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What lies ahead as TikTok ban looms in US

A Pennsylvania jury awarded Penn State $28,000 in damages on Wednesday over products made and sold by Vintage Brand and Sportswear Inc., two firms co-founded by former minor league baseball player Chad Hartvigson. Penn State accused them of selling “counterfeit” clothing and accessories, while the defendants said their website makes clear they are not affiliated with the university. At least a dozen other schools have sued the defendants on similar grounds, including Purdue, Stanford and UCLA, Penn State said in its 2021 lawsuit. However, the Penn State case was the first to go to trial and seen by some as a test case in the sports merchandising industry. Listen now and subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | RSS Feed | SoundStack | All Of Our Podcasts “It addresses an important issue with trademark law — whether or not the mark owner is able to prevent third parties from using its marks on T-shirts and paraphernalia without permission,” said Tiffany Gehrke, a trademark lawyer in Chicago who was not involved in the case. The verdict, she said, maintains the status quo, while a victory for Vintage Brand “could have shaken things up.” It followed a six-day trial in federal court in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, overseen by Chief U.S. District Judge Matthew W. Brann. Defense lawyers declined to comment on the verdict and whether their clients planned to appeal. Penn State, in a statement, called its trademarks “critical” to the school's brand, and said it was grateful for the verdict. “The university appreciates this result as it relates to the many hundreds of licensees with whom the university works and who go through the appropriate processes to use Penn State’s trademarks," the statement said. Founded in 1855, Penn State adopted the Nittany Lion as its mascot in 1904 and has been using various images of the animal, along with the school's seal and other logos, for decades, the lawsuit said. The school now has more than 100,000 students at 24 campuses.Jaylon Johnson isn't interested in bright spots with the Bears' skid at 5 games

How do you remove children from the harms of social media? Politically the answer appears simple in Australia, but practically the solution could be far more difficult. The Australian government’s plan to ban children from social media platforms including X, TikTok, Facebook and Instagram until their 16th birthdays is politically popular. The leaders of all eight Australian states and mainland territories unanimously backed the plan, though Tasmania, the smallest state, would have preferred the threshold were set at 14. But vocal experts in the fields of technology and child welfare responded with alarm. More than 140 of them signed an open letter to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemning the 16-year age limit as “too blunt an instrument to address risks effectively.” Details of what is proposed and how it will be implemented are scant ahead of the legislation’s introduction in Parliament. People are also reading... Concerned teen Leo Puglisi, a 17-year-old Melbourne student who founded the online streaming service 6 News Australia at the age of 11, laments that lawmakers imposing the ban lack the youth’s perspective on social media. “With respect to the government and prime minister, they didn’t grow up in the social media age, they’re not growing up in the social media age, and what a lot of people are failing to understand here is that, like it or not, social media is a part of people’s daily lives,” Puglisi said. “It’s part of their communities, it’s part of work, it’s part of entertainment, it’s where they watch content — young people aren’t listening to the radio or reading newspapers or watching free-to-air TV — and so it can’t be ignored. The reality is this ban, if implemented, is just kicking the can down the road for when a young person goes on social media,” he added. Puglisi is applauded for his work online. He was a finalist in his home state Victoria’s nomination for the Young Australian of the Year award, which will be announced in January. His nomination bid credits his platform with “fostering a new generation of informed, critical thinkers.” Grieving mom-turned-activist One of the proposal’s supporters, cyber safety campaigner Sonya Ryan, knows how dangerous social media can be for children. Her 15-year-old daughter Carly was murdered in 2007 in South Australia state by a 50-year-old pedophile who pretended to be a teenager online. In a grim milestone of the digital age, Carly was the first person in Australia to be killed by an online predator. “Kids are being exposed to harmful pornography, they’re being fed misinformation, there are body image issues, there’s sextortion, online predators, bullying. There are so many different harms for them to try and manage and kids just don’t have the skills or the life experience to be able to manage those well,” Ryan said. “The result of that is we’re losing our kids,” she said. “Not only what happened to Carly, predatory behavior, but also we’re seeing an alarming rise in suicide of young people.” Ryan is part of a group advising the government on a national strategy to prevent and respond to child sexual abuse in Australia. She wholeheartedly supports Australia setting the social media age limit at 16. “We’re not going to get this perfect,” she said. “We have to make sure that there are mechanisms in place to deal with what we already have, which is an anxious generation and an addicted generation of children to social media.” Skeptical internet expert Tama Leaver, professor of internet studies at Curtin University, fears the government will make the platforms hold the users’ identification data instead. The government already said the onus will be on the platforms, rather than on children or their parents, to ensure everyone meets the age limit. “The worst possible outcome seems to be the one that the government may be inadvertently pushing towards, which would be that the social media platforms themselves would end up being the identity arbiter,” Leaver said. “They would be the holder of identity documents which would be absolutely terrible because they have a fairly poor track record so far of holding on to personal data well,” he added. The platforms will have a year once the legislation becomes law to work out how the ban can be implemented. Ryan, who divides her time between Adelaide in South Australia and Fort Worth, Texas, said privacy concerns should not stand in the way of removing children from social media. “What is the cost if we don’t? If we don’t put the safety of our children ahead of profit and privacy?” she asked. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox!Former Towson men’s lacrosse coach Carl Runk dies at 88

Mount Washington is known for having the worst weather in the world, so the week before Christmas, most people would expect the summit to be consumed by snowy conditions. But on Dec. 17-19, 2023, precipitation on the mountain fell as rain. The precipitation and snowmelt from this rain-on-snow (ROS) event caused a flood the severity of which is expected only once every 800 years in the Mount Washington Valley, according to the Mount Washington Observatory. In the aftermath of this storm, weather observer Charlie Peachey recognized that it could serve as a prime example of the devastation ROS events can cause. As a staff member at the Mount Washington Observatory, he has been studying these weather phenomena for the past few years. ROS events are instances when a measurable amount of rain falls onto an already existing snowpack. They tend to be most common in the late fall and early winter, and also in the early spring. This is because the weather is cold enough to maintain a layer of snow, but also still warm enough for rain to fall. ROS events like the one of December 2023 can cause major floods due to a combination of rain and melting snow. “These are really impactful rain events or flooding events because no one can really predict the magnitude of them,” Peachey said. The goal of Peachey’s research is to figure out if ROS events have increased in recent history, and if their seasonality, or when they occur during the year, is changing. This could help predict future flooding and allow residents of the Mount Washington Valley time to prepare. The Mount Washington Observatory’s weather data set is unique. Their staff stay at the summit with someone there to collect hourly and six-hourly temperature and precipitation data year-round. Consistent human intervention with weather equipment means that the observatory’s data is high quality. “When we’re going outside to take our