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Company powers down planned expansion of B.C. battery plantUS to require passenger vehicles to sound alarms if rear passengers don't fasten their seat belts

DETROIT (AP) — Starting in September of 2027, all new passenger vehicles in the U.S. will have to sound a warning if rear-seat passengers don’t buckle up. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Monday that it finalized the rule, which also requires enhanced warnings when front seat belts aren’t fastened. The agency estimates that the new rule will save 50 lives per year and prevent 500 injuries when fully in effect, according to a statement. The new rule will apply to passenger cars, trucks, buses except for school buses, and multipurpose vehicles weighing up to 10,000 pounds. Before the rule, seat belt warnings were required only for the driver’s seat. Under the new rule, outboard front-seat passengers also must get a warning if they don’t fasten their belts. Front-center seats will not get a warning because NHTSA found that it wouldn’t be cost effective. The agency said most vehicles already have warnings for the outboard passenger seats. The rule also lengthens the duration of audio and visual warnings for the driver’s seat. The front-seat rules are effective starting Sept. 1 of 2026. Rear passengers consistently use seat belts at a lower rate than front passengers, the agency says. In 2022, front belt use was just under 92%, while rear use dropped to about 82%. About half of automobile passengers who died in crashes two years ago weren’t wearing belts, according to NHTSA data. The seat belt rule is the second significant regulation to come from NHTSA in the past two months. In November the agency bolstered its Safety advocates want the Department of Transportation, which includes NHTSA, to finish several more rules before the end of the Biden administration, because President-elect Donald Trump has said he’s against new government regulations. Cathy Chase, president of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, urged the department to approve automatic emergency braking for heavy trucks and technology to prevent impaired driving.

‘Look Out for Your Own’: Two Columnists on Why Biden’s Pardon Reeks of Privilege2024 in pop culture: In a bruising year, we sought out fantasy, escapism — and cute little animalsBattery manufacturer E-One Moli Energy has announced it is not going ahead with the expansion of its Maple Ridge plant – at this time. The project would create 350 new jobs and secure more than 100 existing positions, making Moli Energy the city's largest private employer. A year ago, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and B.C. Premier David Eby both toured the plant and joined the company in announcing the $1-billion expansion, which senior government would partner in. The federal commitment was $205 million, with another $80 million from the province, and the plan was for E-One Moli to expand its facility in Maple Ridge, and become Canada’s largest high-performance lithium-ion battery cell manufacturer. They would produce up to 135 million battery cells per year. Maple Ridge Mayor Dan Ruimy assured the project is not dead. "It's not really the bad news everyone thinks it is – they're not cancelling, they're just putting it on pause," he said. With the company investing some $750 million in the project, it's easy to appreciate Moli Energy's prudence in watching developing energy markets, as well as the political climate in the Canada and elsewhere, Ruimy explained. He pointed out the project is not overdue – it was slated for completion in 2028. The company has stated the plant expansion in Maple Ridge remains a sound investment. "We're a supporting partner, and we want them to know that we want them to be here," Ruimy said of the city's role. The company started in B.C. in 1977, and has operated from the Maple Ridge site since 1987 as a pioneer in the battery industry, with production facilities in Taiwan. Molicel batteries are used in motorsports, high-end autos, aircraft, medical equipment, power tools, and home appliances. The company was purchased in 2000 by Taiwanese-based Taiwan Cement Corp. “What you’ve been able to build here over the past decades is more relevant now than one could ever imagine, and is part of the exciting future we’re building,” Trudeau told company chairman Nelson Chang last November. Chang said he was thrilled to have the the green energy initiative in Maple Ridge. “We believe that CO2 reduction is absolutely the key to success for all future businesses.” The company recently opened a new production plant in Taiwan.

