By Lindsay Shachnow New England natives and residents were not hard to come by on Forbes’ 14th annual 30 Under 30 List , unveiled Tuesday. The Forbes list recognizes leaders from North America within 20 different industries. Boston ranked as one of the top five cities where the listers reside, alongside New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Austin. The list was developed by an independent panel of judges, including Olympic Champion Lindsey Vonn, New York Liberty CEO Keia Clarke, National Geographic Society Chair-person Jean Case, and more, according to a press release . “Over the past decade the 30 under 30 lists have spotlighted over 12,000 young leaders and entrepreneurs around the world,” the statement said. “Forbes lists capture some of the most prominent people and companies that have profound impact at the time of publication.” Boston Celtics’ Jayson Tatum , who has earned five All-Star selections, three All-NBA nods, and the 2023 All-Star Game MVP since the Boston Celtics drafted him in 2017, has also “built a robust portfolio off the court,” Forbes said of the 26-year-old basketball star. Forbes estimates Tatum’s off-court endeavors, including a sneaker deal with Nike’s Jordan Brand and a starring role in Netflix reality series Starting 5 , earn him $13 million annually. In a sitdown interview as part of the list’s announcement, Tatum, who was named a notable honoree on this year’s list, said he wants to “continue to keep getting better.” “As a kid, I was very motivated — I set a bunch of goals for myself, and I’ve been blessed in real time to slowly be able to check off certain boxes that I wanted to accomplish,” he said. Forbes wrote that 2023 was a “breakout year” for Vermont native Noah Kahan, whose folk-pop style music is seven years in the making. Kahan’s album Stick Season climbed to the No. 3 spot on the Billboard 200 last summer and earned him a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist last year. “Kahan’s own tour has also taken off, selling out every show in North America and Europe(,) all while he raised $4 million for his nonprofit The Busyhead Project, which focuses on mental health initiatives,” the New England singer-songwriter’s profile says . Claire Cottrill, publicly known as Clairo, was raised in Carlisle, Massachusetts. She emerged as a singer-songwriter in 2017, when her song “Pretty Girl” went viral on YouTube. The following summer, Clairo opened for Dua Lipa and performed at Lollapalooza. “Clairo has now opened for Boygenius’ shows in 2023, released an EP, and shared a full-length album,” Clairo’s Forbes profile says . “With multiple headlining tours now under her belt, Clairo counts 4 million followers on her Instagram account.” Gabby Thomas, who grew up in Northampton, Massachusetts, was honored on Forbes’ sports list. Thomas helped launch 2024’s Athlos Invitational, a women’s-only track meet, according to her profile. “After winning bronze in the 200 meters and silver in the 4×100-meter relay at the Tokyo Olympics, Gabby Thomas upgraded to gold in both events at the Paris Games, adding a victory in the 4×400 to become the first American track athlete to win three golds in the same Olympics in 12 years,” Forbes wrote . Vermont’s Ilona Maher, a 28-year-old rugby player, helped the United States obtain its first Olympic rugby medal — a bronze at the 2024 Paris Games. In the process, Maher has become a social media sensation, posting Tiktok videos about her life. “She now has more than 7 million social media followers and uses her videos to speak openly on body positivity and the issues she faces as a female athlete,” Maher’s profile reads . Maher was also featured in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition and on ABC’s “Dancing With The Stars.” Coi Leray of Boston, Massachusetts, has added Forbes 30 Under 30 to her list of accomplishments, including 2024 Best Rap Performance and Best Pop Dance Recording Grammy nominations. According to her profile , Coi started making music at age 14, and has now reached 14 million monthly Spotify listeners. She released her first full studio album in 2022, which charted Billboard’s US 200. Lindsay Shachnow Lindsay Shachnow covers general assignment news for Boston.com , reporting on breaking news, crime, and politics across New England. Boston.com Today Sign up to receive the latest headlines in your inbox each morning. Be civil. Be kind.super ace 2 casino real money 。

