if you're anything like me, your nose *will* burn after just 0.01 seconds of sun exposure. Promising review : "Honey, this hat was giving me everything I needed it to give! I felt Gone With The Wind fabulous in this hat for my cruise vacation. It provided adequate shade for my face and shoulders while allowing me to shade myself from people I didn’t want to talk to! Bay-bay! It was EVERYTHING I needed it to be AND the size XL fit over my braids. So, my girls with protective styles or just big hair, this is the hat for you! 🎉" — 1922blue Get it from Amazon for $25.99+ (available in sizes M–XL and in eight colors). 11. And a genius magnetic luggage tag you can use to hold your sun hat because they are notoriously hard to pack, but what is a beach vacay without one?? The Fileist is a Los Angeles-based, woman-owned small biz from Lindsay Albanese. They create fashionable-yet-functional accessories designed to make your life just a bit easier. Promising review: "Love! Love! Love it! Very sturdy grip, and fashionable! I have had skin cancer numerous times, including melanoma. This is a must-have to keep me safe and fashionable — vacation or otherwise. I have thrown it in the overhead on a plane or shuffled through crowded venues, prior to COVID-19, and never lost my hat. This is a great gift, first to myself, and now to others! Thank you for keeping me safe and on point at an affordable price!" — Emily K. Get it from The Fileist for $55 (check out all hat holder styles here ). 12. Some Spot My UV's SPF-detecting stickers which give you a heads up when it's time to reapply sunscreen if that's something you are ~famously~ bad at doing. The waterproof patches last 12 hours or through six applications of sunscreen — whichever comes first. When purple, it's time to reapply and when clear, you're good to go! Promising review : "I am very sensitive to UV rays and I burn very easily. Discovering these UV stickers was the best thing to ever happen to my vacations. They take the guesswork out of knowing when to reapply your sunblock, helping you stay burn free without watching the clock and doing math. These work with both lotion and spray on sunscreen. One sticker works all day long and doesn't come off while you are out having fun." — Rachel W. Get them from Amazon for $15.99+ (available in packs of 16, 32, and 48). 13. A waterproof cellphone case if you'll be stepping foot anywhere near a river/ocean/waterfall/infinity pool with a swim-up bar and you don't want your phone to fall victim to splashes and/or accidental submersion. It fits any phone up to 100mm x 170mm (or about 3.9 inches x 6.7 inches). It's also a great fix for keeping out sand and dirt (and a great option for runners if you're caught in the rain but still want to be able to toggle through your music options). See why BuzzFeeder Elizabeth Lilly loves it here ! Promising review: " I took this on a cruise with me to Honduras, Mexico, and Belize, and it held up perfectly! I was so scared to put this in the water for the first time (after testing it, of course), but it proved to work very well! In fact, I ended up just using it as a carrying case for my room key and phone throughout the cruise! I took it with me snorkeling along the barrier reef in Belize, and I got so many wonderful pictures and videos underwater!" — GWinSD Get it from Amazon for $6.99 (available in 14 colors). 14. A sand-free mat for beach excursions because despite the fact that you're literally laying on ~billions~ of tiny crystals, you *will* lose your mind if any of said sand gets tracked back to your blanket. Promising review : "Bought this blanket for our family cruise and it was a lifesaver!! We used it on the beach and at a park. Fits four adults comfortably! Very minimal sand stuck on the bottom (not completely sandproof). Water repels so easy. The stakes are plastic and honestly useless, but we just put our bags at the corners and it worked perfectly. Honestly, my favorite part was that it was easy to fold and reinsert into the bag and it takes up little space!! Definitely glad we got it!! Would definitely recommend this product!" — BxBusyMom Get it from Amazon for $16.14 (available in two colors). 15. A cooling towel that'll be your best buddy whenever hiking, fishing, tanning, or doing your outdoor activity of choice. Soak it in some cold water, wring it out, and toss it around your neck so you * don't * end up looking like a freshly boiled lobster. Promising review: "We LOVE this thing. We vacationed in Egypt for scuba diving in June. After the diving part, we toured many places in Cairo and surrounding places, mostly on foot. Yes, it was freaking HOT. Being used to a humid climate, the well-intentioned 'yeah, but it's a DRY heat' didn't lessen the discomfort we felt. This was a lifesaver. It will always be in my travel pack , and I can use it for gardening and any other activity outside during the summer. I highly recommend!" — Native Texan Get it from Amazon for $14.97 . 16. A combination beach bag/cooler so you can pack your own drinks and snacks and not have to worry about dropping serious dollars on a single Coke or water bottle from the beach bar. Promising review : "Bought this for a cruise to haul my 12-pack of soda and two bottles of wine I'm allowed on board. Then once unloaded, it becomes my swimsuit and dry clothes bag with all my personal items stored in the 'cooler' compartment. Then for excursions, I unzip the cooler and just take the bag, which has a nice private zippered pocket for my travel docs, credit card, cruise card, anything flat. This beautiful bag seems to be perfect and well made. " — Kindle Customer Get it from Amazon for $14.99+ (available in three colors). 