Focused on the Future, Ethan Allen Celebrates 2024 International ConventionVANCOUVER — Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem says the central bank is preparing for a future that looks more uncertain and more prone to shocks. In a speech to the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade, he said Monday structural changes are underway in the world including demographic shifts, technological changes, decarbonization and a move away from globalization. "We need to use the pandemic experience to prepare for future crises," Macklem said in a prepared text of his speech. To that end, Macklem says the Bank of Canada is working to learn what it can from how the economy reacted to the pandemic and in its aftermath. The Bank of Canada is conducting a review of the policy actions it took to restore financial stability and support the economy during the pandemic that it plans to publish along with an assessment of an independent panel of experts. Macklem said the spike in inflation in 2022 was a reminder that even though inflation was relatively low and stable for 30 years leading up to the pandemic, central banks cannot take public trust for granted. "All of a sudden, people couldn’t afford the things they need to live. And while inflation is low once again, many prices are still a lot higher than they were before the pandemic. So people feel ripped off. And that erodes public trust in our economic system," he said. The Bank of Canada has cut its key policy interest rate five times this year including last week when it reduced the benchmark by a half a percentage point to 3.25 per cent. Macklem says the bank will be evaluating the need for further reductions in the policy rate one decision at a time and anticipates a more gradual approach to monetary policy if the economy evolves as expected. Statistics Canada reported last month that the annual inflation rate was two per cent in Ontario, hitting the Bank of Canada's target. The speech by Macklem came ahead of the release of the November inflation report on Tuesday. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 16, 2024. The Canadian PressTrump Says Biden Administration Is Keeping a Big Secret About Drone Sightings: 'Something Strange Is Going On'

2024 in pop culture: In a bruising year, we sought out fantasy, escapism — and cute little animalsPam Bondi, Donald Trump's pick to be attorney general, is a staunch ally of the former president, defending him against impeachment during his first term and pushing his false claims of election fraud as he sought to cling on to the White House. The 59-year-old former Florida attorney general, if confirmed by the Senate, will now serve as the top law enforcement official in a second Trump administration. "For too long, the partisan Department of Justice has been weaponized against me and other Republicans -- Not anymore," Trump wrote on his Truth Social network. "Pam will refocus the DOJ to its intended purpose of fighting Crime, and Making America Safe Again." Bondi's nomination means the top ranks of the Justice Department will be filled by Trump loyalists, as the president-elect has named three of the lawyers who defended him in his multiple criminal cases to its other high-ranking roles. Trump tapped Bondi to be attorney general on Thursday after his first pick, firebrand ex-Florida lawmaker Matt Gaetz, dropped out amid sexual misconduct allegations and doubts that he could obtain Senate confirmation. A graduate of the University of Florida with a law degree from Stetson University, Bondi served as a prosecutor for 18 years before being elected attorney general of the "Sunshine State" in 2010, the first woman to hold the post. Bondi, a native of Trump's adopted home state of Florida, was reelected to a second term in 2014. As attorney general, Bondi notably fought opioid addiction and human trafficking while taking a tough stance on crime and supporting the death penalty. She sued BP for the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and obtained more than $2 billion in economic relief for Florida, according to her biography page at Ballard Partners, a powerful lobbying firm where she has worked after leaving office. While serving as attorney general, Bondi was drawn into a controversy involving Trump when she declined in 2013 to join a multi-state prosecution accusing Trump University of fraud. It emerged later that Bondi's reelection committee had received a $25,000 donation from the charitable Trump Foundation. Both Trump and Bondi denied any wrongdoing. Bondi joined Trump's legal team during his first impeachment trial, in which he was alleged to have pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to find political dirt on his 2020 election opponent, Democrat Joe Biden. Trump was impeached by the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives but acquitted by the Republican-majority Senate. After the 2020 election, Bondi made television appearances on behalf of Trump and pushed to de-legitimize vote counting in battleground states as part of the push by the former president to overturn the results of the vote. Bondi has also criticized the criminal cases brought against Trump, appearing in solidarity at his New York trial, where he was convicted of falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments to a porn star. At Ballard Partners, Bondi has done work for Amazon, General Motors and Uber and as a registered lobbyist for the oil-rich Gulf nation of Qatar, according to press reports. She is also a member of the America First Policy Institute, a Trump-aligned right-wing think tank. cl/dw