The Green Bay Packers (11-4) travel to meet the Minnesota Vikings (13-2) for a Week 17 matchup Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:25 p.m. ET (FOX). Below, we look at Packers vs. Vikings odds from BetMGM Sportsbook's NFL odds before making our expert NFL picks and predictions later in the week. The Packers roughed up the injury-depleted New Orleans Saints 34-0 Monday night at Lambeau Field. Green Bay covered the spread as 14-point favorites and the Under (43.5) cashed. The Packers have won 5 of the past 6 games and have covered 5 contests in a row. The Under has hit in back-to-back games and in 5 of the past 7 outings. The Vikings kept pace with the Detroit Lions for first place in the NFC North, winning 27-24 at the Seattle Seahawks. Minnesota covered as a 2.5-point favorite with the Over (43) hitting. The Vikings have won 8 in a row, while covering in the last 3. They are 5-2-1 ATS in the win streak, while alternating the Over and Under in each of the past 6 outings since Week 11. Play our free daily Pick’em Challenge and win! Play now ! Packers at Vikings odds Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook ; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list of NFL odds . Lines last updated Tuesday at 5:54 p.m. ET. 2024 betting stats FOOTBALL NEVER STOPS Live games, analysis and more 7 days a week: Get ESPN+ Packers vs. Vikings head-to-head The Packers lead the all-time series 66-59-3, which includes a 1-1 split in 2 playoff matchups. The Vikings won 31-29 in the first meeting at Lambeau Field this season in Week 4 Sept. 29. Behind QB Sam Darnold , Minnesota jumped out to a 28-0 lead in the second quarter and hung on for the 2-point win, covering as a 2.5-point underdog with the Over (44.5) cashing. Darnold finished with 275 passing yards, 3 TDs (all in the first half) and 1 interception. The visiting team has actually won and covered the past 3 meetings in this series. Green Bay's last victory vs. Minnesota was in Week 17 of last season, a 33-10 rout as a 1-point road favorite with the Over (42) hitting. The Vikings are 5-3 straight up and ATS in the past 8 in the series, with the O/U splitting at 4-4. The losing team has been held to 10 or fewer points in 4 of the past 6 meetings, too. For more sports betting picks and tips , check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW . Follow Kevin J. Erickson on Twitter/X . Follow SportsbookWire on Twitter/X and like us on Facebook . Access more NFL coverage: BetFTW | TheHuddle Fantasy Football | BearsWire | BengalsWire | BillsWire | BroncosWire | BrownsWire | BucsWire | CardsWire | ChargersWire | ChiefsWire | ColtsWire | CommandersWire | CowboysWire | DolphinsWire | EaglesWire | FalconsWire | GiantsWire | JaguarsWire | JetsWire | LionsWire | NinersWire | PackersWire | PanthersWire | PatriotsWire | RaidersWire | RamsWire | RavensWire | SaintsWire | SeahawksWire | SteelersWire | TexansWire | TitansWire | VikingsWire | DraftWire | TouchdownWire | ListWire More NFL Picks and Predictions! Kansas City Chiefs at Pittsburgh Steelers odds, picks and predictions SportsbookWire's NFL Week 17 picks: ML, ATS and O/U predictions for all games First look: Las Vegas Raiders at New Orleans Saints odds and linesIron ore futures prices gained for a second straight session on Tuesday, supported by pre-holiday restocking by steelmakers in top consumer China and revived hopes of stimulus. The most-traded May iron ore contract on China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange (DCE) TIO1! ended daytime trade 1.29% higher at 783 yuan ($107.28) a metric ton. The benchmark January iron ore (SZZFF5) on the Singapore Exchange recouped earlier losses to rise 0.21% to $101.5 a ton by 0712 GMT. It had fallen to $99.9 earlier in the session. “Winter restocking of iron ore among steel mills is still underway, so we believe ore prices will find some support in the near term and destocking at ports will likely continue until end-January,” said Jiang Mengtian, a Shanghai-based analyst at consultancy Horizon Insights. “We peg the support level at 760 yuan and 770 yuan a ton and the resistance level at 810 yuan a ton.” Chinese steelmakers usually build up stocks ahead of the Chinese New Year, which starts from Jan. 28, to meet production needs during and after the holiday. Market sentiment was also boosted by a Reuters report that Chinese authorities have agreed to issue 3 trillion yuan worth of special treasury bonds next year, which would be the highest on record, as Beijing ramps up fiscal stimulus to revive a faltering economy. A few cities in northern China, including steel production hub Handan, announced emergency response from Monday amid forecast air pollution, according to consultancies Lange Steel and Mysteel. This pressured the key steelmaking ingredient earlier in the session, said analysts. Local steel mills are typically required to curb production under such emergency actions. Other steelmaking ingredients on the DCE were mixed, with coking coal down 0.52% and coke (DCJcv1) up 0.59%. Most steel benchmarks on the Shanghai Futures Exchange advanced. Rebar RBF1! rose 0.91%, hot-rolled coil edged up 0.53%, stainless steel HRC1! strengthened 0.54%, while wire rod (SWRcv1) shed 0.42%. Source: Reuters