17. A handy sunglasses organizer case if you simply can't be bothered to pare down your picks to one or two sunnies. If you're an accessories guy/gal, this is a must. Promising review: "If you are high maintenance like myself and need sunglasses, reading glasses, and prescription lens, this is for you! I love how compact it folds down to." — Kylee Get it from Amazon for $15.95 . 18. Some quick-dry water shoes that'll protect your toes from hot sand, sharp rocks, and whatever other terrain you're dealing with. And when you're done, they fold down to basically nothing so you can slip them in your pack without playing tote bag Tetris. Promising review : "I bought these for a Caribbean cruise. They are perfect!!!!! Once we put them on at the beach, we ended up just wearing them back to the ship. Fairly easy to get your foot into which is a huge plus if you have ever used water shoes. They dry quick and have a thin rubber sole that is perfect for any beach, jet ski, canoe or kayak activities! I plan on ordering more for my family." — tontosmom Get them from Amazon for $6.99+ (available in women's sizes 4/5–13.5, men's sizes 3/4–12, and in 40 colors/designs). 19. Some Burt's Bees sunburn soother — a must for anyone prone to burns. The aloe- and coconut oil-infused formula soothes and moisturizes to calm inflamed skin so it *doesn't* feel like your epidermis is being ripped off every time you change your top. Promising review: "I was so super skeptical about this product. I am not a frequent user of this brand either. I read some good reviews so I went ahead and bought it ahead of a family cruise. I am so glad I did. I burnt my own shoulders and forehead on day one. When I made it back to my room, I could feel the pain setting in. I immediately applied this. Within a few hours, I could feel relief. I did apply it several times over the course of my vacation. I would recommend this product to anyone, and I will keep it in stock. Better than aloe gel." — Laura Get it from Amazon for $8.99 . 20. Some reviewer-loved Nippies if you've vowed to have a bra-free vacay. These silicone pasties come in two sizes and various colors, so chances are you'll find the right fit! Promising review: "I cannot tell you how much I LOVE these things. I had been using a cheaper pair of pasties, and these are a world apart from those. They cover everything really well and are super comfortable. I literally forget that they are on. I have worn them under really thin white shirts, and you can’t see anything! I LOVE THESE SO MUCH. So much that I just bought another pair so that I’ll never be without. " — Sara Reiland Get them from Amazon for $26.50 (available in five colors and two sizes). 21. Some Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Moisturizing Face SPF 60 Serum — a weightless sunscreen that not only offers UVA and UVB protection but all-day ****NON-GREASY*** moisture. The formula is also fragrance- and oxybenzone-free. Promising review: "I've gone through several sunscreens to wear with makeup, and this has been the best for me. I'm a simple girl. I apply this with vitamin C cream, let it absorb then apply my It Cosmetics CC cream. It acts like a primer for me, and my CC glides nicely over it, no pilling, no heavy or cakey feeling. It's def lightweight but provides great protection." — Emily Haynes Get it from Amazon for $12.20 . 22. And a water-resistant sunscreen stick so you can slather on SPF 50+ protection without having to touch your face with sweaty germ- or sand-covered fingers (depending on the type of vacay you're on). Promising review : "I have very fair skin, four children, and love my two-week beach vacation every summer, so we go through a LOT of sunscreen. Having a stick for faces is essential to avoid burning eyes while on the beach or in the pool. This is the best sunblock stick I have ever used. It goes on and blends so easily and doesn’t leave any white marks like some other brands. This will be my go-to stick from here on out! " — Heather Rink Get it from Amazon for $9.58 . 23. A sand-removal bag filled with a talc-free, reef-friendly powder that reviewers say eliminates sand in mere seconds! No more bringing the beach back home via your minivan. See it in action on TikTok ! BTW, Shakalo is a small business based in San Diego. BuzzFeed Shopping editor Sally Elshorafa has used it on herself and her toddler. She says, "It's actually shocking how well it worked. No sand was on our legs, arms, or tummies after I used it. A miracle product." Promising review: "We recently moved to a beach area, and we are constantly there. This item has changed our entire lives! It lasts decently long (depending on how much you use it), it smells super good (not at all like baby powder), and it's super effective. It has saved me from vacuuming my car at least 1–2 times a week. And I even use it on my dogs paws and bellies to make sure they're taken care of too. I will definitely be buying the refill & another baggie to have exclusively in the car. " — Gabbs Uresti Get it from Amazon for $24.99 . 