Less than a month after winning the World Series, the Los Angeles Dodgers are spending big again to add one of baseball’s best pitchers to their star-studded roster. Blake Snell and the Dodgers agreed to a $182 million, five-year contract, according to a person with direct knowledge of the negotiations. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Tuesday night because the deal is subject to a successful physical. The two-time Cy Young Award winner broke the news personally by posting a photo of himself on social media in a Dodgers uniform — No. 7. Snell gets a $52 million signing bonus, payable on Jan. 20, and annual salaries of $26 million, of which $13 million each year will be deferred. Because Snell is a Washington state resident, the signing bonus will not be subject to California income tax. Snell would join two-way star Shohei Ohtani and fellow Japanese right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto atop Los Angeles’ rotation, giving the Dodgers the first megadeal this offseason following Ohtani’s $700 million, 10-year contract and Yamamoto’s $325 million, 12-year agreement last offseason. Ohtani didn’t pitch this year while recovering from right elbow surgery but is expected back on the mound in 2025. He won his third MVP award — first in the National League — following a huge season at the plate exclusively as a designated hitter. Yamamoto went 7-2 with a 3.00 ERA in 18 starts as a rookie, then won twice in four October outings. Down to three healthy starting pitchers during the postseason, Los Angeles overcame a string of injuries to its projected rotation in winning the franchise’s second World Series title in five years. Right-handers Jack Flaherty and Walker Buehler then became free agents this fall, creating more voids on the staff. But the addition of Snell would fill a large one at the top with a legitimate ace. Snell’s $36.4 million average salary would rank as the fifth-highest among active deals next year behind Ohtani ($70 million), Philadelphia pitcher Zack Wheeler ($42 million), New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge ($40 million) and Texas pitcher Jacob deGrom ($37 million). Among expired contracts, it also was exceeded by pitchers Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander (both $43.33 million) under deals they agreed to with the New York Mets. ESPN first reported the details of Snell’s contract. Earlier this month, Snell opted out of his deal with San Francisco to become a free agent for the second consecutive offseason after he was slowed by injuries during his lone year with the Giants. The left-hander agreed in March to a $62 million, two-year contract that included a $17 million signing bonus payable on Jan. 15, 2026, a $15 million salary for 2024 and a $30 million salary for 2025, of which $15 million would have been deferred and payable on July 1, 2027. Snell, who turns 32 next week, went 5-3 with a 3.12 ERA in 20 starts this year, throwing a no-hitter at Cincinnati on Aug. 2 for one of only 16 individual shutouts in the major leagues this season. He struck out 145 and walked 44 in 104 innings. He was sidelined between April 19 and May 22 by a strained left adductor and between June 2 and July 9 by a strained left groin. Snell won Cy Young Awards in 2018 with Tampa Bay and 2023 with San Diego. He is 76-58 with a 3.19 ERA in nine seasons with the Rays (2016-20), Padres (2021-23) and Giants. Because he turned down a qualifying offer from San Diego last November, the Giants were not eligible to give Snell another one and won’t receive draft-pick compensation. Los Angeles expects All-Star right-hander Tyler Glasnow and three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw back in the rotation next year. Other starting candidates if healthy include right-handers Dustin May, Tony Gonsolin and Bobby Miller. Ohtani is coming off right elbow surgery in September 2023 and left shoulder surgery on Nov. 5. Glasnow didn’t pitch after Aug. 11 because of right elbow tendinitis. Kershaw, who turns 37 in March, had foot and knee surgeries on Nov. 7. He declined a $10 million player option in favor of free agency, but is expected to return to Los Angeles. May is coming back from Tommy John surgery in July 2023 and from an operation this past July to repair a tear in his esophagus. Gonsolin spent 2024 rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. Miller, an 11-game winner as a rookie in 2023, was sidelined early this season by shoulder inflammation. He struggled to a 2-4 record with an 8.52 ERA in 13 big league starts and ended the regular season in the minors. Yamamoto was sidelined by right triceps tightness between June 15 and Sept. 10, then returned and went 2-0 with a 3.86 ERA in four postseason starts. ___ AP Baseball Writers Janie McCauley and Mike Fitzpatrick contributed to this report.

Hyperallergic’s Art Tarotscope for the Winter EquinoxLouisville tops No. 14 Indiana 89-61 in the Battle 4 Atlantis

Dana Hull | (TNS) Bloomberg News Jared Birchall, Elon Musk’s money manager and the head of his family office, is listed as the chief executive officer. Jehn Balajadia, a longtime Musk aide who has worked at SpaceX and the Boring Co., is named as an official contact. Related Articles National Politics | Trump’s picks for top health jobs not just team of rivals but ‘team of opponents’ National Politics | Biden will decide on US Steel acquisition after influential panel fails to reach consensus National Politics | Biden vetoes once-bipartisan effort to add 66 federal judgeships, citing ‘hurried’ House action National Politics | An analyst looks ahead to how the US economy might fare under Trump National Politics | Trump again calls to buy Greenland after eyeing Canada and the Panama Canal But they’re not connected to Musk’s new technology venture, or the political operation that’s endeared him to Donald Trump. Instead, they’re tied to the billionaire’s new Montessori school outside Bastrop, Texas, called Ad Astra, according to documents filed with state authorities and obtained via a Texas Public Information Act request. The world’s richest person oversees an overlapping empire of six companies — or seven, if you include his political action committee. Alongside rockets, electric cars, brain implants, social media and the next Trump administration, he is increasingly focused on education, spanning preschool to college. One part of his endeavor was revealed last year, when Bloomberg News reported that his foundation had set aside roughly $100 million to create a technology-focused primary and secondary school in Austin, with eventual plans for a university. An