Unacademy is reportedly close to an acquisition, but cofounder and CEO Gaurav Munjal has denied the speculation. What’s the true picture? What’s happening at Unacademy? Reports indicate that the company is close to an acquisition, but cofounder and CEO Gaurav Munjal has immediately come out and denied this speculation . This is not the first time that Unacademy has been in the news for an acquisition, but this is perhaps the closest the startup has come thus far, by all indications. To his credit, Munjal has always denied wanting to get an M&A, but Unacademy has not exactly shown any major momentum since mid-2022. After the troubled times of the past two years, a potential deal for Unacademy could be a silver lining for the sector and indeed for Unacademy, which has downsized in a big way in the past 24 months. Will Unacademy eventually cave in to potential pressure from investors to find an exit and go in for an M&A or will Munjal & Co finally be able to deliver some positive news in terms of profit in the next future? Let’s look to answer these two questions but after a look at the top stories from our newsroom this week: Unacademy was already in the news this week when reports suggested that Unacademy was in advanced discussions with Allen Career Institute for a potential sale for $800 Mn. This would represent a big haircut on the company’s last private valuation of close to $3.4 Bn, but it would still be a relative success story in edtech, after the past two years. However, Unacademy CEO Munjal took to LinkedIn today (December 7) and dismissed the reports of acquisition talks as “rumours”.“We are building Unacademy for the long run. We are not doing any sale or M&A. Ignore the rumours,” Munjal said. Incidentally, just hours before Munjal posted on LinkedIn, sources at Allen told Inc42 that deal is most likely to go through, but that the valuation is unclear. Besides denying talks over an M&A, Munjal added that 2024 will be the best year for Unacademy in terms of growth in the offline business and overall unit economics. He claimed the edtech startup had seen 30% growth in its offline business with unit economics improving considerably. He also added that despite degrowth in the online test prep business, the vertical has seen improved unit economics. Munjal also claimed that the company’s monthly cash burn had declined by 50% in 2024, with $170 Mn in cash reserves, no debt and a runway of over four years. He claimed that SaaS arm Graphy grew by 40% profitably, language learning product Airlearn surpassed ARR of $400K in the US, just four months after launch. Unacademy narrowed its consolidated net loss by almost 40% in FY23 (ended March 31, 2023), but there’s no clarity on how it has performed in terms of the unit economics and revenue growth since then. Even last year, Munjal claimed that Unacademy had managed to reduce its cash burn by 60% in 2023, and also said that the online business had shrunk. These are the only updates from Unacademy in the past two years in terms of the financials. It’s certainly not helpful when Munjal’s claims aren’t backed by financial disclosures, and instead one has to rely on numbers from more than 18 months ago to ascertain how Unacademy has performed. As of March 2023, the Peak XV-backed edtech unicorn had a net loss to INR 1,678.1 Cr (down 40% compared to FY22). Operating revenue had seen a 26% growth YoY to INR 907 Cr, with INR 137 Cr in non-operating income. Between March 2023 and December 2024, Unacademy has seen a slew of exits. Partner and chief operating officer Karan Shroff , strategy head Arnab Dutta, COO Vivek Sinha, chief of staff Abhyudaya Singh Rana were among those who quit last year. The exits continued this year too. In June 2024, cofounder Hemesh Singh stepped down and moved on to an advisory role, followed by the exit of chief operating officer (COO) for offline centres Jagnoor Singh in July 2024. But to bulk up its leadership, Unacademy appointed former CRED head of finance Pratik Dalal as chief financial officer (CFO) of its offline business Unacademy Centres , as it looked to put this vertical front and centre in its operations. Combined with the fact that online test prep has seen degrowth as Munjal claimed, it’s looking like Unacademy is clearly an offline learning company today. Having $170 Mn in cash reserves is only good as long as Unacademy can show actual profits in the offline learning business, which can contribute to the capital reserves and be leveraged for expansion. Competition such as Physics Wallah (PW) has raised $210 Mn this year to capture the offline learning opportunity. Outpacing such a well-capitalised rival will not be easy. Allen too is a major competitor for Unacademy, so perhaps the legacy company is looking at Unacademy has a way to add some distance between itself and PW. This is the only position in which Unacademy might be able to bargain for a higher valuation, according to the CEO of an education business. At the moment, it’s not clear how far Unacademy has improved its unit economics in all of FY24 and more than six months into the ongoing fiscal year. The fact that the company laid off 250 employees earlier this year as part of a restructuring exercise to improve its bottom line does not necessarily go towards long-term profitability moves. It also laid off 145 employees from PrepLadder in March . Unacademy has been the subject of acquisition talks for a number of months. Just earlier this year, the company