observations ... we’re also going outside to knock all the ice off of these anemometers (a device that measures wind speed and direction),” Peachey said. Observatory staff also differentiate between types of precipitation while they’re out collecting other data, while previous studies on ROS events have used temperature as a proxy for precipitation type. “If it’s below freezing, they’re going to consider it solid,” Peachey said. “If it’s above freezing, they’re going to consider it liquid. But there’s a whole lot of nuances in there.” The observatory’s real-time monitoring improves the accuracy of their data. The observatory has been in its current location since 1980. Peachey used the data from 1980 to 2020 to create two distinct climatologies, or 30-year periods of average weather conditions (1981 to 2010, and 1991 to 2020). This is the standard in the field of climatology, said Peachey. “This extensive temporal coverage allows for a comprehensive analysis of rain-on-snow events and facilitates the investigation of trends and patterns over time,” said Dr. Dae Il Jeong, a physical sciences specialist at Environment and Climate Change Canada. To avoid the data being skewed by months with no likelihood of ROS events and to better study seasonality, Peachey focused on the “winter year” (October through May) instead of the calendar year (January through December). Peachey compared the winter year climatologies of 1981-2010 and 1991-2020 to identify any differences in the frequency and seasonality of ROS days. ROS days increased 17 percent between 1981-2010 and 1991-2020, Peachey found. Even more telling is that ROS days in December increased 46 percent between the two climatologies. In the earlier climatology, ROS days peaked in April with a smaller peak in November. But in the later climatology, the smaller peak occurred in December instead. This increase in ROS events and the change in their seasonality is explained by the increasing temperatures at the summit of Mount Washington, and one of the months that’s warming the fastest on the mountain is December, according to a 2021 study published in Northeastern Naturalist. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reports that since the beginning of the 19th century, New Hampshire’s temperature has increased more than 3 degrees Fahrenheit. They also project an increase in the frequency and severity of extreme precipitation events, along with an overall rise in the amount of precipitation in the state. Although Peachey doesn’t want to confirm any results until his study is peer-reviewed, he said, “In general, it most likely is a climate change-related issue, just causing things to become a little more variable and also ... making the winter warmer at the beginning ... and at the end.” Ultimately, these results mean that the winter season in New Hampshire is shortening. As N.H. Public Radio has reported, the mountains have lost one to two weeks of snow since the 1970s. This has a huge impact on ski resorts, which are the backbone of the state’s tourism industry. Peachey said that due to warming temperatures, “a lot of ski areas ... can’t start building a snowpack until later in the year. ... And most of their money honestly is made during the week of Christmas. So, if they’re able to get a lot of snow in by then they’ll probably pretty much be able to survive the year. If they aren’t, then there’s a lot of tourism hits that happen here in the North Country.” Peachey and intern Laura Wilson’s case study on the December 2023 ROS event illustrates how devastating these storms can be to the ski industry. Tuckerman Ravine, a popular area for those who want to test their backcountry skiing prowess, is located on the east side of Mount Washington and had a healthy snowpack of up to 83 inches on Dec. 15, 2023. When the Mount Washington Avalanche Center checked the area again on Dec. 21, it was virtually un-skiable due to exposed rocks and rushing water under the remaining snow. The summit’s snowpack also fared poorly, reduced from 5 inches to 1 inch by this ROS event. Unstable snow like this poses an avalanche risk to skiers and hikers alike. The 2021 Northeastern Naturalist study reported a downward trend of snow-covered days both on the summit of Mount Washington and in Pinkham Notch. This storm and others like it could contribute to a continuation of this trend. Floods like the one of December 2023 don’t just wipe out precious powder, they also cause critical destruction to communities in the Mount Washington Valley. Gov. Chris Sununu reported more than $4 million in damages in the state from the December 2023 storm. If temperatures continue to rise due to climate change, resulting in an increase in ROS events, the risk for major floods will also grow. ROS events are difficult to forecast, Peachey said. To address this, he’s currently working on another project to pair with his existing work that he hopes will help “create a usable product for (estimations) here at the summit.” Jeong, the Environment and Climate Change Canada scientist, said that predictive models and informed management practices are “increasingly important in the context of climate change.” Peachey hopes that the data from his studies will help improve this technology. NOAA reports that climate change will continue to alter our winters, and research like that from the Mount Washington Observatory may help adaptation to its consequences.

UK Prime embarks on first Gulf visit to strengthen economic ties

When it comes to crypto, few tokens are as captivating for investors as Shiba Inu (SHIB). If you traded SHIB's last bull run, you might remember the $108 investment turning into $1,080,000 in a meteoric rise that still inspires and intrigues. As the crypto landscape evolves, a new contender has emerged: Rexas Finance (RXS). With a presale price of $0.15, RXS is capturing the imagination of the market with an innovative approach to real-world asset (RWA) tokenization. AI-based predictions are predicting that RXS could become the next SHIB by 2026 and the crypto world is eager to know more about it. Rexas (RXS): Could $200 Become $2 Million? AI-Backed Predictions Point to a SHIB-Like Surge in 2025! With Rexas Finance, it’s not merely just another token... It symbolizes a new way of thinking about asset ownership and investment. Rexas is looking to utilize blockchain technology to make high-value assets, including real estate, commodities, and art, accessible to all through tokenization. With this process, investors can buy fractional ownership of these assets and eliminate the barriers that have historically excluded investors from lucrative markets. With RXS now in its tenth presale stage, the presale has so far raised over $29 million towards its target of $33 million. The momentum behind RXS is clearly palpable with 354 million tokens sold out of a total of 380 million available. The presale itself has been so successful that it has consistently finished stages ahead of time with a good indicator for the investor confidence and interest. RXS’ excitement arises equally due to its innovative model, and ambitious projections given by AI analysts. According to AI, like Shiba Inu’s incredible growth, where it saw a 999,900% rise, RXS could have a similar spike. Take for instance, just $200 of initial investment could turn into an almost $2 million investment if RXS is able to become like SHIB. The current market dynamics and the unique value proposition of Rexas Finance give this optimism a boost. With an increasing number of investors looking for opportunities not only with tangibility but also long-term growth, RXS is an attractive offer. Rexas Finance (RXS): Unlocking Real-World Asset Investment with Blockchain Innovation—A Game-Changer for the Crypto Space! The essence of Rexas Finance is real-world asset tokenization. This new approach enables physical assets to be converted to digital tokens on a blockchain. This enables Rexas to provide more liquidity and accessibility to its customers as well as lower transaction costs typical of traditional asset management services. The implications are significant: The result is that investors can now own portions of high-value assets without requiring vast amounts of capital. Owning a fraction of a luxury property, investing in valuable commodities like gold, or any other type of being able to own something valuable that has usually been restricted to a select few is the type of thing that Rexas Finance offers. It is strategically situated within the rapidly emerging cryptocurrency world. While many projects base themselves on speculative trading alone, Rexas is a real utility in the sense that it provides a place to easily and securely tokenize ASSETS. That makes it better than competitors like Shiba Inu, which are having difficulties in maintaining growth momentum in a market filled with more players. Its listing on CoinMarketCap and CoinGecko is a major step in making Rexas Finance more visible and credible to investors. Moreover, RXS has gained trust in the community through an audit performed by Certik – a well-known authority in blockchain security. 