additional $137 million in cash and stock was allotted last year, according to the most recent tax filing for the Musk Foundation. Ad Astra is closer to fruition. The state documents show Texas authorities issued an initial permit last month, clearing the way for the center to operate with as many as 21 pupils. Ad Astra’s website says it’s “currently open to all children ages 3 to 9.” The school’s account on X includes job postings for an assistant teacher for preschool and kindergarten and an assistant teacher for students ages 6 to 9. To run the school, Ad Astra is partnering with a company that has experience with billionaires: Xplor Education, which developed Hala Kahiki Montessori school in Lanai, Hawaii, the island 98% owned by Oracle Corp. founder Larry Ellison. Ad Astra sits on a highway outside Bastrop, a bedroom community about 30 miles from Austin and part of a region that’s home to several of Musk’s businesses. On a visit during a recent weekday morning, there was a single Toyota Prius in the parking lot and no one answered the door at the white building with a gray metal roof. The school’s main entrance was blocked by a gate, and there was no sign of any children on the grounds. But what information there is about Ad Astra makes it sound like a fairly typical, if high-end, Montessori preschool. The proposed schedule includes “thematic, STEM-based activities and projects” as well as outdoor play and nap time. A sample snack calendar features carrots and hummus. While Birchall’s and Balajadia’s names appear in the application, it isn’t clear that they’ll have substantive roles at the school once it’s operational. Musk, Birchall and Balajadia didn’t respond to emailed questions. A phone call and email to the school went unanswered. Access to high quality, affordable childcare is a huge issue for working parents across the country, and tends to be an especially vexing problem in rural areas like Bastrop. Many families live in “childcare deserts” where there is either not a facility or there isn’t an available slot. Opening Ad Astra gives Musk a chance to showcase his vision for education, and his support for the hands-on learning and problem solving that are a hallmark of his industrial companies. His public comments about learning frequently overlap with cultural concerns popular among conservatives and the Make America Great Again crowd, often focusing on what he sees as young minds being indoctrinated by teachers spewing left-wing propaganda. He has railed against diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, and in August posted that “a lot of schools are teaching white boys to hate themselves.” Musk’s educational interests dovetail with his new role as Trump’s “first buddy.” The billionaire has pitched a role for himself that he — and now the incoming Trump administration — call “DOGE,” or the Department of Government Efficiency. Though it’s not an actual department, DOGE now posts on X, the social media platform that Musk owns. “The Department of Education spent over $1 billion promoting DEI in America’s schools,” the account posted Dec. 12. Back in Texas, Bastrop is quickly becoming a key Musk point of interest. The Boring Co., his tunneling venture, is based in an unincorporated area there. Across the road, SpaceX produces Starlink satellites at a 500,000-square-foot (46,000-square-meter) facility. Nearby, X is constructing a building for trust and safety workers. Musk employees, as well as the general public, can grab snacks at the Boring Bodega, a convenience store housed within Musk’s Hyperloop Plaza, which also contains a bar, candy shop and hair salon. Ad Astra is just a five-minute drive away. It seems to have been designed with the children of Musk’s employees — if not Musk’s own offspring — in mind. Musk has fathered at least 12 children, six of them in the last five years. “Ad Astra’s mission is to foster curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking in the next generation of problem solvers and builders,” reads the school’s website. A job posting on the website of the Montessori Institute of North Texas says “While their parents support the breakthroughs that expand the realm of human possibility, their children will grow into the next generation of innovators in a way that only authentic Montessori can provide.” The school has hired an executive director, according to documents Bloomberg obtained from Texas Health and Human Services. Ad Astra is located on 40 acres of land, according to the documents, which said a 4,000-square-foot house would be remodeled for the preschool. It isn’t uncommon for entrepreneurs to take an interest in education, according to Bill Gormley, a professor emeritus at the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University who studies early childhood education. Charles Butt, the chairman of the Texas-based H-E-B grocery chain, has made public education a focus of his philanthropy. Along with other business and community leaders, Butt founded “Raise Your Hand Texas,” which advocates on school funding, teacher workforce and retention issues and fully funding pre-kindergarten. “Musk is not the only entrepreneur to recognize the value of preschool for Texas workers,” Gormley said. “A lot of politicians and business people get enthusiastic about education in general — and preschool in particular — because they salivate at the prospect of a better workforce.” Musk spent much of October actively campaigning for Trump’s presidential effort, becoming the most prolific donor of the election cycle. He poured at least $274 million into political groups in 2024, including $238 million to America PAC, the political action committee he founded. While the vast majority of money raised by America PAC came from Musk himself, it also had support from other donors. Betsy DeVos, who served as education secretary in Trump’s first term, donated $250,000, federal filings show. The Department of Education is already in the new administration’s cross hairs. Trump campaigned on the idea of disbanding the department and dismantling diversity initiatives, and he has also taken aim at