was said to be in talks with fellow Peak XV portfolio company K-12 Techno Services , but sources close to the latter indicated that Unacademy’s unit economics situation was not clear, and there was no path to profitability yet. In light of this, Munjal’s defence of Unacademy’s financial position is reminiscent of another edtech founder who insisted that everything is well despite the situation worsening. Of course, we are talking about BYJU’S, which once claimed to be profitable, only to retract it later. Unacademy’s Munjal had once said that Raveendran not listening to “anyone” was one of the reasons for BYJU’S troubles . In a post on X, Munjal had said, “Byju failed because he didn’t listen to anyone. He put himself on a pedestal and stopped listening. Don’t do that. Never do that. Don’t listen to everyone but have people who can give you blunt feedback.” It was almost exactly one year ago that Munjal claimed the company t urned down a tempting $500 Mn debt offer , and a host of merger and acquisition (M&A) opportunities in 2021, at the height of the funding peak. Coincidentally, this December, Munjal is back saying that he is not interested in selling the company. “We are building Unacademy for the long run. We are not doing any sale or M&A. Ignore the rumours,” the CEO said. But it’s hard to ignore the speculation when it comes every now and then, and when the company does not seem to have seen any major improvements in its financials, its retention of key employees, and degrowth in the core business. In lieu of these indisputable indicators, what we have is Munjal’s claims about Unacademy’s best year yet. And if we have learnt anything in the past two years, it’s that such claims need to be taken with a grain of salt.

BERLIN (AP) — Harry Kane scored a hat trick including two penalties for Bayern Munich to beat Augsburg 3-0 in the Bundesliga on Friday. The win stretched Bayern’s lead to eight points ahead of the rest of the 11th round, and Kane took his goals tally to a league-leading 14. The England forward is the fastest player to reach 50 goals in the Bundesliga in what was his 43rd game. However, coach Vincent Kompany should be concerned by his team’s ongoing difficulty of scoring in matches it dominates. Bayern previously defeated St. Pauli and Benfica only 1-0. Kompany’s team had to wait until stoppage time before Kane sealed the result with his second penalty. Two minutes later, Kane scored with a header after controlling Leon Goretzka's cross with his first touch for a flattering scoreline. “We had to be patient,” Kane said. “And at halftime that’s what we said, to keep doing what we’re doing. We had a few chances in the first half and we just had to be a bit more clinical and obviously, thankfully, we got the penalty to kind of open the game up.” Mads Pedersen was penalized for handball following a VAR review and Kane duly broke the deadlock in the 63rd. Bayern continued as before with 80% possession, but had to wait for Keven Schlotterbeck to be penalized through VAR for a foul on Kane. Kane sealed the result in the third minute of stoppage time and there was still time for him to grab another. It’s Bayern’s seventh consecutive win without conceding a goal since it conceded four at Barcelona (4-1) on Oct. 23 in the Champions League. “You can see now that we have a solid defense and that's the basis, also in games like today's,” Bayern midfielder Joshua Kimmich said. “When it's a game of patience, then it's important for us to know that sometimes one goal will have to do. Like today we added two more before the finish, but in the end you only need to score one more than the opponent.” Bayern next hosts Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Tuesday, then Borussia Dortmund away in the Bundesliga next weekend, before defending champion Bayer Leverkusen visits in the third round of the German Cup. ___ AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer Ciarán Fahey, The Associated Press

Deep-pocketed investors have adopted a bearish approach towards GameStop GME , and it's something market players shouldn't ignore. Our tracking of public options records at Benzinga unveiled this significant move today. The identity of these investors remains unknown, but such a substantial move in GME usually suggests something big is about to happen. We gleaned this information from our observations today when Benzinga's options scanner highlighted 41 extraordinary options activities for GameStop. This level of activity is out of the ordinary. The general mood among these heavyweight investors is divided, with 12% leaning bullish and 75% bearish. Among these notable options, 33 are puts, totaling $1,459,370, and 8 are calls, amounting to $307,195. What's The Price Target? Based on the trading activity, it appears that the significant investors are aiming for a price territory stretching from $15.0 to $125.0 for GameStop over the recent three months. Volume & Open Interest Trends In today's trading context, the average open interest for options of GameStop stands at 10342.91, with