🔥 $RXS Presale Stage 10 Sold Out 🔥 We’re excited to announce that Rexas Finance Presale Stage 10 has been sold out! ✅ Presale Stage 11 is now live, with the price per token increasing to $0.175 🚀 Don’t miss your chance to get in early! ⭐️ Buy Now: https://t.co/tNJAsvBiYe ... pic.twitter.com/6lg1WFwnkH Rexas Finance (RXS): Is This The Next Shiba Inu? Real World Asset Tokenization & Community Driven Growth. One of the most important things in a crypto project is its community, without it, you have no project, and it's really important if your project is to succeed. Now, with this community, Rexas Finance is poised to enter this journey together. But that doesn't mean that individual investors are the only ones flocking to presale events, as supporters of the collective purpose have also taken part. So, this was community-driven as Shiba Inu came from grassroots support and their token value took off as well. As more people buy RXS, it has a huge chance of large price appreciation given the demand of retail and institutional investors. As we look ahead to 2026, the question remains: Can Rexas Finance replicate the extravagant success of Shiba Inu? Although past performance does not guarantee future results, RXS’s trajectory looks positive. With a focus on real-world tokenization assets as well as strong community support, Rexas Finance is set to become a name to watch in the cryptocurrency space. Website: https://rexas.com Whitepaper: https://rexas.com/rexas-whitepaper.pdf Twitter/X: https://x.com/rexasfinance Telegram: https://t.me/rexasfinance Join our WhatsApp Channel to get the latest news, exclusives and videos on WhatsApp _____________ Disclaimer: Analytics Insight does not provide financial advice or guidance. Also note that the cryptocurrencies mentioned/listed on the website could potentially be scams, i.e. designed to induce you to invest financial resources that may be lost forever and not be recoverable once investments are made. You are responsible for conducting your own research (DYOR) before making any investments. Read more here.Leopards handle Pups in first home game

By JESSICA DAMIANO Finding the perfect gift can be daunting. The only way to truly ensure you get it right would be to ask the recipient what they want, but that wouldn’t be much fun for either of you. Luckily, there’s another tactic to help you earn a “gift whisperer” reputation: seeking out unique, practical, game-changing gifts that will truly surprise and delight. But that’s about as easy as it sounds, which is to say it’s not easy at all. So, we’ve done the legwork for you. Start making your list with this compilation of some of the most innovative, functional and fun gifts of 2024. There’s something for every budget. Bear with me: The new FinaMill Ultimate Spice Grinder set elevates the pedestrian pepper and spice mill in both function and style. Available in three colors (Sangria Red, Midnight Black and Soft Cream), the rechargeable-battery unit grinds with a light touch rather than hand-tiring twists. That’s easier for everyone and especially helpful for those experiencing hand or wrist issues such as arthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome or tendinitis. And it’s fun to use. The set includes a stackable storage tray and four pods that can be easily swapped as needed: The GT microplane grater for hard spices, nuts and chocolate; the MAX for large spices and dried herbs; the ProPlus for smaller and oily spices; and the Pepper Pod for, well, pepper. $110. Campers and backyard firepit lovers who have experienced the heartbreak of wet wood will appreciate having a three-pack of Pull Start Fire on hand. Made of 89% recycled materials, including sanding dust, wax and flint, the food-safe, eco-friendly, 3-by-2-by-1-inch fire starters will light a fire quickly without matches, lighters or kindling. Just loop the attached green string around a log, incorporate it into a wood stack, and pull the attached red string to ignite. Each windproof, rainproof block burns for 30 minutes. $29.99. The No Mess Utensil Set from Souper Cubes , a company known for its portioned, silicone freezer trays, lives up to its name. The utensils — a serving spoon and a ladle — have innovative, S-shaped handles designed to rest on the edge of a pot, keeping them upright so they won’t slip in. The design also eliminates the need for a spoon rest or, worse, placing dirty utensils on the kitchen counter or stovetop between stirs. A silicone coating in a choice of Aqua, Charcoal, Cranberry or Blueberry keeps handles cool to the touch. $24.99. The FeatherSnap Wi-Fi smart bird feeder could turn anyone into an avid birdwatcher. Equipped with an HD camera, the dual-chamber feeder enables up-close livestreaming of avian visitors, as well as species-logging via the free mobile app. An optional premium subscription ($59.99 annually or $6.99 monthly) includes unlimited photo and video storage, AI identification with species-specific details, and the opportunity to earn badges for logging new visitors. Turn on notifications to get alerts sent to your phone whenever there’s activity at the feeder. $179.99. Fujifilm’s Instax Mini Link 3 smartphone printer offers a touch of nostalgia without sacrificing technology. Just load the 4.9-by-3.5-by-1.3-inch printer with Instax Mini instant film and connect it to your Android or iOS device via Bluetooth to print wallet-size photos. If you want to get fancy, you can adjust brightness, contrast and saturation, or apply filters, including 3D augmented-reality effects, via the free Instax Mini Link app. It can also make collages of up to six images, or animate photos to share on social media. Available in Rose Pink, Clay White and Sage Green. $99.95. The appropriately named easyplant is one of the best gifts you can give your houseplant-loving friends, regardless of their experience level. Select a pot color, size and plant (or get recommendations based on sunlight requirements, pet friendliness and other attributes) and fill the self-watering container’s built-in reservoir roughly once a month. Moisture will permeate the soil from the bottom as needed, eliminating the often-fatal consequences of over- or under-watering. It’s also a literal lifesaver come vacation time. $49-$259. Related Articles Things To Do | US airports with worst weather delays during holiday season Things To Do | The right book can inspire the young readers in your life, from picture books to YA novels Things To Do | Holiday gift ideas for the movie lover, from bios and books to a status tote Things To Do | ‘Gladiator II’ review: Are you not moderately entertained? Things To Do | Beer pairings for your holiday feasts If you’ve got a no-dairy friend on your list, a plant-based milk maker could save them money while allowing them to avoid sugar, stabilizers, thickeners and preservatives. The Nama M1 appliance both blends and strains ingredients, converting nuts, seeds, grains or oats into velvety-smooth milk in just one minute, with zero grit. And for zero waste, the pasty leftover pulp can be used in other recipes for added nutrients. The device also makes infused oils, flavored waters and soups. And, importantly, cleanup is easy. Available in white and black. $400. For friends who prefer stronger beverages, the QelviQ personal sommelier uses “smart” technology to ensure wine is served at its ideal temperature. Unlike traditional wine refrigerators, this device doesn’t take up any floor space. It also doesn’t chill wine to just one or two temperatures based on its color. Instead — paired with the free QelviQ app — the tabletop chiller relies on a database of more than 350,000 wines to bring a bottle to its specific recommended serving temperature in as little as 20 minutes. It also suggests food-wine and wine-food pairings. Plus, the appliance serves as a great icebreaker to inspire dinnertime conversation. Available in Exciting Red, Dashing Black and Dreamy White. $495. Grilling food after dark — and ascertaining its doneness — can prove challenging without outdoor lighting, and it’s nearly impossible to cook while holding a flashlight. But as is often the case, the simplest of solutions can make the biggest of impacts: Uncommon Good’s 2-piece LED Grilling Tool Set puts illumination into the handles of its stainless-steel spatula and tongs. After use, the lights can be removed and the utensils run through the dishwasher. $40.