transgender rights. “Rather than indoctrinating young people with inappropriate racial, sexual, and political material, which is what we’re doing now, our schools must be totally refocused to prepare our children to succeed in the world of work,” Trump wrote in Agenda 47, his campaign platform. Musk has three children with the musician Grimes and three with Shivon Zilis, who in the past was actively involved at Neuralink, his brain machine interface company. All are under the age of five. Musk took X, his son with Grimes, with him on a recent trip to Capitol Hill. After his visit, he shared a graphic that showed the growth of administrators in America’s public schools since 2000. Musk is a fan of hands-on education. During a Tesla earnings call in 2018, he talked about the need for more electricians as the electric-car maker scaled up the energy side of its business. On the Joe Rogan podcast in 2020, Musk said that “too many smart people go into finance and law.” “I have a lot of respect for people who work with their hands and we need electricians and plumbers and carpenters,” Musk said while campaigning for Trump in Pennsylvania in October. “That’s a lot more important than having incremental political science majors.” Ad Astra’s website says the cost of tuition will be initially subsidized, but in future years “tuition will be in line with local private schools that include an extended day program.” “I do think we need significant reform in education,” Musk said at a separate Trump campaign event. “The priority should be to teach kids skills that they will find useful later in life, and to leave any sort of social propaganda out of the classroom.” With assistance from Sophie Alexander and Kara Carlson. ©2024 Bloomberg News. Visit at bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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Dana Hull | (TNS) Bloomberg News Jared Birchall, Elon Musk’s money manager and the head of his family office, is listed as the chief executive officer. Jehn Balajadia, a longtime Musk aide who has worked at SpaceX and the Boring Co., is named as an official contact. Related Articles National Politics | Trump’s picks for top health jobs not just team of rivals but ‘team of opponents’ National Politics | Biden will decide on US Steel acquisition after influential panel fails to reach consensus National Politics | Biden vetoes once-bipartisan effort to add 66 federal judgeships, citing ‘hurried’ House action National Politics | A history of the Panama Canal — and why Trump can’t take it back on his own National Politics | President-elect Trump wants to again rename North America’s tallest peak But they’re not connected to Musk’s new technology venture, or the political operation that’s endeared him to Donald Trump. Instead, they’re tied to the billionaire’s new Montessori school outside Bastrop, Texas, called Ad Astra, according to documents filed with state authorities and obtained via a Texas Public Information Act request. The world’s richest person oversees an overlapping empire of six companies — or seven, if you include his political action committee. Alongside rockets, electric cars, brain implants, social media and the next Trump administration, he is increasingly focused on education, spanning preschool to college. One part of his endeavor was revealed last year, when Bloomberg News reported that his foundation had set aside roughly $100 million to create a technology-focused primary and secondary school in Austin, with eventual plans for a university. An additional $137 million in cash and stock was allotted last year, according to the most recent tax filing for the Musk Foundation. Ad Astra is closer to fruition. The state documents show Texas authorities issued an initial permit last month, clearing the way for the center to operate with as many as 21 pupils. Ad Astra’s website says it’s “currently open to all children ages 3 to 9.” The school’s account on X includes job postings for an assistant teacher for preschool and kindergarten and an assistant teacher for students ages 6 to 9. To run the school, Ad Astra is partnering with a company that has experience with billionaires: Xplor Education, which developed Hala Kahiki Montessori school in Lanai, Hawaii, the island 98% owned by Oracle Corp. founder Larry Ellison. Ad Astra sits on a highway outside Bastrop, a bedroom community about 30 miles from Austin and part of a region that’s home to several of Musk’s businesses. On a visit during a recent weekday morning, there was a single Toyota Prius in the parking lot and no one answered the door at the white building with a gray metal roof. The school’s main entrance was blocked by a gate, and there was no sign of any children on the grounds. But what information there is about Ad Astra makes it sound like a fairly typical, if high-end, Montessori preschool. The proposed schedule includes “thematic, STEM-based activities and projects” as well as outdoor play and nap time. A sample snack calendar features carrots and hummus. While Birchall’s and Balajadia’s names appear in the application, it isn’t clear that they’ll have substantive roles at the school once it’s operational. Musk, Birchall and Balajadia didn’t respond to emailed questions. A phone call and email to the school went unanswered. Access to high quality, affordable childcare is a huge issue for working parents across the country, and tends to be an especially vexing problem in rural areas like Bastrop. Many families live in “childcare deserts” where there is either not a facility or there isn’t an available slot. Opening Ad Astra gives Musk a chance to showcase his vision for education, and his support for the hands-on learning and problem solving that are a hallmark of his industrial companies. His public comments about learning frequently overlap with cultural concerns popular among conservatives and the Make America Great Again crowd, often focusing on what he sees as young minds being indoctrinated by teachers spewing left-wing propaganda. He has railed against diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, and in August posted