a total volume reaching 7,114.00. The accompanying chart delineates the progression of both call and put option volume and open interest for high-value trades in GameStop, situated within the strike price corridor from $15.0 to $125.0, throughout the last 30 days. GameStop Option Activity Analysis: Last 30 Days Biggest Options Spotted: Symbol PUT/CALL Trade Type Sentiment Exp. Date Ask Bid Price Strike Price Total Trade Price Open Interest Volume GME CALL TRADE BEARISH 01/17/25 $13.6 $13.3 $13.37 $15.00 $53.4K 5.9K 122 GME PUT TRADE BEARISH 06/20/25 $5.2 $4.9 $5.1 $25.00 $50.9K 551 106 GME PUT TRADE BEARISH 01/16/26 $98.55 $98.55 $98.55 $125.00 $49.2K 4.1K 240 GME PUT TRADE BEARISH 01/16/26 $98.5 $98.5 $98.5 $125.00 $49.2K 4.1K 250 GME PUT SWEEP BULLISH 01/16/26 $99.25 $98.5 $98.5 $125.00 $49.2K 4.1K 220 About GameStop GameStop Corp is a U.S. multichannel video game, consumer electronics, and services retailer. The company operates across Europe, Canada, Australia, and the United States. GameStop sells new and second-hand video game hardware, physical and digital video game software, and video game accessories, mainly through GameStop, EB Games, and Micromania stores and international e-commerce sites. The majority of sales are from the United States. Following our analysis of the options activities associated with GameStop, we pivot to a closer look at the company's own performance. Where Is GameStop Standing Right Now? With a volume of 4,029,104, the price of GME is down -1.5% at $28.32. RSI indicators hint that the underlying stock may be approaching overbought. Next earnings are expected to be released in 102 days. Turn $1000 into $1270 in just 20 days? 20-year pro options trader reveals his one-line chart technique that shows when to buy and sell. Copy his trades, which have had averaged a 27% profit every 20 days. Click here for access . Trading options involves greater risks but also offers the potential for higher profits. Savvy traders mitigate these risks through ongoing education, strategic trade adjustments, utilizing various indicators, and staying attuned to market dynamics. Keep up with the latest options trades for GameStop with Benzinga Pro for real-time alerts. © 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.2 Top Artificial Intelligence Stocks to Buy in December

'Around the Horn'In early December 2004, Salesforce ( CRM 0.17% ) was trading at a split-adjusted price of under $4. After the stock climbed following its most recent strong earnings report to over $360, the stock is now up more than 90 times in the past 20 years as of this writing. Looking at more recent returns, the stock is up about 35% year to date. Salesforce is the granddaddy of software-as-as-service (SaaS) companies, helping revolutionize the software industry. Today, it is looking toward artificial intelligence (AI) as its next big growth driver. Let's take a closer look at its most recent results to see if the stock's strong momentum can continue. AI opportunity ahead While Salesforce has been one of the best-performing software companies of the past two decades, it has also matured, and its growth has slowed. It is looking for its AI-powered chatbot platform, Agentforce, to help drive growth moving forward. For its fiscal third quarter, Salesforce's revenue rose 8% year over year to $9.44 billion, which was well ahead of its prior guidance for revenue of between $9.31 billion and $9.36 billion. Subscription and support revenue jumped by 9% to $8.88 billion. While its core business was solid, with growth similar to Q2, growth from prior acquisitions saw a meaningful deceleration in the quarter. Mulesoft revenue only edged up 1%, while Tableau increased 5% and Slack revenue jumped 8%. By comparison, Mulesoft revenue grew 27% in Q1 and 13% in Q4; Tableau's revenue increased by 21% in Q1 and 11% in Q2; and Slack revenue climbed 17% in both Q1 and Q2. The one big bright spot in the quarter, though, was Agentforce, which launched in October. The company closed 200 deals for the autonomous AI agents in the quarter despite the recent launch, and the company said it was seeing incredible adoption rates. It also noted that it has a pipeline of thousands of potential deals for Agentforce. Notably, Agentforce is a usage-based product that costs $2 per conversation. This model could allow the company to see huge upside as more customers adopt the product and overall usage increases over time with its customers. Salesforce's current remaining-performance obligations (cRPOs) rose 10% year over year to $26.4 billion. This is a common metric used by SaaS companies to help measure future revenue growth over the next year, although eventually, Agentforce's consumption model could see this metric as less indicative of overall future growth. Looking ahead, Salesforce increased its revenue guidance for the full year and lowered its EPS forecast. It now expects revenue of between $37.8 billion to $38.0 billion, representing growth of 8% to 9%, with adjusted EPS of between $9.98 to $10.03. Here is a chart of