Trump's threat to impose tariffs could raise prices for consumers, colliding with promise for relief

Syrian torture archive smuggler details horrors in Assad’s prisons"If These People Had To Be Honest, It Would Be All Over..."Stephen Curry isn't shutting the door on potentially playing with LeBron James on the same team in the NBA, but he did acknowledge the odds of it happening before either one of them retires are low. Speaking to ESPN's Malika Andrews on Tuesday's episode of NBA Today (starts at :55 second mark), Curry said a pairing with James "probably" won't happen. "Probably not but I think the what-ifs and all that type of stuff, you kind of just leave that for whatever platform people want to talk about it. We just hoop," he said. The Golden State Warriors have at least explored the possibility of getting Curry and James on the same team. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne reported in February the Warriors attempted to convince James and the Los Angeles Lakers to consider a trade, but talks never got anywhere when James' camp told Golden State governor Joe Lacob and general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. their client had "no interest" in being dealt. James could have forced his way to the Warriors during the offseason when he was a free agent. Golden State was trying to make a big splash with a strong push for Paul George that was close to being done before talks with the Los Angeles Clippers fell apart. It's not hard to envision a scenario in which the Warriors pivoted to James in a potential sign-and-trade with the Lakers for James if he really wanted to go. Instead, James opted to remain with the Lakers on a two-year, $101.4 million contract with a full no-trade clause. His deal does have a player option for 2025-26, so he could hit the market again next summer if he chooses to do so. ESPN's Brian Windhorst noted on the Dec. 11 episode of Get Up that James was among the players on Golden State's trade radar prior to the February trade deadline, but also added James has no interest in being traded. Barring some surprise change from James, the only time fans got to see him partner up with Curry in a competitive setting was over the summer when they were on Team USA. The results were spectacular with the U.S. going 6-0 en route to winning a gold medal. Curry scored a combined 60 points in the semifinals and gold-medal game. James, who was named MVP of the men's tournament, posted a triple-double with 16 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists in the semifinal win over Serbia. As much fun as it would be to see what a Curry-James pairing could do, even at this late stage of both their careers, the odds of it happening have always felt long before Curry acknowledged it. Curry and James will play their 53rd head-to-head meeting on Christmas Day when the Warriors host the Lakers at Chase Center.

B.C. ballers compete at Langley high school tournament

Ottawa police are asking for the public's help in locating a missing 31-year-old man. Erik Vien was last seen at around 9:40 p.m. Sunday, boarding a westbound LRT train at Blair Station. Police said his family is concerned about his health and wellbeing. Vien is described as white, approximately 6-foot-2 (188 cm), with a thin build, dirty blond curly hair, blue eyes and a beard. He was last seen wearing a red plaid coat, dark jeans with paint marks on them, tan coloured construction boots and a dark tuque. Anyone with information about his current whereabouts is asked to call the Ottawa Police at 613-236-1222. Ottawa Top Stories FREEZING RAIN WARNING | 1 to 3 mm of freezing rain possible in Ottawa-Gatineau tonight OC Transpo well below punctuality targets on 'less frequent' routes Cargo ship runs aground in St. Lawrence River near Morrisburg, Ont. OC Transpo hands out 1,900 fines to riders not paying fares in 2 months Katy Perry coming to Ottawa next summer Renovated pool in Pembroke, Ont. could reopen in early 2025 $10k worth of cannabis stolen from Renfrew, Ont. store MISSING | Ottawa police seek help locating missing 31-year-old man CTVNews.ca Top Stories 'It's just not fair': Retirees speak out on being excluded from federal rebate cheques Carol Sheaves of Moncton, N.B., says it's not fair that retirees like her won't get the government's newly proposed rebate cheques. Sheaves was among the seniors who expressed their frustrations to CTVNews.ca about not being eligible for the $250 government benefit. Warren Buffett gives away another US$1.1B, announces plans for distributing $147B fortune after death Investor Warren Buffett renewed his Thanksgiving tradition of giving by announcing plans Monday to hand more than US$1.1 billion of Berkshire Hathaway stock to four of his family's foundations, and he offered new details about who will be handing out the rest of his fortune after his death. Premiers seek 'urgent' meeting with Trudeau before Trump returns to White House Canada's premiers are asking Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to hold an urgent first ministers' meeting ahead of the return to office of president-elect Donald Trump. Deer spotted wearing high-visibility safety jacket in Northern B.C. Andrea Arnold is used to having to slow down to let deer cross the road in her Northern B.C. community. But this weekend she saw something that made her pull over and snap a photo. Canada Post says progress 'limited' at negotiating table as strike continues Canada Post says they have made 'limited progress' with the union at the negotiating table 11 days after the strike began. Los Angeles judge postpones hearing on release of Menendez brothers A Los Angeles County judge on Monday postponed a hearing over the possible release of Lyle and Erik Menendez after 35 years in prison for the shotgun murder of their parents, saying he wanted to hear from a new district attorney due to take office on Dec. 3. Canadian Army corporal fined for stolen valour at Remembrance Day ceremony A corporal in the Canadian Army has been fined $2,000 and given a severe reprimand for wearing service medals he didn't earn during a Remembrance Day ceremony in Alberta two years ago. Defence Minister Bill Blair 'ready to go faster' on spending timeline Defence Minister Bill Blair said Monday that he's ready to work with the incoming Donald Trump administration to speed up Canada's timeline to meet its NATO alliance spending targets. CEOs demand changes to Liberals' military spending plan The federal government risks jeopardizing the economy unless it meets its NATO military alliance spending obligations within the next five years, says the Business Council of Canada. Shopping Trends The Shopping Trends team is independent of the journalists at CTV News. We may earn a commission when you use our links to shop. Read about us. Editor's Picks 27 Of The Absolute Best Stocking Stuffers For Men 24 Of The Best Host And Hostess Gifts You Can Find Online Right Now 21 Of The Absolute Best Stocking Stuffers For Kids (And They're All From Amazon Canada) Home Our Guide To The Best Stand Mixers In Canada In 2024 (And Where To Get Them) Our Guide To The Best Nespresso Machines in Canada in 2024 (And Where to Get Them) Our Guide to the Best Jewellery Boxes You Can Find Online Right Now Gifts 19 Of The Best Tech Gifts Under $100 17 Gifts Your Husband Actually Wants 23 Gifts, Add-Ons, And Stocking Stuffers For Anyone Who Spends A Lot Of Time In Their Car Beauty 20 Anti-Aging Skincare