that “a lot of schools are teaching white boys to hate themselves.” Musk’s educational interests dovetail with his new role as Trump’s “first buddy.” The billionaire has pitched a role for himself that he — and now the incoming Trump administration — call “DOGE,” or the Department of Government Efficiency. Though it’s not an actual department, DOGE now posts on X, the social media platform that Musk owns. “The Department of Education spent over $1 billion promoting DEI in America’s schools,” the account posted Dec. 12. Back in Texas, Bastrop is quickly becoming a key Musk point of interest. The Boring Co., his tunneling venture, is based in an unincorporated area there. Across the road, SpaceX produces Starlink satellites at a 500,000-square-foot (46,000-square-meter) facility. Nearby, X is constructing a building for trust and safety workers. Musk employees, as well as the general public, can grab snacks at the Boring Bodega, a convenience store housed within Musk’s Hyperloop Plaza, which also contains a bar, candy shop and hair salon. Ad Astra is just a five-minute drive away. It seems to have been designed with the children of Musk’s employees — if not Musk’s own offspring — in mind. Musk has fathered at least 12 children, six of them in the last five years. “Ad Astra’s mission is to foster curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking in the next generation of problem solvers and builders,” reads the school’s website. A job posting on the website of the Montessori Institute of North Texas says “While their parents support the breakthroughs that expand the realm of human possibility, their children will grow into the next generation of innovators in a way that only authentic Montessori can provide.” The school has hired an executive director, according to documents Bloomberg obtained from Texas Health and Human Services. Ad Astra is located on 40 acres of land, according to the documents, which said a 4,000-square-foot house would be remodeled for the preschool. It isn’t uncommon for entrepreneurs to take an interest in education, according to Bill Gormley, a professor emeritus at the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University who studies early childhood education. Charles Butt, the chairman of the Texas-based H-E-B grocery chain, has made public education a focus of his philanthropy. Along with other business and community leaders, Butt founded “Raise Your Hand Texas,” which advocates on school funding, teacher workforce and retention issues and fully funding pre-kindergarten. “Musk is not the only entrepreneur to recognize the value of preschool for Texas workers,” Gormley said. “A lot of politicians and business people get enthusiastic about education in general — and preschool in particular — because they salivate at the prospect of a better workforce.” Musk spent much of October actively campaigning for Trump’s presidential effort, becoming the most prolific donor of the election cycle. He poured at least $274 million into political groups in 2024, including $238 million to America PAC, the political action committee he founded. While the vast majority of money raised by America PAC came from Musk himself, it also had support from other donors. Betsy DeVos, who served as education secretary in Trump’s first term, donated $250,000, federal filings show. The Department of Education is already in the new administration’s cross hairs. Trump campaigned on the idea of disbanding the department and dismantling diversity initiatives, and he has also taken aim at transgender rights. “Rather than indoctrinating young people with inappropriate racial, sexual, and political material, which is what we’re doing now, our schools must be totally refocused to prepare our children to succeed in the world of work,” Trump wrote in Agenda 47, his campaign platform. Musk has three children with the musician Grimes and three with Shivon Zilis, who in the past was actively involved at Neuralink, his brain machine interface company. All are under the age of five. Musk took X, his son with Grimes, with him on a recent trip to Capitol Hill. After his visit, he shared a graphic that showed the growth of administrators in America’s public schools since 2000. Musk is a fan of hands-on education. During a Tesla earnings call in 2018, he talked about the need for more electricians as the electric-car maker scaled up the energy side of its business. On the Joe Rogan podcast in 2020, Musk said that “too many smart people go into finance and law.” “I have a lot of respect for people who work with their hands and we need electricians and plumbers and carpenters,” Musk said while campaigning for Trump in Pennsylvania in October. “That’s a lot more important than having incremental political science majors.” Ad Astra’s website says the cost of tuition will be initially subsidized, but in future years “tuition will be in line with local private schools that include an extended day program.” “I do think we need significant reform in education,” Musk said at a separate Trump campaign event. “The priority should be to teach kids skills that they will find useful later in life, and to leave any sort of social propaganda out of the classroom.” With assistance from Sophie Alexander and Kara Carlson. ©2024 Bloomberg News. Visit at bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