Salesforce's guidance changes throughout the year. Original Guidance (February) May Guidance August Guidance Current Guidance Revenue $37.7 billion and $38 billion $37.7 billion and $38 billion $37.7 billion and $38 billion $37.8 billion to $38.0 billion Revenue Growth 9% 8% to 9% 8% to 9% 8% to 9% Adjusted EPS $9.68 to $9.76 $9.86 to $9.94 $10.03 to $10.11 $9.98 to $10.03 For Q4, the company is projecting revenue of between $9.90 billion and $10.10 billion, representing growth of 7% to 9%. It is looking for an adjusted EPS of between $2.57 to $2.62. Can Salesforce's momentum continue? From a valuation perspective, Salesforce looks like it trades at a reasonable valuation based on its current growth. It has a forward price-to-sales multiple of about 8.5 based on next year's analyst estimates, while its forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio is about 33, and its price/earnings-to-growth ( PEG ) ratio is 0.84. A PEG ratio under 1 is typically considered undervalued, and growth stocks will often have PEG ratios well above 1. CRM PS Ratio (Forward 1y) data by YCharts However, for the stock to keep its current momentum, it will need to start to see its revenue growth start to accelerate. That isn't expected to happen next quarter, but the company is starting to plant the seeds of future growth with its new Agentforce platform. Previously, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff has talked about having 1 billion AI agents deployed by the end of fiscal 2026, which would be a $2 billion opportunity based on its pricing structure. There could also be some halo effect, where Agentforce helps increase sales and upsells with its other core cloud platforms. That's the start of solid growth that can help the company return to the teens in revenue growth. Given this opportunity, it looks like the momentum for this SaaS leader can continue moving forward. As such, I think it is a solid option for investors to consider at current levels.

President Joe Biden signed a defense bill on Monday that prohibits coverage of transgender health care for children of military families while providing pay raises for junior enlisted service members and boosting military spending to $895 billion. The provision removing coverage for transgender children was slyly inserted by House Republicans and while Biden endorsed most of the bill’s provisions, he voiced strong objections to that contentious addition. "While I am pleased to support the critical objectives of the act, I note that certain provisions of the act raise concerns,” he said in a statement. Biden "strongly opposes" the part of the bill that limits transgender health care and said it will negatively affect the military’s recruiting abilities. “The provision targets a group based on that group’s gender identity and interferes with parents’ roles to determine the best care for their children,” he said. “This section undermines our all-volunteer military’s ability to recruit and retain the finest fighting force the world has ever known by denying health care coverage to thousands of our service members’ children. No service member should have to decide between their family’s health care access and their call to serve our Nation.” Biden’s statement comes as Republicans in Congress and President-elect Donald Trump have made transgender care a flashpoint in political rhetoric—and a target via legislation. “With the stroke of my pen on day one, we’re going to stop the transgender lunacy,” Trump said at a Turning Point USA rally on Sunday in Phoenix . “I will sign executive orders to end child sexual mutilation, get transgender out of the military and out of our elementary schools and middle schools and high schools.” x x YouTube Video After House Republicans snuck anti-transgender language into the sweeping defense bill earlier this month, Adam Smith, Democratic Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee, balked at it. “Blanketly denying health care to people who need it—just because of a biased notion against transgender people—is wrong,” Smith said . “The inclusion of this harmful provision puts the lives of children at risk and may force thousands of service members to make the choice of continuing their military service or leaving to ensure their child can get the health care they need.” Republicans’ insertion of the anti-transgender provision into a must-pass defense bill was a calculated move. Biden had little choice but to sign, given its importance for military personnel and national security. While Biden stood firm in supporting the broader bill, the reality is that transgender Americans have lost significant rights. This is likely only the beginning of a political battle in which Democrats are losing ground to an incoming administration set on removing transgender rights and recognition. Your support fuels everything we do. It ensures that we can keep providing the bold, unapologetic coverage you rely on. Please contribute $5 or $10 today to keep independent journalism alive and help us reach our year-end goal.