Products That Reviewers Can’t Stop Talking About 12 Budget-Friendly Makeup Brushes And Tools Worth Adding To Your Kit If You Suffer From Dry Skin, You'll Want To Add At Least One Of These Hydrating Moisturizers To Your Cart Deals From Anthropologie To Adidas: Here Are The Best Early Black Friday Deals On Clothing And Accessories These Apple Products Are Majorly On Sale On Amazon Canada Right Now, So It Might Be Time To Upgrade Your Tech Black Friday Has Begun On Amazon Canada: Here Are The Best Deals Atlantic 'It's just not fair': Retirees speak out on being excluded from federal rebate cheques Carol Sheaves of Moncton, N.B., says it's not fair that retirees like her won't get the government's newly proposed rebate cheques. Sheaves was among the seniors who expressed their frustrations to CTVNews.ca about not being eligible for the $250 government benefit. Man charged with unsafe storage of a firearm in Tyson MacDonald homicide: RCMP A 61-year-old man is facing unsafe storage charges in connection with the homicide of 17-year-old Tyson MacDonald on P.E.I., last December. From cellphones to dentures: Inside Halifax Transit’s lost and found Every single item misplaced on a bus or ferry in the Halifax Regional Municipality ends up in a small office at the Halifax Transit Bridge Terminal in Dartmouth, N.S. Toronto Ontario government passes bill to limit bike lanes Ontario's Progressive Conservative government has passed a controversial law that will force municipalities to seek approval for installing new bike lanes on arterial roads and could see some existing bike lanes torn up. Toronto mother now facing murder charge in death of four-month old baby Toronto police say they have charged a mother with second-degree murder following the death of her infant, who was found with critical injuries in midtown Toronto last week. 'Embarrassing:' NHL team ditches bus and walks to Scotiabank Arena amid gridlock The Utah Hockey Club got the full Toronto experience Sunday night ahead of their first-ever matchup against the Maple Leafs—bumper-to-bumper traffic that forced the team to walk to the game. Montreal More people hurt in Quebec road accidents after fall time change, data shows New data from Quebec's auto insurance board shows that evening road accidents -- including those involving pedestrians -- rise sharply in the 30 days following the fall time change, when the sun sets earlier. Montreal mayor says Friday pro-Palestinian protests were taken over by 'professional vandals' Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante told journalists 'professional vandals' took over protests and smashed windows at the Palais des Congres. Teen girls engage in more risky behaviour than boys: Quebec study Fewer young people in Quebec secondary schools are drinking alcohol, consuming sugary drinks and eating junk food, but not all their habits are improving. More of them are also inactive, taking action to change their weight and not eating breakfast before going to school, according to a recent study. Northern Ontario Elliot Lake, Ont., woman charged with choking neighbour's dog An intoxicated woman in Elliot Lake has been charged with breaking into her neighbour's apartment and choking their dog. Winter weather advisory in effect for most of northeastern Ont. Environment Canada has issued a winter weather advisory for areas in and around Greater Sudbury, North Bay, Sault Ste. Marie and Timmins. Drug bust after a suspect pointed handgun at victim at northern Ont. gas station Three people have been charged with numerous drug and weapons offences following an incident at a gas station in Bruce Mines, Ont., on Nov. 21. Windsor 'Active investigation' underway in Windsor Windsor police are on the scene of what's being called an, "active investigation." "Expect a sustained police presence in the area," read a post on social media. Memorial put up on Walker Road after fatal crash A memorial is located on Walker Road to mark the site where a Windsor couple was killed after getting struck by a vehicle. Alleged impaired mom found asleep at the wheel with two kids in the backseat Windsor police arrested two motorists for impaired driving in separate incidents over the weekend, including a mom with two small children in the backseat. London 'It’s getting dangerous downtown': Rear entrance of London business sprayed with gunfire London police said that no-one was injured when the back entrance of a downtown cannabis shop was sprayed with gunfire early on Monday morning. 'I just knew something was up': London family recounts rushing to their burning home where pet perished A weekend house fire has left a family displaced and taken the life of a beloved pet. The blaze at 454 Alston Road broke out shortly after 12:30 p.m. Christmas tax break will be 'challenging' for small businesses, says gift shop owner Tom Fincher is all for a tax break for consumers but implementing the GST tax break announced by the federal government last week at his till will be easier said than done. Kitchener Waterloo reviews most collision-prone areas to improve safety The City of Waterloo is trying to make its roads safer by putting together a report on some of the locations with the most crashes in the past five years. Driver warned after police receive complaints about car decked out in Christmas lights in Waterloo Drivers are being reminded not to take the holiday spirit too far after police received complaints about a distracting vehicle in Waterloo. Kitchener, Ont. doctor officially claims second Guinness World Record A Kitchener, Ont. emergency room doctor has officially earned his second Guinness World Records title. Barrie 'James deceived us,' Slain Collingwood, Ont. woman's family speak ahead of husband's sentencing James Schwalm sat in the prisoner’s box Monday morning weeping as friends and family members told the court about the devastation he caused when he murdered his wife, Ashley Milne, two years ago inside their Collingwood, Ont. home. Novice driver charged with speeding 95km/h over limit on Hwy 11 accused of being impaired A Thornhill resident accused of driving at a high rate of speed along Highway 11 in Muskoka while impaired faces charges. Freezing rain, snow in the forecast for Muskoka A freezing rain warning is in effect for Muskoka, with slippery roads and power outages possible. Winnipeg Winnipeg police shoot, kill suspect after officer stabbed in the throat Manitoba’s police watchdog is investigating a deadly police shooting at Winnipeg's Unicity Shopping Centre Sunday evening. Mounties looking for missing car in connection with suspicious death Manitoba RCMP are looking for a missing car connected to an investigation into human remains discovered north of Winnipeg. $4.2M from feds to create Indigenous-led family care centre in Winnipeg A new Indigenous-led family care centre will be coming to Winnipeg, with more than $4.2 million for the project coming from the federal government. Calgary Alberta seeks to 'de-risk' oil, gas pipeline investments in wake of Trump victory Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says her government is looking for ways to encourage pipeline companies to boost capacity and increase Alberta's oil and gas export volumes to the U.S. $3.69M Calgary mansion with basketball court for sale in Aspen Woods If you've ever dreamed of having a home with a basketball court, now's your chance. Alberta aiming to create test site to support new drilling technologies Alberta’s