NoneThe last time the two teams met with a provincial gold medal up for grabs, the game came down to the final rock. That didn't happen this time on Monday, Dec. 23, in Kimberley, though the outcome was the same. The Vernon/Kamloops team of skip Ava Arndt and second Ivy Jensen of Vernon, and Kamloops sisters Bethany Evans (third) and Alicia Evans (lead) won the Safetek Profire B.C. U18 Girls Curling Championship at the Kimberley Curling Club, scoring an 8-3 win over the Kelowna/Penticton squad skipped by Megan Remple of Kelowna. Because B.C. gets two spots, both teams advance to the Canadian U18 championships Feb. 16-22 at the Nutana Curling Club in Saskatoon. Arndt defeated Rempel 6-5 in the gold-medal game at the 2023 B.C. Winter Games at the Vernon Curling Club. "We’re just super excited," said Arndt after Monday's win. "It took us a couple years to get here, but the hard work paid off and we can’t believe it. I don’t think it’s sunk in yet. It’s been a lot of hard work from us and the coaches and the parents. It’s been amazing." The team is coached by David Arndt. After taking a single point with the hammer in the opening end, Arndt took control of Monday's B.C. final in the second end with her first of a pair of three-point stolen ends. Arndt repeated the thievery in the sixth end to take an 8-2 lead. It was 4-2 Arndt at the fourth-end break. Both teams were the toast of the seven-team girls event, going 5-1 in the round-robin to earn a berth in Monday's final. Arndt's only blemish came in the fifth draw Saturday evening, when she fell 6-4 to Juli Andrews, whose rink had players from Maple Ridge, Abbotsford, and Chilliwack. Rempel started and finished the tournament with losses to Arndt, including a 7-3 defeat in the tournament's opening draw, then rattled off five straight wins. Salmon Arm's Danielle Monteith finished with a 2-4 record. Curling with Monteith was Armstrong's Kyara O'Shea, who threw second rocks. The 12-team boys event was won by Kelowna's Owen Jaeger, whose rink gets the only B.C. berth in Saskatoon in February after defeating Harrison Hrynew of New Westminster 7-4. Trailing 4-3, Jaeger turned the game in his favour in the seventh end, scoring three for a 6-4 lead. "We really worked hard this year, this year we really wanted to win," said Jaeger. "We put in a lot of work and it just feels really, really good to win and for all that hard work to pay off. We’re really, really excited. It’s our first national event, first U18 provincial win, so we’re really excited." Team Jaeger was made up of coaches Tyler Jaeger and Travis Wielgosz, lead Brendan Hruschak, second Noel Wielgosz, third Spencer Rempel and skip Owen Jaeger. The Kelowna squad was undefeated, going 5-0 in their six-team round-robin pool to earn a semifinal berth where they dispatched Matthew Reynolds of the host club 9-0. Hrynew advanced to the gold-medal game with a 7-2 semifinal romp over Pool B winner Nicholas White of Nanaimo. Matthew Miller of the Armstrong Curling Club went 1-4, winning his final game, 8-7, over Reynolds. Supporting Miller were third Arel Ciccone, second Zach Boudreau and lead Casey O'Shea. Coaches were Ian Boudreau and Kyle Gee. Owen Jaeger has been picked up by the Salmon Arm/Vernon skipped by Kaiden Beck of Salmon Arm for the B.C. U20 Curling Championships next week in Cloverdale. Jaeger replaced Nolan Beck at second. Beck is out with a knee injury. Third Nolan Blaeser, lead Koen Hampshire, and coach Dale Hofer, all from Vernon, round out the team. Team Arndt will be among the women's teams competing in Cloverdale. The Kimberley Curling Club (KCC) hosted the 2025 Safetek Profire BC U18 Curling Championships from Dec. 19 to 23. "We were thrilled with how everything went," said KCC general manager Blair Jarvis. "We knew that most teams were travelling a long way to get here and unfortunately they had to deal with some adventures with the snow we had last Wednesday. "We wanted to make sure that we gave them an experience that they would remember, so we spent a lot of time on the ice, we wanted to give them a great social experience off the ice as well and we heard from a number of curlers that it was the most U18 event that they’ve attended and so we’re really proud of that fact."

Heavy travel day starts with brief grounding of all American Airlines flightsWASHINGTON (AP) — Hearing a high-profile culture-war clash, the Supreme Court on Wednesday seemed likely to uphold Tennessee's ban on gender-affirming care for minors . The justices’ decision, not expected for several months, could affect similar laws enacted by another 25 states and a range of other efforts to regulate the lives of transgender people , including which sports competitions they can join and which bathrooms they can use . The case is being weighed by a conservative-dominated court after a presidential election in which Donald Trump and his allies promised to roll back protections for transgender people, showcasing the uneasy intersection between law, politics and individual rights. The Biden administration's top Supreme Court lawyer warned a decision favorable to Tennessee also could be used to justify nationwide restrictions on transgender healthcare for minors. In arguments that lasted more than two hours, five of the six conservative justices voiced varying degrees of skepticism of arguments made by the administration and Chase Strangio, the ACLU lawyer for Tennessee families challenging the ban. Chief Justice John Roberts, who voted in the majority in a 2020 case in favor of transgender rights , questioned whether judges, rather than lawmakers, should be weighing in on a question of regulating medical procedures, an area usually left to the states. ”The Constitution leaves that question to the people’s representatives, rather than to nine people, none of whom is a doctor,” Roberts said in an exchange with Strangio. The court’s three liberal justices seemed firmly on the side of the challengers. But it’s not clear that any of the conservatives will go along. Justice Sonia Sotomayor pushed back against the assertion that the democratic process would be the best way to address objections to the law. She cited a history of laws discriminating against others, noting that transgender people make up less than 1% of the U.S. population, according to studies. There are an estimated 1.3 million adults and 300,000 adolescents aged 13 to 17 who identify as transgender, according the UCLA law school's Williams Institute. “Blacks were a much larger part of the population and it didn’t protect them. It didn’t protect women for whole centuries,” Sotomayor said in an exchange with Tennessee Solicitor General Matt Rice. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said she saw some troubling parallels between arguments made by Tennessee and those advanced by Virginia and rejected by a unanimous court, in the 1967 Loving decision that legalized interracial marriage nationwide. Quoting from the 57-year-old decision, Jackson noted that Virginia argued then that “the scientific evidence is substantially in doubt and, consequently, the court should defer to the wisdom of the state legislature.” Justice Neil Gorsuch, who wrote the majority opinion in 2020, said nothing during the arguments. The arguments produced some riveting moments. Justice Samuel Alito repeatedly pressed Strangio, the first openly transgender lawyer to argue at the nation's highest court, about whether transgender people should be legally designated as a group that’s susceptible to discrimination. Strangio answered that being transgender does fit that legal definition, though he acknowledged under Alito’s questioning there are a small number of people who de-transition. “So it's not an immutable characteristic, is it?” Alito said. Strangio did not retreat from his view, though he said the court did not have to decide the issue to resolve the case in his clients' favor. There were dueling rallies outside the court in the hours before the arguments. Speeches and music filled the air on the sidewalk below the court’s marble steps. Advocates of the ban bore signs like “Champion God’s Design” and “Kids Health Matters,” while the other side proclaimed “Fight like a Mother for Trans Rights” and “Freedom to be Ourselves." Four years ago, the court ruled in favor of Aimee Stephens, who was fired by a Michigan funeral home after she informed its owner that she was a transgender woman. The court held that transgender people, as well as gay and lesbian people, are protected by a landmark federal civil rights law that prohibits sex discrimination in the workplace. The Biden administration and the families and health care providers who challenged the Tennessee law urged the justices to apply the same sort of analysis that the majority, made up of liberal and conservative justices, embraced in the case four years ago when it found that “sex plays an unmistakable role” in employers' decisions to punish transgender people for traits and behavior they otherwise tolerate. The issue in the Tennessee case is whether the law violates the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment, which requires the government to treat similarly situated people the same. Tennessee's law bans puberty blockers and hormone treatments for transgender minors, but allows the same drugs to be used for other purposes. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, the administration's top Supreme Court lawyer, called the law sex-based line drawing to ban the use of drugs that have been safely prescribed for decades and said the state “decided to completely override the views of the patients, the parents, the doctors.” She contrasted the Tennessee law with one enacted by West Virginia, which set conditions for the health care for transgender minors, but stopped short of an outright ban. Rice countered that lawmakers acted to regulate “risky, unproven medical interventions” and, at one point, likened the use of puberty blockers and hormone treatments to lobotomies and eugenics, now thoroughly discredited but once endorsed by large segments of the medical community. Rice argued that the Tennessee law doesn’t discriminate based on sex, but rather based on the purpose of the treatment. Children can get puberty blockers to treat early onset puberty, but not as a treatment for gender dysphoria. “Our fundamental point is there is no sex-based line here,” Rice said. While the challengers invoked the 2020 ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County for support, Tennessee relied on the court's precedent-shattering Dobbs decision in 2022 that ended nationwide protections for abortion and returned the issue to the states. The two sides battled in their legal filings over the appropriate level of scrutiny the court should apply. It's more than an academic exercise. The lowest level is known as rational basis review and almost every law looked at that way is ultimately upheld. Indeed, the federal appeals court in Cincinnati that allowed the Tennessee law to be enforced held that lawmakers acted rationally to regulate medical procedures, well within their authority. The appeals court reversed a trial court that employed a higher level of review, heightened scrutiny, that applies in cases of sex discrimination. Under this more searching examination, the state must identify an important objective and show that the law helps accomplish it. If the justices opt for heightened scrutiny, they could return the case to the appeals court to apply it. That's the course Prelogar and Strangio pushed for on Wednesday, though there did not seem to be much support for it. Gender-affirming care for youth is supported by every major medical organization, including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Psychiatric Association. But Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Brett Kavanaugh all highlighted a point made by Tennessee in its legal briefs claiming that health authorities in Sweden, Finland, Norway and the United Kingdom found that the medical treatments "pose significant risks with unproven benefits.” If those countries “are pumping the brakes on this kind of treatment," Kavanaugh said, why should the Supreme Court question Tennessee's actions? None of those countries has adopted a ban similar to the one in Tennessee and individuals can still obtain treatment, Prelogar said. Kavanaugh, who has coached his daughters’ youth basketball teams, also wondered whether a ruling against Tennessee would give transgender athletes "a constitutional right to participate in girls' sports.” Prelogar said a narrow decision would not affect the sports issue. Associated Press writers Lindsay Whitehurst, Andrew DeMillo in Little Rock, Arkansas, Geoff Mulvihill in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and Kimberlee Kruesi in Nashville, Tennessee contributed to this report. Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Get local news delivered to your inbox!

NoneCalifornians pay for utility wildfire prevention. Is that cost-effective?