24. A vintage-inspired floral bathing suit you can get away with wearing several times on the same vacation thanks to its reversible design. Reviewers mention if you're in between sizes, to size up! Promising review: "This suit is so pretty! I was nervous that for the price, it would be poor quality, but it looks just like the photos. The material is nice and thick, and I love that it’s padded. I’m between a small and medium, so I sized up based on other reviews." — Morgan Meldrum Get it from Amazon for $33.99 (available in women's sizes 2–14 and seven styles). 25. Quick-drying Teva sandals with a grippy outsole that make them ideal for all sorts of outdoor activities. One reviewer says they averaged 17,000 steps per day on their last trip and were the only one in their group to not get blisters, thanks to these bbs! Promising review: "I ordered these before my vacation and they are amazing! I was gone for 6 days and each day put in over 20,000 steps and these held up great. They were so comfortable and no rubbing or blisters at all. Walking on clouds." — K Bennett Get it from Amazon for $29.99+ (available in women's sizes 5–13 and 42 designs — not all designs available in all sizes). 26. An inflatable lounger because the only thing missing at the beach is your sofa, amirite? Well, that and your AC. Promising review : "Girlfriend and I bought these for traveling, and used them at the Newark Airport to sleep for several hours on a layover! Getting them inflated took some time, but overall we loved these! Packed easily in our carry-on packs, super comfortable, and saved us the cost of a hotel in NYC on St. Patrick's weekend! Will be using them again this summer on our trip to Europe! They have already paid for themselves five or six times over! " — Jesse Flegal Get it from Amazon for $33.92+ (available in 16 colors/prints). 27. A beach-friendly boxy cotton romper with big ol' pockets if you're the type to avoid carrying a bag at ALL costs. Promising review : "This is such a great romper — soft and light. Perfect for summer. I wear a white T-shirt or tank top with it to give a pop of color. It is open in the back, so I feel like you need something underneath. A long sports bra would work well, too." — Holly Carrell Yeager Get it from Amazon for $29.99 (available in women's sizes S–XL and in eight colors). 28. A pack of clinical-strength SweatBlock wipes capable of stopping hyperhidrosis, nervous sweating, and hormonal sweating right in its tracks. If pit stains are your enemy, this is their kryptonite. Apply it every seven days! This is STRONG so if you have sensitive skin, the manufacturer suggests you do a spot test first. Promising review : "For anyone who might be skeptical, please allow me to put you at ease. If you have hyperhidrosis, meaning it can be 9 degrees outside and you're still sweating under your arms, this product has the potential to change your life. I would sweat THROUGH a sport coat before noon. Enter the Sweat Block product. I've had it for three weeks and it is life changing. I DO NOT sweat under my arms anymore. I'm still on the original box that I bought three weeks ago. I had to write a review after I was cleaning the garage today in 85-degree heat. I was sweating through my shirt on my back — BUT NOT MY UNDERARMS. It is amazing!" — Frosty McGee Get a pack of eight from Amazon for $18.99 . 29. A lightweight, eye-catching striped lounge set — it comes with a matching top! — that'll make getting dressed so 👏 dang 👏 easy. Buy a few and you won't have to put any effort into your vacay wardrobe. Promising reviews : "Bought this cause I saw a girl on TikTok wear it. And I was very happy with what I received. This type of set is hit-and-miss. This is a hit. I sized up for a more oversized look, and it was perfect! I recommend!" — Rosemary Andreas "I bought this for vacation, but also just a cute summer set, and I love it! The shorts fit great, and the top is oversized, just like I wanted. I wore it with a white cropped shirt and kept the top unbuttoned." — Jessica Get it from Amazon for $29.59+ (available in women's sizes S–XL and 19 styles. And here's a similar plus size version for $28.99+ ). 30. A waterproof wet bag you can use for anything you don't want mingling with the clean clothes in your carry on. Diapers, wet bathing suits, towels, toiletries, breast pumps — this is the answer! Bumkins is a small biz that's been designing responsibly-made baby products for over 30 years now. Promising review : "I bought this to hold wet bathing suits and towels while traveling. It really got tested when I had a mishap getting on a catamaran from a beach and I had to swim back to shore with my bag of stuff. The clothing and phone that were inside this wet bag stayed dry! I just wish I'd had my towel packed inside it, too." — PCreative Get it from Amazon for $11.95 (available in dozens of designs). 31. And a hair wax stick so you can nail the slicked-back ponytail look on days when you can't be bothered to wash your hair because you're just gonna go swimming anyways. Ain't no shame in that game! Promising reviews: "I saw this on YouTube and immediately wanted to try it. I have curly hair, which I love, but sometimes I just want to put it in a ponytail and go on with my day. This is a time saver for all those little hairs that tend to stick up or don't want to stay in place. I’m not a fan of hairspray, and this even smells nice. I believe it’s a light coconut smell. Overall, you are satisfied, and you don’t need to use it much. I took it with me on vacation, and it saved me time in the evening from having to deal with bad hair days." — Blanca Perez Get it from Amazon for $7.99 (also available in multipacks). Reviews in this post have been edited for length and/or clarity.

MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 10, 2024-- The Board of Directors of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB) has declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.50 per common share, payable January 15, 2025, to stockholders of record at the close of business on December 31, 2024. At this quarterly dividend rate, the annual dividend is equivalent to $2.00 per common share. The Board of Directors also declared the following: About U.S. Bancorp U.S. Bancorp, with more than 70,000 employees and $686 billion in assets as of September 30, 2024, is the parent company of U.S. Bank National Association. Headquartered in Minneapolis, the company serves millions of customers locally, nationally and globally through a diversified mix of businesses including consumer banking, business banking, commercial banking, institutional banking, payments and wealth management. U.S. Bancorp has been recognized for its approach to digital innovation, community partnerships and customer service, including being named one of the 2024 World’s Most Ethical Companies and Fortune’s most admired superregional bank. Learn more at usbank.com/about . View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241210470741/en/ CONTACT: Investor contact: George Andersen, Director of Investor Relations, U.S. Bancorp Investor Relations george.andersen@usbank.comMedia contact: Jeff Shelman, U.S. Bancorp Public Affairs and Communications jeffrey.shelman@usbank.com KEYWORD: MINNESOTA UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA INDUSTRY KEYWORD: PROFESSIONAL SERVICES PAYMENTS TECHNOLOGY FINANCE BANKING PERSONAL FINANCE ACCOUNTING SOURCE: U.S. Bancorp Copyright Business Wire 2024. PUB: 12/10/2024 04:57 PM/DISC: 12/10/2024 04:58 PM http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241210470741/enBillionToOne to Present at the 43rd Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference

There was a bit to learn from the webinar held on December 10 by EnergyCo; essentially a new organisation having grown from 20 to 200 people in three years and with a new board headed by Paul Binsted, and now also a new CEO. I have high confidence in the board: Alex Wonhas developed the ISP, Binsted did a great job as chair of Stanwell, Rebecca Colvin has a strong reputation in social license. The new CEO Hannah McCaughey is much travelled, career-wise, most recently being a senior adviser at ClimateWorks and having also worked at Ausgrid, Gelion, APA and British Gas according to her LinkedIn profile. I don’t propose to go into much detail about Energyco in this note ,but just to comment that: 1. The webinar did not address the issue of ensuring that the renewable developers will build the plant they have committed to. At the moment my strong understanding is that the developers wont commit until there is complete assurance that the transmission will be ready on time. Since the coal generators are definitely closing by the early 2030s, and will likely become even more unreliable well before then, it’s not an issue that can be ignored. The job requires that all the things necessary to keep the lights on be achieved. That involves the transmission, the connections modelling, the social licence and that the generation be built. At the moment, my sense is that the New South Wales government is fully aware of the issue but just unprepared to tackle it. 2. I was personally unhappy with Andrew Kingsmill’s response to a question about the South West Renewable Energy Zone (SW REZ). Andrew stated that the Orana zone requires 100 km of new transmission (plus some reinforcement downstream) and that the New England zone requires 250 km. However, according to Kingsmill, the SW Zone requires 500 km. That, for sure, is fair enough as far as it goes – and the SW zone, from a Sydney perspective, requires not just Humelink but also significant reinforcement of the Southern Sydney Loop. However, the SW zone is so attractive from a resource and social license perspective – and also very well located from a NEM perspective, with connections via VNI West to Victoria and Energy Connect to South Australia as well as Humelink – that I just don’t think that answer is forward-thinking enough. Equally, the quality of developer in the area and the project approvals that have already been obtained are way better than those in New England. In simple English, New Englanders are full of Barnaby Joyce types who would not know a good idea if it hit them on the head, whereas Riverina people and councils are interested in regional development. Technically it’s likely that SW development, excluding transmission, is cheaper as it is flat ground which makes crane access far more straightforward. Equally it’s an EnergyCo director – Alex Wonhas – who has written about using batteries to avoid the N-1 issues of double circuit lines, an idea basically poo-pooed by Kingsmill who said that batteries could only offer minor improvements to line capacity. An alternative view is that batteries could double capacity. At the very least, 4 GW switch gear could be used at Humelink, even though I will guess it wont be. Certainly they would be big batteries. If there