government says it will invest up to $50 million to support the creation of a first-in-Canada drilling test site to support technology development in the oil, gas, geothermal and lithium industries. Edmonton 24 arsons in south Edmonton under police investigation The Edmonton Police Service now says it is investigating 24 suspicious fires in south Edmonton. Death of worker in Edmonton smokehouse leads to 26 charges against food processing company An Ontario-based food processing company is facing 26 charges under Alberta Occupational Health and Safety legislation in connection with the death of a worker at an Edmonton facility in 2023. The story of Alberta's rural long COVID program that never was As better diagnosis and symptom management emerged for people with long COVID, researchers in Alberta set to work creating a program that could remotely connect urban specialists and rural patients. Between development and clinical implementation, the project was shelved. Regina Sask. Party prioritizes affordability, civility with opposition in Throne Speech The Saskatchewan Party government said it will prioritize affordability in the coming months during its Throne Speech on Monday, that officially kicked off a short two-week sitting inside the legislature. Regina commits to clearing all 'high priority roads' of snow by Tuesday morning Following a second significant dump of snow in less than a week, the City of Regina says it plans to have all high priority roadways cleared by 7:00 a.m. Tuesday. Regina police release images of suspects following early morning armed robbery Regina police are looking for two people following an early morning armed robbery in the city's downtown on Monday. Saskatoon Sask. Party prioritizes affordability, civility with opposition in Throne Speech The Saskatchewan Party government said it will prioritize affordability in the coming months during its Throne Speech on Monday, that officially kicked off a short two-week sitting inside the legislature. Saskatoon's second big snowfall in a week won't trigger emergency response: City City crews and contractors are at it again — clearing roadways after another major snowfall. Two dead after crash on Saskatchewan Highway 4 Two people are dead following a two-vehicle crash on Highway 4 Friday evening. Vancouver Deer spotted wearing high-visibility safety jacket in Northern B.C. Andrea Arnold is used to having to slow down to let deer cross the road in her Northern B.C. community. But this weekend she saw something that made her pull over and snap a photo. Wild weather behind 11-cent surge in Vancouver gas prices, analyst says The intense storms that battered parts of B.C. and the United States last week are partly to blame for a significant surge in Vancouver gas prices, according to a petroleum analyst. Canadian border agents seize 246 kilos of cocaine in B.C. Canadian border officials in British Columbia have seized nearly a quarter-tonne of cocaine that was coming into the province in three separate smuggling incidents in recent weeks, according to the agency. Vancouver Island Canadian Army corporal fined for stolen valour at Remembrance Day ceremony A corporal in the Canadian Army has been fined $2,000 and given a severe reprimand for wearing service medals he didn't earn during a Remembrance Day ceremony in Alberta two years ago. Deer spotted wearing high-visibility safety jacket in Northern B.C. Andrea Arnold is used to having to slow down to let deer cross the road in her Northern B.C. community. But this weekend she saw something that made her pull over and snap a photo. Vancouver Whitecaps drop head coach Vanni Sartini Two weeks after the Vancouver Whitecaps’ playoff run ended in the first round, the team has fired head coach Vanni Sartini. Kelowna Man in hospital following targeted shooting in Kamloops Police are appealing for information on a targeted shooting that resulted in the hospitalization of a man in Kamloops. Police cleared of fault in fatal 2023 crash in B.C.'s Interior British Columbia's independent police watchdog has cleared officers of wrongdoing in a crash where three people were killed south of Kamloops in July of last year. B.C. woman sentenced for stealing $14K in funds raised for schoolkids A B.C. woman who stole more than $14,000 in volunteer-raised funds that were supposed to be spent on school supplies and programs – including hot meals for vulnerable kids – won't spend any time in jail. Stay ConnectedAll you have to do to become a South Dakota resident is spend one night. Stay in a campground or hotel and then stop by one of the businesses that specialize in helping people become South Dakotans, and they’ll help you do the paperwork to gain residency in a state with no income tax and relatively cheap vehicle registration. The system brings in extra government revenue through vehicle fees and offers refuge to full-time travelers who wouldn’t otherwise have a permanent address or a place to vote. And that’s the problem. State leaders are at a stalemate between those who say people who don’t really live in South Dakota shouldn’t be allowed to vote in local elections and those who say efforts to impose a longer residency requirement for voting violate the principle that everyone gets to vote. And at least one state has gotten wind that its residents might be avoiding high income taxes with easy South Dakota residency and is investigating. Catering to the nomadic lifestyle Easy South Dakota residency for nomads has become an enterprising opportunity for businesses such as RV parks and mail forwarders. “That’s the primary concept here, is the people that have given up their sticks and bricks and now are on wheel estate, we call it, and they’re full-time traveling,” said Dane Goetz, owner of the Spearfish-based South Dakota Residency Center, which caters to full-time travelers. “They need a place to call home, and we provide that address for them to do that, and they are just perpetually on the move.” Goetz estimated more than 30,000 people are full-time traveler residents of South Dakota, but the actual number is unclear. The state Department of Public Safety, which handles driver licensing, says it doesn’t track the number of full-time traveler applications. Officials of the South Dakota Secretary of State’s Office did not respond to emailed questions or a phone message seeking the state’s tally of full-time travelers registered to vote. The office is not responsible for enforcing residency requirements, Division of Elections Director Rachel Soulek said. Victor Robledo, his wife and their five kids hit the road a decade ago in a 28-foot (8.5-meter) motorhome to seek adventure and ease their high cost of living in Southern California. They found South Dakota to be an opportunity to save money, receive mail and “take a residency in a state that really nurtures us,” he said. They filed for residency in 2020. “It was as simple as coming into the state, staying one night in one of the campgrounds, and once we do that, we bring in a receipt to the office, fill out some paperwork, change our licenses. I mean, really, you can blow through there — gosh, 48 hours,” Robledo said. Residency rules spark election concerns Residency becomes thorny around voting. Some opponents don’t want people who don’t physically live in South Dakota to vote in its elections. “I don’t want to deny somebody their right to vote, but to think that they can vote in a school board election or a legislative