Patriots place defensive lineman on injured reserve, clear open roster spotRebel groups in the capital have declared it "liberated" from Assad's regime as government forces pull back. There are reports suggesting that Assad departed from Damascus by plane, heading to an undisclosed location. Gunfire has been reported in central Damascus as the rebels continue their rapid offensive against Assad's regime across Syria. Unverified videos circulating on social media show thousands of prisoners being released from the notorious Saydnaya prison, where many of Assad's critics were allegedly tortured and executed. The rebel advance on Damascus follows their announcement that they had "fully liberated" Homs. (Inputs from BBC)

12 Big Ideas From Business Books Published in 2024

Here’s a partial list of what’s closed and open on Wednesday for the Christmas and Hanukkah holidays: Government offices: Federal, state, county and city government offices will be closed. Courts: Superior courts in Solano County will be closed. Schools: Solano County public schools will be closed. Businesses: Most U.S. retailers will keep their doors closed on Christmas and Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights, which begins at sundown on Wednesday. However, some grocery stores and convenience stories will be open. Some major restaurants, including fast-food restaurants, will be open, but some may have modified hours. Some drugstore chains, such as CVS and Walgreens, will be open. Be sure to contact a specific location about their hours on Wednesday. Banks/credit unions: Banks and credit unions will be closed and reopen on Thursday. Libraries: Solano County Public Library locations will be closed (https://solanolibrary.com). Mail: The U.S. Postal Service will not deliver mail on Wednesday, and post offices are closed (www.usps.com). Most UPS and FedEx stores will be closed, but UPS Express Critical will be available. Transit: SolTrans, Local, Express, and Paratransit buses will not operate Wednesday and neither will Green Line and Route 82 (www.soltrans.org). Trash: Recology does not collect on Christmas Day. If your collection day is Wednesday, your collection will be one day later (recology.com). Financial centers: The two major stock markets, the NYSE and the Nasdaq, will be closed on Wednesday (morningstar.com).None

Britain’s economy is stagnating, new figures have shown amid warnings that tax rises in Rachel Reeves’s budget are damaging business confidence. A major survey of businesses found that private sector activity fell to a 13-month low in November as companies cut back on hiring and investment. Economists said that businesses had given a “thumbs down” to Reeves’s budget, particularly her decision to increase employers’ national insurance to raise £25 billion to balance the books and fund public spending. Some of Britain’s biggest retailers have warned that the increase in national insurance will lead to job cuts, price rises and shop closures . Official forecasts suggest that the tax rises will stymie economic growth over the next five years. After the release of the new economic data the pound dropped to its lowest level against the dollar since May and banking stocks also fell.SEOUL, South Korea — South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who stunned the world this week by declaring martial law, has narrowly avoided being impeached, as his party's lawmakers boycotted the parliamentary vote on his ouster Saturday. The motion by opposition lawmakers accused him of insurrection, calling his decree an unconstitutional self-coup. "The president has betrayed the trust of the people and has lost the right to carry out state affairs," the impeachment motion read. Thousands of protesters had gathered outside the National Assembly to cheer on his removal. Now protests are expected to build. "We will not give up. We will prevail," liberal opposition leader Lee Jae-myung said after the motion fell through. "By Christmas, we will bring people the end-of-year gift of restoring the country to normalcy." The liberal party said it would submit the motion again at the next parliamentary session on Wednesday — and every week after that until it passes. The question is whether enough members of Yoon's conservative ruling party will vote to oust him while he still has two-and-a-half years remaining in his term, potentially ceding the presidency to the liberal opposition. Impeaching Yoon requires the support of at least two-thirds of the 300-member National Assembly — or 200 votes. Because the opposition coalition holds 192 seats, impeachment requires eight or more votes from Yoon's conservative People Power Party. In the days following the martial law declaration, a handful of ruling party legislators had indicated they would at least consider impeachment. But only three of them showed up for the vote Saturday, with the remaining 105 leaving