was 4 GW going through Humelink and one circuit trips within 30 minutes AEMO needs to be secure for the loss of the second circuit, or so I’m told. Obviously I don’t know. I’m a financial analyst, On the we discussed the transmission links to the SW Zone with Brett Redman, CEO of Transgrid, who also expressed reservations. On the other hand, in another episode, So it’s clear that what the developers want and what the transmission people want are at odds. In my view this needs to be sorted out. Otherwise, I expect the renewable developers may well take things into their own hands as Westwind has hinted at doing in Victoria. Certainly, a far more cohesive and thoughtful response is required than it was possible for Andrew Kingsmill to give in a 30 second response to a question. In summary, EnergyCo is well on its journey now but it’s far, far too early to call it a success. Major issues still need to be sorted out. In particular I do think EnergyCo needs to be flexible, and to be fair it has shown flexibility, but also to think very hard about where the generation should be built and to ensure it is built by 2030.A journalist jailed in Azerbaijan for nearly seven months has said he believes his arrest is linked to his reporting. Farid Mehralizada, an economist and journalist with VOA’s sister outlet Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, has been jailed since May on charges including conspiring to smuggle foreign currency. The journalist, his employer and press freedom groups believe the case is retaliatory and part of a wider crackdown in Azerbaijan. In messages relayed to VOA through his wife, Mehralizada spoke about his passion for journalism and said he believed he was targeted for his work. “I’ve always enjoyed working with statistical data and numbers. As a journalist and economist, it was my job to interpret them,” Mehralizada said. Mehralizada says he believes he is being detained in retaliation for his work, which is often critical of the government’s economic policy. “I think my arrest highlighted how authoritarian governments, like Azerbaijan’s, fear the power of numbers and the reality they reveal through statistics,” Mehralizada said. Among the journalist’s criticisms was that the Azerbaijani government isn’t diversifying the economy’s reliance on oil and gas. Mehralizada is one of at least 14 journalists jailed in the past year for their work in Azerbaijan, according to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, or CPJ. Several of them work at Abzas Media, one of the country’s most prominent anti-corruption investigative outlets. Mehralizada did not work with Abzas Media but he sometimes provided expert commentary to the outlet. Still, he is facing charges of “conspiring to smuggle foreign currency” in connection to a case brought against Abzas Media. Mehralizada denies the charge. Mehralizada and Abzas Media have both said that he never worked for the outlet. Mehralizada is facing additional charges of “illegal entrepreneurship, money laundering, tax evasion and document forgery.” He faces up to 12 years behind bars if convicted of all the charges against him. He denies the accusations. A trial against Mehralizada and six Abzas Media staffers began on Dec. 17 in Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku. Press freedom groups say the charges against the group of journalists are politically motivated. The trial “epitomizes the way the Azerbaijani government has used retaliatory criminal charges to lock up vast swathes of the country’s leading independent journalists over the past year,” Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator, said in a statement. RFE/RL has condemned the trial and called for Mehralizada’s immediate release. “Farid is being punished for reporting uncomfortable truths about Azerbaijan’s economy. Azerbaijan must end this sham trial and release Farid to his wife and newborn daughter,” RFE/RL President Stephen Capus said in a statement last week. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken also called for the release of Mehralizada and other journalists jailed in Azerbaijan. “The United States is deeply concerned not only by these detentions, but by the increasing crackdown on civil society and media in Azerbaijan,” Blinken said in a statement earlier in December. Azerbaijan’s Washington embassy and foreign ministry did not reply to VOA’s emails requesting comment. When the trial began, Mehralizada’s wife, Nargiz Mukhtarova, said it was difficult to see her husband and the other defendants in handcuffs. “But their courage was incredibly impressive,” she told VOA. “They were smiling during [the] hearing.” In prison, Mukhtarova said, her husband spends his days reading books — nearly 200 of them since he was detained — and doing crossword puzzles. He is being treated well, but without internet access, he “mostly suffers” from a lack of economic news, Mukhtarova added. Mukhtarova and her husband are permitted one weekly meeting, which she said they always look forward to. “He is doing good,” she said. “His mood is better now because at least they have a chance to talk publicly about their case.” The trial is set to resume on Dec. 28.