election or a county election when they’re not part of the community, I’m troubled by that,” said Democratic Rep. Linda Duba, who cited 10,000 people or roughly 40% of her Sioux Falls constituents being essentially mailbox residents. She likes to knock on doors and meet people but said she is unable to do “relationship politics” with travelers. The law the Republican-controlled Legislature passed in 2023 added requirements for voter registration, including 30 days of residency — which don’t have to be consecutive — and having “an actual fixed permanent dwelling, establishment, or any other abode to which the person returns after a period of absence.” The bill’s prime sponsor, Republican Sen. Randy Deibert, told a Senate panel that citizens expressed concerns about “people coming to the state, being a resident overnight and voting (by) absentee ballot or another way the next day and then leaving the state.” Those registered to vote before the new law took effect remain registered, but some who tried to register since its passage had trouble. Dozens of people recently denied voter registration contacted the American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota, according to the chapter’s advocacy manager, Samantha Chapman. Durational residency requirements for voting are, in general, unconstitutional because such restrictions interfere with the interstate right to travel, said David Schultz, a Hamline University professor of political science and a professor of law at the University of St. Thomas. “It’s kind of this parochialism, this idea of saying that only people who are really in our neighborhood, who really live in our city have a sufficient stake in it, and the courts have generally been unsympathetic to those types of arguments because, more often than not, they’re used for discriminatory purposes,” he said. State lawmakers at odds over residency law Earlier this year, the Legislature considered a bill to roll back the 2023 law. It passed the Senate but stalled in the House. During a House hearing on that bill, Republican Rep. Jon Hansen asked one full-time traveler when he was last in South Dakota and when he intends to return. The man said he was in the state a year earlier but planned to return in coming months. Another man who moved from Iowa to work overseas said he had not lived “for any period of time, physically” in South Dakota. “I don’t think we should allow people who have never lived in this state to vote in our state,” Hansen said. Republican Sen. David Wheeler, an attorney in Huron, said he expects litigation would be what forces a change. It’s unlikely a change to the 30-day requirement would pass the Legislature now, he said. “It is a complicated topic that involves federal and state law and federal and state voting rights, and it is difficult to bring everybody together on how to appropriately address that,” Wheeler said. Out-of-state residents may see tax benefits More than 1,600 miles (2,500 kilometers) east, Connecticut State Comptroller Sean Scanlon has asked prosecutors to look into whether some state employees who live in Connecticut may have skirted their tax obligations by claiming to be residents of South Dakota. Connecticut has a graduated income tax rate of 3.0% to 6.99%. Connecticut cities and towns also impose a property tax on vehicles. South Dakota has none. Scanlon and his office, which administers state employee retiree benefits, learned from a Hartford Courant columnist in September that some state retirees might be using South Dakota’s mail-forwarding services for nefarious reasons. Asked if there are concerns about other Connecticut taxpayers who are not state retirees possibly misusing South Dakota’s lenient residency laws, the Department of Revenue Services would only say the agency is “aware of the situation and we’re working with our partners to resolve it.” A South Dakota legislative panel broached the residency issue as recently as August, a meeting in which one lawmaker called the topic “the Gordian knot of politics.” “It seems like it’s almost impossible to come to some clear and definitive statement as to what constitutes a residency with such a mobile population with people with multiple homes and addresses and political boundaries that are easy to see on a map but there’s so much cross-transportation across them,” Republican Sen. Jim Bolin said. ___ Dura reported from Bismarck, North Dakota. Associated Press Writer Susan Haigh in Hartford, Connecticut, contributed to this report.

As a critic, I'm sometimes asked about my note-taking habits: Do you take a lot of notes? (Almost always; my memory can get fuzzy fast.) How do you do this in a dark theater? (Absolutely no phone screens! I scribble furiously with a pen and paper and hope for the best.) What do you usually take notes about? To that last question, it truly varies, but I can say that I'm consistently being pulled in by words, spoken and unspoken. The profound, the funny, the relatable, the subtext-laden; the lines that reveal some kind of truth about the world on screen and thus the world we're existing in now. When I think of some of my most memorable film-going experiences of 2024 – a great year for movies! – these are some of the moments and performances that have moved me, and stuck even many months later. Gendered inequities become glaringly obvious very quickly in Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine's fascinating documentary about the long-running high school program known as Girls State. Like many before them, the ambitious civic-minded teens profiled here set out to build their own government from the ground up. But the film was shot in 2022, the first time the Missouri chapter hosted both the girls and boys programs on the same campus at the same time, and the girls spend much of their time observing how much attention is paid to the enforcement of dress codes and how little is given to discussing more substantial and urgent political issues. (Meanwhile, there's ample evidence the boys' ambitions are taken far more seriously. Among their advantages: being "sworn in" to "office" by the state governor.) In one scene some of the girls commiserate over their disappointment with the tenor of the program, with one of them calling it out as distracting "fluff." The moment speaks to the obstacles that still persist for women in politics and is a sobering depiction of young hopefuls getting an early taste of political disillusionment. The final lines of Jane Schoenbrun's challenging and mesmerizing transgender allegory are a wallop of a denouement, proffering both sadness and hope. The sadness comes from everything we've learned about the meek protagonist Owen (Justice Smith) to this point – how, out of paralyzing fear, they've made a deliberate choice to deny their true self, and live a depressing and unfulfilling life. Now working at the kind of job that can only be described as the stuff of nightmares – a Chuck E. Cheese-like amusement center – the crushing weight of their denial finally hits, and sends them into a panic attack in the middle of a child's birthday celebration. The beauty of Megan Park's coming-of-age dramedy is that it never attempts to explain how 18-year-old Elliott (Maisy Stella) comes to encounter her 39-year-old self (Aubrey Plaza), beyond a hallucinogenic mushroom trip the first time she appears. The obvious and more pressing question then is, What does my future hold? When older Elliott delivers the