the plenary hall in protest. Outside the National Assembly, the crowd gathered to call for Yoon's removal let out a cry of frustration. Among them were citizens who had traveled from hours away and college students studying for exams in the throng while keeping one eye on the news. "Arrest Yoon Suk-yeol!" they chanted as they marched down the promenade. In declaring martial law Tuesday, Yoon railed against the opposition-controlled National Assembly, which he accused of being a "den of criminals" and North Korea-sympathizers. Gen. Park An-su, whom Yoon designated as his martial law commander, subsequently suspended all political activity and declared the media under the military's control. For many in South Korea , the move chillingly harked to the country's past military dictatorships. But three hours after Yoon's decree, legislators — many of them scaling the gates of the locked-down National Assembly — unanimously voted to overrule Yoon, requiring him to lift the decree. On Saturday morning, in a two-minute address to the nation, Yoon apologized for inconveniencing the public and said that he had been motivated by "desperation." While Yoon reportedly told his officials and party members that his decree was meant to send a message to an adversarial legislature — which has filed numerous impeachments against his appointees and moved to investigate his wife on charges of graft and stock manipulation — many, including his own party members, say they believe he had much more sinister motives. Han Dong-hun, the leader of the People Power Party, said that there were signs that the special forces soldiers who had stormed the National Assembly were acting on orders to arrest him and other legislators. Opposition leader Lee, whom Yoon narrowly defeated in the presidential election two years ago, has said the same. "We've confirmed that President Yoon ordered the arrest of major politicians on the grounds that they were anti-state forces," Han said at a party meeting Friday. "I don't think we can pretend like nothing happened." While stating that this was based on "credible" sources, Han did not elaborate, offering only that these plans would be made public in due time "through various channels." In a meeting with Han that same day, Yoon denied giving such an order, Han said. Hong Jang-won, a senior official at the National Intelligence Service, the country's spy agency , told lawmakers Friday that Yoon called him to order the arrest of several lawmakers, including party leaders Lee and Han. Spy chief Cho Tae-yong has disputed Hong's allegations. Yet even while condemning the martial law declaration as unconstitutional and acknowledging that Yoon must ultimately be removed from office, Han and most of his party allies balked at impeachment. For the South Korean conservatives, impeachment is their exposed nerve, and they have reason to tread lightly. The first and only South Korean president to be successfully impeached was conservative Park Geun-hye, who was later investigated and jailed on corruption charges. Her downfall splintered the conservative camp and opened a path for liberal successor Moon Jae-in, whose term conservatives refer to as "the lost five years." Crucial to the success of Park's impeachment was a bloc of conservative legislators who joined the opposition to vote in favor. It is why many party stalwarts are determined to avoid the same fate this time around. "We cannot have any more traitors surrendering to the enemy, like the time with Park Geun-hye," Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo wrote on social media Wednesday. Instead, Yoon's party members have floated more moderate solutions that would make way for Yoon's "orderly resignation," such as revising the constitution to shorten Yoon's term, transferring some of his presidential powers to the prime minister or forming a bipartisan Cabinet. In his recent public address, Yoon said he would leave his fate to the party, hinting that he may relinquish much of his authority to Han, should he avoid impeachment. The liberal opposition has rejected any alternatives to impeachment, calling Yoon a "ticking time bomb." "He is in a very troubling mental state right now. We don't have time to discuss something like 'an orderly resignation,' " liberal party spokesperson Yoon Jong-kun told reporters Saturday morning. "Only Yoon's immediate removal from official duties and impeachment can alleviate the anger of the people and South Korea' s plummeting international credit rating." The liberal party has said that it would propose the motion again Wednesday. "We are going to propose it repeatedly," Lee Jae-myung said, "until it goes through." ©2024 Los Angeles Times. Visit latimes.com . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.Reader Opinion: Pond should be a focus of Robin Hood Park work, by W. Dan Gillard

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