sobering news to younger Elliott – that life rarely plays out exactly as planned – the reality of many millennials and Gen Zers the world over is succinctly and wittily acknowledged. Own a house? Work a fulfilling job that also pays at least a living wage? LOL. Park's film mercifully doesn't dwell on such cynicism, but it is all the better for those little nuggets of pointed commentary peppered throughout, blending a healthy dose of lived wisdom with the energy of youthful optimism. Julia Louis-Dreyfus' Zora is unquestionably relatable — what person wouldn't do everything in their power to ward off a loved one's impending death, especially their child's? But ultimately, Zora's impulses are more harmful than good for her terminally ill daughter Tuesday (Lola Petticrew), who's already come to terms with her own fate. It takes several extreme attempts at "killing" Death, imagined here as a majestically baritone macaw voiced by Arinzé Kene, before Zora understands she must set aside her own fears of what's to come and live in the present. One night, inquisitive tween Lacy (Zoe Ziegler) asks her mom Janet (Julianne Nicholson) if she'd be "disappointed" if she dated a girl when she's older. Janet, an acupuncturist and total hippie, admits she'd be neither disappointed nor shocked if that came to pass. The clarity of the observation about her daughter reveals that Janet sees a quality in Lacy that doesn't exist within herself, namely that "forthrightness," a lack of interest in tamping down any part of who she is. There is nothing subtle about this movie, but in a sparse script overflowing with bluntly obvious points about the horrors of sexism and misogyny, this line is the most apt thesis statement. What makes Coralie Fargeat's astounding, seismic body horror so unique is that the external forces – men, the patriarchy writ large — are on the periphery. Instead, Fargeat is preoccupied with what those forces stir within Elisabeth (Demi Moore), a TV aerobics star resorting to the most desperate of measures to regain her youth, and Sue (Margaret Qualley), the other, younger half she gruesomely expels from her body with the aid of "the substance." There's so much narrative possibility packed into this throwaway line, spoken by tennis star-turned-coach Tashi (Zendaya). She's a ruthless striver wedged in the middle of a homoerotic love triangle because she married Art (Mike Faist) after first having dated his best friend Patrick (Josh O'Connor). Does she love either of them as much, if not more, than she loves the thrill of a little green ball connecting with a swinging racket in a game of "good tennis"? Doubtful. But she's dedicated her life to making sure Art does what she wasn't able to accomplish on her own after a career-ending injury, and she'll be damned if she'll let Patrick humiliate him on the court. Look, I never said this was a list of the best movies of 2024. M. Night Shyamalan's nepo-baby project starring Josh Hartnett as a hot and doting dad who's also a serial killer is truly one of the dumbest, most nonsensical things to come out of Hollywood in recent memory. But it's fun as hell, and the commitment to such a ridiculous premise is weirdly audacious: The F.B.I., led by a serial killer "profiler" played by Haley Mills, has trapped thousands of people at a pop star's concert to catch a guy who could be literally anyone. (That pop star is played by Shyamalan's daughter Saleka.) What does this killer look like? Who knows! Except if you've seen this movie and made it through to the end, you eventually realize that everyone hunting this guy down should've absolutely known. It makes no sense. The plot holes are abundant. This is cinema. Copyright 2024 NPR. To see more, visit npr.org .

We Wish you a Merry Holiday season – Community Arts Sponsorships & Partnerships at InkLinkNews. Symphony New Hampshire’s collaboration with InkLInkNews and especially the Arts and Culture coverage has been a joy for all involved. From our ability to highlight individual musicians to our coverage of concerts, we have increased awareness of professional symphonic performance in New Hampshire. This relationship has also created opportunities for young people across all of New Hampshire to participate in programming that might not otherwise have been possible. The creation of the NH Concerto was an idea that began with the Symphony and amplified through a season’s long series of interviews with student participants from Keene , Dartmouth , Plymouth and UNH . Wes Coffin , A Maine native attending UNH, received coverage back at his hometown newspaper. Kyle Cook found his friends and ours mingling online during his senior recital this year. Each received more positive and expanded visibility for themselves and their school’s programs than would otherwise have happened. The digital connection and reach of InkLink has made a difference, ongoing. Curated Digital Connection as a mainstay, spreads valuable resume material, improves internet search results, and creates more viable digital imprints for the future. All of this happened because Symphony New Hampshire’s mission of education and student opportunity aligned well with the community and solutions focused journalism driven here at InkLinkNews, Arts, and Culture. Symphony NH’s support of our Performing Arts Partnership has also expanded the InkLink’s Inkubator program. Publisher Carol Robidoux’s foresight launched it years ago and recently, one of her first generation “graduates,” Bob Costa, wrote in supporting the incubator: “Carol Robidoux’s lifelong commitment to journalism, education, and the development of young people has shaped so many careers, including my own. Her founding of a youth section in my hometown newspaper gave me my start, way back when I was a teenager, and I’m eternally grateful for her selfless efforts. I doubt I’d be writing today if I didn’t have that chance. ” – Robert Costa, # 1 New York Times bestselling co-author of ‘Peril’ with Bob Woodward. Today’s Inkubator cohort has Dan Szczesny and Uma covering rock bands and T Harmon and me collaborating on orchestral , classical and jazz performances. If you want to join us as a mentor or have the ability to fund and help expand what we do, we’d love to hear from you! Reach out to me and let’s explore additional opportunities to strengthen our community in 2025. Deanna Hoying, Executive Director, SymphonyNH, wrote that “New Hampshire’s creative economy generated $3.4 billion in annual economic activity (the most recent data available is from 2022). This equates to 3.2% of the state’s GDP. New Hampshire’s arts and cultural organizations create jobs, attract tourists, and support other local businesses.” More than three billion dollars that stays right here in New Hampshire! This represents a large number of people participating in cultural activities that bring people and communities together. Activities that engage all ages and all friendship and family types in ways that connect, educate, and gather, rather than isolate us. InkLinkNews is grateful to the many friends and businesses that recognize the importance of this often unsung work of community building. Many thanks to Symphony NH for their leadership role that is making a difference across our state. As we enter 2025, it will be the Arts that will open new lines of communications across Geo – Political & Social boundaries, keep our communities connected and provide much needed calm. Please join us. Happy Holidays to all.